An incredible back garden boozer made entirely from recycled materials has been crowned Britain's best Pub Shed of the Year.
John Simmons, 50, spent more than a year and constructing the amazing DIY man-cave in his garden in Portsmouth, Hants.
It features its own dart board, wooden decor, countryside-pub style seating, a roof covered in fairy lights and even its own outdoor beer garden and decking area.
He built the miniature pub - called The Dog & Ball - from as much reclaimed material he could find from salvage yards and a Facebook page for pub shed enthusiasts.
John sourced, cut, sanded and fixed every timber and tting himself as well all 4,500 screws.
The dad-of-three beat off more than a thousand entries to be named the owner of Britain's best Pub Shed 2022.
He celebrated the win in his garden pub last night (12/11) with friends and said he was thrilled to be crowned the winner.
John started building the boozer last year and said he wanted a 'haven at home' he could enjoy that was cheaper than the pub.
Avid DIY-er John, a safety management consultant, said the pub cost four figures to build but would have been much more expensive had he not used reclaimed materials.
Wife Anita, 49, put the finishing touching to the Dog & Ball - named after their Labradoodle Bertie, aged seven and the pair enjoyed celebrating with kids Libby, 23, Jacob, 19, and Evie, 12.
John said: It has all been rather overwhelming, but I am chuffed to bits.
We had 18 friends over last night to celebrate the final and it was fantastic to find out I won - I was really thrilled.
I started building it last year and wanted to have it completed this summer for my 50th birthday.
Sourcing the reclaimed material took the biggest chunk of time.
I am an avid DIY-er and love a project.
Lots of people had been doing this sort of thing over lockdown so I took inspiration from that, and I wanted a haven at home that was cheaper than the pub.
Its somewhere I can go and enjoy being with my friends and family, which was really the whole purpose.
It cost about four figures, which is much cheaper than it would have been had I done a proper build and had to go to shops for the materials.
John, who was in the Royal Navy for 22 years, said his favourite part of the pub is the oak beams which make up the main structure.
The three-metre-long bits of wood remarkably came from an old dock yard building John used to work in.
He said: My favourite part is the main oak beams.
They are from an old dock yard building that I used to work in years ago before it was demolished.
These three-metre-long beams that form the main structure of the pub had sat in a yard for 20 years and then I managed to buy them.
It is a remarkable story.
All my family and friends have been so supportive of the project, and it has been great having everyone round to enjoy it.
My wife Anita put all the finishing touches to the pub to make it look as amazing as it does.
I took the name from my Labradoodle Bertie who just loves to play with his ball, I really wanted him to be part of it all.
The Dog & Ball beat off two other finalists, a mini countryside-style pub called The Tiger, in Somerset, and The Stagger Inn, in Manchester - a nightclub-themed bar
They were whittled down from more than a thousand entries - many of which were built during lockdown.
John said: "Doing it all from salvage was of course a challenge thank goodness for FB marketplace, advice from the fantastic members of the GSPN UK Facebook page and a very understanding wife who I dragged around local reclaim yards sifting through old timbers.
"With the exception of the main roof joists, every other part of the build is made from reclaim, re-used or recycled timber and materials.
"Each piece has a different story, from the bar ironmongery that belonged to my late father-in-law from his days as an RAF engineer, to the main oak upright timbers.
It is believed more than two million back garden pubs are now in operation in Britain after their popularity exploded during the coronavirus pandemic.
They have continued to grow amid a cost of living crisis after the average price of a pint rose to 4 across the UK and 5 in London.
As a result, Two Fat Blokes bar signs, Pub Shed Radio and the Facebook group Garden Shed Pubs & Nightclubs began running the national competition.
The winner was announced live on Pub Shed Radio on Saturday (12/11).
Ashley Turner, the owner of Two Fat Blokes Bar Signs, said: "The quality of bars and diversity of the entries has been phenomenal.
"We ran the competition to showcase the amazing community of pub sheds in the UK.
"The community has exploded during the pandemic and now with the cost of a pint heading north of 6 the trend looks set to continue.
"The Dog & Ball is a perfect example of an amazing pub shed and deserved to win with his amazing hand-built pub.
Tommy Funka, who runs, Pub Shed Radio added: Pub Shed of the year has been a great way for the pub shed community to come together and celebrate the growing army of back garden boozers".
Pub Shed Radio's DJ Mupps said: "It was brilliant to knock on the door of the winners bar live on Pub Shed Radio.
"John & Anita were totally gobsmacked to find out they had won. We then went live from the bar broadcasting with a real party atmosphere."
Nick St John, the owner of Facebook group Garden Shed Pubs and Nightclubs, added: "Being involved Pub Shed of the year has been the culmination of our ethos to promote and help people build their own back garden pubs.
"With over 280,000 members our group has really got on board with the competition.
"Judging the entries was so difficult The Dog & Ball is a great example of a proper pub shed."
LIMA (Reuters) - North Korea's ambassador to Peru said Tuesday that Lima's decision to expel him was akin to "throwing gasoline on the fire" on the dispute over Pyongyang's nuclear tests that it would continue to pursue "without wavering." Peru declared the ambassador, Kim Hak-Chol, a persona non grata on Monday to protest North Korea's refusal to heed the world's "constant calls" to end its nuclear programme - giving him five days to leave the Andean country. "The bilateral and diplomatic measure taken yesterday by the Peruvian government lacks judicial and moral reasoning and doesn't further world peace and security at all," Kim said, reading from a statement at a news conference in Lima. "To the contrary, it throws gasoline on the fire for which we express protest and regret," Kim added before declining to take questions from reporters. Peru's decision to expel Kim followed a similar move by Mexico last week and a public call from the United States last month for Latin American countries to sever ties with North Korea. Peruvian Foreign Minister Ricardo Luna said the move was strongly rooted in international law as reflected by new U.N. sanctions against North Korea passed on Monday. "It's inappropriate to maintain relations with that country," Luna said in broadcast comments to journalists. "Though we haven't broken off ties, by expelling him the level of diplomats in charge of relations is lowered." North Korea has faced growing condemnation from around the world following its sixth and largest nuclear test this month which fuelled fears it could spark war. U.S. President Donald Trump has described the boosted sanctions passed by the U.N. Security Council on Monday as "nothing compared to what ultimately will have to happen." Kim condemned the sanctions as part of the hostility from the United States regarding North Korea that he said has forced Pyongyang to pursue nuclear tests as a dissuasive measure. "That's a problem between us and the United States," Kim said. "We'll continue without wavering on the path of justice that we've chosen despite the slander and defamation from the United States because we're certain our cause is just and will triumph." Kim will leave Peru as requested and two diplomats will remain in charge of the embassy, an embassy representative said. Peru does not have any diplomats in North Korea. Pyongyang opened its embassy in Peru in the 1980s during the first government of former President Alan Garcia, which bought weapons from North Korea at a discount for police. Trade between the two countries is minimal. (Reporting By Mitra Taj; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Sweden and Britain on Monday requested a closed-door United Nations Security Council meeting on the "deteriorating situation" in Myanmar's Rakhine state, home to the majority-Buddhist nation's Rohingya Muslims, diplomats said. The meeting would likely be held on Wednesday, diplomats said. "I think it will be a private meeting but with a public outcome of some form," British U.N. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft told reporters on Monday. "It's a sign of the significant worry that Security Council members have that the situation is continuing to deteriorate for many Rohingya who are seeking to flee Rakhine state in Burma and move into Bangladesh," Rycroft said. The United Nations' top human rights official slammed Myanmar earlier on Monday for conducting a "cruel military operation" against Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state, branding it "a textbook example of ethnic cleansing." The Security Council discussed the situation behind closed doors on Aug. 30. In a rare letter to the council earlier this month, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern the violence could spiral into a "humanitarian catastrophe." Rights groups informally briefed Security Council diplomats on the Myanmar violence on Friday. Russia and China did not send any diplomats, according to people at the meeting. Myanmar has said it is was counting on China and Russia to protect it from any Security Council censure. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Writing by Eric Walsh; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Peter Cooney) Dril-Quip, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, sells, and services engineered drilling and production equipment for use in deepwater, harsh environment, and severe service applications worldwide. The company's principal products include subsea and surface wellheads, subsea and surface production trees, mudline hanger systems, specialty connectors and associated pipes, drilling and production riser systems, liner hangers, wellhead connectors, diverters, and safety valves, as well as downhole tools. It also provides technical advisory services, and rework and reconditioning services, as well as rental and purchase of running tools for use in the installation and retrieval of its products; and downhole tools comprise of liner hangers, production packers, safety valves, and specialty downhole tools that are used to hang-off and seal casing into a previously installed casing string in the well bore. The company's products are used to explore for oil and gas from offshore drilling rigs, such as floating rigs and jack-up rigs; and for drilling and production of oil and gas wells on offshore platforms, tension leg platforms, and Spars, as well as moored vessels, such as floating production, storage, and offloading monohull moored vessels. It sells its products directly through its sales personnel, independent sales agents, and representatives to integrated, independent, and foreign national oil and gas companies, as well as drilling contractors, and engineering and construction companies. The company was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas. SANTA FE Eight people arrested for criminal trespass while protesting the Fiesta de Santa Fes Entrada reenactment Friday pleaded not guilty in Municipal Court Monday. Attorney Todd Coberly, who represented all eight defendants, told Judge Virginia Vigil that none of his clients had seen police statements of probable cause for their charges. Vigil assured him they would get them. Coberly said afterward he couldnt say much because of a lack of detail about the cases but that his clients are going to fight the charges. I think there are some serious First Amendment issues at play here, Coberly said. One issue is police enforcement of rules set by the Fiesta Council, which had a permit for use of the downtown Plaza area Friday to Sunday. The Entrada reenacts the Spanish reoccupation of Santa Fe in 1692, 12 years after the Pueblo Revolt. This years pageant was started two hours earlier than scheduled, in an effort to tamp down protests by Native American groups and others. Some protesters still arrived in time to chant during the Entrada, and about 150 people eventually gathered to continue protests long after. Copies of the protesters brief Municipal Court criminal complaints different from probable cause statements say that the demonstrators refused police commands to leave the Fiesta Councils permit area, which is not gated or ticketed and is open to the public for Fiesta events. Some of the protesters lay on the ground and refused to get up, so police had to carry them away. The permit holder makes the rules, police Lt. Marvin Paulk said over the weekend. He also said many people had thanked the police for how they handled the situation and kept people safe. One of the defendants, Jennifer Marley, 21, from San Ildefonso Pueblo and part of the Red Nation group, is also charged with two felony counts of battery upon a peace officer and is set to be arraigned on those charges in Magistrate Court Wednesday. According to a Magistrate Court probable cause statement, Marley was leading the protesters near Marcy Street and Palace Avenue when they tried to head south on Palace towards the permitted area. While attempting to maintain the peace, I saw Jennifer push past Sergeant Christopher Reynosa, Officer Steven Gushiniere wrote. At this point both parties were struggling. Marley attempted to break the police line again and hit Reynosa in the chest and Officer Gerald Lovato in the head with a sign. She kept falling to the ground and kept yelling and making a scene, the police statement said. But, Gushiniere writes, Once a reporter came, she calmed down, and began speaking to her. Marley posted a statement on the Red Nation site Monday saying she was taken as a symbolic trophy for the city and as a political prisoner to actively suppress the recent resurgence of Pueblo resistance. She also reiterated allegations that one of the seven other defendants was arrested for having a bandana on his head. A city press release last week said that among the things the Fiesta Council had banned from the Plaza were masks and gang colors, but its unclear how and if a bandana qualified as off limits. WASHINGTON There is no reason to trust the Trump administration and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos when it comes to policing sexual assault on college campuses. Actually, make that stronger: There is every reason not to trust. Not only because of the presidents own words and behavior, but because of the dismissive comments of the departments top civil rights official, Candice Jackson, about campus sexual-assault claims that the accusations 90 percent of them fall into the category of we were both drunk, we broke up, and six months later I found myself under a Title IX investigation because she just decided that our last sleeping together was not quite right. Jackson may have apologized; there is no erasing the underlying attitude. And yet, it is also true that the current regime under which campus sexual-assault allegations are investigated and adjudicated is seriously flawed. Before the Obama administration instructed colleges and universities that they had to take sexual-assault allegations seriously or risk losing federal funds the system was way too disposed to discourage complaints. But the Obama administrations move also prompted an overcorrection at some institutions that failed to do enough to protect the rights of students accused of wrongdoing. Which is how I find myself in the unexpected position of writing not to lambaste DeVos but to praise her, albeit tentatively and preliminarily, for announcing plans to rework the departments approach to Title IX, the federal law prohibiting gender discrimination at educational institutions. An assault, especially an assault left unpunished, can ruin a students life. A finding of liability can ruin a life as well, with a student potentially expelled and branded a sexual predator. So any accusation must be thoroughly investigated, but in a way that affords the alleged perpetrator the essential elements of due process among them the right to full notice of the allegations and to be represented by counsel; the opportunity to cross-examine witnesses and present a defense; and the chance to have the dispute overseen by an independent and impartial decision-maker, preferably based on a standard higher than a mere preponderance of evidence. The truth is that the system established by the prior administration has failed too many students, DeVos said. There must be a better way forward. Every survivor of sexual misconduct must be taken seriously. Every student accused of sexual misconduct must know that guilt is not predetermined. The condemnation was swift. This administration wants to take us back to the days when colleges swept sexual assault under the rug, said Arne Duncan, education secretary under President Obama. Dont be duped by todays announcement, said Fatima Goss Graves of the National Womens Law Center. What seems merely procedural is a blunt attack on survivors of sexual assault. The proof will be in the details of what the Trump administration produces. Still, you dont have to be a DeVos-like conservative to have serious qualms about the existing approach and to bristle at the dismissal of such concerns. Indeed, you could be a feminist legal scholar at Harvard Law School. Four such experts Elizabeth Bartholet, Nancy Gertner, Janet Halley and Jeannie Suk Gersen, hardly DeVos clones wrote to the Education Department last month describing how many terrified college administrators over-complied with the Obama administrations directive. Colleges have adopted definitions of sexual wrongdoing, they wrote, that include conduct that is merely unwelcome even if the person accused had no way of knowing it was unwanted, and even if the accusers sense that it was unwelcome arose after the encounter. Meanwhile, the procedures for enforcing these definitions are frequently so unfair as to be truly shocking. In a disturbing new online series for The Atlantic, Emily Yoffe describes University of Massachusetts student Kwadwo Bonsus encounter with a fellow student who began to perform oral sex on him after they smoked marijuana together, then decided she wanted to stop. After exchanging phone numbers and leaving Bonsus room, the female student realized Id been sexually assaulted and reported the incident. Amherst police closed the case without charges, but Bonsu was barred from living on campus and then suspended. It took him years to win admission elsewhere. At its worst, Title IX is now a cudgel with which the government and school administrators enforce sex rules too bluntly, and in ways that invite abuse, Yoffe writes. If DeVos legacy is to defuse Title IXs effectiveness in combatting sexual assault, that will be a tragedy. If its intervention means that weapon is wielded with more precision and fairness, that will be an impressive achievement from a surprising source. E-mail: ruthmarcus@washpost.com. Copyright, Washington Post Writers Group. Congress has been dropping in relative power along a descending curve of 60 years duration, with the rate of fall markedly increased since 1933. The fall of the American Congress seems to be correlated with a more general historical transformation toward political and social forms within which the representative assembly the major political organism of post-Renaissance Western civilization does not have a primary political function. James Burnham, Congress and the American Tradition (1959) WASHINGTON Today, worse is better. The presidents manifest and manifold inadequacies might awaken a slumbering Congress to the existence of its Article I powers and responsibilities. As a candidate, Donald Trump vowed devotion to all 12 of the Constitutions seven articles. As president, Barack Obama, discerning a defect in the work of the 1787 Constitutional Convention, supplied Article VIII, which has expired. It stipulated: Between Jan. 20, 2009, and Jan. 20, 2017, the president shall have the power to do whatever Congress declines to do. So, when Congress did not confer legal status on Dreamers, immigrants brought to America illegally as children, he did it. He conferred such status and attendant benefits on a large category of people and called this patently legislative act a routine exercise of law enforcement discretion. As a candidate, Trumps policy regarding Dreamers made up in concision what it lacked in reflection: They have to go. As a president whose incoherence has a majesty, he has a love for these people who are incredible when not engaged in rampant criminality. When he is not pardoning Arizonas scofflaw sheriff Joe Arpaio for his anti-immigrant criminality, immigration is a law-and-order issue. So does Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who preaches fire-and-brimstone law and order when he is not encouraging legalized theft under civil forfeiture, whereby government enriches itself by seizing the property of persons not convicted of crimes. Sessions, whose canine loyalty to Trump is not scrupulously reciprocated, seemed to relish the privilege of announcing Trumps policy that, absent action from a Congress that is especially loath to act on immigration, could punish 800,000 children for what their parents did long ago. Trumps policy now is to state that Obamas policy will expire in six months unless Congress chooses to legalize it. If Congress does not, Trump will revisit this issue! Perhaps his exclamatory punctuation foreshadows something as forceful, meaning as unilateral, as what Obama did. What Obama did was popular and unconstitutional. The latter attribute probably does not interest Obamas successor, but the former attribute evidently does. So Trump has sent this hot potato where it belongs, Congress, which faces the unaccustomed agony of setting national policy. The day that Trump and Sessions disturbed Congress serenity, Nikki Haley did likewise. The U.S ambassador to the U.N. and a former executive, as South Carolinas governor, intimated that the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran might yet wind up where, constitutionally, it should have started in the national legislature. An international pact of this complexity and gravity should have been a treaty, submitted to the Senate for committee hearings, floor debate, and ratification by a two-thirds supermajority. Instead, as a redundant expression of Obamas disdain for Congress and the separation of powers, it was submitted to the U.N., and then to Congress. The House voted disapproval and the Senate attempted the same, although the margins were too small to override an Obama veto in any case. Haley suggested Trump might declare Iran is not in compliance with the agreement, thereby initiating a 60-day congressional review, potentially culminating in the administration leaving Congress to decide for or against U.S. withdrawal from the agreement. Just as many Republicans, after years of denouncing Obamacare, flinched from repealing it, many critics of the Iran deal might flinch. Haley said, I get that Congress doesnt want this. Which is a reason exercising atrophied institutional sinews to hope it happens. In 1959, before the exhilarating experience of Ronald Reagans presidency, congressional supremacy was still a tenet of conservatism. Then James Burnham, a founding editor of the then 4-year-old National Review, wondered whether Congress could survive as an autonomous, active political entity with some measure of real power, not merely as a rubber stamp, a name and a ritual, or an echo of powers lodged elsewhere. The slope of the long descending curve might be changing. A single senator vowed Monday night to delay the Senate from debating a must-pass, $700 billion defense bill until he is promised a vote to force Congress to pass an authorization for use of military force against extremist groups within six months. A growing number of lawmakers have been calling for Congress to pass a new AUMF as the war in Afghanistan drags close to its 17th year. But Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has largely been alone in his quest to force a deadline on Congress, as the chief agitators for a new AUMF, Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., have expressed a firm preference for crafting such a measure in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Paul sits on that panel and its chairman, Bob Corker, R-Tenn., has promised to schedule an AUMF debate soon. Paul also was alone on the Senate floor Monday night as he pledged to sit on the floor, in silent protest . . . for as long as needed to ensure Congress do its duty, and vote on ending these wars. He stressed that he would object to all procedural moves and amendments until his AUMF measure was guaranteed a vote. But less than an hour after issuing his threat, Paul and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., appeared to have struck a deal, guaranteeing Paul four hours on Tuesday to state his AUMF case on the Senate floor. In an emailed statement sent shortly after, Paul nonetheless pledged to continue to fight, and if necessary, object, to continue this debate, secure a vote and force Congress to do its duty. In practical terms, Pauls protesting power is limited. On Monday evening, the Senate voted 89 to 3 to advance the defense bill to the next stage of debate. The next procedural vote can take place early Wednesday morning, and if a quorum of senators are present, Paul will be hard-pressed to stop progress on the bill. Paul could resume his protest at later stages of the debate but again, procedural time constraints will ultimately frustrate his efforts. In the process though, his threats could complicate matters for lawmakers who were hoping to secure votes on high-profile amendments they want to attach to the defense bill. On Monday, bipartisan teams of senators introduced measures to push back on President Donald Trumps order to ban transgender troops from serving openly in the military, and to increase sanctions against North Korea. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, filed an amendment that would prohibit the Pentagon from discharging troops because of gender identity and state that Congress believes qualified individuals should be able to serve, regardless of gender. The measure also requires Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to report the results of an ongoing study of transgender troops to Congress by the end of the year. Sens. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., and Edward Markey, D-Mass., filed an amendment to excommunicate firms that do business with Pyongyang from the American financial system, as well as impose a full trade embargo on North Korean-made goods. Both of those amendments directly challenge policies Trump has dictated over the past several weeks to mixed reviews. It is not clear, however, that congressional leaders were planning to allow the Senate to vote on such controversial policy amendments even before Paul issued his protest threat. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., who does not routinely shy from criticizing Trump, noticeably has not offered to support any of the controversial policy measures that senators have expressed interest in attaching to the defense bill. McCain controls the defense bill in the Senate, a job that this year has extra significance following his recent announcement that he was diagnosed with brain cancer. Last week, McCain suggested that the amendment put forth by Gillibrand and Collins was probably premature, because Mattis would not complete his planned review of serving transgender troops until Feb. 1. It is unclear whether the amendments accelerated timetable, requiring Mattis to report to transgender troops by the end of the year, would build enough momentum to get McCain to change his mind. McCain also declined to lend any encouragement to authors of amendments stiffening North Korea sanctions, saying he may not even support what they were proposing. Corker, at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was more direct registering his disapproval, stating last week that the crisis with North Korea was too acute to contemplate moving ahead with anything unless we do so in close conjunction with the White House. Copyright 2017 Albuquerque Journal If youve tuned in to a local radio station, logged on to Facebook, read letters to the editor in the Journal or attended a mayoral forum in recent weeks, then youve seen or heard the clashes between those pushing for the Healthy Workforce Ordinance and those opposed to it. Proponents argue that requiring Albuquerque businesses to provide paid sick leave to all employees including full-time, part-time and temporary workers is vital for Albuquerques working families and that high-paid business lobbyists are scaring voters with lies. Opponents counter that the measure is far broader than most paid sick leave ordinances and that it would kill jobs and hurt small businesses. They also contend that it was drafted by trial lawyers and union lawyers in New York City who have no interest in Albuquerque. The debate will only intensify in the coming days as voters begin casting their ballots on the issue. Election Day is Oct. 3, although early voting begins Wednesday. Also on the ballot are the mayoral and City Council races, as well as several bond questions. For the past 16 months, Albuquerque has been ground zero in what has become a nationwide push to require businesses to provide paid sick time to every employee. Earlier this summer, Arizona joined six other states including California, Oregon and Washington in requiring paid sick leave. More than two dozen cities have enacted sick leave legislation, although Albuquerque would be the first in New Mexico to do so if the measure passes. Voters in Denver rejected mandatory paid sick leave in 2011. Locally, the push for paid sick leave began in May 2016 when a coalition of left-leaning groups including OLE New Mexico, the SouthWest Organizing Project and El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos began gathering signatures to get the proposed ordinance on the ballot. They succeeded, collecting 24,000, roughly 10,000 more than required. Several court battles have ensued. The tug of war also has played out before the Bernalillo County Commission which refused to place the measure on last years general election ballot and the Albuquerque City Council, which has spent hours considering how the sick leave question should be presented to voters. Actively opposing the measure is the Albuquerque Coalition for a Healthy Economy, a group of about 31 members that include the New Mexico Restaurant Association; the Rio Grande Foundation; NAIOP, the commercial real estate development association; the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce; and the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce. Mountains of red tape The Sick Ordinance is bad for Albuquerque, Terri Cole, president and CEO of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, told the Journal on Friday. Mountains of red tape and onerous regulations will drive business out and keep new business out of our city. Workers lose. Customers lose. The only winners are special interests. Among the concerns raised by opponents is that employees have the right to take sick leave if any member of their family or anyone they consider to be like family is sick; that there is a rebuttable presumption that any adverse action against an employee taken within 90 days of the employee being out sick is retaliation; and, they say, many companies would have to change their policies regarding paid time off. Robert Vick, owner of Vicks Vittles Country Kitchen, told the City Council in July that he has halted plans to expand his restaurant because of the proposed ordinance. He said the proposed ordinance would cost businesses a lot of money and open them up to litigation. Its totally one-sided, and I think its going to hurt us, he told councilors. Lynne Anderson, president of NAIOP, told councilors at that same meeting that the business community isnt against paid sick leave. Most of my members pay paid sick leave, she said. But this one, the way this is written, it would be so detrimental. I already have members telling me theyre going to have to move out of the city. It will affect gross receipts tax. It will affect the economy. NAIOP and several others filed a lawsuit earlier this year challenging the sick leave proposal. The suit was dismissed last month, but on Friday, Pat Rogers, their attorney, filed notice that they plan to appeal the decision to the state Court of Appeals. The state Supreme Court earlier this month rejected an emergency petition to keep the ordinance off the ballot, but justices left the door open for Rogers to appeal the ruling through the regular channels. Business proponent Not all members of the business community are opposed to the proposed law. Ken Carson, owner of Nexus Brewery, has been speaking in favor of it and even has appeared in a radio ad in which he says that employees who go to work sick can make customers sick. I support the earned sick days question because I know its good for my business, he has told city councilors. Carson said he already provides paid sick leave for his employees. I feel like its good for our customers, and I feel like its good for our hard-working employees, he said. Edgar Salinas, a 33-year-old father of three who works for an Albuquerque company that builds and installs custom doors, will be watching the outcome of the sick leave vote closely. Salinas, who has an 8-year-old son with autism, doesnt have paid sick leave. And although his wife is a stay-at-home mom, he said, there are times when he has to take one of his kids to the doctor. A lot of people, not just me, live on a tight budget, he told the Journal. You can imagine how hard it is for someone who lives paycheck to paycheck to be short one day or two (of pay). Its really hard. Salinas said hes not an American citizen yet, so he cant vote, but if I could, I definitely would vote for it. Having three kids to support I have to work. I have to work hard every day. If we ever get to have paid sick leave, it would be a lot of help for families that are in the position I am. Every dollar counts. Debate on radio Both sides have attorneys who have been battling it out at every turn. While opponents have retained Rogers to spearhead their fight, proponents have Elizabeth Wagoner and Tim Davis with the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty. Their most recent battle played out last week with a debate on KKOB radio. When we ensure that people can go to the doctor, when we ensure people dont have to go to work sick, when we ensure that parents dont have to send sick kids to school, we prevent the spread of illness, and we make everyone safer, healthier and stronger, Wagoner argued. Rogers countered with the argument that the devil is in the details. The details of this make it the most onerous, expensive and extreme sick leave provision in America, he said. Rogers told the Journal that proponents of the ordinance are trying to portray those fighting it as heartless people who want to work employees to death. Thats simply not the case, he said, adding that workers will be the ones who suffer when they cant find jobs because the provisions in the ordinance drive businesses away. Were not an island unto ourselves, he said. Were in competition with large, booming cities, such as Denver, which rejected a weak sister version of this. (For) any employer looking to expand here, this is a negative. Wagoner said the ordinance was modeled after other paid sick time ordinances that have been enacted across the county and those ordinances havent caused the economic woes that opponents say will result here. Advertising battle In their advertising, both sides are setting this up as a life-and-death issue. Proponents say in one commercial that the law would give survivors of domestic violence paid time off to deal with leaving abusive homes. This can literally save lives, a woman says. Opponents charge in their own commercial that the ordinance would kill jobs: We ask Albuquerque voters to stand with small businesses that are already struggling. Healthy Workforce ABQ and the affiliated entities pushing for the ordinance appear to be well-positioned for a media blitz in the final three weeks before Election Day, having amassed $175,000 in their war chest. In recent weeks, the Center for Civic Policy, an Albuquerque-based nonprofit group that advocates for progressive causes, has contributed $150,000, and the United Food and Commercial Workers Union has kicked in another $25,000 in an effort to get the measure approved. Opponents have raised a little more than $124,000 to date and had $24,000 left in the bank as of Friday. The Realtors Association of New Mexico has donated $50,000, the New Mexico Restaurant Association has pitched in more than $27,000 and Real Estate PAC contributed another $20,000 in its quest to defeat the proposed ordinance. The mayoral candidates have been split in their positions on the sick leave bill, with Republicans Dan Lewis, Wayne Johnson and Ricardo Chaves and independent Michelle Garcia Holmes opposed. This will actually be a devastating thing to our city, Garcia Holmes said at a forum last week. Democrats Tim Keller and Brian Colon said they would vote for it, although they have concerns about some of the details. Democrat Gus Pedrotty supported it. Independent Susan Wheeler-Deichsel has gone back and forth on it. Sick leave brings up everybody, Pedrotty said at that same forum. Sick leave is important. Sick leave helps all of us. Copyright 2017 Albuquerque Journal WASHINGTON Two U.S. House members running for governor of New Mexico in 2018 had different reactions to President Donald Trumps latest immigration policy announcement, with one calling for a congressional solution in a news release and the other blasting Trumps decision as cowardly in a national address. Rep. Steve Pearce, a Republican, last week called on Congress to find a permanent solution for 800,000 young Americans whose legal status is in jeopardy after the Trump administrations decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or DACA program, which has allowed people brought into this country illegally by their parents to apply for a temporary reprieve from deportation as well as qualify for permission to work, attend school and obtain drivers licenses. The policy, created in 2012 through an executive order by the Obama administration, will remain in effect for the next six months before it is officially rescinded. When President Barack Obama announced the order, he said it was a temporary, stopgap measure and that precisely because this is temporary, Congress needs to act. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat who co-chairs the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, issued the Weekly Democratic Address on Friday and used the platform in part to criticize the presidents decision. Unfortunately, President Trump cowardly eliminated protections for these hopeful Americans, Lujan Grisham said in the address, broadcast on CSPAN and other radio and television stations. He has once again trapped them in a broken, heartless system and terrified the young Dreamers I met last week. So-called Dreamers are the young people (many of whom are now young adults) affected by Trumps decision to rescind DACA. Trump has said it is the responsibility of Congress to change the law if those affected are to be allowed to remain in the country legally. Pearces office would not say if the Republican congressman agreed with or opposed Trumps decision to cancel former President Obamas executive action that created the program. Last week, Pearce called for a legislative solution that is fair and just to DACA recipients. He added that many so-called Dreamers participating in the DACA program, who could eventually be deported unless the law is changed, know no home other than the United States. Whether you agree with the decision by the Trump administration or not, Congress has the power and the responsibility to provide long-term certainty for Dreamers, Pearce said in a statement. It is Congress job to act not whoever occupies the Oval Office. Since the creation of DACA in 2012, Congress has failed to act on behalf of those who benefit from the program by allowing a temporary solution to be all the certainty these young individuals receive: this is simply wrong, he added. We must formulate a permanent solution. Lujan Grisham also called for a legislative fix, requesting that Congress pass the Democratic-sponsored Dream Act. Pearce is not a co-sponsor of the legislation. This is the civil rights test of our time, she said. Are we going to turn our backs on Dreamers? Are we going to allow President Trump to use them as pawns in his cruel efforts to divide America? Pearce said he is looking for a legislative fix but has not yet signed onto a bill to address those left in limbo by the cancellation of DACA. Whether thats done by sponsoring my own legislation or working with other members to amend current text, the goal is to find a bill that will solve this problem once and for all, he said. They sparred over whether the Albuquerque Public Schools system should be split up, vacillated on whether the next mayor should lobby lawmakers to stiffen penalties for anyone using a gun to commit a crime, and mostly skirted the question of whether they would allow federal agents to be present at the citys prisoner transport center. Those were among the highlights of Monday nights mayoral debate, which was broadcast live over KASA Fox 2. Seven of the eight candidates took part. Mayoral candidate Ricardo Chaves did not attend. Candidates were asked how they would work to help improve APS. Of the seven participating candidates, City Councilor Dan Lewis, a Republican, was the only one to advocate for splitting up APS, once again calling for smaller, more accountable and more efficient school systems. I disagree with every one of my opponents, he said. We have a massive failing school system at APS. Attorney Brian Colon, a Democrat, argued that he didnt think that was the solution, pledging to create a chief education officer. Susan Wheeler-Deichsel, an independent and co-founder of the civic group Urban ABQ, said the teachers shes talked to have told her that splitting up APS is a bad idea. State Auditor Tim Keller and recent UNM graduate Gus Pedrotty, both Democrats, advocated for creating more after-school and summer programs for students, while Michelle Garcia Holmes, an independent, talked about having GED programs at community centers for young people who leave APS. Wayne Johnson, a Republican county commissioner, meanwhile, seized the opportunity to throw a few punches at opponents. Im not for gimmicks, he said. Splitting up APS is a gimmick. Creating a CEO at the city is another gimmick. He advocated for programs like the ABC Community Schools partnerships. Asked whether they would ask the Legislature to toughen penalties for using a gun when committing a crime, Johnson, Keller, Pedrotty, Garcia Holmes and Lewis all said they would. The one thing that we can all agree on is that we have a revolving-door crime problem, Keller said. And the one thing thats in common with just about everyone who goes into that revolving door is they are carrying an unregistered firearm, and theyre already a felon. That is where I would stand up and go fight with the Legislature. That is the one issue that the NRA and the folks that are on the other side agree we need real teeth. Lewis said lawmakers should tack on a 10-year sentence for felons caught using a firearm. Colon and Wheeler-Deichsel said they were willing to have a conversation about it. I am very, very protective of the Second Amendment rights for people here in the state of New Mexico, Colon said. But I can tell you that people are also fed up with people who are using firearms in the commission of crimes. I think its a commonsense conversation. On the topic of whether candidates would continue the citys current policy that allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to be present at the prisoner transport center where they can screen people who are arrested, Keller said he would not. I believe we need to stand up for everyone in the city, regardless of their status, he said. Lewis said he voted for the current policy. None of the other candidates answered the question directly, although Johnson said the city and county are currently in violation of federal law because of their immigration-friendly status and will lose funding because of it. Garcia Holmes argued that the city needs to be in compliance with federal law because the city needs every penny of federal funding to help it fight crime. The forum, held at the University of New Mexicos Continuing Education Center, was presented by Albuquerque area Realtors in cooperation with the Journal and KRQE News 13, and was moderated by KRQEs Dean Staley and Kent Walz, the Journals senior editor. Election Day is Oct. 3. ALAMOGORDO, N.M. Federal water managers are in New Mexico this week to celebrate the 10th anniversary of a research center dedicated to pursuing technology that can turn brackish groundwater into usable water. Officials with the Bureau of Reclamation will be in Alamogordo on Tuesday and Wednesday to mark the anniversary of the national desalination research facility. Experts from NASA, the U.S. Agriculture Department and the University of New Mexico also will be on hand. The center is the only major research facility in the United States dedicated solely to the desalination of brackish and impaired groundwater. One of its first projects was a water purifier that was used following hurricane Katrina to provide water for a regional hospital. The system was developed by a team of military and Bureau of Reclamation researchers. LOS ANGELES After a day huddling in Californias capital on immigration, trade and climate, Mexicos top diplomat is hitting Los Angeles to close out a two-day visit to the immigrant-friendly state. Mexico Foreign Relations Secretary Luis Videgarys trip to California comes at a critical time in relations between his country and the United States and amid uncertainty over the future of a program that protects roughly 800,000 young immigrants who are living in the United States from deportation. In Los Angeles, Videgaray will announce support for those young immigrants hundreds of thousands of whom are Mexican. Hell also meet with community and business leaders and tout a program providing immigrant mental health services. He travels to Washington on Wednesday, where he plans to implore members of Congress to continue the program that President Donald Trump says will be terminated in six months if lawmakers do not act. We strongly hope the U.S. Congress will act promptly to provide certainty and a permanent solution to these young people that want to stay in America, he said Monday in Sacramento before meeting with about 25 participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program. Mexico last week announced plans to create a special job bank for those affected and support their educations. The country will also assist them with legal aid, Videgaray said. Alongside immigration uncertainties, Videgarays visit comes as negotiations to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada, demanded by Trump, got off to a rocky start. Trump has said he could withdraw the United States from the 23-year-old pact between the two countries and Canada, and Mexico said it wont stay at the table if it doesnt get a fair deal. Noting the importance of trade between California and Mexico, Videgaray said hes hopeful for a deal that benefits all three nations. Were looking forward to having a better NAFTA that represents a win-win for the three countries, he said. And we believe that this process is going to be quite relevant for California. Mexico and the United States share a long border and extensive ties. But the relationship has faced new challenges since the election of Trump, who referred to Mexican immigrants as criminals and rapists during his campaign and has taken a series of measures to boost immigration enforcement. California, meanwhile, has repeatedly struck a separate path from the White House and is pushing back against Trumps efforts to enlist local law enforcement to carry out his immigration plans. The state is home to 10 million foreign-born residents, about 4 million from Mexico. While Videgaray was in Sacramento, Brown and Democratic legislative leaders announced revisions on a bill to prohibit state and local police from asking about peoples immigration status or enforcing federal immigration laws. It would still preserve the ability of law officers to cooperate on federal task forces as long as the task force doesnt specifically work on immigration enforcement. WASHINGTON President Donald Trump said Tuesday new U.N. sanctions are nothing compared to what ultimately will have to happen to stop North Koreas nuclear march. U.S. officials showed Congress satellite images of illicit trade to highlight the challenge of getting China and Russia to cut off commerce with the rogue nation. The U.N. Security Councils new restrictions could further bite into North Koreas meager economy after what Kim Jong Uns authoritarian government says was a hydrogen bomb test Sept. 3. The world body on Monday banned North Korean textile exports, an important source of hard currency, and capped its imports of crude oil. The measures fell short of Washingtons goals: a potentially crippling ban on oil imports and freezing the international assets of Kim and his government. We think its just another very small step not a big deal, Trump said as he met with Malaysias prime minister at the White House. But those sanctions are nothing compared to what ultimately will have to happen. He did not elaborate. Despite its limited economic impact, the new sanctions succeed in adding further pressure on Pyongyang without alienating Moscow and Beijing. The U.S. needs the support of both of its geopolitical rivals for its current strategy of using economic pressure and diplomacy and not military options for getting North Korea to halt its testing of nuclear bombs and the missiles for delivering them. Trump said it was nice to get a 15-0 vote at the U.N. But underscoring the big questions about Chinese and Russian compliance, senior U.S. officials told the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday that effective enforcement by both of the Norths neighbors and trading partners will be the acid test of whether sanctions work. The U.N. has adopted multiple resolutions against North Korea since its first nuclear test explosion in 2006, banning it from arms trading and curbing exports of commodities it heavily relies on for revenue. That has have failed to stop its progress toward developing a nuclear-tipped missile that could soon range the American mainland. Briefing the U.S. lawmakers, Treasury Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing Marshall Billingslea displayed satellite photos to demonstrate North Koreas deceptive shipping practices. He focused in particular on how it masks exports of coal that were banned in August after the North tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles. In one example, a North Korean ship registered in St. Kitts and Nevis was said to have sailed from China to North Korea, turning off its transponder to conceal its location as it loaded coal. The ship then docked in Vladivostok, Russia, before finally going to China to presumably unload its cargo. China accounts for 90 percent of North Koreas external trade. The success of the pressure strategy will depend on cooperation from international partners, especially Beijing, said Susan Thornton, Americas top diplomat for East Asia. We have also made clear that if China and Russia do not act, we will use the tools we have at our disposal. Those tools include more sanctions. In June, the U.S. designated the Bank of Dandong, a regional Chinese bank, as a primary money laundering concern over its alleged help to North Korea in accessing the U.S. and international financial systems. Billingsea described the action as a very clear warning shot that the Chinese understood. He said North Korean bank representatives still operate in Russia in flagrant disregard of U.N. resolutions that Moscow voted for. This summer, the U.S. targeted two Russian companies with penalties for supporting North Korean missile procurement. Lawmakers who spoke Tuesday supported the U.S. pressure tactics, while voicing skepticism that North Korea could be forced into abandon nuclear weapons it regards as a guarantee of survival for the Kim dynasty. Republican Rep. Ed Royce, the committee chairman, said U.S. and allied efforts should be super-charged. Describing the Norths access to hard currency as its Achilles heel, he urged the administration to target more entities dealing with North Korea, particularly Chinese banks. He singled out the China Merchants Bank and the Agricultural Bank of China. Rep. Eliot Engel, the committees top-ranking Democrat, also supported the pressure campaign. But he criticized Trumps commentary on the North Korean crisis, which he said was making matters worse. Playing on Trumps fire and fury threat of a month ago, Democratic Rep. Gerald Connolly said Trumps policy looks more like fecklessness and failure. Connolly protested that Trump had branded South Koreas leader, a supporter of diplomacy with North Korea, as an appeaser. The State Departments Thornton said Seoul had come around very nicely and appeasement not South Koreas policy. ____ Associated Press writer Jill Colvin contributed to this report. SANTA FE, N.M. New Mexicos chief public defender is urging state lawmakers to shore up resources for attorneys that represent impoverished defendants and consider reducing penalties for some low-level offenses that carry jail time. Chief Public Defender Bennett Baur on Tuesday urged a panel of lawmakers to take steps to ensure public defense attorneys are not overwhelmed by caseloads. The New Mexico Supreme Court currently is considering whether indigent defendants are being left without an adequate defense and potential remedies. Democratic Sen. Richard Martinez of Espanola says lawmakers are likely to wait until 2019 when a new governor takes office to propose reductions again to misdemeanor penalties. Republic Governor and former prosecutor Susana Martinez vetoed legislation this year that would have reduced penalties for long list of misdemeanors. WASHINGTON President Donald Trump praised Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak for his countrys financial investments in U.S. companies during a meeting Tuesday at the White House and thanked him for helping to fight Islamic State militants. Left unsaid by either leader: anything about the massive corruption scandal swirling around Najibs multibillion-dollar state fund. Malaysias government has said it found no criminal wrongdoing at the fund, called 1MDB and founded by Najib. But it has been at the center of investigations in the U.S. and several countries amid allegations of a global embezzlement and money-laundering scheme. The U.S. Justice Department says people close to Najib stole billions of dollars, and the federal government is working to seize $1.7 billion it says was taken from the fund to buy assets in the U.S. At their meeting, Trump and Najib instead focused on areas of agreement, such as economic development and counterterrorism measures when they spoke during a public appearance in the Cabinet room of the White House. Mr. Prime Minister, its a great honor to have you in the United States and in the White House, Trump said. Flanked by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Vice President Mike Pence, the president crossed his arms and listened raptly as Najib described Malaysias purchase of billions of dollars worth of aircraft from Chicago-based Boeing. Trump said the deal is worth $10 billion to $20 billion. Trump also pointed out that Malaysia is a massive investor in the United States in terms of stocks and bonds. They have to be very happy because we are hitting new highs on almost a weekly basis, Trump said. Were very proud of our stock market, whats happened since I became president. On fighting ISIS, Najib said his country would do its part to keep our part of the world safe. And he encouraged Trump to continue building partnerships in the region. The key is to support moderate and progressive Muslim regimes and governments around the world because that is the true face of Islam, Najib said. Najib has resisted calls to resign, has clamped down on critics and continues to enjoy the unwavering support of most ruling-party members, but his real test will come in general elections due by mid-2018. Senior opposition lawmaker Lim Kit Siang said many Malaysians viewed Najibs White House visit as a national humiliation and shame as he is tainted by the 1MDB financial saga. Analysts said Najib hoped to dispel the corruption scandal and secure political legitimacy with the White House visit. He can tell Malaysians that the 1MDB is a non-issue and that the oppositions message that he is unwelcome by world leaders is not true. He will also try to convey the impression that the U.S. investigation on 1MDB has nothing to do with him, said James Chin, who heads the Asia Institute in Australias University of Tasmania. Chin said Najib will also aim to burnish his Islamic credentials by seeking U.S. help to end the violence against ethnic Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. Malaysia is host to 56,000 Rohingyas. Najib will also want to show that predominantly Muslim Malaysia is still a moderate Islamic country that can work with the West in the fight against the Islamic State terror group, Chin said. __ Ng reported from Kuala Lumpur. For the Record: This story has been changed to accurately reflect the number of Sandia National Laboratories employees at Kirtland Air Force Base. Kirtland Air Force Base claimed nearly $6.7 billion in total economic impact during fiscal year 2016, nearly $1 billion less than in fiscal year 2014. More than $4 billion of that was in the greater Albuquerque area, according to a report released during Tuesdays annual meeting of the Kirtland Partnership Committee. While the local impact was around $300 million more than FY 2014 , the overall impact was down $929 million. That accounts for around 10 percent of Albuquerques gross domestic product, said base commander Col. Richard Gibbs. The bottom line is clear: While we will never stop fighting to diversify our economy, we are going to always embrace Kirtland Air Force Base and our other bases and national labs, said New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez. Theyre extremely important to our economy and to the people and to the safety and security of our country. Kirtland releases an economic impact report every other year for the previous fiscal year. The overall decrease was largely due to fewer reported expenditures, which includes contracts, purchases and construction costs, which went from $7.6 billion in FY 2014 to $6.7 billion in FY 2016. Thats primarily due to how weve been accounting for contracts, Gibbs said. When command of the base switched from Air Force Materiel to Air Force Global Strike in 2015, contracts that were retained by Materiel are now being counted by their new respective bases, he said. That money is still flowing, its just not being credited here, Gibbs said. Kirtland spokesman James Fisher said in an email that 2013s sequestration (congressionally authorized spending cuts) may also have had a part to play in the numbers. Some of the impact on payroll and expenditures had to do with long-term impacts of sequestration, and budget restrictions which were still in play for part of FY16, he said. Employee numbers and payroll showed an increase. The base including military, Sandia National Laboratories and Department of Defense contractors employs around 22,000 people. Close to half of those were Sandia employees. Gibbs said the workforce on base supported 31,500 jobs in the area. That means that Kirtland is responsible for more than 53,000 jobs in the area, or about 13 percent of the total jobs, he said. Total payroll increased by $250 million to $2.4 billion. The report was prepared by the 377th Comptroller Squadron Financial Analysis Office. An Albuquerque physicians assistant was arrested Monday for repeated sexual abuse of a young relative in northeast Albuquerque, according to a Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office spokeswoman. Deputy Felicia Maggard said James Beverly, 47, is charged with criminal sexual contact for abusing a child between March and August. James is an active physicians assistant and has contact with minors due to his place of employment, Maggard said. Beverly was arrested at his family practice office in Cedar Crest, she said. He also was arrested in 2001, in Colorado, for enticement of a child. Maggard did not have additional details on that arrest. A motion for preventative detention, filed by prosecutors in Metropolitan Court on Monday, claimed Beverly is a convicted sex offender in Utah and, in his job, treats children of the same age as the victim. According to the motion, Beverly was convicted in Utah when he tried to have sex with a 13-year-old child. The motion does not state when that conviction occurred. His history of a conviction in Utah coupled with his new crimes this year make him a flight risk, the document says. Beverly is in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center on a no-bond hold. Anyone with any information regarding potential victims of James are urged to contact detectives at 505-263-4918 PHOENIX A woman accused of embezzling nearly $3 million from two different real estate companies in Arizona and Georgia has been sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison. Federal prosecutors say 35-year-old Shana Raelisa Johnson of Atlanta received a 44-month prison term Monday and was ordered to pay more than $2 million in restitution to victims. She pleaded guilty to wire fraud in June. Johnson was indicted in March on charges of wire fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft. Between 2008 and 2016, Johnson allegedly embezzled $2.9 million from real estate companies that employed her in Phoenix and Atlanta. She allegedly used company accounts to issue fraudulent checks and unauthorized electronic transfers and used the money to buy herself luxury cars, trips and expensive jewelry and clothes. Archbishop John C. Wester on Tuesday published the names of 74 clergy who have been credibly accused of sexually abusing children, together with an apology to survivors for the pain and suffering you have endured. The disclosure marks the first time the Archdiocese of Santa Fe has provided a list of accused priests, deacons and religious brothers since the clergy sexual abuse crisis burst into public view in the early 1990s. Wester called the move a critical step in the archdioceses attempt to improve transparency and promote healing. It is my deepest hope that our publication of this list will serve as an important step in healing for survivors, their families, and our Church and communities, Wester wrote in a statement introducing the list. Brian Gutierrez, an Albuquerque man who sued the archdiocese in 2014 alleging he was sexually abused by a former priest, said he was surprised by the disclosure. Im glad it happened, Gutierrez said Tuesday. Its something weve been asking for many years. He said the list is important because disclosures from the archdiocese validate victims claims of abuse. I think for the Catholic community, its important that it is coming from the archdiocese itself, he said. I think it will be more widely accepted, to a certain extent, by the Catholic community at large. Of the 74 clergy listed, 38 were reported as deceased. Most of those listed were diocesan priests, but 19 belonged to religious orders. The list will be updated soon to include the names of the parishes where each worked, the statement says. Westers two-page statement, which was posted on the archdioceses website on Tuesday, contains robust language intended to reach out to victims of clerical abuse. The history of this terrible abuse at the hands of those who were supposed to love and protect you is a deep source of sadness and shame for our Church, he said. We as a Church must forever strive to support and assist you on your road to recovery. He also referred to additional programs and services to aid in healing and recovery that he planned to announce soon. The Rev. John Daniel, vicar general of the archdiocese, said Wester has considered ways to reach out to clerical abuse victims since he became the archbishop in June 2015. The letter is intended both as an apology, and to promote healing, Daniel said. I also think its a way for the public to know that we are transparent, and we are making efforts, and have been making efforts for 25 years, for the safety of children here in the archdiocese, he said. Many of the names included in the list such as James Porter, Sabine Griego, Jason Sigler and Arthur Perrault are familiar from dozens of civil lawsuits and criminal cases dating to the early 1990s. Other names are unfamiliar, said Brad Hall, an Albuquerque lawyer who has filed 71 lawsuits alleging clerical sexual abuse in New Mexico. Weve been trying to get something like this, as a step in the right direction, for years, Hall said. Its vindicating for survivors, he said. We appreciate this archbishop doing that, as opposed to the policies of the prior archbishops. List of priests, deacons and others accused of sexual abuse of children Google has been bringing in new features to Chromebooks quite regularly, and a new one seems to be on the way. This new feature will let you add an animated profile picture to your account. The Mountain View, California-based company calls this new feature Motion Stills named after the Android and iOS app with the same name. As of now, when users go to the Chrome OS settings menu on their Chromebooks and click on their account image, they get an option to capture a still that will be used as the profile image for their accounts. This new, upcoming option will, reportedly, be available in that very same menu. How, will these Motion Stills work, exactly? Well, according to the official changelog, 10 pictures will be taken over an interval of 1 second, which will later be stitched together and then play in a loop, which will animate them, in a way. The total animation time is said to be 1 minute, with the playback running at 20 frames per second (FPS). Motion Stills, developed by Google, is already a popular app that was released for iOS in 2016 and for Android in July this year. With its comparatively late release on the Play Store, the app saw some improvements over its iOSs counterpart with the introduction of a new feature called the Fast Forward mode. This mode lets you speed up the video from two to eight times the original speed, even if it is a minute-long video. This is in addition to the standard feature that allows you to create GIFs with three-second video loops. Having brought an implementation of the app to Chrome OS now, Google is expected to utilize this feature in a more fitting way on Chromebooks. Google didnt specify an exact date as to when this new feature will be rolled out to the stable channel of Chrome OS, but you can expect it to be arriving soon on the Canary channel. Users on the Dev and Beta channels of Chrome OS can also expect to get their hands on this new feature soon after it arrive to the Canary channel. Google is using software to extend YouTube HDR support to the Pixel and Pixel XL according to a recent statement from someone at Google. Its doing this by creating a software decoder and rendering stack that was created specifically for this purpose so that the Pixel and Pixel XL would support HDR videos on YouTube. Normally the HDR support would be handled by the hardware itself, like on the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ which Google recently rolled out an update to YouTube for so that it could enable HDR videos on the platform. Since Googles current Pixel phones dont have the hardware that takes care of this kind of thing, Google had to create a special software decoder that would do the job. In addition to creating this special software decoder for HDR videos on YouTube, Google also reportedly noted that future devices would perform even better due to having hardware acceleration, which sounds like the next-gen Pixel and Pixel XL may have hardware support for HDR videos like the LG V30, while also being able to take advantage of that new decoder and essentially improving that performance. That said Google doesnt allude to which devices it was referring to when talking about future devices, or if it plans to make this software decoder available to other OEMs for use or keep it all to itself. In any case, those with the currently available Pixel and Pixel XL should feel happy that HDR videos on YouTube are supported, just in a different way. Since this is being handled by a software decoder and rendering stack to help decode the HDR content, you wont find the HDR option in the quality settings on videos like you would on a hardware accelerated device, which means everything is probably just happening automatically instead of requiring the user to select HDR, and with that being the case you should just be able to open up any videos you want and view the content as it was intended. Whether or not it looks the same or as good as on phones with hardware accelerated HDR support remains to be seen, but having it is certainly better than not having it. Samsung has announced that its partnership with Sprint to test Massive MIMO (multiple input, multiple output) connections will continue beginning today at Fall 2017 Mobile World Congress. According to Samsung, these new tests are a continuance of Junes tests, which took place in Suwon, South Korea. As such, they will serve as a roadmap for advancing the commercial development of 5G and advanced LTE network technologies through Massive MIMO hardware. More directly, they are designed to highlight the latest milestones attainable with the technology, which can increase peak throughput by up to three times as compared to the current technology in use, as well as being able to increase peak throughput by up to eight times. Beyond that, Samsung points to a White Paper from Ovum, citing Daryl Schoolar, who says that the technology provides mobile operators with one of the most efficient ways of adding capacity to LTE networks and supporting the future generation of 5G networks. For the previous test in South Korea, the companies showed off Samsungs Massive MIMO hardware, which consisted of both vertical and horizontal beam-forming technology, across 32 antennas. That test represented a claimed four-fold increase in throughput as compared to the currently used network configurations. On Sprints network, that test showed peak speeds of 330 Mbps per channel on the 20 MHz portion of the 2.5 GHz spectrum. he companies tested Massive MIMO on the 2.5 GHz spectrum in the real-world environment. Sprint wrote test cases and scenarios, and Samsung provided the infrastructure, network design, operation, data collection, and data processing resources. The test demonstrated the high potential of Massive MIMO to deliver gigabit LTE services in dynamic, urban environments. Following these tests, Samsung says plans are in place to begin commercializing Massive MIMO solutions on LTE TDD bands as early as October 2017. Meanwhile, implementation on LTE FDD bands is slated for next year. Whether that goal is achievable remains to be seen since the implementation itself will ultimately depend on how well these and other tests continue to perform, but they are a step in the right direction. In the meantime, Samsung will be performing its tests at the Samsung Networks booth (South Hall S616), in case anybody attending the event wants to check it out for themselves. Australian firm set to cut offices, employees Slater & Gordon has announced that some of its Australian employees and offices are impacted by a strategic review of its business. The firm has issued a statement to the ASX confirming that cost reductions and structural changes will follow the review as part of a transformation plan. A consultation process has begun with impacted employees. Overall, approximately 7% of our Australian employees are impacted, the statement says. A number of office locations nationally are impacted, but the majority of our existing national office network will be maintained. The firm says that a business-wide transformation plan is necessary for the Australian business future sustainability. The UK business has been separated under the ownership of senior lenders and talks are underway with law firm BLM which may acquire that business. Global firm announces first ever charity partnership HFW is partnering with The Mission to Seafarers for a global partnership to support the charitys welfare work. The three-year deal is a first for the law firm, which recently rebranded from Holman Fenwick Willan, and will involve practical and legal support along with an annual financial donation. HFW has strong ties to the maritime community with 200 lawyers and 13 Master Mariners specialising in maritime law within shipping, explained Craig Neame, HFWs global head of shipping, offshore & logistics. The Mission to Seafarers was the clear choice to become HFWs first ever global charity partner, given the connection HFW felt with the direct welfare and emergency support it delivers to seafarers. HFW has pledged to offer pro bono legal counsel to support the effective governance of the charity and compliance with local regulations in the regions in which it works. Dentons launches global public affairs network Sixty public affairs and public relations firms operating in 100 countries have joined with Dentons for the launch of its Nextlaw Global Public Affairs Network. The platform enables firms to connect with Dentons lawyers and those that are members of the Nextlaw Global Referral Network. When we contemplate todays public affairs arena, we see an enormous opportunity to connect high-quality public affairs firms of all sizes together in a fully integrated platform, said Dentons global chairman Joe Andrew. The network has no membership fee and aims to become the largest network of its kind. Free newsletter Subscribe to our FREE newsletter service and well keep you up-to-date with the latest breaking news, cutting edge opinion, and expert analysis affecting both your business and the industry as whole. Please enter your email address below and click on Sign Up for daily newsletters from Australasian Lawyer. Looking at it from up close, its extremely obvious the Romanian company muscled up the Duster with more pronounced fender flares and chunky styling. The windshield appears to be more aggressively raked, and thats because the design team moved it forward by 100 mm to free up space.Repackaging the Duster to create the second generation translates to more room for both the front and rear occupants, as well as increased cargo capacity. The heavily-revised exterior is complemented by a much-improved cabin , the biggest highlights coming in the guise of an all-new instrument cluster and the more inspired placement of the Media Nav infotainment.The showcar displayed at the center of the stage in Frankfurt is equipped with a six-speed manual and a diesel engine, though Dacia hasnt yet revealed what sort of powertrain combinations will be made available once deliveries start in early 2018. Its safe to assume the Renault-engineered EDC automatic will be offered as well, along with the 1.2-liter TCe turbocharged four-banger.Dacia would also like to mention the newcomer prides itself on an improved 4WD driving experience and the same off-road capability that positions the all-new Duster among the markets very best. Riding on an improved version of its predecessors platform, the Duster 2 also features loads of new tech.New for Dacia , not for the industry. Whats the best the affordable Romanian crossover can offer? Well, the list includes automatic climate control, multi-view camera system, keyless entry, automatic headlights, as well as safety features such as Blind Spot Warning and curtain airbags. Its not much, but for Dacias value-minded target audience, its more than enough. In case you're not entirely familiar with these levels, five is a car that not only can drive itself at any time and on any road, but it also does away with the human-machine interface represented by the steering wheel and pedals. The humans inside are guests, and you don't ask your guests to do any of the work.Most similar vehicles shown by other companies so far could best be described as "futuristic-looking minivans," and that's because they aimed to maximize the interior space and allow passengers to engage in various activities. Think of the Mercedes-Benz F015 Luxury in Motion, for example.The Audi Aicon is no minivan. Yes, it has an incredibly short hood and similarly sized overhangs, and an almost perfectly circular roofline, but it's still a great vehicle to look at. We'd actually go as far as saying it's one of the best concepts from Audi in a long time. If this is what electric Audis will look like, then, by all means, we're ready for them.However, the electric powertrain in the Aicon is far from the vehicle's highlight. And it's not even the gorgeous exterior design. Nope, that would be the interior. With glass all around and wood-covered details that wrap around those inside, the concept feels like the cabin of a luxury yacht.The seating configuration is said to be 2+2, but it feels more like a two-seater with the possibility of picking up two more passengers occasionally. There are two individual front seats that can slide around the interior at their will for maximum comfort, plus an upholstered rear bench that can accommodate two more people when needed. The front seats can obviously turn around to allow a bit of face-to-face chatting.Of course, none of these would have been possible had the Aicon possessed a steering wheel and the pedals that go with it. The interior would have looked completely different. But just look at it: this is a car that just begs to be driven. What's the use of all that visual aggression if you can't be the one to wield it? Sorry, Audi, but you screwed up. You made the Aicon way too sexy. SUV Unlike the RSQ from 2004's I, Robot, the Aicon doesn't want people in control. So it does away with the steering wheel, the gear shifter and the pedals. It also doesn't have airbags and other safety barriers, thus freeing up a lot of space inside the cabin.But it's also very large, from one bumper to another, the concept measures 18 feet, plus or minus an inch. To be more precise with the measurements, it's 5,444 mm (214.3 inches) in length, 2,100 mm (82.6 inches) in width and 1,506 mm (59.3 inches) regarding height.At 3,470mm (136.6 inches), the wheelbase is 240 mm (9.4 inches) more extensive than that of the A8 flagship . You could park a Fiat 500 inside there. That's probably why the ridiculously large 26-inch wheels look normal.Among the things Audi has re-invented are the headlights. These don't really need to light the road, so they've been replaced with 600 very fat pixels that give out information to other cars and pedestrians.The front end design features the new inverted hexagonal Singleframe grille, which will be seen on the e-tron, and a raked back windshield. For the first time in a concept, Audi was also able to put a hard edge on the side window surfaces.You've heard of Bixby and Siri? Now meet Audi's Pia, which is described as an "empathetic electronic vehicle assistant." Hopefully, you can order the voice of Kaley Cuoco , because we don't want any strong Brunhilda-like German voices telling us what to do.Power comes from a battery found under the floor that feeds about 350 horsepower's worth of electric motors. That doesn't sound like much, but since you're not in control, it doesn't matter. The Aicon should be able to cover distances between 700 and 800 kilometers (435.0 - 497.1 mi) on a single charge and charge back up to 80% in 30 minutes. However, the Touring Package for the 991.2 GT3 can be regarded as a rear wing delete, one that comes with a few extra details.For starters, the pack comes as a no-cost option, meaning that the $144,605 MSRP of the standard GT3, if we may call it so, remains unchanged.The place of the massive GT3 wing was taken by the active aero element of the Carrera models, albeit with a Gurney Flap on top of it.The decklid now features as GT3 Touring logo, while another exterior change is the use of silver trim for the side windows, tailpipes, Porsche logo and headlight washer covers.Unlike in the case of the non-Touring GT3, the front turn signal lenses and the taillights are not tinted.However, those who prefer a black take can go for the aptly-named Exterior in Black option, which involves both the said light cluster details and the trim elements mentioned above.Purists will be thrilled to find out that the Touring Package is only offered with a six-speed manual tranny. The 500 hp, 339 lb-ft 4.0-liter flat-six is unchanged from the GT3. Nevertheless, while the 3.8s 0-60 mph sprint remains the same, the top speed is down 2 mph to 196 mph (we'll hold a moment of silence now).Stepping inside the GT3 TP, we notice that the rumors about the rear seats making a comeback are not true.However, the standard Alcantara trim of the GT3 has been replaced by plenty of leather elements. And it seems that you can't go for Alcantara even if you're willing to take a deep dive into the list of optional extras.If you ask Porsche, they'll tell you that the Touring Package traces its roots to a 1973 911 Carrera RS version, which was friendlier to the humans inside it.However, the de-winged GT3 feels like it's here to help Zuffenhausen win an important battle in the fight against speculators. After the 911 R prices skyrocketed, with the 991-unit special climbing towards $1 million, the German automaker declared war on those willing to flip their limited edition Porschas for the sake of easy money.Sure, the GT3 Touring Package doesn't pack the carbon goodies of the $185,950 911 R (this was the MSRP that its initial buyers, which were 918 Spyder drivers, had to pay). But, with its shaved posterior, 911 R diffuser and 500 hp engine, the newcomer is pretty darn close.With this month having marked the start of manual tranny GT3s, the order books for the Touring Package are now open, but the first cars won't arrive until November. SUV kWh NEDC The Czech brand has several examples to support that idea, but the Vision E Concept has to be the most eloquent of them all. It is supposed to mark the new styling direction for future Skoda models, and if we were on Volkswagen's payroll working in the design department, we'd be worried.It's not for us to say the Vision E looks better than the I.D. Crozz II , but if it were, we would. And even if you prefer Volkswagen 's take on the whole electric coupeidea, you still have to admit the Skoda looks at least just as good.It's definitely more aggressive, featuring none of that cartoonish demeanor that the I.D. Crozz II makes itself guilty of. The overall shape is identical, which means the Skoda designers found a way to make the details work in their favor.This concept marks the first all-electric vehicle wearing the Skoda badge, and with the Volkswagen Group deeply invested in its electric efforts, it should be the first one to hit the roads as well. Skoda isn't offering a precise timeframe, but with the I.D. Crozz coming in 2019, expect the Czech version to follow shortly. The company does say it will have three all-electric vehicles in its lineup by 2025, and this is going to be the first.The Vision E was first introduced earlier this year in Shanghai , and even though Skoda says it has developed its design since then, we can't really spot any differences. The powertrain is also the same - two electric motors with 306 hp in total and a rear-wheel-drive bias - with an 83battery providing enough juice for 500 km (310 miles) bystandards.The concept is also said to feature Level 3 autonomy, meaning it can take some of the tasks off the driver's hands, but they need to be alert at any time and get ready to jump in. It's essentially a fancy way of saying it has an advanced driver's aid suite.The introduction of the Vision E in the Skoda lineup will undoubtedly mark a significant moment in the brand's history, and that's not just because of its powertrain. Being a crossover coupe, it would also be the first Skoda model that is not tailored around practicality. That's almost like a new era for the Czech manufacturer: "Simply clever" is becoming "Simply beautiful." Has it gotten to the point that that ultimate gesture of privacycrashing an airplane into a treeis now suddenly a thing of the past? Evidently, judging by this video of a tree landing near Robertson Field in Connecticut this week. Its possible to draw some useful things from this viral clip. The overarching one is dont do anythingI mean anythingunless youre comfortable seeing it on YouTube because theres fairly high probability it will appear there for all the world to see. Second, does this clip answer the question of the survivability of putting one into the trees? Not entirely, no, but it does offer a useful datapoint. Is also shows that under a specific set of circumstances, a nearly 40-year-old Skyhawk has impressive crashworthiness, even as it wallows through what appears to be a textbook stall-mush. Indeed, the airplane may have been about to enter a spin just as it intercepted the tree. Look at the video closely and see what you make of that left wing drop right near the end. Tree landings, it turns out, are often survivable and this video shows why. A few years ago, I tried to develop some data to see how often they are survivable and how they compare to the survivability of water landings. The exercise was indeterminate because the NTSB files didnt provide enough detail to judge what was an intentional tree landing and what was just a crash into trees. Nonetheless, if youve ever flown over a carpet of green and contemplated what youd do if the engine quit, putting it into the forest crown is an option. This video shows that if the airspeed at impact is slow enough, the cabin and aircraft will remain intact enough to increase if not guarantee survivability. Survival or survival with injuries can turn on small things, like whether a shoulder harness is used and is snugged down securely and how much unsecured junk youve got in the back of the airplane. Think about a tow bar coming adrift and denting your noggin. Or some tiedown stakes. Or all the other paraphernalia you have in the airplane. (I once carried a 24-inch monitor and a printer.) Fire is always a worry. When I was a young pilot, the operative advice if you knew you were going into trees was to slow the airplane down as much as possible while still maintaining controlgood adviceand then aim between the trees so the wings would be ripped off, absorbing the energy. Yeah, but thatll likely open up the wings so if you survive the impact, you die in the fire. Nothing about this crashing business is ever simple. But if you walk awayor are least carried away aliveyouve illustrated the definition of victory. The pilot of the 172, Manfred Forst, had minor injuries, so he wins this weeks lottery. Members of President Trump's outside legal team believed Jared Kushner should step down, due to the scrutiny he was under from the Russia probe, and went so far as to draft a statement explaining his departure, the Wall Street Journal reports. Members of the legal team took that advice to Trump in June, per the Journal, including in a White House meeting. Trump wasn't convinced, with one source saying the president thought his son-in-law had done nothing wrong. Worth noting: The composition of the legal team has changed over the intervening months. John Dowd, who now leads the team, confirmed some lawyers wanted Kushner out but told the Journal he was always opposed to the idea. One more nugget: Per WSJ, Trump's lawyers were anticipating news of the meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer and Kushner's presence at it would emerge (it did on July 8) and "had developed talking points to manage the political fallout, including a statement that would explain a potential Kushner resignation." That statement, which wasn't used, "expressed regret that the political environment had become so toxic that what he viewed as a standard meeting was becoming a weapon for Mr. Trump's critics." Marc Kasowitz, who led Trump's legal team until mid-July, denied recommending Kushner's ouster to Trump or any other of the president's lawyers, or being aware of any colleagues having done so in a statement to the Journal. Flashback: Axios reported in July that Trump's legal team, led by Kasowitz, wanted to wall off Kushner from discussing the Russia probe with Trump because he was so caught up in the investigation. It was widely known that poisonous relations had developed between Trump's outside legal team and Kushner's lawyers. Russian politician Vyacheslav Nikonov, a member of the Duma, said U.S. "intelligence missed it when Russian intelligence stole the president of the United States." He made the remarks on a Russian panel show, "Sunday Evening with Vladimir Solovyov." The episode centered on the U.S.' diminishing power on the world stage and the resulting chaos, The Hill reports. University of Virginia professor Allen Lynch told The Hill that Nikonov's statement was directed at the idea that the U.S. must be losing power if it can't uphold the integrity of its own electoral system. Julia Davis, who monitors Russian media, first noted the comments on her Twitter account last night. The UN Security Council unanimously adopted new sanctions Monday on North Korea that came up a bit short of what the U.S. had originally lobbied for, the AP reports. The gist: The U.S. ratcheted down its demands (an oil embargo and an international asset freeze on the government and Kim Jong-un) to get Russia and China on board. The sanctions include a limit on North Korean oil imports, a limit on imports of refined petroleum products, a ban on liquid natural gas imports, a ban on textile exports, and bar countries from allowing new work permits for North Koreans. Why it matters: A U.S. official familiar with the negotiations told The Washington Post all the sanctions on North Korea combined now cover 90% of the country's exports, with the goal of bringing North Korea closer to the negotiating table. Armenia is ready, in principle, to send a demining team to Syria as part of a multinational coalition that could be formed by Russia, the Defense Ministry in Yerevan said on Monday. A top Russian military official said late last month that Armenia and Serbia have expressed readiness to join such a coalition which Russia hopes would help its troops clear landmines in the war-torn country. Moscow formally proposed its creation at the United Nations in April. The Armenian government did not immediately confirm the Russian officials statement. A spokesman for President Serzh Sarkisian said only that official Yerevan will make a statement when a decision is made and all issues are clarified. In a written statement to RFE/RLs Armenian service (Azatutyun.am), the Defense Ministry clarified that the Armenian and Russian militaries already held preliminary working discussions last year on the possibility of Armenias participation in humanitarian demining efforts in Syria. During the discussions, Armenia expressed readiness to consider possibilities of becoming involved with a humanitarian demining detachment -- in case of the launch of such an initiative, the Syrian governments consent, and observance of all international legal procedures -- in those parts of Syria where there are no ongoing hostilities, said the statement. At the moment, the Armenian Defense Ministry has no information regarding the course of the formation of the coalition, its composition and especially time frames for its deployment, it stressed. The issue was also on the agenda of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrovs April 2016 visit to Yerevan. Lavrov discussed possible Armenian involvement in demining operations in the historic Syrian city of Palmyra when he met with his Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian. I hope that our joint initiative can be implemented, he said after the talks. It is not clear whether Sarkisian and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke about Syria when they met in the Russian city of Sochi on August 23. The Armenian presidential press service said they discussed topical international and regional issues. Armenia is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Russian-led military alliance of six ex-Soviet states. 13 September 2017 00:01 (UTC+04:00) By Kamila Aliyeva Corruption cases in the government are no more surprises for Armenian people. Most recently, local media revealed that Armenias parliament became the main hotbed of this evil. Senior officials working in the parliament were accused of large-scale corruption. Zhamanak newspaper reported that several high-ranking officials of the Parliament were recently dismissed on charges of misusing the finances of the Parliament. Deputy Chief of Staff - Head of Administration Erik Minasyan, Deputy Chief of the department of finance and accounting Ruzanna Atoyan and chief accountant Suzanne Ayvazyan were dismissed. The investigation revealed that huge funds were illegally appropriated by them. The newly-elected MPs, who won the last parliamentary elections in Armenia, asked to relevant authorities to repair their rooms. However, a response from the accounting department surprised the MPs. They were told that there is not enough money in the budget of the Parliament and that the deputies' rooms will not be repaired. The newspaper reported that former Speaker of Parliament Galust Sahakyan was aware of the situation and bad habit of high-ranking officials of the Parliament. Armenia has the Anti-Corruption Council, that was set up during former Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyans term in office and later transferred to the incumbent Premier, Karen Karapetyan. However, the establishment of the Council caused wide public outcry, because it included such high-ranking officials, who, in the opinion of social and political circles, were not far from that process themselves and the number of medial publications and their property declarations testified to that. Therefore, the fight against corruption in Armenia is artificial. The 2015 report of the Transparency International Anti-corruption Center showed that Armenia is one of the most corrupt countries of the world. --- Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 12 September 2017 22:52 (UTC+04:00) By Rashid Shirinov As many as 3,868 persons went missing during the Karabakh war between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Secretary of Azerbaijans State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons and head of its working group, Ismail Akhundov, announced about this on September 12. He noted that the working group has conducted a serious work over the past two years to clarify the lists of missing persons, and today this work is completed. However, given some sensitive and humanitarian aspects of the problem, minor changes may be made to the list, Akhundov said. He noted that 3,126 of 3,868 persons, who went missing during the Karabkh war, are military personnel and 742 are civilians, including 62 children, 262women and 302 elderly people. In addition, we received data that 872 of 3,868 missing people were captured or became hostages of Armenian soldiers during intense combat action, and are currently kept in caption by them, he noted. They are 591 military personnel and 291 civilians. The civilians include 29 children, 98 women and 111 elderly people. The bloody war, which flared up in the late 1980s due to Armenia's territorial claims against Azerbaijan led to occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions by Armenian armed forces. In a cruel war, more than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. Armenia repeatedly refused to submit information regarding the fate of thousands of Azerbaijanis, who gone missing or taken hostage. Azerbaijan has many times declared its readiness to begin negotiations with Armenia to free the captives and resolve the long-standing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. However, the Armenian side keeps ignoring all attempts of Azerbaijan and international organizations, thereby disrespecting the international law and hindering the settlement of the conflict. --- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 12 September 2017 11:09 (UTC+04:00) By Amina Nazarli South Korean shipbuilders are interested in cooperation with Azerbaijan in maritime navigation. Korean deputy ambassador Kwon Dong-seok told reporters that cooperation in this area will be discussed during the forthcoming visit of a delegation of representatives of 10 major South Korean companies to Baku in September. Great attention is being paid to this area in Azerbaijan, the country is acquiring ships in large quantities, Dong-seok noted. A trade mission of the Embassy of South Korea is currently preparing a visit of representatives of Korean companies, specialized in the shipbuilding sector, to Baku. Negotiations will take place within the Azerbaijani-Korean business meeting, to be held on September 13 in Baku. Representatives of such companies as Yelim Paint Spray, Mattron Corporation, Dongsan Valve, Jin Gu Engineering, Kwangwoon, Keonsae High Pressure, Daedong Marine Tech, MSTech and others will arrive in Azerbaijan to participate in the negotiations. As the diplomat said Korean companies also show interest in industrial parks. Total trade with Korea in the 1H 2017 was $23.77 million ($146.130 export, $23.622 million import). At the time Baku was one of the largest ports of Eastern Europe. Therefore, the city has enterprises involved in all areas of navigation. The only exception was shipbuilding, since the largest and necessary tankers, steamships and much more had to be purchased from abroad. But in 2013 the problem resolved with the inauguration of Baku Shipyard LLC, the most modern shipbuilding and ship-repair facility in the Caspian Sea. This enterprise is aimed at elimination Azerbaijan's dependence on imports in shipbuilding and, finally, to modernize the Caspian flotilla. The yard is capable of constructing various vessels ranging from offshore support vessels, general cargo vessels, tug boats, crane vessels, specialized vessels and passengers vessels to tankers. It has a capacity to produce 25,000 tons throughput per annum of steel works for new buildings and able to undertake 80 -100 vessels repairs and conversion of various types. -- Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 12 September 2017 16:16 (UTC+04:00) By Sara Israfilbayova The National Fund for Entrepreneurship Support (NFES) under the Economy Ministry of Azerbaijan has begun accepting investment projects on priority development areas of the Gusar region. The Fund will accept entrepreneurs' proposals for financing investment projects on horticulture, potato farming, livestock and beekeeping farms, as well as for fruit processing plants, packaging production and a three-star hotel. Entrepreneurs can apply to the Fund through authorized banks and non-bank lenders, in accordance with the rules for using the funds of the NFES. Small projects can be fully financed through concessional loans. About 150 million manats ($88 million) will be issued for granting preferential loans to entrepreneurs in 2017. The main goal of the Fund, which was established in 1992, is to provide preferential loans from the state budget for small and medium business, in order to develop entrepreneurship in the Republic of Azerbaijan. Allocation of funds by NFES is aimed at the mitigating of the impact of global economic crisis to the national economy and minimization of its dependence on the oil sector. The country takes steps in its bid to diversify the national economy and provide for the development of entrepreneurship in the country. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 12 September 2017 17:23 (UTC+04:00) By Kamila Aliyeva The government of Azerbaijan is set to support women's entrepreneurship, while the first business incubation center for women will appear in the Guba-Khachmaz regional development center. This was reflected in a report on the evaluation of the results of the measures reflected in the Strategic Roadmap on production of consumer goods in Azerbaijan at the level of small and medium-sized enterprises" in the first half of 2017. The relevant working group under Azerbaijans Economy Ministry dealing with this issue was set up on July 13, 2017. "It is planned to support women-entrepreneurs, who work in the fields of ICT, arts and crafts, carpet weaving and other spheres," the report said. Preparatory work to organize various seminars, conferences, roundtables and other events has already begun as part of the creation of the business incubator, according to the report. These events are scheduled for September-November of the current year. Guba-Khachmaz regional development center has been operating since 2013 under the Baku Business Center LLC. President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree in late 2016 endorsing Strategic Road Maps for the National Economy and Main Economic Sectors, which outlined the short-, medium- and long-term goals for the development of the economy and eleven key sectors. The document comprises consolidated measures aimed at minimization of negative impacts of the global economic slowdown. It will allow to create a new development model basing on short-term (until 2020), medium-term (until 2025) and long-term measures (post 2025) to be implemented in different spheres of economy. The strategic road maps up to 2025 and beyond cover almost all sectors of the economy, including, development of the oil and gas industry, the manufacture and processing of agricultural products, the manufacture of small and medium entrepreneurship-level consumer goods, development of heavy industry and machinery, tourism, logistics and trade, vocational education and training, financial services, communication and information technologies and utilities. --- Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 12 September 2017 11:40 (UTC+04:00) By Sara Israfilbayova Azerbaijani products are demonstrated at the 26th WorldFood Moscow International Food Exhibition in Moscow, September 11-14 for the first time. This year, the WorldFood Moscow Exhibition will be the gathering place for upward of 1,500 Russian and foreign food and beverage suppliers from 64 countries of the world. Azerbaijan is the partner country of the exhibition, where the Made in Azerbaijan national stand is presented for the first time. Over 30 companies have been united in one exposition to offer a variety of products: from fresh agricultural products to canned goods, from natural mineral water to various alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, teas, nuts, dairy products, pastry and much more. Visitors will have the opportunity to taste local wines and appreciate the ancient Azerbaijan winemaking tradition. The collective participation of Azerbaijan delegates has been organized by the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) with the support of the Economy Ministry. Moreover, information about Azerbaijan, as being the partner country of the exhibition this year is described on the banner ads, as well as published on the website of the exhibition and on badges, fliers and promotional products distributed to the guests of the event. The visitors of the exhibition are given huge information about Azerbaijan, highlighting the fact that Azerbaijan is the exclusive partner in all the news related to the exhibition. Under the presidential order dated October 5, 2016, envisaging the promotion of the Made in Azerbaijan brand in foreign markets, all the exhibition expenses of the organization of countrys national stand at the WorldFood Moscow exhibition will be reimbursed by the state budget. Azerbaijan is keen to penetrate widely in the international commodity markets with its products branded Made in Azerbaijan. As of today, 92 trademarks of Azerbaijan are protected under the Made in Azerbaijan brand, while the countrys total outputs nears 250 kinds of products in food, light, heavy and construction industries. The brand is highly successful in regional and world markets, and Azerbaijans local output meets all the necessary standards. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 11 September 2017 16:54 (UTC+04:00) By Rashid Shirinov The case of Aleksandr Lapshin, a travel blogger with several citizenships, shows that the international laws should not be violated while proving that the unresolved Karabakh conflict creates new possibilities for hostilities. The blogger illegally visited the occupied Azerbaijani lands in April 2011, thus disrespecting Azerbaijans territorial integrity, and also crossed Azerbaijans border once again by visiting the country in October 2012 using a different passport. The blogger also called for the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh in his blog posts. Lapshin was extradited from Belarus to Baku on February 7 and sentenced for three years later in July. But, President Ilham Aliyev signed an order on September 11 to pardon blogger Alexander Lapshin, thus proving that Baku has no intention to punish anyone for the sins of Armenia, but only seeks to protect its historical lands and establish the justice. During the investigation and trial, all rights of Alexander Lapshin were secured, and all necessary conditions were created for representatives of the consulates of the countries, citizenship of which Lapshin holds, for contact with him. Azerbaijan has long ago notified the world community that unauthorized visits to Nagorno-Karabakh and other regions of the country occupied by Armenian armed forces are illegal, and any individual paying such visits will be included into Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry's "black list". Alexander Lapshins arrest and sentence showed that Azerbaijan stands for its laws, and that no crime against the country, its territorial integrity and sovereignty will go unpunished. This event will be a serious lesson for everyone who doesnt or is unwilling to respect the territorial integrity and the principle of inviolability of Azerbaijani borders, and make those who intends to resort to similar illegal actions think well in advance. Next time, those individuals who are going to break the laws of Azerbaijan and illegally visit the country's lands will have to study Lapshins story and ask themselves if they are ready to lose their freedom just for the sake of meeting with Armenian occupants in Azerbaijani lands. -- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 12 September 2017 14:23 (UTC+04:00) By Rashid Shirinov A Youth Forum under the motto Always ready to defend our Motherland has kicked off in Guzanli settlement of Aghdam region, partly occupied by Armenia, with the participation of the youth from Azerbaijan's occupied lands and frontier regions. Active youth from the occupied regions, including Khankendi, Shusha, Aghdam, Kalbajar, Lachin, Gubadli, Zangilan, Khojaly, Khojavend, Jabrayil, Fuzuli, as well as from frontier cities and regions, in particular, Tartar, Goranboy, Beylagan, Aghjabadi, Goygol, Dashkasan, Gazakh, Aghstafa, Tovuz and Gadabay attends the forum, Azertac reported. The organizers of the forum are the State Security Service, Department of Youth Policy and Sport Issues at the Presidential Administration, Youth and Sport Ministry, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of Azerbaijan, Youth Fund under the President of Azerbaijan, and National Assembly of Youth Organizations of Azerbaijan. Representatives from these agencies, as well as from the Ministry of Defense, State Border Service, Azerbaijan's State Committee for Work with Religious Associations, State Committee for Affairs of Refugees and IDPs, MPs and various youth non-governmental organizations members also participate in the forum. The Armenian invaders occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijani lands in early 1990s by killing thousands of local residents and forcing over a million of Azerbaijanis to flee from their homes in Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. Today, Armenian occupants illegally remain in the Azerbaijani territories, while the Azerbaijanis, and especially those who lost their homes and families due to Armenian aggression, are waiting for the day to return to their native lands. Azerbaijani authorities hope that the conflict can be resolved peacefully, without further casualties. However, the fact that Armenia avoids substantive negotiations on the problem in order to preserve the status quo in Nagorno-Karabakh shows its unwillingness to restore peace in the region. --- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 12 September 2017 10:00 (UTC+04:00) By Kamila Aliyeva OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Christine Muttonen addressed several pressing issues during her top-level meetings with Azerbaijani authorities in Baku. Conflict resolution, elections, and the countrys active involvement in the OSCE PA were high on the agenda of the bilateral discussions. In Baku, the OSCE PA delegation was first received by President Ilham Aliyev, who highlighted the recent initiatives put forward by Azerbaijan and the projects implemented in the country. The head of state emphasized that Azerbaijan has already become a center of multiculturalism and intercultural dialogue, saying the country is periodically hosting significant events with the involvement of various international organizations. Providing an insight into the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, President Aliyev said that Azerbaijan has spared no efforts to ensure a fair and peaceful settlement of the dispute through negotiations, while the Armenian side is interested in delaying the peace talks. Saying the OSCE attaches great importance to cooperation with Azerbaijan, Muttonen noted that the organization`s representative in Azerbaijan spared no efforts to develop this cooperation. She also pointed out the active work of the Azerbaijani delegation to the OSCE PA, saying they have put forward significant initiatives and resolutions. The sides also exchanged views on the current state and prospects of the talks on the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Given the regular violations of the ceasefire resulting in casualties on the Line of Contact, President Muttonen emphasized the urgency of advancing the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process. She noted that a failure to do so would continue to take an unacceptable human toll as well as undermine peace, stability and economic development in the region as a whole. In Baku, Muttonen also met with Speaker of the Milli Majlis Ogtay Asadov, Prime Minister Artur Rasizade, and Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov Asadov noted with regret that despite the ongoing negotiation process with participation of the OSCE Minsk Group, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict still hasnt been solved. The negotiation process can not last indefinitely, and the Minsk Group, which is engaged in resolving this issue, must take more decisive steps, he said. During her meeting with the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Republic of Azerbaijan Elmira Suleymanova, Muttonen emphasized that the establishment of a dialogue environment in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is important and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is ready to provide any help in this regard. Muttonen stressed the value of intercultural and interreligious exchanges as complementary confidence-building measures in conflict resolution. Increased contacts between civil society in Azerbaijan and Armenia could be a powerful way to reduce tensions and promote co-operation, she said in Baku, according to the OSCE PA. There is no alternative to a peaceful political settlement of this conflict, she stressed. Suleymanova, in turn, noted that the work of the OSCE Minsk Group on conflict resolution is ineffective and it is necessary to develop new mechanisms. The sides discussed the development of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the OSCE PA in the field of human rights protection. Meeting with members of Azerbaijans Delegation to the OSCE PA, including Head of Delegation Bahar Muradova and OSCE PA Vice-President Azay Guliyev, the President welcomed the active contribution of Azerbaijani parliamentarians in the Assembly. Muttonens visit to Azerbaijan is her first to the country as OSCE PA President and she noted her hope that the trip signals the Assemblys strong ongoing commitment to the South Caucasus. The Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is more than two-decade-old, but still actual. It 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 regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Today, Armenia controls fifth part of Azerbaijan's territory and rejects implementing four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions. In 1992, the OSCE established the Minsk Group in order to resolve the conflict by peaceful means. However, the organization, co-chaired by Russia, the U.S. and France, still fails to find a solution to the problem. --- Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 12 September 2017 10:10 (UTC+04:00) Azerbaijan`s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov will be on an official visit to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Lao People's Democratic Republic on September 12-16, Azertac reported. As part of the visit, FM Mammadyarov will meet with his counterparts and other officials. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 12 September 2017 10:40 (UTC+04:00) By Sara Israfilbayova Azerbaijan and the European Union have discussed the next stage of Partnership Agreement negotiations as Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met with newly appointed head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan Kestutis Jankauskas on September 11. The sides expressed satisfaction that the negotiations are carried out in an constructive manner and in an atmosphere of mutual understanding, Azertac reported. Jankauskas said that he would spare no efforts to enhance partnership between Azerbaijan and European Union during his diplomatic mission. The sides also exchanged views on energy, transport, civil aviation and humanitarian cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan. Mammadyarov briefed Kestutis Jankauskas about the negotiation process on the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, adding that this conflict and Armenia's continued policy of occupation against Azerbaijan remains the main threat to the entire region. Azerbaijan is currently part of the European Neighborhood Policy, Eastern Partnership and the Council of Europe, and is a large recipient of aid and infrastructure investment from the EU. Formal relations with the EU began in 1996 when the EU-Azerbaijan Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) were signed. This agreement entered into force in 1999.This agreement marked the beginning of a mainly positive relationship between Azerbaijan and the EU, with both sides benefitting from the relationship. In February 2017 the EU and Azerbaijan launched negotiations on a new agreement that will replace the old one. The EU is Azerbaijan's first trading partner representing 51 percent of Azerbaijan's total trade. The EU is Azerbaijans biggest export and import market. The EU's exports to Azerbaijan consist primarily of machinery and transport equipment whereas EU imports from Azerbaijan cover mainly oil and gas (98 percent of total imports). --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 12 September 2017 10:08 (UTC+04:00) By Rashid Shirinov Azerbaijans Defense Minister, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov and Israel's Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman met in Tel Aviv, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry reported on September 11. The official welcoming ceremony of the Azerbaijani delegation was held at the Israeli Defense Ministry in accordance with the protocol. The defense Ministers passed along the honor guard. After national anthems of both countries were played, ministers held a one-on-one meeting. During the meeting of delegations in an expanded format, the sides discussed issues of regional security, cooperation in the military, military-technical sphere and other areas of mutual interest. Currently, Azerbaijan and Israel have broad interaction in military and military-technical spheres. The Azerbaijani army possesses modern weapons and technical equipment for maintaining a high level of combat capability, and part of these weapons are of Israeli production. Israel has always stated that it supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan and wishes an early resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by peaceful means. --- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 12 September 2017 14:52 (UTC+04:00) By Rashid Shirinov Goods produced in the Jojug Marjanli village, liberated from the Armenian occupation in April 2016, will be exported abroad. This was announced at a meeting between Chairman of Azerbaijans State Committee for Refugees and IDPs, Ali Hasanov with Ali Ihsan Genc, Chairman of Turkish and Azerbaijani Businessmen and Industrialists Public Association, and Ahmet Tecim, President of Youth Assistance Fund, the Committee reported on September 11. Hasanov, speaking at the meeting, hailed the humanitarian assistance that Turkey rendered to Azerbaijani refugees and IDPs during the Karabakh war, and noted that the support of the brotherly country was very large. Today, after Azerbaijani IDPs have returned to the Jojug Marjanli village, Turkish entrepreneurs are again near Azerbaijanis to realize various projects in the village, Hasanov said, hailing this initiative. Ali Ihsan Genc, in turn, informed about the planned projects related to agriculture in the liberated village. He noted that the delegation had visited Jojug Merjanli, informed villagers about future projects, and listened to their feedback and suggestions. Genc further added that their goal is to support re-engaging of lands, which are appropriate for sowing but remained unused for years, and to develop livestock. Moreover, any products created in the village will be exported under the name Jojug Marjanli. In this regard, a joint working group comprising experts has been created. The group has taken samples of land that will be used in agriculture and sent them to lab. Ali Hasanov, in turn, expressed his gratitude for distribution of sacrificial meat on Eid al-Adha to residents of Jojug Marjanli, with joint participation of Turkish and Azerbaijani Businessmen and Industrialists Public Association and Youth Assistance Fund. He noted that the residents of Jojug Marjanli demonstrated to the world how much they are tied to their native lands. Jojug Marjanli village of Azerbaijan's Jabrayil region was liberated by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces from the Armenian occupation in April 2016. In late January 2017, President Ilham Aliyev ordered to restore the village. During the first phase of restoration, 50 private houses, a school, mosque, electric substation, hydrometeorological station, highway and other relevant infrastructure were constructed in Jojug Marjanli. The village was provided with gas, electricity and water supply. The second phase of construction and restoration work and work on improvement and creation in Jojug Marjanli started on June 15 this year, and currently construction of 100 more new houses is ongoing in the village. --- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 12 September 2017 18:01 (UTC+04:00) By Kamila Aliyeva The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) raised the forecast for the volume of world oil demand in 2017 by 280,000 barrels per day - up to 96.77 million barrels, according to the OPEC updated report. The world demand for oil in 2018, as expected by OPEC, will be 1.35 million barrels per day higher than in the current year, and amount to 98.12 million barrels. For comparison, in August, OPEC predicted that world oil demand in 2018 will grow by 1.28 million barrels per day relative to the indicator of this year and reach 97.8 million barrels. Total non-OPEC supply will amount to 57.8 million barrels in 2017. Non-OPEC supply growth in 2018 is expected at 1 million barrel per day, following a downward revision of 10,000 barrels per day to average of 58.8 million barrels per day, according to cartel. This is mainly due to the downward revisions in the Russian and Kazakh oil supply forecasts. The US, Brazil, Canada, UK and Congo are expected to be the key countries driving growth next year, as opposed to China, Mexico, Colombia, Azerbaijan and Oman, which are expected to see a further decline in oil supply, the report said. The cartel informed that according to secondary sources, total OPEC-14 crude oil production averaged 32.76 million barrels per day in August, a decrease of 79,000 barrels per day over the previous month. Crude oil output increased in Nigeria, while production showed declines in Libya, Gabon, Venezuela and Iraq, the report said. OPEC and other major oil producers such as Russia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Sudan, and South Sudan reached an agreement in December 2016 to remove 1.8 million barrels a day from the market. OPEC and its partners decided to extend its production cuts till March 2018 in Vienna on May 25, as the oil cartel and its allies step up their attempt to end a three-year supply glut that has savaged crude prices and the global energy industry. --- Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 12 September 2017 09:50 (UTC+04:00) By Trend Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has called on Islamic governments to exert political and economic pressure on Myanmars government to make it stop a deadly crackdown on minority Rohingya Muslims in the Southeast Asian country, the leaders official website reported. Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei said that the Islamic Republic must take clear stances against oppressions taking place in any place around the globe. He further slammed the government of Myanmar over the situation of Rohingya Muslims there and said the crisis in Myanmar is a political issue and should not be reduced to a religious conflict between Muslims and Buddhists. The supreme leader also lashed out the international and human rights organizations over their silence regarding the situation of Muslims in Myanmar. Urging the Islamic countries to take measures against the government of Myanmar, he said that practical measures dont mean military meddling. Practical measures dont mean military deployments. The Muslim governments must step up political and economic pressure on Myanmars government, Khamenei said in a message. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 12 September 2017 10:48 (UTC+04:00) By Trend Recent series of diplomatic meetings between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan in early September illustrated a significant improvement in ties between the two countries. The latest diplomatic steps are considered to be effective, first of all because of the meeting between the presidents of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Almazbek Atambayev, which resulted in an agreement on delimitation of 85 percent of borders between the two countries. The plans to raise trade turnover to $500 million was also positively welcomed by the countries of the region. Generally, there are hopes that the bilateral relations between the two countries will reach a new level of development, political analyst Venera Djumataeva told Trend. She says Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan are related even more than the other countries of the region. In Kyrgyzstan, ethnic Uzbeks make up around 15 percent of the population, and almost each of them has a relative in Uzbekistan. The same situation is with ethnic Kyrgyz in Uzbekistan. The border issue still remains one of the most pressing ones because of the historical proximity and mixed populations. Nevertheless, the benefits of a potential cooperation between the two countries are irrefutable. Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan need each other. It is about Uzbek gas, vehicles, textile, mineral fertilizers and Kyrgyz irrigation water and electricity. Uzbekistan is also interested in building a road to China through the Kyrgyz region of Fergana, said Djumatayeva. She says the greatest part of damage is experienced by the people living in both countries border territories. The tragic picture of relatives and families deprived of seeing each other and a large number of deaths of civilians stepping on mines made this political confrontation one of the most harmful and aggressive conflicts in the region. The Uzbek-Kyrgyz relations have long been strained due to a number of issues, including border, water and energy issues, although this situation appears to be changing at the moment. The meeting between the two presidents was held Sept. 5 and marked a new stage in bilateral relations. President Shavkat Mirziyoyevs visit to Kyrgyzstan was the first by an Uzbek president in 17 years. Along with the signed border agreement, the sides voiced desire to reconsider the water and energy issues which caused controversy in the past. Expectations regarding the long-awaited normalization of relations are nearing a point of realization and the resolution of the row between the significant countries of the region seems to be not far off. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 12 September 2017 12:07 (UTC+04:00) By Kamila Aliyeva Kazakhstan and Islamic countries plan to further improve ties in nuclear energy sector. Science Committee Chairman under the Kazakh Ministry of Science and Education Bolatbek Abdrasilov named scientific areas for joint research with the countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Kazinform news agency reported "Currently, Kazakhstan is actively developing its scientific research. (...) We have one of the unique nuclear reactors. It still operates. It is the Tokamak nuclear reactor at the Institute of Nuclear Physics in Stepnogorsk. I think that this facility would be very good and promising for uniting the efforts of the scientists of the Islamic world in research on nuclear power. Yesterday, the UAE representative talked about active construction of nuclear reactors in his country. In general, I believe that this is also a promising direction for research," he said, speaking at a press conference following the first OIC summit on science and technology. Another area is climate change - a serious problem that will affect all countries of the Islamic world, the chairman believes. He also informed about creation of global glaciological center of category 2 in Kazakhstan by the decision of UNESCO. "It will operate near Almaty. The center will study the melting of glaciers and water problems. It would be interesting to unite the efforts of our scientists in the issues of climate change," Abdrasilov said. Research in the field of creating new materials is underway in Kazakhstan, according to the chairman. We have a space program. We launch satellites, create new technologies, new materials, including for medicine. These are also promising directions for our scientists to move forward," he noted. Earlier, Kazakh uranium producer KazAtomProm and Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear fuel and power generation. The MoU covers the supply of natural uranium to the UAE for its nuclear power plants, as well as the potential for future cooperation in fuel fabrication, the exchange of expertise in nuclear power plant construction and other areas. Kazakhstan has been pursuing a consistent nuclear policy actively promoting peaceful nuclear power while seeking to eliminate nuclear weapons. Kazakhstan produced the worlds largest share of uranium from mines, that is 39 percent, in 2016. --- Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 12 September 2017 12:42 (UTC+04:00) By Kamila Aliyeva Russia and Turkey are discussing terms of a loan for the acquisition of Russian S-400 air missile defense system, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. Russian President Vladimir Putin is personally interested in supplying Turkey with the S-400 air defense system, local media reported on September 12 citing the Turkish leader. "Turkey has every right to ensure its own security," he said. The S-400 is Russia's next-generation air defense system, carrying three different types of missiles capable of destroying aerial targets at a short-to-extremely-long range. The weapon is capable of tracking and destroying all existing aerial targets, including ballistics and cruise missiles. Reportedly in July 2017, Turkey reached an agreement with Russia to purchase the latter's most sophisticated missile-defense system, the S-400. Under the $2.5 billion agreement Ankara would receive two batteries of the antiaircraft missile from Moscow within the coming year and then produce two more batteries in Turkey Vladimir Putin earlier stated the issue of production localization in Turkey will depend on the readiness of the industry of this country. Meanwhile, Russias Presidential Aide on military cooperation Vladimir Kozhin confirmed that Russia and Turkey have signed a contract for the supply of S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems. As you know, the S-400 is one of the most complicated systems, consisting of a whole set of technical means, thus there are many nuances here. I can only guarantee that all the decisions taken on this contract strictly correspond to our strategic interests. In this regard, we are quite aware of the reaction of some Western countries that are trying to put pressure on Turkey," he said. Kozhin also noted that there is a real queue for these systems. "These are the countries of Southeast Asia, the Middle East and some CSTO member states. There are a large number of applications as a number of countries show a substantial interest in this system," he explained. However, according to Kozhin, this is a very expensive technique, so not everyone can afford to buy it. "The currently available contracts for these systems have fully loaded the enterprises that produce them," he added. --- Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 12 September 2017 16:50 (UTC+04:00) By Kamila Aliyeva The World Bank has allocated about $8 billion for infrastructure projects of the Chinese initiative - Silk Road Economic Belt. This was stated by World Bank President Jim Yong Kim on September 12 at a roundtable with the heads of international financial and economic organizations in the "6 + 1" format, TASS reported. "The World Bank has already provided a total of about $8 billion to help develop infrastructure within the framework of the Silk Road Economic Belt. The investment, especially in infrastructure, is extremely important. The Chinese initiative of the Silk Road Economic Belt catalyzes infrastructure investments," he said. Kim noted that the World Bank will help the countries of this initiative to take maximum advantage of the opportunities provided, in accordance with their own development strategies. The round table in the "6 + 1" format with the heads of international financial and economic organizations is held in Beijing. Chinese Premier of the State Council Li Keqiang, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde, Director General of the World Trade Organization Roberto Azevedo, Director General of the International Labor Organization Guy Ryder and Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Angel Gurria attend the event. The initiative to create the Silk Road Economic Belt ("One belt - One road") was put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013. This project is aimed at creating a transport, energy and trade corridor between the countries of Central, Eastern, South Asia and Europe to intensify scientific and technical cooperation and deepen economic cooperation between states. Azerbaijan is a key link in the Silk Road Economic Belt, the Chinese vision for a route connecting Asia, Europe and the rest of the world. The Silk Road Economic Belt comprises 6 corridors which connect five central Asian countries, Iran and the Persian Gulf region, Transcaucasia, Turkey and the Saudi Arabian peninsula. Traditionally, trade between China and West Asia takes place mostly via maritime routes, and the China-Central Asia-West Asia Economic Corridor is a land-based substitute for these traditional routes. The shortest way to approach West Asia from China is via Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. --- Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 12 September 2017 17:05 (UTC+04:00) By Alan Hope The stumbling block in Americas path of becoming Great Again The 45th President of the United States of America, elected by the overwhelming majority of the countrys popular vote as well as its electorate college, a well-established businessman, author of several books and reality television personality, viewed as controversial and obscene, as much fascinating by many, Mr. Donald John Trump began his term in the office on Jan 20, 2017. Up until the month of Aug he had issued more than 42 executive orders and 51 presidential memoranda, some argued to be objective, while others questionable, and yet, America is still anticipating the fulfillment of Trumps campaign promises. Some political circles, overlooking the consequent international and domestic crises, on top of the constant staff reshuffling faced by the administration, had already proclaimed Trump to be a lame duck, slow-paced by his inability and incompetence to govern. Notwithstanding, there seems to be a real stumbling block obstructing Trumps endeavor to Make America Great Again. "Cui bono?" It all has started on Mar 17, 2016, when several notable conservatives, gathered together by Erick Erickson and Co, had met at the Army and Navy Club in Washington D.C. incepting the Stop Trump Movement. The consensus on the prevention strategy was reached, followed by the political action committees (PAC) dark money accumulated million dollar expenditures aimed against Trumps GOP nomination the Republican National Convention in July. The Movements battlefield-dropped-flag was quickly picked up by the Hillary Clinton supporters, stung by their candidates unanticipated loss to Donald Trump. Same supporters were instrumental in the launch of the FBI investigation, based on the US intelligence agencies conclusion of the Russian governments alleged interference in the 2016 election. Playing The Delegitimization Card, yelling the battle cries, such as Resist! and Not my President, the Movement masked as a resistance campaign continued on by rallies, turning ever violent. Meanwhile, the campaign was fueled by the funds from the Democratic Partys Priorities USA Action super-PAC and substantial financial contributions of other sympathizers, including, among others, none other than George Soros, one of the worlds most successful financial speculators and richest people. The same infamous George Soros self-admittedly spent $27M to oppose George Bushs 2004 re-election and had poured $13M in support of Hillary Clinton. The same Soros, who after Trumps victory, had announced his Open Society Foundations (OSF) $10M initiative, aimed at the support of the communities potentially targeted by hateful acts related to the Trump agenda, in support of the Democratic Alliance looking to fund numerous groups to combat Trump's policies. The very same Soros, who at the World Economic Forum in Davos, had described Trump as an impostor and a con man and a would-be dictator. Who is Mr. Soros? A Hungarian born, naturalized American citizen, Gyorgy Schwartz, presently George Soros (87) had, as a teenager, bared a witness to a Nazi occupation of Hungary in 1944. Being of Jewish origin, he had managed to conceal his true identity in an environment where an estimated 500,000 Jews were slaughtered within the 10 months occupation. Though, its been widely reported on his participation in Hungarian Jews assets seizures, its hard to imagine that a 14-year old boy would collaborate with Nazis of his own free will. In 1947, Soros had immigrated to England. He studied at the London School of Economics earning a Bachelor (1951) and then a Master (1954) degrees in philosophy. At that time, riding the coattails of Karl Popper, Soros had development his Reflexivity Theory, arguing that, that market values are often driven by the fallible ideas of participants, not only by the economic fundamentals of the situation. Soross post-graduate business career started to shape up by 1969, when he set up the Double Eagle hedge fund. Nonetheless, his relative success was smudged by the allegations of insider trading practices brought by the French stock exchange regulatory authority COB investigating Soross 1989 stock acquisitions of four French companies including Societe Generale, Suez, Paribas, and the Compagnie Generale d'Electricite. French Supreme Court convicted Soros on insider trading charges and ordered him to pay the penalty to 940,000 in 2006. Soross appeal was rejected by the European Court of Human Rights in 2011, on the grounds of his awareness of the risk associated with insider trading law violations. Notwithstanding, Soross true star had shone on Sept 16, 1992, wider known as UKs Black Wednesday. Prior to that day his Quantum Fund was building a short position in UK sterling against the German mark. As an end result, Soros was estimated to make $1B, while sterling lost 15% and 25% vs the mark and the US dollar respectively. Later, dubbed as "the man who broke the Bank of England, Soros had attributed his success to the implementation of his Reflexivity Theory. Ultimately, UK was forced to withdraw from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), which, despite the strong economic recovery and significant fall of unemployment rate, was seen as an economic failure, triggering the defeat of John Majors Conservative government in May of 1997. Same year, Soros had pulled yet another rabbit out of the hat, when he bet against Thai baht and Malaysian ringgit, ultimately causing the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The latest Soross stunt, dated to 2013, had caused 17% devaluation of the Japanese yen, while his family investment fund had returned 10%, profiting another $1B. Philanthropy? Ha! Throughout the years increasing reports have indicated not only Soross somewhat questionable and unethical business practices, but pointed his indirect involvement in the meddling of political establishments of the Eastern European countries and the former Soviet states. Though no actual evidence of his personal financial gains had been presented to the date, his political aspirations have been steadily pouring through his benevolence related donations to the non-governmental organizations (NGO). Soross fascination with NGOs is best explained by Alexis Tocqueville statement that, organizations that are neither commercial nor governmental play the role of voluntary associations identifying and promoting public interest issues. Thus, the combination of enormous financial resources, summed up with Soros financed NGOs, which in turn attract thousands of activists through social networks and media outlets enables him to push his so-called non-violent democratization for the less fortunate states. At the center of Soross so-called philanthropy stands the 1984 established OSF, with current annual budget of nearly $1B. OSF, initially dedicated to the construction of vibrant and tolerant societies, whose governments are accountable and open to the participation of all people, as stated on the foundations website. Nevertheless, topping that with an international media organization that publishes and syndicates commentary and analysis on a variety of important global topics, as well as distributes its products to wide network of partner publications for print like Project Syndicate (as of 2016, it has a network of 459 media outlets in 155 countries) Soros gets a platform to launch his long-standing passion of a social change. The foundation, together with its subsidiaries, became instrumental in Soros operations related to the overthrow of the legitimately elected governments. For this purpose, he utilizes time proven script consisting of Delegitimization of the government, followed by Criminalization of the society and Devaluation of the sovereign currency, the ultimate result, going to the motive of the whole operation as personal gain. This had been witnessed lately in FYR Makedonia, where the OFS created crisis centering on abuse of power, involving illegal wiretapping, forced the resignation of the Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski. The sentiment of Soross involvement was echoed by Hungarian leader Viktor Orban, who also blamed Soros for causing trouble and influencing Hungarian politics with his money in the view on the foreclosure of the Central European University in Budapest, calling for the "de-Sorosization purge." The latest had occurred on the eve of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus visit to Hungary on July 18, 2017. It should be noted, that technically a Holocaust survivor, Soros had been known for his incomprehensible anti-Semitic stance. In his interview to The New Yorker magazine he openly declared that, his mother was quite anti-Semitic, and ashamed of being Jewish, continuing, given the culture in which one lived, being Jewish was a clear-cut stigma, disadvantage, a handicap-and, therefore, there was always the desire to transcend it, to escape it. Soross view on the Israel existence as a state is also equivocal as, he doesnt deny the Jews their right to a national existence, but dont want to be a part of it. In the wake of the abovementioned visit Israels MFA had classified Soros as a person who continuously undermines Israels democratically elected governments by funding organizations that defame the Jewish state and seek to deny it the right to defend itself. So, what has Soros been involved in lately? It seems that failing in his wars against the Mafia States of his former fatherland, namely Europe, George Soros had turned his eyes to his new homeland the United States. Its been already proven that Soros financed NGOs were active participants of the anti-Trump initiatives. His financial infusions into the radical and extremist elements operating on US soil are currently being investigated by law-enforcement agencies. On top of that, Soros, famed for his liberalism, had shown that he has no moral issues funding the adversary camp, donating $100,000 to Sen John McCains legacy foundation. As of late, Soros, who had previously left the management of the Soros Fund Management, LLC to his son, is back at helm of the investment company, restructured from the Hedge Fund into a family office. Upon return, the billionaire has matched up his investments in line with his prognoses of the future market falter due to uncertainties concerning Trump, acquiring a number of positions, which are likely to profit if the financial markets stumble. Basically, Soros, who according to the Wall Street Journal had sustained a loss of $1B as a result of Trumps victory, is actually playing to short the United States. Thus, its fair to argue that Soros, within his long-devised and tested script, is playing Delegitimization and Criminalization cards, aiming for the Devaluation outcome, basically declaring an all-out war on Trump. One could describe this trend in the behavior of a person as borderline psychopathic and would hope that this vengeful pursuit of one diminished dignity would not outcome in another JFK scenario or the one resulting in Civil War. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz First up, Joe Biden is thinking about dropping tariffs against China. But theres a spy in prison this morning that helps us understand why he shouldnt. Ill explain. Your second brief, If youre looking for a good paying job, you might consider being a CEO for a health insurance company. One executive made $142M dollars last year. Let's talk about that. And as always, Im keeping an eye out for developing stories. Put this one on your radar. Mexican cartels are grooming American kids online and paying them cash to traffic illegals or run drugs across the border. Ill share details. If you enjoyed this episode of the President's Daily Brief, remember to subscribe and listen daily at podfollow.com/pdb. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Opinion | 04 November 2022 | Interviews India needs to connect OPD with the cashless insurance network to bring them into the digital economy After having raised $1.2 million from Entrepreneur First and GrowX Ventures in 2021, how do you see the perfor...Read more Parineeti Chopra Is Giving Us Travel Style Goals Bollywood Wardrobe Dona It is known already that the bubbly and beautiful Bollywood actress Parineeti Chopra has been selected as Australia tourism's brand ambassador. Parineeti is lately on a vacation in Australia and her travel style books are defitinely something which you would like to grab off her wardrobe. Among her latest looks, we liked two of them and we are listing them down here. One of her looks was in a blue cold shoulder frock dress by Ankita Choksey which she wore with Lulu & Sky rainbow flats and rounded shades from Opium. The other look was cooler where she was striding on the streets of Sydney in a set of street style casuals. She wore a white tee with black chinos, black leather jacket and a black scarf. The monochrome style book was worn with furry camel boots. Ripped Jeans Was The Twinning Style Code For These Celebs At The Airport Bollywood Wardrobe Dona Last night, Kriti Sanon and Shilpa Shetty were twinning over distressed jeans at the airport. Both of them were carrying sassy style books. Both had set out for different travel destinations but each of their looks had a swanky touch. Kriti wore a white tee labelled "Eggceptional" which she wore with a highly distressed pair of blue jeans. Her set of airport style casuals was too cool. Shilpa was travelling with family, carrying an uber cool look. She was wearing a white distressed jacket with a dark biege tee and deep blue distressed jeans. She completed her travel look with a pink and black scarf, wide shades, tan coloured bag and a pair of bling shoes. Following the July days, Russia entered a period of reaction. The Bolsheviks were arrested in the hundreds and the advanced workers were under attack. Meanwhile the bourgeoisie regained its confidence and took an ever more open counterrevolutionary position. This mood began to galvanise around the commander-in-chief, general Kornilov, a cossack general determined to drown the revolution in blood. The revolution made progress, forged ahead, not by its immediate tragicomic achievements but, on the contrary, by the creation of a powerful, united counter-revolution, by the creation of an opponent in combat with whom the party of overthrow ripened into a really revolutionary party. (Karl Marx, The Class Struggles in France, 1848-1850) Had the Bolsheviks not seized power, the world would have had a Russian name for Fascism five years before the March of Rome. (Leon Trotsky, Stalin) There is a way of fighting the subversive forces which can rally the masses of the people, properly led, to value and wish to defend the honour and stability of stabilized society ... the necessary antidote to the Russian poison. Hereafter no great nation will be unprovided with an ultimate means of protection against the cancerous growth of Bolshevism. (Winston Churchill on the rise of fascism in Italy, The Times) Following the July Days, the Social-Revolutionary Alexander Kerensky became Prime Minister and his reformist government of SRs and Mensheviks issued a series of oppressive measures against the Russian masses. Key divisions of the Petrograd soldiers were disarmed and many regiments were disbanded or sent to the front. There were also attempts to disarm the Petrograd workers, but they largely resisted. Hundreds of arrests were made and the death penalty was reintroduced for dissidents on the frontline. The treacherous Soviet leaders attempted to justify these measures to the Soviets under the pretence of a threat from the right. In fact, these actions were taken in service of the Russian bourgeoisie and actually emboldened the forces of open reaction. The events of June and July demonstrated that the government of compromise was unsustainable. The reformists had felt the full force of the Petrograd masses, indignant at their leaders inaction and subservience to imperialism. On the other hand, they were now coming under immense pressure from the liberal Cadet Party and even more zealous reactionaries to discipline the revolution by force. Instinctively, these so-called leaders of the working class leaned on the bourgeoisie to avoid meeting to the demands of the masses. Having exhausted more timid military bureaucrats in the failed July offensive, with the aim of restoring order Kerensky appointed a Cossack General, the arch-reactionary Lavr Kornilov, as commander-in-chief of the Russian army. Kornilov set out conditions for his appointment which hinted at what was to come: Responsibility only to his own conscience and the people; no interference in the appointment of the high-commanding staff; restoration of the death penalty at the rear. Among these conditions, the SR-Menshevik governments main quibble was with responsibility to the people. Meanwhile, government ministers were negotiating behind the scenes to persuade bourgeois Cadet politicians to rejoin them in power. At the same time, Bolshevik centres had been raided, their printing presses had been destroyed, there were arrest warrants for Lenin, Kamenev and Zinoviev, who had been driven into hiding, and Trotsky and Lunacharsky had been arrested. Even Lenin was preparing for a considerable period of reaction in Russia as had happened after the 1905 Revolution, his own capture and possible execution, and the potential decimation of his party.But events were to transform much more sharply in a different way. In mid-August, a state conference was held in Moscow (at a safe distance from the vanguard of the masses in Petrograd) with the expressed aim of uniting all the forces in society, from landlords and capitalists to Black Hundred thugs and monarchist zealots to the workers and peasants of the Soviets, behind Kerenskys government. The conference backfired, only serving to condense the irreconcilable class divisions of society within a single room. Feeling confident after the partial victory over the Petrograd masses, the bourgeoisie were in no mood for compromises. They were determined to crush the revolution once and for all. The focal point of this radicalisation of the possessing classes became General Kornilov. In this endeavour, Kornilov (and the bourgeois counterrevolution) had the full cooperation of Kerensky. Kerensky aspired to crush the revolution with the help of Kornilov in order to rise as a bonapartist dictator. Kornilov and the bourgeoisie however, could not see any need for Kerensky once the soviets had been crushed. On the other hand, a general strike in Moscow during the course of the conference signalled the regrouping of the working class following the repression of July. The Bolshevik Party faced heavy repression, yet its consistent opposition to the government and the correctness of its slogans meant that it grew exponentially on the ground as the class struggle picked up again. The two fundamentally opposing classes were heading for a direct confrontation. A group of Russian generals, led by Kornilov and with the full knowledge of Kerensky, hatched to a plot that would result in the excuse they needed to openly attack the revolution. The generals planned on deliberately allowing the German army to break through the Russian line and then take the city of Riga in Latvia. At the same time provocateurs were supposed to either provoke the Petrograd masses or otherwise pretend to be Bolsheviks ravaging the city. Thus, Kornilov could march on Petrograd in order to restore order and crush the so called Bolshevik German agents and the Provisional Government which was supposedly acting under Bolshevik pressure. The programme of the generals and the Cadet Party was a full restoration of order, that is the abolition of soviets, factory committees and soldier committees. They also demanded the reintroduction of the death penalty, not only at the front, but also for workers who sabotage in any way the working of industries which had anything to do with the war effort - at that point that was nearly all of industries. Anger heightened among the masses as they saw through this plot. Under pressure from below even most of the SR and Menshevik leaders began to speak out against the officers and suggested that a conspiracy had begun with the July offensive. Kerensky was more than ready to meet Kornilovs new demands that he should be allowed to come down on the soldiers in the strongest possible terms. However, with class struggle simmering in Petrograd, he was worried about the response of the workers and soldiers in the capital. Kornilov was duly asked to send a cavalry corps, among the most backward elements of the army, to Petrograd to control the streets. Kerensky knew what he was risking with this request but he felt safer dealing with a Cossack general than with the Petrograd working class. Yet Kornilov was not beholden to this spineless head of government. He had been preparing an all-out assault on Petrograd since the beginning of August, the most reactionary garrisons of the army into position ready to strike. And Kerensky had given him the opportunity he needed. Kornilov wasted no time in tearing up the terms of agreement he had with Kerensky and setting an attempted coup in motion. What he hadnt reckoned on what no one involved or watching on among the ruling class had reckoned on was the strength in number and resolve of the highly-organised, Bolshevik-led Petrograd masses. Compared to Kornilovs forces, the workers and soldiers of the capital were a colossal force, determined to defend the revolution at any cost. At the first sign of danger they immediately convened meetings of the district soviets and organised a powerful workers militia. Kerensky, seeing that his own life might be in danger, had no option, but to turn to these masses and their Bolshevik leaders for help. The same Bolsheviks who had been so viciously slandered by Kerensky and other reformists only a month earlier, were now being brought in as the only people who could mobilise the masses. Of course none of the Bolsheviks in the prisons were freed. Neither was the arrest warrant for Lenin rescinded. Nevertheless Lenin and the Bolsheviks seized this opportunity to call for a united front of all workers parties, regardless of differing lines on other questions. Kornilovs insurrection was no match for the Russian working class. The insurrection was declared on 27 Once Kornilov had declared the insurrection, on 26 August (old style calendar), the full forces of the working class were ready to take him on. Within three days, the coup had disintegrated. The Kornilovists had their telegraphs intercepted by the telegraph workers, their trains were either stopped or rerouted and a swarm of agitators surrounded them in every town, village or train station they reached. As the truth about the mission dawned on the Kornilovist troops, they began to break along class lines. The insurrection disintegrated without firing a single shot. The Kornilov putsch, while itself an abject failure, did sound a warning for the Russian Revolution. It made clear to the working masses, in the starkest terms, that vacillating government of compromise had absolutely no control over the situation. The only real alternative to the workers and soldiers taking power into their own hands through the Soviets was the most rabid form of reaction, a bloodthirsty Bonapartist general supported by the pro-tsarist elements of the army and gangs of Black Hundred fascists. Such a figure would rear its ugly head again after 1917 in the form of Alexander Kolchak among others, during the Russian Civil War. It is safe to say that if the Russian working class had not had a highly-organised revolutionary party with a clear and far-sighted leadership, in the form of Lenin and the Bolsheviks, a Kornilov or a Kolchak would have drowned the Revolution in blood. What happened elsewhere to revolutionary Europe over the following two decades, where a series of fascist governments came to power on top of failed revolutions, bears out this theory. Following the insurrection, the counterrevolutionary forces came under immense attack by the masses. Within the army a massive rebellion took place and Kerensky had no other option but to eventually arrest Kornilov himself. Meanwhile, what little authority Kerensky and the leaders of the reformist parties had left disintegrated quickly. While the Bolsheviks had stood with the masses all along, it was obvious that Kerensky and his band of invertebrate reformists had been responsible for the repressions carried out since July, and had leaned on the workers and soldiers only at the last minute to save their own skin. The leading role that the Bolsheviks played in organising the defence of Petrograd in the committees, garrisons and militias, as well as in agitating among Kornilovs forces outside of Petrograd, had ensured that the coup never stood a chance. It shored up their position as the heirs apparent to the leading bodies of the Soviets, and thus the Russian working class as a whole. In one Soviet after another, the Bolsheviks, who were only a tiny minority in February, started winning key votes and positions. Having participated in the defence of Petrograd, the Bolsheviks never supported Kerensky. They heavily criticised him for not only failing to defend the revolution, but also for being party to the plot itself and for forming an ever closer alliance with the counterrevolutionary bourgeoisie. There remained no middle road. The only alternative to bloody counterrevolution now, was the transfer of power to the working class and the peasantry. This was now abundantly clear, not only to the Marxists, but also to the masses. The actions of the Bolshevik party during the July days and in the fight against Kornilov, had welded an iron bond between the party and the masses. This was the fundamental political and organisational precondition for the victory of the October revolution. After Kornilov, all the attention of the party and the masses was focussed on the immediate preparations for taking power. QBE Group's chief executive John Neal is stepping down after leading the insurance giant through a "challenging" five-year period, in the face of investor frustration over the company's performance. Mr Neal will be replaced by the head of its Australian and New Zealand business Pat Regan, an appointment that was welcomed by investors, amid bets Mr Regan would take the axe to costs and rationalise the sprawling business. John Neal. Credit:Louise Kennerley The outgoing chief will step down at the end of this year, having led QBE during a period in which the company has failed to ditch its reputation for springing negative surprises on the market, despite efforts by Mr Neal to simplify QBE. QBE has in recent months been under renewed pressure from the market after unveiling more surprises including a poor performance in its emerging markets business, and disappointing market guidance at its results last month. George Calombaris' hospitality empire says it will reimburse underpaid staff within a month, following criticism of the compensation scheme which included social media attacks on the celebrity chef. Fairfax Media revealed last week that Mr Calombaris' company, Made Establishment, had told former staff they could be forced to wait until June 2018 before receiving back-pay for missing wages and entitlements. Last month Made Establishment chief executive Troy McDonagh told former employees that the deadline would be extended by 12 months because "the total number of individual investigations we have taken to properly and accurately assess each claim is substantially greater than what we first anticipated". The delay had frustrated the Fair Work Ombudsman, and sparked a campaign of abuse against Mr Calombaris, which included signs posted around Melbourne's CBD with a photograph of the Masterchef star under a headline which read: "Does this guy owe you money?". Private investors are swooping on industrial properties offloaded by their former owner-occupiers. In Tottenham, just five kilometres from the Port of Melbourne, a high net worth Sydney investor has paid $16.75 million for a purpose-built container park on a tight 5.9 per cent yield. This container park at 215-221 Sunshine Road in Tottenham has fetched $16.75 million. Credit:Urban Angles The vendors were the former Hoffman Transport directors Philip Hoffmann and Ian Arkinstall who redeveloped the property. Hoffman Transport was sold to Gresham Private Equity in 2008 and is now part of Silk Logistics Group. The 215-221 Sunshine Road property was sold with a six-year lease and five-year option to specialist container supplier SCF Group, which pays $1 million a year in rent. Investors are circling the revitalised North Sydney office market as vacancy rates decline as new infrastructure developments absorb older properties. The owners of 75 Miller Street, Property Bank Australia and Security Capital Corporation, are testing the market appetite with price expectations of about $50 million. The office tower at 75 Miller Street is on the market for about $50 million. Credit:Mark Merton There has been an extensive change of property ownership in North Sydney with an array of private and institutional investors entering the area. This has also led to an improvement in the leasing sector. The 4930-square-metre property is being sold through Knight Frank's Tyler Talbot and Dominic Ong and CI Australia's Bevan Kenny and Chris Veitch. A dried-out creek above the Dendrobium mine in the Special Areas. Credit:Julie Sheppard The report stressed its findings related to just the single monitoring site above the 3B area of the mine, and that "a number of gaps and uncertainties" remain. Still, the fracturing over longwall number 9 was "100 per cent of the cover". Dams need a review Among its recommendations, the consultants called for a review of the water balance for nearby Cordeaux Reservoir, and a "more thorough analysis of the potential connection" between mine areas and that dam. The front gates of the Dendrobium mine at Mount Kembla earlier this month. Credit:Adam McLean Similarly, it called for additional monitoring between the Area 3B and Avon Reservoir, and a review of "the potential current and future impacts of continued mining" on that dam. WaterNSW, the government agency which manages the catchment, supported the "Height of Cracking" report and a related summary as "comprehensive and accurately" representing the state of current understanding "of this critical issue". "WaterNSW considers the report's key recommendations should be incorporated into the assessment of mining applications," a spokesman said. (See map below of the Dendrobium longwall mines.) 'Grave' finding Peter Turner, a mining spokesman at the National Parks Association, said WaterNSW's assessment was "very disappointing" because it failed to address the severity of the impacts raised by the PSM consultants. Dr Turner also noted Planning had withheld the Dendrobium reports from WaterNSW, the Office of Environment and Heritage and the community without explanation for months and was still holding back two other long promised reports. A freedom of information application for two earlier reports has been refused. "The two yet to be released reports provided the basis for the Department's December 2016 approval of two more longwall extractions at Dendrobium. Like the then new mining approved in February 2013, the recent mining was again approved without an appropriate groundwater impact assessment." "It's now clear why Planning withheld these reports from WaterNSW, OEH and the community for as long as they could," he said. The released reports confirm a direct association between rainfall and water inflow in all four mining areas at Dendrobium Mine. "The catchment impacts are grave, extensive and some are much more severe than had been anticipated and warned of by the community, WaterNSW and the OEH." Dr Turner said it was "hard to imagine a clearer demonstration that the Department of Planning values the very limited returns from the coal beneath the Special Areas far more than the integrity of Sydney's primary public health asset, its drinking water catchment". A spokesman for South32 said it was examining the report: "We will continue to engage with government agencies and other key stakeholders to ensure continued compliance with consent conditions, to provide ongoing employment to 400 people who are part of the local community, and to continue to supply our customers with premium quality metallurgical coal". The most recent end of panel mining report, though, put the number of staff at 265. Fairfax Media sought comment from the Planning Department. 'Wilful ignorance' Mehreen Faruqi, the Greens environment spokeswoman, said it was "common sense" not to allow mining in a city's catchment. "The NSW government approving experiments in longwall mining is wilful ignorance," Dr Faruqi said. "The report shows that no one really knows how much water is being lost. This is the complete opposite of the precautionary principle." A spokesman for the NSW Minerals Council said the PSM report "focused on one specific area of mining and the details are a matter for the company involved". "Generally speaking subsidence prediction is good and continually improving," he said. "The Southern Coalfield is NSW's only major source of hard coking coal, which supports the local steel industry, supports thousands of jobs and brings in billions of dollars of export income to the region and the state," the spokesman said. Loss to come Dr Turner said that the Dendrobrium mine's inadequate monitoring system suggested the impacts don't appear yet to have caused substantial water leakage from the Cordeaux and Avon reservoirs. Still, "there can be no doubt losses will increase and that the approval of further mining would add to the risk of major water losses", he said. "Infamously distinguishing it from the other mines in the Special Areas, the more than two kilometre-long longwall Dendrobium extractions 400 metres or so below the surface are exceptionally wide at 300 metres and exceptionally thick with coal seam cutting heights of up to 4.6 metres," he said. A metropolitan tier of government could help regional Queensland areas plan more effectively for development and growth, an urban planning expert has argued. Griffith University's Tony Matthews said state governments and councils worked together to manage urban planning in Australia. A new report has investigated the inequalities in fast-growing outer suburbs across Australia. Credit:Rob Homer "If you really want effective regional planning, you want a metropolitan government," Dr Matthews said. ... So say the south-east Queensland metropolitan government," Dr Matthews said. "So say the south-east Queensland metropolitan government. The public will soon have the chance to trek through Brisbanes underground reservoirs, open up the secrets to the mysterious Masonic memorial centre, or go behind the scenes at Brisbane historic aerodrome. The keys to all these mysterious buildings and more have been handed over to the public for the eighth annual Brisbane Open House weekend. More than 90 venues are listed on the program, with about a third of them new in 2017, including the contentious government building at 1 William Street. 1 William Street, the so-called 'Tower of Power', will open its doors to the public as part of Brisbane Open Day. Credit:Tammy Law Queensland government architect and event chairman Malcolm Middleton said the event would give people an opportunity to visit places they had always intended on seeing. Brenden Bennetts told a friend "I am a threat" the day before he allegedly murdered Gatton schoolgirl Jayde Kendall, a court has heard. Bennetts, now aged 21, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter but is on trial in the Brisbane Supreme Court for murder as he denies he intended to cause Jayde's death. A court sketch of Brenden Bennetts. Credit:Travis D. Hendrix/AAP The jury has heard Bennetts is believed to have killed the 16-year-old less than two hours after he picked her up from school on Friday, August 14, 2015. The court heard on Tuesday Bennett was speaking to a girl in England via Facebook in the days leading up to Jayde's death. A security guard who was stabbed five times in an unprovoked attack in a classroom at a private girls' school in South Brisbane early Wednesday morning originally thought the offender was a cleaner. The man allegedly responsible for stabbing the 51-year-old guard at Somerville House remained on the run on Thursday but police said he was known to them and they were confident he would be found soon. Police are searching for Khia Gribben, pictured, in relation to the stabbing at a Brisbane school on Wednesday morning. Credit:AAP Khia Gribbin, 25, was last seen getting out of a taxi at Lutwyche Shopping Centre just after 6am. It was alleged he attacked the security guard in a classroom at Somerville House about 5.25am on Wednesday. Queensland Deputy Premier Jackie Trad has ruled out cancelling the contract with Canadian company Bombardier over its problematic NGR trains, saying doing so would be a huge waste of money. Ms Trad joined Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Maryborough Labor MP Bruce Saunders on Monday to announce local rail company Downer EDI had been awarded almost $8 million in rail maintenance projects, and preferred tenderer status for a further $62 million in coming rolling stock overhauls. Jackie Trad was asked whether tearing up the Bombardier contract was an option. Credit:AAP Those contracts are for regional rail services including the Westlander, Spirit of the Outback and Kuranda Scenic Railway, however major overhauls are under way on the NGR trains at a facility in Ipswich. Fifteen of the 75 ordered have been delivered over the past year, with the government halting any more until major design faults are worked out. Two former university students who were unsuccessfully sued for racial discrimination may be a step closer to finding out how the Human Rights Commission handled their case. Calum Thwaites and Jackson Powell, who were last year taken to court by Queensland University of Technology staffer Cindy Prior, had their final hearing against the federal Information Commissioner in Brisbane. Calum Thwaites (pictured) and Jackson Powell were last year taken to court by Queensland University of Technology staffer Cindy Prior over discrimination charges. As well as seeking $250,000 under section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, Ms Prior also complained to the Human Rights Commissioner (HRC) about the pair and a third student, Alex Wood. That came after they posted comments on social media about the university's indigenous-only computer lab in 2013. A drug and alcohol counsellor who advocated for drug trafficker Frank Madafferi, enlisted slain gangland lawyer Mario Condello as a volunteer counsellor and gave favourable evidence for a senior Finks bikie has been charged with trafficking cocaine and lying to the court to help his patients stay out of jail. Corruption investigators charged Order of Australia recipient Anthony Dieni, who works at St Paul's Prevention Rehabilitation centre, on Tuesday morning. Slain gangland lawyer Mario Condello. Credit:Nic Kocher Allegations against Mr Dieni, 69, of Keilor Lodge, include stealing $164,000 from his clinic, accepting drugs as payment and providing a urine sample from a third person in a drug test of one of his patients. Mr Dieni faced the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday afternoon on charges of trafficking a drug of dependence, perverting the course of justice, perjury, and theft and dealing in the proceeds of crime. Big business is making money from our bodies. It is doing this without our knowledge or consent. The medical profession is pimping us out on behalf of shareholders. In terrifying news this week, it turns out that Virtus Health, which focuses on assisted reproduction such as IVF, gives its high-performing doctors a bonus if they do more than 400 cycles of IVF a year over three years. That's more than 1200 eggs; 1200 hopes and fears. IVF can be a cruel, debilitating and intrusive process. It's no secret: it's in Virtus' annual report, where it describes itself as a leading global provider of assisted-reproductive services. That should make us all very concerned about the commodification of our bodies. What's a cycle? It's an IVF treatment that includes the harvesting of eggs, the fertilisation of those eggs and the transfer of fertilised embryos. Virtus says an IVF treatment cycle is considered complete once all fresh and frozen embryos from the initial stimulated cycle have been used. London: After days of debate, the "great repeal bill" that sets the stage for Brexit has won a major vote in the UK parliament. However up to a dozen Conservative MPs are expected to table amendments to the bill which has been criticised by opponents as a "power grab" by Theresa May's government. The 66-page EU Withdrawal Bill seeks to copy and paste all EU laws into British statute books at the moment of Brexit, so UK citizens, businesses and courts can be certain what rules apply the next day. But thousands of pieces of law will need modification to survive the transition and in order to avoid having to pass every such law through Westminster the bill includes so-called 'Henry VIII' powers that allow government ministers or even civil servants to make the necessary changes. The Murdoch family's failings on corporate governance and editorial compliance are due to be raked over by competition watchdogs after the British government signalled a major expansion of the investigation into their 11.7 billion ($19 billion) takeover of Sky. The controversial deal faced new uncertainty on Tuesday as Karen Bradley, the Culture Secretary, announced that she had changed her mind over the need for a full examination of 21st Century Fox's commitment to broadcasting standards. Rupert Murdoch at the US Open tennis tournament on Sunday: Could his takeover of Sky be thwarted for a second time? Credit:AP She told British MPs there were "non-fanciful" concerns that full Murdoch control of Britain's dominant pay-TV operator could damage the public interest in maintaining standards on screen. The move shocked investors, who sent Sky shares sliding to their lowest level since Fox made its approach in December. The sell-off exposed market fears that the Murdochs could once again fail to acquire the 61 per cent of the company they do not yet control. Country United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe Published On Sep 12, 2017 By CarDekho for Tata Zest The Zest XMA automatic undergoes a minor surgery as it goes for its first service after joining our long-term fleet. Read on to know what we had to replace 10 months into driving our Zest diesel AMT long term vehicle, the Tata has formed an endearing relationship as my daily driver. I have driven it for over 3,500km, mostly to office and back through Punes painfully slow-moving and often erratic traffic, with the AMT gearbox taking the stress out of my 20km-long to and fro commutes. After the first showers of this years monsoon, some problems came to surface. The engine was sounding slightly gruff, gearshifts werent as smooth as they used to be, and the tyres were squealing a lot upon braking. A quick inspection at the authorised service centre pointed out the problem - the brake pads had worn out and needed replacement. Since the Zest was due for service in a months time anyway, I decided to turn the vehicle in for an early service. The overall cost of servicing the Tata Zest worked out to be Rs 10,434 (after taxes) for the major service which we requested. The extra amount paid, about Rs 5000, was incurred for replacing brake pads, coolant, wheel balancing and alignment (see picture for bill details). Know more about Tata Zest service schedules and costs here. Post the service, the car has returned to its original glory. The brakes have fresh bite and the gears shift just when you want them to. Mileage figures continue to hover around the 15kmpl mark, which is decent, but newer compact sedans in the market like the Maruti Dzire and Hyundai Xcent promise to offer better efficiency. Driving the Zest in the rain has thrown light on some other issues that I didnt know existed. The headlamps, for instance, are not the brightest, and feel inadequate, especially during squalls post dusk. Also, it appears, the windshield wiper blades need replacing - the current units are unable to cope with heavy rains. One of the things that I have begun to appreciate in the Zest is its rear seat space. Out for a dinner night, my friends preferred to travel in the Zest instead of their proper midsize sedan. The Zests back seat feels surprisingly more spacious and my three friends sat behind without brushing shoulders. Post rains, Punes roads are riddled with potholes but as the Zest sailed smoothly over it all the rear seat occupants were all the more impressed with it. While the pliant suspension did the trick for them, it was the high ground clearance that put me at ease. Cementing the big sedan experience was the Harman infotainment system. Usually during my long, solitary drives the audio quality of the system is utilised only to tackle calls. However, this night the crisp quality was soundly appreciated. Pairing to my Android phone is buggy at times but once connected, it works flawlessly. The Zest is set to leave our long-term fleet now but it has already been replaced by Tatas newest offspring, the Tigor. Comparisons with its bigger sibling are inevitable and though the Tigor appears to be a strong package, theres one limitation that sticks out immediately - it doesnt give me the comfort of an automatic just yet. Wondering what was our opinion when we first got our hands on this car? Read here. Logbook Date acquired: September 2016 Total km to date: 22,500km Efficiency: 15.2kmpl Costs: Rs 10,434 What We Like: Ride quality, Rear seat space, Audio system What We Dont: Insufficient storage spaces, Inadequate headlamp illumination Words: Ajit Menon FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: In Atlanta, Soyia Ellison, soyia.ellison@cartercenter.org In Monrovia, Meaghan Fitzgerald, +231 (0) 88 136 7189 Read the Pre-election Statement MONROVIA As Liberia moves toward its third post-conflict election and a historic transfer of power, the Carter Centers international election observation mission today released a statement on the process to date, which includes recommendations to ensure a peaceful, credible election. For the first time, Liberias National Elections Commission is managing the election process independent of large-scale international assistance. After acknowledging some technical difficulties in the compilation of the voter lists, the NEC continues to work on finalizing the voter roll. Although the NEC is still in compliance with legal deadlines for its finalization, presidential candidates and political party officials have expressed concerns to The Carter Center about its status. Following President Ellen Johnson Sirleafs tenure as the first elected female head of state in Africa, hopes were high for the participation of women in Liberian politics. Unfortunately, womens participation in this election is limited. Only two parties successfully ensured that 30 percent of their candidates were women. Overall, political parties expressed measured confidence in the impartiality of the NEC. In an effort to bolster transparency, the NEC has convened regular meetings with the political parties at the national level through the Inter-Party Consultative Committee. This practice does not seem to be consistently replicated in the counties, where it could offer a valuable channel of communication and dispute resolution. Presidential candidates and political party officials have also raised concerns regarding the perception of bias in the media and the need to pay for coverage. Although the Center is not engaged in systematic media monitoring, it has noted a lack of a regulatory framework to provide electoral contestants with equitable access to the media. Official campaigning has only just begun, with a few major rallies in the capital and minimal activity observed in the counties. Despite the limited extent of campaign activity so far, the Center is encouraged by its peaceful and positive character, as well as by the commitment to a peaceful election professed by all the candidates with whom the mission has met. The Carter Center notes with concern that allegations of the misuse of state resources in the campaign are widespread, and will be closely observing this throughout the process. This election is an important stage in the consolidation of Liberias democracy, said Jordan Ryan, vice president of the Carter Centers peace programs. The Center is encouraged by the NECs progress and by the peaceful conduct of the campaign to date. We urge the NEC to communicate clearly with the parties, and we encourage the parties to continue their cooperation with the NEC and maintain their commitment to peace. The pre-election statement is based on the work of the Centers core team and six long-term observers, who have been in the country since early August and have now visited 13 of the countrys 15 counties. Shortly before election day, more than 30 short-term observers will join the team in Liberia and deploy across the country to assess the voting, counting, and tabulation processes. In the spirit of support and cooperation, the statement offers a number of recommendations, including: To increase transparency and election stakeholders confidence in the integrity of the voter lists, the NEC should provide further information on what has been done to address deficiencies in the provisional list and provide political parties copies of the final lists without delay. In furtherance of its goal to have women participate in the administration of the election, the NEC should prioritize the recruitment of women at all levels. To ensure a level playing field for all contestants, the NEC and other relevant authorities should thoroughly investigate all allegations of the misuse of administrative resources and use existing remedies to hold perpetrators accountable. To increase voters awareness of candidates and political party platforms and to allow for equal opportunities, Liberian authorities should consider providing free airtime on the state broadcaster to political parties and presidential candidates on an equal basis. To facilitate broad sharing of key electoral information, the NEC should consider replicating the IPCC structure at the county level. Further, the national-level IPCC should become a weekly event. This could ensure more effective outreach to election stakeholders and build confidence by keeping stakeholders informed of key NEC decisions and issues that may impact their participation. Most importantly, in promotion of a smooth transition, candidates and political party leaders should reiterate their commitment to running a peaceful campaign and call on all supporters to act accordingly. Related Resources Carter Center Pre-election Statement on Liberias 2017 Election (PDF) ### "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. Butra HeidelbergCement launches new brand of cement 12 September 2017 Butra HeidelbergCement (BHC) Sdn Bhd, the only cement producer in Brunei Darussalam, has expanded its product line under the Brunei Cement brand with the launch of the 52.5 Brunei Cement. Brunei Cement, a combination of clinker, gypsum and slag, is readily available nationwide in more than 80 per cent of the hardware retail outlets in Brunei Darussalam. A launch ceremony for the new cement product held on 6 September was attended by BHC Managing Director, Marcelino Ugarte, together with Pg Anak Haji Jaafar Ibni Al-Marhum Pg Pemancha Pg Anak Haji Mohd Alam, BHC Board of Directors, and Kevin Gluskie, CEO of Asia Pacific HeidelbergCement Group. Among those who attended the event were His Excellency Peter Wolff, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Germany to Brunei Darussalam, YB Ong Tiong Oh and various prominent key figures of the local construction industry. Speaking at the event, Mr Ugarte said: We are grateful to His Majestys Government for its support and cooperation in helping us thrive and flourish as the only local cement producing company since 1996. We are committed to bring forth more innovative products in the future. The market is changing and the demand for more quality product to support the local construction industry is growing. Therefore we believe the launch of the new 52.5 Brunei Cement is timely and will bring positive effects to the construction landscape and beyond. Published under Sanghi Cements plans floating cement terminal 12 September 2017 Sanghi Cements is considering setting up a floating terminal at Kochi Port as part of expanding its coastal movements to south Indian markets. A team from the company is scheduled to travel to Kochi to firm up plans on the project. Once the project becomes operational, Kochi Port will be the first major port in the country to have a floating cement terminal, AV Ramana, deputy chairman of the port, said. Sanghi Cements has similar facilities in the minor ports of Kutch and Navlakhi in Gujarat and Dharamtar in Maharashtra, the report published by Business Line (India) noted. Kochi Port is also in the process of commissioning further automated cement bagging units. Apart from the three units operated by Ambuja Cements, Ultratech and Zuari Cements, two more companies are setting up bagging units: Penna Cement by November this year and Malabar Cements by March 2019. Published under CNBM & Sinoma merger could complete by year-end 12 September 2017 China National Building Material Group Co (CNBM) said that it will complete merging with China National Materials Group Corp (Sinoma) by December or early next year. The announcement came after nine subsidiaries of the two groups suspended trading last week. Various media outlets, quoting business insiders, indicated they were accelerating the merger. The merger was first unveiled in August last year after the State Council, or Chinas Cabinet, approved the deal. The exchange ratio has been set at one Sinoma share to exchange for 0.85 CNBM share. President of CNBM, Cao Jianglin, described the share ratio as "reasonable," adding that it takes into consideration the companies' historical stock prices, status of operations and future developments. The merger will see CNBM acquiring Sinoma's shares, with the latter delisted from the Hong Kong stock market. Published under Hawaii is a dream destination. The water is warm, the weather is sunny, and the people are incredibly kind and authentic. But while youre enjoying all the luxurious amenities the island has to offer, its important to not step on the toes of those kind, authentic people. Are you guilty of any of these things that locals judge tourists for? 1. Disrespecting the beaches Stanson Chung grew up on the island of Kauai, and he truly embodied the Hawaiian spirit in a call with The Cheat Sheet. Hes easygoing, sweet, and full of life all at the same time. When asked about what locals judge tourists for when visiting the beautiful islands of Hawaii, the first thing he said was, How they treat our beaches. He said its always so unfortunate to see a big flurry of tourists enjoying themselves, having a good time, only to leave heaps of rubbish behind. He said its something he and his friends always keep an eye out for so they can keep things clean and do what they can to protect the surrounding wildlife. When spending a day at the beach, make a point to pick up all of your trash. In fact, make like a local and leave the beach better than you found it. 2. Touching wildlife Another thing Chung mentioned was that tourists shouldnt be touching the wildlife. He said its not uncommon to see tourists try to pet sleeping monk seals, which often frequent the island shores (Theyre the official Hawaii state mammal). Tourists definitely shouldnt touch or pet these animals, as theyre one of the most critically endangered species in the world. According to the Kauai website, monk seals are often very tired and are in need of a great deal of rest. Thats why youll see them sleeping on the beach, protected by yellow caution tape. The islands are doing their best to keep these creatures protected. Do your part by leaving the local animals alone, along with other wildlife on the do-not-touch list, such as sea turtles, humpback whales, and various types of fish. 3. Stepping on the coral According to To-Hawaii, coral reef endangerment is a serious problem, especially when it comes to tourists. The site says things like urbanization, overfishing, alien species, marine debris, and recreational overuse are harming the reef. Additionally, theres a big problem with tourists stepping on the reef as they swim, snorkel, and play in the water. Stepping on the coral, even briefly and lightly can harm or even kill the reef. So be mindful as youre enjoying taking a dip in the beautiful, warm waters of Hawaii. Put those snorkel masks to good use and make sure youre not stepping on anything you could potentially harm. 4. Not trying new foods Why go to a new place if youre not going to get a little adventurous with the food? Staying in your resort and pounding down pineapple teriyaki chicken burgers is yummy, but venture a little deeper into the island to find the good stuff. Not sure where to start? Ask a local about their favorite spots. Youll definitely get something you wouldnt have been able to find by yourself, and your stomach will thank you for it. 5. Honking As youre driving down the peaceful, ocean-lined streets of Hawaii, be sure to roll down your windows and take in the natural sounds of the environment around you. Hear anything? No, you dont, because people dont honk in Hawaii. Nothing will make you stick out like a tourist more than some road rage. The Huffington Post says, People in Hawaii are exceptionally friendly drivers its part of the aloha spirit. So keep your road rage to yourself and try throwing a shaka instead. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. 6. Stopping traffic to take pictures Dont forget that these roads are for locals, too, not just tourists. Your ride to the beach is someone elses daily commute. Honolulu resident Landess Kearns urges tourists to be mindful when driving in this Huffington Post article: Theres nothing more frustrating when youre late for a meeting than being stuck behind a slow-moving vehicle thats taking photos out the window. Dont stop traffic to take pictures and take in the scenery. Use common sense. Pull over, and enjoy the gorgeous sights the island has to offer while not being in the middle of the road. 7. Speeding One more driving rule: In addition to not honking, Hawaiians tend to not speed, either. Its all a part of the island lifestyle. Tailgating, road rage, and cutting people off is pretty rare on the islands of Hawaii. You traveled to Hawaii to relax anyway, right? Leave the stressful driving tendencies at home. 8. Leaving the sunscreen in the hotel After a taking a long flight, getting settled in the hotel, and exploring the surrounding area, every Hawaii visitor typically wants to do one thing: Check out the beach. But be warned: If you spend your first whole day at the beach without constantly reapplying sunscreen, you will get sunburned. Even if you feel like you have a pretty solid base tan, the Hawaiian rays are a lot stronger than you think. Smarter Travel has a few tips for getting in the sunscreen mindset. If a thick initial application and top-ups every 90 minutes in the sun seems like a vacation buzzkill, try reframing it this way: Youre on vacation. That means youre not spending days replying to work emails (if you are, we need to have another conversation), youre not running errands, reorganizing the kitchen cupboards, or commuting. Most of your time is dedicated to fun and relaxation. So consider this the one thing on your to-do list. 9. Sticking to your resort Part of traveling to Hawaii is exploring what the islands have to offer. A lot of locals will tell you that theres nothing wrong with staying at your hotel and relaxing thats what the islands all about! But, as youre packing up to go home after a week of relaxing by the pool, I bet youd also regret not going out and exploring at least a little bit. Again, if youre not sure where to start in terms of must-see locations on the island, your concierge will most definitely be helpful. But youll get the really good stuff by asking a local! 10. Not renting a car Failing to rent a car for your Hawaiian vacation is a classic rookie mistake. Its hard to do any of the islands of Hawaii without renting a car because theres so much to see and take in. Lots of Hawaiian travel packages even come with car rental deals, so be on the lookout for deals that offer both. Just dont bet on zooming through the car rental process once arriving. Smarter Travel says it can be a time-consuming ordeal. Patience will be key, but there are certain steps you can take to expedite the process. Join the rental agencys loyalty program before you go; that will likely entitle you to stand in the shorter line or allow you to skip the line altogether and head straight to your car, they advise. 11. Surfing where you shouldnt There are tons of great places to learn how to surf in Hawaii if youre a beginner. But once youve taken a lesson or two, dont be so bold to venture out to a surfers beach. Not only is it dangerous for you, but its dangerous for the pros as well. Stick to the beginner beaches while youre trying to get better. Learning to surf in Hawaii is a blast, but if youre catching waves among locals, make sure you respect the rules of surfing. Most importantly, dont catch a wave someone is already riding, Kearns advises. 12. Luau madness Hawaiian luaus are rooted in tradition. According to Aloha-Hawaii, in ancient times, Hawaiians held traditional feasts to celebrate special occasions (like the birth of a baby, successful harvest, or victory in battle). It was a way to honor and thank the gods for all their good fortune. Today, you can find luaus all over the island. Theyre a great way to learn about Hawaiian culture, taste some delicious traditional Hawaiian food, and celebrate another day in this beautiful state. However, be on the lookout for overly tourist-oriented luaus. If youre going to attend a luau, you want to do it right. A good way to sniff out whether a luau is worth it or not is to check out whats offered on the menu. If the menu skips on traditional dishes like kalua pork, salmon, and poi, youre probably better off looking elsewhere. 13. Not being careful Another pet peeve of Kauai local Chung is when tourists arent mindful of the dangers of the island. Hawaii has tons of warning signs like flash flood warning, steep cliff, strong currents. But Chung says its not uncommon for tourists to feel particularly adventurous when on their Hawaiian vacations, which can sometimes lead to accidents. We want you guys to have fun, he says. We just want you to be careful, too. 14. Thinking resorts are the only places to stay Resorts are not your only option when staying in Hawaii. If youre looking for luxury, resorts are the way to go. But if its not at the top of your list, there are plenty alternatives. If waterslides and swim-up bars arent must-haves for you, you could also consider staying in a condo (cooking your own meals here and there could save on food costs), at a farm stay, a hostel, or a bed and breakfast. According to Smarter Travel, Hawaii recently made it on the list of BedandBreakfast.coms fastest-growing destinations for B&Bs. 15. Failing to adopt the Hawaiian spirit Lastly, Chung urges tourists to take in and breathe out the island spirit. If something youd like isnt available at a restaurant or store, let it go. Use it as an opportunity to try something new. Relax, be good to people, dont worry, he says. James Franco portrays Tommy Wiseau in The Disaster Artist, but had Wiseau gotten his way, Johnny Depp would have led the film. Franco and Wiseau have been conducting a variety of interviews at the Toronto International Film Festival this week, and in one with Vanity Fair, Franco revealed that Wiseau suggested Johnny Depp play him during their first phone call. I laughed, Franco said. And he said, Why are you laughing? I said, I dont know, dude. Hes a big movie star. Hes in Pirates of the Caribbean. Then Greg [Sestero] said, What about you, James? So the team behind The Disaster Artist never even bothered approaching Johnny Depp, probably aware of the fact that they likely couldnt afford him even if he wanted to do it. James Franco was also already hoping to play Wiseau himself, though he did not reveal that during the first call. When Greg Sestero suggested that Franco should star in the film, Tommy Wiseau was fine with it. He said, Yeah, James, Ive seen your stuff. Youve done some good things, some bad things,' Franco told Vanity Fair. In a separate interview with The Los Angeles Times, Tommy Wiseau revealed that he trusted his story to James Franco because he is a big fan of the 2002 Nicolas Cage film Sonny, a crime drama that received almost universally negative reviews at the time of its release. Because this movie, you have everything there, Wiseau said of Sonny. Drama, you have comedy, you have sexuality, you have relationships, you haveall kinds of different detailed stuff. Detail, detail, detail. The Room, people laughing this, laughing thatwe also have detail, detail, detail. Thats why your movie, I knew that I said, Youll be doing a good job.' Franco in this interview expressed his surprise that Sonny was the one movie in his entire filmography that Wiseau latched on to. I had no idea when I did Sonny and five people watched it, that one of those five people would be Tommy, and that that would leave us to here, Franco said. The Disaster Artist tells the story of the making of The Room, which is considered to be one of the worst movies ever made. Its based on the book of the same name, which was written by The Room co-star Greg Sestero. While the book reveals some fascinating behind-the-scenes tidbits about the making of the movie, it also goes into detail about the unlikely, strange friendship between Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero, and based on the first full trailer for The Disaster Artist, it appears that the film adaptation will have the same focus. Also starring in The Disaster Artist are Dave Franco, Seth Rogen, Josh Hutcherson, Zac Efron, and Alison Brie. The movie will hit theaters on December 1. Christchurch's Anglican cathedral to be rebuilt, six years after deadly earthquake A decision in New Zealand has been made to rebuild Christchurch's Anglican cathedral, six years after it was badly damaged in a deadly earthquake. Large sections of the late 19thcentury, neo-Gothic building collapsed in the 6.3-magnitude quake in which 185 people were killed and the South Island city's downtown area was levelled in February 2011. The cathedral's future has been the subject of debate since 2013, when a temporary church on the site was made out of cardboard. The Anglican Church sought to tear the structure down and start afresh on cost grounds, claiming that the restoration estimate of more than NZ$100 million ($73 million) was prohibitive. But heritage groups, who welcomed yesterday's decision, challenged the Anglican position in court, arguing that the cathedral was an intrinsic part of the city's historical fabric. A compromise was finally announced over the weekend which capped the church's liability in the rebuilding process. 'People are overjoyed and delighted with the decision,' Restore Christchurch Cathedral co-chair Mark Belton told AFP. 'From our point of view sanity has been restored.' Belton added that to have demolished the historic cathedral precinct would have 'ripped the heart out of the city'. He went on: 'This will allow a wound to be healed.' Heritage New Zealand's Claire Craig said the restoration was 'a significant milestone in the redevelopment of the city...With so much heritage lost following the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes, the recovery of the city's defining landmark will be welcomed by locals and visitors alike.' Work is scheduled to begin before the end of this year, and the Church expects the rebuilding process to take up to a decade. Jewish groups in Sweden appeal against neo-Nazi march Sweden's main organisation for Jews is appealing a police decision to grant the neo-Nazi Nordic Resistance Movement (NRM) permission to stage a march near a synagogue in Gothenburg on September 30, according to the Swedish paper The Local. The march is set not only to pass near the synagogue, but also to fall on the same day as the major holy Jewish holiday Yom Kippur a day of atonement observed by fasting and prayer. 'It's the day of the year when many Jews who normally don't go to the synagogue will gather there. On this day, the police have decided to grant the neo-Nazi Nordic Resistance Movement permission to march through Gothenburg, no more than a stone's throw away from the synagogue,' Aron Verstandig, chairman of The Official Council of Swedish Jewish Communities, and Allan Stutzinky, chairman of the Jewish Community in Gothenburg, wrote in an opinion piece in the daily newspaper Svenska Dagbladet. 'Aside from out of fear for our own security, it evokes uncomfortable associations for us Jews. During the Holocaust it wasn't unusual for the German Nazis to conduct their horrendous atrocities on the most important days of the Jewish calendar,' they added. The NRM had initially sought permission to stage the march on one of Gothenburg's main avenues, Kungsportsavenyn, but were only granted the permit after they changed the route. 'Let them stay in the periphery, where they belong,' Verstandig and Stutzinky wrote. Several counter-protests are expected to demonstrate against the NRM. Earlier this year, the anti-racism group Expo said that the NRM was the driving force behind a surge in neo-Nazi activity in Sweden in 2016, with widespread distribution of propaganda in the form of stickers and flyers. Expo researcher Jonathan Leman told The Local at the time: 'They're at the most extreme end of this white supremacist area. There's a lot of crime associated with them, they have a relationship with violence.' Pope Francis talks acid attack victim out of euthanasia The victim of an acid attack who planned to die by euthanasia has changed her mind after talking to Pope Francis in Colombia. Consuela Cordoba had planned to end her life with the assistance of a doctor under the country's euthanasia laws, but when she met the Pope to ask for spiritual permission he refused to give it. 'You are very brave and very pretty,' Francis told her, prompting her to change her mind on the spot, declaring that she wants now to live. Consuela was badly injured in 2000 when her former partner Dagoberto Esuncho threw acid in her face. She said in a 2012 interview: 'I had perfect teeth, I was very pretty. But now, I'm destroyed. I've thought about committing suicide. I say to myself, why live? With a life like the one I have, what for?' Consuela has undergone 87 operations and needs tubes in her nostrils to breathe, can only eat liquid food and needs to wear a mesh body suit at all times. After she was recently diagnosed with a brain infection, she and her doctor agreed to end her life on September 29. However, she decided to ask Pope Francis for permission when he visited Colombia last week, and was selected to talk to him. The pair hugged before Consuela asked him whether she could end her life. 'He said "no", he was not going to do it. He told me that I was very brave and very pretty,' she said. 'That changed my life. Now I want to live. 'Dr Gustavo Quinonez was going to give me the injection, but I'm not going to do it because God is going to bring greatness to my life.' She added: 'I am going to tell Dr Gustavo thank you very much for your injection, but it is for another.' St Peter's bones 'found in ancient church in Rome during restoration work' Bones attributed to St Peter have been found inside an ancient church in Rome during routine restoration work, according to reports. The apparent relics of the Apostle, who is regarded by Catholics as the first Pope, were found in clay pots in the Church of Santa Maria which dates back 1,000 years and is situated at Cappella in the district of Trastevere, a medieval warren of cobbled streets on the banks of the Tiber River, The Telegraph reported. The discovery was made when a workman lifted up a large marble slab near the medieval altar in the church, which has been closed to the public for 35 years because of structural problems. He found two Roman-era pots with inscriptions on their lids indicating that bone fragments were inside belonging to St Peter, along with those of three early Popes Cornelius, Callixtus and Felix and four early Christian martyrs. The workman immediately notified the church's deacon, Massimiliano Floridi, who told the Italian television channel Rai Uno: 'There were two clay pots which were inscribed with the names of early Popes Peter, Felix, Callixtus and Cornelius. I'm not an archaeologist but I understood immediately that they were very old. Looking at them, I felt very emotional.' According to The Telegraph, it had been known for centuries that the relics might exist, with a stone inscription in the church claiming they were kept alongside a fragment of a dress worn by the Virgin Mary. The remains have been handed over for further study by the Vatican, which said that it was too early to comment on the discovery. 'We're waiting for a detailed study to be undertaken,' said the deacon. 'A DNA comparison between these bones and those kept by the Vatican would shed light on the issue.' It is not known how or why the relics would have come to be interred in the Church of Santa Maria in Cappella, which was consecrated in 1090. One theory is that, at a time of schism within the Catholic Church, they were transferred there from the Vatican by Pope Urban II. Urban faced a challenge from an 'anti-pope', Clement III, who had set up a rival power base in Rome, backed by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV. The church in Trastevere was closely linked to Pope Urban and may have been seen by him as a secure place in which to hide the bones, according to The Telegraph. St Peter is believed to have been crucified, upside down, in Rome in the first century AD. His remains were interred in a tomb on the Vatican Hill, where the Emperor Constantine later built a church, which was replaced by the current basilica in the 16th Century. After the Second World War, archaeologists discovered a funerary monument there with a casket built in honour of St. Peter and an engraving in Greek that read 'Petros eni' 'Peter is here'. The remains were forensically examined in the 1960s, with experts concluding that they belonged to a man in his early sixties who lived in the first century AD. Pope Paul VI declared them the bones of St Peter in 1968. Pope Francis publicly unveiled the bone fragments during a Mass in 2013, the first time that the nine pieces of bone encased in a box inside a bronze display case had ever been displayed in public. The Big Lottery Fund has appointed new heads of regional funding across England, as part of its drive to make itself more of a local funder. BIG said yesterday that it has appointed seven regional heads, with one more yet to come. And it will be tripling the number of staff working locally. As part of its Strategic Framework, launched in 2015, the Fund held conversations with communities across the country to understand how National Lottery funding can support people to create the changes that they want to see, BIG said in a statement. Building its local presence, the Fund is tripling the number of staff working locally to help realise its ambition to put people in the lead. This will bring teams closer to the people and organisations best placed to make a difference in their communities. The heads of regional funding will be responsible for all strategic and operational delivery within their respective regions. This includes developing relationships with local stakeholders and overseeing staff across the region who will have a base for outreach but spend the majority of their time out in communities. The seven heads are: Abdou Sidibe, head of regional funding, Yorkshire and the Humber, who joins the Fund from the Childrens Society. Having started his career as a practitioner supporting refugee children and young people in Leeds, he went on to manage services across Yorkshire. He brings with him 14 years of experience working in the UK voluntary sector. Duncan Nicholson, head of regional funding, North East and Cumbria, who joins the fund from Rathbone UK, where he focused on strategic and corporate partnership management in the North East of England, Scotland and Wales. Duncan brings senior level stakeholder engagement, a real understanding of the region, and a passion for community development. Elly de Decker and Sacha Rose Smith, heads of regional funding, East of England, London and the South East. Sacha joined the Fund in 2009 and has worked in various senior funding and policy roles. Prior to this she worked in regional voluntary sector infrastructure, providing support to organisations focusing on equalities and human rights, throughout the South East. Elly joined the Fund just over two years ago to lead the development of the HeadStart programme, which supports young people's mental wellbeing. Prior to this she worked in venture philanthropy, and she also has experience in humanitarian aid and international development. Matthew Poole and Nicola Thurbon, heads of regional funding, Midlands. Matthew has worked at the Fund for just over two years, overseeing the Talent Match programme which supports young people furthest from the job market, and the Youth Investment Fund, co-funded with the Office for Civil Society. He previously worked in the voluntary and community sector, and local and regional government. Nicola joined the Fund in 2006 and has held a variety of roles from grants officer to heading up the local team across England. Before this Nicola worked for a community arts charity, writing funding bids for its community and multi-million pound capital project. Thomas McCulloch, head of regional funding, South West, who joins the fund from Action for Children, where he held a range of leadership positions, most recently overseeing a large team of members and volunteers across multiple locations in the region. Changes in wording and language can either positively or negatively affect how the public views controversial charity issues, according to a new guide published by NCVO. The National Council for Voluntary Organisations has today published a communications toolkit for charities to help inform responses to charity issues that the public are concerned about on its website. The guide was draws on focus group research conducted by consultancy Britain Thinks, and says the language charities use around controversial issues, or in the face of crises, can either positively or negatively affect public views on the issues. NCVOs research showed that, when talking about controversial issues, the public wanted charities to acknowledge concerns, be transparent in a proactive way, give examples of behavioural change, demonstrate impact, use simple language as opposed to management speak and not use facts and figures to make your case. Templates The guide also sets out some templates for charities to help discuss issues including high chief executive pay, whether or not donations are spent on administration, and questions around why do charities hound people for money, particularly vulnerable groups like the elderly. The research also found that the public prefer words like volunteer boards rather than trustees, for example, as many people are not familiar with the term trustee, and feel it gives an instinctively negative impression of trustees as rich people. A spokesman for NCVO said of the new guide: Some small changes to the language we use can have a powerful effect on how a message is received. It can take some extra effort to use simpler language and the right tone, especially when dealing with dry matters like finance and pay, but our research suggests its definitely worthwhile. Theres no single solution to securing public trust, but speaking in language the public understand and appreciate is an important element. The spokesman also said that the need for such a guide came out of some of the issues faced by charities, in particular around fundraising in the last year or so. He said NCVO were conscious that for lots of charity communicators, they're mainly talking about their issues, and they know how to do that effectively. But when it comes to talking about how their organisation itself is run, that's something they will do less often and may feel less comfortable with. The guide is available to be downloaded in full on NCVOs website. A new Inclusive Economy Partnership has been launched by government in partnership with charity and business leaders, and will make a limited amount of funding available to tackle social challenges. The first meeting of 14 chief executives who make up the advisory group took place yesterday and was chaired by the Culture Secretary, Karen Bradley. The lead government departments will be the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the Cabinet Office. Sir Stuart Etherington from NCVO, Peter Holbrook from Social Enterprise UK and Dawn Austwick from the Big Lottery Fund are among those on the advisory group. The full list is provided below. The aim of the group is to address issues relating to financial inclusion and capability, mental health and transition to work. Over 80 people have joined working groups relating to those three areas to come up with solutions to tackle the issues. Last October the social investment and finance team at the Office for Civil Society was rebranded as the inclusive economy unit. Help to scale up existing work The Inclusive Econompy Partnership website said solutions that address the challenges are eligible for support and funding to scale up their work to address the three main areas. Between January and March 2018 businesses and civil society partners will work with successful applicants to expand their work and that those without enough resources will be granted up to 20,000. The fund is being managed by Nesta and the deadline to apply is 12 noon on 4 October. More information is available here. Hugely positive first meeting Bradley said: It was a hugely positive first meeting to kick start the Partnership which will help us build a stronger and fairer society. This Partnership brings together key leaders from the business sector and civil society world and working together we can help make a real difference to peoples lives. Holbrook said: Were delighted that social enterprise has been recognised as a key driver in creating a more inclusive economy. They are businesses designed with the DNA to tackle inequality, create social good and have a vital contribution to play in addressing the challenges the Partnership is set up to look into. Im looking forward to working with colleagues from across sectors to identify how collaboratively we can build a fairer economy. The advisory group will meet at least twice a year and will last for between three and five years. Its members are: Olly Benzecry, managing director of Accenture UK & Ireland Sacha Romanovitch, chief executive of Grant Thornton John Pettigrew, chief executive of National Grid Joe Garner, chief executive of Nationwide Mark Evans, chief executive of O2 Robert Noel, chief executive of Landsec Jacqueline de Rojas, president, techUK Caroline Mason, chief executive, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation Mark Norbury, chief executive, UNLtd. Peter Holbrook, chief executive, Social Enterprise UK Sir Stuart Etherington, chief executive, NCVO Dawn Austwick, chief executive, Big Lottery Fund Cliff Prior, chief executive, Big Society Capital Karen Bradley chairs 1st Inclusive Economy Partnership meeting, bringing business and civil society leaders together https://t.co/Vvuu5KL9rZ pic.twitter.com/k8zo9mnVyN DCMS (@DCMS) September 11, 2017 Facebook has announced that the UK will be one of five European countries where charities will be able to test a range of fundraising tools from later this month, with charities able to sign up with the platform now. New tools include the attaching of a donate button for individuals pages, the launch of the Facebook Fundraisers community a forum for people to raise funds and awareness of charities - and the ability to collect donations through Facebook Live broadcasts. Charities can sign up on donations.fb.com and from late September the tools will be rolled out to users in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany and Spain. From October it will be expanded to charities in Italy, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Portugal, Denmark, Austria, Finland and Luxembourg. Facebook has already signed up Movember UK, Oxfam GB, Unicef UK, Aktion Deutschland Hilft (Germany), Caritas (Spain), Save the Children Spain, Unicef France, and Unicef Germany as beta users. Charities will pay a 5 per cent fee on each donation. Facebook said that 3.5 per cent covers costs of vetting, language translation, fraud prevention, operational costs and payment support and 1.5 per cent covers payment processing. To be eligible UK charities need to have a charity registration number and have a bank account with a licensed financial services institution. UK taxpayers can add Gift Aid to donations to UK charities by ticking a box confirming that they have paid enough tax. Facebook launched the personal fundraising tools in the United States last March and said it has seen millions of dollars raised since then. More on the tools Donate button - Individuals and nonprofit Pages can attach the donate button to Page headers and posts, including video, photo or text. Facebook Fundraisers - people can set up a dedicated page to tell others about their preferred charity and its mission to encourage them to rally around a targeted fundraising goal. People can reach their friends on Facebook. Supporters with a birthday listed on Facebook can also create a birthday fundraiser through a simple prompt. Facebook Live - Individuals and verified Facebook pages can add the donate button directly to Live broadcasts to raise money for a nonprofit on their iOS device. Android users who have created a nonprofit fundraiser can attach their fundraiser to their Live broadcasts. Anybody watching the Live broadcast can donate as they watch, or after the video ends and is posted on their Page. Ariana Grande raised $450,000 through this features by broadcasting her benefit concert for the victims of the Manchester terror attack. The US has automatically revoked the tax exempt status of 23 UK charities this year, making it more difficult for them to receive investment in the country. US regulator the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) updated its published a list of UK charities which have failed to complete the required forms for three consecutive years. The 23 charities in question include a number of universities, the Legatum Institute Foundation, Global Heritage Fund and Education for Health. All had their status revoked in May and the notices were published on the website this month. There are a total of 218 UK charities on the list from which it has automatically revoked US tax exempt status for failing to complete required forms for three consecutive years. The IRS has not contacted the 218 charities directly, which failed to file a Form 990-series return or notice for three consecutive years, instead publishing a list of the organisations it has revoked on its website. 'Will have more difficulty receiving tax-deductable charity contributions' Revocation means that charities will have more difficulty receiving tax-deductable charity contributions from American donors, and are unable to claim reduced rates of US withholding tax on American investment income. Some charities on the list may have applied for reinstatement of their exemption but few on the list have successful requests published. Thomas Dick, partner at law firm DLA Piper, advises in an article for Tax Journal that every UK charity interested in the US should check whether it is included on the list and, if so, consider whether the costs of reinstatement outweigh the benefits. He writes: The cost of revocation can be calculated in terms of excess withholding tax on US dividends (15 per cent versus 4 per cent for private foundations and zero for public charities) and on gains on unleveraged US real property (up to 39.6 per cent for UK charities in trust form and 35 per cent for those in corporate form versus zero for both). The costs of reinstatement comprise not only the professional fees for completing Form 1023 and the filing fee of $850 (658), but also a penalty for the failure to file information returns in the intervening years and the prospective filing ad infinitum of the annual information return on Form 990, 990-EZ, 990-N, or 990-PF, as applicable. Tesco has been criticised in national newspapers for not donating all of the money raised from the sale of disposable plastic bags. New government data shows that the supermarket chain kept 3.4m just over 10 per cent of the 32m raised from selling 637 million bags - as an administration fee. All retailers with over 250 staff are required to charge for a plastic bag, and while they are not required to give the money to charity, most have chosen to do so. If they do give to charity, supermarkets are allowed to do this, but Tesco is the only major retailer to have done so. Last month Tesco revealed that it would be scrapping its 5p plastic bag altogether, and replacing it with a 10p bag for life, but promised there would be no drop in the total amount of money going to charity. The legislation for the 5p plastic bag charge is clear that the money raised should go to good causes, Mary Creagh MP, chair of the environmental audit committee, told national newspapers. Five years after the horsemeat scandal and three years after a false accounting scandal, Tesco finds itself again in the spotlight for doing the wrong thing. They should drop this ridiculous charge immediately. A spokesman for Tesco said: Since launching in 2015, our Bags of Help initiative has provided more than 33m to over 6,400 local community projects. A small proportion of the money raised is used to run and administer the scheme in partnership with the charity Groundwork, who help distribute the money to good causes. The FBI is reportedly investigating Russian state-owned media outlets in the US for failing to register as agents of a foreign government. Yahoo News reported this week that news agencies Sputnik and RT are under pressure to register under a law originally passed in 1938 to stymie Nazi propaganda. The reports left some press-freedom advocates bristling at the specter of government intrusion. They worry it sets a dangerous precedent for the US government to openly brand certain news outlets as propaganda. But requiring Russian state-owned media to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, is not as Big Brother as it sounds. FARA doesnt add up to press censorship in this case: Outlets like Sputnik and RT arent conventionally seen as the press, and the law in no way prohibits their activities. FARA does, however, require adherents to disclose informational material which could, in theory, include news output. TRENDING: A hidden message in memo justifying Comeys firing There is no concern about slippery slopes, James Kirchick, a journalist and writer who has covered Russia and the former Soviet Union, tells CJR in an email. Never mind their content (which is not news gathering in the traditional sense but disinformation aimed at influencing American politics), their opaque management structures starkly differentiate them from reputable outlets like the BBC, France 24, and Deutsche Welle, which operate independent of government control. Normally, news organizations are exempt from having to register under FARA. Officials with Sputnik and RT have said they shouldnt have to, either. Sign up for CJR 's daily email In an interview with CJR, former Sputnik White House Correspondent Andrew Feinberg says requiring the site to register under FARA is absolutely not a violation of press freedom. Sputnik does not operate like any news organization I have worked for or I have ever seen, he says, adding that they have no interest in reported journalism, and that they are explicit about their work on behalf of Russias objectives. Feinberg was interviewed by the FBI as part of the investigation into Sputnik. Asha Rangappa, a former FBI counterintelligence agent who is now a dean at Yale Law School, says in an interview with CJR that the FBI would probably not have invoked FARA against Sputnik and RT without evidence of direct editorial control by the Kremlin. They have to have some intelligence or information that this is essentially an extension of a government-controlled operation, she says. Rangappa argues that FARA actually protects press freedom by making it overtly clear where news is coming from. If the interest of freedom of speech is to make sure the marketplace of ideas is open and that people are able to critically evaluate where their information is coming from, FARA actually tries to support an open society and speech by creating transparency, she says. Jeffrey Gedmin, a former head of the US-backed Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, says every state-funded media outlet should have to be open about their operations. It is hard to disentangle the application of FARA from politics, however. Yahoo News reported that the FBI investigation into Sputnik and RT coincided with Congressional pressure, in part related to the ongoing Russia investigation, to strengthen its enforcement. ICYMI: If youre telling me his secrets, youre probably telling him mine. Now I know never to trust you. Its unusual for the FBI to proactively go after foreign agents who dont voluntarily register under the act. The unit thats responsible for overseeing this is not particularly active at all, theyre more like glorified accountants. Theyre checking to see whether you fill out the boxes, theyre not looking for people who fail to file, says Daniel Schuman, a FARA expert and policy director at the campaign group Demand Progress. Schuman says its especially unusual for organizations that claim to be news outlets to be pursued under FARA. Rangappa, the former FBI agent, agrees that the bureau is wary of acting in this area. You dont want the FBI going after journalists and news organizations, she says. We want ideally for there to be a large operating room for speech without government interfering. But Rangappa says when foreign government-controlled outlets purposefully distort information especially in a crowded online news environment government intervention is warranted. The FBI is in a unique position to verify when a particular outlet or vehicle of information is actually being used for propaganda, she says. The government cant stop fake news generally but they can at least tell you that this is coming from a foreign power, particularly a hostile foreign power, in the case of Russia. Some press freedom advocates find that kind of logic troubling. In a statement provided to CJR, Trevor Timm of the Freedom of the Press Foundation says, No matter ones feelings on Russia or Sputnik, I think its concerning anytime the FBI gets involved in defining who is and isnt a journalist. While the word propaganda means different things to different people, the Justice Department is clear that FARA, which Congress passed to counter a spread of underground Nazi and Communist material in the 1930s, is only about identifying the source of material seeking to influence US audiences. Feinberg, the former Sputnik reporter, thinks Russian-funded and directed outlets should be called out when they disseminate that regimes message to a US audience. You cant let this stuff slide because you would like to think that our society is strong enough to withstand it, he says. You cant just let it go unanswered. If you do that you invite more of it. TRENDING: Eleven newsletters to subscribe to if you work in media Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Jon Allsop is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Review of Books, Foreign Policy, and The Nation, among other outlets. He writes CJRs newsletter The Media Today. Find him on Twitter @Jon_Allsop. Over the course of what it called an ordinary week in this extraordinary time, The Cincinnati Enquirer dispatched more than 60 reporters, photographers, and videographers to tell the story of an epidemic that is decimating the region they cover. The resultSeven Days of Heroinwas published as a 20-page special section on Sunday. It deserves all of the attention it has been getting. Told in spare, chronological snapshots of one week in July, the cumulative effect is an overpowering portrait of a region struggling to confront a crisis. The pieces subhed reads, This is what an epidemic looks like, and thats what it delivers. Two years ago, the Enquirer assigned journalist Terry DeMio to cover the heroin beat full-time. She and reporter Dan Horn took the lead in assembling the piece. For me, the most devastating moment in a story full of them came halfway through, in a parenthetical update about a mother working to stay sober eight months after giving birth to a child suffering from neonatal abstinence syndrome. This was just one of dozens of moments strung together through an an unprecedented investment at at time of dwindling resources. We set out to do this project not to affirm or deny differing views on the cost of battling addiction and its impact, Peter Bhatia, the papers editor wrote. Rather, we set out to understand how it unfolds day in and day out. The Gannett-owned Enquirer reported this story mostly on its own (reporters from the Media Network of Central Ohioa set of Gannett news sites in Ohioalso contributed), but it created a template that the USA Today network would be wise to utilize in future coverage of the crisis. With Gannett papers dotted across the country, a wide-ranging package similar to the networks investigation of lead-tainted drinking water could capitalize on the companys national strategy. Below, more coverage of the opioid crisis. Sign up for CJR 's daily email Other notable stories Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Pete Vernon is a former CJR staff writer. Follow him on Twitter @ByPeteVernon. The Senate took up the National Defense Authorization Act on Monday evening, passing a motion that lets the legislation proceed and consideration of several controversial amendments. However, Kentucky Republican Rand Paul was one of those who opposed the motion and Monday threatened to slow passage of the NDAA and amendments. One of the amendments under consideration in the Senate would revive the idea of another round of base closings. In July, the House rejected an attempt to allow a new round of base closings, which the Pentagon has sought as a way to save about $2 billion annually, or $20 billion over 10 years. The NDAA, legislation which sets forth the Pentagon's budget and major programs for the next fiscal year starting Oct. 1, is also expected to include a proposed amendment to stall President Donald Trump's ban on transgender people serving in the military. However, it's unclear whether the transgender or base closing amendments will get enough votes to be included in the Senate's final NDAA. In a 89-3 vote Monday evening, the Senate agreed to invoke cloture on a motion to proceed with consideration on the national defense bill. The action effectively limits the procedural debate on the legislation and advances the NDAA to a full vote as early as this week. Besides Sen. Paul, the NDAA cloture motion was opposed by Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Oregon Democrat Ron Wyden. "Tonight, the Senate is attempting to move forward with the Defense Bill," Paul said Monday in a tweet. "I am seeking an amendment to end the AUMF in Afghanistan and Iraq." The AUMF, or Authorization for Use of Military Force, was used first in 2001 by President George W. Bush when the U.S. deployed forces to Afghanistan. Paul threatened to make the final NDAA passage more difficult, opposing "all procedural motions and amendments unless and until my amendment is made in order and we vote on these wars." But he tweeted late Monday that "Senate leaders have agreed not to try to end debate early, and have agreed to four hours of debate under my control to debate these wars." The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) completed its markup of the fiscal 2018 NDAA in June. Overall, the bill includes a total defense spend of nearly $700 billion. Earlier this year, SASC Chairman John McCain, a Republican representing Arizona, called member hesitation to revisit base closings "cowardice" because he believes it provides money being wasted that could go to more pressing defense needs. McCain and Democrat Sen. Jack Reed, ranking member of the SASC, are behind the amendment to revive the so-called Base Realignment and Closure Program (or BRAC) in 2019. Unlike previous BRAC rounds, though, the amendment proposed in the Senate would leave the decision of selecting the actual bases to the Government Accountability Office. Previous BRAC programs were conducted by an independent commission. When including all five of the previous BRAC rounds since the 1980s, there have been annual savings estimated at more than $12 billion with nearly $5 billion alone from the last one in 2005. In some cases, the BRAC process could lead to the expansion of military facilities. Meanwhile, the transgender amendment to the NDAA is being sponsored by New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Last month, Defense Secretary James Mattis put a hold on the president's transgender military ban, but the measure in the Senate still appears to have widespread support. Even so, the Senate and House still need to hammer out a final NDAA, so final congressional action of the transgender ban is still uncertain. Overall, there are more than 300 amendments proposed for the Senate's NDAA. Other amendments include funding for increased anti-missile defense for the homeland as well as space-based missile interceptors. There's also an amendment for workplace protections against discrimination that would penalize defense contractors. Slack, the messaging app that's exploded inside companies, is now focused on making it easier for users to collaborate with people at other businesses. On Tuesday, Slack introduced a feature called shared channels. CEO Stewart Butterfield told CNBC in an interview that it's the most important thing the company has released since the Slack app became available in early 2014. "It's deceptively simple in concept and very difficult and complicated in execution," Butterfield said. While Slack as a communications tool has become exceptionally popular in businesses of all sizes, the company faces competition from some of the world's largest tech brands. Microsoft has been adding features to the Teams communications app it introduced in November, and Alphabet's Google introduced Hangouts Chat in March, although it is not yet widely available. Facebook also has a product called Workplace, which is more like the consumer version of Facebook but for businesses. Slack's shared channels product is currently available in beta. The idea is to foster collaboration in a single place among people who work at different companies or on different teams, eliminating endless emails and making it easier to search within conversations. Slack said it has more than 50,000 paying teams with 2 million paying users and is generating more than $200 million in annual recurring revenue. Slack is also kicking off its first localization effort. French, German and Spanish versions of the app are available now and a Japanese version is on the way. Some of Donald Trump's lawyers pushed in June for the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner to step down as a White House advisor, according to a report. That push came amid concerns over the investigation of possible collusion with Russia, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. Those lawyers, the report said, were concerned that Kushner was the advisor closest to the president and had the most dealings with Russian officials and business people during the campaign. The Journal added that Kushner has said there were four meetings, but that he initially omitted any contacts with foreign officials on his security clearance form. He later updating it multiple times to include more than 100 contacts. While the legal team wasn't unanimous in wanting Kushner to step down, press aides to the legal team had drafted a statement to explain his departure, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. One person said Trump wasn't persuaded Kushner should step down, while John Dowd, who joined the legal team in June and has since taken charge, said he wasn't aware the proposal was taken to the president, according to the report. The Journal said the legal team's chief at the time, Marc Kasowitz, said he never discussed it with the president's other lawyers or recommended it to Trump. Representatives of the White House, Trump's legal team and Kasowitz didn't immediately respond to CNBC's emailed requests for comment, which were sent outside of normal U.S. office hours. Kushner's legal representative referred CNBC's inquiry to the White House press office. For more on the considerations about Kushner, see the full Wall Street Journal report. The mayors of Tampa and Miami Beach, two Florida cities that were at one point projected to take a direct hit from Hurricane Irma, said their communities were mostly spared. Irma was initially expected to hit Florida's east coast, including Miami Beach. The beachfront community and neighboring cities ordered residents to evacuate. Then, Irma shifted west and headed toward the other side of the Florida peninsula. It grazed the state's east coast over the weekend. "I say we didn't dodge a bullet, we dodged a cannonball," Miami Beach mayor Philip Levine told CNBC on Monday. "This was a nuclear hurricane coming our way." Updated projections over the weekend put Tampa, Florida, squarely in Irma's path. Mayor Bob Buckhorn told CNBC the city was "staring into the abyss." Irma pounded Naples and Marco Island before heading to Tampa. When Irma finally arrived, it shifted to the east. Buckhorn said he "realized that the gods were smiling" on the city when dawn broke. "This is a city that, for whatever reason, dodged a bullet," Buckhorn said. If original projections had materialized, Tampa could have faced significant flooding issues, downed trees, a downtown inundated with water and people displaced for a long time, he said. Instead, Tampa woke up to none of that, Buckhorn said. Downed trees and debris littered the roads, he said, but the city did not experience any storm surge like it feared. U.S. President Donald Trump holds a news conference in the East Room of the White House April 12, 2017 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images President Donald Trump is weighing a strategy that calls for more aggressive U.S. responses to Iran's forces, its Shi'ite Muslim proxies in Iraq and Syria, and its support for militant groups, according to five current and former U.S. officials. The proposal was prepared by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, national security adviser H.R. McMaster and other top officials, and presented to Trump at a National Security Council meeting on Friday, the sources said. It could be agreed and made public before the end of September, two of the sources said. All of the sources are familiar with the draft and requested anonymity because Trump has yet to act on it. The plan is intended to increase the pressure on Tehran to curb its ballistic missile programs and support for militants, the sources said. "I would call it a broad strategy for the range of Iranian malign activities: financial materials, support for terror, destabilization in the region, especially Syria and Iraq and Yemen," said one senior administration official. The proposal also targets cyber espionage and other activity and potentially nuclear proliferation, the official said. The administration is still debating a new stance on a 2015 agreement, sealed by President Barack Obama, Trump's predecessor, to curb Iran's nuclear weapons program. The draft urges consideration of tougher economic sanctions if Iran violates the 2015 agreement. watch now The proposal includes more aggressive U.S. interceptions of Iranian arms shipments such as those to Houthi rebels in Yemen and Palestinian groups in Gaza and Egypt's Sinai, a current official and a knowledgeable former U.S. official said. The plan also recommends the United States react more aggressively in Bahrain, whose Sunni Muslim monarchy has been suppressing majority Shi'ites, who are demanding reforms, the sources said. In addition, U.S. naval forces could react more forcefully when harassed by armed speed boats operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran's paramilitary and espionage contingent, three of the sources said. U.S. ships have fired flares and warning shots to drive off IRGC boats that made what were viewed as threatening approaches after refusing to heed radio warnings in the passageway for 35 percent of the world's seaborne petroleum exports. U.S. commanders now are permitted to open fire only when they think their vessels and the lives of their crews are endangered. The sources offered no details of the proposed changes in the rules, which are classified. Islamic State first The plan does not include an escalation of U.S. military activity in Syria and Iraq. Trump's national security aides argued that a more muscular military response to Iranian proxies in Syria and Iraq would complicate the U.S.-led fight against Islamic State, which they argued should remain the top priority, the sources said. Mattis and McMaster, as well as the heads of the U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Forces Command, have opposed allowing U.S. commanders in Syria and Iraq to react more forcefully to provocations by the IRGC, Hezbollah and other Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias, all five sources said. The advisers are concerned that more permissive rules of engagement would divert U.S. forces from defeating the remnants of Islamic State, the sources said. Moreover, looser rules could embroil the United States in a conflict with Iran while U.S. forces remain overstretched, and Trump has authorized a small troop increase for Afghanistan, said the second senior administration official. Another former U.S. official said Hezbollah and Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias in Iraq have been "very helpful" in recapturing vast swaths of the caliphate that Islamic State declared in Syria and Iran in 2014. U.S. troops supporting Kurdish and Sunni Arab fighters battling Islamic State in Syria have been wrestling with how to respond to hostile actions by Iranian-backed forces. In some of the most notable cases, U.S. aircraft shot down two Iranian-made drones in June. Both were justified as defensive acts narrowly tailored to halt an imminent threat on the ground. Trump's opposition to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), poses a dilemma for policymakers. Most of his national security aides favor remaining in the pact, as do U.S. allies Israel and Saudi Arabia despite their reservations about Iran's adherence to the agreement, said U.S. officials involved in the discussions. "The main issue for us was to get the president not to discard the JCPOA. But he had very strong feelings, backed by (U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations) Nikki Haley, that they should be more aggressive with Iran," one of the two U.S. officials said. "Almost all the strategies presented to him were ones that tried to preserve the JCPOA but lean forward on these other (issues.)" WATCH: Trump supports strong sanctions against Russia, Iran & N. Korea Elon Musk says artificial intelligence is a bigger threat than North Korea and a "fundamental risk to the existence of human civilization." He predicts a global race to develop artificial intelligence will result in World War 3. Mark Zuckerberg says Musk's AI rhetoric is "pretty irresponsible." The Facebook CEO is "optimistic" about what artificial intelligence can do now and will be able to do in the future. Top Silicon Valley tech executive Sam Altman, who is president of Y Combinator, says that both Musk and Zuckerberg are right. "Like many other arguments, both sides are correct," Altman tells CNBC Make It. "It could be the greatest thing ever," he says. "I really do believe that, if we could eliminate a huge percentage of human suffering with AI. "I also believe there will be down sides. Any super powerful technology is good and bad." Blackstone co-founder Steve Schwarzman said Tuesday he was accused of being a Nazi in emails he received following President Donald Trump's comments that appeared to support white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia. Schwarzman, who is Jewish, described the time as one of "astonishing pressure" on a group of corporate CEOs like himself who had been part of a White House policy forum advising the president. "You should have seen some of the emails I got," Schwarzman said at the Delivering Alpha conference in New York. "I was accused of being a Nazi." The conference is presented by CNBC and Institutional Investor. Two corporate advisory councils disbanded after CEOs came under pressure following Trump's comments that blamed "both sides" for the violence in Charlottesville. Schwarzman, who led the policy council, said he knew his fellow business chiefs were hearing from shareholders and employees voicing displeasure about Trump's remarks and he spoke to forum members for a minute each to hear their concerns. "We had an orderly process," Schwarzman said. He would not directly comment on reports that Trump pre-empted the forum's announcement that it was disbanding by tweeting that he was dissolving the group. "This is the political world," he said. "I don't control it." Schwarzman also would not say how recently he has spoken to the president, though he did say he continues to be in contact. He said he has counseled past presidents as well, including Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush. "People who have backgrounds that are relevant should help" the president and the country, he said. "You have an obligation." WHEN: Today, Tuesday, September 12th WHERE: CNBC's "Squawk Box" Following is the unofficial transcript of a CNBC EXCLUSIVE interview with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and "Squawk Box" Co-Anchors Joe Kernen, Becky Quick and Andrew Ross Sorkin live from the CNBC Institutional Investor Delivering Alpha conference in New York City on Tuesday, September 12th. Following are links to the video of the interview on CNBC.com: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2017/09/12/treasury-secretary-steven-mnuchin-our-hope-is-to-reach-bipartisan-deal-on-taxes.html, https://www.cnbc.com/video/2017/09/12/treasury-secretary-steve-mnuchin-we-are-super-focused-on-tax-reform.html ,https://www.cnbc.com/video/2017/09/12/treasury-secretary-steve-mnuchin-president-trump-is-absolutely-a-republican.html and https://www.cnbc.com/video/2017/09/12/treasury-secretary-steve-mnuchin-hedge-funds-will-not-have-benefit-of-carried-interest.html. Mandatory credit: CNBC Institutional Investor Delivering Alpha conference. BECKY QUICK: Thank you so much. STEVEN MNUCHIN: Thank you. It's a pleasure to be with you in New York. BECKY QUICK: It's a pleasure to have you here. This whole conference is about Delivering Alpha, and we know that you know this and understand it very well from your previous life at Goldman Sachs and beyond. And we have an entire list of questions that we want to ask you about in that vein. But, given the historic events that we've seen over the last several days, first with Hurricane Harvey and now with Hurricane Irma, we would like to maybe start off in this vein. I know you've been meeting with the President recently, and I just wonder if you can give us an update from the Administration's point of view about where we stand with these storms right now. STEVEN MNUCHIN: Sure. Well, starting with the first storm, the President has just been incredibly engaged. We've been having cabinet meetings constantly, working with FEMA. On Sunday I was with the President at Camp David. We were monitoring the situation via video. And then Sunday afternoon I went with the Vice President to FEMA headquarters. Let me just especially thank all the people in both the states and the federal government who have been working round the clock to save lives. It's been an incredibly -- you know, a very important response to just two historically terrible storms. BECKY QUICK: We know that it is still very early to try and get a feel for the financial impact of these storms. We are still in a recovery and making sure that people are getting through the storm. But we also know that those numbers will be very large, billions and billions of dollars. We've seen an initial payment for that coming from the government with the bill that has been passed for $15 billion for Harvey. But what do we do with the second round of funding? We know the numbers will go up. STEVEN MNUCHIN: Again, I think the first thing is the President wanted to be very clear, we needed to make sure we got the money to the states so that they could protect citizens and property, which was the most important issue. And we accomplished that. And the first payment is a down payment. We'll see what we need to spend more. But the President will make sure that whatever the federal government needs to contribute to this, we will do so. JOE KERNEN: 100 to 150 is Moody's latest estimate for both storms, which would be equal to Katrina. Any effect on ongoing GDP numbers, do you think? Do you have an estimate, maybe half a percent perhaps; and, secondly, does the Fed change anything that it was planning to do based on this, and even had Mark Grant say, it's not just -- because they were going to hold off supposedly in September, anyway -- they might even cut at this point. Could you imagine that? STEVEN MNUCHIN: Well, I can't comment on what the Federal did because, as you know, as Treasury Secretary I respect their independence. I would say there clearly is going to be an impact on GDP in the short run. We will make it up in the long run as we rebuild. That will help GDP. So I think it's too early to tell what the exact estimates will be, but, you know, I think it won't have a bad impact on the economy. JOE KERNEN: We may not get back to the Fed, so I got to ask you, Yellen, did he get reappointed? STEVEN MNUCHIN: I'm working closely with the President on the issue. He hasn't made any decisions, and that's one of the things he's still considering. JOE KERNEN: He has a bunch of people now that there are some openings on the Fed. STEVEN MNUCHIN: Yeah, there's a lot of good people. The Chair is, obviously, quite talented and she's being considered, but there's a lot of great people that we have been meeting with, considering as well. BECKY QUICK: Is Gary Cohn still on that list? ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: Where do you think Gary Cohn stands in all of this, given that the President has talked about him as a candidate and, yet, what we do hear constantly, at least over the past couple of weeks post-Charlottesville and some of the comments he made publicly, that perhaps maybe the relationship has been compromised. STEVEN MNUCHIN: I appreciate you asking me, and I would be disappointed if you didn't. But I obviously will respect the confidentiality of the process and not make any comments on any specific people that the President is considering. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: Putting that aside, what about the relationship with Gary Cohn, your own relationship with him, the President's relationship with him? There's a view within the marketplace, and when we talk to Ray Dalio and others all about this, that Gary Cohn and you represent a very important piece of this administration; and that if, perhaps, Gary Cohn were to leave, that the markets would take that as a bad sign. STEVEN MNUCHIN: Well, let me say, Gary and I have worked very close together for a very long period of time. We worked together at Goldman Sachs. We were in the same partner cross at Goldman Sachs, working very closely together on taxes. I was with him yesterday on the Hill. We will be back on the Hill this afternoon, we'll both be at the White House for a dinner with the President tonight on tax reform. And, let me just say, you know, I appreciate working with him. JOE KERNEN: You mentioned taxes now. You are helping us get into all the different areas where we want to go. The "kumbaya" moment, I think that's one of your words you use a lot. STEVEN MNUCHIN: Yeah. JOE KERNEN: Senator Schumer, Speaker Pelosi, does that -- that the President had recently, does that change the dynamic, in your view, of how to approach tax reform? STEVEN MNUCHIN: Not at all. I would say, first of all, I give the President a lot of credit. We were in the middle of two major hurricanes. We needed to get money to the states. We were in the middle of having the debt limit, and the President was very clear. He wanted to cut a deal. He wanted to cut a deal quickly. He moved the debt limit substantially further back. We had to fund the government. We were running out of money. I was operating it like a piggy bank, and we got out of there and showed the American public that we are putting politics aside. As it relates to tax reform, it's been my number one priority, it will be, and we're going to get this done. JOE KERNEN: Does it change it from reconciliation to a bipartisan, oh, the President flew with Senator Heitkamp back to North Dakota. Do you foresee this being permanent in 60 votes, or what we just said Senator Perdue said just outright, said this is going to be reconciliation? STEVEN MNUCHIN: I always said our hope is that it is bipartisan. This is about creating jobs. This is about creating a middle income tax cut. This is about making our businesses competitive. We have one of the highest tax rates in the world. We have tax on worldwide income, we have this crazy concept of deferral. We have trillions of dollars offshore. So these are issues that both Democrats and Republicans should understand. Having said that, if we can't get 60 votes, we are prepared to use reconciliation to get it done. This is the most important issue for the American economy. BECKY QUICK: Let's talk about the meetings you have later today. You just mentioned that you will be going to Capitol Hill to talk to Senators there about it. I know you are meeting with Republicans. Will you also be meeting with Democrats there from the Senate Budget Committee? STEVEN MNUCHIN: Well, first of all, I have been meeting with Democrats and Republicans since January. I have been working on taxes with the President since the campaign. This program we have been working on for a long time and meeting with lots of different groups, both Republicans and Democrats on this. BECKY QUICK: As you are getting closer to finding more details, I know you said that those will be released later this month. But we still hear a pretty wide variety of opinions about where we could see a corporate tax rate; everyone from Paul Ryan who says in the low 20s recently to the President saying 15%. Where do you think it falls within those ranges? STEVEN MNUCHIN: Well, let me just comment, I think on the business side -- and I mentioned this is business, so this isn't just the corporate tax rate. This is also we want to create relief for pass-throughs, which are a major part of the economy. We need to make this system competitive, and that's what we're trying to do, and as I mentioned, turning it from a worldwide system to a territorial system. The President has made it clear since the campaign, ideally he'd like to get it down to 15%. I don't know if we will be able to achieve that, given the budget issues. But we're going to get this down to a very competitive level, and what the exact number is less important. And what's more important is making sure we have a competitive field. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: If that's in the mid 20s, is that a win? STEVEN MNUCHIN: Yet I'm not going to comment on what's a win and what's not a win. As I said, this is a pass-fail exercise. So passing tax reform, which hasn't been done in 31 years, that's a win. And what the exact number is, we'll see. JOE KERNEN: The pass-through issue is what drives a lot of people on the left crazy, because all the rich people are going to rush, become LLCs to get to 15% or 20%, and that's part of the 5 trillion that the left is worried about they're saying could add to the deficit. 2 trillion of it almost is from the past-through issue. You're not going to get any -- I can't imagine any Democrats coming on board for that. STEVEN MNUCHIN: Well, first of all, we are very concerned about the debt. As you know, it has gone from 10 trillion to 20 trillion, which we just passed, okay? And we are concerned about that. Having said that, we are focused on economic growth. The difference between 2 and 3% is over $2 trillion to the government. And we're going to make sure that when we set pass-through rules -- and, again, this is what we have been working on since January -- that they are not used as loopholes. JOE KERNEN: There's a way to do that. STEVEN MNUCHIN: That they are. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: How do you do it? Just give us a framework for what that looks like. STEVEN MNUCHIN: For one, services companies that are pass-throughs will not get the benefit of the rate. So, you know, kind of what we're not looking to do is, if you earn money that's clearly income, okay, if you are an accountant firm and that's clearly income, you'll be taxed at income rates. You won't be taxed at pass-through rates. If you are a business that's creating manufacturing jobs, you're going to get the benefit of that rate, because that's going to be passed through to help create jobs and better wages. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: One of the other issues, which matters a bit in most part to this audience has been the issue of carried interest and what rate that gets taxed at. The President talked for a long time about of closing that loophole. Does that get closed or changed under your tax plan? Co: sf start pw stop STEVEN MNUCHIN: The President's been very clear that for hedge funds they will not have the benefit of carried interest. One of the things that we are working on is, as it relates to other entities that do create jobs, whether it's in different sectors, we want to make sure that we encourage jobs. So that's something we're still working on. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: This is where it gets complicated, because partnership accounting is difficult. And then you get into oil and gas, you get into real estate, private equity. How do you separate them out? STEVEN MNUCHIN: Well, the good news is we have over a hundred people at the Treasury working on this. We have a lot of people at the House and the Senate. Those -- [CROSSTALK] STEVEN MNUCHIN: I know this issue is incredibly important to everybody in this room. It's less important to the American public and creating jobs. JOE KERNEN: You alluded to the difference between 3% and 2%. So we're talking about dynamic scoring. We're talking about not paying for this. I imagine that's going to be in the final plan. It's not going to be what the Democrats want in terms of every dollar being accounted for. That's still the case. STEVEN MNUCHIN: I can't comment on what the Democrats want, but I can comment on what makes sense. So, first of all, dynamic scoring does work, okay, to the extent that you change rules. So if we go from an international system to a territorial system, we will bring back jobs. We will bring back trillions of dollars, and that's going to have an impact on the economy. So, yes, I expect there will be a couple hundred billion dollars accounted for on dynamic scoring. JOE KERNEN: I think Larry Summers called it a ludicrous supply side -- BECKY QUICK: I think that was the word. JOE KERNEN: -- fantasies or something. STEVEN MNUCHIN: Well, I would never say anything bad about another Treasury Secretary, although there's lots and lots of economists that will line up on the other side of that argument. JOE KERNEN: Let me just take this one more step further. Let's say -- and I don't know whether you know for sure that it won't happen. Let's say the President says, Chuck, Nancy, I'm going to give you infrastructure along with this if you go along with this. You're talking about dynamic scoring potentially adding deficit and an infrastructure bill. Is that possible that we -- we would be at 30 trillion, in no time. STEVEN MNUCHIN: Again, we have no doubt, we are not going from 20 trillion to 30 trillion. But what the President is focused on is creating jobs, creating economic opportunities, creating manufacturing in the United States, having us competitive. And that's what we're going to do. JOE KERNEN: Do you see him proposing that, or do you know whether he will, as a way to bring them in? STEVEN MNUCHIN: Absolutely. The President is very focused on infrastructure. We've been working on a plan. We will reach out to Democrats on that plan. And that's absolutely on -- JOE KERNEN: Would it be part of tax reform? STEVEN MNUCHIN: You know, people have asked us whether we should put them together or not. My inclination is that it makes it more complicated. You're talking about two complicated issues. I think when you put them together, it's harder to do, but to the extent that the Democrats and the Republicans want to put it together, Congress has that option. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: Let me just ask you about the timing involved, which is you've had a remarkable sense of confidence that something is going to happen, something is going to happen this fall. But you also were quite confident and explicit earlier in the year, suggesting that we would have signed tax reform by August. What was the miss in terms of the confidence, then and has something changed? STEVEN MNUCHIN: Well, one of the things this audience understands, as do I, that markets move. So the answer was, in January, we had a plan that was lined out, working with Congress, that we thought we could get tax reform done by August. And that was based upon doing health care first and doing health care fast. I think, as you know, health care took longer than we expected. We then got into the August recess. That's what pushed back tax reform. So the market moved. I'm now incredibly hopeful we're going to get this done by the end of the year. BECKY QUICK: The President still occasionally tweets about health care. Is it off the agenda, as far as you're concerned, right now? Are we moving on to tax reform and beyond before that circles back around? STEVEN MNUCHIN: The President still very much wants to get health care done. So it's not the major focus at the moment. But on the President's agenda, he wants to get health care done. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: Steve Bannon, over the weekend on 60 Minutes, effectively said that you were misled; that the administration was misled by the Senate, by Congress, about what was possible in terms of this time line. Do you think you were misled? STEVEN MNUCHIN: Again, I had the opportunity to work with Steve closely on the campaign and over the last year, and I respect him. I think the word "misled" was a little extreme. I do think there was an agenda. As he said on TV, when the President got elected, we sat down with the leadership and we looked at a calendar. Having said that, let me be clear. Obama took a long time to get his two major accomplishments done. So for us to get one accomplishment done this year in the President's first term will be historic, and that's what we're working on. BECKY QUICK: Is there any way that tax reform could be backdated to January 1st of 2017? STEVEN MNUCHIN: Absolutely. Still something we're considering, and would be a big boon to the economy. JOE KERNEN: Does it matter if it's only ten years? STEVEN MNUCHIN: I've been consistent on this. Permanent is better than temporary, and temporary is better than nothing. JOE KERNEN: So you wanted 18 months. This has been reported. You wanted 18 months on this debt ceiling, and then at the last minute supposedly you tried to talk him into six. It came out three. Maybe not what you wanted. Does it set us up for this brinkmanship -- I'm sorry. Does it set the Republicans up for brinkmanship in December with the Democrats, when they say, We're not going to do tax reform unless you do this our way? STEVEN MNUCHIN: Well, I did want 18 months. And as Treasury Secretary, I obviously want the longest period of time for the debt ceiling. You know, as I said, Congress has every right to control spend debt. And if ultimately the government shuts down, which would not be a good thing, that's their right if they can't agree on spending. The debt ceiling is about paying for things that we've already committed to. So I did want to extend it longer. The President, rightfully so, wanted to get this done. And particularly in the wake of two hurricanes, we'll come back on the debt ceiling again. We have a commitment from the Democrats and the Republicans that we're never going to let the government default. And I'm comfortable where we are. JOE KERNEN: The rationale was we can get this debt ceiling stuff out of the way and work on tax reform. But a lot of other people say it just makes it even more difficult. It mucks up the works in December for getting tax reform. STEVEN MNUCHIN: I don't think so at all. We are super-focused on tax reform now. It clears the calendar for tax reform for December 8th. We have the continuing funding of the government through December 8th, so we don't have a shutdown at the end of this month in the middle of two hurricanes. And I think that's something the President was very focused on. And for December, we will be negotiating funding. Now, we could have done -- and this wasn't widely reported. We could have done a one-year deal on the debt ceiling. Had we done that, it would have been linked to one year of additional funding for the government. But the President wants to raise military spending. That's one of his main priorities. Particularly in the midst of what's going on in North Korea and other areas. The President wants to increase military spending, and that's something he's going to demand for December. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: Let's go back to taxes for one sec, and on the individual side. I remember when you sat with us on the set of "Squawk Box," and one of the things you said was that the wealthiest among us, their tax rate will not go down. Do you think that's still true? STEVEN MNUCHIN: So I feel very honored from that interview because in my confirmation I now have a rule named after me. So there's the Buffett Rule and the Volcker Rule, and now there's the Mnuchin Rule, which was named after what I said. And the objective, I think, as you know, we're looking at a system where we get rid of state and local tax deductions. We're trying to get the federal government out of the business of subsidizing the states. So in the high-tax states, two of which I've had the opportunity to live in, New York and California, yes, I can assure you that there will not be a tax decrease. BECKY QUICK: What will that mean for states like New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, California, that can no longer be backed up by the federal government; that they will have to have these high rates and realize that their taxpayers are going to get crushed? STEVEN MNUCHIN: Well, I'm hopeful in these states that taxes don't go up. So we'll have a slight rate decrease on the high end to offset the deductions. And I'm hopeful we can size that so that it doesn't hurt New York and California. They may not get a tax decrease. But these are the people that will -- BECKY QUICK: They will get a federal tax decrease, but will end up paying it in state taxes. That's how it's going to go down? STEVEN MNUCHIN: Again, I'm hopeful that they'll get a slight decrease in federal government, which will offset what they will lose on the state deductions. But, again, these are the details that, although the group of six has a plan, are going to go through final negotiation and the two tax-writing committees. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: Talking about state taxes. It appears when you think of the competition going on amongst states these days and in the incentives that they've been offering for different companies to comes to them -- Foxconn obviously making the big deal with the state of Wisconsin, Amazon just announced last week a big competition for them to come. Some of these incentives seem great because they're great jobs. But there's a larger question in the case of Foxconn about whether they actually pay off and whether it takes 25 to 30 years, even, to pay off. How do you think states should think about that? Co: sf stop pw start STEVEN MNUCHIN: I think the great thing about the Foxconn announcement is that we have manufacturing being brought back into the United States and being brought back into the heartland of the United States where we need jobs. So I think the President was instrumental in that, and to me that's a huge win. I can't comment on the state negotiations, because I wasn't part of that. We were part of the deal of bringing them into the U.S. and making sure that we could create a competitive system. And I think one of the reasons they did that is because they were comfortable in where we were going on tax reform. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: Okay. That make sense to you. But I'm saying from a state's perspective, if you said to yourself, as a citizen of a state, it will take 25, 30 years for us to get our money back, if we get it back at all, does that make sense? STEVEN MNUCHIN: Again, I haven't looked at the specifics -- I mean, I'm familiar with what the state offered, but I haven't gone through the numbers on whether it makes sense or not. I assume they think it does make sense, and I think competition between the states is healthy. JOE KERNEN: You downplayed the overtures to the Democrats a little bit, that the President agreed upon, based upon that it was necessary for hurricane relief, et cetera. But it's been obviously played up a lot in terms of how Mitch McConnell feels about this, about how -- whether Paul Ryan, you know, looked askance at the way it went. Are you worried that certain relationships are beyond repair between the President and certain Republicans at this point, and that he needs to actually court Democrats at this point? Or you think all those Republicans will be there for you? They weren't there for you on health care. STEVEN MNUCHIN: Well, I don't want to downplay it, because I think it was important that the President reached out to Democrats and showed that he could get things done on a bipartisan basis. And I think that's incredibly important. The President would like to have bipartisan support. Having said that, I can tell you, I was with Paul yesterday. He was with the President at dinner earlier in the week. I'm going to be with Mitch again today. These relationships are very important, and the relationships with the President are there. JOE KERNEN: I saw a headline that it was the end of the two-party system. STEVEN MNUCHIN: I don't think we have to worry about the failure of the two-party system. JOE KERNEN: The President is still Republican? STEVEN MNUCHIN: The President is absolutely a Republican. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: I wanted to turn the conversation -- STEVEN MNUCHIN: As am I, by the way. I know on this show and others that's a question. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: I want to ask you about North Korea and where we are. North Korea has said that the U.S. will "pay a due price" for leading this drive of additional U.N. sanctions. And you, on the other hand, have said that their behavior is unacceptable. What do you have in your toolkit at this point? STEVEN MNUCHIN: Well, I think it's a great opportunity being Treasury Secretary, and I had a lot of experience in domestic and international finance. There's a major part of Treasury, I probably spend 50% of my time on National Security, and the Treasury staff has given me a Ph.D. So these sanctions work. They worked with Iran. The President, I fundamentally believe that we had Iran on the 5-yard line, and we could have cut a better deal; that a 10-year deal was not good enough on Iran. And in North Korea, economic warfare works. I made it clear that the President was strongly considering and we sent a message that anybody that wanted to trade with North Korea, we would consider them not trading with us. We can put on economic sanctions to stop people trading. Worked very closely with the U.N. I'm very pleased with the resolution that was just passed. This is some of the strongest items. We now have more tools in our toolbox, and we will continue to use them and put additional sanctions on North Korea until they stop this behavior. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: But we haven't been able to move the needle on China, which seems to be the real mover on this, in terms of being able to apply the real pressure. What do you think the issue is? What is the problem? STEVEN MNUCHIN: I think we have absolutely moved the needle on China. I think what they agreed to yesterday was historic. I'd also say I put sanctions on a major Chinese bank. That's the first time that's ever been done. And if China doesn't follow these sanctions, we will put additional sanctions on them and prevent them from accessing the U.S. and international dollar system. And that's quite meaningful. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: Does that put the U.S. multinationals at risk? STEVEN MNUCHIN: Again, our number was -- ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: There's a balancing act in all of this. STEVEN MNUCHIN: Let me be clear, the President's number one concern is North Korea and is security. So when it comes to nuclear testing, when it comes to missiles, our number one priority is the safety of the American people, not the economics of multinational companies. BECKY QUICK: One of the other issues with security has to do with cyber security. And we just learned about 143 million Americans' identities being compromised by Equifax. That's certainly not the first of the data breaches that we've seen, but it looks more and more likely like Americans can just expect these things to happen. What can Treasury do about this? STEVEN MNUCHIN: Well, Americans shouldn't expect these things to happen, and the current situation is obviously quite unfortunate. I can't comment on the specifics of that, but I can tell you this is something that I am actively involved in. Tom Dosser and I, who is the Homeland Security Advisor, were on several calls yesterday. Cyber is a big focus of mine for two reasons. One, I oversee the I.R.S., so we have an incredible amount of personal data, and we want to make sure that that is safe. And, number two, I'm concerned about the global financial system and keeping it protected. And I can assure you that we're working with all of the intelligence agencies on cyber issues to keep Americans' information safe. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: What do you think the liabilities should be for American corporations involved in data breaches? Meaning, there's a piece that they're a victim. We all become victims. And on the other side, you have to decide, you know, whether they have done all of the right things in advance. STEVEN MNUCHIN: I think it's a complicated issue. You have both international and government actors, as well as you have private people. I can't comment, again, on the specifics of this. Our number one concern is making sure that the data is safe and working with industry on that. But I do agree with you, the issue of liability and responsibility for corporations, that those are very important issues. And I think public-private partnerships on cyber is critical. This is not something that the private sector can do alone, and it's not something the government Congress can do alone. JOE KERNEN: If Congress doesn't act in six months on DACA, what would the President do? STEVEN MNUCHIN: I can't comment on what the President will do. He wants them to act, but... JOE KERNEN: After Speaker Pelosi answering the tweet he tweeted, that we'll deal with it at that point. He saw, CEOs once again, the new arbiters of all morality, CEOs once again wrote a lot of letters about DACA, as they did about Virginia and everything else. And they wrote you about whether you're going to stay on. They are PR canaries in the coal mine to start with, or canaries in the PR coal mine. Have they become too sensitive to some of these things, or do you welcome them speaking out on every issue? STEVEN MNUCHIN: Well, first of all, I'm definitely staying on. It's a great opportunity to serve the President and the country. As it relates to DACA, again, these are complicated issues. We have to have laws in our country, so there have to be immigration laws. And we can't just pick and choose what laws we want to enforce and what laws we don't want to enforce. So this is an issue that the President had said it's not legal the way it's done; that Congress should work on that. And, you know, the one comment I would make on CEOs, I think CEOs have a responsibility to their company, and that's their responsibility. But they also have responsibilities to advise the government. And if every time there's an issue that the government does that CEOs say, "We don't like this and we're not going to give you advice anymore," that, to me, doesn't make sense. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: So what was your reaction, then, to the councils being dismantled? STEVEN MNUCHIN: Again, my view is that CEOs being on the councils didn't necessarily mean that they endorsed every single policy of the administration or the President. The purpose of the councils was to give the President advice on issues that they had -- ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: And do you feel like you've been cut -- that there's been a cut-off? STEVEN MNUCHIN: Not at all. I think -- ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: So was it just symbolic? STEVEN MNUCHIN: Again, I think there's still plenty of CEOs who come in and meet with us, and we will continue to reach out. But I personally think it was a mistake that the councils were disbanded. BECKY QUICK: The stock market yesterday, the S&P 500, closed at another record level. When I spoke with you earlier in the year, we talked a little bit about how the administration kind of sees that as their report card or what's going on. Do you still see it that way? STEVEN MNUCHIN: I think there's no question that the stock market has an expectation that we're going to get tax reform done, and that's partially built in. I think also the stock market has expectations that we're going to create significant growth, which is what this President and this administration is focused on. So, yes, I take that as a big vote of confidence in the economic plan. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: A couple more quickies before we wrap up. Do you want to touch just on Russia and what you thought of Facebook's announcement last week that there were $100,000 worth of ads that had been bought by government-sponsored entities to influence the election? STEVEN MNUCHIN: You know, again, I've obviously seen intelligence on this, and I can't comment on any classified information or what their role was or what it wasn't. I personally think the sooner we get these investigations over and behind us, the better we are. Again, I'm not going to comment on this. JOE KERNEN: The latest leak was still about Don Jr.'s meeting. After the last three months. Still nothing, no new stuff? Nothing else? No smoking guns? No leaks? We are still on the Don Jr. investigation. We've got to talk to Hope Hicks. That's where it is now? Is that enough smoke, or is that a water pistol? STEVEN MNUCHIN: It seems a little overblown to me. I can't comment on the specifics. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: All right. Personal question. Steve Bannon said over the weekend to Charlie Rose something fascinating about the way he thought about his relationship with the President. He says, "When you side with a man, you side with him. And you side with him that way publicly. But you don't necessarily side with him that way privately." What's the difference between the conversations you're having with us now and the conversations you had with him inside the room? STEVEN MNUCHIN: Well, look, first of all, I've known the President for over 15 years. I worked with him on the campaign. So I've had the benefit of working with him for a long time. And I obviously feel comfortable with telling him my ideas on things. Sometimes we'll agree. Sometimes we don't agree. He's the President, and I respect that. And no different than a lieutenant who reports to the general, I work for him. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: Fair enough. The Treasury Secretary, Mr. Mnuchin. Thank you. About CNBC: With CNBC in the U.S., CNBC in Asia Pacific, CNBC in Europe, Middle East and Africa, and CNBC World, CNBC is the recognized world leader in business news and provides real-time financial market coverage and business information to more than 409 million homes worldwide, including more than 91 million households in the United States and Canada. CNBC also provides daily business updates to 400 million households across China. The network's 15 live hours a day of business programming in North America (weekdays from 4:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. ET) is produced at CNBC's global headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and includes reports from CNBC News bureaus worldwide. CNBC at night features a mix of new reality programming, CNBC's highly successful series produced exclusively for CNBC and a number of distinctive in-house documentaries. CNBC also has a vast portfolio of digital products which deliver real-time financial market news and information across a variety of platforms including: CNBC.com; CNBC PRO, the premium, integrated desktop/mobile service that provides live access to CNBC programming, exclusive video content and global market data and analysis; a suite of CNBC mobile products including the CNBC Apps for iOS, Android and Windows devices; and additional products such as the CNBC App for the Apple Watch and Apple TV. Members of the media can receive more information about CNBC and its programming on the NBCUniversal Media Village Web site at http://www.nbcumv.com/programming/cnbc. For more information about NBCUniversal, please visit http://www.NBCUniversal.com. WHEN: Today, Tuesday, September 12, 2017 WHERE: CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" Following is the unofficial transcript of a CNBC EXCLUSIVE interview with DowDuPont Executive Chairman Andrew Liveris and DowDuPont CEO Ed Breen live from the CNBC Institutional Investor Delivering Alpha conference in New York City on Tuesday, September 12, 2017. Following are links to the interview on CNBC.com: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2017/09/12/dowdupont-ceo-both-companies-are-very-dividend-friendly.html and https://www.cnbc.com/video/2017/09/12/new-plan-offers-pure-play-market-verticals-dowduponts-andrew-liveris.html. Mandatory credit: CNBC Institutional Investor Delivering Alpha conference. FABER: THAT'S A PERFECT INTRO FOR THE GUESTS WHO ARE SITTING TO OUR RIGHT, AT LEAST STAGE RIGHT, CHEMICAL GIANT DOWDUPONT ANNOUNCES THIS MORNING A CHANGE TO ITS PLAN SPLIT INTO THREE SEPARATE BUSINESSES. THE COMPANY SAYS IT WILL MOVE SELECT BUSINESSES FROM ITS MATERIALS DIVISION TO SPECIALTY PRODUCTS THAT COULD CREATE AS MUCH AS $8 BILLION OVERALL IN VALUE. DOWDUPONT EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN ANDREW LIVERIS AND CEO ED BREEN RIGHT HERE AT DELIVERING ALPHA. GENTLEMAN, THANK YOU FOR COMING OVER. BREEN: THANKS FOR HAVING US. FABER: ED, WE WILL SPEAKING TO YOU LATER, AS WELL, JIM AND I, ON STAGE HERE. ANDREW, THANK YOU. WHY NOT HAVE STARTED RIGHT OUT OF THE GATE WITH THIS? WHY HAVE WAITED UNTIL YOU GOT PRESSURE FROM POTENTIALLY THE SAME ACTIVIST KINDS OF INVESTORS WHO WERE TALKING ABOUT IN TERMS OF REALIGNING THE PORTFOLIOS? BREEN: WELL, I MEAN LOOK, WHEN WE SET THIS UP OVER 20 MONTHS AGO, WHEN WE ANNOUNCED THE DEAL, WE SET IT UP FOR HAVING THREE DIVISIONS: AN AG DIVISION, A SPECIALTY DIVISION, A MATERIAL SCIENCE DIVISION SO WE KNEW WE HAD THE CONSTRUCT RIGHT OF ARCHITECTING AT THE TOP LEVEL HOW WE WANTED TO DO IT BUT THE BEAUTY OF THE LAST 20 MONTHS IS WE HAVE HAD A LOT OF INVESTOR FEEDBACK. WE HAVE HAD OUR OWN STUDY OF THE PORTFOLIO. AS TIME WENT ON, WE JUST KEPT REALIZING, THERE'S SO MANY IDENTICAL END MARKETS BETWEEN MATERIAL GOING AND SPECIALTY GOING. IF WE COULD ALIGN THEM BETTER AND REALLY PUT THE RIGHT END MARKETS TOGETHER, THE POWER WITH OUR CUSTOMER BASE WOULD BE ENORMOUS. AND THAT'S REALLY WHERE WE TRANSITION TO. WE ALWAYS INTENDED WE WERE GOING TO DO A PORTFOLIO REVIEW. YES, WE DID HAVE PRESSURE FROM ACTIVISTS, BUT QUITE FRANKLY WE HAD A LOT OF INVESTORS KEEP RAISING THIS ISSUE WITH US THAT WERE OUR NORMAL LONG-TERM SHAREHOLDERS. AND THAT'S WHAT WE ENDED UP DOING THE STUDY WITH MCKINSEY OVER THE LAST FOUR MONTHS TO GET TO THIS POINT. CRAMER: NOW, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE, ANDREW, TO UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S A DELAWARE COMPANY, A DELAWARE COMPANY AND A COMPANY IN MIDLAND WHICH IS DOW. DO YOU THINK THAT THIS NEW DIVISION MAKES ONE OF THE DIVISIONS LOOK A LOT LIKE DOW? LIVERIS: NOT REALLY. JUST TO PILE ON TO DAVID'S QUESTION, PURE PLAY MARKET VERTICALS WHERE YOU CAN OFFER WORLD --, BEST IN BREED, GROWTH CAPABILITIES TO YOUR CUSTOMERS IS WHAT THIS REALIGNMENT ENABLES US TO DO. WE WERE ABOUT 80%, 90% RIGHT THE FIRST TIME AROUND. BUT THE WAY ED DESCRIBED IT, WE LISTENED TO INVESTORS, WE DID OUR WORK AND THESE ACTUALLY CREATE GAME-CHANGING, MARKET-DRIVEN COMPANIES IN THE FUTURE. THE MATERIAL SCIENCE COMPANY WILL STILL BE VERY MARKET-DRIVEN. PACKAGING, INFRASTRUCTURE, CONSUMER CARE AS WELL AS BELOW COST AND INTEGRATED. SAME OVER IN SPECIALTIES, BUT DIFFERENT MARKETS. SO WE'VE CLEANED UP THE FACE TO THE CUSTOMER SO WE CAN BE EVEN LEANER, MORE FOCUSED AND DRIVEN. SO IT'S NOT DAD AND MOM'S DOW. THE TEN YEAR AGO DOW WAS VERY COMMODITY-LIKE. THIS IS A MUCH MORE STABLE OWNER. 19 QUARTERS IN A ROW OF EARNINGS GROWTH. SO AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE WILL CONTINUE THAT UNDER MATERIALS. AND WHEN WE CREATE THESE SEPARATE COMPANIES, MATERIALS WILL BE A MUCH MORE STABLE EARNINGS PROFILE COMPANY. CRAMER: ED, THE SPECIAL DIVISION. IT LOOKS A LOT TO ME LIKE ONE OF MY FAVORITE COMPANIES 3M. IT DOES HAVE ALL THE SEGMENTS THAT INGE THULIN HAS DONE SO WELL WITH. DO YOU THINK IT WILL BE EMBRACED BY PORTFOLIO MANAGERS IN A SIMILAR VEIN BECAUSE BOY, IS THAT A HIGH-PRICED --? BREEN: SO, I DO. LOOK, AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE HAVE FOUR VERY DISTINCT DIVISIONS NOW THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE A MARKET LEADER IN: TRANSPORTATION, ELECTRONICS, BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION, NUTRITION AND HEALTH. THEY ARE GREAT END MARKETS, MID-25% TYPE EBIT THE MARGINS, 5% R & D LEVELS, WHICH IS THE SAME AS THE COMPANY YOU JUST MENTIONED. BY THE WAY, RELATIVELY LOW CAPITAL EXPENDITURE, 4% OF SALES, SO THESE ARE REAL ROIC MACHINES, WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT A 3M IS. SO I WOULD PUT US IN THE PEER SET OF WHAT I CONSIDER THE TOP COMPANIES IN SPECIALTY: 3M, I WOULD PUT HONEYWELL THERE. AND I WOULD PUT DANAHER THERE. AND WITH $21 BILLION IN SALES, WE FIT RIGHT IN THE SWEET SPOT WITH THOSE COMPANIES. AND EVERY METRIC YOU LOOK AT, WE WILL BENCHMARK VERY WELL AGAINST THOSE COMPANIES. FABER: I WANT TO FAST FORWARD A BIT. YOU ANNOUNCED THIS THIS MORNING. IT'S BEEN WELL RECEIVED BY INVESTORS, INCLUDING SOME OF THE VERY ACTIVISTS, FOR EXAMPLE GLENVIEW PUTTING OUT A VERY POSITIVE REPONSE TO IT. BUT ANDREW, NOW IT'S ON TO, OKAY, HOW LONG TO SPIN THESE THINGS? HAVE YOU CHANGED YOUR TIMELINE AT ALL? ORIGINALLY I THINK IT WAS 18 TO 20 MONTHS. AND ALSO, WHAT SHOULD GO FIRST BECAUSE THERE DOES SEEM TO BE SOMEAT LEAST I HEARSOME DISCREPANCY BETWEEN WHAT YOU GUYS MIGHT FAVOR VERSUS WHAT SOME SHAREHOLDERS MIGHT FAVOR? LIVERIS: SO STABILIZING THE PORTFOLIO, JOB ONE, TWO AND THREE, JUST RECOGNIZE THIS IS A ONCE IN A LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY, NEVER BEEN DONE. 320 YEARS OF CORPORATE HISTORY. I'M VERY PROUD OF WHAT ED AND I AND OUR TEAMS HAVE DONE. WE HAVE GOTTEN TO THE STARTING GATE TODAY. NOW THE QUESTION YOU JUST ASKED, WE'VE GOT A MONTH TO TWO MONTHS WORTH OF WORK. WE COMMITTED TO OUR BOARD TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS SUCH THAT WE DON'T AFFECT THE TIMING, SUCH THAT WE DON'T AFFECT THE SYNERGIES. IN FACT, AS ED SAID, AND THE QUESTION THAT WAS ASKED BY JIM, SPECIALTY SHOULD HAVE UPSIDE ON GROWTH SYNERGIES, WE WILL DEFINE THOSE. MATERIALS SHOULD HAVE UPSIDE ON BOTH MITIGATING COST TO SYNERGIES AS WELL AS GETTING AT THE GROWTH SYNERGY. SO FRANKLY, OUR GOAL IS TO NOT LET IT AFFECT TIMING, NOT LET IT AFFECT SYNERGIES, BUT WE'VE GOT A WHOLE LOT OF WORK TO DO. RECOGNIZE, THERES 110,000 PEOPLE IN OPERATIONS AND HE AND I WAKE UP EVERY MORNING WORRYING TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE ALIGNED, TO NOT LET ONE CUSTOMER STOP BUYING FROM US AND STILL DRIVE THIS FOR THE GROWTH CURVE. FABER: ALL RIGHT, BUT WHAT ABOUT AG? SHOULD THAT BE FIRST OUT? WE HAVEN'T EVEN REALLY TALKED ABOUT THAT. LIVERIS: WE HAVE NOT TALKED ABOUT AG. ED AND I TALK ABOUT THAT A LOT. GO AHEAD AND TALK ABOUT AG. FABER: IS THAT -- SHOULD THAT BE FIRST OUT THE GATE? BREEN: WELL, AND IT MIGHT BE. THE CHANGES ARE HAPPENING TO MATERIAL CO AND SPEC CO. THERE'S NO CHANGES COMING ON THE AG SIDE OF IT, SO WHICHEVER WE CAN GET OUT FIRST WE WILL GET OUT BECAUSE IT'S TO THE BENEFIT OF THE SHAREHOLDERS. FABER: SO THEN, WHAT'S THAT DECISION BASED ON, AS TO WHATEVER YOU'LL GET OUT FIRST? BREEN: SO, FOR INSTANCE, WHAT WE HAVE TO DO NOW THERE'S A WHOLE BUNCH OF IT WORK TO UNINTEGRATE AND REINTEGRATE IN DIFFERENT DIVISIONS. WE HAVE A LOT OF LEGAL ENTITY SEPARATION WORK TO DO AND THAT TAKES TIME. AND SO WE'LL NOW BE STARTING THAT ON THIS PART OF THE PORTFOLIO. AG HAS BEEN WELL DOWN THE ROAD ON PUTTING THESE TWO COMPANIES TOGETHER, DOW AND DUPONT. LIVERIS: TO DIMENSIONALIZE IT, DAVID, IT'S 50 SITES THAT ARE AFFECTED NOW THAT WEREN'T AFFECTED BEFORE, WITH OVER 5,000 PEOPLE. SO OUR JOB IS TO STABILIZE THAT AG SHOULDNT BE AFFECTED, BUT ITS IT SYSTEMS, LEGAL ENTITIES AND THE WORK WE'VE GOT TO DO TO MITIGATE TO SYNERGIES. CRAMER: WELL, I DID A PIECE LAST NIGHT TALKING ABOUT THE VALUE CREATION YOU GENTLEMAN HAVE BROUGHT, TALKED ABOUT TYCO. ONE THING I DIDN'T COUNT ON WAS MARGIN COMPRESSION FROM INCREASED RAW MART, RAW MATERIAL COST, HEADWINDS FROM LOWER EXPECTED PLANTED CORN ACRES IN BRAZIL. I KNOW THAT THEY WENT FOR SOY. SOFTER CONDITIONS IN GLOBAL PACKAGED FOODS. WHEN I SAW THESE, I KIND OF FELT LIKE I HAD LET OUR VIEWERS DOWN BECAUSE THERE ARE SUBSTANTIVE CUTS IN EARNINGS. BREEN: THEY ARE VERY MINOR. BY THE WAY, MOST OF THIS IS PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE ALREADY. IT'S BEEN OUT THERE ABOUT THE CORN AND SOYBEAN ACREAGE ISSUE IN BRAZIL. WE'RE JUST CLARIFYING FOR PEOPLE BECAUSE WE NEVER GAVE THIRD QUARTER GUIDANCE, BUT OUR FORECASTS ARE RIGHT IN LINE WITH WHERE WE THOUGHT. AND IN FACT, BY THE WAY, AS YOU WATCH, WE HAVE POSTED 5% TO 6% VOLUME GROWTH THE LAST TWO QUARTERS AND WE'RE FEELING THAT WE'RE STILL RUNNING AT A HEALTHY CLIP RIGHT NOW LIVERIS: ON THE PACKAGING BUSINESS, RECOGNIZE WE HAVE LOW COST POSITIONS IN SAUDI ARABIA, U.S. GULF COAST. YOU STILL HAVEN'T VISITED OUR TEXAS SITE. ED'S BEEN NOW, HE'S SEEN IT. CRAMER: WELL, LET'S TALK ABOUT THAT BECAUSE WHAT WENT ON THERE WITH HURRICANE HARVEY? LIVERIS: ON THAT MODELING GUIDANCE, THERE'S DEFINITELY HURRICANE IMPACT. BUT WE WILL GET OVER HURRICANE IMPACTS. ACTUALLY, WE KEPT FREEPORT RUNNING RIGHT THROUGH HURRICANE. FABER: DON'T YOU BENEFIT IN PART FROM A RISE IN PETROCHEMICAL PRICES EVENTUALLY AS A RESULT OF ? LIVERIS: YOU READ BETWEEN THE LINES OF WHAT I JUST SAID TO JIM. SO LOOK, YEAH, THERE'S ISSUES OUT THERE -- BUT LET US GET AT IT, BUT I DON'T THINK MARGIN COMPRESSION IS A BIG ISSUE FOR US. FABER: ED, CAPITAL RETURN. NOW THIS IS GOING TO START, I'M SURE. I HAVE SPOKEN TO SOME OF YOUR INVESTORS ABOUT IT, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT $10 BILLION IN FREE CASH FLOW ANNUALLY. WHAT IS THE COMPANY'S PLAN IN TERMS OF ALLOCATION WHEN IT COMES TO EITHER DIVIDEND, RETURN TO CAPITAL THROUGH BUYBACKS? BREEN: LOOK, THE BOARD HAS BEEN OBVIOUSLY BUSY WITH THIS PORTFOLIO MOVE. I MEAN, WE HAVE DONE SO MANY MEETINGS WITH THEM PRE-MERGER AND THE FIRST WEEK OF THE MERGED COMPANIES. SO NOW WE'RE GOING TO MOVE ON TO SHARE REPURCHASE BUYBACK AND DIVIDEND. AND LOOK, I CAN SAY THIS ON DIVIDEND, BOTH COMPANIES ARE VERY DIVIDEND FRIENDLY COMPANIES PRE THE MERGER. YOU CAN EXPECT THAT THE BOARDS ARE GOING TO ACT THE SAME WAY WHEN IT COMES TO A DIVIDEND MOVING FORWARD. AND THEN SHARE REPURCHASE, WE BOTH HAVE BEEN DOING SHARE REPURCHASE I'M SURE YOU WILL SEE SOMETHING FROM US THERE. BUT TO BE ANNOUNCED HOPEFULLY IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS. FABER: NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS. WE'VE GOT A LOT COMING IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS, BY THE WAY, YOU'RE GOING TO TELL US. CRAMER: WE ARE VERY EXCITED ABOUT DOW CORNING BECAUSE IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN A FANTASTIC ASSET. CAN YOU GENTLEMAN EXPLAIN HOW IT WILL BE DIVIDED? THERE'S A DOWNSTREAM WITH VERY HIGH MARGINS. THERE'S AN UPSTREAM THAT PERIODICALLY HAS BEEN A LITTLE UP AND DOWN. WHERE IS THAT GOING? BREEN: SO WE'RE MOVING ABOUT 40% OF THE EBITA OF DOW CORNING INTO THE SPECIALTY BUSINESS. AND IT'S EXACTLY, JIM, WHAT YOU JUST SAID. WE'RE MOVING SOME HIGH MARGIN BUSINESSES INTO SPEC CO. BUT THE ONES WERE MOVING INTO SPEC CO, THEY LINE UP WITH OUR END MARKET. TSO HEY LINE UP IN SOME OF OUR AUTO MARKETS, THEY LINE UP IN SOME OF THE OUR BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION MARKET AREAS. AND EVEN IN OUR NUTRITION SIDE A COUPLE, SO THEY FIT LOGICALLY WITH THE END MARKET WITH OUR CUSTOMER THAT'S THE PIECE that moves -- LIVERIS: WHICH IS THE BIG BREAKTHROUGH HERE, WHEN YOU THINK OF VALUE CHAINS, ASSET CENTRIC VERSUS MARKET CENTRIC, WE LOOK AT THE VALUE CHAIN. WE DIDN'T LOOK AT DOW CORNING. WE LOOKED AT SILICONE CHEMISTRY AS A VALUE CHAIN, END USE MARKET DRIVEN OVER TO SPECIALTIES. ASSET CENTRIC, RAW MATERIAL DRIVEN STAY WITH MATERIALS. CRAMER: NOW, THERE ARE FAMILIAR BRANDS THAT OUR VIEWERS WANT TO KNOW ABOUT. THEY WANT TO KNOW ABOUT TYVEK, KEVLAR, THEY WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THESE DUPONT CREATIONS THAT ARE HOUSEHOLD. WHERE ARE THEY GOING? BREEN: SO THEY'RE GOING TO BE IN THE PROTECTION SOLUTIONS BUSINESS. LET ME GIVE YOU A GREAT EXAMPLE OF TWO BRAND NAMES THAT ARE COMING TOGETHER. YOU HAVE TYVEK FROM DUPONT, YOU HAVE CORIAN FROM DUPONT, YOU HAVE STYROFOAM FROM DOW AND WE'RE BRINGING THEM TOGETHER FOR THE WHOLE BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION ENVELOPE MARKET. THAT'S A VERY POWERFUL PLAY. AND OH BY THE WAY, ALSO WHAT COMES WITH DOW IS THEIR SEALANTS, THEIR CAULKING PRODUCTS, THEIR TAPE PRODUCTS FROM THE BUILDING WRAP AROUND A HOME, SO THE POWER OF THESE BUSINESSES COMING TOGETHER WILL BE PHENOMENAL FOR OUR END CUSTOMER. AT THE END OF THE DAY, SPEC CO IS 25% EVEN TO MARGINS GOING HIGHER WITH SYNERGIES, HIGH RETURNS, YOU HAVE TO GET GROWTH AND THIS IS A GROWTH PLAY FOR US . FABER: WELL THAT'S THE IDEA IS TO HAVE A MUCH HIGHER MULTIPLE ON THE SPECIALTY COMPANY, I WOULD ASSUME, OR AT LEAST THAT SEEMS TO BE WHAT INVESTORS ARE HOPING AND EXPECTING. BREEN: CORRECT. FABER: ANDREW, THERE'S BEEN FOCUS ON YOUR EXIT, IN PART AT LEAST. WHEN I SAT DOWN WITH THE TWO OF YOU ON THE DAY THE DEAL WAS ANNOUNCED, YOU INDICATED I BELIEVE IT WAS JUNE OF 17. THAT WAS EXTENDED. WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO LEAVE THIS COMPANY? LIVERIS: WELL LOOK, OUR OBLIGATION TO SHAREHOLDERS AND OUR WORK THAT WE HAD TO DO WAS NOT DONE. WE GOT DELAYED BY THE REGULATORY SIDE SO OUR BOARD, THE DOW BOARD BEFORE AND NOW THE COMBINED BOARD, STABILITY IS ONE OF MY KEY MANTRAS HERE. I HAVE VERY MUCH STRONG CONFIDENCE IN THE TEAM WE'VE ASSEMBLED. ON THE DOW SIDE, ON THE DUPONT SIDE, HOW THEY'RE WORKING TOGETHER WE JOKE, THERE'S CHEMISTRY BETWEEN THESE TWO MANAGEMENT TEAMS AND BOARD, THE NEW BOARD. SO I WILL FIND A TIME WHEN IT'S THE RIGHT TIME AND REALLY WHAT DRIVES ME TO THAT IS SUCCESSION. YOU HAVE TO GET SUCCESSION RIGHT. ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS ONE DOES, ED DID IT AT TYCO, WE HAVE TO DO IT HERE, IS SUCCESSION, NOT JUST FOR THE CURRENT ENTERPRISE BUT THE THREE WERE GOING TO CREATE. FABER: YOU HAVE TO RECRUIT MANAGEMENT AND BOARDS AS WELL FOR THOSE COMPANIES. LIVERIS: YEAH. WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK DONE ALREADY ON SOME OF THAT. FABER: BUT WHAT IS YOUR SENSE IN TERMS OF TIMING? IS IT APRIL OF NEXT YEAR WHICH I BELIEVE WAS A DATE YOU HAD PUT OUT THERE? LIVERIS: WHEN I ANNOUNCED THE EXTENSION, WE ANNOUNCED IT TO JULY. I WILL CHECK WITH MY WIFE TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION SPECIFICALLY. BUT LOOK, I WILL KNOW WHEN THE RIGHT TIME IS. MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE BOARD AND I WILL KNOW TOGETHER. CRAMER: I HAVE TO MAKE A SUGGESTION. I MEAN, YOU WERE COUNCIL ROCK, I WAS SPRINGFIELD HIGH. THESE ARE ADJOINING SCHOOL DISTRICTS, SO I CAN GIVE YOU ADVICE JUST LIKE WHEN YOU WERE THUMPING US THAT YOU CONSTANTLY DID. YOU HAVE A BUSINESS THAT IS INCREDIBLE, WHICH IS THIS MICROFOOD BUSINESS DO YOU KNOW YES, LISTEN TO ME. FABER: I'M LISTENING. CRAMER: BENNO DORER FROM CLOROX TELLS ME ONE DAY WE WILL ALL BE TAKING EXACTLY WHAT YOU MAKE, WHICH ARE THESE INCREDIBLE PROBIOTIC I'M TALKING ABOUT -- JUST LIKE WE CARE ABOUT CHOLESTEROL, WE WOULD CARE ABOUT THIS. CAN YOU PLEASE PLAY THIS UP A LITTLE MORE? BREEN: LOOK, THE PROBIOTICS BUSINESS IS OUR FASTEST GROWING SEGMENT WITHIN NUTRITION AND HEALTH. CRAMER: THANK YOU! BREEN: BY THE WAY, WE ARE JUST PENETRATING MARKETS, LIKE LITERALLY 1% PENETRATION IN CHINA. A COUPLE PERCENT IN EUROPE, MUCH BIGGER IN THE U.S. RIGHT NOW. THAT BUSINESS DURING LAST YEAR HAS GROWN CLOSE TO 30% EVERY QUARTER, QUARTER OVER QUARTER. IT'S AN INCREDIBLE BUSINESS. WE JUST INVESTED, ANNOUNCED AN INVESTMENT OF $100 MILLION ALL TO INCREASE CAPACITY IN PROBIOTICS. YOU CAN'T MAKE ENOUGH. CRAMER: YOU TAKE IT EVERY DAY? BREEN: I DO. FABER: PROBIOTICS AND STYROFOAM. WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT IT? GENTLEMEN, THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH. ED BREEN, CEO, ANDREW LIVERIS, EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, ON A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT AND I DO LIKE THE DUELING PINS, NOT DUELING, THE DUAL -- DID YOU NOTICE DOW AND DUPONT? CRAMER: I HAVE TO GET SOME OF THOSE. FABER: THAT'S COOL STUFF. COMING UP FROM DELIVERING ALPHA, WE WILL HAVE A LOT MORE, INCLUDING BRIDGEWATER'S RAY DALIO. YOU WILL WANT TO HEAR HIS TAKE ON THE INVESTMENT CLIMATE. "SQUAWK ON THE STREET" IS COMING RIGHT BACK. About CNBC: With CNBC in the U.S., CNBC in Asia Pacific, CNBC in Europe, Middle East and Africa, and CNBC World, CNBC is the recognized world leader in business news and provides real-time financial market coverage and business information to more than 409 million homes worldwide, including more than 91 million households in the United States and Canada. CNBC also provides daily business updates to 400 million households across China. The network's 15 live hours a day of business programming in North America (weekdays from 4:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. ET) is produced at CNBC's global headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and includes reports from CNBC News bureaus worldwide. CNBC at night features a mix of new reality programming, CNBC's highly successful series produced exclusively for CNBC and a number of distinctive in-house documentaries. CNBC also has a vast portfolio of digital products which deliver real-time financial market news and information across a variety of platforms including: CNBC.com; CNBC PRO, the premium, integrated desktop/mobile service that provides live access to CNBC programming, exclusive video content and global market data and analysis; a suite of CNBC mobile products including the CNBC Apps for iOS, Android and Windows devices; and additional products such as the CNBC App for the Apple Watch and Apple TV. Members of the media can receive more information about CNBC and its programming on the NBCUniversal Media Village Web site at http://www.nbcumv.com/programming/cnbc. For more information about NBCUniversal, please visit http://www.NBCUniversal.com. The work that Apple and other tech companies are doing on artificial intelligence is "hugely important," tech billionaire Tom Siebel told CNBC on Tuesday. "Think about the power they have in iPhone in your hand" for just hundreds of dollars, the chief executive of C3 loT said on "Squawk Alley" from the Delivering Alpha conference present by CNBC and Institutional Investor magazine. "That amount of computing would have cost approximately $1 billion in 1970." "With the massive availability of storage, massive availability of extremely powerful processing capability, we're able to engage in a class of applications that were heretofore impossible ... [applications] generally called AI," he said. Earlier this year, Apple expanded its team in Seattle to focus on artificial intelligence advances. The tech giant been publicly releasing its AI research in a machine learning blog. Siebel spoke before Apple's widely anticipated product event Tuesday at its new campus where it's projected to unveil three new iPhones, among other products. The company's expected high-end iPhone has also been rumored to make use of AI. Before C3 loT, Siebel was chairman and CEO of Siebel Systems, which became a leader in application software with more than 4,500 corporate customers, and annual revenue in excess of $2 billion. "Quite a few" possible 2020 presidential hopefuls have already come knocking for money, according to Democratic donor Marc Lasry, co-founder of distressed asset specialist Avenue Capital. Lasry, who supported Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump, refused to name names during a CNBC interview Tuesday. But he did say they were all politicians and none is from the business world. "It's all the people you would think." The billionaire investor stressed that Democrats need to have a message beyond "anybody but Trump" if they want to take the White House. Democrat John Kerry found out the same thing in 2004 an "anyone but Bush" message was not enough to send incumbent Republican President George W. Bush packing, said Lasry, chairman and CEO of Avenue Capital, which has about $9.6 billion in assets under management. Lasry did, however, admit he's seen good returns since Trump became president, in a rally that continues to fuel records in the stock market. "We've done well, thank God." In Monday's powerful advance, the S&P 500 closed at an all-time high, pushing the index to a nearly 17 percent gain since Election Day. In addition to running Avenue Capital, Lasry owns a stake in the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks. Lasry appeared in New York on "Squawk Box" ahead of participating in a 9 a.m. ET global investing panel at the day-long Delivering Alpha conference organized by CNBC and Institutional Investor magazine. In addition to Lasry, Delivering Alpha participants include Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Omega Advisors Chairman Leon Cooperman, Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio, Blackstone chief Steve Schwarzman, DowDupont CEO Edward Breen, Kynikos Associates' Jim Chanos and JPMorgan Chase chief Jamie Dimon. watch now Traditional European automakers are increasingly prioritizing the development of electric cars over combustion engines as they seek to gain market share in a space dominated by U.S. upstart Tesla. "It is quite clear the future will be electric," Ralf Speth, Jaguar Land Rover chief executive, told CNBC on Tuesday. "We are going to deliver a step-by-step complete electrified portfolio and from 2020 onwards all of our cars will deliver the option to be electrified," he added. A global crackdown on diesel cars in the wake of Volkswagen cheating on emission tests has ramped up the pressure on automakers to rapidly develop electric alternatives. Yet it's not just European automakers that should work upon this step towards a cleaner landscape. Another leading car firm explained to CNBC how this situation needs to be seen from "a global approach", as it's about how the world will produce clean electricity as well as fixing other issues such as looking into the carbon footprint of manufacturing the batteries. "We need to embrace this electrification direction with which (PSA Groupe) are fine on a global approach, and not only on the mobility device itself," Carlos Tavares, chairman of the managing board at PSA Groupe said Tuesday. 'We will see battery cars faster than anybody expected' watch now Speaking on the sidelines of the Frankfurt Motor Show, Jaguar Land Rover's Speth argued a collaborative effort between governments and energy markets would ultimately alleviate any lingering worries throughout the industry. Several automakers have previously expressed concerns that a lack of infrastructure investment could stall the rollout of electric cars over the coming years. "I am absolutely confident we will see battery cars faster than anybody expected on the street and therefore all of the infrastructures will catch up," Speth added. Traditional carmakers, such as Jaguar Land Rover, BMW and Ford have all sped up their respective plans to mass produce electric cars in order to challenge the likes of Tesla . "We have got an investment of about $4.5 billion in electrified vehicles coming over the next few years. And the first one of those for us, as a specific electrified vehicle in Europe, will be in 2020," Steven Armstrong, EMEA president of Ford, told CNBC on Tuesday. Armstrong explained the upcoming launch of Ford's electric model would be a "cross-over" style vehicle with a battery range of about 480 kilometers. watch now Audi chimed in with its own ambitious plans on Tuesday, explaining it hopes to produce new models for the eco-friendly consumers in the years to come. "Audi is starting with a pure-electric car next year, with an SUV (which has) a range of 500 kilometers", Rupert Stadler, chairman of the board of management at Audi told CNBC, adding that it was "a good starting point" for the brand. "Then I would say at least one additional car a year come to the market. So our expectation is until 2025, 30 to 35 percent of our cars will be pure electric, and of course the model range will be greater than ever," he added. The chief executives of luxury automakers Bentley and Porsche also expressed their desire to get engaged with the new electric vehicle space, with Porsche planning on getting an all-electric car in the market by 2020. Questions over 'user convenience' watch now watch now European stocks finished Tuesday mostly higher as investors took stock of the impact of Hurricane Irma while tensions on the Korean Peninsula appeared to abate. The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended trade up 0.52 percent, off session highs, while almost all sectors closed in the black. The German DAX and the French CAC closed the session sharply higher, up 0.4 percent and 0.62 percent respectively; with most periphery bourses ending in the black too. The FTSE 100 , however, came under pressure following the latest U.K. inflation data, finishing 0.17 percent down. European markets On Tuesday, European equities were supported by its fellow markets in Asia and in the U.S., with all regions posting solid gains as investors took sanctuary in easing geopolitical tensions. On Monday, the U.S. insisted that it was not looking for war with North Korea, despite joining other members of the United Nations Security Council in unanimously agreeing to step up sanctions against the closed state. Irma's impact on European sectors Banks and financial services were among the top performing sectors in Europe, both up 1 percent or more by the close. Investment manager Partners Group AG was near the top of the STOXX 600, finishing up more than 4 percent. Deutsche Bank , Commerzbank and Italy's Banco BPM meanwhile shifted higher and all closed above 2.5 percent, buoyed by the shifting sentiment. The insurance sector popped 0.78 percent as individual stocks began their recovery from Hurricane Irma. The storm, thought to be one of the most powerful ever to hit the Atlantic, was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone on Tuesday by the U.S.' National Hurricane Center and analysts have suggested that its economic impact might be slightly lower than previously anticipated. The travel and leisure industry finished on a positive note, despite facing criticism over its relief efforts for tourists in the wake of the storm. Some individual stocks, however, took a hit from a series of strikes in France over President Emmanuel Macron's labor reforms. Ryanair closed roughly flat, after some 20,000 passengers had their flights canceled as a result of the strike. watch now Looking at individual stocks, Swiss security firm Dormakaba soared 8.54 percent after reporting a 9.4 percent increase in sales Tuesday. Construction firm Ashtead Group meanwhile rose 4.45 percent after it forecast increased demand following hurricanes Harvey and Irma. However, shares in Sky declined 1.62 percent, after the British government toughened its stance on the $15 billion takeover of the broadcaster by Rupert Murdoch. The surprise move concerned investors during trade over fears that the takeover could be blocked, Reuters reported. U.K. inflation rises higher U.K. inflation rose higher in August, hitting 2.9 percent, according to new data released by The Office for National Statistics Tuesday. The figures will add renewed pressure to the Bank of England, which will meet Thursday to make its latest monetary policy decision. Around the market close, the U.K. pound was trading up against the likes of the euro and U.S. dollar. Also in Britain, the U.K. government passed a major hurdle in Brexit negotiations Tuesday, receiving backing from British lawmakers in the first stage of its bid to extract the U.K. from EU law. Meanwhile, Norway's conservative prime minister, Erna Solberg, and her right-wing coalition government claimed victory in the country's general election Tuesday. Looking ahead, investors will be keeping a watchful eye on U.S. tech giant Apple on Tuesday, as the company delivers its latest consumer products event. Consequently, the event took up attention on Wall Street, with stocks trading in the black on Tuesday. Investors in Chinese online peer-to-peer lender Ezubao protest in Beijing on February 4, 2016. A Beijing court sentenced two men who directed a large Ponzi scheme to life imprisonment, state news agency Xinhua reported on Tuesday. Peer-to-peer lender Ezubao shut down last year after raising more than 50 billion Chinese yuan ($7.6 billion) from about 900,000 investors, Xinhua reported last year. By the time police made arrests, Ezubao had failed to repay 38 billion Chinese yuan ($5.8 billion), Reuters reported. Among the 26 given sentences over the scam was Ding Ning, Ezubao's founder and chairman of the platform's holdings company Anhui Yucheng, who was sentenced to life in prison for fraud and crimes including precious metals smuggling and illegally possessing firearms. He was also fined 100 million Chinese yuan ($15.3 million). Ding Dian, the brother of the chairman, was also sentenced to life and fined 70 million Chinese yuan ($10.7 million). Twenty-four others involved in the scam were jailed for three to 15 years. The ruling comes as the Chinese government is cracking down on risky and illegal financial practices in the country. There are four big reasons to be bullish on electric vehicles, according to Bernstein. Government support, improving cost economics, technological development, and increasing acceptance of the powertrain by both customers and automakers all suggest the market is nearing an inflection point with the technology, said Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi in a note sent Tuesday. Right now, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) make up only a small portion of total vehicle sales, and critics say there are a number of limitations, such as limited charging infrastructure, and the relatively long time needed to charge a vehicle. For a long time, automakers seemed reluctant to invest in EVs, and customers did not seem terribly interested in buying them. But the factors listed above appear to be turning that around. First, government support has boomed. Countries are beginning to make pledges to phase out internal combustion cars entirely in the next few decades. Notably, the United Kingdom recently said it will ban the sale of all new gasoline and diesel cars starting in 2040. France has as well. Those countries account for 6 percent of all global auto sales, Sacconaghi said. China, the world's largest car market, is considering a similar move, but has not given an exact timetable. Even countries without plans to ban gasoline cars outright have fuel efficiency standards that will increasingly put technical pressure on combustion engines. Japan, the European Union, the United States, Canada, China, South Korea, Mexico, Brazil, and India, collectively make up 80 percent of all auto sales around the world, and all have some kind of fuel efficiency regulation. The second factor is rapidly improving cost economics. Sacconaghi forecasts that in 10 years, battery electrics will cost about the same to make as internal combustion engines. As "stringent fuel efficiency standards" make gasoline cars more expensive, fuel savings and government incentives make electrics cheaper. In addition, the cost of electric drivetrains is declining faster than expected, Sacconaghi said. "And even with no subsidy and no fuel savings factored, electric powertrains may still reach absolute cost parity before 2030, at which point we believe it is game over for ICE cost efficiency," he said. Third, battery electrics have certain technical advantages over internal combustion engines for many customers. For example, the ability to conveniently charge cars allows drivers to avoid a trip to the gas station. Battery electric motors also offer instant torque, which makes for a different driving experience. They still have disadvantages, such as longer charging time and lower range. But the advantages will remain constant and the disadvantages will diminish, Sacconaghi said. Finally, there is a shift in market sentiment, Sacconaghi said. "Even if we disregard the governmental, economic, and technological tailwinds benefiting the BEV segment, market momentum is increasing for BEVs, in no small part thanks to Tesla . Importantly, Tesla has created a compelling BEV unlike any other offered on the market: the Model S, X, and 3 all have wide consumer appeal and excellent performance; arguably, Tesla is changing the mindsets of consumers in terms of what an EV can be." Automakers are noticing. Several are releasing electric models, and some are making massive investments. Jaguar Land Rover on Thursday said all of its models will be electric by 2020. Volkswagen is investing $24 billion to make 80 electric models by 2025. These are just a few examples. General Motors released the Chevrolet Bolt, and has said it will continue pursuing electrification. Ford has also reportedly been working on electric vehicles, in particular an electric SUV. "Seeing Tesla's success and bracing for a BEV future, OEMs have jumped onboard," Sacconaghi said. The upcoming federal election in Germany is not going to throw Brexit negotiations off course, but the U.K. needs to face the reality that Brexit is not the greatest priority for the EU, according to the head of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). The EU will remain united in its approach to Brexit negotiations regardless of the outcome on September 24, Klaus Regling, managing director of the ESM, told CNBC Tuesday. "I see a great unity among the EU member states and I don't think the German election is going to derail that," Regling noted. However, he insisted that the vote, the last of three major elections across Europe this year, shows that that EU member states have other equally important issues on their agendas. "They (the EU) have deliberately decided to be very transparent, so there should be no surprises," Regling continued, referring to the aftermath of Germany's vote. "But, in general, in this country (the U.K.) people must realize there are also some other priorities on the continent. "Brexit seems to be the only topic in this city, and maybe in the country. In the continent it's quite different: it's one topic among many." Specifically, the analyst likes Royal Caribbean and said it's on the firm's "Best Ideas List due to its compelling balance of risk and reward." That said, he believes Norwegian has "more upside from here." "We see the resulting sell-off in the cruise space as an opportunity," Hardiman said. In trading Tuesday, Royal Caribbean was down fractionally while Norwegian and Carnival were up less than 1 percent. Shares of major cruise line operators Carnival , Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line were under pressure last week but have started to bounce back. Still, they remain below recent highs. "August pricing remained strong, and although the two major hurricanes are likely to be material to numbers, the impact should be short-lived," said Wedbush analyst James Hardiman in a research note Tuesday. Despite cancelled sailings and other impacts from Irma and Harvey, it's "insufficient to derail strong trends" in the cruise industry, according to an analyst. Two Carnival cruise ships dock at a cruise terminal in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Harvey in Galveston, Texas, in this September 1, 2017 photo. Hardiman said the storm-related headwinds to the cruise line operators includes sailings that were cancelled because ships were unable to get new passengers. Also he said there were cases of ships being unable to drop off passengers at the end of their regularly scheduled trips. "Since these ships stayed at sea, while they were not able to recognize the revenues associated with the cancelled trips, they were incurring the vast majority of the costs associated with the cancelled voyages," he said. According to Hardiman, average pricing growth for Royal Caribbean across its "entire 0-18 month booking curve was up 1 percent in August, a sequential acceleration from July's 4 percent decline." He said Nowegian's pricing in the same booking period for August was up about 6 percent. For Carnival, meantime, he said the cruise line had a 2 percent year-over-year pricing growth in August, which he said was "slightly" ahead of the July trend. "Based on our analysis of the ships impacted by the recent hurricanes off of Texas and Florida, we are modeling a small but material headwind, albeit one that we believe to be inconsequential in the broader context," the analyst said. As for earnings per share impact, Hardiman estimates the two hurricanes will represent a 3-cent haircut to Carnival's bottom line for the full year, and his 2017 EPS forecast is for $3.76 (Thomson Reuters' Street consensus is $3.74). He said that impact will occur "mainly 4Q but a small amount in 3Q." For Royal Caribbean, the analyst estimates the full-year EPS impact from the hurricane headwinds will be 7 cents per share, bringing the firm's 2017 estimate to $7.36 (Street EPS consensus is $7.44). And for Norwegian the forecast is for a 2 cent per share headwind, resulting in the research firm's 2017 EPS forecast dropping to $4.01 (the Street's mean is $3.99). Meantime, Carnival tweeted today that the Port of Tampa reopened and its Carnival Paradise ship will dock there Wednesday morning. Also it said the Port of Miami "remains closed" although Norwegian Cruise Line said its Norwegian Escape ship is scheduled to arrive at the Miami port complex Wednesday morning. CNBC reached out to the Port of Miami for further comment but a tweet from the complex indicated that it was open. The Port of Miami is the headquarters for five cruise lines. Hurricane season hasn't been kind to airlines. Carriers cancelled more than 25,000 flights as a result of hurricanes Harvey and Irma, according to plane tracker Flight Aware, a total exacerbated by where the storms struck: hubs of the largest U.S. carriers. American Airlines on Tuesday lowered its revenue projection for this quarter to no more than a 1 percent year-on-year rise from a forecast last month of as much as a 2.5 percent increase due to the storm. "It's more painful. There's no question," said Samuel Engel, who heads the aviation division at consulting firm ICF. Hubs are not just centers for flights but "for maintenance and and crew." More than 10,000 flights were cancelled due to Hurricane Harvey after flooding in Houston, where United Airlines and Southwest Airlines operate hubs. Last week United said the storm, which also drove up fuel prices, would cost it $400 million in third-quarter revenue. American Airlines said Tuesday that it has resumed operations at its hub in Miami and other Florida airports, which restarted operations on a limited basis. Miami International Airport, Florida's largest, said it suffered water damage from Hurricane Irma over the weekend and that about 30 percent of the some 1,100 flights that it handles a day were operating on Tuesday. Irma, which made landfall on Florida as a major hurricane on Sunday, grounded more than 14,000 flights, 10,000 of those in Florida. Heavy winds and rain from the storm also forced Delta to cancel flights at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world's busiest airport. Delta, United and JetBlue also said would resume limited operations to and from Florida airports on Tuesday. The final financial toll on airlines isn't clear but because of forecasting, carriers were able to plan, by moving planes out of affected areas and onto other routes, unlike during one of the sudden system outages or computer glitches that have plagued airlines in recent years. The biggest logistical challenge for airlines this week, Engel said, is getting crew in place to service the storm-hit airports. Mary Callahan Erdoes speaking during a panel sessions with Marc Lasry and Michael Trotsky at the 2017 Delivering Alpha conference in New York on Sept 12, 2017. Big institutional investors overseeing trillions of dollars said they believe the opportunities to beat stock market benchmarks are increasing. And the best place for investors to do that right now are abroad, in emerging markets where growth is accelerating, said Mary Callahan Erdoes, chief executive officer of JPMorgan Asset Management, which had $1.87 trillion of investor assets under management as of the end of the second quarter. "Thank God alpha is back," Erdoes said. Her sentiment was joined by other members of a panel at the Delivering Alpha conference Tuesday in New York, including Mark Lasry of the hedge fund Avenue Capital, Michael Trotsky of the Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board and Mark Baumgartner of the Institute for Advanced Study. With the U.S. stock market hitting another record high Tuesday, the panelists said investors could find better-priced opportunities in Europe, China and emerging markets, where 80 percent of the economies are in expansion mode, Erdoes said. A year ago, that figure was under 50 percent. Trotsky said the high flying U.S. market is an indicator that investors are either "very confident or very complacent." While there are still pockets of value in the U.S. stock market, another strategy that should work once again is to take short positions in stocks, which are bets they will decline in value. "In general if equities are overvalued if bonds are overvalued there is an opportunity to go short," Baumgartner said. In the United States, investors could find opportunities in real estate, the panelists said. Trotsky also said the Massachusetts pension fund had invested in U.S. timberland and agriculture and was looking to U.S. small cap stocks. The Delivering Alpha conference is presented by CNBC and Institutional Investor. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note sat higher at 2.171 percent at 3:00 p.m. ET, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was up at 2.775 percent. Bond yields move inversely to prices. U.S. Treasury yields rose on Tuesday as investors digested data releases and awaited auction results, while keeping an eye on the economic impact of the now former-Hurricane Irma. Looking to data, the National Federation of Independent Business' (NFIB) small business optimism index rose to 105.3 in August from 105.2 in July. The U.S. Labor Department's latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report found job openings little changed at 6.2 million on the last business day of July. Over the month, hires and separations were also little changed at 5.5 million and 5.3 million, respectively. The Treasury Department auctioned $20 billion in 10-year notes at a high yield of 2.18 percent. The bid-to-cover ratio, an indicator of demand, was 2.28. Indirect bidders, which include major central banks, were awarded 55.3 percent. Direct bidders, which includes domestic money managers, bought 6 percent. 'It's clear just based on the two auctions seen this week that yields got too low for investor taste at least for now," wrote Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst at Lindsey Group. "The yield of 2.18% was one full basis point above the when issued. The bid to cover of 2.28 was well below the one year average of 2.42," he added. After a turbulent weekend, Hurricane Irma was downgraded from a Category 5 hurricane to a tropical storm on Monday, however, the National Hurricane Center still warned that the storm was producing wind gusts which are close to hurricane force. It has since been downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone. On Tuesday, Irma is currently moving its way across the South East of the U.S. On the political front, North Korea's relationship with the West will remain a key point of focus for investors on Tuesday. The United Nations Security Council stepped up pressure on the country's textile exports and capped imports on crude oil. On the commodities front, oil prices rose on Tuesday, even though concerns surrounding the economic impact of the likes of Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Harvey remain. These leaders are at the front lines of the link between global warming and hurricanes. They understand that with warmer air comes warmer water, which evaporates quickly, putting water vapor into the atmosphere. In turn, the warm air holds the vapor longer, so when a storm happens, it drops more rain. At the same time, the extra heat in the air and water means there is more energy to feed the storm, raising the wind speed of the hurricane. Finally, higher sea levels (also a result of warmer water) leads to storm surge. Many of these impacts are avoidable. But the longer we take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels, the worse these impacts will be, and the steeper the human and economic costs. A few years ago, I contributed to a report for the Risky Business Project, a bipartisan group set up to assess economic impacts of climate change. We estimated that rising seas would likely swallow between $5.6 and $14.8 billion of coastal Florida property by 2030. Using historical hurricane data, we estimated that rising sea levels would likely cost the Lone Star state $3.9 billion per year by 2050. Our one-in-twenty and one-in-one hundred projections were far more severe, and much closer to what we've actually seen in the past few weeks. In fact, the most recent cost estimate of the damages from Irma and Harvey is $290 billion. That figure doesn't include the extra cost of higher gas prices across the country as Houston's fossil fuel facilities slowly come back online. It doesn't account for the damage to fragile ecosystems. And it doesn't even begin to account for the lives lost, the loss of community as families are displaced and homes, schools and places of worship are destroyed. That's the thing about climate changeas long as we continue on our current emissions pathway, what was once a remote possibility becomes a likely outcome. To change the trajectory, we must alter our path. We can start with better planning that takes climate science into account. Across the country, local policy makers must incorporate climate change into their infrastructure and planning decisions, especially when those decisions have decades-long consequences. We can no longer afford unlimited development in flood-prone areas, or to deliberately ignore how the ocean is reclaiming entire neighborhoods with sea level rise. We must make our energy grid more resilient with solar and wind technology-both of which are quick to begin producing energy after a disaster. When politicians spend public funds without considering climate change, they squander taxpayer money and put their constituents in danger. With the federal government in denial, it's up to city and state leadership to listen to scientists, recognize what is happening all around them, and plan accordingly. As Harvey and Irma demonstrate, doing nothing on climate change is a radically risky choice, one that comes with a price tag no one is happy to pay. Commentary by Kate Gordon, a senior advisor at the Paulson Institute, where she provides strategic support on issues related to climate change and sustainable economic growth, and a nonresident fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. She is also the founding director of the Risky Business Project, an initiative that assesses the economic risks of climate change, and the author of the 2015 report "Come Heat and High Water: Climate Risk in the Southeastern U.S. and Texas." Follow her on Twitter @katenrg. For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter. Taxpayers affected by Hurricane Irma are getting a reprieve from meeting certain filing deadlines. The Internal Revenue Service announced today that individuals who make quarterly estimated tax payments have until Jan. 31, 2018 to make the payments that would have been due this Friday, Sept. 15, and Jan. 16, 2018. Additionally, if you filed for an extension on your 2016 returns, the deadline for getting in your paperwork is extended to Jan. 31 instead of Oct. 16. If you owed money to the IRS, you'll still be on the hook for a late-payment penalty and interest, however, because 2016 payments were due months ago, on April 18. The delay also applies to those affected by Hurricane Harvey. Here's some good news for lieutenants of JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon: they could be the chosen one. Dimon, 61, said the next chief executive of the bank will come from within its own executive ranks. "The successor for JPMorgan is inside JPMorgan," he said Tuesday in New York at the Delivering Alpha conference presented by presented by CNBC and Institutional Investor. Followers of his career and of the bank have long wondered who the next CEO would be, given a steady exodus of top managers over the years who could have been contenders but were either too close in age to Dimon or didn't have the right timing. JPMorgan's executive diaspora includes Jes Staley, 60, now the CEO of Barclays , Bill Winters, turning 56 this month, now at Standard Chartered, and Charlie Scharf, 51, recently named CEO of Bank of New York Mellon . In June, Matt Zames, 46, quit as chief operating officer, arguably Dimon's right-hand person, to pursue running a company. Top executives still at the company include CFO Marianne Lake, asset management chief Mary Callahan Erdoes, and investment and corporate bank chief Daniel Pinto. The board has several candidates among the executive ranks who could take his job today, Dimon said. The appointed time may not come for another five years, though, Dimon said. That is the "running joke" for the amount of time he plans to stay at the helm of the bank, where he first became CEO in 2006 after its 2004 merger with Bank One, the Chicago bank he also once ran. "I'm not going to go run another company," he said, but "I would get bored too quickly" leaving now. Those vanishing areas of dark blue are what Obamacare's effect on the number of Americans without health insurance looks like. The United States Census Bureau on Tuesday released a series of maps that vividly show broad increases in health coverage nationally in the years after full implementation of the Affordable Care Act. The maps use dark blue to show states that have 14 percent or more of their residents without health insurance. Lighter shades of blue highlight states with lower uninsured rates. Census officials published the maps as they released a report revealing that the number of Americans who lacked health insurance fell to a low of 28.1 million people, or just 8.8 percent of the population, in 2016. That was the last full year in office for President Barack Obama, who won passage of the Affordable Care Act. The uninsured rate last year was 0.3 percentage points lower than what it was in 2015 and almost half of what it was in 2010, the year that Obamacare began taking effect. In 2010, the percentage of people without health insurance stood at 16.3 percent, or a whopping 49 million Americans. Most states continued to see decreases in their uninsured rates last year, with only 11 states seeing no drop. But the maps also underscore that the recent gains in health insurance coverage under the ACA have not been consistent nationally. Those gains were most dramatic in states that as allowed by the ACA expanded eligibility for their residents' access to Medicaid, the health coverage program for mainly poor people that is jointly run with the federal government. The uninsured rate among so-called expansion states was just 6.5 percent in 2016, Census officials said. In those states, all legal residents whose incomes are less than 138 percent of the federal poverty rate are eligible to enroll in Medicaid. But in states that did not expand Medicaid, the uninsured rate was 11.7 percent last year. The easy money has been made off retail's meltdown, and now it's time to see where the sector is going, billionaire Marc Lasry told CNBC on Tuesday. "We've covered quite a bit," the chairman and CEO of Avenue Capital said ahead of the 2017 Delivering Alpha Conference presented by CNBC and Institutional Investor magazine. "Right now, whatever we've made money [on] we've made money on. I think the issue today is where is retail going. We'll all find out in a year," he added in an interview on CNBC's "Squawk Box" ahead of the conference. "The easy money has been made, and now you're sort of going to wait. It's a melting ice cube. And the question is how fast is it melting?" Earlier this year, Lasry told CNBC he went short on retail. He said the issues facing retailers were "just too big" and those stocks would likely see more downside. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) , a popular exchange-traded fund that tracks the performance of retail stocks in the S&P 500, was up 1.74 percent over the last 30 days but was more than 8 percent lower for the year, according to FactSet. Lasry said Tuesday his firm is now looking for potential longs but added he's not seeking a stock like Amazon . "I'm looking at companies today where their debt has gotten hit and their equities have gotten hit, and we'll probably start investing in that sector again in the next three to six months as we get a better feel for what's happening," he said. "It's more high end. ... Like a J.Crew or a couple others," he added. In addition to Lasry, Delivering Alpha participants include Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Omega Advisors Chairman Leon Cooperman, Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio, Blackstone chief Steve Schwarzman, DowDupont CEO Edward Breen, Kynikos Associates' Jim Chanos and JPMorgan Chase chief Jamie Dimon. It seems that heavy rainfall and record flooding in Texas and Florida is putting a damper on McDonald's third-quarter results. Data tracker M Science said Tuesday that its sales forecast for the Golden Arches is weaker than that of Wall Street analysts, according to Bloomberg. M Science did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment. The report sent shares of the company falling 3.2 percent, the worst one-day decline for McDonald's since July 26, 2016, according to FactSet. Hurricane Harvey, which hit Texas last month, and Hurricane Irma, which is still making its way up the east coast, is expected to weigh heavily on August and September sales at restaurants. McDonald's, which has more than 2,000 locations in Texas and Florida, is not immune to these expected declines. M Science found that the burger chain will likely miss on domestic revenue and same-store sales in the coming quarter, Bloomberg reported. The earnings slip comes after a strong second quarter for McDonald's, which saw sales boosted by the restaurant's menu of upscale burgers and chicken sandwiches and discounted beverages. Read the full report from Bloomberg. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Tuesday the Trump administration is considering backdating tax reform to the start of this year to boost the economy. Backdating "is still something we are considering and it would be a big boon for the economy," he said at the Delivering Alpha conference presented by CNBC and Institutional Investor. Republicans aim to overhaul the American tax code but have faced various hurdles in their goal of passing a tax reform bill this year. Congress and the White House have not yet released a plan but are working this month to prepare legislation. Mnuchin heads to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to discuss tax policy with GOP congressional leaders, the latest in a series of meetings. Earlier Tuesday, Mnuchin insisted that a tax overhaul would happen this year. "We're going to get this done by the end of the year," Mnuchin told CNBC, adding that the administration is "super focused" on the goal following the three-month debt limit and government funding extension passed last week. The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing on Thursday on individual tax reform. Sen. Orrin Hatch, the committee's chairman and one of the six primary tax negotiators, said he expects to share the plan with other lawmakers after that and other hearings. President Donald Trump urged lawmakers last week to push forward with tax legislation "ASAP," telling them not to wait until the end of September. Tax reform is one of the key planks of the agenda he pitched as a candidate, and he has made two recent speeches touting the benefits of changes to the tax system without offering new details. Trump has promised a plan to chop personal income taxes, slash corporate and pass-through company rates and have a one-time repatriation tax to encourage companies to bring back cash parked overseas. Republicans still face questions about how they will make up for the revenue lost in major tax cuts, especially because they have abandoned border adjustment, a cash-raising provision championed by House Speaker Paul Ryan. Mnuchin said Trump's goal of chopping the corporate tax rate to 15 percent could be difficult to achieve. "I don't know if we'll be able to achieve that given the budget issues. But we're going to get this down to a very competitive level," Mnuchin said. The Treasury secretary also addressed deductions, most of which the administration said it wants to eliminate under its tax plan. That includes getting rid of state and local tax deductions. Mnuchin said he hopes the decrease in federal rates will help to offset the loss of those deductions. Trump and White House officials have previously said they hope they can win over some Democratic senators on tax reform and reach 60 votes. The alternative is using budget reconciliation, which would require only a majority vote, meaning it could pass with only the 52 Republican senators. Mnuchin said Republicans are prepared to use reconciliation if they cannot reach 60 votes. Some top GOP senators, including Hatch, have previously said they expect to have to use reconciliation. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin speaking at the 2017 Delivering Alpha conference in New York on Sept. 12, 2017. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Janet Yellen is under consideration to retain her position as Federal Reserve chair, but "there's a lot of great people" being considered for the post. Mnuchin, speaking at the Delivering Alpha conference presented by CNBC and Institutional Investor, said he has been working with President Donald Trump on filling the Fed chairman position. Yellen's term expires early next year. Trump has said White House economic advisor Gary Cohn is a candidate, but Mnuchin would not comment specifically on whether Cohn is still being considered. "I obviously will respect the confidentiality of the process and not make any comments on any specific people that the president is considering," said Mnuchin. The White House has a number of empty Fed seats to fill, including that of Fed Vice Chair Stanley Fischer who resigned last week. Trump reportedly has become unhappy with Cohn, after the director of the White House Economic Council publicly rebuked the president for his reaction to violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. But Mnuchin did comment on the fact that Yellen remains under consideration. "I'm working closely with the president on the issue. He hasn't made any decisions and that's one of the things he's still considering," said Mnuchin "There's a lot of good people. The chair is obviously quite talented, and she's being considered, but there's a lot of great people that we've been meeting with and considering as well." Mnuchin would not comment on Cohn's relationship with the president. In response to a question about his relationship with Cohn, Mnuchin said the two have been working closely together on taxes, and would be meeting with the president at dinner on Tuesday night. "Let's me just say, you know I appreciate working with him," said Mnuchin, who had worked with Cohn at Goldman Sachs. Former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh is also reported to be under consideration for the Fed chair. Nordstrom family members are close to choosing private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners to help fund a buyout of the eponymous department store, people familiar with the matter said Tuesday. Leonard Green would provide the Nordstrom family members with roughly $1 billion in equity to help fund the deal, the sources said. The family group, which owns 31.2 percent of the 116-year-old retailer, said in June it was looking to take Nordstrom private. It has since been looking for a private equity partner to help support the deal and also held talks with KKR and Apollo. The deal between Nordstrom and Leonard Green has not been finalized and other parties could make a move to disrupt the talks. The family group is already talking to banks about raising between $7 billion and $8 billion in debt to finance the deal, and is hoping to submit a formal bid in the next couple of weeks, the sources said. Nordstrom has appointed an independent special committee to evaluate the offer. Leonard Green has worked with Nordstrom before. The Los Angeles-based private equity firm has a stake in the British fast-fashion line Topshop, which has a partnership with the Seattle-based department store. KKR and Apollo declined to comment. Nordstrom and Leonard Green didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The Nordstrom family is hoping that as a private company, Nordstrom will be able to make investments that help it adapt to the changing retail landscape without worrying about short-term shareholder reaction. On Monday, Nordstrom announced it will roll out stores without merchandise, similar to concepts offered by e-retailers such as Bonobos and Warby Parker. Its stock slid as much as 5.4 percent to $43.59 on the news. Other long-term initiatives for Nordstrom include investing in e-commerce, closing underperforming stores and investing in top locations, and expanding its successful discount shopping chain, Nordstrom Rack, according to a source familiar with the situation. Still, a leveraged buyout of a department store is challenging in 2017. Several private equity backed-retailers have buckled under the weight of large debt loads that have hampered their ability to invest in e-commerce and adapt to the rapidly changing retail industry. Private equity-backed Payless ShoeSource and Gymboree filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, while Neiman Marcus is currently working with restructuring advisors. Still, with the Nordstrom family likely to maintain control over the department store's operations, the potential take-private follows a different template than many of its peers. Nordstrom has long been viewed as the jewel of the department store industry, with an affordable high-end price point that puts it between midtier Macy's and exclusive Neiman Marcus. The company was quick to spot shoppers shifting to off-price retailers like TJ Maxx and Marshall's and put its efforts behind Nordstrom Rack, its own take on the category. Its investment into e-commerce helped it buck the industry trend last quarter of same-store sales declines. Still, like all of its peers, it has seen its stock fall this year as investors question whether department stores can compete as shopping habits change. Nordstrom operates 356 stores, including 121 full-line stores in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Out of those, 221 are Nordstrom Rack stores. Its Seattle flagship location, modeled after famous European department stores, has restaurants, bars and pop-up shops. Nordstrom is also working on a flagship location at 217 West 57th St., near Manhattan's Central Park. watch now With U.S. prodding, the United Nations on Monday agreed to further limit global trade with North Korea following the country's most powerful nuclear test ever. Although the new sanctions are bound to further squeeze Pyongyang's economy, many analysts expressed skepticism that the United States and its allies could bring the rogue state back into negotiations. In fact, conventional multilateral talks are not the answer to the North Korea tensions, said Wesley Clark, former NATO supreme allied commander. That means the countries who have thus far headed the international response to North Korea's provocations, including the U.S., China and Russia, must stay away from the dialogue table at least publicly. Instead, the world needs complex negotiations mediated by a neutral third party, Clark said. And the key to the success of those talks lies in keeping them secretive, he added. Why traditional talks won't happen The North persisted with its provocative weapons testing despite an earlier round of UN sanctions, issued in August, by launching a missile over Japan and conducting a nuclear test in September. It is likely to respond to the latest sanctions with more weapons trials, according to Byoung-Joo Kim, adjunct professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. "The problem is the more the U.S. wants to add pressure, the more North Korea wants to respond with greater pressure," Clark told CNBC. And both countries are unlikely to engage in dialogue at the same time as they are toughening up on the other party, according to the former NATO commander. Nikki Haley, U.S. ambassador to the UN, votes yes to new sanctions on North Korea at a UN Security Council meeting at UN headquarters, September 11, 2017. Drew Angerer | Getty Images Crucially, the parties' consideration of public perception limits the options they can take to resolve the tensions. At the current stage, showing a willingness to talk will make the countries "look weak," causing the opposing side to be less willing to concede, Clark said. Furthermore, negotiations might be fundamentally ineffective in bringing a resolution to the crisis because both the U.S. and North Korea cannot offer what the other wants, according to Clark. "The objectives of the two sides seem to be directly contradictory," he said. "North Korea wants the U.S. out [of the region], a guarantee they won't be attacked, and to handle South Korea on their own, presumably through intimidation, pressure and conflict if necessary." Those goals, if achieved, could threaten regional peace and security, which is exactly what Washington and Seoul want to avoid, he added. Send in the neutrals Publicly recognition as the first party to open the door to dialogue could cost the U.S. and North Korea bargaining power in their ongoing tug-of-war but the countries can take a back door route to resolving the crisis, Clark said. "What is needed is someone behind the scenes who ... while publicly both sides ratchet up the pressure, is working to find a solution that meets both parties' near-term objectives and provides a road map to the future," the former commander said. "But it has to be done privately, quietly, without any fanfare," he added. watch now watch now North Korea is trying to steal bitcoin and other virtual currencies to avoid sanctions and fund Kim Jong Un's regime, according to a report. The report, published Monday by cybersecurity firm FireEye , found that North Korean hackers had targeted at least three South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges with the suspected aim of stealing the digital tokens. According to FireEye, hackers used spear phishing a fraudulent method of sending emails to make them look like they were sent by someone you know and dispersed malware to obtain virtual cash illicitly. Hackers affiliated with the North Korea have previously been accused of using cyberattacks to target banks. FireEye logged suspicious activity affecting the exchanges over several months. In April, four wallets on the Seoul-based cryptocurrency exchange Yapizon were compromised, but could not be clearly linked to North Korean involvement. Later in May, the firm monitored a spear phishing attack that successfully compromised an exchange. Governments of all kinds grapple with cryptocurrency Bitcoin has surged in price and popularity this year, and reached an all-time high of $5,103 earlier this month. But the asset is highly volatile. Its value dipped more than $1,000 within three days following China's decision to ban initial coin offerings (ICOs), which allow start-ups to raise funds by selling new digital currencies. The Chinese government took a notably harsher stance on Monday, after it was widely reported local bitcoin exchanges would be shut down by authorities. This saw the price hit a low of $4,108 on Monday. watch now On Tuesday, bitcoin recovered somewhat, and was trading at $4,342 at 1 p.m. London time, up 3.66 percent. "As bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have increased in value in the last year, nation states are beginning to take notice," Luke McNamara, senior cyberthreat intelligence analyst at FireEye, wrote in the report. Several governments have shown increasing interest in virtual currencies as they move out of the periphery and into the mainstream. The U.S. government, for instance, has signaled that securities law could apply to ICOs. Meanwhile, Estonia has said it wants to launch its own cryptocurrency, called "estcoin," via a state-backed ICO. Nikki Haley, U.S. ambassador to the UN, votes yes to new sanctions on North Korea at a UN Security Council meeting at UN headquarters, September 11, 2017. Drew Angerer | Getty Images Australia has also proposed legislation that would bring digital currency exchange providers under the authority of its government financial intelligence agency, in an effort to clamp down on money laundering and other illicit activities. "Consequently, it should be no surprise that cryptocurrencies, as an emerging asset class, are becoming a target of interest by a regime that operates in many ways like a criminal enterprise," McNamara said. "While at present North Korea is somewhat distinctive in both their willingness to engage in financial crime and their possession of cyber espionage capabilities, the uniqueness of this combination will likely not last long-term as rising cyber powers may see similar potential. Cyber criminals may no longer be the only nefarious actors in this space." Dodging sanctions The U.N. Security Council this week approved a resolution to step up sanctions against North Korea. The country has faced increasing international trade pressure following its decision to conduct a missile test over Japan earlier this month and its detonation of what it claimed as a hydrogen bomb in an underground test. According to the FireEye report, sanctions "could be driving" North Korea's interest in cryptocurrencies. FireEye said the country could be attempting to obtain hard cash in exchange for stolen virtual coins in order to fund the regime. The value of alone has climbed by 350 percent this year. The U.N.'s sanctions resolution was subsequently rejected by North Korea. WATCH: Skeptic admits bitcoin could be a legit currency North Korea on Tuesday rejected a U.N. Security Council resolution imposing tougher sanctions and said the United States would soon face the "greatest pain" it had ever experienced. The Security Council unanimously stepped up sanctions against North Korea on Monday over the country's sixth and most powerful nuclear test, imposing a ban on its textile exports and capping imports of crude oil. "My delegation condemns in the strongest terms and categorically rejects the latest illegal and unlawful U.N. Security Council resolution," Pyongyang's ambassador, Han Tae Song, told the U.N.-sponsored Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. Han accused the U.S. administration of being "fired up for political, economic, and military confrontation," and of being "obsessed with the wild game of reversing the DPRK's development of nuclear force which has already reached the completion phase". North Korea was condemned globally for its latest nuclear test on Sept. 3, which it said was of an advanced hydrogen bomb. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is "ready to use a form of ultimate means", Han said without elaborating. "The forthcoming measures by DPRK will make the U.S. suffer the greatest pain it ever experienced in its history," he said. U.S. disarmament ambassador Robert Wood took the floor to say that the Security Council resolution "frankly sent a very clear and unambiguous message to the regime that the international community is tired, is no longer willing to put up provocative behavior from this regime." "My hope is the regime will hear the message loud and clear and it will choose a different path," Wood said. "We call on all countries to vigorously implement these new sanctions and all other existing sanctions," he added. Oil prices are being weighed down by concerns we have reached the limits of demand which is crippling valuations more than other factors such as the threat from electric cars and national policies geared at banning vehicles running on petrol and diesel in the future, says RBC's chief commodities strategist. "We went from a situation pre-U.S. shale boom where we were talking about peak production, now we're talking about peak demand," Helima Croft told CNBC on Tuesday. "For U.S. shale producerswhen it's $45 no-one is really happy but you get to $50 and they're willing to hedge their production so there's a question of 'is this a cap on near-term prices'?" she added, referring to a WTI price of $50 as being the "iceberg of U.S. production". This is problematic for the countries which need prices to be in the sixty-plus U.S. dollar range, says Croft, who says that the key goal of the agreement between OPEC and non-OPEC members to limit output which is set to expire in March 2018 was to push prices above $60. "Certain countries do need $60s for their policies," she explained, pointing to next year when the participants need to decide whether or not to renew the agreement for a third term. watch now OPEC's oil output fell in August for the first time since March as several key exporters in the group throttled back production according to a monthly tally released Tuesday. The 14-member cartel pumped 32.76 million barrels a day last month, according to independent sources that monitor OPEC's production. That marks a 79,100 barrel-a-day drop from July. OPEC has partnered with other producers, including Russia, to keep 1.8 million barrels a day of oil production off the market. The exporters are trying to drain oversupply from the market and drive down global stockpiles of crude. Oil prices got support this week as Saudi Arabia held discussions about extending the deal beyond March. Crude oil stockpiles in the OECD, a group of mostly developed nations, stood at 195 million barrels above the five-year average in July, OPEC said. watch now Rising production in two OPEC member countries, Libya and Nigeria, has made it harder to reduce those stockpiles. OPEC exempted the two nations from cutting production because their output had already tanked due to domestic conflicts. But both nations restored output more quickly than expected. The trend reversed last month in Libya, where daily crude oil production fell by about 112,000 barrels, to 890,000 barrels a day. Libya's Sharara oil field, the nation's largest, continues to see sporadic disruptions due to protests. Nigeria's daily output more than offset that drop, jumping by 138,000 barrels, reaching 1.86 million barrels a day. Production from top exporter Saudi Arabia also dipped slightly to just above 10 million barrels a day. Saudi output was trending higher in recent months. The kingdom cut production deeply early in the year, which compensated for other OPEC members that were not hitting their quotas. Two of those nations, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, cut production in August but were still pumping above levels they agreed to last winter. Production also continued to fall in Venezuela, which is in the grip of a full-blown economic crisis. watch now President Donald Trump is ratcheting up the pressure on Democrats to support a sweeping rewrite of the nation's tax code following his surprise deal with the party's leaders to raise the debt ceiling, fund the government and fast-track hurricane relief. Trump is slated to make his case during a dinner Tuesday night at the White House with three key red-state Democrats: Sens. Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota. Also attending will be influential Republican Sens. Orrin Hatch of Utah, John Thune of South Dakota and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, according to a White House spokeswoman. "The president is committed to getting tax relief for middle-class Americans passed and is willing to work with Democrats and Republicans to do it," she said. Donnelly, Heitkamp and Manchin are the only Democratic senators who did not sign a letter circulated last month by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer outlining the conditions for the party's support of tax reform. On Tuesday, Democrats will release new data attacking the Trump administration's plan to repeal the estate tax as a benefit for a handful of the wealthiest American households and at odds with his populist agenda. The analysis by the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that only 5,400 households would benefit next year from eliminating the estate tax, or what Republicans call the "death tax." About 470 of them live in New York and another 400 live in Texas, the highest numbers in the country. Altogether, beneficiaries represent only 0.2 percent of taxpayers, the report found. Previous research has shown that those also tend to be wealthy households. The estate tax only applies to property and assets totaling at least $5.5 million. The Tax Policy Center estimated that the top 10 percent of households by income pay 90 percent of the tax. Getting rid of the tax is a "key plank of the Republican tax plan [that] will only benefit the wealthiest Americans while leaving middle class families out to dry," the Senate Democratic Policy Committee said in a statement. Republicans plan to use a process known as reconciliation to pass tax reform, which would only require approval by 50 senators. But with only 52 seats, the GOP's margin remains razor thin. Winning over even a few Democrats could provide Republicans with an important buffer. And Trump's spontaneous decision to side with Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on the debt ceiling package last week over the objections of his Cabinet and GOP leadership illustrated that the president is willing to buck his own party to cut a deal. In addition to Tuesday's tax reform dinner at the White House, Vice President Mike Pence is slated to visit Indiana next week, the home state he shares with Donnelly. And Trump invited Heitkamp to fly with him to North Dakota last week, calling her a "good woman" during his speech there and shaking hands with her on stage. Trump also called for repealing the estate tax in that speech, slamming it as a "tremendous burden," particularly for small businesses and family farmers. The agricultural industry is one of the biggest supporters of eliminating the tax, and Trump singled out local fourth-generation cattle rancher Julie Ellingson to make his point. "Julie, we are not going to allow the death tax or the inheritance tax or whatever you want to call it, to crush the American dream," Trump said. "We're not going to let it happen. So, fighting hard." The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities was unable to calculate an estimate for the number of households in North Dakota that would benefit from eliminating the estate tax in its analysis because the number is so small. Tallies were also not available for six other states. Ray Dalio, who has built up the largest hedge fund in the world on the back of an intense internal culture advocating radical transparency, believes that "the greatest tragedy of mankind or one of them is that people needlessly hold wrong opinions in their minds." The Bridgewater Associates founder and chairman was answering questions on the unusual culture at his hedge fund known as an "idea meritocracy." The endeavor has led Bridgewater to create a system in which employees rate one another's credibility on a number of dimensions, and everyone can see the ratings. The data from these assessments are crunched to create a "believability" rating. Votes by employees with higher believability ratings are given greater weight in decision-making. Dalio was speaking during the Delivering Alpha conference presented by CNBC and Institutional Investor. He explained that he believes a firm's ability to abide by "radical transparency" is key to its success. "If you don't show people things, you're going to have manipulation, you're going to have politics behind it," said Dalio. "The real question is: Can you really know what somebody else is really thinking?" "Think how much better that would be, how much more efficient that would be." Dalio has faced criticism for his methods, as his early approach would "demoralize" co-workers. The New York Times reported last year that an employee complaint with the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities said that the firm was like a "cauldron of fear and intimidation." Dalio will publish his codified principles in a book, "Principles: Life & Work," which has already drawn much attention from investors and outlines many of the painful lessons the CEO has gleaned over his years on the Wall Street. Bridgewater is the world's largest hedge fund, managing about $160 billion, according to its website. "If you want to know the key to whatever Bridgewater's success has been, it's not me, it's not what's in my head: It's my ability to deal with what I don't know," he said Tuesday. Richard Branson rode out Hurricane Irma on his private Caribbean island, and though he survived bunkered down in his concrete wine cellar, he emerged to discover that his Necker Island and the rest of the British Virgin Islands were ravaged. While Branson, a multi-billionaire, is in a much better position than most, according to his updates, the islands that make up the British Virgin Island territory are in dire need of help. He has been working to coordinate relief efforts for the region. "I must repeat the unique nature of the challenge in the BVI, which suffered under the full effect of the strongest Category '7' hurricane ever to hit the Atlantic," Branson says, emphasizing the seriousness of the weather event. (In reality, the National Hurricane Center rates storms according to their severity as high as category 5.) "[The islands are] isolated from outside help. The entire country is unable to function properly, with tens of thousands of people having lost their homes and livelihoods," he says via his blog. "There is an extreme sense of urgency to get food, water and aid supplies into the BVI, and we are bringing as much as we can. Once people have these, restoring order and calm to the islands will be far quicker and simpler." After the storm, Branson left the British Virgin Islands for Puerto Rico to meet with local leaders and plan the delivery of aid including food, water, medical supplies, sanitary supplies, building materials and blankets. His airline, Virgin Atlantic, is making flights to deliver aid both independently and in coordination with governmental relief agencies. Also, Puerto Rico has offered to help fly in relief aid. Tuesday, Branson traveled back to the British Virgin Islands. "We are trying as hard as possible to get as much food, water and aid in as possible," says Branson via his blog. One airport is open and usable and the assembled relief coordination team is considering airdropping in aid, too. One of the most immediate problems is that the extreme weather cut off lines of communication. "The lack of communications within the BVI remains a large problem. Without reliable communications it is really difficult to be able to help people," says Branson. "We now have a satellite phone with WiFi that we hope will work if it does I will be able to stay on in the BVI. If not, I will need to soon return to Puerto Rico to continue mobilising aid." Branson used a satellite phone to post updates to his blog as rode out the storm in his wine cellar. The vast inequities of a billionaire blogging his way through a hurricane compared to the struggles of the majority of British Virgin Island residents has not gone unnoticed. For example, Mariana Mazzucato, a Professor in the Economics of Innovation & Public Value and Director of the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose at the University College London, called out this inequality in a piece she penned for The Guardian. She suggests wealthy individuals and corporations who shelter their money in the Caribbean help fund the rebuild. Though the devastation is brutal and the perception of his efforts has not been all kind, Branson says he is encouraged by the outpouring of support for the British Virgin Islands. "It's been truly heartwarming to witness the global outpouring of support for the communities across the Caribbean that have been hit hardest by Hurricane Irma," he says. "We've received hundreds of emails from people across the world who share our love of the BVI and its wonderful people and who are willing to make their resources available to help in whichever way they can." "The issue isn't particularly economic in terms of markets and it's not really the central banks...it's geopolitical and there's some bad things going on in the world and conventional analysis says things will be fine," Schwarzman said at the Delivering Alpha conference, produced by CNBC and Institutional Investor. "Whether it's North Korea, whether it's trade, there are a number of issues that people don't want to focus on because the outcome would be really bad." Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman said the biggest risks to market valuations are geopolitical, particularly North Korea and its nuclear program. North Korea has been a factor that has shaken markets recently, and it was cited as the top risk for markets in Bank of America Merrill Lynch's global fund managers survey Tuesday. In response to a question, Schwarzman said he is concerned about North Korea as it pertains to investments, his firm and life in general. "I would not be buying office buildings in Seoul," he said, though he did not comment further on how North Korea affects investment decisions. Schwarzman said there is a misperception in the U.S. that China and North Korea are friendly. "The Chinese do not want a nuclearized Korean peninsula, and they're very serious about that. They also don't want to have a shooting war occur and have 20 million refugees from North Korea go into China. So it's complicated for them as to what they do and what we've been doing is dealing with them during a period where they're actually having what we would call an election," he said. Schwarzman said after its party congress in late October, China may be more willing to take action on North Korea. President Xi Jinping is expected to be granted a second five year term, and other party leadership will be aligned at the congress, which takes place every five years. "It's very complicated. For the Chinese it's a lot of different things. First, their relationship with North Korea is not good and it's not been very good for a long time," said Schwarzman, who just returned from China. "You also have the Russians involved. The perception that this is just China and North Korea is not correct," he said. The U.N. Security Council , including China, approved tough new sanctions against North Korea Monday. The sanctions would ban 90 percent of North Korea's reported exports and limit the amount of oil it is permitted to import. "There's a lot of actors in this drama. There's South Korea. There's the Japanese with missiles flying over them. This is a very dangerous situation," he said. "It's complicated and you will only find what people will do at the end of the drama." Starboard Value Jeffrey Smith pitched store-brand pharmaceutical company Perrigo as his best investment idea now, during a conference Tuesday. In addition to Perrigo, Smith also advocated for Altaba , the former Yahoo, which he said will benefit from tax reform once it makes its way through Congress. Perrigo makes versions of ibuprofen, liquid cold medicines and other products that fly under the name of retailers including CVS . The stock has fallen in recent years, but Smith said it presents strong value for investors. "It's a beautiful business, and store-brand as a whole is actually a much larger business than any one brand," Smith said during the Delivering Alpha conference presented by CNBC and Institutional Investor in New York Tuesday. Shares jumped more than 4 percent in morning trade. Smith said that Perrigo also does not face the same online challenge from Amazon as many other retailers. "While Amazon poses a real threat to many consumer companies, we actually believe it represents a very large opportunity for Perrigo, who is the store brand manufacturer," he said. Smith is the CEO at Starboard Value. He is an activist investor and has been able to influence a number of companies by getting board members appointed. This year he placed five members on the board of Perrigo in addition to two new ones who came on late in 2016. Earlier this year, he stressed the need for tax reform, particularly in allowing companies to bring back profits stored overseas at lower rates. Smith said Altaba would be well-positioned to benefit once Congress agrees on a tax plan. In addition to repatriation, Republicans and the Trump administration are pushing for lower corporate and personal taxes. This version clarifies an earlier accounting of the new board members at Perrigo. It might as well have been Steve Bannon Day at Monday's White House briefing. Reporters repeatedly quizzed White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders about Bannon's more bracing comments during a recent 60 Minutes interview and Sanders managed to avoid talking at length about President Trump's former senior strategist who left the White House last month. "I think we may be answering more questions on Steve Bannon now that he's not here than when he was," Sanders said. More from USA Today: Steve Bannon, President Trump's controversial chief strategist, out at White House Trump distances himself from strategist Steve Bannon in wake of Charlottesville violence Faith groups provide the bulk of disaster recovery, in coordination with FEMA That's because Bannon, who is now executive chairman at Breitbart News, since leaving the White House has pledged to "go to war" for Trump against his opponents. The former strategist is now more free to publicly express his views and reporters wanted to know if the firebrand former strategist speaks for the president. Bannon told CBS: Trump's decision to fire FBI Director James Comey in May may been the worst political mistake in modern political history, given that it opened the door for the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller to investigate Russian activity during last year's election. Immigrants brought into the country illegally as children who are protected from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program should simply "self-deport" when their work permits expire, now that Trump has rescinded the Obama-era order. Republican congressional leaders like Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan actually oppose the Trump agenda on trade and other issues. Bannon has threatened to back primary challengers to Republican congressional incumbents who displease him. Sanders did defend Trump's dismissal of Comey, saying it was the right decision. She disputed Bannon's claim that reconsideration of the president's position on DACA could lead to a Republican civil war. "I think that Steve always likes to speak in kind of the most extreme measures," Sanders said. Sanders also said she doesn't know if Trump watched the controversial interview or not, or what he thought about Bannon's comments. "I'm not sure if he was disappointed," she said. Ousted top White House aide Steve Bannon cast doubts Tuesday on the prospects of tax reform getting done soon, The Wall Street Journal reported. Speaking to money managers in Hong Kong, the former chief strategist to President Donald Trump said he doesn't expect any change in U.S. tax law for at least the next three months and even this year, according to the newspaper. Just Tuesday morning, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reiterated the administration's goal to overhaul the American tax system by the end of this year. "We're going to get this done by the end of the year," the Treasury secretary said, adding that the administration is "super focused" on the goal following the three-month debt limit and government funding extension passed last week. Many observers have said that the administration's deadline appears optimistic for tax reform due to the complex nature of the tax code and the competing interests of lawmakers. Bannon, a firebrand who advocated for protectionist trade policies and stricter limits on immigration, left the White House last month. He rejoined Breitbart News, the right-wing news website that he previously chaired. Bannon also made waves in a recent interview with CBS. Read the full Journal report here. Florida's agriculture industry took a big hit from Hurricane Irma , with early estimates showing up to 30 percent of some major crops had losses. There are no official reports of damage totals but the value of Florida's citrus last year exceeded $1 billion and sugar cane topped $561 million. (CNBC) Irma weakened to a tropical depression late Monday as officials slowly pieced together the scope of the storm's destructive path across the peninsula. Six deaths in Florida have been blamed on Irma, along with three in Georgia and one in South Carolina. At least 35 people were killed in the Caribbean. (USA Today) * Hurricane Jose looping in the Bermuda Triangle (Weather Channel) A new plan to repeal and replace major parts of Obamacare is set to be unveiled by two Republican senators. NBC News reports that it had obtained a 23-page summary draft of the bill to be proposed by Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. (NBC News) Senate leaders are scrambling to come up with a budget deal to clear the way for tax reform. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and GOP members of the Budget Committee are meeting today with two top Trump administration officials to plot breaking the budget stalemate. (AP) White House lawyers this summer urged President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner step down from his role amid a broadening probe into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russians in the 2016 election, the Washington Post finds. (Washington Post) Leaders of the Senate Finance Committee demanded answers from Equifax about its major data breach, including pressing for more details about three Equifax executives who sold shares after the breach was discovered. (NYT via CNBC) The United Nations unanimously adopted its strongest sanctions on North Korea. It aims at depriving Pyongyang of more than a billion in annual revenues and boosting pressure on Kim Jong Un's regime after its recent nuclear test. (Financial Times) China's U.N. Ambassador called on North Korea to "take seriously the expectations and will of the international community" to halt its nuclear and ballistic missile development. He also called on all parties to remain "cool-headed" and not stoke tensions. (Reuters) Social Finance said late Monday that Chairman and CEO Mike Cagney would step down by the end of the year. In a note to employees, Cagney said that recent litigation brought against the company and "negative press have become a distraction from the company's core mission." (WSJ) Samsung said pre-orders of its Galaxy Note 8 smartphone exceeded its expectations, as the South Korean company seeks to move beyond last year's safety debacle and braces for Apple's iPhone debut later today. (Financial Times) President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he is working on deals in which Malaysia would purchase at least $10 billion of Boeing jets and General Electric engines. His comments came during a White House meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. "We are talking about trade, very large trade deals," Trump said. "We're working on one deal where between 10 and 20 billion dollars' worth of Boeing jets are going to be purchased. General Electric engines will be purchased." Trump did not specify how much of that total would potentially go to Boeing or to GE. Shares of both Boeing and GE ticked only slightly higher following the president's remarks. Boeing's stock traded about half a percent lower, while GE's stock was barely positive on Tuesday afternoon. As President Donald Trump works through the end of the year on a budget deal with Congress, a military spending increase appears to be a critical part of the negotiations. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Tuesday the president is determined to follow through on his campaign promise to help the armed services and veterans. Mnuchin framed the issue in terms of the ongoing bartering between the administration and congressional leadership, which most recently produced a deal that raises the debt ceiling and keeps the government operating into December. "We could have done a one-year deal on the debt ceiling," Mnuchin said at the "Delivering Alpha" conference presented by CNBC and Institutional Investor. Mnuchin said the one-year provision was not widely reported but is an important piece in the saga over the budget negotiations. "Had we done that, it would have been linked to one year of additional funding for the government. But the president wants to raise military spending," he said. "The president wants to increase military spending, and that's something he's going to demand for December." Trump promised during the campaign that he would amp up spending to modernize the military and increase benefits for veterans. Mnuchin said the White House is looking for a longer-term budget deal but is at the point where it will take the best deal it can get, with the goal of avoiding a shutdown. "Congress has every right to control spending," he said. "If ultimately the government shuts down, which would not be a good thing, that's their right if they can't agree on a debt ceiling." Mnuchin spoke as the national debt crossed $20 trillion for the first time and has increased about 1.1 percent during Trump's time in office. Spain, Ireland and the Netherlands were among the top nations investing the most in the United States as of last year, while China failed to crack the top 10, according to the latest figures published by the U.S. Department of Commerce. The data released by the department's Bureau of Economic Analysis showed the cumulative multi-billion dollar foreign direct investments (FDI) in the U.S. from leading economies around the world up to 2016. The U.K. ($598.3 billion) led the way, followed by Canada ($453.6 billion), Japan ($424.3 billion), and Germany ($372.8 billion). However, perhaps surprisingly, the world's second largest economy slumped just outside the 10 leading investors. China pumped $58.2 billion into America last year, almost five times less than Ireland ($279.6 billion). France ($267.6 billion), Switzerland ($196.6 billion), the Netherlands ($191.9 billion), Singapore ($73.7 billion) and Spain ($67.2 billion) completed the top 10 in America last year. There's been speculation for months about Moscow selling the S-400 system to Ankara for about $2.5 billion but the Turkish paper's report appears to indicate that the transaction is much further along. It quoted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as telling reporters: "Our friends have already signed [an agreement on] S-400s. A deposit has also been paid, as far as I know. The process will continue." "We have relayed our concerns to Turkish officials regarding the potential purchase of the S-400," Pentagon spokesman Johnny Michael told CNBC in a written statement. "A NATO interoperable missile defense system remains the best option to defend Turkey from the full range of threats in the region." For its part, Moscow appears to relish the fact that it's stoking tensions in the NATO alliance and also flexing its muscles as a global arms supplier. Russian media has closely followed the Turkish interest in the S-400 and touted the air defense system as something India wants too. It comes as Turkish-U.S. relations have chilled and questions raised about whether Turkey can be counted on longer term by the U.S. and NATO alliance. Turkey is moving full steam ahead on its plans to buy the Russian S-400 air defense system and already "paid a deposit to bring it immediately into force," Turkish Harriyet newspaper reported Tuesday. Regardless, Erdogan said he and Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, "are determined on this issue," according to Harriyet. Erdogan also lashed out at those questioning Turkey buying a Russian air defense system and suggested Ankara would make its own decisions on what to buy, regardless of NATO's wishes. "It's us who will make decisions regarding our independence," the Turkish president said. "We are responsible over taking security measures for defense of our country. We'll save ourselves if we face difficulties in procuring defense systems." Turkey, a NATO member since 1952, reportedly sees the Russian technology transfer as a national priority to grow its indigenous defense industry, and U.S. missile defense makers maybe less willing to part with valuable intellectual property. Yet it also raises questions about the long-term aims of Turkey since the S-400 is seen as not interoperable with similar NATO hardware. "It is up to Allies to decide what military they will buy," NATO spokesman Mark Sanders told CNBC in an email statement. "What matters for NATO is that the equipment Allies acquire is able to operate together. Interoperability of our armed forces is fundamental to NATO for the conduct of our operations and missions." That said, Sanders indicated that "no NATO ally currently operates the S-400. NATO has not been informed about the details of any purchase." To be clear, Turkey has looked to buy air defense systems from U.S. rivals in the past, although it then reversed course after pressure was applied. Back in 2015, Turkey looked set to acquire China's export version of the FD-2000 long-range air defense missile system for $3.4 billion but backed out after pressure from NATO. Also, the Chinese reportedly refused to budge on all of the Ankara government's technology transfer demands. Still, the S-400 deal sends a signal to Washington that Turkey, a longtime NATO member, could down the road change its position on Incirlik Air Base, home to U.S. warplanes and nuclear gravity bombs. Also, it raises questions as Turkey is scheduled next year to get its first of 100 F-35 stealth fighter jets and share in the technology of this advanced fighter. "The list of American concerns about Turkish policies and behavior is rather extensive," Steven Cook, a senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, testified last week before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. He said they include not only the Russian S-400 equipment but "threats to rescind American access to Ircirlik," among other things. Turkey is angered by the U.S. alliance with the YPG-led Syrian Democratic forces to defeat ISIS. The Kurdish YPG militia (or People's Protection Units) are a branch of the outlawed terrorist group Kurdistan Workers' Party (or PKK). "Ankara rightly considers this group to be inextricably linked to the PKK," Cook testified. "More than any other issue, the U.S. relationship with the YPG through the Syrian Democratic Forces has driven tension in American-Turkish ties." Meantime, Erdogan also fumed to reporters about the cost to buy drones from allies. "They give tanks, cannons and armored vehicles to the terror organization but we can't procure some of our needs, although we want to pay the price. What happened in the end? We started to produce our own drones and armed drones." But Michael, the Pentagon spokesman, sought to downplay any rift with Ankara in his statement. "Turkey is a key NATO Ally, and we are committed to our strong defense partnership," he said. Moreover, the Pentagon official said there remains "a robust and significant defense-trade and military-sales relationship" between the two countries. "Turkey continues to pursue anti-missile systems from NATO Allies, including the U.S., for its broader, long-term missile defense needs," Michael said. "The United States is committed to expediting the delivery of equipment purchased by Turkey, when possible." Read the full report from Hurriyet. The chief executive of German automaker says the current discussion regarding diesel cars is unjustified and that the diesel engine has a "great future" ahead. "The diesels we are offering today are clean. They comply with the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) requirements and they meet the requirements and needs of our customers," Matthias Mueller, CEO of VW, told CNBC at the Frankfurt motor show. Mueller explained that VW plans to continue to develop diesel cars, despite a global pushback against the technology by regulators and governments since the emissions scandal. "There's going to be a co-existence between combustion engines and electrified drive systems over the next 10 to 20 years, so against this background we should all be patient and relaxed and leave the decision to our customers, they should decide which concept they prefer," he told CNBC during an interview recorded on Monday. Volkswagen has been under pressure since the emissions scandal began in 2015. The car maker admitted that it used software to cheat U.S. and European regulators' tests from 2006 to 2015. This allowed the company to sell diesel-equipped vehicles without installing emissions control systems that could have affected performance or inconvenienced customers, according to U.S prosecutors. Mueller added that he understood customer concerns regarding diesel engines and the possibility that diesel engines could be banned in the future. He said it is the responsibility of the car industry, as well as the electricity industry and the authorities to make sure bans are not implemented. [The stream has ended.] Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke about tax reform, the economy and economic policy on Tuesday at the Delivering Alpha conference presented by CNBC and Institutional Investor. Read more: Mnuchin says considering backdating tax cut to January 1: Would be 'boon' to economy [The stream has ended.] White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders briefed reporters on Tuesday afternoon, discussing tax reform, among other topics. Read more: Mnuchin says considering backdating tax cut to Jan. 1: Would be 'boon' to economy Here's how Trump is trying to woo Democrats on tax reform Apple is expected to launch three new iPhones at its brand new Apple Park campus today. The widely anticipated Apple event, known to draw rock concert-like crowds, will be the first event held at Steve Jobs theater and is the first time the "Spaceship Campus" welcomes press and VIP outsiders. Over 40 years after the late Steve Jobs co-founded Apple, he continues to be revered for his successful years of leading the company and the 2007 introduction of the iPhone, the company's most successful product. But Jobs wasn't always so confident the world-changing item would be a wise investment to develop for the company. In celebration of the iPhone's 10th anniversary this year, author and Motherboard senior editor Brian Merchant published, "The One Device: The Secret History of the iPhone." There, Merchant uncovers the details of how the smartphone came into existence and how even one of the most intelligent, powerful executives needed smart people to help him land at the right decision. "Jobs was a powerful source of inspiration, a fierce curator of good ideas and rejector of bad ones, and a savvy and potent negotiator," Merchant tells CNBC Make It. "But the iPhone began as an experimental project undertaken without his knowledge, became an official project at the prodding of his executive staff and was engineered into being by a team of brilliant, unfathomably hard-working programmers and hardware experts." Jobs had faith in a wide variety of talent, "from new blood to veteran hands," Merchant says. He notes that Jobs gave Scott Forstall who would go on to create the iPhone operating system (iOS) the ability to recruit anyone from the existing Apple staff for the new phone project. Merchant says that Jobs was publicly resistant to the idea of Apple making a phone because he, like many other Apple engineers and executives, thought cell phones "sucked." Merchant writes in his book: "'The problem with a phone,' Steve Jobs said in 2005, 'is that we're not very good going through orifices to get to the end users.' By orifices, he meant carriers like Verizon and AT&T, which had final say over which phones could access their networks." Merchant says his interviews reveal that Jobs also wasn't initially convinced that the emerging smartphone category was going to be a wide market he reportedly wondered if they'd be permanently relegated to the "pocket protector" crowd. "Which, again, was a fair assessment; early smartphones were either indeed kind of geeky-looking or aimed at the email-obsessed business crowd," Merchant says. Ultimately, Jobs trusted his team with the technical aspects of the experimental project, but "needed to see an interface that might be intuitive and exciting to lay-users before he'd be sold on the idea that Apple should get into the phone market," Merchant says. Merchant reports that the iPhone's revolutionary multi-touch display was "born out of experimentation deep in the bowels of Apple, hidden in the beginning even from Jobs" and they only showed him a demo once they felt it was good enough. "The issue was never with faith in his staff, and while there were certainly technical concerns the embryo of the iPhone was basically a prototyped research project for a long, long time it was with whether entering the market at all was worth the risk," he says. "When it became clear enough that smartphones would become competitors to the iPod, it added some pressure and forced his hand a bit." A senior iPhone engineer, Andy Grignon, is quoted in Merchant's book saying, "The exec team was trying to convince Steve that building a phone was a great idea for Apple. He didn't really see the path to success." Then Apple vice president Michael Bell reportedly sent Jobs a late-night email on Nov. 7, 2004, explaining why they really should make the phone. Jobs called Bell immediately, and they argued for hours until Jobs finally relented, Merchant writes. "Okay, I think we should go do it," Jobs said. Grignon would later become the first person to receive a call from an iPhone. Aside from the project's exclusive team, Jobs kept the phone secret from the rest of the company. It was all about trust for the Apple co-founder, from the phone's conceptualization in California to its production overseas. "There would be no iPhone if it weren't for the work of people on every layer here not to mention those who manufacture the device itself in sprawling megafactories in China," Merchant says, "but that, I suppose, is for another story." Like this story? Like CNBC Make It on Facebook. See more: How this ex-Starbucks executive's struggle in his 20s helped him find his calling How Warren Buffett's optimism has helped him succeed, according to psychology People walk down a flooded street as they evacuate their homes after the area was flooded from Hurricane Harvey on August 27, 2017 in Houston, Texas. One of Europe's largest hedge funds is looking to move into the gambling industry in the UK, as it sets up a new venue where players can bet on the effects of climate change. The new "climate prediction market" is the brainchild of Winton Capital, founded by David Harding, and is aimed at finding a market consensus on the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and global temperature rises in the future. The not-for-profit project, which is being funded out of Winton's philanthropic budget, is hoping to tempt climate scientists to put their money where their models are, and to provide a clear benchmark of the academic consensus at a time of intense interest in man-made climate change. News of the project comes as the UN General Assembly meeting in New York focuses on the theme of a sustainable planet. Climate change also continues to dominate the political agenda around the world, after President Donald Trump declared he will withdraw the US from the Paris climate accord and roll back regulations on the production of coal. "With a prediction market, getting the information is the primary objective," said Mark Roulston, a scientist at Winton who is overseeing the project. "There's not necessarily a consensus on all the implications of climate change. The idea is to have a benchmark which could track any emerging consensus." Under the plan, scientists and experts from around the world will be able to trade contracts based on the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide and how far temperatures increase, going decades into the future. Winton will act as a market maker and subsidise trading, rather than taking a cut or skewing the odds in its favour. Winton's market, which will be based in the UK, will be one of only a few prediction markets and is believed to be the first dedicated to climate issues. Such markets are mostly barred in the US because of more restrictive gambling laws; one exception is at the University of Iowa, which has developed a political futures market run for research and teaching. If the Winton market is successful, Mr Roulston envisions it being a source to show how experts believe world events such as the US withdrawing from the climate accord could impact climate change. Robin Hanson, a professor of economics at George Mason University who helped pioneer the use of prediction markets, said there is little incentive for anyone to try to manipulate the market, because that will only make the potential profits bigger for those who predict CO2 concentration and temperature correctly. "There are lots of betting markets, and there are lots of ways to predict climate, like through weather futures," said Prof Hanson. "The difference here is you're creating a market for the purpose of finding out about something, rather than just to make some money or have fun." On Winton's market, bets will settle every year, using temperature data from the UK's Hadley Centre, and the annual average of the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide as measured by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration monitoring station on Mauna Loa, Hawaii. The hedge fund will initially target professionals in the climate field to participate, though it will be open to anyone in the UK. It is being run internally at Winton, with employees able to place notional bets rather than using real money. Mr Roulston said they are hoping to launch it externally later this year to universities, and will open it to the public sometime next year. Mark Boslough, a physicist and adjunct professor at the University of New Mexico, said he hopes Winton's climate prediction market will lay the groundwork for a more developed way of betting on the future of the environment. Mr Boslough says that the problem with prediction markets is that they may not get enough people participating consistently to truly show a consensus, and there needs to be "big money" in it. He has advocated for the creation of a climate futures market on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, where companies in industries affected by climate change, such as insurance and reinsurance companies, could use them as a way of hedging. "If it's just for trying to get the consensus, I don't think it'll work because it'll be too thin," he said. "Climate markets have to be embraced by people with big money who will look at it as an actual big investment. If it's thought of in those terms, money will flow in and it will work. Ultimately it's got to have liquidity." Mr Roulston said it was necessary to have a financial incentive for predictions to ensure participants remain engaged and bet accurately. He envisages eventually expanding to include other markets, which could include sea level rises, extreme weather events and pollution levels. Mr Harding, who founded Winton in 1997, has donated money to a range of causes, from the Science Museum's new mathematics wing in London to the creation of the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication in Cambridge. More from the Financial Times: Hard cheese for expats as China bans mouldy varieties Three reasons Trump is struggling to deliver his trade agenda China exports underperform in August as imports pick up There is a hidden risk facing small businesses across the country that often goes unnoticed until it suddenly rips through a firm's finances: employee theft. It's a crime that is costing U.S. businesses $50 billion annually, according to Statistic Brain. Matt Ham can attest to that. He has had two run-ins with thefts by employees at his small business, Computer Repair Doctor, which has eight stores in Florida, Ohio and South Carolina, which collectively totals 30 employees. At a store in Florida, two employees were caught stealing parts from inventory and skimming cash about a year and half ago, he said. After a thorough investigation, Ham sat them down with his attorney and they came up with a plan for restitution. Both employees had to pay back the thousands of dollars they stole. The chain has now put more safeguards in place, such as better inventory controls and a strict cash-counting process. Then, at LaptopMD, a store in New York City that his firm runs on behalf of another company, Ham said an employee misused the company's Amazon Services account by changing it to his personal account. "All of the funds we were charging customers kept getting redirected into his personal account," said Ham, claiming that the employee had also started a side business and used employees at the store to perform work for it without their knowledge. Fortunately, he said, the situation was discovered within two weeks and the company currently has filed embezzlement charges against the employee. Ham isn't alone in his travails. A new study by Hiscox, a global specialist insurer, found that U.S. businesses affected by employee theft lost an average of $1.13 million in 2016. Small and midsize businesses were hit disproportionately, representing 68 percent of the cases. Their median loss last year was $289,864. Often, the employees who embezzle are trusted members of a company's team. "It can be incredibly devastating to find out they have been ripping you off," said Doug Karpp, crime and fidelity product head at Hiscox. Hiscox's researchers studied publicly available data on nearly 400 U.S. federal court cases in which employee fraud was alleged that either became publicly known or were active in the federal system during 2016. The cases involved public and private corporations, limited liability companies, municipal and government agencies, nonprofit organizations and Native American tribal businesses. Funds theft was the most common embezzlement scheme, showing up in more than one third of all cases. It was followed by check fraud (22.1 percent). Seventy percent of all check fraud occurred at companies with fewer than 100 employees. Despite the alarming levels of embezzlement taking place, it isn't top of mind for many small-business owners. When asked, "What is the most critical issue facing your business?" only 1 percent said the threat of crime or vandalism in the CNBC/SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey of 2,030 self-identified small-business owners ages 18 and up. Among these owners, 1,423 had 04 employees; 225 had 59 employees, 243 had 1049 employees and 128 had 50 or more employees. Interestingly, in Hiscox's study, financial services firms had the highest total losses across industries. They collectively lost more than $120 million in 2016. One case went on for 41 years and involved $2.5 million stolen at a bank. High-loss cases often took place in schemes where an employee repeatedly diverted small sums of money over time, making the theft extremely difficult to detect. In 28.7 percent of cases, the employee theft took place for more than five years. "A lot of people think embezzlement is one big score and it's over with," said Karpp. But that's not always the case. Some cases involved the theft of small amounts of money over many years, he said. Those small amounts can really add up. The average loss for cases that continued for five years or more was $2.2 million, and for cases lasting 10 years or more the loss was $5.4 million. Safeguards against theft So how can small-business owners protect themselves? One way is by instituting checks and balances, said Karpp. Never let one person have end-to-end control of funds, he said, adding, "If they are an authorized signatory on a check, don't let them print a check out on the system." Hiscox also recommends that smaller businesses have bank statements for their business accounts sent directly to the owner's home. "That way, the owner can take a look at them and make sure there isn't anything suspicious," he said. Otherwise, an employee might be able to cover up unusual transactions in the company's books. So who is embezzling? There is no definitive profile, but Hiscox found the median age of perpetrators was 48 for women and 49 for men. In cases of funds theft, 56 percent of the perpetrators were women. [Embezzlers] are diligent and ambitious. They come in early. They are working late. They never take a vacation. Doug Karpp crime and fidelity product head at Hiscox Often, there are tip-offs in employees' behavior, Hiscox found. Employees may, for instance, make extravagant purchases that would not be affordable for someone of their financial means. "I've seen a case where an employee showed up in a new luxury car every three to six months and made up a story about flipping cars," said Karpp. Nonetheless, it can be hard to identify embezzlers, because they often demonstrate behaviors that a good employee would show. For instance, Hiscox found that they tend to be curious about how the company works and want to be the go-to people to solve system problems. "They are diligent and ambitious," said Karpp. "They come in early. They are working late. They never take a vacation." But their reasons for camping out at their desks aren't to help the company it is to cover up fraud. "A lot of cases get discovered when the employee is on vacation," said Karpp. Employers who discover embezzlement may need to hire a certified fraud examiner or legal counsel to help them with the investigation, he said, adding, "If you end up terminating the employee, you should press charges and publicize it within your company. That will show employees you take fraud seriously and help repair any damage to company culture that exists when employees are found stealing." Hemorrhaging red ink The Missourians Opinion section is a public forum for the discussion of ideas. The views presented in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missourian or the University of Missouri. If you would like to contribute to the Opinion page with a response or an original topic of your own, visit our submission form Iain Duncan Smith is a former Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, founded the Centre for Social Justice, and is MP for Chingford and Woodford Green. On Thursday last week, we started debating the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, once termed the Great Repeal Bill. Yet by the time this column gets published, some five days on, the result of the vote will only just have been announced. Five days where much of the debate inside the House of Commons was calm, considered and worth listening to, whereas a great deal of the frantic and at times hysterical reporting in the broadcast and print media was not. It reminded me that when it comes to the great issues that must be decided, Parliament often rises to the occasion. Even though there have been great differences on this issue, there was much in the debate to give the Government food for thought before the committee stage. However, of one thing I am clear: the Labour Partys decision to oppose the Bill at Second Reading is transparently about tactical positioning and not in the public interest. Their position hinges on their claim that this is the greatest power grab by a government in modern times. By using what is often referred to as Henry VIII powers, they maintain that the Government is extending their power and will abuse it to make changes to the legislation they are importing from the body of EU law, or, worse, they claim that the Government will be tempted to use these powers to change important domestic laws such as criminal law, without reference to Parliament. For this reason they are voting against the Second Reading of the Bill. However, they are wrong for the Second Reading of a Bill is essentially about the principle enshrined in the Bill. In this case it is to re-write existing EU legislation into UK law in time for our departure from the EU, to avoid the chaos of legal uncertainty as we leave for individuals and businesses. Even the House of Lords Select Committee on the Constitution made it clear in their report that they accepted the need to use such powers to get the required changes through in time (whilst questioning whether sufficient safeguards were in place). It has always been accepted that to vote against Second Reading is to express opposition to the purpose of a Bill. As this Bill is about our departure from the EU, Labours vote calls into question their election pledge to support Brexit. The way they should have expressed any legitimate concerns would have been to have made their arguments and then abstained on the Second Reading, with the reservation that they would seek to amend it if the Government failed to make sufficient changes. This argument was bravely made by Caroline Flint, who reminded Labour that at the last election they had stood on a platform supporting the decision to leave, and that voting against the Second Reading was tantamount to reneging on their election pledge. This brings me to where there was a degree of consensus, particularly from Conservatives who occupy different sides of the Brexit debate. As Peter Lilley pointed out last week, Section 2 of the European Communities Act 1972 granted much greater powers to successive governments for 40 years to change British law at will to accommodate EU law. So although the granting of such powers has a precedent, it would be wrong to dismiss legitimate concerns about the need for some checks against their excessive use. After all, once we leave, the purpose of taking back control is that Parliament should re-establish the supremacy it lost 40 years ago. Notwithstanding the legitimate need of the Government to get the changes through swiftly (after all, there are some 20,000 pieces of legislation that need to be resolved before we leave), they need also to re-assure Parliament that they are making no change to the purpose and effect of the legislation. It has to be accepted that debating large amounts of such legislation in the chamber of the Commons would take a vast amount of time and create chaos in the legislative programme. I have proposed a way through this which I believe satisfies the need for scrutiny as well as with the need for speed. I pointed out that there is scope, when we get to the committee stage, to create a body similar to the existing Social Security Advisory Committee (an external committee made up of experts advising the Government on elements of legislation). Until the powers granted in this Bill ceased to exist, such a body would be tasked to review legislation brought forward under these powers and assess whether the proposed changes would result in the new UK law having no more effect than the EU law it seeks to replace. Should they advise otherwise, the Government would take their concerns into consideration and amend their draft Instrument accordingly. Such a process would take the raw politics out of the debate and help reassure legislators that the government is being true to their word concerning the use of such powers. It would also help ensure that these vital legislative changes face no unnecessary delays. This wouldnt stop a parliamentary committee raising concerns about the changes proposed but would at least inform the process in a dispassionate manner. As Ken Clarke pointed out whilst calling for greater scrutiny, the simple truth is that the vast majority of the Governments proposed regulation changes will pass through speedily, but what is needed is a process to flag up those exceptional items where the change proposed would need remedial alteration. That is why I believe if there is good intent it will be possible to achieve some consensus on this Bill, so that the Government gets its changes in a timely manner and the UK can leave the European Union in an orderly manner. I believe Flint spoke for many when she questioned Labours outright opposition to the Bill whilst pointing out the need to modify the checks and balances contained within it. Instead of playing political games, that would have been the better and more reasoned course to take. Although Brexit has not yet taken place, it has already had an admirably invigorating effect on the House of Commons. Ninety MPs wanted to speak yesterday, on the second day of the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, and during more than eight hours of debate, many passionate defences of parliamentary sovereignty were uttered. And most of these defences were made by MPs who regard Brexit as a dreadful blunder. Sir Ed Davey (Lib Dem, Kingston & Surbiton) claimed this Bill is undermining parliamentary sovereignty more than the EU ever did, for it doesnt give control back to Parliament. It gives control back to ministers. Chris Bryant (Lab, Rhondda) declared in a passion: This Bill is utterly perniciousfundamentally unBritishhas at its heart a lie. Oliver Letwin (Con, West Dorset) rose, cited provisions in the Bill which contradict Bryants claim that it will allow legislation by ministerial fiat, and invited him to withdraw that claim. Bryant responded by saying, Im not going to give way to him again, and ended: Do not sell your birthright for a mess of pottage. Vote against the Bill. Daniel Zeichner (Lab, Cambridge) declared: We should not be withdrawing from the European Union at all. He suggested that all the alternatives on offer are worse than staying in, and concluded: I really fear we are in danger of sleepwalking into a calamity. There can be no doubt that many of his constituents in Cambridge think this, and will be delighted he said it. But Jack Brereton (Con, Stoke-on-Trent South) reported that my constituents want the Government to get on with the job. Ben Bradley (Con, Mansfield) spoke in a similar vein. Conservative MPs from Scotland mocked Scottish Nationalists who were warning in apocalyptic terms against transferring powers from Brussels to London, but had never uttered a word of protest when those same powers were exercised with little or no accountability by the EU. And Victoria Atkins (Con, Louth & Horncastle) remarked, after listening to a good chunk of the debate, that many eagle-eyed people will be watching vigilantly to see that the British Government does not behave in an anti-parliamentary manner. She pointed out that transferring 40 years worth of EU law into British law is an enormous task, and I havent yet heard anyone come up with a different way of doing this. Enoch Powell opposed British accession to the European Economic Community, as it was known in those days, in terms of parliamentary sovereignty, and last nights debate was a resounding vindication of Powells argument, with his opponents paying him the belated compliment of imitating him. Many people nevertheless agreed that the Bill will require improvement when it reaches the Committee stage. Letwin had already pointed out, when he spoke on Thursday during the first day of the debate, that it was possible to disapprove of some provisions in the Bill, yet support it at this stage: One of the most fascinating aspects of the debate has been the appearance of logic in what was said by not only the right hon. Member for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford (Yvette Cooper), but the Chair of the Select Committee, the right hon. Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn), and the shadow Secretary of State, the right hon. and learned Member for Holborn and St Pancras (Keir Starmer). What they said sounded forensic and logical. The structure of their argument, as I think other Members will recognise, is as follows: We do not like clause 9, we do not like clause 17 and we do not like schedule 7, and therefore, instead of waiting to see whether they will change in Committee before voting on Third Reading, we will reject the Bill on Second Reading. That is not what logicians call logic; it is what they call a non sequitur, which prompts the question, Why the non sequitur? The answer is that the three people whom I have just mentioned are among the cleverest people in Parliament. They understand logic perfectly well, and they understand what a non sequitur is. The reason they are engaging in such an argument is that they hope to make some combination of trouble for the Government, or for the Brexit process. Conservative Members should pay not the slightest attention to such un-arguments and should get on with the business of examining the Bill as it is. Late last night, Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Lab, Brighton Kemptown) contended that the Bill is so defective, trying to amend it is like fiddling with the deckchairs on a sinking ship. Yet as one listened to the debate, one could not avoid the impression that Labour is not an especially seaworthy vessel. Many Labour MPs began by saying that they were, personally, Remainers, but they would respect the outcome of the referendum. Yet although a small minority of Labour MPs carry on that partys proud tradition of Euroscepticism, in most cases it was clear that they yearn to scupper Brexit. It is the duty of a Opposition to oppose, and the temptation to try to make difficulties for the Government is almost irresistible. James Frith (Lab, Bury North) insisted that like many of his colleagues, he is offering scrutiny, not mutiny. Whether Labour voters who in the past have supported UKIP will see it that way is questionable. But Labours wrecking amendment was in any case defeated by 318 votes to 296. David Lidington, the Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, wound up for the Government. Kenneth Clarke (Con, Rushcliffe) and Dominic Grieve (Con, Beaconsfield) intervened to demand, in the words of the former, substantial amendments at the Committee stage, in order to deal with the huge extension of discretionary powers to the Government. No such promise was forthcoming. Lidington suggested there are sufficient safeguards already within the Bill itself, but added in a slightly more conciliatory tone that ministers intend to discuss these suggestions further. At once point, Lidington spoke of Rushfield, an inadvertent combination of Rushcliffe and Beaconsfield, the constituencies of his two most eminent Tory critics. Although the Bill last night passed this hurdle by the relatively comfortable margin of 326 votes to 290, a hard process of legislative scrutiny lies ahead. The Commons is doing exactly what it is supposed to do, namely acting as the legislature of a sovereign country. Equifax, the latest company to be embroiled in a massive data breach, is facing questions from two top U.S. senators on both sides of the aisle. According to a report in Reuters, Senator Orrin Hatch, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and ranking Democrat Ron Wyden want the CEO of Equifax, Rick Smith, to provide a timeline of the breach event. Specifically, they want information on when the breach happened, when the board and authorities were alerted and when the three executives who sold shares in August were notified. One of those executives is the CFO of the company. Backlash is mounting, particularly since a report surfaced that the three executives sold their shares immediately after the company discovered the cyberattack. The scope and scale of this breach appears to make it one of the largest on record, and the sensitivity of the information compromised may make it the most costly to taxpayers and consumers, the letter to Equifaxs CEO stated, as Reuters reported. Citing regulatory filings, Reuters previously reported that the executives sold the shares, which were worth around $1. 8 million, three days after the breach was discovered. US Conducts Computer War Games in Response to North Korea Missile Launch The United States military and Pacific allies have conducted air drills over the Korean peninsula in conjunction with computer simulations just days after North Korea added tension to already stressed relations by the firing a missile over Japan and then a hydrogen-nuclear bomb test. The air drills involved two supersonic US B-1B bombers and four US health F-35B jets alongside South Korean and Japanese fighter jets. The exercise, which brought nuclear capable bombers over the Korean peninsula, came at the tail end of annual joint US-South Korea military exercises. North Koreas actions are a threat to our allies, partners, and homeland. And, their destabilising actions will be met accordingly, US General Terrence J OShaughnessy, the commander of Pacific Air Forces, said during an unscheduled visit to Japan. This complex mission clearly demonstrates our solidarity with our allies, and underscores the broadening cooperation to defend against this common regional threat. Our forward deployed force will be the first to the fight, ready to deliver a lethal response at moments notice if our nation calls. North Korea has been flagrantly displaying its progress on its quest to develop weapons systems capable of launching a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the US, and has recently threatened Guam, a US territory. Before the missile test over Japan, intelligence had indicated that the country was capable of producing miniaturised nuclear warheads that could be put in missiles, and North Korea had repeatedly tested long-range inter-continental ballistic missiles. The US imperialists and the South Korean puppet forces do not hide their bellicose nature, claiming that the exercises are to counter the DPRKs ballistic rocket launches and nuclear weapons development, North Koreas KCNA news agency said, referring to the acronym for the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, the official name for the country. But the wild military acts of the enemies are nothing but the rash act of those taken aback by the intermediate-to-long range strategic ballistic rocket launching drill conducted by the army of the DPRK as the first military operation in the Pacific, the news agency continued. North Koreas open development of warheads that could threaten the US have led to an increasingly strained relationship between Washington and Pyongyang, two capitals that had anything but a good relationship before. As a result, President Donald Trump has threatened that North Korea would face fire and fury if it continued to threaten the US, and indicated that the US military was ready with military options if the aggression continues. Donald Trump has also condemned North Koreas latest nuclear test as the biggest foreign policy challenge faced by his administration deepened overnight. Mr Trump has since then made clear that he is at least considering a military response to North Koreas missiles, however it is uncertain if there is strong support for action like that in his administration. Since the aggression began, the US has imposed sanctions on North Korea, impacting a significant portion of the countrys economy. The President said recently that talking is not the answer to the conflict with North Korea, but his Defence secretary, Jim Mattis, told reporters just hours later that the US had not run out of diplomatic options for dealing with the Korean adversary. We are near out of diplomatic solutions, Mr Mattis said. We continue to work together, and the minister and I share a responsibility to provide the protection of our nations, our populations, and our interests. Independent: Guardian: You Might Also Read: Will Cyber Warfare Remove Kim From N. Korea?: How Worried Should We Be About a Nuclear War With North Korea?: Talking Points - ICOs There is a good chance of losing your whole stake, according to the FCA - ICO White Papers may be unbalanced, incomplete or misleading. The DailyFX Bitcoin Glossary is designed to provide traders with a reference for important terms and concepts essential for understanding the emerging cryptocurrency universe. The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has released a very strongly-worded warning of the risks consumers face in the unregulated world of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). While stopping short of banning the practice of digital token sales, the FCA highlighted that ICOs are very high-risk, speculative investments. You should only invest in an ICO project if you are an experienced investor, confident in the quality of the ICO project itself (e.g. business plan, technology, people involved) and prepared to lose your entire stake. The FCA noted that most ICOs are unregulated and based overseas and are unlikely to have access to UK regulatory protection. Instead of issuing a regulatory prospectus, ICOs issue a White Paper that may be unbalanced, incomplete or misleading. They added that ICOs are projects in a very early stage of development and that there is a good chance of losing your whole stake. The FCA warning comes hot on the heels of news that Chinese authorities are looking to ban ICO sales and are inspecting 60 ICO platforms. In late July, the US Securities and Exchange Commission warned that offers and sales of ICOs were subject to the requirements of federal securities law. Bitcoin, Ethereum and most of the digital currency market made very modest gains Tuesday after recent volatile swings. The market capitalization stands at just over $150 billion, still $25 billion lower than its record levels made at the beginning of September. I will be discussing Bitcoin Trading and Strategy every Wednesday at 12:00 pm if you would like to join me, please click here. Market Moves/Top 8 Capitalizations September 12, 2017 If you are interested in trading digital pairs and would like to practice trading either BTC or ETH, you can create a Quick and Free Demo Account Here --- Written by Nick Cawley, Analyst. To contact Nick, email him at nicholas.cawley@ig.com Follow Nick on Twitter @nickcawley1 The following companies are subsidiares of UnitedHealth Group: 1070715 B.C. Unlimited Liability Company, 1st Avenue Pharmacy Inc., 310 Canyon Medical LLC, 4C MSO LLC, 4C Medical Group PLC, 5995 Minnetonka LLC, ABCO International Holdings LLC, ACN Group IPA of New York Inc., ACN Group of California Inc., AHN Accountable Care Organization LLC, AHN Central Services LLC, AHN Target Holdings LLC, AMIL International S.a.r.l., APS Assistencia Personalizada a Saude Ltda., ASC Holdings of New Jersey LLC, ASC Network LLC, ASC Operators-East Bay LLC, ASC Operators-San Francisco LLC, ASC Operators-San Luis Obispo LLC, ASC Operators-Santa Rosa LLC, ASC Operators-South Bay LLC, ASV-HOPCo-SCA Cornerstone LLC, ASV-HOPCo-SCA Florida LLC, AbleTo Behavioral Health Services P.C., AbleTo Inc., Accurate Rx Pharmacy Consulting LLC, Administradora Clinica La Colina S.A.S., Administradora Country S.A.S., Administradora Medica Centromed S.A., Advanced Surgery Center of Clifton LLC, Advanced Surgical Center LLC, Advanced Surgical Hospital LLC, Advocate Condell Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Advocate Southwest Ambulatory Surgery Center L.L.C., Advocate-SCA Partners LLC, Aliansalud Entidad Promotora de Salud S.A., All Savers Insurance Company, All Savers Life Insurance Company of California, Alliance Surgical Center LLC, Allina Health Heart and Vascular Surgery Center LLC, Allina Health Surgery Center-Brooklyn Park LLC, Aloha Surgical Center LLC, Ambient Healthcare Inc., Ambient Holdings Inc., AmeriChoice, AmeriChoice Corporation, AmeriChoice of New Jersey Inc., American Health Network of Indiana Care Organization LLC, American Health Network of Indiana II LLC, American Health Network of Indiana LLC, American Health Network of Kentucky LLC, American Health Network of Ohio Care Organization LLC, American Health Network of Ohio II LLC, American Health Network of Ohio LLC, American Physicians Inc., Amico Saude Ltda., Amil, Amil Assistencia Medica Internacional S.A., Angiografia e Hemodinamica Madre Theodora Ltda., Anne Arundel-SCA Holdings LLC, Anne Arundel-SCA Surgicenter LLC, Antelope Valley Surgery Center L.P., Analisis Clinicos ML S.A.C., Apothecary Holdings Inc., AppleCare Medical Management LLC, Aquitania Chilean Holding SpA, Arcadia JV Holdings LLC, Arcadia Outpatient Surgery Center L.P., ArchWell Health LLC, ArchWell Health MSO LLC, ArchWell Health Professional Services Holding Co., ArchWell Health Professional Services of Alabama LLC, ArchWell Health Professional Services of North Carolina P.C., ArchWell Health Professional Services of Oklahoma LLC, Archwell Health Professional Services of Arizona LLC, Archwell Health Professional Services of Nebraska LLC, Arise Physician Group, Arizona Physicians IPA Inc., Arlington Surgery Center LLC, Aspectus Inc., Associacao Lusiadas Knowledge Center Health Education and Research, Audax Health Solutions LLC, Aurora Hospitalist P.C., Austin Center for Outpatient Surgery L.P., Avella Specialty Pharmacy, Aventura Medical Tower Surgery Center LLC, Avery Parent Holdings Inc., Aveta Inc., AxelaCare Intermediate Holdings LLC, AxelaCare LLC, B.R.A.S.S. Partnership in Commendam, BOSC Holdings LLC, BSC Holdings LLC, Ball Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Banmedica Colombia S.A.S., Banmedica Internacional SpA, Banmedica S.A., Barranca Surgery Center LLC, Beach Surgical Holdings II LLC, Beach Surgical Holdings III LLC, Beach Surgical Holdings LLC, Beaver Medical Group P.C., Bedford Physicians Risk Retention Group Inc., Behavioral Healthcare Options Inc., Beltway Surgery Centers L.L.C., Benefit Administration for the Self Employed L.L.C., Benefitter Insurance Solutions Inc., Bergan Mercy Surgery Center LLC, Bergen-Passaic Cataract Laser and Surgery Center LLC, Bessler MD PLLC, Bind Benefits Inc., Bind LH Holdings Inc., Bind Re Inc., Birmingham Outpatient Surgery Center Ltd., Birmingham Outpatient Surgical Center LLC, Bloomfield ASC LLC, Blue Ridge Day Surgery Center L.P., Blue Ridge GP LLC, Blue Ridge Properties LLC, Boca Raton Outpatient Surgery & Laser Center LTD., Bordeaux Barbados Holdings I SRL, Bordeaux Barbados Holdings II SRL, Bordeaux Barbados Holdings III S.r.l., Bordeaux Holding SpA, Bordeaux International Holdings Inc., Bordeaux UK Holdings I Limited, Bordeaux UK Holdings II Limited, Bordeaux UK Holdings III Limited, Bosque Medical Center Ltda., Brandon Ambulatory Surgery Center LC, BriovaRx Infusion Services 102 LLC, BriovaRx of Florida Inc., BriovaRx of Maine Inc., BriovaRx of Massachusetts LLC, CCEC Anesthesia Management LLC, CDC Holdings Colombia S.A.S., CLISA Clinica de Santo Antonio S.A., CMO Centro Medico de Oftalmologia S/S Ltda., CMS Central de Manipulacao e Servicos Farmaceuticos Ltda., COI Clinicas Oncologicas Integradas S.A., Cabin Enterprises LLC, Cabin Holdings LLC, California Medical Group Insurance Company Risk Retention Group, Camp Hill Ambulatory Centers, Camp Hill-SCA Centers LLC, Capital City Medical Group L.L.C., Cardinal Holding Company LLC, Care Improvement Plus Group Management LLC, Care Improvement Plus South Central Insurance Company, Care Improvement Plus Wisconsin Insurance Company, Care Improvement Plus of Texas Insurance Company, Care Logistics LLC, CareMount Dental Member LLC, CareMount Health Solutions ACO LLC, CareMount Health Solutions Employer LLC, CareMount Health Solutions LLC, CareMount Holding LLC, CareMount Medical Foundation Inc., CareMount Value Partners IPA LLC, Carr PLLC, Casa de Saude Santa Therezinha Ltda., Castle Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Castle Rock SurgiCenter LLC, Catalyst360 LLC, Catamaran 2 Unlimited Company, Catamaran Finance Ireland Unlimited Company, Catamaran S.a.r.l., Cedar Park JV Partners LLC, Cedar Park Surgery Center LLC, Cemed Care Empresa de Atendimento Clinico Geral Ltda., Center for Quality Improvement LLC, Center for Restorative Surgery at Maple Grove LLC, Center for Surgery of North Coast L.P., Central Indiana Care Organization LLC, Central Ohio Care Organization LLC, CentriHealth Corporation, CentrifyHealth LLC, Centro Medico Hospitalar Pitangueiras Ltda., Centro Odontologico Americano S.A.C., Centro de Entrenamiento Capacitacion en Reanimacion y Prevencion Limitada, Centro de Servicios Compartidos Banmedica SpA, Centromed Quilpue S.A., Centros Medicos y Dentales Multimed Ltda., Centura-SCA Holdings LLC, Centurion Casualty Company, Channel Islands Surgicenter L.P., Channel Islands Surgicenter Properties LLC, Charleston Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Charleston Surgery Properties LLC, Charlotte Surgery Center LLC, Charlotte Surgery Properties LTD., Charlotte-SC LLC, Chatham Orthopaedic ASC LLC, Childrens Surgery Center LLC, Citrus Regional Surgery Center L.P., Claims Management Systems Inc., Cleburne Surgical Center LLC, Clinical Partners of Colorado Springs LLC, Clinton Partners LLC, Clinica Alameda SpA, Clinica Bio Bio SpA, Clinica Ciudad del Mar S.A., Clinica Davila y Servicios Medicos S.p.A., Clinica Iquique S.A., Clinica Medico Cirurgica de Santa Tecla S.A., Clinica Portoazul S.A., Clinica San Felipe S.A., Clinica Santa Maria S.p.A., Clinica Sanchez Ferrer S.A., Clinica Vespucio S.A., Clinica del Country S.A.S., Coachella Valley Physicians of PrimeCare Inc., Coalition for Advanced Pharmacy Services Inc., Cobranzas Banmedica SpA, Cogent Healthcare IPA of New York Inc., Cogent Healthcare Inc., Cogent Healthcare Management of New York Inc., Cogent Healthcare of Arizona P.C., Cogent Healthcare of California Prof. Corp., Cogent Healthcare of Georgia P.C., Cogent Healthcare of Illinois LLC, Cogent Healthcare of Iowa P.C., Cogent Healthcare of Jackson MS LLC, Cogent Healthcare of Jacksonville LLC, Cogent Healthcare of Mississippi Inc., Cogent Healthcare of Missouri Inc., Cogent Healthcare of Montana P.C., Cogent Healthcare of New Jersey P.C., Cogent Healthcare of North Carolina P.C., Cogent Healthcare of Oregon P.C., Cogent Healthcare of Pennsylvania Inc., Cogent Healthcare of Pensacola L.L.C., Cogent Healthcare of Tennessee P.C., Cogent Healthcare of Virginia Inc., Cogent Healthcare of Washington P.C., Cogent Medical Care P.C., Cogent Patient Safety Organization Inc., Cogent/Endion Medical Care of New York P.C., Collaborative Care Holdings LLC, Collaborative Care Services Inc., Collaborative Realty LLC, Colmedica Medicina Prepagada S.A., Colonial Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Colorado Innovative Physician Solutions Inc., Colorado Springs Surgery Center Ltd., Comfort Care Transportation LLC, Comprehensive Hospital Physicians of Florida Inc., ConnectYourCare Inc., ConnectYourCare LLC, Connecticut Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Connecticut Surgery Properties LLC, Connecticut Surgical Center LLC, Consorcio Regenero S.A., Constructora Inmobiliaria Magapoq S.A., Consumer Wellness Solutions Inc., Continuum Physicians Group Inc., Continuum Physicians Group of Washington PLLC, Cornell Surgicenter LLC, Cornerstone Surgery Center LLC, Cornerstone Surgicare LLC, Corpus Christi Endoscopy Center L.L.P., Country Scan Ltda., Critical Care Physician of New York P.C., Critical Care Physicians of Illinois LLC, Critical Care Physicians of New Jersey PC, Critical Care Physicians of Pennsylvania P.C., Cross Timbers Surgery Center LLC, Cypress Care Inc., DBP Services of New York IPA Inc., DSP Flint Real Estate LLC, DSP-Building C LLC, DTC Surgery Center LLC, DWIC of Tampa Bay Inc., Dallas Inpatient Specialist PLLC, Danbury Surgical Center L.P., Day-Op Surgery Consulting Company LLC, Definity Health, Dental Benefit Providers Inc., Dental Benefit Providers of California Inc., Dental Benefit Providers of Illinois Inc., Denton Endoscopy Surgery Center LLC, Denton Surgery Center LLC, Derry Surgical Center LLC, Diagnostico Ecotomografico Centromed Ltda., Diasnostico por Imagenes Centromed Ltda., Digestive Disease Center L.P., Dilab Medicina Nuclear Ltda., Diplomat Blocker LLC, Diplomat Corporate Properties LLC, Diplomat Pharmacy, Diplomat Pharmacy Inc., Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy Great Lakes Distribution Center LLC, Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy of Chicago LLC, Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy of Ft. Lauderdale LLC, Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy of Los Angeles County LLC, Distance Learning Network Inc., Divisadero Holdings LLC, DocASAP Inc., DocASAP India Technologies Private Limited, DocASAP US LLC, Doctor + S.A.C., Dry Creek Surgery Center LLC, Dublin Surgery Center LLC, Duluth Surgical Suites LLC, Durable Medical Equipment Inc., E Street Endoscopy LLC, EM Orange Tree LLC, EP Campus I LLC, EPIC Health Plan, EPIC Management Services LLC, East Bay Endoscopy Center L.P., East Brunswick Surgery Center LLC, Echo Locum Tenens Inc., Electronic Network Systems Inc., Elual Participacoes S.A., Emerald Coast Surgery Center L.P., Emisar Pharma Services LLC, Emmaus Holdings LLC, Emmaus Surgical Center LLC, Empire Physician Management Company LLC, Empremedica S. A., Endion Hospitalist North P.C., Endion Hospitalist of Western New York P.C., Endion Medical Healthcare P.C., Endion Medical Services P.C., Endoscopy Center Affiliates Inc., Enterprise Life Insurance Company, Equian, Equian LLC, Equian Parent Corp., Esho Empresa de Servicos Hospitalares S.A., Everett MSO Inc., Excelsior Insurance Brokerage Inc., Executive Health Resources Inc., Executive Surgery Center L.L.C., Eye Clinic Oftalmologia Clinico Cirurgica e Diagnostico Ltda., Eye Specialists Surgery Centers LLC, FMG Holdings LLC, Family Health Care Services, Family Home Hospice Inc., Ferrell Physician Services P.C., Fideicomiso Clinica Barranquilla Portoazul FA-517, First Coast Orthopedic Center LLC, First Family Insurance LLC, Florence Surgery Center L.P., For Health Inc., For Health of Arizona Inc., Fort Sutter Medical Building a California Limited Partnership, Fort Worth Endoscopy Centers LLC, Fortified Provider Network Inc., Foundation Surgery Affiliate General of Huntingdon Valley LLC, Foundation Surgery Affiliate of Huntingdon Valley L.P., Franklin Surgical Center LLC, Freedom Life Insurance Company of America, Freeway Surgicenter of Houston LLC, Frontier Medex Tanzania Limited, FrontierMEDEX Inc., FrontierMEDEX Kenya Limited, FrontierMEDEX US Inc., Fundacion Banmedica, GLBESC LLC, GRANTS PASS SURGERY CENTER LLC, Gadsden Surgery Center LLC, Gainesville Surgery Center L.P., Gainesville Surgery Properties LLC, Genoa, Genoa Healthcare Inc., Genoa QoL Wholesale LLC, Genoa Technology Canada Inc., Genoa Technology Inc., Genoa Telepsychiatry Inc., Genoa of Arkansas LLC, Gladiolus Surgery Center L.L.C., Glenwood Surgical Center L.P., Glenwood-SC Inc., Global One Ventures LLC, Golden Gate Endoscopy Center LLC, Golden Outlook Inc., Golden Rule Financial Corporation, Golden Rule Insurance Company, Golden Triangle Surgicenter L.P., Grandview Surgery Center LTD., Greater New Haven ASC LLC, Greensboro Specialty Surgery Center LLC, Greenville Surgery Center LLC, Greenway Surgical Suites LLC, Grossmont Surgery Center L.P., Grove Place Surgery Center L.L.C., H&W Indemnity SPC Ltd., H.I. Investments Holding Company LLC, HCP ACO California LLC, HCentive Technology India Private Limited, HFHS-SCA Holdings LLC, HMG Holding Corporation, HMG Holdings LLC, HMP of Baltimore USH P.C., Harken Health Insurance Company, Harrison Endo Surgical Center LLC, Hawthorn Place Outpatient Surgery Center L.P., Hays JV Partners LLC, Hays Surgery Center LLC, Health Care-ONE Insurance Agency Inc., Health Inventures Employment Solutions LLC, Health Inventures LLC, Health Plan of Nevada Inc., HealthCare Partners ASC-LB LLC, HealthCare Partners Affiliates Medical Group, HealthCare Partners Management Services California LLC, HealthCare Partners RE LLC, HealthEast Surgery Center-Maplewood LLC, HealthFirst IPA Inc., HealthMarkets Group Inc., HealthMarkets Inc., HealthMarkets Insurance Agency Inc., HealthMarkets LLC, HealthMarkets Services Inc., HealthSCOPE Holdings Inc., HealthScope Benefits Inc., Healthcare Solutions Inc., Healthplex America LLC, Healthplex Dental Services Inc., Healthplex I.P.A. Inc., Healthplex Inc., Healthplex Insurance Company, Healthplex of CT Inc., Healthplex of DC Inc., Healthplex of MD Inc., Healthplex of ME Inc., Healthplex of NC Inc., Healthplex of NJ Inc., Healthplex of TX Inc., Heartland Heart and Vascular LLC, Help Seguros de Vida S.A., Help Service S.A., Help SpA, Hemonefro Hemodialise e Nefrologia Ltda, Highlands Ranch Healthcare LLC, Home Medical S.A., Honodav SpA, Hospice Inspiris Holdings Inc., Hospitais Associados de Pernambuco Ltda., Hospital Alvorada Taguatinga Ltda., Hospital Ana Costa S.A., Hospital Santa Helena S.A., Hospital de Clinicas de Jacarepagua Ltda., Hospitalist Medicine Physician of Broome County PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physician of New York - Binghamton P.C., Hospitalist Medicine Physician of New York - Buffalo P.C., Hospitalist Medicine Physician of New York - Newburgh P.C., Hospitalist Medicine Physician of New York - Nyack P.C., Hospitalist Medicine Physician of New York - Patchogue P.C., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Alabama TCG Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Alabama TCS Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Alaska TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Alaska TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Goodyear Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Nogales Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Phoenix II Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Phoenix Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Sierra Vista Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Tucson II Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona - Tucson Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona TCG Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arizona TCS Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arkansas TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Arkansas TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Buncombe County PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Apple Valley PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Bakersfield PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Camarillo PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Crescent City PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Fairfield PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Fremont PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Grass Valley PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Jackson PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Oceanside PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Oxnard PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Salinas PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - San Bernardino II PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - San Bernardino PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - San Leandro PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Sonoma PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Stockton II PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Stockton PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Thousand Oaks PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California - Vacaville PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of California TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Colorado - Brighton PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Colorado - Denver PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Colorado TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Colorado TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Connecticut - Manchester LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Connecticut - Rockville LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Connecticut - Wallingford LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Connecticut LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Connecticut TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Connecticut TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of DC PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of DC TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of DC TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Delaware TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Delaware TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Florida - Ft. Lauderdale LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Florida - Jacksonville II LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Florida - Jacksonville LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Florida - Palm Coast LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Florida TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Florida TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Fredericksburg LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Georgia - Atlanta PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Georgia - East Point PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Georgia - Lavonia PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Georgia - Savannah PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Georgia TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Georgia TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Hawaii - Kealakekua Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Hawaii TCG Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Hawaii TCS Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Idaho - Nampa PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Idaho TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Idaho TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Illinois - Downers Grove LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Illinois - Elmhurst LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Illinois - Rockford LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Illinois - Winfield LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Illinois TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Illinois TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Indiana - Clinton LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Indiana - Mishawaka LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Indiana - Terre Haute LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Indiana LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Indiana TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Indiana TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Iowa - Cedar Rapids PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Iowa - Mason City PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Iowa PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Iowa TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Iowa TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Kansas - Topeka LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Kansas - Wichita II LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Kansas - Wichita LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Kansas TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Kansas TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Louisiana - Alexandria Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Louisiana - Bossier City Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Louisiana - Lake Charles Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Louisiana - Shreveport Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Louisiana TCG Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Louisiana TCS Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maine - Bangor PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maine - Lewiston PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maine TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maine TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland - Cheverly PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland - Cumberland PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland - Frederick PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland - Laurel PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland - Rockville PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland P.C., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Maryland TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Brockton PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Dorchester PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Framingham PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Holyoke PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Natick PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Norwood PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Springfield PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Stoughton PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Taunton PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts - Worcester PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Massachusetts TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Alpena PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Dowagiac PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Escanaba PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Grand Blanc PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Grayling PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Kalamazoo PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Plainwell PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Port Huron PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Saginaw PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan - Tawas City PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Michigan TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Minnesota TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Minnesota TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Mississippi LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Mississippi TCG Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Mississippi TCS Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Missouri - Bridgeton Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Missouri - Richmond Heights Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Missouri TCG Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Missouri TCS Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Montana - Billings PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Montana - Butte PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Montana - Miles City PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Montana - Missoula PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Montana TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Montana TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Multiple Practice Sites LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nebraska TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nebraska TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nevada - Henderson Bessler PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nevada - Henderson II Bessler PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nevada - Las Vegas Bessler PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nevada - Las Vegas II Bessler PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nevada TCG Bessler PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Nevada TCS Bessler PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Hampshire TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Hampshire TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Jersey - Hackensack PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Jersey - Paterson PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Jersey - TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Jersey TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Mexico - Clovis LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Mexico - Rio Rancho LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Mexico - TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New Mexico - TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of New York PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina - Burlington PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina - Clyde PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina - Elizabeth City PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina - Jacksonville PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina - New Bern PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina - Rocky Mount PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Carolina TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Dakota TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of North Dakota TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Akron Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Batavia Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Canton Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Cincinnati II Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Cincinnati III Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Cincinnati Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Circleville Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Columbus II Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Columbus Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Dover Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - East Liverpool Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Fairfield Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Martins Ferry Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Westerville Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio - Youngstown Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio TCG Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Ohio TCS Professional Corporation, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Oklahoma - Oklahoma City LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Oklahoma TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Oklahoma TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Oregon - Portland PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Oregon TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Oregon TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Pennsylvania P.C., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Pennsylvania TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Pennsylvania TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Rhode Island TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Rhode Island TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Richland County Ltd., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of San Luis Obispo County Inc., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of South Carolina - Aiken LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of South Carolina - Rock Hill LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of South Carolina TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of South Carolina TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of South Dakota TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of South Dakota TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Tennessee Columbia PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Tennessee Franklin PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Tennessee TCG PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Tennessee TCS PC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Amarillo PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Atlanta PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Austin II PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Austin PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Bryan PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Burnet PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Corpus Christi II PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Corpus Christi PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Cypress PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Dallas PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - El Paso II PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - El Paso III PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - El Paso PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Fort Worth II PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Fort Worth PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Fredericksburg PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Houston PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Humble PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Kerrville PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Kyle PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Livingston PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Lubbock PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Lufkin PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Mount Pleasant PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Plainview PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Rockwall PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Round Rock PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - San Antonio II PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - San Antonio III PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - San Antonio IV PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - San Antonio PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - San Antonio V PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - San Antonio VI PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - San Antonio VII PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - San Marcos PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Texarkana PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas - Tyler PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Texas TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Utah TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Utah TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Vermont TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Vermont TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Alexandria LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Front Royal II LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Front Royal LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Mechanicsville LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Midlothian LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Richmond II LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Richmond LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia - Winchester LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Virginia TCS LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Arlington PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Auburn PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Bellingham PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Bremerton PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Burien PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Coupeville PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Enumclaw PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Federal Way PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Gig Harbor PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Lakewood PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Mount Vernon PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Puyallup PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Tacoma II PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Tacoma III PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Tacoma PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington - Vancouver PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington County LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Washington TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of West Virginia PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of West Virginia Martinsburg PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of West Virginia South Charleston PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of West Virginia TCG PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of West Virginia TCS PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of West Virginia Wheeling PLLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Wisconsin Ltd., Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Wyoming - Casper LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Wyoming TCG LLC, Hospitalist Medicine Physicians of Wyoming TCS LLC, Hospitalists Management Group LLC, Humedica, Humedica Inc., Hygeia Corporation, Hygeia Corporation Ontario, IEC Holdings LLC, IHD Holdings LLC, INOV8 Surgical at Memorial City LLC, INSPIRIS of Texas Physician Group, Illinois Independent Care Network LLC, Imagen Technologies Inc., Impel Consulting Experts L.L.C., Impel Management Services L.L.C., InTouch Pharmacy LLC, Indiana Care Organization LLC, Indiana Endoscopy Centers LLC, Inland Surgery Center L.P., Inmobiliaria Apoquindo 3001 S.A., Inmobiliaria Apoquindo 3600 Ltda., Inmobiliaria Apoquindo S.A., Inmobiliaria Clinica Santa Maria S.A., Inmobiliaria Vinamed Ltda., Inmobiliaria e Inversiones Alameda S.A., Inpatient Services P.C., Inpatient Specialists of California P.C., Inspiris, Inspiris Inc., Instituto Radium de Cammpinas Ltda, Inter-Hospital Physicians Association Inc., International Healthcare Services Inc., Inversiones Clinicas Santa Maria SpA, Ironman Holdco Inc., Ironman Intermediate Holdco LLC, Isapre Banmedica S.A., JPM Healthcare LLC, Johnston Surgicare L.P., Joliet Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Jordan Ridge Family Medicine LLC, Joyable Inc., Kansal Inc. A Professional Corporation, Knox Diagnostic Imaging Center LLC, Kokomo Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, LDI Holding Company LLC, LDI Management Services LLC, LGH-A/Golf ASTC L.L.C., LHC Group, La Esperanza del Peru S.A., Laboratorio ROE S.A., Laboratorios Medicos Amed Quilpue S.A., Landmark Group Holdings LLC, Landmark Health Holdings LLC, Landmark Health LLC, Landmark Health NY IPA LLC, Landmark Health NY PO LLC, Landmark Health Technologies Private Limited, Landmark Health of California LLC, Landmark Health of Massachusetts LLC, Landmark Health of North Carolina LLC, Landmark Health of Oregon LLC, Landmark Health of Pennsylvania LLC, Landmark Health of Washington LLC, Landmark India LLC, Landmark Intermediate Holdings LLC, Landmark MSO LLC, Landmark Medical of Idaho PC, Landmark Medical of Massachusetts PLLC, Landmark Medical of Tennessee PC, Landmark Primary Care LLC, Laser Acquisition Holdings III LLC, Leehar Distributors LLC, Lemhi Ventures Fund I LP, Lemhi Ventures Fund II LP, Level2 Medical Services P.C. Alaska, Lexington Surgery Center Ltd., Liberty Anesthesia Services LLC, LifePrint Health Inc., LifeWell. Ltd. Co., Lifeprint Accountable Care Organization LLC, Limestone Medical Center LLC, Litomedica S.A., Logan Surgical Suites LLC, Lotten-Eyes Oftalmologia Clinica e Cirurgica Ltda., Louisville S.C. Ltd., Louisville-SC Properties Inc., Loyola Ambulatory Surgery Center at Oakbrook Inc., Loyola Ambulatory Surgery Center at Oakbrook L.P., Lusiadas - Parcerias Cascais S.A., Lusiadas A.C.E., Lusiadas Algarve S.A., Lusiadas S.A., Lusiadas SGPS S.A., Lutheran Campus ASC LLC, MAMSI Life and Health Insurance Company, MCNA Health Care Holdings LLC, MCNA Insurance Company, MCNA Systems Corp., MD Ops Inc., MD-Individual Practice Association Inc., ME AHS UC LLC, MGH/SCA LLC, MHC Real Estate Holdings LLC, MIAMI SURGERY CENTER LLC, MSLA Management LLC, Main Line Spine Surgery Center LLC, Managed Care of North America Inc., Managed Physical Network Inc., Mansfield Endoscopy Center LLC, March Holdings Inc., March Vision Care IPA Inc., March Vision Care Inc., March Vision Care of Texas Inc., Marin Health Ventures LLC, Marin Specialty Surgery Center LLC, Marin Surgery Holdings Inc., Marlin Holding Company LLC, Maryland Ambulatory Centers LLC, Maryland-SCA Centers LLC, Massachusetts Assurance Company Ltd. PIC, Massachusetts Avenue Surgery Center LLC, McKenzie Surgery Center L.P., MedExpress Primary Care West Virginia Inc., MedExpress Urgent Care Alabama LLC, MedExpress Urgent Care Inc. - Ohio, MedExpress Urgent Care Maine Inc., MedExpress Urgent Care New Hampshire Inc., MedExpress Urgent Care of Boynton Beach LLC, MedSynergies, MedSynergies LLC, Medical Clinic of North Texas PLLC, Medical Hilfe S.A., Medical Support Los Angeles Inc., Medical Surgical Centers of America Inc., Medical Transportation Services LLC, Melbourne Surgery Center LLC, Memorial City Holdings LLC, Memorial City Partners LLC, Memorial Houston Surgery Center LLC, MemorialCare Surgical Center at Orange Coast LLC, MemorialCare Surgical Center at Saddleback LLC, Mesquite Liberty LLC, Metro I Stone Management Ltd., Mid Atlantic Medical Services, Mid-West National Life Insurance Company of Tennessee, Midlands Orthopaedics Surgery Center LLC, Midwest Center for Day Surgery LLC, Mile High SurgiCenter LLC, Mississippi Medical Plaza L.C., Mobile Medical Services of New Jersey PC, Mobile-SC LTD., Modality Accountable Care Organisation Limited, Moen M.D. P.C., Mohawk Surgery Center LLC, Monarch Management Services Inc., Montgomery Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Monument Health LLC, Moore Orthopaedic Clinic Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Morris County Surgical Center LLC, Mt. Pleasant Surgery Center L.P., Multiangio Ltda., Murrells Inlet ASC LLC, Muskogee Surgical Investors LLC, Mustang Razorback Holdings Inc., My Wellness Solutions LLC, NAMM Holdings Inc., NPN IPA Washington PLLC, NSC Channel Islands LLC, NSC Greensboro LLC, NSC Greensboro West LLC, NSC Lancaster LLC, NSC Seattle Inc., NSC Upland LLC, Naperville Surgical Centre LLC, National Foundation Life Insurance Company, National Pacific Dental Inc., National Surgery Centers LLC, Navigator Health Inc., Nebraska Spine Hospital LLC, Neighborhood Health Partnership Inc., Netwerkes LLC, Nevada Pacific Dental, New Orleans Regional Physician Hospital Organization L.L.C., New West Physicians Inc., New York Proton Management LLC, Newton Holdings LLC, Niagara Hospitalist P.C., Nomad Buyer Inc., North American Medical Management California Inc., North Coast Surgery Center Ltd. a California Limited Partnership, North Dallas Surgical Center LLC, North Kitsap Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, North Puget Sound Oncology Equipment Leasing Company LLC, Northern Nevada Health Network Inc., Northern Rockies Surgery Center L.P., Northern Rockies Surgicenter Inc., Northern Utah Surgery Center LLC, Northwest Hills JV Partners LLC, Northwest Medical Group Alliance LLC, Northwest Spine and Laser Surgery Center LLC, Northwest Surgicare LLC, Northwest Surgicare Ltd. an Illinois Limited Partnership, OC Cardiology Practice Partners LLC, OCC MSO LLC, OSB Tecnologia e Servicos de Suporte Lda., Omesa SpA, OmniClaim LLC, Oncocare S.A.C., One World Surgery, Ophthalmology Surgery Center of Dallas LLC, Optimum Choice Inc., Optum Bank Inc., Optum Biometrics Inc., Optum Care Inc., Optum Care Networks Inc., Optum Care Services Company, Optum Care of New York Management Inc., Optum Clinics Holdings Inc., Optum Clinics Intermediate Holdings Inc., Optum Compounding Services LLC, Optum Digital Health Holdings LLC, Optum Direct To Consumer Inc., Optum Financial Inc., Optum Frontier Therapies Holdings LLC, Optum Frontier Therapies II LLC, Optum Frontier Therapies LLC, Optum Genomics Inc., Optum Global Solutions Colombia S.A.S., Optum Global Solutions India Private Limited, Optum Global Solutions International B.V., Optum Global Solutions Philippines Inc., Optum Government Solutions Inc., Optum Growth Partners Holdings Inc., Optum Growth Partners LLC, Optum Health & Technology Holdings US Inc., Optum Health & Technology Hong Kong Limited, Optum Health & Technology India Private Limited, Optum Health & Technology Servicos do Brasil Ltda., Optum Health & Technology Singapore Pte. Ltd., Optum Health & Technology US LLC, Optum Health Plan of California, Optum Health Services Canada Ltd., Optum Health Solutions Australia Pty Ltd, Optum Health Solutions UK Limited, Optum Health and Technology FZ-LLC, Optum Healthcare of Illinois Inc., Optum Hospice Pharmacy Services LLC, Optum Inc., Optum Infusion Services 100 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 101 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 103 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 200 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 201 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 202 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 203 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 204 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 205 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 206 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 207 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 208 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 209 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 301 LP, Optum Infusion Services 302 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 305 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 308 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 401 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 402 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 403 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 404 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 500 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 501 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 550 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 551 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 553 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 554 Inc., Optum Insurance of Ohio Inc., Optum Labs Inc., Optum Labs LLC, Optum Life Sciences Canada Inc., Optum Management Consulting Shanghai Co. Ltd., Optum Networks of New Jersey Inc., Optum Operations Ireland Unlimited Company, Optum Oregon MSO LLC, Optum Palliative and Hospice Care of Pennsylvania Inc., Optum Palliative and Hospice Care of Texas Inc., Optum Perks LLC, Optum Pharma Services Holdings Inc., Optum Pharmacy 601 LLC, Optum Pharmacy 700 LLC, Optum Pharmacy 701 LLC, Optum Pharmacy 702 LLC, Optum Pharmacy 704 Inc., Optum Pharmacy 705 LLC, Optum Pharmacy 706 Inc., Optum Pharmacy 707 Inc., Optum Pharmacy 800 Inc., Optum Pharmacy 803 Inc., Optum Pharmacy 805 Inc., Optum Pharmacy 806 Inc., Optum Public Sector Solutions Inc., Optum Rocket LLC, Optum SCA CS JV Holdings LLC, Optum Senior Services LLC, Optum Services Inc., Optum Services Ireland Limited, Optum Services Puerto Rico LLC, Optum Solutions UK Holdings Limited, Optum Technology LLC, Optum UK Solutions Group Limited, Optum Venture Global Partners II LP, Optum Venture Global Partners LP, Optum Venture Partners II LP, Optum Venture Partners III LP, Optum Venture Partners LP, Optum Washington Network LLC, Optum Women's and Children's Health LLC, Optum of New York Inc., Optum360 LLC, Optum360 Services Inc., Optum360 Solutions LLC, OptumCare ACO New Mexico LLC, OptumCare ACO West LLC, OptumCare Clinical Trials LLC, OptumCare Colorado ASC LLC, OptumCare Colorado LLC, OptumCare Colorado Springs LLC, OptumCare Endoscopy Center New Mexico LLC, OptumCare Florida CI LLC, OptumCare Florida LLC, OptumCare Holdings Colorado LLC, OptumCare Holdings LLC, OptumCare Management LLC, OptumCare New Mexico LLC, OptumCare New York IPA Inc., OptumCare Portland LLC, OptumCare South Florida LLC, OptumCare Specialty Practices LLC, OptumHealth Care Solutions LLC, OptumHealth Holdings LLC, OptumHealth International B.V., OptumInsight Holdings LLC, OptumInsight Inc., OptumInsight India Private Limited, OptumInsight Life Sciences Inc., OptumRx Administrative Services LLC, OptumRx Discount Card Services LLC, OptumRx Group Holdings Inc., OptumRx Health Solutions LLC, OptumRx Holdings I LLC, OptumRx Holdings LLC, OptumRx Home Delivery of Ohio LLC, OptumRx IPA III Inc., OptumRx Inc., OptumRx NY IPA Inc., OptumRx PBM of Illinois Inc., OptumRx PBM of Maryland LLC, OptumRx PBM of Pennsylvania LLC, OptumRx PBM of Wisconsin LLC, OptumRx PD of Pennsylvania LLC, OptumRx Pharmacy Inc., OptumRx Pharmacy of Nevada Inc., OptumRx of Pennsylvania LLC, OptumServe Technology Services Inc., Oregon Healthcare Resources LLC, Oregon Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Orlando Center for Outpatient Surgery L.P., OrthoNet Holdings Inc., OrthoNet LLC, OrthoNet New York IPA Inc., OrthoNet West Inc., OrthoNet of the South Inc., OrthoWest MSO LLC, Orthology Inc., Orthopedic Center of Palm Beach County LLC, Orthopedic Surgery Center of Palm Beach County LLC, Orthopro Management LLC, Ovations Inc., Owensboro Ambulatory Surgical Facility Ltd., Oxford Benefit Management Inc., Oxford Health Insurance Inc., Oxford Health Plans CT Inc., Oxford Health Plans LLC, Oxford Health Plans NJ Inc., Oxford Health Plans NY Inc., P2P Link LLC, PCCCV Inc., PHC Subsidiary Holdings LLC, PHYSICIANS DAY SURGERY CENTER LLC, PMI Acquisition LLC, PMSI Holdings LLC, PMSI Settlement Solutions LLC, POMCO Inc., POMCO Network Inc., PPH Holdings LLC, PPH Management Company L.L.C., PPH-Columbia Inc., PPH-Gardendale Inc., PS Center LLC, PacifiCare Health Systems, PacifiCare Life Assurance Company, PacifiCare Life and Health Insurance Company, PacifiCare of Arizona Inc., PacifiCare of Colorado Inc., Pacific Cardiovascular Associates Medical Group Inc., Pacific Casualty Company Inc., Pacifico S.A. Entidad Prestadora de Salud, Panama City Surgery Center LLC, Park Hill Surgery Center LLC, Parkway Surgery Center LLC, Patient Care Associates L.L.C., PatientsLikeMe, Patrimonio Autonomo Nueva Clinica, Payment Resolution Services LLC, Peninsula Eye Surgery Center LLC, Penzo Enterprises LLC, Peoples Health, Peoples Health Inc., Perham Physical Therapy LTD, Perimeter Center for Outpatient Surgery L.P., Pharmaceutical Technologies LLC, Physician Alliance of the Rockies LLC, Physicians Health Choice of Texas LLC, Physicians Health Plan of Maryland Inc., Physicians' Surgery Center of Downey LLC, Pinnacle III LLC, Plano de Saude Ana Costa Ltda., Plus One Health Management Puerto Rico Inc., Plus One Holdings Inc., Pocono Ambulatory Surgery Center Limited, Polar II Fundo de Investimento em Participacoes Multiestrategia, Polo Holdco LLC, Pomerado Outpatient Surgical Center Inc., Pomerado Outpatient Surgical Center L.P., Post-Acute Care Center for Research LLC, Practice Partners in Healthcare LLC, Preferred Care Network Inc., Preferred Care Network of Florida Inc., Preferred Care Partners Holding Corp., Preferred Care Partners Inc., Preferred Care Partners Medical Group Inc., PreferredOne, PreferredOne Administrative Services Inc., PreferredOne Insurance Company, Premier Choice ACO Inc., Premier Surgery Center of Louisville L.P., Premiere Medical Resources LLC, Presidio Surgery Center LLC, Prime Health Inc., PrimeCare Medical Network Inc., PrimeCare of Citrus Valley Inc., PrimeCare of Corona Inc., PrimeCare of Hemet Valley Inc., PrimeCare of Inland Valley Inc., PrimeCare of Moreno Valley Inc., PrimeCare of Redlands Inc., PrimeCare of Riverside Inc., PrimeCare of San Bernardino Inc., PrimeCare of Sun City Inc., PrimeCare of Temecula Inc., PrimeDoc St. Francis P.C., PrimeDoc of Richmond P.C., ProHEALTH Care Associates L.L.P., ProHEALTH Care Associates of New Jersey LLP, ProHEALTH Medical Management LLC, ProHealth Physicians ACO LLC, ProHealth Physicians Inc., ProHealth Proton Center Management LLC, ProHealth/CareMount Dental Management LLC, Procura Management Inc., Professional Coverage Services PLLC, Progressive Enterprises Holdings Inc., Progressive Medical LLC, Promotora Country S.A., Pronounced Health Solutions Inc., Prosemedic S.A.C., Prospero Benefits Management LLC, Prospero Care Management LLC, Prospero Management Services LLC, Providence & SCA Development LLC, Providence & SCA Off-Campus Holdings LLC, Providence & SCA On-Campus Holdings LLC, Providence & SCA Outreach Markets Holdings LLC, Pulse Platform LLC, QoL Acquisition Holdings Corp., R Cubed Inc., RABessler M.D. P.C., ROC Surgery LLC, ROCS Holdings LLC, RX Ricardo Campos Ltda., Rally Health Inc., ReMedics LLC, Real Appeal Inc., Redding Surgery Center LLC, Redlands Ambulatory Surgery Center, Redlands-SCA Surgery Centers Inc., Reliant MSO LLC, Reliant Medical Group Inc., Reliant Medical Group The Endoscopy Center LLC, Research Surgical Center LLC, Resonancia Magnetica de Colombia Ltda., Resonancia Magnetica del Country S.A., RightCare Solutions Inc., River Valley ASC LLC, Riverside Corporate Wellness LLC, Riverside Electronic Healthcare Resources Inc., Riverside Medical Management LLC, Riverside Surgical Center of Meadowlands LLC, Riverside Surgical Center of Newark LLC, Robert A. Bessler MD PLLC, Rockville Eye Surgery Center LLC, Rocky Mountain Health Maintenance Organization Incorporated, Rush Oak Brook Surgery Center LLC, SC Affiliates LLC, SCA AHN JV Holdings LLC, SCA Alaska Surgery Center inc., SCA Athens LLC, SCA Austin Holdings LLC, SCA Austin Medical Center Holdings LLC, SCA Aventura Holdings LLC, SCA BOSC Holdings LLC, SCA Bloomfield Holdings LLC, SCA Cedar Park Holdings LLC, SCA Clifton LLC, SCA Colorado Springs Holdings LLC, SCA Community Service Foundation, SCA Cottonwood Holdings LLC, SCA Danbury Surgical Center LLC, SCA Denver Holdings LLC, SCA Development LLC, SCA Duluth Holdings LLC, SCA Duncanville Holdings LLC, SCA Duncanville MSO LLC, SCA ESSC Holdings LLC, SCA Englewood Holdings LLC, SCA Global One Holdings LLC, SCA Greenway Holdings LLC, SCA Grove Creek Holdings LLC, SCA Guilford Holdings LLC, SCA Hays Holdings LLC, SCA Health Value Enterprise LLC, SCA Heartland Holdings LLC, SCA High Point Holdings LLC, SCA HoldCo Inc., SCA Holding Company Inc., SCA Holdings Inc., SCA IEC Holdings LLC, SCA Indiana Holdings LLC, SCA Lutheran Holdings LLC, SCA Maple Grove Holdings LLC, SCA Mohawk Holdings LLC, SCA Murrells Inlet LLC, SCA Northern Utah Holdings LLC, SCA Northwest Holdings LLC, SCA Outside New Jersey LLC, SCA Pacific Holdings Inc., SCA Pacific Surgery Holdings LLC, SCA Palisades Holdings LLC, SCA Pennsylvania Holdings LLC, SCA Pinnacle Holdings LLC, SCA Premier Surgery Center of Louisville LLC, SCA Providence Holdings LLC, SCA ROCS Holdings LLC, SCA Rockledge JV LLC, SCA Rush Oak Brook Holdings LLC, SCA SSSC Holdings LLC, SCA Sage Medical LLC, SCA Sage Medical MSO LLC, SCA San Diego Holdings LLC, SCA Skyway Holdings LLC, SCA South Ogden Holdings LLC, SCA Southwestern PA LLC, SCA Specialists of Florida LLC, SCA Specialty Holdings of Connecticut LLC, SCA Stonegate Holdings LLC, SCA Surgery Holdings LLC, SCA Surgicare of Laguna Hills LLC, SCA Teammate Support Network, SCA West Health Holdings LLC, SCA Westgreen Holdings LLC, SCA Woodbury Holdings LLC, SCA eCode Solutions Private Limited, SCA of Clarksville Inc., SCA-Albuquerque Surgery Properties Inc., SCA-Alliance LLC, SCA-Anne Arundel LLC, SCA-Applecare Partners LLC, SCA-Bethesda LLC, SCA-Blue Ridge LLC, SCA-Bonita Springs LLC, SCA-Brandon LLC, SCA-Castle Rock LLC, SCA-Central Florida LLC, SCA-Charleston LLC, SCA-Chatham LLC, SCA-Chevy Chase LLC, SCA-Citrus Inc., SCA-Colonial Partners LLC, SCA-Colorado Springs LLC, SCA-Connecticut Partners LLC, SCA-DRY CREEK LLC, SCA-Davenport LLC, SCA-Denver LLC, SCA-Denver Physicians Holdings LLC, SCA-Derry LLC, SCA-Doral LLC, SCA-Downey LLC, SCA-Dublin LLC, SCA-Encinitas Inc., SCA-Eugene Inc., SCA-First Coast LLC, SCA-Florence LLC, SCA-Fort Collins Inc., SCA-Fort Walton Inc., SCA-Franklin LLC, SCA-Frederick LLC, SCA-Freeway Holdings LLC, SCA-Ft. Myers LLC, SCA-GRANTS PASS LLC, SCA-Gainesville LLC, SCA-Gladiolus LLC, SCA-Glenwood Holdings LLC, SCA-Grove Place LLC, SCA-Hagerstown LLC, SCA-Hamden LLC, SCA-Hilton Head LLC, SCA-Honolulu LLC, SCA-Houston Executive LLC, SCA-IT Holdings LLC, SCA-Illinois LLC, SCA-JPM Holdings LLC, SCA-Kissing Camels Holdings LLC, SCA-MC VBP Inc., SCA-Main Street LLC, SCA-Marina del Rey LLC, SCA-Mecklenburg Development Corp., SCA-Memorial City LLC, SCA-Memorial LLC, SCA-Merritt LLC, SCA-Midlands LLC, SCA-Midway Management LLC, SCA-Mobile LLC, SCA-Mokena LLC, SCA-Morris Avenue LLC, SCA-Morris County LLC, SCA-Mt. Pleasant LLC, SCA-Naperville LLC, SCA-Naples LLC, SCA-New Jersey LLC, SCA-Newport Beach LLC, SCA-Northeast Georgia Health LLC, SCA-PORTLAND LLC, SCA-Palm Beach LLC, SCA-Palm Beach MSO Holdings LLC, SCA-Panama City Holdings LLC, SCA-Paoli LLC, SCA-Phoenix LLC, SCA-Pocono LLC, SCA-Practice Partners Holdings LLC, SCA-River Valley LLC, SCA-Riverside LLC, SCA-Riverside Partners LLC, SCA-Rockville LLC, SCA-Sacred Heart Holdings LLC, SCA-San Diego Inc., SCA-San Luis Obispo LLC, SCA-Sand Lake LLC, SCA-Santa Rosa Inc., SCA-Somerset LLC, SCA-South Jersey LLC, SCA-Sparta LLC, SCA-Spartanburg Holdings LLC, SCA-St. Louis Holdings LLC, SCA-St. Louis LLC, SCA-St. Lucie LLC, SCA-SurgiCare LLC, SCA-Swiftpath LLC, SCA-VERTA LLC, SCA-VLR Holdings Company LLC, SCA-Wake Forest LLC, SCA-Western Connecticut LLC, SCA-Westover Hills LLC, SCA-Winchester LLC, SCA-Winter Park Inc., SCA-Woodlands Holdings LLC, SCAI Holdings LLC, SCLHS-SCA Holdings LLC, SCP Specialty Infusion LLC, SHC Atlanta LLC, SHC Austin Inc., SHC Hawthorn Inc., SHC Melbourne Inc., SJ East Campus ASC LLC, SRPS LLC, SSSC Holdings LLC, SVHS-SCA Florida JV LLC, Sacred Heart ASC LLC, Saden S.A., Sage Medical Prof. LLC, Salem JV Holdings LLC, Salem Surgery Center LLC, Salveo Specialty Pharmacy Inc., San Diego Endoscopy Center, San Diego Sports and Minimally Invasive Surgery Center LLC, San Francisco Endoscopy Center LLC, San Luis Obispo Surgery Center a California Limited Partnership, Sand Lake SurgiCenter LLC, Santa Barbara Endoscopy Center LLC, Santa Cruz Endoscopy Center LLC, Santa Helena Assistencia Medica S.A., Santa Rosa Surgery Center L.P., Santos Administracao e Participacoes S.A., Sanvello Health Holdings LLC, Sanvello Health Inc., Sanvello Health Limited, Scanner Centromed S.A., Seashore Surgical Institute L.L.C., Seisa Servicos Integrados de Saude Ltda., Senate Street Surgery Center LLC, Senior Benefits L.L.C., Serquinox Holdings LLC, Servicios Integrados de Salud Ltda., Servicios Medicos Amed Quilpue S.A., Servicios Medicos Bio Bio Ltda., Servicios Medicos Ciudad del Mar Ltda., Servicios Medicos Santa Maria Ltda., Servicios Medicos Vespucio Ltda., Servicios de Entrenamiento en Competencias Clinicas Ltda., Serviclinica Inmobiliaria S.A., Serviclinica S.A. Ex Los Leones La Calera, Servisalud Inmobiliaria S.A., Servisalud S.A. Ex Los Carrera Quilpue, Shark Holdings P.C., Sierra Dental Plan Inc., Sierra Health Services Inc, Sierra Health Services Inc., Sierra Health and Life Insurance Company Inc., Sierra Health-Care Options Inc., Sierra Home Medical Products Inc., Sierra Nevada Administrators Inc., Sistema de Administracion Hospitalaria S.A.C., Small Business Insurance Advisors Inc., Sobam Centro Medico Hospitalar S.A., Sociedad de Inversiones Santa Maria SpA, Solstice Administration Services Inc., Solstice Administrators Inc., Solstice Administrators of Alabama Inc., Solstice Administrators of Arizona Inc., Solstice Administrators of Missouri Inc., Solstice Administrators of North Carolina Inc., Solstice Administrators of Texas Inc., Solstice Benefit Services Inc., Solstice Benefits Inc., Solstice Health Insurance Company, Solstice Healthplans Inc., Solstice Healthplans of Arizona Inc., Solstice Healthplans of Colorado Inc., Solstice Healthplans of New Jersey Inc., Solstice Healthplans of Ohio Inc., Solstice Healthplans of Tennessee Inc., Solstice Healthplans of Texas Inc., Solstice of Illinois Inc., Solstice of Minnesota Inc., Solstice of New York Inc., Solutran LLC, Somerset Outpatient Surgery L.L.C., Sound Inpatient Physicians Inc., Sound Inpatient Physicians Medical Group Inc., Sound Inpatient Physicians of Ohio LLC, Sound Inpatient Physicians of Texas I Inc., Sound Inpatient Physicians Michigan PLLC, Sound Intensivists of Nevada RBessler M.D. PLLC, Sound Kenwood Hospitalists of Cincinnati Inc., Sound Kenwood Hospitalists of Cincinnati LLC, Sound Physicians Advisory Services Inc., Sound Physicians Alaska Hospitalist Group LLC, Sound Physicians Anesthesiology of Texas PLLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Arizona Inc., Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Georgia P.C., Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Illinois LLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Kansas LLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Kentucky PLLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Louisiana Inc., Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Michigan PLLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Nevada Bessler PLLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of South Carolina LLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Southern California P.C., Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Texas PLLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of Washington PLLC, Sound Physicians Emergency Medicine of West Virginia PLLC, Sound Physicians Holdings LLC, Sound Physicians Intensivists of Arizona Inc., Sound Physicians Intensivists of Georgia PC, Sound Physicians Intensivists of South Carolina LLC, Sound Physicians Intensivists of Virginia LLC, Sound Physicians Intensivists of Washington PLLC, Sound Physicians Palliative Care of Maryland P.C., Sound Physicians Telemedicine Inc., Sound Physicians of Florida IV LLC, Sound Physicians of Georgia III P.C., Sound Physicians of Hawaii Inc., Sound Physicians of Idaho PLLC, Sound Physicians of Illinois LLC, Sound Physicians of Indiana LLC, Sound Physicians of Iowa PLLC, Sound Physicians of Kankakee Illinois LLC, Sound Physicians of Massachusetts II P.C., Sound Physicians of Massachusetts Inc., Sound Physicians of New Jersey LLC, Sound Physicians of New York PLLC, Sound Physicians of North Carolina PLLC, Sound Physicians of South Carolina LLC, Sound Physicians of Wyoming LLC, South Arlington Surgical Providers LLC, South County Surgical Center LLC, South Sound Inpatient Physicians PLLC, Southern California Medical Practice Concepts LLC, Southland Hospitalists P.C., Southwest Medical Associates Inc., Southwest Michigan Health Network Inc., Southwest Surgery Center LLC, Southwest Surgical Center LLC, Space Coast Surgical Center Ltd., Spartanburg Surgery Center LLC, Specialists in Urology Surgery Center LLC, Specialized Pharmaceuticals Inc., Specialty Benefits LLC, Specialty Billing Solutions LLC, Specialty Surgical Center LLC, Spectera Inc., Spectera of New York IPA Inc., Sports and Spinal Physical Therapy Inc., St. Cloud Outpatient Surgery Ltd. a Minnesota Limited Partnership, St. Cloud Surgical Center LLC, St. Louis Cardiovascular Institute LLC, St. Louis Specialty Surgical Center LLC, Stonegate JV Partners LLC, Stonegate Surgery Center L.P., Summer Street ASC LLC, SunSurgery LLC, Surgery Center Holding LLC, Surgery Center at Cherry Creek LLC, Surgery Center at Cottonwood LLC, Surgery Center at Grove Creek LLC, Surgery Center at Kissing Camels LLC, Surgery Center at South Ogden LLC, Surgery Center at St. Vincent LLC, Surgery Center of Boca Raton Inc., Surgery Center of Colorado Springs LLC, Surgery Center of Des Moines LLC, Surgery Center of Easton LLC, Surgery Center of Ellicott City Inc., Surgery Center of Fairfield County LLC, Surgery Center of Fort Collins LLC, Surgery Center of Lexington LLC, Surgery Center of Louisville LLC, Surgery Center of Maui LLC, Surgery Center of Mt. Scott LLC, Surgery Center of Muskogee LLC, Surgery Center of Rockville L.L.C., Surgery Center of Southern Pines LLC, Surgery Center of The Woodlands LLC, Surgery Centers of Des Moines Ltd. an Iowa Limited Partnership, Surgery Centers-West Holdings LLC, Surgical Care Affiliates, Surgical Care Affiliates LLC, Surgical Care Affiliates Political Action Committee, Surgical Care Partners of Melbourne LLC, Surgical Caregivers of Fort Worth LLC, Surgical Center of Greensboro LLC, Surgical Center of San Diego LLC, Surgical Center of South Jersey Limited Partnership, Surgical Center of Tuscaloosa Holdings LLC, Surgical Eye Experts LLC, Surgical Health LLC, Surgical Health of Orlando LLC, Surgical Hospital Holdings of Oklahoma LLC, Surgical Management Solutions LLC, Surgicare LLC, Surgicare of Central Jersey LLC, Surgicare of Jackson LLC, Surgicare of Jackson Ltd. a Mississippi Limited Partnership, Surgicare of Joliet Inc., Surgicare of La Veta Inc., Surgicare of La Veta Ltd. a California Limited Partnership, Surgicare of Minneapolis LLC, Surgicare of Minneapolis Ltd. a Minnesota Limited Partnership, Surgicare of Mobile LLC, Surgicare of Mobile Ltd., Surgicare of Oceanside Inc., Surgicare of Owensboro LLC, Surgicare of Salem LLC, Surgicenters of Southern California Inc., Symphonix Health Holdings LLC, T.M. Carr M.D. P.C., THE SURGICAL CENTER OF THE TREASURE COAST L.L.C., THR-SCA Holdings LLC, TeamMD Holdings Inc., TeamMD Iowa Inc., TeamMD Physicians of Texas Inc., TeamUP Insurance Services Inc., Tecnologia de Informacion en Salud S.A., Texas Health Craig Ranch Surgery Center LLC, Texas Health Flower Mound Orthopedic Surgery Center LLC, Texas Health Orthopedic Surgery Center Alliance LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Alliance LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Bedford LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Chisholm Trail LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Irving LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Las Colinas LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Preston Plaza LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Rockwall LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Southwest Fort Worth LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Waxahachie LLC, Texas Health Surgery Center Willow Park LLC, The Advisory Board Company, The Alaska Hospitalist Group LLC, The Chesapeake Life Insurance Company, The Eye Surgery Center of the Carolinas L.P., The Intensivist Group of Langhorne LLC, The Lewin Group Inc., The Outpatient Surgery Center of Hilton Head LLC, The Polyclinic MSO LLC, The Surgery Center of Easton L.P., The Surgical Center of Connecticut LLC, Thomas Johnson Surgery Center LLC, Three Rivers Holdings Inc., Three Rivers Surgical Care L.P., Tmesys LLC, Topimagem Diagnostico por Imagem Ltda., Touchpoint Health Plan, Trails Edge Surgery Center LLC, Trauma Surgery Affiliates LLC, Travel Express Incorporated, Treasure Valley Emerald Properties LLC, Treasure Valley Hospital Limited Partnership, Tri-City Medical Center ASC Operators LLC, Tri-County Surgery Center LLC, Trinity Cardiovascular Care PLLC, Tufts Health Freedom Insurance Company, Tufts Health Freedom Plans Inc., Tuscaloosa Surgical Center L.P., U.S. Behavioral Health Plan California, UCSD Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, UCSD Center for Surgery of Encinitas L.P., UCSD Surgical Center of San Diego LLC, UCSD-SCA Holdings I LLC, UCSD-SCA Holdings II LLC, UHC Finance Ireland Unlimited Company, UHC International Services Inc., UHC of California, UHCG Holdings Ireland Limited, UHCG Services Ireland Limited, UHCG FZE, UHG Brasil Participacoes S.A., UHG Holdings UK IV Limited, UHG Holdings UK V Limited, UHG Holdings UK VI Limited, UHIC Holdings Inc., UMR Inc., UPHT-SCA Holdings LLC, USHEALTH Academy Inc., USHEALTH Administrators LLC, USHEALTH Advisors LLC, USHEALTH Career Agency Inc., USHEALTH Funding Inc., USHEALTH Group Inc., USMD ASC IV1 LLC, USMD ASC IV2 LLC, USMD Administrative Services L.L.C., USMD Affiliated Services, USMD Holdings Inc., USMD Hospital at Arlington L.P., USMD Hospital at Fort Worth L.P., USMD Inc., USMD PPM LLC, Unidad Medica Diagnostico S.A., Unimerica Insurance Company, Unimerica Life Insurance Company of New York, Unison Health Plan of Delaware Inc., United Behavioral Health, United Behavioral Health of New York I.P.A. Inc., United Group Reinsurance Inc., United Health Foundation, United HealthCare Services Inc., United Medical Park ASC LLC, United Resource Networks IPA of New York Inc., United in Advancing Health Equity Foundation, UnitedHealth Advisors LLC, UnitedHealth Group Employee Assistance Fund, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated, UnitedHealth Group International Finance Ireland Unlimited Company, UnitedHealth International Inc., UnitedHealth Military & Veterans Services LLC, UnitedHealthcare Benefits Plan of California, UnitedHealthcare Benefits of Texas Inc., UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of California Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Georgia Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Ohio Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Texas L.L.C., UnitedHealthcare Consulting & Assistance Service Beijing Co. Ltd., UnitedHealthcare Europe S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare Global Medical UK Limited, UnitedHealthcare Inc., UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of America, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of Illinois, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of New York, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of the River Valley, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Designated Activity Company, UnitedHealthcare Integrated Services Inc., UnitedHealthcare International Asia LLC, UnitedHealthcare International I B.V., UnitedHealthcare International II S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International III B.V., UnitedHealthcare International III S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International IV S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International VII S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International VIII S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International X S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare Life Insurance Company, UnitedHealthcare Parekh Insurance TPA Private Limited, UnitedHealthcare Plan of the River Valley Inc., UnitedHealthcare Service LLC, UnitedHealthcare Specialty Benefits LLC, UnitedHealthcare of Alabama Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Arizona Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Arkansas Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Colorado Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Florida Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Georgia Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Illinois Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Kentucky Ltd., UnitedHealthcare of Louisiana Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Mississippi Inc., UnitedHealthcare of New England Inc., UnitedHealthcare of New Mexico Inc., UnitedHealthcare of New York Inc., UnitedHealthcare of North Carolina Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Ohio Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Oklahoma Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Oregon Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Pennsylvania Inc., UnitedHealthcare of South Carolina Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Texas Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Utah Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Washington Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Wisconsin Inc., UnitedHealthcare of the Mid-Atlantic Inc., UnitedHealthcare of the Midlands Inc., UnitedHealthcare of the Midwest Inc., UnitedHealthcare of the Rockies Inc., Unity Health Network LLC, Upland Holdings LLC, Upland Outpatient Surgical Center L.P., Urgent Care Holdings Inc., Urgent Care MSO LLC, Urology Associates of North Texas P.L.L.C., VERTA MANAGEMENT SERVICES LLC, VPay Benefits Corporation, VPay Inc., VPay Intermediate Holdings LLC, Valley Hospital L.L.C., Valley Physicians Network Inc., Vascular Labs of the Rockies ASC LLC, Vascular Labs of the Rockies PLLC, Via Vitae MSO LLC, Vida Integra S.p.A., Vida Tres S.A., Virtua-SCA Holdings II LLC, Virtua-SCA Holdings LLC, Vivify Health Canada Inc., Vivify Health Inc., WESTMED Practice Partners LLC, Wake Forest Ambulatory Ventures LLC, Walnut Creek Endoscopy Center LLC, Walnut Hill Surgery Center LLC, Wauwatosa Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Wauwatosa Surgery Center LLC, Wayland Square Surgicare Acquisition L.P., Wayland Square Surgicare GP Inc., Waypoint Minnesota PC, WellMed Medical Management Inc., WellMed Medical Management of Florida Inc., West Coast Endoscopy Holdings LLC, WestHealth JV Holdings LLC, WestHealth Surgery Center LLC, Western Connecticut Orthopedic Surgical Center LLC, Westgreen Surgical Center LLC, Wilson Creek Surgical Center LLC, Winchester Endoscopy LLC, Winter Park LLC, Winter Park Surgery Center L.P., Woodbury Surgery Center LLC, XAS Infusion Suites Inc., XLHealth Corporation, XLHealth Corporation India Private Limited, divvyDOSE, divvyMED LLC, eCode Solutions LLC, gethealthinsurance.com Agency Inc., hCentive Inc., inPharmative Inc., naviHealth Care at Home LLC, naviHealth Coordinated Care LLC, naviHealth Coordinated Care SC P.C., naviHealth Holdings LLC, naviHealth Inc., naviHealth Michigan HBPC P.C., and naviHealth SM Holdings Inc.. Read More General Mills, Inc. manufactures and markets branded consumer foods worldwide. The company operates in five segments: North America Retail; Convenience Stores & Foodservice; Europe & Australia; Asia & Latin America; and Pet. It offers ready-to-eat cereals, refrigerated yogurt, soup, meal kits, refrigerated and frozen dough products, dessert and baking mixes, bakery flour, frozen pizza and pizza snacks, snack bars, fruit and salty snacks, ice cream, nutrition bars, wellness beverages, and savory and grain snacks, as well as various organic products, including frozen and shelf-stable vegetables. It also supplies branded and unbranded food products to the North American foodservice and commercial baking industries; and manufactures and markets pet food products, including dog and cat food. The company markets its products under the Annie's, Betty Crocker, Bisquick, Blue Buffalo, Blue Basics, Blue Freedom, Bugles, Cascadian Farm, Cheerios, Chex, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, Cookie Crisp, EPIC, Fiber One, Food Should Taste Good, Fruit by the Foot, Fruit Gushers, Fruit Roll-Ups, Gardetto's, Go-Gurt, Gold Medal, Golden Grahams, Haagen-Dazs, Helpers, Jus-Rol, Kitano, Kix, Larabar, Latina, Liberte, Lucky Charms, Muir Glen, Nature Valley, Oatmeal Crisp, Old El Paso, Oui, Pillsbury, Progresso, Raisin Nut Bran, Total, Totino's, Trix, Wanchai Ferry, Wheaties, Wilderness, Yoki, and Yoplait trademarks. It sells its products directly, as well as through broker and distribution arrangements to grocery stores, mass merchandisers, membership stores, natural food chains, e-commerce retailers, commercial and noncommercial foodservice distributors and operators, restaurants, convenience stores, and pet specialty stores, as well as drug, dollar, and discount chains. The company operates 466 leased and 392 franchise ice cream parlors. General Mills, Inc. was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Ryder System, Inc. operates as a logistics and transportation company worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Fleet Management Solutions (FMS), Supply Chain Solutions (SCS), and Dedicated Transportation Solutions (DTS). The FMS segment offers full service leasing and leasing with flexible maintenance options, as well as maintenance services, supplies, and related equipment for operation of the vehicles; commercial vehicle rental services; and contract or transactional maintenance services of trucks, tractors, and trailers, as well as fleet support services. This segment also provides access to diesel fuel; offers fuel planning and tax reporting, cards, and monitoring services, and centralized billing; and sells used vehicles through its 63 retail sales centers and www.ryder.com/used-trucks website. The DTS segment offers equipment, maintenance, drivers, administrative, and additional services, as well as routing and scheduling, fleet sizing, safety, regulatory compliance, risk management, and technology and communication systems support services. The SCS segment comprises distribution management services, such as designing and managing customer's distribution network and facilities; coordinating warehousing and transportation for inbound and outbound material flows; handling import and export for international shipments; coordinating just-in-time replenishment of component parts to manufacturing and final assembly; and offering shipments to customer distribution centers or end customer delivery points, as well as other value added services, such as light assembly of components. This segment also offers transportation management services, such as shipment optimization, load scheduling, and delivery confirmation services; knowledge-based professional services; and e-commerce and last mile services. Ryder System, Inc. was founded in 1933 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida. The following companies are subsidiares of NRG Energy: 3279405 Nova Scotia Company, 3283764 Nova Scotia Company, 7549709 Canada Inc., 7644868 Canada Inc., 7711565 Canada Inc., AC Solar Holdings LLC, Ace Energy Inc., Agua Caliente Borrower 1 LLC, Agua Caliente Solar Holdings LLC, Agua Caliente Solar LLC, Allied Home Warranty GP LLC, Allied Warranty LLC, Arthur Kill Gas Turbines LLC, Arthur Kill Power LLC, Astoria Gas Turbine Power LLC, Bayou Cove Peaking Power LLC, Beheer-en Beleggingsmaatschappij Plogema B.V., Berrians I Gas Turbine Power LLC, BidURenergy Inc., Big Cajun I Peaking Power LLC, Bluewater Wind Delaware LLC, Bluewater Wind Maryland LLC, Bluewater Wind New Jersey Energy LLC, Boquillas Wind LLC, Cabrillo Power I LLC, Cabrillo Power II LLC, Camino Energy LLC, Carbon Management Solutions LLC, Carlsbad Energy Center LLC, Carlsbad Energy Holdings LLC, Chester Energy LLC, Chickahominy River Energy Corp., Cirro Energy Services Inc., Cirro Group Inc., Citizens Power Holdings One LLC, Commonwealth Atlantic Power LLC, Connecticut Jet Power LLC, Cottonwood Development LLC, Cottonwood Energy Company LP, Cottonwood Generating Partners I LLC, Cottonwood Generating Partners II LLC, Cottonwood Generating Partners III LLC, Cottonwood Technology Partners LP, Delaware Power Development LLC, Devon Power LLC, Doga Enerji Uretim Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Doga Isi Satis Hizmetleri Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Doga Isletme ve Bakim Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Dunkirk Gas Corporation, Dunkirk Power LLC, EHI Development Fund LLC, EME Eastern Holdings LLC, EVgo Services LLC, Eastern Sierra Energy Company LLC, Ecokap Power LLC, El Segundo Energy Center II LLC, El Segundo Power II LLC, El Segundo Power LLC, Elkhorn Ridge Wind II LLC, Energy Alternatives Wholesale LLC, Energy Choice Solutions LLC, Energy Curtailment Specialists, Energy Plus Holdings LLC, Energy Plus Natural Gas LLC, Energy Protection Insurance Company, Everything Energy LLC, Forward Home Security LLC, GCP Funding Company LLC, GenOn Energy, Geostellar Inc., Gladstone Power Station Joint Venture, Goal Zero, Goal Zero Europe GmbH, Goal Zero LLC, Granite II Holding LLC, Granite Power Partners II L.P., Green Mountain Energy, Green Mountain Energy Company, Green Mountain Energy Sun Club, Gregory Partners LLC, Gregory Power Partners LLC, Hanover Energy Company, Huntley IGCC LLC, Huntley Power LLC, Independence Energy Alliance LLC, Independence Energy Group LLC, Independence Energy Natural Gas LLC, Indian River Operations Inc., Indian River Power LLC, Intellastar LLC, Ivanpah Master Holdings LLC, Ivanpah Project I Holdings LLC, Ivanpah Project II Holdings LLC, Ivanpah Project III Holdings LLC, James River Power LLC, Kaufman Cogen LP, LSP-Nelson Energy LLC, Long Beach Generation LLC, Long Beach Peakers LLC, Long Beach Power LLC, Louisiana Generating LLC, MEC Esenyurt B.V., MEC San Pascual B.V., Maplekey UK Finance Limited, Maplekey UK Limited, Meriden Gas Turbines LLC, Middletown Power LLC, Midway-Sunset Cogeneration Company, Midwest Finance Company LLC, Midwest Generation EME LLC, Midwest Generation Holdings I LLC, Midwest Generation Holdings II LLC, Midwest Generation LLC, Midwest Generation Procurement Services LLC, Midwest Peaker Holdings LLC, Mission Bingham Lake Wind LLC, Mission Del Cielo LLC, Mission Energy Construction Services LLC, Mission Energy Holdings International LLC, Mission Energy Wales LLC, Mission Funding Zeta LLC, Mission Midway-Sunset Holdings LLC, Mission Midwest Coal LLC, Mission Minnesota Wind LLC, Mission Watson Holdings LLC, Mission Wind Boquillas LLC, Mission Wind New Mexico II LLC, Mission Wind Owaissa LLC, Mission Wind Pinnacle LLC, Mission del Sol LLC, Montville IGCC LLC, Montville Power LLC, NEO Chester-Gen LLC, NEO Corporation, NRG Acquisition Holdings Inc., NRG Advisory Services LLC, NRG Affiliate Services Inc., NRG Alexandria LLC, NRG Arroyo Nogales LLC, NRG Arthur Kill Operations Inc., NRG Asia-Pacific Ltd., NRG Astoria Gas Turbine Operations Inc., NRG Astoria Power LLC, NRG Audrain Generating LLC, NRG Audrain Holding LLC, NRG Bayou Cove LLC, NRG Berrians East Development LLC, NRG Bluewater Holdings LLC, NRG Bluewater Wind Massachusetts LLC, NRG Bourbonnais Equipment LLC, NRG Bourbonnais LLC, NRG Brazoria Energy LLC, NRG Business Services LLC, NRG CTA Holdings LLC, NRG Cabrillo Power Operations Inc., NRG Cadillac Inc., NRG Cadillac Operations Inc., NRG California Peaker Operations LLC, NRG Capital II LLC, NRG Carbon 360 LLC, NRG Cedar Bayou Development Company LLC, NRG Chalk Point CT LLC, NRG CleanTech Investments LLC, NRG Coal Development Company LLC, NRG ComLease LLC, NRG Common Stock Finance I LLC, NRG Common Stock Finance II LLC, NRG Connected Home LLC, NRG Connecticut Affiliate Services Inc., NRG Connecticut Peaking Development LLC, NRG Construction LLC, NRG Cottonwood Tenant LLC, NRG Curtailment Solutions Canada Inc., NRG Curtailment Solutions Inc., NRG DG Development LLC, NRG Development Company Inc., NRG Devon Operations Inc., NRG Dispatch Services LLC, NRG Distributed Energy Resources Holdings LLC, NRG Distributed Generation PR LLC, NRG Dunkirk Operations Inc., NRG ECOKAP Holdings LLC, NRG ESA Joint Development LLC, NRG El Segundo Operations Inc., NRG Energy Center Eagles LLC, NRG Energy Center Oxnard LLC, NRG Energy Fuel LLC, NRG Energy Fuel Services LLC, NRG Energy Gas & Wind Holdings Inc., NRG Energy Holdings II Inc., NRG Energy Holdings Inc., NRG Energy Inc., NRG Energy Labor Services LLC, NRG Energy Petroleum LLC, NRG Energy Services Group LLC, NRG Energy Services International Inc., NRG Energy Services LLC, NRG Equipment Company LLC, NRG Fuel Cell CA1 LLC, NRG Fuel Resources LLC, NRG Fuel Transportation LLC, NRG GTL Holdings LLC, NRG Gas Development Company LLC, NRG Generation Holdings Inc., NRG Gladstone Operating Services Pty Ltd, NRG Granite Acquisition LLC, NRG Greenco LLC, NRG HQ DG LLC, NRG Holding Leasing Vehicle 7 LLC, NRG Home & Business Solutions LLC, NRG Home Services LLC, NRG Home Solutions LLC, NRG Home Solutions Product LLC, NRG Homer City Services LLC, NRG Huntley Operations Inc., NRG Identity Protect LLC, NRG Ilion LP LLC, NRG Ilion Limited Partnership, NRG Independence Solar LLC, NRG International LLC, NRG Kaufman LLC, NRG Latin America Inc., NRG Lease Co LLC, NRG Lease Development LLC, NRG Limestone 3 LLC, NRG Maintenance Services LLC, NRG Mesquite LLC, NRG Mextrans Inc., NRG MidAtlantic Affiliate Services Inc., NRG MidCon Development LLC, NRG Middletown Operations Inc., NRG Middletown Repowering LLC, NRG Midwest Holdings LLC, NRG Midwest II LLC, NRG Montville Operations Inc., NRG NE Development LLC, NRG Nelson Turbines LLC, NRG New Roads Holdings LLC, NRG NewGen LLC, NRG North Central Operations Inc., NRG Northeast Affiliate Services Inc., NRG Norwalk Harbor Operations Inc., NRG Ohio Pipeline Company LLC, NRG Operating Services Inc., NRG Oswego Harbor Power Operations Inc., NRG Oxbow Holdings LLC, NRG PacGen Inc., NRG Peaker Finance Company LLC, NRG Portable Power LLC, NRG Potrero Development LLC, NRG Power Marketing LLC, NRG Procurement Company LLC, NRG Project Company LLC, NRG Reliability Solutions LLC, NRG Renter's Protection LLC, NRG Repowering Holdings LLC, NRG Residential Solar Solutions LLC, NRG Residential Solar Solutions Leasing II LLC, NRG Retail LLC, NRG Retail Northeast LLC, NRG Rockford Acquisition LLC, NRG Rockford Equipment II LLC, NRG Rockford Equipment LLC, NRG Saguaro Operations Inc., NRG Security LLC, NRG Services Corporation, NRG Sherbino LLC, NRG SimplySmart Solutions LLC, NRG Solar Arrowhead LLC, NRG Solar CVSR Holdings 2 LLC, NRG Solar Dandan LLC, NRG Solar Guam LLC, NRG Solar Ivanpah LLC, NRG Solar Ring LLC, NRG Solar SC Stadium LLC, NRG Solar Sunrise LLC, NRG South Central Affiliate Services Inc., NRG South Central Generating LLC, NRG South Central Operations Inc., NRG South Texas LP, NRG Sterlington Power LLC, NRG Storage Fabrication & Delivery LLC, NRG Storage on Demand NY LLC, NRG SunCap Leasing I LLC, NRG Telogia Power LLC, NRG Texas C&I Supply LLC, NRG Texas Gregory LLC, NRG Texas Holding Inc., NRG Texas LLC, NRG Texas Power LLC, NRG Texas Retail LLC, NRG Trading Advisors LLC, NRG Transmission Holdings LLC, NRG ULC Parent Inc., NRG Victoria I Pty Ltd, NRG Warranty Services LLC, NRG West Coast LLC, NRG Western Affiliate Services Inc., NRG Wind Development Company LLC, NRG Wind Force LLC, NRG Wind LLC, NRG dGen Advisory Services LLC, NRGenerating German Holdings GmbH, NRGenerating International B.V., NRGenerating Luxembourg (No. 1) S.a.r.l., NRGenerating Luxembourg (No. 2) S.a.r.l., New Genco GP LLC, New Jersey Power Development LLC, Norwalk Power LLC, O'Brien Cogeneration Inc. II, ONSITE Energy Inc., One Block Off The Grid Inc., Oswego Harbor Power LLC, Pacific Generation Company, Petra Nova CCS I LLC, Petra Nova Holdings LLC, Petra Nova LLC, Petra Nova Parish Holdings LLC, Petra Nova Power I LLC, Pure Energies Group, Pure Energies Group ULC, Pure Energies Installation Inc., Pure Energies Solar Services Inc., Pure Group Inc., RDI Consulting LLC, RERH Holdings LLC, Reliant Charitable Foundation, Reliant Energy, Reliant Energy Northeast LLC, Reliant Energy Power Supply LLC, Reliant Energy Retail Holdings LLC, Reliant Energy Retail Services LLC, Restoration Design LLC, Roof Diagnostics Solar Holdings LLC, Roof Diagnostics Solar and Electric LLC, Roof Diagnostics Solar and Electric of NY LLC, Saguaro Power Company a Limited Partnership, Saguaro Power LLC, San Gabriel Energy LLC, San Joaquin Energy LLC, San Juan Energy LLC, San Pascual Cogeneration Company International B.V., Sherbino I Wind Farm LLC, Solar Partners I LLC, Solar Partners II LLC, Solar Partners VIII LLC, Solar Power Partners, Solar Pure Energies ULC, Somerset Operations Inc., Somerset Power LLC, South Texas Wind LLC, Station A LLC, Sunrise Power Company LLC, Sunshine State Power (No. 2) B.V., Sunshine State Power B.V., TCV Pipeline LLC, Tacoma Energy Recovery Company, Taloga Wind II LLC, Texas Coastal Ventures LLC, Texas Genco GP LLC, Texas Genco Holdings, Texas Genco Holdings Inc., Texas Genco LP LLC, Texas Genco Services LP, US Retailers LLC, Valle Del Sol Energy LLC, Vienna Operations Inc., Vienna Power LLC, WCP (Generation) Holdings LLC, Watson Cogeneration Company, West Coast Power LLC, XOOM Alberta Holdings LLC, XOOM British Columbia Holdings LLC, XOOM Energy BC ULC, XOOM Energy California LLC, XOOM Energy Canada ULC, XOOM Energy Connecticut LLC, XOOM Energy Delaware LLC, XOOM Energy Georgia LLC, XOOM Energy Global Holdings LLC, XOOM Energy Illinois LLC, XOOM Energy Indiana LLC, XOOM Energy Kentucky LLC, XOOM Energy LLC, XOOM Energy Maine LLC, XOOM Energy Maryland LLC, XOOM Energy Massachusetts LLC, XOOM Energy Michigan LLC, XOOM Energy New Hampshire LLC, XOOM Energy New Jersey LLC, XOOM Energy New York LLC, XOOM Energy ONT ULC, XOOM Energy Ohio LLC, XOOM Energy Pennsylvania LLC, XOOM Energy Rhode Island LLC, XOOM Energy Texas LLC, XOOM Energy Virginia LLC, XOOM Energy Washington D.C. LLC, XOOM Ontario Holdings LLC, XOOM Solar LLC, and eV2g LLC. Read More Red Hat, Inc. provides open source software solutions to develop and offer operating system, virtualization, management, middleware, cloud, mobile, and storage technologies to various enterprises worldwide. It offers infrastructure-related solutions, such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux, an operating system platform that runs on hardware for use in hybrid cloud environments; Red Hat Satellite, a system management offering that helps to deploy, scale, and manage in hybrid cloud environments; and Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization, a software solution that allows customers to utilize and manage a common hardware infrastructure to run multiple operating systems and applications. The company offers application development-related and other technology solutions, such as Red Hat JBoss Middleware, a solution for developing, deploying, and managing applications; integrating applications, data, and devices; and automating business processes in hybrid cloud environments; The company's application development-related and other technology solutions also includes Red Hat cloud offerings, a software solution that enables customers to build and manage various cloud computing environments; Red Hat Mobile, a software development platform that enables customers to develop, integrate, deploy, and manage mobile applications for enterprises; and Red Hat Storage, a software solution that enables customers to manage large, unstructured, or semi-structured data in hybrid cloud environments. It also provides consulting, support, and training services; and realtime operating system, distributed computing, directory services, and user authentication. Red Hat, Inc. has collaboration with Juniper Networks Expand to provide a unified solution for enterprises designed to manage and run applications and services. The company was formerly known as Red Hat Software, Inc. and changed its name to Red Hat, Inc. in June 1999. Red Hat, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. 1. Yes. The ordinance goes against state law and is not in the best interest of the cities. 2. Yes. At the very least, it should be amended to give police officers some discretion. 3. No. Voters approved the ordinance by large majorities; the councils cant ignore that fact. 4. No. The petition process has to be given a chance to work. Leave the ordinance alone. 5. Unsure. Its hard to say how the cities should move forward regarding the ordinance. Vote View Results Telefonica, S.A., together with its subsidiaries, provides telecommunications services in Europe and Latin America. The company's mobile and related services and products comprise mobile voice, value added, mobile data and Internet, wholesale, corporate, roaming, fixed wireless, and trunking and paging services. Its fixed telecommunication services include PSTN lines; ISDN accesses; public telephone services; local, domestic, and international long-distance and fixed-to-mobile communications; corporate communications; supplementary value-added services; video telephony; intelligent network; and telephony information services, as well as leases and sells handset equipment. The company also provides Internet and broadband multimedia services comprising Internet service provider, portal and network, retail and wholesale broadband access, narrowband switched access, high-speed Internet through fibre to the home, and voice over Internet protocol services. In addition, it offers leased line, virtual private network, fibre optics, web hosting and application, outsourcing and consultancy, desktop, and system integration and professional services. Further, the company offers wholesale services for telecommunication operators, including domestic interconnection and international wholesale services; leased lines for other operators; and local loop leasing services, as well as bit stream services, wholesale line rental accesses, and leased ducts for other operators' fiber deployment. Additionally, it provides video/TV services; smart connectivity and services, and consumer IoT products; financial and other payment, security, cloud computing, advertising, big data, and digital telco experience services; virtual assistants; digital home platforms; and Movistar Home devices. It also offers online telemedicine, home insurance, music streaming, and consumer loan services. The company was incorporated in 1924 and is headquartered in Madrid, Spain. The following companies are subsidiares of Accenture: 2nd Road, ?What If!, ?What If! China Holdings Limited, ?What If! Holdings Limited, ?What If! Limited, ACN Consulting Co Ltd, AD.Dialeto (Digital Agency acquired by Accenture), AFD.TECH, AGS Business and Technology Services Limited, AIG Shared Services Business Processing Inc, ASM Research Inc., ASM Research LLC, ATAN, Accenture (Botswana) (Proprietary) Limited, Accenture (China) Co. Ltd., Accenture (Shenzhen) Technology Co. Ltd., Accenture (South Africa) Pty Ltd, Accenture (UK) Limited, Accenture 2 Business Process Services S.A., Accenture 2 LLC, Accenture A/S, Accenture AB, Accenture AG, Accenture AS, Accenture Africa Pty Ltd, Accenture Agencia Interativa Ltda, Accenture Australia Holding B.V., Accenture Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, Accenture Australia Pty Ltd, Accenture B.V., Accenture BPM Operations Support Services S.A., Accenture BPM S.C.R.L., Accenture BPS Services S.p. z o.o., Accenture Branch Holdings B.V., Accenture Bulgaria EOOD, Accenture Business Services for Utilities Inc, Accenture Business Services of British Columbia Limited Partnership, Accenture Business and Technology Services LLC, Accenture C.A., Accenture Canada Holdings Inc, Accenture Capital Designated Activity Company, Accenture Capital Inc, Accenture Central Europe B.V., Accenture Chile Asesorias y Servicios Ltda, Accenture Cloud Services GmbH, Accenture Cloud Software Solutions Limited, Accenture Cloud Solutions Australia Pty Ltd, Accenture Cloud Solutions LLC, Accenture Cloud Solutions Pty Ltd, Accenture Co Ltd, Accenture Co. Ltd, Accenture Communications Infrastructure Solutions Ltd, Accenture Company Ltd, Accenture Consulting Pty Ltd, Accenture Consulting Services Ltd Tanzania, Accenture Consultores de Gestao S.A., Accenture Consultoria de Industria e Consumo Ltda, Accenture Consultoria de Recursos Naturais Ltda, Accenture Credit Services LLC, Accenture Customer Services Distribution SASU, Accenture Customer Services Ltd, Accenture Danismanlik Limited Sirketi, Accenture Defined Benefit Pension Plan Trustees Limited, Accenture Defined Contribution Pension Plan Trustees Limited, Accenture Delivery Poland S.p. z o.o., Accenture Dienstleistungen GmbH, Accenture Digital Holdings GmbH, Accenture East Africa Limited, Accenture Ecuador S.A., Accenture Egypt LLC, Accenture Enterprise Development (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Accenture Federal Services LLC, Accenture Finance II Limited, Accenture Finance Limited, Accenture Finance and Accounting BPO Services S.p.A., Accenture Finance and Accounting Services S.r.l., Accenture Financial Advanced Solution & Technology S.r.l., Accenture Flex LLC, Accenture GP LLC, Accenture Global Capital Designated Activity Company, Accenture Global Engagements Limited, Accenture Global Holdings Limited, Accenture Global Services Limited, Accenture Global Solutions Limited, Accenture GmbH, Accenture HR Services S.p.A., Accenture Healthcare Processing Inc, Accenture Holding Brasil Ltda, Accenture Holding GmbH & Co. KG, Accenture Holdings (Iberia) S.L., Accenture Holdings B.V., Accenture Holdings France SASU, Accenture Hungary Holdings Kft, Accenture Inc, Accenture Industrial Software Limited Liability Company, Accenture Industrial Software Solutions Kft, Accenture Industrial Software Solutions SA, Accenture Insurance Services B.V., Accenture Insurance Services LLC, Accenture International B.V., Accenture International LLC, Accenture International Limited, Accenture Japan Ltd, Accenture Korea B.V., Accenture LLC, Accenture LLP, Accenture Lanka (Private) Ltd, Accenture Limited, Accenture Lithuania UAB, Accenture Ltd, Accenture Ltda, Accenture Maghreb S.a.r.l., Accenture Managed Services SRL, Accenture Management GmbH, Accenture Marketing Services LLC, Accenture Marketing Services Limited, Accenture Middle East B.V., Accenture Minority I B.V., Accenture Mozambique Limitada, Accenture Mzansi Pty Ltd, Accenture NV/SA, Accenture NZ Limited, Accenture Nova Scotia Unlimited Liability Co., Accenture OOO, Accenture Operations GmbH, Accenture Operations S.p. z o.o., Accenture Operations Services Private Limited, Accenture Operations Services Sdn Bhd, Accenture Outsourcing S.r.l., Accenture Outsourcing Services S.A., Accenture Oy, Accenture Panama Inc, Accenture Participations B.V., Accenture Participations II Limited, Accenture Peru SRL, Accenture Post Trade Processing SASU, Accenture Post-Trade Processing Limited, Accenture Process (Mauritius) Ltd, Accenture Pte Ltd, Accenture Puerto Rico LLC, Accenture Qiyun Technology (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd, Accenture S.C., Accenture S.L., Accenture S.R.L., Accenture S.p. z o.o., Accenture S.p.A., Accenture SASU, Accenture SG Services Pte Ltd, Accenture SRL, Accenture Saudi Arabia Limited, Accenture Sdn Bhd, Accenture Service Center SRL, Accenture Services (Mauritius) Ltd, Accenture Services AB, Accenture Services AG, Accenture Services AS, Accenture Services GmbH, Accenture Services Morocco SA, Accenture Services Oy, Accenture Services Pty Ltd, Accenture Services S.p. z o.o., Accenture Services SRL, Accenture Services and Technology S.r.l., Accenture Services s.r.o., Accenture Single Member S.A. Organization Information Technology & Business Development, Accenture Solutions Co. Ltd, Accenture Solutions Private Limited, Accenture Solutions Pte Ltd, Accenture Solutions Pty Ltd, Accenture Solutions S.p. z o.o, Accenture Solutions Sdn Bhd, Accenture State Healthcare Services LLC, Accenture Sub II Inc, Accenture Sub III Inc, Accenture Sub LLC, Accenture Systems Integration Limited, Accenture Sarl, Accenture Tanacsado Kolatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Accenture Technology Solutions (Dalian) Co. Ltd., Accenture Technology Solutions (HK) Co. Ltd., Accenture Technology Solutions (Thailand) Co. Ltd, Accenture Technology Solutions - Solucoes Informaticas Integradas S.A., Accenture Technology Solutions GmbH, Accenture Technology Solutions Oy, Accenture Technology Solutions Pty Ltd, Accenture Technology Solutions S.A. de C.V., Accenture Technology Solutions S.r.l., Accenture Technology Solutions SASU, Accenture Technology Solutions SRL, Accenture Technology Solutions Sdn Bhd, Accenture Technology Solutions Slovakia s.r.o., Accenture Technology Ventures B.V., Accenture Technology Ventures SPRL, Accenture Tecnologia Consultoria y Outsourcing S.A., Accenture Uruguay SRL, Accenture Vietnam Co. Limited, Accenture Zambia Limited, Accenture do Brasil Ltda, Accenture plc, Accenture s.r.o., Acceria, Acquity Group, Adaptly LLC, Adaptly UK Limited, AddVal Technology, Adqptly, Advantium Inc., Advoco, Agilex Technologies Inc., Alfa Consulting, Allen International, AlphaBeta Advisors, Altevie Technologies S.r.l., Altima, Altima (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Altima Asia Ltd, Altitude, Altitude LLC, Altius Consulting Limited, Altius Data Solutions Private Limited, Analytics 8 LP, Analytics 8 Pty Ltd, Analytics8, Aorui Advertising (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Apis, Apis Group Pty Ltd, Appaloosa Technology SASU, AppsPro, AppsPro, Arca, Arca Ingenieros y Consultoria S.L., Arca Telecom S.L., Ariba - BPO, Arismore, Artio People (Payroll) Pty Ltd, Artio People Pty Ltd, Aspiro Solutions (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Automation Partners Pty Ltd, Avanade (Guangzhou) Computer Technology Development Co. Ltd., Avanade Asia Pte Ltd, Avanade Australia Pty Ltd, Avanade Belgium SPRL, Avanade Canada Inc, Avanade Consulting Poland S.p. z o.o., Avanade Denmark A/S, Avanade Deutschland GmbH, Avanade Europe Holdings Limited, Avanade Europe Services Limited, Avanade Finland Oy, Avanade France SASU, Avanade Holdings LLC, Avanade Hong Kong Ltd, Avanade Inc, Avanade International Corporation, Avanade Ireland Limited, Avanade Italy S.r.l., Avanade Japan KK, Avanade Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Avanade Middle East Limited, Avanade Netherlands B.V., Avanade Norway AS, Avanade Poland S.p. z o.o., Avanade Schweiz GmbH, Avanade South Africa Pty Ltd, Avanade Spain S.L., Avanade Sweden AB, Avanade UK Limited, Avanade do Brasil Ltda , Avanade Osterreich GmbH, Avenai, Avieco, Axia Ltd., BABCN LLC, BCS Consulting, BCT Solutions, BCT Solutions Pty Ltd, BENEXT, BPO Servicos Administrativos Ltda, BRIDGE Energy Group, BRIDGEi2i, Beacon Consulting Group Inc., Beijing Genesis Interactive Technology Co. Ltd., Beijing Zhidao Future Consulting Co. Ltd, Benext, Berico Technologies LLC, Bionic, Bionic Solution LLC, Blue Horseshoe, Boomerang Pharmaceutical Communications, Bow & Arrow, Bow & Arrow Limited, Brand Learning, Brand Learning Group Limited, Brightstep AB, Byte Prophecy, Byte Prophecy Private Limited, CAS, CRMWaypoint, CS Technology (Australia) Pty Ltd, CS Technology (UK) Limited, CS Technology Group LLC, CS Technology LLC, CadenceQuest Inc., Callisto Integration Europe B.V., Callisto Integration Europe Limited, Callisto Integration LLC, Callisto Integration Ltd, Capgemini - North American health practice, Capital Consultancy Services Inc, Certus Solutions Consulting Services Limited, Certus Solutions Ltd, ChangeTrack Research Pty Ltd., Chaotic Moon Studios, Chengdu Mensa Advertising Co. Ltd., Cimation, Cirrus Connect Australia Pty Ltd, Cirrus Connect Limited, Cirruseo, Clarity Insights, ClearEdge Partners, Clearhead, Clearhead Group LLC, ClientHouse GmbH, Cloud Sherpas, Cloud Sherpas (GA) LLC, Cloud Sherpas Japan G.K., Cloud Sherpas New Zealand Limited, Cloudeasier SAS, Cloudpoint Limited, Cloudsherpas Inc, Cloudworks, Cloudworks Consulting Services Inc, Cloudworks Technology LLC, Computer Research and Telecommunications LLC, Concrete Desenvolvimento de Sistemas Ltda, Concrete Solutions, Concrete Solutions Ltda, Context Information Security, Context Information Security LLC, Context Information Security Limited, CoreCompete LLC, CoreCompete Limited, CoreCompete Private Limited, Corliant Inc., Creative Drive LLC, Creative Drive US LLC, CreativeDrive, CreativeDrive Digital Content Services (Shenzhen) Co Ltd., CreativeDrive EMEA Limited, CreativeDrive Singapore Pte Ltd, CreativeDrive UK Group Limited, Cutting Edge Solutions Limited, Cygni AB, Cygni Norrsken AB, Cygni Stockholm AB, Cygni Syd AB, Cygni Vast AB, Cygni Ost AB, Cygni Ostersund AB, DAZ Systems Inc, DAZ Systems LLC, DAZSI Systems (India) Pvt. Limited, DI Futures Corporation, Data Essential SARL, Davies Consulting, DayNine Consulting, DayNine Consulting (New Zealand) Limited, DayNine Consulting LLC, Declarative Holdings LLC, Decora Marketplace LLC, Decorado Marketplace Ltda-EPP, Defense Point Security, Deja vu Security, Design Strategy and Research de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Designaffairs LLC, Digiplug S.A.S., Digital Results Group LLC, Double Digit Limitada, Double Digit Pty SA, Droga5, Droga5 LLC, Droga5 Studios LLC, Droga5 UK Limited, Duck Creek Technologies, ESR Labs, ESR Labs AG, EdenOne Solutions Limited, Edenhouse ERP Holdings Limited, Edenhouse Solutions Limited, Enaxis Consulting, Enaxis Consulting LP, End to End Analytics LLC, End-to-End Analytics, Endorphin Medici (M) Sdn Bhd, Energuia Web S.A., Energy Management Brokers Limited, EnergyQuote JHA, Enimbos, Enimbos Global Services S.L., Enkitec, Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions LLC, Enterprise System Partners, Enterprise System Partners B.V., Enterprise System Partners Bilisim Danismanlik Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, Enterprise System Partners Global Corporation, Enterprise System Partners Limited, Enthusian Pty Ltd, Entropia, Entropia (M) Sdn Bhd, Entropia Holdings Pte Ltd, Entropia Intercraft Sdn Bhd, Epylon, Ergo, Espedia S.r.l., Ethica Consulting Group, Ethica Consulting S.p.A., Evopro Group, Exactside Limited, Experity, Exton Consulting, Exton Consulting Spain Strategy&Management S.L., Exton Germany GmbH, Exton International SAS, Exton Italia S.r.l., Exton SAS, FGM LLC, Fairway Technologies Inc, Farah BidCo Limited, Farah MidCo Limited, Farah Topco Limited, Filmproduction ApS, First Annapolis Consulting Inc., First Annapolis Consulting LLC, Fjord, Focus Group Europe, Formicary, Founders Intelligence, Fruendo S.r.l., FusionX, Future State Consulting LLC, FutureMove (Beijing) Automotive Technology Co. Ltd., FutureMove Automotive, FutureMove Automotive Co. Ltd., GRA Supply Chain Pty Ltd, Gagel Group S de R.L. de C.V., Gapso Servicos de Informatica Ltda, Gapso Servicos de Informatica Ltda., Genfour, George Group Consulting L.P., Gestalt LLC, Gevity, Gren utvikling AS, H.B. Maynard and Co. Inc., HRC Retail Advisory, Hagberg Consulting Group, Hahntel Ltda, Halo Partners LLC, Hamilton Holding Company S.A, Hangzhou Aiyunzhe Technology Co. Ltd., Happen, Happen GP Limited, Happen Limited, Headspring, Hjaltelin Stahl, Hjaltelin Stahl A/S, Hjaltelin Stahl K/S, Hytracc Consulting AS, Hytracc Consulting AS, Hytracc Consulting Malaysia Sdn Bhd, IBB Consulting, ICM.S S.r.l., IMJ Corp, IMJ Corporation, INSITUM, IQSP Consulting LLC, IT One Company Limited, ITBS Servicios Bancarios de Tecnologia de la Informacion SL, Icon Integration, Icon Integration (NZ) Limited, Icon Integration Pty Ltd, Imagine Broadband (USA) Limited, Imagine Broadband USA LLC, Imaginea Inc, Imaginea Technologies LLC, Industrie IT (Hong Kong) Ltd, Industrie IT (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Industrie IT Group Pty Ltd, Industrie IT Pty Ltd, Industrie&Co, Infinity Works Consulting Limited, Infinity Works Holdings Limited, Infinity Works Management Limited, Infinity Works Midco Limited, Informatica de Euskadi S.L., Innotec International EAD, Innotec International S.p. z.o.o., Innotec Marketing GmbH, Innotec Marketing International Ireland Limited, Innotec- Marketing Spain S.L, Insitum Consultoria Argentina SRL, Insitum Consultoria S.A. de C.V., International Biometric Group LLC, International Biometric Group UK Limited, Intrepid, Intrepid Futureworks Sdn Bhd, Intrigo Systems Inc, Intrigo Systems India Pvt. Limited, Intrigo Systems LLC, Inventor Technology Ltd, InvestTech, Investtech Systems Consulting LLC, ItSafer Continuity Services S.L., JKD Consulting LLC, Javelin Group, K Comms Group Limited, KSC Studio LLC, Kaper Communications Limited, Karma Communications Debtco Limited, Karma Communications Group Limited, Karma Communications Holdings Limited, Karmarama, Karmarama Comms Limited, Karmarama Limited, King James Group, Knowledge Rules Inc., Knowledgent, Knowledgent Group LLC, Kogentix, Kogentix LLC, Kogentix Limited, Kogentix Singapore Pte Ltd, Kogentix Technologies Private Limited, Kolle Rebbe, Kolle Rebbe GmbH, Kream Comms Limited, Kunstmaan, Kurt Salmon, Kurt Salmon Canada LTD, Kurt Salmon US LLC, LEXTA, LINKBYNET, LINKBYNET Indian Ocean (L.I.O) Ltd, LabAnswer, Lexta GmbH, Lexta UK Limited, Lien par le reseau Inc, Lien par le reseau infrastructures Inc, Lin Bo (Shanghai) Network Technology Co. Ltd., Link By Net SAS, Link By Net SRL, Link By Net Vietnam Company Limited, Linkbynet East Asia Ltd, Linkbynet Singapore Pte Ltd., Loud & Clear Creative Pty Ltd, Lumenup S.A., MAXIM Systems Inc., MCG US Holdings LLC, Mackevision CG Technology and Service (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Mackevision Japan Co. Ltd., Mackevision Korea Ltd, Mackevision LLC, Mackevision Medien Design, Mackevision Medien Design GmbH, Mackevision Singapore Pte Ltd, Mackevision UK Limited, Maglan, Maglan Information Defense Technologies Research Ltd, Maihiro, Matter, Maud Corp Pty Ltd, Maxamine International, Measuretek LLC, Media Audits Ltd., Media Hive, Mediasenz Pty Ltd., Meredith Specialty LLC, Meredith Xcelerated Marketing, Meredith Xcelerated Marketing LLC, Meridian Informed Purchasing Ltd., Mindtribe, Mistral Wind Operations Servicos Empresariais Unipessoal Lda., MobGen, Mortgage Cadence LLC, Mortgage Cadence an Accenture Company, Most Champion Ltd, Mudano, Mudano Limited, Myrtle Consulting Group LLC, N3, N3 (Dalian) Business Consulting Co. Ltd., N3 Brazil Consultoria em Marketing Ltda, N3 Germany GmbH, N3 LLC, N3 North America LLC, N3 Results Australia Pty Ltd, N3 Results Ireland Limited, N3 Results Japan G.K., N3 Results Limited, N3 Results Malaysia Sdn Bhd, N3 Results Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., N3 Results S.A.S., N3 Results Singapore Pte Ltd, N3 Results Unipessoal Lda, NYTEC, Nanjing Demeng Advertising Co. Ltd., Nashco Consulting, NaviSys Inc., Nell'Armonia Israel Ltd, Nell'Armonia SAS, Nell'Participation SAS, NellArmonia, Neo Metrics Analytics S.L., Neo Metrics Chile S.A., New Content, New Content Editora e Produtora Ltda, New Energy Group, News Imaging LLC, NewsPage, NewsPage (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, NewsPage Pte Ltd, Northstream, Novetta Holdings LLC, Novetta LLC, Novetta Solutions LLC, Novetta Topco LLC, OCTO Technology, OPS Rules Management Consultants, Octagon Research Solutions Inc., Octo Technology Pty Ltd, Octo Technology SA, Odgaard ApS, Olikka, Olikka Pty Ltd, Olympus Systems Corporation, Openmind, Openmind S.r..l., Openminded, Openminded SAS, Operaciones Accenture S.A. de C.V., OpusLine, Orbium, Orbium AG, Orbium Consulting Limited, Orbium Inc., Orbium Ltd, Orbium Pte Ltd, Orbium Pty Ltd, Origin Digital, PCO Innovation, PLM Systems S.r.l, PRION GmbH, PT Accenture, PT Asta Catur Indra, PT Kogentix Teknologi Indonesia, PacificLink Group, Paja Finanssipalvelut Oy, Parker Fitzgerald Inc, Parker Fitzgerald International Limited, Parker Fitzgerald Limited, Parker Fitzgerald PTY Ltd, Parker Fitzgerald Services Limited, Parker Fitzgerald Solutions Limited, Pecaso Ltd., Pegasus Production A/S, Pegasus Production K/S, Phase One Consulting Group, Pillar Technology, Pollux, Pollux Automation Mexico S.A. de C.V., Pollux Canada Inc, Pollux S.A.S., Pollux USA LLC, Pragsis Bidoop, Pragsis Bidoop UK Limited, Pramati Technologies Europe Limited, Pramati Technologies Private Limited, Presence of IT Workforce Management North America LLC, PrimeQ, PrimeQ Australia Pty Ltd, PrimeQ Ltd, PrimeQ NZ Pty Limited, Procurian Inc., Prof. Homburg GmbH, Proquire LLC, PureApps Ltd., Qi Jie Beijing Information Technologies Co. Ltd., RBCP Fund 1-A Vapor Blocker LLC, RBCP Platform Vapor Blocker I LLC, REPL Consulting LLC, REPL Consulting Limited, REPL Digital Limited, REPL Group K.K., REPL Group Pty Ltd, REPL Group Worldwide Limited, REPL Pte Ltd, REPL Software Limited, REPL Technology Limited, Radiant Services LLC, Random Walk Computing Inc., Reactive Media Pty Ltd., Real Protect, Realworld OO Systems Ltd., Redcore, Redcore (New Zealand) Limited, Redcore Group Holdings Pty Ltd, Redcore Pty Ltd, Revolutionary Security, RiskControl, Root LLC, Rothco, Rothco Limited, S3 TV Technology Ltd., SALT Solutions GmbH, SEC Servizi, SOPIA Corp., Sagacious Consultants, Salt Solutions, Sandbox Studio LLC, Sapling Bidco Limited, Sapling Midco Limited, Sapling Topco Limited, Schlumberger Business Consulting, Seabury Aviation & Aerospace (UK) Limited, Seabury Consulting, Seabury Corporate Advisors LLC, Seabury Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Search Technologies BPO Inc, Search Technologies International LLC, Search Technologies LLC, Search Technologies Limited, Securiview SAS, Sentelis, Sentor Managed Secuirty Services AB, Servicios Tecnicos de Programacion Accenture S.C., Seven Seas Business Ventures LLC, Shackleton, Shackleton Chile S.A., Shackleton S.L.U., Shanghai Baiyue Advertising Co. Ltd., Shun Zhe Technology Development Co. Ltd., SigInt Technologies LLC, Silveo, Silveo Consulting India Private Limited, Simian Pty Ltd, SinnerSchrader, SinnerSchrader AG, SinnerSchrader Content GmbH, SinnerSchrader Deutschland GmbH, SinnerSchrader Praha s.r.o., Sirvart S.A., Sistemes Consulting S.L., Skylink SAS, Soltians Limited, Solutions IQ LLC, SolutionsIQ, SolutionsIQ India Consulting Services Private Limited, Somers Ventures Ireland Limited, Somers Ventures LLC, Spacelink SAS, Storm Digital, Structure Consulting Group LLC, Sutter Mills, Synership LLC, Systor AG, T.A. Cook, TXF LLC, Tambourine, TargetST8, Tech - Avanade Portugal Unipessoal Lda, Tecnilogica Ecosistemas S.A., Tecnilogica, The Brand Learning Partners Limited, The Callisto Integration Corporation, The Monkeys, The Monkeys Pty Ltd, The Myrtle Group, Total Logistics, Tquila, Trivadis, Trivadis AG, Trivadis Austria GmbH, Trivadis Denmark AS, Trivadis Germany GmbH, Trivadis Holding AG, Trivadis Partner AG, Trivadis Services AG, Trivadis Services SRL, Troop Studios Pty Ltd, VanBerlo, Vector Acquisition Company LLC, Vector Topco LLC, Verax Solutions, Vertical Retail Consulting (Shanghai) Ltd, Vertical Retail Consulting Ltd, Vivere Brasil Servicos e Solucoes SA, Vivere Brasil Solucoes De Credito Ltda., Wabion GmbH, WaveStrike LLC, White Cliffs Consulting LLC, Wire Stone, Wire Stone LLC, Wise Partners SAS, Wolox, Wolox Colombia S.A.S, Wolox LLC, Wolox Mexico S.R.L de C.V., Wolox S.A., Wolox SpA, Workforce Insight, Workforce Insight LLC, Yesler, Yesler LLC, Yesler Limited, Yesler Singapore Pte Ltd, Zag, Zag Australia Pty Ltd, Zag Limited, Zag USA LLC, Zebra Worldwide Australia Pty Ltd, Zebra Worldwide Group Limited, Zebra Worldwide Media Pty Ltd, Zenta, Zenta Global Philippines Inc, Zenta Mortgage Services LLC, Zenta Recoveries Inc, Zenta US Holdings Inc, Zestgroup, Zielpuls, Zielpuls (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Zielpuls GmbH, avVenta, designaffairs, designaffairs Business Consulting (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., designaffairs GmbH, designaffairs group China Co. Ltd., dgroup, i4C Analytics, iDefense, solid-serVision.com GmbH, and umlaut. Read More Banc of California, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Banc of California, National Association that provides banking products and services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including checking, savings, money market, retirement, and interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing demand accounts, as well as certificate of deposits. It also provides various commercial and consumer loan products, such as commercial and industrial loans; commercial real estate and multifamily loans; construction loans; single family residential mortgage loans; warehouse and indirect/direct leveraged lending; home equity lines of credit; small business administration loans; and other consumer loans. In addition, the company offers automated bill payment, cash and treasury management, foreign exchange, card payment, remote and mobile deposit capture, automated clearing house origination, wire transfer, direct deposit, and internet banking services; and master demand accounts, interest rate swaps, and safe deposit boxes. Further, it invests in collateralized loan obligations, agency securities, municipal bonds, agency residential mortgage-backed securities, and corporate debt securities. As of December 31, 2020, the company operated 29 full-service branches in Southern California. The company was formerly known as First PacTrust Bancorp, Inc. and changed its name to Banc of California, Inc. in July 2013. Banc of California, Inc. was founded in 1941 and is headquartered in Santa Ana, California. Bar Harbor Bankshares operates as the holding company for Bar Harbor Bank & Trust that provides commercial, lending, retail, and wealth management banking services. It accepts various deposit products, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing demand accounts, savings accounts, time deposits, and money market deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also provides commercial real estate loans, such as multi-family, commercial construction and land development, and other commercial real estate classes; commercial and industrial loans, including loans to commercial and agricultural businesses, and tax exempt entities; residential real estate loans consists of mortgages for 1-4 family housing; and consumer loans comprises home equity loans, lines of credit, auto, and other installment lending. In addition, it provides life insurance, annuity, and retirement products, as well as financial planning services; and third-party investment and insurance services. Further, the company offers trust and estate administration, wealth advisory, and investment management services to individuals, businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and municipalities; and 401K plan, financial, estate and charitable planning, investment management, family office, municipal, and tax services. It operates 53 locations across Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The company was founded in 1887 and is based in Bar Harbor, Maine. Brookfield Asset Management is an alternative asset manager and REIT/Real Estate Investment Manager firm focuses on real estate, renewable power, infrastructure and venture capital and private equity assets. It manages a range of public and private investment products and services for institutional and retail clients. It typically makes investments in sizeable, premier assets across geographies and asset classes. It invests both its own capital as well as capital from other investors. Within private equity and venture capital, it focuses on acquisition, early ventures, control buyouts and financially distressed, buyouts and corporate carve-outs, recapitalizations, convertible, senior and mezzanine financings, operational and capital structure restructuring, strategic re-direction, turnaround, and under-performing midmarket companies. It invests in both public debt and equity markets. It invests in private equity sectors with focus on Business Services include infrastructure, healthcare, road fuel distribution and marketing, construction and real estate; Industrials include manufacturers of automotive batteries, graphite electrodes, returnable plastic packaging, and sanitation management and development; and Residential/ infrastructure services. It targets companies which likely possess underlying real assets, primarily in sectors such as industrial products, building materials, metals, mining, homebuilding, oil and gas, paper and packaging, manufacturing and forest product sectors. It invests globally with focus on North America including Brazil, the United States, Canada; Europe; and Australia; and Asia-Pacific. The firm considers equity investments in the range of $2 million to $500 million. It has a four-year investment period and a 10-year term with two one-year extensions. The firm prefers to take minority stake and majority stake. Brookfield Asset Management Inc. was founded in 1997 and based in Toronto, Canada with additional offices across Northern America; South America; Europe; Middle East and Asia. The following companies are subsidiares of Quanta Services: (De) Lazy Q Ranch LLC, 1 Diamond LLC, 1Diamond AS, 618232 Alberta Ltd., 8246408 Canada Inc., Advanced Electric Systems, Advanced Electric Systems LLC, Advanced Utility Testing & Maintenance LLC, Alexander Publications LLC, Allteck GP Ltd., Allteck Limited Partnership, Apprenticeship Programs Inc., Arby Construction, Arcanum Chemicals LLC, Arnett & Burgess Oil Field Construction Limited, Arnett & Burgess Pipeliners (Rockies) LLC, Arnett & Burgess Pipeliners Ltd., B&N Clearing and Environmental LLC, Banister Pipelines Constructors Corp., Banister Pipelines Constructors GP Ltd., Banister Pipelines Limited Partnership, Brent Woodward Inc., Brink Constructors Inc., Brink Constructors Inc. A Corporation Of South Dakota, Brown Engineering and Testing, CAT SPEC Ltd., CAT-SPEC Limited Partnership, CAT-SPEC Limited Partnership (Regd Name) CAT SPEC Ltd., CAT-Spec Limited Partnership, Canadian Utility Construction Corp., Cat Spec Limited LP, Cat Spec Ltd, Cat Spec Ltd. L.P., Cat Spec Ltd. LP, Cat Spec. Ltd. LP, Cat-Spec Ltd (A Domestic limited Partnership), Cat-Spec Ltd LP, Cat-Spec Ltd., Cat-Spec Ltd. L.P., Cat-Spec Ltd. LP, Cat-Spec Ltd. Limited Partnership, Catalyst Changers Inc., Chatham Electric, Citadel Industrial Services L.P., Citadel Industrial Services Ltd., Citadel Industrial Services Ltd. L.P., Citadel Industrial Services Ltd. Limited Partnership, Coe Drilling Pty Ltd., Computapole, Conam Construction Co., Consolidated Power Projects Australia Pty Ltd, Conti Communications Inc., Crux Subsurface Canada Ltd., Crux Subsurface Inc., Cutting Technology - 1 Diamond LLC, DB Utilities Inc., DE Lazy Q Ranch LLC, DNR Pressure Welding Ltd., Dacon Corporation, Dashiell (DE) Corporation (Dashiell Corporation), Dashiell Corporation, Dashiell Corporation DBA Dashiell (DE) Corporation, De Mears Group, De Mears Group Inc., Delaware Quanta Technology LLC, Delaware Underground Construction Co., Didado Utility Company Inc., Digco Utility Construction L.P. Digco Utility Construction Limited Partnership, Dorado Specialty Services L.P., Dorado Specialty Services Ltd., Dorado Specialty Services Ltd. L.P., Dorado Specialty Services Ltd. Limited Partnership, Dorado Specialty Services. Ltd. L.P., Driftwood Electrical Contractors, EHV Power ULC, ELITE PIPING & CIVIL L.P., ELITE TURNAROUND SPECIALISTS LTD, Elite Fabrication Ltd. Elite Fabrication LP, Elite Piping & Civil Limited Partnership, Elite Piping & Civil Limited Partnership, Elite Piping & Civil Lp, Elite Piping & Civil Ltd L.P., Elite Piping & Civil Ltd., Elite Piping & Civil Ltd. L.P., Elite Piping & Civil Ltd. Limited Partnership, Elite Piping and Civil L.P., Elite Turnaround Specialists L.p., Elite Turnaround Specialists Limited Lp, Elite Turnaround Specialists Limited Partnership, Elite Turnaround Specialists Limited Partnership, Elite Turnaround Specialists Ltd Lp, Elite Turnaround Specialists Ltd., Elite Turnaround Specialists Ltd. L.P., Elite Turnaround Specialists Ltd. LP, Elite Turnaround Specialists Ltd. Limited Partnership, Energy Consulting Group LLC, Enscope, Enscope Pty Ltd, FIC GP LLC, Field Personnel Services LLC, First Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC, First Infrastructure Capital GP L.P., Five Points Construction Co., G-Tek, G-Vac, GEM Engineering Co., Grand Electric Inc., Great Lakes Line Builders, Grid Creative Inc., Grid Manufacturing Corporation, Grid Training Corporation, H.L. Chapman Pipeline Construction Inc., Haverfield Aviation, Haverfield Aviation Inc., Haverfield International Incorporated, Heritage Midstream LLC, IM Electric Inc., IUC ILLINOIS LLC, IUC Nebraska LLC, InfraSource Construction LLC, InfraSource Field Services LLC, InfraSource Services LLC, InfraSources Construction LLC, Infraestructura ETP de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V, Infrasource Engineering Company PC, Infrasource Iowa Underground LLC, Infrasource Of Pa LLC, Integracion Tecnologica del Peru SAC, Intermountain Electric Inc., Intermountain Electric Inc. A Corporation of Colorado, IonEarth LLC, Irby Construction Company, Irby Construction Company Inc., Iron Mountain M.J. Electric LLC, Island Mechanical Corporation, J.C.R. Construction Co. Inc., J.C.R. Utility Construction Co., J.W. Didado Electric Inc., J.W. Didado Electric LLC, J.w. Didado Electric, JBT Electric LLC, Kingston Contracting Inc., Lazy Q Ranch LLC, Lazy Q Training Center LLC The Lazy Q Lineman School, Legend Foundation Services, Lex Engineering Ltd., Lindsey Electric L.P., Logical Link, Longfellow Drilling, M. G. Dyess Inc., M. J. ELECTRIC LLC IRON MOUNTAIN, M. J. Electric LLC, M. J. Electric LLC - Iron Mountain, M. J. Electric LLC DBA M. J. Electric Iron Mountain LLC, M.J. Electric LLC DBA M.J. Electric Iron Mountain, M.J. Electric LLC Iron Mountain, MTS Field Services, MTS Field Services (Richmond Co), MTS Quanta LLC, Manuel Bros. Inc., Marathon Construction Services, Mears Canada Corp., Mears Equipment Services LLC, Mears Group Inc., Mears Group Pty Ltd, Mears Installation LLC, Mearsmex S. de R.L. de C.V., Mejia Personnel Services LLC, Mercer Technical Services, Microline Technology Corporation, Mid America Energy Services Inc., NACAP Niugini Ltd., NC Northstar Energy Services Inc, NGI Construction, NGI Construction Inc., NGI Construction Inc. (FN), NLC CA. Inc., NLC FL. Inc. Northwest Lineman Center, NLC ID. Inc. Northwest Lineman College, NLC TX. Inc., NPC Energy Services LLC, Nacap Australia, Nacap PNG Limited, Network Communication Services, North Houston Pole Line L.P., North Houston Pole Line Limited Partnership, North Sky Communications, NorthStar Energy Services Inc., Northern Powerline Constructors Inc., Northstar Energy Solutions LLC, Northwest Lineman Center, Northwest Lineman College, Northwest Lineman Training Center, Northwest Lineman Training Center Inc., Nova Constructors LLC, Nova Constructors LTD, Nova Equipment Leasing LLC, Nova Group Inc, Nova Group Inc (CA), Nova Group Inc., Nova Group Inc. DBA NGI Construction, Nova NextGen Solutions LLC, O. J. Pipelines Canada Corporation, O. J. Pipelines Canada Limited Partnership, O.J. Industrial Maintenance, O.J. Pipelines Canada, One Call Locators Canada Ltd., P.D.G. Electric, PAR Electrical Contractors Inc., PDG Electric Co., Par Internacional S. de R.L. de C.V., Performance Energy Services Guyana Ltd., Performance Energy Services L.L.C., Phasor Engineering Inc., Phoenix North Constructors Inc., Phoenix Power Group Inc., Potelco Inc., Potelco Incorporated, Power Delivery Program Inc., Price Gregory International Inc., Price Gregory Services LLC, Probst Construction Inc., Probst Electric Inc., QEPC, QEPC Power Solutions LLC, QES GP LLC, QP Energy Services LLC, QPS Engineering LLC, QPS Engineering LTD., QPS Engineering PLLC, QPS Environmental, QPS Flint Construction, QPS Flint Tank Services, QPS Global, QPS Global Services, QPS Global Services (Richmond Ci), QPS Professional Services, QPSE, QS Mats, QSI Engineering Inc., QSI Finance (Australia) Pty Ltd., QSI Finance (Cayman) Pvt. Ltd., QSI Finance Canada ULC, QSI Finance GP (US) LLC, QSI Finance I (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., QSI Finance I (US) LP, QSI Finance II (Australia) Pty Ltd., QSI Finance II (Lux) S.a r.l, QSI Finance II (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., QSI Finance III (Canada) ULC, QSI Finance III (Lux) SARL, QSI Finance IV (Canada) ULC, QSI Finance IX (Canada) Limited Partnership, QSI Finance V (US) L.P., QSI Finance VI (Canada) ULC, QSI Finance VII (Canada) Limited Partnership, QSI Finance VIII (Canada) ULC, QSI Finance X (Canada) ULC, QSI Inc., QSN Lux Holdings I SCSp, QSN Lux Holdings II SCSp, QSN Lux Holdings III SCSp, QSN Lux Holdings IV SCSp, QTSL LLC, QUANTA FOUNDATION SERVICES, Quanta APL GP II Ltd., Quanta Asset Management LLC, Quanta Associates L.P., Quanta Aviation Services LLC, Quanta Canada GP ULC, Quanta Canada Holdings III Limited Partnership, Quanta Canada Holdings LP, Quanta Canada III GP Ltd., Quanta Capital GP LLC, Quanta Capital LP L.P., Quanta Capital Solutions Inc., Quanta Cares, Quanta EPC Services, Quanta Electric Power Construction LLC, Quanta Electric Power Construction Management Inc., Quanta Electric Power Services LLC, Quanta Electric Power Services West LLC, Quanta Energized Innovations Ltd., Quanta Energized Services U.S. LLC, Quanta Energized Services of Canada Ltd., Quanta Energy Services LLC, Quanta Environmental Solutions, Quanta Equipment Company LLC, Quanta Government Solutions Inc., Quanta Holdings I (Netherlands) B.V., Quanta Holdings II (Netherlands) B.V., Quanta Infraestructura de Chile SpA, Quanta Infrastructure Services LLC, Quanta Infrastructure Services S. de R.L. de C.V., Quanta Inline Devices LLC, Quanta Inspection Services, Quanta Insurance Company Inc., Quanta International Holdings (US) LLC, Quanta International Holdings II Ltd., Quanta International Holdings Ltd., Quanta International Limited, Quanta Kingsvale LP Ltd., Quanta Lines Pty Ltd., Quanta Maine Services LLC, Quanta Middle East LLC, Quanta Pipeline Services Inc., Quanta Power Australia Pty Ltd, Quanta Power Generation Inc., Quanta Power Inc., Quanta Power Solutions India Private Limited, Quanta Resource Development, Quanta Services Africa (PTY) Ltd., Quanta Services Australia Pty Ltd., Quanta Services Chile SpA, Quanta Services Colombia S.A.S., Quanta Services Costa Rica Ltda., Quanta Services Guatemala Ltda., Quanta Services International Holdings II LP, Quanta Services International Holdings LP, Quanta Services Management Partnership L.P., Quanta Services Netherlands B.V., Quanta Services Panama S. de R.L., Quanta Services Peru S.A.C., Quanta Services Puerto Rico LLC, Quanta Services of Canada Ltd., Quanta Subsurface Canada Ltd., Quanta Subsurface LLC, Quanta Tank Services, Quanta Technology Canada ULC, Quanta Technology LLC, Quanta Technology UK Ltd., Quanta Tecnologia do Brasil Ltda., Quanta Telecom, Quanta Telecom Services, Quanta Telecommunication Services, Quanta Telecommunication Services LLC, Quanta Telecommunications Services LLC, Quanta Underground Services, Quanta Underground Services (Culpeper Co), Quanta Underground Services (Spotsylvania Co), Quanta Underground Services Inc., Quanta Utility Engineering Services Inc., Quanta Utility Installation Company Inc., Quanta Utility Operation LLC, Quanta West LLC, Quantecua Cia. Ltda., R. R. Cassidy Inc., RMS Holdings LLC, RMS Holdings LLC (Delaware), RMS Welding Systems, RMS Welding Systems LLC, Ranger Directional, Realtime Engineers Inc., Realtime Utility Engineers Inc., Redes Andinas de Comunicaciones S.R.L., Riggin & Diggin Line Construction, Rms Welding LLC, Rms Welding Systems LLC, Road Bore Corporation, Ryan Company Inc. The, Ryan Company Inc. of Massachusetts, Ryan Company Inc.(The), Seaward, Seaward Corp, Seaward Corporation, Service EC (DE) Inc., Service Electric Company (DE), Service Electric Company Inc., Service Electric Company of Delaware, Servicios Par Electric S. de R.L. de C.V., Servicios de Infraestructura del Peru S.A.C., Southwest Trenching Company Inc., Specialty Tank Services L.P., Specialty Tank Services LP, Specialty Tank Services Limited Partnership, Specialty Tank Services Limited Partnership, Specialty Tank Services Ltd., Specialty Tank Services Ltd. (LP), Specialty Tank Services Ltd. L.P., Specialty Tank Services Ltd. LP, Specialty Tank Services Ltd. LP, Specialty Tank Services Ltd. Limited Partnership, Stronghold General LLC, Stronghold Holdings (BVI) Limited, Stronghold Inspection L.P., Stronghold Inspection Limited Partnership, Stronghold Inspection Limited Partnership, Stronghold Inspection Lp, Stronghold Inspection Ltd L.P., Stronghold Inspection Ltd., Stronghold Inspection Ltd. L.P., Stronghold Inspection Ltd. Limited Partnership, Stronghold Limited Partnership, Stronghold Ltd., Stronghold Ltd. Limited Partnership, Stronghold Management Holdings LP, Stronghold Specialty General LLC, Stronghold Specialty Ltd., Stronghold Specialty Ltd., Stronghold Specialty Ltd. Limited Partnership, Stronghold Tower Group LP, Stronghold Tower Group Ltd LP, Stronghold Tower Group Ltd., Stronghold Tower Group Ltd. LP, Stronghold VI LLC, Subterra Damage Prevention Specialists Ltd., Summit Line Construction, Sumter Utilities Inc., T. G. Mercer Consulting Services Inc., TA Construction, TC Infrastructure Services Ltd., Taylor Built, Texas Specialty Tank Services Ltd. LP, The Aspen Utility Company LLC, The ComTran Group Inc., The Hallen Construction Co. Inc., The Massachusetts Ryan Company Inc., The Ryan Company Inc Of Massachusetts, The Ryan Company Inc., The Ryan Company Inc. (Massachusetts), The Ryan Company Inc. of Massachusetts, The Ryan Company Incorporated of Massachusetts, The Ryan Company Of Massachusetts Inc., The Ryan Company of Massachusetts, The Ryan Company of Massachusetts (FN), Tom Allen Construction Company Inc., Tom Allen Construction Company of Delaware, Trans Tech Electric, TurnKey Automation Limited Partnership, TurnKey Automation Limited Partnership, TurnKey Automation Ltd., TurnKey Automation Ltd. Limited Partnership, TurnKey Automation Ltd. Limited Partnership, TurnKey I&E Ltd., Turnkey Automation Ltd. L.P., Turnkey Automation Ltd. LP., UCC Underground Construction Co. Inc., Ucc - Underground Construction Co., Underground Construction Co. Inc., Underground Construction Co. Inc. (Delaware), Underground Electric Construction Company LLC, Utilco Inc., Utility Fleet Services, Utility Line Management Services Inc., Utility Testing & Maintenance LLC, Utility Training Services Corporation, VALARD Polska sp. Z o.o., Valard, Valard, Valard Construction (Ontario) Ltd., Valard Construction (Quebec) Inc., Valard Construction 2008 Ltd., Valard Construction Australia Pty Ltd, Valard Construction LLC, Valard Equipment (AB) Ltd., Valard Equipment GP Ltd., Valard Equipment Limited Partnership, Valard Geomatics (Ontario) Ltd., Valard Geomatics BC Ltd., Valard Geomatics Ltd., Valard Mechanical Ltd., Valard Norway AS, Valard Sweden AB, Valard Zagreb d. o. o., Wade D. Taylor Inc., West Coast Communications, Winco Helicopters, Winco Inc., Winco Inc. an Oregon Based Corporation, Winco Powerline Services, Winco Powerline Services Inc., Winco Powerline Services Inc., Winco Services Inc., World Fiber Inc., and mmit Line Construction Inc.. Read More Comstock Inc. engages in the exploration, development, and production of mineral properties in Nevada. The company explores for gold, silver, lithium, nickel, cobalt, and mercury ores. It operates in two segments, Mining and Real Estate. The Mining segment owns and controls approximately 9,358 acres of mining claims and parcels, including approximately 2,396 acres of patented claims and surface parcels; and approximately 6,962 acres of unpatented mining claims in the Comstock and Silver City districts, as well as focuses on exploring and developing properties in the Lucerne and Dayton resource areas; and Occidental and Gold Hill mineral properties. The Real Estate segment comprises land and real estate rental properties, as well as the Gold Hill Hotel and Daney Ranch properties. It has collaboration agreements with Oro Industries Inc. and Mercury Clean Up, LLC for the manufacture and deployment of mercury remediation systems with proprietary mechanical, hydro, electro-chemical, and oxidation processes to reclaim and remediate mercury from soils, waste, and tailings. The company was formerly known as Comstock Mining Inc. and changed its name to Comstock Inc. in May 2022. Comstock Inc. was incorporated in 2008 and is based in Virginia City, Nevada. Intrepid Potash, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the extraction and production of the potash in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Potash, Trio, and Oilfield Solutions. The Potash segment offers muriate of potash or potassium chloride for use as a fertilizer input in the agricultural market; as a component in drilling and fracturing fluids for oil and gas wells, as well as an input to other industrial processes in the industrial market; and as a nutrient supplement in the animal feed market. The Trio segment provides Trio, a specialty fertilizer that delivers potassium, sulfate, and magnesium in a single particle. The Oilfield Solutions segment sells water for use in the oil and gas services industry; and offers potassium chloride real-time mixing services on location for hydraulic fracturing operations and trucking services. The company also offers salt for use in animal feeds, industrial applications, pool salts, and treatment of roads and walkways for ice melting or to manage road conditions; magnesium chloride for use in the deicing and dedusting of roads; brines for well development and completion activities in the oil and gas industry; and metal recovery salt, a combination of potash and salt to enhance the recovery of aluminum in the aluminum recycling processing facilities. Intrepid Potash, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is based in Denver, Colorado. SFL Corporation Ltd., a maritime and offshore asset owning and chartering company, engages in the ownership, operation, and chartering out of vessels and offshore related assets on medium and long-term charters. The company is also involved in the charter, purchase, and sale of assets. In addition, it operates in various sectors of the maritime, and shipping and offshore industries, including oil, chemical, oil product, container, and car transportation, as well as dry bulk shipments and drilling rigs. As of December 31, 2021, the company owned six crude oil tankers, 15 dry bulk carriers, 35 container vessels, two car carriers, one jack-up drilling rig, one ultra-deepwater drilling unit, two chemical tankers, and four oil product tankers. It primarily operates in Bermuda, Cyprus, Liberia, Norway, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the Marshall Islands. The company was formerly known as Ship Finance International Limited and changed its name to SFL Corporation Ltd. in September 2019. SFL Corporation Ltd. was incorporated in 2003 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda. The following companies are subsidiares of Thermo Fisher Scientific: 236 Perinton Parkway LLC, 27 Forge Parkway LLC, ABR--Affinity BioReagents, ACI Holdings Inc., ARG Services LLC, ASPEX Corporation, Abgene Inc., Abgene Limited, Acoustic Cytometry Systems Inc., AcroMetrix LLC, Acros Organics B.V.B.A., Advanced Biotechnologies Limited, Advanced Scientifics (ASI), Advanced Scientifics Inc., Advanced Scientifics International Inc., Affymetrix Biotech Participacoes Ltda., Affymetrix Biotech Shanghai Ltd, Affymetrix Inc, Affymetrix Japan K.K., Affymetrix Pte Ltd, Affymetrix UK Ltd, Afora S.A.U., Ahura Scientific, Alchematrix Inc., Alchematrix LLC, Alfa Aesar, Alfa Aesar (China) Chemical Co. Ltd., Alfa Aesar (Hong Kong) Limited, Allergon AB, Alphine Mountain Limited, Ambion Inc., Apogent Denmark ApS, Apogent Finance Company, Apogent Holding Company, Apogent Technologies Inc., Apogent Transition Corp., Apogent U.K. Limited, App-Tek International Pty Ltd, Applied Biosystems B.V., Applied Biosystems Finance B.V., Applied Biosystems International Inc., Applied Biosystems LLC, Applied Biosystems Taiwan LLC, Applied Biosystems Trading (Shanghai) Company Ltd., Applied Biosystems de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Applied Scientific Corporation, Avances Cientificos de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Avocado Research Chemicals Limited, B.R.A.H.M.S. Biotech GmbH, B.R.A.H.M.S. GmbH, B.R.A.H.M.S. UK Ltd, BAC BV, BAC IP BV, Barnstead Thermolyne LLC, Beijing Phadia Diagnostics Co Ltd, Bender MedSystems GmbH, BioTrove Corporation, BioTrove International Inc., Bioanalysis Labsystems S.A., Biochemical Sciences LLC, Biolab, BmT GmbH Laborprodukte, Bonsai Tecnologies - Sistemas para Biotecnologia e Industria Unipessoal Lda, Brammer Bio, Bumi-Sans Sendirian Berhad, CAC Limited, CB Diagnostics AB, CB Diagnostics Holding AB, CEPH International Corporation, CHK Holdings Inc., CRS Robotics, CTPS LLC, Capitol Scientific Products Inc., Capitol Vial Inc., Cellomics Inc., CellzDirect Inc., Cenduit GmbH, Cenduit LLC, Cezanne S.A.S., Chase Scientific Glass Inc., Chromacol Limited, Clintrak, Clintrak Clinical Labeling Services LLC, Clintrak Pharmaceutical Services LLC, Cohesive Technologies (UK) Limited, Cohesive Technologies Inc., Columbia Diagnostics Inc., Compendia Bioscience Inc., Comtest Limited, Consolidated Technologies Inc., Consultores Fisher Scientific Chile Ltd, Core Informatics, Core Informatics LLC, Core Informatics UK Ltd., D-finitive Technologies Inc., DCG Systems B.V., DCG Systems C.V., DCG Systems G.K., DCG Systems GmbH, DCG Systems Korea Ltd., DCG Systems LLC, DPI Newco LLC, DSM Pharmaceutical Products Inc., Dharmacon, Diagnostix Ltd., Dionex (China) Analytical Ltd, Dionex (Switzerland) AG, Dionex (UK) Limited, Dionex Austria GmbH, Dionex Benelux B.V., Dionex Brasil Instrumentos Cientificos Ltda, Dionex Canada Ltd., Dionex China Limited, Dionex Corporation, Dionex Denmark A/S, Dionex Holding GmbH, Dionex I LLC, Dionex Pty Ltd., Dionex S.A., Dionex S.p.A., Dionex Singapore Pte Ltd., Dionex Softron GmbH, Dionex Sweden AB, Distribution Solutions International Inc., Doe & Ingalls Investors Inc., Doe & Ingalls Limited, Doe & Ingalls Management LLC, Doe & Ingalls Properties II LLC, Doe & Ingalls Properties LLC, Doe & Ingalls of California Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Florida Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Maryland Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Massachusetts Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of North Carolina Operating LLC, Doublecape Holding Limited, Doublecape Limited, Drakeside Real Estate Holding Company LLC, Duke Scientific Corporation, Dynal Biotech Beijing Limited, EGS Gauging Ltd., EGS Gauging Technical Services Company, EP Scientific Products LLC, Ecochem N.V., EnviroEquip Pty Ltd, Epsom Glass Industries Limited, Equibio Limited, Erie Electroverre S.A., Erie Finance Limited, Erie LP Holding LLC, Erie Scientific Company of Puerto Rico, Erie Scientific Hungary Kft, Erie Scientific LLC, Erie U.K. Limited, Erie UK 1 Limited, Erie UK 2 Limited, Erie UK Holding Company, Erie UK Senior Holding Limited, European Laboratory Holdings Limited, Eutech Instruments Europe B.V., Eutech Instruments Pte Ltd., Eutech Instruments Sdn Bhd, Ever Ready Thermometer Co. Inc., FEI Asia Pacific Co. Ltd., FEI Australia Pty Ltd, FEI CPD B.V., FEI Company, FEI Company Japan Ltd., FEI Company of USA (S.E.A.) Pte Ltd., FEI Czech Republic s.r.o., FEI Deutschland GmbH, FEI EFA Inc., FEI EFA International Pte. Ltd., FEI Electron Optics B.V., FEI Electron Optics International B.V., FEI Europe B.V., FEI France SAS, FEI Global Holdings C.V., FEI Hong Kong Company Limited, FEI Houston Inc., FEI Italia Srl, FEI Korea Ltd., FEI Melbourne Pty Ltd., FEI Microscopy Solutions Ltd, FEI Munich GmbH, FEI Norway Holding AS, FEI SAS, FEI Saudi Arabia LLC, FEI Servicos de Nanotecnologia Ltda., FEI Technologies Inc., FEI Technology de Mexico S.A. de C.V., FEI Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., FEI Trondheim AS, FEI UK Ltd., FHP LLC, FRC Holding Inc. V, FS (Barbados) Capital Holdings Ltd., FS Casa Rocas Holdings LLC, FS Mexicana Holdings LLC, FSI Receivables Company LLC, FSII Sweden Holdings AB, FSII Sweden Holdings I AB, FSIR Holdings (UK) Limited, FSIR Holdings (US) Inc., FSUK Holdings Limited, FSWH Company LLC, FSWH II C.V., FSWH International Holdings LLC, Fermentas China Co. Ltd, Fermentas Inc., Fermentas International, Fermentas Sweden AB, Fermentas UK Limited, Fiberlite Centrifuge LLC, Finesse Scientific Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Finesse Solutions AG, Finesse Solutions Inc., Finnzymes Oy, Fisher Alder S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Asia Manufacturing Ventures Inc., Fisher Bermuda Holdings Limited, Fisher BioImage ApS, Fisher BioPharma Services (India) Private Limited, Fisher BioSciences Japan G.K., Fisher BioServices Inc., Fisher Bioblock Holding II SNC, Fisher CLP Holding Limited Partnership, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 1, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 2, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 3, Fisher Canada Limited Partnership, Fisher Chimica BVBA, Fisher Clinical Logistics LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services (Bristol) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Colombia) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Korea) Co. Ltd, Fisher Clinical Services (Mexico) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Peru) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services Colombia S.A.S., Fisher Clinical Services GmbH, Fisher Clinical Services Inc., Fisher Clinical Services Japan K.K., Fisher Clinical Services Latin America S.R.L., Fisher Clinical Services Limited Liability Company, Fisher Clinical Services Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Clinical Services Peru S.R.L, Fisher Clinical Services Pte Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services U.K. Limited, Fisher Emergo B.V., Fisher Germany Holdings GmbH, Fisher Hamilton China Inc., Fisher Hamilton Mexico LLC, Fisher Holdings ApS, Fisher Internet Minority Holdings L.L.C., Fisher Laboratory Products Manufacturing (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Fisher Luxembourg Danish Holdings SARL, Fisher Manufacturing (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Maybridge Holdings Limited, Fisher Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Scientific (Austria) GmbH, Fisher Scientific (Hong Kong) Limited, Fisher Scientific (M) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Scientific (SEA) Pte. Ltd., Fisher Scientific A/S, Fisher Scientific AG, Fisher Scientific Australia Pty Limited, Fisher Scientific Biotech Line ApS, Fisher Scientific Brazil Inc., Fisher Scientific Central America Inc., Fisher Scientific Chile Inc., Fisher Scientific Colombia Inc., Fisher Scientific Company, Fisher Scientific Company L.L.C., Fisher Scientific Costa Rica Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, Fisher Scientific Europe Holdings B.V., Fisher Scientific GTF AB, Fisher Scientific Germany Beteiligungs GmbH, Fisher Scientific GmbH, Fisher Scientific Holding Company LLC, Fisher Scientific Holding HK Limited, Fisher Scientific Holding U.K. Limited, Fisher Scientific Holdings (M) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Scientific Holdings (S) Pte Ltd, Fisher Scientific International LLC, Fisher Scientific Investments (Cayman) Ltd., Fisher Scientific Ireland Investments Unlimited, Fisher Scientific Ireland Limited, Fisher Scientific Japan Ltd., Fisher Scientific Jersey Island Limited, Fisher Scientific Korea Ltd, Fisher Scientific Latin America Inc., Fisher Scientific Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Fisher Scientific Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Scientific Mexico Inc., Fisher Scientific Middle East and Africa Inc., Fisher Scientific Norway AS, Fisher Scientific Operating Company, Fisher Scientific Oxoid Holdings Ltd., Fisher Scientific Oy, Fisher Scientific Pte. Ltd., Fisher Scientific S.A.S., Fisher Scientific S.L., Fisher Scientific SPRL, Fisher Scientific The Hague I B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague II B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague III B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague IV B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague V B.V., Fisher Scientific U.K. Limited, Fisher Scientific UK Holding Company 2, Fisher Scientific UK Holding Company Limited, Fisher Scientific Unipessoal Lda., Fisher Scientific Venezuela Inc., Fisher Scientific Worldwide (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Fisher Scientific Worldwide Holdings I C.V., Fisher Scientific Worldwide Inc., Fisher Scientific de Mexico S.A., Fisher Scientific of the Netherlands B.V., Fisher Scientific spol. S.r.o, Fisher Servicios Clinicos (Chile) LLC, Fisher Servicios Clinicos Chile Ltda, Fisher WWD Holding L.L.C., Fisher Worldwide Distribution SPV, Fisher Worldwide Gene Distribution SPV, Flux Instruments, Fuji Partnership, G & M Procter Limited, G V Instruments Limited, GV Instruments Canada Ltd., GV Instruments Inc, Gatan Inc, General Scientific Company Sdn Bhd (M), Genomed molekularbiologische und diagnostische Produkte GmbH, Gerhard Menzel B.V. & Co. KG, Gold Cattle Standard Testing Labs Inc., Golden West Indemnity Company Limited, Goring Kerr Detection Limited, Greenville Service Company Inc., HENO GmbH i.L., Hangar 215 Inc., Helmet Securities Limited, Henogen, HighChem, HyClone International Trade (Tianjin) Co. Ltd, Hybaid Limited, I.Q. (BIO) Limited, IDnostics AG, ILS Laboratories Scandinavia AB, Inel Inc., Inel SAS, InnaPhase Inc., InnaPhase Limited, IntegenX, Intrinsic BioProbes Inc., Intrinsic Bioprobes Inc., Invitrogen (Shanghai) Investment Co. Ltd., Invitrogen Argentina SA, Invitrogen BioServices India Private Limited, Invitrogen Europe Limited, Invitrogen Finance Corp., Invitrogen Holdings LLC, Invitrogen Holdings Ltd., Invitrogen Hong Kong Limited, Invitrogen IP Holdings Inc., Invitrogen Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Ion Torrent Systems Inc., Ionalytics Corporation, JSC Thermo Fisher Scientific, Jouan LLC, Jouan Limited, Jouan SA, Kendro Containment & Services Limited, Kendro Laboratory Products Ltd, Kettlebrook Insurance Co. ltd., Keystone Scientific, KonTEM GmbH, Kyle Jordan Investments LLC, LIFE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION, LTC Tech South Africa PTY Ltd., La-Pha-Pack GmbH, Lab Vision (UK) Limited, Lab Vision Corporation, Lab-Chrom-Pack LLC, Lab-Line Instruments Inc., Labomex MBP S. de R. L. De C.V., Laboratoire Service International - L.S.I, Laboratory Management Systems Inc., Laboratory Specialties Proprietary Ltd., LambTrack Limited, Laser Analytical Systems Inc., Liberty Lane Investment LLC, Liberty Lane Real Estate Holding Company LLC, Life Sciences International (Poland) SP z O.O, Life Sciences International Holdings BV, Life Sciences International LLC, Life Sciences International Limited, Life Technologies AS, Life Technologies Australia PTY Ltd., Life Technologies BPD AB, Life Technologies BPD UK Limited, Life Technologies Brasil Comercio e Industria de Produtos para Biotecnologia Ltda, Life Technologies Chile SpA, Life Technologies Clinical Services Lab Inc., Life Technologies Co. Ltd., Life Technologies Czech Republic s.r.o., Life Technologies DaAn Diagnostic (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd., Life Technologies Europe B.V., Life Technologies Finance Ltd., Life Technologies Finland Oy, Life Technologies GmbH, Life Technologies Holdings PTE Ltd., Life Technologies Inc., Life Technologies International B.V., Life Technologies Japan Ltd., Life Technologies Korea LLC, Life Technologies Limited, Life Technologies Magyarorszag Kft, Life Technologies New Zealand Ltd., Life Technologies Norway Investments US LLC, Life Technologies Polska Sp z.o.o., Life Technologies SA, Life Technologies SAS, Life Technologies s.r.o, Linkage Biosciences Inc., Linkage Biosciences S.a.r.l., Loftus Furnace Company, Lomb Scientific, Lomb Scientific (Aust) Pty Limited, MTI-GlobalStem, Marketbase International Limited, Matrix MicroScience Inc., Matrix MicroScience Ltd., Matrix Technologies Corporation Limited, Matrix Technologies LLC, Maybridge Chemical Company Limited, Maybridge Chemical Holdings Limited, Maybridge Limited, Medical Analysis Systems Inc., Medical Analysis Systems International Inc., Medical Diagnostics Systems Inc., Metavac LLC, Microgenics Corporation, Microgenics Diagnostics Pty Limited, Microgenics GmbH, Microm International GmbH, Microm Laborgerate S.L.U, Molecular BioProducts Inc., Molecular Probes Inc., Molecular Transfer Inc., NAPCO Inc., NERL Diagnostics LLC, NOVODIRECT GmbH Labor- und Industrie- Megerate, Nalge (Europe) Limited, Nalge Nunc International (Monterrey) LLC, Nalge Nunc International Corporation, Nanjing WeiKangLe Trading Industrial Co Ltd, NanoDrop Technologies LLC, National Scientific Company, Navaho Acquisition Corp., Neomarkers Inc., New FS Holdings Inc., NewcoGen PE LLC, Nihon Dynal K.K., Niton Asia Limited, NovaWave Technologies Inc., Nunc A/S, ONIX Systems Inc., OXOID CZ s.r.o., Odyssey Holdings Corporation, Odyssey Luxembourg Holdings S.a r.l., Odyssey Luxembourg IP Holdings 1 S.a r.l., Odyssey Luxembourg IP Holdings 2 S.a r.l., Odyssey Venture Corporation, Omega Data Systems, One Lambda Inc, Onix Holdings Limited, Orme Scientific Limited, Owl Separation Systems LLC, Oxoid (ELY) Limited, Oxoid 2000 Limited, Oxoid AS, Oxoid Australia Pty. Limited, Oxoid Company, Oxoid Deutschland GmbH, Oxoid Holding SAS, Oxoid Holdings Limited, Oxoid Inc., Oxoid International Limited, Oxoid Investments GmbH, Oxoid Limited, Oxoid N.V., Oxoid New Zealand Limited, Oxoid Pension Trustees Limited, Oxoid Senior Holdings Limited, Oxoid UKH LLC, PAX - DSI Acquisition LLC, PE AG, Pacific Rim Far East Industries LLC, Pacific Rim Investment LLC, Panomics L.L.C., Panomics S.R.L., Patheon, Patheon API Inc., Patheon API Manufacturing Inc., Patheon API Services Inc., Patheon Austria GmbH & Co KG, Patheon B.V., Patheon Banner U.S. Holdings Inc., Patheon Biologics (NJ) LLC, Patheon Biologics Australia Pty Ltd, Patheon Biologics B.V., Patheon Biologics LLC, Patheon Calculus Merger LLC, Patheon Cooperatief U.A., Patheon Development Services Inc., Patheon Finance LLC, Patheon France SAS, Patheon Holdings B.V., Patheon Holdings I B.V., Patheon Holdings II B.V., Patheon Holdings SAS, Patheon I B.V., Patheon I Holding GmbH, Patheon Inc., Patheon International AG, Patheon Italia S.p.A., Patheon KK, Patheon Life Science Products International GmbH, Patheon Manufacturing Services LLC, Patheon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Patheon Pharmaceuticals Services Inc., Patheon Puerto Rico Acquisitions Corporation, Patheon Puerto Rico Inc., Patheon Regensburg GmbH, Patheon Softgels B.V., Patheon Softgels Inc., Patheon U.S. Holdings Inc., Patheon U.S. Holdings LLC, Patheon UK Limited, Patheon UK Pension Trustees Limited, Pelican Acquisition Corporation, Perbio Science (Canada) Company, Perbio Science AB, Perbio Science BVBA, Perbio Science France SAS, Perbio Science Inc., Perbio Science International Netherlands B.V., Perbio Science Invest AB, Perbio Science Nederland B.V., Perbio Science Projekt AB, Perbio Science Sweden Holdings AB, Perbio Science Switzerland SA, Perbio Science UK Limited, Phadia AB, Phadia Diagnosticos Ltda, Phadia GmbH, Phadia Holding AB, Phadia International Holdings C.V., Phadia Korea Co. Ltd, Phadia Luxembourg Holdings S.a.r.l., Phadia Malta Holdings Limited, Phadia Oy, Phadia Real Property AB, Phadia Sweden AB, Phadia Taiwan Inc., Phadia US Inc., Phadia s.r.o., Pharmacaps Mexicana SA de CV, Phenom-World B.V., Phenom-World Holding B.V, Phenom-World Innovations B.V., Phinotex, Pierce Biotechnology Inc., Pierce Milwaukee Holding Corp., Pierce Milwaukee Inc., Polychromix, Power Sweden Holdings I AB, Power Sweden Holdings II AB, Power Sweden Holdings III Aktiebolag, Princeton Gamma-Tech Instruments LLC, Princeton Security Technologies, Prionics AG, Prionics Asia Ltd., Prionics Deutschland GmbH, Prionics France SAS, Prionics Italia S.r.l., Prionics Lelystad B.V., Prionics USA Inc., Priority Air Express LLC, Priority Air Express Pte. Ltd., Priority Air Express UK Limited, Priority Air Holdings Corp, Priority Solutions International, Promedica Pty Limited, Proxeon, Proxeon Biosystems ApS, Qiagen, REP GBP I-B Blocker Inc., Raymond A Lamb Limited, Remel Europe Limited, Remel Inc., Richard-Allan Scientific Company, Robbins Scientific LLC, Robocon Labor- und Industrieroboter Gesellschaft m.b.H, Rupprecht and Patashnick, Rupprecht and Patashnick (R&P), Russell pH Limited, S.C.I. du 10 rue Dugay Trouin, SCI Inno 92, STC Bio Manufacturing Inc., Samco Scientific (Monterrey) LLC, Samco Scientific LLC, Saroph Sweden AB, Schantz Road LLC, Seradyn Inc., Shanghai Life Technologies Biotechnology Co. Limited, Shanghai Thermo Fisher (C-I) Trading Co. Ltd, Shanghai Thermo Fisher (S) Trading Co. Ltd, Southern Trials (Pty) Ltd., Specialty (SMI) Inc., Spectra-Physics AB, Spectra-Physics Holdings Limited, Spectra-Physics Holdings USA LLC, Spectronex, Staten Island Cogeneration Corporation, Sterilin Limited, Stokes Bio Ltd., Sweden DIA (Sweden) AB, SwissAnalytic Group GmbH, Systems Manufacturing Corporation, TFLP LLC, TFS Breda B.V., TFS LLC, TFS Singapore HK Limited, TFSL Financing GP LLC, TFSL Senior GP Holdings 2 LLC, TK Partnership, TKA Wasseraufbereitungssysteme, TMOI Inc., TPI Real Estate Holdings LLC, TSP Holdings I LLC, TWX LLC, Technology Design Solutions Pty Ltd, Thermedics Detection de Argentina S.R.L, Thermo Allen Coding Limited, Thermo Asset Management Services Inc., Thermo BioAnalysis LLC, Thermo BioAnalysis Limited, Thermo BioSciences Holdings LLC, Thermo CIDTEC, Thermo CRS Holdings Ltd., Thermo CRS Ltd., Thermo Cambridge Limited, Thermo Cayman Holdings Ltd., Thermo Corporation, Thermo DMA Inc., Thermo Detection de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Thermo Dutch Holdings Limited Partnership, Thermo EGS Gauging LLC, Thermo Eberline Holdings I LLC, Thermo Eberline Holdings II LLC, Thermo Eberline LLC, Thermo Electron (Calgary) Limited, Thermo Electron (Chile) S.p.A., Thermo Electron (Karlsruhe) GmbH, Thermo Electron (Management Services) Limited, Thermo Electron (Proprietary) Limited, Thermo Electron A/S, Thermo Electron Australia Pty Limited, Thermo Electron Export Inc., Thermo Electron Holdings SAS, Thermo Electron Industries, Thermo Electron LED GmbH, Thermo Electron LED S.A.S., Thermo Electron Limited, Thermo Electron Manufacturing Limited, Thermo Electron Metallurgical Services Inc., Thermo Electron North America LLC, Thermo Electron Pension Trust GmbH, Thermo Electron Puerto Rico Inc., Thermo Electron SAS, Thermo Electron Scientific Instruments LLC, Thermo Electron Sweden AB, Thermo Electron Sweden Forvaltning AB, Thermo Electron Weighing & Inspection Limited, Thermo Elemental Limited, Thermo Environmental Instruments LLC, Thermo Fast U.K. Limited, Thermo Finland Holdings LLC, Thermo Finland Holdings MT1 B.V., Thermo Finland Holdings MT2 B.V., Thermo Finnigan LLC, Thermo Finnigan Limited, Thermo Fisher (CN) Luxembourg Holding S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher (CN) Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher (CN) Malta Holdings Limited, Thermo Fisher (CN-I) Luxembourg LLC, Thermo Fisher (CN-II) Luxembourg LLC, Thermo Fisher (Cayman) Holdings I Ltd., Thermo Fisher (Cayman) Holdings II Ltd., Thermo Fisher (Finland Holdings 2) LLC, Thermo Fisher (Finland Holdings) Limited Partnership, Thermo Fisher (Gibraltar) II Limited, Thermo Fisher (Gibraltar) Limited, Thermo Fisher (Heysham) Limited, Thermo Fisher (Kandel) GmbH, Thermo Fisher CHK Holding LLC, Thermo Fisher China Business Trust, Thermo Fisher China Business Trust II, Thermo Fisher Costa Rica Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, Thermo Fisher Cyprus Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Detection Mexico LLC, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics (Ireland) Limited, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics AB, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics AG, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics AS, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Aps, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Austria GmbH, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics B.V., Thermo Fisher Diagnostics GmbH, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics K.K., Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Limited, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics NV, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics S.L.U., Thermo Fisher Diagnostics S.p.A. , Thermo Fisher Diagnostics SAS, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Thermo Fisher Eurobonds Ltd., Thermo Fisher Financial Services Inc., Thermo Fisher GP LLC, Thermo Fisher German Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Germany B.V., Thermo Fisher India Divestco Private Limited, Thermo Fisher India Holding B.V., Thermo Fisher Insurance Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Insurance Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Investments (Cayman) Ltd., Thermo Fisher Israel Ltd., Thermo Fisher Production et Services SAS, Thermo Fisher Project Cyprus LLC, Thermo Fisher Re Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Asheville) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Australia) C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Barbados) Holdings Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Breda) Holding BV, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Bremen) GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific (CN) Limited Partnership, Thermo Fisher Scientific (China) Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (China) Holding Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (China-HK) Holding Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (DE) Holding S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Ecublens) SARL, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance I) B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance I) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance II) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance III) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance III) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Fuji) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Holding II) B.V. & Co. KG, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Hong Kong) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (IVGN) B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (IVGN) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Johannesburg) (Proprietary) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Mexico City) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Milwaukee) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Mississauga) Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Monterrey) S. De R.L. De C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (NK) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN) Austria Holding GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN) UK LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN) UK Limited Partnership, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN-I) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN-II) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN1) UK Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Panama) B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Panama) Dutch LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Praha) s.r.o., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Real Estate 1) GmbH & Co. KG, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Real Estate 1) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Schweiz) AG, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Shanghai) Instruments Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Shanghai) Management Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Suzhou) Instruments Co. Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific AL-1 LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific AU C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific AU II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific AU LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific AU Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Africa Proprietary Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Aquasensors LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Australia Pty Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific B.V.B.A., Thermo Fisher Scientific BHK (I) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific BHK (II) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Baltics UAB, Thermo Fisher Scientific Beteiligungsverwaltungs GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Biosciences Corp., Thermo Fisher Scientific Brahms LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Brasil Instrumentos de Processo Ltda., Thermo Fisher Scientific Brasil Servicos de Logistica Ltda, Thermo Fisher Scientific C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cayman Investments LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Chemicals Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific China (C-I) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific China (S) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings I B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings II B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings III B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings IV B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Chromatography Holdings Aps, Thermo Fisher Scientific Chromatography Holdings S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus I C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus I Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus II Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus III C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus III Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus IV C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus V C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Denmark Senior Holdings ApS, Thermo Fisher Scientific Erie 1 Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Erie Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Erie Financing S.a r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Europe GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC Finance C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC II B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific FSIR Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific FSIR Financing S.a.r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific FSUKHCO Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Falcon Senior Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Finance Company BV, Thermo Fisher Scientific GENEART GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Germany BV & Co. KG, Thermo Fisher Scientific GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific HR Services Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Holdings (Cayman) I, Thermo Fisher Scientific Holdings (Cayman) II , Thermo Fisher Scientific Holdings Europe Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific IT Services GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific India Holding LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific India Pvt Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Luxembourg) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Malta) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Sweden) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Sweden) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments Malta (Sweden Financing) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Invitrogen Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Japan Holdings I B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Japan Holdings II B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Japan Holdings III B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific K.K., Thermo Fisher Scientific Korea Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific LSI Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life CV GP Holdings II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life CV GP Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Enterprises C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Enterprises GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing (Cayman), Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings I C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings III C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life International GP Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life International Holdings I C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life International Holdings II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments I S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments II S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments III S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments IV S.a.r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta Holding I LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta Holding II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta I Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments US Financing I LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments US Financing II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life NL Holdings GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Netherlands Holding C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior GP Holdings II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior GP Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior Holdings C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior Holdings II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Switzerland Holdings GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Tech Korea Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Enterprise Holding Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment I LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment UK I Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment UK II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investments Holding LP, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Israel Investment I Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Israel Investment II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Luxembourg Holding LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Enterprise Holdings S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg German Holdings S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Life Technologies UK Holding S.a r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Sweden Holdings I S.a r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Sweden Holdings II S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Venture Holdings I S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Venture Holdings II S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Thermo Fisher Scientific Malta Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Messtechnik GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Mexico City S. de R.L. de C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Middle East Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Milano Srl, Thermo Fisher Scientific NHK Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific New Zealand Holdings, Thermo Fisher Scientific New Zealand Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Norway Holdings AS, Thermo Fisher Scientific Norway US Investments LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Odyssey Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Odyssey Holdings Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Operating Company LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Oy, Thermo Fisher Scientific PN2 C.V, Thermo Fisher Scientific PN2 LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific PRB LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific PRB Malta Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific PRB S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Panama I Cayman Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Peru S.R.L., Thermo Fisher Scientific Pte. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific Re Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific SL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Senior Financing LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Senior Holdings Australia LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific South Africa Proprietary Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific SpA, Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra Malta Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra-Physics Holdings Luxembourg I S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra-Physics Holdings Luxembourg II S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra-Physics Investments Malta Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Switzerland Holdings C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific TR Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Taiwan Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific Vermogensverwaltungs GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific West Palm Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Wissenschaftliche Gerate GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Worldwide Investments (Cayman), Thermo Fisher Scientific eCommerce Solutions LLC , Thermo Fisher Senior Canada Holdings LLC, Thermo Foundation Inc., Thermo Gamma-Metrics Holdings Pty Ltd., Thermo Gamma-Metrics LLC, Thermo Gamma-Metrics Pty Ltd, Thermo Holding European Operations LLC, Thermo Hypersil Ltd, Thermo Hypersil-Keystone LLC, Thermo Informatics Asia Pacific Pty Ltd., Thermo Instrument Controls de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Thermo Kevex X-Ray LLC, Thermo Keytek LLC, Thermo LabSystems Inc., Thermo LabSystems S.A., Thermo Life Science International Trading (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Thermo Life Sciences AB, Thermo Luxembourg Holding S.a.r.l., Thermo Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Thermo MF Physics LLC, Thermo Measurement Ltd, Thermo Measuretech Canada Inc., Thermo Neslab LLC, Thermo Nicolet Limited, Thermo Onix Limited, Thermo Optek (Australia) Pty Ltd., Thermo Optek Limited, Thermo Optek S.A., Thermo Orion Inc., Thermo Portable Holdings LLC, Thermo Power Corporation, Thermo Process Instruments GP LLC, Thermo Process Instruments L.P., Thermo Projects Limited, Thermo Quest S.A., Thermo Radiometrie Limited, Thermo Ramsey Italia S.r.l., Thermo Ramsey LLC, Thermo Ramsey S.A., Thermo Re Ltd., Thermo Scientific Microbiology Pte Ltd., Thermo Scientific Microbiology Sdn Bhd, Thermo Scientific Portable Analytical Instruments Inc., Thermo Scientific Services Inc., Thermo Securities Corporation, Thermo Sentron Canada Inc., Thermo Sentron Limited, Thermo Shandon Inc., Thermo Shandon Limited, Thermo Suomi Holding B.V., Thermo TLH (UK) Limited, Thermo TLH L.P., Thermo Trace Pty Ltd., Thermo-Fisher Biochemical Product (Beijing) Co. Ltd., ThermoLase LLC, ThermoSpectra Limited, Trek Diagnostic Systems LLC, Trek Diagnostic Systems Ltd., Trek Holding Company II Ltd., Trek Holding Company Ltd., Trex Medical Corporation, USB Corporation, Union Lab Supplies Limited, United Diagnostics Inc., VG Systems Limited, Westover Scientific Inc., ZAO PE Biosystems, eBioscience GmbH, eBioscience Ltd, eBioscience SAS, and picoSpin LLC. Read More Trinity Industries, Inc. provides rail transportation products and services under the TrinityRail name in North America. It operates in two segments, Railcar Leasing and Management Services Group, and Rail Products Group. The Railcar Leasing and Management Services Group segment leases freight and tank railcars; originates and manages railcar leases for third-party investors; and provides fleet maintenance and management services. As of December 31, 2021, it had a fleet of 106,970 owned or leased railcars. This segment serves industrial shipper and railroad companies operating in agriculture, construction and metals, consumer products, energy, and refined products and chemicals markets. The Rail Products Group segment manufactures freight and tank railcars for transporting various liquids, gases, and dry cargo; and offers railcar maintenance and modification services. This segment serves railroads, leasing companies, and industrial shippers of products in the agriculture, construction and metals, consumer products, energy, and refined products and chemicals markets. It sells or leases products and services through its own sales personnel and independent sales representatives. Trinity Industries, Inc. was incorporated in 1933 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Dominion Energy, Inc. produces and distributes energy in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Dominion Energy Virginia, Gas Distribution, Dominion Energy South Carolina, and Contracted Assets. The Dominion Energy Virginia segment generates, transmits, and distributes regulated electricity to approximately 2.7 million residential, commercial, industrial, and governmental customers in Virginia and North Carolina. The Gas Distribution segment is involved in the regulated natural gas sales, transportation, gathering, storage, and distribution operations in Ohio, West Virginia, North Carolina, Utah, southwestern Wyoming, and southeastern Idaho that serve approximately 3.1 million residential, commercial and industrial customers. It also has nonregulated renewable natural gas facilities in operation. The Dominion Energy South Carolina segment generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 772,000 customers in the central, southern, and southwestern portions of South Carolina; and distributes natural gas to approximately 419,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers in South Carolina. The Contracted Assets segment is involved in the nonregulated long-term contracted renewable electric generation and solar generation facility development operations; and gas transportation, LNG import, and storage operations, as well as in the liquefaction facility. As of December 31, 2021, the company's portfolio of assets included approximately 30.2 gigawatt of electric generating capacity; 10,700 miles of electric transmission lines; 78,000 miles of electric distribution lines; and 95,700 miles of gas distribution mains and related service facilities. The company was formerly known as Dominion Resources, Inc. Dominion Energy, Inc. was incorporated in 1983 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. WABCO Holdings Inc., together with its subsidiaries, supplies electronic, mechanical, electro-mechanical, and aerodynamic products worldwide. The company engineers, develops, manufactures, and sells braking, stability, suspension, steering, transmission automation, and air management systems primarily for commercial vehicles. The company's products include pneumatic anti-lock braking systems, electronic braking systems, electronic stability control systems, brake controls, automated manual transmission systems, and air disc brakes; and various conventional mechanical products, such as actuators, air compressors, and air control valves for medium and heavy-duty trucks, buses, and trailers. It also offers pneumatic and hydraulic braking and control systems for off-highway vehicles; conventional braking systems; electronic and conventional air suspension systems; steering technologies; and vehicle electronic stability control and roll stability support products, and advanced driver assistance systems. In addition, the company supplies electronic suspension controls and vacuum pumps to the passenger car and SUV markets, as well as provides remanufacturing services. Further, it offers replacement parts, fleet management solutions, diagnostic tools, training, and other expert services for commercial vehicle aftermarket distributors and service partners, and fleet operators. The company sells its products primarily to truck and bus original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), trailer OEMs, and car manufacturers; and manufacturers of heavy duty and off-highway vehicles in agriculture, construction, mining, and other industries. WABCO Holdings Inc. was founded in 1869 and is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. AIM-listed meat packing business Hilton Food reported a jump in first-half pre-tax profit on Tuesday as revenue rose and the company made good strategic progress with its existing customers in Portugal, Central Europe and Australia. In the 28 weeks to 16 July, pre-tax profit was up 10.4% to 18.4m on revenue of 690.7m, up from 631.9m. Volumes rose 8.7% to 160,848, mostly driven by Australia and Portugal, and the group lifted its dividend to 5p per share from 4.6p the year before. At constant currency, revenues were up 3.3%, reflecting raw material price increases and favourable currency translation. Revenues in Western Europe rose to 643.6m from 586.6m, while revenues in Central Europe came in at 47.1m from 45.3m in the same period a year ago. Chief executive Robert Watson said: "Hilton delivered strong volume and profit growth during the period. Our strategic progress continued with entry into Portugal and expansion recently announced in Central Europe where beef deboning has commenced and a fresh food factory will be developed. "The initial work on our new factory in Queensland, Australia continues with the planning approvals process well advanced. We remain committed to growing our business through innovation and product development as well as exploring a range of new expansion opportunities to further our geographic reach." Numis said the results were ahead of its expectations. "We think that Hilton's impressive track record and its strong balance sheet means that it is strategically well positioned to capture future growth opportunities," the brokerage said, as it reiterated its 'add' rating on the stock. At 1045 BST, the shares were up 1.6% to 767.25p. Internet top-level domain operator Minds + Machines Group updated the market on its China operations on Tuesday, confirming that since the release of its 2017 premium inventory for the country in late June, it had achieved premium sales of more than $3.4m. The AIM-traded firm added that $2.8m of that had closed in the last 10 days. We are building a strong, long-term, annuity based business with each of our regions now contributing well to the renewal revenue mix, said CEO Toby Hall. The exceptional renewal rates achieved in China in H1 are, in no small part, a direct result of the premium pricing policies introduced at the launch of the .vip TLD. The significant interest we are now experiencing in our 2017 premium inventory allocation follows our recent Beijing approval and, we believe, lays down further foundations for strong recurring revenues in subsequent years from the region. Hall said the latest sales also meant the company was making excellent progress towards achieving management's top-line billing targets for China for the current year, with more than 60% of its 2017 China premium allocation now sold in recent weeks. These sales, along with the launch of .boston in October, will however further accentuate the H2 weighted nature of our business as we now enter the main renewal seasons for our leading properties in Europe and the US. Outside of China, the Minds + Machines board said it was encouraged by the interest now being shown in its premium inventory in the UK and US following the introduction of its revised premium pricing policies earlier this year. The company said it would be announcing its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30 June on 26 September. Africa and Europe-focussed upstream gas company Sound Energy announced the completion of its previously-announced acquisition of the interests of Oil & Gas Investment Fund in Eastern Morocco, after receiving final approvals in relation to the Anoual and Tendrara licence areas. The AIM-traded firm said as a result, it now held an operated 75% position, of which 27.5% is shared with Schlumberger, resulting in a net 47.5% position for the company in the Tendrara petroleum agreement. It also now held an operated 75% position, of which 27.5% is shared with Schlumberger resulting in a net 47.5% position for the company, in the Anoual petroleum agreement - formerly the Meridja reconnaissance area. Finally, the deal netted Sound Energy an operated 75% position, of which 27.5% is shared with Schlumberger resulting in a net 47.5% position for the company, in the Mararka reconnaissance exploration licence - covering the previously relinquished Tendrara acreage. In consideration, the company will now issue 272 million new ordinary shares to OGIF, Sound Energys board said in a statement. The issue of the consideration shares, which represent 27.0% of the company's issued ordinary share capital as enlarged, was approved by Sound Energy shareholders on 15 March. From admission, the board also confirmed that the relationship agreement between the Company and OGIF would take effect, as it outlined on 21 February. Janet Yellen is "being considered" for reappointment for what some regard as the second most powerful post in the world, chairman of the Federal Reserve, the US Treasury secretary announced on Tuesday. Yellen's term as chair of the US Federal Reserve System was set to expire on 3 February 2018 but she had not been ruled out for reappointment, despite criticism of her from the President during the campaign trail, confirmed Steven Mnuchin on the sidelines of the CNBC/Institutional Investor Delivering Alpha conference in New York. Reappointing Ms Yellen, who initially took-on the role in 2014, is one of the things [the president is] still considering", said Mnuchin. Indeed, just the day before CNN highlighted past comments from Donald Trump who had gone on record once to say "I have a lot of respect for her, and I like her [...] I would say yes, she is in the running to stay", said President Trump. Nevertheless, the President was still in talks with other potential candidates for the role, said Mnuchin. Gary Cohen, Trump's economic advisor was once considered a suitor for the role after Trump told an interviewer in late July that Cohn was in the running. However, relations between the two chilled after he spoke out publicly against Trump's response to white nationalist violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the summer. This was confirmed after Mr Mnuchin declined to comment when asked whether Gary Cohn was in the running for the role. Whoever Trump chose to lead the central bank would wield wide power over monetary policy and the nation's financial system independently of the White House. Stocks are pushing higher again in early trading, tracking a record close overnight on the main gauge for the US stockmarket, the S & P 500, although some observers are wary of the potential for a negative reaction from Pyongyang after the UN Security Council imposed new sanctions on the regime in response to its nuclear missile programme. Against that backdrop, the focus in markets on Tuesday was expected to be tech giant Apple's launch of its new iPhone 8. As of 0823 BST, the benchmark Stoxx 600 was 0.31% or 1.18 points higher to 380.61, alongside a gain of 0.41% or 50.80 points to 12,526.47 for Germany's Dax and a rise of 0.28% or 14.43 points to 5,1919.20 in the French Cac-40. The possibility that the fallout from Hurrican Irma might delay the US central bank's hand was cited as another potential tailwind for Wall Street by Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK. "Nonetheless the lost output and reduced economic activity as a result of these recent storms, as we look ahead to the next few weeks, has also prompted the expectation that the Federal Reserve wont be raising rates again for a while, and this is also helping boost stock markets," he said. Overnight, the UN Security Council approved to force a reduction in the country's energy supplies, cut-off its sales of textiles overseas and to toughen rules for the inspection of ships which may be carrying illegal cargoes. However, under pressure from China and Russia the sanctions stopped well short of a ban on oil exports to North Korea, which would cripple its economy, or of ordering a 'freeze' on the personal financial assets of its leader, Kim Jong Un. Meanwhile, in Switzerland, according to Nippon Television North Korean officials and former US ones were planning informal talks. In terms of economic data, Tuesday's calendar was quite sparse, with only Portuguese consumer price figures for the month of August set for release. However, a speech from European Central Bank vicepresident Vitor Constancio at 1445 BST would be watched for any further clues about the current state of thinking of rate-setters in Frankfurt. Later in the day, the US NFIB's small business confidence index for August was set for release at 1100 BST, followed by the results of the JOLTS labor market survey for July at 1500 BST. Kingdom Holding will purchase a 16.2% stake in Banque Saudi Fransi from Credit Agricole. French oil major Total's 225,000 barrel a day refinery at Port Arthur, Texas, may be shuttered for weeks as a result of damage from Hurricane Harvey, Reuters reported citing market sources Stateside. Deutsche Bank's head of subprime mortgage lending was charged with civil fraud in connection to the last financial crisis. US social media giant Facebook been fined by Spanish data authorities for illegally collecting and storing personal information from users for advertising purposes. While the 1.2m sum of the fine is relatively miniscule for Mark Zuckerbergs company, the decision could be a warning shot to social media firms about how they deal with users data in the future. The Spanish Agency for the Protection of Data (AEPD) said on Monday the fine was given out after the investigation ran alongside similar operations in Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands. The agency notes that Facebook used data, even specially protected data, with the aim of publicity without asking the consent of the users, the AEPD said. Data relating to ideology, sex, religious beliefs, personal interests and navigation were taken directly, through the interaction of its services or from third-party pages without clearly informing the user about the use of such data. The agency added that Facebook also broke the law by storing users details for up to 17 months after they had closed their accounts. Facebooks privacy policy was not clear enough and the company must do more to make its users aware of how it uses their data. Facebook does not obtain unmistakable, specific and informed consent on how it uses its data, as the current information that it offers is not adequate. For better or worse, corporations have a major influence on climate change policy. Just look at Koch Industries, a multinational conglomerate owned by conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch that has contributed hundreds of millions to federal candidates and lobbying over the last 25 years. The Corporate Carbon Policy Footprint, a new analysis from U.K. nonprofit InfluenceMap, now ranks Koch Industries as the company with the strongest opposition to the Paris climate agreement and most intensely lobbies against policies in line with the landmark global accord. The InfluenceMap scoring system does not measure a companys actual greenhouse gas emissions. Rather, it measures the extent to which a corporation is supporting or obstructing the climate policy process. For the InfluenceMap report, researchers analyzed more than 30,000 pieces of evidence on 250 global companies and 50 major trade associations on their lobbying records, advertising, public relations and sponsored research, according to Bloomberg. The research group gave the Wichita-based company an F grade for its anti-climate actions: Koch Industries appears to be actively opposing almost all areas of climate legislation. In 2014 in the US, they were reportedly active in their opposition to a carbon tax, funding politicians and campaigns to oppose the tax. Similarly, in 2014 they appear to have opposed the U.S. EPA Clean Power Plan in consultation and through direct engagement with policy makers, and boasted about their success in blocking the US Cap and Trade Scheme in 2010. Additionally, they appear to be opposing measures to transition to a low carbon economy, advocating against renewable energy subsidies, and funding groups that have opposed energy efficiency standards, the repeal of fossil fuel subsidies and the need for action on climate change. They seem to be exceptionally active in opposing renewable energy standards across the U.S. Both the organization and its CEO, Charles Koch, appear to have questioned climate change science, and have reportedly funded climate denial. Senior executives are active in both the National Association of Manufacturers and ALEC, which also appear to be resisting climate change related regulations and policies. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Silicon Valley tech giant Apple was ranked highest on the list and has an A+ for its support of climate change action and its positive engagement with a number of climate change policy areas. Here are the reports key findings: 35 of the 50 most influential are actively lobbying against climate policy. They include companies in the fossil fuel value chain (ExxonMobil, Valero Energy, Chevron), energy intensive companies (BASF, ArcelorMittal, Bayer, Dow Chemical and Solvay) and electric utilities with large amounts of coal generating capacity (Southern Company, Duke Energy and American Electric Power). companies in the fossil fuel value chain (ExxonMobil, Valero Energy, Chevron), energy intensive companies (BASF, ArcelorMittal, Bayer, Dow Chemical and Solvay) and electric utilities with large amounts of coal generating capacity (Southern Company, Duke Energy and American Electric Power). Also in this group of 35 influential companies holding back climate policy are four powerful automotive manufacturers (Fiat Chrysler, Ford, BMW and Daimler). The research found the companies lobbying to delay or dilute efficiency and CO2 emissions standards and procedures both in Europe and North America. Depending on region, passenger vehicle emissions account for 12% or more of all greenhouse gas emissions. Also in this group of 35 influential companies holding back climate policy are four powerful automotive manufacturers (Fiat Chrysler, Ford, BMW and Daimler). The research found the companies lobbying to delay or dilute efficiency and CO2 emissions standards and procedures both in Europe and North America. Depending on region, passenger vehicle emissions account for 12% or more of all greenhouse gas emissions. On the other side, 15 of the 50 most influential are pushing for an ambitious climate policy agenda, favoring renewable power and electric vehicles. They include signatories to the RE100 initiative committing to buying 100% renewable power (Apple, Ikea, Unilever, Coca Cola and Nestle) as well as power sector companies (SSE, Enel, EDF, Iberdrola and National Grid) who are shifting their business models towards low carbon electricity generation. The data shows the climate policy agenda, in terms of corporate influencing, is being driven by a small number of massive global corporations, Dylan Tanner, InfluenceMap executive director, said in a statement. It also shows a group of powerful of companies in the tech, consumer goods and utilities sectors increasingly pushing for policy to implement the Paris Agreement. InfluenceMap also ranked influencers or powerful trade associations that actively lobby against climate policies. A number of trade associations received an F grade, but here are the bottom five: U.S. Chamber of Commerce; American Petroleum Institute; American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity; National Mining Association; and the American Legislative Exchange Council. Check out the full list here. By Whitney Webb Amid statewide efforts to clean up the aftermath left by the historic flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey, the Pentagon announced last week that it had dispatched C-130H Sprayers from the Air Force Reserves 910th Airlift Wing in order to assist with recovery efforts in eastern Texas. However, these recovery efforts have little to do with rebuilding damaged structures or with the resettlement of evacuees. Instead, they are set to spray chemicals in order to help control pest insect populations, which they allege pose a health risk to rescue workers and residents of Houston. The Pentagon has requested that the planes treat more than 6 million acres throughout the Houston area. The Air Force noted that the current effort is expected to significantly surpass previous [spraying] missions in scope, specifically the spraying campaigns that followed Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Naleds Toxicity Not Confined to Mosquitoes While the Pentagon has framed its efforts to assist as seeking to eliminate a potential human health risk, the particular chemical it is using to control insect populations is likely to do more harm than good. According to the Air Force, the mosquito control protocol involves spraying the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved and regulated material, Naled, which the Air Force insists will not be used in amounts large enough to cause any concern for human health. However, the insecticide Naled, manufactured and sold by a strategic partner of Monsanto, is currently banned in the European Union due to the unacceptable risk it presents to human health. Naled is a known neurotoxin in animals and humans, as it inhibits acetylcholinesterasean enzyme essential to nerve function and communicationand has even been known to have caused paralysis. Mounting scientific evidence, including a recent Harvard study, has also pointed to Naleds responsibility for the mass die-off of North American bees. Just one day of Naled spraying in South Carolina killed more than 2.5 million bees last year. Yet, the most concerning consequence Naled poses for human health is the chemicals ability to cross the placental barriermeaning that Naled freely crosses from mother to fetus. A study conducted at the University of Oslo found that Naleds breakdown product, dichlorvos, caused a 15 percent decrease in the brain size of newborn guinea pigs when their mothers were exposed to Naled for only three days during pregnancy. Doctors from Puerto Rico have also claimed that Naled harms fetuses. Studies in the U.S. have also shown that pregnant women exposed to Naled had a 60 percent higher chance of having a child with an autism-spectrum disorder. This is especially troubling given that the manufacturer of Naled, Sumimoto Chemical Corp., is also the manufacturer of the mosquito larvicide SumiLarv, a chemical now believed to have been the real culprit behind the spike in birth defects in Brazil originally attributed to the Zika virus. At the height of the Zika scare, a group of Argentine doctors, Medicos de Pueblos Fumigados, published a report citing a pesticide used to kill mosquito larva as the real cause of the birth defects. According to the report, the area where most of the affected Brazilian families live, Pernambuco, had its drinking water treated for 18 months with a chemical larvicide that produces fatal birth defects in mosquitoes. Pernambuco subsequently reported more than 4,000 cases of microcephaly in 2015. In contrast, in Colombia, public health officials diagnosed more than 17,000 pregnant women with Zika last year, yet only 18 cases of Zika-associated microcephaly were reportedless than 0.2 percent of the total. In addition, the Air Forces characterization of Naled as an EPA approved and regulated material omits the important fact that the EPA is currently re-evaluating the chemical for safety. According to the EPAs website, the EPA expects to issue new human health and ecological risk assessments for Naled before the end of 2017. Scientists and concerned citizens have noted that Naled will likely be banned as the EPA found it to harm 22 out of 28 endangered species exposed to it. Agrochem Corp Pressures to Keep Naled on the Market However, political pressure could keep it on the market. Such pressure was manifest in last years Zika Vector Control Act, which passed the House but failed in the Senate and narrowly missed becoming law. If it had been passed, the act would have exempted mosquito-control operations from environmental regulations and would have kept Naled on the market regardless of the EPAs decision. It also would have ended monitoring of and limits to pesticide use. Though the act ultimately failed to become law, there will likely be another effort at preventing the chemical from being banned by the EPA. It is currently one of the most widely used pesticides in the United States for aerial mosquito control and has been applied to about 16 million acres per year in the continental United States. Given its wide use, the chemicals manufacturer and its strategic partner Monsanto will likely want to keep such a profitable product on the market, lest they face a mass drop in sales and revenue. Reposted with permission from our media associate MintPress News. By Diane Carman Our country has just witnessed two of the worst hurricanes in our history and the work of rebuilding shattered lives in Texas, Florida, and elsewhere has barely begun. Toxic cleanup will be a part of the work ahead. This is an area dotted with oil refineries, chemical plants, Superfund sites and coal-fired power plants. All of these structures represent toxic waste and contamination threats during the best of weather times; with storms, these issues become even more dire. Spills and explosions have already contaminated vulnerable communities across the region. And as operations are restarted at industrial sites, toxic plumes with high levels of dangerous contaminants present serious new dangers. Houston officials have reported high levels of cancer-causing benzene near one refinery, with winds scattering the pollution. While the hurricanes have brought these issues more prominently into the spotlight, the truth is that these issues represent battles fought by communities for years about the health hazards lurking behind the fences of the industrial operations and waste sites in peoples backyards. And for years, industries and their political allies have dug in their heels when it comes to cleaning up and installing safeguards at these toxic sites. This resistance has only grown under the Trump administration, even as climate change ups the stakes with greater storm intensity. Using the power of the law, Earthjustice has pushed regulators to step up to their role of protecting citizens instead of caving to well-funded corporate interests. Theres no leadership [among officials] here, said Yvette Arellano, research and policy liaison for Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services in Houston. The amount of money coming from industry to influence the political process is incredible. Yvette Arellano, research and policy liaison for Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services. Yvette Arellano In Texas, storage tanks holding crude oil, gasoline and toxic contaminants failed when storm water from Harvey caused them to collapse, spilling at least 145,000 gallons of fuel and polluting the air. Meanwhile, power failures and subsequent explosions at the Arkema chemical plant forced evacuations within a 1.5 mile radius and creating a plume of dangerous pollutants. Across Florida, flooding threatened many of the 12 coal-fired power plants in the state that produce roughly 9 billion pounds of coal ash a year. This toxic ash typically is stored in earthen dams near water, making surrounding neighborhoods extremely vulnerable during flooding and storm surges. Scores of toxic Superfund siteslocations contaminated with hazardous waste and identified by the EPA for cleanupalso exist in both states. Many of these sites are not required to publicly disclose their emergency plans. The EPA scrambled ahead of the storms to urge last-ditch efforts to shore up defenses at sites, but the hour was late. Such efforts require years of sustained attention. The French Ltd. Superfund site in Crosby, Texas, was inundated by Harvey, said Arellano, noting with concern that little seems to be compelling public agencies to document the damage from spills and address it. Both residents and first responders suffered from irritated eyes, coughing, headaches, fatigue, dizziness and other symptoms of chemical exposure, Arellano said. People reported strong odors coming from the facilities, she said, but information was not provided about risks or likely impacts. Making Polluters Take Responsibility Earthjustice and local community partners have doggedly pushed industry to clean up and adopt key safety measures, and will continue to document the dangers and hold industry accountable. The Superfund sites all along Irmas path tell this story. The federal government created the Superfund program in 1983 to designate for cleanup the countrys worst hazardous waste sites, ones that would take years to remediate. At that time, the EPA was supposed to create rules ensuring that companies most likely to make such toxic messes would have the financial means to clean them up. The EPA dawdled for decades, delaying the Financial Assurance Rule, leaving taxpayers to foot much of the bill for hazardous waste cleanup. Earthjustice took the agency to court, and after years of litigationfiercely resisted by both the EPA and industry groupsa U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in 2016 that the EPA must finalize the Financial Assurance Rule. Enter Trump. In February, his EPA Administrator, Scott Pruitt, delayed the rule for mining companies by four months, claiming that there wasnt sufficient time for public comment. Meanwhile, Trumps 2018 budget proposed cutting Superfund site cleanup by 25 percent. The Motiva oil refinery in Port Arthur, TX, was shut down due to floods caused by Hurricane Harvey. Many similar hazardous sites in Florida are now in danger of flooding due to Hurricane Irma. Alex Glostrum / Louisiana Bucket Brigade Some simple safeguardsagain resisted by industry and their allieswould lessen the danger from a particular type of waste site: coal ash ponds. These contain a slurry of heavy metals left over from burning coal at power plants, and most of the oldest and most vulnerable ponds are clustered in the southeastern U.S. This toxic waste has contaminated more than 200 sites throughout the nation, and coal ash represents the second largest toxic waste stream in the country Contamination from coal ash could easily have been prevented with sensible safeguards such as phasing out leak-prone ash ponds and requiring the use of synthetic liners and leachate collection systems. Yet coal ash was not subject to federal regulation until 2015, so most coal ash ponds and landfills do not have basic protections. The EPA established federal safety standards only as a result of an Earthjustice lawsuit in 2012. In Puerto Rico, the AES coal-fired power plant disposes of its waste in another dangerous form: a five-story-high ash pile. Days before Irma, Puerto Ricos Environmental Quality Board ordered the operator to cover the ash pile to protect against hurricane-force winds spreading far and wide the toxic dust and contaminated run-off. In Puerto Rico and elsewhere in the U.S., the threats from coal ash exposure are borne disproportionately by low-income communities and communities of color. Safeguarding Against Chemical Disasters Similar betrayals of public safety can be found in the backstory around the Arkema chemical plant explosion in Crosby, Texas. The first thing to know: Such incidents are not rare. Between 2004 and 2013, more than 2,200 accidents and near-missesincluding fires, toxic chemical spills, releases of dangerous air pollutants and other incidentsoccurred across the country at facilities handling extremely dangerous chemicals under the EPAs Risk Management Program. The incidents resulted in 59 deaths, more than 17,000 injuries and more than $2 billion in property damage. The second thing to know: A lot of people are at risk. Some 177 million Americans live in chemical disaster zones, and more than 30 percent of American children attend schools near these facilities. Nearly half a million people had to seek shelter in place or evacuate in response to the incidents from 2004 to 2013. To decrease the likelihood of these disasters, the EPA under President Obama finalized its proposed Chemical Disaster Rule, which strengthens emergency preparedness and coordination with local first responders. The rule also requires the riskiest chemical facilities, such as petroleum refineries, to assess available safer alternatives and technologies in order to lower the risk of worst case scenarios occurring. Measures like this would have helped prevent the Arkema explosion and would reduce the risk of similar catastrophes when worst-case scenarios arise. Then last June, the Trump administration, in response to industry pressure, announced that implementation of the rule would be delayed until February 2019. Attorneys for Earthjustice, representing neighborhoods and organizations of concerned citizens from California, Louisiana, Texas, Pennsylvania, Utah and West Virginia have filed a lawsuit challenging the delay of the Chemical Disaster Rule. Full Impacts Still Unknown Its too soon to determine the impact of Irma on the 54 Superfund sites in Florida. The storm affected the entire state to varying degrees, however, knocking out power and producing severe flooding. Among the most vulnerable sites was the Miami Drum Services Superfund site, located over an aquifer providing drinking in west Miami-Dade Country. The Homestead Air Reserve Base Superfund site south of Miami is another threat since only a foot of flooding could contaminate a nearby supermarket and apartments. Only after the waters recede will the effects of the storm on these dangerous facilities become more apparent. Even then, due to lax reporting standards, regulatory officials and first-responders may not be fully aware of the release of hazardous substances. More information is emerging on the hurricanes effects in Texas. In the wake of Harvey, Houston health officials reported high levels of cancer-causing benzene in the Manchester neighborhood near the Valero Energy refinery. Samples revealed 324 parts per billion of benzene in the aira level that triggers the use of special breathing equipment for exposed workers under federal safety rules. Health officials testing the area also found high levels of volatile organic compounds that are linked to liver damage and cancer. Activist Hilton Kelley stands before the Valero refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, in 2013. Eric Kayne / Earthjustice Like many communities adjacent to refineries and chemical plants in this country, the Manchester neighborhood of Houston is a low-income community of color. Families in the Manchester neighborhood are returning to wrecked homes and have little choice but to rip out the mildewed sheetrock, shovel the toxic muck from the floors and rebuild. Theres nowhere for people to go, said Hilton Kelley, founder and executive director of the Community in Power and Development Association in Port Arthur, Texas. Conditions here are appalling and people are very disturbed, upset and angry. But Kelley and his community are not beaten. I lost my house and I lost my restaurant, but Im ready to go to work to hold people accountable. With no path to win, Mastriano still silent on conceding blowout loss In at least 18 states around the United States, academic health science centers are partnering with cooperative extension systems to better address population health. A new report describes how these agricultural and health entities are using complementary resources to meet the health needs of local communities. The Cooperative Extension System, a program of the US Department of Agriculture in partnership with land-grant universities, is designed to help individuals and communities meet challenges in technology, nutrition and food safety, emergency response, environmental protection, and agriculture and natural resources. While the extension system is increasing its focus on health, the health sector sees extension as a model for working with local communities, including through the Primary Care Extension Program established by the Affordable Care Act. The report, from experts in cooperative extension systems and medicine in New Mexico, describes national activities as well as that state's joint efforts to provide nutrition education in community health centers, health and nutrition education for seniors, and healthy cooking demonstrations for immigrants. The authors encourage dialogue between states to identify best practices for the future of this important, multi-sector collaboration. ### Agriculture and Health Sectors Collaborate in Addressing Population Health Arthur Kaufman, MD, et al University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico http://www.annfammed.org/content/15/5/475.full Space flight anemia - the reduction of circulating red blood cells (RBCs) during time spent in space - is an established phenomenon, but it may not be a major concern during long-duration space missions, according to a study published in the open access journal BMC Hematology. Dr Richard Simpson; associate professor at The University of Arizona and the University of Houston, co-author of the study said: "There is an idea of 'space anemia' that is associated with space flight. However, this is based on blood samples from astronauts collected after flight, which may be influenced by various factors, for example the stress of landing and re-adaptation to conditions on Earth. For this study, led by Dr. Brian Crucian at NASA Johnson Space Center, living, whole blood samples were collected during spaceflight and returned to Earth for analysis. This unique sample allowed us to track hematological parameters - such as concentrations of red blood cells (RBCs), hemoglobin or hematocrit - in astronauts on board the International Space Station during flight." The researchers found that during space flight, concentrations of RBCs, platelets and the oxygen-carrying protein hemoglobin were higher compared to pre-flight levels. Hematocrit (the ratio of RBCs to the total volume of blood) also increased during space flight. While previous studies had shown this to be the case during the first few days of flight, this is the first study to show that RBC concentrations and hematocrit remain at higher levels even after astronauts' bodies have adapted to microgravity. To find out how the blood of astronauts may change if they spend a long time in space, the researchers collected blood samples from 31 astronauts (six women and 25 men) who spent up to six months on the International Space Station (ISS). Samples were collected at 180 and 45 days before the astronauts flew to the ISS. Blood was also collected while in space during the first two weeks, and approximately three and six months into the mission. Samples were returned to Earth for analysis either in Houston or at Star City, Russia within 48 hours of collection. Post-flight samples were collected three to eight hours after landing and 30 days after the mission had ended. While some of the changes observed in the in-flight blood samples were to be expected due to the 48-hour processing delay between sample collection and analysis (delays affect the concentration of various components of collected blood samples), the changes in hematocrit during spaceflight were striking, according to the researchers. Hematocrit had increased by 12.2%, 12.2% and 10.0% at early, mid, and late time points during space flight compared to pre-flight levels. However, only a 4.7% increase in hematocrit was observed in reference samples taken on earth from non-astronauts after the 48-hour processing delay. This suggests that the increases observed in the ISS samples are partly due to a true in-flight increase in RBC count. After the astronauts examined in this study returned to Earth, all blood parameters returned to pre-flight levels within 30 days. Dr Simpson said: "Although the data does not indicate that significant anemia is present, it must be interpreted in the context of crew plasma volume during flight. Overall plasma volume has been shown to be reduced during spaceflight, but this has not been assessed during long-duration missions. In order to fully interpret the changes to RBC, hematocrit and other parameters observed in this study, further research into plasma volume during long space missions is needed. This will be addressed in a separate ongoing NASA investigation." ### Media Contact Anne Korn Communications Manager BioMed Central T: +44 (0)20 3192 2722 E: anne.korn@biomedcentral.com Notes to editor: 1. While we normally issue all our press releases under an embargo to allow journalists sufficient time to research the story prior to publication, unfortunately the situation in Houston, where the authors are based, delayed the production of media material and prevented us from doing so on this occasion. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. 2. Research article: Alterations in hematologic indices during long-duration spaceflight Kunz et al. BMC Hematolgy Sept 2017 DOI: 10.1186/s12878-017-0083-y The article is available at the journal website: https://bmchematol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12878-017-0083-y Please name the journal in any story you write. If you are writing for the web, please link to the article. All articles are available free of charge, according to BioMed Central's open access policy. 3. BMC Hematology is an open access, peer-reviewed journal that considers articles on basic, experimental and clinical research related to hematology. The journal welcomes submissions on non-malignant and malignant hematological diseases, hemostasis and thrombosis, hematopoiesis, stem cells and transplantation. 4. A pioneer of open access publishing, BMC has an evolving portfolio of high quality peer-reviewed journals including broad interest titles such as BMC Biology and BMC Medicine, specialist journals such as Malaria Journal and Microbiome, and the BMC series. At BMC, research is always in progress. We are committed to continual innovation to better support the needs of our communities, ensuring the integrity of the research we publish, and championing the benefits of open research. BMC is part of Springer Nature, giving us greater opportunities to help authors connect and advance discoveries across the world. In people aged 50 or older, having an obese wife substantially increases a man's risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D), according to the first study to investigate the sex-specific effect of spousal obesity on diabetes risk. The research, being presented at this year's European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Annual Meeting in Lisbon, Portugal (11-15 September), also suggests that the over 55s with a spouse with T2D tend to be more obese than their peers without a diabetic partner. The authors say that obesity or T2D in one partner could lead to T2D in the other due to the many risk behaviours that lead to diabetes shared by couples, such as poor eating habits and little physical activity. People who are obese or have a family history of T2D are already known to have a much higher risk of T2D. But until now, the sex-specific effect of spousal obesity beyond the person's own obesity level on the risk of developing T2D was unclear. These are the first studies that specifically analyse these links. In the first of two studies, Adam Hulman from Aarhus University in Denmark and colleagues examined the association of spousal diabetes and obesity with the risk of developing T2D in 3650 men and 3478 women (aged 50 or older) from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA)--a nationally representative sample of older men and women living in England. Participants were interviewed every 2.5 years during 1998-2015, and incidence of T2D was identified from self-reports or clinical examination. The results were adjusted for potential factors that might contribute to the risk of developing T2D such as age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and an individual's own obesity level (i.e., body mass index and waist circumference). Over the median follow-up of 11.5 years, the new case rate for T2D was 12.6 per 1000 people per year among men and 8.6 among women. The researchers found no statistically significant indication overall that having a spouse with diabetes increases diabetes risk. However, further analysis showed that men with an obese wife were significantly more likely to develop T2D during follow-up. Per 5 kg/m2 higher BMI in his wife, the husband's T2D risk was 21% higher, when accounting for the man's own BMI. Conversely, women with an obese husband had no additional risk beyond that of their own obesity level. In a further study, the research team examined whether the development of obesity with age was different for people with and without a spouse with T2D in 7187 men and women from the ELSA. The analysis was restricted to opposite-sex couples. Practically everyone gets fatter up to age 70, but results showed that in people over 55, individuals living with a spouse with T2D had much higher levels of obesity compared to those with no spousal diabetes. The authors say: "This is the first study investigating the sex-specific effect of spousal obesity on diabetes risk. Having an obese wife increases a man's risk of diabetes over and above the effect of his own obesity level, while among women, having an obese husband gives no additional diabetes risk beyond that of her own obesity level. Our results indicate that on finding obesity in a person, screening of their spouse for diabetes may be justified." They add: "Recognising shared risk between spouses may improve diabetes detection and motivate couples to increase collaborative efforts to eat more healthily and boost their activity levels. Obesity or T2D in one spouse may serve as a prompt for diabetes screening and regular weight checks in the other. In particular, men whose wives are obese may benefit from being followed more closely." ### Milan, Italy: Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can slow the decline in lung function in middle-aged women, according to new research presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress today (Tuesday). Evidence from a study that followed 3,713 women for approximately 20 years from the early 1990s to 2010, showed that those who took long-term HRT (for two years or more) performed better in lung function tests than women who never took HRT [1]. Dr Kai Triebner, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Bergen, Norway, told the congress: "Lung function peaks during the mid-twenties, and from then on it will go down; however, it is possible to identify which factors influence the decline, either by slowing it down or accelerating it. One accelerating factor, for example, is the menopause. Therefore, a key question is whether HRT could, at least partly, counteract it." The women's lung function was measured when they joined the European Community Respiratory Health Survey and again after 20 years. Tests of forced vital capacity (FVC) - which measures the amount of air that can be exhaled from the lungs after taking the deepest breath possible - showed that women who took HRT for two or more years lost an average of 46 ml less of lung volume over the duration of the study, compared with women who never took HRT. "This will most likely not be clinically significant for healthy women. However, in women who are suffering from airway diseases, the decline in lung function may influence quality of life, as it could lead to an increase in shortness of breath, reduced work capacity and fatigue," said Dr Triebner. "To put these findings in context, if a woman smoked a pack of cigarettes a day for three years, the loss of forced vital capacity would correspond roughly in size to 46 ml. "Our findings show that female sex hormones are important for the preservation of lung function in middle-aged women." Women from Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Estonia, Denmark, Belgium, Germany, France, Spain and the UK took part in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey. A total of 236 women took long-term HRT (two years or more). These women were matched with 236 other women who never took HRT (by age, weight, height, age at menopause, smoking behaviour and baseline lung function). In 2010, when the follow-up tests were taken, the women's ages ranged from 44 to 67, with an average age of 59 years. The analysis focused on oral HRT, not investigating different formulations. The researchers adjusted for factors that could affect the results, such as the type of spirometer, length of follow-up time and which clinical centre they enrolled at. In this analysis, physical activity and surgical menopause were not significantly associated with lung function decline. "However, physical activity has a number of beneficial effects, so in my personal opinion a balanced amount of physical exercise is desirable," explained Dr Triebner. He emphasised that the results should not be considered as advocating for or against the use of HRT - nor for thinking that using HRT might compensate for a smoking habit. While HRT can help with menopausal symptoms and protects against osteoporosis, it has also been linked with an increase in the risk of breast cancer and heart and blood vessel problems. "Women, as well as physicians, need to be better informed about health changes during the post-menopausal period. This study provides more information, which represents another building block and, together with other existing studies, it can pave the way to the right decision for each individual woman. Women with existing health problems, for instance asthma, need to be followed more thoroughly through the menopausal transition and be provided with advice on medications that take the changing hormone levels better into account - ideally with a personalised approach," concluded Dr Triebner. ### Abstract no: OA4420, "Hormone replacement therapy may preserve lung function during reproductive aging"; Factors associated with lung function development session, 14.45-16.45 hrs CEST, Tuesday 12 September, Pink (south). [1] These figures have been updated since the time the conference abstract was submitted. LUGANO-MADRID, 12 September, 2017 - Randomised controlled trials with positive results are twice as likely to be reported by the lay press as those with negative trials, according to results from the Best Poster in Public Health and Health Economics at the ESMO 2017 Congress in Madrid. (1) Trials on immunotherapy and targeted therapy were more commonly reported than those on chemotherapy. The Best Poster in Public Health and Health Economics was chosen by judge Dr Jose M. Martin-Moreno, Professor of Medicine and Public Health, University of Valencia, Spain, out of 47 posters on the topic presented at ESMO 2017. Conducted by researchers in Canada, Israel, Spain, Switzerland, and Slovenia, the study explored the role of the lay media in disseminating the results of randomised controlled trials in common cancers. It also looked at factors that determined whether a trial was reported in the lay press before it was presented at a scientific conference or published in a scientific journal (referred to as 'early reporting' by the researchers). The analysis included 180 phase III randomised controlled trials in breast, colorectal, lung and prostate cancer that were completed between January 2005 and October 2016. More than half (52%) of trials were reported in the lay media and more than one-quarter (27%) were reported before a scientific presentation or publication. The researchers found that early reporting of trial results by the lay press was twice as likely if the trial was positive compared to negative, nearly five times as likely if the trial was about targeted therapy compared to chemotherapy, nearly eight times as likely if the trial concerned immunotherapy instead of chemotherapy, and three times as likely if the trial was in prostate rather than breast cancer. Lead author Dr Domen Ribnikar, a clinical research fellow at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto, Canada, said: "We found that the lay press are more likely to write stories about cancer before a scientific presentation or publication if they have positive results, are about immunotherapy or targeted therapy, or cover prostate cancer. It seems likely that readers of lay media are not getting an accurate view of oncology drug development." Martin-Moreno said: "The lay press is a key source of information about cancer for patients and the public which makes this an important topic. This poster puts its finger on an important problem; it would be preferable if the media did report trials that have been previously peer reviewed by journals or by scientific committees at meetings." "The authors were a young group of researchers from different countries who have shed some light on an interesting subject that has not been extensively studied," he added. ### Notes to Editors Please make sure to use the official name of the meeting in your reports: ESMO 2017 Congress References 1 Abstract 1447P 'Reporting of results of randomized trials in common cancers in the lay media' was presented by Domen Ribnikar during a Poster Display session on CNS Tumours on Sunday, 10 September, 13:15 to 14:15 (CEST) in Hall 8. Disclaimer This press release contains information provided by the authors of the highlighted abstracts and reflects the content of those abstracts. It does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of ESMO who cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of the data. Commentators quoted in the press release are required to comply with the ESMO Declaration of Interests policy and the ESMO Code of Conduct. About the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) ESMO is the leading professional organisation for medical oncology. With 16,000 members representing oncology professionals from over 130 countries worldwide, ESMO is the society of reference for oncology education and information. We are committed to supporting our members to develop and advance in a fast-evolving professional environment. http://www.esmo.org Scientists have studied and been captivated by the organization and functioning of social insect colonies since Charles Darwin (1809-1882) investigated beehives near and at his home in Kent with the help of his five children. Since then, prompted by the theory of evolution, researchers have scrutinized every conceivable aspect of the life of bees. Decades ago, scientists discovered that in the nests of many species of European honeybees (genus Apis), in which healthy young queens regularly lay eggs, the queen uses chemical compounds called pheromones to inhibit worker reproduction. As a result, the workers will have to care for the queen's offspring instead of their own. If the queen is old, falls sick or dies, causing the supply of queen pheromone to cease, specialized workers rear new drones that will fertilize the eggs destined to become future queens. "An important part of studying social insects is understanding how they resolve conflicts inside the colony, especially reproductive conflicts of interest. In some bee species, workers can produce drones, but this adaptation may create a conflict between the queen and the workers over who rears the drones," said biologist Tulio Marcos Nunes. Nunes did his postdoctoral research at the University of Sao Paulo School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and is first author of a paper published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, describing a study that set out to discover whether this adaptation is also found among the 600-odd species of stingless bees (tribe Meliponini) widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. "The conflict is due to the differential genetic relationship between the offspring of the queen and the workers. From the evolutionary standpoint it's more worthwhile for workers to produce their own offspring [to which they are 50% genetically related] than raise the queen's offspring [with which they share only 25% of their DNA]," Nunes said. Nunes's supervisor, Norberto Peporine Lopes, heads the Center for Research on Natural & Synthetic Products and is the principal investigator for the Thematic Project "Distribution and metabolism of natural and synthetic xenobiotics", supported by The Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP). Peporine Lopes explained that the purpose of the study was to see whether the behavior observed - workers not laying eggs in the presence of a queen - is positive for workers in genetic terms. "If this behavior is negative for workers - if they achieve a greater genetic return by laying eggs and are chemically prevented from doing so - then we're talking about a castration pheromone," He said. European honeybees are a clear example of chemical castration. In this study, the researchers wanted to find out whether, in the case of stingless bees, queen pheromones chemically sterilize workers or merely signal the queen's presence. They worked with 23 stingless bee species, a few of which were present in FCFRP-USP's stingless bee apiary (a "meliponiary"). Nunes collected others in the wild from sites in Brazil and Australia. Stingless bee colonies are usually found in the trunks of living trees or hollow tree trunks on the forest floor. He had to open the tree trunks, locate the colonies and transfer them to boxes for transportation. "They don't have stingers, but they defend themselves by biting, depositing resin, and, in some species, expelling highly concentrated formic acid," he said. The 23 species studied were divided into three categories: those with sterile workers that never lay eggs (four species), those with workers that always lay eggs even if a queen is present (14 species), and those with workers that lay eggs only if the colony is queenless (three species). In the latter species, workers respond to the queen's presence by not activating their ovaries. The study was conducted on two fronts. First, the researchers set out to understand how workers' reproductive behavior evolved in the presence or absence of a queen. Then, they sought to find out which chemical compounds signaled the queen's presence to workers. The reproductive behavior of workers in 21 species was known from the scientific literature. New investigations of two species, Lestrimelitta limao and Plebeia minima, determined the frequency of worker ovary activation in three colonies of each species, with and without queens. The behavior of fertile workers in the presence of a queen was observed every day for three months. The queen was then removed and observation continued for another three months. "When we removed the queen, the workers started to lay," Nunes said. Chemical castration The researchers also analyzed the cuticular hydrocarbons produced by the queen - pheromones used for chemical signaling to workers - and identified 128 different chemical compounds. "Cuticular hydrocarbons are pheromones or chemical signalers. They are non-volatile waxes and don't disperse in air. We succeeded in mapping the locations of these substances in the queen's body. They are mainly found in the head. Hence our conclusion that chemical signaling between the queen and fertile workers can only occur via physical contact," Peporine Lopes said. In three species - Friesella schrottkyi, Leurotrigona muelleri, and Plebeia lucii - fertile workers began laying eggs when the queen was removed. "The conclusion was that workers of these species were not chemically castrated by the queen," Peporine Lopes said. "The chemical signals emitted by the queen inhibit worker oviposition." According to Nunes, they next mapped the reproductive behavior of workers during the evolution of the species concerned in order to analyze the ancestral traits of stingless bees in this respect. "We inferred from this analysis that modulation of worker sterility in response to queen pheromone [signaling the queen's presence] evolved independently at least three times in the lineages leading to F. schrottkyi, L. muelleri and P. lucii," he said. "In my opinion, what's important about this study is that it establishes a counterpoint to the traditional view of forced worker castration by the queen," Peporine Lopes said. "That's why we were able to publish it in a Nature research journal." ### About Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) The Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) is a public institution with the mission of supporting scientific research in all fields of knowledge by awarding scholarships, fellowships, and grants to investigators linked with higher education and research institutions in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. FAPESP is aware that the very best research can only be done by working with the best researchers internationally. Therefore, it has established partnerships with funding agencies, higher education, private companies, and research organizations in other countries known for the quality of their research and has been encouraging scientists funded by its grants to further develop their international collaboration. For more information: http://www.fapesp.br/en. NEW YORK, NYSeptember 12, 2017FAIR Health has launched a groundbreaking website, YouCanPlanForThis.org, aimed at transforming how people in New York State engage in healthcare planning. A next-generation transparency tool, the free site gives New Yorkers unprecedented access to accurate medical and dental costs and comprehensive educational resources, so they can plan financially for a procedure or episode of care. A national, independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing transparency to healthcare costs and health insurance information, FAIR Health developed YouCanPlanForThis.org by building on its existing, award-winning consumer website and mobile app, with the support of the New York State Health Foundation (NYSHealth). Features of the New Site Objective and easy to use, YouCanPlanForThis.org arms patients with vital information they can use when planning and managing their healthcare costs. By entering their zip codes in the cost lookup tool, which is powered by FAIR Healths database of billions of billed medical and dental claims, they can estimate their medical or dental expenses for particular procedures in their geographic areas. The tool takes into account whether they are insured or uninsuredand if insured, whether they are staying in network or going out of network. Patients with high-deductible health plans can use the sites allowed amounts, based on average negotiated in-network rates, to estimate how much they will have to pay their in-network providers for care before they meet their deductibles. By comparing the average negotiated in-network amount with providers typical billed charges on the site, patients also can decide whether to initiate discussions with out-of-network healthcare providers about the costs of their care. The new site also allows patients to research the total and itemized costs of 25 common bundles or episodes of care that involve multiple procedures related to a single medical condition, such as diabetes, or a planned procedure, such as a hip replacement. Each episode of care is explained by an educational video. Moreover, for 100 frequently performed procedures, YouCanPlanForThis.org features provider listings with information about providers practices, hospital affiliations and prices, among other items. The site includes a rich educational curriculum on insurance basics with topics that include, among many others, negotiating costs, womens healthcare and using the New York State of Health exchange to select a plan. The site also provides links to external resources such as healthcare provider directories and programs that help consumers to understand their insurance. It also explains how to use healthcare quality measures to make informed decisions about care. In February 2018, FAIR Health will launch the second phase of the YouCanPlanForThis.org website with specific quality metrics and pricing information for common outpatient procedures performed in hospitals in four geographic regions in the state. Building on a Trusted Relationship with Healthcare Consumers This year, FAIR Health was named a top resource for patients in Elisabeth Rosenthals book, An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back. YouCanPlanForThis.org builds upon FAIR Healths award-winning platform and expands consumers ability to navigate the healthcare system with confidence. FAIR Health President Robin Gelburd commented: An essential part of FAIR Healths mission is to empower consumers by equipping them with the tools they need to plan and manage their healthcare costs and understand health insurance. With the generous support of the New York State Health Foundation, we are glad to be able to advance our mission in a new and engaging way for the people of New York. New York State Health Foundation President and CEO David Sandman stated: For too long, patients have stood at the periphery of a complex healthcare system without the tools and information they need to make educated decisions that affect their health and finances. YouCanPlanForThis.org is an important step forward in empowering patients to participate as active, informed consumers in the healthcare market, front and center. Indeed, at the same time as the launch of YouCanPlanForThis.org, FAIR Health has relaunched its original consumer site, fairhealthconsumer.org, to provide on a national basis many of the features of the New York-based site. The national site now includes in-network as well as out-of-network rates, episodes of care and expanded educational resources. To view and download PSAs, click here. ### Follow us on Twitter @FAIRHealth About FAIR Health FAIR Health is a national, independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing transparency to healthcare costs and health insurance information through data products, consumer resources and health systems research support. FAIR Health oversees the nation's largest collection of healthcare claims data, which includes a repository of over 23 billion billed medical and dental procedures that reflect the claims experience of over 150 million privately insured individuals, and separate data representing the experience of more than 55 million individuals enrolled in Medicare. Certified by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as a Qualified Entity, FAIR Health receives all of Medicare Parts A, B and D claims data for use in nationwide transparency efforts. FAIR Health licenses its privately billed data and data products--including benchmark modules, data visualizations, custom analytics, episodes of care analytics and market indices--to commercial insurers and self-insurers, employers, hospitals and healthcare systems, government agencies, researchers and others. FAIR Health has earned HITRUST CSF and Service Organization Controls (SOC 2) certifications by meeting the rigorous data security standards of those organizations. As a testament to the objectivity and reliability of FAIR Health data, the data have been incorporated in statutes and regulations around the country and designated as the official, neutral data source for a variety of state health programs, including workers' compensation and personal injury protection (PIP) programs. FAIR Health data serve as an official reference point in support of certain state balance billing laws that protect consumers against bills for surprise out-of-network and emergency services. FAIR Health also uses its database to power a free consumer website available in English and Spanish and as an English/Spanish mobile app, which enable consumers to estimate and plan their healthcare expenditures and offer a rich educational platform on health insurance. The website has been honored by the White House Summit on Smart Disclosure, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), URAC, the eHealthcare Leadership Awards, appPicker, Employee Benefit News and Kiplinger's Personal Finance. FAIR Health also is named a top resource for patients in Elisabeth Rosenthal's new book, An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back. For more information on FAIR Health, visit fairhealth.org. About the New York State Health Foundation The New York State Health Foundation (NYSHealth) is a private, statewide foundation dedicated to improving the health of all New Yorkers, especially the most vulnerable. Today, NYSHealth concentrates its work in two strategic priority areas: building healthy communities and empowering healthcare consumers. The Foundation is committed to making grants, informing health policy and practice, spreading effective programs to improve the healthcare system and the health of New Yorkers, serving as a neutral convener of health leaders across the State and providing technical assistance to its grantees and partners. Find NYSHealth online at nyshealth.org and on Twitter at @nys_health. Contact: Dean Sicoli Executive Director of Communications and Public Relations FAIR Health 646-664-1645 dsicoli@fairhealth.org New immune therapies are considered a promising lead for treating recurring acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Antibodies are able to eliminate even those cancer cells that cannot be removed via regular therapies. Scientists from the German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) and the Munich University Hospital and Tubingen University Hospital have shown that, in conjunction with certain inhibitors, this form of therapy could be successful in even more patients. In the German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg joins up as a core center in long-term collaborations with partner university institutes and hospitals all over Germany that are specialized in research and treatment with a focus on oncology. Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) is a malignant blood cancer variety, which derives from the immature precursors of red blood cells, platelets, and some white blood cells. AML is the most common acute leukemia in adults. For about a third of patients the cause of the uncontrolled cell division of the malignant cells is a mutation of the growth receptor FLT3. This is why cancer medicine pursues a variety of strategies in attacking this mutated receptor therapeutically, such as with inhibitors or antibodies in cancer immune therapy. One such antibody was recently developed in the German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) and is now undergoing clinical trials at the Tubingen University Hospital. The FLT3 antibody marks leukemia cells which remain in the body after a seemingly successful chemotherapy. The marked blood cancer cells are then recognized by the body's own immune cells and will be eliminated. "Immune therapy solely with the FLT3 antibody, however, is not always successful", explains Philipp Greif, DKTK junior group leader at Munich University Hospital (LMU)." In some cases the FLT3 receptor has mutated so much, that it has largely disappeared from the surface of the leukemia cell and is therefore no longer accessible to the antibody. In a collaborative study, both the Tubingen and Munich scientists examined the possibility of successfully treating AML via a combination of both substances. They used special inhibitors, so-called kinase inhibitors, in order to bring the mutated FLT3 receptor back to the surface in order to make it susceptible to immune therapy again. This way, more AML cells were able to be eliminated. "The combination of both treatments worked much better in our pre-clinical trials than just one active substance", said Katrin Reiter, first author of the study. Both FLT3 inhibitors and FLT3 antibodies are quite advanced in clinical trials. Recently the FLT3 inhibitor midostaurin was approved for use in combination with standard chemotherapy. Follow-up studies will now be conducted to determine which of the available inhibitors are the most suitable to be combined with the FLT3-based immune therapy. ### Original publication: Reiter et al., Tyrosine kinase inhibition increases the cell surface localization of FLT3-ITD and enhances FLT3-directed immunotherapy of acute myeloid leukemia, Leukemia, DOI: 10.1038/leu.2017.257 . Support: The project was supported by the DFG (SFB 1243 Cancer Evolution) An image for this press release is available at: http://www.dkfz.de/de/presse/pressemitteilungen/2017/bilder/U2OS-ITD-EC28-TKI-blue-red.jpg Caption: FLT3 receptor (red) on the cell surface after treatment with the inhibitor. Note on use of images related to press releases Use is free of charge. The German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) permits one-time use in the context of reporting about the topic covered in the press release. Images have to be cited as follows: "Source: Reiter et al.; 2017 Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature". Distribution of images to third parties is not permitted unless prior consent has been obtained from DKFZ's Press Office (phone: ++49-(0)6221 42 2854, E-mail: presse@dkfz.de). Any commercial use is prohibited. * The German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) is a joint long-term initiative involving the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), participating German states and the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and was established as one of six German Health Research Centres (DZGs). As DKTK's core center the DKFZ works together with research institutions and hospitals in Berlin, Dresden, Essen/Dusseldorf, Frankfurt/Mainz, Freiburg, Munich, Heidelberg and Tubingen to create the best possible conditions for clinically oriented cancer research. The consortium promotes interdisciplinary research at the interface between basic research and clinical research, as well as clinical trials for innovative treatments and diagnostic methods. Another key focus of the consortium's work is on developing research platforms to speed up the application of personalized cancer treatments and to improve the diagnosis and prevention of cancer. More information is available at http://www.dktk.org Press contact: Dr. Sibylle Kohlstadt Press and Public Relations German Cancer Research Center Im Neuenheimer Feld 280 D-69120 Heidelberg T: +49 6221 42 2843 F: +49 6221 42 2968 Email: presse@dkfz.de http://www.dkfz.de Dr. Alexandra Moosmann German Cancer Research Center Press and Public Relations German Cancer Consortium Im Neuenheimer Feld 280 69120 Heidelberg Phone: +49 6221 42 1662 Email: a.moosmann@dkfz-heidelberg.de http://www.dktk.org Graphene Flagship researches from CNR-Istituto Nanoscienze, Italy and the University of Cambridge, UK have shown that it is possible to create a terahertz saturable absorber using graphene produced by liquid phase exfoliation and deposited by transfer coating and ink jet printing. The paper, published in Nature Communications, reports a terahertz saturable absorber with an order of magnitude higher absorption modulation than other devices produced to date. A terahertz saturable absorber decreases its absorption of light in the terahertz range (far infrared) with increasing light intensity and has great potential for the development of terahertz lasers, with applications in spectroscopy and imaging. These high-modulation, mode-locked lasers open up many prospects in applications where short time scale excitation of specific transitions are important, such as time-resolved spectroscopy of gasses and molecules, quantum information or ultra-high speed communication. "We started working on saturable terahertz absorbers to solve the problem of producing a miniaturized mode-locked terahertz laser with thin and flexible integrated components that also had good modulation" said Graphene Flagship researcher Miriam Vitiello from CNR-Istituto Nanoscienze in Italy. Graphene is a promising saturable absorber as it has intrinsic broadband operations and ultrafast recovery time along with an ease of fabrication and integration, as first demonstrated in ultra-fast infra-red lasers by Flagship partner University of Cambridge. In the terahertz range, the present paper exploits graphene produced by liquid phase exfoliation, a method ideally suited to mass production, to prepare inks, easily deposited by transfer coating or ink jet printing "It was important to us to use a type of graphene that could be integrated into the laser system with flexibility and control" said Vitiello "Ink jet printing along with transfer coating achieved that." Using mode-locked lasers to produce ultra fast pulses in the terahertz range can have interesting and exciting uses. "These devices could have applications in medical diagnostics when time of flight topography is of importance - you could see a tumour inside a tissue" said Vitiello. Frank Koppens, of the Institute of Photonic Sciences in Spain, is the leader of the Graphene Flagship's Photonics and Optoelectronics Work Package, which focuses on developing graphene-based technologies for imaging and sensing, data transfer and other photonics applications. "This is a new discovery with immediate impact on applications. Clearly, this is a case where graphene beats existing materials in terms of efficiency, scalability, compactness and speed" he said. Andrea C. Ferrari, Science and Technology Officer of the Graphene Flagship, and Chair of its Management Panel added "It is an important milestone to have demonstrated that easily produced and printable graphene inks can also serve to enable ultrafast lasers in the terahertz range. Since the Flagship's inception, a variety of lasers have been made covering the visible to IR spectral range, but now the important THz range, with applications in security and medical diagnostic, is finally made accessible by graphene, starting yet another possible application field." ### Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center say they have preliminary evidence in laboratory-grown, human airway cells that a condensed form of cigarette smoke triggers so-called "epigenetic" changes in the cells consistent with the earliest steps toward lung cancer development. Epigenetic processes are essentially switches that control a gene's potentially heritable levels of protein production but without involving changes to underlying structure of a gene's DNA. One example of such an epigenetic change is methylation -- when cells add tiny methyl chemical groups to a beginning region of a gene's DNA sequence, often silencing the gene's activation. "Our study suggests that epigenetic changes to cells treated with cigarette smoke sensitize airway cells to genetic mutations known to cause lung cancers," says Stephen Baylin, M.D., the Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Professor for Cancer Research and professor of oncology at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. Details of the scientists' experiments are described in the Sept. 11 issue of Cancer Cell. For two decades, scientists have known some of the genetic culprits that drive lung cancer growth, including mutations in a gene called KRAS, which are present in one-third of patients with smoking-related lung cancers, according to Baylin. Genetic and epigenetic changes also occur when normal cells undergo chronic stress, such as the repeated irritation and inflammation caused by decades of exposure to cigarette smoke and its contents. Baylin and Johns Hopkins scientist Michelle Vaz, Ph.D., first author on the study, suspected that the interplay of epigenetic and genetic changes may occur when normal lung cells develop into cancer, but, Baylin says, the timing of such changes was unknown. To create the effect of tobacco smoke on cells, Vaz, Baylin and their colleagues began their studies with human bronchial cells, which line the airways of the lungs, and grew them in a laboratory. Every day for 15 months, the scientists bathed the cells with a liquid form of cigarette smoke, which they say is comparable to smoking one to two packs of cigarettes daily. The scientists recorded the molecular and genetic changes in the smoke-exposed cells over 10 to 15 months, which the scientists say may be similar to 20 to 30 years of smoking, and compared the changes to bronchial cells that had not been exposed to the liquid smoke. After 10 days of smoke exposure, the scientists found an overall increase in DNA damage responses to so-called reactive oxygen species within the cells. Reactive oxygen species, also called free radicals, are chemicals that typically contain oxygen, are known to be found in cigarette smoke, and cause DNA damage in cells. Between 10 days and three months, the cells exposed to smoke had a two- to four-fold increase in the amount of an enzyme called EZH2, which works to dampen the expression of genes. Baylin and other scientists have shown that EZH2 and its effects can precede abnormal DNA methylation in gene start sites. After EZH2 enzymes rise, their levels taper off, and then, the scientists found two to three-fold increases in a protein called DNMT1, which maintains DNA methylation in the "start" location of a variety of tumor suppressor genes that normally suppress cell growth. When these genes are silenced a barrier is removed that might otherwise stop the cells from growing uncontrollably -- a hallmark of cancer. A host of other genes, which control many other cellular processes do not show such abnormal DNA methylation after smoke exposure. Baylin says certain genes that control cell growth get turned down periodically during certain stages of life, including embryogenesis, when organisms are growing and developing rapidly. These genes can normally be turned on when cells need to stop growth and allow cells to mature. Chronic cigarette smoke exposure, as noted in many human cancers, tends to block these cell maturation genes from properly turning on, says Baylin. At the end of six months, the amount of EZH2 and DNMT1 enzymes had tapered off in the cells exposed to the smoke. However, the impact of the two methylation-regulating enzymes was still seen at 10 to 15 months, when scientists found decreased expression of hundreds of genes -- many of which are key tumor suppressor genes such as BMP3, SFRP2 and GATA4 -- in the smoke-exposed cells and a five- or-more-fold increase in the signaling of the KRAS oncogene that is known to be mutated in smoking-related lung cancers. However, no mutations were found in the KRAS gene itself or the tumor suppressor genes during the 15-month period of cigarette smoke exposure. These abnormally methylated and silenced genes, says Baylin, would have blocked the increase in KRAS signaling if the genes had been properly activated under smoke-free circumstances. The scientists also found that the timing of epigenetic and genetic events may be key to lung cancer development. They tested this by inserting mutations into the KRAS gene in the DNA of cells exposed to the cigarette smoke condensate for six months as well as those exposed for 15 months. The scientists found that the inserted mutation transformed cells into cancer in only the 15-month cells, where methylation was fully established, but not in the six-month-exposed cells. Vaz and Baylin say the results suggest that early epigenetic changes triggered by chronic cigarette smoke exposure can build up over time and make the airway cells increasingly sensitive to responding to mutations that initiate cancer. They say that smokers can best lower their risk of cancer by quitting altogether, and the sooner a smoker quits, the lower their lung cancer risk may be. Their analysis of data in previous studies done by The Cancer Genome Atlas group have shown that the types of abnormal methylation levels they found are lower in smokers who have quit for more than 10 years than those who have not quit. It may be possible to use de-methylating drugs, they say, for people with higher than normal risk for lung cancer, such as people who have had surgery for early forms of the disease. Such drugs are currently used in clinical trials for certain types of cancer and are standard therapy for a type of pre-leukemia condition. The scientists caution that their model, as is the case with any laboratory model, may not be exactly what occurs in people during a lengthy period of smoking, but they say it's a first step in understanding the epigenetic processes that may occur early in the transformation of cells into lung cancer. The scientists also do not know if their model applies to people who smoke e-cigarettes or other forms of tobacco, as their study used condensates typically found in traditional cigarettes. ### In addition to Baylin and Vaz, other scientists involved in the research include Stephen Y. Hwang, Ioannis Kagiampakis, Ashwini Patil, Jillian Phallen, Heather M. O'Hagan, Lauren Murphy, Cynthia A. Zahnow, Edward Gabrielson, Victor E. Velculescu and Hariharan P. Easwaran from Johns Hopkins; and Heather M. O'Hagan from the Indiana University School of Medicine. Michelle Vaz, Stephen Y Hwang, Ioannis Kagiampakis, Ashwini Patil, Jillian Phallen, Heather M O'Hagan, Lauren Murphy, Cynthia A Zahnow, Edward Gabrielson, Victor E Velculescu and Hariharan P Easwaran from Johns Hopkins; and Heather M O'Hagan from the Indiana University School of Medicine. The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health's National Cancer Institute (CA043318, CA121113, CA006973, CA180950) and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (ES011858, ES023183), the Hodson Trust, the Commonwealth Foundation, the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Medical Research Foundation, the SU2C-DCS International Translational Cancer Research Dream Team Grant, and the Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute. Velculescu is a founder of Personal Genome Diagnostics. He is a member of its scientific advisory board and board of directors, and he owns Personal Genome Diagnostics stock, which is subject to certain restrictions under university policy. The team comprises employees of the Institute of Environmental Sciences and the Space Ecology Lab (Institute of Physics). The method is based on ground laser scanning and remote sensing or Earth. Head of the Space Ecology Lab, Professor Oleg Yermolaev talks about the basic idea of the project, "We have tasked ourselves with finding out how intensive the erosion processes are in agricultural soils of European Russia, the total size of which is about 2.5 million square kilometers. As key territories for inspection we chose plots in Tatarstan, Udmurt Republic, Chuvash Republic, and Saratov, Kursk, Voronezh, and Stavropol oblasts. These are the regions of intensive land use which have been long utilized for crops of major agricultural plants, so it's important to know the condition of lands there. Since the collapse of the USSR erosion monitoring has been very unsystematic, so there is no data about general soil quality of agricultural land. A general scheme of counter-erosion measures with soil condition data was created for the whole Soviet Union in the 1970s". In the last few years the KFU team has managed to cover Republic of Tatarstan and one third of Orenburg Oblast. Special attention has been paid to the growth of ravines because they can turn agricultural lands unusable. This is what Professor Yermolaev had to say about ravines, "When melted or rain water concentrates, it forms streams and then ravines; washed away soil flows to rivers and silts them up. A method constructed by our group allows us to determine the contemporary ravine distribution across territories and to find out whether ravines are actually growing. We have recently obtained first promising data that ravine erosion is actually receding in European Russia. Firstly, it is caused by a growing volume of abandoned lands in the post-Soviet period - 7.5 million hectares. There is especially much in Central Black Earth Region and Udmurtia. Abandoned lands get covered by undergrowth which prevents the gully erosion of soil, so ravines eventually stabilize and turn into draws. The second reason is climate. Thawed flow has significantly reduced in the last 25-30 years. We have sifted through meteorological data for the last 30 years and found out that precipitation in winter has not decreased, but winters in European Russia have become milder, so soil freezes less. That's why thawed flow has reduced as well. The larger part of water is now absorbed by soil and doesn't flow into ravines". So how much soil is actually lost after heavy rains or spring floods? Kazanites have created a technology that allows us to determine that as well - through laser scanning of soil; the patent for this method is pending. Data obtained from scanning together with precipitation measurements and slope inclination measurements are entered into a mathematical model. A 3D image of an object, such as agricultural field, ravine, or slope, can then be created. Dr. Yermolaev elaborates on the importance of this research, "Thousands of years are needed to form a productive layer of soil, the so-called humus horizon, which in our case is about 25-30 centimeters; and only 50 years are needed to wash away this layer at current erosion speeds. If an agricultural plot starts losing more than 5 tons of soil per hectare a year, then counter-erosion steps are in order. Different measures can be taken, and they are not always expensive. For example, you can sow another culture, such as grass instead of potato or beet - this can protect the soil wonderfully and give food to cattle. If erosion is severe, and ravines are formed, then it's better to create wood belts, counter-erosion dams, and undertake other measures. Our task is to find out which soils of European Russia are fine and which need immediate preventive action". ### MAYWOOD, IL - Loyola Medicine psychiatrist Angelos Halaris, MD, is co-editor of a major new publication examining how psychiatric disorders progress over time, and how this progression can be stopped. Neuroprogression in Psychiatric Disorders describes the progression of disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression and other mood and stress-related disorders. Psychiatric and neurological disorders are chronic and progressive illnesses, characterized by recurrences, relapses and progressively increasing dysfunction. This process is called neuroprogression. In the book, internationally known experts critically review leading-edge advances in neuroprogression research, including factors such as the immune system that play key roles in neuroprogression. Recent studies have shown that certain medications can potentially arrest neuroprogression, and advances in testing and imaging can lead to earlier diagnoses and treatments. The book is targeted to physicians and scientists involved in neuroprogression, including psychiatrists, neuroscientists, neurologists, immunologists, pharmacologists and molecular biologists. Dr. Halaris is a professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences of Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. Co-editor is Brian Leonard, PhD of the National University of Ireland. ### WOODS HOLE, MASS.-- Using a microscope invented at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), a collaborative team of biologists, instrument developers, and computational scientists has for the first time measured the density of a relatively inscrutable, highly condensed form of chromosomal material that appears in the cells of human beings and other eukaryotes. MBL scientists Michael Shribak (the microscope's inventor) and Tomomi Tani, together with Kazuhiro Maeshima of the National Institute of Genetics, Japan, recently reported their findings in Molecular Biology of the Cell. The scientists measured the density of heterochromatin, a tightly packed form of chromatin that appears as dark, scattered regions in the cell nucleus. Until recently, this chromosomal "dark matter" was thought to contain either noncoding DNA or silenced genes; however, new research suggests that heterochromatin DNA is not, in fact, fully inactive. To investigate this possibility, the physical properties of heterochromatin need to be described in live cells, which has been a significant challenge using traditional microscopy. The team was able to measure the density of heterochromatin in its natural state using a novel type of microscopy, orientation-independent differential interference contrast (OI-DIC), which Shribak first developed in collaboration with MBL Distinguished Scientist Shinya Inoue in the mid-2000s and has continued to improve. This study, Shribak said, is "the first important application of OI-DIC," a technology that "is ideal for studying structure and motion in unstained, living cells and isolated organelles, because they can be followed for long periods of time non-invasively." "This research exemplifies the kind of successful and productive interaction between biologists, microscope developers, and data scientists that is a central feature of MBL science, and is a major area of growth at the MBL," said David Mark Welch, director of the Marine Biological Laboratory Division of Research. Widely used by biologists since the 1970s, conventional DIC microscopy uses beam-shearing interference to generate contrast-based images of live, unmodified cells and tissues. In the early 1980s at MBL, Shinya Inoue and Robert and Nina Allen of Dartmouth College independently invented video-enhanced DIC, which drastically improved the technique and its resolution. However, DIC suffered still from the drawback that the scientist had to rotate the biological sample several times to get a complete image, because cellular structures along the beam-shearing plane are invisible. In 2002, Shribak proposed orientation-independent DIC (U.S. patents 7233434 and 7564618), which solved the problem. The OI-DIC microscope rapidly takes images in different beam-shear directions, then processes a final image. It has the added advantage over conventional DIC of allowing quantitative measurement of the sample. Last summer, Thomas Rhines, a University of Chicago student studying with Shribak as a Jeff Metcalf Undergradate Scholar, developed a method to measure the resolution of optical microscopes, focusing particularly on the OI-DIC. "This microscope provides the best possible resolution and contrast [of DIC microscopes]," Shribak said (about 250 nm at highest resolution). Rhines and Shribak will continue to collaborate to develop the best algorithm for data analysis of resolution. Shribak is also collaborating with MBL Fellow Patrick La Riviere of the University of Chicago to develop a 3D orientation-independent DIC system. ### Citation: Imai, Ryosuke et al. Density imaging of heterochromatin in live cells using orientation-independent-DIC microscopy. Mol. Biol. Cell, published online before print August 23, 2017. DOI: 10.1091/mbc.E17-06-0359 The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is dedicated to scientific discovery - exploring fundamental biology, understanding marine biodiversity and the environment, and informing the human condition through research and education. Founded in Woods Hole, Massachusetts in 1888, the MBL is a private, nonprofit institution and an affiliate of the University of Chicago. BAR HARBOR, MAINE -- The Maine Technology Institute (MTI) has awarded a $25,000 seed grant to Sandra Rieger, Ph.D., of the MDI Biological Laboratory to study peripheral neuropathy, a condition that causes pain, tingling and numbness in the hands and feet and affects an estimated 20 to 40 million Americans. The one-year grant will allow Rieger to collaborate with scientists from the University of New England (UNE) in Biddeford, Maine, to ascertain if compounds she previously identified as preventing or somewhat reversing peripheral neuropathy in zebrafish are also effective in rats. The research in rats, which are mammals like humans, is an important step in moving the compounds into human clinical studies. Currently, no treatments for peripheral neuropathy exist, except for symptoms such as pain. "We are focused on the discovery and development of new regenerative medicine therapies," said Kevin Strange, Ph.D., MDI Biological Laboratory president. "By funding early-stage research with commercial potential such as Sandra Rieger's, MTI is playing a critical role in building Maine's biomedical sector and creating new science and technology jobs." The causes of peripheral neuropathy include cancer chemotherapy, diabetes, antibiotic treatment and other conditions. Rieger studies peripheral neuropathy induced by Taxol (paclitaxel), a common chemotherapy agent. She has identified two compounds that have the potential to prevent or reverse the potentially disabling condition. The compounds Rieger has discovered are the subject of a provisional patent issued to the MDI Biological Laboratory last year. Part of the MTI seed grant will be used to pursue the full patent for the use of these compounds. "We are very grateful to MTI," Rieger said. "We hope to commercialize new therapies to treat chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in humans. The research in rats is a critical next step in that process. With the help of the MTI funding and the University of New England, we can now move ahead with the development of these therapies." Rieger has linked peripheral neuropathy to an increase in MMP-13 (matrix metalloproteinase-13), an enzyme that degrades collagen, which holds the skin together. The degradation of the skin causes degeneration of the sensory nerve endings, which leads to peripheral neuropathy. The compounds Rieger discovered inhibit MMP-13 activity. Rieger also recently received a grant totaling $1.8 million from the National Cancer Institute to fund the continuation of her studies in zebrafish. That grant will also fund a collaborative study with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., to test the clinical relevance of her findings in breast cancer patients treated with Taxol. ### MTI is an industry-led, publicly-funded, nonprofit corporation that offers early-stage capital and commercialization assistance in the form of competitive grants, loans and equity investment for the research, development and application of technologies that create new products, processes and services that generate high-quality jobs in Maine. About the MDI Biological Laboratory Our scientists are pioneering new approaches to regenerative medicine focused on drugs that activate our natural ability to heal, and that slow age-related degenerative changes. Our unique approach has identified new drugs with the potential to treat major diseases, demonstrating that regeneration could be as simple as taking a pill. As innovators and entrepreneurs, we are also dedicated to teaching what we know and to helping prepare students for successful 21st century careers. For more information, please visit mdibl.org. "Tissue Chips" to be engineered to model disease and test drug efficacy prior to clinical trials More than 60 percent of investigational drugs fail in human clinical trials due to a lack of effectiveness, despite promising pre-clinical studies using cell and animal research models. To help combat this translational science problem, the National Institutes of Health announced 13 two-year awards totaling about $15 million per year, with FY18 funds subject to availability, to develop 3-D microphysiological system platforms that model human disease. The funding is for the first phase of a five-year program. These platforms, called "tissue chips," support living cells and human tissues to mimic the complex biological functions of human organs and systems and provide a new way to test potential drug efficacy. These Tissue Chip for Disease Modeling and Efficacy Testing awards may enable scientists to better understand disease mechanisms and predict more accurately how patients will respond to specific drugs. The support is made possible through NIH's National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences' (NCATS) Tissue Chip for Drug Screening program, which leads this effort in collaboration with other NIH Institutes and Centers. "The goal is for these tissue chips to provide more accurate platforms to understand diseases, and to be more predictive of the human response to drugs than current research models, thereby improving the success rate of candidate drugs in human clinical trials," said NCATS Director Christopher P. Austin, M.D. NCATS launched its Tissue Chip program in 2012 to lead the development of highly innovative microphysiological systems to study drug safety and toxicity in a faster, more effective way than current methods. The tissue chips can be integrated to form a human body-on-a-chip, enabling researchers to study investigational drugs and therapeutic agents across the entire body prior to human clinical trials. The new Tissue Chip awardees will study a wide range of common and rare diseases, from rheumatoid arthritis, kidney disease and human influenza A viral infection to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia and arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy. In the second phase of the awards, researchers will partner with pharmaceutical companies to further evaluate the usefulness of validated disease models - those that accurately mimic disease biology - in assessing the effectiveness of candidate drugs. In addition to NCATS, NIH Institutes and Centers funding the new awards include the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health. The 2017 awardees are: Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston Joseph Vincent Bonventre, M.D., Ph.D., and Luke Lee, Ph.D. (University of California, Berkeley) Kidney Microphysiological Analysis Platforms to Optimize Function and Model Disease Grant Number: 1-UG3-TR-002155-01 Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles Clive Niels Svendsen, Ph.D. Development of a Microphysiological Organ-on-Chip System to Model ALS and Parkinson's Disease Grant Number: 1-UG3-NS-105703-01 Columbia University, New York City Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, Ph.D. Multi-Tissue Platform for Modeling Systemic Pathologies Grant Number: 1-UG3-EB-025765-01 Duke University, Durham, N.C. George A. Truskey, Ph.D. Systemic Inflammation in Microphysiological Models of Muscle and Vascular Disease Grant Number: 1-UG3-TR-002142-01 Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Donald E. Ingber, M.D., Ph.D. Lung-on-a-Chip Disease Models for Efficacy Testing Grant Number: 1-UG3-HL-141797-01 Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Kevin Kit Parker, Ph.D., and William Tswenching Pu, M.D. Multi-Scale Modeling of Inherited Pediatric Cardiomyopathies Grant Number: 1-UG3-HL-141798-01 Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill. Teresa K. Woodruff, Ph.D. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and Androgen-Related Disease Modeling and Drug Testing in Multi-Organ Integrated Microfluidic Reproductive Platform Grant Number: 1-UG3-ES-029073-01 University of California, Davis Steven Carl George, M.D., Ph.D., David Terry Curiel, M.D., Ph.D., (Washington University in St. Louis) and Stacey Lynn Rentschler, M.D., Ph.D. (Washington University in St. Louis) A 3-D In Vitro Disease Model of Atrial Conduction Grant Number: 1-UG3-HL-141800-01 University of California, Irvine Christopher C.W. Hughes, Ph.D. Microphysiological Systems to Model Vascular Malformations Grant Number: 1-UG3-HL-141799-01 University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa. Rocky S. Tuan, Ph.D. Tissue Chip Modeling of Synovial Joint Pathologies: Effects of Inflammation and Adipose-Mediated Diabetic Complications Grant Number: 1-UG3-TR-002136-01 University of Rochester, Rochester, N.Y. Danielle S. Benoit, Ph.D., Lisa A. Delouise, Ph.D., and Catherine Ovitt, Ph.D. Engineered Salivary Gland Tissue Chips Grant Number: 1-UG3-DE-027695-01 University of Washington, Seattle Jonathan Himmelfarb, M.D. A Microphysiological System for Kidney Disease Modeling and Drug Efficacy Testing Grant Number: 1-UG3-TR-002158-01 Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn. Aaron B. Bowman, Ph.D., Kevin C. Ess, M.D., Ph.D., and John Peter Wikswo, Ph.D. Drug Development for Tuberous Sclerosis Complex and Other Pediatric Epileptogenic Diseases Using Neurovascular and Cardiac Microphysiological Models Grant Number: 1-UG3-TR-002097-01 ### About the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS): NCATS conducts and supports research on the science and operation of translation -- the process by which interventions to improve health are developed and implemented -- to allow more treatments to get to more patients more quickly. For more information about how NCATS is improving health through smarter science, visit https://ncats.nih.gov. About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov. NASA calculated the rainfall left in the wake of now post-tropical cyclone Irma as it moved through the Caribbean Sea to landfall in Florida and then captured a night-time look at the storm as it moved over Georgia. NASA found that Irma dropped extremely heavy rain at times during its trek. Starting from near the Cape Verde Islands in the eastern Atlantic Ocean all the way across the Atlantic to the western Atlantic's northern Leeward Islands, Cuba and the southeastern United States. Over 16 inches (406 mm) of rain was reported in Guantanamo, Cuba in the easternmost province of Cuba, as the category five hurricane battered the country. Almost 16 inches (406 mm) of rain was also reported at Fort Pierce on the eastern side of Florida. Charleston, South Carolina reported 6 inches (152.4 mm) of rain in 24 hours. This heavy rainfall plus storm surge flooding caused the worst flooding in Charleston since hurricane Hugo hit the state in 1989. NASA's IMERG Rainfall Calculations Data from the Global Precipitation Measurement mission (GPM) is used to develop rainfall total estimations. GPM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA. NASA's Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) data were used to estimate the total amount of rain that Hurricane Irma dropped from September 5 to early September 12, 2017. During that period Irma dropped heavy rain along its path from the Leeward Islands until weakening to a post-tropical cyclone over the southeastern United States. Rainfall totals were often greater than 6 inches (152.5 mm) around Irma. The greatest IMERG rainfall estimates were indicated by more than 20 inches (512 mm) over Cuba. A Night-Time Look at a Weaker Irma On Sept. 12, 2017 at 3:03 a.m. EDT (0703 UTC) the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite provided a night-time infrared image of Irma when its center of circulation was located over Georgia. The VIIRS image showed the large extent of Irma over Florida, Georgia, Alabama and the Carolinas. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) stopped issuing advisories on Irma on September 11, 2017 at 11 p.m. (0300 UTC). Irma's Location on Sept. 12 At 5 a.m. EDT on Sept. 12 the center of Post-Tropical Cyclone Irma was located near 33.0 degrees north latitude and 85.2 degrees west longitude. That's about 65 miles (110 km) southwest of Atlanta, Georgia. NOAA's Weather Prediction Center (WPC) said "Irma has lost its tropical characteristics in the last several hours, and is now classified as a post-tropical cyclone. Irma has been moving northwestward through the southeast U.S. and will continue this motion and approach the Tennessee valley by Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 12. Irma is expected to weaken throughout the day. Minimum central pressure is 998 millibars. An image from NOAA's GOES-East satellite showed Irma's clouds covering the southeastern U.S. and extending into the Mid-Atlantic on Sept. 12 at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 UTC). More Rainfall Expected From Post-Tropical Cyclone Irma Irma continues to generate large rainfall. Flash flood watches are in effect for portions of the southern Appalachians and Flood warnings and advisories are ongoing scattered throughout the southeastern U.S. For local warnings and watches visit: http://www.weather.gov. WPC stated "Remnant bands from Post-Tropical Cyclone Irma are expected to produce additional rain accumulations of 1 to 3 inches with isolated 5 inches through Tuesday across northern South Carolina into southern and western North Carolina. Localized intense rainfall rates will lead to additional isolated areas of flash flooding and rapid rises on creeks, streams, and rivers. Closer to Irma's remnant circulation center, an additional 1 to 2 inches of rainfall is expected across northern Mississippi, Northwest Alabama, eastern Arkansas, western Tennessee, and western Kentucky. Significant river flooding will persist over much of the Florida peninsula in the wake of Irma, while additional river flooding will be possible across Georgia and eastern Alabama. ### For updates on Irma visit: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/#Irma NASA's Aqua satellite measured cloud top temperatures in newly formed Tropical Depression 21W in the South China Sea and found a large area of strong thunderstorms around the center of circulation. Tropical Depression 21W developed just west of the Philippines. The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder or AIRS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite analyzed Tropical Depression 21W (21W) in infrared light. Infrared light provides scientists with temperature data and that's important when trying to understand how strong storms can be. The higher the cloud tops, the colder and the stronger they are. So infrared light as that gathered by the AIRS instrument can identify the strongest sides of a tropical cyclone. When NASA's Aqua satellite flew over 21W on Sept. 12 at 5:29 a.m. EDT (0929 UTC) AIRS detected a large area of strong thunderstorms around the center and in a band of thunderstorms stretching over the eastern Philippines. Cloud top temperatures in those three areas were as cold as minus 63 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 53 degrees Celsius). Storms with cloud top temperatures that cold have the capability to produce heavy rainfall. At 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC), the center of Tropical Depression 21W was located near 14.5 degrees north latitude and 118.2 degrees east longitude. That's about 163 miles west of Manila, Philippines. The depression is moving toward the west near 19 knots (21.8 mph/35.1 kph). Maximum sustained winds are near 30 knots (34.5 mph/55 kph) with higher gusts. 21W is forecast to strengthen and move west across the South China Sea. It is expected to make landfall in northern Vietnam. ### By Rob Gutro NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center The way we teach reading to both boys and girls can benefit from following evidence-based learning methods Many people know that girls, on average, are worse at math than boys. But the gender difference is three times greater when it comes to reading. According to international studies, this is where boys struggle. Why? And what can be done about it? For starters, children who struggle most with learning to read could be identified earlier than is currently done. And now, researchers are finding new ways to do this. "Letter-sound knowledge is what best predicts how well students will be able to read later," says Professor Hermundur Sigmundsson at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology's (NTNU) Department of Psychology. He has based his research on major empirical studies and theory. Young children who are good at recognizing their letters and sounds early often become the best readers later on, too. Differences start at six years old Sigmundsson and his colleagues are working to develop a method to identify children earlier who may eventually have trouble reading. Special educator Greta Storm Ofteland developed a letter test that enables early identification of children's knowledge of letters and their sounds, and thus the children who are likely to struggle with reading. First graders were tested on four literacy factors when they started school: the number of upper and lowercase letters the children knew and the sounds associated with each of them. The children's average age was just over six years old. The study included 485 students, of whom 224 were girls and 261 were boys. "We found a significant difference between girls and boys in all four variables, in favor of the girls," said Sigmundsson. Multifaceted cause Already by age six, girls are best at recognizing letters and the sounds that correspond to them, and the boys lag behind. The study results are now being published in Frontiers in Psychology. The explanation for this is probably multifaceted. Heredity is a factor, and most girls are already talking more than most boys from as early as the age of 10 months onward. Environment also plays a role. Parents tend to talk more with girls from birth. Girls get more practice with letters and sounds than boys do. You don't learn letters and sounds without being exposed to them. You need to be stimulated and gain this experience. You may also end up stuck in a downward spiral, at least when it comes to reading. When you first start lagging behind in reading, you become less interested in it as well. Then your reluctance to read increases. Students are no longer required to read as much at school as they were before. This probably most affects those children who don't choose to read in their free time and can help explain why gender disparities increase. High cost of special education Although girls' mathematical scores have improved in recent years, gender differences in reading have continued to grow. There is an urgent need to address this problem. In mathematics, the main reason for the perceived gender difference is that few girls rank among the very best. The big differences are thus at the top of the scale. Many girls are doing reasonably well and relatively few are actually bad at math. However, in the OECDs Programme for International Student Assessment, commonly called PISA, girls are generally worse than boys at math for most countries with the exception of the USA, for reasons that are not known. The difference with reading is that many boys are struggling, and the big disparities lie at the bottom of the scale. The worst readers are really bad - and this has major consequences. "Twenty-one per cent of 15-year-old boys in Norway have trouble understanding a text that is given to them, according to the PISA survey from 2015," says Sigmundsson. These are among the lowest results in the world. This situation has a cost, first and foremost for the students themselves, but also for society. More than 50,000 primary school students in Norway receive special education. Sixty-eight per cent of them are boys. Special education costs Norwegian society 12,000 FTE employees and several million dollars. Too little too late "One major problem is that a lot of the support efforts come too late. If we could catch children earlier who are struggling and give them the right training and follow-up, we might not have to do so much remedial work with them they get older," says Sigmundsson. This approach could make school years much easier for a lot of students, and perhaps help prevent some from dropping out. It's a reality that the students who struggle the most are also at greatest risk of quitting school. This would reduce the need for as many special educators, and allow them more time for each student who still needs support services. Finding effective methods for all students Sigmundsson doesn't buy the argument that the gender differences in school are primarily due to girls maturing earlier than boys. Although this difference exists, it doesn't adequately explain the discrepancy. We now know that children develop skills mainly through experience and stimuli. Other recent research shows that we get good at exactly what we practice. We need to develop nerve connections in the brain through our actions. Sigmundsson believes it is important to use evidence-based learning methods that are effective for both sexes. He thinks that all students' reading skills should be checked when they start primary school. This assessment is easy and only takes a few minutes per child. "We have to give the boys a boost by finding where each individual student stands. We can do that by emphasizing letters and the sounds that are associated with them. We need to make sure that all children have a good command of letter-sound relationships as early as possible once they start school," he said. Make best method mandatory When children learn to read, it is best to teach them single letters and their sounds first. Don't go straight to words. This is what the research literature indicates. This approach is now so widely accepted that the United Kingdom and France are working to make the methodology mandatory. Norway has not yet followed suit. Teachers in Norwegian schools are free to choose how they want to teach reading - as well as mathematics - to children. ### Source: Letter-sound knowledge: Exploring gender differences in children when they start school regarding knowledge of large letters, small letters, sound large letters and sound small letters. Hermundur Sigmundsson, Adrian Dybfest Eriksen, G. S. Ofteland og Monika Haga. Front. Psychol. | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01539 http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01539/abstract COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ethnic restaurants like to brag about how "authentic" they are. But when it comes to the language on their menus, a new study suggests authenticity may not be a hit with some customers. Researchers found that people who were averse to uncertainty and ambiguity reacted more negatively to a restaurant menu that labeled foods with their authentic-language name (such as Pad Kee Mao) rather than the English-language name (Drunken Noodles). "Many marketing experts suggest ethnic restaurants use native language on their menus to increase authenticity," said Stephanie Liu, co-author of the study and assistant professor of hospitality management at The Ohio State University. "But managers shouldn't assume that their diners always want authenticity in the menus. A lot depends on the customers' personalities and the environmental conditions at the restaurant, such as noise levels." Liu conducted the study with Sungwoo Choi and Anna Mattila of Pennsylvania State University. It is published online in the journal Cornell Hospitality Quarterly. Liu said restaurant menus are too important for owners and managers to make assumptions about what works best. "Every restaurant has a menu and everyone reads the menu. It is a form of marketing," she said. "Menus will affect how much people like your restaurant, so you have to get it right." In this study, Liu and her colleagues examined how people's desire for a definite answer on a given question - what psychologists call "need for cognitive closure" - affected their response to language on a restaurant menu. People who have a high need for cognitive closure like order, structure and predictability, feel discomfort with ambiguity and like to make decisions quickly and decisively. While this need for cognitive closure can be a personality trait, nearly everyone can feel higher needs for this type of closure in certain situations, Liu said. For example, studies have shown that time pressure or a noisy environment can momentarily make nearly everyone feel a higher need for cognitive closure. Moreover, many people develop a higher need for such closure as they age. This study involved 171 American adults who participated in the research online. They first completed a survey that included 15 questions measuring their need for cognitive closure. (For example, "I would quickly become impatient and irritated if I would not find a solution to a problem immediately.") They then took part in what they were told was a separate restaurant study. They were asked to imagine they were going to a Thai restaurant with a friend. They were presented with one of two menus. In one menu, all the dishes had authentic Thai labels (such as Khao Pad Kra Pow or Khao Pad Sapparod). In the other menu, all the labels for the dishes were translated into English (such as Basil Fried Rice or Pineapple Fried Rice). But both menus had descriptions of each dish in English and looked otherwise identical. After reading the menus, participants were asked to rate their attitudes toward the menu and the restaurant. They were also asked to rate how bothered they felt when making a decision on their menu choice. Results showed that people who scored higher on the need for cognitive closure had more negative reactions not only to the authentic language menu, but also to the restaurant itself. "How you react to the menu influences in part how you react to the restaurant," Liu said. The study found that these diners' negative attitudes toward the authentic language menu were driven by an intensified feeling of being bothered when they dealt with difficult food names. "Restaurants depend on their diners having a good experience. You don't ever want them to feel bothered or aggravated," she said. The issue of menu language is particularly important for ethnic restaurants that have a loud dining area or who cater to a business lunch crowd that is in a hurry. "The need for cognitive closure is not just a personality trait," Liu said. "We can all feel a greater need for a quick, easy decision when we are in a loud environment or are in a rush. Restaurants need to keep that in mind." Liu noted that studies suggest the need for cognitive closure increases with age - so restaurants catering to an older crowd should consider whether authentic language labels are really a good idea. ### The study was funded by the Marriott Foundation. Contact: Stephanie Liu, 614-292-7184; Liu.6225@osu.edu Written by Jeff Grabmeier, 614-292-8457; Grabmeier.1@osu.edu Modern mothers, whether they be human or mouse, might be forgiven for envying marsupial mamas. Rather than enduring a long pregnancy and the birth of a relatively well-developed -- and comparatively large -- baby, kangaroos, wallabies and their ilk blithely pop out offspring after pregnancies measured in days rather than months. These tiny, almost formless creatures then make their own intrepid way up to the mother's pouch to nestle politely and nurse for sometimes as long as a year. For decades, researchers assumed that this premature eviction from the womb left little or no role for the placenta, which in most mammals tightly links the physiological processes of the mother and the fetus to support the fetus's many stages of development. These mammals are called eutherian mammals to distinguish them from the evolutionarily distant marsupials. In the past decade or so, however, it has become apparent that marsupials do sport their own, rudimentary version of this important organ. Now researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the University of Melbourne in Australia have collaborated to learn that marsupials have evolved a clever trick to support their need for a shortened pregnancy and a long lactation period. In short, female marsupials express genes important for fetal development that are normally found in the later stages of the eutherian placenta in their mammary glands instead -- a kind of handoff of the developmental baton from womb to teat that suits their unique, savanna-hopping lifestyle. "This research basically shows that the placenta, while really different-looking in the marsupial, has many of the functions of the eutherian," said Julie Baker, PhD, professor of genetics at Stanford. "Each animal has come up with their own unique strategies for delivering the functions of the placenta that takes into account where they live, how many offspring they have and what they eat, for example. But the actual function is very well-conserved." Baker shares senior authorship of the study, which will be published online Sept. 12 in eLife, with Marilyn Renfree, PhD, a professor of zoology at the University of Melbourne. The lead author is Stanford graduate student Michael Guernsey. A little wallaby Guernsey and Baker studied the placenta of the tammar wallaby, which is native to Australia. To the marsupially naive, it resembles a tiny kangaroo. Males weigh no more than 20 pounds and stand about 18 inches high. It forages hoppily by night. The tammar wallaby has a pregnancy that lasts a mere 26.5 days, after which the young climb into the pouch and nurse for the next 300 to 350 days as they complete their development. The wallaby's placenta is deceptively simple. "There are only two main tissue types," said Guernsey, "one responsible for nutrient distribution and one for respiration. We wanted to see which, if any, gene products found in the eutherian placenta are also in the marsupial placenta, and where they are expressed. Conversely, which eutherian markers might be missing?" In contrast, the eutherian placenta is highly complex and comprises both maternal and fetal tissue. Guernsey studied the RNA transcripts in the wallaby placenta and compared them with those found in eutherian mammals during various stages of fetal development. He found that the gene expression patterns in the marsupial placenta undergo dynamic, rapid changes during the last few days of the animals' short pregnancy, during which the placenta churns out proteins known to be important in the early stages of eutherian development. "All of the wallabies' gene expression time points were most similar to those found in the early eutherian placenta," said Guernsey. "But where have the late functions of the eutherian placenta gone?" Changes in the milk A key might lie in the complex makeup of the animals' milk, the composition of which changes to meet the demands of the growing, pouch-bound youngster. It's so potent that placing an infant into the pouch of a mother who has been nursing a more developmentally enhanced baby causes the newcomer to beef up dramatically, increasing its head size and body weight and growing thicker fur than its age-matched peers. To investigate the relationship between the marsupial placenta and the milk produced during lactation, the researchers homed in on 77 genes whose expression was shared among the tammar placenta, the eutherian placenta and the tammar mammary gland, but not the mouse mammary gland. Many of the genes they identified were associated with nutrient transport. Another, known as GCM1, is a transcription factor essential to the function of eutherian placentas. "This is the first documented expression of GCM1 outside the placenta in mammals," said Baker. "What we're learning is that the marsupial placenta functions much as it does in eutherians in the very early stages of development, but the expression of later-stage eutherian placental genes instead occurs in the mammary gland. So clearly although the placentas of humans, cows or mice are extraordinarily different from those of marsupials, the animals are fulfilling the same necessary functions in different ways." "Essentially, we're trying to understand how the placenta evolved in the first place," said Guernsey. "It's a difficult question to answer. We're finding that we can begin to identify rudimentary placentas in other species as well, like lizards and fish. It will be really interesting to see whether, in this completely different evolutionary landscape, these functions are still conserved in ways that make sense for that animal." ### Guillaume Cornelis, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford, is also a co-author of the study. The research was supported by a National Science Foundation, the Berry Foundation and the Australian Research Council. Stanford's Department of Genetics also supported the work. The Stanford University School of Medicine consistently ranks among the nation's top medical schools, integrating research, medical education, patient care and community service. For more news about the school, please visit http://med.stanford.edu/school.html. The medical school is part of Stanford Medicine, which includes Stanford Health Care and Stanford Children's Health. For information about all three, please visit http://med.stanford.edu. A spruce forest regeneration experiment in Interior Alaska that spanned nearly 30 years demonstrates which forest management practices produce the best results. The experiment, launched by three Fairbanks scientists, looked at different combinations of ground treatments to reduce competition from other vegetation and of regeneration methods, such as planting spruce seedlings and broadcast seeding. The results, published Aug. 19 in the journal Forest Ecology and Management, showed that planting white spruce seedlings is the best way to produce a spruce-dominated stand after 28 years. Broadcast seeding was the next most effective method. The two options were the most expensive among those tested. University of Alaska Fairbanks forest ecologist Glenn Juday, who helped establish the experiment in the mid-1980s and is a co-author on the paper, said the recent research shows the environmental and management situations in which different techniques work best and the situations in which they are unnecessary or even counterproductive. Juday was a young professor in 1983 when fire swept through the Tanana Valley State Forest southwest of Fairbanks, burning 8,600 acres. The Rosie Creek Fire, whipped by wind, burned into a section of the forest known as the Bonanza Creek Experimental Forest. Juday and two other scientists, John Zasada and Roseann Densmore, realized that the fire provided a perfect setting for a forest regeneration experiment. They wanted a controlled set of experiments to test which methods worked best to establish white spruce. White spruce is the Interior's most valuable commercial species but also the most difficult to re-establish, said Juday. Other species, such as birch, establish or resprout readily, grow faster and compete with spruce. "Regenerating white spruce is our biggest challenge," he said. The researchers established a 66-acre treatment area in 1985. The plots received four different types of ground treatments to reduce competing vegetation and five different white spruce regeneration treatments, including planting seedlings and broadcast seeding. Some control plots were left to regenerate naturally. Results from the research were published in a 1999 article that concluded adequate numbers of spruce were established in most treatments. But in 2010, Juday took an aerial photograph that showed much more definitively how the treatments had worked. "After another decade, it was a lot more obvious who the winners and losers were," he said. It was time to revisit the experimental area, now known as the Rosie Creek Fire Tree Regeneration Installation. With the help of an assistant, Juday located nearly all of original metal corner posts of 180 plots, which ranged from 40 by 40 meters to 40 by 60 meters. In 2013 and 2014, while earning a master's degree in natural resources management, Andrew Allaby worked with Juday to design a project that would re-examine the type of trees and the total growth in the plots. Allaby sampled the trees on 135 of the plots, measuring about 10 percent of the trees in each, and he measured all trees in six plots to check the sampling system. Allaby analyzed the total biomass, stand density and basal area, which is a cross-section of the surface area of a stump if the tree was cut at chest height. Brian Young, who worked for the Division of Forestry and had just completed his doctorate at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, helped with the analysis of the data and on the paper. Their research shows that white spruce basal area in the planted seedling plots was six times greater than in the naturally regenerated plots, and the number of white spruce stems in broadcast-seeded plots was three times greater. Juday said that when the regeneration experiment began, the production of new stands of large white spruce was the goal almost exclusively. Now some forest landowners want wood of any type for biomass energy and the regeneration installation provided useful information about other trees. The ground treatments did not have a significant effect on the spruce regeneration but it did encourage an increase in the size and density of birch trees. The researchers also found differences between which regeneration practices worked best on the upland slopes and the ridgeline. The distance from unburned seed sources also made a difference. Juday is excited about the research, which was supported by a state capital appropriation. Overall, the study is one more important piece of information that shows the state's reforestation practices are working, he said. The Alaska Constitution calls for sustained yield on forestlands. Now this study and a recent long-term study by another graduate student, Miho Morimoto, have directly examined the regeneration of harvested forestlands. "We've got much more evidence now that the regeneration practices have worked," Juday said. As part of timber sales, the Division of Forestry evaluates each site and prescribes different regeneration techniques, based the topography of an area, the distance from seed sources and other considerations. Some of the more successful regeneration treatments examined in the study, including ground treatments, broadcast seeding and planting seedings, are among the treatments required by the state, said Juday. A science and technical committee established by the Division of Forestry used the new information and research from the Bonanza Creek Long-Term Ecological Research site to revise state reforestation standards. ### Allaby, the lead author on the paper, received his master's degree in 2016 and works for the Division of Forestry. Young, who earned his doctorate in natural resources management in 2013, is an assistant professor at Landmark College in Vermont. Juday retired from the university in 2014 but continues with his research. Conservation initiatives led by local and indigenous groups can be just as effective as schemes led by government, according to new research. In some cases in the Amazon rainforest, grassroots initiatives can be even more effective at protecting this vital ecosystem. This is particularly important due to widespread political resistance to hand over control over forests and other natural resources to local communities. Researchers from the University of Cambridge, the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the Peruvian Ministry of Environment assessed the effectiveness of different approaches to conservation in the Peruvian Amazon between 2006 and 2011. They found that while all were effective at protecting the rainforest compared with non-protected areas of land, the areas protected by local and indigenous communities were on average more effective than those protected by the government. However, the effectiveness of the conservation strategies also depended on what non-protected areas they were compared to, and the land use restrictions in place in the non-protected land. Future assessments of the impacts of different conservation strategies should therefore pay closer attention to land use restrictions in place in non-protected lands. The results are reported in the journal Scientific Reports. Although the Amazon rainforest and its unique biodiversity are rapidly disappearing, little is still known about which protection mechanisms make a difference and how different conservation strategies compare. The study looked at areas protected by the national government, indigenous communities or civil society and the private sector are, compared to non-protected areas and land destined for timber and mineral extraction. The researchers assessed each approach for how well it was able to curtail deforestation, defined as total forest cover loss, and forest degradation, defined as other human-induced disturbances, such as selective logging, logging tracks and fire. The researchers combined remote sensing data with environmental and socio-economic datasets to assess each approach, and controlled for other factors that are expected to affect deforestation and forest degradation. "Our results that these diverse types of protected areas were effective at reducing deforestation and forest degradation compared to non-protected areas are very encouraging," said lead author Dr Judith Schleicher, from Cambridge's Department of Geography. The larger reduction in deforestation and forest degradation in areas led by indigenous communities and grassroots groups suggests that local ownership and support for protecting the Peruvian Amazon can be a particularly effective approach. "Policy makers must focus on a more diverse set of mechanisms for protecting the rapidly disappearing tropical forests," said Schleicher. "Our analysis shows that local stewardship of the forest can be very effective at curtailing forest degradation and conversion in the Peruvian Amazon. Local conservation initiatives deserve more political, financial and legal support than they currently receive." "Our analysis shows that there is no single way of protecting tropical forests, and multiple approaches are required to stem the relentless tide of forest conversion and degradation," said co-author Professor Carlos Peres from UEA's School of Environmental Sciences. ### The research was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council, the Cambridge Political Economy Society, Cambridge Philosophical Society, St John's College, and the Department of Geography. 30,000 year old kauri tree reveals atmospheric mechanism that led to Dansgaard-Oeschger event during last glacial period Sydney: A kauri tree preserved in a New Zealand peat swamp for 30,000 years has revealed a new mechanism that may explain how temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere spiked several degrees centigrade in just a few decades during the last global ice age. Unexpectedly, according to new research led by scientists from UNSW Sydney and published today in Nature Communications, it looks like the origin of this warming may lie half-a-world away, in Antarctica. Rapid warming spikes of this kind during glacial periods, called Dansgaard-Oeschger events, are well known to climate researchers. They are linked to a phenomenon known as the "bipolar seesaw", where increasing temperatures in the Arctic happen at the same time as cooling over the Antarctic, and vice versa. Until now, these divergences in temperature at the opposite ends of the Earth were believed to have been driven by changes in the North Atlantic, causing deep ocean currents, often referred to as the ocean "conveyor belt", to shut down. This led to warming in the Northern Hemisphere and cooling in the south. But the study, which examines a specific Dansgaard-Oeschger event that occurred around 30,000 years ago, suggests Antarctica plays a role too. The paper describes how the researchers used a detailed sequence of radiocarbon dates from an ancient New Zealand kauri tree to precisely align ice, marine and sediment records across a period of greatly changing climate. "Intriguingly, we found that the spike in temperature preserved in the Greenland ice core corresponded with a 400-year-long surface cooling period in the Southern Ocean and a major retreat of Antarctic ice," said lead author and UNSW scientist Professor Chris Turney. "As we looked more closely for the cause of this opposite response we found that there were no changes to the global ocean circulation during the Antarctic cooling event that could explain the warming in the North Atlantic. There had to be another cause." A clue to what might be going on if the oceans weren't involved appeared in lake sediments from the Atherton Tableland, Queensland. The sediments showed a simultaneous collapse of rain-bearing trade winds over tropical northeast Australia. It was a curious change, so the researchers turned to climate models to see if these climate events might somehow be linked. They started by modelling the release of large volumes of freshwater into the Southern Ocean, exactly as would happen with rapid ice retreat around the Antarctic. Consistent with the data, they found that there was cooling in the Southern Ocean but no change in the global ocean circulation. They also found that the freshwater pulse caused rapid warming in the tropical Pacific. This in turn led to changes to the atmospheric circulation that went on to trigger sharply higher temperatures over the North Atlantic and the collapse of rain-bearing winds over tropical Australia. Essentially, the model showed the formation of a 20,000 km long "atmospheric bridge" that linked melting ice in Antarctica to rapid atmospheric warming in the North Atlantic. "Our study shows just how important Antarctica's ice is to the climate of the rest of the world and reveals how rapid melting of the ice here can affect us all. This is something we need to be acutely aware of in a warming world," Professor Turney said. It also showed how deeply the climate was linked across great distances said fellow author and climate modeller from the University of Tasmania, Dr Steven Phipps. "Our research has revealed yet another remarkable example of the interconnections that are so much a part of our climate system," Dr Phipps said. "By combining past records of past events with climate modelling, we see how a change in one region can have major climatic impacts at the opposite ends of the Earth." ### This research was funded by the Australian Research Council and the United Kingdom's Natural Environmental Research Council. MILAN, ITALY, Sept. 12, 2017 - An antibody treatment reduces the rate of flare-ups by nearly 20 percent in patients with a subgroup of treatment-resistant chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to the results of two large international trials presented today at the European Respiratory Society International Congress in Milan, Italy, and simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine. "The goal of precision medicine is to give the right treatment to the right patient," said lead author Frank Sciurba, M.D., director of the Center for COPD and Emphysema and UPMC Pulmonary Function Exercise Physiology Laboratory, and visiting professor in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. "These findings are the first example of a precision therapy that is uniquely effective in a subgroup of patients with treatment-resistant COPD." COPD, a progressive lung disease characterized by airway obstruction and chronic lung inflammation, affects 30 million Americans. "There is significant variation between patients in the cells and other proteins responsible for lung inflammation, so there are actually many different subtypes of COPD," said Sciurba. One subgroup called eosinophilic predominant COPD is present in as many as 40 percent of patients and is characterized by elevated levels of a type of white blood cell known as eosinophils, he said. The new study reports the results from two Phase III clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of mepolizumab, an antibody treatment that reduces the number of eosinophils in the blood, in moderate to severe treatment-resistant eosinophilic COPD by blocking the pro-inflammatory effects of interleukin-5. Patients included in the trials were still having flare-ups despite a year of a standard treatment known as "triple inhaled therapy" that includes bronchodilators and glucocorticoids. "These patients already have been given every treatment we have to offer them and are still having flare-ups that significantly interfere with their quality of life and can lead to deterioration in lung function and higher mortality," said Sciurba. "We hoped to be able to offer them an option." Mepolizumab is already approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reduce symptom flare-ups and improve quality of life in eosinophilic asthma. The first trial, termed METREX, was conducted at 117 sites in 15 countries from 2014 to 2017. A total of 837 COPD patients were stratified by blood eosinophil counts and randomized to receive either 100 milligrams of mepolizumab or placebo, delivered under the skin every four weeks for one year. The patients with high eosinophil counts who received mepolizumab had a statistically significant 18 percent lower rate of moderate/severe exacerbations (1.4 per year compared to 1.7 per year) than those in the placebo group. The exacerbation rate in the low eosinophil group treated with the biologic did not differ from placebo. The time to the first exacerbation also was higher with mepolizumab than placebo, but only in the high eosinophil group. In a second, simultaneous trial, termed METREO, the team assessed the effect of a higher dose of mepolizumab in 675 patients with elevated eosinophil levels. Patients were randomized to receive 100 or 300 milligrams of mepolizumab or placebo, with the same delivery method and schedule as METREX. Similar to METREX, the exacerbation rate was reduced by 20 percent in the high eosinophil group after 100 milligrams of mepolizumab. The METREO results narrowly missed statistical significance. The 300-milligram dose did not provide an advantage over the lower dose. An analysis of data from both trials found that as baseline blood eosinophil counts increased, so did mepolizumab's reduction in the annual exacerbation rate. This finding indicates that patients with higher initial eosinophil counts benefited more from mepolizumab than those with lower eosinophil counts, Sciurba said. The safety profile of mepolizumab did not differ from placebo in either trial. "In addition to providing a new treatment option for patients with treatment-resistant, moderate to severe COPD, the new results also are important because they identify a potential biomarker for the disease and demonstrate that eosinophilic inflammation plays a role in flare-ups in COPD," Sciurba said. Pitt's Division of Pulmonology, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine has a legacy of pioneering treatments for lung disease. UPMC also is home to a leading lung transplant program. "The findings in these trials exemplify what we hope to achieve not only in COPD but across all lung diseases with regards to a precision approach to treatment," said division chief, Rama Mallampalli, M.D. ### Funding for both trials was provided by GlaxoSmithKline, which plans to seek approval from the FDA for the use of mepolizumab in eosinophilic COPD. Additional authors on the study are Ian Pavord, F.Med.Sci. D.M., University of Oxford, UK; Pascal Chanez, M.D., Ph.D., CIC Nord Aix-Marseille University, France; Gerard Criner, M.D., Temple University; Huib Kerstjens, M.D., Ph.D., University of Groningen, the Netherlands; Stephanie Korn, M.D., Ph.D., Mainz University Hospital, Germany; Njira Lugogo, M.D., Duke University; Jean-Benoit Martinot, M.D., CHU UCL Namur, Belgium; Hironori Sagara, M.D., Ph.D., Showa University, Japan; and Frank Albers, M.D., Ph.D., Eric Bradford, M.D., Stephanie Schweiker Harris, B.Sc., Bhabita Mayer, M.Sc., David Rubin, M.D., and Steven Yancey, M.Sc., all of GlaxoSmithKline. Patients wishing to learn more about the research being performed at the Center for COPD and Emphysema can call 866-948-2673 or email ecrc@upmc.edu. About the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine As one of the nation's leading academic centers for biomedical research, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine integrates advanced technology with basic science across a broad range of disciplines in a continuous quest to harness the power of new knowledge and improve the human condition. Driven mainly by the School of Medicine and its affiliates, Pitt has ranked among the top 10 recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health since 1998. In rankings recently released by the National Science Foundation, Pitt ranked fifth among all American universities in total federal science and engineering research and development support. Likewise, the School of Medicine is equally committed to advancing the quality and strength of its medical and graduate education programs, for which it is recognized as an innovative leader, and to training highly skilled, compassionate clinicians and creative scientists well-equipped to engage in world-class research. The School of Medicine is the academic partner of UPMC, which has collaborated with the University to raise the standard of medical excellence in Pittsburgh and to position health care as a driving force behind the region's economy. For more information about the School of Medicine, see http://www.medschool.pitt.edu. http://www.upmc.com/media For the migrant population of Sub-Saharan origin, religiousness is a key aspect in their process of integration; "a fairly significant relation is seen to exist between these two factors," pointed out Rafael Cazarin, a sociologist at the UPV/EHU's Department of Sociology II - INNOLAB research centre. "When they go to the churches to participate in the services, they have the chance to establish affective bonds with the community and build relationships of trust while sharing certain values and migratory experiences". In order to analyse the interrelation between religion, churches and pastors in the integration of migrants, Cazarin conducted an ethnographic study on the Evangelical-Pentecostal churches of Sub-Saharan origin, particularly looking at Nigerian and Congolese pastors. Evangelical Pentecostalism is the most important Christian movement in modern Sub-Saharan Africa; it has shown one of the highest growth patterns in the last 20 years amongst the four great world religions (Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism and Islam), but specially in Africa and the American continent. "Although local people may not consider the existence of these churches, in Bilbao for example, my research covered 6-7 Pentecostal churches. In Greater Bilbao there may be, surely, the double of this number or even more; yet it is true that they are very precarious and are found in marginalised locations. If you wander through the San Francisco neighbourhood, you can find a series of posters inviting people to attend the sessions held at weekends in the different churches," he explained. Beyond the services of worship, these churches are places that host a great diversity of events of interest for the immigrant population. "For instance a couple of times I have assisted an event that involved the embassy of Nigeria or heard about specific diplomatic procedures that Nigerians had to go through; or even managing cultural conflicts. This is so because of the strategic role of pastors as community leaders and influential people in the everyday life of migrants," said the researcher. As Cazarin specified, pastors act "as cultural brokers and people who inform the community by providing a range of knowledge of general interest for the people who, in many cases, are undocumented, such as places where they can register, the welfare benefits they can apply for, or how best to get around in certain provinces. They also speak several languages, something that is very important in the process of mediation, as they are people who have been here much longer. So they are very important figures for the community". The churches, places for integration and socialization One of the most noteworthy conclusions emerged from the research is that the churches are more than meeting points for a religious group; "it is place of reference for people with different cultures and nationalities who in other contexts would not mix," he said. This cultural blend leads, at the same time, to the rearrangement of values, morals and the way they interpret their conditions. In other words, migrant worshippers "tend to set aside traditional particularities from their cultures of origin while reinterpreting them as part of one big Christian culture; they negotiate their own social cohesion in the place of evangelical worship". This turns the churches into places for the socialisation and management of diversity beyond that of religion: "The pastors say that many people go to church to develop social relationships, to reinforce their affective bonds and to seek companionship, which are harder to come by in their daily lives owing to the isolation caused by the migratory process. When they meet, they talk about other things, and after the services there are sometimes other types of events, etc." Having this information in mind, Cazarin believes that "the state could acknowledge these churches and, more specifically, the pastors, to implement integration policies. Firstly, the view they have of that of place for religion only and that churches are very far removed from the notion of social, economic or cultural integration. Secondly, the function of the pastors in the immigrant community is not recognised. In other places with a more-deeply rooted history of migration flows, such as Germany or even Catalonia, these leaders are seen as allies and migrant communities are accessed more easily through state agents. While no greater outreach of the public integration services is forthcoming, these people will to continue to seek the pastor because he/she is the closest person to them, a social reference". Despite having focussed his research on Evangelical-Pentecostal churches, Cazarin pointed out that "the results can be extended to other religions or denominations in migratory contexts in terms of socialization, the management of cultural diversity and, above all, the role of the religious leaders in the group of worshippers." ### Additional information Rafael Cazarin (Brasilia, Brazil, 1986) was awarded with a PhD (cum laude) by the EHU-UPV with a thesis entitled: Religion, emotion and social transformation along migratory processes. The cases of African church leaders in Spain and South Africa. To perform this task, he conducted fieldwork in Bilbao and in Johannesburg (South Africa), and collaborated with various organisations, such as the ISOR (Investigacions en Sociologia de la Religio, identitat i memoria) of the Autonomous University of Barcelona; the African Centre for Migration and the Society of the University of Witwatersrand, and Oxford University's International Migration Institute. Bibliographical reference R. Cazarin, E. Cossa. "Spiritual brokers: African Pastors and the mediation of migratory processes". Critical African Studies. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21681392.2017.1339246 R. Cazarin. "Emotions and Spiritual Knowledge: Navigating (In)Stabilities in Migrant Initiated Churches". Annual Review of the Sociology of Religion, volume 8, part 2 (8). http://www.brill.com/products/book/annual-review-sociology-religion-2 An international team of researchers has found a way to diagnose disease and predict patient outcomes simply by measuring unbelievably small changes in interactions between molecules inside the body. The simple new technique could offer vastly superior predictions of disease severity in a huge range of conditions with a genetic component, such as Alzheimer's, autism, cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, schizophrenia and depression. Measuring Gene Mutations Gene mutations that cause disease physically alter the interactions of molecules that cells use to communicate with each other. Until now, scientists have had no easy way to measure the incredibly subtle changes in these interaction forces. But researcher J. Julius Zhu, PhD, of the University of Virginia School of Medicine, and his collaborators have developed a method to accurately and efficiently calculate these tiny changes. It's a feat that requires incredible precision: Force is typically measured in newtons - the amount of force needed to accelerate one kilogram of mass one meter per second squared - but Zhu's technique measures on a scale of piconewtons - one trillionth of a newton. Zhu, of UVA's Department of Pharmacology, and his colleagues have used the new technique to show that gene mutations responsible for mental-health diseases change molecular interactions by a few piconewtons. These small changes then have a tremendous ripple effect. The researchers found the molecular changes lead to harmful changes in how the cells communicate - and, ultimately, in cognitive ability. By measuring the molecular changes, the scientists could predict the resulting cognitive impairment. In essence, the researchers are directly linking these tiny molecular changes to big changes in human behavior. Diagnosing Disease Zhu's approach represents a new use for a high-tech scientific instrument called "optical tweezers" that uses a highly focused laser to hold and move microscopic objects, much like regular tweezers might be used to grip and move a splinter. Using the optical tweezers, the scientists can measure the force required to break up intermolecular bonds between the signaling molecules inside the body, allowing them gauge the effects of gene mutations in patients. The researchers say the technique is simple to do and will dramatically improve our ability to diagnose mental illness and many other diseases. ### Findings Published The researchers have described their work in an article published online by the scientific journal Small. The team consisted of Chae-Seok Lim, Cheng Wen, Yanghui Sheng, Guangfu Wang, Zhuan Zhou, Shiqiang Wang, Huaye Zhang, Anpei Ye and Zhu. The researchers are from UVA, Peking University in China, Rutgers' Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Zhejiang University School of Medicine in China and Radboud University in the Netherlands. The work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Chinese Ministry of Education Project 111 Program, the National Key R&D Program of China and the National Institutes of Health. (NIH grants NS065183, NS089578, NS053570, NS091452, NS094980 and NS092548.) To keep up with the latest medical research news from UVA, subscribe to the Making of Medicine blog at makingofmedicine.virginia.edu. Researchers have discovered a new class of enzymes in hundreds of bacterial species, including some that cause disease in humans and animals. The discovery provides new insights into how bacteria invade their hosts. The research appears this week in Nature Communications. Andrew Doxey, a professor of biology at the University of Waterloo, led the team that found it in a new type of flagella, a whip-like appendage found on the outside of a bacterial cell that propels it. This new type of flagella is capable of digesting proteins in the bacteria's environment. This discovery updates the long-held view that bacteria use their flagella mostly for movement, and demonstrates that flagella can also function as enzymes, like what happens with the spread of infection. Doxey made the discovery through the use of bioinformatics, a growing scientific field that combines biology and computer science to study large biological datasets, such as genomes. "It is an exciting time for bioinformatics right now. We have thousands of genomes available to us and most of them are unexplored. It's amazing that we can discover new biology by using a computer alone," said Doxey, who is also cross-appointed to the Cheriton School of Computer Science at Waterloo. "What we found in this case is that many bacteria have repurposed their flagella to function as protein-degrading enzymes. There are thousands of these enzymes, making this potentially one of the largest enzyme structures known." Bacterial flagella are filaments composed of around 20,000 proteins that link up together and form structures about 10 micrometers long - roughly one-tenth the width of a human hair. While they can differ structurally, most flagella help with propulsion, and in some cases, they can attach bacteria to host cells. The discovery of flagella as enzymes means that some of them can also break down tough bonds in cells and tissues. "We think that these enzymatic flagella may help some bacteria degrade and move through viscous environments. Interestingly, scientists have tried engineering flagella with this functionality before, but until now, we didn't know that nature already did this," said Doxey, a member of the Centre for Bioengineering and Biotechnology at Waterloo. To test whether these new enzymatic flagella are active, scientists examined Clostridium haemolyticum, a pathogen that's highly fatal in cows and sheep, and isolated the flagella. This pathogen has numerous flagella on one cell. They found that the flagella are capable of breaking down proteins found in cow liver -- precisely where the organism infects. The researchers also found the enzymes in bacteria that inhabit the human gut. Further research is needed to determine whether they play a beneficial or harmful role in humans. The enzyme may improve understanding of how this organism and related pathogens cause disease. There may be ways of using these enzymes in biotechnology to degrade things we want to break down, including biofilms, sticky colonies of harmful bacteria. They are associated with more than 80 per cent of infections. ### The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research funded the work. It was a collaborative effort with the Christopher M. Overall lab of the University of British Columbia, John Austin of Health Canada, and the labs of Todd Holyoak and Trevor Charles, also biology professors at Waterloo. A discovery by Melbourne researchers has solved a longstanding mystery of how viruses trigger protective immunity within our body. The research team demonstrated a protein called SIDT2 was crucial for cells to detect viral components in their environment, and initiate an immune response to reduce the virus' spread. As well as being an important part of the intricate 'arms race' between viruses and our immune system, the finding could inform better approaches to delivering a promising new class of therapeutics. The study was led by Dr Tan Nguyen, Dr Ken Pang, Associate Professor Seth Masters and Professor Ian Wicks at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, together with Dr Michelle Tate at the Hudson Institute of Medical Research, and Professor Craig Hunter at Harvard School, US. The research was published today in the journal Immunity. During a viral infection, RNA - a genetic material similar to DNA - is released into the environment around the infected cells. Dr Nguyen said the team showed that SIDT2 allowed viral RNA to be shuttled between compartments within cells, allowing it to reach the proteins that trigger anti-viral immunity. "This RNA is in a 'double-stranded' form, called 'dsRNA', that is not normally found in our body. Human cells have evolved ways to detect dsRNA as a warning sign of an active viral infection and, in this way, dsRNA acts as an important trigger for cells to mount an anti-viral immune response. "Cells constantly survey their environment by 'swallowing' small samples of their environment into compartments called endosomes. The enigma was that no one knew how the dsRNA escaped the endosome to reach the cytoplasm, where it can be detected by the cell." Dr Nguyen said. The team showed that SIDT2 was the crucial missing link needed to transport dsRNA out of endosomes, and enable an immune response to be launched. Viruses have many strategies to prevent an infected cell from alerting the immune system to their presence, Dr Pang said. "Intriguingly, we showed that SIDT2 is critical for uninfected 'bystander' cells to detect viral RNA in their environment," Dr Pang said. "This means bystanders can trigger protective immunity before they even encounter the virus itself. "Viruses have evolved many ways to switch off the immune response, allowing them to spread, while humans have evolved counter measures to allow a rapid and protective immune response that contains the viral infection. SIDT2 is helping humans in the 'arms race' between viruses and their human hosts." The research may also have future implications for a new class of therapeutics based on dsRNA. "For more than a decade there have been attempts to use modified dsRNA to switch off genes that cause disease - an approach called RNA interference," Dr Pang said. "While there have been many clinical trials utilising RNA interference, delivering RNA into cells has been a huge challenge and the lack of effective delivery has meant that these trials have all ultimately failed. "Now that we know SIDT2 is important in trafficking double-stranded RNA into cells, future RNA-based therapeutics can hopefully be designed to maximise their transport by SIDT2," Dr Pang said. ### Dr Nguyen undertook the research as a PhD student at the Institute enrolled through the University of Melbourne. Dr Pang now works at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute. The research was supported by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, the Menzies Foundation, the CASS Foundation, the John T ?Reid Charitable Trusts, Sylvia & Charles Viertel Senior Medical Research Fellowship, the US National Institutes of Health and the Victorian Government Operational Infrastructure Support Program. A genetic variant found in African-Americans significantly reduces the accuracy of the HbA1c blood test used to diagnose and monitor type 2 diabetes One of the tests used to diagnose type 2 diabetes and monitor blood sugar control is influenced by 60 genetic variants, an international team of scientists, including those from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, has found. One genetic variant in particular, found only in African Americans, significantly reduces the accuracy of the HbA1c blood test used to diagnose and monitor the condition. This means around 650,000 African Americans in the US could have undiagnosed type 2 diabetes if tested with the HbA1c test alone. The results, published today (12 September) in PLOS Medicine suggest screening for the particular genetic variant alongside the diagnostic test, or using other diagnostic tests in populations with African ancestry in order to improve diagnoses of type 2 diabetes. There are over 4 million* people living with diabetes in the UK, and this number is estimated to rise to 5 million by 2025. Ninety per cent of these cases are type 2 diabetes, which is associated with increasing rates of obesity. In the US, the number of people with diabetes is more than 29 million**. In the largest study of its kind, an international team of more than 200 scientists investigated genetic variants which are thought to affect the blood test used to diagnose and monitor type 2 diabetes, known as the glycated haemoglobin, or HbA1c test. The team studied genetic variants in almost 160,000 people from European, African, East Asian and South Asian ancestries who were not known to have type 2 diabetes. Researchers discovered 60 genetic variants that influence the outcome of HbA1c tests, of which 42 variants were new. One genetic variant in particular, in the G6PD gene, was found to significantly impact the results of the HbA1c test. The G6PD genetic variant is almost unique to people of African ancestry; around 11 per cent of African Americans carry at least one copy of this variant. Dr Ines Barroso, joint lead author from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, said: "The issue with the G6PD genetic variant is it artificially lowers the value of blood sugar in the HbA1c test, and can lead to under-diagnosis of people with type 2 diabetes. We estimate that if we tested all Americans for diabetes using the HbA1c test, we would miss type 2 diabetes in around 650,000 African Americans. However, the HbA1c test remains a suitable test for diagnosing and monitoring diabetes for the majority of people." The HbA1c test measures the amount of glucose, or sugar that is carried by the red blood cells in the body, for the previous two to three months. Dr Eleanor Wheeler, joint first author from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, said: "The G6PD genetic variant shortens the three-month lifecycle of red blood cells. So in African Americans who have this variant, their red blood cells don't live long enough to bind to the glucose in the blood. Therefore these people will have a lower level of HbA1c, which won't show as a positive result for type 2 diabetes." Dr James Meigs, joint lead author from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, said: "We now need further studies involving people of diverse ancestries to assess how diagnostic tests for diabetes should be altered to account for genetic variation. In the meantime, an option would be to genetically screen African Americans for the G6PD variant alongside the HbA1c test in order to accurately diagnose type 2 diabetes, or use other diagnostic tests such as fasting glucose measurements. We suggest moving towards precision medicine to take people's genetics into account and improve diagnosis and monitoring for diabetes." ### Notes to Editors: Sources: *Taking into account the number of people likely to be living with undiagnosed diabetes http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-prevalence.html ** https://www.cdc.gov/features/diabetesfactsheet/ Patient enquiries: Contact the Diabetes UK Helpline for specialist information and advice on all aspects of living with diabetes. Call: 0345 123 2399*, Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm, Email: helpline@diabetes.org.uk If you're in Scotland: Call: 0141 212 8710*, Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm, Email: helpline.scotland@diabetes.org.uk Publication: Eleanor Wheeler et al. (2017) Impact of common genetic determinants of Hemoglobin A1c on type 2 diabetes risk and diagnosis in ancestrally diverse populations: A transethnic genome-wide meta-analysis. PLOS Medicine. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002383 Selected websites: Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School For more information about Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, visit their websites: http://www.massgeneral.org/ and https://hms.harvard.edu/. For more information on the Massachusetts General Hospital Diabetes Unit, visit http://www.massgeneral.org/diabetes/. 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 Monday, September 11, 2017 3 things you can do to calm yourself down and meet your goals There are about 75 working days left until the end of the year, depending on how many holidays you celebrate. Even fewer if, like me, you take the last half of December off. The great news is that there is still plenty of time to meet your year-end goals! If you find yourself hyperventilating or if you are understandably distracted by the many natural disasters and local and global crises we are experiencing across the globe take some deep breaths and repeat after me: I can do this. Heres what to do: 1. Identify the ONE thing you must accomplish before the end of the year. One. Write it down, and focus your attention on reaching that one goal. Create a game plan with a timeline, and block out time in your calendar daily or weekly to accomplish it. Every morning ask yourself, What can I do today to help reach this goal? Make it one of your three top priorities for each day. 2. Remove unnecessary distractions and dramatically streamline your work. Look at your calendar for the next four months and identify all the time suckers. Dramatically reduce or eliminate them. Look for half-day meetings that could be accomplished in 1-2 hours, meetings that could instead be quick phone calls, 1 hour phone calls that could be accomplished in 15 minutes, trips that could be turned into video conference calls, approval processes that could be streamlined, events that are not critical for you to attend, and time you are spending with people you dont really like. That eight-month strategic planning process can likely be accomplished in four months. You can also control your technology instead of letting it control you! Unless you are in the path of a hurricane you dont need to check CNN online every hour to read the latest update of how devastating it is. Limit the time you spend checking email to twice a day, and dont allow the beeps and alerts to go off letting you know every time youve got mail (or youve got a new LinkedIn connection, or someone retweeted you). 3. Get help. Delegate what you can. I once made a list of everything I was doing in my consulting work, and divided into 3 categories: things that bring me joy/give me energy, things I hate to do, and things I can do but could easily be delegated. It was illuminating. I created an entire job description that delegated a large chunk of items in the last two categories, and hired a communications firm to handle it all for me. Not only did I offload all that work onto someone else, that firm is doing a better job of it than I ever could. You can also retain a consultant to help you facilitate strategic planning, conduct research or scanning, review grant proposals and reports, or write that case study youve been meaning to do. A trusted advisor can serve as your sounding board to help you navigate strategic and tactical decisions you need to make as you delegate and streamline. These tips will not only help you finish out this year without added stress, but also make it less stressful and more productive. Just remember to breathe, stay focused, and see how much you can accomplish! 2017 Kris Putnam-Walkerly. All rights reserved. Permission granted to excerpt or reprint with attribution. ______________________________________________________________________ Kris Putnam-Walkerly, MSW, has helped to transform the impact of top global philanthropies for over 18 years. A member of the Million Dollar Consultant Hall of Fame and named one of Americas Top 25 Philanthropy Speakers. Author of the award-winning book Confident Giving: Sage Advice for Funders, which was named one of The 10 Best Corporate Social Responsibility Books. For more ways to improve your giving, visitPutnam Consulting Group. ______________________________________________________________________ Trusted Philanthropic Advisor Kris Putnam-Walkerly serves as a trusted advisor to foundation leaders and high-wealth donors across the globe. As an advisor, Kris transfers learning to leaders and their teams so they have the ability to build their own internal capacity to be successful in their work. Kriss clients report immediate and dramatic improvement in both personal performance and philanthropic impact. Whether you are the CEO of a larger foundation, the sole staff member charged with decision-making, or a high-net worth donor, the questions Kris can address cover a broad spectrum of professional and personal issues. As an advising client, youll have unlimited access to Kris during regular business hours by phone, Skype, email and, when desired, face to face. With over 18 years of experience working with top global philanthropies, Kris understands how to build an impactful organization that integrates your philanthropic passions and the challenges that must be overcome to get there. Learn more about this and other services offered or contact Kris today to begin a trusted advisor relationship. Upcoming Speaking Events Looking for a provocative yet practical speaker at your next event? Kris Putnam-Walkerly was named one of Americas Top 25 Philanthropy Speakers in 2016 and 2017. Learn more or book Kris today for your next conference or event. September 14, 2017 Iowa Council of Foundations Connect Conference (Newton, IA) Out of Your Bubble and Into Your Community (Keynote) September 14, 2017 Iowa Council of Foundations Connect Conference (Newton, IA) Avoiding Delusional Altruism: How to Create a Legacy of Impact, Respect, and Value September 19, 2017 National Center for Family Philanthropy webinar Part three of a three-part webinar series on how family foundations are embracing equity September 27, 2017 Philanthropy West Virginia Annual Conference Avoiding Delusional Altruism: How to Create a Legacy of Impact, Respect, and Value October 16, 2017 CONNECT Conference, Exponent Philanthropy, Denver Out of Your Bubble and Into Your Community October 19, 2017 National Forum on Family Philanthropy Achieving EquityHow Exactly? November 14, 2017 Southeastern Council on Foundations Annual Conference, Trustees-Only Luncheon, Orlando, FL How Will Trustees Lead Into the Future? Looking for a provocative speaker who offers practical solutions? Book Kris for your next conference or event! Place Your Advert Register or sign in to advertise your job Dutch egg farmers are facing the threat of total ruin, with supermarkets demanding compensation from them for the fipronil scandal. Eric Hubers, chairman of the country's egg industry association, Ovoned, reckons financial losses for egg producers have already topped more than 60 million Euros and the bill is still rising. More than 2.5 million birds culled, farms prevented from marketing eggs and, he says, perfectly good eggs destroyed in what he believes has been an over-zealous reaction by Dutch authorities. Affected farmers have been moulting birds to stop egg production and "de-tox" their hens. Now, lawyers acting for supermarkets and food companies have warned that they are seeking damages from the farmers. Eric Hubers told FarmingUK that they wanted not only the cost of egg and product recalls covered, but they also wanted damages for loss of profits. Eggs and products containing eggs have been withdrawn from stores across Europe, including the UK, following the discovery that the banned chemical fipronil was used in a treatment for red mite. 'Farmers won't survive' "Farmers won't survive," he said, "but they are not to blame," said Mr Hubers, who told delegates at the International Egg Commission Conference (IEC) in Bruges, Belgium that farmers were the victims of fraud. Two people, directors of a company that apparently used fipronil in the treatment of red mite on Dutch egg units, have been arrested in the Netherlands as part of a criminal inquiry. Eric Hubers said that farmers had been assured by the company - Chick Friend - that the treatment contained only essential oils and a secret ingredient that was safe and accepted in organic poultry systems. "It worked for months and it was a solution for the farms," he said. "Their success was the reason for over 200 Dutch farmers hiring them. This is about 20 per cent of Dutch production." The truth came to light when fipronil was found in eggs from Dutch farms. 'Catastrophe' Now egg producers are facing what he says is a "catastrophe" and they are doing so without any help from the Dutch authorities. In Belgium, where 1.5 million birds had been culled, farmers had had financial support from their Government, said Eric. This was not the case in the Netherlands. "The financial loss by the middle of August was already 33 million Euros. That has doubled at least by now. And it will increase a lot also by claims by supermarkets and the food industry. They have already sent a declaration to the farmers that they will claim all the costs they have made." Mr Hubers said that one packing station caught up in the crisis had lost 80 per cent of its egg supplies as a result of what had happened. "They have contracts with supermarkets and they have had to go and buy eggs on the open market. And prices are high because there is a shortage of eggs," he said. Bankrupt Mr Hubers said that farmers had so far seen no figures put on the level of compensation that supermarkets and food companies were seeking but he said that, if the claims succeeded, then farmers would be made bankrupt. "We are contesting this claim because it is not the farmers' fault," he said. The latest official cull figure in the Netherlands is 2.5 million birds but Mr Hubers says the true figure will be higher. He said that more birds were being culled all the time. Most farmers affected by the crisis had been trying to "de-tox" birds by moulting them. The theory behind this is that fipronil is stored in the bird's body fat. Moulting the birds reduces the body fat and so reduces the fipronil. But Mr Hubers said it was very difficult to reduce the fipronil to an acceptable level. "About four million hens are starting to lay again after the moulting period. The samples of the first eggs will determine their destiny. It is very difficult to get under the residue level." Detox Eric Hubers said that the "de-tox" could only be successful if the poultry house the birds were in was thoroughly cleaned first to prevent the hens being contaminated again afterwards. "A lot of effort has been done to clean the poultry houses but it is really difficult. Especially when the hens are still inside." For older birds, it was not worth the attempt to clear them of fipronil, he said, but for younger birds with a longer productive life ahead of them it was worth trying, particularly when it was not easy to obtain replacement flocks. Moulting also has the effect of stopping egg production - an economic necessity for Dutch farmers who are still under restriction and unable to market their eggs. Some 144 farms remain under restriction in the Netherlands. This is allowed under EU regulations, although it would be controversial in the United Kingdom, where it is banned under the Lion code. Mr Hubers said that during the fipronil crisis the authorities in the Netherlands had imposed far stricter tests on eggs than authorities in some other countries. Recalls were much less severe in Germany and some other countries, he said. In the Netherlands, he said eggs that posed no threat to food safety had been recalled and destroyed. The amount of money that Scottish farmers owe to banks has reached a record high, with the figure increasing up to 5% over the past year. The total outstanding loans from banks to Scottish agriculture was 2.32 billion, according to the figures. This was 113 million (five per cent) higher than the previous May. The figure excludes an estimated 1.1 billion of liabilities from hire purchase, leasing, family members and other sources. Debt levels are the highest they have ever been since records began in 1972. The Scottish government deflected criticism of the figures, and said the fact banks were still lending to farmers was a "sign of confidence in the sector". However, Scottish Conservative rural affairs secretary Peter Chapman said the SNP's "catastrophic" management of CAP payments were to blame. These figures show the financial state of farming businesses in Scotland has never been worse. Yet at a time youd think the Scottish Government would step in to help, ministers have only made the situation worse. The SNPs catastrophic management of CAP payments starved the rural community of hundreds of millions of pounds. Only now are we beginning to see the financial impact of that on businesses right across the country. The SNP must address these figures urgently and set out what it intends to do to help this vital sector recover. If it fails, the whole country will pay the price. Liberal Demcrat MSP Mike Rumbles echoed this, saying: SNP ministers have bungled their handling of the rural economy time and time again. It is no surprise that when farmers do not trust the Scottish government to deliver farm payments or loans, they are forced to increase bank borrowing. 'Flogging a dead horse' The figures come after problems with a new IT system caused lengthy delays to the delivery of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payments in Scotland. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's government had to ask for an extension to the deadline of paying EU subsidies to farmers. Ms Sturgeon apologised to farmers for 'failures' in her government's subsidy programme. She said: "I want to assure you...there's no complacency on the Scottish government's part about this matter. "We have already apologised and we do so again today to farmers for the failures that have been experienced in the system and I guarantee that we will continue to give this matter our full focus and attention to ensure that farmers get the service that they deserve." A 'highly critical' report into the 178m IT system has created a rift between MSPs and current Rural Affairs Secretary Fergus Ewing. Farming leaders have previously asked whether the government is "flogging a dead horse" by sticking with its IT system for delivering CAP support. And NFU Scotland said every farmer will remember 2016 as a year when the Scottish government's 'flawed IT system failed to deliver' the subsidy CAP payments, 'damaging' the rural economy. Former President of NFU Scotland Bowie said: "The level of frustration and lack of trust in Scottish Government's ability to properly deliver payments across all schemes in a timely manner remains unprecedented." Defra and British Wool have explored how sheep production is a necessity in upland management, calling the practice a "vital role" in looking after the landscape. British Wool has recently welcomed a group of senior policy leaders from Defra to look at the work carried out by sheep farmers in the UK on upland management. To explore the role of upland sheep production, the day started with the group visiting Hall Farm, Blubberhouses near Otley, a progressive hill farm, run by British Wools regional committee member for West Yorkshire, Nick Houseman. The event was a chance for government to witness a first-hand perspective on the importance of the sheep industry's role. The twelve-person delegation saw how Mr Houseman manages his flock of Swaledale, Bluefaced Leicesters and some North of England Mules on his 475 acre farm, which runs to 800ft. Mr Houseman runs the Swaledale ewes with a Bluefaced Leicester ram to produce the North of England Mule lambs which are then crossed with Texel x Beltex rams to produce prime lambs for meat production. The aim of this visit was to highlight the fact that upland sheep farming is an "essential" part of the whole sheep industry. 'Unquestionable' Commenting, British Wool Chairman, Ian Buchanan, said: These producers not only supply the market with a niche meat product, they also provide breeding stock and genetics to the UK gene pool. It is unquestionable that upland farmers like Nick play a vital role in looking after the upland landscape, whether for keystone species, habitats or for recreation, as well as protecting public goods such as water and carbon. The uplands are areas where farming activity is constrained by climate, soils and topography. In the UK, this land is classified as a Less Favoured Area (LFA), with the majority falling into the Severely Disadvantaged category. This land is commonly utilised for grazing breeding hill sheep and serves a fundamental purpose in the UKs sheep stratification system. 'Foundation' The traditional appearance of UK uplands is the product of the work of upland farmers and their livestock. Aside from breeding stock and genetics, hill and upland sheep breeds manage the landscape and conserve natural habitats, promoting biodiversity. Sheep can be used to help control bracken and protect heather moorland and other natural habitats. Additionally, grazing sheep contribute to the improvement of peat soils often found in upland areas. Their hooves break up the cap of peat soils and trample in dead vegetation, and their waste fertilises the soil with rich gut bacteria. British Wool said in a statement: Farmers are the foundation of all land management in the country and native breeds possess qualities that are essential to the future of sheep production in the UK. The loss of native upland breeds would not only be detrimental to the utilisation and management of the hill landscape, lead to a loss to the culture and heritage of these areas, and change the face of the British countryside for generations. Poultry producer Moy Park, one of Northern Ireland's biggest employers, has been sold for 1bn. It has been bought by American company Pilgrim's Pride Corporation, headquartered in Colorado. In a statement announcing the acquisition, it said "Moy Park's employee base will remain in place". Janet McCollum, chief executive of Moy Park, said the "announcement is a positive development for Moy Park and all our colleagues employed across the business". Pilgrims is one of the leading chicken producers in the world with a proven track record and we see great opportunities for Moy Park as part of this successful business. Joining Pilgrims gives us the opportunity to accelerate our growth plans, share best practices and leverage Pilgrims expertise and operational excellence. Moy Park will provide Pilgrims with a platform for growth in Europe as well as access to innovation and increased exposure to prepared foods. Both Moy Park and Pilgrims have a long heritage in agriculture and poultry production going back over 70 years and we share the same values. Pilgrim's Pride said the purchase would make it become "a global player" and that it had "approximately $50m (38m) in annualized synergies" in mind. Sheep rustlers have struck North Yorkshire twice in two separate incidents over last weekend, and police are appealing to the public for any information. The first incident happened over the weekend, in the Eldroth/Austwick area, where North Yorkshire Police say 12 sheep were reported stolen in the area on Saturday (9 September). A second incident of sheep rustling has been reported in the Settle area. The incident happened overnight on Friday (8 September) when a number of pedigree Beltex lambs have been stolen from a farm. Each lamb has a horizontal red stripe painted across it's hindquarters and a yellow triangular tag and a lilac triangular tag in the opposite ear. Attacks on livestock in the UK is becoming 'more and more of a problem' as rural police stations face closure, according to a report. Anyone with any information relating to either incident is asked to call 101. The UK pig industry should "celebrate" the diversity of the production systems within it as one of its greatest strengths, according to the National Pig Association (NPA). Recently, the media has released stories over the past few months linking the rise of 'mega farms' in the UK with poor animal welfare and environmental practice, and efforts to link antibiotic overuse with intensive production systems. The NPA has previously hit back at such stories, saying such farms have 'excellent resources' to maintain welfare standards. But NPA chief executive Zoe Davies stressed that the association supports indoor and outdoor units equally. We support all types of pig farming and want every member to feel supported equally, she said. The group agrees on the need to encourage the industry to adopt a united front at all times. NPA vice chairman Richard Longthorp said: We need to demonstrate that promoting diversity and point of difference is the best way ahead for the industry. Promoting the benefits of ones own system is only natural but it should not be in the context of 'better than' rather 'different from'. Let consumers make their own minds up. This diversity is a unique attribute of the UK pig industry. And as we move towards Brexit, diversity should be seen as a strength. Some may be tempted to think that during this time of comfortable prices the strength that unity brings is unnecessary. But it most certainly will be not merely necessary but vital when the industry hits its next crisis. Unity needs to be permanent not fleeting when it suits. The NPA said the diversity of systems the pig industry uses gives the UK more clout in the marketplace, these range from various outdoor and indoor systems, such as straw and indoor slatted. Sidharth Malhotra has been keeping quite a lot busy this year with too many films in his kitty. After his last release A Gentleman, Sidharth is currently shooting for Aiyaary and post that will be seen opposite Sonakshi Sinha in Ittefaq. The recent reports suggested that Sidharth will also be seen in filmmaker Raj Kumar Gupta's next project titled Most Wanted. Though, earlier the film was suppose to go floors by the end of this year, but now we hear films schedule has been pushed to early next year. In his conversation with a leading daily, Raj Kumar Gupta told the reason for this delay. He said, The location, which we had planned to shoot at is facing major floods. We will now shoot Most Wanted early next year post the shooting of Raid. Well, now that we know the reason for this delay, all we can do is patiently wait. Meanwhile, we hear Sid has reportedly signed a biopic based on the life of Kargil Martyr, Captain Vikram Batra. A source close to the actor told a popular tabloid, He loves the script and feels that Vikrams is a heroic story that needs to be told. Whatever happens, it will be him, who plays the role. Hes tight-lipped about the project for now, but he has given it the green signal. Exciting-exciting! Fake News Darshan, while speaking to the reporter said, "The news about me entering politics is a lie. Do not believe it. I am an actor and I do not know anything else apart from acting. Why would I enter politics if I have no interest in it?" Will Announce Before Hand The actor continued and said, "Suppose that one day I decide to join politics, I will make sure that I will let the people know. I do not have the need or necessity to work in secrecy. Added to that, I believe that politics cannot be done under wraps." Do Not Believe The Rumours "At this juncture, I would like to request you all to let me concentrate on my film career. All that is being spread about me are lies, I am not entering politics. Please do not spread wrong information", said Darshan Thoogudeep, requesting his fans and followers to drop the fake news. I Cannot Salute Darshan Thoogudeep justified his stance by saying, "Usually in politics, you have to keep saluting to your superiors, even if they are worthless. The one who wears 'khadi' is prone to get subjugated and I do not like that culture. I cannot salute everyone." He further said, "Moreover, people talk all sorts of absurd trash talk behind your back after voting for you. I do not like to hear bad things about me or my family. That is why I have kept a safe distance from politics. Please let me be in my domain and I will be grateful to you all." Curtains To Speculations Now that Challenging Star Darshan himself has said it out loud that he does not want to enter politics, it is high time that the media and politicians stopped pestering the actor. In the actor's own words, we quote, "Let me be in my domain." Mustang Resources (ASX: MUS) has announced its ruby inventory has soared to nearly 278,000 carats off the back of record production rates at its Mozambique site.The companies artisanal miner development program also delivered, following the implementation of bushman jigs and sorting tables.The increase puts the company on track to reach 300,000 carats before it maiden tender, due to be held in Mauritius in late October.Mustang's Managing Director indicated rising production rates alongside strong demand for rubies among global customers would open the door to increased sales and revenues for the company.The company hopes to attract leading ruby buyers from across the world, who are looking for critical mass to meet demand.Shares in Mustang Resourceslast traded 10% higher at $0.10. CIMIC Grouphas announced Leighton Asia has been awarded a Deep Tunnel Sewerage contract by PUB, Singapores national water agency.Leighton Asia will design and construct around 7.9km of sewer tunnels, allowing used water to be sent to centralized water reclamation plants for further treatment.This is the second PUB contract awarded to CIMIC Group this year, with UGL securing a contract in March for process upgrades at a plant in central Singapore.As a result of the project, CIMIC is anticipating revenues of approximately $470M will flow to Leighton Asia.Construction is scheduled to kick off in October 2017, with project completion slated for 2023.Shares in CIMIC Grouplast traded 0.9% lower at $42.96. General Motors (GM 3.47%) said its sales in China rose 11.9% in August from a year ago, a gain driven by strong sales for its Cadillac, Buick, Chevrolet, and China-only Baojun brands. GM's gain came as rival Ford Motor Company (F 1.20%) posted a 1% decline in its sales in China for the month. GM in China: The raw numbers Brand August 2017 Change vs. August 2016 Buick 103,277 9.6% Chevrolet 46,705 20.7% Cadillac 15,014 51.4% Wuling 80,771 (18.9%) Baojun 82,658 61.8% Total GM 328,425 11.9% GM is finding growth with premium and luxury vehicles Domestic Chinese automakers have made great strides in the last couple of years. With much-improved products, they have been able to put intense pressure on the global automakers' offerings in some big-selling market segments, like affordable compact SUVs. The competition has forced the big names to cut prices, hurting some of the global automakers' margins in China. In particular, old Detroit rival Ford Motor Company (F 1.20%) has struggled in China in 2017: Ford's sales in China are down 6% this year through August. Ford's challenge: Its products are looking a little dated in China's super-fast-moving market. But GM has been able to fight back in a couple of ways. One is to emphasize its newest products in more upscale segments where the local Chinese automakers haven't had as much success. In particular, GM's luxury Cadillac brand has been on a growth tear in China this year. As in the U.S., Cadillac's midsize XT5 crossover SUV has sold very well: XT5 sales in China jumped 73% in August to over 5,300, GM said. But unlike the U.S., where premium sedans have become a tough sell, Chinese buyers are also snapping up Cadillac sedans. Sales of the ATS-L, an extended-wheelbase version of the compact Cadillac ATS made especially for China, rose 63% from a year ago to over 5,200 units. Buick, long a Chinese favorite, is also doing well, powered by the Envision SUV, the GL8 (a China-only upscale minivan), and the Excelle GT, a sedan that's closely related to the recently discontinued Buick Verano. (The Excelle GT is consistently one of China's best-selling cars. GM sold over 40,000 of them last month.) GM's China-only discount brands are having mixed fortunes GM is also countering the domestic Chinese automakers with a low-cost Chinese brand of its own. The idea behind GM's Baojun brand is that it offers the affordability of domestic Chinese brands with a global automaker's quality standards. Baojun offers a small lineup focused on young families -- a couple of crossover SUVs, a minivan, and a few sedans -- and sales have soared over the last year or so. But the success of Baojun has come as GM's Wuling brand has faded. Wuling makes so-called "microvans" -- small, inexpensive vans marketed to tradespeople and first-time car-buyers. Two factors have put pressure on Wuling: First, as China's building boom has faded, fewer vans are being sold to tradespeople. Second, the rising tide of prosperity in China means more first-time car buyers are choosing to aim a little further upscale. That trend has helped Baojun, but hurt Wuling. The bigger picture: GM is back on an upswing after a rough start to the year GM's sales in China suffered early in 2017, after the Chinese government cut a tax rebate that had been offered to buyers of vehicles with engines smaller than 1.6 liters. Thanks to Baojun and its popular premium models, GM's sales have since recovered: Through August, GM's sales in China are up slightly (0.3%) from the same period a year ago. But despite the early year sales decline, GM has been able to deliver good profits in China this year, as it has essentially traded sales of low-margin small cars for increased sales of higher-margin premium and luxury vehicles. (And in the more affordable end of the market, it has traded very-low-margin Wuling sales for more profitable Baojun sales.) Despite the competitive pressures, GM earned $509 million in equity income from its Chinese joint ventures in the second quarter, up from $471 million a year ago. With two-thirds of the third quarter now in the books, it looks like those profitable trends are holding: All signs show that GM is on course to deliver another strong profit from China. LG may slash the pricing of its flagship LG V30; here's why News oi -Chandrika LG has made no announcement on this matter. Last month, two of most anticipated flagships were unveiled within a span of few days. We are talking about the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and LG V30. Both the flagships are set to release in the US in the coming weeks. If we comparing the smartphones, Samsung's Galaxy Note 8 holds an edge over the LG V30, even though the latter is equally feature-rich if not more. So LG has to plan a strategy if it wants to compete with the South Korean tech giant. According to a report by The Korea Herald, LG is going to slash LG V30's price. Going by the publication, the standard 64GB model of LG V30 will be sold for 949,300 KRW (roughly Rs. 54,000) in South Korea, while the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is priced at 1,094,500 KRW (roughly Rs. 62,000). In the US market, the Galaxy Note 8 is listed with the price tag of $929 (approximately Rs. 59,500). If the report is to be believed, the LG V30 will be retailed for somewhere between the $800-$850 (Rs. 51,000 to 54,000). Of course, there is a significant price difference, but we don't think it is enough. People who are not opting for the Samsung's flagship phablet because of its very high price may be looking for a more affordable smartphone. That being said, it is too early to predict anything for sure. As yet, LG has made no announcement regarding this matter. So the company may not cut down the price of V30 at all. However, it is unlikely. Whatever the case is, let us know your choice between Galaxy Note 8 and LG V30. Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications Finally, Nokia 3 starts getting Android 7.1.1 Nougat update News oi -Abhinaya Prabhu The wait is over for the Nokia 3 users. Nokia 3, the entry-level Android smartphone from HMD Global has finally received the Android 7.1.1 Nougat update. Lately, we told that the device will get the update by the end of August but it has come after a considerable delay. After receiving the Nougat update, there appear to be some notable visual changes and new features as well. According to a report by Android Police, the Android 7.1.1 Nougat update that is being rolled out to the Nokia 3 measures 748.3MB in size. The update will bring user interface enhancements and improved system stability. As it is huge, we recommend the Nokia 3 users to download and install the update via Wi-Fi. Also, make sure the device is backed up in order to ensure the safety of the data stored in it. In one of the previous reports citing the tweet posted by Juho Sarvikas, the Chief Product Officer at HMD, the Nokia 3 Android 7.1.1 Nougat update was claimed to be approved after the testing. The update was said to be rolled out in phases across the global markets. Eventually, not all users of the smartphone will receive it immediately. Besides the Android 7.1.1 Nougat update, the Nokia 3 will also receive the Android 8.0 Oreo update that is the recent one to have been released by Google. One of the recent reports tipped that not only the Nokia 3 but all the Nokia Android smartphones launched so far including the Nokia 8, Nokia 6 and Nokia 5 will receive the Android Oreo update by the end of this year. Also, these smartphones will get the Android P update that will be rolled out next year. We say so as HMD confirmed that the Nokia phones will come with two years of OS update support. When it comes to the Nokia 3's availability in India, the smartphone is priced at Rs. 9,499. Though it was launched as an offline exclusive device, it is available via a few online retailer such as Croma at the same price. Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications Samsung to launch foldable Note device in 2018 News oi -Samden Sherpa It looks like Samsung is finally overcoming obstacles to put a foldable screen in a handset. Samsung has been working on developing foldable smartphones for some time now and we have already seen the patent filings and more. While the company has been working behind the scenes the only concern of many fans as well as enthusiasts was that when was Samsung actually going to launch this unique device. Well, we might have got an answer to that query. As per Samsung's executive, the company is now aiming to launch a foldable phone in the Galaxy Note series next year. So it seems that the company is finally overcoming obstacles to put a foldable screen in a handset and taking into account the statement from the company rep it looks like Samsung has solved most of its problems. As it sounds interesting, during the launch of the Galaxy Note 8 in South Korea, DJ Koh, President of Samsung Mobile also stated, "We don't want to just sell a couple of the phones. We want it to be mass-ready and at a technological level where people will say it is a well-made phone." So it is quite clear that the phones will come once it is ready. Many previous reports have said that Samsung could unveil a phone with a bendable screen but chances are pretty slim for it to happen. For instance, many reports claimed that the firm would launch bendable displays at 2017 Mobile World Congress but no such thing was announced. But Koh is several press meetings has always mentioned that Samsung has been interested in foldable phones as a concept right now. But he also added that the company was working on making an actual foldable phone for consumers. Foldable phones could materialize if the concept proved to be a meaningful innovation and at the same time was a device that could be easy to use. Earlier this year, Samsung Display, which is the displaying-making arm of the South Korean giant also showcased bendable OLED displays as prototypes. While that was a thing of the past, as of now, it could be that the company has finally found a use case for the display. Amidst all these developments and the piece of information that has been shared by the company, we can only say that we might not have to wait for long to see a brand new innovation from the company. Via Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications Officials Release Details of Latest Strikes Against ISIS Terrorists in Syria, Iraq From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release SOUTHWEST ASIA, Sept. 11, 2017 U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria on Sept. 9-10, conducting 78 strikes consisting of 91 engagements, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today. U.S. Central Command continues to work with partner nations to conduct targeted airstrikes in Iraq and Syria as part of the comprehensive strategy to degrade and defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS. Officials reported details of yesterday's strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports. Strikes in Syria In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 38 strikes consisting of 42 engagements against ISIS targets on Sept. 9: -- Near Abu Kamal, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS headquarters. -- Near Dayr Az Zawr, three strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed two fighting positions and a vehicle. -- Near Raqqa, 34 strikes engaged eight ISIS tactical units; destroyed 21 fighting positions, 16 vehicles, four heavy machine guns, two command-and-control nodes, a logistics node and engineering equipment; and suppressed six fighting positions. Yesterday, coalition military forces conducted 26 strikes consisting of 28 engagements against ISIS targets: -- Near Abu Kamal, a strike destroyed a vehicle-borne-bomb factory. -- Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS unmanned aerial system, a vehicle-borne-bomb facility, a vehicle-borne bomb, a vehicle and a tactical vehicle. -- Near Raqqa, 23 strikes engaged eight ISIS tactical units; destroyed 20 fighting positions, two logistics nodes and a vehicle; and suppressed two fighting positions. Strikes in Iraq In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted nine strikes consisting of 15 engagements against ISIS targets on Sept. 9: -- Near Huwayjah, three strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed two command-and-control nodes, two weapons caches, a vehicle, an ISIS headquarters and an ISIS-held building. -- Near Qaim, a strike destroyed an ISIS staging area. -- Near Rawah, five strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed seven command and control nodes, a vehicle-borne bomb, an ISIS-held building and a vehicle. Yesterday, coalition military forces conducted five strikes consisting of six engagements against ISIS targets: -- Near Huwayjah, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed two vehicles. -- Near Qaim, a strike destroyed an explosives factory. -- Near Rawah, a strike destroyed two command-and-control nodes. -- Near Rutbah, two strikes destroyed an ISIS training camp and a vehicle-borne-bomb facility. Previous Strikes Additionally, 20 strikes consisting of 32 engagements were conducted near Raqqa, Syria, on Sept. 8 that closed within the last 24 hours. The strikes engaged 11 ISIS tactical units; destroyed 15 vehicles, six logistics nodes, four fighting positions and an improvised explosive device; and suppressed three fighting positions. Part of Operation Inherent Resolve These strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to destroy ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The destruction of ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria also further limits the group's ability to project terror and conduct external operations throughout the region and the rest of the world, task force officials said. The list above contains all strikes conducted by fighter, attack, bomber, rotary-wing or remotely piloted aircraft; rocket-propelled artillery; and some ground-based tactical artillery when fired on planned targets, officials noted. Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike, they added. A strike, as defined by the coalition, refers to one or more kinetic engagements that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single or cumulative effect. For example, task force officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIS vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against a group of ISIS-held buildings and weapon systems in a compound, having the cumulative effect of making that facility harder or impossible to use. Strike assessments are based on initial reports and may be refined, officials said. The task force does not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Colorado National Guard deploys mountain infantry to Slovenia for Triglav Star Exercise By Courtesy September 11, 2017 CENTENNIAL, Colo. -- The Colorado Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 157th Infantry (Mountain) has deployed nearly 100 Soldiers to Slovenia, to participate in a multi-national overseas deployment training exercise. The exercise, dubbed Triglav Star, runs from Sept. 11-23 and consists of company-sized elements from the Colorado Army National Guard and the Slovenian and British armed forces. The training includes mountaineering, squad- and platoon-level tactics, and multinational operations. The exercise culminates in a multi-national attack on an objective in the mountains of Triglav, Slovenia. Through this event, the 1-157 IN (MTN) will contribute to the U.S. Army European Command's strategic operating picture while building relations with our Slovenian partners. The exercise came about because of the 24-year partnership between the Slovenian Armed Forces and the Colorado National Guard through the National Guard State Partnership Program. "Because of the enduring partnership between Slovenia and Colorado, Colorado National Guard members regularly take part in Slovenian Armed Forces Exercises," said the Adjutant General of Colorado U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael Loh. These joint exercises are very successful because we exchange best practices, tactics and techniques, and forge even stronger ties with our state partner." The SPP promotes the development of long-term partner capacity through relationships with National Guard personnel, the partner country's military personnel and interagency coordination mechanisms. Due to this partnership, military training teams from the Slovenian Armed Forces and the CONG have deployed to Afghanistan six times to train and mentor units of the Afghan National Army, with the goal of a self-sufficient and effective Afghan security establishment. The CONG served side-by-side with Slovenia in its responsibilities as a NATO contributing country in Afghanistan. The 1st Battalion, 157th Infantry (Mountain) is one of only three Mountain Infantry battalions in the U.S. Army. During October 2016, under the Army's associated units pilot program, the unit officially became a part of the historic 10th Mountain Division, Photos. One of the beneficial advantages of the Colorado National Guard's partnership with Slovenia includes use of training areas near the Slovenian Armed Forces Multinational Center of Excellence for Mountain Warfare and training with experienced Slovenian Soldiers from the 132nd (Mountain) Infantry Regiment. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Japan Times: China, Japan need to shelve Diaoyutais dispute ROC Central News Agency 2017/09/11 20:03:09 Toyko, Sept. 11 (CNA) An editorial in Monday's edition of the Japan Times has asked China and Japan to shelve the dispute over the Diaoyutai Islands and instead focus on improving bilateral ties. In the editorial published on the fifth anniversary of Japan's nationalization of the islands, the oldest English newspaper in Japan argued that both parties should set "aside their differences over the Senkaku (Diaoyutai) dispute" and focus on the "need to improve bilateral ties." While the dispute over the islands has, according to the editorial, "sent bilateral ties plummeting to their worst level since the two governments normalized diplomatic relations in 1972," there are signs that both countries are seeking to reconcile. The editorial pointed to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's pledge of cooperation with China's "One Belt, One Road" initiative, the ceremony held last Friday to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the 1972 normalization of relations in Beijing, and talks of each leader visiting the other's country as clear indicators that the once chilly relationship is thawing. Acknowledging that changing either side's stance on the Diaoyutais would be difficult, the editorial argued that a practical solution is "to shelve the dispute given the stakes of improving the bilateral relationship." It accepted China's regular incursions into the territorial waters around the Diaoyutais and Japan's keenness to maintain the status quo of its claims over the islands, and in doing so, appealed to both countries to look past the issue long enough to rebuild their ties. Taiwan, Japan and China all claim the Diaoyutai Islands, but Japan currently controls them. (By Kelvin Huang and Kuan-lin Liu) Enditem/ls NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address After the landing: 15th MEU comes ashore during Alligator Dagger US Marine Corps News By Lt. Cmdr. Sandra Arnold | 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit | September 11, 2017 Fine clouds of dust form so thick it distorts visibility, as Marines from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (15th MEU) arrive ashore in U.S. Navy landing craft, air cushions assigned to Assault Craft Unit 5 aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS San Diego (LPD 22), bringing with them everything they need for combat operations and sustainment for the next two weeks during Exercise Alligator Dagger. Beneath the unforgiving sun, Marines unload tanks and equipment in temperatures nearing 110 degrees. Neither Mother Nature nor the Marines show any sign of yielding to one another as they continue to press on in the extreme environment. "I've never felt heat like this before," said Cpl. Pablo Lopez, a field artillery cannoneer with the 15th MEU. "Performing our jobs under these conditions means that we need to be ready to operate on another level. I can't imagine another way to better prepare us for real world operations in our new battle space than to practice it out here." Heavy armored vehicles carrying Marines and equipment set out on a convoy across the open desert in search of a location that will be used as a temporary outpost. "This is a full mission rehearsal for combat operations in severe conditions," said Maj. Toby Hlad, future operations officer for Naval Amphibious Forces, Task Force 51, 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade (TF 51/5). "Alligator Dagger allows for a full demonstration of the Navy and Marine Corps team in action preparing for combat operations in the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility. With TF 51/5 as CENTCOM's area of responsibility's crisis response headquarters centered around the capable and rehearsed Amphibious Readiness Group/Marine Expeditionary Unit (ARG/MEU) team, Alligator Dagger allow us to integrate adjacent forces in theater, rehearse likely and planned operations and provide a highly capable force for crisis response and combat operations." Exercise Alligator Dagger is the largest regional amphibious exercise to integrate and synchronize TF 51/5's warfighting capabilities and those of adjacent U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and Special Operations Forces units. The America ARG and the 15th MEU are able to rehearse critical amphibious combat proficiency training launched from international waters off the coast of Djibouti and executed on land in the vicinity of Arta Beach to ensure they are postured and prepared to execute operations at sea, from the sea and ashore. The country of Djibouti sits at the seam between the CENTCOM and U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) areas of responsibility. Through cooperation with AFRICOM, Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa, and the Djiboutian government, the America ARG and the 15th MEU Sailors and Marines made use of the arid ranges near Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, as well as used the camp's facilities and resources, to conduct the exercise. "Alligator Dagger affords our men and women the chance to demonstrate the modernization of ship to shore operations in this area of responsibility," said Lt. Andrew Reichard, the Naval Beach Group (NBG) 1 representative for the America ARG staff. "This exercise make you appreciate the resilient nature our Navy and Marine Corps possess in getting the mission and training accomplished." Half way through the convoy, Marines encounter a natural choke point a perfect location to practice counter ambush techniques by posting security. As they move into position, they quickly discover they're not alone. "At one point we were surrounded by donkeys," said Sgt. Keith Lake, a field artillery cannoneer with the 15th MEU. "We even saw a couple of camels, whose curiosity got the better of them and they came over to see what we were doing. It was something we hadn't planned for but it lightened the mood and served as a reminder that we need to be flexible and prepared to respond to unplanned events." With security drills and small arms training completed, the Marines continue along their journey in search of shelter for the night. "We're self-sufficient out here because we have to be," said Lake. "When we are called to respond to a crisis in the region, we don't have the luxury of having immediate support on the ground. We need to train as we fight and Alligator Dagger provides us with that sense of urgency we would have in a real crisis." Within an hour of arriving at their destination, the Marines transform once barren land into a forward operating base equipped with command and control, sleeping quarters, hot meals, 24-hour security patrols and they begin working on turning non-potable water into drinking water everything they need to sustain throughout the entirety of the exercise. With day two of the excise complete, the Marines and Sailors still have a long road ahead of them before they'll finish all required training that includes additional amphibious maneuvers, Vessel Board Search and Seizure, Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel as well as air assault evolutions. "The CENTCOM AOR is a dynamic battle space and we need to be ready to operate in the most severe conditions," said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Brendan Maguire, air operations officer for TF 51/5. "We don't know which challenges we'll be faced with but we do know that TF 51/5's ARG/MEU team is ready to operate in the toughest environment and win." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Dragon Masters Deactivated Friday after Six Decades of AMCM Excellence Navy News Service Story Number: NNS170911-06 Release Date: 9/11/2017 12:34:00 PM From Office of Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division PANAMA CITY, Fla. (NNS) -- After 63 years of flying test and evaluation mission flights, the Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division "Dragon Masters" Aviation Unit was deactivated in a ceremony Friday, Sept. 8, 2017. The aviation unit mission was to fly test and evaluate missions for the only Navy lab located along the Gulf Coast. The unit is presently comprised of 28 military personnel, 25 contractors, and two MH-60S aircraft (flown not only to test and evaluation, but also Search and Rescue flights). The aircraft will be returned to Fleet use in San Diego, California September 10, 2017. "NSWC PCD will continue to support the Navy's Fleet mine countermeasure missions [MCM]," said NSWC PCD Commanding Officer Capt. Aaron Peters. "Even though we deactivated the Dragon Masters aviation unit, and our military family moves on to take on other challenges, Panama City's work in Airborne MCM will continue. We will continue to host the Fleet each year in Panama City and we will continue to respond to the Fleet's airborne mine countermeasures call for support, we just won't fly MH-60S helicopters anymore." Of the 28 military and 25 contractors assigned to the Dragon Masters, at least five military billets will be retained as well as at least three contract positions. The military will phase out over a three year period between fiscal year 2018 and 2020. These personnel will be retained to maintain the flight line and keep it open for MH-53E squadrons to train at the command annually as well as conduct Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) test flights using drones less than 55 lbs. Additionally, a Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) detachment of up to 100 Sailors will use the aviation unit as they train on the next generation of LCAC presently being built at Textron, Inc., in Mobile, Alabama. In 1954, NSWC PCD - then called the U.S. Mine Defense Laboratory - became known for conducting the first successful airborne mine countermeasure test flight in the waters of St. Andrew Bay using a sonar tow array called the Shadowgraph. By 1965, the command was a critical asset to mine countermeasures in Vietnam and later in Korea. Since then, the command has experienced several technical achievements, to include supporting the successful completion of the Airborne Laser Mine Detection System and Airborne Mine Neutralization System through the Department of Defense acquisition milestone known as Initial Operational Test and Evaluation. In 2013, the Dragon Masters made headlines after utilizing their search and rescue capabilities and rescued a stranded mariner from the Gulf of Mexico, but that was not the first time the unit saved people from the Gulf. In February 2017, the Dragon Masters successfully flew a test flight that allowed aircrew members to insert a MK-18 unmanned underwater vehicle into the water to sweep for mines and be utilized as a mine countermeasure deterrent. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Hundreds of thousands rally for Catalan's independence from Spain Iran Press TV Mon Sep 11, 2017 6:24PM Hundreds of thousands of people have staged a rally in Barcelona to show support for Catalonia's separation from Spain in the upcoming independence referendum. An estimated 400,000 Catalans from all walks of life marched through central Barcelona on Monday, waving red, yellow and blue separatist flags in a show of strength three weeks ahead of a breakaway referendum declared as "illegal" by Madrid. The rally coincided with Catalonia's national day, which commemorates the fall of Barcelona to Spain in 1714 and is traditionally used by pro-independence activists to call for secession. "If there is huge mobilization, they can't do anything in Madrid," says Jordi Calatayud, a 21-year-old economics student attending the rally. "Catalan people will make independence possible, if there are a lot of us, they can't stop us." "We hope that we will be able to hold the referendum with total normality, because in a democracy it is normal to be able to vote," another participant said. "If the people want it to happen, it will go ahead." Last Thursday, Spain's Constitutional Court issued a ruling to suspend the referendum after Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy legally challenged the vote and said Spain was constitutionally indivisible. Regional leaders, however, have vowed to go ahead with the vote despite criticism from Madrid, which has threatened to disqualify the head of Catalonia's regional government, Carles Puigdemont, who is facing criminal charges of misuse of public money, disobedience and abuse of office for organizing the referendum. The Catalan leader says the Spanish government does not have the authority to do so and insists that the vote will proceed at any cost on October 1st. "It's not an option that the referendum won't go ahead," he told reporters. "It's twenty days away and we've already overcome many hurdles." Catalonia, a region of 7.5 million people with its own language and culture that accounts for about one-fifth of Spain's economic output, has significant powers over matters such as education, healthcare and welfare. But Spain's economic doldrums and a perception that the region pays more in taxes than it receives in investments and transfers from Madrid have helped push the cause of secession from the fringes of Catalan politics to center-stage. Recent polls by the regional government suggest that those opposing independence outnumber the supporters by a low margin. However, local authorities say Catalans would decide on the issue once and for all in the upcoming referendum. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Emirati soldier, military pilot killed in Yemen war, UAE says Iran Press TV Mon Sep 11, 2017 4:45PM A soldier and a pilot of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) taking part in the Saudi-led war on Yemen have been killed in two separate incidents, the Emirati military says. First Sergeant Nasser Gharib al-Mazrouei "died of wounds" he suffered whilst fighting in Yemen, the UAE military said in a Monday statement carried by the country's official WAM news agency. The news agency said hours later that pilot Sultan al-Naqbi had been "killed by a technical malfunction" on his plane. The report did not mention the exact location of the incident. Meanwhile, WAM said a soldier died Monday of wounds he earlier suffered in a separate incident. Latest figures show that over 100 Emirati troops have been killed in the Saudi-led war on Yemen. The UAE is one of Saudi Arabia's main partners in the military aggression against the impoverished Arab nation. Human Rights Watch (HRW) has recently lashed out at the Saudi-led coalition for its refusal to provide information on its role in the massive unlawful airstrikes against Yemen in an attempt to avoid international legal liability. According to a Friday report by HRW, the current and former members of the coalition have refused to reply to the rights group's correspondence in 2017, which urged them to release the results of their investigations into the unlawful airstrikes in Yemen. The report provided detailed witness accounts of several unlawful airstrikes by the coalition which killed and wounded a massive number of civilians. The coalition includes Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, and Sudan. Qatar withdrew from the coalition in June amid a diplomatic rift with Riyadh, Manama, and Abu Dhabi. More than 12,000 people have been killed since the onset of the Saudi campaign against Yemen since March 2015. Much of the Arabian Peninsula country's infrastructure, including hospitals, schools and factories, has been reduced to rubble due the war. The Saudi war has also triggered a deadly cholera epidemic across Yemen. According to data provided by the World Health Organization and Yemen's Health Ministry, the country's cholera outbreak, the worst on record in terms of its rapid spread, has infected 612,703 people and killed 2,048 since it began in April, with some districts still reporting sharp rises in new cases. The United Nations says the Saudi war has left some 17 million Yemenis hungry, nearly seven million at the risk of famine, and about 16 million almost without access to water or sanitation. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Somali army repels al-Shabab after attack on military base Iran Press TV Mon Sep 11, 2017 2:25PM Government forces in Somalia have seized control of a town near the border with Kenya, after the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab militant group attacked a Somali military base there and left a number of soldiers dead. Military officials and local residents confirmed on Monday that the Takfiri outfit had detonated a car bomb in the Somali border town of Balad Hawo and then stormed the military base there, but were later driven out by the army after heavy fighting. "We were awoken by a suicide car bomb this morning and then fierce battle followed," Major Mohamed Abdullahi told Reuters from the town. "We lost at least 10 soldiers. We chased al-Shabab out of the town. We killed seven militants," he added. The official, however, warned that the death toll on both sides could still rise. Ahmed Hassan, a resident of the Somali town, said, "Now Balad Hawo is calm and government forces fully control it," adding that he saw 13 bodies collected from the military base. Al-Shabab, however, claimed it had killed 30 soldiers in the fighting and left the town after releasing 35 prisoners from the local jail. The development came a day after at least six people were killed and several others injured in an al-Shabab bomb attack in central Somalia. Al-Shabab is the dominant militant group in Somalia, a country in the horn of Africa that has been ravaged by decades of war and poverty. The militant group aims to oust the western-backed government in Mogadishu and drive out African Union peacekeeping troops. Somalia has been the scene of deadly clashes between government forces and al-Shabab militants since 2006. The Takfiri militant group was forced out of the capital by the African Union troops in 2011, but still controls parts of the countryside and carries out attacks against government, military and civilian targets. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Militants kill 18 police forces in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula Iran Press TV Mon Sep 11, 2017 2:43PM At least 18 police forces, including a general, have been killed in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula after militants ambushed their convoy, in one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in the restive region since January. According to the country's security and military officials, militants on Monday first detonated a number of roadside bombs that destroyed and set ablaze four armored vehicles and another one, which was carrying equipment used for signal jamming purposes. The assailants, whose identities were not yet known, later opened fire at survivors and commandeered a police pickup truck. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but authorities said that they bore the hallmarks of the Velayat Sinai, a local affiliate of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group, formerly known as Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, which pledged allegiance to Daesh in 2014, and usually carries out similar assaults against the government forces. The incident occurred some 30 kilometers west of Arish in northern Sinai, the heart of long-running militancy now led by the Velayat Sinai terror outfit. According to the state news agency MENA, security forces entered a gun battle with militants in the vicinity of the blast site and managed to slay several of them. The deadly assault came just a day after security forces carried out two simultaneous raids on apartments in a crowded district in capital Cairo. The apartments were allegedly occupied by members of a militant cell planning terror attacks in the capital. At least 10 suspected militants were killed in the raids. Police said the militants had sneaked into Cairo from the volatile northern Sinai. At least 26 Egyptian soldiers were killed or wounded on July 7, 2017, in attacks on checkpoints in the Sinai Peninsula. In March, militants claimed the lives of 10 troopers during an army raid in Sinai's central region. Four months later, at least 26 Egyptian soldiers were killed or wounded in attacks on checkpoints in the restive peninsula. Since its emergence in 2013, Velayat Sinai has killed hundreds of members of Egyptian security forces. The terror group later expanded its assaults to target members of Egypt's Coptic Christian community as well as foreigners visiting the country. Egypt has been suffering from a spike in terrorist attacks targeting civilians in the mainland over the past year. That has prompted the government to impose a state of emergency and widen a controversial crackdown, which critics say has mostly targeted dissidents. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address NATO convoy attacked near Bagram airfield outside Afghan capital Iran Press TV Mon Sep 11, 2017 1:45PM Casualties have been reported after a bomber attacked a convoy of the NATO-led Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan, officials say. Local Afghan officials said the convoy was attacked near Bagram airfield outside the capital Kabul on Monday. District Governor Abdul Shukor Qodossi said at least three civilians were hurt and one of the vehicles damaged in the assault. It was not immediately clear whether there were any casualties among the troops in the convoy. The Resolute Support headquarters in Kabul later said it was aware of the attack and would release details once more information became available. A statement from the Taliban militants, however, claimed that more than a dozen Americans had been killed and 11 wounded while three armored vehicles destroyed. The Resolute Support mission is a follow-on mission for the US-led forces, who formally ended their combat mission in Afghanistan in 2014. There are 8,400 American troops in Afghanistan with Washington claiming that they are advising and assisting the Afghan military in the fight against the Taliban and Daesh. There are about another 5,000 troops in Afghanistan from other NATO allies. The Western military alliance, NATO, is also weighing an increase of the personnel of its "Resolute Support" mission from the current 13,000. Taliban militants have intensified their attacks in Afghanistan since they announced the start of their "spring offensive," a heightened campaign of bombings, ambush attacks, and other raids. In addition, the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group has also gained ground and recruited militants across several provinces of Afghanistan over the past few years. Afghanistan is still suffering from insecurity and violence 16 years after the United States and its allies invaded the country as part of Washington's so-called war on terror in 2001. The invasion removed Taliban from power, but militancy continues to this day. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Lebanon to complain to UN over Israeli jets, spy device Iran Press TV Mon Sep 11, 2017 10:27AM Lebanon plans to file a complaint with the United Nations against Israel for planting spy devices and violating the country's airspace. The Israeli warplanes violated Lebanon's airspace on Sunday, flying at a low altitude and breaking the sonic barrier above the country's third city of Sidon and Palestinian refugee camps in the area. On Saturday, Hezbollah said it had spotted an Israeli spying contraption, with a thermal camera for night vision, which was hidden in a rock in Kfar Shebba, east of Shebba Farms in southern Lebanon. Prime Minister Sa'ad Hariri on Monday requested that the Foreign Ministry file a complaint with the UN against Israel, Beirut-based The Daily Star newspaper reported. "We have begun preparing a complaint to be referred to the [UN] Security Council," Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil said in a tweet. He said the intrusion had caused "material, moral, and sovereign damage" to Lebanon. Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri also said, "Israeli low flyby above Sidon and particularly [the Palestinian refugee camp of] Ain al-Hilweh, is a direct message of threat directed towards us." Speaking to local newspaper Al-Akhbar on Monday, Berri regretted that internal divisions had emboldened Tel Aviv to take such measures. "We are distracted internally, while Israel carries out maneuvers against us and it provided an example for that by breaking the sound barrier in Sidon," he said. Back-to-back incursions The incident came a day after Bassil said the Arab country would lodge an "urgent complaint" with the Security Council against Israel over an airstrike conducted from the Lebanese airspace on a military facility in the western Syrian province of Hama. The Syrian Army said in a statement on September 7 that Israeli warplanes had fired a number of missiles at 2:42 a.m. local time (0042 GMT) from the Lebanese airspace against one of its military positions near the town of Masyaf, located approximately 40 kilometers west of the provincial capital city of Hama. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Indian forces kill two suspected militants, capture one in Kashmir Iran Press TV Mon Sep 11, 2017 9:47AM Indian forces have killed two suspected militants and captured another in an overnight gun battle in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, triggering protests from locals. Police said a brief gunfight broke out with the militants in the early hours of Monday after Indian forces surrounded the village of Khudwanim upon a tip-off of their presence. "Two militants (were) killed in an encounter with police, army and CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force). One was arrested," a police statement said. Indian forces suffered no casualties in the encounter, according to the police. The Indian raid brought hundreds of local residents onto the streets to protest the killings. They started to throw stones at government forces, who also fired tear gas to disperse them. The recent standoff occurred just one day after Indian forces killed two other suspected militants and captured another in the southern Shopian area. The forces were engaged in a day-long gun battle with the militants. Over 140 suspected militants have been killed so far this year in the restive Kashmir valley. The region has been divided between India and Pakistan but claimed in full by both since the two partitioned and gained independence from Britain in 1947. Militant groups have also for decades been fighting for independence or a merger with Pakistan. The two countries have fought three wars over the disputed territory. Despite a ceasefire agreement that was reached in November 2003, sporadic skirmishes continue in Kashmir. India accuses Pakistan of arming and training militants there and has deployed some 500,000 soldiers to the disputed region. Pakistan denies the allegations. India has also deployed thousands of additional troops to fight against militants in the region. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address EU Lawmakers Push For More Robust Eastern Partnership Rikard Jozwiak September 11, 2017 BRUSSELS -- EU lawmakers are pushing for an end to international data roaming charges between the EU and Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine, a trust fund for Ukrainian investment, and possibly more sanctions on Russia ahead of a summit in Brussels in November. According to a draft report of the European Parliament's recommendations to other EU institutions such as the European Commission and the European Council regarding the Eastern Partnership (Eap) in the run-up to the Eastern Partnership summit in Brussels in November, the chamber wants "an attractive 'EaP+' model for associated countries" that could include such things as "additional unilateral tariff preferences, the abolition of roaming tariffs between the partners and the EU, and the development of high-capacity broadband." The paper, which was seen by RFE/RL, also states that the EaP+ model could be offered to the other three Eastern Partnership countries -- Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Belarus -- "once they are ready for such enhanced commitments." 'Roam Like Home' The European Union abolished roaming charges for its 28 member states in June after over a decade of legislative and political wrangling. Whereas much of the parliament's wish list is unrealistic at the moment, the issue of extending the "roam-like-home" provision to Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine is something that has been discussed by EU diplomats, according to several RFE/RL sources close to the talks who were not authorized to speak on the record. The idea would be to announce at the summit that the EU and its partners want to abolish roaming charges, but also to caution people about how long such a move took to achieve in the EU. The draft, which first will be discussed at a meeting in the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee on September 14, also suggests that "the commission, together with the European Investment Bank (EIB), propose arrangements for the implementation of a new European Investment Plan for Ukraine and other Eastern Partnership countries that have made the most progress on reforms." The paper suggests an unspecified increase in the lending capacity of the EIB from today's 1.6 billion euros per year and a trust fund for Ukraine, stressing that the fund "should focus on private and public investments, in particular on social and economic infrastructure and those aimed at boosting investment absorption capacity." 'Sustaining Unity' On Russia On Russia sanctions, the European lawmakers "commit to sustaining the unity of action among EU member states in maintaining collective pressure on Russia, in particular through strengthened targeted restrictive measures." The text also endorses "reestablishing Ukraine's full sovereignty in Crimea, and that of Georgia in South Ossetia and Abkhazia and of Moldova in [Transdniester], andputting an end to the additional threats of state-sponsored assassinations, cyberwarfare, disinformation, and other types of destabilization." Russia illegally annexed Ukraine's Crimea region in 2014. It unilaterally recognized the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia following a brief war with Georgia in 2008. And Moscow maintains troops in Moldova's breakaway Transdniester region over the repeated objections of the Moldovan authorities. 'Brussels Declaration' The European Parliament report could be amended before its likely endorsement by the full plenary in November, but the main goal is to put as much pressure as possible on the commission and those EU member states that are less enthusiastic about the Eastern Partnership. The EU member states are currently debating the "Brussels declaration," which will be the official working document to be adopted by participants at the summit. The current discussion about the draft declaration among EU diplomats focuses on whether one should include a sentence about "the acknowledgement of the European aspirations" of countries such as Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, which all have long-term aims of one day joining the bloc and already have functioning association agreements with Brussels as well as visa liberalization. This sentence was included in the Riga declaration from the last Eastern Partnership summit in 2015, but both Germany and the Netherlands have so far been reluctant to commit to such language, according to EU diplomats familiar with the talks who asked for anonymity due to the sensitivity of the discussions. The European Parliament text is clearer in endorsing the partners' future EU aspirations by referring to Article 49 of the EU treaty on enlargement and noting: "Any European state may apply to become a member of the European Union, provided it adheres to the Copenhagen criteria and the principles of democracy, that it respects fundamental freedoms and human and minority rights, and that it upholds the rule of law." Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/eu-eastern-partnership- more-robust/28729655.html Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Thousands of Catalans Gather in Barcelona for Independence Rally on National Day Sputnik News 22:26 11.09.2017 Some 400,000 people took to the streets of Barcelona on Catalonia's national day in support of Catalan independence. BARCELONA (Sputnik) Catalonia's National Day, the Diada, being held in the Spanish autonomous community on Monday less than three weeks before the much-anticipated referendum on independence from Spain, featured a major pro-independence rally in the Catalan capital of Barcelona. ONE EURO FOR INDEPENDENCE SYMBOL Thousands of people holding the Estelada, the unofficial flag of Catalan independence supporters, have gathered in downtown Barcelona. For those who have not managed to get a flag in advance, vendors on the street offer to sell large ones for five euros ($5.99) and smaller ones for one euro. The rally is organized by the Catalan National Assembly, which had announced that 450,000 people said they wanted to participate in the event. Per the organizers' plan, at 5:14 p.m. local time (19:14 GMT), all the rally participants are to put on yellow T-shirts, symbolizing this year's Diada, and flood into the Passeig de Gracia avenue and Carrer d'Arago thoroughfare, which run perpendicular to one another, in order to form a giant "yellow plus sign" which could be seen from the above. Some 300,000 Diada t-shirts have already been sold for this year's celebration. The main events for Diada will be held at Placa de Catalunya, Barcelona's central square. The rally will be attended by politicians, including Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, members of his cabinet, Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau, and heads of public organizations. Two Nobel laureates will also be in attendance: Ahmed Galal (member of the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet which had received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2015) and Argentine writer Adolfo Perez Esquivel, who had won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1980. THEATER Spanish politicians have been using the word "theater" when commenting on Catalan parliament's activities last week when the regional legislature was in the process of passing laws on the independence referendum and the subsequent transition period. Specifically, the authority was amending the rules of its own operation, passing laws that contradict not only the position of the Spanish government but also the previous rulings of the nation's Constitutional Court. Early on Monday, a real theater performance, one not involving politicians, took place at Placa Sant Jaume, where Catalonia's local governing body, Generalitat, is located. The play commemorates the fall of Barcelona during the War of the Spanish Succession on September 11, 1714, and the subsequent loss of Catalan liberties, institutions, and laws. PEOPLE NEED POSSIBILITY TO VOTE Both the supporters and the opponents of Catalonia's independence believe that holding a referendum in necessary. According to recent polls, anywhere from 70 to 80 percent of the autonomous community's residents support the referendum and believe that Madrid should allow the vote to happen. However, even those who plan to vote for Catalonia's secession from Spain do not believe the Spanish government will recognize the referendum results if a majority should happen to support the independence. Some rally participants say that by prohibiting the referendum, Spain's ruling People's Party only strengthens the separatist sentiments among the Catalans. During a press conference, Puigdemont said that the referendum will be held on October 1 as planned, because "there is no such force that would prevent the Catalans from voting," adding that local security services will be able to maintain order during the vote. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who had repeatedly said that no independence referendum would be allowed on October 1, has congratulated the Catalans on their National Day. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Sweden Upping Its Ability to Chase Submarines Amid Two Major Baltic Exercises Sputnik News 15:05 11.09.2017(updated 17:14 11.09.2017) The Swedish Navy has two major military drills scheduled for September (Aurora and Northern Coasts) to boost the Nordic country's defensive abilities against a fictitious enemy which bears striking similarities to Russia. Sweden is also working hard to "reclaim" its submarine detection capabilities after a series of painful setbacks. Sweden's ability to detect submarines in the Baltic Sea came under scrutiny after the country's painfully fruitless submarine hunt in the Stockholm archipelago in autumn of 2014 that cost Swedish taxpayers $3 million, while only yielding grainy pics of what was purported to be a " Russian submarine" and later proved to be a civilian boat. In the aftermath of the submarine hunt, the Swedish Armed Forces were given a number of concrete tasks in order to strengthen the country's underwater defense. Surveillance ships will be acquired, corvettes approaching retirement will be modernized, and new sensors will be placed in the archipelago. Amid other measures, Sweden's "red-green" government tried to reassure the public by reducing conscription. 4th Naval Flotilla Commander Fredric Palmquist told the Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet that the plan entails both new tasks and extra funding, playfully adding that the Swedish Navy "is not used" to this sort of thing. According to Palmquist, retrieving the nation's submarine defense is not something accomplished in the wink of an eye. Palquist argued that it was hard to estimate the exact amount of time needed, yet surmised that it might take as long as twelve years, given Sweden's armament experiences of the 1980s. "It takes some time and it's quite expensive," Fredric Palmquist told Svenska Dagbladet. According to him, the Baltic Sea is a particularly nasty location for hunting submarines. To begin with, it's shallow, which contrary to a layman's understanding makes things more complicated, due to numerous layers having different temperatures. Palmquist compared the brackish waters of the Baltic to a game of mirrors, noting that sonar signals also constantly bounce off the seabed to create a constant background noise. "It's the laws of physics we are working against," Palmquist said. In September, the Swedish Navy is taking part in two major marine exercises. First off, there is the Northern Coasts exercise, which for the Navy's part directly transcends into the international exercise Aurora, starting on Monday. According to Palmquist, both are large and important exercises, with Aurora being particularly "stimulating" as Sweden gets to practice with the US military as an opponent. "We can plan and engage in tactical activities without knowing what happens on the other side," Palmquist said. At the same time, Palmquist said the exercises will hardly be as revolutionary for the Navy as for other parts of the military. Since the Navy mostly consists of permanent units which participate in exercises continuously, Palmquist called Aurora an ordinary exercise "like any other day." Starting on Monday, Aurora 17 is non-aligned Sweden's biggest military exercise in 23 years. As if incarnating Sweden's mounting anti-Russian paranoia, Aurora 17 features a fictitious enemy, whose borders mysteriously coincide with Russia. Aurora 17 will involve a total of about 20,000 sea, land and air troops from all over Sweden, including some 1,500 soldiers from the US, as well as fellow Nordic and Baltic countries. The total cost of the exercise has been estimated at $73 million. On the home front, Sweden, which is one of the few remaining European countries that remain outside NATO, is selling the exercise as a renewed focus on national defense after more than a decade of prioritizing international missions. Incidentally, non-aligned Sweden's burgeoning romance with NATO has re-kindled the debate about the country's membership in the alliance. According to 2016 figures from the SOM Institute, NATO supporters outnumbered NATO opponents, while a majority of Swedes still wanted the country to retain its freedom from the alliance. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UNICEF: Decades of progress for children at risk across Middle East and North Africa 11 September 2017 Nearly one-in-five children across the Middle East and North Africa over 90 per cent of whom live in conflict-affected countries need immediate humanitarian assistance, according to new analysis by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). "Conflict continues to rob millions of girls and boys of their childhood," said Geert Cappelaere, UNICEF Regional Director, in a press statement. "Decades of progress are at risk of being reversed across the Middle East and North Africa," he added. UNICEF pointed out that children have been hit hardest by ongoing years of violence, displacement and lack of basic services. Civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, energy, water, sanitation and hygiene installations have often come under attack, exposing children to the risk of death and diseases. Moreover, millions of families have been forced to flee their homes some multiple times and under fire. Continued violence and displacement have increasingly made it difficult for children and families to cope. "With no end in sight to these conflicts and with families' dwindling financial resources, many have no choice but to send their children to work or marry their daughters early. The number of children affiliated with the fighting has more than doubled," continued the UNICEF Director. According to the latest analysis, inside Syria and in refugee-hosting countries, almost 12 million Syrian children require humanitarian assistance up from half a million in 2012. Additionally, an estimated two million children who live in hard-to-reach or besieged areas in Syria have received limited humanitarian assistance over the years. Turning to Yemen, the fighting has destroyed water and sanitation systems sparking the world's worst cholera and acute diarrhoea outbreak, with over 610,000 suspected cases to date. More than half of Yemen's health facilities are out of service and water systems have been destroyed, cutting off almost 15 million people from safe water and access to basic healthcare. Across Iraq, more than 5 million children are in need of assistance as heavy fighting intensified, including in Mosul and recently in Tal Afar. They need water, food, shelter and education. As for the Gaza Strip, an ongoing electricity crisis has reduced access to water by 30 per cent while diarrhoea cases among young children have doubled in just three months. "Children in the Middle East and North Africa region have undergone unprecedented levels of violence and witnessed horrors that no one should witness. If violence and wars continue, the consequences not only for the region but for the world as a whole will be dire," underscored Mr. Cappelaere. "World leaders must do much more to put an end to violence for the sake of boys and girls and their future," he concluded. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Top UN official commends Niger for tackling complex humanitarian crisis 11 September 2017 A top United Nations official today commended the Government of Niger for tackling the country's complex humanitarian crisis, including leading the provision of life-saving aid to hundreds of thousands of the most vulnerable, and highlighted the need to address its root causes. "I was impressed to see how brave aid workers are working with the Government to deliver assistance to the most vulnerable people in Niger under difficult and dangerous circumstances," said the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, concluding a three-day visit. During the visit, the first for Mr. Lowcock since assuming his post earlier this month, he travelled to the Diffa region where aid has been provided to 400,000 people; one out of two individuals requires humanitarian assistance; and Boko Haram attacks remain a grave threat. Mr. Lowcock pointed to the success of scaled-up humanitarian support in Niger in recent years, saying: "We have reached millions of people, unquestionably saving lives and averting the worst. But humanitarian needs remain high and sustained international help behind Niger's efforts is critical." N'Gagam, a village in the Diffa region near the Nigerian border, had a pre-crisis population of 1,000 but now hosts 13,500 people from both Niger and Nigeria whose homes were destroyed or villages are considered too dangerous to return to, according to a news release issued by OCHA. A 30-year-old woman named Achaitou, who fled Nigeria to N'Gagam with her four young children, told Mr. Lowcock how she survives with help from the UN and partners. "Despite daily struggles, she maintains her dignity and retains hope for a better future for her children. But she remains terrified of violence by armed groups and often takes her children into the bush at night, risking disease and snake bites." The UN humanitarian chief said the Government and people of Niger have shown "enormous generosity and humanity" in hosting refugees and internally displaced persons fleeing violence, not only in the Lake Chad Basin but also in the west, where people have fled insecurity in Mali. Niger has been an active international partner in efforts to address the crises in both the Lake Chad Basin and the Sahel, according to OCHA. In Niger, Mr. Lowcock also held meetings with UN officials, international non-governmental organizations and the diplomatic community, in addition to Government officials. "Niger has done so much right, but faces enormous challenges," he pointed out, noting that, like other countries across the Sahel, it grapples with insecurity, climatic shocks, extreme poverty and the lack of basic services and infrastructure. "Together with our humanitarian efforts, Niger needs increased support from development partners, especially to educate its young population and enable them to get jobs. We must tackle the root causes of the crisis alongside the immediate priority of saving lives and protecting people," he added. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Taliban Car Bomber Attacks NATO Convoy By Ayaz Gul September 11, 2017 A suicide bomber rammed his explosives-packed car into a NATO military convoy wounding "a small number" of foreign troops and Afghan civilians Monday in Afghanistan, officials say. The Taliban swiftly took credit for the afternoon attack near the U.S.-run Bagram military air base. NATO's Resolute Support mission said the wounded service members were taken to the Bagram hospital for treatment. "None of the injuries are considered life threatening," it added, but did not reveal the victims' nationalities, though reports identified them as American soldiers. "The Afghan civilians were evacuated to a local hospital and their condition is unknown at this time," according to the alliance statement. A Taliban spokesman claimed the powerful blast destroyed three U.S. military vehicles and "killed and wounded 24 'invaders,'" a term the insurgent group uses for the NATO-led military coalition in Afghanistan. The Taliban often releases inflated claims for such attacks. Leaflets spark retaliation Last week a suicide bomber on a motorbike blew himself up at an entrance to the Bagram base, injuring "a small number" of U.S. soldiers, according to officials. The Taliban claimed responsibility for that attack, saying it was carried out to take revenge on "American invaders" for air-dropping anti-Islam leaflets in Parwarn. The controversial leaflets, intended to mock the Taliban, featured the coalition as a lion chasing a white dog, the same color as the insurgent flag. The Muslim profession of faith was superimposed on the dog, which is considered an unclean animal in Islam. The leaflets also outraged Afghans and prompted calls for bringing those responsible to justice. A senior U.S. military commander was quick to apologize over the leaflets he deemed "highly offensive" to both Muslims and the religion of Islam. "I sincerely apologize. ... There is no excuse for this mistake," an official statement quoted Major General James Linder as saying. The general, who heads the United States and NATO special operations forces in Afghanistan, promised to investigate and find those responsible for the "error." U.S. President Donald Trump, while announcing his new strategy for Afghanistan last month, pledged to enhance the troop presence and keep American forces in the country indefinitely. The Taliban responded by saying it will turn Afghanistan into a "graveyard" for foreign forces. The insurgents have extended their control or influence to more than 40 percent of Afghanistan within the past three years and continue to make battlefield gains. Monday, the Taliban staged a three-pronged assault on a remote district, Barg-e-Matal, in the eastern province of Nursitan, triggering fierce clashes with Afghan forces. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address India to Provide More Assistance to Afghan Defense Forces By Anjana Pasricha September 11, 2017 India will provide more assistance to Afghan defense forces and implement new development projects in the war-torn country. The announcement came at the first high-level meeting held between the two countries after U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled a new Afghan strategy in which he called on India to step up its role in Afghanistan. A joint statement issued at the end of a day-long conference between the Afghan and Indian foreign ministers Monday in New Delhi said they have agreed to strengthen security cooperation, and India will extend assistance for the Afghan forces to fight terrorism, organized crime, trafficking of narcotics and money laundering. Afghanistan has long pressed for greater Indian assistance in defense supplies and capacity building as it struggles to fight Taliban insurgents who have taken swathes of territory. Although India provides economic aid to Kabul, it has been more measured in giving military assistance, wary that Pakistan has resisted a greater role for India in Afghanistan. India trains Afghan soldiers in its military academy and has supplied attack helicopters. The two countries also said they would cooperate in overcoming challenges posed by Islamic terror groups. Both India and Afghanistan have long accused Pakistan of sheltering terror groups that mount attacks in their countries. "We remain united in trying to overcome the challenges posed by cross-border terrorism and safe haven and sanctuaries to both our countries," said Indian's foreign minister, Sushma Swaraj. At the same time, the Afghan minister tried to allay fears the growing partnership between the two countries was aimed at Pakistan. Saying that current regional trends bring India and Afghanistan "more closer than ever," Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani said their friendship does not mean hostility with others in the neighborhood. "Such rationale has never had any room in our foreign policy. Unlike others, Afghanistan has hardly sought security in the insecurity of others." Development projects Foreign Minister Swaraj said that New Delhi would undertake 116 new "high impact" development projects focused on socio-economic and infrastructure development in 31 provinces of Afghanistan. The new projects would include a dam and drinking water supply project for Kabul, a low-cost housing project for refugees, and a polyclinic in Mazar-e Sharif. New Delhi also said it will step up connectivity projects between the two countries which remains a key challenge in the landlocked country and start sending wheat shipments in the coming weeks. India already has a $2 billion economic cooperation program in the country that includes building roads and hospitals. New Delhi had welcomed Trump's new strategy in Afghanistan, in which he said that "we want them to help us more with Afghanistan, especially in the area of economic assistance and development," and called on Pakistan to eliminate militant sanctuaries. On Monday, Swaraj called India's relationship with Afghanistan "an article of faith." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address 'War is Being Won,' Says Head of Regional Force Battling Boko Haram By Moki Edwin Kindzeka September 11, 2017 The head of the multinational task force fighting Boko Haram says the war against the militants is being won, but warned that suicide bombings remain a threat, killing close to 400 people in Nigeria and Cameroon since April. Soldiers from the 7,800-person task force have been stationed in several towns and villages along the Nigeria-Cameroon border since those communities were liberated from Boko Haram a little over a year ago. The force's commander, Nigerian-born General Lucky Irabor, visited four communities along the border on Saturday to reassure local residents and rally the troops. "Boko Haram and other criminal gangs, their end has come. Boko Haram is on the downward trend," Irabor told the soldiers. "That alone should motivate you to know that the war is being won, and for you to give in the last of your energy and your commitment so that they would be completely defeated." Irabor ordered the soldiers to focus on stopping suicide bombers, and to work more closely with local self-defense groups. He urged civilians to report anything or anyone suspicious. The Boko Haram conflict has displaced over two million people in four countries, but the governments of Nigeria and Cameroon are urging people to go home. Irabor said the soldiers' presence in villages will keep Boko Haram from taking them back. However, security is not the only challenge the returnees face. Aboubakar Bouba, an elder of Budua village on Cameroon's northern border with Nigeria, returned home in August. He fled Budua after a Boko Haram attack in 2014. The 75-year-old says the loud sounds of bombs that destroyed their village mosque, killing several people including their imam, also ruptured his eardrums. A soldier asked Bouba how life has been in his village since he returned. Bouba said he is poor and lives on food aid from well-wishers and neighbors. He says he hasn't seen his children since 2014, when they also fled. The village, once home to 200 people, is now inhabited by approximately 70. The residents say they are hungry, but the fighting has devastated farmland, leaving farmers unable to cultivate crops or take care of livestock. Cameroon's government has announced plans to provide seeds to farmers and financial aid to unemployed youths to start small businesses, but the people of the village say they are still waiting. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Somalia: 20 Killed in Three Separate Attacks By Harun Maruf September 11, 2017 At least 16 people were killed, most of them regional government soldiers, after al-Shabab militants attacked the Somali town of Beled Hawo on Monday, officials and residents said. Four other people were killed in incidents elsewhere in the country. Security sources say militants attacked three locations in Beled Hawo, which sits on the Somalia-Kenya border. The first attack targeted a military base, about six kilometers outside Beled Hawo. The mayor of Beled Hawo, Mohamud Hayd Osman, told VOA Somali the militants detonated a suicide car bomb before storming the base. "The troops evacuated their wounded, and retreated to another location three kilometers away," he said. Independent security sources told VOA Somali that 14 government soldiers were killed in the attack, with eight others wounded. Soldiers fled the base following the heavy attack and crossed into Kenya, the sources say. After overrunning the base, militants entered the town and attacked the main police station, residents told VOA. Osman says two civilians were killed in that attack. "They were unable to penetrate the station first, but they have detonated explosives on the perimeter," he said. The third attack by the militants targeted the town's district headquarters. Osman said the militants detonated explosives at the building that houses the mayor's office, causing damage. As al-Shabab fighters and Somali soldiers battled, Kenyan troops launched artillery fire on advancing militants to prevent them from entering Kenya. Residents also said they saw Kenyan military helicopters in the air, trying to force al-Shabab militants to withdraw from the town. The militants retreated just over an hour after entering the town, Osman said. Al-Shabab claimed to have killed nearly 40 soldiers and freed 35 inmates from prison. Osman denies the claim. He said police freed the prisoners in order to save them from being killed by al-Shabab. Meanwhile, three government soldiers were killed in an ambush by militants near the town of Bal'ad, 30 kilometers from Mogadishu, witnesses said. They told VOA Somali that gunmen ambushed a military convoy which departed Bal'ad on its way to Jowhar town. In Mogadishu, a car bomb went off in the city's busiest road. Witnesses said one person was killed and four others were injured in the car bomb at Maka Al-Mukarama road. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UN: Human Rights Protections Threatened by Growing Authoritarianism By Lisa Schlein September 11, 2017 Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, the United Nations' high commissioner for human rights, painted a dark picture of growing violations and abuse around the world in an address to delegates at the opening of the 36th session of the U.N. Human Rights Council Monday. While condemning the actions of violent extremists and terrorists, he warned of the greater dangers to society from governments that "peel away at human rights protections," watching societies gradually unravel as an increasing number move toward "authoritarianism and oppression." The current session is expected to be particularly active. Over the next three weeks, the 47-member body will explore more than 80 topics and country reports presented by more than 25 human rights experts and investigative bodies on a wide range of issues, including torture, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances. Two-hundred-and-30 side events organized by non-governmental organizations and an additional 50 state-sponsored side events will be held dealing with a myriad of issues, from the human rights records of specific countries to terrorism. Contentious debates expected General debates will be held on the findings of reports submitted respectively by the U.N. Commissions of Inquiry on Syria and on Burundi. Vigorous, often contentious discussions are expected during interactive dialogues on human rights situations in dozens of countries. High Commissioner Zeid presented an overview of the global situation in which he highlighted his concerns about extensive gross human rights violations in 39 countries. Rohingya issue He condemned the brutal security operation under way in Myanmar's Rakhine state, which, according to latest reports from the International Organization for Migration, has prompted more than 300,000 minority Muslim Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh in fewer than three weeks. "The situation seems a textbook example of ethnic cleansing," Zeid said. "We have received multiple reports and satellite imagery of security forces and local militia burning Rohingya villages, and consistent accounts of extrajudicial killings, including shooting fleeing civilians." He said the widespread or systematic attacks against the community could amount to "crimes against humanity." He called on the Myanmar government to end its current cruel military operation and reverse its discrimination against the Rohingya. Myanmar's de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been criticized for her response to the violence. She says there has been an "iceberg of misinformation" over Rohingya. An independent international fact-finding mission on Myanmar next week will update the council on the alleged abuses carried out by the military forces. The high commissioner called the human rights situation in Yemen "extremely alarming," condemning the Saudi-led coalition airstrikes in Yemen for causing most of the nearly 14,000 civilian deaths and injuries since the start of the conflict in March 2015. U.N. officials report that the Netherlands will table a resolution calling for an independent investigation on Yemen. Central African Republic Turning to Africa, High Commissioner Zeid expressed alarm by the sharp deterioration in the security situation in Central African Republic. "I am extremely concerned about persistent reports of atrocity crimes, which are pushing the country very close to a complete breakdown along religious and ethnic lines. "Anti-Balaka and ex-Seleka forces, as well as various splinter groups, are responsible for the escalating cycles of reprisal attacks, which are fueled by incitement to hatred and violence by religious leaders and other leading figures." He bemoaned the situation in South Sudan, which he said was "being quite simply destroyed by the devastating violence under way across much of the country." US on human rights Separately, Zeid criticized the Trump administration for its decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, in October in six months' time, "despite evidence of its positive impact on the lives of almost 800,000 young migrants, and on the U.S. economy and society." Trump urged Congress to step in during the six-month delay to provide former DACA beneficiaries who were illegally brought to the U.S. as children with "durable legal status." The United States, which was elected for a three-year term as a member of the council in October, is expected to play an active and, some would say, controversial role in this session. On a visit to Geneva in June, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told the council that Washington's continued membership in the organization depended on its reform of the elections and membership process, on removing Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories as a separate agenda item and on putting greater focus on country-specific human rights issues. The United States, which has expressed concern about the human rights crises in Burundi and Venezuela, is expected to follow those issues closely. In response to an address by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza, at the council Monday, the U.S. mission issued a statement accusing him of trying to shift attention away from "the Maduro regime's sustained repression of political dissent." The U.S. called this "an affront to the council" and urged the international community "to condemn the [Nicolas] Maduro regime for the assumption of legislative powers by an illegitimate constituent assembly." This is the final year of Zeid's mandate as high commissioner. In concluding his remarks, he noted that the world had grown darker and dangerous during this time. "Human rights principles are the only way to avoid global war and profound misery and deprivation," he said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Air Force delivers doctors, aid to Florida By Capt. Ryan DeCamp, 18th Air Force Public Affairs / Published September 11, 2017 SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (AFNS) -- Three C-17s from Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina and Dover Air Force Base, Delaware flew more than 300 doctors, nurses and other medical professionals to Orlando, Florida, Sept. 9, 2017, in anticipation of Hurricane Irma's landfall Sept. 10. "When the world presents a challenge, our Airmen adjust to meet the need and do what it takes to accomplish the mission," said Gen. Carlton Everhart II, Air Mobility Command commander. "Our Airmen are mission ready and prepared to help others impacted by Hurricane Irma while meeting worldwide needs." The mission came at the request of the Department of Health and Human Services, which is coordinating the federal medical and public health medical support to states and territories impacted by one of the largest hurricanes in history. "Across the federal family, we are committed to meeting the needs of local communities, especially in times of crises," said Dr. Robert Kadlec, HHS assistant secretary for preparedness and response. "With the help from our partners at (the Defense Department), our medical personnel now are positioned to provide medical care after the storm, whether they're needed at overwhelmed hospitals or for residents taking refuge in evacuation shelters." The team landed just before midnight in Orlando, dropped off medical teams to waiting busses and left as the edge of the storm began reaching the airport. As they took off, rain from Hurricane Irma's storm-front began to pelt the C-17's windshield. Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., C-17s from Dover AFB loaded more health care professionals in a race against Mother Nature. The C-17 departed Washington, D.C. for Florida at about 12:40 a.m. "I had no idea I would ever be doing anything like this, or be a part of a national effort to help out in hurricane relief," said Staff Sgt. Rob Lummus, 15th Airlift Squadron loadmaster. "It's been pretty amazing to watch all the different pieces of the puzzle with all the groups working together." The mission to deliver medical teams to Florida is one small piece of the overall response to Irma, led by the state of Florida and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Other agencies like the DoD and HHS are working to support the state where needed. Aircraft and crews from JB Charleston evacuated from their base ahead of Hurricane Irma and are now operating out of other bases such as Scott AFB, Illinois, Barksdale AFB, Louisiana and Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. They are currently assigned to provide aeromedical evacuation and airlift to areas affected by the hurricane. "It takes a tremendous amount of agility and coordination to relocate aircraft while simultaneously supporting global requirements," Everhart said. "Realizing what's at stake, our total force team rises up to the challenge every time." A total force team of active duty, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command Airmen are working side-by-side with federal, state, local and international mission partners to ease suffering and assist in the nation's and international community's recovery from Hurricane Irma. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Kentucky Air Guardsmen evacuate personnel following Hurricane Irma 123rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs / Published September 11, 2017 LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AFNS) -- For the second time in two weeks, special operators and aircrews from the Kentucky Air National Guard deployed to support hurricane rescue operations, evacuating more than 170 U.S. citizens from the Dutch Caribbean island of St. Maarten today. Twelve of the unit's special operators departed from the Kentucky Air National Guard Base in Louisville Sept. 9, 2017, en route to St. Maarten aboard two Kentucky ANG C-130 Hercules aircraft. The Airmen, who comprise two Global Access and Personnel Recovery Teams, are facilitating the evacuation of up to 6,000 U.S. citizens to Puerto Rico, said Maj. Aaron Zamora, the unit's operations officer. Specifically, the Airmen are directing air traffic and personnel movement on St. Maarten's airfield so evacuation flights can be executed safely, Zamora said. Meanwhile, the two Kentucky ANG aircraft and 12 aircrew members that flew the special tactics troops to St. Maarten remained on station to begin evacuating U.S. citizens, according to Capt. Nick Dobson, 165th Airlift Squadron mission planner. The team has airlifted more than 172 people to Puerto Rico. "I could not be more proud of the Kentucky Air National Guardsmen who volunteered to stand up for these critical missions," said Col. David Mounkes, 123rd Airlift Wing commander, the parent unit of the 123rd Special Tactics Squadron and 165th Airlift Squadron. "These are the types of missions we train for constantly, and our Airmen are always ready to help out at a moment's notice anywhere in the world." The Kentucky ANG previously deployed more than 80 Airmen to Texas for rescue and recovery operations following Hurricane Harvey. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Oregon National Guardsmen Help Battle Wildfires By Army Sgt. Tyler Meister 115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment BROOKINGS, Ore., Sept. 11, 2017 A sky full of ash looms overhead while Oregon Army and Air National Guardsmen work around the clock to help contain the threat of fires consuming the Oregon hills near here since July. As of Sept. 8, nearly 600 Oregon National Guardsmen had volunteered to join the fight against wildfires across the state, working alongside local, state and federal agencies to battle one of the worst fire seasons in Oregon's history. The largest of these fires, the Chetco Bar Fire, was started by a lightning strike near the Chetco River in July and continues to burn southern Oregon in the rural areas around the town of Brookings. With a total of 182,284 acres burned so far, relief crews are working nonstop to contain the threat and prevent it from spreading and endangering local populations and structures. "Every day, on the way out to the fire lines, we pass through the town of Brookings and the locals are always waving at us with smiles on their faces," said Army Spc. Isaiah Wunische, a human resource specialist with the 2nd Battalion, 218th Field Artillery Regiment. "They constantly give praises, and their support has rallied our troops here and helped keep morale extremely high." Training Wunische said that most of the other Oregon National Guard personnel working alongside him were also called onto State Active Duty orders for 21 days. The troops spent their first five days at the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training academy in Salem, Oregon, earning their certifications to go out on the fire lines and fight the fires. "I was more than willing to come help out my state when they needed it the most and the training we received at the DPSST was great at preparing us to help our fellow Oregonians in need," Wunische said. Ensuring soldiers and airmen can remain on the fire lines has been the responsibility of medics like Army Sgt. K-Cee Sperry, a combat medic with Company C, 141st Brigade Support Battalion. Sperry and her team have been able to triage minor medical ailments for their fellow guardsmen at the Chetco Bar Fire, such as blisters and rolled ankles. "This is my second time supporting the wildfire season and it has been a fantastic experience," Sperry said. "We have been resourcing with the civilian medical teams out here to ensure that all personnel and supply needs are met and the soldiers can get back out on the fire lines [as soon as possible] to continue doing their job." Helping Others Sperry said that challenges and experiences like this are why she and many others joined the National Guard. Being able to support fellow Oregonians and troops in order to give back has been the most rewarding aspect of the experience, she added. Soldiers and airmen from all corners of Oregon have volunteered to help out with this year's fire season and the team at the Chetco Bar Fire has been under the leadership of the military liaison, Army Maj. Christopher Markesino, commander of Charlie Company, 141st Brigade Support Battalion. A total of 240 Army and Air National Guardsmen from 14 different units have come together at the Chetco Bar Fire, and Markesino said they have been able to seamlessly mesh together and do an outstanding job at working together to support the fire relief. "The National Guard's presence here has focused on supporting the incident commander and firefighters of the city of Brookings with putting out the fire and traffic assistance points," he said. Markesino has worked side-by-side with many civil authorities in the incident command post and he said the experience has been extremely educational and fulfilling because they are very professional and supportive of the National Guard's mission there. "I feel that we [the National Guard] are best suited to help in these types of disasters because this is our home and we will fight harder for our home than anyone else will," he said. "We would not be able to do this without the support and understanding we receive from our employers and families." Every year Oregon wildfires demand a lot from local, state and federal agencies that are in place to handle these types of disasters, but not every fire season requires a large call-up of National Guard firefighters. Camaraderie One veteran of the Oregon fire season, Adrian Torres, who works for the Oregon Department of Forestry as a wild lands fires specialist, said he has enjoyed being able to reminisce about his eight years in the Marine Corps while working with the National Guard troops during the fire seasons. "The National Guard supporters who are here to help us have greatly relieved the work load, all while maintaining a super positive atmosphere," Torres said. "The biggest challenge for the National Guard helpers is the stamina involved in fighting a wildfire, but it has been refreshing to see just how motivated and eager these guardsmen have been." More and more teams will be continuously rotating to and from the Chetco Bar Fire as the blaze continues to burn, but Markesino said that the Oregon fire season is fortunately nearing its end and Oregonians can rest easy knowing that guardsmen are on the scene. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Northcom Positions Military Assets to Support Irma Relief Missions From a U.S. Northern Command News Release PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo., Sept. 11, 2017 U.S. Northern Command is working through the Federal Emergency Management Agency to support authorities in Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico to provide lifesaving and life-sustaining relief to those in affected areas. Northcom's main focus today is the pre-positioning of search and rescue assets in Florida should those capabilities be requested. Efforts in support of search and rescue missions include: -- Military elements at Naval Air Station Key West and Homestead Air Reserve Base are assessing and reestablishing airfield operations for the possible employment of search and rescue assets. -- U.S. Transportation Command is postured to airlift search and rescue assets staged in the United States around the storm as airfields become operational, and help move assets returning from Puerto Rico. -- The U.S. Air Force's Air Mobility Command response personnel continue working to reopen airfields in Florida for use by military aircraft in assisting civil authorities' efforts to provide rapid humanitarian aid to those affected by Hurricane Irma, if requested. U.S. Air Force helicopters are also preparing for possible SAR operations. -- The U.S. Navy continues to move the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima and the amphibious transport dock ship USS New York towards Key West. The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln arrived there last night with a variety of rotary-wing capabilities and will begin operations when requested. -- The Army's 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, is positioning its helicopters to be used in search and rescue and resupply of food, water, medical supplies and other commodities the state may need. In addition, the 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, is overseeing the Army's wheeled-vehicle effort called Task Force Truck. The convoy has begun movement from Fort Bragg with about 100 high-water vehicles and nearly 400 soldiers. The high-water vehicles will be used in efforts to locate and rescue people who may be trapped by the flooding. -- The Defense Logistics Agency is providing 76 fuel trucks at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, with another 14 en route. Additional supplies include 834 commodity trailers to support victims displaced by Irma and 12 million meals. -- The amphibious assault ships USS Kearsarge and USS Oak Hill continue to work in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, moving people and supplies to the islands. An MV-22 Osprey aircraft assisted in the movement of British Marines from St. Croix to the British Virgin Islands. Northcom's mission is to assist lead federal relief agencies in helping those affected by Hurricane Irma to minimize suffering while continuing its mission of defending the homeland. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S. Department of Defense Press Operations News Release Release No: NR-322-17 September 11, 2017 Update of DoD Response to Hurricane Irma The Department of Defense is well postured with naval, air, and ground assets to initiate response operations in Florida today and will continue response operations throughout the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico (VIPR) region. FEMA, NORTHCOM, and the USCG are closely coordinating on the management of air assets to maximize the effective unity of effort. DoD will complete the evacuation of U.S. citizens from St. Martin today, coordinate evacuation of U.S. citizens from the British Virgin Islands, and will provide humanitarian assistance (water, sanitation, logistics support, movement of disaster relief personnel, humanitarian commodities movement) in response to State Department requests. Situation Update: Irma, now a tropical storm, continues to weaken as it moves northwesterly into the southeastern U.S. today. The center is located 60 miles north of Tampa, FL, with sustained winds of 70 mph. FEMA estimates that nearly 5 million (34%) customers are without power in Florida. The main water line into the Florida Keys is reported off-line. Damage to the Keys may necessitate evacuation of the 10,000 persons who did not evacuate prior to the storm. DoD Response Details: Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico (VIPR): - Approximately 4,600 service-members are supporting relief operations in the region. - USS KEARSARGE/26 MEU, USS OAK HILL, and USS WASP are on station in the U.S. Virgin Islands transferring non-critical care patients, delivering food and water. - 26 MEU will transfer UK Marines in St. Croix forward to the UK Virgin Islands. - TRANSCOM continues support to the St. Martin evacuation and humanitarian assistance, and the strategic lift of commodities to VIPR. - USACE power restoration teams, debris removal experts, temporary roofing teams, and port survey personnel are on station. - DLA is shipping commodities and large generators to VIPR. Florida: - Approximately 10,400 service-members are supporting relief operations in the region. - USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN arrived off Florida's east coast last night with 24 helicopters and is prepared for operations in southern Florida and the Florida Keys this morning. USS IWO JIMA and USS NEW YORK are expected to arrive this morning. - Homestead ARGB is assessed to be in good condition. The assessment of NAS Key West is ongoing. - US Army is pre-positioning 200 High Water Trucks to be able to rapidly support Florida National Guard requirements. - USNORTHCOM intends to establish airfields in southern FL and support operations from the sea with air assets from USS IWO JIMA, USS NEW YORK, USS SAN JACINTO, and USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN. - USACE power teams, debris removal teams, temporary roofing teams and port survey personnel are on alert and ready in Florida and Georgia. - DLA will support distribution of over 12 million meals over the next 10 days. All fuel requirements are met. - Evacuation of American citizens. USSOUTHCOM has coordinated the evacuation of 1,904 persons (including 35 foreign nationals) over the past three days. DoD and DOS plan to evacuate all U.S. remaining U.S. citizens requesting evacuation today. Overnight SecDef approved a DOS request to evacuate U.S. citizens from the British Virgin Islands. http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/1305558/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Justice Department Asks Supreme Court to Uphold Refugee Ban By VOA News September 11, 2017 The Trump administration asked the country's highest court on Monday to block a lower court ruling that would allow refugees with formal assurances from U.S. resettlement agencies to come to the United States. In an emergency application filed with the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, the Justice Department lobbed the latest salvo in an ongoing lawsuit that challenges a Trump-ordered 120-day ban on most refugees. The Justice Department's high court filing Monday follows an appeals court ruling last week that would allow refugees to enter the United States if a resettlement agency in the U.S. had agreed to accept their case. The appellate ruling could take effect as soon as Tuesday and could apply to up to 24,000 refugees. "Will will fight it," responded Neal Katyal, one of the lawyers defending refugees and travelers blocked from coming to the U.S. by Trump's executive orders. The Justice Department did not ask the court to immediately block a separate part of last Thursday's ruling by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that said grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins of legal U.S. residents should be exempted from Trump's ban on travelers from six Muslim-majority countries. The president originally called to block nearly all refugee arrivals with an executive order in January, followed by an amended replacement to that order in March. 'Disrupt the status quo' In Monday's court filing, the department said the 9th Circuit's decision on the refugee ban "will disrupt the status quo and frustrate orderly implementation of the order's refugee provisions." The filing marked the latest twist in the ongoing legal fight over Trump's sweeping March 6 executive order that barred travelers from Iran, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen for 90 days, a move Trump argued was needed to prevent terrorist attacks. The same order included the 120-day ban on refugees. Lower courts blocked both provisions, but the Supreme Court in June allowed certain parts to stand provisionally. The justices said the bans could be applied only to people without a "bona fide" relationship to people or entities in the United States, prompting litigation over the meaning of that phrase. Resettlement agencies argued that their commitment to provide services for specific refugees should count as a "bona fide" relationship. 9th Circuit ruling The Trump administration said it should not, meaning such refugees would be barred. But the 9th Circuit last week ruled that refugees a U.S. resettlement agency has committed to providing services for once they have arrived in the country should be exempt from Trump's order. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in October about whether Trump's travel ban discriminates against Muslims, in violation of the U.S. Constitution. By that point, the original 90-day travel ban will have lapsed and the 120-day refugee ban with certain allowances by the Trump administration for special cases will have just a few weeks to run. Keeping count As lower courts and the Supreme Court weighed in on the travel and refugee bans in recent months, the U.S. refugee program has lurched from an ambitious projection of 110,000 arrivals for the year, to just a few hundred arrivals a week. With the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, just 51,726 refugees have come to the country since Oct. 1, 2016 hewing close to Trump's stated desire to cap arrivals at 50,000. The administration is expected to announce in the coming weeks what the maximum number of refugee arrivals for the coming fiscal year will be. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Press Briefing by PresSecretary Sarah Sanders and Homeland Security Advisor Tom Bossert The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release September 11, 2017 James S. Brady Press Briefing Room 2:45 P.M. EDT MS. SANDERS: Good afternoon. This morning, we had the honor of joining of the President at the Pentagon to observe the anniversary of September 11th with the families and survivors of the horrific attack on our homeland that took the lives of 2,977 of their brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, husbands, and wives 16 years ago. The lives of those survivors and families were changed forever on that day, and our country has never been the same since the unimaginable evil of terrorism reached our shores. In response to the attacks we are memorializing today, the Department of Homeland Security was created and given a vital mission: securing our nation from the many threats we face, from counterterrorism and border security, to disaster preparedness and relief, which we know all too well in light of FEMA's work surrounding Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The men and women, in responding to these storms, embody the spirit under which DHS was established. The President recognized a Pentagon police officer this morning who sped to the scene of the crash at the Pentagon as soon as he heard of the attack, and saved as many as 20 people. Like Isaac, the first responders to Hurricanes Irma and Harvey are running directly into danger to save lives and serve our nation. I hope that every American can take comfort in the fact that, in the face of unbelievable tragedy, this country has always come together to heal, protect, and save. From the firefighters and police officers who rushed into burning buildings on 9/11 to the first responders on the ground in Florida, the United States Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico, FEMA, through its national and regional response coordination centers and liaisons to the National Hurricane Center, continues to actively monitor the track of Hurricane Irma and support local authorities responding to the damage the storm has already caused. I'd like to bring up Tom Bossert, the President's Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Advisor to provide an update on issues related to Hurricanes Irma and Harvey before I take questions. As always, he'll make an opening statement and take questions, and then I'll be back up to answer further questions. MR. BOSSERT: Thanks, Sarah. Good afternoon. It's a somber day today. And I, and Sarah, and others were honored to join the President at the Pentagon in a moment of silence, on the South Lawn as well. In addition, I would note that President Trump continued a long tradition of Presidents since 9/11 to receive a counterterrorism briefing this morning in the Oval Office from his intelligence community, from his Director of National Counterterrorism Center, from myself, and others on the team. The purpose of that is to give the President a sense of the terrorist threat that exists globally and to the homeland, and to give him a sense of what we're doing about it, and make sure that he's comfortable with our posture. As I said the other day, we don't have any current, active threats against the homeland to our knowledge, and that's a good news story for today. Let me move into a quick thought. Before I do it though, Sarah noted that we created the Department of Homeland Security in the wake of 9/11. I would note that the government engaged in a massive reorganization of its structures and efforts to create a National Counterterrorism Center; to create a Department of Homeland Security; an Office of the Director of National Intelligence; a U.S. Northern Command, which you've seen now marshal resources in an expert fashion for this storm; a combatant command in the United States of America; and Cyber Command, which you've seen recently President Trump elevate to a full combatant command. And so we've marshaled our resources and we've organized them in a way to confront the threat of terrorism, but also to organize ourselves in a way that would allow us to respond to any event, from a manmade hazard to an unfortunate terrorist attack, but also to a hurricane. So let me see if I can today talk to you about what we've done. I believe Harvey, as I said earlier, was the best integrated, unified, joint federal, local, state response effort that our country has seen in its history. I continue to stand by that. We've got roughly 700,000 registrants now for individual assistance in the greater Houston and South Texas area. Governor Abbott continues to demonstrate leadership, and President Trump continues to work with him and direct his Cabinet to not lose focus on the people of Texas. With respect to Hurricane Irma, as you now know, it's a tropical depression. That does not mean it's not a dangerous storm. As you'll see from reporting, Jacksonville is suffering what has been called early some of the worst flooding it has seen in 100 years. And so the category might be reduced, but the effects on Jacksonville, for instance, when you combine storm surge and wind, might now replicate that of a Category 3 storm, even though it's a tropical depression. So as that flooding is ongoing, we have lifesaving, life-sustaining operations underway, and we are prayerful that there are not people right now trapped by floodwaters. The President spoke this morning to the Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Governor Mapp expressed -- and I joined that call -- his thankfulness to our administration's help, with the U.S. government providing such a rapid response and an ongoing response, I would add. So if I could on that, I'll speak to it later. But the mobilization of our military in response to the storms in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands is the largest ever mobilization of our military in a naval and marine operation. And we now have an Air Force aircraft carrier deployed in this effort; this was the first-ever as well. So we have the largest flotilla operation in our nation's history to help not only the people of Puerto Rico, the people of the U.S. Virgin Islands, but also of St. Maarten and other non-U.S. islands affected, and the people of Florida. With respect to Puerto Rico, the President spoke to the Governor of Puerto Rico this morning around 11:30 a.m. and they discussed similarly how happy they were with the federal response to their needs. The governor communicated to the President that they still have a large, island-wide power outage problem that we are addressing as soon as we can. And then Florida, if I can speak to Florida -- I think Governor Scott has been demonstrating an outstanding leadership instinct and pressing forward, continuing the message of getting people out of harm's way -- which, by the way, is an ongoing effort. The storm is still hitting the United States, in Georgia and South Carolina. It'll move up through an inland flooding problem in Tennessee, maybe North Carolina, as we see the storm progress. Governor Scott has, at this stage, begun conducting overflight surveys of the Keys. And it looks like to the north and east of Key West, the storms there took -- the islands there took the largest brunt of the storm. So I'll be able to speak to that when we take questions. And then if I can come back to 9/11, I think the lesson we learned that day, among others, was that not only does evil exist but good people taking action can confront that. And what I've been reinsured -- assured and reassured about over the last 24 hours is how many good people are taking action. So that's kind of my lesson for today. I'd like to take questions now. John. Q Tom, in the immediate aftermath of Harvey, the federal response priority was to rescue people who were trapped by the enormous flooding. In the state of Florida, what's the priority for the federal government? MR. BOSSERT: There's a number of priorities for the federal government. Right now, because the storm is still ongoing, our priority is lifesaving, life-sustaining. Jacksonville and the Keys are taking a considerable amount of our attention right now. But what you'll see in Florida and, more broadly speaking as a comparative matter, Houston and Harvey was an acutely narrow area of operations comparatively. What we have now is a large scale area of operations. So what we're trying to do is marshal the resources where they're needed, and so it's a prioritization effort. We are worried about flooding, housing, debris, and power restoration. And power restoration is also a function of access to fuel -- refined fuel. So as you'll see the next days and week play out, we will have to clear debris from roadways so that people can gain reentry. Right now though, the message is not to rush reentry. There are still dangerous conditions, downed electric lines, flood conditions, problems that would be compounded by your reentry. And so listen to your local officials, not only about evacuation but then about when and how to stagger your reentry, for a reason. There's a life safety reason, a public safety reason. here's our priority set. Eventually we'll move into issues about recovery and insurance and so forth. Q Tom, what are you doing on the fuel front? MR. BOSSERT: On the fuel front, what the federal government is doing at this stage, and what we did in the three or four days building up to this event, was to get out of the way. And by that, I mean we waived regulations, we waived rules, we waived the Jones Act restrictions to free up additional capacity. Florida is a uniquely postured state in the way it receives refined fuel. It's not part of the larger pipeline system throughout the country. It receives fuel by ship or tank -- by ship tanker. Those ship tankers then link into intermodal sites, where they fill up trucks and trucks distribute. And so what we'll do is clear those pathways, assess those three ports where those tankers dock, make sure they're not damaged, and we'll get things back up and running. Florida Power & Light and others, the nuclear power generation facilities, Duke Energy and others, they'll continue with their professionalism and they'll bring those facilities back up as soon as possible. Q Tom -- yes, hi. Do we have any agreements in place with the private sector to contribute to the both response and recovery -- talking about Costco, Home Depot, Walmart -- so that we don't have to deplete the disaster relief fund? As a public service. MR. BOSSERT: Yeah, no, -- absolutely. So two things. First, there's a partnership in terms of coordination, where those private-sector entities are actually built into our coordinating centers so that they can understand what we're doing and how to prioritize their re-opening of facilities and the safety of their workforce. But secondly, it is our absolutely baseline doctrine nowadays in the emergency management community that we would rather reopen those stores and continue providing food, water, and temporary shelter to people. It's just not within their regular course of operating business. It's not routine, and it's not something that we can easily sustain. So it's healthier, better, faster for us to reopen those stores as fast as possible. Thanks for that question. Q Mr. Bossert, the previous administration saw a connection between climate change and homeland security in that the frequency and intensity of powerful storms, like Harvey and Irma, could pose a problem for future administrations. You could have a FEMA budget that can't keep up with the demand when you have powerful storms hitting the country. Is that something that you think this administration should take a look at? We know the President pulled out of the Paris Climate Accord. Are these storms giving this administration some pause when it comes to the issue of climate change and homeland security? MR. BOSSERT: I was here in the 2004 cycle of hurricanes, four and six weeks that hit Florida. I think what's prudent for us right now is to make sure that those response capabilities are there. Causality is something outside of my ability to analyze right now. I will tell you that we continue to take seriously the climate change -- not the cause of it, but the things that we observe. And so there's rising flood waters -- I think one inch every 10 years in Tampa -- things that would require prudent mitigation measures. And what I said from the podium the other day, and what President Trump remains committed to, is making sure that federal dollars aren't used to rebuild things that will be in harm's way later or that won't be hardened against the future predicable floods that we see. And that has to do with engineering analysis and changing conditions along eroding shorelines, but also in inland water and flood control projects. Q And just to follow up on that, when you see three Category 4 hurricanes all on the same map at the same time, does the thought occur to you, "Geez, you know, maybe there is something to this climate change thing and its connection to powerful hurricanes"? Or do you just separate the two and say, "Boy, these are a lot of big hurricanes coming our way"? MR. BOSSERT: Well I don't know if I say either, but I do know that there is a cyclical nature of a lot of these hurricane seasons. And I thank the scientists for their forecasts on this particular one. They were dead on that this would be a stronger and more powerful hurricane season, with slightly more-than-average large storms making landfall in the United States. So we'll have to do a larger trend analysis at a later date. Sir. Q To follow up a little bit on just the budget. What kind of pressure -- you've had wildfires in the West, two major hurricane strikes -- but what pressure on the federal government's budget has these natural disasters put and how are we going to react to it? Are there going to be programs cut? Are there going to be reassessments of what goes on in order to rebuild the infrastructure? It's going to take several years. MR. BOSSERT: I think the President and Director Mulvaney and others started the process of a bipartisan discussion on this point. I think right now we have plenty of resources to get through this; that was the nature of the appropriation that we saw and the second appropriation that we will see at the end of this month subject to the regular course of order in the fiscal year. We'll ask for a third, perhaps fourth supplemental appropriation for the purpose of rebuilding. We'll do it smartly, to the previous question -- but in terms of pressure on the budget, this is a disaster-relief-fund issue. It's funded a little bit differently, and I have every belief that this President will end up with proposals as he's started this administration with that will lead to a balanced budget. But to get too far into how that works and the politics is way outside my lane, and I'll -- Q Just to follow up, at any point in time as you're taking a look at this issue, is there any chance that FEMA, the EPA, and some of the places that were cut will see more money go into their budget? MR. BOSSERT: I think that we'll put money in as money is needed to address the need. So I think what you'll see here is the same trend that I alluded to earlier. In 2004, we had a large spike in disaster-relief funding, but we also had to elevate the cap on flood insurance. And we'll probably end up having to do that again here. You'll see, though, over a longer span of time even the flood insurance budget is red and black, red and black again based on claims and based on premiums. So we'll analyze it in that fashion, but I don't have any prediction for you on that. Ma'am, in the middle. Q Tom, I asked you two weeks ago about Harvey, and you said -- I asked you about housing. And I wanted to know if you had an update on the issues of housing, since now we've had Harvey and now Irma and what else is coming along the way. Can you give us an update as to locating housing for those who've been displaced? MR. BOSSERT: Locating housing in Texas? Q Housing in Texas, housing -- I mean, for those who need housing, be it Texas, be it outside of the state, what have you come up with? MR. BOSSERT: So I'll answer both. So in Texas, again, going back to praising the Governor, he's done what we haven't seen done so well in the past, and that is he's owning the housing problem with a task force that he's initiated. He's also assigned a person to be in charge of long-term recovery. And there's four or five solutions to the housing problems in Texas. Of course, some of them are short lived, and what you'll have to do is find short-term solutions. People can stay in their home -- it's been flooded -- when the drywall is ripped out, when the repairs begin, they're going to have to find another place to live temporarily. So we try to find hotel solutions. In some cases, FEMA has initiated a manufactured housing solution where they'll put a mobile home or travel trailer on your property that you can live in for a period of time while your home is being repaired. Those are the ideal solutions when there's enough acreage on your lot for that housing unit to sit. You can then move back into your home and we can remove that temporary unit. That's essentially the option that we have right now. The third option, of course, is just distance. So there's available rental stock, but you have to draw a larger circumference as people move away from their homes and into rental stock available farther away. So we have some analysis done on the available rental stock and the available manufactured housing stock. We can get that to you after the podium brief here. In Florida, we'll have a slightly different issue. But we haven't assessed yet entirely what the damage is. So that -- Q Will it be kind of like the same model? MR. BOSSERT: Florida will be the same model. But remember, it's a peninsula, and it's a wider scale problem, and it's been a larger swath storm. And so what we'll do there is assess whether those are the right models or whether we have to apply some different creative solutions. If we do, we have the authorities and we have the budget to do so, and we'll make sure people are taken care of. Q And during the Bush years, there was a very big concern about the mobile homes -- and then they wound up having issues with formaldehyde. Is that all cleared up, all of that concern before? There was a big concern about mobile home communities just being in place after Katrina. Is that kind of out of the mindset now? Or is it still part of the mindset? MR. BOSSERT: No, the mindset of making sure that people have a safe place to live is still very much alive. What we do as a government is purchase available manufactured housing. We don't make it, and we purchase it off the open market. I think the open market has improved their building practices, and I think that we've improved through that experience in knowing who to buy from and who not to buy from. I also understand that problems of ambient air quality continue to persist in our everyday lives, so I don't know how much formaldehyde is in this room right now, but I do know that formaldehyde is a carcinogen at any level. (Laughter.) The point here is that we take it very seriously, and we'll make sure we message very seriously the importance of, basically, ventilation. But to my knowledge, we buy off of a better market now, and we provide that solution in a more tailored and responsible manner. If I could maybe come up front. Q Tom, a couple of questions about the conditions in Florida. First of all, more than half of Floridians are now without power. It's usually a very local issue, but this is a catastrophe of a much greater scale. When is it your assessment that people in Florida can expect to get their power back? And what's the federal government's role in making that happen? MR. BOSSERT: So my numbers now are somewhere north of 5 million. If the number is higher, I don't know if that constitutes half the people on Florida, but I'll take your word for it. Q It's 5 million households and businesses, so it's a lot more people. MR. BOSSERT: It's a significant -- it's a significant number. To the extent that a customer might have four people in the household, you'll see that number increase. The number of people then would be four in the home, the number of customers would be one. So that's the difference. The idea here is, as I said earlier, we all have a joint role in this. Florida Power & Light, Duke Electric, others will all be bringing forces to bear here. The U.S. government brings to bear a number of forces that are imperative to the restoration effort, like pushing debris out of the road and clearing roadways. Yesterday what we saw was not just the reports of, but the actual evidence of -- this will be the largest ever mobilization of line restoration workers in this country. Period. End of story. They were already mobilized yesterday. They were at the Daytona Speedway. We will have line restoration workers from every company in this country, from states all over this country, but also from Canada, coming to Florida to help restore the lines. And so in Florida, unlike in Houston, where they're buried power lines, in Florida they're all strung on poles. So we have to restore the poles, restring the lines. And the way that process works is they restore the plant, then the sub-plant, then line by line into each road, and then house by house. And you can't hook up each house until the homeowner makes sure that it's safe. You don't want to burn the house down with flood damage and corroded lines and so forth. So it is a -- literally -- joint effort from federal clearing, to public and private partnerships, to line restoration efforts that are partnered in the for-profit and regulated world all the way through to the individual homeowner. So that's how that process works. Q What's your assessment of how long that's going to take? How long are these people going to be in the dark? MR. BOSSERT: I would caution people to be very patient here. Between reentry and that process, we could have power down in homes for the coming weeks. Weeks. Now, I don't want to cause any panic in Florida -- and I'll come to a question here next -- there are hospitals and nursing homes and other facilities that have generator power to provide services that are necessary. And there, the concern is providing fuel to those generators should they run out. And from that perspective, the federal government provides a great deal of fuel, a great deal of transport assistance through TRANSCOM and other contracts. And we give that fuel to the state and locals, and they distribute it to those -- I say wholesale and retail distribution -- that's the best analogy. They distribute it to those facilities. And so that's our role there, as well. And we expect that to happen seamlessly. Sir. Q Thank you, Tom. Is preventing price gouging in the state of Florida a federal responsibility? Or is that up to state officials in Florida and local officials there? MR. BOSSERT: It can be both. And I think you'll hear from the Attorney General later, so I'll let him explain to you what he'll do to prevent fraud. I think he's going to announce an effort on that this week. And I think you've already heard Pam Bondi announce that she is conducting active gouging and anti-fraud practices when there are state and local laws at play. So "both" is the answer, but I can tell you that neither officials -- the Attorney General of the United States or the attorney general or attorneys general of the states are going to tolerate gouging. I think that's something that people ought to think twice about. Sir. Q You raise the possibility of a third and fourth supplemental for disaster relief. Can you tell us how much money the administration wants included in the supplementals? And are you going to put language raising the cap for flood insurance in that legislation as well? MR. BOSSERT: So on the first point, no. The reason we pursued this approach is we're trying to make sure that we have responsible estimates as opposed to making wild guesses now. We're going for the amount of money we need to get through this response operation phase. And as we transition into recovery, we'll analyze the damage, figure out how much money we might need, and go up for another responsible request. If we got that wrong, then we'd go for another if necessary. It's not necessarily wrong, but if we estimate a world and find actuals don't meet those estimates, then we'll go up and rectify. With respect to flood insurance, we'll see how many claims come in. But the flood insurance program had $8.6 billion, roundabout, available to it. If claims exceed that amount, we'll go up and ask for the cap to be raised. Sir. Q I was hoping you could drill down a bit more on the efforts to evacuate Americans in the Caribbean. You described the military mobilization. I know the State Department task force, they're working around the clock in their operations. Can you assess those efforts? And can you give a message to Americans who are right now in dire straits in the Caribbean who might be listening to this? What should the expectation be for an evacuation? How soon can the Americans get the Americans out? MR. BOSSERT: While I'm preaching caution to make sure people understand that this is an ongoing effort and that there's still going to be long, painful days ahead, I am doubling down on my assertion that this is the best integrated, full-scale response effort in our nation's history. That includes the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico and non-U.S. islands where we helped American citizens during a window of operational safety between Jose and Irma. This has been a large event, and you're going to see a lot of positive stories from it. Now, control expectations. You're on an island where we have to transport commodities -- food and water -- where we have a long road ahead of us to bring electric power back online. But we've assembled two of the most powerful naval relief flotillas in recent memory, a total of nine large ships. I'm going to just cut right to the Kearsarge, Oak Hill, Wasp, McLean, and the Abraham Lincoln, the Iwo Jima, the Farragut, and New York. That is an aircraft carrier, and large platforms for helicopters -- 80 or more helicopters flying sorties right now. That is an operation that for most Americans, if you can't picture, has never been mobilized for this type of emergency response effort in our history. And so to the extent that I can assess it, I'm pretty proud of that. To the extent that it meets the need, I'm going to hope it does because we're saving hundreds if not thousands of people off of these islands at this point collectively. And so if the burn rate is not fast enough, I would be surprised because we're mobilizing ourselves in ways that we've never mobilized before. And Governor Mapp, the President of the United States, and the Governor of Puerto Rico, Rossello were all very pleased in their phone calls today. So I'm in no better position from this podium than they are from their locations to assess it as a positive outcome. Sir. Q Quick question on timing tomorrow. With so many people who evacuated from the Keys and given the level of destruction there, any time estimate on when people might be able to return to the Keys? MR. BOSSERT: They Keys are going to take a while. We have not assessed the structural integrity of the bridges there. There's some early reason to believe that some of the drawbridges that were up may or may not have been bent. So restoring those is going to take some time. That Route 1 is a large, expansive bridge, essentially. All of the undergirding there has to be examined for structural integrity. I would expect that the Keys are not fit for reentry for regular citizenry for weeks. And if that's wrong and I'm wrong, then fine, then let the local officials bring you in. But I would set the expectation pretty broad right now. And I would say that for the people that choose to stay, they had every warning to leave, we hope that they took that warning. And those that didn't, we're going to get back down there as soon as we humanly can. And right now we don't know. We had three or four overflights today. I talked to the FEMA administrator just before come out here, and he is not certain yet that we've had a good overflight assessment of where all those people might be. Neither of us would be surprised if lives were lost. But neither of us would be surprised if the responders are going to get down aggressively. So we're doing everything we can to help them. I see, Sarah. I'm going to actually end on that, if I could -- and end where I started. Today is the day of solemnity and remembrance for 9/11. It is why I got into this business, and it's why I believe our government is now organized for the level of response that we've seen. It just goes to kind of show what we've got if we want to bring ourselves together in helping our fellow humans. Under good leadership from President Trump, I think we've put forward a good effort. Please, for the people in Florida, continue to follow the instructions of your first responders and your local authorities. This isn't over yet, and it's going to be a painful, slightly frustrating if not very frustrating week or two ahead. Thank you all very much. MS. SANDERS: Thank you, Tom. As he wrapped up, he reiterated the need to listen to local authorities. I know that the Governor of Florida is getting ready to hold a press conference. I'm going to try to take as many questions as we can, but I also want to make sure that everyone is able to tune in for that and cover that extensively. Finally, before I take your questions, several of you have asked about the U.S. response to the ongoing violence in Burma, and I'd like to read part of a statement that will be coming out shortly on that topic. "The United States is deeply troubled by the ongoing crisis in Burma where at least 300,000 people have fled their homes in the wake of attacks on a Burmese security post on August 25th. We reiterate our condemnation of those attacks and ensuing violence." And with that, I'll take your questions. Jeff. Q Sarah, two questions. One, do you have a reaction to Steve Bannon's comments on "60 Minutes," saying that the firing of James Comey was the "biggest political mistake in modern history?" And secondly, if you could look forward to tomorrow a little bit and the President's meeting with the Malaysian Prime Minister, what do you expect to achieve during that meeting? And will the President address or avoid the issue of the U.S. investigation into him? MS. SANDERS: Pretty wide-ranging topic, so I'll try to make sure I cover. First on the Comey firing, I think that we've been pretty clear what our position is. And certainly, I think that that has been shown in the days that followed, that the President was right in firing Director Comey. Since the director's firing, we've learned new information about his conduct that only provided further justification for that firing, including giving false testimony, leaking privileged information to journalists, he went outside of the chain of command, and politicized an investigation into a presidential candidate. I think the President has been very clear about his position on that front. He's very pleased with the new Director and has full confidence in him to fully restore and lead the FBI. In terms of Malaysia and on that question -- hard transition, but I'll try to make sure we cover that -- the United States and Malaysia have had a 60-year relationship and partnership built on common economic and security interests, and that continues. And the President looks forward to discussing a wide variety and wide range of regional and security issues with the Prime Minister and talking about ways that they can strengthen counterterrorism cooperation, certainly the halt of ISIS, addressing North Korea and their continued actions, and making sure that we promote maritime security in the South China Sea. Those are certainly, I think, some of the priorities of tomorrow's meeting, but I'm not going to get ahead much further than that on any conversation that may take place. Q (Inaudible) corruption probe? MS. SANDERS: Look, we're not going to comment on an ongoing investigation being led by the Department of Justice, and that investigation is apolitical and certainly independent of anything taking place tomorrow. Q Thanks, Sarah. I also have a question on Mr. Bannon's interview. During that he said, "I think Mitch McConnell and, to a degree, Paul Ryan -- they do not want Donald Trump's populist, economic, nationalist agenda to be implemented. It's very obvious. It's as obvious as night follows day." First of all, does the President agree with that obvious characterization of McConnell and Ryan? MS. SANDERS: The President is committed to working with Congress to get some big things done. We've got a very big agenda. The President wants to work with all members of Congress. Obviously that includes Republican leadership, as well as Democrats. I think you saw some of the President's leadership last week when he helped strike a deal to make sure that we got the funding that was necessary. We're focused on moving things forward, and certainly that's the goal and the priority of the administration. Q So on that note, would he like to see -- given his past criticisms of Mr. McConnell and Ryan, would he like to see different leadership in the Republican Congress? MS. SANDERS: Look, right now, the President is committed to working with the leadership we have and nothing beyond that, at this point. John. Q Sarah, just to follow up on Bannon's comments, he actually went and said all that about McConnell and Ryan, but also said that they were -- they wanted to nullify the 2016 election results. So just a simple yes or no question, does the President agree with that assessment? MS. SANDERS: Not that I'm aware of. I haven't had that conversation with him, Jonathan. Q Is he talking to Stave Bannon? Does he still seek his counsel on the outside? MS. SANDERS: I know they've had one conversation but I don't think anything beyond that since he left. Jon Decker. Q On Steve Bannon -- (laughter.) MS. SANDERS: Popular topic. Q Yes, good topic. Did the President happen to watch -- MS. SANDERS: I think we may be answering more questions on Steve Bannon now that he's not here then when he was, but go ahead. Q You might be right about that. Did the President happen to watch the interview? Any reaction? Did you happen to watch the interview on 60 Minutes? And -- MS. SANDERS: I'm not sure if he saw it in its entirety. I know he has seen clips of it but I don't know that he watched the entire thing. I did watch parts of it. Q And what was your reaction to it? As a former colleague of yours -- he worked here at the White House -- were you disappointed with any of his comments? Were you surprised by any of his comments? Did you like the fact that a former staffer is speaking so openly about some of the inner workings of what happens here, at the White House, on a regular basis? MS. SANDERS: I'm sure it made for great TV and I'm sure CBS will be happy to put those ratings out. As for me, I'm here to speak on behalf of the administration. Francesca. Q Why ruin a good thing, Sarah? MS. SANDERS: Is that what this is -- a good thing? (Laughter.) Q Staying on the topic of Steve Bannon, another comment he made with that, "DREAMers should consider self-deporting when their work permits run out." Is that something that the White House thinks is realistic -- that the DREAMers would voluntarily leave the country when their work permits run out? And is that something the President thinks that they should do? MS. SANDERS: The administration has been clear what our position is. We're hoping that Congress will step up and do their job and fix this problem and implement responsible immigration reform, and addressing that problem would be part of it. Q Last week, Nancy Pelosi told the Congress that the President would sign the DREAM Act. Is that accurate? And will the President sing the DREAM Act? MS. SANDERS: Again, the President and the administration are looking responsible immigration reform. And part of that would be part of that process, but we want to do something that addresses a multitude of issues. And again, Congress has six months to do their job. We're very hopeful and confident that they will. Q In his 60 Minutes interview, Steve Bannon said that this discussion over DACA could lead to a civil war in the Republican Party. How and why is he wrong about that? MS. SANDERS: I think that Steve always likes to speak in kind of, the most extreme measures. I'm not sure that I agree with that. John. Q On a different topic -- MS. SANDERS: Oh, wow. Q In recent weeks -- MS. SANDERS: Maybe you get two questions since -- Q In just a matter of weeks, two storms that have been categorized as "once in 500 years" or even longer -- major events -- have hit the United States. In light of that, has the President given any thought to reviewing his decision to leave the Paris Climate Accords? MS. SANDERS: I'm not sure specifically on the Paris climate deal. But as he said at the time, the goal is to always do our very best when it comes to taking care of the environment and taking proper steps. The United States is one of the best in the world at doing this. We want to continue to do that, but right now the administration is focused on the recovery and relief efforts. And as Tom said a few minutes ago, we'll look at that analysis once we get through the coming days, and focus on recovery and relief and saving-life effort taking place. Hallie. Q Two questions. To follow up on John's question a little bit here, and since you said you do speak for the administration, can you clarify whether the President believes human activity contributes to climate change? MS. SANDERS: The President has addressed this already. Q But I'm asking you if that has changed given these storms? MS. SANDERS: I don't think that it's changed over the last several weeks. And again, he's addressed his opinion on that several times since. Q So my second question is actually on something that happened back on August 10th, as you know -- which is the President declaring that he wanted to have a national emergency when it came to the opioid crisis. It has now been more than a month since he said that. That's a delay for a President who likes to do things quickly, as he has often said. Is the President taking this seriously enough? And when does he intend to declare this an emergency and actually get the ball rolling on that? MS. SANDERS: Absolutely -- taking it very seriously. The commission and members of the administration have continued to meet and work on the details of that national declaration. And that's certainly a big priority for the administration, and we'll continue to focus on pushing that through. Q What's taking so long? You know, this is a President who likes to snap his fingers -- MS. SANDERS: It's a much more involved process, and that's something that they're working through on the legal side, the administrative side, and making sure that it's done correctly. Q I was going to ask about Steve Mnuchin -- (Laughter.) MS. SANDERS: Tricky, tricky, Bender. Q He and Cohn are going up to the Senate tomorrow to talk to the budget committee. What do they want that budget resolution to look like? And does the administration support the House budget? MS. SANDERS: Look, I don't want to get ahead of their conversations, and I'll let -- Secretary Mnuchin, I think, plans to address that in further detail tomorrow. John. Q Another one on Steve Mnuchin real quickly. He took some criticism last week from Republicans for his handling of debt deal. What does the President think of Secretary Mnuchin's performance so far? THE PRESIDENT: The President has confidence in Secretary Mnuchin and is glad that he is part of the effort, working with Gary Cohn, to get tax reform done this year. John. Q Just to drill down a little bit on what you said a moment ago regarding James Comey. You said that he was responsible for giving false testimony. Do you believe that Comey either perjured himself before Congress or, at the very least, misled Congress in his testimony? MS. SANDERS: I think that's something, probably, for DOJ to look at, not me. I'm not an attorney. Jen. Q Two questions, one of the Equifax leak and one on tax reform. If a big tax reform bill doesn't pass by December, would the President support adding middle-class tax cuts to the end of the year (inaudible) bill that the Congress has to pass? MS. SANDERS: We're focused on making sure we get a complete tax reform package. That's the goal. Q (Inaudible) he would support -- MS. SANDERS: Right now, that's the focus. And if that doesn't happen, we'll look at other options at that point. Q And then on Americans' personal data security after the Equifax leak, is more regulation warranted for the handling of American's personal data? MS. SANDERS: I think this is something we have to look into extensively. Tom Bossert will be one of the primary people taking the lead on that front -- and certainly something we have to explore all the best ways to make sure that Americans are protected in that sense. Q Was the President disappointed by Steve Bannon's comments on 60 Minutes? MS. SANDERS: I'm not sure if he was disappointed in the comments. Q And secondly, did Steven Bannon warn the President that firing James Comey would be the biggest political mistake in modern history? MS. SANDERS: I'm not aware that conversation ever took place. As I mentioned when we started, the governor of Florida has a press conference that will be starting here in a few minutes. We want to make sure everyone has the opportunity to tune in. The press team will be here, and we're happy to answer any questions, particularly if you have anything beyond Steve Bannon, we'd be even more than happy to answer. Thanks, guys. END 3:21 P.M. EDT NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Belarus To Battle Fake State 'Veishnoria' In Zapad Exercise Tony Wesolowsky September 11, 2017 It has a foreign ministry, flag, and even briefly had its history outlined on Wikipedia. Russia accuses it of stirring up trouble in Belarus. But "Veishnoria" is nothing more than a creation of the Kremlin, concocted to serve as a convenient aggressor in Zapad (West) 2017, the joint military exercise planned for Belarus and parts of western Russia on September 14-20. However, the fictional fatherland installed in Belarus -- one of three states created for the exercises -- has struck a chord with locals, who have taken to social media to fill in Veishnoria's state apparatus and accessories, as well as to generally poke fun at the whole idea. Meanwhile, neighboring states -- specifically, the Baltics -- and others in the West are anticipating among the largest Russian military drills since the collapse of the Soviet Union, involving as many as 100,000 soldiers, although Minsk and Moscow put the troop numbers at just 13,000. Zapad 2017 comes with tensions high between Moscow and the West over Russia's annexation of Crimea in March 2014 and its alleged backing -- both financially and militarily -- of separatists in eastern Ukraine. According to the scenario unveiled at a briefing by the Belarusian General Staff on August 29, Veishnoria seeks to invade Belarus and foment discord between Moscow and Minsk. A map of the exercise, released at the same briefing, shows Veishnoria in the northwest region of Belarus with the other two fake countries, Vesbaria and Lubenia, located in Lithuania and Poland. Some commentators say that location is no accident. Writing on Facebook, local analyst Serge Chaly says Veishnoria is located in an area where support for Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka is suspect, noting opposition candidate Zianon Pazniak balloted strongly there in the 1994 presidential election. Pazniak has lived abroad since 1996. Social media users are mostly having a laugh, sometimes at the expense of the authoritarian Lukashenka. Much of the guffawing is generated by a satirical Twitter account describing itself as Veishnoria's "foreign ministry," @Vaisnoria_MFA, which mockingly declared Belarusian Deputy Defense Minister Aleh Belokonev persona non grata. Another Tweet includes a faux exchange with a parodic Russian counterpart and Veishnorian heraldry featuring a stork, one of Belarus's official symbols. "The first signs that intelligent life supporting Belarus still exists. Greetings to all our brothers and sisters in reason!" "On behalf of the [foreign ministry], we have declared the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Republic of Veishnoria. We welcome you, friends!" Blurring the line between reality and the absurd, political analyst Pavel Usov joined in on the joke, quipping on Facebook that "Veishnoria is a peaceful democratic country that has never been aggressive toward its neighbors." Others have used social media to cobble together other national symbols for the imaginary state. One tweet floats a mock Veishnorian banknote featuring a fox, saying 1 VSN is worth $5 but "only at domestic exchange points." A passport boasting the world's "best design" was posted on Twitter by someone calling himself Slashman, who also touted slick Veishnoria T-shirts. A Wikipedia page dedicated to Veishnoria has since come down, leaving behind only a screen-grab courtesy of the BBC. But the Zapad 2017 exercise is serious business. After all, military exercises preceded Russian military invasions of Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014. Zapad military drills of the past are reported to have included "simulated" nuclear strikes on Poland in 2009 and Sweden in 2013. With reporting by RFE/RL's Belarus Service Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/belarus-veishnoria-zapad- 2017-exercises-russia/28729305.html Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China plans to catch up with advanced aero engine producers in 20 years People's Daily Online By Sun Wenyu (People's Daily Online) 16:57, September 11, 2017 "China plans to catch up with the advanced aero engine producers in 20 years," said Cao Jianguo, chairman of the Aero Engine Cooperation of China (AECC). Only five countries in the world the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council - are able to produce aero engines, Cao noted. Though being in this group, China is still hindered by out-of-date technologies. With the development of aero engines and improved research cycle time, it is possible for China to accomplish this mission, Cao added. It takes more than 20 years to develop a new-generation aero engine, which is the world's most complicated machinery system, and which combines multiple disciplines. In addition, the technical barriers also require astronomical amounts of capital. A medium-large sized aero engine costs around $2-3 billion for research and development, and the figure doubles when it comes to more advanced machines. "Design capability is China's biggest weakness," remarked Yin Zeyong, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and head of AECC's science and technology commission. Design, tests, and trial flights all contribute to the time it takes to develop aero engines, but enhancing design capability is the only way to smooth the development, Yin said. Besides, China now lacks a standardized code system, which forms the basis of the most advanced aero engine producers, noted Wang Yingjie, director of the management innovation department of the AECC. "We still have a long way to go in this regard," he stressed. However, China's state-run system is a key factor that drives the development of the country's aero engines. "Related enterprises are sparing no efforts to support us," said Luo Ronghuai, vice chairman of the AECC. "They are supporting us even at their own losses when we need specific steels in very limited amount," he added. China will establish a development and research system for aero engines before 2020. According to Wang, the AECC is currently planning on a comprehensive operation and management system covering four major aspects: research, manufacture, supplier management, and service assurance. In addition, a self-developed standardized code system for research and development will be completed. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address DPRK warns U.S. of reactions by "ultimate means" if UN imposes new sanctions People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 10:04, September 11, 2017 PYONGYANG, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Monday warned that the United Stateswould face a "series of action tougher than it has ever envisaged" if Washington pushes through a new UN resolution imposing extra sanctions on Pyongyang. "The sanctions and pressure racket of the United States to completely obliterate the DPRK's sovereignty and right to existence is reaching an extremely reckless phase," said the DPRK's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement. "The United States is going frantic to fabricate the harshest ever 'sanctions resolution' by manipulating the United NationsSecurity Council over the DPRK's ICBM mountable H-bomb test," it said. "The DPRK is ready and willing to use any form of ultimate means" to respond to the new sanctions, the statement warned. It accused the United States of "trying to use the DPRK's legitimate self-defensive measures as an excuse to strangle and completely suffocate it," saying that the latest missile and nuclear tests by the DPRK are aimed at deterring U.S. threats to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. "Since the United States is revealing its nature as a blood-thirsty beast obsessed with the wild dream of reversing the DPRK's development of the state nuclear force which has already reached the completion phase, there is no way that the DPRK is going to wait and let the U.S. feast on it," it said. "In case the U.S. eventually does rig up the illegal and unlawful 'resolution' on harsher sanctions, the DPRK shall make absolutely sure that the United Stats pays due price," it added. The United States and Japanare pushing for a new sanctions resolution against the DPRK at the UN Security Council, after Pyongyang tested a hydrogen bomb one week ago. The United Nations passed a resolution last month imposing additional sanctions on the DPRK and banning its export of coal, iron, iron core and sea food, after its tested two ICBM missiles in July. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Pyongyang: US will pay 'due price' for spearheading anti-N Korea resolution Iran Press TV Mon Sep 11, 2017 1:21AM North Korea has said that Washington will pay for leading a UN Security Council resolution over its latest nuclear test. Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have heightened over Pyongyang's nuclear tests, the most recent of which on September 3. Last week, the South Korean military said the North was preparing for another missile launch, possibly an ICBM test. Also last week, the US presented a draft resolution to the UN Security Council, calling for an oil embargo on North Korea, an assets freeze on the country's leader Kim Jong-un, a ban on textiles and an end to payments of North Korean workers abroad. Washington wants the council to vote for imposing tougher sanctions on Monday, despite resistance from China and Russia. On Sunday, North's Foreign Ministry spokesman said the US was "going frantic" to manipulate the UNSC over the nuclear test, which he claimed was part of his country's "legitimate self-defensive measures." "In case the US eventually does rig up the illegal and unlawful 'resolution' on harsher sanctions, the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] shall make absolutely sure that the US pays due price," said a statement published by the North's official KCNA news agency. "The world will witness how the DPRK tames the US gangsters by taking a series of actions tougher than they have ever envisaged," it added. "The DPRK has developed and perfected the super-powerful thermonuclear weapon as a means to deter the ever-increasing hostile moves and nuclear threat of the US and defuse the danger of nuclear war looming over the Korean peninsula and the region," the statement read. Russia and China have repeatedly called for a dialogue between North Korea, on the one side, and the US allies, on the other side, whereby Pyongyang would suspend its weapons program in return for an end to joint military drills by the US and South Korea. North Korea has already been slapped with several rounds of crippling UNSC sanctions since it conducted its first nuclear test in 2006. The US and the European Union have also imposed wide-ranging bans to isolate North Korea. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address North Korea Threatens 'Greatest Pain' Against U.S. In Push For UN Sanctions September 11, 2017 North Korea says the United States will suffer its "greatest pain" ever if Washington is successful in pushing the United Nations Security Council for stronger sanctions against Pyongyang. The North Korean Foreign Ministry on September 11 said the country was "ready and willing to use any form of ultimate means" against the United States. It said the measures would cause the United States "the greatest pain and suffering it had ever gone through in its entire history." The UN approved a request by the United States for a September 11 vote on new sanctions against North Korea for its continued defiance of UN resolutions with its banned nuclear and ballistic-missile programs. The United States earlier circulated a draft proposal calling for a total ban on supplying a range of oil products to North Korea and on its textile export industry. It also called for freezing the assets of the reclusive country's government and its leader, Kim Jong Un, as well as banning him and other officials from traveling. Late on September 10, U.S. officials circulated a new proposal, described as slightly less tough than the original and including a "progressive" oil embargo the North, although details were not immediately available. It was not clear whether Russia or China, North Korea's main ally, would support the tough new moves against Pyongyang. Both countries have Security Council veto powers. Based on reporting by AP and dpa Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/north-korea-threatens-us- greatest-pain-un-sanctions/28728460.html Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UN Security Council to Vote on New North Korea Sanctions By VOA News September 11, 2017 The United Nations Security Council is set to vote on a new round of economic sanctions against North Korea, in response to its continuing nuclear program and missile tests. The draft resolution is considerably watered down from what the Americans put forward a week ago, and follows intense negotiations with Russia and China, which both have veto powers in the council. The new draft, due to be voted on late Monday, removes an oil embargo against North Korea that the United States was seeking and replaces it with a cap at current levels of crude oil exports to North Korea. China has been very reluctant to take any drastic measures that might potentially collapse North Korea's economy. The text also drops calls to sanction North Korean leader Kim Jong Un or put in place a travel ban and asset freeze against him. The U.S. has also dropped its call for council authorization to interdict North Korean vessels, with military force if necessary, when inspecting them for suspected illicit cargo. The new draft places a travel ban on a member of the Workers' Party of Korea Central Military Commission and freezes the assets of the commission, which commands and controls North Korea's military and directs the country's military defense industries. It also keeps a ban on North Korean textiles. Last year, the country's textile industry brought in nearly a billion dollars in revenue. The resolution was drafted by the U.S. in response to Pyongyang's sixth underground nuclear test on September 3, which is believed to have been of the regime's first hydrogen bomb. North Korea warned earlier Monday that the United States will pay "a heavy price" if the U.N. Security Council approves more sanctions against Pyongyang. "The world will witness how the DPRK [North Korea] tames the U.S. gangsters by taking a series of actions tougher than they have ever envisaged," an official spokesman in Pyongyang said. The Trump administration has said all options are on the table in dealing with North Korea, including a military response. The president has warned that any North Korean threat against the U.S. or its allies will be met with a harsh response. Margaret Besheer, United Nations correspondent, contributed to this report. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address IAEA chief says Iran meeting nuclear deal obligations IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, Sept 11, IRNA -- The nuclear-related commitments undertaken by Iran under the nuclear deal is being implemented, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General said. "The Agency continues to verify the non-diversion of nuclear material declared by Iran under its Safeguards Agreement. Evaluations regarding the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran remain ongoing,' Yukiya Amano told the 35-nation Board on Monday. According to the official website of IAEA, he noted that "We will continue to implement the Additional Protocol in Iran, including carrying out complementary accesses to sites and other locations, as we do in other countries with additional protocols." The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors meeting opened today and discussed various issues like the latest report on Iran nuclear deal known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Reinforcing international cooperation on nuclear issues, radiation, transportation and security of nuclear materials, safeguards implementation in North Korea, implementation of safeguards agreements in Syria and using IAEA safeguards in the Middle East are among topics to be discussed during the meeting. The International Atomic Energy Agency in its 8th seasonal report, once again verified Iran's commitment to the JCPOA. On 16 May 2017, the Agency verified that the HWPP was shut down. In a letter dated June 11, 2017, Iran informed the Agency that the operator of the HWPP intended to "start up" the plant on June 17, 2017. On August 7, 2017, the Agency verified that the plant was in operation and that Iran's stock of heavy water was 111.0 metric tonnes,' IAEA report reads. 'Iran has continued the enrichment of UF6 at FEP.16 Iran has not enriched uranium above 3.67%U-235 (para. 28).' Iran's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the IAEA Reza Najafi had earlier said that the entity's new report on Iran's compliance with nuclear deal reveals that the US officials' rhetoric and media hype has not impacted its verification activities and reporting on the case. 9191**2050 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address No nuclear ties between Iran, North Korea: FM spokesman IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, Sep 11, IRNA -- Foreign media reports on Iran-North Korea nuclear cooperation is not thought-out, and far from reality, a senior Iranian official said on Monday. 'There have been consultations between Iran and Japan, and there would be more in the future. Crisis in the Korean peninsula is one of the issues in the talks,' Bahram Qasemi said, referring to the recent visit by Japanese Prime Minister's special envoy to Tehran. 'But I am not informed whether the Japanese party has asked Iran any specific demand,' he added in his weekly press briefing. The Korean crisis is an important issue that the Iranian and Japanese officials have expressed their viewpoints about it, Qasemi said. 'What is going on today in Korean peninsula is a complicated situation that, maybe, after the missile crisis in 1960s, the hydrogen bomb tests and the crisis have caused extensive concerns at the international level,' the Iranian diplomat added. 'However, we have not had any contact with North Korea on the issue,' he said, rejecting the reports by some foreign media on Tehran-Pyongyang nuclear cooperation. 'Our stances on weapons of mass destruction are clear and based on religious teachings; these are not new stances,' he said. 9156**2050 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran abiding by nuclear-related commitments under JCPOA: IAEA Iran Press TV Mon Sep 11, 2017 12:22PM The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has once again confirmed that Iran has lived up to its commitments under the 2015 landmark nuclear agreement it signed with the P5+1 group of countries. "The nuclear-related commitments undertaken by Iran under the JCPOA (nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) are being implemented," IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said in his introductory statement to the Board of Governors in Vienna, Austria, on Monday. He added that his report on Verification and Monitoring in the Islamic Republic of Iran in light of United Nations Security Council resolution 2231 (2015) covers the activities conducted by the IAEA over the last few months to certify Iran's commitment to its obligations as per the JCPOA. Since the JCPOA Implementation Day in January 2016, the agency has been verifying and monitoring Iran's implementation of its nuclear-related commitments under the nuclear deal, he noted. "We fulfill this role in accordance with the modalities set out in the JCPOA, consistent with the Agency's standard safeguards practices, and in an impartial and objective manner," Amano said. He emphasized that the UN nuclear agency would continue to verify the non-diversion of nuclear material declared by Iran under its Safeguards Agreement, adding, "Evaluations regarding the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran remain ongoing." Amano also stated that the IAEA would proceed with the implementation of the Additional Protocol in Iran, including "carrying out complementary accesses to sites and other locations," as it does in other countries with additional protocols. Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China plus Germany signed the nuclear agreement on July 14, 2015 and started implementing it on January 16, 2016. Under the JCPOA, Iran undertook to put limitations on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions imposed against Tehran. The latest IAEA report came at a time that the US, which is a party to the agreement, seems to be laying out a case for abandoning it. Speaking at a news conference in New York on August 25, US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley called on the IAEA to request access to Iranian military sites, in what is regarded as an attempt by the US to undermine the multilateral nuclear deal. Iran has dismissed the request as an attempt to derail the nuclear agreement. The IAEA has consistently verified that Iran is in compliance since the deal started being implemented. Amano: Iran fully implementing JCPOA, Additional Protocol Following IAEA Board of Governors' Monday meeting, the Agency's head talked to reporters in Vienna, noting that Iran had completely implemented terms of the nuclear deal with the P5+1 group of countries. Dismissing US criticism of the nuclear deal, Amano insisted that the Agency's inspections in Iran were the world's toughest and that Tehran was sticking to the accord. "The nuclear-related commitments undertaken by Iran under (the 2015 nuclear deal) are being implemented," Amano told reporters. "The verification regime in Iran is the most robust regime which currently exists. We have increased the inspection days in Iran, we have increased inspector numbers ... and the number of images has increased," he said, adding, "From a verification point of view, it is a clear and significant gain." Elsewhere in his remarks Amano noted that the IAEA did not distinguish between civilian or military sites in its inspections and would ask for access when necessary. He said the JCPOA and the Additional Protocol as well as transparency measures were being fully implemented in Iran. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iraqi Army Has Recaptured 90% of Territory Once Held by Daesh Terrorists Sputnik News 17:27 11.09.2017 According to a spokesman for Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi's office, Iraqi government forces have recaptured over 90 percent of the territory which had been occupied by Daesh terrorists. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Iraqi government forces have regained control over 90 percent of the land that had been occupied by the internationally-condemned terrorist group Daesh (ISIS), Saad Hadithi, a spokesman for Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi's office, said Monday. "The situation has changed significantly. From the defense of Baghdad and the southern provinces we have switched to advancing and have begun to liberate the cities and regions one by one, despite our limited defense capabilities in comparison to the period before the government formation. These are Iraqi soldiers from various units. They are ready to put a decisive end to terrorism, having regained 90 percent of territories which had been under the terrorists' control. The final victory is at hand," Hadithi said as quoted by the Prime Minister's press service in the statement. The Iraqi army has lost a portion of its weapons and equipment after an advance by the Daesh militants, the spokesman added. According to government data, over 2.2 million refugees have returned to the Iraqi regions which have been liberated from the terrorists. In 2014, Daesh seized large territories in northern and western parts of Iraq, which provoked a new wave of violence and instability in the country. Iraqi government troops have managed to recapture most of that territory, including the cities of Tal Afar and Mosul. In recent days, the army has been conducting massive airstrikes on terrorist positions in the city of Hawijah in the Kirkuk province, which is defended by up to 2,000 Daesh terrorists, according to the Iraqi military. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address South Korea Supports Tough Sanctions Against North but Not Tactical Nukes By Brian Padden September 11, 2017 Frustrated by North Korea's continued provocations and perhaps prodded by criticisms from U.S. President Donald Trump, the South Korean government has shifted away from engagement oriented policies to more strongly align with U.S.-led efforts to pressure the Kim Jong Un government into denuclearization talks. "The sixth nuclear test was a factor that forced us to reassess the situation. And we have always said provocation means further pressure and sanctions," said South Korean Foreign Affairs Minister Kang Kyung-wha at a press conference in Seoul on Monday. North Korea's rapid progress toward developing a nuclear inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of targeting the U.S. mainland is changing threat assessments and security calculations in the region and the world. Pyongyang conducted its sixth nuclear test this month and is expected to soon launch another long-range ballistic missile, after conducting over 20 missile tests so far this year. Prior to North Korea's most recent nuclear provocation, South Korean President Moon Jae-in had advocated the need to balance sanctions with outreach and dialogue to bring the Kim government to denuclearization talks. However Pyongyang has ignored Seoul's offers of outreach and cooperation, including holding reunions of separated families. Sanctions President Trump recently called South Korea's engagement approach unworkable "appeasement." In contrast, his administration's "maximum pressure and maximum engagement" policy emphasizes strong sanctions along with the treat of military action to force Kim to yield. Foreign Minister Kang said Monday that South Korea's initial outreach was not appeasement but conceded that conditions are not right for dialogue at this point. Last week, President Moon argued for tougher North Korean sanctions when visiting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The United Nations Security Council will meet Monday to consider further economic sanctions on North Korea that could include limits on the import of oil and restrictions on the export of laborers. However Security Council members Russia and China have voiced a reluctance to impose crippling sanctions on the Kim regime. Putin has said sanctions and pressure alone will not solve this crisis and voiced concern that increasing "military hysteria" over the North Korean nuclear and missile tests could trigger a global catastrophe. Yet Pyongyang has shown no interest in any diplomatic solutions suggested to reduce tensions, including China's proposal for a joint freeze of North Korea's nuclear program and a suspension of U.S.-South Korean joint military drills. "Right now I don't expect North Korea to be interested any kind of freezing negotiations, nuclear arms control negotiations, until they will acquire the proven capability to deliver a strike on the continental United States," said Professor Andrei Lankov, a North Korea analyst with Kookmin University in Seoul. North Korea said the U.S. will pay a "due price" for leading efforts to impose new U.N sanctions against the country. The North's Foreign Ministry spokesman said Washington was "going frantic" to manipulate the Security Council over Pyongyang's nuclear test, which it said was part of "legitimate self-defensive measures." Tactical nukes Foreign Minister Kang Monday also clarified that her government does not support basing U.S. tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea, despite the fact that the country's defense minister said last week that such a U.S. nuclear deployment was under review. "There are many elements to consider beyond the military and strategic value of this issue; the regional and global political context, the global non-proliferation norms, Korea's profile in the nonproliferation norms, and of course denuclearization being the fundamental rationale with which we are promoting and pursuing complete denuclearization of the North nuclear program," said Kang. The United States had about 100 nuclear-armed weapons stationed in South Korea until 1991, when both North and South Korea signed an agreement not to develop nuclear weapons and use nuclear energy only for peaceful purposes. While public support is growing in South Korea to match the North's nuclear capability, critics argue basing U.S. nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula would validate the North's nuclear state status and end the international commitment to pressure Pyongyang to dismantle its nuclear program. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ruling Party Dominates Russian Elections Amid Low Turnout, Opposition Claims Strong Moscow Showing Tom Balmforth September 11, 2017 MOSCOW -- The ruling United Russia party has dominated a slew of regional and local elections marked by low turnout and claims of voter suppression, but liberal opposition candidates appeared to gain a toehold in Moscow with a strong showing in races for district councils in the capital. The September 10 elections, the last major vote before a presidential ballot in March 2018, cemented President Vladimir Putin's grip on power in Russia's far-flung regions and tested a new strategy -- at least in Moscow -- for opponents sidelined after years of increasing Kremlin control over the political system. Nearly complete official counts indicated that United Russia candidates and Kremlin allies, many of them incumbents, won all 15 regional gubernatorial races -- from the Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad to Buryatia on Lake Baikal -- as well as a vote for the head of the naval port city of Sevastopol on Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia occupied and seized from Ukraine in 2014. United Russia also appeared set to maintain control over regional and local legislatures across the country. But opposition leaders, including prominent Kremlin critics, claimed victory in several Moscow districts, including Putin's own voting precinct southwest of the Kremlin. The newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported that opposition candidates were on track to win a majority of seats in 14 of the more than 100 administrative districts of the capital. Partial returns indicated that nearly 180 candidates supported by liberal former Russian parliament deputy Dmitry Gudkov and the Yabloko party won seats in Moscow district councils, and opposition activist Ilya Yashin said he and his allies won seven seats in one of the councils while United Russia won three. Moscow election commission chairman Valentin Gorbunov said preliminary results with nearly 100 percent of the ballots counted indicated that United Russia won about 77 percent of the 1,502 district council seats being contested in the capital, while Yabloko could win nearly 12 percent and independent candidates about 7 percent. "Muscovites' political preferences are changing," he said. Gorbunov said Yabloko was on track to gain 176 or 177 local council mandates, up from the current 25. Pushed out of national politics since Putin came to power in 2000 and tightened control over elections, opposition activists and groups such as Gudkov, Yashin, and the Yabloko party are focusing on municipal issues and mounting a grassroots campaign to their way claw back. In Moscow, they have their eye on a mayoral election due in September 2018. Yabloko party official Nikolai Rybakov hailed the results as a breakthrough for the party, adding that Yabloko would attempt to field a candidate for the Moscow mayoral election set for September 2018. Gudkov told a Moscow press conference that he is in talks with Yabloko to represent the party in that election. In addition, he said the results send "a very important signal" for the presidential campaign of Yabloko founder Grigory Yavlinsky. Putin's spokesman said the Kremlin welcomed the fact that candidates who were not from United Russia won seats, casting it as evidence of political pluralism and a fair, competitive vote. "This is excellent. They will take part in the life of the city and demonstrate their effectiveness," Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "This is pluralism, this is political competition." Peskov also said "the legitimacy of the elections was ensured in the country on a fairly high level." Kremlin opponents saw it differently, saying they made progress in the face of alleged fraud and a state campaign to suppress voter turnout in Moscow, where liberal opposition to the Kremlin is stronger than in most other parts of the country. Gudkov tweeted about what he called an opposition "victory" and Putin foe Mikhail Khodorkovsky congratulated the former lower-parliament-house member and his allies, saying on Twitter that "in the face of United Russia's manipulations, Muscovites have supported a new power." But the projected opposition wins in Moscow were exceptions in elections in which the newspaper Vedomosti said that "representatives of the party of power won almost everywhere." "We can speak of the supremacy of and support for United Russia candidates," Peskov said, adding that the results also showed a "quite impressive" level of trust among voters in "officials promoted by the president." United Russia won a supermajority in the State Duma in elections held last year. Officials said the incumbent head of the Buryatia region, Aleksei Tsydenov, was on track to win more that 87 percent of the vote. Thousands of kilometers to the west, in Kaliningrad, regional election officials said acting governor and United Russia candidate Anton Alikhanov won 81 percent of the vote. Kremlin critics say that particularly in the provinces, Putin's government uses a range of tools including control over broadcast media, laws discouraging street protests, and influence over groups such as state employees, soldiers, schoolteachers, and students to improve the chances of United Russia candidates and keep opposition votes to a minimum. The election came six months before a March 2018 vote in which Putin, who has been president or prime minister for 18 years, is widely expected to seek -- and, given his popularity and control over the levers of power -- easily win a new six-year term. Putin, 64, would be barred from running again in 2024 because of a constitutional limit of two consecutive presidential terms. Voter turnout in the September 10 elections was a "record low," the Russian newspaper Vedomosti reported. Citing official figures, it said turnout exceeded 40 percent in only three regions -- Mordovia, Saratov, and Belgorod -- and was 12.7 percent in the Pacific coast city of Vladivostok. Gorbunov, the Moscow election commission chief, said on September 11 that turnout was about 14.8 percent "so far," without clarifying whether that was a final figure. Opposition candidates in the capital had warned that authorities were attempting to discourage voter turnout, and Gudkov and others peppered social media with allegations of fraud in the vote count. By midday on September 11, the independent Russian election-monitoring group Golos (Voice/Vote) said it had received about 1,600 reports of alleged violations connected to the campaign, voting on Election Day, and the ballot counts. Sergei Mitrokhin, a representative of the liberal Yabloko party, accused officials of using "every means of giving people a sense of electoral powerlessness...to make sure that the people they need stay in power," the AFP news agency reported. In a marked shift from previous practice, there were few billboards or posters urging Muscovites to vote, and opposition politicians said there was little information available from the authorities on where and how to cast ballots. Prominent opposition leader Aleksei Navalny also alleged fraud on the part of the authorities. Moscow city officials denied charges they were attempting to discourage people from showing up for the election. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, chairman of United Russia, said the elections were held at the highest level "everywhere" and that the results were "very favorable" for his party, according to state-run media. Preliminary results indicated a strong performance for parties linked to United Russia, which is associated with Putin. The opposition had been hoping for a strong showing, especially in Moscow, and to gain some positions in the local elections throughout the country. Direct governors' races were held in 16 of Russia's 83 regions, and complaints surfaced ahead of the elections from would-be candidates saying they had been unfairly excluded from the ballot. In nine of the 16 regions with gubernatorial voting on September 10, United Russia's incumbent governors ran for reelection. A second round of voting is scheduled for September 24 in places where no candidate wins a majority. A requirement is being blamed by some for unduly narrowing the field of candidates for governor. To get on the ballot, would-be candidates must get signatures of support from as high as 10 percent of local lawmakers, the so-called "municipal filter." In most cases, such local legislatures are either members or allies of United Russia. At least four potentially formidable candidates had their bids quashed after they failed to secure the required signatures. Yevgeny Roizman, a Yekaterinburg mayor with a reputation for being a political maverick, failed to get on the gubernatorial ballot in his native Sverdlovsk region. In an interview with RFE/RL's Russian Service in August, Roizman alleged that local authorities made sure "they cleared the entire field." "There's not a single strong challenger," Roizman said of the process. "Not a single strong candidate was even allowed to get close." Roizman predicted that he would have won "plain and simple" if he had been in the race. Ella Pamfilova, the head of Russia's Central Election Commission, rejected suggestions that Roizman had been unfairly targeted by the Kremlin. "It's difficult for me to believe that the ruthless Mr. Roizman -- a senior official, a statesman, the head of a major city who has certain administrative resources -- is a sort of weak little victim hounded by the regime," Pamfilova told the Russian business daily RBK in August. Ukraine sharply criticized Russia for holding elections in Crimea, which Moscow seized in March 2014 after sending in troops and staging a referendum deemed illegitimate by at least 100 countries. "Ukraine does not recognize any 'electoral processes' in occupied Crimea, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mariana Betsa wrote on Twitter. "A gross violation by Russia of international law and the laws of Ukraine." "Not worthy of substance and content," she said in a separate tweet. But analysts say the choices were limited, which they said would likely lead to the lower voter turnout. "There won't be any surprises in the regions because everything is under control," Dmitry Oreshkin, director of the Mercator think tank in Moscow, told RFE/RL. Oreshkin predicted that United Russia or "people approved by United Russia," would emerge victorious in regional races. Although he has not officially announced his candidacy, Putin is expected to dominate the presidential election slated for March 2018. It would be his fourth term in the presidency, a tenure dating back to late 1999 and interrupted only by a four-year stint as prime minister to avoid a presidential term limit in Russia's constitution. With reporting by AP, Reuters, AFP, Interfax, and TASS Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia- local-elections-marked-by-low-turnout- fraud-claims/28728417.html Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syrian forces preparing to fully retake Dayr al-Zawr from Daesh Iran Press TV Mon Sep 11, 2017 3:30PM Syrian army soldiers and allied forces are getting ready to fully liberate the eastern part of city of Dayr al-Zawr from the clutches of Daesh Takfiri terrorists. "Huge military reinforcements, including equipment, vehicles and fighters have arrived in Dayr al-Zawr ahead of an attack to push Daesh from the city's eastern neighborhoods," the head of the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), Rami Abdel Rahman, said on Monday, adding, "Russian and Syrian warplanes are striking Daesh positions in the city and on its outskirts." On Sunday, Syrian army soldiers and pro-government fighters recaptured Dayr al-Zawr's power station, which lies to the west of the city's air base, following intense clashes with Daesh militants. Moreover, Syrian soldiers managed to wrest control over the highway linking Dayr al-Zawr to the city of Sukhnah, and advanced on the Brigade 137 base as well as Panorama district. Scores of Daesh terrorists were killed and injured during the operations and their military hardware destroyed. Syrian troops and fighters from the popular defense groups had earlier managed to break a nearly three-year siege by Daesh Takfiris on Dayr al-Zawr air base. Syrian government forces and their allies launched a new push on September 8 towards the besieged military air base, as part of a multi-pronged offensive to retake the entire Dayr al-Zawr, located 450 kilometers northeast of the capital Damascus, from Daesh terrorists. Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Monday that a demining unit comprising more than 40 experts and special equipment had been sent to Hmeimim Air Base, southeast of the Syrian coastal city of Latakia, to be sent to Dayr al-Zawr "in the nearest future." "The sappers will first demine roads leading to the city's social infrastructure facilities, hospitals, schools, houses, water and power supply facilities and historical cultural monuments," the ministry's statement said. In another development on Monday, tribal figures linked to US-backed militiamen from the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced in a statement the establishment of "a preparatory committee that will discuss the basis and starting points for a civil council for Dayr al-Zawr." The SDF's media bureau said consultations would aim to reach a "formulation that will express the aspirations of all our people in the city," adding that the Dayr al-Zawr Civil Council "will be responsible for running the city immediately after its liberation." Daesh overran large parts of Dayr al-Zawr province, including its many oil fields, in mid-2014 as it seized swathes of land in Syria and neighboring Iraq. By early 2015, the Takfiri terrorists were in control of some parts of Dayr al-Zawr city and besieged the remaining parts, which were under government control. It is estimated that 100,000 people remain in the government-held parts of the city. The SOHR estimates that more than 10,000 people may be living in the Daesh-held parts of Dayr al-Zawr. Russia, Jordan to set up de-escalation zone in southeast Syria Separately, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, said at a joint news conference in Amman on Monday that a ceasefire deal for southern Syria had been "successful," and the two countries were working to set up a safe zone there. "We discussed issues pertaining to setting up a de-escalation zone in southeastern Syria," Lavrov said. Safadi, for his part, said Jordan, Russia and the United States were "determined to meet the objective" of setting up a safe zone in the area "as soon as possible." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US asks Syria militant groups to retreat to Jordan amid army advances: Sources Iran Press TV Mon Sep 11, 2017 8:40AM The US and its allies have urged two militant groups fighting the government in southeastern Syria to retreat into Jordan in the face of army advances, Reuters has quoted militant sources as saying. Both Usoud al-Sharqiya and Martyr Ahmad Abdo, part of the so-called Free Syrian Army group, were urged by their main backers, the CIA and some Arab states, including Jordan and Saudi Arabia, to end fighting in the area, militant sources said. Badr al Din al Salamah, a senior official in the Usoud al Sharqiya group, said, "There is an official request for us to leave the area." The request comes as the Syrian army is advancing against foreign-backed militants after retaking control of a string of border posts with Jordan. The militant commanders were allegedly told in a letter that their presence in a small enclave near the Jordanian border posed a threat to them. The two groups, which have hundreds of fighters, will subsequently have to hand over heavy artillery and scores of US-made anti-tank missiles, according to the militants. The decision has reportedly irritated the militants. In a meeting on Saturday, their commanders told the joint operations center in Jordan that they would rather "stay and die" in the desert. "We have rejected the request, since if we entered Jordan we would consider it the end," al-Salameh said. Another militant source said they don't oppose the withdrawal, but they want assurances from Jordan that they could lobby to expand a ceasefire brokered by Russia and the US in southwest Syria to the Badia desert area. Said Seif, a spokesman for the Martyr Ahmad Abdo group, said, "We have accepted in principle and there are matters that have to be resolved. But until this moment there is no final agreement on withdrawing and we are still in the Badia and still fighting at our posts." The news comes amid reports that US aircraft were evacuating Daesh field commanders in Dayr al-Zawr in the face of army advances. Last month, the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which is sympathetic to militants, reported at least five instances of US airlifts of Daesh elements in Dayr al-Zawr. Washington has rejected the reports as "false." The US has long been accused of colluding with Daesh through providing safe passage and logistical support to members of the Takfiri group in conflict zones. Last week, Syrian government forces broke the three-year-long Daesh siege on Dayr al-Zawr, the provincial capital of the oil-rich province of the same name. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syria's Deir ez-Zor Forerunner of Victory Over Daesh Sputnik News 22:13 11.09.2017(updated 22:16 11.09.2017) For the second consecutive day, red lights emanating from tracer ammunition sparkle in the sky over Deir ez-Zor in celebration of the Syrian government forces' significant breakthrough in the fight against terrorists. MOSCOW (Sputnik) A Sputnik correspondent was among the few reporters to be at the front line with the Syrian army troops when the blockade of the airbase in eastern Deir ez-Zor was broken. VICTORY SECURES VICTORY Syria's Deir ez-Zor province was the largest hotbed of the most combat-ready units of the Daesh terrorist organization (banned in Russia). Terrorists of the so-called caliphate initially had the priority goal to take over the northern province of Syria and its administrative center. Deir ez-Zor was not a random choice. There are large oil and gas deposits in the province, as well as a significant number of state-owned factories. Now, Deir ez-Zor is attracting the remaining terrorist forces from all over Syria, mainly from Daesh's self-proclaimed capital of Raqqa. The major part of the province is still occupied by militants. However, the terrorists failed to crush the resistance of Deir ez-Zor defenders. "With the support of Saudi Arabia and the West, Daesh fighters attempted to seize the city. But thanks to our strong will for freedom and victory, you can see now that all their plots and plans are falling apart like a house of cards," an officer from the Syrian army says over a cup of herbal tea as he points out the forces' positions on the map. Commanders of the assault troops are coordinating the airfield offensive at headquarters while terrorists' shells explode 100 meters (328 feet) away. Fighters of the republican guard, led by Gen. Issam Zakhreddine, are advancing the attack along the city's southern border leading to the airbase. The elite Tiger Forces are in the middle of a fierce battle with Daesh at two areas further to the east. "Terrorists did not expect such a confident offensive. They are used to our lack of ammunition. But today we have everything we need and our fellow fighters are with us," the guard officer says at the operation's headquarters. The headquarters, which is outside a university dormitory, looks like an ordinary checkpoint, but it has sought-after, cold, drinking water. At 42 degrees Celsius (107.6 degrees Fahrenheit) water tastes sweet. If you walk through the trenches, it will only take a half hour to get from the headquarters to the combat field. We approach the fighters at the bottom of the Alloush hill, the bargaining chip in this battle. The militants, laying in an ambush above us, want to keep the strategic position as well. But the task was given, and Gen. Suheil's soldiers, along with the republican guard, decide to storm the hill before sunset. The ammunition delivery is right on time. Less than two hours later, the injured commander reports with a smile that the dominant hill is retaken. During a staff meeting at night, the general announces that during the first day of the operation to unblock the airfield, three officers were killed and seven more were injured. ON THE WAY TO THE AIRBASE The assault operation continued in the morning. Gen. Zakhreddine left us at the headquarters and led the assault troops straight to the airfield gate. Over the years of the siege and fighting against Daesh, the troops have discovered all the hidden trails that would allow them to avoid landmines. The airbase camp, which holds over one thousand people, has been under siege since January. The personnel had to ward off terrorists' attacks almost daily, hoping that the day will come when they can see their families again. The airbase troops did not sit up in shelters and set out to meet the republican guard forces. The terrorists were taken aback by this turn of events and were forced to flee, be it was already too late. After purging the remaining hills at the entrance to the airbase, the republican guard troops joined the airfield fighters at the checkpoint. "We are reunited, mission accomplished. But there is no road yet. We went through a minefield. Bomb technicians are on the way," the general reported on the radio as triumphant tracers shot up in the sky over the city. BURNING CLOTHES Deir ez-Zor celebrated throughout the night. Civilians who received first humanitarian aid congratulated each other and shared food. "Today we are expecting the fifth convoy from the southern road. I hope that soon my wife will be able to cook me something other than beans, if she can still remember how," one of the commanders at the headquarters said. Under siege for more than three years, Deir ez-Zor civilians have been receiving food by air. It was only possible to supply the minimum required for residents to survive. White beans were the main ingredient of all meals. However, according to a soldier, boiled beans were still a luxury in Deir ez-Zor, because cooking required gas, fuel or firewood. The first two were very expensive. A can of household gas cost at least $200. One liter of fuel cost about $6. Hunger and need, especially in winter, forced the locals to cut all of the already small number of trees in the area. When the last roots turned to ashes, doors and furniture followed. During the last months of the blockade, the people had to burn clothes to cook food. "What the Leningrad Siege was for you during World War II, the Deir ez-Zor blockade became for us," an officer describes their life in the besieged city. SOUTHERN BREAKTHROUGH Despite the blockade having been broken through in the west, on September 5 the city residents and the military waited for the arrival of troops from the south through the main southern gates. Unblocking of the main road would mean opening the shortest route to Damascus and therefore allow for faster deliveries. Only yesterday, the main gates were controlled by Daesh and the road mined. The fifth corps' column is standing several hundred meters away but cannot come closer yet. Mine clearance specialists continue to clear the area. Syrian television installed their satellite dishes and began a live broadcast of the historic event. Soldiers raise their guns and send their regards to their families via phone calls. "Do not film me, I have no family left. These beasts killed everybody. I have nobody to send a hello to," a tanned soldier covered in grime says. A wearying hour goes by until an offroader belonging to the fifth corps' commander appears on the horizon. Generals of the Deir ez-Zor defense walk toward him and the soldiers meet halfway to triumphant cheering. In that moment, forgetting about danger, the soldiers run toward each other with tears in their eyes, giving each other congratulatory embraces. "These are tears of joy. I am from Deir ez-Zor and I swore that I would come back to my city down this very road on my own feet, not in a helicopter or a plane," Abu-Mahdi, an older soldier, said, wiping sweat and tears from his tanned face. The happy moment is darkened by an explosion several meters from the road. Two offroaders bypassing the main road struck a roadside mine right in front of the others. The shock wave hurled the soldiers out of the open carriage into a ditch. A minute later, it's revealed that one soldier was killed. Another one gets out of the car without a leg. The world stands still for a moment ringing in my ears. The newly-arrived convoy is soon dispersed at the stations in the city. Commanders gather for a meeting. In the next few days, chronicles of victories will continue in Deir ez-Zor. The government troops have to liberate the rest of the city, clear the airbase perimeter and continue liberating the provinces up to the last village at the border with Iraq. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syrian Democratic Forces Vow to Avoid Conflict With Gov't Troops in Deir ez-Zor Sputnik News 21:30 11.09.2017(updated 21:33 11.09.2017) Units of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) opposition alliance, manned mainly by Kurdish militias, promise not to attack the Syrian government forces in Deir ez-Zor, SDF spokesman Talal Silo told Sputnik on Monday. CAIRO (Sputnik) Earlier reports indicated that SDF units began their own operation against the Daesh terrorist group (banned in Russia) in the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor, where the Syrian government forces are already conducting a successful operation with the support of the Russian combat planes. "We have clear instructions that after Daesh is eliminated, we should not act against the forces of the [Bashar Assad] regime or against the Russian, Iranian forces or the Hezbollah movement, which are allied with it," Silo said. The news comes after the SDF announced a launch of an operation to kick Daesh (banned in Russia) terrorists out from the areas east of the Euphrates river and the eastern borders of the city of Deir ez-Zor days after it had been unblocked by the Syrian army. Earlier it was reported that the Syrian army, with Russian air support, has managed to finally break the Daesh siege of Deir ez-Zor. The operation to break the siege of Deir ez-Zor, which lies 140 km south east of Raqqa, began after four months of planning and preparation in the wake of the completion of the operation to liberate east Aleppo in January. This operation ended serious rebel activity in western Syria, allowing pro-government forces to turn their attention to the east across the country's desert region into Daesh heartlands. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Taiwanese activist pleads guilty to state subversion in China (update) ROC Central News Agency 2017/09/11 18:01:08 Taipei, Sept. 11 (CNA) Taiwanese human rights advocate Lee Ming-che (), who has been held by the Chinese authorities since March on charges of "subversion of state power," pleaded guilty during a brief court appearance in China's Hunan Province Monday. Lee was remanded back into detention after the hearing. Sentencing on the case will be issued on a yet-to-be-decided date, a judge at the Yueyang City Intermediate People's Court announced. According to a video published by the court on its Weibo microblogging site, Lee admitted to "attempting to subvert state power" in cooperation with Peng Yuhua (), a Chinese citizen who has created several discussion groups critical of the government. Lee said he got to know Peng via the instant-messaging app Weixin, after which Peng added him to a chat group called "China Onlooker" on Tencent QQ, a Chinese social media website, where they began to circulate articles that attacked the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist system. Lee also admitted to disseminating articles and videos related to the Tiananmen Massacre, the color revolutions in Eastern Europe, and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, via Weixin, QQ and Facebook. He said Peng had asked him and several group managers to write essays to maliciously attack the Chinese government and promote the multi-party system of the Western world. He also confessed to helping Peng establish a company aimed at toppling the Chinese government. He said when serving as a manager of the south-China subgroup of "China Onlooker," he played up civil rights protection incidents in China to attack and smear the Chinese Communist system and the Chinese government. Lee said he attended meetings in Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian in southern China and used those opportunities to attack the Chinese government. Lee said his conduct has violated Article 105 of China's Criminal Law and he expressed his appreciation to the Chinese government for its "civilized" way of handling the case and for protecting his personal safety. According to media reports, several Chinese civil right activists had planned to go to the court to voice their support for Lee but were prevented from doing so by the Chinese police. Meanwhile, more than 20 pro-democracy activists staged a demonstration outside the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to demand the release of Lee and other civil right activists who have been detained or convicted by Beijing on charges of inciting subversion of state power. Lee went missing after entering China via Macao on March 19 and was later confirmed to have been detained by the Chinese authorities. The Chinese government indicated in May that he had been arrested. With Beijing's permission, Lee's mother and wife arrived in Hunan Sunday to attend his hearing. (By Yang Sheng-ju, Frances Huang, Stanley Cheung and Y.F. Low) Enditem/J NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Proceedings in Lee Ming-che case scripted: lawyer (update) ROC Central News Agency 2017/09/11 22:53:10 Taipei, Sept. 11 (CNA) Monday's court proceedings in China in the case of Taiwanese human rights activist Lee Ming-che () were scripted, said a Judicial Reform Foundation official on Monday. Lee pleaded guilty to the charge of "subversion of state power" at Monday's hearing, and everybody, from the judge and prosecutors to the lawyers and two defendants, were "staring at scripts, reading," indicating that "everything was prearranged," said foundation Executive Director Kao Jung-chih (). Kao did not say if the "arranged" nature of the case meant that a deal on Lee's sentence had already been determined. But he felt that the charge against Lee and the evidence presented by prosecutors against Lee made people wonder whether the activist was in fact a "political prisoner" or a "criminal." The lawyer speculated that the timing of the proceedings was deliberately set for Monday to stop Lee's wife, Lee Ching-yu (), from traveling to Geneva on Sept. 10 and reporting on her husband's case at a meeting of the United Nations working groups on arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances. The proceedings disqualified Lee as a victim of enforced disappearance, which international law treats as a crime against humanity, Kao said. Lee's case, however, has drawn attention in Taiwan and around the world, Kao said, and he believed the interest shown by Taiwan and the international community in Lee's plight and their stance on the matter could affect the Taiwanese activist's sentence. A Chinese lawyer told CNA that judging from Lee's cooperation with the court and the outside attention to the case, it can be expected that Lee will likely get a lenient sentence. The lawyer from northern China, who asked that he not be identified, said the broadcast news about Monday's court proceedings shows that Lee is but a "considerably active accomplice" in this case, not the chief suspect. Besides, the lawyer added, the case has not created a great impact in China. "Based on my experience, Lee will not be given a heavy sentence." He cited precedents in China as saying that Lee has pleaded guilty, has been cooperative and has caught wide attention; "if Lee agrees not to make any more troubles in the future, he could get a lenient sentence or even a parole." Lee, a staff member at Wenshan Community College in Taipei and a former Democratic Progressive Party worker, went missing after entering China via Macao on March 19. He was later confirmed to have been detained by Chinese authorities. The Chinese government announced in May that he had been arrested on the charge of subverting state power. On Monday, Lee pleaded guilty to the charge in a hearing at the Yueyang City Intermediate People's Court in Hunan Province. He admitted to intentionally disseminating information and articles attacking the Chinese Communist system and the Chinese government. After the plea, the court said it would announce Lee's sentence at a future date. (By Miu Chung-han and Elizabeth Hsu) Enditem/ls/sc NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Taiwan activist confesses to subversion in China court Iran Press TV Mon Sep 11, 2017 7:56AM A pro-independence Taiwanese activist on trial in mainland China has confessed to making attempts to subvert the government in Beijing. Lee Ming-cheh, 42, made the confession, alongside a Chinese accomplice named Peng Yuhua, at the Yueyang intermediate court in central Hunan Province, according to video footage posted on the court's official social media account on Monday. Lee confessed he had written and distributed online articles that criticized China's ruling Communist Party. His online articles in social media "attacked and wickedly smeared the Chinese government" and "promoted Western-style multi-party democracy." "I know that my behavior definitely violated Chinese law," said Lee, adding, "I express my guilt and regrets." Lee's wife and mother attended the trial. Both women were accompanied by several officials from Taiwan's semi-official Straits Exchange Foundation, which handles relations with the mainland. Lee's arrest Lee went missing on a trip to China in March. The authorities in Beijing later confirmed that he was being investigated on suspicion of damaging national security. Cheng Hsiu-chuan, president of Taipei's Wenshan Community College where Lee has worked for the past year as a program director, said Lee used WeChat to "teach" an unknown number of people about China-Taiwan relations under the government of Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen. "For China, the material he was teaching would be seen as sensitive," Cheng said. WeChat has hundreds of millions of active users and is hugely popular as a means of communication in China. Lee had traveled annually to China for the past decade to see friends, Cheng said. On his most recent trip, during which he disappeared, Lee had planned to see friends and obtain Chinese medicine for his mother-in-law in Taiwan, his wife, Lee Ching-yu said. China sees self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory, with the leaders in Beijing saying that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, which separates the island of Taiwan from mainland China, will eventually unify. China and Taiwan split amid a civil war in 1949. Beijing mounted pressure on Taiwan since the election last year of President Tsai, whose Democratic Progressive Party advocates Taiwan's formal independence. China wants Tsai to acknowledge the island is part of "One China", but she has refused to do so. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Saakashvili's Ukrainian border breach sparks row as president slams ex-governor Iran Press TV Mon Sep 11, 2017 4:6PM The Ukrainian president has lambasted former Georgian leader and Ukrainian governor Mikheil Saakashvili for illegally crossing into Ukraine to reclaim his citizenship. Petro Poroshenko said Monday that Saakashvili could have reclaimed his citizenship in a court but his forced return to Ukraine a day earlier from the border with Poland was a clear violation of Ukrainian law by a former senior official. "But instead, he committed a crime because the state border must not be violated," said Poroshenko, who decided in July to strip Saakashvili of his citizenship after the two fell out over Ukraine's way of fighting corruption. Saakashvili had accused Poroshenko of blocking efforts to stop corruption. Saakashvili, who shoved his way through a line of Ukrainian border guards on Sunday while accompanied by a group of supporters, said it was Poroshenko who had committed a crime by revoking his citizenship. The pro-Western politician, who resigned as governor of Ukraine's Odessa region in November 2016 after 18 months, said he would fight for his citizenship right. "I want to say that this is the beginning of my fight. I returned home, to Ukraine, in order -- first -- to go to court and defend my rights," he told reporters in the western city of Leviv on Monday, vowing to reclaim his citizenship and return to politics. Saakashvili was Georgia's president from 2004 to 2013. He gave up his Georgian citizenship after he became Odessa's governor in Ukraine. The outspoken politician is now stateless and there is a risk that Ukraine may extradite him to Georgia to face accusations of abuse of power and misappropriation of property during his time in office in the former Soviet country. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Putin Says UN Peacekeepers Could Be Deployed Throughout Ukraine Conflict Zone RFE/RL September 11, 2017 Russian President Vladimir Putin has signaled his willingness to look into the idea of deploying UN peacekeepers to eastern Ukraine not only along the conflict line separating Ukrainian government forces and Russia-backed separatists, but also in other areas where monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) work. The Kremlin said Putin made the comments in a phone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on September 11. "Vladimir Putin elaborated on the Russian initiative to set up a UN mission to facilitate the guarding of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM)," the Kremlin said. "In light of thoughts voiced by Angela Merkel, the Russian leader indicated a readiness to update the functions of the aforementioned UN mission in the Russia-sponsored draft resolution of the [UN] Security Council." "It is intended that UN peacekeepers could guard OSCE observers not only on the line of contact following the disengagement of both parties' forces and hardware, but in other locations as well, where the OSCE SMM pays its inspection visits," it added. In a statement, the German Chancellery said Putin "agreed to remove the previous limitation of deployment of the planned UN mission" after Merkel pointed out that "changes in the mandate were necessary." 'Strange' Proposal On September 5, Putin called for the deployment of lightly armed peacekeepers to protect OSCE observers monitoring the conflict in eastern Ukraine. But he indicated that the peacekeepers would operate only along the front line separating Ukrainian government forces and separatists. However, Kyiv said the mission should patrol the whole conflict zone including the border between Russia and the separatist-held parts of Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which Kyiv says is used to ship weapons and military personnel in from Russia. Ukraine also rejected Moscow's demand that any deployment needs to be agreed by separatists. "[The mission's] purpose should not be the preservation of Russia's occupation and the legalization of the Russian military presence, but a durable peace," Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on September 7. "Its purpose should not be the preservation of Russia's occupation and the legalization of the Russian military presence, but a durable peace," Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on September 7. Poroshenko called Putin's proposal "strange," but said Ukraine is ready to discuss any proposal at the UN. The conflict has killed more than 10,000 civilians and combatants in eastern Ukraine since it erupted in April 2014, after Russia seized control of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and fomented separatism in some eastern parts of the country. The war has persisted despite a European-brokered agreement on a cease-fire and a settlement road map that was signed by Ukraine, Russia, and the separatists in February 2015. Based on reporting by Reuters and Interfax Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-putin-un- peacekeepers-merkel-border-osce/28729481.html Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Saakashvili Faces 'Serious' Criminal Charges After Entering Ukraine RFE/RL September 11, 2017 KYIV -- Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov says Mikheil Saakashvili is wanted on "serious" criminal charges after entering Ukraine illegally on September 10 and sparking a brawl on the border with Poland. Avakov called the border breach by Saakashvili, Georgia's former president and the former governor of Ukraine's Odesa region, "an attack on the state's basic institutions." Avakov said all those responsible should turn themselves in. A criminal investigation was launched against Saakashvili after he defied Ukrainian authorities and returned to the country that stripped him of citizenship in July. Speaking in Lviv on September 11, a day after arriving in the western Ukrainian city, Saakashvili said he no longer had a Ukrainian passport, claiming it was "stolen by police" from a bus that had transported him into Ukraine. "This morning my lawyer delivered to the Ukrainian migration service my application for protection from Ukrainian authorities," Saakashvili said. "That means I am legally in Ukraine." Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko chided Saakashvili on September 11 for crossing the border without proper documents. He said Saakashvili should have contested the decree stripping him of Ukrainian citizenship in court if he disagreed with it. Backed by hundreds of supporters, Saakashvili made his way from Poland into Ukraine on September 10, breaking through a line of Ukrainian border guards. Prosecutor-General Yuriy Lutsenko said late on September 10 that charges also would be pursued against the organizers of Saakashvili's unauthorized entry. A September 11 statement by police in Lviv, where Saakashvili spent the night, said regional police were investigating "events near the [Medyka]-Shehyni checkpoint along the Ukrainian-Polish border." The statement said those found guilty of illegally crossing the border could face up to five years in prison. Writing on his Facebook page on September 11, Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Hroysman called the incident an "attack" on Ukraine's statehood. "It's time to fight for the state and not for power," he said. Saakashvili claims to have UN recognition as being "stateless" and says he wants to challenge the revocation of his citizenship at a court in Ukraine. Besides running the risk of being arrested for illegally crossing into Ukraine, Saakashvili also faces possible extradition to Georgia where he is wanted on charges of misappropriating property and abusing his office during his nine years as Georgia's president. Saakashvili says those charges are politically motivated. Saakashvili lost his Georgian citizenship in 2015 when he was granted Ukrainian citizenship in order to take up Poroshenko's offer to become governor of the Black Sea region of Odesa. Tbilisi does not allow dual citizenship. Saakashvili resigned from the Odesa governor's post in November 2016, complaining he had been blocked from carrying out reforms. In July, Poroshenko stripped Saakashvili of his Ukrainian citizenship amid a falling out of the two former allies. With reporting by Interfax, AFP, and TASS Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-saakashvili-criminal -probe-border-crossing/28728515.html Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Haiti - FLASH : A national shame and an affront to Dany Laferriere Sunday, around 1 pm, a group of young people, a member of the Mixed Front of Liberation of Petit-Goave, erased the name of Dany Laferriere from the newly rebuilt library... Our Dany, a native of Petit-Goave who grew up in Rue Lamarre, our only academician and our national pride, does not deserve such a fate. What a desappointment ! What a shame ! "These young people from Petit-Goave, who by eagerness and malice have erased the name of Dany Laferriere from the library have made a big mistake." Moreover, the German NGO Welthungerhilfe (Agro Action Germany - AAA), which financed this library, recalls that it had not yet handed over the keys to the Haitian State... "As long as this formality is not fulfilled, the authorities have no rights over the library." By pretending to defend the Constitution, these young "intellectuals" blinded by a supposed nationalistic passion have made an illegal act. It was necessary to wait until the work was officially handed over to the local authorities. Once again, the FML, in spite of the correctness of its claims are very badly started... "The violation of the Constitution should not serve as a pretext for anyone to openly fight an intellectual who has done honor to Haiti on an international scale." HL/ HaitiLibre / Guyto Mathieu (Correspondant Petit-Goave) Haiti - News : Zapping... Budget ratified in 2nd reading by the deputies1 On Saturday, the deputies ratified the draft budget 2017-2018 in the same terms as the senators (78 votes for, 8 against and 5 abstentions.) The 2017-2018 budget will now be transmitted to the Executive for publication in the official newspaper "Le moniteur". Fatal accident Sunday a traffic accident occurred in Madeline (Cap-Haitien), involving a tank truck and a motorcycle. Results: one dead and one seriously wounded. The passenger of the motorcycle died on the spot, while the motorcyclist, seriously injured was rushed to the hospital. Petit Goave : Arrest of Timemet The police of Petit-Goave apprehended, Edner Borgella aka Timemet" to the Street Benoit. Originally from Vallue, Edner Borgella (30) was actively wanted by the police. after about 20 complaints filed against him and other charges including robbery, theft, illegal possession of firearms, according to the police. Asked on Radio Preference, Edner Borgella says he does not know why he was arrested. HL/ HaitiLibre / Guyto Mathieu (Correspondant Petit-Goave). Return of Moise JC on the concrete Moses Jean Charles, of the Platform "Pitit Dessalin", defeated candidate in the last presidential elections, announced a demonstration in the streets of the capital, Tuesday 12 of September to denounce the mismanagement of the team and the draft budget law which he describes as a "criminal", a budget that according to him "aims to impoverish the population". The Ambassador of Haiti in the USA recalled Paul Altidor Ambassador of Haiti to Washington was recalled... Closing of the 2nd session of the legislative year This Monday, September 11, teh Deputies and Senators of the 50th Legislature will close the second regular session of the 2017 legislative year. Even if closed, Senators will continue their regular work, while the deputies will be called to the Extraordinary Assembly by the Executive in case of need. The next parliamentary return will take place on January 8, 2018. Words of Moise "IRMA has just struck Cuba. All our solidarity goes to that brother-people with whom we have always walked hand in hand [...] At the moment when IRMA strikes Florida, all my thoughts are for the inhabitants of this state, especially my compatriots living there," said President Jovenel Moise. HL/ HaitiLibre Mauerhan will work closely with General Manager Donte Johnson while acting as a key liaison between the restaurant and hotel teams. Mauerhan will directly collaborate with executive chef Jonathan Dearden and lead bartender Sarah Rosner on creative food and beverage options in addition to generating creative programming for the hotels intimate rooftop bar and pool. Mauerhan began her career in hospitality over 10 years ago at The Capital Hilton where she was responsible for selling and servicing of events and meetings including long and short-term bookings. Since then, shes grown an impressive roster of experience including roles at Lansdowne Resort, Fairmont Hotels and Omni Hotels and Resorts. Mauerhan has also served as the assistant director of catering for Embassy Suites DC Convention Center. In that position, she took on the development and execution of action plans including competitive set analyses and the development of packages to increase revenue. Prior to joining the Mason & Rook team, Mauerhan served as the catering director at the Compass Group in Washington. Although Artificial intelligences (AI) are a long way from truly emulating the human brain and replacing your data analysts, they are taking their first steps and should definitely be a part of your data team. This is the conclusion of EyeforTravel's new report into deep learning, which is free to download now. The case for using neural network-powered deep learning techniques lies in the potential return on investment that they can provide. Not only can neural networks undertake complex analysis but they can also reduce workloads, freeing up data professionals to work on more demanding tasks. For example, the report notes that Stena Line's deep learning program to understand price competition for its onboard products saves weeks of analyst labour, increases accuracy dramatically and all for a cost of roughly EUR15,000. Not only can they help with some of the more mundane tasks and working through very large data sets but it is constantly growing in complexity and will soon be able to take more tasks on. "Instead of building very complex models to understand the parameters that influence revenue, you just feed the data into a system and let the system thanks to a deep learning algorithm learn what works," says Marion Mesnage, Head of Innovation and Research at Amadeus IT. "There is no assumption on the model whatsoever. That's very disruptivebut we believe it could equal or outperform what humans can achieve." It's not just data teams that deep learning can help, marketing teams also stand to benefit substantially from deep learning. Neural nets can learn huge amounts about what makes customers tick, such as optimal pricing points and the best creative as well as where to deploy this. The report notes that The Travel Corporation is using deep learning to track online sentiment and automatically adjust advertising to appropriate formats and destinations. To find out more about deep learning download the free report now and see: What brands such as Amadeus, Expedia, Stena Line, and The Travel Corporation are doing to harness deep learning. How neural nets have been developed and how they power deep learning. Where deep learning will transform the industry. How deep learning can save time and reduce costs. What the limits are to deep learning and how regulation might affect it. The report is part two of EyeforTravel's How Will Artificial Intelligence Transform Travel? report series. You can find the first report, which studies chatbots in travel, by clicking here. About Reuters Events Reuters Events is a community where the worlds top online travel brands from hotels to airlines, online travel agents, cruise, car hire firms and more come to meet to drive forward growth and innovation in the industry. We know that working in the turbulent online travel industry is as exciting as it is challenging. In this constantly evolving market place, we appreciate that keeping up with the pace of change can be tough, not to mention time consuming. You need the right information, contacts and strategic insight to succeed. Established in 1997, by Tim Gunstone, we offer a diverse product portfolio including industry analysis, insights, research, webinars, reports and conferences to suit the needs of our clients. Our clients read as a whos who of online travel. From major hotel brands to new startups, we help our 80,000 strong customer base make better decisions, build better brands, close the most lucrative deals and ultimately sell more of their product. After all, increasing travel brand profit margins in the cutthroat travel industry is the name of the game! No other online travel intelligence provider has been charting the growth of online travel as long as we have. We were here at the inception of online travel and we know the industry inside out. Whats more, were a small, friendly team. Forget impersonal hierarchies, we like to get to know our customers and work towards their exact needs. Meredith Pistulka View source WASHINGTON, DC -- Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation for recognizing and celebrating the finest historic hotels, is presenting the 2017Historic Hotels of America Lifetime Achievement Award to Duane and Kelly Roberts, owners of the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa (1876) in Riverside, California. This prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented at the 2017 Historic Hotels Annual Awards of Excellence Ceremony & Gala on September 28, 2017, at The Omni Homestead Resort (1766) in Hot Springs, Virginia. This award is presented to individuals who are dedicated to the preservation and stewardship of legendary historic hotels over many years. Since 1992, Duane and Kelly Roberts have contributed significantly to the preservation, restoration, recognition and celebration of The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa in Riverside, California. Their dedication of time and resources continues to enhance this historic hotel which was previously designated a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior. Since their purchase of this legendary historic hotel in 1992, they have re-invested all operational profits back into the hotel to continue its legacy. Twenty-five years ago, the Roberts created and funded the acclaimed Festival of Lights annual holiday event where visitors can enjoy more than five million dazzling holiday lights and animated characters. This event shares the beauty and history of the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa. Building on the success of the Festival of Lights, the Roberts created a new festival, Festa dell' Amore, to celebrate romance for the entire month of February in Riverside. The Roberts are active leaders and role models in Southern California. Each year, they have generously donated money and their time to various charities and organizations. A partial list includes Loma Linda University Children's Hospital Foundation, Fox Riverside Theater Foundation, Fox Performing Arts Center, Mission Inn Foundation, and the Mary S. Roberts Foundation that supports many charitable causes ranging from helping children with special needs, the homeless and hungry, and animal assistance. "We are delighted to honor Duane and Kelly Roberts with the 2017 Historic Hotels of America Lifetime Achievement Award. Future generations will continue to benefit from their leadership and philanthropy in preserving, strengthening, revitalizing, and honoring the unique cultural and heritage treasures of Riverside, California," said Lawrence Horwitz, Executive Director, Historic Hotels of America and Historic Hotels Worldwide. "They saved a National Historic Landmark from demolition and continue to inspire others with their creativity, enthusiasm, and generosity." "We are incredibly honored to receive this award and we thank Lawrence Horwitz and Historic Hotels of America for bestowing this huge honor upon us," said Duane and Kelly Roberts. They continued, "We are proud to be members of this prestigious community and it is great to be recognized amongst the greatest hotels in the United States. We are so proud of the accomplishments we have achieved since saving The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa and it has been an amazing honor to be the Keepers of the Inn at this iconic luxury hotel." "Duane & Kelly Roberts are truly deserving of the Historic Hotels of America Lifetime Achievement Award for the 2017 Awards of Excellence. Their passion and dedication to conserving and revitalizing The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa along with the local community is an achievement that merits recognition," states Riverside Mayor, William "Rusty" Bailey. About The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa Dating back to 1876, the AAA Four Diamond, Historic Mission Inn Hotel & Spa incorporates design elements from throughout the southwestern United States, Mexico and several Mediterranean countries. The hotel features 238 guest rooms, including 27 suites, and four restaurants. The hotel is situated on an entire city block of the quaint Mission Inn District of Riverside, California, Will Rogers, the well-known comedian, cowboy, and philosopher was a frequent visitor to The Mission Inn in the 1920's and 1930's. During his stay at The Mission Inn in 1933 while filming a movie, he remarked: "It is the most unique hotel in America. It's a monastery, a museum, a fine hotel, a home, a boardinghouse, a mission, an art gallery and an aviator's shrine. It combines the best features of all of the above. If you are ever in any part of California, don't miss the famous Mission Inn of Riverside." Since taking ownership, Mr. and Mrs. Roberts have worked to meticulously update the Mission Inn, preserving the historic look and facade of the hotel and the countless artifacts within its walls, including precious Tiffany stained glass windows (acquired directly from Louis Comfort Tiffany) in the St. Francis of Assisi Chapel, and the exquisite 100 year-old Kimball Organ in the Grand Parisian Ballroom. Often heralded as one of the most famous representations of Mission Revival architecture in the world, the hotel has built a longstanding reputation among U.S. Presidents, dignitaries and Old Hollywood stars, counting among its famous visitors Barbra Streisand, Bette Davis, Clark Gable, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, Richard Nixon, and Cary Grant, among many others. Previously, The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa was named the Best Historic Hotel (200 400 guestrooms category) in the 2016 Historic Hotels Awards of Excellence. In 2016, it was named Best Historic Hotel in the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice Awards. About Historic Hotels of America Historic Hotels of America is the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation for recognizing, celebrating, and promoting the finest historic hotels in the United States of America. To be nominated and selected for membership in this prestigious program, a hotel must be at least 50 years old; designated by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior as a National Historic Landmark or listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places; and recognized as having historical significance. Of the more than 300 historic hotels inducted into Historic Hotels of America from 44 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, all historic hotels faithfully preserve their sense of authenticity, sense of place, and architectural integrity. For more information, please visit HistoricHotels.org Heather Taylor Manager, Marketing Communications +1 202 772 8333 Historic Hotels of America The Blackstone, a historic Chicago property, was looking to revive their online presence and communicate a luxurious experience through a new website. As a new addition to the Autograph Collection, they were in need of an online identity as unique and stunning as their hotel. The Blackstone teamed up with HEBS Digital to create a superior, revenue-driving website that showcases all of the exceptional features of this breathtaking property. The new responsive website includes: Rooms Showcase Module to show off the lavish guest rooms and iconic suites with mesmerizing views of Lake Michigan and Grant Park. Press Room Module for website visitors to browse through the latest news and articles and read guest reviews. A custom Wedding Page which allows the Blackstone to distinguish their multiple venue spaces and wedding services. A custom History Timeline to tell the unique story of The Blackstone and how it has evolved into one of the most admired hotels in Chicago. xxx The Blackstone's fully responsive website follows many current design and content trends. Streamlined visual navigation, minimalist design, and visual cards work together to create a compelling story seamlessly across devices. With the knowledge of these trends and through the thorough study of the hotel's brand guidelines, HEBS Digital crafted a website that is not only visually captivating, but also revenue focused. Powering this modern in design and its merchandising capabilities is HEBS Digital's award-winning, proprietary smartCMS Website Technology Platform. The smartCMS drives direct bookings via its more than 30 revenue-generating modules and has deep connectivity with the hotel's Marriott booking engine. Take a look at The Blackstone's new website, and click here to view more cutting-edge websites built and designed by HEBS Digital. ABOUT NEXTGUEST NextGuest provides hoteliers with everything they need to thrive in the digital world, with bespoke technology solutions developed to meet the needs of luxury hotel clients coupled with elegant design capabilities that bring brands to life. We marry the power of data with brand discovery to uncover unique strategies that apply to everything from website design, content marketing, CRM, and more, helping the world's top hotel brands maximize ROI as they acquire, convert, and retain guests throughout the travel planning journey. While each of our services is available on its own, the integrated technologies, marketing, and consulting offerings work together to increase digital engagement and generate revenue for hoteliers, allowing them to focus on what matters most serving their guests. www.nextguest.com | [email protected] Mariana Mechoso Safer 212-752-8186 View source Whether you're running the world's most successful business or one that's just starting out, you're going to have one problem in common with other business owners: marketing. You need good marketing to attract people and make money, but you need to have money to have good marketing. It's a tough situation to be in, but there are some ways to get yourself out on top that are actually catching on in popularity with the general public. Brand ambassadors have become a more widely known way of advertising to gain customers. They're used by all different kinds of companies, and could prove to be a beneficial method of marketing to promote your hotel. Brand ambassadors are people who would stay at your hotel, have a great experience and want to promote you on their social media, without making you pay them a salary. Interested in creating your own brand ambassadors to give your hotel business a liftoff into the world of success? First you have to consider what you can give them. Since they won't be making money from promoting you, you have to do everything you can to be approachable and shareable. Get ready to dive in to social media. Make Shareable Content The best way to get your ambassadors to get the news to others that your hotel is the best place to stay is through shareable content. Your job is to inform, and their job is to spread the news. Take some time to write articles about topics that'll make people read through them and want to share them on their social media pages. These articles can be recommendations on what to look for in a good hotel, or tips on how to find the best prices for any budget. The goal is to make the reader feel more informed when they finish your article, without making them feel like you're trying to brainwash them into only knowing good information about your own hotel. The informed content should point them back to choosing your hotel on their own. Create A Twitter-shpere The biggest reason that brand ambassadors work so well is that they make everything seem personal. When people watch a commercial, they know what that company wants them to hear, but when a company teams up with brand ambassadors, potential customers feel like they're more a part of a community. Reaching out on Twitter will help make your hotel seem personable. You can give a face and a voice to your business so customers feel like they have a relationship with where they stay. Create a Twitter for your hotel and encourage employees to follow it. Use a friendly voice to share your written content, and retweet positive tweets posted by employees. Your followers will begin to form loyalty to your brand, because they'll feel like they know you. Keep An Instagram Scrapbook Make an Instagram for your hotel and begin posting pictures of employees who deserve a shout out, or events you host in your building. Keeping a kind of Instagram scrapbook will help potential customers decide to stay with you because they'll be able to scroll through your images and see happy employees and good work that happens at your hotel. You can also wrap existing customers in by hosting contests on Instagram. Encourage users to post about their experience with a specific hashtag, and create a prize for whoever posts the best picture with the most likes. People will get excited and tell their friends, creating a marketing wildfire for you while you focus on other strategies. Your hotel guests will turn into brand ambassadors without even knowing they're helping you with advertising. Maintain Your Presence No matter what specific marketing strategy you decide to go with in regards to your brand ambassadors, you'll need to keep up your social media presence long after it's brought you the marketing success you wanted originally. It'll help maintain the trust that customers and employees will put in your image and voice, and trust is key. Research has shown that 92% of people trust referrals by individuals rather than becoming informed about a brand through a commercial. This is what makes having brand ambassadors such an important part of forming your brand. You'll need people to genuinely want to interact with you on social media and help promote you based on loyalty. Good reviews on other websites can only go so far. Take some time in the near future to come up with a list of social media strategies you know could work for your hotel to begin creating a positive presence for yourself online. Make a friendly voice that feels personal for hotel guests, then help them get involved through things like shareable content and contests. You'll enjoy the experience of creating genuine brand loyalty almost as much as they will. Home to numerous high-tech corporations and startup companies, Silicon Valley encompasses the southern portion of the San Francisco Bay Area. As defined by the 2017 Silicon Valley Index, this region covers the cities in San Mateo County and Santa Clara County. The index also incorporates portions of Alameda County, including the cities of Fremont, Newark, and Union City, as well as Scotts Valley in Santa Cruz County. For purposes of this article, the greater Silicon Valley area will follow the aforementioned definition, with the exception of Scotts Valley. This article will primarily focus on new hotel development, and hotel trends within the greater Silicon Valley area. Source: HVS Silicon Valley has previously been noted as one of the fastest-growing urban economies in the United States. Unemployment in this market has continued to decline since the recession, closing out 2016 at 3.8%, down from 4.3% in 2015 and 5.3% in 2014, approximately 1.1% lower than the national average. However, venture capital investment in the region has begun to show some slowdown, with deal activity at an eight-quarter low in Q4 2016, and remaining relatively flat in Q1 2017.[1] According to REIS, the supply for office space has begun to outpace demand, with vacancy rates projected to increase to 17.2% in 2017, up from 16.8% in 2016 and 15.9% in 2015. However, average asking lease rates continue to improve and are currently at the highest levels achieved during the last decade, with sustained growth anticipated through the near term. Meanwhile, airlift throughout the greater San Francisco Bay Area has also improved, with year-over-year increases in passenger traffic at the airports in San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. Major indicators for the second quarter of 2017 reflect continuation of these trends, which bodes well for the market's lodging industry. Commercial Developments Tech companies continue to dominate the local economy of Silicon Valley, with a number of key employers expanding and investing in new office space and operations. Although some construction is still ongoing, Apple's new $5-billion headquarters, located approximately one mile east of the current campus in Cupertino, opened in April 2017. When completed, Apple Park will house more than 12,000 employees in a four-story circular building that totals roughly 2,800,000 square feet. Source: HVS In June 2017, Google announced tentative plans to develop up to six million square feet of office and R&D space with Trammel Crow near the Diridon Transit Station in San Jose. The San Jose City Council has agreed to negotiate exclusively with Google for the sale of 16 parcels on Montgomery and Autumn Streets. While negotiations have been tentatively scheduled through July 2018, an application to begin the project's development and land-use entitlements following the completed sale could also take an extended period of time, with construction not likely to commence for at least another two years. On the north side of Silicon Valley, Facebook, located in Menlo Park, is also looking to expand with its new Willow Campus. In its initial plans submitted to the Menlo City Council in early July 2017, the mixed-use development integrates its office expansion plans with a grocery store, a pharmacy, and 1,500 housing units, of which 15% will reportedly be offered at below-market rates. Facebook has reportedly pre-leased 700,000 square feet of office space currently under construction adjacent to the 250-room Hotel Nia, Autograph Collection, which is also under construction near Marsh Road and U.S. Highway 101. In May 2017, LinkedIn presented plans for a new East Whisman office campus in Mountain View, totaling nearly 1.1 million square feet. The initial plans call for the construction of three new, six-story buildings, as well as merging several existing office buildings and parcels into the site, creating a new headquarters for the company. Peninsula Corridor Electrification Project Caltrain Modernization Concurrent with improvements to the greater San Francisco Bay Area's economy, Silicon Valley has realized a substantial increase in population over the last decade. According to the 2017 Silicon Valley Index, Silicon Valley's population (San Mateo & Santa Clara Counties) grew 7.5% between 2010 and 2016, more than 2% higher than the average population growth for the state of California. As the local population continues to grow, Caltrain has experienced a similar increase in ridership, with strong year-over-year increases in weekday commuters between 2011 and 2016. Caltrain Weekday Ridership Photo by Source: Caltrain 2016 Annual Passenger Count To accommodate these increases in ridership, as well as to mitigate delays and improve service, Caltrain has announced a $2-billion modernization program that includes electrifying 51 miles of track, converting diesel-hauled to Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) trains, and implementing a new control system; benefits include more frequent trains, as well as doubling ridership capacity. When completed in 2020/21, the project will upgrade the performance, efficiency, capacity, safety, and reliability of Caltrain's commuter rail service. Although the line is anticipated to be utilized primarily by residents, it should ease traffic congestion and facilitate transportation throughout Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Peninsula. Hotel Supply According to Smith Travel Research (STR), Silicon Valley's hotel inventory currently comprises roughly 46,800 rooms across nearly 420 properties. Of this set, approximately 60% belong to a brand or major parent company, with the remaining 40% operating as independent hotels. Of the roughly 38,000 branded rooms, Marriott International and Hilton Inc. combined operate approximately 48%. InterContinental Hotels Group, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, and Extended Stay America also have sizeable representation in the market, ranging between roughly 4% and 8% market share. Silicon Valley Hotel Supply Market Share By Parent Company Photo by STR Based on recent HVS surveys of market participants, the greater Silicon Valley market achieved significant year-over-year RevPAR growth between 2010 and 2016. However, occupancy has begun to moderate downward, attributed to the entrance of new supply. Furthermore, San Francisco's Moscone Center is currently under renovation, resulting in less compression and fiercer competition for meeting and group demand between hotels in the San Francisco and Silicon Valley submarkets. Similarly, average rate growth has also experienced a modest slowdown, partially attributed to the normalization of rates in the first quarter of 2017 because of the Super Bowl's inflated rates during the same period last year, as well as further discounts to attract and maintain group demand. However, with occupancy close to capacity on Monday through Thursday nights, local operators will likely continue to pursue a rate-driven strategy through the near term. The greater Silicon Valley market continues to be driven by strong weekday demand from major corporate accounts, such as Google, Apple, Facebook, Oracle, LinkedIn, eBay, PayPal, and Samsung. While weekend demand continues to remain a challenge in most submarkets throughout Silicon Valley, with rates discounted significantly to sustain occupancy, Levi's Stadium drew a crowd of 71,088 fans for Super Bowl 50, selling out a number of hotels throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Reportedly, the event attracted over one million visitors to the Bay Area in late January/early February 2016. The following table illustrates a list of new hotels that have opened since January 2014. New Supply Recent Openings Photo by HVS As previously described in our 2015 article, the market is starting to see a significant increase in new supply, particularly in the select-service and extended-stay products that cater to Silicon Valley's strong commercial and group market segments. Opened in September 2015, the Aloft Santa Clara is located on the far north side of the city, proximate to the 430,000-square-foot America Center office development. The Clement Hotel Palo Alto is a high-end, exclusive boutique hotel located on the western edge of the city. Featuring a unique luxury product, this property is owned and managed by Pacific Hotel Management, which also owns and operates the adjacent full-service Westin and Sheraton properties. One of the first hotels to represent the brand's new Del Sol Prototype, the La Quinta Inn & Suites Morgan Hill features a distinct design meant to maximize revenue per square foot while maintaining a competitive cost per key. After numerous delays, the AC Hotel by Marriott opened in early 2017 in Downtown San Jose. This property is the first of several AC Hotels currently under development in the greater San Francisco Bay area. Opened in March 2017, the Courtyard by Marriott Redwood City was developed by OTO Development; with five other hotels, including three Marriott- and two Hilton-affiliated properties, in various stages of development in just the greater Silicon Valley market alone, it's no surprise that the Spartanburg-based company recently was named Marriott International's 2017 CONNECT Developer of the Year and Hilton's Focused Service Developer of the Year. New Supply As Silicon Valley maintains its status as one of the top-performing lodging markets in the United States, developers continue to propose new projects, despite the high barriers to entry and challenging entitlement processes in California. Some of the proposed projects have recently broken ground, while others have received preliminary approval, received entitlements, and/or are facing substantial hurdles that will require a lengthy development timeline. Of the 85 hotels (roughly 13,150 rooms) that have been proposed for development, 25 projects (approximately 4,000 rooms) have begun site work, broken ground, or are currently under construction. New Supply Under Construction Photo by HVS With numerous commercial and residential projects under development in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, construction costs have been increasing significantly year-over-year. According to JLL's 2016 Q4 U.S. Construction Outlook, cities in the Bay Area trail only New York in terms of building costs. As such, many hotel developers have turned toward branded limited-service, select-service, and extended-stay properties that favor lower development costs and efficient layouts of the guestrooms, public spaces, and back-of-house areas. Some notable projects currently under construction include the following: Located within the Menlo Gateway mixed-use development, the Hotel Nia, Autograph Collection is a luxury, full-service hotel that is expected to cater to Silicon Valley's individual business travelers. Managed by Sage Hospitality and offering 20,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, the eleven-story hotel will benefit from its proximity to major employers in San Mateo County, such as Facebook and Amazon, when it opens in early 2018. The Hyatt Centric is part of the second phase of development at the 56-acre The Village at San Antonio Center. The 168-room hotel is being built in conjunction with two six-story office buildings totaling 448,000 square feet. The Embassy Suites by Hilton is part of the first phase of the Bay 101 Technology Place development. The seven-story hotel is being built adjacent to site of the Bay 101 Casino relocation. The second phase of development will reportedly include a nine-story, 242,000-square-foot office building; a ten-story, 240-room hotel; and an eight-story garage with 1,325 parking stalls. The Grand Hyatt SFO represents a partnership between the San Francisco International Airport and Hyatt Hotels Corporation. This 351-room hotel will be built on the 4.7-acre site of the former Hilton Hotel that was razed in the mid-1990s. With a ground-breaking ceremony held late June 2017, construction on the new hotel is expected to be completed by July 2019. Located at the entrance of the SFO, the hotel will reportedly be built to LEED Gold standards and feature 15,000 square feet of meeting space, a Grand Club lounge, a full-service spa and health club, and an indoor pool and whirlpool. The hotel will also feature direct access to the airport's AirTrain light-rail system. Hotel Transactions While transaction activity in Silicon Valley has slowed somewhat since the sales frenzy in 2014, a noticeable shift has occurred from the transfer of select-service and extended-stay hotels to full-service properties. As one of the last cities left in the Bay Area with significant portions of land available for new development, San Jose has become Silicon Valley's newest hotspot. Within the last year, Downtown San Jose has seen the sale of many of its major hotels, including the Hyatt Place, Westin, Hilton, and Marriott. In anticipation of major commercial projects, such as Google's San Jose Diridon development, real estate investment trusts (REITs), private investment funds, and ownership groups have been quickly targeting these strong, nationally branded hotels that cater toward corporate accounts and group demand. Hotel Transactions 2015 Through 2017 YTD Photo by RCA Other major transactions within the last two years include The Blackstone Group's sale of the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay to China's Anbang Insurance Group Co. as part of the Strategic Hotels & Resorts portfolio; the Sofitel San Francisco Bay (now rebranded as a Pullman Hotel) purchased by CBRE Global Investments; and the Marriott San Mateo San Francisco Airport, acquired through a subsidiary of Oracle in September 2016. While the sales of select-service assets have slowed significantly, Hersha Hospitality's 2016 purchase of T2 Development's Courtyard by Marriott in Sunnyvale at a price of over $500,000 per room illustrates how desirable these efficient, strong cash-flow performing assets continue to be. As noted in our previous 2015 article, investors that are eager to enter the market are willing to purchase properties needing renovation, repositioning, and possible rebranding, rather than working through the lengthy development process or undertaking riskier new construction projects. Some notable conversions include the renovation and rebranding of the former Four Points by Sheraton to the Aloft brand in southwest San Jose, the repositioning of the former Sofitel San Francisco Bay to Accor's Pullman Hotel, and the conversion of Milpitas' former Beverly Heritage Hotel to the full-service Sonesta Hotels & Resorts brand. Within Silicon Valley's limited-service sector, there have been a number of properties that have dropped their brand affiliations to be repositioned as small, boutique hotels. These include the conversion of the former Quality Inn to The Nest Palo Alto, the former Days Inn to The Palo Alto Inn, and Mountain View's former Best Western Plus to the Mountain View Inn. Given the current strong demand in cities such as Palo Alto and Mountain View, some owners are able to eliminate franchise fees and still maintain reasonable RevPAR levels. Hotel Rebrands & Conversions 2015 Through 2017 YTD Photo by HVS The Silicon Valley market remains one of the strongest lodging markets in the United States. Supported by a diverse economy, the market will benefit from the planned developments and expansions at numerous major employers that will improve upon the existing foundation for future economic growth. Despite the anticipation of new supply, record levels of demand have allowed operators to continue to push average rates. Overall, the near-term outlook for the Silicon Valley market remains positive. [1] PwC MoneyTree Q1 2017 About HVS HVS is the world's leading consulting and valuation services organization focused on the hotel, restaurant, shared ownership, gaming, and leisure industries. Established in 1980, the company performs more than 4,500 assignments per year for virtually every major industry participant. HVS principals are regarded as the leading professionals in their respective regions of the globe. Through a worldwide network of over 50 offices staffed by 300 experienced industry professionals, HVS provides an unparalleled range of complementary services for the hospitality industry. For further information regarding our expertise and specifics about our services, please visit www.hvs.com. View source Hilton (NYSE:HLT) today announced Craig Dezern has joined the company as Vice President of a newly created team, Brand Communications. In his role, Dezern will lead global communications across Hiltons 14 industry-leading brands as well as for the Hilton Honors loyalty program. The team Dezern will oversee focuses primarily on reaching consumer audiences around the world through brand storytelling and marketing communications, including the more than 160 million guests Hilton welcomes every year. Dezern will report directly to Katie Beirne Fallon, Hiltons Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs. Prior to joining Hilton, Dezern spent more than 20 years as a communications leader at the Walt Disney Company. Most recently, Dezern led a team of more than 100 professionals driving earned, owned, social and promotional media campaigns for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, a family vacation business that spans three continents and includes six world-class vacation destinations and a top-rated family cruise line. Before joining Disney, Craig was an award-winning journalist for The Orlando Sentinel, earning national accolades for feature writing, environmental reporting and public service. Hilton has an incredible story, with a nearly 100-year legacy, more than 5,000 hotels globally, and extraordinary Team Members who are dedicated to fulfilling our mission to be the most hospitable company in the world, said Fallon. We are thrilled to have Craig joining our team of world-class communicators, to lead us in the telling of that story in an authentic way to our loyal customers and future guests. A native of Louisville, Ky., Dezern earned his B.A. from Western Kentucky University, with a double major in journalism and English. In 1992, Craig was a journalism fellow at the Yale Law School, earning a Master of Studies in Law. Craig is the professional advisor for the University of Florida Bateman Competition, serves on the board of Historic St. Augustine and recently joined the WKU Department of Communications Advisory Council. This is an incredibly exciting time to be joining Hilton as the companys brands continue to exceed expectations and expand globally, said Dezern. I look forward to leading this exceptional team to inspire even more guests to travel and enjoy the hospitality Hilton is known for around the world. Dezern joins Hiltons communications leaders Katrina Jones, SVP Team Member & Executive Communications, and Nigel Glennie, VP Corporate Communications in Hiltons headquarters in McLean, Virginia. His appointment to this role coincides with an integration of the Brand and Hilton Honors PR teams into the aligned global communications team for Hilton, which will now encompass all corporate, internal and brand communications. Americas Most Trustworthy Brands Unveiled After Nationwide Survey by The Values Institute Amazon, Marriott and Microsoft top the list of 40 national brands that connect best with their customer base Amazon is Americas most trustworthy brand following by Marriott, Microsoft, Hilton and Southwest Airlines. Hotels and electronics are the countrys most trusted brand categories while auto insurers and mobile communications rank lowest on the public trust spectrum. Those are the findings of a first-ever national survey and peer review effort measuring the trustworthiness of the nations largest brands in the fast food, airline, mobile services, auto insurance, retail, hotels and electronics. The Values Institute (TVI), a leading social science research entity based in Santa Ana, Calif., calculated trust by looking at 25 trust dimensions in the five macro categories of Competence, Consistency, Connection, Candor and Concern. The national diagnostic survey measured brand strengths and weaknesses in each category, plus the trust outcomes of Loyalty, Advocacy and Satisfaction. The effort follows years of regional trustworthiness surveys and Trust Summit events designed to explore the levels of, and reasons behind, public trust in certain brands over others. As a highlight of the findings released today for the first time, the most trustworthy brands in the seven measured categories were Amazon (retail), Marriott (hotels), Microsoft (electronics), Southwest (airlines), Subway (QSR), AT&T (mobile services) and Geico (auto insurance). Building on TVIs five previous regional surveys, the 2017 National Most Trustworthy Brands Survey used a proprietary online survey developed by The Values Institute and Brand Values Research Center at California State University, Fullerton (BVRC) to rank the six largest national brands in seven key categories. Amazon is somewhat of a surprise to top the list because the brand actual lacks face-to-face human contact, said Mark Weinfeld, TVIs director of strategic planning who administered the survey. In the past, we have seen the strongest Concern and Connection scores come from brands where there is a personal interaction with the customer. Amazon has done an amazing job of creating that personal touch that may even exceed what you get at a brick and mortar location. According to Jason Teven, Ed.D., professor of human communication studies at California State University, Fullerton, and BVRC director, Amazon received the highest scores in the Joy outcome categories loyalty, satisfaction and trust of any brand in any category. "Amazon's success in the joy categories is effectively the holy grail of brand ambassadorship. That's because satisfied customers are much more likely to advocate for the brand they love, their products, services and website." For a list of the 40 most trustworthy brands, an interpretation of other 2017 National Most Trustworthy Brands Survey results, and specific survey information, go to http://www.thevaluesinstitute.org/americas-mtb/. It looks like two of the tri-states hardest rap crews are hitting the road together this Fall. On Monday, Yonkers veterans The LOX, consisting of Jadakiss, Styles P and Sheek Louch, and Buffalo crew Griselda Gang, consisting Conway, Westside Gunn and Benny, have announced the Key To Life tour, which will take them across the East Coast and Midwest next month and serve as The Lox second tour this year, following last Springs Filthy America Its Beautiful Tour. With special guests Smoke DZA and Statik Selektah joining them, the 12-city tour will kick off October 8th in Charlotte, North Carolina and run through cities like Philadelphia, Baltimore, Cleveland, Chicago, and Cincinnati before wrapping things up in Buffalo, New York on October 26th. Additional special guests are reportedly set to make some appearances in various cities as well, but time will only tell who thatll actually be. The announcement comes just days after The Lox appeared on a new single from Statik Selektah called But You Dont Hear Me Tho, which will appear on his forthcoming album 8 (see here). Check out the tour dates (below) and peep ticket information right here if interested in seeing the crews live in person. In other related news, Westside Gunn (of the Griselda Gang) just announced last week that he has a new album with MF Doom on the way called WESTSIDEDOOM. Stay tuned you definitely wont want to miss any of that coming soon. Tour Dates: 10/8 Charlotte, NC 10/9 Washington, DC 10/14 Providence, RI 10/16 Philadelphia, PA 10/18 Baltimore, MD 10/21 Clifton Park, NY 10/22 Rochester, NY 10/24 Cleveland, OH 10/25 Chicago, IL 10/26 Detroit, MI 10/27 Cincinnati, OK 10/28 Buffalo, NY The Lox We first introduced you King Vory back in February of 2016 when he broke out onto the scene with hit song Overdose. The rising Louisville native, who came up under Bryon Tiller & helped him write the smash hit Dont, followed that breakout hit with singles such as Again, My Life A Movie, & Zeus with Lil Bibby, but neither of them popped off like they should have. Having dropped off his Overdose mixtape a few months later in July of 2016, King Vory has been very quiet over the past year so, but thankfully that changes here today. With a new EP in the works titled Lucky Me, Vory decides to return to the scene today with a second single from the EP called Do That Shit, following up this Summers Try release. Produced by Wallis Lane & Ism, the Louisville crooner delivers a bouncy & trap-soul inspired R&B cut that finds him calling out his ex-girlfriend for annoying him and ultimately doin that shit that drove him nuts. Highlighted by its bouncy production & infectious vibe & delivery, Do That Shit is another strong addition to Vorys steady growing catalogue of hits, and all the more reason to be excited for his Lucky Me EP to arrive whenever thatll be. My music is inspired by real life. This song was inspired by a past relationship, the Louisville native said on IG. It was toxic and Id always ask Why do you do this shit?. Lesson is: Dont play with my love. Available on iTunes, take a listen to the new single and let us know what you think. If youre a fan, be sure to give Vory a follow on Twitter @Vory777 for all his latest news music and updates. This kid got a hella bright future, and will definitely be here to stay. Look for more to be on the way too. Quotable Lyrics: Mixin vodka with emotions Lil mama going with the most Lil mama say she want it right now She just tryna go light Tryna play the kid a fool (bitch dont play) Girl I know all the shit that you been through New Delhi, Sept 12 (IBNS): The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval for hiving off mobile tower assets of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) into a separate company, fully owned by BSNL. This approval authorizes BSNL to monetize its telecom tower infrastructure with the formation of a separate subsidiary company, read a government statement. There are around 4,42,000 mobile towers in the country out of which more than 66,000 mobile tower are of BSNL. An independent, dedicated tower company of BSNL with a focused approach will lead to increasing of external tenancies and consequentially higher revenue for the new company. Image: www.raleighnc.gov Raleigh, North Carolina, Sept 12 (IBNS): Infosys on Tuesday announced that it will open its North Carolina Technology and Innovation Hub in Raleigh. This innovation Hub is expected to hire 2,000 American workers by 2021. Towards its plan of hiring 10,000 jobs over 2 years, the company has already hired close to 1,200 American workers. The new hub, which will open in early 2018, will occupy 60,000 square feet in a new facility in Raleigh and has the capacity to house 500 workers representing another step forward in the companys previous announcement to hire American workers in the country. The company plans to hire the first 500 workers in Raleigh innovation hub within two years, with the remainder to be hired in the state by 2021. Innovation, technology, and education are part of who we are as North Carolinians, and along the course of this project, Infosys leaders have found that to be the case every step of the way. Our top-flight workforce, commitment to education, and exceptional quality of life help businesses of all sizes recruit and retain excellent employees, said Governor Roy Cooper. The North Carolina Technology and Innovation Hub is part of Infosys investment in the future of the U.S. tech workforce and will focus on delivering cutting-edge solutions in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, data and advanced analytics, cloud and big data, said Ravi Kumar, President and Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Infosys. The Hub, located in the innovation incubator of Raleigh, will support the development of co-created solutions for our valued clients in North Carolina and the surrounding region. Attracting and retaining a skilled and motivated workforce is crucial to Infosys, and the new Tech Hubalong with the robust training program we are developing with the North Carolina Community College System and proximity to tier-one research universitieswill expand Infosys existing North Carolina network to better serve clients in the IT, life sciences, clean technology and advanced manufacturing sectors. The City of Raleigh welcomes Infosys as a key member of our community, further bolstering Raleighs already strong technology economy, which has seen technology jobs grow at a rate more than double the national average over the last five years. The partnership between our city and Infosys will boost innovation and benefit businesses, schools, and workforce development in the area and we are excited to pursue this work together, said Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane. New hires will include recent graduates from the states prestigious network of colleges, universities and community colleges, as well as local professionals who will benefit from upskilling through Infosys world-class training curriculum. As part of Infosys' commitment to grow 2,000 jobs in the state of North Carolina, the company is partnering with the North Carolina Community College System to create a customized program designed to train the workforce of the future. "Infosys is looking to maximize the benefits of the North Carolina Community College's Customized Training Program. To that end, Wake Technical Community College is developing a comprehensive upskilling program, in partnership with Infosys, to train the workforce of the future. We plan to include pre-employment training, where candidates experience a short-term realistic job preview, as well as extensive post-employment training that will focus on technical and soft skills. The program will be developed as a joint effort between representatives from Infosys and Wake Tech and will ensure success for the company and the employees," said Maureen Little, Vice President of Economic Development, North Carolina Community College System. This commitment to education also extends to the companys charitable foundation, Infosys Foundation USA. In North Carolina, the Foundation has provided multiple grants for classroom technology and computer science training to teachers and schools. To date, these grants have benefited 4,220 students across 82 schools, involving 92 teachers. This includes grants for professional development for teachers, hands on workshops for students, and new technology and teaching aids for classrooms, with an emphasis placed on serving underrepresented groups such as women, African American, Latino, urban, rural, and autistic groups that will gain greater access to computer science and maker education, the company claimed in a statement. New York, Sept 12 (IBNS): Clinicians are being warned not to ignore the increased cardiovascular health risks of those who are classed as either ahealthy obesea or deemed to be anormal weighta but have metabolic abnormalities such as diabetes. Academics at the University of Birminghams Institute of Applied Health Research carried out the largest study of its kind to date comparing weight and metabolic status to cardiovascular disease risks, published today (September 11th) in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The study showed that individuals who are metabolically healthy obese (MHO) those who are obese but do not suffer metabolic abnormalities such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol - have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease events compared to those who are normal weight without metabolic abnormalities. The academics used electronic health records of 3.5 million British adults who were all initially free of cardiovascular disease (CVD). They then revisited each patients record, at an average of 5 years and four months later, in order to assess whether they had gone on to develop each of four kinds of CVD events coronary heart disease (CHD), cerebrovascular disease (in particular strokes), heart failure, or peripheral vascular disease (PVD). Patients were divided into four body size phenotypes using Body Mass Index (BMI), which is calculated by dividing body weight (kg) by height (m) squared: Underweight (BMI less than 18.5) Normal weight (more than 18 but less than 25) Overweight (more than 25 but less than 30) Obese (more than 30). Three metabolic abnormalities were taken into consideration during the study: diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidaemia. A metabolically healthy person was classified as having no metabolic abnormalities. The results showed that those who were MHO had a 49 per cent higher risk of coronary heart disease, seven per cent higher risk of cerebrovascular disease and a 96 per cent increased risk of heart failure than normal weight metabolically healthy individuals. Importantly, it also showed that normal weight individuals with one or more metabolic abnormalities had an increased risk of CHD, cerebrovascular disease, heart failure and PVD compared to normal weight individuals without metabolic abnormalities. The research results raise questions around the concept of healthy obesity. Whether metabolically healthy obesity is associated with excess risk of cardiovascular disease has remained a subject of debate for many years due to limitations in previous studies. Academics at the University of Birmingham sought to address these limitations in the largest prospective study of its kind. Lead author and epidemiologist Dr Rishi Caleyachetty, of the Institute of Applied Health Research University of Birmingham, said: In our study, we had unprecedented statistical power to examine body size phenotypes by the number of metabolic abnormalities, potentially reflecting several definitions of the metabolically healthy phenotype in relation to a range of CVD events. Obese individuals with no metabolic risk factors are still at a higher risk of coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and heart failure than normal weight metabolically healthy individuals. So-called metabolically healthy obesity is clearly not a harmless condition and the term should no longer be used in order to prevent misleading individuals that obesity can be healthy. Senior author Professor Neil Thomas, also of the University of Birmingham, said it was important that clinicians took on board the research findings. The finding that normal weight individuals with metabolic abnormalities also had similar risk of cardiovascular disease events than normal weight metabolically healthy individuals has important implications. he added. In many countries it is currently recommended that clinicians in primary care settings use overweight and obesity as the main criteria to screen adults for cardiovascular risk factors as part of cardiovascular risk assessment. Our research suggests that this could result in the failure to identify metabolic abnormalities, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, in many normal weight patients. Senior author and Public Health physician Dr Krish Nirantharakumar, also of the University of Birmingham, said: We conclude that obese patients, irrespective of their metabolic status, should be encouraged to lose weight and that early detection and management of normal weight individuals with metabolic abnormalities will be beneficial in the prevention of CVD events. Photo: UNICEF/Toutounji Image: Screengrab from YouTube Gurgaon, Sep 12 (IBNS): The mystery in the Ryan International school murder case increased by a few folds as cops have found three windows without grills inside the toilet where seven-year-old Pradyuman Thakur was killed, reports said. Police are now probing if someone else had committed the crime and used one of the grill-less windows to escape. According to police, the victim's bag was found inside the toilet, which suggests that he entered the facility through the main door, but the killer's escape route is yet to be determined. Meanwhile, adding to the list of arrest, police have booked Ryan International School's regional head of northern India, Francis Thomas, and the HR head of the school, Jeyus Thomas, under the Juvenile Justice Act. According to Gurgaon Police Commissioner Sandeep Khirwar, a four-member team has been sent to Mumbai to question Ryan Pinto, the managing director and chairman of the group. The team will also interrogate other top officials. Khirwar added that the probe has found the school guilty of destroying evidence. Vinay Pratap Singh, deputy commissioner, Gurgaon, said, "The committee has detected five lapses in the school, such as broken windows, ill-equipped fire extinguishers, common toilets, broken boundary wall and low quality CCTV without wide angle facilities." The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has asked the deputy commissioner, Gurugaon; additional chief secretary, department of school education, Haryana; and chairman, CBSE, to file a detailed action report. It has also asked the police to take action against the accused under the Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Image: Screengrab from YouTube Chennai, Sep 12 (IBNS): After a months-long political drama in Tamil Nadu, the two camps of AIADMK led by E Palaniswamy and O Paneerselvam, sacked V.K. Sasikala as the interim general secretary of the party, media reports said. Sasikala, now in jail in corruption case, had become the interim general secretary following former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalitha's death. She has been sacked by the OPS-EPS camps after passing a resolution. However, she has not been expelled from the party. The ongoing political drama in TN and also inside AIADMK will further deepen if Sasikala's nephew Dinakaran withdraws the support of his own camp which could lead the party fall short of the majority to form the government. Berkeley, Sep 12 (IBNS): While addressing the students of University of California, Berkeley, on the first day of his visit to the US, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi said he is ready to become the prime ministerial candidate for India's next general election in 2019. Gandhi, when asked whether he is ready take charge as the PM candidate, said: "I am absolutely ready but the way our party (Congress) works, we have an organisational election process that decides that and that process is currently ongoing. So we have an internal system where we elect certain delegates to make that decision." "So for me to say that the decision is mine wouldn't be fair. That is the decision the Congress party has to make and the process is currently going on right now," the Congress vice president added. Gandhi is presently on a two-week long visit to the US and on the first day itself, he spoke over a range of issues that concerns India and in some cases criticised the incumbent Modi government. The Congress VP highlighted how the country is going through a phase of intolerance. "Violence and hatred distract people from the task at hand. Liberal journalist being shot, people being lynched because they are Dalits, Muslims killed in suspicion of eating beef. This is new in India and damages India very badly." Gandhi did not miss a chance to dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) government, particularly regarding the economic measures which had been taken since last year. The recent Reserve Bank of India's report that states 99% of people's money returned to the bank after demonetisation and the recent dip in the GDP below six percent, prompted the Congress VP to criticise the government in the economic sector. "The government's economic policies, the demonetisation and a hastily applied GST, has caused tremendous damage. Millions of small businesses were simply wiped out as a result of demonetisation. Farmers and manual labourers who use cash were hit extremely hard, agriculture in deep distress and farmers' suicide skyrocketed across the country," Gandhi said. "Demonetisation, a completely self inflicted wound caused approximately 2% loss in India's GDP," he asserted. The Congress vice president, was countered by BJP leader Nalin Kohli, who in an interview to NDTV, said Gandhi is trying to get an endorsement from foreign countries but when it comes to India, people reject him. Kohli said the Congress party would continue their dynastic politics. Image: Twitter handle of Office of RG. Chennai, Sep 12 (IBNS) : Taking the control of Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK in their hands, the united EPS-OPS factions on Tuesday announced expulsion of the party's interim general secretary VK Sasikala and declared as "null and void" all announcements of her nephew TTV Dinakaran, who was made the party's second-in-command, reports said. The jailed leader, who aspired to take the mantle of the departed party icon J Jayalalithaa as the undisputed supremo starting off a series of events that rocked the organisation, was first stripped of all posts of the party and then expelled. However, the decision is set to prompt the Sasikala faction, led by Dinakaran, withdraw support to the government and call for a floor test to prove its majority. Adopting a resolution at a crucial general council meeting, the party said that former Tamil Nadu chief minister late J Jayalalithaa will be the eternal General Secretary and the post of interim General Secretary stands abolished. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, party leader R B Udaykumar said, Temporary General Secretary post stands forfeited. Sasikala is expelled. Jayalalithaa will be eternal general secretary of the party. According to reports, O Panneerselvam has been made the head of the coordination committee while Chief Minister E Palaniswamy is the co-coordinator of the party and all powers have been given to them. Reading out from the resolution, Udaykumar also said that the two factions of AIADMK will be merged. AIADMK to be a unified faction and we will retrieve two leaves party symbol, he said. He further added: All those appointed by Amma (Jayalalithaa) as office bearers will continue. On the status regarding sidelined deputy general secretary TTV Dinakaran, Udaykumar said: All announcements of TTV Dinakaran are not binding on the party. The General Council meeting was the first held by the decision-making body after the unification of the two major camps, led by CM Palaniswami and former CM Pannerselvam. The announcement came a day after Madras High Court dismissed a petition by an MLA from Dinakaran faction, seeking a stay on Tuesdays General Council meeting. Pro-Sasikala leaders, headed by Dinakaran had earlier warned that removing her will result in a floor test in the Assembly and the defeat of the present Government which falls short of an absolute majority without the support of the Sasikala loyalists. Reacting to the meeting's decision, Dinakaran said, "This is the betrayal of Chinaamma (Sasikala). The man who was made the CM by Sasikala has betrayed us." He also said that the government has lost the trust of the people of Tamil Nadu so the chief minister needs and his council of minister needs to resign. Sasikala was convicted for indulging in corruption, but she held for long the leash of the organisation even from behind the bars till the quirky politics united the warring factions led by O Paneerselvam, her bete noire and E Palaniswami, the man she handpicked as Tamil Nadu's Chief Minister. The decisions of the meeting are, however, subject to the approval of the Madras High Court. The meeting was reportedly attended by about 90 per cent council members, who ratified the merger of the two major factions, which had been on dagger drawn at each other for long. The expulsion of VK Sasikala was one of the key demands of the faction led by Jayalalithaa loyalist O Paneerselvam, who had rebelled earlier this year after VK Sasikala forced him to step down as Chief Minister, which he assumed after the death of Jaylalitha. New Delhi, Sep 12 (IBNS): Taking a jibe at Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi's comment on dynasty politics during his address to the students of University of California, Berkeley, Union Information and Broadcasting minister, Smriti Irani, termed Gandhi as a failed dynastic political party's leader who spoke out in the US. In a brief media interaction, Irani said: "A failed dynastic political party's leader spoke out." Gandhi, who is presently in the US for couple of weeks, said there are several instances of the dynasty problems in the country so he can't alone be held responsible for it. Upholding several instances that are devoid of dynasty problems in the country, Irani said: "Our Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) was born in a poor family, President (Ram Nath Kovind) comes from a marginalised community (Dalit) and Vice President (Venkaiah Naidu) was a farmer's son." Reacting to the US visit of Rahul Gandhi, the I&B minister said: "He (Rahul Gandhi) went to the international forum (the US) to express his political distress after getting rejected in India (elections in India)." "He forgot that the votes are from India" she added. Gandhi, in the US, spoke over a range of issues that concerns India and in some cases criticised the incumbent Modi government. The Congress VP highlighted how the country is going through a phase of intolerance. "Violence and hatred distract people from the task it hand. Liberal journalist being shot, people being lynched because they are Dalits, Muslims killed in suspicion of eating beef. This is new in India and damages India very badly." Gandhi did not miss a chance to dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) government, particularly regarding the economic measures which had been taken since last year. The recent Reserve Bank of India's report that states 99% of people's money returned to the bank after demonetisation and the recent dip in the GDP below six percent, prompted the Congress VP to criticise the government in the economic sector. "The government's economic policies, the demonetisation and a hastily applied GST, has caused tremendous damage. Millions of small businesses were simply wiped out as a result of demonetisation. Farmers and manual labourers who use cash were hit extremely hard, agriculture in deep distress and farmers' suicide skyrocketed across the country," Gandhi said. "Demonetisation, a completely self inflicted wound caused approximately 2% loss in India's GDP," he asserted. Gandhi, when asked about whether he is ready take charge as the PM candidate, said: "I am absolutely ready but the way our party (Congress) works, we have an organisational election process that decides that and that process is currently ongoing. So we have an internal system where we elect certain delegates to make that decision." "So for me to say that the decision is mine wouldn't be fair. That is the decision the Congress party has to make and the process is currently going on right now," the Congress vice president added. Mumbai, Sep 12 (IBNS) : The Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted Ryan International Group's chairman and managing director interim protection from arrest till Wednesday, giving them a temporary reprieve. School's founding chairman, Augustine Pinto, and his wife Grace Pinto, who is the managing director of the institution, had along with their son Ryan Pinto sought anticipatory bail. The school's management has been in the centre of a storm since the gruesome murder of a seven-year-old student inside the institute premises in Gurgaon on Friday last. Pradyuman Thakur, a class two student, was found dead in a pool of blood inside the washroom with his throat slit open. A conductor of the school's bus was arrested in connection with the incident. He allegedly confessed to have committed the crime after failing to sexually abuse the child. As a massive outrage prevailed over the shocking incident, police have arrested two top officials of the school while the Supreme Court has accepted a petition from the victim's father for a CBI probe into it. Meanwhile, according to media reports, the special investigation team of the Haryana police, which is at present investigating into the case, suspects involvement of a third person. The SIT reportedly suspects that a person, other than Ashok Kumar, the arrested bus conductor, may have escaped from one of the broken windows of the toilet in the ground floor. The crime took place within 10 minutes after Pradyuman was dropped at the school by his father. Media reports have quoted school bu,s driver Raghav, as claiming that the police and the school management forced him to give a wrong statement against the innocent conductor that the knife, which was allegedly used in the crime, was part of tool kit and kept in the bus. Raghav reportedly alleged he was beaten up and tortured in police custody to give the statement. New Delhi, Sep 12 (IBNS): Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met President of the Republic of Belarus, A.G. Lukashenko, on Tuesday, at Hyderabad House in New Delhi. President of Belarus is on a two-day visit to India at the invitation of the President of India, Ramnath Kovind. The visit is taking place in a year when Belarus and India are celebrating 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. The delegation-level talks between PM Modi and President Lukashenko were followed by the signing of 10 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) between the two countries in areas of Oil & Gas, Youth Affairs, Sports, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, Agricultural Research, Education and Culture, according to media reports. Modi and Lukashenko also released a commemorative stamp to mark 25 years of India-Belarus relationship. President A.G. Lukashenko also met Indian President Ramnath Kovind on Tuesday a Rashtrapati Bhavan. The Belarus President was accorded a ceremonial welcome. Image: PIB and PresidentofIndia/Twitter Jammu/New Delhi, Sep 12 (IBNS): The Central government is trying to give equitable development to all the three regions of Jammu and Kashmir, said Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Jammu on Tuesday. He was addressing a press conference in Jammu on Tuesday at the conclusion of his four day visit to Jammu and Kashmir. He was accompanied by the Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba and senior officers of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh joined the Home Minister in Srinagar on Monday. At the press conference, Rajnath Singh said that several projects are under implementation under the Prime Minister's Development Package (PMDP). He said that the Centre has decided to give 3,000 jobs to migrants from Kashmir valley and Rs 1,080 crores have been sanctioned to the state under this head. The Home Minister said that the Government has increased the compensation for those who get killed in ceasefire violations,from Rs 1 lakh to 5 lakh. He said that Pakistan has violated ceasefire on more than 400 times in recent years. Pakistan will have to stop these violations sooner or later, he asserted. Highlighting other initiatives, he said that the Government has also decided to construct 6000 Transit Accommodation in the Kashmir valley. He said that the Government has also allocated a package of Rs 2,000 crores for the rehabilitation of POJK migrants. The disbursal has been linked to AADHAAR, he added. "We have adopted a humane approach towards the migrants and displaced people. But we are strongly against illegal immigration," the Home Minister said in Jammu. Rajnath Singh said that he has been on J&K visit for the past four days. He visited Nowshera on Monday and met the people living in border areas and jawans of BSF. He said that the nation cannot forget the contribution made by people living in border areas. The Home Minister said that the Government has decided to constitute an expert/study group to study the problems facing the people living in border areas. The Home Minister met various delegations in Jammu including political parties, 'Panun Kashmir', Gujjar Bakarwal community and delegations from different sections of the J&K society. The Union Home Minister had arrived in Srinagar on September 9, 2017 on his four-day visit to the state. During his visit, he met Governor N N Vohra and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. He also reviewed the status of implementation of PMDP for Jammu and Kashmir with the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister Dr. Nirmal Kumar Singh, Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba, Chief Secretary of J&K, B B Vyas and senior Officers of the MHA and the state government. He also chaired a high-level Security Review Meeting in Srinagar on the law and order and security situation in the state. Image: HMO India/Twitter New Delhi, Sep 12 (IBNS): External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted on Tuesday afternoon that Father Tom Uzhunnalil has been rescued. " I am happy to inform that Father Tom Uzhunnalil has been rescued," she tweeted. She further tweeted, "Fr. Tom Uzhunnalil could be released soon." Father Tom Uzhunnalil of Kerala was abducted by the Islamic State from Yemen in March, last year, according to media reports. In December, the media reported that he has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pope Francis to help him get his release from the terror group. Image: Sushma Swaraj/Twitter New Delhi, Sep 12 (IBNS): Countering the allegations of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi for tarnishing India's image abroad, the Congress said it is present prime minister Narendra Modi is guilty of insulting the country on the foreign soil. The verbal spat between the two largest party of the country, the BJP and the Congress, began after Gandhi made comments on rising intolerance in India during his address to the students of University of California, Berkeley. While interacting with the media, Congress leader, Anand Sharma, said: "It is the present Prime Minister who is guilty of insulting India on foreign soil. It is wrong to accuse Rahul Gandhi of having said anything which is belittling. It again betrays the streak of intolerance towards criticism by the BJP and the present government. " Sharma stated a list of events on foreign soil where the present prime minister said ill about India, somewhere tarnishing the image of the country. Sharma said: "Prime Minister had called the country corrupt on his first foreign visit. He had said India is recognised in the world for for carrying a begging bowl in the hand. He had said that before him, nothing was done that could earn India the recognition of the world and the respect of the world. " "He had also said that Indians used to feel ashamed to accept and own that they were Indian citizens on foreign soil......... Instead of criticising us, the prime minister and his apologist ministers must reflect and apologise to the country for having such words on foreign soil," the Congress' senior leader added. The verbal face-off began after Union Information and Broadcasting minister, Smriti Irani, attacked the Congress vice president for criticising the BJP government over the rising intolerance in the country and also for his comments on dynasty politics. Taking a jibe at Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi's comment on dynasty politics during his address to the students of University of California, Berkeley, Irani termed Gandhi as a failed dynastic political party's leader who spoke out in the US. In a brief media interaction, Irani said: "A failed dynastic political party's leader spoke out." Gandhi, who is presently in the US for couple of weeks, said there are several instances of the dynasty problems in the country so he can't alone be held responsible for it. Upholding several instances that are devoid of dynasty problems in the country, Irani said: "Our Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) was born in a poor family, President (Ram Nath Kovind) comes from a marginalised community (Dalit) and Vice President (Venkaiah Naidu) was a farmer's son." Reacting to the US visit of Rahul Gandhi, the I&B minister said: "He (Rahul Gandhi) went to the international forum (the US) to express his political distress after getting rejected in India (elections in India)." "He forgot that the votes are from India" she added. Gandhi, in the US, spoke over a range of issues that concerns India and in some cases criticised the incumbent Modi government. The Congress VP highlighted how the country is going through a phase of intolerance. "Violence and hatred distract people from the task it hand. Liberal journalist being shot, people being lynched because they are Dalits, Muslims killed in suspicion of eating beef. This is new in India and damages India very badly." Gandhi did not miss a chance to dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) government, particularly regarding the economic measures which had been taken since last year. The recent Reserve Bank of India's report that states 99% of people's money returned to the bank after demonetisation and the recent dip in the GDP below six percent, prompted the Congress VP to criticise the government in the economic sector. "The government's economic policies, the demonetisation and a hastily applied GST, has caused tremendous damage. Millions of small businesses were simply wiped out as a result of demonetisation. Farmers and manual labourers who use cash were hit extremely hard, agriculture in deep distress and farmers' suicide skyrocketed across the country," Gandhi said. "Demonetisation, a completely self inflicted wound caused approximately 2% loss in India's GDP," he asserted. New Delhi, Sept 12 (IBNS): The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval for signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Armenia on Cooperation in the field of Disaster Management. The MoU would enhance cooperation in the field of Disaster Management and contribute to the well-being and safety of the people of both the countries in the event of disaster, read a government statement issued on Tuesday. It will also result in exchange of information in the relevant fields of disaster management which is of mutual interest. Further, the MoU seeks to put in place a system, whereby both India and Armenia will be benefited from the disaster management mechanisms of the other country and will help in strengthening the areas of preparedness, response and capacity building. Patna, Sept 12 (TheBiharPost/IBNS): RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Tuesday claimed to have procured sufficient documents in the multi-crore Srijan scam and announced to move the Supreme Court seeking monitoring of the ongoing CBI probe into the scam. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi are directly involved in the scam. We will move the Supreme Court soon requesting the latter to monitor the probe, Prasad told the media on Tuesday. He alleged the chief minister had prior knowledge of the scam but he kept it under wraps for full one month for which he needs to tender explanations to the masses. Nitish Kumar was blackmailed by BJP to frame him in a scam and he was put under tremendous pressure to finalise a deal to dump RJD and Congress and form a government with BJP. Look, how many times Nitish Kumar had visited Delhi in July 2017. He surrendered to BJP to save himself, Prasad alleged. He said he would not sit idle till he sees the chief minister was sent behind the bars. He alleged the state government didnt stop transfer of government money to the account of Bhagalpur-based Srijan, an NGO, even after an order to this effect was issued by a DM in 2006 and alleged one of the accused officials was even given JD-U ticket to contest elections from Sasarm Lok Sabha seat. thebiharpost.com New York, Sept 12(Just Earth News): As the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia prepares to begin its activities, its chief expressed the hope on Monday that, with the support of the Security Council, the new operation should be able to strengthen the countryas confidence for a stable peace. Over the past months, the peace process between the Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP) has slowly but steadily tipped the scales in favour of hope, said the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Colombia, Jean Arnault, in his briefing to the Security Council. He also told the 15-member Security Council that the formal transformation of the FARC-EP into a political party highlighted the momentous developments that have taken place over the past year in Colombia. In his briefing, the UN envoy also informed the Council of the establishment at all levels local, regional and national of transitional teams with civilian personnel and observers, who began verification related to the new missions mandate. Reconnaissance visits are taking place to all prospective team sites and sub-offices, in particular with a view to identifying possible areas of co-location with the UN Country Team, he added, noting also the other logistical and administrative tasks underway. Recalling the recent visit by Pope Francis to the country and his strong message in favour of reconciliation, forgiveness and confidence in the future, Arnault said: We trust that the presence of the UN Mission, the work of the UN system, and the support of the Security Council can and should shore up further the confidence of the Colombian society in the stable peace to which its citizens so ardently aspire. Arnault reported that the temporary ceasefire agreed between the Government and the National Liberation Army (ENL) should be accompanied by a series of measures to improve the humanitarian situation of the communities in conflict-affected areas. The agreement also provides that the UN would assist with the verification of the commitments made. I met with both heads of delegations who have confirmed their interest in the UN involvement, and members of the Mission have engaged with the Technical Commission on the Ceasefire, he said. In July, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2366 to establish, at the request of the Colombian Government and the FARC-EP, the UN mission to verify the former combatants political, economic and social reintegration. The new mission will begin its activities on 26 September. UN Photo/Manuel Elias Source: www.justearthnews.com New York, Sept 12(Just Earth News): The United Nations General Assembly on Monday closed its 71st session with a focus on sustainable development, as outgoing president Peter Thomson handed over the gavel to his successor, Miroslav LajAAk. In his final address, Thomson summarized the achievements of his one-year tenure, and urged the international community to raise awareness about the behavioural changes needed to create a more sustainable way of life and to combat climate change, as agreed to in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). We must embrace the power of innovation and technology to leverage SDG implementation and combat climate change at the speed and scale required, he said. We are witnessing exponential change in multiple areas of technology and we must manage the risks and seize the opportunities for the common good of humanity and the planet. Thomson also underlined the importance of partnerships and a change in how development is financed, as requirements for achieving the SDGs by the 2030 deadline. We have not come this far as a species only to be defeated by greed, Thomson said, echoing what he told the press in his final press conference on Friday. In that press briefing, Thomson said that he had written to all heads of government and to some 4,000 universities asking them to teach SDGs in school. We are stealing from our grandchildrens future if we continue to take more from the planetary ecosystem than it can sustainably grant, Thomson said in on Mondays statement. Ahead of his address, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres lauded the outgoing official for overseeing a productive session that included the adoption of a landmark declaration on refugees and migrants, the establishment of a technology bank for the least developed countries, and a momentum to save the oceans, among others. Thank you for helping to steer the Member States to a solid record of achievement over the past year. Day in and day out, you brought us together, said the Secretary-General. Paying homage to the 16th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and other targets in Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., Guterres noted that this spirit of unity has particular meaning on Monday. This was an assault on the United States. But so many of our Member States saw their citizens murdered that day, he said. I know you join me in expressing our sorrow and solidarity on this day. Following the remarks, the General Assembly stood for one minute of silent prayer or meditation, as is the custom, after which the incoming president, LajAak, took the oath of office and received the symbolic gavel from Thomson. LajAak will open the 72nd session of the General Assembly tomorrow afternoon. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe Source: www.justearthnews.com New York, Sept 12(Just Earth News): The United Nations human rights chief on Monday lashed out at the treatment of the Rohingya in Myanmar which has led to more than 300,000 people fleeing to Bangladesh in the past three weeks, as security forces and local militia reportedly burn villages and shoot civilians. The situation seems a textbook example of ethnic cleansing, Zeid Raad al-Hussein told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, noting that the current situation cannot yet be fully assessed since Myanmar has refused access to human rights investigators. He cited reports of Myanmar authorities laying landmines along the border with Bangladesh and requiring returnees to provide proof of nationality, an impossibility given that successive Myanmar governments have since 1962 progressively stripped the Rohingya population of their political and civil rights, including citizenship rights. The latest security operation in Rakhine state follows attacks by militants on 25 August against 30 police posts. The High Commissioner called the response clearly disproportionate and without regard for basic principles of international law, and said the Government should stop claiming that the Rohingyas are setting fire to their own homes and laying waste to their own villages. This complete denial of reality is doing great damage to the international standing of a Government which, until recently, benefited from immense good will, he said. I call on the Government to end its current cruel military operation, with accountability for all violations that have occurred and to reverse the pattern of severe and widespread discrimination against the Rohingya population, he added, calling for his Office (OHCHR) to obtain unfettered access to the country. Last year, Zeid issued a report warning that the pattern of gross violations of the human rights of the Rohingya suggested a widespread or systematic attack against the community, possibly amounting to crimes against humanity. In on Mondays statement, he also addressed Bangladeshi authorities, encouraging them to maintain open borders for the refugees, and the international community to help support the refugees. Humanitarian agencies in Bangladesh on Monday appealed for $77 million to aid an estimated 300,000 refugees through the end of the year. At the same time, he deplored measures taken by India, which has said it is not a signatory to the Refugee Convention and can deport Rohingyas. Warnings of escalating violence in Venezuela Among other issues raised in his address on Monday was the situation in Venezuela, where Zeid said that crimes against humanity may have been committed, and where tensions have the potential to escalate further. He noted a report issued by OHCHR last month highlighting excessive use of force by security officers and multiple other human rights violations, and urged authorities in Venezuela which is a member of the Geneva-based forum to uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights. Given the very real dangers to human rights in the country, he urged the Human Rights Council to establish an international investigation and called for the involvement of the international community. Call for international probe into abuses in Yemen Zeid also called for the establishment of an international and independent investigative body to probe the human rights situation in Yemen, which he called extremely alarming. He noted that 62 international and Yemeni non-governmental organizations had submitted a letter to the Council requesting such an inquiry. The devastation of Yemen and the horrific suffering of its people will have immense and enduring repercussions across the region, Zeid said. I appeal to the parties to the conflict to reach a negotiated and durable solution, and to adhere to their obligations under international law, including by facilitating the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian relief. Photo: Poppy McPherson/IRIN Source: www.justearthnews.com Image: facebook.com/SheikhHasinaWazed28settembre1947 Dhaka, Sept 12 (IBNS): Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday met Rohingya refugees who have currently fled Myanmar to take refuge in the neighbouring nation. Hasina urged Myanmar to take back their citizens. Hasina described acts by the Myanmar military as 'violation' of human rights. Visiting the camp, Hasina distributed relief materials among the refugees at Kutupalong Bazar in Ukhia of Coxs Bazar "Still, the fire is burning there...people can't find out their family members...the bodies of infants and women are floating on the Naf River, these go completely against humanity and are violation of human rights, the PM was quoted as saying by The Daily Star. What sin and crimes these innocent children, women and people have committed...we can't tolerate such activities," she said. Urging Myanmar to take back its citizens, Hasina said: "Myanmar has to take back their nationals, give them a safe place to live in their homeland. The international community should put pressure on the Myanmar as they're committing such atrocities on Rohingya people... this has to be stopped." Toronto, Sep 11 (IBNS): Air Canada on Monday informed that the Canadians who were restricted to return to the country by Turks and Caicos due to Hurricane Irma, are now being allowed to fly off to Toronto on Monday, media reports said. The officials of Turks and Caicos have allowed Air Canada to operate as the first return flight to Toronto is scheduled on Monday afternoon. Air Canada said around 100 Canadians will now return to their country, reports said. Hurricane Irma has immensely affected Turks and Caicos islands with some parts being drowned in waist-level water due to flood. Air Canada spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick had been quoted saying that the airline was planning to rescue almost 100 people who were stranded there with the help of a chartered plane but the civil aviation authorities of the islands wouldn't have allowed the passengers to board the flight. Fitzpatrick added to say that the main airport terminal on the islands was closed following the Hurricane Irma but only the humanitarian flights are allowed to take off. The Canadians are expected to return to Toronto by Monday evening, the spokesperson said. Apart from Turks and Caicos islands, the Hurrican Irma has affected Caribbean islands, Cuba, Florida. Irma has so far killed at least 20 people in the Caribbean, while destroying some of the popular tourist destinations. Meanwhile, the Hurricane's path has forced the Florida government to warn 5.6 million people, or 25 percent of the state's population to leave before the calamity strike the US state. This is also the first time in decades that Cuba has been hit by a category five hurricane. Provinces like Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Sancti Spiritus, Villa Clara and Matanzas have been placed under warnings, BBC reported. Following the onslaught, the Barbuda Island is said to be barely habitable, while BBC news quoted officials as saying that the French territory of St Martin is almost destroyed. Irma is said to be the most powerful Atlantic storm in a decade and had wind speeds of 295km/h (185mph). Following the devastation, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne said about 95 percent of the buildings had suffered some damage. "The island is literally under water. In fact, I'm of the view that, as it stands now, Barbuda is barely habitable," he was quoted in the media as saying. The hurricane also destroyed St Martin's airport, the third largest in the Caribbean. Hurricane Irma hit Florida on Sunday, disrupting normal life in the American state, media reports said. The storm snapped trees in the area and hit badly lives of 1 million people. Hurling 130 mph winds, the Category 4 storm made landfall on Cudjoe Key, the National Hurricane Center was quoted as saying in CNN report. According to reports, more than 1 million homes are currently without fire. (Reporting by Suman Das) Ottawa, Sep 12 (IBNS): Health Canada has decided to ban all non-prescription sales of an opioid codeine, media reports said. Codeine is an opioid which is used mainly to treat pain but also widely known for abuse. The department is aiming to make pain pills or cough syrup which contains codeine but will only be available after doctors' prescription, report said. The regulation came after the warning in 2016 by then Health Minister Jane Philpott. "While a prescription may not be needed today, codeine can produce drug dependence and has the potential for being abused," Philpott said in 2016 as quoted by CBC News. "This practice must be stopped, and so I will also introduce regulatory changes that will propose requiring a prescription for low-dose codeine products," she said. The regulatory notice stated that around 20 codeine tablets were sold per person in 2015. The report also said more than 500 people entered into addiction treatment centres with codeine as the main cause of their problem. Presently, the report said, Canadians can buy low dosed codeine as long as two other medications are present with it. (Reporting by Souvik Ghosh) The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and the Mohegan Tribe have scored another win in their bid to open a new casino in Connecticut. In a unanimous decision, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the legality of a state law that paved the way for the development. The court has since refused a request to rehear the case, The New London Day reported. But the battle isn't over. MGM Resorts International , the non-Indian company behind the case, plans to challenge a second law that authorized the new tribal casino, the paper said. The tribes are planning to build their casino in East Windsor. The location was chosen because it's only about 13 miles from Springfield, Massachusetts, where MGM is building a $950 million commercial facility The New England Casino Race: Tribal and commercial gaming facilities in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island The tribe will operate their project outside of the framework of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act so federal approval isn't needed. The site in East Windsor won't be taken into trust either. But the tribes are asking the Bureau of Indian Affairs to confirm that the new casino, which will offer slot machines and other Class III games, won't disturb their existing gaming rights. The tribe have yet to break ground on their facility but they hope it can be completed before the end of 2018. MGM's casino is expected to open around the same time. Read More on the Story: MGM won't get rehearing in challenge of 3rd-casino law enacted in 2015 (The New London Day September 11, 2017) 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals Decision: MGM Resorts International v. Malloy (June 20, 2017) Join the Conversation Related Stories Citizens of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians will be going to the polls to determine the fate of a controversial gaming project. Chief Phyllis Anderson announced the November 16 referendum on Facebook. She says the Red Water Casino will create more jobs, lower the tribe's debt and generate more economic opportunity on the reservation in Mississippi. "This is a very important decision about the future of our tribe," Anderson wrote in a post on Monday . "Are you ready to move forward and build progress?" But a group called Chahta for Better Government , which forced the tribe to schedule the election, isn't so sure. These citizens aren't opposed to an expansion of gaming -- they just don't think the Red Water site in Leake County is the best place for the new facility. The tribe's flagship gaming facility is the Pearl River Resort , which consists of two separate casinos. It's about 30 miles from the Red Water site. The tribe also operates the Bok Homa Casino in a satellite community about 100 miles away. Red Water will be similar in size to that facility. Read More on the Story: Choctaw vote on new casino set for Nov. 17 (The Jackson Clarion-Ledger September 11, 2017) Join the Conversation Related Stories A key Republican lawmaker in Oklahoma is proposing an expansion of tribal gaming but there's a catch. Rep. Kevin Wallace (R), the chairman of the House Appropriations and Budget Committee, wants to authorize roulette and dice games as part of the Class III gaming compact. But tribes must forego "rebates" on car tag revenues in exchange for the new offerings, The Oklahoman and KFOR-TV reported. Tribes can issue car tags to their citizens as part of their sovereign authority. The rates are typically lower than the ones charged by the state. Some tribes that issue car tags have entered into agreements with the state to share revenues, or to receive a portion of the revenues back as rebates. Wallace's proposal apparently would affect those tribes but details as of Tuesday afternoon are still forthcoming. In the past, some lawmakers in Oklahoma attempted to link non-gaming matters, such as tobacco taxes, to the Class III gaming compact. Historically, the Bureau of Indian Affairs has frowned upon such efforts, especially if they are seen as an attempt to extract more revenues from tribes. Under the existing compact, which was authorized by voters in 2004, tribes have shared more than $1.1 billion with the state. In fiscal year 2016, the state collected more than $132 million, a record amount, according to the most recent annual report Read More on the Story: Indian gaming expansion proposed by House budget chairman (The Oklahoman September 12, 2017) Cigarette tax, tribal gaming changes: Oklahoma representative releases his plan to fix budget shortfall (KFOR-TV September 12, 2017) Join the Conversation Federal prosecutors in Brazil have opened an investigation into a reported "genocide" at an isolated tribal community. Fundacao Nacional do Indio, or FUNAI, the nation's indigenous affairs agency, confirmed the investigation in a press release on Monday. The agency said it has yet to confirm whether anyone in Vale do Javari , a large reservation in the Amazons, has been killed but one official told The New York Times that miners were heard bragging about the alleged crime. It was crude bar talk, Leila Silvia Burger Sotto-Maior, the ageny's coordinator for uncontacted and recently contacted tribes, told The Times They even bragged about cutting up the bodies and throwing them in the river. In a press release , Survival International, a volunteer group, said more than ten" people from the community might have been killed. That would represent up to a fifth of the particular tribe, according to the group. Two miners have been arrested in connection with the probe, Survival International said. Miners, loggers and ranchers have been known to encroach on reservations and engage in violence with tribal communities. Read More on the Story: Uncontacted Amazon Tribe Members Are Reported Killed in Brazil (The New York Times September 10, 2017) Brazil Probes Possible Killings of 'Uncontacted' Tribe (The Associated Press September 11, 2017) Authorities: Gold miners at a bar bragged about slaughtering members of a reclusive Brazilian tribe (The Washington Post September 11, 2017) Join the Conversation The criminalization of radical movement media like linksunten reveals the threat our communications face under increasingly authoritarian conditions. Various Indymedias have seen this pattern in other forms since the networks founding at the 1999 protests in Seattle against the World Trade Organization raids, seizures of webservers, and attacks on Indymedia centres established to cover summit protests. The German case indicates the extent to which existing legal structures can be harnessed by states to muzzle activists. [ Spontaneous demonstration in Freiburg after ban of linksunten. Photo by Konstantin Gorlich ] What to Make of Germanys Ban of Linksunten Indymedia by Greg Macdougall, published by Briarpatch Magazine on September 9, 2017 On August 25, 2017, the German government banned the Indymedia linksunten website, along with its email and Twitter accounts, and conducted mass police raids on a social centre and on private residences of people it identified as central to the sites operations. Linksunten launched in 2008 to serve as a more radical complement to the existing German Indymedia site. It has grown into what CrimethInc describes as the most widely used German-language platform for radical politics and organizing, with half a million monthly visitors regularly, and close to 3 million in July during the protests against the G20 summit in Hamburg [site stats from Coordination des Groupes Anarchistes]. As the Socialist Equality Party (SGP) put it, linksuntens main focus was the struggle against right-wing extremism, anti-refugee agitation and war. The primary official justification for shutting down the site was that linksunten played a role in supporting the communication in planning for and reporting on the violent and criminalized G20 protests. But this explanation is seen as a pretext for something deeper. The shutdown occurred just ahead of the German elections at the end of September, and can be seen as an appeal to anti-left voters, while also silencing a platform where information and analysis is shared that could affect the election results. The ban on linksunten may get less attention than it deserves in the commotion of the campaign. The attack on freedom of the radical left press can be seen in the wider context of the rise in explicitly white supremacist and fascist movements, and the importance of radical media and communications in liberation struggles. Announcing the ban, Germanys Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere labelled the site the most influential Internet platform for violent left-wing extremists in Germany. He employed Germanys law of associations to dissolve the site, asserting that linksunten published content that the government deemed criminal and anti-constitutional the two vague categories of activity the law covers. Rather than treating linksunten as media, which is constitutionally protected, the government treated it as an association. Reporters Without Borders Germany criticized the ban as constitutionally questionable and pointed to the extensive surveillance of linksunten by the German state: authorities have by now been able to identify several alleged administrators of the website. It is therefore not evident why they neither summoned these to delete the incriminated posts nor sued them, choosing instead to ban the website as a whole. The German governments 2016 Annual Report of the Protection of the Constitution repeatedly references posts on linksunten in connection to incidents identified as problems or threats. One such threat was a post last year on linksunten doxxing participants of the far-right nationalist party Alternative For Germany (AfD)s convention. The AfD which has no federal parliamentary seats but has a strong likelihood of winning some this election has been calling for action against the site since the doxxing. After the ban this August, an AfD regional parliamentary group demanded that the government classify all anti-fascist organizations as terrorist organizations in order to prove that their ban wasnt just an electoral tactic, but would be permanent. Die Linke (The Left) party, which holds federal opposition seats, decried the ban. The partys domestic affairs spokesperson Ulla Jelpke described it as an illegitimate act of censorship, an arbitrary limitation of freedom of expression and freedom of the press, and a threat to all other media in which todays revolutionary and anti-capitalist positions are still being discussed. The left scene in Germany as a whole is being intimidated. Other statements posted in English online against the ban and in solidarity with linksunten came from German prisoner solidarity organization Rote Hilfe eV [Red Aid], Indymedia collectives in Cyprus and Aotearoa, Coordination des Groupes Anarchistes (France), Anarchist Federation (Greece), and IT Kollektiv. See here for a full list (mostly in German). Freedom of speech has been a lightning rod for the current rising tide of explicitly white supremacist and fascist groups and movements in North America and Europe. Some people advocate for restricting the rights to expression of those they consider to be intending harms toward marginalized groups, while others feel that advocating for the state to curtail free speech rights may result in the same restrictions being turned against those working for just causes. No platforming is a specific aspect of the freedom of speech issue; it is a tactic of direct action to stop speakers and events promoting views that are considered oppressive and harmful. The ongoing debate around no platforming calls to mind the diversity of tactics debates that contend with whether violence and at what levels is an acceptable resistance tactic. Its a debate that arose with the global justice movement and the black bloc in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and is relevant to the positions on the use of violence by antifa (anti-fascist activists) in present events. The linksunten case, CrimethInc writes, represents a massive escalation in state repression against what the authorities call left-wing extremism, disingenuously suggesting an equivalence between those who seek to build communities beyond the reach of state violence and Neo-Nazis organizing to carry out attacks and murders like the ones in Charlottesville. Similarly, Aotearoa Indymedia writes, For a number of years, German politicians have been pushing the extremism theory, which equates left-wing with right-wing extremism and proclaims to condemn both equally. The completely different nature and intent of a riot against a capitalist head-of-state meeting and firebombing a refugee hostel is deliberately ignored. This then paves the way for the mainstreaming of right-wing populists. The criminalization of radical movement media like linksunten reveals the threat our communications face under increasingly authoritarian conditions. Various Indymedias have seen this pattern in other forms since the networks founding at the 1999 protests in Seattle against the World Trade Organization raids, seizures of webservers, and attacks on Indymedia centres established to cover summit protests. The German case indicates the extent to which existing legal structures can be harnessed by states to muzzle activists. But the threat of authoritarian conditions exists and flourishes in partnership with the less visible threats contained in the corporate control of the most widely used communications platforms online, and of control of the internet itself. Indymedia as a technological and philosophical structure holds seeds to challenge the corporate and state control of communication. (For a full explanation, see Holding Out for Un-alienated Communication, published in Briarpatch last January and written by the Indymedia Montreal 2016 Convergence Working Group.) Robert McChesney offers a salient analytical tool for understanding the corporate and state control of communication. In his 2012 book Digital Disconnect: How Capitalism is Turning the Internet Against Democracy, he notes: what is emerging veers toward a classic definition of fascism: the state and large corporations working hand in hand to promote corporate interests, and a state preoccupied with militarism, secrecy, propaganda and surveillance. Aotearoa Indymedia writes, unlike the commercial offerings from google and facebook [sic] which insist on collecting extensive information from their users, indymedia allows anonymous posts. This means that while the state authorities can of course read everything that is posted, they have a hard time finding out details about the poster. Most countries now have legislation that allows the state to collect user accounts from providers like facebook and twitter, often without even a warrant, but the same cannot be done with indymedia sites because indymedia collects no user information (even those sites that require a user account collect only an email address and no further personal information). That is why the state is shutting down an indymedia site and not facebook [sic]. We should be asking how we can defend and be in solidarity with Indymedia linksunten now, and with other independent radical media in the future facing similar attacks. There are important questions we work toward answering: How can we defend radical media against attacks like linksunten is experiencing? How can we build, sustain, and grow media projects, platforms, and technology that are vital to our movements? How do we create overall communications conditions, infrastructures, or ecosystems that can facilitate liberatory change? And how do we work together for these things? The call for international solidarity on September 9 from Freiburg, the city where the raids occurred, may refocus and widen attention on the linksunten situation while fostering recognition of the broader potential dangers. ** Based in Ottawa on unceded Algonquin traditional territory, Greg Macdougall brings a perspective informed by organizing experience with Indymedia and other alternative media projects, and community-based media-making and activism. More writings on independent media activism, organizing, analysis, etc here. Business Govt Eyes Six Billion Dollar Foreign Investment in 2017-18 Fiscal Year Myanmar Global Investment Forum in Naypyitaw. / Htet Naing Zaw / The Irrawaddy NAYPYITAW The Myanmar government is seeking to attract US$6 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the current 2017-18 fiscal year, according to the Ministry of National Planning and Finance. FDI in the year between Apr. 1, 2017 and Mar. 30, 2017 has so far reached more than $3.5 billion, said director general of the Central Statistical Organization Office Dr. War War Maung, adding that this was an increase compared to the same period last year. The Myanmar Global Investment Forum 2017 kicked off at the Myanmar International Convention Center in Naypyitaw on Tuesday, organized by the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) and Hong Kong-based Euro Money Institutional Investor (Asia). The two-day forum is being attended by more than 1,200 local and foreign businesspeople. Foreign investors are aware that there are challenges [in investing in Myanmar], but that there are also many opportunities, and they are therefore interested in Myanmar, Dr. War War Maung told reporters. Yangon Region tops the list of foreign investment in Myanmar, followed by Mandalay and Bago regions and Mon State. Most investment is in the manufacturing industry, followed by the service industry and the telecom industry Singapore is Myanmars largest investor, followed by China, Hong Kong and Thailand according to secretary of MIC U Aung Naing Oo. According to Myanmar officials, the government plans to hold investment annually in order to strike a balance between Myanmars preferred industries for foreign investment and foreign investors choices for investment. Myanmar drew a total of $6.7 billion in foreign direct investment from 138 foreign enterprises in the fiscal year 2016-17, exceeding that years targeted amount of $6 billion, according to deputy minister for national planning and finance U Hset Aung. In the 2016-17 fiscal year, transportation and communications industry attracted 46 percent of total foreign investment, manufacturing industry 18 percent, and power generation 14 percent. Over the last year, Vietnams investment in Myanmar increased more than any other foreign investor. Other investors include Canada, Thailand, Samoa, Marshall Islands, Cambodia, Ireland, Lebanon, and France. From 1988 until March 2017, foreign investment in Myanmar totaled $70 billion across 1,246 projects. Currently, 966 businesses are still operating with total investment of $60 billion, according to the Ministry of National Planning and Finance. From the Archive The Power Behind the Robe In this cover story first published in the October, 2007 print issue of The Irrawaddy magazine, the editor explained why Burmas general fear the influence of the Sangha. This month marks the 10th anniversary of the Saffron Revolution, a series of mass protests led by Buddhist monks against the military government. Many social critics and political monks have long said the generals who kneel down before images of Buddha are the real threat to Buddhism and the Dhamma. In this cover story first published in the October, 2007 print issue of The Irrawaddy magazine, founding editor-in-chief Aung Zaw explains why Myanmars generals fear the influence of the Sangha. The Lord Buddha shunned worldly affairs, but in his teachings he stressed the need for good governance and good rulers in the practice of politics. The Buddha said: When the ruler of a country is just and good, the ministers become just and good; when the ministers are just and good, the higher officials become just and good; when the higher officials are just and good, the rank and file become just and good; when the rank and file become just and good, the people become just and good. If these admonitions are followed by the large community of monksthe Sanghain predominantly Buddhist Burma, the lingering love lost relationship between the countrys military rulers and its monks should be no surprise. Over the last two decades, Burmas Sangha community, officially estimated to number around 400,000, has had an uneasy relationship with the ruling generals, who have imprisoned several prominent, politically active monks or pongyis. It is estimated that since the present military regime came to power in 1988, about 300 monks have been defrocked and sentenced to long terms of imprisonment. Monks, considered sons of Buddha, are the biggest institution in Burma after the armed forces, which number more than 400,000 soldiers and police. In their close contacts with the common people and during their morning alms rounds of local households, the monks witness firsthand the suffering and poverty of ordinary Burmese citizens. They have a very clear picture of the deteriorating situation in Burma. More importantly, they probably have a better network, connections and influence than politically active students, who are constantly watched, imprisoned or forced into exile. Who could imagine that these monks, living quietly in monasteries and studying Dhamma, would ever plan to rebel against the repressive regime? Yet history has shown that monks have long played a pivotal role in politics and that they would indeed dare such a bold and dangerous undertaking. The role of political pongyis is controversial and potentially threatening to the ruling elite, although there has been a continuing debate on whether monks really should involve themselves in politics. The Early Rebellion Monks were involved in early outbreaks of resistance against British colonization, joining lay people in taking up arms against the British after seeing King Thibaw sent into exile. Monks have their resistance martyrsU Ottama, for instance, who led 3,000 rebels in the Salin area a year after the invasion of Mandalay. The rebel monk, also known as Bo Ottama, was captured and hanged by the British in 1889. Interestingly, historians noted that monks who took up arms voluntarily defrocked themselves first, following the precept forbidding monks to take lives. Another martyr, Saya San, who was an ex-monk, led a peasant uprising in Tharrawaddy opposing the tax system imposed by the British. Burmas colonial masters sent 10,000 troops to quell the rebellion, capturing Saya San and sending him, too, to the gallows. One of the top Burmese lawyers who defended Saya San at his trial was Dr. Ba Maw, who later became head of state in Burmas Japanese-backed government. Not all monks advocated armed struggle. Two who preached nonviolent resistance, U Wisara and another monk named U Ottama, spent many years in prison for their opposition to colonialism and their names have joined the list of independence heroes. U Ottama, a globe-trotting, well-respected monk from Arakan State, was a powerful speaker whose calls for independence were featured in the national newspaper Thuriya. He once famously told the British Governor Sir Reginald Craddock to go home to Britain, in a speech that landed him in prison. Like U Ottama, U Wisara was imprisoned several times for his public speeches and died in jail in 1929 after 166 days of a hunger strike. His prison sentences included terms of hard labor, and he was also defrocked. Both monks became an inspiration to activists and students involved in the independence movement. Scholar Michael Mendelson wrote in his Sangha and State in Burma, that all politically active monks tended to be labeled by the colonial authorities as political agitators in the yellow robes. Interestingly, a similar term is used by Burmas current leaders to describe protesting monks. Historians wrote that the British authorities were surprised to learn the influential role of the Sangha community, and soon after the invasion of 1885 they abolished the position of Supreme Patriarch, or Thathana-baing. In former times, Burmese kings appointed Thathana-baing to govern the Sangha community and made them responsible for doctrinal instruction and discipline of all monks. But the position wasnt accepted by the entire Sangha. The progressive Shwegin sect was one group that rejected it. Sectarianism created controversy and bitter rivalry among monks. During the Kon-Baung period in the 18th century, conflicts arose within the Sangha over how the monastic robes were supposed to be worn, and two conflicting sects arosethe so-called Ton Gaing and Yon Gaing. The Burmese scholar Tin Maung Maung Than records that the Toun-goo and early Kon-Baung dynasties were drawn into the rivalry by their royal patronage of one party or the other. In 1782, King Bodawphaya intervened in the controversy by siding with Ton Gaing. One experienced colonial political officer, Col Edward Sladen, conversant with the power of the Sangha, advised British authorities to maintain the Thathana-baingsystem in order to head off conflicts in governing the predominately Buddhist country. The role of Thathana-baing was undoubtedly a complicated one, involving a direct link between the monarchy and the Sangha. The Thathana-baing wielded influence and could even intervene in state affairs. One respected abbot even persuaded King Mindon to abandon corvee labor for his irrigation projects. Its ironic that the current regime argues that forced labor is a feature of Burmese tradition and a means of making merit. After independence, however, the influence of Buddhism and the Sangha went into decline, except for a period under the late prime minister U Nu, a devout Buddhist. U Nu himself was ordained as a monk several times and rarely exploited Buddhism for his own political ends. Under his government, the Sixth Great Buddhist World Council was held in 1954, and he also created the Buddha Sasana Council. Tin Maung Maung Than noted in his book, Sangha Reforms and Renewal of Sasana in Myanmar: Historical trends and Contemporary Practice: Because of various Gaing and sectarianism U Nu failed to take effective reforms in spite of institutionalization of Buddhism within the state superstructure and notwithstanding the holding of the Sixth Buddhist Synod in 1954. U Nu also attempted to legalize Buddhism as the state religion in 1961. The attempt was considered to be a misguided policy, and it anyway failed to materialize as U Nu was ousted by Gen Ne Win one year later. Ne Win regarded monks as a potential opposition and he developed a different strategy to control them. In the mid-1960s, his regime called a Sangha conference to issue monks with identification cards. Young monks and abbots stayed away from the gathering. It wasnt until 1980 that Ne Win succeeded in containing the monks by establishing a State Sangha Nayaka Committee, after a carefully orchestrated campaign to discredit the Sangha. Part of the campaign was to discredit a famous monk, Thein Phyu Sayadaw, who was accused of romantic involvement with a woman. He was defrocked. Before the campaign, intelligence officers and informants of the government infiltrated the temples as monks and gathered information about monks and abbots. Some well-known abbots, including Mahasi Sayadaw, an internationally respected monk who was invited by U Nu in 1947 to teach Vipassana meditation, were also targeted in the campaign. Anthropologist Gustaaf Houtmann wrote in his paper Mental Culture in Burmese Crisis Politics that the regime had distributed leaflets accusing Mahasi of talking with the nat spirits, and it was claimed that the Tipitaka Mingun Sayadaw, Burmas top Buddhist scholar, had been involved in some unsavory incident two years after entering the monkhood. Both monks were victims of their refusal to cooperate with the regime. A number of scholars and historians noted, however, that some abbots accused and charged by the government were indeed involved in scandals and had romantic relationship with women or nuns. The regimes campaign sometimes took bizarre forms. Rumors were circulated, for instance, suggesting that one Rangoon monk, U Laba, was a cannibal. Several famous abbots were implicated in scandals and were either defrocked or fled to neighboring Thailand. Ne Win successfully launched a Sangha reformalso known as Cleaning Up the Sangha. The government managed to get some recognition from elderly Buddhists by forming the Sangha Committee. But Ne Win did not pretend to be a devout Buddhist. He rarely participated in Sangha meetings and held few religious ceremonies during the 26 years of his rule. Unlike current leaders, he was rarely seen with monks. During the 1988 uprising, however, his government asked the Sangha Committee to help restore order, and senior monks appeared in live television broadcasts appealing to the public for calm. In August, 1988, days after the massacre in Rangoon, monks expressed sorrow for the loss of life, butto the surprise of manythey also appealed to the regime to govern in accordance with the 10 duties prescribed for rulers of the people. The appeal failed to calm the public mood, but the message did remind many Burmese of the 10 duties of rulersthe monks were telling Ne Win to be a good ruler. On August 30, the Working Peoples Daily reported: 1,500 members of the Sangha marched in procession through the Rangoon streets and gathered in front of the Rangoon General Hospital emergency ward, where they recited Metta Sutta in memory of rahans [monks], workers and students who fell in the struggle for democracy. Many young monks were among the demonstrators. For many Burmese, the struggle for democracy is not yet over and the discord between the Sangha and the ruling generals remains strong. Unlike Ne Win and U Nu, the generals who came to power in 1988 openly and audaciously schemed to buy off the Sangha community. They have also claimed to be protectors of the Sangha, although their motive is to gain political legitimacy. Aside from holding numerous merit-making ceremonies, offering hsoon and valuable gifts to monks, the military leaders are launching well-publicized pagoda restoration projects throughout Burma. Nevertheless, confrontations between rebellious monks and the authorities continue. In Mandalay in 1990, troops fired on the crowds, killing several people, including monks. Angered by the militarys brutality, Mandalay monks began a patta ni kozana kan, refusing to accept alms from members of the armed forces and their families. The same action has now been taken by monks in several provinces after authorities beat protesting monks in Pakokka, central Burma. Patta ni kozana kan can be called in response to any one of eight offences, including vilifying or making insidious comparisons between monks, inciting dissension among monks or defaming Buddha, the Dhamma or the Sangha. A patta ni kozana kan campaign can be called off if the offended monks receive what they accept as a proper apology from the individuals or authorities involved. This procedure involves a ceremony held by at least four monks inside the Buddhist ordination hall, at which the boycott would be canceled. Some monks in Burma may believe that the patta ni kozana kan of 1990 is still in effect, since they havent yet received any proper apologyonly a harsh crackdown. At that time, monks refused to attend religious ceremonies held by military officials and family members. In one incident, the Mandalay Division commander at the time, Maj-Gen Tun Kyi, who later became trade minister, invited senior monks and abbots to attend a religious ceremony but no one showed up. Military leaders realized the seriousness of the boycott and decided to launch a crackdown. In Mandalay alone, more than 130 monasteries were raided and monks were defrocked and imprisoned. As many as 300 monks nationwide were defrocked and arrested. Former political prisoners recalled that monks who shared prison quarters with them continued to practice their faith despite being forced to wear prison uniforms and being officially stripped of their membership of the Sangha. Several monks, including the highly respected Thu Mingala, a Buddhist literature laureate, and at least eight other respected senior abbots, were arrested. Thu Mingala was sentenced to eight years imprisonment. Apart from being stripped of their robes, imprisoned monks in Mandalay were forced to wear white prison uniforms and were taunted with nicknames instead of being addressed with their true titles, according to former political prisoners. One year later, in 1991, the then head of the military junta, Snr-Gen Saw Maung, suffered a nervous breakdown and retired for health reasons. Buddhist Burmese still say this was punishment for his maltreatment of the monks. The 1990 crackdown divided the Sangha community. The late Mingun Sayadaw, who was secretary of the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, was ridiculed by young monks for not supporting the boycott campaign. He was at one time called senior general Mingun Sayadaw, and when he visited one temple in Mandalay young monks reportedly saluted him. Today, while rebellious monks are prepared to go to prison, many senior monks and abbots are allowing themselves to become government tools by accepting gifts and large donations from the generals. By cuddling up to the ruling generals, these elderly abbots can no longer speak for the Sangha community at large, let alone comment on the suffering of the Burmese people. The divisions between abbots and young monks have inevitably widened. The generals, on the other hand, wont give up easily. In one spectacular bid to win the hearts and minds of the people, they borrowed a Buddha tooth relic from China and toured the country with it and also held a World Buddhist Summit. In 1999, military leaders renovated Shwedagon Pagoda, after the Htidaw, the sacred umbrella, had been removed amid reports of minor local earthquakes. Local people said the spirits of Shwedagon had been upset with the removal of the Htidaw. Restoration of the pagoda complex did nothing to help the generals image, though. The generals have also applied divide and rule strategies in dealing with the Sangha community and the opposition. In 1996, the regime accused the National League for Democracy of infiltrating the Sangha with the aim of committing subversive acts against the authorities. The generals obviously did not want to see opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi developing too close a relationship with the monks. In an attempt to neutralize the political role of Suu Kyi, the government sent a famous, London-based monk, Dr. Rewatta Dhamma, to visit the detained opposition leader in 1995. Claiming to be a peace-broker between Suu Kyi and the generals, the monk shuttled between her and top leaders. But his mission failed and he returned to London. Skeptics believe the generals had merely used U Rewatta in a bid to persuade Suu Kyi to relinquish politics. Ironically, the regime leaders publicly accused Suu Kyi of being a communist and of sacrilege because she had said in a campaign speech that any human being can become a Buddha in this life. Soon after her release from her first term of house arrest in 1995, Suu Kyi immediately traveled to Karen State, followed by infuriated intelligence officers. She went there to make an offering to Thamanya Sayadaw. Traditionally, temples have provided hiding places for activists, and in 1988 monks offered shelter to fugitives from the intelligence authorities. At one time, the regime even placed restrictions on opposition members, preventing them from ordaining as monks. Like universities and schools, politically active monasteries are under heavy surveillance. The widely respected abbot Bhaddanta Vinaya, known as Thamanya Sayadaw because he lived on Thamanya Hill, was involved in projects to help villagers in the area, work that was shunned by the generals. He was revered not only for the mystical powers he was said to possess, but also because of his refusal to kowtow to the regime leaders. He once famously refused to accept the gift of a luxury vehicle from the then powerful intelligence chief Gen Khin Nyunt. Khin Nyunt could not buy Thamanya. It may indeed be wrong to assume that Burmas regime leaders are devout Buddhists. The generals and their families seem to place more trust in astrology and numerology than in Buddhist ritual. They treasure white elephants and lucky charms and are constantly seeking advice from astrologers. Birds of a feather, such as the generals and their chief astrologers, not only flock together but fall together, too. Ne Wins family astrologer, Aung Pwint Khaung, was arrested in 2002 when the former dictator and his family were charged with high treason. Khin Nyunts chief astrologer, Bodaw Than Hla, was imprisoned after the former Prime Minister and Military Intelligence chief was toppled in 2004. Many Burmese may find it hard to believe that their military leaders are actually preserving Buddhism. Even when they are building pagodas and erecting Buddha images, the projects are based on astrological predictions and readings. Who, for instance, advised Ne Win to ride a wooden horse on his aircraft and to ask the pilot to circle his birthplace nine times? Who advised him to issue banknotes in denominations of 45 and 90 kyat? Who advised Khin Nyunt to dress up in womens clothing, complete with the signature flower that Suu Kyi wears, in order to steal power from the Lady? Who told Than Shwe to move his capital to central Burma? It certainly wasnt a belief in Buddhist tenets. Nor does Buddhism permit the military to beat, defrock, imprison and kill monks. The decline of Buddhism and the rise of militarism in Burma are a source of concern for the people of Burma. Thus, it is no surprise to hear social critics and political pongyismaintain that the generals who kneel down before images of Buddha are the real threat to Buddhism and Dhamma. Burma Continue Aid for Displaced Camps: Karen Organization Ei Htu Hta internally displaced persons camp on the Salween River, Karen State, in February 2017 / The Irrawaddy YANGON The International Karen Organization (IKO) has called for continued support for thousands of displaced Karen people until a genuine nationwide ceasefire is reached. The group issued a statement supporting internally displaced people (IDPs) after holding its inaugural conference in Melbourne, Australia, on Sept. 6-8. The statement urged authorities to refrain from pressuring IDPs to return to their homes they once fled because of conflictespecially by ending humanitarian aid. One of those camps that has felt pressured, E-Tu Hta located on the bank of the Salween River in northern Karen States Papun Township, is facing an uncertain future, as international funding ends in late September. According to the local community, pressure has increasingly been applied to the displaced people to return home since the Karen National Union (KNU) signed the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) in 2015. About 6,000 people on the border between Shan State and Thailand facing a similar situation are calling for continued humanitarian aid. International non-government organizations have cited progress in Myanmars peace process as a reason for cuts to Shan IDP camps. IKO delegates decided to find funding among their communities as a short-term solution, IKO central executive committee member Mahn Orlando told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday. We also call for continued support from international communities. Children aged six and under at E-Tu Hta receive six kilograms of rice every month while older residents receive 12 kilograms. E-Tu Hta, which hosts more than 2,000 displaced people, was established in 2006 because of conflict between the KNU and Tatmadaw. KNU representatives, Karen civil society organizations (CSOs) and displaced villagers urged Myanmar Army troops on 31 July to withdraw from the area surrounding E-Tu Hta so that the displaced people could return to their homes without fear. On September 4, the Ei Tu Hta IDP support committee also submitted a letter to international donors appealing for the continuation of humanitarian aid, as well as short-term rehabilitation programs such as education and livelihood training. Fifty-five ethnic Karen delegates from 17 countries, 22 observers and two KNU senior members attended the three-day IKO conference in Melbourne, which reviewed IKOs progress since its formation three years ago. Karen communities living in Europe, the United States, Canada, and the Asia-Pacific region created the IKO, working with Karen communities and groups inside Myanmar and along its Thailand border to work toward a democratic federal union. IKO also called on the KNU to review the current peace process in order to achieve a lasting peace and political settlement. Burma Myanmar Faces Mounting Pressure Over Refugee Exodus Rohingya refugees walk on the shore after crossing the Bangladesh-Myanmar border by boat through the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh, Sept. 11, 2017. / Reuters COXS BAZAR, Bangladesh Pressure mounted on Myanmar on Tuesday to end violence that has sent some 370,000 self-identifying Rohingya Muslims fleeing to Bangladesh, with the United States calling for protection of civilians and Bangladesh urging safe zones to enable refugees to go home. But China, which competes for influence in its southern neighbor with the United States, said it backed Myanmars efforts to safeguard development and stability. The government of Buddhist-majority Myanmar says its security forces are fighting Muslim militants behind a surge of violence in Rakhine state that began on Aug. 25, and they are doing all they can to avoid harming civilians. The government says about 400 people have been killed in the fighting, the latest in the western state. The top UN human rights official denounced Myanmar on Monday for conducting a cruel military operation against self-identifying Rohingya, branding it a textbook example of ethnic cleansing. The United States said the violent displacement of the self-identifying Rohingya from Rakhine State showed Myanmars security forces were not protecting civilians. Washington has been a staunch supporter of Myanmars transition from decades of harsh military rule that is being led by Nobel peace laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. We call on Burmese security authorities to respect the rule of law, stop the violence, and end the displacement of civilians from all communities, the White House said in a statement. Myanmar government spokesmen were not immediately available for comment but the foreign ministry said shortly before the US statement was issued that Myanmar was also concerned about the suffering. Its forces were carrying out their legitimate duty to restore order in response to acts of extremism. The government of Myanmar fully shares the concern of the international community regarding the displacement and suffering of all communities affected by the latest escalation of violence ignited by the acts of terrorism, the ministry said in a statement. Myanmars government regards the self-identifying Rohingya as illegal migrants from neighboring Bangladesh and denies them citizenship, even though many of the families have lived there for generations. Unverified reports from refugees and rights groups paint a picture of widespread attacks on Muslim villages in the north of Rakhine by the security forces and ethnic Rakhine Buddhists, who have put numerous villages to the torch. Authorities deny that and say nearly 30,000 Buddhist villagers have also been displaced, fleeing to towns to the south. The exodus seeking safety in Bangladesh shows no sign of slowing with 370,000 the latest estimate, according to a UN refugee agency spokeswoman, up from an estimate of 313,000 on the weekend. Bangladesh is seeking help as it struggles to cope with the latest influx, who have joined more than 400,000 already there. Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said Myanmar should set up safe zones to enable the refugees to go home. Myanmar will have to take back all Rohingya refugees who entered Bangladesh, Hasina said on a visit to the Coxs Bazar border district where she distributed aid. Myanmar has created the problem and they will have to solve it, she said, adding: We want peaceful relations with our neighbors, but we cant accept any injustice. Stop this violence against innocent people. Myanmar has said those who can verify their citizenship can return but most self-identifying Rohingya are stateless. The Bangladeshi parliament passed a resolution on Monday urging the international community to mount pressure on Myanmar to resolve the crisis. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a briefing in Beijing the international community should support Myanmar in its efforts to safeguard development and stability. China ally Pakistan, in a speech to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, called on Myanmar to stop making unfulfilled promises. Discrimination, violence and acts of hatred are intolerable, Pakistan said. Bangladeshi officials started registering the refugees on Tuesday, taking photographs and fingerprints, in the hope of bringing order to the chaos. This is a huge task. The number is increasing every day, Kazi Abdur Rahman, an official in Coxs Bazar, told Reuters. Burma State Counselor Will Not Attend UN General Assembly to Focus on Internal Issues State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on her way to a meeting on Aug. 25. / State Counselors Office NAYPYITAW Myanmars State Counselor and de facto leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has decided not to attend the UN General Assembly session in order to focus on internal issues, said foreign affairs ministry spokesperson U Kyaw Zeya. Under the current circumstances, the State Counselor has domestic issues that need attention and therefore, Vice-President [Henry Van Thio] will lead Myanmars delegation. National Security Advisor U Thaung Tun will accompany him, he told The Irrawaddy. The original plan was for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to lead the delegation but that was only tentative, he added. The vice president will explain Myanmars stance at the session, said U Kyaw Zeya. Reporter U Thiha Thway said it was the right decision to focus on internal security, although he thought her absence might heighten international allegations regarding the situation in Rakhine State. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi should closely monitor the circumstances that affect national security. Riots could happen. People are in a panic. She should stay in the country, said U Thiha Thway. Muslim militants attacked police outposts in Rakhine State on August 25 and Myanmar Army clearance operations followed, with some 370,000 self-identifying Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh. International pressure has been mounting on Myanmar as a result. Zeid Raad al-Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, addressing the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday, said security operations in Rakhine State are a textbook example of ethnic cleansing. On Monday evening, Myanmars Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement saying that the government would provide humanitarian assistance to all the displaced inhabitants without discrimination. A government-led mechanism established in cooperation with the Red Cross Movement has already started its humanitarian assistance activities, it read. We have to take concrete steps to show how we are solving internal issues to the international community. This is important. Rather than trying to solve it verbally, it is more important to take practical steps to solve it, said political analyst U Maung Maung Soe. U Maung Maung Soe agreed with the state counselors decision to remain in Myanmar as the top decision maker, as President U Htin Kyaw has recently undergone surgery for a colonic polyp. The Myanmar delegation should not confront majority Muslim countries that are rallying to condemn it and should instead seek support from other countries, he added. The 72nd Regular Session of the UN General Assembly will convene at the UN headquarters from Sept. 12 to 25, 2017, on the theme, Focusing on People: Striving for Peace and a Decent Life for All on a Sustainable Planet. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. Guest Column India Wakes up to Multiple Concerns After Violence in Rakhine Members of Hindu Sena, a right wing Hindu group, hold placards during a protest demanding deportation of Rohingya refugees from India, in New Delhi, India, Sept. 11, 2017. / Reuters The situation in northern Rakhine State has gone from bad to worse with a sea of people (UN estimates of some 300,000) fleeing to Bangladesh to save their lives and that of their children. The violence there has engulfed the entire region and threatens to cause ongoing communal disturbances. There have been conflicting stories in the media and it is difficult to assess the true situation on the ground. However, what we do know is if the specter of violence is not contained soon it could throw Myanmars neighbors into a deep crisis, with the potential for communal violence looming. The question being heard in Indian media is, Is India equipped to handle a problem of this magnitude if it does occur? India is already feeling the pinch and there is a deep division across the country between those that want the 40,000 self-identifying Rohingya Muslims to return to Myanmar and those that want them to stay. The battle has reached Indias highest court, the Supreme Court, with a group of activists pleading for them to be given asylum, while others oppose the petition on grounds including that it violates international human rights conventions. A counter petition has been filed by a Hindu group in the same court. As a decision is anticipated, arguments outside of the court seem to lean heavily against the self-identified Rohingya. The reasons being cited are many, starting with the fact that India has not signed the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and therefore, is not obliged to accept the migrants. Though India has accepted refugees in the past, the case of these particular Muslim migrants is embroiled in controversy. Concerns over national security have been cited by government officials and civil society. A few of the prominent examples that are being played out in Indian media are an attack in and around the Mahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya on July 7, 2013, which was influenced by the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and the Indian Mujahideen. The arrested suspect Mohammed Umair Siddiqui, a member of SIMI and the Indian Mujahideen, stated that the attack was targeted at international Buddhist tourists to avenge the killings of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. The incident that preceded the Bodh Gaya blasts and threatened to escalate into communal riots was the protests at Azad Maiden in Mumbai on August 11, 2012, organized to condemn communal riots in Rakhine and in the Assam State of India. That incident of violence saw the death of two people, with the protesters targeting police and media persons, setting vehicles afire, smashing cameras and chanting provocative slogans. After the incident, the spotlight was on clerics in mosques and Muslim leaders for claims that they built the anger that caused violence to erupt, impacting several other cities in India. Social media was flooded with (mis)information and misleading pictures of the Rakhine and Assam violence, and SMSes and MMSes designed to make Muslims in India feel hunted and victimized were spread in the run up to the protest day. A state of high alert was issued throughout Mumbai and most cities in the country were left shaken by the incident. Sultan Shahin, a senior Editor of the New Age Islam in India, said in a recent discussion on the self-identified Rohingya: The concern expressed by Indian security forces is quite legitimate in view of what happened in the past and in view of what has happened in Myanmar itself recently. He went on to add, It is natural that any forces in the world like Al-Queda and ISIS would want to make use of them [the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army ARSA], especially in the current situation where so many people are fleeing to Bangladesh. Meanwhile, other arguments in favor of the deportation of the self-identified Rohingya from India include the recent alert by intelligence agencies in India and Bangladesh that have warned of increasing radicalization of Rohingya Muslims by Pakistani-based terror groups. The Indian establishment and most Indians have been alarmed perhaps because the support for the self-identified Rohingya has come from none other than Hafiz Saeed, co-founder of the Laskhar-e-Toiba and the prime accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack in which 164 civilians including six American citizens were killed. Given that there have been incidents in which self-identified Rohingya are linked with attacks or groups carrying out attacks, alarm is natural. It is not Islamophobia, which may be used as an argument by some. The issue is complex, certainly where ARSA which the Myanmar government recently branded a terrorist organization is involved. But no government wants to be caught with their guard down. A number of Indian media outlets have highlighted that Ata-Ullah, who leads the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), was born in Karachi and formed Harakah al-Yaqin, which claimed responsibility for attacks on border guard posts in Myanmar on Oct. 9, 2016. He has been linked with the Lashkar-E-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Pakistan-based groups, and it has been reported that records of his recent telephone conversations with some Muslim men in India have led the Home Ministry to take a firm stand on the issue of deportation. Times Now, a leading Indian television program, has quoted Indian intelligence agencies as saying that Ata-Ullah has vowed to fight oppressors in the Indian subcontinent, and also that he has been hiring Rohingya immigrants. The Indian news media has also run repeated stories on how various terror groups in particular, Zakir Musa who leads the Hizbul Mujahideen in Kashmir have been inviting self-identified Rohingya to join them in fighting for Islam. With no proper official estimates of the number of Rohingya in India, the apparent increase and the fact that many have made their way to Kashmir have seemingly worried the Indian establishment. The debate over a home for the self-identified Rohingya in India has given rise to some thorny issues. In a recent television discussion, Anand Narasimhan, editor of Times Now, challenged the very narrative of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the UNHCR, which have cited humanitarianism and human rights to prevent the Indian government from deporting the Rohingya from India. He said, when Indians dont have the right to go and settle down everywhere in the country, how will we settle this group (of self-identified Rohingya). Many states in India by law do not allow land rights or settlement rights to other Indians. The issue of the Kashmiri Pundits who have been driven out of their homes in Kashmir and living in tents as internally displaced people has also dominated the debates over whether to allow the self-identified Rohingya to remain in India. The issue of detecting foreigners (Bangladeshis) who entered Assam after 1971 and possibly pushing them back has also resurfaced, making the issue even more complex. The question that is being asked by all is, Should not every displaced person, refugee and asylum seeker be treated equally or should there be a different measuring stick in the case of Rohingya, and if so, why? The Assam local Parliament (called the Legislative Assembly) was rocked on Sept. 6, 2016, when legislators staged a walk out over the issue of the self-identified Rohingya. The legislators demanded that they be taken in on humanitarian grounds. The question posed to the group was, Shall we not speak out against the atrocities and slow genocide of religious minorities since the last two decades in Bangladesh and in Pakistan? Also, the other question to ask is how about those who are unable to include their names in the National Register of Citizens (NRC), which is being updated in Assam to detect illegal migrants, from Bangladesh? It would seem indisputable that if the self-identified Rohingya have human rights, so do other religious minorities in Bangladesh and Pakistan. Ironically, the situation on the ground is different, and when it comes to accommodating persecuted religious minorities from Bangladesh and Pakistan, there is an uncomfortable silence from the same group that is voicing support for the self-identified Rohingya. This has perhaps led many in India from various ideologies and religious beliefs to question the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and Muslim nations about refusing to accommodate the self-identified Rohingya. Senior Supreme Court Advocate and a Kashmiri Muslim Shabnam Lone said on Indian television, Shame on the Islamic countries while also adding that, India is not Pakistan, Bangladesh or Indonesia. India is a pluralistic country, a land of tolerance. Countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have in the recent past asked the Rohingya to return to Myanmar after seeking asylum, on one pretext or another. OIC Secretary General Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen, has been quoted in the Indian media as saying, Take them back, they are your people, rehabilitate them. It is your responsibility. This statement was made a day before the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs issued an advisory on Rohingya deportation. So as India gears up to face the challenge posed not just by the dilemma of whether to deport the self-identified Rohingya, but also by the threat of a growing insurgency in its eastern frontier, the question perhaps is one of tolerance versus terror, as has been articulated by a cross section of the social and political class in India. The jury is out on this. Bidhayak Das is a veteran journalist who has also spent more than a decade working on promoting democracy in Myanmar. He is currently working as an independent consultant on elections, media and communications. Guest Column Muddling Through in Rakhine is Not Enough A man guards near a house, which was burnt down, during violence in Maungdaw, northern Rakhine State, Myanmar August 30, 2017. / Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters I returned to Myanmar to find the country locked in yet another Rohingya crisis, one that is far more serious this time. Before I left I stated that military administration in Rakhine could be imminent. Then on 25 August there were fresh attacks and the situation blew up again. Security personnel as well as civilians have been killed. On Friday 1 September there was a press conference by the Defence Ministry where the spokesman said that the military had proposed that military administration be installed in north Rakhine but the government of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had turned it down. If military rule had been established and the violence grew worse, the onus would have been on the military. But now she and the National League for Democracy (NLD) government have to bear the blame for not heeding this advice. The fact of people getting killed and brutalized, whoever they are, is no longer a matter for explanation or blame, much less denial. The inadequacy of such responses stands out. There does not appear to be any well-thought-out approach to the Rohingya issue, much less a national security strategy. Since the beginning of this year there have been calls to convene a meeting of the National Defence and Security Council but the State Counselor was extremely reluctant to do so. More is the pity, I should say. That independent institution, the Myanmar Armed Forces, has been engaged in counter-insurgency for seven decades now without any signs of adopting a new approach or new tactics. While our country has insurgents, guerillas and terrorists and there is no denying the destruction they may inflict; in almost all cases those combatants move among populations of their own kind. Counter-insurgency and anti-guerilla operations in such settings invariably incur a great deal of collateral damagea military fact eloquently displayed in the Vietnam War and continuing still in Afghanistan and Iraq. The long conflict in Myanmar is no exception. Surely this classic lesson cannot be lost upon the Myanmar Armed Forces. Furthermore, fighting such a conflict requires closely-coordinated political, military and development approaches. This applies to other regions and populations in Myanmar as well. And when you look at the critical early-warning and intelligence capabilities, how good are these in northern Rakhine? Besides heavy and badly thought-out military action, the props that the Myanmar government has are pretty thin on the ground. A Citizenship Law passed during the days of the dictatorship. A border fence. IDP camps which are really concentration camps. Well, the Kofi Annan Commission has released its Final Report, and it has a total of eighty-eight recommendations. I have made a representation to policy-making circles for just a quarter (twenty-two) to be immediately brought to bear. Volumes have been written about whether the Rohingya belong to Burma/Myanmar. This I would say is quite off the mark. The very issue of belonging reeks of racism. (But a lot of people are happy with racism sadly.) It may have been acceptable in the Ne Win era but continuing it nowin a democratic revival under none other than the NLDis a sad reflection upon shabby times and a shabbier leadership. The situation is popularly portrayed as an alien influx but the reality is that illegal immigration would make up only a small percentage of the present community living in northern Rakhine State. Using British colonialism as the root cause, not only the Rohingya but also other communities elsewhere in the country are seen as not part of Burma/Myanmar. Indeed, many of those people are statelessa condition which the UN is beginning to look into. All in all, even if people are illegal immigrants they should not be treated this way. It should be borne in mind that the direness of it all applies to the other indigenous communities too. I dont mean just the Rakhine and the unfortunate Mro, caught up in the deadly racial crossfire. If what we are witnessing is the instrument that the Myanmar state continues to apply, it doesnt bode well for the other ethnic and religious minorities too, I regret to say. Here I would have to mention the approaches and policies being used by Australia (although you will understand it can never be a direct comparison). The governments in both cases have their positions, or in Myanmars case there is supposed to be one. For quite some time, Australia has been under criticism for its policies on immigration, asylum-seekers and particularly the offshore processing centers. This censure comes from both within Australia and abroad. There is an ongoing debate on it, and Australians remark upon it publicly as well as privately. But what I am saying is not merely that Australia has better consultation and shaping of its policies, and better resources (both of which are true) but that a constructive public airing and debate is taking place. The levels of polarization and acrimony may vary with those in Myanmar, but everyone is given a chance and the right to contribute. Can we honestly say this is the case in Myanmar? Coming to the over-riding issue of multiculturalism, both countries pride themselves on it. Australia is putting a lot of effort into pushing for itand it is repeatedly mentioned that 85 percent of Australians think it is a good thing. Myanmar is vaguely, or should I say incompletely, multi-cultural. This means that diverse cultures are acknowledged but not fully integrated into a multi-culture. In many cases integration is seen as assimilation into the majority Burman/Bamar culture, which has strong Buddhist overtones. The underlying culture upon which a genuine multiculturalism can be built has to be welcoming and tolerant. Burman/Bamar culture is not fully so, but it can (and has to) be transformed. Yes, it is a big task and the fact is that the present state is simply not up to it. My expectation (and hope) for Myanmar is that as the violence and acrimoniousness dies down, people can engage in a national debate in a sober, serious and far-sighted manner. Without interference and prodding from politicians nursing their own agendas and eyeing the next elections. Yes, civil society is divided too, but voices of sanity and reason and courage are being heard. I tend to believe more in the qualities and strengths of society. Khin Zaw Win is currently the Director of the Tampadipa Institute, working on policy advocacy and capacity building since 2006. His current engagement includes communal issues, nationalism and international relations. He is also an honorary advisor at the Myanmar Institute for Strategic and International Studies, the Foreign Ministrys think tank. He served under the Department of Health, Myanmar, and the Ministry of Health, Sabah, Malaysia and did the Masters in Public Policy program at the National University of Singapore. He has held a fellowship with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (New York office) and was also a UK FCO Chevening Fellow at the University of Birmingham. He was also a prisoner of conscience in Myanmar for seditious writings and human rights work from 1994 2005. This article originally appeared in Tea Circle, a forum hosted at Oxford University for emerging research and perspectives on Burma/Myanmar. Tuesday, Sep 12th, 2017 (11:21 am) - Score 1,163 Kent based broadband ISP True Telecom, which is already in hot water with Ofcom over their handling of service migrations (here), has been fined 85,000 by the Information Commissioners Office for making illegal nuisance calls and giving the impression they were from BT (Openreach). According to the ICO, True Telecom spent two years (between April 2015 and April 2017) calling people who were registered on the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) and those who had specifically asked the firm not to contact them. Some 201 people complained about this, with the ICO noting that the calls were misleading because callers gave the impression they were from BT Openreach and the number was withheld. Steve Eckersley, the ICOs Head of Enforcement, said: The rules around nuisance calls are clear. Theres no excuse for making marketing calls to people who have explicitly asked not to receive them. These calls are at best annoying and at worst downright distressing, and companies who pester the pubic in this way must understand they wont get away with it. The ICO will take action. The commissioner has also issued a monetary penalty notice, which includes further details of the case, and told the company to stop its illegal practices or face court action. We suspect that this might not be the last time that the provider receives a fine. Ofcom are also debating whether or not to impose a penalty against them after they found reasonable grounds for believing that True Telecom had breached several consumer protection rules, which related to their alleged mishandling of service migrations and contracts, including suspected SLAMMING. The ICOs penalty notice also includes a number of examples where the complainants claimed that True Telecom had been impersonating BT (Openreach). We suspect that BT wont be too pleased about this sort of behaviour either. Sample of the Call Complaints Example 1 = She said she was from Openreach and that they could offer me a cheaper deal than I was paying. Got very aggressive when I refused to give bank details. Example 2 = Claimed to be BT Openreach initially, then mis-sold me a product without my permission (I said Id think about it). I have also complained to Ofcom. However the ICO has also said that their fine could be reduced by 20% to 68,000, albeit only if the provider pays in full by 6th October 2017. On the other hand if True Telecom chooses to appeal then they will not benefit from the discount. Apparently True Telecom claims to have collected the contact details by data scraping (i.e. going online and finding related information in the public domain). The ISP said they used TPS screening software alongside this, although they also say that some of the data was made available to an outbound sales team, which didnt use the same checks (this occurred after the departure of a previous IT manager). We have asked True Telecom for a comment and are awaiting their response. Side Note: The ICO notes that True Telecom had been warned before (in 2014) after 50 people complained about True Telecoms direct marketing calls. At the time the ICO proposed more of an educational approach rather than enforcement, which clearly didnt have the desired effect. UPDATE 12:15pm The ISP has responded below. The ABC appears to have used rather lazy methods to calculate the approximate number of Australians who could be vulnerable to a remotely exploitable vulnerability in pacemakers manufactured by the American company Abbott's (formerly St Jude Medical). In a recent report about the recall of 465,000 devices by the US Food and Drug Administration, due to the possibility of remote exploits that could prove fatal to users, the ABC claimed that about 6000 Australians with such devices could be affected. But the method it adopted to come to this number was lazy, to say the least. Its report cited Medicare statistics as saying "about 11,375 pacemakers and 3500 implantable cardioverter defibrillators (were) implanted in Australia in 2016". Pointing out that Abbott's has an estimated 20% of the Australian market, the ABC came up with the figure of 6000 devices that could be affected. When the ABC was asked how its reporters, Jake Sturmer and Alison Brinley, had arrived at this number when simple mathematics shows that 20% of the sum of 11,375 and 3500, comes to 2975, ABC spokesperson Sally Jackson responded: "As the story says, those implanted in the past two years are vulnerable, therefore the 2975 figure is multiplied by two, leading to 6000." She said the company had declined to provide precise numbers in response to questions from the ABC but this was not specified in the story. How one can assume the exact same number of such devices are implanted two years running was not explained. A query about the fact that Abbott's is not the only company making such devices also went unanswered. Jackson also did not specify the two years in question - whether it was 2015 and 2016, or 2016 and 2017, the latter still incomplete. She added: "We ran our calculations by cardiologist Dr Bradley Wilsmore who specialises in heart rhythms and I believe that Alison also checked with the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand who said that the figures were also correct." But again, it was not specified whether the "correct figure" referred to was 2975 - or the figure of 6000 over two years which was the result of lazy journalism. Media organisations can hide behind the mantle of inadequate staff due to financial pressures when errors of this kind happen these days - but this does not apply to the ABC which lives off the public purse. This kind of lazy reporting appears to mirror the ABC's major problem: not bias, but rather incompetence. The provision of a Linux subsystem on Windows systems a new Windows 10 feature known as Subsystem for Linux (WSL) has made it possible to run known malware on such systems and bypass even the most common security solutions, security researchers at Check Point claim. In a detailed blog post, researchers Gal Elbaz and Dvir Atias said they had dubbed this technique of getting malware onto a Windows system as Bashware, with Bash being the default shell on a large number of Linux distributions. They said existing security solutions had not been adapted as yet to monitor processes of Linux executables running on Windows. "This may open a door for cyber criminals wishing to run their malicious code undetected, and allow them to use the features provided by WSL to hide from security products that have not yet integrated the proper detection mechanisms," Elbaz and Atias said. They said they had tested infecting Windows machines running most of the leading anti-virus and security products on the market and successfully bypassed every single one. "This means that Bashware may potentially affect any of the 400 million computers currently running Windows 10 PC globally," they wrote. Regarding the bashware story doing the rounds from Checkpoint - it requires an optional feature you have to manually install via admin. pic.twitter.com/mWnvWVA4zE Kevin Beaumont (@GossiTheDog) 12 September 2017 WSL is an optional component of Windows 10 and needs to be installed as administrator. Describing the WSL feature, the researchers said that it had both user mode and kernel mode components. This created "a complete compatibility layer for running an environment that looks and behaves just like Linux, without having to fire up any virtual machine". Microsoft had introduced what it called Pico processes containers that allowed the running of ELF binaries on Windows. "By placing unmodified Linux binaries in Pico processes, WSL enables Linux system calls to be directed into the Windows kernel," the pair wrote. "The lxss.sys and lxcore.sys drivers translate the Linux system calls into NT APIs and emulate the Linux kernel." They outlined the four-stage method whereby Bashware loaded the malicious payloads, describing Bashware as "a generic and cross-platform technique that uses WSL in order to allow running both ELF and EXE malicious payloads in a stealthy manner that could bypass most current security solutions". The pair said that Bashware did not leverage any logic or implementation flaws in WSLs design. "In fact, WSL seems to be well designed. What allows Bashware to operate the way it does is the lack of awareness by various security vendors, due to the fact that this technology is relatively new and expands the known borders of the Windows operating system," they added. The hacking of devices is merely a symptom of a much bigger problem, according to Richard Cookes, country manager ANZ from identity and access management company One Identity. Cookes (below, right) made the comment to iTWire after the recall of 465,000 pacemakers manufactured by the American company Abbott's by the US Food and Drug Administration, due to the possibility of remote exploits that could prove fatal to users. He said that technology companies, who were after majority market share in a venture capitalist society, tended to distributed new products and features to the market in a first release. "With little government regulation in technology, a company can miss the mark on developing a secure product and only risk losing money from customers pushing back," he added. Abbott's, previously known as St Jude Medical, was in the news, when researchers from the cyber security start-up MedSec joined with investment firm Muddy Waters Capital to short the stock of St Jude in order to make it aware of vulnerabilities in its products. St Jude later took the two companies to court, over what it claimed were false statements, false advertising, conspiracy and the related manipulation of the public markets in connection with its implantable cardiac management devices. Cookes said under the existing model, companies were only punished after a breach had been confirmed, "and even then, there are plenty of times when breaches go for sustained periods of time without anyone being made aware". "We also have different countries with different laws regarding cyber security standards, there is no global approach to keeping a security measure standard." He said if one looked at it from a medical perspective, the FDA would not approve making a drug available to the public until multiple tests had been conducted to ensure the users' health was protected. "If the IT industry was overseen by the government, devices would not be cleared for public use unless they had acceptable privacy controls," he pointed out. Innovation always took precedence over security in the current market because it was dollar-driven, Cookes said. "If a company creates something new and cutting-edge andmakes it available before anyone else, yet it has a security flaw, the only risk the business faces is customer backlash," he said. "Organisations will measure how much capitalthey are making compared to what they lose due to the security flaw to see how far they can stretch it before an update needs to be made." Asked if there was genuine innovation taking place in the current market, Cookes was of the opinion that while there was innovation, it was happening in incremental steps. "What I think we are missing is innovation on the side of quantum leaps. There has been very little innovation on the grand stage of technology." He contrasted the approach of government to the pacemaker incident with the stance it took in the case of other breaches. "While the medical industry is more than likely to develop stringent controls that existed in the mainstream hi-tech industry, it is disheartening that the governmentwould step in and apply standards to a pacemaker that can be hacked but won't step in and enforce mandatory software tests for banks and other businesses that give hackers access to peoples personal information," he said. The continued roll-out of mobile microfinance services will lead to a surge in financial inclusion in some of the worlds most deprived regions, according to a new report from global firm Juniper Research. Juniper forecasts that by 2022, 36% of the population in developing regions will utilise microfinance, up from just 22% this year, as providers tailor programmes to suit the individual needs required to operate in new markets. According to the new research Mobile Financial Services in Emerging Markets: Money Transfer, Loans, Savings & Insurance 2017-2022 while microfinance products have largely revolved around basic money transfer, loans, savings and insurance, players are now seeking to innovate and adjust offerings to drive customer adoption, as well as to solve more complex social issues in developing nations. And Juniper highlighted Telenors recent launch of interest-free loans for farmers in Pakistan as a case in point. According to research author Lauren Foye, By identifying local deficiencies in financial services and plugging the gaps, operators can simultaneously improve customer retention and help to bring those customers out of poverty with the provision of services developed with specific, localised needs in mind. The Juniper research also anticipated that there would be in surge in deployments in underserved regions, particularly within developing Asia. The research argues, however, that key barriers remain in less penetrated markets. According to Juniper, most pressing is the lack of clear regulation across regions, compounded further by factors such as cultural and religious variations which can lead to operators falling foul of local customs. But the research claimed that clarification is likely to come as operators and governments seek further inclusion and address the issues associated with an unbanked population, while the implementation of localised offerings would address many of the cultural differences currently hindering launches. To download the free Juniper whitepaper go to 3 Ways Microfinance is Changing. Coffee and tech industry leaders will focus their minds on solving challenges in the coffee industry during the first ever Griffiths Bros #hackoffeethon2017 in Melbourne in October. Industry thought leaders will come together for two days at the Eastern Innovation Business Centre in the Melbourne suburb of Mulgrave on 13 and 14 October in an event described as a meeting of like-minded peeps who want to explore how technology can have a profound and positive impact on the coffee industry. As well as introducing and connecting participants, #hackoffeethon2017 will put our industry on a pathway to finding solutions to sustainability challenges by developing ideas that participants can explore after the event is over, the managing director of Griffiths Bros Coffee Roasters, Peter Patisteas, said. We believe better application and a greater willingness to embrace technology across our industry can bring about positive sustainable change in both the short and long-term. Plus, it will be a kick-ass experience for everyone who attends! Teams of up to six participants will compete to come up with the most innovative ideas at #hackoffeethon2017, with judges awarding prizes including a years supply of free coffee and a barista masterclass, valued at $3000, to the winning team. Additional prizes include a Kickstarter team bank account up for grabs valued at $1500, alternative brew kits (Chemex, V60 Pourover, Cold Brew) including filter paper, scales and coffee valued at $1300, and a dinner for six people at Kisume restaurant valued at $1000. According to the chief executive officer of the Eastern Innovation Business Centre, Danielle Storey, #hackoffeethon2017 would appeal to a range of participants including start-ups from the tech industry, developers, coders, designers and hackathon enthusiasts, baristas, cafe owners and operators, coffee experts, students and academics. There are thousands of talented thinkers across the Australian start-up scene. Wed like to begin connecting with them and become a supporting presence that goes beyond their next cup of coffee, Storey said. Coffee has fuelled many a brilliant idea but the industry faces challenges and its time for some fresh eyes. Storey says that, following a theme of sustainability throughout the coffee lifecycle from plantation to transport to roaster to cafes to the consumer #hackoffeethon2017 will seek solutions to a range of industry challenges. For example, as consumption rises year on year, farmers in coffee-growing regions around the equator have been hit with the perfect-storm, unseasonably and increasingly warm and dry weather, increased levels of pests and disease and higher prices for fertiliser have hit their crops hard, can a tech-driven solution create a more sustainable coffee ecosystem? Is it possible to produce carbon-neutral coffee and what does the solution look like? And how can the industry reduce or eliminate waste by finding alternative, or sustainable uses for coffee by-products. Nearly three months after the EU hit it with a 2.42 billion (US$2.7 billion) fine, Google has launched an appeal against it in the General Court, Europe's second-highest court. The search giant was fined for allegedly abusing its search engine dominance to give illegal advantage to its own comparison shopping service. It was given a date of 28 September for paying the fine. Reuters reported that several years were expected to pass before the Luxembourg-based court decided on the appeal. It said a court spokesman had confirmed that Google had not asked for a temporary stay on the EU decision. Late last month, Googleit would be adjusting its search methods to comply with the EU's demands and not give illegal advantage to its own comparison shopping service. The company's statement came on 29 August, the deadline it had been given for telling the EU how it planned to comply with the demands. No detail was offered about the Google plan. At the time of announcing the fine, the EU told Google to end its behaviour within 90 days or else face penalties of up to 5% of the daily worldwide turnover of Alphabet, its parent company. Reuters quoted Thomas Vinje, a lawyer from Fair Search, a lobby group whose members include Google rivals such as Found em and Trip Advisor, as saying: "The Commissions decision stands on firm ground, both legally and factually, and we expect the Commission to win on appeal. The Google decision to appeal against the fine comes after the EU Court of Justice told a lower court last week to re-examine an appeal by Intel against a 1.06 billion anti-trust fine which was levied on the company in 2009. Entropy coding technology known as ANS devised by a Polish academic is now sought to be patented by Google even though he released it into the public domain precisely so no company could swoop on it and lock it up. The entropy coding method known as Asymmetric Numeral Systems was created by Jaroslaw Duda between 2006 and 2013. Variations of ANS known as tANS and rANS, have been adopted by Apple in its LZFSE compressor, Facebook's Zstandard compressor and Google's Draco 3D compressor, according to a report at Bleeping Computer. ANS is also in the running to be used in the coding phase of AV1, an open video coding format. Duda's technology is much faster than earlier Huffman and arithmetic coding techniques. While British company StoreLeap tried to patent the technology it was blocked by Duda. But the company has made strides in getting a patent in the US. Google has filed an application seeking to patent ANS in the US and more than 100 other countries. Duda has filed a complaint with officials in the US and the World Intellectual Property Organisation, saying he discovered the Google application by accident. This was "very surprising for me as I was helping the Google video compression group exactly on this topic since January 2014 through public discussion forum of this group and emails," Duda wrote in his complaint. He outlined the reasons why Google's claims that ANS was its invention were false, saying "I have directly suggested it them in our 2014 communication. However, they did not consult this patent application with me, did not inform me about the application, and did not include me as a co-author, which raises serious ethical concerns regarding this unjustified attempt of monopolisation". This is not the first time that Google has been accused of taking code from other parties; in a six-year case filed by Oracle, it was accused of stealing more than 11,000 lines of code from Java. Duda cited numerous fragments from his conversation on mailing lists to demonstrate his ownership of the technology. "Despite dubious innovation claims, this application can be seen as a legal risk for both the existing ANS-based image compressors (like GST) and for other parties considering ANS for future image and video compressors," Duda said. The International Search Authority, a department of the WIPO that searches for prior art when patent applications are made, had harsh words for Google when evaluating its claim to be the inventor of the technology. "...it is provisionally regarded that the proposed solution does not comprise an inventive contribution over the prior art, because it is no more than a straightforward application of known coding algorithms," it said. Dark fibre connectivity services provider Superloop has entered into an agreement to acquire Internet service provider NuSkope for $7 million in cash and $3 million in Superloop shares. South Australia-based NuSkope is a fixed wireless ISP, set up in 2007. Bevan Slattery, chief executive of the ASX-listed Superloop, said the acquisition gave his company ownership of existing wireless network infrastructure, a network coverage service qualification tool and a CRM database. He said NuSkope also had in its ranks experienced staff who would help expand into other areas. We are very excited to be working with NuSkope and expanding our reach in the strategically important Adelaide market," Slattery said. "This acquisition will drive Superloops capability to address the increasing appetite for wireless connectivity solutions and compliment the BigAir wireless infrastructure acquired in late 2016. "The NuSkope team has built a leading position in the South Australian market and has developed impressive systems and processes which will enhance our ability to service our wholesale customers and strengthen our ability to compete and meet growing customer demand across the region and in new areas." Slattery said Superloop was looking at further expansion in South Australia. The founders, Michael, Rabih and Adam, are some of the most innovative and efficient operators in this space and we are all committed to keep that going. I look forward to working with them and expanding their service offering. Michael Blake, chief technology officer and co-founder of NuSkope, said: "We are excited to be a part of the Superloop Group and continue the expansion of our network. Combining Superloop Groups infrastructure, including BigAir, will help us accelerate into more markets across Australia." In a statement, NuSkope said: "We do not anticipate any significant changes to the business. NuSkope will continue to operate from our South Australian offices, with South Australian staff, under the management of the original founders. All current customer plans and services will continue unaffected by the sale." It added that it expected to become a national provider in the next few years and also see expansion into urban and regional centres "at an incredibly fast rate". If youre looking to beef up your developer teams, dont discount talent from coding bootcamps. Many bootcamp graduates are eager to make a career change, get back into the workforce after a leave or simply add to their existing coding skills. But how can you gauge the quality of coding bootcamps to ensure you are hiring talent that has the chops to excel? The best measure may come from students and graduates themselves. Switchup.org, a review and ranking guide dedicated to providing objective information about bootcamps, has examined thousands of alumni reviews to determine price, location, job support and instructor quality at a wide range of coding bootcamps. CIO.com has narrowed the list to ten, focusing on bootcamps that offer an online option or are based in the U.S. Heres our list, along with location, average user review and courses offered so you can be certain your talent is top-notch. The top 10 coding bootcamps Ironhack AppAcademy General Assembly Bloc Thinkful Flatiron School The Tech Academy Hack Reactor Tech Talent South Epicodus 1. Ironhack Ironhack is a global tech education school with locations throughout Europe and South America, as well as a U.S. location in Miami, Florida. All courses are taught in person, and the school offers full-time and part-time programs. Curricula focuses on web design and UI/UX design specifically, but an extensive global network of corporate partners and career services can help ensure that graduates land a job after completing the program. Location: Miami Courses offered: Full stack web development; UI/UX design and development Cost: $11,000 Average trainee rating: 4.86/5 (510 reviews) 2. AppAcademy AppAcademy is a full-time, full-stack developer training program that spans 12 weeks. No previous coding experience is required. Students use hands-on projects to build Ruby on Rails and JavaScript applications and learn the ins-and-outs of web development in a completely immersive environment. AppAcademy offers a tuition deferment program, in which students pay only if they land a job within 12 months of completing the program. Location: Online, San Francisco, New York City Courses offered: Ruby, Rails, JavaScript, React.js, algorithms, advanced algorithms, CSS, SQL, UX, HTML, design principles, JQuery Cost: $17,000 (optional four-week bootcamp prep course available for $2,999) Average trainee rating: 4.71/5 (505 reviews) 3. General Assembly General Assembly offers a number of full-time, immersive programs in a range of in-demand skillsets, including coding, web design, UI design, product management, digital marketing, front-end development and full-stack web development. In addition to the curriculum, students have access to a career coach, networking services and resume writing services. Location: Online; Dallas; Providence, R.I; San Diego; San Francisco; Seattle; NYC; Washington, D.C.; Austin, Texas; Los Angeles; Atlanta; Denver; Chicago; Boston; Santa Monica, California Courses offered: Coding bootcamps, web design (UX/UI), data science, product management, digital marketing, full-stack web development, JavaScript, Ruby on Rails Cost: $14,950 Average trainee rating: 4.25/5 (540 reviews) 4. Bloc Bloc offers 12-, 18- and 36-week immersive courses in full-stack development, front-end web development, iOS and Android development, and UX design. Students get one-on-one mentoring (no video tutorials) and hands-on training to build their own apps. Location: Online, San Francisco Courses offered: UX design, full-stack web development, front-end web development Cost: $8,500 Average trainee rating: 4.85/5 (277 reviews) 5. Thinkful Thinkfuls job-ready model offers programs in web development, design and data science. Students are paired one-on-one with a mentor and are guaranteed job placement after graduating from the data science and full-stack development programs. If youre not hired as a developer within six months, Thinkful refunds your tuition. Location: Online; Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia; Houston; Portland, Oregon; Dallas; Los Angeles; Phoenix; San Diego; Atlanta; Miami; Tampa; Chicago; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; Denver; Boston; San Francisco; Detroit; Salt Lake City; Seattle; Minneapolis Courses offered: Engineering immersion, data science immersion, HTML/CSS, JavaScript, NodeJS, Python Cost: $9,500 Average trainee rating: 4.75/5 (218 reviews) 6. Flatiron School The Flatiron School offers part-time and full-time courses in web and mobile development, including a program to provide tech education and training to underrepresented groups without a college degree. The Flatiron School offers twelve-week immersive courses online and on-premises in New York City in full-stack web development, JavaScript, Ruby, iOS, HTML/CSS, Swift, React and an introductory bootcamp prep course. Location: Online, New York City Courses offered: AngularJS, CSS, Git, HTML, JavaScript, jQuery, Ruby, Ruby on Rails, SQL Cost: Online web developer program: $12,000; New York web developer program: $15,000 Average trainee rating: 4.89/5 (188 reviews) 7. The Tech Academy The Tech Academy is a 26-week, self-paced bootcamp with campuses in the Pacific Northwest and Denver. Theres also an available online option, and the program offers rolling enrollment all year. At the end of the program, students participate in a live project and receive job placement training. Tech Academy graduates have the skills to land junior-level software development jobs. Location: Online, Denver, Portland, Seattle Courses offered: Software developer bootcamp, Python bootcamp, full-stack web development, HTML, CSS, SQL, JavaScript, C#, .NET Framework, databases, computer science fundamentals, software development basics, version control, Git, GitTub, jQuery, Visual Studio, ASP.NET MVC, agile, scrum, project management Cost: $11,700 Average trainee rating: 4.8/5 (163 reviews) 8. Hack Reactor Hack Reactor, acquired by Galvanize in July 2018, is a 12-week immersive coding and web development bootcamp with various geographic locations as well as the ability to take classes online. After 800 hours of curriculum, students graduate as full-stack web developers and software engineers. Alumni are placed in mid- to senior-level positions at tech companies such as Google, Microsoft and Salesforce, and earn an average salary of $105,000. Location: Online, Austin, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco Courses offered: Full-stack web development, algorithms, AngularJS, CoffeeScript, CSS, data structures, Express, Git, HTML, jQuery, MongoDB, MySQL, Node.js, SQL, React.js, Blockchain Cost: $18,000 (scholarships available) Average trainee rating: 4.7/5 (152 reviews) 9. Tech Talent South Tech Talent South offers regional part-time and full-time immersion programs across the southern and southwestern United States. In addition to coursework, TTS offers guest speakers, company tours, and networking events for students and graduates. TTS also offers flexible payment options, including a 10 percent up-front discount and installment plans. Location: Asheville, N.C.; Atlanta; Charlotte, N.C.; Columbus, Ohio; Dallas; Houston; New Orleans; Phoenix; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; San Antonio Courses offered: Web design, coding immersion, data science, JavaScript, Rails, DevOps, iOS development Cost: Varies; $4,750 for the Coding Immersion program Average trainee rating: 4.7/5 (140 reviews) 10. Epicodus Epicodus not only offers bootcamp courses geared towards preparing students for programming careers, but also helps graduates put together a portfolio, practice interviewing and places select students in internships with partner companies like Livingsocial and Cloudability. Currently, Epicodus offers five 27-week tracks: Ruby and Rails; CSS and Design; C# and .Net; PHP and Drupal; Java and Android. The courses are offered only in-person in Portland, Ore., and Seattle, Wash. Location: Portland, Seattle Courses offered: Ruby on Rails, CSS, C#, .Net, PHP, Drupal, Java, Android, iOS Cost: $6,900 per course Average trainee rating: 4.74/5 (131 reviews) Reddit Email 79 Shares By Ali R. Abootalebi | (Informed Comment) | The Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President in June 2017 announced September 25 as the day for a referendum on independence from the rest of Iraq. In August, U.S. Central Command Head Gen. Joseph Votel and Defense Secretary James Mattis separately sat down with Kurdish president Masoud Barzani to urge him to postpone the referendum since it may have a negative impact on the operations against the terrorists of the Islamic State. President Barzani, however, reassured the U.S. that Peshmerga forces are part of a coalition to defeat ISIS and referendum issue will not have any negative effects on the ongoing war. The call for a referendum on independence seemed ever so timely, considering Kurdish Peshmerga forces successes on the battleground and the impending liberation of Mosul that was lost to ISIS in 2014. The recapture of Mosul in July and Tal Afar in late August seems to have only emboldened KRGs push for the referendum. A high popular turnout in favor of the referendum is almost certain, and even Kurds outside Iraq are urged to support the referendum. But, what the KRG can do with the result is entirely a different matter. A popular yes vote for independence will raise the bar on expectations for a better future. This is when the KRG is facing difficulties in the management of Kurdish regions economy and the overall matters of governance. There is also the matter of a possible military confrontation with not Iraqi military alone but also Turkish and Iranian armed forces. The neighboring Turkey, Iran, and Syria strongly oppose any push for Kurdish independence in Iraq or Syria, and in their respective countries as well. Political independence may actually hamper KRG autonomous hold over the Iraqi Kurdistan. It is not difficult to see the moral and political justification for an independent Kurdish state. Kurdish people with an approximate population of 30-35 million inhabit a mountainous region straddling the borders of Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Iran, and Armenia are the fourth largest ethnic group in the Middle East that remain without a state in the world. The hope for political autonomy after the first World War soon died out in the then emerging regional and international politics. The new Turkish Republic was only a shadow of former Ottoman self in geopolitical terms and power proximity and was not interested in sharing its national power. Kurds in Iraq and Iran also found themselves in inferior positions in negotiating for an effective share of the political pie in the age of oil dominated economies and the threat of Soviet communism. The emerging British-supported monarchies in Iran and Iraq were to secure Western interest and to thwart the communist threat. The Kurds have since then relied on cooperation from unsympathetic central governments, armed resistance and terrorism, and on external (neighboring states and their patrons) actors for political and military support to gain certain political rights and autonomy and keeping the dream of independence alive. Given the divided Kurdish population and leadership across four states and the challenges of nation-state building and surrounded by uncooperative and hostile neighbors, prospects for a thriving, landlocked, independent Kurdish State remains bleak. Kurdish leadership is divided along personal and ideological, territorial, and political lines in Iraq and in the neighboring states. There are disagreements among the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Gorran leadership over the nature of Kurdish-Iraqi government relationship. The neighboring states are also keen to prevent a change in the post-WWI map of the region at the expense of their national territorial integrity. It is, therefore, imperative to prevent the almost inevitable war that will result from the rise of a premature Kurdish state within the Iraqi territory. This will be fought in the name of Iraqi national sovereignty and in the face of neighboring states intervention in a wider regional conflict. A U.S.-led, Western intervention in the name of averting Iranian expansionism and/or fight against terrorism and/or humanitarian interventionism may follow next. Kurdish and national political leaders in Syria, Iraq, Turkey, and Iran can allow for alternative national solutions to accommodate Kurdish popular concerns in a broader political dialogue. Sovereignty is not absolute and no nation-state possesses absolute sovereignty, and the degree of sovereignty does not guarantee effective governance to ensure development and human security. The post-independent South Sudan comes to mind. This is particularly the case in the age of mass communication, technological innovation, and globalization of trade and finance. Good governance necessitates political engineering to bridge boundaries along ethnic, sectarian and cultural divides. As such, Turkey and Iran must set the tone for mechanisms necessary to ensure the integration of Kurdish population into their broader national, political, and socioeconomic power structure. This is true for the Iraqi and Syrian states as well. The competition among cultural groups in each society is not about the superiority or inferiority of certain value system and way of life per se but, how the competition translates into control over local, regional, and national resources while realizing the ambitions and aspirations of all cultural groups. This is especially true, where legal and institutional venues for dispute settlement and conflict resolution and power sharing among competing cultural groups are weak or are seriously lacking. In such cases, it becomes natural for a dominant culture try imposing its ethos and belief systems, through cooperation and/or coercion, on minority groups, monopolizing control over socioeconomic resources and political power. Political democracy is (can be) an instrumental method for the resolution of identity conflicts over cultural and nationalistic issues by providing legal, institutional, and nonpartisan, normative values to groups in competition over socioeconomic resources and political power. Democratic governance itself is not about nationalism, culture, or religion per se; it is about the management of political power and the competition over socioeconomic resources within agreed-upon normative principles and values and institutional arrangements, whereby individual citizensalong with civil society, consisting of non-governmental organizations and business and corporate entities determine their own interests through elections and other forms of political, civil and civic participation. Multiculturalism in divided Arab states like Iraq or in Turkey and Iran can be a great challenge to governance but the real obstacle is the politicization of cultural differences for political and economic ends. Both Turkey and Iran have taken on the challenge of national power-sharing through some democratic mechanisms and yet both have much to travel in gaining the trust of their respective minority cultural groups through decentralization of political power and embracing multicultural pluralism and economic planning at regional and provincial levels. The states in Iraq, Turkey, and Iran must be conscious that political democracy, if engineered in line with the national cultural ethos of all citizens, is a formidable and legitimate mechanism for the promotion of national cohesion while respecting multiculturalism. The end game seems to always include a struggle over socioeconomic resources and political power but seemingly appearing as ethnic, religious, and/or nationalist conflicts. The KRG in Iraq has thus far performed no better than the government in Baghdad or in the neighboring states. The rate of poverty in Kurdistan since 2014, when Iraqi Kurdistan plunged into a financial crisis because of the drop in oil prices, the war with the Islamic State, an influx of a large number of internally displaced people and colossal mismanagement of the economy, has increased dramatically. Kurdish rentier economy is dependent on oil and cannot survive, outside black marketeering, without cooperation from and trade with the neighboring states. The KRG economy is not doing well, and corruption remains a major issue. Moreover, the Kurdish leadership must remain accountable for its governance and not fall into the trap of exclusive nationalism, endangering Iraqi and regional stability. The KRG performance in building bridges with the Arab and Turkmen population in the northern Iraq leaves much room for improvement. As in the 20th Century, the Kurdish struggle today also hinges upon regional and global politics. The parameters of the global war on terrorism and geopolitics of the region allow for only a thin line separating terrorists from liberators, as the contending views by major players in the Syrian, Libyan, Iraqi, Lebanese, Palestinian, Yemeni, Somali, and Afghani theatres differ in line with their differing and competing for national (and ethnic) interests. Therefore, the disagreement over the designation of such entities as Syrian Democratic Forces, the Kurdish YPG, Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), Lebanese Hezbollah, Palestinian Hamas, Yemeni s Ansar Allah, and the Iranian revolutionary guard, IRGC, as terrorists or liberators and resistance fighters. The possibility of an independent Kurdish State in northern Iraq would be at the expense of stability and territorial disputes and claims in Syria, Turkey, and Iran over such designations and ultimately over the fear of ethnic divide and conflict and political instability. The United States soft position on the issue of the referendum is deliberately, or at best inadvertently, help set the stage for future instability, conflict, and bloodshed in the region. It is crucial for the United States to use its power to help convince KRG to postpone the planned referendum to an uncertain future. This will help the cause of a national dialogue and Arab-Kurdish cooperation in Iraq and could entice future Turkish-Kurdish cooperation. Otherwise, we could see the ethnic, sectarian, and nationalist divides intensify, making cooperation in the fight against militant Muslim ideology difficult. Instability could then spread to Turkey and Iran, impacting the broader regional geopolitics and economic development. It is no secret that the United States has since 2015 provided more than $1.4 billion in aid for the Kurdish Peshmerga and training more than 22,000 Kurdish fighters, supplying them with weapons, armored vehicles, artillery systems, ammunition, and medical supplies in their fight against ISIS. A team of military officers from the United States, U.K., and Germany is also currently conducting a review of the 200,000-strong Peshmerga at Erbils request. U.S. neutrality or support for Iraqi Kurdish independence without recognizing the nature of the Turkish opposition will create a major rift between these two NATO allies and will further push Turkey toward a Russian embrace. Turkey, Russia, and Iran already have a unified vision of what should emerge in the post-ISIS Middle East, and that does not envision the arrival of a future independent Kurdish state in northern Iraq, or in the northern Syrian territory. Neither declared nor practiced sovereignty by anyone state or organized political entityan ethnic group, local or state government in the federal or confederal state, or other such imagined entitiescan guarantee peace and human security. Instead, government, political, business and community leaders must facilitate ways to realize and flourish the potentials of human capital in any given community. As such, the realization of individual sovereignty through good governance and not the absolute state sovereignty per se can prove instrumental in preventing conflict and war and promoting peaceful coexistence among competing ethnic, religious, and cultural groups. Good governance can go far in helping the cause of political democracy and national cohesion. This is invariably truer in the age of technological revolution, mass mobilization and social media. The vitality of good governance, encapsulated, at a minimum, in democratic pluralism, is contingent upon the distribution of political power and socioeconomic resources within the state and between the state and society, where no one group, including a dominant cultural group, monopolize such resources. That is, the maldistribution of socioeconomic resources and political power results in a non-democratic political system and polarized society where nationalism becomes a pawn in power politics among contending groups jockeying for political power and national resources. Ethnic, sectarian, or nationalist identity is a political force and thus susceptible to political manipulation, particularly in non-democratic political systems. Therefore, what separates national leaders from contending opposition is access to means of power and wealth and often drawn for personal and political goals. Ali R. Abootalebi is Professor of Middle Eastern and Global Politics in the Department of Political Science, UWEC. He is the author of Islam and democracy: State-Society Relations in Developing Countries, 1980-1994 (Garland, 2000), and, coauthored with Stephen Hill, Introduction to World Politics: Prospects and Challenges for the United States (Kendall Hunt, 2013) and more than fifty articles on Iran, Arab Politics, Civil Society and Democracy and U.S. foreign policy. Related video added by Juan Cole: Iraqi Kurds prepared to draw own borders, Barzani warns Baghdad BBC News Reddit Email 140 Shares TeleSur | Top U.N. official Zeid Raad Al Hussein said the brutal security operation against the Rohingya was clearly disproportionate response to the attacks led by the insurgent The United Nation has strongly condemned Myanmars treatment of the Muslim Rohingya minority in the Rakhine state, saying the situation appears to be a textbook example of ethnic cleansing. Top U.N. official Zeid Raad Al Hussein in an address to the U.N. human rights council in Geneva, said the brutal security operation against the Rohingya was clearly disproportionate response to the attacks led by the insurgents. I call on the government to end its current cruel military operation, with accountability for all violations that have occurred, and to reverse the pattern of severe and widespread discrimination against the Rohingya population, Hussein said. The situation seems a textbook example of ethnic cleansing. In recent weeks, violent clashes have forced an estimated 310,000 people to flee to Bangladesh. The international community has condemned the countrys de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and expressed concern over the dire situation. But Suu Kyi, who has maintained silence over the political crisis, issued a statement yesterday in defense of her governments actions. Overlooking the Rohingya crisis, the leaders statement failed to mention and recognize the Rohingya and instead mentioned other affected communities in Rakhine state, including other Muslim groups. In her latest statement, Suu Kyi shared her vague concern at the displacement and suffering of all communities. The weeks following the Rohingya started fleeing violence-ridden regions, the U.N. described the government-led security operations as crimes against humanity. There were some reports speculating that the Burmese military forces are mining the border to ensure fleeing Rohingya are not able to return. Last week, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also wrote a letter urging the Myanmar government to put an end to the massive violence. Rohingya people have suffered systematic persecution over many decades by the Myanmar government, who consider them as illegal migrants from Bangladesh. The minority community has restricted rights and access to government services in the country. Since the 1970s, nearly a million people belonging to the minority have fled persecution in the South Asian country. On Sunday, Human Rights Watch said the satellite view of the region shows fire damage in urban and rural areas inhabited by Rohingya. Since the start of the political liberalization in 2011, Myanmar has been troubled by an upsurge in extreme Buddhist nationalism, anti-Muslim hate speech, and deadly communal violence, not only in Rakhine state but across the country, the International Crisis Group said in a report released last week. Via TeleSur Related video added by Juan Cole: Who is burning down Rohingya villages? BBC News Reddit Email 375 Shares By Todd Green | ( Mizan Project ) | This year marks the 500th anniversary of Martin Luthers Reformation in Germany, a monumental event in Christian history that generated permanent divisions in the body of Christendom. As commemorations of Luthers Reformation commence throughout the world, its likely that some of Islams most ardent critics will use the occasion to renew their calls for an Islamic Reformation. Demands for an Islamic Reformation are nothing new, of course. They have fueled the careers of some of the most prominent anti-Islam activists in the West today. This is particularly true for native informants: current or former Muslims who use their personal knowledge of and experience with Islam to inform majority populations in the West that Islam really is stuck in the Middle Ages and in desperate need of its own Martin Luther. The most recognizable voices in this category include Irshad Manji, Asra Nomani, and Ayaan Hirsi Ali, all of whom believe Islam needs a reformation. Reading these critics, one finds a common narrative: Islam is inherently violent; Islam is misogynistic; Islam is intolerant; Islam is irrational and dismissive of critical thinking. In this essay, I will focus on Hirsi Alis calls for an Islamic Reformation, not so much because she is that distinctive in relation to other self-styled reformers on this issue, but because her criticisms of Islam and her assumptions regarding the purpose of Luthers Reformation constitute a narrative that is widely embraced and echoed by many others. I will deconstruct two myths undergirding her call for an Islamic Reformation. The first myth is that Islam is a static religion that has witnessed no significant reforming movements in its modern history. The second myth is that Luthers Reformation both liberated European Christians from an oppressive religion and sought to modernize Christianity. Once these myths are exposed, I will address the real function behind this demand for an Islamic Reformation: to reinscribe a narrative of Western civilizational superiority over a backward, belligerent Islam and thereby to distract majority populations in the West from engaging in any significant self-reflection or self-criticism concerning their own political, religious, and moral shortcomings pertaining to human rights and human dignity. Reforming Trends and Movements in Modern Islamic History Unlike Islam, Christianity has never been a static religion, writes Hirsi Ali in her book Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now. Islam, she believes, lacks the dynamic reforming tendencies embedded in the religious DNA of its Abrahamic cousin. She does manage to point to a few examples of Muslims in the twentieth century who tried their hand at reform, including Mahmoud Mohammed Taha (d. 1985) and Abdel Raziq (d. 1966). But for someone who is so insistent that Islam needs a Reformation, she demonstrates practically no knowledge of the many reforming efforts that have characterized Islam in its modern history. Even a cursory glance at this history is enough to fill in the massive gaps in Hirsi Alis narrative. A good place to start is with ijtihadthe use of independent reasoning and judgment when interpreting Islamic texts. Hirsi Ali decries the abandonment of ijtihad, commonly referred to as closing the gate of ijtihad, even though robust debates over embracing ijtihad have taken place throughout modern Islamic history. The most prominent example involves the jurist (and later Grand Mufti of Egypt) Muhammad Abduh (d. 1905). Abduh, like his mentor Jamal al-Din al-Afghani (d. 1897), argued that ijtihad should be used more broadly by laypeople to allow them to read and interpret Islamic texts without the mediation of jurists. Abduhs efforts to reform Al-Azhar University focused heavily on this more expansive approach to ijtihad. But Abduh is far from the only advocate of employing greater independent reasoning in interpreting Islamic texts. From Sayyid Ahmad Khan (d. 1898) in India to Tariq Ramadan (b. 1962) in Britain, modern Islamic history is replete with Muslim intellectuals and activists embracing and promoting ijtihad. Its also worth noting that this tendency to encourage laypeople to use their own independent reasoning has even been embraced by violent extremists such as Osama bin Laden (d. 2011), a reminder that the promoters and the beneficiaries of reform are not always progressives out to reconcile their religious worldviews with a secular West. In the realms of law and education, significant reforms emerged in the nineteenth century. The most notable example involves the Tanzimat reforms of the Ottoman Empire, initiated by Sultan Mahmud II (r. 18081839) and his son Abdulmecid I (r. 18391861). These reforms prohibited extrajudicial executions, provided more expansive property rights, and eliminated the dhimmi status of non-Muslim minorities so that they were promised equal treatment in military service, government employment, and education. Efforts to improve girls education and womens rights took place around the same time. Rifaa al-Tahtawi (d. 1873) in Egypt made a strong case for providing education to both sexes, and he did so through recourse to Islamic traditions. Others made similar calls for expanding education to women, including Qasim Amin (d. 1908) and Muhammad Abduh. This era also witnessed the emergence of feminist activists. Zainab Fawwaz (d. 1914), a Lebanese author, insisted that nothing in Islamic law prohibited women from engaging in otherwise male-dominated occupations. Other prominent feminists advocating for greater opportunities for women at this time included Huda Shaarawi (d. 1947), who founded the Egyptian Feminist Union in 1923, and the Turkish author Halide Edib (d. 1964). Dramatic changes in the institution of slavery reflect the reforming spirit of the nineteenth century as well. The man who led the way was Ahmad Bey (d. 1855), the Ottoman governor general of Tunis. He abolished slavery in Tunisia in 1846, a good seventeen years before Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation, and he justified the decision using Islamic legal arguments. His efforts paved the way for other Muslim-majority regions to abolish slavery in the late nineteenth century. Despite claims by ideologues that Islam is a static religion opposed to progress and in need of reformation, reformist challenges to the status quo have long been part of Islamic culture across the world. Notably, many historical and contemporary advocates for reform within Islamic tradition have been women. (L to R) Huda Shaarawi (d. 1947), founder of the Egyptian Feminist Union; Halide Edib (d. 1964), Turkish litterateur and advocate for womens rights; Tawakkol Kerman (b. 1979), Yemeni journalist and recipient of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize; Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani womens rights activist and recipient of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize (all images courtesy Wikimedia Commons). So much more can be said not only about reforming trends and movements within Islam in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries but also the ongoing work of Muslim reformers today. This includes a wide range of prominent women often dismissed or ignored by Hirsi Ali such as Mohja Kahf (b. 1967), Leila Ahmed (b. 1940), and Amina Wadud (b. 1952), not to mention Nobel Peace Prize winners Tawakkol Karman (b. 1979) and Malala Yousafzai (b. 1997). Perhaps its not too surprising that Hirsi Ali gives scant attention to these reformers. Most of them criticize Western imperialism and adopt nuanced, sophisticated interpretations of Islam, positions that are at odds with Hirsi Alis own career as a native informant serving Islamophobic interests. None of this is to suggest that Muslim-majority societies are beyond critique or have no need of political or religious reforms. My larger point is that Islam is not the static religion that Hirsi Ali makes it out to be. Her calls for an Islamic Reformation reflect an imagined history in which Muslims have refrained from robust debates and efforts involving reform. This is hardly the case. Misunderstanding Luthers Reformation The second myth to be addressed involves the assumption that Luthers Reformation both freed medieval Christians from a repressive religion and infused Christianity with the principles of modernity. In Chapter 2 of Heretic, Hirsi Ali describes the Reformation as a movement that liberated the individual conscience from priestly authority, opening the door to critical thinking and modernity itself. Hirsi Ali, in other words, describes the Reformation in a manner reminiscent of old-fashioned Protestant apologetics: an event that unshackled Christians from a stifling, decaying Catholicism. In doing so, she demonstrates a shallow grasp of medieval piety and worship, the nature of Luthers reforming project, and the continuities between Protestantism and medieval Catholicism. This is not too surprising given the poor research behind her writing on the Reformation. Not once does she cite a historian of the Protestant Reformation or a peer-reviewed article or book to substantiate her claims about it. Since World War II, historians have increasingly debunked the idea that medieval Christianity was in grave decline or decay and thus in obvious need of a reformation. Medieval Christians had their share of complaints about the church as an institution, but most did not feel oppressed or burdened by the churchs rituals and doctrines. Medieval Christians endowed masses, commissioned artwork, listened to sermons, prayed to saints, celebrated holy days, and sought solace in the church and its role in mediating salvation to believers. As the historian Euan Cameron notes: The Christianity of the later Middle Ages was a supple, flexible, varied entity, adapted to the needs, concerns, and tastes of the people who created it. It was not an inflexible tyranny presided over by a remote authority. The Reformation was not born out of widespread hostility toward a rigid, oppressive Catholicism, nor was it a movement enthusiastically embraced right away by many European Christians. In fact, much of Europe remained Catholic after the Reformation, while other regions that became Protestant did so only after overcoming significant popular resistance to the new teachings and practices introduced by the Reformation, resistance that lasted decades, if not more than a century in some instances. To be sure, Martin Luther, in his capacity as an Augustinian monk, felt burdened by medieval Catholicism, particularly in regards to the penitential cycle and the emphasis on good works as necessary for salvation. By his own account, he was more meticulous and scrupulous in confessing his sins and seeking forgiveness than most monks. He once confessed for six hours straight. The anxiety he experienced in his quest to find a just and forgiving God took its toll both physically and mentally in the years leading up to the Reformation. But Luthers psychological and theological angst was much more the exception than the rule. Few medieval Christians seem to have worried about their salvation to the degree that Luther did, and since most were not monks, they would have confessed their sins only once per year during Lent, a far cry from Luthers endless cycles of confession. Luthers crisis of faith would have a profound impact on the future of Christianity, but we must not conflate his anxiety and his efforts to alleviate this anxiety with the feelings and experiences of the vast majority of medieval Christians. We also must be careful not to assume that Luthers Reformation led to a new era in which people were allowed to choose their religious beliefs and practices according to the dictates of conscience. The Reformation simply marked a shift in which church monopolized religious authority in a given region. It did not free Christians to believe and choose as they pleased. Protestants were just as insistent as Catholics that heresy had no rights. Both relied heavily on the coercive power of magistrates to enforce orthodoxy in their lands and to punish those who stepped out of line. As for whether the Reformation modernized Christianity, a point Hirsi Ali is quite insistent on, its fair to debate whether the Reformation set in motion the historical, political, and economic changes that contributed to what we call modernity. Seminal social thinkers of the nineteenth century, including Max Weber and Emile Durkheim, first developed this idea. Some contemporary sociologists, including Peter Berger and Steve Bruce, have expanded upon their initial insights. But none of these thinkers make the case that it was the intent of the Protestant reformers to modernize Christianity or European society. Modernity would have been an inadvertent side effect at best, if at all. This is a crucial point. Luther was not trying to innovate or bring the church into the modern world. Innovation was what he was trying to avoid. It was what he accused the Catholic Church of doing. To Luther, the Catholic Churchs rituals, doctrines, and hierarchy were too infused with medieval additions that lacked a sound scriptural basis. That is one of the reasons he pursued his reformation. In the spirit of Renaissance humanism, Luther wanted to return to the sources (ad fontes), to go back to an earlier, more pristine era of Christianity before medieval scholastic philosophers and theologians introduced dangerous innovations. In this regard, Luther shares much in common with Wahhabism and the Salafi movement in Islam, both of which are reforming movements that hold the classic juristic tradition in suspicion and which seek to return to the sources of Islamthe Quran and the Sunnah. Its easy to forget that Luther and many of the other reformers were not modern people. Their beliefs were more indicative of the Middle Ages than the modern, secular West, among them the necessity of a strong alliance between church and state; the rejection of freedom of religion; the disavowal of democracy; and the subjugation of women within the social and political order. The Protestant reformers were also strong believers in supernatural forces at work in the world. As the historian Matthew Lundin puts it: The Protestant world of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was no modern, disenchanted sphere of orderly natural law. Rather, it was a mysterious realm full of signs and omens, an arena in which God and the devil often intervened. Luther himself firmly believed he was living in the Last Days, engaged in a very real and personal battle with the Devil. His world was an enchanted one, as is the world of many Protestants to this day. Hirsi Alis account of the European Reformation traffics in crude caricatures that pit freedom-loving and forward-thinking Protestant reformers against repressive priests and popes. The Reformation represents tolerance and reason, Catholicism despotism and illiberalism (presumably after the fashion of Islam). In short, her account of the Reformation draws on shallow stereotypes, not sound scholarship. Her superficial grasp of the Reformation mirrors her poor apprehension of reforming trends and movements in modern Islamic history. Its hard not to conclude that in both instances, willful ignorance and ulterior motives are at play. What Function Do Calls for an Islamic Reformation Really Serve? Hirsi Ali preys on widespread Islamic and religious illiteracy among majority populations in the United States and Europe to promote the two myths addressed above. She does all of this under the guise of a larger myth: Westerners dont engage in nearly enough criticism of Islam. She believes we are too afraid to criticize Islams massive shortcomings and its perpetual intolerance because of our commitment to multiculturalism and respect for diversity. That is why we must hold Muslims accountable and encourage them to engage in the kind of self-criticism that drove the European Reformation. The notion that Islam is not criticized enough in the West is preposterous. Critical media studies alone overwhelmingly point to a strong bias in the media against Islam. A study published by the consultancy 415LABS in 2015 revealed that the New York Times portrays Islam and Muslims more negatively than alcohol, cancer, and cocaine. Another study by Media Tenor found that close to three-quarters of all media coverage of Islam in 2013 was negative. This past year, a study from Georgia State University discovered that while Muslims committed 12.4 percent of all terrorist attacks on U.S. soil between 2011 and 2015, they received 44 percent of the media coverage pertaining to terrorism. It certainly is not the case that the media is afraid to portray Islam in a critical light. The same holds true for politicians. In Europe, virulent anti-Islam politicians such as Marie Le Pen and Geert Wilders managed to finish second in the elections of France and the Netherlands respectively this past year. In the 2015-2016 election cycle in the United States, we had one candidate who argued that a Muslim is not qualified to become president, another who proposed patrolling Muslim neighborhoods, and still another who demanded a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States. Criticizing Islam has become a prominent and effective campaign tool on both sides of the Atlantic. When Hirsi Ali insists that we arent criticizing Islam enough, she couldnt be more wrong. Criticizing, demonizing, and othering Islam is pretty much the only show in town. But now we are closer to the truth behind the demand for an Islamic Reformation. This is not about a lack of reform efforts in modern Islamic history, nor is it about finding inspiration in Luthers Reformation in Christianity. And it certainly is not about the need for Westerners to criticize Islam more. This is about distraction. Demands for an Islamic Reformation function as a diversion, a way to occupy majority populations with all that is presumably wrong with Islam so that we need not engage in self-reflection or criticism regarding all that ails Western nations, including the significant damage inflicted by U.S. foreign policy in Muslim-majority regions. The books of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, whose inflammatory titles, imagery, and language tout her status as an infidel, celebrate her successful transition from Islam to the civilized West, and decry her victimization by Islamists and liberals, both groups seeking to persecute and silence her. Her latest book, Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now, epitomizes the type of misleading ex-Muslim rhetoric aggressively promoted by Islamophobic interests in America and elsewhere. We can see this play out by focusing just on the United States. Obsessing over Islams supposed tendency toward violence masks our own violent past and present. The genocide of indigenous peoples, the murder and exploitation of slaves, lynchings and Jim Crow terrorism, and atomic annihilation have all played a role in the nation we have become. More recently, the War on Terror has cost over one million lives and the displacement of millions of people. It has also served as the occasion for massive human rights violations, from unlawful detentions to outright torture, with popular support for these violations in some instances. According to a Washington Post/ABC News poll from 2014, 59 percent of Americans believed that CIA-sponsored torture of suspected terrorists was justified, with white Christians more likely than other racial and religious groups to support torture. Obsessing over oppressed Muslim women distracts us from the many ongoing challenges facing women in the United States. One in three women have been victims of physical assault, one in five women have been raped, while a woman is fatally shot by a current or former intimate partner every fourteen hours. Economically, women continue to earn only 80 percent of what men are paid, while women are more likely than men to live below the poverty level. If women do climb the business ranks, a formidable glass ceiling still awaits them. The percentage of female CEOs in Fortune 500 companies has decreased over the past several years. As of 2016, it was hovering at 4 percent. The glass ceiling applies to politics too. The U.S. has fallen in global rankings over the past twenty years in terms of the representation of women in government, from #52 in 1997 to #97 in 2016. Up through 2016, three states had never sent a woman to Congress: Delaware, Mississippi, and Vermont. And it goes without saying that no woman has yet ascended to the U.S. presidency, in contrast to several countries that have had a Muslim woman serve as head of state, from Bangladesh to Pakistan to Mauritius. Obsessing over intolerance within Islam prevents us from coming to terms with the rampant racism and systemic discrimination that plague our nation. Compared to whites, black Americans are more likely to be shot by police when unarmed, more likely to undergo involuntary searches, and more likely to be subject to the use of force by police. In state prisons, black Americans are incarcerated at just over five times the rate of whites (ten times in states such as Iowa, Wisconsin, and New Jersey). Latinos are imprisoned at 1.4 times the rate as whites. In April 2017, while the unemployment rate in the U.S. dropped to 4.4, the lowest in almost ten years, it remained much higher for black Americans and Latinos: 7.9 percent and 5.2 percent respectively. This is a typical pattern. There is also a racial divide when it comes to earned income. In 2014, the median household income for white Americans was $71,300 compared to $43,000 for black Americans. Racial hostility and hatred have often been translated into violence, even in the post-Civil Rights era. According to the Combating Terrorism Center, right-wing extremists, which includes white supremacists, carried out 337 attacks and killed 254 people in the decade after 9/11. Thats far more violence and death inflicted by these groups than by Muslim extremists during the same time period. And its not just right-wing groups. According to the FBI, in 2015, almost two-thirds of hate crime victims were targeted because of racial or ethnic bias. We also should not forget that despite the incessant complaints about violent Muslims, Muslims themselves are increasingly subject to hate crimes. According to the FBI, anti-Muslim hate crimes are five times higher post-9/11 than pre-9/11, and in 2015, there was a 67 percent increase in hate crimes toward Muslims from the previous year. A more recent study reveals that anti-Muslim hate crimes rose 91 percent in the first half of 2017, likely as a result of Trumps election. Finally, obsessing over the purported lack of intellectualism and rationality in Islam deflects attention from the strong currents of anti-intellectualism that run throughout the U.S. Just 15 percent of Republicans trust climate scientists to provide full and accurate information, whereas 45 percent have little to no trust at all. On the origins of the human species, 42 percent of Americans believe God created humans in their present form less than 10,000 years ago. A surprising 26 percent of Americans believe the sun revolves around the earth. Regarding the value of higher education, a recent Pew study found that 58 percent of Republican and Republican-leaning independents believe colleges and universities have a negative impact on society. All of these shortcomings are neatly encapsulated in our current president. Donald J. Trump is a man who threatens protesters with violence at political rallies. He flirts openly with deploying nuclear weapons in retaliation to terrorist attacks. He objectifies women as sex objects, brags about sexually assaulting women, and insults women (including his political rivals) whom he finds unattractive. He vilifies the Black Lives Matter movement and caricatures black neighborhoods as ghettos that have little more to offer than violence and death. He takes pride in leading the birther movement that questioned Obamas citizenship. He instrumentalizes Islamophobia for political gain, surrounds himself with advisers and cabinet members who believe Muslims are a fifth column within American society, and routinely ignores the discrimination and violence experienced by American Muslims. He dismisses the challenges of climate change and once tweeted that global warming is based on faulty science and manipulated data. In 2016, approximately 63 million Americans voted for a president who embodies all of the vices and non-pluralistic values that Hirsi Ali and other anti-Islam activists accuse Islam of representing: violence, sexism, intolerance, and anti-intellectualism. This begs the question of how such a large portion of American voters were able to reconcile Trumps immoral behavior with their own moral frameworks. Given the many ways that the United States has failed to embrace tolerant, pluralistic values, why not forego all talk of an Islamic Reformation in Muslim-majority societies and shift the focus to an American Reformation? Because it doesnt work politically. Asking many Americans, particularly white Christians, to reform their religious and political worldviews and to come to terms with their own sins of commission and omission will not boost your political or media career. Hirsi Ali knows this, as do many others who follow in her footsteps. Demeaning and demonizing Islam, on the other hand, brings with it handsome speaking fees, lucrative book deals, considerable media exposure, and significant political capital. It can even give you the keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Many demands in the West for an Islamic Reformation are little more than exercises in Islamophobia. They do not illustrate genuine engagements with Islam and its complex reforming history, nor do they reflect a fundamental understanding of the European Reformation Martin Luther set in motion 500 years ago. They are shallow attempts to promote Western civilizational superiority and to let those of us in majority populations off the hook concerning our own political, social, and moral shortcomings. Until we come to terms with these shortcomings and gain a better understanding of reform efforts both in Christian and Islamic history, we should approach any conversation about a reformation in Islam with far more caution and humility than we will find in the writings and musings of Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Todd Green is Associate Professor of Religion at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and a former U.S. State Department advisor on Islamophobia in Europe. He is the author of The Fear of Islam: An Introduction to Islamophobia in the West (Fortress Press, 2015) and the forthcoming Presumed Guilty: Why We Shouldnt Ask Muslims to Condemn Terrorism (Fortress Press, 2018). Reddit Email 163 Shares By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | Recently I was asked whether, if Trump succeeded in undermining the Joint Plan of Collective Action (JCPOA), the Iran nuclear deal, whether Iran would reply by going for broke to create a nuclear weapon. A related question is whether a collapse of the JCPOA would strengthen Irans hard liners. Here is what I said Irans clerical leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will not allow development of a nuclear weapon. He has repeatedly given fatwas or considered legal opinions that making, stockpiling and using nuclear weapons contravenes Islamic law. In formal Islamic law, you cannot target civilians. The Quran says, Fight those who fight you. In Irans Shiite Islam, by the way, only defensive jihad or holy war is allowed. An atomic bomb, as the US demonstrated at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, kills very large numbers of innocent civilians. Khamenei cant climb down from decades of such fatwas without undermining his clerical authority and hence the foundations of his entire regime. Saying he secretly wants a bomb is like asserting that Pope Francis has a covert condom factory in the Vatican basement. Iran has never had the aim of creating a bomb or it would have one by now. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps and hard line scientists and engineers tried to finesse Khamenei. They seem to have convinced him to allow them to developing facilities and experiments leading to expertise and capabilities with regard to nuclear weapon production. This capability amounts to what specialists call nuclear latency or the Japan option. That is, if the world knows you could slap together a nuclear bomb tout de suite, they are less likely to invade you. Everyone knows Japan has stockpiles of plutonium and technical know-how, and that they could produce a nuclear weapon in short order if they felt really threatened. Trump even encouraged them to go this route. The Iranian hard liners likewise wanted a deterrence effect via a short time-line to a break-out capacity, i.e. potential bomb production, especially after the US invasions and occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq. As long as they didnt actually make a bomb, they could escape the ayatollahs wrath. Because of Obamas severe sanctions from 2012, a short time-like to break-out incurred unacceptable costs for nuclear doves like Rouhani, who got Khameneis ear and warned him of civil unrest a la 2009 if sanctions continued. Iran was kicked off currency exchanges and had trouble selling its oil, being forced to reduce exports by 1 mn. barrels per day, from 2.5 mn. b/d down to 1.5. (It is back up to exporting 2.6 million barrels per day of petroleum and condensates, but the price has collapsed). The compromise reached in the JCPOA by the UN Security Council plus Germany was that Iran could keep latency, i.e. the expertise for a Japan option, but had to lengthen its time-line to break-out. It bricked in and abandoned its planned heavy water reactor at Arak. It limited the number of its centrifuges. It destroyed stockpiles of uranium enriched to 19.5% for its medical isotopes reactor. It consented to regular inspections of its facilities by the UN. (Plutonium signatures can be detected months later and no matter how you try to vacuum up the particles, so Iran really cant cheat as long as it is inspected). Iran retained latency capabilities and nothing in JCPOA forbade them. What JCPOA insisted on was a long production time-line rather than a short one, i.e. 6 to 8 months rather than a few weeks. As long as Iran does not ramp up production capabilities to shorten the break-out time-line, it is in compliance. The cult, the Mojahedin-e Khalq or MEK, i.e the Peoples Jihadis, is now pushing a line that something sinister is going on at the Parchin military base. The UN inspectors visited it in 2015 and are not interested in going there again. The Non-Proliferation Treaty excluded inspections of military facilities at US and USSR insistence, and the JCPOA followed that legal tradition. The MEK, which is a small terrorist organization that wants to overthrow the Iranian government in favor of its mixture of Shiite fundamentalism and Marxism, has some sort of shadowy and creepy relationship with AIPAC and the Israel lobbies. Giuliani regularly speaks for big bucks at their meetings. This sort of thing is much more suspicious than the Russian connection. If, however, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the agency charged with inspecting Iran, wanted to visit Parchin again, centrist President Hassan Rouhani would allow it. Transparency benefits him. The IAEA does not want to visit Parchin because they think the optics of such a request at this time would aid Trump hawks in undermining JCPOA. By signing the deal, Iran gave up substantial deterrence effects of nuclear latency for the sake of ending sanctions and reducing tensions, by accepting a long break-out time-line. That is, its leaders accepted a situation where the country was somewhat more likely to be invaded or the government overthrown by hostile great powers like the US. Iran has received almost nothing in return. The GOP Congress, taking its cue from the Israel lobby, has actually ratcheted up US sanctions on Iran, which is a violation of the JCPOA. Moreover, the Trump people have rattled sabers and spooked European investors. Nobody wants to be sanctioned by the US Department of the Treasury, which has in the past fined European firms billions of dollars for doing business with Iran. There has been a small uptick of Iranian trade with Europe and Asia, but the hard liners are slamming Rouhani for giving away the countrys security and returning empty-handed. Now Trump is inventing some special US certification procedure for Iran compliance, which is not in the JCPOA, and is aimed at undermining it. I doubt Europe will go along with this scam. Maybe someone should inspect the unsafe thousands of US nuclear warheads. Iran does not have any. Nuclear Israel is threatening to bomb Damascus over Irans Syria presence, and is pressuring Russia to expel Iran. The JCPOA weakened Iran vis-a-vis Israel by reducing the deterrence effects of latency. The world community, which tried to reduce Iran to a fourth world country for merely doing some nuclear experiments, has actively rewarded Israel for flouting the Non-Proliferation Treaty and building a stockpile of some 400 nuclear warheads, with which it occasionally menaces its neighbors. So yes, all this strengthens hard liners and weakens Rouhani. But China and Russia want the JCPOA and Iran is unlikely to try to get a bomb both for this reason and because of Khomeinist commitments (Khomeini, the father of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, called nukes the tools of the devil, and his successor, Ali Khamenei, agrees). However, hard liners could try to shorten the break-out window again if they felt the West had severely violated the terms of the deal. - Related video: Trita Parsi: Inside the Iran Agreement: The Art of the Deal Vancouver, BC / TheNewswire / September 11, 2017 - Golden Reign Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: GRR) (the "Company" or "Golden Reign") is pleased to announce that it has received its environmental permit for the development, construction and operation of up to a 500 ton per day operation at its wholly-owned San Albino Gold Deposit, located in Nueva Segovia, Nicaragua. Golden Reign is the first gold mining company, without existing Nicaraguan operations, to be awarded a permit in the last 13 years. The Company will be the third gold producer within the country and our high grade, San Albino Gold Project will be the first newly permitted commercial gold processing operation in the country within years. "Receiving this permit not only shows the quality and commitment of the GRR team in Nicaragua but also the commitment of the Nicaraguan Government to the mining industry in the country. The issuance of the environmental permit for the San Albino Gold Deposit marks a major milestone for the Company. It is the culmination of extensive work by the Golden Reign team along with our consulting engineers, in collaboration with Nicaraguan governmental agencies and interested parties. We are particularly pleased to report that our project proposal met with overwhelming public support from our local communities in Nueva Segovia." stated Kevin Bullock, Golden Reign's CEO On August 25, 2017, the Company held its Public Consultation Meeting, a key step in the EIA permitting process. The meeting was attended by representatives from the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA), the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM), the National Forestry Institute (INAFOR), a number of other ministries and variety of businesses, municipal authorities, a non-governmental organization, local judicial and political party representatives, as well as members of the public. Of the over 700 people in attendance, 551 registered participants represented 17 different communities and the local municipality of El Jicaro. The Company delivered an in-depth 3-hour presentation on the San Albino Gold Project, explaining the proposed mining operations, as well as its potential economic and social impact. The meeting also provided a forum for questions and responses. The Public Consultation Meeting went extremely well, with the project receiving the support of all parties present. Golden Reign's next step is to finalize an EPCM contract and, in due course, commence detailed engineering and construction of a high grade, high margin gold mine at San Albino. The Company's Preliminary Economic Assessment, carried out in 2014 to early 2015, shows robust economics for a high margin gold mine with an open-pit grade of over 7 g/t gold equivalent (AuEq) and a stripping ratio of 5.2:1 (please see news release #15-1, dated March 16, 2015). Concurrent with the permitting process, Golden Reign has continued to advance exploration at Las Conchitas. An update, including initial trenching results, will be released once received. Las Conchitas is located immediately south of our high-grade San Albino Gold Deposit which contains Indicated Resources of 95,000 ounces AuEq at 8.47 g/t and Inferred Resources of 805,000 ounces AuEq at 7.43 g/t (see news release dated January 7, 2013), and is situated near the southern end of the Corona de Oro Gold Belt, a 3 kilometre wide by 20 kilometre long corridor bearing hundreds of historical mines and workings. About Golden Reign: Golden Reign Resources Ltd. is a publicly listed (TSX-V: GRR) mineral exploration company engaged in exploring the San Albino-Murra Property and the El Jicaro Property, both of which are located in Nueva Segovia, Nicaragua. The Company's prime objective is to bring its San Albino Gold Deposit into production quickly and efficiently, building cash flow to further advance a number of its other highly prospective exploration targets. The Company's land package comprises 13,771 hectares (138 km2) of highly prospective ground. Hundreds of historical mines and workings exist within the Corona de Oro Gold Belt, which is approximately 3 kilometres wide by 20 kilometres long and spans the entirety of the Company's land package. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Golden Predator Mining Corp.(TSX.V:GPY) (OTCQX:NTGSF) (the Company or Golden Predator) is pleased to announce that it has poured a 744 troy ounce gold dore bar from the #1 table concentrate of its initial 776 metric tonne bulk sample. The Company also announces results of the remaining 10 holes at the Ace of Spades. Subsequent drilling began on the northerly extension of the Hearts zone in August and on the newly discovered gold in quartz veins at the Diamonds zone in September. Significant results include: Hole 3A17-143: 19.3 m of 16.15* g/t gold, including 4.30 m of 42.37* g/t gold; Hole 3A17-143: 19.3 m of 16.15* g/t gold, including 4.30 m of 42.37* g/t gold; Hole 3A17-149: 1.50 m of 24.67 g/t gold; Hole 3A17-157: 4.2 m of 20.04 g/t gold; Hole 3A17-147: 2.5 m of 15.51* g/t gold, and 3.5 m of 21.44* g/t gold (Grade Verification) Intervals reported with an asterisk (*) include results from 50g Fire Assay. These intervals have been submitted for Metallic Screen Analysis, which are pending. Interim Bulk Sample Results Final processing of the initial 776 metric tonne bulk sample was completed earlier this year. In addition to the 744 troy ounce bar just poured, the Company has arranged shipment of 86.4 kg of the #2 concentrate and over 1 metric tonne of the #3 concentrate to Sipi Metals in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Settlement is due within 60 days at which time a full reconciliation of the metal content of the bulk sample will be released including the original 96.72 troy ounce dore bar poured and sold in 20161. The original dore bar contained 85% fine gold and 8% fine silver. Ace of Spades and Jack of Spades Drilling Results of the remaining 10 holes reported from the recently completed diamond drilling at the Ace and Jack of Spades Zones have continued to confirm structural continuity throughout the zone. Importantly, hole 3A17-160 which intercepted 35.0 g/t gold from 168.0 to 169.0m, was drilled to offset a previously reported intercept of 22.20 g/t gold across 0.7m in hole 3A17-110 which was 150 m from the main mineralization at the Ace of Spades2. These two intercepts occur along a newly recognized vein projecting towards the Seven of Spades. Holes 3A17-143, 3A17-149, 3A17-151, 3A17-153, and 3A17-157 to 3A17-160 complete the in-fill drill program across the Ace/Jack Spades zone. Hole 3A17-147 was drilled to verify previous Ace Spades RC drill results and to acquire representative core through the mineralized vein. All ten holes encountered significant mineralization. Significant Drill Results Table Spades Zone Hole ID1 Sample Type2 From (m) To (m) Drilled Width (m)3 Au g/t4 3A17-143 DD 12.70 32.00 19.30 16.15* including DD 12.70 17.00 4.30 42.37* including DD 19.50 23.50 4.00 22.01 including DD 29.50 30.65 1.15 11.28 3A17-149 DD 11.50 13.00 1.50 24.67 3A17-151 DD 6.50 8.50 2.00 3.28 3A17-153 DD 23.00 25.00 2.00 10.35 3A17-157 DD 19.00 23.20 4.20 20.04 3A17-158 DD 22.00 25.00 3.00 3.46 3A17-159 DD 21.50 23.00 1.50 5.03* 3A17-160 DD 168.00 169.00 1.00 35.00* 3A17-161 DD 19.40 20.85 1.45 3.25* and DD 26.50 29.50 3.00 5.82* 3A17-147 DD-GV 13.00 15.50 2.50 15.51* and DD-GV 18.50 22.00 3.50 21.44* and DD-GV 25.00 26.00 1.00 3.19* and DD-GV 38.50 39.60 1.10 7.76* 1Drilled intervals assaying 3.0 g/t gold are reported in table as significant results; 3A17-143s significant results from 12.70m to 32.00m include 10 sample intervals totaling 6.25m averaging 1.24* g/t Au between 13.50m ad 31.40m 3A17-147s significant results from 25.00m to 26.00m include 0.50m of 2.74* g/t Au at 25.50m 3A17-158s significant results from 22.00m to 25.00m include 1.70m of 2.91 g/t Au at 23.30m 3A17-161s significant results from 26.50m to 29.50m include 1.50m of 2.75* g/t Au at 28.00m 2Sample Type DD and DD-GV represent sawn, or sawn for duplicate, 3.35 (85mm) PQ core. 3All intervals are reported as drilled thicknesses; true thicknesses are estimated to be 50-100% of drilled thicknesses 4Reported Au assay grade sourced from ALS using Au-SCR24B method (* indicates finalized Au-AA26 results are used) 3 Aces Project, Yukon The 3 Aces Project consists of 1,734 claims covering 357 km (35,700 hectares) in southeast Yukon. The Project is located along the all-season Nahanni Range Road that was recently announced as being a part of the $360 million Federally and Yukon funded, Yukon Resource Gateway Project. The 3 Aces Project has numerous mineralized veins discovered through sampling, trenching, roadwork and drilling. These veins occur across many well-mineralized zones and over 762 m (2,500 feet) of elevation change within the 11km2 Central Core area. Within the Central Core area, the Company has built over 18 km of exploration roads since 2016, and plans an additional 3 km for the remainder of the year. Previous exploration work by Golden Predator, beginning in 2015, has included mapping, sampling, trenching, metallurgical studies, rotary air blast (RAB) drilling, RC drilling, diamond drilling and bulk sampling, all focused on establishing reproducible gold grades and continuity of the numerous gold in quartz veins discovered on the property. Extensive drilling in the Spades and Hearts Zones has returned high grade vein intercepts such as 13.1 m of 16.75 g/t gold3 and 13.75 m of 65.31 g/t gold; 16.2 m of 20.5 g/t gold and 8 m of 50.4 g/t gold4. Additional new discoveries have been announced in the Clubs and Diamonds Zones and the Company is currently focused on an aggressive drill program that is well underway, and is expected to continue through November. The 3 Aces Project is in the traditional territory of the Kaska Nation. Golden Predator operates under an Exploration Agreement with the Kaska Nation, as represented by the Ross River Dena Council and the Liard First Nation, and a Class 4 Mining Land Use Permit issued by the Yukon Government. Sampling Methodology, Quality Control and Assurance All analyses for the drill samples from the program were performed by ALS with sample preparation in BC, Kamloops, BC and assaying in Lima, Peru, Vientiane, Laos, or North Vancouver, BC. Drill samples were analyzed using a 50 g fire assay with atomic absorption finish (Au-AA26). If the procedure returned a value of 2.0 g/t gold or greater it is re-run using a 2kg screen metallic gold method (Au-SCR24). Refer to the Companys news release dated July 10th, 2017 for a complete discussion of sampling methods, quality control and assurance. The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mark C. Shutty, CPG, a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and an employee of the Company. Golden Predator Mining Corp. Golden Predator Mining Corp. is a well-financed gold exploration company focused on its 3 Aces Project in Canadas Yukon. The large land package includes at least 6 mineralized areas, all located within and along favorable stratigraphic and structural zones that extend over 35km along trend. The 2017, 40,000m drill program is focused on the year-round road and bridge accessible 11 km2 Central Core Area, host to numerous high-grade gold in quartz veins. The Company also holds 100% of the Brewery Creek Project. The Yukon projects are in a low-risk jurisdiction, and with proven management and an experienced technical team, the Company is well positioned for stable growth. Ashanti Gold Intersects New High Grade Zone at Gourbassi West, Kossanto East Project, Mali; 30 metres of 2.01 g/t gold (including 2 metres of 7.94 g/t and 3 metres of 4.36 gold) Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 12, 2017) - Ashanti Gold Corp. (TSXV: AGZ) ("Ashanti" or the "Company") is pleased to announce results from an additional fifteen Gourbassi West drill holes from the recently completed 53 Reverse Circulation ("RC") drill hole, 6073 metre drill program that tested gold mineralization on the Kossanto East Project (the "Property") in western Mali (see August 2, 10, 21 2017 press releases). Drill highlights include: 30 metres @ 2.01 g/t Au including 2 metres of 7.94 g/t Au and 3 metres @ 4.36 g/t Au (GWRC131) 13 metres @ 1.33 g/t Au including 5 metres @ 2.75 g/t Au (GWRC140) The results reported here and in previous press releases, significantly expand the area of known mineralization and reveal high-grade mineralization within several new locations (Table 1 and Figure 1). In particular, this batch of results confirms high grade mineralization within a newly identified northeast trending zone (GWRC131; Figures 1, 2 and 3). Mineralization interpreted from this phase of drilling and from historic drilling aligns along a ~1.3 km northwest-trending 30-70 metre-wide zone parallel to the important Mali-Senegal Shear Zone to the east (Figure 4). The presence of an additional northeast zone and its intersection with the known northwest zone presents new opportunities for expanding the gold mineralization at Gourbassi West, where shallow historic RAB holes indicate the presence of mineralization over an area >150m wide. Further drilling is warranted to test continuity and depth extensions of gold mineralization as well as parallel structures that could significantly increase any future gold resource. Tim McCutcheon, CEO, said "these results are very exciting, as they show the size of the Gourbassi West target is much larger in both strike and width than was previously understood. Now we are discovering new mineralized structures that we will test further in our next drilling campaign." The Gourbassi West target now shows gold mineralization along a 1.3 km north-northwest trend that has been expanded by Ashanti drilling to 100m wide. In addition, Ashanti drill results support the interpretation of a new northeast-trending mineralized zone that intersects with the main Gourbassi West mineralized zone and continues on to the northeast an unknown distance (Figure 1). The host volcanic breccia is part of an extensive felsic volcanic complex inferred to be near the top of the local greenstone belt sequence, the most common position for large gold deposits to occur in felsic rocks of greenstone belts. Key structural controls appear to parallel the Senegal-Mali and Main Transcurrent Shear Zones (Figure 4) as evidenced by the alignment of mineralization parallel to both features. Table 1: Highlights of Gold Intercepts GWRC131 to GWRC145 Hole # From (m) To (m) Interval (m)* Au (g/t) GWRC131 23 53 30 2.01 incl. 28 30 2 7.94 incl. 43 46 3 4.36 66 70 4 0.40 78 90 12 0.37 103 112 9 0.44** 117 119 2 0.34 GWRC132 0 97 97 0.36 incl. 0 31 31 0.47 incl. 90 97 7 0.78 GWRC133 63 72 9 0.70 incl. 66 70 4 1.24 GWRC134 30 32 2 0.42 59 61 2 0.28 GWRC135 41 43 2 1.03 51 70 19 0.38 GWRC136 48 50 2 0.31 GWRC137 no significant intercepts GWRC138 14 22 8 0.61 87 89 2 0.54 GWRC139 17 91 74 0.49 incl. 18 21 3 1.14 incl. 44 45 1 3.77 incl. 51 52 1 3.75 110 112 2 3.26 139 142 3 0.66 GWRC140 24 37 13 1.33 incl. 29 34 5 2.75 44 50 6 0.97 incl. 45 46 1 3.07 GWRC141 15 26 11 0.67 GWRC142 25 30 5 1.55 incl. 28 29 1 3.99 GWRC143 no significant intercepts GWRC144 61 63 2 0.54 GWRC145 no significant intercepts *Intervals are intercept widths in drill hole and not true widths. There is insufficient geologic information to determine true widths at this stage of the project. Drill holes are oriented to provide the best intercept for the interpreted dip direction of mineralization. **One sample interval missing Figure 1. Location map showing Gourbassi West and the Gourbassi West mineralization envelope based on historic and current drilling. Note northeast and northwest trends parallel the Main Transcurrent and Senegal-Mali Shear Zones, respectively. The locations of cross sections reported here are shown. Figure 2. Cross section 5950 showing results from historic drilling (GRC46 and 47) and three holes reported here and previously (GWRC129, GWRC130, and GWRC131). The mineralized zone to the left corresponds with the newly identified, northeast-trending mineralized zone and hosts high grade mineralization. Figure 3. Cross section 5375 showing gold intercepts from historic drill holes and currently reported Ashanti drill holes GWRC140 and 141. Note possible parallel mineralized zone (right side of the diagram). Figure 4: Regional geologic map of the Kedougou-Kenieba Inlier, the most northwesterly exposure of Birimian rocks in the West African craton. The Kossanto East property lies between two regional structures, the Senegal-Mali Shear Zone and the Main Transcurrent Shear Zone both of which feature prominently in localizing mineralization for numerous gold deposits. Structural relationships on the property suggest that structures parallel to these shear zones pass through the property and control mineralization. About Kossanto East Project The Kossanto East Project is a 66.41 km2 concession in the prolific Kedougou - Kenieba Inlier, the northwestern most exposure of Birimian rocks in West Africa and host to the Loulo and Sadiola group of world class gold deposits (Figure 4). The Property hosts two principle historically drill-tested targets, Gourbassi East and Gourbassi West (Figure 1) and several surface anomalies identified in historic surface samples and Rotary Airblast (RAB) drill holes. Geochemical anomalies identified by previous explorers and Alecto Minerals PLC led to drill testing and successful intersection of gold mineralization. ABOUT ASHANTI GOLD Ashanti is a gold-focused, exploration and development company with advanced projects in the northern Ashanti Belt of Ghana and the Kenieba Belt of Mali. The Company targets projects where existing work demonstrates attractive potential for near-term mine development and where it has a competitive advantage due to past work experience of the team and specific project know-how. Burlington, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - September 12, 2017) - CBLT Inc. (TSXV: CBLT) ("CBLT") is thrilled to advise it has deepened its Advisory Board with the addition of Mr. Brian Hester. Mr. Hester earned his B.Sc. in 1950 in Mining Geology at the Royal School of Mines, University of London, U.K., followed by his M. Sc. in 1954 in Economic Geology from the University of Toronto, Canada. Mr. Hester has worked on mining properties around the world for over 65 years. His resume is so extensive and impressive that it is difficult to summarize for a press release. Merely since 1990 he has worked in Yemen, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, and Zimbabwe, and on other short-term assignments in North and South America. For Texasgulf Inc. he spent 2 years as Manager, Exploration, Australia; two years as Manager, Exploration, Western Europe; and six years based in Denver, Colorado as Manager, Project Evaluation. He has also worked for Falconbridge Corp and its predecessor companies; for International Mine Services Ltd.; Consolidated Zinc Corp. before and after its merger with Rio Tinto; for numerous other mining companies; and, for a significant period of time, exploring in Tanzania. In northern Ontario, Mr. Hester was the Chief Mine Geologist at the Kidd Creek base metal-silver mine, where in the mid-1960's he was in charge of pre-production drilling and assessment of a large deposit of base metals using nine diamond drills. There he logged and compiled about 300,000 feet of drill core. In the late 1950's, Mr. Hester was the mining geologist/engineer (latterly de facto assistant manager) based in Gowganda, Ontario with Siscoe Metals of Ontario Ltd, where he was in charge of engineering and geological functions at the silver mine there, the mine rescue team, and fracture pattern interpretation of vein structures. As a hobby, Mr. Hester is studying fracture pattern ore controls in the world-famous silver camp in Cobalt, Ontario with view to exploration. "Much data in the Cobalt Embayment is incomplete, stale or simply wrong, only as a result of the environment in which that data was historically collected," said Peter M. Clausi, CBLT's CEO. "Mr. Hester is a living database of work done in that camp and is an invaluable resource for the shareholders to draw upon. We are tremendously fortunate to have him as an Advisor." With respect to work being done on CBLT's properties in the Cobalt Embayment, and further to CBLT's news release of August 24, 2017, Staff of the Ontario Geological Survey's Regional Resident Geologist Office in Kirkland Lake have been undertaking a geological assessment of Otto Township and the Otto Stock as part of their summer fieldwork program. The area of work includes but is not restricted to assets held by CBLT. Geological activities undertaken by Staff are restricted to field reconnaissance, geological mapping and rock sampling, with the intent of expanding public geoscience knowledge. Data generated from activities on CBLT's assets will be shared with it prior to being made public. CBLT will have Mr. Hester review as much of this data as is possible. About CBLT Inc. CBLT Inc. is a Canadian mineral exploration company with a proven leadership team, looking to build an ethical supply chain for cobalt in reliable mining jurisdictions. CBLT is well-poised to deliver real value to its shareholders. OTTAWA, Sept. 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Orezone Gold Corporation (Orezone or the Company) (TSXV:ORE) is pleased to report recent Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling results from the first two of four specifically identified target areas (See Press Release of June 22nd 2017) that have been prioritized within the Bombore deposit to better define the extent and the geometry of discrete zones of high-grade gold mineralization within the oxidized portion of the known gold resources. The drilling at both Siga East and Siga South has been very successful in intercepting high grade mineralization which should improve grade domaining. More drilling will be required in certain areas to confirm the geometry of discrete higher grade zones. Highlights from Siga East and Siga South (true width has yet to be determined): BBC4505: from 6 to 11m: 5m @ 3.176 gpt, incl. 1m @ 12.7 gpt; BBC4506: from 40 to 55m: 15m @ 7.541 gpt, incl. 8m @ 13.2 gpt; BBC4523: from 18 to 34m: 16m @ 1.675 gpt, incl. 1m @ 8.5 gpt; and from 41 to 43m: 2m @ 7.816 gpt, incl. 1m @ 14.7 gpt; from 41 to 43m: 2m @ 7.816 gpt, incl. 1m @ 14.7 gpt; BBC4534: from 54 to 56m: 2m @7.343 gpt, incl. 1m @ 14.2 gpt; BBC4547: from 28 to 39m: 11m @ 2.372 gpt, incl. 2m @ 6.2 gpt; BBC4555: from 56 to 63m: 7m @ 2.107 gpt, incl. 1m @ 6.1 gpt; BBC4556: from 31 to 32 m: 1m @ 9.603 gpt; BBC4556: from 34 to 41m: 7m @ 5.802 gpt, incl. 1m @ 9.3 gpt; BBC4560: from 18 to 20m: 2m @ 5.413 gpt, incl. 1m @ 9.5 gpt; BBC4561: from 19 to 22m: 3m @ 4.071 gpt, incl. 1m @ 5.9 gpt; BBC4562: from 37 to 41m: 4m @ 10.816 gpt, incl. 1m @ 40.9 gpt; BBC4564: from 0 to 16m: 16m @ 2.270 gpt, incl. 1m @ 11.0 gpt; BBC4571: from 10 to 18m: 8m @ 2.091gpt, incl. 1m @10.7gpt; BBC4573: from 16 to 42m: 26m @ 2.011 gpt, incl. 1m @ 10.1 gpt; and from 48 to 49m: 1m @ 10.092 gpt; from 48 to 49m: 1m @ 10.092 gpt; BBC4574: from 9 to 17m: 8m @ 1.875 gpt, incl. 1m @ 6.4 gpt; BBC4583: from 16 to 30m: 14m @ 1.465 gpt, incl. 1m @ 7.0 gpt; BBC4606: from 35 to 44m: 9m @ 4.323 gpt. Other Significant highlights (true width has yet to be determined): BBC4494: from 7 to 17m: 10m @ 1.390 gpt; BBC4497: from 6 to 25m: 19m @ 0.911 gpt, incl. 1m @ 6.3 gpt; and BBC4502: from 15 to 43m: 28m @ 0.889 gpt; BBC4515: from 19 to 43m: 24m @ 0.834 gpt; BBC4516: from 1 to 19m: 18m @ 1.004 gpt: BBC4521: from 22 to 37m: 15m @ 1.279 gpt; BBC4522: from 1 to 16m: 15m @ 1.313 gpt; BBC4526: from 6 to 17m: 11m @ 1.545 gpt; BBC4527: from 24 to 36m: 12m @ 1.189 gpt; BBC4539: from 12 to 28m: 16m @ 0.957 gpt, incl. 1m @ 5.5 gpt; BBC4546: from 5 to 15m: 10m @ 1.178 gpt; BBC4549: from 57 to 64m: 7m @ 2.073 gpt; BBC4550: from 39 to 50m: 11m @ 0.913 gpt; BBC4551: from 25 to 38m: 13m @ 0.961 gpt; BBC4554: from 25 to 34m: 9m @ 1.474 gpt, and from 66m to 76m: 10m @ 1.363 gpt; BBC4557: from 60 to 66m: 6m @ 1.821 gpt; BBC4561: from 24 to 36m: 12m @ 1.209 gpt, incl. 1m @ 6.9 gpt; BBC4562: from 44 to 50m: 6m @ 1.942 gpt; BBC4564: from 19 to 28m: 9m @ 1.222 gpt; BBC4565: from 31 to 55m: 24m @ 0.976 gpt; BBC4570: from 6 to 31m: 25m @ 0.921 gpt; and from 43 to 52m: 9m @ 1.225 gpt; BBC4574: from 21 to 31m: 10m @ 1.141 gpt; BBC4578: from 0 to 17m: 17m @ 0.999 gpt, and from 19 to 33m: 14m @ 1.036 gpt; BBC4579: from 3 to 16m: 13m @ 0.919 gpt; BBC4581: from 24 to 31m: 7m @2.135 gpt, incl. 1m @ 5.5 gpt; BBC4593: from 0 to 6m: 6m @ 2.026 gpt, incl. 1m @ 5 gpt; BBC4601: from 36 to 42m: 6 m @ 2.097 gpt; BBC4606: from 8 to 14m: 6m @ 1.704 gpt; BBC4612: from 1 to 19m: 18m @ 1.176 gpt. Patrick Downey President and CEO stated We are extremely pleased with these drill results. We are now convinced that the specifically targeted areas can be discretely modelled within the main zone which should have a positive impact on the continued development of the project and we look forward to the ongoing drill results from the P11 and CFU zones. The RC drilling programme commenced on July 8, 2017 and was designed as essentially infill holes to tighten up the drill spacing from 50 m by 25 m to 25 m by 25 m in the four specific target areas. To date 187 drill holes totalling approximately 9,400m have been completed at Siga East and Siga South. The drilling is ongoing with 4,500 m of RC drilling planned on the P11 and CFU target areas and these results are expected to be released early in Q4 2017. Another 3,000 m should also be completed on sites that were skipped pending the end of the rainy season and others that warrant follow-up drilling or where more drilling should better confirm the geometry of the high-grade zones. The mineralized intervals are based on a lower cut-off grade of 0.45 g/t, a minimal width of 2 m and up to a maximum of 1.5 m of dilution being included. The true width of the mineralization is approximately 90% of the drill length at Siga South and Siga East. The RC drilling samples were divided by Orezone employees using Rotary Sample Dividers (RSDs). A 2-kg split was prepared by SGS Burkina Faso s.a.r.l. at the Bombore sample preparation facility and then split by Orezone to 1 kg using Rotary Sample Dividers (RSDs). A 1-kg aliquot was analyzed for leachable gold at BIGS Global Burkina s.a.r.l in Ouagadougou, by bottle-roll cyanidation using a LeachWellTM catalyst. The leach residues from all samples with a leach grade in excess of 0.2 g/t were prepared by BIGS Global Burkina s.a.r.l. and then split by Orezone to 50 g using Rotary Sample Dividers (RSDs). A 50 g aliquot was analyzed by fire assay at SGS Burkina Faso s.a.r.l. The composite width and grade include the final leach residue assay results for most of the drill intercepts reported; leach residue assays are pending for 29 RC holes. Orezone employs a rigorous Quality Control Program (QCP) including a minimum of 10% standards, blanks and duplicates. A complete list of assay results from the current RC drilling programme can be found on the Companys website at the following link (Drill Results). Qualified Person(s) Tim Miller, SME and COO, Pascal Marquis, Geo and SVP and Patrick Downey, PEng and CEO of Orezone, are Qualified Persons under National Instrument 43-101 and have approved the information in this release. Readers should refer to the annual information form of Orezone for the year ended December 31, 2016 and other continuous disclosure documents filed by Orezone since January 1, 2017 available at www.sedar.com, for this detailed information, which is subject to the qualifications and notes set forth therein. About Orezone Gold Corporation Orezone is a Canadian company with a successful gold discovery track record and recent mine development experience in Burkina Faso, West Africa. The Company owns a 90% interest in Bombore, a fully permitted, undeveloped oxide gold deposit in West Africa, which is situated 85 km east of the capital city, adjacent to an international highway. VANCOUVER, Sept. 12, 2017 /CNW/ - Capstone Mining Corp. ("Capstone" or the "Company") (TSX: CS) today announced drill results of step-out drilling at its Cozamin mine in Mexico. A half kilometre step-out drill hole intercepted 2.2% copper over 14.4 metres ("m") estimated true width ("ETW"); including 4.4% copper over 6.3m ETW in hole S285. "Based on confidence gained in several consecutive, annual underground drilling campaigns on the Mala Noche Footwall Zone ("MNFWZ"), we recently added two surface rigs to step up the pace of exploration and facilitate better long-range planning. Our furthest step-out hole to date intercepted strong copper mineralization 580 metres along strike to the southeast from the limits of the current MNFWZ Indicated Mineral Resource," said Brad Mercer, Capstone's Senior Vice President, Exploration. "We encountered copper grades in excess of 4% immediately adjacent to Endeavour Silver Corp. ("Endeavour") claims over larger than average widths than typical of the MNFWZ (see table below). As a result, we have entered into an agreement with Endeavour which allows us to follow the footwall structure beyond the boundary of our concession." The agreement Capstone has entered into (the "Agreement") with Endeavour Silver Corp. ("Endeavour") allows for the two companies to exchange access to certain of each other's mining concessions that abut at the southern boundary of Capstone's Cozamin mine property. The agreement provides Capstone with exploration and exploitation rights on the Endeavour concessions below 2,000 metres above sea level ("masl"), a depth where copper rich mineralization has historically been found and mined by Capstone, and provides Endeavor with exploration and exploitation rights on the Capstone concessions above 2,000 masl, where more precious metal dominant mineralization has historically been mined, in the historic Zacatecas silver district. The Agreement provides for both parties to share various information on the concessions covered by the Agreement and to jointly have access to explore for and exploit mineralization appropriate to each company's core business; being base metals for Capstone and precious metals for Endeavour. In certain instances it also provides for a net smelter returns royalty for the entity electing not to produce. Additionally, and under certain well-defined instances, it provides flexibility around the 2,000 masl division. Capstone has completed four surface holes with an additional two holes in progress near the claim boundary, and as a result of the recent success has approved a further $1.3 million to Cozamin's 2017 capitalized exploration guidance to continue wide-spaced testing of the MNFWZ structure on both sides of the Capstone/Endeavour boundary. A summary of assay results of the step-out hole intercepts underpinning Capstone's decision to enter into this agreement are summarized in the table below. For drill hole location and context please view the long-section of the MNFWZ at: http://capstonemining.com/files/images/maps/MNFWZ.jpg Section ID Drill hole ID From (m) To (m) Width (m) True Width* (m) Cu (%) Zn (%) Pb (%) Ag (g/t) Au (g/t) #1 CG-17-S284 including including including 773.0 777.0 777.0 777.0 792.9 791.7 782.8 779.4 19.9 14.7 5.8 2.4 15.0 11.0 4.4 1.8 1.01 1.24 2.42 5.37 0.37 0.48 0.43 0.33 0.12 0.15 0.01 0.01 19.1 22.8 33.7 70.9 0.006 0.005 0.008 0.012 #2 CG-17-S285 including including including 733.1 733.1 735.4 739.3 752.5 744.7 743.9 742.7 19.4 11.6 8.5 3.4 14.4 8.7 6.3 2.5 2.19 3.41 4.43 7.65 0.76 1.13 1.36 1.08 0.35 0.55 0.73 0.90 52.4 79.9 104.3 182.1 0.015 0.018 0.022 0.023 #3 CG-17-S287 - - - - Assays Pending #4 CG-17-S289 including 731.2 731.2 736.8 733.9 5.6 2.7 4.6 2.3 3.03 5.05 0.55 0.98 0.01 0.01 53.8 87.0 0.022 0.022 #5 CG-17-S291 - - - - In Progress #6 CG-17-S292 - - - - In Progress *estimated true width of vein intercept for inclined drill holes All samples were submitted for preparation by ALS at its facilities in Zacatecas, Mexico, followed by analysis at the ALS Laboratory in North Vancouver, Canada. The entire sample is crushed to a minimum of 70% passing -10 mesh. A 250g subsample of the crushed material is then pulverized to 85% passing -200 mesh. Copper, zinc, lead and silver are determined by ICP analysis after 4 acid digestion of a 0.4g subsample of pulverized material. Gold is determined by fire assay of a 30g sub-sample with AA finish. QAQC samples in each batch of 20 samples include a blank, a certified reference material and a duplicate (one of a field, coarse reject or pulp reject). About Capstone Mining Corp. Capstone Mining Corp. is a Canadian base metals mining company, focused on copper. We are committed to the responsible development of our assets and the environments in which we operate. Our three producing mines are the Pinto Valley copper mine located in Arizona, US, the Cozamin polymetallic mine in Zacatecas State, Mexico and the Minto copper mine in Yukon, Canada. In addition, Capstone has two development projects; the large scale 70% owned copper-iron Santo Domingo project in Region III, Chile, in partnership with Korea Resources Corporation, and the 100% owned Kutcho copper-zinc project in British Columbia, Canada, as well as exploration properties in Chile and US. Capstone's strategy is to focus on the optimization of operations and assets in politically stable, mining-friendly regions, centred in the Americas. Our headquarters are in Vancouver, Canada and we are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). Further information is available at www.capstonemining.com. TORONTO, Sept. 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eloro Resources Ltd. (TSX-V:ELO) (FSE:P2Q) (Eloro or the Corporation) is pleased to announce that Compania Minera Eloro Peru S.A.C., Eloro's wholly-owned Peruvian subsidiary, has received its 'Permiso para Inicio de las Actividades de Exploracion' (Drilling Permit) that authorizes the drilling of up to 10 sites within the Rufina zone of the La Victoria Gold/Silver Project, Pallasca Province, Ancash Department, Peru (the Property). The Drilling Permit is the final requirement to obtain the water permit. The ANA (Peru Water Authority) has already carried out its Property inspection and is now reviewing Eloros application. In the meantime, field crews are now proceeding with preparation of the approved drill sites and carrying out improvements to the existing public trail system. "We are delighted to be on the verge of drilling the La Victoria Gold/Silver Projects Rufina zone", said CEO Thomas G. Larsen, "This zone has never been drill-tested even though significant gold mineralization outcrops at surface. Our fall 2016 IP/Res survey identified a large spatially-correlated chargeability and resistivity area beneath the Rufina zone which also will be tested." Dr. Bill Pearson, P.Geo., Chief Technical Advisor for Eloro commented: Recent geological work indicates that the mineralized target zone in Victoria-Victoria South which is up to 200 metres wide extends south for at least 2 kilometres along strike and likely connects with the Rufina zone. This is part of an extensive multi-phase epithermal gold-silver mineralizing system on the La Victoria property centred around the Puca Fault and environs (see press release August 8, 2017). We plan to carry out an aggressive drill program at Rufina while at the same time proceeding with drill permit applications for the other major target areas. The Rufina zone is located within the district of Huandoval where Eloro has good social support. District authorities are also favourable to economic development in partnership with the mineral exploration industry. Eloro currently has 14 Huandoval employees working for the IP/Res survey operating within the new Victoria-Victoria South discovery area. With the award of an option to earn 25% of the Property to EHR Resources Ltd (ASX:EHX) through its Peruvian subsidiary EHR del Peru S.A.C., Eloro is fully financed to carry out the drilling at Rufina. A contract has been signed with Energold Drilling Peru S.A.C., for up to 5000 metres of NTW diamond drilling. The portable drill rig employed by Energold can be readily moved by existing public trails and requires only minimal drill pad preparation." About Eloro Resources Ltd. Eloro is an exploration and mine development company with a portfolio of gold and base-metal properties in Peru and Quebec. Eloro owns a 100% interest in the La Victoria Gold/Silver Project, located in the North-Central Mineral Belt of Peru some 50 km south of Barrick's Lagunas Norte Gold Mine and Tahoe's La Arena Gold Mine. The Property consists of eight mining concessions and eight mining claims encompassing approximately 89 square kilometres. The Property has good infrastructure with access to road, water and electricity and is located at an altitude that ranges from 3,100 m to 4,200 m above sea level. September 12, 2017 / TheNewswire / Vancouver, British Columbia; - LiCo Energy Metals Inc. ("the Company" or "LiCo") TSX-V: LIC; OTCQB: WCTXF is pleased to announce that it is planning to start a Phase 1 diamond drilling on its Teledyne and Glencore Bucke cobalt properties situated in Bucke Township, 6 km east-northeast of Cobalt, Ontario. A minimum 1,500 m diamond drill program is planned to commence approximately on September 21st, 2017, by a reputable diamond drill contractor. In 1981, Teledyne Canada Ltd. leased the Glencore Bucke Property from Falconbridge Nickel Mines Ltd. as they recognized the exploration potential that the Property had due the possible southern extension of the #3 vein located on the Cobalt Contact Property to the north. In the same year, Teledyne completed 36 diamond drill holes totaling 3,323.3 m, and delineated two zones of mineralization measure approximately 150 m and 70 m in length. The most significant results include 2.12% Co over 1.01 m in diamond drill hole T-18, 0.62% Co over 2.74 m in diamond drill hole T-23, 0.66% Co over 0.73 m, 1.68% Co over 0.46 m in diamond drill hole T-30, and 0.36% Co, 41 oz/t Ag over 0.58 m in diamond drill hole T-37 (Bresee, 1982). The historical reported intersections represent core lengths, and not true widths. Initially, on the Glencore Bucke Property, the first few holes of the program will be oriented to confirm results from historical drilling completed by Teledyne Canada Ltd., and then followed by step out drill holes to expand the mineralized zones. Drilling is also planned for the adjacent Teledyne Cobalt Property where historical drilling also encountered two zones of cobalt/silver mineralization extending from the boundary of mined zones at the Agaunico Mine in a north-south direction. Historically, the Agaunico Mine produced 4,350,000 lbs. of cobalt and 980,000 oz. of silver during the mining boom of the early 1900's (Cunningham-Dunlop, 1979). In 1979, Teledyne completed 6 diamond drill holes totaling 1,281.1 m. In 1980, Teledyne completed a 700 m long production decline to reach the mineralization encountered in their recently completed surface diamond drill program. A total of 22 underground diamond drill holes totaling 1,879.7 m were completed. Both the surface and underground drilling programs indicated the presence of significant cobalt mineralization extending from the past-producing Agaunico Mine onto the Teledyne Cobalt Property for a strike length of 152.4 m. In addition, the drill program encountered a second zone with a strike length of 137.2 m. The most significant results included 0.644% Co over 16.9 m in diamond drill hole UT-2, 0.74% Co over 8.7 m in diamond drill hole UT-3, and 2.59% Co over 2.4 m in diamond drill hole UT-18 (Bresee, 1981). The historical reported intersections represent core lengths, and not true widths. Drilling on the Teledyne Cobalt Property will also be orientated to confirm results from the historical drilling completed by Teledyne, and to expand the mineralized zones. Several other underexplored structures present on the Property will also be tested by diamond drilling. The drilling will be conducted as part of LiCo's flow thru financing. "We are very excited and looking forward to the milestone event of the commencement of the diamond drill program on these properties. Acquiring the Glencore Bucke Property from Glencore and adding it to our land package significantly adds more potential to LiCo's Cobalt properties" states Tim Fernback, LiCo's President & CEO. "With the combined land package and the historical results on both the Teledyne and Glencore Bucke propeties, it is going to be a very exciting drill program. I am looking forward with great interest to seeing the results of the upcoming drill programs scheduled for both the Teledyne and Glencore Bucke properties this month." commented Mr. Dwayne Melrose, Director and Head of the Technical Advisory Board of LiCo. About LiCo Energy Metals: LiCo Energy Metals Inc. is a well-funded Canadian based exploration company whose primary listing is on the TSX Venture Exchange. The Company's focus is directed towards exploration for high value metals integral to the manufacture of lithium ion batteries. The Company currently maintains the following portfolio of exploration properties: Purickuta Lithium Project, Chile: The Purickuta Project is located within Salar de Atacama, a salt flat encompassing 3,000 km2, being about 100 km long, 80 km wide and home to approximately 37% of the worlds Lithium production. The salar possesses a very high grade of both Lithium (1,840mg/l) and Potassium (22,630mg/l and is close to power, labour, communications, transportation and other infrastructure. The property of 160 hectares is enveloped by a concession owned by Sociedad Quimica y Minera ("SQM") and lies, significantly, within a few kilometers of the property of CORFO (the Chilean Economic Development Agency) where its leases to both SQM and Albermarle's Rockwood Lithium Corp Together these two companies have combined production of over 62,000 tonnes of LCE (Lithium Carbonate Equivalent) annually making up 100% of Chile's current lithium output. The unique characteristics of Salar de Atacama make finished lithium carbonate easier and cheaper to produce than any of its peer group globally. Purickuta is a smaller exploitation concession rather than a large exploration concession thereby accelerating the task of taking the project to production once a measured reserve can be established. Currently, the Chilean government retains ownership of lithium separate from other minerals and thus production can only proceed upon receipt of a special lithium operation contract know as a "CEOL". In the future, it will be necessary for LiCo and partner to negotiate a production contract with CORFO concurrently with completing any positive feasibility study. "Chile, which has one of the world's most plentiful supplies of lithium, is pushing ahead with new policies to develop those reserves". (Reuters Jan2, 2017). Glencore Bucke Cobalt Project, Cobalt, Ontario: The Company has an option to earn a 100% interest from Glencore Canada Corporation (subsidiary of Glencore plc) in the Glencore Bucke Property, situated in Bucke Township, 6 km east-northeast of Cobalt, Ontario, subject to a back-in provision, production royalty and off-take agreement. Strategically, the Glencore Bucke Property consists of 16.2 hectares and sits along the west boundary of LiCo's Teledyne Cobalt Project that covers the southern extension of the former producing 15 Vein on the past-producing Agaunico Mine Property. Teledyne Cobalt Project, Cobalt, Ontario: The Company has an option to earn 100% ownership, subject to a royalty, in the Teledyne Project located near Cobalt. Ontario. The Property adjoins the south and west boundaries of claims that hosted the Agaunico Mine. From 1905 through to 1961, the Agaunico Mine produced a total of 4,350,000 lbs. of cobalt and 980,000 oz. of silver. A significant portion of the cobalt that was produced at the Agaunico Mine was located along structures that extended southward onto property currently under option to LiCo Energy Metals. Dixie Valley Lithium Project, Nevada: The Company has an option to acquire a 100% interest, subject to a 3% NSR, on a large lithium exploration project at the Humboldt Salt Marsh in Dixie Valley, Nevada. The geologic setting and presence of lithium in active geothermal fluids and surface salts in Dixie Valley match characteristics of producing lithium brine deposits at Clayton Valley, Nevada and in South America. Black Rock Desert Lithium Project, Nevada: The Company has entered into an option agreement whereby the Company may earn an undivided 70% interest, subject to a 3% Net Smelter Return Royalty, in the Black Rock Desert Lithium Project that consists of 128 placer claims (2,560 acres/ 1,036 hectares) in southwest Black Rock Desert, Washoe County, Nevada. The Company is planning an exploration programs on a number of its properties over the next several months. The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved Joerg Kleinboeck, P.Geo., an independent consulting geologist and a qualified person as defined in NI 43-101. VANCOUVER, Sept. 12, 2017 /CNW/ - Canadian Zinc Corporation (TSX: CZN; OTCQB: CZICF) is pleased to announce that the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board has recommended approval of the proposed All Season Road for the Company's Prairie Creek Mine, in the Northwest Territories. The Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board ("Review Board") issued its Report of Environmental Assessment and Reasons for Decision for Canadian Zinc's Prairie Creek All Season Road Project for the Prairie Creek Mine (the "EA Report") on September 12, 2017 and submitted the Report to the Honourable Carolyn Bennett, Federal Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs. The Review Board recommends the approval of the Prairie Creek All Season Road be made subject to implementation of the measures described in the Report, which it considers are necessary to prevent significant adverse impacts on the environment and local people. "We are pleased that the Review Board has concluded that the All Season Road may proceed to the regulatory phase for approvals," said Alan Taylor, Chief Operating Officer of Canadian Zinc. "The Review Board has recommended a series of measures and made suggestions, intended to reduce or avoid identified impacts and mitigate any significant adverse impact on the environment. Canadian Zinc is confident that the measures prescribed by the Review Board, many of which build on Canadian Zinc's commitments made during the EA, can be satisfactorily addressed." "The enthusiastic support for the Project voiced by the leaders and members of Nahanni Butte Dene Band, the nearest potentially affected community, based on expected socio-economic benefits, was recognized by the Review Board in considering its decision." "We acknowledge the work of the Review Board staff and various government departments and agencies throughout the lengthy EA process, including Parks Canada as part of the road runs through Nahanni National Park Reserve, and we appreciate their cooperation in addressing and resolving many issues," concluded Mr. Taylor. "This is an important milestone for the Prairie Creek project and Canadian Zinc Corporation," stated John F. Kearney, Chairman and Chief Executive of Canadian Zinc Corporation. "Having successfully completed the environmental assessment and secured the recommendation of the Review Board that development of the All Season Road be approved, we will now proceed to quickly finalize the Definitive Feasibility Study and pursue financing for the construction and development of the Prairie Creek Mine," added Mr. Kearney. The full text of the Report of Environmental Assessment and Reasons for Decision, together with all proceedings, transcripts, technical reports and detailed information on the environmental assessment of the Prairie Creek Mine All Season Road EA1415-01[2014] are available on the website registry of the Review Board at http://reviewboard.ca/registry/project.php?project_id=680, under the file of Canadian Zinc Corporation. Environmental Assessment Background Over the past eight years Canadian Zinc has successfully completed numerous environmental assessments related to exploration and development of the Prairie Creek Mine. Canadian Zinc has obtained all the significant regulatory permits and social licences required to complete construction and development and undertake mining and milling at Prairie Creek, including construction and use of a winter access road to the mine site. In April 2014, the Company applied to the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board and to Parks Canada for Land Use Permits to permit the upgrade of the currently permitted winter access road to all season use. The application was referred to environmental assessment by the MVRB, which is responsible under the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act for carrying out the environmental assessment and review process in the Northwest Territories. Throughout the four-year review, representatives of various parties, including government departments and agencies, local aboriginal organizations and communities and members of the public, actively participated in the environmental assessment process. During the public hearings, the responsible development of the Prairie Creek Mine received broad support from the Nahanni Butte Dene Band and from the communities of the Deh Cho First Nations, recognizing that employment and business opportunities and expected socio-economic benefits are important to the Deh Cho, while at the same time, ensuring that cultural heritage is protected. Canadian Zinc is currently in the process of negotiating a Supplemental IBA Agreement with Nahanni Butte Dene Band which will include co-management and community monitoring of the All Season Road. In the Company's Closing Statement filed with the Review Board on June 5, 2017, Canadian Zinc made numerous commitments addressing environmental protection, road design, maintenance and safety. Canadian Zinc made commitments and/or undertakings to address specific issues about terrain, soils, vegetation, fish and wildlife habitat, permafrost and karst topography unique to the area along the route of the All Season Road, as well as undertakings to incorporate traditional knowledge and preserve and respect cultural heritage. In its Report, the Review Board has prescribed measures, many of which build on Canadian Zinc's commitments made during the EA, intended to mitigate the significant adverse impacts on the environment, improve monitoring and managing the potential impacts and which will also address any public concern related to these impacts. The Review Board has recommended the creation of an Independent Technical Review Panel, to ensure that the road is designed to a standard that is highly protective of people and the environment. Some of the Review Board measures also include requirements that Canadian Zinc negotiate with traditional knowledge holders from Nahanni Butte Dene Band and other First Nations about ways to avoid impacts on heritage resources and to conduct systematic wildlife monitoring and adaptive management using traditional knowledge. With these and other measures to reduce or avoid identified impacts, the Review Board concluded that the Project will be improved and meaningful actions will mitigate the significant impacts that would otherwise occur. Canadian Zinc is confident that the measures prescribed by the Review Board can be satisfactorily addressed. All Season Road Permitting Process Going Forward The EA Report has been forwarded to the Federal Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs, with a recommendation that the development be approved, subject to the measures described in the Report and Canadian Zinc looks forward to Ministerial approval. The Review Board has concluded that an environmental impact review of this proposed development is not necessary and that the proposed All Season Road project should proceed to the regulatory phase. The regulatory phase, conducted by the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board with input from territorial and federal agencies, will be the next permitting stage in which the road permit is issued by the Water Board and Canadian Zinc looks forward to timely completion of the permitting process. This permit may include the recommended measures included in the EA Report. Development of the All Season Road will enable the transportation of concentrates, outbound, and supplies, inbound, spread throughout the year. The road will also have the potential to reduce energy costs and enable the use of more environmentally friendly alternative energy sources, as local gas fields in the Northwest Territories would be a source of LNG which has the potential to reduce reliance on diesel fuel, and thereby further reduce environmental impacts. The All Season Road will also have environmental and safety benefits as with the trucking spread out over the year, there would be less traffic volume and avoiding possible congestion in winter, which will lower the risk of accidents or spills. The road could also provide the opportunity to promote tourism in the area and thus create additional, long-term economic benefits for the region. The Prairie Creek Mine The Prairie Creek Mine contains a NI 43-101 Proven and Probable Reserve of 7.6 million tonnes grading 8.9% Zn; 8.3% Pb and 128 g/t Ag, which ranks Prairie Creek amongst the highest grade base metal deposits in the world. These reserves are based upon a Measured and Indicated resource of 8.7 million tonnes grading 9.5% Zn; 8.9% Pb and 136 g/t Ag, together with an Inferred resource of 7.0 million tonnes grading 11.3% Zn, 7.7% Pb, and 166 g/t Ag. The Prairie Creek Mine already has extensive infrastructure in place including five kilometres of underground workings on three levels, a 1,000 ton per day mill, a fleet of heavy duty and light duty surface vehicles, three surface exploration diamond drill rigs, camp accommodation, maintenance and water treatment facilities and a 1,000 metre-long gravel airstrip. In 2016, the Company completed a Preliminary Feasibility Study ("2016 PFS") (Technical Report filed on SEDAR September 30, 2016) which indicates average annual production of 60,000 tonnes of zinc concentrate and 55,000 tonnes of lead concentrate containing a total of 86 million pounds of zinc, 82 million pounds of lead and 1.7 million ounces of silver in both zinc and lead concentrates. The 2016 PFS indicates average annual EBITDA of $64 million per year and cumulative EBITDA of $1.0 billion over an initial mine life of 17 years, using metal price forecasts of US$1.00 per pound for both zinc and lead and US$19.00 per ounce for silver. Pre-production capital costs, including provision for a new all season road, were estimated at $244 million, including contingency, with payback of five years. Canadian Zinc is currently completing a Definitive Feasibility Study ("DFS"), which is being carried out by AMC Mining Consultants (Canada) Ltd. and Ausenco Engineering Canada Inc. to facilitate the raising of project debt financing for the Prairie Creek Project. It is expected that the DFS will be completed in the third quarter of 2017. About Canadian Zinc Canadian Zinc is a TSX-listed exploration and development company trading under the symbol "CZN". The Company's key project is the 100%-owned Prairie Creek Project, a fully permitted, advanced-stage zinc-lead-silver property, located in the Northwest Territories. The Company also owns an extensive land package in central Newfoundland that it is exploring for copper-lead-zinc-silver-gold deposits. The Company's exploration strategy in central Newfoundland is to continue to build on its existing polymetallic resource base with the aim of developing either a stand-alone mine, similar to the past-producing base metal mines at Buchans and Duck Pond, or a number of smaller deposits that could be developed simultaneously and processed in a central milling facility. Qualified Person: Alan Taylor, P.Geo., Vice President of Exploration, Chief Operating Officer and Director of the Company, who is a Non-Independent Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"), has prepared, supervised the preparation of or reviewed, the parts of this News Release that are of a scientific or technical nature. Ukraine's Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan, left, meets with Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon in Seoul on Sept. 5. /Courtesy of UNDP By Rachel Lee Ukraine's Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan met Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon in Seoul on Sept. 5 and followed up collaboration on developing a Ukrainian version of Seoul's "Clean Construction System (CCS)," the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) said. The meeting was held during Omelyan's visit for the UIA 2017 Seoul World Architects Congress. The countries have worked on a construction system since signing a memorandum of understanding in July 2016. The CCS is an effective technological and institutional approach that enhances transparency, efficiency, and protects construction workers' rights in the public construction sector. The CCS consists of the One Project Management Information System (One-PMIS) for systematic and effective real-time management of public construction projects, and the Construction Information Disclosure System, which automatically transmits the information for public access. "Once the CCS-like system is implemented in Ukraine, it will contribute to increasing the trust between the people and the government, and help to fight corruption," Omelyan said. The minister also participated in a technical workshop hosted by the UNDP Seoul Policy Centre (USPC). "The public construction sector in many countries suffers from mismanagement and the culture of secrecy, leaving taxpayer resources wasted and citizens uninformed about important developments in their communities," said USPC Director Balazs Horvath. "Seoul's Clean Construction System provides real-time, meaningful information on the public construction sector. This helps citizens monitor progress and hold relevant authorities accountable for delivering high-quality public infrastructure investment." By You Soo-sun Seoul city will hold a town hall meeting to discuss the needs of foreign residents from South Asian countries, Saturday. The meeting, to be held at the Seoul Global Center, will likely attract around 100 Seoul residents. Foreigners from South Asia may apply to participate by calling 02-2075-4117 or emailing donghoon@seoul.go.kr by Thursday. Since 2000 the city government has held town halls two to three times a year to enable their policies to reflect the needs of Seoul's growing foreign population. According to the city government, 400,000 foreigners reside in the city, up from 260,000 in 2008. The town halls have laid the groundwork for many policies including issuing debit cards, opening job career fairs and establishing schools for foreigners. Each meeting has focused on a particular subject or the needs of those from a certain region. Last year, meetings were held separately for Taiwanese, Mongolians and Indonesians. The upcoming meeting will focus on people from South Asian countries including Nepal and Bangladesh. The city government estimates Seoul has 5,000 South Asian residents as of June 30. The largest group comes from Indonesia, with 1,843, followed by Nepal with 1,176 and Pakistan with 1,042. Most are blue-collar workers contracted under the employment insurance system here; many have also come to study in Seoul. Nguyen Ngoc Cam, a 42-year-old Vietnamese who has been named as honorary mayor of foreigners in Seoul, expressed high hopes for the upcoming event. "I hope the debate will pave the way for expats and Korean nationals to empathize with and understand each other," she said. Das Debabrata, 29, a doctoral student from Bangladesh, wishes to talk about the problems with filing insurance applications as a foreigner unaccustomed to the Korean language and systems. Seoul's Women and Family Affairs Office representative Um Kyu-sook also made a statement in a press release. "Through the town hall meeting I hope to hear about how South Asian expat residents are faring in Seoul their struggles and concerns, and ways to improve their living circumstances," she said. "It may not be feasible to resolve all the conflicts arising from the different lifestyles as well as the cultural and religious differences we have. But the city government will continuously heed their problems and utilize the experience to lay the foundation to develop as a global city." San Francisco, CA A complex A complex California labor law case is percolating in the Golden state between a former commissioned sales representative of Oracle America Inc. (Oracle) and a defendant the plaintiff claims is stonewalling. Plaintiff Marcella Johnson originally filed a putative California labor lawsuit seeking class action status. She accused Oracle of withholding millions of dollars in commissions owed to sales representatives by switching up commission formulas that applied to previous sales sometimes after the commissions had already been paid, according to Johnsons California labor code claim. The California labor complaint further asserted that paid commissions were reduced to align with Oracles financial forecasts and bottom-line goals.Johnson asserts that changes Oracle made to the commission formula, effectively re-planning how much she would be paid in commissions for sales she made for the 2013 sales year, left her with a negative commission balance of $20,000 in other words, a debt of $20,000 to Oracle. Johnson, according to court documents, continued working at Oracle until she cleared the $20,000 debt, as stated by Oracle after which, she left their employ and subsequently filed her California labor lawsuit.However, Johnson abandoned her $150 million putative class action lawsuit when Oracle produced a mandatory arbitration agreement. Having duly dismissed her lawsuit, Johnson filed an arbitration demand with JAMS, a noted international dispute resolution enterprise fulfilling an obligation required in the arbitration agreement.Oracle responded by insisting there is a second arbitration agreement serving to govern the relationship between the two parties an agreement that prohibits class arbitration.The stakes are high, in that attorneys forecast there could be as many as 1,000 individuals available to participate in the class arbitration. Efforts are underway to determine if the second arbitration agreement as identified is valid, although Johnsons petition argues that it would be unenforceable even if found to be valid, under the Ninth Circuits 2016 decision in, which found class waivers violate the National Labor Relations Act. That ruling is currently under review by the US Supreme Court.Johnson accuses Oracle of stonewalling, and refusing to engage. Among other things, Oracle has refused to pay its share of the arbitration fee or to participate in the selection of the arbitrator, the petition says. Based on Oracles recalcitrance, the arbitration cannot proceed.Johnson is seeking an order compelling Oracle to engage in arbitration before JAMS at their resolution center in San Francisco, fulfilling a requirement in the arbitration agreement. Johnson also wants Oracle to participate in the selection of an arbitrator, and pay its share of fees including attorneys fees and costs.Oracle seeks to do nothing more than stonewall and delay this case in hopes that Morris may be overturned during the next Supreme Court term, the petition says. Oracles conduct has had the effect of bogging down both the court system and the arbitral forum with needless protracted litigation.The case, Case No. 3:17-cv-05157 in the Crosby - Jan. 29, 2017 (Image credit: Courtesy of DigitalGlobe) Hurricane Harvey hit Texas, north of Corpus Christi, as a Category 4 storm on Aug. 25, 2017. It was the first major hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. since Hurricane Wilma in 2005. Harvey was also the first hurricane to hit the Texas coast since Hurricane Ike in 2008. After making landfall, Harvey weakened into a tropical storm, but stalled over the Texas coast, dumping huge amounts of rain over Houston and the surrounding area. In fact, scientists say flooding from Harvey was unprecedented, at levels expected to be seen just once every 500,000 years, in some areas of Southeast Texas. Here are some before-and-after satellite images of Texas that show the devastation caused by Harvey. In this image, the Arkema plant in Crosby, Texas, is seen on Jan. 29, 2017. Crosby - Aug. 31, 2017 (Image credit: Courtesy of DigitalGlobe) Flooding from Harvey knocked out power at the Arkema facility, and on Aug. 31, fire broke out at the chemical plant. Arkema said two explosions were reported at the plant, which is located northeast of Houston, but local emergency officials later said there had been no explosion at the plant. Channelview - April 6, 2017 (Image credit: Courtesy of DigitalGlobe) The city of Channelview is located about 15 miles (24 km) east of downtown Houston. Channelview - Aug. 31, 2017 (Image credit: Courtesy of DigitalGlobe) Channelview, like other places in and around Houston, experienced catastrophic flooding from Harvey. Highlands - April 6, 2017 (Image credit: Courtesy of DigitalGlobe) Highlands is located north of Interstate 10, along the east bank of the San Jacinto River. Highlands - Aug. 31, 2017 (Image credit: Courtesy of DigitalGlobe) Satellites spied this jaw-dropping view of the flooding in Highlands, Texas, on Aug. 31, 2017. Brookshire - Nov 20, 2016 (Image credit: Courtesy of DigitalGlobe) The city of Brookshire is located about 34 miles (55 kilometers) west of downtown Houston. Brookshire - Aug. 30, 2017 (Image credit: Courtesy of DigitalGlobe) This satellite photo, taken as Harvey was inundating the area with heavy rains, shows the extensive flooding caused by the storm. Simonton - Nov. 20, 2016 (Image credit: Courtesy of DigitalGlobe) The city of Simonton is located about 40 miles (64 km) outside of downtown Houston. Simonton - Aug. 30, 2017 (Image credit: Courtesy of DigitalGlobe) Simonton was one of the cities that suffered heavy flooding from Harvey. Holiday Lakes - April 3, 2017 (Image credit: Courtesy of DigitalGlobe) The town of Holiday Lakes is located about 7 miles (11 km) north of Angleton. Archaeologists in England are excavating the ruins of the fort of Vindolanda, which was once at the northern edge of the Roman Empire. Military brats of ancient Rome probably played soldier to pass the time. That's according to new evidence from Vindolanda, a fort found just south of Hadrian's Wall. The garrison is located in modern-day Northumberland, England, but 2,000 years ago, it would have been found at the northern edge of the Roman Empire. Archaeologists who have been excavating the cavalry barracks at the fort this summer found two wooden toy swords, one with a polished stone in its pommel. "The toy swords are evocative, and it is easy to see young boys and girls playing soldiers, mimicking their fathers and brothers," archaeologist Andrew Birley, the director of the excavations, told Live Science. Birley's team discovered the toys after lifting the stone foundations from a more recent renovation of the fort. They found damp, black, oxygen-free soil sealed underneath good conditions for preserving artifacts. [See Photos of the Latest Vindolanda Fort Finds] It's rare to find intact metal swords from this era, but archaeologists discovered two, in two separate rooms, at Vindolanda. (Image credit: The Vindolanda Trust) The archaeologists uncovered the remains of the abandoned horse stables, living accommodations and fireplaces of the military complex, dating back to about A.D. 120. In those rooms, the team found arrowheads, writing tablets, leather shoes, combs and hairpins; in adjacent rooms, the researchers found two remarkably well-preserved iron swords, one with a bent tip. "To find two complete swords in separate rooms but only 2 meters [6.6 feet] from one another is incredibly rare," Birley said. "You normally only find complete examples of those in national museums, like the few in the collection of the National Museum of Scotland, and then they only have a few." Vindolanda was built in the late first century A.D., before Hadrian's Wall was constructed in A.D. 122 to consolidate the border between the Roman Empire and the unconquered British tribes in the north. Researchers have estimated that more than 1,000 soldiers lived at this site with another several thousand women, children, slaves and freedmen. "The range of artifacts, not just toy swords but also ladies' and children's shoes and bath clogs, show that the fort had a mixed community living inside the barracks," Birley said. The barracks were most certainly cramped and probably stunk of "leather, rusting armor, sweat, charcoal and smoke, and of course, horses and dogs, all combined," he added. Vindolanda is famous for its collection of hundreds of handwritten letters on postcard-size wooden tablets, which archaeologists began discovering in the 1970s. These documents offered a rare snapshot into everyday life at the garrison, from requests for more beer and birthday party invitations to more bureaucratic matters like work assignments and military promotions. The collection even includes one of the oldest examples of women's handwriting in Latin, in the correspondence between the wives of two military commanders. In July, Birley's team announced the discovery of another batch of fragile wooden letters. The latest excavation season still has another two weeks before it finishes, so more discoveries could be on the way, Birley said. "Who knows what will come out in those two weeks," he said. Original article on Live Science. Uncontacted Indians in the Brazilian Amazon, filmed from the air in 2010. Brazilian authorities are investigating reports that gold miners killed about 10 members of an uncontacted tribe in the Amazon rainforest. The alleged killing took place last month along the Jandiatuba River, in a remote part of the Amazon near Brazils border with Peru, according to FUNAI, Brazil's indigenous affairs department. The probe began after two illegal gold miners, known as "garimpeiros," were overheard talking about the attack in Sao Paulo de Olivenca, a town in the state of Amazonas. [Gallery: Images of Uncontacted Tribes] The miners allegedly bragged about the killings in a bar, showing off a carved paddle taken from the tribe as a trophy, The New York Times reported. The miners were arrested but so far no physical evidence has been found to prove the massacre, according to a statement from FUNAI. The indigenous rights group Survival International warned that such an attack could mean that a large percentage of the tribe has been wiped out. Stephen Corry, director of Survival International, said in a statement that the Brazilian administration under President Michel Temer would "bear a heavy responsibility for this genocidal attack" if the reports are confirmed. These burnt communal houses of uncontacted Indians were seen in December 2016 and could be signs of another massacre in the so-called Uncontacted Frontier. (Image credit: Survival International) The Guardian reported in July that FUNAIs budget under the current administration was nearly halved this year, forcing the agency to close dozens of its regional offices and three bases that are involved in protecting isolated tribes. One FUNAI official told The Guardian that land grabbers, loggers and miners were taking advantage of the situation to encroach on indigenous territories. "All these tribes should have had their lands properly recognized and protected years ago," Corry said. "The governments open support for those who want to open up indigenous territories is utterly shameful, and is setting indigenous rights in Brazil back decades." In recent years, groups like Survival International have raised the alarm about an increase in sightings of uncontacted tribes in Brazil, warning that encounters with loggers, miners, drug smugglers and tourists could be deadly for tribe members, not only due to violence but also disease. Original article on Live Science. by Tanya Gazdik , September 11, 2017 Companies are again opening their coffers to assist victims of the latest deadly hurricane to hit the U.S. Hurricane Irma produced life-threatening flooding in both coastal and inland cities in Florida, which is now declared a federal state of disaster, joining Texas, hit by Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 25. Walmart will match customer donations to the American Red Cross two-to-one up to $10 million in cash and products to support hurricane relief efforts. Walmart previously committed up to $20 million after Hurricane Harvey. Verizon, the Michael & Susan Dell foundation and Apple are joining to underwrite the cost of a huge benefit concert, called Hand in Hand, to be held Sept. 12. PayPal will cover all processing fees for donations made with PayPal on the Hand in Hand website so that 100% of contributions go to relief efforts. Albertsons Companies Foundation and Merck have donated $1 million to the Hand in Hand Hurricane Relief Fund. advertisement advertisement Choice Hotels International is donating up to 1,250 free hotel nights to the American Red Cross and Boys & Girls Clubs of America to assist first responders, volunteers and families displaced by recent natural disasters including Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Ashley Furniture Industries is contributing products to victims whose homes and businesses were hardest hit by the storm and subsidizing discounts with a combined retail value of over $1 million in both Florida and Texas. Walgreen's health partner, MDLIVE, a provider of telehealth services, is offering free virtual medical and behavioral care to those impacted by hurricanes. Several banks announced efforts including BB&T, which is contributing $500,000 to help support disaster relief efforts. Half of the donation will be a cash contribution to the American Red Cross and the remainder will be comprised of eight truckloads of humanitarian supplies, such as bottled water and basic essentials to assist in the recovery. The SunTrust Foundation announced today it will commit a total of $500,000 to various disaster relief and recovery efforts while BMO Financial Group is donating $150,000 to the American Red Cross. MoneyGram is continuing to offer a waiver for all transaction fees for donations up to $249 to the American Red Cross remains in place through Oct. 1. International Marine has announced a plan to assist boaters. The company will replace at dead cost any electronics or accessories that were lost and will work with boaters to ensure they have the needed documentation for their insurance company. The company, based Boynton Beach, Fla., is asking other marine-related business to join the effort. Other companies assisting with Hurricane Irma relief include Airbnb, Allergan, Comcast, Eli Lily and Co., Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean Cruises, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Its not just people affected by the hurricanes pets are at risk as well. In order to streamline relief efforts and ensure maximum assistance from the countrys pet care community to those most in need, the Pet Leadership Council has partnered with GreaterGood.org to provide aid to those impacted by both hurricanes. The duo is managing the distribution of desperately needed items from PLC members, including food, crates, litter, hard goods and veterinary medical products, provided by almost two dozen major brands and retailers, including Mars Petcare, Petco and PetSmart. In the first few days of response, they have either shipped, received in warehouses, or have scheduled to arrive, enough pet food for one million meals along with other critical supplies. by Aaron Baar , September 12, 2017 Verizon is putting its money where its mouth is to promote diversity within the marketing industry. A year after publicly encouraging its agencies to engage in more diverse hiring practices and promotion, the company has launched AdFellows, a program that will give 20 young marketers an 8-month internship that will include stints at the company and its agencies (McCann Worldwide, Momentum, Rauxa, Weber Shandwick, and ZenithOptimedia). Verizon is a company that has a long history of diversity, but for us diversity is not just about the right thing to do, its critical to our success, Verizon CMO Diego Scotti, tells Marketing Daily. For us, when you look at marketing and creativity in particular, the issue around giving diverse talent an opportunity is critical for success. advertisement advertisement Last September, Verizon made public a letter Scotti wrote to his agencies calling for more diversity among the ranks. More diversity would give the company more perspectives into a diverse American public, he said in the letter. He echoed that sentiment when talking about the AdFellows program. As an industry, we need to start taking action, and we need to be at the forefront, Scotti says. We dont believe in quotas, we believe in progress, and we have to make that progress. Including the agencies among the partners for the fellowships is an important way to show the industry Verizon is committed to encouraging diversity across the board. It also gives potential recruits an opportunity to gain a broader range of experience. The paid fellowship will cover housing, and includes a goal to place 90% of the participants in positions at either Verizon or its agencies. Scotti notes the companys 9-month-old in-house agency is staffed with 50% minorities, and is 52% female. Its not an issue about finding people, Scotti says. When you build something from scratch you can do it right from the start. But getting recruitment right is only a part of the equation, Scotti says. The next step is creating opportunities and the environment that encourages the diverse workforce to stay for the long-term. He also hopes other companies and organizations take a cue from this program and start their own. We want to do something that endures. If youre going to do that, youve got to do it right, Scotti says. As an industry, we need to start taking action, and we want to be at the forefront of that. by Jess Nelson , September 12, 2017 Communications platform Slack introduced Shared Channels on Tuesday, a new feature allowing two organizations using Slack to communicate and send messages to each other. For now, Shared Channels are public, but Slack intends to engineer a private version as well. Slack also unveiled multilingual capabilities for its communications platform, as Slack now supports French, German and Spanish. The company says it will be rolling out support for the Japanese language next. Previously, Slack only functioned as an internal communications platform. Users could bring in individual guests, but otherwise Slack only worked as a team-oriented platform. The popular refrain Email is dead has only grown louder since the introduction of Slack to the market, and Slacks high growth rate has done little to dispel the chatter. Slack has grown from 500,000 users in 2015 to 6 million users today, and a third of its daily active users are members of 50,000 organizations that pay to use Slacks service. advertisement advertisement Although Shared Channels significantly expands the Slack platform, it is still restricted to Slack users. For this reason, Slacks announcement is unlikely to impact email. There are 6 million Slack users, but there will be more than 3.7 billion email users by the end of this year, according to research from The Radicati Group. Tom Sather, senior director of research at Return Path, agrees that Slacks announcement will not have much impact on email. While the new Slack features are innovative and should help with collaboration and productivity, it is still a part of Slack's closed ecosystem as opposed to email, which is an open standard, he says. I think more companies and businesses will continue to use email for important matters as it's tried and true, offers more control, and one doesn't need to worry about "email" going out of business or being acquired by another company. by Ray Schultz , September 12, 2017 Movable Ink has migrated of all its clients to its new intelligent content platform. The platform automates the creation, deployment and measurement of personalized email content, according to Movable Ink. Announced at Movable Inks Think Summit in New York, the platform is part of an ongoing development effort for the firm. CEO Vivek Sharma said the company would invest $25 million up to the end of next year in new product efforts, including personnel costs. Movable Ink plans to triple the size of its product team, including data scientists, developers and engineers. All these teams will continue to be an innovation engine, Sharma added. The firm is also moving to a quarterly product launch schedule. Sharma contends that content remains a significant bottleneck for many marketers. They face struggles for resources and budget to produce branded content. Movable Inks platform allows marketers to create intelligent content from any content, data, and business logic, the company states. advertisement advertisement The company also offers two tools: Studio enables brands to create attractive email experiences, using APIs and dynamic data. It is as easy to use as PowerPoint and as powerful as Photoshop, the firm states. Data Sources enables allows marketers to take existing data and use it to create intelligent content. "Betfair has been a power user of Movable Inks new platform for the past several months, says Adam Farquharson, CRM optimization manager for Betfair. He says the company has used the new data sources features to set up multiple XML feeds and was able to launch 8 different jackpot feeds within a week. - Were excited to announce that metalbulletin.com is now part of fastmarkets.com. A new look and an improved experience means you can still stay ahead of this fast-moving metals market with price data, news and market intelligence right here on Fastmarkets. Discover more than 2000 prices, news and analysis in primary and secondary metals markets. We cover base metals, industrial minerals, ores and alloys, steel, scrap and steel raw materials. If you already have a Fastmarkets account, youll still have uninterrupted access to your markets by logging in with your current details. Multiple award winning Ghanaian musician Bisa Kdei is of no doubt one of the few Ghanaian musicians with more international bookings in recent times. The "Mansa" hitmaker is currently on a world tour, as part of his latest project dubbed "Road2Konnect" which is aimed at connecting High Life music to the world. He is currently in Australia, where he has had two successful shows in two different cities within a week; Perth and Melbourne and management tells us, there are more ahead. Bisa Kdei shares series of footage from these concerts and we have no doubt High Life music is being loved by the mass. In a video below, Bisa Kdei performs for mixed race some of his hit songs, including Brother Brother, Mansa, to mention but few Another video shows one of Australia's biggest shopping malls jamming to Brother Brother and showing anticipation to be at his concert. Bisa Kdei before leaving Ghana released another high life song dubbed Sister Girl which is cooking hot on our airwaves. Watch video from his concerts below.. In the past few weeks, the occurrence of natural disasters has and continues to adversely affect a number of African countries and the United States of America. The recent mudslide in Sierra Leone, and landslide in Democratic Republic of Congo that has killed hundreds and displayed millions, as well as the monstrous hurricanes currently ravaging American coastal states and islands one after the other, can pass for one of the worlds worst disasters. These disasters have brought into sharp focus the need for an active global disaster management response system that can offer speedy and quality humanitarian aid to distress zones. It also brings into question the capacity of the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) in dealing with the increasing natural disasters across the globe. From all indications, the Fund is in dire need of resources, and says it needs at least over $1billion dollars to be able to advance aid efficiently. In this regard, the Ghana Institute of Governance and Security (GIGS) finds it regrettable that the issue of humanitarian aid is missing on the agenda for this weeks United Nations General Assembly in New York. The 72nd Regular Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 72) will convene at UN Headquarters from September 12 to 25, 2017, on the theme, Focusing on People: Striving for Peace and a Decent Life for All on a Sustainable Planet. On the Assemblys agenda are items relating to Education, Environmental Conventions, and Social Development, Trade, Gender and Human Development, Globalization and 2030 Agenda, Technology and Innovation, and Water and Sanitation. There is no item on disaster management and emergency relief in spite of the high occurrence of disasters that continue to affect millions across globe. In 2016 alone, 297 natural disasters affected 377 million people and caused $92.4 billion in damage. The absence of an item on humanitarian aid, GIGS believes, also flies in the face of a report of the UNs Economic and Social Council which is calling for urgent attention to enhance relief assistance to distress zones. The report, which was issued in May 2017 after an overview of key trends in humanitarian coordination, said that twenty-five years after the adoption of General Assembly resolution 46/182, which strengthened the United Nations preparedness and response to complex emergencies and natural disasters, the importance of effective and principled humanitarian action is greater than ever. It adds that Todays crises present increasingly complex challenges that have resulted in dramatic levels of humanitarian need. Forced displacement remained at record levels, with more than 65 million people displaced by conflict, violence and persecution around the world. Millions more people were displaced by disasters associated with natural hazards, with an average of more than 25.4 million people displaced each year since 2008. In addition, the report notes that Climate change and changing weather patterns are increasing the frequency, intensity and cost of disasters. Instability, food and water insecurity have become worrying causes of human mobility and rising protection needs. GIGS is convinced that the urgent issue of disaster management and relief assistance must be discussed by the UN General Assembly so as to oblige member countries to effectively contribute to the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). We also join in the call by the World Humanitarian Summit , to increase CERFs annual funding target to $1 billion by 2018 to enable the Fund to proactively offer timely relief assistance to natural disaster victims. Signed David Agbee (Executive Director, GIGS) The central bank has given commercial banks in the country up to the end of next year December 2018, to meet the new minimum capital requirement. The central bank has announced that in accordance with section 28 (1) of the Banks and Specialized Deposit Taking Institutions Act 2016 Act (930) it has revised upwards the minimum paid up capital for existing banks and new entrants to 400 million cedis from the 120 million cedis. Capitalization rules The new rate took effect from the 11th of September, 2017. According to the Bank of Ghana (BoG) banks are required to meet the new capital through fresh capital injection, capitalization of income surplus or a combination of the two. The banks will not be allowed to capitalize revaluation reserves, reserves on financial instruments through other comprehensive income, statutory reserves , credit risk reserve and unaudited profit. The new rate will not only affect existing banks but new entrants. A statement from the central bank said all pending applications for baking license without approval in Principle are required to meet the new minimum capital requirement of 400 million cedis and the feasibility reports accompanying such applications should be amended. New figure too high There are however fears most of the local banks will not be able to meet the new requirement. Some local banks have also asserted the figure is on the high side. But Banking consultant Nana Otuo Acheampong believes the figure is just right. 'It's just right because that's the regulatory capital which is set by the regulator having regard to the risk aspect of the banking sector. So they would have done all the calculations, looked at the size of the economy between the last time there was an increase back in 2002 and 2017, how big the economy has expanded. In 2002 we didn't have oil. Now we have oil, so all those factors play a role in coming up with a figure and so having had regards to all those factors, the regulator has set the four hundred million cedis and therefore it's difficult if not impossible to challenge them because they have access to the records'. By: Vivian Kai Lokko/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana President Nana Akufo-Addo has appealed for the support of members of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) to help guarantee the success of the battles against corruption and the illegal mining phenomenon. He said, if we do not get a handle on corruption, we will not be able to develop our nation. By the same token, if we do not win the fight against environmental hazards, especially the battle against the galamsey phenomenon, we will have no nation to speak of. The President made this known when he delivered his remarks at the National Conference of the GBA, in Sunyani, which is being held on the theme Saving the Future Generation from the Scourge of Corruption and Environmental Hazards The Role of the Legal Profession. With the Office of Special Prosecutor is in the offing, President Akufo-Addo noted that the Office is an attempt to take the politics out of prosecutions of past and present public officers, (i.e. echoes of so-called witch-hunting), and, thus, needs the active support of the Bar to realise its goals. Whilst expressing his satisfaction about the constitutionality of the creation of the Office, he noted that I do not have the last word when it comes to pronouncements on matters constitutional. But it would certainly be remiss of me if I did not satisfy myself on the constitutional aspect before I put it before the Ghanaian people. President Akufo-Addo further added that it will be members of the Bar who will provide the personnel for the Office, stressing that much of its success will depend on their integrity and genuine commitment to the fight against corruption. In the same vein, the President appealed for the co-operation of the Bench and Bar to ensure speedy prosecutions of those allegedly involved in illegal galamsey activities. It is important that deterrents are quickly dispensed to reinforce the abhorrence of the Ghanaian nation about the illegal galamsey activities, which threaten our very survival and future, he added. The President concluded, Mindful of each others prerogatives and duties, I am calling for us, the Bench, the Bar and the Executive, to enter into a grand alliance to fight and defeat the twin scourges in the supreme interest of the Ghanaian people, and in the fight against corruption, for my part, I shall lead by example. President Akufo-Addo also assured Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo and the States lawyers in the Ministry of Justice, that his government, within the constraints of our public finances, will do its very best to address issues of remuneration, conditions of service and the logistical needs of the Judiciary and the Ministry of Justice. We are in it together the great, noble adventure of self-government, popular government, free government. Let us put our shoulders to the wheel so that future generations will appreciate our contribution to the making of a successful, democratic Ghana which guarantees the liberties of our people, the institutions of good governance, the cohesion of our society, the wellbeing of the masses, and the peace and prosperity of our nation. The Black Star has a tryst with destiny. Let us work together to make it happen, he said. Story by Ghana| Myjoyonline.com But say, you have been living under a rock for the past few weeks, you most probably how Sebastian, a Ghanaian student in Amsterdam, made headlines after he was given 5 awards at a recent graduation of the University of Amsterdam. The story of the historical feat went viral and was published by several media houses both in Ghana and beyond. It sounds like a beautiful success story. Reportedly having grown up in a village in central Ghana, Osumanu tried to find his way up in the academic world. Something that he could not do as in 2007 he was rejected by the University of Ghana. The University of Cape Coast, however, sees his potential, where he is successful in his economics study. He is even named the best student of the university. He is also a winner of the Erasmus Mundus Nobel Economics Prizein 2014. The organization of the price would even call him an example of what the African economy needs. However, investigations by Pulse.com.gh have revealed that Sebastian Roy Osumanu DID NOT win any such laurels at the University of Amsterdam. We contacted the University of Amsterdam Press Office on suspicions that the story as reported by many media houses was not accurate. The officials of the university outrightly told Pulse.com.gh that they had no records of the student by the name, Sebastian Osumanu. They subsequently revealed to Pulse that there was no such incident where a student swept that many awards in a single graduation ceremony. In response to our query on how such pictures used to corroborate Sebastian Osumanu's feat, the official replied, There are photoshopped. That single answer confirmed our suspicions and opened our eye to the truth that was always lying in front of us. The photos which have been used by almost all media houses to accompany the story of Sebastian Osumanu were indeed photoshopped. A quick search on Google revealed that the image is indeed from the Doctoral Degree Ceremony from the 2015 Commencement of the University of Rochester. The picture which was clearly edited to superimpose head of Sebastian Roy Osumanu on Ralph Locke, Professor of Musicology at the university. The original picture showed President Joel Seligman presenting Professor Ralph Locke (right) with the University Award for Lifetime Achievement in Graduate Education. In another report, UVA states that the academic year has not yet begun on September 1. They also revealed that PhD students also do not wear a gown during their graduation ceremonies. Also, the prize he said he won in 2014 is unthinkable. Even though the Erasmus Mundus exists, the Nobel Prize is not awarded by the organization. Again, Osumanu did not get a mention on the success stories pages of any of these institutions save the home page of the University of Cape Coast. He is mentioned in the spotlight section on the university's website alongside supposed success stories of the institution. Pulse.com.gh reached out to Sebastian via the official World Bank Group email address listed on his social media. However, we got a response saying that the email address listed does not exist. It would look like the story of Sebastian Osumanu is actually no better than that of legendary Ghanaian trickster, Fauster Atta Mensah who tried to lie to Ghanaians that he had won a Nobel Peace Prize among other laurels. Now pick your phone, call that aunt, mother, father or uncle, and tell them to stop pressuring you that much because Sebastian Osumanu is nothing but a fraud. Pulse.com A Quality Assurance officer at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Solomon Quarshie, has been hit by a stray bullet. The incident happened around 4:00pm on Monday evening. He was taken to the hospitals accident centre where hes receiving treatment. In an interview with Citi News, the laboratory manager, David Anaful, said doctors were operating on him, trying to retrieve the bullet. It is unclear where the bullet came from. The Laboratory Manager said he was informed about the incident after he heard the victim screaming. Solomon Quarshies boss showed me the hole in the curtain of the window he raised the curtain and from there, I saw a big hole so quickly, we got down with the bells and carried him straight to the accident centre and then we went and made a report to the Korle Bu security office first, secondly to the administrator, then to the PRO the Lab Manager told Citi News. Meanwhile, the Public Relations Officer for Korle Bu, Mustafa Salifu, has called on staff of the hospital not to panic in the wake of the shooting, as administration is working with security personnel to ascertain the cause of the shooting. By: Naa Kwarmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana The deputy Education Minister in charge of secondary says the sources of funding for governments free senior high school (SHS) policy will be captured in the 2018 budget. Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum told Evans Mensah on Joy FMs Top Story Monday, funding for the programme has never been a problem, contrary to fears by some Ghanaians. He said critics of the programme would embrace the vision of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo if they appreciated the relief it will bring to families across the country. deputy Education Minister, Dr Yaw Adutwum If you have any observation it is welcome, Dr Adutwum announced governments readiness to listen to opposing views. The Minority in Parliament has described the current programme as a sham, saying it was not what was promised Ghanaians in 2016. The opposition lawmakers at a news conference in Accra said the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) had promised to roll out a free SHS on a universal basis but that is not what has happened. The Minority is displeased a total number of 565,404 continuing students across the country have been kept out of the programme's beneficiary list. Former deputy Education Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa Former deputy Education Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said although the Minority supports any attempt to make education progressively free, it is convinced the free SHS needs to be relooked at. We are for proper implementation [and] as we speak there is no dedicated source of funding, the North Tongu MP said, claiming the $100 million, an equivalent of 400 million allocated for the programme is a paltry sum. The former Minister also raised issues with the quality of education which he said will suffer if some structural challenges with the programme are not addressed by government. But Dr Adutwum said the Minority has chosen to elevate funding as a major issue with the programme when it is actually not. He said the programme is also targeting the general improvement of secondary education to ensure that lessons taught students are done in a holistic manner. Ghanaian schools are not doing well and we have to face the reality, he said, adding about 70 percent of graduates from senior high schools are unable to obtain grades good enough to access tertiary education. Asked if the government has a policy document on the programme, Dr Adutwum answered in the affirmative, saying it has been made available to agencies under the Ministry of Education for effective coordination. Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Austin Brakopowers | [email protected] | Instagram: @realbrakopowers 12.09.2017 LISTEN A Texas A&M University professor is being praised after he lent a hand -- or an entire arm -- when a student couldn't find a babysitter for her infant before class. Ashton Robinson said in a Facebook post that she emailed Henry Musoma, her professor at Mays Business School, to tell him she would have to miss a class because she couldn't find a babysitter for her son, Emmett, in time for the scheduled session. Robinson said she was surprised when Musoma responded with a simple solution: "Please bring him!" The single mom posted a video showing the grinning professor giving his lecture while toting the infant in one of his arms. "Being a single mom is so challenging but it's people like Dr. Henry Musoma that make life just a tiny bit easier!" she wrote. "THIS is why I'm so proud to be an Aggie! Definitely something I'll never forget and can't wait to someday tell Emmett that it's because of people like this that mommy was able to graduate from the best university in the world." Musoma's unconventional solution to Robinson's problem was widely praised online, including by university President Michael K. Young. Tunis (AFP) - Tunisia's President Beji Caid Essebsi strengthened his grip on power late Monday when parliament approved a cabinet reshuffle ahead of key elections. Observers say the new cabinet, which places Essebsi allies in key positions, consolidates the 90-year-old president's hold on the executive, months ahead of Tunisia's first post-revolution municipal polls. "It is the president who pulls the strings," French language daily Le Quotidien said. Prime Minister Youssef Chahed easily won a confidence vote for his new line-up, backed by lawmakers from his own Nidaa Tounes party and its Islamist ally in government, Ennahdha, which together dominate parliament. He announced the new line-up last week after talks with Essebsi, who founded secular Nidaa Tunes and later became prime minister before being elected president in the wake of a 2011 revolution that overthrew veteran dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Chahed, the youngest premier in the North African country's post-independence history, promised a "government of combat" to continue "the war against terrorism, the war against corruption, the war for growth, the war against unemployment and regional inequalities". He played up his government's economic achievements and said he had appointed new interior and defence ministers "to strengthen our country's capacities in the fight against terrorism, organised crime and smuggling". But observers say the new team consolidates the clout of Essebsi's Nidaa Tounes. The new cabinet includes former advisers to the president as ministers of finance and health, while the nominee for the defence ministry, Abdelkrim Zbidi, held the same post when Essebsi was prime minister. Analyst Selim Kharrat said Essebsi had the government under his control well before the reshuffle. Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed addresses parliament in Tunis ahead of a vote of confidence in his reshuffled government on September 11, 2017 "The only difference is that it is much more blatant... and that the presidency hardly hides," he said. Essebsi has yet to give any indication of his intentions when his five-year term ends in 2019. Many of his detractors have voiced concern about the intentions of his son, Hafedh Caid Essebsi, the influential leader of Nidaa Tounes. In a country still marked by decades of dictatorship, many have also criticised the nomination of ministers who served under Ben Ali. Chahed said his new cabinet would respect the "national unity" needed to pass much-needed reforms. Brussels (AFP) - More than three-quarters of children and young adults trying to migrate to Europe via the Mediterranean are victims of abuse on the dangerous journey, UN agencies said in a report published Tuesday. Children's rights agency UNICEF and the International Organisation for Migration said young migrants coming from sub-Saharan Africa were particularly at risk from abuse, likely due to racism. The UN agencies surveyed 22,000 migrants and refugees including 11,000 children and young people. "The stark reality is that it is now standard practice that children moving through the Mediterranean are abused, trafficked, beaten and discriminated against," Afshan Khan, UNICEF Europe regional director, said in a statement. The report said 77 percent of children and young people trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe had suffered "direct experiences of abuse, exploitation and practices which may amount to human trafficking." "Those originating from sub-Saharan Africa are far more likely to experience exploitation and trafficking than those from other parts of the world" it said. "Racism is likely a major underlying factor behind this discrepancy." The main migration route from Libya is particularly dangerous due to lawlessness, militias and criminality, it said. Young migrants pay between $1,000-5,000 (800-4000 euros) for the journey only to arrive in Europe in debt and facing new risks. The UN accused the EU last week of turning a "blind eye" to the brutality faced by migrants held in Libya and urged urgent action to help them. Europe continues to struggle with the biggest migration crisis in its history, fed initially by refugees in Syria but now with the central Mediterranean route from Africa coming back into play. The Education Ministry has summoned some heads of senior high school over claims they are charging fees exempted under the free SHS policy. Former Director of Education at the Ghana Education Service (GES) and an advocate of governments flagship education policy revealed this on Monday on current affairs programme, PM Express on the Joy News channel (Multi TV). Mr Nsowah did not mention the names of the heads or the number of heads summoned to the Education Ministry, however, he said the summons is a response to numerous reports the unnamed schools have been charging unapproved fees. We are hearing some of these in the news and so on. But immediately...the Ministry is following up on that. Some heads have been summoned to report to the Ministry tomorrow [Tuesday] morning and if it is true that they are collecting fees, certainly, the ministry will deal with them he said. Michael Nsowah President Nana Akufo-Addos 2008 and 2016 electioneering campaign promise to roll out a comprehensive free education programme started Monday with high schools reopening across the country. In addition to tuition which is already free, fees for boarding, admission, library, examination, computer lab, science centre, feeding, utilities, text books and meals for day students have been taken up by the government. Apart from delays in the release of funds to schools, some school heads have cited non-availability of a document that details rules on the implementation of the programme as challenges in the implementation process. Also, there are unconfirmed reports that some schools want parents to support infrastructural projects, and failure to do so may cause their wards to be prevented from attending class. Responding to the report on PM Express, Mr Nsowah said although the free SHS policy is not against infrastructural projects funded by parents, it must not be to the detriment of students access to learning. "Infrastructural projects can go ahead but you [heads of schools] cannot charge it on students. Parents are adults, and they should find ways of addressing their challenges that they have agreed upon without stopping any child from going to classes, he told show host, Nana Ansah Kwao II. Support system An education consultant on the show, Dr Prince Armah, noted that despite the government's demonstrated commitment to ensuring sustainability of the policy, a fundamental support structure for the secondary school system over the years has been the contribution of parents and especially old students. He, therefore, urged the free SHS policy champions to begin creating discussions on how to get stakeholder support for schools in order to address infrastructural and quality education challenges, for instance. Dr Prince Amoah "If you are looking at the financial streams, some schools are well endowed not because theyve got the facilities. They are well endowed because theyve got people from relatively affluent backgrounds who are old students and they make significant contributions to the secondary schools," he argues. Watch more from the discussions in the video below. Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | George Nyavor | [email protected] 12.09.2017 LISTEN Having gained the reputation as the biggest summit for young entrepreneurs and leaders on the continent, SUCCESS AFRICA organisers LEC GROUP has decided to further strengthen the efforts towards transforming lives of several young people who places effort in leadership and entrepreneurship hence the move to expand the roadshow into other regions in Ghana. In the last 10 years, Success Africa has mobilized efforts as the number one empowerment summit on the African Continent, with main focus of shaping career path of many young people, it also places emphasis on motivation and youth development through it many repute speakers drawn from various industries, who are undoubtedly distinguished as great leaders in their chosen fields. The LEC GROUP who are also the organisers of AFTER SCHOOL WHATS NEXT? , POSSIBILITIES CONFERENCE and many other groundbreaking programmes in Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia has proudly contributed to impacting the lives of over 50,000 young people across the continent. The Foundation is headquartered at Accra with several branches in various regions. This years Success Africa being the 11th Edition with a target of 10,000 young people will run under theme, MENTORSHIP; HUB OF GREATNESS, will start on the 7th of October and end on the 14th of November 2017. Touching on the theme, Mr. Albert Kusi the CEO of LEC GROUP stated We are fully aware of the role of Mentorship in the lives of young leaders and entrepreneurs, and as a foundation , we are concerned not only with mentorship but quality mentorship, hence a careful effort to put together this years summit. With a reputation for bringing on board top notch speakers, this years speakers include Bishop Titi Ofei ( General Overseer, Pleasant Place Church), Kojo Addae-Mensah (CEO of Databank Group), Hon. Sam George, Bernard Avle, Petra Asamoah (General Manager Commercial, Media General Ghana) and the Convener who was recently named as one of 100 most influential young Africans, Mr. Albert Kusi (CEO of LEC GROUP) and host of others. In a press statement issued by the Public Affairs Director of LEC GROUP, Mr. Dennis Appiah Larbi-Ampofo stated , the problem in most of our institutions is matter of failed leadership, and as a company , we are poised in line with our mandate to create transformational leaders across the globe, and empower young people to be solution oriented, and this is clear in how we run our programmes, with special break out sections to be handled by experts in specific fields. He went futher to give the schedule for the tour, which starts on 7th October, 2017 in Cape Coast, at University of Cape Coast NEC Auditorium, then the team will move to Kumasi on the 13th October,2017 at KNUST Great Hall, the tour will conitinue to the Brong Ahafo Region where it will be hosted at Eusbert Hotel, Sunyani on the 14TH October ,2017 and on 20th October in Tamale at Radach Hotel before moving to Ho on the 28th October at Ho Tech. University Auditorium, before moving finally to Accra for the GRANDE FINALLY at Central Universitys Trinity Hall on 4th of November 2017 with a special intervention program at WA UDS campus on the 11th November 2017 He further encouraged young people to take the opportunity to nurture and develop their dreams during the conference, the outcome of our conferences remains why we are Africas number one , and we will continue to live up to the standards he added. The writer 12.09.2017 LISTEN The development and growth of every serious country is dependent on the prioritization of education which is solid, well structured and transformational. Education has opened a lot of doors and has often been regarded as the master key. Education is the most powerful weapon to you can use to change the world Nelson Mandella. All those that were deviant to education in one way or the other have recounted their great ordeal and regret of their villain act. Education also promotes effective governance and complete adherence to rule of law. Fast forward Free S.H.S Program, Governance is a continuous process and as such the total good and well-being of the citizenry is the ultimate concern. Previous governments must be commended on their enormous contribution which ranges from the building of schools in the rural and urban centers, provision of exercise books, provision and improvement in science resource centers, provision of modern infrastructural and educational facilities towards the realization of this right. His Excellency Nana Akuffo Addo president of the republic of Ghana must be commended for the bold step taken to implement the most popular campaign promise Free Senior High education. An investment in knowledge pays the best interest Benjamin Franklin. He has lost battles with this campaign promise but as I often say Consistency bear good fruits, this same battle gave him a resounding and enormous victory in the December 2016 presidential and parliamentary elections. The statuesque has been changed and Africa need change leaders to transform the continent Change is the end result of all true learning Leo Buscaglia. The implementation of a policy of this nature would encounter challenges as we have been exposed to, placement challenges, network challenges to mention but a few, the skeptics will critically assess the program for proper implementation and the pessimist shall veer in but we must debacle the microscopic political lenses used in our quest to implement a policy that has been accepted with strict alacrity. CAVEAT Albeit the need for free education, the following factors must be critically considered; THE BLUEPRINT OF THE FRE S.H.S POLICY. A detailed plan of the successful implementation of the free S.H.S policy must be a public document to warrant thorough scrutiny and analysis of the policy. The document must be spelt out properly and clearly to disambiguate any hurdles therein. The free S.H.S policy must reach everyone including the less privileged and marginalized in society. To ensure the successful implementation of the free S.H.S policy requires investment. There must be clarity on how the policy is going to be funded to avoid any unforeseen challenges to collapse this special policy as we have experienced same in time past. The investment must form the governments primary responsibility and priority to ensure that every child of school going age access the facility irrespective of their socio-cultural strata. The government must take a strong stand to ensure the sustainability of this project because; weak financial systems will underpin the success of the much touted educational policy. Allocation and disbursement of funds must be on the calendar to avert challenges going forward. A bi-partisan approach must be taken to include chiefs and opinion leaders to ensure the success of this educational policy. RESTRUCTURING OF OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM. The curricular of education must be reviewed to reflect modern trends. Our educational system must undergo changes to reflect modern trend of effective teaching and learning. We must have a viable educational policy, the current educational system only focuses on teaching and passing exams and as a result producing illiterate intellectuals. Mr. President, we need results driven and an innovative way of improving teaching and learning which must be taken a shift of our current educational system that produces graduates who are a burden and liability to both parents and the state b. The methodologies used in teaching in our various institutions is outmoded and must be revisited. The teacher and learner materials in our various educational institutions is woefully inadequate and are not efficiently used but often abused and as such practical knowledge of our education is lacking. Mr. President, standards must be set to assess teaching and learning to monitor progress. The current educational system lack the competence to identify potentials in a respective subject area to help harness and build on those potentials, Education is what remains after one has forgotten what was learned in school Albert Einstein. Mr. President if our current educational system is well structured, the various Senior High Schools will produce identify and produce qualified personnels to be recruited into specific disciplines such as, Medicine, Pharmacy, Agriculturalist, Marketers, Architectures, Accountants etc. but due to misplaced priorities and our inability to identify potentials a lot of skillful personnels are going to waste. Mr. President, the fall in standards of our education is as a result of Corruption in our educational system is a virus which you need modern and skillful scientist to profess solutions to the sector. Free S.H.S succeeds if the endemic corrupt prone educationist are identified and cast out. Mr. President focus on the quality of our education to help attract the children of you and your appointees and other men of high repute. CRITICAL ATTENTION TO TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character that is the goal of true education Martin Luther King Jr. Mr. President, technical and vocational education must be prioritized since it is the only form of education to help address the growing unemployment which is very catastrophic to our peace and security you are bedeviled with. In the world of work, technical education only produces graduates with employable skills and that must be our focus. Over 20% 0f youth population of about 200 million in sub-saharan Africa is unemployed or in low paid or precarious jobs (African economic outlook, 2010) Mr. President, you must invest in technical and vocational institutions to address the challenges of, inadequate facilities, poor research materials, poor laboratories, faulty mechanical tools and equipment due to bad attitude towards maintenance culture. Mr. President, National science, technology and innovative village must be established as the silicon valley of United states of America to accelerate science and technology education as promised by P.N.C in the 2016 manifesto. Mr. President, it is only true technical education that we can build and develop the already indigenous technology used by our brothers and sister in Tarkwa, Prestea, Bogoso, Dunkwaw and other villages who engage in galamsey. Mr. President I am a citizen not a spectator and no citizen should be happy about how our arable lands have deteriorated due illegal mining activities, I am also not a spectator and as such abhor the leveraging of our natural resources to the Chinese of the tune of nineteen billion cedis. We must build the capacity of our destabilized youth to mine and the government must be the ultimate buyer to build refineries to refine these minerals to be sold at an expensive price to the outside world and generate foreign revenue. The days of the repatriation of aides given to us must end. PROVISION AND IMPROVEMENT IN EDUCATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE. One thing is very common with African leaders, they all want to be eulogized for building but they all hate to maintain. One of the many challenges confronting our educational system is deterioration of our schools, majority of schools especially those in the villages are death traps. Mr. President, rural children are the major casualty when it comes to poor or nonexistent educational infrastructure which is very critical to the sustainability of the free S.H.S policy. Mr. President, continuous renovation works must be done and our school blocks must be up to standard to accommodate pupils, our classrooms are not conducive to encourage teaching and learning a problem that offsets students in their learning faculties. Mr. President, access is factor that must be critically be looked at. There must be continuous building to accommodate the deficit as in infrastructure and also student to teacher ratio in the classroom. In conclusion, if all the above factors raised are adhered to, then free education is a need and a priority. Thank you. Robert Dambo (Citizen) Deputy National Treasure P.N.C 0548886445/0207400274 The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Diaspora Supporters Union, wish to congratulate the leadership of the party, the formulators of the "Unity Walk and the grassroots for a successful event at the Northern regional capital Tamale. Indeed, the "Unity Walk" is what the supporters of our great party (NDC) across the breath and length of the country needed to regain momentum for reorganization and energize the grassroots toward victory 2020. We encourage such programs and activities meant to bring the party's followers and sympathizers together as a way of catching public interest, moves that will heal wounds among party faithful. We, encourage the organizers to move to other regional capital cities and just anywhere else to repeat the Tamale initiative. The earlier party re-building begins, the better chances are that something substantial can be achieved for the good of the party. We also want to use this opportunity to thank Former President John Dramani Mahama and other bigwigs of the party who graced the event and we therefore encourage others to participate in future event. God Bless Ghana, God bless our great party NDC, Eye Zu! Eye Za! Signed: Prince Barfi (Organizing Secretary) 12.09.2017 LISTEN Whatever will bring Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to ridicule in the course of the 2019 election will come from within his kitchen cabinet. Sadly enough, his media hitman, Fejiro Oliver, is leading the way for the opposition to capitalize on. Attempts by media aides to the Governor to reply him is always met with stiff resistance and exposure of their persons by his terrorist Secret Reporters. As an Ika man, we give it to Oliver as the arrowhead of the team that fought Fmr. Gov. Emmanuel Uduaghan to standstill including his own UPU organisation, revealing the $1 million bribe given to them by Uduaghan. We concede that he has done so much for the Okowa government via his choosen path, just as others also did theirs. His current macabre dance of turning against most of the governors appointees should call for worries to the government of the day. One is tempted to ask why the sudden turn against the government and the incessant media attack on anyone that enters his medium black book. He cannot be feeding fat on the same government, pocketing millions meant for all Deltans and yet turn round to bring the government to ridicule at will, without caution. His Secret Reporters cannot be enjoying huge patronage running into millions from the governor and yet he turns the governor and his aides into a laughing stock for the opposition. Deltans should know that Fejiro gets N2 million monthly from government house purse directly every month through his friend Hilary Ibegbuem, whos the governors closest and trusted aide. Secret Reporters also gets N3 million as patronage every month from the governor, while the Commissioner for Information pays boys brought by him into the social media team Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira every month. In all, Fejiro and his team milk Delta of over N5 million monthly minus other perks he is showered it. In Asaba, he has no home but the government puts him in the best of hotels, feeds him and his guests and he can chose to stay for the whole year without the government stopping him. These are what Fejiro enjoys from Okowa. What then does he really want? Apart from Delta State Government, where does Fejiro makes money to build a Pent House that he was lamenting collapsed and yet he rebuilt it. Is it the money he makes from Secret Reporters alone he uses in flying round the country? When his mother was down with cancer, it is the same Okowa that sponsored the treatment to the tune of N3 million. What does Fejiro really want? For a mere journalist to earn more than Commissioners and yet still bites the fingers that feeds him whenever he wishes is best described as witchcraft of the highest order. No one in the State has been treated so well than him and if there is anything he owes the government; it should be undiluted loyalty. As a matter of fact, Secret Reporters should do to Okowa what Sahara Reporters does to Tinubu, by protecting him and all that pertains to him. What does Fejiro really want? The opposition may have planted Fejiro as a mole in the government and paying him millions to give information out to them and dishing it out to the media. What else can make a supposed friend ridicule a man he calls his father? Which man deals with a government that has his own close friend as the most powerful man after the governor? Secret Reporters has turned out as the official opposition medium to Okowa and the earlier this is defined; the best for the government. Okowa should call Fejiro to order or stop the perks he enjoys from the government. Fejiro should be made to realize that one single report or facebook post by him equals to ten of such negative reports and posts by the All Progressive Congress. If he doesnt know, he should be tutored on media loyalty to the one who pays the piper. The road to 2019 is very close and stumbling blocks like him and his medium should be called to order or plucked off completely from the scene of event. Delta North cannot afford to have a bumpy ride due to the mischief of an Urhobo journalist who sees nothing good in politicians except hes paid to see good. He has been given the money, accommodation, recognition and slots in government and should allow the governor and his aides have peace. He should be seen working for the re-election of Okowa than planting bomb miles on the way, which the opposition will root out when it matters most. Hilary should call Fejiro Oliver to order now. Felix Enurdi is a public analyst and writes from Abuja. The Divine Intervention of seeing me in Secondary School is the Agenda of Free SHS Policy. My story saids it all. Few years back, I completed JSS at Nuaso/Apinkra D/A. From the grades we (candidates) had, I was the best with Aggregate 15 (emphasis of where I'm coming from). The Computer School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) had begun. I was placed at Jachie Pramso Senior High to offer General Science. I went to the school with our Church Catechist. Total fees for Day Student was Nine Hundred and Eighty Thousand Cedis (98 Ghana Cedis). Mummy, a farmer, was sick. She was receiving treatment. Daddy left us when I was 4. Brothers and sisters have no the means. Left in the HOPE of the Divine Intervention. I remember keeping 24hrs indoor shedding tears because I have the dream to enroll in Secondary Education but it looks that ambition is burried in the ditch! THE DIVINE INTERVENTION I remembered. Mummy told me to go and see Uncle Fordjour who works with Ghana Railways as a security guard (watchman) and stays At Asawase (a suburb of Kumasi). With the little from my menial jobs, I decided to comb Kumasi Railways and Asawase in search of my uncle with the HOPE of any miracle intervention in which we are seeing from Free SHS Policy today. At 5am, my journey had started. I bored a car to Kumasi Railways. I started asking for my uncle. Sadly, nobody seems to know him. I walked for hours. After 1pm, I bored a car to Asawase. I started walking and asking anybody if they know my uncle and where he lives. Finally, one good Samaritan arrived. I went with him, I saw my uncle, I was more sad. Uncle was in his sick bed for months. I told uncle my story, I showed uncle my results. Uncle started crying. He said in Twi "Kwame Poku" as he calls me, "I'm very sick as you can see. But I have to do everything possible to make you go to school. Go and come back tomorrow." I thanked him. I was grateful to him. I sensed some words of HOPE from him. I came the next day. I didn't walk for long because I noted some landmarks during my first journey. He told me, "Kwame Opoku I tried all I can. I could only get Eight Hundred Thousand Cedis (80 Ghana Cedis). Please take it and make some part payment. They might consider and admit you and pay the remaining later". I collected it. I thanked him immensely. I told him I'm grateful. The next day, I went to the school with my Catechist. Bowak (JAPOSA will understand) accepted my part payment. I started school as a Day Student. Uncle couldn't stand up on his feet from his sick bed again until he passed away in the third term of my first year Secondary Education (RIP Uncle). With the little savings from my holiday work, the effort of my mum after she recovered and Church Donations, I completed school, worked for a while, got admission to KNUST through Less Endowed Initiative (thanks to Prof. Andam), studied hard whiles working, completed University with First Class Honours, served as a Teaching Assistant, did my Second Degree in Research and now working! Completing Secondary Education is the level ground to propel younger generations to the future. Basic level is far too low. I was able to move forward with many opportunities after my Secondary Education. Free SHS will afford every Ghanaian child the opportunity to grab the opportunities available to him/her. Let us all support Free SHS for it is a God's Intervention Policy for many Ghanaians if not to all! Gabriel Asante Bosomtwe District Ashanti-Ghana [email protected] President Nana Akufo-Addo says the decision to implement the Free SHS policy was not influenced by a desire to score political points, but by the need to offer opportunities for Ghanaians, especially the deprived and marginalised. The Free Senior High School policy continues to be controversial; some people are determined to make politics out of it. For me, it is not about politics, it is about the progress of our country what kind of education policy we should have that will allow us to move forward quickly. "They said I couldnt do it, it will be a reality, he said. The President is scheduled to launch the programme at the West African Secondary School (WASS) at Adenta in Accra on Tuesday, where he will also provide further details on his flagship education policy. The policy is expected to afford over 420,000 senior high school students free access to secondary education. At the 60th anniversary of the Okuapeman SHS at Akropong-Akuapem, President Akufo-Addo said the Free SHS policy was aimed at building an educated populace for speedy national development and progress. By free SHS, we mean that in addition to tuition, which is already free, there will be no admission fees, no library fees, no science centre fees, no computer laboratory fees, no examination fees, no utility fees. There will be free textbooks, free boarding and free meals and day students will get a meal at school for free. Free SHS will also cover agricultural, vocational and technical institutions at the high school level, the President had said. Despite challenges that greeted the implementation of the policy on Monday with the reopening of schools across the country, parents and some heads of high schools have welcomed the move. Some schools say they are yet to receive funds that will support the implementation of the programme, amid claims some headmasters are charging fees exempted from the policy. Some parents complain the computerised school placement system has failed to select their children. Others say their children have been sent to day schools at locations far away from their residence. Speaking Monday at the Flagstaff House the President called for public support to make the policy successful. I need the support of people like you and all well-meaning Ghanaians to make a success of this policy. If it succeeds it opens up huge opportunities for a lot of people who perhaps didnt see a future for themselves, the President urged. Leading private investment and financial advisory firm in Ghana, Crystal Capital & Investments Ltd. has being announced as headline sponsor for the Student CEO Summit. The Student CEO Summit is an entrepreneurship, innovation & investments conference with a mission to discover, develop and mentor the next generation of globally minded entrepreneurs right from school. The Summit which is now dubbed CRYSTAL CAPITAL STUDENT CEO SUMMIT is set to be an annual nationwide tour aimed at reaching over 30,000 students in 100 tertiary institutions across Ghana with over 100 dynamic young speakers. The Summit is hosted by the Student and Youth Entrepreneurs Network, a flagship network under The African Network of Entrepreneurs (TANOE). In an interaction with the CEO of Crystal Capital & Investments Ltd, Mr. Martin Ofori, he stated that Crystal Capital is passionate about the development of entrepreneurship especially amongst young people and the establishment of investment clubs in all schools to encourage a culture of investments aimed at securing a financially stable future for students and also enabling student entrepreneurs to have access to startup capital to start or expand their businesses. He further expressed his excitement about Crystal Capitals headline sponsorship of the Student CEO Summit calling it a partnership of like-minds. Ekow Mensah, CEO of TANOE, in a brief interview after the signing ceremony to ratify the partnership, applauded Crystal Capitals move to headline Sponsor the Student CEO Summit. He mentioned that the vision in 10 years for the summit is to build the capacity of and mentor over 300,000 students to consider entrepreneurship as a viable career opportunity, focusing their attention on building globally competitive businesses that can create employment and alleviate poverty. The Headline Sponsorship is part of a partnership between Crystal Capital & Investments Limited and TANOE to promote a culture of investment and entrepreneurship among Ghanaian youth. The CRYSTAL CAPITAL STUDENT CEO SUMMIT is set to shift paradigms, challenge the status quo, raise global business leaders right from school and discover and nurture potentials of the next generation of entrepreneurs in Ghana and across Africa. Further information and inquiries can be made here www.studentceosummit.syenet.org THE LARGEST opposition political grouping in the country, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), appears seriously dazed by President Akufo-Addo's flagship Free Senior High School (SHS) programme which commenced in all public Senior High Schools throughout the country yesterday, September 11. The president is expected to launch the countrywide programme tomorrow at the West Africa Senior High School, Adentan in Accra. Since the rolling out of the programme, the NDC has not been at peace, blowing hot and cold air about its position on the landmark policy. However one of the critics of the NPP, Nana Ekua Amoah, popularly called Mzbel, praised President Akufo-Addo after securing admission for his son at Achimota School without paying a dime for school fees. Since 2008 the NDC has been condemning the policy, saying it was impossible for it to be implemented in Ghana, explaining that if it had been possible, Kwame Nkrumah Ghana's first president would have done it. Lee Ocran, former NDC education minister, said Free SHS was not feasible. Mr. Ocran had stated in 2012 that President Kwame Nkrumah himself was unable to implement the policy and that it was going to take the NPP about 20 years to implement it. Interestingly, President Akufo-Addo's administration having been in office for only eight months is going ahead with the implementation of the policy. Its commitment to make every Ghanaian child enjoy free senior high school education, beginning with about 400,000 students, to many, is an indication that if political leaders prioritize well, a lot of social interventions can be implemented. But as reality dawns on the NDC that with sound prioritization, offering free education at the secondary level for every Ghanaian child is possible, the party now more than ever, appears to be changing its position on the implementation of the policy. Conflicting Positions In one breath, the opposition party is seen condemning the policy outright but in another, it is seen to be claiming part of the glory for the implementation of the pro-poor education policy, encouraging the government to go ahead with it. The difficulty for many well-meaning Ghanaians, however, is understanding what the 'true' position of the NDC is over the implementation of free SHS in the country. Quality Vs. Free The NDC in 2012 had 38 television adverts against the free SHS, indicating that what was feasible was quality education and not free SHS. That led ex-President Mahama to come up with the concept of 200 Community Day High Schools, out of which he could not complete even 30, with all the support his administration had from the World Bank. Ex-President John Mahama had indicated in the heat of the 2012 electioneering campaign that the Free SHS policy of President Akufo-Addo was not possible. Speaking at the campus of University of Cape Coast, Mr. Mahama had expressed doubt about the source of funding for the policy. Kenya has appealed for international assistance to prevent their secondary school system from falling apart. A recent study done on free SHS in Kenya shows that it is running into major difficulties, President Mahama told students of Cape Coast University in 2012, as he sought to point out that funding free SHS is very expensive and that African states cannot afford such a project. Former Deputy Information and Education Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, had also indicated in September 2012 that the NPP's Free SHS policy was a 'risky' one which would not win the party (referring to the NPP) the elections. He went ahead to vow that he would resist the implementation of the policy, saying the NPP, with Nana Addo as a leader, wanted to collapse education in Ghana. Interestingly, on September 6, 2017, Mr. Ablakwa was reported to have stated that the NDC started the Free SHS policy in 2014 with 10,400 students on a World Bank loan, apparently trying to also claim glory for the NDC as far as the implementation of Free SHS is concerned. Strangely, less than six days later, Ablakwa appears to be having doubts in the potential of Free SHS being an asset to the Ghanaian society rather than a liability, as he is reported to have stated that Free SHS, which he boasts of as having been started by his party, may cause many school dropouts in the country. What is clear to me is that government is going to struggle to find the money. For an adequate and proper implementation of Free SHS, you would need GH600 million a term. They should rather target the poor students with the GH400 million and not the rich. I think it's not sustainable, especially under the current circumstances, Mr Ablakwa, NDC Member of Parliament for North Tongu stressed. However, his colleague minority leader who doubles as MP for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu, thinks otherwise, as he commended the NPP government for the Free SHS policy. Mr. Iddrisu had indicated at the party's controversial 'unity walk' held in Tamale over the weekend, that the Free SHS programme is a noble, social, political and educational policy. Just a day after his statement, his party in parliament took a new position, condemning the programme. Ex-President Mahama, has on the other hand, passionately appealed to President Akufo-Addo to honour his promises to Ghanaians, including the Free SHS, even though he (Mahama) is on record to have said it is impossible to roll-out Free SHS in Ghana. President Akufo-Addo has stated that the Special Prosecutor needs the support and collaboration of the Ghana Bar Association and the bench in order to successfully fight against corruption and illegal mining (galamsey). The president made the call yesterday when he addressed the 2017 Annual General Conference of the Ghana Bar Association in Sunyani, the Brong-Ahafo Region. He said when created, the office would be manned by members of the association and the bench and so need people of integrity and moral upstanding to fight the two cankers of corruption and galamsey that are confronting the country today. He said the creation of the office should not be politicized and needs the support and cooperation of members of the association and the bench to ensure speedy trial of corruption and environmental degradation cases when it comes before them, stressing that he would do everything within his power to make it a success. The Annual General Conference, which was under the theme, 'Saving the Future Generation from The Scourge of Corruption and Environmental Degradation The Role of the Legal Profession,' brought together over 1,000 lawyers across the country and witnessed by some members of the diplomatic corps and some service commanders. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said he would do everything in his power as the president of the nation to confront the two issues of corruption and illegal mining and called for the support of the legal association to win the fight against the cankers. He asked members of the legal profession to ensure speedy prosecution of matters of corruption and illegal mining when it comes before them. He assured them of government's efforts at improving their remuneration and conditions of service. The president earlier lauded efforts of the forerunners of the association who championed the independent struggle of the nation and the later generation of lawyers, who also fought against dictatorship and military rule to bring democracy to all Ghanaians. President Akufo-Addo said he had been an active member of the association during his practising days and called on the members to live above reproach in the fight against corruption. The Chief Justice, Sophia AB Akuffo; the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Gloria Afua Akuffo and the president of the association, Benson Komla Nutsukpui addressed the audience at the conference. [email protected] FROM Daniel Y Dayee, Sunyani Lawrence Abrokwa, the estranged husband of comedienne, radio and television broadcaster, Afia Schwarzenegger, has stressed that he still loves his wife, even though she cheated on him; and would prefer out-of-court settlement of the case in court involving him. I'm human, OK and if you really have true love for a woman that you call your wife and something happens, definitely the love cannot go away just like that because I truly love Afia, 100%. I truly love Afia, and trust me, I will never ever do such a thing to Afia, in spite of all that she has done to me, Mr Abrokwa told a section of the media after he caught his wife red-handed with another man on their matrimonial bed. In view of that, he has petitioned the Director General in charge of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, COP Bright Oduro and the Attorney General's (AG's) Department to look into the matter and consider an out-of-court settlement. Dr Maurice Ampaw, counsel for Mr Abrokwa, told DAILY GUIDE that they wanted the two institutions to look into the charges again and advise them (defence team) on what to do. In any case, what we should know is that they are still married and not divorced yet and this is an issue between a married couple, he noted. Abrokwa was expected to appear before the Accra Domestic Violence and Gender-Based Court yesterday to answer charges of assault, threat of harm and publication of obscene material after he had allegedly caught his wife having an affair with another man on their matrimonial bed. He is alleged to have recorded the cheating of his wife on his mobile telephone but the video went viral on social media. Mr Abrokwa said on Kofi Tv that their eight-month-old marriage had been fraught with his wife's infidelity and anytime he confronted Afia Schwarzenegger known in private life as Valentina Nana Agyeiwaa, she retorted that her private part is hers and that she can do anything with it. Mr Abrokwa averred, We are not divorced, how can you bring another guy into our matrimonial bed? Listen, people kill people for this. He added that despite his wife's promiscuity, he has no bad intentions against her and was ready to forgive her. Lawrence Abrokwa was arrested on August 30, 2017 when his wife reported him for allegedly assaulting her after he purportedly met Afia and her lover in the matrimonial bed. He was cautioned and discharged that same day while investigations were still ongoing, but his mobile phone was seized. That same day, police had information of a video circulating on social media and investigations indicated that the source of the said video showing Afia's nakedness and the man she was said to be in bed with was her husband. Abrokwa was provisionally charged with assault, causing harm and publication of obscene material. Video In the about two minutes and twenty-three seconds' video, Afia Schwarzenegger was seen wearing a headscarf and clad in a white towel trying to shield her private part from the camera. She was heard screaming while her husband quizzed her, in Twi, Is that how you are?' She was apparently afraid of the threat of being smeared with acid by her husband, as she jumped from one corner of the room to another. Reports indicate that the man in question (lover) is a Ghanaian-based businessman, who had allegedly been engaged in amorous sexual relationship with Schwarznegger prior to and after her marriage to Lawrence Abrokwa. In the video, Abrokwa was heard saying that he had been suspecting the extra-marital escapades of his wife until he caught her red-handed with the said man. Abrokwa purportedly walked into the room when both Afia and her 'man' were naked and under a green duvet. ( [email protected] ) By Linda Tenyah-Ayettey The Member of Parliament for Weija-Gbawe Constituency, who is also Deputy Minister for Health, Hon. Tina Naa Ayeley Mensah has commended H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of the republic for rolling out the much promised and awaited Free Senior High School, beginning this 2017/18 academic year. According to the illustrious state woman, the Free SHS policy implemented by the New Patriotic Party will offer students between the ages of 15-17 the opportunity to be enrolled into the Senior High School to obtained High School education. The policy is the best in the history of the countrys education she stated. She further underscored the importance of the Free Senior High School policy as introduced and said, the policy will reduced financial burden placed on parents and guardians each year which makes 50% studentd to fall out at the end of Basic Education. She stated that, she was a beneficiary of an educational sponsorship made available to her by H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic; therefore she is not surprise, the Free SHS has seen the light of day under the Presidents watch. She commended him and the party for the laudable initiative. She was however quick to highlight on some good initiatives the Ministry of Education is currently undertaking to ensure that education thrive under the president. She stated unequivocally that the ministry led by Hon. Dr. Matthew Opoku-Prempeh, the Education Minister and his three (3) other deputies are working in tandem with a team of educationists, experts, economists, planners, engineers and mathematicians to initiate reforms to change the face of education in the country at all levels. The reforms include- Teacher reforms which deals with the teacher licensing, Basic Schools Curriculum, TVET and Tertiary Education Policy and reforms. All these reforms will go along way to give education in the country a new look she said. She also stated in plain terms that, the Akufo-Addo government will soon embark on infrastructure support, increase the Teaching and Learning Materials base and provide service and administrative grants to teachers and the Education Directorate at the MMDA levels. This she said will go a long way to promote quality and enhance accessibility of education in the country. The MP, who is a Deputy Minister for Health was full of praise for the president. 12.09.2017 LISTEN An Accra High Court on September 7, 2017 has ruled in favour of Youth Employment Agency (YEA) of the suit filed by some staff employed by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government who were transferred by the current the New Patriotic Party government this year. The affected staff of the Agency sued the Agency and described the transfer as illegal. The lead counsel for the affected staff is Lawyer Sampson Lardi who is also a political show host of Joy FM. The court has asked the Agency to go ahead to transfer any staff the Agency wishes. The court also directed all staff below the rank of a director including all acting District Directors, acting Regional Directors and acting Directors at the head office of the Agency should comply with the transfer. Below is the ruling by the Accra High Court, General Jurisdiction 2; 1. That the Ag. CEO (Lawyer Justin Kodua Frimpong) of the Youth Employment Agency has the right to transfer staff to where their services are needed most. 2. The court further directed that all staff below the rank of a director including all acting District Directors, acting Regional Directors and acting Directors at the head office of the Agency should comply with the transfer. 3. The Judge further explained that all acting directors can be transferred because these same people went through the public services commission interview but the Agency could not confirmed them as substantive directors meaning they do not possess the requisite qualifications and relevant work experience. 4. It is also worth noting that for a staff to be appointed a substantive district director as per the current scheme of service of the Agency that staff must not be below grade 10 and must have a minimum of masters degree from accredited tertiary institution with a minimum of four(4) years post qualification relevant work experience in a reputable organisation. Unfortunately these aggrieved staff do not have these minimum requirements hence they acting. Not forgetting they have been acting since November 2012 after migration into public service, after which the YEA Act was passed. With the Regional Directors they must not be below the rank of Deputy Director that is grade 12. They must have a minimum of masters degree from an accredited tertiary institution with a minimum of eight(8) years post qualification relevant work experience, three(3) of which must be in a senior management position in a reputable organisation. The question now is why have all these officers been acting since 2012/2015 till 2017 after they had gone through the public services commission interview? Available documents indicate that these officers were not interviewed for the various positions such as district directors, regional directors, or departmental directors because they did not meet those requirements. Former President John Dramani Mahama is in Marrakech, Morocco, to address a Summit of Women in Agriculture. The Summit is being organized by Believe in Africa, in collaboration with OCP Group, United Nations Women, Africa 24 TV, Forbes Afrique and AllAfrica Magazines. President Mahama is the Special Guest of Honour for the Summit, which is bringing together 350 participants from across the African continent and North America. Empowering Women in Agriculture: Generating Sustainable Growth, Bridging the Gender Gap is the theme for the Summit'. According to the Organisers, Mr. Mahama has demonstrated his commitment to transforming the African continent and is one of the leaders promoting Agenda 2063- the African Unions vision of an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa- by addressing gender and economic inequality in the agricultural sector. The Marrakech Summit is also in line with the African Development Bank's "Feed Africa Initiative" being championed by President Mahama. Joyce Bawah MOGTARI Special Aide Monday September 11, 2017 International telephone companies operating in Ghana are ripping off their customers very easily without any penalties to deter them. In countries like Uganda and Nigeria where customer welfare is very important, they are fined for recalcitrance and violations. For instance, in Nigeria where MTN has over 60-million subscribers, the company announced in October 2015 that it had been fined $5.2 billion by the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) for failing to disconnect up to five million unregistered SIM cards. MTN negotiated and succeeded in having the fine reduced by 1/3, paying $3.5 billion. In Ghana, the National Communication Authority (NCA) is the industry regulator, the equivalent of the NCC. According to market statistics posted by the NCA, as of the end of October 2016, the number of mobile voice subscribers was 37,369,666. Ghana, with a population of some 26 millioin, has six operators all of them multinationals. Listed according to market size in October 2016, they are MTN (48.92%), Vodafone (21.86%), TIGO (14.35%), Airtel (12.54%), GLO (2.06%) and Expresso (0.27%). The law makes it mandatory for subscribers to register their SIMS before they are activated. However, once the money is issued, the vendor releases the cards and the telcos activate them. All the telcos care about is the money; not the country's security through regulations. As a financial journalist, I have monitored for 18 months the overcharging schemes of the telcos operating in the country and this article will show in detail how they rob their ignorant, innocent Ghanaian customers. I will start with the industry leader MTN which, in last October, had 18,280,956 subscribers. Because of overcharging, I use my phone for calls and text messages ONLY, and even that, they manage to rob me too. For every observation I state, I will make it verifiable so that MTN and/or the reader may check it up. Because of overcharging, in The Daily Graphic of Tuesday, June 23, 2015, a widow, Joyce Tagoe, called for measures that would prevent the telcos from stealing our credit. MTN send many unwelcome messages so repeatedly that it costs me a lot of time and effort deleting them. Unable to cope with this overtime work, I have usually gone to their Medina office to ask them to take me off their messaging list. To comply, they block access, making it impossible to send me such messages. However, after a week of quietude and peace, they start sending me the messages again, ripping me off each time. From May to December 2015, almost every week found me in that Madina office with complaint about this aggravated harassment, amidst EMPTY threats of legal suit. A legal suit is Ghana is a very big task. It takes too much time. Besides, one needs a lot of money and an unbelievable level of excruciating patience. I have a legal suit with the Ghana Post Office. Such cases take about 12 months to end. But it has dragged on for six years and keeps going. This explains why I characterize my threats of legal suit as empty. To let you see the aggravated harassment I am suffering from MTN, some of the messages are reproduced raw hereunder: Message No.1: Yello! Send 1 (Baafira remix STONEBWY FT SARKODIE) or 2 (Koene Edemft Ice Queen N Shaker) to 1355 to download as your caller tune? GHS0.65 has been deducted from your account as service fee for Tunez from 07-11-2015 to 06-12-2015. MTN Ghana.Sender 1355.Sent: 8:19:16 am. 07/11/15. They send you annoying message ordering you to do something, and even before you read it, they have illegally charged you. Sometimes, the above message is sent twice within the same day with money taken each time. The same message above has been sent to me so many times that I will reproduce only the significant parts that show the time and date that make them different from the one above. Message No.2: Yello! Send 1 (Baafira remix STONEBWOY FT SARKODIE) etc. From 08-10-2015 to 07-11-2015.Sent 10:41:55 am. 08/10/15. Message No.3: Yello! Send 1 (Baafira remix STONEBWOY FT SARKODIE) etc. From 08-09-2015 to 07-10-2015.Sent 9:24:35 am. 8/9/15. Message No.4: Yello! Send 1 (Baafira remix STONEBWOY FT SARKODIE) etc. From 09-08-2015 to 08-09-2015.Sent: 10:00:12 am. 9/8/15. Before I decided to write this expose, I had deleted about 30 of these messages, some of which were duplications. Message No.5: Yello! Your Caller tune Love Letter by Bisakdei will expire on 17-08-15. Pls ignore this SMS if you would like to renew and keep it in your library. To delete it and reject renewal, reply with 2. Sender 1355031668464. Sent:10:39:10 am. 16/8/15. I never selected any caller tune! Messages like the one above carry a charge, but they are silent on it. All the same, they charge when you subscribe to such nonsense. It is ILLEGAL to charge when a material fact is not disclosed in an offer. And since I never respond to such nuisance, they constantly rob me. What is even more vexing if I dare call them on a questionable charge, I am delayed for a long time with questions and charged for the duration of the call! Message No.6: Yello! You have successfully renewed Love Letter by Bisakdei GHS0.26 for 9 days, validity extended till 15-11-2015. Dial 1355 for more hot songs! Sender: 1355. Sent: 5:08:32 pm 18/8/15. I never subscribed to anything, let alone renew it. My pone is strictly used for calls and text messages ONLY! Message No.7: Know what girls want! Dial *300*5# to subscribe for free. Browse www.mtnplay.com.gh/music . Sender: 300. Sent 9:46:57 am. 13/11/15. It was just to avoid receiving obscene immoral messages like this one that I asked them to take me off their massaging list. Who told them that I have to know what girls want? Message No.8: Your number 245021303 was chosen to meet Cristiano Ronaldo and to win CASH and TRIPS to MADRID to see him playing (0.20/day)! Reply with YES. Sender: 7777. Sent 2:57:32 pm. 2/11/2015. It was also to avoid such cheap messages that I blocked access to me. So far, how many of their customers have won and gone to Madrid to see Cristiano Ronaldo playing? Message No.9: Dear Subscriber, Your request for Service Activation has been processed successfully. Sender: MTN. Sent: 6:05:45 pm. 2/8/15. I never requested for anything. I use my phone for calls and text messages ONLY! Message No. 10: Yello! You have downloaded the Caller tune Love Letter and the great news is that it's free for 15 days Call 1355 or Dial *1355# for more [email protected] Sender 1355. Sent: 6:00:44 pm 2/8/15. A shameful lie, because I never downloaded anything! Message No. 11: You have successfully subscribed to MTN Caller Tunez. Call 1355 to browse and download your favorite songs! Sender: 1355. Sent: 6:00:44 pm. 2/8/15 I never subscribed to anything! Messaage No.12: Congrats! Your Caller Tunez Service if free for 7 days because it's Happy Hour! A monthly service fee of 0.54 GHC will be auto renewed upon expiry. Dial 1355 to manage your account. Sender: 1355. Sent: 6:00:44 pm. 2/8/15. Message No.13: Yello! Dial *1355# to download your favorite songs to entertain your callers with MTN Caller Tunez. To download Dorobucci (Dr Sid ft Don Jazzy) dial *1355*9#. Sender: MTN. Sent: 2:19:54 pm. 17/7/15. Message No. 14: Your subscription for MTN Phonebook Backup was renewed and will expire again on 07/21/15. Sender: 7014. Sent: 10:35:30 am. 21/6/15/. Message No. 15: Your subscription for MTN phonebook Backup was renewed and will expire again on 06/05/15/ Sender: 7014. Sent: 3:24:54 pm. 30/05/15. Message No. 16: Congratulations on your 2 year anniversary on MTN. You are rewarded 30 minutes free airtime for on-net calls. Sender: MTN Loyalty. Sent: 8:15:49. 02/05/15. Not a free loader, I never want anything which is free, because there is no free lunch anywhere. I felt insulted by this very message about freebies! What is more, I cannot use the time because I use my phone strictly for my own calls and text messages ONLY! Message Ni.17: Your subscription for MTN Phonebook Backup was renewed and will expire again on 05/20/2015. Sender: 7014. Sent: 10:32:58 am. 20/4/15. Market share MTN Ghana continues to dominate the mobile telephony sector. Last October, it had 18,280,956 subscribers. This is 48.92 per cent of the market. Last year, they were charging GC0.12 (12 pesewas) per minute for MTN to MTN calls. For ease of calculations, I will simply use 18-million subscribers. Stealing of credit Sometime ago when you made a call, MTN would take any amount they want from your credit without informing you. Amazingly, within a short time, your credit was depleted. Customers started to complain bitterly. Following numerous customer complaints, about three years ago, telcos were required by law to give you information on every call immediately you terminate the call. This notification is supposed to give you the duration of the call, the charge per minute, the beginning and the ending balances of your credit. [email protected] (026) 823-8826 or (027) 995-2679 Abidjan, Cote dIvoire, September 11, 2017 The President of the African Development Bank Group and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Africa50, Akinwumi Adesina, will attend the third shareholders meeting of Africa50, the pan-African infrastructure investment platform, in Dakar, Senegal, on Tuesday, September 12. The event will be held by 11:00 a.m GMT at the King Fahd Hotel. Macky Sall, President of the Republic of Senegal, as well as Bruno Tshibala, Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, [please double check] will also participate in the event. Africa50's 23 shareholder governments will be represented by Finance Ministers, senior officials, and ambassadors. Distinguished members of the business community and the Senegalese Government will also attend. Africa50 CEO Alain Ebobisse will provide updates on Africa50's most recent investments and its growing investment pipeline, as well as announcing two new country shareholders. Delegates will review Africa50's 2016 activities and approve its financial statements. Africa50's Board of Directors will present the fund's updated investment, fund-raising and capital increase strategies. Following the event, the media is invited to a press conference with the principals at 17:00 p.m. at the King Fahd Hotel conference centre. MTNs annual month-long Internet Festival, iFest 2017 took place at the Accra Mall to increase awareness and bring customers closer to experiencing the good benefits of the 4G internet service. The Chief Executive Officer of MTN, Mr. Ebenezer Twum Asante said the main objective for dedicating a whole month to data education is to create awareness and promote the inherent benefits of mobile data broadband. He note that this years edition which is under the theme, Living a Connected Life is in line with their vision to lead the delivery of a bold new digital world to their customers. Mr. Asante added that this years event will be crowned with Digital Fairs in Accra and Kumasi to expose customers to new ways of living the connected, digital lifestyle. Other activities include Facebook Live sessions with favorite personalities, giveaways and prizes to be grab in various iFest competitions such as Video contest on social media and online games contest. The CEO indicated that this years iFest is special because MTN has officially become Ghanas No.1 4G operator with well over 11.2million data subscribers of which 370,000 are 4G customers. He said in spite of this growth, there are still many Ghanaians who are yet to experience the benefits of the internet adding that that is why we need the iFest education drive. According to him, several programs have been outlined to make this years iFest exciting as customers gain increased awareness of the benefits of accessing the internet on the MTN network. Data and Devices Manager of MTN, Abdul-Latif Issahaku emphasized that iFest is organized through data clinics to enhance the education of the relevance of the internet to the Ghanaian society. He intimated that they carry out market storms where they engage customers in an open space and try to educate people about the internet and what it can do in their lives. Abdul-Latif Issahaku posited that they move into the education institutions to educate students about the relevance of the internet as well. Introduction In this article, we will discuss the meaning of a nonimmigrant waiver, the basis for a nonimmigrant waiver, and the conditions for recommending a nonimmigrant waiver. What is a nonimmigrant waiver? A waiver is akin to a pardon. Depending on your ineligibility, you may not be allowed to enter the U.S. until the passage of a specified time. You may even be barred from entering the U.S. forever. However, the law may waive or pardon your ban by admitting you into the U.S. for a specific purpose and duration. Several reasons may prevent you from entering the U.S. You may have previously committed a crime, or used fraud in an application for a visa, or stayed 6 months or more beyond your period of authorised stay. These are some scenarios that may render you ineligible to receive a visa. Whiles some ineligibilities are permanent (meaning forever), others are time-barred, meaning you may be allowed back into the U.S. after the passage of a specified time. For example, if you left the U.S. after having stayed beyond your authorised stay for one year or more, you will be barred from returning to the U.S. for 10 years. However, within the period of the 10 year bar, you may apply for a waiver to be allowed to return to the U.S. This will not mean that your 10 year bar would have been removed. You are only being granted temporary relief. This is the meaning of a nonimmigrant waiver. What is the legal authority for recommending a waiver? The legal authority for making a recommendation for a nonimmigrant waiver is INA 212(d)(3)(A). This law vests the CO with discretion to recommend a waiver. If the CO determines that you are entitled to seek a waiver relief and that you are otherwise qualified for a visa, and that your presence will not be contrary to U.S. interests, the CO may recommend a waiver to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for approval. The recommendation is sent to an office called the Admissibility Review Office (ARO) which is a unit within Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). The Visa Office at the Department of State may also make a recommendation but this should not be your preferred option. What are the conditions for recommending a waiver? You must not be ineligible under INA 214(b). Most nonimmigrant visas require that you possess nonimmigrant intent at the time of your visa application. If you fail to do so, your visa will be refused. If you made an application for a B visa, and the CO determined that you did not have sufficient ties to your home country, your visa will be refused under INA 214(b) and there will be no basis for the CO to recommend a waiver. You must show that you otherwise qualify for the nonimmigrant visa you are seeking. You must show that were it not for the ground of ineligibility for which you were seeking the waiver, you would otherwise qualify for the visa on all the other grounds. The CO will not recommend a waiver if you are ineligible on certain grounds. The law provides no waivers for these types of ineligibilities. They include security related grounds like espionage, sabotage, or intent to overthrow the U.S. government. Others are intent to commit an unlawful act in the U.S. or to violate certain export control laws. If you are ineligible under any of these grounds, the CO will not recommend a waiver. Conclusion In this article, we considered the meaning of a waiver, the legal basis for a waiver and the conditions for recommending a waiver. In our next article, we will conclude by discussing factors the CO may consider in recommending a waiver, the procedure for seeking a waiver, processing times, format, fees, forum, etc. By Emmanuel Opoku Acheampong Disclaimer: This article only provides general information and guidance on U.S. immigration law. The specific facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you. The writer will not accept any liability for any claims or inconvenience as a result of the use of this information. The writer is a private legal practitioner in Ghana. He advises on Ghana, U.S., UK, and Schengen immigration law. He works for Acheampong & Associates, a law firm in Accra, Ghana. He may be contacted on [email protected] acheampongassociatescom . President Nana Akufo-Addo says even though there may be challenges in the implementation of the free senior high school policy, he is determined to make it succeed at all cost. The President made the remark Tuesday, September 12, 2017, when he launched the much-anticipated education policy on the premises of the West Africa Senior Shool, Adentan, Accra. Parents of over 400,000 students entering senior high school for the first time after qualifying from the junior high level, have been relieved of the burden of funding the education of their children at the senior high level as government rolls out the programme this academic year. We may falter, but by the Grace of the almighty God we shall not fall, Nana Akufo-Addo told the gathering of students, tutors and top government officials. He urged Ghanaians to embrace the policy and support it to succeed, maintaining that: The policy is not about the NPP or the NDC; the beneficiaries will not only be NPP sympathisers; they will be Ghanaians. This is about Ghana and how to build a progressive and prosperous nation, he stated. The president said the introduction of the policy has seen a drastic reduction in the number of graduates whose education is terminated at the junior high school level from over 100,000 to just about 36,000. The policy also makes room for these candidates to re-sit their Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) next year and benefit from free SHS if they obtain good grades. The president, therefore, challenged beneficiaries to seize the opportunity of free SHS and make the best out it because Ghana needs your skills and talents and I know you will not fail us. The first batch of beneficiaries has begun reporting to their various schools to begin the processes for their enrollment. Despite some challenges anticipated in the implementation of the policy, parents and some heads of senior high schools have welcomed the move. Some schools say they are yet to receive funds that will support the implementation of the programme, amid claims some headmasters are charging unapproved fees. Some parents complain the computerised school placement system has failed to select their children. Others say their children have been sent to day schools at locations far away from their residence. A former Attorney General and Minister of Justice Martin Amidu has attacked NDC Member of Parliament for South Tongu Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa describing him as a cursed, sharp teethed child who lacks respect for his elders. The former deputy education minister has incurred the wrath of the citizen vigilante after Mr. Ablakwa reportedly said he will refrain from attacking him (Mr. Amidu) because of the respect he (Mr Ablakwa) had for his elders. In his latest article, Mr. Amidu said Hon. Ablakwa's position betrayed how dishonourable he is. Okudzeto Ablakwa is the person whom while claiming to be entitled to the title Honourable Deputy Minister at age 28 years without having done any public service in his life has made himself notorious for insulting everybody old enough to be his father and other elders including former President Rawlings and former President Kufuor. When a child is cursed by a father who brought him up from age three because of disrespect and insults to him, the child grows up to become the type of Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa: with sharp teeth, both figuratively and physically and a scourge on all elders of the whole Ghanaian society except those who feed his greedy political stomach, Mr Amidu said, noting that: Okudzeto Ablakwa is the person whom while claiming to be entitled to the title Honourable Deputy Minister at age 28 years without having done any public service in his life has made himself notorious for insulting everybody old enough to be his father and other elders including former President Rawlings and former President Kufuor. Read Mr Amidu's full article below: I was astounded to read a feature article by Dishonourable Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa entitled 'Martin Amidu's Hate Agenda .' on the Modern Ghana website on 5th September 2017 in which he opens with his conduct of restraining himself from commenting on my deliberate attacks on the former President and the NDC because of his respect for elders in the NDC and the party in general. Okudzeto Ablakwa is the person whom while claiming to be entitled to the title Honourable Deputy Minister at age 28 years without having done any public service in his life has made himself notorious for insulting everybody old enough to be his father and other elders including former President Rawlings and former President Kufuor. But Okudzeto Ablakwa chose to give the impression in his feature article devoted to insulting me with reckless abandon that he respects elders, at least in the NDC, and excuses his attacks on me for exercising my right to free speech in congratulating the Kenyan Supreme Court for the Court's decision annulling the 8th August 2017 elections on the flimsy ground that I had attacked the former President whom I believe is supposedly dumb figuratively and therefore unable to speak for himself. My initial reaction was to respond extensively to his article in which he deliberately twists facts to satisfy his warped imagination like a person high on something. But I was dissuaded from doing so when I read two other feature articles on the Modern Ghana website of that day and I realized that his insults and condemnation of my article congratulating the Kenyan Supreme Court and questioning the integrity of John Dramani Mahama to accept to be an observer in an election in which the whole world knew that the incumbent President in that election is his personal friend, had been answered by two more mature contributors. The two mature feature articles I am referring to are: Uhuru Mahama Exposed In Kenya's August 8 Elections Scam Parts 5 Okudzeto Ablakwa's Farcical Defence of Mr. Mahama, and What Selfless Judges Can Do In Africa. Truth be told, no person with integrity will accept to preside over an impartial tribunal or body to determine the transparency and fairness of any national election in which his bosom friend is an incumbent President participant. Okudzeto's mentor, John Dramani Mahama, who elevated him to Deputy Minister of Education amidst protest from the public, should simply have recused himself from the Commonwealth Observer Team as a mark of honour but he did not do so as proof that he has never had any honour period! Sycophant and lackey Okudzeto Ablakwa blames me for his former President's lack of simple and elementary candour and decency. Incidentally, I did not know that Okudzeto Ablakwa had written an earlier article titled: On Developments in Kenya And Why The Vicious Attacks on Former President John Mahama Are Most Unfair published on Modern Ghana on 4thSeptember 2017, defending his mentor. It was after I read this earlier article that I realized that my reasoned article congratulating the Kenyan Supreme Court had nullified the spurious arguments he had made in defence of John Mahama's misjudgment or lack of it: hence his vitriolic attacks on me on the 5th September 2017 feature article. Okudzeto Ablakwa in his usual insulting style of writing did not limit himself to my congratulation of the Kenyan Supreme Court and contextual matters related to it but digressed into seeking sympathy from the judiciary by questioning my moral character as a good lawyer. I can only tell Okudzeto Ablakwa that even though as a crook he perceives me not to be a lawyer of any good moral character the PNDC and NDC kept me as their Deputy Attorney General for upwards of twelve years, and I was nominated to the Supreme Court in 1999 only for me to decline the nomination on personal grounds. Former Supreme Court Justice and later Speaker of Parliament, Mrs. Bamford-Addo, and Mr. Justice Atuguba who is still on the Supreme Court bench can confirm this as they were asked by the then Chief Justice Isaac KobinaAbban who had nominated me to persuaded me to accept it. Okudzeto Ablakwa also questioned why I had not followed up on my previous assertions that Anas Amereyaw Anas was a covert Government agent whom the Mahama Government had instructed to suppress his parliamentary corruption investigative video clip in order to reduce the public confidence only in the judiciary. I was not against the exposure of judicial corruption. I was nauseated by the fact that any genuine anti-corruption campaigner will hold a service passport from the Government and agree to suppress the results of investigative work against another organ of Government simply because his principals instructed him to do so. I could not file any processes against the Government and Anas Amereyaw Anas because some of the judges who were accused of corruption were challenging the allegations against them in various courts including the Supreme Court. I was not stupid not to understand that if I commenced any action in the Supreme Court while those cases were still pending the ignorant public may think I was siding with the judges accused of corruption against Anas Aremeyaw Anas which would not have been the case. As long as those judges continue with their cases in court, experience and tactical considerations have urged me to stay my hands in the matter. I was called to the Bar almost two good years before OkudzetoAblakwa was born on 11th August 1980and I cannot, therefore, make the infantile mistakes he wished I should have made by following up on my allegations when the other cases are still pending. I may yet be proved right in the future when no corruption cases in the judges' corruption cases are pending before the courts or when this Government decides to investigate my allegations against the John Mahama Government in the use of unconstitutional covert agents during his administration. Okudzeto Ablakwa also stupidly questions why as a Plaintiff/Applicant spending my own resources to try to retrieve the over GHC51 million Woyome and Mills/ Mahama Government loot of the national purse, I should cut my losses by withdrawing my application to examine the principal looter, Woyome, in the face of undue delays by the Court to dispose of the matter and the of rising cost to me personally so that the new Government would continue with that endeavor as it had promised. Only an infantile lawyer like Okudzeto Ablakwa would refuse to cut his losses as I did when he knows that Governments in Ghana do not pay for any fees associated with filing and prosecuting civil cases except legal costs, damages, and other awards. I am still the Plaintiff in the Woyomecase who is at liberty to go back to the Court should I not be satisfied with the handling of the execution process of the judgment in my favour. On 6th September 2017, Citi FM fished out my birthday, called to congratulate me, and took advantage of the occasion to have a short interview with me. It was after this interview in which I had responded to questions such as whether I am a contrarian or a traitor to the NDC that I discovered that Okudzeto Ablakwa had written another feature article insulting me on 5th September 2017 entitled: Martin Amidu, Is He A Contrarian, A Traitor, Or An Anti-Corruption Crusader on Modern Ghana. Without having read his second article, I had answered his childlike queries in the Citi FM interview which any interested reader may fish out, listen to, or read. Interestingly, Okudzeto Ablakwa in his usually disingenuous and dishonourable fashion was repeating in that article disagreement he had had with me previously to which I had responded without even having the courtesy of informing his readers about my previous responses. All my responses are on my website, martinamidu.com or Martin Amidu Speaks some of which are under the headings: Why Martin Amidu Is Not Using Government Or Party Channels For His Advocacy For Accountability And Transparency dated 29th May 2012; Fighting Graft And Corruption Under The National Democratic Governments Of Ghana dated 3rdNovember 2013; On Galloppers, Settlements And The Hallowed Traditions Of The Office Of The Attorney General dated 10th July 2012; and Defending Citizens' Rights And Freedoms From Unconstitutional Conduct By Government And Its Unlawful Covert Agent dated 11th November 2015: and many others. Unlike Okudzeto Ablakwa who conveys the impression in his articles that Constitutionalism, democracy and the rule of law mandate that I should have protected the crimes and graft I exposed simply because of membership of a political party, I take the right and correct view that the Constitution enjoins every citizen to up hold and defend it by exposing any activity of any person or group of persons who abuse Article 55 on political parties for criminal purposes. My duty to the 1992 Constitution overrides any loyalty to any political party the moment it becomes an enterprise to undermine the Constitution through any form of corruption or graft, including such unconstitutional conducts as those John Mahama and Okudzeto Ablakwa committed when they were in office as a Government. And yet, Okudzeto Ablakwa shamelessly writes that citizens should disregard their constitutional obligations and protect mafia clubs in political parties when they are acting criminally and unconstitutionally. I believe the reason for OkudzetoAblakwa's warped reading of the Constitution is an upbringing in which he was not taught to respect his own parents let alone others persons standing in the position of his parents as elders. When a child is cursed by a father who brought him up from age three because of disrespect and insults to him, the child grows up to become the type of Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa: with sharp teeth, both figuratively and physically and a scourge on all elders of the whole Ghanaian society except those who feed his greedy political stomach. This is how it came about that on or around 25th January 2011 when Okudzeto Ablakwa was 30 years old and married, his adopted father, Benet Ablakwa, who assumed legal responsibility for his upbringing since age 3, walked into the offices of Daily Guide on Friday, January 21, 2011 swearing that Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa was too ungrateful to occupy a ministerial position and it would be in the interest of the country if he was relieved of his post. His legal father who was in the company of his sister, Sally Ablakwa added that: Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa now treated him like a piece of rag, the Daily Guide recounted. Just go to Ghana Web news archives of 25th January 2011 to read the full story about what his own father said about his obnoxious character. Ambassador Tony Aidoo had occasion to descend on this same Okudzeto Ablakwa for his disrespect for elders and his activities of undermining his senior colleagues in Government in a discussion at which Okudzeto Ablakwa himself was present and which is reported on Modern Ghana of 23rd July 2012. Okudzeto Ablakwa undermined his Minister of Information who was old enough to be his father by assuming the right to address a press conference as a Deputy Minister while the Minister sat by. I also had occasion to condemn his uncouth and uncultured manners and character of insulting and undermining elders and his superiors when he attempted to corruptly induce me to approve the payment of a US$1.3million alleged judgment debt to Isofoton SA in 2011 see People Are fed Up With Ablakwa's 'Lies', Modern Ghana 13th July 2012. The Isofoton case is a case in which the Supreme Court later gave judgment in my favour in Amidu (No. 2) v Attorney General, Isofoton SA & Forson (No. 1) [2013-2014] SCGLR 167. The reader should imagine the US$1.3million loss to the national purse which Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa sought corruptly to get me approve for payment to Isofoton, a foreign company, as the Attorney General. The approval of the corrupting request would have benefitted OkudzetoAblakwa personally but for my refusal to do so. The reader should now make up his mind whether Okudzeto Ablakwa's recent criticisms of me are not a vendetta for my past exposure of his corrupt conduct in the name of being a surrogate for his mentor, the former President. It is a shame that nobody took the trouble to bring the bad character of Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa to the attention of the General Legal Council and thus enabled him to be enrolled on the Roll of Lawyers by default. May be I was right not to take out the yearly licence to practice as a private legal practitioner since 2006, particularly because of charlatans of the nature of Okudzeto Ablakwa and his likes now admitted to practice in the legal profession for lack of prior challenge to character. Writing on The Politics Of Insults in a feature article on Modern Ghana on 11thAugust 2010, one author discussing persons who liked using insulting language in the media singled out Okudzeto Ablakwa for criticism as follows: While many people here are at fault, I must with great reluctance, single out Okudzeto Ablakwa. Since getting into government the young man has changed or revealed his true colours. It seems there is no elder he is not eager to insult. He turns every opportunity to respond to a substantive issue into an insult of others, regardless of their age. Are there no elders in his government who can counsel him to mind his words? Does he want to be remembered as the young man who took pleasure in insulting his elders? It is time Ghanaians told Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa that: You have insulted your parents and other elders enough. It is time to grow up now that you are married with children. The last of my three children who was born on 31stDecember 1982 now has two children and is in Okudzeto Ablakwa's peer group. My son is 5 good years older than you not to speak of my first daughter. Your former Minister, Mohammed Ayariga is also my son by our custom ask him. Kindly, therefore, learn to engage in reasoned and matured arguments in your public discourse instead of insults. A word to the wise they say is enough or as we from the North from where you have wisely chosen a wife from a respected and good family like putting it a word to the wise is in the North. Martin A. B. K. Amidu (Citizens Vigilance for Justice) Nigerians in the United Kingdom under the aegis of the Nigeria Round-table Group has condemned the current military crackdown in the South East. The Roundtable Group, which is a coalition of various South-East, South-West, and South-South groups and professionals in the United Kingdom, said the invasion of the South East by Nigerian military under its Operation Python Dance II (Egwu Eke II), was against Nigerias Constitution. The group expressed concern that the operation had hardly begun than the Nigeria Army recorded a clash with IPOB youths in what the soldiers tagged an exercise of show of force. In a statement at the end of an emergency meeting in London on Tuesday signed by Felix Adejumo, Tochukwu Ezeoke and Charles Omoregie, made available to The Neighbourhood, the group noted that the conditions in the Nigerian Constitution that allow for the deployment of the army in any part of the country as provided for in Section 217 (2)(c) of Nigerias 1999 Constitution had not arisen. Therefore the Nigerian Army has no business getting involved in the traditional duties of the Nigeria Police, it said. We, therefore, advise the Federal government to desist from this reprehensive act as Nigeria is not at war with itself or anyone as the circumstances provided for deployment of the Army has not arisen, the group stated. Using Nigerian Army to repel what appears to be a legitimate agitation by the people of the South East region demanding a referendum is a right of any people. This act of military deployment by the Nigeria government amounts to aggression in the absence of any breakdown of law and order. The group described as a waste of taxpayers money for the Nigeria Army to be engaging in the duties of the Nigerian Police and other security agencies. The Group called on the Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, as the Commander in Chief of the Armed forces, to exercise restraint in handling several agitations for restructuring around the country. We call on President Buhari to withdraw troops from the South-East immediately and also call on the United Nations and other international communities to prevail on President Buhari to cease this unwarranted attack on innocent citizens, the UK-based Nigerians added. The Nigeria Round Table, United Kingdom declared their support for the Ibadan Declaration by the South-West Nigeria and described it as the way to go in sustaining peace, equity, security and development in Nigeria. The group also indicated interest in partnering with the organisers to ensure that Nigeria was restructured to the benefit of all her citizens. Mino Raiola says he can see Juventus forward Paulo Dybala playing for Chelsea or either Manchester club in the future. Dybala was linked with a move away from Turin in the summer, with Barcelona tipped to be his next club, but he stayed put. The 23-year-old Argentinian starred for Juventus last season as they won Serie A and reached the Champions League final, but agent Raiola, who does not represent Dybala, believes he will leave the club soon, and that Real Madrid or the Premier League could be his next destination. I think Dybala will eventually leave Juve, Raiola told RaiSport. He has to go to a team where he gets into a project that is already suitable for him. For him it is difficult now to enter a reformed Barcelona, but he would do well at Real Madrid, Manchester United, Manchester City or Chelsea. Mino Raiola says Dybala suits Chelsea or either Manchester club, along with Real Madrid According to Italian press, Dybala reportedly replaced Pierpaolo Triulzi with his brother Gustavo as his representative after the summer window closed. He has scored 49 goals in 98 appearances in just over two seasons at Juventus, having signed from Palermo in 2015. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has assured Ghanaians the quality of secondary education will not be sacrificed in the implementation of the free senior high school (SHS) policy. He said at the core of the programmes implementation is the provision of quality education which would be pursued unfailingly. At the official launch of the free SHS at the West African Secondary School (WASS) in Accra Tuesday, the President said his government was partnering with key stakeholders to address challenges with secondary education. He cited infrastructure deficit, quality of teaching and lack of educational materials, which he said would be catered for under the programme. Ghana has joined the ranks of Norway, Sweden, Germany, Denmark and Finland where ones parents income may not be the decider in the accessibility of secondary education. The countrys first attempt at making education free was started by first President Kwame Nkrumah after independence for people of northern extraction. The Convention Peoples Party (CPP) government conceptualized education as a vehicle for driving development in the northern part of the country. As an Nkrumahist leading the New Patriotic Party (NPP), a capitalist oriented party, Mr Akufo-Addo first promised to make secondary education free in the lead up to the 2008 election. He was to repeat this promise in the 2012 and 2016 general elections, popularising the concept, free SHS. Political critics said the quality of the countrys education will be compromised if secondary education is made free instead of the constitutional prescription of progressively free. The Minority in Parliament on Monday raised issues with the funding of the programme, which it said is not sustainable and might affect its implementation. Related Article: Free SHS: We may falter but we shall not fall - Akufo-Addo assures While he acknowledged challenges may surface in the implementation of the free SHS, President Akufo-Addo said they will not derail the programme. We are removing one of the biggest obstacles that currently stand in their [students] way [to education] cost, he said, adding the cost of the programme will be cheaper than having an uneducated workforce. The President said the over 36,000 junior high school students (JHS) who could not qualify to secondary school will be made to resit the papers they trailed. This, President Akufo-Addo said will ensure that no child is denied access to quality secondary education in the country of their birth. Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Austin Brakopowers | [email protected] | Instagram: @realbrakopowers 12.09.2017 LISTEN The electioneering campaign is on and we gather ward by ward and unit by unit to receive aspirants of political positions in 1999 and hear their manifestoes. They promise us of a better living like good roads, hospitals, qualitative education, constant electricity and other people-oriented need. While we listen to them, many of us do not believe their sermonizations. They say that politicians are not honest in the entire global political environment, they are not frank. They say that politicians just speak in the language that they feel will arrest the minds of the people, seeking to engage the people, but not actually to do what they promise after the people must have voted them. There are today tears and anguish written all over our faces we are now refugees in our country, christened Internally Displaced Persons (IDP). I look for explanations to define the relationship of politics with the people; it is a strong and importunate relationship of disagreements. The word politics is dirty to people. Nigerians say that politics has become about power and conflict and this explains why many people are especially irrational about politics. The displaced are victims of politically-motivated insurgencies being carried out by Islamic sect known as Boko Haram in the northern part of Nigeria. The last time I checked, there were nearly 4 million people in the camps where the government provided for them. These people are excluding hundreds of thousands that have been killed since the mayhem started in 2009. We are facing a problem of political foolishness. It is a social problem greater than any crime in the world; politics has prevented our leaders from solving the problems they promised the voters that they would solve if voted for. We have been having politically-motivated religious wars between the two dominant religions of Christianity and Islam in the country. The United Nations (UN) will always have politics or is it humanitarian services to play in such crisis whereas it is very hard to see a country that is united with each other across the world. Politics has divided countries and peoples. Yet, we hear that in the last 20 years alone, the United Nations (UN) has presented electoral support to more than 100 countries. However, the drums of wars and rumours of wars in diverse places, being brewed by politics continue to skyrocket. We once saw Palestine on 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948 where people lost everything they had due to political conflict. I have heard of the Russian Revolution of 1917, the decades of dictatorship under Ben Ali and his predecessor Habib Bourguiba of Tunisia, where Tunisians gnashed teeth in their experience of bad governance, dearth of liberty and poor panoramas. They later engaged the government of Ali in December days of 2010 and on 14 January 2011, they achieved their objective and the government was ousted. By then scores of people have been pummeled to the soil. All boiled down to politics and the people. Im looking for the truthful person who will engage us actively. I would have joined politics but one has to know how many millions of dollars that he or she has, hence politics isnt for people, but for the capitalists, who have for centuries been transforming in circles from the times of lords and feudal and found themselves in democracy. Around the world, Im seeing a lot of people who are not engaged in politics and policymaking, due to politics. Yet, over the years, you hear of politicians, clerics and opinion leaders advising more people to join politics. Hardly can we explain political decisions and hardly can journalists be given freedom of information. We saw Zambia in 2011, when for the second time since independence in 1964, Michael Sata from the Patriotic Front vanquished the sitting president and was elected to the country's presidency with the highest choice, after three unsuccessful endeavours. This makes politics boring to me and it has created long distance with voters. We have sentences like German sociologist Max Weber stating in his capacious sociology of religion in 1920, that the direct problems with the world people are material interests which come first, followed by mental interests, and not ideas. We perceived that the earlier European colonization relegated the Aboriginal peoples to abysmal political approaches that contempt or pay-no-attention-to Aboriginal peoples cultural rights. There was the Queensland Aboriginal Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act 1897, regarded as the most heinous, geared towards pointing out where the natives should live, who they should associate with or even marry. It is politics that drove more than a million migrants and refugees crossed into Europe in 2015. The last time I checked, 135,711 people got to Europe by sea since the start of 2016. In 2015, Germany received more than 476,000 asylum applications. More migrants made the journey on land through Greece and the Western Balkans, and sought for asylum in Hungary, which had 177,130 applications by the end of December 2015. We heard the International Organization for Migration (IOM) saying that more than 1,011,700 migrants entered by sea in 2015, and about 34,900 by land. More than 3,770 migrants were reported to have died while on their expedition. We also heard and saw the crisis that it sparked. Many countries were literarily held hostage by the flood of people. Europe nearly divided over decisions to handle the menace. Many migrants drowned in the seas and many arrived by seas to their respective countries of refuge. We saw that Turkey and Albania didnt rest. The conflict in Syria drove many citizens away with the violence in Afghanistan and Iraq, molestations in Eritrea, poverty in Kosovo, compelled people to leave. They were looking for better life elsewhere due to political issues in their countries. But upon how politics has treated the people, we are still struggling to be like Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, the First indigenous President of Nigeria; Fidel Castrol of Cuba. You see Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President (non-U.S.1954). There is Hillary Clinton, Government Official, U.S. First Lady, Women's Rights Activist and once presidential hopeful in 2016 (1947-). There was Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister (19252013). There is John Major, Prime Minister (1943); Mary, Queen of Scots, Queen (15421587); David Cameron, Prime Minister (1966); Alexandra Feodorovna, Princess, Tsar/Tsarina (18721918) and a host of others. Notwithstanding, we heard a former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in 1998 that democratization gives people a stake in the society. Its importance cannot be overstated for unless people feel that they have a true stake in the society, lasting peace will not be possible and sustainable development will not be achieved. Odimegwu Onwumere is an award-winning journalist based in Rivers State. Tel: +2348032552855. Email: [email protected] Police had to fire tear gas to disperse hundreds of small-scale miners in Kumasi who were protesting against the government's temporary ban on all forms of small-scale mining in the country. In the course of the demonstration, 10 of the protesters were arrested by police for breaching the terms of the public order Act. Government's clamp down on illegal small scale miners and moves to conserve the environment, saw it place a six-month ban on small-scale mining. But the miners feel the ban, which was instituted in April 2017, has long elapsed, but the government has refused to allow them to go back to their concessions to work. The Ashanti Regional Police Command indicated that, it would invite the leaders of the demonstrating small-scale miners for questioning. The leadership of the small-scale miners has in turn, said it will comply with the police when it formally invites them to answer questions over mishaps that occurred during their protest. Miners complaints The leadership of the small-scale miners say the past seven months have been very trying for them since the government put a stopper on all forms of small-scale mining in its quest to salvage the nation's river bodies and forests which were been ravaged by galamsey operators. They lamented that, prospective Small Scale Miners did their best to satisfy the very rigorous legal regimes under the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), in order to obtain licenses to operate, and so treating them like illegal miners was unfair. It therefore baffles us that after adhering to and going through all these processes to acquire our valid licenses, the government would lump us with galamsey operators who have refused to abide by the laws of the country and continue to defy the government's directive even when the ban is still in force. To us, it is unjust and unfair to lump all miners, both legal and illegal together, and subject them to equal treatment and condemnation as if there are no good small scale miners who are legitimately doing their work in tandem with laws of Ghana, they said. Akufo Addo joins ignoble company over nepotism and cronyism Today, the Ghana Palaver feels obliged to return to the subject of nepotism and cronyism-two phenomena that have gained roots in the Akufo Addo led NPP government. Hardly a day passes by without news emerging about the appointment of one relative or the other of the President into government or a state agency. Despite repeated calls for a cessation of this worrying practice, it has only worsened. On our front page today, we have reported on the award of a contract to a law firm owned by Gabby Otchere Darko, a nephew of the President, by his cousin the finance minister under dubious circumstances. This adds to an already packed list of clear instances of nepotism and cronyism which undermines the credibility of President Akufo Addo. In the run up to the 2016 elections, he made an unambiguous promise at an NPP event in Kumasi last year that he will not operate a family and friends government Everything he has done since becoming President has been the exact opposite. He has dished out appointments to family members and close friends like confetti while ignoring all ethical considerations. Ghanaians are saddled with the unusual spectacle where close to 30 percent of Ministers who sit in cabinet are the Presidents relatives. Today it has been possible for women with whom the President had amorous relationships in the past resulting in the siring of children to be given appointments in government. We have witnessed situations where experienced and committed civil servants and public officials have been supplanted by relatively inexperienced relatives, friends and business associates. Independent state institutions have been infiltrated by relatives of the President, calling into question their continuous independence. Additional portfolios have been carved out specifically to accommodate the children of some powerful government officials at a time when hundreds of thousands of jobless youth have been told that the public sector can no longer employ them. Also, regulatory agencies whose work ensure checks and balance in the polity, are brimming with cronies and allies of Ministers whose work they would have to scrutinize. Who would have believed that in the twenty-first century, Ghana, a supposed democracy will relapse into an era where its President would have no difficulty being counted among the inglorious company of past despots who gave key government appointments to relatives in the mistaken belief that it will entrench them in power. In times past, it was the Bokassas, Mobutus, Eyademas, Omar Bongos, Kabilas and Iddi Amins among others, who practiced this kind of nepotism and cronyism. For a man who had spent five decades of his life trying to be President amidst claims about his human rights and ethical credentials, we had thought that despite his advanced age, he would bring a breath of fresh air into our governance and act in a manner that sustains the democratic gains we have chalked over the years. Alas we were wrong, for he is a chip of the old despotic block, who perceived governance as an inheritance and birth right which a closely-knit clan should make the most of to the exclusion of the majority. He appears to believe in exclusionist governance which has been the bane of many a country. We are inclined to believe that Akufo Addos victory in the 2016 elections and the margin by which he won, has lulled him, his party and family members into a false sense of invincibility. They have come to believe that if in spite of all the chaos and violence they engaged in between 2014 and 2016 in their internal dealings, they won the election, then they must be a very special breed of human beings who can do as they please without consequence. They are grossly mistaken. The Ghanaian electorate of today has gotten more sophisticated and they punish pig-headed politicians who take their mandate for granted. Akufo Addo and his clan who are currently at the helm will be well advised that their actions have not escaped the watchful eye of the electorate and they should not mistake the silence of the majority or the hypocrisy of moral society to mean that they have been given a blank cheque to misbehave. The day is coming when Ghanaians will have their retribution and they will be unforgiving. The First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joe Osei Owusu, is optimistic about the prospects of the Special Prosecutor 's Office in dealing with corruption within the public office. Speaking at a forum on the Office of Special Prosecutor Bill in Parliament on Tuesday, he said the current Bill was drafted based on President Akufo-Addo's idea of rooting out corruption in government. He urged the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee of Parliament to be minded by their main objective to among other things set up the Special Prosecutor's Office and insulate it from political interference. My charge to you all is that, as you discuss the lawful opinion and suggestions and discuss this Bill, we should not take our eyes off the ball, but we should remain loyal to the vision. He added that, the committee must ensure that there was no omission or room for ambiguity in the clauses of the Bill to avoid further delays. Martin Amidu Meanwhile, the Minority leader, Haruna Iddrisu, believes the addition of a clause that will make the Special Prosecutor subject to the approval of Parliament would make the office strong enough to deal with endemic corruption. The creation of the Special Prosecutor office is to enable the government deal with issues of corruption, especially among state officials. It was one of the major promises made by President Akufo-Addo as part of his plans to deal with corruption in government. Haruna Iddrisu A former Attorney General, Martin Amidu has criticized aspects of the Bill which he says limits the powers of the special prosecutor . According to him, a clause that will prevent the Special Prosecutor from chasing acts of corruption of certain magnitudes renders the entire bill useless. By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana Lands and Natural Resources Minister, John Peter Amewu, has been honoured by the Western Australia chapter of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), at a brief ceremony at Perth, Australia. Mr. Amewu was acknowledged for his significant role in the fight against illegal mining since he was appointed to serve in the Akufo-Addo government. Mr. Amewu, who received a plaque and a citation, said the incumbent government is determined to improve the country's economy, and charged Ghanaians in the diaspora to remain calm, saying government will not fail on its numerous promises. He emphasized that, the President is aware of the support given to him and the party, and will ensure that many more opportunities are created for all Ghanaians. The war against illegal mining has seen Government take some drastic decisions including a temporary ban on all forms of small scale mining. Mining equipment worth millions of cedis have been seized with some destroyed. Several illegal miners have also been arrested by operation vanguard, awaiting prosecution. Others have voluntarily abandoned the many illegal mining sites, including those who were operating on water bodies and in forest reserves. Since the intense campaign backed by the media commenced, some water bodies, which were hitherto heavily polluted and almost unusable, are now returning to their natural state. Bawumia commends Amewu for bravery in galamsey fight Among the many individuals and groups to have commended Mr. Amewu for his instrumental role in the galamsey fight, is the Vice President Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia. At a ceremony in the Volta Region some months ago, the Vice President described Mr. Amewu as a gem who deserved commendation for his hard work. Dr. Bawumia was speaking as a Special Guest at a ceremony held by the Gbi Traditional Area under the auspices of the Paramount Chief Togbega Gabusu, to honour John Peter Amewu on his ministerial appointment and the zeal he exhibits in discharging his work at the Ministry of Land and Natural resources. Addressing the gathering, Togbega Gabusu commended John Peter Amewu for his hard work, and encouraged other natives of the land to emulate him. About John Peter Amewu John-Peter Amewu is 48 years old, and holds an MBA (Finance) from University of Ghana. He also has a Post Graduate Degree (Executive MBA in International Energy Industry Management), and Masters in Petroleum Law and Policy from University of Dundee (UK). He has more than 15 years' experience in Government, Private Sector, Civil Society and International Development Organizations. He has participated and undergone several mining professional training and attained various certificates from some Australia's prestigious Universities (University of Sydney and University of Western Australia). He is a Cost Engineer by profession with broader knowledge in the Energy and Mining Industry. He is a Co-founder of Africa Center for Energy Policy ACEP; and also worked as the Director of Policy and Research where he provided pro-active and comprehensive policy related advice to support a variety of Government and Private Sector Projects. He is the Chairman of Board of Directors of major private institutions in Ghana and a professional international consultant in his area of expertise (Mining and Petroleum). His contributions in providing solutions to the problems in the Energy Sector in Ghana have earned him both local and international acclamation and recognition. He was the Volta Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) before he became a Minister. He is married with three children. By: Kojo Agyeman & Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana Tunis (AFP) - Tunisia's presidency on Tuesday expressed its regret over the expulsion of Morocco's Prince Moulay Hicham, first cousin of King Mohammed VI, but did not explain why he had been deported. The prince was expelled from Tunisia Friday after arriving to attend an academic conference organised by Stanford University on the political transition in Tunisia after the 2011 Arab Spring uprising. "The president of the republic is exasperated by what happened to researcher (Prince Moulay) Hicham Al-Aloui and his expulsion from Tunisian territory," presidency spokeswoman Saida Garrach wrote on Facebook. Garrach said the prince was deported "according to automatic administrative procedures without being referred to officials, which we regret". She gave no further information on why the prince was expelled, and was not available for further comment. Rights groups were highly critical of the incident, saying it smacked of practices under longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who was overthrown in a 2011 revolution. Campaign group CRLDHT expressed its "solidarity" with the prince and its "indignation" at his expulsion, saying it "constitutes a violation of human rights and freedom of movement guaranteed by the rule of law". Known as the "rebel prince" for his outspoken criticism of Morocco's political system, Moulay Hicham lives in the United States where he is a researcher at Harvard University. He said he had demanded to be given a "document to justify my expulsion, since I had done nothing wrong". I read a headline on Bloomberg this morning that made me chuckle. Its a great example of why you should be suspicious of all day-to-day explanations of market movements. The headline read US Stocks climb to record as Irma threat recedes. This suggests that US stocks were held back by the ferocity of Hurricane Irma, despite the fact everyone knows the strength of a hurricane recedes once it makes landfall. Maybe the damage wasnt as bad as expected. But pinning market moves on the direction and impact of a hurricane just tells you the journalists writing the story didnt know what else to write. After all, you can hardly say that the S&P 500 hit new all time highs today just because it was bound to happen at some point. Or that gold retreated because it had been rallying for weeks, and it was only a matter of time before it changed direction. Thats not much of a story, is it? No, people would rather make stuff up, because it sounds better than admitting we dont really know. Im sure the fact that Irma wasnt as bad as expected led to some positive sentiment in the US market. Throw in the fact that North Korea didnt launch another missile over the weekend (which was expected, apparently) and you have a good reason for risk-on trades to do well. The reality is that no one really knows whats going on from day-to-day. But humans hate uncertainty, so we construct narratives to make an intrinsically uncertain world more certain. In his book, Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman said that we have two systems for how we think. System one is fast and reactionary, while system two is slower and more considerate. When coming up with a quick explanation for why the market did this or that, we engage our system one. As Kahneman writes in a chapter entitled, The Illusion of Understanding: The sense making machinery of System 1 makes us see the world as more tidy, simple, predictable and coherent than it really is. The illusion that one has understood the past feeds the further illusion that one can predict and control the future. These illusions are comforting. They reduce the anxiety that we would experience if we allowed ourselves to fully acknowledge the uncertainties of existence. Consider the creation myth as it appears in The Bible. That fits the bill, as described above, quite nicely. Weve been telling ourselves stories to make sense of the world ever since we developed language skills. Were hardwired to make stuff up. Whats the point of telling you this? Whats the benefit of telling you that the things you read about the market on a daily basis are mostly guesses in the absence of any concrete facts? Well, if youre conscious of this illusion of understanding, youll be less inclined to get sucked into a narrative that suits your particular biases. When a market narrative plays to your bias, youre more likely to get sucked into making a poorly timed investment. For example, gold is probably one of the most biased investment narratives people get sucked into. The recent rally has been great for gold and gold stocks. But if you bought into it, and believed the hype, you may have made some investments at exactly the wrong time. Last week, I updated subscribers of Crisis & Opportunity on the gold price action. Weve got a couple of gold stocks in the portfolio, and are looking to add a few more at some stage. I showed the following chart and said that the breakout from the trading range was bullish. But instead of getting all worked up about the rally and going full gold bug, I urged caution. Source: Optuma [Click to open new window] Heres what I wrote: This is a strong move for gold. I wouldnt be surprised to see the rally extend higher in the short term. But what often happens after breakouts like this is that prices come back to the breakout point. That could happen should tensions in North Korea subside. Should gold correct in the weeks or months to come, it might be worthwhile adding a few more gold plays to the portfolio. Ill keep you updated on this front. Gold subsequently rallied to around US$1,360 an ounce. But it has since retreated sharply, and it now trades around US$1,327 an ounce. In my view, the worst thing you can do at this point is to listen to the daily narratives about why gold is doing this or that. Its far better to plead ignorance about the whole thing and just play whats in front of you. As I told my subscribers, the recent breakout for gold is bullish. It sets up the precious metals for higher prices longer term. But instead of buying into all the reasons why gold will go higher long term, its better to not even know. Ignorance is bliss. So the prudent thing to do is wait for the inevitable correction after the breakout, and then plan your investment strategy from there. Which is exactly what well be doing. If youre interested in learning more about this investment approach, click here. Regards, Greg Canavan, Editor, Crisis & Opportunity 'The big truck is still on ... CCSO Sept 11 2017 Eradication Sites Evidence Photo View Photos San Andreas, CA With the wafting skunk-like smells of ripening marijuana already permeating the county, Calaveras sheriffs and code enforcement officials headed out earlier today to take more illegal plants out of play. Based on a rough estimate worth of $3,000 per plant, this mornings 1,200-plant eradication effort might equate to the elimination of about $3.6 million in black market pot. Sharing details Sheriff Rick DiBasilio reports, Today we eradicated about 900 plants down in Burson off Arapahoe Way andanother site of around 300 plantsoff Michel Road in the Mountain Ranch area. He adds, Because it is harvest seasonthere are a lot of people moving around. We are planning more operations in the near future not only with code compliance but with the search warrant process. He emphasizes that code compliance eradications involve those who attempted to register grows and either did not make it through the process or did get a permit but then ran afoul of the rules under the countys urgency ordinance regulating medical marijuana. Those who are targeted under search warrants never registered in the first place and are what officials term as bad actors who may have been attempting to hide in the herd. As reported here, under the countys massive multi-agency Operation Terminus bust, which occurred over the first week in August, teams seized nearly 29,000 plants along with 31 tons of unprocessed marijuana and nearly a ton of processed pot, among other items. Citations were also issued by state environmental officials and County District Attorney Barbara Yook swore a dedicated deputy attorney to prosecute offenses as environmental crimes. During enforcements latest activities, Sheriff DiBasilio reports that plant trimming activities seem to be in progress at many grow sites and there are signs that some illegal growers seem to have eradicated plants at some sites on their own, which cheers him without a doubt to see. He maintains, We had a lot of people leave after our focus operation but not as many as what we would have liked to have seenbut we will continue to go after thosethe growers who are not registered or their registration was denied and they should not be growing. Asked if enforcement activities in the coming days will lower the boom in similar fashion to Operation Terminus, the sheriff acknowledges, In essence you are going to see some operations similar to that. I am not at liberty to say when they are going to happenyou will know because people will be scrambling. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra View Photos Sacramento, CA Californias Attorney General Xavier Becerra is filing suit on behalf of the state against the Trump administrations decision to end the Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA). The DACA program protects immigrants from deportation who were brought into the country illegally as children. California is joined in the lawsuit by Maryland, Maine and Minnesota. Its similar to a separate lawsuit filed last week by 15 states and the District of Columbia. Becerra argues that the Trump administration violated the Constitution and federal laws by rescinding DACA. He states, The court of public opinion has already spoken: the vast majority of Americans agree Dreamers should be here to stay; so now its time to fight in every way we can and on multiple fronts in the court of law. When announcing the DACA decision, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions stated, To have a lawful system of immigration that serves the national interest, we cannot admit everyone who would like to come here. That is an open border policy and the American people have rightly rejected it. DACA will end in six months unless Congress takes other action. Becerra estimates that one-out-of-every-four participants in the DACA program reside in California. Specifically, the states lawsuit argues the following point, according to Becerras office. -The Trump Administrations termination of DACA and the associated Department of Homeland Security (DHS) memo and FAQs may lead to the untenable outcome that the Administration will renege on the promise it made to Dreamers and their employers that information they gave to the government for their participation in the program will not be used to deport them or prosecute their employers. The risk DACA grantees face is compounded by DHSs earlier imposition of boundless enforcement priorities that sweep in most immigrants. The threatened misuse of sensitive information provided in good faith by DACA grantees to the government is fundamentally unfair, violating the Fifth Amendments due process guarantee. -The federal Regulatory Flexibility Act requires the government to analyze the effects of a proposed change on small businesses, many of which are owned by, or employ, Dreamers, and to take comments on the proposed change. The Administration ignored these legal requirements. -The termination of DACA directly affects the substantive rights of almost 800,000 people and indirectly affects millions more, as well as small and large businesses, non-profits, and the towns, cities and states that these individuals call home. The federal Administrative Procedure Act requires such a change to be made for sound reasons, and for the public to be able to make formal comments on it before its made into law. Whether or not the initiative was implemented through notice and comment rulemaking, it cannot be terminated without it. Can you imagine living in a country without law? Such a nation would be in anarchy, characterised by the endless violation of human, animal, and property rights. Nigeria's laws are contained in the constitution. Lawyers protect the rights of their clients and promote justice. To become a competent lawyer, you should find the best law university in Nigeria. A brown gavel on a brown table. Photo: pexels.com, @EKATERINA BOLOVTSOVA (modified by author) Source: UGC There are different types of attorneys in today's society. Similarly, many institutions of higher learning offer law programmes. You should determine the best law university in Nigeria based on the type of attorney you wish to become. Best Law university in Nigeria: Top 20 institutions in 2022 Many prospective attorneys want to know the best law universities in Nigeria. If you are one of them, fret not. Below is a compilation of 20 top institutions that offer quality education and produce competent lawyers. 20. The University of Abuja A person holding a white scroll. Photo: pexels.com, @Ekrulila, @universityofabuja (modified by author) Source: UGC PAY ATTENTION: Join Legit.ng Telegram channel! Never miss important updates! Location: Abuja Abuja Year of establishment: 1988 1988 Type: Public (federal) Public (federal) Motto: For Unity and Scholarship The University of Abuja is one of the federal universities in Nigeria and is one of the best law schools in Nigeria. It was founded in January 1988 and took in the first batch of learners in 1990. The institution has since grown and is known for offering world-class education. 19. Rivers State University A close-up photo of a man wearing a green graduation dress. Photo: pexels.com, @Muhammadtaha Ibrahim Ma'aji, @riversstateuni (modified by author) Source: UGC Location: Diobu area, Port Harcourt, Rivers State Diobu area, Port Harcourt, Rivers State Year of establishment: 1980 1980 Type: Public Public Motto: Excellence & Creativity Rivers State University has one of the best law schools in Nigeria. It has a Faculty of Law with various departments specialising in different types of law, including business, public, international, and private property law. 18. Ekiti State University (EKSU) Location: Ado Ekiti Ado Ekiti Year of establishment: 1982 1982 Type: Public Public Motto: Knowledge, Honour, Service If you are searching for the best university in Nigeria to study law, consider EKSU. This institution is known for producing competent graduates in various fields. It has a Faculty of Law with nearly fifty lecturers to ensure all students get a world-class education. 17. Afe Babalola University A male and female student holding a discussion outdoors. Photo: pexels.com, @Keira Burton, @afebabalola (modified by author) Source: UGC Location: Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State Year of establishment: 2009 2009 Type: Private Private Motto: Labor Servitum Et Integritas (Labor for service and Integrity) Afe Babalola, a Nigerian attorney and philanthropist, founded this institution in 2009. It offers functional and quality education and is known for producing skilled and knowledgeable graduates in various fields. 16. The University of Calabar (UNICAL) A woman drinking coffee as she works. Photo: pexels.com, @Andrea Piacquadio, @unical.edu.ng (modified by author) Source: UGC Location: Calabar, Cross River State Calabar, Cross River State Year of establishment: 1975 1975 Type: Public Public Motto: Knowledge for Service UNICAL arguably has the best law school in Nigeria. It has a Department of Law with rich history and competent trainers and lecturers. The department was officially launched in 1980, five years after the institution was established. 15. Olabisi Onabanjo University A young woman writing on a notebook. Photo: pexels.com, @RF._.studio, @oouagoiwoye (modified by author) Source: UGC Location: Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State Year of establishment: 1982 1982 Type: Public Public Motto: Excellentia Humana et Patriae opus (The Flowering of Human Abilities and Service to the Fatherland) Olabisi Onabanjo University was formerly known as Ogun State University. It is a state institution of higher learning. It is one of the best universities for the law program in Nigeria, and its mission is to offer the best educational experience for all students and the public. 14. Delta State University (DELSU) A serious young woman using the laptop. Photo: pexels.com, @Andrea Piacquadio, @DelsuAbraka (modified by author) Source: UGC Location: Abraka-Abbi Rd, Uruoka Abraka-Abbi Rd, Uruoka Year of establishment: 1992 1992 Type: Public Public Motto: Knowledge, Character and Service DELSU is a multi-campus state institution of higher learning. Its main campus is located in Abraka, while the other two campuses are situated in Anwai-Asaba, and Oleh. The Faculty of Law is located at the Oleh campus and is one of the best universities for law in Nigeria. 13. Ambrose Alli University A male student holding books and coffee. Photo: pexels.com, @Ketut Subiyanto, @AmbroseAlliUniversity (modified by author) Source: UGC Location: Edo State Edo State Year of establishment: 1981 1981 Type: Public Public Motto: Knowledge for Advancement Ambrose Alli University is a state-owned institution founded in 1981. It was formerly known as Edo State University. Its Faculty of Law has produced some of the best, most hard-working, and successful legal practitioners both at the national and international levels. 12. Abia State University Two people smiling on their graduation day. Photo: pexels.com, @INSYNCT MEDIA, @abiastateuniversity (modified by author) Source: UGC Location: Uturu Uturu Year of establishment: 1981 1981 Type: Public Public Motto: Excellence and Service Abia State University believes in education that empowers individuals towards service and excellence. The institution runs on the collegiate system, and its College of Law is arguably the best school to study law in Nigeria. 11. University of Maiduguri College students studying. Photo: pexels.com, @Andy Barbour, @universityofmaiduguri (modified by author) Source: UGC Location: Maiduguri Maiduguri Year of establishment: 1975 1975 Type: Public Public Motto: Knowledge is Light The University of Maiduguri is one of the best higher learning institutions located in the country's northern part. Founded in 1975, it is one of the oldest federal universities. The institution is particularly renowned for its law program. 10. Babcock University A lady walking in a doorway holding a brown envelope. Photo: pexels.com, @Andrea Piacquadio, @babcocknigeria (modified by author) Source: UGC Location: Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State Year of establishment: 1959 1959 Type: Private Private Motto: Knowledge, Truth, Service Babcock University is one of Nigeria's oldest and best private institutions of higher learning. The institution prides itself on producing competent graduates. It has a School of Law And Security Studies that offers world-class learning. 9. Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) A young woman studying. Photo: pexels.com, @RF._.studio, @Ahmadubellouni (modified by author) Source: UGC Location: Zaria Zaria Year of establishment: 1962 1962 Type: Public ABU produces thousands of graduates every year from its multiple undergraduate programmes. It is one of the best federal universities in the northern part of the country. Its Faculty of Law is located at the Kongo Campus. 8. Lagos State University (LASU) A male and female student working together. Photo: pexels.com, @Kampus Production, @lasuinfo (modified by author) Source: UGC Location: Ojo, Lagos State Ojo, Lagos State Year of establishment: 1983 1983 Type: Public Public Motto: Per la verita e di servizio (For Truth and Service) LASU is one of the most popular and best state-owned universities in Nigeria. Its Faculty of Law is among the best in the country. One of the notable alums of this faculty is the sitting vice president of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo. 7. University of Benin (UNIBEN) Location: Benin City, Edo State Benin City, Edo State Year of establishment: 1970 1970 Type: Public Public Motto: Knowledge for Service UNIBEN was founded in 1970 and is one of the first-generation federal universities in the country. Its Faculty of Law has produced some of the high-profile legal practitioners in the country, including Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola and Josephine Anenih. 6. The University of Jos (Unijos) A lady on her graduation day. Photo: pexels.com, @Joshua Mcknight, @unijos1 (modified by author) Source: UGC Location: Jos, Plateau State Jos, Plateau State Year of establishment: 1975 1975 Type: Public Public Motto: Discipline and Dedication Many people argue that Unijos is the best university to study law in Nigeria. The institution is a former campus of the University of Ibadan. In 1975, it got its charter. Today, it has one of the best law schools in the country. 5. Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) The OAU logo. Photo: @OAUniversity Source: UGC Location: Ile-Ife, Osun State Ile-Ife, Osun State Year of establishment: 1961 1961 Type: Public Public Motto: For Learning and Culture OAU is one of the most notable institutions of higher learning in Nigeria. The university is one of the most competitive in the country and is the dream institution of higher learning for many Nigerian students. Its Faculty of Law has four departments specialising in business, public, international, jurisprudence and private law. 4. University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) A man studying. Photo: pexels.com, @Thirdman, @universityofnigeriansukka (modified by author) Source: UGC Location: Nsukka-Onitsha Rd, Nsukka Nsukka-Onitsha Rd, Nsukka Year of establishment: 1955 1955 Type: Public Public Motto: To Restore the Dignity of Man The University of Nigeria (UNN) is among the first-generation federal universities founded before Nigeria's independence. Its Faculty of Law is the oldest in the country. It has made an immense contribution to legal education and practice in Nigeria. 3. University of Ibadan (UI) The UI logo. Photo: @UNIIbadan Source: UGC Location: Ibadan Ibadan Year of establishment: 1948 1948 Type: Public Public Motto: Recte Sapere Fons (For Knowledge and Sound Judgement) The University of Ibadan is Nigerias first premier higher learning centre. It is one of the most prestigious institutions of higher learning. The institution has produced some of the most distinguished Nigerian attorneys. It has four departments in the Faculty of Law. 2. University of Lagos (UNILAG) The UNILAG logo. Photo: @unilag Source: UGC Location: Lagos Lagos Year of establishment: 1962 1962 Type: Public Public Motto: In deed and in truth UNILAG is among the most prestigious institutions of higher learning in Nigeria. Its Faculty of Law offers specialisation in public, private and property, commercial and industrial, or jurisprudence and international law. 1. University of Ilorin (Unilorin) A young lady studying while standing. Photo: pexels.com, @Yaroslav Shuraev, @UniversityOfIlorin (modfied by author) Source: UGC Location: Ilorin Ilorin Year of establishment: 1975 1975 Type: Public Public Motto: Better by Far The University of Ilorin is a federal institution of higher studies in Nigeria. It is always ranked among the top institutions of higher learning in the country and is arguably the best university for law in Nigeria. Its Faculty of Law started running in March 1983. It was founded on the principle of inculcating in students a clear understanding of the importance of law in contemporary society. How many years will it take to study law in Nigeria? It will take you about seven years to become a qualified attorney in the country. You will spend the first five years in an accredited institution of higher learning, followed by two years at the Nigerian law school and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). Which is the cheapest university to study law in Nigeria? If you want to find the cheapest university to study law, you ought to get information from various institutions and compare the charges. Next, pick the cheapest among them. Does it matter what uni you go to for law? Academic achievement is crucial in the legal profession, so it is important to choose the right institution. The right uni will give you access to plenty of opportunities beyond course work and help you kick start your law career. What type of lawyer earns the most? Attorneys salaries vary depending on location, size of firm, and education level. Even so, the highest earning are medical, intellectual property, trial, and tax lawyers. Is law a hard degree? Earning a degree in law is pretty challenging because it involves plenty of work. Even so, many people have done it and so can you. Which are the qualities of a good lawyer? A good attorney has good analytical, research, speaking, and listening skills. They should also be responsive to a client's needs. All prospective Nigerian attorneys are curious about the best law university in Nigeria. There are many institutions offering this prestigious course, but the best is one offering quality and affordable education in your preferred area of specialisation. READ ALSO: List of universities offering Nutrition and Dietetics in Nigeria Legit.ng recently published a list of universities offering nutrition and dietetics in Nigeria. Qualified nutritionists and dietitians have ample scientific knowledge about food, health, and disease. These professionals help people modify their eating habits for improved health. Numerous higher learning institutions offer nutrition and dietetics in the country. Source: Legit.ng If you have already made up your mind about starting your own business in Nigeria, then do not consider only oil industry to earn big money. You can also do a very profitable livestock farming business in Nigeria. In recent years, livestock farming is booming and the future of this economic sector is very bright. Lets learn more about the future prospect of livestock farming in Nigeria and some useful tips how to do agribusiness successfully. Livestock farming in Nigeria includes pig, snail, cattle, goat, rabbit, chicken and other farming sub-niches. It is a very profitable industry, and its development depends on two major factors: raw materials and technologies used in the production. These days, the farming sector is controlled by small-time farmers in rural areas and there's a possibility of making millions of dollars every year. Livestock farming is one of the major sources of food for man and there is no doubt that as long as people live on this planet, there will always be a need for producing food. In addition, the farming sector creates more job opportunities and develops the Nigerian market economy. The Nigerian livestock producer typically is a rural person who can run his business even in his back yard. This person is aware of local animals needs and the environment in which they live. To run a livestock business, you should be cautious and pay attention to details. How to run a livestock business If you plan to start a livestock business, you need to consider a couple of conditions, before you begin. The future of agribusiness development depends on a couple of circumstances. Lets take a look at top 3 things you should remember for your business to be prosperous: There is nothing more important than land. But if you do not have space, no need to worry! There are different types of farming, and some do not require a lot of space to have in order to start your own business. Aside from the land, at the beginning, you will need some initial capital and a good business plan. If you want to have a successful business, you should not aim for large scale business in the beginning, but it is better to try out your ideas on small scale business. A well-written business plan is a must have for future development of your business, as this way you can calculate if this livestock farming business is a profitable one or something should be changed in order to succeed. The third thing to remember is discipline and dedication. Discipline is an essential for your goals, dreams, and desires to become true. You have to realize that livestock business is very demanding, but at the same time, hard business to manage. Self-discipline makes it more likely for young entrepreneurs to succeed. You will not be able to make long-term plans and succeed in future if you do not like what you do. Be hardworking and choose the area in which you want to develop. No business can be done if the owner has little dedication to do it. Prospect in different livestock farming areas Now that you know what you need for a successful livestock farming business, lets look at the prospect in different farming areas in Nigeria. For every successful investors and business, it is necessary to understand the demands and needs of local and foreign consumers. This way, it is easier to target buyers and make a decision among different markets. When you see that one area is more profitable than another, it is obvious which one to choose and start off own business. But you have to remember that every market and every consumers demands are different. Therefore, the right decision should be made according to the market demand. READ ALSO: Honey bee farming business plan These days, almost all livestock farming areas bring in good money. Whatever sub-niches you might choose, it will still be profitable. The livestock farming business in Nigeria or animal husbandry is a very promising type of business, and it is estimated that in future it will be even more prosperous, than the oil industry. Here is the list of top 7 most profitable sub-niches in Nigerian livestock farming: Fish farming The catfish farming and tilapia fish farming businesses occupy the biggest retail area when it comes to the fish farming business industry. It is a very profitable farming sub-niche, because of Nigerias access to the ocean. If you take a look at a typical Nigerian daily nutrition ration, you will notice that out of 10 Nigerians more than 6 persons eat fish on daily basis. Among these 6 people, more than half of them consume catfish weekly. The total profit of selling and producing cat fish per week in Nigeria is estimated to be N75 million and in the future it will be even more. Therefore catfish will be even more profitable and high in demand on the fish market. Pig farming It is a relatively new livestock farming business in Nigeria and has only started to develop. It is not as large scale as a fish farming business. Nevertheless, it is believed that in the future it will triumph over cattle farming and bring in more than N50billion annually. Poultry farming This type of farming is a very popular business in every country of the world. It is so profitable due to several reasons. You can sell not only chicken meat but eggs as well. You can raise not only chickens but ducks and turkeys as well. This way, you can satisfy every customers need. Cattle farming Cattle farming is said to be the most common and the oldest livestock farming business in Nigeria. It is especially popular in the northern part of the country. In future, it is estimated to become even more profitable, since these days, more and more people start to consume milk on a daily basis. Snail farming Everyone is aware of the health benefits of snail meat. Since it is so good for your health, Nigerian government plans to promote the snail farming industry and involve more farmers into the business. Due to the high demand in foreign countries, in future, it will be extremely profitable to export snail meat abroad. Rabbit farming When it comes to rabbit farming, there is no need to worry about too many requirements. This kind of farming has a very good future and good to focus on. You do not have to only focus on rabbit meat production. Aside from it, you can also concentrate on leather and fur production. Fur for clothes will be in high demand in the near future. It does not matter if you are a farmer or investor, you will always get a good profit out of rabbit farming business. Goat farming Goat farming is a very rapidly developing and growing farming sector in Nigeria. People love how tender goat meat is and the fact that it contains almost no fat. Also, it has higher protein content than any other meat. Goat milk can be used for making yogurt, ice cream, cheese, and butter. These are the main reasons why goat farming business will develop in the future and is considered now to be a very lucrative business. The future problems & changes in livestock farming As profitable as livestock farming is, so are the challenges you'll face. There are many problems to deal with if you decide to do this business. Lets see what kind of problems have not been solved yet by the government in Nigeria, and what can you might need to overcome it in the future. Financial capital If you decide to get started with your own livestock farming business, be prepared and have adequate capital for it. There are not a lot of programmes funded by government or local banks that can support your initiative. This means that you have to rely only on yourself. The capital is one of the main problems that a farmer faces now and will face in the future. Therefore, if you really want to have a livestock business, you have to find other sources of funding, such as loans or farm grants. Livestock diseases The most painful and complicated problem to deal with is livestock diseases. It is no secret that animals can catch some virus or diseases once in the while. Due to different circumstances, including climate, economic, and infrastructure conditions, these livestock diseases will not disappear in the near future. If your animals get sick, then it will cost a lot of money for you to get them treated. For this reason, you have to care for them and take them for proper vaccinations. Get more information Of course, you may believe that running a farming business is simple, but in the near future, the farming system will change and get more modern. To cope up with the government standards, you will have to get more training and learn more about modern animal production techniques and tools. Market conditions The market conditions should be researched well and studied thoroughly. The Nigerian animal product market is badly organized and this leads to the problem of having expired products or food poisoning. The result is clear no profit. In the future, there should be product storage system developed and all Nigerian markets must use deep freezers and/or any other modern methods of meat, egg preservation. Transportation The way you transport the meat or eggs is very important. Nowadays, due to a lack of access to the good roads from farms to markets, it is very hard to transfer products. In the future, it is planned to either develop the transport system or to make farmers have their farms closer to the markets. Animal nutrition It is estimated that up to 80% of livestock farming expenses are spent on animal nutrition and supplies. This means that if you want to make profit out of animal production, you have to consider that you need to invest a lot. Also, the dry season also has a big impact on livestock farming business. In future the government plans to help farmers make a reasonable profit. The government advises farmers to minimize the cost of feeds and learn how to do self-feed production. Although livestock farming is a very promising industry and develops rapidly, there is still room for development. Livestock farming has more advantages than disadvantages. There is no doubt that if you choose any type of livestock farming as a business, you will make good money. At the same time, do not get too excited and be aware of future problems in the livestock market. Ensure you research it well before getting started. Once you make up your mind get on track! Share this article with your friends and leave your comment below. READ ALSO: Advantages and disadvantages of pastoral farming Source: Legit.ng - Sahara Reporters claims that it has received an audio of a conversation between Mamman Daura and a member of his cabal - In the audio the two men were allegedly discussing their worries about the president's health - The president's cousin in the audio allegedly refers to Aisha Buhari as a bomber from Yola - The conversation allegedly took place during the presidents medical vacation in London Online newspaper, Sahara Reporters has reported that it has received an exclusive audio of a conversation between Mamman Daura, a cousin of President Muhammadu Buhari and one of his closest supporter, with Mamman Tukur a member of his cabal. The conversation between the two men allegedly took place during the presidents medical vacation in London where they were reportedly discussing their worries about his health condition during his treatment. In the audio both men share their concerns about the wife of the president whom they referred to as "sui*ide bomber" from Yola. READ ALSO: Nigeria army releases video showing IPOB members attacking soldiers The audio further reveals that the men also discussed the issue of Ambassador Olusola Oke, the suspended director general of the National Intelligence Agency, who was alleged to have bribed people to speak up for him following the discovery last April that he was warehousing funds in a Lagos apartment. According to Daura, the suspended DG even bribed Senate president Bukola Saraki to speak on his behalf. The recording also exposes the inner workings of President Buhari's feelings, during his treatment, towards a number of people, including his wife as they jostle for power and worry about his health. Below is the text of their conversation: Mahmud Tukur : salaam alaikum. Mamman Daura: alaikum salaam. Senior Mahmud MT: You did not answer my calls. I have called severally. MD: I am surprised COS I only saw one missed call from you just now. I went to pray (Alwala) then I saw one call.O dear ! That's why I am replying. MT: That's it. I am trying to ... MT Okay. Yayagaijia? Hope you are not too tired MD: Alamdullahi. MT : Okay. How is that place/ person? MD: There. That person. Well. It's well. He is getting better. MT: You said okay as if you are not sure ... Laugher interrupts MD: Laughs in a very funny albeit sarcastic manner MT: You said okay as if the getting well is not strong enough or fast enough or what isit ? MD : Yes. Not 100 per cent. Not as you or I would like but of course ... interruption MT: Hope he is meeting up with his treatment. MD : It is encouraging MT: Okay. Very well. Thank God. please greet him for me very well. MD : So I wish tomorrow I will arrive by Allahs grace. (Nufaa) MT: Okay that's nice. (expresses surprise). Is the wedding dayclose ? MD: Yes it's close. Slowly slowly the time is close. It's like time is on a fast track. Our time is almost up. We are close to rounding up. MT: (mumbles and concurs in the background). Every morning I say a prayer. MD : Hmm. Hmm. Allah help us. ( Allah a ji kam mu). Wa lahi. Walahi. MT: Hmm. This thing. Is there any improvement from su*cide bomber from Yola? MD: Succc? ( Hesitates. Not sure who is being referred to at first.) MT : Sucide Bomber. you know that's the way that person is being referred to ... ( interruption) MD: It's worse. A hundred times worse than what you know. MT: Allah. MD: Walahi. MT : Or will Baba talk to the suic*de bomber again? Or there is no need? MD: There is no need. No benefit because the person does not listen to anyone. MT: This is the problem. MD: The person does not listen to anyone. What Sani Zango did ( talking to the person ) and he just passed away. Thenbaba also tried. But then it turned out the same thing. MT: The man is very patient (meaning PMB). There is virtually nothing you can do again at this point. ( repeats it again). MD : Yes. (Concurs). There's not much that can be done. It's an absolute... something ( trails off ). It's like a fixed breakfast. There is nothing that can be done. You can't stay. You can't go. That's it. MT : I see. Walahi... MD: Yes. it's tragic MT : That's why ... said it's a luxury breakfast. ( MD. Laughs heartily in response) MT: Repeats the same thing. MD: This is morethat a luxury breakfast. It's an absolute fixed breakfast. This one. MT : Allah a kawo ... trails off as MD cuts in MD: Let's keeppleading / praying to Allah. 2ce Just that. MT : Now. They said it's some or his people that have been talking MD: Well. It just bounces off. It just bounces off. MT: Perhaps it's best to find out about the people involved like the accounts staff and others. Let's do this and neutralize him. Perhaps. (Ref NIA DG) MD: Well. There are many people bringing or providing many "information". ( Lekanoni) We are doing that. MT: Also you can talk tobaba to come out with this project. The project on ... MD: Okay. Okay. MT: Me I thought about it. And concluded that it's best you speak to him about it. MD: Don't worry. I will speak to him about it. You know he is very fed up with this NIA thing. The way that man this man messed up / scattered things. MT: Did baba brief you ? MD: Yes. We spoke with him. We tried to do damage limitation but it hasn't worked I am sorry to say. MT: Before or after theevent ? MD: No. before the event. MT: Oh ! That could have been something... MD: Because ai baba Kamar .... because it's gravely damaging to the security agencies. MT: That's it. MD: Very grave damage. MT: You know there is the issue of that youth. He is inabuja. MD : Well. This exceeds their power ... MT: What I am saying is that if you wantinside something (Infor) he is in Abuja. You may call him. MD: Okay. Okay. MT: Because they know. They know. Someone told me that the guy gives money out to a lot of people. All spheres. That's one thing that frightens me. And that's why he has been able to find people to defend him. You see for instance Saraki has come out to speak for him. But I think if you have time. Ask that he be called to come see you. Let him tell you things. You can ask him anything. Also wider things. That is why I tried to have Mallam Abbah... But let me ask. How many are working foryou in terms of ground work of things. How many people have you got ? MD: Nil MT: Better to find some people to do that. Some working in places becauselike in this case you get a verse insight. This is what I am saying. Have them call him for you. And then ask him what is going on... if one is lucky. Even if one is not lucky. Talk to him. MD : Okay. MT: He has been working there for a long time. Plus. He is very bright. So.It think. Also He will be reliable. From what I know of him. Like I told you. He is the one I rely upon to get me information. For a long time now. MD: So. He is rarely experienced then. MT : Yes. During my time at New Nigerian, I ask him to do research. He got me information on different people. Within 2 to 3 days he will bring me the information I need. MD: Yes. Allah is king. ( Allah Sarki) MT: I need to tell you this. MD: I will try to get hold of him. MT: 'Cos no need to rely on third or second something. But this oneis first party. So if possible. Call him. He is someone I trust. MD: Okay. MT: But I am rarely worried about that person In the house. I just don't know what to do. MD: Walahi. Senior Mahmud. We are at our wits end. We are at our Wits end. Just not to scare you further or worry you further. A few days ago. At the dinning table. This thing, the sucide bomber we are talking about went and stood there subsequently the man refused to eat. MT: Why will the sucide bomber to and stand there ? MD: Because some of the things he can't eat. They will take it and go and hide them. MT: I see. Villa .... MD: They keep narrating to third parties. That this cat will not last. I think you heard enough. Until I return. God sparing our lives. Until I return. Next week. But the thing is beyond our hand. We are watching. Walahi. It's beyond our hand. MT: Okay. Until you return. MD: ( laughs at something MT said). Thank God My only consolation is that if we are praying to Allah and in good faith. Then things will work out. But if contrary that's the way Allah wants it. That is the way it's going to be. MT: Okay. MD: Until we speak again. MT: Okay. Masalaam. Clicks. Phone call ends. PAY ATTENTION: Read best news on Nigeria's #1 news app Legit.ng had months back reported that Aisha Buhari gave hints on the recovery of President Muhammadu Buhari. The president's wife in Facebook post on Monday, July 10, said God has finally answered the prayers of Nigerians concerning the health of her president. Speaking in riddle, Aisha also indicated that, all enemies surrounding the presidency will soon be sent out. She said: "God has answered the prayers of the weaker Animals, The Hyena's and the Jackals will soon be sent out of the kingdom." Watch Legit.ng video on who would donate kidney to President Buhari if he needs one: Source: Legit.ng - Members of the Indigenous People of Biafra called the Lion Squad from Anambra state journey to see Nnamdi Kanu - The IPOB leader accuses the Nigerian army of provoking his group to wage war with the government - Kanu says he was awoken from sleep by soldiers who attacked his residence on Sunday, September 10 Some members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) who call themselves the Lion Squad have embarked on a visit to Nnamdi Kanu's home in Abia state after the reported military invasion of his residence. READ ALSO: Southeast governors slam soldiers for invading Kanu's home In a video footage uploaded on social media on Monday, September 11, members of the group were seen in buses embarking on a journey with an individual in the background saying they were the Lion Squad from Anambra state on their way to visit the IPOB leader. The voice was also heard calling the Nigerian army a zoo army shortly before the clip ended. Watch the video of the said Lion Squad members below: Meanwhile, Nnamdi Kanu has accused the Nigerian army of provoking members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to wage war with the government so that the group can be tagged violent. PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 new app The IPOB leader made the accusation on Monday, September 11, when narrating the alleged attack on his residence by men of the Nigerian army. He said he was awoken from sleep by soldiers who attacked his residence on Sunday, September 10. Kanu told journalists that the military men came with their armoured personnel carrier and started firing indiscriminately at people who protested against their presence. He said several people received gunshot wounds while three died in the attack. Kanu said the military was provoking IPOB to become armed and that it was the duty of the media to make the world understand that. Watch this Legit.ng's exclusive chat with Nnamdi Kanu below: Source: Legit.ng - Former vice-president, Atiku Abubakar, challenges those accusing him of being corrupt to provide evidence to back their claims against him - The APC chieftain accuses his political enemies of selling the idea that he is corrupt to Nigerians - Atiku says he retired from the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) with unblemished records Former vice-president, Atiku Abubakar, has said he will shock everyone by fighting corruption like never before if he ever gets the chance to become president of Nigeria. READ ALSO: Southeast governors slam soldiers for invading Kanu's home Atiku made the statement on Monday, September 11, during a facility tour of the new ultra-modern Yaliam Press Limited in Jabi area of Abuja, The Punch reports. The former vice-president also challenged those accusing him of being corrupt to provide evidence to back their claims. In a statement released by his media office, the APC chieftain accused his political enemies of selling the idea that he is corrupt to Nigerians, despite the fact that he had not been convicted of corruption by any court in the land or elsewhere. He said: It is sickening to continue to regurgitate allegations of corruption against me by people who have failed to come forward with a single shred of evidence of my misconduct while in office. People who are bereft of ideas about entrepreneurial spirit always think that everyone else is a thief just like them. PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 new app Despite previous desperate efforts to link me with corruption, the William Jefferson trial in the United States ended in 2009 without indicting me or linking me to corrupt activities. Atiku said he retired from the Nigeria Customs Service with unblemished records and challenged anyone with evidence that he stole a kobo at the customs or during his tenure as vice-president to confront him with evidence. If Atiku is a thief merely because of his resourcefulness and successful investments, my political enemies should tell Nigerians the sources of their own stupendous wealth," he stated. He said his vast experiences both in the public and private sectors and his ability to build a team capable of accomplishing the task has equipped him to fight corruption. I will shock everyone because I believe that I will fight corruption like never before, he noted Meanwhile, former deputy director of the Buhari Presidential Campaign Council, Mohammed Lawal, claimed that former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, was plotting trouble for President Muhammadu Buhari since 2015. Legit.ng gathered that Lawal said that it was a common knowledge that Atiku was bitter after he lost the All Progressives Congress primary election to Buhari. Lawal, who was reacting to Atiku's claim that he was sidelined after he helped Buhari into power, said that Atiku's claim was untrue and that he contributed nothing to Buhari's emergence as president, The Nation reports. Watch this Legit.ng TV video on who is Nigeria's greatest president ever Source: Legit.ng President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday, September 12, joined Governor Nasir El-Rufai to commission Nigerias largest integrated animal feed mills, breeding farms and hatchery in Kaduna state. The OLAM farms has a storage facility of 50,000 metric tonnes estimated to sell 72,000,000 eggs and 52,600,000 day old chicks. Legit.ng gathered that the $150million project will employ 8,000 Nigerians through direct and indirect labor and 200 veterinary doctors. President Buhari in a chat with Governor El-Rufai on changing the face of governance in Kaduna state Photo credit: Twitter, Kaduna state government President Buhari commissioning the $150million Olam Integrated Feed Mill and Poultry Photo credit: Bayo Omoboriowo READ ALSO: Wole Soyinka scores Buhari administration low on economy, security See more photos of the project below: President Muhammadu Buhari paying rapt attention to the ongoing remarks Photo credit: Twitter, Kaduna state government Governor Nasir El-Rufai making his remarks at the commissioning of the project Photo credit: Twitter, Kaduna state government Nigeria's largest integrated animal feed mills, breeding farm and hatchery Photo credit: Twitter, Olakunle Somoye President Buhari will join Kaduna state governor to commission the $150million Olam Integrated Feed Mill and Poultry Photo credit: Twitter, Olakunle Somoye The OLAM Farms has a storage facility of 50,000 metric tonnes Photo credit: Twitter, Olakunle Somoye The poultry is the largest of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa Photo credit: Twitter, Olakunle Somoye PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 new app Legit.ng previously reported that the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI) is set to deliver 4 million bags of 50kg Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium (NPK) fertilizer to farmers, at an affordable price, before the end of 2017. In a statement released by Attah Esah, the deputy director (Information), State House on Sunday, September 10, Mallam Garba Shehu, the senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, disclosed the news at an audience participation programme on FRCN Kaduna. Shehu also said that the 11 fertilizer blending plants in the country will be increased to 18 by the end of the year; which will, in turn, provide direct employment to no fewer than 50,000 Nigerians. Watch this Legit.ng video as traders speak on the state of agriculture in the country: Source: Legit.ng Some members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) are currently heading to the home of their leader Nnamdi Kanu to confront soldiers of the Nigerian military. This move by the IPOB members follows a recent siege laid by the troops of the Nigerian military in Afara Ukwu, the hometown of the IPOB leader. The group members were seen in thousands heading to Kanu's home. IPOB members were seen in their thousands heading to Kanu's home. Photo credit: Facebook, Emeka Gift Some of these IPOB members were driven in 'tipper' vehicles and buses as military Armoured Personnel Tanks were parked in the area. READ ALSO: I don't know if my client is dead or alive - Nnamdi Kanu's lawyer raises alarm IPOB members were seen in their thousands heading to Kanu's home. Photo credit: Facebook, Emeka Gift Legit.ng earlier reported that the counsel to the IPOB leader had said that his client's residence was under siege by soldiers of the Nigerian military on Tuesday, September 12. READ ALSO: JUST IN: Nnamdi Kanus home under siege - Lawyer raises alarm as IPOB leaders sister claims his window was shot (video) This move by IPOB members follows a recent siege laid by the troops of the Nigerian military. Photo credit: Facebook, Emeka Gift Also, a sister to Nnamdi Kanu, Tonia who spoke to Legit.ng said the soldiers shot into the compound of the IPOB leader's father shattering his windows. PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 new app Watch this video of a supporter of Nnamdi Kanu and how she wants to celebrate the agitator: Source: Legit.ng - Governor Ikpeazu of Abia state has declared a curfew in Aba over the growing tension in the city - The governor subscribed to the supremacy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria - He urged those planning to cause trouble to stay away from the state Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu who is the governor of Abia state has declared a three-day curfew in Aba, a commercial city in the state over altercation between the army and the citizens. Legit.ng had reported that the Operation Python Dance II launched by the army in the state has raised tension with some Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) youths reportedly against the operation. READ ALSO: Thousands of IPOB supporters head to Nnamdi Kanus home as army lay siege (photos) It was reported that the army laid siege to the house of Nnamdi Kanu although this was denied by the army which insisted that it was only passing by. Vanguard reports that the governor in a statement on Tuesday, September 12, said the state recognised the supremacy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria but urged the army to conduct its operation in compliance with international standard. He also announced the beginning of a curfew which starts from 6pm to 6am on Tuesday and ends on Thursday. Read the statement below: Abia state has for the past few days been the focus of security searchlight occasioned by the reported skirmish between some groups in the state, especially Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) with men of the Nigerian army. Government notes and has observed the frenzy of activities of members of IPOB within Afara Umuahia, the ancestral home of the leader of IPOB for some months now. Government is equally aware of the recent proclamation by the Nigerian army of Operation Python Dance II within the South-East geopolitical region of Nigeria. The operation as declared by the army is intended to check kidnapping, banditry, assassination, secessionist activities within the region, amongst other forms of criminal activities. The recent confrontation between the Nigerian army and members of IPOB on Sunday, 10th September, 2017, could presumably be attributed to the commencement of the said Operation Python Dance II. The Abia state government unequivocally states that Abia is a component State of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and subscribes to the supremacy of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and all other extant laws. While the government of Abia state recognizes the right of the Nigerian Army and other security agencies, to perform their statutory duty of protection of lives and property of Nigerian citizens, such duties must be carried out within acclaimed Nigerian and international standards of engagement with the civil populace, with due respect to the human rights of citizens and sanctity of human lives. The Abia state government is committed to the protection of the lives and properties of its citizens and others residing and doing business within the geographical entity called Abia State. Abians and others living within Abia, are advised to remain law abiding and carry on their lawful business without fear, as efforts by government will be made to reduce friction between the civil populace and military personnel in the state. PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 new app Meanwhile, Aba residents are advised to observe a curfew from 6pm to 6am from today 12/09/2017 to 14/09/2017. Persons residing within the State are strongly advised to remain law abiding, while going about their lawful business without fear of molestation, and, not engage in any form of confrontation with military personnel or other security agents. The government recognizes the constitutional Right to Freedom of Movement for all Nigerians, but objects to the influx of people into Abia State for purposes of unsettling the enduring peace in the State. Finally, Abia state will co-operate with security agencies to maintain the rule of law and order in the State. Legit.ng earlier reported that the counsel to the IPOB leader had said that his client's residence was under siege by soldiers of the Nigerian military on Tuesday, September 12. Watch a Legit.ng TV video below of Kanu's lawyer talking about the military invasion of his house: Source: Legit.ng Terror alert: FG says it is irresponsible of US, UK to give such signal Against the backdrop of the terror alerts issued by both the United States and the United Kingdom last week, the Federal Government has assured Nigerians... (Natural News) Warfare is being reinvented. Like a scene out of The Terminator, the future of warfare is destined to include robot soldiers, unmanned aerial assault, and self-driving, weaponized vehicles. An $11 million contract approved by the Pentagon has been awarded to Six3 Advanced Systems. The US Department of Defense is calling on Six3 to design, develop, and validate system prototypes for a combined-arms squad. By the year 2025, experts predict that the U.S. military will have more robot soldiers than humans. According to the U.S. Department of Defense directive, the new American fighting squad is meant to combine humans and unmanned assets, ubiquitous communications and information, and advanced capabilities in all domains to maximize squad performance in increasingly complex operational environments. Unmanned, self-driving, weaponized vehicles The military aims to test a new system prototype by mid 2019. The robotic fleet may include underwater drones and unmanned Army trucks that drive themselves. The Army already has plans to test the unmanned vehicles at the Blue Water Bridge in Michigan. This will be the first time the Army has ever unleashed self-driving vehicles onto public roads. The test will take place on Interstate 69 highway in Michigan. The U.S. military is very likely to pursue forms of automation that reduce back-office costs over time, as well as remove soldiers from non-combat deployments where they might face risk from adversaries on fluid battlefields, such as in transportation, says Michael Horowitz, an expert on weaponized robots. Just as in the civilian economy, automation will likely have a big impact on military organizations in logistics and manufacturing. The US military has already cut costs using technology; for instance, warships such as the USS Zumwalt are now operated by 50 percent fewer soldiers than previous crews. The robot technology will accompany soldiers on dangerous missions and perform other important tasks such as delivering supplies, analyzing legal documents, diagnosing disease, and assisting in the operating room. The robots will also be useful for detecting mines, mapping terrain, and detecting weather hazards. John Bassett, a former British intelligence officer said, Intelligent robotic weapons theyre a reality, and they will be much more of a reality by 2030. Nothing is scarier than a fully automated $200,000 robot that can scan terrain, locate humans and shoot them up to 2 miles away. These robot prototypes could be the first vehicles to enter dangerous territories. Theres no doubt that using robots to perform certain stealth missions could spare the lives of soldiers, but using robots to more readily penetrate enemy territory could involve more risk-taking overall, leading to unintended consequences on a grander scale. Many of the new prototypes to be released in the next decade will be weaponized, leading to a new precedent in how wars are fought. How will future militaries prepare to defend against an incoming robot army? (Related: For more robot and technology news, check out Robotics.News.) Sources: DailyMail.co.uk Defense.gov SanDiegoTribune.com NaturalNews.com Children's Hospital Colorado (Children's Colorado) has been approved for a $50,000 funding award by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to support a project on developing effective interventions to achieve a healthy weight among Hispanic children ages 0-5. Children's Colorado will use the funds provided through PCORI's Pipeline to Proposal Awards program to continue building the Familias Saludables partnership, which has successfully engaged Hispanic parents/caregivers of young children, clinicians, researchers and community partners. "With this award, our Familias Saludables partnership will further strengthen engagement and capacity across stakeholders to conduct patient-centered comparative effectiveness research in the future," said Deb Federspiel, senior strategist in the Child Health Advocacy Institute at Children's Colorado. "Our long-term goal is to apply learnings to design culturally-tailored interventions that will ultimately advance the health of Hispanic children." Pipeline to Proposal Awards enable individuals and groups that are not typically involved in clinical research to develop community-led funding proposals focused on patient-centered comparative effectiveness research. Established by the nonprofit PCORI, the program funds help individuals or groups build community partnerships, develop research capacity, and hone a comparative effectiveness research question that could become the basis of a research funding proposal to submit to PCORI or other health research funders. "Our engagement work with stakeholders, including families, is incredibly important. Research stemming from this work will, as a result, be more innovative, and hopefully more relevant to the concerns of the Hispanic community," said Darcy Thompson, MD, MPH, associate professor of pediatrics and research lead/principal investigator. Clinicians are being warned not to ignore the increased cardiovascular health risks of those who are classed as either 'healthy obese' or deemed to be 'normal weight' but have metabolic abnormalities such as diabetes. Academics at the University of Birmingham's Institute of Applied Health Research carried out the largest study of its kind to date comparing weight and metabolic status to cardiovascular disease risks, published today (September 11th) in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The study showed that individuals who are 'metabolically healthy obese' (MHO) those who are obese but do not suffer metabolic abnormalities such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol - have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease events compared to those who are normal weight without metabolic abnormalities. The academics used electronic health records of 3.5 million British adults who were all initially free of cardiovascular disease (CVD). They then revisited each patient's record, at an average of 5 years and four months later, in order to assess whether they had gone on to develop each of four kinds of CVD events coronary heart disease (CHD), cerebrovascular disease (in particular strokes), heart failure, or peripheral vascular disease (PVD). Patients were divided into four 'body size phenotypes' using Body Mass Index (BMI), which is calculated by dividing body weight (kg) by height (m) squared: Underweight (BMI less than 18.5) Normal weight (more than 18 but less than 25) Overweight (more than 25 but less than 30) Obese (more than 30). Three metabolic abnormalities were taken into consideration during the study: diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidaemia. A metabolically healthy person was classified as having no metabolic abnormalities. The results showed that those who were MHO had a 49 per cent higher risk of coronary heart disease, seven per cent higher risk of cerebrovascular disease and a 96 per cent increased risk of heart failure than normal weight metabolically healthy individuals. Importantly, it also showed that 'normal' weight individuals with one or more metabolic abnormalities had an increased risk of CHD, cerebrovascular disease, heart failure and PVD compared to normal weight individuals without metabolic abnormalities. The research results raise questions around the concept of 'healthy obesity'. Whether metabolically healthy obesity is associated with excess risk of cardiovascular disease has remained a subject of debate for many years due to limitations in previous studies. Academics at the University of Birmingham sought to address these limitations in the largest prospective study of its kind. Lead author and epidemiologist Dr Rishi Caleyachetty, of the Institute of Applied Health Research University of Birmingham, said: "In our study, we had unprecedented statistical power to examine body size phenotypes by the number of metabolic abnormalities, potentially reflecting several definitions of the 'metabolically healthy' phenotype in relation to a range of CVD events. "Obese individuals with no metabolic risk factors are still at a higher risk of coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and heart failure than normal weight metabolically healthy individuals. "So-called 'metabolically healthy' obesity is clearly not a harmless condition and the term should no longer be used in order to prevent misleading individuals that obesity can be healthy." Senior author Professor Neil Thomas, also of the University of Birmingham, said it was important that clinicians took on board the research findings. "The finding that normal weight individuals with metabolic abnormalities also had similar risk of cardiovascular disease events than normal weight metabolically healthy individuals has important implications." he added. "In many countries it is currently recommended that clinicians in primary care settings use overweight and obesity as the main criteria to screen adults for cardiovascular risk factors as part of cardiovascular risk assessment. Our research suggests that this could result in the failure to identify metabolic abnormalities, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, in many normal weight patients." Senior author and Public Health physician Dr Krish Nirantharakumar, also of the University of Birmingham, said: "We conclude that obese patients, irrespective of their metabolic status, should be encouraged to lose weight and that early detection and management of normal weight individuals with metabolic abnormalities will be beneficial in the prevention of CVD events." Source: http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/latest/2017/09/healthy-obesity-harmful-to-health.aspx A team of researchers led by a bioinformatician at the University of California San Diego has developed a method to help determine whether certain hard-to-study mutations in the human genome, called short tandem repeats or microsatellites, are likely to be involved in harmful conditions. The team, which also includes scientists from the New York Genome Center, Harvard University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, details their findings in the Sept. 11 issue of Nature Genetics. In short tandem repeats, sequences of one to six of DNA's basic components, called nucleotides, repeat over and over again, sometimes up to hundreds or thousands of times. These mutations already have been implicated in about 30 conditions. The best known is perhaps Huntington's Disease, which causes the progressive breakdown of nerve cells in the brain. About 30,000 people suffer from the condition in the United States. These people all have more than 40 copies of a specific repeat. The more copies they have, the sooner they are affected by the disease and the more severe it is. The Nature Genetics paper is part of the ongoing, decades-long effort to pinpoint harmful mutations in the human genome. Tandem repeats are often overlooked in these efforts, and have sometimes been disregarded as "junk DNA." But researchers led by Melissa Gymrek, an assistant professor at UC San Diego, believe that tandem repeats are likely to play key roles in human health and need to be studied in depth. "When you look for signals for disease in the human genome, you get too many answers. We are looking for a way to narrow these answers down," said Gymrek, who holds appointments at both the UC San Diego School of Medicine and the Jacobs School of Engineering. In the next step of their research, scientists plan to use their model to examine the genomes of families with autistic members. Analyzing repeats Tandem repeats are difficult to analyze with current genome sequencing techniques. That's because they're usually fairly long, and current tools usually look only at short pieces of DNA. In addition, the process of amplifying DNA for sequencing creates more errors that get in the way. Genetics & Genomics eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a copy today In this paper, researchers detail how they were able to create a mathematical model that predicts how frequently and in what way the repeats appear and mutate in the human genome. Gymrek and colleagues were able to do this because of the extraordinary amount of genetic data that they had access to--more than 1.5 million repeats from the genomes of 300 individuals. The researchers based their new algorithm on a method called MUTEA that they previously developed to precisely estimate individual mutation rates for tandem repeats on the Y chromosome. They modified the algorithm so it would analyze pairs of DNA variations, called haplotypes. The key insight the method provided is that different classes of mutations happen at regular, predictable intervals in time, constituting what they refer to as a molecular clock. This clock can be used to determine how often mutations occur within a genome. Finding constraints Next, the researchers used the model to calculate actual mutation rates and compare those to expected mutation rates. This is what geneticists call constraint. For example, regions of the genome that are home to mutations that occur early in life and lead to severe health conditions tend to have fewer mutations in the population than expected by chance -- geneticists say they're highly constrained. That's because those suffering from these conditions, like autism, are less likely to pass their genes on to the next generation. Regions of the genome that cause diseases that occur later in life, after patients have had children, like Huntington's Disease, are usually not constrained. The team used their model on a number of different tandem repeats related to both late and early onset conditions, such as limb malformations. The model correctly identified that repeats involved in early-onset conditions were subject to constraint. They calibrated their method by using a set of tandem repeats that are not associated with specific conditions, which the FBI uses to identify people. As expected, these repeats mutate at the expected rate and are not constrained. Gymrek and her team are now getting ready to apply their model to find signals for other conditions inside the human genome. A 50-year-old lab technique is helping researchers better understand circular DNA, a lesser-known and poorly understood cousin of the linear version commonly associated with life's genetic blueprint. With the aid of a process called density gradient centrifugation, a research team, which included scientists from The University of Texas at Dallas and Stanford University School of Medicine, recently published a study that for the first time characterizes all of the circular DNA in the worm C. elegans, as well as in three human cell types. What Is Circular DNA? The DNA molecules that make up the genes and chromosomes in our cells are rope-like strands, free at both ends and shaped like a twisted ladder, or helix. That DNA, called chromosomal DNA, is found in each cell's nucleus and contains genetic instructions needed to carry out biological functions. But another population of DNA, called extrachromosomal circular DNA, is shaped like a circle, with no loose ends, and exists independently of linear DNA. While researchers are beginning to better understand how circular DNA functions in humans, much is still unknown. The study, published online recently in the journal G3: Genes, Genomes and Genetics, found that different cell varieties harbor different sets of circular DNAs. "The interesting thing is that different types of cells seem to have different repertoires of these circles, even within the same person," said lead study author Dr. Massa Shoura, a Beckman Foundationpostdoctoral research fellow at Stanford who earned two PhDs from UT Dallas. "They're not all created equal -- the circles in your skin cells might be different from those in my skin." 'Circulome' Could Predict Disease In both the worm and the human cells, the researchers observed circles that were copies of coding regions on chromosomal DNA, regions that contain genes for making specific proteins. While the investigators have some clues as to how such circular DNA is created, the exact processes are not well understood. "We think they have different functions, and different mechanisms that generate them, but much more study is needed," said Shoura BS'08, MA'10, PhD'13, PhD'14. "One of the things we're trying to find out is whether there are specific repertoires of circular DNA -- a term we coined as the 'circulome' -- that are specific to various pathologies, like cancer." For example, Shoura and her colleagues are investigating whether there are marked differences between the circulome in healthy tissue and colon cancer tissue from the same person. If so, circular DNA offers a potential diagnostic biomarker for cancer. "In order to establish circular DNA as a biomarker for disease, we first have to have a method for reliably and cleanly separating circular DNA out of a sample, purifying it, so that we know what we are studying is just the circles, without other genetic materials mixed in," she said. "That's where my UT Dallas training comes in." Genetics & Genomics eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a copy today What's Old is New Again Before she joined the Stanford lab of Nobel laureate Dr. Andrew Fire in 2015, Shoura was a graduate student working at UT Dallas in the lab of Dr. Stephen Levene, Cecil H. and Ida Green Professor in Systems Biology Science. For the study published in G3, which Fire and Levene also co-authored, the team incorporated Levene and Shoura's expertise with an old-school lab technique called density gradient centrifugation. Developed 50 years ago -- and now, according to Levene, rarely used -- the method separates DNA based on density. Levene and Shoura both said that the technique runs circles around more modern analysis methods. "I've been using this DNA isolation technique since I was a graduate student, and I still think it's the best method for recovering a clean sample of circular DNA," said Levene, a bioengineering professor who also is affiliated with the departments of biological sciencesand physics at UT Dallas. In the process, DNA is mixed with a dense salt solution containing cesium chloride in a small test tube, along with a dye that binds to both linear DNA and circular DNA. The dye binds differently to each DNA type, resulting in the linear DNA being less dense than the circular DNA. When the sample is spun in an ultracentrifuge at high speeds, around 120,000 rpm, the higher density circular DNA concentrates in a band near the bottom of the tube. The researchers also subjected their samples to additional, more modern purification methods to further ensure a clean sample of circular DNA. "This study clearly shows that circular DNA is part of the genome; it plays a role in normal DNA processing," Shoura said. "The more we study it, we're learning that the human genome is more dynamic than we thought." The work was funded primarily by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. UTD Prepared Scientist for Career Dr. Massa Shoura credits UT Dallas for providing the tools and experience to further her research career. She earned bachelor's and master's degrees in biological sciences from the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and completed doctorates in molecular and cell biology, and in bioengineering, both under Levene's guidance. "If I was a graduate student now somewhere besides UT Dallas, I might not know what cesium chloride gradients are, and I wouldn't have used them to benefit my research," Shoura said. "There are still not many labs that use this technique, and the ones that do haven't optimized it to work with extremely small samples, as Dr. Levene has done. "What I accomplished in the Levene lab was a lot of interdisciplinary work in chemistry, math, physics and computer simulation, all applied to DNA," Shoura said. "I'm not an expert in these fields, but by being a little familiar with each one, I am better able to identify a tool or a collaborator that could help on a new problem." Researchers at Okayama University describe in Scientific Reports that cancer-associated fibroblasts cells that play a key role in cancer progression originate from cancer stem cells. Preventing cancer stem cells from transforming into cancer-associated fibroblast may be a promising approach towards cancer treatment. Representative bright field images showing the morphology of cells differentiating from cancer stem cell spheres. Cancer progression is partly governed by a specialized type of cells known as cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), as they have the ability to support/mediate different signaling pathways in a tumor microenvironment. However, it is still unclear that how CAFs are generated. Now, a team of researchers led by Masaharu Seno from Okayama University has provided the first evidence that CAFs may originate from cancer stem cells (CSCs) the cells that can develop into any type of cell occurring in a given tumor. An important implication of this finding is that novel therapeutic strategies can be designed to inhibit CSC-to-CAF conversion limiting the cancer progression Seno and colleagues first created CSC-like cells following a protocol they had established earlier: by exposing the mouse induced pluripotent stem cells (miPSCs) , a type of reprogrammed cells with embryoniclike pluripotent state which can differentiate into any type of cells, to the conditioned medium prepared from the culture of human breast cancer cell line. The resulting cells displayed typical CSC-like phenotype. These cells exhibited three essential features of CSCs. The first one is self-renewal, which is attributed to a potential to form spheres in serum-free suspension cultures. The second one is ability to form malignant tumors in vivo. And the last one is the potential of differentiation. Here in this case the phenotype of CAF is found as one of the phenotypes CSCs differentiate into. The researchers then separated fibroblast-like cells differentiating from CSC-like spheres in the presence of conditioned medium. These cells were compared with fibroblast-like cells generated directly from miPS cells. Comparative analysis revealed that CSC generated fibroblast-like cells displayed CAF-like phenotype. Therefore, Seno and co-workers concluded that the conditioned medium plays a key role in the differentiation of CSC-like spheres into CAFs. Finally, the expression of CAF markers (proteins that are associated with the formation of CAFs) were analyzed and scientists found that the CAFs have high invasive potential when compared with normal fibroblasts. Therefore, these findings by Seno and colleagues indicate that CSCs are a source of CAF-like cells in tumor microenvironment. Their model system is a valuable tool for analyzing the role of CAFs derived from CSC-like cells in the tumor microenvironment and, in the words of the researchers, inhibiting the conversion of CSCs to CAFs might have potential therapeutic implications in the future. Source: http://www.okayama-u.ac.jp/eng/ Captain America and the Winter Soldier Special #1 takes Marvel's secret history to a whole new level with a real world historical figure If you know who Gavrilo Princip is, prepare to be shocked Rajnath Singh issues fresh warning to Pakistan over cross border firings Srinagar : Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has issued fresh warnings to neighbouring nation Pakistan while assuring people living near borders areas of the Jammu region that India has been taking steps to ensure Pakistan is forced to stop firing. "Just wait for some more time. Pakistan will be forced to stop firing. If a single bullet is fired from Pakistan, then India should not count the bullets fired in retaliation," said Rajnath Singh while addressing a rally of migrants. More than 5000 people had to migrate from the border areas in the backdrop of heavy shelling by Pakistan on Indian borders. Rajnath Singh paid a visit to one of the six camps set up in Noushera by the government for the migrants. He also visited BSF troops at a camp near the LoC here and said latest equipment was being inducted into the force for better and more effective domination of the border. Nicolaas Bloembergen Banquet speech Nicolaas Bloembergens speech at the Nobel Banquet, December 10, 1981 Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is a privilege to address you on behalf of all three recipients of the 1981 Nobel award in physics. The reason that I have been chosen as spokesman is not clear; it would not be effective to address you in my native language of Dutch, and while my English is not as good as Dr. Schawlows, my Swedish is far worse than Dr. Siegbahns. In fact, my Swedish is limited to tack sa mycket, quite appropriate but hardly sufficient for this occasion. When I looked up the word laser in an English-Swedish dictionary, it turned out to be the same, and so it is in most other languages. This is indicative of the fact that science readily crosses international boundaries. This thought was much on Alfred Nobels mind. These illustrious Nobel celebrations that ensued from his will provide an eloquent and elegant testimony to the international contacts of science. Lasers contribute to the improvement of communications. Optical communication and information processes will further influence the lives of people in the decades to come. Dialogue and information transfer, from person to person, from people to people, are important, nay essential, for mankind. The fate of all of us on this globe is tied much closer together now than it was a century ago. The enormous improvement in communication that has occurred may be illustrated by an anecdote about the Nobel Laureate in Physics in 1930: C. V. Raman had to make his steamer reservation from Bombay, India, well before the final decision about his Nobel award was made. Lasers, in their two decades of existence, have found numerous other applications outside of the communications field. They are used for delicate surgery, for cutting in the manufacture of clothing, for welding and materials processing, and for alignment in the construction industry. In addition, they function as sensitive tools and spectroscopic instruments in other sciences, including chemistry, biology, metrology, geology and cosmology. Alfred Nobel would have been delighted with all these technological benefits sprouting from basic laser physics. As was the case for Nobels own invention of dynamite, the uses that are made of increased knowledge can serve both beneficial and potentially harmful ends. Increased knowledge clearly implies increased responsibility. We reject the notion advocated in some quarters that man should stop eating from the tree of knowledge, as if that were humanly possible. Those who propose that we eat only from certain branches of that tree do not specify how and by whom those branches should be selected. We reaffirm that free inquiry and the search for increased knowledge is a noble human pursuit. It will enrich our lives, although at times it will also make life more complicated. In thanking the Nobel foundation for the award, we accept the honor, together with the responsibility: Noblesse oblige. From Les Prix Nobel. The Nobel Prizes 1981, Editor Wilhelm Odelberg, [Nobel Foundation], Stockholm, 1982 Copyright The Nobel Foundation 1981 To cite this section MLA style: Nicolaas Bloembergen Banquet speech. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2022. Mon. 14 Nov 2022.will@cvradio.com
Im one of these people. And I say give away much of their life because, in Bougainville, we leave behind our families and travel north to Buka, deserting them in the villages and entering urban Bougainville. Some people have proper accommodation for their families but not most.
When people are recruited by the ABG, they have a mission to dedicate much of their life to keep the government functioning and delivering for the people.
Behaviour and performance in the workplace is an issue affecting Bougainville as well as Papua New Guinea and I believe some words about the Autonomous Bougainville Government bureaucracy may be usefully written.
PANGUNA - I was rather shaken by Gorethy Kenneths article, Do away with PNG habits at workplace, that appeared in the Post-Courier not so long ago.
The ABG says we need to find accommodation in Buka that is less than K300 a month, which is almost impossible. Before 1990, when I was a kid, nearly all employees of the then North Solomons Provincial Government were provided with residences within Arawa township.
But we now sleep in our offices in Buka and in the morning pack our things under the tables and get dressed in a bureaucratic mode and saunter high for the world to see us.
If you enter one of our offices in Buka you will see bent and buckled cardboard cartons beside our tables. Those are our sleeping mats.
You cannot expect a public servants to deliver when their basic needs are not been met.
Let me talk about our work.
I am in the Department of Bougainville Peace Agreement and Implementation. This department has four directorates - autonomy, peace, veterans and referendum. It is the most important department for Bougainville at this time.
But the ABG is not supporting us. In Buka this department has no office of its own, meaning it is not housed in one building, Many of us do not know what we are doing despite the fact our work should end by June 2018.
Veterans occupy a space I do not know. Autonomy another spot. Peace and Referendum fight over the limited number of chairs and tables. They occupy the condemned Green House building in the administrative compound next to Buka Hospital.
In the Green House, each day we battle for one of the four chairs. The first to reach the office in the morning owns the day. The latecomer enters the office, looks around, no chairs and goes away. Home of course.
As for me, Im doing research for the referendum directorate. It requires me to travel and that is why I dont hang around Buka town.
The research task facing my department is massive and we are falling behind since we do not have the resources. Thus I am running around conducting my work as best I can on my ABG pay packet; not stealing as some people tell me they do.
Research involves communication with the people and in Bougainville the cost of internet and phone communication is very high; as is travel to places further afield.
Some research requires my directorate to go outside Bougainville, especially on voting rights issues for Bougainvilleans of the diaspora outside Bougainville. Thats expensive.
My department should work from Arawa, the most central place for the entire Bougainville population.
In my research people and community governments request me to help them in awareness campaigns, which I have done.
Its good and important work and I like it. but hard without those resources.
Recent hurricanes impacting portions of the South are important reminders of the need for everyone to be prepared for disasters. Here at home, we are not exempt from the effects of natural disasters such as flooding, snowstorms and power outages.
The month of September is National Preparedness Month, and the American Red Cross urges everyone to get ready for emergencies.
Households need to plan what they would do if an emergency situation occurs. All it takes is three easy steps: get a disaster kit ready, develop an emergency plan and be informed about what possible risks you may face where we live.
Families need to plan as to what they should do if a disaster occurs. People can make a difference in your community by knowing what to do when disaster strikes. Its just a few short steps away:
1. Get a kit. If youve ever fumbled to find a flashlight during a blackout, you know what it feels like to be unprepared. Use a downloadable checklist available on redcross.org to make it easy to get your emergency preparedness kit ready. You should include:
A three-day supply of nonperishable food and water one gallon per person, per day for drinking and hygiene purposes
A battery-powered or hand crank radio (NOAA Weather Radio, if possible)
A flashlight and extra batteries
A first aid kit, medications and medical items
Copies of all important documents (proof of address, deed/lease to home, passports, birth certificates, insurance policies)
Extra cash
2. Make a plan. Talk with household members about what you would do during emergencies. Plan what to do in case you are separated, and choose two places to meet one right outside your home in case of a sudden emergency such as a fire, and another outside your neighborhood in case you cannot return home or are asked to evacuate.
Choose a contact person from out of the area and make sure all household members have this persons phone number and email address. It may be easier to call long distance or text if local phone lines are overloaded or out of service.
Tell everyone in the household where emergency information and supplies are kept.
Practice evacuating your home twice a year. Drive your planned evacuation route and plot alternate routes on a map in case main roads are impassable.
Dont forget your pets. If you must evacuate, make arrangements for your animals. Keep a phone list of pet-friendly motels/hotels and animal shelters that are along your evacuation routes.
3. Be informed. Know the risks where you live, work, learn and play.
If you live or travel often to areas near a fault line, learn how to prepare and what to do during an earthquake. If summer brings to mind not just beaches and picnics but also tropical storms and hurricanes, arm yourself with information about what to do in case one occurs. Remember that emergencies like fires and blackouts can happen anywhere, so everyone should be prepared for them.
Find out how you would receive information from local officials in the event of an emergency.
Learn first aid and CPR/AED so that you have the skills to respond in an emergency before help arrives, especially during a disaster when emergency responders may be delayed. Visit redcross.org/takeaclass for online and in-class offerings and to register.
Download the Red Cross Emergency App to receive emergency alerts and information about what to do in case of emergencies, as well as locations of open Red Cross shelters. It is a single "go-to" source for 14 different types of emergencies and disasters and allows users to notify loved ones who are in an affected area. Download the Monster Guard App so 7- to 11-year-olds will have a free, fun gaming environment to learn how to prevent emergencies, like home fires, and how to stay safe if severe weather or natural disasters occur. People can download the apps for free in their app stores or at redcross.org/apps.
One year after being acquitted of selling drugs in Cayuga County, a Rochester man is suing county and city officials in Auburn.
In September 2016, Tyrone Tyreek "Tyke" Matthews was convicted of three misdemeanors after a jury found he possessed small quantities of cocaine and heroin in Cayuga County. However, the jury also found the defendant not guilty of five felonies: two counts of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance and three counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.
Now, attorney Jarrod Smith has filed a complaint in federal court on behalf of Matthews, suing the county, the city of Auburn, the Auburn Police Department, the Cayuga County Sheriff's Department, the District Attorney's Office, District Attorney Jon Budelmann and Chief Assistant District Attorney Christopher Valdina. He claims the defendants violated his Fourth, Fifth, 13th and 14th Amendment rights.
Budelmann said the charges and prosecution against Matthews were warranted, noting that Matthews had previously been convicted of selling drugs four times in the past and that there was strong evidence against him in this case.
"As prosecutors we have absolute prosecutorial immunity for performing our jobs for just this reason, to protect us from such frivolous lawsuits," he wrote in an email to The Citizen.
In a complaint filed Friday with the U.S. District Court, Matthews is seeking unspecified money damages for conspiracy, malicious prosecution, false arrest, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress. He also argues that race was a factor in the case, saying Matthews an African American was "placed illegally into the involuntary servitude of the defendants."
"Defendants willfully and wantonly and/or negligently caused the Plaintiff's physical injuries, pain and suffering, emotional psychological harm and suffering, and the deprivation of Plaintiff's constitutional rights," the complaint states.
On Sept. 30, 2015, Matthews was arrested and charged with several counts of possessing and selling a controlled substance. He was arraigned on two sealed indictments and remanded to Cayuga County Jail until his trial in September 2016.
According to the complaint, Matthews was a "drug addict and was nothing more than an agent of a drug dealer." As such, he says the defendants had no probable cause to arrest him and accuses the city and county of negligence, stating the police officers and sheriff's deputies were not adequately screened, supervised or trained in his case.
In addition, Matthews says the district attorney's office intentionally withheld evidence at grand jury and conspired to maliciously prosecute him as a dealer.
At trial, Matthews' defense attorney Simon Moody used the so-called "agency defense," which states that a person is not guilty of selling or possessing a controlled substance with the intent to sell if he was acting as an agent of the buyer, or a person whose purpose is to purchase or acquire drugs for another individual. Moody argued that Matthews possessed cocaine on two occasions, but it was not his intent to sell it.
Budelmann, however, said that Matthews was captured on video selling drugs, and an informant gave police statements and grand jury testimony that she bought cocaine from Matthews.
"Matthews' recorded jail calls and emails prove, that with the help of friends and fellow inmates, he 'got to' this confidential informant," Budelmann wrote. "They convinced her to go into hiding and not testify at his trial. ... That informant, who had been cooperating with the police, suddenly quit her job and went into hiding until after Matthews trial was over."
Former Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey Domachowski initially prosecuted the case; however, he was terminated from his position at the DA's office before Matthews' trial began. Both Matthews and Domachowski have alleged that Budelmann and Chief Assistant District Attorney Christopher Valdina prevented Domachowski from presenting the agency defense at grand jury, which would have exonerated Matthews of the felony charges.
Budelmann has denied such accusations, saying it was Domachowski who conspired with local defense attorneys via "unethical, secret emails" to get drug cases like Matthews' dismissed.
"I suspect those parties who were secretly working with Domachowski to get drug cases dismissed are pushing defendants to file frivolous lawsuits against the police department and district attorney's office, wasting taxpayer dollars, in order to deflect from their own unethical conduct," Budelmann said.
Ultimately in 2016, a Cayuga County jury convicted Matthews of three misdemeanors for possessing small quantities of cocaine. He was sentenced to two years in Cayuga County Jail.
"Any incarceration imposed by the court was based upon (Matthews') criminal convictions," Budelmann said. "Judge (Thomas) Leone already ruled that there was no evidence withheld in this case. After I read my sentencing comments, Judge Leone also told Matthews in open court that he got off easy."
Auburn Police Chief Shawn Butler, Cayuga County Sheriff David Gould and Auburn City Manager Jeff Dygert each declined comment on the case, citing "pending litigation."
| BY Ricki Green |
International production and creation agency Chimney Group has appointed Lewis Hunt as the new managing director of its Australian office.
Melbourne-born Hunt will return to Australia after a five-year stint as creative director of Innocean Europe, the custom agency built to drive the international brand development of Hyundai and Kia.
Hunt said it was time to return home after developing and leading a strategy that ushered in a period of record sales growth and creative recognition for the Hyundai and Kia brands in the European market.
Says Hunt: Im excited to be joining the Chimney Australia team and repeating this success for Chimneys valued clients in Australia.
With a career that spans Australia, the Middle East and Europe, Hunt has guided global, national and regional brands. His experience has spanned diverse sectors including retail, fashion, travel and tourism, hospitality, automotive, and telecommunications where he has found success engaging consumers with results-driven big ideas.
Hunts work has been recognized by major international award shows including D&AD Global, Red Dot Design, CreativePool, Galaxy and ADC New York and he arrives at Chimney with a reputation for effective leadership of creative and production teams working in challenging businesses.
Global Chimney Group CEO, Michal Kalinowski, said Hunts appointment cements Chimneys commitment to the Australian market.
Says Kalinowski: Chimneys drive to play in Australias diverse and vibrant commercial film culture made Lewis the obvious choice in a mature market.
We are committed to producing and delivering engaging, high-quality content, and ensuring our clients are with us on that journey every step of the way. Chimney believes its more crucial than ever to create meaningful content that engages audiences, drives behavioral change, and secures ROI.
Our 20-year legacy of creating beautiful content and telling remarkable stories is something were proud of, and we look forward to continuing that legacy here in Australia with Lewis at the helm.
Hunts broad international experience will make him well placed to steer Australian clients who seek global services by synergising Chimneys Australian operations with its offices in Asia, Europe and the US.
Chimneys global reach, combined with its local know-how, were key reasons in Hunts decision to take the role.
Says Hunt: Australia is an incredibly diverse country and Im stoked at the opportunity to ensure our work reflects that dynamism and creativity.
For me, collaboration is key to building great ideas and integrated communication solutions. Its all about challenging conventional thinking with exceptional creative; all underlined by clarity of vision and an impeccable attention to detail.
| BY Ricki Green |
Former general manager of Starcom for SA and WA Mark Clemow has made the move to Blaze Advertising Adelaide in the role of business director.
Clemow is a highly experienced media and marketing expert who has worked across the ACT, SA and WA in various roles that include Government SA, TMP Worldwide, Australian Bureau of Statistics, News Corp Adelaide as well as Starcom.
Blaze Australia CEO Leanne Krstevski has said that having Clemow on board is an outstanding strategic fit for the business.
Says Krstevski: Through his diverse experience, Mark has a deep knowledge of media and marketing across Australia. Most recently hes been with a business that is recognised globally. He is a great strategic thinker with outstanding leadership, media and Government experience. Mark who is both an excellent relationship and business builder will add great bench strength to Blaze and the SA office.
Says Clemow: Blazes talent, clients, resources, leadership and global linkages mean the opportunities I can see are immense. I very much look forward to joining an integrated creative team and shaping the future growth of the agency.
Clemows arrival is timely, as the agency has been celebrating big wins nationally across commercial property, higher-education as well as a raft of government projects.
| BY Ricki Green |
Experience agency Imagination has today announced a senior promotion for the Melbourne office. Ilana Werba has been promoted to creative director from her role as senior creative producer.
As creative director, Werba will bring her creative inspiration and innovative vision across experiential marketing communications, brand strategy and development, brand experiences, events and built environments. She will continue to deliver award-winning work across Imaginations core clients, including ANZ, Ford, Telstra and Mastercard, as well as exploring new ways to grow the business through innovation.
Joining Imagination permanently in 2016, Werba brings with her over 20 years experience from Asia and Australia, across strategy, communications, content production, digital projects, live events and interactive experiences to support Imaginations growing stable of Melbourne clients.
Imagination Melbourne business director Georgina Crichton said the agencys Melbourne footprint continues to grow as more clients look to creativity for solutions to their business problems.
Says Crichton: Increasingly our clients our coming to us to solve unique business problems which pushes us to be more creative and innovative in our solutions. So its important to have team members who can manage the process of client discovery from both sides.
Ilana brings proven strategic creativity, mastery of channel, and production skills to Imagination. Securing this level of expertise in our Melbourne team is part of an ongoing plan to continue the companys growth in Victoria. I am thrilled for Ilana to step up as Imagination Melbournes Creative Director, and am sure she will lead the team to deliver exceptional work.
Werba said shes delighted to move into the role of creative director at a time when creativity and brand narrative are increasingly important to clients.
Says Werba: Working across film and media, you learn the power of a strong creative vision. Imagination understands creativity is key to engaging with todays audiences, and matches that commitment with a peerless ability to execute ideas around the world.
I couldnt be happier to accept the position as creative director and look forward to working with our clients to create powerful and compelling brand experiences that truly engage audiences and leave a lasting impression.
"Canberra is our spiritual home," Mr Forsythe said. "The public servants and the politicians and everyone who has to deal with what goes on in Parliament House totally get what we do."
Welcome to the middle of the week. We're in for another (relatively) warm one today, starting with a predicted minimum of 10 degrees and a leisurely maximum of 20. But make sure to pack your umbrella before you head out the door: the weather bureau says there's a 60 per cent chance of showers.
"We have been through a restructure of reducing staffing and that just means we have to put in place waiting lists and triaging and we just can't keep responding at the level that we were," he said.
"It's absolutely based on the needs of students and the first need of every student is to have a qualified, well-trained, capable teacher in front of every classroom and then we look at the needs of individual students and what additional support they need," he said.
"Sending all the love in the world from my family to yours. I have so much admiration for the way you have loved and supported each other and we will never forget you and the tireless work you've done for cancer research. Love always wins ! xxx," a post read.
Susan, whose real name cannot be published for legal reasons, is grandmother and kin carer to two children. She said she was now receiving less financial assistance than before 2015, and felt supports for kinship carers, the majority of whom are also grandparents, had suffered as stretched resources were moved into early intervention and foster care.
Voters in a few political parties will get a say on which candidates get to be on the general election ballot with primary voting today in Cayuga County, Elbridge and Skaneateles.
Primary voting will take place between noon and 9 p.m. today, Sept. 12. Voting is restricted to registered residents who are enrolled in political parties that are holding primary elections.
Here's an overview of local primaries and polling places:
The Cayuga County Legislature District 4 seat, which represents the town of Brutus, is currently a race between incumbent candidate Grant Kyle, who is running on the Democrat and Working Families party lines, and Christopher Petrus, running on the Republican, Conservative and Independence party lines. An opportunity to ballot has been filed challenging Petrus for the Independence Party spot, which means write-in ballots can be cast. There are 252 registered Independence voters in District 4, according to the Cayuga County Board of Elections. The primary for Independence voters will take place at the Brutus Town Hall, 9021 N. Seneca St., Weedsport.
The county Legislature District 9 seat, representing the towns of Summerhill, Sempronius, Moravia and Niles, also has an opportunity to ballot open for the Independence Party. The board of elections reported 338 registered Independence Party voters in that district. Currently on the general election ballot are Democratic candidate Kathleen Gorr and Republican candidate Charles Ripley. Current Legislator Terry Baxter has chosen not to run for re-election. The primary for Independence voters in District 9 will take place at the Niles Town Hall, 591 New Hope Road, Niles; the Sempronius Town Hall, 2481 Route 41A, Moravia; the Summerhill Town Hall, 13606 Route 90, Locke; and the Moravia Justice Center, 48 W. Cayuga St., Moravia.
Opportunities to ballot for Democratic, Conservative and Independence parties have been filed for the Fleming town supervisor position. Current incumbent and Democrat Gary Searing will be challenged in the primary. Donald Oltz, running on the Conservative Party line, will also be challenged. There is currently no names on the ballot for the Independence Party, meaning the winner will be write-in candidate. Fleming voters can head to the polls at the Fleming Fire Department, 6063 West Lake Road, Fleming.
Town of Victory Republican voters will have to choose a highway superintendent. James Rose and Patrick Coleman are both listed on the ballot. Victory Republicans can cast their vote at the Victory Town Hall, 1323 Town Barn Road, Red Creek.
Town of Summerhill Republican voters will choose between John W. Kirk, Donn Brown and David J. Dunham for highway superintendent. Voting will take place at the Summerhill Town Hall, 13606 Route 90, Locke.
In the town of Elbridge, two Republican Elbridge Town Board members are looking to fill the town supervisor position. Rita A. Dygert and Vernon J. Richardson are both on ballot for the Republican primary on Tuesday. There's also a Conservative Party primary election for the supervisor seat, with Dygert listed as the endorsed candidate and a space for write-in votes. Dygert has the Independence Party ballot line secured for the November general election, and no Democratic Party candidates will be on the ballot, according to the Onondaga County Board of Elections.
In addition to the supervisor primary, Elbridge voters in the Republican Party can cast primary ballots in the Onondaga County Legislature District 13 race featuring Ken Bush, current Elbridge supervisor, against incumbent Derek Shepard, of Baldwinsville, to represent District 13, which includes the towns of Camillus, Elbridge and Van Buren. Bush is also on the Conservative Party primary ballot, with an opportunity to ballot petition allowing for write-in votes against him.
Elbridge voters will be able to cast their ballots at the Elbridge Firehouse, 275 Route 5 East, Elbridge, or the Jordan-Elbridge Community Center, 5 Route 31 West, Jordan.
Another primary is taking place in the town of Skaneateles. Current town clerk Janet Aaron faces incumbent James Lanning in a Republican primary election. The winner will become the GOP candidate on the ballot in November. Aaron already has the Independence and Conservative Party lines secured for the general election, and she has the independent Skaneateles Party line locked up.There are no Democratic supervisor candidates this year, according to the Onondaga County Board of Elections.
In addition to the supervisor primaries, GOP voters in the town can chose candidates for two seats on the town board as Mark Tucker, Kevin McCormack and Dessa Bergen all are on the Tuesday ballot. McCormack and Tucker both have the Conservative line secured while Bergan and McCormack will be on the general election Independence Party line. Democratic incumbents Constance Brace and Claire Howard have secured their party's general election ballot lines and are also on the independent Skaneateles Party line.
Conservative Party voters in Skaneateles can also cast ballots in the Onondaga Legislature District 6 race, where incumbent Michael Plochocki is facing an opportunity-to-ballot primary. The Marcellus resident already has the GOP line secured. In the general election, he'll face Democratic candidate Joe Paduda of Skaneateles. District 6 includes the towns of Skaneateles, Spafford, Marcellus and Otisco.
Voting takes place at Skaneateles Fire Department, 77 West Genesee St.; Skaneateles Presbyterian Church, 97 East Genesee St.; and Mottville Fire Department, 4149 Frost St., Mottville.
After a 211 Crew parolee killed Colorado prisons chief Tom Clements in 2013, officials began banishing leaders of the white supremacist gang to prisons across the U.S. through an inmate-swapping system in which high-risk prisoners are secretly traded from one state to the next, The Denver Post has learned.
That diaspora of shot callers, those who can order gang murders, is why Benjamin Davis was at the Wyoming State Penitentiary south of Rawlings when he killed himself last month. Davis was a founder and leader of the 211 Crew and was suspected of ordering Clements assassination.
Clements successor, Executive Director Rick Raemisch, has moved 211 Crew inner circle members with a rank of general all with a vote when it comes time to order hits and beatings outside Colorados prison system to state and federal prisons in Wyoming, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, West Virginia, Kentucky, Colorado and Ohio, according to inmate interviews and prison records reviewed by The Post.
The Interstate Compact agreement is one of the most influential tools available to us in corrections. It allows the Colorado Department of Corrections and corrections departments across the United States to ensure the safety of their staff, safety of their offender population, and maintain safety and security in their facilities Raemisch wrote in a prepared statement in response to the newspapers questions.
Raemisch and other DOC officials declined to discuss the whereabouts of the 211 Crew leaders.
Experts on prison gang culture say inmate swapping through the Interstate Corrections Compact is routine and can be effective in disrupting communications between gang leaders and their soldiers and enforcers. But it can also spread gang ideology, particularly for a gang like the 211 Crew, which has name recognition across the country. Charismatic gang leaders spread their racist dogma and internal gang leadership strategies to other prison systems, they say.
When you move them they are going to recreate themselves like seeds in another state, said Damarcus Woods, of D. Woods Consultants, a gang expert who has testified in trials. What makes this gang so popular was the murder of Tom Clements. Their leaders have instant name recognition and respect with convicts wherever they go, he added.
Heidi Beirich, director of the Southern Poverty Law Centers Intelligence Project, agreed that 211 Crew leaders pose a particular threat of spreading their ideology because of the murder they committed. That killing was extraordinary, she said.
Evan Ebel, a 211 Crew member, shot Clements on the doorstep of his Monument home in March 2013. Documents show a spiderweb of phone calls between Ebel and fellow members of the 211 Crew in the days before and after Clements killing.
Prison gang experts also said it is virtually impossible to cut off all communications between criminals regardless of how far away prison officials send them.
211 Crew leaders scattered
A glance at some of the leaders of the 211 Crew who have been moved from Colorado prisons after the assassination of prisons chief Tom Clements.
Prisoners pass gang orders hidden in prison library books. Davis sent letters, known behind bars as kites, to gang leaders using elaborate coding. Last fall, Colorado became the first prison system in the country to approve a policy in which most inmates will have free computer tablets in their cells, allowing them to send e-mails virtually anywhere.
James Jimbo Lohr, also suspected of being involved in the Clements murder conspiracy, said when he was moved to the New Hampshire State Prison for Men, he was effectively cut off from 211 Crew members. In reply to several requests, Lohr called The Post multiple times and gave a lengthy description of gang and prison politics.
I didnt retire. We keep our status, said Lohr, confirming that he keeps his rank of general in the militaristic 211 Crew. But I dont have anything to do with (day-to-day) operations any more. When they moved me to New Hampshire, there was a giant weight that was lifted off of me. I dont have to worry about what hundreds of guys are doing. For the most part I dont know what is going on right now.
Lohr also vehemently denied any involvement either by Davis or himself in Clements murder, an event he acknowledges was the most significant in the history of the 211 Crew.
(Ebel) did a horrible, evil thing that affected a lot of people (211 Crew members). Ebel was a lunatic that did that all on his own. Hes gone. Hes dead. He went out like a lunatic. The Texas Rangers killed him like a lunatic animal, Lohr said. If it was an orchestrated thing, dont you think they would have charged us?
FBI agents, however, traced many phone calls between Lohr and gang members Thomas Guolee and Chris Middleton, who were in constant contact with Ebel in the days before and after Ebel shot Clements while wearing a Dominos pizza uniform on March 21, 2013. Ebel had also kidnapped and killed Commerce City father-of-three Nathan Leon to get his Dominos uniform. Texas police gunned Ebel down the same week.
A confidential informant who is a member of the 211 Crew told Texas Rangers that Lohr told him during a phone interview a few days after Clements murder that I had him do that, and asked the informant only identified as JR, to look after Ebel while he was on the run in Texas, Texas investigative records indicate.
But Lohr said the informant was ratting to keep himself out of trouble. No one has ever been arrested directly for Clements murder, but a criminal conspiracy investigation continues, El Paso County Sheriffs spokeswoman Jacqueline Kirby told The Post.
I never talked to (Ebel) before (he shot Clements) or after that, Lohr said.
Lohr said Clements death provoked unwanted attention to the 211 Crew, disrupting gang business including drug deals. Prison intelligence officers sat top 211 Crew down and threatened to punish them, including putting them in solitary confinement, if there was a whiff of trouble caused by their soldiers, he said.
They told all of us you get caught doing shot-caller stuff on the yard, were going to come down hard. Dont be murdering people and getting into fights. They wanted me to debrief or rat. Thats not my style. Lohr said. Thats why they sent us out (to other states) Were just like trading cards. They trade us from one facility to the next. Divide and conquer.
DOC officials immediately placed Davis and Lohr in isolation following Clements murder, on the justification they wanted to protect them from backlash from rival gangs, Lohr said.
They put me in the box. I caught time over it, he said.
Lohr, who completes his sentence for multiple crimes in 2021, said he has turned to his religious roots, knows the Bible inside and out, and has no intention of trying to indoctrinate New Hampshire prisoners about the 211 Crews brand of white supremacist ideology.
But Lohr also readily rattled off a list of names of 211 Crew generals who have all been moved out of Colorado prisons after Clements murder, and he knew to which states they had been sent. The same leaders are not on the DOCs online database offering the locations of thousands of other Colorado prisoners.
DOC spokesman Mark Fairbairn said he could not comment about the 211 Crew leaders.
The Post verified Lohrs information about the 211 leaders whereabouts through federal and state prison records searches. Cop killer Vernon Wayne Templeman is now held in West Virigina; convicted killer Raymond Cain is in Pennsylvania; 211 Crew co-founder Danny Shea is in Ohio; and Justin Barkley was first moved to Kentucky, but is now at the federal Administrative Maximum U.S. Penitentiary in Florence, Colo.
In many ways Lohr followed the same strategy of his close friend and ideological brother, Benjamin Davis, by repeatedly denying any ongoing involvement in the 211 Crew. Davis made a public proclamation that he was no longer affiliated with the gang in a 2002 advertisement in the Rocky Mountain News.
But after Davis unusual declaration, Denver prosecutors proved in a massive racketeering case against 24 members of the gang in 2006 that Davis effectively orchestrated beatings and murders from solitary confinement cells at various high-security prisons across Colorado and from as far away as the Wisconsin Secure Program Facility in Boscobel, Wisc.
Sometimes when a gang leader is murdered or dies, gangs disband or divide. There could be a power struggle to replace Davis, Woods said.
The question is, what is going to happen now? after Davis suicide, he said.
When George Jackson, one of the founders of the Black Guerilla Family in California, was killed at San Quentin Prison in 1971, there was rioting in multiple California prisons in a battle for power, Woods said.
It erupted into a major disturbance, Woods said. A lot of people got hurt.
Woods predicted that 211 Crew members will claim that Davis was actually murdered in Wyoming instead of committing suicide.
His ideology is cemented in death. Thats not the end of the 211 Crew. Theyll raise him up and exalt him.Theyll not just follow him but put their lives on the line for him. Theyre going to make his death into a conspiracy to promote their gang. What they write in their book will be different than what others write in theirs, Woods said.
Carson County Coroner Paul Zamora said Thursday that Davis died of asphyxiation by hanging in his cell and that the manner of death was suicide. Zamora said Davis had been in the cell alone and his body was found on the morning of Aug. 27.
But Lohr, indeed, questioned whether Davis committed suicide, and he said the 211 Crew will not crumble after Davis death.
No. Absolutely not. People are staying the (expletive) away from us because we are the most respected gang in DOC. (Clements shooting) was the biggest murder in Colorado history. We have a hierarchy just like you guys say. Weve got a real tight rein.
He added that the 211 Crew has a membership of around 1,000 members who are in and out of prison across the country. Davis had read textbooks about leadership skills used at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Lohr said. The crew is founded on solid, white supremacist ideology, not like many prison gangs that have a dope-scene mentality, he said. For example, the 211 Crew punishes its own for violations of its bylaws, Lohr added.
We have a code of honor. Its an ideology. You cant stop an ideology.
THIS WEEK IN CAPE BRETON: Raising the peace flag, reviewing future plans for Centre 200 and more
SYDNEY During a time of conflict around the world and with racial tensions on the rise in many parts, its clear there are those who want to find a bright, positive light wherever they can. Over the next several days, the YMCA of Cape Breton will ...
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.
The all-new Duster from Dacia is ready to pick up where the previous generation left off after
making its world premiere at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show.
Even though Dacia released a few images of the car a couple of weeks back, Frankfurt marks the first time weve been able to catch a glimpse of the crossovers interior, which has been fully redesigned and is now more user friendly.
By building on the strengths of its predecessor, the All-new Duster simply brings customers more all for a price that is still unbelievably affordable, said company exec, Jean-Christophe Kugler.
As you can see, every single feature we added helps to facilitate motoring. The all-new Duster is more Duster than ever. Its an off-roader that will take customers further in even greater style and comfort.
The exterior, as we noticed before, features more muscular front and rear ends, making the car appear wider than it actually is. Theres also a higher belt line, new roof bars and prominent front and rear skid plates. A new LED front light signature completes the new Dusters heavily updated look.
As for the interior, its completely new, with a redesigned dashboard where the MediaNav display has been moved to the upper part. The seats have also been entirely revised and upgraded for comfort and support, while the materials have been improved as well. Dacia has also increased the Dusters stowage capacity to 28.6 liters by adding new and more clever stowage spaces.
A host of new equipment is also available on the new Duster, starting with the Multi-view camera, Blind Spot Warning, Curtain airbags, automatic air conditioning, hands-free card, keyless entry and automatic headlights.
On and off the road, the all-new Duster is supposed to deliver an improved 4WD experience. Aside from the previously mentioned multi-view camera, the car also comes with Hill Descent Control and Hill Start Assist, while the 44 monitor system incorporates a compass and notifies the driver of the vehicles angle in real time.
In terms of engines, theres a choice of two petrol units: SCe 115 (2WD and 4WD) and TCe 125 (2WD and 4WD), both available with manual gearboxes. There are also two diesel options: dCi 90 (2WD) and dCi 110 (2WD and 4WD), where the latter can be specified with an EDC automatic. Last but not least, an LPG version of the SCe 115 unit is available as an option.
Dacias all-new Duster will go on sale in the UK starting with mid-2018.
PHOTO GALLERY
Five U.S. states have sued the federal government over delayed gas-guzzler penalties for automakers who fail to meet fuel-economy standards.
The lawsuit has been filed by New York, California, Vermont, Maryland and Pennsylvania in the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York and expresses concerns about the Trumps administration reluctance to implement higher gas-guzzler penalties.
Reuters asserts that in 2015, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed raising fines from $5.50 to $14 for every 0.1 mile per gallon of fuel which new vehicles consume above and beyond the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program.
The Trump administration ordered a review of U.S. fuel-efficiency standards for the 2022-2025 model years in March on the back of pressure from the automotive industry and could relax these standards.
In a statement discussing the lawsuit, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said State attorneys general have made clear: we wont hesitate to act when those we serve are put at risk.
PHOTO GALLERY
They dont make pickup trucks much tougher than the Toyota Hilux. And Toyota itself is celebrating that much with the display of the Hilux Invincible 50 show truck at the Frankfurt Motor Show this year.
Celebrating the trucks 50th anniversary, the Hilux Invincible 50 is based on the pickup known around the world but not in North America, where its place is taken by the Tacoma and Tundra.
The show truck wears special graphics on its silver bodywork, but theres more to it than that. It also wears matte black brush guards, wheel arches, under-floor running gear protection, and 18-inch alloys, shod with BF Goodrich all-terrain tires. The truck also wears an aftermarket bedliner and enhanced interior.
Other than that, its pretty much like any other Hilux. And there are many of them out there: this year, Toyota expects to sell over 40,000 of them in Europe alone, gunning for the record of 40,104 sold a decade ago.
Photo Gallery
Land Rover has officially unveiled the new Discovery SVX following its appearance earlier today.
Created by Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations, the SVX will become the most powerful Discovery model thanks to its supercharged 5.0-liter V8 engine that produces 525 PS (386 kW) and 625 Nm (461 lb-ft) of torque.
Despite its performance credentials, the SVX is designed to be a hardcore off-roader. As part of this initiative, the model has been equipped with a Hydraulic Active Roll Control system which helps to improve wheel articulation, body control, and off-road traction. The models approach, departure, and breakover angles have also been improved thanks to a raised air suspension, long-travel dampers, and revised knuckles. Designers also installed 20-inch alloy wheels with Goodyear Wrangler all-terrain tires.
The off-road modifications dont stop there as the SVX boasts center and rear locking differentials. Land Rover also equipped the model with unique transmission software as well as an optimized Terrain Response 2 system. Other highlights include Hill Descent Control, Electronic Traction Control, and All-Terrain Progress Control.
The model being shown in Frankfurt is being described as a production preview and it features unique bumpers, protective skid plates, and an integrated rear winch. Drivers will also find a light bar, Rush Orange accents, and a handful of recovery hooks.
The interior largely carries over but it features two-tone seats with Rush Orange accents and perforated X logos. The standard rotary shifter has also been replaced by a pistol-grip shifter that promises to give the driver optimum control of gear selection in off-road maneuvers.
The Discovery SVX will go into production next year and additional information will likely be announced closer to launch.
Video
Photo Gallery
Subaru has unveiled the latest-generation Impreza for Europe in full at the Frankfurt Motor Show following the initial release of details and images in early July.
The latest Impreza is just the second model underpinned by Subarus Global Platform and the Japanese automaker claims that its stiffer chassis results in improved responsiveness, handling and acceleration.
When the vehicle is launched in the UK, it will initially be available with a 1.6-liter boxer engine before a 2.0-liter boxer is added to the range at a later date. Subaru says 70 per cent of the components of the revised 1.6-liter engine have been redesigned and that it now delivers 114 PS at 6,200 rpm and 111 lb-ft of torque at 3,600 rpm. By comparison, the 2.0-liter will offer up 156 PS at 6,000 rpm and 145 lb-ft at 4,800 rpm.
Both engines are mated exclusively to the companys Lineartronic Continuously Variable Transmission working on conjunction with a Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive system.
Elsewhere, the new Subaru Impreza remains focused on keeping the driver safe, much like other Subaru models. As a result, it includes the firms EyeSight driver assist technology and also has Adaptive Cruise Control, Automatic Pre-Collision Braking and Lane Departure and Sway Warning. Additionally, the new Global Platform is stronger than the architecture it replaces and has the potential to maintain the highest standard of collision safety through to 2025, Subaru claims. This is primarily due to its improved collision energy absorption.
Visually, the new Impreza isnt a dramatic departure from the model it replaces and remains instantly identifiable. Some of the most apparent exterior changes include new headlights and taillights and its updated hexagonal front grille. The car will be offered in the UK in five colors; Crystal White Pearl, Venetian Red Pearl, Ice Silver Metallic, Dark Blue Pearl and Dark Grey Metallic.
In the U.S., sales of the updated Impreza will commence in the fall with prices starting at $18,495.
PHOTO GALLERY
A couple of months after the London EV Company (LEVC) unveiled its new electric taxi cab for Britains capital, the company has released a German version at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
The TX taxi is largely the same as the UK-spec model but it has been painted in Eifelbein, a beige color that was required for all German taxis between 1971 and 2005. The London EV Company says it doesnt just intend on tackling pollution issues in its home city but wants to do the same in Germany and other cities throughout Europe.
Power for the TX is provided by a battery electric powertrain and a small petrol generator. All-electric range will sit at over 120 km and be perfect for inner-city use. Range increases to over 640 km when the range extender kicks in.
Beyond its European expansion, the London EV Company plans on building and selling the TX in China.
In a statement, LEVC chairman Carl-Peter Forster said This is an incredibly exciting time for the company, for Europe, for the air we breathe and for drivers of commercial vehicles across the world. The reveal of the taxi in Germanys trademark taxi colours is a statement of intent we are here to tackle the air pollution crisis in cities across Europe with the most advanced taxi in the world.
PHOTO GALLERY
Hot-hatch enthusiasts have been patiently awaiting the arrival of the Toyota Yaris GRMN. The wait will be over soon as production is set to kick off this fall, but before it does, the Japanese automaker has released its key final specifications.
While output from the 1.8-liter supercharged inline-four was previously said to exceed 205 hp, its now been confirmed at 209 212 on the metric scale, or 156 kW. Thats coupled to 184 lb-ft of torque, all channeled to the front wheels through a six-speed manual and limited-slip differential.
The 0-62 time, as a result, is estimated at 6.3 seconds, with the top speed restricted to 143 miles per hour. Thats thanks in no small part to the spritely curb weight of 2,502 lbs, giving the Yaris GRMN the best power-to-weight ratio in its class, according to the manufacturer. The figures also promise to put it out ahead of key competition like the Ford Fiesta ST and VW Polo GTI. And while the top Renault Clio RS 220 Trophy boasts more juice, the Toyota still claims quicker acceleration times and its supercharged engine ought to offer an intriguing alternative to the turbocharged competition.
Since revealing the hot hatch in Geneva this past fall, Toyotas been tweaking the Yaris GRMN on the Nurburgring and surrounding roads. Its dropped the standard Yaris suspension by 24 mm, beefed up the anti-roll bar, and fitted Sachs shocks, 275-mm front brake discs, 17-inch BBS alloys, Bridgestone Potenza RE050 tires, the steering wheel from the GT86, and the cooling system from a V6 engine. The aero package has also been further optimized to the benefit of downforce, balance, and cooling.
Even if the performance didnt, pricing would elevate the Yaris GRMN above its rivals, with a market-dependent sticker quoted at 29,900. But with only 400 of them (now confirmed) to be made for the European market, Toyota ought to have little trouble selling them all.
Photo Gallery
Great Wall Motors Wey luxury brand has shown its XEV concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
The Tesla Model X-like vehicle is a plug-in hybrid crossover which features distinctive headlights, gull-wing doors, and aerodynamic alloy wheels. The unique styling continues further back as the concept has an upward sweeping beltline that continues all the way to rear tailgate. We can also see a ventilated rear bumper, a large diffuser, and a wraparound taillight bar.
Wey didnt say much about the cabin but it has four individual seats which are separated floating center consoles.
Performance specifications were not released but the XEV has a plug-in hybrid powertrain that consists of a conventional engine that powers the front wheels and an electric motor that power the rear wheels. The engine and motor can work independently of each other or together to give the crossover an all-wheel drive system.
Wey claims the concept is equipped with autonomous driving system which allows for unmanned functions on the expressway and in urban environments. The system reportedly uses a variety of camera and laser sensors to detect nearby objects and enable the vehicle to have high-tech driver assistance systems such as automatic cruise control, active lane change [assist], intersection processing, and other basic functions. The company also says the concept can deal with unexpected situations such as road repairs and traffic maneuvering.
Photo Gallery
It can be hard to keep track of them all, but the World Car of the Year awards are certainly among the most important. And next years list has already begun taking shape.
As per tradition, the organizers have announced the list of eligible vehicles at the Frankfurt Motor Show. And its extensive, to say the least. In fact the principal list for World Car of the Year includes no fewer than 35 entries and thats before you get into the additional categories.
Eligible vehicles include the Buick Regal/Opel Insignia, Citroen C3 Aircross, Dacia Duster, Ford Fiesta, Genesis G70, Honda Accord, Hyundai Kona, Jeep Compass, Land Rover Discovery, Mazda CX-5, Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross, Peugeot 3008, Range Rover Velar, Renault Koleos, Seat Ibiza, Skoda Karoq, SsangYong Rexton G4, Subaru XV/Crosstrek, Suzuki Swift, Toyota Camry, the Alfa Romeo Giulia and Stelvio, BMW X2 and X3, Nissan Leaf and Micra, Volvo XC60 and Volvo XC40, Volkswagen Polo, T-Roc and Arteon, and Kia Niro, Picanto, Stinger and Stonic.
Got all that? Theres more: the Audi A8, BMW 6 Series Gran Turismo, Lexus LS, and Porsche Cayenne and Panamera will face off for the World Luxury Car award.
The BMW 530e iPerformance, Chevrolet Cruze Diesel, Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, Hyundai FE, and Nissan LEAF will compete in the Green category.
The Urban prize will be contested by the Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Kona, Kia Picanto and Stonic, Nissan Micra, Seat Ibiza, Suzuki Swift, and Volkswagen Polo.
And (perhaps most intriguing of all) the Performance award will go to the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, Audi RS 3 Sedan, Audi RS 5 Coupe, BMW M5, Ferrari Portofino, Honda Civic Type R, Hyundai i30N, Lexus LC 500, Renault Alpine A110, or Volkswagen Polo GTI. Any of those short-listed will also be eligible for the Design award, with the yet-to-be-revealed BMW i8 Roadster and Lamborghini Urus thrown in for good measure.
The Road to World Car (as the process is dubbed) will see three finalists in each category announced at the Geneva show next March, with the winners to be revealed at the New York Auto Show after all 80+ jurors have cast their ballots.
Photo Gallery
The final season of Samurai Jack turned out to be the big animation winner at the 2017 Creative Arts Emmy Awards, racking up four awards at the ceremony, which took place last Saturday and Sunday at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
All four of honors for the Adult Swim series came in the individual achievement in animation category, a juried award that is not voted on by the entire membership, but rather screened by a jury of appropriate branch members. The four artists who won for Samurai Jack were Bryan Andrews (storyboard artist), Scott Wills (production designer), Craig Kellman (character designer), and Lou Romano (background designer).
Here is the official description of how the Television Academy votes on the juried categories, which also include Innovation in Interactive Programming and Motion Design:
Here is a trick question, how many government employees does it take to build a two lane bridge over a creek? The answer is one. So get him or her to call a private contractor and offer them a performance bonus to have it completed in 30 days instead of 90 days.
I know there is no shortage in steel or concrete. There are capable engineers with experience building bridges I'm sure. Must be tens of millions of bridges in the world to use as a template.
Instead of working 24/7 and paying overtime to complete in reasonable time frame we now funnel 1,000's of vehicles through 2 school zones during the start of the new school year! Same old, same old, work ethic.
Mike Glutek
Photo: Darren Handschuh A B.C. Supreme Court trial is being conducted in French in Vernon.
The victim of a stabbing in Spallumcheen almost three years ago has described the ordeal he went through after inviting a homeless man back to his place for dinner and a warm place to sleep.
Cameron Ormiston, 39, who has suffered his own problems with addiction and homelessness, told B.C. Supreme Court in Vernon on Monday that he saw the accused, Maurice Taillon, when he walked into Armstrong for his methadone on Nov. 13, 2014.
Taillon, 62, has pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated assault and assault with a weapon. The trial is being conducted in french for the accused.
The two chatted and had a drink together before Ormiston invited Taillon back to a Spallumcheen residence on Upper McLeod Road being rented by his ex wife.
There had been a cold weather warning, Ormiston told the court. It was minus 17 or something like that, but clear and sunny.
Ormiston said he didn't have the heart to leave Taillon sleeping outside in the cold.
I offered him some food and a warm place to sleep for the night.
While the ex-wife went to work, Ormiston described making dinner for Taillon and another friend, how they'd had more to drink and had been singing and playing a guitar.
At one point, Ormiston sold Taillon a black, eight inch fishing blade for $5 that he'd been using while cooking.
Ormiston fell asleep in the living room only to have his ex-wife wake him up after her return and express her unease at having Taillon stay in the house.
He was talking loudly and he was stabbing a knife into Lisa's coffee table in the living room, Ormiston said.
The couple went to bed but Taillon continued to make noise and walk through the residence.
Lisa was upset and wanted him to leave because she didn't feel safe or comfortable with him being there.
Ormiston got another friend who was sleeping in a bedroom and they forcibly walked a struggling Taillon and his bicycle to the edge of the property.
He didn't want to leave....He was worried about his bike and he wanted to go to the liquor store. I was trying to convince him to head down the driveway.
At the end of the rural property, the two let go of Taillon and then with two hands, he turned around and drove, I thought he had punched me, but he drove a knife into my left abdomen. I was quite shocked, Ormiston said.
Taillon continued to shout while the victim ordered his friend to call 911 and get the van so they could head into Armstrong and meet an ambulance.
I knew I needed medical assistance as fast as possible.
Ormiston underwent surgery at Vernon Jubilee Hopital.
I had a puncture wound that was stapled just below my ribs. I had a cut in the centre of my abdomen that is eight to 10 inches long (as a result of the surgery).
Taillon was arrested by an RCMP officer in Armstrong on Nov. 14, some hours after the incident.
The trial continues.
Photo: The Canadian Press Premier John Horgan Deputy Premier Carole James look on before the speech from the throne in the legislative assembly in Victoria on September 8, 2017. British Columbia's finance minister has hinted that anyone looking for surprises in today's budget update will likely be disappointed. Carole James says the first financial blueprint put forward by the New Democrat government will outline commitments that were made on the election campaign last spring and reiterated in Friday's throne speech, which kicked off the latest legislative session. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
British Columbia's minority New Democrat government says it is starting to build the province all residents want, tabling an updated budget that promises to hire 3,500 teachers and build thousands of rental units and homes for the homeless.
Finance Minister Carole James said Monday the government's first budget document puts people first after 16 years of Liberal rule where families, students and seniors struggled.
The budget update forecasts a surplus of $246 million this year and economic growth of 2.9 per cent, up from the 2.1 per cent projected in last February's budget.
The New Democrats formed a minority government last June after the May election did not produce a clear winner in the 87-seat legislature. The NDP, with 41 seats, and the Greens with three seats, combined their seat totals to oust the Liberals in a non-confidence vote.
"The budget really does invest in people to invest in B.C.," James said in a briefing prior to introducing the budget in the legislature.
"I am a big believer that a budget does not stand alone," she said. "A budget is a tool to make sure the people of this province who built our economy benefit from the economy."
She said she grew up in a household in Victoria where she was raised by grandparents who could never afford new furniture or appliances, but were the first to offer helping hands to those in need.
"Since I've been in this role, I've thought a lot about my grandparents, about how to stretch a dollar," James said.
The updated budget confirmed many of the NDP's spring election promises, but other major pledges appeared to be under review and considered works in progress.
James acknowledged the government's plan for a universal, $10-a-day child-care program and its promised $400 subsidy for renters are currently in planning stages and may be more fully addressed in the government's budget due in February.
"We will implement programs and services as we are able," she said. "You can't turn back the clock on 16 years overnight. That's not possible."
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives said investing in affordable housing and offering start-up funding for a poverty reduction strategy are welcome changes in direction from the Liberals, but delaying work on the child-care promises raises concerns.
"The question is how ambitious their plan is going to be," said economist Iglinka Ivanova. "I'm expecting to see a lot more in the budget in February."
James said the government will invest $681 million over three years to hire 3,500 teachers and provide more services for students.
A Supreme Court of Canada ruling last year ordered B.C. to reinstate classroom composition rights won the B.C. Teachers' Federation about 15 years ago.
The budget update contains immediate housing initiatives for renters and the homeless and housing will remain a major focus of February's budget.
She said the government will spend $208 million to build 1,700 affordable rental housing units and $291 million to build 2,000 modular housing units for homeless people.
"Putting people first is our government's priority, and we're working on a comprehensive strategy to improve housing affordability, close speculation loopholes and reduce tax fraud and money laundering in B.C. real estate," James said in her speech to the legislature. "And in this budget update, we're taking the first critical steps."
She said the government will cut Medical Services Premiums by 50 per cent in January and the government's promise to increase income and disability assistance by $100 a month are budgeted at $472 million.
James said the budget includes tax measures that lowers the corporate income tax rate for small business to two per cent from 2.5 per cent, but increases the general corporate tax rate from 11 per cent to 12 per cent.
The personal income tax rate will jump from 14.7 per cent to 16.8 per cent for those earning $150,000 and over.
Jock Finlayson, B.C. Business Council vice president, said the business community expected the tax changes as they were part of the NDP's election platform, but "this budget isn't going to create a lot of new investment."
He said the increase in personal income tax, coupled with federal government tax changes, could result in B.C. businesses not being able to attract top-job candidates.
Photo: The Canadian Press
PotashCorp. and Agrium Inc. say they have secured Canadian Competition Bureau approval of their friendly merger.
The bureau says on its website it has issued a no-action letter to the parties after finding that the transaction would not lead to a substantial lessening or prevention of competition in Canada for products sold by both companies, including potash fertilizer, dry or liquid phosphate fertilizer and nitric acid.
Last week, the companies said the merger is expected to close several months later than the previous target date due in part to authorities in China and India who want the divestment of certain minority interests owned by PotashCorp.
It also still requires approvals in the United States.
They have said that the merged companies can achieve $500 million of annual operating synergies.
Photo: Getty Images
The province's financial watchdog says that Ontario's proposed minimum wage hike could result in more than 50,000 job losses.
In a report released today, Financial Accountability Officer Stephen LeClair estimates that job losses will be concentrated among teens and young adults.
In July, Premier Kathleen Wynne announced her government would increase Ontario's minimum wage to $15 an hour by Jan. 1, 2019.
The FAO report says that because of the dramatic nature of the minimum wage increase it will provide greater incentive for businesses to aggressively reduce costs.
The report also says the new policy will increase the number of minimum wage workers in Ontario from just over 500,000 to 1.6 million in 2019.
Groups representing both small and large businesses across Ontario have said the minimum wage increase would lead to layoffs.
Photo: Google Street View
Traffic is slow on Harvey Avenue through Kelowna this morning.
Sometime after 8 a.m., a Cadillac Escalade lost a tire in the left lane of Harvey Avenue between Gordon and Burtch heading southbound.
Traffic has been reduced to two lanes, slowing things down on that stretch of road.
Photo: RCMP RCMP are seeking Nicole Bell of Sicamous who has not been seen since Sept. 2nd.
A woman who was last seen in Sicamous on Sept. 2nd is now being sought by the RCMP.
Police are requesting the public's assistance in locating Nicole Bell, 31, who was reported missing to police Sept. 7th.
Bell is described as Caucasian, 4-feet-eleven-inches tall and with blonde hair past her shoulders. She has a piercing in her nose and above her upper lip and occasionally wears glasses.
Police and her family say they are concerned for her well being as it is out of character for her to have no contact with her family for this length of time.
Since her disappearance police have pursued a number of investigative avenues in an effort to locate her but she remains missing, said Staff Sgt. Annie Linteau, RCMP spokesperson.
Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Bell is asked to contact the Sicamous RCMP at 250-836-2878 or Crime Stoppers, if they wish to remain anonymous, at 1-800-222-8477 quoting file number 2017-1401.
UPDATE: SEPT 11, 8:30 a.m.
The West Kelowna RCMP is pleased to confirm that the 18-year-old man reported missing has been located, and he is safe and sound.
UPDATE: SEPT 11, 12:00 - Kelowna RCMP say Jonah Bohn has been in contact with family members via social media, however, until police are able to locate him, Bohn still remains officially missing.
An 18-year-old Kelowna teen is missing after a verbal altercation turned physical Friday evening.
Police say shortly before 9 p.m. Sept. 6, Jonah Bohn left his family home in the 1700 block of Smithson Drive on rollerblades.
Bohn was recently diagnosed with schizophrenia and requires regular medication to prevent a highly agitated and unstable state.
Cst. Kris Clark says Bohn left the home after refusing to take his medication.
"Bohn is in need of immediate medical attention, but should not be approached," says Clark.
"He could be a danger to himself and others."
Clark says Bohn has been know to frequent the downtown area.
Bohn is described as:
Caucasian
5'10, 180 lbs with a stocky build
Short brown hair
Brown eyes
Last seen wearing a brown hoodie with a white design, light blue jeans and rollerblades/grey shoes
Anyone with information on Bohn's whereabouts are asked to contact Kelowna RCMP at 250-762-3300.
If you have just started your journey in an online casino or are looking for a new site to play,...
On Sept. 11, 2001, two passenger planes were crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York; another hit the Pentagon near Washington D.C. and a fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. The Sept. 11 attacks left 2,996 people dead and more than 10,000 injured.
Monday marked the 16th anniversary of the attacks, and residents around Beatrice took time to remember those killed on Sept. 11, 2001.
It has been 16 years since that day--a few years longer than the students in Ben Essams eighth grade history class have been alive.
Beginning in the sixth grade, students of Beatrice Public Schools get to learn about the 9/11 attacks.
On Monday, the class watched 102 Minutes That Changed America, a documentary that relays the events of 9/11 in New York through news footage and amateur videos from that day.
The students watched as the first plane crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center. A second plane crashed into the south tower about 18 minutes later.
I got sad and scared for everybody there, said eighth grade student Shayla Dowd.
I've seen videos of this, said Madison Coffin, also in eighth grade and whose brother was born on September 11, 2001. It made me think of how many lives were lost.
Last year, the students learned how the planes were hijacked and this year they watched the video on the attacks that brought down the towers, Essam said.
We try to go in order of how things happened, he said. So when they walk out of middle school, they have a greater understanding of what happened and why it happened, and why we have the security measures we have today.
Beatrice Middle School teacher Mike Policky said that for kids who were born after 9/11, its a challenge to explain the significance of the attacks.
The fear and uncertainty that followed the attacks changed the country, he said, it changed the world. The aftershocks from 9/11 can still be felt every time kids go to the airport and encounter heightened security, or have to go through metal detectors at concerts and sporting events, he said.
After watching the video, Policky said students are asked to reflect on it. Theyre asked about their emotions as they watched the attacks, how they feel and how their life has been impacted in any way by the event that happened several years before they were born.
We talk about the psychological scarring of people that, if you ask someone who was alive during this event, they can exactly tell you where they were, Policky said. Similar to, in the older generation, where were people at when John F. Kennedy was assassinated. They know. It leaves that psychological scar, it's burned to memory.
The Kensington in downtown Beatrice held a remembrance ceremony for the victims lost that day.
After a flag ceremony in front of the old Paddock building, featuring the national anthem and a rendition of God Bless America sung by Garold Kleveland, the assembled crowd headed inside for cookies and conversation.
It was a larger ceremony last year, said Sue Ann Henning, family advisor at the Kensington. The Legion Riders made an appearance last year, but this year's ceremony was just as important.
Two members of the C Troop 1-134 Cavalry Squadron based out of the Beatrice National Guard Armory volunteered to carry the flag.
Sergeant Jared Collins and Specialist Triston Grieger took time to talk with residents and guests following the ceremony. Both could remember the events of 9/11, though Grieger was young at the time.
I was in eighth grade, Collins said. I'm 29, so I remember very explicitly.
I'm 20, so I remember, Grieger said. They played it on the TV for us, I was in kindergarten. That's about it.
The Kensington is home to multiple World War II veterans, including Lawrence Workman, who enlisted in the Navy in 1944. He served in the South Pacific and was on amphibious personnel carriers in Okinawa just after the war ended. His memories of Pearl Harbor arent vivid, but he said that when the towers fell on 9/11, it was a tragedy.
Garold Kleveland sat and talked with veterans of World War II and the Korean War after his performance and the ceremony, reflecting on the events that took place 16 years ago.
That was a pretty important day, he said. I don't think we had the patriotic feeling since World War II until 9/11.
Two years after reducing its number of members from nine to six, the Beatrice Public Schools Board of Education voted on Monday night to again change its member count.
A resolution, which passed unanimously, will add a seventh member to the board starting in January of 2019.
After a discussion at the Board of Educations committee of the whole meeting in August, the board decided to move forward with its plan to increase the number to seven.
The decision is due to a change in Nebraska state statutes, said Superintendent Pat Nauroth.
This came about because, when we originally changed from a nine-member board, the only option we had available was whether to look at a six-member or five-member board, Nauroth said. We did not want to go to a five, so we went to a six-member board. That statute has been changed and the board is now able to move to seven members.
The new statute says that a Class III school districta district with between 1,001 and 99,000 inhabitantscan adopt a resolution in an odd-numbered year to change the number of school board members anywhere from a minimum of five members to a maximum of nine members.
The new member will be elected during the statewide general election in November of next year and will start with the board in January of 2019.
The rationale for adding another member to the board, Nauroth said, is that it will help eliminate tie votes and facilitate better functioning.
In December 2013, when the school board decided to reduce the number of members from nine to six, it was due in part to the boards difficulty in having enough members present to form a quorum.
With one board member considering resigning, anothers potential move out of the district looming and current board member Steve Winters health issues at that time, being able to have the five members necessary for a quorum was proving difficult. Lowering the number to six meant only four members needed to be present for a quorum.
The resolution was approved unanimously with five votes to zero, with board member Nancy Sedlacek absent.
The University of Otagos coveted Arts Fellowships for 2018 have been announced.
Otago's Pro-Vice-Chancellor Humanities, Professor Tony Ballantyne has named the five Fellowship recipients.
The Frances Hodgkins Fellow is Louise Menzies from Auckland, the Robert Burns Fellow is Rhian Gallagher from Dunedin, the Mozart Fellow is Dylan Lardelli from Auckland, the Caroline Plummer Fellow in Community Dance is Matthew Smith from Auckland, and the Creative NZ University of Otago College of Education Childrens Writer in Residence is Raymond Huber from Dunedin.
Professor Ballantyne is delighted with the outstanding calibre of this group of fellows who will take up their fellowships in 2018.
These Fellows are working at the forefront of their respective creative fields; they have each been selected from a very strong group of applicants, Professor Ballantyne says.
Our Arts Fellowships are very important to the University because they are vital to our links with the arts community. Through their work and presence on campus they enable new conversations around the ways in which these creative disciplines illuminate the world that we live in.
It is always exciting to look forward to the coming year and the music, words, images and performances that these Fellows create.
The Fellows receive a stipend for between six months and one year, and space on campus to indulge in their creative projects. Past Fellows have created dance performances, orchestral compositions, poetry, novels and childrens books during this time.
The fellowships have produced many luminaries over the years, including writers Janet Frame, Keri Hulme, James K Baxter, Michael King and Maurice Shadbolt, artists Ralph Hotere and Grahame Sydney, and many of New Zealand's leading composers, dancers and childrens book writers.
Frances Hodgkins Fellow 2018 Louise Menzies
Louise Menzies is an Auckland-based artist. She has already established an outstanding body of work, including an impressive 15 solo exhibitions with showings in North America, Australia and Lithuania; contributions to group exhibitions in Los Angeles, Montreal, Paris, Rotterdam and Sydney; 12 art publication projects; and four significant residencies, three in international settings.
Her practice embraces a range of media, including text, performance, moving image, photography, ceramics and print media, usually presented within installed environments. She draws particularly on research into the ways female experience has (or has not) been recorded something she hopes to continue, by exploring histories of local artists including Joanna Paul and Frances Hodgkins, as a starting point.
As an artist you are always running a time deficit. Many more ideas enter the studio than there is the time and space to make them. The fellowship is a true gift in this sense, and the chance it offers to work in an extended way on ones own artistic production is an immensely valuable opportunity.
I have much excitement about the year ahead, and discovering the many local resources I anticipate responding to throughout my various projects. Its a huge honour to have been given the Fellowship, and I cant wait to get started.
Robert Burns Fellow 2018 - Rhian Gallagher
Rhian Gallaghers work is a moving blend of unique perspectives and poetic craft that creates subtly haunting effects.
Her first book of poems Salt Water Creek, published in London, was shortlisted for the 2003 Forward Prize for First Collection. In New Zealand, she won a Canterbury History Foundation Award in 2007, and wrote Feeling for Daylight: The Photographs of Jack Adamson, a non-fiction biography published by the South Canterbury Museum. She won the New Zealand Post Book Award for Poetry in 2012 for her second poetry collection, Shift .
In 2016, Gallagher collaborated with artist Lynn Taylor and Otakou Press printer-in-residence Sarah Smith to publish poems on the life and activities of Freda Du Faur (18821935), the first woman to climb Aoraki/Mount Cook.
She described the Burns Fellowship as an expansive, generous opportunity and a real honour. In terms of creative space it is like moving from the backyard to a wide open plateau. Anything could happen! The Fellowship is also an opportunity for conversation and exchange within the humanities and, in this, it exudes possibility. It doesnt involve a relocation for me but it is a completely new mindset.
She will primarily be writing poetry. One aspect of the work is focussed on the early history of the Seacliff Asylum in relation to Irish migrants. Im looking to develop a series of letter poems.
Mozart Fellow 2018 - Dylan Lardelli
Dylan Lardelli is considered one of the leading representatives of innovative new composers of his generation.
He has been composer in residence with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, and artist in residence in Tokyo. His compositions have been programmed in leading festivals and concert series in New Zealand, Australia, Europe, the United Kingdom, the USA, and Asia. His works have been performed by such noted ensembles as the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the Ensemble Vortex, the NZTrio, and by members of the Ensemble Modern and Musikfabrik.
He has won the Asian Composers League Young Composers Competition in Tokyo, the Edwin Carr Scholarship, and the APRA AMCOS Art Music Fund Award (2017). As guitarist, Dylan Lardelli has performed with the NZ Symphony Orchestra, the Stroma Contemporary Music Ensemble and the 175 East New Music Ensemble.
He is thrilled by his appointment, and looking forward to getting to know Dunedin and all it can offer. I'm really looking forward to getting to know the Otago music department, and a wide range of musicians and music groups in the region.
Caroline Plummer Fellow in Community Dance - Matthew Smith
Matthew Smith is from Auckland. He has a BAppSc (Human Biology) from Unitec, and is currently completing a Masters of Osteopathy. His 17-year career as a performer, teacher and dance-maker has taken him to more than 50 countries worldwide. Work he has choreographed has been performed in Oslo, Zagreb, Amsterdam and Vienna.
His fellowship project aims to use dance to enhance health and wellbeing at any age. He has already developed a community dance class for older men to help them gain confidence in coordination and balance. He plans to expand this to different age groups and to develop an educational/community resource which could be used worldwide via on-line platforms and DVD.
He is excited to research, develop and impliment a number of different community programmes in his home town of Dunedin.
I will be creating a movement/partnering class for fathers and their babies. I will also be developing further a programme I began in Auckland called More men moving more which was in cooperation with Mens Health Trust. This was a class for elderly men focusing on important movement skills such as balance and refining coordination associated with mobility.
My dance career began in Dunedin and I am very happy to return. I look forward to giving back to my community by sharing something of what I have learned in my years away and abroad.
University of Otago College of Education/Creative New Zealand Childrens Writer in Residence - Raymond Huber
Raymond Huber is an author and freelance editor, Curioseum (2014) and won the McGonagall poetry prize winner in 2005. with a wealth of experience as a teacher, editor, and a writer of fiction and non-fiction. He has received numerous awards and shortlisting in prestigious Childrens Book Awards, nationally and internationally. He has a story in the Te Papa childrens book2014) and won the McGonagall poetry prize winner in 2005.
At the core of his productivity is Raymonds ability to merge a love of childrens literature with science. His children's novels, Sting and Wings, are science-based fantasy; his picture books, Flight of the Honey Bee and Gecko , are published internationally; and Peace Warriors, is a YA book about non-violent resistance. Raymond has also written many educational workbooks, school readers and radio plays.
Raymond lives with author/publisher Penelope Todd on the Otago Peninsula; they have three children and two grandsons.
I'm very grateful for this Fellowship what a privilege to be able to devote six months to imagination and writing in a place where people value reading and literature. Ill be working on a children's book about trees; celebrating the science of trees and telling the stories of people who loved trees.
About the Fellowships
Many years ago Charles Brasch, the initiator of the Robert Burns Fellowship, wrote, "Part of a university's proper business is to act as nurse to the arts, or, more exactly, to the imagination as it expresses itself in the arts and sciences. Imagination may flourish anywhere. But it should flourish as a matter of course in the university, for it is only through imaginative thinking that society grows, materially and intellectually.' (Landfall, March 1959).
The Robert Burns Fellowship is New Zealand's premier literary residency. The Fellowship was established in 1958 to commemorate the bicentenary of the birth of Robert Burns, and it is designed to encourage imaginative New Zealand literature and to bring writers to the University. Past fellows include Janet Frame, Roger Hall, Keri Hulme, James K. Baxter, Maurice Shadbolt, Michael King, Ian Cross, Owen Marshall, Ruth Dallas, James Norcliffe, David Eggleton, Sarah Quigley and Sue Wootton.
The Frances Hodgkins Fellowship , named after one of New Zealand's most distinguished artists, was established in 1962 to aid and encourage painters, sculptors and other artists and to foster an interest in the arts in the University. Past winners include Ralph Hotere, Grahame Sydney, Marilynn Webb, Fiona Pardington, Shane Cotton and Heather Straka.
The Mozart Fellowship was established by the University of Otago in 1969. The purpose of the Fellowship is to aid and encourage composers and performers of music in the practice and advancement of their art, to associate them with the life of the University and to foster an interest in contemporary music. Mozart Fellows often produce a concert of their works during their Fellowship year. Successful applicants include many of New Zealand's significant composers, such as John Rimmer, Anthony Ritchie, Gillian Whitehead and Christopher Watson.
The Caroline Plummer Fellowship in Community Dance was established in 2003 and honours Caroline Plummer (1978-2003). Caroline completed a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and a Diploma for Graduates in Dance, and was awarded the University of Otago Prestige Scholarship in Arts. The Fellowship acknowledges Caroline's passion for dance and her vision for community dance in New Zealand. It was made possible by a Memorial Trust set up by Caroline's parents.
The largest reintroduction program in the Americas, "Rewilding Ibera: Park Creation and Wildlife Restoration in Subtropical Argentina," will be the subject of a talk by biologist and conservationist Ignacio Jimenez Perez on Wednesday, Sept. 20.
Jimenez Perez will speak at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West at 12:15 p.m., a free talk hosted by the Draper Natural History Museum in the Coe Auditorium.
Jimenez Perez leads the reintroduction project as conservation director for Argentinas Conservation Land Trust, part of Tompkins Conservation, which has been working since 1997 to establish the largest park in the Ibera region of Argentina.
A vast wilderness covered by wetlands, grasslands, and small forests, the Ibera region suffered the worst defaunation process in Northern Argentina during the 20th century. For the past 10 years CLT has been reintroducing tapirs, giant anteaters, pampas deer, collared peccaries, and green-winged macaws in Ibera, and is also carrying out the first on-site jaguar breeding program for reintroduction.
In his talk, Jimenez Perez shares the challenges of such an ambitious project, its results and lessons learned.
Sign up for our newsletter
Former Montana Republican House Majority Leader Michael David Lange of Billings, who once told the governor to go to hell, admitted on Tuesday to trafficking several pounds of meth as part of a large drug conspiracy.
Appearing before U.S. District Judge Susan Watters in Billings, Lange, 57, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess meth for distribution and to possession with intent to distribute. There was no plea agreement.
Lange faces a minimum mandatory 10 years to life in prison and a maximum fine of $10 million on each count.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John Sullivan said Lange in interviews with law enforcement officers admitted to getting about 20 pounds of meth through his co-defendant, Jose Soltero, and distributing it to others.
Lange, Sullivan said, distributed meth from about April to October 2016. Drug task force agents got information in September that Lange was trafficking, he said. And at about the same time, agents in Wyoming conducted a buy operation and learned from others that Lange was their main supplier in Billings and that a woman identified as Sherry Murphy was his main distributor.
Agents executed a search warrant of Langes house on Oct. 11 and found more than 2.5 pounds of meth along with cocaine and $27,400 in U.S. currency, Sullivan said.
Soltero, who was convicted and is awaiting sentencing, admitted to arranging about eight drug deals between Lange and people in California, Sullivan said.
Lange admitted to getting about 20 pounds of meth through Soltero, the prosecutor said. Lange told agents that 17 pounds went to Murphy for redistribution and that he sold the remaining three pounds, he said.
Murphy was indicted separately, convicted and is awaiting sentencing.
Langes attorney, Ashley Harada of Billings, disagreed that Lange was the source of supply for Wyoming individuals and that while agents found drugs in his home, Lange was unaware that Soltero had brought them to his residence.
Lange told the judge that he has a previous felony drug conviction and a drunken driving conviction in California from 2013. He served eight months of a 16-month sentencing before being released for good behavior, he said.
Lange said he is single, is a pipefitter and welder and is working for a contractor at the ExxonMobil Refinery.
Watters set sentencing for Jan. 18 and continued Langes release.
While serving in the 2007 Legislature, Lange was captured on video swearing at then-Gov. Brian Schweitzer. Lange called the Democratic governor a dictator and said he could go straight to hell.
Republicans later removed Lange from his leadership position. About the same time, Lange and his wife were forced to refinance their house to pay more than $77,000 to a bank that had foreclosed on their Billings smoothie business, called Jus Chillin.
In 2008, Lange was among five Republicans who ran to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Max Baucus. Lange placed second to Butte attorney Bob Kelleher in the primary.
This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact The Chanute Tribune office at 620-431-4100 if you have any questions
A Billings man was arrested early Monday morning outside West High School after he was caught with two BB guns, drugs and a stolen cellphone, charging documents say.
Mason Ray Loughnane, 18, was scheduled to appear in Yellowstone County Justice Court Monday on a felony drug possession charge. Loughnane also faces misdemeanor counts of drug possession, theft and possession of a BB gun in city limits.
Around 4:15 a.m. Monday, Billings police got a call for a weapons complaint at the high school, saying a man had BB guns behind the school.
Loughnane was talking with another man when police arrived. The second man, who works at West High, said he was inside getting paperwork when he came out and saw Loughnane. He thought it odd and got in his car to call 911, when he realized his cellphone was missing.
BPD officers searched Loughnane for weapons and found the school employees phone in Loughnanes backpack.
Loughnane was having difficulty standing and appeared to be under the influence of drugs, officers thought. He told officers he had thrown two BB guns in the trash, which officers then found.
Upon booking into the Yellowstone County Detention Facility, officers found marijuana and three baggies of meth on Loughnane.
The Billings City Council gave medical marijuana users and providers a reprieve Monday, deciding by a 6-5 margin that council members need more information about the citys ability to grandfather existing dispensaries and about the history of business licenses that regulate their use before voting again on allowing dispensaries inside city limits.
Voting for the delay were council members Brent Cromley, Angela Cimmino, Rich McFadden, Ryan Sullivan, Dick Clark and Shaun Brown. Voting against it were Mayor Tom Hanel and council members Mike Yakawich, Larry Brewster, Chris Friedel and Al Swanson.
More than a dozen medical marijuana proponents providers and their clients or their family members testified, often emotionally, against banning the dispensaries.
On Aug. 28, the council voted 6-5 to approve, on first reading, a change to city code that would prohibit dispensaries from being issued a business license because marijuana is still illegal under federal law despite laws in 44 states that allow medical cannabis, including Montana.
Mondays vote allows the citys legal staff to research the legality of grandfathering in existing dispensaries and ways the city has used business licenses to regulate the types of businesses it allows.
Staff will present the information to the council during the Oct. 16 work session. The council could vote as soon as Nov. 13 on how to proceed, although Planning and Community Development Director Wyeth Friday said that decision could be delayed if the issue must first be reconsidered by the citys Zoning Commission.
Swine decline
Despite a unanimous recommendation from the citys Animal Control Board, the council voted 6-5 not to allow potbellied, micro or mini pigs inside city limits.
Monday was the fourth time the council had taken up the porcine issue.
Brewster, Friedel, Sullivan, Clark, Brown and Hanel voted against a proposal to allow one 125-pound or smaller pig per household. The ordinance would have required pet pigs to be spayed or neutered, vaccinated, permitted and to have their weights annually verified.
Cromley, Yakawich, Cimmino, McFadden and Swanson voted to support the ordinance.
Sullivan said he feared feral pigs might be the end result if the owners of pet pigs decide they can no longer care for them and instead release their pet pigs in and around the city.
I dont see this as being anything big, said Tom Stinchfield, the citys animal control supervisor. How you will get feral pigs running around, I dont know.
Catherine Stecher, who owns a pig named Pig, said her pet jumps in a backyard pool when he gets dirty, puts himself to bed at 10 oclock each evening, and is up at 6 a.m. to go to the bathroom.
They are more people than dog, to me, she told the council.
Cromley noted that the Animal Control Board had a number of hearings, and there is support (for potbellied pigs) out there in the community.
Animal Control Board members are the experts, Cromley said, because they have heard from a lot more people than we have If we want to make the city inviting to more people, we ought to open it up to these pigs.
Babcock Theatre
The council voted unanimously to accept ownership of the historic theater and to pay The Babcock LLC nearly $128,000 to acquire the green room and associated rental property.
The city will next seek requests for proposal for firms or groups to manage the theater or to purchase it.
Tennessee Craft invites the public to celebrate the first day of fall by attending the 39th annual Fall Tennessee Craft Fair, Friday, Sept. 22, through Sunday, Sept. 24. The fair is open 10 a.m.6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and from 10 a.m.5 p.m. on Sunday. It will be held at Centennial Park in Nashville.
Attracting 50,000 visitors each fair, Tennessee Craft Fairs bring together more than 200 juried craft artists with national and regional reputations sharing their best work with the community. Guests at this popular festival love the personal connection with makers from Tennessee and beyond; learning what inspires each artist and searching for unusual art objects and functional treasures created by these skillful artisans. Support the local craft economy and engage in a shopping experience like no other.
In addition to the array of high-quality craft, the Tennessee Craft Fair Kids Tent provides a variety of hands-on activities allowing young artists to explore community through craft. Working with skilled artists and using a variety of materials and techniques, children can create individual art as well as contribute to a collaborative quilt project. Fair visitors of all ages are invited to participate in the project and join the social media dialogue using this hashtag: #myTNcraftcommunity.
More than 90 electric cooperative lineworkers from Tennessee are heading to Florida and Georgia to restore power to those affected by Hurricane Irma.
Eleven electric cooperatives in Tennessee are sending personnel and equipment to Florida and Georgia to assist electric cooperatives impacted by this incredible storm, said David Callis, executive vice president and general manager of the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association.
Tennessee crews have been making plans since last week, but co-ops were hesitant to commit crews until the remnants of Hurricane Irma moved through Tennessee. With the storm passed, some crews have already left and others are making final preparations to leave for hard-hit Florida and Georgia. This cooperation is enabled through mutual-aid agreements among electric cooperatives.
On more than one occasion our friends from other states have offered assistance following tornados and ice storms, said Mr. Callis. We are glad to repay their kindness. Cooperation is one of the founding principles of electric cooperatives. It is what makes us different from other utilities.
Crews from Tennessee are joining some 5,000 electric cooperative workers from 25 states who are converging this week on the hurricanes impact zone. This represents one of the largest coordinated electric restoration efforts in history.
We invite you to keep these co-op heroes in your thoughts and prayers, said Mr. Callis, Today they are lacing up their boots, leaving their families and heading to a difficult and dangerous environment. Our lineworkers are second-to-none, and we are very proud of their desire to help those in need.
The Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association provides leadership, advocacy and support for Tennessees 23 electric cooperatives and publishes The Tennessee Magazine, the states most widely circulated periodical.
Vredestein showed a prototype of its Fortezza Flower Power at the Eurobike exhibition in Friedrichshafen in August. This innovative road tyre is made of rubber extracted from the roots of dandelions. The prototype is the result of a EU joint initiative in which Vredestein and Wageningen University & Research (WUR) take part, called DRIVE4EU.
The prototype is the first bicycle tyre in the world produced with natural rubber extracted from the roots of the Russian dandelion (Taraxacum koksaghyz). This particular series of prototype tyres were made with rubber extracted from plants grown and harvested in the Netherlands.
Vredestein has worked closely together with WUR to develop this special natural rubber, make production viable and test various compounds. Each improvement in the process of rubber extraction has also led to a direct enhancement of the quality of the rubber. As a result, the special compound now used as a test on the Fortezza Flower Power prototype, provides better grip than traditional compounds. This is directly related to the higher concentration of natural resin in this particular variant of natural rubber. Studies are currently exploring whether this tyre can be mass produced in the future.
Apollo Vredestein (the parent company of the Vredestein brand) is one of the industrial partners taking part in DRIVE4EU, a European research project which focuses on developing the production of natural rubber and inulin from Russian dandelion. The project is coordinated by Wageningen University & Research. The aim is to explore ways to make the European countries less dependent on imports of natural rubber in the near future, partly as a response to the looming worldwide shortage of rubber.
Authorities have released the name of a 73-year-old Wisconsin woman who died after the car she was driving struck a guardrail on Interstate 94 near Fallon in Prairie County Monday afternoon.
Mary Sager, of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, died from injuries sustained when her car, driving in the eastbound lane, rolled and ejected her through the sunroof, according to Prairie County Coroner Dale Hellman.
Sager was not wearing a seat belt, according to the MHP report, and she was later pronounced dead at Prairie Community Hospital.
Her husband, a 73-year-old man also from Fond du Lac, was riding in the vehicle and was taken to Glendive Medical Center. Hellman said the man, who the MHP said was wearing his seat belt, did not suffer life-threatening injuries and is expected to be released from the hospital today.
No other vehicles were involved in the crash, which was reported Monday at 1:15 p.m., according to MHP.
A building thats part of Amazons Seattle headquarters complex is seen under construction in 2015. The e-commerce giant has announced it plans to build a second headquarters in another North American city. (MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)
Chicago is in the running for Amazon's second corporate headquarters and local CEOs could be asking themselves "Why should I help a fierce competitor?"
It's a tough question, one that pits a CEO's corporate interests against broader community concerns of winning a powerful and growing employer to the area.
Advertisement
Mayor Rahm Emanuel is counting on corporate backers to help advance the city's case for getting Amazon, a play that will assuredly include tax sweeteners and incentives. Yet if the corporate community doesn't support the Amazon pitch, Chicago's bid is in trouble.
Local CEOs' reluctance would be understandable. With an estimated $470 billion market capitalization, Amazon is disrupting even dismantling the very business sectors and supply chains these executives run.
Advertisement
We're talking professional services, finance, health care, pharmaceuticals, retail, groceries and other business lines that most of us haven't pondered but which are probably on Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' mind.
Last week, Amazon announced its quest to find a home for a second corporate headquarters, one that's on par with its mammoth Seattle campus.
Since then, Chicago and other major municipalities throughout the land have been scurrying to put together proposals by an Oct. 19 deadline.
City Hall usually takes the lead in the hunt for corporate relocation and has a pretty good track record. Often, however, Chicago-area business leaders lend essential wing support, especially when rare, game-changing competitions have emerged.
Many CEOs backed a successful push to get Boeing's global headquarters in 2001 and they buttressed an unsuccessful bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Will they also get fired up about luring Amazon?
These are early days, but I don't sense a lot of corporate excitement building about Amazon potentially bringing a co-headquarters to town.
Immediately after Amazon's announcement, City Hall touted Chicago's chances, along with the real estate community and site selection experts. The mayor spoke several times to Bezos about picking Chicago, the Tribune reported.
Advertisement
Such a response is expected but you'd also anticipate some corporate "rah-rah." But I haven't found significant public comment by a major business group, trade association or CEO here talking up Chicago.
When I asked the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, which represents more than 1,000 companies and 400,000 employees, to outline its position on the Amazon possibility, it sent me an email saying it "supports" Mayor Emanuel's efforts to win the co-headquarters.
Not what you'd call an over-the-top response.
There may be some practical reasons for curbing the corporate enthusiasm.
As Amazon's announcement broke, Mayor Emanuel was traveling to Israel, along with a delegation of businesspeople, so corporate types could be waiting for him to set the tone, direction and details of the Amazon bid.
Perhaps they figure it's better to say nothing than get in a jam with the fiery Emanuel.
Advertisement
But there's also something else to consider: This is not a quest to lure a company like Boeing, which competes with no one else, to town. Amazon rattles nearly every category it's entered, including retail, consumer electronics and now the grocery business after its purchase of Whole Foods.
When Boeing came to town, Chicago's corporate community rolled out the red carpet.
The jet and defense manufacturer got a hefty incentive city and state package of more than $50 million over at least 10 years. But the area's top corporate chiefs also raved about the city's advantages and urged Boeing to choose Chicago over Dallas and Denver.
Amazon said it will invest more than $5 billion somewhere, creating 50,000 jobs over the next 10 to 15 years.
In its request for proposals, Amazon cited the need for a co-headquarters city that had a large population, deep technology worker pool, centralized location with an international airport and mass transit options.
That sounds a lot like Chicago.
Advertisement
But Amazon's also asking for a place with a "stable and business-friendly environment," the document states.
Many people think that applies mostly to the incentive package that local and state government will pony up. But it also means Amazon wants a welcoming community for its executives, workers and their families.
Since the Boeing bake-off, times have changed and CEOs are under greater shareholder and financial pressures.
Nonetheless, if local CEOs and business leaders can't make their peace with Amazon and get behind this headquarters push, Chicago loses before getting started.
roreed@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @reedtribbiz
Dr. Helene Gayle speaks onstage during the 2015 Black Girls Rock! BET Special, where she won the Social Humanitarian award. (Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic )
The 102-year-old Chicago Community Trust has selected its first female CEO.
Dr. Helene Gayle, the current CEO of the nonprofit McKinsey Social Initiative and one of Forbes' "100 Most Powerful Women," will take the reins of the nonprofit when longtime CEO Terry Mazany steps down at the end of the month.
Advertisement
Mazany, who announced earlier this year that he would leave the Loop-based nonprofit after 13 years, will leave his successor with a trust in strong financial shape it has $2.5 billion in assets and a recently built development team. But there are challenges ahead, Gayle said in a news release.
"This region is at a critical time, amid concerning levels of violence, economic disparity and great uncertainty about the future," she said. "Yet ... I am certain that we have the tools necessary to confront these challenges and seize the opportunities facing the region."
Advertisement
Gayle, who will relocate to Chicago from Washington, D.C., will be the seventh CEO of the organization. She has spent much of her career focused on public health issues and global development, working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and later the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, focused on HIV/AIDS programs.
She serves on the boards of several public companies and nonprofit organizations, including the Coca-Cola Co. and the Brookings Institution.
The Chicago Community Trust often channels the contributions it receives to smaller, neighborhood-focused nonprofits. It has given out community grants to more than 11,000 nonprofits, including more than $236 million in 2016.
In addition to its grassroots programs, the trust works closely with national organizations that work to address larger issues including affordable housing and access to health care.
amarotti@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @AllyMarotti
About 6.5 percent of Illinois residents or about 817,000 people were uninsured in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
The number of people in Illinois without health insurance has dropped again though some worry that trend is about to reverse amid uncertainty over the future of Obamacare.
About 6.5 percent of Illinois residents or about 817,000 people were uninsured in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That's a drop from the year before, when about 900,000 residents lacked insurance. It's also a big dip from 2013, before many provisions of the Affordable Care Act took effect, when 1.6 million people were uninsured.
Advertisement
The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, requires consumers to be insured or pay a penalty. The law also enabled Illinois and a number of other states to expand Medicaid, a state and federally funded insurance program for the poor. In addition, people may now shop for health insurance on exchanges, and they can't be denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions.
The law's supporters, however, fear the number of Illinois residents without coverage may soon increase again. In recent months, Congress has tussled over a number of plans to repeal and replace Obamacare, and the law's future remains unclear.
Advertisement
"From my perspective, the report makes clear that the Affordable Care Act is working, and particularly working for Illinois families," said Stephani Becker, a senior policy specialist at the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law. "I'm very concerned that our progress is going to be threatened by the Trump administration's campaign to sabotage the Affordable Care Act."
It's also unclear, even if the law remains in place, how strictly the Trump administration will enforce the requirement that all consumers be insured or face a penalty. Earlier this summer, after the Senate failed to pass a repeal bill, President Donald Trump tweeted "let ObamaCare implode, then deal."
The Trump administration already has announced that it plans to dramatically cut spending on efforts to promote open enrollment. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services plans to spend $10 million on those efforts, down from $100 million during the last open enrollment period.
Some doubt any of those issues will dramatically change the number of people without insurance.
Ed Haislmaier, a senior research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, said sick people eligible for tax credits through the exchanges likely already are enrolled, and if healthy people haven't bought insurance, marketing efforts are unlikely to lure them in now.
"I don't see that marketing and advertising is going to bring in healthy people that haven't come in over the last three years," Haislmaier said.
Also, the requirement that everyone buy insurance or pay a penalty doesn't make much of a difference when it comes enticing more people to get covered, he said.
Haislmaier said most of the people who gained insurance did so after their states expanded Medicaid and since then, growth in insurance coverage has been relatively flat, according to insurers' regulatory filings, Medicaid and state data.
Advertisement
The real danger, he said, is keeping the Affordable Care Act in place. He worries that rising premiums on the exchange might inspire more people who aren't getting tax credits to forgo coverage.
Insurers on the exchange in Illinois proposed average rate increases last month ranging from 5 to 43 percent for next year.
Becker, on the other hand, worries that uncertainty surrounding whether insurers will continue getting subsidies from the federal government could have the same effect driving up premiums so that some people skip coverage.
Nationally, 8.6 percent of people were uninsured when interviewed as part of the American Community Survey last year, down from 9.4 percent the year before and 14.5 percent in 2013. Part of that increase in coverage nationally last year came from higher enrollment in Medicare, likely due to an aging population, according to the Census Bureau.
Texas had the highest uninsured rate in the nation last year at 16.6 percent and Massachusetts had the lowest at 2.5 percent.
States such as Illinois that expanded Medicaid tended to have lower uninsured rates than those that didn't, according to the census report.
Advertisement
lschencker@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @lschencker
Volkswagen has asked a Cook County judge to throw out a lawsuit filed last November by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan over the environmental impact of the emissions cheating scandal. (John MacDougall / AFP/Getty Images)
Volkswagen hopes to parlay a court victory over the state of Wyoming into a similarly successful defense in a lawsuit filed by the state of Illinois last year.
A federal judge on Aug. 31 tossed out a lawsuit by Wyoming over environmental damages caused by the automaker's surreptitious installation of a "defeat device," or software that masked true diesel emission levels. Illinois was among the states filing legal briefs in support of Wyoming's case.
Advertisement
A day after U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer granted Volkswagen's motion to dismiss Wyoming's complaint, the German company asked Cook County Circuit Judge Kathleen Pantle to throw out the lawsuit filed last November by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan over the environmental impact of the emissions cheating scandal.
In a Sept. 1 filing in Cook County Circuit Court, Volkswagen cited a section of the Clean Air Act enacted by Congress to ensure that the federal government, not the states, would regulate automakers when it comes to emissions controls in new vehicles. By doing so, manufacturers wouldn't have to deal with a patchwork of programs, it said.
Advertisement
That section says "states ... may not adopt or enforce their own rules prohibiting defeat devices in new vehicles," Volkswagen said in its motion to dismiss. "Like Wyoming, that's precisely what Illinois impermissibly seeks to do through its action."
Likewise, Illinois' claims should be dismissed, Volkswagen said in its 25-page motion.
Federal judge Breyer said Wyoming's claims were barred under the federal Clean Air Act.
"Wyoming's claims (and those of other states) threaten to interfere with interstate commerce because they're predicated on conduct that occurred during the manufacture of hundreds of thousands of vehicles intended for distribution throughout the United States," Breyer wrote in a 24-page ruling. "Because Volkswagen's conduct took place during manufacturing, Congress determined that EPA, not the 50 states, was best suited to regulate it."
Breyer noted that Volkswagen has been held responsible for its actions.
Madigan and most other state attorneys general previously reached settlements with Volkswagen for violating state consumer protection laws for marketing, selling and leasing diesel vehicles with illegal and undisclosed software that concealed the true level of nitrogen oxide emissions.
Volkswagen, in its filing with Cook County Circuit Court, said "Illinois and its residents are set to receive nearly $732 million in consumer relief, plus nearly $109 million to mitigate" environmental damage, plus part of a national $2 billion zero-emissions vehicle infrastructure program, "plus over $51 million to compensate 27 dealers."
Volkswagen said a provision of the Clean Air Act "merely allows states to regulate the use or operation of vehicles after their sale to limit emissions, through inspection and maintenance programs or measures addressing extended idling, carpool lanes and the like."
Advertisement
byerak@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @beckyyerak
People in Naples, Fla., wait in line Sept. 11, 2017, for a store to open for food and water the morning after Hurricane Irma swept through the area. Electricity was out in much of the region and there was localized flooding. ( Spencer Platt/Getty Images )
Illinois companies ranging from Walgreens to United Airlines are bracing for the hit to their bottom lines from the unprecedented one-two punch of hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
By one measure, Irma, which made landfall in Florida on Sunday as a Category 4 hurricane, is expected to have an economic impact nearly three times greater than Harvey, according to Scott Bernhardt, president of Planalytics, a Pennsylvania-based consulting firm that measures the economic impact of weather.
Advertisement
The second storm will suck $2.8 billion out of the retail economy, while Harvey's impact on retail was pegged at about $1 billion, according to Planalytics.
"In Florida, commerce has essentially come to a halt," Bernhardt said. "There's almost $3 billion of sales that are not going to come back."
Advertisement
Bernhardt said the Irma impact is greater because of the size of the population underneath the storm, which shut down businesses across Florida.
In advance of the storm, Walgreens closed nearly all of its 830 stores in Florida and most of its 120 stores in Puerto Rico, spokesman Phil Caruso said.
Some locations in Puerto Rico came back online within hours and nearly all had reopened by Monday morning. Many relied on generators the island was damaged but only grazed by the storm. But in Florida, only about 25 stores were open Monday morning.
With curfews and other mandates still in effect in parts of the state, Walgreens remains in the "very early stages" of assessing its stores, Caruso said.
"We will work to reopen them as soon as it is safe to do so," he said.
Caruso declined to comment on the economic impact of closing hundreds of Walgreens stores, though he said Florida stores saw increased demand as people prepared for Irma.
Two days after Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency, the Deerfield-based company sent out tips for Floridians. Store your medication in a waterproof bag, it said, and take your empty prescription bottles as you evacuate any Walgreens pharmacy can refill them.
Irma touched hundreds more of the pharmacy's locations than its Category 4 predecessor, Harvey. Walgreens has about 500 stores in the southeast region of Texas, Caruso said. Harvey made landfall Aug. 25, and at one point in the days following, 175 of those stores were closed.
Advertisement
Most had reopened by Thursday, he said.
Back in Deerfield, there's an operations center running 24/7 to help the stores reopen as quickly as possible.
Irma also is shutting down alcohol production in its wake.
One of MillerCoors' seven major breweries is in Albany, Ga. It's closed Monday and Tuesday, spokesman Marty Maloney said. Miller Lite, Coors Light, Miller High Life, Redds Apple Ale and Henry's Hard Soda are among the brands brewed at that facility.
Down in the U.S. Virgin Islands, which were hit particularly hard, Beam Suntory shut down its Cruzan Rum distillery, spokeswoman Emily York said. It reopened Monday morning.
Passing through northern Florida on Monday, Irma is expected to head northwest as a tropical storm, according to the National Weather Service. It likely will downgrade to a tropical depression as it moves through Alabama and up through Tennessee.
Advertisement
Once the storm passes through, Constellation Brands will assess the damage to its facilities in the area, Jamie Stein, spokeswoman for the company's Chicago-based beer division, said in an emailed statement.
In August, the beer division acquired Funky Buddha Brewery, based in Oakland Park, just north of Fort Lauderdale. The brewery, known for quirky brews such as Last Snow Coconut Coffee Porter and Floridian Hefeweizen, shut down Friday for the weekend.
Constellation also has an Orlando office with employees from the beer, wine and spirits divisions. The company worked with local authorities to prepare for the storm, and now employees' safety comes first, Stein said.
The drill was similar at Portillo's two locations in the Tampa area. All the employees are safe, and the advanced warning gave the company time to prepare, which meant hardly any food loss, spokesman Nick Scarpino said.
Still, the food joint known for its hot dogs and chocolate cake shakes shut down Saturday. Both locations, one of which lost power, should reopen Tuesday, he said, though business will likely be slow.
"Friday, Saturday and Sunday are the three busiest days of the week," Scarpino said. "We lost two of them."
Advertisement
Peoria-based Caterpillar shut down facilities and offices in Florida last week to give employees time to prepare for the storm, spokeswoman Jamie Fox said in an emailed statement. Many sites in Florida and Georgia remained closed Monday.
The maker of earth-moving equipment took similar action during Harvey and shut down facilities in Texas. Those facilities sustained little damage, Fox said in the statement, and the overall financial impact from the storm should be minimal.
Some Caterpillar dealers in Texas fired up their machines to help with recovery efforts after Harvey. The company expects to see a similar effort in Florida.
Days after resuming a full flight schedule in Houston, United Airlines and other carriers are completely shut down across the state of Florida.
"We're looking to see when it makes sense to resume operations, but for now, we're not operating any flights in and out (of Florida), with the exception of some relief and humanitarian aid," Charlie Hobart, a spokesman for Chicago-based United, said Monday.
United suspended operations in South Florida on Friday afternoon and at other Florida airports on Saturday. The airline added extra flights beginning Thursday to help passengers get out of the state before Irma arrived.
Advertisement
For United, marshaling resources for Harvey helped the airline respond more quickly to Irma.
"Clearly, we dealt with Houston and we were prepared, more so, in terms of how we would pivot to our operation in South Florida," Hobart said.
rchannick@chicagotribune.com
amarotti@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @RobertChannick
Twitter @AllyMarotti
The Trump administration is delaying action on requests for loan forgiveness from former students who say they were swindled by for-profit colleges. (ktsimage / Getty Images/iStockphoto)
WASHINGTON Tens of thousands of former students who say they were swindled by for-profit colleges are being left in limbo as the Trump administration delays action on requests for loan forgiveness, according to court documents obtained by The Associated Press.
The Education Department is sitting on more than 65,000 unapproved claims as it rewrites Obama-era rules that sought to better protect students. The rewrite had been sought by industry.
Advertisement
The for-profit college industry has found an ally in President Donald Trump, who earlier this year paid $25 million to settle charges his Trump University misled customers. And it's yet another example of the Trump administration hiring officials to oversee the industries where they had worked previously.
In August, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos picked Julian Schmoke Jr., a former associate dean at DeVry University, as head of the department's enforcement unit. She also has tapped a top aide to Florida's attorney general who was involved in the decision not to pursue legal action against Trump University to serve as the agency's top lawyer. More than 2,000 requests for loan forgiveness are pending from DeVry students.
Advertisement
The Obama rules would have forbidden schools from forcing students to sign agreements that waived their right to sue. Defrauded students would have faced a quicker path to get their loans erased, and schools, not taxpayers, could have been held responsible for the costs.
Now, in a filing in federal court in California, acting Undersecretary James Manning says the department will need up to six months to decide the case of a former student at the now-defunct Corinthian Colleges and other cases like hers. Sarah Dieffenbacher, a single mother of four from California had taken out $50,000 in student loans to study to become a paralegal, but then couldn't find a job in the field, defaulted on her debt and could face wage garnishment.
"ED will be able to issue a decision with regards to Ms. Dieffenbacher's Borrower Defense claims within six months, as part of a larger group of Borrower Defense decisions regarding similar claims," Manning wrote to the court Aug. 28.
Department spokesman Liz Hill said the agency is working to streamline the process and resolve the claims as quickly as possible. "Unfortunately, the Obama administration left behind thousands of claims, and we will need to set up a fair and equitable system to work through them," she said.
She said students with claims pending are not required to make payments on their loans.
But Dieffenbacher says the delay is costing her family dearly.
"They should be protecting the students, because students were led to believe they were protected," she said in an interview. "And they are not, they are protecting Corinthian Colleges and for-profit schools."
Alec Harris, a lawyer with Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School who is representing Dieffenbacher, said the inaction could put his client and her children on the street.
Advertisement
"This is a Department of Education that has seemingly sided with industry and stacked the deck against former students of predatory for-profit schools every step of the way," Harris said.
Reid Setzer, government affairs director for Young Invincibles, an advocacy and research group, said the department's delay is harming thousands of students.
"It's kind of ridiculous," Setzer said. "There have been massive delays since the change of administration."
The Obama administration went hard after for-profit colleges that lured students into taking big loans with false promises. Chains including Corinthian Colleges and ITT Technical Institute were forced to close, and President Barack Obama's Education Department approved about $655 million in loan cancellations for their students.
Under DeVos, no claims have been approved since she came to office seven months ago, according to Manning's July response to questions from Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, who is part of a group of lawmakers pressuring her to accelerate the process. The department is in the process of discharging loans for claims that had been approved by the previous administration.
Among the claims still pending are more than 45,000 filed by Corinthian students and over 7,000 by ITT students.
Advertisement
DeVos is working on rewriting two Obama-era regulations that were meant to prevent colleges from misrepresenting their services to students and from failing to provide them with an education that would enable them to find jobs.
In an interview with the AP last month, DeVos said, "Let's be clear, no student should be defrauded, and in case of fraud there should be remedy. But we also know this approach has been unevenly applied, and if there's going to be regulation around some institutions we believe it needs to be fairly applied across the board."
Democratic attorneys general from the District of Columbia and 18 states, including Illinois, filed suit against DeVos in July over the rules, which were finalized under Obama and scheduled to take effect July 1.
"Since Day One of the Trump administration, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and the administration have sided with for-profit schools over students," Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey told reporters at the time.
"It seems more like they are trying to protect the industry than trying to help borrowers," said Clare McCann, deputy director for federal higher education policy with New America, a Washington-based think tank.
DeVos' announcement about the Schmoke hiring was met with criticism by Democrats. Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut tweeted, "This is a joke, right?"
Advertisement
The department defended its decision, saying Schmoke served only in an academic capacity at DeVry and was not involved in admissions, recruitment or corporate administrative activities.
Other Trump administration agencies also have hired staffers who previously worked on behalf of the industry they now regulate. For example, Nancy Beck, deputy assistant administrator at the Environmental Protection Agency, used to work at the American Chemistry Council, the industry's leading trade group.
New York-based investor 601W Cos. has a deal to buy the office portion of the 15-story Sullivan Center on State Street for about $175 million, according to sources. The deal does not include the ground-floor retail space, including a large Target store, which is owned separately. (Michael Tercha/Chicago Tribune)
The landmark Sullivan Center is about to get a new owner, and it's a familiar name in Chicago real estate.
New York-based investor 601W Cos. has a deal to buy the office portion of the 15-story building on State Street onetime home of the Carson Pirie Scott department store for about $175 million, according to sources. The deal does not include the ground-floor retail space, including a large Target store, which is owned separately.
Advertisement
601W already is a well-known player in Chicago, where it owns the Aon Center and is redeveloping the massive, vacant Old Main Post Office building along the Chicago River. As it buys the Sullivan Center offices, 601W is close to completing an approximately $680 million sale of the two-tower Prudential Plaza office complex near Millennium Park.
The seller of the Sullivan Center offices is a venture of New York-based firms KKR and Madison Capital. If the sale to 601W is completed as expected, KKR and Madison Capital will make a huge return on their $267 million purchase of the entire Loop building in April 2016.
Advertisement
They already sold the retail portion of the building for almost $147 million in August 2016 to Acadia Realty Trust, a Rye, N.Y.-based real estate investment trust.
601W principal Mark Karasick did not respond immediately Tuesday to requests for comment.
Breaking Business As it happens When business news breaks, be the first to know. >
Madison Capital partner J. Joseph Jacobson and a KKR spokeswoman declined to comment.
The building, named for its architect, Louis Sullivan, is actually several buildings that have been combined in various phases of construction, starting in the late 1800s.
The 833,000 square feet of office space is almost fully leased, but 601W faces a large potential vacancy. State agencies, including the Illinois Department of Employment Security, lease the largest block in the building, with almost 243,000 square feet, according to CoStar Group. The state has an upcoming renewal option on the space, and it's unclear whether it will move out of some or all of the space, according to people familiar with the building.
Walgreens' e-commerce unit leases about 194,000 square feet in the building. Other tenants include architecture firm Gensler, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and technology firms Centro and Raise.
KKR and Madison Capital are represented in the sale by Jones Lang LaSalle brokers Bruce Miller and Nooshin Felsenthal.
rori@chicagotribune.com
Advertisement
Twitter @Ryan_Ori
Americans went crazy for rainbow bagels and Unicorn Frappuccinos and millennial pink tequila. And given how quickly we flock to the newest hyperpigmented trendy food item - snapping trophy photos for social media, of course - the makers of Gik must be pretty certain they have a hit on their hands. The Spanish-based winemakers will soon begin selling their blue wine in the United States.
It's really, really blue. Mouthwash blue. Smurf blue - those little guys probably get hammered on this stuff. It's a blue that you'd think wouldn't be found in nature, except it is: The wine gets its color from anthocyanin, a pigment found in grape skins, and indigotine, a dye extracted from plants.
Advertisement
Gik (it rhymes with "ick") hails from Spain, where the company's co-founders - none of whom had any experience in the wine industry - decided they wanted to create something. They worked with a team of chemical engineers at the University of the Basque Country to develop the wine's unusual color.
"Thanks to them, we discovered that the best way to create it was to go back to the beginning and merge nature and technology: we mix different varieties of grapes and after that, we use two organic pigments to turn it blue," Aritz Lopez, one of the wine's creators, said in an email. "Then, we improve the flavor and make it easy to drink."
Advertisement
The grapes are a mixture of red and white, which come from wineries in Spain and France. Noncaloric sweeteners are added to make a chilled, dessert-like wine that its founders say pairs well with guacamole, sushi - or anything, really. They seem to be intentionally vague, either because they want the maximum number of people to buy it, or because it goes with nothing at all.
The wine has been popular with consumers, but not well-received among the oenophile community in Europe. (Surprise, surprise: Wine snobs don't want to drink a beverage that looks like early-aughts Hpnotiq.)
"The most traditional part of the Spanish wine sector has encouraged us to 'leave the industry alone and go create apps,' and even told us that Gik was a 'terrible invention,' " Lopez said.
There's a regulatory reason for their snobbery: The European Union prohibits the brand from calling itself 100 percent wine in Europe, where blue is not an approved color of wine. The company was fined by the Basque section of Spain's Agriculture Ministry for violating wine regulations, and its label now says that it is 99 percent wine and 1 percent grape must. But no such restrictions exist in the United States, where it will be called blue wine when it is sold in Florida, Massachusetts and Texas this month, and eventually other states.
"The U.S. is much more open-minded than Spain," Lopez said.
But Brent Kroll, a certified sommelier and owner of Maxwell, a Washington wine bar, doesn't think that blue wine will win much respect in the States, either.
"The tasting profile that I hear people describe it as is blue Hawaiian Punch," he said. "I think the only chance it has as being taken somewhat seriously in restaurants is if someone finds a creative way to do it in a cocktail. But even in cocktails, people are trying to get away from gimmicky stuff."
Kroll knows not to underestimate the power of social media, however, so he thinks it could work as a blue version of frose, the pink wine slushies that have become so popular in the past few years. Just not at his bar.
Advertisement
Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. >
We served blue wine to a panel of blindfolded tasters to see if they could identify it and the four other colors of wine - red, white, rose and orange. Previous studies have found that our perception of wines is often based on visual cues. In a famous study, red and white wines were kept at room temperature and poured into black glasses, and tasters could not tell the difference between the two.
But Gik is so distinctive that many were able to pick it out right away, for better or worse. Tasting notes included: "Blue Jolly Ranchers," "Robitussin," "Capri Sun" and "Gross." It was a highly polarizing drink. Not surprising, people who prefer sweet wines thought it was great, and people who prefer dry wines thought it was disgusting. When it comes to the United States, it will retail for less than $15 a bottle - just the right price for an impulse purchase for a party.
After all, as Kroll notes, "the millennial wine drinker always wants to Instagram things."
RELATED STORIES:
In the mood for wine: Where and how you enjoy it affects what you think
Festival of the Vine attracts wine fans to Geneva
Advertisement
Midwest food and wine events offer taste of fun this fall
The Montana Board of Regents isn't expected to pass additional, state-mandated budget cuts when it meets this week in Butte.
But through the fall, the Montana University System will have to determine how to reduce its contribution to colleges and universities by $16.9 million during the current fiscal year. The reduction could be $17 million next year.
It amounts to a 10-percent cut, which other state departments are also planning.
With discussions about tuition rates forthcoming, it's unclear yet if each college or university will be subject to a full 10-percent reduction in its state appropriations.
"It's too early for us to be able to say whether a 10-percent reduction in the total MUS state appropriation for campuses would be allocated 'across the board,'" said Kevin McRae, a spokesman for the Montana Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education, in an email.
Gov. Steve Bullock announced more details of the cuts late last week. They were triggered by lower-than-expected tax revenue.
The university system's 10-percent reduction comes from the $170 million that was budgeted to go toward universities and colleges.
An additional $20 million raised through a property tax levy won't be affected by the cuts, McRae said.
The state appropriations represent large chunks of university revenue. Montana State University Billings, for example, was budgeted to receive $21.6 million in state support for this fiscal year. That makes up about 54 percent of revenue.
A 10-percent reduction in that funding stream would amount to about $2.1 million.
The rest of the revenue largely comes from tuition. Prior to these budget cuts, the university system was already dealing with few state dollars. Most campuses implemented tuition increases, but MSUB was the only one without an increase this year for most students.
Another change in tuition rates by university officials could determine how the cuts are carried out over the next two years.
McRae said that the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education expects regents to pass the current budgets, without additional cuts, at its meeting this week. Discussions into the new budget cuts will take place between then and the regents' November meeting.
Through a spokeswoman, interim MSUB Chancellor Ron Larsen didn't say whether he supported a tuition increase. He said that the process remains at administrative levels of government in Helena.
"At some point Montana State University Billings may be asked to participate in budget reductions, but at this time we have not received any such request," Larsen said.
Larsen previously said that MSUB expects no layoffs as a result of these cuts.
The university was already expecting cuts of about $600,000 from reduced state allocations passed in the 2017 Montana Legislature.
For the record, Trump Winery in Virginia is not "one of the biggest wineries in the country," as the president recently claimed. At about 42,000 cases produced each year, it is squarely in the "small" category of wineries producing under 50,000, according to Wines & Vines magazine.
That places Trump Winery in the top 21 percent. There are 65 "large" wineries producing more than 500,000 cases a year, 263 in the "medium" category of 50,000 to 499,999, and about 1,600 in the small category of 5,000 to 49,999 cases. Nearly 7,300 wineries produce less than 5,000 cases.
Advertisement
With 210 acres planted to vines, Trump Winery can say it is Virginia's largest vineyard. Barboursville is a close second, at 185 acres. But Chateau Morrisette and Williamsburg Winery each produce about 60,000 cases a year, according to the Virginia Wine Marketing Office, making them the largest in the Old Dominion.
Also for the record: The wines are pretty good. Since Donald Trump purchased the former Kluge Estate winery in a bankruptcy auction in 2011 and installed his son Eric as president, the Trump regime has invested in refurbishing the vineyards, purchasing new farm equipment and constructing a new facility for sparkling wine production. It has paid off. Sparkling wines were good under Kluge Estate, but the table wines were uneven. The current releases of Trump wines show improvement.
Advertisement
Quality may be overshadowed by politics, however. I visited the winery Aug. 11 to meet with general manager Kerry Woolard and winemaker Jonathan Wheeler. It was a typical sunny Friday at a Virginia winery, as a small but steady stream of visitors came and went through the modest tasting room. That evening, white supremacists and neo-Nazis held their torchlight parade on the University of Virginia campus, and the next day's demonstrations over a Confederate statue turned deadly. By Tuesday afternoon, the furor over the president's response to the violence engulfed the winery after Trump boasted, "I know Charlottesville very well . . . . I own one of the largest wineries in the United States, in Charlottesville."
There was an immediate flurry of reactions debunking Trump's boast of the winery's size. Even Patricia Kluge, who founded the winery and then lost it in bankruptcy, chimed in to tell Town & Country, "The wine is not good anymore."
Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. >
Despite its name, Trump Winery typically tries to distance itself from politics. (Though Woolard, the Virginia wine veteran hired as general manager in 2012, gave a speech at last year's Republican convention.) There is no political merchandise for sale at the vineyard, no Make America Great Again hats, no photos of the president - just some framed magazine articles featuring Eric Trump and his stewardship of the winery. With the change of ownership in 2011, there was even a disclaimer on the winery website that the company belonged to "Eric Trump Wine Manufacturing" and was unaffiliated with the Trump Organization. The winery has dropped that pretense now, though recent news reports found the disclaimer archived on the website. The winery's "terms of service" page is clear that you are doing business with the Trump Organization, and there's a link to Trump Winery on the website for Mar-a-Lago, the Trump resort in Florida. Winery emails are run through Trump Organization servers.
While sales have increased in recent years, Woolard would like to attribute success to the winery's improvements rather than a Trump political bounce.
"I think we deserve the credit," she says, noting that the reinvestment in the vineyards was paying off at about the same time Donald Trump declared his candidacy. The wines have done well in contests, where judges don't know which wines they are tasting. Trump sparkling wines won the Monticello Cup for best Charlottesville-area wine in 2014 and 2015, and the 2016 sauvignon blanc recently won a double gold medal in the San Francisco International Wine Competition.
The sparkling wines were good under Kluge Estate, and the Trumps benefited from purchasing three vintages (2008-2010) that aged on their lees during the bankruptcy. Longer aging makes for richer, more complex sparkling wine. Trump Winery was able to sell those vintages under its own label while its own production benefited from longer aging. The wines I tasted on my recent visit were a 2010 Blanc de Blancs, rich and opulent from an unusually ripe vintage, a 2012 rose and a 2009 reserve. All were made by Wheeler, who was hired by Patricia Kluge in 2006 to oversee the sparkling wine program.
Wheeler took over the still wine production in 2013. His current releases include a delicious 2016 rose made from merlot and pinot noir, that medal-winning sauvignon blanc (made richer by blending in some semillon), a modestly oaky chardonnay and a fleshy viognier.
Trump Winery is taking a big risk, however. It still had 30 acres of grapes hanging on the vines in 2015 when heavy rains hit in early October. To make up for lost product, it will be introducing wines labeled as "American," made from out-of-state grapes. This is a quandary many wineries face when Mother Nature doesn't cooperate, but it might foster a reputation for using out-of-state grapes even in better years. Such a well-capitalized winery could have chosen to take the financial hit to protect its reputation.
Advertisement
And when your reputation - like it or not - is filtered through politics and your critics focus on your name rather than your product, even good wine can taste a little sour.
R&B group TLC T-Boz, left, and Chilli has carried on as a duo since the 2002 death of Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, who was killed in a car crash in Honduras. (PMK-BNC)
In the 1990s, R&B trio TLC was the most successful girl group in America, a title it still holds. Its hit albums ("CrazySexyCool, "FanMail") sold tens of millions of copies, a feat unthinkable today. For Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas, Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, the ride was tumultuous: The three women struggled with the record industry machine, and Watkins and Thomas had publicly tussled with Lopes, who died in a car crash in Honduras in 2002, at 30.
TLC's new Kickstarter-funded album, "TLC," is the duo's first studio release in 15 years, and the first made entirely without Lopes. It will also be the last: Watkins and Thomas want TLC to focus on movies and television, and on live shows, ideally a Vegas residency.
Advertisement
After Lopes' death, Watkins and Thomas continued as a duo, and swore they would never replace her. Even the idea is unthinkable to them, and, as you'll see, bordering on offensive.
TLC headlines the latest iteration of the "I Love the Nineties Tour," which hits Ravinia on Saturday night with a lineup that includes Sugar Ray's Mark McGrath and Biz Markie. On the phone from Canada, Watkins and Thomas chatted, first cheerfully and then significantly less so, about their new album, and their lives after Left Eye.
Advertisement
The following are edited excerpts from that conversation:
On making an album that honored the past but wasn't imprisoned by it
T-Boz: (Even) when you do your second album, you have to be real with yourself and figure out, "What did we do the first time that made them love us, so we can do it again, and do it better?" But you grow, you have more wisdom, it really just comes out natural, because our sound is a TLC sound, and that will never change. You always hope that people will like us and what you're talking about. Thank goodness people liked it, because whew, we were nervous.
On when they stopped being nervous about fans' reaction to the new album
T-Boz: When we came out before, there was no social media. Now we've got access to a lot of opinionated people, and it's always a great thing when all the things posted are positive. You might have one or two things that make you crazy, but we didn't hardly see anything negative at all.
On the relationship between T-Boz and Chilli
Chilli: We're so true to who we are. From the day we met each other, we're the same, but we're wiser. We're, like, silly. None of that stuff has truly changed about us. We're spunky, we'll fight if we need to fight. We'll try not to do that, but if it goes down, it goes down. We've got that mama bear syndrome with each other. If you don't like her, you don't like me.
On the new song "Perfect Girls" as a sequel to early hit "Unpretty"
Advertisement
T-Boz: I think it sounds that way because those are the type of songs I write. Back when "Unpretty" came out, people needed to hear it, and now, with "Perfect Girls," (a new) generation needs to hear it again. You can never tell women enough to be true to themselves, or love themselves, especially the way social media is, with the Instagram models.
On their new stage show, which places slightly less emphasis on Lopes
Chilli: Our show is different than a few years ago. I think at this point, for us, we will forever miss Lisa as our sister. Even though she's not here, she's still our sister, and we love her and we miss her. At this point, where we are with it, it's more a celebration of her, making sure that her legacy lives on through us. That's what's important to us.
On whether their lives would have been easier if they had added a new member after Lopes' death
Chilli: I didn't like that (question) one bit. No, our life would not be better, it would be such a headache. There's nobody that could ever get in this group, we would never, ever consider it. T-Boz and Chilli, that's TLC. We will always make sure Lisa lives on through us in that group.
T-Boz: Another female didn't push in on what we have. I think it's a special combination. TLC, you couldn't package that if you even tried, because it was one of those one-time things, where the chemistry was flawless. Anybody who has a problem with us because it's different, they're not supposed to be around, and I'm cool with that. It was something special, it wasn't like an average group. There's no amount of money you could pay us to make us change how we feel.
Advertisement
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: Ravinia Festival, 200 Ravinia Park Road, Highland Park
Tickets: $46-$102; 847-266-5100 or www.ravinia.org
Allison Stewart is a freelance writer.
onthetown@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @chitribent
[ RELATED: The Cell Phones in it for the long haul ]
[ Bob Dylan to play first concert at new DePaul hoops arena in Chicago ]
[ Mavis Staples confronts Trump's America on 'If All I Was Was Black' ]
Watch the latest movie trailers.
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox)
Joe Segal, shown earlier this year at the Jazz Showcase, tells his story of 70 years in jazz in his new book. (Brian Jackson / Chicago Tribune)
For years, music lovers have been urging Jazz Showcase founder Joe Segal to write a book.
Having presented the music in this city since 1947, when he was a student at Roosevelt College (now Roosevelt University), Segal clearly would have stories to tell, insights to share, jazz history to put to paper.
Advertisement
At last, Segal, 91, has obliged his admirers, telling the story of his life in music in the aptly titled "Stay On It!" (named for a classic tune co-authored by Dizzy Gillespie, whom Segal cites as "one of my dearest friends").
Unlike, say, impresario Max Gordon's 1980 autobiography, "Live at the Village Vanguard," Segal's opus has been conceived less as a memoir and more as a scrapbook packed with photos and brief, first-person vignettes. Flipping through its 130 pages is like scanning the memories of one remarkable man's life, complete with anecdotal reminiscences, clippings of Segal's published writings, personal photos and images of Segal with various jazz giants.
Advertisement
So those hoping for an examination of the musical and cultural upheavals of the 70 years in which Segal has been presenting music in Chicago probably should look elsewhere, as Segal acknowledges in his preface.
"Before you delve into the meat of this book, I would like to make something perfectly clear," he writes. "I am not trying to annotate the various social or political happenings of Chicago. I am only interested in educating everyday people about the beauty of jazz music and the amazing, creative people who perform it."
Segal provides a once-over-lightly traversal of his journey, his text describing scenes of a life spent in proximity to musical genius. Along the way, we encounter brief glances at Segal's private life, endearing tales of jazz behind the scenes and loads of photos.
Segal's odyssey begins in his hometown, the jazz nexus of Philadelphia, where he first became smitten with the music.
"Every now and then I would take in a movie and stage show at the Earle Theater in downtown Philly," he writes. "It was there that I fell in love with the big bands. There was nothing as thrilling and fascinating as hearing the band tune up behind the movie screen after a film finished, and hearing the band's theme as the curtain parted."
Thus was born the passion that eventually would make Segal perhaps the greatest contributor to Chicago jazz of the past 70 years, apart from the musicians themselves.
Drafted into the Army Air Corps at 18, Segal eventually found himself stationed at the air base in Champaign County. While there, "I was first introduced to the magical jazz city of Chicago," he writes. Soon he was spending every other weekend on Randolph Street in the Loop, where the music never stopped.
Enrolled at Roosevelt after his service, Segal in 1947 began organizing jazz sessions there and writing for the school's newspaper, The Torch. Though light on musical analysis, his columns reproduced here convey a certain anachronistic charm, evoking the lingo of the day: "Many bright things have been happening lately to dear old Chi-land in the field of jazz," he wrote in a 1947 Torch review of Louis Armstrong at a long-forgotten club. "So for a temporary trip back to the early '30s I'd strongly suggest a safari to the Rag Doll on the north side."
Advertisement
A visionary among emerging jazz impresarios, the young Segal brought to his Roosevelt sessions no less than Charlie Parker, Sonny Stitt, Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, Muhal Richard Abrams, the Modern Jazz Quartet, the Freeman brothers (Von, George and Bruz) practically everyone working on the cutting edge of the music.
Parker and the bebop language he helped forge was and still is the center of Segal's musical world. So Bird's death in 1955, at age 34, came as a terrible blow.
"The afternoon of March, 12, 1955, as I was readying Altgeld Hall at Roosevelt College for our weekly jam session, one of our regular attendees came running down the hallway, with tears streaming down his face, crying, 'Bird died,'" writes Segal. "Almost dumbstruck, I wandered outside to get some air."
The transformational moment led Segal to create the annual Charlie Parker homage he presents to this day.
By 1957, Roosevelt informed him, "Segal, you can no longer keep up this pretense of being a student." But Segal was ready for bigger things, for he already had been busily presenting shows across Chicago. Over time he expanded his portfolio to host radio programs, produce recording sessions and, eventually, stage performances at Gate of Horn, Brown Shoe, North Park Hotel, Happy Medium, Blackstone Hotel, a swank spot on West Grand Avenue and now in the most elegantly appointed space yet, at 806 S. Plymouth Court.
Along the way, Segal hired many of his heroes.
Advertisement
On bassist-bandleader Charles Mingus: "There are stories about Mingus being an unruly bully, but I found him to be a very dedicated musician who respected you, if you respected him."
On pianist Dodo Marmarosa: "The next time I saw him was on the steps of the Sutherland Hotel, where he gave me his union card so he wouldn't lose it. Then he took off. I later learned that he returned to his Pittsburgh home, where he remained until he passed away some years later. I still have his union card somewhere."
On trumpeter Chet Baker, who became famous for his introspective vocals: "Because he was playing so brilliantly, I asked Chet why he bothered singing. He replied, not surprisingly: 'Oh, the chicks dig it!'"
Segal's outsized contributions have earned him many awards, including the country's highest jazz honor, the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowship, in 2015.
"One of the advantages of longevity is that if you're on the scene long enough, they give an award for something," writes Segal.
In "Stay On It!" Segal gives us a glimpse of what that something was. Notwithstanding the book's occasional typos and other minor glitches, it's a story well worth treasuring.
Advertisement
Joe Segal will host a book signing for "Stay On It!" after the 4 p.m. show Sunday at the Jazz Showcase, 806 S. Plymouth Court. The book, produced by Chicago Jazz Publishing Inc., is $40; contact the Showcase at 312-360-0234 or www.jazzshowcase.com.
Howard Reich is a Tribune critic.
hreich@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @howardreich
[ RELATED: Joe Segal gears up for this 90th ]
[ When does Joe Segal get his NEA award? ]
[ A 60th anniversary celebration of Charlie Parker ]
Watch the latest movie trailers.
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox)
Nicole Krauss' highly anticipated fourth novel, "Forest Dark," is preceded with a variation on the standard this-is-a-work-of-fiction disclaimer: "References to real people, events, establishments and organizations or locales are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity and are used fictitiously. All other characters, and all incidents and dialogue, are drawn from the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real."
What is real? stands as one of the book's crucial questions; or maybe, How do we end up in certain realities and not others? One of the ways Krauss chooses to explore these worthy inquiries is by making 50 percent of the book's alternating two-part structure center on a character named Nicole, a middle-aged Brooklyn-based novelist very much like Krauss herself, also struggling with a failing marriage to a fellow intellectual and the rearing of two children, while grappling with writer's block.
Advertisement
Autobiographical fiction is nothing new, of course, and the move of making oneself not just a veiled but an overt character in one's own book can succeed. Joan Didion does it to magnificent effect in her classic novel "Democracy," as does Michael Chabon in his most recent book, "Moonglow." Unfortunately, the Nicole sections of "Forest Dark" suffer from a humorless tone and a foregrounded self-regard in which both writer and character seem to think themselves more insightful than they actually are.
Krauss has Nicole punctuate her didactic first-person discourses with such fatuous rhetorical questions as, "Doesn't part of the awe that fills us when we confront the unknown come from understanding that, should it at last flood into us and be known, we would be altered?" Superficial and self-satisfied, these passages seem intoxicated with their own Intro to Philosophy-style pontification. In a disquisition that follows Nicole's listening in her kitchen to a program on the radio about the multiverse, she expresses her hatred of Descartes and concludes: "Now we have little choice but to live in the arid fields of reason, and as for the unknown, which once lay glittering at the farthest edge of our gaze, channeling our fear but also our hope and longing, we can only regard it with aversion."
Advertisement
Such statements seem intellectually and ethically irresponsible, not to mention out-of-touch. Reason, in the current age of fake news and fear, hardly seems like a place where a majority of people definitively live, arid or not, and one begins to grow increasingly uncomfortable with being forcibly lumped into Nicole's jaded and world-weary "we."
This disappointing narrative comes off as all the more unfortunate when one considers that the other half of the book is more engaging and dynamically written. The third-person parallel story follows Jules Epstein, an immensely wealthy retired New York lawyer, divorced after 35 years and looking to change his life. He unleashes a spate of "radical charity," giving away virtually all his fortune and possessions before heading off to Israel with vague notions of doing something to memorialize his beloved albeit complex dead parents.
Epstein tells his adult son Jonah, who tries to dissuade him from his frantic philanthropy, that "he was clearing a space to think," but keeps to himself that "this was thought of an entirely different nature: a thinking that didn't already know its own point."
Although their stories never intersect, both characters wind up at the Tel Aviv Hilton tracking down heady mysteries and feeling flush with the fleeting "American enthusiasm" for Israel that Krauss has a rental agent describe as "so sexy, the sea and the strength, the nearness to violence and the hunger for life." Epstein entangles himself with a rabbi from the United States who argues that both of them are among the descendants of King David, while Nicole encounters a retired literature professor and embarks on an intrigue involving Franz Kafka.
"Forest Dark" draws its title from the opening of Henry Longfellow's translation of Dante's "Inferno": "Midway upon the journey of our life/ I found myself within a forest dark,/ For the straightforward pathway had been lost," which Krauss explains in her author's note was quoted to her "some years ago on a long drive to Jerusalem."
Ultimately, the novel itself loses its way amid rambling solipsism and forced plot twists. Given the critical and popular success of her three previous novels, one hopes that Krauss' fifth book will see her finding her way again.
Kathleen Rooney is the author, most recently, of the novel "Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk."
'Forest Dark'
By Nicole Krauss, HarperCollins, 300 pages, $27.99
Hundreds of people crowded into a bookstore on Tuesday to see Hillary Clinton as she promoted her new book on the day of its official release.
The former Democratic presidential nominee was introducing her book about the 2016 presidential campaign in which she lashes out at President Donald Trump as "a clear and present danger to the country and the world."
Advertisement
Clinton didn't offer any public remarks as she signed copies of "What Happened" for several hundred supporters inside a Barnes & Noble store in lower Manhattan. But Trump spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders fired back from the White House briefing room when asked about Clinton's new book.
"I think it's sad that after Hillary Clinton ran one of the most negative campaigns in history and lost and the last chapter of her public life is going to be now defined by propping up book sales with false and reckless attacks," Sanders said. "And I think that that's a sad way for her to continue."
Advertisement
The New York City crowd, however, greeted Clinton with a massive cheer. Some waited in line for more than five hours to see her.
A Barnes & Noble spokesman said the store sold 1,200 copies of the book related to Tuesday's appearance. That's more than Clinton sold when she appeared there to promote her last book in 2014.
In the book, Clinton is unsparing in her assessment of the president. She says she considered saying to Trump, "Back up, you creep. Get away from me," when he loomed over her shoulder during a presidential debate.
But Clinton, who has a reputation for deflecting blame for her failures, also said she takes "responsibility for all" her campaign's mistakes.
Associated Press writer Ken Thomas in Washington contributed to this report.
In "What Happened," Hillary Clinton offers first-person account of the historic 2016 presidential election. Here are five interesting things she revealed in the new memoir.
The belief that Hillary Rodham Clinton should not have written "What Happened," her account of the 2016 presidential election, is so patently absurd that I'm loath to even address it.
It's also so widely held that I'm loath not to.
Advertisement
Journalist Kurt Eichenwald, echoing legions, tweeted last week, "I can't think of any other losing candidate for president who wrote a book explaining the defeat. Bad move."
"I voted for her, I gave money to her, I think it's time for her to move on," television producer David Mandel told The New York Times. "I want some room on the stage."
Advertisement
Thankfully, Clinton doesn't need anyone's blessing to tell her story. All she needs is an audience, and she'll find one. Her book, released Tuesday, has spent three weeks on Amazon's best-sellers list.
Clinton is a two-term United States senator, former secretary of state and eight-year resident of the White House who sits at the center of an election that saw a hostile foreign power insert itself into our democratic process; reports of widespread voter suppression; the advent and acceptance of fake news to such a degree that a man would show up to a pizza joint with an assault rifle, a revolver and a knife to break up a fake child sex ring he read about on the internet; and the elevation of a reality TV star with zero governing experience to the highest office in our land.
Plenty of us want to know what happened and not just to Hillary Clinton. We want to know what happened to America.
Clinton shoulders the blame early and often in her book. "At every step, I felt that I had let everyone down," she writes. "Because I had."
She reveals her regrets, calling her remark about putting "a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business" during an Ohio town hall "the one I regret most."
"And I regret handing Trump a political gift with my 'deplorables' comment," she writes. "I know that a lot of well-intentioned people were insulted because they misunderstood me to be criticizing all Trump voters. I'm sorry about that."
She regrets not pushing back harder during the Matt Lauer "Commander in Chief Forum," during which the NBC host quickly pivoted from foreign policy questions to shopworn queries about her private email server.
"I should have said, 'You know, Matt, I was the one in that Situation Room advising the president to go after Osama bin Laden. I was with Leon Panetta and David Petraeus urging stronger action sooner in Syria. I worked to rebuild Lower Manhattan after 9/11 and provide health care to our first responders,'" she writes. "'I'm the one worried about Putin subverting our democracy. I started the negotiations with Iran to prevent a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. I'm the one national security experts trust with our country's future.' Here's another example where I remained polite, albeit exasperated, and played the political game as it used to be, not as it had become. That was a mistake."
Advertisement
But hindsight is 20/20. And Clinton's book does more than look backward.
"The lessons we draw from 2016 could help determine whether we can heal our democracy and protect it in the future, and whether we as citizens can begin to bridge our divides," she writes.
Much pre-emptive hay has been made about her using the book to blame her defeat on Bernie Sanders. (Who, by the way, also wrote a book about his run for the presidency, "Our Revolution." I guess Eichenwald missed it.)
Clinton addresses their rivalry within the context of the divisions it caused and continues to cause in the Democratic Party. Those divisions, she points out, are not just detrimental to the party's election odds, they're ripe to be exploited by hostile foreign powers.
The final quarter of "What Happened" reads like a spy novel. It spells out Clinton's version of Russia's involvement in our election and her staff's attempts to get the media to turn away from her emails long enough to give it some attention.
"The press treated our warnings about Russia like it was spin we'd cooked up to distract from embarrassing revelations a view actively encouraged by the Trump campaign," she writes. "As Matt Yglesias of the news site Vox described it later, most journalists thought the argument that Moscow was trying to help Trump was 'outlandish and borderline absurd,' and our attempt to raise the alarm 'was just too aggressive, self-serving, and a little far-fetched.'"
Advertisement
It seems less so each day.
"Now that the Russians have infected us and seen how weak our defenses are, they'll keep at it," Clinton writes. "Maybe other foreign powers will join them. They'll also continue targeting our friends and allies. Their ultimate goal is to undermine perhaps even destroy Western democracy itself."
"This should concern all Americans Republicans, Democrats, Independents, everyone," she writes. "We need to get to the bottom of it."
You can call that blaming others for her defeat, but I read it as an invitation to do some soul searching about what sort of future we want and what we the media, the electorate, the candidates are willing to do to secure it.
"On Being a Woman in Politics" is a fascinating chapter examining the tightrope Clinton has walked during her life in public service. It's a tightrope I suspect millions of women will recognize: Be ambitious but not too ambitious; tough but not too tough; motherly but not too motherly; devoted to your husband but not too devoted.
"I didn't want people to see me as the 'woman candidate,' which I find limiting, but rather as the best candidate whose experience as a woman in a male-dominated culture made her sharper, tougher, and more competent," she writes. "That's a hard distinction to draw, and I wasn't confident that I had the dexterity to pull it off.
Advertisement
"But the biggest reason I shied away from embracing this narrative is that storytelling requires a receptive audience, and I've never felt like the American electorate was receptive to this one," she continues. "I wish so badly we were a country where a candidate who said, 'My story is the story of a life shaped by and devoted to the movement for women's liberation' would be cheered, not jeered. But that's not who we are. Not yet."
She holds out hope that she'll see a female president in her lifetime.
"I still believe that, as I've said many times, advancing the rights and opportunities of women and girls is the unfinished business of the 21st Century," she writes. "That includes one day succeeding where I failed and electing a woman as president of the United States."
Clinton critics and champions alike have wondered aloud why she wrote this book at this moment.
The answer, I think, lies in her decision to run for president again, after losing to Barack Obama in the 2008 primaries.
"When you clear away all the petty and not-so-petty reasons to run all the headaches, all the obstacles what was left was something too important to pass up. It was a chance to do the most good I would ever be able to do."
Advertisement
It's a variation on her Methodist upbringing, which, she writes, followed John Wesley's credo to do "all the good you can, for all the people you can, in all the ways you can, as long as you ever can."
The folks who are rolling their eyes, hard, at the notion of Hillary Clinton doing all the good she can, for all the people she can, will likely not read "What Happened." That's a shame. It's a first-person, front-row account of arguably one of the most pivotal elections in American history.
But plenty of others will. And I would urge the pundits and the platform-holders to think twice before adding another voice to the "Go away, Hillary" choir.
Tens of millions of people feel invested in Clinton's narrative the past, the present, the future. People see themselves reflected in her story, and they see her story reflected in their country. That is not universally true, but it is, nonetheless, true.
"If you can't imagine," Clinton writes, "why it would matter for many of us to see a woman elected president and that it wouldn't matter only to women, just like the election of Barack Obama made people of all races, not just African Americans, feel proud and inspired I'd simply urge you to accept that it matters to many of your fellow Americans, even if it doesn't to you."
hstevens@chicagotribune.com
Advertisement
Twitter @heidistevens13
[ Related: Bill Clinton isn't running for president, but fine let's talk about his womanizing ]
[ A Hillary supporter's lament: Now what? ]
[ The perfect response to Hurricane Harvey 'gender studies professor' tweet ]
When you think of smartly classic British tailoring, the affordably utilitarian Japanese brand Uniqlo probably doesn't pop into your head.
This fall, your thinking will change.
Advertisement
The fast-fashion retailer will offer a new collaboration with JW Anderson the celebrated London-based fashion house starting at 9 p.m. Sept. 21 online and launching at stores nationwide the next morning. (And, yes, you might want to set your alarms for this one; the best pieces go fast.)
The British-heritage-inspired collection, which ranges in price from $29.90 to $149.90 for men, and $14.90 to $149 for women, makes freshening your autumn wardrobe affordable. Both the men's and women's collections have something for every Anglophile out there.
Advertisement
Although JW Anderson, led by runway wunderkind Jonathan Anderson, is lauded for its futuristic, way-out-there designs or "conceptual" as Vogue would simply call them the brand channeled both the classic comfort found in the fabrics and colors of the British countryside and the versatile, everyday chic of the modern London urbanite for this collection.
"The inspiration for the collection was 'Modern Britain,' explains Shu Hung, the global creative director of brand experience and special projects for Uniqlo, in an email. "We focused on updating British heritage classics through fabric, proportion and Uniqlo technology."
Of course, this is not the JW Anderson's first foray into the world of everyday retail partnerships. It drew raves in 2012 and 2013 for its collaboration with Topshop, so the brand knows how to find the right balance between wearability and attention-grabbing style. For this collection, Uniqlo also wanted to take his aesthetic to a wider market.
"We worked with Jonathan to translate this ethos by designing through a more scalable means of production, bringing his vision to a larger audience but not compromising on quality or design," says Hung.
You'll find the line takes its cues from all things British: school uniforms, hunting tweeds, classic Fair Isle sweaters. You'll also find typical Anglo textures and fabrics like wool, tweed and tartan.
The standout pieces of the 19-piece men's collection include outerwear, featuring a tartan trench coat with a tartan lining, and a tartan puffer coat; dress shirts embellished with mismatched pockets and sleeves that can easily go from the office to a night on the town; and T-shirts sporting graphics that Anderson told British Vogue were inspired by the turn-of-the-century French artist Henri Gaudier-Brzeska.
On the women's front, you'll find 14 pieces that also include outwear, like a functional, belted trench, and a gray belted coat with frilly, cuffed bows. Other highlights are the red, gray or black sweater dresses with bows at the cuff, as well as asymmetrical skirts in denim and men's dress-shirt-striped fabrics.
Unisex pieces like the extremely long striped scarf evoke British school uniforms, and the puffer bags will make your apple-picking adventures or trick or treating a bit more English this fall.
Advertisement
Chris LaMorte is a freelance writer.
[ Why millennials and designers are tickled pink ]
[ Pleated khakis and big logos? Fashion unearths the '90s. ]
[ Is that a dress or a shirt? Whatever: Tom Ford just wants you to be fabulous ]
Dear Answer Angel Ellen: Did you see that Wall Street Journal article about retro fashion, defined as 1990s-wear? Some young people are even wearing pleated khakis. I remember the pleated khakis I bought 17 years ago. Even when I bought them, I recall thinking, "The only women wearing these are old ladies." A few years later, even they weren't wearing them. What's your take?
Joy S.
Advertisement
Dear Joy: Yes, I read that story and was as flabbergasted as you are by this freakish fashion turn of events. I can't explain it, but I do have an opinion. Anybody who remembers this stuff from when it was popular in the '90s who wore it themselves or whose kids wore it should definitely not be adopting this style phenomenon.
And it is not only those pleated pants which made everyone, male and female, look as if they had a paunch. The Wall Street Journal story points out that those tops with giant chest-covering logos (Tommy Hilfiger, Nautica and Fubu) are demanding top dollar among teenagers and people in their early 20s.
Advertisement
I urge you to root around in your basement or attic if you think you have some of these items and see what they're going for with an internet search. If they're still going for ridiculous prices, sell your outdated fashions but don't wear 'em, please.
Dear Answer Angel Ellen: I have an awful time telling my navy pants from my black. (I have several pairs of each.) It seems many of the navy shades are really dark, and taking them into the outside light doesn't even help. Any suggestions?
Joan
Dear Joan: I've had the same problem. Navy blues are edging ever closer to black, and it is nearly impossible to tell them apart. There's no secret way of differentiating but a look at the manufacturers' tags attached to the clothing often but not always lists the color of the clothing. I suppose you can take comfort that your navy pants will pass for black and vice versa, and probably nobody (you included) will be able to tell.
Dear Answer Angel Ellen: I used a Woolite dry cleaner sheet on my favorite black wool coat and ruined the artificial black fur collar. I took it to a dry cleaner, and that only made it worse. Can the collar be saved?
Ursula O.
Dear Ursula: I don't think anything is going to breathe new life into that faux fur collar. If you love the coat, I'd consult with a tailor about replacing the ruined collar with a new fake fur one. The good news is that the fake furs in fabric shops today often look better than real fur.
Dear Answer Ellen: My back itches most of the time, just in the middle, where my bra closes. Do you think I could be allergic to the cheap metal in the bra hooks? Is there an alternative?
Advertisement
Margaret
Dear Margaret: Most definitely you could be allergic to the metal in those clasps, probably nickel. And these allergies frequently come out of nowhere. Cottonique.com makes an array of bras all said to be "allergy free," including a pullover one.
But there are many models of over-the-head bras in virtually any store that carries women's underwear. These too would solve your itch if it is the metal clasps causing your discomfort. Just My Size, Hanes and Gap are just some of the labels to look for.
There are several downsides to these pullovers. It's a real struggle to get in and out of them. You need to be a contortionist. And, most models are designed for women with small breasts who don't need much support.
Angelic readers 1
From Bert K: "I got fed up with people referring to me as a 'plus size.' Yes, I know I'm heavy, but I've started referring to my 'custom size,' which sounds so much nicer (and less judgmental) than 'overweight' and all the other terms used for those of us who struggle with the numbers on the scale."
Advertisement
Angelic readers 2
Dear Answer Angel Ellen: A reader asked about comfortable walking shoes for her trip to Poland. In addition to your reply, I would like to suggest she (and you), look into Vionic shoes (vionicshoes.com). I have had good luck with them. They offer arch support. While a bit pricey, our foot comfort is worth every penny! And while the selection is limited, it does have some cute shoes. (Cindy V. says the same thing.)
Christine P.
Dear Christine (and Cindy): Years ago, my foot doctor recommended Vionics because they are especially supportive. I checked the website back then and didn't find anything I would wear in public. At your direction, I took another look at the website, and I agree there are some cute shoes. Thanks for the tip.
Angelic readers 3
Responding to my recent column about the current fad of beauty and tooth products containing activated charcoal, Ann C. writes, "I wanted to pass along a warning about charcoal products. I was considering buying charcoal toothpaste, and the website warned not to use it if you take prescription medication. It will detox the medication you're taking right out of you. Not to mention, when you spit out the toothpaste you will get black splatter all over the place."
Advertisement
Simone P. makes a similar point: "While activated charcoal itself isn't dangerous, there are some potential risks from consuming it directly. Drinking charcoal detox beverages can decrease the effectiveness of oral medications. It's the same reason that doctors use activated charcoal to treat poisoning and overdoses charcoal in your digestive system absorbs the chemicals before your body can."
Now it's your turn
Send your questions, rants, tips, favorite finds on style, shopping, makeup, fashion and beauty to answerangelellen@gmail.com.
Ellen Warren is a freelance writer.
[ Fashion is finally figuring out diversity in ways that actually matter ]
[ Products that promise flawless celebrity skin? Don't buy it, says Ellen ]
[ Fast fashion can kill your wallet and the environment here's how you can help ]
A panorama of a group of people who are part of an organization created to combat racism and inequality based on events happening in St. Louis and around the world on Nov. 15, 1930 as photographed on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, at the Missouri History Museum. (Laurie Skrivan/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/TNS)
The big pictures tell a St. Louis story, but so do the details.
Yes, there's the little boy picking his nose on one side of a panoramic photo of a 1921 golden jubilee celebration of a Jesuit priest. And the wide-mouthed woman photobombing a panorama of a crowd gathered on Art Hill to welcome home aviator Charles Lindbergh.
Advertisement
But there's also the streetcars, train and people walking across the Eads Bridge in a giant photo of an early 20th century St. Louis riverfront. The bigger story: Those things present the bridge as the city's first significant connection to the east.
"Panoramas of the City," on view through Aug. 12 at the Missouri History Museum in St. Louis' Forest Park, explores the city's history from 1900 to 1950 through panoramic photographs. Seven images are blown up to life-size on backlit screens, and more than 60 others are throughout the exhibit.
Advertisement
Objects on display complement the oversize photos. A green seat from Sportsman's Park accompanies an image of a 1941 Negro Leagues game there. A Veiled Prophet queen's gown with a 10-foot train stands with a photo of the 1937 Veiled Prophet ball. And a 1927 Ford Model T is parked with one seen in a photo of tornado destruction in St. Louis that year.
"We've positioned ourselves to ask about St. Louis history in new ways," says Adam Kloppe, a public historian at the museum and the head writer and researcher behind the exhibit.
He cited "A Walk in 1875 St. Louis," the museum's recent popular exhibit that closely examined life during a single year in the city, and the current exhibit "#1 in Civil Rights," which explores the role of St. Louis in the black civil rights struggle.
"We asked ourselves, 'How does St. Louis history look if we only look at these large-format, amazing historical photographs?' "
Kloppe and others searched through hundreds of panoramic photos in museum archives and from other institutions such as the Cardinals, Jefferson Barracks and the Mercantile Library. They came up with a cross-section of images showing a broad local history including a photo of a meeting of the League of Struggle for Negro Rights in fall of 1930.
In spring of that year, six Communist activists had been arrested in Atlanta and faced the death penalty for distributing anti-lynching literature. One leaflet that got them in particular trouble showed a black man and a white man shaking hands. When Kloppe examined the St. Louis photo, which showed men holding signs demanding the release of the Atlanta six, he spotted a black man and a white man kneeling at the front of the group, shaking hands.
"This is a very charged political statement to be making in this photo," Kloppe says.
The exhibit also explores panoramic photography, which gained popularity well before it became just another smartphone option. Photographers often got big groups to pose in a curved line to minimize distortions, or they sometimes jumped to get in shots at each end of the photo.
Advertisement
The exhibit displays three different panoramic cameras and biographies of four photographers, including the first one hired by a St. Louis newspaper: the Post-Dispatch's Garnett Palfrey. He took several iconic photos of St. Louis and also took one of President William Howard Taft in 1908 that Taft later praised as his "favorite snapshot." (The photo was not a panorama.)
The exhibit has an interactive component: The backlit screens displaying the giant panoramas are curved, partly to minimize distortions but also to allow visitors to immerse themselves in the scenes. Computer monitors also let visitors "vote" in the 1920 election, look up stats of the Negro Leagues players seen in the Sportsman's Park photo and zoom to explore a detailed map of the 1927 tornado destruction.
The Missouri History Museum is still seeking community submissions for the exhibit.
Kloppe says the exhibition has piqued interest among other museum staffers, who are inquiring about using panoramic photos for their own projects and future exhibits. He thinks panoramas are a unique choice.
"I think it's presented in such a breathtaking way, in a way you've never seen photographs before and never seen St. Louis history before," he says. "I think the way they are presented really puts you in that moment in a way that a regular photograph can't."
'Panoramas of the City'
Advertisement
When: Through Aug. 12
Where: Missouri History Museum, 5700 Lindell Blvd., Forest Park
How much: Free
More info: mohistory.org
There's something refreshingly honest about those Democrats revealing their bigotry in the halls of the United States Senate.
They did so in questioning Amy Coney Barrett, a law professor from Notre Dame, a Catholic and woman of impeccable academic credentials, who has been nominated to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago, a Catholic town.
Advertisement
Democratic U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Dianne Feinstein are applying a religious test to public office, something expressly forbidden by the Constitution. And by their questions to Barrett, they reveal themselves.
This evokes a line of inquiry from an earlier age, one asked of leftists during the Cold War but now directed by the political left at Americans of faith. Concealed in their velvet voices was this meaning, this underlying shiv:
Advertisement
Are you now, or have you ever been, a Christian?
"Do you consider yourself an orthodox Catholic?" cooed Durbin in that oily voice of his.
It got worse with Feinstein.
"When you read your speeches, the conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you," said Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee. "And that's of concern when you come to big issues that large numbers of people have fought for for years in this country."
The dogma lives loudly within you? This is a political witch hunt, cloaked in soft voices and the weight of federal power, and for that they should be ashamed.
The president of Notre Dame, the Rev. John Jenkins, responded in an open letter calling Feinstein and the others out.
"It is chilling to hear from a United States senator that this might now disqualify someone from service as a federal judge. I ask you and your colleagues to respect those in whom 'dogma lives loudly' which is a condition we call faith," Jenkins wrote. "For the attempt to live such faith while one upholds the law should command respect, not evoke concern."
But among many Democrats and the left, Christian faith does not command respect. It is no longer merely suspect; it is a threat.
Advertisement
Would Democratic senators dare ask such questions of a Muslim or a Jew? No. Their own party would condemn them as would every newspaper editorial board in the country.
The brains of Feinstein and Durbin could not possibly conceive of such a question to someone who wasn't Christian, lest they burn themselves upon their own secular stake.
But a Christian, a Roman Catholic? Hey, that's different, isn't it?
There is no angry push by establishment media to condemn what was done to Barrett. The establishment pack hasn't hounded other Democrats to demand a clear denunciation. Instead, a few weak defenses were thrown up, essentially blaming Barrett for making public statements about reconciling faith and public life.
And like the questions in the Senate, they reveal themselves. It is by the sound of their defensive mewing that you know them.
The Constitution is clear that religious faith may not be used to prevent an American from holding office. But there is another faith now, a strident faith, that of the left and anyone who stands in its way is to be marked.
Advertisement
Durbin is a Catholic Democrat from blue Illinois, and he seeks votes in Chicago. That he would ask whether someone was an "orthodox Catholic" is stunning.
Chicago is a Catholic town, a Democratic organization town in which parishes helped form the backbone of the Democratic machine. The numbers of church-goers across America is dwindling, including Chicago Catholics.
But there are many who stay true to their faith.
What Feinstein, Durbin and others seized on was a paper Barrett co-authored some 20 years ago, as a law student, about the obligations of faith in public life.
In the article, co-written with a professor, Barrett the law student suggested that should a Catholic judge believe he or she were unable to reconcile the law and faith, say, in a death penalty case, then the judge should recuse themselves.
But what Barrett was driving at is that the Constitution, not religion, is paramount always, and that a judge's religious beliefs must not, must never, supersede or trump the law.
Advertisement
Taking a judicial appointee's comments out of context and using tribal political outrage to befoul them, is not unique among Democrats. Republicans play this game too. It is called politics.
But the Constitution is quite clear on religious tests. There may be no religious tests. And still, they used her faith as a club to pound home the message that Barrett might not abide by the law she'd be sworn to uphold.
To Durbin's mealy-mouthed question as to whether she was an "orthodox Catholic," Barrett answered clearly.
"If you're asking whether I'm a faithful Catholic, I am," Barrett said, "although I would stress that my own personal church affiliation or my religious belief would not bear on the discharge of my duties as a judge."
What is Amy Coney Barrett's true sin?
She's a mother of seven children. She was a law clerk for the late conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
Advertisement
This is about abortion.
And the Democratic strategy is about tarnishing Barrett with her faith, to suggest Roman Catholics are too extreme, in order to prevent her from getting on a judicial track to the Supreme Court.
This is not only shameful, it is dangerous.
And it was revealed, quite publicly the other day, in the United States Senate.
Listen to "The Chicago Way" podcast: http://wgnradio.com/category/ wgn-plus/thechicagoway.
jskass@chicagotribune.com
Advertisement
Twitter @John_Kass
U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos will visit schools in Casper and the Wind River Reservation on Tuesday on her first stop of a six-state tour.
The trip is part of her of "Rethink School" tour, according to a education department press release. The goal of the visits is to "showcase creative ways in which education leaders are meeting the needs of students in K-12 and higher education."
DeVos will be visit Woods Learning Center between 8:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. She'll be at St. Stephens Indian High School on the reservation from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
"There are so many new and exciting ways state-based education leaders and advocates are truly rethinking education, DeVos said in the press release. It is our goal with this tour to highlight whats working. We want to encourage local education leaders to continue to be creative, to empower parents with options and to expand student-centered education opportunities.
The tour will also include stops in Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri and Indiana.
Jane Ifland, the coordinator for progressive group Indivisible Casper, said the group is planning a protest of DeVos' visit. She mentioned DeVos' support for voucher schools, DeVos' support for guns in schools and what Ifland called DeVos' attacks on Title IX programs as reasons for the protest.
During her confirmation hearings, DeVos famously said schools in Wyoming may have guns to protect them from grizzly bears. Ifland said there may be some "ironic grizzlies" at the protest, meaning people dressed in bear costumes.
"These core policies have failed in Detroit," Ifland said of voucher programs. "We already have tried this, and it doesnt work."
Previously a Michigan-based philanthropist, DeVos has been a vocal supporter of charter schools and school choice in the past. Wyoming has a handful of such institutions, though none are in Casper. A proposal to open a charter school here was shot down by the Natrona County School District board of trustees last year.
The district is notably a district of choice, meaning students and families can decide which Natrona County school they want to attend, regardless of where they live.
Ifland said she wasn't sure how many people would participate in the protest. Because the visit was announced in an education department release on Monday morning -- less than 24 hours ahead of DeVos' visit -- Ifland criticized how DeVos' trip was been handled and accused her of "sneaking" into Casper.
Keep checking trib.com for more on this breaking story.
Sophia Trujillo, center, sits with her third-grade classmates to share what she did over the weekend on Sophia's first day back to St. Philip the Apostle Catholic School in Addison on Sept. 11, 2017. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Two years ago, Michelle Trujillo and her gravely ill 6-year-old daughter, Sophia, packed two suitcases and headed to the National Institutes of Health in Maryland for groundbreaking treatment they hoped would save the young girl's life.
"It was definitely one of the hardest things to up and leave your house and everything you know," Trujillo said. "But we had to do it."
Advertisement
Last week, the mother and daughter returned to their Crystal Lake townhouse after a harrowing medical journey in which Sophia, now 8, defied the odds and became a tiny, tutu-wearing inspiration for doctors now studying her case.
No longer symptomatic of aplastic anemia a rare blood disorder that impaired Sophia's immunity and would have been terminal without a blood transplant the third-grader returned to school Monday where she burst into tears of happiness as her best friends greeted her at the door.
Advertisement
"Everybody is going to be thrilled, but we're also going to try to make it a normal part of her day because she wants to get back to normal," said Julie Noonan, principal at St. Philip the Apostle School in Addison.
Her doctors and nurses at the NIH cheered her on in spirit.
"To see a little girl like her, who had something that in most cases that would've led to a fatality ... to see her doing this well is incredibly rewarding," said Dr. Richard Childs, assistant U.S. surgeon general and Sophia's lead physician in Maryland.
Sophia Trujillo was featured in a 2015 Tribune story about the shortage of minority and multiracial bone marrow donors. Sophia is half Filipino, as well as Irish, Spanish and Italian.
After Sophia's diagnosis, her mother coordinated donor drives across the country and put out passionate pleas on social media for mixed-race donors to be tested. But despite hundreds of people who stepped forward to be tested after the initial Tribune story, there was still no bone marrow match for Sophia.
The predicament highlighted a nationwide paradox that has troubled medical experts and families awaiting transplants for years: Despite growing diversity in the United States, there are not enough minority and multiracial donors registered and available for patients in need.
As time goes on, the mixes of races become even more prevalent and complicated as people from many races and ethnicities procreate.
Recognizing the dilemma, a team of doctors in 2009 began a clinical trial at the NIH that treated multiracial aplastic anemia patients with a procedure that created a match by combining the stem and umbilical cord cells of two different donors, Childs said.
Advertisement
By the time Sophia was accepted for the trial two years ago, 25 patients had been treated and 23 had survived results that far exceeded the 70 percent survival rate doctors hypothesized when the research began.
Today, the clinical trial has an 84 percent survival rate after 30 patients received the transplants, Childs said.
But for the Trujillos, there were major setbacks before Sophia could return to good health.
Days before the process was to begin, Michelle Trujillo's blood pressure rose to a level that forced the medical team to postpone her donation of stem cells for her daughter's procedure.
Doctors monitored Trujillo's vitals for two weeks until they considered her well enough for the donation. The mother's stem cells were then combined with cells from an unknown umbilical cord donation from Taiwan for a procedure known as a haplo/cord stem cell transplant.
Sophia Trujillo, second from left, gives a thumbs-up after she finishes putting important items into her planner on her first day of third grade at St. Philip the Apostle Catholic School in Addison on Sept. 11, 2017. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
A few days after the transplant was complete, Sophia contracted an extremely rare fungal infection in her eye and surrounding area that is fatal in more than 80 percent of cases, Childs said.
Advertisement
"It was so unbelievably nerve-wracking, demoralizing and depressing to have this infection that we were very worried was going to take her life happen to the cutest little girl that you've ever seen with an incredibly proactive mom who had done everything to get the best care," Childs said.
In an atypical medical move, Childs treated Sophia's infection, called MUCOR, with granulocytes or white blood cells from her mother. The unconventional approach spared the young girl from a disfiguring surgery that is usually used to treat the infection.
Still, there was no guarantee Sophia would recover.
"There were days you could tell on the entire medical team's faces," Trujillo said. "You weren't sure if she was going to make it to the next."
After Sophia spent 30 days in the intensive care unit, her doctors were pleased to see the infection disappearing and the transplant working. But they kept her near the hospital so they could monitor her closely.
Michelle Trujillo found a new job in Maryland, which allowed her to work by her daughter's bedside when necessary. The mother and daughter settled into an apartment, made friends and even hired a nanny a recovering cancer patient from the NIH, Trujillo said.
Advertisement
In between regular blood-count checks and eight follow-up surgeries to ensure the infection was gone, Sophia attended classes with other patients at a school inside the NIH.
But she missed the friends, ballet classes and family she left behind in the Chicago area.
Sophia Trujillo, 8, approaches her friend Rylie Rosato, 9, as Sophia arrives for her first day of third grade at St. Philip the Apostle Catholic School in Addison on Sept. 11, 2017. Two years ago, Sophia was in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant to save her life from aplastic anemia. But the Crystal Lake girl's multiracial heritage made finding a perfect match impossible, due to a nationwide shortage of minority and mixed-race donors. Now, after a groundbreaking clinical trial in Maryland that fused her mother's stem cells with donor cells, Sophia was saved. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
"The difference was at NIH, my friends are all sick, and at home, my friends are all well," said Sophia, who was given the green light by doctors to return home last week.
During one of her final checkups, Sophia surprised Childs by waiting for him on the pediatric floor wearing a miniature assistant surgeon general dress blues uniform her grandmother had made for her.
She stood in a salute and reminded him that she wants to be a doctor when she grows up to help patients with aplastic anemia, he said.
It was an emotional discovery for Childs, who expects Sophia to be off transplant medications within the next six months and to be free of the disease as she lives a normal life.
Advertisement
On Monday, Michelle Trujillo wept as she drove away from her daughter's school, and for much of the day while Sophia was away. But the tears came from a mix of happy emotions, she said.
"It was so great to see her embraced by everyone who has been praying so hard for her return," Trujillo said. "I know that she is going to be amazing and go right back into normalcy. She can just be a child."
vortiz@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @vikkiortiz
A Cook County Circuit Court judge on Monday heard hours of legal arguments but held off on a key ruling over a lawsuit that alleges the county's use of cash bail unconstitutionally discriminates against minority and poor suspects.
The lawsuit is part of a national debate underway over how bond, which Illinois law intended judges to use as a tool to ensure defendants appear for trial, is set for those accused of low-level offenses.
Advertisement
A 2016 study found that the average cash bond in Cook County's Central Bond Court where all felonies except for murder and sexual assaults are heard was nearly $72,000, well over the median income in the county.
Meanwhile, nearly three-fourths of inmates in the Cook County Jail are African-American, although they make up only a quarter of the county's population, according to the Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice. More than 300 detainees were languishing in the jail Monday because they couldn't afford bail of $1,000 or less, attorneys said.
Advertisement
The Tribune reported in May that in some cases, gang members with prior convictions on violent, drug or weapons offenses who have access to cash have little difficulty winning their release on bail while nonviolent suspects who do not have funds available remain in jail awaiting their trial date.
But while the lawsuit challenges broader criminal justice policy, the arguments heard in a packed Daley Center courtroom over three hours Monday were over narrow legal issues. Judge Celia Gamrath took the case under advisement and said she would rule later on whether the lawsuit will be thrown out or set for trial.
The proposed class-action lawsuit against five Cook County judges, including the chief judges who preside over criminal court and bond courts and three Central Bond Court judges, is on behalf of Zachary Robinson and Michael Lewis, who were required to post cash to win release. Both men sat in jail for nearly a year before pleading guilty.
"These are the poorest of the poor in our society," Matthew Piers, one of the plaintiffs' attorneys, said in court Monday, calling the county's use of cash bail "massively racially discriminatory."
"Bail can't be unaffordable," Piers said. "In plain English, it's the same as if no bail had been set at all."
Lawyers with the attorney general's office, which is representing the judges, argued that changes in state law and Cook County bail procedures over the past year have rendered the lawsuit moot and that the two former detainees have filed suit in the wrong court.
Much of the discussion centered around an order issued by Cook County Chief Judge Tim Evans in July, months after the lawsuit was filed, that takes effect for felony cases next week. It prohibits judges from setting cash bail at a higher amount than nonviolent defendants can afford the same relief sought by the lawsuit.
"At most, any order of this court would be redundant of Judge Evans' order," said Assistant Attorney General John Wolfsmith. He said concerns from the plaintiffs' lawyers that the order went beyond Evans' authority or could later be changed were "speculative" and the law does not allow a case to continue based merely on that.
Advertisement
Wolfsmith said neither plaintiff challenged the original bail rulings and had instead improperly gone to a civil court judge to plead their cases. "You don't get a second bite of the apple and you don't get to forum shop for another judge," he said.
Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. >
But Piers argued that the judge was not being asked to alter the plaintiffs' bail but rather order that a suspect's ability to pay must be taken into account when setting bail. "This court is not being asked to undo any other courts' ruling," he said.
And he said a new state law, called the Bail Reform Act, which calls on judges to generally find an alternative to cash bail in cases where someone is accused in a nonviolent crime, was mostly window dressing that merely restated current Illinois law.
The issue of Cook County's use of cash bail has never before been in front of a state judge, Piers said outside court. But in 2011, a panel of three federal judges hearing a lawsuit over conditions at the jail noted that "many of the pretrial detainees in the Cook County Jail would be bailed out on their own recognizance, or on bonds small enough to be within their means to pay, were it not for the unexplained reluctance of state judges in Cook County to set affordable terms for bail."
Piers said the time was "ripe" for the case to be heard and that judges often respond to larger social changes. "There is a national awakening across the country that our criminal justice system is broken," he said outside court.
.
Advertisement
sschmadeke@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @SteveSchmadeke
A Chicago Public Schools program for Cook County Jail inmates fabricated enrollment, attendance and course credit data in an effort to improve its district rating, according to a report issued Tuesday by the school system's inspector general.
Between 2012 and 2016, hundreds of students were kept on the rolls of the York High School program after their release from jail, Chicago Board of Education Inspector General Nicholas Schuler's office discovered. Dozens of students last year were listed as being present for a full day of classes after their release from jail.
Advertisement
In one instance, a student who was shot to death a week after being released from the jail continued to be listed as present for school. The student was awarded a semester's worth of credit after his death, according to the report, even though he only briefly attended classes.
That incident led investigators to a review that found attendance for other incarcerated students were also inflated, while the school often awarded credits to pupils who had not received sufficient classroom instruction.
Advertisement
Schuler's office said teachers were expected to simultaneously teach multiple courses to students enrolled in different courses, often "unaware which subject each individual student was supposed to be learning." The investigation concluded the school held an environment that expected teachers to set aside concerns about missed classroom instruction "and find a way to distribute credits to students."
The findings prompted the IG to call for the school's principal to be fired. A CPS spokesman said the district is still reviewing Schuler's report, a summary of which was provided to the district in June. York's principal was not identified in the report.
"When we received these alarming allegations we began a process to thoroughly review the inspector general's findings," district spokesman Michael Passman said in a statement. "That process remains underway, and we will respond appropriately based on the facts when our review is complete."
The result of what Schuler's office described as "improper and dishonest practices," was that the jailhouse program last year boasted some of the district's highest attendance and credit-attainment metrics at the city's "options schools" for students who have dropped out of traditional high schools or are incarcerated.
"However, the (inspector general's office) found that those scores were inflated due to falsified data," Schuler's office said in a seven-page report. Despite the school's "favorable" statistics, the inspector general said evidence suggested "actual student learning has been minimal."
Falsified school data has been a point of concern for Schuler's office, which has previously uncovered a since discarded district practice that inflated districtwide high school graduation rates. A school's ratings can carry high stakes for a building's standing with the district and administrative performance reviews.
The district's four "options schools," including the Cook County Jail program, enroll roughly 700 students. CPS operates a similar high school program at the county's temporary juvenile detention center, a program for students who are at risk of dropping out or are returning to the system, and a school for pregnant women.
Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. >
Schuler's report acknowledged the "unique mission and unique challenges" taken on by the jail high school program.
Advertisement
"That being said, the school cannot falsify data and award credits that were not earned. It appears that the school's improper and fraudulent practices are a means of distributing as many credits as possible, with a heavy cost to academic integrity," Schuler's office said.
Cara Smith, chief policy officer and a spokeswoman for Sheriff Tom Dart, described the inspector general's findings as "exceptionally troubling."
"Unfortunately, the inspector general's report confirms many of the concerns that the sheriff has had, dating back years, regarding the high school program in the jail," Smith told the Tribune.
"We feel very strongly that while we have custody of these young people, we have to do everything in our power to lessen the chance that they'll come back and education is No. 1 on that list of things we can do. When we read about these issues, it's tremendously concerning."
jjperez@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @PerezJr
"NO TRESPASSING" signs have been posted at the entrances to the largest new forest preserve in Cook County.
"Forest Preserve of Cook County does not have possession & has no right to enter this property or permit others to do so," the warning reads on a locked gate at Horizon Farm, a rolling, 400-acre horse farm in Barrington Hills.
Advertisement
The notice was posted by Rich and Meryl Squires Cannon, who assert they are the true owners of the land after they won an Illinois Appellate Court decision in a long-standing legal battle over the prized property.
The court ruled that there is a legitimate question as to whether the Cannons were fraudulently pressured into the mortgage that led to foreclosure of their property. As a result, a lower court must reconsider whether the Forest Preserve District can foreclose on the property.
Advertisement
The shutdown is the latest development in a yearslong feud between the couple and the district. It could be years more before the dispute and the fate of the land is resolved.
"We want to keep it as our private estate and build our dream house," attorney Rich Cannon said. He and his wife, the CEO of a pharmaceutical company, raise and race horses at Arlington International Racecourse. "We still haven't gotten the keys back from the forest preserve."
The Forest Preserve District declined to answer questions about the dispute but issued a statement:
"The Forest Preserve District currently is in the process of taking several steps ... to exercise greater control of, as well as provide greater public access to, Horizon Farm. We believe these measures should allow us to reopen the site prior to final resolution of the foreclosure matter."
Hiking, horseback riding and even a faux fox hunt premiered at Horizon Farms in 2016, the largest and most expensive forest preserve acquisition in Cook County in about 50 years. The nearly 400-acre horse farm is located in Barrington Hills. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune) (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Last week, the district filed a request with the Illinois Supreme Court to delay the appellate order.
Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. >
The Cannons bought the site in 2006 for $19 million, which Crain's Chicago Business reported was the most expensive home purchase in the area at that time. The Cannons say they made all their monthly payments on a one-year loan. But, they say, when the lender, Amcore Bank, insisted they pay off the loan in one year, rather than renegotiating a long-term loan, as expected, the Cannons couldn't do so and the bank foreclosed.
That's when the district stepped in to buy the rare site out of foreclosure for $14.5 million in 2013 the organization's largest single acquisition in almost 50 years. In 2015 the district opened the farm to the public for hiking, biking and horseback riding, noting its open pastures, wetlands and native bird habitat.
The site also has numerous stables and a few houses, including a large mansion and guesthouse, which have sat vacant and deteriorating in recent years while preserve officials have tried to resolve the legal issues and decide what to do with the property.
Advertisement
Whoever owns the property is limited by a conservation easement entered by the previous owners, the McGinley family. The agreement with the Barrington Area Conservation Trust limits development to eight estate homes plus some equestrian-related projects.
The Forest Preserve District owns about 11 percent of all land in Cook County, with plans to buy 90,000 more acres in the next 25 years. The Cannons object that it's unfair for government entities to buy properties in foreclosure, rather than eminent domain, in which a jury can ultimately decide the value of a property. The couple lost a state lawsuit over that issue and are appealing a new case in federal court.
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 9 A rider uses the ring to train at the Cook County Forest Preserve District's Horizon Farms, a 397-acre equestrian estate in Barrington Hills on June 9, 2016. The district purchased the private estate this spring. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
rmccoppin@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @RobertMcCoppin
Secretary of Education Beth Purvis is the latest official to leave the Rauner administration. (Alexandra Wimley / Chicago Tribune)
SPRINGFIELD Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's education secretary is leaving for the private sector, a departure that comes just weeks after he cut a deal with Democrats to overhaul the way Illinois distributes money to public schools.
Beth Purvis first joined Rauner as a member of his transition staff before he took office in January 2015. Rauner frequently referred to Purvis and other hires as a "superstar" collective that would help bring change to Illinois government.
Advertisement
While those efforts often hit the roadblock of political realities in Springfield, Purvis was instrumental to helping craft a deal on education spending. Purvis chaired a commission the governor convened to study ways to overhaul the state's funding formula, which many argued was unfair and did not provide enough money to poorer school districts.
Though that commission did not recommend specific legislation, Purvis acted as a key negotiator and adviser as legislators used findings from the group to propose various plans.
Advertisement
When Democrats pushed through a proposal at the end of May, Purvis took some heat for declaring in a Springfield newspaper that Rauner supported "90 percent" of the plan. Democrats contended that should be enough for the governor to sign the proposal, which he later vetoed, saying it contained too much money for Chicago.
Purvis kept a relatively low profile after Rauner's amendatory veto, which was rejected by Republicans and Democrats alike as being too broad. Many of the changes Rauner inserted into the bill were ideas long pushed by the Illinois Policy Institute, a conservative think tank Rauner tapped for new staff members after dumping some longtime aides earlier in the summer.
Faced with the prospect that Republicans could bolt and cut another deal with Democrats, Rauner ended up signing a different bill into law that included hundreds of millions of dollars in state aid to Chicago Public Schools that Rauner had spent the summer calling a "bailout."
Purvis drew praise from legislators on both sides of the aisle for helping shepherd through that law.
"Beth has been a tireless advocate for Illinois children and families," Rauner said in a statement Monday. "We are deeply grateful for her efforts."
Purvis, whose last day is Friday, will oversee educational philanthropy at a nonprofit organization.
"It has been a privilege for me to work with Gov. Rauner and his team," Purvis said. "I am proud of what we have accomplished and know that his administration will continue to ensure that Illinois children have access to high-quality programs that will prepare them to be engaged community members with meaningful and rewarding careers."
Emily Bastedo, who previously served as Illinois first lady Diana Rauner's chief of staff, will now oversee the governor's education policy team.
Advertisement
mcgarcia@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @moniquegarcia
Welcome to Clout Street: Morning Spin, our weekday feature to catch you up with what's going on in government and politics from Chicago to Springfield. Subscribe here.
Topspin
Disgraced former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich emerged back in the public spotlight Monday in a pair of interviews. They were his first chats with reporters since heading into a Colorado prison after being impeached and removed from office, then convicted of political corruption charges.
Advertisement
The Chicago magazine piece (go here to read the whole thing) provided a trove of Blagojevich tidbits. Here are 10 things we learned:
*Quinn rejected: There weren't a lot of laugh out loud moments in the piece, but one stood out. Patti Blagojevich also was interviewed, and she relayed a story about appearing at an abortion rights event and walking in at the same time as former Gov. Pat Quinn. He's the guy who replaced Blagojevich after he was removed from office. Quinn apparently went in for an embrace, and was denied. "I was like, 'Ecch!' " the magazine quoted Illinois' former first lady as saying.
Advertisement
*Shattered dreams: Blagojevich describes a recurring dream. He's a defendant in a federal courtroom scene, and he'd tell himself "Don't worry, this isn't real" and that it was only a dream. Of course, his trial was real. "Have you ever had dreams like this where you tell yourself within the dream that you are only dreaming?" he says.
*Close quarters, but still lonely: He describes his early days in prison as living in "extremely close quarters" with "a lot of noise bad sounds and bad smells." Still, when asked if he's lonely: "Well, of course, yeah. Years of loneliness and affliction, yearning for home, missing my family. But I'm OK."
*Nickname: Everyone's got a nickname in prison. Blagojevich's? Gov.
*Age: Blagojevich will be 68 if he's released as scheduled in May 2024.
*Polo, anyone?: Blagojevich tells the story of his family's first visit two months into his sentence. A fellow inmate, nicknamed Boo, offered a "finishing touch" one of the cologne samples he'd collected out of magazines. No word on whether the ex-gov took him up on the offer, and if so, what scent he chose.
*Finding God: Many an inmate has talked about becoming closer to God while locked up, and Blagojevich is no different. "The lessons from the Bible and scripture have been very helpful to me. It's strengthened my strength. It's also strengthened my resolve."
*How much you bench?: Lifting weights is a staple of prison movies, and Blagojevich offered his story. The former governor was at the bench press and got the stare down from some muscleheads. He turned to humor: "So I said, 'I'll never have arms as big as former governor Schwarzenegger's, but I do believe my arms are finally bigger than former governor (Sarah) Palin's.' "
*How do I look?: He is still concerned about his portrayal in the media. On two occasions, Blagojevich jokes about how his answer to a question might generate a headline. Once, when he's asked about a political return, he replies: "The headline will be 'Blago Predicts Comeback.' "
Advertisement
*Night owl: According to the article, Blagojevich reads late at night, keeping what he called "Winston Churchill hours." The legendary World War II-era leader was known for late-night work.
What's on tap
*Mayor Rahm Emanuel is in Israel.
*Gov. Bruce Rauner is on a trade mission to Japan and China.
*Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle will preside over the board's consent calendar in the morning. In the afternoon, she will appear at Provident Hospital of Cook County to talk about the health effects of sugar consumption and the future of the soda pop tax.
*The City Council Committee on Human Relations will meet.
*Richard J. Monocchio, executive director of the Housing Authority of Cook County, will speak to the City Club.
Advertisement
From the notebook
*Hardiman reports cash: Tio Hardiman, who is making a second consecutive bid for the Democratic nomination for governor, filed his first receipt of money for his latest campaign a $5,000 contribution from himself.
The contribution was reported to the State Board of Elections last week. Hardiman, an anti-violence activist, got 28 percent of the vote in unsuccessfully challenging then-Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn in the 2014 primary.
Hardiman has picked Patricia Avery of Champaign as his running mate. She is the president and CEO of the Champaign County NAACP. (Rick Pearson)
*Quick spin: Michael Rendina, senior adviser to Mayor Emanuel, is leaving City Hall. Rendina, a veteran Illinois political operative who once was Emanuel's chief City Hall lobbyist, had succeeded David Spielfogel.
What we're writing
*Bloomberg to spend "whatever it takes" to re-elect Cook County soda tax backers.
*Key Rauner education aide latest to leave administration.
*City: Immigration rules could lead to other strings from Trump to get federal money.
*Dem gov hopeful Drury picks former campaign manager, 26, as running mate.
Advertisement
*Another water department employee disciplined amid email scandal.
*Zoning change for former Double Door property advances.
*Sen. Martinez back after being stranded by Irma: "I don't know if they'll ever recover."
*Michelle Obama's former chief of staff Tina Tchen returns to Chicago.
What we're reading
*Investigation of woman found dead in hotel freezer turns to Facebook video, viewed by millions.
Advertisement
*A huge leak about Apple's "iPhone X" comes days before its big debut.
*Nordstrom is opening concept store that has no inventory.
Follow the money
*Friends of Michael J. Madigan reported $117,650 in contributions.
*Track Illinois campaign contributions in real time here and here.
Beyond Chicago
*About 6 million people without power after Irma.
Advertisement
*What Democrats are jockeying for 2020?
*White House responds to Bannon's "60 Minutes" interview.
*U.S. weakens North Korea proposal.
A sailboat is pushed up between two buildings in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Key West, Fla. (Chris O'Meara / AP)
A manager of one Pizza Hut in the path of Hurricane Irma threatened to discipline workers who evacuated for the storm outside of a designated time frame and the brand has come under fire on social media for the "shameful" policy.
A photo began circulating on Twitter of a memo posted for employees in one Jacksonville, Florida, Pizza Hut location, with an explicit list of instructions for employees.
Advertisement
"To all Team members," the memo begins, before laying out a policy that dictates that employees cannot evacuate more than 24 hours before the storm and must return within 72 hours. "Failure to show for these shifts, regardless of reason, will be considered a no call/no show and documentation will be issued," it reads. "After the storm, we need all TM's available to get the store up and running and serve our communities as needed."
Evacuating in the last 24 hours before a storm can be a risky move. Supplies and gas may have dwindled by then, and traffic can be a nightmare. "If you do it later, you may be caught in a flood of traffic trying to leave the area," Miami Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez said Wednesday night. "You may find yourself in a car during a hurricane, which is not the best place to be."
Advertisement
So Pizza Hut is taking some heat on Twitter for instructions that put minimum-wage workers at risk, as many people have pointed out.
Pizza Hut responded with a statement posted on its website. It read, in part: "We absolutely do not have a policy that dictates when team members can leave or return from a disaster, and the manager who posted this letter did not follow company guidelines. We can also confirm that the local franchise operator has addressed this situation with the manager involved."
Restaurant and fast-food workers are often forced to make wrenching decisions in natural disasters. Some can't afford to evacuate in the first place. Without any job protection, fleeing workers could be terminated. Some choose to stay and risk their safety in flood zones to ensure they won't lose their jobs. And even if they stay, flooding could ruin their cars, giving them no way to get to work - leaving them just as vulnerable to firing as they would be if they had evacuated, but with the additional financial burden of repairing their car. Many cities in Florida do not have a robust public transit system.
But after a storm passes, large restaurant chains may be the first to pitch in, donating food and supplies to waterlogged communities. In Houston, McDonald's donated thousands of water bottles, and gave out free meals to first responders. Local chain Whataburger pledged $1 million to help its employees who were affected by Harvey, along with $150,000 to the Red Cross and $500,000 to local food banks.
And a Houston-area Pizza Hut, too, participated in relief efforts, handing out free pies to Harvey victims. Shayda Habib, a pregnant Pizza Hut manager, kayaked to deliver free pies to people who were stuck in flooded homes. But this Irma memo might have erased much of the goodwill the company earned in Houston.
As Hurricane Harvey was still pummeling Houston, Mexico reached out with an offer of help.
In a statement, the country offered food, generators and medical aid "as good neighbors should always do in trying times." After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the country sent a convoy of soldiers, food and medical workers, along with water-treatment facilities and a kitchen to feed 7,000 people a day.
Advertisement
But now, Mexico says it's withdrawing its offer of aid. It needs those resources, the government says, to clean up after its own hurricane and a massive earthquake.
In a statement, Mexico's Foreign Ministry said that all aid will now be directed to families and communities suffering from the pair of natural disasters. At least 95 people were killed in last week's 8.1 magnitude earthquake off Mexico's Pacific coast, and thousands of homes were destroyed. And Hurricane Katia made landfall Friday north of Tecolutla on Mexico's Gulf Coast.
Advertisement
The government estimates that some 2.5 million people are in need of aid, and survivors are still waiting for help in some areas.
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 18 Soldiers stand guard near the Sensacion hotel which collapsed with the powerful earthquake that struck Mexico overnight, in Matias Romero, Oaxaca State. (VICTORIA RAZO / AFP/Getty Images)
"Given these circumstance, the Mexican government will channel all available logistical support to serve the families and communities affected in the national territory," the foreign ministry statement said.
Mexico's Foreign Ministry also thanked Texas Gov. Greg Abbott,a Republican who promised to "stand with Mexico and offer whatever aid and assistance we can" after the earthquake. And it expressed "full solidarity" with the victims of Hurricane Irma. "Mexico will be aware of the development of this phenomenon in the following days, and hopes that soon the state of Florida as well as the state of Texas and the state of Louisiana will recover from the damages caused by the hurricanes that have impacted them," the statement said.
The ministry noted, too, that the United States had taken more than a week to respond to Mexico's formal offer of aid, and said that only "certain logistical aid" was needed. A White House press aide said that President Donald Trump had talked to the leaders of Canada and Mexico after Harvey, but that they hadn't discussed specific opportunities for help.
Though the United States and Mexico have historically been close allies, relations have been strained since Trump took office.
In fact, Mexico's offer of Harvey aid came hours after Trump attacked the country on Twitter, calling it "one of the highest crime nations in the world" and claiming, once again, that Mexico will pay for a border wall. He also threatened to "terminate" NAFTA. Mexico responded to those charges in the same statement it released offering Harvey help, saying that the country won't be paying for the border wall "under any circumstances." That same statement also noted that drug trafficking and related crime are a "shared problem."
Mexicans are also frustrated that Trump has not expressed concern about the Mexican earthquake on Twitter or in a White House release. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson did have a phone call with Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray. "Tillerson offered his condolences for the loss of life and the devastation caused by the earthquake in Mexico and from Hurricane Katia," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told the Los Angeles Times. "He emphasized to Foreign Secretary Videgaray that the U.S. government stands ready to assist our neighbors in Mexico during this difficult time."
United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley speaks with Japan's UN Ambassador Koro Bessho after a meeting over North Korea's new sanctions on Sept. 11, 2017, at the UN Headquarters in New York. (Kena Betancur / AFP/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON President Donald Trump said Tuesday new U.N. sanctions "are nothing compared to what ultimately will have to happen" to stop North Korea's nuclear march. U.S. officials showed Congress satellite images of illicit trade to highlight the challenge of getting China and Russia to cut off commerce with the rogue nation.
The U.N. Security Council's new restrictions could further bite into North Korea's meager economy after what Kim Jong Un's authoritarian government says was a hydrogen bomb test Sept. 3. The world body on Monday banned North Korean textile exports, an important source of hard currency, and capped its imports of crude oil.
Advertisement
The measures fell short of Washington's goals: a potentially crippling ban on oil imports and freezing the international assets of Kim and his government.
"We think it's just another very small step - not a big deal," Trump said as he met with Malaysia's prime minister at the White House. "But those sanctions are nothing compared to what ultimately will have to happen." He did not elaborate.
Advertisement
Despite its limited economic impact, the new sanctions succeed in adding further pressure on Pyongyang without alienating Moscow and Beijing. The U.S. needs the support of both of its geopolitical rivals for its current strategy of using economic pressure and diplomacy and not military options for getting North Korea to halt its testing of nuclear bombs and the missiles for delivering them.
Trump said it was "nice" to get a 15-0 vote at the U.N.
But underscoring the big questions about Chinese and Russian compliance, senior U.S. officials told the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday that effective enforcement by both of the North's neighbors and trading partners will be the acid test of whether sanctions work.
The U.N. has adopted multiple resolutions against North Korea since its first nuclear test explosion in 2006, banning it from arms trading and curbing exports of commodities it heavily relies on for revenue. That has have failed to stop its progress toward developing a nuclear-tipped missile that could soon range the American mainland.
Briefing the U.S. lawmakers, Treasury Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing Marshall Billingslea displayed satellite photos to demonstrate North Korea's deceptive shipping practices. He focused in particular on how it masks exports of coal that were banned in August after the North tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles.
In one example, a North Korean ship registered in St. Kitts and Nevis was said to have sailed from China to North Korea, turning off its transponder to conceal its location as it loaded coal. The ship then docked in Vladivostok, Russia, before finally going to China to presumably unload its cargo.
China accounts for 90 percent of North Korea's external trade.
"The success of the pressure strategy will depend on cooperation from international partners, especially Beijing," said Susan Thornton, America's top diplomat for East Asia. "We have also made clear that if China and Russia do not act, we will use the tools we have at our disposal."
Advertisement
Those tools include more sanctions. In June, the U.S. designated the Bank of Dandong, a regional Chinese bank, as a "primary money laundering concern" over its alleged help to North Korea in accessing the U.S. and international financial systems.
Billingsea described the action as "a very clear warning shot that the Chinese understood."
He said North Korean bank representatives still operate in Russia in "flagrant disregard" of U.N. resolutions that Moscow voted for. This summer, the U.S. targeted two Russian companies with penalties for supporting North Korean missile procurement.
Lawmakers who spoke Tuesday supported the U.S. pressure tactics, while voicing skepticism that North Korea could be forced into abandon nuclear weapons it regards as a guarantee of survival for the Kim dynasty.
Republican Rep. Ed Royce, the committee chairman, said U.S. and allied efforts should be "super-charged."
Describing the North's access to hard currency as its "Achilles heel," he urged the administration to target more entities dealing with North Korea, particularly Chinese banks. He singled out the China Merchants Bank and the Agricultural Bank of China.
Advertisement
Rep. Eliot Engel, the committee's top-ranking Democrat, also supported the pressure campaign. But he criticized Trump's commentary on the North Korean crisis, which he said was making matters worse.
Playing on Trump's "fire and fury" threat of a month ago, Democratic Rep. Gerald Connolly said Trump's policy looks more like "fecklessness and failure."
Connolly protested that Trump had branded South Korea's leader, a supporter of diplomacy with North Korea, as an appeaser.
The State Department's Thornton said Seoul had "come around very nicely" and appeasement not South Korea's policy.
Associated Press writer Jill Colvin contributed to this report.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., center, joined by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., center left, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., center right, and supporters, speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017, to unveil their Medicare for All legislation to reform health care. (Andrew Harnik / AP)
WASHINGTON Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., introduced legislation Wednesday that would expand Medicare into a universal health insurance program with the backing of at least 15 Democratic senators - a record level of support for an idea that had been relegated to the fringes during the last Democratic presidency.
"This is where the country has got to go," Sanders said in an interview at his Senate office. "Right now, if we want to move away from a dysfunctional, wasteful, bureaucratic system into a rational health-care system that guarantees coverage to everyone in a cost-effective way, the only way to do it is Medicare for All."
Advertisement
Sanders' bill, the Medicare for All Act of 2017, has no chance of passage in a Republican-run Congress. But after months of behind-the-scenes meetings and a public pressure campaign, the bill is already backed by most of the senators seen as likely 2020 Democratic candidates - if not by most senators facing tough reelection battles in 2018.
The bill would revolutionize America's health-care system, replacing it with a public system that would be paid for by higher taxes. Everything from emergency surgery to prescription drugs, from mental health to eye care, would be covered, with no co-payments. Americans younger than 18 would immediately obtain "universal Medicare cards," while Americans not currently eligible for Medicare would be phased into the program over four years. Employer-provided health care would be replaced, with the employers paying higher taxes but no longer on the hook for insurance.
Advertisement
Private insurers would remain, with fewer customers, to pay for elective treatments such as cosmetic surgery - a system similar to that in Australia, which President Donald Trump has praised for having a "much better" insurance regimen than the United States.
But the market-based changes of the Affordable Care Act would be replaced as Medicare becomes the country's universal insurer. Doctors would be reimbursed by the government; providers would sign a yearly participation agreement with Medicare to remain with the system.
"When you have co-payments - when you say that health care is not a right for everybody, whether you're poor or whether you're a billionaire - the evidence suggests that it becomes a disincentive for people to get the health care they need," Sanders said. "Depending on the level of the co-payment, it may cost more to figure out how you collect it than to not have the co-payment at all."
As he described his legislation, Sanders focused on its simplicity, suggesting that Americans would be happy to pay higher taxes if it meant the end of wrangling with health-care companies. The size of the tax increase, he said, would be determined in a separate bill.
"I think the American people are sick and tired of filling out forms," Sanders said. "Your income went up - you can't get this. Your income went down - you can't get that. You've got to argue with insurance companies about what you thought you were getting. Doctors are spending an enormous amount of time arguing with insurers."
Republicans, bruised and exhausted by a failed campaign to repeal the Affordable Care Act, were giddy about the chance to attack Democrats and Sanders. At Tuesday's leadership news conference, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., a medical doctor, crowed that Sanders' bill had become "the litmus test for the liberal left" and that Americans would reject any costly plan for universal insurance coverage.
"Bernie Sanders' home state had . . . a similar plan," Barrasso said, referring to a failed 2014 campaign for universal health care in Vermont. "They realized they would have to double the taxes collected on the people of that state to pay for it because it was so financially expensive."
Sanders acknowledged that the plan would be costly but pointed to the experience of other industrialized countries that provided universal coverage through higher taxes. The average American paid $11,365 per year in taxes; the average Canadian paid $14,693. But the average American paid twice as much for health care as the average Canadian.
Advertisement
"Rather than give a detailed proposal about how we're going to raise $3 trillion a year, we'd rather give the American people options," Sanders said. "The truth is, embarrassingly, that on this enormously important issue, there has not been the kind of research and study that we need.You've got think tanks, in many cases funded by the drug companies and the insurance companies, telling us how terribly expensive it's going to be. We have economists looking at it who are coming up with different numbers."
In 2016, when Sanders challenged Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, high cost estimates and the idea of wiping out private insurers kept many Democrats from embracing universal health care. While support for Sanders' proposal has risen from zero to 15, several Senate Democrats are proposing alternate plans for Medicare or Medicaid buy-ins, and Democratic leaders caution that their party will take no one-size-fits-all position.
"I don't think it's a litmus test," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., of Medicare for All. "I think to support the idea that it captures is that we want to have as many people as possible, everybody, covered, and I think that's something that we all embrace."
Many supporters of Sanders have contradicted Pelosi, portraying his plan as popular - 57 percent of Americans support Medicare for All, according to Kaiser Health News - and efficient. Our Revolution, founded by Sanders, has urged Democrats to sign on; Justice Democrats, created after the election to challenge Democrats in primaries if they bucked progressive values, has asked supporters to call their senators until they endorse the bill. And a web ad paid for by Sanders' 2018 Senate campaign, asking readers to "co-sponsor" his bill, attracted more than half a million names.
As of Tuesday night, just one senator from a swing state had done so. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., who as a member of the House had backed Rep. John Conyers Jr., D-Mich.'s Medicare for All bill, wrote a Tuesday op-ed for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel to confirm that she was on board. The Republican Party of Wisconsin, which has struggled to find a first-tier challenger for Baldwin next year, was quick with a statement: "Senator Tammy Baldwin Embraces Radical $32 Trillion Health Care Takeover."
The $32 trillion figure was based on the Urban Institute's analysis of Sanders' 2016 campaign plan. The new bill was different - and so was the confidence Democrats had as they embraced it.
Advertisement
"With this reform, we would simplify a complicated system for families and reduce administrative costs for businesses," Baldwin wrote.
The Washington Post's Kelsey Snell contributed to this report.
ARAPAHOE, Wyo. At St. Stephens Indian School, the past is never far away for students. A graveyard from its Catholic mission roots, marked with crosses and adorned with colorful decorations, can be seen from the school's front doors.
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos drove past the graves on her way to the school Friday, her second stop on the Wyoming leg of a tour dubbed "Rethink Schools."
Students still carry historical trauma from the boarding school era and other abuses, St. Stephens Superintendent Frank No Runner told DeVos, but that's not an excuse for low student achievement.
"It's time to move forward," he said.
St. Stephens is one of several schools on the Wind River Reservation. Its students are largely members of the Northern Arapaho tribe, with some Eastern Shoshone members.
The school is funded by the Bureau of Indian Education, but it's operated by the tribe. Its boundaries extend across the reservation, unlike public schools serving reservation students.
The school has higher graduation rates than its neighbors for American Indian students, but its scores on Wyoming standardized tests are comparable.
DeVos, who briefly addressed students and didn't take questions from press, made no sweeping statements about the schools or its policies. But she consistently praised mentions of parent and student involvement in school planning.
"I'm thrilled to hear about your focus on really engaging all of the stakeholders," she said.
No Runner said the school has shifted to try to focus more on positives than negatives.
"We don't focus on why teachers are leaving, we focus on why they're staying," he said.
Reservation schools often struggle with teacher recruitment and retention, a situation that has improved in recent years at St. Stephens, No Runner said.
DeVos briefly met with school staff for an overview and introduction before observing second-graders practice subtraction using blocks of ones, tens and hundreds and a high school science activity building a solar system scale model with toilet paper squares. It was perhaps the first time a cabinet member has held down toilet paper in a school hallway.
Politics were discussed only briefly, when Eastern Shoshone Business Council member Leslie Shakespeare noted that some tribal members disagreed with some of the policy positions of DeVos.
He noted public schools on and near the reservation, along with St. Stephens.
"All of these schools are very important," he said. "We respect that you're here to listen. That's what education is all about, is listening."
No Runner described St. Stephens as "a school of choice," but larger school choice policies of which DeVos has championed never came up.
The topic reached the Montana Legislature this spring when Democratic Rep. Jonathan Windy Boy of Box Elder proposed a school choice program, arguing that students in low-achieving reservation schools need other options. The bill died.
St. Stephens receives some funding from Wyoming, but not as much as public schools. Most funding comes from the federal government.
No Runner previously worked at Lame Deer High School, a public school on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, and Northern Cheyenne Tribal School, a BIE school in Busby.
"The difference between a public school and a bureau school is teachers unions," he said, adding that he's a former member of teachers unions. "It creates a division, I believe."
DeVos and teachers unions have had an antagonistic relationship, with DeVos linking national unions to what she calls a stagnant school system a similar theme to her tour.
"They've made it clear that they care more about a system, one created in the 1800s, than they do about individual students," she said in July.
Education Department officials have been planning the St. Stephens visit since about the week after Labor Day, No Runner said, but teachers whose class DeVos visited weren't informed until a day or two in advance.
"We didn't want a dog and pony show," he said.
DeVos visited a school in Casper earlier Tuesday. She's slated to visit Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri and Indiana later this week.
No Runner encapsulated the visit at the end of an assembly where DeVos was gifted a star blanket and heard the Northern Arapaho Flag Song from a student drum circle.
"She got to see a little snapshot of our school."
After a long career as a copywriter at several downtown advertising agencies, Richard "Dick" Cody put his way with words to a new use by teaching people about the city's colorful history.
Cody was for many years a volunteer docent at the Chicago History Museum on the Near North Side. He gave tours of indoor exhibits as well as tours of neighborhood landmarks, each accompanied by his own lively narratives and peppered with little-known facts about historical people and events.
Advertisement
"Whether the subject was legendary eateries or pubs, famous artists of the day or notorious mob personalities, Dick could tell a great story," said his cousin, Rita Bakewell. "You could ask him anything about Chicago's history and he'd explain it in the most interesting way, chapter and verse."
Cody, 86, a lifelong North Side resident, died of complications related to Alzheimer's disease on Sept. 1 in his home in the Belden Stratford apartment building, across from Lincoln Park Zoo.
Advertisement
"He loved the city, its people, its places and everything about it," Bakewell said. "He loved meeting people and exploring new places. He was an extrovert and intellectual, with a curious mind and gift for storytelling."
A graduate of Loyola Academy, Cody earned a bachelor's degree in English from Notre Dame University. After a short stint at an ad agency in South Bend, Ind., he returned to Chicago and began making a name for himself as a writer for television and print advertising.
Cody worked for several midsize agencies, among them Mandabach & Simms, where he met his wife, Charlotte, a media director.
"They were a wonderful couple, straight out of the 'Mad Men' era and so much fun to be around," said Marilyn Pocius, a Chicago writer and former senior copywriter at Mandabach & Simms. "They were both so interesting, just delightful people, who complemented each other and made a great team."
The couple was known for their annual Halloween parties and for organizing spontaneous group dinners at restaurants, often as the capper to a full day of being out enjoying the city with friends.
"When we went out to dinner with Dick, our table was always the liveliest," said Charlene Propsom, a former creative director at J. Walter Thompson. "He told wonderful stories, especially about his work, and he always kept us laughing."
Like the time Cody worked on the account of a well-known company that sold pickles, among other food products.
"He told us that after a night of a little too much partying he was given a tour of the factory by company officials," Propsom recounted.
Advertisement
"He felt sick, a little green around the gills, but thought he was pulling it off when they took him to see one last thing a bunch of barrels filled with pickles and next to them rows and rows of vats filled with fermenting sauerkraut. He almost threw up."
Cody also had a soft spot for abandoned cats and adopted a few through Chicago Animal Care and Control.
"Dick was one of our biggest supporters," said Propsom, the founder of Friends of Chicago Animal Care and Control, the organization's fundraising arm. "He'd sit there patiently, listening to me yak on and on about needing more money, and then write me a check."
Cody's wife died in 2014. There are no other immediate survivors.
Services were held.
Giangrasse Kates is a freelance reporter.
In this Wednesday July 26, 2017 photo paramedics tend to a woman believed to be overdosing on methamphetamine on a street in Charleston, W.Va. Paramedics have been flooded with calls related to overdoses, stretching their already limited resources. (Craig Hudson / AP)
Anne Case and Angus Deaton's 2015 article on rising mortality among middle-aged white Americans and the 2017 follow-up that attributed this rise to an increase in suicides, drug overdoses and alcohol-related deaths among those without college educations was among those rare academic papers that changed public debate. "Deaths of despair," the name that the wife-and-husband team of Princeton University economists gave the phenomenon, entered the popular lexicon, and their economic explanation for these deaths resonated:
"We propose a preliminary but plausible story in which cumulative disadvantage from one birth cohort to the next in the labor market, in marriage and child outcomes, and in health is triggered by progressively worsening labor market opportunities at the time of entry for whites with low levels of education."
Advertisement
Blockbuster findings like this inevitably generate a lot of questioning and re-examination, and the Case-Deaton results have certainly done that. A big team of epidemiologists, most from the National Cancer Institute, examined death certificate data and found results similar to Case and Deaton's but with some key differences: Drug overdoses were a much bigger cause of increased mortality than suicides or alcohol, mortality increases weren't restricted to the middle-aged, and American Indians and Alaska natives have seen even bigger mortality increases than whites.
Columbia University statistics professor Andrew Gelman and political scientist Jonathan Auerbach sliced the age data more finely and found that much of the increase in mortality rates among 45-to-54-year-old whites was due to a shift in the composition of that age cohort, which as the last of the baby boomers aged into their 50s began to skew heavily toward the older end although even in their adjusted version the middle-aged white mortality rate hasn't declined as it has for other groups in and outside of the U.S.
Advertisement
The rise in overdoses
And in a study out this summer that hasn't gotten much attention yet, University of Colorado sociologists and demographers Ryan Masters, Andrea Tilstra and Daniel Simon also adjust more precisely for age and find that while suicide and alcohol-related death rates haven't gone up much, drug overdoses really have.
None of these studies have refuted the key finding of the Case-Deaton research, which is that something disturbing is going on with the mortality rates of middle-aged white Americans. But they do seem to be shifting the explanation away from an economic one to something more epidemiological. The really big driver of the mortality shift is the opioid epidemic, and many of these opioid overdoses may not be the direct result of economic troubles. They're not really "deaths of despair." As Deaton himself put it in a March interview with the Atlantic's Annie Lowrey:
"People who die of opioid overdoses are not trying to kill themselves. It really is this business where if you relapse, you die. And that's not true for alcohol or other things."
Scott Winship and his team in Utah for Sen. Mike Lee's Social Capital Project have been compiling data on opioid-related deaths and economic and social indicators at the county level, with plans to publish a paper on the correlations this fall.
Location, location, location
In the meantime, they've published an assortment of animated maps of overdose rates, and it's striking how different things look from state to state. In New York, it's the New York City exurbs that have been hardest-hit; in California, it's rural mountain counties far from any big city; in Ohio, it's everywhere. These seem to be patterns that can be better explained by peer effects and the shape of drug-distribution networks than by underlying economic conditions. That is to say, this may be at least as much a supply-side phenomenon as a demand-side one.
The two biggest supply-side factors, journalist Sam Quinones writes in his acclaimed book "Dreamland," were the 1996 introduction by Connecticut-based Purdue Pharma of the controlled-release prescription opioid painkiller OxyContin and the eastward spread in the late 1990s of the remarkable, decentralized "Xalisco Boys" distribution network of black-tar heroin from a small county on Mexico's Pacific coast. In both cases, aggressive marketing campaigns (with other pharma companies and drug traffickers doing their part, too) pushed more people to try the drugs and get hooked on them. Then, according to a recent paper by three University of Notre Dame economists, a 2010 reformulation of OxyContin intended to render it less addictive drove users to try heroin, leading to even more overdoses.
When things went downhill
There are emerging signs that the spread of these opioids/opiates may have had significant economic implications. In a new version of a paper on declining labor-force participation, Princeton University economist Alan Krueger writes:
"Evidence presented here suggests that much of the regional variation in opioid prescription rates across the U.S. is due to differences in medical practices, rather than varying health conditions that generate pain. Furthermore, labor force participation is lower and fell more in the 2000s in areas of the U.S. that have a higher volume of opioid medication prescribed per capita than in other areas. Although some obvious suspects can be ruled out for example, areas with high opioid prescription rates do not appear to be only masking historical manufacturing strongholds that subsequently fell on hard times it is unclear whether other factors underlying low labor force participation could have caused the high prescription rates of opioids in certain counties. Regardless of the direction of causality, the opioid crisis and depressed labor force participation are now intertwined in many parts of the U.S."
Advertisement
That drugs may have caused all this misery is so, so tragic. But it also offers some reason for hope, as drug epidemics do eventually tend to wane. My fellow Bloomberg View columnist Stephen Mihm has described the 19th-century opiate addiction crisis in the U.S. that faded as the medical profession became fully aware of the dangers of prescribing morphine and the like. Opioid prescriptions are already on the decline although, as already noted, the ready availability of illegal substitutes has so far kept overdose deaths rising. It won't be easy, and it will take a while, but this will pass.
Bloomberg
Justin Fox is a Bloomberg View columnist. He was the editorial director of Harvard Business Review and wrote for Time, Fortune and American Banker. He is the author of "The Myth of the Rational Market."
Tuesday's release of Hillary Clinton's campaign memoir, "What Happened," has already set off a new round of sniping and score-settling, providing grist for the media's addiction to covering political intrigue at the expense of serious policy issues. In telling her side of the story, Clinton takes jabs at Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., former FBI director James Comey and even former vice president Joe Biden. That's her right. And her critics are likewise entitled to take issue with her portrayal of certain events.
But rather than reopening old wounds and refighting past battles, maybe it would be healthier to reflect on how far Democrats have come since the beginning of 2016 and how the progressive wing is now ascendant in the party at the grass roots and to consider the contributions that Sanders' campaign made toward building a more progressive party.
Wednesday, Sanders will formally introduce legislation to provide "Medicare for All," a policy that was central to his insurgent presidential campaign. Although Sanders has sponsored single-payer health-care plans for years, this will be the first time that he does so with meaningful support from prominent Democrats. Sens. Kamala Harris of California, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Cory Booker of New Jersey rising party leaders and potential 2020 contenders will be co-sponsoring the bill. Meanwhile, top Democrats including Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, whose staff has reportedly worked with Sanders on the legislation, have also expressed support for the idea of Medicare for All.
"This is what an emerging party consensus looks like," writes Vox's Dylan Matthews. "Over time, some issues become so widely accepted within a party as to be a de facto requirement for anyone aspiring to lead it. And the way things are going, soon no Democratic leader will be able to oppose single-payer."
Notably, the momentum behind Medicare for All is part of a broader shift among Democrats, who seem to be coalescing around a set of progressive ideas that would have been nearly impossible to imagine the party establishment putting forward just a few years ago. The "Better Deal" platform that Sen. Charles Schumer of New York and Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California unveiled this summer endorses a crackdown on monopoly power, a $15 minimum wage and a balanced trade agenda that recognizes the harm to workers caused by corporate trade deals that Democratic leaders have long supported. There is also rising support in the party for debt-free college tuition, with Warren, Harris and Gillibrand all co-sponsoring Sanders' "College for All Act."
This shift is due in large part to the tireless efforts of Sanders, both during the campaign and in the months since President Donald Trump took office, to push Democrats to be more progressive on core economic issues. Grass-roots activist organizations such as Our Revolution, National Nurses United, Working Families party and People's Action, among others, also deserve a great deal of credit for sustaining the movement energy across the country and applying consistent pressure on Democratic leaders.
The party's more progressive direction is also a result of the hard-fought 2016 primary campaign, which Clinton's book takes needless jabs at; after all, it produced the most progressive Democratic platform in history. It's worth remembering, despite attempts to scapegoat Sanders, it was his campaign that forced issues such as the $15 minimum wage and affordable or free college tuition into the mainstream discussion.
The rebuilding and the reform of the party, of course, is very much a work in progress. There are still big fights to be had to create a Democratic Party untethered from lobbying and corporate money a party more committed to advancing the power of workers and the grass roots. But while much of the media is likely to fixate on the spectacle and the sniping, stoking controversy over Clinton's return to public life, savvy Democrats and progressives will focus on driving a bold new agenda and winning in 2018 and 2020. Now is a time, as Sanders said last week, "to look forward and not backward."
University of Illinois students walk across the Main Quad on campus in Urbana, Ill., in November 2015. (David Mercer / AP)
Now that Illinois finally has a budget, we imagine that college presidents across the state will be trooping to Springfield with their hands out for money. They may remind lawmakers and the governor that eight years ago, Illinois pols approved a plan to sprinkle millions of dollars on state public university campuses for new construction projects. Among them: a $72 million performing arts center for Western Illinois University. A $57 million advanced tech building for University of Illinois at Chicago. A $54 million visual arts center for Illinois State. A $40 million satellite campus for Chicago State. A $71 million education building for Northeastern Illinois.
All of those projects eventually stalled as the state's capital funds ran out and its budget woes deepened. Illinois spent more than $14 million toward these five major projects that never emerged from the planning phase, according to a review of the state's capital budget by the Tribune's Peter Matuszak.
Advertisement
We aren't arguing to revive these projects, in part because Illinois is hemorrhaging college students. Instead, we hope Gov. Bruce Rauner and the legislature will focus on the next urgent matter on Illinois' education agenda: overhauling the state's public university system so that it better educates students while eliminating expensive redundancies.
First principle: Reorganize all 12 of Illinois' state universities into one centrally overseen entity, not a dozen fiefdoms under nine separate boards, as they are now. Because all these universities should share a single goal to offer Illinois' young people an array of campuses with common basics but specialized strengths.
Advertisement
Why is this important? Because students are voting with their feet. Six of Illinois 12 campuses have lost enrollment over the past decade.
The two-year state budget fiasco persuaded many to flee. Just in the last two years, enrollment in the state's public universities and community colleges dropped by 72,000 students, according to a report from the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and the Project for Middle Class Renewal at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Within days we expect to see an updated statewide breakdown by school. Among the losers: Southern Illinois University at Carbondale has announced that its 2017 enrollment will be about 14,500, down almost 9 percent from last year. The incoming freshman class plunged a staggering 19 percent. Eastern Illinois University says it will suffer an enrollment hit of about 5 percent in 2017, reducing its student population to around 7,000.
So, with enrollment tanking, how can Illinois make its higher ed system more attractive to students?
Try this, Gov. Rauner. Summon the presidents of the state schools to Springfield. Ask them to make pitches about what each of their universities does best. What programs, classes, professors make their universities distinctive and attractive? And what subject areas are specialties of other state schools? Ask leaders to rethink the degrees they offer and the value that students gain for the tuition dollar at so many schools doing such similar jobs. Ask these administrators what academic expertise each of them could build in a few fields, if they were freed from competing for students in every field.
Do these leaders need a model? Tell them to check out what's happening in Wisconsin's single, centrally overseen system. New York and California also have rebalanced their offerings statewide.
But be wary, Governor. You'll have trouble convincing some special interests, including legislators from university towns, that a campus isn't first and foremost a cash cow for the local economy. Illinois can't continue to prop up so many schools that have duplicate administrators, duplicate overhead and duplicate curriculums. Too many campuses are competing for scarce resources to do what other universities are doing better.
Whenever you encounter pushback, keep repeating: "Nine university boards to oversee 12 schools."
Advertisement
The idea isn't to weaken already-faltering universities, but to strengthen and rationalize the statewide system. By making schools accountable to centralized oversight. By streamlining procurement and consolidating other business operations. By sending a larger chunk of cash into classrooms and labs, and a smaller chunk into overhead and administration.
Fix this system now, lawmakers, and give individual schools the missions that will let them shine. Or watch more students flee.
Join the discussion on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Board and on Facebook.
Become a subscriber today to support editorial writing like this. Start getting full access to our signature journalism for just 99 cents for the first four weeks.
Was this book necessary? Hillary Clinton's anguished, angry memoir of her presidential campaign, "What Happened," was unveiled this week, complete with television appearances and a 15-city lecture tour. Other Democrats have been dreading this moment for months. "I love Hillary," Al Franken, the senator from Minnesota, said a few weeks ago. "I think she has a right to analyze what happened. But we do have to move on." A backward-looking slog through the disappointments of last year's campaign is not what most Democratic politicians want to dominate the news this fall. And that, judging from the many excerpts that have leaked, is exactly what Clinton's book is: a long and dutiful post-mortem on how she lost to an unqualified blowhard who was even less popular than she was.
Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times
Advertisement
The Chinese ultimately believe the U.S. is going to have to live with North Korea as a nuclear weapons state. China's object in the meantime is to convince the U.S. and the wider international community that it is doing whatever it can to prevent that. ... (To permit a grand bargain,) Beijing needs to accept that the threat of a unilateral U.S. strike is credible enough to warrant a change in Chinese diplomacy toward North Korea. ... And if China succeeds in stopping and eradicating North Korea's nuclear program, the U.S. would then accept: a peace treaty to formally conclude the Korean War; diplomatic recognition of Pyongyang; security guarantees for the regime's future from the Chinese, Americans and possibly the Russians; further Chinese reform and development of the North's economy; and possibly but most problematically a step-by-step program for the eventual withdrawal of U.S. forces from South Korea.
Kevin Rudd, The Sydney Morning Herald
Advertisement
Join the discussion on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Board and on Facebook.
Become a subscriber today to support editorial writing like this. Start getting full access to our signature journalism for just 99 cents for the first four weeks.
Our Constitution is explicit and concise when it comes to religious belief.
We have the freedom to believe or not believe. The Congress shall not establish a religion, and no person shall be denied public office based on their religious beliefs.
Advertisement
Though not without controversy, those three simple statements have guided us for 230 years and spared us religious conflicts that have plagued other nations.
I deeply respect those principles and take exception to your editorial "Durbin, Feinstein and Catholic judges," which suggested otherwise.
Advertisement
Notre Dame law professor Amy Barrett came before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week seeking a seat on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In the lengthy list of her publications was an article she co-authored with John Garvey of Catholic University of America that addressed the challenges facing Catholic judges when they are called on to rule in cases involving moral issues such as the death penalty. Barrett offered her opinion on those occasions when an "orthodox Catholic" judge should recuse himself or herself from rendering a decision such as the sentencing phase of a death penalty case.
Though I have had my differences with the church, I am Catholic and a product of 19 years of Catholic education. As I said at the hearing, I had never heard Barrett's term "orthodox Catholic" and asked her what she meant and whether she considered herself to fit that definition. My questions were confined to issues she raised personally in her writings and speeches which could directly impact the discharge of her duties as a circuit court judge.
During my tenure in the Senate I have nominated and voted for many judges and have never once asked for or considered their religious beliefs.
It was the nominee who raised the issue.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Washington
Even Sheriff Walt Longmire would have had trouble with these neer-do-wells.
Longmire is the fictional character in the television series based on books by author Craig Johnson, who used the town of Buffalo, Wyoming, as his setting. Lately thats drawn a lot of tourism attention to Buffalo, which in real life has an unusual historical western tale of its own that mixes law, politics and vigilante mobs: the Johnson County Cattle War.
It was the granddaddy of all the range wars, said Bill ONeal, Texas State Historian and the author of The Johnson County War.
The intrigue continued even after the notorious shootout at the TA Ranch, which was stopped from being a possible slaughter by the timely arrival of the U.S. Cavalry.
Afterward, there were some enormous political repercussions in Wyoming, said John Davis, of Worland, who wrote the book Wyoming Range War: The Infamous Invasion of Johnson County.
Event
ONeal and Davis will be two of seven speakers at Buffalos two-day event commemorating the 1892 conflict between wealthy Cheyenne cattle barons and their hired Texas gunmen and the angry, armed populace of the Buffalo area. The affair kicks off at 10 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 15, at the Bomber Mountain Civic Center with a discussion that will also include former U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson and his brother Peter.
The topic is an interesting one to tackle, from many facets.
The literature about the event was so contradictory, Davis said. I at first thought, How would anyone get to the bottom of it?
Tunneling into original court records still preserved, reading every issue of the two Buffalo newspapers at the time and spending portions of seven years ensconced in his basement reading and writing, Davis pieced together a narrative of why things happened.
The conclusion I came to was that the dispute between big and little cattlemen was created by an agenda of false news, Davis said.
The conflict
In short, the cattlemen from Cheyenne used local newspapers to whip up Wyoming and national sentiment against settlers in the Johnson County area, which now encompasses the southeast corner of the Bighorn Mountains and a portion of the plains to the east.
At the time, the cattleman considered the open range their own, even though settlement was being encouraged by the U.S. government. To preserve their hold on the vast grasslands necessary to feed large cattle herds, some members of the rich cattlemens group the Wyoming Stock Growers Association falsely accused residents of rustling their cattle, lynched innocent small ranchers, assassinated witnesses to murder and drew up a hit list with 30 to 70 names which included the Johnson County sheriff, all his deputies, the newspaper editor and Buffalo businessmen. With hired gunmen in tow, the rich ranchers set off by private train car and then horses to claim the grasslands by force.
Constitutionally, it was absolutely reprehensible, ONeal said of the men taking the law into their own hands. But, oh my gosh, what a group of invaders!
Along the way, they ran into Nate Champion, considered the historical inspiration for the main character in the book and movie Shane. A crack shot, Champion held off the 50 cattlemen and gunmen long enough for word to reach Buffalo that the well-armed vigilantes were on their way.
Champion, who lived near what is now Kaycee, was targeted because he was the key witness in charges against the cattlemen who had earlier hired an assassination squad to kill him. Despite breaking into his cabin and blazing away at Champion in bed during that initial murder attempt, Champion was able to kill one of the men and wound the other. He and friend Nick Ray werent so lucky five months later when the 50 vigilantes arrived and set fire to the cabin, forcing Champion into the open where he was shot numerous times.
When they killed him, they killed the last witness to the attempted murder charge, Davis said.
Rally to the TA
In the meantime, everyone with a pulse, a gun and a horse in the surrounding area a mob estimated at 300 to 400 people was saddling up to confront the vigilantes, despite acting Wyoming Gov. Amos Barbers telegraph to militia across the state to take orders only from him, not from their own sheriff.
The opposing sides ran into each other near the TA Ranch. Seeing how badly they were outnumbered, the cattlemen and their sidekicks turned tail and fled to the ranch seeking fortification for what would be a four-day siege.
Among the local residents at the standoff was 10-year-old Elmer Brock, whose family was homesteading about 15 miles from Champions ranch. Brocks great-granddaughter, Laurel Hanson, said the boy, along with other youngsters, ran messages to inform neighbors about what was taking place.
Earl and Barbara Madsen now own the TA Ranch, which has been restored and turned into a guest ranch and restaurant. Their daughter, Kirsten Giles, helped foster the idea of marking the 125th anniversary of the shootout with the talk by authors, descendants of those involved and, on Saturday, a re-enactment of the shootout along with ranch tours.
Its a lot of fun to be the stewards of the history that occurred out here, Giles said.
Its almost a hallowed place where these ranchers were holed up, Davis said.
Although many visitors to the ranch may not know about its ties to the cattle war, Giles said it is fun to be ambassadors for Johnson County and tell guests about the areas history.
Mums the word
Thats a change from the years following the confrontation, according to Sylvia Bruner, director of the Johnson County Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum.
The people who remained in this area made a conscious effort to let it go and not drag up those old wounds, Bruner said. It was very intentional, I think, because it was such a volatile issue at the time.
Hanson agreed. She said it was her grandfather who collected stories from those involved in the dispute and wrote them down, but he didnt speak about the incident.
It probably wasnt until the 80s that anybody talked about it, Hanson said. It was taboo. You could get sent home from school for talking about it. Its really remarkable that everyone eventually was able to get along, even when they had taken opposite sides in the dispute.
As a result, only a few relics from the Johnson County Cattle War are available for display at the museum, including pieces of bullet-riddled wood from the TA Ranch along with firearms that either were used at the shootout or are representative of those used.
No justice
The rich cattlemen and Texas-hired guns were never prosecuted for their illegal actions, but they came very close to being killed during the shootout. The locals had reinforced two wagons with logs, called a go devil or ark of safety, to create a primitive tank, Davis said. The idea was to push it close enough that men could lob dynamite from behind the mobile breastwork and blow up some of the vigilantes as well as destroy their hideouts the house and barn.
Before that, though, Gov. Barber leapt to action after hearing about the siege taking a bad turn for the cattlemen he counted as allies. Barber telegraphed Wyomings two U.S. senators to awaken President Benjamin Harrison and ask that he order the U.S. Cavalry to intervene to halt what could be a slaughter of the cattle barons and their gunmen.
When the cavalry arrived, they temporarily imprisoned the 50 vigilantes at nearby Fort McKinney before moving the men to Cheyenne for their safety. Unfortunately for Johnson County residents, there would be no justice. The vigilantes were eventually released on what Bruner called a goodwill bond with a promise that they would return for trial.
You can imagine how that went, she said.
Plus, Johnson County was billed for the prisoners keep, an amount that bankrupted the small district leaving them unable to mount a prosecution against the invaders who reportedly had commemorative rings and silver cups made to mark their wild ride north. The Johnson County residents only solace may have been that Barber was defeated in that years election and Democrats temporarily gained control of both houses of the Legislature.
The incident lives on in western lore. In addition to Shane the conflict was also the basis for the book and movie The Virginian, ONeal said, considered the first western novel. Similarities between the historical event and one of the largest cinematic flops in Hollywoods history, Heavens Gate, are also notable, he said.
To me, theres nothing more dramatic than life-or-death conflict, ONeal said. Together with guys wearing big boots and big hats shooting Winchesters, it fires the imagination.
Deverin Deonte and the cast of "Last Dancer Standing (More Than Hip-Hop)" at Black Ensemble Theater Cultural Center. (Michael Courier / Handout)
This year has seen more than its fair share of hatred and discrimination and the Chicago theater community is putting its best foot forward to combat it.
On Monday, Sept. 25, Black Ensemble Theater and the Steppenwolf Theater Company will come together for a night of programming to "fight the isms." "Highlighting Racism" will take place at the Black Ensemble Theater Cultural Center (4450 N. Clark St.) and will be free and open to the public.
Advertisement
The event will explore racism and other forms of oppression through performances and presentations from local theater troupes like Teatro Vista, About Face Theatre, Her Story Theatre and Firebrand Theatre, as well as speakers Tyronne Stoudemire from the Hyatt Corporation and Angelique Powers from the Field Foundation.
"This is a necessary evening of education, understanding and coming together," Black Ensemble founder Jackie Taylor said in a statement. "We must understand the systemic process of racism and oppressionwhat is it and how can we remove it from our community?"
Advertisement
The event is free but those interested in attending must reserve their tickets at blackensembletheater.org/fighttheisms. The event starts at 6 p.m. and will be followed by an evening of conversation and networking.
@shelbielbostedt | sbostedt@redeyechicago.com
[ Looking for more to do in Chicago? ]
The U.S. Department of Education recently named Olive-Mary Stitt Elementary School in Arlington Heights a 2017 National Blue Ribbon school, officials said. (Karen Ann Cullotta/Pioneer Press )
The U.S. Department of Education recently named Olive-Mary Stitt Elementary School in Arlington Heights a 2017 National Blue Ribbon school.
The Arlington Heights School District 25 school was selected as one of this year's winners after being nominated at the state-level and submitting "a pretty meaty application," according to Olive-Mary Stitt Principal Becky FitzPatrick.
Advertisement
"A lot of what we celebrated on our application as what we believe is important, and what we're proud of, is not just our students, teachers and staff, but also all of our parents and neighbors in the community," FitzPatrick said.
In November, representatives from District 25 will be honored at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., FitzPatrick said. Additional celebrations also will be held at the school later that month, she said.
Advertisement
"We anticipated that some of our students might not understand what this award is about, so we gave them the analogy of the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series," FitzPatrick said. "It's almost like the gold medal for schools."
Olive-Mary Stitt is the fifth school at District 25 to receive a National Blue Ribbon, joining Thomas Middle School, which earned one in 1984; Westgate Elementary School, which was selected in 2006; Windsor Elementary School, which was chosen in 2009; and Greenbrier Elementary School, which won one in 2011.
Soaring enrollment at the school, 303 E. Olive St., prompted school officials last year to do a $9 million building project, featuring five new classrooms, a new gymnasium, an expanded commons area and a new playground.
For the 2017-18 school year, enrollment at Olive-Mary Stitt has totaled 607 students, officials said.
kcullotta@tribpub.com
Twitter @kcullotta
A protest was held in downtown Aurora last week against President Trump's decision to scrap the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Some local DACA recipients are worried what will happen to them without the program. (Steve Lord / The Beacon-News )
Plans to phase out a federal immigration program that protects those brought into the country illegally as children has some in Aurora fearing for their future.
Iris Gonzalez, who said she was brought to Aurora nearly 20 years ago when she was turning 7, worries about how she will work or study without the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and the Social Security number it allowed her to obtain. Mariela Cedillo worries about friends who might have to return to countries they hardly know.
Advertisement
President Donald Trump last week announced plans to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, an administrative program created in 2012 under then-president Barack Obama. DACA protects young immigrants from deportation who meet certain criteria, including being brought to the U.S. as children, but it does not guarantee a path to citizenship or legal residency.
Ending the program was a campaign promise for Trump, who said at the time Obama created it as an illegal act of amnesty.
Advertisement
As he announced plans to end the program last week, Trump said he loves the program beneficiaries but insisted it was up to Congress, not him, to address the situation. Congress has repeatedly taken up and failed to pass immigration legislation.
"I have a love for these people and hopefully now Congress will be able to help them and do it properly," Trump said.
Under a plan outlined by the administration, new applications to the program will no longer be accepted, but applications already submitted will be processed. Existing permits will remain effective, and the administration will renew existing work permits that expire in the next six months as long as applications are submitted by Oct. 5.
Gonzalez said her permit is set to expire early in 2019, so she will not be able to renew if the program ends, she said. She doesn't know what she will do then.
"If they take (my Social Security number) away from me, I will be left with nothing," she said.
Gonzalez, 27, left Mexico and arrived in Aurora 19 years ago with her younger sister and parents, she said. She at first didn't know they didn't have papers, but began asking questions in middle school when she saw her friends visit Mexico, but not her family.
The DACA program allowed her to buy a car and get a driver's license she used to drive to work and school without one, she said and to study to become a certified nurse's assistant. She is worried that without DACA, she could lose her post as a manager at McDonald's or the job she was recently hired for at a new Amazon distribution center in Aurora.
Gonzalez said the situation is made more difficult for her because she has a 6-year-old daughter, who was born in the U.S.
Advertisement
"It doesn't only affect us as Dreamers," she said. "It affects our families, our kids, even our employers because they're going to lose people that are hard workers, that are dedicated and motivated."
Aurora immigration attorney Moises Barraza said "a significant number" of Aurora residents are likely affected by the changes to the immigration program. Some could be eligible for an adjustment of their immigration status, and based on guidance he has seen it is likely not all residents whose program status expires will be referred for deportation, he said.
He said the attitude he has interpreted from Chicago immigration court and the Trump administration is, "you're either getting legalized or you're getting out."
Cedillo, 22, is worried that the immigration program changes might force lifelong friends to leave, though she will likely maintain status under DACA into the coming years because she recently applied for a renewal.
She was "scared but excited" when the DACA program was first put in place, she said. She had to submit information to immigration officials, and didn't know what they would do with it if she was not approved.
She said when she was accepted into the program she was able to work full-time at the housekeeping post she currently has. She made more money for herself and her family, and was able to save up for a flight to meet her father, who she had no memory of, she said.
Advertisement
As the program's end nears and recipients face uncertainty, Gonzalez and Cedillo said they want their voices to be heard. Gonzalez took part in a protest over the program's end in downtown Aurora Sept. 5.
"By taking (DACA) from us, it's like taking our dreams, taking our life away," Gonzalez said.
The Chicago Tribune and the Associated Press contributed
sfreishtat@tribpub.com
Twitter @srfreish
An Aurora woman who moved from Florida to Illinois to get away from hurricanes had a bad feeling when she heard about a massive storm moving across the Caribbean.
Lynda White had left for Ft. Myers, Florida, in mid-August to spend time with her mother, with her 5-month-old son Ethan in tow.
Advertisement
White, who was born and raised in Florida, distinctly remembers when Hurricane Charley hit the state in August 2004. White was attending Warner Southern College in the middle of the state when that storm happened.
"I remember every second of my life when Charley reached inland. I lost all of my belongings," she said.
Advertisement
She and her roommate had a second-floor apartment in a two-story apartment building. The storm was so bad the roof collapsed, she said. She said no one was hurt.
The experience was so terrifying that she decided to leave Florida and move to the Chicago area, leaving behind her mother, sister and uncle.
White said she started to get concerned while in Ft. Myers last Monday when forecasters were predicting a monster storm would make landfall later in the week.
"We started to get a little more concerned knowing our flight situation and the unpredictability of hurricanes," White said.
White said she had previously booked flights for her and her son to leave Florida on Thursday but there was the possibility her flight would be canceled.
She said by Tuesday, Floridians had begun to panic and bottled drinking water became scarce. White said she is breast-feeding her son and staying hydrated is critical for her to produce milk.
"We went to 12 different stores along U.S. 41, which is the main street for everything. There was no water to be found. All of the water was sold-out completely," White said.
She saw that gas stations had long wait lines. White said she was starting to have regrets that she didn't leave Florida earlier.
Advertisement
"Not having water really scared me. I need to keep hydrated which is difficult ... in 90 degree temperatures," she said. "I was in a big, big panic."
White said she posted on social media that she was desperately in need of water. She heard back from a friend from her high school who offered to share his supply of water with her.
"I posted my situation on Facebook and one of my high school friends reached out to me. He told me they have water and that I can come and get it. I was blessed to get that message. There are good people," she said.
White said she got the water the next day. She managed to fly out of Florida with her son a day before the airport closed Friday. She also managed to book a seat for her mother.
"We arrived in Chicago Thursday night. The airport in Florida closed on Friday," she said. "I kept calling the airlines to make sure our flight wasn't canceled. I would be on hold for one to two hours before someone from the airlines would talk to me. I didn't want to get to the airport with my baby and be stuck. I was in a hurricane when the roof caved in. That's when I decided to move to Chicago."
Irma made landfall in Ft. Myers Sunday night.
Advertisement
"God was definitely looking over us. We scheduled our flights just in time because the airport closed Friday. The airlines representative told me Wednesday that we were lucky because all flights would be canceled Friday. My son made it through the trip. He was rather exhausted from all of the excitement," she said.
She said her mother is temporarily staying with her in Aurora.
"We got news Monday that my mother's house survived the hurricane," White said. "Other than some roof damage, the house is still standing which is remarkable since the house was built in 1981 and sits on stilts. We were worried all weekend."
She said her mother did lose a grove of fruit trees that she grew from seed and has cared for over the past 10 years.
"She had 15 fruit trees, lemon, orange, and mango as well as an avocado tree. We are amazed her home is still standing," she said.
White anticipates her mother will return to Florida and plant new trees. She said her sister and uncle are safe and their homes were not damaged from Irma.
Advertisement
White is the scholarship coordinator for the Aurora Puerto Rican Cultural Council. The nonprofit organization's president, Jalitza Colon Martinez, was concerned knowing White was in Florida and searching for water.
"Knowing Lynda was in Florida made me worry because I knew she would be impacted by the hurricane. After talking to her and finding out they were in search of water, my prayers significantly intensified because I know that survival would be important not only for her and her mom, but most importantly for her baby Ethan. I was relieved to know they made it back safely," Martinez said.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
A Yorkville woman died Saturday after a pickup truck struck her as she crossed a street in Melrose Park, police said.
Vanessa Pierce, 26, of the 2800 block of Cryeer Way, Yorkville, was pronounced dead at 4:48 p.m. Saturday at Loyola University Medical Center, where she was taken after the crash, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.
Advertisement
Just more than two hours earlier, Pierce was attempting to cross all lanes of traffic in the 2100 block of North Avenue, southbound on foot, where there is no crosswalk, according to a statement provided by the Melrose Park Police Department.
She had crossed the westbound lanes and was in an eastbound lane when a pickup truck struck her about 2:30 p.m., police said.
Advertisement
The medical examiner listed her cause of death as an accident, involving multiple injuries from "pickup truck striking pedestrian."
The area has no traffic signals, police said, adding that Pierce "was crossing in the middle of the block without a crosswalk" and that the pickup driver is cooperating with police.
A spokesman declined to provide additional information, citing the ongoing police investigation.
hleone@tribpub.com
Twitter @hannahmleone
Barrington Village Board members unanimously approved a new, 61-unit townhome development at the northeast corner of Grove Avenue and Dundee Road. (Pioneer Press file)
Construction is expected to start soon on a new, 61-unit townhome development in Barrington after village board members unanimously approved the project Monday.
But developer M/I Homes of Naperville will proceed with a slightly smaller number of units at the northeast corner of Grove Avenue and Dundee Road after residents nearby expressed concerns in meetings earlier this year about the density of the proposed townhomes, said Jennifer Tennant, assistant director of development services for Barrington.
Advertisement
The project ultimately was revised from 65 units to 61 units, she said.
"This design creates better separation between buildings," Tennant said.
Advertisement
The development will feature three- and four-unit buildings, featuring two or three bedrooms in each unit, on 11.3 total acres, officials said.
Matthew J. Pagoria, vice president of land acquisition for M/I Homes, said construction on the project could begin next spring and could be completed within two to three years.
"Barrington is a great community, and we can't wait to get started," he said.
As part of the proposal, M/I Homes also is required to install sidewalks along Grove Avenue, which would connect to a multi-use path on Dundee Road, according to village documents.
During the meeting Monday, village board members also passed an amendment to the village comprehensive plan that changed the zoning of the townhome property from office research to multifamily.
In a report to the board, village officials said several residential developers have expressed interest in building homes near the location, although the village is yet to receive a formal proposal.
tshields@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter @tshields19
A Dolton man died early Tuesday after being shot in that south suburb, officials said.
Derrick Hill, 22, was shot in the 14700 block of Shepard Drive, according to a news release from the Lake County (Ind.) coroner's office. Hill lived on the same block, but the exact location of the shooting was not released.
Advertisement
He was pronounced dead at 1:19 a.m. A death investigation team was called to the the Franciscan Health Hammond emergency room in Indiana at 1:25 a.m.
His death was ruled a homicide, according to the news release.
Advertisement
Dolton police officials were unavailable for comment Tuesday morning.
Check back for updates.
gwong@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @GraceWong630
Country Club Hills School District 160, which had the start of its school year postponed by construction delays, has placed its superintendent on paid administrative leave and appointed an interim superintendent to run the district, officials said.
Griff Powell, a retired school administrator with 25 years of superintendent experience in Illinois and New York, was brought in to replace Superintendent Sandra Thomas on Sept. 5.
Advertisement
Powell, who has held seven interim superintendencies since retiring most recently at West Harvey-Dixmoor School District 147 is under contract through the end of the 2017-2018 school year.
He'll be paid $1,000 per day for no more than 90 days for overseeing the three schools, and will not receive health or other benefits outside of reimbursements for travel, according to the terms of his contract.
Advertisement
"So far, I've been at all three buildings and I see some very committed staff members who are passionate about working with young people," Powell said. "I see a lot of good things going on here."
Powell, who will be working two or three days each week, said his primary goal is to create some stability in the district until a permanent superintendent is named.
It's unclear whether the district intends to reinstate Thomas, who had served as District 160 superintendent since 2014, or seek a new permanent leader.
District spokeswoman Tracy Lett-Foreman would only confirm that Thomas had been placed on leave, but said she did not know when or why the decision was made.
When reached for comment, school board member Margo E. Brown directed all questions to Lett-Foreman. None of the other board members contacted immediately returned requests for comment.
Thomas, who made $173,350 last year, was last listed as the district's superintendent on its Aug. 15 meeting agenda. She authored a letter to parents the same week informing them that the start of school would be pushed back from Aug. 16 to Aug. 21 due to "unforeseen construction delays."
Days earlier, the Cook County Department of Environmental Control had lodged a complaint with the Illinois Department of Public Health alleging improper asbestos removal at District 160's Southwood Middle School, 18635 Lee. St., IDPH records show.
Divya Little, an IDPH spokeswoman, said the department investigated the complaint and issued an emergency stop work order at Southwood from Aug. 14-17, until it was determined that the issue had been abated.
Advertisement
Thomas' letter to parents about the postponement of school made no mention of the asbestos concern, but did say the district still needed to "complete air quality assessments" and was working with IDPH and the fire department to determine when the building would be safe for use.
Director of business operations Kenya Austin said Monday that asbestos abatement was not the primary reason the first week of classes were canceled. Rather, the holdup was due to delays with several different projects, she said.
"It was a little bit of everything," Austin said, citing the off-site death of an environmental consultant and the resignation of members of a contracted cleaning crew, among other issues.
She said the middle school had been placed under a stop work order as a precautionary measure because the contractor performing the asbestos work had died unexpectedly before providing IDPH with the final paperwork indicating that the classrooms were free of asbestos.
Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >
Austin said after she learned of the contractor's death, she immediately called in another company to perform an air quality assessment, which came back free of asbestos.
"We got it redone and the air quality came back fine," she said. "The classrooms were back open in 24 hours."
Advertisement
Little, the IDPH spokeswoman, said she could not confirm Austin's account, but that the department would release a report with its findings once its investigation into the matter had concluded.
Powell, the interim superintendent, said that regardless of why the start of school had been delayed, the issue had been rectified and he was focused on keeping the district running.
"What I try to do is just get people to focus on what their job is, and that's servicing the children that we have responsibility for," he said.
zkoeske@tribpub.com
Twitter @ZakKoeske
Flossmoor Fest was the ideal time to unveil the village's new logo, which symbolizes the "heart and soul of the community," said Mayor Paul Braun, as he welcomed the Saturday morning crowd to the annual event.
The logo is so new that artists were still putting the final touches on the white tree shape in the front of the Flossmoor Public Library, where later, residents were planning to gather for a community photo.
Advertisement
The image represents not only the natural beauty of the town, but the strong connections of its residents as branches and leaves were woven into a continuous line, Braun said.
The festival was the logo in practice, as families flocked to event that brought neighbors together and showed the best the town has to offer.
Advertisement
It began with an energetic 5K run and opening ceremonies that featured the Homewood-Flossmoor High School band, and wound down with soulful music and a beastly movie in the park. In between there were at least 12 hours of non-stop activities, food and beverages from local establishments.
The Homewood-Flossmoor High School band performed at the opening of Flossmoor Fest in downtown Flossmoor Saturday. (Susan DeMar Lafferty/Daily Southtown )
Marion Kaes said she comes every year, even now that her daughter Rose has graduated from high school and gone off to college. It was her way of "reconnecting" and donating to the H-F orchestra, where Rose once played the violin.
"I come out all the time to support Homewood-Flossmoor activities because they are so great," she said.
Mayor Braun also used the fest to unveil the new clocks in the downtown area, for which the community raised $8,000.
Similar to the fictional town in the "Back to the Future" movies, Flossmoor's previous clock tower was struck by lightning in 1981 and was not replaced until now. As an added touch, residents could pose for photos with a DeLorean, sans Michael J. Fox or Christopher Lloyd.
Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >
In Flossmoor Park, kids and parents were making animal masks with the Homewood Science Center and slime at the high school booth.
Artists Shayne Taylor (left) and Brandin Hurley, of the Nancy Pochis Bank Studio, in Chicago, put the finishing touches on Flossmoor's new logo in front of the library, during the annual Flossmoor Fest. (Susan DeMar Lafferty/Daily Southtown )
"We're just having fun exploring, and seeing what cool stuff there is to do," said Aliza Caliski, who was cutting out the bird mask for her son Benjamin Wool.
"We love all the activities," said Jacob Perez, as his sons Isaac and Sam modeled their just completed masks.
Advertisement
The park was filled with activities and rides for kids, while downtown, folks enjoyed music from the many school choirs, grabbed a bite from the Bistro and a brew from Flossmoor Station.
"My boys are having a great time. It's nice to have something like this in the community that's close by," said Lizzy Roberts.
Brothers Isaac and Sam Perez show off the animal masks they made at the Homewood Science Center booth at Flossmoor Park. It was one of many activities for kids at the annual Flossmoor Fest Saturday. (Susan DeMar Lafferty/Daily Southtown )
The crowd enjoys the food and beverage booths in the downtown area during the annual Flossmoor Fest Saturday. (Susan DeMar Lafferty/Daily Southtown )
slafferty@tribpub.com
Twitter @SusanLaff
Will County Executive Larry Walsh a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the new public safety complex Oct. 5, 2016, in Joliet. (Jon Langham / Daily Southtown )
Will County officials recently got a peek at the proposed 2,200-acre business park in Jackson Township, with its developers' promises of pumping revenue into the Elwood and Manhattan areas, while keeping trucks off residential roads.
Patrick Robinson, vice president of development for the Kansas City-based NorthPoint Development, gave an overview of preliminary plans to invest $1.2 billion into the Compass Business Park, with 25 to 30 million square feet of warehousing, distribution and light manufacturing, and a privately funded bridge to keep trucks off Route 53 and local roads.
Advertisement
It would be located 1 mile east of Route 53 between Manhattan and Hoff Roads.
Members of the county board's ad hoc economic development committee said they were generally impressed with the concept, which addressed truck traffic and promised high-quality structures built with local labor.
Advertisement
Area residents including Will County Executive Larry Walsh have opposed the project, claiming it will change the quality of life in the rural area.
Proponents said future development will occur and trucks will come regardless of the business park.
John Greuling, CEO of the Will County Center for Economic Development, told the committee that the county's soon-to-be-approved Community Friendly Freight Mobility Plan does project "substantial growth" in this industry.
"The challenge of Will County is how to manage that," he said, noting that NorthPoint's proposed bridge is an "important element" in minimizing impact on local roads.
In addressing the committee last week, Robinson said he may need Will County's support to expand an existing enterprise zone in Diamond, to include Compass Business Park, making it eligible for tax breaks and financial incentives.
He said NorthPoint wants to "level the playing field in the Illinois environment" and would seek tax abatements in exchange for giving Elwood a one-time payment of $38 million to relieve its existing bond debt.
Enterprise zones are a state program designed to stimulate growth in economically depressed areas by offering incentives, such as exemption on state sales tax for building materials and the state utility taxes, and investment tax credits, according to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity website.
There are three zones in the area, but the state limits the maximum square miles, Greuling said.
Advertisement
"It's an exciting project, but the reality is it is very early in the process," he said. "We don't know everything about it."
The firm owns about 500 of the 2,200 acres, which would have to be annexed and rezoned by both Elwood and Manhattan, officials said.
Robinson said they would begin in Elwood, move west to east, and build 1 million square feet at a time.
Robinson said he has met with hundreds of residents first to address their concerns before submitting formal plans to Elwood.
"We put people first. If we take care of the people, everything else will fall into place," he told the committee.
"We need something like this in Homer Glen or Lockport. It would be good for our town," said board member Steve Balich, R-Orland Park.
Advertisement
Elwood residents, however, have organized in opposition to the plan "Just Say No to NorthPoint" and it is spilling into Manhattan.
Supporting that effort is Walsh, who was born and raised in Jackson Township.
"This proposal would basically decimate what is left of Jackson Township as a community, as an agricultural township," said Walsh, whose sons continue to farm in the area.
"It comes down to do I want to see Will County completely engulfed in distribution centers and logistics, 2,000 to 3,000 acres at a time, in every township? I don't know if that's the quality of life I want for next generation," he said in a separate interview.
Walsh is aware of the impact truck traffic has had on the area, and his administration has undertaken the Freight Mobility Plan, which the county board is expected to consider for approval soon.
It will identify what infrastructure is needed to improve the flow of freight traffic, support a growing freight economy, keep trucks off residential streets and allow commuters to get to and from jobs, while having minimal impact on communities and coordinating land uses.
Advertisement
Issues of quality of life and livability are at the forefront of the freight study, Walsh said.
Better infrastructure would relieve some of the complaints, he said, and the county plans to use the study to secure funding to widen the interstates and improve other roads.
In his recent state of the county speech, Walsh said economic development is a "top priority," and "major developments are a possibility in our county, but without the necessary infrastructure in place to handle the flow of traffic safely, we may not be able to move forward," he said then.
Katie Hunt, an Elwood resident who opposes the development, said she has been in Elwood her entire life, but if Compass Business Park moves in, she will move out.
"I don't want to be in a place where I have to look at ugly warehouses instead of farmland," she said.
While NorthPoint's proposed bridge would keep trucks off routes 53 and 52, it will still add traffic onto CenterPoint's property, Arsenal Road, Baseline Road, and interstates 55 and 80, and "would double what we have now," Walsh said,
Advertisement
According to NorthPoint, there would be 3,415 trucks per day in and out of the business park, and up to half of those would remain within Compass Business Park and the nearby intermodals, as trucks would transport goods from the rail cars to the warehouses and never use the interstates.
Additionally, NorthPoint officials told the committee, there could be 14,000 employees at full build-out, generating up to 1,600 vehicles during the peak evening rush hour.
The park would have 11 entrances for employees, including the bridge.
Robinson said area residents previously opposed housing developments on this land, which would have generated four times more traffic than the business park.
County board speaker Jim Moustis, R-Frankfort Township, reminded the committee that the area was once a "major military base" that employed about 20,000 people.
"The traffic has always been there. This is not something that would be new," he said.
Advertisement
Committee member Don Moran, D-Romeoville, noted that the freight study indicates that 66 percent of the trucks on the highways are passing through Will County and "will be here regardless" of future development.
He told Robinson he was "impressed with everything you had to say."
Aside from development issues, Hunt said her main concern is a lack of transparency from the village.
Hunt said the $38 million debt in general obligation bonds incurred for the CenterPoint intermodal center was never discussed publicly.
Gibson said Elwood does not have a lot of specific information regarding the financials of the business park proposal, nor the potential annexation agreement, but they are working on that now.
NorthPoint wanted to get public input first, she said, and she expects to see a submitted plan in a couple months.
Advertisement
"The only reason we are entertaining this is because the developer will build an overpass without state funding," Gibson said.
"My job is to get the best product from the developer, to make certain residents get the best project it can be," she said. "It's way too early to decide."
According to the proposal Robinson presented to the county board's economic development committee, NorthPoint will:
Provide $886 million in total tax revenue in the first 10 years, and $140 million in revenues annually after build-out.
Create 1,200 to 1,600 construction jobs during build-out.
Have a Project Labor Agreement, guaranteeing work with local unions.
Advertisement
Generate 15,000 permanent full-time jobs
Donate 27 acres of commercially zoned property along Route 53 to Elwood to begin a new retail zone.
Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >
Provide 400 acres of open space
Develop a "heritage farm" to honor the character of the area.
Provide a pedestrian connection from Elwood to Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, via the bridge.
Install signage on the interstates and roads directing trucks on where to go.
Advertisement
Create a learning and career center in Elwood to develop a qualified workforce with emphasis on manufacturing jobs.
slafferty@tribpub.com
Twitter @SusanLaff
Palos Township trustee Sharon Brannigan has apologized for Facebook comments about Middle Eastern immigration that have sparked protests demanding her resignation. (Zak Koeske / Daily Southtown)
For the third straight month, activists converged on Palos Township's board meeting to call for the resignation of a trustee who has made controversial comments about Middle Eastern immigrants.
About 100 protesters, young and old, packed the township boardroom, exterior hallway and spilled into the outdoor parking lot Monday to demand the resignation of Trustee Sharon Brannigan.
Advertisement
Brannigan, a former Republican congressional candidate, has come under fire for Facebook posts that suggested the area's schools were filling with undocumented Middle Eastern students and that bemoaned the increase in Muslim immigrants in the area.
"This campaign is not only about her resignation, this is to send a strong message, because such rhetoric is not acceptable," said Bassem Kawar, an organizer with the National Network of Arab American Communities. "This hate speech translates into violence in our communities, and we're trying to avoid that before it even begins."
Advertisement
Brannigan took down her Facebook page after the controversy erupted a few months ago, but has not apologized for the comments and has refused to resign.
The township canceled its meeting last month after it was unable to accommodate the large number of protesters, citing a potential violation of fire codes and the Open Meetings Act. Officials said they would work to secure a larger space for this month's meeting but failed to do so.
"Friday, we get notified that the meeting will be held in a parking lot," Kawar said. "(That) angered, outraged a big chunk of our community and our supporters.
"(Township officials) just refuse to take this issue seriously. This issue of racism is real. Communities are impacted by this."
Shortly before Monday night's meeting was set to begin, the township moved it from the township parking lot back inside to the same 42-seat boardroom that it knew could not accommodate the crowd.
Township Supervisor Colleen Grant-Schumann opened the meeting by saying the board had applied to hold the meeting elsewhere, including locals schools, but was denied because of the presence of children on the premises at those locations.
In an effort to comply with the Open Meetings Act, the township set up a public address system to enable residents who could not fit into the small boardroom to hear the meeting and speak during public comment.
The business of the meeting lasted less than five minutes. The board took no action other than approving the minutes from the July 10 meeting.
Advertisement
Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >
Afterward, the board opened the meeting to public comment. As of 8 p.m., the meeting was still in progress.
More than a dozen community members spoke out against Brannigan, the board members which many said they viewed as complicit for not demanding their colleague resign and for the indignity of initially scheduling the meeting in a parking lot.
"The decision to hold the meeting partly in a parking lot is shameful," one speaker said. "What gall it takes to fail to find a comfortable venue for your constituents. I wonder if you would have made the same decision if we were businessmen of the community. Would you have kept them outside in the fading light of day?"
Activists said they would continue coming to every township meeting until Brannigan resigns and have taken to distributing literature throughout the community in their campaign to pressure Brannigan into stepping down.
Palos Township, which encompasses all or portions of Bridgeview, Hickory Hills, Orland Park, Palos Heights, Palos Hills, Palos Park, Worth and Willow Springs, has one of the largest Arab populations in the state.
zkoeske@tribpub.com
Advertisement
Twitter @ZakKoeske
An aerial photograph shows the size of the building that will house the Accelerate Indoor Speedway under construction in Mokena. (Angle Drone Solutions Inc.)
Accelerate Indoor Speedway is planning an October opening at 8580 Springlake Drive in Mokena.
"Construction is on target for a soft opening in October," said general manager James Galdikas.
Advertisement
The indoor speedway is not, in Galdikas's words, "your father's go-kart track."
Accelerate is gigantic at about 75,000 square feet. The facility will have 45 adult carts and 16 junior carts. They are electric and will be powered in part from solar energy gleaned from panels on the roof.
Advertisement
"The carts are clean and emit no fumes," he said.
Drivers will be able to compete on two grand prix-style indoor tracks.
"We like to think that anyone from 8 to 80 can enjoy our facility," said Galdikas. The only requirement is for adults and children 13 and older to be 56 inches tall, "So you can reach the pedals."
He said the adult carts can fit just about anybody. "I'm a pretty big man and I can get in and out. One size fits many."
"These are fourth generation carts," he added. "They come from Italy and cost $10,000 each."
The adult carts can drive at speeds upwards of 50 mph and require some driving skills. The junior cars go considerably slower and are designed for younger drivers ages 8 and older and at least 48 inches tall.
"Everybody is safe on the track," said Dave Larson, managing partner for Accelerate, which has 11 locations on the East Coast. "Our core value is safety."
There is a continuous barrier system that keeps the carts on the track and away from danger.
Advertisement
The speedway can accommodate as many as 10 carts at a time. A race goes for 14 laps and takes about 8 minutes to finish.
"The idea is to race the clock for best time," said Larson. "You're not going head-to-head with other drivers."
"Unless it's a family outing, we don't let adults race against kids," said Galdikas.
Accelerate is planning on having leagues and hopes to attract parties and other gatherings.
"There's a full service Finish Line Bar & Grill in the mezzanine with a full view of the courses. There's also a gaming area," said Larson.
"We will be able to accommodate parties from eight to 300 people," he said. "We anticipate a variety of events such as sales meetings, reunions, wedding and bachelor parties."
Advertisement
Races will go for $20 and there will be a rewards program.
The Mokena location will be the company's first in Illinois. It's located near the end of 88th Avenue north of 191st Street by Interstate 80, which is one of its selling points.
"We are easily accessible from I-80," said Galdikas. "We're about midway between Harlem and LaGrange."
The speedway will have about 75 employees and hiring is underway. For job information, visit http://www.snagajob.com.
"We'll have our grand opening about a month after we open," said Galdikas. "We may try to set up a race between local politicians."
More information is at www.acceleratespeed.com/.
Advertisement
Circuit Breaker Sales to open first Midwest location
Circuit Breaker Sales Co. announced that its newest electrical equipment sales, service and repair facility is now open in Crown Point in northwest Indiana.
The new facility, which will host an open house from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. Sept. 15, is the third location, joining branches in Gainesville, Texas, and Lakeland, Fla.
The new Crown Point facility will provide electrical equipment, repair, remanufacturing, and life-extension services to commercial and industrial customers in the region, including steel mills, generating stations and utilities, hospitals and data centers. The new facility will maintain a large stock of low- and medium-voltage circuit breakers, while benefiting from the one of the country's largest inventories of electrical equipment and parts as part of the Group CBS network of electrical companies .
"When customers lose power, the loss of production can be devastating," Dean Klinger, operations manager for CBS Midwest, said in a release.
Until now, Midwest customers who need a repaired, remanufactured, or reconditioned circuit breaker through Group CBS had to ship the circuit breaker to Gainesville, buy an airline ticket to Texas to inspect the product, and then wait for its return. With the opening of the new CBS Midwest facility, customers will save time and money.
Advertisement
"With a local presence here, we can provide local field service support and a local inventory so we can get the equipment to customers in the area quicker," says Tim Chicki, shop supervisor. "We'll be able to drive it on a truck ourselves rather than risk being damaged in shipping it all the way to Gainesville. That doesn't happen often, but if you talk to a customer, once is one too many times."
CBS Midwest will work in close partnership with the Shermco Industries field service and sales organization in Minooka, located about an hour away in Will County.
CBS Midwest plans to initially stock 500600 circuit breakers. According to Klinger, plans to open a much larger facility are underway.
Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >
New ballroom opens in Lyons
John and Mary Puskar have opened a new ballroom in southwest suburban Lyons.
Floating on a Melody Ballroom opened earlier this year at 7905 Ogden Ave. in Lyons. Melody held its grand opening last week.
Advertisement
The historic building has housed a ballroom for more than 30 years. Most recently, it was known as Dance For Fun.
Co-owner John Puskar is a well-known dancer and instructor. During the week, the ballroom holds dance nights devoted to a specific type of dancing, including country and western, swing and Argentine Tango.
Melody offers group and individual dance lessons for adults from beginner through advanced.
More information is at 630-546-0051 or www.floating-on-a-melody.com.
Protesters gather at the Federal Building at Congress Parkway and Clark Street in Chicago on Sept. 5, 2017, to protest President Donald Trump's action against the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
Don't panic. Get informed.
That's the message South Chicago Heights attorney Julissa Ruiz and immigrant rights advocates have for young immigrants, whose lives have been tossed into turmoil by President Donald Trump's controversial decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, giving Congress just six months to save the 2012 program.
Advertisement
Some 800,000 young people, including about 42,000 in Illinois, have been able to gain temporary deportation protections, work permits and to go to college because of the program created under an executive order signed by former President Barack Obama to assist immigrants who were illegally brought to the U.S. as children.
Julissa Ruiz (Julissa Ruiz)
For young people who applied for DACA protection, there were always some risks that the next administration would come in and potentially do away with it, said Ruiz, adding it has always been important for these young people to do their homework on options "no matter what administration" is in office.
Advertisement
Ruiz, whose law practice areas include immigration, said some young people may be able to gain legal status and protection from deportation through other means, for example, if:
They can prove they have lived in the U.S. for 10 years and are of good moral character and their deportation would be a hardship to a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident.
They are married to a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident or have a child who is a U.S. citizen.
They have been a victim of domestic abuse.
Fred Tsao, senior policy counsel, with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, adds individuals who've been victims of other crimes also may be eligible to gain legal status.
"Every situation, especially in immigration law, is very nuanced, so it's really important to seek legal counsel to find out exactly your situation," stressed Ruiz, adding there are community organizations that do a great job in providing guidance for free.
Tsao echoed that sentiment and advises young people to be on the alert for scams.
"With any such announcement, there are going to be people coming out of the woodwork who want to take advantage and relieve people of their money, of their hard-earned savings, so do not fall for scams," he said. "Get good information, and make sure you have good support. Be aware of the resources that are out there, not just legal help but also community support mental health support, educational support."
Advertisement
ICIRR, based in Chicago, has a family support network and hotline to assist individuals living in the country without legal permission, and the mental health of DACA recipients is among its focus areas.
"The mental health and well-being of these DACA recipients is a foremost concern for us, and so we had already been working with mental health professionals to provide counseling and guidance for people who may be feeling vulnerable or depressed or anxious," Tsao said.
"So, we are activating those networks. We have a hotline where people can call to speak with a mental health professional. We have rosters of other resources for mental health care on our website as well as for legal resources and community support, other types of assistance. So we are trying to provide what assistance we can and refer to those resources that we know are available."
Tsao said for DACA recipients who may have received permission to travel outside the country, he'd recommend against it in this current environment.
"It's really uncertain whether the permission to re-enter the United States would be honored," he said.
Since the Trump administration announced its planned DACA wind down last week, ICIRR has been focused on educating DACA recipients "on just exactly what this announcement means, the fact that people who never got DACA to begin with can't apply now, that certain people whose DACA (protection) will expire in the next few months will be able to renew for another two years, but beyond that, if it expires after March 5, they will not have the opportunity to renew unless there is a further change."
Advertisement
The organization also has been providing reassurances that if individuals have a work permit already under DACA, they can still work.
"If you got a Social Security number based on that work permit, that number is yours, and it's yours for life," Tsao said. "You can use it for many other purposes like filing taxes or opening bank accounts."
For DACA recipients in Illinois if they have a Social Security number, they can get a regular driver's license, and even if DACA ultimately ends, they can still get a temporary visitors driver's license, he said.
Given Congress' deplorable track record of being unable to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation, Tsao expressed frustration when asked if he expects Congress to act within the six months to remove DACA recipients from the nightmare limbo they are now in.
"Let's just say that something has to be done," he said. "I don't think anybody really wants to see 800,000 young people become vulnerable to deportation and lose their future opportunities here in the United States."
But he said advocates are concerned about what's going to be attached to whatever legislation actually moves forward.
Advertisement
"Many of the people who benefit from DACA do not want to benefit at the expense of their parents or their neighbors or other people," Tsao said. "The big question is going to be what is going to be acceptable that moves through Congress that still offers basic protection for DACA recipients and for others we would hope."
Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >
Ruiz, who is the daughter of Mexican immigrants and who was born in Chicago and raised in the south suburbs, said her law office received texts and calls following the announcement. She said she was saddened and angered by Trump's decision.
"It's going to be a huge detriment," she said.
But she said she doesn't expect the "Dreamers" to become major targets of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation "only because the courts are overwhelmed right now with immigration matters and cases.
"To try to gather everyone and put them through the procedure of removal, it just seems to me like the government, as of right now, doesn't have all of the resources available, and it seems like that would tie up the system. I think courts are so overloaded right now and overwhelmed with more serious matters, drug offenders, drug traffickers, violent offenders and all of those, I doubt that these students are going to be first priority."
Ruiz is doubtful Congress will meet the six-month deadline to pass legislation that will protect the DACA recipients.
Advertisement
"I think it's unlikely," she said. "But who knows. I have to be hopeful . You never know, a miracle could happen."
Fknowles.writer@gmail.com
Anne Jamieson, the technology and education librarian at the Deerfield Public Library, gets ready for the program she will offer Sept. 14 on ancestry DNA. (Steve Sadin / Pioneer Press)
Anne Jamieson, the technology and education librarian at the Deerfield Public Library, has a keen interest in genealogy.
Always thinking she was equal parts Irish, Scotch, French and Polish, Jamieson took a DNA test and got some surprises. She now knows she has some Finnish ancestry and is a tiny bit Jewish.
Advertisement
"I always wanted to be a Viking," Jamieson said, referring to her Finnish background. "Now I know that I am."
Jamieson will lead a discussion about ancestry DNA at 6 p.m. on Sept. 14 at the library to share her personal test results and give participants insights into how they can research their own backgrounds.
Advertisement
Jamieson actually took three DNA tests from three different companies to learn more about her heritage. None of the results were the same. That is part of what she will share with people who come to hear her presentation.
"I will show how the results will help with genealogical research," Jamieson said. "I will show how they help you to do your own research into your own ancestry. It can help you determine if a document is relevant."
When Jamieson decided to take the tests, she sent samples to Ancestry.com, 23andMe and MyHeritage. She wanted to be as inclusive as possible and the result was learning more about her family background.
According to Ancestry.com, Jamieson said she learned 40 percent of her background came from the British Isles, which includes Ireland, 30 percent from Western Europe and 30 percent from Eastern Europe.
All three sources reported the same 40 percent from the British Isles but then it got different because 23andMe and MyHeritage were more precise, she said. Jamieson learned from 23andMe the remainder of her ancestry was 11 percent Finnish, 20 percent Western European and 39 percent Eastern European.
From MyHeritage, Jamieson said she was told she was eight percent Finnish, 32 percent Eastern European and 20 percent of her ancestry was based in the Iberian Peninsula. Both MyHeritage and 23andMe let her know she was 1.5 percent Ashkenazi Jewish.
The potential Spanish or Portuguese background was not a shock to Jamieson but her Jewish background was a surprise. She said she had a French Canadian grandparent and had traced that part of her family back to the 1670s.
"They came from the border area around Spain," Jamieson said of that branch of her family. "Someone must have married someone Jewish a long time ago."
Advertisement
Aaron Godfrey, the vice president of marketing for MyHeritage, said algorithms used by different companies vary creating a potential difference in test results. He said his company has 42 ethnicities in its data base while others have 30 or less. Still, he said it is an inexact science.
"Although the result of sophisticated algorithms based on large amounts of data, (this) is still an estimate," Godfrey said in an email. "Some ethnicities are genetically very similar to, and hard to distinguish from, other ethnicities, so mistakes may happen."
Rachel Reichblum, a spokeswoman for 23andMe, said her company uses 31 ancestry populations to help determine a person's family background.
"Each company measures a different set of hundreds of thousands of genetic variants from which they gather an individual's genetic information," Reichblum said in an email. "Because these three things differ by company assignment algorithms, reference populations and the genetic information itself being gathered for analysis there will be differences in the results."
Though not totally precise, Jamieson said the DNA tests can set a person in the right direction when they begin to study their own background. For example, it will help to know whether a particular ship manifest is an appropriate place to look.
Jamieson said people may learn about relatives they did not know they had through a DNA ancestry test. In her case, it confirmed some distant cousins she already knew about through her own research.
Advertisement
Steve Sadin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Elgin police and firefighters formed an honor guard Monday morning to present colors at the city's commemoration of Sept. 11, 2001. (By Mike Danahey/Courier-News )
Speakers at Elgin's remembrance of the events of 9/11 stressed the positives they saw in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks.
"It's hard to believe 16 years have passed since that fateful day," Tricia Dieringer of Elgin American Legion Post 57 said outside City Hall on Monday. "It's important to remember what happened and the resiliency our people, our nation has always shown."
Advertisement
The hurricane-related efforts underway in Texas and Florida provide further example that in times of trouble Americans reach out to help each other, Dieringer said.
Mayor Dave Kaptain said that we cannot deny that Sept. 11, 2001 was a dark day, but the bright side was the way people came together to lend a hand.
Advertisement
On Sept. 11, 2001 terrorists linked to radical extremist Muslim terror group al Qaeda launched coordinated attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. with another, thwarted attempt resulting in a plane crashing in a field in Pennsylvania. As a result, about 3,000 people died, nearly 6,000 were injured and the United States wound up engaged in long-running wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
People are inundated with news about the dark side, Kaptain said, and there should be more talk of the good, from what happened after 9/11 to the relief efforts happening now in Houston.
"After what happened on Sept. 11, I saw people change. People were willing to help each other. In my own neighborhood this summer, after a big storm, people were out helping each other clean up. That's what this country should be like."
Fire Chief Dave Schmidt told those gathered that when firefighters die, tradition is for members of other departments or fire houses to attend the funeral services. After Sept. 11, 2001, in New York City there was smaller firefighter attendance at memorials in part because there were 343 NYC fire department funerals and many first responders were busy at the World Trade Center site, sifting through debris looking for bodies.
Schmidt and eight other Elgin firefighters headed to New York for three days, where they visited fire stations in five boroughs, attended seven funeral services and saw the ruins of the World Trade Center.
The experience showed that people were determined to be defined by their resiliency, not their fear, Schmidt said, and he urged people to get involved and do things in their communities.
Police Chief Jeff Swoboda recalled the days and months after 9/11 showed how the country responds when people are in need.
"We all need to commit to identifying evil, intolerance and hate and to never sitting by quietly when people act to harm each other," Swoboda said.
Advertisement
During her remarks, guest speaker Lt. Governor Evelyn Sanguinetti also recalled how people came together to help each other.
Two stories from Sept. 11 that moved her were those of New York City Fire Department Chaplain Father Mychal Judge and Wheaton resident Todd Beamer.
Judge became one of the first officially recorded victims of the two planes colliding into the World Trade Center. He died at the World Trade Center while saying prayers for those involved in the rescue efforts and the injured. He was also giving last rites to those who already had perished. His actions showed the goodness of the American people, Sanguinetti said.
Beamer was one of the passengers onboard United Airlines Flight 93, which had been hijacked by terrorists. He and a group of other passengers prevented the plane from heading to Washington, D.C. by fighting with the terrorists. The flight crashed in a field near Shanksville, Penn.
Sanguinetti said the actions of Beamer and the others showed the importance of doing something beyond ourselves and of facing malice and hatred with courage. She told the audience to think about the goodness that makes us Americans.
Dieringer concluded the commemoration by suggesting those there hug their loved ones, say hello to strangers and help those in need.
Advertisement
Sandy Wyruchowski and Deb Engel of Elgin attended the ceremony out of respect for those who died that day, Wyruchowski said.
Of all the talk of helping each other, Engel said, "I think we need to hear more of that. Sometimes out of horrible things, some good can come."
mdanahey@tribpub.com
Trump hardest-working president: To the caller who said Trump better keep Obamacare and get off his rear for the old people: First of all, this president works dawn to dusk and later for us. He is the hardest-working leader we have ever had. And as far as worrying about old people, they should be on Medicare at age 65 if they worked. Why are you worrying about the old people on Medicare? Democrats are the obstructionists here. Whatever Trump does, they turn down. I feel sorry for them.
Get Trump out: I wish someone in this country was more powerful than Trump. I guess that would be the Senate and House together. They need to get this man out. We are very, very close to nuclear war. The North Korea leader is a warmonger, and we've know this for years. We never had this problem except in the '60s with (President John F.) Kennedy, (Cuban leader Fidel) Castro and (Russian leader Nikita) Khrushchev. That was avoided. This, I don't know. This really, really scared me when I was watching TV. I wanted to cry. What does Trump think? The man has a big mouth. That's all he ever had. Yeah, he may be doing some good, but for the rich. This is scary. I am old, and I have never been this scared.
Advertisement
Removing Confederate images: Why stop at removing the Confederate flag and statues of generals? How about sandblasting the image of the Confederate armies off the side of the Georgia mountain? Also, remove all the Confederate grave markers in all the cemeteries. Plus, Texas carried their lone star flag into battle for the South, so have Texas remove its flag. That I've got to see.
Selective targets: The anti-hate groups around this nation appear to be selective with their targets. They are ignoring the 50-ton elephant in the room. That being the murder-infested neighborhoods in Chicago. Hatred thrives there. Especially on weekends, when the killing escalates. Of course, they will not have white supremacists, Nazis, the Confederate flag or President Trump to put blame on.
Advertisement
Healing hearts: Some in our country are going completely crazy, attacking Trump supporters, not allowing them to speak at universities, and now they are tearing down historical statues as if the hate will suddenly leave when that statute hits the ground. Statues are not the problem. They can take away every Civil War statue, and hate will still survive. Our country has to get back to God and ask him to heal our hearts. Love one another. The presidency is a four-year term. Deal with it like we had to deal with Obama. Don't give him so much trouble.
Open meetings required: My comment is about the City Council in Elgin not recording their meeting last Saturday. You know what, you guys you are guilty of hiding from the public. Shame on all of you. What are you hiding from? If you do not like speaking in front of cameras, Rose Martinez and Carol Rauschenberger, then resign or learn how to speak. One more thing, when all of you do things like this, you make me regret not voting for the former councilman (John) Prigge.
Editor's note
Speak Out is a reader-generated column of opinions. If you see something you disagree with or think is incorrect, call us at 312-222-2460 or email couriernews@tribpub.com. Please include "speak out" in the subject line.
Next week's ballot offers some intrigue for North Dakotans from late congressional entries by independent candidates to term limits and marijuana legalization. Voters will decide whether to endorse changing the state constitution to limit the terms of the governor and state legislators. Another citizen-led initiative also will put the question of marijuana legalization before voters, who rejected the idea four years ago. Ninety-eight of the Legislatures 141 seats are on the ballot. All but one Democrat is up for reelection this year. Contests for secretary of state, attorney general and other state offices Also will appear on the ballot.
Retired Evanston Fire Department Captain Dale Fochs rings the bell during during a Sept. 11 memorial ceremony at Firemen's Park in Evanston on September 11, 2017. (Mark Kodiak Ukena/Pioneer Press )
Evanston commemorated the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks Monday with a solemn ceremony at Fireman's Park in the north suburb, with many people reflecting on how the remembrance has evolved over the last 15 years.
As a bugle's blare filled the park and a bell was tolled to remember the lives lost and others forever changed some Evanston officials noted that a number of police officers and firefighters have since retired and a new generation has come along that remembers little about that day.
Advertisement
"I was a young firefighter during 9/11," said Paul Polep, division chief with the Evanston Fire Department.
Now, he has a 16-year-old son who has no memory of the planes flying into the World Trade Center twin towers in New York City. And no recollection of hijacked planes striking the Pentagon or crashing into a rural Pennsylvania field.
Advertisement
"We're in a generation where, some of the folks, they weren't part of it," Polep said. For them, "it's a different feel."
Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 15 Police Department employee Kathy Koubek carries an American flag with the name of local resident and 9/11 victim Jeff Mladenik during the 9/11 Patriot Day Memorial Ceremony on Sept. 11, 2017, in Oak Brook. Mladenik was on American Airlines Flight 11, one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center. Koubek organized more than 300 volunteers to place all the flags. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
The division chief was one of an estimated 100 police officers, firefighters, elected officials, residents and more who gathered at around 8:15 a.m. Monday at Evanston's Firemen's Park to honor those who lost their lives during the terrorist attacks.
The approximately one-hourlong ceremony included comments fire department Chief Brian Scott, Mayor Steve Hagerty, police Chief Richard Eddington and state Rep. Laura Fine, D-Glenview.
Former Evanston resident Mark Shore told his story of surviving the carnage from the hijacked airplane flying through the South Tower, which was hit about 20 minutes after the first plane struck its taller twin building, the North Tower.
Evanston police Commander Joseph Dugan said he doesn't believe the service has changed too much since the first anniversary, although the crowd slimmed down after the first couple of years. It's held steady since, he said.
Some 400 emergency personnel, including over 340 firefighters and dozens of police officers, died as a result of responding to the tower attacks, according to official reports.
It's important to "honor their lives and keep that memory going," Dugan said. "For young people coming up, it's part of our history now."
His own child was only 3 months old on 9/11.
Advertisement
The terrorist attacks permanently changed the outlook of many police officers, firefighters and other first responders, Dugan said.
He said most young officers realize the impact it made on their profession.
For Dugan, the anniversary also brings back memories of how the country came together in the aftermath of the tragedy.
"There seemed to be a lot more unity then," Dugan said. "It's good to be reminded of that stuff."
For Polep, the anniversary takes him right back to where he was on the day the attacks happened.
"As you're going through the ceremony you look back at who you were and who you were hanging out with then," Polep said.
Advertisement
"You forget it throughout the year," he said, but "you see one image and it all comes back."
gbookwalter@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @GenevieveBook
North Shore School District 112 may consolidate dual language classes at academies next school year when it implements a new school closing plan to be announced in October.
The idea has sparked both support and opposition in the past.
Advertisement
District 112 currently offers dual language instruction at Oak Terrace, Red Oak and Sherwood elementary schools. The large program mixes Spanish-speaking children learning English with English-speaking children whose parents have elected to give them a solid foundation in Spanish from an early age.
Oak Terrace School in Highwood effectively functions as a dual language school now because only one classroom out of 27 is not dual language. Children who live in the Oak Terrace area who opt for English-only instruction are shifted to Wayne Thomas Elementary School in north Highland Park.
Advertisement
But in southwest Highland Park, dual language pupils are divided among Red Oak and Sherwood elementary schools, which also house English-only classes. The split system has resulted in classes with as few as 13 and 14 students, and fewer educational opportunities for students, according to advocates of consolidation.
Arielle Nobile, a dual language parent at Red Oak, believes the academies will result in less diversity among students and staff and offer students from non-English-speaking households less exposure to English. Nobile, who addressed the school board Sept. 5, also suggested the consolidation would result in a higher concentration of low-income and at-risk students.
"I was surprised to hear at the last board meeting what sounded like overwhelming support for the academy model," Nobile told the board. "We pretend the plans presented at this point do not discriminate along racial and socioeconomic lines."
Nobile said the move would segregate students into dual language academies.
"It sounds like the 'separate but equal' model from back in the 1960s," she said.
Last fall, the district was poised to create dual language academies at Red Oak and Oak Terrace elementary schools in conjunction with a plan to close schools for the 2017-18 year. In January, the academies were put on hold along with the entire school closing plan following the abrupt resignation of the superintendent.
Under most scenarios, dual language pupils from the Red Oak and Sherwood areas would attend Red Oak, while monolingual students would attend Sherwood, which is adjacent to Red Oak. The program also would draw students from outside the attendance area.
Oak Terrace parent Marcie Faust strongly supports the academy concept after seeing the program at Oak Terrace evolve to encompass nearly the entire school.
Advertisement
"I have really seen more social opportunities for my son because there are just more children in the program," said Faust, whose children are enrolled in third and fifth grade dual language classes.
She also has a preschool child enrolled in a dual language program.
"Of course you go to school for academic purposes," said Faust, an educator in neighboring District 109. "But let's not kid ourselves. Children go to school for social relationships as well. Otherwise we would teach them at home."
Faust does not share the view that native Spanish speakers would benefit from the additional exposure to English that a more diverse school might provide.
"We live in a print-rich environment that is all English," Faust said. "You go to extracurricular activities and they are in English."
At the middle school level, District 112 may split dual language students between Northwood Junior High and Edgewood Middle School, rather than continuing the practice of sending all dual language students to Northwood.
Advertisement
The practice has come under fire from residents who say it accentuates the disparities between schools and perpetuates the historic divisions between the north and south ends of the district.
kberkowitz@pioneerpress.com
Runners cross the finish line inside the gates of Fort Sheridan at the Fort Sheridan 9/11 5K Remembrance Formation Run Challenge on Sept. 10. (Gina Grillo / Pioneer Press)
The Great Lakes Training Division hosted their second annual 9/11 Remembrance Formation Run Challenge on Sept. 10, inviting citizens to run alongside military members in tribute to the lives that were lost on Sept. 11, 2001.
After opening remarks by Commanding General John Hussey, the 5K run stepped off from inside the gates of Fort Sheridan. An estimated 400 runners made their way through the streets of downtown Highwood.
Advertisement
Lt. Col. Kevin Coleman, who organized the event, said it's especially unique to include community members in a military formation run with cadence calling. Route markers along the way read "Always Remembered, Never Forgotten," and members of Highwood Veterans of Foreign Wars, Great Lakes Naval Station and Color Guard also participated.
"This was a day for remembrance, resolve and renewal," Coleman said, "(It's) about coming together to remember the nearly 3,000 Americans who did not return home to their families after the tragedy, as well as those members of our armed forces who served in conflict since."
Advertisement
The run also included the 33 tenant units of Fort Sheridan.
"This community has really been behind us, supportive and helpful in so many ways, providing security and EMT assistance to Fort Sheridan," Coleman said. "This annual event is just a way to tie into what ties us together all year."
Lt. Gen. Charles D. Luckey offered closing remarks to all those in attendance.
"It is always important to have an opportunity to spend time with our soldiers, to honor the sacrifices that have been made and those that will continue to be made." Luckey said.
Gina Grillo is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Esmeralda Saenz of Countryside signs in with Jeff Sims, fitness center attendant, at the new La Grange Park District fitness center. (Annemarie Mannion/Pioneer Press )
The Park District of La Grange welcomed its first members Monday to its new fitness center at 536 East Ave.
Esmeralda Saenz of Countryside was one of the first to visit the $2.2 million center.
Advertisement
"I'm retired so I am looking for something to keep me active," she said.
Kevin Kolb of La Grange was already working out.
Advertisement
"So far. So good," he said. "It's nice to have new equipment and brand new facility."
He used to work out at a gym that was 15 minutes from his house. This one is only five minutes.
"This is convenient," he said. "There are not that many gyms in La Grange."
Park district director Dean Bissias said the center is on track toward its goal of signing up 1,200 members.
"We're happy we already have 200 or so," he said.
He expects the membership to increase as more people seek to work out indoors.
"It's not yet (indoor) fitness season yet," he said.
The new 15,000-square-foot center was constructed in an area formerly was used for storage. Its amenities include cardio machines and weights, a yoga room with a heated floor and a spin room. Group exercise classes also are offered.
Advertisement
The district received a $987,000 state grant to pay for part of the cost of the center.
A grand opening is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Oct. 14.
amannion@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @triblocalam
A Gurnee man was being held on $1 million bail after his arrest Tuesday morning on charges of child sexual abuse that allegedly occurred in Round Lake Park.
Rodrick R. Linnear, 36, was arrested by Round Lake Park police at his place of employment in Waukegan Tuesday morning following a month-long investigation into allegations of the sexual abuse of a minor, according to Round Lake Park Police Chief George Filenko.
Advertisement
Filenko said the investigation began after a parent of the alleged victim, who was under the age of 13, came to police in early August.
Linnear is charged with four counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a minor, and one count of criminal sexual abuse, and is being held in Lake County jail in lieu of $1 million bail.
Advertisement
Filenko said Round Lake Park police investigated the case in a joint effort with the Lake County Children's Advocacy Center and the Northeastern Illinois Crime Lab.
The investigation revealed that several alleged incidents occurred over a four-month period between the victim and the offender, Filenko said.
The minor was known to Linnear and was not a random victim, the chief said.
"Some things that occur in our society related to crime against the most vulnerable, our children, are inexplicable," Filenko said.
jrnewton@tribpub.com
Twitter @jimnewton5
The body of the victim found in the rubble of an explosion in Grandwood Park near Gurnee last week has been identified as a man who was neither shot nor stabbed, according to authorities.
Lake County Coroner Howard Cooper reported Tuesday that his office is not able to positively identify the victim through dental records at this time and will use DNA, "which could take months," he said.
Advertisement
"We're going to try and expedite the results," Cooper added, saying authorities have a good idea of the man's identity, but it cannot be officially confirmed. He said the victim suffered severe burns in the explosion and ensuing fire on Friday, and dental records were not available.
"But it does not look like there is any foul play," he said, referring to an absence of bullet or stab wounds on the body.
Advertisement
Christopher Covelli, spokesman for the Lake County Sheriff's Office, said the incident remains under investigation by the Sheriff's Office, Illinois State Fire Marshal and the Gurnee Fire Department.
"We continue to determine if the explosion and fire were suspicious in nature," Covelli said, adding the sheriff's arson investigator is working with the other authorities to make that determination.
According to the Sheriff's Office, officers were dispatched at 6:05 p.m. to the 36300 block of Streamwood Drive in unincorporated Gurnee, about a mile west of Gurnee Mills, in the Grandwood Park subdivision.
When deputies arrived, they found the home leveled and engulfed in flames, according to a news release. The body was later found after a ruptured gas line was cut off and firefighters had completely put out the blaze at about 8:30 p.m.
According to the news release, six nearby homes were damaged by the debris from the explosion, which a neighbor described as a "sonic boom." Sheriff's Office Sgt. Sara Balmes said a female occupant from one of the homes sustained a minor injury from falling debris inside her home. Balmes added that the woman was treated and released at the scene.
fabderholden@tribpub.com
Twitter @abderholden
Hundreds gathered near the Municipal Center in Naperville Monday night as the sun was setting to remember the anniversary of the terrorist attacks that claimed thousands of lives on Sept. 11, 2001.
"I think it's important to remember and not forget where we were 16 years ago, as well as those who lost their lives," said Eileen Vaupel of Naperville. "We have different enemies and demons now, and as technology becomes more sophisticated, I feel we become more vulnerable."
Advertisement
A memorial service that began at 6 p.m. wrapped up a day of remembrance that began at noon with a Millennium Carillon concert that included a ringing of the "Big Joe" bell as well as a carillon musical selection entitled "In Memoriam" that was penned after the attacks.
The evening event began with the city's Municipal Band playing at 5:45, and was once again offered by the Exchange Club of Naperville.
Advertisement
City communications manager Linda LaCloche said it's important "to remember and honor those who have made sacrifices" as well as instruct those who weren't alive yet to experience the tragedy.
"Kids who are going into high school as freshmen this year weren't even born yet," LaCloche noted. "This is something we need to teach future generations."
Mayor Steve Chirico spoke of keeping alive the memory of Naperville's own Commander Dan Shanower, who was killed in the attack on the Pentagon, where he worked.
"On a personal level, we lost one of our own, and so this has become personal," Chirico said. "But we also have the awareness that the United States is free, although we have to be vigilant and do things differently."
Service groups from throughout Naperville, including those from the Naperville Explorer program, appeared in uniform Monday during the annual Naperville 9/11 remembrance ceremony. ( David Sharos/Naperville Sun )
LaCloche said the annual memorial continues to draw people from throughout the Naperville area and that the city continues to have a direct connection to the events of that horrific day.
"We have this event at the Commander Dan Shanower Memorial, who was one of our own, so this continues to strike a chord," she said.
This year's featured speaker was Lanson W. "Lanny" Russell, a retired chief from the DeKalb Fire Department who was serving when a Northern Illinois University student killed five students and injured 18 others back in 2008.
Lanson delivered more than a 10-minute address, in which he compared the "Greatest Generation" from World War II with those who served following the attacks on the World Trade Center.
Advertisement
"Just as the Greatest Generation will always remember the smoking hulls of ships and sailors lost at Pearl Harbor, we will remember 'The Pile'," Lanson said. "The fires burned for 99 days but that did not stop hundreds of firefighters, police officers, and construction workers. There were 2,975 people killed that day, and they weren't just numbers. They were moms and dads, husbands and wives, children, brothers, sisters and friends."
Those who came to pay their respects including Ray and Kristie Sujewicz of Naperville spoke about the sacrifice made by others as well as the blessings America still enjoys.
"We come each year to this because we feel strongly the need to never forget what happened," Kristie Sujewicz said. "Watching the coverage is difficult, and fortunately we can turn the TV off and it goes away. For many people, tomorrow is another day of the same thing and there is no end for them."
"These kinds of affairs support the troops and our flag and patriotism," added Ray Sujewicz. "It's important to show each generation as we go forward that we continue our due diligence."
Delaney Jones, 15, of Sycamore said she felt a special connection to Monday's event because her mother serves as a firefighter in Naperville.
"The events of that day changed the lives of everyone, because on that day families were torn apart and were never the same again," Jones said.
Advertisement
Rosemary Thomas, Jones' grandmother, recognized her own daughter could have very easily been in harm's way.
"My daughter is a firefighter and she could have been one of those who stepped in to help," Thomas said. "Fortunately, she wasn't, but I feel for those who lost loved ones that day. I wish the world was as it was before, but we can't change it. There is a new reality."
MINOT Identified cases of voter fraud are rare in North Dakota, but weaknesses in the election system and lack of prosecution does leave room for getting away with it, according to information from the North Dakota Secretary of State's Office.
"While some individuals argue that there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud, there are others who argue the exact opposite. Regardless, the truth is that under the current forms of election administration, it is not possible to establish whether widespread voter fraud does or does not exist because it is difficult to determine either way when proof is not required of voters when registering or prior to voting," Secretary of State Al Jaeger wrote to the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity.
When cases are suspected, he wrote, "This office has often been informed the State's Attorneys have cases of 'greater consequence' on which to focus. Unfortunately, there can be no convictions when there is no will to prosecute."
Jaeger's comments came in response to a series of questions submitted by the Advisory Commission on Election Integrity. Created by President Donald Trump, the commission made a controversial request to states for voter information, which many states have refused to provide. Jaeger sent a letter to the commission Sept. 5, stating North Dakota is unable to provide the information because it does not register voters and state law allows information in the Central Voter File to only be shared with certain individuals or groups and for a specific limited purpose. However, Jaeger provided information about election practices that spoke of the difficulty in preventing fraud.
In 2013, North Dakota began requiring voters to show a driver's license or other non-driver's ID at the polls. Jaeger said the decision was prompted by nine suspected instances of double voting in the 2012 general election, which none of the state's attorneys in those counties chose to prosecute. In 2016, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction, stating North Dakota's law lacked a "fail safe" option for those without an ID. As a result, the state went back to using a voter's affidavit, which allows people to cast ballots after signing oaths of their qualifications to vote.
In the 2012 general election, 10,519 North Dakota voters used the affidavit. In the 2016 general election, 16,232 ballots were cast by voters who signed affidavits. These votes are counted prior to attempts to verify the qualifications of the voters, which Jaeger explained could be problematic in close races. In 2012, the U.S. Senate race was decided by 2,936 votes. Because ballots are anonymous, it is not possible to identify and recall a ballot if a voter is found to be ineligible.
More than eight months after certification of the 2016 general election results, efforts are still ongoing to confirm the qualifications of the 16,232 voters who signed affidavits, Jaeger said in the letter.
"Although no contests of elections were filed in court, the inability to verify the qualifications of voters before the votes were counted raises questions that cannot be answered regarding the election results," he said.
States share voter data to track potential double voting but that also isn't a prevention tool.
"If double voting occurred, the proper authorities will be notified and hopefully prosecutions will be sought. However, even if prosecutions occur, the results will stand since the votes from those who were unqualified cannot be determined for removal," Jaeger wrote.
Following the 2016 election, the state investigated the qualifications of seven voters suspected to be non-citizens. Six were determined to be naturalized citizens. The seventh did not exist in any immigration database. The Secretary of State's Office is unaware whether federal law enforcement plans to pursue the issue.
During the 2014 and 2016 primary elections, only one suspected case of voter fraud was identified. It was determined that a father cast an absentee ballot for his daughter in another city attending college, where she voted in person. The Secretary of State's Office is unaware of any prosecution associated with the case.
"Even a single fraudulent vote can impact the results of the election, " Jaeger wrote. "This is especially true when considering how many contests are decided by small differences in votes between those who were elected and those who were not. The integrity of elections is improved when the qualifications of electors is verified prior to voting."
Jaeger recommended the use of the REAL ID, which all states will soon be issuing, as voter identification. For voters without a driver's license, a non-driver's REAL ID could be issued without charge, he said. Congress approved the REAL ID Act in 2005 to set security standards for driver's licenses and identification cards.
Case ongoing
in Burke County
A pre-trial conference has been scheduled for today in a case of suspected voter fraud in Burke and Ward counties. Dale Monte Larsen, Stanley, allegedly filed an absentee ballot in Bowbells in Burke County and then voted in Kenmare in Ward County.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed with the court in June, there was a mix-up. Larsen said he had stopped at the courthouse in Bowbells to fill out an absentee ballot, but it took too long so he left. He didn't think he had voted in Burke County, although he had been recorded as voting.
Larsen told authorities he had purchased property in Kenmare, so he voted there.
He is charged with Class A misdemeanor voter fraud in North Central District Court. A Class A misdemeanor carries a maximum sentence of up to a year in jail and $3,000 in fines.
Court records show Larsen has been an uncooperative defendant, refusing to provide a plea of guilty or not guilty and making inappropriate comments in court that resulted in a contempt order. The court ordered Larsen to be held in jail for a day, but the Mountrail County Jail refused to accept him without a medical examination, due to prior interactions between Larsen and the Mountrail County Sheriff's Office. Larsen refused medical attention, and the court dismissed its order at the request of the Burke County state's attorney.
Secretary of State Al Jaeger listed the case as one of at least two probable cases of double voting that occurred in the 2016 general election. The other instance involved an individual who cast an absentee ballot in North Dakota and voted in person in Idaho. The state was notified that since this was a single instance of double voting, and there was no evidence of conspiracy, the Federal Bureau of Investigation declined to prosecute.
Hundreds came to the Riverwalk Pavilion in Naperville Sunday to participate in the 15th annual Breathe Deep DuPage Walk to End Lung Cancer walk, which to date has raised over $600,000. (David Sharos/Naperville Sun )
Hundreds of walkers hit Naperville's Riverwalk Sunday for the Breathe Deep DuPage Walk to End Lung Cancer.
Sunday marked the 15th annual fundraising event, offered by Lungevity, the nation's largest non-profit lung focused group. Event manager Heather Domabyl said it was among 40 events nationwide, and the Naperville walk, like virtually all others, was a grass-roots effort.
Advertisement
"We oversee these events all over the country and usually someone in a community comes forward and wants to remember or honor someone who was lost, and we help them get things started," Domabyl explained.
Naperville resident and event coordinator Melissa Fosco is one of those people who has helped keep the local effort moving.
Advertisement
"My mother-in-law was someone I was very close to and she found out in 2009 she had lung cancer," Fosco said. "She died in 2011, and we decided to come out that year and walk here as a family. This is now our 7th year and, after two years of volunteering, I took on doing this event on my own. We need this to get the word out and raise more awareness."
Beverly Craney of Naperville said she has come to support the walk for nearly a decade after losing her mother to lung cancer 12 years ago.
"This weekend was her birthday, and I actually started a walk like this in Ohio for her when I lived there," Craney said. "Being part of this gives you a good feeling, and here in Naperville I've seen things grow. We've come a long way."
To date, the Naperville walk has raised $666,000 over its 15 year history and organizers said the goal this year was to reach $50,000.
"We usually get an average of about 400 to 500 participants, and our fundraising ranges from $40,000 to $65,000 annually," Domabyl said.
The event included either a or 1 -mile walk as well as a number of children's activities, refreshments, a silent auction and a raffle. A balloon launch kicked off the race.
Many wrote names and messages on the balloons. Others came as teams with T-shirts and pictures remembering those who have been stricken with the disease.
"This is the second time we've come to this event since my mom passed away," said Kristin Soyke, of Oswego. "My mom died in January of 2016 and she was just 64 years old. We were looking for a way to spread the word about cancer awareness, and we found this local event."
Advertisement
Soyke's daughter Elayna, 10, said the event "was a good way" to remember her grandmother.
"I like being able to support other people, and thinking that this is something my grandmother would like makes me feel good," Elayna said.
Elayna's grandfather, Terry King of Sherrard, said he was thankful to be doing something with his family.
"My wife Janet passed suddenly once they had the correct diagnosis, and it's been very gratifying since to see the efforts people are making," King said.
Barbara McCarthy of Lisle said her mother-in-law died in 2011, and the walk helps keep her memory alive.
"I think this is a great way to honor and amazing woman," Barbara McCarthy said.
Advertisement
"For me, this makes me feel good and is a way to keep our kids connected to their grandmother," added her husband, Steve McCarthy. "She was a big Packer fan and I'm wearing this shirt today for her."
The day was also one of celebration for survivors like Sue Van Dusen of West Chicago who has been battling cancer since 2007.
"It's great to see the support here and gives me hope," Van Dusen said, who is still undergoing treatment. "Sometimes I come here with family and other times, with friends. I'm always touched by the people and the balloons they make to remember friends and family."
Amanda Weinreis of Naperville wrote a lengthy message to her grandmother, who died in July, on a balloon.
"I see this as a way for our family to come together and include my grandmother in what we're doing, even though she's not physically here," Weinreis said. "She was 78, and this makes me feel like she's still here."
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
Laurie Lans left her career as an executive producer for a nationally syndicated radio show for the United States Navy. She served in Iraq and other combat zones. (Alex Keown / Naperville Sun )
Wherever Laurie Lans goes, she makes a point of trying to meet other Jews.
That's what she does when she goes to a grocery store, a new city or a war zone. In 2001, just weeks before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Lans left her career as an executive producer for the nationally syndicated Dennis Prager radio show for the United States Navy. Within two years, Lans, like so many others, found herself thrust into a combat theater in Iraq. She served a tour and rotated out of Iraq, only to return again as a naval intelligence officer in 2005.
Advertisement
Whether she was in a combat zone or a peacetime location Lans wanted to create connections with others, particularly people of her own faith, be they reformed, orthodox or secular. During a talk before a crowd of about 40 people at the Chabad of Naperville on Sunday, Lans, now retired from the Navy, stressed the importance of building relationships.
That resonated with Sean Gadd, of Naperville. Gadd thought he would hear war stories told from a Jewish perspective. Instead he was reminded about the importance of meeting people and creating lasting relationships.
Advertisement
"It's not what I was expecting, but it's something that really struck home. It's something we should all be better at," Gadd said.
For nearly 90 minutes Lans shared stories of her adventures while on active duty. Some were joyous, such as meeting a man during a 2005 Yom Kippur service in Iraq who would later become her husband. While in Iraq she also spearheaded an effort to raise a giant menorah in one of Saddam Hussein's palaces for Hanukkah. During her quest to get the menorah built, Lans said she expected to run into opposition from various military commanders, but instead received tremendous support. Even civilian contractors pitched in to make sure the menorah was built in time for Hanukkah. Part of it was to boost morale and some of it was certainly a way to take pleasure in the fact that the Jewish holiday would be celebrated in the palace of Saddam Hussein.
Others were more strenuous and difficult, including a time she was forced to travel to Kuwait under new papers that omitted her Jewish faith. Lans said her colleagues arranged for her to have a new U.S. passport since her old one included multiple Israel stamps something she said would have denied her entry. She also removed a necklace with a Jewish symbol that belonged to her mother. Lans was issued new dog tags that replaced notification of her Jewish faith with the initials NRP, which stands for no religious preference. Lans is proud of her Jewish heritage and that particular mission forced her to deny it for some time. She said that was something she could not do a second time.
Lans left the Navy to serve alongside her husband, a rabbi in the U.S. Army. With her husband, Moshe, she went to Afghanistan.
Lans told the crowd about a young man, about 18 years of age, who lost both of his legs to an improvised explosive device. The teen, who had lost a lot of blood, did not request to talk to his mother or make bargains for pain medicine. He begged Lans' husband to get him a Star of David so he could die while holding a symbol of his faith. Those types of symbols were difficult to come by in Afghanistan, but they were able to get a star for the teen. Fortunately Lans said he survived, now walking on two prosthetic legs and has become a father.
Sixteen years after terrorists killed more than 3,000 people in the Sept. 11 attacks Lans told the group it's important for the nation to hold onto God and each other and to make new connections.
Owen Elementary teacher Cara Koen, left, and Welch Elementary teacher Mary Kulaga conduct an experiment in the Dr. Myron Wentz Science Center at North Central College as part of the Project SMILE grant. (North Central College)
Teachers from Naperville and Aurora schools are learning how science lessons can inspire tomorrow's scientists and engineers.
This past summer elementary and middle school teachers from Indian Prairie District 204, West Aurora District 129 and All Saints Catholic Academy met with STEM industry professionals and college educators to learn how the math and science lessons they teach in their classrooms correlate to jobs today and in the future.
Advertisement
Dubbed Project SMILE (Science and Math In Line with Engineering), the program placed teachers into college laboratories and businesses where science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills are applied every day.
Costs and materials for Project SMILE were funded by a $500,000, two-year grant from the Illinois State Board of Education.
Advertisement
Teacher Kim Brouch of May Watts Elementary in Naperville said conversing with guest speakers helped her understand how science applies to real-world jobs. "I really want to bring that, even to my little first-graders," she said.
Fifth-grade teacher Arlene Plaza said her students at Georgetown Elementary in Aurora lack the ability to relate what they are learning to jobs later in life.
"I realized that we need to teach the kids that what we're learning in school translates into jobs. It translates into problem-solving," Plaza said.
The idea of teaching science can be daunting, particularly for elementary teachers who've been known to schedule science at the end of the day so they can drop the lesson when other subjects run long.
But that ability to forgo science changed dramatically in the last few years.
School districts not only adopted the Next Generation Science Standards and subsequent assessment testing, they also turned their science curricula upside down, focusing more on a student-driven, hands-on approach to learning rather than students memorizing facts from a textbook.
Project SMILE was developed to ease teachers' apprehensions about science by showing them what impact those lessons can have on students' lives.
Georgetown teacher Laura Gonzalez said she once was nervous about piloting the new science curriculum and whether she'd be able to effectively teach the new science standards.
Advertisement
The program allowed the third-grade teacher to attain a new passion for science.
"I always believe that if you're passionate about something, you can promote it and give it to other kids. Now I'm passionate more passionate about science and what I'm going to be able to teach these kids," Gonzalez said.
"I really feel like I can advocate it because I'm going to be able to make it fun for my kids. I think at the end that's what it's all about making education fun," she said.
Ultimately, the goal is to spark student interest and understanding of the role engineering plays in our local community and society, said Mary Kelly, Project SMILE's grant co-author and former middle school curriculum director in District 204.
"It was a huge mind shift for teachers," Kelly said.
Alice Iwinski, left, a teacher at Brookdale Elementary in Naperville, and Laura Gonzalez, a teacher at Georgetown Elementary in Aurora, conduct an experiment in the Dr. Myron Wentz Science Center at North Central College as part of the Project SMILE grant. (North Central College)
Tara Bell, Indian Prairie's district science coordinator and grant co-author, was impressed by how teachers who didn't care for science or math now want to include even more, noting some teachers joked they plan to start with science lessons and base the rest of their curriculum around it.
Advertisement
"The hands-on research engaged them as learners themselves. That premise is interwoven through this grant," Bell said.
Perhaps most surprising for the teachers, Bell said, was how many STEM professionals talked about a teacher who inspired them to pursue their career.
"Almost everybody rooted back to their educational experience as a young student," Bell said.
Among the subjects teachers studied this summer were materials science, computer science, nanotechnology, physics, three-dimensional printing, botany, chemistry and bioengineering.
Lessons were taught by professors at Northern Illinois University and North Central College as well as professionals in their individual fields.
For example, planting seeds is a basic biology lesson traditionally incorporated at all age levels in elementary school.
Advertisement
Bell said through the partnership with Ball Horticulture Co., an international company in West Chicago, teachers got inspired to put a new spin on old-school lessons.
"Horticulture is the best-kept secret in science, said President and CEO is Anna Ball, third-generation leader the family company.
"The power of plants is so exciting to students, once they are exposed to the diversity of horticulture. We are really thrilled to be working with the schools and teachers on Project SMILE," she said.
Because the grant is for two years, partnerships teachers created over the summer will continue throughout the year into next summer as they develop science lessons based on their interests and what they learned.
And the partnership with QuesTek Innovations in Evanston gave teachers a glimpse into an industry many teachers didn't know existed.
"There is a need to get school kids interested in science and excited about engineering to maintain the U.S. leadership in advanced materials that is critical to ensuring competitiveness in U.S. manufacturing sectors," said CEO Aziz Asphahani, whose company develops alloys and materials used in energy, defense, medicine and other ventures.
Advertisement
QuesTek materials science engineer Kerem Taskin said he enjoyed introducing teachers to the concepts and technologies his company uses every day and looks forward to building teachers' ideas to enrich students' curriculum.
"Integrating materials lessons into primary school curriculum is an interactive and effective way to introduce this ever-important and emerging field to young minds, and QuesTek was especially excited to work with the teachers to spark their students' interest in materials science," Taskin said.
Jacqueline Hardin, a University of Illinois student studying materials science who interned at QuesTek this summer and worked with teachers, said experiences as early as elementary school can spark a student's curiosity that could last throughout an entire career.
"Educators hold an essential position to share the importance of science and engineering ideas with students early in development," Hardin said.
"If we start them at an early age to be comfortable and be confident, if we put them in an environment to thrive with science, and they grow an interest or passion for any of these subjects, we have built a strong bridge for a bright future of problem-solvers," Hardin said.
Besides the partnership with the business and college communities, Project SMILE is unique because both public and private schools benefit.
Advertisement
All Saints got involved after Principal Melissa Santos was exploring a new middle school curriculum for her school based on the new science standards.
Santos said she sought advice from a friend who works in District 204 and was directed to contact Bell. It was through the professional collaboration with Bell that Santos learned about Project SMILE and inquired about being included.
"Maybe we can plant the seed for a future engineer or botanist," Santos said.
Besides working with college and industry leaders, the grant also enlisted the assistance of master teachers like Nancy Nega, a retired teacher who now works as a STEM consultant with the DuPage Regional Office of Education.
Nega, who mentors Project SMILE teachers, said when she taught eighth grade, her goal was to show students how science is involved in everything.
"By the end of the second year, I expect these teachers will be able to do the same," she said.
Advertisement
"What's great is that (Project SMILE) takes science out of the textbook and put it into the hands of teachers and students," Nega added.
Kelly said the plan is for teachers to share the lessons they'll develop over the two years and inspire their co-workers.
And with the framework of the Project SMILE already established, the team also would like to expand it to include more teachers and more local business partners.
All Saints Catholic Academy teachers Ann Polier, left, and Colleen Catalano conduct an experiment in the Dr. Myron Wentz Science Center at North Central College as part of the Project SMILE grant. (North Central College)
subaker@tribpub.com
Twitter @SBakerSun1
Decisions about the employment of a Glenbrook North High School hallway monitor accused of improperly carrying a loaded gun and displaying a badge in the school parking lot have been postponed, district Supt. Mike Riggle said Tuesday.
Riggle said District 225 board members now may discuss the situation of Steven Schulhof, 60, in closed session after their next meeting to give administrators time to complete their investigation of the case. That board meeting, to be held Sept. 25, comes a few days before the 17-year employee's Cook County Circuit Court date.
Advertisement
Schulhof was arrested around midnight on Aug. 26 after he backed his car into a pole on a Glenbrook North campus parking lot, authorities said. Police said he told responding officers he had been trying to train his German shepherd dog.
Emptying out his car, he removed a loaded gun and officers reportedly discovered he did not have a permit for the gun, authorities said. He also reportedly showed officers a badge clipped to his waist to avoid the weapons charge, but police said they determined he was not a member of any law enforcement agency.
Advertisement
Schulhof, of the 2600 block of Golden Rod Lane, Glenview, was charged with failure to obtain a concealed-carry permit, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and impersonating a police officer. He was released on $50,000 bond. He has been on paid administrative leave since the time of his arrest, Riggle said.
Schulhof could not be reached for comment but the school's principal said Schulhof was not authorized to carry a gun on campus.
School officials pointed out that at the time of Schulhof's arrest, no school activities were underway on the Glenbrook North campus.
Schulhof has since 1995 been a licensed private detective, according to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. He also has a valid Illinois firearm owner's identification card.
Schulhof's job description does not include investigating students, and Riggle said that is not part of his job. Investigations of student-related incidents, including evidence collection, is done by deans, Riggle said.
Officials say that Schulhof is one of 25 para-professionals who are assigned to hallways and open areas.
"We have large schools, over 1 million square feet altogether. That's a lot of hallways and a lot of areas, and a lot of safety concerns. We find that 25 is a very reasonable number," Riggle said.
The paraprofessionals' jobs, according to the district, involve actively engaging and assisting students and visitors, and maintaining order, among other duties. They are not required to have any licenses other that a driver's license, or education beyond high school.
Advertisement
ileavitt@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter @IrvLeavitt
An initiative to start a local charter school led by a River Forest woman has drawn mixed responses.
WeCan, which stands for the Western Educational Community Action Network, hopes to establish a progressive public school that serves kindergarteners through eighth-graders from Oak Park, River Forest, Forest Park, Maywood, Broadview, Melrose Park, Bellwood and Berwyn, with the goal of opening in fall 2019.
Advertisement
Allison Jack, a River Forest mom of four who has led the effort, said it's a group of parents who are looking for a more progressive approach to education than what they've seen through traditional public schools.
"I think that if you look at results in the districts we're talking about, they're not serving all kids," Jack said. "I guess I just am surprised by how much people are defending the status quo when it's not working for all kids."
Advertisement
Jack said she started meeting with other parents about 18 months ago.
"We're really just moms right now," she told those who attended an informational meeting on WeCan at the River Forest Public Library on Aug. 29. Meetings are being held in other areas that the charter school would potentially serve.
Jack also is the director of charter growth and support for the Illinois Network of Charter Schools. She said she helped start Namaste Charter School in Chicago; when she moved to River Forest, she didn't expect she'd be working on a similar initiative here since she'd heard the schools were great.
"It's my job and my passion," she said.
A group in opposition to WeCan, The Truth About Choice in Education, aims to share information on charter schools and the effect they can have on the public school system.
"We don't think charters are good for this community," said group administrator Karen Yarbrough, who moved to the community from Chicago, where she said charter schools have devastated the education system.
While public schools in Oak Park and River Forest are not perfect, Yarbrough believes they are great, and she'd rather see resources be used to better them, not be put toward a charter school.
Jack acknowledged that charter schools are often criticized for taking money from public schools, but she believes a parent's money should follow the child.
Advertisement
Jackie Matthews, director of media and external communications with the Illinois State Board of Education, said via email that for each student enrolled at the charter school, the school receives a percentage of the per capita tuition charge of the public school district in which the school resides. If a state-authorized charter school draws students from multiple districts, as WeCan is looking to do, the charge is split among districts.
The per capita tuition charge is the amount a local school district charges nonresident students, according to the ISBE website.
"An agreement between the charter school and the district determines the percentage. ISBE reviews the agreement to ensure the percentage falls within the allowable range," which is 97 to 103 percent, Matthews said in an email.
For charter schools authorized by the district, payment comes directly from that district; payment comes from the state for charter schools authorized by the state, Matthews said.
The Aug. 29 WeCan meeting in River Forest drew five people, which Jack noted was a sizable turnout for the meetings. Parents asked questions about teaching staff requirements, who the school's decision-makers would be and how students would be tested.
"We are trying to build a little bit of a movement here," Jack said at the meeting. " We're trying to get people interested enough to kind of help define what really is important and what you want it to look like."
Advertisement
But, she added, they won't move forward and apply for charter status unless they find multiple interested families in every municipality they're looking to cater to.
Jack said the school will be modeled after an Austin, Texas, private school that follows a project-based model. She envisions a school that allows children to explore and receive focused, personalized learning. Possibly the biggest hurdle, she said, is finding a building for the school.
Ronda Weiler, an Oak Park parent involved with WeCan, observed that while some parents at the informational meetings have said they ultimately want their children to experience happiness at school, others have mentioned they want to see equality in education.
"It was enlightening to me," Weiler said.
Parent Lisa Vertner, who attended the River Forest meeting, said she's worried about the concept for the school, because it seems to lack a mission to anchor it and a plan to achieve that mission.
"There's a bad reputation for charters for a reason," Vertner said.
Advertisement
Chris Jasculca, senior director of policy, planning and communication for Oak Park District 97, said district officials are aware of WeCan's efforts.
"We will continue to monitor this situation, and also use this as an opportunity to further educate ourselves about the charter school application process and the role that public school districts play in it," he said in an email.
Dawne Simmons, communication and community outreach coordinator for District 90 in River Forest, said they, too, are aware of the initiative.
"We applaud anyone or any organization that is working for high-quality instruction and equity for all students," Simmons said. But it's difficult to support endeavors that would divert resources from the district, she added.
"District 90 is a strong advocate for the conventional school model," Simmons said.
Upcoming WeCan meetings include one in Oak Park, at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 28 at the Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake St.
Advertisement
For more information, visit www.wecanunify.wordpress.com.
Caitlin Mullen is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
A 15-year-old Chicago boy was arrested last week after police say he burglarized a Park Ridge home while the occupants were asleep inside.
The teen, of Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood, is accused of entering a home on the 1400 block of South Prospect Avenue through a basement window shortly before 1 a.m. Aug. 21, police said.
Advertisement
According to police, a resident of the home reported that he awoke upon hearing footsteps in the house and discovered a stranger, described as a male with dark hair pulled into two long pony tails, inside.
Police said the man yelled at the stranger, who ran out of the house through a back door. The homeowner gave chase for about three blocks before losing the suspect near Granville Avenue, police said.
Advertisement
A police K-9 unit was brought in to the search the area, but the suspect was not located. A wallet was reported stolen in the burglary, police said.
Park Ridge Deputy Police Chief Lou Jogmen said a detective working on the case linked the description of the burglar to a suspect from a separate, past investigation. A fingerprint lifted from the scene of the Prospect Avenue burglary matched a print that another police jurisdiction had on file for the 15-year-old Chicago boy, Jogmen said.
The boy was already in the custody of the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center on unrelated charges when he was arrested by Park Ridge police on Sept. 7, police said.
He has been petitioned to juvenile court on three counts of burglary, police said. The court will decide if those charges are formally filed against him.
jjohnson@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter: @Jen_Tribune
A center that representatives say will be an Islamic-based educational and social hub in Maine Township is hosting its second public event this week.
"An evening of Andalusian and Ottoman Cuisine and Literature," is scheduled to take place Friday from 6:30 to 9 p.m. in the second-floor conference hall of Sabeel Center, 8800 Ballard Road in unincorporated Maine Township.
Advertisement
The night is scheduled to feature poet Shadab Zeest Hashmi, reading from her poetry about Islamic Spain, and food blogger Yvonne Maffei of MyHalalKitchen.com.
Halal tapas and the dessert marzipan will be featured, organizers said.
Advertisement
There is a $25 fee to attend. Pre-registration is required and can be done online by visiting Sabeel Center's Facebook page and clicking the registration link under the event posting.
The community event is the second held by Sabeel Center since a Qawwali night, featuring Sufi devotional music of South Asia, took place in May, said center director K. Rizwan Kadir.
Located inside the remodeled former Maine Township Jewish Congregation Shaare Emet, Sabeel Center is run by the Park Ridge-based Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America, also known as IFANCA. The center received Cook County Board approval to open in September 2012.
Though IFANCA's focus is on halal (allowed under Muslim law) food service and certification, Sabeel Center aims to provide the community with activities that go beyond food, Kadir said. These include various programs and events, including family movie nights and lectures; activities aimed at local seniors; an on-site gallery depicting teachings of the Prophet Muhammad; and a library of Islamic-based books, in addition to halal cooking classes.
"Most of the [future] programming is geared toward the Muslim community, but we are evolving; this is not set in stone in any way," Kadir said earlier this summer. "For example, I was invited by a University of Chicago alumni group to talk about the Muslim ban. We hadn't started things here yet, but that could have been something that would be attended by a lot of non-Muslims."
Kadir said the center is also a "wonderful way for the community to learn about Islam and Muslims."
"Everything we do at the Sabeel Center is dedicated to the life and teachings of Prophet Muhammad," he said. "So directly or indirectly, things relate to him."
jjohnson@pioneerlocal.com
Advertisement
Twitter: @Jen_Tribune
A pipe bomb found in a woman's car over the weekend outside a Center Township subdivision was in a small box, had a fuse and was active, according to court documents.
Katrina Franzen, 32, of the 600 block of North Calumet Avenue, Valparaiso was charged with possession of a destructive device, a felony, after the Saturday incident, authorities said. She pleaded not guilty on Tuesday.
Advertisement
According to a probable cause affidavit, deputies with the Porter County Sheriff's Department were called to where Division and Woodruft roads meet, the entrance to Autumn Oaks subdivision, at 11:50 a.m. Saturday because a caller said a woman was slumped over in the driver's seat of a damaged car.
Police found Franzen in a black Hyundai on the west side of the road with the engine shut off, court documents said.
Advertisement
After police woke her, Franzen said she'd gotten a headache and pulled over to rest and hadn't been there long, though a nearby resident said she'd allegedly been there for at least two hours, the documents said.
Franzen consented to a police search of her car while she went to get checked out by paramedics, documents said.
According to court documents, police found a small box 6 inches in length and 3 inches wide. The box was closed with a clasp and was not locked, according to the records.
"I opened the clasp and found a metal pipe bomb with a wick in one end and caps at both ends," an officer with the sheriff's department, said in the document. "I knew it was a pipe bomb."
The deputy put the open box on the ground and left the area to call for the Porter County Bomb Squad. He also told first responders to move away from the area.
The bomb squad X-rayed the pipe bomb and stated it was active, according to court documents, and it was then rendered safe by the bomb squad.
Franzen allegedly told police the bomb belonged to her ex-boyfriend, who is in prison in Missouri and left it at her residence when he left the area. She kept it locked up at her home because she didn't know what to do with it, according to the document.
She told police she didn't know how it got into her car, and she didn't have any ill intentions with the bomb, documents said.
Advertisement
Police closed Division Road outside of Autumn Oaks subdivision for a short time during the incident and evacuated some residents from nearby homes.
Other residents were told to stay inside until the device could be rendered safe.
The case has been assigned to Porter Circuit Court Judge Mary Harper; an attorney for Franzen was not listed in online court records.
Franzen will remain in Porter County Jail without bond because she was already out on bond on another charge, according to the Porter County Sheriff's Department.
Online court records show that Franzen was charged in mid-August with felony possession of methamphetamine and a misdemeanor count of possession of paraphernalia.
Amy Lavalley is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
The emergency manager for the Gary Community School Corp. provided the state a look into what she found in the schools when she arrived in August as she asked for and received a $3.1 million loan on Tuesday.
Emergency manager Peggy Hinckley, a retired superintendent who works for the MGT Consulting Group, said her accounting team discovered the district had "no internal controls for anything" and continues to struggle to dig out of a $104 million financial hole.
Advertisement
"Our fiscal house is in disarray," Hinckley told the Distressed Unit Appeal Board in Indianapolis.
She said the district has operated on an antiquated payroll system that dates back 30 years. Many of its functions are done manually, she said.
Advertisement
"We heard there was ghost employment, but you have to prove that," Hinckley said. "When we came, human resources didn't have control of payroll or benefits."
Creating a new payroll roster is a key objective, Hinckley said.
School board President Rosie Washington and Superintendent Cheryl Pruitt sat in the audience but did not address the DUAB.
With money left from a previous state loan, Hinckley said, maintenance crews fixed leaky roofs and bathrooms and purchased toilet paper and soap. Money is also committed to fixing past fire code violations, noted in a recent inspection.
Hinckley said the district has lost about 500 to 600 students from last year. Its enrollment as of Sept. 8 was 5,114 students.
"Times $8,000, that's a lot of money," she said.
It amounts to between $4 million and $5 million since Gary receives about $8,000 from the state per student.
Part of the new loan money will go toward paying Cigna, the district's health insurance provider. The district's past debt to Cigna is between $3 million and $4 million. She said it pays it down each month but is unable to take advantage of possible lower rates because of the liability.
Advertisement
State Sen. Eddie Melton, D-Merrillville, a non-voting member of the DUAB, said he hoped the state would consider a steeper investment to Gary to stem the boomerang effect of the district returning to DUAB every few months and going deeper in debt.
"We cannot cut or loan our way out of this," Melton said. "We have to figure out a more proactive approach."
His comment brought a rebuke from state Rep. Milo Smith, R-Columbus, another non-voting DUAB member.
He said the state has made a substantial investment to Gary by hiring the emergency manager for the next three years. Smith pegged the amount at $10 million to $12 million, although the contract with MGT hasn't been disclosed yet.
"That won't be reimbursed. All taxpayers in Indiana are footing that bill," he said.
Paul Pastorek, Hinckley's chief of staff, said they're developing a strategy to cope with some 28 shuttered schools in the community. There have been fires in four of them since August, he told the DUAB.
Advertisement
Pastorek said one of the closed schools will serve as a depository for old textbooks and school records. He said transcripts at Lew Wallace High School were underwater in a basement.
As for academics, Hinckley said two schools are facing state takeover, and a team of retired educators were working with principals and teachers.
"We have five schools in one or more categories of single-digit achievement 95 percent didn't pass the state assessment," she said.
"It's a daunting task," Hinckley said. "However, we've found many, many people in Gary that want to find solutions and see the corporation improve."
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
The Hobart Park Board voted to post cautionary swimming signs at Robinson Lake, but postponed making a decision on similar warnings at Lake George.
Based on a recommendation by City Attorney Anthony DeBonis, the signs at Robinson Lake will be of a warning nature, saying to "swim at your own risk," "no diving" or something similar instead of "no swimming."
Advertisement
DeBonis said Monday the signs would be appropriate due to the possible liability to the city the swimming could create.
Some city officials have expressed an interest in bringing a beach back to the lake on the city's northwest side, pointing out that a lot of people swim there anyway during the summer months. But Parks Superintendent John Mitchell has said that if the activity was allowed, he would need to add lifeguards, which would hurt the parks' budget.
Advertisement
Mitchell said he had posted no swimming signs at the lake in the past, but they were defaced, with the "no" removed.
Mitchell said he would install about six signs, making sure visitors see them from every side.
Special Events coordinator Nikki Lopez suggested similar signs be posted by the new fishing dock and the dam on Lake George.
"I've seen kids swimming by the dock at least three to four times," she said.
But both DeBonis and Mayor Brian Snedecor expressed reservations about putting the signs around Lake George. It was recommended that they be limited to three areas: near the new fishing dock by the community center, the dam and the dock by the clock tower.
"To say no swimming in Lake George goes against our wanting people to use it. I want to discourage reckless swimming in the lake, but I caution against being too broad," Snedecor said.
He suggested placing a no swimming sign by the dam or no swimming from this platform on the docks.
Mitchell said people swim all along the lakefront.
Advertisement
DeBonis pointed out that Lake George is owned by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and other entities, not the city, while Robinson Lake is owned by the city.
"I'm reluctant to put signs around Lake George to caution against swimming," DeBonis said.
The board decided to have more discussion on the issue at its October meeting.
Karen Caffarini is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
As Cara Mund prepares for a year of traveling the country as Miss America, shes hoping North Dakotans will book her for appearances so she can visit home.
Mund, who did a phone interview with The Bismarck Tribune on Tuesday in between national media interviews, credited her home state with giving her a strong work ethic and humble attitude.
I feel like sometimes North Dakotans are overlooked, but that makes us work that much harder, said Mund, the first North Dakotan to be crowned Miss America. Yet, we still keep that North Dakota nice aspect.
The 23-year-old said she could have qualified to compete for the Miss America title from Rhode Island, where she attended Brown University, or Washington, D.C., where she lived while interning for Sen. John Hoeven.
But it was her dream to become Miss North Dakota and represent her state at a national level.
Its been such a privilege to be able to kind of put us on the map and to be the very first one to make history, Mund said.
After being crowned on Sunday night, Mund made an appearance on Monday on the beach in Atlantic City, N.J., and then flew to New York City for a media tour that started Tuesday and included Good Morning America and interviews from the top of the Empire State Building.
Next, she will travel to Los Angeles and start traveling around the country, Mund said.
Its been busy, but its been such a blessing as well, she said.
Munds parents, Doug Mund and DeLora Kautzmann Mund, returned to Bismarck late Monday after cheering on their daughter at the pageant.
I think Im still in shock. Everything happened so fast, said Kautzmann Mund, who recorded her daughters national TV appearances to watch when she got home from work Tuesday. It just doesnt seem real.
Mund said the experience of being Miss America will help prepare her for another goal, being elected the first female governor of North Dakota. On Tuesday, Mund added that she also may be interested in representing North Dakota in the U.S. Senate, but wants to serve at the state level first.
Mund said she doesnt align with a political party. She interned for Hoeven, a Republican, but also attracted national attention for saying President Donald Trump was wrong to withdraw from the Paris climate accord in an onstage interview.
I dont really identify as a Democrat or a Republican, but rather just an American, Mund said. Im a person, not a party.
Mund said she hopes to advocate for the scholarship opportunities available through the Miss America Organization. She said she earned $45,000 in scholarship money leading up to being crowned Miss America, plus an additional $50,000 in scholarship money for winning the crown.
That not only is going to help pay off my student debt, but also help get me to law school, said Mund, who has been accepted to the University of Notre Dame.
Miss America also reportedly earns a six-figure salary.
Shortly after being crowned, a team of people, including security and tour managers, began to assemble to work with Mund, said Debbie Richter, president of the Miss North Dakota Scholarship Organization who traveled to the pageant.
A homecoming celebration is being planned for Mund, but Richter anticipates it may be up to three months before Mund can return to North Dakota. Organizers of the Miss North Dakota pageant held in Williston are hopeful shell be able to return for the event next year, but it will depend on her schedule.
She is now under the planning of the Miss America Organization, Richter said.
Mund said she wants to focus on service during her time as Miss America and plans to continue supporting her personal platform, the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
She said she hopes to still host a fashion show for the foundation in Bismarck next year, continuing her annual tradition of raising money to grant wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions.
Shell also take on the Miss America platform of supporting Childrens Miracle Network.
I get to make both miracles happen and wishes come true, Mund said.
Lake County Council members approved a combined $30-million 10-year tax abatement plan Tuesday paving the way for a cold storage facility in south Lake County expected to bring 60 permanent full-time jobs.
The council unanimously approved the abatement package following a public hearing where no one spoke against it. The move clears another hurdle for the company before the deal is finalized. Last month, the council established the site as an Economic Revitalization Area to pave the way for the abatement.
Advertisement
"Project Pumpkin," as the plan pushed by the Lake County Economic Alliance has been dubbed, calls for the construction of a 200,000-square-foot cold storage operation at the northeast corner of Interstate 65 and Indiana 2. The project by United States Cold Storage is expected to cost about $30 million to construct and create up to 500 temporary construction-related jobs along with 60 full-time permanent positions, according to Karen Lauerman, with the LCEA.
Permanent jobs at the facility are expected to pay about $36,000 a year without benefits, she said.
Advertisement
According to the agreement, the company would be eligible for $23 million in property tax abatements over a 10-year period on real estate improvements to the site and another up to $7 million in abatements on new personal property investments
Councilwoman Christine Cid, D-East Chicago, said she supports the project but does not want to see the company pull out of the county after the abatement period expires.
"It would greatly disappoint me to give an abatement and have you move out in 10 years or earlier," Cid said.
Council president Ted Bilski, D-Hobart, said since the land is currently undeveloped, any construction at the site would be an improvement and ultimately increase the property taxes collected from the location.
According to the agreement, property taxes on up to $23 million in improvements to the site would be abated 100 percent in the first year of the deal and go down 10 percent a year until the 10-year abatement expires.
The abatement on the $7 million in personal property would work the same way, according to the agreement.
Councilman Jamal Washington, D-Merrillville, said he shares Cid's concerns but the benefits of the project outweigh the potential downfalls.
"In this situation there is a lot more to gain than there are losses," Washington said.
Advertisement
Lauerman said the company is not building for five years, but for 55 years.
"They have nationwide facilities and do not take these decisions lightly," Lauerman said.
Councilman Eldon Strong, R-Crown Point, represents the district where the project will be located and said he has scrutinized the details.
"I tried to find something I didn't like, but I couldn't do that. I truly hope this continues on and becomes a reality," Strong said.
Dustin Jones with Ginovus, the site selection consultant for United States Cold Storage, said the company selects sites using a 30-year business plan.
"They are a forward-looking company. This is definitely not a fly-by-night operation," Jones said.
Advertisement
David Butterfield, U.S. Cold Storage vice president for the Midwest Region, said it is foreign to him to think short term. He said the company looks at building and growing facilities over 50 years. He said the company not only wants to locate here, but become a community partner for its employees' benefit.
"We really do plan on being here a long time," Butterfield said.
Carrie Napoleon is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jennifer McCormick speaks to local educators and school board members on Sept. 11, 2017, at Valparaiso University. (Michael Gard/Post-Tribune )
From charter schools to teacher recruitment and retention, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jennifer McCormick touched on an array of topics during a community meeting Monday at Valparaiso University.
About 140 people, including educators, school administrators and school board members, attended the meeting, which was put on by the Professional Educators Partnership.
Advertisement
McCormick, a Republican who took office in January, said school choice is not going away, but that the quality can be improved. Indiana is "very loose" when it comes to parameters for its school choice program, she said, which includes vouchers for private and parochial schools and charter schools.
"If you're going to have choice, we want quality choice," she said, adding any school that receives public funds needs to be held accountable for its finances, its academics and its student population, and operate with complete transparency.
Advertisement
Admitting the concept is not a popular one, McCormick said she wants those schools to have the same enrollment policies as public schools and drop exclusionary standards for students.
"If you're taking state dollars, you have to be as receptive as your public schools have to be," she said.
The number of charter schools continues to increase as well, from 65 in 2012 to 93 this year, a 43 percent increase, she said.
In his welcome, university president Mark Heckler noted McCormick's experience as a special education teacher and school administrator. With all of the challenges faced by teachers, he said, it's easy to lose sight of why they do what they do.
Valparaiso University president Mark Heckler introduces Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Jennifer McCormick to local educators and school board members on Sept. 11, 2017, at Valparaiso University. (Michael Gard/Post-Tribune )
"It's not an easy life these days," Heckler said. "All of us want our students to be successful. We don't all agree on how to do that."
For some, teacher pay is an issue.
A spring survey of educators will focus on pay and benefits and be provided to the General Assembly, McCormick said, adding there is a huge disparity in pay from district to district.
In Indiana, the average teacher's salary is $45,000, compared with a national average of $57,000.
Advertisement
"You didn't go into teaching to work in poverty," McCormick said, adding that public education in Indiana has an $8 billion budget and comprises 52 percent of the state's funding appropriations.
There are 1.2 million students in Indiana public schools, she said. Fifteen percent of them are in special education, and 13 percent are considered high ability. And 46 percent of the state's students are in the free or reduced-fee lunch program.
"That free and reduced number is climbing and people ask, 'How does that happen? We have 3 percent unemployment,'" she said, "but we have a lot of working poor families."
McCormick said her office also is working on teacher recruitment and retention. Starting this fall, all the districts in the state had access to what she called "a national pipeline" of teacher recruits.
Local educators and school board members listen to Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Jennifer McCormick on Sept. 11, 2017, at Valparaiso University. (Michael Gard/Post-Tribune )
Additionally, McCormick is considering changes to teacher licensing that will increase recruitment, particularly for prospective teachers who do well in college and student teaching but cannot pass proficiency exams.
"This doesn't mean I'm trying to dummy down the profession or disrespect credentials," she said, but get more teachers in the state's districts.
Advertisement
Noting that many districts still have teacher openings weeks into the new school year, McCormick added that for several years, teaching as a profession has been beaten up.
"That is going to stop," she said.
Valparaiso School Board members Sue Hoffman and Jennifer Bognar attended the program to learn about new initiatives for the state's schools.
"I want to know what is current and what is coming down the pipe," Hoffman said.
Bognar noted state and federal accountability standards for schools, which don't overlap and present trials for all of the state's districts.
"Valparaiso has very successful schools but that doesn't mean we're not vulnerable," she said.
Advertisement
Amy Lavalley is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
The "Tribute in Light" rises above the skyline of Lower Manhattan as seen from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade on September 11, 2017 in New York City. (Drew Angerer / Getty Images)
The 16th anniversary of the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, on the World Trade Center twin towers in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and in the skies over Pennsylvania provides an opportunity for considered reflection.
Time passing provides useful distance for relatively dispassionate discussion of how we have responded to the shocking, grotesque mass murder, now customarily referred to by the shorthand term "9/11."
Advertisement
How have the American people in total handled the challenge, now over the long term?
There is solid justification for high marks to the people, individually and collectively. Despite terrible destruction and thousands of deaths of Americans as well as citizens of other countries, as a national community we remained remarkably calm.
Advertisement
The population as a whole did not react with hysteria or any extremism. Anti-Islamic acts were mercifully infrequent, relatively isolated and waned over time. Collectively we condemn this behavior, investigate and prosecute related criminal attacks.
The clearest parallel event to 9/11 is the surprise military attack by Japan on United States naval forces at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1941, which had severe, continuing repercussions within American social as well as political life. Intense collective fear and anger led to the internment and more general persecution of Japanese-Americans on much of the West Coast of the U.S. Racial hatred characterized brutal Pacific combat in the war on both sides.
Internment was contrary to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's wartime emphasis on national unity, and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover opposed the move, but politically ambitious California Attorney General Earl Warren was adamant. This context means that the military service of Japanese-American troops in the European theatre is even more heroic.
Persecution of Japanese-Americans is particularly notorious, but not unique. There was less extensive discrimination against German-Americans during both World War I and World War II and against Italian-Americans in the latter conflict. During the Civil War, bloody riots against the military draft in the North included beatings and murders of African-Americans.
Against this backdrop, American tolerance of Islamic-Americans and Muslims in general in the aftermath of 9/11 is impressive and noteworthy. In a fundamental way, we have demonstrated maturity that is both ethically right and practically helpful.
Al-Qaida and similar terrorist groups have an interest in promoting Western hostility to the Muslim world, along with harsh measures within our borders. We have permitted them neither victory.
Post Tribune Twice-weekly News updates from Northwest Indiana delivered every Monday and Wednesday >
Failure to anticipate the Pearl Harbor strike reflected inter-service rivalry and intelligence inefficiency, plus arrogance about Japanese military effectiveness even though their navy, with stunning efficiency, had destroyed the Russian fleet only a few decades earlier.
Pearl Harbor demonstrated Tokyo's innovative use of tactical aircraft for strategic destruction of capital ships, something that American commanders failed to foresee. Even Adm. William F. "Bull" Halsey, more worried than most about a Japanese attack, who acted to keep vital aircraft carriers safely out at sea, was concerned primarily about submarine rather than air attack in Hawaii.
Advertisement
Likewise, secretiveness and rivalries among our intelligence and security services facilitated 9/11. In reaction, the U.S. government has emphasized coordination among intelligence agencies.
Immediately after the 9/11 attacks, the United Nations and NATO acted. The attacks marked the first wartime deployment of the military alliance formed during the Cold War.
Americans collectively should feel considerable pride about how we as a people have responded to grotesque mass murder within our borders. Again, this benchmark of the anniversary provides us an opportunity for reflection and renewal.
Arthur I. Cyr is Clausen Distinguished Professor at Carthage College and author of "After the Cold War."
acyr@carthage.edu
Tommy Nevitt carries Miranda Abbott, 6, through floodwater caused by Hurricane Irma on the west side of Jacksonville, Fla., on Monday. (Dede Smith/The Florida Times-Union via)
What's Quickly? It's where readers sound off on the issues of the day. Have a quote, question or quip? Call Quickly at 312-222-2426 or email quickly@post-trib.com.
You gotta laugh at blowhards like Rush Limbaugh. He tried to convince his listeners that the hurricane was just a media conspiracy. By Thursday, he had to evacuate his Florida compound with his tail between his legs.
Advertisement
The only good thing about Irma was that for a few blessed days we could forget that Donald Trump is president, because our leader was nowhere to be seen or heard.
I love how our local gas stations raise the gas prices whenever they want too. They are using the Hurricane in Texas currently for the hike. Our gasoline does not even come from Texas. Those refineries export to other countries. So gouge those countries not ours. What happened to Make America Great Again? The wealthy corporations continue on by taking advantage of disasters and make the middle class and poor people pay!
Advertisement
Well, it turns out Hurricane Irma wasn't near as destructive as the media would have you believe, and the liberals that were blaming the weather on voting for president Trump sure look stupid now. Is that the media lifeline you were referring to? Most destructive storm in history LOL! Maybe people should stop trying to make history, try using some common sense in the media, and then we could get back to believing them.
These cell phone stores are being robbed on a regular basis. First is was gas stations and convenience stores. Now the cell phone stores have become more profitable. Have security guards gone extinct?
I wonder if these companies are allowing digital security breaches in an attempt to sell everyone identity protection services. They give you a year free knowing most will keep paying since once your identity is stolen, it is at risk forever. The government needs to launch an investigation and hold these jokers accountable.
Trump wants a Texas church that helped some hurricane victims get FEMA aid. Come on legislators, stop playing this game with these churches. If they want to reap the rewards of being a taxpayer, then they have to start paying taxes.
To stop voter fraud, we need to move to paper ballots nationwide.
Some people have the idea that they are the only ones with problems and if you do they are no where near as important as theirs. Give us a break you are not the only person in the world. Handle your problems and shut up.
Just turned on the TV to a major cable network and was greeted by a commentator describing the violence of the storm. He stated that there was "debris flying all around him!" It makes one wonder: if brains were gun powder, could this guy blow his nose? Surely he could have made his report from safety and let the cameras show the dangers of this storm! Is getting national ratings worth endangering your life?
Charter schools is a dog whistle for those opposed to unions. Nothing less, nothing more. Undermine education for private profit.
Advertisement
Post Tribune Twice-weekly News updates from Northwest Indiana delivered every Monday and Wednesday >
Steve Bannon said "Hillary is not very bright." And yet she earned 3 million more votes and they needed the Russians, stolen e-mails, voter suppression laws and Fox News to win.
In the "60 Minutes" interview, Steve Bannon appears to be extremely upset that he can't pull President Trump's strings any longer. Everyone else in that White House is a fool, except for Bannon. Sure thing, Steve.
The mall is not your personal babysitter. They can't watch and contain a mall full of unruly teens. Times have changed. When your kid is hurt, you will be the first to sue the mall because they didn't have enough security.
Some guy named Bloomberg donated $6 million to brainwash Cook County residents why they do not need to drink soda pop. Too bad he did not just donate the funds directly to Cook County in the first place and then Cook County residents would not be stuck paying the penny per ounce tax at all. Who would be so lazy to not go elsewhere to buy your soda pop?
Just imagine if we covered education and social issues the way we cover these storms. People might be a bit more informed.
Those who lie and deceive do not like science, with its impartial examination of the facts.
Advertisement
Read more at www.post-trib.com/quickly.
Volunteers plant 2,977 American flags, one for each victim of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, on Sunday, for a Winnetka Sept. 11 memorial at the Village Green. (Kevin Tanaka / Pioneer Press )
"You realize how special this is when you're there and the morning sun is shining on all those flags. It's hauntingly beautiful."
Winnetka Village President Chris Rintz used those words to describe the 2,977 small American flags that waved on Winnetka's Village Green Monday, a tribute to those who perished in the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.
Advertisement
For the 10th year running, the green blossomed with flags, each representing a victim of the attacks, placed by volunteers who came together on the afternoon of Sept. 10 to complete the task. The flags remained on display until sunset Sept. 11, giving passersby the chance to reflect and remember what took place 16 years ago in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
The tradition of flag placement began in 2008, when North Shore Country Day School junior Genevieve Neilsen decided to honor those killed in the terrorist attacks. When she headed to college, she passed responsibility for the ceremony to New Trier High School student and Winnetka resident Taylor Tucker, who in turn passed it on to her brothers; first, Elliott, and then Jackson.
Advertisement
This year, New Trier freshman Henry Cripe, 15, his 12-year-old brother Charlie, a student at Carleton Washburne School, and their younger siblings William, 9, and Julia, 5, both Greeley Elementary School students, picked up the torch.
"Jackson Tucker asked if we wanted to do it a few months ago," Charlie Tucker said Sept. 10, shortly before he and his siblings headed to the Village Green. "He said, 'I'm going to college, do you guys want to pick it up?'
"We had to think about it for a bit, definitely, but we wanted to be part of something that we could carry on that has major importance to our village," Charlie said. "We talked to our dad (Village Council member Andrew Cripe), and he helped us make up our mind."
As they have in the past, members of Winnetka Scout Troop 20 helped plant the flags. Winnetka's fire and police departments also took part, as did other community volunteers.
Winnetka Fire Chief Alan Berkowsky said Sept. 11 that he joined about seven firefighters to help on Sept. 10.
"What I like about this is that it's a participatory event," he said Monday. "When you go to other ceremonies, they are moving and adults can appreciate it, but this allows young people to get involved, and that helps them consider what they are remembering."
Several Winnetka police officers also took part, Interim Police Chief Marc Hornstein said Monday.
"It's impressive that you have young people carrying on the tradition, and that they're recognizing the importance of the day ," Hornstein said.
Advertisement
Rintz, too, said he was impressed by the number of young Winnetka residents who have repeatedly taken part in the Village Green ceremony.
"It's not a village event, it's not a council event, it's a volunteer effort and it's really gratifying to see the young people keeping it alive," he said.
kroutliffe@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter: @pioneer_kathy
Adam Frisch keeps calm waiting for all ballots to be counted in CD-3
FARGO A handwritten sign with six words has caught the attention of communities across the country.
"Trump, the sign says, that boy don't act right."
The signs owner, 74-year-old Gale McCray, of Fort Worth, Texas, has been traveling the U.S. this year protesting President Donald Trump. The Old Man With A Sign as McCray calls himself thought hed be back home in Fort Worth by this point, but now plans to head to Bismarck later this week after a few days in Fargo-Moorhead.
McCray, originally of Lawton, Okla., has a pretty simple shtick: stand at a busy intersection with what he refers to as The Sign, sell a few hats and buttons, and meet people.
Its a great way to spend my retirement, he said.
On Monday, McCray was on the corner of Main Avenue and Second Street South in Fargo. He said two drivers flipped him off within the first five minutes. But for the most part, folks were positive and gave a thumbs up or peace sign along with a honk.
I agree, one woman politely said from her passenger window.
The Sign has a certain sense of humor and harks back to McCrays childhood in the south when parents would say something like, You know Bobs son? Sometimes that boy dont act right, he said. Parents would then say something loving and condescending, he said, like God bless him, or Bless his heart.
When folks try to correct his grammar on The Sign with you mean doesnt act right, McCray said that means you aint got a speck of country in ya.
Along with the somewhat humorous and timely message, McCray points to his paradoxical image as lending to the success of his protest and his growing following of nearly 2,500 fans on Facebook.
I look like a ... redneck from Texas, he said. But he voted for Hillary Clinton. Bernie Sanders was his first choice.
McCray didnt really consider himself political before the 2016 presidential election. And even after two trips in his Prius couch-surfing across the country with The Sign since February, he still doesnt consider himself an activist.
I dont know what it is. I just do it, he said. Im just riding the wave the sign says it all.
WASHINGTON -- The last time Joe Bristol talked to fellow Marine Gary Lindsay of Grand Forks was in August 1967, and they were in the thick of the Vietnam War. Fresh off a mission in the middle of the jungle, the pair had sat down for a meal of C-rations with a splash of pocketed Tabasco to spice it up.
Bristol was finishing up his 13-month tour, and Lindsay handed him his watch because he wanted to make sure he didnt miss his chopper connection home. It already was Lindsays second tour in the war that would claim the lives of 58,220 Americans, 199 North Dakotans and 16 Grand Forks men.
It must have been three or four months we were together, but we bonded really good, Bristol said recently from his home in Potterville, Mich. He was a tough guy, and he was a good guy. He was seasoned, so you learned to listen up good.
Bristol took the watch and made it home safely. Lindsay did not.
But once a Marine, always a Marine. The men may have known each other for a few short months, but Bristol said they bonded as brothers for life -- and even in death.
Reaching out
It was shortly after returning to the United States when Bristol said he first tried to return the watch to his friend.
If you send a letter or anything to someone in the military, it will follow them forever, for years, he said. But if theyre dead, you get it right back. I got it right back, so I knew something went terribly wrong. The bell went off. He got hit.
At the time, Bristol was settling back into his life and working at the familys now-famous bar and restaurant, Joes Gizzards USA, but he was determined to find Lindsays family in North Dakota. He eventually was able to track down a Grand Forks address for Lindsays mother, Lorraine. He wanted to return the watch and tell the family just how much Gary had meant to him.
I think I felt a duty to them. I felt obligated to meet them, Bristol said. He was a funny guy, and he always was watching out for everyone. He was always up.
Surprise at door
Oddly, the Lindsay family said it was Bristol who had that same uplifting and life-changing effect on them when he came for a surprise visit some years later.
Lindsays younger brothers, Lane and Curtis, were just 10 and 13 at the time of Garys death on Sept. 7, 1967. And they idolized him.
My brother was like a father figure to me. He was a brother, but I looked up to him in every way. I respected him very much, Lane Lindsay said. When he died, I walked around. I didnt want to believe it for a long time. Its a pain that never goes away, but Joe eased it. When Joe came into our lives, it was complete joy.
Bristol recalled that first face-to-face meeting. He said he got off his plane and drove his rental car straight to the Lindsays doorstep.
This guy answers the door, and I said Are you Lane? and he said No, Im Curt. And I said, Well, Im Joe Bristol, you got any beer?
There were hugs all around and soon after an entire north-end neighborhood filled the streets for a celebration.
Joe said Lindsays mother and grandmother insisted he stay with them instead of at a hotel, and he did for nearly a week. And in the 50 years since Lindsays death, the families have shared an enduring friendship. Bristol flew Lorraine out for many visits, and he also made several trips to Grand Forks. On one particular Michigan trip, the Lindsays said he pulled out all the stops, throwing a huge party with a live band and paratroopers landing on the lawn.
Too much sorrow
So much tragedy seemed to strike all at once in those days of the war. Nine months after Lindsay died, another Grand Forks friend and fellow Marine, Richard Triske, was killed in action June 2, 1968. Their fathers had both worked as railroad switchmen, and the two families had been friends for years. A third Grand Forks man and good friend, Robert Swanson, enlisted with Lindsay and also was killed.
Today, Lane Lindsay and Bristol say the close-knit relationship between their families has been therapy through the years.
Bristol, with his jokes, laughter, love and kindness, brought them a powerful sense of peace, Lindsay said. Bristol was a comforting connection to the son and brother they lost.
It doesnt take the pain away, but Joe was a true blessing, Lindsay said. He eased the pain. Every time Im with Joe, its uplifting. I think its the closest feeling I can have to my brother sitting right next to me.
Just last week, Lindsay was in Washington, and he traced the name of his brother on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.
You touch the name and it all comes back to you real heavy. Its very emotional and it hits you like a rock. Thats just the way it is.
He soon would find comfort again, though. He and his wife, Karen, were swinging by Potterville on their return trip to Grand Forks.
Hes put a lot of joy in our lives. You lose a brother, and a lot of people shy away. Joe didnt, and Im very thankful.
Remembering ...
Some of the facts of this story were provided by Randy Gendreau. He served as a U.S. Army paratrooper from 1975 to 1979.
He wanted to share the heartfelt story of the heavy loss felt in Grand Forks during the days of the Vietnam War and one special friendship that followed after 16 local men lost their lives.
Gendreau grew up and was friends with the younger brothers of both Gary Lindsay and Richard Triske.
Along with Lindsay, Triske and Robert Swanson, the Grand Forks men who died in the war included Thomas Alderson, James Freidt, Melvin Lembke, Richard Olson, Dennis Wosick, David Corcoran, Robert Fullmer, William Potter, Clifton Cushman, Eugene Lavoy Jr., Eric Nadeau, Martin Steen and Blythe Van Deventer.
Defending the free market and advocating for ever-greater access to capital is of paramount importance during uneven economic patches. That is how Christians should greet comments from Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, who recently said that the economy is broken.
The archbishop cited familiar economic data of unequal economic growth, youth hopelessness, and questions about wage stagnation. Many of these are part of a forthcoming report from the IPPRs Commission on Economic Justice, of which he is a member.
But if the economy is broken, then Welby can easily find the tools to fix it by drawing upon his successful business career, writes Rev. Edward Carter in a new essay for Religion & Liberty Transatlantic. Carter, who is Canon Theologian at the Church of Englands Chelmsford Cathdedral, believes that the archbishop has gleaned clear-eyed insights from his life in enterprise.
The archbishop, he writes, believes in an expansive and inclusive free market. Canon Carter writes that Welby has even brought that entrepreneurial originality to the ossified world of church administration:
His own leadership style embraces risk-taking and, in [Welbys book] Dethroning Mammon, he takes care to expose the failings of a communist or socialist system. Looking back through history at such societies, he argues: All of them demonstrate that efforts to impose equality always fail. In support of free markets, he then goes on to observe: The greatest expansion of riches, and reduction in poverty, famine and general want, has been under the marker economies of the post-Second World War era.
Those statements sound positively Leonine.
In other contexts, the archbishop has called attempts to pin the blame for the financial downfall solely on individual CEOs lynch mobbish.
One is less encouraged by an op-ed authored by Abp. Welby for the Financial Times, in which he called for a fairer tax system where those who benefit most from the economy whether through income, wealth or investment pay their fair share. The top 10 percent of British income earners pay nearly two-thirds (59 percent) of all UK taxes, according to an analysis from the Telegraph. The top one percent alone shoulder 27 percent of the tax burden. Meanwhile, 43.8 percent of all Britons pay no income tax at all, according to data from the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
The Religion & Liberty Transatlantic essay deals with the tension within Archbishop Welbys views alternately praising the nationalizing 1940s and the Thatcherite 1980s by finding a constant thread in his thought: his belief that no one should be excluded from capitalism.
Experience reveals that those hoping to broaden prosperity must contend with such foes as cronyism, anemic investment often caused by confiscatory tax rates, a minimum wage high enough that it prices unskilled labor out of the market, and a too-generous welfare state that bids the ambitious be idle.
For human lives to flourish through enterprise, there needs also to be a recognition of Gods gracious and abundant generosity and a God-given desire to embrace the possibility of participating in that abundance, Rev. Carter writes. The task of explaining the solid theological basis for free enterprise has never been more important. The world, especially the worlds poor and excluded, sorely needs him to make such a case.
You can read Rev. Edward Carters full essay here.
(Photo credit: P-JR. CC BY-SA 3.0.)
By Stephen ORegan
Senior Associate, International Business Advisory
Dezan Shira & Associates, Guangzhou
The Chinese government has launched a three-month campaign to crack down on pyramid schemes. The campaign follows a series of frauds that recently led to four deaths, and associated protests that erupted in downtown Beijing this summer.
The campaign, which will last until November 15, 2017, aims to eliminate gangs and scammers that lure and mislead job seekers into participating in pyramid schemes. The governments announcement of the crackdown sent stocks of Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) companies such as Herbalife and Nu Skin tumbling, due to fears that the campaign could disrupt their operations.
Businesses in China with organizations similar to MLM structures should scrutinize their internal practices and study relevant regulations to avoid non-compliance with government regulators.
RELATED: Gaining Direction: Navigating Chinas Direct Sales Industry
MLM organizations
MLM, a type of direct selling system, is a marketing strategy where the companys sales force is highly dependent on the salespersons they have hired in different tiers of selling. The sales force is compensated not only for sales they generate, but also for the sales of the other salespeople that they recruit in this marketing strategy.
This recruited sales force is referred to as the participants down-line, and can provide multiple levels of compensation. This type of organizational structure can be quite enticing as it has the opportunity to build up a big networking distribution without investing a considerable and consistent amount of money.
The key features followed by MLM organizations are:
Organizers, or operators, who take in new members calculate and pay salaries to a member on a different level according to the number of new members they have introduced either directly or indirectly, as well as the sales performance of the member;
Organizers request new members to hand in a sum of money as a precondition to joining;
The organizers, or the operators, encourage members to invite more people join, forming a multi-level relationship;
The salaries of members at a certain level are based on the sales of members at a lower level.
The main factors that need to be taken into account before setting up any networking and marketing plan for an enterprise are the size of the market, high quality products to sell, and efficient internal training. The base concept of these activities is that the salespersons gain is in proportion to the quantity and quality of the products that he or she is able to sell to potential clients.
However, with the MLM pyramidal structure, the highest position always gets a percentage of the sales from those who are in the bottom positions. Some companies that wish to set up this type of structure want to incorporate a five or more level system.
Business Model Comparison Services from Dezan Shira & Associates
MLM and direct sales in China
From our experience, a large number of foreign companies have expressed interest in entering into the Chinese market through this MLM structure. However, they are going to be disappointed.
In 2005, Chinese government enacted a law called Regulation of Direct Sales and Regulation on Prohibition of Chuanxiao (Chuanxiao stands for MLM). With this regulation, China makes clear that while Direct Sales is permitted in the mainland, MLM is not.
Even if allowed, Direct Sales must follow several rules. The company is required to:
have a business license;
only pay out one level of commission;
offer an advanced training course to sellers, where they have to get a license by the end of the course; and,
direct sellers must wear a badge to prove their status.
In addition, the personal sellers commission it set at 30 percent of the sales, including bonuses, commission, and other benefits. According to regulations, MLM organizers, and the members at top level, obtain interest illegally, and according to the Chinese government, disturb normal economic order, thereby affecting social stability.
Contrarily, MLM is legal in in Taiwan and Hong Kong. It is common to see salespeople from these regions selling in the mainland using Taiwanese or Hong Kong addresses and banks to become sales representatives in these jurisdictions, while at all times living and working in China. The legality of this is questionable.
Even after the application of Regulation of Direct Sales and Regulation on Prohibition of Chuanxiao, many companies are still operating under the MLM structure, and this does not seem to be changing. Nu Skin Enterprise, for example, was under investigation for an illegal pyramid scheme. Regulators accused them of relying more on signing up new salespeople than actually selling products to customers. Nonetheless, they still play an important role in Chinas marketplace.
They are not the only company who are following this sales model; many other such enterprises act within the Chinese market with MLM structures. With the new crackdown on pyramid schemes, however, companies with MLM structures will find themselves under even harsher scrutiny from the authorities should they fail to adopt compliant structures.
This article was originally published on July 16, 2015 and has been updated with the latest regulatory changes.
About Us China Briefing is published by Asia Briefing, a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates. We produce material for foreign investors throughout Asia, including ASEAN, India, Indonesia, Russia, the Silk Road, and Vietnam. For editorial matters please contact us here, and for a complimentary subscription to our products, please click here. Dezan Shira & Associates is a full service practice in China, providing business intelligence, due diligence, legal, tax, IT, HR, payroll, and advisory services throughout the China and Asian region. For assistance with China business issues or investments into China, please contact us at china@dezshira.com or visit us at www.dezshira.com
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 China 2017
This Dezan Shira & Associates 2017 China guide provides a comprehensive background and details of all aspects of setting up and operating an American business in China, including due diligence and compliance issues, IP protection, corporate establishment options, calculating tax liabilities, as well as discussing on-going operational issues such as managing bookkeeping, accounts, banking, HR, Payroll, annual license renewals, audit, FCPA compliance and consolidation with US standards and Head Office reporting.
Internal Control in China
In this issue of China Briefing magazine, we provide foreign investors with best practices for implementing internal controls in China. We explain what makes Chinas internal control environment distinct, and why China-based operations need to prioritize internal control. We then outline how to execute an internal control review to gauge organizational resiliency and identify gaps in control points, and introduce practical internal controls for day-to-day operations. Finally, we explore why ERP systems are becoming increasingly integral to companies internal control regimes.
Dezan Shira & Associates
You are here: Home
A senior central bank official Monday stressed the need for increased efforts to combat money laundering.
The People's Bank of China. [File photo]
Yin Yong, vice governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), said authorities should fight money laundering as an important task in "preventing and controlling financial risks and safeguarding financial system security."
China faces a "severe and complicated" situation concerning combating money laundering amid rising financial risks and even more stricter international standards on fighting money laundering, Yin said at a briefing.
He said there should be rigorous efforts to prevent and control money laundering and terrorist financing, and more reform to improve the country's mechanisms to counter money laundering, terrorist financing and tax evasion.
Twenty-six executives of a Chinese online peer-to-peer (P2P) lender on Tuesday were handed jail terms ranging from three years to life imprisonment for cheating the public out of large amounts of money.
Anhui Yucheng and Yucheng Global, operators of online P2P lender Ezubao, and 10 company executives, including Yucheng chairman Ding Ning, were found guilty of fundraising fraud, said the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court.
Another 16 were convicted of illegally absorbing public deposits.
Yucheng Global and Anhui Yucheng were ordered to pay fines of 1.8 billion yuan (278 million U.S. dollars) and 100 million yuan, respectively, the court said.
Chairman Ding Ning and his younger brother Ding Dian were both sentenced to life in prison and were fined 100 million yuan and 70 million yuan, respectively.
The remaining 24 received jail terms ranging from three to 15 years, the court said. They were also deprived of political rights and issued fines.
Some of the defendants were also convicted of other crimes, including smuggling precious metals, illegal possession of guns and border-crossing.
The court found that Anhui Yucheng and Yucheng Global had raised a huge amount of funds by faking high-yield investment products on two online P2P platforms, Ezubao and Sesame Financial, without a banking license between June 2014 and December 2015.
A majority of the money was spent lavishly on luxury gifts and salaries and used to purchase sales firms and return principal and high interests to some investors.
Police have seized cash and other assets from the P2P lender and are recovering more to retrieve losses for investors.
The court said the defendants have inflicted huge losses on investors in many parts of China and disrupted the national financial management system and thus should be given harsh penalties.
Earlier, police found that Ezubao cheated about 900,000 investors out of more than 50 billion yuan (7.7 billion U.S. dollars).
In early 2016, Zhang Min, president of Yucheng Global and one of the convicts, said that Ezubao was nothing but a Ponzi scheme. She claimed that senior executives were fully aware of the nature of the business.
Fuxing train C2008 is seen leaving Tianjin Railway Station, Aug. 21, 2017. China's new-generation bullet trains, the Fuxing, were put into operation on the Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Railway Aug. 21. (Xinhua/Yang Baosen)
The attempt to accelerate the speed of its bullet trains to more than 1,000 kilometers per hour (kph), with trips being shortened from hours to minutes, hopefully may soon go beyond fictional imagination and come true, the Chinese newspaper Science Daily reported recently.
At the recent 3rd China International Commercial Aerospace Forum in Wuhan, Hubei Province, the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp (CASIC) announced its scientists were exploring the viability of trains running at supersonic speeds.
As envisioned in 2013 by Elon Musk, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Space X from the United States, passenger and freight trains would eventually reach a top speed of 1,207 kph.
In May, the U.S. based Hyperloop One claimed they had completed a test for trains to run at 111 kph in a vacuum, raising this to 310 kph two months later. However, the laboratory results are nothing exceptional if comparing to the latest launch of China's Fuxing Express, capable of running at normal speed of 350 kph, let alone the intra-city operation of Shanghai's maglev trains reaching 430 kph.
According to Mao Kai, CASIC technological project director, the diminution of air resistance and the reduction of friction on tracks working as homogeneous approaches globally are essential to the drastic acceleration of bullet trains.
However, despite goodwill and high expectations, the labyrinth of the core technologies remains unraveled.
Professor Zhao Yong, from the superconductor and new energies research center of Southwest Jiaotong University, has engaged in the study of maglev trains moving in vacuum tubes for about six years. He catalogued three major technological conundrums waiting to be solved for the acceleration of high-speed expresses.
The first problem is to create sufficient and less costly vacuum space that encompasses space for the platforms needed for passengers to enter or exit the trains; Second, a super-high-speed railway needs linear traction technology, which however, has had difficulty in generating an impetus strong enough to make the train speed up' and third, the maglev technologies are still immature.
However, Mao said, there would be no need to build an absolute vacuum surrounding which may increase the complexity and costs of the projects. CASIC is seeking major technological breakthroughs, such as, the adoption of super-conduction magnetic levitation, though the technology is still to be improved.
"Even though the manned aerospace exploration has enabled CASIC to develop vacuum technologies by drawing on its resourceful experiences, it remains a big challenge to build vacuum tubes between cities and towns over huge distances," said Mao.
China has laid out three strategic phases for building the network of super-high-speed railways, while feasibility is still under discussion.
In view of the blueprint, the network will ultimately facilitate the interconnection of "Belt and Road" countries after the experimental operations of trains running between towns and city groups throughout China.
"It's a huge and complicated system, which needs meticulous verification, so it remains too early to announce an exact agenda," Mao said.
At the same time, some U.S. companies desirous of partnering China in the particular field and advised their Chinese counterparts to look for ways to generate income that can cover portions of the cost and lower ticket prices.
The following is the full text of the Joint Press Release on the Second "1+6" Roundtable on September 12 in Beijing.
China's Premier Li Keqiang, together with World Bank Group (WBG) President Jim Yong Kim, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde, World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Roberto Azevedo, International Labor Organization (ILO) Director-General Guy Ryder, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Secretary-General Angel Gurria and Financial Stability Board (FSB) Chairman Mark Carney held the "1+6" Roundtable Meeting under the theme of "Promoting an Open, Invigorated and Inclusive World Economy" in Beijing, September 12th 2017. Chinese government and international organizations participating in the Roundtable (hereinafter referred to as "we") reached the following consensus:
1. Macroeconomic Developments and Policies
While the world economy is picking up steam, we recognize that there are deep-seated problems, many uncertainties and destabilizing factors. Countries need to continue to use all policy tools - monetary, fiscal and structural reform policies to achieve strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth. Monetary policy will continue to support economic activity and ensure price stability, consistent with central banks' mandates. Fiscal policy will be used flexibly and be growth-friendly while ensuring debt as a share of GDP is on a sustainable path. Structural reform policies will be tailored, prioritized and sequenced based on country circumstances, with special focuses on boosting infrastructure investment, inclusiveness, innovation, entrepreneurship and job creation, so as to lift productivity and potential growth, while enhance resilience. Countries need to enhance communication and coordination in macro-economic policies, further strengthen growth and safeguard against downside pressures.
China remains committed to the underlying principle of making progress while keeping performance stable, firmly implementing new development concepts, adapting to and steering the economic "New Normal", and focuses on supply-side structural reforms, while moderately increasing aggregate demand and improving the expectation management. China has further implemented the innovation-driven strategy, boosted market vitality and social creativity by streamlining administration, delegating powers, strengthening regulation and improving services, and facilitated the transition to new growth engines from traditional ones by promoting mass entrepreneurship and innovation. With these efforts, China has achieved a steady and improved growth, which was not easy. In the first half of 2017, China's GDP grew at 6.9%, which was within a reasonable range, major indicators outperformed forecasts, including faster growth in fiscal revenue, enterprise profits and household income, and the RMB exchange rate maintained at a stable level. The economic structure further adjusted and improved, as manifested through greater contribution by consumption to the growth, rapid adjustment of industrial structure, ongoing and orderly reduction of excess and backward capacity. As many as 16,000 new enterprises were registered on an average day, over 13 million new urban jobs were generated annually in the past few years. The threshold for foreign investment has been reduced further, and the investment and market environment has been improved. We believe that with the supply-side structural reforms further deepened and more policy measures implemented, the Chinese economy is on track to achieve a higher quality, more efficient, more equitable, and more sustainable growth, and will continue to contribute to the global economic growth.
2. Economic Globalization
Globalization has provided a strong momentum to world economic growth, promoted capital and commodity flows, advanced development of technology and civilization, and built a closer tie between people worldwide. Facing both challenges and opportunities, we need to guide the direction of economic globalization and make it more invigorated, inclusive, and sustainable. In order to release greater positive effects of economic globalization, all economies need to proactively advance economic reforms, innovate the growth model, and focus on inclusiveness of development, at the mean time, to strengthen international cooperation, avoid inward-looking policies, and fight against all kinds of protectionism, so as to promote an open world economy.
China successfully hosted the Belt and Road forum for International Cooperation in Beijing this past May. Based on the principle of extensive consultation, joint efforts and shared benefits, the forum achieved fruitful results on policy consultation, infrastructure connectivity, trade promotion, financial cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, and injected new momentum to promote interconnected growth and facilitate common prosperity. The international organizations participating in the Roundtable welcome and support the Belt and Road Initiative which could help promote economic globalization, strengthen regional interconnection and deepen international cooperation, and are willing to join together with China and countries involved in the Belt and Road to push the initiative.
3. Sustainable Development
Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development must be both inclusive and environmentally sound to reduce poverty and build shared prosperity today and for generations to come. The three pillars of sustainable development - economic, environmental, and social - carry across all sectors of development, from cities facing rapid urbanization to agriculture, infrastructure, energy development and use, water availability, and transportation. Being a shared responsibility of the international community, countries should work together to address mounting global challenges - including major infectious diseases, refugee crises, climate change and natural disasters - and provide support to developing countries.
Increasing investment in infrastructure is critical to integrate global economies, which will drive growth and help to achieve the sustainable development goals. The need for infrastructure is enormous and pressing and it will continue to grow. Filling the huge gap in infrastructure financing will require public and private financing as well as technologies and operational efficiencies. Project preparation is also critical to ensure optimal use of resources and technical soundness, as well as compliance to the appropriate social, governance and environmental protection standards. Given the importance of private financing, we welcome the MDBs' Joint Principles and Ambitions on Crowding-In Private Finance endorsed by the G20 at the Hamburg Summit. We support the Global Infrastructure Connectivity Alliance and Global Infrastructure Facility to play their full role in enhancing infrastructure investment and experience sharing, and in jointly promoting global connectivity and economic integration.
4. Innovation
Innovation, new technologies and the digital transformation are critical new sources of growth. We welcome the continuation of work under the G20, supported by the OECD, that takes forward the G20 Blueprint on Innovative Growth and seeks to harness the potential of digitalization and innovation for inclusive growth and employment. OECD' s extensive work on analyzing and monitoring innovation policies, as reflected in the G20 Innovation Report 2016, shows that there is scope for countries to strengthen their innovation performance. Our economies and societies today are being reshaped by emerging technologies, especially those forming part of the so-called Next Production Revolution (NPR), which combines digitalization, Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, bio- and nano-technologies, 3D printing and new materials' development and application as discussed by the OECD in its report, The Next Production Revolution - A Report for G20. The NPR has the potential to transform wide segments of industry and improve overall well-being. However, these benefits go hand-in-hand with potential challenges to existing jobs and skills and the related education and training systems, as the NPR spurs structural changes in the economy. They may also test existing policy approaches to entrepreneurship and business dynamics. To harness the opportunities brought by the NPR, policymakers must support the industrial restructuring process and foster technological progress and competitiveness in industry, but also proactively facilitate social adjustment and ensure inclusion.
5. Structural Reform
Recognizing the essential role of structural reforms in boosting productivity and potential output as well as in promoting innovative and inclusive growth, we will promote structural reforms globally in broad areas, including removing barriers to competitive and open markets, improving tax and benefit systems including social security, implementing proactive labor market policy and boosting strategic investments in education, skills, innovation and infrastructure. G20 economies need to actively implement the G20 Enhanced Structural Reform Agenda endorsed at the G20 Hangzhou Summit. G20 members shall use the priority areas and the set of guiding principles identified in the Agenda to guide their structural reforms as well as use the set of agreed indicators to help monitor and assess progress. As noted by the OECD Technical Report on Progress on Structural Reform under the G20 Enhanced Structural Reform Agenda, the G20 has made real but still insufficient progress in structural reforms, and more efforts are warranted. In recent years, China has made good progress in facilitating rapid development of new industries, new forms of business and new models and in fastening the replacement of new growth drivers to old ones through implementation of reform measures including streamlining administration, delegating powers and improving regulation and services, starting businesses and making innovation, and structural tax reductions.
6. Trade and Investment
Trade and investment are important engines for global economic growth. Promoting further liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment globally will help respond to the development challenges faced by all, and will contribute to achieving balanced and sustainable development. The rules-based multilateral trading system represented by WTO is an integral part of global economic governance, providing an institutional framework within which its members formulate multilateral trade rules, monitor trade policy implementation and resolve trade disputes. The multilateral trading system serves as the main channel for liberalization and facilitation of global trade and investment. Regional, bilateral and plurilateral trade agreements should complement rather than substitute the multilateral trading system. Efforts should be made to ensure that such agreements are open, transparent and inclusive.
The challenges arising from trade protectionism remain a concern against the backdrop of slow global growth and the slow recovery of the world economy in recent years. We will continue to fight against all forms of protectionist measures, with a view to building a favorable environment for trade and investment among all economies. The core value and basic principle of the multilateral trading system should be strengthened. We welcome the support for the multilateral trading system by the leaders who have attended the Roundtable of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, as well as the consensus reached by BRICS countries on promoting trade and development, increasing cooperation on investment facilitation and supporting the multilateral trading system, and we also welcome China to hold International Import Expo in 2018. We call upon WTO members to accelerate their implementation of outcomes of WTO ministerial meetings in Bali and Nairobi, to advance negotiations on the remaining Doha issues, and to start the discussion in the WTO on new issues including E-commerce and investment facilitation. We support all WTO members to achieve positive outcomes at the WTO' s forthcoming 11th Ministerial Conference (MC11) in Buenos Aires.
7. Labor and Employment
A wide range of global trends including technological revolution, economic globalization, industrial restructuring and demographic shifts, especially an aging population, have had profound impacts on the world of work. These trends are creating new opportunities and challenges, and the future of work will be shaped by our coordinated well-informed policy actions. It should also be noted that poverty and unemployment remain a great challenge for the international community. Greater efforts are needed to achieve full and productive employment and inclusive growth, including gender equality. In so doing, it is essential to create more job opportunities, match labor market supply to demand, improve labor's skills and strengthen social protection for equity and sustainability. These are key policy elements in achieving decent work, reducing poverty and inequality, and providing a better future of work for all.
The Chinese government has been implementing the Employment First Strategy and a more active employment policy, while continuing its efforts to achieve universal coverage of social insurance of its population and improving the social protection system in order to be more equitable and sustainable, and gradually establishing a reasonable income growth mechanism. With these efforts, overall employment situation in China has remained stable. Together with its social partners, the Chinese Government will continue to strengthen cooperation with the international community including the ILO, and will contribute actively to the ILO's centenary initiative on the Future of Work.
8. Financial Regulatory Reform
Despite the improved resilience of the global financial system as a result of post-crisis financial reforms, vulnerabilities still remain, and may negatively impact the strength and sustainability of global growth. China applauds and supports the FSB's work in building a safer, simpler, fairer financial system and improving the financial regulation coordination framework. We emphasize the considerable progress made towards transforming shadow banking into resilient market based finance since the financial crisis and welcome the FSB assessment of the monitoring and policy tools available to address risks from shadow banking. We call for full, consistent and timely implementation of agreed reforms, and finalizing Basel III and other unfinished parts of the reform agenda soon, so as to foster a robust and open global financial system supporting investment, trade and growth.
Meanwhile, we must remain alert to and appropriately address new risks. Notwithstanding its great potential to facilitate financial inclusion, green finance, productivity, international integration and growth, the rapid growth of Fintech merits attention from a financial stability perspective. We fully support FSB's efforts in identifying emerging risks and promoting international cooperation so as to unleash the potential of technological innovation in a stable and flexible way. Chinese government stands ready to strengthen cooperation with the international community including FSB, and will play a greater role in the application of digital economy and the promotion of financial inclusion and green finance.
9. Global Economic Governance
We reiterate our commitment to a strong, quota-based, and adequately resourced IMF to preserve its role at the center of the Global Financial Safety Net. We support the work of the IMF to strengthen its cooperation with regional financing arrangements, and its ongoing work to further enhance the effectiveness of its lending toolkit. We look forward to the completion of the 15th General Review of IMF Quotas, including a new quota formula, by the Spring Meetings 2019 and no later than the Annual Meetings 2019. We welcome the establishment of the Joint China-IMF Capacity Development Center, and look forward to further cooperation in this area. We support the continued examination of the broader use of the SDR as a way to enhance the resilience of the international monetary system. We support the IMF's ongoing work on improving the analysis and monitoring of capital flows and the management of related risks, including the role of macro-prudential policy.
We reiterate our commitment to a strong WBG, adequately resourced to pursue its mission to eliminate extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity in partnership with others. In this context, we support the implementation of the WBG's shareholding review and look forward to its timely conclusion. Building on the strong shareholder confidence expressed via the record IDA18 replenishment, we also support capital increase at IBRD and IFC, aiming to enhance the financial capacities of the WBG's public and private sector arms. This will allow the WBG to better assist countries achieve their development goals, including by helping them to maximize development resources in a responsible way, and to promote global growth, stability and security.
We agreed that this meeting was productive and sends a positive signal of jointly addressing challenges, developing a more inclusive and mutually-beneficial economic globalization, and promoting an open world economy. We look forward to holding the next roundtable meeting at an appropriate time and place next year.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday stressed global cooperation to combat desertification, which he said is a common challenge for mankind.
Xi made the remarks in a congratulatory letter to a high-level meeting of the 13th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP13) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), which opened Monday in Ordos City in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
In the letter, Xi said land desertification is a major ecological issue affecting the existence and development of mankind, and the situation for controlling desertification remains grave despite the progress the world has achieved since the UNCCD came into effect 21 years ago.
Xi wished the conference a success. He said the conference, with the theme of "Combating Desertification for Human Well-being," intends to develop a new strategic framework for the UNCCD, which will be significant and positive for guaranteeing global ecological security.
China will unswervingly fulfill its obligations under the UNCCD, and continue to push forward communication and cooperation with all member parties and international organizations to work for the targets set during the conference and create a better world, Xi said.
Accompanied by her parents, Zhang Yiwen, a 10-year-old girl from the city of Shangqiu, central China's Henan province, has now registered as a freshman at the Shangqiu Institute of Technology. Scoring 353 in this year's college entrance exams, Zhang Yiwen has been admitted to the School of Information and Electronic Engineering at the college, reports youth.cn.
Accompanied by her parents, Zhang Yiwen registers at the registration desk at Shangqiu Institute of Technology, central China's Henan province, Sept. 10, 2017. [Photo: youth.cn]
What makes the story more interesting is that Zhang never went to public school.
Chinese children are usually required to go through 9 years of education in primary and junior high school, then finish high school before they're allowed to take the college entrance exams. Zhang Yiwen was home-schooled by her parents. Her father runs a local training school in Shangqiu.
The girl took the college entrance exam for the first time in 2016 as a 9-year old. However, she only managed a disappointing score of 172, so her parents decided to wait until this year to try again. While an obvious prodigy, her first attempt at entering college as a 9-year old was viewed by some as a stunt.
Despite this, 10-year old Zhang Yiwen is now starting a 3-year program majoring in electronic information and engineering. Although she has been accepted by a junior college, her father says he expects his daughter will eventually be able to transfer to a different school to get her PhD in the future.
You are here: Home
A former banker, who is one of Shanghai's most-wanted fugitives, has turned himself in.
Chen Fujin, 72, former director of the Minhang branch of the Bank of Communications, used a fake passport to fly to the United States on March 13, 1996.
Chen Fujin is met at Pudong airport on his return to Shanghai. [Photo/Shanghai Daily]
His wife escaped with him, according to prosecutors of Minhang District.
On October 18, 1997, he was put on Interpol's red notice wanted list of Chinese economic fugitives who had fled overseas. He was also wanted as part of China's Sky Net anti-graft campaign, started in April 2015, to repatriate fugitive officials.
Details about what Chen's corruption involved were not disclosed.
Sun Jing, director of the Minhang District People's Procuratorate, said officials approached Chen and his relatives via WeChat and persuaded him to return to Shanghai, which he did last Thursday.
I am willing to receive any punishment, Chen said on a local TV broadcast.
He was arrested on his arrival, prosecutors said.
Shanghai prosecutors said that they have now detained nearly 20 suspects, or about half of those who are being sought in the Sky Net campaign.
The European discount grocery chain Lidl stirred controversy by removing the cross from its products labels, so as not to give offense. Eagle-eyed consumers noticed that Eirdanous, its Greek food line, featured a picture of a blue-domed Greek Orthodox Church by the sea but unlike every other such church, its cupola was not topped by a cross. The company Photoshopped the symbol of Christs victory over death and Hell off of the Anastasi (in Greek, literally, resurrection) Church in Santorini.
Perhaps to its surprise, the move created a massive backlash against the grocery giant, which generated $102 billion in sales in the last fiscal year. The company responded that it respects diversity and avoid[s] the use of religious symbols on our packaging to maintain neutrality in all religions. However, Gregorios, the Greek Orthodox archbishop of Thyateira and Great Britain, called the decision immoral, adding, I hope that many others will protest against this silly decision. Many consumers have taken to Lidls Facebook page to do just that.
Among the critics, Pragues Catholic archbishop, Cardinal Dominik Duka, has proven most prescient. So far, only falsification of photos occurs, but there are the fears that soon real crosses may be removed, he wrote in a letter to the Greek ambassador to the Czech Republic. (The same letter showed his appreciation of Greek culture and cognizance of its place in the West, stating, Our European civilization is created by a number of roots, with Greek democracy and philosophy being one of the most important ones.) Contemporary events show how right he is.
The cross and the Berlin Palace
At the same time, a public debate roils Germany over plans to rebuild the historic Berlin Palace, known as the Stadtschloss. The fifteenth-century landmark was ordered destroyed by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany in 1950 after receiving extensive damage during World War II. Authorities rebuilt it for the first time in the 1970s. After having served as the East German parliamentary building, the asbestos-laden structure was demolished in 2009.
The citys plans to rebuild the structure a second time to house the Humboldt Forum, a cultural institution modeled after the British Museum. Those designs have caused a nationwide row.
The reason? The original structure was topped with a golden cross, which some Germans do not want restored.
Critics say a Christian symbol would be inappropriate on a building intended to showcase the artifacts of multiple world cultures. The citys atheists proposed replacing the cross with a microscope, the emblem of sciences triumph over religion.
But replacing history with the prevailing zeitgeist has had painful consequences in the past, as when the cross atop Wartburg Castle was briefly replacedwith a swastika. The coalition to preserve historic memory has united unlikely partners. The cross belongs on the cupola, because the building has a historical context and thats related to Christianity, said Aiman Mazyek, who chairs the Central Council of Muslims in Germany.
Its defenders say that Christian influence is inseparable from the German spirit. Culture Ministry Monika Grutters, a conservative, told Die Welt, Our culture of openness, freedom, and sympathy with others has its roots in our Christian ideas of humanity. The Christian spirit led the early church to preserve ancient treasures, including pagan literature, often repurposing or reimagining them in the process.
As a Christian, it pains me to see the cross of Jesus Christ subjected to the same debate in Europe as the Confederate flag and statues of Klansmen in this country. Unlike those symbols, the cross has built, rather than destroyed, civilizations. The Catholic historian Christopher Dawson described how the restless spirit of Christianity leavened and vivified every facet of Western culture. In the West the spiritual power has not been immobilized in a sacred social order like the Confucian state in China and the Indian caste system, he wrote. It has acquired social freedom and autonomy, and consequently its activity has not been confined to the religious sphere but has had far-reaching effects on every aspect of social and intellectual life. Even more than philosophy and democracy, Western civilization is inconceivable apart from Christianity.
How the market solves social tensions
Of these two cultural flashpoints, the Lidl brouhaha is more likely to resolve peacefully for one reason: As a marketing issue, it places power in the hands of the consumer. Czech Agriculture Minister Marian Jurecka summarized the solution by saying the people can decide for themselves whether to support the campaign [by] shopping there this week, or abstaining from shopping at Lidl.
The image of the cross was unlikely to offend Greeks. A Pew poll released in February found that of all European nations, in Greece alone did a majority agree that being Christian is a very important part of national identity. (The percentage is 32 percent in America.) Another poll found that more than 10-times as many people were offended by Lidls campaign as supported it. By Friday, some of the companys employees seemed to get the message. Lidls Czech Republic spokeswoman Zuzana Hola said, We apologize for this incident, and you may be sure that we shall learn from this mistake.
Any campaign appealing for consumers dollars must cater to their sensibilities. If Lidl does not respond, Christians can patronize another brand. The market gives the buyer ultimate power to align consumption with his or her values.
The fate of the Berlin Palace, on the other hand, remains clouded. As a political decision, it will be made largely outside the purview of the public. Its future will be hostage to bureaucratic regulations, the influence of politically powerful coalitions, and the whims of central planners. The public role heightens conflict, as only one group can prevail.
If the West is wise, it will commit the greatest number of decisions possible to consumers, especially fractious culture wars over symbolic interpretation. Each person can then decide whether he finds the cross of Christ inviting or exclusionary. Social tensions will ebb, and individual utility will increase. And the holy cross will continue to be a sign of contradiction in the world.
(Photo credit of Anastasi Church: George M. Groutas. CC BY 2.0. Berlin Castle: Public domain.)
Flash
A guest uses virtual reality goggles to view a panda-themed promotional video at the United Nations World Tourism Organization's 22nd General Assembly in Chengdu, Sichuan province, on Monday.(Photo by HAO FEI/CHINA DAILY)
Poverty reduction using new models praised; travel sector grows to 11% of nation's economy
China is a good example of how a country can develop a healthy tourism industry, industry insiders said.
"China is one of the best examples of how tourism can be prioritized to show its potential, with themes such as rural poverty reduction," said Taleb Rifai, secretary-general of the United Nations World Tourism Organization.
The organization is holding its 22nd General Assembly in Chengdu, Sichuan province, this week. It is the second time the biennial meeting has been held in China. It ends on Saturday.
Major topics include smart tourism, tourism and sustainable development, and the Belt and Road Initiative and tourism cooperation. The World Tourism Alliance will be set up during the meeting with the aim of deepening tourism cooperation among members and facilitating sustainable development of the industry worldwide.
China has been the top source of tourism spending, and is the fourth-most-visited country, he said. It also has the largest domestic tourism market, with 4.4 billion trips inside China and tourism income reaching $600 billion last year.
According to Li Jinzao, director of the China National Tourism Administration, the country's tourism revenue grew 13.6 percent year-on-year in 2016, and now accounts for 11 percent of the national economy.
Rifai added that more than 1,000 participants, including 74 minister-level officials, from 130 countries and regions are attending the meeting.
The assembly is also expected to play a positive role in guiding and supporting the recovery of Jiuzhaigou, a well-known scenic spot in Sichuan, which was hit by a magnitude-7.0 earthquake in early August.
Maurice Loustau-Lalanne, minister of tourism in the Republic of Seychelles, an island archipelago in the Indian Ocean, said China has maintained good relations in terms of tourism cooperation. He said that five years ago Seychelles had only 500 visitors from China. Last year, 15,000 people visited.
With cooperation from the assembly, the country hoped the number could reach 30,000 by 2020, Loustau-Lalanne said, adding that he would like to expand cooperation to include tourism promotion and marketing, and the training of people in the tourism industry.
You are here: Home
Flash
Tourists attracted to China's beauty [Photo by Zhao Tianhua/China Daily]
A large number of tourists have visited the Provence Lavender Manor this summer, a flower park 30 kilometers far from central Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province.
The largest lavender-themed park in Northeast China covers an area of 800,000 square meters and about ten million flowers including lavender, verbena and canola flowers have been planted.
Flash
Photo taken on Sept. 11, 2017 shows the United Nations Security Council voting on a resolution on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) at the UN headquarters in New York. [Photo/Xinhua]
The UN Security Council on Monday unanimously adopted a resolution to impose fresh sanctions on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) over its nuclear test on Sept. 3, targeting oil imports and textile exports.
Monday's resolution, the third Security Council action concerning the Asian country in five weeks, curtails the DPRK's overall oil supply by almost 30 percent through a 55-percent reduction of gas, diesel and heavy fuel oil supplies, bans all its textile exports worth 800 million U.S. dollars and remittances of some 93,000 DPRK laborers from abroad.
With the new measures, 90 percent of the DPRK's exports are now banned, Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told the council after the vote.
British ambassador Matthew Rycroft said what the council did on Monday was to demonstrate that Pyongyang's provocations will be matched by consequences.
China's permanent representative to the United Nations, Liu Jieyi, condemned the DPRK's nuclear test on Sept. 3, saying China is committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
He urged the DPRK to heed the aspirations and will of the international community, abide by Security Council resolutions, refrain from any more missile launches or nuclear tests, and return to the track of denuclearization.
He noted that Monday's resolution also reiterated the need to maintain peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia, settle the issue peacefully, resume the six-party talks and de-escalate tension on the Korean Peninsula.
"The nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula must be resolved peacefully. Integrated measures must be taken to balance the legitimate concerns of all parties," said Liu.
All parties must be cool-headed and avoid rhetoric or action that would aggravate tension, he said.
Russian ambassador Vassily Nebenzia deplored the fact that the new resolution did not take in enough thoughts of Russia with respect to the peaceful settlement of the issue through diplomatic and political means.
Monday's resolution followed a council resolution on Aug. 5, which imposed a ban on the export of coal, iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore, and seafood from the DPRK, among other restrictive measures.
The council also adopted a presidential statement on Aug. 29 condemning the DPRK's launch of a ballistic missile that flew over Japan a day earlier as well as other missile launches on Aug. 25.
Flash
People place flowers on plates on which the names of 9/11 victims were inscribed around the South Pool at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York, the United States, on Sept. 11, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]
For 64-year-old New Yorker Gary Gonel, who came to the World Trade Center every year on Sept. 11 to remember the deadly terror attack in 2001, his sorrow deepened over the thoughts that the society is becoming more divided and people are still worried that the same tragedy could happen again.
"I come here every year to show families of 9/11 that we did not forget about them. Things in the past couple of years have been different, there are fewer and fewer people here," said Gonel, with an American flag in his left hand.
Streets around the World Trade Center "used to be packed with people on Sept. 11," but now there are fewer people coming except tourists and families who lost their loved ones, he said.
Sixteen years have passed since a group of terrorists flew hijacked planes into New York's World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field near Shanksville in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, on Sept. 11, 2001. Nearly 3,000 people were killed during the attacks.
Addressing a 9/11 anniversary commemoration at the Pentagon, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that "America cannot be intimidated." Trump, who was living in the New York city on Sept. 11 in 2001, vowed that such an attack would never be repeated.
Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence addressed an observance at the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
A quiet commemoration was being held inside the World Trade Center site on Monday, with thousands of 9/11 victims' relatives, survivors, rescuers and others gathering together to recite all the names of the dead and hold moments of silence.
Outside the site, where Gonel stood, dozens of tourists were taking photos, pigeons were wondering around -- it was just like another ordinary day in September.
While many Americans commemorated this day with tears and wishes, some were worried that as the memory of the tragedy is fading out, similar disastrous incident could happen to the country again.
"I feel like some people have forgotten," Damron Wilson, a volunteer for the commemoration, said.
He worried that the American society has "learnt to relax and move on," especially the younger generation.
For Wilson, his feeling of insecurity has worsened when he found that the nation has never been more divided.
"My mum told me that the country had been united after 9/11, but it is deeply divided now. Even today I can see Donald Trump's supporters clashing with people who are against him," he said.
"And with what happened in Charlottesville, I think domestic terrorism is likely to happen (again)," he added.
Last month, violent clashes erupted in Charlottesville, a historic college town in the U.S. state of Virginia, between white nationalists and counterprotesters, leaving one killed and 19 others wounded.
Born and Raised in New York City, Gonel said that he did not feel safe either, especially amid the growing tensions between the city government and the police department.
Staring at the new World Trade Center complex that opened in 2015, Gonel said he was afraid that the center has become more of a tourist spot than a memorial.
"Americans should come here and show some respect. Once you forget, it may happen again," he said.
More than 1,800 Christians attend the
Three-Fold Vision Training Conference in
Hong Kong, March 6-9, 2015.
(Photo: ChinaAid)
ChinaAid
Updated at 10:46 a.m. on Sept. 15, 2017
(Chengdu, SichuanSept. 12, 2017) Chinese authorities barred a pastor from traveling to Hong Kong to attend a Christian training conference today, echoing a growing trend that keeps church leaders from participating in overseas religious meetings.
At 6:00 a.m. on Sept. 12, Wang Yi, a pastor of Autumn Rain Blessing Church, and Jiang Rong, a pastors wife, set out from Chengdu, Sichuan, to attend the Three-Fold Vision Training Conference, a Christian training session in Hong Kong. Police followed them, and, at 7:00 a.m., numerous government personnel intercepted Wang at customs. Agents from the public security bureau took him to the Dongpo Police Station, where he was detained for one hour and returned home.
During his time in custody, he asked the officials to provide a document explaining their decision to disallow him from attending the conference. They replied that they didnt have anything in writing, since this command came from top-level officials. They also could not tell him how long his ban on traveling to Hong Kong would persist.
Jiang, however, has already arrived in Hong Kong, which is taking place this week. Wang, who was supposed to give a lecture at the conference, submitted a letter dated Sept. 12 to be read at the event.
After his detention became known, people speculated that authorities banned Wang from traveling due to a piece he posted online that criticized new revisions to Chinas Regulations on Religious Affairs, entitled, My Five Opinions on the New Regulations on Religious Affairs. In the article, he argued that the revisions blatantly violated the religious freedom rights enshrined by the Chinese Constitution. Additionally, he said that he will peacefully question the legality of the regulations and protest against their implementations.
Zhan Gang, a pastor, said that Wangs ban violated the laws. Citizens are granted the freedom to enter and exit borders. Pastor Wang Yi did not intend to do anything that might impair national security. He was merely going to spread the Word of God. Its obviously not fair to treat him like that.
In 2015, the conference boasted more than 1,800 participants, even though officials prevented more than 100 Christians from attending that year.
Prohibitions on Chinese Christians attending religious conferences abroad are becoming more frequent, triggered by the Communist Partys fear that other nations are using non-Chinese belief systems to infiltrate the country. Revisions to Chinas Regulations on Religious Affairs, expected to take effect in February, emphasize the countrys intent to continue preventing its citizens from traveling abroad to receive theological training.
Wang had been previously summoned to appear before officials on Aug. 17 because his church had never registered with the religious affairs department. Consequentially, officials declared it illegal and demanded that its services stop. Wang demanded a written notice, but they failed to provide him with one.
ChinaAid exposes abuses, such as those suffered by Wang Yi, in order to stand in solidarity with persecuted Christians and promote religious freedom, human rights, and rule of law.
ChinaAid Media Team
Cell: +1 (432) 553-1080 | Office: +1 (432) 689-6985 | Other: +1 (888) 889-7757
Email: [email protected]
For more information, click here
Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Hwasong-14 is pictured during its second test-fire in this undated picture provided by KCNA in Pyongyang on July 29, 2017. KCNA via Agencies
The United Nations Security Council's unanimous decision on Monday to impose a new round of, and tougher, sanctions on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea reflects the international community's unswerving resolve to rein in Pyongyang's nuclear and missile program, and protect the nuclear non-proliferation regime.
By cutting the DPRK's overall oil supply by about 30 percent, banning all textile exports and prohibiting all countries from authorizing new work permits for the country's workers, the sanctions will certainly deal a blow to two key sources of finance for Pyongyang and may somewhat jolt its nuclear and missile program. But whether or not they will make the DPRK abandon its nuclear program is open to question.
That before the UN vote the DPRK declared the United States would face "pain and suffering", as it would retaliate if any new sanctions were imposed should reflect the Pyongyang's determination to press ahead with its ambitious and contentious nuclear program despite intense international pressure. Perhaps this is where the UN resolution, if taken in its entirety, can help, for it also calls for seeking a peaceful resolution to the Korean Peninsula issue through diplomatic and political means, taking measures to defuse tensions on the peninsula and making efforts to resume the Six-Party Talks.
If such efforts are indeed made, the DPRK is more likely to abide by the Security Council's resolutions, halt, if not abandon, its nuclear/missile program and return to the negotiation table.
The UN must have realized by now that sanctions alone cannot force Pyongyang to give up its nuclear program. The key to peace on the peninsula lies in making Pyongyang see the benefits of voluntarily giving up its nuclear program. But to bring Pyongyang even close to that point, the international community has to give some assurances, assurances it will honor: that the DPRK's national security will not be threatened by any country and its urgent development needs will be met.
China threw its weight behind the Security Council because it agrees that measures should be taken against Pyongyang in response to its sixth and strongest nuclear test on Sept 3. And given its support to international efforts to denuclearize the peninsula and safeguard peace and stability in the region, China has called for the comprehensive implementation of the UN resolution.
That Pyongyang should immediately stop its nuclear and missile tests and the opposing parties refrain from making any more provocative moves goes without saying. In the end, however, the DPRK can be convinced of the benefits of abandoning its nuclear pursuit only through talks, not threats and sanctions. And once the international community accepts this fact, it may find the road to peaceful negotiations a lot smoother.
Two decommissioned reactors are close to the premises where Bradwell nuclear power plant will be built. [Photo/China Daily]
Development at the Bradwell B power plant in the United Kingdom is progressing smoothly.
Electricite de France SA, or EDF, and China General Nuclear Power Corp are working together to develop the new nuclear power station at Bradwell-on-Sea on the Essex coast near London.
Bradwell will be built with indigenous Chinese third generation nuclear technology known as Hua-long Pressurized Reactor 1000 or HPR1000, with support from the French energy group.
CGN and EDF are preparing geographical studies of the site where the Bradwell power generators will be located.
These works include checking the soil conditions, and assessing cooling facilities and design strategies to protect the local biodiversity, according to Richard Mayson, director of Bradwell Power Generation Co.
As the first nuclear power plant in a developed economy using Chinese technology, Bradwell is expected to pave the way for the international expansion of the country's nuclear industry.
"Chinese nuclear technology's deployment in a mature economy, such as the UK, symbolizes our nuclear power industry's transformation from 'big' to 'strong'," said Zheng Dongshan, chief executive officer of General Nuclear International, CGN's London-based subsidiary.
China's nuclear industry has grown rapidly during the past three decades.
With the safe and successful completion and operation of plants, such as the famous Daya Bay power station in Guangdong province, China is becoming an active leader in the global sector.
China has 36 nuclear power reactors in operation, ranking it fourth in the world after the United States, France and Russia, with a further 20 under construction.
The World Nuclear Association forecasts that the country will overtake the US with the largest nuclear power capacity during the next 10 to 15 years.
The timing of the construction at Bradwell-on-Sea has yet to be confirmed but preparation is well underway.
In January, the UK's nuclear regulator started a process to review HPR1000 for deployment in the country.
Known as the General Design Assessment, this test is believed to be the strictest in the world. "That means getting the go-ahead will open doors for HPR1000 in more international markets," said Andrew Shepherd, a senior energy and infrastructure analyst at BMI Research.
CGN estimates the GDA review will take five years.
File photo shows high-speed rail in China. [Photo/Xinhua]
The investment agreement for the Hangzhou-Shaoxing-Taizhou railway public-private partnership project was signed in Hangzhou of Zhejiang province on Monday, marking China's first high-speed train line with private investors taking the controlling stake.
PPP refers to a partnership between government and privately owned enterprises in developing infrastructure and public services projects, mainly covering municipal engineering and transportation.
Stretching some 269 kilometers, the railway line will include nine stops. The train's maximum speed will be 350 kilometers per hour. It is one of the eight railway projects involving private investment approved by the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic regulator.
A consortium of eight privately owned enterprises led by Shanghai-based investment conglomerate Fosun International will take a controlling 51 percent stake in the 12.36 billion yuan ($1.9 billion) registered capital of the railway project. The investment agreement, which was signed on Monday, was worth 40.9 billion yuan.
The construction companies for the railway project will be decided in a separate bid at a later date. The consortium of privately owned enter-prises and the Zhejiang government will jointly set up a project company that will be responsible for the construction.
The project company will set the ticket price, while China Railway Corp and its Shanghai Railway Bureau will be in charge of the daily operation of the railway line.
Construction of the line will take four years and the joint operation period will be 30 years. As the project will adopt a build-own-operate-transfer cooperation mode, the railway will be transferred to the government for free after the 30-year period ends.
Construction of the high-speed railway line will start by the end of this year.
Shanghai Sunvision Capital, the PPP investment platform under Fosun, will participate in the railway project. According to Wen Xiaodong, president of Sunvision, the income from the railway project will be made up of operating income and a government subsidy.
"Although the return from this investment will not be extremely high, it will be quite stable," he said. "It will also be helpful in terms of the overall mixed-ownership reform of China's railway industry."
Guo Guangchang, chairman of Fosun International, said during the signing ceremony that China still lags behind Japan and Germany in terms of building high-speed train projects overseas.
"With the experience from the Hangzhou-Shaoxing-Taizhou project, we wish to introduce China's high-speed train technology and projects in more overseas markets," he said.
According to Shenzhen-based ASKCI Consulting, 495 national-level demonstrative PPP projects were agreed by the end of June with total investment reaching 1.24 trillion yuan.
A total of 291 privately owned enterprises have taken part in these projects, accounting for 37.1 percent of the enterprises participating in PPP projects, up 5.1 percent year-on-year. These companies are involved in projects covering areas such as municipal facilities, ecological improvement and environmental protection.
The National Development and Reform Commission said at a meeting in mid-August that it would invite more private investors to take part in PPP projects and draw up policies to ensure that this investment is more effective.
An engineer from China Communications Construction Co Ltd talks with a Kenyan colleague at a port construction site in Kenya. [Photo/Xinhua]
Company looks to diversified ownership to compete with foreign rivals
China Communications Construction Co Ltd, one of the country's largest infrastructure project providers by market share, will continue to innovate diversified ownership mechanisms and business modes abroad to compete with other established foreign rivals, said a senior executive.
CCCC is the only conglomerate among the eight giant companies, including China Poly Group Corp and China Merchants Group in State capital investment projects, that has gone public as a whole in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
However, it has reached a bottleneck in management and decision-making after over a decade of expansion.
"It faces the challenge of listing separate units in different stock markets, and innovating its asset structure and various cooperative modes including engineering procurement construction, public-private projects and build-operate-transfer," said Sun Ziyu, vice-president of CCCC.
"For smaller subsidiaries focusing on their pillar businesses, going public is practical to maintain sustainable development," Sun added. "But as CCCC has kept expanding and diversifying its business from bridge building to offshore engineering manufacturing, such a mode has reached the limit of its development. It is time to deepening reform and innovation."
Sun said that carving out separate units is the hardest part of the reform, as the company has no previous examples to follow.
"Optimizing asset structure is vital for a company to enhance its competitive edge," Sun said. "Through alternative financing modes such as PPP, CCCC has gained operational assets in the domestic market worth 250 billion yuan ($38.33 billion) in sectors including ports, underwater tunnels and industrial parks."
Domestic and overseas acquisition is another strategy CCCC has adapted to optimize its resources. So far CCCC has acquired John Holland Group, one of Australia's biggest engineering contractors, oil and gas industrial giant Friede and Goldman Ltd in the United States and Greentown Property Group in the domestic market.
The group gained 470 billion yuan of revenue and 24.1 billion yuan of net income in 2016, jumping 10.37 percent and 13.24 percent year-on-year respectively.
CCCC is also looking at further growth opportunities in overseas markets. The company has so far set up 210 offices in 109 countries and regions to manage its businesses and projects.
It has built over 10,320-kilometer of roads, 152 bridges, 2,080 kilometers of railway lines and 10 airports in economies involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.
In Kenya, CCCC completed a sea port project in Mombasa and a railway project in Nairobi this year. It won the contract for a $13 billion railway project in Malaysia last month. The project is the largest overseas project Chinese companies have ever contracted.
He Jingtong, a professor of trade at Nankai University in Tianjin, said China is increasing its use of domestic technologies, but as a starting point, there is also a significant share of international technologies.
"Its companies, primarily State-owned enterprises, have been keen to cooperate with foreign enterprises to work in 'third party' countries anywhere related to the Belt and Road Initiative."
Safety key at overseas projects
Protecting State-owned assets in emerging economies has become a critical mission for Chinese companies and sometimes it may involve the threat of death or severe injury, said a senior executive.
Echoing the national strategy of "Going Global", more State-owned enterprises have been seeking growth points and production capacity cooperation opportunities in overseas markets. However, those destinations involve less developed economies while the State-owned assets can be in constant danger, and even the life of the workforce can be at risk.
"Some places where our infrastructure projects are based are fairly unstable," said Sun Ziyu, vice-president of China Communications Construction Co Ltd.
He said certain places do not accept card payments and all the transactions have to be done by cash, and even some bank staff are in league with gangsters, so these criminals know when and where deliveries of cash will take place.
Once in Kenya, a van loaded with banknotes was attacked by armed gangsters, but the staff in the van refused to hand over the cash, according to the company.
"They were shot in the arms and other body parts before police arrived," Sun said. "While they could just have handed the cash to the gangsters and reported it as a casual loss, as every company has a budget for such losses, they didn't, even when facing a choice between life and death."
"This is the true spirit of Chinese workers in the frontline," he added.
Chinese conglomerate CEFC has agreed to buy a 14.16 percent stake in oil major Rosneft for $9.1 billion from a consortium of Glencore and the Qatar Investment Authority, strengthening energy partnerships with Moscow, according to an announcement by Glencore released on Sept 8.
Following the deal, CEFC will become the third-largest shareholder in Rosneft after the Russian government and BP.
CEFC Chairman Ye Jianming was quoted by www.yicai.com as saying that the deal, China's second-largest oil and gas acquisition after the $15.1 billion purchase of Canada's Nexen by CNOOC in 2013, will enable further cooperation between CEFC and Rosneft while meeting China's energy demand.
The transaction is conditioned on the consortium electing to proceed following the completion of final negotiations and on receipt by CEFC of all necessary regulatory approval, Glencore said in the announcement.
Following the transaction, Glencore and QIA would retain an economic interest in Rosneft shares commensurate with their original equity investment announced in December 2016, which amounts to approximately 0.5 percent and 4.7 percent respectively, it said.
CEFC was quoted by Reuters as saying the deal would give it annual equity oil production of 42 million metric tons (840,000 barrels per day) and access to oil and gas reserves of 2.67 billion tons (20 billion barrels).
According to Han Xiaoping, chief information officer of China Energy Net Consulting, China and Russia complement each other as producers and exporters on the one hand and importers and suppliers on the other, which creates a perfect atmosphere for win-win deals.
The deal will allow China, the world's second-largest energy consumer, to boost cooperation with the world's top oil producer, which also tops the list of Chinese crude suppliers, he said.
Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin was quoted by Reuters as saying CEFC would get access to Rosneft's oil fields and petrochemical projects in East Siberia to guarantee bigger synergies.
China and Russia have strengthened their oil and gas cooperation in recent years, including the Yamal liquified natural gas project in the Arctic region of Russia, the world's first integrated project for polar natural gas exploration, development, liquefaction and transportation. Earlier this decade, Beijing also loaned $25 billion to Russia to help it build a pipeline from Siberia.
Moscow has been seeking to boost energy cooperation with China, especially since the US sanctions on Russia, which also make it challenging for large Western firms including Glencore to cooperate with state-owned firms such as Rosneft.
Despite the optimistic oil cooperation, the transactions have also raised questions among analysts over its lack of transparency.
Li Li, the energy research director at ICIS China, a consulting company that provides analysis of the energy market, said the deal was arranged hastily and the details remain unclear.
Zou Shuo contributed to this story.
Haaretz English Edition Conjures Palestinian 'Political Prisoners' | Main | Politico Whitewashes Linda Sarsours Record
September 11, 2017
Iranian Proxy Threatens U.S. Troops, Media M.I.A.Again
Iranian-backed proxies in Iraq have vowed to start killing Americans again once the Islamic State is expelled,? The Washington Times has reported (Ruthless Iranian militia vows to turn against U.S. troops once Islamic State is defeated in Iraq,? Sept. 7, 2017). However, many major U.S. news outlets have failed to cover this story.
Jafar al-Hosseini, a spokesman for Kataib Hezbollah (KH), told Irans Fars News Agency that the U.S. must leave Iraq or be confronted with a new war. Washington Times correspondent Rowan Scarbarough observed that al-Hosseinis scripted messages on Beiruts al-Mayadeen Arab-language TV station suggest? that Kataib Hezbollah is not bluffing.?
Scarbarough detailed that the group has about 5,000 operatives and was organized in 2007 by Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, which trained them in the use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and other tactics. IEDs were used to kill approximately 500 U.S. personnel.
KH was designated a terrorist organization in 2009 by the U.S. State Department, which noted:
KH has ideological ties to Lebanese [Hezbollah] and may have received support from that group. KH gained notoriety in 2007 with attacks on U.S. and coalition forces designed to undermine the establishment of a democratic, viable Iraqi state. KH has been responsible for numerous violent terrorist attacks since 2007, including improvised explosive device bombings, rocket propelled grenade attacks and sniper operations. In addition, KH has threatened the lives of Iraqi politicians and civilians that support the legitimate political process in Iraq.?
Iran uses proxies, many of them Quds Force-trained, in Tehrans quest for regional domination. As Scarbarough pointed out, the U.S. presence in Iraq stands in the way of the mullahs desire to turn Iraq into a vassal state.
Many Iranian-backed militias, also known as Popular Mobilization Units (PMUs) have strong ties to, or even already hold positions in, the Iraqi Government. Indeed, as the Middle East analyst Ali Khedery noted on Twitter, KH operative Abu Mahdi al-Muhandisa U.S.-designated terroristhas been photographed chairing a meeting of Iraqi generals.
Jafar al-Hosseinis exhortations are but the most recent threats against the U.S. by Iranian-supported groups. As CAMERA highlighted, in April 2015, PMUs threatened to target the American interests in Iraqeven abroad,? if the U.S. House Armed Services Committee voted to arm Kurdish Peshmerga forces (Wheres the Coverage? Iran Threatens U.S. Troops,? Dec. 11, 2015). Al-Hosseini issued a similar sort of threat against U.S. troops in March 2017, Scarbarough noted.
Yet, the media has routinely failed to cover either the atrocities committed by PMUs or their threats against U.S. forces, as CAMERA detailed in a Sept. 16, 2016 report (The Washington Times Covers Underreported Iran-Backed Shiite Militias?).
Michael Pregent, an adjunct fellow at the Hudson Institute, a Washington D.C.-based think tank, and a former intelligence adviser to U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus (ret.) told CAMERA that some news outlets don't know who many of the militias are. Further, the coverage that does occur often obfuscates the reality of what is happening in Iraq. For example, he noted that it's common to hear media reporting Iraqi security forces retook an area today,? but omit that, in fact, those forces often are PMUssome of which are led by U.S.-designated terrorists like al-Muhandis.
KHs most recent threats went unreported by USA Today, The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Post, and other major U.S. news outlets.
Posted by SD at September 11, 2017 10:59 AM
Guidelines for posting
This is a moderated blog. We will not post comments that include racism, bigotry, threats, or factually inaccurate material.
Post a comment
By Fan Feifei in Beijing and Li Yingqing and Li Xinyi in Qujing | China Daily | Updated: 2017-09-12 07:25
Clusters of berries. [Photo/VCG]
The International Blueberry Organization is bullish on the prospects for the Chinese blueberry market, which is benefiting from huge demand on the part of Chinese consumers and an excellent production base in Qujing, Yunnan province.
"Qujing enjoys a unique natural environment and wild climate, which is suitable for the growth of crops. The blueberries produced in Qujing have a high quality, with high sugar content and hardness," said Zhang Zulin, the deputy governor of Yunnan province, on Monday at the opening ceremony of the 2017 International Blueberry Organization Summit.
Zhang added that the Qujing blueberries could be sold on the market in April, which just makes up for the supply gap from international markets during that month.
Peter McPherson, chairman of the IBO, said China's blueberry production industry stands out due to its huge market potential.
"The good thing that we've found is that the Chinese consumer loves blueberries," said McPherson, adding that blueberries are an emerging industry in China and he is bullish about the prospects for the market.
IBO, a global organization, is aimed at bringing together leaders from around the blueberry world in all segments of the industry, collecting and sharing information and fostering a common goal of increased worldwide blueberry consumption.
It is the first time that the IBO Summit was held in China. Chile, Mexico, Australia, Argentina and Uruguay have previously hosted the summit.
As one of the leading blueberry production bases in China, Qujing has already planted 870 hectares of blueberries, representing 50 percent of the total blueberry production in Yunnan.
In 2020, blueberry production will reach 2,500 metric tons in Qujing and reach 250 million yuan ($38.3 million) in output.
Dong Baotong, the mayor of Qujing, said the government is making great efforts to develop the whole industrial chain related to blueberries, including the R&D of blueberry varieties, breeding of seedlings, planting, storage and sorting, logistics and retail, making Qujing a leading capital of blueberry production.
"In general, Yunnan province has the unique opportunity to produce blueberries during early season until the summer period if with the right variety, the right genetics, the right cultural system and right technology. It's also possible to produce some in winter and spring. And that's why a lot of international companies are looking for it in Yunnan," said Cort Brazelton, founder of IBO and the director of Fall Creek Farm & Nursery Inc.
"I have enormous confidence of the blueberry growth in Chinese market. Like all other international companies, we are all excited and we have strong desire to work with the Chinese regional governments to help Chinese blueberry industry sustainable."
Workers assemble loaders at a manufacturing plant in Qingzhou, Shandong province. [Wang Jilin/for China Daily]
Loaders rise 5-10 percent, other equipment may also climb rapidly
The cost of construction machinery may continue to rise, due to the surging price of materials and increasing demand from infrastructure projects, industrial analysts said.
In fact, they said, leading companies have already raised prices for loaders by 5 to 10 percent.
China's leading heavy industrial equipment manufacturers, including Guangxi-based Liugong Machinery Co Ltd, Shandong-based Shantui Construction Machinery Co Ltd and Jiangsu-based Xugong Group Construction Machinery Inc, have decided to lift the price on their loaders due to the rising cost of manufacturing materials such as steel, rubber, aluminum and iron castings.
Wang Huajun, senior analyst at Zhongtai Securities Co Ltd, said that the major push behind the price rise was the soaring cost of steel, which accounts for around a third of the entire cost of manufacturing heavy machinery.
According to data from zh818.com, a national steel industry monitoring website, steel prices have doubled this year, from 2,000 yuan ($310) per metric ton to 4,000 yuan.
"Raw materials including steel and rubber have become growingly expensive," Wang said last week. "Also, the supply of materials will keep (tightening) as the steel manufacturers are facing cuts in production capacity to reduce the environmental impact."
According to Liugong's notice to the retailers, Liugong will lift the price for its three-ton loaders and five-ton loaders by 10,000 yuan and 20,000 yuan respectively, starting in October.
Shantui and Xugong also released similar notices recently, while Sany Heavy Industry Co, among the biggest companies by sales volume, hasn't clarified if it will follow the same path.
Wang said it was possible that a series of products such as cranes, tower cranes and excavators will also see a price raise to tackle the rising cost, which should result in the manufacturing companies seeing better performance in the second half of the year.
Despite the rising cost and low stocks available, the sale performance of heavy machinery remains strong due to the increasing projects both home and abroad. According to a China Construction Machinery Association's report, Chinese excavator manufacturers will see their sales soar by 50 percent in 2017 from the previous year.
"A large percent of Sany's overseas profit was generated in economies involved in the Belt and Road Initiative," said Huang Luchuan, chief marketing officer of Irootech, the industrial cloud platform and solution provider.
"For example, excavators are not just used for basic construction. They are also used in advanced projects such as wind power farms, industrial housing, smart city developments and medical equipment factories."
BEIJING - A senior central bank official has stressed the need for increased efforts to combat money laundering. Yin Yong, vice-governor of the People's Bank of China, said authorities should fight money laundering as an important task in "preventing and controlling financial risks and safeguarding financial system security."
China faces a "severe and complicated" situation concerning combating money laundering amid rising financial risks and even more stricter international standards on fighting money laundering, Yin said at a briefing.
He said there should be rigorous efforts to prevent and control money laundering and terrorist financing, and more reform to improve the country's mechanisms to counter money laundering, terrorist financing and tax evasion.
China's economic performance has been generally stable with better momentum, which will stay unchanged during the rest of the year, said the National Bureau of Statistics spokesperson Mao Shengyong.
The central parity rate of the Chinese currency, the yuan, strengthened for 11 consecutive working days until Sept 11, reinforcing optimism in the real economy.
James Daniel, assistant director of the Asia and Pacific Department of the International Monetary Fund, commended China's reform agenda, noting that overcapacity had been reduced, and the local government borrowing framework improved.
China's economy expanded 6.9 percent in the first half of the year, well above the government's yearly target of 6.5 percent. The economy grew 6.7 percent in 2016.
Those who worry about the state of the Chinese economy can relax, as recent economic indicators suggest the good times are back. Market analysts say that good numbers should emerge as demand in the real economy recovers.
Consumer spending, which contributes over 60 percent of China's growth, have remained stable, according to Zhu Jianfang, chief economist with Citic Securities. Although investment has lost steam in the short term, analysts say it has room to strengthen.
Liang Hong, chief economist with the China International Capital Corporation, said manufacturing investment would rise after more industrial capacity was released on recovering demand.
Progress in the upgrading of consumption and investment will need more manufacturing investment, she added.
LONDON - The past five years have seen some notable reform successes in China's economy, including important changes to the local government fiscal system and financial system reforms, a British economist has said.
Marcus Wright, a senior economist at Royal Bank of Scotland, told Xinhua in a recent interview that the pace of reform had accelerated over the past five years compared to the previous five, such as removing controls on deposit rates, a deposit insurance scheme and the Bond Connect program.
"Indeed, there are tentative signs of changes in the growth model. Household consumption as a share of (gross domestic product), long criticized for being too small, has tentatively begun to rise. And the service sector continues to take up a bigger share of output. These are positive developments," Wright said.
He said that China had found huge success in the "resource mobilization" phase of economic development -- building up its capital stock of factories, infrastructure, and cities. It is now attempting to transit to a "resource efficiency" phase. But as history has shown, it's not a straightforward process.
"There are major areas where reform is needed. Growth has been held up by debt accumulation and the deterioration in the productivity of capital across large swathes of the economy is a sizable concern. Fixing these problems is a considerable challenge. Reform needs to graduate from piecemeal to deep-rooted. Otherwise progress on altering the growth model may be too slow to avert a substantial slowdown," said Wright.
"If reform efforts begin in earnest soon, even 2018 might be a bit bumpier than the current consensus view. But the improvement to China's longer-term outlook would likely be considerable," Wright added.
The latest data shows that China's imports grew 14.4 percent in August, showing strong growth in domestic demand, which reinforces views that China's economy is still expanding at a healthy pace.
The outlook for China's economy is steady in the short-term, he said. Expanding credit has fueled a rebound after the slowdown through 2014 and 2015. That rebound appears to still have legs through at least the rest of 2017. Property market activity remains robust.
"Meanwhile, global demand appears firm with the new export orders component of the PMI reaching its highest level since 2010. The consensus is for growth of 6.7 percent this year after a similar pace in 2016. A marginally lower rate of 6.4 percent is forecast for 2018," said Wright.
As protectionism is on the rise in certain parts of the world, China remains firmly committed to an open and inclusive world economy.
But according to Wright, "the world economy and the global trading system isn't speeding head-first into protectionism. In fact, global trade is expanding at a rather decent pace by the standards of recent years. That's beneficial to China's economy."
DHAKA - China has signed a framework agreement with Bangladesh to fund the country for its development of ICT infrastructure.
Chinese Ambassador Ma Mingqiang and Bangladesh's Economic Relations Department (ERD) Secretary Kazi Shofiqul Azam inked the deal on behalf of their respective sides here on Sunday.
The "Development of ICT Intra-network for Bangladesh Government Phase-III," which is also known as Info Sarker-3 project, and "Modernization of Telecommunication Network for Digital Connectivity (MoTN) are the two projects to be benefitted.
The main objectives of the Info Sarker-3 are to bring all the ministries, divisions and other government departments within a public network, according to the ERD.
On the other hand, the main objectives of the MoTN project are to extend a reliable and affordable telecom facility and facilitate enhancement of teledensity, it added.
ERD said these projects will fulfill Bangladesh's objective of the "Vision-2021," envisioned by Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and also assist to build a digital Bangladesh.
BEIJING - China's State Council Monday made public a guideline to support the economic transformation of coal-rich Shanxi province.
By 2020, the share of coal mining and preliminary processing in the province's output should have seen a notable decline, and the share of advanced coal production capacity in the total should reach two-thirds, the guideline said.
Shanxi should raise its abilities for clean and efficient exploitation and use of coal, and increase clean energy supply, it added.
The province should also develop new strategic sectors, raise capital input for research and development, and become a base for the commercialization of coal-based scientific and technological innovations, a modern manufacturing base and a tourism demonstration zone by 2020.
Before 2030, the province should have created a clean, safe and efficient modern energy system and accumulated a batch of duplicable reform experiences, according to the guideline.
The government will support Shanxi in replacing coal with clean energy sources, including electricity and natural gas.
The province should also seek better "ecological civilization" and build a "beautiful Shanxi" by stepping up environment rehabilitation in coal mine regions, conducting strict water resource management and pushing for economical energy use.
By the end of 2015, Shanxi had held 270.9 billion tons of known coal reserves, accounting for 17.3 percent of the country's total, the third largest following Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous regions.
Coal is the main energy source in China, accounting for 62 percent of total energy consumption in 2016. China is aiming to reduce the share of coal consumption to less than 58 percent by 2020.
A China National Nuclear Corp stand at an industrial expo in Beijing. DA WEI/CHINA DAILY
China National Nuclear Power Co Ltd (CNNP), a unit of one of the country's three largest State-owned nuclear operators, has announced plans to establish a Hebei-based company to promote the development of traveling-wave reactor, or TWR, technology.
The move will be carried out in partnership with Huadian Fuxin Energy Limited Company, Zhejiang Zheneng Electric Power Co Ltd, Shenhua Group and Jointo Energy Investment Co Ltd Hebei, the CNNP said in a statement with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
The new company, located in Cangzhou city, Hebei province, has a registered capital of 1 billion yuan ($153.23 million). CNNP will own 35 percent of the company; Shenhua Group, 30 percent; Huadian Fuxin Energy, 15 percent; Zhejiang Zheneng Electric Power, 10 percent, and Jointo Energy Investment, 10 percent.
CNNP said, in the statement, the establishment of the new company will be in accordance with the strategy for the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (Jing-Jin-Ji) region, and added it would also help support the development of the advanced TWR technology.
In addition, CNNP Technology Investment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNNP, also plans to establish CNNP TWR Technology Investment (Tianjin) Co Ltd together with the four investors, sporting the same investment proportion. The new company, located in Tianjin, has a registered capital of 750 million yuan.
TWR, a new nuclear design using fourth-generation technology, could reduce the need for the enrichment and reprocessing of uranium. CNNP stated the establishment of the TWR demonstration project will be in accordance with, and respond to, the national energy plan arrangement.
Bellevue, Washington-based Terra Power, co-founded by Bill Gates in 2006, is working closely with China National Nuclear Corp to conduct research into the use of the new technology.
NANNING - China is willing to expand cooperation in tourism with ASEAN, as this year marks the China-ASEAN Year of Tourism, Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli said Tuesday.
Zhang made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the 14th China-ASEAN Expo, themed "Co-Building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, Promoting Regional Economic Integration through Tourism."
As China and ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) both have abundant tourism resources with their own characteristics, increasing trips made between the two sides have played an important role in enhancing exchanges and understanding between their peoples, according to Zhang.
China is ASEAN's largest source of foreign tourists. In 2016, more than 38 million trips were made between the two sides and more than 2,700 flights flew every week.
Zhang said the pair would increase the number of students studying in each other's countries.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of ASEAN. Next year marks the 15th anniversary of the China-ASEAN strategic partnership.
The UK city of Bradford is to open a film office in Qingdao, China, as part of a developing relationship between the countries' film industries.
The office will launch as part of the Qingdao Film Trade and Domestic Film Promotion Festival, which takes place between Sept 18 and Sept 22 and showcases Qingdao as a fast-growing hub of the film industry.
The event attracts around 500 delegates, including industry experts, actors, directors, screen writers and production teams. It will feature a series of talks about Chinese and international films.
In a reciprocal arrangement, Qingdao will also open a UK China Film Bureau in Bradford in the coming months.
Bradford City of Film said it is working closely with Qingdao to encourage greater collaboration on a number of levels, from culture and heritage to business and education.
Qingdao University of Science and Technology and the University of Bradford are also cooperating in the areas of science and technology as well as film and TV production.
The eastern Chinese city is home to China's largest state-of-the-art film production studio complex, owned by Wanda Studio.
Bradford, in Yorkshire, is the world's first UNESCO City of Film because of its festivals and heritage.
David Wilson, director of Bradford UNESCO City of Film, said: "We've been working with Qingdao for some time now and I was very fortunate to have visited the city earlier this year and see first-hand the scale of ambition for film."
Wilson added, "The establishment of a Bradford Film Office in Qingdao will enable the UK to have a portal to promote UK co-production opportunities, and wider business opportunities particularly in Leeds City Region and the North of England."
Roger Marsh, chairman of Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, said Bradford is leading the way in creating film and business opportunities in China.
"This international presence further showcases the strengths of the screen industries in both the City Region highlighting the talent, locations and ambition which is garnering national and international attention, including that of Channel 4," Marsh said.
The Bradford office will develop co-production projects between UK and Chinese filmmakers and offer advice on film and TV production studies in Britain.
A number of initiatives to promote Sino-British cultural exchange through film are currently in development with the China Film Association.
By Zheng Xin in Beijing, Zhou Huiying and Tian Xuefei in Harbin | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2017-09-12 17:23
Construction on the infrastructure for the major line of China's second Sino-Russia crude oil transmission pipeline will be complete by the end of September.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
China is set to annually import 30 million tons of crude oil from Russia starting next year, through two transmission pipelines between the two countries, according to Hu Weijun, chief engineer of Jiagedaqi section of the project on Tuesday.
The project is an attempt to help ensure China's energy diversification.
"Chinese workers will finish construction on the infrastructure for the major line of China's second Sino-Russian crude oil transmission pipeline by the end of September," Hu said.
The project, with a length of 941.8 kilometers and built from Mohe county to Daqing, Heilongjiang province, has the capacity to transmit 15 million tons of crude oil annually.
"Workers began construction in last August, 2016, and dealt with many difficulties in the past 14 months," Hu said.
"From October, repeated tests on the main line of this project should be conducted before it is put into service in the beginning of 2018.
"The biggest problem was the bitter cold - in this area as low as -40 C."
Construction on the infrastructure for the major line of China's second Sino-Russia crude oil transmission pipeline will be complete by the end of September.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
The total capacity of the first and second Sino-Russian crude oil transmission pipelines will reach 30 million tons annually.
Analysts said Russia has also been a major source of crude for China, and the pipeline will be one of the latest energy cooperation between the two countries, which will help ensure China's energy diversification.
The first 1,000-km pipeline, originating in the Russian town of Skovorodino in the Amur region, enters China at Xingan and terminates at Daqing, and was put into service on Jan 1, 2011.
It has delivered 104.92 million tons of crude oil from Russia, the Heiongjiang Entry-exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau said on Sept 9.
Han Xiaoping, chief information officer of China Energy Net Consulting, said China and Russia play complementary roles to each other as producers and exporters, as China is the world's second-largest energy consumer, while Russia being the world's top oil producer.
U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos also spoke out against lowering the standard of proof required in sexual misconduct cases.
Ran [of the Cambodia America Alliance] said it's important that Cambodians outside the country speak out [against the imprisonment of Cambodian political leader Kem Sokha].
"That's the only reason" the automakers would want a new review, said U.S. Rep. Scott Peters (D-San Diego), who spoke out against the plan [to consider cutbacks in pollution and fuel economy standards for automobiles and light trucks.]
The original lawsuit was filed by former employee Brandon Charles, who said he was fired because he spoke out against a SoFi manager for openly discussing sexual acts with two younger, female subordinates at the company's Healdsburg, Calif., operations office.
But [Michael Bradley] feels a responsibility to speak out, in words and deeds, on issues that go beyond sports, which he did last summer by wearing a rainbow captain's armband after an attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., and later when he called for national unity in the wake of the presidential election.
Trump neither tweeted nor spoke out about NAFTA during the first session of negotiations, which lasted five days.
[A group of clergy and activists from across the country] also spoke out against the president, placing much of the blame for a rise in white nationalist fervor on his shoulders.
[West Hollywood] Mayor Pro Tem John Duran said he spoke out only after hearing Horvath encouraging people to come forward and said he felt a responsibility to let people know they should not incriminate themselves.
Should LAPD test drones? Critics speak out
The Laguna Beach protests came after a weekend in which prominent leaders spoke out in Los Angeles against racism and violence.
A Dalian-based company plans to build a petrochemical project with total investment of about $2.8 billion at a China-Oman industrial park in Oman.
The plan was revealed during a promotion of Oman's Duqm Special Economic Zone held on Sunday in Dalian, Northeast China's Liaoning province.
Dalian Mingyuan Holdings Group Co Ltd has signed an investment agreement with the Duqm Special Economic Zone to build a 10 million-ton project to manufacture olefin with methanol.
The first phase of the project is expected to invest about $2.8 billion and generate 1.8 million tons of olefin annually. The annual production value could reach $919 million.
According to Dalian Daily, the production will provide lower cost raw materials to the company's petrochemical bases at the Dalian Changxingdao Economic Zone.
The company is actively cooperating with counterparts from countries and regions participating in the Belt and Road Initiative through using low-cost oil and gas resources in the Middle East, expanding overseas raw materials and markets for products, as well as outputting advanced manufacturing capacity.
Statistics from Oman's National Center for Statistics and Information show the country exported 308 million barrels of crude oil in 2015 and more than 77 percent was exported to China.
Located in the middle region of Oman, the Duqm Special Economic Zone covers an area of 2,000 square kilometers. It is positioned by the government to be a free trade zone, enjoying favorable policies in tax, foreign investors' access, factors relating to production prices, trade facilitation, and other competitive advantages.
A worker on a production line of an E-car manufacturing factory in Xiangfan, Hubei province. [Yang Dong/for China Daily]
Shares of companies related to the new energy car industry surged on Monday, hot on the heels of the news that China is working on a timetable to ban the production and sale of fossil fuel cars.
Xin Guobin, vice-minister of industry and information technology, told the International Forum on Chinese Automotive Industry Development in Tianjin that the ministry will draw up a timetable to ban the production and sale of fossil fuel cars.
"It will profoundly drive the development environment and momentum of China's auto industry," he said, and pointed out that the industry should pay attention to the issues of excessive production and innovation of core technology.
Following his speech, the EV sector on Monday climbed 4.17 percent in the A-share market, while the Shanghai Securities Composite Index saw a slight increase of 0.33 percent.
BYD, China's largest electric-vehicle maker, gained over 7 percent in both markets in Shanghai and Shenzhen, while Shanghai-listed Guangzhou Automobile Group Co Ltd, another Chinese automaker manufacturing new energy cars, was also boosted by 4.67 percent at closing.
BYD on Monday won the bidding of 822 electric bus procurement plan by a Shenzhen-based bus operator, shortly after the announcement earlier this month that it will provide above 400 e-vehicles to another local public transportation company.
In addition, other companies related to the industry, such as raw materials, battery and charging station makers, all went up. For instance, Shenzhen Desay Battery Technology rallied 3.57 percent while Sunwoda Electronic ended up 5.44 percent.
Wang Liusheng, chief analyst of automobile industry at CSM Securities, said the plan reflects the government's long-term strategic support for the industry, but it still needs a long term to actually carry it out.
He estimated the deadline will be after 2030 because the size of automobiles in China is large and the penetration rate of EV cars now is lowonly about 1.86 percent last year.
As the largest producer and market for new energy vehicles, China sold more than 520,000 EV cars in 2016 while the total sales volume of automobiles were 28 million.
The deadline will be sometime when the penetration rate grows to above 30 percent, he added.
Chen Zikun, an analyst at GF Securities, expects the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to set a percentage in a period of time for fossil fuel cars to exit gradually and it won't be a mandatory requirement.
In short-term, Chen said the real factor shaping sales of EV cars in the next two years is still government financial subsidies, which the brokerage firm speculates won't decrease in 2018.
A pedestrian carries a shopping bag as she passes a giant Apple Inc logo outside a new Apple store, still under development, on Princess Street in Edinburgh, UK. [Photo/VCG]
With Apple Inc set to unveil its 10th anniversary iPhone on Wednesday, experts say a key question is whether the much-anticipated product can help the US tech giant bolster its business in China, the world's largest smartphone market.
Amid tough competition from local rivals such as Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and Xiaomi Corp, Apple needs to prove it remains an innovative leader, and the latest iPhone will be impressive enough to resonate with local consumers, industry insiders say.
In China, once the biggest growth driver for Apple, the company has seen its revenues slide for several quarters as users switched to domestic phones. In the second quarter of this year, Apple was the fifth-largest smartphone vendor in the country, with a market share of only 8 percent.
Huawei also surpassed Apple as world's second-largest smartphone vendor for the first time in June and July, while Samsung is No 1, data from consultancy Counterpoint Technology Market Research shows.
James Yan, research director at the company, said that to outcompete Chinese players that are constantly experimenting with new technologies, Apple must come up with something "really stunning" for iPhone's 10th anniversary.
Media commentators and Apple fans have expressed high expectations for the new iPhone launch event, set for Steve Jobs Theater at Apple's new Silicon Valley campus.
Reports indicate a premium handset, dubbed iPhone X, will be unveiled. It is likely to include a high-quality screen without an outside frame and an extra camera for 3D facial recognition.
Zhang Wentao, an IT programmer in Shenzhen, said he is not so thrilled about such features. "Chinese smartphone makers are unveiling similar products. Handsets just look increasingly the same. I don't know which one is better until I give them a try," he said.
On Monday, Xiaomi unveiled a smartphone that also has a full-screen display. Huawei has unveiled an artificial-intelligence-powered chipset, with super fast capabilities and a strong image-recognition ability. It will power Huawei's upcoming Mate 10 set to launch in October. Apple is said to be working on a similar chip.
"The annual smartphone battle is coming. But with the 10th anniversary iPhone, it will be far fiercer," said Xiang Ligang, chief executive of telecom industry website Cctime.
A senior citizen experiences smart fitness devices during the 2017 World Internet of Things Exposition in Wuxi, Jiangsu province. [Photo/China Daily by Gao Erqiang]
New IoT technology set to link up billions of electronic appliances
China's telecom gurus have pledged to uphold the development of the Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT), an emerging but fast-growing technology that enables the connection of billions of electronic appliances, shared bikes and street lamps into the internet and allows for a handy retrieval of the massive trove of data generated.
With the technology projected to support more than half of all IoT connections, China is already at the forefront in terms of network launches, grooming ecosystem developer partners and drawing up industry standards, said Wen Ku, head of the information and communication development department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
"NB-IoT, thanks to its wide-coverage, low-throughput and delay-tolerant nature, is a major source to realize interconnectivity among the likes of metering facilities and parking lots," Wen told a forum during the 2017 World Internet of Things Exposition on Monday in Wuxi, Jiangsu province.
He predicted that application scenarios of NB-IoT could reach hundreds and even thousands in the future, up from only about 30 since China embarked on the technology just two years ago.
China Telecommunications Corp, the country's third largest mobile carrier, has doubled down on the technology via a nationwide rollout of nationwide NB-IoT networks, the first of its kind globally.
The company forecast that 60 percent of all IoT connections will be realized by narrow bandwidth technologies, according to Zhao Jianjun, general-manager of China Telcom's IoT branch.
"Many aren't effectively connected now because they are either too remote, too inaccessible or simply too many of them to make it economically viable to do so," Zhao said.
"NB-IoT is designed for ... devices that generate low data traffic, rely on batteries and typically have a long device life cycle, essentially fueling fresh momentum to the entire IoT industry."
Likewise, China Mobile Communications Corp has started building the NB-IoT networks in 346 cities and vowed to achieve commercial trials in key cities by the end of 2017, said Xiao Qing, a senior director at China Mobile IOT Co Ltd.
Unlike China Telecom, China Mobile is co-developing NB-IoT and eMTC, another key IoT technology that provides wider bandwidth. The company has set a goal of connecting 1.75 billion gadgets by 2020, Xiao said.
China United Network Communications Group Co Ltd has also signed an agreement with the municipal government of Shanghai that includes the deployment of a citywide NB-IoT platform for applications such as intelligent parking and environmental monitoring, in a bid to make the city smarter.
Carriers have all encouraged vendors to move the IoT forward through "Open Lab" initiatives for application developers and device, module and chip manufacturers to test their products.
China's aggressive push to harness the IoT also means the country could play a pivotal role in determining which IoT specifications thrive, said Jiang Wangcheng, president of Huawei's IoT solutions.
A customer views the new iPhone 7 smartphone inside an Apple Inc store in Los Angeles, California, September 16, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]
As the launch of a new generation of iPhone approaches, an industrial chain surrounding the new product has emerged, with market players in supporting industries stretching their resources to try for a piece of the pie.
At Shenzhen's Huaqiang North area, an electronics hub known for copycat products, various kinds of iPhone 8 covers are already on sale.
"We have already poured in about five million yuan ($767,130) in manufacturing iPhone 8 covers," said Liu Shihua, chief executive officer of Shenzhen Aiqaa Technology Co Ltd, a company specializing in making 3C digital accessories.
"So far, several million covers of the new iPhone have been produced. If the cover proves to be the right fit for the new iPhone when it is officially launched, it will bring us huge economic benefits."
The company has spent several hundred thousand yuan buying "information" about details of the iPhone 8.
The "price of the information ranges from tens of thousands of yuan to hundreds of thousands of yuan, according to the time you get the information and its accuracy. The earlier you obtain the information or the more accurate the information is, the higher the price," Liu told China Daily. "It is an unspoken rule."
The information comes from upstream suppliers in the industry, Liu said, but he declined to give further details.
Although the accuracy of the information could reach more than 90 percent, no one can guarantee it is completely right, he noted.
The company once suffered one to two million yuan loss manufacturing iPhone SE covers due to bad information.
"We have been selling iPhone 8 covers since last month," said a seller at a booth in Saige electronic market at Huaqiang North, who only gave her surname as Huang.
"We have received a large number of orders so far. The products are mainly for exports, which are sold to the US, Canada and other overseas markets. Once the final look of the new iPhone is confirmed, we will mass produce the cover.
"Data of new iPhones have been much easier to be obtained since the launch of iPhone 5," she added.
Chinese bike share firm Mobike launches in London on Sept 12, [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]
Mobike has become the latest company to release its dockless bikes on the streets of London.
The Beijing-based bike-hiring company rolled out the first of 750 bikes in the West London borough of Ealing on Tuesday, joining four other new arrivals taking on existing schemes.
The company's silver and orange bikes can be picked up and parked without the use of a dock. Riders unlock a bike by scanning a QR code with the Mobike app, which is available on Android and the Apple Store.
New users pay a promotional deposit of 29 pounds ($38.50), and rides cost 50p for 30 minutes.
The launch saw Mobike competing against rival Chinese company Ofo in a British city for the first time.
Ofo introduced 200 of its yellow bicycles in Hackney, East London, last week after launching its UK operation in Cambridge earlier this year. Mobike has had a presence in Manchester since June.
The two companies are key players in Chinas famed "bike wars," with dozens of bike-sharing rivals competing for market share in hundreds of cities across the nation.
Firms from other countries have also entered the London market.
Singapore-based oBike rolled out hundreds of cycles in Wandsworth, while Irish firm Urbo is due to introduce 250 bikes to Waltham Forest.
Companies have targeted London boroughs that are not well-served by the Santander Cycle docked bike scheme.
"Ealing had wanted the Santander Cycles for quite some time, but it's quite far out (from central London) and they are expensive to put in place," said Steve Pyer, UK general manager for Mobike. "We just had to make sure that all the approvals with the council were in place, and that we had set up the preferred locations for the bikes."
Julian Bell, leader of Ealing Council, said he sought assurances the bikes would not clutter public areas, a problem that currently plagues many Chinese cities.
"I was very enthusiastic about the concept," said Bell. "I felt it had more flexibility than a docking cycle hire scheme. Equally, I was concerned about all those pictures you see on social media of mountains of discarded bikes, so parking was the key issue."
Mobike has GPS trackers on all of its cycles and hopes "geo-fencing" will encourage users to deliver bikes back to high use areas.
Users who fail to park bikes in designated parking spaces highlighted on the Mobike app will incur penalties and future rides may be more expensive.
Pyer said that location data will also be shared with the council to aid decisions on new infrastructure.
Xi tells international meeting of nation's focus on the effort
China attaches great importance to advancing the rule of law and is willing to strengthen judicial cooperation with other countries, according to President Xi Jinping.
Xi made the remark in a letter of congratulation to the 22nd annual conference and general meeting of the International Association of Prosecutors, which started on Monday in Beijing.
"As representatives of the public interest, prosecutors shoulder important responsibilities," Xi wrote. "The annual conference, focusing on prosecution in the public interest and building a safe, fair, harmonious and rule-oflaw society, is significant in the progress of the rule of law in the countries involved."
Xi said China had continuously pushed forward legislation in a scientific way, with strict law-enforcement, justice and complete compliance with laws.
"China works to ensure the country, the government and society are all under the rule of law," the president said.
"Chinese prosecutorial offices are important players in protecting the national and public interest, since they have the functions of punishing and preventing crime and supervising litigation," he said.
Xi encouraged prosecutors from all around the world to share their experience in protecting the public interest and advancing the rule of law to deepen judicial cooperation.
Top legislator Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, said at the conference that judicial authorities from across the country, particularly prosecutors, share the same obligation in fighting crime, protecting human rights, cracking corruption and safeguarding justice.
More than 500 IAP members representing prosecuting authorities and international organizations from 98 countries and regions are attending the meeting, which will run through Thursday.
Gerhard Jarosch, president of the association, said the meeting's aim is to "build up ways to communicate with each other and improve judicial cooperation to find solutions to target cross-border crimes".
Meng Hongwei, president of the International Criminal Police Organization, said it's necessary for countries to work together more closely to tackle cross-border crime, including terrorist attacks, human trafficking and illegal immigration.
"As two important international organizations for judicial cooperation, Interpol and the IAP should strengthen high-level strategic cooperation and hold regular meetings annually," he said in an address at the meeting.
Meng said Interpol will make use of its big police database and share intelligence with relevant countries with its encrypted communications network
David Scharia, chief of branch at the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate under the United Nations Security Council, stressed that in recent years, with the development of digital and internet technology, cross-border crimes tend to be more complex and hidden, which has made it more difficult for law enforcement officers to pin down evidence.
Xinhua contributed to this story.
More flexible policies could help attract talented foreign staffers
With high-end workers leaving and insufficient high-end foreign personnel, China lags behind the world in attracting an international workforce and urgently needs to take action to solve the problem, a report has found.
Shanghai is the most competitive region in China in attracting high-end international workers. The municipality, however, only rates about 3.9 points in an evaluation index system with six parts, including the scale and structure for international workers and the policies to attract more, and the quality of life they expect.
The full score for each of the six subindexes is 1. So Shanghai just passed the "test", said the report titled Blue Book of Regional Talent, which was published on Monday by the Center for China and Globalization, a Beijing-based independent think tank, and the Institute of Development Studies at Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in Chengdu, Sichuan province.
The proportion of international workers in China is far below the international average. In 2015, only 0.06 percent of the country's population were foreigners, while the average worldwide proportion is 3.3 percent, it said, citing various sources from United Nations.
Meanwhile, the country is also troubled by talent outflow. At least 35 million people from the Chinese mainland work overseas.
"Though some of the Chinese emigrants are technical workers, most are well-educated and have bachelor's or even higher degrees in engineering or science and technology. It's highly possible that they will settle down in developed countries," the report said.
International employees are unevenly distributed across the country. Shanghai gets the highest score for its proportion of international workers.
"There has been good top-level planning for the introduction of international talents. Lacking, however, are a key administrative authority that oversees the work and necessary legal support for that," said the report, adding that a special government body should be set up to help manage the introduction of foreign workers to the country.
While proposing more flexible immigration and work policies to attract foreign staff, the report also suggests giving green cards to Chinese who became citizens of other nations, promoting that they return to serve their country.
"China has promoted introducing international talents since the reform and opening-up. However, there has been little progress actually over the years. The main reason for that is China's immigration policy and entry and exit administration were quite strict in the past," said Li Qing, a researcher at the Center for China and Globalization and one of the report's writers.
He said developed and underdeveloped areas in China should resort to different strategies to attract talented workers. The metropolises in East China should create more favorable and tailored working and living environments to attract foreign workers, he said.
Instead of bringing in top employees in various fields, the underdeveloped regions should focus more on those who can support local pillar industries, he said.
International workers are increasingly important as China engages in the Belt and Road Initiative.
"As China carries out the initiative, we cannot do the work well without help of international workers," said Wang Huiyao, president of the Center for China and Globalization.
Xie Shouguang, director of Social Sciences Academic Press, said China should attach more importance to research on policies as well as giving more attention to bring in international staff. "The research on topics related to top foreign workers is weak in China," he said.
Pasang Drolma, 46, works on a farm near Duishigagyi, a newly built village in Chushul county. The farm is part of the government-backed Pure Land project. [Photo by HOU LIQIANG/CHINA DAILY]
Residents in remote villages relocate to new settlements with modern housing and jobs. Hou Liqiang and Daqiong report from Chushul.
Shopping for daily necessities used to be a luxury for Pasang Drolma. The nearest store was in a town 30 kilometers away, and she only had the time to make the journey twice a year.
As no public buses ran though her isolated village in the Tibet autonomous region, to get there she would have to wait beside a dirt road for up to an hour to flag down a private minibus or taxi service.
That was until the end of last year, however, before the 46-year-old mother moved to Duishigagyi, a new village in Chushul county built specially to give impoverished families a fresh start.
So far, 365 householdsroughly 1,700 peoplehave been resettled in the area as part of an ongoing poverty alleviation program. Residents enjoy convenient public transportation links, and "now we live in a spacious and much more comfortable new house", Pasang Drolma said.
Pure Land, a regional government-sponsored agricultural project nearby, has also provided a range of employment opportunities.
Due to unfavorable weather and soil conditions in their old village, Pasang Drolma and her husband had barely been able to grow enough grain to feed themselves. The family's only income was the 7,000 yuan ($1,070) a year their eldest son made working as a restaurant waiter in Lhasa, the regional capital.
Pasang Drolma and her youngest son now earn 100 yuan a day doing farmwork at Pure Land. "We don't have to work every day, we just work when we want," she said. "We made more than 10,000 yuan in the first half of this year."
The library consists of three boats bound together.[Photo/Xinhua]
SANYAA coastal resort city in South China, has converted fishing boats into a floating public library.
The so-called Sea Study is the first public library on the island of Ximaozhou, 8 nautical miles west of downtown Sanya, Hainan province.
"A life cannot be called life without books," said Chen Muhu, 78, a fisherman who was browsing archaeology books in the library.
Pyramid-shaped Ximaozhou Island is home to 4,000 residents, but it has only one primary school.
"Locals needed a library badly," said Qin Jiayi, the instigator of the project. "We see quite a few readers every day."
More than 30 fishermen spent four weeks renovating three abandoned fishing boats into a reading cabin, a salon, and a 16-bed hostel.
Qin planned to double the library's collection to 4,000 books.
Because of limited fishing resources nearby and obsolete equipment, fishermen from Ximaozhou are less dependent on the traditional way of making a living. Twenty-four fishing boats have been taken out of service. Timber from some was made into furniture.
Qin wanted to bring the boats back to life in a different way, with support from the local government.
The library satisfies local people's needs while making the village more appealing to outsiders, said Jia Peng, a government official.
The government plans to renovate another 21 vessels into theaters, shops and hostels.
"It sounds cool," said Feng Yuetao, a tourist from the plateau province of Qinghai who wanted to visit the library with his family.
Xinhua
Iranian Proxy Threatens U.S. Troops, Media M.I.A.Again | Main | LA Times Gives New Meaning to 'Speaking Out'
September 11, 2017
Politico Whitewashes Linda Sarsours Record
Linda Sarsour is a New York-based, Palestinian-American anti-Israel activist who has latched on to so-called progressive political causes in the United States. According to Politico magazine, shes also one of 50 ideas blowing up American politics (and the people behind them).
Sarsour, Politico tells readers, is number forty-six.
Reporter Taylor Gee called Sarsour a lightning rod of the resistance and the picture of defiance. The article noted that Sarsour is an advocate for intersectional progressivism and that her insistence on Palestinian rights as part of the progressive package has met vociferous opposition from pro-Israel Democrats, who label her exclusionary and anti-Semitic.
This, however, is a vagueand misleadingdescription. As CAMERAs Ricki Hollander noted in a May 23, 2017 report, Sarsour has a history of silencing those who shed light on misogynic practices and to avert criticism from the societies that tolerate or encourage them ("Who is Linda Sarsour?"). The self-styled progressive activist even threatened Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali-born feminist and former Muslim, calling to take her vagina away, in a crude 2011 tweet that Sarsour later deleted. Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a victim of female genital mutilation (FGM).
Indeed, ugly and exclusionary statements are Sarsours specialty. She has called Zionismthe belief in Jewish self-determinationas creepy and a form of racism. This echoes Soviet-era propaganda which sought to paint the Jewish state of Israel as being unnatural and unworthy of existence.
Politico does not specify what sort of Palestinian rights their awardee advocates for. But Sarsour has been clear on this point via her support for the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement (BDS) that seeks to single out Israel for opprobrium. As CAMERA has noted, BDS leaders like Omar Barghouti have explicitly called for the destruction of Israel. U.S.-designated terrorist groups like Hamaswhose charter quoted Adolf Hitlerare also BDS supporters. Sarsour, however is a BDS defenderdespite studies that show BDS to be economically harmful to Palestinians.
In fact, Sarsour is noticeably quiet about the abuses Palestinian people endure at the hands of their autocratic leadership in the form of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, or Mahmoud Abbas Palestinian Authority (PA), which rules the West Bank (Judea and Samaria). Its a revealing omission.
As Hollander noted, what Sarsour really advocates is the replacement of the Jewish state with a Palestinian one. Politico should have told its readers about this factand the rest of Sarsours historywhen the publication offered its whitewashed portrait.
Posted by SD at September 11, 2017 04:59 PM
Guidelines for posting
This is a moderated blog. We will not post comments that include racism, bigotry, threats, or factually inaccurate material.
Post a comment
More than 100 scholars and history researchers from China, Japan and South Korea called for peace and mutual understanding in Nanjing, which became China's first International City of Peace on Saturday.
Ye Nanke, head of the Nanjing Academy of Social Sciences, said Nanjing has set up international peace schools, peace communities and peace research institutes to educate the next generation and bring peace to the public.
"Nanjing plays a key role in peace education and international communications because of its history," he said. "In the future, the city will establish more peace museums, squares, hospitals and schools."
Ye made the comments at China's Concept and Practice of the Right to Peace Seminar, which was held in Nanjing on Monday.
Starting on Dec 13, 1937, some 300,000 Chinese people were killed by Japanese troops in a six-week rampageone of the most brutal massacres in modern history.
International Cities of Peace, a global nonprofit association dedicated to connecting, promoting and encouraging peace worldwide, approved the city's application on Aug 31.
Cui Yuying, vice-minister of the State Council Information Office and deputy head of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said at the seminar that China adheres to peaceful development as it tries to promote common development globally.
"China has always been peace-loving, and peace is one of the core values of Chinese civilization," she said. "Over the years, China has made a significant contribution to the maintenance of peace, both for the Chinese people and the peoples of the world."
Chang Jian, deputy director of the Human Rights Research Center at Nankai University in Tianjin, said the right to peace means the right to enjoy a peaceful life.
"To enjoy peaceful lives, people should not be threatened by organized violence. Many methods should be adopted to eliminate violence and its causes," he said.
"Researchers should look at how violent methods used to eliminate violence can be controlled and what alternatives can be used instead," he said.
Chen Xiaolyu, director of the European Union Research Center at Nanjing University, said that long-term peace can only be acquired when the interests of all parties are respected without the influence of military forces.
"China doesn't want to realize its goals by forcing other countries," he said. "We say that China is a peace-loving country, and that is not empty flattery. Plenty of evidence can be provided to prove that.
"China will be an important force in safeguarding world peace. Its development will benefit not only the Chinese but also the peoples of the world."
WUHANLike a scene out of the hit TV series Breaking Bad, people posing as household renovators were caught manufacturing drugs in apartments in Hubei province, police said on Monday.
Officers raided three drug manufacturing workshops in late August and seized 13 suspects, according to the police. They confiscated more than 20 kilograms of yaba (a stimulant combining methamphetamine and caffeine), 20 kg of drug materials, drugmaking equipment, two hand grenades, four pistols and several imitation pistols and bullets.
Because the drugmaking equipmentwhich weighs around 1 metric tonwas noisy, the suspects usually used it in neighborhoods where many renovations were underway, the police said. They also set up a shock-absorption device on the bottom of the machine to dampen the noise.
A resident in the neighborhood told police that he heard loud noises inside the apartment but just thought it was people renovating.
Each gang member had a specific role, the police said, with younger members learning online how to make drugs, while older members sold the products and provided financial support.
Currently, eight members of the gang have been detained by police.
A guest uses virtual reality goggles to view a panda-themed promotional video at the United Nations World Tourism Organization's 22nd General Assembly in Chengdu, Sichuan province, on Monday.[Photo by HAO FEI/CHINA DAILY]
Poverty reduction using new models praised; travel sector grows to 11% of nation's economy
China is a good example of how a country can develop a healthy tourism industry, industry insiders said.
"China is one of the best examples of how tourism can be prioritized to show its potential, with themes such as rural poverty reduction," said Taleb Rifai, secretary-general of the United Nations World Tourism Organization.
The organization is holding its 22nd General Assembly in Chengdu, Sichuan province, this week. It is the second time the biennial meeting has been held in China. It ends on Saturday.
Major topics include smart tourism, tourism and sustainable development, and the Belt and Road Initiative and tourism cooperation. The World Tourism Alliance will be set up during the meeting with the aim of deepening tourism cooperation among members and facilitating sustainable development of the industry worldwide.
China has been the top source of tourism spending, and is the fourth-most-visited country, he said. It also has the largest domestic tourism market, with 4.4 billion trips inside China and tourism income reaching $600 billion last year.
According to Li Jinzao, director of the China National Tourism Administration, the country's tourism revenue grew 13.6 percent year-on-year in 2016, and now accounts for 11 percent of the national economy.
Rifai added that more than 1,000 participants, including 74 minister-level officials, from 130 countries and regions are attending the meeting.
The assembly is also expected to play a positive role in guiding and supporting the recovery of Jiuzhaigou, a well-known scenic spot in Sichuan, which was hit by a magnitude-7.0 earthquake in early August.
Maurice Loustau-Lalanne, minister of tourism in the Republic of Seychelles, an island archipelago in the Indian Ocean, said China has maintained good relations in terms of tourism cooperation. He said that five years ago Seychelles had only 500 visitors from China. Last year, 15,000 people visited.
With cooperation from the assembly, the country hoped the number could reach 30,000 by 2020, Loustau-Lalanne said, adding that he would like to expand cooperation to include tourism promotion and marketing, and the training of people in the tourism industry.
State Council: Province needs to make major shifts before 2030
The State Council, China's Cabinet, made guidelines public on Monday in support of the economic transformation of coal-rich Shanxi province and mapping the way forward.
By 2020, the share of coal mining and processing as a proportion of the province's industrial output should see a notable decline, and the share of advanced coal production capacity should reach two-thirds of the total, the guideline said.
Shanxi should raise its abilities to exploit coal in clean and efficient ways, and increase its clean energy supply, it said.
The province should also develop new strategic sectors by 2020, raise capital for research and development and become a center for coal-based scientific and technological innovations and commercial applications, as well as a modern manufacturing base and tourism demonstration zone.
Before 2030, the province should create a clean, safe and efficient modern energy system and accumulate experiences in reform that can be replicated elsewhere, the guideline said.
The government will support Shanxi in replacing coal with clean energy, including electricity and natural gas, it said, and the province should seek to create an "ecological civilization" and build a "beautiful Shanxi" by stepping up environmental rehabilitation in mining regions, conducting strict water resource management and pushing for economical energy use.
As of the end of 2015, Shanxi had an estimated 270.9 billion tons of known coal reserves, accounting for 17.3 percent of the country's total, the third-largest reserve after the Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous regions.
Coal is the main energy source in China, accounting for 62 percent of total energy consumption in 2016. The country is aiming to reduce the share of coal consumption to less than 58 percent by 2020.
Zhang Yiwen, a 10-year-old girl from the city of Shangqiu, Central China's Henan province, has now registered as a freshman at the Shangqiu Institute of Technology. Scoring 353 in this year's college entrance exams, Zhang Yiwen has been admitted to the School of Information and Electronic Engineering at the college.
Accompanied by her parents, Zhang Yiwen registers at the registration desk at Shangqiu Institute of Technology, central China's Henan province, Sept 10, 2017. What makes the story more interesting is that Zhang never went to public school.
Chinese children are usually required to go through 9 years of education in primary and junior high school, then finish high school before they're allowed to take the college entrance exams. Zhang Yiwen was home-schooled by her parents. Her father runs a local training school in Shangqiu.
The girl took the college entrance exam for the first time in 2016 as a 9-year old. However, she only managed a disappointing score of 172, so her parents decided to wait until this year to try again. While an obvious prodigy, her first attempt at entering college as a 9-year old was viewed by some as a stunt.
Zhang Yiwen poses with her letter of admission at Shangqiu Institute of Technology, central China's Henan province, Sept 10, 2017.
Despite this, 10-year old Zhang Yiwen is now starting a 3-year program majoring in electronic information and engineering. Although she has been accepted by a junior college, her father says he expects his daughter will eventually be able to transfer to a different school to get her PhD in the future.
More students are avoiding physics during the national university entrance exam, or gaokao, which could cause a decline in expertise, China's Science and Technology Daily reported.
Following new regulations on the gaokao in East China's Zhejiang province and Shanghai, students are required to take exams on three compulsory subjects - Chinese, mathematics and a foreign language. But they can choose three optional ones from politics, history, geography, physics, chemistry, biology and science in other tests.
Only about 80,000 of the total 291,300 test takers in Zhejiang took physics last year, Chinese media reported, while in Shanghai only 30 percent of candidates did the same.
"Compared with other subjects, physics is more difficult," said Sun Guobiao, a veteran physics teacher in Zhejiang's Keqiao Middle School, who added that in the gaokao scoring system, it is difficult to get high marks with fewer students taking the test.
"Physics can solve many questions in our dailylife and is of great benefit to improve our abilities of logic thinking, observing, modeling and calculating," Sun said.
Beijing is also trying to promote new gaokao regulations this year, so some students are thinking of giving up physics, according to Chinese media.
"If the situation continues, many excellent physics teachers will disappear in future, which will be a crushing blow to the subject," Sun said.
Hong Wen, vice president of the Yuanpei Academy of Educational Science, agreed, saying the nation will face a shortage of physics talent that will affect industrial development
Teachers and middle schools are trying to stimulate interest in physics by inviting experts to deliver speeches and give lessons to student face-to-face. Keqiao Middle School has invited well-known physics experts to outline new developments in sciences and technologies to students. The high school affiliated to Renmin University of China in Beijing also invited physics experts such as Fang Zhong from Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Physics to give lectures.
Other experts, including Hong and Sun, also suggest an adjustment to the gaokao examination and scoring system. The physics exam should not be avoided by students who will take it as their major at university, Hong said.
All primary school and kindergarten teachers in Beijing will be required to receive 40 hours of training on the core values of Chinese socialism and traditional Chinese culture by 2020, the city's education commission announced.
As a pilot program, teachers from six schools in Doncheng and Tongzhou districts will be the first to receive the training, starting in November, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Education said.
The training sessions will include courses on traditional culture and crafts. All courses will be given online and via mobile applications. All teachers must complete the 40-hour training sessions by 2020.
To better educate children, the teachers must be better educated first. Also, a teacher must have deep affection for traditional culture, said Li Yi, the commission's deputy director. The courses are all online so the teachers can be flexible.
The commission will monitor teachers' progress in completing the training sessions and see if they've done their homework, Li said. It also will analyze which sessions receive more hits so the content can be better adjusted in the future.
The increasing proportion of ancient Chinese literature in the curriculum echoes the Ministry of Education's efforts to raise awareness of traditional culture among primary and middle school students.
Students who begin Grade 1 in September will find ancient Chinese literature and science in their textbooks the first time such material has been introduced to new students since the establishment of the People's Republic of China.
According to education authorities, the set of Chinese language textbooks for the six primary grades contain 132 works of ancient Chinese literature, taking up about 30 percent of the content of each textbook.
That's an increase of 80 percent over the set of textbooks previously published by People's Education Press, a publishing company under the Ministry of Education.
Education Minister Chen Baosheng pledged in March to boost students' knowledge of traditional Chinese culture, and one of the measures was to design suitable textbooks.
With China announcing a plan to eventually end the production and sale of vehicles powered entirely by fossil fuels, domestic and foreign-owned auto makers are expected to be even more aggressive in developing electric and alternative vehicles for the world's largest car market.
The Xinhua news agency on Sept 9 cited China's vice-minister of industry as saying that China is studying when to ban the production and sale of cars that use only traditional fuels. Xin Guobin didn't release a specific date when such a ban would occur, Xinhua reported.
In April, General Motors Co said it would launch 10 electric and gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles in China by 2020.Last month, GM introduced the two-seat E100 comes from GM's Chinese joint-venture brand, Baojun, and costs around $5,300. It has a range of 96 miles per charge and a top speed of 62 mph.
Ford Motor Company said last month that it was exploring a joint venture with electric car maker Anhui Zotye Automobile Co to build a new brand under which the electric vehicles will be sold. Both firms will hold a 50-50 stake in the JV, it said
Other auto producers like Tesla Inc, Volkswagen AG, Honda and Nissan Motor Co also have announced aggressive plans to make and sell electric vehicles in China.
Among domestic manufacturers, Warren Buffett-backed BYD led in sales in the first seven months of this year, delivering 46,855 electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, according to the China Passenger Car Association.
"Chinese authorities are looking to fast track new energy vehicle (NEV) sales, but despite subsidies the growth in volume in the NEV segment amounts to just around 1.8 percent of the total vehicle market in China so far this year. The authorities are beginning to look for tougher and more stringent ways to strengthen the NEV segment," wrote Namrita Chow, principal automotive analyst of IHS Markit in an email.
Noting the lack of a specific timetable for the elimination of fossil-fuel powered vehicles, Chow said "at this point in time it is just rhetoric regarding the complete ban of (internal combustion engine) vehicles in China, there is no time line and no policy implying this is at all imminent."
Arthur Wheaton, an automotive expert with Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, said that because Chinese auto market is the largest in the world, all global auto companies will make an attempt to meet whatever policies are in place to continue in the market.
"The policy of outlawing all internal combustion engines for sale in China would be extremely challenging," he said in an email.
SAIC, BAIC, Geely, Changan are among the Chinese auto companies that could capitalize if the ban is implemented said Wheaton.
Those companies and others have significant partnerships withglobal manufacturers and their joint-ventures would be crucial to ramping up capacity to meet the needs, he added.
Still Wheaton doesn't anticipate a ban happening anytime soon.
"I am pessimistic this policy will be implemented fully for decades. I think the phasing in of increasing (the) number of electric vehicles is more likely and the slower pace would help Chinese auto makers build expertise to meet the demand gradually with help from their joint-venture partners," said Wheaton.
France and Britain announced in July they will stop sales of petrol and diesel automobiles by 2040 as part of efforts to reduce pollution and carbon emissions that contribute to global warming.
Cui Kun, 92 years old, one of China's leading steel researcher, is now embarking on adding a new development in the steel field with a book that he finished when he was 87.
"I'm working on compiling the latest achievements in the steel field into my book, and I expect to see the book republished two years later," Cui, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said.
The book, The Composition, Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Steel, has been the country's first encyclopedia to comprehensively introduce special types of steel.
Cui, a professor at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Hubei province, started compiling the book in the second half of 2006 when he was 81 years old, and finished it in six years. The book has 2 million characters and 1,754 pages.
"We wanted to arrange an assistant to help Cui then, but he refused. He went with self-learning on a computer, sorting out materials and making graphs all by himself," said Zheng Enyan, former Party chief of the university's School of Materials Science and Engineering.
Niu Yufeng, an editor of the book, said that the country's steel industry has seen rapid development in recent years, but China still lags behind other developed countries in some high-end special steels, and the industry needed the book.
Cui has contributed much to the nation's steel industry in his 70 years of teaching. As a Party member 60 years, he acted with an intellectual's responsibility and with love for the country, said Lu Gang, the university's Party chief.
Cui was one of the country's first batch of doctoral supervisors in 1981. He only taught 24 doctoral students and 23 master's students, all because he was so strict with his students.
"I do not want to train defective and wasteful students. My students might have a high or low education background, but they must want to do and be able to do something. I do not welcome students who only want to get diploma," Cui said.
According to students and teachers at the university, Cui could wear the same shirt for 30 years, but he was generous to the students from families in poverty.
In 2013, Cui and his wife, Zhu Huinan, donated all their savings - 4.2 million yuan ($641,800) - to set up a scholarship to fund 45 diligent and hard-working students every year, each receiving 8,000 yuan.
"Cui has vividly interpreted the core values of Chinese socialism and has set a good example for others," said Li Dequn, one of Cui's colleagues. "He himself is thoroughly forged of special steel."
The International Atomic Energy Agency has concluded its first nuclear security advisory mission in China, issuing a final report that commends the nation, according to the China Atomic Energy Authority.
The two-week International Physical Protection Advisory Service mission reviewed the legislative and regulatory framework for nuclear security, as well as the physical protection of nuclear material and facilities.
An eight-member team visited the Fangjiashan nuclear plant, part of Qinshan Nuclear Power Station in Zhejiang province, to examine security arrangements and observe physical protection measures. The experts also met with officials from several Chinese government bodies involved in nuclear security.
The agency has carried out 78 advisory service missions in 48 member states since 1995. This was the first in China.
The China Atomic Energy Authority said on Tuesday that the experts' review report highly approves of the government's continuous efforts to strengthen nuclear safety, to boost the sustainable development of the nuclear power industry and to help establish a global nuclear security system.
The report also notes that challenges are emerging when it comes to the country's nuclear security mechanism and management. It suggested the central government speeds up making laws and regulations to better govern this sector.
Liu Heung Shing (L), founder and director of the Shanghai Center of Photography, and Jean-Luc Monterosso, founder and director of Maison europeenne de la photographie, sign an agreement on promoting the cultural partnership between Shanghai and Paris. [Photo/Provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
Two photography institutions in Shanghai and Paris have joined hands in an effort to enhance cultural exchange between the two cities.
Directors of the Maison europeenne de la photographie in Paris and the Shanghai Center of Photography signed an agreement on Sept 8, in a bid to promote the cultural cooperation of the two cities by sharing exhibits and collections of the two institutions, along with introducing other approaches.
The Shanghai Center of Photography, established in 2015 by Liu Heung Shing, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist, has hosted a series of exhibitions for foreign artists over the past few years.
The Maison europeenne de la photographie, which boasts a variety of exhibition programs, has also been dedicated to promoting foreign photography in France for a long period of time.
Bruno Julliard, the first deputy mayor of Paris in charge of culture, said "The agreement is a testimony to the two metropolises' desire to cooperate in culture".
The United Nations in China hosted a commemorative event on Tuesday to mark the International Day for South-South Cooperation. [Photo by Zhang Yunbi / China Daily]
To mark the International Day for South-South Cooperation, the United Nations in China hosted a commemorative event on Tuesday, and highlighted the changing dynamics and increasing importance of South-South Cooperation in the context of the Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals.
"South-South Cooperation is a key vehicle to achieve sustainable development. The scale and ambition of the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) calls for new actors to take on a much broader and more integrated role in development", Nicholas Rosellini, UN Resident Coordinator, said in his welcoming remarks.
"By focusing on resolving complex problems based on previously tested experiences in similar development contexts, developing countries can support each other by sharing more adaptive, locally relevant and usually cheaper solutions," Rosellini said.
Justin Yifu Lin, professor at Peking University, noted at a panel discussion that "China's development offers both opportunities and new concepts to other developing countries".
"Other countries can benefit from Chinas development, not only through China's increasing overseas investment and trade, but also through learning from China's experiences and by tailoring Chinese solutions to national conditions and contexts," Lin said.
Han Hongmei, chairwoman of China-Africa Fund for Industrial Cooperation, noted that the Fund is one of the key vehicles of China-African cooperation in manufacturing and infrastructure.
The Fund will continue to uphold "commitment, innovation, endeavor and win-win" as the core values to promote industrial cooperation between China and African countries, and to enhance the well-being of people living in African countries, Han said.
Around 100 participants from the government, diplomatic corps, international organizations, private sector and media attended the event.
A Beijing tech entrepreneur committed suicide on Thursday by jumping from the top of an apartment building after becoming depressed during his acrimonious divorce.
Su Xiangmao, 37, apparently leapt to his death at about 5 am, leaving a suicide note that said his "calculating" ex-wife had lied during their relationship and threatened to expose him for possible tax evasion.
The wealthy businessman, who developed WePhone, an app that allows users to make internet calls, married Zhai Xinxin, 29, on June 6. The couple met in March via Jiayuan, a dating website with more than 170 million users.
The day before they planned to register their marriage, Zhai revealed she had been married briefly before, according to Su's suicide note, an image of which has circulated widely online since his death.
Su decided to go ahead with the marriage, as he had already spent millions on Zhai, he wrote. However, he added, he found Zhai's character had changed after the wedding, making him feel scared.
The pair divorced after just over a month on July 18.
In addition to a villa in Hainan province, Zhai demanded 10 million yuan ($1.53 million) in compensation for her mental distress.
Su agreed, he wrote, adding that his ex-wife also threatened to tell the authorities he had been evading his taxes. The note twice features the word "despair".
Zhai could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.
Since Su's death, his family and some netizens have accused Jiayuan of failing to verify Zhai's marital history.
However, Chen Wei, an attorney with Beijing Yingke Law Firm, said, "Dating websites have no access to the Ministry of Civil Affairs' marriage registration database, nor the Ministry of Public Security's ID database, so there is no way they can verify the most basic personal information, including a person's real name, age or marital history."
Jiayuan issued a statement on Sunday that confirmed the couple were its VIP members. It said it will assist in any police investigation into Su's death.
Yu Xiaoli helps a student with his studies in a class in Zongshujiao village in Central China's Hunan province.[Photo by Hu Jiangyong / chinadaily.com.cn]
Yu Xiaoli, 54, is dedicated to her job as a teacher in Zongshujiao village, in the mountainous area of Central China's Hunan province, for 36 years.
Yu, who was a fresh graduate at age 18, was assigned to the school in Zongshujiao village in 1981.
The school offers courses for children in preschool, kindergarten, and grade 1 and grade 2, but has only four teachers.
Yu teaches her students with love and patience and regards them as her own children, for 70 percent of the students are left-behind children who lack care.
"Yu is not only the teacher to the kids but also their dearest 'mother'. We all trust her," said Yu Dongjin, Party secretary of Zongshujiao village.
Yu Xiaoli gives a lesson in Zongshujiao village.[Photo by Hu Jiangyong / chinadaily.com.cn]
"Some young teachers once came here, but they left. Our village is far away from downtown and the transportation is not good here," Yu Dongjin said.
Yu Rongping, is 13 years old but is in his first year at school. His parents are unable to speak and are poor, which meant he delayed starting school and suffered derision from his peers.
Yu Xiaoli was concerned about the child and gave him extra lessons and helped remove his psychological obstacles. Yu now can read and count, and is gradually regaining his confidence.
Her role is one that she's never thought of leaving.
"I never thought about giving up my job. I stay here to teach the kids and help them get out of their impoverished situations. I want to keep company with these kids," Yu Xiaoli said.
Cheng Si contributed to this story.
The University of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (UCASS), in Fangshan district in Beijing, was officially established at its opening ceremony on Tuesday, becoming the newest university in China.
It was established and is led by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, which is a leading official think tank in China.
The university extended a very warm welcome to its first class of 392 freshmen, who come from around the country.
The freshmen were admitted by UCASS's four institutes, including schools of Marxism, humanities, economics and international relations.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Geng Ruhan, a newcomer at the humanities school, showed great pride in what will be her alma mater. "Our university will be the top liberal arts university in China and fascinate a large number of people," Geng said. She also called on her young peers present to realize their ambitions at UCASS.
Zhang Zhengwen, UCASS Party chief, who was on the verge of tears listening to Geng, said he was quite excited seeing the representative of the university's first group of undergraduates delivering a speech.
"It's standing on the rostrum to teach such excellent students that lets my life make sense. And that's also what I should do for the whole country's education career, as an old teacher with 30 years of work in higher education," Zhang noted.
According to Zhang, UCASS aims to cultivate plenty of high-end talents and elites in the fields of philosophy and social sciences, as well as think tanks, meeting the nation's huge demand.
Preparation work for UCASS began last year and gained strong support from central authorities and other sides, including the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China, which managed a key university called China Youth University of Political Studies (CYUPS) until this year, when it stopped recruiting new students this year.
In May, CYUPS's undergraduate education programs and part of its postgraduate programs were transferred to UCASS as a significant part of the new university.
Five universities from the Chinese mainland have been ranked among the world's top 50 universities for student employability.
The latest edition of Quacquarelli Symonds Graduate Employability Rankings listed China's Tsinghua University in 10th place, followed by Peking University in 23rd.
Tsinghua was the best performer in south Asia, ahead of Japan's University of Tokyo (14th) and the University of Hong Kong (20th).
Other Chinese entrants in the top 50 include Fudan University (27th), Zhejiang University (38th), and Shanghai Jiaotong University (46th).
In all, 37 Chinese universities were ranked within the world's top 500 - five from the Chinese mainland, six from Taiwan, and six from Hong Kong.
The results show Chinese universities are providing global and national economies with skilled, high-achieving graduates.
"Chinese universities have excelled in producing talents that are increasingly globally competitive," said Zhang Yan, China director at QS Intelligence Unit. "In the future, with strength in different disciplines, Chinese universities should work more closely with employers in different parts of the world, in areas of research and development, employability and entrepreneurship."
Zhang said she believes it could help further enhance the global competitiveness of students, cultivating more future leaders for China and the world alike.
The rankings, compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds, a global higher education analysts and career advice specialist, named Stanford in the United States as the world-leader, followed by the University of California, Los Angeles and Harvard University.
US universities take five of the top-10 places - and 31 top-100 places while the UK's universities of Cambridge (6th) and Oxford (8th) were ranked most highly by employers.
Each institution's score was compiled using five indicators - alumni outcome, employer-student connections, employer reputation, partnerships with employers and graduate employment rate.
Hannele Niemi, professor of education at the University of Helsinki, commended the Chinese universities' progress.
"The investments that China has allocated to higher education have had a high impact," Niemi said. "China has also decisively made high efforts for promoting international cooperation."
Out of 600 universities considered for this year's rankings, 500 of them are published, compared with 300 universities considered last year and 200 published.
"We need to be concerned with the fight against desertification and we need a common framework. This is the first time for China to host such a global environmental conference. ... And China can show its leadership to make the world move forward, to take measures, to stop degradation."
Daniel Calleja Crespo, director general of UN's directorate-general for environment
"What we saw yesterday is very impressive. They are very, very useful experiences. What has been done here in Inner Mongolia sets an example to the world to follow in facing desertification. We need China to support Africa to implement this brilliant example."
China is a power with a strategic plan and Greece can only benefit from bilateral cooperation, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Sunday.
As the honored country of the 82nd Thessaloniki International Fair, Greece's top annual trade exhibition, China was in the spotlight when the fair opened this weekend.
During a news conference after his opening speech, Tsipras commented on Greece's strategic partner, expressing his admiration over the strategy of "a strong and peaceful country".
China is one of "the few countries with such strength, having a strategy, a plan, knowing what she wants", he said.
Greece is thirsty for foreign investments and is open to discuss collaboration projects with all interested sides, as it can only benefit from investments such as the one Chinese made at the port of Piraeus in recent years, he added.
"Greece is a member of the eurozone, of Europe, a pillar of the European policy thanks to its history and culture, and in parallel a country which can communicate like no other with Russia, China and the Arab world. Only a few countries are in position to do this," he said.
Xinhua
(China Daily 09/12/2017 page11)
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia - Arab countries and Qatar should enter into direct talks to solve a diplomatic dispute, Russia's foreign minister said on a trip to Saudi Arabia on Sunday, urging all parties to restore regional unity.
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt severed ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of supporting terrorist groups - a charge it denies.
"We have confirmed our position (that we are) in favor of settling the disagreements by means of negotiations, by directly expressing concerns and achieving solutions which would take into account the concerns and the interests of all parties," the minister, Sergei Lavrov, told a news conference in Jeddah.
"We are interested in all those mediatory efforts that are currently being made producing results and the unity of the Gulf Cooperation Council being restored," he said.
Saudi King Salman also met with Lavrov, ahead of a possible visit by the monarch to Russia next month.
Kuwait and the United States have been mediating to reach a breakthrough in the three-month long crisis that has put the whole region on edge, and prompted Turkey to send troops to the wealthy Gulf state in a sign of support.
Last week, Saudi Arabia suspended any dialogue with Qatar, accusing it of "distorting facts", just after a report of a phone call between the leaders of both countries suggested a breakthrough in the Gulf dispute.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told the news conference that Qatar needed to show seriousness in finding a solution to the crisis.
"We want clarity in the Qatari position, we want seriousness in finding a solution to this crisis that leads to the implementation of principles which all countries support: no supporting terrorism, no welcoming unwanted guests, no spreading hate, no intervention in others' affairs," Jubeir said.
The two ministers also discussed the planned de-escalation zones in Syria and unification of the Syrian opposition.
"The kingdom supports the creation of de-escalation zones and looks forward to starting a political process that will end the Syrian crisis," Jubeir said.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's negotiators have not met directly with the opposition because there is no unified delegation from the High Negotiations Committee and two other groups, known as the Cairo and Moscow platforms, all claim to represent the opposition.
Reuters - AP
Saudi King Salman (right) meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in the Saudi coastal City of Jeddah on Sunday.Saudi Press Agency Via Agence France-presse
(China Daily 09/12/2017 page11)
A seminar titled The Growth and Value Analysis of Modern TV Industry was held in Beijing on September 8. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
On September 4, five Chinese ministries and commissions, including Chinas State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT), National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Commerce, as well as the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, jointly issue the Circular on Some Policy Regulations to Support the Booming of Chinas TV Industry in a bid to build a positive environment for TV producing and discuss inside problems that needed to be solved urgently.
Against such a backdrop, a seminar titled The Growth and Value Analysis of Modern TV Industry, organized by the School of Arts and Communication of Beijing Normal University, was held in Beijing on September 8.
A total of 18 experts and scholars were invited to discuss a series of related issues, including script writing, TV producing, investment introduction, marketing and promoting.
Now, lets see what they say at the seminar.
A painting displayed at the exhibition at the Ordos Museum, Inner Mongolia, Sept 11, 2017. [Photo by Li Hongrui/chinadaily.com.cn]
As the UN's 13th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is being held from Sept 6 in Ordos, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Chinese artists capture the beauty of nature through oil and ink paintings and sculptures.
On their canvas, yellow desert is dotted with green trees, and clean blue sky with clouds floating above blesses the small cottages on the earth.
They give a glimpse of Chinese people's battle against desertification and their fruitful achievements.
Some pieces also feature a spiritual connection between Mother Nature and her human babies.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Poland's Prime Minister Beata Szydlo during a press conference in Warsaw, Poland February 7, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]
Today even the most sanguine geopolitical analyst would have to concede the Korean Peninsula nuclear crisis has reached the most critical, if not the most dangerous, stage. Despite years of international efforts to put a brake on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's ambitious nuclear programthrough the Six-Party Talks or the many rounds of sanctions imposed by the United Nations and some countriesthe country's nuclear and missile program seems close to completion.
Given these facts, new ideas and the involvement of new parties are needed to resolve the Korean Peninsula crisis.
It is thus welcome news that German Chancellor Angela Merkel is ready to play a diplomatic mediator's role to help break the peninsula deadlock. In an interview with a German newspaper, published on Sunday, Merkel said: "If our participation in talks is wanted, I will say yes immediately." Merkel referred to the negotiations that led to Iran curtailing its nuclear program as a "possible format" for resolving the DPRK nuclear issue.
A week earlier Switzerland had offered to mediate between the rival parties, and on Friday China asked France to play a "constructive role" in helping ease the situation on the peninsula.
Merkel's suggestion echoes the rational voices in the international community that the DPRK nuclear issue should be resolved through peaceful consultations, and that war should never be an option. But for her "format" to work, Pyongyang and Washington, the two sides directly involved in the conflict, have to make some compromises.
Neither side has shown any signs of budging from its rigid stance, though. And the "dual suspension" proposed by China and Russiathe DPRK suspends its nuclear and missile tests in exchange for the United States and the Republic of Korea suspending their joint military drillsseems to have fallen on deaf ears, and the vicious circle of rising tensions and increasing provocations continues.
But since Germany has no direct interest in the conflict, Merkel may be in a better position to help ease Pyongyang's existential worries, which have intensified due to the dramatic changes in the international situation after the end of the Cold War and decades of self-imposed isolation.
Although it is far too early to say whether Merkel's sedate diplomacy would help stabilize the Korean Peninsula, the efforts made by Germany, and other countries, in the pursuit of a peaceful resolution to the DPRK issue will help build mutual trust and reduce the chances of war. Any effort toward that goal is highly commendable.
That President Xi Jinping delivered a speech on poverty alleviation work in impoverished areas on June 23 indicates eradicating abject poverty has become the main task of China's poverty alleviation work. China is set to meet its target of reducing the poverty-stricken population to 30 million by the end of this year.
Although the impoverished population is relatively small, most of the impoverished people live in abject poverty, which has made poverty alleviation work much more difficult.
For rural areas caught in abject poverty, green poverty reduction could be of great significance, because such areas are ecologically vulnerable, that is, they cannot play host to industries than cause heavy pollution.
So poverty alleviation officials should take advantage of the local ecological and natural resources of such areas to develop special industries, for which higher authorities should provide adequate support. For instance, Qinghai province has created more than 40,000 ecological public welfare posts, mainly in the southern part of the province, for impoverished people, in order to help them increase their households' income by 20,000 yuan ($3,069) a year.
Some rural areas suffering from abject poverty have unique natural landscapes and products, but cannot use them to increase their incomes because of the lack of transportation and telecom facilities. Therefore, the authorities should improve the local infrastructure to promote green economy, but the local authorities should ensure the local resources are used in a sustainable manner.
THREE SCIENTISTS won $1 million each for their research in basic sciences and their applications at the 2017 Future Science Prize award ceremony in Beijing on Saturday. Beijing Youth Daily commented on Monday:
The Future Science Prize, instituted by a group of entrepreneurs and scientists last year, reflects the increasing public awareness about the value of science and scientists. This year, Tsinghua University scientist Shi Yigong won the Life Science Prize for his research in the structure of spliceosome, a substance crucial to gene expression.
The Physical Science Prize went to Pan Jianwei, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and chief scientist who oversaw the launch of the world's first quantum satellite in China last year. And the Mathematic and Computer Science Prize was awarded to Peking University professor Xu Chenyang for his contribution to birational algebraic geometry.
Science could produce win-win results for researchers as well as their sponsors. For those sponsoring scientists, investing in cutting-edge research is money well spent, because it could not just enhance their reputation as innovation pursuers but also contribute to their long-term development. No enterprise can prosper without the help of scientific and technological advancements, for which competent scientists are crucial.
For researchers and academicians, sufficient, consistent funding is essential to their projects and studies and private capital from scrupulous investors should be welcome. And adequately financed science projects could yield better public good.
In fact, future scientists, as well as engineers and technicians employed by enterprises, are also worth investing in. Given that the rise of industrial leaders hinges on technological innovations, entrepreneurs have all the more reason to sponsor outstanding scientists.
For such sponsorship to work continuously, prizewinning scientists need to work harder on their research rather than on soliciting funds or, worse, reworking their previous works as innovations. And how the funds will be appropriated and what measures taken to ensure they are properly used must be made clear before the scientist-entrepreneur interaction goes to the next stage.
LI XIUGUO, a farmer from Central China's Henan province, disappeared while trying to save five people from drowning in the Yellow River in neighboring Shandong province. Yet when his family applied for the honorary title of Good Samaritan for him, officials from both provinces rejected their plea. Huashang Daily comments:
Li Chuanfei, Li Xiuguo's son, collected ample evidence and oral testimonies from witnesses and the rescued people, proving that his father disappeared while helping to save other people. He also completed the necessary paperwork for the application.
Yet local officials of both provinces rejected the family's plea. In Heze, Shandong province, where the tragedy occurred, local officials said they only bestow the honor of Good Samaritan on people with local hukou (household registration). In Li's hometown of Puyang, Henan province, local officials said they give the honor to only those people who have done an exceptionally good deed within their jurisdiction.
Since Li was a resident of Henan and he saved people in Shandong, the officials from both cities are passing the buck to one another.
The government encourages ordinary citizens to help those in need. And the honorary title of Good Samaritan was introduced so that people can get some bonus money along with the honor for their heroic deeds.
But it seems the local officials are rather rigid when it comes to bestowing the honor on an ordinary resident. By setting various limits on potential recipients of the honorary title, they are denying the good Samaritans the honor they deserve.
In Li's case, the local governments of the two cities should discuss and decide how he can be given the Good Samaritan title, instead of acting irresponsibly.
The China Central Television (CCTV) headquarters (left) is obscured by severe smog in Beijing on Nov 4, 2016. [Photo/VCG]
WERE IT NOT for the shower on Sunday afternoon, the suffocating smog shrouding Beijing from Thursday would have lasted longer. In the past, rarely has Beijing been covered by smog during the most anticipated yet extremely short fall. Beijing News comments:
The Ministry of Environmental Protection warned last week that "multiple meteorological factors" might cause smoggy weather in September and October, much earlier than winter, in North China.
That the Beijing municipal government implemented the capital's emergency air pollution prevention and control measures immediately after the ministry's warning deserves praise. At the city government meeting, Party chief Cai Qi openly criticized 14 residential community and township authorities for their inability to cut pollution from local sources, and vowed to reduce PM2.5(hazardous particulates less than 2.5 microns in diameter) in the air.
The battle against smog has reached a flashpoint. Cai's meticulous result-oriented working style, and his focus on specific department heads and concrete air quality data have strengthened Beijing officials' resolve to ensure the city gets clean air.
In this regard, Beijing needs to first identify the local sources of pollution and then take targeted measures against them to reduce emissions. The process should be transparent, as many pollution-control measures need public support.
After the relocation of all the heavy polluting industries out of the city, the emissions from Beijing's about 6 million vehicles have become a major source of pollutants contributing to smog. So public campaigns should be launched to make people realize that using public transport is a good way of reducing pollution, especially because most Beijing residents want a clear blue sky but do not make conscious efforts to work for it.
Beijing has the best of resources and talents in China, but it is yet to combine their strengths to form a powerful force to combat pollution. Hopefully, Cai's pledge will signal the beginning of that process.
With its efforts and achievements, China will have many successful stories to share, taking it one step closer to making poverty history. Between 2013 and last year, a total of 55.64 million people were lifted out of povertyan average of 13.91 million per year, resulting in a reduction of poverty incidence from 10.2 percent in 2012 to 4.5 percent last year, which is a big achievement in the past five years under the leadership of President Xi Jinping.
As the world has signed up for the Sustainable Development Goals, there is an increasing need for other developing countries to learn from China regarding its poverty reduction experiences. There is a web of interrelated factors that can help explain China's achievement. Yet it all boils down to one fundamental enabling elementeffective governance for human development, with strong leadership. There are at least three important lessons in this aspect.
First, China has adopted a phased approach to eradicate poverty. This means, as drivers of poverty evolve over time due to changes in socio-economic and environmental contexts, poverty-fighting governance mechanisms are adjusted accordingly to put development context into perspective. The dynamic nature has been manifested in varied aspects of governance, including for instance how the poor are identified, how programs and instruments are designed, as well as how financial resources are managed and monitored.
Second, China has increasingly applied a broad-based poverty alleviation approach, indicating a modality that consolidates efforts across multiple sectors and stakeholders. The targeted poverty alleviation strategyexemplified by five major categories of measures that touch upon education, social protection and industrial development among othersis a good case in point. At its core, the strategy is devised in recognition of the fact that poverty is a multi-dimensional problem. If implemented effectively, it can contribute to realizing job creation and public services provision, all of which are essential to ensure inclusive growth and equal opportunities for all.
And third, China's institutional design has allowed increasing flexibility for innovative bottom-up processes that are instrumental in providing tailor-made solutions. For instance, industrial development has progressed by leaps and bounds in many poor Chinese villages. Encouragingly, a great deal of this progress owes to local entrepreneurship, which is maximized out of proper policies and guidance. This cannot be achieved without the right incentive mechanisms. In China's context, the latter is formulated to encourage the poor to think and act positively, and to help them take initiatives and self-develop.
However, challenges still remain. Beyond 2020, once the "last batch" of the poor has been lifted out of poverty, new and diverse challenges will arise and China will need to adapt. Changing demographics, coupled with high levels of migration and uncertainties from the next wave of industrialization will bring new challenges that China has to mitigate.
This is where the UN system can play a vital supporting role. First, the UN can help with broad-based poverty alleviation through its efforts in localizing the SDGs for long-term impact. This entails integration of sectoral approaches at the local level, ensuring integration of various aspects of poverty and broader development, and convening of necessary partners and resources, for which the UN system is well built. It can also bring in various tools to help with needs assessment, financing and budget planningall with an integrated view, aiming to realize impact investing that effectively links financing with positive development outcomes.
Second, to help ensure long-term impact, the UN can help monitor and assess poverty alleviation efforts. For instance, to prevent people from falling back into poverty, real-time and real-place tracking is of significant use to improve precision in targeting the poor. On this note, the UN can assist China experiment with innovative instruments, such as big data, to monitor poverty dynamics, which complements the traditional household surveys that feed the national database.
And last, the UN can continue offering international perspectives and experiences for China, both now and beyond 2020, bringing in innovation, particularly at the local level. For example, through the Belt and Road Initiative, which provides a promising channel to expedite knowledge exchange, the UN can help share experience on best development and governance practices between China and others.
China is close to finishing the "last mile" of poverty reduction but with further challenges ahead the UN looks forward to supporting China to make poverty a thing of the past.
The author is UN Resident Coordinator& UNDP Resident Representative.
The Western model, represented by the Washington Consensus and characterized by exclusionism and global dominance, has been endangering global governance since the global financial crisis. On the international front, the United States has overruled, or has been trying to overrule the United Nationsthe Afghan war and Iraq war, and most recently the Paris climate change agreement come readily to mind as examples.
The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund still refuse to elect a non-Westerner as their chief. Despite the shrinking global influence and leadership of Washington, US President Donald Trump has been making intensive efforts to dismantle the global liberal architecture and kill off globalization by adhering to his "America First" policy. Adding to the US' retreat from global engagement are Brexit and the rise of isolationism and economic nationalism in the Western world.
Against the face of such challenges, the world would have fallen back into anarchy had China not stepped in with its solutions.
Chinese solutions, or zhongguo fang'an, comprise a set of practical plans and measures for improving global governance guided by a new cosmopolitan vision and infused with a chain of time-tested humane values. China has formulated these solutions based on its vast experience, learning and development, and engagement with broad constituencies at the local, national, regional and international levels over the past few decades, particularly during the past five years.
This alternative basket of solutions is both comprehensive and selective, conservative and progressive, idealistic and pragmatic, and both revolutionary and reformist. The Chinese solutions have been increasingly welcomed worldwide to deal with global challenges arising from the near collapse of the existing world order.
Against this geopolitical background, President Xi Jinping, has begun using the Chinese solutions across the world. The solutions, a creative mix of philosophies and thoughts such as Confucianism, Marxism and other Western theories, refer to an inclusive world dream and call on people across the world to create a global community of shared destiny.
Infused into this world dream is a new set of humane values, drawn upon a diverse range of histories and cultures and universally relevant to communication/connectivity, commonality, cooperation, mutual understanding, mutual benefit and harmony, which Xi termed the "Silk Road spirit" at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing in May. The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative is committed to harnessing coordinated transnational synergy to create global connectivity, in order to facilitate global economic recovery and public projects such as transnational infrastructure as well as science and cultural industry parks.
While the New Development Bank aims to strengthen cooperation among BRICS member states, the five-member grouping's vision and goals coalesce with those of the Belt and Road Initiative, whose projects are also being seeded by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
Moreover, trade between China and other countries involved in the initiative between 2014 and 2016 surpassed $3 trillion. Involving more than 100 countries and including more than 5 billion people, the Belt and Road Initiative is "a project of the century", as Xi said. It is a possible global game changer, according to American political scientist Joseph Nye. Since the essence of the initiative is universally relevant and beneficial to the world, even the theme of the G20 summits in Hangzhou last year and Hamburg this year resonated with it.
With growing global support and participation, in particular after the BRICS Xiamen Declaration on Sept 5 which almost fully embraces the Chinese solutions, the Belt and Road Initiative along with the Chinese solutions more clearly signal the coming of a new era of global governance.
The author is an adjunct professor at the School of Journalism & Communication and a research fellow at the National Academy for Development& Strategy, Renmin University of China.
Stephen Bannon [Photo/Xinhua]
Breitbart News Executive Chairman Stephen Bannon - the former chief strategist of US President Trump, is stepping up calls for the US to take a firmer stance against China, but rather than promote division and conflict, Bannon should use his influence in media to build bridges between the world's two largest economies.
On Friday, September 8, The New York Times reported that Bannon was "taking his insurgency abroad." The report was about his plans to travel to Hong Kong to deliver a keynote address at an investor conference on Tuesday, where he will articulate his call for a much tougher American policy toward China, The Times reported. Bannon is now in China.
Bannon, who was forced out of the White House about three weeks ago, views China as one of the greatest threat, because it is the only state that could transform the almighty US into a second-rate power. "A hundred years from now, this is what they'll remember what we did to confront China on its rise to world domination," Bannon said in an interview, previewing the themes in his speech. In a different interview with American television program 60 Minutes on Sunday, Bannon declared China the "biggest single problem we have on the world stage," and accused China of "cutting out the beating heart of American innovation."
Bannon's aggressive views on China are no secret. In March 2016, he declared that the US and China will fight a shooting war within the next 10 years in the South China Sea. Last month, he told The American Prospect that the US is already in an "economic war with China," and predicted that "one of us" is going to be a hegemon in the foreseeable future.
Given his extreme views, it is little wonder why he got booted from the White House. His thinking is not only simplistic and outdated, but the core logic of his flawed thinking is that the US, and only the US, should dominate the entire system, China included.
Bannon assumes that China is seeking world domination, and that the China-US trade relationship is more destructive than it is mutually beneficial. But China has made it clear that it is not seeking and never will seek world domination. Furthermore, the trade relationship has created substantial benefits for Americans. According to a study commissioned by the US-China Business Council, trade with China supports roughly 2.6 million jobs in the US across a range of industries. The simple truth is that China's growth has benefited Americans and the world immensely.
Bannon's exit shows that his ideology and view of China have been swept into the dustbin. As an influential person in media, Bannon now has the opportunity to promote peace and prosperity rather than division and conflict. Both countries would be better served if Bannon used his influence to build bridges with China and let more people understand the reality and importance of the China-US relationship.
Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir [File photo]
There are many indications that Saudi Arabia is becoming convinced that its regional pre-eminence is running into a dead-end. However, it may hope to overcome crises calmly, without a retreat that diminishes its perceived position.
The handshake between Adel al-Jubeir, foreign minister of Sunni Saudi Arabia, and Mohammad Javad Zarif, foreign minister of Shiite Iran, regional staunch rivals, during a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, may have more significance than a mere transient encounter.
At previous conferences, Al-Jubeir had always shown naked hostility transcending diplomatic niceties, although Iran has long been trying to find a niche in Saudi Arabia's iron-clad wall of diplomacy.
This was perhaps more for international consumption than anything else. The handshake was not an isolated incident. It was preceded by an official invitation by Saudi Arabia to the leader of the Iraqi Shiite Sadrist movement Muqtada al-Sadr to discuss the strengthening of cooperation between Riyadh and Baghdad, according to an official statement.
It needs to be understood that this invitation to Muqtada al-Sadr came after an 11-year rupture, suggesting that Saudi Arabia is trying to patch up some old quarrels without seeming to be engaged in sudden backtracking in its regional policy.
The Sadrist movement has a critical view of most of the region's developments, and has been particularly critical of Saudi policy, attacking the strategy of closeness to the U.S., Riyadhs guardian. It has long been in favor of confronting America and Israel, for example.
In this context, Saudi Arabia is deviating from the core idea of "whoever is not with us is against us." By meeting with al-Sadr, the Saudis seem ready to try and achieve an end to the wars that have been such a debilitating factor in the Middle East for decades.
It is probable that Saudi Arabia, by changing its arrogant behavior, is trying to test the heat of the regional climate without having to make tangible political concessions.
It has long been facing a major dilemma in war-torn Yemen, where it is leading an Arab alliance backing the Doha government against the Iranian-aligned Houthis, and is now hoping to move negotiations between the Yemeni parties from Oman to Jordan.
This has come after considerable pressure being applied on Riyadh from various sides to stop the devastation and crimes of genocide by means of hunger and cholera.
In this context, Yemeni Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Abdulmalik Abduljalil Al-Mekhlafi met Jordanian Prime Minister Hani al-Mulki and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi during UN Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed's visit to Amman last August.
However, the parties opposing the Saudi alliance refuse to negotiate in Jordan and try to pressure Ahmed and Jordanian government officials to back down on this option.
In the impasse facing the U.S.-led international anti-terror coalition in Syria, Saudi Arabia is trying to rejuvenate the Higher Negotiations Committee (HNC) an umbrella body created in Riyadh in late 2015 to represent the Syrian opposition in the planned Geneva peace talks in 2016.
The HNC, which dismissed Khaled al-Mahamid, a member of the negotiations delegation, because he disclosed that "the opposition has become dependent on the Arab role, especially the Egyptians, in resolving the Syrian issue," is now seeking to gain fresh credence among opposition groups that are more realistic in looking at the balance of the powers in the Syrian conflict.
The HNC, having rejected the idea of Syrian president staying in power, no longer has a role at the negotiating table, especially after French President Emanuel Macron and Europe backed down in this regard.
Saudi options and bets have been overtaken by battlefield events in Syria and Iraq, where the ISIS terror organization is in headlong retreat, and in Yemen, where the Saudi alliance has reached a deadlock, further strained after Qatars withdrawal of its forces following the rift between Gulf powers.
Riyadh has missed the regional and international political train. There is no doubt that it has started to sense that, and is trying to change, hoping to save face and maintain its supposed paramount position in the region.
However, it has been badly compromised by the attempt to bring Qatar to heel. Sometimes the survival of nations depends on the wisdom of recognizing their defeats.
The author Haifa Said is chief editor of the English Department at the Syrian Arab News Agency.
The author, second from right, poses with her classmates in front of the Imperial Examination Museum in Nanjing, Jiangsu. The museum has a reflecting pool, right in front of traditional buildings. Tall modern structures loom in the back. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
Like pearls of flesh hidden under crimson lobster shells and long scavenger hunts for treasures secreted away in the streets of Beijing, China is a country that does not unfurl itself for you. The best ways I have experienced China have been by jumping in feet first, led by friends as we explore.
China is an intimate intertwining of the old and new. There are reminders on every corner of this country's long and illustrious history, of ancient dynasties and myriad schools of thought, between new skyscrapers that pierce the blue overhead. This patchwork of relics and modernity ushers China into an age where modern conveniences allow us to experience even more of Chinese culture.
One experience that remains full and bright in my mind expresses the dichotomy of China that I so adore. When I first arrived in China, a family friend was kind enough to show me around. It was in the later weeks of Chinese New Year at the time, and spring had only just begun to creep into the air. It is tradition in Nanjing, Jiangsu to fill the city with color and celebration and visit the Fuzi Miao otherwise known as the Confucian temple.
This was my first true look at China. The Confucian temple was once a large testing site for all those who sought to become a government official under the emperor. To reach the imposing structure of stone and wood, we walked the ancient cobblestone paths where tens of thousands of people once gathered to test the boundaries of their knowledge. These brick streets were filled with shops and tiny restaurants selling traditional Nanjing fare.
As I ran my fingertips over old books, their colors muted from age and dust, the just-as-ancient shopkeeper watched me from her seat in the corner. She looked almost as old as the books herself, a relic of the past, as she smiled at me. I could not keep myself from browsing the collection of 'zines and novels, some of which were written in traditional characters. Enthralled by the old bookshop hidden away on consecrated land, I was surprised when I spotted two different QR codes taped to a piece of cardboard, neatly laminated and resting among the magazines.
I could not resist a smile at the sight of something so new in a place that was a monument to the past. Though I saw chain stores and other services use Alipay or WeChat Wallet, I did not realize at the time how prevalent they were. The ability to leave the house with nothing more than my cellphone is a freedom that I did not have in the United States, or in Singapore. The convenience of everything right in the palm of my hand not only changed the way I lived, but also the way I explored China.
Without carrying cash, the fear that comes with being a traveler in a foreign country is abated. With my phone, I am able to not only have unlimited access to my funds, but can also access different dictionaries should I need them, look up maps to help me navigate Beijing, and find tickets to museums, cultural events and exhibitions.
China is currently at the intersection of modernity and tradition. This narrative is not in the least bit contradictory. In fact, one side serves only to improve and heighten the other. Thanks to China's love affair with e-payment technologies, and the wide array of convenient services built up around it, one is free to focus on the experiences to be had in a country as large and rich with adventure as China.
The author is a fourth year English literature and Mandarin student from Hunter College in New York City. She is on her flagship program's capstone year in China, where she continues to study the Chinese language at Nanjing University.
Christos, who comes from Athen, the capital of Greece, poses for a photo on the Great Wall. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
I live in Athens, Greece, near to the city center. Right next to my home there are railway lines, from which quite frequently, trains pass. Not long ago, while waiting at a pedestrian crossing for a train to pass, I saw that it was fully loaded with containers - too many of them to count. On these containers was written, "China Shipping. They had just arrived at the port of Piraeus and were on their way to other parts of Europe. My mind traveled far, beyond the enormous distance that these goods had traveled, to a land far away. A land that I had already visited two times, while I was looking forward to a third. But what was it that my eyes had seen, when that train passed in front of me - just logistics? Or was it something much larger than that?
I had not stayed for a very long time in China and my only experiences were within Beijing. Even so, when I left there, I carried something more than just images of amazing buildings and monuments of a great civilization. My mind was filled with experiences of an innovation, which, from that moment, I wished very much to also make this trip towards my country, along with the products of these containers.
I saw people in Beijing embracing today's technology, making payments with something as simple as using an application and touching their mobile phone's screen a couple of times. Coming from a country where only recently part of the population has moved into a way of payments through credit and debit cards only, leaving cash payments behind, this was an impressive step forward for me. I said to myself, yes, why not? China, right in front of me, shows us the way.
It was a comparison in my mind from a distant time in the past when China, once again, introduced money in the form of paper bills. Weren't some people also skeptical back then, when the only form of money that they were using were metal coins? My visits to China made me think that my country's everyday commercial and customer practices are so many years behind, from what is taking place over there right now, that a way to cure the financial illnesses of the past that are still tormenting our economy was explained right before my eyes. It gave me thoughts that the rest of the Western world should also take China's example towards a new era. Cash is a way of payment belonging to the distant past now and my thoughts are also triggered that the plastic cards too also seem to be so outdated.
E-commerce, the purchase of a ticket, services or even the simplest of things, as buying something to eat on the go, have been made incredibly simple, all through some simple mobile phone applications and some barcode scanners. I admired the Chinese people for embracing new technologies and making their life more convenient, while at the same time they are helping their country in the fight against tax evasion.
We must not be afraid to look ahead to what the future holds. I have great love for China and the Chinese people and it makes me very happy when I see good things being put into practice from this place of the world. The way of moneyless payments could be seen everywhere, during my stay there, and by following the news coming from China I see that more and more new ideas are being implemented. I wonder what new things I might encounter in everyday life, when I arrive, soon hopefully, to China again.
The world, through China's leadership, and the Belt and Road Initiative, is not only about the transportation, and through the new Silk Roads, of products made by good, hard working, Chinese people. It is also about a new way of thinking, for the companies, for the consumers, for the cooperation of nations and for the world.
The author is a senior blogger with China Daily website.
It was minutes before the central inspection team dispatched to Tianjin municipality held a working meeting. The staff members were silently scanning the meeting room with a special device to check whether people were carrying any detectaphone. And they succeeded in finding one: Wu Changshun, the municipal police chief who could take official detective measures against the central inspection group.
These scenes are not a figment of imagination. They are part of The Sharp Sword of Inspection, a five-episode documentary produced by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Communist Party of China's top corruption watchdog, and CCTV, which records how central inspection teams sent by the CCDI exposes corrupt local officials.
The documentary has caught the imagination of audiences nationwide since being broadcast on Sept 7. In other words, the documentary has achieved unprecedented success in terms of influence and won the praise of ordinary people as well as professionals.
The Sharp Sword of Inspection for the first time unveils the details of the anti-corruption campaign, such as the struggle between the central inspection group and Wu in Tianjin. Some people used to believe the corruption watchdogs' work is easy because they have the power and can investigate any case they wished. But the documentary has cleared a lot of false impressions. Audiences now know that anti-corruption officials, like ordinary people, also face dangers and hardships while probing a corruption case.
In a way, this revelation has helped ordinary people to better understand the officials who fight corruption. As Wang Yufeng, a member of the local commission for discipline inspection in Shulan city, Northeast China's Jilin province, wrote in August: "People's impression of anti-graft staff is constructed by each of us as a real person."
The transparent anti-corruption campaign and the rampancy of graft in society have also helped the documentary to gain popularity. The second episode of the documentary, for example, tells the story of Lu Enguang, former head of the political department of the Ministry of Justice.
The high percentage of false information in Lu's resume prompted many netizens to say that nothing in his resume is true except his gender. This conclusion is not an exaggeration because even Lu's age is false. Lu wrote on his resume that he had two children when in reality he has seven, And in order to cover the lie, he asked his own children to address him as "uncle" even at home.
Lu was promoted all the way up to the vice-ministerial post and his corruption case involved tens of officials. But despite the scandalous nature of his case, the CCDI didn't try to hide any information about it. Instead, the CCDI made sure Lu was punished for his misdeeds, and intensified the probe which led to the exposure of other officials.
Lu's case had sparked heated discussions in the media, and many editorials called for lending more support to the ongoing reform which is expected to strictly regulate officials. With all the five episodes being broadcast on TV, the documentary will help society build more consensus on rooting out corruption.
The author is a writer with China Daily.
The militaries of India and the United States are scheduled to hold the "Yudh Abhyas" (War Training) joint exercise in the US from Sept 14 to 27. The joint drill, an annual feature since 2004 that focuses on anti-terrorism maneuvers, will be held only two months after the US, Japan and India held the Malabar Naval Exercise-2017 in the Bay of Bengal. Also, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit India from Sept 13 to 15.
India's close interactions with the US and Japan have sent mixed signals to the outside world just after it experienced a bump in its relations with China. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the BRICS Summit in Xiamen, East China's Fujian province from Sept 3 to 5, after a two-month-long standoff between Chinese and Indian troops in China's Donglang area.
China has showed its sincerity in maintaining good relations with India. The two large developing countries and important players in Asia are critical to fairer global governance. So India should learn from the standoff, and help China to build sound bilateral ties.
Washington and New Delhi now want to upgrade the September exercise to "a more complex, combined arms, division-level" drill. The Malabar exercise, on the other hand, focused on anti-submarine and submarine missions. The US Navy's Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, Indian Navy's sole aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya and Japan's 27,000-ton helicopter carrier cruiser Izumo all took part in the trilateral drill.
India has been trying to highlight its geopolitical importance to the US and Japan, but it needs to take the accompanying costs into account. Modi's election as India's prime minister three years ago has helped lift US-India ties. The two countries' defense cooperation, in particular, has evolved into a quasi-military alliance, a process that started after former US president Barack Obama was invited to attend India's Republic Day celebrations in 2015 and developed through the bilateral defense pact aimed at simplifying the transfer of US defense technology to India.
Donald Trump's election as US president, however, turned out to be a letdown for Modi, who managed to meet with Trump only five months after he entered the White House. The Trump administration might be aware of India's "strategic significance", but it is not likely to fully endorse Modi's aggressive China policy, even though it can give Washington an opportunity to drive a wedge between Beijing and New Delhi. Besides, few experts on India studies in the US would describe New Delhi as an apt ally that commits itself to an alliance without making waves in its neighborhood.
For India, on the other hand, the US can hardly be a reliable partner, especially with the Trump administration poised to shirk some of its global obligations and focus on domestic affairs. As for India-Japan ties, during his visit to India, Abe may seek to synergize India's "Act East" with Japan's "Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy". And the "Asia-Africa Growth Corridor", after India and Japan launch it as expected, should make it clear whether it will be complementary or a countermeasure to the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative.
All these facts suggest India should do good to not become a simple piece of the US-Japan chessboard.
The author is a researcher at the Institute of International Studies, Fudan University, Shanghai.
Chinese automakers to help partners dominate regional market, lower costs
The China-Arab States Auto Cooperation Conference witnessed the signing of two Sino-Egyptian agreements that aim to shift the two countries' automotive cooperation toward localization, as part of the growing network of international ties along the Belt and Road.
The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, Automotive Industry Committee and Egypt's Holding Company for Maritime and Land Transport inked the deals relating to deepening Sino-Egyptian links in the automotive industry.
Visitors look at a Chinese-branded vehicle displayed at the China-Arab States Expo on Sept 7 in Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia Hui autonomous region. Hao Yan / China Daily
"Chinese auto exports are recovering after years of decline, with Egypt being one of the biggest export destinations among the Arab states since 2015," said Wang Xia, chairman of the Automotive Industry Committee of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, in his speech on Thursday at the conference held in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region.
Mohamed Youssef, chairman of the Holding Company for Maritime and Land Transport, said: "We are going to seal the deal on the production of a total of 900 vehicles a month, with an expectation to leverage Chinese automakers' experience in assembling and machinery."
Youssef announced that the organization's next critical target is to secure agreements on tractors and bulldozers with Chinese partners in 2018.
Egypt has a huge domestic market that could consume a large amount of China-made vehicles, because the products suit local demand, offering lower prices and economic fuel consumption, according to Egyptian Trade and Industry Minister Tarek Kabil.
He said Egypt's multi-million-dollar automotive market is growing.
According to Kabil, Egypt's development strategy is to focus on local car manufacturing in a bid to conquer its neighboring markets - for example Turkey - thanks to its lower production costs, said Kabil.
The current Sino-Egyptian cooperation agreement is in line with this strategy, as Chinese automakers have shifted their business model away from shipping low-price finished vehicles, toward joint initiatives such as manufacturing locally and co-investing in distribution channels, according to Wang. SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile, BAIC Group, Changan Automobile, Sinotruk Group, King Long United Automotive Industry, JAC Motors, and Chongqing Sokon Industry Group were among the top Chinese auto exporters to Arab markets in the first seven months of this year, according to data from CCPIT-Auto. The auto committee said that, as of 2016, Sudan and Tunis have emerged as the third and fourth most significant long-term auto export destinations among the Arab states, following Egypt and Saudi Arabia, with Djibouti coming in at fifth.
Challenges ahead
The speakers at the conference commented on the challenges Chinese automakers face in the Arab markets, where policy changes could have a significant influence on projects.
"Chinese automakers need to conduct thorough research into the legal framework of the target markets to secure legitimacy while lowering legal risks," said Qiu Yiqing, deputy general manager of Geely.
Luo Zengmiao, general manager of BV-VEO Standards Technical, said there were many detailed issues for Chinese carmakers to examine.
He gave the example: "Many Arab states treat a model with minor changes as a new model, so Chinese auto exporters will have to file new paperwork for those new models.
"If customs were to block products because of a lack of new model documentation, the company would have to spend months making the relevant applications, leaving those products with only minor upgrades stuck in storage."
The auto cooperation conference was organized by CCPIT-Auto as part of the China-Arab States Expo. It brought together Chinese and Arab automobile and transportation leaders in Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia, along with government representatives and academics.
The entire expo assembled executives from more than 1,000 companies and nearly 5,000 exhibitors from 31 industries.
The expo has been held three times since 2013, the year the Belt and Road Initiative was first proposed.
At the junction of the Belt and Road that spans across Eurasia, Arab countries are eager to revitalize the ancient trade routes, according to Egyptian Trade and Industry Minister Kabil.
Six Arab states have signed agreements with China relating to Belt and Road projects, and seven are founding members of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
The Belt and Road Initiative, which refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, has made landlocked Ningxia the frontier for opening-up and taking the lead in economic cooperation with Arab countries.
haoyan@chinadaily.com.cn
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
0108263 License for publishing multimedia online
Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349
A New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer pauses at the edge of the south reflecting pool at the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum during ceremonies marking the 16th anniversary of the attacks in New York, US, September 11, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]
NEW YORK - For 64-year-old New Yorker Gary Gonel, who came to the World Trade Center every year on Sept 11 to remember the deadly terror attack in 2001, his sorrow deepened over the thoughts that the society is becoming more divided and people are still worried that the same tragedy could happen again.
"I come here every year to show families of 9/11 that we did not forget about them. Things in the past couple of years have been different, there are fewer and fewer people here," said Gonel, with an American flag in his left hand.
Streets around the World Trade Center "used to be packed with people on Sept 11," but now there are fewer people coming except tourists and families who lost their loved ones, he said.
Sixteen years have passed since a group of terrorists flew hijacked planes into New York's World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field near Shanksville in the US state of Pennsylvania, on Sept 11, 2001. Nearly 3,000 people were killed during the attacks.
Addressing a 9/11 anniversary commemoration at the Pentagon, US President Donald Trump said on Monday that "America cannot be intimidated." Trump, who was living in the New York city on Sept 11 in 2001, vowed that such an attack would never be repeated.
Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence addressed an observance at the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
A quiet commemoration was being held inside the World Trade Center site on Monday, with thousands of 9/11 victims' relatives, survivors, rescuers and others gathering together to recite all the names of the dead and hold moments of silence.
Outside the site, where Gonel stood, dozens of tourists were taking photos, pigeons were wondering around -- it was just like another ordinary day in September.
Police staff inpects a crashed train at the Andermatt train station in the Canton of Uri, Switzerland, Sept 11, 2017. [Photo/IC]
GENEVA - A locomotive slammed into a five-carriage train at a station in the Swiss Alps in central Switzerland on Monday, lightly injuring 33 people on board but with no fatalities or life-threatening injuries, according to police.
The accident happened at around 11:30 am at the main station of Andermatt, a small town in the central Swiss canton of Uri, when around 100 passengers, mostly schoolchildren, were on board. Twenty-five of those injured had been taken to hospital, but most were quickly released.
One child was being kept in hospital overnight with a suspected concussion.
The locomotive, then at a speed of only 15 to 20 km per hour, was supposed to move from the back of the five-carriage train to the front on a parallel track, but instead drove into the convoy it had just detached from, according to a spokesperson from the Matterhorn-Gotthard-Bahn, the rail company operating the rail line.
Fortunately the slamming appeared to have done very little material damage, and local police said there were neither fatalities nor life-threatening injuries. A local TV staff member also described the accident as nothing serious, as there appeared to be no structural damage to the train at all.
However, three rescue helicopters and around a dozen ambulances were sent to the scene, local media reported, adding that police and Swiss transportation have opened an investigation into the accident.
Andermatt, a historic ski town on the world-famous Matterhorn railway line near the crossroads of several Swiss cantons, has been the site of extensive touristic development in recent years. The road between Goschenen and Andermatt, near the north entrance to the Gotthard tunnel, was subsequently closed for much of the afternoon.
Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD) candidate for chancellor Martin Schulz speaks during the election rally in Mainz, Germany, September 9, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]
BERLIN - Social Democratic Party (SPD) leader Martin Schulz made incumbent German Chancellor Angela Merkel an offer on Monday to join his cabinet as vice-chancellor should he win the chancellorship in Germany's looming national elections.
"I aim to become Chancellor. And if Ms. Merkel wants to enter my cabinet, she is welcome to do so as Vice-Chancellor," Schulz told press in Berlin.
But his comment were received with surprise, given Merkel's enduring comfortable lead over rivals in the polls on the one hand, and earlier statements by Schulz in which he appeared to reject the idea of forming another "grand coalition" between the SPD and Merkel's Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/SCU) on the other.
Schulz insisted, however, that he did not pay attention to opinion polls.
Despite his offer to Merkel, the SPD leader further reiterated his desire to "end the current grand coalition."
"Whoever wants to remove Merkel must vote for Schulz and the SPD," Schulz said.
He further outlined proposals in the areas of wages, free education, pensions, and EU policy that any party wishing to join the SPD's new government formation must agree upon, should the party emerge victorious in the federal parliamentary elections on Sept 24.
LOS ANGELES - California, home to about a quarter of all young people covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, joined by Minnesota, Maryland and Maine, filed a lawsuit on Monday against President Donald Trump Administration over its decision to end the program.
The lawsuit comes after 15 states and the District of Columbia filed a similar legal challenge last week to preserve the program shielding children brought to the United States illegally.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said Monday he decided to file a separate suit because the state and its economy will be especially harmed by the president's action. "One-in-four of those DACA Dreamers know California as home, and it's no coincidence that our great state is the sixth largest economy in the world," Becerra said in a statement.
"We will not permit Donald Trump to destroy the lives of young immigrants who make California and our country stronger," said Becerra.
The Attorney General also said in a recent interview that the DACA program approved by the former US President Barack Obama is legal and its repeal violates due process rights and will hurt the state's economy.
The four States filed the suit in the US District Court for the Northern District of California arguing that the Trump Administration violated the Constitution and federal laws when it rescinded DACA.
In the complaint, Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson, Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, Maine Attorney General Janet Mills, and Attorney General Becerra describe the several violations by the US federal government of the Constitution and federal laws designed to ensure that the government treats everyone fairly and transparently.
The lawsuit was criticized Monday by Robin Hvidston, who heads a California group seeking tougher enforcement of immigration laws, according to the Los Angeles Times. Hvidston noted that President Trump delayed repeal of the program for six months to give Congress a chance to address the issue, and that several Republican-led states have sued to end the DACA program.
The lawsuit is the second filed by California officials. Last Friday, the University of California (UC) also filed a lawsuit in federal court against Trump's administration for allegedly unconstitutionally violating the rights of the University and its students by rescinding the DACA program on "nothing more than unreasoned executive whim."
DACA program was implemented in 2012 to essentially provide a legal status for recipients or renewable two-year term work authorization. Approximately 800,000 people have participated in the program across the United States and they are often referred to as "Dreamers."
The Trump administration announced a decision to rescind DACA on Sept 5. Shortly afterwards, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that they would stop accepting new DACA applications, and would review old ones case by case pending requests.
Germany's former chancellor Gerhard Schroder shakes hands with a comfort woman in Gwangju City, South Korea, on Sept 11. [Photo/VCG]
Gerhard Schroder, former chancellor of Germany, on Monday visited four comfort women who were forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II and expressed his concerns on Japan, reflecting upon history, in South Korea's Gwangju City.
"I think I can convey some information to Japan," Schroder said in an interview with JoongAng Ilbo, a South Korean daily newspaper, on Sept 9.
"I care about objective facts and the fate of people who have been hurt in history."
Schroder emphasized that even if today's Japanese are not involved in past crimes, they should be held responsible for what happened in history.
He donated a photo frame with Anne Frank's portrait, as well as 10 million won ($9106) to the victims.
Anne Frank is one of the most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust, who wrote The Diary of a Young Girl to record her life during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II.
IAEA head Yukiya Amano says Iran has not broken any promises and is playing by the rules set out in a nuclear accord signed with six world powers. [Photo/Xinhua]
TEHRAN - The UN nuclear watchdog said Monday Iran was playing by the rules set out in a nuclear accord it signed with six world powers, Iran's local media reported.
Yukiya Amano, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said Iran had not broken any promises and was not receiving special treatment.
"The nuclear-related commitments undertaken by Iran under the (deal) are being implemented," he said in the text of a speech to a quarterly meeting of the IAEA's 35-member Board of Governors.
Most sanctions on Iran were lifted 18 months ago under the deal and, despite overstepping a limit on its stocks of one chemical, it has adhered to the key limitations imposed on it.
In April, Trump ordered a review of whether a suspension of sanctions on Iran related to the nuclear deal, negotiated under President Barack Obama, was in the US national security interest. He has called it "the worst deal ever negotiated."
Iran dismissed the US demand as "merely a dream."
A memorial honoring the contribution of Chinese-Canadian servicemen was unveiled at the Stanley Park in Vancouver on Monday, according to Canada-based newspaper Sing Tao Daily.
It was a part of a commemoration held to mark the 77th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.
The battle prevented the German seaborne invasion of the UK and led ultimately to victory by the allies in World War II.
It is the first memorial of its kind set up outside Vancouver's Chinatown, said deputy head of the Chinese Canadian Military Museum Wu Yingchao, who hosted the unveiling ceremony.
It is designed to help people remember the contribution of Chinese-Canadians who joined the Royal Canadian Air Force during the World War II, added Wu.
"It is a great honor to Chinese-Canadian servicemen. It is in memory of those comrades who gave their lives," said a 96-year-old serviceman Zhou Jingqiu at the ceremony.
Antonio Fatiguso, Beijing bureau chief of ANSA Agency, is interviewed on "Beijing in My Eyes-Conversations with Chief Correspondents" show broadcast by Radio Beijing International. Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn
Chinese people are well aware of the legendary story of the Italian merchant Marco Polo traveling all the way through the ancient Silk Road to China and introducing the mysterious oriental giant to the western world after his return 700 years ago. However, maybe not many know that Italy, or Ancient Rome to be exact, marks the end of the ancient Silk Road connecting east and west.
"China's Belt and Road Initiative means great opportunities for Italy," said Antonio Fatiguso, Beijing bureau chief of ANSA Agency, Italy. "I'm very positive on the further cooperation of the two countries and I think it's something that is underway. I think the bilateral ties will improve, not just in the economic field, but also from (the) cultural perspective, such as film co-production," he said in an interview during a show called "Beijing in My Eyes-Conversations with Chief Correspondents" presented by Radio Beijing International.
The show, officially launched on Sept 2, features interviews with Beijing-based chief correspondents and heads of foreign media who share their stories on changes and development of the city in the past five years.
Antonio, a native of Puglia, a region in southern Italy, has worked as a journalist for almost 20 years, starting from Milan and New York. After that, he was ANSA's Tokyo bureau chief for around eight years. In January 2016, he took over as the Beijing head. He said his assignment in Beijing was a kind of destiny that brought him to the great country.
However, Antonio admitted that before he moved to the city, he used to worry about Beijing's air pollution, especially during winter. Now after two winters in Beijing, he has changed his mind.
"I think the situation is getting much better now," he said. "If we think about the history of some Western countries, there is something really similar. When a country is growing fast, some problems are related to growth. In general, the first step is to earn the bread. And then step by step, it's possible to improve the living quality, including air quality. Beijing is now making great efforts in cleaning air and blue sky, it's just a question of time," the veteran journalist added.
I first met Robert Jenson in the fall of 2007, just after I had begun my doctoral studies at Princeton Theological Seminary. I had become friends with two other students, and one day one of us observed that a world-class theologian, whose books we were strongly encouraged to read, lived a mere half a block from the seminary.
What if we just went over and talked with him, one of us asked. Would he want to talk to us?
We contacted him and were given a set date and time to come to the Jenson home. So, we went. When our time was up, Jenson asked if we were available at this time every week. We answered yes. You will come then at this time every week. Im still not sure if it was an interrogative or an imperative.
For five years we went to the Jenson home every week for what can only be described as an event, the unifying event of our theological formation. But there was nothing fancy about it. We sat in the Jensons living room doing theology.
I say doing intentionally. Jenson was never magisterial. From day one he treated us as equals. That prompted sheer terror at first. He did not come down to our level. We had to operate at his. We werent there to sit at his feet, we were there to do theology in communion with each other and with the saints, to argue and discuss and reflect on the Triune God and his doings with creation.
We did not have to agree with him. In fact, he sometimes nearly forced us to disagree! But we had to defend our claims, and he was quick to spot flaws. Nothing was free from criticism, most of all Jensons Systematic, which we read with him at our initiative rather than his. My copy is full of marginal notes where he remarked that he could have put this far better, or where something is lacking precision, or where he simply no longer agreed with what hed written.
Reading the many tributes that the digital age quickly makes available, it is clear that Jens, as he insisted his friends called him, is regarded with unique esteem. The dust jackets of his books pop with accolades like a master teacher, his books rightly carry the label of being classics, Americas perhaps most creative systematic theologian, the best theologian in America, and the greatest living theologian in the English-speaking world.
His impact may have extended well beyond the Midwestern, Norwegian pietism in which he was raised, but it ever remained part of Jens. He thought little of the praise he received and was always a little embarrassed by it. He did not care about acclaim, but the subject matter. So, instead of adding to the accolades, I want to tell the story of a human being who infected those around him with a love for Jesus Christ.
Rubbing shoulders with giants
Jens lived an active and productive life. A seminary and college professor over a period of nearly 50 years, he first taught at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, before moving to Oxford University, Gettysburg Seminary, and St. Olaf College. He then spent seven years as the director of the Center for Theological Inquiry in Princeton, New Jersey, before retiring in 2007.
He wrote and edited several dozen books, including a much-praised two-volume Systematic Theology, and over 100 articles and chapters. He was a pioneer in the ecumenical movement; he helped to spearhead the initial Episcopal-Lutheran dialogue, served the Catholic-Lutheran dialogue for over ten years, and, with his close friend Carl Braaten, founded The Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology and edited the Centers influential ecumenical journal, Pro Ecclesia.
Jens was ever an activist as well. He was there in Washington, DC, in 1963 when Martin Luther King Jr. gave his I Have a Dream speech. And he joined the protests against the war in Vietnam, which he regarded as unjust. What else could a minister of the gospel and professor of theology do in such times, he told us.
Article continues below
In his own words, from a brief 2007 autobiography: I gave speeches in hostile places; parents would not let their children associate with our daughter; etc. And after it all we experienced the same downer as others did: we thought there should be a straightforward move from opposition to segregation and unjust war to opposition to killing unborn children as desired, but the movement and our political party went another way.
He once told me that he remained perpetually puzzled as to how those who protested racism and unjust war could support abortion, more puzzling still was how those who protested abortion could support policies that promoted racism and unjust war.
His ecumenical work and bafflement by cultural-sociological-political developments led to friendships with Richard John Neuhaus and others associated with the magazine First Things. Even though he never was comfortable with that groups neocon ethos, Jens counted them as allies in battling against modern cultures slide into postmodern nihilism. Jenss characterization of modernity bears repeating:
The entire project of the Enlightenment was to maintain realist faith while declaring disallegiance from the God who was that faiths object. The story the Bible tells is asserted to be the story of God with His creatures; that is, it is both assumed and explicitly asserted that there is a true story about the universe because there is a universal novelist/historian. Modernity was defined by the attempt to live in a universal story without a universal storyteller.
If there is no storyteller directing history to its end, there is no story to tell. Nihilism results. In a world that has lost its story all that remains are unconnected and unnarratable episodes of self-possessed navel-gazing. Postmodernisms children are the Jerrys, Georges, Elaines, and Kramers of Seinfeld, people for whom others are little more than temporary distractions from the meaninglessness of life.
That Jens and his wife, Blanche, so graciously gave their time to us still amazes me. This was a man who, when he was a doctoral student, rubbed shoulders with some of the greatest theological, exegetical, and philosophical minds of the past centuryBarth, Heidegger, Gadamer, Gunkel, von Rad, Bultmann, Pannenberg, to name but a few.
Jens went to Heidelberg for his doctorate and was assigned, by his director Peter Brunner, the topic of Barths doctrine of election. He subsequently went to Basel to study with the man himself. During his visit to America in 1962, Barth was asked by a reporter from The Christian Century if anyone had grasped the real center of his thinking. Barth replied there was at least one ... a young American. Jens cut his professional theological teeth on Barth, a fact reflected by his first two books (the second a veritable classic in Barth studies). But he was never a Barthian. He was persistently too Lutheran, too shaped by the liturgy and structures of the ancient church, and too concerned with culture to go all the way with Barth.
As for Heidegger, Jens never ceased to wrestle with him, taking what he found useful. But he never failed to get in the comment that Heidegger was evil, one of the theorists behind Nazi nihilism (a fact affirmed by the publication of Heideggers Black Notebooks).
Article continues below
Theology as if the gospel were true
Jens once told uswith his typical audacitythat a proper theologian was a cannibal, eating and digesting whatever ideas and concepts one could find that would serve to elucidate the story of Jesus Christ. This is just another way of saying, all truth is Gods truth. But Jenss shocking turn of phrase makes the principle unforgettable.
That was the sort of teacher and writer Jens was. He made things clear so they could hit homesometimes too much so. In speech and prose, he could be so direct and terse that we often had to beg him to embellish things, to say it again by saying more. Jens delighted in saying things plainly and directly. If he has a literary analogue, it is Hemingway: short, to the point sentences, formed as though all the adjectives had dropped out of the English language.
After our first year with Jens, he suggested that the three of us needed to learn some philosophy. He proposed that we engage in a survey of the history of metaphysicsamong many other things, I learned a new definition of the word survey. We began with Heraclitus and Parmenides before moving to Plato, Aristotle, Proclus, and Plotinus. Next we read the Patristics, then the Medievals, Early Moderns, and Idealists. We finished, a year later, with Heidegger, Dorothee Solle, and Barth.
Jens described Barths Church Dogmatics as the first grand system of Western metaphysics since the collapse of Hegelianism, but a thoroughly revisionary one an all-encompassing, flexible, and drastically coherent Christological interpretation of all reality. Jens disagreed with Barth along with the others we read, and he made sure we knew it. But Barth, he told us, missteps aside, had the right idea. All created existence finds its meaning and purpose in the person of the crucified and risen one, Jesus Christ.
The reason why Jens insisted that we make our way through the history of metaphysics was because he insisted that Christian theology be performed fearlessly. Christians canindeed muststand boldly shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Aristotle and Hegel. We need not be wowed or cowed by the wisdom of the world. We ought to learn whatever there is to be learned from the world, but we do so with a purpose: to better point to and tell the truth, the story, and the promise that Jesus is.
Jenss contribution to theology and church could well be described as an answer to the question: What if the story and promise of the gospel are true? By true he meant, true in the dumb sense, the sense in which we use it in day to day speech.
This exemplifies Jenss theological method, an approach that goes against the grain of much of modern theology, which assumes that much of the Christian faiths truth claims are only apparently or at best figuratively true. Jens suggested that it just might be possible to rethink everythingnot just theology, but philosophy, culture, art criticism, etc.on the basis that the eternal, infinite Word of God is Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah of Israel. His work, taken as whole, is such an attempt.
Theology with a future
Last April I received a phone call. Jens had been to the doctor. Cancer. After some hard conversations, a decision was made. He was 87, already quite weak, surgery was not an option. He was sent home to die. It could be months, it could be a week. So, again, we went.
As we walked to the house, we talked about what we could say to encourage him. We were brought upstairs to see him. He was very weak. We told him what we had been doing. One of us, not me, soon had to address a group of incoming theology students and asked: I have to answer the question, Why we study theology. Jens, what should I say to them? Jens had said little up to this point; the pain meds were doing their thing. But, with this question, he sat up a little and said, Well, I think the answer to that question is actually quite simple. We do theology because God is.
Article continues below
While this statement has beautiful completeness to it, the story is not over. Something essential is yet missing.
If you knew Jens, you know Blanche, his wife. They frequently attended academic conferences togethera rare, brave act in the academic world. Jens repeatedly stated that Blanche should be named co-author of all of his books, since every page, every sentence was the result of her critical eye.
In his analysis of postmodern nihilism, Jens wrote that in the postmodern ethos, promises are inauthentic, they simply cannot be made, because to promise is to commit to a future, and thus to a story that has a telos. But this is the very thing that our present world denies.
Jens wrote that we now lived in a world in which the impossibility of promises is our daily experience. And in this matter, we have a paradigm case, in which the whole situation is instantly manifest and which I need only name. There is a human promise that is the closest possible creaturely approach to unconditional divine promise, and that is therefore throughout Scripture the chosen analog of divine promise: the marital promise of faithfulness unto death.
Without Blanche there would be no Jens. The two of them exemplified what it means to be co-workers for the gospel. Jens said again and again that Blanche was the mother of all my theology. So, I close with a message for Blanche who mourns the loss of her beloved husband: Know that the story you and Jens wove has a future; we want you to know that you are the grandparents of our theology.
Matthew J. Aragon Bruce is visiting associate lecturer of theology at Wheaton College.
The most obvious effect of the Reformationwhich celebrates its 500th anniversary this yearis division.
It is estimated that more than 33,000 different Christian denominations now exist throughout the world, and much of this is blamed on the Reformation. While some are making the case that difference does not necessarily constitute division in Protestantism and the global church, the plethora of denominations is a source of concern for Protestants, who are the heirs of Martin Luthers movement that has tended to create new churches rather than reform existing ones.
The Reforming Catholic Confession, released today, aims to demonstrate thatdespite denominationalismProtestants are remarkably unified.
Additionally, the new statement of faith, crafted by a team of Protestant theologians and church leaders, aims to show that Protestants are actually more catholic (meaning universal) than Roman Catholics, who demand allegiance ...
1
Red Wing Shoe Co. has partnered with Good360 to deliver $500,000 worth of products to Hurricane Harvey victims in South Texas.
The donations include work boots and coveralls that can be used in clean-up efforts, as well as socks and footwear for individuals affected by the storm.
"The Houston area has long been a very special community to Red Wing Shoe Company dating back to the 1920's when we first established our North America operating hub to serve the broader energy market," CEO Mark Urdahl said in an announcement.
"Today Houston remains one of our most critical global hub markets where we have significant relationship ties in the community. Our thoughts are with our own employees, dealers, customers and the community at-large affected by the deadly storms. The hard work of rebuilding will go on for years and we want Texas to know that Red Wing is committed to helping the region with its recovery."
RELATED: Red Wing Shoe Co. relocates to expanded space in southwest Houston
The Red Wing Shoe Company Foundation also plans to match monetary donations made by employees and retirees to certain charities for relief efforts.
The products will be distributed to "the right people at the right time throughout all stages of the recovery process," said Good360 executive vice president of partnerships Richard Barney.
"Our partnerships with local nonprofits serving the community and with corporations like Red Wing Shoe Company makes it possible for us to move product to where it is needed most with a high level of efficacy and efficiency."
Oil edged higher for a second day as OPEC was said to consider keeping production caps in place beyond their March expiration and U.S. crude refiners accelerated their post-hurricane recovery.
Futures rose as much as 0.8 percent, trading in a 71 cent-range in New York. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies may keep output cuts in place well into the second half of next year, according to people familiar with the matter. U.S. refineries hobbled by Hurricane Harvey more than two weeks ago continued to make progress on resuming normal operations, boosting demand for oil.
OPEC potentially extending cuts is bullish in the sense that they are willing to do it, but its effectively bearish that they have to, Kyle Cooper, director of research at IAF Advisors in Houston, said by telephone. Youve got refineries still in the process of coming back.
West Texas Intermediate for October delivery added 20 cents to $48.27 a barrel at 1:06 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Total volume traded was about 2.9 percent below the 100-day average.
Brent for November settlement climbed 40 cents to $54.24 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The global benchmark crude traded at a premium of $5.47 to November WTI.
Stretching the duration of OPEC production limits by three months or more would fall under a worst-case scenario that ministers are now contemplating, the people said, asking not to be named because the talks were private. Discussions have included one option for a six-month extension, one person said.
OPEC and other producers, including Russia, Mexico and Kazakhstan pledged in late 2016 to reduce output by about 1.8 million barrels a day to eliminate a global surplus that was depressing prices. The original six-month agreement has already been extended once, by nine months.
OPEC Is Said to Discuss Extending Cuts by More Than 3 Months
Hurricanes have shaken energy markets, with Irma shutting fuel stations and ports across Florida and Harvey strangling refineries in the nations energy hub. Exxon Mobil Corp.s 344,600 barrel-a-day Beaumont, Texas, refinery was said to be heating up its sulfur units Tuesday in preparation for a post-Harvey restart, and LyondellBasell Industries NVs 263,800 barrel-a-day Houston refinery was said to expect to run its fluid catalytic cracking unit at normal rates Wednesday.
Drop in Volatility
A measure of second-month WTI implied volatility slid to the lowest level since April, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
You just went through two major events, two hurricanes, and there are no events on the horizon to get you excited, Michael Hiley, head of over-the-counter energy trading at New York-based LPS Partners, said by telephone. If you look at flat price, it has gone nowhere over the last month and a half to two months.
U.S. crude stockpiles likely rose by 4.82 million barrels last week, according to a Bloomberg survey ahead of Energy Information Administration data released Wednesday. The industry-funded American Petroleum Institute will release its inventory data on Tuesday.
Oil-market news:
The EIA lowered its U.S. crude output forecast for next year to 9.84 million barrels a day from 9.91 million a day estimated in August, according to its Short-Term Energy Outlook.
The Port of Everglades in Florida was scheduled to reopen to ships Tuesday morning following Hurricane Irma. Buckeye Partners LP plans to resume limited service Wednesday at its Florida terminals and refined products pipeline system, according to a statement.
Royal Dutch Shell Plcs Deer Park, Texas, refinery was said to have some units heating up in preparation for restarting this week, according to a person familiar with operations.
--With assistance from Melissa Cheok Ben Sharples and Grant Smith
To contact the reporter on this story: Jessica Summers in New York at jsummers24@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Reg Gale at rgale5@bloomberg.net, Margot Habiby, Carlos Caminada
2017 Bloomberg L.P.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Hasan Jamali/STR Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Ronald Zak/STR Show More Show Less 3 of 3
OPECs estimate of its oil production is expected to show a decrease in August from July as the groups biggest member Saudi Arabia pared output, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The 12 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries bound by its agreement to cut output pumped 30.004 million barrels a day in August, based on information from four of six secondary sources, according to the person, who asked not to be identified for lack of authorization to speak to media. OPEC produced 30.113 million barrels a day in July, according to all six external data sets known as secondary sources.
Africa is no doubt a culturally diverse continent. It is, therefore, unsurprising that it is home to some of the most fascinating and best music festivals in the world. Jumia Travel, the leading online travel agency, shares Africa's top 6 music festivals to put on your festival bucket list.
Sauti za Busara, Zanzibar
This semi-autonomous region of Tanzania besides its amazing beaches, has one of the biggest music festivals in East Africa which is Sauti za Busara. Musical artists from all over Africa perform in an open-air amphitheatre. It is usually held for three days in the ancient enclave of Stone Town in February.
Lake of Stars, Malawi
Want to experience diverse music from afro pop to Indie rock, Jazz and more? Lake of Stars Music Festival is the place to go in October. It is held at Lake Malawi.
Cape Town Jazz Festival, South Africa
The Cape Town Jazz Festival has been entertaining Africa for 20 years. It prides itself as Africa's grandest party. The festival annually boasts 5 stages with more than 40 artists performing over 2 nights. The festival hosts more than 37,000 music enthusiast over the 2 show days. It is held in March at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
Gnaoua World Music Festival, Morocco
Morocco in the far North of Africa host the Gnaoua World Music Festival. During the music festival, traditional Gnaoua musicians, who are descendants of slaves, are joined by jazz, pop, Afrobeat and rock performers from Africa. It usually takes place in June at Essaouira, Morocco.
Bushfire Festival, Swaziland
You rarely hear of Swaziland making news headlines. When it does, one of such headlines must feature the Bushfire Festival. Bushfire festival is a 3-day music and performing arts festival headlined by international and local acts. It is usually held in May.
Vic Falls Carnival, Zimbabwe
Vic Falls Carnival takes place in Victoria Falls Town, Zimbabwe. The 3-day festival is held in December with appearances from mostly alternative/rock artists with some local Zimbabwean acts.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
Like Houstonians, turtles, apparently, can get storm fatigue.
An 89-pound alligator snapping turtle wandered onto Memorial Drive early Tuesday, out of his home in Buffalo Bayou.
The turtle a male believed to be about 70 years old likely came up for air after hunkering down in the depths of the bayou during rainfall caused by Tropical Storm Harvey, said Kelly Norrid, urban wildlife biologist with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
Houston Police Department officers spotted the turtle before 4 a.m. at the peril of oncoming traffic at the intersection of Memorial and Waugh.
HARVEY AFTERMATH: Get the latest information to help recover from the storm
The turtle was whisked off to the Wildlife Center of Texas, a group within the Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty Animals, according to HPD.
He was diagnosed with dehydration, but was otherwise healthy.
The Wildlife Center of Texas, which usually rescues between 10,000 and 11,000 wild animals every year, has been particularly busy following record flooding in the Houston area. Since the hurricane hit, the center has rescued almost 500 animals pelicans, baby squirrels, magnificent frigatebirds and rabbits that had been washed out of their dens, said Sharon Schmalz, executive director of the center.
This turtle appears to have been the first to be rescued since Harvey, but he isn't the only one in Buffalo Bayou.
An ongoing, nearly year-long research study conducted by the global organization Turtle Survival Alliance has revealed that more than two dozen alligator snapping turtles have settled down in the three miles of Buffalo Bayou from downtown to the Bayou Bend area an unusually high population for an urban region, Norrid said.
Common snapping turtles also live in the bayou.
Houstonians should avoid approaching either without proper training, Norrid said. But, coming across an alligator snapping turtle might be preferable.
"Common snapping turtles have a bit nastier disposition," Norrid added.
AFTER THE STORM: How Harvey impacted Buffalo Bayou
The turtle that wandered Tuesday onto Memorial had already been spotted nearby by scientists conducting their research - he was tagged in February.
The fact that he was found so close to home has assuaged some concerns about the effects of flooding on the state-designated threatened species.
"So it's actually kind of hopeful that the turtles that were in Buffalo Bayou weren't displaced very far," Norrid said.
After being deemed ready to go back into the wild, the turtle was returned home to Buffalo Bayou Tuesday afternoon.
He likely won't be wandering off again anytime soon. They tend to stick to their territories, Schmalz said.
When asked if this turtle's excursion entitled him to a name, Schmalz scoffed. "Come on, he is a wild animal."
But, she added, someone has probably already christened him Harvey. (Schmalz's guess was correct: Channel 13 reporter Courtney Fischer gave him the name early Tuesday.)
If anyone spots another alligator snapping turtle, Texas Parks and Wildlife wants to hear about it, Norrid said.
Houstonians can call the group's hotline at 281-302-8033.
Houston Restaurant Weeks extended
Houston Restaurant Weeks - one of the city's biggest culinary events and fundraisers - was entering its last week when Hurricane Harvey swept through. So founder Cleverley Stone agreed to keep the popular dining event going, extending it through Sept. 30. The extension not only helps restaurants but also HRW's beneficiary, the Food Bank, whose work became even more critical in the storm's aftermath. The rules remain the same - bargain fixed menus with a portion of proceeds going to the charity. See houstonrestaurantweeks.com for more information.
Southern Smoke to benefit Harvey relief
The organizers of Southern Smoke, a blockbuster live fire/barbecue event that in the past two years has raised $464,000 for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, is redirecting its 2017 fundraising efforts in light of Hurricane Harvey. Scheduled for Oct. 22, the 2017 iteration will partner with Legacy Community Health Services to provide assistance for employees of the culinary and beverage community and their suppliers affected by the hurricane. The MS Society will return as the beneficiary of the next event in the spring.
Underbelly chef-owner Chris Shepherd created Southern Smoke to honor his friend and former sommelier Antonio Gianola, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2014. Participating chefs this year include Aaron Franklin of Franklin Barbecue in Austin; Rodney Scott of Scott's Barbecue in Hemingway, S.C.; New Orleans legend John Besh; Mike Lata and Jason Stanhope of Fig in Charleston, S.C.; Ashley Christensen of Poole's Diner in Raleigh, N.C.; and top Houston chefs such as Justin Yu, Ryan Pera, Seth Siegel-Gardner and Terrence Gallivan. VIP tickets include early admission, premium wines and a gift bag with participating chefs' cookbooks, $350; general admission, $200. Both are available at southernsmoke.org.
Former 17 Restaurant alums reunite for Harvey fundraiser
The late 17 Restaurant at the Alden Hotel, now the Sam Houston Hotel, launched or furthered the careers of some of the city's top chefs, including Rebecca Masson, owner of Fluff Bake Bar; Ryan Pera chef-owner of Agricole Hospitality (Coltivare, Revival Market, Eight Row Flint); Otto Sanchez, executive pastry chef at La Table; Joseph Stayshich, culinary director for Adair Concepts; and James Beard Award winner Justin Yu. Now those chefs, and others from Houston and beyond, are banding together for a one-night-only fundraising dinner for Hurricane Harvey relief.
17 Reunites for Relief will take place Oct. 1 at Ralph Smith Studios, 5226 Elm. The evening will begin with cocktails at 5 p.m. followed by dinner at 6 p.m. Tickets, $150 per person, are available at agricolehospitality.com. Miner Family Wines, Victory Wine Group and Saint Arnold Brewing Co. are donating wine and beer for the event, which also will feature a silent auction.
Culinary Stars event rescheduled
The Houston Chronicle's Culinary Stars event, which traditionally unveils critic Alison Cook's annual Top 100 restaurants list and celebrates the local food scene, has been rescheduled. The new date is Oct. 26 at the Houston Chronicle, 4747 Southwest Freeway, 6:30-9 p.m.
Nearly three dozen top restaurants and 20 wineries will offer food and drink during the party, which will benefit those impacted by Harvey. Tickets are $100 for general admission and $150 for VIP (early entry at 5:30 p.m. and a larger tasting glass). Cook's Top 100 list still will appear in Luxe Life magazine with subscribers' newspapers Friday and will be live on houstonchronicle.com/top100 that day as well. For Culinary Stars tickets, visit houstonculinarystars.com.
David J. Phillip/STF
Soon after Hurricane Harvey reached Texas, several huge steel tanks owned by one oil company sprung free from their piping and toppled over, tearing flowlines and spewing hundreds of barrels of oil and waste water some 100 miles west of Houston.
EnerVest Operating told state regulators its storage tanks spilled 1,117 barrels, or almost 47,000 gallons, of crude and so-called produced water at eight separate well sites in Fayette County. Some of the crude flowed through the flood waters into the Colorado River.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
OPEC and its allies are discussing extending by more than three months the oil production cuts that expire in March 2018, potentially prolonging them well into the second half of next year in an effort to boost prices, according to people familiar with the matter.
An extension of that duration would be needed under the worst-case scenario for the oil market that OPEC ministers are now contemplating, the people said, asking not to be named because the talks were private. One option under discussion is a six-month extension, one person said.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers including Russia, Mexico and Kazakhstan pledged to reduce output by about 1.8 million barrels a day to eliminate a global surplus that was depressing prices. The deal, reached in late 2016, initially called for a six-month period, which later was extended with another nine months until the end of March 2018.
RELATED: Breakneck U.S. drilling creates backlog of untapped wells
Despite the cuts, oil prices have struggled to break above $50 a barrel after being weighed down by the resurgence of U.S. shale production.
OPEC and its allies are now discussing a further rollover ahead of a ministerial meeting scheduled for late November in Vienna, with a three-month extension seen as the minimum, the people said. The duration will depend on multiple variables, including the level of compliance with agreed cuts by OPEC and its allies, the pace of the oil-output recovery in Libya and Nigeria, U.S. shale supply and the strength of global demand.
"We think there will be plenty of oil in 2018 with the need for OPEC to hold cuts through all of next year," said Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB AB in Oslo.
OPECs own estimates, released Tuesday, show that even with demand for its oil likely to increase next year, the group wont be able to reverse curbs on output if it wants to balance the market. The organization boosted its forecast for the amount of crude it needs to supply by 400,000 barrels a day to 32.8 million barrels in 2018, which remains in line with production last month.
The groups total output dropped 79,100 barrels a day to 32.755 million a day in August amid a retreat in Libyan production, according to the report.
RELATED: Will oil prices head to $30 or $60?
The cartel, which pumps four of every 10 oil barrels the world consumes, said that demand for its crude in the first and second quarters of 2018 will be lower than its current production, suggesting oil inventories will increase once again in the first half of next year. OPEC pegged demand for its crude at 31.8 million barrels a day in the first quarter, and at 32.4 million in the second quarter. That compares with current output of nearly 32.8 million barrels.
Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih last weekend discussed the potential extension of the deal with his counterparts from Venezuela, Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates. Al-Falih said longer-lasting curbs would be considered in due course as market fundamentals may dictate.
To contact the reporters on this story: Javier Blas in London at jblas3@bloomberg.net, Wael Mahdi in Kuwait at wmahdi@bloomberg.net, Grant Smith in London at gsmith52@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Will Kennedy at wkennedy3@bloomberg.net, James Herron.
Insperity, Inc., a leading provider of human resources and business performance solutions for America's best businesses, today announced a commitment of up to $2 million to help the local community recover from the widespread devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey.
Insperity, in concert with other local organizations, has helped to establish the Lake Houston Area Relief Fund to help families and businesses in the local community rebuild in the aftermath of the storm. The company will match up to $1 million in donations, leading an effort to encourage other businesses and individuals to give generously to the local community at this time of substantial need. In addition, Insperity contributed $1 million to The Insperity Fund, a financial-aid program for the company's corporate employees.
"Our hearts go out to all those who have suffered during Hurricane Harvey," said Paul J. Sarvadi, Insperity chairman and chief executive officer. "This catastrophic event has impacted lives and businesses across Southeast Texas, including our own customers and employees, and recovery will take all of us working together. To that end, we are spearheading a call to action through the Lake Houston Area Relief Fund and Insperity matching gifts initiative for other businesses and individuals to donate in an effort to help our area rebuild and allow our community to continue to prosper and grow."
The Lake Houston Area Relief Fund, facilitated by Humble Area Assistance Ministries (HAAM), a 501(c)(3) public charity, was organized by Insperity, Somebody Cares Humble, Lake Houston Area Chamber of Commerce and other community leaders based on an overwhelming response from citizens and companies to help with recovery efforts.
Residents and businesses in the Lake Houston area, including Atascocita, Fall Creek, Humble, Kingwood and Summerwood are eligible to receive grants if they were directly affected by Hurricane Harvey. Other eligibility requirements include proof of communication with and response from the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) and homeowner/renter insurance companies. Upon approval, grant funding will be sent directly to third-party vendors, such as mortgage and utility companies. For more information about the Lake Houston Area Relief Fund, visit http://lakehoustonarearelieffund.org.
The Lake Houston Area Relief Fund is patterned after Insperity's successful internal program, The Insperity Fund, an ongoing program, which offers financial aid to corporate employees experiencing a time of crisis. While Insperity provides corporate contributions to this fund, it is primarily sustained by employee donations. However, in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, Insperity is bolstering the fund with a $1 million contribution.
"Insperity employees executed our disaster recovery plan in a flawless manner from the preparation prior to the storm and continuing until normal operations were restored," added Sarvadi. "We are not aware of a single service request from any client that was not met in spite of the severity of the storm in the home of our corporate headquarters. In addition, outbound calls to support and assist our more than 1,200 clients in the affected area were conducted throughout this period."
Giving back to the communities where Insperity employees live and work has been a cornerstone of the company's mission since its inception in 1986. With the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, this spirit of service continues, with financial support and hundreds of paid volunteer hours helping the community recover and begin to rebuild.
About Insperity
Insperity, a trusted advisor to America's best businesses for more than 31 years, provides an array of human resources and business solutions designed to help improve business performance. Insperity Business Performance Advisors offer the most comprehensive suite of products and services available in the marketplace. Insperity delivers administrative relief, better benefits, reduced liabilities and a systematic way to improve productivity through its premier Workforce Optimization solution. Additional company offerings include Human Capital Management, Payroll Services, Time and Attendance, Performance Management, Organizational Planning, Recruiting Services, Employment Screening, Financial Services, Expense Management, Retirement Services and Insurance Services. Insperity business performance solutions support more than 100,000 businesses with over 2 million employees. With 2016 revenues of $2.9 billion, Insperity operates in 61 offices throughout the United States. For more information, visit http://www.insperity.com.
University of Texas at Austin engineering professor John Goodenough will receive $500,000 from the Welch Foundation in recognition of his research in batteries, including the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that power mobile phones worldwide.
Last spring, Goodenough and colleague Maria Helena Braga outlined new potential for a low-cost battery that wouldn't need to be charged as often, potentially helping electric vehicles operate for longer distances.
That battery uses glass electrolytes, not liquid electrolytes, and can operate at low temperatures and recharge quickly, according to a UT-Austin press release.
The Houston-based Welch Foundation has funded chemical research since 1954. Goodenough, 95 years old, will receive the award in Houston in October.
"If I'm able still to walk, I'll plan to be there," he said by phone Tuesday.
Goodenough said Tuesday that he plans to use the $500,000 for equipment for experiments and to fund research positions.
Braga, a senior research fellow at UT-Austin's Cockrell School of Engineering, started developing the glass electrolytes at the University of Porto in Portugal, Goodenough said. She began working with UT-Austin about two years ago, according to a UT-Austin press release.
Collaboration across disciplines, Goodenough said, has been important to the success of the research.
"I've had the good fortune to be working at a time where we could bring chemistry and physics and engineering in collaboration with one another," he said. "It's been a confluence of those disciplines to come into the field of materials science."
It's just the latest honor for Goodenough, who joined UT-Austin's faculty in 1986. He earned the National Medal of Science in 2011, and in 2014, he won the Draper Prize for Engineering from the National Academy of Engineering.
The Royal Society of Chemistry distributes a biennial John B. Goodenough Award, recognizing sustained contributions to the field of material chemistry.
Goodenough discovered that it would be possible to store energy in rechargeable batteries through lithium cobalt oxide in 1979, while he was leading the University of Oxford's inorganic chemistry laboratory. That discovery helped develop the lithium-ion batteries present in smartphones, electric cars and other devices.
"The global impact of Dr. Goodenough's research of electronic structure and bonding metal oxides is so vast, it is truly impossible to measure," said Charles W. Tate, chair of the Welch Foundation's board of directors, in a press release.
Lindsay Ellis writes about higher education for the Chronicle. You can follow her on Twitter and send her tips at lindsay.ellis@chron.com.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
Some grade schools in the Houston area will remain closed for weeks to repair damage from Hurricane Harvey, but after several universities reopened last Tuesday, college-aged commuters may be unable to attend the classes they're paying for.
Dozens of universities were impacted by Harvey, according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. The University of Houston, Rice University and Texas Southern University resumed classes on Sept. 5. Others, like the Kingwood campus of Lone Star College, will remain closed until Sept. 25, according to the LSC website.
Universities are not required to extend their semester because of the days they were closed due to Harvey if the campus reopened before Sept. 6, according to THECB's memorandum on reporting instructions.
Whether students can now travel to campus, transitioning back into the semester may still seem like a daunting process. Some university academic or financial deadlines passed while campuses were closed.
At UH, most students live off campus; approximately 85 percent of undergraduates commute, according to the UH website. UH Chancellor Renu Khator talked about the effects of the storm on students attending UH in an interview with CNBC.
"We'll provide as much flexibility as possible," Khator said. "We'll keep on communicating. Compassion is the most important thing right now."
UH officials pushed back deadlines, such as enrolling in emergency payment plans, and waived the fee for replacing university identification cards until Sept. 15, according to UH's Hurricane Harvey Relief webpage.
Students, staff and faculty can also replace lost parking permits until Sept. 15, and parking permit citations will not be given until Sept. 18, according to the UH website.
Other universities are also delaying deadlines with the resumption of their fall 2017 semesters, and Houston Community College and LSC set up Harvey FAQ webpages with new deadline information. Rice's Emergency Management webpage allows students to submit requests for emergency housing or to make Harvey curriculum suggestions.
UH, Rice, Lone Star and other colleges are offer counseling to students, faculty and staff, and TSU is working with the American Red Cross to provide crisis counseling, according to TSU's Emergency updates webpage.
Through LSC's Hurricane Harvey updates webpage, Chancellor Stephen Head addressed the LSC community.
"More than ever, our community's resilience and strength are on display for the world to see; the care and concern we've shown for each other is amazing," Head said. "Please know that we, too, are here for you."
More than 1,700 students at Rice volunteered for Harvey relief projects, according to a news release, and members of the UH community also formed volunteer groups.
Various universities in the Houston area created funds to help their students and staff affected by Harvey. More information on the funds is available on the universities' websites:
University of Houston: www.uh.edu.
Rice University: www.rice.edu.
Texas Southern University: www.tsu.edu.
Houston Community College: www.hccs.edu.
Lone Star College: www.lonestar.edu.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
Memorial Villages residents have sustained hurricane Harvey damage like so many in greater Houston and southeast Texas. But even after the initial floodwaters subsided, the area suffered prolonged challenges with stubborn flooding that took weeks to drain with the release of reservoir water from the Barker and Addicks damns, and the resulting excessive traffic around Memorial Drive due to closures of major west-side thoroughfares.
It's been a nightmare for residents.
And in the midst of it all Memorial Villages Police, Hedwig Police and Memorial Villages Fire Department personnel have been there. Directing traffic, responding to emergency calls, intercepting disaster-tourists and would-be scammers who prey on victims in crisis.
Now the community is stepping up to help the men and women who were on the front lines of hurricane Harvey with "The Memorial Villages First Responder Relief Fund."
The fund will support them in Harvey recovery, and remain in place to assist them in future disasters that may impact first responders.
"The mission of the fund is to provide relief to the Hedwig Police, Memorial Village Police and Village Fire Departments' first responders who are themselves the victims of disasters or suffer other emergency hardships," read a joint-statement from Bunker Hill, Piney Point, Hedwig and Hunters Creek Villages.
"We are already aware of several members of the Hedwig Police, Memorial Village Police and Village Fire Departments whose homes and/or vehicles were severely flooded while they were on days-long duty," read the statement.
The fund's four-member Board of Director's is made up of one resident from each village and will oversee the administration of the funds received.
Members are: from Bunker Hill, Will Franklin; Hunters Creek, Edward Rhyne; Hedwig Village, Jeremy Sanders and Piney Point, Adnan Amjad.
During the worst of the flooding as rain pounded the area and up until September 12, Memorial Villages Police Chief Ray Schultz sent out daily updates through email with information on road conditions, flooding levels, crime and detailed the department's priorities.
Starting September 13, he said the updates would go back to their normal, weekly distribution.
In his last daily message to residents, he said, "I am so proud of our department and our staff. Over the coming days, weeks and months, I am sure you will hear many stories of the individual and team, acts of bravery and heroic actions, that many of our officers performed, as well as our support team of civilian employees. They managed our phone lines, 911, dispatch center, logistics, equipment and even our payroll. Everyone had an important role to play and everyone performed as expected. As the true professionals that they are."
To donate to the fund, checks should be made out to:
"The Memorial Villages First Responder Relief Fund," and are accepted at any of the four village city halls, or online at bunkerhilltx.gov/the-memorial-villages-first-responder-relief-fund.
Checks can be mailed to:
The Memorial Villages First Responder Relief Fund
c/o City of Bunker Hill Village
11977 Memorial Drive
Houston, Texas 77024
Dear Friends,
It has been a long two weeks, filled with moments of traumatic loss and inspiring generosity. (Memorial Assistance Ministry's) clients, donors, staff and volunteers have been deeply affected in countless ways and our hearts and prayers go out to everyone. As is always true, Houston is strong and we are working together as a community to care for each other.
Of the hundreds of tragedies that brought clients to MAM, none is more heartbreaking than the mother of three young children who lost her husband during the flood. He worked in construction and was called into work on Sunday. Wanting to be a good employee, he attempted to drive to work and perished in his vehicle. Our counselor was on hand to meet with the young mother to comfort her. And we all silently cried with her.
As the weeks and months go on, we will continue to help those Harvey has hurt. We will continue to ask for help. And we will continue to pray for those who may have the wherewithal to rebuild their lives, but have experienced personal trauma and tremendous loss of property.
Blessings to each and every one of you,
Martha Macris
MAM President & CEO
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos will be spending her week doing a six-state back-to-school blitz to highlight what the agency calls innovative educational settings that are fundamentally rethinking school.
Shell be kicking off her trip in Wyoming, and swinging by Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri and Indiana. No word from the Education Department on exactly which cities, towns, and schools shell be stopping at for most of the trip. But on Tuesday, DeVos plans to visit two schools in Wyoming: the Woods Learning Center, a public elementary school in Casper, and St. Stephens Indian High School, a school on the Wind River reservation.
There are so many new and exciting ways state-based education leaders and advocates are truly rethinking education, DeVos said in a statement. It is our goal with this tour to highlight whats working. We want to encourage local education leaders to continue to be creative, to empower parents with options, and to expand student-centered education opportunities.
That overall theme seems to jive with DeVos pitch for a greater range of educational options for kids, including expanding access to private school vouchers and charter schools. So far, shes had a tough time persuading Congress to provide the resources for that vision.
Some regional newspapers already have written about the prospect of a DeVos visit. And the local reaction has been pretty mixed.
For instance, DeVos is expected to swing by Omaha, Neb., the Omaha World-Herald reported exclusively late last month . And Bridget Donovan, president of the Omaha Education Association, isnt exactly thrilled to see her.
Were not very happy about it, she told the paper, but were Nebraska nice.
The Republican governor, Pete Ricketts was more enthusiastic. His spokesman said DeVos, has been a great advocate for expanding educational opportunities.
DeVos could visit a private school, Nelson Mandela Elementary School in north Omaha, and Bryan High, a public school, according to the World-Herald.
Both of President Barack Obamas education secretariesArne Duncan and John B. King Jr.did their own back-to-school bus tours. Its not clear if DeVos trip will be all by bus, or more planes, trains, and automobiles.
But well be on the look-out for coverage from the trip. If DeVos is heading to your area, tweet at us at PoliticsK12.
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos talks with pre-k students Alivia, 5, and Kellen, 5, while visiting teacher Laura Fosters class at the Van Wert Early Childhood Center on April 20, in Van Wert, Ohio.
--Cathie Rowand/The Journal-Gazette via AP
Follow us on Twitter at @PoliticsK12 .
Jaimy Jones
Students stayed penned up in their classrooms Tuesday afternoon during a 45-minute lockdown at a high school in Spring Branch ISD, though officials initially declined to explain what sparked the safety measure.
"Memorial High School is on lockdown, and everyone is safe," Spring Branch ISD spokesman Steven Brunsman said just before 3 p.m. "Police are conducting an investigation."
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
"Everything went as well as it could go," said Katy Police Chief Bill Hastings as he and other city officials talked about the aftermath of Harvey.
Byron J. Hebert, city administrator, said that the two-day rain total was 25 inches with another eight inches on the third day.
Katy City Hall, which was dedicated in June 2016 at Avenue D and Second Street, was flooded by Hurricane Harvey and was to reopen on Sept. 5, but damage cost figures were unavailable Aug. 31 as were the number of homes flooded in the city.
The Katy Fire Department which is off Avenue D, also experienced high water.
Closed until further notice are Katy Heritage Museum, Katy Dog Park, Woodsland Park and VFW Park.
Katy Mayor Charles "Chuck" Brawner said he met Aug. 31 with District 10 U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, to talk about the Cypress Creek watershed and its role in the flooding that occurred in Katy last month and last year.
After the April 18, 2016 Tax Day Flood, city officials hired the Costello firm for about $100,000 to conduct an engineering study.
The City of Katy Flood Protection Study presented April 10, 2017 included a map, which McCaul shared last week. The 1940s map by the Civil Engineer Corps launched to build infrastructure shows the Barker and Addicks reservoirs as well as a levee for Cypress Creek, said McCaul.
McCaul sees a Cypress levee as a long-term project which he talked about with officials of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the governor's office in a search for funding.
"We need to look at long-term solutions from an infrastructure standpoint," he said.
That was repeated by Brawner at the recent council meeting where he mentioned $320 million to build a Cypress levee like Addicks and Barker. "It should have been done earlier," he added. Brawner said FEMA is the only agency that would have the funding needed to get the project done.
McCaul referred to the engineering study the city had done by Costello to examine area flooding. "The city engineer's study has a plan and a price tag," said McCaul, who talked of working on the long-term solution with an appropriation to fix it. "It's not going to go away," he added.
During the April Tax Day flood, from 12 to 22 inches of rain fell over the Katy area, according to an ongoing flood study by the city of Katy, reported by the Chronicle in an earlier article. And, the roughly 14-square-mile city had 110 homes and 25 businesses impacted, according to Hebert, city administrator.
Overflow at Cypress Creek and the Cane Island Branch watershed were the main reasons Katy flooded, the overview says. Cane Island Branch, which feeds into Buffalo Bayou, recorded a peak water surface elevation of 137.90 feet at the U.S. 90 bridge. The rainfall in the city is categorized as being between a "100-year" and "500-year" event, according to the article. Short-term drainage projects also were included in the study including street and drainage improvements to Morton and Franz roads.
McCaul has helped the city with the impact of Harvey already. He met with the Katy mayor and fire chief for what he called "a pretty rough Sunday night."
He helped to involve the National Guard in rescue efforts, with Katy High School serving as an operational center for the National Guard and state and local responders.
Initially, search and rescue operations were the No. 1 priority. McCaul said the National Guard at Katy rescued 10,000 people.
"Some neighborhoods are still flooded," he continued. "Protecting loss of life is the No. 1 priority."
The congressman said among his top priorities now are obtaining FEMA assistance and housing for those affected by Harvey.
Some shelters are winding down in west Harris County and there's talk of transferring people to NRG. McCaul said he thought people in west Harris County would prefer to stay there if they could with relatives, friends and, if necessary, FEMA housing. He added he'd hate to see trailers as they were provided after Hurricane Katrina and spoke of making sure it's done right this time.
He applauded President Donald Trump's swift approval of the governor's request for an expedited major disaster declaration on behalf of the Texas counties impacted by Hurricane Harvey. "Having the major declaration signed in advance helped FEMA provide immediate assistance," said McCaul.
While all the eyes of the nation now are on areas hit by Hurricane Harvey, in a week or two the attention will turn somewhere else, said McCaul. Noting Congress has many issues to tackle when it resumes, he said, "I want to make sure people do not forget about Texas."
At the Aug. 31 council meeting, city officials didn't forget the volunteers and city staff who worked long hours, despite flooding damage to their homes in some cases.
Hastings praised Maria Galvez, Katy's emergency management coordinator. Knowing that her home had five feet of water, Galvez did an excellent job of holding everything together, he said. "For four days that girl ran on Snickers bars and coke. I'm not saying it was all was right but 99 percent was right," he added.
Council also extended the Declaration of Disaster from Sept. 2 to Sept. 8.
Hastings also praised Public Works Department employees for their efforts to blockade flooded streets to keep traffic out of neighborhoods. Brawner noted that not all the help was local. He said all 28 states that have Strike Task Forces came to help. Also receiving thanks were local businesses that helped first responders, including Buc-ee's, Brookshire Brothers and Wal-Mart.
As students return to school this week for the first time since Hurricane Harvey stalled the start of the academic year, some will be attending a different campus than originally expected.
Students of Juan Seguin Elementary School in Richmond, which was severely damaged in the flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey, will attend two nearby schools while their campus is being repaired, Fort Bend ISD announced Thursday.
An assessment of schools in the district immediately following the multi-day deluge brought by Tropical Storm Harvey in the last week of August found that several schools had sustained varying degrees of damage.
Juan Seguin and Goodman Elementary in Fresno were the two most severely damaged campuses. Originally, the district had announced that neither campus would be ready to welcome students and staff in time for the scheduled return to school on Sept. 12, but repairs on Goodman progressed more quickly than expected. The district announced that it would be safe and operable in time.
Repairs continue on Juan Seguin Elementary, however, and students and staff will be housed in two nearby campuses for the start to the school year. Fort Bend ISD Superintendent said in a message to the community that the repairs to Seguin will likely take several months.
Kindergarten through second grade students and staff will be housed at James Patterson Elementary School, a mile and a half away, while third through fifth grade students and staff will be housed at David Crockett Middle School, less than two miles away. The brand new Patterson school has the capacity to accept the additional elementary students and the third-fifth grade students will have a separate instructional area designated at Crockett Middle School, Dupre said.
"Although Hurricane Harvey has disrupted the beginning of our school year, we are doing all we can to minimize the impacts on teaching and learning," Dupre said in a statement Thursday. "Our educators are eager to get back to doing what they do best each and every day."
According to the district, bus transportation will be provided to Seguin students.
Burton Elementary, Colony Bend Elementary and Scanlan Oaks Elementary all experienced either some flooding, power outages or other issues as a result of the storm, but were expected to be repaired and ready in time for the return to school. Additionally, 15 schools had issues with the heating and air conditioning units, which were also expected to be resolved before Sept. 11, according to the district.
Willowridge High School, which was closed before the storm hit due to extensive mold remediation, remains closed, but was not damaged by Harvey. Willowridge students will attend Thurgood Marshall High School until the mold remediation and reconstruction efforts are completed.
In addition to the displaced Seguin and Willowridge students, the district anticipates other enrollment changes as a result of students forced to move to new or temporary homes by storm damage.
Making up for lost time
Dupre announced on Thursday that he intended ask the Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustees to apply to the state for a waiver to avoid having to make up the 11 instructional days missed due to Hurricane Harvey. The Texas Education Agency Commissioner granted school districts in severely impacted counties permission to apply for such waivers in the wake of the storm's devastation.
The district's Academic Affairs team met in the days following the storm to reconstruct the curriculum for the 2017-18 school year and adapt it to the loss of instructional time. The team did so by identifying "priority standards" to focus instruction and by cutting down on undesignated "reengagement" time, which had originally been planned as an opportunity for students who needed additional help, according to Dupre.
"We will not allow time missed due to Hurricane Harvey to affect student achievement," Dupre said in the Thursday message to the community.
To learn more about resources for Fort Bend ISD families affected by Hurricane Harvey, visit fortbendisd.com/hurricaneharvey.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
Ten of the Houston area's largest school districts reopened Monday after a two-week delay caused by Hurricane Harvey, returning a sense of routine to a community still reeling from massive flooding.
More than 600,000 children went back to classes for the fall, easing the burden on parents and others who had scrambled to find caregivers. The day marked the largest return of students since Harvey dumped as much as 51 inches of rain on parts of the Houston region, destroying the homes of thousands of children and damaging dozens of campuses.
Houston ISD, the state's largest district, kicked off its school year by opening 243 of its 284 campuses. As of last week, administrators had expected only 202 campuses to resume operations Monday.
Another 29 schools are expected to start classes Tuesday, with the remaining 12 projected to open by Sept. 25. The student bodies of seven of these schools will take classes at alternative locations as their home schools undergo repairs.
"This is going to be a year of not only incredible academic achievement, it's going to be a year of healing," HISD Superintendent Richard Carranza said.
Cy-Fair ISD, the area's second-largest district, opened all but one of its 85 campuses. Eight other districts, all of which serve 20,000-plus students, were back in action Monday: Katy, Pasadena, Alief, Clear Creek, Spring, Spring Branch, Lamar Consolidated and Goose Creek.
More Information By the numbers 600,000 Area students who began their school year or headed to class Monday. 7HISD schools that will remain closed for the time being because of storm damage. 270HISD teachers affected by flooding who were unable to return. See More Collapse
In Humble ISD, administrators pulled off the merger of Kingwood and Summer Creek high schools, which will share a building this year after extensive flooding at Kingwood.
Fort Bend ISD opens its doors for the fall semester on Tuesday.
When do classes start at my school? Click here to search Houston ISD's database by school or start date.
Administrators, parents and students grinned through the first day back, embracing the return of classes while tackling complications brought on by a natural disaster.
Carranza said about 270 teachers were affected by flooding, leaving some unable to return Monday. In many cases, staffers from schools that hadn't opened yet filled in for co-workers. Carranza said he expects all of those 270 staffers will be able to return by Sept. 25.
Determined to show up
As HISD opened its doors, principals and teachers didn't know how many of their students would return or how they were affected by the floods.
At Bruce Elementary, northeast of downtown Houston, Principal Raquel Sosa-Gonzalez said the neighborhood surrounding the school seemed abandoned leading up to Monday. She had found some of her students at the George R. Brown Convention Center shelter when she went to check shortly after Harvey's rains stopped, but was unsure how many of the school's 550 students would be able to make it to school Monday. She expected about 430 to show up and was floored when her attendance count showed 515 students had arrived Monday.
She said many of the students at her school are refugees from African nations - displaced from their homes when they came to Houston, and then displaced again by floods that washed over their fresh starts.
"Just to see the sheer resilience is truly remarkable," Sosa-Gonzalez said. "Just to see the smiles on their faces and to see them come in the door."
To the south, at Codwell Elementary, 8-year-old Chardrea Hayes couldn't stop smiling as she scampered to class. During the two-week delay, Chardrea insisted that her mother, Charlotte, drive by Codwell every night so she could see the HISD campus.
"I'm feeling really excited," she said. "When they said school would start Monday, I really wanted to go."
New campuses, for now
At Cy-Fair ISD, young people returned to largely unaffected buildings. Only one campus, Moore Elementary, was temporarily closed for repairs. Those students are attending classes at a vacant Cy-Fair ISD campus about two miles away.
Katy ISD, home to about 75,000 students, had two schools temporarily shuttered due to damage.
Students from Creech Elementary, near the heavily flooded Cinco Ranch neighborhood, traveled a mile up the road to a University of Houston satellite campus building. District officials said the formerly vacant facility will be Creech's home "for the foreseeable future." Katy ISD officials said they will be adding portable buildings and playground equipment, making minor modifications as needed.
"We have been working on a tremendously short timeline over the past week, and the university has been extremely flexible in helping us to meet the needs of our students and families," Katy ISD Superintendent Lance Hindt said.
To the northeast in Katy, issues with the building's water system sent Bear Creek Elementary students to the district's newest secondary school, Paetow High, about 12 miles away.
Making a positive start
Though Humble ISD resumed classes last week, students at Summer Creek and Kingwood high schools were scheduled for their first day Monday. The two student bodies will be sharing Summer Creek's building, alternating morning and afternoon shifts, after Kingwood's campus sustained damage that could keep it closed all year.
Trey Kraemer, Humble ISD's assistant superintendent of high schools, said traffic issues caused commutes of 30 to 50 minutes for some Kingwood students. But once the kids arrived, the student bodies mixed seamlessly, he said. Kingwood students were greeted by welcome signs peppered along the route to school, and Summer Creek students received thank-you notes from the new denizens.
"When I greeted (Kingwood) kids coming off the bus, they were very happy that they've been able to remain together," Kraemer said. "I think that cohesiveness of being here with their classmates, being here with their teachers, that's really important to them."
Students found teachers and administrators eager to welcome them back at every school. They included Codwell Elementary staffer Demitra Cain, who waited outside the campus Monday with outstretched arms.
"I've given out over 200 hugs this morning," she said. "You don't know what they've all been through. I want to give them something positive when they get here so they have a great start to their day."
Ted Cruz may be in the market for a new social media manager, an intern to blame or a new Twitter password.
The Texas Senator, who has more than three million followers on Twitter, "liked" a pornographic two-minute video clip from account @SexuallPosts. The account replied to Cruz's like with: "Thanks for watching ted!" It also updated its Twitter profile to read: "Follow for the Same Porn @TedCruz Watches."
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
A hearing impaired actor portrays a character who mostly listens in the late Larry Shue's popular comedy "The Foreigner," playing through Sept. 24 at Pearl Theater.
"Everyone has been very accommodating," says the actor, Jeremiah R. Sammons.
"Primarily, he reads lips," said director Curtis Barber, who has mostly positioned Sammons onstage where he can look directly at another actor.
In some other cases, another actor will make an arm gesture when it's time for Sammons to deliver his next line.
More Information want to go? What: "The Foreigner" Where: Pearl Theater, 14803 Park Almeda Drive, Houston When: 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday through Sept. 24; tickets for the 7:30 p.m. Sept. 14 show are buy one, get one free Cost: $14-$16 Information: 832-459-4674; pearl-theater.com See More Collapse
Sammons, 41, portrays Charlie, a shy Englishman, who flees to a fishing lodge in rural Georgia. The character is not hearing impaired, but he doesn't feel like talking with anyone.
His buddy, Froggy, tells the lodge's owner and other guests that Charlie can't understand them when they speak.
"Is he deaf?" someone asks.
"No, he's foreign," replies Froggy.
Some characters respond by confiding things in Charlie which they think he doesn't hear; another tries to teach him English. The show's villain, who is afraid of foreigners, tries to round up a hate group to run him off.
"The characters in this play are ultimately healed by their exposure to something and someone outside of their community, a foreigner, who enriches and brings joy to each person he comes into contact with," Barber said.
As a person with a severe hearing impairment, Sammons observed that "some of the other characters' reactions to Charlie are very apropos and applicable to what I get all the time."
Barber said that Sammons' real-life experience of sometimes feeling like an outsider comes across in his performance as Charlie.
"He brings to life that really beautifully onstage," said Barber. "Casting him was a happy accident."
Sammons, who is single, was born in Fort Smith, Virginia, to military parents. He served in the U.S. Army from 1994 to 2001.
Sammons didn't start losing his hearing until eight or nine years ago.
"I was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and have been battling it, in and out of remission," he said. "Damage to my otic nerve caused profound deafness in my left ear and severe hearing loss in my right. I wear hearing aids to maximize what little hearing I have left."
The actor has a long list of stage credits, having performed before and after losing most of his hearing.
Sammons also holds three master's degrees, five undergraduate degrees and a number of certifications in various disciplines.
He lives in Houston's Museum District, works as the spa director at Alira Boutique Salon & Spa in the Montrose Area and teaches courses at Houston Community College.
Rounding out the cast of "The Foreigner" are Riley Sims of Pearland, Kevin Stalls of League City, Jonathan Gonzalez of Kingwood, Sara Denton of Sienna Plantation, Tanya Terry of Missouri City and Tripp Moss, who recently moved from Tennessee to Houston.
"Tripp was worried about Hurricane Harvey, but I assured him, 'It's not going to be bad,' " Barber said. "I was proven wrong. However, Pearl Theater came through it. Even the parking lot is dry."
"We are offering free tickets for first-responders," said the group's founding artistic director, Renee van Nifterik.
Patrons can reserve tickets by calling 713-340-2540.
"If we do not answer, please leave a message with your request and a return phone number," Barber said.
Don Maines is a freelance writer who can be reached at donmaines@att.net
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
Rik and Isa Baruah heaved pieces of wood flooring on top of the soggy carpeting that was already piled on the front curb at Rik's parents' house in Sugar Land the Friday after the storm.
Similar piles of the material casualties of the flooding brought on by Tropical Storm Harvey lined the front curbs all down Mesquite Drive. The image was mirrored on the next street down, and the one beyond that, as well as on countless other streets throughout Fort Bend County.
The county experienced unprecedented flooding throughout the last week of August after Tropical Storm Harvey dumped record amounts of rain, rising the Brazos River to the point that county officials feared area levees were in danger of failing. At Harvey's height, about 200,000 Fort Bend residents were evacuated or displaced, more than 464 roads were closed and about 22 percent of the land was flooded.
Thousands of people took refuge in at least a dozen hurriedly opened emergency shelters across the county as water continued to rise early in the week.
About 500 people slept at Thurgood Marshall High School on Monday, which the Red Cross was running as a shelter. Since cots weren't delivered until Tuesday, many of the evacuees had to spend the first night on the floor with donated blankets.
But for those who either stayed as their homes took in water or were allowed to return to them after evacuating, the arduous task of cleaning up began when the skies cleared.
The Baruahs, who had fled their home in Sienna Plantation to stay with Rik's parents on Mesquite Drive, were shocked as the waters began to creep into the house. The home had never flooded in 20 years.
At first, they tried to stop the water with towels, but it continued to rise. The house took in about 6 to 8 inches the Monday the storm hit.
The family managed to save most of the furniture and other valuables by moving them up to the second floor, but they still had to put in the hard manual labor of tearing up all of the flooring and damaged sheetrock before treating the home to prevent mold.
"This is the first time we've had to deal with flooding," Rik said.
Because of the extent of the damaged home, clean-up contractors were mostly booked, so the couple decided to take off work for the rest of the week to do the dirty work themselves and get the process started as soon as possible.
In spite of the labor, the Baruahs were in relatively good spirits.
"We're all safe," Rik said. "We can all rebuild."
By Labor Day, city operations in Sugar Land had mostly returned to normal, even as the subdivisions of Settlers Park, Colony Park and Chimney Stone, as well as many other neighborhoods in Fort Bend County were just beginning the recovery process.
Cities assess damage
In the weeks after Harvey, local city officials began the process of assessing the damage left behind and looked toward the long road to recovery. Four of the county's largest cities reported more than 1,300 damaged homes, not including those in smaller cities or unincorporated areas.
Missouri City seemed hardest hit, with up to 400 homes damaged within the city and more than 1,000 including homes in the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction, according to Missouri City Emergency Management Coordinator Jaime Ponce de Leon.
At least 50 businesses also were damaged, including a number along the Texas Parkway corridor.
The city estimates the damages to cost $8-10 million, but these numbers could increase ans assessments continue, Ponce de Leon said.
Sugar Land's Settlers Park, Colony Park and Chimney Stone areas also took a hit, with 150-200 homes receiving damage, according to Sugar Land spokesman Doug Adolph. Adolph was unsure of the impact on businesses and said that cost estimates will take time to determine.
For many homes in Rosenberg and Richmond along the Brazos River, Harvey brought the second flood in just over a year. Rosenberg had 90 homes and five businesses damaged, with Richmond city officials inspected 63 properties that reportedly had been damaged. Neither city had an estimate of the cost of the damage.
"I'm sure it won't be cheap," said Richmond spokesman Lt. Lowell Neinast.
One thing all cities had in common was an expectation that recovery would take a long time.
Since all of the county's evacuation orders were lifted as of last Thursday and the water has mostly receded, the focus for home and business owners turned to mucking and gutting their property before the mold set in. For the county and the cities, debris removal was next on the list of priorities, followed by permitting for rebuilding efforts.
Missouri City estimates debris removal will take 40 days to complete. In Sugar Land, debris collection, which is ongoing seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. is estimated to take three to four weeks to complete.
Marc Grant, Fort Bend County debris management coordinator, advised residents to place debris as close to the sidewalk as possible, since debris removal crews can't go on private property.
"It will take us a great amount of time to pick up this amount of debris," Grant said. "Please be patient."
For more information on debris sorting and pick up, visit the Fort Bend County Office of Emergency Management's website at fbcoem.org.
Pernille Ripp agreed to answer a few questions about her new book, Passionate Readers: The Art of Reaching and Engaging Every Child.
Pernille is a 7th grade teacher in Oregon, Wis. She opens up her educational practices and beliefs to the world on her blog www.pernillesripp.com and is also the creator of the Global Read Aloud Project , a global literacy initiative that since 2010 has connected more than 2,000,000 students.
LF: You begin the book by talking about teachers needing to be aware of their own reading identity. What do you mean by that phrase and why is it important for our work in the classroom?
Pernille Ripp:
I started to realize a few years into teaching reading how many of my own instinctual decisions were, in fact, not instinct, but rather stemming from my own reading experiences as a child. I did not grow up with strong reading role models in school, but instead had them at home through my mother who breathed life into books for us every single day. I became a reader through my mothers love of reading, not through the lessons of how to read in school. So as an adult, when I did not spend time reading childrens books, or even a lot of time book talking new books in our classroom, it was because I did not realize that it would make a difference to the students. I, wrongly, assumed that all of my students certainly had strong reading role models at home much like I had had, and that I, therefore, did not have to be one in that very real sense. I spoke to my students about my adult reading at times, but it was never a central part of how I taught. My own reading identity meant that the visibility of reading through conversations, book sharing, and even discussion of which books I was abandoning did not happen.
Yet research now shows just how important it is to be reading role models for our students (Loh 2009) and how valuing independent reading time in class changes the reading experience itself. So we must look inward before we start to mold our classrooms. We must see how our own reading experiences shape the very experience we create for students; how what we value becomes what we make time for. ow what we read becomes what we book talk. How what we dont do or dont speak about does not get taught. That is why journeying into your own reading identity is so important; so that you can answer the question, who am I as a reader and how did I become one.
LF: You also discuss the importance of students developing their reading identity. Why is that important?
Pernille Ripp:
For a long time we have been obsessed with reading skills, making sure that all kids CAN read and comprehend. We teach it, we test it, we re-teach it, and we even retain kids based on whether or not they can read. And while we are certainly right to be obsessed with the skills of reading, we need to include a focus on having kids WANT to read. It simply does not matter whether all the kids we graduate can read if they then choose not to once they leave our schools.
If you ask most kids, Who are you as a reader? very few kids in my experience know what to say. They will often tell you how they feel about reading but that is about it. So a childs discovery of who they really are as a reader beyond whether or not they like to read must became a central lesson throughout our year. Kids should know where they like to read, what they like to read, how they like to share books, and also know their own bad habits. They should be able to tell you deeply about their reading experiences because the development of that has been a central tenet of our instruction for years. Making their reading identity a focus also means that we make room for all the types of readers in our classrooms, and not just the ones that like reading. When a child identifies as a non-reader or even as someone who hates reading, we have to make room for that in our learning. We have to uncover the reasons why and then start our conversations there, rather than dismiss them not wanting to read as foolish or tell them that they have just not found the right book yet.
So student reading identity development starts on the first day, where I ask them to rate their enjoyment for reading and then also who they are as a reader. Their answer becomes the baseline for our further conversations as we then start to explore different facets of that identity. We reflect, we discuss, and we, hopefully, develop what it means to be a reader together so that the kids who pass through our doors end the year with a much deeper understanding of how reading matters and why they should continue to develop as a reader. We have to remember that we are not just teaching these kids this year but that we are planting seeds for who they will be as adults.
LF: You have an extensive chapter on classroom libraries. What are two or three specific suggestions that teachers should keep in mind when creating their own and/or questions they should ask themselves while evaluating what they have now?
Pernille Ripp:
For me there are three central questions you should ask; who is represented in your librarysubject matter, authors, and illustratorshow are they represented, and who are you book talking? We need diverse books, hopefully more and more people see that, but we also need diverse representation in our author and illustrators. It is not enough to purchase book with a multi-racial character when once again the author is not. We need to use our purchasing power for good by including Own Voices authors, authors who are from a marginally represented group who write from that unique perspective, and then highlight those books with our students.
We need to critically analyze what we have in our text selection and make sure it is not just one or two stories of an entire nation or experience that is being represented. Are our texts featuring all types of people doing everyday things and not just highlighting one or two famous representatives from an entire culture? As one of my 7th graders asked me, Mrs. Ripp, why are all of the picture books with black people in them about slavery or civil rights? He is right and it is up to me to change that narrative in our classroom. So I have been combing through my library with an eye for what is missing and how are people represented? Where are my book gaps and are the books I have harmful in their representation? Just because a book is considered a classic does not make it less harmful if it depicts for example Native Americans in unfavorable ways. And then also thinking about which stories we display and book talk. What we talk about we bless, so which books receive more of our attention? As an example, we should not be waiting until February to create displays that feature African Americans, those should be a constant in all of our displays and not stand as a separate entity.
We have so much influence, not only over the reading experiences that our students have with us, but also in what they believe about others who may or may not look like them. So we can choose to use that power for change and ensure that our classroom and school libraries become a part of the social justice discussion and narrative that is unfolding much more loudly in our country right now.
LF: What are a few dos and donts teachers should keep in mind if they want to help students develop a love for reading?
Pernille Ripp:
Do be a role model of what a real reader looks like; share your great habits and the bad ones. Too often our kids who are not established readers think that strong readers have it all figured out; when to read, what to read, and how to understand the text, and yet this is not true. I consider myself a strong reader and I often fall out of my reading habits, I have to plan for my reading, and I sometimes cannot find a great book to read. So share in order to have them share what their reading lives look like. And step aside, their reading journey is theirs to explore, not to be a copy of your own.
Make sure that when speaking happens in your classroom, that it is mostly student voices that are doing the talking. Also, be a champion of kids reading lives. Protect free choice, the time to read, and doing meaningful work in our literacy instruction. Speak up when you see programs being implemented that harm the love of reading, speak up for your own kids when they are subjected to poor reading programs, and question your own decisions. We cannot grow if we do not reflect on everything we do, the good and the bad. Know your research so when someone tells you that something is research-based you know enough to be a part of the conversation. And then always, always, always ask the kids; how can I be a better teacher for you and do something with the truths that they share. This book was written because my students had so much to share that pushed me as a teacher of reading. I hope that their words will push your thinking as well.
While there are many things I could list under donts, especially things like AR, reading logs, and neverending reading tasks to keep kids accountable, my biggest dont is: Dont be the teacher that kills the love of reading for a child. Question your practices, educate yourself, keep the conversation going with your students and then continue to push yourself to become a better teacher of reading.
LF: Thanks, Pernille!
Save
Save
Save
Hurricane Harvey may be long gone, but dangers brought on by the storm linger.
A Harris County Drinking Water Advisory map shows which areas of Houston have unsafe drinking water. According to the map, there are still a few areas dotting Houston where officials urge residents to boil water.
A traffic stop near the Texas-Mexico border led to an arrest after police said they found two people hiding in the vehicle.
A Texas Department of Public Safety stopped Jonathan Guzman, 22, in his 2017 Dodge Caravan in Weslaco for a traffic violation.
Some Houston-area locals are welcoming strangers into their homes in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. A handful of people have even listed their houses for free temporary stays to anyone affected by last month's disastrous floods.
The Houston Association of Realtors has launched a temporary-housing section on their website that allows people to search homes from all around the metro area, in price ranges starting at $0 through $100-per-week increments and for rental periods between one and 12 weeks.
Texas Voter ID Law Will Be Used Despite Federal Injunction
The recent Texas voter ID laws that were blocked by a federal district court injunction have just had the enforcement of that order stayed pending the appeal, on the merits, by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. This means that the new voter ID laws will remain effective pending the resolution of the case, despite the district court issuing a permanent injunction enjoining their enforcement.
However, it is worth noting that the newest provision of the law, under the recently passed SB5, permits voters to submit actual ballots upon the signing of a declaration under the penalty of perjury. As the appellate court explained, this procedure nearly obviates the need for the injunctive relief requested as it supersedes SB14 and allows voters without ID to vote.
Staying on Mandate
As the appellate court explained, the district court went beyond the scope on remand. This case has been litigated back and forth, and on remand, the district court was not supposed to examine SB5, but rather remain focused on SB14, which was the central issue in the litigation. The court stated:
Simply put, whether SB 5 should be enjoined - as opposed to whether it remedies SB 14's ills -- was not an issue before the district court on remand.
However, the appellate court did not reverse the decision, but merely put the permanent injunction on hold. Reviewing the circuit's own analysis, it seems clear that the panel of judges reviewing the matter view SB5, the proposed remedy to the problems with SB14, favorably.
While the appellate court's decision seems sound, a dissenting voice on the bench stated that the requirements for a stay of the injunction had not been met, that the state had not clearly shown it was likely to succeed on the merits. Additionally, the dissenting justice asserted that a broader stay, one that was also directed at the legislation itself, should have issued.
Related Resources:
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
During Harvey's worst, first responders worked side by side with civilians to rescue Houstonians battling flood waters.
Many of these volunteers were organized and coordinated from an offroad vehicle customization shop turned make-shift rescue headquarters in Tomball, Texas.
Josh Herzing and the 3P Offroad crew began high-water rescue operations the weekend Harvey made landfall. Using a surplus military truck, they helped Houstonians who called out for help on Facebook, Instagram or directly phoned in.
LATEST: Death toll from Harvey exceeds 60
When the small crew helped out the son-in-law of Dan Patrick, the Lieutenant Governor of Texas, their actions were thrust into the spotlight. Patrick shared their relief efforts in a Facebook post and their work started to spread quickly through the news, social media and word of mouth.
It wasn't long before thousands of volunteers from all over the country hundreds of them showing up at the shop's doors each morning were working alongside 3P Offroad to save Houstonians with a fleet of boats and trucks.
Many of them brought massive, lifted monster vehicles to navigate flooded roadways. One of the groups that came to help, "Rednecks with Paychecks," even rescued a National Guard truck stranded in flooding.
RELIEF: Houstonians, still suffering from Harvey, send donations far away to small Texas town
By Herzing's count, the spontaneous group of volunteers rescued at least 1,000 people by Friday.
"We found an 84-year-old woman with water close to the car door handles," Herzing said. "She was lost with her two dogs."
Another rescued survivor contacted volunteers as she was going into labor.
At its peak, 3P Offroad helped coordinate countless pick-up trucks, more than 400 rescue boats and roughly a dozen monster trucks, dispatching help for anything from pets to families.
Of the hundreds of Harvey victims that Herzing saw, he said he was struck the most by the generosity they showed during the crisis.
FLOODING: Meyerland before and after flooding pictures show what a difference a week can make
"We had people people that lost everything try to give us the $200 dollars in their wallet," Herzing said. "On Wednesday, I rescued a guy that had 3 feet of water in his house and he said to me, 'if you need something, let me know.'"
"If you would have asked me two weeks ago about my faith in humanity, it wouldn't have been real positive," he said. "Everybody is working together to help people now."
See photos of one of 3P Offroad's rescues above.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office filed lawsuits on Tuesday against three Texas businesses accused of unlawful price gouging during Hurricane Harvey.
Texas law prohibits the charging of high prices for necessities such as fuel, water, food, and clothing during a declared disaster.
RELATED: Mayor seeks temporary property tax hike for Harvey recovery
According to a release from the AG's office those three businesses are Robstown Enterprises, Inc., (doing business as Best Western Plus Tropic Inn), Bains Brothers (owners of Texaco-branded gas stations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area) and Encinal Fuel Stop, a Chevron-branded gas station just outside Laredo.
It is alleged that the hotel charged three times its normal room rate the weekend of the hurricane. The gas stations are accused of selling unleaded gas for as high as $9.99 a gallon in the case of Encinal Fuel Stop.
Now Playing: The Houston Independent School District, along with county and city officials, distributed thousands of free school uniforms to students at seven locations across the city Friday, Sept. 8 and Saturday, Sept. 9. Students have to be present to be fitted in order to receive clothing. HISD has relaxed its school uniform policy until January 2018, but students may wear uniform clothing to school if they have purchased or received those items. ( Steve Gonzales / Houston Chronicle )" Video: Houston Chronicle
The attorney general's office received 3,321 Hurricane Harvey price-gouging complaints.
"It's unconscionable that any business would take advantage of Texans at their most vulnerable those who are displaced from their homes, have limited resources, and are in desperate need of fuel, shelter and the basic necessities of life," Attorney General Paxton said in the release. "Texas has tough price gouging laws, and my office will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute cases arising from Hurricane Harvey."
RELATED: Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma, compared
It is not cheap to be a price gouger as the state of Texas has stiff penalties.
Those guilty of price gouging can be hit with a fine of $20,000 for each violation and an additional amount of up to $250,000 if the victims are found to be 65 or older.
The attorney general's Consumer Protection Hotline can be reached toll-free at 1-800-621-0508 and can also reached online if consumers believe that a business is price gouging.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
AUSTIN -- Attorney General Ken Paxton filed lawsuits Tuesday against three businesses that allegedly inflated prices on fuel or hotel rooms as Hurricane Harvey battered Texas.
The state alleges Robstown Enterprises, Inc., doing business as Best Western Plus Tropic Inn, charged almost three times its normal room rate the weekend Harvey hit. The hotel is located about 20 miles inland from Corpus Christi. The average price for a queen or king room was $108 per night on the two weekends prior to Hurricane Harvey making landfall, according to the state's complaint.
After a state disaster has been declared, as Governor Greg Abbott did on Aug. 23, Texas law prohibits selling essentials such as fuel, food, medicine and other necessities at an "exorbitant or excessive price." It also applies to services like towing and lodging.
READ ALSO: Lost your gun license during Harvey? There's good news
On Aug. 26, the Best Western Plus Tropic Inn charged nearly $290 per night for a room. The state alleges that a guest questioned the charge and recorded a clerk who admitted that $290 was not the normal charge but said other guests were being charged the same rate. Another employee allegedly said the high rate was due to "the weather."
A spokeswoman with Best Western said it has severed its relationship with Robstown Enterprises.
"Best Western was founded on the principles of honesty, integrity, compassion, and service. We were deeply offended and saddened by the actions of this hotel," said Courtney McCurry, the spokeswoman. "This hotel's actions are contrary to the values of Best Western. We did not and do not tolerate this type of egregious and unethical behavior."
READ ALSO: Walmart food trucks are handing out free food in Houston suburbs
Robstown Enterprises did not respond to a request for comment.
The state also alleges that Bains Brothers, owners of a Texaco-branded gas station in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and Encinal Fuel Stop, a Chevron-branded gas station outside of Laredo, charged an exorbitant amount for gas.
The Bains Brothers allegedly charged $6.99 a gallon for regular unleaded gas on Aug. 31 at two of its gas stations near Dallas. The state alleges that in some cases the clerk refused to give customers receipts. One customer began fueling her car when she discovered that 12 gallons of gas cost her $85. After requesting a refund, the state alleges the clerk told her, "it is what it is."
READ ALSO: Satellite photos of Houston show extreme damage from Harvey
Encinal Fuel Stop allegedly charged $8.99 to $9.99 a gallon for gas.
Bains Brothers and Encinal Fuel Stop did not respond to a request for comment.
Paxton said his office will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute cases arising from Hurricane Harvey.
Its unconscionable that any business would take advantage of Texans at their most vulnerable those who are displaced from their homes, have limited resources, and are in desperate need of fuel, shelter and the basic necessities of life, Paxton said in a written statement.
READ ALSO: Lone Star corn maze changes design to 'Texas Strong'
The attorney general's office has received more than 3,000 Harvey-related price gouging complaints. Under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, price gouging can carry civil penalties of up to $20,000 per violation and up to $250,000 per violation for victims over 65 years old.
To report fraud or price gouging, consumers can call the attorney general's Consumer Protection Hotline at (800) 621-0508, email consumeremergency@oag.texas.gov, or file a complaint online at https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/cpd/file-a-consumer-complaint.
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.
DeVos Plans to Dismantle Standards for Campus Sexual Assault Investigations
Donald Trump's new Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced plans to rescind a six-year-old policy issued by Barack Obama's administration that advised colleges and universities on how to handle sexual assault allegations on campus. "Washington has burdened schools with increasingly elaborate and confusing guidelines that even lawyers find difficult to understand and navigate," DeVos told a crowd at George Mason University. "That's why we must do better, because the current approach isn't working."
But DeVos wasn't as clear about what the new approach would look like as she was about rebuking the old approach. So where does that leave victims, alleged abusers, and schools trying to meet their legal obligations?
Out With the Old
In 2011, Obama's Department of Education issued what is known as a "Dear Colleague" letter, addressing the requirements of colleges and universities under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 in regards to sexual violence on campus. Schools must "take immediate and effective steps to end sexual harassment and sexual violence," including a prompt investigation of any incident the school knows of or reasonably should know of, and apply a "preponderance of evidence" standard to determinations based on sexual harassment allegations.
According to DeVos, this system "has failed too many students." "Survivors, victims of a lack of due process, and campus administrators have all told me that the current approach does a disservice to everyone involved," she said, adding, "That's why we must do better, because the current approach isn't working."
In With What Now?
What the new approach will be, however, isn't immediately clear. DeVos announced plans to "launch a transparent notice-and-comment process" to formulate new guidance on sexual assault investigations, presumably to standardize procedural elements and protections across all schools. One of the issues that many, including the American Bar Association, have highlighted in prior critiques is the lack of due process protections for both victims and accusers in on-campus hearings, along with the lack of uniformity in schools' reporting, investigating, punishment, and appeals processes.
"We can do a better job of making sure the handling of complaints is fair and accurate," DeVos promised, but how that job will be done remains to be seen.
Related Resources:
Britain and Sweden requested the urgent meeting amid growing international concern over the ongoing violence in Rakhine state.
"It's a sign of the significant worry that Security Council members have about the situation that is continuing to deteriorate for the many Rohingyas who are seeking to flee Rakhine state," British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft told reporters.
The council met behind closed doors in late August to discuss the violence, but there was no formal statement from the council.
Rycroft said he hoped for agreement on a "public outcome" of the meeting on Wednesday.
UN diplomats have said China has been resisting involvement by the top UN council in addressing the crisis.
The UN refugee agency says at least 313,000 Rohingya have now arrived in Bangladesh from Rakhine State since August 25, about a third of the total population of 1.1 million.
We attempted to send a notification to your email address but we were unable to verify that you provided a valid email address. Please click here to update your email address if you wish to receive notifications. Otherwise, you may click here to disable notifications and hide this message.
Copiii cu nevoi speciale din Stefan Voda au conditii de reabilitare mai bune, datorita UE si Fundatiei Soros Moldova
In Maryland, which historically has ducked many of the worst storms of the last 50 years, the question is increasingly not if, but when the next big one will strike. And while some believe the state has often been spared from big hits by dint of location and the buffer of the Chesapeake, what the bay giveth it can also wash away.
Maryland has done extensive planning, including infrastructure improvements that focus on bolstering natural storm defenses to better absorb tidal surges and rainfall runoff, but there is widespread consensus among state officials and meteorologists that a massive hurricane like Harvey or Irma could overwhelm emergency services.
None of us are exempt, said House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Mechanicsville, during comments to reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday before he voted in support of the $7.85 billion Harvey relief bill in the House on Wednesday. Every part of the country floodswere all subject to the vagaries of natural disasters.
Among the storms that have not missed Maryland is Agnes in 1972, a tropical deluge widely considered among the worst to hit the state, causing 19 deaths and $110 million in damages, according to the National Weather Service. In 2003, Hurricane Isabel made landfall in North Carolina as a Category 2 storm, creating a tidal surge in the Chesapeake of more than 6 feet and flooding Maryland communities including Annapolis, Fells Point in Baltimore and Cambridge, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration records.
Its certainly not impossible that something like (superstorm) Sandy would happen here, said Donald Boesch, president of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and one of the states leading climate experts.
Boesch noted that a scientific concept called stationarity, the idea that many patterns operate within a fixed range, is no longer true when applied to climate-related events like big storms.
Terms like once in 100 years dont have much meaning anymore, he explained, while cautioning that the cooler ocean waters off the nations mid-Atlantic coast make a Harvey-scale storm unlikely.
For coastal states like Maryland, there are two types of storms that have the most potential to create damage: those that bring tidal surges (sea water pushed inland by a tropical storm or hurricane) and those that feature much more rain than wind, which create problems with water run-off.
Both storm varieties cause flooding, but for most of Maryland its the latter that can wreak havoc, particularly in low-lying areas like Annapolis and parts of Baltimore around the Inner Harbor, which flood regularly under heavy rain.
Generally, we have increasing precipitation because the atmosphere is getting warmer and this will continue, said Konstantin Vinnikov, a research scientist at University of Maryland and the state climatologist for Maryland. Sea level rise in the next couple of decades will make everything much more catastrophic. In Maryland, our islands are suffering with sea level rise even now.
So its fair to wonder what will happen if Maryland gets pounded with a Harvey- or Katrina-level storm that dumped water on the state for days.
Clearly, the Eastern Shore could get hit as hard as the Gulf Coast could get hit, said Ed McDonough, spokesman for the Maryland Emergency Management Agency, which is charged with coordinating the state-level response to natural or man-made disasters. The difference is most of the people who are in harms way are there in summer vacationing.
MEMAs basic action plan in the event of a direct storm hit or deluge of rain on the Eastern Shore is to order an evacuation of residents to areas north or west. Its something the agency did on a small scale in 2011, moving about 3,000 seasonal workers from Ocean City when Hurricane Irene swept through the mid-Atlantic region.
MEMA recently updated one of its key emergency operation plans, although its main strategic emergency blueprint, the Emergency Preparedness Program Strategic Plan, has not been updated since 2013. Plans are kind of living documents, said McDonough, referring to the latter. As things happen, you modify them.
Loss of life and property are not the only concerns in a major storm. Given the economic importance of the Chesapeake Bay, environmental damage is also a worry.
Big storms in general are bad for the bay because they bring a lot of pollution, said Beth McGee, senior scientist with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
The best defense against pollution from water runoff is what are called living shorelines, or those that remain in their natural state, something that is on the decline in Maryland, according to McGee.
Flooding is made worse when you have a lot of paved surfaces and rooftops, said McGee, who also said that Maryland was making progress at mitigating development in sensitive shore areas, but not fast enough.
Theres a fair amount of land thats converting from agriculture and forest to developed land, she added.
Marylands Coast Smart Council, a group of state and local environmental and planning groups formed in 2014, is charged with making regulations for construction and land use with this in mind. In 2016, Coast Smarts efforts included grant assistance to help restore floodplains, reinforce beaches and protect marsh lands that can serve as a flood buffer during storms.
But will it be enough? Until you have a storm, its hard to gauge, said Matt Fleming, director of Marylands Chesapeake and Coastal Service, an agency that coordinates among regional, state and local governments and private organizations to protect the states shoreline. I hope were more prepared than we were five years ago. Weve taken steps to put us in that direction.
Timing also matters in Maryland. Spring or early summer storms are particularly lethal to the bays underwater sea grasses, which are still immature at the time but serve as spawning grounds and protection for young fish and crab populations.
Although Maryland has only a short ocean-facing shoreline, its needs differ from those areas directly on the Chesapeake.
Weve been lucky in a lot of ways, but you know we can be on the national news with the satellite trucks here at any given time, said Ocean City Councilman Dennis Dare, a former member of the Coast Smart Council. Thats why weve spent 30 years preparing.
For Ocean City, it is storm surge, not wind or rain, that holds the greatest potential for mayhem or, ironically, a storm that misses that city and hits the Chesapeake directly.
If it (a storm) goes up the Chesapeake Bay, that means the metro areas Annapolis, Prince Georges, Howard County, Baltimore -will have severe damage, added Dare. The resources of the state are gonna go in those areas and the Eastern Shorewe may be left to fend for ourselves.
If Maryland absorbs a massive drubbing like Harvey or Irma, more than the Eastern Shore will likely go begging.
No one is going to have everything they need for a catastrophic event like Harvey, said McDonough.
On this, there is widespread agreement.
If we get a ginormous (sic) storm like they had in Houston, McGee said, thats going to overwhelm the entire system.
Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
A Dayton, Ohio, strip club cant be held liable for injuries resulting from a drunk dancers 2010 crash, according to a Supreme Court ruling last week.
Nichole Johnson was injured while a passenger in a car that was hit by a vehicle driven by Mary Montgomery, a dancer at The Living Room. Montgomery had just finished her shift at the club prior to the accident. Montgomery admitted to being intoxicated at the the time of the crash. Besides having a few beers at the club, she admitted to ingesting cocaine earlier in the day.
The club, operated by Thirty-Eight Thirty, Inc., benefited from the dancers drinking, according to the ruling. The club charged more for drinks purchased by customers for dancers. However, Montgomery paid $30 to lease space for her dancing and kept all tips. She received no wages or compensation from Thirty-Eight Thirty.
Johnsons negligence lawsuit against the owner, the operator and the dancer also alleged violation of the Dram Shop act. A default judgment was rendered against Montgomery. The case against the club and the owner/operator went to trial. A verdict was render in favor of the owner and operator as to personal liability and liability under the Dram Shop Act. The jury found in favor of Johnson with respect to the negligence claim, awarding her $2,854,645.55.
Johnsons appeal of the owners personal liability verdict allowed the owner/operator to cross-appeal indicating the jury should have been instructed on common law negligence because outside the Dram Shop Act, Ohio did not recognize a cause of action based on negligently furnishing a tortfeasor with intoxicating beverages. The court agreed and reversed the judgment against Thirty-Eight Thirty on the negligence claim.
Ohios Dram Shop Act limits the legal responsibility of liquor permit holders if a drunken customer causes an accident after leaving. The high court ruled last week that the same legal limit applies to intoxicated employees after leaving such businesses.
The case is Johnson v. Montgomery, Slip Opinion No. 2017-Ohio-7445
Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Bryan Harvey is frequently reminded that he shares a name with the hurricane that dumped 50 inches of rain on metropolitan Houston, Texas, and unleashed the floods that have him working 14-hour days towing water-logged cars.
Even in their despair, some hurricane victims have salvaged a smile by posing for pictures in front of the Harveys Towing sign on the side of his red Dodge Ram 5500 flat-bed truck.
More than a week after the Category 4 hurricane slammed Houston, wreckers like Bryan Harvey are still hauling cars and trucks from flooded neighborhoods to dealerships or to vast fields where insurance adjusters can assess the damage. Harvey killed at least 70 people, destroyed or damaged 200,000 homes and inflicted an automotive catastrophe on one of Americas most car-dependent cities.
The Houston area has lost hundreds of thousands of cars, says Michael Hartmann, general manager of Don McGill Toyota of Katy, a city of 17,000 about 30 miles west of Houston. We have a shortage of rental cars and people not sure how to go about handling claims and just what to do with their lives.
The wreckage has forced Houstonians to scramble to try to rent or borrow cars or to work from home if they can. Some have it worse: They cant return to work until they resolve the transportation problems, depriving many of them of income and slowing the citys return to business as usual.
WHERE CARS ARE EVERYTHING
Few American cities depend on cars as much as Houston. More than 94 percent of the citys households have cars, second only to Dallas, the Cox Automotive consultancy says. Houston is even less amenable to walking, bicycle-riding and mass transit than freeway-mad Los Angeles, according to Walk Score, which promotes walkable communities.
Fourteen-lane highways link downtown Houston to its sprawling suburbs. Off-ramps are stacked five-high at some interchanges, inducing vertigo for motorists unschooled in driving Houston-style. Outside the city center, isolated islands of office towers are connected only by concrete and asphalt.
Cars are everything here, Hartmann says. Cars are part of a persons lifestyle. Most people in our area work 25, 30 miles from home.
Houston is used to flooding. But it had never seen anything like Harvey, which dropped a years worth of rain onto the metro area. Flooded roads and neighborhoods left cars submerged and, in most cases, impossible to salvage.
Almost every square inch of your vehicle has wires in it, says Rebecca Lindland, executive analyst at Cox Automotive. The materials are often flame-retardant, but they are not waterproof.
Cox estimates that up to 500,000 cars and trucks were damaged or destroyed, amounting to nearly $5 billion in damage. Auto insurance claims have reached 160,000, according to the Insurance Council of Texas. Cars are being taken by the hundreds to a make-shift lot at the 500-acre Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, about 35 miles east of town. Most of the time, the insurance adjusters shake their heads at the damage Harvey has wrought and declare the cars a total loss.
Put yourself in the shoes of the adjuster, says Mark Hanna, a spokesman for the Texas insurance council. Hes just seen, say, a 2015 Toyota Camry. He knows this vehicle has been underwater for six days. They can look at it, but they know water is all throughout that vehicle. They know it is totaled Hes going to see the same vehicle many times.
Many insurers are reluctant even to try to repair cars that risk further problems and repairs later.
In the meantime, theres a desperate shortage of rental cars. Enterprise Holdings, which includes the Enterprise, National and Alamo brands, has moved thousands of vehicles to southeast Texas and plans to have brought in at least 17,000 by the end of September. The Avis Budget Group, which operates Avis and Budget, is moving 10,000 vehicles into the affected areas, waiving late fees, one-way rental fees and rental extension fees in and around Houston.
RETHINKING SUBURBAN SPRAWL?
Tanya Dubose, executive director of the redevelopment council in Houstons Independence Heights neighborhood, loved her car, a 2010 Chevrolet Equinox with 140,000 miles on it. She kept her files in the backseat, along with paperwork on her family genealogy, a hobby of hers.
I use my car for everything to go to meetings, to lug people around, she says. It was my office. It had Bluetooth speakers, so I could do business.
The Equinox has been missing since Harvey hit. The vehicle had been in the shop undergoing work, and the surrounding neighborhood was flooded.
I have no idea where my car is, Dubose says.
She cant reach the mechanic whod been working on it. Flooded out of her home, shes been getting rides from friends and has set up shop in a hotel near the George R. Brown Convention Center to help Harvey victims.
In Katy, Ysabel Saez, her partner and three daughters fled their apartment by wading through chest-deep water, leaving behind a Ford Escape sport utility and an F-150 pickup. Both had been swamped. Her Escape was insured; her partners pickup wasnt. Without a ride, hes been unable to get to his job at an audio-visual company near the George Bush International Airport, over 40 miles away.
We were doing fine, says Saez, who works as a nanny. Now were so behind. We want to get back to where we were.
Urban planners, like Kyle Shelton of Rice University in Houston, say the city and its suburbs were ill-prepared for a storm like Harvey.
Weve lost 500,000 to 1 million cars, he says. How are those people getting around now?
Bus and train service is limited, especially in suburban areas such as Sugar Land, which never joined the regions transit authority. The region would benefit if people were living closer together rather than spread out over 2,000 square miles as they are now.
Denser places would be more easily served and better connected to emergency services, says Shelton, director of strategic partnerships at Rices Kinder Institute for Urban Research, who wonders whether Harvey will change attitudes toward suburban sprawl and the areas dependence on cars.
Hartmann at the Toyota dealership is skeptical: I dont think it will change anything. Car culture runs too deep.
CARS LIKE BOATS
These days, Bryan Harvey, who runs a one-man towing operation, starts work at 7 a.m. and gets home after 9 p.m. Cellphones and police scanners let him know when someone needs a tow. The phone rings.
Im coming that-away, he says en route to a drenched Kia Rio.
As Harvey tows the Kia, Jessica Kong mentions that its the third car her family has lost to the hurricane. An employee for a billing company, shes been working from home. Others in her household have borrowed cars from family and friends to get around.
Good thing we have a lot of family, she says.
Harvey pulls away in search of another stranded, water-logged car.
Sporting a tattoo, a knee brace and crucifix neckless, Harvey maneuvers his truck through Katys muddy residential streets, past homes where mattresses, drywall and other debris are piled up on what used to be neat suburban lawns. In some places, the streets remain filled with a foot or more of water. Harvey drives cautiously to protect his truck and avoid swamping other vehicles in his wake.
Other motorists arent so careful and stall in the flooded streets.
Houstonians think their cars are boats, he says. Its a recurring thing. They are attracted to it like bugs to light.
Harvey has car problems of his own. His youngest daughter was flooded out of her home and is living at his place. She also lost her car. Shes borrowing a car from Harveys girlfriend, who, in turn, is borrowing Harveys. He doesnt need it much. He spends most of his time working in the Dodge Ram.
On Tuesday, he did five double loads 10 cars and ended up giving someone a ride after hours. He staggered home around 11.
I drank a beer, he says, and went to sleep.
(Durbin reported from Detroit. Scott Mayerowitz contributed from Houston.)
Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
An Associated Press analysis shows a steep drop in flood insurance across the state, including the areas most endangered by what could be a devastating storm surge.
In just five years, the states total number of federal flood insurance policies has fallen by 15 percent, according to Federal Emergency Management Agency data.
Floridas property owners still buy far more federal flood insurance than any other state 1.7 million policies, covering about $42 billion in assets but most residents in hazard zones are badly exposed.
With 1,350 miles of coastline, the most in the continental United States, Florida has roughly 2.5 million homes in hazard zones, more than three times that of any other state, FEMA estimates. And yet, across Floridas 38 coastal counties, just 42 percent of these homes are covered.
Floridas overall flood insurance rate for hazard-zone homes is just 41 percent. Fannie Mae ostensibly requires mortgage lenders to make sure property owners buy this insurance to qualify for federally backed loans, and yet in 59 percent of the cases, that insurance isnt being paid for. Average annual premiums range from about $4,200 in Horseshoe Beach, a town of 169 residents on the Gulf Coast where 78 percent of policies have been dropped since 2012, down to about $200 in several cities. In most, its between $300 and $500.
In the counties being under at least partial evacuation orders Wednesday (Collier, Broward, Monroe and Miami-Dade), where 1.3 million houses are estimated to be in flood hazard zones, the percentage is an even lower 34.3 percent.
Nationwide, only half the 10 million properties that need flood insurance have it, said Roy Wright, who runs the National Flood Insurance Program. He told the AP last week that he wants to double the number of policies sold nationally in the near future.
The declines in coverage started after Congress approved a price hike in 2012, making policies more expensive. Maps of some high-risk areas were redrawn, removing a requirement that these homeowners get the insurance. About 7 of 10 homeowners have federally backed mortgages, and if they live in a high-risk area, they still are required to have flood insurance. But many let their policies slip without the lender noticing; loans also get sold and repackaged, paperwork gets lost and new lenders dont follow up.
FEMA, which is ultimately responsible for enforcing flood insurance requirements, did not respond to an email seeking comment from its Washington office on Wednesday. The private flood insurance market is small only about 20,000 policies in Florida.
The latest forecasts suggest Irmas most destructive winds could carve up much of Floridas priciest real estate, damaging properties from the Florida Keys through Jacksonville as it swirls north.
This could easily be the most costly storm in U.S. history, which is saying a lot considering what just happened two weeks ago, said University of Miami hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy.
Insurance companies are still tallying the damage from Hurricane Harveys extended stay over southern Texas in August, but insured losses are estimated at $20 billion, and thats a fraction of the $65 billion or more in losses due to flooding alone that could have been insured, according to the catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide.
No one is expecting Irma to flood Florida on a similar scale. Harvey sat over Houston for days, dumping up to 50 inches of rain. Irma is moving swiftly and should bring less than a quarter of that to Florida cities.
South Florida also has a better flood control system, the ground is more porous and there arent any hills to send water rushing down from above, said Hugh Willoughby, a former research director at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and now a professor at Florida International University in Miami.
Still, many Floridians could find themselves with no money for flood repairs, just like people in Houston, where flood coverage dropped by 9 percent since 2012.
The AP analysis shows that the number of flood insurance policies sold in the Keys, Miami, Miami Beach and Homestead has stayed basically steady since 2012, but tiny Florida City has seen a drop of 31 percent. Miami-Dade County overall has seen a 7 percent drop in policies sold, falling from 371,000 in 2012 to 342,000 today.
Just to the north in Broward County, home to Fort Lauderdale, the state has seen its biggest drop among major counties, falling 44 percent from 372,000 policies five years ago to 207,000 today. County officials say they dont track the flood insurance program, leaving that to the cities.
As Irma moves up Floridas west coast, Tampa, St. Petersburg and other Gulf cities are in danger of significant storm surge, Haus said. St. Petersburg has seen an almost 10 percent drop in federal flood policies written in the last five years, while Tampa has seen a 3.5 percent drop, according to the AP analysis.
(Hoyer reported from Washington. Associated Press Science Writer Seth Borenstein in Washington contributed to this report.)
Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
News / National
by Staff reporter
ZODWA Wabantu is a very angry woman! The provocative dancer with no underwear is fuming over her no-show at the Harare International Carnival in Zimbabwe.This comes after her name was removed from the list of entertainers scheduled to perform at the carnival last week.This follows disapproval by Zimbabwean citizens and the Zimbabwean Tourism Authority, who made it clear they did not want her to perform without underwear.But Zodwa, whose real name is Rebecca Libram, was having none of it, and allegedly refused to perform with panties on.At the time the tourism head of corporate affairs, Sugar Chagonda, had said Zodwa might have to compromise. Now Zodwa said organisers were forcing her to lie about not being featured at the event."They have advised me to say I had caught the flu and could not attend.""I won't say that because what these people have done is totally not on. Before this carnival there had been a lot of controversy surrounding my appearance there. I had fans who wanted to see me. I am very disappointed."Zodwa said the cancellation was done via WhatsApp from Tatenda Mrembe, who is a promoter and events company manager. It reads: "The bottom line is there is pressure on the tourism authority for the postponement of the show. We have been told inexplicably to postpone this show, so for the sake of brands and yours it's just better to say that you fell ill and you would postpone your appearance in Zim. Send me your SA bank account so that we can compensate your loss. Trust me, love. This was beyond our control."Daily Sun managed to track Tatenda who said: "Yes we did invite Zodwa to come and perform at the carnival. But what happened during other discussions was out of our reach.We had to postpone her to perform at a later stage which is yet to be announced. For anything else I do not have a comment. Because on some matters I do not have the capacity to do so."
AKRON, Ohio - Ohio's first Whole Foods Market 365 is ready to open its doors in the new West Market Street Station, the former site of West Point Market.
In preparation for the grand opening Thursday, Sept. 14, shelves are being stocked with groceries free of artificial colors, sweeteners or preservatives. The floral and baked goods sections stand ready to be filled with fresh goods, while associates stack refrigerated aisles with both regular and organic produce.
Tasting stations offer locally produced gourmet sauerkraut, ice cream sandwiches and all natural mac & cheese.
Throughout the store, digital signs display meal ideas and messages for shoppers. Even the price tags are digital. And shoppers who post Tweets using #Akron365 could see their messages on a large sign on the back wall of the store.
Easy to spot, multi-colored signs around the store inform shoppers they can buy five and get one free on some items, while those signed up for the 365 Rewards program can enjoy discounted berries every Wednesday.
On Thursday, the first 100 customers in line will get a gift card good for $5 to $365. Early birds also can sample pastries and Akron's Artisan Coffee.
As part of the opening, Whole Foods also will sponsor a Community Giving Day, Wednesday, Sept. 20. Whole Foods will donate 5 percent of the store's net sales that day to Akron Children's Hospital.
Here's what you'll find in Akron's new Whole Foods 365 store:
Artisan Coffee Shop: Open daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. offering tea, coffee, specialty coffee drinks and pastries.
Fire Leaf by Genji: Open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Fire Leaf features sushi and Japanese cuisine including salads, pan-Asian stir fry and bubble tea in several flavors.
Taqueria: An in-house kitchen offers build your own tacos, bowls, burritos and pizza via kiosk. This venue also includes many vegan options.
Antipasto bar: A selection of olives, roasted garlic, tapenades, pickled and marinated artichokes, beets and cauliflower sold by the pound.
Specialty cheeses: A hand-picked selection of nearly 30 artisanal cheeses, from Parrano and Pavino to Seaside and Vermont Creamery's Minimont, made for Whole Foods Market 365 stores.
Organic soda fountain: Offering 100 percent organic, non-GMO sodas by Tractor Beverage Co., made without artificial colors, flavors or preservatives, the soda fountain will have rotating flavors like cola, root beer, ginger beer, coconut, cherry cream and cucumber.
Grab-and-go: Build your-own salad and meals at hot and cold bars and pick up ready-made wraps, sushi, pizza, sandwiches, pastas, breakfast tacos, as well as cakes, pies, fruit and veggie trays.
Baked goods: Pick up baked goods and choose from a selection of cookies, pastries and hearth breads. A bulk cookie bar will offer cookies by the pound.
"Flash Finds:" Offering new, seasonal or unique offerings available for a limited time.
Local Products: The store will feature a rotating assortment of local items, including beer from Akron's Hoppin' Frog and Thirsty Dog breweries.
On-site pairing kiosk: Scan the bottles of more than 300 wines, and over 100 craft, domestic and imported beers, for food pairing ideas, ratings, user reviews and recommendations.
365 Rewards: The free digital loyalty program offers discounts, free products and other surprises. 365 rewards members receive 10 percent off more than 100 items throughout the store. Program highlights include 20 percent off all berries on Wednesdays, digital punch cards with buy 5 get 1 free offers and $5 off a $25 purchase for new members. Shoppers can sign-up here.
Akron's Whole Foods Market 365 is located at 1745 West Market St. Regular store hours are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week. For more information, visit the Whole Foods Market 365 website, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Want more Akron news? Sign up for cleveland.com's Rubber City Daily, an email newsletter delivered at 5:30 a.m. Monday through Friday.
BRECKSVILLE, Ohio - An Austrian designer and manufacturer of aircraft and aerospace components and test systems is opening an office in Brecksville - and the city will provide the company financial assistance to move here.
Test-Fuchs, which has offices in Germany, France, Italy, United Kingdom, Spain and Singapore, plans to lease an existing building on Brecksville Road, just south of Snowville Road. The company has committed to bringing seven workers to Brecksville this year a total of 29 workers by 2021.
In exchange, Brecksville will reimburse Tech-Fuchs 50 percent of the municipal withholding tax the company would pay to the city in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. City Council approved the deal last week.
The agreement with Test-Fuchs is the latest in a series of economic-incentive grants the city has given companies this year. In August, the city awarded $35,000 to Codesummit for promising to stay in town and increase payroll. In April, the city gave $160,000 to Caruso's Coffee for expanding in Brecksville.
Mayor Jerry Hruby said an out-of-state locating-service-firm helped Test-Fuchs find a permanent office in the United States. Team NEO, an economic-development organization with a mission to bring jobs to Northeast Ohio, and Greater Cleveland Partnership, the chamber of commerce for Greater Cleveland, worked with the locating service to attract the company to the area.
"We (Brecksville) were one of the finalists, and then our site was selected," Hruby said in an email to cleveland.com.
Test-Fuchs already had an office in Independence on Oak Tree Boulevard, but Hruby said that location was temporary and included only sales people.
Independence Mayor Anthony Togliatti confirmed that Test-Fuch's Independence office will close.
"The company recently had been looking at other office-space options in (our) city," Togliatti said in an email to cleveland.com. "Unfortunately, they identified office space outside of Independence that best fits their needs. We wish the company success in Brecksville."
Under the agreement, Test-Fuchs promises to have a minimum payroll in Brecksville of $553,000 in 2017. The average salary will remain $79,000 now through 2021. Total payroll is expected to grow to $2.3 million by 2021.
The money the city gives Test-Fuchs will help the company with startup and relocation costs, including equipment purchases, according to the agreement. If the company fails to meet its growth projections and-or stay in town, it would have to repay 100 percent of the grant.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Three Iranian natives have been charged in Cleveland federal court with violating a U.S. embargo by participating in the sale of millions of dollars in products from the United States to their native country.
Federal authorities tracked shipments from the U.S., including the Cleveland area, to countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Turkey. From there, the packages were shipped to Iran, according to an indictment.
The exported goods were to be used in the oil, gas, energy and petroleum industries, among others.
Mohammad Khazrai Shaneivar, Arezoo Hashemnejad Alalmdari, Parisa Mohamadi and the Canadian company IC Link Industries are named as defendants in the indictment. Shaneivar and Alamdari live in Canada but hail from Iran. Mohamadi, who also goes by Parisa Javidi, is a dual U.S. and Iranian citizen and has addresses in California and other parts of the world.
The indictment, which brings charges of conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and smuggling, was filed in June but not unsealed until last week, when Mohamadi, 52, of Tehran, was arrested in the U.S.
A criminal complaint filed in January, also unsealed last week, says Mohamadi was involved with more than 70 potential or completed transactions worth more than $3 million between 2010 and 2012.
She has pleaded not guilty and is in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Her attorney, Joseph Morse, did not immediately return a phone call.
President Bill Clinton issued a trade embargo against Iran in 1995. The executive order stemmed from his declaration that Iran's policies and governmental actions in regards to terrorism and attempts to acquire nuclear weapons constituted a threat to the U.S.'s national security.
Exports are not allowed to go to Iranian companies, with limited exceptions. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security says the defendants in this case did not receive authorization from the U.S. government to export goods to Iran.
IC Link, operated by Shaneivar, has an affiliate in Tehran.
The indictment says Shaneivar received orders from Alamdari and others on behalf of customers in Iran for industrial goods sold in the U.S.
IC Link sent requests for quotes to a person named "M.S.", who lives in Ohio and operates two businesses in the state that obtains goods from U.S. suppliers for reshipment to customers outside the country, the indictment states.
If the quoted price was acceptable, M.S. shipped the items that would eventually end up in Iran, according to the indictment.
Shaneivar and IC Link sometimes used Mohamadi, who owned a company based in United Arab Emirates, to arrange shipment in deals arranged by M.S. to destinations Iran, the indictment says.
Sometimes, people told M.S. to under report the value of the goods being shipped to reduce scrutiny from the U.S. government. They also removed serial numbers or repackaged goods to hide their origins, the indictment says. Shaneivar and Mohamadi also reported or had others lie to the U.S. about goods and their ultimate destination, the indictment says.
Among the customers was Kala Naft, the procurement arm of the National Iranian Oil Company, according to the indictment.
The case is assigned to Senior U.S. District Judge Donald Nugent.
If you would like to comment on this story, please visit Tuesday's crime and courts comments section.
GARFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio -- A Garfield Heights woman claimed she acted in self-defense when she shot another woman in the neck, records show.
Arielle T. Mitchell, 24, is charged with felonious assault in the Friday shooting on East 85th Street near Garfield Boulevard, according to court records.
Mitchell waived her right to a preliminary hearing during her appearance Monday in Garfield Heights Municipal Court. The case was bound over to Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.
Mitchell told investigators she shot a 25-year-old woman because she feared for her safety when the woman attacked her, according to a police report.
The 25-year-old woman has not been charged in the incident, court records show.
The woman -- who is the sister of Mitchell's fiance -- was dropping off Mitchell's stepchildren when the fight happened. The woman accused Mitchell of telling lies, the report says.
Mitchell began walking away, but the woman followed her and pulled the hood on her jacket, the report says. The pull caused the jacket to choke Mitchell, but Mitchell broke free, the report says.
The other woman grabbed Mitchell a second time and hit her in the back of the head, the report says. The woman again choked Mitchell with the jacket, and then hit Mitchell in the face, the report says.
Mitchell told investigators that she feared for her safety when she pulled out a gun and fired a single shot that hit the woman's neck, the report says. The woman got back into her car and drove away.
Officers arrived at the home and found Mitchell with her hands in the air. Mitchell said "I did it, I shot her" and added "I had to do it, she was attacking me" and "I feared for my life and the kids," the report says.
Officers found a loaded handgun outside the home and took Mitchell into custody. Investigators later learned Mitchell has a valid permit to carry a concealed weapon.
Officers found the other woman's car stopped on East 96th Street at Garfield Boulevard. Garfield Heights Fire Department paramedics took her to MetroHealth for treatment.
Mitchell had abrasions on her face and was taken to Marymount Hospital for treatment, the report says.
Mitchell's friend told detectives that she was on the phone with Mitchell when the fight broke out. The friend heard the woman cussing at Mitchell before she heard fighting and a gunshot, the report says.
If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Tuesday's crime and courts comments section.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Case Western Reserve University President Barbara Snyder is one of seven academic leaders to receive a leadership award from the
Carnegie Corporation of New York.
"The award recognizes educators who, in addition to fulfilling their administrative and managerial roles with dedication and creativity, demonstrate vision and an outstanding commitment to excellence in undergraduate education, the liberal arts, equal opportunity, the development of major interdisciplinary programs, international engagement, and the promotion of strong ties between their institutions and their local communities," the foundation said in a statement.
The honor includes $500,000 to CWRU to support special programs developed by Snyder.
"I am deeply humbled by this honor for our university," Snyder said in a statement. "It reflects national recognition of the exceptional efforts and accomplishments of our campus community. I am profoundly grateful to everyone who made this achievement possible, and look forward to building on our progress."
The awards, announced Tuesday, were given to:
"During her 10 years as president Snyder has been credited with transformative change that has led to a three-fold increase in undergraduate applications and a $1.5 billion capital campaign," the foundation said. "The funding allowed for a major increase in endowed professorships, greater student support services, and new campus buildings. She also forged multiple community partnerships, including with Cleveland Clinic for a 485,000-square-foot Health Education Campus, the Cleveland Museum of Art for an art history institute, and Cuyahoga Community College for programs that assist students in obtaining bachelor's degrees in the humanities and STEM fields."
Aoun announced he would pledge $500,000 of his personal funds to match the award, committing a total of $1 million to his priority of expanding global experiential opportunities for Northeastern students.
Carneegie Corporation of New York is the philanthropic foundation established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911. The award was established in 2005 and 20 have been given awarded prior to Tuesday. Snyder is the first recipient from Ohio.
"There are more than 4,000 colleges and universities in the United States, which play a fundamental role in educating the next generation of our workforce, leaders, and citizens. Our higher education institutions are central to the future of our nation," Vartan Gregorian, president of the foundation, said in a statement. "Andrew Carnegie believed in the importance of strong, dedicated, and effective higher education leaders. As custodians of Mr. Carnegie's legacy, it is our honor to salute a new class of exemplary leaders, who join with another 20 past award recipients in representing some of the best of the American academy."
CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- A 42-year-old Akron woman scheduled to be deported Thursday was granted sanctuary in the Forest Hill Presbyterian Church.
Leonor Garcia has moved into a makeshift apartment above the church at 3031 Monticello Road. Her four children, ages 3-to-19 will remain in their home in Akron but stay with her on weekends.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesman Khaalid Walls said agents will not attempt to remove her from the church. He cited ICE policy that says agents will "avoid conducting enforcement activities in sensitive areas" that includes places of worship, schools and hospitals.
Garcia has been living in the United States without documentation for at least 20 years. She is the sole support of her four American-born children since her husband was deported in 2011.
She was facing deportation more than seven years ago but was given a reprieve after ICE officials learned of her circumstances. Since then, she was able to stay in the United States. That changed this year when Immigration and Customs Enforcement stepped up its arrests and deportations.
On Aug. 1, Garcia checked in with ICE for what she thought would be a routine meeting. Instead, in a scenario that has become common in the past six months, she was affixed with an ankle monitor and told she would be deported Septemer 14.
"Her case was presented to us by a friend of the church," said John Lentz, pastor of the Forest Hill church. "After discussing the matter with our congregation, we decided to offer to allow her to live here in the church until she can resolve her immigration issues. She is involved in her community, has no criminal record and is a good person."
The church turned the upstairs into an apartment with a kitchen, bathroom and living quarters. Lentz said he expected ICE to honor their sanctuary.
When asked what he would do if more families sought sanctuary, Lentz became thoughtful.
"I don't know if we have the capacity to house any more people," he said. "But I would hope that other churches in the area step forward and start doing the same."
Representatives of other area churches spoke in support of Lentz' actions.
Lynn Tramonte, a Cleveland Heights resident who is an official with the national immigrant support group America's Voice, said other churches in the country have opened doors to people facing deportation, including a church in Columbus. She said Garcia should be safe in the church.
"Immigration entering a church to arrest someone would be a violation of a sacred space," she said. "They've never done it."
WASHINGTON -- Congress is working to save funding for medical research, a source of jobs and innovation in Northeast Ohio, from deep cuts President Donald Trump sought earlier this year.
While Trump's requested cuts were considered unlikely to be adopted fully by Congress, research groups sounded alarms anyway, saying the new president's first budget could undermine advances in cancer research and other work at places such as Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals and the Cleveland Clinic.
The National Institutes of Health, an umbrella agency in the government that oversees numerous medical-research grants, awarded $734.2 million to Ohio universities and research centers in 2016, and $654.7 million so far this year, with the Cleveland area getting the state's biggest share.
Senate and House spending committees so far are ignoring many of the cuts on the president's wish list -- a list Trump aides had said was necessary to gain control over federal spending. Trump's budget documents, released in May, said research centers could save significantly just by reducing their overhead.
Research groups scoffed. And lawmakers listened.
Last Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved spending $36.1 billion for the National Institutes of Health, or $2 billion more than this year's allotment. That includes a $169 million hike for the National Cancer Institute.
This followed a $35.2 billion recommendation in July for NIH from the House Appropriations Committee, a $1.1 billion increase.
Both of these are starkly different from Trump's requested 21 percent cut for NIH.
Neither the House nor Senate bills are final. Traditionally, leaders in both chambers present the committee recommendations to their full memberships for a vote, and then House-Senate negotiators resolve the differences and present final figures for a last vote.
But Congress, unable to resolve so many viewpoints on spending and debt, may give up on the regular order of approvals. Instead, both chambers could pass a series of continuing resolutions through fiscal 2018 that keep next year's spending levels exactly where they are now, said Joshua Stewart, spokesman for Rep. Marcy Kaptur, a Toledo Democrat and a member of the House Appropriations Committee.
If so, two points are important:
Current government spending levels are essentially
NIH's 2016 budget already had a boost -- but it was the first substantial one in a decade, according to United for Medical Research, a coalition of research institutions and health advocates. Researchers complained that funding until then was stagnant.
If current spending largely holds steady, this would be good news not only for researchers but also for advocates fearing reductions in a number of other federal programs, including education and public broadcasting. Separately, House budgeters have ignored Trump's request to eliminate further spending on the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, a long-term cleanup effort that has received up to $300 million a year.
Fiscal conservatives say lawmakers are merely delaying inevitable pain by continuing to spend while refusing to pay heed to the long-term debt.
On the other side, a group called Research America says if it wasn't for budget caps approved by Congress amid fiscal concerns in 2011 and 2013, research spending would already be higher. The budget caps stifle medical progress as it is, Research America says.
Senate Democrats agree but say the current bill represents a bipartisan compomise. And groups including the American Cancer Society's Cancer Action Network praised the Senate appropriators for their work to boost 2018 research spending. The Senate committee vote Thursday was 29-2, with Republicans James Lankford of Oklahoma and Steve Daines of Montana voting no. Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, and Rob Portman, a Republican, are not on the committee.
"Increased federal research investment is essential to developing promising new diagnostic tests, treatments and therapies," the network said in a statement. The recommended $2 billion NIH increase "demonstrates the strong bipartisan commitment to continued scientific development against a disease that will claim the lives of more than 600,000 Americans this year."
CLEVELAND, Ohio - The ECOT online school won't have to reach any lofty standards to become a "dropout" school - a change that would give the school an easier report card and let it avoid repercussions for its persistent F grades.
That's because Ohio has lower requirements than other states to become a "dropout prevention and recovery school."
And ECOT is aiming to just barely meet them.
The Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT), Ohio's largest charter school, filed an application this summer to convert to a dropout school so it can be held to the lower expectations Ohio allows for schools primarily serving troubled kids.
The school says it will show that 8,000 of its 15,000 students meet state requirements by being between 16 and 22, by testing as a year or more behind in their classes or by having a crisis in their life that interferes with normal learning.
That would give ECOT 53 percent "at-risk" students - just above the state requirements that a "majority" fit that profile.
But ECOT won't be much like most the other 86 "dropout" schools in Ohio.
ECOT would have a much lower share of "at-risk" students than the other schools. Compared to those 86 schools, ECOT's 53 percent would be the fifth-lowest share of at-risk students in Ohio.
ECOT would be well behind the 75 percent at more than three-fourths of Ohio's dropout schools.
And it would be dramatically different than the 95 percent or more at a third of those schools.
See a list of schools and percentages below.
Despite having fewer "at-risk" students than other dropout schools, meeting the requirements, even by a hair, would dramatically change ECOT's academic expectations.
Ohio doesn't distinguish between schools with 50.1 percent at-risk students and 99.9 percent. So ECOT's 39.6 percent graduation rate would cease to be an F and turn into "exceeds standards" instead.
The improved grades are key to ECOT's survival. The school's persistent F grades have put its oversight agency on notice that test scores must improve by next year. If not, the Educational Service Center of Lake Erie West will lose oversight power and ECOT and more than 50 other charter schools under its wing will likely have to close.
The school says the designation makes sense because its all-online classes have long been a final chance for students on the verge of dropping out to still complete classwork and learn. It has resisted seeking that change in the past, but changed gears this summer as the axe threatens to fall.
The school is also resisting a change that would more accurately reflect its at-risk student body - splitting its K-12 school into two separate schools, with early grades in one and just high school students in another.
Handling all 12 grades is partly why the school's at-risk percentage is so low, as is the case with several other low-percentage schools. A third of ECOT's students last year were younger than high school age.
ECOT's application, though, called for no split.
Charter school critics question ECOT's attemted switch.
ECOT's not a real dropout prevention school worthy of leeway on grading because it struggles to help failing kids, said Ohio's Senate Minority Leader Joe Schiavoni, a Boardman Democrat. It's only "kinda sorta" meeting minimum requirements.
"They're doing this to extend their life, not to help students learn," he said.
Others share his concerns that Ohio's laws may be too lenient on who qualifies for the easier report cards. State Sen. Peggy Lehner, who chairs the Senate Education Committee, was also bothered that a school like ECOT could be treated as a dropout school with as little as 51 percent of students at risk.
"The only reason is to get through this loophole with the graduation rate," she said.
Lehner said it is "becoming blatantly clear" that the state must adjust its rules and refine how to define at-risk students, how many a school needs to have to be a "dropout" school and how to define success.
"These questions haven't been asked before because it really hasn't been an issue before," she said. "Dropout recovery schools have truly been for dropouts and where you aren't mixing dropout kids with other kids."
Two separate panels looked at dropout schools last year, one that included Lehner, but made few substantial recommendations for changes.
There was no real action on a major change presented to panelists by Ohio Department of Education policy official Buddy Harris - raising the minimum for at-risk students to 75 percent.
That came after hearing from representatives from Colorado, which requires schools to have 90 percent of students facing challenges to qualify as an "alternative school."
Colorado's high standard and narrow range of qualifying schools lets the state set good expectations, said James Griffin of Momentum Strategy and Research, who researched the issue for Colorado officials. But having a wide range of schools meet the criteria poses problems for states like Ohio.
Griffin noted that test scores and graduation rates predictably rise and fall based on how many at-risk students a school has. Any targets a state sets will favor some schools and put others at a disadvantage.
"If you open that up to between 50 and 100 percent, where do you set your targets?" Griffin asked. "Based on what your 90 percent school is? Where your 51 percent school is?"
States could set "bands," or ranges, of at-risk percentages and set targets for each, he said. But Ohio sets just one dropout target.
Ohio's dropout report card standards that have been widely criticized as far too low let schools meet state expectations by graduating as few as eight percent of students in four years or just 12 percent of students with eight years of high school.
State Percentage of High-Risk Students Required Arizona 70% California 70% Colorado 95% Florida 51% Ohio 51% Nevada 75% New Mexico** 10% South Carolina 85% Texas 75%
Few states fit the Ohio and Colorado pattern of having separate rating systems for these schools. The chart to the right shows the required percentages to qualify in those states, as Griffin found in his research for Colorado.
Note that most in this limited sample use 70 percent or above, though Florida uses the same standard as Ohio. New Mexico is not a good comparison because it has different age requirements.
Jennifer Brown Lerner of the American Youth Policy Forum, who met with Ohio's recent panels, said the federal government has never set any standard, so there is no real consensus on what schools should be graded separately.
But she noted that student needs at such schools should be significantly different than at a regular high school. Consider that Stanford researchers found last year that Cleveland school district students score two years behind the national average on state tests - well over the year behind Ohio would require.
"If every school in Cleveland would fit into a dropout recovery-type school, that's a problem," Lerner said.
But other experts on dropout prevention and recovery caution that the issue is complicated and that schools with just 51 percent of its students at risk should still have some leeway. Since most high schools have less than a fifth of students meeting most "at-risk" definitions, schools with 51 percent have to do much more, said Sandy Addis, of the National Dropout Prevention Center at Clemson University.
"If I was interviewing for a high school principal's job and they told me 51 percent of kids are at risk, I'd probably look for another job," Addis said. "That's a hard school to run."
Here are Ohio's 86 Dropout Prevention and Recovery schools for last school year, ranked by percentage of students who qualify as "at-risk."
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A former East Cleveland police officer has pleaded guilty to using a sex toy to sexually abuse two women in February during an illegal traffic stop.
Kenneth Bolton Jr., 49, avoided a trial and instead pleaded guilty to felony gross sexual imposition and misdemeanor interfering with civil rights charges Cuyahoga County prosecutors in exchange dropped a kidnapping charge.
Because he pleaded guilty to a felony, Bolton will lose his license to be a police officer and must register as a sex offender.
Bolton is set to be sentenced on Oct. 16.
Prosecutors say that Bolton found a sex toy in the car of two women, ages 22 and 23, whom he illegally stopped at Euclid Avenue and Lee Road on Feb. 23. Bolton used the toy to sexually assault the women as they sat in their car, prosecutors say.
Bolton stopped the women when he spotted their car about 30 minutes after he heard over police radio that another officer cited them.
Bolton, a 16-year veteran of the department, was fired within two weeks of the traffic stop, after an internal investigation.
East Cleveland Police Chief Michael Cardilli's letter of termination to Bolton says Bolton made a statement to the county prosecutor's office "admitting to numerous misdemeanor and felony laws that you have recently violated."
To comment on this story, please visit Monday's crime and courts comments page.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The state of Ohio is set to execute its second death row inmate this year on Wednesday, at a time when the cost of executions is high and public sentiment continues to shift.
Gary Otte, a Terre Haute, Indiana man who robbed and murdered two Parma residents in 1992, is set to die by lethal injection. His execution will follow the death of Akron child killer Ronald Phillips in July.
Every execution breathes new life into the debate over whether the death penalty is necessary.
As it stands, state prosecutors in Ohio will continue to weigh the interests of the families of the victims and the public when they decide whether to pursue the death penalty. But challenges in obtaining drugs, as well as problems with drugs the state uses, have combined with due process and legal challenges to delay executions.
Phillips' execution came after the state ceased executing people for more than 2 1/2 years. This came after it took inmate Dennis McGuire an unusually long time to die when the state injected him with a previously unused combination of drugs.
Following McGuire's death, the state searched for and found a new three-drug combination. But that plan led to a who new slew of legal challenges. While the state prevailed in its legal fight, it was a long, drawn-out battle.
Still, such legal fights have become the norm in advance of a scheduled execution. Attorneys for death row inmates draft numerous court documents to try to either halt an execution or overturn the sentence altogether. Those filings tend to become more voluminous as execution dates near.
The state that executes an inmate must also respond to those motions. And judges, be them state or federal, usually address them.
When factoring in the cost of housing inmates and the precautions needed to carry out executions, a February 2014 story by the Dayton Daily News estimated that Ohio spends close to $17 million a year in costs associated with the death penalty.
In addition, the results of a Pew Research Center poll released in September 2016 showed that nationwide support for the death penalty is at its lowest point in more than four decades. Forty-nine percent of Americans favor the death penalty for murderers, while 42 percent oppose it.
Support dropped 7 percent since March 2015, the results say.
A poll on the sentiment of Ohio residents on the death penalty appears to have been released by Quinnipiac University in May 2014. When respondents were asked if they favored or opposed the death penalty for murderers, 69 percent favored it, while 25 percent said they opposed it.
When respondents were asked to choose between the death penalty, life in prison without parole or life in prison with parole possible, the results were much closer.
News / National
by Staff reporter
King Mzilikazi II, Stanley Raphael Tshuma, who has since renamed himself Tshuma-Khumalo, has vowed to go ahead with his coronation ceremony today despite resistance from other clan members and government officials, who accuse him of being a "fraudster and misguided impostor".The event is scheduled to take place at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair's main arena in Bulawayo.Last Friday, organisers of the event were busy distributing invitation letters to various stakeholders for the function, which will run from 8am to 5pm.But, Mthwakazi kaMzilikazi Cultural Association organising secretary Nhlanhla Khumalo yesterday distanced himself from the event.The association is organising its own parallel programme for the installation of South Africa-based Bulelani Khumalo as heir to the throne."Ours is going on well, we are continuing with the process of reviving the kingship and this involves quite a number of our chiefs, who are working on the issue," Khumalo said."We will notify the people of the date of the coronation of the king."He (Stanley) said he would remove the Zimbabwe flag and take over the Bulawayo State House."We cannot do anything about whatever he wants to do, we will see if he will do what he promised those who follow him and those who put their money for him. Chiefs will deal with this issue."Controversy has marred the revival of the Ndebele kingdom with three names thrown into the race for the throne.First was Peter Zwide Kalanga Khumalo, before Stanley came into the picture and declared himself King Mzilikazi II and unveiled a new Mthwakazi flag before announcing September 12 as the day of his coronation.The Khumalo elders later settled on Bulelani as the legitimate prince, with his coronation date yet to be announced.Lobengula was the last Ndebele king after the British Pioneer Column led by Cecil John Rhodes destroyed the Ndebele Kingdom in 1983.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Health officials are investigating an outbreak of human Campylobacter bacterial infections in Ohio and six other states linked to puppies sold at Petland stores, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The outbreak has sickened 39 people in Florida, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Wisconsin between Sept. 15, 2016 and Aug. 12, 2017, the CDC said in a news release. The most recent illness was reported Sept. 1.
THE CDC, Ohio Department of Health and several other states and the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service are trying to determine where the outbreak originated. A strand of the infection found in the stool of puppies sold from a Petland store in Florida, closely resembled the bacteria found in a human in Ohio, the CDC said.
So far, nine people have been hospitalized from the illness, the release said. No deaths have been reported.
A representative from Petland could not be reached Monday night for comment. But the CDC said Petland is cooperating with health officials to address the outbreak.
People who contract the Campylobacter infection usually see symptoms between two and five days after they are exposed, the release said. Symptoms, which are usually the same in humans and animals, include cramping, abdominal pain, fever, nausea, vomiting and watery or bloody diarrhea.
The CDC recommends people wash their hands thoroughly after they encounter dogs. Campylobacter can spread through contact with dog feces, but usually does not spread from one person to another, the release said.
ArmA 3, a game known for its hardcore simulation of military combat, is shifting its focus slightly with its latest DLC, "Laws of War". Where much of the base game centers around the moment-to-moment action and tactical decisions required in a firefight, "Laws of War" hones in on the effects of those firefights on both civilians living in the area and humanitarian workers attempting to repair the damage done afterward.
The tone of the new content is based on the Geneva Convention, as well as a few other related documents. In it, players will work under the banner of a new faction, IDAP, and assume the role of one of their workers as they journey through the locations of the original campaign, attempting to clean up and disarm the various ordinance that remains.
Throughout the campaign, the player will also experience flashbacks in order to see the battles from both opposing sides as well as that of nearby civilians. The DLC was made in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross, and half of the net revenue will be donated to said organization in 2018.
It sounds like a fairly intense, sobering experience, and one that is intensely necessary in an industry filled to the brim with military shooters. If you'd like to check it out, it's already available for purchase on Steam for $11.99.
News / National
by Staff reporter
Parliament of Zimbabwe will oppose a constitutional challenge filed by MDC-T legislators seeking the nullification of proceedings that led to the passing of Constitutional Amendment Bill (No.1), which gives the President powers to appoint the Chief Justice, his deputy and the Judge President.The court challenge was made by MDC-T Chief whip, Mr Innocent Gonese and Harare West MP Ms Jessie Majome.They argued that the process leading to its passage in both the National Assembly and Senate were not properly done in terms of the Constitution.Speaker of the National Assembly, Advocate Jacob Mudenda, yesterday said they would defend the suit once they are served with the court papers, which forms the basis of the court challenge. He declined to give the nature of the defence they will put up."We have not yet been served with the court papers," said Adv Mudenda. "I cannot, therefore, comment on something that I have not yet seen. I do not want to speculate."Clerk of Parliament, Mr Kennedy Chokuda, said he could not comment substantively before seeing the court papers.Mr Gonese yesterday said their lawyers were still working on serving the respondents.A source at Parliament close to the development said the legislative assembly will oppose the application, as they believed that they had enough grounds to demonstrate that the process was above reproach."We will defend the process," said the source. "We are quite convinced that our defence is quite formidable. We are just waiting to get the court papers, but judging from what we have read we do not feel that they have a plausible case against us."In their application, Mr Gonese and Ms Majome cited Parliament of Zimbabwe, Adv Mudenda, Senate President Edna Madzongwe, Leader of Government business in Parliament and Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa and President Mugabe as respondents.The duo argued that Parliament failed to fulfil the constitutional obligation as defined in the Constitution of Zimbabwe, which requires a Constitutional Bill to be passed by two-thirds of the membership of each House sitting separately.The Bill sailed through Parliament last month and now awaits presidential assent.In his founding affidavit, Mr Gonese accused VP Mnangagwa, of rigging an election in Parliament, which resulted in the passing of the Bill. He said the common practice, where Parliament tellers would move around with the chief whips acting as election observers, for transparency's sake, was disregarded in favour of counting of each party's MPs' sitting arrangement."The regrettable position adopted by the Speaker was the assumption that those who sat on Government benches were automatically voting yes to the motion," he said. "Those who sat on traditional opposition benches would oppose the motion."Mr Gonese said even some Zanu-PF MPs, who were not in the House, were counted as present.
News / National
by Staff reporter
A 29-YEAR-OLD Plumtree man has been ordered to perform 105 hours of community service for assaulting a sex worker who allegedly stole his keys after rendering her services.Nelson Chipangure of Hebron suburb paid Ms Zanele Ndlovu (36) 100 Pula for her services, but later forcibly took back the money after accusing her of stealing keys to his house. He also punched her several times.Chipangure was convicted on his own plea of guilty to assault by Plumtree magistrate, Mr Joshua Mawere. He was sentenced to three months imprisonment which was wholly suspended on condition that he performs 105 hours of community service at Plumtree Magistrate's Court.Prosecuting, Mr Zorodzai Pengapenga said Chipangure assaulted Ms Ndlovu on August 16."On 16 August Chipangure met Ms Ndlovu at Malikongwe Casino in Plumtree and offered to pay her P100 in exchange for sex. They went to Chipangure's house where he paid Ms Ndlovu the money and they had sexual intercourse."Upon ending the session, Chipangure alleged that Ms Ndlovu had stolen his house keys. He took back the money which he had given her. He further punched Ms Ndlovu several times all over the body," he said.Mr Pengapenga said the matter was reported to the police leading to Chipangure's arrest.In another incident, a 15-year-old Plumtree teenager has been cautioned for stealing a DVD player and P180 from a neighbour's house. The juvenile who cannot be named for ethical reasons pleaded guilty to unlawful entry when he appeared before Plumtree magistrate, Mr Joshua Mawere.He was however cautioned and discharged after the magistrate took into consideration that some of the stolen goods were recovered.Prosecuting, Mr Zorodzai Pengapenga said the juvenile unlawfully entered Ms Gracious Chagwiza's house in Madubes suburb in Plumtree while she was away."On 13 July around 8AM Ms Chagwiza left her DVD player in her sitting room and P180 on a coffee table in her bedroom as she went to a tuckshop. She closed all the windows and locked the doors."During her absence the juvenile went to Ms Chagwiza's house and took her keys from an abandoned car within the yard. The teenager gained entry into the house and took the DVD player and the money and went away unnoticed," said Mr Pengapenga.He said when Ms Chagwiza returned home she discovered that someone had stolen her money and DVD player. She reported the matter to the police and investigations led to the arrest of the juvenile.The DVD player and some P10 were recovered.
News / National
by Staff reporter
Some youths, believed to be aligned to Zanu-PF's G40 faction, have threatened award-winning music star Jah Prayzah for allegedly composing songs meant to prop up embattled Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa.The Children of War Veterans, in a statement posted on Facebook by one of its leaders, Munyaradzi Shoko, the youths sensationally accused the Watora Mari hit-maker of meddling in Zanu-PF party factional politics."Jah Prayzah allow me to warn you to desist from interfering with Zanu-PF party factional politics before it's too late. It is not a secret today that you are reportedly being used to compose songs that fuel political divisions in this country," part of the statement read.The youths further alleged that Jah Prayzah's songs; Mudhara Achauya and the yet-to-be-released Kutonga Kwaro were composed with the aim of promoting Mnangagwa and his purported Lacoste faction."I am advised that you are working with (Chris) Mutsvangwa and Phillip Chabata who are promoting you to release songs that seek to provoke and insult Zanu-PF leadership."You are reportedly targeting certain groups of individuals in the party after you released the popular Mudhara Achauya song dedicating it to your factionalist (Mnangagwa), something you publicly denied. Today we hear you are about to release a song entitled Kutonga Kwaro. Another album intended at fanning factionalism," said Shoko, who sensationally claimed that Jah Prayzah was being used by the rich."Be warned my brother, party yawasarudza kutamba navo iyi Isinjonjo. Tamba wakachenjera. Don't be used by rich individuals to be their voices."Do not be blinded by the fact that you are allowed to wear Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) uniforms at your shows, neither should you be over excited by the drama raunoita uchizvipa security seya President iya around you wotofunga kuti wakatsika chinhu."...You are digging your own grave. Hona Energy Mutodi ave kumawere," said Shoko.Despite being continually sucked into Zanu-PF succession politics, Jah Prayzah insists his music carries no political overtones."Art is out there to inspire people to talk. What we do as artists is interpreted in different ways by different people. It only means you are still creative if people come up with various meanings to what you give them. It should never be too obvious," said Jah Prayzah to the Daily News through his manager Keen Mushapaidze.The Uzumba-born artiste's continued denials appear to be failing to convince some in the G40 faction that his music is not being composed under instruction from the Lacoste faction.The fact that Jah Prayzah's forthcoming studio album titled Kutonga Kwaro, to be released on October 13 this year, has been cheekily renamed "Kutonga Kwaro Garwe" by some people pushing for Mnangagwa to take over from Mugabe, has reinforced the suspicion.Last year, some Mnangagwa supporters cheekily claimed Jah Prayzah's song Mudhara Achauya was a prophetic track about Mnangagwa.The song praises a powerful father figure shumba (a vicious lion). Mnangagwa is of the shumba totem.Interestingly, the pro-Mugabe G40 faction has since adopted Mudhara Achauya as the "theme song" at Mugabe's ongoing presidential youth interface rallies currently taking place across the country. Mudhara Achauya is played as the 93-year-old leader makes his way to the podium.Zanu-PF youth leader Kudzanai Chipanga recently announced that the song Mudhara Achauya will now be solely dedicated to Mugabe. As a result, the Lacoste faction has been forced to look for a new theme song. They have since adopted Andy Muridzo's duet song with Jah Prayzah called Emma.It is possible that they chose a song called Emma because it is closer to the vice president's first name Emmerson.Part of the video, being circulated by the vice president's supporters, show him being greeted by adoring fans while his detractors Jonathan Moyo, Saviour Kasukuwere and Ignatious Chombo look on with scorn.Part of Muridzo and Jah Prayzah's song goes:"Ngavasatishainire EmmaVanongofinyama sevanosema Vakangoshaina woti dzikama Angakushainire musiye Emma."
CORNWALL, Ontario At an upcoming strategic planning session the Cornwall City Council will be considering a referendum on reforming itself.
The issue came up at the Council meeting on Monday night, Sept. 11. Council received a report detailing possible options on how to change the number of members on Council.
The report detailed on how Cornwall compared to other similar cities in terms of council numbers. According to the report, Cornwall is roughly average for a Single-Tier municipality and slightly above average when compared to a Lower-Tier municipality.
Currently, Council has 11 members including the Mayor. Councillors receive $22, 930 each in terms of salary, payroll deductions and a laptop and cell phone.
Councillors are also members of 10 committees each and spend an average of 275 hours per year working on City business.
Councillor Mark MacDonald, who brought forth the motion that generated the report, had previously raised the possibility of reducing council down to eight members.
According to the report, if there was one less councillor, each remaining councillor would have an additional 27 hours per year of work.
The report presented three options to council on how reform could be brought about. The first would involve Open Houses and public meetings, the second would be a referendum and the third would be to hire a consultant to evaluate the best path forward.
Several councillors made it clear that they were in favour of holding a referendum. City Clerk Manon Levesque however explained that for any referendum question to be successful, 50 percent of the electorate would have to vote and 50 percent of those voters would have to be in favour of the question for it to pass, and then it would be binding.
Mayor OShaughnessy was one of the ones who spoke in favour of a referendum.
Councillor Dupelle, when you started you hit the nail on the head, he said. It is not our council, it is the Citys council.
Councillor Justin Towndale also raised the possibility of including multiple questions on the ballot, not just the question of councils size, but also a question on whether to implement a ward system.
The main concern regarding a referendum that was raised by Councillor Claude McIntosh was whether it was possible to get a voter turnout of 50 percent.
The Mayor however, pointed out that if 40 percent of the population turnout and are in favour of reform, that Council can go ahead with that mandate without the referendum itself being successful.
Councillor Mark MacDonald felt that rather than being dealt with that night, the question of whether to hold a referendum should be addressed at a Strategic Planning session.
I think it would be a good idea to receive it and deal with it at strategic planning, he said. To deal with the question of a referendum tonight, it would be rushed.
The Mayor said that he hoped to organize a Strategic Planning meeting this month.
If a referendum on the composition and character of council is held at the next municipal election, the changes would not be implemented until the next municipal election in 2022.
Ever have one of those weeks when you stop and think, I need a vacation. Just a quick escape to hit the pause button and really unwind. We love traveling with Elin so its never a question whether she comes or not but I realized we havent had an adults only getaway in quite some timeand Im pretty sure we deserve it. So here lies the question, where to? Theres a handful of places that have been on my radar for a while so I thought Id share one from the tippy top of the list, Amangiri in Utah.
Ive seen countless images of this gem and every time Im stopped in my tracks. The architecture tucked into Utah canyons, in the middle of nowhere, seems like a dream. The serene color palette, minimal design and adults only policy sounds like the best night of sleep ever. Yes please. Aside from lounging poolside or hitting the spa, taking in the majestic setting via a hot air balloon or on horseback sounds like an unforgettable adventure.
Turn on your JavaScript to view content
Image Sources 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
News / National
by Simbarashe Sithole
The headmaster of Rupare high school in Nyika, Masvingo is alleged to have been involved in a fatal accident in Bikita West this morning.Sources who spoke to Bulawayo24.com said two people died. One person allegedly died on the spot while the other died upon admission at Silvira."Headmaster Kusereka was involved in a fatal accident this morning after he failed to negotiate a curve."One person died on the spot while the latter died upon admission at Silveira hospital," said the source.
News / National
by Simbarashe Sithole
Swimming competition ended tragic when a miner drowned in a river on Saturday in Mazowe.Sources privy to the development allege a Mazowe mine employee Mathias Mandikisi had gone for swimming competition with colleagues at a local river in Jumbo."The deceased had gone for a swimming competition which subsequently took his life after he drowned."It is further alleged that Mandikisi drowned on Saturday but his body was retrieved on Sunday after a thorough search by residents."When he drowned he spent 24 hours under water only to be retrieved the following day, since he could not be found the day he drowned, "said the source.A relative to Mandikisi who spoke to Bulawayo24.com said the police were called after the body had been retrieved and he has since been laid to rest today."After residents retrieved the body we called the police to attend the scene after residents retrieved it.He has been laid to rest today in (Jumbo ) Mazowe mine.
Networking News
Silver Peak SD-WAN Solution Now Includes 'Thin Branch' Deployment Option, SaaS Optimization
Gina Narcisi
Share this
Silver Peak is making SD-WAN at the branch easier to configure and manage for enterprises with a new "thin branch" approach to its network architecture.
Santa Clara, Calif.-based WAN specialist Silver Peak has upgraded its flagship SD-WAN Unity EdgeConnect physical and virtual appliances in three ways, based on the feedback the vendor has received from partners, Damon Ennis, senior vice president of products for Silver Peak, told CRN.
"[Partners and end customers] want dead-simple, economical, and fully automated," Ennis said. "It's about getting better access to applications with a more agile solution."
[Related: Silver Peak Teams With China Telecom, Westcon-Comstor To Provide Global, Managed SD-WAN Services]
Each SD-WAN appliance can now be configured and managed in a highly-available, active-active cluster, which can be managed through the Unity Ochestrator platform. The update provides hardware redundancy to maximize application availability and minimize downtime across "thin branch" deployments, according to Ennis.
Through an optional license, customers can subscribe to Unity Orchestrator as-a-service, the "brains" behind Silver Peak SD-WAN that allows for single-touch SD-WAN management, Ennis said. This deployment alternative puts Ochestrator in the Silver Peak cloud for customers that don't want to host the platform in their own data center.
"Not only is having Orchestrator as-a-service in our cloud more convenient for customers, but by definition, it is more highly available than it might be sitting in someone's data center," Ennis said.
The SD-WAN solution will also now include Cloud Intelligence built-in, its SaaS optimization technology that partners have previously had to sell as a separate license.
Datalink, a Silver Peak partner, has been selling Silver Peak's SD-WAN solutions to its clients. The latest updates that will give the solution guaranteed uptime is huge for partners and end customers, said Barry Gurman, regional sales director, of the northern California region for solution provider Datalink Corporation, an Insight Company.
The updates could reduce the number of connections or appliances needed at the branch for end customers, saving businesses money and simplifying management of the solution, Gurman said.
"These features really add more value to what SD-WAN is doing for [clients] and what it can do for them," he said.
Gurman said that he's impressed with Silver Peak's pivot toward SD-WAN, a move that some legacy WAN optimization vendors are struggling with today.
"Whether its the high availability, orchestration, or SaaS optimization, it shows Silver Peak is looking at the market, innovating, and coming out with new features that is going to make the overall usage simpler," he said.
Including the SaaS optimization technology into the SD-WAN solution solves a particular pain point for the channel that partners were bringing to Silver Peak's attention, Sliver Peak's Ennis said.
"The channel wasn't sure when they should sell this additional license, so including this license into the solution really simplifies everyone's life," he said.
The ability to include SaaS optimization as part of the SD-WAN solution demonstrates that Silver Peak understands that customers would rather buy a "single-source" solution, rather than a slew of standalone products, he added.
Silver Peak announced that it has surpassed 500 production customer deployments worldwide for its EdgeConnect SD-WAN solution, which it sells exclusively through the channel. Silver Peak launched its SD-WAN global partner program in 2015.
Networking News
Red Hot Startup Avi Networks Acquires Cloud Management Specialist StacksWare
Mark Haranas
Share this
The fast-growing network and application startup Avi Networks has acquired StacksWare, a two-year-old company that provides SaaS-based cloud management.
"The passion, drive and technical capabilities of the StacksWare's team captured our attention, and will help us to further develop our SaaS capabilities," said Murali Basavaiah, vice president of engineering and co-founder of Avi, in a statement. "Today, every enterprise is adopting cloud technologies, but none of that is practical without robust, automated, scalable and easy-to-use application networking services."
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
[Related: Avi Networks CEO On Citrix And F5's Technology 'Gap', New Cisco Reseller Agreement And 440% Bookings Growth]
Touting itself as the leader in next generation load balancing and application services, Santa Clara, Calif.-based Avi grew bookings by 440 percent and increased its customer base by 270 percent over the past 12 months. The startup also recently formed a reseller partnership agreement with Cisco to boost its channel presence.
"We think now is the time for us to start engaging more with the channel," said Avi CEO Amit Pandey (pictured), in a recent interview with CRN. "So this Cisco relationship is a great way to do it by giving us access to all of Cisco's channel partners which is really fantastic leverage for us. When you start working with a company with the caliber like Cisco, it gets the attention of their channels and their customers."
Avi owns a multi-cloud software-defined architecture with central control and support for per-tenant and per-application deployment, which the company says is a natural fit for over-the-top and managed services offerings.
StacksWare, founded in 2015, will help enhance Avi's product capabilities to deliver enterprise-grade as-a-Service solutions for application delivery controllers, security and application visibility, as well as its multi-cloud SaaS solution, according to Avi. StacksWare's product enables customers in real-time to see which users are using what applications in an environment.
Avi's said its enhance SaaS management platform with StacksWare technology will become available in early 2018.
Security News
Security Channel Chiefs: Here's Why Legacy Security Technologies 'Won't Cut It' Anymore
Sarah Kuranda
Share this
As security threats evolve, solution providers need to move beyond legacy technologies to the next generation of security.
But what does that next generation of security look like? Top security channel chiefs said in a roundtable discussion at XChange 2017 that the definition of next-generation security includes technologies that leverage the cloud, machine learning, heuristics, integration and more to provide predictive rather than reactive security.
On top of that, Matthew Polly, vice president of business development, alliances and channels at Crowdstrike, said next-generation security needs to be easy to implement, utilize and manage.
[The State Of Security: CRN's 2017 Security Roundtable]
From a technology perspective those factors mean that legacy security technologies aren't going to make the grade, Polly said.
"Going with a legacy technology won't cut it anymore," Polly said. "It's important for [the channel] to understand how to make those protections easy. I think legacy technologies are having a hard time adapting to that."
Fortinet Vice President of Americas Channels and Emerging Technologies Joe Sykora said integration across technology vendors is another key facet of the next generation of security. He said Fortinet and other security vendors are working to provide API integration into their technologies, even with the company's competitors. He said that is one big way the vendors can make it easier for customers and partners to integrate their technologies.
"Were on the next-next-generation of security," Sykora said. "[Security vendor] platforms are going to have to adapt, and part of that is making sure that it's all open and it's not a closed system."
McAfee Head of Channels And Operations for the Americas Ken McCray agreed, saying that McAfee has moved to integrate its technologies with other vendors to reduce complexity for both partners and customers.
"The complexity of security is driving customers crazy. But the more we work together in order to drive the outcomes, [the better]. I think that you're seeing now more security companies are talking to each other and they're partnering with each other. That just takes that value and expands that value across the entire channel."
However, that integration also means different things to different people. Sophos Vice President Of Global Channels Kendra Krause said the security vendor is working to integrate its own technologies together, rather than those of third parties, across network, endpoint, server, email and more to provide a single-pane-of-glass management for its partners. She said that will help provide the predictive qualities that she said defines next-generation security.
With that evolution of security, the channel chiefs all agreed that the partner models need to evolve as well. Crowdstrike's Polly said partners, including managed service providers, need to evolve to meet this new next-generation model of security. He said MSPs can't just manage security logs anymore and need to specialize and provide more advanced security services, including remediation and incident response.
"Managed service [providers] really have to innovate and become the experts on how to remediate those problems," Polly said.
Todd Weber, vice president of partner strategy and research at Denver-based solution provider Optiv Security, said he sees customers in a transition between legacy and next-generation technologies. He said "less mature" customers tend to request legacy technologies to build a security foundation, then as the program matures will ask for more startup technologies. He said as companies mature they generally have a "higher tolerance to try new things" around security.
Weber said Optiv looks to help customers navigate that evolution, evaluating their maturity and helping them pick technologies based on their risk tolerance and technology needs. Then, he said Optiv will play a role in helping the customer adapt as it matures over time.
"We typically look at the maturity of a clients information security program to base our technology recommendations as well as what combination of people and processes they need to achieve positive outcomes," Weber said.
Pleased, But Never Satisfied
It's been a year since Dell closed the landmark $58 billion acquisition of data storage giant EMC, and Chairman and CEO Michael Dell says the combined company is growing beyond expectations and focused on taking share from the competition.
"We had about $2 billion more revenue than we planned for, and a lot of it was in the revenue synergies across Dell Technologies," Dell said. To maintain that pace, the Round Rock, Texas, company is relying on its $35 billion channel business, and its ability to sell a broad portfolio of products and services to customers looking to buy more solutions from fewer vendors. Dell said a significant part of the growth the company has seen since the acquisition is from storage partners selling servers to their customers.
The time has come, as well, for solution providers to begin pushing into new technologies like artificial intelligence and containers, Dell said. Pivotal Container Service, a partnership between Pivotal, VMware and Google Cloud, was introduced at the recent VMWorld conference, and Dell said traditional virtualization partners will have to get into the container business to remain relevant in the market.
"It is going very well, but we have a saying around here when things are going well," Dell said. "It's PBNS, pleased but never satisfied. It's all about continuous improvement and doing more."
What follows is an edited excerpt of CRN's conversation with Dell.
News / Regional
by Stephen Jakes
Nkayi villagers are reported to have been evicted from stands they were occupying after years of having been allocated that land.This was revealed by Zimbabwe Peace Project which said in Nkayi South constituency ward 29, it is alleged that the Rural District Council led by a Z Ndlovu evicted seven villagers from their homes at Sinyombo village."It is said that these villagers had been given permission to settle by the village head Mr. Mkhize. However, after a couple of years on the land, the council evicted the villagers arguing that they had been unlawfully given the land that belonged to the council," said ZPP.In another case in Umzingwane constituency at Msizini ward 3, it was reported that during the preparatory meetings for the Zanu PF's Presidential Youth Interface rally, villagers of Msizini area were instructed to contribute a minimum of 50 cents per head as means of transportation to the venue."It is said that during the meeting the area chairperson of Zanu PF, Dumisani Luphahla announced that all villagers were mandated to contribute a minimum of 50 cents for ferrying individuals to the venue. Luphahla made it clear that those who failed to comply with the directive were to be left out in any government aid that included farming inputs and food schemes," said ZPP."As tasked by the ruling party, it is said that Velaphi Ndlovu and Nothando Tshabalala went door to door demanding individual contributions. It is alleged that those that refused or failed to comply, had their names noted for purposes of keeping a record for future reference."
BRIDGEPORTThree males robbed the BP gas station at 3725 Madison Avenue Monday around 11:40 p.m., police said Tuesday.
The robbers, all armed with guns, assaulted an employee at the business, police spokesman Av Harris said. Information about the workers injuries was not available.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
Chris Murphy is standing by his embattled Senate colleague Bob Menendez, for now.
Murphys campaign accepted a $5,000 contribution June 29 from the New Millennium PAC of Menendez, a fellow Democrat who is now on trial for corruption in his home state of New Jersey.
Federal prosecutors allege Menendez accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in trips, other lavish gifts and political cash from a donor pal, for whom they say the senator did recurring favors, including offering help to settle a $8.9 million Medicare debt for overbilling.
Menendez, a member of the Senate since 2006, has maintained his innocence.
He's going to let the legal process play out, Murphys spokeswoman Laura Maloney said when asked if there are any plans to return the $5,000 contribution.
Connecticut Republican Party Chairman J.R. Romano has called on Murphy, who is up for re-election in 2018, to divest himself of the money from Menendez.
If this was anyone else, he would be screaming from the rooftops, Romano said.
National Republicans, meanwhile, are calling for Menendez to resign from the Senate, which would allow New Jerseys GOP governor, Chris Christie, to pick a replacement. The GOP holds a 52 to 48 seat advantage at the moment in the chamber.
Ultimately, I think that the evidence is, if not criminal, its definitely suspicious with regards to ethical lines, Romano said. Democrats love to blur ethical lines.
At least five other Senate Democrats accepted money from the Menendez political action committee.
More than they bargained for
Do I really need 180 K-Cups, a five-pack of Crest 3D White toothpaste, or joint supplements by the hundreds?
Costco members in Brookfield now have something else to think about how much am I willing to be inconvenienced to buy in bulk?
The wholesale warehouse near Danbury is preparing to host Hillary Clinton on Saturday winner of the popular vote for president in 2016 for a book-signing.
The Secret Service detail of the former first lady has been canvassing the airplane hangar-sized building ahead of HRCs visit, according to Hearst Connecticut Media.
Part of a national tour to promote her memoir, What Happened, her appearance is expected to be a big draw.
No word on whether those 65-inch Vizio flat-screen televisions will get the X-ray machine treatment.
Liberal arts
Connecticut Republicans must have punched in the wrong address on their GPS.
Its not like it is easy to confuse the ivory tower of academia, as conservatives often criticize lefty college campuses, with Trump Tower.
The state GOP has selected Wesleyan University to hold a two-day crash course later this month for up-and-coming Republican operatives. Let that sink in: Wesleyan.
Berkeley or Yale must have been unavailable.
Why not? said Romano, the state party boss.
Lest he need reminding, Wesleyan is consistently ranked among the most liberal bastions of higher learning in the nation. It has been a hotbed of protests against Donald Trump and welcomed Barack Obama 2008 as its commencement speaker, with the then-Illinois senator standing in for his ailing colleague, the liberal lion Ted Kennedy.
The Sept. 23-24 training session is part of a part of a national recruiting push known as the Republican Leadership Initiative, which will train would-be operatives how to use the partys smart phone app for door-knocking. The programs description says that participants will become experts in voter registration, volunteer recruitment, data and targeting, as well as social media. Theres an application process for the program.
http://twitter.com/gettinviggy; nvigdor@hearstmediact.com;
Now Playing: A plane crashed in Plainville CT. (Courtesy of town of Plainville) Video: HartfordCurant
PLAINVILLE, Conn. (AP) A pilot in Connecticut is OK after his plane crashed into a tree, which cushioned the aircraft's descent into a parking lot.
Authorities say the crash occurred just before 11:30 a.m. Monday as the Cessna 172P aircraft was attempting to land at Robertson Airport.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
A Vietnamese immigrant and billionaire has donated $5 million to help Houston recover from Tropical Storm Harvey.
Kieu Hoang, the founder of California-based Rare Antibody Antigen Supply, announced the donation at a Monday news conference with Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.
Turner said the donation would help transition Houston's most vulnerable populations - seniors, people with special needs and low-income communities, he said - into more permanent housing.
The mayor said it would cost about $9 million to assist the roughly 1,200 taking refuge at the George R. Brown Convention Center alone, an effort for which he's asked the American Red Cross to contribute $2 million. On Monday he recommended people donate to the Greater Houston Community Foundation, which he said will meet needs not met by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
"This is not a two-week effort and done," he said. "This is more long-term, and a lot of the people that are in our shelters now will be the most difficult to house."
Flanked by piles of debris from west Houston homes destroyed by flooding, Hoang also spoke at length about immigration and his own journey from making $1.25 an hour to founding a company worth roughly $14 billion.
"Dr. Martin Luther King said 'I have a dream,' " Hoang said. "Thanks to the American people's help, I have realized some small dreams. A dream to have immigration laws so that a lot of people do not live in constant fear of being deported. A dream to allow immigrants like me to come into this great America to make it greater, and the greatest.
"Did you realize a lot of Houstonians dared not to check into shelter centers for help, as they are scared to be discovered and deported?
"God help America (to) help them."
"For Houston, who will help rebuild the city?"
Hoang's $5 million is one of the largest personal donations to the city, and adds to the growing number of donations from business leaders, athletes and actors in the wake of the storm.
Les Alexander, the outgoing owner of the Houston Rockets, has pledged $10 million.
A fundraiser spearheaded by Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt topped $30 million last week thanks to donations from, among others, H-E-B chairman and CEO Charles Butt, who pledged a personal $5 million donation.
President Donald Trump last week announced 12 charities that will split a personal, $1 million donation from him and his wife, Melania.
Actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Sandra Bullock have each donated $1 million, and Houston native Beyonce Knowles is using her foundation to raise money for relief efforts.
Opinion / Columnist
Attempts by the MDC-T to discredit Zimbabwe Electoral Commission chairperson Justice Rita Makarau for holding three key offices, including being a Supreme Court judge and secretary for Judicial Services Commission, have exposed the opposition party's hypocrisy as it endorsed the arrangement during the constitution making process when it was in the inclusive Government.Constitutional law expert Professor Lovemore Madhuku yesterday urged the MDC-T to thoroughly read the Constitution.This was after MDC-T spokesperson, Mr Obert Gutu, yesterday sought to cast aspersion on Justice Makarau, saying she should relinquish some of her positions.Prof Madhuku rapped the MDC-T for hypocrisy when it was the opposition party that endorsed the arrangement through a Constitutional provision stipulating that one could not be ZEC chairperson when he or she is not a Supreme Court or High Court judge.Section 238 (2) of the Constitution provides as follows: "The chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission must be a judge, or former judge or a person qualified for appointment as a judge."Prof Madhuku said the MDC-T were playing double standards by criticising an arrangement that they pushed for during the constitution making process."They included in the Constitution a provision which stipulated that you cannot be chairperson of ZEC when you are not a judge," he said. "They were involved in putting up that provision which said you have to be a judge for one to be chairperson of ZEC."As long as that provision is there, it is difficult to understand what they are saying. They cannot have it both ways. That is double standards."Mr Gutu released a press statement denouncing Justice Makarau."The ideal situation is for Rita Makarau to only have one job at a time, especially taking into account the fact that being the ZEC chairperson is an extremely demanding job that should be a full time vocation, as is the case in most Sadc countries," he said."We have absolutely no shortage of suitably qualified and experienced people to perform the other jobs that Rita Makarau is presently holding onto. The present state of affairs does not bode well for both efficiency and good corporate governance."Asked why the MDC-T was raising the issue now, Mr Gutu claimed that they were merely placing emphasis on a point they had made before.The MDC-T has lost to Zanu-PF in all elections it has participated since its formation in 1999.Political analyst, Mr Goodwine Mureriwa, said what the MDC-T was saying was an indication that it had panicked and had realised that they would lose the elections.He said Justice Makarau had been holding the three positions since the time of the inclusive Government which the MDC-T was part of before the 2013 harmonised elections where it dismally lost to Zanu-PF.Mr Mureriwa said it was in fact MDC-T leader, Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, who announced the appointment of Justice Makarau after he concurred with other principals in the inclusive Government for her appointment.Other principals were President Mugabe and the then Deputy Prime Minister Professor Arthur Mutambara."Mr Tsvangirai actually said he was happy with Justice Makarau as she was professional," said Mr Mureriwa. "They have now realised that time is fast running out as they are trying to put up an alliance and go to the people at a time when Zanu-PF is already on the ground."Another analyst, Professor Isheunesu Mupepereki said the MDC-T realised that they were staring election defeat."They are now raising issues that are not relevant, to get attention," he said. "It is also another way of trying to get possible funding from their Western donors."Justice Makarau had not yet responded to questions sent to her through the Zec's public relations department and the office of the chief elections officer, Mrs Constance Chigwamba, at the time of going to print.
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 ...
United States Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit. EDGE SYSTEMS LLC, A CALIFORNIA LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, AXIA MEDSCIENCES, A DELAWARE LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, Plaintiffs-Appellees v. RAFAEL NEWTON AGUILA, AKA RALPH AGUILA, DBA HYDRADERMABRASION SYSTEMS, Defendant-Appellant 2016-2189 Decided: September 08, 2017
Before PROST, Chief Judge, WALLACH and STOLL, Circuit Judges. RAFAEL NEWTON AGUILA, South Miami, FL, pro se. BRENTON R. BABCOCK, Knobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear, LLP, Irvine, CA, for plaintiffs-appellees. Also represented by ALI S. RAZAI.
Rafael Newton Aguila appeals from the final judge-ment of the Southern District of Florida in a trademark and patent infringement suit filed by Edge Systems LLC and Axia Medscienes, LLC. Specifically, Aguila argues that the district court abused its discretion by dismissing one of his affirmative defenses, imposing Rule 11 sanctions, denying his motion to strike the expert report of Edge Systems' patent infringement expert, and granting a protective order that reduced the number of depositions Aguila was allowed to take. Aguila also challenges some of the district court's summary judgment determinations and the scope of the district court's permanent injunction. Because the district court neither erred nor abused its discretion, we affirm.
BACKGROUND
The district court's apt summation of this case sets the stage on appeal: Bootleg. Clone. Copycat. Imitation. Knock-off. Palm-Off. However one labels a peddled product that conspicuously capitalizes on another's intellectual property rights, this case presents the quintessential example. Edge Sys. LLC v. Aguila, 186 F. Supp. 3d 1330, 1337 (S.D. Fla. 2016) (Summary Judgment Order).
Edge Systems was founded in 1997, and has continu-ously designed and sold products that improve skin health. Edge Systems' best-selling product, the HydraFacial MD hydradermabrasion system is covered by U.S. Patent Nos. 6,299,620, 6,641,591, 7,678,120, 7,789,886, 8,066,716, and 8,337,513 (collectively, the Asserted Patents). The '620 patent, for example, disclos-es [a] system for atraumatic removal of skin surface layers in a treatment to induce neocollagenesis in the dermis to reduce wrinkles and alter the architecture of the dermal layers. '620 patent, Abstract. Claim 1 of the '620 patent is reproduced below:
1. A system for treating surface layers of a pa-tient's skin, comprising:
(a) an instrument body with a distal working end for engaging a skin surface;
(b) a skin interface portion of the working end comprising an abrasive fragment composition secured thereto;
(c) at least one inflow aperture in said skin interface in fluid communication with a fluid reservoir; and
(d) at least one outflow aperture in said skin interface in communication with a negative pressurization source.
Id. at col. 9 ll. 5463.
Edge Systems also has common law trademark rights in, inter alia, the following marks: (1) ACTIV-4; (2) ANTIOX-6; (3) BETA HD; and (4) DERMABUILDER (collectively, the Serum Marks).
In 2014, Edge Systems learned that Aguila was selling a device similar to its HydraFacial MD system on a website using the trademarks and trade name of Edge Systems' competitor, Lumenis. Edge Systems and Lumenis separately sent Aguila cease and desist letters, and Aguila subsequently changed the website and created an additional website, using Edge Systems' trademarks and trade name.
At least two different customers purchased an accused infringing device from Aguila, thinking the device was made by Edge Systems. One of the customers called a number on Aguila's website and spoke to an individual purporting to be the Regional Sales Manager for Edge Systems. When the customer asked why Aguila's device had a different name than the HydraFacial MD, she was informed that the device was Edge Systems' newest upgrade of the HydraFacial MD. A side-by-side compar-ison of Edge Sytems' HydraFacial MD and Aguila's accused infringing device is shown below:
Summary Judgment Order, 186 F. Supp. 3d. at 1338.
Tabular or graphical material not displayable at this time.
Edge Systems, along with Axia Medsciences, the owner of the Asserted Patents, brought suit against Aguila in the Southern District of Florida, claiming both patent and trademark infringement. The district court swiftly granted Edge Systems a preliminary injunction, enjoining Aguila from infringing Edge Systems' trademarks, trade dress, and the '620 patent. Edge Sys. LLC v. Aguila, Case No. 1:14-cv-24517-KMM, 2015 WL 11233387 (S.D. Fla. June 3, 2015). We affirmed the district court's preliminary injunction on appeal. Edge Systems LLC v. Aguila, 635 F. App'x 897, 907 (Fed. Cir. 2015).
Edge Systems also moved for summary judgment. The district court granted Edge Systems' motion for summary judgment and permanently enjoined Aguila from infringing Edge Systems' trademarks and the claims of the '620 patent. Summary Judgment Order, 186 F. Supp. 3d at 136364. Following the district court's summary judgment order, Edge Systems filed a motion to voluntarily dismiss its remaining claims, which the district court granted and, thereafter, closed the case.
Aguila now appeals, and we have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. 1295(a)(1).
DISCUSSION
Aguila argues that the district court abused its discretion by dismissing one of his affirmative defenses, imposing Rule 11 sanctions, denying his motion to strike the expert report of Edge Systems' patent infringement expert, and granting a protective order that reduced the number of depositions Aguila was allowed to take. Aguila also challenges some of the district court's summary judgment determinations and the scope of the district court's permanent injunction. We address each argument in turn.
I.
Aguila first challenges the district court's dismissal of his affirmative defense of prior trademark use and imposition of Rule 11 sanctions based on Aguila's repeated attempts to rely on two evidentiary items of dubious authenticity: (1) an invoice purportedly from 1996; and (2) an invoice purportedly from 2004. Aguila relied on the two invoices to support his prior use of trademarks affirmative defense. The district court was unconvinced that these invoices were authentic and had grave con-cerns over [Aguila's] willingness to manufacture evidence and abuse the judicial process. Edge Sys. LLC v. Aguila, Case No. 1:14-cv-24517-KMM, 2015 WL 6447502, at *7 (S.D. Fla. Oct. 26, 2015). The district court granted Edge System's motion to strike Aguila's prior use affirmative defense, holding that [c]lear and convincing evidence has been presented that [Aguila] knowingly advanced a document of questionable authenticity and relied upon it in [his] pleadings. Id.
Notwithstanding the district court's order, Aguila continued to rely on these invoices throughout the summary judgment proceedings. As a result, the district court imposed Rule 11 sanctions in the form of attorneys' fees and costs from the date the invoices were initially submitted during the preliminary injunction proceeding. The district court reasoned that Aguila's continued reliance on fraudulent documents clearly runs afoul of Rule 11[,] and sanctionsincluding the award of attor-ney's fees to Edgeare appropriate for Aguila's bad faith conduct. Summary Judgment Order, 186 F. Supp. 3d at 1345 n.10.
On appeal, Aguila argues that the district court abused its discretion by striking his prior use affirmative defense and imposing Rule 11 sanctions based on his reliance on the invoices. We disagree.
The imposition of sanctions under the district court's inherent power or Rule 11 is reviewed for an abuse of discretion. See Chambers v. NASCO, Inc., 501 U.S. 32, 55 (1991) (inherent power); Cooter & Gell v. Hartmarx Corp., 496 U.S. 384, 409 (1990) (Rule 11). When employing an abuse of discretion standard, we must affirm unless we at least determine that the district court has made a clear error of judgment, or has applied an incorrect legal standard. Maiz v. Virani, 253 F.3d 641, 662 (11th Cir. 2001) (quoting Alexander v. Fulton Cty., 207 F.3d 1303, 1326 (11th Cir. 2000)).
Here, the district court did not abuse its discretion in striking Aguila's prior use affirmative defense. The striking of an affirmative defense falls within the ambit of the district court's inherent powers. Chambers, 501 U.S. at 43.
The district court questioned the authenticity of Aguila's invoices based on findings that [t]he quality of the purported invoices is extremely poor, S.A. at 2102, and [t]here is nothing inherent about the documents to suggest they are authentic, id. at 2103. The court also emphasized Aguila's contradictory testimony during the preliminary injunction hearing. For example, the 1996 invoice purports to have sold a HydraPeel system. Id. at 2222. Aguila testified, however, that he was selling a system called the Dermis Peel in 1996, and did not start selling the HydraPeel system until it was developed in 2003. Id. at 201719 (So I decided to start distributing some machines at that point in 1996 under the name -- the actual name of the machine was Dermis Peel By 2003, we had started developing a liquid-based system that we would call HydraPeel.). Further, the 2004 invoice purports to have sold, inter alia, the HydraDerm MD. Id. at 2224. Aguila testified, however, that in 2004, his system was called [ ] the HydraDerm. Not the HydraDerm MD. That would come later. But HydraDerm. Id. at 2020.
On this record, considering Aguila's untimely submis-sion of the invoices, the invoices' questionable authenticity, the lack of any corroborating evidence to support the authenticity of the invoices, and Aguila's testimony con-tradicting the substance of the invoices, it was not an abuse of discretion for the district court to strike Aguila's prior use affirmative defense based on those invoices.
The district court likewise did not abuse its discretion in granting Rule 11 sanctions. Under Eleventh Circuit law, where no evidence or only patently frivolous' evidence is offered to support factual contentions, sanctions can be imposed. Thompson v. RelationServe Media, Inc., 610 F.3d 628, 665 (11th Cir. 2010).
Here, the district court determined that Aguila only offered documents of an unquestionably fraudulent na-ture in support of his stricken defense of prior use dating back to 1996 and Aguila's continued reliance on fraudulent documents clearly runs afoul of Rule 11. Summary Judgment Order, 186 F. Supp. 3d at 1345 n.10. On this record, the district court's imposition of Rule 11 sanctions in the form of attorneys' fees and costs from the date Aguila introduced the invoices was not an abuse of discretion.
II.
Aguila next argues that the district court abused its discretion by denying his motion to strike the expert testimony of Edge Systems' patent infringement expert, Gary L. Loomis. Aguila argues that Edge Systems' untimely served Loomis's expert report after the discovery deadline.
Rule 26 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides, in pertinent part, that a party must make its expert disclosures at the times and in the sequence that the court orders, and [a]bsent a stipulation or a court order, the disclosures must be made at least 90 days before the date set for trial or for the case to be ready for trial. Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2)(D). Here, the court issued a scheduling order requiring that [a]ll discovery, including expert discovery, shall be completed one hundred (100) days prior to the date of trial. S.A. 3576 (emphasis added). The scheduling order also set a trial date of February 22, 2016. Id. Thus, all expert discovery was due by November 13, 2015.
Edge Systems served Loomis's report on November 24, 201590 days before the February 22, 2016 trial date. Had the court not set its discovery deadline of 100 days before trial, Loomis's report would have been timely under Rule 26(a)(2)(D)(i). Instead, Loomis's report was served 10 days after the court's deadline and, thus, was untimely. Determining that Edge Systems violated Rule 26, however, comprises only half the inquiry. See OFS Fitel, LLC v. Epstein, Becker & Green, P.C., 549 F.3d 1344, 1363 (11th Cir. 2008). Under Rule 37(c)(1), a district court clearly has authority to exclude an expert's testimony where a party has failed to comply with Rule 26(a) unless the failure is substantially justified or is harmless. Id.
The district court did not abuse its discretion in declining to exclude Loomis's report. Rule 37(c)(1) merely authorizes the district court to exercise its discretion to exclude untimely reports; it does not require the district court to do so. A district court has inherent authority to manage its own docket so as to achieve the orderly and expeditious disposition of cases. Equity Lifestyle Props., Inc. v. Fla. Mowing & Landscape Serv., Inc., 556 F.3d 1232, 1240 (11th Cir. 2009) (quoting Chambers, 501 U.S. at 43). Indeed, district courts enjoy broad discretion in deciding how best to manage the cases before them. Chudasama v. Mazda Motor Corp., 123 F.3d 1353, 1366 (11th Cir. 1997). In any event, we agree with Edge Systems that the ten-day delay here was harmless.
Aguila nonetheless argues that Edge Systems' late disclosure was harmful because it den[ied] him the possibility to schedule a deposition with [Loomis]. Appel-lant Br. 21. Such harm, however, is belied by the record. The day Loomis's report was served, Aguila requested the opportunity to depose Loomis. Edge Systems responded, indicating an intent to make Loomis available for deposition. Aguila, however, did not make any subsequent effort to proceed with Loomis's deposition. Because Edge Systems was willing to make Loomis available for deposition after its untimely disclosure, its failure to comply with Rule 26(a) was harmless, and the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Aguila's motion to strike Loomis's report under Rule 37.
III.
Aguila also argues that the district court abused its discretion in granting in part Edge System's motion for a protective order, limiting his allowed number of depositions from ten to five. The district court's determination is reviewed for an abuse of discretion. McCarthy v. Bar-nett Bank of Polk Cty., 876 F.2d 89, 91 (11th Cir. 1989).
During a status conference on July 10, 2015, the district court warned Aguila that what you don't want to do is [to] be issuing your discovery requests so late that as a practical matter you make it impossible for the parties to complete discovery within that [November 24th] deadline. S.A. 2652. The district court additionally cautioned Aguila that, [i]f you want a 30(b)(6) deposition of [Edge Systems], notice it now. Follow the rules. Id. at 2653.
Three weeks before the November 13, 2015 discovery deadline, on October 23, 2015, Aguila served a notice requesting a Rule 30(b)(6) deposition of Edge Systems, identifying 90 separately identified topics. Two days later, Aguila served eleven more deposition notices: one Rule 30(b)(6) deposition of Axia Medsciences on 117 separately identified topics and ten individual depositions. Aguila subsequently agreed to reduce the number of depositions to ten pursuant to Rule 30(a). Aguila unilaterally scheduled these ten depositions during the last week of discovery, scheduling five for the last day before the discovery deadline. Edge Systems subsequently filed its motion for protective order.
The magistrate judge granted Edge System's motion in part, allowing Aguila to take five of the ten noticed depositions. At a hearing on the motion, the magistrate judge repeatedly questioned Aguila as to the reasons for taking the various depositions. The magistrate judge determined that it was reasonable to reduce the number of depositions from ten to five. The magistrate judge explained his reasoning as follows:
So I think what's reasonable to do here is to limit the depositions to -- the 30(b)(6) depositions of Edge and Axia and to the depositions of Shadduck, Cohen and Ignon.
I pick them, first of all, because the other depositions honestly, Mr. Aguila, I am very un-persuaded that you have a decent basis to think that they could produce much at all in the way of meaningful evidence that relates to the claims or defenses.
So that's a very to me a dubious thought. I don't think you really know. I think you're guess-ing. You're going off of a title and kind of -- I'm not hearing too much more than that.
And you really sprung those on the Plaintiff at the last minute. Shadduck, Cohen and Ignon, the Plaintiff has known for quite some time that those folks could be deposed. So in terms of their ability to, you know, foresee that there would be a deposition and to think about what the issues are and prepare I think the Plaintiffs [are] in a reasonable position to do that.
S.A. 293435. Aguila objected to the magistrate judge's order, which the district judge implicitly denied when final judgment was entered. See Misabec Mercantile, Inc. De Panama v. Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette ACLI Fu-tures, Inc., 853 F.2d 834, 840 nn.17, 19 (11th Cir. 1988); WSB-TV v. Lee, 842 F.2d 1266, 1268 n.1 (11th Cir. 1988).
Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that a court may, for good cause, issue an order to protect a party or person from annoyance, embarrass-ment, oppression, or undue burden or expense. The Eleventh Circuit also require[s] the district court to balance the interests of those requesting the order. McCarthy, 876 F.2d at 91.
On this record, the district court did not abuse its discretion in granting a protective order. We see no error in the district court court's finding that Aguila had no basis for believing that five of his noticed depositions would result in any evidence related to the claims or defenses at issue. Likewise, we see no error in the district court's determination that Aguila's last-minute noticing of these five baseless depositions placed an undue burden on Edge Systems. In any event, even if the district court had abused its discretion in limiting Aguila's depositions, such error would be harmless, as Aguila did not even take the five depositions allowed by the district court.
IV.
Aguila next challenges the scope of the district court's permanent injunction. The district court permanently enjoined Aguila from using, copying, simulating, or in any other way infringing, inter alia, the Serum Marks. This injunction followed the district court's determination that Edge Systems has valid common law rights in the Serum Marks and that Aguila infringed those marks.
Aguila does not challenge these determinations on appeal. Rather, Aguila argues that the district court's permanent injunction effectively invalidates Aguila's similar registered trademarks, which Aguila sought from the United States Patent and Trademark Office on De-cember 1, 2014, the same day the district court signed a temporary restraining order enjoining Aguila from infringing, inter alia, the Serum Marks. The PTO granted Aguila's applications in July 2015, without knowledge of Edge Systems' common law rights in the same Serum Marks.
We reject Aguila's contention that the district court's injunction in this case invalidates its registered trademarks. The permanent injunction relates to the district court's determination that Edge Systems had valid common law trademark rights in the Serum Marks and that Aguila had infringed these marks. That Aguila applied for and received federal registration of the Serum Marks during the pendency of this actionalbeit under seeming-ly dubious circumstancesis of no consequence. Accordingly, in light of the district court's determinations of ownership and infringement, which are unchallenged on appeal, the district court did not err in permanently enjoining Aguila from using, copying, simulating, or in any other way infringing Edge Systems' common law rights in the Serum Marks.
V.
Aguila next challenges the district court's summary judgment of infringement of Edge Systems' patents. Although we apply our own law to issues of substantive patent law, we review the grant of summary judgment using the standard of review of the relevant regional circuit. Accenture Glob. Servs., GmbH v. Guidewire Software, Inc., 728 F.3d 1336, 134041 (Fed. Cir. 2013). The Eleventh Circuit review[s] de novo the district court's grant of summary judgment, drawing all infer-ences and reviewing all evidence in the light most favora-ble to the non-moving party. Rodriguez v. Doral, 863 F.3d 1343, 1349 (11th Cir. 2017). A district court should grant summary judgment only if the movant establishes the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Id.
The district court granted summary judgment of infringement of the '620 patent, determining that [n]o reasonable jury could find that each limitation of Claim 1 of the '620 Patent is not literally present in Aguila's accused products. Summary Judgment Order, 186 F. Supp. 3d at 1355. The district court similarly granted summary judgment of infringement of the '591 patent. Id. at 1356.
Without citation to any record evidence, Aguila argues on appeal that his accused products do not contain a skin interface portion of the working end comprising an abrasive fragment composition secured thereto, as required by claim 1 of the '620 patent, or a skin interface com-ris[ing] an abrading structure with substantially sharp edges for abrading tissue, as required by claim 1 of the '519 patent. Apart from these conclusory arguments on appeal, Aguila presents no evidence to support his nonin-fringment argument.
On the other hand, Edge Systems' patent infringement expert, Gary Loomis, relied on, inter alia, state-ments from Aguila's own website describing the accused infringing products and testified that these limitations are found in Aguila's accused infringing products. Because Aguila fails to introduce any contrary evidence, we conclude, as did the district court, that Aguila failed to present evidence sufficient to create a genuine issue of material fact as to infringement of the '620 and '591 patents. Accordingly, we affirm the district court's summary judgment in Edge Systems' favor on these claims.
VI.
Aguila finally argues that the district court's permanent injunction should be barred by the doctrine of laches. We previously addressed and denied Aguila's laches defense. Edge Systems, 635 F. App'x at 907. There, we held that Aguila's laches defense was ipse dixit, failing to provide any reasoned analysis of the applicable law to the facts of this case. Id. Here, Aguila similarly fails to provide any reasoned analysis of the applicable law to the facts of this case. Accordingly, the district court did not err in barring the injunction based on Aguila's propound-ed laches defense.
CONCLUSION
We have carefully considered Aguila's remaining arguments and determine that they lack merit. We affirm.
AFFRIMED
COSTS
Costs to Appellees.
FOOTNOTES
. Unless otherwise indicated, we collectively refer to both Edge Systems and Axia Medscienes as Edge Systems.
. Aguila does not challenge on appeal the district court's determination that Edge Systems had valid common law trademark rights in the Serum Marks.
. In deciding issues not unique to our exclusive jurisdiction, we apply the law of the regional circuit in which the district court sits. Q-Pharma, Inc. v. Andrew Jergens Co., 360 F.3d 1295, 1299 (Fed. Cir. 2004). We therefore apply the law of the Eleventh Circuit to these issues.
. Edge Systems has filed petitions for the cancella-tion of Aguila's trademarks with the PTO, which are currently pending.
. Following the district court's summary judgment order, Edge Systems moved to voluntarily dismiss its remaining claims, which the district court granted, and subsequently closed the case. Aguila argues that the district court erred in closing the case because the infringement claims related to the '591 patent remained unadjudicated. Aguila is mistaken. As discussed above, the district court granted summary judgment of literal infringement of the '591 patent. Summary Judgment Order, 186 F. Supp. 3d at 1356.
STOLL, Circuit Judge.
The Ringgold Playhouse prepares to open its seven-performance production of "The Real Inspector Hound" beginning Thursday, Sept. 14 at the historic Ringgold Depot, 155 Depot St. Over the next two weekends, TRP will offer the whodunnit story to audiences as its closing production of the 2017 Season.
Director Greg Rambin, Sr. says the show, which adds a comedic touch to the classic murder mystery genre, has a lot of offer audiences.
"I cant wait for the audience to see these actors bring Inspector Hound to life," Mr. Rambin said. "It is both funny and thought-provoking. I almost wish I could ride home with audience members to hear the discussion afterwards because the play is not simply a satire of murder mysteries. Dont get me wrong, if you love 'The Mousetrap' by Agatha Christie or Sherlock Holmes stories, you will enjoy the ribbing that those get from Tom Stoppard. Hound also pokes fun at theatre critics, and pokes fun at humanity. I have watched the show many times and I still find something new to laugh at."
The production includes the play-within-a-play setup that begins with two theatre critics preparing to watch a whodunnit, but by night's end, the two become completely engrossed in the madness.
Play synopsis:
It is a foggy and foreboding day at Muldoon Manor, a charming, but isolated, English country house populated by tortured and suspicious characters. A game of bridge results in raised temperatures and veiled threats; a mysterious man, possibly mad, shows up to charm the lady of the house and her young friend; and a dead body lies under the sofa, waiting to be discovered. All the while, a pair of pretentious critics comment on the action, munch chocolates, complain bitterly about their professional rivals, and ogle the attractive actresses. In "The Real Inspector Hound," Tony and Academy award-winning playwright Tom Stoppard has crafted a witty, surreal, and compelling tale in which identity is as changeable as a moustache, or a pair of boots, and a hack production of a tired whodunnit can be the cover for a masterful revenge plot, trained on the professional members of the audience.
Mr. Rambin says his eight-person cast has put a lot of time and effort into crafting this play.
"It has been a fun experience from the very beginning," Mr. Rambin said."I am always in awe of the creative process. Watching the cast come to rehearsal each night; seeing their characters develop, and then seeing the cast as a whole meld into a singular unit its really a joy to watch."
The cast includes TRP veterans Laurie Shaw, Joshua Chisholm, Chuck Nalley, Jennifer Bryant, and Adam Cook, as well as three actors making their TRP debuts; Katie Olsen, Trevor Miles, and Jim Eernisse.
"It is such a strong cast, this is the perfect show for an enjoyable evening at the theatre," Mr. Rambin said. "The show takes Shakespeares line from 'As You Like It' almost literally: 'All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players; they have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts'. I invite everyone to see what part they play in 'The Real Inspector Hound'. Come see it."
The show opens Thursday night, Sept. 14, and will run Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. through Sept. 23, with a special matinee performance Sept. 23 at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $10 for general admission and $8 for seniors and students,, and are available in person at Ringgold City Hall, over the phone at 706-935-3061, or online at cityofringgoldga.gov.
Pa. Dems could flip the House of Reps. Here's what that might mean
Wyoming officials on Thursday vowed they are ready for whatever the coming total solar eclipse may bring the Cowboy State even while admitting they cant be sure what that will be.
Chris Mickey, public relations adviser to Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead, said during a news conference that projections for the number of visitors expected to pour into the state to view Mondays eclipse at its totality range from as low as 50,000 to as high as 600,000, with as many as 40,000 possibly destined for Casper alone.
The states current was 585,501 as of July 1, 2016.
Resources for total solar eclipse travelers It is estimated that as many as half of the people traveling to Wyoming for Mondays total solar eclipse will be going there from Colorado. Visitors are advised to consult wyoroadinfo.com and travelwyoming.com/eclipse for updates to make their trip as smooth as possible. Also, in Colorado, Larimer County has set up a tool to stay in touch with traffic, which is to text ECLIPSE to 888777. Other resources for those interested in the eclipse experience include eclipse2017.nasa.gov and colorado.edu/fiske/eclipse.
Up to half of Wyomings eclipse visitors are expected to be coming from Colorado, with others passing through Colorado along Interstate 25 from New Mexico and Arizona.
The Colorado Department of Transportation on Thursday said in a news release that the flow of the states drivers into Wyoming and Nebraska could represent the most significant traffic event of the year.
Diane Shober, executive director of the Wyoming Office of Tourism, said any projections of additional visitors into the state are, at this point, at best an educated guess.
If I could do that, I would be making bazillions of dollars as an estimator of crowds, she said. While noting that Wyoming campgrounds and lodgings are mostly all now reserved, she added, Projections in the millions (of visitors) are not so credible.
Visitor numbers will inevitably be affected by what the weather turns out to be, in the event that a cloudy forecast or worse in one area of the nations coast-to-coast, 70-mile-wide totality zone pushes last-minute planners one direction or another as they make their final arrangements.
An updated forecast was delivered Thursday by Julie Gondzar, of DayWeather.com, which provides customized weather forecasts to a group of 14 radio stations across Wyoming, Colorado and western Nebraska, as well as the Wyoming Department of Transportation.
In the world of meteorology, four days ahead is a really long time, with lots of variability still in the forecast, Gondzar said Thursday morning. She spoke of a warmer and drier pattern settling in for the weekend, but then mentioned a little switch coming into the picture later Sunday, eclipse eve.
That could include a potential for partial cloudiness over certain parts of the state on eclipse day, she said. But, speaking in the company of representatives of both the governors office and the Wyoming Office of Tourism, she hastened to add that Wyoming is a really big state, and that conditions in one location very well might not match those in another.
Later on Thursday, Boulder meteorologist Matt Kelsch issued a forecast indicating an increased chance for a south-and-southwesterly atmospheric flow into Wyoming, which could increase the moisture content and lead to an increased chance for some cloud cover.
Kelsch saw a good chance of clear skies in western and central Wyoming, a lesser chance for clear skies further east, but still a little better than 50 percent, with the chance of clear skies slipping below 50 percent moving eastward along the total eclipse path in Nebraska.
A question was raised by one member of the media during Thursdays press briefing as to whether there was any truth to rumors that one Wyoming county had purchased 30,000 body bags in anticipation of handling a mass catastrophe associated with the eclipse.
That was dismissed as groundless during the press conference. And in a subsequent interview, Mickey said he was unsure even what had sparked such a notion.
That was a large rumor circulating throughout the state, and as far as I know, on the state level, none of those body bags have been purchased, Mickey said.
He theorized it was possible one Wyoming county had placed an order, simply because it needed more, as any county coroners office periodically would and that somehow, someone connected that to the eclipse.
From our (state) Division of Criminal Investigation and Homeland Security, we have received no threats of mass casualties, whether from suicide or terrorist activities. There are no credible threats of any of that stuff, Mickey said.
As for more reality-based threats, Mickey said problems have been reported concerning people unwittingly purchasing counterfeit eclipse-viewing glasses those that bear the coding ISO-12312-2, indicating compliance with international safety standards for viewing a solar event, but are in fact are not compliant.
Among those victimized by the scam have been the state of Wyoming itself, which obtained about 1,000 to be issued to state employees. The fact that they were counterfeit was discovered and they have now been replaced.
Reliable information on approved eyewear and lists of reliable vendors of eclipse-viewing glasses can be obtained at the American Astronomical Society website as well as the Eclipse2017.Nasa.Gov site.
Hazards far more mundane and realistic than mass suicide also include bad traffic on key corridors such as I-25. Wyoming has put a hold on highway construction around the time of the eclipse, and restrictions are also in place on oversized trucks, to mitigate what is sure to be a challenging few days on the states roads.
Wyoming Highway Patrol Sgt. Kyle McKay advised visitors to be aware of when traffic is slowing down or coming to a stop and to not drive distracted.
He also said its important for motorists to start out with a full tank of gas.
Charlie Brennan: 303-473-1327, brennanc@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/chasbrennan
Cyber-safety and magic do not typically go together, but on Sept. 18 and 19 Boyd Buchanan parents and students will learn about social media safety in an interesting way, officials said.Helping students navigate todays social media landscape is critical in a world where digital communications are paramount in both learning and daily life, says President Jill C. Hartness.Magician and "edu-tainer" Robert Hackenson Jr. will speak and engage BBS students on how to post and use technology.Mr. Hackensons presentation has allowed students across the country, in 46 states and counting, to see and understand what to post and what not to post.We want to help our students to find balance in their technology usage, and defer them from cyber bullying, while also making them aware of how much social media can impact their reputations later in life, says Dr. Jennifer Warnack, Boyd Buchanan Middle School principal. Parents have to be more 'in the know' when it comes to social media and how their children are using it, and students must be more self-aware of their actions on social media so they can protect themselves and their peers."Mr. Hackensons presentation combines card tricks, props, and illusion to engage students while reinforcing the social media educational lessons. Every piece of magic, story, video clip, etc. is intended to deliver a memorable message without making light of this serious issue," officials said.Our goal is to start a new conversation amongst students and parents about social media safety and responsible posting, said Ms. Hartness.
Sheriff Jim Hammond addressed the Rotary Club of Chattanooga Hamilton Place the day it was announced that he would assume oversight for the Silverdale Correction Facility.Sheriff Hammond has 54 years of law enforcement experience, is a U.S. Navy veteran, and has been the Hamilton County Sheriff since 2008. He addressed the deterioration of the 45-year-old downtown jail and his thoughts and strategy on diversion programs to reduce inmate population based on the successes of other larger cities.Regarding repeat offenders, Sheriff Hammond stated that less than 10 percent commit 90 percent of the crimes.
The Farrow & Ball balloon has burst at last and what a relief.
No, were not yet witnessing a fatal crash landing of this modern corporate phenomenon but, rather, the enjoyable public spectacle of a paint company whose very name has entered the lexicon as a statement about class, style and paying way above the odds being forced to admit that, well, it doesnt quite do what it says on the tin.
For years, decorators and interior designers have winced whenever their clients have produced a Farrow & Ball colour chart and started deliberating over whether to have Middleton Pink in Sophies bedroom, Cooking Apple Green in Michaels study and Elephants Breath in the drawing room.
And theyve winced for good reason.
Farrow & Ball attracted criticism from clients about its finish being to difficult to apply for decades
After all, theyve been moaning about Farrow & Balls finish and how difficult it is to apply, for decades, with some opting to charge their customers extra or, in extremis, refusing to work with the product at all.
Now, finally, the company which for 70 years has prided itself on offering deluxe paint brimming with only the finest ingredients has caved in and been forced to change its formula, adding up to 20 per cent more pigment to make the paint more opaque and, therefore, easier to apply.
We have added more pigment to our paints to improve coverage and opacity, said Gareth Hayfield, Farrow & Balls head of research and technical developments.
Darker paints tend to have very good opacity. It is mainly the whites and lighter shades where the most pigment has been added. We are constantly looking at what customers want and we take feedback from all different markets in which we operate.
Excellent. So, heres some feedback from me. It comes from someones whos spent more time in Farrow & Balls flagship shop in Londons Fulham Road than he cares to remember; someone whos bought so many little sample pots (at 4.50 a pop) that, for the money spent on them, hes convinced he could have decorated his entire terraced house twice over using good old Dulux.
Someone who is immediately suspicious when hearing that an old boozer in the middle of the countryside is now simply marvellous just because the owners have given it the full Farrow & Ball treatment.
The truth is that sometimes I feel there are three of us in our marriage me, my wife, Joanna, and the Farrow & Ball colour chart that lives in the top drawer of the bedside table on her side of the bed, in a way that the Gideon Bible often used to occupy a similar position in old-fashioned hotels.
Joanna thinks the F&B palette is so imaginative and the finish (even if it requires three coats and a hideous scene with the Polish decorators, who cant quite believe how gullible we have become) so gorgeous that its worth paying nearly triple compared with a pot of Crown emulsion from B&Q.
The company which for 70 years has prided itself on offering deluxe paint brimming with only the finest ingredients has caved in and been forced to change its formula
She wont admit this, but I also suspect that my wife is taken with the exotic names of the paints in the same way that I find them irritating.
Peignoir? What colour is that supposed to be, so named after the French word peigner, which refers to a woman combing her hair while wearing a long outer garment made of chiffon?
Moles Breath? Well, that could be anything once youve convinced yourself that a moles breath actually has a particular colour in the first place.
Then theres Pelt, a sort of mauve; Clunch, an off-white (sorry, orf-white) that was all the rage until a few years ago; and Mouses Back, which is a rather more pleasant colour than the mice which scurry around our kitchen when they think were not watching.
All very posh and all very clever marketing from a company that was founded in 1946 by a Mr Farrow (a trained chemist) and a Mr Ball (an engineer and former prisoner of war). They met at a local clay pit, opened their first paint factory in Verwood, Dorset, and began supplying the likes of the Ford Motor Company and Raleigh bicycles.
They ran a respectable business that had its ups and downs, but it wasnt until the early Nineties that the merits of Farrow & Ball became a staple of dinner-party conversation, along with the value of property prices and how to get the children extra tuition to help with their sums.
Diamonds that truly are out of this world The hunt for diamonds might be about to switch to space. Scientists have discoverered that priceless gems are sinking through the slushy interiors of planets Neptune and Uranus. Researchers in laboratories have recreated this diamond rain, formed over thousands of years as carbon atoms are squeezed together under extreme pressure. The hydrocarbons drift down and gather around the planets cores to form diamonds. Experts in Germany simulated these extreme conditions using a high- powered laser which created shock waves in polystyrene, says a report in Nature Astronomy. The diamonds forming on Neptune and Uranus could be millions of carats in weight. Jewels here on Earth pale in comparison our much admired Great Star of Africa, part of the Crown Jewels, weighs a mere 530.2 carats. Advertisement
That was when two former public schoolboys designer Tom Helme and corporate financier Martin Ephson bought the company and forged a timely partnership with the National Trust, before going it alone with hugely successful results.
In 1992, Farrow & Ball was selling around 800,000 worth of paint a year. Now, it does that in less than a week, with 62 showrooms (31 in the UK) around the world.
It recently added a selection of hand-crafted wallpapers, including three that were launched only last week, all with suitably refined names: Atacama (after the desert in Chile); Helleborus (the plant); and Hegemone (the Greek goddess). Helme & Ephson have, inevitably, ridden off into a glorious financial sunset, having sold the company three years ago to private equity fund Ares Management.
In 1992, Farrow & Ball was selling around 800,000 worth of paint a year. Now, it does that in less than a week
In the process, theyve inspired a whole raft of new paint companies, such as Little Greene, Anni Sloan (naturally) and Craig and Rose, which are all potential competitors but have got some catching up to do.
No surprise, either, that the likes of Fired Earth, Sanderson and Designers Guild produce a range of bespoke paints at super-inflated prices. Farrow & Ball hasnt just produced paint, its created an entire market.
What Ive tried telling my wife with no success whatsoever is that F&B has become yet another middle-class conceit, similar to crushed avocado with pomegranates, Aperol with a dash of prosecco and villa holidays on the north-eastern coast of Corfu.
All lovely in their own way, but ruinously expensive and with more than a smear of F&Bs Pavilion Gray uniformity about them.
The wave forward? If you struggle to keep up with beauty trends at the best of times, you might balk at the new fashion for zig-zag eyebrows. Time-rich millenials are uploading photographs of themselves with their brows parted so that they make long zig-zags when they are matted down. Others have squiggle brows, where special glue is used to style brow hairs in the same direction, before they are combed into wiggly lines. The effect looks a bit like barbed wire, or having silly string strung across your forehead. If your greatest aim is to simply look nice, this might be one to miss. Advertisement
What Ive also tried telling her, with equally failing results, is that she should do what many other, more savvy, shoppers do, which is to buy a Farrow & Ball tester pot and then hop along to Homebase or similar and get them to colour-match it for a much lower price.
Should we ever come to sell the house, it would not then be strictly true to tell potential buyers that all the rooms are kitted out in fabulous F&B colours, but it would be a whole lot easier on my wallet in the short term.
A five-litre pot of Farrow & Ball off-white emulsion costs 74.50, whereas five litres of off-white Dulux at Homebase is 26.
To be fair, one of the reasons decorators have been complaining about the difficulty of applying F&B paint is because the company stopped producing oil-based products in 2010, when it switched to thinner, more environmentally friendly, water-based concoctions which are widespread in the U.S., where oil-based paints hardly exist at all.
The problem is that a water-based eggshell finish is nothing like as subtle as an oil-based equivalent and as I keep telling my wife does not last as long.
But, of course, thats half the point, because after a year or two, it gives her a perfect reason to suggest yet another Saturday afternoon outing to Farrow & Balls Fulham Road branch.
Thats where the well-spoken slip of a girl brandishing an array of paint-boards will greet us like manna from heaven and even suggest a home visit from one of the in-store advisers.
No, thank you.
Kmart is banning the plus-size label from its stores and replacing it with 'Fabulously Sized' but not everyone is pleased with the updated terminology.
With the average American woman wearing either a size 16 or 18, according to a recent study, retailers' use of of the plus-size label to describe women over a size 12 has been hotly debated over the years.
'When we reached out to our members on social media, they told us we needed to have a better assortment and that we should we call it something different,' Kelly Cook, Kmarts chief marketing officer, told Women's Wear Daily of the change.
Scroll down for video
Try to be body positive: Kmart has announced that it is banning the plus-size label in its stores and renaming the section 'Fabulously Sized'
Changes: Kelly Cook, Kmarts chief marketing officer, said customers asked for the company to offer a 'better assortment' and for the plus-size section to be called 'something different'
'They absolutely love this whole mantra of "Fabulously Sized". Were proud to provide this apparel, and were also proud about our price points.'
In addition from its shift away from the controversial terminology, Kmart will also be extending sizes for all of its women's apparel.
Cook added that the decision was 'heavily influenced' by the rise of diversity promotion and body positivity, and company has seen a 'big body positive focus in the teen and millennial markets'.
However, there is a divide between how younger and older shoppers want to see the company role out the larger sizes.
While older shoppers wanted a separate section for larger sizes, younger customers would prefer to see those sizes integrated into the rest of the store.
Celebrating diversity: The new marketing strategy has been rolled out in conjunction with the store's new body positive 'I Can' campaign
To deal with that divide, Kmart's separate sections will feature extended sizes from its brands that cater to older customers. In conjunction with its new 'Fabulously Sized' section, Kmart also unveiled its new body-positive 'I Can' campaign on Friday.
Although people are happy to see the company making a strong effort to promote size diversity, many dislike the section's new name or question why the sizes have to be separated in the first place.
'I mean you could also just call them "Clothes" and put them in the same section,' Conni Boykins tweeted, while Clay Ferguson said the name change is 'so patronizing'.
Nicole Goodkind added: 'Today in incredibly misguided attempts at god-even-know-what: Kmart will now refer to "Plus-Size" as "Fabulously Sized."'
TWITTER USERS REACT TO KMART Advertisement
Others took issue with the fact that by labeling its plus-sizes as 'Fabulously Sized' the company was inadvertently excluding women who wear smaller sizes.
'So people that don't wear "fabulously sized" clothes aren't fabulous? Just put all the sizes together and call it a day,' a woman named Mak tweeted.
'So skinny women can't be considered "fabulously-sized" now? Why is Kmart making skinny women feel less fabulous?' asked Twitter user Bama Dad.
Curvy models Ashley Graham, Robyn Lawley, and Jordyn Woods are among those who have both been vocal critics of the term plus-size, which many find to be divisive.
They hate it! Curvy models Ashley Graham and Robyn Lawley are both vocal critics of the term plus-size
Speaking out: Rising model Jordyn Woods recently stated she doesn't think people should be categorized because 'it creates aloneness and segregation
Speaking with E! News at New York Fashion Week, Jordyn, 19, said she would rather not be categorized, but if she has to be, she prefers to be described as curvy rather than plus size.
'I feel like when you categorize people and put them into a group, then it creates aloneness and segregation,' she said. 'There are so many models that it shouldn't really matter. I don't think there should be categories.'
Jordyn's sentiments are similar to those of Ashley, 29, and Robin, 28, who have frequently shared their disdain for the description.
'Does any woman really just come in and say, "I'm a plus-size woman?" Maybe as a defense mechanism or maybe as a way to kind of cope with fitting into society but ... I just think it's divisive,' Ashley told the Associated Press in May.
Meanwhile, Robyn said she finds it 'kind of degrading'.
'If the national average is a size 14, then we shouldnt be segregating people of that size. I feel healthy and natural at that size,' the Australian model told The Daily Telegraph last October.
A Gold Coast husband and wife had two very important guests join them on their special day, those guests being their 90-kilo pet pig and their bulldog.
Sarah McDonald, 33, and Peter Bond, 34, had their pig - which, given its impressive size is rather ironically-named Piggy Smalls - fill in the role of their flower girl on their wedding day.
'My missus and I always wanted a pig and I promised Id get her one when we moved onto property,' Peter told the Gold Coast Bulletin.
'Thats why we wanted her involved in our wedding at Pacific Surf Life Saving Club, shes pretty important to us.'
A husband and wife had two very important guest join them on their special day, that guest being their 90 kilogram pet pig and their bulldog
Sarah McDonald, 33, (left) and Peter Bond, 34, (right) had their pets join in on their wedding day
The irony of the name wasn't lost on the couple, who didn't realise she would grow to be as big as she is.
Piggy Smalls has been Sarah and Peter's pet for the last two years and has a special place in both of their hearts.
During the wedding ceremony Piggy Smalls donned a flower crown as she fulfilled her role of flower girl and was taken down the aisle by Peter.
It didn't stop there, with their pet bulldog, Morph, playing the part of 'dog of honour'.
The irony of the name isn't lost on the couple, who didn't realise she would grow to be so big
Piggy Smalls has been Sarah and Peter's pet for the last two years and has a special place in both of their hearts
'It was amazing to have our four legged family members with us on our special day,' Sarah told Daily Mail Australia.
The couple hunted on social media for a company that could help them with the task of transporting their four-legged friends and stumbled across Love Laugh Play Pet Minding and Chauffeur.
The company picked Piggy Smalls up from her home in a horse float but the porker had to be encouraged by treats to get moving.
Their bulldog Morph (pictured) played the part of the 'dog of honour' on the special day
During the wedding ceremony Piggy Smalls (pictured) donned a flower grown as she fulfilled her role of flower girl and was taken down the aisle by Peter
The couple hunted on social media for a company that could help them with the task of transporting their pets and stumbled across Love Laugh Play Pet Minding and Chauffeur
'Shes a free-range pig ... we dont keep her in a cage so she sometimes disappears next door, but she always comes home, shes pretty well looked after,' Peter said.
Kylie, from Live Love Play, said that she absolutely loved the idea of the animals, especially the pig, being involved in the ceremony.
'Its definitely the first pig weve had, weve had plenty of cats and dogs but never any pigs,' she explained.
Kylie from Live Love Play said that she absolutely loved the idea of the animals being involved in the ceremony
The animals were dressed by Kylie's staff and were a hit amongst the family and friends present
'We are there to make the day the best it can be with all members of the family, regardless of what kind of furbaby they are,' Kylie told Daily Mail Australia.
'Piggy Smalls was a challenge as we had lots of factors to consider, transport was the main one for us, with us needing a horse float and making sure Piggy Smalls was comfortable to travel in.
'Lucky for us she loves her apples and will do anything for a slice.'
The animals were dressed by Kylie's staff and were a hit amongst the family and friends present.
Tennessee American Water announces its second round of Firefighting Support Grants to provide financial assistance to uniformed, professional, and volunteer fire departments. Grants of up to $500 will be awarded to cover costs for equipment or training.
While we provide the water that is used in combating fires, the firefighters are the first responders who need the tools and training to keep our homes and businesses safe, said Director of Operations Kevin Kruchinski. With the current extreme weather and the anniversary of September 11, we are reminded of the importance of the firefighters in our communities and the role they play in protecting us.
Last years grant recipients represented municipal and volunteer fire departments in both Tennessee and Georgia.
Tennessee American Water has sent applications to fire departments in the companys designated service territories, including sale-for-resale areas (Ft. Oglethorpe; Catoosa County; Signal Mountain). Interested parties can email presidentarmstrong@amwater.com with inquiries. Grant applications are due by Oct. 31.
Grants of up to $500 will be considered to cover the costs associated with the following:
Personal protective gear;
Communications equipment;
Firefighting tools;
Water handling equipment, or
Training and related activities/materials used to support community fire protection (Reimbursement for specific fire training classes, including training manuals and workbooks, is eligible).
Clarks has announced that it is promoting a 'gender neutral ethos' in its footwear following 'customer feedback' - and has designed its SS18 range of shoes with an 'entirely unisex approach.'
Although it has some styles aimed at boys and girls it is developing a range of gender neutral for the first time.
The announcement on the footwear brand's website comes after it was embroiled in two sexist shoe rows in August.
Clarks came under fire for the second time in a week last month after labelling its school shoes for girls 'Dolly Babe' while the boys' range is called 'Leader'.
Days earlier in August, a mother prompted a huge online debate by accusing Clarks of offering flimsy and 'inferior' styles for girls, compared to its sturdy range for boys.
However an announcement on the brand's website today states: 'Clarks has a gender neutral ethos that anyone can choose any style they would like.'
Clarks has announced on its website that it will unveil an a gender neutral school shoe range. The news came after the brand came under fire for being 'sexist' for the second time in a week last month
'Over the past few seasons, following customer feedback and market research, we have focused on creating more unisex shoes and we are looking at a number of elements of our business to promote this gender neutral ethos, both on our website and within our stores.'
The statement explained that as a large global company, it is not always possible to implement all the changes they want to make as quickly as they would like but that they're looking to move as fast as they can to ensure this ethos is reflected throughout the brand.
It concluded: 'Today we have more unisex styles in our range than ever before. This means we now have a wider range of closed-in styles, school boots and GORE-TEX styles and these changes will continue in our Spring Summer 2018 range, which has been designed with an entirely unisex approach.'
MailOnline has contacted Clarks and is awaiting comment.
In the statement, the brand explained: 'Today we have more unisex styles in our range than ever before. This means we now have a wider range of closed-in styles, school boots and GORE-TEX styles'. These 42 Hartry Top Jnr boots are part of the school boots range
These 52 Obie Top GORE-TEX Kids School Shoes are part of the GORE-TEX range
CLARKS' STATEMENT IN FULL Clarks has a gender neutral ethos that anyone can choose any style they would like. Over the past few seasons, following customer feedback and market research, we have focused on creating more unisex shoes and we are looking at a number of elements of our business to promote this gender neutral ethos, both on our website and within our stores. As a large global company, it is not always possible to implement all the changes we want to make as quickly as we would like. However, we are looking to move as fast as we can to ensure this ethos is reflected throughout our brand. Today we have more unisex styles in our range than ever before. This means we now have a wider range of closed-in styles, school boots and GORE-TEX styles and these changes will continue in our Spring Summer 2018 range, which has been designed with an entirely unisex approach. Advertisement
In August, a mother-of-two blasted Clarks over their 'inferior' range of girls' school shoes in a blistering online complaint.
Jem Moonie-Dalton, from London, accused the brand of 'discriminating' against girls and reinforcing gender stereotypes after she was left disappointed by the styles on offer for seven-year-old daughter.
Taking to Facebook, the 38-year-old said the boys' section was filled with shoes that are 'sturdy, comfortable and weather proof' while the girls' shoes 'have inferior soles, are not fully covered and are not well padded at the ankle'.
The post, which was shared over 10,000 times, sparked a heated debate between parents - with some claiming Clarks had plenty of 'sturdy' school shoes available for girls.
Mother-of-two Jem Moonie-Dalton posted this image alongside her complaint of the selection of Clarks girls' school shoes, claiming they were 'inferior' to the boys' range
The 38-year-old argued Clarks was reinforcing gender stereotypes, encouraging boys to play and explore outside while girls remain neat and tidy indoors
In the post on the Clarks Shoes Facebook page, Ms Moonie-Dalton wrote that the boys' shoes had been designed with 'running and climbing in mind'. In contrast the girls' shoes 'are not comfortable and are not suited to outdoor activities in British weather'.
She continued: 'What messages are you giving to my daughter? That she doesn't deserve shoes that put her on equal 'footing' with her male peers?
'That she should be satisfied with looking stylish whilst the boys are free to play and achieve in comfort? That she shouldn't try and compete with boys when they play chase girls' shoes aren't made for speed, so perhaps girls aren't either? These messages may not be explicit, but they are there, and are insidious.'
The post finished by saying she was 'deeply angered' by Clarks' 'persistent discrimination'.
According to BBC Trending, of the 78 styles of girl's shoe listed on the Clarks 'Girls School Shoe' webpage, 52 are open topped shoes, 20 of them are trainer-style, while the final eight are boots. There are more styles available to girls than boys although the boys' range does not appear to include open tops, the article noted.
There are also a number of boys' shoes listed on the 'Girls School Shoe' page and in a statement Clarks said it has a 'gender neutral ethos' and that 'anyone can choose any style they would like'.
The majority of girls' school shoes available on the Clarks website are not fully covered
In contrast, the boys' school shoes page featured no shoes with 'open' tops
However Ms Moonie-Dalton said her daughter 'does not want to choose shoes from a section aggressively marketed at boys and clearly not intended for her'.
Dozens of parents wrote in support of Ms Moonie-Dalton's impassioned complaint.
One wrote: 'They never just do plain black trainers for girls, comfortable and easy to run around in. Plently for the boys though.' A second posted: 'A girls' school shoe choices are rubbish. Even worse when they hit teens.'
'Had the same problem,' a third wrote. 'Please do sort it out!'
However other parents argued that Ms Moonie-Dalton was overreacting, saying that there were plenty of styles on offer.
One mother wrote: 'My daughter is very active and gets muddy yet her Clarks shoes last until she outgrows them. I don't understand a lot of these comments. These are the shoes she has chosen this year. They have a thick sole and are sturdy.'
Controversial: The complaint on the Clarks Facebook page divided opinion between parents
Others argued that mothers and young girls prefer more feminine styles, so Clarks is simply catering to demand.
One post read: 'I do agree that girls have more exposed designs but then I also know most mums wouldn't put there girls in clumpier, more robust shoes. They want dainty and pretty.'
Another agreed: 'Girls like butterflies. Why are we fun sucking the life out of everything? My son loves dinosaurs on bottom of his shoes.'
Clarks responded to Ms Moonie-Dalton's complaint on Facebook and also issued a statement explaining it has focused on creating 'more unisex shoes' following customer feedback and market research but that 'it is not always possible to implement all the changes we want to make as quickly as we would like'.
Clarks sold shoes for girls called 'Dolly Babe' but the boys range was called 'Leader'
Clarks came under fire for being 'sexist' for the second time in a week for labelling its school shoes for girls 'Dolly Babe' while the boys' range is called 'Leader'
Later that month, Miranda Williams, 34, from Eltham, South East London, was shopping for school shoes for her twin daughters when she came across the 'appalling' designs.
The Labour councillor for Greenwich tweeted about the ranges, saying she was 'appalled' by this example of 'everyday sexism'.
She echoed the sentiments of another mother who this week prompted a huge online debate by accusing Clarks of offering flimsy and 'inferior' styles for girls, compared to its sturdy range for boys.
'The idea that we should be bringing up a generation of boys to aspire to become leaders while the best hope for girls is to be Dolly Babes is just grim,' Miranda told The Sunday Times.
'It makes me so angry. It's bad enough that girls' shoes are so flimsy and so unsuitable for jumping in puddles or climbing trees compared to boys' shoes, which are so much more robust. 'But to create such a stereotype is totally unacceptable.'
A spokesperson for Clarks told MailOnline: 'The Dolly Babe shoe is an old and discontinued line, with only remaining stock being sold through our stores.
Also popped up at the Zimmermann show in blush pink at NYFW
She's on the books at Kate Moss' former agency Storm Models, so it's little wonder Lady Kitty Spencer looks right at home at New York Fashion Week.
The blonde 26-year-old dazzled in a multi-coloured lace dress at the launch of Paper Magazine's Beautiful People issue on Monday night.
Kitty had undergone a swift costume change, having earlier attended the Zimmermann show in a floral dress in a delicate shade of pink.
Princess Diana's niece chose an eye-catching dress for the launch of Paper Magazine's Beautiful People issue during New York Fashion Week
Kitty, whose mother is a former fashion model, is on the books at Kate Moss' old agency, Storm
She attended the party alongside the likes of model-of-the-moment Kaia Gerber, socialite Paris Hilton, and rapper Gucci Mane, who performed on an MCM-sponsored stage at the event.
Lady Kitty Spencer has been turning heads at New York Fashion Week with her daring sense of style.
Kitty, 26, earlier attended the Zimmermann show at Spring Studios wearing a risque sheer dress with just a skimpy slip worn underneath.
Her appearance comes months after her surprise split with property tycoon Niccolo Barattieri, 45.
The blonde 26-year-old dazzled at the glitzy party after taking in the Zimmermann show
Lady Kitty Spencer, 26, looked stylish in a daring sheer dress at New York Fashion Week
The model was off duty for the fashion show, which took place on Monday morning in the trendy Tribeca area.
She wore a pretty floral dress made of a sheer chiffon fabric that fell below the knee.
The outfit also featured a high neckline and long sleeves as well as its modest length.
Despite the demure cut of the dress, the fabric was entirely see-through and flaunted a lingerie-like slip underneath.
Kitty, who is Princess Diana's neice, was attending the Zimmermann Show at Spring Studios
She wore her blonde locks in beachy waves around her shoulders and looked relaxed as she posed for the cameras.
Kitty recently opened up about her cousin Prince Harry's admission that he'd sought counselling to deal with his grief over his mother's death.
She told The Times: 'It's so healthy to talk about it. It's the only way. It's great that anyone with a platform in the press does talk.'
Kitty split with 45-year-old boyfriend Niccolo in July after three years together, amid reports that they had fallen out over her hopes to marry and have children.
But the daughter of Earl Spencer and his first wife Victoria Lockwood has been taking her mind off the break-up, jetting off for a sun-filled break in Montenegro last month.
Kitty is the daughter of Earl Spencer and his first wife Victoria Lockwood and is making her name as a model
The model was in the country for the wedding of marketing manager Vesna Vasiljevic and oil trader Luka Obradovic, where she was acting as bridesmaid.
The society wedding was held at the Savina Monastery, and Kitty was spotted leaving the ceremony holding a bouquet of flowers, arm-in-arm with her brother, Louis, as temperatures soared to 40 degrees.
Model Dasha Denisenko wears a top with padded shoulders teamed with a more modest pair of white trousers
Kitty was attending the Zimmermann show in the trendy Tribeca area of New York
The models in the show were wearing dresses in feminine florals with quirky cuts
Earlier this summer the Duchess of Cambridge gave her look a major shake up with a shorter hairdo and it seems her new image has inspired her younger sister.
Pippa Middleton, 34, has been spotted out and about on her bike with a new shoulder length bob, after previously sporting longer locks flowing well past her shoulders.
With her wedding out of the way, it's left Pippa free to experiment with a new look after keeping her hair longer for an updo on the big day.
Kate's little sister looked casual for her outing, keeping it low key in dark skinny jeans and a checked shirt.
Despite the dull day, she covered her eyes with a pair of tortoiseshell sunglasses, clearly hoping to hang on to the last remnants of summer.
Pippa Middleton, 34, revealed a new shorter hairdo as she went for a bike ride in London, following in the footsteps of her sister Kate who's also opted for a bob style
The fitness fan teamed her outfit with a pair of white Adidas trainers and a burgundy bag, which she carried in the basked on her bike.
But it looked as if she may have to cut her trip short as the front tyre of her bike appeared as if she may have picked up a puncture.
Since her lavish wedding to James Matthews in May, Pippa has turned her attention to planning her future, including closing the company that manages her publishing activities.
She took the first step in the process of shutting down PXM Enterprises by filing an application to have it struck from the register at Companies House just four years after its incorporation.
Pippa kept it casual for the outing in skinny jeans and a checked shirt teamed with white trainers
Last month she filed documents which confirmed that she was the companys sole shareholder.
The company made 115,000 in its first year and 50,700 in its second year.
It's unlikely Pippa will be short of ways to occupy herself, as she has a long history of completing gruelling fitness challenges and is also an ambassador for the British Heart Foundation.
She will also be on hand to help her sister the Duchess of Cambridge, who is currently battling Hyperemesis Gravidarum during her third pregnancy.
The Duchess of Cambridge, 35, has also unveiled a new shorter hair do (left) after chopping her famously flowing and bouncy brunette tresses (right)
Pippa, 35, looked casual as she rode her bike during a shopping expedition in London
Pippa with longer hair before she decided to follow Kate's leads and opt for a more on-trend bobbed hairstyle
RISE OF THE CELEBRITY 'LOB' The Lob or long bob is one of the most popular hairstyles of the moment, with stars rejecting the long poker straight locks of the noughties in favour of a more modern, textured chop. Naturally the It girls of the moment such as Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid have led the way, with both chopping off their flowing locks. Bella Hadid (left) and Kendall Jenner (right) have both chopped off their flowing locks in favour of a modern, textured bob Emma Stone shows off her blonde crop (left). Talyor Swift has ditched her teenage perm for a sleek bob Advertisement
A British man has won the hearts of Russians for his soul-stirring account of his love for his beautiful dying wife, and their extraordinary romantic 'fairytale' adventures together as she was gradually killed by cancer.
For Will Cheyney, 35, from Norfolk, it had been love at first sight when he met Katya (Ekaterina) Rusyaeva while posted to his father's agriculture business in the former Soviet Union.
She took some persuading to let him win her - but in her final three years they fitted in a lifetime of magical trips visiting Scotland, France, Turkey, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Greece, the Philippines, the Seychelles, and the Caribbean.
Will Cheyney, 35, from Norfolk, has paid tribute to his late wife Katya (Ekaterina) Rusyaeva after she died of cancer following a five-year battle
His soul-stirring account of his love for his dying wife, and their extraordinary romantic 'fairytale' adventures together as she was gradually killed by cancer, have gone viral online (pair are pictured on their wedding day)
In an emotional posting on her social media account, Will wrote about their final vacation together to the Maldives: 'On the last day of our holiday, Katya told me she wanted to swim in the ocean for the last time in her life.
'By this time she couldn't walk anymore, so I bought her a rubber ring and carried her to the water.
'The sea was so warm and the rubber ring made her feel weightless. She said it was wonderful.
'We took some photos and videos but she didn't want to leave the water. She stayed in the sea for nearly two hours. Just floating.
'I told her she'd get sunburned but she didn't care.
'It was probably the most emotional moment of my life.
'I can't begin to imagine what thoughts were going through her head but I like to imagine that she is somewhere similar now.
'Swimming peacefully and painlessly in a warm ocean by a beautiful tropical island.'
In an emotional posting on her social media account, Will wrote about their final vacation together to the Maldives
Describing their holiday antics, he said: 'On the last day of our holiday, Katya told me she wanted to swim in the ocean for the last time in her life'
He explained: 'As I write this, I can't stop crying because there were so many things I didn't get to say to her before she passed, but I hope and pray that she's in a better place now'
WILL'S EMOTIONAL POST IN FULL In an emotional posting on her social media account, Will wrote about their final vacation together to the Maldives: 'On the last day of our holiday, Katya told me she wanted to swim in the ocean for the last time in her life. 'By this time she couldn't walk anymore, so I bought her a rubber ring and carried her to the water. 'The sea was so warm and the rubber ring made her feel weightless. She said it was wonderful. 'We took some photos and videos but she didn't want to leave the water. She stayed in the sea for nearly two hours. Just floating. 'I told her she'd get sunburned but she didn't care. 'It was probably the most emotional moment of my life. 'I can't begin to imagine what thoughts were going through her head but I like to imagine that she is somewhere similar now. 'Swimming peacefully and painlessly in a warm ocean by a beautiful tropical island.' Advertisement
She died six days later on 29 July, aged 36.
The next day he wrote: 'Yesterday I lost the most important person in my life.
'After 5 years battling cancer, my wife didn't wake from her final sleep.
'I've never known a kinder, more sincere, gentler and more beautiful human being than her.
'She treated everyone like you would your closest friend and anyone who met her for even just two minutes would never forget her.
'I felt so honoured and humbled to be her husband.
'She was so brave in the face of such pain and suffering. She lived life to the absolute max, celebrating even the tiniest details in life and appreciating every minute of every day.
'As I write this, I can't stop crying because there were so many things I didn't get to say to her before she passed, but I hope and pray that she's in a better place now.
'I've been overwhelmed by the support and kind words from her friends and family. Thank you all very much.'
The widower wrote: 'I felt so honoured and humbled to be her husband'
She was the personal assistant and interpreter to the general director at the office where William worked
He explained that he baked her a Portugese cake she said she liked, but she didn't return his love
In a posting before her death, the Russian air force major's daughter wrote about her British husband: 'Thanks to him for a fairy tale in my life.'
Earlier in another posting, she said: 'Thank you for amazing holidays my crazy Cheyney family! Miss you so much already! You are simply the best.'
William went to Russia 14 years ago to study Russian at one of Moscow's most prestigious universities.
Later, he went to work for his Norfolk-based father's company in the Voronezh region of central Russia.
'My father has been in the agricultural business with Russia since the 1990s. I fell in love with your country,' he told Starhit magazine in Moscow.
In a posting before her death, the Russian air force major's daughter wrote about her British husband to thank him for a fairy tale
He tried to invite her on a date but she brought a girlfriend. It took him more than a year to win her heart
Earlier this year she had her appendix removed and benign tumours were found on it
Some five years later she had a pain in her stomach again. Examination has proved that cancer was developing and she was in the final stage
He studied agriculture at Shropshire-based Harper Adams University College, winning an award when he graduated aged 27 in 2009.
'In November 2011, I went to Voronezh,' he said.
'I planned to see the town, the office and the local economy within two days.
'I entered the office and Katya met me there. She was the personal assistant and interpreter to the general director.
'I fell in love from the first glance. I signed a contract without checking my salary.
'I wanted only one thing ~ to see her smile and to hear her voice.'
He tried to invite her on a date but she brought a girlfriend. It took him more than a year to win her heart.
'We were in touch, I helped Katya to polish her English, she helped me with my Russian,' he said.
'Her other admirers often brought her bunches of roses. I wanted to surprise her.'
He baked her a Portugese cake she said she liked, but she didn't return his love.
In March 2013 she invited him to celebrate Maslenitsa - the Russian holiday marking the end of winter and they went to say goodbye to winter in a restaurant with her friends
Ekaterina and William Cheyney in Scotland during one of their trips
She took some persuading to let him win her - but in her final three years they fitted in a lifetime of magical trips visiting Scotland, pictured, France, Turkey, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Greece, the Philippines, the Seychelles, and the Caribbean
Earlier, in 2007 she had her appendix removed and benign tumours were found on it.
'Some five years later she had a pain in her stomach again. Examination has proved that cancer was developing and she was in the final stage,' he said.
She was told she had a maximum five years to live.
'When I saw my beloved woman again, I was impressed with her positive attitude,' he said.
'Katya met her friends, she spent time with her nephew Stepan, but she treated me only as a friend.
'At the end of August I could not bear it any longer and confessed my feelings to her, in a very boyish way, right on the staircase.
'Katya smiled and said: 'You are a good friend'.'
He kept trying to woo her, buying a coffee machine and making her favourite cappuccino every morning.
Ekaterina and William Cheyney pictured at their wedding in June 2014
He said: 'I wanted my beloved girl to meet my family. I think now that Katya kept living thanks to these trips' (the pair are pictured in London)
Her Russian friends urged her to think again about this persistent Brit.
'In March 2013 she invited me to celebrate Maslenitsa' - the Russian holiday marking the end of winter.
'We went to say goodbye to winter in a restaurant with her friends.
'Next week I took Katya to a carting race.
'Then we went to the club and suddenly she kissed me there.
'I was in the seventh heaven. I knew about her diagnosis, she has told me but it did not stop me.'
In June 2013, they planned their first holidays in Santorini.
'That summer Katya was so beautiful,' said Will.
'It looked like her disease stepped backwards, her appetite was back.
'Having come back to Voronezh, we began to prepare for a trip to the Caribbean and started sorting Katya's UK visa.
'I wanted my beloved girl to meet my family. I think now that Katya kept living thanks to these trips.
'She planned the routes, she studied the cuisine, she bought new clothes and organised photo sessions.'
His wife planned all the routes for their trips and bought a whole new wardrobe
What followed were a remarkable four or five holidays a year.
'We celebrated Christmas with my parents in Norfolk. My mother always cooked turkey and Christmas pudding. On 27 December 2013 we went to Barbados from the UK. There were huge waves, we ran away from them.
'I hugged Katya, I kissed her curly hair, her almond-shaped eyes and understood that I was ready to give up everything but to keep this girl with me.'
In St Lucia, he proposed to her on his knees on the beach offering her his grandmother's engagement ring, a family heirloom.
They made their final trip to the Maldives on 24 July. 'I understood that she was leaving me, invisibly and quietly,' he confessed
Their wedding was in Sardinia after their engagement was announced in The Daily Telegraph.
'After the ceremony, we hid from a heavy shower under the roof,' said Will.
'I looked at my wife and could not believe it that I was so happy to be her husband.
'Yes, I understood that any moment Katya could pass away.
'But it was better to love and to lose somebody rather than (to) never experience such a feeling.'
Back in Russia, they lived together in his flat.
'We spent all our money on travelling,' he said.
'I could have bought a house and an expensive car but I thought it was much more important to show this world to my wife, to give her these bright memories.'
He sought foreign doctors for Katya, but her condition was too serious, and an operation could risk instant death.
This spring, her friend Lyubov died. She had the same diagnosis.
'I'm the next one,' she said.
She lost weight, became weak, her head dizzy.
A month before her death, he wrote: 'The last three years have flown by, probably too fast, but they've been the best 3 years of my life!
'I've never known someone to be so perfect and sometimes still can't believe that I am lucky enough to be her husband.
'She is so brave and courageous in the face of such adversity but together we are stronger and I will always be by her side.
'As long as we have each other there is nothing else in this World that I need.'
They made their final trip to the Maldives on 24 July.
'I understood that she was leaving me, invisibly and quietly,' he confessed.
'Katya taught me to value what you have here and now,' said Will.
'I am working a lot now, I go to the gym four times a week.
'In the evening, I switch on my computer and go through our happy photographs.'
Their story has won an outpouring of love and admiration from Russians.
She's more often seen in vertiginous heels as she attends various official engagements in her capacity as Queen of Belgium.
But Queen Mathilde wisely donned her wellies for today's event; a visit to Oostduinkerke to watch the country's horse fishermen in action.
The 44-year-old Queen and her husband King Philippe gamely waded into the sea as the Orde van de Paardevissers - or Order of the Horse Fishers - trawl for shrimp in a centuries-old tradition.
Queen Mathilde and King Philippe gamely waded into the ocean to watch the display
They leaned in to get a closer look at the horse fishers haul at Oostduinkerke in Belgium
Queen Mathilde, who was snapped crouching down with the King to get a closer look at the fishermen's haul of shrimp, wore a sensible yet stylish belted trench over trousers.
Putting practicality first, the mother of four also ensured her hair was pulled back from her face on an apparently windswept day in Belgium.
Her husband King Philippe was similarly sensibly attired, wearing a khaki coat and wellies to match his wife's pair.
Back in the 15th Century, horse fishing was widely practised on North Sea coasts, but the antiquated tradition is now dying out.
Queen Mathilde added a sensible yet stylish patterned trench to ward off the breeze
Her husband the King was also wrapped up against the September chill in an overcoat
Horse fishing is a Belgian tradition that dates all the way back to the Fifteenth Century
Dramatic photos from the event show the monarchs ankle-deep in the sea as fishermen thunder past on horseback in the background.
The event on Tuesday was in stark contrast to Queen Mathilde's recent whirlwind trip to Venice, where she took in the city's famous Biennale clad top to toe in pink.
A Briton stranded in hurricane-hit Cuba has issued a desperate plea to help her get home after suffering horrific injuries in a freak accident.
Joanne McDonald, 43, sustained two broken legs and a fractured ankle and spine after falling 25ft from a balcony - just days before Hurricane Irma brought the island to a standstill.
The aesthetics nurse, from Aintree, Liverpool, jetted to the Caribbean with her husband Kevin and daughter Kayley ten days ago hoping to enjoy the holiday of a lifetime after the couple tied the knot earlier this year.
But the family were at their resort for just two days when disaster struck; Jo fell from a height, after tripping over while wearing shoes she was not used to.
Holiday horror: Joanne sustained two broken legs and a fractured ankle and spine after falling 25ft from a balcony - just days before Hurricane Irma brought the island to a standstill
Joanne, who is stranded in Cuba, says parts of the hospital she was staying in were flooded, and that the further surgery she needs will not be possible at present due to operating theatres being damaged and staff shortages
After being rushed to hospital in Cuba, doctors confirmed that Jo had broken both of her legs and suffered a fractured spine.
Jo went into theatre and had surgery on her legs, but the compound fractures meant that she needed metalwork in both legs.
Late on Tuesday September 5, Hurricane Irma hit Cuba with up to 5,000 tourists being evacuated from resorts across the island as 200kmh winds battered the Caribbean.
Joanne said: It started when I fell towards the balcony and I toppled over the edge - I tried but I just couldn't hold my own weight.
My husband tried to grab me as I went over but he couldn't keep a grip and I fell 25ft.
After the fall I lay for an hour without any painkillers waiting for the ambulance to come.
My right leg had a compound fracture - my ankle had twisted all the way round and my tibia bone was sticking through.
On my left leg I had a clean cut break and I have a fracture of the spine.
Jo and Kevin. Jo's friend, Aintree Hospital nurse Jan Fotheringham, has set up a JustGiving crowdfunding page to help raise funds for Jo and her family
The ex-nurse then began an agonising six-hour journey to a hospital that could handle her serious injuries.
She said: I was taken from there to a local hospital but my injuries were too severe so they sent me on to Moron hospital.
I've worked as a nurse for 20 years and the I knew I had broken my back so I asked my husband to grip onto my waist as we drove on a three-hour journey.
Every time we hit a pothole it was agony - pain like I've never known before.
Everyone was looking at my legs going 'oh my god look at damage' but all I could think about was my back and how I was never going to walk again.
After the hurricane, buildings collapsed, streets were flooded, debris was scattered everywhere and power was outed in much of the island country's capital.
Joanne jetted to the Caribbean with her husband Kevin and daughter Kayley ten days ago hoping to enjoy the holiday of a lifetime after the couple tied the knot (pictured)
The Hospital General de Moron, where Jo was staying, was not spared the force of the Irma.
The terrified holidaymaker says parts of the hospital were flooded, and that the further surgery she needs will not be possible at present due to operating theatres being damaged and staff shortages.
Jo's insurance company has made it clear they will not pay for a medical airlift home.
They are prepared to pay for a business class flight on a commercial flight, but Jo's condition means she won't be able to sit upright for take-off, making a return to the UK impossible.
In a heartfelt Facebook post from hospital, Jo told her friends: 'I think I'm still in shock what I have lived through, by rights I shouldn't even be here but I am here to tell the story.
'And to be loved and cared for by so many people has really touched my heart and gave me the strength to want to fight this battle and come through the other end.'
Joanne and Kevin on their wedding day. The family were at their resort for just two days when disaster struck; Jo fell from a height, after tripping over while wearing shoes she was not used to
Jo's friend, Aintree Hospital nurse Jan Fotheringham, has set up a JustGiving crowdfunding page to help raise funds for Jo and her family.
Jan said: 'Jo and Kevin saved hard for what was meant to be a holiday of a lifetime. She is now in a scary situation unwell in a badly damaged foreign hospital, with no way of getting home.
'When I last spoke to Jo, her husband was sleeping on the floor in the hospital and despite the very willing medical staff, she has not seen a doctor for three days and does not have the antibiotics she needs to combat her infection.'
Jo has since overcome her infection but will still need an air ambulance to get her home safely.
Stranded: In a heartfelt Facebook post from hospital, Jo told her friends: 'I think I'm still in shock what I have lived through, by rights I shouldn't even be here but I am here to tell the story'
Jan added: 'I set up the fund for Jo and Kevin so they can get whatever they need to make things more comfortable. Jo may not be well enough to fly on business class for a long time, so we need to find a way of getting her home as soon as possible.
'Jo may not be able to walk for six to 12 months so even when she does get back to Liverpool, will have a long road to recovery. This is especially difficult as Jo is self-employed.'
Jo's daughter Kayley, who works for EasyJet, flew back to the UK on Wednesday.
Donors left messages of support on the JustGiving page. One wrote, 'I cannot even imagine what you are going through... hope you get home very soon. Another said: 'Hope your home soon love, thinking about you every day.'
At the time of writing the JustGiving page had reached 1,260 of its 10,000 target.
An Australian model with Down syndrome is quickly proving herself to be one of the world's most successful rising stars after returning to New York Fashion Week for the fifth time.
20-year-old model and designer Madeline Stuart hit the catwalk on Monday to debut the second collection for her brand, 21 Reasons Why.
And Madeline did it in serious style, wowing the crowd by appearing on the runway with a huge blonde python rapped around her shoulders.
Scroll down for video
A little help from her friends: Australian model Madeline Stuart, 20, walked for her on label 21 Reasons Why at New York Fashion Week on Monday
Quite an achievement: The model, who has Down syndrome, was debuting her second collection for the label
Decked head-to-toe in pieces from the collection, Madeline strutted down the catwalk, offering up a smile and a wave to her fans.
With her hair woven into a gigantic braid behind her, she even gave her slithering pal a smooch for the cameras.
A number of other models also took to the catwalk for the show, entitled Snakes Alive, Girl Gone Wild, with their own snakes for the show as they displayed colorful metallic tops and sequined skirts.
Taking a walk: Decked in her own wares and a huge blonde snake, Madeline offered her fans a wave
Heading it up: Madeline has had a rammed schedule for this season, walking in shows for Dexter Simmons, Jessie Liu and Two Gypsy Souls
Joining in: Madeline's show saw other models take their own snakes down the runway as they modeled her metallic, sequined pieces
But the show wasn't Madeline's only moment in the spotlight this season, she also walked for brands including Dexter Simmons, Jessie Liu and Two Gypsy Souls.
After showing off her own collection, Madeline was straight on to the next job, walking for House of Byfield in the evening in a stunning yellow and rainbow tulle gown.
On Tuesday the Brisbane-based beauty is also scheduled to appear in the show for Zula Studio.
Next stop: After her own show, Madeline walked for the House of Byfield fashion show
Looking good: Madeline donned a yellow and rainbow gown for the show
Madeline debuted her first collection for the label on the New York Fashion Week runway earlier this year.
The name of the label was inspired by Madeline's passion to 'find reasons to better ourselves, be more inclusive, healthier and why we should celebrate life, whilst taking pride in her 21st chromosome.'
2017 still has plenty in store for Madeline, who is also booked to walk the runway at Los Angeles Fashion Week and Denver Fashion Week.
Madeline also oversees her own dance school in Brisbane, 'Inside, Outside Dance Ensemble' and in 2018, she will be releasing her documentary.
Princess Madeleine and Crown Princess Victoria were all smiles as they joined their family for the state Opening of Parliament.
Arriving at the Riksdag in Stockholm, the glamorous female members of the Swedish royal family wore black and whit for the occasion - a tradition that started in 1974.
Along with their husbands, the stunning Princesses were accompanied by matriarch Queen Silvia and King Carl XVI Gustaf.
The royals were joined by politicians for the annual event that marks the start of the parliamentary year.
Scroll down for video
Princess Madeleine was the picture of sophistication as she arrived wearing a black dress with patent heels
Princess Victoria looked elegant as she rode in the royal carriage with her husband - and her previous personal trainer - Prince Daniel
Princess Victoria looked to be in good spirits as she rode in the royal carriage with her husband and former personal trainer Prince Daniel.
She wore a white dress with a cashmere cardigan with a white bow detail. Elegant as always, she had her hair swept up, revealing delicate drop earrings.
Her sister, Princess Madeleine was the picture of sophistication as she arrived wearing a black dress with patent heels.
With smokey eye shadow and hair loosely swept into a bun, she looked perfect for th occasion.
The Queen Silvia and King Carl XVI Gustaf looked chipper as they followed in a separate carriage.
Princess Madeleine and her husband waves from the royal carriage in Stockholm
Queen Silvia and King Carl Gustaf greeted officials and onlookers as they arrived at the Riksdag
The 73-year-old royal looked incredible for her age and wore a hat covered with delicate roses
Queen Silvia was adorned in pearls and diamonds, complimenting her black and white outfit.
The 73-year-old royal looked incredible for her age and wore a hat covered with delicate roses.
Princess Madeleine walked past guards with brother, Prince Carl Philip - who was voted Europe's second hottest royal last year.
From left: Swedish politicians Annie Loof, Ebba Busch Thor, Anna Kinberg Batra and Jan Bjorklund State
The 73-year-old royal looked incredible for her age and wore a hat covered with delicate roses
Queen Silvia wore diamonds, gold bracelets and pearls to mark the occasion
Princess Madeleine is given a warm welcome by Hans Ulfvebrand as she enters the opening
Queen Silvia and her husband King Carl Gustaf sit with the prime minister, Stefan Lofven
Annie Wardle, 37, was concerned about the skin in her intimate area as she said it was a 'bit loose'
A single woman has undergone a 'life-changing' eight-minute procedure to get a designer vagina to boost her confidence in bed as she searches for the man of her dreams.
Annie Wardle, 37, from Bristol, was concerned about the skin in her intimate area as she said it was a 'bit loose'. She also felt like her 'lips were hanging'.
But her anxieties have since been quashed after undergoing a 'lunch hour' treatment that involved a heated device placed inside her vagina to tighten the tissue.
The Ultra Femme 360, which felt just like a 'hot stone massage', was also rolled on the outside to neaten up the appearance of her vulva.
She had the device inserted into her vagina in an 'in-and-out' motion. It was heated to 40C to promote the growth of collagen - which declines in old age.
Miss Wardle, who has no children, said: 'At 37 most women have had children. I would like to settle down. I would like a man to be happy.
'I'm more worried about the outside because I have noticed the skin around my stomach isn't the same - and around there it's a bit loose.
'A lot of women don't look down there but I do notice it a bit more, I wear a lot of thongs and I get a lot more friction.'
Not keen on surgical options
She said that she was not keen on surgical options, but the speed and ease of the new procedure appealed to her.
Her main reason for undergoing the treatment was to boost her confidence when she eventually meets the man of her dreams.
Ultra Femme 360 costs 1,200 and has been billed as a 'lunch hour' answer to incontinence and self-consciousness suffered by two thirds of women worldwide.
Harley Street doctors backing the 'life-changing' device said it was not about creating a porn star-like vagina.
Dr Sherif Wakil, of BTL Aesthetics, which developed the device, said: 'It's done in a lunch hour and it's extremely effective and the outcome is fantastic.
'Ageing is a natural process of life and I always explain to the patient that when you grow older, your vision might get a little bit impaired and you get glasses.
Ultra Femme 360 costs 1,200 and has been billed as a 'lunch hour' answer to incontinence and self-consciousness suffered by two thirds of women worldwide
'What's actually happening is ageing, so the vagina is no different whatsoever. It's ageing like the rest of your body.'
What is the procedure?
The procedure, which is based around radio frequency waves, involves three to four sessions spaced 10 days apart.
HOW DOES IT WORK? The Ultra Femme 360 device works by inserting the disposable tip through the vaginal canal. The tip moves alongside the whole length of the vaginal canal towards the cervix and back towards the opening. The goal is to elevate temperature over 40C in the target tissue to help promote the growth of new collagen - which slowly decreases with age. The increased blood flow plays a crucial role in the target tissue. During therapy, perfusion in the tissue is significantly increased. Source: BTL Aesthetics Advertisement
It heats tissue to temperatures of 40C, which regenerates collagen and elastin fibres - both of which are known to decrease with age.
Patients have reported improvements after a single treatment session, BTL Aesthetics claim on its website.
When vaginal tissue becomes overstretched, such as after childbirth, collagen can also became damaged.
This loss of tightness can lead to stress urinary incontinence, causing women to suffer bladder leaks when they cough or laugh.
BTL Aesthetics claim that two thirds of women will suffer some form of stress urinary incontinence in their lifetime. A similar amount report vaginal laxity post childbirth.
Treatments available on the NHS range from behavioural therapy for psychological impacts to surgery in the most severe cases.
What do the doctors say?
Dr Wakil said the new non-surgical treatment is an answer 'for all women' who are incontinent or self-conscious about their vaginas.
He said: 'A woman's life changes - she balances her life based on where the toilet is. She can't go to a picnic because there is no toilet, or make a long train journey.
It heats tissue to temperatures of 40C, which regenerates collagen and elastin fibres - both of which are known to decrease with age
'She can't play with children on a trampoline. Having a non-surgical device that can change that for women in 20 minutes is life-changing for them.
'I don't want people thinking it's just for the vagina for sex. The confidence and the impact on their social life is immense.
'I hate the terminology "designer vagina". It's not about designing a vagina to look like a porn star.'
'It's a huge breakthrough'
Product ambassador Dr Shirin Lakhani, a former GP and trained aesthetic physician, added: 'The Ultra Femme 360 is a huge breakthrough in our industry.
'It's the only radiofrequency device on the market for internal vaginal tightening which gives you a full 360 degree treatment with every procedure.
'What they can expect is a comfortable, safe, reassuring environment where they get to be treated with respect and dignity and not made to feel embarrassed in any way.'
The device will be rolled out to clinics across the country in the coming months to offer their patients, BTL Aesthetics added.
At least 12 child patients have contracted a rare infection after undergoing heart surgery at a New Orleans hospital - and officials have contacted 55 others that may have been infected too.
The bacteria, mycobacterium abcessus, can lead to respiratory infections and pulmonary diseases, tissue infections and, in extreme cases, infections of the central nervous system.
Symptoms of an infection include swelling, redness and drainage at the incision site and fever.
The children had all undergone cardiac surgery at Children's Hospital in New Orleans, and are now undergoing treatment there to fight the infection. Though 12 cases have been identified, officials warn dozens more could be sick.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls the bacteria 'challenging,' because it is resistant to treatment, requires multiple kinds of therapies, and is treated over a relatively long period of time, up to several months.
A dozen young children have contracted a rare bacterial infection after heart surgery at Children's Hospital in New Orleans
The hospital's vice president and chief medical office, John Heaton, told The New Orleans Advocate that his staff was 'able to jump on this pretty quickly,' and that the infection is treatable.
The hospital is taking measures to evaluate other patients that may have been affected, in addition to the 12 already identified.
Children's Hospital has contacted at least 55 other patients who have undergone cardiac surgery there in the last several months, and set up a hotline for any other families that are concerned their children might be affected.
Rachel Pagnan, whose daughter had heart surgery at the hospital in January of 2015 said that she received a letter from Children's Hospital last December, notifying her that the temperature regulation devices had been contaminated. But, she said, the letter then claimed that the machines had been contaminated by the manufacturer.
'This is what most of us heart parents were worried about!' Pagnan said in a Facebook post. She told Mail Online that she and many of the other parents of children under cardiac care at the New Orleans hospital have moved their kids to other hospitals.
What is myobacterium abcesssus? The bacterium (often referred to as m. abcessus) is commonly found in soil, water and dust. It has been known to affect medications and medical products including medical devices like the machine at Children's Hospital. M. abcessus can cause skin and respiratory infections, and, in rare cases, central nervous system infections. Infections from the bacteria are tricky to treat, requiring a a combination of therapies, administered both through IVs and as oral medication. Advertisement
Children's Hospital is now claiming that the contamination came from tap water. Local New Orleans TV station WWL-TV reported that the hospital has now switched to using filtered water, but had previously used tap.
'Why on earth would they have ever used tap water for something as serious as open heart surgery?' Pagnan wonders.
In 2014, a Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) study found that hospital water was 10 times more contaminated by bacteria at the faucet than in other parts of the plumbing system.
The study found that water that bacteria could thrive in water that is heated and cooled and not precisely controlled, such as taps.
When the heating and cooling devices were inspected following last years myobacteria chimaera outbreak, researchers suspected water droplets in the devices' reservoirs were aerated, the droplets escaped into the operating rooms and carried that bacteria into the air.
In a press release, Children's Hospital said that the children developed the infection in mid-August. It also said that it traced the source of the infection to one particular temperature regulation medical device used during bypass, in one particular operating room.
Last October, the CDC said that more than half a million heart surgery patients were exposed contamination through the very same kinds of medical devices.
The bacteria the CDC identified the was was called myobacteria chimaera. The contaminated devices were linked to at least 28 deaths that year.
Heaton told The Advocate that those affected in this outbreak were isolated to a 'small minority' of patients that underwent an operation in that room, between May and July of this year. The infected devise has been decontaminated and disposed of, and the room has been 'terminally disinfected,' Heaton said.
This is not the first time the hospital has come under fire for an outbreak, though of a different infection.
Children's Hospital says that it has never had an outbreak of this particular infection before and that it would not charge patients for evaluation or treatment related to the myobacterium abcessus outbreak.
But, the hospital failed to notify families of several children that passed away between 2008 and 2009 that their deaths were caused by a rare flesh-eating fungal infection that they contracted while hospitalized, the Advocate reported. The hospital only notified the families after the outbreak and its outcomes were documented in a medical journal.
The hospital has set up a hotline for families to call if they have questions or concerns that their children may have contracted the infection (504-896-2920).
In line with recent trends, home sales across Tennessee ticked up 1.9 percent (7,603 closings to 7,745) in August 2017; the median price continued rising steadily, 9.8 percent ($198,000 to $217,500); and available homes kept falling, -24.3 percent (28,635 to 21,292) over August 2016, according to data compiled by Tennessee Realtors.
Condo sales took a slightly different tack, falling -10.4 percent (791 closings to 709), even as the median condo price gained +11.4 percent ($166,000 to $185,000), and inventory fell almost one-third, -32% (2,213 to 1,511) over August 2016.
The tables below summarize the August 2017 results in sales, price and inventory:
Aug. 2016 Aug. 2017 Change SALES 8,394
8,454 +.7% Residential 7,603 7,745 +1.9% Condominium 791 709 -10.4%
Aug. 2016 Aug. 2017 Change MEDIAN PRICE - - - Residential $198,000 $217,500 +9.8% Condominium $166,000 $185,000 +11.4%
Kylie Jenner's charitable donations have helped children born with sometimes-fatal cleft palates receive life-saving surgeries that keep them from being malnourished.
Cleft palates are caused by complications during a child's fetal development stages and if they are not treated, they can lead to difficulty breathing, eating, and speaking, as well as hearing loss.
And some children who are born in communities where deformities are viewed as taboo are even shunned because of them.
A routine surgery can fix a child's cleft palate and allow them to engage in regular activities, but many children in developing countries do not have access to it.
Last October, 20-year-old reality TV star Jenner decided to raise funds for these children by donating proceeds from her famous make-up kit to Smile Train, an organization that provides cleft palate surgeries for free.
And the children that the organization has helped have been more widely accepted into their communities and they have excelled socially and academically since their operations.
Kylie Jenner has supported a charity called Smile Train, which provides free cleft palate surgeries to children in low-income communities who would not be able to afford them otherwise. She is pictured here in Peru with one child, Mia, that the organization helped in May 2016
'MIRACLE CHILD' BORN 24 YEARS AFTER HER PARENTS STARTED TRYING TO CONCEIVE SUFFERS CLEFT LIP
Aasmi's parents learned that their child would be born with a cleft lip when her mother, Vaishali Kadam, was still pregnant with her. Vaishali was worried that her daughter would never look like other children
Vaishali Kadam, who lives in Ratnagiri-Khed, India, struggled to conceive for 24 years before finally becoming pregnant with a 'miracle child' last year.
But Vaishali learned at a prenatal screening that her daughter would be born with cleft lip.
Because of societal pressures, Vaishali and her husband were encouraged to abort their child so she would not shame her family.
They refused. Despite her cleft lip, Aasmi was born otherwise healthy.
Vaishali, concerned about the cost of a cleft palate surgery and the availability of experienced doctors, said that she feared there would be no way to treat her daughter.
Surgeries to treat cleft palates typically cost about $5,000 at the least.
But a surgeon, Dr Mahesh Prabhu, approached her family and said that he could operate on Aasmi for free.
But Vaishali came into contact with a surgeon who had performed thousands of cleft palate operations and she became convinced that there was hope for her daughter. Pictured left to right: Aasmi's father, Aasmi, Dr Mahesh Prabhu, Vaishali Kadam
Dr Prabhu had already performed more than 2,500 cleft palate surgeries.
Six months later he corrected Aasmi's lip.
'She looked so beautiful,' Vaishali said. 'All of the people who turned their backs on Aasmi can't get enough of her now.'
GIRL LIVED WITH CLEFT PALATE FOR YEARS BEFORE LIFE-CHANGING SURGERY MOTIVATES HER TO EXCEL IN SCHOOL
Neha (right) spent years with a cleft palate in her hometown of Hapur, India. Her peers ignored her because of it, and she faced severe health effects, including difficulty eating and talking. Since her cleft palate surgery, though, she has been more social and she has risen to the top of her class. She is pictured here with her mother
Neha (center) is pictured here with her family. When she was born, her parents were not able to afford a cleft palate surgery for their daughter. But because of an organization called Smile Train - which Kylie Jenner partners with - Neha was able to receive the surgery for free
HOW ARE CLEFT PALATES FIXED? How surgery can cure cleft palates Cleft palates are common, affecting one in every 700 children. They can occur if a woman smokes, drinks or consumes drugs while pregnant. If a woman is malnourished while pregnant, her baby will have a higher chance of having a cleft palate. And a mother's illnesses or infections while pregnant can result in her child having one. Lastly, the children of diabetic women are more at risk for developing a cleft palate. Surgeries to treat the deformities are extremely common, but children in developing countries rarely have access to them. Other charities that provide these operations to children whose families cannot afford them include: Operation Smile, Transforming Faces Worldwide and Mercy Ships. Advertisement
Neha lives in an attic space with her family in Hapur, India. Her parents were shocked when their first child was born with a cleft palate, which can lead to malnutrition.
Many children with the birth defect cannot breast feed or drink milk from a bottle, and they have trouble chewing and swallowing when they are older.
When Neha was born she immediately had to have an unrelated emergency surgery on her intestines, which was successful.
But her parents could not afford to also pay for a surgery to correct her cleft palate.
And her case is not unique: more than 170,000 children in developing countries are born with a cleft palate annually.
Neha lived with a cleft palate for years and experienced difficulties eating and talking. According to her family, she struggled to make friends, as she was shunned by her peers because of her deformity.
Even through these difficulties, Neha worked hard in school, rarely missing a day, the family said.
But when her father moved to the urban area of Delhi to look for a job, he found a hospital that Smile Train partners with called Sant Parmanand.
The hospital performed Neha's cleft palate surgery and provided follow-up care for her, which included speech therapy, for free.
Her family said that she is now more social and is also top of her class, which they say is thanks to her surgery.
Neha's dream is to become a doctor and help children who are born with health complications, such as herself.
LITTLE GIRL WAS HIDDEN FROM HER MOTHER FOR THREE DAYS AFTER BIRTH BECAUSE MIDWIVES THOUGHT HER CLEFT WAS TOO SHOCKING TO LOOK AT
When Aziba was born with a cleft palate in Bangladesh, nurses took her away from her parents. They were worried that her mother would recoil at the sight of her newborn's deformity.
They kept Aziba out of her parents' sight for three days before showing them their daughter.
Her mother, Aisha, said that, even though they had never seen a cleft palate before, they still thought Aziba was stunning.
'Aziba just stared up at us and started smiling - her smile told us that everything would be okay,' Aisha said.
Aziba's grandfather explained his family's love for his granddaughter, saying: 'Some people outside of our family said bad things about Aziba but we didn't care about that. Her smile lights up our world.'
Though her family adored her as she was, they applied for a loan from a bank so that they could pay for a surgery to correct Aziba's cleft palate.
Aziba's parents insisted that their daughter was fine the way she was born, but they applied for a bank loan to be able to afford a surgery to fix Abiza's cleft palate
They were not approved for the loan, but Smile Train gave Aziba the opportunity to develop normally because they provided her with the operation for free
Had they been approved for the loan, they would have faced lifelong debt to afford Aziba's procedure, but they were not.
However, their worries subsided when they met a Smile Train representative at LMRF Children's Hospital. They learned that Aziba could have the procedure she needed for free.
After Aziba's surgery, she was returned to her mother with a swollen smile. Aisha said that her daughter's smile, once again, told her everything was going to be fine.
'When we came back home, our whole family was extremely happy. They all hugged Aziba several times,' she said.
People in the UK are among the most depressed in the developed world as they grapple with problems such as job dissatisfaction, according to new international rankings.
Greater proportions of men and women report suffering from the debilitating condition compared to many other nations.
The UK is ranked joint seventh out of 25 countries for adults reporting they have depression - more than double the rates in countries including Poland, Italy, Greece and the Slovak Republic.
Greater proportions of men and women in Britain report suffering from the debilitating condition of depression compared to many other nations (file picture posed by model)
The data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also shows that women are more likely than men to report having the condition a trend reflected across other countries.
Depression levels also vary according to the level of education achieved, with those going on to higher education reporting lower rates than adults who left school at 16.
The OECD analysed data for 25 to 64-year-olds from European health interview survey results and other national surveys across the world.
It found that ten per cent of this age group in the UK suffered from depression in 2014 - two percentage points above the average for other countries with available data.
Just four per cent of people from the Czech Republic, Greece, Poland, Italy and the Slovak Republic reported depressive illnesses. The country with the highest levels was Iceland, at 14 per cent.
In the UK, depression rates ranged from 15 per cent for those who left school after sitting GCSEs (12 per cent on average across other countries) to seven per cent for university-level educated adults (six per cent country average).
Eleven per cent of women in the UK reported suffering from depression compared to eight per cent of men. The average across countries was ten per cent and six per cent respectively.
Andreas Schleicher, director of education and skills at the OECD, said there are 'good reasons to believe that education has a direct effect' on reported depression levels.
The country with the highest levels of depression is Iceland, at 14 per cent. Pictured: Reykjavik
He said: 'With higher levels of education you just have so many more ways to participate in society.
'The risk of social exclusion is just much higher for people who don't have the kind of skills.
'I think there is a direct effect but there's a lot of indirect effects the kind of job you get, the kind of interactions you have.'
Percentage of 25-64-year-olds who report having depression (2014) Country % Total population (employed, unemployed and inactive) Iceland 14 Ireland 12 Germany 12 Turkey 12 Finland 11 Portugal 11 United Kingdom 10 Sweden 10 Luxembourg 10 Netherlands 9 Latvia 9 Austria 8 Denmark 8 Norway 8 Slovenia 8 Austria 8 Belgium 7 Spain 7 France 6 Estonia 5 Czech Republic 4 Greece 4 Italy 4 Poland 4 Slovak Republic 4 AVERAGE 8
He added that the relationship between 'almost all social outcomes and education is stronger in the UK than the average across countries'.
'It could have something to do with the education itself, it could have something to do with employment people with poor qualifications get the kind of jobs that really make you are disaffected and so on,' he added.
Depression is is largely treated by restoring feel-good chemicals in the brain.
Last year the NHS issued 64.7 million prescriptions for antidepressants, double the amount given out a decade ago.
But it was revealed last week that the condition could be treated with anti-inflammatory drugs after scientists determined that it is a physical illness caused by a faulty immune system.
An overactive immune system triggers inflammation throughout the entire body, sparking feelings of hopelessness, unhappiness and fatigue, according to Professor Ed Bullmore, head of the psychiatry department at Cambridge University.
He told a briefing in London: 'In relation to mood, beyond unreasonable doubt, there is a very robust association between inflammation and depressive symptoms.'
In 2015, it was revealed that children in England were amongst the unhappiest in the world, with widespread bullying causing huge damage to their wellbeing.
In an international comparison of youngsters' happiness levels in 15 countries, the report from the Children's Society, concluded that children were unhappier with their school experience than their peers in 11 other countries including Ethiopia and Algeria.
The study found that children in England were particularly dissatisfied with their appearances.
Girls came bottom in terms of their satisfaction with their appearance and self-confidence compared with their counterparts elsewhere, with the exception of South Korea.
Rising numbers of primary and secondary schools are now offering schemes designed to make pupils more content and less stressed amid exam pressure.
But in May, experts questioned whether lessons in wellbeing were contributing to children's unhappiness. They called for greater scrutiny of programmes amid fears some could be doing more harm than good.
Depression is a very common condition. We generally think it's present in about ten per cent of the population at any one time Dr Cosmo Hallstrom, from the Royal College of Psychiatrists
Dr Cosmo Hallstrom, from the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: 'Depression is a very common condition.
'We generally think it's present in about ten per cent of the population at any one time. It's more common among people who are socially deprived.
'If you're poor and uneducated and you live on the top of a high rise, without a partner and you've got children to care for, unsupported and on no money, then you're more likely to be depressed than if you have a good lifestyle, a supportive family relationship and good education. It goes with social adversity, social support.
'It's a pretty common condition, which is under recognised, under diagnosed and under treated.'
He added: 'There's a lot of it about. We need to get a grip on it and now's not the time to be cutting back on NHS funding.'
San Diego is covered with fecal matter due to a rising homeless population and lack of public restrooms, which is said to have contributed to the hepatitis A outbreak.
Officials declared a public health emergency in the city after the outbreak killed 15 and infected close to 400 people.
Hepatitis A is a viral liver disease that can spread through ingesting food and drinks that have come in contact with feces from people who are already infected.
County health officials told the city that they needed to come up with a plan to fix the 'fecally contaminated environment' that is in the downtown area.
Officials first attempted to contain the outbreak by providing vaccinations to people and improving educational methods, but the virus continues to spread.
The city is now implementing street washing every other week and an extension on public restroom hours to stop the spread of the virus that has affected the homeless population the most.
Scroll down for video
The hepatitis A outbreak in San Diego County has killed 15 people and infected close to 400. The city is now doing street washing every other week and extending restroom hours to help stop the spread of the disease. They also installed 42 hand-washing stations across the city. One man washed his hands and face with the one of the stations in San Diego
The unsanitary conditions in the downtown area of San Diego have been suspected to fuel the hepatitis A outbreak.
So far, 15 people have died and close to 400 people have been infected with the virus.
In response to the outbreak, the city started a street-washing program on Monday to help rid the city of the deadly virus.
Crews are using bleach-spiked water for high-pressure washing to remove 'all feces, blood, bodily fluids or contaminated surfaces,' according to the sanitation plan included in a letter delivered to San Diego city government.
What is hepatitis A and how can it be treated? Hepatitis A is a viral liver disease that can have both minor and severe symptoms for the person infected. It is primarily spread when a person who isn't vaccinated ingests food or water that has been contaminated with feces of an infected individual. The virus is one of the most frequent causes for foodborne infections. Symptoms The incubation period of hepatitis A is normally 14 to 28 days. People can experience: Fever
Loss of appetite
Diarrhea
Nausea
Dark-colored urine
Jaundice
Acute liver failure Who is at risk? Anyone who has not been vaccinated or has never been infected with the hepatitis A virus is at risk. Other factors that increase risk include: Poor sanitation
Lack of clean water
Recreational drug use
Living with an infected person or having sexual relations with one
Traveling to areas with high risk without a vaccination Treatment There is no specific treatment for hepatitis A. It may take some people a couple weeks to a couple months to recover from the symptoms. Doctors recommend everyone to get a vaccination to help prevent the risk of getting infected by the virus. Source: World of Health Advertisement
The county health officials sent this letter to the city government to encourage a solution for the outbreak.
Another change being enforced is the extension the hours on 14 restrooms hours located in Balboa Park so people can have 24-hour access.
Areas such as Balboa Park have been targeted for street cleaning and extended restroom access because that of where homeless people tend to sleep.
Since homeless people are most likely to contract and spread the virus, officials are hoping the targeted areas can help lower the amount of people getting the virus.
These plans are in response to a letter on August 31 that gave the city five days to come up with remedies for the hepatitis A outbreak.
It cited one of the issues that was occurring was the fact that the downtown area was a 'fecally contaminated environment.'
Hepatitis A is primarily spread if someone ingested food or drinks that have come in contact with feces of someone infected.
But Craig Stuark, a communications officer at the County of San Diego Health & Human Services Agency, said to Daily Mail Online that no direct cause for the outbreak has been identified.
'Person-to-person is how it is being transmitted,' Stuark said. 'The populations that are being most impacted are homeless and/or illicit drug users.'
San Diego County also installed 42 hand-washing stations at the beginning of September to promote better sanitation for people.
Stations were equipped with informative signs about hepatitis A and how it can spread.
The virus is a viral liver disease that can cause severe or minor symptoms depending on the person.
It is rare for hepatitis A to cause death, but if it is severe enough it will lead to acute liver failure and kill the infected individual.
Another outbreak in 2003 linked to green onions in Pennsylvania caused three deaths and sent 124 people to hospital.
Hawaii also experienced an outbreak from sushi at the end of 2016 that caused 300 people to become infected.
San Diego officials are monitoring the spread of the virus and the sanitation efforts as they try to contain the outbreak.
Damning details related to Aadhaar card security have emerged after the Uttar Pradesh special task force on Sunday arrested 10 members of a gang allegedly involved in issuing fake biometric cards.
Investigators told Mail Today that the gang members had not only hacked the secure 'source code' to access the application but also cloned fingerprints of authorised issuing authorities by using gelatin gel, laser and silicon.
The exposure raises serious questions on the Centre's efforts to link its various schemes, PAN, individual bank accounts and mobile numbers with Aadhaar card, until now considered foolproof.
UP's Special Task Force arrested 10 members of an alleged gang of fraudsters (file picture)
'The investigation has thrown up some shocking facts about the modus operandi of this gang,' Triveni Singh, additional superintendent of police, STF, told Mail Today.
'The operators made copies of the login details used by valid enrollment centres, issued by UIDAI, the nodal authority mandated to issue the 12-digit unique number.
'They were also able to crack and replicate the application for the retinal scanning, an ocular-based biometric technology.'
Singh said the team was yet to ascertain the enormity of the operation as these members are believed to have shared or sold these codes to other centres as well.
'The gang was selling clone operator fingerprint and copy of client application for Rs 5,000 to run illegal centers.
Investigators believe they hacked the secure code for the system and cloned fingerprints of issuing authorities using gelatin gel, laser and silicon
'During the raid, the STF seized software with fake fingerprints as well as finger and retina scanners,' he said.
Members of the investigation team said while the gang members learnt about the use of gelatin gel and latex from the internet, they suspect an insider role in the creation of the duplicate client application (software) which allowed them to bypass security measures like fingerprints and IRIS scans needed for Aadhaar enrollment.
'The clone copies were made by taking fingerprint on butter paper and later treating it with chemicals and ultraviolet rays at different temperature to create a mould using gelatin gel and latex,' an STF official said.
'But the breach of high-tech application and source code is not possible without the collusion of one or more UIDAI officials.'
It's suspected that an 'insider' helped alleged hackers bypass security measures
According to web security experts, the UIDAI functions on a sophisticated source code.
A cyber expert explained to Mail Today: 'The source code is available only with the core team. It is a collection of computer instructions or scripts on which an application is defined.
'In June, after the UIDAI found the same login (fingerprints) being used at multiple places to issue Aadhaar card, they introduced latest version of their application which had added feature of IRIS scanner for operators to authenticate'.
The 10 suspects arrested by police in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday
'These gang members may have got the access to that source code and tampered the biometric authentication like fingerprints and IRIS. So now, these illegal centres had the software to login to the Aadhaar sever without using any biometric details, which is worrisome,' the web security expert added.
The STF officials said although all the 10 arrests were made from Kanpur in UP, the web of 'illegal' Aadhaar centers is spread across India and lakhs of enrollment have been done by such centres.
However, the team is yet to figure out if this loophole was sold to elements involved in making the unique ID for illegal migrants.
The exposure raises serious questions on the Centre's efforts to link its various schemes
The task force is in the process of finding out the number of biometric details which were uploaded by the gang on the Aadhaar data pool. Many officers secretly admitted that the arrests are a major setback for the Aadhaar project.
A senior official at UIDAI told Mail Today that the issue had come to their notice a few months back following which they registered an FIR and upgraded their security features.
The UIDAI has deactivated close to 81 lakh Aadhaar identities, after discrepancies were found in the biometric data or supporting documents. The UIDAI has defined sophisticated security measures, hardware and software to be followed by an enrollment centre but on ground none of these precautions is practised, claims STF.
According to web security experts, the UIDAI functions on a sophisticated source code
'Most of the work is outsourced to third parties and there is no verification or audit of operators.
During investigation, it was found that several Aadhaar enrolment centers were operational with a wrong name,' a member of the STF said on condition of anonymity.
This revelation has set alarm bells ringing at UIDAI, which has to audit and verify numbers of such illegal centers running across the country. STF teams are conducting raids in other states to arrest similar gangs and also to detect who leaked the source code of UIDAI application.
Enrollment officers and a registrar who are involved in the process of issuing licenses and verification are on the STF radar, sources said.
The concerns about the security in Aadhaar system have been raised after recent reports of its database being vulnerable to hackers.
Recently, the Supreme Court declared the Right to Privacy a fundamental right, leaving many in limbo about the whole concept and authenticity of Aadhaar verification.
Jailed for raping two female disciples, sect leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is now facing fresh charges of sexually abusing schoolchildren aged eight to 10.
Former Dera Sacha Sauda member and now CBI witness Gurdas Singh Toor has shared with India Today TV a WhatsApp chat between him and a victim.
The chat provides horrific details of alleged abuse among children who studied at a school run by the Haryana-headquartered sect a few years ago.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was found guilty of raping two women in 2002 last month
The victim, according to Gurdas, was a Class-5 student when she was allegedly raped by the self-styled godman.
A classmate allegedly once found her lying in a pool of blood and the victim revealed details of the abuse. However, no one, including her own parents, believed the girl and she was allegedly sent back to the Dera.
A court last month found Ram Rahim guilty of raping two women more than a decade ago and sentenced him to 20 years in jail.
Gurdas Singh Toor (above) has shared a WhatsApp chat between him and a victim who was allegedly raped by Dera chief Ram Rahim Singh
Angered by his conviction, his supporters engaged in violent protests, in which dozens of people were killed.
The Dera describes itself as a 'selfless socio-spiritual organisation' and claims millions of followers worldwide.
'I cried when I was chatting with the victim. This is horrific. I also have copy of a conversation between two inhabitants who are discussing that the rapist Baba did not even spare the destitute girls (living in the sect's orphanage). This is very shameful,' Gurdas said.
Ram Rahim's conviction sparked mass demonstration in India as supporters reacted angrily
According to him, after parting ways with the Dera, he had shared his contact details on social media and had appealed to the victims to get in touch with him.
Gurdas claims that now 10 rape survivors are in contact with him and they regularly interact.
They have welcomed the court decision but are not able to muster enough courage to come out in the open as they are married and fear losing their husbands, he says.
Gurdas also alleged that staff working in a hospital run by the sect used to terminate the pregnancies of minor girls who were raped by Ram Rahim. He claims that he witnessed three abortions during his stay in the Dera.
Having cornered the sect leader in a case of mass castration of his followers, Gurdas has now decided to file a child sex abuse case against the guru.
'I have decided to expose the Baba and will file a police complaint soon,' he said.
The CBI charge sheet against Ram Rahim mentioned the names of eight rape victims.
Several former Dera followers have raised the issue of sexual exploitation of female devotees. But because the case stretched on for 15 years, most victims are now married and fear that their matrimonial life would be ruined if their identities are revealed.
'Vishkanyas' who poisoned minds for Ram Rahim
Self-styled godman Ram Rahim not only raised a private army of castrated followers and a Qurbani Dal for his protection, but had also allegedly formed a group of 'henchwomen' or 'vishkanyas' to satiate his sexual desires.
Insiders claim a few senior female followers acted like programmed robots and brought 'fresh flesh' every night to the Baba.
There are also allegations that some politicians and officials were regular at the Dera and were pleased with wine, women and money.
Ram Rahim allegedly formed a group of 'henchwomen' to satiate his sexual desires
One of the first tasks of the vishkanyas was to identify beautiful female followers and put them in a hall linked to Ram Rahim's den, it's claimed.
They were pampered, praised and were told that Baba has chosen only them as his 'favourite' disciples and would 'purify' them with his 'blessings' and call them one by one, sources say.
The victims were first allegedly put on guard outside the cave like sentries that gave them the idea that they were the trusted female warriors.
Four girls would guard the cave and one would be called inside the gufa every night, it's claimed.
Those who went inside the gufa were not allowed to share the truth and were not allowed to mingle in order to maintain secrecy, according to witnesses.
The second task given to the henchwoman was to allegedly control the female followers and those raising a voice against the Dera chief were 'brutally tortured' and would 'go without food for 24 hours'.
Gurdas Singh Toor said: 'There was a big room called the 'mann sudhar kamra' (mind improvement room) which was used to torture rape victims and girls who refused to go inside the gufa.
'The victim was asked to sit on a chair and the henchwomen would thrash her.'
The female followers were divided into two groups, he said. The beautiful ones were allegedly chosen to guard the cave, cook food and satiate the Baba's desires.
Others were assigned routine jobs such as cleanliness and housekeeping, it's claimed.
Ram Rahim 'raked in money through his music concerts'
Sect leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who made thousands of followers dance to his tunes, allegedly also organised tawdry musical nights and raked in money by selling tickets at exorbitant rates.
In the latest round of accusations about the baba of bling, a close aide-cum-maid of Singh's right-hand woman Honeypreet, narrated details to India Today TV on the splashy concerts and how sadhvis were sexually harassed.
The woman, who does not wish to be named, alleged that she was brought to the Dera Sacha Sauda on the pretext of a job but was later sexually abused.
Sect leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh raked in money with his concerts and cult following
She revealed that the 'Ru-baru' nights special satsangs (devotional music concerts) where Ram Rahim would appear riding his imported motorcycles or driving his customised supercars became a money-spinner.
Fights would break out among the devotees on these nights for grabbing seats closest to the dais.
'The concept of these musical nights was to make money. Those who wanted to sit close to Ram Rahim had to pay the most money for the tickets. Followers even purchased tickets for Rs 8 lakh to sit in the front row. These tickets started from Rs 7,000. Thousands of people used to attend the events, which would continue the whole night,' she said.
Ram Rahim would change outfits four-five times during a concert and dance and sing throughout the night.
'In fact, school students were forced to dance and sing along with him. It was being propagated that the money generated in Ru-ba-ru was being spent on social work but no one saw it happening,' the woman alleged.
There were performances of folk dances and some of Ram Rahim's greatest hits from his films. The video of the popular Love Charger a song featuring actual Dera Sacha Sauda devotees that has close to 3.5 million views of YouTube is an example of what went on during a Ru-ba-ru night.
The self-styled godman, who was last month sent to jail for 20 years in a double rape case, calls himself the Rockstar Baba and claims to have invented a new genre of music, describing it as Religious Rock.
He has held over a hundred rock concerts, called Ru-ba-ru Ruhani Nights.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh with adopted daughter Honeypreet at a film launch
Explaining how young girls were exploited at the Dera, the woman said teenagers were brought to the sect headquarters in Haryana's Sirsa district and trained for several years before being selected by the guru himself.
'This training lasted for three to four years, and once it was completed, Ram Rahim used to take their interview, which was carried out inside his lavish cave, and exploit them.'
She also claimed that after a CBI probe in 2007, the sect leader changed the accommodation of sadhvis inside the Dera.
'He became alert after the CBI started an investigation. He shifted the accommodation of young sadhvis and brought it closer to his cave and nobody was allowed to meet them. He made the sadhvis' place of stay behind his room so they could not go out or give interviews. At night, he used to call the girls one by one to give them prasad,' she said.
'When I objected to the wrongdoings inside the Dera, I was mentally and physically tortured. I even tried to escape from the Dera, but was caught. Now, I am being threatened.'
The woman claimed that everyone knew Ram Rahim was involved in illegal practices and anybody who complained was threatened with death and forcibly kept inside the Dera.
'I have worked for Honeypreet for at least a year and I used to call her Didi,' she said. 'Her inlaws are simple people and they objected to her proximity to Ram Rahimfor which they used to have continuous fights.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Myanmar has once again underlined why New Delhi struggles to maintain a delicate balance between its strategic interests and its democratic ideals when it comes to its neighbour.
This visit came at a time when the Myanmar government and Aung San Suu Kyi are facing global condemnation for their handling of the Rohingya crisis in a repeat of what had happened five years ago during a military campaign that displaced more than 1,00,000 Rohingyas.
But this time the scale of the crisis is huge and Suu Kyi's reputation is at stake. The United Nations has warned that up to 3,00,000 Rohingyas could stream into neighbouring Bangladesh as they flee 'clearance operations' by Myanmar's armed forces.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) speaks with the President of Myanmar Htin Kyaw during the first day of a two day official visit to Myanmar on September 5
For her part, Suu Kyi has blamed 'terrorists' for 'a huge iceberg of misinformation' and has refused to take a conciliatory position.
In her first remarks since the crisis started in Rakhine state last month, Suu Kyi has suggested that her government was facing its 'biggest challenge'.
Unreasonable
'It is a little unreasonable to expect us to solve the issue in 18 months,' she said. 'The situation in Rakhine has been such since many decades. It goes back to pre-colonial times.'
Though she made it clear that the government needed to 'take care of everybody who is in our country, whether or not they are our citizens,' she also underlined that 'our resources are not as complete and adequate as we would like them to be but still, we try our best and we want to make sure that everyone is entitled to the protection of the law.'
Suu Kyi does not control the military and there continues to be a trust deficit between the two.
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi (L) in Naypyidaw on September 6
But her refusal to condemn military abuses against Rohingyas provides the generals with political cover.
Myanmar is negotiating with China and Russia to ensure they block any UN Security Council censure over the violence that has forced an exodus of nearly 1,50,000 Rohingya Muslims to Bangladesh in less than two weeks.
Bangladesh has expressed its concerns about Indian position on Rohingyas which led New Delhi to issue a statement acknowledging that there is an ongoing refugee crisis in the region.
The statement said: 'India remains deeply concerned about the situation in Rakhine state in Myanmar and the outflow of refugees from that region.'
During PM Modi's visit to Myanmar this week, New Delhi did not directly engage with the issue of Myanmar's treatment of its Rohingya Muslim minority.
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves as he poses for a photograph with Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi
But at a time when Myanmar is getting isolated, India underlined its support with its joint statement: 'India condemned the recent terrorist attacks in northern Rakhine state, wherein several members of the Myanmar security forces lost their lives. Both sides agreed that terrorism violates human rights and there should, therefore, be no glorification of terrorists as martyrs.'
Perhaps because of this, Naypyidaw seems to have allowed India to provide aid in the form of infrastructure and socio-economic projects to Rakhine province where violence against Rohingya continues unabated.
India has significant geopolitical and security interests that continue to shape its outreach to Myanmar.
As China's profile continues to rise in India's vicinity, New Delhi would like to enhance its presence by developing infrastructure and connectivity projects in the country.
India has found it difficult to counter Chinese influence in Myanmar, with China selling everything from weapons to foodgrains there, and projecting power in the Indian Ocean will become an even greater challenge if China increases its naval presence in Myanmar.
No wonder, Myanmar is at the heart of the Modi government's 'Act East' policy with the India-Myanmar-Thailand Asian Trilateral Highway, the Kaladan multimodal project, a road-river-port cargo transport project, and of course BIMSTEC, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation.
Security India is also working closely with the security forces of Myanmar to target the insurgents operating in the Northeast.
India shares a 1,600-km border with Myanmar which has been very cooperative in flushing the Naga insurgents from its territory.
India would like to see the emergence of Myanmar as a robust democracy living in peace with its neighbours. But this is a long-term aspiration and India's past engagement with Myanmar indicates that a hands-off policy has worked much to its advantage.
A harsh critic of the Myanmar junta since the mid-1990s, India muted its criticism and dropped its vocal support for the opposition leader Suu Kyi in order to pursue its 'Look East' policy aimed at strengthening India's economic ties with the rapidly growing economies in East and South-East Asia.
More important to New Delhi has been China's rapidly growing profile in Myanmar. As India realised that Myanmar was increasingly under China's orbit, it reversed its decades-old policy of isolation and began to deal directly with the junta.
Interests India found it difficult to toe the Western line on Myanmar as it was stuck between the demands of its role as the world's largest democracy and the imperatives of its strategic interests.
The large Burmese refugee community in India is a product of the 1998 military crackdown in Myanmar. Indian elites have long admired the freedom struggle led by Suu Kyi, who was honoured with one of India's highest civilian awards in 1993.
But India's strategic interests in Myanmar have become significant, especially as China's trade, energy and defence ties with Myanmar have surged.
Strategic interests led Delhi to only gently nudge the Myanmar junta on the issue of democracy. India has gained a sense of trust at the highest echelons of Myanmar's ruling elite. As such, India remained opposed to Western sanctions on the country.
Once Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy won a majority in Myanmar's first openly contested election in 25 years in November 2015, she became the state councillor and country's foreign minister.
It allowed her to work closely with the military in crafting a new future for Myanmar and this enhanced India's strategic space to manoeuvre.
And it is that hard-won strategic space that India is loath to give up. Modi's visit has managed to reinforce that trend in India-Myanmar ties.
Delhi police will no longer be given time to investigate the suite of the five-star Hotel Leela Palace where wife of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, Sunanda Pushkar, was found dead under mysterious circumstances in 2014.
A Delhi court on Tuesday declined the police force's plea to gain more time to seal off the suite on the grounds that they were waiting for the result from Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL).
However the court said that FSL team is at liberty to visit the suite and collect material for the purpose of the investigation before September 26.
Hotel Leela: Sunanda Pushkar's body was discovered in the five star suite in 2014 in what has been classed as 'mysterious circumstances'.
Metropolitan Magistrate Dharmender Singh had asked the police to file a compliance report by September 26 while allowing it to take all required articles from the room for its investigation.
The suite had been kept sealed for more than three years and the hotel had moved an application for de-sealing suites as they were incurring huge financial losses.
On September 4, the court rapped police for its lethargic attitude in its probe into the death of Pushkar while hearing a plea by the hotels management seeking de- sealing of the suite where she had died.
'Due to the lethargic attitude of Delhi Police, the plaintiff (hotel) has already suffered a lot,' the court had said.
It observed that in the name of the investigation, huge financial loss has been caused to the hotel.
Police have been accused of a 'lethargic' attitude to their investigations into the the death of Sunanda Pushkar (pictured above) at the five star Leela Hotel. A Delhi court has ordered that the room in which she was discovered now be de-sealed before September 26.
Police had sought more time to complete the probe and said forensic experts had visited the suite recently and collected various evidence, reports of which were awaited.
The police told court that till the reports clearly indicate no further requirement, the suite cannot be de-sealed.
On July 21 the court ordered the de-sealing of the suite within four weeks, saying the hotel cannot be put to unending hardship due to laxity on part of the police.
The gruesome yet seemingly open-and-shut case of a seven-year-old boys death at the Ryan International School in Gurugram is becoming ever more complicated.
A witness on Tuesday cast doubts on the polices premise that detained bus conductor Ashok Kumar is responsible for the boy's death.
Subhash Garg told the media that the accused had very little traces of blood on him despite the grisly nature of the crime.
Ryan School death: A picture of school boy Praduman Thakur whose body was discovered in his school toilet
A crowd of parents assembling at India Gate during a candlelight vigil in the boy's honour on Tuesday
He also pointed out that there were no footprints in the blood that had covered the floor of the toilet where the crime purportedly took place.
'There was chaos inside the main building and reception area after it was learnt that a student with his throat slit collapsed in the corridor.
'I saw two supporting staffers of the school carrying Pradyuman in their arms. They put him inside a WagonR car and the principal withdrew cash from the office and took him away to the hospital,' continued Garg, who was at the reception of the school on Friday to deposit the fees of his younger son.
Gurugram: Bus conductor Ashok Kumar being escorted by police.A witness has cast doubt on whether the employee was responsible for the death of seven-year-old Praduman Thakur.
'There were bloodstains on Kumars shirt which may be due to the fact that he was carrying the boy.'
Garg also claimed that the conductor was behaving normally, which he noted is unusual for someone who committed such a crime.
Fellow school bus driver Saurabh Raghav also alleged that Kumar was being made a scapegoat.
Ranked one of the top educational institutions in the country, Ryan International runs nearly 150 schools across India and in the United Arab Emirates.
The school was caught in another scandal last year after a six-year-old student was found dead in a water tank at its Vasant Kunj branch. The principal, a teacher and a few others were arrested for negligence.
Prakash, Maneka to hold meeting on child safety following parents demand for tougher measures
The parents of over 40 students protested at Ryan International School in Noida on Monday morning demanding verification of drivers, security guards within school premises and an increase in CCTV camera surveillance.
Now, the union ministries of women and child development and human resource development have decided to hold a high-level meeting.
The meeting will be chaired by Women And Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi, Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar alongside officials of the two ministries, NCPCR, CBSE, NCERT, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan will also be involved in tightening child safety on school premises.
Child safety meeting: Women And Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi and Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar will head up a public meeting on child safety following parents of over 40 pupils calling for tougher security measures at schools on Monday.
Gandhi has requested Javadekar to consider suggestions like having women employees included as support staff and bus drivers/conductors in the schools, alongside screening of educational films on child sexual abuse.
In addition, Gandhi also highlighted the need for having strict norms for employing the support staff.
In her letter to Javadekar, Gandhi stated that the basic objective of the meeting of the two ministries will set out to develop a set of guidelines and protocols which schools must follow so that the children remain protected from any kind of abuse or physical or mental harm.
Gurugram: Protesters set ablaze a liquor shop during a protest 150 metres from Ryan International School, as they demand action against the school after the death of a Class 2 pupil
The WCD minister added that the parents, guardians and teachers should remain vigilant about the children as well as their behaviour.
'The authorities are yet to conduct a verification of their school drivers. The authorities cannot take the verification process for granted, especially when the school allows them to park buses within school premises.
'The school has only posted security guards at the school gate. This neglects the safety of my child on the school premises as the school buses are parked within metres of school reception,' said Sanjay Bal, a parent of a class 4 student at Ryan International School.
Breaking its silence on suspicions that those within it had been radicalised, the Rohingya community on Tuesday claimed before the Supreme Court that they have no connection with any terrorist organisation.
They contended that they were being targeted for deportation only because they were Muslims in a plea filed on behalf of approximately 7,000 Rohingya refugees residing in 23 settlements in Jammu.
It said: 'We have nothing to do with terrorism. Ever since we began residing in Jammu, there has been no such allegation against us. Not a single one of us has ever been engaged in any kind of terrorist activity.
Rohingya refugees wait for food near the Kutupalong refugee camp after crossing the Bangladesh-Myanmar border in Ukhia, Bangladesh
Rohingya refugees stretch their hands for food near Balukhal in Bangladesh
'The local police have for more than a year conducted interrogation of all the Rohingyas and have taken full details of each family. The local police have inspected our settlements several times every month.
'All the Rohingyas cooperate with the police and give them all required information. There is therefore not a single terrorist in our midst'.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra postponed the plea for hearing until next Monday along with the one filed by noted lawyer Prashant Bhushan, challenging the move to deport the refugees back to Myanmar.
Rohingyas, in their petition, also said the Centre's move was against their right to equality as the community is being discriminated against when compared to the government's treatment of Tibetans and other refugees.
'We have been singled out for very harsh treatment including deportation - which will surely result in our execution. This is being done because we are poor and we are Muslims. The Myanmarese government has adopted a straight-forward and blatantly racist stance with regard to us', they said.
A Rohingya Muslim refugee child cries during a rain storm after arriving in Bangladesh by boat from Myanmar last week
India has warned Myanmar that Pakistan-based militants like Lashkar-e-Taiba are radicalising members of the Rohingya community that posed a security risk to both the countries as well as the region.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that according to available data, more than 14,000 Rohingyas, registered with the UNHCR, were staying in India and also that there were another 40,000 staying in the country illegally.
In a communication to all states, the Union home ministry said that the rise of terrorism in the last few decades has become a serious concern for most nations, as illegal migrants are prone to getting recruited by terrorist organisations.
The fresh petition assumes significance in the wake of two intervention petitions in the case by former RSS ideologue KN Govindacharya and Chennai-based Indic Collective Trust through lawyer Suvidutt Sundaram seeking deportation of the Rohingya refugees.
While Govindacharya contended: 'It has also become known that al Qaeda is trying to use the Rohingya community for terror and jihad,' the trust has said their presence posed a 'social, economic and security' threat to India.
Four members of a religious sect have pleaded not guilty to charges connected to a child abuse investigation into the secluded group.
Deborah Green, Peter Green, James Green and Stacey Miller all appeared at Cibola County District Court on Monday said allegations being brought against the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps are false.
Co-leader Deborah and high-ranking leader Peter are both being held on $500,000 cash surety bond in connection with child sexual abuse charges stemming for a two-year long investigation.
Their trial date has been set for May 2018.
Four members of a religious sect have pleaded not guilty to charges connected to a child abuse investigation into the secluded group. Deborah, 70 (pictured) one of the sect's co-leaders, is facing several charges including child abuse, sexual penetration of a minor and failure to report a birth.
Her son, Peter Green, 54 (pictured), ranked just below Deborah in the organization is facing 100 counts of criminal sexual penetration of a child.
Both Deborah (left) and Peter (right) are both being held on $500,000 cash surety bond in connection with child sexual abuse charges stemming for a two-year long investigation. Their trial has been set for May 2018
Deborah, 70, is facing several charges including child abuse, sexual penetration of a minor and failure to report a birth.
Detectives say her son, Peter Green, 54, - also known as Mike Brandon - is ranked just below Deborah in the organization.
He faces 100 counts of criminal sexual penetration of a child. He's accused of raping a girl from the time she was seven.
Joshua Green, identified by Deborah as her 'commune son,' was charged with failure to report a child's birth, a felony in New Mexico. He pleaded not guilty and was released on $5,000 bond, said Cibola County Sheriff Tony Mace.
Stacey Miller, 47, who was living in a sect safe house, is now being held on a $20,000 cash or surety bond after pleading not guilty to charges of child abuse and neglect.
It was the death of Miller's 12-year-old son that prompted the August 20 raid on the group which sits in the New Mexican desert.
Miller reportedly failed to get her son medical attention when he contracted the flu, and he later died. Her attorney says she has four living children who live with their father in Missouri.
Joshua Green (pictured), identified by Deborah as her 'commune son,' was charged with failure to report a child's birth, a felony in New Mexico
It was the death of member Stacy Miller's (pictured) 12-year-old son that prompted the August 20 raid on the group which sits in the New Mexican desert
Also facing charges is Deborah's husband, co-leader James Green, accused of kidnapping, child abuse and tampering with evidence.
Authorities says James took part in a plot to bring over an infant child from Uganda to the United States in 1997 by using forged documents, court documents said.
James Green allegedly convinced his daughter, Sarah, to falsely say the child was hers to smuggle her into the US documents said.
The daughter later left the commune, but the Greens refused to let her take two of her children and the adopted Ugandan girl with her, according to court documents.
The Cibola County Sheriff's Office says 11 children who lived at the compound are being cared for by the state and have been interviewed by an FBI forensic specialist.
Joshua (left) was released on $5,000 bond. Stacy Miller, 47 (right)pleaded not guilty to charges of child abuse and neglect.
The Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps, founded in Sacramento, California, describes itself as a group that is 'revolutionary for Jesus' and provides a free spiritual 'ammo pack' to anyone who submits a written request
They were taken into custody after deputies arrested four members who were trying to leave the state with the children in two vans, said Sheriff Mace.
The Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps, founded in Sacramento, California, describes itself as a group that is 'revolutionary for Jesus' and provides a free spiritual 'ammo pack' to anyone who submits a written request.
Its website was laced with anti-Semitic language and anti-gay tirades about same-sex marriage until the posts were recently deleted.
The Southern Poverty Law Center lists the sect as a hate group.
The Annual Hamilton County Republican Women's Annual Fashion Show is scheduled for 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. on Oct. 7 at Morning Pointe, 9650 Leyland Dr., Collegedale.
Officials said, "Stein Mart will provide fashion combinations and ideas that will extend your wardrobe through the holidays.
"Back by popular demand, mystery guests and club members will model men and women's clothing.
A juvenile great white shark which forced swimmers to flee the water at a popular Sydney beach is set to be returned to the wild.
The two-metre shark, nicknamed 'Fluffy', made international headlines after he was found thrashing around on the shore of Manly Beach on Monday.
The shark, which appeared to have some superficial injuries, was taken to a nearby ocean pool under the gaze of shocked beachgoers.
Marine experts then transferred Fluffy on a stretcher and took him to Manly Sea Life Sanctuary so he could be monitored in an isolation tank overnight.
Scroll down for video
Fluffy, a juvenile great white shark which forced swimmers to flee the water at a Sydney beach, is set to be returned to the wild
Dramatic video showed Fluffy rapidly moving its tail on the shore of Manly Beach shortly after midday on Monday
The sanctuary's life sciences manager, Rob Townsend, told Business Insider a small child asked him the shark's name and 'Fluffy' was the first thing that came to him.
'Too many people overheard,' Mr Townsend said, adding that the shark was doing well and should be released out to sea later on Tuesday.
'White sharks don't do well long-term in captivity,' he said.
Senior aquarist at Manly Sea Life, Robbie McCracken, also hoped the shark would soon be released.
'He has had a chance to rest and recoup and hopefully we will be able to he release him a bit later today,' he told the Nine Network.
The shark, which appeared to have some superficial injuries, was taken to a nearby ocean pool under the gaze of shocked beachgoers
Marine experts later transferred Fluffy on a stretcher in a ute to Manly Sea Life Sanctuary so he could be monitored in an isolation tank overnight
The sanctuary is waiting for the all-clear from NSW Fisheries to take the shark back out to sea for release.
'This animal is better suited to recovery out in its environment,' Mr McCraken said.
'We are hoping that it sort of mistakenly found its way into an area it didn't intend to be and got a bit tired and exhausted and then stressed with the waves and all the people around it.
'Hopefully when we let it back out quite a ways offshore in much deeper water it will be able to recover.'
Mr McCraken said it was a mystery why Fluffy tried to beach himself.
'These great white sharks usually are animals that would tend to be offshore a bit, out in the deeper more unrestricted waters,' he said.
Experts at Manly Sea Life said they hope to release Fluffy back into the ocean later on Tuesday
Fluffy washed up (left) at the popular swimming spot on Monday. He was taken to a nearby rock pool (right) as stunned sunbathers watched on
'This one for whatever reason found its way up into the beaches of Manly and then into the surf zone where it came into a bit of grief.
'That is where we were able to step in and sort of intervene.'
Dramatic video emerged on Monday afternoon showing Fluffy rapidly moving his tail on the shore of the busy beach shortly after midday.
'Literally about to take my boys for a swim,' one witness captioned a video posted on social media.
Another beachgoer told Nine News the shark was quickly rescued and taken to the rock pool to rest.
The sanctuary where Fluffy stayed overnight is waiting for the all-clear from NSW Fisheries to take the shark back out to sea for release
Rescuers are seen attending to Fluffy before placing him on a stretcher
'Lifeguards on jet ski kept a close watch and then marine rescue arrived to bring it to shore on a stretcher,' the witness said.
Video and images posted on social media show the young white pointer lurking in the shallow rock pool waters.
'Shark in Manly bower pool right now. She just washed up on Manly beach. Beautiful to see such a gorgeous animal,' one wrote on Twitter.
Another commented: 'No swimming in the pool today.'
A Muslim leader has likened homosexuality to alcohol and adultery only two weeks after admitting he was afraid to offend his left-wing supporters by opposing gay marriage.
Islamic Council of Queensland spokesman Ali Kadri says he is inclined to vote 'no' in the gay marriage postal vote because Islam is against recognising homosexual relations.
'We live in a country where a lot of things are legal which are forbidden in my religion,' he told the ABC's Lateline program on Monday night.
Scroll down for video
Islamic Council of Queensland spokesman Ali Kadri likened homosexuality to adultery
'Alcohol is forbidden for Muslims, adultery is forbidden for Muslims but it's legal in Australia.'
His likening of homosexuality and gay marriage to adultery comes two weeks after he told another ABC program, The Drum, that Muslims were afraid to declare their opposition to same-sex marriage for political reasons.
'We are afraid if we come out with our opinion, then left may abandon us for going against their view,' he told presenter Julia Baird.
'The right and the conservative side has always attacked Muslims of being terrorists and extremists and naturally the left side has been allies in defending us for a long period of time.'
The Muslim leader told ABC Lateline host Emma Alberici (pictured) marriage is religious
Mr Kadri said Muslims were reluctant to align themselves with the conservative side of politics, even if they both opposed gay marriage.
'We can't really be friendly with the right side because they've been bashing us for 15, 20 years every chance they get and they includes some religious conservative Christian sides as well. They've been attacking us and calling us terrorists.'
'The main reason you're not hearing these voices in support of 'no' vote is because Muslims are afraid that they'll be straight away called an extremist as soon as they come out with an opinion so Muslims are afraid to express their opinion either way.'
Mr Kadri told Lateline homosexuals could still be Muslim, adding he accepted aspects of Australian law in a secular society could be contrary to Islamic teachings.
Ali Kadri told the ABC's The Drum in August Muslims were afraid to speak out against gay marriage to avoid offending their left-wing political allies
ABC presenter Julia Baird (pictured) asked Ali Kadri why Muslims weren't more outspoken
However, he regarded redefining marriage as tampering with a religious institution.
He clarified that he was inclined to either vote 'no' or abstain from the postal vote on gay marriage, as ballots are sent to millions of Australian voters from this week.
A result of the voluntary ballot is scheduled to be declared by mid-November.
Mr Kadri was interviewed on Lateline alongside Jesuit priest Frank Brennan and progressive Jewish rabbi Jacqueline Ninio from the Emmanuel Synagogue in Sydney who both support gay marriage.
Ms Ninio said redefining marriage would give people like her the 'religious freedom' to preside over a same-sex wedding.
Father Brennan has broken ranks with the Catholic Church to back gay marriage on the grounds matrimony is a civil and not a religious arrangement.
'We're dealing with a very changing social institution,' he said.
Theresa May hailed an 'historic' moment tonight as Labour failed to defeat the government in the first vote on the EU Withdrawal Bill.
The crucial legislation was comfortably given its second reading in the Commons by a margin of 326 to 290 - a majority of 36.
Seven Labour MPs defied Jeremy Corbyn's order to oppose the bill, making clear during a near-nine hour debate that they were determined to implement the result of the referendum.
Importantly, the government also succeeded in passing its timetable for pushing the laws through parliament.
But ominously for ministers, senior Tory MPs were among those who vowed to force changes to the proposals at a later stage in the process.
Jeremy Corbyn was in the Commons for the end of the second reading debate tonight, where he ordered his MPs to vote against the Bill
Former minister Frank Field said he would be voting for the'referendum result to be implemented' by backing the measures at second reading
Caroline Flint insisted she would be ignoring Labour's three-line whip to abstain so the legislation can proceed
The crucial legislation was comfortably given its second reading in the Commons by a majority of 36
The landmark measures would scrap the legislation that underpins our ties to Brussels, while at the same time copying all current EU law on to the domestic statute book to minimise disruption.
The Prime Minister said after the result: 'Earlier this morning parliament took a historic decision to back the will of the British people and vote for a bill which gives certainty and clarity ahead of our withdrawal from the European Union.
'Although there is more to do, this decision means we can move on with negotiations with solid foundations and we continue to encourage MPs from all parts of the UK to work together in support of this vital piece of legislation.'
Labour and some Tory MPs - including former Attorney General Dominic Grieve - voiced concern that ministers will also get so-called 'Henry VIII' powers to amend the rules as they are transposed.
THE LABOUR REBELS WHO BACKED THE BREXIT BILL Seven Labour MPs rebelled by voting for the EU Withdrawal Bill's second reading. They were: Ronnie Campbell (Blyth Valley), Frank Field (Birkenhead), Kate Hoey (Vauxhall), Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North), John Mann (Bassetlaw), Dennis Skinner (Bolsover) Graham Stringer (Blackley and Broughton). Others, such as Caroline Flint (Don Valley), chose to abstain. Advertisement
Mr Corbyn ordered his benches to oppose the Bill at second reading, even though it is a vote on the principle of the legislation.
However, he suffered a rebellion by a group of MPs who either supported Leave in the referendum or whose constituencies backed Brexit.
Former minister Frank Field said he would be voting for the 'referendum result to be implemented', and he was joined by six others including veteran left-winger Dennis Skinner. Caroline Flint abstained saying the legislation was 'necessary' and she wanted it to continue.
Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer admitted it was a 'deeply disappointing result'.
'This bill is an affront to parliamentary democracy and a naked power grab by government ministers. It leaves rights unprotected, it silences parliament on key decisions and undermines the devolution settlement,' he said.
'It will make the Brexit process more uncertain, and lead to division and chaos when we need unity and clarity.
'Labour will seek to amend and remove the worst aspects from the bill as it passes through parliament. But the flaws are so fundamental its hard to see how this bill could ever be made fit for purpose.'
Brexit Secretary David Davis was seen driving away from Parliament at 1am last night (pictured) following the crunch votes in the Commons
During the debate - which lasted nearly nine hours today and 13 in total - Mr Field, chairman of the Work and Pensions Committee, said: 'Tonight I will be voting for the only option - the referendum result to be implemented.
'That was the wish of my constituents and that was the wish of the country, and I don't wish there to be any different view put forward about whose side I'm on.
'I'm on the side of the majority of people who voted to come out.'
HOW THE NUMBERS STACKED UP ON THE EU REPEAL BILL There were three divisions called on the EU Withdrawal Bill tonight. A Labour amendment that would have block the draft legislation was defeated by 318 votes to 296, majority 22. The second reading for the Bill was carried by 326 votes to 290, majority 36. The government's timetable for pushing through the Bill was passed by 318 votes to 301, majority 17. Two motions on the financial implications were nodded through without a vote. Advertisement
In a message aimed at ministers, Mr Field added: 'We have seen many people when we started this process bravely going about their lifetime views to actually implement the views of their constituents.
'But given the frailty of human nature, we've had one or two recidivists who are now thinking... about there may be reasons for not doing this and doing the other.
'I therefore put on the order paper, when we come back to committee, grouping them together, a four-clause bill.
'Because the Government, by having this mega bill, is storing up no end of trouble by those people, those members who are wolves in sheep's clothing who will actually try and undo the measure.'
Mrs Flint told MPs the only reason for blocking the legislation would be to 'thwart' Brexit.
'The truth is, whoever was in Government, we would have to pass a Bill of this kind to prepare for leaving the EU in March 2019,' Mrs Flint said.
'And there can be little disagreement on that, unless your ambition is to thwart the result of the EU referendum and prevent or delay the UK leaving the EU.
'Now I believe Labour's job is to improve the Bill by amending it - not killing the Bill at the beginning of its passage through Parliament.'
She added: 'I will work with others to improve this Bill, but tonight I cannot vote to block this Bill and I shall be abstaining to allow the Bill to be further discussed and amended.
'We have a job to do to ensure a smooth, orderly Brexit.'
Brexit Secretary David Davis was in the Commons to hear the end of the debate on the EU Withdrawal Bill second reading tonight
The landmark measures being considered by the Commons tonight would scrap the legislation that underpins our ties to Brussels, while at the same time copying all current EU law on to the domestic statute book to minimise disruption
Justice Secretary David Lidington wound up the debate for he government tonight
Tory backbenchers supported the bill but many made clear they would seek amendments at a later stage
Labour MP Stephen Kinnock said the legislation amounted to a 'coup'. 'Let us make no mistake, this Bill is not about delivering the will of people, rather it's about gagging our democracy and this House by the way of a false discourse. It is a silent coup d'etat, masquerading as technical necessity,' he said.
Potential Tory rebels signalled that they would support the Bill at second reading - keeping their powder dry for later in the parliamentary process.
That meant the government had a comfortable majority in the key votes tonight, defeating a Labour amendment before securing the second reading.
But hundreds of amendments could be table as the legislation goes into committee stage next month, with peers vowing 'trench warfare' to soften Theresa May's approach to Brexit.
Under intense questioning from Mr Grieve, a QC, Justice Secretary David Lidington conceded the time available to propose changes in the committee stage could be extended.
'Where there is good reason to extend debate further, we are willing to consider that very seriously and carefully indeed,' he told Mr Grieve.
'I hope he will take that assurance in the spirit in which it has been intended.'
David Davis and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson had warned that efforts to derail the legal overhaul would mean a 'disorderly' Brexit and cause severe damage to the economy.
Tories Sir Edward Leigh and Maria Miller both insisted the EU legislation must be allowed to proceed through second reading
Speaker John Bercow was in the chair through most of the debate, which lasted nearly nine hours today
Labour's Stephen Kinnock said he believed the legislation amounted to a 'coup' attempt
Mr Johnson told Today that failure to pass the legislation would mean 'the whole thing being disorderly and chaotic'.
He also held out an olive branch to the EU, saying he wanted to see the bloc have a 'renaissance' at the same time as the UK.
'I'm interest to hear that the commission president, Monsieur Juncker - who has many great qualities, by the way - he has said that he regards Brexit as... a moment for the renaissance of the European Union.
'Well, fantastic, let's get on with it, let's have a renaissance of the European Union.'
The Bill overturns the 1972 Act which took Britain into the European Economic Community and incorporates relevant EU laws into the UK statute book to prevent black holes in the law at the point of Brexit.
There are currently a guaranteed 64 hours over eight days for committee stage, when amendments can be made, but concerns have been expressed by Tory and Labour MPs that this will not be enough time given the constitutional significance of the legislation.
A four-year-old girl from Melbourne has proven you're never too young to be kind, asking guests to bring blankets and food instead of birthday presents to donate to charity.
Little Ivy Fijac dropped of a large donation of dog food, blankets, treats and toys to the North Melbourne Lost Dogs' Home on the weekend.
Mum Loryn Fijac spoke to 3AW Radio on Tuesday morning and explained her daughter's kind actions.
Little Ivy Fijac dropped of a large donation of dog food, blankets, treats and toys to the North Melbourne Lost Dogs' Home on the weekend
'She's done this before, we've done it since her first birthday,' Mrs Fijac told listeners.
'But this year was the first year she's been able to understand what's been going on.'
Mrs Fijac said her family have done the same with her one-year-old son as well.
Friends and family donated '40 to 50 blankets, five or six huge bags of dog food, dog treats, tins and loads of toys'.
Ivy sits with her donation of '40 to 50 blankets, five or six huge bags of dog food, dog treats, tins and loads of toys'
The animal shelter that received the donation from the Fijac family let Ivy see where her kind gifts were going
'We even had people who weren't invited to the party who dropped off massive trash bags of blankets,' she said.
The family car was loaded with the donations and Ivy looked delighted with her kindhearted gifts.
Mrs Fijac said the shelter was 'awesome' when the family dropped off their kind donation.
'They were so excited, they were really cool with Ivy and took her to the bit to see where her donations were going.'
The mum-of-two said Ivy does still get presents from her parents and grandparents.
The Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg and Labor frontbencher Joel Fitzgibbon have swapped barbs in the corridors of parliament over the PM's energy policy.
The tense exchange, which happened in Parliament House on Tuesday morning, comes just days after the Turnbull government renewed its focus on convincing energy retailer AGL to extend the operating life of the Liddell coal-fired power station.
'Josh, I think you're embarrassed,' Joel Fitzgibbon told the minister in a hallway surrounded by cameras.
'Josh, I think you're embarrassed,' Joel Fitzgibbon (right) told the minister (left) in a hallway surrounded by cameras
'I think you're embarrassed because every day you've got to roll out and support the prime minister's desperate attempts to mislead the Australian community.'
Mr Frydenberg was having none of it, telling Mr Fitzgibbon - who he later labelled 'no-coal Joel' - Labor was prepared to turn its back on a million households.
'You're defending the big energy companies who are making big profits,' the minister said.
Mr Fitzgibbon responded by saying: 'Off the back of the high prices you created.'
The exchange came a day after the government claimed it had extracted a promise from AGL chief Andy Vesey to take a proposal to his board to consider selling or extending past 2022 the life of the coal-fired Liddell power station in the NSW Hunter Valley.
Mr Fitzgibbon (right) responded by saying: 'Off the back of the high prices you created'
The exchange came a day after the government claimed it had extracted a promise from AGL chief Andy Vesey to take a proposal to his board to consider selling or extending past 2022 the life of the coal-fired Liddell power station in the NSW Hunter Valley (pictured left Josh Frydenburg and right Joel Fitzgibbon)
But a few hours later, Mr Vesey told the ABC he believed the company could find the best solution for the energy market while still closing the plant down.
That stance earned an angry rebuke from government backbencher Craig Kelly.
'I think it appears AGL speaks with forked tongue,' he said, labelling the company 'probably one of our biggest corporate villains.'
'I am a little bit angry but it does not surprise me whatsoever - they've cut off tens of thousands of Australians, they've disconnected them from their electricity because of the high cost of electricity.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (pictured) said options for Liddell - which has generation capacity of 2000MW - need to be on the table right now.
'They've been rallying against coal at a time when 80 per cent of their generation comes from coal.'
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said options for Liddell - which has generation capacity of 2000MW - need to be on the table right now.
'And the most obvious option is to keep it running,' he told reporters in Canberra.
'But if AGL want to put up others, we'll obviously consider them, as indeed will the energy market operator and others.'
North Korea has warned the US will soon face the 'greatest pain' it has ever experienced as Kim Jong-un's hackers look set to turn to cyber-attacks to steal virtual currency in order to obtain funds amid United Nations sanctions.
Imports of crude oil have been capped - although the council stopped short of a total ban - and textile exports have been banned in the latest move against the state after its sixth and most powerful nuclear test.
It was the ninth sanctions resolution over North Korea's ballistic missile and nuclear programs adopted by the 15-member council since 2006.
Now, Kim Jong-un's hackers are said to be looking to counter the restrictions by tapping into online currency such as Bitcoin as Pyongyang officials condemned the sanctions adding the US would soon face the 'greatest pain' it had ever experienced.
The United Nations Security Council has implemented sanctions against North Korea after the country's sixth and most powerful nuclear test
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets supporters in this photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency
North Korea on Tuesday rejected the tougher sanctions and aimed its threats at the US.
Pyongyang's ambassador, Han Tae Song, told a UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament in Geneva: 'My delegation condemns in the strongest terms and categorically rejects the latest illegal and unlawful U.N. Security Council resolution.'
Han accused the U.S. administration of being 'fired up for political, economic, and military confrontation,' and of being 'obsessed with the wild game of reversing the DPRK's development of nuclear force which has already reached the completion phase'.
Now, experts predict the dictatorship is preparing to move part of its threat online.
North Korean hackers have mounted attacks on at least three South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges since May, security researcher FireEye said in a report Monday.
Local news reports said that in May Yapizon had more than 3,800 bitcoins worth $15million stolen - although FireEye said there were no clear indications of North Korean involvement in that case.
South Korea's opposition Bareun Party lawmaker Ha Tae-Kyung, who has followed North Korean hacking attempts, said it had apparently stolen more than 90billion won ($80million) from South Korea through hacking attacks in the four years to June, including cyber-attacks on ATMs.
'North Korea has set its sights on the so-called next generation financial markets, including virtual currencies, pin-tech and blockchains,' he told journalists last week.
'Alongside the UN-imposed sanctions, international cooperation is also required to curb the North's cyber-hacking which can be used to finance its nuclear and missile programmes', he said.
Experts have warned these attacks will become more frequent as the dictatorship attempts to re-balance its economy after the UN sanctions.
United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley raises her arm as she votes at the UN Security Council meeting
China and Russia supported the move after the United States watered down their original tougher draft resolution.
North Korea rakes in 570 million a year from its textile exports, according to the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.
The industry was the country's second-biggest export after coal and other minerals in 2016.
The country will only be able to import two million barrels of refined petroleum products each year and crude oil exports will be capped at current levels.
The resolution also banned natural gas liquids and condensates.
A U.S. official, who was not named, said North Korea imports some 4.5 million barrels of refined petroleum products annually and 4 million barrels of crude oil.
Liu Jieyi, Permanent Representative from China to the United Nations, during the United Nations Security Council meeting
United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley speaks with Sweden's ambassador to UN Olof Skoog
China's UN envoy urged North Korea to take the expectations of the international community 'seriously'.
Japan's U.N. ambassador, Koro Bessho, told ABC News: 'I think everyone's concerns have been satisfied, including ours.'
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson says the world is 'united against the illegal and reckless acts by the North Korean regime' after the sanctions were imposed.
Mr Johnson said the new measures were 'the most stringent UN sanctions regime placed on any nation in the 21st century'.
He said: 'The international community has shown it is united against the illegal and reckless acts by the North Korean regime.
'This resolution will curtail gas, petrol and oil imports. It will ban all textile exports, taking hundreds of million dollars from the export revenues that the North Korean regime uses to fund its illegal nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. And it will end the exploitation of DPRK labourers abroad.
Photo released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), Hwasong-14 being lauched
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson says the world is 'united against the illegal and reckless acts by the North Korean regime' after the sanctions were imposed
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the Command of the Strategic Force of the Korean People's Army
The country will only be able to import two million barrels of refined petroleum products each year and crude oil exports will be capped at current levels
'The North Korean regime bears full responsibility for the measures that the UN Security Council has enacted today. It is their continued, illegal and aggressive actions that have brought us to this point, and it is North Korea that must change its course.'
The news comes as Peru said it was expelling North Korea's ambassador over the country's refusal to end its nuclear programme.
The ambassador, Kim Hak-Chol, has five days to leave Peru, the foreign affairs ministry said in a statement.
Earlier this month North Korea launched its biggest nuclear bomb test, prompting global condemnation as U.S. President Donald Trump said 'appeasement' would not work.
Peru stressed that it was committed to a peaceful solution to the dispute and 'strict compliance' with resolutions passed by the United Nations Security Council.
Peru said it would 'carry out all diplomatic efforts aimed at denuclearizing the North Korean peninsula.'
Peru's announcement follows a similar move by Mexico last week and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence's public call last month for Latin American nations to isolate Pyongyang.
William Robert Dunbar, 22, allegedly threatened to kill Vice President Mike Pence while on duty at the Army National Guard Training Center
A National Guardsman has been arrested for talking about killing Vice President Mike Pence before his visit to the 9/11 memorial in Pennsylvania.
Twenty-two-year-old William Robert Dunbar of Berlin, New Jersey was charged Saturday after his comments before Pence's trip for the annual observance of the Flight 93 crash.
Richland Township police claim that Dunbar was on duty at the Army National Guard Training Center when he said, 'If someone pays me enough money, I will kill the vice president.'
Witnesses said they contacted commanding officers after they heard Dunbar make the threat twice.
Police said Dunbar was taken to Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center for evaluation and then to county prison in lieu of $250,000 bond.
Court documents don't list an attorney and a listed phone number for Dunbar couldn't be found Monday.
Scroll down for video
Dunbar was charged with disorderly conduct and terroristic threats towards Pence. He was taken to Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center for evaluation and then to county prison
Pence and his wife, Karen, toured the Flight 93 National Memorial on the 16th Anniversary ceremony of the September 11th terrorist attacks
Pence spoke at Shanksville in front of about 1,000 attendees to honor the people who died in the plane crash on 9/11.
Thirty-three passengers and seven crew members on the flight from Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco were killed.
Pence said: said he was in Washington as a member of Congress on 9/11. He learned that the Capitol was a possible target of the hijacked plane, which was only 12 minutes away.
'Without regard to personal safety, they rushed forward to save lives,' he said. 'I will always believe that I and many others in our nation's capital were able to go home that day and hug our families because of the courage and sacrifice of the heroes of Flight 93.'
Schools are being forced to fill half of their vacancies with teachers who are inexperienced or lack relevant subject expertise, according to a damning report from the Governments spending watchdog.
Tens of thousands of teachers left Englands schools before reaching retirement age last year and headteachers are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit good quality candidates.
They are either forced to take on temporary and supply teachers or members of staff with less experience or different subject expertise than needed.
Schools are being forced to fill half of their vacancies with teachers who are inexperienced or lack relevant subject expertise, according to a report from a Government spending watchdog
Other schools are simply not filling vacancies.
The National Audit Office warned that the worrying trend may have implications for the quality of education on offer to pupils in primary and secondary schools.
Secondaries in particular face significant challenges in employing enough teachers to keep up with spiralling pupil numbers as the baby bulge moves through the education system.
The findings are a blow to the Government which is attempting to raise standards in the countrys schools and will worry many parents.
The NAO study found that the proportion of secondary schools reporting at least once teacher vacancy rose from 15.9 per cent in 2010 to 23 per cent in 2015.
There was a rise in vacancy rates from 4.2 per cent to 6.9 per cent over the same period in primary schools.
The NAO surveyed 486 primary and secondary schools and found they were only able to fill around half of their vacant full-time posts during 2015/16 with qualified teachers who had the correct experience and expertise.
Schools generally filled the remainder with less experienced teachers, or with teachers with different subject specialisms, the report says.
Tens of thousands of teachers left Englands schools before reaching retirement age last year and headteachers are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit good quality candidates
However, for 9 per cent of primary school posts and 11 per cent of secondary school posts, headteachers did not fill the vacancy at all.
There were differences across the country, with the North East having the lowest proportion of schools reporting at least one opening (16.4 per cent of secondaries), compared to 30.4 per cent of schools in outer London and 26.4 per cent in the South East.
The study also revealed that almost 35,000 qualified teachers (34,910) left the profession for reasons other than retirement last year.
Overall, there was a 13.2 per cent increase in the number of primary and nursery school teachers between 2010 and 2016 - 26,000 extra workers but there was a corresponding 4.9 per cent fall in the numbers of secondary school teachers over the same period (10,800).
The NAO concluded that the Department for Education cannot show that its attempts to keep teachers in the classroom are having a positive impact and are good value for money.
They are either forced to take on temporary and supply teachers or members of staff with less experience or different subject expertise than needed
NAO chief Amyas Morse said: Schools are facing real challenges in retaining and developing their teachers, with growing pupil numbers and tighter budgets.
The trends over time and variation between schools are concerning, and there is a risk that the pressure on teachers will grow. Unions yesterday called on the Government to lift the public sector pay cap on teachers salaries to help boost retention rates.
Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT, said Ministers must act urgently to remove the unacceptable pay cap and restore salaries to levels which are competitive with other graduate professions.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), added: It is simply unreasonable of the government to expect more and more of schools while at the same time imposing real-terms pay cuts
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), added: It is simply unreasonable of the government to expect more and more of schools while at the same time imposing real-terms pay cuts.
A DfE spokeswoman said there are 15,500 more teachers in schools than in 2010, and significant sums are being spent on teacher recruitment.
She said: We recognise there are challenges facing schools and we are taking significant steps to address them.
We have established a 75 million fund to support high-quality professional development in those schools where teacher retention is an issue, and we are making it easier to advertise vacancies.
Britain's foreign aid budget is being used to cut smoking in China and keep homes in India cool rather than going to the worlds poorest countries, a Government watchdog warns today.
Ministers are accused of dishing out a 1.5billion fund for international research projects in haste instead of making sure it is targeted at those most in need.
Despite repeated promises to concentrate UK aid on the poorest nations, much of the research cash - which is counted towards the controversial 0.7 per cent aid target - is going to countries such as India and China.
Examples include a 133,584 grant to Sun Yat-Sen University for a project looking at how to reduce smoking amongst migrant workers in factories in Guangzhou, China.
Britain's foreign aid budget is being used to cut smoking in China (stock image)
The Public Health Foundation of India received 121,403 to explore how schools could reduce the consumption of sugary drinks.
And Loughborough University was awarded 537,717 for a study on environmentally friendly ways to keep Indian houses cool.
The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) which scrutinises taxpayer-funded UK aid found the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) had the potential to help address major global development challenges, but needed to improve how it targets and evaluates its spending.
The report warned: The early rounds of GCRF funding were done in haste, encouraging UK research institutions to rely on existing research partnerships, which were mainly in middle-income countries.
The GCRFs focus on research excellence may continue to advantage developing countries that already have credible research institutions, rather than directing investment towards poorer countries where capacity building may be most needed.
It found that 38 projects focused on India have so far been awarded money from the fund, which will dish out 1.5billion from 2016 to 2021, with 22 in China getting cash.
Tina Fahm, the ICAI commissioner who led the review, said: The Global Challenges Research Fund has the potential to address important global development challenges.
However currently there is a real risk that the funds resources will be spread too thinly to achieve truly transformative results.
Ministers have issued repeated assurances that aid to China has stopped, saying in 2010 that it was not justifiable to send millions to an economic superpower.
China has poured billions into its space programme and wants to put astronauts on the Moon by 2036.
The Department for International Development (Dfid) officially closed its funding programme for China in 2011, but aid cash has continued to be siphoned to the country by other Whitehall departments.
The Department for International Development (Dfid) officially closed its funding programme for China in 2011
Similarly, Dfid ended the main aid programme for India at the end of 2015, but the spending has continued in other forms.
The worlds fastest-growing economy has sent a mission to Mars, boasts more billionaires than Britain and hands out millions to needy nations itself.
Ministers are under pressure to improve how Britain spends money abroad after Theresa May pledged at the general election to keep David Camerons commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of national income on overseas development.
Critics have argued that it is wrong that the aid budget has spiralled to 13billion at a time when there is a shortage of cash for spending at home.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), which oversees the 1.5billion research fund, last night defended the spending.
A spokesman said: The Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) has shown how the UKs expertise in research and innovation can lead the charge in solving some of the greatest global development challenges of our time, while also contributing to the stability, security and prosperity of the UK.
As with all Overseas Development Assistance investments, there are robust assessment processes in place for the GCRF which ensures the programme benefits the worlds poorest people and provides value for money for UK taxpayers. BEIS will review the reports recommendations and respond in due course.
The UK ended financial aid to China in 2011 and India in 2015. Our support has moved to sharing skills, advice and expertise.
He added: China and India remain home to more than half of the worlds poorest people, and continuing progress in middle-income countries is regarded as essential to achieving the UNs Sustainable Development Goals.
Not exactly a day of vein-flushing oratory about Britains looming independence. Instead we had hours of dusty debate about statutory instruments, the Procedure Committee, the proper triage-ing of Bills, Henry VIII powers and secondary legislation arrangements.
Is he conscious, Tory backbencher Sir Oliver Letwin asked Chris Bryant, of schedule seven and in particular part two and in particular paragraph six, subsection G? Mr Bryant said he knew the passage intimately. The bluffer!
The continuation of the Great Repeal Bill debate which will see many European rules glurped into British law temporarily, to avoid too jolting a change in the Law was for puristes.
Caroline Flint denounced metropolitan intellectuals in her party who wanted to stop Brexit
As MPs fluffed out their tails, you could imagine petite, porcelain cups held at fascinated angles by powdered Regency dames, licking chocolate powder from their lips in dry-mouthed perturbation. Brexit? Accept the will of hoi polloi? Eek. My dears, what a frightful prospect!
A few Remainers/Reversers, such as David Lammy (Lab, Tottenham), were at least open in their revulsion at last years democratic result. Mr Lammy predicted that our economy would go down the khazi. He said independent British trade deals were an aberration. How can we be about to leave? he wailed after asserting that Brussels was quite right to demand billions of pounds from us in a divorce payment. The EU will be delighted with him.
Brexit had created nastiness, continued Mr Lammy, before demonstrating just that by picking a fight with one of his fellow anti-Brexiteers, Anna Soubry (Con, Broxtowe). It was like seeing members of a netball team starting slapping one another.
Again, there was no sign of the Lib Dems leader, Sir Vince Cable (Twickenham) as the debate began. Is Vince okay? Perhaps he was taking 40 winks before his party conference next week.
Unscintillating Maria Miller fretted that Equalities laws might be diluted by Brexit
The day began with unscintillating Maria Miller (Con, Basingstoke), fretting that Equalities laws might be diluted by Brexit. Mrs Miller was once a Cabinet minister and yet found it necessary to speak off a typed text. The rhetorical ineptitude of some of our politicians is staggering.
Bernard Jenkin (Con, Harwich & N Essex), pro-Brexit, was pleased by Tony Blairs recent interventions because they had surely harmed the Remain side. We might well leave without a comprehensive settlement with the EU, said Mr Jenkin. He wanted Whitehall to prepare for that.
Frank Field (Lab, Birkenhead) said the Government should set a firm date for our leaving. He intended to support the Bill. We all thought Caroline Flint (Lab, Don Valley) would do the same, particularly when we heard her denounce metropolitan intellectuals in her party who wanted to stop Brexit.
But after tooting her trumpet and enduring tuts and heckles from the Labour sisterhood, Miss Flint said oh that she was only going to abstain in the vote. Mr Field, behind her, gave a dismissive snort.
Sir Edward Leigh (Con, Gainsborough) did his usual thing of being bloody-minded to those in power. It does not really matter who or what the regime is. Sir Edward will always be bolshy. Unless it is the Kremlin, perhaps.
Zac Goldsmith (Con, Richmond Park) said Brexit would allow us to pass better laws on the environment and some of our cash would no longer be given to bull-fighting. David TC Davies (Con, Monmouth) noted that last time there was a close referendum, on Welsh devolution, the BBC did not send teams out into the streets to hunt for dissenters. Conor Burns (Con, Bournemouth W) said hed never heard Labours Remainers complain about legislative dumping during all the years the EU forced its laws on us without parliamentary debate. Robert Syms (Con, Poole) said the lawyers would have a field day if the Bill was not passed.
Talking of which, I saw a little knot of lawyerly Tory wets: la Soubry, Alberto Costa (S Leics), Cheryl Gillan (Amersham) and a twitchy Capt Mainwaring figure called Bob Neill (Bromley & Chislehurst). In their midst, like some Turkish sultan, sat Dominic Grieve (Beaconsfield), issuing decrees, silkenly stirring.
University of Tennessee Chattanooga's College of Engineering announces Dr. Paul McConnaughey at their CECS Seminar Series presenting The Future of Deep Space Human Exploration on Sept. 22 at 11 a.m. in the UTC SimCenter Auditorium, 701 E. M.L. King Blvd. in Chattanooga. The public is invited.
"Why explore deep space? And what technologies will it take to get there? Dr. Paul McConnaughey will discuss the importance of engineering advanced technologies to journey to deep space to cislunar, the moon, Mars, and beyond. From the evolvable heavy-lift capability of the Space Launch System to cutting edge lander propulsion technology, the journey to deep space will require innovation and the next generation STEM workforce to be successful," officials said.
Dr. Paul K. McConnaughey is the associate director, technical, in the Office of the Center Director at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. The Marshall Center is one of NASAs largest field installations, with nearly 6,000 on- and near-site civil service and contractor employees and an annual budget of approximately $2.5 billion.
Named to the position in August 2015, Dr. McConnaughey is responsible for ensuring the performance of Marshalls programs and technical activities with respect to cost, schedule, and mission success.
Originally from the midwest, he earned his bachelors degree from Oregon State University in Corvallis, and his masters degree and doctorate from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. After earning his doctorate, Dr. McConnaughey spent three years as a professor of soil physics and mathematics at Mississippi State University in Starkville.
He joined Marshall in 1986 as an engineer in the Systems Dynamics Laboratory, where he advanced quickly through supervisory positions, and in 1998 was named the chief of the Fluid Dynamics Division. In 1998, he was named NASAs deputy manager for the Military Spaceplane Technology Office, where he worked on space vehicle technologies of joint interest to NASA and the U.S. Air Force.
Dr. McConnaughey held various leadership positions of increasing responsibility, and in 2007 was selected as Marshalls chief engineer. He then served as the director of System Engineering and Integration and the chief engineer of the Exploration Systems Development Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington where he oversaw the integration of the Space Launch System, Orion spacecraft, and Ground Support Development and Operations programs.
For his service to NASA, he has received three NASA Exceptional Service Medals, a NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, a Center Directors Commendation, and a Certificate of Appreciation. Dr. McConnaughey also received the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Executive in 2011, the second-highest award conferred by the president of the United States.
Criticism of Britains response to Irma intensified last night as it emerged that no ministers will be sent to the region despite planned visits by French and Dutch leaders.
Pressure grew on the Government after French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch King Willem-Alexander announced trips to the area.
Critics said that Britain was offering only bluster after unfavourable comparisons to other countries who responded far quicker to the devastation.
Pressure grew on the Government after French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch King Willem-Alexander(pictured at Princess Juliana International Airport) announced trips to the area
Hurricane Irma hit the Caribbean on Wednesday, killing 24 people and leaving a trail of devastation that has left thousands homeless.
Over the weekend it hit Florida, causing widespread flooding and leaving more than two million homes and businesses without power.
The now category-three storm is expected to wreak havoc up the west coast of the state in the coming days.
Yesterday, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson defended the UK response to what he called an unprecedented catastrophe.
I stress that this is a very big consular crisis, and I am confident that we are doing everything we possibly can to help British nationals.
But you must understand that there are a million of them affected, he told BBC Radio 4s Today programme. We were there as soon as the crisis broke.
Hurricane Irma hit the Caribbean on Wednesday, killing 24 people and leaving a trail of devastation that has left thousands homeless. Pictured: The Dutch king on St Martin
It doesnt make any sense when a hurricane is impending to send in heavy aircraft or to send in ships that are not capable themselves of withstanding the storm.
In fact the French had to ask us for assistance later on, because wed got the right sort of kit there.
These are British people, these are British overseas territories, and we are going to be there for the long term.
He said suggestions the UK response was not good or fast enough were completely wrong.
Mr Johnson said that in addition to the 32million already set aside following the disaster, the Government would be matching public donations to the Red Cross appeal.
Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon defended the Governments response on Monday, saying that Britain had sent a 16,000-tonne aid ship with marines and a helicopter.
There are more than 88,000 people living in the British overseas territories Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands and the Turks and Caicos, for which the UK has a responsibility.
But Britains response was branded absolutely pathetic on Monday as other countries with interests in the region delivered aid and relief far more quickly.
The UK only sent 500 soldiers at the weekend to help with the relief effort and deter looters.
Yesterday, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson defended the UK response to what he called an unprecedented catastrophe. Pictured: King Willem-Alexander at Princess Juliana International Airport
Yesterday, the criticism grew as it emerged that French President Emmanuel Macron will visit the area today and the Dutch King visited yesterday.
In contrast, a Downing Street spokesman said it was not aware of any plans for British ministers to visit the Caribbean disaster zone.
Asked yesterday why the UK had not airlifted its citizens out of the area before the hurricane struck, the Prime Ministers official spokesman said: We are talking about a huge number of British citizens who are in the path of this hurricane, and we are doing everything we can to help them.
The spokesman also rejected suggestions that the UK authorities failed to prepare for the disaster.
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Mounts Bay had been positioned in the area in advance in order to be able to provide swift relief, he said.
RFA Mounts Bay was not in the region by chance, said the spokesman. It was pre-positioned there in July ahead of hurricane season.
What that meant was that DFID (Department for International Development) aid supplies, specially trained military personnel and a helicopter were in the Caribbean when Irma hit, and they could start getting to Anguilla as soon as the hurricane passed.
The Prime Minister's spokesman rejected suggestions that the UK authorities failed to prepare for the disaster. Pictured: King Willem-Alexander visits a damaged watertank
He added: We were prepared for this and we responded quickly. We are now responding to an unprecedented situation and making sure that all the resources that are needed are getting there.
The spokesman said the UK had been able to provide assistance with strategic airlift capacity in response to a French request for help, with an RAF C17 being used to fly helicopters to the region.
The UK has so far deployed 700 troops, 50 police officers, more than 20 tonnes of aid as well as teams of humanitarian and consular experts, the Ministry of Defence said.
The Governments emergency response committee - COBRA - has met every day since last Thursday to coordinate the military and aid response.
HMS Ocean is currently docked in Gibraltar and is expected to depart for the Caribbean by today carrying aid.
The Ministry of Defence also said that it had agreed to support the French who requested a strategic airlift to support their operations on St Barts and St Martin.
Yesterday, 53 British police officers were flown into Barbados to support local forces amid reports of looting. More are expected to fly out in the coming days, bringing the total to 60.
They were deployed in Barbados, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands.
Stephen Norris, commanding officer of RFA Mounts Bay, insisted his men were on the islands providing support as soon as the storm had calmed.
Our reaction, I suggest, has been exemplary, he told BBC News. We were there as soon as we possibly could [be]. Clearly, I dont wish to put my ship in danger and the 170 people on board.
But Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable said: The action of other governments puts Theresa Mays response in sharp relief.
While France doubles its police and military presence in response to the hurricane, the British government offers the bluster of Boris Johnson.
Whole communities have been devastated and they need practical help now.
Last night, more than six million people in Florida and Georgia were urged to leave their homes as Hurricane Irma bore down on the region.
A storm surge warning is in place for areas including the low-lying Florida Keys and Tampa Bay, with people urgently warned to stay away from the water.
New theories claim a famous behemoth Australian outback drawing was created by aliens as an orbital indicator.
The Marree Man depicts the figure of an Aboriginal man hunting and was discovered in 1998 by a pilot flying over the remote region of South Australia.
Mystery History claim the geoglyph, which would have required a fleet of vehicles and a sophisticated communication system to carve, could have been executed by aliens as a marker to indicate what habits the planet.
New theories claim a famous behemoth Australian outback drawing was created by aliens as an orbital indicator
The Marree Man depicts the figure of an Aboriginal man hunting and was discovered in 1998 by a pilot flying over the remote region of South Australia
Mystery History claim the geoglyph could have been executed by aliens as a marker to indicate what habits the planet
The artwork, an astonishing 28km in length, was visible from space and locals have several theories as to its creator.
People believe the carving may have been a gift from the US military who had been based at the Woomera Royal Australian Air Force Base.
Others say Marree Man was drawn by local South Australian artist Bardius Goldberg, who passed away in 2002. He reportedly told friends he'd been paid $10,000 to create the figure.
Mystery History believe this would be highly unlikely, as a creation of this magnitude and sophistication would demand huge resources and coordination.
'The fact that no one saw it being created or additionally reported its creation will remain extremely perplexing,' they say.
'To create such an image, a fleet of vehicles would have been required, a system of radio communication and a team of individuals.'
The artwork, an astonishing 28km in length, was visible from space and locals have several theories as to its creator
Others say Marree Man was drawn by local South Australian artist Bardius Goldberg (pictured), who passed away in 2002. He reportedly told friends he'd been paid $10,000 to create the figure
In 2015 the Marree Man mysteriously disappeared. It is unknown whether it faded with time, if weather eroded the carving or if its alien designers no longer needed the reminder
The remote area, located more than 700 kilometres from Adelaide, provides a landscape for any conventional means of man-made carving nearly impossible.
'All this completed within a dry, remote, unforgiving corner of the Australian outback without telling anyone it's there.'
In 2015, 17 years after it was first discovered, the Marree Man mysteriously disappeared. It is unknown whether it faded with time, if weather eroded the carving or if its alien designers no longer needed the reminder.
This is not the first time Aboriginal drawings have been linked to extra-terrestrials, with English settlers claming drawings of the Wandjina spirits found in caves in Western Australia depicted contact of the indigenous Australians with aliens in the past.
Images of large figures with halo-like objects around their heads, large flashing eyes, a slim nose, no mouth and extravagant dressing confused British explorers.
The pictures show the spirits watching over an Aboriginal community, which the British believed were stories of a possible encounter with those not from this world.
Locals reject the claims, saying the British analysis was misunderstood and offensive.
Theresa May will today offer a deep security partnership with the European Union after Brexit in an attempt to kick-start stalled talks.
In a new official position paper, ministers will spell out the scale and importance of Britains military, defence and security assets and offer to continue close co-operation.
But the document will be seen by Brussels as an attempt to play the security card, with the implied threat that the UK could step back from backing European defence if it does not get a good deal.
Theresa May is offering a 'deep security partnership' with the European Union after Brexit
It will specifically highlight the global threats facing both the EU and Britain and offer a future security relationship that is closer than with any other country.
The European Commission is refusing to discuss trade until British ministers agree to pay an eye-watering divorce bill. By publishing the new paper, ministers will remind EU leaders how much the UK contributes to defence and security.
It will point out that the UK has the largest defence budget in Europe, and is one of only a handful of EU countries to meet the Nato target of spending 2 per cent of GDP on defence.
Last night a Government source raised the prospect of pulling back from sharing defence technology in the event of getting no Brexit deal. The source said: Britain has a world-leading defence industry which is key to military research and capability development across Europe.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said the UK is committed to upholding European security
Our defence firms jointly develop cutting-edge equipment with many of our EU partners and Nato allies, and this plays a central role in ensuring we are effectively prepared to face a growing range of threats and challenges to our collective security. So this paper will say that we want a future partnership in which we can continue to collaborate with our European partners on defence research and capability development post-exit.
Brexit Secretary David Davis said: After we leave the European Union we will continue to face shared threats to our security, our shared values and our way of life. Its in our mutual interest to work closely with the EU and its member states to challenge terrorism and extremism, illegal migration, cyber-crime, and conventional state-based military aggression.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon added: At a time of increased threats and international instability the UK remains unwavering in its commitment to uphold European security.
The British sense of irony is being lost, comedian Jack Dee has said
The British sense of irony is being lost, comedian Jack Dee has said.
The Lead Balloon star added he has more or less given up posting on Twitter as a result.
He told Radio Times: 'There's nothing you can say that won't upset someone - I just can't be bothered.
'It's harder to convince people that if you say something unappealing, you're being ironic.
'I grew up being told that Americans don't get irony. I think they're masters of irony compared to what we do.
'If you watch The Simpsons, Family Guy or so many comedians - they're so good at saying one thing, believing another and getting the audience to follow. We're losing that.'
Dee said he has not seen the funny side of Brexit, telling the magazine: 'When the result came, everyone was knocked sideways. It's quite hard to find that funny.'
However, he said he is worried about a potential political imbalance in comedy, as he and his fellow Remainers all share the same view point.
Dee (pictured in TV show Lead Balloon) said he is worried about a potential political imbalance in comedy, as he and his fellow Remainers all share the same view point
He said it reminds him of the explosion in alternative comedy during Margaret Thatcher's time in Downing Street.
'You only needed to mention Margaret Thatcher and you'd get a round of applause. I figured there's just no point in doing stuff about this. There would be three other people doing the same thing as you.
'And topical comedy becomes a bit like doing crosswords. The gags that you all arrive at are going to be pretty much the same because the subjects are the same.'
He says he sees a similar thing happening now with younger comedians, as they are anxious to prove their allegiance to one side.
He said: 'Instinctively, I want comedians to be independent of all of that. I don't want them to be hailing a new type of government. I've always thought it was my job to question all of it.'
Radio Times is out now.
Almost half a million gallons of gasoline have been released into the Houston Ship Channel in the wake of Hurricane Harvey - making it the storm's largest reported spill to date.
In total 10,988 barrels - more than 461,000 gallons - spilled from a petroleum tank farm in Galena Park, with some pouring into a waterway next to the shipping channel.
That means there's a risk of groundwater contamination affecting the populace, and symptoms consistent with chemical poisoning have already been reported, say critics.
Scroll down for video
Hurricane Harvey's largest spill occurred here, at the factory-lined Houston Ship Channel (general view on August 27). The 461,000-gallon gasoline spill was first reported on August 31
The actual spill occurred on an area owned by Magellan Midstream Partners (pictured in more clement weather) and some gasoline entered a waterway next to the ship channel
Gasoline is more volatile than oil, meaning it evaporates more quickly after it's spilled.
But it's also more likely to catch fire, and can more rapidly penetrate the soil and potentially contaminate groundwater supplies.
Luke Metzger, director of Environment Texas, said the group had received anecdotal reports of people in the Houston area suffering symptoms associated with exposure to chemicals in contaminated floodwaters.
Another general view of the channel on August 27. Gasoline evaporates faster than oil, but can also contaminate soil quicker. Magellan said it had contained the spill
They include headaches and respiratory problems.
He and other environmentalists criticized officials for not being proactive in publicizing the spill and warning Houston-area residents that it had occurred.
'They ought to know exactly how much gasoline was spilled, where it is now, how the state is containing it, and whether they should worry about any ongoing public health threats,' said Kara Cook-Schultz of the Texas Public Interest Research Group.
The spill, from a petroleum tank farm in Galena Park operated by Magellan Midstream Partners, was first reported to state and federal officials on August 31, but no volume was given at that time.
Later that day the company reported the spill was 1,000 barrels. In a report filed last week and released Monday, Magellan put the spill more than 10 times higher, at 10,988 barrels.
That's equivalent to the combined volume of about 51 tanker trucks used to deliver gasoline to service stations.
Magellan spokesman Bruce Heine said state and federal regulators had been notified promptly of the company's best assessments of the volume.
Some of fuel flowed into a waterway adjacent to the ship channel, which is a heavily-industrialized area lined with dozens of petrochemical facilities, the reports said.
Heine claimed the gasoline that reached the small, unnamed waterway had been contained.
The spill occurred on the channel, which leads into Clear Lake and then Galveston Bay. There's no indication that it spread further than the immediate area of the spill. Magellan said a clean-up operation, including soil replacement, was underway
'Federal and state regulators have been on-site during the recovery and clean-up procedures,' he said.
'Clean-up activities at the facility are continuing and we are currently removing and replacing affected soil.'
The spilled fuel was sprayed with foam to prevent it from releasing harmful vapors, he added.
The US Environmental Protection Agency said in an emailed statement that it was not aware of any environmental damage from the spill outside of Magellan's Galena Park facility.
The agency said there was a chance the gasoline would enter the ship channel but agency personnel were not aware of that happening.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality planned to investigate the accident to determine if Magellan had complied with its operating permit and state rules.
Luke Metzger of Environment Texas said that there had been anecdotal reports of symptoms consistent with chemical exposure including headaches and respiratory issues
They require the company to disclose any air pollution emitted by the spilled gasoline, CEQ spokeswoman Andrea Morrow said.
The Associated Press has identified more than two dozen spills from fuel and chemical tanks that failed during Harvey.
At least 14 tanks failed when their roofs sank under the weight of Harvey's unprecedented rainfall. Others were swept away by floodwaters.
Including the Magellan spill, the accidents have released more than 600,000 gallons of fuel.
Heine said what happened with Magellan's tanks was 'related to flooding associated with the hurricane,' but would not elaborate and said the cause was still under investigation.
Government regulations do not require tank owners to take specific steps to make the tanks flood resistant, although researchers have warned for years that they are prone to break open during severe hurricanes.
In 2005 during Hurricane Katrina storage tank failures spilled millions of gallons of fuel into floodwaters.
A man who raped, bashed and drowned a four-year-old girl will stay behind bars until at least next year after parole officials asked for another psychological report.
Neville Raymond Towner, 51, appeared before the NSW State Parole Authority on Tuesday morning seeking freedom after serving 28 years of what was originally a life sentence.
The authority ordered further medical evidence be presented before adjourning the hearing until January 16 next year.
Towner, who appeared via video link from the Long Bay prison complex, murdered Lauren Hickson at Emu Plains, west of Sydney, on May 17, 1989.
Towner was 23 when he abducted Laruen from the Nepean River Caravan Park where she lived with her parents, before bashing her over the head with a rock, attempting to rape her and eventually drowning her in the Nepean River.
Lauren Hickson was four years old when she was murdered near her family home in western Sydney by Neville Towner, a man who had known her since she was a baby
Lauren Hickson (pictured) was only four years old when she was raped, tortured and murdered by Neville Towner, during a vile attack at Emu Plains, a suburb in the west of Sydney, in 1989
Towner (pictured) was convicted of murder and sentenced to life behind bars, but could walk free as soon as Tuesday when he will face the NSW State Parole Authority
Towner was convicted of murder and sentenced to life behind bars.
But he could be allowed to return into the community next year under parole laws - a move that has outraged Lauren's devastated mother.
Jurina Hickson warned other families would face a fate similar to hers if Towner were ever to be released.
'People say (Towner) has got rights but what about children's rights, Lauren's rights and our kids' rights?' Mrs Hickson told 2GB Radio.
'Their rights are being taken away when they're being violated. Children are being abused, raped. It's devastating, it's terrible.'
'If he gets out someone else will suffer what we've been going through.'
Lauren first came into contact with Towner through the killer's mother, who was entrusted as the girl's regular babysitter. Towner had known Lauren since she was a baby.
A huge police search discovered her body the day after she went missing lying by the river 500 metres west of the caravan park.
Forensic examinations showed Lauren had suffered bruising to her face and neck, according to The Daily Telegraph. Debris was found in her lungs and blood in her stomach.
Pathologists found a 2.5cm tear to Lauren's vagina and a fractured skull. She had another cut on her forehead which had penetrated to the bone.
Towner, who had hit Lauren over the head with a rock before attempting to rape her, was charged with murder and intent to sexually assault a child under the age of ten.
Towner tried to kill himself by slashing his wrists two days after he was charged. He again attempted to take his own life after an appearance at Penrith Local Court where an angry crowd wanted him dead.
Lauren (pictured) first came into contact with Towner through his mother, who was entrusted as her regular babysitter but chose to let her son look after her the day she went missing
The four-year-old was abducted from the caravan park where she lived with her family, before being bashed over the head with a rock, raped and eventually drowned in the Nepean River
He was sentenced to life in prison in 1992 but that was re-determined in 2002 to grant Towner a minimum non-parole period of 20 years.
Less than three decades after the murder, Towner has freedom within his reach should the SPA approve his release next year.
Mrs Hickson has also written of her anguish on a change.org petition calling on the SPA to block Towner's parole.
'I'll never forgive him while I've still got breath in my body,' Ms Hickson said.
The petition, started by Walking Warriors Australia, had 106,239 signatories on Tuesday.
Steve Ticehurst, who investigated the case, echoed the statements of Ms Hickson in opposing Towner's parole, saying he did 'not deserve to be released'.
The NSW Corrective Services Commissioner, Peter Severin, also opposes Towner's release.
Towner was first refused parole in 2009 - his earliest possible release date - and again in 2010 and 2015.
If granted parole Towner would be subject to conditions set by the SPA for the rest of his life.
A new generation of giant offshore wind farms will produce energy more cheaply than nuclear power, it was revealed yesterday.
The cost of energy from the supersized turbines is forecast to be around 40 per cent less than that from the Hinkley Point development.
Three massive farms off the coast of England and Scotland have been given the go-ahead by the Government. Together, they will provide enough electricity to power 3.6million homes. However energy industry insiders said that other options would still be needed for when the wind drops.
Three massive farms off the coast of England and Scotland given the go-ahead in a new generation of off-shore windfarms
The biggest of the three new turbine farms will be Hornsea 2, 55 miles off the Yorkshire coast. It will become the worlds largest with capacity to supply over 1.3million homes when it is finished in 2020.
Approval has also been granted to Moray Offshore off the north-east coast of Scotland. The farm will provide enough electricity for close to a million homes. A scheme at Triton Knoll, which is off the coast of Lincolnshire, will also supply power to approaching 900,000 homes.
The move comes despite warnings from campaigners about the threat turbines pose to wildlife and criticism about green energy subsidies which have sent household bills rocketing by around 110 a year.
It also raises questions about the reasons for shifting to renewable energy. Successive governments have claimed that using gas to generate electricity is likely to become more expensive. However, gas prices have not spiked as expected.
Recent technological improvements, competition among firms and the development of turbines bigger than skyscrapers have helped to bring down the cost of wind power.
As a result, two of the new wind farms, which will go online in 2022, will be paid 57.50 per megawatt hour (MWh) for their output. This is half the 117.14 price for power from wind farms approved in 2015.
Significantly, it is also well below 92.50 per MWh promised by the Government to the French and Chinese developers of the new Hinkley Point C nuclear plant in Somerset.
Two of the new wind farms, which go online in 2022, will be paid half the price for the power they provide than those approved in 2015
Chief executive of trade body RenewableUK, Hugh McNeal, described the fall in prices as astounding. He said: Record-breaking cost reductions like the ones achieved by offshore wind are unprecedented for large energy infrastructure. Todays results mean that both onshore and offshore wind are cheaper than gas and nuclear.
However, EDF, the French firm behind Hinkley, said: New nuclear remains competitive for consumers who face extra costs in providing back-up power when the wind doesnt blow.
Tom Greatrex, chief executive of the Nuclear Industry Association, added that wind power alone could not solve the challenges facing the British energy industry.
Ministers claim that the offshore wind industry will deliver 17.5billion of investment in the UK up to 2021. One manufacturer of the supersize turbines, MHI Vestas, is making the blades on the Isle of Wight and then transporting them to Belfast for assembly before they are moved into position. Separately, Siemens is making blades for its turbines in Hull.
Energy minister Richard Harrington said: Weve placed clean growth at the heart of the industrial strategy to unlock opportunities across the country, while cutting carbon emissions.
He said the UK has the largest offshore wind capacity in the world and low carbon businesses have a combined turnover of 43billion, employing 234,000 people.
The push towards renewable energy such as wind comes at a time when world gas supplies are in fact relatively plentiful.
Pipelines from Norway and Europe feed into the UK national grid and Britain started importing relatively cheap shale gas from the United States earlier this year.
The RSPB has previously expressed fears that four developments in Scotland could kill tens of thousands of birds.
Bam Margera has revealed that he was secretly battling bulimia at the height of his fame as he starred in Jackass and Viva La Bam in the early 2000s.
The 37-year-old pro-skateboarder opened up about his eating disorder and his battles with alcohol in an episode of Viceland's Epicly Later'd.
His parents April and Phil Margera also offered insight into his bulimia, saying to all started when the MTV star started partying with rock stars like HIM's Ville Valo.
Bam Margera, 37, has revealed that he was secretly battling bulimia at the height of his fame as he starred in Jackass and Viva La Bam in the early 2000s
'He always wanted to have this very slim, slim look and a lot of it kind of happened when he became good friends with Ville Valo,' April said.
The pro-skateboarder said Valo introduced him to day drinking - a habit that he says quickly spun out of control.
'I remember when me and Ville Valo were out in London and he woke up at noon, opened up the mini bar and cracked open a beer. That was the first time I was introduced to day drinking,' Bam said.
'I didn't start officially drinking until maybe 24 or 25. Then the rock star life and drinking spun out of control.'
Bam's mother said that while Valo was the 'loveliest man ever', he only drank and rarely ever ate.
Margera rose to fame after appearing in MTV's Jackass crew (above) in the early 2000s
The 37-year-old pro-skateboarder (above in 2014) said his eating disorder and battle with alcohol started when he began partying with rock stars
'I think Bam started sipping on a beer or sipping on a something because he liked the way he looked,' she said.
From there, his drinking quickly morphed into bulimia.
'We would go out to dinner and then (Bam) would immediately excuse himself and go to the bathroom,' April said.
'I said, "Are you throwing up?" He says, "Yeah, yeah, sometimes I throw up and that way I'm not gonna get fat".'
Bam eventually kicked the habit and is sober today. He lives in Spain with his wife Nicole Boyd. The couple are expecting their first child.
His mother said it still hurts when she hears people insult her son by commenting on the way he looks.
'It really hurts me when people make comments like, "You look like you gained some weight there". "Hey, wow, Bam you're looking like your dad",' April said.
'I don't respond, but I feel like saying, "He was drinking alcohol and he was bulimic and that's why he was thin".'
Australians waiting to buy the new Apple iPhone, which is set to be unveiled on Wednesday, will have to pay more than anyone in Asia.
An report compiled by CommSec, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia's securities unit, has revealed Australia is currently 25th out of 57 countries for iPhone affordability.
That's a significant drop from 12 months ago, when the country sat at 17th place and was fifth cheapest two years.
Australians will have to pay more than Asian countries for the new iPhone (pictured is the iPhone 7 in Sydney in 2016)
Despite the Australian dollar rising roughly 15 per cent against the US dollar since September 2015, the new Apple handset will still be cheaper to buy in Asia.
Current pricing suggests that Australians could save around AU$170 by buying a 32-gigabyte iPhone 7 in Tokyo instead of in Sydney.
Craig James, chief economist at CommSec, told the Sydney Morning Herald when our currency strengthens it 'poses challenges for Aussie retailers'.
'If they don't pass on the benefits to customers in the form of cheaper imported goods, Aussie consumers may go online and source the goods from abroad,' he said.
The iPhone 3G, pictured, cost AU$279 for an 8GB model when it was released in Australia in 2008
Current pricing suggests Australians could save AU$170 by buying a 32-gigabyte iPhone 7 in Tokyo instead of Sydney (pictured: iPhone 6 and 6s)
'Or Aussie tourists may purchase goods abroad in preference of buying goods locally.'
To add to the currency dilemma, CommSec's index also suggests the Aussie dollar is five per cent to 10 per cent overvalued at current exchange rates for iPad's and iPhone's.
'At current exchange rates Australian consumers would find the latest iPad or iPhone less expensive to buy in a raft of Asian countries together with the US and Canada,' Mr James said.
Rumours suggest Apple could be releasing a premium iPhone, to be priced as high as $AU 1700 (pictured: iPhone 6)
'It could be argued the Aussie dollar is too high against major currencies on current fundamentals.'
Those wanting the latest version of the tech giant's smart devices will have to hope Apple take the strength of the Australian dollar into account when they release the prices.
Rumours around the new iPhone, launching on Wednesday morning, AEST, suggest it will include wireless charging, a near-edge to edge display and facial recognition, which will potentially replace the fingerprint unlock system used since 2013.
The iPhone 3G cost just AU$279 for an 8GB model when it was brought to Australia in 2008.
Some reports suggest Apple may be introducing three new iPhone models, with rumours of a premium iPhone to be priced as high as $AU 1700.
The hefty price tag is significantly more than the average Australian is willing to part with - according to WhistleOut, a comparison site for phone and internet plans.
Research conducted by the site found people interested in the latest model were willing to pay, on average, just $AU 920.
Two Queensland women, one with a face tattoo, who walked out of a prison together are still on the run.
Abigail Graf, 21, and Tegan Simpson, 24, were reported missing at 11pm on Sunday after they weren't marked as present during a routine headcount.
They were both being held at the 700 hectare open prison in Numinbah Valley, 100km south of Brisbane.
Tegan Simpson, 22, is 163cm with dark brown hair and green eyes (pictured)
Abigail Graf, who is on remand for assaulting police, is 168cm tall, with bleached blonde hair and multiple tattoos including the words 'life' and 'death' on her thighs (pictured)
They were both being held at the 700 hectare open prison in Numinbah Valley, 100km south of Brisbane (pictured Tegan Simpson)
It is not yet known if the women knew each other prior to entering the open prison but they are not 'friends' on social media (pictured Abigail Graf)
Graf is on remand for assaulting police and Simpson was in custody for receiving stolen goods.
It is not yet known if the women knew each other prior to entering the open prison but they are not 'friends' on social media.
Graf is described as being 168cm tall and weighing about 61kg, with hazel coloured eyes and bleached blonde hair.
The 21-year-old has several obvious tattoos including one of an eye and teeth on her left arm, the A anarchy sign on her left-hand ring finger, the word death on her upper left leg, a graffiti tag on her left ankle and one of the word life on her upper right leg.
Simpson is similarly covered in ink with a tattoo of the word strength over her left eyebrow, a rose behind her left ear, a full sleeve tattoo on her left arm, angel wings on her right inner wrist, a bow on her right hand, a phoenix bird on her lower left leg, a crown on her right foot as well as a skull, rose, lantern, eye and ladies face on her right leg.
She is about 163cm tall with dark brown hair and green eyes. According to Facebook the 24-year-old is single and originally from Goulburn, New South Wales.
The 21-year-old has several obvious tattoos including one of an eye and teeth on her left arm, the A anarchy sign on her left-hand ring finger, the word death on her upper left leg, a graffiti tag on her left ankle and one of the word life on her upper right leg
Simpson also has multiple tattoos including the word 'strength' on her face, and a skull and rose on her leg
Abagail Graf, 21, and Tegan Simpson, 24, (pictured) were reported missing at 11pm on Sunday
According to Facebook the 24-year-old is single and originally from Goulburn, New South Wales
Queensland police told Daily Mail Australia that the women are considered 'low risk' to the public but have been missing for two days now.
Queensland Corrective Services confirmed these details.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Queensland police told Daily Mail Australia that the women are considered 'low risk' to the public but have been missing for two days now
The Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce has named storytelling platform Pass It Down, co-working space Society of Work and The Tomorrow Building apartments as finalists for the 2017 Spirit of Innovation Award.
Spirit of Innovation celebrates Chattanoogas most innovative companies. Eligible innovations have been implemented within the last five years and are in the revenue-generating stages of their business plan ($50,000+ in revenue).
The Chattanooga Chamber honors finalist companies and names an award recipient at the Spirit of Innovation AwardsFriday, Oct.
Leslie Miley, a Silicon Valley native who has worked in engineering leadership roles at Slack, Twitter, Apple and Google; keynotes the luncheon.
Find more information about Spirit of Innovation and Ms. Miley here.
The estranged husband of a finance executive who was killed in 2009 appeared in a New York City court on Monday for the murder trial.
Roderick Covlin, 44, appeared stoic as he sat next to his attorneys in a Manhattan criminal court for his trial nearly two years after he was arrested and charged with the murder of his estranged wife, Shele Danishefsky Covlin.
She was found dead in her bathtub one day before she was planning to cut him out of her will on New Year's Eve in 2009.
He is also accused of trying to set up a marriage between a Mexican man and their daughter, Anna, who was only 13 years old, prosecutors allege.
The victim's sister, Eve Karstaedt, was pictured heading into court on Monday along with her brother Philip Danishefsky.
Roderick Covlin (left on Monday), 44, appeared stoic as he sat next to his attorneys in a Manhattan criminal court for his trial nearly two years after he was arrested and charged with the murder of his estranged wife, Shele Danishefsky Covlin (right)
His estranged wife was found dead in her bathtub one day before she was planning to cut Covlin (above in court on Monday) out of her will on New Year's Eve in 2009
The father-of-two (above center in court on Monday) is also accused of trying to set up a marriage between a Mexican man and their daughter, Anna, who was only 13 years old, prosecutors allege
The accused wife killer allegedly became angry when police tried to interview the couple's daughter after the then-nine-year-old girl found her mother dead in the bathtub in 2009, Veteran NYPD Detective Carl Roadarmel testified on Monday.
While on the stand, Roadarmel said that he had just begun chatting with Anna when he was confronted by her angry father.
'He said, 'You're not going to speak to my daughter' in a very loud voice, several times,' Roadarmel recalled. 'I said, well, I need to interview your daughter.'
He added, '(Covlin) began to get combative (and) very loud and agitated with me.
'I wanted to diffuse the scene we had a young girl there. I didn't want to make it any more chaotic than it was for her.'
But during cross-examination, Covlin's attorney, Robert Gottlieb, attempted to suggest that the father was defending his young daughter from being questioned by police alone.
Another witness, retired Detective Robert Mooney, testified about the account of what Covlin told him when authorities responded to the apartment.
According to Mooney, the father-of-two said his daughter called with the horrific news.
The victim's sister, Eve Karstaedt (front left), was pictured heading into court on Monday along with her brother Philip Danishefsky (right)
Covlin (left) has been held without bond since his arrest in 2015 and faces 25 years to life in prison if he's convicted. The failed stock trader was less than two months away from inheriting half of his wife's (right) $4 million fortune until he was charged for her gruesome murder
'She was afraid she was hysterical on the phone. She said something was wrong with mom,' Mooney quoted Covlin as saying at the time.
'He pulled her body out of the tub, put the kids in the bedroom. He went back and began to try to resuscitate his wife.'
Covlin was arrested in 2015 after his then-girlfriend went to the police and gave them the ammunition to indict him on the charges, after she said he 'made statements implicating himself' in the 2009 slaying.
He was arrested at the Scarsdale Metro North train station by three NYPD detectives and a representative from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office in 2015. At the time of his arrest, he was headed to his weekly visit with their kids, who lived with his parents.
Covlin has been held without bond for the last two years and faces 25 years to life in prison if he's convicted.
The failed stock trader was less than two months away from inheriting half of his wife's $4 million fortune until he was charged for her gruesome murder.
The other half of the money was intended for the couple's two children, Anna and Myles.
The money has been kept in a trust due to a wrongful-death suit filed against him in 2011.
According to the court papers about the agreement, Covlin could inherit the money if he was not found responsible for her death, if he was no longer a suspect or if six years passed after the 47-year-old mother's death.
At the time of her murder, the couple was in the midst of a costly and nasty divorce when Anna, who was then-nine years old, found her mother submerged in the bathtub of their West 68th Street apartment in New York City.
At the time of her murder, the couple was in the midst of a costly and nasty divorce when Anna, who was then-nine years old, found her mother submerged in the bathtub of their West 68th Street apartment (file above) in New York City
Investigators initially thought she had slipped and fallen, striking her head. After her Orthodox Jewish family objected to an autopsy for religious reasons, the cause of her death was listed as undetermined.
Her body was later exhumed with her family's permission, and medical examiners concluded in April 2010 that she had been strangled.
Shele reportedly told friends that her husband, who was aged 36 at the time, had threatened to hurt her, and that she was going to remove him from her will.
Covlin, who was an unemployed backgammon player at the time of her death, was living across the hall from his wife and their two kids. He reportedly still had a key to the apartment after his wife kicked him out, the New York Post reported.
All three had an order of protection issued against him.
A footy fan has sent his favourite player a handwritten note and $20 of their pocket money begging him not to switch teams.
Western Bulldogs supporter David Bowers wrote a heartfelt letter to Jake Stringer amid rumours surrounding the star's future at the AFL club.
'I am riting this letter because I love the Bulldogs and you are my faveret player of ever and I don't want you to leave becoz I will cry,' the letter states.
A footy fan has sent his favourite player a handwritten note and $20 of their pocket money begging him not to switch teams
Mr Bowers sent the letter on Monday, and is currently awaiting a reply from his favourite Bulldogs player
'I have sent you my poket munny so you won't have to go. You are the best.'
The plea includes a $20 note sticky-taped to the piece of paper.
The money was a reference to a 1996 20 cents plea from a seven-year-old boy to Chris Grant to reject playing for Port Adelaide and stay at the Western Bulldogs.
The difference this time is that David Bowers is not a seven-year-old boy, but in fact a 53-year-old father of three.
'It would be ridiculous to get rid of him, he is just a once in a lifetime player,' her told Star Weekly.
'He is the most exciting player out there.'
Mr Bowers sent the letter on Monday, and is currently awaiting a reply from his favourite Bulldogs player.
A Delta flight bound to Atlanta from the Bahamas was redirected to Charlotte, North Carolina seconds before it was to touch down.
The Boeing 757, which seats 210 passengers, appeared to be about 400 feet from the ground when the pilot decided to abort the landing because of high winds from Hurricane Irma.
The flight was the first plane to the United States from the Nassau, Bahamas since the Caribbean Island was shutdown because of Hurricane Irma on Saturday.
Scroll down for video
A Delta flight bound to Atlanta from the Bahamas (above) was redirected to Charlotte, North Carolina seconds before it was to touch down
The Boeing 757, which seats 210 passengers, appeared to be about 400 feet from the ground when the pilot decided to abort the landing because of high winds from Hurricane Irma. Pictured above is a boarding pass for the flight
Among roughly 120 passengers onboard, several were spotted praying, while others held onto their seats with white knuckles as the plane rattled and shook as it got closer to the ground.
It landed safely in Charlotte 40 minutes later.
The pilot announced he was trying to land between bands of rough weather and that HartsfieldJackson Atlanta International Airport had been closed.
Delta canceled almost 900 flights Monday as Tropical Storm Irma continued its passage towards the hub in Georgia.
The flight was the first plane to the United States from the Nassau, Bahamas since the Caribbean Island was shutdown because of Hurricane Irma on Saturday
Passengers were left waiting in the Atlanta airport (pictured) as other flights were delayed. In total Monday there were more than 4,300 cancellations and almost 12,000 delays across the US
That's bad news for many other airlines, too, as Hartsfield-Jackson is the most heavily trafficked airport on the planet.
In fact, the number of cancellations nationwide since Irma arrived in the Caribbean is now more than 13,100 and counting.
This is just part of the struggle that the tourism industry faces in the southern US states, in the wake of a storm that has seen cities trashed, airports affected by tornadoes and Disney World shuttered.
This image from FlightAware shows how few planes are flying in the areas affected - or to be affected - by Irma, stretching up from Cuba to Georgia
In total, 100 airlines said that they would drop at least one flight from Hartsfield-Jackson on Monday.
However, the airport said that it would remain open for operations, and would monitor air conditions with the FAA.
Also suffering cancellations is Charlotte, North Carolina, where 300 American Airlines flights were dropped amid similar concerns over strong winds.
And of course, disruption continued throughout Florida, in the wake of Irma's assault on Sunday.
Disgraced former Auburn deputy mayor Salim Mehajer has leased out his $3,000 per week extravagant Sydney mansion.
Mehajer confirmed through his Instagram page on Monday he had successfully found a tenant to lease his Lidcombe home, complete with its marble staircase, plethora of chandeliers and mammoth backyard pool.
The four-storey house on Frances Street, which Mehajer illegally shut down for his extravagant wedding, was advertised for lease for $2,950 a week in early August.
He allegedly owes creditors $97 million for two companies of which he is the sole shareholder.
'It was one of the hardest things to let go of, my personal loan. Not for good though, just for a short term lease! ... Where will I go now though?' Mehajer posted to social media.
Disgraced former Auburn deputy mayor Salim Mehajer has leased out his $3,000 per week extravagant Sydney mansion
The grand entrance area housing the staircase also includes a custom made Swarovski crystal chandelier
Mehajer confirmed through his Instagram page on Monday he had successfully found a tenant to lease his Lidcombe home (pictured center with rappers Tyga left and Omarion right)
Creditors are seeking more than $97 million for money owed by Sydney Project Group Pty Ltd and S.E.T. Services Pty Ltd, according to their lawyer Andre Zahra.
Mehajer, 31, gloated about winning thousands on the Floyd Mayweather Conor McGregor fight last month after securing a visa to travel to Las Vegas, despite denying he was travelling to attend the event.
He has posted images travelling first class interstate, despite claims his two companies only have $32,000 in the bank.
Mehajer will now seek to cut into his lavish lifestyle to repay the alleged debt, beginning with the western Sydney mansion.
Mehajer gloated about winning thousands on the Mayweather McGregor fight last month after securing a visa to travel to Las Vegas, despite denying he was travelling to attend the event
Among its many Instagram-ready features are multiple balconies overlooking a mammoth backyard pool and spa
Mehajer announced his impending move out of Western Sydney in characteristic style - bragging about its luxury features on Instagram which include this awful kitchen wall design
The house was first put up for lease in August, with Mehajer claiming he had made the decision because he was 'upgrading', a different tune than his post on Monday.
'After 29 years, I've decided to leave the Suburb of Lidcombe. Born and raised in this street/suburb, I've decided to finally rent it out to one luck (sic) family,' he wrote.
'Did you know I designed, built and hand picked every single item in the house, from the screws that are the hinges to the light bulb luminosity?'
'Lesson to all: You live, you learn and you upgrade. In God I trust.'
The house was listed on property websites with a lengthy description spruiking the mansion's many features in breathless prose, calling it 'unquestionably one of the most impressive homes built in Lidcombe with no expense spared'.
The gaudy mansion includes a cinema complete with leather recliners
It is not known whether Mehajer's collection of luxury cars are included with the mansion
The sleek bathroom includes a luxury marble-lined features and marble floors - and another huge spa bath
Mehajer built the ostentatious abode in 2014-15 after buying the 800sqm Western Sydney property in 2007 for $565,000.
The mansion, towering over unremarkable suburban houses in the quiet street, has six bedrooms, five bathrooms, and space for 13 flash cars.
Among its many Instagram-ready features are multiple balconies overlooking a huge backyard pool, marble floors in most rooms, and a wacky kitchen wall design.
It also has a home cinema with leather recliners, a giant fish tank, mirrors and a chandelier above the king-size bed, and a luxury marble-lined bath.
The centrepiece is a Persian onyx marble spiral staircase which rappers Tyga and Omarion raved about when they were paid $50,000 to visit last April.
Other features described in its online ad included its own lift, a 'high quality double Caesar stoned kitchen with commercial grade appliances', jacuzzi and private sauna, a solarium, sunken spa baths, a rooftop with expansive views, 56 surveillance cameras, and a self-irrigated landscape system.
Fitness queen Kayla Itsines has been accused of failing to alert her 7.4 million followers to a scam by an unrelated company promising 'unlimited access' to her mobile phone app Sweat.
Several customers took to Ms Itsines' Facebook and Instagram pages this week to complain about a special promotion they received via email offering a lifetime subscription to the fitness app for just $19.99.
As customers anticipated unlimited access after a seven-day free trial they say they were stunned to discover they could no longer access the app on the eighth day.
They claimed they were being charged a continuing monthly fee of $19.99 Ms Itsines' set rate for the app.
Australian fitness queen Kayla Itsines (pictured) has been accused of failing to alert her 7.4 million followers to a scam by an unrelated company promising 'unlimited access' to her mobile phone app Sweat
Several customers took to Ms Itsines' (pictured) Facebook and Instagram pages this week to complain about a special promotion they received via email offering a lifetime subscription to the fitness app for just $19.99
The Sweat staff acknowledged and apologized for the 'scam' in replies to individual complaints or inquiries (pictured) but do not appear to have released a formal warning to its customers
The Sweat staff acknowledged and apologized for the 'scam' in replies to individual complaints but do not appear to have released a formal warning to its customers.
In a blog posted to Ms Itsines' Facebook, one woman detailed her experience and slammed the company for not doing more to warn the 26-year-old's subscribers.
The woman said she previously cancelled her subscription to Sweat but decided to sign up again she received the promotional email.
'I figured it was a good deal, so I bought it. I got an email confirmation from kaylaitsinessales@gmail.com (which is the same email I received the original confirmation from a year ago when I bought the PDFs),' she said.
When her access was cut off after the seven-day trial, the woman said she began emailing and tweeting at Ms Itsines, demanding an answer.
Anticipating unlimited access after a seven-day free trial, customers say they were stunned to discover they could no longer access the app on the eighth day
In a blog posted to Ms Itsines' Facebook, one woman detailed her experience and slammed the company for not doing more to warn the 26-year-old's subscribers
Numerous customers complained that they had not received a response to emails
A woman from the U.S. said she was able to get a refund for the bogus offer
The woman said a member of the Sweat support team responded after several days and told her the special offer, nor the email, were associated with the company.
'The company 'Kayla Itsines Sales' and all associated offers are currently under investigation by the relevant authorities for fraudulent activity,' the email read.
The woman said she became even more annoyed after receiving the response.
'This so called 'scam' has clearly been emailed out to their customer base yet Kayla herself hasn't addressed it in social media, warning her 7.3 million Instagram followers that this is a 'scam'.'
'You have millions of loyal women following your business, your workouts, you as a someone they look up to and you're willingly letting them be scammed and that is your response?' she said.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Kayla Itsines and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for comment.
Australian bookmakers will be banned from offering huge cash sign-up bonuses to punters when they join as part of widespread reforms to curb problem gambling.
Popular online bookies - including Sportsbet, Ladbrokes, William Hill, CrownBet and Unibet - all have offers upwards of $500 in free bets to lure in vulnerable punters.
Existing members are also offered bonus bet incentives if they are able to persuade their friends to sign up to the betting giants.
But under new reforms agreed upon by the nation's gambling ministers on Friday, to be enforced across the country by June next year, the bonus bets will be scrapped.
Australian bookmakers will be banned from offering huge cash sign-up bonuses to punters when they join their services (stock image)
Popular online bookies (such as Sportsbet, above) all offer huge bonus bet incentives for punters to use their service
Punters will also be able to cash out bonus bet wins immediately, rather than the current process which forces members to make a profit off the winnings with a second bet before withdrawal.
'Many Australians enjoy a punt,' admitted Minister for Human Services Alan Tudge, who chaired the meeting of Commonwealth, state and federal gambling ministers.
'We want to ensure there are reasonable protections in place and that individuals can have greater control over their gambling expenditure.
Punters will also be able to cash out their bonus bet wins immediately, rather than make a second winning bet before withdrawing as is currently enforced
The changes were agreed upon by the nation's gambling ministers on Friday, and will be enforced across the country by June next year
'Today, we agreed sensible limits on inducements so that people aren't encouraged to spend more money when they may already be in trouble,' Minister Tudge added.
The online gambling reforms are the latest steps taken by government in a bid to tackle the punting epidemic across the country.
The government has already banned gambling advertising from live sporting events before 8.30pm, made restrictions on the accessibility of live betting and prohibited gambling companies from offering lines of credit to customers.
A friend of the son of former Fox News host Eric Bolling is questioning reports that he endured 'emotional torture' over the sexual harassment claims against his father before he was found dead.
Eric Chase Bolling, 19, was found dead on Friday night in his bed. The working theory is that he died after an overdose despite no drug paraphernalia found around him, according to TMZ.
Reports have alleged that the University of Colorado Boulder student was 'destroyed' after his father parted ways with the cable giant amid claims he sent unsolicited photos of male genitalia to colleagues.
But one college friend told the Daily Camera that she'd be surprised if Eric Chase took his own life as that was not the kind of person he was.
A friend of the son of fomer Fox News host Eric Bolling (pictured together) is questioning reports that he endured 'emotional torture' over the sexual harassment claims against his father before he was found dead
The friend, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that Eric Chase, 19, was not ashamed that his father worked for Fox News and that he was 'proud' of Bolling Sr
The friend, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the college student was not ashamed that his father worked for Fox News.
'He would always talk about his dad being on Fox News,' she said.
'It's not like I really cared, since I just wanted to be his friend. But he talked about it, and he was proud of his dad. He said he had the life that he had due to his father.'
Fox News announced Friday that it had parted ways with Eric Bolling, who hosted the show 'The Specialists'. Bolling had been suspended since last month over allegations he sent lewd photos to female coworkers.
But Eric Chase Bolling's friend said she doesn't believe that the gossip surrounding his father's job situation caused him the 'emotional torture' some news outlets reported.
'That's not the Eric we know,' she said. 'Yes, he cared about his dad, but he was a strong man. He'd faced adversity before and he always came back stronger than ever before.'
Eric Chase Bolling (seen right with his father a November 2016 photograph) was reportedly 'destroyed' after his father parted ways with the cable giant amid claims he sent unsolicited photos of male genitala to colleagues
The University of Colorado Boulder student was found dead in his bed on Friday afternoon, with the covers over him in a normal position. The working theory is that he died from an overdose, but there was no suicide note found at the scene
Sources close to Bolling Sr said that the Fox News host parted ways with the cable giant partly because his son was having a hard time handling the sexual harassment allegations against his father.
Bolling Sr found out about his son's death just two hours after confirming his exit deal with Fox.
He said the cause of death is under investigation but that authorities told him there was 'no sign of self harm at this point'.
While an autopsy was performed Monday, toxicology tests could take up to four weeks to return results.
Eric Chase was the only child of Bolling, 54, and his wife, Adrienne.
Bolling Sr confirmed the tragic passing on Saturday afternoon in a tweet. He wrote that he and his wife were distraught.
'Adrienne and I are devastated by the loss of our beloved son Eric Chase last night. Details still unclear. Thoughts, prayers appreciated' wrote Bolling Sr.
The shocking news was first reported in a tweet by journalist Yashar Ali, who also broke the story last month about alleged lewd texts sent by Bolling Sr to female staff members at Fox News.
Bolling Sr confirmed the tragic passing of the University of Colorado Boulder student on Saturday afternoon. In a tweet, he wrote that he and his wife were distraught
Bolling Sr later tweeted that his son's death did not appear to have been from self-harm. While an autopsy was performed Monday, toxicology tests could take up to four weeks to return results
Bolling Sr insists the allegations are false and has filed a $50million lawsuit against Ali.
'Very sad news, Eric Bolling's son, who was only 19, died last night,' wrote Ali earlier on Saturday afternon. 'By all accounts, Eric was incredibly devoted to his son. Heartbreaking.'
Fox News released a statement on Saturday, saying: 'We are very saddened to hear of the passing of Eric Bolling's son.
'Eric Chase was a wonderful young man and our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Bolling family.'
President Donald Trump retweeted condolences from Kellyanne Conway and Sean Hannity that lamented the teen's death.
Conway wrote on Saturday: 'Love and prayers for friends Adrienne & Eric Bolling. May Eric Chase know eternal peace.'
Hannity tweeted: '@ericbolling To my dear friend, please know we all love you, will be here for you and your family.'
The tragic death took place one day after it came to light that Bolling Sr agreed to leave the network following an investigation into claims of sexual harassment.
Three of his colleagues claimed that he sent them unsolicited photos of male genitalia via text message.
Eric Bolling's son Eric Chase is pictured here in 2015 before his prom. The caption from his father on the snap read 'My guy is growing up'
After the allegations emerged back in August, Bolling Sr had maintained his innocence and tweeted: 'I will continue to fight against these false smear attacks! THANK YOU FOR CONTINUED SUPPORT'.
The network began investigating after two of the women who claimed to have received the photo worked with Bolling Sr at Fox Business Network, while a third woman works at Fox News, Huffington Post reported.
The women all claim they did not solicit the messages and that they knew the message was from Bolling Sr, who has been married to his wife since 1997, because they recognized the phone number from previous informal and work-related interactions.
The Huffington Post reported that the messages were sent several years ago on separate occasions.
Eric Chase Bolling's friend said she doesn't believe that the gossip surrounding his father's job situation caused him the 'emotional torture' some news outlets reported. She said: 'That's not the Eric we know. Yes, he cared about his dad, but he was a strong man. He'd faced adversity before and he always came back stronger than ever before'
After receiving the messages reportedly from Bolling Sr, the women told their colleagues that they were deeply offended and upset.
One of the women replied to the anchor instructing him to never send her photos of male genitalia ever again; he reportedly did not respond.
The identities of the women have not been released to the public. Bolling Sr had previously denied all allegations against him.
It was announced last month that Bolling Sr is reportedly suing the Huffington Post reporter who broke the story, claiming that he had sent several female co-workers lewd photos.
Ali tweeted last month that he is being personally sued by Bolling Sr for $50million in damages for the story which led to the Fox reporter's suspension on Saturday.
'It's important to note that Bolling's summons does not include HuffPost - he is coming after me personally. I'm a big boy...but very telling,' Ali tweeted on Wednesday.
Yashar Ali, a contributor to New York magazine and the Huffington Post, broke the news on Saturday that the 19-year-old son of former Fox News host Eric Bolling had died
Ali was the reporter who initially broke the story in Huffington Post last month about the alleged lewd texts sent by Bolling to colleagues at Fox News, resulting in an internal investigation
'Not going to stop reporting on Eric Bolling or anyone else. I've had family members killed/jailed in Iran, a lawsuit isn't going to scare me,' he added, writing that he 'stand(s) by my reporting + will protect my sources.'
Bolling is represented by Michael Bowe - a lawyer from the same firm as Marc Kasowitz, President Trump's personal attorney until July.
The defamation lawsuit seeks $50 million in damages for 'the defendant's efforts to injure the plaintiff's reputation through the intentional and/or highly reckless publication of actionable false and misleading statements about the plaintiff's conduct and character.
'As a result of the defendant's actions, the plaintiff has been substantially harmed,' the summons sent to Ali stated.
Since the allegations emerged against Bolling, a Fox News guest, who claimed in the past she was sexually harassed by Bill O'Reilly, came forward to claim she was also on the receiving end of unwanted advances by Bolling.
Caroline Heldman, a 44-year-old Associate Professor of Politics at Occidental College in Los Angeles, made 'hundreds' of appearances on Fox between 2008 and 2011, many of which were on Bolling's show Bulls & Bears.
Bolling and his wife, Adrienne (above together), have been married since 1997. They have one son together, Chase
The rising Fox News host was suspended during the investigation and will now leave the network where he has anchored several different shows for the past 10 years
Between appearances, she claimed Bolling called and texted her to invite her to New York to 'have fun'. On one occasion when she was in town, he took her into his office and told her it was his favorite place to have sex, she said.
He called her 'Dr. McHottie' on air and, she said, would sometimes call her afterwards to apologize 'and then do it again'.
Heldman made her accusations in a lengthy Facebook post on Saturday in which she also claimed that 'several other women' received similar treatment from him.
'My only surprise is that it took this long for people to come forward about Bolling's behavior, which has been wildly inappropriate for years,' she wrote.
Bolling denies ever making inappropriate and unsolicited contact with her.
His attorney Michael Bowe told DailyMail.com: 'Mr. Bolling never had any interactions with Ms. Heldman of a sexual nature, and any such accusation would be false and defamatory.'
Since the allegations emerged, Caroline Heldman (above), a Fox News guest, who says she was sexually harassed by Bill O'Reilly, came forward to claim she was also on the receiving end of unwanted advances by Bolling
Heldman claims she was the victim of unsolicited sexual advances from Bolling between 2008 and 2011 when she would regularly appear on the network. During a 2011 appearance on Bolling's show Bulls & Bears, he referred to her as 'the great Dr. McHottie' (above)
Video of a business worker hosing down a footpath next to where an Aboriginal man is sitting has sparked outrage online.
The video, taken in Darwin, was filmed by a passer-by, who wished to remain anonymous, and sent into the news site Welcome to Country on Monday.
'The old man was just sitting there peacefully and this whitefulla is spraying him with water,' the woman who filmed the incident said in the original video.
A video of a worker hosing down a footpath next to where an Aboriginal man is sitting has emerged online
The footage shows an Aboriginal man sitting on the ground next to two businesses- Darwin Tours and Darwin Fishing Office.
A man in a blue uniform, who appears to work for Darwin Tours, can be seen holding a garden hose. He appears to repeatedly spray in the direction of the Aboriginal man.
After about 40 seconds the Aboriginal man gets up and starts to walk away.
An NITV reporter was told to leave when attempting to ask staff at the Darwin Fishing Office about the incident.
Staff denied the man was sprayed with water on purpose.
'Go and talk to the police we were hosing really far away from him', a man in Darwin Fishing Office told NITV.
The footage shows an Aboriginal man sitting on the ground next to two businesses- Darwin Tours and Darwin Fishing Office
A man in a blue uniform can be seen holding a water hose. He repeatedly sprays in the direction of the Aboriginal man
The video has sparked outrage online.
'This is disgraceful!! I have always planned to go for a trip up to Darwin and I would much rather sit with this beautiful aboriginal elder and ask him for stories about the land and where are the best places to visit and stay, share a cold drink with him maybe have a meal with him and ask him to be our tour guide,' wrote one woman on Facebook.
'Disgusting and un-Australian!! See if he's ok. If he needs water or food!!! Water to drink not to be moved on,' wrote another user.
In a statement Northern Territory Police said: 'Police are aware of the video and are making enquiries.'
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Darwin Tours and Darwin Fishing Office for comment.
The disgraced former Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer is a dating real estate tycoon, it has been revealed.
The 58-year-old's new love interest is Roxana Girand, 46, the founder of Sebastian Capital, a firm which leases and manages around 3.5 million square feet of New York area real estate, according to Page Six.
The couple was first spotted in July on a double date at the upmarket Japanese-Peruvian restaurant Nobu 57 in Manhattan.
The former Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer's love interest has finally been confirmed to be real estate tycoon Roxana Girand
Girand, 46, is the founder of Sebastian Capital, leases and manages around 3.5 million square feet of New York area real estate
'He was all over her. They were kissing and holding hands,' a witness told the gossip column.
'They were there a good 2 hours, and he carried her Hermes bag as they left.'
Spitzer resigned as governor in 2008 after he was accused of wiring more than $10,000 to an elite escort service.
He and his wife Silda, mother of two daughters, divorced in 2014. Spitzer then moved in with the 'love of [his] life' Lis Smith, a brief spokeswoman for Bill de Blasio
The multi-millionaire is the son of real-estate tycoon Bernard Spitzer and he made a name for himself as a lawyer focusing on corrupt financiers.
The one-time 'Sheriff of Wall Street' was even considered presidential material, and became 57th governor of New York in 2007.
But he was forced to quit the following year after it was reported that he had at least seven meetings with high-end prostitutes over a six-month period and may have spent up to $80,000 on call girls over many years.
Infamously known as Client 9 of the Emperors Club VIP call-girl ring, he resigned at a public press conference along with his wife Silda, who chose to stand by him
Infamously known as Client 9 of the Emperors Club VIP call-girl ring, he resigned at a public press conference along with his wife Silda, who chose to stand by him.
He and his wife Silda, mother of two daughters, divorced in 2014. Spitzer then moved in with the 'love of [his] life' Lis Smith, a brief spokeswoman for Bill de Blasio.
Smith called off the relationship in February 2016, however, when she learned that he was being extorted by an alleged Russian prostitute.
'[Spitzer and Girand] both love real estate, and they both love New York,' one source said.
'This is a serious relationship.'
A conservative Jewish activist whose grandparents escaped the Holocaust has mocked a neo-Nazi who messaged him with anti-gay questions and challenged him to a fight.
Avi Yemini, who runs a self-defence gym in Melbourne, received a series of vile, anti-Semitic Facebook messages last week.
The first message arrived several days after Mr Yemini was spotted in Melbourne Magistrates Court observing three right-wing activists charged with beheading a dummy to protest against a planned mosque.
Avi Yemini mocked a neo-Nazi who made a series of anti-gay comments to him on Facebook
Conservative Jewish activist Avi Yemini mocked a neo-Nazi who messaged him with abuse
The neo-Nazi thug challenged Avi Yemini to a 'cage fight with an Aryan' in a Facebook message
By chance, Mr Yemini took a seat in the public gallery next to another extreme-right activist.
The neo-Nazi messaged Mr Yemini asking him if they were 'just friends'.
Mr Yemini, a married 31-year-old family man, joked they were an item.
'No, we're in a gay relationship,' he said. 'He's my sugar daddy.'
Asked if he could be quoted on that, Mr Yemini continued taunting him.
'Great. I've been looking for the right platform to come out,' he said.
Avi Yemini has stared down a neo-Nazi who sent him anti-gay and anti-Semitic messages
'Hopefully, after the plebiscite we can get married.'
The neo-Nazi replied: 'You would be marrying a Nazi sympathiser.'
Mr Yemini, a former Israeli soldier who was raised as an Orthodox Jew, continued to mock him.
'I guess that means I'll be his b***h.'
That's when the neo-Nazi sent a series of anti-Semitic messages.
'Have you always been a Jew or are you trans-faith?,' he asked.
'Why don't you prove your bulls**t Jew martial art and accept a cage fight with an Aryan?'
The grandson of Holocaust survivors, says free speech is the best way to expose neo-Nazis
Melbourne self-defence gym owner Avi Yemini was challenged to a fight by a neo-Nazi thug
Mr Yemini, whose paternal grandparents fled Poland during World War II to escape the Holocaust, said he wanted neo-Nazis to be allowed free speech so their repugnant views could be publicly exposed.
'Letting these nut bags speak then responding to them in a way that I did is the way to deal with it,' he told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday.
'If you're going to act like a moron, then people will treat you like one.'
He was in the public gallery at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday last week as United Patriots Front leader Blair Cottrell and fellow far-right activists Neil Erikson and Chris Shortis were each fined $2,000 for beheading a dummy outside Bendigo Council in October 2015 to protest against a planned mosque.
They were the highest-profile convictions since Victoria's Racial and Religious Tolerance Act became law in 2002, making it an offence to incite 'hatred, serious contempt, revulsion or severe ridicule' against a group of people.
Chattanooga States Humanities and Fine Arts Department is hosting several free events during the month of September. All events will be presented at Chattanooga State and donations will be accepted at the door.
Student Art exhibitions will be ongoing from September through December in the CAT Student Gallery, CETAS Student Gallery, and the Donald F. Andrews Reading and Writing Center. Students paintings, drawings, and photography will be on display.
In the Faculty Arts Exhibition, Michael Largent will present his MFA- Visual Arts Thesis Show entitled Reconsidering Residuum. This collection of photo-based images explores the redemption of the residual waste of the commercial print manufacturing process. It will be held in the Humanities Gallery from Sept. 25-Oct. 27.
Chattanooga State A.F.A. Music graduates, Michael and Lisa Westmoreland, will present a recital of classical solo works for tenor and bassoon. The recital will take place in the Humanities Theatre on Sunday, Sept. 17 at 2:30 p.m.
Every Wednesday night in the Humanities Theatre, from Sept. 27-Oct. 18 at 7:30 p.m., Comedy Improvisation returns to Chattanooga State with second year students of the Professional Actor Training Program, joined by faculty and staff. The scenes are improvised from audience suggestions. The event is for all ages and family friendly, with the proviso that the show is improvised and based on audience suggestions.
Guitarist Dr. Kevin Manderville, director of the Guitar Program at the John M. Long School of Music at Troy State University, will present an evening of solo classical guitar music. The presentation will be held on Saturday, Sept. 30 at 7:30 p.m.
For more information, contact 423-697-2460 (music) or 423-697-3246 (theatre).
This is the moment a huge scrub python brought a father and four children to a standstill on a bike ride.
Tim Reynolds, 45, was picking up his son Kolby, nine, from primary school in Queensland's Wide Bay when they noticed the three-metre serpent slithering down the footpath.
Kolby and schoolfriends Alexis, Jacob, and Corey, could be heard panicking as they sheltered from the constrictor during the close encounter.
A three-metre snake stopped the four friends in their tracks as they rode up to it along the footpath on the way home from school
Mr Reynolds, an online import business owner, said the scaly pedestrian was a wake-up call for locals to stay vigilant as the warmer weather drives serpents out in the open.
'I knew something was wrong when they came back screaming. Then I saw it, a very large snake,' he said.
'I just stopped and made sure the kids went around it and didn't try to touch it. In the end of the day this is not a pet and it will bite.
'We stayed there for 20 minutes while the kids were heading home from school to make sure nobody got hurt, then it just disappeared into the grass.
'We live on the back of a nature reserve so there are a lot of snakes in the area. I make sure my kids know to respect the animals and keep out of their way.'
As the Australian spring gets underway, it's not just beach-goers soaking up the sun after a winter of hibernation.
Schoolfriends Kolby, Alexis, Jacob, and Corey could be heard panicking as they sheltered from the constrictor during the close encounter
Tim Reynolds, 45, was picking up his son Kolby, nine, from primary school when the group encountered the scaly predator
The snake was emerging from its hibernation hiding spot as spring begins
Mr Reynolds had some strong words of warning for parents or kids playing out in the open as snake season kicks off
Warmer temperatures, humidity and high pollen levels push snakes of all shapes and sizes on the move to seek food or a mate.
Scrub pythons are Australia's largest species of snake and can grow up to eight metres long.
Though they are non-venomous, they can inflict a painful bite and there is even evidence of the mammoth reptiles making a meal out of large wildlife like kangaroos.
Mr Reynolds had some strong words of warning for parents or kids playing out in the open as snake season kicks off.
'Watch out, the weather is warming up, and snakes are on the move, so just stay aware,' he said.
A man has pleaded guilty to murdering an elderly World War II veteran in his rural Victorian home and making off with war medals.
On the eve of his 90th birthday in September 2015 Kenneth Handford was tied up and stabbed at his Springbank home.
Adam Lucas Williamson, 40, faced the Victorian Supreme Court on Tuesday when he pleaded guilty to murdering the elderly man, and stealing his cash and nearly a dozen war medals, including a Pacific Star.
Mr Handford, a farmhand and much-loved former RAAF pilot, was found bound in his home near Ballarat, in western Victoria, on September 15, 2015 by a neighbour who came to wish him a happy birthday.
On Tuesday, Adam Williamson, 40, (left), pleaded guilty to murder. Jonathon Cooper, 29,(right), was given a 13-year non-parole sentence earlier this year
He was hogtied with the cord from his dressing gown before being stabbed in the back 13 times and robbed of $3,900, several war medals and a gold chain.
In a previous hearing in December, Mr Williamson and Jonathon Cooper, 29, pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated murder, murder and theft in the Supreme Court of Ballarat over the great-grandfather's death.
The court then heard the two men believed Mr Handford kept $20,000 at his home so they kicked in his back door after midnight in an attempt to rob him.
Mr Cooper was handed a 13-year non-parole sentence for his part on Mr Handfords murder after agreeing to assist in the case against Mr Williamson, the Herald Sun reports.
Mr Williamson pleaded guilty to murdering Kenneth Handford (above) and stealing his cash and nearly a dozen war medals, including a Pacific Star
Mr Hardford was a farmhand and much-loved former RAAF pilot who enlisted when he was just 18-years-old
Mr Handford (pictured) was found bound in his home near Ballarat, in western Victoria, on September 15, 2015 by a neighbour who came to wish him a happy birthday
Mr Handford, a grandfather of eight, was known within the small community to carry large sums of money and cash the cheques of temporary workers, according to family.
The court was told the elderly man recognised Williamson who was friends with his grandson and worked alongside him in 2014.
Williamson and Cooper told friends about the murder and that Mr Hardford spoke to Williamson.
Mr Handford's brother Ron (pictured), 81, said his brother was known for carrying large amounts of cash
Hillary Clinton says she is 'convinced' Donald Trump's campaign team colluded with Russia to meddle in the 2016 election.
In an interview with USA Today, Clinton said she believes Trump's aides communicated with the Russian government and had 'an understanding of some sort.'
'I'm convinced of it,' Clinton said when asked directly if she thought there was collusion by Trump associates.
Hillary Clinton said she is 'convinced' Donald Trump's campaign team colluded with Russia to meddle in the 2016 election
'I happen to believe in the rule of law and believe in evidence, so I'm not going to go off and make all kinds of outrageous claims. But if you look at what we've learned since (the election), it's pretty troubling.'
She has been opening up about her campaign trail experiences and her loss to Trump ahead of the release of her new memoir What Happened.
'There certainly was communication and there certainly was an understanding of some sort,' the Democratic presidential candidate said in the interview.
'Because there's no doubt in my mind that Putin wanted me to lose and wanted Trump to win. And there's no doubt in my mind that there are a tangle of financial relationships between Trump and his operation with Russian money.
Clinton said she believed Trump's team communicated with the Russian government and had 'an understanding of some sort.'
Clinton said there was no doubt that Valdimir Putin wanted her to lose the election
'And there's no doubt in my mind that the Trump campaign and other associates have worked really hard to hide their connections with Russians.'
In the interview, Clinton said she accepted the shortcomings of her campaign but doubled down on blaming some for her loss, including then-FBI director James Comey and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
She writes in her memoir that Comey 'shivved' her by releasing a trove of emails just 11 days before the election.
'My first instinct was that my campaign should hit back hard and explain to the public that Comey had badly overstepped his bounds,' she said.
New digs: The Democratic hopeful paid $1.6million for the property next door to the home she shared with husband Bill in August 2016 for secret service agents (new property above)
'My team raised concerns with that kind of confrontational approach. In the end, we decided it would be better to just let it go and try to move on. Looking back, that was a mistake.'
Clinton wrote the majority of her memoir in the property next door to her home, which she bought for $1.6million prior to the election so her Secret Service agents would have somewhere to stay when she became President.
The Democratic hopeful had told Jane Pauley during an appearance on CBS Sunday Morning over the weekend that she plunked down the money to purchase her neighbor's home back in August 2016 to make the transition easier come that November.
'I know something about what it takes to move a president and I thought I was going to win,' Hillary said.
Hillary said that she still very much enjoys her second home, despite losing the election just three months after she bought the property.
The Balinese housekeeper who had her feet cut off with a machete told her Australian employer she couldn't work that day because she 'cut her foot.'
Rohan Lee created a GoFundMe page to help Putu Careen pay for her exorbitant medical bills after she was allegedly attacked by her jealous husband accusing her of infidelity in front of their two young children.
Mr Lee, who moved to Canggu from Perth two years ago, has employed Mrs Careen for two years and has been in constant communication with the victim since the incident last week, exchanging messages and visiting the mother in hospital.
'Initially, Putu messaged me to tell me she couldn't come to work because 'she had cut her foot' ... that's all she said, she didn't elaborate or anything. I told her 'sure no problem, get better I'll see you in a few days',' Mr Lee told Daily Mail Australia.
'The next day her friend arrived at my front door, he was noticeably upset and he told me the whole story and showed me the graphic photos on his phone. I was in absolute shock, I felt sick to my stomach.'
An Australian man's housekeeper in Bali has had her feet hacked off with a machete, with claims her husband attacked her because he thought she had been unfaithful
Mrs Careen told Mr Lee she could not make it in to work because she had 'cut her foot' - after her husband allegedly hacked her limbs off with a machete in a jealous rage
Putu Careen was allegedly attacked on Tuesday evening as her two young children watched in horror
Rohan Lee (pictured) created a GoFundMe page to help Putu Careen pay for her exorbitant medical bills after she was allegedly attacked by her jealous husband
Mr Lee says the victim had both her feet 'sawn-off with a machete'. Their children, aged nine and 13, were allegedly present at the time of the incident.
He told Daily Mail Australia he 'can't believe how strong she's been' and that he wasn't surprised she didn't tell him of the attack.
'I think she didn't want to worry us. She sent similar messages to some of my friends who she works for as well.'
Images of the scene show vast amounts of blood on a tiled floor inside the house, with further large stains in what appears to be a courtyard. A large blade was found on a chair near the pools of blood.
Mrs Careen can be seen writhing in pain in a picture taken from an emergency room, with both of her legs heavily bandaged.
Mr Lee says the victim had both her feet 'sawn-off with a machete'. Their children, aged nine and 13, were allegedly present at the time of the incident
'If you have ever had the pleasure of meeting Putu (pictured), you would know that she is honestly one of the most genuinely kind and caring people you could ever meet,' Mr Lee said
Images of the scene show vast amounts of blood on a tiled floor inside the house, with further large stains in what appears to be a courtyard. A large blade was found on a chair near the pools of blood
Despite the severity of her injuries, Mr Lee (pictured) told Daily Mail Australia surgeons are confident they could still save her right foot
Despite the severity of her injuries, Mr Lee told Daily Mail Australia surgeons are confident they could still save her right foot. She has since undergone operations to have the limb re-attached.
'Thanks to everyone's generosity, some great surgeons and a successful operation yesterday, the doctors are confident that they might be able to save her right foot,' he said.
'It isn't a definite, but we are hoping for the best. Hopefully it will heal and with the help of some rehabilitation she at least might save one foot. Her right foot was only hacked off three-quarters of the way, during the attack, so we're hoping that it can be saved.'
Mr Lee says she does not have the money to pay for her medical bills, to source prosthetic legs or undergo appropriate rehabilitation, and is appealing for donations to help Mrs Careen who he describes as 'one of the most genuinely kind and caring people you could ever meet.'
'I showed her some photos of prosthetics when I was with her in the hospital last,' he told Daily Mail Australia.
'She was excited about them and asking how they worked.'
Mr Lee says Mrs Careen is remaining positive and has been smiling and laughing from her hospital bed
Rohan Lee (pictured), who moved to Canggu from Perth two years ago, employed Mrs Careen for two years and has created a GoFundMe page to help pay for her medical bills and support her children while she recovers
The Perth-native says he was unaware of any marital problems that may have been occurring between Mrs Careen and her husband, but says her friends were aware of his abuse.
'Some of the girls knew about him being abusive but it came as a shock to me. It's only after the incident that people have opened up to me about him,' Mr Lee said.
'That he wasn't a nice person, he would take money from her. There are a lot of rumours that I'm hearing right now.'
The GoFundMe page has now received over $65,000 in donations and the generosity of family, friends and even total strangers has left her in 'high spirits', smiling and laughing from her hospital bed.
'It was so remarkable to see for someone in her situation and was such a testament to the amazing woman and mother that she is.'
You can donate to the GoFundMe page and help Putu Careen here.
A former gambling addict is suing Melbourne's Crown Casino after losing thousands of dollars on a game she claims is deliberately designed to cheat players.
Shonica Guy has also launched legal action against slots manufacturer Aristocrat, the maker of a poker machine she claims stole 14 years of her life.
The lawsuit alleges the design of the Dolphin Treasure poker machine means players are likely to be misled or deceived about their chances of winning.
The landmark trial will start in the Federal Court in Melbourne on Tuesday.
Former gambling addict Shonica Guy is suing Melbourne's Crown Casino and slots manufacturer Aristocrat
The lawsuit alleges the design of the Dolphin Treasure poker machine (pictured) means players are likely to be misled or deceived about their chances of winning
Anti-gambling campaigner Tim Costello (pictured) said Australia's gambling industry was as powerful as the US gun lobby
Law firm Maurice Blackburn is representing Ms Guy, and the lawsuit is also supported by the Alliance for Gambling Reform.
Anti-gambling campaigner Tim Costello said Australia's gambling industry was as powerful as the US gun lobby.
Mr Costello said the gambling industry in Australia was the most powerful in the nation and state governments were too reliant on its donations and revenue.
'I believe the gambling industry in Australia is equivalent to guns in America,' he told reporters outside court on Tuesday, noting that 20 per cent of the world's pokie machines are Down Under.
'They are the equivalent of the National Rifle Association in Australia. That's why we have the greatest number of problem gamblers bar no country in the world, because of the power of this industry.'
Ms Guy is seeking an injunction banning Crown from operating Dolphin Treasure or any machine with a similar configuration.
She also wants Aristocrat Technologies banned from supplying the machine or anything similar to Crown 'or any other gaming venue within Australia'.
Psychology and gambling disorder experts are expected to give evidence during the 14-day trial before Justice Debra Mortimer.
'Pokies on trial. The pokies play you': Protesters hold banners in support of Ms Guy outside court
Ms Guy is seeking an injunction banning Melbourne's Crown Casino (pictured) from operating Dolphin Treasure or any machine with a similar configuration
Maurice Blackburn's head of social justice, Jennifer Kanis, told the ABC Ms Guy was not interested in seeking damages after her decade-long addiction.
Ms Kanis said the lawsuit was about exposing the industry's alleged deception.
'Firstly, what you see is not what you get when you play a poker machine. You see five reels spinning, you think that they are all the same size, but in fact the fifth reel is much larger than the first four. This dramatically decreases your chances of winning,' Ms Kanis said.
'Secondly, it appears that the symbols are evenly distributed on the reels as they spin. In fact, those symbols are not evenly distributed.'
Peter Gray QC told the court that gamblers were fed a misconception that they were entitled to a return of 87 per cent on the machines, which he descriped as 'very risky and very dangerous' for gamblers.
Aristocrat and Crown Casino deny the allegations and will fight the claims in court.
Steve Bannon was greeted by protesters accusing him of being a racist and a Nazi as he arrived in Hong Kong Tuesday for his first public speech since leaving the White House.
The firebrand former aide was speaking at an event hosted by an arm of a Communist-party owned bank. His presentation was closed to the media.
CLSA, the Hong Kong-based brokerage that had invited Bannon to address its marquee 2017 investor conference, announced less than eight hours before the keynote address that it would be off-limits to reporters.
Journalists picking up their credentials on Tuesday at the Grand Hyatt were told they couldn't hear Bannon's speech, but weren't given any reasons.
CLSA is a unit of Citic Securities, a Chinese state-owned brokerage and investment bank. It's unclear if political pressure kept Bannon's speech from making a splash.
Not welcome: Steve Bannon faced these scenes outside the Hong Kong brokerage where he was speaking
Feel the burn: One protester burned pictures of Bannon as the controversial ex-Trump aide was due to speak.
Lightning rod: Bannon is one of the most controversial figures to emerge from Trump-world and is now an international focus for protestds
No detente: Protesters were waiting outside the Hong Kong venue where Bannon was speaking in secret to a Communist-regime-owned bank accused him of racism
Hard line: Bannon told CBS News on Sunday that 'China is, through forced technology transfer and through stealing our technology, but really forced technology transfer, is cutting out the beating heart of American innovation'
Investment firm CLSA, a unit of a a Chinese government-owned company, wouldn't explain why it decided to declare Bannon's speech off-limits to the press
At the media registration booth inside the CLSA 2017 investors forum in Hong Kong on September 12, 2017, a hand-written note instructed staffers to tell reporters that 'Steve Bannon's session is closed to the media'
Bannon's arrival in Hong Kong was accompanied by a protest organized by the communist Committee for a Workers' International and the League of Social Democrats.
Revolutionary Marxist League co-founder Leung Kwok-hung, a former Hong Kong legislator known to locals as 'Long Hair,' participated in the protest, which attracted a few dozen people.
'No Bannon, no racism,' chanted the group of about 15 demonstrators, who also held up a large black banner carrying the words, 'Nazis are not welcome here'.
One protester wearing a mask of Trump held up a placard depicting the U.S. president in the shape of a chicken, with the words, 'Toxic nationalist', on its belly.
It is the first explicit anti-Bannon protest known to have happened, and comes after he told Charlie Rose on 60 Minutes on Sunday that he did not care if the mainstream media called him those.
The organizers claimed the protests were not the reason for the speech being in secret.
Simone Wheeler, global head of communications at CLSA, told DailyMail.com that 'it's our event, we pay the speakers, and we decide these things.'
'It's our decision. It's a private event. We've decided to close it,' she said of Bannon's speech.
Three days ago CLSA boasted that it had snagged Bannon for his first post-White House speech, telling Bloomberg that '[h]e's the man of the moment, and we believe our clients are interested in what he has to say.'
'He is current and his opinion influences the markets.'
Wheeler said Tuesday that she couldn't comment on whether Bannon was paid to deliver remarks. But she confirmed that the decision to exclude journalists was made 'basically overnight.'
Wheeler said she was unaware of any threat of protesters or violence that may have played a role in closing what had been expected to be a blockbuster speech.
'There is no security threat that I'm aware of,' she said.
A Bannon spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The tony Grand Hyatt in Hong Kong is the site for this year's CLSA investor forum, and organizers were granting credentials to the press but those media passes won't be honored for Bannon's address
Wheeler said that not all CLSA forum speeches are open to the press.
Of this year's 33 keynote speeches, those delivered in the Grand Hyatt's biggest ballroom to the largest audience, she said only 10 are open to reporters.
But closing a keynote speech to reporters, she added, is usually the result of media-shy speakers who ask for the press to be kept out.
In this case, CLSA made the decision.
CLSA communications specialist Tracy Hansen told DailyMail.com that Bannon would be 'speaking to the clients,' but 'not to the press.'
'It's been a bit on-again, off-again,' Hansen said on the margins of the annual event. 'It's a real shame. I'd really like to hear what he has to say.'
Bannon's speech had been expected to be a public spectacle calculated to provoke Beijing, full of ultimatums about economic warfare and leverage over an increasingly belligerent North Korea.
He told The New York Times last week that he planned to bring his forceful brand of America-firstism to the Far East, a talk focused on U.S. economic nationalism, the populist revolt that swept Trump to power, and how both phenomena impact Asia and its financial markets.
Previewing the speech in the pages of the Times put the event on the political map and threw a sharp spotlight on what Bannon would say.
Bannon last month told The American Prospect, a liberal magazine, that the U.S. is 'at economic war with China.' That observation was part of an exit interview timed to explain his rapid departure from the West Wing exactly one year after signing on as CEO of Trump's insurgent presidential campaign.
He suggested last week to the Times that his Hong Kong speech would be a rallying cry to westerners who have been napping while Beijing plots global hegemony.
'A hundred years from now, this is what they'll remember what we did to confront China on its rise to world domination,' he said.
'China right now is Germany in 1930,' Bannon added. 'It's on the cusp. It could go one way or the other. The younger generation is so patriotic, almost ultranationalistic.'
'We have to reassert ourselves as the real Asian power: economically, militarily, culturally, politically,' he told the Times.
On Sunday's '60 Minutes,' Bannon bashed China for 'appropriating our technology' in a brief monologue that, for now, will stand as his most forceful public words on the subject.
'China is, through forced technology transfer and through stealing our technology, but really forced technology transfer, is cutting out the beating heart of American innovation,' he said.
Houston police are looking for a man accused of dragging a woman by her purse in a grocery store parking lot.
The Houston Police Department reported that the victim was getting into her car when she was attacked in the HEB parking lot in Houston, Texas.
In the video, a gray SUV with paper plates - the paper before the physical license plate - pulls up behind the victim as she walks to her vehicle and her husband puts away a shopping cart.
Houston Police Department reported a women was getting into her car when her purse was grabbed and dragged in the HEB parking lot in Houston, Texas
A man hops out of the passenger side and approaches the woman, grabs her purse and proceeds to drag her to the ground until she lets the purse go.
The man jumps back in the van and the vehicle speeds off.
The suspect has been described as a man with medium build, approximately 20 to 29-years-old.
In the video, a gray SUV with paper plates pulls up behind the victim as she walks to her vehicle as her husband putting away a shopping cart
A man hops out of the passenger side and approaches the woman, grabs her purse and proceeds to drag her to the ground until she lets the purse go
The suspect has been described as a man with medium build, approximately 20 to 29-years-old
He was last seen wearing black shorts and a black shirt.
Police are asking for any help in identifying the suspect.
It is unknown whether the woman in the video was injured or needed any medical attention.
Marlis Burdon, Michael Burdon's mother, claims her suspected murdered daughter inlaw has run away and is not dead
Tanja Ebert's mother-in-law believes the young German backpacker 'ran away' from her life with Michael Burdon after 'falling out of love' shortly after the couple's February wedding.
Marlis Burdon has broken her silence over the young woman's suspected murder - and her 41-year-old son's suicide and claims the couple were 'on the rocks'.
'I think she may still be there somewhere I think she has run away,' Mrs Burdon told Today Tonight.
She even claims the 23-year-old woman had pulled off a 'practice run' in the months after the couple's wedding which was held on their secluded Outback station, Oulnina.
But Mrs Burdon claims her daughter-in-law went to the Bahamas for a friend's wedding, without the company of her own husband, 41, or their two children.
'I was very surprised that happened straight after the wedding and without Michael and then I realised the situation was quite serious.
Tanja Ebert, pictured here with husband Michael, las last seen on August eight before the couple had a fight
Police believe the mother-of-two was murdered by her 41-year-old husband days before he killed himself
'And I think for her it was a trial period of being away she had fallen out of love with Michael,' she claimed.
Ms Ebert was last seen leaving the South Australian Museum at about 3.20pm on August 8 alongside her husband and their two children. Mr Burdon killed himself on August 16 after it was announced the investigation into his wife's disappearance had turned into a murder investigation.
Mrs Burdon, who is angry about the searches 'tearing apart Oulnina station' also claimed Ms Ebert's body would never turn up if her son had actually killed her.
'If Michael had hidden a body no one would find it, he knew the station every stone on the station,' she said.
'I know there are crimes of passion people feel so deeply that they act in haste or whatever I don't think he was that kind of person although he was so upset I can't understand it I don't believe it,' she said.
Ms Ebert had 'fallen out of love' with her husband shortly after the couple's February wedding, Marlis claims
Ms Ebert's own family have revealed they also think the young mother could be alive
Ms Ebert's own family have revealed they also think the young mother could be alive.
'It is very hard not knowing what has happened with Tanja, we do not feel hopeless, it is our hope to find Tanja alive and well,' the family said in a statement.
Mrs Burdon also believes Ms Ebert had travelled to see her family in Germany when her marriage was on the rocks earlier this year.
'I don't think (her) mum was surprised with how things went because I think Tanja had already asked her how to get a divorce so she knew.'
Mrs Burdon, who was at the property in outback South Australia when her son committed suicide also claimed he was 'treated like an animal' by police in his last moments of life.
The couple pictured in happier times - during their wedding on their outback property, Oulnina
Police and the SES banded together to search the vast property for the young mother's body
Mrs Burdon said if her son did kill his wife police would never find the body
'He was guilty straight away and I can still see the men running after them and I was sure they had their pistols drawn it was just like cowboys.
'They didnt even come and introduce themselves for me or say hello or this is what we are going to do
'They were suddenly there closeted themselves in the kitchen with Michael and then I saw Michael every now and then looking really pale, pasty um very unhappy.
'Once he talked to his lawyer they then turned the recorder off and then said I believe now we are going to search Oulnina Park, we are going to dig up Oulnina Park and at that stage I think he lost it.
Michael's mother said if her son did kill the young German woman - police would never find a body
'They were all outside discussing who knows what when he said he needed to go to the toilet and he left, somehow managed to get a gun and ammunition, ran further away from the station then somebody heard a muffled shot we didnt hear the shot.
'And then it was all over and the policeman came in and said sorry to have to tell you like this but your son is dead. That was the most horrible thing.'
The couple's two children are currently in the care of a family friend, on a sheep station similar to the one they lived on with their parents.
A homophobic handout claiming gay marriage will allow schools to pressure students into undergoing sex-changes has been dropped in a Sydney mailbox.
The printed piece of paper, which called homosexual organizations as cutting off genitals terrorists, was discovered at a residence on Tuesday morning, according to 9News.
Horrible! Sex reassignment surgery will go into Australian campus! the anonymous leaflet began.
A homophobic handout claiming gay marriage will allow schools to pressure students into undergoing sex-changes has been dropped in a Sydney mailbox (pictured)
The homophobic note is the most recent in a series that have emerged across the country in the lead up to a postal vote on gay marriage (pictured)
A horrific homophobic poster that appeared in Brisbane (pictured) earlier this year
The legitimization of same-sex marriage campaign is from a global organization. The true intention of the homosexual organization is not simply for a marriage certificate, but it intending to be protected by law to permeate into schools, to pursue their wild ambitions, to transform teenagers gene and cut off humans generation, to transform our next generation to sex-changed race like them, to replace the traditional one man and one woman marriage with two men or two women abnormal same-sex marriage!
The note accused the Safe Schools Coalition Australia of encouraging students to undergo sex changes to 'enjoy the homosexual life.'
It also claims that children will begin receiving 'homosexual lessons since kindergartens.'
Some homosexual organizations are called cutting off genitals terrorists, because they covet teenagers genitals earnestly. With the legalization of same-sex marriage, whenever the student is persuaded by teachers to do the transgender surgery, doctors of the homosexual organizations can carry on the surgery to the student legally.
The homophobic note is the most recent in a series that have emerged across the country in the lead up to a postal vote on gay marriage.
Another pamphlet urging people not to vote for Labor was circulated in Sydney's western suburbs last week.
The flyer, which depicts a young girl shielding her eyes from gay couples pictured around her, have been distributed in the Georges River, Bayside, Canterbury-Bankstown and Strathfield, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
'Do not vote Labour' is scrawled above the homophobic illustrations, which also includes a man who appears to be performing a sex act and gay couples in compromising positions.
'Do not vote Labour' is scrawled above the homophobic illustrations, which also includes a man who appears to be performing a sex act and gay couples in compromising positions (pictured)
On the back of the pamphlet are a series of statements slamming Labor.
Residents are told to vote against the party 'if you do not want your children become homosexuality' and if 'you do not want your children to learn how to sponke their monkeys'.
The flyer does not make it clear who created and distributed them.
It has been reported to the NSW Electoral Commission.
'We have had reports of this false and highly offensive flyer being circulated in parts of western and south western Sydney. As local government elections are underway in NSW, and the flyer is unauthorised, we have made a complaint today to the NSW Electoral Commission,' NSW Labor general secretary Kaila Murnain told SMH.
Pictured is another homophobic pamphlet seen in Sydney claiming homosexuality is 'a curse of death in terminating the family line and without descendants'
Another poster was allegedly spotted in Brisbane's West End on August 28 and was shared online by Reddit user jilly32.
'In West End. This is the vile hate the plebiscite is unleashing', the post read.
The plastered sign features a man and woman with a baby, while below was a man with a young boy on his shoulders, with another man leaning in to kiss the child.
The top image was captioned 'this is a family' while the bottom photo 'this is not'.
Dozens of Reddit users took to the site to slam the poster and the creator of the sign
At the bottom of the poster, it reads: ' A vote for gay marriage is a vote for child abuse'.
The post was quickly awash with comments lambasting the creator of the poster and the decision to put it up.
'Its the hatred that drives them insane. Rather produce this than sleep', one user wrote.
Another wondered what would happen if the creator were to have a gay child in the future.
'What happens if the person who made this poster has a kid one day that is gay? Will they disown their own child? Ridiculous. We are all human and deserve the same rights and respect', they wrote.
One user pointed out the irony of which picture was more likely to be a 'real' family.
'Its funny because the stock image family is almost definitely not a real family anyway', they joked.
It follows another hateful image allegedly spotted in Heffernan Lane in the heart of Melbourne's central business district on August 19.
A homophobic poster (pictured) appeared earlier this month depicting two men holding rainbow-coloured nooses over a hunched-over and cowering child
The posters were spotted by a Twitter user (pictured) in the heart of Melbourne's central business district
A photo of the poster provoked an outraged response on social media, even attracting the ire of opposition leader Bill Shorten.
The poster, titled 'Stop the F*gs', claims 92 per cent of children raised by gay parents suffer from abuse.
It says that 52 per cent are depressed and 72 per cent are obese.
The poster referenced a discredited 2016 study by Reverend Paul Sullins from the Catholic University of America.
Gay rights activist Rodney Croome said the Australian Institute for Family Studies found children raised by same-sex couples had the same outcomes as other children, contradicting claims made in the poster.
Opposing posters (pictured) telling people to vote 'Yes' can be seen in other parts of Melbourne
One social media user rushed to the scene (pictured) to remove the offending posters but found a clean-up already under way
'Overall, research evidence indicates that children raised in same-sex parented families do as well emotionally, socially and educationally as other children,' he said.
Some Twitter users were quick to take action, with one person arriving at the scene to take it down only to find a clean up already in progress.
Mr Shorten retweeted an article about the offending poster, apologising to those who might have been hurt by it.
'Labor opposed this postal survey because we feared exactly this kind of hurtful filth would emerge,' Mr Shorten wrote.
The posters appeared just days after Sydney was hit by similar anti-gay marriage leaflets, posted in letterboxes in the southern Sydney suburb of Hurstville (pictured is the rainbow flag flying over Sydney's Town Hall.
'This kind of garbage isn't 'debate', it's abuse. I'm so sorry that LGBTI Australians have to put up with it. Let's make sure there's an overwhelming 'Yes' vote in response.'
Former prime minister Tony Abbott warned of potential consequences for religious educators, adoption agencies and school programs if same-sex marriage was legalised.
'If we have officially sanctioned de-gendering marriage, it's very hard not to see de-gendering come in in so many other areas as well,' he said.
'It isn't just about marriage. Sure, marriage is the immediate focus, but there are lots and lots of implications here, and we've got to think them through before we take this big leap into what I think is the dark.'
Bill Shorten (pictured) tweeted about the offending poster, apologising to those who might have been hurt by it
The Young Americans for Freedom club at the University of Notre Dame claim they found '500,000 Iraqis murdered' written in chalk beneath the campus flagpole on Monday.
Members of the group had arrived to the flag pole in the quad area of the campus early Monday morning to set up a flag memorial as part of their 9/11 Never Forget Project.
A Facebook message on the group's page reads: 'When we arrived to set up our 9/11 Never Forget Project this morning we were dismayed to find our reserved space had been vandalized with the phrase '500,000 Iraqi's murdered'.
The Young Americans for Freedom club at the University of Notre Dame claim they found '500,000 Iraqis murdered' written in chalk beneath the campus flagpole on Monday
Members of the group had arrived to the flag pole in the quad area of the campus early Monday morning to set up a flag memorial as part of their 9/11 Never Forget Project
'The 9/11 Never Forget Project is not meant to divide the community, but unite us under the fact that 16 years and 2,977 flags later, we still remember the fallen.
'We still remember those who valiantly put themselves in harm's way to save innocent American lives. We will never forget.'
Matthew Bartilotti, a student at the university and member of the YAF's executive board issued a statement on their website.
A Facebook message on the group's page reads: 'When we arrived to set up our 9/11 Never Forget Project this morning we were dismayed to find our reserved space had been vandalized with the phrase '500,000 Iraqi's murdered'
It reads, 'We find it very sad that somebody attempted to anonymously, under the cover of night, desecrate the site of our memorial remembering the death of nearly 3,000 innocent humans with this unnecessary rhetoric.'
Members of the group didn't let the sidewalk message stop them in completing their memorial project on Monday.
Later in the day, the group was part of a prayer service with the student government association.
Eastern National, in partnership with Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park invites the pubic to meet author Robert Carter this Saturday, to commemorate the 154th anniversary to the Battle of Chickamauga.
Mr. Carter will be available from 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. to sign his books, Longstreets Breakthrough at Chickamauga: Accidental Victory and the Fight for Snodgrass and the Rock of Chickamauga.
Review of books:
Longstreets Breakthrough at Chickamauga: Accidental Victory: Probably no ground on the Chickamauga Battlefield is more important, or less understood, than the one square mile area around the Brotherton House.
Recently arrived from Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, James Longstreet, the Bull of the Woods, led one of the largest attacks of the Civil War--some 23,000 men in total. But, the Breakthrough was not the easy attack portrayed in legend and lore. In fact, by noon five of Hood's eight brigades were in retreat. The attack was in danger of failing, says Carter.Fight for Snodgrass and the Rock of Chickamauga: The final stand during the last day of battle was made by Union General Thomas where his troops stood firm against repeated Confederate assaults for several desperate hours; enabling the Union Army to retreat back into Chattanooga.About the author: Robert Carter received his bachelor of science and masters degrees from Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Al. He was an educator for over 40 years, teaching in Georgia, Virginia, and Alabama. A Georgia resident and now retired, Mr. Carter is a volunteer at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, where he shares his knowledge and love of history."Join us as we commemorate the 154th Anniversary to the Battle of Chickamauga. Meet author Robert Carter and get your signed copy of Fight for Snodgrass Hill and the Rock of Chickamauga and Longstreets Breakthrough at Chickamauga. Your purchase of these books and other store items supports the National Park Service. We sincerely thank you," officials said.
A woman accused of spiking her husband's dinner with 75 sleeping pills before injecting him with poison has had her case thrown out of court.
Joanne Debono, 55, and her daughter Shannon, 20, reportedly flashed broad smiles as prosecutors dropped attempted murder charges against the duo on Tuesday.
The pair had been accused of plotting to kill Stephen Debono - Joanne's husband and Shannon's father - at their Gowanbrae home in Melbourne's north-west last year.
Joanne Debono (right), 55, and her daughter Shannon (left), 20, had been accused of plotting to kill Stephen Debono - Joanne's husband and Shannon's father
Police alleged Mrs Debono crushed up temzaepam tablets and mixed them with her husband's meatball dinner, before watching him devour his favourite meal.
It was alleged she planned to beat Mr Debono with a shovel after he fell asleep, but couldn't bring herself to do it, according to reports.
Instead, she mixed brake fluid, metal lubricant and weed killer and filled a hyperamic needle, police said.
She then allegedly injected Mr DeBono with two millilitres of the cocktail before he woke up and asked what she was doing.
Mrs Debono is pictured covering her face with a scarf behind her daughter at a previous court appearance
Fearing for their safety, Mrs DeBono and her daughter, then 19, allegedly fled the house and handed themselves into police.
Mrs DeBono and her husband had been together for 25 years, during which time she said she was subjected to continual physical, sexual and emotional abuse.
On Tuesday, the mother and daughter duo embraced before hugging their lawyers outside the court, according to The Age.
It is not known why prosecutors dropped the charges.
The Office of Public Prosecutions declined to comment when contacted by Daily Mail Australia.
Zookeepers are scratching their heads after one of their star attractions, a lioness named Yizi, started to grow a mane.
Staff at Adelaide Zoo in South Australia began to notice the 16-year-old lioness was growing hair around her neck area, which was uncommon in a female lion.
The 16-year-old African lioness was examined from tooth to tail and sent for a CAT scan on Tuesday, as staff feared the mane may be a result of higher-than-normal testosterone levels.
Scroll down for video
Zookeepers are scratching their heads after one of their star attractions, a lionesses named Yizi (pictured), started to grow a mane
Veterinarians believed the elevated testosterone levels could point to a tumor.
The lioness was examined, with vets taking several samples to identify the cause of the new mane.
'We had a good look at her teeth, her eyes, her ears, all her claws. We've got blood samples to look into her hormones, specifically testosterone,' Dr David McLelland told Nine News in July.
The zoo will have her test results in a couple of days - after which the zoo said it could treat the animal and get her back on her feet.
'Depending on what we find there, and based on our findings today, there's every chance we'll get hands back on her to do another procedure to remove any potential mass that could be causing those problems,' Dr McLelland said.
Staff at Adelaide Zoo in South Australia began to notice the 16-year-old lioness was growing hair around her neck area, which was uncommon in a female lion
Sydneys self-proclaimed Mayor of Martin Place has been slapped with an AVO by his former girlfriend after an explosive game of UNO left her 'upset and afraid'.
Nina Wilson, 20, briefly dated Lanz Priestley, 72, after the couple met on the street - but she says after a game of cards took a bitter turn on Saturday she never wanted to see the man again.
'I have never been afraid of him like I was that night,' Ms Wilson told Daily Mail Australia.
Nina Wilson, 20,pictured left, briefly dated Lanz Priestley, 72, pictured right, after the couple met on the street - but she says after a game of cards took a bitter turn on Saturday she never wanted to see the man again
The former couple, pictured here after the birth of Nina's baby, who she now reveals is not Mr Priestley's 12th child
Mr Priestley joked about the fight by posting this online
During the argument Ms Wilson claims she asked Mr Priestley to leave, when he wouldn't she became frightened and called police.
A statement of facts tendered to the police claim the fight broke out at about 8.45pm in the young mother's inner-city apartment.
In her statement to police, Ms Wilson said after Priestley left her home, he returned a short time later and 'stared through the window'.
Police served Mr Priestley with an interim AVO, and he is due to face Waverley Local Court on Thursday.
The former couple, who announced they were expecting a baby together earlier this year, both told Daily Mail Australia they will never speak again following the argument. Ms Wilson also claimed Mr Priestley is not her daughter's father.
'She is not his 12th child like he proclaims,' she said.
Mr Priestley told Daily Mail Australia the couple's fight was over how to play the popular children's card game.
'Contention was around order of play,' he said.
'I suggested she read the rules. She did and told me she was right despite what the rules said.
A statement of facts tendered to the police claim the fight broke out at about 8.45pm in the young mother's inner-city apartment
Mr Priestley posted about the failed relationship online, days before he was slapped with an AVO
On Tuesday he taunted the young mother still, by posting up a link to the game rules
'We had played for six months without dispute,' he said.
The street activist went on to use his social media accounts to talk about his troubles.
'Another relationship bites the dust-permanently-over a game of UNO,' he wrote.
On Tuesday he posted a link to the game rules.
'(Priestley) told (Wilson) that because she had taken the cigarettes, he was going to take the lounge she was sitting on because it was his,' the police facts state.
In the days after the fight Mr Priestley revealed he 'never cared about the couch.'
'I see this as redefining two words, absurdity and overreaction,' he said of the AVO proceedings
'I see this as redefining two words, absurdity and overreaction,' he said of the AVO proceedings.
Ms Wilson said during the argument Mr Priestley made her feel 'unsafe in her own home'.
According to the police facts Ms Wilson remains 'fearful for her safety' in the home.
Mr Priestley told Daily Mail Australia he has 'zero intent of resuming friendship or contact' with Ms Wilson.
'The role of police is to enforce state and federal laws, not UNO rules,' he said.
The AVO application will be seen before Waverly Local Court on Thursday.
Mr Priestley led the charge to keep the homeless kitchen in Martin Place in June. It has since been moved on by the local council and police.
A British couple 'lost everything' when Hurricane Irma tore a devastating path across the Virgin Islands, destroying their home just days after they got married.
Michael and Jade Scott, from Derby, are stuck in the torn-apart Caribbean islands trying to get back into the UK after they were forced to flee their rented property in Virgin Gorda.
The young newlyweds lost their home and personal belongings when the hurricane ripped through the islands, killing 25 people.
Michael and Jade Scott got married in their hometown of Derby just days before returning to their home on Virgin Gorda
The trail of devastation left behind on Virgin Gorda as Hurricane Irma ripped across the Caribbean
The Scott's were forced to evacuate within hours of landing on Virgin Gorda last Tuesday, having returned from a six-week summer break in the UK where they tied the knot.
The pair started a new life together on the island in December after Michael, 24, accepted a job as an engineer and Jade, 23, found a job as a reservations associate.
Jade's mother Jan Harrison-Ashley said she feared for the lives of her daughter and new son-in-law when she could not get hold of them for more than two days.
Speaking to the Derby Telegraph she said: 'Jade sent me a video last Wednesday showing the high winds and rain and I told her to keep sending me updates so I knew they were safe but that was the last I heard from them in two days.
'I can't tell you how worried I was - I've never cried so much before in my life. I was pulling my hair out of frustration that I couldn't find anything out.
'I got word on the Friday someone in the island was going around with satellite phones and I kept my fingers crossed we'd hear something. And then we had a message from them to say that they were coming home.
'They have lost everything. The hurricane has come and it's taken where they live, where they work - it's taken the whole island.
'Their evacuation was so quick so they had to leave a lot of their belongings behind including their car, clothes and furnishings.'
The pair started a new life together on Virgin Gorda in December after Michael, 24, accepted a job as an engineer and Jade, 23, found a job as a reservations associate
An aerial view of devastation following Hurricane Irma at Bitter End in Virgin Gorda
Mrs Harrison-Ashley said the couple were fearful they had lost most of their money as the bank where they invested their savings was also flattened.
Jade's mother added: 'They were evacuated just hours after returning home. I'm quite angry at the moment because I don't know why they were allowed to be flown back given the conditions. The pair knew there was a hurricane but didn't know how severe it was going to be.
'We don't know when they are due back in Derby because lots of people are trying to get flights but hopefully it will be soon.
'They are staying at a hotel in Puerto Rico until they can get a flight but they are safe and that's the main thing.
'They do feel very lucky to be alive and that they can come home and start again.'
The Scott's were forced to evacuate within hours of landing on Virgin Gorda last Tuesday, having returned from a six-week summer break in the UK where they tied the knot
Mrs Harrison Ashley said it was vital the Virgin Islands gets all the help it needs to recover from the natural disaster.
'Everyone thinks the Virgin Islands are the playground of the rich and famous and it's for the super-rich.
'But the people who live there are not like that. They are down-to-earth people who have now got nothing.
'The island needs help - without it I don't know what is going to happen.'
A man has claimed to have bitten down on a 'shark tooth' type object, while eating Helga's bread.
Matthew Fenn had been making his morning Vegemite toast on Monday when he discovered the mystery item.
The Melbourne father said he had been halfway through a slice when he felt a crunch, the Herald Sun reports.
Melbourne man Matthew Fenn has claimed to have bitten down on a 'shark tooth' type object, while eating Helga's bread
Mr Fenn then pulled out the 'sharp fang' out of the bread, which appeared to be smaller than a five cent piece.
'It looks like a little tooth. You can see jagged edges. It's not human,' he told News Corp.
Mr Fenn took to Helga's Facebook page following the incident to make them aware, posting a photo of the strange object alongside his toast and the bread packet.
'Wow, Helga.... talk about taking a bite from my morning breakfast Vegemite toast, only to bite what looks to be a shark sharp tooth within the bread!!?' he wrote.
The Melbourne father said he had been halfway through a slice of his Vegemite toast (left) when he felt a crunch and pulled out the 'sharp fang' (boxed)
Mr Fenn took to Helga's Facebook page following the incident, with the breadmaker responding (pictured) that they would investigate the mystery item and had 'strict quality control measures'
Mr Fenn, who has a nine-month-old daughter, added: 'Lucky I didn't let my baby have the toast first!'
Helga's responded to the comment online, thanking him for bringing it to their attention and replying that they had 'strict quality control measures'.
In a statement they later told the Herald Sun they had spoken to Mr Fenn and that until an analysis was conducted they would not 'speculate about what the object is.'
Helga's told Daily Mail Australia: 'As part of our processes, we have spoken to the consumer and can confirm that there has been no injury.
'We are collecting the product and doing further analysis to determine what it is and its source.
'Helgas is committed to maintain the highest possible standards of safety and product quality at all times.'
Western Australia will be next to enforce a state-wide ban on single-use plastic bags, with Premier Mark McGowan announcing on Tuesday the Government's plan to phase them out by July next year.
Mr McGowan broke the positive news on ABC radio before attending a media event at Perth's Kewdale Primary School.
'Very pleased to announce that from July 1 next year that single-use plastic bags will be banned in Western Australia,' he declared.
'We're following on from the lead of other States who have already done it; we want to make sure our marine life, our wildlife (and) our very special environment is protected.'
Premier Mark McGowan (right) says plastics bags will be banned in WA for good next July
South Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory have already enforced plastic bag bans, while Queensland is looking to ban them from mid next year.
'Plastic can blow all over the place, it can blow into our rivers, our waterways, our wetlands, our ocean,' Mr McGowan said.
'It kills marine life; turtles, dolphins, whales, all sorts of marine creatures- it kills wildlife across our broad and diverse State, it's time we took action.'
'This is something that has been called for by the environmental movement and also young people for a long period of time.'
'I have for a long period of time had the view that plastic is the curse of the earth.'
The move follows major retail outlets Woolworths and Coles earlier this year revealing their intentions to banish single-use plastic bags from stores within the next 12 months.
Speaking at the event, Conservation Council of WA director Piers Verstegen was confident the initiative would be supported by the community.
'Where plastic bags have been banned in other states, consumers and the community and responsible businesses have supported the move.'
But Environment Minister Stephen Dawson has ruled out supporting the WA Greens' push for balloons and plastic drinking straws to also go, saying he doesn't want to make parents' lives harder.
Western Australia will be next to enforce a state-wide ban on plastic bags (stock image)
'As a father of a young child, can I say I'm not going to be a party pooper,' he said.
Mr Dawson said he was confident the plan would pass the Upper House.
Conservation Council of WA director Piers Verstegen said the move showed growing community and industry support to address plastic pollution.
'WA is one of the last states where single use plastic bags have not yet been banned and our environment and marine life is suffering,' he said.
'Millions of plastic bags find their way into creeks, rivers, wetlands and the ocean every year in WA and this pollution has a huge impact on marine life and aquatic ecosystems.'
Irma killed 43 people in the Caribbean and at least 11 in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina
British Cabinet Briefing document suggests 40 'high risk' prisoners are on the loose in the British Virgin Isles
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is to fly to the Caribbean to visit British territories devastated by Irma
Islanders are taking matters into their own hands, arming themselves with machetes to defend themselves
People trapped on the island have described the 'biblical-scale destruction' as relief efforts gather pace today
Exhausted tourists pictured breaking down in tears as they prepare to board evacuation flights from island
The regional police chief said a gang of 600 'local delinquents' were responsible for large scale looting
Desperate residents on St Martin have been seen brawling over remaining scraps of food left on the island
Advertisement
More than 100 'high risk' prisoners escaped on the British Virgin Islands during Hurricane Irma and around 40 are still on the run on Tuesday, according to a leaked government document.
There have been widespread reports of looting on one of the islands, Tortola, after inmates broke out of a jail amid chaos during the 185mph storm.
Photos of a British Cabinet Briefing paper have now revealed that officials are attempting to 'secure the transfer of the prisoners' to the island of St Lucia.
Meanwhile, British junior foreign minister Alan Duncan told parliament: 'We had a serious threat of a complete breakdown of law and order in the British Virgin islands (BVI). The prison was breached, over 100 very serious prisoners escaped.'
The minister also raised the death toll in British Caribbean territories to nine. Five people died in the BVI and four in Anguilla. The authorities had previously reported one person killed in Anguilla.
It comes as pictures emerged of exhausted tourists being evacuated from the Dutch-French island of St Martin as part of a major international relief effort.
Starving residents on the island have resorted to fighting each other for food while tourists queued at the airport and wept with relief as they were being evacuated from the 'biblical-scale destruction'. Hundreds of holidaymakers are still trying to leave, with dozens lining up outside the Princess Juliana Airport, which was left in ruins in the storm.
There have been reports of people arming themselves with machetes to defend themselves on the island while one soldier said he was stopping attempted lootings every ten minutes.
Scroll down for video
Mass evacuations are gathering pace from islands hit by Hurricane Irma. Residents and tourists trapped on St Martin broke down in tears as they prepared to board planes to leave the island
A young woman breaks down in tears as she prepares to leave St Martin. People trapped on the island have described the destruction there as 'biblical'
Wasteland: Debris lies strewn across a beach as a group of people inspect the damage caused by Irma on the island of St Martin
Devastation: Pictures show the remains of a building destroyed in Grand-Case, on the French Caribbean island of St Martin
Waiting game: Residents use umbrellas and bags to shelter from the sun as they queue up to collect supplies on the island of St Martin
Looting has also been reported in the British Virgin Islands and photos of a British cabinet document have emerged suggesting up to 40 'high risk' prisoners are on the loose after escaping during the hurricane
Aftermath: Luxury yachts lie stacked up on top of each other in marinas on the island of St Martin in the wake of the hurricane
Members of the New York Air National Guard help evacuees as they prepare to leave St. Maarten for the safety of San Juan, Puerto Rico
Exhausted holidaymakers, carrying their suitcases on their laps, are pictured on a flight away from the hurricane-hit island of St Martin last night
Aid: British soldiers pack up HMS Ocean with much-needed supplies in Gibraltar as the rescue effort for the Caribbean continues
French police are pictured chasing looters in St Martin amid reports a gang of 600 thieves are terrorising islanders
Terrified tourists on the Dutch-French island of St Martin have described cowering in their hotel rooms amid reports up to 600 looters are running riot (pictured in a still taken from a video posted on Facebook)
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is set to fly to the British Virgin Islands and Anguilla 'in the coming days' as part of a visit to British territories devastated by the storm.
French and Dutch police have sent extra police to St Martin to help contain looting on the island.
One resident, Jacques Charbonnier, said 'all the food is gone now' and revealed 'people are fighting in the streets for what is left', the Independent reports.
Another, 70-year-old Germania Perez, said: 'There's no food here. There's no water here.'
Help was making its way to the island today, from the Dutch and French governments, other nations and private organisations. A French military ship with supplies was due to arrive today, coinciding with a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron.
But as foreigners rushed to leave the island, some of those staying behind are still seeking meals and something to drink.
'We need water and food. It's not a 'maybe.' It's a 'for sure,'' said Phillip King, a 53-year-old tour bus driver. 'My job is done right now. It's gone for a long time.'
The world-famous Princess Juliana International Airport (pictured) in Phillipsburg, St Martin was left in ruins when the storm hit last week
A man kisses his wife holding their baby as they board a plane at Grand-Case Esperance airport to flee from Saint-Martin as a mass evacuation gathers pace
Response: Members of the New York Air National Guard help a wheelchair-bound pensioner on to a plane at St Martin ahead of a flight to Puerto Rico
Military aircraft have been airlifting exhausted holidaymakers off the island of St Martin amid reports looting is continuing on the streets
Devastated residents survey the 'biblical-scale' damage on St Martin last night in the wake of Hurricane Irma
Wreckage: Luxury beach-front hotels and villas on the holiday island of St Marting were ravaged by the force of Hurricane Irma
A tangled ship's mast rests on the dock in Philipsburg, on the Dutch side of St Martin as residents come to terms with the destruction
The roof of this property was torn off by the force of 185mph winds that swept across St Martin last week. Mass evacuations are now underway
Rescuers: HMS Ocean of the Royal Navy is packed up with aid to help Britain's Caribbean territories after the devastation of Hurricane Irma
Essentials: The troops are loading the helicopter carrier with food, water and other basics after the storm wiped out normal life on the islands
Damage: Trees were shredded or torn out of the ground and houses left in ruins on St Martin as Hurricane Irma struck
Relieved tourists show officials their passports as they prepare to board a plane and escape the hurricane-hit island of St Martin
Escape: Four exhausted evacuees rest as they sit in a plane ahead of a flight from hurricane-hit St Martin
Shelter also is a growing concern for many residents.
Dalaney Kertzious, a 44-year-old port security officer, spent the hurricane at a hotel that evacuated its guests after the storm blew out windows. She found another hotel but has to leave with her 17-year-old daughter by Tuesday and does not want to stay in their home because it has no roof.
'I will try my best, but I have nowhere to spend the night,' she said, adding that the homes of her family and friends are already full.
As night falls, residents hurry inside, fearful of robbers roaming the streets. Across the island, cars lie tossed upside down, at 90-degree angles and on top of other cars. Large boats lean sideways on dry land.
'We can't sleep in peace because of the thieves,' said Yovanny Roque, a 48-year-old mover.
'The destruction is on a biblical scale,' said 51-year-old Raju Budhrani. 'It's how you see it in the movies. It's actually worse than that.'
Hundreds of holidaymakers are still trying to leave St Martin, with dozens lining up outside the Princess Juliana Airport, which was left in ruins in the storm. People are pictured lining up to board a plane at the terminal
Aerial photographs show how entire communities were destroyed by the power of the 185mph winds that ripped across St Martin
Experts are still surveying the damage caused on St Martin. This was the scene at one island resort where a car ended up on the beach
Paradise lost: Once palm-fringed beaches on St Martin now look more like a warzones in the wake of the hurricane
Debris lies strewn across a beach on the holiday island of St Martin. The Dutch and French governments are sending troops to the island to help with the clean-up operation
Evacuation: People line up as they wait to be flown off the island of St Martin
A plane was flipped over at an airstrip on St Martin. At least 35 people have been killed by Irma in the Caribbean
Hundreds of people across an island shared by Dutch St. Martin and French St. Martin are trying to rebuild the lives they had before Hurricane Irma hit
'Once you have life, hope is there,' said 64-year-old retiree Albertus Williams.
At least 35 people have been killed by Irma in the Caribbean, 10 of which were in Cuba. That is Cuba's worst hurricane death toll since 16 died in Hurricane Dennis in 2005.
Havana was in recovery mode Monday, with crews cleaning away thousands of fallen trees and electric restored to a handful of neighborhoods. Schools were closed until further notice.
President Raul Castro issued a message to the nation that didn't mention the deaths, but described damage to 'housing, the electrical system and agriculture.'
He also acknowledged destruction in the northern keys where Cuba and foreign hotel management firms have built dozens of all-inclusive beach resorts in recent years.
The Jardines del Rey airport serving the northern keys was destroyed, the Communist Party newspaper Granma reported, tweeting photos of a shattered terminal hall littered with debris.
Destruction: This was the scene of devastation that greeted Royal Marines as they arrived at Jost Van Dyk in the British Virgin Islands
Royal Marines from Alpha Company, 40 Commando, have arrived to deliver aid and provide support to the islanders of Jost Van Dkye in the British Virgin Islands
Response: Royal Marines carry away storm damage as they help to rebuild storm-ravaged homes on the hurricane-hit island of Jost Van Dyke
Aerial pictures show how entire houses on Jost Van Dyke were blown to pieces by the power of Hurricane Irma
Moving out: Royal Marines board a Royal Air Force Puma helicopter bound for the hurricane-hit island of Jost Van Dkye
Devon-based 59 Commando Squadron from 24 Commando Royal Engineers deliver aid to Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. Specialist army engineers have restored power, running water, runway lighting and are repairing the perimeter fence at Terrance B, Lettsome International Airport on the island of Tortola
Helping hand: Royal Marines carry boxes of food and other supplies on to the hurricane-ravaged island of Jost Van Dyke
The Royal Marines have also been helping to remove fallen trees during the mission in the British Virgin Islands (pictured)
Islanders joined forces with British Royal Marines as they tried to rebuild parts of the storm-hit British Virgin Islands
Royal Marines have been dispatched to the British Virgin Islands to help clear wreckage, restore electricity supplies and rebuild vital infrastructure
Royal Marines from from 59 Commando Squadron have been tasked with helping to clean up Tortola in the British Virgin Islands after the area was destroyed by Hurricane Irma
Royal Marines carry away a roof which was torn off a building on Tortola in the British Virgin Islands
'The storm hit some of our principal tourist destinations but the damage will be repaired before the high season,' starting in November, Castro wrote.
To the east, in the Leeward Islands known as the playground for the rich and famous, governments came under criticism for failing to respond quickly to the hurricane, which flattened many towns and turned lush, green hills to a brown stubble.
Residents have reported food, water and medicine shortages, as well as looting.
Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is flying to British territories in the Caribbean following intense criticism of London's efforts to help communities devastated by Hurricane Irma. He will arrive in Barbados today and make trips to the heavily damaged British Virgin Islands and to Anguilla.
Mr Johnson has dismissed criticism from local residents and British tourists as 'completely unjustified'.
A despondent Mariela Leon sits in front of her flood-damaged home after Hurricane Irma ravaged the community of Isabela de Sagua in Cuba
Cuban state media reported 10 deaths despite the country's usually rigorous disaster preparations. More than 1 million were evacuated from flood-prone areas. An abandoned doll is pictured in Isabela de Sagua in Cuba
A girl sits on a mattress soaked by the floods as others survey the scenes of devastation at Isabela de Sagua in Cuba
Lourdes Rivera loads buckets to collect water in front of her house that was destroyed by Hurricane Irma, in Isabela de Sagua, Cuba
People collect water from a broken tube after Hurricane Irma caused mass flooding and a blackout in Havana, Cuba
Hungry residents line up to buy bread after Hurricane Irma caused flooding and a blackout in Havana, Cuba
Several crosses stand surrounded by flood waters caused by Hurricane Irma, in the cemetery in Isabela de Sagua, Cuba
Damage is seen next to Cuban flags that were hung up to dry after Hurricane Irma caused flooding and a blackout, in Havana, Cuba
People put furniture out to dry outside their homes after Hurricane Irma caused flooding and a blackout, in Havana, Cuba
RACE ROW AMID CLAIMS OF 'SELECTIVE' EVACUATION FROM HURRICANE-HIT ST MARTIN In the chaotic days after Hurricane Irma smashed St. Martin, the storm also exposed simmering racial tensions on the island's French territory, with some black and mixed-race residents complaining that white tourists were given priority during the evacuation. It was the type of anger that has long plagued France's far-flung former colonies - especially its Caribbean territories, where most of the population identifies as black and is poorer than the white minority. Johana Soudiagom was disturbed to find herself among a tiny handful of non-whites evacuated by boat to nearby Guadeloupe after Irma devastated the island. 'It's selective. Excuse me, but we saw only mainlanders,' she told Guadeloupe 1ere television, visibly shaken. 'That's a way of saying, 'I'm sorry, only whites. There are only whites on the boat.'' It's common practice for tourists to be evacuated first from disaster zones for practical reasons, as they are staying in hotels and not in their homes and tend to have fewer resources such as food and vehicles. The French prime minister insisted Monday that the only people being prioritized were the most vulnerable. Rescue mission: Evacuees are loaded in a Royal Netherland Air Force plane bound to Curacao at Princess Juliana Airport People line up to board a jet in Simpson Bay on St Martin and leave the island, which was left in ruins by the force of Hurricane Irma Government spokesman Christophe Castaner said he understood islanders' frustration with the government response but blamed part of the controversy on their 'emotional shock, an impact that's extremely hard psychologically.' Soudiagom and other witnesses told Guadeloupe 1ere that the boat they took Friday carried tourists, including Americans, to safety but left many St. Martin residents behind, including needy mothers and children. On Monday, France's Representative Council of Black Associations asked the government for a parliamentary inquiry, citing concerns that those who were evacuated were not 'necessarily the most in distress.' 'In my eyes, Irma is for the French Antilles what Hurricane Katrina was for Louisiana in the U.S. - an exposer of racial and social inequalities,' the group's spokesman, Louis-Georges Tin, told The Associated Press. The terror of facing down a Category 5 hurricane has combined with a long-held sense of isolation among local residents of St. Martin, some 4,200 miles from the French mainland and popular with European tourists. 'The natural catastrophe occurred in a place that's very vulnerable socially, where there is a population of many different skin colors and a history of slavery,' said Michel Giraud, a French researcher who writes on race. 'Of course there will be a perception of racism.' The island of St. Martin - divided in the 17th century into the French territory of Saint-Martin and the Dutch territory of Sint Maarten - measures just 34 square miles. Its 80,000 residents are a vibrant ethnic mix descended mainly from Africa, Europe and Asia. The two sides of the island share a creole language that draws heavily on English vocabulary. The French part of St. Martin is similar to other French holdings in the Caribbean in that its white minority is generally wealthier than its black majority. Because France bans the collection of data on race, there are no statistics to show how much wealthier. Evacuees are loaded in a Puerto Rico National Guard C130 plane bound to the island after being processed by US Embassy personnel at Princess Juliana Airport in St. Martin It began as a colony whose economy was fueled by African slaves. But after slavery was abolished in 1848, Tin said, 'there were no reparations for the slaves, only for the slave owners,' so the former slaves won freedom but remained destitute. 'The economy is now based on tourism but it is still poor. The wages are significantly lower than the mainland France.' The government is not the only one being accused of racial bias in the wake of the storm. Giraud said French television reports on the devastation focused disproportionately on white people. 'When I saw the pictures, I was shocked,' Giraud said. 'In the coverage I saw, the victims were mostly white tourists, or white French mainlanders. But the poorest are always the first victims.' Irma hit St. Martin on Wednesday, killing at least nine people on the French part of the island and damaging a majority of its buildings. The following day, looters were seen hauling food, water and televisions from shops, and videos featuring predominantly black people raiding shops circulated online. Some took to social media to blame the thieving on non-whites and characterized the white evacuees as innocents escaping the chaos. Tin said the island's poorer residents were doing what they had to after an ineffective government response. 'What some call theft, others call survival,' he said. 'When the state doesn't do its job, it's normal that the poorest do what's necessary to survive.' 'In Florida, there were more than 1 million evacuated, and France says that with four days' notice they couldn't evacuate a much smaller number,' Tin said. 'The question must be asked: Does it have to do with racism?' The government argues that it is more difficult to transport tens of thousands of people off small islands in stormy weather than it is to tell people to drive to safety. French President Emmanuel Macron planned to fly to St. Martin on Tuesday to inspect the damage and relief operations and to reassure the local population. Advertisement
French President Emmanuel Macron is visiting the French-Dutch territory of St Martin on Tuesday and Dutch King Willem-Alexander travelled there on Monday.
Britain has sent more than 700 troops and 50 police officers to the British Virgin Islands after Irma swept through last week. Six people have been killed in the British Virgin Islands and Anguilla.
Britain has also dispatched 10 humanitarian flights and pledged 32 million in aid for the territories, which are under British sovereignty but not part of the United Kingdom.
Clean-up: A man and woman carry a bed frame past the ruins of wooden buildings along the coast at Isabela de Sagua on hurricane-hit Cuba
Yaneisis Martinez hugs her two dogs as she sits on the remains of her house, which was destroyed by Hurricane Irma in Isabela de Sagua, Cuba
The powerful storm ripped roofs off houses, collapsed buildings and flooded huge sections of Cuba's coastline after cutting a trail of destruction across the Caribbean. This was the scene in Isabela de Sagua, Cuba as residents started the big clean-up
Cuban officials have warned residents to watch for even more flooding over the next few days in the wake of Hurricane Irma
A man looks out to sea as he sits on the remains of a restaurant destroyed by Hurricane Irma in Isabela de Sagua, Cuba
A shirtless man walks among the belongings of those affected by the hurricane in Isabela de Sagua
A girl walks past a man trying to collect water from a pipe next to the remains of a house destroyed by Hurricane Irma in Isabela de Sagua, Cuba
Anger: A woman throws her arms apart in front of her home. She placed her belongings outside in the hope they will dry having been drenched by Hurricane Irma
Collapse: Two Cuban men move away bits of wood as they look to reclaim items they lost during the devastating hurricane
A British navy ship has also been assisting victims of the hurricane since last week and a second warship, the HMS Ocean, is due to set off from Gibraltar Tuesday but will only arrive in the Caribbean in 12 days' time.
But local residents say the government was not prepared and the aid has been too slow to arrive.
The families of some British tourists stranded on St Martin have also complained that their loved ones are not being evacuated from the island.
Despite the response, terrified tourists on St Martin have described cowering in their hotel rooms amid reports up to 600 looters are running riot. One soldier posted on the island said he was 'stopping a looter every 10 minutes'.
Sam Branson, the son of Virgin tycoon Richard Branson, whose luxury resort in the British Virgin Islands was destroyed in the storm, warned of 'civil unrest' and said prisoners had escaped.
Aerial pictures released by the Ministry of Defence show the flooded areas of Providenciales, an island in the Turks and Caicos
Villages on Providenciales (pictured) in the Turks and Caicos islands were devastated by the force to Hurricane Irma
A 24 man team made up of Royal Marine Commandos, British Army Commandos, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force specialists have landed at Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands to proved aid
This Royal Air Force C-130J Hercules transport plane became the first military aircraft to reach the Turks and Caicos Islands in the wake of the disaster
Reinforcements: British military personnel help to unload a Royal Air Force C-130J Hercules after help finally reached the Turks and Caicos islands
The Turks and Caicos islands were badly hit during Hurricane Irma. British military personnel are pictured unloading supplies from a Hercules aircraft
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson defended his government's response to what he called an 'unprecedented catastrophe' and promised to increase funding for the relief effort. Britain sent a navy ship and almost 500 troops to the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla and the Turks and Caicos islands
That appeared to be confirmed when pictures emerged of a British Cabinet Briefing document which suggested some 40 'high risk' prisoners had escaped in the British Virgin Islands. The paper suggested there were plans to transfer them to the island of St Lucia once captured.
Frightened residents have also complained of looting on the islands of Anguilla, Barbuda and St. Barts after howling 185mph Irma tore through the region.
On St Martin, there are reports of some residents arming themselves with machetes to stop looters amid a crime wave on the island.
Regional police chief Jean-Marc Descoux said some 500-600 local delinquents were probably responsible for most of the looting, taking advantage of the devastation for personal profit.
The storefronts in the centre of Marigot are testament to the paranoid atmosphere gripping the island. Every shop has its metal shutters drawn. Some show signs of being forced open with crowbars.
Slide me Satellite images show how Philipsburg on the Dutch-French island of St Martin looked before the hurricane (left) and after (right) the storm hit
Slide me Before (left) and after (right) satellite images reveal the extent of the damage caused to Anse Marcel on the island of St. Martin
Slide me Another combination of satellite images provided by DigitalGlobe shows Providenciales, in Turks and Caicos Islands on January 1, 2016 (left) and on September 10 (right), after the storm had hit
Slide me Necker Island, the home of tycoon Sir Richard Branson's luxury resort, is pictured in November 2016 (left) and on September 9 (right) after the hurricane struck
Slide me Aerial photos show how the town of Codrington looked on the hurricane-hit island of Barbuda before the storm (left) and after (right)
Slide me The overhead comparison pictures show how the marina at Road Town on Tortola in the British Virgin Islands was left in ruins. It is pictured before (left) and after (right) Hurricane Irma hit
Slide me Satellite images show the islands of Barbuda and Antigua on August 21 (left) and after the hurricane had struck (right)
Images, provided by the NASA Earth Observatory, shows Caribbean islands looking a vibrant green (top), while a second - captured after the hurricane (bottom) - shows the territory is coloured brown. The islands, from left, are St. Thomas, St. John, Tortola and Virgin Gorda
On one corner, a clothing shop stands open to the elements, its windows smashed in. The mannequins have been stripped of their clothes; the coathangers are bare.
A soldier posted in the Bellevue commercial district to the south revealed he was stopping a looting every ten minutes.
Several people who were stranded on the island said looters had begun raiding hotel rooms and homes to profit from the natural disaster.
Claudia Knight, 33, runs an arts school on Tortola in the British Virgin Islands but managed to return to the UK with her toddler daughter before Hurricane Irma unleashed devastation.
Her marine engineer partner Leo Whitting, 38, stayed behind - but after seeing images of the awesome power of the storm Ms Knight said she thought he had died.
France's President Emmanuel Macron addresses the media on his arrival in Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe island today, the first step of his visit to French Caribbean islands
Emmanuel Macron (second right) speaks with officials aboard the presidential plane while on his way to Guadeloupe today
Willem-Alexander and Minister of Internal Affairs Ronald Plasterk arrive at a damaged Princess Juliana International Airport in St Martin
France, Britain and the Netherlands have all sent extra security resources to the Caribbean. French troops are pictured securing the entrance to St Martin's airport
Washed up: Photos show how yachts were ripped off their moorings and thrown onto dry land in Phillipsburg, St. Martin
People evacuated from St Martin looked shaken after landing at the Charles de Gaulle airport, north of Paris, on Monday
She said: 'I honestly thought he was dead. Before I was making jokes like 'make sure you park my car', it was quite light-hearted because we didn't know the storm was going to be that bad.
'The military is everywhere with machine guns. Everyone's turned feral and no-one's going out without being armed.
'You can't drive your car without a weapon, it's turning really nasty. Leo carries a knife with him.'
Ms Knight, originally from Dorset, has lived on the island for the past four years with Mr Whitting and the couple have a two-year-old daughter, Dottie.
She managed to speak with him thanks to 'brief flickers of internet', adding 'he phoned me shortly after and said I'm alive - Tortola isn't.
'He looked like he has been touching death's door, he's very pale and gaunt. My house and my business have been blown away and destroyed. Nothing is left standing on the island.
'But we love it, and we want to go out and rebuild eventually.'
People wait in line while U.S. Air force units prepare to evacuate several hundreds of American citizens from Princes Juliana International Airport on St Martin
The hills of St Martin are usually a vibrant green, but photos show how the landscape has been battered by Hurricane Irma
A beach-side hotel close to the airport in Phillipsburg, St. Martin is shown after it was hammered by Hurricane Irma
A young woman carries her dog (left) at St Martin's international airport and a mother holds her baby in her arms (right) on the streets of Philipsburg
An officer directs people at the main entrance of Princes Juliana International Airport in Phillipsburg, where U.S. Air force units are to evacuate several hundred American citizens
A man picks up rubble in the Cold Bay community in St Martin, after it was pummelled by Hurricane Irma
People hold their passports and water bottles as they prepare to be evacuated from the island of St Martin
Luxury boats and beach-front homes were both left in ruins after the storm hit St Martin. Irma cut a path of devastation across the northern Caribbean, leaving thousands homeless after destroying buildings and uprooting trees
Delaney Kertzious carries clothes she salvaged from her house in the Cold Bay community after the passage of Hurricane Irma
Ms Knight said people were beginning to evacuate but you had to 'pay through the nose' to be shuttled off, adding Mr Whitting would hopefully manage to leave in the next few days.
She said: 'I'm so guilty of seeing something terrible on the news then, you know, going back to your dinner after.
'But when it really happens to you and people you love have near-death experiences it's horrible. The Government needs to do more to help.'
Jos Smart, 26, and his girlfriend Julia Taylor, 30, reported being too afraid to leave their 'half-destroyed' hotel amid reports of looting and violence outside.
Describing the apocalyptic scenes in St Maarten Jos Smart's father Ian said: 'They have not had any water for a day.
'They said the sounds were apocalyptic and they have likened it to a war zone.
'They are holed up in a half-demolished bathroom and their phone is running out of battery. There have been rats in their room looking for food.'
Bryce White, 26, is stranded in Cuba with girlfriend Sophie Clarke, 23, in a hotel room with six others. They said they had just two litres of water and a few ham sandwiches.
His worried father Richard, 58, from Gloucestershire, said yesterday: 'They have been told there is no more food or water and have been forced to look for fallen coconuts outside.'
He said some holiday reps on the island 'disappeared for 24 hours then reappeared, apologised and then got blind drunk'. He added: 'They keep saying 'there's nothing we can do'. We have begged Thomson to fly them home but they say nothing is wrong'.
On St Martin, Cambridgeshire couple Ross McEwan, 61, and wife Lesley, 63, have been marooned for six days.
Mrs McEwan's sister Elaine Sorensen, 57, said the couple waited for a rescue flight at the airport every day from 5.30am with one Red Cross-issued bottle of water.
Britain has sent a navy ship and almost 700 troops to help people on the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla and the Turks and Caicos islands that were pummeled by the hurricane. Troops are pictured meeting locals in the British Virgin Islands
The British government is defending its response to Hurricane Irma amid claims it has been slow to help its overseas territories devastated by the storm. UK troops are pictured on Tortola in the British Virgin Islands
Britain has pledged 32 million in aid and sent hundreds of troops, supplies and rescue equipment on several flights to the British territories in the Caribbean since Friday. They are pictured talking to an islander on storm-ravaged Tortola
Royal Marines from 40 Commando talk to a local residents in Road Town on Tortola - part of the British Virgin Islands
Ruins: The scale of the hurricane's power can be seen in this aerial picture of a town in the British Virgin Islands
Entire houses were blown apart on the British Virgin Islands while trees were ripped up and power cables brought down
Sam Branson, the son of tycoon Richard Branson, released a video message, warning of lawlessness in the British Virgin Islands. Pictures show the devastation in the area
Luxury yachts are still piled on top of each other in marinas in Road Town, on Tortola - part of the British Virgin Islands. There have been reports of looting in the area
Buildings were left in ruins and Yachts were piled on top of each other in the harbour and many houses in the hillside capital of Road Town (pictured) on the main island of Tortola were badly damaged
On patrol: Royal Marines from 40 Commando could be seen walking the streets on the island of Tortola in the British Virgin Isles
BRANSON: MARSHALL PLAN NEEDED Richard Branson has lived in the British Virgin Islands for the past 11 years and weathered Irma on Necker, his private island. In a blog post on virgin.com, he urged a multi-million pound effort to revitalise the Caribbean after the devastation. He called for a 'Disaster Recovery Marshall Plan' to aid in recovery and the long-term revitalization of its economy - a reference to the multibillion-dollar U.S. program that helped rebuild Western European after World War Two. 'We must get more help to the islands to rebuild homes and infrastructure and restore power, clean water and food supplies,' said Branson, head of the Virgin Group conglomerate. He said he was writing from Puerto Rico, where had traveled to mobilize aid efforts, and said he would be returning to the Virgin Islands soon for recovery work. Branson said the British government had a 'massive role to play' in rebuilding its territories, including the British Virgin Islands, an offshore financial center. Advertisement
'The French said that because they hadn't heard from the Foreign Office in an official request they wouldn't take them because they didn't want refugees,' she said. 'They watched a half-empty plane take off.'
Charlotte Goffe and her husband Ricky, from Warwickshire, are stuck in Cuba with their young son. Mrs Goffe said it was 'the honeymoon from hell'.
One woman claimed US and British tourists had been attacked after they became stranded. Troops were called in on Friday to offset the problem.
Meanwhile Sam Branson, the son of tycoon Richard Branson, released a video message, warning of lawlessness in the area.
He said: 'I've been getting some updates on the ground out there on the British Virgin Islands and it's really sad to say that there is a lot of civil unrest. Unfortunately some of the prisoners have escaped and are now armed.'
'It's really important if you are helping and you are trying to send supply boats out to the area that you go and get information on the ground from official channels and ideally you have some security on the boats
'I don't want to panic anyone but it's really important people are aware of the situation there. Some areas are okay, some aren't. Just get the right information. It's just incredibly tragic.
Elsewhere, France, which oversees neighbouring Saint Barthelemy and the other half of St Martin, said the police presence on the two islands had been boosted to close to 500.
The French interior ministry said 11 people suspected of 'malicious actions' had been arrested since Friday as television footage showed scenes of chaos on the islands, with streets under water, boats and cars tossed into piles and torn rooftops.
Supplies are pictured stacked up and waiting to be loaded on to a ship in Gibraltar yesterday ahead of a rescue mission to the Caribbean
Crew in Gibraltar prepare to move supplies on to the Royal Navy helicopter carrier HMS Ocean before she crosses the Atlantic to provide humanitarian assistance and vital aid to British Overseas Territories and Commonwealth partners affected by Hurricane Irma
Britain has faced criticism that it has been slow to help its nationals caught up in the disaster - including in the British Virgin Islands, where five people were killed. But Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson called the criticism 'completely unjustified'. Military personnel are pictured loading a ship with supplies ahead of a voyage to the Caribbean
A member of the Royal Air Force hangs a British Navy White Ensign on an helicopter on board the amphibious assault ship HMS Ocean at the Naval Base in Gibraltar before leaving to help with the rescue effort in the Caribbean
Ready for action: The Royal Navy helicopter carrier HMS Ocean (pictured yesterday) has been loaded up ahead of being sent to the Caribbean to provide vital supplies to the hurricane-hit region
Response: British troops in Gibraltar take a breather as they help to load up a ship destined for the Caribbean
Massimiliano Napoliello, the manager of a bar in Maho Beach, issued a desperate plea for help on Facebook.
'The situation in SXM is a HELL! NO WATER NO FOOD NO ELECTRICITY NO COMMUNICATION!!
'They are completely isolated and there are CRIMINALS carrying GUNS AND KNIVES SHOOTING and looting all over!! NOTHING IS WORKING, THERE ARE NO RULES, THERE IS NO LAW AND NO PROTECTION RIGHT NOW!!' he said.
At the Simpson Bay Resort and Marina, looters went in to unoccupied rooms to steal TVs, one staff member said on Twitter.
'A small minority of sxm-er's were looting our unoccupied rooms until the Dutch military arrived. Not essentials - taking TV's,' he said.
The same man said a bank was robbed the next day.
Laura Conroy's family were stranded on the island and are now awaiting rescue from US military planes.
They are taking American citizens to the more developed Puerto Rico.
She said that through the intermittent contact she has had with her sister, she learned that looting was a problem. 'Many US citizens are being attacked and robbed,' she told DailyMail.com.
Emergency aid: Humanitarian freight is loaded in French Guyana ahead of being sent to French overseas territories
Several people still stranded on St Martin (pictured) said looters had begun raiding hotel rooms and homes to profit from the natural disaster
A man walks past debris caused by Hurricane Irma in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas on the U.S. Virgin Islands. There are widespread reports of looting throughout Caribbean islands hit by the hurricane
Jos Smart, 26, and his girlfriend Julia Taylor, 30, were forced to hide in a smashed up hotel room with rats flooding in looking for food
Nearly a third of all buildings on the Dutch half of the Caribbean island of Saint Martin were destroyed and more than 90 percent damaged by Hurricane Irma, the Dutch Red Cross said on Tuesday.
The aid agency had surveyed 5,500 structures before the storm and made an assessment based on photographs provided by the Defence Ministry in the Netherlands.
Caretaker Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte had said on Sunday an estimated 70 percent of buildings were damaged or destroyed.
'The damage on St. Martin is greater than previously thought,' the Red Cross said in a statement. 'In addition to distributing food and water, the Red Cross is going to ramp up emergency shelter.'
Extra search and rescue experts were also heading to the Dutch territory, where the Red Cross said 200 people were registered as missing.
There were terrifying reports of looting and violence coming out of St Maarten on Friday in the wake of Hurricane Irma
Massimiliano Napoliello, the general manager of Sky Beach, a bar in Maho Beach, shared this desperate plea on Friday
There were snaking queues at the airport as people desperately waited to be taken off the island
A flight with tarpaulins, tents, soap and other supplies would leave on Wednesday, after more than 3 million euros ($3.6 million) was donated in the Netherlands.
The Red Cross said it would use drones to monitor the needs of the population on the island, an independent nation within the Kingdom of the Netherlands with a population of around 40,000.
Last week, Rutte warned the situation was already 'serious' and made worse by communication problems after 185mph Irma laid waste to infrastructure.
Witnesses on the Dutch side of the island say people are roaming the streets armed with 'revolvers and machetes' while Rutte said most people are surviving without power and running water.
Extra troops and police are arriving on the southern part of the island, which is shared between France and the Netherlands, and part of their job is to help keep order, officials said.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte warned the situation was already 'serious' and made worse by communication problems after 185mph Irma laid waste to infrastructure. A Dutch soldier keeps watch on the island
Witnesses on the Dutch side of the island say people are roaming the streets armed with 'revolvers and machetes' while Rutte said most people are surviving without power and running water. A Dutch Royal Navy officer speaks to a driver at a check point on the island
Up to 95 per cent of the island was destroyed as the hurricane pummeled its shores on Wednesday
Up to 95 per cent of the island was destroyed as the hurricane pummeled its shores on Wednesday.
The badly damaged airport and port have now 'been opened for military purposes,' Rutte told reporters, adding 'we are doing everything possible to get aid to the area.'
He said food, water and security were the priorities on the island, known in Dutch as Sint Maarten.
'We will not abandon Sint Maarten,' he said, adding that officials were also sending medicines, tents, tarpaulins and hygiene kits as fast as possible to the Caribbean.
'The military has two tasks after arriving there. Firstly to ensure that there is food and water, but also to ensure security,' Rutte said.
Extra troops and police are arriving on the southern part of the island, which is shared between France and the Netherlands, and part of their job is to help keep order, officials said
This was the scene at the island's world famous international airport after the hurricane had lashed it with ferocious winds
'There are people on the streets armed with revolvers and machetes,' one witness told the Dutch newspaper AD on Friday. 'The situation is very serious. No one is in charge.'
Dutch officials have confirmed that one person was killed on the Dutch part of Saint Martin by the Category Five storm, before it was downgraded early Friday to a four as it barrelled towards Cuba and Florida.
At least 10 people were killed on Cuba, most of them crushed by collapsing buildings, bringing the death toll to 43 in the Caribbean.
St Martin, which shares an island with the French territory of St. Martin, has been autonomous since 2010, but remains part of the Dutch commonwealth.
Dramatic aerial pictures show scenes of devastation on a Caribbean island after it was ravaged by the most powerful hurricane the Atlantic has ever seen. At a port area, shipping containers were strewn like children's building blocks (pictured)
Astonishing images show the scale of the destruction on the island of St. Maarten in the aftermath of a direct hit by Category 5 Hurricane Irma
Massive waves continued to crash into the coastline of the Dutch side of St Martin last night in the aftermath of the storm
Prime Minister Mark Rutte says that most people are surviving on the island without the basic necessities of life.
Power, running water and most communications were knocked out by the powerful storm and looting has been reported by local authorities struggling to keep control of the island.
He said the first plane already has landed at the airport in the capital, Philipsburg, and navy vessels have unloaded vital supplies in a race against time before the next storm arrives.
'We slept with knives under our beds': British tourist tells of five terrifying days living in fear of armed looters on lawless St Martin - after there were no Delta check-in staff to print his boarding pass
A British tourist who spent nearly a week trapped on a lawless Caribbean island struck by Hurricane Irma has revealed he kept a kitchen knife under his bed to protect against looters.
James Tuffin, 32, was left stranded on St Martin after he was unable to check-in for his flight last Monday because no one from Delta Airlines was available to print his boarding pass.
The public relations professional spent a desperate five days hiding in a hotel room with no running water or electricity and armed men on the loose outside, before eventually boarding a US Army flight which took him to safety.
James Tuffin,(left) spent a desperate five days hiding in a hotel room(right) with no running water or electricity and armed men on the loose outside
Mr Tuffin, who was on holiday with a friend, said he and his family made numerous calls to the UK Foreign Office for advice, but he was given limited information and no offer of evacuation.
And he warned there were tourists from Britain and other countries still trapped on St Martin and in dire need of help after the storm struck on Wednesday.
He told MailOnline: 'The days after the storm were terrible. There was no running water or electricity, the toilets would not flush and food supplies were depleting.
'At nightfall, we would sit in the hotel room in darkness and slept with kitchen knives under our beds because we were so scared someone would break in.
'One day, our neighbours above us came down because she had seen a man with a gun who had come to her apartment to steal food.
'She told us to lock ourselves in the room because he was running around outside.
Mr Tuffin, who was on holiday with a friend, said he and his family made numerous calls to the UK Foreign Office for advice, but he was given limited information and no offer of evacuation. He took photos of the devastation, pictured
Mr Tuffin warned there were tourists from Britain and other countries still trapped on St Martin and in dire need of help after the storm struck on Wednesday
'On the same day, a Dutch man, also in the hotel, heard there was a man running around with the machete. People were looting - it was terrifying.'
Mr Tuffin, originally from London, arrived at St Martin by boat on September 4 hoping to catch a flight back to New York, where he lives.
He had been on holiday for five days on nearby Anguilla.
But after entering the Princess Juliana International Airport he was unable to find any Delta Airlines staff to check him in because they had already left to process the other people had the gate.
'By the time we got to the airport on St Martin we only had ten minutes before check-in was closing, as our boat had been delayed because of the weather,' he said.
'The check-in machines weren't working and I could not use the app. When I got to the Delta desk no one was there, everyone had left already.
Mr Tuffin, originally from London, arrived at St Martin by boat on September 4 hoping to catch a flight back to New York, where he lives
After entering the Princess Juliana International Airport Mr Tuffin was unable to find any Delta Airlines staff to check him in because they had already left to process the other people had the gate
'I was starting to panic, I went to all the other airlines and they said the Delta staff had already left. So we missed the flight, because there was no one available.'
Realising he was unable to leave, Mr Tuffin and his 27-year-old friend Michael found a room at nearby Simpson's Bay Resort, where they spent the next two nights.
On Wednesday, the pair attended a briefing at the hotel, where the guests were told to gather food and water in preparation for a category five hurricane that was on its way.
After filling pots and pans with water and bringing in provisions from the supermarket, they settled down for the night, before being woken up at 3am by the sound of the storm.
'By 5am it was really bad,' Mr Tuffin said. 'We went inside the bathroom and padded it out with some of the sofa seat cushions and just waited.
'There was a constant howling noise and the sound of things getting ripped apart.
On Wednesday, the pair attended a briefing at the hotel, where the guests were told to gather food and water in preparation for a category five hurricane that was on its way. The impact of the storm is shown in these photos, taken my Mr Tuffin
On Friday Mr Tuffin saw a Dutch military plane landing at the airport, but he was told by hotel staff these were for women and children only. Pictured: General views of the devastation on St Martin
'By the morning we looked out and the devastation was horrendous. Every car was upside down, with their windows smashed out, and houses had lost their roofs.
'But the worst part was that we could not contact the outside world.
'There were a couple of bars of mobile signal in one part of the resort, which I used to phone my family, but it was hard to get through to anyone else.'
On Friday Mr Tuffin saw a Dutch military plane landing at the airport, but he was told by hotel staff these were for women and children only.
After another terrifying night, he woke up to on Saturday morning to a knock at the door and a worker telling him the US Army was ferrying Americans from the airport.
Thinking that his American visa would get him on board, he went to queue up only to be told by a Marine that they would not be able to take him.
But after waiting until all the Americans had got on board, one of the soldiers said the remaining tourists seven Britons, a German couple and two French people would be allowed to join the flight.
Despite the desperate situation they found themselves in, Mr Tuffin said the staff at the hotel and some six hundred guests joined together to share provisions and protect each other
Mr Tuffin slammed the British authorities for not doing enough to help, and he stressed there were still tourists trapped on the island who needed urgent aid
Mr Tuffin insisted his hotel 'did a good job with helping people' and housed others who were made homeless
'That was one of the most heart-wrenching feelings ever,' Mr Tuffin said.
'But we persevered and eventually when all the Americans had been taken onboard the soldiers said we could join to.
'So, thank God, the American Army saved the day, and we flew in a Hercules to San Juan, on Saturday. And there we got a hotel and yesterday I left to New York.'
Despite the desperate situation they found themselves in, Mr Tuffin said the staff at the hotel and some six hundred guests joined together to share provisions and protect each other.
But he slammed the British authorities for not doing enough to help, and he stressed there were still tourists trapped on the island who needed urgent aid.
On Saturday, Mr Tuffin was eventually able to board a US Army plane that was leaving for Puerto Rico (pictured)
Mr Tuffin said the American Army 'saved the day' as he was flown in a Hercules to San Juan, on Saturday before heading on to New York
Mr Tuffin described his ordeal as 'an absolutely terrifying five days' and a situation that was 'still so bad there with people still in desperate need of help.' Pictured: The scene on board the Hercules
He added: 'It was an absolutely terrifying five days, and the situation is still so bad there with people still in desperate need of help.
'The hotel did a good job with helping people, including housing other people who were made homeless and everyone shared what they had.
'We did not get any information from the British government and just felt completely trapped.
'I got through to them and heard that they had my details and I should wait for information and to wait for the local authorities.
'But there were no local authorities - there was no information from anyone. There must be Britons still there. I just don't know what the UK is doing.'
MailOnline has contacted Delta Airlines and the UK Foreign Office for comment.
This brutal South African school teacher has been suspended and could face criminal charges after dealing out a horrific beating to a terrified young girl in his classroom.
The out-of-control master first beats one of his scared pupils with a cane and then turns his violent attentions to a second girl as some of the class start laughing.
It happened at the Umdlamfe High School in Esikhawini at Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal province and the video shot by another pupil went viral this week on YouTube.
The teenager realising she is about to be badly beaten tries to get out the door to safety but is caught by the teacher who drags her back and tries to turn her round to hit her.
In fear she pushes him away which only enrages him more and in the tussle he pulls off her school jersey and moves her to the centre of the classroom where he can beat her.
He then lashes out at least six times as hard as he physically can as the girl screams like a banshee at the top of her voice as the cane lashes into her flesh repeatedly.
The sick thwack of the cane can be heard again and again as the girl screams in agony with each blow as she struggles to the door and manages to escape into the corridor.
This brutal South African school teacher has been suspended and could face criminal charges after dealing out a horrific beating to a terrified young girl in his classroom
Many of her school pals are heard laughing and jeering as the teacher meted out corporal punishment in the classroom which was banned across South Africa 20 years ago.
The Department of Education in KZN strongly condemned the actions of the teacher and said he has received a letter formally suspending him pending a full investigation.
KZN education spokesperson Kwazi Mthethwa told TimesLIVE: 'The educator that is seen in a video brutally beating a learner will receive a suspension letter.
'We will be taking harsh action against the perpetrator. We want to send a clear message that corporal punishment will not be tolerated in our schools and learning facilities.
'Despite it being banned since 1997, some teachers in South African schools continue to dish out corporal punishment often for every day offences and it is not allowed'.
It is not known what injuries were caused to the teachers' victim.
The video emerged just three weeks after two other videos were posted on YouTube taken by pupils of teachers handing out savage beatings to pupils in the classroom.
In the first a school mistress appears to be laughing as she takes a wooden cane to the back of a terrified young girl forcing her to sit still as she brutally punishes her back.
It happened at the Umdlamfe High School in Esikhawini at Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal province and the video shot by another pupil went viral this week on YouTube
The girl is agony and screaming hysterically but the teacher calmly keeps rearranging her in the seat so she can get a clear shot for the next whack of the cane on her back.
Seven times the cane is shown being brought down across her back causing serious pain that will leave bright red welts on her back for at least ten days and cause severe bruising.
The video moves onto another clip where a schoolmaster slashes down four times brutally on a schoolboys hand at the front of the class in front of the blackboard.
Both schools are believed to be in KZN and the spokesperson Mr Mthethwa confirmed an investigation was on to find the schools concerned and find the teachers responsible.
He said: 'Children have the right to be free of all forms of violence, to enjoy their education, and not to be treated or punished in a cruel, inhumane and degrading way.
'We are working round the clock to identify the schools involved and will take strong action when we find them'.
An 18-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the murder of a Belgian mayor who was found dead in a cemetery with his throat slit.
Nathan Duponcheel allegedly killed Alfred Gadenne, 71, the Mayor of Mouscron, near the French border, as an act of revenge, local media reports.
Suspect: Nathan Duponcheel, 18, left, allegedly slit the throat of Alfred Gadenne, 71, the Mayor of Mouscron, right, as an act of revenge
Duponcheel is reported to have blamed the Mayor of his hometown for his father losing his job and later committing suicide in 2015.
Police have confirmed that an 18-year-old man has been arrested but would not reveal his identity.
The body of Mr Gadenne was discovered by his wife on Monday evening at Luingne Cemetery, where he was caretaker.
He had been out to close the site for the night when he was murdered.
Local newspaper Sudpresse reports that Duponcheel handed himself over to police at the scene on Monday.
Local news service SudInfo, citing unnamed sources, said a suspect had handed himself in to police and that the motive was unclear
Emergency services work at the Luingne Cemetery in Mouscron, on September 11, where the city's mayor Alfred Gadenne was found dead
The teenager's father Olivier had been fired from his job at Mouscron fire services, and is said to have become depressed.
He committed suicide on Valentine's Day 2015, aged 50, according to an online obituary.
Sudpresse reports that Duponcheel blamed local authorities for his father's death and attacked and allegedly killed the mayor to 'avenge' him.
Mr Gadenne was the conservative mayor of Mouscron, an industrial town of 57,000 just across the border from the northern French city of Lille
His death has shocked the country, with the prime minister expressing 'horror' at the death of the retired national lawmaker.
Mr Gadenne had been out to close the site for the night when he was murdered
Mr Gadenne's was the conservative mayor of Mouscron, an industrial town of 57,000 just across the border from the northern French city of Lille
The case was handed to a local prosecutor rather than to national counter-terrorism investigators. Pictured: The town square of Mouscron
The case was handed to a local prosecutor rather than to national counter-terrorism investigators.
'I have learned with horror of the brutal death of Alfred Gadenne,' Prime Minister Charles Michel, a liberal, said on Twitter. All my thoughts are with his family and friends.'
Among the many others offering condolences was Martine Aubry, the former French Socialist party leader and long-time mayor of metropolitan Lille.
Philippe Courard, president of the parliament for Belgium's French-speaking south, tweeted: 'Terrifying. What kind of world are we living in?'
Emergency services were at the scene on Monday evening.
The recently-dumped boyfriend of one of two women currently on the run from prison says he believes the pair are en route to the NSW border.
Joseph Milanov told News Corp he and 24-year-old Tegan Simpson had 'loved each other from day dot', but she had dumped him on the phone last week.
He believes she and accomplice Abigail Graf, 21, are headed for Mullumbimby - a small town just north of Byron Bay - and not even a 90 minute drive from the Numinbah Correctional Centre.
Tegan Simpson (pictured), 24, escaped from Numinbah Correctional Centre. Her ex-boyfriend believes she is headed for Mullumbimby
Simpson escaped alongside Abigail Graf (pictured), 21, who is on remand for assaulting police
'I just want her to hand herself in, but obviously she's not really for that,' Mr Milanov said.
'[An associate] told me they were headed for Mullumbimby I think it's in NSW. I don't even know what's there or why anyone would go there.'
Mr Milanov said the pair had been dating for some time, which included jail sentences for both of them.
'I went to jail and we were still together, but I found out she was playing up,' he said.
The pair had reconciled when Mr Milanov was released, but he says she called him from prison last week to break up with him.
She told him: 'Im done. Bye, before hanging up on him.
They were both being held at the 700 hectare open prison in Numinbah Valley, 100km south of Brisbane (pictured Tegan Simpson)
It is not yet known if the women knew each other prior to entering the open prison but they are not 'friends' on social media (pictured Abigail Graf)
Abigail Graf, 21, and Tegan Simpson, 24, both from Queensland, were reported missing at 11pm on Sunday after they weren't marked as present during a routine headcount.
They were both being held at the 700 hectare open prison in Numinbah Valley, 100km south of Brisbane.
Graf is on remand for assaulting police and Simpson was in custody for receiving stolen goods.
It is not yet known if the women knew each other prior to entering the open prison but they are not 'friends' on social media.
Graf is described as being 168cm tall and weighing about 61kg, with hazel coloured eyes and bleached blonde hair.
The 21-year-old has several obvious tattoos including one of an eye and teeth on her left arm, the 'A' anarchy sign on her left-hand ring finger, the word 'death' on her upper left leg, a graffiti tag on her left ankle and one of the word 'life' on her upper right leg
Simpson has multiple tattoos, including the word 'strength' on her face, and a skull and rose on her leg
The 21-year-old has several obvious tattoos including one of an eye and teeth on her left arm, the 'A' anarchy sign on her left-hand ring finger, the word 'death' on her upper left leg, a graffiti tag on her left ankle and one of the word 'life' on her upper right leg.
Simpson is similarly covered in ink with a tattoo of the word 'strength' over her left eyebrow, a rose behind her left ear, a full sleeve tattoo on her left arm, angel wings on her right inner wrist, a bow on her right hand, a phoenix bird on her lower left leg, a crown on her right foot as well as a skull, rose, lantern, eye and ladies face on her right leg.
She is about 163cm tall with dark brown hair and green eyes. According to Facebook the 24-year-old is single and originally from Goulburn, New South Wales.
Abagail Graf, 21, and Tegan Simpson, 24, (pictured) were reported missing at 11pm on Sunday
According to Facebook the 24-year-old is single and originally from Goulburn, New South Wales
Queensland police told Daily Mail Australia that the women are considered 'low risk' to the public but have been missing for two days now.
Queensland Corrective Services confirmed these details.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Queensland police told Daily Mail Australia that the women are considered 'low risk' to the public but have been missing for two days now
I was sawing logs.
Sunk down into a navy couch patterned with unicorns which I was re-purposing as a bed in the balmy living room of my some of my buddies.
Silence nestled us each in our sleeping quarters.
But that calm was violently vandalized.
Out of the quiet came a howling protest accompanied by fierce banging on the front door.
Turn it down! Turn. It. Down! a hysterical woman shrieked like a screech owl.
My pulse tripled.
Terrified and unsure of where I was, I desperately tried to locate myself in these strange surroundings, where drowsiness had enveloped me just moments before.
The only constant in those distressed seconds that elapsed were the distraught ladys screams,Turn it down! Turn it down!
She was insistent.
But there was no noise!
The Housecoat Clad Prophetess of Gloom
I peered through the window to witness a housecoat clad prophetess of gloom with staccato knuckle-rapping rhythm on the glass storm door.
Finally realizing where I was and feeling the angry accusations reverberating through the walls, I addressed her through the locked door, without opening it....(I had just graduated from college after all, and had the world ahead of me!)
I sought to reassure her (and save myself), I don't know what you're talking about!
Turn the music down! she clarified, as if there were a drowning taking place.
But there isn't any music, I replied in this bizarre conversation about disturbing noises in a completely silent room.
I waited with jumpy silence.
Suddenly, apparently satisfied, she concluded her tirade, Funny, I don't hear it anymore.
And she walked down the front stairs and out of my life, hopefully(!) forever.
But like many startling things, that strange episode is now featured among the many curios of memory in my mind.
And it was instructive for several reasons.
Everyone is in the middle of a great war...
For one, that mysterious and confused woman was reacting to something that was apparently compellingly real in her mind, but no place else.
That being so, it was a coronary infarction inducing episode to remind me that there are subterranean matters going on in others at any given point about which I have no idea.
Be kind, said one church father, in what has become a favorite pastoral adage, for everyone you meet is in the middle of a great war.
Theres no telling what the wars in the minds of my friends, congregants, or even insurance agent might be adding to my actions or words to them. But I can at least be merciful and anticipatory about it. As I hope theyll be with mine.
Listen with Self-Suspicion
Mrs. Scream also unwittingly instructed me on how simple it is to read into situations what absolutely isnt there.
So perhaps, we ought to listen to each other with a modicum of self-suspicion. And maybe throw in a hefty injection of gracious charity in our appraisals of others.
We are, all after all, subject to what Ive heard Andy Stanley and Patrick Lencioni call the Fundamental Attribution Error.
That wonky self-preferencing feature in me which assumes that my failures are always due to extenuating circumstances while yours and everybody elses are the result of collossal failures of consideration, character, and thought.
If Im late to a meeting, it is clearly because I had to help a pregnant woman deliver her baby on the way while building a house for a homeless man.
If you are late, it is solely due to your ridiculous self-absorption and lack of care for anyone but yourself.
My faults are due to environmental factors. Yours are because you are a scoundrel.
If suspicion must be present, I need to turn it on myself first and permit the same merciful allowances for others that I so effortlessly grant to myself.
Being Mindful of Misinterpretation
The confused woman also unwittingly alerted me in her vast misinterpretation of the situation that I should be mindful of the possibilities of my own misinterpretations when others let me down, injure me, or fail to do what they said they would.
Perhaps what is stunningly clear to me would be muddied, at least a touch, if I heard the whole story?
Maybe I am missing something even though it isnt clear to me what it is.
The mere suggestion of a possibility is enough to slow me down to listen with the requisite attentiveness and evaluate with the sort of grace Id like to encounter.
Refusing Defensiveness
My wild-haired middle of the night instructor also introduced me more keenly to my primal desire for self-defense.
She was disturbingly and wrongly convinced that we were destroying the shalom of the apartment complex when in fact we were being model citizens...even though we were only 22 years old!
But I would never be able to clear things up with her. Or give her another impression.
In fact, she may presently be writing about the night that a weird young man on a unicorn couch disturbed her deep sleep with raucous music and then denied it after he had sneakily turned it off!
I will never know.
But it doesnt matter.
My salvation, says the Psalmist, and my honor depend on the Lord.
There is a Mormon Tabernacle Choir of unified voices in the Scriptures and among the perceptive and wise that urge us to avoid defending ourselves.
Because of course, most of us want to do that exclusively.
We cant abide being misunderstood. It is intolerable to have another think the wrong thing about us.
Practicing Non-Defense=Trust
But if and when I practice my belief, as our Savior did, that I have a Defender, Protector, Guardian and Rectifier for all the unjust things that need to be settled, I can refrain both from relational self-defense and from attempting self-promotional brand enhancement projects on others.
Instead of retaliating when I am insulted, mistakenly interpreted, or injured, I can respond to what St. Peter insists is our calling by, even when being slighted for doing good, simply entrusting myself to God who judges justly.
I can let my future and the way that I am viewed be in the hands of Him who truly does know all and interprets correctly.
Jesus, were told, carried out just this sort of mission, led as he was like a lamb to the slaughter but refusing to sling back verbal grenades when such accusatory weaponry was lobbed at him.
And of course, refusing to defend yourself, and abandoning a strategy of suspicious self-protection is the ONLY way to have meaningful relationships with anyone.
Controlling YOUR perceptions
If I am busy defending myself to you, I am certainly not loving you nor entrusting myself to you. Im trying to control your perceptions.
And if I spend all my emotional capital making sure folks only see the Instagrammed shiny-filter version of me, then I will never let anyone near for fear of being found out.
Marilynne Robinsons, Pastor John Ames, understood these matters with intimate experience. He instructs his young son in Gilead:
I would advise you against defensiveness on principle. It precludes the best eventualities along with the worst. At the most basic level it expresses a lack of faith....And often enough, when we think we are protecting ourselves, we are struggling against our rescuer.
The screech owl woman, and the frightened young man she accused stand at every moment in need of a rescue.
Oh that well both have the courage to stand against defensiveness and surrender to that Rescue of Him wholl eventually renovate all the true and imagined vandalizations to shalom that have awakened, startled, or disturbed us.
---
Contact Eric Youngblood, pastor of Rock Creek Fellowship on Lookout Mountain, at eric@rockcreekfellowship.org
A Dairy Queen owner has defended a sign describing his restaurant as 'politically incorrect' for its support for 'God and country'.
The sign at the store in Kewaskum, in Wisconsin, explains to customers that staff may say 'Merry Christmas', 'Happy Easter', 'God Bless America' and hand out free sundaes to veterans on Veterans Day.
At the bottom of the sign it says 'In God We Trust', which has been the national motto of the USA since 1956 and is printed on the country's currency.
A Dairy Queen owner in Wisconsin has described his restaurant as 'politically incorrect' for the fact it says 'Merry Christmas', 'Happy Easter' and 'God Bless America'
The sign, that has been in the shop window for four years, attracted attention when customer Ashley Coleman objected to it.
The Oregon resident posted a picture of the sign to Dairy Queen's Facebook page claiming it was 'extremely offensive'.
Another, Steve Thomas, from Milwaukee, said: 'I feel this is a pretty tasteless thing to have posted at one of your franchises. The part of the sign that I disagree with is his use of a political term "snowflake"...he is literally alienating half the population by using that term.
'The other thing I don't like is him belittling "safe spaces". Young adults need a safe place to talk when they are at a dark place in their lives but won't go because of how much criticism they may receive because of it. That's why I disagree with this sign.'
But owner Kevin Scheunemann defended the Christian sign saying he 'felt it was appropriate to hang in terms of being transparent about the views of the owner and staff supporting God and country.'
He added: 'It just seems that those kinds of values and principles are becoming controversial in society.'
Dairy Queen distanced itself from the sign saying it didn't speak for the company or any other franchise owners.
Other business owners in the town said they supported Mr Schuenemann's right to run his store the way he wanted.
April Serwe, who owns local bar PJ Magoos, said: 'He posted it on the door so you see it before you walk in. You don't have to walk in if you don't agree with it.'
He also won praise from many people on social media who argued that 'if you don't like it, don't eat there'.
Melissa Rose said: 'The sign on the door is perfect'.
'It's about time someone stands for the non whiny Americans', Sandy Roberts added.
Mary McSweeney Lanese wrote on Facebook: 'Your franchisees have the right to post any signs they want...and not being "politically correct" is even more of a reason to shop in those stores. Sick and tired of people being offended by the least little thing.
Leslie Jones Loeffelholz added: 'I love it! This is the land of freedom! He has every right to post that sign on his business! If you don't like it, don't eat there!'
Dairy Queen distanced itself from the sign at the Wisconsin store (pictured) saying it didn't speak for the company or any other franchise owners
In a statement seen by CBS, Dairy Queen said: 'American Dairy Queen Corporation does not encourage our independently owned and operated franchisees to post non-business related messages in their locations or on their external reader boards.
'This sign expresses the views of this independent owner only and does not speak for ADQ Corporation or any of our other independent franchise owners.
'We expect our franchisees and employees to treat every person who walks through our doors with the utmost dignity and respect. Nothing less is acceptable.'
Charlotte Baron, 14, was found dead at her home in Rochdale in 2016
A damning report into the death of a troubled teenage girl has found 'more could and should have been done' to help her.
Charlotte Baron, 14, was found hanged in her bedroom at her home in Falinge, Rochdale in February 2016.
The daughter of an alcoholic mother and an abusive father, Charlotte suffered a chaotic and troubled upbringing.
The secondary school student was known to social services and was being seen by a mental health worker.
Charlotte had been self-harming and had tried to take her own life on two separate occasions, according to a report into her death.
By the age of seven, police had been called to 10 reports of domestic violence at her family home, the majority of which resulted in Charlotte's mother Veronica Kilbride being injured by her father, who was eventually jailed for the abuse.
During her life Charlotte moved home 'about 27 times'.
And the report said she had been self-harming since Year 7 at school and was extremely unhappy at home, which often had no food, heating or electricity.
She suffered a difficult relationship with her mother, who regarded Charlotte's suicide attempts and self-harm as 'attention seeking'.
A Serious Case Review (SCR) published on Monday by Rochdale Borough Safeguarding Children's Board has found that Charlotte was failed by the people she relied upon - her mother, social workers and her mental health worker - at the time when she needed them most.
The daughter of an alcoholic mother and an abusive father, Charlotte suffered a chaotic and troubled upbringing
As a young child she was 'exposed to serious and persistent domestic abuse and the separation of her parents', the SCR said.
Charlotte often expressed a desire to move out of the family home, telling her mental health worker she wanted to live 'somewhere where she feels looked after'.
But when social services tried to help the family, Ms Kilbride was often 'reluctant to engage' or failed to show up for meetings.
Social workers from Rochdale Council were assigned to Charlotte following her first suicide attempt in September 2015 when she took an overdose.
The review found her main social worker had just one year's experience and needed 'consistent management support'.
But despite this, and a realisation that Ms Kilbride was a 'very difficult client to work with', the review found 'management oversight of this case was poor' and there was a 'gross naivety' in social services' belief that Charlotte's mother would tackle her drinking problem.
The social worker's description of Charlotte's death as a 'shock' was also described as 'out of step with the reality'.
During her life Charlotte moved home 'about 27 times' and told her mental health worker she wanted to live 'somewhere where she feels looked after'
Charlotte was also being seen by a mental health worker from Pennine Care NHS Trust's Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) team, who deemed her to be at 'high risk' of self-harm.
The mental health worker was said to be 'extremely concerned' about Charlotte and expressed frustration that 'something should have been done'.
But despite the concerns, no-one from CAMHS attended any of the multi-agency 'Child in Need' meetings which were held to discuss Charlotte and her family's case.
The mental health worker, said to be an 'experienced practitioner', was also criticised for not making a 'robust challenge' to social services when she felt Charlotte's needs were not being met.
Standards of record keeping in CAMHS were also found to have fallen short of agency standards.
The Serious Case Review panel found social services and the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services 'both accepted that more could and should have been done to support and listen to' Charlotte.
A Serious Case Review found that Charlotte was failed by the people she relied upon
The panel has recommended as a matter of urgency that all children assessed as being at medium or high risk through self-harm are referred directly to children's social care who will then coordinate a multi-agency professionals meeting.
The panel also criticised the way the two agencies involved with Charlotte worked together.
It found an 'inherent weakness in multi-agency working', communication between the social services and CAMHS 'was limited to approximately five telephone calls or e-mails and one joint visit' and that plans to help Charlotte were not shared between social workers and the mental health team.
Jane Booth, chair of the Rochdale Borough Safeguarding Children's Board, said: 'On behalf of the Rochdale Borough Safeguarding Children Board and its partner agencies I wish to extend our condolences to [Charlotte Baron's] family and friends.
'The serious case review we have published today clearly identifies the lessons that needed to be learned to improve practice when working with vulnerable teenagers and their families.
'The board will continue to monitor agency action plans to ensure these improvements are made.'
Senior Remain supporting Tories rushed to start re-writing Theresa May's Brexit laws today just hours after vital legislation was backed by MPs.
Rebel ringleaders began their resistance against the historic laws to take Britain out of the EU almost as soon as the votes were called at close to 1am this morning.
Critics Dominic Grieve and John Penrose, both former ministers, are expected to lead a dozen Tories and join forces with Labour to try to re-write the draft laws. Almost 60 pages of amendments to the legislation have already been tabled.
Mrs May hailed the passing of the legislation's second reading overnight as an 'historic' moment on Britain's road to Brexit in March 2019.
The Premier gathered her Cabinet in No 10 today for an extended session in the aftermath of the latest Brexit milestone being cleared.
Her official spokesman said the Government would study amendments tabled to the legislation but had not yet reached a position.
At Cabinet today top Tories, including Scottish leader Ruth Davidson, are due to have a detailed political discussion without civil servants ahead of party conference.
Brexit Secretary David Davis and Commons leader Andrea Leadsom (pictured arriving for Cabinet today) will have to pilot the Brexit laws through the Commons against fierce resistance
Senior Tories including Scottish leader Ruth Davidson (pictured in Downing Street today with Scotland Secretary David Mundell) gathered for a political cabinet in No 10 today
Senior Brexiteers in Cabinet (including Liam Fox, left, Priti Patel, centre, and Michael Gove, right) are expected to hail the new step toward Brexit
Tory chairman Sir Patrick McLoughlin arrived for today's political Cabinet meeting ahead of the Tory conference later this month
The Government is braced for weeks of Parliamentary trench warfare despite the relatively comfortable winning margin of 36 votes overnight.
BREXIT LAWS: WHAT HAPPENS NEXT Last night's vote is just the first step in a marathon process of getting the crucial Brexit law on the books: Autumn: Committee stage scrutiny of the Bill. This will take eight full days of Commons business, each running for eight hours. Winter: Report stage and third reading should see the plans clear the Commons. 2018: The same process will have to be completed in the House of Lords. Both Houses of Parliament will have to agree a text before it is law. March 29, 2019: Brexit Day. This legislation must be complete to avoid a cliff edge in the UK statute book. Advertisement
Just a handful of rebel Tories joining forces with Labour and the SNP will be enough to consign the Government to defeat on specific lines in the Bill.
Rebels want to water down so-called 'Henry VIII' powers that are intended to allow ministers to correct EU rules as they are copied into UK law ready for Brexit.
Former Attorney General Mr Grieve has tabled amendments that create a committee to 'triage' ministerial re-writes that are trivial and those that are significant.
Other amendments seek to require the final Brexit deal be written into a full Act of Parliament, and to require a specific vote on Britain leaving the European Economic Area.
Mrs May's official spokesman said: 'We will look at all the amendments and consider them in the usual way.
'The Prime Minister has said she is going to listen to the concerns of her colleagues.'
Brexit Secretary David Davis has warned MPs a smooth Brexit is impossible without the powers - intended to ensure the law of the land is the same the day after Brexit in March 2019 as the day before.
WHAT CHANGES DO THE REBELS WANT? Remain supporters from across the Commons have already tabled almost 60 pages of amendments to the Brexit legislation. Among the changes demanded are: Limits to the so-called Henry VIII powers that allow ministers to change EU laws as they are copied onto the UK statute book.
A requirement for the final Brexit deal to be enacted via its own Act of Parliament - potentially making the exit terms amendable by MPs.
A specific vote on Britain's departure from the European Economic Area. Legal opinion is split on whether this happens automatically when Britain leaves the EU single market. Advertisement
But critics on both sides of the House claim it is an extraordinary power grab.
Rebel Tories backed the legislation last night but warned Mrs May they were unhappy with the current draft.
Mr Penrose, a former Cabinet Office Minister, told the Guardian: 'If Brexit is supposed to take back control of our laws it's pretty hard to argue that the small number of genuinely important and substantive changes should simply be waved through parliament without thorough debate.'
Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer said: 'This is such a flawed Bill that the Prime Minister should have dropped it and started again.
'Instead, she has adopted her normal blinkered approach and forced through a Bill that will need extensive amendment and improvement in a whole range of areas.
'This is likely to cause delays and division in Parliament, and the Prime Minister has nobody to blame but herself.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd and Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt were both seen arriving for Cabinet today (pictured)
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss arrived for Cabinet with Work and Pensions Secretary David Gauke (pictured)
Communities Secretary Sajid Javid (left) and Justice Secretary (David Lidington) were also seen arriving for Cabinet today
Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire and Education Secretary Justine Greening were in attendance for today's extended Cabinet session
'Labour amendments would give greater control to Parliament and take power back from the hands of ministers. They would protect key rights and environmental safeguards and ensure that the Government does not have a legislative blank cheque.
'They will go some way to improve what is a deeply flawed Bill'.
In last night's dramatic votes, the crucial legislation was comfortably given its second reading in the Commons by a margin of 326 to 290 - a majority of 36.
Seven Labour MPs defied Jeremy Corbyn's order to oppose the bill, making clear during a near-nine hour debate that they were determined to implement the result of the referendum.
Importantly, the government also succeeded in passing its timetable for pushing the laws through parliament.
Jeremy Corbyn was in the Commons for the end of the second reading debate last night, where he ordered his MPs to vote against the Bill
Former minister Frank Field said he would be voting for the'referendum result to be implemented' by backing the measures at second reading
Caroline Flint insisted she would be ignoring Labour's three-line whip to abstain so the legislation can proceed
The crucial legislation was comfortably given its second reading in the Commons by a majority of 36 in a vote called just before 1am this morning
The landmark measures would scrap the legislation that underpins our ties to Brussels, while at the same time copying all current EU law on to the domestic statute book to minimise disruption.
THE LABOUR REBELS WHO BACKED THE BREXIT BILL Seven Labour MPs rebelled by voting for the EU Withdrawal Bill's second reading. They were: Ronnie Campbell (Blyth Valley), Frank Field (Birkenhead), Kate Hoey (Vauxhall), Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North), John Mann (Bassetlaw), Dennis Skinner (Bolsover) Graham Stringer (Blackley and Broughton). Others, such as Caroline Flint (Don Valley), chose to abstain. Advertisement
The Prime Minister said after the result: 'Earlier this morning parliament took a historic decision to back the will of the British people and vote for a bill which gives certainty and clarity ahead of our withdrawal from the European Union.
'Although there is more to do, this decision means we can move on with negotiations with solid foundations and we continue to encourage MPs from all parts of the UK to work together in support of this vital piece of legislation.'
Labour and some Tory MPs - including former Attorney General Dominic Grieve - voiced concern that ministers will also get so-called 'Henry VIII' powers to amend the rules as they are transposed.
Mr Corbyn ordered his benches to oppose the Bill at second reading, even though it is a vote on the principle of the legislation.
However, he suffered a rebellion by a group of MPs who either supported Leave in the referendum or whose constituencies backed Brexit.
Former minister Frank Field said he would be voting for the 'referendum result to be implemented', and he was joined by six others including veteran left-winger Dennis Skinner. Caroline Flint abstained saying the legislation was 'necessary' and she wanted it to continue.
Brexit Secretary David Davis was seen driving away from Parliament at 1am last night (pictured) following the crunch votes in the Commons
During the debate - which lasted nearly nine hours today and 13 in total - Mr Field, chairman of the Work and Pensions Committee, said: 'Tonight I will be voting for the only option - the referendum result to be implemented.
'That was the wish of my constituents and that was the wish of the country, and I don't wish there to be any different view put forward about whose side I'm on.
'I'm on the side of the majority of people who voted to come out.'
HOW THE NUMBERS STACKED UP ON THE EU REPEAL BILL There were three divisions called on the EU Withdrawal Bill tonight. A Labour amendment that would have block the draft legislation was defeated by 318 votes to 296, majority 22. The second reading for the Bill was carried by 326 votes to 290, majority 36. The government's timetable for pushing through the Bill was passed by 318 votes to 301, majority 17. Two motions on the financial implications were nodded through without a vote. Advertisement
In a message aimed at ministers, Mr Field added: 'We have seen many people when we started this process bravely going about their lifetime views to actually implement the views of their constituents.
'But given the frailty of human nature, we've had one or two recidivists who are now thinking... about there may be reasons for not doing this and doing the other.
'I therefore put on the order paper, when we come back to committee, grouping them together, a four-clause bill.
'Because the Government, by having this mega bill, is storing up no end of trouble by those people, those members who are wolves in sheep's clothing who will actually try and undo the measure.'
Mrs Flint told MPs the only reason for blocking the legislation would be to 'thwart' Brexit.
'The truth is, whoever was in Government, we would have to pass a Bill of this kind to prepare for leaving the EU in March 2019,' Mrs Flint said.
'And there can be little disagreement on that, unless your ambition is to thwart the result of the EU referendum and prevent or delay the UK leaving the EU.
'Now I believe Labour's job is to improve the Bill by amending it - not killing the Bill at the beginning of its passage through Parliament.'
She added: 'I will work with others to improve this Bill, but tonight I cannot vote to block this Bill and I shall be abstaining to allow the Bill to be further discussed and amended.
'We have a job to do to ensure a smooth, orderly Brexit.'
Brexit Secretary David Davis was in the Commons to hear the end of the debate on the EU Withdrawal Bill second reading last night
The landmark measures being considered by the Commons tonight would scrap the legislation that underpins our ties to Brussels, while at the same time copying all current EU law on to the domestic statute book to minimise disruption
Tory backbenchers supported the bill but many made clear they would seek amendments at a later stage
Labour MP Stephen Kinnock said the legislation amounted to a 'coup'. 'Let us make no mistake, this Bill is not about delivering the will of people, rather it's about gagging our democracy and this House by the way of a false discourse. It is a silent coup d'etat, masquerading as technical necessity,' he said.
Potential Tory rebels signalled that they would support the Bill at second reading - keeping their powder dry for later in the parliamentary process.
That meant the government had a comfortable majority in the key votes tonight, defeating a Labour amendment before securing the second reading.
But hundreds of amendments could be table as the legislation goes into committee stage next month, with peers vowing 'trench warfare' to soften Theresa May's approach to Brexit.
Under intense questioning from Mr Grieve, a QC, Justice Secretary David Lidington conceded the time available to propose changes in the committee stage could be extended.
'Where there is good reason to extend debate further, we are willing to consider that very seriously and carefully indeed,' he told Mr Grieve.
'I hope he will take that assurance in the spirit in which it has been intended.'
David Davis and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson had warned that efforts to derail the legal overhaul would mean a 'disorderly' Brexit and cause severe damage to the economy.
Tories Sir Edward Leigh and Maria Miller both insisted the EU legislation must be allowed to proceed through second reading
Speaker John Bercow was in the chair through most of the debate, which lasted nearly nine hours yesterday
Labour's Stephen Kinnock said he believed the legislation amounted to a 'coup' attempt
Mr Johnson told Today that failure to pass the legislation would mean 'the whole thing being disorderly and chaotic'.
He also held out an olive branch to the EU, saying he wanted to see the bloc have a 'renaissance' at the same time as the UK.
'I'm interest to hear that the commission president, Monsieur Juncker - who has many great qualities, by the way - he has said that he regards Brexit as... a moment for the renaissance of the European Union.
'Well, fantastic, let's get on with it, let's have a renaissance of the European Union.'
The Bill overturns the 1972 Act which took Britain into the European Economic Community and incorporates relevant EU laws into the UK statute book to prevent black holes in the law at the point of Brexit.
There are currently a guaranteed 64 hours over eight days for committee stage, when amendments can be made, but concerns have been expressed by Tory and Labour MPs that this will not be enough time given the constitutional significance of the legislation.
Nicholas Van Varenberg, 21, was arrested on Sunday in Tempe, Arizona
Jean Claude Van Damme's youngest son has reportedly been arrested for holding his roommate at knife point.
Nicholas Van Varenberg, 21, was arrested on Sunday in Tempe, Arizona.
Police got a call to check on him because he had allegedly punched the elevator in his building, TMZ reported.
They found a trail of blood leading to his flat and after speaking to him and a roommate, discovered the 21-year-old had hurt his hand.
Cops left the apartment but 20 minutes later the roommate dashed downstairs and said he'd escaped the flat where Mr Van Varenberg was holding him at knife point.
Police then searched the apartment and found the knife and marijuana.
Mr Van Varenberg was booked for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, unlawful imprisonment, marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.
The 21-year-old, who was born in Los Angeles, made an appearance in the 2017 film Kickboxer: Retaliation which his father starred in.
His mother is American model and actress Darcy LaPier. Van Damme has been married five times to four different women.
Mom and dad: Jean-Claude Van Damme and Darcy LaPier (pictured, left, in 1995) and LaPier and the couple's son Nicholas (right, pictured in 2013)
Jean Claude Van Damme and his son Nicholas at the premiere of The Expendables 2 in Hollywood in 2012
He was married to his third wife, bodybuilder Gladys Portugues - with whom he has two children: Kristopher (born 1987) and Bianca (born 1990) until 1992, when he began an affair with actress Darcy LaPier, whom he married in February 1994.
That same year he had an affair with his Street Fighter co-star Kylie Minogue during filming of that movie in Thailand.
LaPier, who was pregnant at the time with Mr Van Varenberg, did not become aware of this until Van Damme publicly admitted it in 2012.
After leaving LaPier, Van Damme remarried bodybuilder Portugues in 1999, and they later again separated.
In early 2015, Portugues has filed for a second divorce from Van Damme citing irreconcilable differences. However, in May 2015 they appeared to have reconciled and called off the divorce.
Dozens of tourists stuck on the Caribbean island of St Thomas during Hurricane Irma were refused available places on a rescue ferry send by Marriott Hotels because they were not their guests.
Hundreds had been stranded on St Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, in the wake of Hurricane Irma and had been told a rescue ship would come to their aid on on Friday.
However, some 35 people were told they would not be allowed on the ship - despite an alleged 1,300 free seats - as they had not been Marriott guests when the hurricane hit.
St Thomas suffered terribly during Hurricane Irma, with electricity and water cut off, roads blocked by debris and thousands of homes and infrastructure destroyed.
Several hundred tourists stranded on the island had reportedly been told by local authorities that a ship would come in to take tourists to nearby Puerto Rico, from where they would be able to fly to the U.S. mainland.
However, until they arrived at the pier late Friday evening, they had not been told that the ship was for Marriott guests only.
A video filmed and posted on Facebook by Naomi Michial Ayala, from Dallas, Texas, shows the lights turned off at the pier after they had been refused to board.
'They shut the lights off here in order to get us to go,' she can be heard saying on the video.
'This was a decision of Marriott who did not let us get on this boat so we could get on flights home.'
Not allowed: Hundreds had gathered on the pier on St Thomas to board a rescue ferry sent by Marriott Hotels, and while their 600 guests were rescued, 35 people were left behind
Stranded: The 35 refused to come onboard were not Marriott guests, and despite there being an alleged 1,300 free seats, they could not leave on the ferry
Accusations: According to witnesses, Marriott executives had made the decision not to let the group, which reportedly included women and children, to get on the ferry
She continues: 'Instead we have to ride out Hurricane Jose when we just went through Hurricane Irma a few days ago.
'We don't have food or water, we are stranded.'
Ms Ayala wrote on her widely shared post on social media that the group had initially been allowed to get on the boat by the captain.
However, when the crew called Marriott Hotels to confirm, the 35 non-guests, which reportedly included elderly people and children, they were refused.
After looking up the boat online, Ms Ayala found that the boat had a capacity of 1,800 passengers.
'They had 500 passengers. 1,300 open seats,' she writes.
'They called the Marriott CEO. He didn't want to take the liability.'
Ms Ayala was able to make her way to safety and Puerto Rico the following day, on a private vessel.
Destruction: A woman with her two children walk past debris left by Hurricane Irma in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Storm: Hurricane Irma ravaged resort islands such as as St. Martin, St. Barts, St. Thomas, Barbuda and Anguilla, among others
A Marriott spokesman said in a statement to MailOnline: 'On Friday, Marriott was able to secure a ferry to transport about 600 of our guests from St. Thomas to Puerto Rico.
'These were guests who had to stay behind after the airport closed in advance of Hurricane Irma. The ferry departed St. Thomas Friday, September 8, with the Marriott guests onboard.
There were a number of additional people gathered at the dock who were not our guests who also expressed a desire to leave St. Thomas.
'We very much wanted to assist these other travelers to Puerto Rico, however, the Marriott team on-the-ground was told they had no authorization to board additional passengers who were not on the manifest. This was enforced by dock security.
'With Hurricane Jose on a path to St. Thomas, the ferry had a tight window to pick up passengers and safely depart. As a company, Marriott places a priority on the safety and security of our guests, but we also have a long tradition of looking out for the greater community.
'In this case, we werent able to help and as grateful as we are that we were able to transport our guests, we are saddened that we were not able to do the same for more people. We continue to work with local authorities in St. Thomas to help support the relief efforts there. '
The statement did not expand on who had refused authorisation.
Meanwhile, several cruise companies are receiving praise for their efforts to help the storm-ravaged U.S. Virgin Islands.
Norwegian Cruise Line's ship the Norwegian Sky is on its way to St Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands to drop off supplies.
More than 2,000 tourists who were stranded on the island will also get picked up by the ship and taken to San Juan, Puerto Rico, which still has an operational airport.
Before Hurricane Irma hit Florida, Royal Caribbean used one of its ships to evacuate residents.
Royal Caribbean is also sending two of its ships to aid the islands of St Thomas and St Maarten, and has two other ships waiting in the wings to aid Florida when the storm passes.
Builder Michal Kuzniar and his wife Katarzyna believe Britons should fork out for them and their daughter Maria to return to Poland
A Polish couple left furious over the Brexit vote have set up a crowdfunding site to help them raise 10,000 so they can leave but they have only managed to raise 5, so far.
Michal Kuzniar and his wife Katarzyna believe British people should stump up the cash so they can make the move back to Krakow before the end of the year.
Builder Michal came to Britain in 2006 to work and now lives in a three-bedroom house in the Somerset seaside resort of Weston-Super-Mare.
But he says ever since last June's vote to leave the European Union, he and Katarzyna have felt insecure about whether they will be able to stay here.
Describing it as a 'slap in the face', Michal now wants to raise 5,000 to help his family - including two-year-old daughter Maria - return to Poland and set up home there.
On the Go Fund Me site, Michal says: 'To all of you lovely people! Together with my wife we have come up with a crazy idea to organise our own Brexit!
'Therefore we thought to set up a crowdfunding page to raise additional funds that will help us when we return to our homeland.
'Please remember that every penny counts.'
The 27-year-old father-of-one earns 17,000 a year working as a general builder and spends 750 a month on rent.
Michal says ever since last June's vote to leave the European Union, he and Katarzyna have felt insecure about whether they will be able to stay here
He says he has only ever taken child benefit from the UK welfare state, has always paid his taxes and has made many British friends.
But he said the mood changed after last summer's referendum.
He said: 'I have been in this country 11 years, but all of this stuff that's going on with Brexit, we don't really feel secure in this country.
'We are not sure if we are going to be allowed to stay so we don't want to take a risk when we have a little one.
'We didn't expect it would be that hard or that stressful for us living here after Brexit.
'My wife is really concerned and really scared of another change for us but we want to make a move for good and settle down and be a secure family. As long as that's accomplished we'll be happy.
The ambitious goal of 10,000 has got a way to yet because the furious family have only managed to raise 5 so far
'We just want to feel secure.'
Michal has lived in the UK permanently for 11 years but returned for a visit home at the end of 2014, where he met Katarzyna, 28.
The couple married and had baby Maria, now two, over there and then returned to Britain at the start of 2016.
They said they never expected the leave campaign to win, but since then people have been treating them differently and they feel vulnerable.
Self employed Michal said: 'Before the referendum it was a lot different, in people's behaviour.
'The British community think there's Brexit and they don't want us anymore.
'We get all these questions now from the taxi drivers and anyone I'm working for*.'oh you're from Poland? Are you going to leave soon?'
'It's uncomfortable to speak about. We feel like aliens here.
'After Brexit I began to feel really bad, mentally.
'I went to my GPs and am taking anti-depressants. My life has turned by 360 degrees.
'The main issue is that we don't feel secure. Before, I could see my future here.
Michal has lived in the UK permanently for 11 years but returned for a visit home at the end of 2014, where he met Katarzyna, 28. The couple married and had baby Maria
'I wanted to buy a house here and everything would be normal. That kind of feeling that you're not welcome is horrible. I was treating Britain as my home.
'Part of the problem for me is nobody has come out and reassured us. Every single day we don't know what's happening. It's like waiting in court for the judge to pass sentence on the rest of your life.
'For two adults, it will be fine, but when you have a baby and your whole family is here it's really difficult. Maria could go to school, make friends and suddenly it could be 'Maria we need to go.'
The Kuzniars want their crowd funding account to pay for sending their belongings back to Krakow, plane tickets and a new apartment over there.
They said they never expected the leave campaign to win, but since then people have been treating them differently and they feel vulnerable
Michal added: 'The main idea is to have extra emergency funds so whatever happens, even if we come back again, it's a new life for us.
'We have some savings but we want to have extra security - you never know what is going to happen. That's the main point - to feel 100% secure.'
Now the trio hope to raise at least 5,000 before Christmas so they can leave by the end of the year.
He said: 'My policy was always that you work for your living. I was never looking for help from anyone, but this is an emergency situation and if you don't feel good mentally and have your whole family to look after, then I think it's the best time to ask for help.'
Many Polish migrants chose to come to the UK after the enlargement of the European Union in 2004 and it is thought there are now about a million living here.
About 1 percent of Britain's population now speaks Polish and the language is the second most spoken language in England.
Since Brexit, 25,000 fewer Poles have come to work in the UK and 16,000 have left.
Poland's Deputy Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, 48, recently said of Poles returning home: 'It is not all Brexit related. But the vote to leave the EU may have acted as a catalyst.'
A search and rescue team have found the body of a British backpacker at the bottom of a 60ft drop near the summit of a mountain in the Italian Alps.
Keaton Emery, 23, set off to hike through the mountains near Lake Como, where he was doing volunteer work at a sailing school.
He did not return from the hike and the alarm was raised to the local search and rescue teams.
His body was recovered from a crag at the bottom of a 60ft drop close to the summit of the Legnoncino mountain by search and rescue teams on Sunday.
Keaton Emery, 23, set off to hike through the mountains near Lake Como, where he was doing volunteer work at a sailing school
Mr Emery was from Macclesfield, and according to his Facebook page he attended Cheadle Hulme School in Stockport before going on to study politics and economics at the University of Nottingham.
He also worked at Vanilla in All Seasons caterers, based in Congleton, Cheshire.
They posted on Facebook on Monday: 'We have had some awful news at Vanilla in Allseasons. Many of you will know our amazing friend and colleague
'Keaton Emery who embarked on what was to be a journey of a lifetime earlier this year. We were all sad to see him go, but happy for him as he was following a dream - bittersweet.
'Well - I never thought I would ever be posting this - but it is with the heaviest of hearts to have heard in the last 24 hours that Keaton is no longer with us.
'He has died doing what he really loved - but by far way too soon and we will all miss him dearly.
'You just couldn't not like Keaton!! Today our team are feeling hollow inside. Everyone who worked with him has their own fond memories, Vanilla in Allseasons - the whole team - would like to express our sympathy to Keaton's Mum and Dad. We were all privileged to have known him, xxx..'
Mr Emery lists hiking and navigating among his interests, as well as camping, sailing, kayaking and rock climbing
Mr Emery lists hiking and navigating among his interests, as well as camping, sailing, kayaking and rock climbing.
It's believed he was working at the Fuori de Vela sailing school, in Dorio, northern Italy, when he went missing.
A spokesperson for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: 'We are in touch with Italian authorities following the death of a British national in Colico and are providing assistance to his family.'
A young female artist has left her loved ones worried sick after she disappeared from her home after a night out with friends.
Kayla Steffen, 24, was last seen at a property in Lark Street, Altona North, a suburb of Melbourne and is believed to have disappeared in the early hours of Saturday.
Police say she was last seen at her house at around 2.20am which she shares with a man and a woman.
Scroll down for video
Kayla Steffen (pictured) was last seen by her housemates at Lark Street in Melbourne
Her housemates believe that she may have left the property sometime between 4am to 5am to have a cigarette outside, however when they awoke, she was nowhere to be seen, prompting them to raise the alarm.
Detective Senior Constable Mitchell Montgomery told a media conference on Tuesday that they hold grave concerns over her disappearance but are not treating it as 'suspicious'.
'They (her housemates) spoke to her in the lounge and everything seemed normal... we have put in inquires and we don't think it's suspicious,' he said.
Prior to her disappearance, Ms Steffen had been out with her friends the night before, her sister Phoebe said.
She said her sister was having some friendship problems but that it was 'nothing out of the ordinary' that could have led to her disappearance.
Everyone who had known Ms Steffen remained perplexed and confused over it, her sister said.
Phoebe said she had contacted all of her sisters friends and visited all of her favourite hang out places which had proven to be futile.
An emotional Facebook (pictured) plea has been put out by Ms Steffen's mother Jo on Saturday
'She is my best friend and I don't know what I will do if I don't see her, I don't think I can deal with it,' she said in tears.
She begged for her sister to make contact or give her some sort of sign indicating that she was alright.
Ms Steffen's mum Jo Deppeler and her partner Russell Deppeler were also at the media conference and urged her to contact the family as soon as possible.
In an emotional Facebook post, Jo said she was worried sick over her daughter's disappearance and has pleaded with the public to help locate her.
Ms Steffen's family hold grave concerns for her well-being over a medical condition she suffers from, which they did not elaborate on.
She is described as 165cm tall, medium build with long-brown hair featuring purple streaks.
Sir Peter Hall has died aged 86, the National Theatre has announced
Vanessa Redgrave and Sir Patrick Stewart have led tributes to Sir Peter Hall, the former director of the National Theatre and founder of the Royal Shakespeare Company, who has died aged 86.
The theatre great died yesterday in a London hospital surrounded by his family.
Actress Redgrave worked with Sir Peter in Stratford, on Broadway, and later, with her daughter Joely Richardson, with the Peter Hall Company.
She said: 'I send his family lots of love.
'He was a fascinating director. I remember his production in 1959 of Midsummer Night's Dream with Charles Laughton as Bottom and Ian Holm as Puck and Albert Finney as Lysander, and in the same Stratford season of 1959 Coriolanus with Laurence Olivier.
'I was in both productions and I watched all the rehearsals. In 1989 he directed me on Broadway in Orpheus Descending by Tennessee Williams, and in 2004 my daughter Joely Richardson and I both played in his Peter Hall Company production of Lady Windermere's Fan. I count myself very lucky to have worked with him.'
Sir Patrick said that the director 'transformed classical and modern UK theatre and gave me a career'.
Playwright Sir David Hare and actors Laurence Fox and Toby Stephens also paid tribute.
Sir David said in a statement: 'Peter Hall was not only the principal architect of post-war theatre, he founded the Royal Shakespeare Company and moved the National Theatre on to the South Bank, but above all he was the person who insisted that new plays belonged in the classical repertory, on the same stages and given the same status.
'It was his idea to play (Harold) Pinter alongside Shakespeare. Every living playwright owes him a debt.'
Actor Stephens said: 'So sad to hear of the death of Sir Peter Hall. He gave me my first break as an actor. A great director and shaper of British Theatre.'
Peter Hall pictured with French actress Leslie Caron at the time they announced their engagement in 1977 (left) and during the Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2004 at the National Theatre (right)
Fox wrote: 'He gave me my first theatre job, and boy did he whip you into shape... Rest in peace Sir Peter.'
Sir Peter founded the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1960 and was appointed as the National's director in 1973.
Two years ago his family announced he had been diagnosed with dementia in 2011, after he was criticised for 'heckling' during the 2012 West End debut of Downton Abbey star Laura Carmichael.
The theatrical great is survived by his wife, Nicki and children Christopher, Jennifer, Edward, Lucy, Rebecca, Emma and nine grandchildren.
A private family funeral service will be held and details of a public memorial will be announced in due course.
Vanessa Redgrave and Sir Patrick Stewart have led tributes to Sir Peter Hall, the former director of the National Theatre and founder of the Royal Shakespeare Company, who has died aged 86
He founded the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1960 and was appointed as the National's director in 1973
Rufus Norris, director of the National Theatre, said: 'We all stand on the shoulders of giants and Peter Hall's shoulders supported the entirety of British theatre as we know it.
'All of us, including those in the new generation of theatre-makers not immediately touched by his influence, are in his debt.
'His legendary tenacity and vision created an extraordinary and lasting legacy for us all.'
The Royal Shakespeare Company said: 'We are greatly saddened by the news of the death of Sir Peter Hall, RSC founder + Artistic Director 1960-68.'
Its statement on Facebook also included a quote from Julius Caesar.
Gregory Doran said of his predecessor 'Sir Peter Hall was a Colossus, bestriding the British Theatre. He was a visionary.
Sir Peter Hall with his fourth wife, Nicki and baby Emma in 1993
'Not only was he a great director of theatre and opera, he was a politician who fought for the Arts.
'It is impossible to single out his greatest production. But his greatest legacy without doubt will be judged to be the formation of the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1961.'
Born in Bury St Edmunds on November 22 1930, he was the son of a Suffolk stationmaster and grandson of a ratcatcher.
His parents were working class people who believed in education as a means of overcoming the class system and they encouraged him to excel.
From early on he knew he wanted to direct, perhaps not in so many words but he wanted to be the one who 'made it all happen'.
He was once quoted as saying: 'The greatest blessing I've had in life is to know what I wanted to do, and then to find that the world would let me do it.'
Before going to university he spent his national service in the RAF and became an acting sergeant teaching economics and business management at a demobilisation centre in Germany, a period in his life which he looked back on with loathing.
Sir Peter made his debut at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1956 with Love's Labour's Lost: his productions in the 1957-1959 seasons included Cymbeline with Peggy Ashcroft, Coriolanus with Laurence Olivier and A Midsummer Night's Dream with Charles Laughton.
In 1960, aged 29, he was appointed as Artistic Director, and created the Royal Shakespeare Company to realise his vision of a resident ensemble of actors, directors and designers producing both modern and classic texts, with a distinctive house style.
The company not only played in Stratford but expanded into the Aldwych Theatre, as a first London home.
Sir Peter handed the company on to Trevor Nunn in 1968, and took over the National Theatre in 1973 which he ran for fifteen years until 1988
Sir Peter's many productions for the RSC included Hamlet (1965, with David Warner), The Government Inspector (1966, with Paul Scofield), the world premiere of Harold Pinter's The Homecoming (1965) and The Wars of the Roses (1963) adapted with John Barton from Shakespeare's history plays.
The latter was described at the time as 'the greatest Shakespearian event in living memory which also laid down the doctrine of Shakespearian relevance to the modern world.'
His great achievements in the arts were recognised throughout his career and awards included Chevalier, Ordre des Arts et Lettres in 1965, London Theatre Critics's Award for Best Director in 1963 for Wars Of The Roses, The Homecoming and Hamlet in 1965 and the Antoinette Perry Award for Best Director for Amadeus in 1981.
Sir Peter handed the company on to Trevor Nunn in 1968, and took over the National Theatre in 1973 which he ran for fifteen years until 1988.
In their tribute post, the Royal Shakespeare Company quoted Julius Caesar, writing: 'Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world Like a Colossus, and we petty men Walk under his huge legs and peep about
'To find ourselves dishonourable graves.'
Working class lad who came to lord it over British theatre: The 'megalomaniac' who brought Waiting For Godot to London stage
Sir Peter Hall was regarded as one of the most important influences this century on British theatre.
He had an international reputation as the foremost authority on Shakespearian directing, having divided 30 years almost equally between the Royal Shakespeare Company, which he founded, and the National Theatre.
He was a workaholic and to this end spread his talents as a producer-director with enthusiasm between theatre, film, television and opera.
He was devoted to the idea of theatre without commercialism and even after leaving the National he worked to achieve this ideal through The Peter Hall Company, which he set up in 1989.
The company found a home after two years at Jeffrey Archer's theatre, The Playhouse at The Embankment.
Sir Peter Hall pictured with his daughter Jennifer in 1988. He was a workaholic and to this end spread his talents as a producer-director with enthusiasm between theatre, film, television and opera
Sir Peter put on four plays a year, each running for 12 weeks, with the only proviso from the Playhouse board of directors that they should not make a financial loss.
Like so many people who succeed in doing or getting what they want, he had his critics.
His style of direction was meticulous and achieved great flair but his personal image tended to be that of the showman with prudence thrown to the wind.
He was not slow to raise the battle cry, most notably in his public lambasting of the government and the Arts Council over funding for theatre.
In a separate issue there was also his row and finally his resignation a year early from Glyndebourne Festival.
Born in Bury St Edmunds on November 22 1930, he was the son of a Suffolk stationmaster and grandson of a ratcatcher.
His parents were working class people who believed in education as a means of overcoming the class system and they encouraged him to excel.
Theatre director Sir Peter Hall pictured with his third wife opera singer Maria Ewing
Right from the start they provided him with the best they could, starting with a private kindergarten.
After elementary school he won a scholarship to Perse School, Cambridge.
He did well, going on to obtain his school certificate, higher certificate, a scholarship to Cambridge and he even became head boy.
But throughout his school days he said he felt an outsider as a scholarship boy having to use handed-down books with 'minor scholar book' stamped over them, a memory that always rankled.
He first went to the theatre when he was just four to see Robinson Crusoe at the Playhouse, Bury St Edmunds.
During the war many plays that would have been put on in London were produced in Cambridge and young Peter took full advantage of this, sometimes going with his parents who only enjoyed the plays because he did.
In his teens he joined school visits to plays at Stratford and went regularly to stay with an aunt in Lewisham so that he could go to West End theatres.
He said he thought he had seen everything worth seeing on the London stage since 1943.
From early on he knew he wanted to direct, perhaps not in so many words but he wanted to be the one who 'made it all happen'.
He was once quoted as saying: 'The greatest blessing I've had in life is to know what I wanted to do, and then to find that the world would let me do it.'
Before going to university he spent his national service in the RAF and became an acting sergeant teaching economics and business management at a demobilisation centre in Germany, a period in his life which he looked back on with loathing.
Leslie Caron (left and right) who played the title role in 'Gigi' being kissed by her then-fiance Peter Hall (right) who produced the play
Theatre director Sir Peter Hall with his fourth wife Nikki and their baby girl Emma in 1993
He then went on to get a degree in English at St Catherine's College, Cambridge.
But his priority was to get as much Shakespeare and theatre as he could and he directed a total of 20 student productions.
Luckily for him, the national press came to Cambridge productions in those days and he had already received favourable reviews.
Two weeks after leaving Cambridge he was directing professionally with Windsor Repertory Company, which had been impressed with his work for the Cambridge Festival.
He went on to direct at various reps around the South of England as well as holding an assistant's job at the Arts Theatre in London.
Suddenly he was put in charge of directing at the Arts and one of his first plays was something nobody else wanted to touch, a new play, Waiting For Godot.
The response to Godot was mixed but it was enough to get Peter Hall noticed.
Tennessee Williams asked him to direct his plays in London and he was also asked to direct at Stratford, his ambition since the age of 15.
His spectacular rise as an overlord of the theatre was helped by luck but it was his instinctive talent as a director, knowing the right thing to do, that led to his success.
He took over directing at the Memorial at Stratford at a time when it was most in need of a new broom.
Sir Peter established a systematic mix of classical and modern repertory.
Sir Peter Hall with 'Emily Needs Attention' star Felicity Kendal in 1989
In 1960, at just 30 years old, he founded the Royal Shakespeare Company, insisting on a permanent company with a home at Stratford and a complementary base at The Aldwych in London.
He stayed with the RSC until 1968 during which time he received a CBE in 1963.
He worked for four years until 1972 as a member of the Arts Council and then joined Lord Laurence Olivier as co-director of the National Theatre, taking over as director the following year.
When Sir Peter took on the National, the optimism which had inspired its creation was dwindling as the expense of maintaining the three theatres in the face of inflation and industrial unrest mounted.
But a personality such as Sir Peter's thrived in battling against the problems and, combined with his own creativity, it opened in 1976. He was subsequently knighted in 1977.
However, his campaigning often achieved criticism both in his dealings with boards and committees and as director, when he had been accused of megalomania.
He was well aware of this and was once quoted as saying: 'If you want to do something passionately, and if you're blessed enough to be able to do it, people are not going to treat you very charitably, are they?'
Both at the RSC and the NT he managed to keep the ideals of traditional theatre and link them to new ideas which call for meticulous attention to Shakespearean text as well as encouraging modern work and treating it with equal respect.
Sir Peter Hall with his 1999 award for outstanding contribution to British arts at the Laurence Olivier Awards held in London's Royal National Theatre
Concurrent to his involvement in the theatre was his work since 1970 at Glyndebourne until 1990.
He became artistic director in 1983 and directed 15 operas until a bitter disagreement about the handling of The Magic Flute. The split came just a year before he was due to retire from his post.
His great achievements in the Arts were recognised throughout his career and awards included Chevalier, Ordre des Arts et Lettres in 1965, London Theatre Critics's Award for Best Director in 1963 for Wars Of The Roses, The Homecoming and Hamlet in 1965 and the Antoinette Perry Award for Best Director for Amadeus in 1981.
Among the books he wrote, mainly adaptations based on his work in the theatre, was the publication in 1983 of his diaries, The Story Of A Dramatic Battle, which were a revealing insight into the life of this passionate and highly creative man.
He was married four times. His first wife was the actress Leslie Caron, his second was his former personal assistant Jacqueline Taylor, his third was the opera singer Maria Ewing and his fourth was Nicki Frei, a former press officer, his junior by 30 years.
Sir Peter is survived by his widow, Nicki, children Christopher, Jennifer, Edward, Lucy, Rebecca and Emma and nine grandchildren.
The co-founder of a prominent financial technology startup has announced he will be stepping down after more claims of sexual harassment to hit Silicon Valley.
Mike Cagney, who heads up Social Finance - or SoFi - will leave his position as chairman immediately and be replaced as chief executive once a replacement has been found, the company said.
It comes amid allegations that 46-year-old Cagney had inappropriate relationships with SoFi employees that helped foment a toxic workplace culture, CNBC reports.
Mike Cagney, the chairman and CEO of SoFi, will step down before the end of the year amid two lawsuits alleging sexual harassment and unsound business practices
SoFi is facing a pair of lawsuits, the first of which was brought last month by Brandon Charles, who briefly worked at the company earlier this year.
His lawsuit, filed on August 11, alleges that he witnessed female employees being harassed and was fired after he reported it.
He also claims bosses manipulated loan data to increase their pay and canceled applications to avoid hurting their quarterly bonuses, the Financial Times reports.
His departure comes after Uber CEO Travis Kalanick left the company amid claims it mishandled sexual harassment complaints
A second lawsuit has since been brought by five former SoFi employees who claim they were not given proper breaks or paid in accordance with California law.
Lawyers for Charles also threatened to bring further allegations of sexual harassment to court in a class action lawsuit, though this has yet to materialize.
In a letter posted on the company's website on Monday, Cagney wrote: 'I want SoFi to focus on helping members, hiring the best people, and growing our company in a way consistent with our values.
'That can't happen as well as it should if people are focused on me, which isn't fair to our members, investors, or you.'
SoFi, which started as a 'Facebook for loans' but expanded aggressively under Cagney's leadership to become a $4billion company, is just the latest in a string of Silicon Valley startups to be hit by allegations of sexual harassment.
Cagney helped found SoFi which was originally billed as the 'Facebook of loans' but is now America's biggest online lender worth $4billion
Uber chief executive Travis Kalanick stood down earlier this year along amid allegations that the ride-sharing firm had failed to adequately handle sexual harassment and gender discrimination complaints.
Kalanick was not accused of harassment himself, and said his departure from the company was to grieve the death of his mother, who passed away in May.
Venture capital firms, including 500 Startups which help fund companies like SoFi, have also been accused of fomenting a culture of sexual harassment.
Lawyers for SoFi say the allegations against Cagney were investigated internally and found to have 'no merit'. The firm takes all allegations of unfair treatment of employees 'very seriously', legal representatives added.
Manuel Martinez has joined Keller Williams Greater Downtown Realty.
Mr. Martinez obtained his real estate license in both Tennessee and Georgia in 2007. As a new agent, he joined Prudential Realty Center the same year and received his sales training from Steve Champion. In 2009, he joined the Bell family's new construction brokerage formally known as Bell Development, now Bell Homebuilders.
"Mr. Martinez developed vast experience over the course of eight years while managing the companys marketing and advertising of new homes, overseeing a large pool of rental/investment properties, and developing web based applications to better serve customers. He also helped many families, single moms, students, senior citizens, and individuals in various life transitions to find affordable housing options," officials said.
"Real Estate is about people, and I love people. My passion is to serve families and individuals; my goal is to provide them with exceptional customer service by being sincerely vested every step of the way in one of the most crucial decisions in life, buying or selling a home. There are also many folks renting and looking for a starter home. I want to provide them with the support, diligence, and expertise they need to make their next move a success story; every transition is just as important as the destination" said Mr. Martinez. He has also helped many business executives, entrepreneurs, business owners, nurses, doctors, as well as families and individuals looking for new and luxury homes.
He stated that he has learned the value of not only being a diligent real estate professional, but also of being attentive to the needs and wishes of families and individuals. "Most people can buy or sell a home using the internet. I strongly believes that it takes more than the web to buy and sell a home for the best price and in just the right time; this level of customer service also requires the best kind of support, responsiveness, and diligence all the way through, including after the closing," Mr. Martinez said.
Mr. Martinez has joined the Keller Williams office in downtown Chattanooga; where his former mentor Mr. Champion serves as broker and director of Career Development. He said is honored and very excited to have joined the Keller Williams family.
Over his ten-year career in Real Estate, Mr. Martinez expressed that the highlight has been helping many people find the right home for their specific season in life, not only locally in the greater Chattanooga area, but also from across the nation and from virtually all corners of the world. Mr. Martinez is fluent in Spanish and English. He also holds a bachelors degree in business management from Dalton State College, and a masters degree in business administration from Belhaven University, based out of Mississippi.
Mr. Martinez specializes in:
- New Construction and Re-sales;
- Relocations ;
- Leasing and Rentals;
- Investment Properties; and
- Property Management Consulting
A customer was horrified after she was given a 50p piece defaced with Nazi symbols at a petrol station.
Nicola Harrison, 37, spotted the Nazi Party's eagle symbol, the Reichsadler stamped over Queen Elizabeth's head on a 50p she was given in change at the service station in Leeds, West Yorkshire.
Now the Royal Mint has said it is aware of offensive coins in circulation amid concerns a Hitler enthusiast is stamping them at home.
Nicola Harrison, 37, spotted the Nazi Party's eagle symbol, the Reichsadler stamped over Queen Elizabeth's head on a 50p she was given in change at the service station in Leeds
The 1997 coin was also defaced with a swastika. Ms Harrison posted a photograph of her 50p coin on Facebook at the weekend to ask if anyone else had seen one.
She said she was now 'too scared to spend it in case she gets arrested'.
Nicola was given it in change after she bought a drink with a 5 note at a petrol station in Leeds, West Yorkshire.
'I have never seen a coin with this on,' she said.
'I don't like what it represents at all. My first thought was how has someone managed to get away with this?'
The Mint's Currency Security Technical Expert, Scott Kuperus, said: 'The Royal Mint strongly disapproves of the defacing of coins in this way, as such action could bring into question the integrity of the United Kingdom coinage.
'Doing so is often counterproductive as the defaced coins are quickly removed from circulation.'
Similar coins have been found in Germany, where Nazi symbols are illegal.
The Royal Mint has said it is aware of offensive coins in circulation amid concerns a Hitler fan is stamping them at home
German law prohibits use of symbols of unconstitutional organisations, encompassing all Nazi symbolism and, as a result, the swastika.
The German Strafgesetzbuch (Criminal Code) section 86a bans any form of display of a swastika, even if used in innocent situations.
There is speculation a Nazi or Hitler enthusiast is stamping coins
Earlier this year, a Euro 2 coin was discovered at a restaurant in the city of Neuss stamped with banned imperial eagles and a swastika.
Luke Hearn, of UK change collection website Change Checker, said the doctored coins had been made worthless.
He said: 'This is the first I've seen of this and hopefully the last.
'Being very honest, I can't imagine these being worth anything as I can't believe there's anyone who'd want to buy them.'
A 50p discovered in July 2015 was stamped with a bird carrying a Swastika and on the other side the initials SS - representing the Nazi paramilitary Schutzstaffel group.
On a thread on the subject, posted on chat site Reddit, one coin enthusiast said: 'Someone out there is pretty dedicated, and I'd like to know which die manufacturer would create a Nazi stamp.'
Another coin collector said he'd found the symbols on a 2 coin he received in Coventry.
Washington State must prepare for a nuclear attack because of the growing threat from North Korea, according to local politician.
Mark Miloscia said the danger to Washington, which is the closest part of the lower 48 states to North Korea, was 'starting to become imminent'.
And he warned that the threat was growing with each weapons test, urging lawmakers to back the bid for an emergency response plan when they meet tomorrow.
The senator who flew nuclear-ready B52 bombers during the Cold War also said that America could not rely on the safeguards that once prevented hostilities with the Soviet Union.
Mark Miloscia, pictured, said the danger to Washington, which is the closest part of the contiguous US to North Korea, was 'starting to become imminent'
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visits the Command of the Strategic Force of the Korean Republic People's Army (KRPA) in an unknown location in North Korea (file photo)
Seattle, pictured here at night, could be on the target list for the North Korean nuclear programme
He said: 'In the Cuban Missile Crisis we had the institution of the red phone, and various ways of contacting each other militarily to make sure we don't escalate.
'None of that exists with North Korea. With the current regime, we don't even have anything close to the controls over the relationships we had with the Soviet Politburo and its leaders.
'And I don't think they have any sort of rational contact with any of their neighbours that we can deal with... Given that, we hope for the best but we have to plan for the worst.'
Under current rules, Washington state is prevented from planning an emergency response to a nuclear attack.
It's a throwback to the Cold War, when it was feared that planning for a nuclear strike might suggest the US was preparing to launch one itself and expected a response.
Mr Miloscia said he understood the logic, but the situation had changed and it was the duty of public officials to prepare.
'We should have some sort of pre-planned response ready,' he said. 'Because the threat is growing and the threat is starting to become imminent. And not to do so would be a dereliction of duty.'
He continued: 'I think it's a real threat, if not in the short term then in the foreseeable future initially I thought three to five years, but it could be even sooner.
'I think we would be completely wrong to ignore it There may be a better target for North Korea i.e. Hawaii, which is a little bit closer.
'But I would put Seattle as one of the top five targets in the north-west to go against, both militarily and economically, for any sort of adversary.'
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un meets supporters in this photograph released today by the state media
North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), Hwasong-14 being lauched at an undisclosed place in North Korea
The remarks follow a series of North Korean weapons tests in recent months, including the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of reaching US soil.
And the situation only grew tenser when Kim Jong-un tested a nuclear bomb, estimated by US intelligence to pack a 140kiloton punch nearly ten times bigger than the Hiroshima blast.
Mr Miloscia added: 'To our country, they are clearly one of our primary threats, period.
'Because when you combine an atomic capability with launch capability, that is a significant upgrade in threat. So you have to plan.
'I don't think we have that sort of threat capability and that willingness from any other nation in the world.'
The changes proposed by the Republican senator and David Frockt, a Democrat, will axe the rules preventing Washington from preparing for a nuclear attack.
Mr Miloscia will put the bill before his fellow lawmakers at the state capital, Olympia, tomorrow.
He then hopes a plan can be drawn up a the same time as officials revise Washington's earthquake, tsunami and volcano response plans.
The United Nations Security Council has implemented sanctions against North Korea after the country's sixth and most powerful nuclear test
North Korea has warned the US will soon face the 'greatest pain' it has ever experienced as Kim Jong-un's hackers look set to turn to cyber-attacks to steal virtual currency in order to obtain funds amid United Nations sanctions.
Imports of crude oil have been capped - although the council stopped short of a total ban - and textile exports have been banned in the latest move against the state after its sixth and most powerful nuclear test.
It was the ninth sanctions resolution over North Korea's ballistic missile and nuclear programs adopted by the 15-member council since 2006.
Now, Kim Jong-un's hackers are said to be looking to counter the restrictions by tapping into online currency such as Bitcoin as Pyongyang officials condemned the sanctions adding the US would soon face the 'greatest pain' it had ever experienced.
North Korea on Tuesday rejected the tougher sanctions and aimed its threats at the US.
Pyongyang's ambassador, Han Tae Song, told a UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament in Geneva: 'My delegation condemns in the strongest terms and categorically rejects the latest illegal and unlawful U.N. Security Council resolution.'
Han accused the U.S. administration of being 'fired up for political, economic, and military confrontation,' and of being 'obsessed with the wild game of reversing the DPRK's development of nuclear force which has already reached the completion phase'.
Theresa May phoned Donald Trump to ask for a personal intervention on a trade dispute threatening thousands of jobs in Belfast after pressure from DUP leader Arlene Foster, it was claimed today.
The Prime Minister raised a court case involving US-based Boeing and Canada's Bombardier during a call to the President last week.
The success of Mrs Foster is pushing Mrs May to raise trade issues with the President will alarm critics already worried about the influence of the socially conservative Northern Irish party.
The DUP has signed a 'confidence and supply' agreement with the Tories, guaranteeing 10 Commons votes on Brexit and Budget matter - crucial for keeping Mrs May in power.
Theresa May phoned Donald Trump to ask for a personal intervention on a trade dispute threatening thousands of jobs in Belfast after pressure from DUP leader Arlene Foster (pictured together in June)
Mrs May lobbied Donald Trump (pictured yesterday at a 9/11 memorial) over the Boeing-Bombardier court case
Defeat for Bombardier over claims of unfair state support could doom the firm's wing factory in Belfast which employs 4,500 people.
The US court case has seen Boeing challenge Bombardier over a 130million loan from the UK government for its new C-series plane.
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has branded the law suit 'unfair and aggressive' amid fears it is inspired by Mr Trump's 'America First' rhetoric.
A spokesman for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: 'This is a commercial matter but the UK government is working tirelessly to safeguard Bombardier's operations and its highly skilled workers in Belfast.
'Ministers across government have engaged swiftly and extensively with Boeing, Bombardier, the US and Canadian governments.
'Our priority is to encourage Boeing to drop its case and seek a negotiated settlement with Bombardier.'
The DUP moved to deflect the blame for the impasse from Mrs May to the Canadian government, The Times reported today.
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has branded the law suit 'unfair and aggressive' amid fears it is inspired by Mr Trump's 'America First' rhetoric
Gavin Robinson, the MP for Belfast East, said: 'I welcome the massive effort made by the prime minister and her cabinet colleagues. This is hugely important for Belfast.
'I am extremely disappointed with the Canadian prime minister's lacklustre approach. While Her Majesty's government has been working behind the scenes, the Canadian prime minister has been chasing headlines rather than standing up for Bombardier.
'We will continue our efforts to secure a resolution.'
Bombardier condemned Boeing's position as 'an unfounded assault on airlines, the travelling public and further innovation in aerospace'.
A spokesman said: 'We are very confident the UK government understands what is at stake and will take the actions necessary to respond to this direct attack on its aerospace industry.'
A spokesman for Boeing said its petition to the trade commission sought to restore a 'level playing field', adding: 'Boeing had to take action as subsidised competition has hurt us now and will continue to hurt us for years to come, and we could not stand by given this clear case of illegal dumping.
'This is the normal course of action for addressing instances where a competitor is selling into the US market below cost and we will let the process play out.
'We believe that global trade only works if everyone plays by the same rules of the road, and that's a principle that ultimately creates the greatest value for Canada, the UK, the US, and our aerospace industry.'
A deaf and partially sighted Great Dane who was nearly put down by her previous owner has been given a new lease of life after being adopted by a cute toddler and her family.
Jennie, who is only 17-months-old, has grown up with the loving dog Echo, and heartwarming videos of the pair together have viewed been viewed thousands of times online.
The youngster and her dog have now formed a close bond, with Jennie's mother Marion Dwyer describing the pair as 'sisters' who look after each other.
Echo, the deaf and visually impaired Great Dane, out for a walk with 17-month-old Jennie
Ms Dwyer, from Niagara Falls in New York, said: 'Echo certainly does look out for her sister Jennie and always makes sure no one gets too close to her.
'She loves people and will put herself in front of Jennie to be pet first. If a stranger with a dog approaches she will stand or sit in front of Jennie to shield her, but not showing any aggression- just making sure she's safe.
'Jennie loves to walk Echo who has learned that Jennie's pace is a lot slower than mine, which she enjoys as she can do two of her favourite things: sniff things and people-watch.'
Echo and her best friend Jennie take each other on walks together and communicate using sign language - with the toddler even slipping her beloved dog treats at breakfast.
The loving dog was adopted by Ms Dwyer, who wanted another Great Dane after already making a home for two more of the friendly giants.
Ms Dwyer said: 'Jennie now knows we use hand signs to communicate with Echo and is starting to mimic them.
Jennie's mother Marion Dwyer said Echo and Jennie have formed an inseparable which started before the toddler was even born
Jennie's mother Marion Dwyer saved Echo after her old owner threatened to put her down
Jennie often likes to sneak her best friend breakfast waffles and apple slices when eating
'She will wave Echo over to her when she wants her to come and she knows how to offer her a treat, she likes to sneak her breakfast waffles and apple slices.
'Echo really only uses me as her guide since I was the first person for her to bond with as she was taken out of her first owner's home when they threatened to euthanise her due to her deafness.
'Our friends and family think it is amazing and always say that they are inseparable.
Videos of Echo and Jennie together have been viewed by thousands of people on the internet
Echo has been described as a loving dog by her owner and even goes to dog training despite being deaf and partially blind
'Everyone loves Echo for being so outgoing and they say that they make the perfect team as Jennie is very independent and a curious little explorer.
'Echo just seems to have always taken to Jennie, even before she was born. She always snuggled up to my baby bump and wanted to rest her head on it.
'Jennie goes to dog training with us when we have time to go and she will be in a baby carrier on my back.'
Echo likes to go on walks with Jennie because she can do her two favourite activities - smell things and people watch
Advertisement
Thousands of people across the Caribbean are now starting the long process of rebuilding their lives after Hurricane Irma, which first made landfall on Barbuda on Wednesday, with winds of up to 180 miles per hour.
As the skies cleared late last week, satellites were able to capture the destroyed landscapes of islands such as Tortola, Turks and Caicos, Barbuda and Necker - the private island owned by British billionaire Richard Branson.
Comparing these new snaps with images taken before the hurricane hit, it becomes clear that it will take huge international efforts - and billions - to restore the islands to their former glory.
Whole towns in the archipelago have been left in tatters, and what once appears to have been beautiful harbours and beaches, are now just filled with debris.
Slide me Necker Island, the home of tycoon Sir Richard Branson's luxury resort, is pictured in November 2016, left, and on September 9, right, after the hurricane struck. Sir Richard's home can be seen to the bottom left of the island. A helipad, seen to the right of the island, beside the beach, is completely buried in sand following the storm
Slide me These images show Parham Town, on Tortola, the largest of the British Virgin Islands, left in November last year, and right on Friday in the wake of Hurricane Irma
Slide me The overhead comparison pictures show how the marina at Road Town on Tortola in the British Virgin Islands was left in ruins. It is pictured before and after Hurricane Irma hit
The 74-acre Necker Island, now a luxury holiday home for Branson and his family, is part of the British Virgin Islands, an archipelago home to some 28,000 people where at least five people died as a result of Hurricane Irma.
As of late Monday, the Hurricane Irma death toll was around 40, and the damage caused to buildings and infrastructures expected to be several billion pounds.
Some 14 people died on St Martin - divided between France and the Netherlands - and Saint Barthelemy.
France and the Netherlands are rushing in logistical support, as well as hundreds of extra police amid reports of looting.
Slide me Aerial photos show how the town of Codrington looked on the hurricane-hit island of Barbuda before the storm, left, and after, on the right
Slide me Another combination of satellite images provided by DigitalGlobe shows Providenciales, in Turks and Caicos Islands on January 1, 2016, left, and on September 10, right, after the storm had hit
Slide me Before and after satellite images reveal the extent of the damage caused to Anse Marcel on the island of St. Martin
Elsewhere, around 20,000 people were evacuated in the Dominican Republic, the eastern part of Hispaniola island, which is shared with Haiti.
Irma caused at least one fatality, with another person missing, but passed further north than had been feared.
Authorities said 5,000 houses flooded, while 8,000 families were declared disaster victims after their homes were severely damaged or destroyed.
Slide me Codrington in Antigua and Barbuda, seen left on April 24, 2014 and right, last Friday, after Hurricane Irma
A descendant of one of Queen Victorias most trusted confidants has told how his great-great-grandfather introduced the monarch to Indian culture.
Abdul Karim was handpicked to help Queen Victoria learn about her Indian territories in the late 19th century.
He served as her Royal servant for 15 years and their extraordinary friendship is the subject of a new movie, Victoria and Abdul, starring Dame Judi Dench as the lonely queen.
The British-American film portrays Victoria first meeting 24-year-old Abdul in 1887, when he presents her with a commemorative coin at a Golden Jubilee banquet when she is 60.
Nabeel Syed, 36, from Leicester is the great-great grandson of Abdul Karim
Queen Victoria with her loyal and trusted confidant Abdul Karim at Balmoral in 1890
Pictured from left: Sir Henry Ponsonby, Abdul Karim, Beatrice, Princess Henry of Battenberg, Mohammed Bukhsh, Miss Moore at Osborne House in January 1888
VICTORIA AND ABDUL Born in 1863, Abdul Karim was one of two Indians selected to become a servant to the Queen in 1887 - the Queen's Golden Jubilee year. He was given the title of Munshi, which means clerk and teacher, by the Queen and later appointed Indian Secretary. After Queen Victoria died on January 22, 1901, her successor, Edward VII, ordered that all the letters between Abdul and his mother be destroyed. However, he did allow Abdul to be the last to view Victoria's body before her casket was closed, and to be part of her funeral procession. Abdul returned to India to live on the land near Agra that the Queen had granted him, but he died childless in 1909, aged just 46. Advertisement
Despite their 36-year age gap the movie shows her becoming increasingly besotted with Abdul, who has been sent over as her 'gift'.
Hundreds of letters sent to Abdul by Victoria, many signed 'Your dearest friend' were destroyed after her death in 1901.
His great-great-grandson Nabeel Syed, 36, inherited a remarkable collection of black-and-white photographs of Abdul and Queen Victoria after researching his family tree.
The financial advisor from Leicester, said: 'I only really learned much about Abdul Karim in the past two or three years.
'I'm honoured to have that connection because Queen Victoria left such a legacy and is one of our most famous monarchs.
'He helped the Queen understand Indian culture, he taught her Urdu and introduced her to Indian curry and fruit and other foods.
'Despite their age gap, their relationship was very close and it is suggested there may have been a romantic connection but we don't know for sure.
From left Abdul Karim, Princess Marie and Victoria Melita of Edinburgh, Duke of Connaught, Queen Victoria, Beatrice, Princess Henry of Battenberg (and back roow), S. Maslin, Princess Alix of Hesse, Princess Alexandra of Edinburgh, Princess Irene of Hesse, Mohammed Bukhsh all enjoying breakfast at Osborne House in August 1887
Left, A letter appointing Abdul Karim a Commander and right, A letter written in Urdu by Queen Victoria
Khairt Ali, Princess Alix of Hesse, Abdul Karim, Beatrice, Henry of Battenberg, Mohammed Bukhsh, Princess Louise of Wales and Ahmed Husain at Balmoral in 1888
From left: Ahmed Husain, Adbul Karim, Beatrice, Princess Henry of Battenberg, Queen Victoria at Balmoral in the 1880s
'He was teaching her about the culture and educated her in respect of the Koran and things like that, as well.
'He was a teacher, he obviously went there as a servant to start off with but they got very close and Queen Victoria trusted him.
'He taught her more about the Indian culture, the etiquette behind everything, started teaching her about the language Urdu.
'She actually wrote him a little letter in Urdu and wrote in English underneath.
'She gave him a bible. On a letter dated May 12, 1888, she wrote: 'Hafiz Abdul Karim this is the book from you, from Victoria.'
'That was passed to him. I understand he was also teaching the Queen the Koran as well.
'At the time not all the establishment were too happy about it, from what I've read, but among other things that's what he was doing and helping the Queen.
'He was actually made Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, to 'Munshi Hafiz Abdul Karim.''
Queen Victoria and Abdul Karim at the old Garden Cottage at Balmoral in 1895
From left: Ahmed Husain, Miss Moore, Miss Cochrane, Mohammed Bukhsh, Abdul Karim, Mrs Campbell at Balmoral in 1888
Abdul Karim with his nephew Mohammed Abdul Raschid, pictured together in 1897
Nabeel's mother's great-grandfather Hazif Muhammad Abdul Aziz (pictured) was Abdul's brother
Nabeel's parents Sultana and Ijaz Syed, who live in Nottingham, travelled to Windsor Castle several years ago to view the collection of photographs of Abdul with Victoria.
Nabeel said: 'There are pictures of Queen Victoria and Abdul Karim dressed up in very elaborate clothes and also the Queen signing documents while Abdul Karim stands at her side.
'I'm told that after they became good friends, the Queen ordered that all the pictures that showed him serving tea, and things like that, be destroyed.'
Nabeel is going to view the movie, which comes out in UK cinemas on Friday, September 15.
Mr Syed is now looking forward to watching the Hollywood blockbuster about his great-great-grandfather's life
Dame Judi Dench as the lonely queen and Ali Fazal in the movie, Victoria and Abdul
The British-American film portrays Victoria first meeting 24-year-old Abdul in 1887, when he presents her with a commemorative coin at a Golden Jubilee banquet when she is 60
He said: 'I'm definitely looking forward to watching the film.
'When I saw the trailer online I shared it on Facebook and let everyone know that was my great-great-granddad so that got quite a lot of attention, which was nice.
'It would have been nice to get tickets to the premiere but I don't think that will happen so we will go down in our own time and watch it - but I am definitely looking forward to it.'
Nabeel's mother's great-grandfather Hazif Muhammad Abdul Aziz was Abdul's brother.
The film also stars Ali Fazal, Olivia Williams, Michael Gambon, Simon Callow and Eddie Izzard, and is directed by Stephen Frears.
Three men including two British soldiers have appeared in court charged with terror offences over their alleged membership of a banned neo-Nazi group.
Lance corporal Mikko Vehvilainen and Private Mark Barrett are accused along with Alexander Deakin of being part of the proscribed organisation National Action.
They were allegedly all members of a chat group exchanging racist messages, including plans for a white-only Britain and a race war.
(Left to right) Alexander Deakin, 22, Mikko Vehvilainen, 32, and Mark Barrett, 24, are charged with being members of a neo-Nazi group
Vehvilainen, originally from Finland, is also charged with possessing a document containing information likely to be useful for terrorism and publishing material which is threatening, abusive or insulting.
He allegedly posted comments on a website intending to stir up racial hatred and had a copy of 2083: A European Declaration of Independence by Andrew Berwick (Anders Breivik).
The 32-year-old, a fitness instructor at the Wales HQ of the British Army in Brecon, Powys, is also charged with possessing pepper spray.
Barrett, 24, faces a single charge of membership of National Action, contrary to the Terrorism Act 2000.
He was arrested last Tuesday at the British Armys Dhekelia base in Cyprus.
Deakin faces the same charge as well as possession of documents likely to be useful to a person preparing to commit an act of terrorism and distribution of a terrorist publication.
Alexander Deakin and two soldiers are charged with being part of neo-Nazi group National Action
The 22-year-old allegedly had a copy of 'white resistance manual for fun' and sent 'ethnic cleansing operations' to people over Skype.
The three men appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, all wearing grey tracksuits.
After confirming his details to the court Deakin said: 'I'm a prisoner of conscience, I believe I'm innocent of these charges.'
He and Vehvilainen gave no indication of plea, while Barrett pleaded not guilty.
Vehvilainen, based at Brecon, Powys, and Deakin, from Great Barr in Birmingham, were remanded in custody.
Barrett, who is based at Dhekelia Garrison, Cyprus, will have a bail hearing later today.
They are all due to appear on September 21 for a preliminary hearing at the Old Bailey.
Chief magistrate Emma Arbuthnot said: 'You're all three being sent to the Central Criminal Court because my powers of sentence are insufficient in this case.
'The first hearing there will be on September 21 and that will be a short hearing, initially a case management hearing on that date.
'I'm remanding you all in custody for now. I will hear more in relation to Mr Barrett later.'
Neo-Nazi group National Action are described as' racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic' by the Home Office. File photo
National Action, described by the Home Office as 'virulently racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic', became the first extreme right-wing group to be banned under terrorism laws in December 2016.
They gained notoriety for championing Simon Mair after he murdered Labour MP Jo Cox in June 2016.
Two other men from Northampton and Ipswich were detained and released by police following arrests by the West Midlands Police Counter Terrorism Unit last week.
Four female Roma gangsters involved in a conspiracy to derail a major human slavery prosecution in Europe have been jailed for a total of 20 years.
The women, all from the Czech Republic but living in Britain, attempted to wreck a 1million case against the Tancos organised crime group from their homeland.
The mob ran a modern-day slavery racket in Plymouth, Devon, trafficking vulnerable victims from the Czech Republic and forcing them into work.
Lenka Cmejlova, 35, 'matriach' Ruzena Tancosova Sr, 56, her daughter Ruzena Tancosova Jr, 37, and Libuse Sindelarova, 42, all admitted conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
Tancosova Jr received the longest sentence of eight years and appeared via video link from HMP Peterborough with her newborn baby beside her in a pram
Lenka Cmejlova, 35, and gang 'matriach' Ruzena Tancosova Sr, 56, have been jailed for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice
Ruzena Tancosova Jr,37, appeared in court with a newborn baby as she was jailed along with co-conspirator Libuse Sindelarova, 42, (right)
Her mother Ruzena Tancosova Sr was jailed for seven years, Cmejlova three years and four months and Sindelarova was imprisoned for two years.
They forced slaves into work at car washes and a meat packing factory or to become domestic slaves at the Plymouth homes of crime gang members.
Their victims were housed in appalling conditions while most of their wages and benefits were pocketed by the gang.
Five gang members - all part of the same Czech Roma family - were jailed for over 20 years in 2016.
But the case almost collapsed after the four women threatened a key witness into changing his statement back in the Czech Republic.
Tancosova snr, described as the matriach of the Tancos Organised Crime Group, also pleaded guilty to an additional charge of perverting the course of justice.
Plymouth Crown Court heard how the women tried to sabotage the case after two slaves fled and contacted police.
The first trial collapsed due to interpretation problems but the second was progressing until the judge received a letter from 'pivotal witness' Josef Bukovinsky, retracting his statement.
He claimed he had made his original statements 'under the influence of psychotropic substances' and alleged corruption by the police and even an interpreter.
But trial judge Paul Darlow smelled a rat and ordered detectives to determine the veracity of the letter and find Bukovinsky.
After being tracked down by police, Bukovinsky told them how the four women had threatened him into changing his evidence.
After changing his statement he was effectively kept at a property for the next three months. He said he was ordered not to go out by Cmejlova and Ruzena senior.
He added that he was told by female members of the family that if he was caught by police and any of their family were sent to prison they would take revenge on him and his family when they were released.
He said: 'They put so much pressure on me that I wrote it. I just wanted some peace.
'They talked to me throughout the night to the following morning. I finally wanted to have some peace and quiet.
'It was mainly Lenka, we were sitting in the kitchen. She told me to change everything, literally everything.'
Plymouth Crown Court (pictured) heard how the women tried to sabotage the case after two slaves fled and contacted police
The family arranged for him to be accompanied by Libuse Sindelarova when he went to a solicitors to retract the statment.
A fee of around 3,000 Czech Crowns - around 90 - was paid to the solicitor which Bukovinsky said was made up of money from Lenka and from Ruzena Tancosova senior.
Ruzena Tancosova Jr was one of the five initially convicted as part of the slave gang last November when she was jailed for six and a half years.
Her brother Petr Tancos, their cousin Martin Tancos and their partners Nela Dzurkova and Katerina Kurlova were all convicted of human trafficking offences.
Tancosova jr appeared in court during the latest conspiracy sentencing via video link with HMP Peterborough, her newborn baby beside her in a pram.
Sindelarova was jailed for two years and Cmejlova for three years and four months for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
For one count of perverting the course of justice Ruzena senior was jailed for three years, and four years for the conspiracy charge to run concurrently.
Ruzena junior, described as the primary culprit, was given three years for perverting the course of justice charge and five years for conspiracy.
The new sentences are concurrent and will be served when her six and a half year sentence ends.
Ann Hampshire, senior crown prosecutor for CPS South West, said: 'The actions of Tancosova, Cmejlova, Sindelarova and Tancosova saw one witness pressured into not attending to give evidence and a second witness pressured into claiming his evidence was false, leading to the collapse of a trial and allowing criminals to evade justice for a year-and-a-half.
'This had a significant impact on the victims and witnesses. The failed and subsequent trial wasted almost 1 million, being counsel fees, defence costs and additional police costs.
'This was an unusual case but the evidence presented by the CPS and gathered by the police both in the UK, the Czech Republic and the USA established a very strong case which resulted in the four defendants pleading guilty to the offences.
Simon Kenny (pictured at an earlier hearing at Southwark Crown Court) ransacked client funds at CK Solicitors in Selsey, West Sussex
A district judge who plundered nearly 800,000 from customers of his law firm to fund a party lifestyle with his lover has been ordered to pay back just 51,938.
Simon Kenny, 60, and his assistant Emma Coates, 48, splashed out on lavish trips while ransacking funds at CK Solicitors in Selsey, West Sussex, over four years.
Coates, who swindled 85,000 from an elderly clients will after she died, built up a property portfolio, and spent 15,000 on a log cabin.
She also treated friends to all-expenses paid trip to the Cheltenham Festival and a 27,000 holiday to Barbados.
But while the couple lived a life of luxury their accountant became so depressed at their betrayal that he killed himself.
The ex-lovebirds were each jailed for six years after turning against one another during their subsequent trial.
Kenny, of St. Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, was ordered to pay back 51,938,12, while Coates, of Bognor Regis, West Sussex, was ordered to pay back just 1.
Judge Peter Testar opted to sentence the devious duo on the basis of a fraud totalling 777,519 rather than the near 1 million originally claimed by prosecutors.
He said at the time: It is difficult to imagine a more spectacular breach of trust by someone running a legal practice to the clients of that practice.
Today, the pair appeared before the same judge who ordered they must pay back a total of 51,939.
Judge Testar ordered Kenny repay 51,938 and ordered Coates to pay a nominal fee of 1 because she is bankrupt and has nothing left.
Coates (shown at a hearing in January), who swindled 85,000 from an elderly clients will after she died, built up a property portfolio, and spent 15,000 on a log cabin
Police later discovered she had been making mortgage payments on four properties - two in Selsey, and two others in Chichester and Bognor Regis.
The judge said an application could be made to seize any future assets if they are found.
Just in case there is a visitor from Mars sitting in this court room who thinks this is a bit peculiar, Judge Testar said.
The reason for all of this is that in case there is a pot of gold, then there can be a hook on which an application can be hung.
Kenny, who has business interests in the Far East, informed staff he had moved cash to offshore accounts because of the Northern Rock bank crisis.
His total profit from the con was 505,52,34 while Coates raked in 471,00,35, Southwark Crown Court heard. They had been lovers until the affair cooled in 2010.
It led to the closure of CK Solicitors and a major investigation by the Sussex Police major fraud unit.
While Coates (pictured) and Kenny lived a life of luxury their accountant became depressed at their betrayal and killed himself
Kenny was suspended from his role as a deputy district judge at a county court in Sussex while he stood trial for two counts of fraud.
The companys reporting accountant Robert Foskett committed suicide after he realised he had been lied to about the con.
Prosecutor Richard Milne said during the trial: Mr Fosketts dawning realisation in February 2011 that he had been duped back in 2009 appears to have been a major factor leading, tragically, to his suicide on 6 March 2011 - just two days before the commencement of the first of the relevant SRA investigations.
Jurors saw his suicide note, which read: I am so sorry but the pressure mounts on me. I was lured into signing an audit certificate by Simon Kenny which I should not have.
He assured me funds would be repaid the following week from his family trust but that became untrue.
Mr Foskett also left a note to his secretary which read: It has been revealed to me that I think with Simon Kenny we have stumbled on a fraud that is probably 300,000, it may even be 600,000 or even more.
Quite nasty - unfortunately when people do this sort of thing they dont care a damn who gets hurt.
Kenny also told Mr Foskett that the money had been sent abroad to protect it from the financial crisis.
Stephen Hiseman, 61, a fee earner from CK Solicitors, also swindled two clients and was before the court.
He will be before the crown court on 15 December for a full confiscation hearing.
The court heard he fraudulently caused the transfer of 60,000 from CK Solicitors client account to an account of Chris Coxill and then to an account in his name between November 2010 and March 2011.
Hiseman also told client Samuel Swanton he had settled his debts with Lombard North Central for 15,000 between June 2010 and December 2011 - but he had actually only settled for 10,000, forcing Mr Swanton to sell his house to raise extra funds.
The Solicitors Regulatory Authority shut down CK Solicitors in May 2011, but within months Coates had set up another firm, Coates and Co, and stole 85,000 from an elderly clients will when she died in 2011.
Mr Milne told jurors: Over a period of several years client monies were misappropriated by Simon Kenny, Emma Coates and Stephen Hiseman.
In the case of Mr Kenny and Miss Coates, the misappropriation mainly took the form of diverting client money from the companys client account to the office account and then spending that money not in relation to the client matter in question, but for their own use or for the use of the firm.
Hiseman, of Morzine, France, will attend a confiscation hearing on 15 December.
Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner John Schroer will join state and local officials to celebrate the official completion of the SR-317 Apison Pike widening project in Collegedale at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
The event will take place at the Little Debbie Bakery Store at 9515 Apison Pike.
TDOT Commissioner John Schroer, Senator Bo Watson, Representative Mike Carter, Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger, and Collegedale Mayor Katie Lamb will be in attendance.
Robert Menendez ordered his staffers to urgently contact the US ambassador to Brazil so he could acquire a visa for his friend's girlfriend and her sister
New Jersey senator Robert Menendez once ordered staffers to urgently contact a US ambassador in order to acquire a visa for his married friend's girlfriend and her sister, a court has heard.
Mark Lopes, Menendez' former aide, said he was ordered to call the ambassador 'asap' to sort out a visa for Brazilian Rosiell Polanco, 22, and her sister so they could visit Dr. Salomon Melgen, 63, over the Christmas holidays in 2008.
So urgent was the request that it turned up on an internal memo listed alongside issues such as 'Cuba Policy' and 'Pakistan/Afghanistan meeting', jurors were told.
Menendez is on trial accused of procuring official favors for Melgen in return for paid vacations and $750,000 in campaign donations.
The Democrat senator also advocated for visas on behalf of lawyer Juliana Lopes Leite and Ukrainian model Svitlana Buchyk who were also dating Melgen, the New York Post reports.
Menendez wrote a letter in support of Polanco's tourist visa application, the court was told, and after it was dismissed he asked to speak with the ambassador directly.
Menendez is also accused of helping to acquire visas for Melgen's other girlfriends, including model turned lawyer Juliana Lopes Leite (left and right)
Svitlana Buchyk, a Ukrainian model (left and right, in front of Melgen's plane) , was also granted a visa after help from Menendez, jurors were told
A month later Polanco and her sister were re-interviewed and allowed into the US.
'In my view, this is only due to the fact that RM intervened,' Lopes wrote in an email about his then-boss.
Leite's visa was also approved, with officials calling it the 'perfect student visa case.'
Menedez is also accused of intervening on Melgen's behalf with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in an attempt to scuttle a Medicare fraud investigation that later brought a criminal conviction.
Prosecutors allege that he also tried to influence the Dominican government to change its port security system in a way that would benefit a business Melgen partially owned.
Lawyers for Menendez accept that he offered official help to Melgen, but say this was because of a decades-long friendship, and not in return for payment.
Lawyers for Menendez accept he did official favors for Melgen, but say it was because of a long-standing friendship and not for campaign donations and holidays
Prosecutors allege Menendez tried to scuttle an FBI investigation into Medicare fraud involving Melgen, which saw him convicted on 61 counts of fraud (pictured, agents carry boxes of evidence from his offices in 2013)
Defense attorney Kirk Ogrosky told jurors that gifts of private-jet travel and five-star vacations weren't attempts to buy government favors but a sign of 'hospitality' rooted in the culture of his native Dominican Republic.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Ogrosky argued Menendez and Melgen, a former Florida eye doctor, should be viewed as 'part of a fellowship of Hispanic-Americans'.
Hispanics in the U.S. are a group that aims to 'pay it forward, help young Hispanic-Americans improve their lives' and 'play a larger role in American society.'
'This case is not only an attack on these two men, it's an attack on that whole group,' he said, defined by their race and nationality,' he said.
Menendez, 63, is standing trial for bribery, honest services fraud, conspiracy, and other related charges.
He could face 20 years in prison on the fraud charge if he is convicted. The trial is expected to last between six and eight weeks.
Dozens of underage girls as young as nine have been identified as being at risk of being married off as child brides over the past two years.
Documents released by the Australian Federal Police show 57 young girls were reported as being coerced into illegal marriages, most of them from Sydney.
In some cases girls have been taken overseas and forced to wed adult men, leaving Australian authorities unable to act or prevent the marriages.
Scroll down for video
Dozens of underage girls as young as nine have been identified as being at risk of being married off as child brides over the past two years (pictured is stock footage of a child wedding)
Documents released by the Australian Federal Police show 57 young girls were reported as being coerced into illegal marriages, most of them from Sydney (pictured is footage from a child marriage performed in Melbourne by imam Ibrahim Omerdic)
The documents reveal 50 girls from Sydney have been at risk, as well as two from the mid-north coast, two in the Murrumbidgee area, one in the Hunter region and one in Illawarra, Seven News reported.
Two sisters from Liverpool in Sydney's west were flown overseas to be married off, and there are reports another girl was preyed upon while out of the country
An email exists alleging a girl was being 'held against her will', and a situation report claimed a girl 'will be forced into marriage at the end of the school year'.
Family and Human Services Minister Pru Goward (pictured) says people know what is going on and they need to come forward and tell the authorities
Family and Human Services Minister Pru Goward says people know what is going on and they need to come forward and tell the authorities.
'No wonder they feel such enormous pressure. Poor little nine-year-old, to have to struggle with her parents,' she said.
The news comes after a 34-year-old Muslim man was arrested for marrying a 14-year-old girl in Melbourne last year.
The imam involved, Ibrahim Omerdic, was spared jail after being found guilty of unlawfully solemnising the marriage.
In June a Lebanese man, 31, was arrested after allegedly abducting an 18-year-old girl from her bedroom and taking her to a home in Lakemba to be married by a sheikh.
Controversial halal businessman Mohamed Elmouelhy has claimed Muslim men who marry teenagers are treated worse than paedophiles.
Daily Mail Australia contacted the Australian Federal Police and Family and Community Services for comment.
Two people have overdosed at a school in Florida set up as an emergency shelter for Hurricane Irma evacuees.
First responders were forced to transport them from Park Vista High School to area hospitals.
Many of those staying at emergency shelters in Palm Beach County have also reported people stealing and fighting.
Irma, weakened to a tropical depression, is expected to push into Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee over the next two days
Michael Maradeo, who stayed at one of the 13 shelters with his parents and younger siblings, described how some areas of the shelters weren't suitable for children.
He told the Sun Sentinel: 'I saw people rolling blunts and I also realized a lot of people were overdosing on a lot of drugs because I saw a lot of wobbling people.
'I saw one guy standing in line falling over and everything, so I asked him if he was OK, and he kept changing the story.'
Additionally, sources who work for the county say shelters are receiving an influx of individuals from sober homes.
'Since sober homes are unlicensed and unregulated in the state of Florida, they are not required to notify shelters when they drop off recovering addicts,' said State Attorney Dave Aronberg.
Delray Beach has a high concentration of sober homes in the area, and people working for the county say that is where the majority of individuals living in sober homes are seeking shelter.
Mr Aronberg says shelters are aware of the issue, and have been equipped with extra Narcan.
'If you are staying at a shelter, do not be alarmed,' Aronberg told WPTV Contact 5 Investigator Merris Badcock. 'These shelters are very well run, and have a lot of law enforcement on site.'
13 million Florida residents are without electricity - two-thirds of the third-largest state's residents
Six deaths in Florida have been blamed on Irma, along with three in Georgia and one in South Carolina.
At least 35 people were killed in the Caribbean.
More than 180,000 people huddled in shelters in the Sunshine State and officials warned it could take weeks for electricity to be restored to everyone.
Irma, weakened to a tropical depression, is expected to push into Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee over the next two days.
Three men have reportedly been stabbed after an early-morning mass brawl broke out on the party destination Magaluf on Mallorca.
All three men are believed to be British tourists aged between 20 and 30, with the alleged attacker also reportedly a British man.
The fight broke out in the popular Punta Ballena district of Magaluf at around 6.15am on Tuesday morning.
Fight: The three men injured in the fight are believed to be British tourists aged between 20 and 30. Pictured is a street in Magaluf at an unrelated date
The nationality of the men has not yet been confirmed but one Spanish newspaper, reports police are hunting for the alleged attacker, stating that he is British.
Police were called to the scene but the crowd had already dispersed. They were then told about three men lying injured on the beach.
Witnesses have told the police the fight was 'violent' and they believe at least one of the three men injured was 'on the opposing side' as they saw him exchanging threats with another of the trio.
Police are searching for the attacker, who is also reportedly a British man. Pictured are tourists in Magaluf at an unrelated date
The man most seriously injured is reported to be 28 years old, and stabbed in the stomach.
He was treated at the scene before being rushed in an unconscious state to the Hospital of Son Espases
The other two were also injured, at least one of them, aged 20, having been stabbed as well. They were also taken to hospital.
Police believe other people might have been injured in the fight but managed to get away before the emergency services arrived.
A heartwarming moment played out on CNN during Hurricane Irma coverage, when a reporter described herself as 'chunky'.
Sara Sidner was reporting from Daytona Beach, Florida Monday morning, and spoke about her size to emphasize to anchor Don Lemon just how strong the winds were there.
'What were also seeing is a lot of projectiles, youve been hearing from everyone that thats the danger here. The things that cover the lights are flying around. The tops of trash cans flying around.
CNN's Don Lemon called reporter Sara Sidner (right) beautiful after she described herself as chunky during Hurricane Irma coverage
Sidner was reporting from Daytona Beach early on Monday morning, and said the winds were so forceful that they were pushing her over
'Youre a beautiful woman no matter what size you are. Theres nothing wrong with having a little curve,' Lemon told Sara Sidner, who has worked all over the world as a reporter for CNN
'And this wind I am not a small woman, as you know, Don. I am a chunky girl, and it is blowing me around when the gusts come really, really hard,' Sidner said.
Lemon, who is openly gay, responded with a smile, saying: 'Youre a beautiful woman no matter what size you are. Theres nothing wrong with having a little curve.'
That comment won Lemon a lot of fans online, including one Twitter user who called him a 'class act'.
'As a fellow "chunky" girl, THANK YOU Don Lemon. P.S. Sara Sidner, you are BEAUTIFUL!' another Twitter user wrote.
But it also made him the butt of a joke on the Daily Show.
'Wow,' Daily Show host Trevor Noah said after showing the clip.
'Okay, that was a bit weird because, uh Don Lemon, that report said nothing about being beautiful I wished the camera would have cut back to Sara [Sidner] to respond like, "Yeah Don, I never said I wasnt beautiful."'
The reaction to Lemon's comments were mostly positive online
Reporter in Florida:as u know I'm a chunky girl & these winds are moving me
Don Lemon:well regardless of ur size ur beautiful stay safe
Me: pic.twitter.com/D3ZCeEZ9iX Mariah Cuellar (@mariahmichal) September 11, 2017
An Afghani migrant charged with the rape and murder of a German medical student also allegedly raped a young girl in his native country, local media reports.
Hussein Khavari is currently standing trial in the south-western German university city of Freiburg over the death of 19-year-old Maria Ladenburger last October.
It has now emerged that Khavari might have carried out a similar attack in his native Afghanistan, raping a 12-year-old girl.
Afghan migrant Hussein Khavari wept in the Freiburg District Court as he recalled how he murdered Maria Ladenburger while he was drunk last October
While Khavari was locked up in investigative custody, he allegedly told a fellow prisoner that he carried out the rape in Afghanistan when he was just 14.
A Freiburg police officer confirmed the story to the district court during Khavari's trial, where he has admitted to killing Ms Ladenburger, whose father is a senior legal adviser to the European Commission in Brussels.
According to the police, the parents of Khavari made a settlement with the parents of the raped girl to keep the incident unreported.
It has also emerged that Khavari had been arrested and sentenced to ten years for attempted murder in Corfu in 2013 before coming to Germany seeking refuge in 2015.
Khavari threw a 20-year-old student 25 feet down a cliff on the island of Corfu in May 2013. The woman was severely injured but miraculously survived the ordeal.
Hussein Khavari (left), 22, has been charged with raping and murdering Maria Ladenburger (right), 19, in Germany
Police stand in front of the court in Freiburg ahead of a case that fueled a nationwide debate about the country's migration policy
Khavari did not report to parole officers after his early release from the Greek detention centre and authorities issued a search warrant for the Afghan migrant, but only in their own country.
German authorities criticised the Greeks for "negligence", claiming that if they had known about Khavaris past, he would have been flagged when he applied for asylum and not allowed into the country, which in turn could have prevented the grisly rape and murder of Ms Ladenburger.
Yesterday, Khavari broke down and asked for forgiveness at his trial in Freiburg District Court, Germany.
Khavari wept as he recalled how he smoked hashish the night he ambushed 19-year-old, admitting that he raped her and drowned her in the knee-deep water of a nearby river.
He said he took her to the water to wash her blood from his body and clothes and claimed the incident had destroyed his life.
He broke down in court and added: 'I want to apologize to the family of Maria'.
Reading from a statement he went on: 'I beg your pardon. I want to apologise to the family of Maria. I wish I could undo it. What I have done, I am sad for from the bottom of my heart '.
He says he dreams of what he did every day as he wiped tears from his face.
'I live with the agony of what I did and this torment destroys my life,' he added.
He was linked through his DNA to medical student Maria (pictured), who volunteered at various shelters that house migrants in her spare time in the university city of Freiburg
He claims he dragged her into the river 'because I wanted to wash her blood from me'.
Prosecutors dispute his account of the murder and say he planned it beforehand.
Khavari was born in Ghazni in Afghanistan and claimed to have been 16 when he arrived in Germany in 2015, because 'because the situation is better here for under age migrants.'
Ms Ladenburger, who was studying medicine at university, would helping out migrants in various shelters and homes in her spare time.
Her body was found in the Dreisam River in October 2016, less than one mile from the student accommodation where she lived.
The killing sparked frenzied new waves of hatred and fear of refugees.
Even the leader of the country's police union said her death would have been prevented had the open door asylum-seeker policy of Chancellor Angela Merkel been less lax than it is.
The anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party was to piggyback on the killer's arrest to highlight what it says are the dangers of unregulated immigration. It calls Maria a 'victim of Merkel's welcome culture.'
Sixteen days of hearings have been scheduled for the trial, with a verdict expected in December at the earliest.
The case continues.
Holly Bobo's mother collapsed in sobs as she identified her slain daughter's wallet during the first day of her daughter's accused killer's trial on Monday.
Karen Bobo was giving evidence at the trial of Zachary Adams, 33, at a courtroom in Savanna, Tennessee, when she fell to the floor crying.
She had been asked by the defense to identify Holly's driving licence and describe what else was in her wallet on the day she was murdered when she fell off her chair, sobbing: 'I feel like I can't breathe.'
Holly, a 20-year-old nursing student, was taken from her family home on April 3, 2011. Her body was found three-and-a-half years later in woods near her accused killer's home.
Adams, who prosecutors say lived in a 'dark, dark world' of methamphetamine, is accused of raping and murdering her and then trying to dispose of her body.
Scroll down for video
Karen Bobo, 56, sobs on the stand as she testifies at the trial of her daughter Holly's accused murderer on September 11, 2017, in Savanna, Tennessee
Two other men were also charged in her killing but one was granted immunity in exchange for his testimony against Adams. The other is Adams' brother John who denies his involvement in Holly's death.
On Monday, Karen was being questioned by the prosecution over the contents of her daughter's wallet that was found along with her decomposed remains in woods near Adams' home in December 2014.
'Just a minute, I'm starting to feel sick,' Karen said through tears, prompting Judge C. Creed McGinley to request a pause in the proceedings.
Seconds later, she collapsed in a fit of sobs. She could be heard wailing as she lay on the ground while people in the public gallery rose to their feet in shock.
Mrs. Bobo had collapsed due to low blood pressure. She returned to the stand 30 minutes later to carry on.
Holly, 20, was taken from her home in Darden, Tennessee, on April 3, 2011. Her remains were found in September 2014
Meth addict Zachary Adams, 33, is accused of kidnapping, raping and murdering 20-year-old Holly Bobo on April 3, 2011
Holly's mother identified Adams in court on Monday. Karen returned to the stand 30 minutes after she collapsed to resume testifying against him
Defense attorney Jennifer Thompson tried to use the incident as cause for a mistrial, claiming her emotional breakdown may have prejudiced the jury's opinion. The judge refused it.
On April 3, 2011, Holly was last seen by her brother Clint walking in to the woods behind her house with a man dressed in camouflage.
Neighbors heard screams from the home and alerted Karen on the phone. She called Clint straight away, she said, and he said he thought the man his sister was with was her boyfriend, Drew Scott.
Karen phoned 911, telling the operator frantically: 'Someone in camouflage has Holly!'
Prosecutors say it was Adams and that he took the frightened 20-year-old to his home to be raped.
Jason Autry, who was friends with him at the time, later told police he saw them at Adams' home.
Adams' brother John also told police he'd seen his brother with Holly and described how he was wearing camouflage shorts at the time.
Holly's remains were found in September 2014, three years after she vanished
Prosecutors say Adams lived in a 'dark, dark world' of methamphetamine at the time of the killing
Holly's father Dana (L) and brother Clint (R) also testified on Monday. Clint was the last person to see her alive and watched as she walked into the woods behind their home with a man he thought was her boyfriend
Jason Autry (L) and John Adams (R) were also both charged in the killing. Autry received immunity in exchange for testifying against Zachary Adams. His brother John denies any involvement and has not yet received a trial date
In a confession which he has since retracted, John told officers his brother raped Holly and videotaped it. Afterwards, he rolled her body up in a carpet and put her in his truck after beating her, he said.
Holly was studying to become a nurse when she died
The three men were then preparing to toss Holly's body in the Tennessee River when she suddenly moved.
Adams shot her in the head, his brother and Autry claimed.
In September 2014, two men looking for ginseng found her decomposed remains near Adams' home.
All three men were arrested. John Adams however retracted his initial confession shortly after making it, claiming it was coerced. Autry testified against the brothers in exchange for immunity.
Zachary Adams denies kidnapping, raping and killing Holly. His attorney told the court there was a lack of DNA evidence tying him to the crime and that police only ever charged him because they were desperate to make an arrest.
The trial in Savanna, Tennessee, continues. Holly's cousin is country music star Whitney Duncan. Her disappearance in 2011 rattled the community where she lives and sparked a large manhunt.
Dennis Skinner has been branded a scab for supporting the EU Withdrawal Bill at second reading stage
Dennis Skinner felt the wrath of Corbynistas today after he backed the government's Brexit legislation.
The veteran firebrand, a hero of the Left, was branded a 'scab' for voting with Tory MPs to implement the result of the referendum.
He was among seven Labour backbenchers who supported the EU Withdrawal Bill in a crucial Commons showdown in the early hours of this morning.
Another 14 Labour MPs did not vote despite strict orders from the party whips.
The landmark measures would scrap the legislation that underpins our ties to Brussels, while at the same time copying all current EU law on to the domestic statute book to minimise disruption.
Mr Corbyn ordered his benches to oppose the Bill at second reading, even though it is a vote on the principle of the legislation.
However, he suffered a rebellion by a group of MPs who either supported Leave in the referendum or whose constituencies backed Brexit.
Former minister Frank Field said he would be voting for the 'referendum result to be implemented', and he was joined by six others including Bolsover MP Mr Skinner.
Caroline Flint was among those who abstained saying the legislation was 'necessary' and she wanted it to continue.
One Twitter user accused her of an astounding betrayal of your party and the electorate.
Another told her: You voted to hand dictatorship like powers to the Tory government. Caroline you should be utterly utterly ashamed of yourself. Disgusting.
Others called for her to be deselected as an MP.
Miss Flints daughter Hanna said her mother had been the victim of sexism, and suggested that she had faced more abuse than Mr Skinner despite only abstaining rather than voting against the measure.
Nice to see the amount of vitriol aimed at my mum for abstaining tonights vote and the lack thereof aimed at Dennis Skinner, she said.
Mr Skinner (circled) was present for the debate on the landmark measures last night. It would scrap the legislation that underpins our ties to Brussels
Remainers and Corbynistas vented their fury at Mr Skinner on Twitter after he supported the government in the crucial votes
Former coal miner Mr Skinner, 85, has been a vocal supporter of Mr Corbyn and has long been regarded as an icon of the Left.
He is nicknamed the 'Beast of Bolsover' reflecting the seat he has represented since 1970 and his regular vicious attacks on the Tories.
But he voted in favour of leaving the EU along with most of his constituents.
In the wake of the Commons clashes last night there was a backlash against him on social media.
THE LABOUR REBELS WHO BACKED THE BREXIT BILL Seven Labour MPs voted for the EU Withdrawal Bill's second reading: Ronnie Campbell (Blyth Valley), Frank Field (Birkenhead), Kate Hoey (Vauxhall), Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North), John Mann (Bassetlaw), Dennis Skinner (Bolsover) Graham Stringer (Blackley and Broughton) Advertisement
A user with the handle @geraldmiles87 wrote: 'Can we stop calling Dennis Skinner "the beast of Bolsover?" He's earned the name "scab of Bolsover"'
Another, @boringoldf4rt, said: 'i never thought i'd say this@ @BolsoverBeastDennis Skinner is the parliamentary equivalent of a scab. get your cards - you're out.'
Another user , who described himself as Left-leaning, told Mr Skinner: How could you? You voted with the Tories to give them powers to over-rule democracy. Never thought Id call you a scab.
Activist Aaron Bastani, a prominent supporter of Mr Corbyn, said: Every Labour MP who voted with the Tories tonight should find another job. This isnt taking back control, its giving it up.
Several other prominent Labour MPs received abuse after ignoring Mr Corbyns order to vote against the legislation.
Mr Skinner yesterday insisted that he had a consistent track record of backing Eurosceptic causes in Parliament.
He said he agreed with Labour criticism that the Bill represents a power grab.
But he added: I voted against the EU. I voted in line with the 70-odd per cent vote of my constituents that expected me to vote that way.
I have never ever changed my mind, unlike many people in the Labour Party who moved side to side.
Miss Flint declined to comment yesterday.
But she told MPs on Monday that they had a duty to pass the legislation following the result of last years referendum.
Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer admitted the bill being passed was a 'deeply disappointing result'.
'This bill is an affront to parliamentary democracy and a naked power grab by government ministers. It leaves rights unprotected, it silences parliament on key decisions and undermines the devolution settlement,' he said.
'It will make the Brexit process more uncertain, and lead to division and chaos when we need unity and clarity.
'Labour will seek to amend and remove the worst aspects from the bill as it passes through parliament. But the flaws are so fundamental its hard to see how this bill could ever be made fit for purpose.'
Jeremy Corbyn was in the Commons for the end of the second reading debate last night, where he ordered his MPs to vote against the Bill
Yesterday, was a solemn day for Donald Trump who held a moment's silence for the victims of 9/11 before warning other would-be terrorists that America cannot be intimidated.'
But it appears that the president hasn't always been so restrained when it comes to discussing the worst terror attack on US soil. Over the years he has made several false and tone-deaf remarks about the tragedy - including on the day of the attack itself.
The tycoon called into aNew York radio station WWOR, which was playing audio of the World Trade Center collapsing, to brag that his building was now the tallest in Manhattan.
Scroll down for video
President Donald Trump (pictured on Monday as he delivered remarks at the Pentagon honoring the men and women who perished on September 11, 2001) bragged about having the tallest building in Manhattan on the day of the 9/11 terror attack
'40 Wall Street actually was the second-tallest building in downtown Manhattan, and it was actually, before the World Trade Center, was the tallest and then, when they built the World Trade Center, it became known as the second-tallest,' he said. 'And now it's the tallest.'
That claim later turned out to be false. At 952ft, 70 Pine Street stood around 25 feet higher than 40 Wall Street after the attack, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
He also claimed $150,000 from the government, originally set aside to help small businesses, to cover 'rent loss' and 'repairs'.
The real estate mogul now turned politician, called into a New York radio station WWOR, to brag that his building (pictured, is his blue-topped 40 Wall Street building) was the tallest after the collapse of the World Trade Center. In fact, another building was still higher
More than a decade later, Trump - by then a reality TV star and host of The Apprentice - tweeted a bizarre message out to the 'haters and losers' on the anniversary of the terror attack.
'I would like to extend my best wishes to all, even the haters and losers, on this special date, September 11th,' he wrote.
During his presidential election campaign, in November 2015, Trump notoriously claimed he'd seen thousands of Muslims cheering for the attack in New Jersey.
'I watched when the World Trade Center came tumbling down, and I watched in Jersey City, New Jersey where thousands and thousands of people were cheering as that building was coming down,' he said at a rally in Birmingham, Alabama.
He later claimed the cheers came from areas with 'large Arab populations'.
Many New Jersey residents, and police representatives, have refuted the claim.
The president would later go onto claim in 2016 that he lost 'hundreds' of friends in 9/11 which would work out that he knew around one in ten of the almost three thousand people who died. Meanwhile, he has failed to name a single person he lost in the tragedy.
The first couple raised their gaze a minute later and the president unclasped his hands, signaling a trumpeter to begin performing military taps in a ceremony at the White House
When the short ceremony was over, the first couple turned around and walked back inside the White House, hand in hand
Last summer he made another dubious claim, saying that 9/11 would never have happened under his immigration policy - despite the fact that 15 of the 19 terrorists involved were actually citizens of Saudi Arabia - a country omitted from his travel ban.
'Those people that knocked down the World Trade Centre most likely under the Trump policy wouldn't have been here to knock down the World Trade Centre, just so you understand,' he said.
He has also blamed past presidents including George Bush and Bill Clinton for failing to prevent the attack.
Meanwhile, the president took a more reverential tone today as they attended the Pentagon for a formal 9/11 remembrance ceremony. I
More than a decade later, Trump - by then a reality TV star and host of The Apprentice - tweeted a bizarre message out to the 'haters and losers' on the anniversary of the terror attack
'This is an occasion that is extraordinary. And it will always be extraordinary,' President Trump said.
Worse than the worst attack in U.S. history before that, on the U.S. military base Pearl Harbor, Trump said, innocent men, women and children's lives were taken 'so needlessly.'
'For the families with us on this anniversary, we know that not a single day goes by when you don't think about the loved one stolen from your life. Today our entire nation grieves with you,' the president said.
Trump told the families in attendance, 'No force on Earth can ever take away your memories, diminish your love, or break your will to endure and carry on and go forward.
'Though we can never erase your pain, or bring back those you lost, we can honor their sacrifice by pledging our resolve to do whatever we must to keep our people safe.'
Passengers ran for their lives screaming in fear as the bus they were riding exploded into flames on a busy arterial road.
The blaze quickly consumed the rear of the bus and explosions could be heard coming from within the flames.
Fire crews then fought the inferno on West Terrace in Adelaide's central business district on Monday night.
Scroll down for video
Passengers fled screaming in fear as the bus (pictured) they were riding exploded into flames on a busy arterial road
The fire sparked calls for an investigation into the vehicles maintenance records, amid speculation an engine fault was to blame, Nine News reported.
Firefighters rushed to the scene after passengers ran for their lives and thick smoke billowed from the bus.
Witnesses reported seeing attempts to bring the fire under control hindered by selfish motorists who didn't even slow down.
'The cars were just continuously driving through, no one stopped, it was just like "I have to get where I want to go", no one cared,' said Anthony Roubanis.
The blaze quickly consumed the rear of the bus (pictured) and explosions could be heard coming from within the flames
The incident came only 13 days after the bus's last maintenance check, and is the second bus to burst into flames this year.
A bus erupted on the same street in January, and now some are calling for tougher penalties for bus operators.
Josephine Buckhorn from People for Public Transport says jail terms should be considered for those responsible for public safety.
Investigators believe this latest blaze may have been started by an engine fault.
'They've had engineers investigate it all and it's not through the brakes, so it's come through the engine bay,' said Colin Fenney from the Transport Workers Union.
On Point announces Rory Feek as the keynote speaker for On Point Clevelands Annual Fundraising Dinner: One Extraordinary Evening on Thursday, Sept. 21. The doors of First Baptist Cleveland will open at 6 p.m., with festivities beginning at 6:30 p.m. All proceeds from the event will be used for On Point Cleveland programming.
Rory Feek is a father, blogger, author, and one of Nashvilles premiere songwriters. "Roy's blog, ThisLifeILive.com, follows the love story of him and his late wife, Joey, and her battle with cancer, which has been an inspiration to over 2.3 million Facebook followers through the vignettes of unwavering faith and hope," officials said.
His memoir, This Life I Live: One Mans Extraordinary, Ordinary Life and the Woman Who Changed It Forever, is one of the top selling books across the US. As a recording artist, he and his wife, Joey, were the Grammy-winning country music duo Joey+Rory and have sold nearly a million records. Mr. Feek lives with their three-year-old daughter, Indiana, outside of Nashville near their family-owned diner, Marcy Jos Mealhouse.
"On Point is a youth development organization established in 1991 to partner with schools and communities to cultivate strengths in youth and guide them on their path to thrive. The annual Cleveland Dinner will bring together community members to celebrate and benefit the 12,000 students On Point serves annually," officials said.
Dinner tickets are sold out and due to the overwhelming response for Rory Feek tickets, general admission (non-dining, riser) seats have been made available for $35 per ticket. Seating for these tickets will begin at 6:45 p.m. A limited number of seats and sponsorships are available at Liveonpoint.org. .
For additional information, call the On Point office at 423-899-9188, or email Phyllis Maynor at Phyllis@liveonpoint.org, or Tamara Yelton at Tamara@liveonpoint.org.
Chris Parker, 33, pictured, was hailed as a hero for helping victims of the Manchester bombing but is accused of stealing a purse and mobile phone from those caught up in the attack
A man hailed a 'homeless hero' at the scene of the Manchester Arena bombing has denied stealing a purse and mobile phone from victims of the attack.
Chris Parker, 33, allegedly swiped the purse of Pauline Healey, as her granddaughter Sorrell Leczkowski, 14, lay dying yards away.
A court heard he is accused of taking a mobile phone belonging to a teenage girl who cannot be named because of her age.
Suicide bomber Salman Abedi, 22, detonated his device in the foyer of the arena on May 22, killing 22 and injuring scores of others.
Rough sleeper Parker received global acclaim afterwards as he described witnessing the effects of the blast and tending to the injured.
He told how he had wrapped an injured girl in a T-shirt and cradled a dying woman in his arms.
On Tuesday he appeared in court for a plea and case management hearing at Manchester Crown Court.
Parker, now living in Halifax, entered not guilty pleas to two counts of theft and two counts of attempted theft.
It is alleged that Parker took Mrs Healey's purse, containing bank cards, from a handbag as she lay stricken on the ground and also stole the other victim's phone.
Parker was praised after helping tend to those injured in the bomb blast. Pictured are concert goers in the aftermath of the attack
She later underwent 15 hours of surgery to remove shrapnel from her body and also suffered multiple compound fractures to her arms and legs, while Sorrell's mother was also seriously injured.
Sorrell, who was a pupil at Allerton High School in Leeds, was hoping to be an architect and wanted to study at Columbia University in New York.
It is also alleged he tried to steal a bag and a coat belonging to persons unknown.
Judge Hilary Manley bailed Parker until October 16 for a pre-trial hearing ahead of a three-day trial scheduled to begin on January 2.
Ivanka Trump revealed that her ex-husband asked her to be ambassador to the Czech Republic after he was elected president, and she turned him down.
The first wife of the self-proclaimed greatest dealmaker of the 20th century told the New York Post that she had no interest in the hours or amount of work that comes with the position.
'I like my freedom and I want to do what I want to do, go wherever I want to go, with whomever I want,' explained Ivana.
'I dont need the prestige, and its an 8-to-12 job.'
Scroll down for video
First wives club: Ivana Trump (above on Monday) said that she turned down the chance to serve as US ambassador to the Czech Republic after being offered the job by her ex-husband
You don't own me: 'I like my freedom and I want to do what I want to do, go wherever I want to go, with whomever I want,' explained Ivana while attending New York Fashion Week (Donald and Ivana above in 1991)
Ivana said that she also had no real interest in the prospect of moving back to her home country.
'Its four years in Prague, so bye-bye to Miami, bye-bye to New York in spring and fall, bye-bye to Saint-Tropez in summer,' said Ivana.
She claimed that she was made an honorary ambassador however, and seemed confident that she would have been amazing in the diplomatic role.
'I would be great because I can negotiate, I am a business person and I can entertain,' said Ivana, sounding just like her ex-husband.
Ivana is set to cash in however on her husband's presidency with the release of a new book.
The 67-year-old immigrant will share some never-before-heard tales in her new memoir 'Raising Trump,' which will be hitting bookshelves on October 10 and filled with inside scoop from Donald's first wife and the mother of Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric.
The main focus of the book will be Ivana's children, and all three will be working with their mother to contribute their own memories to the memoir.
'Every day, people ask me how I raised such great kids. They are truly amazed when I tell them that there was no magic to their upbringing,' said Ivana in a statement.
'Its four years in Prague, so bye-bye to Miami, bye-bye to New York in spring and fall, bye-bye to Saint-Tropez in summer,' said Ivana (above in St. Tropez last month)
'I was a tough and loving mother who taught them the value of a dollar, not to lie, cheat or steal, respect for others, and other life lessons that Ill share now in "Raising Trump."'
The book had been scheduled for release on Tuesday, the same day as Hillary Clinton's election memoir 'What Happened,' but was later pushed back a month.
Ivana's memoir will span the course of Ivana's entire life, from growing up in Czechoslovakia and her escape from the communist regime to marrying Donald and working for the Trump Organization.
And while Ivana will write about how she raised two first sons and a first daughter with the man who is now commander-in-chief, the book promises to be non-political.
The memoir will also be non-partisan according to Gallery Books, who is publishing the work.
That comes as little surprise given that Ivana was a vocal supporter of her husband in his quest for the presidency, and predicted early last year that he would take the White House.
And those looking for stories critical of President Trump will likely have to look elsewhere due to the strict nondisclosure agreement Ivana signed while finalizing their divorce.
In 1992, President Trump sued Ivana for $25million for allegedly violating that agreement on multiple occasions, and listed her second novel 'Free to Love' as an example.
He stated in court papers that parts of the book were based on their marriage. Ivana responded by countersuing, and a year later the two parties reached an agreement.
Three years later Ivana released her first memoir, 'The Best Is Yet to Come.'
Chain gang: Ivana also said that she did not need the 'prestige' or desire holding down a '8-to-12 job' (above with Sean 'Diddy' Combs in Miami)
Family: The 67-year-old immigrant from Czechoslovakia became a US citizen after her marriage to President Trump (above with third wife Melania on Monday)
Raising Trump will be about 'motherhood, strength and resilience' according to Gallery, who also published President Trump's recent book 'Crippled America,' whose title was later changed to 'Great Again.'
'As her former husband takes his place as the 45th President of the United States, his children have also been thrust into the media spotlight but it is Ivana who raised them and proudly instilled in them what she believes to be the most important life lessons: loyalty, honesty, integrity, and drive,' wrote Gallery in their release announcing the memoir.
Tome: She will be releasing a book next month about raising her three children with his ex entitled 'Raising Trump' (above)
Don Jr., Eric and Ivanka released a joint statement after their mother's project was announced, saying: 'We are immensely proud of our mother and excited for the publication of her new book, Raising Trump. She is an amazing mom, teacher and inspiration to all of us. We are incredibly grateful to have grown up in such a loving and close family.
Ivana was a 28-year-old model from Czechoslovakia in 1977 when she married Donald.
The couple went on to have three children before divorcing in 1992.
She was rumored to have gotten approximately $20million, their $15million estate and 49% ownership in Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach in their divorce.
She also reportedly receives $350,000 a year in alimony and was able to keep all her jewelry.
At the time there was also much talk about Donald's relationship with Georgia beauty queen Marla Maples, and rumors that Ivana had it out with the other woman on the ski slopes of Aspen.
Donald said around that time in an interview with Vanity Fair: 'To tell you the truth, Ive made Ivana a very popular woman. Ive made a lot of satellites. Hey, whether its Marla or Ivana. Marla can do any movie she wants to now. Ivana can do whatever she wants.'
Offspring: Ivana was rumored to have gotten approximately $20million, their $15million estate and 49% ownership in Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach in their divorce (Ivana's daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared with Gary Cohn on Monday)
Boy scouts: Ivana also reportedly receives $350,000 a year in alimony and was able to keep all her jewelry (Ivana's sons Donald Jr and Eric above in January)
Ivana told a much different story however to Liz Smith about the horrible impact the divorce was allegedly having on the couple's children.
'The children are all wrecks. I dont know how Donald can say they are great and fine,' said Ivana.
'Ivanka now comes home from school crying, "Mommy, does it mean Im not going to be Ivanka Trump anymore?" Little Eric asks me, "Is it true you are going away and not coming back?"'
Ivana went on to get married two more times, first to Riccardo Mazzucchelli in 1995, a union that was dissolved after two years.
She was then married to Rossano Rubicondi in 2008, but that union lasted less than a year with the two divorcing in 2009, though they have been seen together many times since.
DailyMail.com revealed earlier this year that Rubicondi was opening a new pizza restaurant in West Palm Beach, just a few miles from Mar-a-Lago.
Brian Buwalda, an accountant who lived in Orlando, was electrocuted in Winter Park during Hurricane Irma on Monday
A 51-year-old Florida man died after being electrocuted by a power line downed by Hurricane Irma, police said.
Brian Buwalda, an accountant who lived in Orlando, was pronounced dead at the scene in Winter Park on Monday after officers responded to reports of a man lying in the roadway.
Friends on social media suggested that Buwalda was helping another family with a tarp when he was killed.
Buwalda is one of at least 11 people who have died in the United States as a result of Hurricane Irma, which ravaged Florida and the southeast coast over the weekend through Tuesday with heavy rains, high winds and flooding.
Tributes on Facebook called Buwalda an 'incredibly kind man' and 'a great man who influenced more people than he was aware of'.
A medical examiner will determine Buwalda's official cause of death, but police say it appears to be accidental.
Friends on social media suggested that Buwalda was helping another family with a tarp when he was killed
Tributes on Facebook called Buwalda an 'incredibly kind man' and 'a great man who influenced more people than he was aware of'
A medical examiner will determine Buwalda's official cause of death, but police say it appears to be accidental
Authorities have urged people to stay away from downed power lines and have recommended that people do not drive through flooded roads during storms that may have knocked down power lines.
Seven of Hurricane Irma's victims were were in Florida, while three were killed in Georgia and one in South Carolina.
Two were killed in Monroe County, Florida, which includes the Florida Keys - an area that was under mandatory evacuation during the storm.
One of the bodies was found in a Shark Key home while another man was killed when he lost control of a truck carrying a generator.
In Hillsborough, Florida, Wilfredo Hernandez was accidentally killed by a chainsaw as he helped cut tree branches.
In Hardee County, a sheriff's deputy and corrections officer were killed in a two-car crash during heavy rains.
Buwalda is one of at least 11 people who have died in the United States as a result of Hurricane Irma, which ravaged Florida and the southeast coast over the weekend through Tuesday with heavy rains, high winds and flooding
The storm caused flooding across the state. Pictured above, damage caused by Hurricane Irma on Luttich Lane in Estero, Florida, on Monday
Hardee County Sheriff's deputy and mother-of-one Julie Bridges and Hardee Correctional Institute sergeant Joseph Ossman crashed and died around 60 miles from Saratosa.
Near Orlando, Heidi Zehner, 50, died in a car crash on Sunday evening after losing control of her vehicle on a state highway.
Her SUV struck a guardrail. The cause of death was under investigation.
Another victim was killed in Miami-Dade County from carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator.
The body of a 62-year-old man who climbed a ladder behind his home was found under debris on the roof of his shed in southwest Georgia, where winds topped 40 mph (65 kph), Worth County sheriff's spokeswoman Kannetha Clem said.
Hardee Correctional Institute sergeant Joseph Ossman (left) and Hardee County Sheriff's deputy Julie Bridges (right) died when their vehicles collided during Hurricane Irma. It's not clear whether the weather influenced the smash
Bridges was a mother of an eight-year-old boy (pictured). She had been going home to pick up supplies to help those affected by the storm when the collision occurred
His wife had called 911 saying he'd had a heart attack.
"He was lodged between two beams and had a little bit of debris on top of him," Clem said. "He was on the roof at the height of the storm."
Another man, in his 50s, was killed just outside Atlanta when a tree fell on his house, Sandy Springs police Sgt. Sam Worsham said.
And a woman died when a tree fell on a vehicle in a private driveway, according to the website of the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office.
In Calhoun Falls, South Carolina, Charles Saxon, 57, died Monday after being struck by a tree limb as he was cleaning up limbs and debris outside his home, according to Abbeville County Coroner Ronnie Ashley.
Another victim of the storm was claimed when his truck (pictured) was swept off the road and into a tree in Monroe County. He has not yet been named
An autopsy is planned for Saxon, who died at the scene.
Officials say it's the first reported death in the state related to Irma.
Irma weakened into a tropical depression late Monday, and the National Hurricane Center discontinued all storm surge and tropical weather watches and warnings related to the storm.
Meteorologist Keith Stellman said Atlanta's airport recorded sustained winds of 45 mph (72 kph) with gusts up to 64 mph (103 kph).
The hurricane center forecast Irma to drop 5 inches to 8 inches (13 to 20 centimeters) or rain across South Carolina and the northern regions of Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi over the next two days.
The owners of the pets who were abandoned as Hurricane Irma approached Florida could face felony charges, according to the state's office of animal control.
Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control officers rescued 49 dogs in the days before the storm hit, all of whom were left outside to fend for themselves.
'This is a prime example of animal cruelty,' Palm Beach County state prosecutor Dave Aronberg told the New York Post.
'We will find you, and we will prosecute you.'
SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO
The owners of the pets who were abandoned as Hurricane Irma approached Florida could face felony criminal charges. Pictured is a dog walking through a flooded street in Naples, Florida on Monday
Authorities said many of the pets who were rescued were tied to poles or left in pens outside of their homes. Pictured is a dog rescued by the ASPCA and taken to a shelter in South Carolina
Many of the animals rescued prior to Irma's arrival were tied to poles or left outside in pens, authorities explained.
'There is absolutely no excuse for doing that,' agency director Dianne Suave told the Post.
She and Aronberg have vowed to come down hard on the animal owners.
Both have said they intend to file felony prosecutions against anyone who left their dogs outside during the storm, provided that they can gather enough evidence against those individuals.
The pair are also asking anyone who can to consider sheltering the animals they come across who were left out in the storm.
In addition to the pets rescued by the agency, Animal Care and Control also took in roughly 40 cats and dogs who were given up by their owners due to the impending storm.
Abandoned pets being loaded off of a van and into an ASPCA shelter in South Carolina
Relinquishing a pet to animal control or one of the two-pet friendly shelters in Palm Beach County means the individual gives up ownership of their animal and can't get them back when the storm ends
Suave explained that surrenders are normal during storms, but the number was particularly high in the lead up to Irma.
'It's always disappointing,' she told USA Today about the surrenders. 'Our goal is to keep pets and people together.'
Relinquishing a pet to animal control or one of the two-pet friendly shelters in Palm Beach County means the individual gives up ownership of their animal and can't get them back when the storm ends.
'I feel torn about that at times,' Suave said to USA Today.
'But we're not a boarding facility.'
The ASPCA also worked throughout Irma's path in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina to rescue up to 600 animals left in shelters or abandoned during the storm. A volunteer is pictured taking a scared pup out of its crate at the shelter
The ASPCA also worked throughout Irma's path in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina to rescue up to 600 animals left in shelters or abandoned during the storm.
The agency set up an emergency shelter in Duncan, South Carolina, and expects to work through the week to continue moving animals to safety.
'It's critical for pet owners to consider their animals when preparing for any disaster, and we strongly urge them to always bring their animals with them if they have to evacuate their home,' ASPCA Vice President Tim Rickey said in a statement.
'The ASPCA stands ready to assist animals in Hurricane Irma's path, but the first and best line of defense for a pet will always be a well-prepared owner.'
A California man, who was arrested for drug possession, 'urinated on a deputy' as he was being taken into custody.
Steven Holley, 55, was loitering in Miners Ravine Nature Reserve around 9pm Thursday night before the incident unfolded.
Three officers from the Placer County Sheriff's Office were patrolling the Granite Bay area when they noticed Holley 'acting bizarrely'.
Steven Holley (pictured), 55, of Sacramento, who was arrested for drug possession, urinated on a deputy as he was being taken into custody Thursday night in the Miners Ravine Nature Reserve
Authorities wryly wrote in a Facebook post that Holley 'definitely did not look like he was interested in the beauty that the park offers'.
According to the officers, Holley, of Sacramento, was found to be in possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.
Photos showed of a bug-eyed Holley showed him wearing what appeared to be a pair of pajama pants and a grey T-shirt when he was arrested.
Holley allegedly put up a brief struggle as the officers tried to arrest him.
Authorities said Holley then urinated on one of the officers during the struggle.
The Miners Ravine Nature Reserve is a park known for its historical preservation of the bedrock mortar grinding holes carved out by the Maidu Native Americans.
A top adviser to President Trump slapped down ex-White House aide Steve Bannon's claim that GOP leaders are working against the populist president, saying this morning at a breakfast that the assertion is dead wrong.
House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have been 'terrific allies,' particularly when it comes to tax reform, the president's legislative affairs director, Marc Short, told reporters during a Christian Science Monitor event.
'I would disagree with Steve. I think that the leaders have been strong partners,' Short stated.
A top adviser to President Trump slapped down ex-White House aide Steve Bannon's claim that GOP leaders are working against the populist president, saying this morning at a breakfast that the assertion is dead wrong
House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have been 'terrific allies,' the president's legislative affairs director, Marc Short, told attendees of a Christian Science Monitor event
Bannon slammed Ryan and McConnell, pictured, by name in an already infamous 60 Minutes interview that aired Sunday evening
Bannon slammed Ryan and McConnell by name in an already-infamous 60 Minutes interview that aired Sunday evening on CBS.
The Republican establishment is trying to 'nullify' Trump's election, he charged.
'They do not want Donald Trump's populist, economic nationalist agenda to be implemented. It's very obvious,' he claimed.
McConnell explicitly told Trump to stop talking about draining the swamp, Bannon revealed, calling it an 'open secret' on Capitol Hill that GOP leaders do not agree with the Trump doctrine.
Yesterday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders gave McConnell and Ryan a tepid endorsement.
'The President wants to work with all members of Congress. Obviously that includes Republican leadership, as well as Democrats,' she said. 'I think you saw some of the Presidents leadership last week when he helped strike a deal to make sure that we got the funding that was necessary.'
Pressed to say whether the White House would like to see new Republican leadership in Congress, Sanders said that 'right now' that is not the case.
'Right now, the President is committed to working with the leadership we have and nothing beyond that, at this point,' she said.
Short, a chief liaison to Congress, was effusive in his praise this morning for Ryan and McConnell. 'I think that Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell have been terrific allies,' he said
Short, a chief liaison to Congress, was more effusive in his praise this morning for Ryan and McConnell.
'I think that Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell have been terrific allies in us with the tax reform package,' he said. 'I think they've been terrific allies, as I mentioned, on the regulatory front.'
Short told journalists, 'I don't know anybody who could have done that better than Mitch McConnell did.'
Disagreeing with Bannon outright, Short said the Republicans had been 'strong partners' in 'helping us to advance our economic agenda.'
Earlier, in his remarks, Short had denied that there was a divide in the Republican Party that the president had instigated.
'I don't think that the president's fomenting a schism within the party,' Short declared. 'I think that he's been an asset in helping us to strengthen the party,' he said.
Bannon made numerous claims in the 60 Minutes interview that the White House has had to swat down since it aired.
'There is wide discrepancy in the Republican Party, as we know today, now that we're in it,' Bannon said in the interview, continuing his commentary on the establishment. 'But I will tell you, leadership didn't know it at the time. They didn't know it 'til the very end.'
He also assessed that the president made the biggest political misstep, perhaps, in 'modern political history' when he fired former FBI Director James Comey.
'We would not have the Mueller investigation. We would not have the Mueller investigation and the breadth that clearly Mr. Mueller is going for,' he said, making reference to Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Monday afternoon that Trump continues to believe that he made the correct decision when he fired Comey as she swatted down another Bannon claim
Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway told DailyMail.com and other reporters at the White House yesterday that 'Steve speaks for himself' after she was asked about Bannon's Comey comments.
Later in the day, at her regular news conference, Sanders forcefully backed up the president.
'I think that we've been pretty clear what our position is, and certainly, I think that it has been shown that in the days that followed that the president was right in firing Director Comey,' she said.
The Trump spokeswoman argued that information that's surfaced since Comey departed has only served to justify his dismissal.
'Giving false testimony, leaking privileged information to journalists, he went outside of the chain of command, and politicized an investigation into a presidential candidate,' she stated. 'I think the president's been very clear about his position on that front.'
The White House rebuffed Bannon for his claim that Dreamers, the illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, should self deport when their work permits run out.
'The president has said that he'll make further comment on DACA if Congress doesn't act. He's, he made his decision very clear last week, with his attorney general and Department of Homeland Security in the lead,' Conway told DailyMail.com on Monday. 'Congress has six months to act. They've had seven months this year, so we're adding six, that'd be more than a year.'
A man accused of murdering a Melbourne mother allegedly admitted the crime to one woman before using the victim's name to threaten another, a court has heard.
Tony John Smith is charged over the death of Karen Rae in April 2015, after the 48-year-old went missing from her Frankston North home.
During a pre-trial committal hearing in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday, a witness told how the 50-year-old had confessed to killing Ms Rae.
Tony John Smith, who has been accused of killing Karen Rae (pictured), allegedly admitted the crime to one woman before using the victim's name to threaten another, a court has heard
April Kinna said she had seen Smith at the Frankston court house after he'd been charged over a separate matter, and that he had confessed to killing Ms Rae, crossing her arms and 'put a smile on her face'.
'I didn't believe what he told me, I thought he'd said it to scare me,' she told the court.
She added: 'I tried to block it out. I didn't want to listen to it.'
Another witness, Michelle Terry, told the court Smith had bashed her and said she'd suffer the same fate as Ms Rae.
The 46-year-old said she had been exchanging sex acts with Smith and his brother Nick in return for the drug ice and that the sexual activity was violent.
Ms Terry told the court that in August 2015, Smith assaulted her, saying: 'I'm going to do to you what I did to Karen Rae'.
During a pre-trial committal hearing in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday, a witness told how the 50-year-old had confessed to killing Ms Rae (pictured) and crossing her arms
Another witness, Michelle Terry (pictured), told the court Smith had bashed her during violent sexual activity and said that she would suffer the same fate as Ms Rae
The witness said she was too scared when questioned by police in November that year to admit to having heard Ms Rae's name.
Ms Terry explained that she had wanted to distance herself from the situation and that she had seen Smith in the possession of a 9mm handgun.
Ms Kinna also claimed Smith had previously spoken of having 'sex with chicks' and that he had told her he could 'press slightly on their necks' and they'd pass out.
Victoria Police protective services officer Fiona Hogg told the court she had seen both Smith and Ms Rae at the Seaford Hotel in the months leading to her death, with both at times appearing seriously drug-affected
The hearing is expected to continue until Friday.
Advertisement
With Hurricane Irma safely out of the state, most Floridians will be able to return home today - but it will be an uncomfortable homecoming because three quarters of the state is still without power.
Electricity isn't just a convenience in the Sunshine State. It's a necessity in the summer when the heat can turn deadly hot.
And that's just what it's forecast to do this week, with temperatures expected to reach into the 90s.
The bad news is that an estimated 15million Floridians are still without power, and officials say it could take 10 days or more for it to be fully restored.
For the most part though, life inched closer to normal in the Sunshine State, with some flights again taking off, many curfews lifted and major theme parks reopening. Cruise ships that extended their voyages and rode out the storm at sea began returning to port with thousands of passengers.
'We've got a lot of work to do, but everybody's going to come together,' Florida Gov. Rick Scott said. 'We're going to get this state rebuilt. This state is a state of strong resilient people.'
Scroll down for video
Cars line up to return to the Florida Keys on Tuesday in Homestead, Florida. Parts of the lower Keys are still inaccessible because a road was wiped out during the storm
Traffic is seen traveling south on Interstate 95 in Brunswick, Georgia on Tuesday after Hurricane Irma passed through the area
A police officer directs motorists at a checkpoint as Florida Keys residents return to their homes in the upper keys on Tuesday
More than half the state is still without power, meaning there won't be air conditioning when the weather turns deadly hot this week
Wednesday is also shaping up to be a scorcher across Florida, with temperatures nearing the 90s
Despite lack of electricity, most Floridians were just happy they were finally able to return home on Tuesday, after several nights holed up in shelters or with friends and family.
Carin and David Atkins of Pinecrest, Florida, were waiting out Irma on Monday, planning to leave their Atlanta hotel Tuesday morning to head back down the Florida peninsula with their children, Molly and Thomas. The Atkins said they have hotel reservations near Cape Canaveral, more than halfway back to their home outside Miami.
'I've called to confirm they have power,' David Atkins said, adding that some businesses near their home have power as well.
Carin Atkins said they can live without power at home for several days, recalling that they went 47 days without power after Hurricane Wilma in 2005. They evacuated, she said, only because of the threat of rising water from a storm surge that didn't reach to their home.
Other evacuees still aren't as sure of their return.
A woman suntans amongst debris on Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida on Tuesday after Hurricane Irma passed the area
A damaged house on Ponte Vedra Beach in Florida is pictured above on Tuesday
A boy walks amongst debris on the beach after Hurricane Irma passed the area in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, U.S., on Tuesday
Bill Quinn surveys the damage caused to his trailer home from Hurricane Irma at the Seabreeze Trailer Park in Islamorada, in the Florida Keys on Tuesday
Local residents walk down a street that was flooded after the passing of Hurricane Irma in Immokalee, Florida on Tuesday
Boats, cars and other debris clog waterways in the Florida Keys on Tuesday, two days after Hurricane Irma slammed into the state
Boats, cars and other debris clog waterways in the Florida Keys on Tuesday, two days after Hurricane Irma slammed into the state
NA A man shops in a Naples, Florida supermarket on Tuesday, one of the few open, with limited electricity and food two days after Hurricane Irma swept through the area
Floridians will have to make due with non-perishable food while millions are still without power
A submerged mobile home community stands in Fort Myers on Tuesday, two days after Hurricane Irma swept through the area
A neighborhood remains flooded by Hurricane Irma on September 12, 2017 in Bonita Springs, Florida
Carolyn Cole removes belongings from her flooded home in Bonita Springs, Florida on Tuesday
Much of Cole's home was still under water as she returned home on Tuesday to gather up her most prized possessions
A boat is seen on a highway as local residents return to Plantation Key, Florida on Tuesday
Local residents walk along a destroyed trailer park in Plantation Key, Florida on Tuesday
Palm trees appears to weather the storm rather well at the mobile home park in Plantation Key
The entire Florida Keys were under mandatory evacuation during Hurricane Irma, which made landfall in the island chain on Sunday
A destroyed trailer park is seen in Plantation Key, Florida on Tuesday after Hurricane Irma struck the island
Bonita Springs, Florida is seen above in a Monday afternoon photo provided by DroneBase
Alfonso Jose pulls his son Alfonso Jr., 2, in a cooler with his wife Cristina Ventura as they wade through their flooded street in Bonita Springs, Florida on Tuesday
Irma will continue to pelt parts of the south with rain on Tuesday
HURRICANE IRMA CLAIMS 52 LIVES U.S. - 14 FLORIDA Monroe County: A man died after losing control of his truck, which was carrying a generator, in heavy winds.
A man died after losing control of his truck, which was carrying a generator, in heavy winds. Hardee County: Joseph Ossman, 53,a sergeant with the Hardee Correctional Institute, was heading to work Sunday morning when he collided head on with the vehicle driven by Sheriff's Deputy Julie Bridges, 42, who was heading home from a night shift.
Joseph Ossman, 53,a sergeant with the Hardee Correctional Institute, was heading to work Sunday morning when he collided head on with the vehicle driven by Sheriff's Deputy Julie Bridges, 42, who was heading home from a night shift. Orlando: Heidi Zehner, 50, was driving on a highway near Orlando Sunday night when she lost control of her SUV and hit a guardrail.
Heidi Zehner, 50, was driving on a highway near Orlando Sunday night when she lost control of her SUV and hit a guardrail. Winter Park: Brian Buwalda, 51, was electrocuted by a downed power line on Monday
Brian Buwalda, 51, was electrocuted by a downed power line on Monday Tampa: Wilfredo Hernandez, 55, died when the chain saw he was using to clear trees in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma became entangled in a branch, causing it to kick up and cut his carotid artery.
Wilfredo Hernandez, 55, died when the chain saw he was using to clear trees in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma became entangled in a branch, causing it to kick up and cut his carotid artery. Miami-Dade County: A person died of carbon monoxide poisoning from using a generator the wrong way GEORGIA Worth County: The body of a 62-year-old man who climbed a ladder behind his home was found under debris on the roof of his shed
The body of a 62-year-old man who climbed a ladder behind his home was found under debris on the roof of his shed Sandy Springs: A man in his 50, was killed just outside Atlanta when a tree fell on his house
A man in his 50, was killed just outside Atlanta when a tree fell on his house Forsyth County: Woman died when a tree fell on a vehicle in a private driveway SOUTH CAROLINA Abbeville County: Charles Saxon, 57, died when he was struck by a tree limb while clearing debris from his home in Calhoun Falls amid wind gusts of 40 mph
Charles Saxon, 57, died when he was struck by a tree limb while clearing debris from his home in Calhoun Falls amid wind gusts of 40 mph Columbia: City worker Arthur Strudwick, 48, a city worker, died Monday night when he drove his car off the road during heavy rains
City worker Arthur Strudwick, 48, a city worker, died Monday night when he drove his car off the road during heavy rains Columbia: Zhen Tain, 21, crashed his Ford Mustang while driving east of Columbia Monday afternoon. The vehicle hit another car and then flipped.
Zhen Tain, 21, crashed his Ford Mustang while driving east of Columbia Monday afternoon. The vehicle hit another car and then flipped. Sumter County: William McBride, 54, died of carbon monoxide poisoning while running a generator inside his mobile home with only a single window cracked for ventilation Elsewhere in the Caribbean - 38 Anguilla - 1 Barbados - 1 Barbuda - 3 Cuba - 10 French West Indies - 11 Haiti - 1 Puerto Rico - 3 St. Maarten - 4 U.S. Virgin Islands - 4 Columbia, South Carolina city worker Arthur Strudwick, 48 (pictured), died Monday night when he drove his car off the road during heavy rains Joseph Ossman, 53 (right), a sergeant with the Hardee Correctional Institute, was heading to work Sunday morning when he collided head on with the vehicle driven by Sheriff's Deputy Julie Bridges, 42 (left), who was heading home from a night shift. Advertisement
PRESIDENT TRUMP TO VISIT FLORIDA THURSDAY The White House says President Donald Trump will visit hurricane-stricken Florida on Thursday. Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders did not announce the specific location or locations. Trump said earlier this week that he would visit the state 'very soon.' Trump visited Texas and Louisiana after Hurricane Harvey struck both states in late August. He also plans to visit the U.S. Virgin Islands, where four died during the storm. Virgin Islands Gov. Kenneth Mapp said Tuesday that the visit would take place in about a week, but gave no further details. Advertisement
Stephanie Clegg Troxell was near Nashville, Tennessee, where her family caravan includes three cars and a trailer, five adults, five children, 13 dogs, three mini-horses and a pet pig. The trek from New Port Richey, Florida, north of Tampa Bay, took more than 17 hours, beginning last Wednesday.
Troxell said her husband stayed behind and now is working with friends to remove a tree that fell on the roof of their house. They also had no power.
'We don't know when we're leaving and now there's another hurricane coming,' Troxell said, referring to Jose, which was offshore. 'I'm trying to sneak out when it's not 30 miles per hour-plus winds.'
In Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Rea Argonza was worried about money as she mapped out her return plans.
'Staying here, it's been like a financial strain,' said Argonza, who traveled with her husband and five children from St. Augustine, Florida, to two hotel rooms 500 miles away near the Wake Forest University campus. 'We're up to almost a thousand dollars now. I do believe this whole expedition is going to be almost $3,000.'
One area still not accessible is the lower Florida Keys, where officials continue to carry out tests to make sure the bridges are safe to drive on.
That includes the most distant and populous island in the chain, Key West.
Scott said Tuesday that officials continue to check the 42 Overseas Highway bridges that link the Florida Keys together. He said none appear seriously damaged but that 'we're not sure that on the bridges we should be putting on significant weight.'
Angelina Ventura, left, and Jose Gonzalez retrieve belongings from their flooded home in the wake of Hurricane Irma in Bonita Springs, Florida on Tuesday
In this Monday afternoon photo provided by DroneBase, an aerial view of Bonita Springs, Florida, is seen
Jose Lopez and Judy Madujano put their son Jose Jr, 1, into a splash pool as they retrieve belongings from their flooded home following Hurricane Irma in Bonita Springs, Florida on Tuesday
Jose Encarnacion pulls a chicken out from a cage as he retrieves belongings from his flooded home following Hurricane Irma in Bonita Springs, Florida on Tuesday
A ceiling in a home is collapsed after being struck by a falling tree on Tuesday in Signal Mountain, Tennessee
Eleanor Knauff plays with a butterfly net in front of a fallen tree in the yard of her Signal Mountain, Tennessee home on Tuesday
Sandra Guzman is pictured with her daughter Maria Valentine Romero in their mobile home which now has a tarp instead of a roof after the passing of Hurricane Irma in Immokalee, Florida on Tuesday
However, parts of the upper Keys, including Key Largo, Tavernier and Islamorada, are now accessible to returning residents who got their first glimpse of the damage on Tuesday morning - and what they saw was not good.
While nearly all of Florida was engulfed by the 400-mile-wide storm, the Keys appeared to be the hardest hit. Drinking water was cut off, all three of the islands' hospitals were closed, and the supply of gas was extremely limited.
Officials are estimating that more than a quarter of the homes on the islands were destroyed. Additionally, 65 per cent of the buildings sustained major damage.
FEMA Administrator Brock Long says the Keys 'took the brunt of the hit' a and it will take time to survey the damage there before residents there can return.
'Basically every house in the Keys was impacted,' he said.
In a news conference Tuesday, Long says of Monroe County: 'A majority of the homes there have been impacted in some way' with homes destroyed or damaged.
An aircraft carrier was positioned off Key West to help in the search-and-rescue effort. And crews worked to repair two washed-out, 300-foot sections of U.S. 1, the lone highway from the mainland, and check the safety of the 42 bridges linking the islands.
While the Keys are a popular vacation destination, there's also a lot of poor people who live there.
The string of tropical islands that stretch south from Florida, connected by bridges, are home to about 70,000 people, with about 13 percent living in poverty.
That means that the damage will have a huge impact on their lives, for weeks, months and years into the future.
Stephanie Kaple runs the Florida Keys Outreach Coalition for the Homeless, an organization that helps prevent homelessness by paying emergency rent, air conditioner repairs and medical bills for community members in need.
She said that despite support from the United Way and Monroe County, those funds, post hurricane, will soon be running out.
Greg Garner, in back, embraces neighbor Linda Nettles on Tuesday in front of his long-time family home in Sullivan's Island, South Carolina after Tropical Storm Irma hit the area
Garner's family home lost part of its roof in the disastrous storm
A dock is mangled on Tuesday after Tropical Storm Irma hit Isle of Palms, South Carolina
Isle of Palms, South Carolina residents inspect storm surge damage done inside the Wild Dunes resort on Monday
Kevin Wilson, from Greenville, South Carolina, walks over damage done to the Grand Pavilion in the Wild Dunes resort after Tropical Storm Irma hit the Isle of Palms on Monday
Family members walk down the beach on the Isle of Palms on Monday as boardwalks are damaged after Tropical Storm Irma
Corey Smith, who rode out the hurricane in Key Largo, said Tuesday that the power is out on the island, there's very limited gas and supermarkets are closed. Piles of brush and branches are blocking some roads. The UPS driver said he fears an influx of returnees could overwhelm what limited resources there are.
'They're shoving people back to a place with no resources,' he said by phone. 'It's just going to get crazy pretty quick.'
Still, he said people coming back to Key Largo should be relieved that many buildings avoided major damage.
Authorities were stopping people to check documentation such as proof of residency or business ownership before they're allowed back into the Upper Keys. County officials announced that one of three shuttered hospitals on the island chain was reopening.
After flying over the Keys Monday, Florida Gov. Rick Scott described overturned mobile homes, washed-ashore boats and flood damage. A Navy aircraft carrier was due to anchor off Key West to help in search-and-rescue efforts.
Irma has weakened to a tropical depression and is was swirling over the Alabama-Mississippi border Tuesday afternoon.
At least 14 deaths in the U.S. have been connected to Irma, and 35 in the Caribbean. Seven of the U.S. deaths happened in Florida, three in Georgia and four in South Carolina.
An uprooted tree that slashed a trailer in half in the wake of Hurricane Irma is pictured at a mobile home park in Kissimmee, Florida on Tuesday
]Waist-deep in floodwater, Shelly Hughes reacts as she gets her first look at the inside of her flooded camper at the Peace River Campground in Arcadia, Florida on Tuesday
Shelly Hughes reacts as she gets her first look at the inside of her flooded camper at the Peace River Campground on Tuesday
Vilano Beach, Florida residents look at a collapsed coastal house on Tuesday
A home is completely destroyed, cut in half by a falling tree, while another is mostly unscathed at a mobile home park in the wake of Hurricane Irma in Kissimmee, Florida on Tuesday
People walk under a downed tree in a Bonita Springs, Florida community on Tuesday
People wait in line outside of a Fort Myers, Florida hardware store on Tuesday, two days after Hurricane Irma swept through the area
Bryan Cubias shops in a Miami, Florida store that doesn't have power on Tuesday, two days after Hurricane Irma passed through the area
People exit a Fort Myers, Florida hardware store on Tuesday, two days after Hurricane Irma swept through the area
In Monroe County, Florida, a man died after losing control of his truck, which was carrying a generator, in heavy winds. Three of the other deaths were also vehicular.
In Hardee County, a sheriff's deputy Julie Bridges, 42, crashed head on with the car driven by Corrections Officer Joseph Ossman, 53.
Heidi Zehner, 50, was driving on a highway near Orlando Sunday night when she lost control of her SUV and hit a guardrail.
In Winter Park, Florida, Brian Buwalda, 51, was electrocuted by a downed power line on Monday.
Wilfredo Hernandez, 55, died in Tampa when the chain saw he was using to clear trees in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma became entangled in a branch, causing it to kick up and cut his carotid artery.
A worker uses a pressure cleaner to wash the exterior of the Colony Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida on Tuesday, after Hurricane Irma passed through the area
Florida Army National Guard 1st Sgt. Jeremy Commander address troops from Delta Company, 1st Battallion, 124th Infantry, 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team before departing the Miramar Barracks for the Florida Keys on Tuesday
Maria Soto and Michael Perez return to their home in Miami Beach, Florida on Tuesday for the first time after seeking shelter in a friend's home during Hurricane Irma
A local resident observes the remains of a Sunoco gas station in the wake of Hurricane Irma in Kissimmee, Florida on Tuesday
And in Miami-Dade County, a person died of carbon monoxide poisoning from using a generator the wrong way.
The body of a 62-year-old man who climbed a ladder behind his home was found under debris on the roof of his shed in southwest Georgia, where winds topped 40 mph, Worth County sheriff's spokeswoman Kannetha Clem said. His wife had called 911 saying he'd had a heart attack.
'He was lodged between two beams and had a little bit of debris on top of him,' Clem said. 'He was on the roof at the height of the storm.'
Another man, in his 50s, was killed just outside Atlanta when a tree fell on his house, Sandy Springs police Sgt. Sam Worsham said.
And a woman died when a tree fell on a vehicle in a private driveway, according to the website of the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office.
Bill Quinn surveys the damage caused to his trailer home in Islamorada, in the Florida Keys, on Tuesday
Debris from trailer homes destroyed by Hurricane Irma litters the Seabreeze Trailer Park in Islamorada, in the Florida Keys, on Tuesday
A damaged home sits in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma on Tuesday in Key West, Florida
A sailboat is pushed up between two buildings in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma on Tuesday in Key West, Florida
Shingles are ripped off the roofs of homes in Key West, Florida on Tuesday after Hurricane Irma
A condo building destroyed by Hurricane Irma, that had been 3-stories tall before collapsing in the storm, is seen in Islamorada, in the Florida Keys on Tuesday
Charles Saxon, 57, became South Carolina's first recorded death when he was struck by a tree limb while clearing debris outside his home in Calhoun Falls amid wind gusts of about 40 mph, according to a statement from Abbeville County Coroner Ronnie Ashley.
The former hurricane remained an immense, 415-mile wide storm as its center moved on from Florida Monday afternoon, giving its still-formidable gusts and drenching rains a far reach.
Some 540,000 people were ordered to evacuate days earlier from Savannah and the rest of Georgia's coast. Irma sent 4 feet of ocean water into downtown Charleston, South Carolina, as the storm's center passed 250 miles away. City officials urged residents to stay off the streets.
In Atlanta, people nervously watched towering oak trees as the city, 250 miles inland, experienced its first tropical storm warning.
Communities along Georgia's coast were swamped by storm surge and rainfall arriving at high tide Monday afternoon. On Tybee Island east of Savannah, Holland Zellers was grabbing a kayak to reach his mother in a home near the beach.
'In the street right now, the water is knee-to-waist deep,' Zeller said.
A roof is damaged on a building in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma on Tuesday in Key West, Florida
This photo shows Duval Street on Tuesday in Key West, Florida
House boats, some damaged from Hurricane Irma, sit in a marina on Tuesday in Key West, Florida
Senior Chief Naval Aircrewman Xipetotec Thorngate searches Key West during a reconnaissance mission from an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter over Key West, Florida
Damaged homes sit in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma on Tuesday in Key West, Florida
Roofs in a mobile home park are damaged from Hurricane Irma on Tuesday in Key West, Florida
Water from the nearby Peace River floods the Peace River Campground in the wake of Hurricane Irma on September 12 in Arcadia, Florida
Dirty water surrounds clean water in the Gulf of Mexico in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma near Fort Myers, Florida on Tuesday
Debris from Hurricane Irma is pushed up against a sea wall in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma on Tuesday in Key West, Florida
A weather station has some roof damage in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma on Tuesday in Key West, Florida
Debris is washed against a sea wall in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma on Tuesday in Key West, Florida
Tybee Island City Manager Shawn Gillen said waters were receding quickly, but many of the 3,000 residents' homes were flooded.
'I don't think people who have lived here a long time have ever seen flooding this bad,' Gillen said.
The tidal surge sent damaged boats rushing more than three blocks onto downtown streets in St. Marys, just north of the Georgia-Florida state line, St. Marys Police Lt. Shannon Brock said.
Downtown Atlanta hotels remained full of evacuees. Many milled about the CNN Center, escaping crowded hotel rooms in search of open restaurants. Many were glued to storm coverage on the atrium's big screen. Parents pointed out familiar sites, now damaged, to their children.
'We've been here since Friday night, and we're ready to go home' to Palm Beach County, Florida, Marilyn Torrence said as her 4-year-old colored.
A man is in hospital under police guard after a group of people he is accused of racially abusing set about defending themselves physically.
Jaw-dropping footage of a violent fight in Perth on Tuesday shows a white man being beaten with sticks in what appears to be a race-fueled attack.
It is believed an elderly man and two women were also injured during the fight, which witnesses told Ten Eyewitness News was started by the lone man - though this has not been confirmed.
'He got hit because they were trying to defend themselves against a boy,' the unnamed witness said at the scene in Wellington Park.
'I don't know who he is, he's a white man, he called us a n**** - that's wrong.'
Footage shows a group of four lay into the man, three armed with large sticks.
They hit him to the ground, where he was kicked, hit, and repeatedly bashed with the sticks, causing his head to bleed.
Another group of people came to help the injured man, who was lying on the ground and the first group walked away.
But before long, the first man was done resting and had attempted to get up. Video shows him stand up, try to rip his shirt off and fall back to the ground.
A man was viciously beaten by a group of four in Wellington Square in Perth on Tuesday
Footage showed him being hit, kicked, and bashed with large sticks causing his head to bleed. Witnesses say the man had earlier physically assaulted the group and it is believed he was drug-affected
The man then gets up a second time and stumbles back to the group who hit him, appearing to be looking to continue the fight.
Police arrive, and the man is seen trying to resist arrest before he is tasered to the ground.
No charges have been laid over the fight, and it is not clear who instigated the violence.
The witness says the violence had begun before Channel 10 began filming, and that an elderly man was attacked.
'What if that old man he pushed over... what if he killed him there on the spot?' they said.
'He's got a heart problem.'
The man seen being beaten in the footage, who is believed to have been under the influence of drugs, is currently in hospital under police guard.
When police arrived, the man resisted arrest and had to be tasered by officers (pictured)
A spokesman for WA Police told Daily Mail Australia police were called to 'an altercation between several people' at about 2.25pm.
'A man was assaulted by other men, one using a wooden stick to hit the man,' the spokesman said.
'When Police arrived to assist the injured man, it is alleged he became aggressive towards officers and damaged a police vehicle.
'Police deployed a Taser and the man was detained.
'The man, believed to be in his 40s was taken to Royal Perth Hospital by SJA for treatment and observation.
'He is currently assisting police in the investigation, along with other people involved.'
An Indiana police officer was suspended for five days after body camera footage showed him punching a handcuffed man in the groin.
Sergeant Rob Hahn, of Evansville, was suspended without pay for 'using excessive force' in the video from August 6.
The suspended officer - who is a former assistant chief - is seen pushing the suspect's head against the wall, throwing him on a bed, the punching the man in the groin as he walks by.
Body cam footage shows Sergeant Rob Hahn and four other officers raiding a motel room in Evansville, Indiana
Evansville Police Department spokesman Sergeant Cullum said that Officer Hahn, 'did a couple of things that violated (the department's) use-of-force policy'.
The incident happened when Hahn and three other officers raided a room at the Arrowhead Motel to arrest a man with an out-of-county felony warrant.
When the suspect didn't open the door, the officers went inside the room and found the man standing in the bathroom.
That's when Hahn handcuffed the man, shoved him, and threw the suspect on the bed, though he didn't resist arrest.
Hahn is seen walking by and hitting the man in the groin as he lay on the bed.
Officer Hahn is seen handcuffing the suspect and shoving his head. He then throws the suspect on the bed, though he didn't resist arrest
Hahn punches the handcuffed suspect in the groin as he lays on the bed
The officer was suspended for five days without pay and is now back to work
The suspect is heard asking why he was punched in the genitals as Hahn denied doing such.
He reported hitting the suspect to his supervising lieutenant the day it happened, Cullum said.
'Obviously, he's a supervisor, he's expected to set an example for the folks that work for him,' Cullum said. 'He recognized that day that he did not set the example we expect our supervisors to set.'
None of the three patrol officers who were on the scene and witnessed the violation are under investigation at this time.
Lawsuit Challenging Bond System Gets Its First Day In Court
By aaroncynic in News on Sep 12, 2017 7:22PM
Members of the Coalition to End Money Bond during a press conference ahead of the first hearing of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of cash bond. Photo via the Chicago Bond Fund.
Arguments were heard Monday in the first major hearing for a lawsuit challenging the Constitutionality of Cook Countys bail system.
The class action suit was filed in October 2016, in the Circuit Court of Cook Countys Chancery Division by two plaintiffs seeking to represent everyone locked up in Cook County Jail who have been found eligible for release, but are unable to post bond.
I was supposed to be presumed innocent under the law, but just because I did not have $3,000, I was forced to spend nearly three months in Cook County Jail, said Devoureaux Wolf of the Chicago Community Bond Fund, an organization thats worked to raise money and post bond for dozens of incarcerated people who otherwise couldnt afford it.
It was a horrible experience, Cook County Jail is an environment not fit for people, Wolf said in a statement emailed to Chicagoist. I lost the ability to support myself and to be there for my child. More than a year after I got out, I am still recovering financially. How much money you have should never determine whether you have to sit in a cage.
According to the Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice, who along with the Community Bond Fund and more than a dozen other community groups formed the Coalition to End Money Bond, Cook County Jail houses some 4,000 legally innocent peoplethose who have been accused of but not yet given a verdict on a crimefor lacking the money to post bond.
Bail decisions can actually change the outcomes of someones legal case, and that means that people should be given more than a few mere seconds to make the case about what should happen to them, Sharlyn Gracee, a senior criminal justice Policy analyst at Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice, said in a press conference before the hearing. In felony cases that the County regularly takes more than a year to resolve, were talking about significant amounts of time that people are spending incarcerated pretrial based on very little amounts of consideration.
Yesterday, the historic lawsuit to #EndMoneyBond had it's first major court date. Learn More: https://t.co/eOviFH8Eyb pic.twitter.com/mgL6MDHFiP Chicago Bond Fund (@ChiBondFund) September 12, 2017
The Chicago Tribune reports the lawsuit against five Cook County judges is on behalf of Zachary Robinson and Michael Lewis, two men who sat in jail for nearly a year because they couldnt post the funds to be released.
"These are the poorest of the poor in our society," Matthew Piers, one of the plaintiffs' attorneys, said in court Monday, according to the Tribune. "Bail can't be unaffordable. In plain English, it's the same as if no bail had been set at all."
According to the coalition, the lawsuit seeks to declare the practices currently used by judges to set monetary bond are unlawful. Lawyers representing the judges argued changes in bail procedures and state law rendered the lawsuit moot, and that Robinson and Lewis filed their suit in the wrong court.
In July, Chief Judge Timothy Evans ordered bond-court judges to set bail amounts no higher than what a defendants "who pose no danger" can afford. Lawyers for the defendants argued that an order from the Chancery Division would be redundant of Evans order. Lawyers for the plaintiffs argue that theyre not asking to alter bail amounts, but that suspects ability to pay must be taken into account. The Coalition says that if the suit proceeds ultimately theyll argue that bond setting practices violate the state and federal constitutions and the Illinois Civil Rights Act.
Pretrial detention is fundamentally coercive, said Grace. As long as access to money remains a factor in whether or not someone is incarcerated or released pending trial, our criminal justice system is essentially punishing people for being poor. Furthermore, the enormous harms of our money bond system fall disproportionately on African American communities, who are the least likely to be able to pay monetary bonds.
According to the Tribune, Judge Celia Gamrath took the case under advisement and plans to rule later as to whether or not the suit will go to trial.
A desperate mother is appealing to have her dead son's semen destroyed in a bid to stop his former girlfriend from having his baby.
Tony Deane, 34, died of suspected suicide in Queensland in April 2016 six months after he met girlfriend Leith Patterson, then 43, on the internet and moved from New Zealand to Toowoomba, Queensland, to be with her.
One day after the 34-year-old died, Ms Patterson successfully applied to the Supreme Court to have his sperm removed so she could try for a child through IVF.
Tony Deane, 34, died of suspected suicide in Queensland in April 2016 six months after he met girlfriend Leith Patterson, then 43, on the internet and moved to Toowoomba, Queensland, to be with her (pictured together)
Mr Deane's parents launched a renewed plea this month to have their son's semen destroyed because 'Tony would not have wanted a child brought into this world if he could not be there to raise it'.
His mother Gaye Deane set up a Givealittle fundraising page this month 'to help fight the case in court'.
'It's our family's belief Tony's testes were removed because of an unfair ruling, unjustly and without consideration for his wishes,' Ms Deane said.
She said the family would fight any action that would see her son's sperm be used to impregnate Ms Patterson.
'For closure for us we want it destroyed, it's probably the only way we will get closure,' she said.
Parents of Tony Deane (centre, mum Gaye left, dad right) are devastated a court ruled his fiancee could have his testes removed after he died so she could have his child
Ms Patteson successfully applied to the Supreme Court to have his sperm removed from his testes, but a lawyer for Mr Deane's (pictured with relative) parents said they will oppose the decision
Mr Deane's New Zealand family flew his body back home to Waikato on the upper North Island, in May last year and said they were given an ultimatum at the time.
Ms Deane said the family did not contest the decision to remove his testes in exchange for his body to be released back home to New Zealand.
Patterson's Australian lawyer David Riwoe said 'I have been instructed that if consent for the removal of sperm is given (for the sole purpose of our client's IVF treatment) our client will not oppose any request to return Tony's body to New Zealand'.
The family felt it had no choice but to agree.
Mr Deane's devastated parents did not know Ms Patterson became their son's next-of-kin within just six months of meeting him.
Ms Deane said the family did not contest the decision to remove Tony's (pictured) testes in exchange for his body to be released and taken home to New Zealand
The family was also in the dark about the serious nature of the pair's relationship.
Within just six months of meeting, the pair reportedly became engaged and started trying for a child.
While Ms Patterson successfully applied to have her late fiance's testes removed and stored, she will need to apply again to use the semen.
Her lawyer told Stuff she 'may file the next application within the next twelve months'.
President Donald Trump will visit China in November, his former chief White House strategist revealed to DailyMail.com on Tuesday.
The White House has confirmed that Trump will visit Vietnam and the Philippines for a trio of economic summits.
But a stop in China has so far not been part of any official administration plans.
Bannon told DailyMail.com in Hong Kong that the president will pursue a mission of negotiating a new trade relationship with President Xi Jinping.
'There's too much at stake to slip into a trade war right off the bat,' Bannon said in an interview coinciding with a speech at an investor forum.
'I think it has to be engagement [between] the United States and China. I think the November meeting with the president is going to really be that, and I think good things will come out of it,' he said.
Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon said Tuesday that President Donald Trump will visit with President Xi Jinping in China during his travel swing through the Far East
Trump and Xi last met at the G20 summit in Germany on July 8
'I think we'll avoid a trade war,' Bannon predicted, 'simply for the fact that the president has shown that he's prepared to do whatever it takes to protect American jobs, and to bring back manufacturing jobs.'
'So, you know, you have a very aggressive president. But I think they'll reach some sort of accommodation.'
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told DailyMail.com on Tuesday that the administration is 'finalizing details and will have an announcement on Nov[ember] trip soon.'
Bannon's speech on Tuesday was closed to the media, but an investor who was present told DailyMail.com that the former West Wing aide announced to hundreds of attendees that Trump intends to take his diplomacy tour straight to Beijing.
Bannon himself told DailyMail.com that a major sticking point will be the result of an ongoing U.S. probe into China's alleged rampant theft of intellectual property.
The 'Section 301' investigation, undertaken in August by the U.S. Trade Representative under an obscure portion of a 1974 trade law, could result in new tariffs on Chinese products.
Bannon conceded on Tuesday that it's impossible to know how much that could impact the prices U.S. consumers pay for Chinese-made goods.
Bannon, who left the White House last month, gave his first post-West-Wing speech Turesday in Hong Kong but the event's organizers refused to let reporters attend
'They're basically taking forcing the heart of American capitalism, which is innovation in Silicon Valley,' Bannon complained, claiming that if Americans want to enter Chinese markets, they 'basically have to give up your intellectual property.'
'This is a big deal for the president. No other administration has ever done it, on intellectual property,' he said.
Asked to forecast the potential consequences, Bannon paused and said: 'I don't know.'
'It may that's all to be determined. You know, might there be some price increases in some stuff? Yeah, maybe.'
'But if you don't solve this problem, you're not going to have the American innovation culture that you have. It's the heart this is not a side issue. ... This is the dilemma that no administration has wanted to face.'
Trump's schedule calls for stops in Vietnam and the Philippines, but the White House hasn't said anything official about a Beijing detour
Trump could bring bad news to Xi in November if the U.S. Trade Representative's investigation into intellectual property theft is complete by Novemer
Bannon spoke to the CLSA Investors' Forum using PowerPoint slides, according to two attendees.
One provided notes showing the content of Bannon's slides about Asia, which Bannon confirmed after his speech.
'Forced technology transfer will be the central issue that must be resolved,' read one slide.
'To avoid a trade war, China must cease its economic war against America.'
A second slide pointed to the Trump administration's 'rejection' of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trading bloc as an example of a 'new American focus on "reciprocity".'
From there, Bannon's Powerpoint forecasts how the White House will focus on reciprocal trade deals to impact NAFTA, the '301 investigation' which he claims has cost the U.S. '$3.5 trillion in the last 10 years' and the United StatesKorea Free Trade Agreement, which he describes as a question of 'terminate or renegotiate.'
The mother of the 19-year-old girl found dead in a hotel freezer early Sunday morning insists foul play was involved and that authorities did not act fast enough to save her child.
Kenneka Jenkins' remains were found inside an industrial walk-in freezer at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Rosemont, a suburb of Chicago, around midnight on Sunday and more than 24 hours after she left home Friday night.
She left her house to head to a party with friends at around 11.30pm on Friday and was officially reported missing at 1.16pm Saturday.
Rosemont police say hotel staff discovered Jenkins inside the walk-in freezer by hotel staff, which was running and cold but not being used to store food.
'To me, I feel like they helped kill my child: the police department and this hotel,' Jenkins' mother Teresa Martin told CBS Chicago.
SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO
Kenneka Jenkins' remains were found inside an industrial walk-in freezer at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Rosemont, a suburb of Chicago, around midnight on Sunday and more than 24 hours after she left home Friday night
Theresa Martin (top right), the 19-year-old's mother, insists foul play was involved and that authorities did not act fast enough to save her child
Martin explained that she believes neither the hotel's staff nor police officers took her pleas for help seriously when she realized her daughter had gone missing.
Jenkins was last seen at a party at the hotel early Saturday and she was reported missing later that afternoon. A text message was sent from her phone at 1.30am Saturday.
Her friends called her family at 4.30am when they could not find her.
Martin said she went to the police to attempt to file a police report, but that she was discouraged from doing so and instead told to wait it out.
The devastated mother also complained that police wouldn't let her see her daughter's body.
'Why can't I see my daughter? Why can't I see how she died?' she said to reporters before bursting into tears.
Though it is not clear if foul play was involved, Martin said that she believes someone killed her daughter.
Rosemont police haven't released many details, and it's unclear who found the teenager's body or whether there were any signs of trauma.
Martin, pictured right and far left with Jenkins, explained that she believes neither the hotel's staff nor police officers did enough to address her pleas for help after she realized her daughter had gone missing
Though it is not clear if foul play was involved, Martin (pictured right hugging another family member) said that she believes someone killed her daughter
Jenkins' family, pictured mourning their loss, has also lashed out at the hotel staff for not looking at the surveillance footage earlier. They said the staff members said they had to have a missing persons report to look at the tapes
The young woman was last seen on the hotel's ninth floor, according to witnesses.
Her mother said Jenkins' friends told her they last saw the teen when they briefly left her alone so they could go back into the hotel room to get her car keys and cell phone.
However, in an interview on Sunday, Martin said she's not sure what to believe because the friends' accounts keep changing.
She also lashed out at the police officers and hotel staff, accusing them of waiting too long to look at surveillance footage.
Martin told the Chicago Tribune that the hotel staff said they had to have a missing persons report to look at the footage.
And the police, she said, told the distraught mother to wait for hours before filing a missing persons report.
She believes that had the report been filed sooner, they could have found the girl before she died.
Her mother said Jenkins' (pictured) friends told her they last saw her after leaving her alone for a moment so they could go back into the hotel room and get her car keys and cellphone
Initially Martin claims that police told her Jenkins was so drunk that she let herself into the freezer, because 'freak accidents like that do occur.'
But she questions that reasoning - saying that if her daughter were really that intoxicated she wouldn't have had the strength and coordination to open the heavy freezer door.
'The freezer door is heavy. I worked in a cafeteria before,' her sister Leonore Harris told CBS Chicago.
'It's no way if she's drunk, and they're saying she's stumbling, so she don't have no strength. That's my baby sister. How can I live knowing I'll never see her again?'
An autopsy was performed Sunday but came back inconclusive, officials have said. It will likely be several weeks before toxicology results are available, the Tribune reported.
Jenkins' distraught sister Leonore Harris, pictured, told CBS Chicago 'That's my baby sister. How can I live knowing I'll never see her again?'
The Crowne Plaza Chicago O'Hare Hotel and Conference Center (pictured) said in a statement to ABC7 Chicago : 'The Crowne Plaza Chicago O'Hare Hotel and Conference Center holds the safety, security and well-being of our guests and employees as our top priority and concern'
Detective Joe Balogh, a spokesperson for the department, told the Washington Post that officers are interviewing anyone who was with Jenkins at the hotel that night.
They are also reviewing all of the hotel's surveillance footage and looking at social media posts that have circulated since her death.
In one Facebook Live video from that night Jenkins can be seen listening to loud music inside a hotel room with a group of friends.
Authorities believe the video is a key piece of evidence, and told the Tribune that they have positively identified most of the people seen in it.
The footage has also led police to believe that the death wasn't an accident and that the video could have been circulated in a potential setup.
A police spokesperson told the Denver Post that police were following procedures at the crime scene, and that he could not comment any further.
The Crowne Plaza Chicago O'Hare Hotel and Conference Center said in a statement to ABC7 Chicago: 'The Crowne Plaza Chicago O'Hare Hotel and Conference Center holds the safety, security and well-being of our guests and employees as our top priority and concern.
'We are saddened by this news, and our thoughts are with the young woman and her family during this difficult time. The hotel staff will continue to cooperate fully with local authorities. All further questions should be directed to the Rosemont Police Department.'
A group of tourists in China were left hanging on a suspension bridge after the structure suddenly collapsed.
The tourists had allegedly ignored the warning not to walk on the bridge, which is not open to the public.
According to reports on Chinese media, 15 people were injured as a result of the incident with one of them being seriously injured.
The incident occurred on September 7 at the Zigui County in Hubei Province, central China, reported The Paper.
The travellers were said to be carrying out outdoor activities at the Huaishuping Village of Jiuwanxi Town.
The bridge that collapsed was reportedly closed to the public and a 'no entry' warning sign was placed at the entrance of the bridge, which the group ignored.
According to a video of the accident posted by People's Daily on its YouTube account, the bridge appeared to be made of wooden planks and ropes.
It collapsed on one side, leaving around seven people clinging on to the broken structure.
Dangerous: A group of tourists ignored a 'no entry' warning and walked on a dangerous bridge in China's Hubei Province. However, the bridge collapsed as they stood on the structure
Clinging on for life: They had to hold tightly to the broken bridge in order not to fall into the river. 15 people were injured after rescuers called by the eyewitnesses sent them to hospitals
A number of people could be seen trying to stay afloat in a river underneath. They had allegedly been thrown into the water as the bridge fell apart.
The bridge had been built by the Zhifang Hydroelectric Power Station and is used by employees of the power station, according to Hubei Daily.
The report also said eyewitnesses immediately contacted the police and paramedics. Wounded tourists were taken to the county's People's Hospital and Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital.
A total of 15 were confirmed to be injured. One of them was severely injured, but the person's condition has been described as 'non-life-threatening'.
The incident is being investigated by a special team set up by the local government.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie slapped back at Steve Bannon, telling PBS NewsHour's Judy Woodruff that a conversation the former White House chief strategist mentioned in his controversial 60 Minutes interview didn't even happen.
'This, I suspect, is his last 15 minutes of fame,' Christie huffed. 'And that's fine. I hope he enjoys it.'
Bannon told 60 Minutes' Charlie Rose that Christie didn't get a cabinet position because he wasn't on President Trump's side in the aftermath of the release of the Access Hollywood video, which looked like it could doom the Republican businessman's presidential campaign.
Scroll down for video
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie spoke with PBS NewsHour's Judy Woodruff Monday night about comments Steve Bannon made about him in a new 60 Minutes interview
60 Minutes' Charlie Rose (left) interviewed Steve Bannon (right) who said Gov. Chris Christie wasn't given a cabinet post because of how he acted in the aftermath of the release of the Access Hollywood tape
'Billy Bush Saturday, to me, is a litmus test. It is a litmus test,' Bannon said, referencing the news personality who Trump was conversing with when he made his infamous 'grab them by the p***y' remark. 'When you side with him, you have to side with him. And that's what Billy Bush weekend showed me.'
Rose then commented, 'You took names on Billy Bush Sunday, didn't you?'
Bannon said yes.
'I'm Irish. I got to get my black book and I got them,' Bannon said.
'Christie, because of Billy Bush weekend, wasn't looked at for a cabinet position,' Bannon continued. 'I told him, the plane leaves at 11 in the morning, if you're on the plane, you're on the team.'
'Didn't make the plane,' Bannon added.
When talking to Woodruff, Christie said this was nonsense.
'First is that that conversation that Mr. Bannon references in his interview never happened,' Christie said. 'Never had any conversations with him.'
Christie had, however, publicly voiced his displeasure with Trump's lewd comments.
In a dig to where Bannon was situated on the Trump totem poll, the New Jersey governor added, 'I didn't need to convey those kinds of feelings to staffers.'
'I was speaking to the principal, to the man who's now president of the United States,' Christie stated, noting in the interview that the two men had been friends for 15 years and 'speak the truth to each other.'
The New Jersey governor also pointed out that he was at Trump's side through 'Billy Bush weekend,' working with the candidate on debate prep on Friday, when the news broke, and on Saturday too.
'And, by the way, if I was off the team, then why did I lead debate prep for the third debate?' Christie mused.
He also told Woodruff he had been offered a cabinet position, which he turned down.
'So I suspect this little black book that Mr. Bannon is talking about, the only one who read that black book was Mr. Bannon himself,' Christie said. 'I know that no one else cared about it.
'And now that he's been fired, no one is going to really care about anything else Steve Bannon has to say,' Christie added as an additional burn.
A man shot his ex-wife dead before turning the gun on himself, in front of their nine-year-old son, police said,
Brian Kesner, 38, called the cops himself after shooting 28-year-old Krista R. Copeland outside a library in Fort Worth, Texas, on Sunday morning.
He then shot himself in the head and police found his body in the parking lot of Southwest Regional Branch Library at just after 10.30am, the Star Telegram reports.
Krista R. Copeland (pictured) was shot dead outside a library in Fort Worth, Texas, on Sunday morning
Copeland, a mother-of-two, was rushed to hospital where she died from gunshot wounds to her head a short time later.
Their son was not harmed.
The former couple had married in Tarrant County in March 2012 but appear to have separated in recent years. Copeland was in a relationship with a new partner when her ex shot her to death.
Police say she had agreed to meet Kesner, at the public private lot to allow him to visit his son.
Witnesses outside a nearby synagogue told police they had heard the couple yelling and arguing moments before Kesner pulled out his gun and shot her while she sat in the driver's seat of her car.
Copeland, a mother-of-two, pictured with her new partner Eric Burgess, and her two boys, was rushed to hospital where she died from gunshot wounds to her head a short time later
Copeland's ex-husband Brian Kesner, 38, called the cops himself after shooting her (Copeland pictured with her two sons)
Her boyfriend Eric Burgess (left, with her) shared a touching photo of him and Copeland, revealing he was 'broken' by the news of her death
Their son was not in his mother's vehicle at the time. Copeland's other son was not with her.
Witnesses say Kesner got back in his own truck, drove a short distance, before stopping and shooting himself dead.
Friends and family of Copeland, originally from West Monroe, Louisiana, have paid tribute to the mom-of-two.
Her boyfriend Eric Burgess shared a touching photo of him and Copeland, revealing he was 'broken' by the news of her death.
Some described Copeland as a 'warrior' and great friend who stood by others during their darkest hours.
Others were furious her life had been snatched away.
Police say she had agreed to meet Kesner, at the public private lot of Southwest Regional Branch Library (pictured) to allow him to visit his son
Blair Barbo wrote: 'I'm so sorry that your life was taken. I'm so sorry that your children have no mommy because of an a**hole who I pray burns in hell for taking your life.
'You will always be remembered. You will always be loved. And you will always live in our hearts. Rest in peace Krista Copeland. I know God's just loving on you right now.'
Copeland's aunt Linda added that her niece had been 'suddenly taken out of this world and away from our family... by a senseless and cruel act by the hand of an ex' as she asked for prayers for the grieving family.
A GoFundMe account, which aims to raise $10,000 for Copeland's two little boys, who will be raised by her mother Dee, has already raised more than $4,000.
A baby tiger that was found when a teenager tried to smuggle it across the border from Mexico got a new playmate Monday: a nine-week-old endangered Sumatran tiger that was rejected by his mother.
The two cubs were introduced at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park on Monday.
The Sumatran cub was flown in with his keepers from the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., because his mother displayed aggressive behavior toward him.
The other cub, a Bengal who is about seven weeks old, was found during a vehicle inspection at the Mexico-California border on August 23.
The friendship is cute enough to be a Disney movie.
An adorable video shows two tiger cubs meeting for the first time at the San Diego Zoo
One of the cubs is a nine-week-old Sumatran and the other is a seven-week-old Bengal
They were fast friends when the zoo introduced them on Monday
The adorable video shows them wrestling playfully like they're siblings
If all goes well, guests to the Safari Park will be able to see the cubs together through the nursery window from 9am to 5pm Tuesday
Zoo officials initially planned to wait a few days to introduce the two cubs, but because the Sumatran cub showed no signs of stress after his trip from D.C. so the pair were introduced on Monday afternoon.
For the first half hour they were only allowed to see each other. Then they were allowed to get in physical contact.
'Instantly they bonded. You can see them playing, getting along well. It's the best thing for both of them to be together,' Andy Blue, associate curator of mammals at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, told KTLA.
An adorable video shows them wrestling and licking each other.
They're on the same bottle-feeding schedule and are both beginning to eat meat.
If all goes well, guests to the Safari Park will be able to see the cubs together through the nursery window from 9am to 5pm Tuesday.
One of the tigers is shown giving the other a smooch during their first meeting
Both tigers are currently being bottle red but will be switched to meat soon
The Sumatran cub is pictured at the Smithsonian National Zoo in D.C. where he was born
One of the tigers is pictured getting his first taste of meat with a splash of milk
The Sumatran tiger was born at the National Zoo on July 11. His mother Damai began to display aggressive behavior toward him so they had to be separated.
Two months later the zoos decided that the the cub should be transferred to San Diego where it could grow up with the Bengal cub.
'We knew we had one, similar age. We knew if the two were together, they'd do much better being raised together,' Blue said.
The cub slept most of the way across the country to San Diego on a commercial flight.
The Sumatran cub was born in July in Washington D.C.
The adorable cub is pictured enjoying nature at the Smithsonian National Zoo
He was separated from his mother because she displayed aggressive behavior toward him
The Bengal cub was discovered on the floor of the 2017 Chevy Camaro on the passenger side during a routine inspection at the Otay Mesa border crossing, southeast of San Diego, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Luis Eudoro Valencia, 18, a U.S. citizen from Perris, California, was charged on August 17 with unlawful importation and smuggling, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Valencia told the court that he purchased the tiger for $300 from someone he met in the Mexican border city of Tijuana who was walking a full-sized tiger on a leash.
A Vietnamese billionaire who came to the US as a refugee has donated $5million to the victims of hurricane Harvey.
Kieu Hoang, 73, who lives in California, said the gift was his way to 'pay back' to America after he was able to flee the Vietnam war by settling here in 1975.
His money will be used to transition some of Harvey's most vulnerable victims - the elderly, poor and those with special needs - from temporary shelters into permanent housing, Houston mayor Sylvester Turner said.
Kieu Hoang, 73, who came to the US as a refugee in 1975 at the end of the Vietnam War, has donated $5million to help the victims of hurricane Harvey
Houston mayor Sylvester Turner said the money will be used to help the elderly, poor and those with special needs out of temporary shelter and into permanent accommodation
At a press conference on Monday, Hoang said: 'I am here to thank the American people who allowed me to come to this country as a refugee in early 1975 at the age of 31.
'I am here to pay back, contribute and show my gratitude to this great country.'
Speaking to the Houston Chronicle, he added: 'Dr. Martin Luther King said 'I have a dream. "Thanks to the American people's help, I have realized some small dreams.
'A dream to have immigration laws so that a lot of people do not live in constant fear of being deported. A dream to allow immigrants like me to come into this great America to make it greater, and the greatest.
'Did you realize a lot of Houstonians dared not to check into shelter centers for help, as they are scared to be discovered and deported? God help America (to) help them. For Houston, who will help rebuild the city?'
Harvey destroyed and estimated 200,000 homes and displaced 1million, with some estimating that the total damage bill could run to $180billion
Hoang is one of the single largest solo donors to the Harvey cleanup effort. Les Alexander, the outgoing owner of the Houston Rockets, has pledged $10million
Hoang's first job after coming to the US paid just $1.25 per hour, but he now owns the Rare Antibody Antigen Supply company, which is worth $14billion.
He has a personal worth of around $3billion, according to Forbes.
Harvey killed an estimated 50 people, destroyed approximately 200,000 homes over a 13-mile stretch of land and displaced more than 1million.
The governor of Texas has warned that the total bill to clean up the devastation could be as high as $180billion.
Hoang's donation makes him one of the largest single donors to the Harvey relief effort so far, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Les Alexander, the outgoing owner of the Houston Rockets, has pledged $10 million, H-E-B chairman and CEO Charles Butt pledged $5million, while President Trump has promised a $1million donation from his personal wealth.
This is not the first time that Hoang has been generous with his money. Back in March he donated another $5million to victims of flooding in San Jose.
Advertisement
Drone footage from the French Caribbean territory of Saint Martin shows the devastation that Hurricane Irma wreaked on the island over the weekend.
The video released by the French Interior Ministry shows roofs blown off of houses, debris covering the ground and flattened structures in the neighborhood of Grand Case.
France's President Emmanuel Macron says the government's 'top priority' is to help people return to normal life.
Video released by the French Interior Ministry shows roofs blown off of houses, debris covering the ground and dilapidated structures in the neighborhood of Grand Case in St Martin
The French overseas territory was destroyed by Hurricane Irma over the weekend, as hit the Caribbean as a Category Five storm before heading up the coast of Florida
France's President Emmanuel Macron says the government's 'top priority' is to help people on St Martin and neighboring St Barts return to normal life.
He said about 1,900 police and troops are now on the ground to ensure security on the island shared by French St Martin and Dutch St Maarten.
Macron said in a news conference in Guadeloupe on Tuesday that a major air bridge is bringing emergency aid and rescuers to the island of St Martin and St Barts.
The French Interior Ministry has said Irma killed at least 10 people on the islands of Saint Martin (pictured) and Saint Barthelemy
Macron said power has been restored in about 50 per cent of homes in St Martin.
He also said he hoped some schools will be able to open as soon as next week. All of the island's schools have been damaged or destroyed.
The French Interior Ministry has said Irma killed at least 11 people on the islands of Saint Martin and Saint Barthelemy.
Irma killed four people and injured dozens on St Maarten, the Dutch side of the island shared with St Martin.
Dutch King Willem-Alexander, who arrived on Monday, said the scenes of devastation he witnessed on St. Maarten in the hurricane's aftermath were the worst he had ever seen.
In images broadcast by Dutch national network NOS, Willem-Alexander said: 'I've never experienced anything like this before and I've seen a lot of natural disasters in my life. I've seen a lot of war zones in my life, but I've never seen anything like this.'
Nearly a third of all buildings on the Dutch half of the Caribbean island were destroyed and more than 90 per cent damaged by Hurricane Irma, the Dutch Red Cross said on Tuesday.
The aid agency had surveyed 5,500 structures before the storm and made an assessment based on photographs provided by the Defence Ministry in the Netherlands.
Caretaker Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte had said on Sunday an estimated 70 per cent of buildings were damaged or destroyed.
'The damage on St. Martin is greater than previously thought,' the Red Cross said in a statement. 'In addition to distributing food and water, the Red Cross is going to ramp up emergency shelter.'
Macron said in a news conference in Guadeloupe on Tuesday that a major air bridge is bringing emergency aid and rescuers to the island of St Martin and St Barts
Macron also said he hoped some schools will be able to open as soon as next week. All of the island's schools have been damaged or destroyed
Extra search and rescue experts were also heading to the Dutch territory, where the Red Cross said 200 people were registered as missing.
A flight with tarpaulins, tents, soap and other supplies would leave on Wednesday, after more than 3 million euros ($3.6 million) was donated in the Netherlands.
Willem-Alexander said he was encouraged to see residents already working together to rebuild the shattered capital, Philipsburg.
He was scheduled to fly Tuesday to the nearby Dutch islands of Saba and St. Eustatius, which also were hit by Irma, but suffered less damage than St. Maarten.
Hundreds of tourists are still trying to leave the island, with dozens lining up outside the Princess Juliana Airport, where only five large letters of its name remains.
At least 35 people have been killed by Irma in the Caribbean, ten of which were in Cuba. That is Cuba's worst hurricane death toll since 16 died in Hurricane Dennis in 2005.
Violence broke out during the first major street protest against Emmanuel Macron's presidency today as the head of state was accused of trying to turn 'France into Britain'.
A so-called 'Black Tuesday' saw militant trade unions leading demonstrations against British and American-style liberal reforms aimed at reducing unemployment.
They have infuriated agitators, some of whom today fought running battles with riot police close to Bastille square, in Paris, using Molotov cocktails.
'Anarchists wearing black masks have infiltrated the protests, and vandalised nearby property before attacking police', said a trade union demonstrator in the French capital.
Scroll down for video
Riot police secure a street during the anti-labour reform. A trade union demonstrator said: 'Anarchists wearing black masks have infiltrated the protests, and vandalised nearby property before attacking police'
Demonstrators marching during the protest.
Dozens of demonstrators wearing black and covering their face threw missiles at authorities during the protests. Demonstrators wore black masks as protesters throw Molotov cocktails at police
Riot policemen stand with shields and batons during the protest today
'Firebombs have been thrown. Officers have been forced to respond with tear gas and other measures to quell the trouble.'
Strikes and marches were organised in all major cities, while Mr Macron himself left the country to visit French Caribbean islands hit by Hurricane Irma.
Former presidential candidate and leading Left wing MP Jean-Luc Melenchon joined a protest in Marseille, on the Mediterranean coast, and said Mr Macron would be 'forced to give ground'.
Mr Melenchon added: 'This country doesn't want to be part of the liberal world, France isn't Britain.'
Earlier, Mr Macron had lashed out at the 'lazy, cynical and extremists' who opposed his plans to overhaul the country's complicated labour laws.
Mr Macron had lashed out at the 'lazy, cynical and extremists' who opposed his plans to overhaul the country's complicated labour laws
One naked protester sings at the protests. Macron is one of a number of French presidents who have tried to loosen the country's inflexible business laws
Workers demonstrate against government labor law, in the Old-Port, in Marseille, southern France
The 39-year-old sees a revamp as being essential to cut down on a jobless rate of 9.5 per cent almost twice Britain's.
Mr Macron wants to make it easier to hire and fire, and to cut down on trade union collective bargaining in favour of local discussions between bosses and employees.
The President said: 'France is not a country which is open to reforms' and that 'a profound transformation' was necessary.
Previous heads of state, including the Socialist Francois Hollande and the conservative Nicolas Sarkozy, have tried and failed to reform the system.
This has normally been because of street campaigns that invariably turned into riots across the country, and withdrawals of labour.
Protests against Macron's presidency took place in most major cities across France. Demonstrators in Marseilles took to the streets in force (pictured)
Former French presidential candidate and left-wing MP Jean-Luc Melenchon said 'This country doesn't want to be part of the liberal world, France isn't Britain'
Today some 4000 strikes were called by the CGT (General Confederation of Labour) France's largest trade union.
As thousands of CRS riot police lined the routes of marches, and water cannons stood ready, CGT chief Philippe Martinez accused Mr Macron of throwing oil on the fire of widespread industrial strife.
'His words have been scandalous,' said Mr Martinez, who welcomed the decision by everyone from transport workers to students to protest.
'This is not a labour law, but a law that gives full powers to employers,' said Mr Martinez.
A demonstrator holds up a placard of Macron at one of the many rallies held across France on Tuesday
Members of the national federation of dockers union take part in a protest called by several French unions against the labour law reform at the harbour of Le Havre
Demonstrations also included truckers using their lorries to close major traffic junctions, including the Arc de Triomphe roundabout in Paris.
Mr Macron swept to power in May after roundly defeating both the conservative Republicans and Socialists, as well as the far-Right National Front.
He has pledged that his centrist En Marche! (On the Move!) party will transcend traditional Left-Right politics for the good of the country.
But recent opinion polls have shown a marked drop in the popularity of the former Rothschild banker.
Only around 40 per cent of French voters are said to be 'satisfied' with the new president, with many particularly unhappy with his communication skills.
Man Accused Of Launching Racist Rant At Loop Starbucks Charged With Hate Crimes
By Stephen Gossett in News on Sep 12, 2017 6:30PM
Boucher, via Facebook
The Chicago man who hurled racist comments inside a Loop Starbucks, and punched a 59-year-old black man outside the coffee shop, has been charged with felony hate crimes over the incident.
William Boucher had initially been charged with three counts of misdemeanor battery; but he now faces charges of felony hate crime and felony aggravated battery in a public place.
The incident, which happened in June, was captured on video by an ABC7 photographer. A man identified as Boucher is seen shouting "Shut up slave! Do not talk to me!" at a black man and other patrons in the Starbucks, near State and Lake. The man got lived after someone spilled coffee on him, police said.
"Your children are disposable vermin," Boucher also shouts in the video. "Get on all fours right now! Get on all fours!" He also allegedly spit on a 30-year-old black man and a 34-year-old black woman.
Later in the video Boucher is seen punching a 59-year-old black man outside the Starbucks, in an attack police called "unprovoked." Witnesses were eventually able to hold Boucher down and restrain him until law enforcement arrived and took him into custody.
Boucher also "said a lot of stuff that didnt make it on the video," Gerald Mitchell, who was spit during the tirade, told the Sun-Times. He said he was kneed several times by Boucher while trying to pin him down while waiting for police to get there.
Boucher is currently being held in lieu of $50,000 bail. His next court date is October 10, according to the Cook County Sheriff's Office.
Rocket launchers, armoured transport vehicles and assault rifles made up a fraction of the mun itions on
Advertisement
Some of the world's most sophisticated and hi-tech weaponry was showcased at controversial arms convention in London today.
Rocket launchers, armoured transport vehicles and assault rifles made up just a fraction of the huge arsenal at the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) event.
And showing off those munitions were more than 1,600 exhibitors from 54 countries.
But the event has been surrounded in controversy with Scotland Yard confirming officers arrested 100 protesters seeking to block access to the ExCel centre in London's Docklands.
Rocket launchers, armoured transport vehicles, assault rifles made up just a fraction of the huge arsenal at the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) event. Pictured is a 'ARTEC GmbH Boxer' DSEI Arms Fair
But the event has been surrounded in controversy with Scotland Yard confirming officers arrested 100 protesters seeking to block access to the ExCel centre in London's Docklands
Two military officers walking past an exhibit of ammunition and armour DSEI Arms Fair, Excel Centre, London. And showing off those munitions were more than 1,600 exhibitors from 54 countries
International Trade Secretary Liam Fox has defended Britain's multibillion-pound arms export industry, warning that if countries were unable to acquire the weapons they needed legally there would be an eruption of unregulated sales.
Speaking at the opening day of the world's biggest arms fair in London, Dr Fox said the UK had one of the most sophisticated export licensing regimes in the world, designed to ensure that British-made weaponry was not used to endanger international security.
At the same time, he stressed overseas governments had an 'inalienable right' to defend themselves and that if they could not buy the equipment they required from developed countries with effective controls, like the UK, they would look elsewhere.
A visitor to the convention holds up a rifle. International Trade Secretary Liam Fox has defended Britain's multibillion-pound arms export industry, warning that if countries were unable to acquire the weapons they needed legally there would be an eruption of unregulated sales
Speaking at the opening day of the world's biggest arms fair in London, Dr Fox said the UK had one of the most sophisticated export licensing regimes in the world. Pictured: Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy testing a Flight Helmet simulator
In his opening address Dr Fox acknowledged there were 'inherent risks' involved in the arms export industry, but said the Government was committed to ensuring that sales from the UK were lawful.
A member of the Bahrain military speaks with exhibitors at the convention in London's Docklands today. Some of the world's most sophisticated and hi-tech weaponry was showcased at controversial arms
A visitor testing a Saab virtual reality rocket launcher simulator. Dr Fox's comments came amid fresh calls from campaigners for Britain to end sales to Saudi Arabia
Dr Fox added: 'The UK hosts one of the most highly-sophisticated, structured and multi-faceted export licensing regimes in the world. At the same time they are not designed to hinder trade or prohibit exports'
His comments came amid fresh calls from campaigners for Britain to end sales to Saudi Arabia, following claims that UK armaments are fuelling the civil war in Yemen, where Saudi forces are supporting the government in its struggle against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.
In his opening address Dr Fox acknowledged there were 'inherent risks' involved in the arms export industry, but said the Government was committed to ensuring that sales from the UK were lawful.
'The UK hosts one of the most highly-sophisticated, structured and multi-faceted export licensing regimes in the world. At the same time they are not designed to hinder trade or prohibit exports,' he said.
But campaigners claim that UK armaments are fuelling the civil war in Yemen, where Saudi forces are supporting the government in its struggle against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels
Convention visitors speak with a representative at the arms conventions today and examine a range of pistol and show at the event
A visitor inspects a range of pistols on show at the controversial arms show. Dr Fox claimed that if countries were unable to acquire the weapons they needed legally there would be an eruption of unregulated sales
A man breaks off to make a phone call behind a missile on show at the arms convention. More than 100 protesters were arrested in the run-up to the show
Dr Fox said: 'If nations and peoples have an inalienable right to look after their own defence, those of us from advanced economies must remember that if we do not provide countries with means of defending themselves, then we will see a proliferation of uncontrolled and unregulated arms sales free from oversight or inhibitions'
A variety of one firm's weapons are mounted on the way for the convention. The UK generates billions of pounds every year in arms sales, but critics argue they can fall into the hands of heavy-handed governments
'Rather they are robust safety measures to allow ethical defences exports to flourish, protected by a licensing system to ensure exports are rational and lawful and which guarantees that we do not in the process violate international law, create tensions, promote terrorism or endanger global security.
'If nations and peoples have an inalienable right to look after their own defence, those of us from advanced economies must remember that if we do not provide countries with means of defending themselves, then we will see a proliferation of uncontrolled and unregulated arms sales free from oversight or inhibitions.
'To allow such a situation to develop would be vastly irresponsible.
Advertisement
An Indonesian woman was hospitalised after a Sharia court inflicted her with 100 lashes because she dared to be near a man who was not her husband.
Dressed in a Burberry-style headscarf, the 30-year-old can be seen kneeling on a public stage in Banda Aceh in front of a huge crowd.
According to the barbaric Islamic law, which rules over the region, she was guilty of adultery for merely being in the presence of a man who she was not married to.
The woman, who was identified only as Mazidah, collapsed from her injuries inflicted by a masked enforcer and had to be taken to hospital.
In recent public canings, the enforcer has worn a light eye mask over his face, but this time he wore a dark one to match his robe.
Dressed in a Burberry-style headscarf, the 30-year-old can be seen kneeling on a public stage in Banda Aceh in front of a huge crowd
The masked enforcer is seen being helped from the stage having inflicted his punishment on the 30-year-old Indonesian woman. In recent public canings, the enforcer has worn a light eye mask over his face, but this time he wore a dark one to match his robe
An enormous crowd gathers to witness the woman, who has been convicted of adultery by the Islamic Sharia court, get whipped by the enforcer. Most have a camera or phone to document the public punishment
Just yesterday, pictures emerged of eleven men and women being whipped for crimes ranging from gambling to adultery in Indonesia under brutal sharia law.
The barbaric public lashings, which occurred yesterday in Banda Aceh came from the only province in the country to implement the Islamic punishment.
Those forced to take a cane across the back were hit more between 10 and 29 times by a masked enforcer for their respective so-called crimes.
An Acehnese woman is whipped as punishment in front of the public in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, September 11, 2017. The barbaric public lashings, which occurred today in Banda Aceh, are the latest to emerge from the only province in the country to implement the Islamic punishment
A woman is prepared for a whipping punishment in front of the public in Banda Aceh. Two police officers dressed in green can be seen removing her shoes before she is lashed
An Acehnese man grimaces in pain after being whipped by a masked enforcer as punishment in front of his peers in Banda Aceh, Indonesia
A man braces himself just moments before the cane comes crashing into his back. The Acehnese men and women were whipped between 10 and 29 times for their so-called crimes ranging from adultery to gambling
The province of Banda Aceh began implementing Sharia law after being granted autonomy in 2001 an attempt by the government in Jakarta to quell a long-running separatist insurgency.
Recent barbaric beatings in Banda Aceh In the past 18 months, MailOnline has reported on the troubling rising trend of public lashings carried out in Aceh, Indonesia: March 1, 2016: Woman whipped 50 times for spending time alone with a man at the age of 19. March 24, 2016: Young woman carried from the stage on a stretcher after being lashed for sex outside marriage. August 1, 2016: Another woman is lashed for going on a date in Aceh. August 15, 2016: Elderly man caned for breaking Sharia law. September 11, 2016: Man and a woman lashed for having an affair and among the gathered crowd is the mayor of Banda Aceh. October 17, 2016: Muslim woman screams out in pain on stage after being lashed 23 times for standing too close to her boyfriend. October 31, 2016: A woman, 20, caned in public for getting too close to a man she wasn't married to. November 28, 2016: Man and a woman lashed 100 times each for adultery. February 2, 2017: Enforcer lands 26 beatings across the back of a woman for having sex outside of wedlock. February 10, 2017: Woman collapses in pain on stage as she is being caned. February 27, 2017: Man collapses on stage as he is being whipped for having sex outside of marriage. August 25, 2017: Ten Indonesians sentenced to up to 100 lashes of the whip for adultery. Advertisement
Islamic laws have been strengthened since Aceh struck a peace deal with Jakarta in 2005.
People are flogged for a range of offences including gambling, drinking alcohol, gay sex or any sexual relationship outside marriage.
More than 90 per cent of the 255million people who live in Indonesia describe themselves as Muslim, but the vast majority practice a moderate form of the faith.
The brutal and public beatings have become more prevalent this year with a number of reported incidents of those being punished collapsing in pain on stage.
Back in September 2014, Aceh approved an anti-homosexuality law that can punish anyone caught having gay sex with 100 lashes.
After a three-decade-old separatist movement, a peace agreement signed in 2005 granted special autonomy to Aceh, at the northern tip of Sumatra, on condition that it remained part of the sprawling archipelago.
As part of that deal, Aceh won the right to be the only Indonesian province to use Islamic sharia law as its legal code.
Anybody caught engaging in consensual gay sex is punished with 100 lashes, 100 months in jail or a fine of 1,000 grams of gold.
The law also set out punishment for sex crimes, unmarried people engaging in displays of affection, people caught found guilty of adultery and underage sex.
Religious police in Aceh have been known to target Muslim women without head scarves or those wearing tight clothes, and people drinking alcohol or gambling.
Over the past decade, the central government has devolved more power to regional authorities to increase autonomy and speed up development.
Engaging in homosexual acts is not a crime under Indonesia's national criminal code but remains taboo in many conservative parts of the country with the world's largest Muslim population.
The trend appeared to be slowing down after a string of worrying incidents at the turn of the new year, but the new pictures reveal the practice still looms large in Indonesia.
Men and women have collapsed in pain due to the severity of their injuries and people can be caned for something as innocent as standing too close to a partner in public or being seen alone with someone they are not married to.
An elderly man wearing sandals stands on the public stage in Banda Aceh as he prepares to be lashed by a masked enforcer. A crowd can be seen gathered to see him take his punishment and some security officials on stage appear to be smiling
Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon has renewed his attack on the Roman Catholic Church, of which he is a member, saying church leaders are indulging the 'scam' of illegal immigration by backing a permanent no-deportation guarantee for people brought to the U.S. illegally as children.
'There's nothing in the Gospel about going against your country, and causing civil unrest and disruption. And that's what the church is doing by doing this,' Bannon told DailyMail.com on the margins of an investor forum in Hong Kong where he spoke Tuesday.
'They're helping to destroy the education system, they're helping destroy the healthcare delivery system,' he said of Rome's clerics in the U.S.
'It's a known fact that the illegal aliens cause businesses ' Bannon said, before stopping in mid-thought and saying pointedly: 'It's a scam, and they're supporting it.'
Steve Bannon (left) resumde his attacks on Catholic clergy on Tuesday, telling Dailymail.com that Cardinal Timothy Dolan and other Roman prelates are supporting a 'scam' by siding with illegal immigrants
When CBS News released the first clips from Sunday night's '60 minutes' interview with Bannon, the bomb-throwing former Trump insider's broadside against the Catholic clergy mad the cut for his claim that they are acting out of an 'economic interest.'
Bishops and priests 'need illegal aliens to fill the churches,' Bannon claimed then. 'That's it's obvious on the face of it.'
Church leaders including New York's Cardinal, Timothy Dolan, fired back with scripture on Thursday.
'The Bible is so clear, so clear, that we treat to treat the immigrant with dignity and respect,' Dolan said on SiriusXM's Catholic Channel.
'To make sure that society is just in the treatment of the immigrant is Biblical mandate,' he said. 'It's clear from the lips of Jesus when he said, "Whatever you do to the least of my brothers you do to me. When I was a stranger" meaning an immigrant or refugee "you welcomed me".'
A visibly irritated Bannon took on that argument Tuesday in Hong Kong.
'"Welcome a stranger" is one thing,' Bannon said, referring to a command from Jesus Christ in the New Testament, 'but "welcome illegal aliens into your country" is very different. That's sovereignty of your nation.'
Pope Francis has emerged as a staunch defender of immigrants in general, and has complained about the use of the word 'illegal' to describe some of them in North America
'"Welcome a stranger" is one thing, but "welcome illegal aliens into your country" is very different,' he said. 'That's sovereignty of your nation.'
'It's not about "welcome a stranger",' Bannon insisted. 'They all put it in these moral precepts that you know, these people it's about the sovereignty of your country, right?'
Bannon said he had 'absolutely zero' regrets about crossing swords with his own Christian denomination.
'The capitalists that bring them here are for cheap labor,' he said of illegal immigrants.
'And then they try to fall back on church doctrine and the Gospels? We have a massive problem with illegal aliens, and we're not helping them.'
Catholic prelates have come out in favor of the Obama-era 'Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals' program.
Bannon describes himself as a 'street fighter' and has no qualms about attacking his own church whose official view on immigration he says is 'helping to destroy the education system' and 'helping destroy the healthcare delivery system'
DACA, which President Trump has placed on a 6-month countdown to termination if Congress doesn't act to codify it into law, guarantees protection against deportation for nearly 800,000 people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children.
Dolan called President Trump's move to conditionally eliminate the program 'not Christian' and 'not American' last week, saying Catholics provide 'special solicitude' for immigrants because 'they come to us first. The highest percentage of immigrants are, guess what? Catholic.'
He also disagreed that the Holy See considers immigration a pocketbook issue, blasting 'a preposterous and rather insulting statement, that the only reason we bishops care for immigrants is for the economic because we want to fill our churches and get more money.'
'That's insulting and thats just so ridiculous that it doesnt merit a comment,' Dolan said.
A grandmother, her daughter and her son-in-law have been accused of running cocaine to wealthy clients in Sydney as part of an elaborate syndicate.
Central District Court heard on Tuesday Suellen Cryer, 64, Hope Martyn, 39, and her husband David Martyn, 45, delivered up to 30 bags of cocaine per night, The Daily Telegraph reported.
The drugs were hidden in silicone tubes and delivered across Sydney over six months in 2016 in a rental car which was swapped over weekly.
Police allege the trio worked as drug-runners from Thursday or Friday night through to Sunday morning - though only two of them at a time were on shift.
A grandmother (right), her daughter (centre) and son in law (left) are accused of running drugs through Sydney for six months
It is alleged Suellen Cryer, 64, was a customer of Kathryn Pearson, who is accused of running the Sydney drug syndicate, before coming on to work for her
The third was minding the Martyn's young twin sons at their home in Sydney's south.
It is alleged the three were working for Kathryn Pearson, 37, and her boyfriend Nicholas Townsend, 36, who are accused of heading up the syndicate and storing illegal drugs in their unit.
The court heard Cryer was previously a customer of Pearson's, before she came on board to work for them, and recruited her daughter and son-in-law.
A night's work for the family included stop-offs at Pearson's Darlinghurst unit to restock on supply before continuing to deliver drugs across the city.
Pictures on the family's social media accounts show the trio constantly spending time and holidaying together.
It is then alleged Cryer brought on her daughter Hope (right), and son in law (centre), to work for the syndicate
The trio and Kathryn Pearson were allegedly tied together when police found nearly $75,000 along with a number of illicit drugs, silicone tubes, drug paraphernalia and a bail receipt with Pearson's name on it inside a car at Darlinghurst.
While Kathryn Pearson may have headed the drug-running operation, it was the family's association with her that appeared to have brought the operation crumbling down.
Police found nearly $75,000 along with a number of illicit drugs, silicone tubes and drug paraphernalia inside a car at Darlinghurst.
In the July 12 raid, officers also claim they discovered a bail receipt with Pearson's name on it.
It is alleged this find tied Pearson to Cryer and the Martyns, who are yet to submit pleas to the court, and will next appear on October 3.
An art dealer who was compared to film character Thomas Crown after stealing nearly 500,000 worth of artworks including paintings by Ronnie Wood has been jailed for four years.
Among the items stolen by Jonathan Poole were pieces depicting celebrities including Princess Diana, model Kate Moss, Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, Bob Dylan and Jim Morrison.
He also pocketed cash from the sales of three works by Thinker artist Auguste Rodin worth a total of 112,500.
Jonathan Poole has been jailed for stealing hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of paintings out of clients and selling them for his own gain
Over three decades Poole, 69, made over 435,000 by either selling artwork he was not entitled to or by taking percentages of the profits from legitimate sales.
Instead of passing on the cash to wealthy business clients he was supposed to be working for the 'professional thief' pocketed the cash himself.
Gloucester Crown Court heard the stolen artworks had various owners, including various British collectors and a German art dealer.
Poole, an accomplished wildlife artist, ran into financial difficulties and closed his two galleries in the Cotswolds. He also attempted to take his own life.
After the closure, efforts were made to trace the stolen artworks, including paintings by John Lennon and Miles Davis, and return them to their rightful owners but some have never been located.
He sold portraits of Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Kate Moss and Marilyn Monroe which were painted by Ronnie Wood
The stolen artworks also including paintings by John Lennon and Miles Davis, the court heard
James Ward, prosecuting, told the court: 'He was trusted by the wealthy individual who invested in art.
'He was trusted by the internationally acclaimed celebrities, those household names whose art estates he represented, such as Ronnie Wood, Miles Davis and the legendary John Lennon.
'He was trusted by those ordinary people who simply relied upon his expertise as a wildlife artist.
'Imagine the shock when his clients realised that truth - they had invested and trusted an international art dealer who was a professional thief of some ability.'
Mr Ward likened Poole's crimes to that of the plot from the hit Hollywood film The Thomas Crown Affair - dubbing this case 'The Jonathan Poole Affair'.
'Both Thomas Crown and Jonathan Poole stole the paintings in broad daylight,' he said.
'Whilst Thomas Crown stole as a challenge, because his world had become too stiflingly safe, Jonathan Poole stole either to fund a gambling habit, or to stash away money for later life or to fund a lifestyle he couldn't afford.'
The married expert worked for celebs such as Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones, jazz star Miles Davis and John Lennon to exhibit their art
At a previous hearing, Poole, of Poulton, near Cirencester, Gloucestershire pleaded guilty to 26 charges of theft and fraud, which date between 1986 and 2013.
He denied a further 32 charges which were ordered to lie on file.
Passing sentence, Judge Michael Cullum said Poole's victims had placed a lot of trust in him.
'You were well connected, better than almost anyone, to know what was in your possession and how much it was worth,' he said.
'The references placed before me make it absolutely clear that your professional knowledge was undoubted and highly regarded.
'Against that, you were being dishonest in very many aspects of your life.'
A police officer dealing with the case carries one of the many paintings involved into court
Referring to the victims, Judge Cullum said: 'You knew them all. You, I anticipate, had a professional relationship with each of them. They certainly trusted you and trusted you with very large, significant amounts of money.
'They were moving in the art world. It was not their pension and it was not the roof over their head - that does not mean they can afford to lose what was being taken from them.
'The fact you were able to be dishonest and keep proceedings you were not entitled to and keep other artworks and were not discovered by the owners, indicate the level of trust you were in.'
Poole will face a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing which will take place later this year.
Some of President Donald Trump's lawyers pushed for him to fire son-in-law Jared Kushner amid the flood of summer revelations over his Russia contacts but the idea ultimately got spiked.
Trump's lawyers considered the idea of urging Kushner get axed a proposition that would have required urging the president to fire one of his most trusted advisors, not to mention Ivanka Trump's husband. But the idea apparently fizzled.
The legal advisors kicked around the idea of removing Kushner after it was revealed he was one of the staffers who attended a meeting with a Russian lawyer in Trump Tower to discuss potential dirt on Hillary Clinton.
Donald Trump Jr. and former campaign chair Paul Manafort also attended.
Some of President Donald Trump's lawyers considered the idea of urging son-in-law Jared Kushner get axed, according to reports
Trump lawyer John Dowd didn't deny the idea of sacking Kushner came up, but told the Wall Street Journal he disagreed with it.
'I didn't agree with that view at all. I thought it was absurd,' Dowd said. 'I made my views known.' He said that to his knowledge the idea never reached Trump.
Then Dowd vouched for his client's son-in-law, calling him ''absolutely terrific' and 'a great asset, real gentleman, a pleasure to work with.'
CURRENTLY EMPLOYED: Jared Kushner walks from his Washington DC home to his Secret Service SUV where he is driven to his job at the White House
'I didn't agree with that view at all. I thought it was absurd,' said Trump attorney John Dowd
CBS confirmed the idea came up after the lawyers learned about Kushner's attendance at the meeting, which included Kremlin-linked lawyer Natalia Vesselnitksaya.
Kushner was also becoming a potential liability as it came to light he had to make multiple revisions to the signed disclosure form he filed on his past foreign contacts in order to join the government.
It eventually emerged that he had more than 100 contacts that he didn't disclose.
Marc Kasowitz, Trump's personal lawyer who has taken a diminished role with new lawyers coming on board, said he didn't participate in such a discussion.
I never discussed with other lawyers for the President that Jared Kushner should step down from his position at the White House,' said Trump lawyer Marc Kasowitz
Attorney Ty Cobb recently joined the White House staff to help Trump fend off the Russia investigation
Don McGahn is White House counsel, advising the president on a range of issues, but is not part of his personal legal team
Jay Sekulow joined Trump's legal team in June
I never discussed with other lawyers for the President that Jared Kushner should step down from his position at the White House, I never recommended to the President that Mr. Kushner should step down from that position and I am not aware that any other lawyers for the President made any such recommendation either,' he told the paper, which didn't name which lawyers were behind the idea.
After lawyers raised the idea with Trump, the president said he saw no reason for Kushner to step down, the Journal reported.
Kushner continues in his role as a senior advisor with a role that includes Middle East peace efforts, China, and other issues.
Although the idea apparently got spiked, press aides prepared statement to explain a Kushner resignation that didn't happen. A person familiar with the matter said by staying on, Kushner risked entangling other White House aides in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe.
A case against a 96-year-old former medical orderly accused of being involved in the mass murder of prisoners at Auschwitz has been thrown out due to the man's ill health.
Wheelchair-bound Hubert Zafke, who also suffers from dementia, faced a staggering 3,681 counts of being an accessory to murder at the Nazi concentration camp in Poland.
Thomas Walther, who works as a lawyer for two sons of a woman murdered at Auschwitz that the outcome of the trial 'leaves behind co-plaintiffs with fresh wounds that won't heal, dealt to them by the German justice system, just like the wounds that SS men such as Zafke dealt them seven decades ago'.
Scroll down for video
Hubert Zafke, who now suffers from dementia, faced a staggering 3,681 counts of being an accessory to murder at the Nazi concentration camp in Poland
A case against Hubert Zafke, 96, a former medical orderly accused of being involved in the mass murder of prisoners at Auschwitz has been thrown out due to the man's ill health
The trial in the northeastern lakeside town of Neubrandenburg has faced a number of setbacks since it began in February 2016 due to Zafke's ill health, but has now been scrapped altogether after two independence psychiatrists confirmed his dementia meant he could not retain information or hold a discussion 'for more than a few minutes'.
The decision to scrap the trial was widely expected after prosecutors said last month the accused was unfit for trial.
Court spokesman Carl Christian Deutsch said: 'Because of his dementia he is no longer capable of following a trial.'
The charges against Zafke focus on a one-month period in 1944 when 14 trains carrying prisoners arrived at the death camp.
Among those prisoners included Jewish teenage diarist Anne Frank, who arrived with her parents and sisters before being transported to another camp, Bergen-Belsen, where she died two months before the end of the conflict.
In 1948, Zafke was sentenced to four years in prison by a Polish court, but was released in 1951.
Yet when first questioned by German authorities in 2014, Zafke claimed he never worked at the camp, but then later admitted his presence.
He said he was unaware of the gas chambers and crematorium until the end of the war.
Zafke was the fourth former concentration camp worker to face trial in Germany in a recent string of arrests, including John Demjanjuk in 2011, Oskar Groening in 2015 and Reinhold Hanning last year - all convicted of complicity in mass murder.
Four members of a Polish death metal band who were arrested on kidnapping charges are also being accused of rape, court documents reveal.
Members of the band Decapitated were arrested Saturday September 9 on charges of kidnapping a woman after a concert on August 31 in Spokane, Washington.
That woman also says that the band members - Michal Lysejko, 31, Waclaw Kieltyka, 35, Rafal Piotrowski, 31, and Hubert Wiecek, 30 - sexually assaulted her in the bathroom of their tour bus.
Court documents made public Monday say the rape happened during a party with band members and fans on the group's tour bus.
Members of the band Decapitated were arrested Saturday September 9 on charges of kidnapping a woman after a concert on August 31 in Spokane, Washington. Pictured are Rafal Piotrowski, 31, left, and Waclaw Kieltyka, 35, right
That woman also says that the band members sexually assaulted her on their tour bus. Pictured are Michal Lysejko, 31, left, and Hubert Wiecek, 30, right
The band members were arrested Santa Ana, California, on allegations of first degree kidnapping and are jailed there while awaiting extradition to Spokane.
They 'plan to fully fight the allegations that have been brought against them and are confident that their side of the story will be heard,' the band's lawyer Steve Graham said in an email Tuesday.
Decapitated had been touring with the Australian band Thy Art is Murder, and performed several shows after the Spokane concert before being arrested.
The alleged victim and her friend told police in Spokane that after attending the show they ended up speaking with the band's members and were invited to drink in their tour bus, according to court documents.
After getting on the bus the women said they quickly became uncomfortable.
Then, when the alleged victim went to use the bus's bathroom, she claims she was followed inside by one of the band members.
The alleged victim and her friend told police in Spokane that after attending the show they ended up speaking with the band's members and were invited to drink in their tour bus. Pictured left to right are Lysejko, Piotrowski, Kieltykaand Wiecek
The woman tried to push him away, 'but he grabbed her arm and spun her around to where she was facing the sink and mirror in the bathroom,' court documents said.
'She saw in the mirror and out of the corner of her eye each of the band members taking turns raping her.'
Her friend said that she watched the band members raping the woman, according to court documents.
After the attack, the alleged victim said a band member helped her get dressed and carried her out of the bus.
The woman walked away from the tour bus and immediately called 911, court documents said.
By the time a police officer arrived on the scene, the tour bus was gone.
The woman was examined at a hospital where she was found to have upper arm bruises consistent with being restrained and other injuries, the documents said.
Band members were interviewed last Thursday by Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office detectives. They were all shown a photo of the alleged victim. Pictured are Kieltyka, left, and Wiecek, right
The band's attorney said the band members won't fight extradition and have witnesses who say the alleged victim came to visit the band of her free will and 'left on good terms'. Pictured are Lysejko, left, and Piotrowski, right
Band members were interviewed last Thursday by Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office detectives. They were all shown a photo of the alleged victim.
Lysejko told the police he didn't recognize the woman when he was shown the picture. Kieltyka told officers he saw two members of the band engage in sex acts with the woman in the bus bathroom, court documents said.
Piotrowski said the women were at a party on the bus but declined additional comment, court documents said.
Wiecek said the two women had been on the bus but he did not see what was going on, court documents said.
The women were not identified in the court documents.
Graham, the band's attorney, told The Spokesman-Review newspaper, that the band members would not fight extradition.
'We have witnesses that can testify to the fact that the accuser came to visit the band of her own free will and left on good terms,' Graham told the newspaper.
Sharoon Masih, 17, was killed in Pakistan
A Christian teenager has been beaten to death by his classmates for drinking from the same glass as a Muslim.
High-flying Sharoon Masih, 17, was battered by fellow students in a classroom in the Vehari District in Punjab, Pakistan, on just his fourth day at a new school.
Shockingly, the boy's teacher was in the room when the brutal attack took place, but claims he didn't see anything because he was reading a newspaper.
Sharoon's parents had saved money to send their son to MC Model Boys Government High School Burewala and District Vehari in an attempt to pursue higher education.
From the day he started, on August 25, he was subjected to abuse from Muslim boys for being a Christian.
His mother Razia Bibi warned Sharoon not to mix with the boys who practiced Islam after one told him: 'You're a Christian don't dare sit with us if you want to live,' according to the British Pakistani Christians charity.
Bibi told the British Pakistani Christians said: 'My son was a kind-hearted, hard-working and affable boy. He has always been loved by teachers and pupils alike and shared great sorrow that he was being targeted by students at his new school because of his faith.
'Sharoon and I cried every night as he described the daily torture he was subjected to.
'He only shared details about the violence he was facing. He did not want to upset his father because he had such a caring heart for others.
'The evil boys that hated my child are now refusing to reveal who else was involved in his murder. Nevertheless one day God will have His judgement.'
She told the i Newspaper his loss was 'huge' to the family with whom he shared 'great intimacy'.
The parents of the teenager Elyab Masih, Razia Bibi talk to BPCA officer Ambar Saroya
Bibi accused the police of not conducting a proper investigation in the wake of her son's death.
Pupils suggested the teacher overseeing the classroom had even ignored the beating, but he has claimed he didn't notice the attack because he was reading.
In conflicting accounts, the headteacher said Sharoon was killed in session between classes which meant no teachers witnessed it.
The boy accused of killing Sharoon is allegedly claiming he went for the Christian after he smashed the screen on his phone, dismissing earlier claims it was over the 17-year-old bumping into his foot.
The British Pakistani Christians charity have set up a fundraising campaign to help Sharoon's family.
Advertisement
Thousands of sailors, marines and soldiers have descended upon Florida to help with search and rescue efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.
USS Abraham Lincoln reached the Florida Keys, where up to 10,000 people may need to be evacuated, on Monday and its helicopters are flying over the region to survey the damage.
The Navy has also dispatched two amphibious assault ships, the USS Iwo Jima and the USS New York, to help with recovery efforts. They ported in Mayport, Florida, as they gathered supplies before supporting relief operations.
Sailors aboard the Nimitz-Class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) move pallets of water in preparation to support those affected by Hurricane Irma
Damage Controlman 3rd Class Brian Waters, from Oelwein, Iowa, fills containers of water aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln
The Department of Defense is supporting Federal Emergency Management Agency, the lead federal agency, in helping those affected by Hurricane Irma to minimize suffering and is one component of the overall whole-of-government response effort
USS Abraham Lincoln (its interior pictured above) reached the Florida Keys, where up to 10,000 people may need to be evacuated, on Monday and its helicopters are flying over the region to survey the damage
Florida Gov Rick Scott said officials on the USS Abraham Lincoln will focus their efforts in the Florida Keys, where Irma rumbled through with Category 4 muscle. Pictured above, Sailors assigned to the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) fill containers of water on board Abraham Lincoln
Scott, who flew over the area in a helicopter on Monday, described the damage in the Keys as 'devastating'. Pictured above, Sailors aboard the Nimitz-Class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) fill containers with water in preparation to support those affected by Hurricane Irma
Chief Naval Helicopter Aircrewman Matt Jirrels, assigned to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron Humanitarian and Disaster Relief (HSM HADR) detachment, comprised of Sailors from HSM-40 and HSM-46, participates in static hoist training aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS New York (LPD 21) in preparation for potential humanitarian relief efforts
Sailors assigned to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 46 and 40, comprising the Humanitarian and Disaster Relief (HSM HADR) detachment, perform static hoist training aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS New York (LPD 21) in preparation for potential humanitarian relief efforts in Florida following Hurricane Irma
The preparations ensure USS New York is ready to respond to any requests to bolster Northern Command's support of Federal Emergency Management Agency's assistance to federal, state and local authorities' ongoing relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma
Florida Gov Rick Scott said officials on the USS Abraham Lincoln will focus their efforts in the Florida Keys, where Irma rumbled through with Category 4 muscle.
The aircraft carrier, which has a home port in Norfolk, Virginia, measures 1,100 feet, it can move at almost 35 miles per hour.
The USS Abraham is among some of the most complex ever built, weighing more than 99,000 tons, housing as many as 6,000 sailors, and supporting more than 70 aircraft.
The ships it's joined by in Florida are just as impressive.
The USS Iwo Jima is 844ft long and can travel up to 25mph. The 40,0000 ton ship carries nearly 1,900 Marines and a mix of 30 helicopters.
The USS New York is 684ft long, weight 24,900 tons and can travel up to 25mph.
The ship has an Embarked Landing Force of 699 and a surge capacity of 800. It can carry a variety of ships and aircraft in numbers less than five.
Gov Scott, who flew over the Keys in a helicopter on Monday, described overturned mobile homes, washed-ashore boats and rampant flood damage and asked Floridians to be patient, warning that roads are impassable and that there are downed power lines.
The National Guard also has arrived in the island chain amid official fears that a humanitarian crisis may be developing in the stricken region.
The USS Abraham Lincoln (pictured above in a file photo) is just one of several Naval ships in Florida and the Caribbean to help with Hurricane Irma relief efforts
The Navy has also dispatched two amphibious assault ships, the USS Iwo Jima (pictured in a file photo) and the USS New York, to help with recovery efforts
The USS Iwo Jima and USS New York (pictured in a file photo) homeported in Mayport, Florida, as they gathered supplies before supporting relief operations
Scott, who flew over Florida in a helicopter on Monday, described overturned mobile homes, washed-ashore boats and rampant flood damage in the Keys and asked Floridians to be patient, warning that roads are impassable and that there are downed power lines
Jacksonville mayor Lenny Curry, left, and Gov. Rick Scott, fly over Jacksonville, Florida, in a military helicopter as they look at damage along the the St. John's River
Gov Rick Scott looks out the window of a C-130 as he looks at damage to the Florida Keys during the aftermath of Hurricane Irma
Also in the region are Norfolk, Virginia, based USS San Jacinto and Arleigh Burke-destroyer USS Farragut, WTKR reported.
Up to 10,000 residents rode out the storm in the Keys, despite being told to evacuate ahead of the hurricane, and may need rescuing, the Defense Department said on Monday.
Key West city manager Jim Scholls told CNN that there were no plans to evacuate anyone in the chain of islands, which are home to about 79,000 people.
FEMA administrator Brock Long said that 25 per cent of the homes in the Keys were completely destroyed by the storm. He said another 65 per cent were damaged.
As of 7am on Tuesday, officials in the upper Florida Keys allowed residents and business owners to return.
In a Facebook posting, Monroe County officials said a yellow re-entry sticker or proof of residency or business ownership will be required.
The Lower Keys - including the chain's most distant and most populous island, Key West, with 27,000 people - were still off-limits, with a roadblock in place where the single highway to the farther islands was washed out. Road repairs were promised in the coming days.
Overturned trailer homes are shown in a neighborhood in the Florida Keys left almost ocompletely wiped out by Hurricane Irma
In the Florida Keys, houses near the coast were left damaged by Hurricane Irma, including the one on the far left, which appears to have had its entire porch collapse
Rows of damaged houses are shown in the Florida Keys after Hurricane Irma ravaged the region over the weekend
Trees were ripped from the ground, and boats were knocked into one another near the damaged houses in the Florida Keys during Hurricane Irma
Officials warned returning residents that there are limited services available. Most areas are still without power and water and cellphone service is limited. Most gas stations in the Key Largo area are still closed.
County officials also said Mariners Hospital in Tavernier was expected to reopen Tuesday morning.
The Army's 101st Airborne Division soldiers have also been sent to Florida to help with relief and search and rescue efforts.
The 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st ABN DIV (AASLT), will relocate more than 370 personnel, 35 aircraft and 40 vehicles to the region.
'Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by Hurricane Irma,' said Col. Craig J. Alia, 101st CAB commander. '101 CAB isn't waiting. We are leaning forward now, proactively positioning our personnel and equipment to help the American people if called forward to support.
'Should local officials and emergency services need additional assets, we will be staged and prepared to go at a moment's notice.'
Houses on the show in the Florida Keys appeared to be knocked off their foundation and into the water in parts of the Florida Keys during Hurricane Irma. The homes are pictured above on Monday
Damaged sail boats are shown pushed up to shore and knocked sideways in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in the Florida Keys
Two men evaluate a boat that went ashore during the passing of Hurricane Irma in Key Biscayne, Florida, while another man watches on Monday
This image released by the Monroe County Board of County Commissioners shows debris along the Overseas Highway in the Florida Keys
Debris from Hurricane Irma lays on the side of the Overseas Highway in Islamorda in the Florida Keys on Monday
The division has been preparing response forces since September 7.
Florida Gov Rick Scott says there's damage across the state caused by the storm and in some areas it's still too dangerous for residents to go outside or return from evacuation.
As many as 13 million Florida residents - two-thirds of the state's population - were without electricity as sweltering heat returned across the peninsula in the storm's wake, and officials warned it could take weeks for power to be fully restored. About 110,000 people remained in shelters statewide.
'I know for our entire state, especially the Keys, it's going to be a long road,' Gov. Rick Scott said.
On Tuesday morning, the rainy remnants of Irma pushed through Alabama and Mississippi after drenching Georgia. Flash-flood watches and warnings were issued around the Southeast.
Seven deaths in Florida have been blamed on Irma, along with two in Georgia and two in South Carolina. At least 35 people were killed in the Caribbean.
In the Caribbean, USS Wasp, USS Kearsage and USS Oak Hill are in the US Virgin Islands, where officials from the ships are transferring non-critical patients and delivering food and water.
Rod Blagojevich Says He Rebuffed White Supremacists In Prison, & Other Interview Takeaways
By Stephen Gossett in News on Sep 12, 2017 3:20PM
Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, center, walks with attorneys as he arrives at the Federal Correctional Institution Englewood in Littleton, Colo., on Thursday, March 15, 2012, where he began serving his 14-year sentence for corruption. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
Rod Blagojevich makes about $8 a month working as an orderly, he pretty much shuns the TV room, and he rebuffed the protection of white supremacists while in prison. Those are just a handful of the fascinating takeaways from a pair of interviews that were released on Monday night, from Chicago magazine and NBC5. They represent his first on-record talks with the media since he went to prison, back in 2012.
One of the most eye-catching anecdotes sees Blagojevich, as he tells it, being told by a guard captain that he should consider teaming up with the prison's white "shot caller" for protectiona recommendation the ex-gov says he snubbed once the group's white-supremacist ideology was clear.
David Bernstein wrote in Chicago magazine:
Within his first few days, Blagojevich was summoned to the guard captains office for a lesson on the ins and outs of prison-yard politics. The captain and a couple of other correctional officers had found out that hed walked the track with a black inmate. They felt I should be made aware of the usual way things were done, Blagojevich says. They suggested that for his protection he ride with a couple of other inmates in a car (prison slang for traveling in a clique). The purpose is to have people who will stand behind you, should you find yourself facing a physical threat. One of the inmates the officers recommended, Blagojevich soon discovered, was the shot caller of the prisons white contingency. "Initially, to be respectful to the officers, and on their recommendation, I sought those guys out. It was then that I realized they were white supremacists and politely declined their offer of protection."
That tale spins out into another fascinating one in which, according to his account, Blagojevich teamed up with a prison frienda former West Side drug dealer in his 60s, dubbed Mr. B in the articleto become "mini civil rights activists with neither a following or a cause anyone cared about," as the former governor sat with Mr. B at a table that had only been used by black inmates.
Bernstein writes:
One night, the two hatched a plan in the spirit of Dr. King and his efforts to end segregation, says Blagojevich. As a modest challenge to FCI Englewoods racial division, Blagojevich sat with Mr. B for lunch at one of the tables designated for blacks. At first, heads turned, Blagojevich says. And thennothing. It turned out to be no big deal. No one really cared. No one complained. The days came and went, and I would sit with Mr. B every day at lunch. They alternated between the black and white sides of the cafeteria.
Stil, despite many intriguing nuggets like the ones above, one aspect that continually shines through is the punishing toll that Blagojevich's 14-year sentence for corruption has taken on him, his family and their relationshipand the amount of resolve necessary to emotionally navigate the situation. Patti Blagojevich, Rod's wife, said she she faces "a tough row to hoe. But I cant indulge in feeling sorry for myself. My kids are sad and anxious, like they have PTSD. Its been really hard for them. I cant let myself go there. Ive got my nervous breakdown scheduled for, like, 10 years from now, when [daughter] Annies out of college. Thats when I can fall apart."
Read Chicago magazine's full interview here, and find NBC5's interview below. (The new photo seen in the tweet was taken with a camera that Blagojevich rented from the prison commissary.)
President Trump is ramping up his efforts to persuade a trio of endangered Democrats to back his tax reform package.
Tonight, they'll his dinner dates at the White House, an honor the president doesn't bestow on just any legislator in Washington.
The president is treating Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, and Joe Donnelly of Indiana to a meal this evening at his official residence.
Three Republicans are also confirmed to attend the small group dinner: Sens. John Thune of South Dakota, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Orrin Hatch of Utah.
President Trump is going on a charm offensive by inviting a bipartisan group of senators to the White House for dinner Tuesday night, as he begins a real push on tax reform
THE DEMS COMING TO DINNER: President Trump has invited a trio of endangered Democrats to the White House tonight (from left) Sens. Heidi Heitkamp, Joe Donnelly and Joe Manchin
Hatch heads the Senate committee that is leading the charge on a tax overhaul. Toomey and Thune are also on the Senate Finance panel.
Trump is leaning on his new friends across the aisle to get tax reform legislation over the finish line when it reaches the full Senate.
Republicans hold a bare majority of seats in the upper chamber. If more than two Republicans withhold their support for the party's tax package, it will fail, without the support of one or more Democrats.
A White House official told reporters this morning that after the health care debacle this summer in the Senate, when a basic Obamacare repeal bill failed by a single vote, Republicans could not be counted on to single-handidly approve a tax reform bill.
'Keeping 50-52 Republicans is not something that's reliable. And so, despite promises of commitments that they've made to voters since 2010, we don't feel like we can assume that we can get tax reform done strictly on a partisan basis,' Marc Short, the president's legislative affairs director, told reporters at a Christian Science Monitor Breakfast this morning.
Republicans plan to use a legislative maneuver known as reconciliation to get a bill through the Senate with a simple majority of 51 votes. If 50 legislators give the bill their support, the vice president can act as a tiebreaker.
Ideally, the White House would like to pass the reforms that the president has said will be even bigger than the cuts that were championed in the '80s by Ronald Reagan through regular order.
For that to happen, eight Democrats would have to lock arms with every Republican in the Senate.
'I think that we would love to have enough bipartisan support to get 60 vote,' Short said on Tuesday morning.
'Thus far, what I think we've faced is, unfortunately resistance to that because I think that in many cases, rather than looking out for the interests of the American people, many people in the other party are looking to try to deny victories to the administration,' the White House official charged. 'So getting to 60 votes, I think, will be a challenge. It's one we would like to see happen, but it can be a challenge.'
GOP leaders do not think it will happen, realistically. They've told the White House that reconciliation is likely to be the only path forward.
Reconciliation is a measure that's part of the budget process. In order for it to be deployed, legislators must pass a fiscal year 2018 budget. That's another legislative battle entirely.
The president wants to slash State Department spending and make deep cuts to the EPA. His proposed budget would give the Department of Defense a $54 billion boost in return.
Short told reporters this morning that he expects Congress to pass a budget in October, providing an avenue for expedited tax reforms.
A deal with Democrats to extend the government's spending cap and appropriations through the beginning of December cleared the decks for a tax reform debate until then, the Trump aide has said.
Among the Republicans invited to tonight's dinner are Sens. John Thune (left) of South Dakota and Orrin Hatch (right) of Utah
The president has held events in two states that voted for him that have embattled Democratic senators, including Heitkamp's North Dakota, since the end of August, and he's thrice invited lawmakers to the White House for meetings with him.
Last week he met with the 'Big Six' a group comprised of GOP leaders, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and chief economic adviser Gary Cohn. He then hosted House Speaker Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell at the White House along with their Democratic counterparts, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer.
The Big Six will meet again, without Trump, to discuss tax reform legislation this afternoon before the president's dinner with Hatch, Toomey, Donnelly Heitkamp, Manchin and Thune.
All three Democrats coming to dinner are running for reelection in states that Trump won in the November election. All three abstained from a letter that Schumer sent to the White House laying out Democratic priorities for tax reform.
Trump told North Dakotans last week that Heitkamp is a 'good woman' and called her on stage with elected Republicans during an event he held to rally support for his tax cuts in Bismarck.
But he also told her constituents, 'If Democrats don't want to bring back your jobs, cut your taxes, raise your pay, and help America win, voters should deliver a clear message: Do your job to deliver for America, or find a new job. Do something else. Just do something else.'
Kamran Sabir Hussain, 40, was recorded by an undercover police officer at a mosque in Stoke-on-Trent telling young children jihad would being them 'everlasting pleasure' a court heard
An extremist imam told a group of children aged between five and 15 that waging jihad would bring them an 'everlasting life of pleasure', a court heard on Tuesday.
Kamran Sabir Hussain, 40, told the impressionable youngsters that martyrdom in the name of Allah was the supreme success during a sermon at a charity-funded mosque in Stoke-on-Trent.
The shocking rant was recorded by an undercover law enforcement officer named Qasim who was sat among 35 Asian men, two toddlers and the seven children.
Hussain said in the recording: Whats the nature of life? That you are killed, that you kill and that you are killed. This is your part of the contract... to fight in the way of Allay, to kill and be killed.
In return for this Allah will give you an everlasting life of pleasure.
Hussain also referred to an eternal life of enjoyment before claiming that martyrdom was the supreme success.
Childrens voices were also heard as Hussain referred to going before Allah on Judgement Day with the bullet wounds and the sword wounds and you are raised in that situation with the blood still coming from your body.
Hussain was recorded telling said: Whats the nature of life? That you are killed, that you kill and that you are killed. This is your part of the contract... to fight in the way of Allay, to kill and be killed.
Hussain said martyrs were standing on the front line defending Islam and the Muslims... they answered the call of Allah and the messenger.
Three children aged around five years old were also part of the congregation on 5 August 2016 when Hussain allegedly referred to the Islamic State.
Hussain told the crowd: They stand a black flag and establish the law of Allah over the necks of the people whether they like it or dont like it.
The King, the Queen, the Prime Minister, whoever it is, they are not in a position to say you are not allowed to establish the law of Allah.
Two weeks later the crowd included 25 Asian males, a young girl aged between two and three years old and ten to 15 children aged between five and 15, it is claimed.
Hussain told the audience that the British Government had created and funded the English Defence League (EDL) and Britain First to come into your area and attack you and to insult you and to put you down.
A childs voice can be heard in the background as Hussain said: I am saying stand up and be ready to sacrifice, be ready to spill blood and have your blood spilt in the way of Allah.
Several children were also present on 26 August when Hussain attacked the counter-terrorist Prevent programme, saying: They want to make Islam intolerable.
The Old Bailey heard Hussain tell the crowd: They stand a black flag and establish the law of Allah over the necks of the people whether they like it or dont like it.'
The prosecution claim Hussain was encouraging terrorism and encouraging support for ISIS during the sermons between June and September 2016.
The court heard the mosque was funded by a charity and set up in what used to be shop premises at 229 Tunstall High Street.
Following his arrest an audio recording of someone else (not Hussain) telling a rally: Inshallah we will see the black flag rise over Big Ben and Downing Street.
He gave a short written statement to police claiming he was exercising his freedom of religion and freedom of speech, adding: I do not believe I am a terrorist or encouraged anyone to be a terrorist.
Hussain, of Knightsbridge Way, Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent, denies six counts of encouraging terrorism between 24 June and 16 September 2016 under section 1(2) of the Terrorism Act 2006 and two counts of encouraging support of a proscribed organisation under section 12(3) of the Terrorism Act 2000.
The trial continues.
An Oklahoma state senator accused of grabbing his Uber driver's head and kissing her neck while she was driving him, has resigned from his position after he was arrested.
Republican state Sen. Bryce Marlatt, 40, was booked Tuesday morning on one felony count of sexual battery. He was released on $5,000 bond.
The 40-year-old submitted his letter of resignation from the state senate to Gov. Mary Fallin on Tuesday afternoon.
The married father-of-four, from the western Oklahoma city of Woodward, was charged after the driver told police he groped her after she picked him up from an Oklahoma City restaurant June 26. She says she noticed him stumbling towards her car when she pulled up outside.
Republican state Sen. Bryce Marlatt, 40, (pictured in arrest photo) was booked Tuesday morning on one felony count of sexual battery. He was released on $5,000 bond
The 40-year-old Republican submitted his letter of resignation from the state senate to Gov. Mary Fallin on Tuesday afternoon. He is pictured in May on the state Senate floor
Prosecutors charged Marlatt with sexual battery of an Uber driver in June. He celebrated his 21-year wedding anniversary the same month (pictured with his wife Tatum who is 39-years-old)
'He made a comment that if she worked for him then he would 'feel' her up,' Detective Natalie Cannon wrote in the police affidavit submitted with the prosecutors charges against him on Wednesday.
Marlatt has previously said he was shocked by the allegations, but neither he nor his attorney immediately responded to telephone messages Tuesday seeking comment.
If convicted, Marlatt faces up to 10 years in prison.
Marlatt submitted his letter of resignation to Gov. Mary Fallin on Tuesday afternoon.
The Uber driver said the ordeal began when she picked up Marlatt at 10pm and was taking him to a hotel on Northwest Highway when he allegedly began grabbing and kissing her on her neck against her will.
Family man: Bryce and Tatum Marlatt have four children together (pictured)
The driver claimed Marlatt, 40, pictured at the state Capitol with his large family, forcibly kissed her on the neck while she was driving him to a hotel
The former senator also allegedly commented on her appearance and invited her back to his hotel to have a drink, to which the driver declined.
She said she got enough information about the customer's background to look him up online later and find a photo of his to show the police.
Marlatt, 40, is married and has four children with his wife Tatum, 39. The couple celebrated their 21st anniversary last month.
The driver reported the incident to Oklahoma City police on June 28, two days after she says it happened.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.
Marlatt, who had been in the State Senate since 2008, has not commented on the allegations
Marlatt did not comment on the allegations, but his attorney, Robert Don Gifford, told television station KFOR that his client 'was shocked and surprised by the allegations' and asked his legal counsel to work with Uber to get to the bottom of this.
Past troubles: In 2014, Marlatt was arrested after he was found passed out drunk behind the wheel of his pickup truck
Uber says the company is committed to the safety of its partner drivers and is cooperating with police.
According to the incident report, the Uber driver approached a police officer in a grocery store and told him she had been assaulted on June 26 by a customer and wished to press charges.
On June 15, Marlatt sent out a tweet gushing about his 'beautiful lady.'
'Best wife in the history of the world. Tatum, thanks for choosing me!' he wrote.
Marlatt, a native of Woodward who had worked in marketing before launching his political career, was first elected to the Oklahoma State Senate in 2008 and won a re-election last year.
In 2014, Marlatt was arrested after he was found passed out drunk behind the wheel of his pickup truck on a local road.
Fox 25 reported he ultimately pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of actual physical control.
Theresa May was mocked by MEPs as 'out of her depth' today after refusing to speak at the European parliament.
Philippe Lamberts, a Belgian who co-chairs the Green group, said the PM was at the 'very edge of her skills' and it was 'starting to show'.
He also jibed that Mrs May would have only 'further weakened the UK's position' if she had agreed to appear at the parliament.
The vicious barbs came as it was confirmed that the next round of Brexit talks will take place on September 25 - slightly later than had been expected.
Philippe Lamberts, a Belgian MEP who co-chairs the Green group, said the PM was at the 'very edge of her skills' and it was 'starting to show'
The PM (pictured watching a game of street cricket with England captain Stuart Broad in Downing Street today) has signed up to discuss her plans for Brexit with leaders of the main groups in the EU parliament
The next round of talks between Brussels chief negotiator Michel Barnier and Brexit Secretary David Davis had been due to begin on Monday in Brussels. Last week a row erupted when EU minutes revealed disparaging comments about the British team.
It is thought that Mrs May intends to make a major intervention before that date, potentially on September 21.
The PM has signed up to discuss her plans for Brexit with leaders of the main groups in the EU parliament.
However, she will not give a speech to the whole house.
Mr Lamberts told MEPs today: 'The impression that I get of her is that she's a lady out of her depth, meaning that she is reaching the very edge of her skills now.
'And I think it's starting to show.'
Mr Lamberts added that if he were May's adviser he would not want her to address the whole parliament.
'I think she had more to lose than win by coming. If she were to come to Brussels or Strasbourg I think she'd risk further weakening the UK's position,' he said.
Guy Verhofstadt, the EU parliament's chief Brexit negotiator, also waded into the row.
'Instead of only addressing the Conference of Presidents I would encourage her to address the whole house. Other heads of state have done this in the past,' he told a press conference today.
'That can only be helpful because the European Parliament will need to give the green light on the negotiations.'
Reports from Brussels quoted EU sources as saying that the apparent delay to the next round of Brexit talks was agreed to fit in with the UK's political calendar.
Guy Verhofstadt, the EU parliament's chief Brexit negotiator, also waded into the row saying Mrs May should give a speech to MEPs
But Whitehall sources insisted that the new date had been agreed mutually and stressed that no date had previously been fixed for the talks, with the week of September 18 only pencilled in indicatively and subject to agreement.
The fourth round of talks come less than a month before the crunch October 18 EU summit at which the remaining 27 member states will assess whether sufficient progress has been made to move on to discussions on the future trade partnership.
With Brussels figures voicing frustration at the lack of progress on the key issues surrounding the UK's withdrawal from the EU - including the Irish border, citizens rights and the expected 50 billion 'divorce bill' - Britain is pushing to move to continuous rolling talks.
Ukip MEP Jane Collins said that other members of the European Parliament were predominantly opposed to a good deal for Britain based purely on political spite rather than sensible economics.
A Government spokesman said both sides had settled on the date for talks resuming.
The Cotswolds was yesterday named the UK's top property hot spot as demand for homes drove up prices by more than 15 per cent.
A typical home in the region famed for quintessentially English villages and rolling hills was valued at 384,745 in July.
That was 16.2 per cent higher than a year earlier, according to the report from the Office for National Statistics.
A row of the quaint Cotswold cottages at The Chipping Steps in Tetbury, Gloucestershire
The figures relate to homes only within the Cotswold District Council area in Gloucestershire.
The Cotswolds region covers Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire and Worcestershire, including Chipping Norton, Cirencester, Cheltenham and Stroud.
Overall, the ONS said the average house price rose by 5.1 per cent 11,000 in a year, hitting 226,000.
London was the region with the slowest growth in prices for the first time in 12 years as higher stamp duty and tougher mortgage regulations hit demand.
A typical home in the capital rose in value by just 2.8 per cent to 489,000 in the year to July.
By contrast, prices in the East Midlands jumped 7.5 per cent and in the East by 7.1 per cent.
The Cotswolds has become a favourite destination for celebrities as well as families and weekend visitors from across the country.
David and Victoria Beckham recently paid more than 6million for a home near Chipping Norton.
Nick Leeming, of estate agent Jackson-Stops, said that the demand had been driven by families moving from London and the Home Counties.
He said: 'Very often these are people who are able to be flexible in their working lives and are keen to give their children the best possible environment in which to grow up.'
The Costswold countryside near Stow-on-the-Wold in Gloucestershire. Estate agent Savills said that the area's property market was 'highly charged'
Estate agent Savills said that the area's property market was 'highly charged'.
The figures make a mockery of warnings that the Brexit vote would hammer the market.
Before the referendum, then-chancellor George Osborne architect of the Remain campaign's Project Fear warned a vote to leave the EU would send house prices tumbling.
Paul Smith, of estate agent Haart, said: 'How can economists and industry commenters alike claim we are experiencing a Brexit-induced downturn in the property market, when the average buyer is having to pay 11,000 more to buy a home than they did following the vote to leave?'
The mystery murder of a four-year-old girl will be investigated by police - 78 years after she was killed.
Little Joyce Cox disappeared months before the Second World War while walking home from school before she was found by a dog-walker the next day in Cardiff.
The youngster had been walking with her seven-year-old brother Dennis when he lost track of her.
Joyce Cox, middle, pictured with brother Dennis, bottom, who she was walking home with in 1939 when she was murdered in Cardiff, and cousin Alan Phillips, whose son Terry has spent years investigating the death
Joyces body was found on a railway embankment near Coryton station in Cardiff just days before her fifth birthday after hundreds searched for her.
But her killer was never found despite police identifying a main suspect - and a 'cold case' review is being held by modern-day detectives.
Joyces cousin Terry Phillips, 73, wasnt alive at the time of the murder but has spent years researching the background to the case.
He says the murder devastated his family and is now appealing for information after South Wales Police says it will carry out a cold case review.
'I am pleased this is being taken forward. This crime had a devastating effect on my family,' he said.
'Obviously it happened many years ago, but if anyone has any information that could help I would ask them to come forward.
Joyce's cousin Terry Phillips has spent years investigating the unsolved murder, which he says devastated his family
'Did anyone see Joyce that morning, or someone pushing a wheelbarrow covered by a sack?'
Terrys research was halted two years ago when the Metropolitan Police said it was not prepared to release crucial documents relating to the case until 2014.
But South Wales police is now set to look at the documentation from the former Glamorganshire Constabulary investigation.
In a letter, Chief Inspector Mark Kavanagh, of South Wales Police, said: 'The files contain approximately 1,000 statements and a similar number of other reports and documents which is indicative of the wide ranging and thorough enquiry conducted in the 1930s.
'The original investigation by the Glamorganshire Constabulary continued for approximately two years, and what is apparent is that there was clearly a real determination to detect the crime in 1939, as there would be now if a similar crime was reported.
'The South Wales Police Review Unit will do all that it can to carry forward that proud tradition of investigative zeal and determination demonstrated by those detectives based in Whitchurch Police Station in 1939.'
Cathleen Phillips, mother of Joyce Cox, who was murdered in 1939 walking home from school
The review will look for new lines of enquiry or new opportunities to use advancements in modern forensic techniques.
Hundreds scoured the district after Joyce did not return home from school on Thursday, September 28,1939.
Searcher William Ward found her body after his pet spaniels yelping had alerted him at 7.30pm the following evening.
Newspaper accounts at the time said a copy of the local paper, a tobacco pouch, a gas mask and the victims underwear were found close by.
Mr Kavanagh said the person police suspected at the time is still of interest.
'A prime suspect was identified early on in the original enquiry, and remains the main focus of interest in this case,' he said.
'The team is undertaking intelligence research to identify what information is available about this individual.
'The Glamorganshire Constabulary allocated a significant amount of resource to the investigation at a time when the wider demands created by the outbreak of the Second World War must have been significant.
'South Wales Police Review Unit remains committed to investigating all undetected murders and will never give up on seeking justice for the victims of those crimes, including Joyce Cox.'
The Metropolitan Police refused to release documents to Terry two years ago because it is practice to wait 100 years, a spokesperson said.
'A named subject who was a suspect is described derogatorily and should not be associated with these matters.
'As an unsolved murder, with potential of reinvestigation at any indeterminate stage, practice to close for 100 years is invoked.
'However unlikely - indeed remote - it may be that this case is reopened, we have to afford for that possibility.
'Putting information into the public domain will include naming specific persons who may yet be identified.'
Terry has passed over data to South Wales Police from his own research and information handed down in his family over the past 80 years.
Syrian refugee Hasan Alkhabbaz (pictured) is facing jail after he launched a series of sex attacks just a month after he was granted asylum
A Syrian refugee who launched a series of sex attacks just a month after he was granted asylum is facing jail.
Hasan Alkhabbaz, 22, targeted six different victims as they walked through the Joe Strummer Subway in Paddington, central London, between November 14 last year and March 3.
He lurked in the underpass where The Clashs frontman used to busk to grab womens bottoms and slip his hand up their skirts.
Alkhabbaz was handed a suspended sentence in May of this for a similar offence committed on March 5 while police continued to probe the earlier spree.
While on bail for the other attacks, he tried to flee the country but was arrested at Heathrow Airport where he was attempting to board a flight to Egypt and then onto Sudan.
He has since admitted the earlier six sexual offences and now faces jail.
Prosecutor Brett Weaver said: These offences all essentially follow the same modus - lone women approached by the defendant whilst using the underpass in the Marylebone Road area and touched by the defendant.
Pervert Alkhabbaz targeted six different victims as they walked through the Joe Strummer Subway (pictured) in Paddington, central London, between November 14 last year and March 3
Four out of the six were at a particular underpass, namely the Joe Strummer Underpass, which is at the intersection of Edgware Road, Harrow Road and Marylebone Road.
There are two other offences which take place at different underpasses but in a similar geographical location.
Alkhabbaz was originally bailed by Westminster Magistrates before an appearance at Southwark Crown Court to enter his pleas but was produced in custody after attempting to flee the country.
Mr Weaver said: He was sent by Westminster Magistrates Court on 15 August on conditional bail but as Your Honour can see he is in custody.
The reason for that is that one of his bail conditions was not to apply for international travel documents.
He was arrested at Heathrow Airport on Friday last week, 8 September, whilst he was attempting to board a flight to Egypt and thereafter to Sudan.
In his possession, he had a Syrian passport which had been issued on 21 August, some six days after the first appearance.
He was arrested and appeared before Uxbridge Magistrates Court on the Saturday when he was remanded in custody until today.
Alkhabbaz pleaded guilty to six counts of sexual assault before his barrister, Kenneth Newman, asked for pre-sentence and psychiatric reports to be prepared.
At Westminster Magistrates Court (pictured) Alkhabbaz was originally bailed before another court appearance
He told the court the family arrived in the UK in October after fleeing the Syrian conflict.
They were fast-tracked into the UK after their home was under siege and Alkhabbazs sister died in the bombing.
Mr Newman said both Alkhabbaz and his father suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Judge Peter Testar adjourned sentencing for reports, but warned the pervert he was facing jail.
He said: These are serious offences and very frightening offences.
For this to happen to a woman when she is vulnerable in these secluded places where you attacked these women will have been very, very frightening for them and it is alarming that you seem to do this compulsively to so many different women.
I accept that it is desirable to know more about you before passing the sentence and so for that reason I am asking for a pre-sentence report so that the court that sentences you will know as much about you as possible.
But you must understand that I am not making any promises to you by adjourning for this report.
These are serious offences and the sentence is likely to reflect that.
Alkhabbaz, of Fonthill Road, Islington, north London, admitted six counts of sexual assault and was remanded in custody ahead of sentence at Southwark Crown Court on 10 October.
Disgraced public relations company Bell Pottinger has collapsed after it failed to find a buyer to save it from administration, in the most spectacular fall from grace ever to hit the industry.
The collapse of the company which was plunged into crisis after being accused of inciting racial hatred during a campaign in South Africa will affect 270 blameless employees, as well as PR high-flyers, including:
Former chief executive James Henderson, who was forced to resign over the scandal. He said this weekend he has lost everything, as his winter wedding plans were put on hold indefinitely;
Divorcee Heather Kerzner. Hendersons fiancee is the biggest shareholder, but the stake she bought for several millions in the spring is likely to be virtually worthless;
Founder Tim Bell will lose around 1million of the severance pay he negotiated when he left the firm last year;
About 20 partners who face a collective tax bill of 700,000 that they thought had been settled by the company.
Wedding plans on hold: Boss James Henderson and his fiancee Heather Kerzner
The firms implosion has shocked both the City and London society, as Hendersons connections extend into showbiz, the aristocracy and Royalty. As well as City clients he has acted for Madonna and the Duchess of York, who introduced him to Ms Kerzner in 2015.
The firm collapsed after it orchestrated a fake news campaign on behalf of the Gupta family, one of South Africas wealthiest dynasties.
Lord Bell, who is famed for his willingness to represent dictators such as the late Chilean leader General Pinochet, admitted he was instrumental in bringing in a lucrative 100,000-a-month contract from a company called Oakbay, controlled by the Guptas.
Bell Pottinger fanned flames of outrage when it embarked upon a campaign to divert attention from the Guptas ties with South African president Jacob Zuma.
To do so, it branded the presidents opponents as the agents of white monopoly capital, despite the fact these included other big Bell Pottinger clients such as luxury goods giant Richemont.
Industry body the Public Relations and Communications Association expelled Bell Pottinger for at least five years, saying its actions were likely to inflame racial discord.
Ms Kerzner became Bell Pottingers biggest shareholder in April, believing the Oakbay debacle had been resolved. She and Henderson between them own around 40 per cent of the company.
Lord Bell, who founded the company, is famed for his willingness to represent dictators such as the late Chilean leader General Pinochet
As recently as last week, she described Henderson as amazing, claiming: I have never been more happy in my entire life. Friends say he has moved out of her Chelsea townhouse to give her space.
Ms Kerzner, who saw her investment as an act of faith in her fiance, said: Im not the first woman to back her man and I wont be the last. A new date for their wedding, which had been due to take place at Claridges in Mayfair in November, now looks unlikely, friends say.
Henderson said this weekend he plans to start again in the PR business once the dust has settled.
Lord Bell, who is accused by his enemies of conniving in the downfall of his former company, said he will not receive any more instalments on the seven-figure payment he agreed when he left the firm.
About 270 employees will lose their jobs. One consultant said: There are a lot of young people working here who are entirely blameless and now have an uncertain future. Henderson apologised to staff and clients and said he was hugely saddened by events.
Lord Bell added: Im sorry about the people who have lost their jobs but I left quite a while ago.
The lawyer for a 15-year-old girl who stabbed her friend when they were 12 to please a fictional character called Slenderman told a court that she was being controlled by a 'broken mind' on Monday.
Anissa Weier attacked Payton Leutner along with Morgan Geyser at a park in Waukesha, Wisconsin, in 2014.
They stabbed her 19 times, later claiming they'd done so to avoid the wrath of the character who they thought would come after their families.
Miraculously, Payton survived after crawling to a road where she flagged down a passing cyclist.
Scroll down for video
Anissa Weier, 15, (above on Monday) is one of two teenage girls who stabbed their 12-year-old friend in 2014. She is pictured at her mental competency trial in Madison, Wisconsin
Anissa and Morgan were both charged with first degree intentional murder and are being tried as adults.
Anissa has since pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of attempted second degree murder, entering a guilty by way of insanity plea.
The ongoing trial is to assess her mental competency and will determine whether she should be sentenced to a prison sentence or if she will be sent to a psychiatric facility.
If she is convicted, she could spend 10 years or more in behind bars.
Geyser has pleaded not guilty to being a party to attempted first degree murder. Her trial will begin in October.
On Monday, Anissa's lawyer said she should not be sent to prison because she was not in control of her mind when she attacked Payton.
'Anissa's broken mind caused her to lose touch with reality. Anissa was under the command and control of a delusional disorder,' attorney Joseph Smith said.
Morgan Geyser (above in November last year) also admits her role in the stabbing but has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder by way of insanity. Her mental competency trial will begin in October
The girls attacked 12-year-old Payton Leutner (above before the stabbing) after a sleepover in 2014 to prove the fictional boogyman they believed in was real
Weier and Geyser are seen above in their mugshots in April 2014. They were both 12 at the time
Geyser's attorneys say she was suffering from a similar disorder which prevents sufferers from distinguishing between reality and fantasy.
After the stabbing in 2014, the pair both told police about Slenderman and described their fear that they would have been punished by him had they not attacked Payton.
They signed confessions to that effect which their parents and attorneys are now begging to be thrown out on the basis that neither understood properly what they were confessing to at the time.
On Monday, prosecutors rejected the argument and told jurors both girls were aware of what they were doing when they turned on Payton in the forest.
'They knew this was wrong. They understood what they were doing was wrong,' attorney Kevin Osborne said.
Anissa's parents previously appeared on Good Morning America to speak of their shock after learning what she had done.
They said they were unaware of her obsession with the sinister fictional character beforehand and revealed that their daughter was 'absolutely' remorseful over the attack.
Anissa's attorney said she was not in control of her mind when she carried out the attack
The trial will determine whether Anissa, 15, goes to prison or to a psychiatric facility
Payton survived by crawling into the path of a passing cyclist who called for help. She is pictured (right) this year
'They thoroughly believed that Slenderman was real and they wanted to prove that he was real,' Kristi, her mother, said.
The three girls had spent the night at Geyser's home the night before the attack. Geyser and Weier plotted it overnight and Geyser carried the knife in her waistband as they marched in to the forest.
During police questioning, Weier said of the moment she saw the weapon: 'Dear God, this is really happening.'
Their plan had been for Weier to carry out the attack but she froze and instead told her friend to do it instead.
After stabbing her 19 times, the pair ran away, leaving Payton for dead.
She was able to crawl far enough towards the path of a cyclist and flagged them down.
The girl was then taken to hospital where doctors said she was a 'millimeter from death'. She returned to school in the fall of 2014.
A Kansas City man, who was busted for allegedly selling marijuana, was left heartbroken after officers shot dead his beloved black lab during a police raid of his home.
Chris Lee, 41, said he was getting ready to leave his home on Wednesday when a team of Kansas City police showed up on his doorsteps.
When he opened his front door, Lee surrendered immediately and begged the officers not to shoot his two black labs.
'You guys win! Please don't shoot him, please don't shoot him,' Lee said he yelled at the officers.
Chris Lee, 41, of Kansas City, was left heartbroken after police officers shot dead his beloved black lab, Axl (pictured with Lee), during a police raid of his home
Lee said he was getting ready to leave his home on Wednesday when a team of Kansas City police showed up on his doorsteps. When he opened his front door, Lee surrendered immediately and begged the officers not to shoot his two black labs. Pictured is Axl
'You guys win! Please don't shoot him, please don't shoot him,' Lee said he yelled at the officers (pictured on Lee's doorstep)
But police claim one of the dogs, named Axl, 'bolted' out, prompting an officer to shoot, according to the Kansas City Star.
Sgt Kari Thompson, a spokeswoman with Kansas City police, told the newspaper that one of the dogs bit an officer's leg and tore his pants.
'Due to the dog's actions, the dog was shot,' she said. Thompson said Lee let the dogs out to attack the officers before quickly closing the door.
His other black lab, Slash, also barked at the officers but was not shot.
Thompson told the newspaper that Slash was biting a dog stick that officers used to keep the dog at bay for the police search. Officers also took off Lee's handcuffs so he could secure Slash.
Lee contends that his dogs only barked at the officers and neither one lunged or tried to attack them.
But police claim Axl (right) 'bolted' out, prompting an officer to shoot him. Lee contends that his dogs only barked at the officers and neither one lunged or tried to attack them
Lee said the execution of his eight-year-old dog was excessive. Police shot Axl at point-blank range, he added. Pictured is the now empty bed where Axl used to sleep
Lee (pictured) was charged with multiple counts of drug possession, an illegal weapons charge and other drug felonies
The officers had obtained a warrant to search Lee's Hyde Park home last week after Lee allegedly sold marijuana on three separate occasions to an undercover officer.
Lee told the Star that the execution of his eight-year-old dog was excessive. Police shot Axl at point-blank range, he added.
Axl died over some weed, Lee said. 'There was no reason to bring that amount of harshness in.'
According to police, a 20-gauge shotgun along with a box of Winchester 20-gauge ammunition was found in the home.
They also confiscated marijuana, Psilocybin mushrooms and THC edibles.
Prosecutors said Lee was unlawfully possessing a firearm as a felon because of his felony conviction in 1997.
Lee said he stole a gun collection. He told The Star he had sold marijuana and mushrooms. Lee was charged with multiple counts of drug possession, an illegal weapons charge and other drug felonies.
Lee was released from jail after posting $10,000 bond.
Supreme Court Justice & Feminist Badass Ruth Bader Ginsburg Is Not Going Away
By Stephen Gossett in News on Sep 12, 2017 2:20PM
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, via Getty Images
The Supreme Courts most cultishly beloved Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Notorious RBG herself, was in vintage form on Monday night, when she spoke in front of a packed, noticeably amped crowd at Roosevelt University's Auditorium Theatre. The feminist icon grieved for the death of bipartisanship, made it clear that shell be sticking around the Court, and recounted myriad instances of discriminatory bullsh*t shes overcomeand what remains to be achieved.
When asked by her interviewer, Judge Ann Claire Williams, if three or four female justices on the highest court were enough, Ginsburg said, with a fiery composure on display throughout the hour-plus chat, There will be enough when there are nine. With much of the discussion devoted to Ginsburgs personal and professional biography, the topic of gender rights and progress was a noticeable through line.
When the conversation turned explicitly toward the contemporary moment, Ginsburg lamented the fierce (but not intractable, she hopes) political divide that grips Washington. She spoke warmly of the late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, with whom she shared a friendship despite the ideological gulf between, and referenced the opera about their relationship that has since emerged. Justices Kagan, Sotomayor and Alito should have received more confirmation votes than they did, she said. The bipartisan spirit that had prevailed in the 1980s and 90s failed. And people voted along party lines Thats a very dangerous thing for a judiciary, she warned.
I have hope that I will see this in my lifetime: that our Congress will get over this nonsense and go back to the way it was, Ginsburg said. Her comment was met with applause.
As for her long tenure on the Supreme Courtstretching from the Clinton administration now into the far different political landscape of the Trump eraGinsburg let it be known that she wont be filing for retirement in the foreseeable future. Theres still work to be done, she said, and Ginsburg will continue to work as long as I can go full steam.
It was another big applause line, one of several from the capacity crowd, as the extent of Chicagos RBG affection was in full relief. The childhood Nancy Drew fan ("She was a doer, and her boyfriend kinda trailed along") remains, to our knowledge, the only Supreme Court Justice to inspire coloring books and devoted Tumblr accounts. And to hear her look back on the gender-rights landmark cases she helped spearhead and the discrimination she overcame in her own lifeas a woman, as a Jew, as a mother and is to re-up ones fan-club membership. The fight stretched from her early life (having difficulty landing a job out of law school, despite having graduated first from Columbias law program) all way to the highest bench. The National Association of Women Judges made shirts for Ginsburg and former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor with their names, so certain were they that counsels would mistake the two women despite their looking nothing alike. They were right.
But RBG was all graceful steadfastness as she looked back, and forward. As she has in the past, Ginsburg reiterated the importance of not becoming beholden to the time- and energy-suck emotions of anger, envy or remorse. It's advice we'll do well to remember in the tough travels ahead. At least we still have a good lodestar.
Joel Dauncey, 34, pleaded no contest to misdemeanor harassment of a sexual or intimate body part. He bit a 14-year-old girl's breast during a Green Day concert in Portland, Oregon
A Canadian man who bit a 14-year-old girl on her right breast during a Green Day concert in Portland, Oregon, last month has been sentenced to 30 days in jail.
Joel Dauncey of Vancouver pleaded no contest Monday to misdemeanor harassment of a sexual or intimate body part.
Court documents say the teen told police she was dancing next to her mother at the August 2 concert when a stranger bit her. She rated the pain as '3' on a 1-10 scale.
A woman working at the concert told police that Dauncey had been cut off from buying alcohol. The worker said she witnessed the bite.
The 34-year-old man told investigators he does not remember the incident at Portland's Moda Center. He was drunk when he bit the girl's breast.
OregonLive reports Dauncey made no statement at his sentencing.
'We all have the right to feel safe in public,' the judge told the court. 'I dont think this young woman is going to feel safe in public for years to come because of your outrageous behavior.'
He will not be required to be register as a sex offender because his crime is not considered a sex offense. Dauncey will be on probation for 11 months after his release.
As part of his probation, Dauncey will not be allowed to drink alcohol.
Dauncey said he does not remember what happened and was drunk at the time. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail and 11 months of probation
Pictured is Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong performing in Alabama on September 6, 2017. Dauncey will not be allowed to drink alcohol while he is on probation
According to an affidavit, the victim said she was dancing with her mother who was standing on her left side during the concert and Dauncey to the right.
The young girl, court records show, then 'turned to her mother and said, "he bit me on my boob."'
Dauncey had traveled that day from Vancouver, Canada for the Green Day concert.
A staff member working at the arena also reported seeing Dauncey 'lean and bite' the child on the breast.
Staff members were monitoring Dauncey after he was cut off from drinking alcohol due to his previous behavior.
Pictured is the Moda Center, where the incident took place. The 14-year-old girl rated the physical pain she experienced from the incident as a '3' on a scale of 1 to 10
Dauncey at first acknowledged why he was being arrested following the complaint, but later changed his account and 'denied doing such a thing,' a court affidavit said.
Dauncey was previously arraigned on allegations of third-degree sexual abuse and harassment.
Third-degree sexual abuse is punishable by up to one year in prison and up to $6,250 in fines.
Management for The Moda Center and Rose Quarter facility said in a statement following the incident: 'The safety of all Rose Quarter guests is our highest priority.'
'Every effort is made to monitor the behavior of our guests in and around our venues.'
'In this instance,' the statement continues, 'the behavior of a guest escalated to the level of involving law enforcement.'
'This matter is now in the hands of those authorities,' the statement added.
A heartwarming video shows the moment a woman asks her stepfather to adopt her after 17 years.
Lindsey Collins met Mark High about 17 years ago when he arrived at her house to take her mother out on a date.
From the very beginning Mark made sure to get to know the then-nine-year-old.
As Mark's relationship progressed with Lindsey's mom, Jamie, he became a father-figure to Lindsey.
For Father's Day this year Lindsey Collins decided to ask her stepdad Mark High to adopt her. A heartwarming video captures the moment he sees the adoption papers
He breaks down in tears when he opens a box and sees the papers. Lindsey said she's never seen him cry so much
'He took on the role of being my father without hesitation and our relationship only got better over the years,' she said in a Facebook post.
When Lindsey, now 26 and living in Long Beach, California, was trying to figure out what to do for Mark on Father's Day, she decided to finally surprise him with adoption papers.
'We had talked about adoption in the past, but nothing ever came to fruition. In the last couple years my stepdad and I have become closer than ever,' she said.
The video shows him opening a pink box and searching through striped tissue paper.
He starts to unwrap the papers and looks shocked when he realizes what they are.
He breaks down in tears with his face in his hands, overjoyed by the gesture.
'My stepdad is a tough construction worker and I've never seen him cry this hard. It was such a special moment and I'm glad it was caught on camera,' she said.
Lindsey Collins, pictured, said that Mark was one of her best friends
'It is never too late. If anything ever happened to my mom, their marriage is the only thing that signifies that we're connected,' Lindsey told LifeDaily.com. 'I wanted to be his daughter.'
'I was totally surprised,' Mark said about the moment he unwrapped the adoption papers. 'I lost it, because I always wanted to be her father.'
'He's genuinely one of my best friends and has done so much for our family,' she said. 'I feel like I should've asked him to adopt me years ago, but the saying is better late than never, right?'
Hillary Clinton isn't just mad at Bernie Sanders for the tenor of his campaign, but the length of it too.
As her new book, What Happened, was released Tuesday, Clinton told the hosts of the Pod Save America podcast that she wished the independent from Vermont, running for the Democratic nomination, had dropped out sooner.
She compared the conclusion of the 2016 primary to the one she ran against President Obama in 2008.
'Once it was over, it was over and I quickly endorsed President Obama ... I didn't get anything like that respect from Sanders and his supporters,' she noted. 'And it hurt, you know, to have basically captured the nomination, ending up with more than 4 million votes than he had but he dragged it out.'
Clinton's comments come at the same time Rasmussen Reports found that 61 percent of likely voters said it was time for the former first lady, senator and secretary of state to retire.
Scroll down for video
Hillary Clinton (left) again knocked Sen. Bernie Sanders (right) during an interview for the Pod Save America podcast, which was released on Tuesday
By the time the general election came around, Sen. Bernie Sanders (right) stumped for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton (left)
Of course, Republicans agreed to that statement over Democrats, 83 percent to 36 percent, but even along gender lines, 53 percent of women said it was time for Clinton, the country's first female major party nominee, to go.
Clinton has no plans to go away, as she booked on the Today Show and The View tomorrow and heads to Stephen Colbert's The Late Show on September 19.
On Monday she'll also kick off her 15-city ticketed book tour, Hillary Clinton Live, with stop No. 1 being Washington, D.C.'s Warner Theatre, just down the street from the White House.
For the Pod Save America podcast she spoke to alumni from the Obama administration, including Jon Lovett, Jon Favreau and Tommy Vietor, and talked about her behavior at the conclusion of the 2008 Democratic primary.
'I worked really hard to get him elected,' she said. 'I was still arguing with my supporters at the Denver convention, telling people, "Don't be ridiculous, you've got to vote for Senator Obama," at the time. And I was thrilled when he got elected.'
She then pivoted to Sanders, who the podcast hosts had asked about.
'And he was so reluctant,' Clinton said.
Clinton, however, has a point.
Sanders' last hope to rout the former secretary of state from winning the Democratic nomination was in California, which had a primary on June 7.
In advance of that, Sanders and his motorcade went all throughout the state, attracting tens of thousands in terms of crowds. But Clinton went on to to win the state by about 7 points.
After that, Sanders flew home to Vermont and there was speculation he would drop out then.
He didn't.
He traveled to Washington, D.C., and met with President Obama, who gave his endorsement to Clinton.
Sanders also didn't drop out then.
It took until July 12 for him to finally appear in New Hampshire alongside Clinton and throw her his support.
It appeared so absurd that the Onion marked this long road to closing out the Democratic primary by headlining a story from that day: 'Bernie Sanders Agrees To Drop Out Of Race In Exchange For 13-Hour Speaking Slot At Convention.'
Clinton watchers were already aware that Sanders was going to be in her crosshairs thanks to a tweet last week from journalist and CauseWired founder Tom Watson, which included a page of her book.
In that excerpt, Clinton wasn't bemoaning Sanders' long goodbye, but rather his political attacks, which were later used against her by now President Donald Trump.
During the primary Sanders would often hint that Clinton taking donations from Wall Streets and other corporations meant that she was corrupt or doing their bidding.
'When I finally challenged Bernie during a debate to name a single time I changed a position or a vote because of a financial contribution he couldn't come up with anything,' Clinton noted.
'Nonetheless, his attacks caused lasting damage, making it harder to unify progressives in the general election and paving the way for Trump's "Crooked Hillary" campaign,' she said.
A prosecutor says 51-year-old John Bittrolff (pictured), who was convicted of killing two prostitutes in the 1990s, may be responsible for at least one of the 10 unsolved killings of people along a Long Island beach highway
A prosecutor says a carpenter convicted of killing two prostitutes in the 1990s may be responsible for at least one of the 10 unsolved killings of people along a Long Island beach highway.
Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Robert Biancavilla made the stunning revelation on Tuesday following the sentencing of 51-year-old John Bittrolff.
His lawyer said his client does not have any ties to the unsolved deaths, calling the prosecutor's implications 'laughable' and said the insinuation is meant 'simply to attract headlines.'
Bittrolff, from Manorville, New York, received 50 years-to-life in prison for beating to death 31-year-old Rita Tangredi and 20-year-old Colleen McNamee.
Long Island police officers are still investigating the unsolved killings of 10 victims of an apparent serial killer or killers.
The 10 bodies were found within a couple of miles of one another, and several of the victims have been identified as prostitutes. Until Tuesday, no suspects had been identified in any of the deaths.
The prosecutor says remains of some victims found along Gilgo Beach 'may be attributed to the handiwork of Mr Bittrolff.'
No one has been charged in the deaths since 2010.
Bittrolff (pictured in July 2014), from Manorville, New York, received 50 years-to-life in prison for beating to death 31-year-old Rita Tangredi and 20-year-old Colleen McNamee on Tuesday
The 10 bodies were found with a couple of miles of one another, and several of the victims have been identified as prostitutes. Until Tuesday, no suspects had been identified in any of the deaths. The prosecutor says remains of some victims found along Gilgo Beach 'may be attributed to the handiwork of Mr Bittrolff'
The naked bodies of Tangredi and McMamee were found nine miles apart in late 1993 and early 1994, respectively.
Both women had been strangled and suffered severe head injuries. Testimony during the trial revealed the women were drug addicts and prostitutes.
'Bittrolff picked these women because they were vulnerable,' the prosecutor said. 'He picked them because he thought no one cared about them. But there were people who cared about these girls.'
The killings remained unsolved for two decades until Bittrolff's 2014 arrest after homicide detectives linked evidence found on the women's remains to his DNA. The women's bodies were found about 35 miles from the Gilgo Beach site.
The trail that police said led to Bittrolff began with a DNA sample submitted by his brother, Timothy Bittrolff, following his misdemeanor conviction for violating an order of protection in 2013.
State police investigators determined the sample was a partial match to DNA left on the two dead women.
Although his brother was eliminated as a murder suspect, police obtained a DNA sample from John Bittrolff's garbage left outside his Manorville home and later arrested him in the killings.
His attorney said during the trial that evidence that Bittrolff had sex with the women was not enough to prove he was the killer.
Biancavilla said this was the first conviction in a homicide case in New York state involving 'partial match' DNA.
The naked bodies of Tangredi (left) and McMamee (right) were found nine miles apart in late 1993 and early 1994, respectively. Both women had been strangled and suffered severe head injuries. DNA on the women's remains eventually led to Bittrolff's arrest in 2014
A K-9 officer and his cadaver dog were on a training mission searching for a missing prostitute in December 2010 when they happened upon what would become, by spring of the following year, 10 sets of human remains - eight women, one man and one toddler.
The remains of an 11th woman, the missing prostitute who sparked the initial search, were found about a year later just miles from where the other 10 were discovered.
The remains were found strewn along several miles of thicket adjacent to Ocean Parkway, east of Jones Beach.
Some of the remains found along the parkway were linked to the partial remains of a woman whose body was found in Manorville, about 40 miles away.
Advertisement
Donna Wiley thought about evacuating her Florida home when news of how huge Hurricane Irma was set to spin its deadly path through the state.
'It was a very brief thought,' the 57-year-old exclusively told DailyMail.com. 'When a hurricane comes I never normally even consider leaving, but this time I did think about it for a couple of seconds.'
In the end she and husband James, 50, decided to stay put and ride out the storm in their three-bedroom double-wide trailer on the outskirts of Eustis, Florida, some 25 miles northwest of Orlando.
And that decision was nearly the last one they ever made.
At exactly 5am Monday, a massive 40-foot pine tree from a neighbor's property came crashing down, caving in the roof and landing within feet of where the couple was sleeping.
Scroll down for video
Donna and James Wiley, from Eustis, Florida, near Orlando, narrowly escaped death when a 40-foot pine tree came crashing down on their double-wide trailer home, early on Monday morning. The married couple had decided not to evacuate before Hurricane Irma ripped through the state
Although the tree caused extensive damage to their home and vehicles, both Donna and James and their two dogs, Little Girl, a 10-year-old boxer and Cletus, nine, a shorkie or shih-tzu-Yorkie cross , were unharmed
The massive tree was located on their neighbor's property and caused their roof to cave in. The tree landed just a few feet away from where the Wileys were sleeping, which could have killed them if it had landed on them
'I know it was 5 because I grabbed my flashlight and shone it at the clock on the wall,' said James. 'The ceiling had come down and was now at a level just below the 12 on the clock.'
For hours James and Donna were stuck as the storm howled around them. The fallen tree was blocking the front door and a downed power pole made an escape from the back a potentially deadly venture.
Power was off, their phones were down a massive surge when the electricity cut out had drained all the juice from their cellphones and their landline was dead.
James and Donna Wiley were literally trapped in their own home.
'We didn't know what we were going to do,' said James, a mason. 'I grabbed my flashlight and I could see all the wires down out the back so I knew I wasn't going near them. I was worried about getting zapped.
'And the tree covered the front door, meaning we couldn't get out there.'
The Wileys' story is one of hundreds up and down the Sunshine State that show how staying put despite official warnings of how Irma the largest hurricane ever to form in the open Atlantic could have cost many more lives.
The tree also crushed the roof on their 1999 Ford Explorer, which they had parked outside the home's front door
The couple knew the dangers of staying put and decided to live with them. 'We're not people of means,' said James. 'We can't just up and go and find a hotel to stay in when this sort of thing happens'
Along with the more than 20 million other people in Florida, the Wileys know the dangers of hurricanes, especially one as massive as Irma. 'But perhaps we had become a bit lax because it has been so long since the last one,' said Donna
Governor Rick Scott had warned Floridians of the dangers, ordering more than 6 million to evacuate to find safety. But miraculously, as of Tuesday morning, the state's confirmed death toll hadn't reached the teens with another 40 or so killed in the Caribbean, Georgia and South Carolina.
Lake County, which includes Eustis, was under a voluntary evacuation order, but it was hit harder than expected when the hurricane's eye moved directly over it.
James and Donna knew the dangers of staying put and decided to live with them. 'We're not people of means,' said James. 'We can't just up and go and find a hotel to stay in when this sort of thing happens.'
Donna's health was another consideration. She has already survived six heart attacks and open heart surgery, and she wanted to stay in the place they have called home for nearly two years.
'It may not look much but this is the house we wanted,' said James. 'I was staying in a bed and breakfast and Donna was with her father in Clearwater when we saw this place. We came down and waited six hours for the landlord and he said it wasn't ready.
'I told him: "You don't understand, we need to move in now. I've got the money," and it turned out all he had to do was put up one cabinet shelf. I said don't worry about that, I'll do that and he let us have it.'
The Wileys still consider themselves lucky. Donna said: 'I have lived in Florida all my life and this was the first time I had gotten nervous about a hurricane. I guess there was good reason for that!'
Another consideration for the Wileys not to leave was Donna's health. She has already survived six heart attacks and open heart surgery, and she wanted to stay in the place they have called home for nearly two years
The Wileys' story is one of hundreds up and down the Sunshine State that show how staying put despite official warnings of how Irma the largest hurricane ever to form in the open Atlantic could have cost many more lives
There they settled happily with their two dogs, Little Girl, a 10-year-old boxer and Cletus, nine, a shorkie or shih-tzu-Yorkie cross.
And everything was fine until Irma unleashed her fury, first on the northern Caribbean before striking the Bahamas and Cuba and eventually moving on to the Keys and up through the Florida peninsula.
Along with the more than 20 million other people in Florida, the Wileys know the dangers of hurricanes, especially one as massive as Irma. 'But perhaps we had become a bit lax because it has been so long since the last one,' said Donna.
But at 5am on Monday that complacency came to an end. 'The winds were whistling all around, it was like a "whoop, whoop, whoop sound," James explained.
'I was in one room, she was in another, so we were both a bit unclear where the tree had come through. I hollered for her and she hollered for me.'
Meanwhile Little Girl and Cletus refused to leave Donna's side, adding to the confusion inside the house that lies on the normally busy road connecting Eustis with nearby Umatilla.
'They were getting very clingy,' she said.
Once the light came up, some two and a half hours after disaster had nearly struck the couple, they decided the time had finally come to try to make their escape from their own home.
'Once I could see, I could break off a few branches and I could help Donna out,' said James.
Outside they saw the full force of what had happened. Their roof on their 1999 Ford Explorer that they parked outside the front door was caved in. The aluminum roof to their home was smashed.
Donna, 57, and James, 50, were stuck inside their home for hours because the tree blocked the front door and a downed power pole made an exit from the back a risky decision
Irma first unleashed her fury on the northern Caribbean before striking the Bahamas and Cuba and eventually moving on to the Keys and up through the Florida peninsula
One of the reasons the Wileys are likely to not move on is their 'great' landlord, Bob Saladin. Within 10 hours of its fall, the tons of timber from the giant pine had been carted away and the house was ready for work to begin
Despite the pine's direct hit, neither they nor their dogs had suffered a scratch. 'Yes, we were all unhurt,' said Donna.
But did they consider themselves lucky to have gotten out unscathed, or unlucky that their neighbor's tree had fallen smack on their home?
'It's a bit of both, I think,' said Donna. 'I have lived in Florida all my life and this was the first time I had gotten nervous about a hurricane.
'I guess there was good reason for that!'
Now that Irma is in the history books, at least as far as Florida is concerned, James and Donna have to look to the future. 'I have a daughter in Arizona and she says we should come and live there away from hurricanes,' said Donna.
'When she heard my voice this morning and heard what had happened she broke down.
'But I don't think so. This is home.'
One of the reasons they are likely to stay is their 'great' landlord, Bob Saladin. Within 10 hours of its fall, the tons of timber from the giant pine had been carted away and the house was ready for work to begin.
'Not only that, but he came and saw what had happened to my car and he said he'd got a car for sale for $1,500,' revealed James. 'So I'm getting a 2003 PT Cruiser for a $100 a month.'
An unemployed father arrested over the hacking of Pippa Middleton's iCloud account has been released without charge.
Website designer Nathan Wyatt, 35, was quizzed by detectives after Miss Middleton's personal account was plundered and 3,000 photographs taken.
The images are said to be of her and her royal relatives and it is believed someone tried to sell them for 50,000.
Scroll down for video
Nathan Wyatt, 35, (pictured) was arrested after Pippa Middleton's iCloud account was hacked. But he has been released without charge
Miss Middleton (pictured) was at the centre of a major security alert after a man offered to sell 3,000 images of her and her royal relatives for 50,000
Wyatt was arrested by police and his home in Wellingborough, near Northampton, was spotted being searched by forensic teams who were trying to find evidence relating to the case.
Officers also searched his blue Ford Puma car as well as the 200,000 home he shares with his fiancee Kelly Howell.
But it has now been revealed Wyatt has been released without charge.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: 'A man who was arrested by detectives investigating the hacking of a personal iCloud account has been released without charge.
'On 24 September 2016, detectives arrested a 35-year-old man at an address in Northamptonshire on suspicion of unauthorised access with intent to commit or facilitate commission of further offences, contrary to the Computer Misuse Act.
Wyatt (pictured) was arrested by police and his home in Wellingborough, near Northampton, was spotted being searched by forensic teams who were trying to find evidence relating to the case
Mr Wyatt's three-bedroom home in Wellingborough (pictured) was searched by forensic teams
'A case file was subsequently submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service, but following CPS advice, the man was released with no further action on September 8.'
The collection of photographs from Miss Middleton's account is said to include private pictures of her sister, Kate - the Duchess of Cambridge - and her children George and Charlotte.
And it was reported the pictures show Miss Middleton at a wedding dress fitting and naked images of her fiance, James Matthews, 40.
Meanwhile, the hacker is also believed to have the personal phone numbers of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
The drummer for the band Little Barrie, who recorded the theme song for Netflix series Better Call Saul, has died aged 42.
Virgil Howe, from London, is the son of Yes guitarist Steve Howe, 70, who took to his band's official Facebook page to confirm the tragic news.
The statement read: 'Due to the tragic, unexpected death of guitarist Steve Howe's beloved younger son, Virgil, Yes regrettably announces that the remaining dates of their Yestival Tour have been cancelled.
Virgil Howe (pictured), the drummer for the band Little Barrie - who recorded the theme song for Netflix series Better Call Saul - has died aged 42. The London based musician's father confirmed the tragic news
'Yes Steve Howe, Alan White, Geoff Downes, Jon Davison and Billy Sherwood want to thank all their fans for their support and understanding at this time.
'Steve Howe and family ask for their privacy to be respected during this difficult time.'
The cause of Mr Howe's death is currently unconfirmed, while it is thought he celebrated his birthday yesterday, September 11.
Father of Virgil, Yes guitarist Steve Howe, 70, took to his band's official Facebook page to confirm the tragic news and announce the cancellation of his the band's tour
The band released their fourth album, Death Express, in July and were due to embark on their tour today
Little Barrie's best known song is Better Call Saul which is the theme song for the Breaking Bad spin-off about shady lawyer Saul Goodman.
The band released their fourth album, Death Express, in July and were due to embark on their tour today.
Mr Howe is survived by his presenter and model wife Jen Dawson, who he married in 2007. And parents Steve and Janet Howe, and siblings Dylan, Georgia and Stephanie.
MailOnline have approached Yes and Little Barrie's representatives for comment.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that a new round of United Nations Security Council sanctions will not enough to keep North Korea in check.
The sanctions that unanimously passed the 15-nation body are just a 'small step' and 'not a big deal,' the United States president said.
'I don't know if it has any impact,' Trump said Tuesday during a meeting with the Malaysian prime minister at the White House. 'But those sanctions are nothing to what ultimately will have to happen.'
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that a new round of United Nations Security Council sanctions will not enough to keep North Korea in check
The prohibition on new guest workers and textile exports was not nearly as strong a response to the Pyongyang's unruly behavior as the United States had wanted. Trump's administration was pushing for a total ban on crude oil imports.
It had to settle for an extension of the current cap to get the resolution through.
Experts say the measures will lead to deep cuts to Kim Jong-Un's hard currency, making it more difficult for him to develop his nuclear program.
Legislators that sit on relevant policy making committees agree with the president, though, that the U.S., at least, has to do more to deter Kim.
The security council vote imposed the ninth round of sanctions on Pyongyang since 2006. The sanctions are intended to undercut funding for the nation's illicit missile and nuclear programs.
North Korea conducted its sixth illicit nuclear test on Sept. 3, prompting anther round of international sanctions.
Though the United States had proposed a complete ban, the sanctions by the U.N. Security Council cap Pyongyang's annual imports of crude oil at the same level they have been for the past 12 months: an estimated 4 million barrels.
Exports of North Korean textiles are prohibited, and other nations are barred from authorizing new work permits for North Korean workers, putting a squeeze on two key sources of hard currency.
North Korea's top envoy to a leading U.N. disarmament body said Tuesday his country 'categorically' rejects the new sanctions.
Ambassador Han Tae Song also lashed out at the United States during a session of the U.N.'s Conference on Disarmament, saying North Korea denounces Washington's 'evil intention' and would 'make sure the U.S. pays a due price.'
Textiles are one of North Korea's major exports, with a total export value estimated at $750 million in 2016, and the tens of thousands of North Koreans working overseas send a significant portion of their earnings home to the regime.
The measures also clamp down on joint ventures, which could stifle the North's ability to trade and to acquire capital and know-how.
But what Washington failed to get was equally telling.
Along with settling for the compromise on oil, the U.S. unsuccessfully tried to get a travel ban and freezes on the assets of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Air Koryo, the North's flagship airline.
This undated picture released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on September 12, 2017 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (C) attending a photo session with teachers
The U.S. proposed slashing projects employing North Korean workers abroad, but instead accepted sanctions aimed at gradually scaling them back.
The weakening of the sanctions reflects the longstanding rift between sanctions hawk Washington, and China and Russia, which advocate direct talks and more efforts to find a resolution through negotiations.
The U.S. has rejected proposals from both countries that it stop joint military exercises with South Korea in exchange for a halt to North Korea's nuclear and missile tests.
Both Beijing and Moscow had strong words for Washington.
China's U.N. ambassador urged the council to adopt the freeze-for-freeze proposal and urged the U.S. to pledge not to seek regime change or North Korea's collapse.
Russia's envoy said Washington's unwillingness to have U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres try to resolve the dispute 'gives rise to very serious questions in our minds.'
U.S. lawmakers called on Tuesday for a 'supercharged' diplomatic response to North Korea's nuclear tests and missile program, including unilateral sanctions on banks and companies from China and other countries that do business with Pyongyang.
'I believe the response from the United States and our allies should be supercharged,' said Representative Ed Royce, chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee.
'We need to use every ounce of leverage... to put maximum pressure on this rogue regime,' he said at a committee hearing on ways to pressure North Korea. 'Time is running out.'
But lawmakers insisted any military option should be a last resort.
'It's hard to overstate just how devastating a conflict on the Korean peninsula would be,' said Representative Eliot Engel, the committee's top Democrat. 'If this conflict escalates into a war, we could be measuring the cost in millions of lives lost.'
Repeated sanctions have failed to deter North Korea's weapons program. But Royce, who said he had breakfast with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday before the hearing, insisted that sanctions could still have an important impact.
He said the United States does not need China's cooperation to pressure North Korea.
'We can designate Chinese banks and companies unilaterally, giving them a choice between doing business with North Korea or the United States,' he said.
'We should go after banks and companies in other countries that do business with North Korea the same way,' he said.
Police are targeting Eurostar terminals to protect children from female genital mutilation (FGM) as officers say they are 'absolutely determined' to obtain the first successful prosecution for the crime since it was outlawed over 30 years ago.
Inspector Allen Davis, from Scotland Yard's sexual offences, exploitation and child abuse command, said it was 'really important' to show the practice, made illegal in 1985, is not tolerated.
A police operation to protect children from practices including FGM, forced marriage, breast ironing and child abuse linked to beliefs focused on Eurostar terminal in London and Kent today.
Police greeted Eurostar customers in London and Kent to protect children from FGM, forced marriage, breast ironing and child abuse
Difficulties getting people to report FGM and testify against family members is one of a 'number of reasons' nobody has yet been convicted, Mr Davis said at St Pancras.
'We are absolutely determined to obtain a successful prosecution,' he said.
'It is really important because of the message that it sends out that this will not be tolerated and it is illegal.
'FGM - and all the harmful practices - we know to be hugely under reported. They are complex issues and the data doesn't represent the scale of the problem.
Officers say they are determined to secure a conviction against those inflicting FGM, a crime for which nobody has been convicted since it was made illegal over 30 years ago
'It's our role to increase awareness and encourage people to come forward and share information that gives people the confidence to report their concern.'
The only trial held in Britain for FGM ended in the the acquittal of the two male suspects in less than 15 minutes in 2015.
Passengers arriving in London on trains from Brussels and Paris were met by officers from the Metropolitan Police, British Transport Police and UK Border Force as part of Operation Limelight.
The only trial held against FGM suspects in Britain ended with the acquittal of the two men in less than 15 minutes
Those who may have travelled from 'countries of prevalence' linked to the 'harmful practices' were spoken to and handed educational material, Mr Davies said.
'Prosecution is important but it is also about preventing it happening, working in partnership and protecting the vulnerable,' he said.
Today marks the first time Operation Limelight has been implemented at a rail terminal as it has targeted UK airports until now.
Leyle Hussein, an FGM survivor and psychotherapist, says the lack of conviction was frustrating, but added that any successful conviction is proof that the child in question has been failed
It comes at the end of what charities have dubbed the 'cutting season' - when girls are taken abroad during the summer holidays to undergo FGM.
Leyla Hussein, a survivor and activist who observed the police operation, said: 'This is about prevention and giving out information but also if a child protection issue comes up, then we take that very seriously.'
Operation Limelight has concentrated on UK airports, until it targeted Eurostar customers today
The 36-year-old, who works as a psychotherapist, said prosecutions for FGM would help communities 'take it seriously'.
She said the lack of convictions was 'absolutely frustrating' for police, but added: 'There's another side to this, because for me, a conviction also means we failed a child.
'When you undergo FGM there is no way back from it. So wouldn't it be great if we intervened before any of this happened and educated parents.'
The ex-husband of a Houston realtor who vanished the day before Hurricane Harvey hit has tearfully admitted to strangling her to death, local cops say.
Steven McDowell, 44, led police to the body of Crystal Seratte McDowell, 37, who had been dumped in Chambers County woodland, after his arrest on Saturday.
But questions remain in the shocking case, Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne told Chron.com - principally why she was killed.
'We really don't have any motive at this point in time,' he said.
Scroll down for video
Steven McDowell, 44, tearfully admitted strangling 37-year old ex-wife Crystal Seratte to death after his arrest on Saturday, the Chambers County Sheriff's Department has said
Crystal was on her way to her ex-husband Steve's home to collect their children, five and eight (all pictured), when she vanished on August 25, just before Hurricane Harvey hit the area
Chambers County Sheriff's Office said it had developed nine persons of interest before finally arresting McDowell over the weekend, according to local affiliate ABC NEWS 13 on Saturday.
Crystal McDowell was last heard from on August 25 when she left the home of boyfriend Paul Hargrave to go to collect her children - aged five and eight - from her ex-husband in Houston.
She never showed up and later missed several business appointments, prompting her uncle to report her missing on August 26.
At the time, Steve claimed she never showed up at his house to collect the children.
He also said he received a text message from her before she was due to arrive in which she described plans to take the children to Dallas to ride out the storm.
Four days after vanishing, the woman's Mercedes was found submerged in flood water in the parking lot of a Motel 6.
Crystal's car (left) was found in floodwater on August 29. Police said they're still not clear on what Steve's motive might have been for the alleged murder
Crystal had been living with boyfriend Paul Hargrave when she was killed. Cops say despite persistent rumors, her children did not witness her murder
It was recognized by someone who had seen her family's frantic social media appeals to find her.
Her remains were discovered more than 20 miles away from her vehicle, after Steve led them to her. A black bag containing her business paperwork was also found at Steve's house.
The children had been staying with their father after Crystal's disappearance, but have been in the care of Child Protective Services since Saturday's arrest.
Hawthorne said that there is no evidence that the children saw the death, despite local rumors to the contrary.
According to her uncle, McDowell recently started working with him in real estate, and everything was falling into place.
'She said herself she was the happiest she had ever been in her life,' Jeff Walters said, adding that he is like a second mother to the missing woman.
Her parents died when she was 11, and after that she lived with him.
In the days before her disappearance, Crystal made teasing references to a happy new life on social media.
McDowell is being held on $500,000 bail and is due in court on Tuesday.
A Pakistani artist draws amazing tattoos for a Chinese visitor at the 12th China Beijing International Cultural & Creative Industry Expo (ICCIE) in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 11, 2017. The expo kicked off in Beijing on Monday, attracting more than 1,800 exhibitors. [Photo by Gong Jie/China.org.cn]
The 12th China Beijing International Cultural & Creative Industry Expo (ICCIE) kicked off in Beijing on Monday.
During the three-day event, the 12th ICCIE will hold over 100 events, covering six series of comprehensive activities, exhibitions, trade promotions, forums and conferences, creative activities, and sub-venue activities.
More than 80 delegations will attend the Expo to facilitate cultural cooperation between China and foreign countries.
For Beijing, the cultural and creative industry has become a pillar industry, as statistics show that the sector's added value was more than 357 billion yuan (around 55 billion U.S. dollars) in 2016, 14.3 percent of Beijings total GDP.
The Expo is jointly hosted by the Ministry of Culture, the State General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television and the Beijing Municipal Peoples Government.
John F Kennedy's youngest granddaughter married her college sweetheart on Saturday in Martha's Vineyard.
The wedding of Tatiana Schlossberg and George Moran took place at the Kennedy family's 377-acre estate Red Gate Farm according to the The New York Times, which previously employed the bride as a reporter on climate change and the environment.
The couple look blissfully happy and in love in photos taken just minutes after saying 'I do' on Saturday, which was just three days before the anniversary of John and Jackie Kennedy, who were married September 12, 1953.
In one of the photos, which were taken by Elizabeth Cecil, Tatiana jokingly points her finger at the camera and laugh while her new husband wears a grin spread across his face.
Tatiana Schlossberg and George Moran were married on Saturday in Matha's vineyard. In the first photos of the private event the couple look blissfully happy and in love
In one of the photos, which were taken by Elizabeth Cecil, Tatiana jokingly points her finger at the camera and laugh while her new husband wears a grin spread across his face
The 27-year-old granddaughter of John and Jackie Kennedy met Moran when the two attended Yale University, with her husband currently in his fourth year of medical school at Columbia University.
She wore a simple wedding dress with a high neck, a lace bodice and a long train that suited her tall and slender figure.
The gown was reminiscent of one worn by Tatiana's mother, Caroline Kennedy, with its high neck and detailed appliques on the bodice.
Tatiana is the second child of Caroline, the former US ambassador to Japan, and her husband Edwin Schlossberg. She has an older sister Rose, 29, and a 24-year-old brother Jack.
For her big day, Tatiana took a page from her late uncle John F Kennedy Jr's playbook it appears, with a limited number of guests attending the nuptials.
She also chose a site that carries a great deal of emotion for the family, with John Jr dying in a plane crash alongside his wife Carolyn and her sister Lauren Besette back in 1999 while the three were traveling to the island for his cousin Rory's wedding at the estate.
She wore a simple wedding dress with a high neck, a lace bodice and a long train that suited her tall and slender figure. The dress, though much different from her grandmother Jackie's, was similarly elegant and flattering
The gown was reminiscent of one worn by Tatiana's mother, Caroline Kennedy, with its high neck and detailed appliques on the bodice. Caroline and her husband Edwin Schlossberg are pictured in 1986 at their wedding
Tatiana and her new husband George were married just three days before the anniversary of John F Kennedy and Jackie Bouvier, who were married September 12, 1953
Among those were believed to be in attendance were Maria Shriver, who has always been close to Caroline.
She brought along her daughter Katherine, who on Sunday posted a video of her mom as she gushed about the recent college graduate's new children's book about her dog Maverick.
Kerry also appeared to be on the island, having posted a photo of herself with her two younger daughters Michaela and Cara in nearby Hyannisport a few days prior, where the Kennedy compound is located.
It is not clear if Robert Jr was in attendance or his son Conor, whose ex Taylor Swift was just on the island last week for her best friend's wedding.
The Kennedy estate, whose value is in the mid-nine figures, is impossible to access for photographers and press as there is just one road leading through the property to the main home, located on the Atlantic Ocean.
Among those who appeared to be absent were the families of Caroline's most well-known cousins: Robert F. Kennedy Jr, Maria Shriver and Kerry Kennedy. Their absence sparked rumors of a feud in between family members.
Robert's daughter Kick was travelling in Spain just a few days before while Kerry's daughter with her ex, New York governor Andrew Cuomo, was hanging out in Italy at the Gp F1 Santander D'Italia Monza.
Maria's son Patrick Schwarzenegger did not make the trip either, choosing instead to stay back in California and participate in the Best Buddies charity bike rise that the Shriver family has held every year at this time to benefit the Special Olympics.
The couple met during their time at Yale and were married at the Kennedy family's 377-acre farm in Martha's Vineyard (couple above in 2014)
Tatiana made her first big appearance on the world scene back in 2013 when she was chosen to deliver remarks at her grandfather's memorial in England.
'We have come here today to honor his memory- as this monument does so well- but today is a difficult day because it is a reminder of a moment of profound sadness for my family, for America and for the world,' said Tatiana at the start of her speech.
'For me, my grandfather lives in my imagination, in his words, and in the lessons he has left with us. Throughout my life, I have been able to connect with him through the study of history, both by studying his life and by studying the eras and patterns that fascinated him.
'Of all the memorials to my grandfather, which pay tribute to his life and work all around the world, this one is very special to our family because it was during his time in England as a young man that my grandfather decided to study political leadership and pursue a life in public service.
'As a lover of history- particularly British history- I know that my grandfather would be both proud and humbled to see that his work on behalf of peace and liberty for all people is remembered in the same place where the rule of law was made manifest nearly 800 years ago.'
The last statement was a reference to the widely held belief that the Magna Carta was signed in Runnymede.
Heartache: The Kennedy estate is where Rory Kenendy had planned her 1999 nuptials, which were postponed when John Jr (above with Carole Radziwill in 1997) died in a plane crash en route to the island
Family: Tatiana and mom Caroline (left); Tatiana with her sister Rose (left) and brother Jack (center) last year
A Chinese billionaire seeking asylum in the United States has been accused of holding his personal assistant hostage and raping the young woman on multiple occasions in court papers filed on Monday.
Rui Ma, 28, claims in a complaint submitted in Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York that after coming to the United States to meet with Guo Wengui, a 50-year-old dissident who currently resides in New York City, she had her passport seized by the man and was trapped in the country for three years.
Over those three years she was raped multiple times according to the court filing, and told that if she ever tried to escape or go back to China she would be tortured and thrown in jail.
She was able to make her way to the Chinese embassy during a trip to London she took with her accused captor according to the complaint, at which point she was able to return home.
Ma is now asking for at lest $120 million in damages, and has also filed criminal charges against Wengui in China.
Serious allegations: Guo Wengui (above) a Chinese dissident worth over $2billion is accused of raping his assistant Rui Ma
Nice digs: Wengui lives in a $68million apartment on the 18th floor of the Sherry Netherland in NYC
Prison: Ma, 28, claims she came to meet with Wengui for one week and ended up being held captive in his apartment (above) for three years after he seized her passport
Ma arrived in New York City over three years ago on what she thought was a one-week trip according to the filing.
There she met, Wengui who resides in an 18th floor apartment at the Sherry Netherlands on Fifth Avenue overlooking Central park and valued at $68 million.
Wengui told Ma 'she could at no point return to the [People's Republic of China] soon after her arrival, and 'forcibly took away [Ma's] passport.'
He would also monitor her Internet activity and make her work 'until 2 am or 4am, seven days a week' according to the complaint.
Ma was able to fight Wengui off the first time he allegedly tried to rape her, with the filing stating Wengui 'pulled down his pants and underwear, and began to tear at [Ma's] skirt and tights, physically battering her in the process.'
The next time she was not able to fight him off, walking up to find him on top of her in the bedroom after the two had shared drinks together sstates the compalint.
'After this violence concluded, [Wengui] left [Ma] alone, bleeding in her bed,' Ma's lawyer Lisa Solbakken states in court papers.
'She continued to live in constant fear of [Wengui] thereafter, remaining awake for as long as she could muster for fear that [Wengui] would again attack.'
It then happened next when the two were in London on a business trip.
Filing: Court papers filed by Ma detail two incidents of alleged rape and claim that she suffered multiple other sexual assaults at the hands of Wengui (above in his NYC apartment)
Multipke suits: Ma is now asking for at lest $120 million in damages, and has also filed criminal charges against Wengui in China (Wengui on his yacht ABOVE)
Fighting back: Wengui (above) claims this is all part of an effort being made by the Chinese government to have him deported back to the country
The complaint details that alleged incident, with Ma claiming Wengui locked her in a room and then 'violently pulled from her chair' and threw her to the floor.
She was 'ultimately overpowered by [Wengui], who tore at [Ma's] pants and underwear' before her 'proceeded to pin [Ma's] hands together with one hand, so that she could no longer resist him, and put the full weight of his body on her' states the complaint.
It goes on to claim: '[Wengui] then proceeded to use his legs to separate [Ma's] legs and again forcibly rape her.'
There were more sexual assaults according to the filing, but only those were detailed in the complaint.
Wengui has claimed this complaint and others that were recently filed, inclining one this past July by a woman named Yan Huang, are all part of an effort by the Chinese government to have his deported and stop him from exposing corruption in the government.
He is worth of two billion dollars, and a decision on whether or not he will receive asylum is expected to be made on Friday.
A woman in Maryland claiming to be a psychic found herself behind bars Monday after allegedly bamboozling more than $80,000 from a client.
The victim, who wished to remain anonymous, had reached out to Gina Marie Marks in May 2016 seeking assistance with her love life.
Marks, who presented herself as a psychic named Natalie Miller, convinced her new client that bad energy was poisoning her relationships and offered her services as a remedy, according to NBC 6 News.
Marks, who went by the alias Natalie Miller, allegedly stole more than $80,000 from her client
Marks had served 18 months in a Florida prison for defrauding three women out of $500,000 in 2010
'She claims that she has the power to fix everything,' the client told NBC. 'She claimed that I had some black magic around me, some darkness around me that I needed to be removed.'
The victim began maxing out her credit cards and spending thousands of dollars in cash, in the end handing over $82,000 to the so-called soothsayer.
'She kept asking me for money and she said she needed more money to do the rituals,' the victim said.
But when Mark's stopped answering the victim's phone calls in November 2016, she realized she had been conned.
The victim immediately called Montgomery County police and enlisted the help of an independent investigator.
The victim, who wished to remain anonymous, said she turned to Marks to help her love life
Bob Nygaard (pictured) was able to track Marks at Miami International Airport and alerted authorities
'Gina Marie Marks sized her up and told her that she saw these relationship problems were black magic,' private detective Bob Nygaard told NBC.
According to authorities, who issued a warrant for the psychic, Marks had fled to Florida and attempted to leave the country from Miami International Airport.
But Nygaard was able to track Marks down, and contacted the police before her flight was scheduled to take off.
She was placed under arrest and is expected to be extradited to Montgomery County to face grand theft charges.
Nygaard said that Marks had served prison time before, and this was his second time tracking down the alleged swindler.
'I had her arrested somewhere around 2010 for defrauding three women of $503,000,' he said. 'She was sentenced to 18 months in a Florida prison.'
Police evacuated tourists from the area around Barcelona's Sagrada Familia church as part of an anti-terror operation after a false alarm of a van carrying a suspicious package.
Specialist bomb disposal experts have been sent to the area to check a van, police said, but have now confirmed it was a false alarm.
The Catalan police force tweeted: 'It is a false alarm. Situation has normalized in Sagrada Familia.'
The nearest tube station was closed and locals and holidaymakers were ordered away from cafe and bar terraces and told to take refuge inside premises.
Several roads were also closed while the area was cordoned off as police gathered to investigate.
Scroll down for video
The area was cordoned off as police rushed to investigate
It comes less than a month after 13 people were murdered and 130 hurt in the city's Las Ramblas when a jihadist drove a van into pedestrians on the street
A bomb squad was sent to investigate the package, but later announced that it was a false alarm
The nearest tube station was closed and locals and holidaymakers were ordered away from cafe and bar terraces and told to take refuge inside premises
Several roads were also closed while the area was cordoned off as police gathered to investigate
The drama is understood to have been sparked by a suspicious package inside a van, but the bomb squad found no explosives inside.
Los Mossos, the Catalan police force, said that nobody had been detained in connection with the investigation.
Regional Mossos d'Esquadra police earlier tweeted in a message partly directed at those immediately affected: 'We are making checks around the Sagrada Familia as part of an anti-terror operation and have cordoned off the area.
'Follow the instructions of police.'
The Sagrada Familia, one of Barcelona's most popular tourist attractions, was the intended target of the terrorists who carried out last month's atrocity in the city's famous Ramblas and the seaside resort of Cambrils.
It comes less than a month after 13 people were murdered and 130 hurt in the city's Las Ramblas when a jihadist drove a van into pedestrians on the street.
It emerged that the terrorists who attacked Catalonia in August were plotting to detonate vans loaded with gas canisters into popular tourist destinations in Barcelona - including the Sagrada Familia (pictured)
Five men then drove into pedestrians in nearby Cambrils, murdering one woman and hurting six others before being shot dead by police.
It later emerged that the terrorists were plotting to detonate vans loaded with gas canisters into popular tourist destinations in Barcelona - including the Sagrada Familia.
Spain has kept its anti-terrorism security warning one level below the maximum since mid-2015.
Malista Ness-Hopkins, 38, faces charges of abuse and neglect after social services found her kids, ages two and three, trapped inside cribs which had bars screwed on top
A Virginia woman who allegedly kept her young children in makeshift cages has made bail.
Malista Ness-Hopkins, 38, faces charges of abuse and neglect after social services found her kids, ages two and three, trapped inside cribs which had bars screwed on top.
Her other three children were found living in squalor at the home in Mears on Virginia's Eastern Shore.
Kate Bonniwell, a social services worker, described the shocking scene when she entered Ness-Hopkins' home on July 28 after receiving a complaint, Delmarva Now reported.
She told the court at a preliminary hearing Friday, that it had taken more than 20 minutes with an electric screwdriver for her to remove the top of the makeshift cage to free the toddlers.
While she did so, the two-year-old was hissing at her and making 'animal sounds,' she said. When she finally did get the lid off, the child simply lay there, as if they didn't know what to do next.
Video from WBOC
'The children didn't act like normal children,' she said.
Bonniwell said the two-year-old, three-year-old, and a one-year-old baby whose crib did not have a cages lid, wore filthy diapers and were 'infested with lice'.
Her other three children were found living in squalor at the home (pictured) in Mears on Virginia's Eastern Shore
Bars were nailed across the windows at the property, while inside was much worse
Social services described the home as filed with trash, rotting food and infested with fleas
In another room, a five- and a six-year-old were lying on a bare, ripped up mattress.
The entire home stank of urine, she told the court, and the home's only bathroom had a broken toilet seat, and was filled with black water.
Meanwhile, the bathroom's sink and bathtub were filled with plates of rotting food and trash.
The children were immediately seized from the home.
The children were removed from the home on July 28, the day social workers visited. Ness-Hopkins faces five counts of abuse and neglect charges (file image)
Malista Ness-Hopkins, 38, of Virginia, was arrested and charged with child abuse and neglect, after two of her five children were found locked in filthy makeshift cages. Ness-Hopkins appeared in court (file) on Friday where her attorney told a judge his client was 'overwhelmed'
Defense attorney Tucker Watson told the judge that Ness-Hopkins was 'overwhelmed'.
Ness-Hopkins told officials when she was arrested that she has been a stay-at-home mother for 17 but that her boyfriend and baby daddy Tommy Annis died in May 2016 at age 33.
He argued that there was no evidence that the conditions in the home 'were directly harmful to the children'.
The judge disagreed and sent the charges to a grand jury.
'This did not happen overnight,' Judge Croxton Gordon said. 'She said she only screwed them in when she couldn't mind them. But she was there.'
The Amtrak engineer who caused the deadly 2015 Amtrak train derailment in Philadelphia has been cleared of all charges.
Brandon Bostian, 34, was charged with involuntary manslaughter in May after reports emerged he was going 106mph when he took a 50mph curve, causing the train to derail, killing eight and injuring more than 200.
A Philadelphia police officer testified Bostian also had an electronic tablet on him at the time of the crash, although that crucial piece of evidence disappeared before it could be examined by federal investigators to see if it was being used while Bostian was operating the train.
But at Tuesday's preliminary hearing, Judge Thomas Gehret said he feels like the deadly crash is 'more likely an accident than criminal negligence,' NBC News reports.
Brandon Bostian, the Amtrak engineer charged in a Philadelphia derailment that killed eight in 2015, (pictured arriving for the preliminary hearing at the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia, today) has been cleared of all charges
Brandon Bostian, center, accompanied by his lawyer Brian McMonagle, center right, outside the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia, Tuesday was charged with involuntary manslaughter in May after the deadly crash
Just minutes after leaving Philadelphia on May 12, 2015, on a Washington-to-New York run, the train accelerated to 106 mph on a 50 mph curve, derailing in a crash that killed eight people and injured about 200.
Philadelphia prosecutors had decided not to charge him, but a judge acting on a private criminal complaint from a crash victim's family ordered misdemeanor charges filed.
The case was referred to the state attorney general, who added a felony count of causing a catastrophe on top of eight misdemeanor counts of involuntary manslaughter and other charges.
At Tuesday's hearing, a passenger who survived the deadly crash testified she'd felt the train accelerate and heard a a 'big bang,' and blacked out. The next thing she knew, she was waking up in the woods.
At Tuesday's hearing, Blair Berman (pictured outside court, center) who survived the deadly crash testified she'd felt the train accelerate and heard a a 'big bang,' and blacked out. The next thing she knew, she was waking up in the woods
Blair Berman (left) says the train was 'going way too fast'. The National Transportation Safety Board found that Bostian (right) essentially forgot where he was when he sped up
A judge said he feels like the crash, which had Bostian (outside court, center, on Tuesday with lawyer Brian McMonagle, right) said he feels like the deadly crash is 'more likely an accident than criminal negligence
Blair Berman, who was riding in the severely damaged first car of the train, says the train speeded up as it approached a curve and she could feel her body weight shifting before the crash.
She says the train was 'going way too fast.'
'I heard screaming from the front of the car and then a big bang and then I blacked out and woke up in the woods,' she said.
When she woke, she discovered she had several broken bones and was unable to put any weight on her leg.
She began screaming for help until Bostian eventually let her use his phone to call her dad.
Berman said the driver had seemed alert, but Philadelphia Police Det. Joseph Knoll, testified that Bostian seemed confused and did not know where he was when they arrived at hospital a few miles away.
Knoll told the court Bostian had a visible head wound, but it was not known whether he suffered a concussion.
The National Transportation Safety Board found that Bostian essentially forgot where he was when he sped up.
The citizen complaint against Bostian was brought by attorneys for the family of Rachel Jacobs, a 39-year-old chief executive of a Philadelphia-based technology startup who was killed returning home to her husband and two-year-old son in New York.
Attorney Thomas Kline, representing the family, said he was shocked and saddened by the judge's decision.
'There's been no accountability despite the enormity of the loss,' Kline said Tuesday.
On May 12, 2015, during a journey from Washington, DC to New York, at 9:10pm, Bostian accelerated to 106mph on a 50mph curve, which caused the train to derail (Pictured, an aerial shot of the wreckage)
Eight of the passengers were killed and more than 200 of the 238 were injured (Pictured, rescue workers asses the wreckage)
Bostian was initially cleared of criminal wrongdoing in May, but was charged again after the family of a crash victim brought a civil lawsuit. (Bostian pictured left in 2007 outside a train at the Amtrak station in St Louis, and passengers aboard the train steady themselves just moments following the crash)
Just days before a two-year statute of limitations was to expire, Philadelphia prosecutors announced they had concluded there was insufficient evidence to prove that Bostian acted with intent or 'conscious disregard' for the passengers' safety.
But victim lawyers argued that should be an issue for a jury to decide.
The case brought closer scrutiny to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) finding that Bostian had lost 'situational awareness' on the curve in North Philadelphia.
The speed limit climbs from 50mph to 110mph about a mile and a half after the curve.
Amtrak has taken responsibility for the crash and agreed to pay $265 million to settle claims filed by victims and their families.
The NTSB found no evidence that Bostian was impaired or using a cellphone. The agency also called Amtrak's long failure to implement automatic speed control throughout the busy Northeast Corridor a contributing factor.
Brandon Bostian, the Amtrak engineer involved in a fatal train crash two years ago, has been cleared of all charges (pictured turning himself in earlier this year)
The 34-year-old was seen walking to a Philadelphia police station to turn himself in last May, with someone who appears to be his lawyer
He was escorted inside the police station where he faced eight charges of involuntary manslaughter. Those charges have since been dropped
Bostian has a personal injury suit pending against Amtrak, saying he was left disoriented or unconscious when something struck his train before it derailed.
He had heard through radio traffic that a nearby commuter train had been struck by a rock. However, the NTSB concluded that nothing struck his locomotive.
Federal investigators believed he was distracted listening to radio traffic that a nearby commuter train had been struck by a rock and lost track of where he was.
'One thing he has never recollected is how or why he accelerated before the curve,' said attorney Robert Mongeluzzi, who with Kline represents about three dozen victims.
Other lawyers have called last year's NTSB report on the crash a 'whitewash' and a 'quantum leap.'
An Austin professor has resigned from his law firm for tweeting shocking remarks about Education Secretary Betsy DeVos after she said Title IX rules could no longer be invoked in campus rape cases.
On Friday Robert Ranco, an adjunct professor of paralegal studies at Austin Community College, tweeted: 'I'm not wishing for it but I'd be ok if #BetsyDevos was sexually assaulted. #TitleIX #SexualAssault'.
Ranco resigned from his position at Carlson Law Firm on Monday amid backlash against the tweet, which he initially defended, but later characterized as 'a mistake'.
Scroll down for video
Resigned: Robert Ranco (left) resigned from an Austin law firm on Monday after remarks he tweeted about Education Secretary Betsy DeVos (right) on Friday
Shocking: In this tweet Ranco said he'd 'be ok if Betsy DeVos was sexually assaulted' after her decision to roll back Obama-era rules about Title IX's use in campus sexual assault cases
Ranco has now deleted his Twitter account, but some remarks remain in Google's cache.
In the immediate aftermath of his tweet, Ranco defended his remarks by writing: 'Yes, @twitter. My words were harsh. I don't wish harm on anyone. I wish there's some way #BetsyDevos would understand and care about others.'
He added: 'The #TitleIX rollback is bad for young women and that's scary.'
Ranco was incensed by DeVos' decision on Thursday to revamp Barack Obama's guidelines on Title IX, a federal law that forbids discrimination in education based on sex.
Obama told colleges in 2011 that complaints of sexual assault by students fell under Title IX, and laid out rules for colleges to follow when investigating such claims.
DeVos rolled back those guidelines, saying they had 'weaponized' Title IX and led to innocent people being wrongly accused of sexual assault.
Critics of that decision - including Ranco - say that the threat of censure under Title IX is necessary to ensure that complaints of sexual assault by women are taken seriously.
Response: In the immediate aftermath Ranco defended his 'harsh' words, but he later went on to apologize to DeVos and 'anyone else who was offended, impacted, shocked' by the tweet
'Scary': DeVos has removed Obama's decision to make colleges answerable to Title IX sex discrimination laws in campus rape cases, something Ranco said was 'scary'
Ranco came to regret his remarks, telling KVUE on Monday: 'My tweet from Friday was a mistake. I take full responsibility from it.
'It was my mistake and nobody else's and I apologize. I'll be working continuously moving forward to make it for my mistake.
'I hope that Secretary DeVos and anyone else who was offended, impacted, shocked by my actions that they can find it in their hearts to forgive me.'
But that wasn't enough for Carlson Law Firm, a civil rights specialist, which announced the same day that he had resigned.
Craig Carlson, the company's head, said that he 'wasn't going to make a rash decision about a member of this family just to appease people on social media' but that Ranco's position was untenable.
'With over 150 employees - 75 per cent of whom are women - anyone in our company advocating or even expressing apathy towards sexual assault is affront to all victims and a line that simply cannot be uncrossed,' he said.
Disagreement: DeVos' critics say that Obama's rules forced schools to take accusations seriously. DeVos says they led to too many false claims being made against innocents
'This has been an enormous distraction that has taken us away from the mission of our firm, which is to care for and help people.'
Chris Kaiser with the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault told Fox 7 Austin that he also disliked DeVos' decision, but that he could not support Ranco's tweet.
'The lesson here is if we are really interested in supporting survivors and pushing back against harmful policies we need to stick to the issues and prove our position is the sound one,' he said.
'Its absolutely unacceptable to treat the experience of sexual violence in such a glib and political manner, its disrespectful to sexual assault survivors who have had that experience, its discrediting to the hard work we have to do to push back against the department's agenda.'
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders used a reporter's question on whether President Trump would be reading Hillary Clinton's book What Happened to wage a full-fledged attack on her boss' former political nemesis.
Huckabee Sanders told Yahoo's Hunter Walker in the briefing room Tuesday that she wasn't sure if Trump would pick up the tome, 'But I would think that he's pretty well versed on what happened,' she said, snarking at Clinton's book title.
'I think it's sad that after Hillary Clinton ran one of the most negative campaigns in history and lost, the last chapter of her public life is going to be now defined by propping up book sales with false and reckless attacks,' Huckabee Sanders said. 'And I think that's a sad way for her to continue.'
Scroll down for video
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said she thought Hillary Clinton's book tour was 'sad' as she's 'propping up book sales with false and reckless attacks'
Hillary Clinton holds up a copy of her new book What Happened. President Trump doesn't need to read it, his press secretary said Tuesday, because 'he's pretty well versed on what happened'
Hillary Clinton was in New York signing copies of her new book What Happened Tuesday, while taking heat for some of the comments she's made about fellow Democrats
Yesterday, Clinton had sat down with USA Today and said she believed there was Russia and Trump campaign collusion.
'There certainly was communication and there certainly was an understanding of some sort,' Clinton said. 'Because there's no doubt in my mind that Putin wanted me to lose and wanted Trump to win. And there's no doubt in my mind that there are a tangle of financial relationships between Trump and his operation with Russian money.'
'And there's no doubt in my mind that the Trump campaign and other associates have worked really hard to hide their connections with Russians,' the former secretary of state added.
Beyond this charge, Clinton labeled Trump a 'creep' in the book and said he made her 'skin crawl' when he got too close to her at the second presidential debate.
However, much of what's been newsworthy out of What Happened which was officially released today was that Clinton knocked around the Democrats so much.
She hit back at former Vice President Joe Biden who had suggested she hadn't made enough of an effort with working people, pointing out that he had stumped for her.
In her book and on her media tour she's lashed out at Sen. Bernie Sanders and his supporters for not fully coming into the Democratic Party's fold.
On an episode of the Pod Save America podcast, released today, Clinton talked about how much better she treated President Obama, after losing to him in the Democratic primary in 2008, than how Sanders and his ilk treated her.
'I didn't get anything like that respect from Sanders and his supporters,' she told the hosts, who had worked in President Obama's White House.
'And it hurt, you know, to have basically captured the nomination, ending up with more than 4 million votes than he had but he dragged it out,' she said of her primary rival.
Democrats are split on whether Clinton should be airing out her party's dirty laundry.
A new Rasmussen Reports poll has 54 percent of Democrats saying she 54 percent saying there's still a future for her in public life, while another 36 percent said she should retire.
'The best thing she could do is disappear,' a former Clinton fundraiser told the Hill newspaper last week. 'She's doing harm to all of us because of her own selfishness. Honestly, I wish she'd just shut the f*** up and go away.'
That particular source's comments are more in line with the majority of the country 61 percent said she should retire and Republicans like Huckabee Sanders, with 83 percent of GOP likely voters saying it's time to step out of public life.
The mugshot for Daniel T. Smith, 44. He pleaded guilty to six counts of animal cruelty
A Pittsburgh man pleaded guilty to six counts of animal cruelty after he poisoned three cats.
Daniel T. Smith, 44, used mothballs to poison the homeless cats, which he called a nuisance, because he was tired of feces on his sidewalk.
According to an affidavit, the cats had been designated a colony by Animal Friends and had been spayed, neutered and vaccinated.
They were fed by two women on the street, Cindy Matera and her daughter, Christina Zilliott, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
'I would put food out for them when we were sitting outside,' said Cindy Matera.
'They liked to be petted. They were nothing like feral cats,' she told wtae.com.
The two women called police and said that Smith had put two dead cats in their trash can, got in his car and drove away.
Another cat was found vomiting, and was later euthanized by a veterinarian.
Pittsburgh police Officer Christine Luffey said that the colony, a group of feral cats, previously had 11 homeless cats but only three were left, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
She continued to say that the animals don't deserve to suffer and if people are having problems with animals, they need to do the right thing, according to CBS Pittsburgh.
The women told police that Smith said: ''I killed six or eight of your cats, and I'll kill the rest of them.'
The mothballs, which contain poisonous chemical, napthalene, were scattered throughout Smith's yard.
He said: 'So what. I have mothballs.'
Smith said that it wasn't illegal to put mothballs in his yard and that the cats had no rights because they didn't belong to anyone
'It's not illegal for me to own mothballs and put them in my yard,' according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Smith also told police that the cats had no rights because they weren't owned by anyone and that police couldn't prove he killed them.
The charges Smith pleaded to are first-degree misdemeanors, which carry a maximum of five years in prison and because of unrelated convictions, he could face jail time if found guilty.
He will be sentenced on December 7.
A white Starbucks customer who launched a vile racist rant earlier this year in which he yelled: 'Shut up, slave!' and spat is now facing felony hate crime charges.
William Boucher, 24, was initially charged with three counts of misdemeanor battery for his tirade outside the Loop Starbucks in Chicago in June.
His shocking behavior was filmed by by-standers including an ABC photographer and went viral.
The Cook County State's Attorney has now upgraded the charges to four counts of aggravated battery in a public place and four hate crimes.
He posted 10 percent of his $50,000 bail when the fresh charges were brought in August. He will return to court on October 23.
If convicted of all counts, he faces up a sentence of more than 30 years in jail - a maximum of five years per aggravated battery charge and three years per hate crime.
William Boucher, 24, now faces nine felony charges for lashing out outside a Starbucks in Loop, Chicago, in June (right). He will return to court on October 23
On June 6, Boucher lashed out after having a drink spilled on his pale suit inside the coffee store.
He screamed and yelled inside before taking his tantrum on to the sidewalk where he screamed profanities at a black man.
'Shut up, slave. Do not talk to me,' he said before calling the man 'vermin' and telling him to 'walk on all fours'.
'Get on all fours right now! Get on all fours! Don't walk away on two legs!' he screamed as another man held him back.
He also spat at the black man's feet.
As he walked away, a second, unidentified man who is believed to have been homeless was filmed approaching him.
Boucher yelled 'shut up, slave!' at a black man (left), told him to 'walk on all fours' and spat at him during the outburst on June 6. He became irate after having a drink spilled on his pale suit inside the Starbucks
He continued hurling abuse at the man and then punched another, seen above standing beside him in a red jacket
By-standers wrestled Boucher to the ground (main) while others comforted the injured man (left) before police arrived
Boucher punched him forcefully, sending him flying to the ground with a single hit.
The by-standers he'd earlier been arguing with then tackled him to the ground and held him there until police arrived.
At the time, Starbucks stood behind the people who put a stop to his vile behavior.
'We have absolutely no tolerance for this type of behavior in our stores, and are grateful to the partners (employees) and customers who stepped in to help until officers arrived,' the company said in a statement.
Boucher describes himself as an 'entrepreneur and socialist' on social media.
The United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) published a report on Kubuqi Business Model, which has created wealth through eco-restoration, in Ordos City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, during the ongoing 13th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP13) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
A file photo shows a part of Kubuqi Desert that has turned to green. [Photo provided to China.org.cn]
It is the first eco-wealth report published by the U.N. authorities and the first case report recognizing China's work in ecological civilization construction.
Spanning over 118,000 square kilometers, the Kubuqi Desert is the seventh largest desert in China and was once a significant source of dust storms in northern China. However, for the last three decades, the Elion Group headed by Wang Wenbiao, has been restoring degraded land to support local economic growth, such as the company's liquorice plantations, by adopting the PPP mode of cooperation of public (government), private (enterprises) and local population (the locals).
The UNEP report, prepared from multiple surveys and field research over years. reveals stunning statistics of the total wealth created from Elion's ecological restoration business. Total accountable wealth reached 500,863 million yuan (US$72,589 million).
The restoration business has had big impact in many aspects: in poverty alleviation, per capita annual income increased from 747 to 17,000 Yuan (an average annual increase of 11.5 percent over the survey period) for a population of 100,000 people in the project area with Elion creating one million job opportunities.
Based on a social survey, Elion contributed about one-third of the annual growth, the total addition to local incomes being 8.4 billion yuan. The company also developed 243 patented technologies that cut reforestation costs by 2 billion yuan.
Elion also reclaimed and is currently restoring 4,475 square kilometers of land, sequestered 14.5 million tons of carbon, produced 18.3 million tons of oxygen, improved the habitats for plants and animals, and established 5,391 square kilometers of windbreaks.
UNEP) executive director Erik Solheim, speaking at a press conference to launch the report, said the Kubuqi Business Model is a role model for China and the world in terms of fighting desertification.
"The desert is not seen as a problem, but an opportunity for change, " he said. "It can lift people out of poverty, provide prosperity, develop the place while at the same time taking care of the desert and making it greener. This is such a fantastic result."
Solheim said the Kubuqi model should be promoted globally. It may not be completely copied to other countries who suffer desertification, but they could learn and draw on its experiences and technologies.
Wang Wenbiao, chairman of Elion Group, said the Kubuqi Business Model was about combining environmental protection with wealth making, combining ecology with industry, and combining enterprise development with combating the expansion of deserts.
"Through the PPP partnership mode, the environment is improved, enterprise profits and overall development becomes sustainable," Wang said, adding the Kubuqi model's success was also thanks to President Xi Jinping's significant strategic thoughts on ecological civilization.
Ecological civilization was listed, along with economic, political, cultural and social progress, as one of the goals in the country's overall development plan at the 18th National Congress of the National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, when Xi was elected general secretary of the CPC Central Committee.
The Kubuqi model has become a name card for China's desertification control efforts. In order to promote and share the experience of combating desertification, the Kubuqi International Desert Forum was established in 2007 and has been held five times thanks to the support of governments at all levels, relevant departments, the U.N. and the UNCCD secretariat.
More than 2,000 political dignitaries, experts and ecological entrepreneurs from around the world have participated in field trips, professional exchanges and sharing experiences via forums to the great benefit of all.
The sixth Kubuqi International Desert Forum was held July 28-30, 2017, in the Kubuqi Desert in Ordos.
Hillary Clinton has claimed that Matt Lauer's questioning of her during an election special was so biased that 'Donald Trump should have reported his performance as a contribution in kind,' her new book reveals.
The former Democratic Presidential candidate said that NBC host 'turned what should have been a serious discussion into a pointless ambush'.
Clinton said that she 'fantasized about shaking some sense into Lauer' but held her tongue.
Clinton went on the attack in her new memoir, What Happened, her account of her loss to Donald Trump.
In the book she claims that no living former president likes Trump, meaning he is loathed by Jimmy Carter, George H W Bush, George W Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama.
The two candidates took part in a 'Commander-in-chief' event on NBC with Lauer last September, where Clinton believed Lauer had turned what should have been a serious discussion into a 'pointless ambush and a waste of time'
Hillary Clinton has slammed NBC's Matt Lauer confessing she 'fantasized about shaking some sense' into the television host, in her new book What Happened (Pictured during a book signing on Tuesday)
The new memoir is Clinton's most personal memoir to date and, after four decades in public life, she says she is finally 'letting my guard down'
Such is former First Lady Michelle Obama's dislike of Trump that during his inauguration she swapped a glance with Clinton which said: 'Can you believe this?'
Clinton also reveals that her husband warned her that she might lose because working class Democrats thought she would take away their guns as well as force them to go to gay weddings.
What Happened is Clinton's most personal memoir to date and, after four decades in public life, she says she is finally 'letting my guard down'.
Over 500 pages she accepts some blame for her defeat but points the finger at, among others; the media, Russia, partisanship, sexism, gerrymandering, the FBI, its former director James Comey and, of course, Trump.
The two candidates took part in a 'Commander-in-chief' event on NBC with Lauer last September, two months before the election.
It was billed as a discussion of foreign policy and each candidate was interviewed by Lauer one after the other in front of a live studio audience.
In her book, Clinton said that it was 'disappointing but predictable' that Lauer immediately asked about the scandal over use of a private email server.
Her anger grew even more as she watched as Lauer 'soft-pedaled' Trump and failed to go after him as aggressively
Clinton admits she 'fantasized about shaking some sense into Lauer' but held her tongue
She writes that Lauer 'wanted his pound of flesh' and 'made a show of grilling me' rather than talking about serious issues.
Clinton grew frustrated that Lauer asked four follow up questions about her emails and only then changed the subject 'after learning absolutely nothing new or interesting.'
When a Republican audience member asked why she had 'corrupted' national security Clinton became 'ticked off' because she realized that 'NBC knew exactly what it was doing here.'
She writes: 'Lauer had turned what should have been a serious discussion into a pointless ambush. What a waste of time'.
Her anger grew even more as she watched as Lauer 'soft-pedaled' Trump and failed to go after him as aggressively.
Clinton writes: 'Trump should have reported his performance as a contribution in kind'.
As a former First Lady Clinton had the dubious honor of having to attend Trump's inauguration, something she agreed to do out of respect for the office of the Presidency.
But during the ceremony as Trump talked about 'American Carnage' during an apocalyptic address, it became hard to contain herself.
Clinton writes: 'At some point in the day's proceedings Michelle (Obama) and I shared a rueful look. It said: 'Can you believe this?'
The Democratic loser attended Donald Trump's inauguration in January as something she agreed to do out of respect for the office of the Presidency, she says. During the ceremony she claims she and Michelle Obama shared a rueful look
Clinton describes her husband as one of the best two politicians she has ever met - the other is Barack Obama
Clinton claims that none of the former Presidents were fans of the new President and that after she lost the election Carter and George W Bush were among the first to call her.
Clinton says that she told Carter: 'This is the worst' to which he replied: 'Yes it is'.
George W Bush - whose brother Jeb had been humiliated by Trump in the Republican primaries - offered to get burgers with her which she interpreted as 'Texan for I feel your pain'
Clinton describes her husband as one of the best two politicians she has ever met - the other is Barack Obama.
Clinton describes Bill as supportive of her campaign and 'completely unbothered having an ambitious and occasionally pushy wife'
In fact Bill gave her an early warning about the danger posed by Trump and told her bluntly: 'You might lose'.
Bill told her about a 'particularly troubling' conversation he had with an old friend who lived in the Ozarks of northern Arkansas.
The friend, a store owner called Mark, said he knew the Republicans would do nothing for him but he felt the same about the Democrats.
She also admits Bill warned she could lose the election because working class Democrats thought she would take away their guns and force them to go to gay weddings (Pictured after giving her loser's speech)
Mark said: 'And at least the Republicans won't do anything to us. The Democrats want to take away my gun and make me go to a gay wedding'.
On election night when it became clear that Clinton had lost North Carolina, Florida and Ohio, effectively ending the race, she and Bill were left alone in their hotel room.
She writes: 'I hadn't cried yet, wasn't sure if I would. But I felt deeply and thoroughly exhausted, like I hadn't slept in ten years.
'We lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Bill took my hand and we just lay there'.
In What Happened, Clinton also opens up about motherhood and speaks about her feelings of inadequacy when she had her daughter Chelsea in 1980.
She says that she felt 'pretty inept' in the beginning and when Chelsea would not stop crying and felt 'frantic'.
Clinton writes: 'Finally I sat down and tried to make eye contact with this squirming infant. 'Chelsea,' I said firmly: 'This is new for both of us. I've never been a mother before, you've never been a baby.
'We're just going to have to help each other do the best we can'.
Clinton admits that being a mother was 'very, very boring' and she struggled with having to read children's stories over and over again to her newborn.
Clinton wondered if she was a 'monster' for having such feelings about somebody she should be loving unconditionally.
She also felt guilty about bringing up Chelsea in the public eye - she spent her teens in the White House - and wondered if she had made a 'terrible mistake subjecting her to this life'.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has welcomed the commitment of an extra 25 million to help British Overseas Territories affected by Hurricane Irma, branding it 'great news'.
Undertaking a visit of Anguilla, where he saw first hand the damage caused to the island, Boris said: 'You can't be but affected by the scale of devastation the people of Anguilla have endured.'
Before heading to the British Virgin Islands, he visited Anguilla's Princess Alexandra Hospital, which suffered 60 per cent damage as Hurricane Irma unleashed devastation, something he said was 'pitiful' to witness.
Welcoming the announcement of an extra cash injection to immediately help British Overseas Territories battered by the storm, he said: 'It is great news another 25 million has been announced, that will help us get through this emergency period.
Undertaking a visit of Anguilla, where he saw first hand the damage caused to the island, Boris said: 'You can't be but affected by the scale of devastation the people of Anguilla have endured'
During his Anguilla visit, he also toured the police headquarters, where despite losing 90 per cent of its roof and having to deal with rainwater flooding the building and cells, it remained fully operational throughout the hurricane
The foreign secretary helped a local cut down a tree outside Anguilla hospital after it was battered by Hurricane Irma
Hurricane Irma left Anguilla devastated, with swathes of the island left uninhabitable
'But there are things we are going to have to do in the long-term to make this island more economically self-sufficient and even more resilient, and we will certainly be thinking about that.'
Whilst at the hospital, Boris could be heard saying 'Wow, this is going to be a big, big job', and on seeing water damaged rooms - many with missing roofs, said: 'We need to put the pedal to the metal' to get things running fully again.
As Royal Marines and Royal Engineers arrived at the hospital to help with repairs, Mr Johnson said to them: 'They need you badly in there.'
As Royal Marines and Royal Engineers arrived at the hospital to help with repairs, Mr Johnson said to them: 'They need you badly in there'
The Foreign Secretary meeting locals in Anguilla after Irma hit the islands of the British Virgin Islands and Anguilla
Prime Minister Theresa May announced that Britain is sending an extra 25million to help the Caribbean recover from Hurricane Irma earlier today
Boris will be heading to the British Virgin Islands later today. Here he is pictured with a local on Anguilla
At least 50 people were killed by the devastating hurricane, with the islands of Barbuda and St Martin among the hardest hit. Pictured: The foreign secretary on Anguilla
The Foreign Secretary also looked around the Anguilla Red Cross relief centre - inspecting the piles of bottled water, tinned food, UK Aid tarpaulins and toiletries
He said: 'I am very pleased that since very early on, since Friday, we have had troops here and they helped to get things going. And here they are coming in again today to help to rebuild, this is going to be a big job.'
During his Anguilla visit, he also toured the police headquarters, where despite losing 90 per cent of its roof and having to deal with rainwater flooding the building and cells, it remained fully operational throughout the hurricane.
With the clean up and repairs well under way at the station, he could be heard telling one of the officers they were doing a 'great job' as he was shown the damage by the Police Commissioner Paul Morrison.
The Foreign Secretary then looked around the Anguilla Red Cross relief centre - inspecting the piles of bottled water, tinned food, UK Aid tarpaulins and toiletries.
He will be visiting the British Virgin Islands later today.
Britain is sending an extra 25million to help the Caribbean recover from Hurricane Irma, Theresa May (pictured at PMQs today) has announced
Prime Minister Theresa May announced that Britain is sending an extra 25million to help the Caribbean recover from Hurricane Irma earlier today.
She said the extra aid was on top of 32million pledged last week.
The PM said: 'Since Thursday COBR has met regularly (on) bringing together military aid and consular effort.
'And today I'm announcing an additional 25million to support the recovery effort, further to the 32million I announced last week.'
In his first interview since it was revealed he would be travelling to the region, Mr Johnson said his visit is a 'very important statement' by the Government to show it is 'here for UK nationals' and is a 'sign of our absolute commitment to them'.
He landed in Barbados before arriving in Anguilla and then heading to the British Virgin Islands, where five people were killed by the storm.
At least 50 people were killed by the devastating hurricane, with the islands of Barbuda and St Martin among the hardest hit.
Boris Johnson landed in Barbados before he sets off for the British Virgin Islands, where five people were killed by the storm
At least 50 people were killed by the devastating Hurricane Irma, with the islands of Barbuda and St Martin among the hardest hit
Boris pictured on a loaded RAF Plane A400M en route to Anguilla
The foreign secretary said: 'Yesterday there were about 700 troops in the region that has now gone up to 1,000. It will go up to 1,250 in the course of the next few days'
In his first interview since it was revealed he would be travelling to the region, Boris Johnson said his visit is a 'very important statement' by the Government to show it is 'here for UK nationals' and is a 'sign of our absolute commitment to them'
Speaking to the Press Association on board a Virgin Atlantic flight as he headed towards the British territories ravaged by the storm, Mr Johnson said: 'The military presence is really ratcheting up now.
'Yesterday there were about 700 troops in the region that has now gone up to 1,000. It will go up to 1,250 in the course of the next few days.'
Hundreds of UK troops and 50 police officers have already been sent to the British Virgin Islands after they were battered by the most powerful storm ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean.
Images, provided by the NASA Earth Observatory, shows Caribbean islands looking a vibrant green (top), while a second - captured after the hurricane (bottom) - shows the territory is coloured brown. The islands, from left, are St. Thomas, St. John, Tortola and Virgin Gorda
Mass evacuations are gathering pace from islands hit by Hurricane Irma. Residents and tourists trapped on St Martin broke down in tears as they prepared to board planes to leave the island
Royal Marines from from 59 Commando Squadron have been tasked with helping to clean up Tortola in the British Virgin Islands after the area was destroyed by Hurricane Irma
Wasteland: Debris lies strewn across a beach as a group of people inspect the damage caused by Irma on the island of St Martin
Devon-based 59 Commando Squadron from 24 Commando Royal Engineers deliver aid to Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. Specialist army engineers have restored power, running water, runway lighting and are repairing the perimeter fence at Terrance B, Lettsome International Airport on the island of Tortola
Destruction: This was the scene of devastation that greeted Royal Marines as they arrived at Jost Van Dyk in the British Virgin Islands
Damage: Trees were shredded or torn out of the ground and houses left in ruins on St Martin as Hurricane Irma struck
A tangled ship's mast rests on the dock in Philipsburg, on the Dutch side of St Martin as residents come to terms with the destruction
Response: Members of the New York Air National Guard help a wheelchair-bound pensioner on to a plane at St Martin ahead of a flight to Puerto Rico
Wreckage: Luxury beach-front hotels and villas on the holiday island of St Marting were ravaged by the force of Hurricane Irma
Hundreds of holidaymakers are still trying to leave St Martin, with dozens lining up outside the Princess Juliana Airport, which was left in ruins in the storm. People are pictured lining up to board a plane at the terminal
Damage is seen next to Cuban flags that were hung up to dry after Hurricane Irma caused flooding and a blackout, in Havana, Cuba
British tourists Terry Gill and Karyl Wood walk in the garden of a hotel amid fallen palm trees a day after the passage of Hurricane Irma in Varadero, Cuba
Villages on Providenciales (pictured) in the Turks and Caicos islands were devastated by the force to Hurricane Irma
France's President Emmanuel Macron addresses the media on his arrival in Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe island today, the first step of his visit to French Caribbean islands
France, Britain and the Netherlands have all sent extra security resources to the Caribbean. French troops are pictured securing the entrance to St Martin's airport
Dramatic aerial pictures show scenes of devastation on a Caribbean island after it was ravaged by the most powerful hurricane the Atlantic has ever seen. At a port area, shipping containers were strewn like children's building blocks (pictured)
There were warning that tourists from Britain and other countries are still trapped on St Martin and in dire need of help after the storm struck last week
A man looks what is left of his home in Cake Bay, Saint Maarten
Apocalyptic: Devastation on St Martin
A woman walks along damaged Grande Case, Saint Maarten days after this Caribbean island sustained extensive damage after the passing of Hurricane Irma
View of destruction in Grande Case, Saint Maarten days after the savage storm
Recovery and aid efforts are under way to help those trying to piece together their lives from the ruins of the weather front, which has since been downgraded from a hurricane.
During his short visit to Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands, Mr Johnson will meet governors and other officials leading the recovery work, and will see first hand some of the most hard-hit places.
The Government had faced claims that the UK had done less to evacuate its citizens than other nations and did not have the correct equipment in place to deal with the catastrophe in the Caribbean.
Mr Johnson said the hurricane has been 'an unprecedented event, an unprecedented catastrophe' for the people who live in the part of the Caribbean which has been worst hit.
'What they're seeing is an unprecedented UK response, but I want to stress it is not just for the short term, we are going to be there for the long term as well,' he added.
When asked what he hopes to gain from the trip, he said it is 'very, very important people at home understand the savagery of the storm that has hit communities that are British'
His arrival comes amid news that prisoners escaped from their jail on the British Virgin Islands amid reports of looting
Sam Branson, the son of Virgin tycoon Richard Branson, whose luxury resort in the British Virgin Islands was destroyed in the storm, warned of 'civil unrest' and said prisoners had escaped
Pressed on how he thinks he will be received during the visit by those affected, Mr Johnson said: 'Most fair-minded people have said that the UK responded extremely fast and extremely well.
'We had RFA Mounts Bay in position in the region before the hurricane struck - it would have been totally absurd to bring troops in or bring heavy aircraft during the storm itself.'
When asked what he hopes to gain from the trip, he said it is 'very, very important people at home understand the savagery of the storm that has hit communities that are British'.
'But I think what I have been amazed by so far, is not so much the impact of the storm, as the resilience and community spirit of those people - coming together to put their islands back on their feet and we are here to help,' he added.
Hurricane Irma survivor and photographer Hubert Haciski who is on the island of Tortola on the British Virgin Islands took these photos of the devastation caused by Hurricane Irma
Luxury yachts are still piled on top of each other in marinas in Road Town, on Tortola - part of the British Virgin Islands. There have been reports of looting in the area
Hubert sheltered in the toilets of a hotel in capital Road Town when Irma struck and helped rescue guests trapped in their rooms. His photos show boats smashed to pieces and turned upside down in Road Town port, upended trees and power lines and destroyed buildings on the island
Ruins: The scale of the hurricane's power can be seen in this aerial picture of a town in the British Virgin Islands
Royal Marines from Alpha Company, 40 Commando, have arrived to deliver aid and provide support to the islanders of Jost Van Dkye in the British Virgin Islands
His arrival comes amid news that prisoners escaped from their jail on the British Virgin Islands amid reports of looting.
There were widespread reports of looting on one of the islands, Tortola, after inmates broke out of a jail amid chaos during the 185mph storm.
Photos of a British Cabinet Briefing paper have now revealed that officials are attempting to 'secure the transfer of the prisoners' to the island of St Lucia.
Lourdes Rivera loads buckets to collect water in front of her house that was destroyed by Hurricane Irma, in Isabela de Sagua, Cuba
French police are pictured chasing looters in St Martin amid reports a gang of 600 thieves are terrorising islanders
Members of the New York Air National Guard help evacuees as they prepare to leave St. Maarten for the safety of San Juan, Puerto Rico
Aftermath: Luxury yachts lie stacked up on top of each other in marinas on the island of St Martin in the wake of the hurricane
Devastation: Pictures show the remains of a building destroyed in Grand-Case, on the French Caribbean island of St Martin
Waiting game: Residents use umbrellas and bags to shelter from the sun as they queue up to collect supplies on the island of St Martin
Aerial photographs show how entire communities were destroyed by the power of the 185mph winds that ripped across St Martin
Exhausted holidaymakers, carrying their suitcases on their laps, are pictured on a flight away from the hurricane-hit island of St Martin last night
Aid: British soldiers pack up HMS Ocean with much-needed supplies in Gibraltar as the rescue effort for the Caribbean continues
Experts are still surveying the damage caused on St Martin. This was the scene at one island resort where a car ended up on the beach
Debris lies strewn across a beach on the holiday island of St Martin. The Dutch and French governments are sending troops to the island to help with the clean-up operation
Paradise lost: Once palm-fringed beaches on St Martin now look more like a warzones in the wake of the hurricane
A despondent Mariela Leon sits in front of her flood-damaged home after Hurricane Irma ravaged the community of Isabela de Sagua in Cuba
Hundreds of people across an island shared by Dutch St. Martin and French St. Martin are trying to rebuild the lives they had before Hurricane Irma hit
Cuban state media reported 10 deaths despite the country's usually rigorous disaster preparations. More than 1 million were evacuated from flood-prone areas. An abandoned doll is pictured in Isabela de Sagua in Cuba
Meanwhile, British junior foreign minister Alan Duncan told parliament: 'We had a serious threat of a complete breakdown of law and order in the British Virgin islands (BVI). The prison was breached, over 100 very serious prisoners escaped.'
The minister also raised the death toll in British Caribbean territories to nine. Five people died in the BVI and four in Anguilla. The authorities had previously reported one person killed in Anguilla.
Sam Branson, the son of Virgin tycoon Richard Branson, whose luxury resort in the British Virgin Islands was destroyed in the storm, warned of 'civil unrest' and said prisoners had escaped.
MPs have called for taxi firm Uber to be stripped of its licence to operate in London after a string of controversies.
The cross-party group wrote a letter to Transport for London (TfL) urging it not to renew the firms licence when it expires at the end of the month.
The letter, signed by ten Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative MPs, claims Uber is an unfit and improper operator after police accused it of failing to report sex attacks on passengers by drivers.
MPs led by Labour MP Wes Streeting have demanded taxi firm Uber is stripped of its licence to operate in London in light of a string of recent controversies
Writing to the TfL Commissioner Mike Brown, Labour MP Wes Streeting said: The safety of Londoners must be at the forefront of decisions taken about the taxi and private hire industry in our capital city. We do not believe that Uber has shown itself to be a fit and proper operator. It comes after the Metropolitan Police accused Uber of failing to reveal at least six sex attacks and an assault.
In the 12 months to February 2017, police recorded 48 allegations of sexual assault involving Uber drivers, reported only by passengers or via TfL.
Inspector Neil Billany accused Uber of being selective about the crimes it reported, only telling police about less serious matters.
Uber has also come under fire for failing to give drivers basic employee benefits.
In October an employment tribunal ruled its drivers should be classed as workers, not as self-employed. The decision, which it is appealing against, means Uber could be entitled to pay pensions and holiday leave.
In May TfL signalled its uncertainty over the taxi firm by only granting it a four-month licence following the expiration of its first five- year licence. A TfL spokesman said: This will allow us to conclude our consideration of a five-year licence.
The US-based company, which was originally licensed in London in 2012, has also raised eyebrows over its tax affairs with claims it has avoided paying an estimated 40million in VAT by exploiting a legal but controversial loophole.
Taxi-hailing smartphone apps are supposed to pay 20 per cent VAT on booking fees.
A cross-party group, led by Mr Streeting, has written to Transport for London (TfL) urging it not to renew the smartphone taxi-booking firms licence when it expires at the end of the month
But Uber avoids this by treating its 40,000 UK drivers as separate businesses most drivers earn less than the 85,000 a year threshold for VAT registration.
But two of its main rivals, Gett and Mytaxi, both said they do pay VAT on their fees.
Uber collects an estimated 1 billion a year in fares, meaning HMRC could be losing out on at least 40million a year in VAT, according to calculations by Reuters.
Politicians claim the practice is giving Uber an unfair advantage. The firm also cuts its taxes by channelling profits to the Netherlands.
In his letter, Mr Streeting, chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Taxis, added: Competition in the taxi and private hire industry is welcome, but it must be on a level playing field and the safety of passengers must be paramount.
The letter, signed by 10 Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative MPs, claims Uber is an unfit and improper operator after police accused it of failing to report sex attacks on passengers by drivers
In cities around the world, Uber has shown itself to be an unfit and improper operator.
Its time that London followed cities in the United States, Canada, Australia, Italy, Denmark, Germany, Bulgaria and Hungary by revoking Ubers licence.
Earlier this year, the Mail revealed how David Cameron and George Osborne allegedly told aides to lobby Boris Johnson against curbs on Uber.
When Mr Johnson was Mayor of London in September 2015 he threatened to curtail Ubers activities.
He claimed that Uber drivers were breaking the law in lots of minor ways, which Londons authorities were unable to keep up with.
In the 12 months to February 2017, police recorded 48 allegations of sexual assault involving Uber drivers, reported only by passengers or via TfL
An Uber spokesman said: More than 40,000 drivers rely on our app to make a living, with average fares last year of 15 an hour after our service fee. Drivers who use Uber are licensed by Transport for London and have been through the same enhanced background checks as black cab drivers.
Our technology goes further to enhance safety with every trip tracked and recorded by GPS and we employ former Met Police officers who work closely with the police.
An Ohio father and his girlfriend were arrested after authorities found his four-year-old twin boys bound, gagged and duct-taped to a wall in their apartment.
James Howell Jr, along with his partner, Jamie Carver, have been charged with two counts of kidnapping and child endangering.
Authorities said the children were restrained with a belt and shoe laces, gagged with socks and duct-taped to the wall when they were found Sunday afternoon.
James Howell Jr (right) and his girlfriend Jamie Carver (left), were charged with two counts of kidnapping and child endangering after they allegedly bound, gagged and duct-taped his four-year-old twin boys to a wall
Authorities said the children were restrained with a belt and shoe laces, gagged with socks and duct-taped to the wall when they were found at the couple's apartment (pictured) Sunday afternoon
'Duct tape was found everywhere in the apartment (pictured),' Cincinnati Police Detective Janette Vaughn said in court
'Duct tape was found everywhere in the apartment,' Cincinnati Police Detective Janette Vaughn said in court, according to WLWT. 'Duct tape was used, also a sock was put in the children's mouths to keep them from making any noises.'
Howell, who is the father of the twin boys, has an eighth-grade education and a minor record but no violent convictions.
But his girlfriend, Carver was described by her attorney as 'low functioning'. She has a couple of domestic violence convictions.
The children's mother died earlier this year after complications during surgery. Carver moved in with Howell recently.
Despite the allegations against Howell, his family said he would never hurt his children.
Vickie Howell, the twins' grandmother, said her son has 'disciplined' the children by making them 'have a time out' and sitting them in the corner.
'Lord have mercy. No!,' she told WLWT when asked about whether or not her son would use duct tape on his children.
James Howell Jrs children have been placed with a foster family by Hamilton County Job and Family Services.
Howell (left), who is the father of the twin boys, has an eighth-grade education and a minor record but no violent convictions. But his girlfriend, Carver (right), was described by her attorney as 'low functioning'. She also has a couple of domestic violence convictions.
Ed Murray has resigned as Seattle's mayor after a fifth victim has come forward accusing him of sexual abuse.
Murray, 62, announced on Tuesday that he would not be seeking another term.
Despite the move, the embattled politician insisted that the slew of current and previous assault claims against him are false.
'While the allegations against me are not true, it is important that my personal issues do not affect the ability of our City government to conduct the public's business,' Murray said in the public statement.
Scroll down for video
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray has announced he is resigning as Seattle Mayor after a fifth sex abuse victim came forward with new allegations against him.
This June 14, 2017 file photo Seattle Mayor Ed Murray takes a question at a news conference at City Hall in Seattle. Murray announced his resignation, Tuesday, Sept. 12 after his younger cousin came forward accusing him of sexual abuse decades ago
The fifth man, said to be a younger cousin of Murray, alleged the abuse happened decades ago, according to The Seattle Times.
Joseph Dyer, now 54, is Murray's first cousin once removed. He is a dialysis technician and Air Force veteran.
Dyer told the newspaper he was 13 and that Murray was in his early 20's when Murray came to live with Dyer's family in Medford, New York and the alleged abuse happened.
Murray since blamed Dyer for bad relations between their families.
The Associated Press does not typically name alleged victims of sex abuse, but Dyer gave an extensive interview to the newspaper.
Four other men previously accused Murray of sexual abuse.
On Wednesday afternoon, Murray, 62, revealed he would not be seeking another term under the state. He also claimed the slew of current and previous assault claims against him are false
Lloyd Anderson, another accuser, said in a Tuesday statement he feels 'victory' but is 'saddened that it required another victim to come forward for him to resign,' the newspaper reports.
'I wonder how many other victims are out there,' Anderson added.
Politician and mayoral candidate, Jenny Durkan, endorsed Murray's decision to resign from his position, while questioning his background.
'It is time for Mayor Murray to step down,' Durkan said in a new statement.
'It's clear that it is in everybody's best interest for him to resign. As a parent, former public official and openly gay woman, these allegations are beyond sad and tragic; no official is above the law.'
Before being elected mayor in 2013, Murray was a long-time Democrat state lawmaker who led the campaign to legalize same-sex marriage in Washington state.
As mayor, he pushed to raise the city's minimum hourly wage to $15.
Harrowing dash cam footage shows the moment a tree nearly fell on a car during Hurricane Irma in Georgia.
The tree fell directly in front of a car, causing the vehicle to nearly flip. The car with the dash cam was behind the first car.
The front of the car was smoking, and the woman opened the driver's door.
April Baxter was driving to her sister-in-law's house when a tree fell in front of her car
Footage from the dash cam shows the other driver, who has been identified as Micheal Head, immediately running to check on the woman.
The driver, April Baxter, was not seriously injured, but due to the concern of more trees falling, she waited in a police car until an ambulance arrived.
Head said Baxter was shaken up pretty badly.
The impact caused the car to nearly flip. It went up at a 45 degree angle
'I started falling and just closed my eyes and hit the brakes,' Baxter told Channel 2. 'I closed my eyes and the airbags popped. It was all so fast, very fast.'
Baxter hurt her knee, strained a shoulder muscle, and obtained a seat belt burn from the crash.
She told Channel 2 she was traveling at about 40mph on her way to her sister-in-law's house to meet her husband.
The driver of the other car, Michael Head, rushed out to help the woman
The footage was taken in Griffin, Georgia, a town in Spalding County.
Much of Georgia was under a tropical storm warning on Monday as Irma made its way through.
Spalding County suffered damage from heavy winds that toppled trees. Thousands of homes and businesses are without electricity.
Britain could continue to contribute to EU foreign aid programmes after Brexit, it emerged last night.
A new position paper suggests ministers could carry on handing cash from the 13billion foreign aid budget to Brussels after we leave the EU.
The move will raise alarms because of damning reports about waste and misuse of funds from EU aid programmes.
Britain could continue to contribute to EU foreign aid programmes after Brexit. Pictured: Michael Fallon
The UK contributes hundreds of millions of pounds a year to the 12billion European Development Fund.
Two years ago it emerged money had been spent on trapeze lessons, a study of coconuts, and paying for EU spin doctors in Jamaica.
The paper also raises the prospect of limiting the exchange of classified information between the UK and the EU if there is no deal.
And it warns that European military technology could be undermined if there is no customs deal.
But Defence Secretary Michael Fallon denied Britain was using blackmail to try and secure a trade deal.
'This isn't blackmail, this isn't a negotiating strategy,' he told BBC Radio 4' s Today programme.
'What we are doing - and everybody has asked for this - is to set out how we see the new partnership the day after Brexit.'
'We want to fight terrorism together. It's vital. We are not making threats. We have made it clear since the Article 50 letter that this new partnership has to be both economic and security co-operation.'
The paper says the European defence industry is 'highly innovative' and the UK plays an important role in 'innovation, research and collaboration'.
'Open markets and customs arrangements that are as frictionless as possible are important to the continued success of this sector and to ensure British and European Armed Forces can access the best war fighting capability to keep us safe.'
Last month the European Commission's chief negotiator Michel Barnier called on the UK to carry on funding the EU's foreign aid programme
On foreign aid, it makes clear Britain shares goals with the EU on eradicating 'extreme poverty' and to 'help build prosperity, peace, stability and resilience in developing countries'.
'The UK will continue to use its international development budget through its international development partnerships, to advance global development impact or to tackle specific country problems.'
Officials said it would be up to Britain to decide whether to pay into the fund or not. Ministers could also consider whether to contribute to specific projects.
Last month the European Commission's chief negotiator Michel Barnier called on the UK to carry on funding the EU's foreign aid programme for years after Brexit. He claimed Britain had made funding promises it must now fulfil.
The EU negotiator listed commitments he claimed Britain had agreed to that extend beyond the end of the current budget period in 2020 - and rounded on the country for refusing to honour them and said Britain must continue providing funds for Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific through the European Development Fund.
The paper states that continued close cooperation with the EU on defence and foreign affairs will be 'vital' to Britain's interests after Brexit.
It makes clear ministers are ready to continue contributing troops, equipment, expertise and money to EU operations and to agree joint foreign policy objectives with Brussels where our aims overlap.
It suggests an 'unprecedentedly' deep future partnership, closer than that between the EU and any other non-member.
The UK will have to 'work closely together' with the EU to meet challenges from terrorism, cyber-attack, migration, Russian aggression and rogue states like North Korea, it says.
In her Article 50 letter triggering the Brexit process in March, the Prime Minister warned that failure to reach a deal would mean that 'co-operation in the fight against crime and terrorism would be 'weakened'
Borce Ristevski's claim that his murdered wife's Mercedes had a faulty fuel gauge has been disputed by a Melbourne mechanic who serviced the car.
Mr Ristevski has told police he took the Mercedes-Benz SLK 200 coupe for a drive to test the faulty gauge on the day his wife Karen disappeared last year.
But the mechanic, who was interviewed by detectives last Friday, told The Herald Sun he's serviced Ms Ristevski's coupe for years and had never noticed an issue with the fuel gauge.
Scroll down for video
Borce Ristevski's (pictured) claim that his murdered wife's Mercedes had a faulty fuel gauge has been disputed by a Melbourne mechanic who serviced the car
Ms Ristevski (pictured), 47, was reported missing on June 29, 2016, and was last seen at her Avondale Heights home by her husband Borce
Mr Ristevski has told police he took the Mercedes-Benz SLK 200 coupe (pictured) for a drive to test the faulty gauge on the day his wife Karen disappeared last year
He said Mr Ristevski, nor Ms Ristevski, raised the problem with him.
'I told the detective, in the last three years I haven't touched that car and he's (Borce) never asked me to fix any faulty fuel gauge,' he said.
'I told the detective, in the last three years I haven't touched that car and he's (Borce) never asked me to fix any faulty fuel gauge,' he said.
Ms Ristevski, 47, was reported missing on June 29, 2016, and was last seen at her Avondale Heights home by her husband.
Mr Ristevski told police he and his wife had gotten into an argument about money before she left.
Her body was found in bushland in Mt Macedon Regional Park on February 20.
The Mercedes has remained a focus in Ms Ristevski's murder investigation.
But the mechanic, who has been interviewed by detectives, says Mr Ristevski, nor Ms Ristevski, raised the problem of a faulty gauge with him
Police released CCTV footage earlier this year of a black Mercedes-Benz SLK 200 coupe being driven towards Mt Macedon on the day Ms Ristevski disappeared.
Using an identical model to the Mercedes, detectives recreated the route they think Ms Ristevski's murderer took to Mt Macedon on August 30.
The mechanic told The Herald Sun Mr Ristevski visited him a couple of weeks ago for a repair on a Volkswagen.
He said Mr Ristevski told him police still possessed the Mercedes.
'Borce said he had started working for a road crew as a traffic controller just to get himself out the house,' he said.
Ms Ristevski's body was discovered in bushland (pictured) near Mr Macedon in February
Most of Florida remained without power yesterday as it emerged that 420,000 British people were in the state when Hurricane Irma struck.
Yesterday those who had evacuated their homes in the so-called Sunshine State began to return to assess the damage.
Much of the worst destruction appeared to have happened in the Florida Keys, a 120-strong string of islands connected by bridges off the states southern tip.
The Keys are home to nearly 70,000 people, some in luxury beachfront homes while some 13 per cent live in poverty.
Local residents walk down a street that was flooded after the passing of Hurricane Irma in Immokalee, Florida
A boat is seen on a highway as local residents return to Plantation Key, Florida
Boats, cars and other debris clog waterways in the Florida Keys on Tuesday, two days after Hurricane Irma slammed into the state
Most residents heeded warnings to evacuate before Irma made its first US landfall there, although up to a quarter of the population was estimated to have stayed to brave out the 140mph winds and monstrous waves.
It was estimated emerged that around 25 percent of the Keys houses have been destroyed while 65 percent suffered major damage.
Officials say the Keys took the brunt of the hit from Irma although residents - many of whom work in tourist resorts on the mainland - have been allowed to return to some islands.
As a US Navy aircraft carrier joined the search-and-rescue operation, Florida governor Rick Scott called the storm devastating after flying over the Keys.
Across Florida as a whole, more than 15million are still without electricity, accounting for more than half of the state.
Florida electricity companies estimate that much of the states east coast could have power back by Sunday but in other areas it could take 10 days or more.
While Caribbean islands devastated by Irma are pleading for supplies, a huge US government relief effort is under way to help Florida.
Vilano Beach, Florida residents look at a collapsed coastal house on Tuesday
Bill Quinn surveys the damage caused to his trailer home from Hurricane Irma at the Seabreeze Trailer Park in Islamorada, in the Florida Keys
A convoy of 180 emergency supply articulated lorries - carrying food, bottled water, medical supplies and bedding - left Alabama for Florida yesterday [Tues].
The US Federal Emergency Management Agency had a total of 930 of the lorries waiting at Maxwell Air Force Base ready to be driven into the disaster zone.
But as millions of residents who evacuated their houses try to return home, federal officials warned of possible fuel shortages throughout the South East of the US.
Although Irma is rapidly dissipating in strength it continued to bring flooding across southern states including a 10ft tidal surge - four feet higher than normal - in the historic city of Charleston, South Carolina.
Police across Florida are warning of criminal scams in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. In Boynton Beach, near Palm Beach, two men posing as power company workers stole nearly 10,000 in jewellery from a 95-year-old woman.
A boy walks amongst debris on the beach after Hurricane Irma passed the area in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, U.S.
Police said the woman was sitting in her living room with the front door open on Monday afternoon when the men walked in. They told the woman they were checking switches to restore power and one of them escorted her around the house flipping light switches while the other robbed her.
At least 11 deaths in the US, including seven in Florida, have been blamed on Irma since it first hit Florida on Sunday as a powerful Category 4 hurricane.
In one of the latest cases, a 55-year-old man died when the chainsaw he was using to clear downed trees became entangled in a branch, causing it to kick up and cut his carotid artery.
The 420,000 Britons in Florida include expats and holidaymakers. The figure was revealed by Sir Alan Duncan during a statement in the House of Commons.
An Ohio man has admitted to hiding his daughter's body at his Chinese restaurant after his wife allegedly beat her to death.
Liang Zhao and his wife, Mingming Chen, called the cops in January to report their five-year-old daughter Ashley Zhao had gone missing from the back room at their restaurant, Ang's Asian Cuisine, in North Canton.
The report sparked a state-wide manhunt and police combed the nearby area looking for her.
Liang Zhao (left) and his wife, Mingming Chen, (right) reported their five-year-old daughter Ashley Zhao missing in January but cops found her body at the family restaurant
Ang's body was eventually discovered the next day, still inside the restaurant, near the kitchen's freezer, Akron Beacon Journal reports.
Investigators say she was struck in the head several times, causing fatal brain injury. Both her parents were arrested after the grisly find.
Now Liang Zhao has agreed to testify against his wife who he claims beat the little girl to death.
Ang Zhao (pictured) was struck in the head several times, causing fatal brain injury. Both her parents were arrested after the grisly find
Ang's body was eventually discovered later that month, still inside the Ang's Asian Cuisine restaurant, near the kitchen's freezer
Zhao will serve 12 years in prison after he pleaded guilty Monday obstructing justice, corpse-abuse, tampering with evidence and endangering children.
Authorities said he'd attempted to revive his daughter before helping his wife hide her body.
Chen, who is charged with murder and felonious assault, is due back in court October 16 for her trial.
You are here: Home
Honda, the Japan-based multinational automaker, has partnered with the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation (CSCLF) on Monday to support distressed and poor youth in China.
The CSCLF & Honda Dream Fund is launched in Beijing on Sept. 11, 2017. [Photo/China.org.cn]
Called the CSCLF & Honda Dream Fund, the program was launched in Beijing to help youngsters nationwide pursue their dreams.
"China is an enormous country with a large population, and many of the youth have lost their dreams due to economic constraints," said Mizuno Yasuhide, president of Guangqi Honda Automobile Co., Ltd.
He hoped that the fund can encourage young people to dream boldly and embrace more hope and opportunities in life.
Unlike traditional charity programs, the fund provides a package of measures to the qualified students including long-term financial support, mentorship and continued tracking system to monitor and evaluate their performance.
The program will not only target talented students in prestigious universities but also those in remote areas and vocational schools, according to Honda's briefing.
As of the end of 2016, there were over 40 million people in China living below the country's poverty line, accounting for about 3 percent of the country's population.
Jing Dunquan, vice chairman of CSCLF, said the fund will help establish a platform for poor young Chinese to pursue and achieve their dreams and motivate them to embrace a better future.
He hoped the initiative will also bring vitality to China-Japan relations.
The newest 'hot felon' took the catwalk during New York Fashion Week on Monday at the Helmut Lang show.
Mekhi Alante Lucky aka 'Prison Bae' wowed in a black and white ensemble and a clear briefcase.
The 20-year-old was arrested in April 2016 for speeding and driving a stolen vehicle. Twitter account Wake Mugshots 'discovered' Lucky and the mugshot went viral on social media with the 20-year-old being dubbed 'Prison Bae'.
He joined supermodels such as Duckie Thot on the runway for Shayne Oliver's debut collection for the brand.
Lucky's smoldering mugshot landed him a modeling contract in August. The North Carolina native signed with Atlanta-based St Claire's Modeling Agency.
Scroll down for video
Mekhi Alante Lucky, 20, strutted down the runway at the Helmut Lang Seen By Shayne Oliver show Monday
Mekhi Alante Lucky's mugshot has taken social media by storm, and landed him a modeling contract (pictured, April 2016)
After being dubbed 'Prison Bae' by social media users, Lucky signed with Atlanta-based St Claire's Modeling Agency (modeling for Ahmad Barber)
The agency 'introduced' Lucky as a client in August, and he's already done high-fashion shoots arranged by the agency and amassed 20,000 followers.
Lucky's pictures went viral to his unique condition of having one blue eye and one brown.
Having irises with different colors is called heterochromia, which affects about 20 percent of the world's population.
The agency 'introduced' Lucky as a client last week, and he's already done high-fashion shoots arranged by the agency. Lucky's pictures went viral to his unique condition of having one blue eye and one brown eye (Pictured, left in November 2016, and right in December 2016)
Lucky has been arrested five times between April 2016 and December 2016. In addition to the stolen vehicles charges, the model has been booked for alleged assault on a female, alleged breaking and entering plus resisting a public officer, and twice, for a misdemeanor violations of his parole
Lucky has had a troublesome past, being arrested five times between April 2016 and December 2016. But on Monday he wowed on the Helmut Land runway
Despite his recent string of good fortune, Lucky has had a troublesome past, being arrested five times between April 2016 and December 2016.
In addition to the stolen vehicles charges, the model was booked for alleged assault on a female, alleged breaking and entering plus resisting a public officer, and twice, for a misdemeanor violations of his parole.
Of course, Lucky is not the first felon to gain fame for his good looks.
In 2014, Jeremy Meeks of California was arrested on firearm charges and grand theft.
His subsequent mugshot went viral on social media and earned him the moniker 'Hot Felon', which launched a modeling career for him when he was released from prison in September 2016.
Meeks is currently dating Chloe Green, daughter of billionaire Sir Philip Green and heiress to the Topshop empire.
The woman whose legal battle to the very top of the US judicial system led to the legalization of gay marriage across the country has died, aged 88.
In 2013 Edith Windsor convinced the Supreme Court that her marriage in Canada to Dr Thea Spyer was a constitutional right, leading to the overturning Bill Clinton's 1996 Defense of Marriage Act in the process.
That led to a domino effect culminating in a 2015 federal law that legalized gay marriage in all states across the US.
And all Windsor had asked for in the first place was a tax refund, The New York Times reported.
Scroll down for video
Edith Windsor (pictured center in 2013 outside the Supreme Court) has died aged 88. She won a historic 2013 ruling that overturned a federal law against same-sex marriage
Windsor met Dr Thea Spyer (both pictured) in 1963; they got engaged four years later. But they didn't get married until a visit to Canada in 2007, after Spyer was given just one year to live
Windsor was born Edith Schlain in Philadelphia on June 20, 1929, and was a prodigiously bright young girl.
Though afflicted with polio at an early age, she didn't allow that to dampen her spirits, and became a voracious reader and excellent pupil, going on to enroll at Temple University.
While there, she became engaged to her brothers friend, Saul Windsor, and despite feelings for a female classmate, she went on to marry him.
However, she requested a divorce after a year, realizing she could no longer live a lie.
'Finally, I said, "Honey, you deserve more,"' she told the New York Times in 2012.
'"You deserve someone who feels you're the most desirable person, and I need something else." And I was right. He married the right girl and had a lovely life.'
Keeping his name, she moved to New York, where she earned a Master's degree in applied mathematics and became an early computer programmer for IBM in 1958.
Five years later, she met Dr Thea Spyer in a Greenwich Village restaurant that focused on lesbian customers on Friday nights.
That was the beginning of a 46-year relationship that would go on to change not just Windsor and Spyer's lives, but those of gay, lesbian and bisexual women across the US decades later.
Although Windsor would go on to become a gay rights campaigner, she and Spyer stayed under the radar in those early years; when Spyer proposed marriage in 1967, she did so with a diamond brooch to avoid suspicion.
The couple stayed under the radar until the Stonewall riots in 1969, when New York's LGBT community fought police oppression. After that, they became ardent campaigners
Spyer was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1977 and eventually became quadriplegic. The couple are seen here at a mock marriage. When Spyer died in 2009 she left Windsor her estate
Windsor's attitude changed in 1969, after the Stonewall Riots, in which customers at New York's Stonewall gay bar fought back against police oppression.
'Until then, I'd always had the feeling - and I know its ignorant and unfair "I dont want to be identified with the queens,"' she told NYU Alumni Magazine in 2011.
'But from that day on, I had this incredible gratitude. They changed my life. They changed my life forever.'
Windsor and her fiancee became engaged in the fight for gay equality, going on marches and taking part in protests.
And while the promise of marriage seemed far off, they kept on hoping. And hoping. And hoping.
But in 1977 Spyer was diagnosed with degenerative muscle disease multiple sclerosis, which would slowly restrict her to a wheelchair over the decades.
In 2002 she had a heart attack; in 2007 she was told she only had one year to live.
They couldn't wait for America to catch up any more.
Instead Windsor and Spyer flew to Canada, marrying in 2007 in a ceremony conducted by Canadas first openly gay judge.
Spyer died in February 2009, having by that point been rendered quadriplegic. New York was still two years from recognizing gay marriage, and the federal government even further behind.
That caused problems for Windsor when she inherited Spyer's estate and had to foot a $363,053 tax bill - one that heterosexual married couples would be exempt from.
She sued, saying that the tax exemption law was unconstitutionally singling out same-sex married couples for 'differential treatment'.
Windsor (seen in June 2017) was told she had to pay a massive estate tax that straight couples would be exempt from. In 2013 the Supreme Court agreed that was unconstitutional
That came from Bill Clinton's 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which restricted the definition of marriage to male-female couples only.
It took four years, but in 2013 the Supreme Court upheld the rulings of two lower courts and agreed with her.
It cited the Fifth Amendement's promise that nobody should be 'deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.'
In turn, it abolished the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act - but made no federal counter-ruling, so that gay marriage would only be recognized in the 13 states and DC that had not explicitly banned it.
Windsor continued pushing for a countrywide law allowing same-sex marriage, and in 2015 she - and the millions of other activists alongside her - succeeded.
Finally, the US recognized that marriage was a right regardless of sexuality.
And the following year, Windsor took advantage of her hard-fought-for ruling by marrying Judith Kasen, whom she had met at a gay rights event in 2015.
Kasen - now Kasen-Windsor - is the pioneer's only survivor.
'Married is a magic word,' Windsor told a rally outside City Hall in New York in 2009.
'And it is magic throughout the world. It has to do with our dignity as human beings, to be who we are openly.'
Hillary Clinton says if she had won the 2016 presidential election, she would have been seen as a 'genius' who ran a 'perfect' campaign.
As it turns out, Clinton lost, and has been energetically promoting her book, 'What Happened,' by giving a series of interviews in a book tour that has annoyed some of her Democratic colleagues.
Clinton got asked on WNYC about the way her 'familiarity with the American public' could negatively impact her campaign. The question may have been a reference to some of the locked in disapproval of Clinton by long-time opponents from her decades in politics.
'I thought it was pretty revolutionary that I was the first woman to have a realistic chance of becoming president,' the former Secretary of State responded.
'So I don't know how any woman who is not familiar to people, since we have so many hurdles to overcome, could have even been in that position that I found myself.'
IF ITS AND BUTS WERE CANDY AND NUTS: 'So if I'd won, you know, I would have been seen as a genius,' Hillary Clinton told WNYC
'So if I'd won, you know, I would have been seen as a genius,' Clinton continued. 'My campaign would have been seen as perfect,' she said with a slight chuckle. 'I understand all of that.'
Her claim of being seen as genius had she won drew immediate scorn from former White House press secretary Sean Spicer, who was among those throwing mud at Clinton during the bitter campaign.
'And 'if' I won the lottery I'd be rich,' Spicer, who just hung out his shingle as a paid speaker, wrote on Twitter.
Even had she beat Trump (she won the popular vote but lost the electoral college), it seems unlikely she would have been viewed as running a perfect campaign.
Clinton started with high overall approval ratings from her time as secretary of state that gradually came down to earth as she got back into traditional politics.
Her campaign stumbled before it really got started as she was thrown off by her email scandal. She spent months failing to effectively smother an upstart challenge from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who was able to capitalize on her paid speeches and corporate connections.
LET ME BE CLEAR: Clinton said he she had beaten Donald Trump, she would have been seen as a 'genius.' In another interview, she called Trump a 'clear and present danger'
Scroll down for audio
Among tactical mistakes was a failure to lock down battlegrounds like Wisconsin and Michigan.
Clinton also revealed isn't just mad at Bernie Sanders for the tenor of his campaign, but the length of it too.
As her new book, What Happened, was released Tuesday, Clinton told the hosts of the Pod Save America podcast that she wished the independent from Vermont, running for the Democratic nomination, had dropped out sooner.
She compared the conclusion of the 2016 primary to the one she ran against President Obama in 2008.
'Once it was over, it was over and I quickly endorsed President Obama ... I didn't get anything like that respect from Sanders and his supporters,' she noted. 'And it hurt, you know, to have basically captured the nomination, ending up with more than 4 million votes than he had but he dragged it out.'
She said she views Trump as a 'clear and present danger to America.' She added: 'I think Trump, left to his own devices, unchecked, would become even more authoritarian than he has tried to be.'
Clinton's comments come at the same time Rasmussen Reports found that 61 percent of likely voters said it was time for the former first lady, senator and secretary of state to retire.
By the time the general election came around, Sen. Bernie Sanders (right) stumped for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton (left)
Of course, Republicans agreed to that statement over Democrats, 83 percent to 36 percent, but even along gender lines, 53 percent of women said it was time for Clinton, the country's first female major party nominee, to go.
Clinton has no plans to go away, as she booked on the Today Show and The View tomorrow and heads to Stephen Colbert's The Late Show on September 19.
On Monday she'll also kick off her 15-city ticketed book tour, Hillary Clinton Live, with stop No. 1 being Washington, D.C.'s Warner Theatre, just down the street from the White House.
For the Pod Save America podcast she spoke to alumni from the Obama administration, including Jon Lovett, Jon Favreau and Tommy Vietor, and talked about her behavior at the conclusion of the 2008 Democratic primary.
'I worked really hard to get him elected,' she said. 'I was still arguing with my supporters at the Denver convention, telling people, 'Don't be ridiculous, you've got to vote for Senator Obama,' at the time. And I was thrilled when he got elected.'
She then pivoted to Sanders, who the podcast hosts had asked about.
'And he was so reluctant,' Clinton said.
Clinton, however, has a point.
Sanders' last hope to rout the former secretary of state from winning the Democratic nomination was in California, which had a primary on June 7.
In advance of that, Sanders and his motorcade went all throughout the state, attracting tens of thousands in terms of crowds. But Clinton went on to to win the state by about 7 points.
After that, Sanders flew home to Vermont and there was speculation he would drop out then.
He didn't.
He traveled to Washington, D.C., and met with President Obama, who gave his endorsement to Clinton.
Sanders also didn't drop out then.
It took until July 12 for him to finally appear in New Hampshire alongside Clinton and throw her his support.
It appeared so absurd that the Onion marked this long road to closing out the Democratic primary by headlining a story from that day: 'Bernie Sanders Agrees To Drop Out Of Race In Exchange For 13-Hour Speaking Slot At Convention.'
Clinton watchers were already aware that Sanders was going to be in her crosshairs thanks to a tweet last week from journalist and CauseWired founder Tom Watson, which included a page of her book.
In that excerpt, Clinton wasn't bemoaning Sanders' long goodbye, but rather his political attacks, which were later used against her by now President Donald Trump.
During the primary Sanders would often hint that Clinton taking donations from Wall Streets and other corporations meant that she was corrupt or doing their bidding.
'When I finally challenged Bernie during a debate to name a single time I changed a position or a vote because of a financial contribution he couldn't come up with anything,' Clinton noted.
'Nonetheless, his attacks caused lasting damage, making it harder to unify progressives in the general election and paving the way for Trump's 'Crooked Hillary' campaign,' she said.
Diehard Conservative Remainers yesterday threatened to team up with Labour to force ministers to give MPs a veto on the final Brexit deal.
Remain-supporting MPs geared up for an autumn of guerilla warfare by tabling a blizzard of amendments to the Governments legislation.
Within hours of the flagship EU Withdrawal Bill clearing its first parliamentary hurdle yesterday, 59 pages of amendments were put down by critics of Brexit.
Ex-attorney general Dominic Grieve says he's prepared to side against the government with Labour after tabling 16 amendments to the EU Withdrawal Bill
Ex-attorney general Dominic Grieve, who has emerged as a key figure among Tory rebels, said he was prepared to join with Labour to defeat the Government unless ministers made a string of concessions.
Mr Grieve said the Government appeared to be in listening mode. But he added: If it doesnt [listen] then it risks being defeated in the House of Commons. I think that has to be a real possibility.
He insisted he accepted the referendum result, but added: I believe leaving the EU is a great and historic mistake.
Mr Grieve, who tabled 16 amendments to the Bill, said the new legislation puts far too much power in the hands of the executive and MPs would now go through it with a fine-tooth comb.
His amendments include a proposal backed by nine Tory MPs that would require the Government to hold a binding vote on the Brexit deal before it was agreed.
Some MPs hope the move could force Theresa May back to the negotiating table, but it could also see Britain crash out of the EU without a deal.
Eurosceptic Jacob Rees-Mogg says the Tory rebels are trying to frustrate Brexit and pointed out the government has already offered a vote on the deal
Eurosceptic Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg last night accused rebels in his party of trying to frustrate the process. He said: The Government has already promised there will be a vote on the deal. Putting it into legislation risks creating a procedural log-jam if not outright chaos if the divorce deal is signed near the deadline.
It appears to be a last gasp effort by the Remainers to keep us in the EU. But this would also in theory allow Eurosceptics who think no deal is better than a bad deal to vote down the agreement.
Labour also tabled a string of amendments which would tie the Governments hands during the negotiations on Britains EU exit.
Jeremy Corbyn put forward proposals to allow MPs to determine the duration of any transitional deal.
Phillip Hammond says a transitional deal will look a lot like the status quo, indicating he's pushing to keep the UK in the customs union
With Labour also calling for the UK to stay in the single market and customs union during any transition, this could allow pro-Remain MPs to permanently keep Britain in the EU in all but name.
Labours Brexit spokesman Sir Keir Starmer said that the flawed Bill would require extensive amendment and improvement in a whole range of areas. He added: This is likely to cause delays and division in Parliament, and the Prime Minister has nobody to blame but herself.
Pro-Remain MPs also put forward plans that would require the UK to stay in the customs union indefinitely, even though this would mean the permanent continuation of free movement.
And the Liberal Democrats are seeking to force a vote that would require the Government to hold a second referendum before leaving the EU.
Philip Hammond yesterday said a transitional deal to smooth the path to Brexit would look a lot like the status quo. The Chancellor indicated that he was pushing for an arrangement that will keep the UK in the customs union in all but name as we leave the European Union.
Ministers have agreed to pursue a transition lasting up to three years to give businesses and the Government more time to prepare.
Mr Hammond told peers not everything would be ready in time for the expected exit date in March 2019, with customs facing a very challenging race to implement new systems.
Asked if he was confident the capacity of UK ports was adequate to deal with additional inspections, Mr Hammond said: No, it is clearly not.
The EU Withdrawal Bill repeals the European Communities Act 1972, which enshrines the supremacy of EU law. It also transfers thousands of existing EU regulations into British law in order to smooth the path to Brexit.
This is the heart-warming moment a police officer in China saves a kitten from being run over at a crossing.
The footage was recorded at a crossing in Putian, southeast China's Fujian province, on September 8 and shows the officer rushing over to pick the animal up off the ground, reports the People's Daily Online.
Many people on Chinese social media have praised the officer for ensuring the animal was safe.
The cat ran in front of the motorcyclists in Putian, southeast China on September 8
In the video, motorbikes can be seen stopped at a crossing. Cars on the opposite side of the road can be seen crossing too.
All of a sudden, a white small kitten can be seen walking in front of the motorbikes.
The traffic police officer, named Tan Yuhe, notices this and runs over, chasing after the kitten to pick it up.
He has to run in front of all of the motorbikes before eventually catching the animal.
The traffic police officer named Tan Yuhe notices the animal and picks it up from the road
Many people on Chinese social media have praised the officer for his actions
The officer told Pear Video: 'A driver behind me shouted at me and said he could see a cat. I immediately rushed over. The cat was in the safety stop of the road.'
Mr Tan said the cat looked like a stray cat.
Many people have taken to social media site Weibo to thank the officer for saving the cat.
One user wrote: 'This traffic officer warms my heart.'
While another commented: 'People and cats are so cute.'
And another said: 'Every life is worthy of respect.'
Pope Francis has sharply criticised climate change doubters, saying history will judge those who failed to take action.
Francis was asked about climate change and the spate of hurricanes, including Irma, have pummelled the US, Mexico and the Caribbean recent days.
He called on world leaders to take the necessary decisions to curb heat-trapping emissions blamed for the warming of the Earth.
Scroll down for video
Pope Francis (pictured) has sharply criticised climate change doubters, saying history will judge those who failed to take action. He called on world leader to take the necessary decisions to curb heat-trapping emissions blamed for the warming of the Earth
THE POPE ON THE ENVIRONMENT Pope Francis has made caring for the environment a hallmark of his papacy. He strongly backed the 2015 Paris agreement on reducing global warming, from which the United States withdrew this year. Ahead of the Paris summit in 2015, Francis wrote a major encyclical, or papal letter, on the care of the environment which backed the gradual elimination of fossil fuels to stem global warming. He has also written about how the poor in particular are most harmed when multinationals move into exploit natural resources. Advertisement
The pope made the comments as his charter plane left Colombia on Sunday and flew over some of the devastated areas.
'Those who deny this must go to the scientists and ask them, he said.
'They speak very clearly', referring to experts who blame global warming on man-made activities.
Francis said scientists have also clearly charted what needed to be done to reverse course on global warming and said individuals and politicians had a 'moral responsibility' to do their part.
'These aren't opinions pulled out of thin air. They are very clear.
'Then they (leaders) decide and history will judge those decisions,' he added.
During his visit to Colombia, Francis spoke out frequently about the need to preserve the country's rich biodiversity from over development and exploitation.
For those who have denied climate change, or delayed actions to counter it, he responded with an Old Testament saying: 'Man is stupid.'
'When you don't want to see, you don't see,' he added.
Pope Francis said the recent spate of hurricanes should prompt people to understand that humanity will 'go down' if it does not address climate change and history will judge those who deny the science on its causes.
'If we don't turn back, we will go down,' Francis told reporters.
Francis spoke as hurricane Irma pounded central Florida as it carved through the state with high winds, storm surges and torrential rains that left millions without power, ripped roofs off homes and flooded city streets.
Francis was asked about recent hurricanes, including Irma and Harvey, and if political leaders who do not want to work with other countries to stem global warming should be held morally responsible for future effects on the planet.
'You can see the effects of climate change and scientists have clearly said what path we have to follow,' he said, referring to a consensus by scientists that global warming is caused by human activity such as fossil fuels.
Francis was asked about climate change and the spate of hurricanes that have pummelled the US, Mexico and the Caribbean recent days. This image show torrential rains and floodwater in Charleston yesterday
'All of us have a responsibility, all of us, small or large, a moral responsibility.'
'We have to take it seriously. We can't joke about it.
'Each person has their own. Even politicians have their own.'
Francis has made caring for the environment a hallmark of his papacy.
He strongly backed the 2015 Paris agreement on reducing global warming, from which the United States withdrew this year.
Ahead of the Paris summit in 2015, Francis wrote a major encyclical, or papal letter, on the care of the environment which backed the gradual elimination of fossil fuels to stem global warming.
He has also written about how the poor in particular are most harmed when multinationals move into exploit natural resources.
Advertisement
Nasa's Cassini spacecraft is headed toward its death plunge into Saturn, following a final distant flyby of the planet's giant moon Titan.
A last course correction by the probe saw it pass 73,974 miles (119,049 km) above the moon's surface, setting it on a trajectory that will end in its 'death dive' into the gas giant on Friday.
The encounter has been called 'the goodbye kiss' by mission engineers, because it provides a gravitational nudge that will send the spacecraft toward its dramatic ending in the planet's upper atmosphere.
On Thursday Cassini will send its last images of Saturn to Earth. Nasa expects to lose contact with Cassini at 7.45am EST (12.45 pm BST) on Friday.
Scroll down for video
Nasa's Cassini spacecraft is headed toward its plunge into Saturn, following a final distant flyby of the planet's giant moon Titan (artist's impression). A last course correction by the probe saw it pass 73,974 miles (119,049 km) above the moon's surface, setting it on a trajectory that will end in its 'death dive' into the gas giant on Friday
TIMELINE OF DEATH DIVE FOR CASSINI September 12, 9:19 pm ET., Earth starts receiving Cassini's last data on Titan. September 14, 3:58 pm ET., Cassinis cameras take their last pictures. September 14, 4:22 pm ET., Cassinis last batch of dataincluding those last picturesbegin streaming back to Earth. NASA plans to post raw images online as they are received. Earth will start receiving those signals at 5:45 pm ET. September 15, 3:14 am ET., The spacecraft rolls into position to collect atmospheric data during the descent. September 15, 6:31 am ET., Cassini enters Saturns atmosphere. September 15, 6:32 am ET., Cassinis antenna points away from Earth, leading to a loss of signal. Shortly afterwards, the spacecraft is vaporized. September 15, 7:00 am-8:30 am ET, NASA livestreams the scene at mission control at NASA JPL, with live commentary about the end of the mission. September 15, 7:55 am ET., Earth registers the loss of signal, indicating the end of Cassini. Advertisement
Cassini has made hundreds of passes over Titan during its 13-year tour of the Saturn system, including 127 precisely targeted encounters, some at close range and some, like this one, more distant.
The spacecraft is scheduled to make contact with Earth at 9:19 pm EST today (2.19 am Wednesday BST).
Images and other science data taken during the encounter are expected to begin streaming to Earth soon after.
Navigators will analyse the spacecraft's trajectory following this downlink to confirm that Cassini is precisely on course to dive into Saturn at the planned time, location and altitude.
The geometry of the flyby will cause Cassini to slow down slightly in its orbit around Saturn.
This will lower the altitude of its flight over the planet so that the spacecraft will go too deep into Saturn's atmosphere to survive, because friction within the atmosphere will cause Cassini to burn up.
'Cassini has been in a long-term relationship with Titan, with a new rendezvous nearly every month for more than a decade,' said Cassini project manager Earl Maize at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
'This final encounter is something of a bittersweet goodbye.
'But, as it has done throughout the mission, Titan's gravity is once again sending Cassini where we need it to go.'
Cassini is ending its 13-year tour of the Saturn system with an intentional plunge into the planet to ensure Saturn's moons, in particular Enceladus, with its subsurface ocean and signs of hydrothermal activity, remain pristine for future exploration.
The spacecraft's fateful dive is the final beat in the mission's Grand Finale, 22 weekly dives. begun in late April, through the gap between Saturn and its rings.
No spacecraft has ever ventured so close to the planet before.
As Nasa's Cassini spacecraft draws ever closer to the dramatic end of its mission, it has been sending back some stunning images of Saturn.
An image taken with Cassini's narrow-angle camera in June has been released, which shows the intricate wave structure of Saturn's rings.
The image was released just days before Cassini began it last orbit of Saturn, with the craft finally ending its historic mission.
Cassini's last orbit begins this week on September 9. On September 14, the probe will take its final images of Saturn, snapping images of the gas giant's hexagon-shaped vortex at its north pole as well as its moons Titan and Enceladus
This view from Cassini spacecraft shows a wave structure in Saturn's rings known as the Janus 2:1 spiral density wave. Resulting from the same process that creates spiral galaxies, spiral density waves in Saturn's rings are much more tightly wound. In this case, every second wave crest is the same spiral arm which has encircled the entire planet multiple times
JANUS 2:1 SPIRAL DENSITY WAVES Spiral density waves result from the same process that creates spiral galaxies, but are much more tightly wound. In this case, every second wave crest is actually the same spiral arm which has encircled Saturn multiple times. The Janus 2:1 spiral density wave is particularly remarkable because Janus the moon that generates it is in a strange orbital configuration. Both Janus and Epimetheus (another of Saturn's moons) share almost the same orbit, and trade places every four years. Each time those orbit swaps take place, the ring at this location responds, creating a new crest in the wave. While Epimetheus also generates waves, these are swamped out by the waves from Janus the larger of the two moons. Advertisement
The image was taken on June 4, and shows a wave structure in Saturn's rings, known as the Janus 2:1 spiral density wave.
Spiral density waves result from the same process that creates spiral galaxies, but are much more tightly wound.
In this case, every second wave crest is actually the same spiral arm which has encircled Saturn multiple times.
In a post about the image, a spokesperson for Nasa said: 'This is the only major density wave visible in Saturn's B ring.
'Most of the B ring is characterised by structures that dominate the areas where density waves might otherwise occur, but this innermost portion of the B ring is different.'
While the image gives the illusion that the ring plane is tilted away from the camera towards the upper-left, this is not actually the case.
The Nasa spokesperson added: 'Because of the mechanics of how this kind of wave propagates, the wavelength decreases with distance from the resonance.
'Thus, the upper-left of the image is just as close to the camera as the lower-right, while the wavelength of the density wave is simply shorter.'
The Janus 2:1 spiral density wave is particularly remarkable because Janus the moon that generates it is in a strange orbital configuration.
Both Janus and Epimetheus (another of Saturn's moons) share almost the same orbit, and trade places every four years.
While the image gives the illusion that the ring plane is tilted away from the camera towards the upper-left, this is not actually the case. A Nasa spokesperson said: 'Because of the mechanics of how this kind of wave propagates, the wavelength decreases with distance from the resonance. Thus, the upper-left of the image is just as close to the camera as the lower-right, while the wavelength of the density wave is simply shorter'
Each time those orbit swaps take place, the ring at this location responds, creating a new crest in the wave.
The Nasa spokesperson said: 'The distance between any pair of crests corresponds to four years' worth of the wave propagating downstream from the resonance, which means the wave seen here encodes many decades' worth of the orbital history of Janus and Epimetheus.'
While Epimetheus also generates waves, these are swamped out by the waves from Janus the larger of the two moons.
Nasa also released the highest-resolution colour images of any part of Saturn's rings to date, showing a portion of the inner-central part of the planet's B Ring.
The first image, taken on July 6, is a natural colour composite, created using images taken with red, green and blue spectral filters.
And the second is a colour-enhanced version, in which blue colours represent areas where the spectrum at visible wavelengths is less reddish, and red colours represent areas that are spectrally redder.
Analysis of additional images from this observation, taken using infrared spectral filters sensitive to absorption of light by water ice, indicates that the areas that appear more visibly reddish in the colour-enhanced version are also richer in water ice.
Last week, Nasa also released a stunning 'spacecraft's eye' view over Saturn's moon Enceladus.
The video stitches together images captured by the craft's narrow-angle camera, and offers a first-person perspective of the Aug 1 flyby, showing the relative motion of Cassini and the icy moon from about 112,000 miles (181,000 km) above.
The new view is a change from the typically static Cassini observations that have been released over the years.
It uses six images, taken with filters that allow infrared, green, and ultraviolet light, according to Nasa.
Yesterday, Nasa also released the highest-resolution colour images of any part of Saturn's rings to date, showing a portion of the inner-central part of the planet's B Ring. The first image is a natural colour composite, created using images taken with red, green and blue spectral filters
The second image is a colour-enhanced version, in which blue colours represent areas where the spectrum at visible wavelengths is less reddish (meaning the spectrum is flatter toward red wavelengths), and red colours represent areas that are spectrally redder (meaning the spectrum has a steeper spectrum toward red wavelengths)
These make for the red, green, and blue components in the resulting movie.
'The heavens often seem vast and unchanging as seen from Earth, but movement in the skies is the norm,' Nasa explains.
'The relative motions of both Cassini and Enceladus over a 15-minute period create the movement seen in this movie sequence.'
The Cassini space probe is approaching its final orbit between Saturn and its rings before its fiery plunge into the gassy planet.
The craft is now undertaking the last of its so-called 'Grand Finale' orbits, each bringing the probe closer to its long-awaited death dive.
This view of Saturn, taken by the Cassini probe, shows the planet's northern hemisphere in 2016. The craft is now undertaking the last of its so-called 'Grand Finale' orbits, each bringing the probe closer to its long-awaited death dive
Cassini's last orbit began last week on Saturday September 9, with the craft finally ending its historic 13-year mission six days later with a dive directly into Saturn's atmosphere.
Saturday's orbit sent the craft through the outermost layers of the planet's atmosphere, passing just 1,680 kilometres (1,043 miles) above the clouds.
Two days later Cassini made a final, 119,049-kilometre (73,973-mile) flyby of Saturn's largest moon Titan, causing the craft to slow down and re-position its orbit for its death dive.
Cassini has been probing Saturn, the sixth planet from the sun, and its entourage of 62 known moons since July 2004, providing enough data for almost 4,000 scientific papers. Pictured are the number of orbits and flybys the craft has performed over the past 13 years of research
This image of Saturn's rings was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Jan 28, 2016. Cassini's final dive will end a mission that provided groundbreaking discoveries that included seasonal changes on Saturn, the moon Titan's resemblance to a primordial Earth, and a global ocean on the moon Enceladus with ice plumes spouting from its surface
On September 14, the probe will take its final images of Saturn, snapping images of the gas giant's hexagon-shaped vortex at its north pole as well as its moons Titan and Enceladus.
The probe will then turn its antennae toward Earth, transmitting data until the final moment before it burns up as it heads straight into the gas giant's crushing atmosphere on September 15.
Cassini's final dive will end a mission that provided groundbreaking discoveries that included seasonal changes on Saturn, the moon Titan's resemblance to a primordial Earth, and a global ocean on the moon Enceladus with ice plumes spouting from its surface.
'The mission has been insanely, wildly, beautifully successful, and it's coming to an end in about two weeks,' Dr Curt Niebur, Cassini program scientist, said on a telephone conference call with reporters last week.
Last week, Nasa shared a stunning new view of Saturn's turbulent clouds, captured the day Cassini first began its Grand Finale. The breathtaking photo shows the swirling clouds 'on top of the world' at the ringed planet just weeks before Saturn's northern summer solstice
THE 'GRAND FINALE' Cassini has circled Saturn for 13 years since reaching its orbit in 2004, spearheading remarkable discoveries about the ringed planet and its icy moons but now, it's running low on fuel. On April 22 the spacecraft began to transition into its grand finale orbits, taking one last close flyby of Saturn's massive moon Titan. Titan's gravity bent Cassini's flight path, causing the orbit to shrink until it was on course to pass between Saturn and the inner edges of its rings. Cassini then began the first of 22 dives through an unexplored gap before it ultimately plunges through the skies of Saturn to end its mission as 'part of the planet itself.' Cassini's mission will officially terminate on September 15, after a planned plummet through Saturn's atmosphere. And, all the while, it will transmit data from several instruments until the signal is finally lost. Advertisement
Cassini's final photo as it heads into Saturn's atmosphere will likely be of propellers, or gaps in the rings caused by moonlets, said project scientist Dr Linda Spilker.
The spacecraft will provide near real-time data on the atmosphere until it loses contact with Earth at 7:54 am ET (12:54 am BST) on September 15, Nasa said.
Dr Spilker said Cassini's latest data on the rings had shown they had a lighter mass than forecast.
That suggests they are younger than expected, at about 120 million years, and thus were created after the birth of the solar system, she said.
During its final orbits between the atmosphere and the rings, Cassini also studied Saturn's atmosphere and took measurements to determine the size of the planet's rocky core.
Cassini has been probing Saturn, the sixth planet from the sun, and its entourage of 62 known moons since July 2004, providing enough data for almost 4,000 scientific papers.
Since the craft is running low on fuel, Nasa is crashing it into Saturn to avoid any chance Cassini could someday collide with Titan, Enceladus or any other moon that has the potential to support indigenous microbial life.
By destroying the spacecraft, Nasa will ensure that any hitchhiking Earth microbes still alive on Cassini will not contaminate the moons for future study.
Last week, Nasa shared a stunning new view of Saturn's turbulent clouds, captured the day Cassini first began its Grand Finale.
In a movie stitching together 21 images taken with Cassini's wide-angle camera, Nasa reveals a look at the entirety of the main rings. The images were taken over a period of roughly four minutes on August 20, 2017
THE SCALE OF SATURN When it comes to space, it isn't always easy to understand how big objects really are. To put things into perspective, if Earth was the size of a tennis ball, the moon would be the size of a marble. Saturn would be the size of a beach ball and the sun would be the length of seven football fields away from Earth. Advertisement
The breathtaking photo shows the swirling clouds 'on top of the world' at the ringed planet just weeks before Saturn's northern summer solstice a period soon to be followed by years of darkness.
Cassini began the first of its final five orbits mid-August, bringing it closer to Saturn than ever before.
Images from its August 20 dive now offer a mesmerising 'inside out' perspective from the gap between the planet and its rings.
In a strikingly dynamic photo captured on April 26, 2017 the day it approached Saturn for its first dive Cassini observed the planet's north pole as it remained bathed in sunlight, from about 166,000 miles away.
But soon, the region will be enveloped in darkness.
Nasa's Cassini space probe (artist's impression) is approaching its final orbit between Saturn and its rings before its fiery plunge into the gassy planet. The craft is now undertaking the last of its so-called 'Grand Finale' orbits, each bringing the craft closer to its long-awaited death dive
'Although the pole is still bathed in sunlight at present, northern summer solstice on Saturn occurred on May 24, 2017, bringing the maximum solar illumination to the north polar region,' Nasa said.
'Now the sun begins its slow descent in the northern sky, which eventually will plunge the north pole into Earth-years of darkness.
'Cassini's long mission at Saturn enabled the spacecraft to see the sun rise over the north, revealing that region in great detail for the first time.'
When you're in a rush, it can be easy to forget your travel card on the way out of the house.
But for around 3,000 commuters in Sweden, this isn't something to worry about.
The brave commuters have futuristic microchip implants embedded into their hands to pay for their journey.
But the technology raises security and privacy issues, as the data generated could be used to track people.
Scroll down for video
SJ Rail, a Swedish rail operator, claims that up to 3,000 of its customers are embedding microchip implants into their hands to pay for their journey (pictured)
RFID CHIPS The small implants use Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, the same as in contactless credit cards or mobile payments. When activated by a reader a few centimetres (inches) away, a small amount of data flows between the two devices via electromagnetic waves. The implants are 'passive,' meaning they contain information that other devices can read, but cannot read information themselves. Advertisement
In June, SJ Rail, the Swedish train operator, announced that around 100 people were using microchips to pay for their journey.
But in a new interview with the BBC, it was revealed that an estimated 3,000 people now use the service.
In a video, the Travel Show's Ade Adepitan said: 'So far around 3,000 people in Sweden have a microchip.'
Commuters with a microchip in their hand are able to have their ticket loaded directly onto the device.
The train conductor can then read the chip with a smartphone to confirm the passenger has paid for their journey.
Stephen Ray, who is overseeing the SJ Rail project, told the BBC: 'You could use the microchip implant to replace a lot of stuff, your credit cards, they keys to your house, the keys to your car.'
SJ Rail is not offering to microchip people itself, and passengers wanting to use the service must already have the futuristic technology.
Mircrochip implants are not new in Sweden, and an estimated 20,000 people already have them, using the devices to swipe in and out of the office, and even pay for food.
Speaking to the Sun Online, Stephen Ray, press officer at SJ Rail, said that the idea was put forward by a technology start-up in Stockholm called Epicenter, where many of the staff are already implanted with microchips.
While the scheme is currently only available in Sweden, the country's travel system uses the same Near Field Communication (NFC) as contactless bank cards, and London's oyster cards, suggesting it could be used further afield one day.
The futuristic project has not been without its hiccups, and has also generated concerns over passenger privacy.
RFID implants (pictured) use Near Field Communication technology, the same as in contactless credit cards or mobile payments
When it was launched in June, one flaw in the system meant that rail staff would sometimes be shown a passenger's LinkedIn profile instead of their ticket information.
But Mr Ray reassured that the problem was quickly resolved, saying: 'That's why we call it a trial.'
Peter Dahlqvist, Head of SJ Business Sales said: 'SJ is already one of Sweden's most digital companies, so this new project could be started up very quickly.
'The microchip ticket is a good example of how we are happy to try out new ideas alongside customers and help to force the pace of digital development.'
There are currently no plans to bring the scheme to the UK.
Think you know Ontario, Canada? Think again.
Sure, it's got those big ticket tourist attractions such as Toronto's CN Tower and the jaw-clanging majesty of Niagara Falls, plus that classic Canadian wilderness of shining lakes, softly sloping hills, endless skies and a tangle of white pines and red cedars.
Ontario is already well known for attractions like Toronto's CN Tower
Most people know Ontario for the jaw-clanging majesty of Niagara Falls - but it has much, much more to offer
But beyond the Ontario you think you know lies an intriguing province ripe for exploration; from cosmopolitan cities and simple pleasures in Muskoka's Cottage Country, to a delicious culinary scene which takes you from dress-up fine dining in glittering restaurants to canoe picnics on the lake.
Explore cosmopolitan cities
Toronto may bag most of Ontario's headlines, but many other cities are there to be discovered such as Ottawa (pictured)
Picture-perfect Toronto with its movie star good looks, big name festivals, 24-hour city buzz, and iconic buildings may bag most of of the headlines, but Canada's capital Ottawa is no slouch when it comes to the big city experience - and comes with the bonus of possibly spotting the country's Prime Minister with his Disney Prince good looks out on a walkabout near parliament!
Did you know you can skate through the city in winter along the Rideau Canal which becomes the world's longest ice rink each year for its Winterlude Festival?
In the summertime you can rent a kayak and go for a paddle on its still waters, or head out of town for an afternoon riding whitewater rapids on the Ontario River.
The Rideau Canal becomes the world's longest ice rink each year for its Winterlude Festival (pictured)
All big cities have their great museums and Ottawa is no exception with its world class National Gallery of Canada with the all-new Canadian and Indigenous galleries, or the Museum of Nature with its stunning Arctic Gallery which transports visitors to the frozen North with a multi-sensory experience - and even real ice!
Take a trip to Ottawa's world class museum to immerse yourself in the stunning displays
But if you want to see an unexpected side of the capital, head underground to visit the massive, 100,000-square-foot Diefenbunker and delve into Prime Minister John Diefenbaker's answer to mid-century Cold War fears, or book afternoon tea of the veranda of Laurier House, home to two ex-Prime Ministers, with pastries served up by the Cordon Bleu culinary school.
Discover Cottage Country
Head into the pristine protected wilderness of Georgian Bay Island National Park, the worlds largest freshwater archipelago
Canadians have been enjoying the bucolic pleasures of Cottage Country for generations, soaking up the delights of the friendly small towns of Muskoka and indulging in all it has to offer.
Head into the pristine protected wilderness of Georgian Bay Island National Park, the world's largest freshwater archipelago.
Canadians have been enjoying the bucolic pleasures of Cottage Country for generations
Paddle out on a kayak camping adventure, rent a cosy Parks Canada oTENTik and sleep soundly in a cabin under shady spruce and tamarak trees. Take it easy and laze on the sands on a beach day at Arrowhead Provincial Park, or seek inspiration on the bike trails or head out hiking along the bluffs and across millennia-old Canadian Shield.
Elegant dining or picnic casual: taste it all
No matter whether you're looking for a quick bite or a savour-every-second special dinner, you'll be delighted with Canada's culinary chops; and beer and wine fans will love exploring Ontario by way of its breweries and wineries; yes! Canada makes wine.
Don't miss out on sampling some delicious wine made in Canada during your stay
Foodies will swoon over chef Marc Lepine's Atelier restaurant in Ottawa with his multi-course tasting menu-only avant garde dining - think a Canadian Heston Blumenthal and expect delicious thrills such as edible helium balloons and carrot hoops.
Or try Fairouz, which whips up modern Middle Eastern cuisine in a heritage mansion in the heart of the Ottawa's Somerset Village 'hood.
Boralia in the hip Ossington district recreates Canadian-inspired dishes
Toronto offers destination dining too, at spots such as Canoe on the 54th floor with a stunning city view and gloriously inventive food to match. But away from the big names, you'll find plenty of intriguing places to chow down, such as tiny Boralia in the hip Ossington district, which recreates Canadian-inspired dishes from First Nations recipes through to favourites from early settlers.
The craft beer scene is rocketing in popularity and you can get a true 'grain to glass' experience across the province
Pop your cork on a tour around Niagara-on-the-Lake, or Prince Edward Country and sniff, swirl and sip your way through a taste of Ontarios mineral-rich terroir, where they excel in aromatic whites, cool climate reds, exceptionally good sparkling and that famous icewine.
The craft beer scene is rocketing in popularity and you can get a true 'grain to glass' experience across the province. Head out in Toronto's Junction neighbourhood to visit a cluster of microbreweries or challenge yourself to complete the True Brew Path in neighbouring Hamilton while exploring the Niagara Escarpments hiking and biking trails!
Tick a few things off that bucket list
The brand new Mistrider zip line takes you on a high adrenaline adventure 67m (220 feet) above the ground along the Niagara river gorge to the Falls observation landing
Because ok, it wouldn't be Ontario without Niagara Falls, but you can see one of the natural wonders of the world from a fresh perspective if you dare to try the brand new Mistrider zip line which takes you on a high adrenaline adventure 67m (220 feet) above the ground along the Niagara river gorge to the Falls observation landing.
And if thrills are what you're looking for, you still can't beat the heart pumping high of walking out onto the narrow ledge at the world's highest full circle hands free walk, 356m/1168ft (116 storeys) above the ground at the CN Tower on the EdgeWalk.
The photos and video you bring home are guaranteed to make everyone see you in a whole new light.
Advertisement
Fascinating photos of from a theme park in North Korea provide a rare glimpse at what families from the communist state do for fun.
Candid snaps show thrillseekers clinging on to a rickety rollercoaster with a vague look of fear on their faces, while another shot shows children causally armed with bow and arrows at an open-air stand.
Taesongsan Park, which opened in 1977 and is around seven miles from Pyongyang, boasts ten to 15 ride and attractions. Some of the more unusual offerings include archery sessions and tug of war matches.
Scroll down for video
Ready, set, fire! Taesongsan Park seven miles from Pyongyang boasts around ten to 15 ride and attractions from a archery to a game of tug of war. A British traveller, who wished not to be named, slipped into the communist state to take these extraordinary inside images of a day out
Communist coaster: Apparently, the big rollercoaster at the park resembled 'something circa 1950's or before'. The ride featured single carts holding two passengers at a time
A British traveller, who wished not to be named, slipped into the communist state to take these extraordinary inside images of a day out.
He said: 'When compared to Alton Towers in terms of thrills, I would have to give the medal of the best to Mt Taesong! Albeit it's a different kind of thrill ride you're on there.
'You know, more the thrill of someone arresting you for unknown reasons and having no way of communicating your situation to the outside world!'
Pictures of Taesongsan Park which opened at the foot of Mount Taesong in the late 1970s show traditional bumper cars in action and a ferris wheel turning.
There also appears to be a theatrical dancing demonstration in full swing, while archery lessons take place in another corner.
The photographer, who was allowed to walk about North Korea's answer to Alton Towers, could not help but suspect many other visitors were there just to liven the place up.
Road rage: Young children ride on the dodgems, with cars shaped like giant cats. Park guards appear to be waiting in the background, making sure everything is in check
Staying on the right track: Guards were on watch to make sure the traveller and his tour group didn't go astray
More than a million people, including foreigners, enjoy themselves in the fun fair every year. Every year May Day festivities are held in the popular park.
The photographer added: 'I would estimate there were between ten to 15 rides and attractions in the park.
Despite being quite genuinely afraid that a stray arrow might find its way toward my person, I sheepishly requested a bow and tried my hand
'It's hard to say exactly as we were forbidden from going to the areas closest to the exits through fear we would escape the confines of the park and roam rampantly through the streets of Pyongyang.
'It was the only place we were allowed to wander around somewhat freely however. Our guides let us mingle with the locals in the approved areas and just stood guard along the pathways leading to the entry and exit points.'
The tourist said his two highlights of the Mt Taesong amusement park were participating in the archery and tug of war.
He explained: 'The archery equipment was pretty run down and there were zero health and safety regulations in place as children grabbed weapons and fired freely at targets around 10 metres away.
Heave-ho: Two teams take part in a tug of war in front of a panel of judges at the Taesongsan Park
Flight mode: Children take to the skies on a carousel ride. The carriages features Air Koryo branding, the airline is the state-owned national flag carrier of North Korea
Going for a spin: Children get to grips with their dodgem car (left) while a large ferris wheel lures park-goers in
Making an entrance: Singers and dancers entertain crowds at the park, decked out in colourful pieces of costume
'Despite being quite genuinely afraid that a stray arrow might find its way toward my person, I sheepishly requested a bow and tried my hand.
'My failed attempts were met with laughter from the local lads who soon showed me how it was done.
'Upon observing a very serious tug of war session, complete with a panel of judges a'la Simon Cowell, I was quite literally grabbed by the scruff of the neck by a woman in her 50's and thrown into the fray.
I have to say though that one positive by-product that was very apparent is that people weren't in any way glued to their phones and social media accounts
'I was momentarily terrified, but I soon came around to the military style pep talk that was shouted at me and my team before we picked up the rope and battle cried our way to victory.
'High fives all round, including from my 50 something would-be captor. Very surreal!'
Apparently, the big rollercoaster at the park resembled 'something circa 1950's or before'. The ride featured single carts holding two passengers at a time, with steel girders painted bright green and yellow.
The tourist estimated that there around 500 people when he visited.
He believed that admittance to the park was free of charge, explaining: 'When traveling in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) the guides make sure to tell you repeatedly how well the government treats their citizens.
'Everything is government owned, there aren't any private businesses, and this is, apparently, a very good thing, I mean some of the perks do sound pretty hard to argue with.
Following the theme: The Mangyongdae funfair is another amusement park, also based close to the capital Pyongyang
In need of a revamp: These rusting rides don't provide visitors with much confidence
Seen better days: A carriage on a ride looks in sorry state with rust marks coating its metal exterior
'Free accommodation, free entrance to attractions like these, even free beer! Although that's reserved for males, five litres per month though, not too shabby!
'When you put all of that against the UK's 40 entry to a theme park, 5 a pint and sky high rent price - on paper- North Korea starts to sound like a pretty decent place to live!'
Summing up his theme park excursion, the bemused tourist said: 'It was busy and there was a party atmosphere with large groups enjoying picnics, barbecues and all manner of fun and games.
'That said there was a slightly odd undercurrent to the mood, but that's only to be expected in North Korea!
'One thing I did notice though is that when we were due to depart the park at 12.30pm, it seemed that almost everyone else in the park had the same idea and people were leaving in droves.
'Call me paranoid but it's hard not to suspect that perhaps some people may not have been there of their own accord exactly.
At least there are no queues! Photos taken inside the Mangyongdae funfair show it looking eerily empty
Come one, come all! Like Taesongsan Park, there are a mixture of rides to suit various age groups
Futuristic: A rocket-style ride inside a North Korean theme park doesn't quite look fit for space travel
'But who knows, maybe that is just the hour that North Koreans feel is time to head home!
'I think it's important that people understand that the local people aren't all total oddballs. It becomes quite apparent they are just normal people living in very abnormal circumstances.
'They don't have access to the internet and as a result are incredibly behind the times - everything from haircuts to architecture seems to be from a bygone era.
'I have to say though that one positive by-product that was very apparent is that people weren't in any way glued to their phones and social media accounts.
'In a day and age where we are all guilty of occasionally checking our news feeds instead of making conversation with loved ones that we are actually with, it was very refreshing to have a glimpse into a world where that isn't a factor at all.'
The opening ceremony of the Second Colorful World Cultural Exhibition of Countries Along the Belt and Road Event was launched on September 11 in the China International Exhibition Center, Beijing.
Diplomats from the countries along the Belt and Road attend the opening ceremony. [Photo by Gong Jie/China.org.cn]
The exhibition is a part of the on-going 12th China Beijing International Cultural & Creative Industry Expo (ICCIE).
During the three-day event, embassies of 45 countries along the Belt and Road including Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Iran as well as representative offices of international organizations such as the Arab League will attend the exhibition.
The aim of the exhibition is to strengthen cultural exchanges between China and the countries along the Belt and Road, to promote the dissemination and promotion of the national culture of these countries, as well as to strengthen friendly exchanges between China and countries all over the world.
The 45 delegations will hold on-site promotions full of their local colors representing their cultural, educational and tourism resources, showcasing their unique geographical features, ethnic customs and cultural styles.
A main stage area and the national presentation areas will be set up. Apart from the exciting launch ceremony on the opening day of the event, the main stage area will be divided into different sections for different participating countries to put on theatrical performances, promotions and displays of ethnic costumes and decorations.
The event is jointly hosted by Beijing This Month Publications and Beijing Foreign Cultural Exchanges Center.
To travel hopefully, observed Robert Louis Stevenson, is a better thing than to arrive.
Unless, that is, you are travelling hopefully to Portofino where arriving beats most journeys into a cocked nautical hat.
Portofino is such a glorious place that if you are arriving on a cruise itinerary, it should ideally be your last port of call because as a stop it is impossible to beat.
Arriving in Portofino 'beats most journeys into a cocked nautical hat', says the Mail on Sunday's travel editor, Frank Barrett (above, the harbour in the colourful fishing village
It is surprising, therefore, that Portofino on the Italian Riviera is a fairly recent addition to the celebrity firmament of holiday places.
Unlike Nice, Cannes, Antibes, St Tropez and the other long-established names of the French Riviera, exquisite Portofino is a star of rather more recent vintage.
Before the Second World War, Portofino its name derives from Portus Delphini Port of the Dolphins (the dolphins are still regular visitors) was somewhere that had a discerning but limited following.
Certainly the wealthy came: towards the end of the 19th Century the Castello Brown more recently famous as the wedding venue for Wayne and Coleen Rooney was converted from a fortress into a palatial home by the former British consul in Genoa, Montague Yeats-Brown.
Towards the end of the war, in order to deny the Allies a key port, the retreating Nazi forces prepared to blow up Portofino.
A British resident then played a key role: Scottish-born Jeannie von Mumm, who had married into the German Mumm champagne family, charmed the German commander into dismantling his explosives and so spared the town.
Towards the end of the 19th Century the Castello Brown - more recently famous as the wedding venue for Wayne and Coleen Rooney - was converted from a fortress into a palatial home by the former British consul in Genoa, Montague Yeats-Brown
In the 1950s, another British citizen put Portofino on the jet-set map.
Sir Rex Harrison bought a house in the hills above the town, and attracted a roster of the rich and famous (from the Duke and Duchess of Windsor to Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh).
Sir Rex and his actress wife Rachel Roberts also entertained Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, who arrived by yacht. They knew when Harrison was at home because, like the Queen, he would fly a flag to advertise his presence.
For most cruise ships, Portofino is too small, but its not for Silverseas Silver Spirit. This handsome ship, which can accommodate 540 passengers, moors just outside the harbour and passengers travel in by regular tender service.
On a cruise its good to have a mission at each port. My task was to find Harrisons house, San Genesio, and to see whether it still had its famous flagpole. From the town I took advantage of the shuttle bus service that runs up to the Hotel Splendido.
It was here that volatile Harrison would accommodate his A-list Hollywood guests. And it was here he famously had a difficult lunch with lyricist Leslie Bricusse to discuss the songs for Dr Dolittle (he brusquely informed Bricusse that he would not be able to sing a song that rhymed rhinoceros with of-course-a-ros).
A vintage advert for the towns Splendido Hotel
Harrison pulled out of the film but quickly opted in again when he heard that the part would be taken by Christopher Plummer (then enjoying huge success from his starring role in The Sound Of Music).
As Id hoped, one of the older Splendido employees on reception pointed me towards San Genesio. After a steep climb I found myself outside Harrisons former home with its flagpole still as visible as it had been to Burton and Taylor from their yacht down in the bay.
Sailing with Silversea is an opportunity to unlock a variety of special moments. Some such as the search for Rex Harrison you can organise yourself. Others are laid at your feet by Silversea. After departing Barcelona, there was a stop at Sete, which offers a snapshot of what the Riviera was like before mass tourism.
Next stop was an overnight in Cannes at the height of festivities for the film festival. The harbour was packed with lavish private yachts. The most extraordinary was that belonging to Microsofts Paul Allen: Octopus boasts two helicopter landing pads.
He stages a lavish party at every Cannes festival this years was attended by Mick Jagger. A ticket for the Allen party might be hard to get, but anybody can rubberneck the Cannes premieres and their parade of celebrities. The festivals grand theatre was illuminated by a million camera flashes the evening we were there and we could have glimpsed Nicole Kidman attending the showing of her film The Beguiled.
Theres a good reason why we didnt. Silver Spirit is a difficult place to leave, especially at meal times, so its very easy to forgo shore-based activities. When you take normal holidays in standard resorts, unless youre on a full-board option, finding somewhere good to eat every day can be something of a burden and a heavy blow to the pocket.
Animal magic: In the 1950s, another British citizen put Portofino on the jet-set map. Sir Rex Harrison bought a house in the hills above the town, and attracted a roster of the rich and famous (the actor pictured above in the film Dr Dolittle)
On Silversea, meal times provide three highlights every day. Breakfast and lunch were usually a buffet (buffet barely does justice to the opulent spread provided). Dinner, however, was always a waiter-served occasion with a choice of restaurants.
The popular image of cruising is that meals are a time for over-indulgence. Nobody on Silversea is advising restraint, but the quality is of the sort that enough really is as good as a feast.
Besides, on Silver Spirit its easy to calculate how many fast walking laps of the deck you need to do to burn off the days calories (something you can also do in the gym).
The other big organised experience of the cruise was the night we spent in Monaco on the weekend of the Formula 1 Grand Prix. Attracting as many celebrities and rubberneckers as Cannes, Monacos experience is a noisy blast of pure, roaring adrenaline.
You dont just see the cars hurtling around Monacos narrow streets, you feel their engines shaking your body.
The other ports of call were certainly more sedate: Ajaccio in Corsica and Livorno were less celebrity-filled but no less charming (Livorno is the gateway port for Pisa and Florence so two great experiences here in one hit.)
Holidays are made up of happy memories. My lasting delight was standing outside the La Gritta restaurant on Portofinos waterfront and thinking that it was to here that Harrison hastily returned from Los Angeles to celebrate his success in the 1965 Oscars when he struck gold for his role in My Fair Lady.
Famous for his enthusiastic partying, it was perhaps not entirely surprising that at some point Harrisons Oscar ended up in the sea outside the restaurant. Legend has it that the statuette was recovered by a friend who dived into the water but, for two pins, I would have dived in and taken a look just to be sure
She has long baffled fans with her seemingly ageless looks.
And Elizabeth Hurley, 52, gave her followers one last summer treat as she shared a sizzling bikini flashback on Instagram on Monday.
The Royals star showcased her impressive figure in her pink bikini, which commanded attention with its decorative frills.
Scroll down for video
For the frill of it! Elizabeth Hurley, 52, gave her followers one last summer treat as she shared a sizzling bikini flashback on Instagram on Monday
Hugh Grant's ex-girlfriend went for a sexy vibe when she flaunted her gravity-defying cleavage in the racy garment.
Tossing her head back, the stunner embraced a natural pose as she let her glossy locks fall loosely down her back.
The Bedazzled actress lapped up the last rays of the British sunshine only two weeks ago.
She captioned the shot on Instagram, 'Two weekends ago in Herefordshire. Today- the heating is cranked up and the cashmere is out.'
Meanwhile, Elizabeth got back to business this week as she headed to the BGC Charity Day in London, where she raised money for Walking With The Wounded/Wounded Veterans Fund.
The Hollywood beauty could have stopped traffic with her appearance as she played up to the cameras with phones on both ears.
Tickled in pink: Liz got back to business this week and seemed to be having a terrific time answering the phones at the BGC Charity Day on Monday morning
Kicked back with her legs crossed in strappy stilettos, the brunette did her best to blend in and got stuck in with the phonecalls.
But she made quite the contrast to suited and booted BGC partners in her tiny pink bodydress dress.
The extravagant, pussybow garment featured a feathered bust and a keyhole cutout on the collar with sequinned flowers decorating it.
Helping hand: The glamorous Hollywood star was representing Walking With The Wounded/Wounded Veterans Fund
To match her bright appearance, the Royals actress was in a giddy mood, laughing out loud as she surprised callers at the other end of the line.
She laughed and chatted in a playful manner while comedian Alan Carr spurred her on from the sidelines.
Actress Elizabeth is an ambassador for the Walking With The Wounded charity, which raises funds for and awareness of the issues faced by wounded ex-servicemen and women.
Raising the stakes: The glamorous brunette couldn't be missed in her fuchsia outfit
Leggy look: Glamorously turned out in strappy sandals, the actress put her legs on display
The moviestar is well known for her charitable work, the most notable of which include the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Oxfam and Macmillan Cancer Support - which is often the reason behind her fuchsia fashion choices.
The annual BGC charity day takes place on September 11 in conjunction with the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund.
It is held to remember 658 friends and colleagues of the company and the 61 Eurobrokers employees who were killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York in 2001.
Right at home: The British star seemed to take to the role like a duck to water
Yes, you heard correctly: Liz laughed out loud as she spoke on the other end of the line
Hilarious: She seemed to find the situation particularly amusing
Margot Robbie and Jake Gyllenhaal are among the Hollywood stars who have lent their support to the annual fundraiser by answering phones.
Liz had her Hollywood pals in mind on Saturday when she paid tribute to former co-star and ex-boyfriend Hugh Grant.
Writing a birthday post to her 'best friend of 30 years', Elizabeth shared a throwback picture with the 52-year-old from their heyday.
'My best friend of 30 years': Elizabeth proved she and former boyfriend Hugh Grant were still on the best of terms on Saturday, as she wished him a happy birthday with a throwback snap on Instagram
Giddy: Giddy Liz looked perfectly coiffed for her busy morning on the phones
Hello, it's me, Liz: The stunner was gauging a reaction from the callers
Having a laugh: She was accompanied by comedian Alan Carr
He's the controversial fashion model who shot to fame at age 14 after being caught shoplifting.
And Jordan Barrett, 20, continued his 'bad boy' antics by locking lips with 62-year-old former French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld in a VERY bizarre moment at the Daily Front Row's Fashion Media Awards in New York last Friday.
The duo sent tongues wagging with their cosy display, as Carine rested her head on Jordan's shoulder before they leaned in for a kiss.
It's fashion dahling! Bad boy fashion model Jordan Barrett, 20, locked lips with former Vogue Editor Carine Roitfeld, 62, during a VERY bizarre moment at New York Fashion Awards last Friday
In many European countries such as France, kissing close friends and family on the lips (with lips closed) is a relatively common occurrence.
Moments earlier, Carine, who is in a long-term relationship with partner Christian Restoin, had presented her blond companion with the auspicious Male Model Of The Year award.
The pair were in high spirits as they chatted on stage, with Jordan gleefully grabbing his glass trophy and embracing Carine in thanks.
Jordan looked typically trendy for the occasion, donning a black suit layered over a low-cut black singlet top.
Bizarre: The duo sent tongues wagging with their cosy display
The bronzed adonis completed his eclectic ensemble with a series of layered chain necklaces, several gold rings and a stack of bracelets.
Carine also dressed to impress, donning a black singlet top, animal-print trousers and an array of Cartier jewels.
It's not the first time Jordan has enjoyed a spontaneous kiss in public.
Man of the hour! Moments earlier, Carine had presented her blond companion with the auspicious Male Model Of The Year award
Jovial: The pair were in high spirits as they chatted on stage, with Jordan gleefully grabbing his glass trophy and embracing Carine in thanks
Flashing some flesh: Jordan looked typically trendy for the occasion, donning a black suit layered over a low-cut black singlet top
In September last year, Jordan puckered up with Justin Bieber's former flame Barbara Palvin as they attended New York Fashion Week together.
Over the years, Jordan has been romantically linked to model Lara Stone, Kate Moss, Paris Hilton, Megan Blake-Irwin and Hayley Baldwin.
More recently, he was forced to knock back rumours that he was dating Bella Hadid after the pair were seen getting cosy at the brunette's New York apartment in June.
Meanwhile, Jordan has been making waves at New York Fashion Week this year, having walked in the Zadig and Voltaire runway show on Saturday
The catwalk king was in his element as he sashayed down the runway, clad in a simple white T-shirt, matching trousers and a tie-dye shirt worn open
Baywatch star Yasmine Bleeth's husband is suing Disney after he allegedly injuring himself by tripping over equipment as they filmed a show at the family home.
Paul Cerrito is claiming he suffered a permanent disability after injuring his back in the fall.
He alleges he suffered a spinal injury due to the incident, which occurred while he was recovering from a previous tumble at a grocery store.
Lawsuit: Yasmine Bleeth's husband Paul Cerrito is suing Disney after he allegedly injuring himself by tripping over equipment as they filmed a show at his family home
According to TMZ, the one-time strip club owner is also suing the shop where he suffered his initial fall after slipping in a puddle of water back in December.
As a result of the initial tumble he was using a walker in his home, where he claims he sustained more injuries after tripping on equipment.
Paul is demanding Disney pays damages, and that his medical expenses are covered.
For every year between 1996 and 2001 his 49-year-old famous wife Yasmine made FHM's 100 Sexiest Women In The World list, and at one point she even had her own line of bras and panties.
But the swimsuit icon stepped out of the public eye after cocaine addiction destroyed her TV career, costing her the coveted Baywatch role of Caroline Holden when she was fired in 1997.
Demand: He wants the firm to pay pays damages and cover his medical expenses
Oops: Yasmine and Paul were arrested for possession of cocaine in 2001 after being found high while driving in Detroit
Yasmine and Paul were arrested for possession of cocaine in 2001 after being found high while driving in Detroit.
She previously admitted that her cocaine habit was so severe that she once collapsed at a photo shoot and went without sleep for five days at a time.
Yasmine said she is 'consciously trying to stay off drugs is now part of my life and always will be.'
Since successfully battling her demons, Yasmine - who once dated Matthew Perry - has kept out of the public eye, photographed only very occasionally.
But she has undertaken extensive work to raise money for breast cancer research after losing her mother to the disease when she was only 20.
Glory days: But Yasmine lost her coveted place on the Baywatch cast due to drug abuse
She is clearly taking a more relaxed approach to life - following a stressful few weeks in the build-up to her NYFW SS18 show, which culminated on Sunday.
But Victoria Beckham, 43, couldn't help but put on another sartorial display in her signature crisp white shirt and midi-skirt as she emerged from her New York hotel on Monday.
Meanwhile, her husband David Beckham, 42, was spotted bonding with his eldest son Brooklyn, 18, across town at the Kent & Curwen x Saks Fifth Ave cocktail party.
Scroll down for video
Fashionista: Victoria Beckham, 43, couldn't help but put on another sartorial display in her signature crisp white shirt and midi-skirt as she emerged from her New York hotel on Monday
Boys' night: Meanwhile, her husband David Beckham, 42, was spotted bonding with his eldest son Brooklyn, 18, across town at the Kent & Curwen x Saks Fifth Ave cocktail party
Victoria ensured all focus on herself in the fashionable ensemble which complemented her slender frame.
Her white shirt proved to be a slightly baggier fit and she left some buttons undone for a more casual feel.
The former Spice Girl paired it with a high-waisted spearmint green skirt, from her own collection, which fell at a stylish ankle-grazing length.
Flaunting her flair for fashion, Victoria teamed the look with a pair of towering pastel purple heels.
Style queen: Victoria ensured all focus on herself in the fashionable ensemble which complemented her slender frame
Stylish: Her white shirt proved to be a slightly baggier fit and she left some buttons undone for a more casual feel
Wow: The former Spice Girl paired it with a high-waisted spearmint green skirt which fell at a stylish ankle-grazing length
Pounding the pavement of the Big Apple, the star sported a tousled bob and a pair of shades.
Meanwhile, David proved to be in high spirits as he enjoyed the Kent & Curwen party for New York fashion week with Brooklyn.
The former footie star looked undeniably stylish in a cool black jacket, simple white tee and trousers.
Brooklyn, who is preparing to study photography at the prestigious Parsons School of Design, proved to have learned from his fashionable parents, as he donned a slick navy shirt and a dark wash denims.
Colourful: Flaunting her flair for fashion, Victoria teamed the look with a pair of towering pastel purple heels
Incredible: Pounding the pavement of the Big Apple, the star sported a tousled bob and a pair of shades
Keen chatter: While she didn't carry a bag on her, Victoria ensured to clutch onto her phone in case she had to make any calls
Designer: She is clearly taking a more relaxed approach to life - following a stressful few weeks in the build-up to her NYFW SS18 show, which culminated on Sunday
Over the weekend, the father and son couldn't help but gush over their matriarch's designing talents.
Victoria's runway show focused on pastel colours with clean lines with pops of vibrant gingham print.
Meanwhile, it has recently been rumoured that Brooklyn and his ex Chloe Grace Moretz have rekindled their romance, as she left a heart emoji as a comment on an Instagram shot of him standing in front of a bank of lockers.
The Kick Ass beauty and Brooklyn been 'hanging out' again, People recently reported, after she began following his Instagram account again.
Twosome: Meanwhile, David proved to be in high spirits as he enjoyed the Kent & Curwen party for New York fashion week with Brooklyn
Trendsetter: The former footie star looked undeniably stylish in a cool black jacket, simple white tee and trousers
In good condition! Usually sporting a man bun, David left his shoulder-length tresses undone
Over the weekend, David couldn't help but gush over Victoria's designing talents - Pictured with Tracy Marguilies, Marc Metrick
Around that time, the twosome were seen together at a bash in Los Angeles, with the actress reportedly informing other partygoers that they had reunited, nearly a year after they parted ways late last summer.
'Brooklyn and Chloe arrived together and she was chatting with other guests about how they had got back together,' an eyewitness told The Sun, noting that while 'it was quite a wild party... they were both being quite chill and low-key'.
Chloe 'was much more open about their relationship than him', the eyewitness told the publication, adding that 'they seemed very comfortable together'.
With Brooklyn based in New York and Chloe in Los Angeles, the physical distance between the pair has been reduced considerably - although Brooklyn has said that he plans to be focused on his artistic studies during his time on the East Coast.
Happy: David looked in high spirits for the Kent & Curwen party. He is brand partner of the label - with Daniel Kearns
Natural: The hunk recently hit back at rumours he had botox due to his youthful visage
Hunky: David seemed to be channelling his 30-something self with his hair worn loose and flowing, like it did 14 years ago
In 1991, he soared to international fame as Julia Roberts' menacing husband in the movie Sleeping With The Enemy, securing a name as one of Hollywood's rising stars.
But Patrick Bergin, 66, is now set for pastures new - and probably quite unexpected for his fans - as he's signed on for a new role in enduring BBC soap EastEnders.
The Irish actor is set to roll into Albert Square as Aidan Joseph Patrick Maguire - a 'charismatic old-school villain', who also holds the dubious honour of having been a prison cellmate of Phil Mitchell's (Steve McFadden).
Scroll down for video
In the Square: Patrick Bergin has signed up to appear as Aidan Maguire on hit soap EastEnders
The new character will be seen receiving a warm welcome from his old pal Phil when he shows up on his doorstep - before the pair embark on a series of shady ventures.
'I am delighted to be joining EastEnders as I have watched and admired it since the days of Dirty Den,' said Patrick in a statement.
'It is an iconic show that has the ability to shape the way people think, whilst also telling big explosive stories that keep the audience gripped. 'I am really looking forward to seeing what they have in store for Aidan as its bound to be dramatic.'
Rise to fame: The actor rose to international fame as Julia Roberts' menacing husband in the 1991 thriller Sleeping With The Enemy
In good company: Over his career, Patrick has worked with some of Hollywood biggest names
Added John Yorke, EastEnders' creative director: 'EastEnders deserves the very best and in Patrick we are absolutely privileged to have a truly great actor join the show.
'Its a huge honour to have him on board, where hell be working hand in hand with Phil Mitchell and Mick Carter to carry a truly explosive storyline for Christmas and New Year. We cant wait to get started.'
As well as boasting a co-star in Oscar-winning actress Julia Roberts in their hit chilling drama, Patrick also appeared alongside the likes of Harrison Ford, Anne Archer and Thora Birch in the 1992 American spy thriller Patriot Games.
However, despite his success Patrick admitted in an interview with the Irish Independent last year that he has battled depression and suicidal thoughts.
Jailbird: The 66-year-old actor will be portraying a former jailbird on the enduring BBC soap
Movie career: The Irish star is seen alongside Sean Young in the 1992 movie Love Crimes
Patrick, who is three years sober after The Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan advised him to ditch drinking, said: 'I have had depression. I don't think you would be a human being if you didn't. It's just a question of whether it gets a grip of you.'
He added: 'You lose connection with the world and with your fellow human beings, and communication goes out the window. Isolation... I have had all of those things.'
Patrick eventually hauled himself out of his low point, explaining: 'It was the thought to just "get on with it". Basically, that was my reaction... The line that came into my head was: 'Get off the stage. Stop looking at yourself, mate. Get f**king on with it.'
The actor, who resides in a castle in Ireland's County Tipperary, is currently separated from his wife Paula Frazier. They're parents to daughter Tatiana, 21.
Actress and dancer Mollee Gray wed choreographer girlfriend Jeka Jane Saturday in South Lake Tahoe, California.
Teen Beach Movie talent Gray said the 'wedding day couldnt have been more magical,' in an exclusive chat with People, adding 'We cant wait to experience this life as the new HERsband and wife.'
The 26-year-old actress and the pro dancer announced their engagement in April 2016 and their weekend wedding day also marked the duo's four-year anniversary.
Scroll down for video
Newlyweds! Actress and dancer Mollee Gray wed choreographer girlfriend Jeka Jane Saturday in South Lake Tahoe, California. The couple's nuptials were captured by photographer Monique Sady
Mollee was over-the-moon about her wedding at the Landing Spa and Resort in the Sierra Nevada's city, which was captured by photographer Monique Sady.
'The love we received from all of our family and friends was remarkable, and we feel so grateful,' she said.
At the ceremony, the So You Think You Can Dance finalist wore a strapless sweetheart gown by designer Hayley Paige, a favorite of the star.
The Teen Beach Movie talent (above with Jane in August) said the 'wedding day couldnt have been more magical' and 'We cant wait to experience this life as the new HERsband and wife'
A post shared by Thursday Martak (@thursdaymartak) on Sep 9, 2017 at 11:25pm PDT
Making it official! The 26-year-old actress and the pro dancer announced their engagement in April 2016 and their weekend wedding day also marked the duo's four-year anniversary
'[Paige] has always been one of my favorite designers and when I saw this dress before I even tried it on I cried.
'This was also the very first dress I tried, and right in that moment I knew it was the one,' the Utah native explained.
Her other half sported a handsome Topman suit with a Louis Vuitton belt and Cole Haan kicks along with bleach blonde locks.
A post shared by Rictor Smith (@rictorstein) on Sep 9, 2017 at 6:39pm PDT
After exchanging their vows, the newlyweds and their guests enjoyed a four-tiered pumpkin spice and cream-cheese filled cake at the reception, courtesy of Flour Girl Wedding Cakes.
Actress Brittany Curran of The Magicians, The Foster's Maia Mitchell and Youtuber beau Rudy Mancuso were their to celebrate along with SYTYCD's Noelle Marsh, who served in the wedding party.
Jane proposed to Gray last April when she rented out the entirety of the Republic Of Pies restaurant in North Hollywood to pop the question.
Supermodel Alessandra Ambroisio has one of the world's most famous figures.
The Brazilian beauty looked as if she'd barely broken a sweat as she headed out from her Monday workout in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles.
The 36-year-old stunner appeared fresh as a daisy, leaving the gym in shiny Lanston leggings and belly-baring tank top before doing some shopping nearby.
No sweat! Alessandra Ambrosio looked fresh as a daisy while heading home from the gym in shiny Lanston leggings and a tied-up tank top Monday in Los Angeles
Though the Victoria's Secret Angel had just hit the gym, she seemed cool and collected as she stepped out in skintight leggings.
Ale, as fans call her, offered a glimpse of her fantastically flat abs by tying up her black pocketed tank to reveal a hint of skin.
The mother-of-two and a pal headed to Kreation Organic Juicery for a post-workout boost.
Fueled up! After hitting the gym, the mother-of-two and a pal headed to Kreation Organic Juicery for a post-workout boost
Feeling knotty! The Victoria's Secret Angel offered a glimpse of her fantastically flat abs by tying up her black pocketed tank to reveal a hint of skin
Just looking! The fiance of Jamie Mazur perused the wares at a nearby boutique but headed home without making a purchase
While making her way to the juice shop, the Brazilian darling wore round retro Sunday Somewhere shades and pulled her hair back into a practical ponytail.
Alessandra and her companion left the eatery with extra supplies in hand and big smiles on their faces before heading to a nearby boutique.
The fiance of Jamie Mazur perused the shop's colorful handbags and shoes but headed home without making a purchase.
Well rounded! The starlet wore round retro Sunday Somewhere shades and pulled her hair back into a practical ponytail
Just like heaven! Though the Brazilian beauty had just hit the gym, she seemed cool and collected as she stepped out in skintight leggings
Stepping into new territory! Alessandra is one the leading ladies of Brazilian modelling, but recently the 5foot9 stunner has branched out into acting
Alessandra is one the leading ladies of Brazilian modelling, but recently the 5foot9 stunner has branched out into acting.
After a cameo appearance in the comedy Daddy's Home, Alessandra has also appeared in the Brazilian soap opera Vedades Secretas.
She is set to reprise her role in Daddy's Home 2 starring Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell this December.
Her flirty friendship with The Bachelor's 'hot waiter' made headlines this week.
And now more details have emerged about Tara Pavlovic's relationship with Derek Reiter during her time on the Network Ten dating show.
During a cocktail party earlier this season, Tara was left embarrassed when Laura Byrne warned Matty Johnson the Queensland nanny was more interested in the handsome server than the Bachelor himself.
EXCLUSIVE: 'She caused a massive argument!' The Bachelor insider reveals that Laura Byrne (pictured) told Matty Johnson that Tara Pavlovic preferred the mansion's 'hot waiter' over him
A Bachelor insider told Daily Mail Australia: 'There was a cocktail party where Laura called out to Matty as he was walking off with Tara to have a one-on-one, "Don't worry Matty, she prefers Derek over you anyway!"'
'This led to a massive argument between many of the girls,' they said, adding: 'Flo took Laura into another room and told her off, which made her (Laura) cry.'
'Tara kept calling Matty "Derek" behind his back,' another source confirmed. They also alleged that Tara had even slipped him her number during the party.
Ouch! During a cocktail party this season, Tara was embarrassed when Laura warned Matty the Queensland nanny was more interested in waiter Derek Reiter than the Bachelor himself
Stealing away the attention? 'Tara kept calling Matty "Derek" behind his back,' a source said
It comes after a source revealed to Daily Mail Australia that 'Hot Waiter' Derek was let go after two weeks due to the flirting that took place during cocktail parties.
Meanwhile, Derek confirmed to Woman's Day magazine that he has been in contact with Tara since her time on The Bachelor.
'We've been in contact - I even messaged her yesterday and asked if I could take her out,' he confessed.
Still in touch! Derek confirmed to Woman's Day magazine that he has been in contact with Tara since her time on The Bachelor
Close to her heart? It follows claims that Tara wore the initials of her ex-boyfriend around her neck during the first portion of the competition
It also follows claims that Tara wore the initials of her ex-boyfriend around her neck during the first portion of the competition.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, a source revealed that Tara was previously dating a recently-separated man named Dan, who worked as a pilot for Emirates Airline.
'Tara wore the letter D around her neck for about four weeks on the show,' the insider divulged.
Indeed, eagle-eyed fans noticed Tara wearing a gold D-shaped pendant necklace in earlier episodes this season.
The chain, which features an engraved charm, also appeared in several snaps uploaded to Tara's Instagram in the weeks before she started filming the show.
She's the controversial Real Housewives of Sydney star who often raises eyebrows with her antics.
And this week Lisa Oldfield took her young sons Albert, 5 and Harry, 6 to an Auburn shooting range.
Sharing a snap of her boys from the gun range, the 42-year-old wrote in the caption: 'The family that shoots together survives the apocalypse together.'
'The family that shoots together': Real Housewives Of Sydney star Lisa Oldfield takes her sons Albert, 5 and Harry, 6, to a shooting lesson at Auburn gun range
In the image, Albert smiled excitedly as his older brother, who was sporting a more focused expression, wrapped his arms around him.
They stood in front of the Auburn Shooting Academy sign, which boasted the range's safety, training and competition facilities.
'Future #sharpshooters - like #motherlikeson!' Lisa wrote in the caption.
The Real Housewives of Sydney star also aired a controversial opinion in the comments section.
Starting young! Sharing a snap of her sons from the gun range, the 42-year-old wrote in the caption: 'The family that shoots together survives the apocalypse together'
Controversial! The Real Housewives of Sydney star also aired a controversial opinion in the comments section, writing: 'I don't think the good burghers of Auburn shoot legally'
It came after a follower commented: 'Gees they put a shooting place in auburn-I wonder why?! There's a demand for it in that area.'
'I don't think the good burghers of Auburn shoot legally,' Lisa replied, adding smiley face emoticons.
The socialite has a political bent that spans both sides of many hot-button topics.
Contrast! On Sunday, she became the latest star to showcase her support for marriage equality while attending a historic rally at Sydney's Town Hall
On Sunday, she became the latest star to showcase her support for marriage equality while attending a historic rally at Sydney's Town Hall.
She boldly captioned a rally photo: '#loveislove.'
The 42-year-old appeared with friends holding signs supporting a 'Yes' vote for the national postal survey taking place later this month.
Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Xiamen on Sept. 5, 2017. [Xinhua]
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's participation in the 9th Annual Summit of BRICS (comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) in the picturesque Chinese coastal city of Xiamen and his first substantive bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping was a huge step forward.
Coming after the 73-day Donglang (Doklam) border standoff, the Modi-Xi meeting has taken bilateral relations of India and China to new heights, and will surely bring about great changes in the region, both politically and diplomatically, going beyond the BRICS mechanism.
We saw how the two leaders shook hands warmly, smiled, talked about peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation and agreed to follow the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence for their strategic partnership.
This was Modi's third visit to China as prime minister since taking office in 2014. He made a bilateral visit on May 14-16, 2015 and then traveled again in September 2016 to attend the G20 Summit in Hangzhou. This year alone, it was the third encounter between Modi and Xi after the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Astana in June and G20 Summit in Germany on July 7.
Meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit, they sent positive signals about bilateral ties. The meeting came after a military stand-off between soldiers from the two sides in the Donglang area of the Sikkim sector of the China-India border severely strained relations.
According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the standoff began on June 18 after some 270 Indian border troops crossed into the Donglang area, over which China has indisputable sovereignty according to the Convention Between Great Britain and China Relating to Sikkim and Tibet signed in 1890.
By August 28, 2017, India had withdrawn all its border personnel and equipment from Donglang, to everyone's relief.
During the meeting, President Xi pointed out that healthy and stable relations between China and India were in line with the fundamental interests of their respective peoples. He called for putting ties with India on the "right track" and said the two countries should pursue "healthy, stable bilateral ties.
The Chinese president also stated that the two countries should not see each other as competitors, but should rather focus on opportunities present for both sides to develop and explore. He said China was prepared to work with India based on the five principles of the Panchsheel Treaty signed between them in 1954. Panchsheel calls for non-aggression and respecting sovereignty.
Modi said India was ready to work with China to develop stable ties by maintaining close communication. He also congratulated Xi on a "very successful" BRICS Summit. After the big meeting, the Indian premier tweeted: "We held fruitful talks on bilateral relations," while Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar described the meeting as "forward-looking."
It is also worthy of note that both countries agreed Chinese and Indian defense and security personnel must maintain strong contacts and cooperation so as to prevent further incidents like the Donglang stand-off.
Undoubtedly, it can be said that frequent interactions between the two leaders had greatly promoted pragmatic cooperation and enhanced political mutual trust. More importantly, the two leaders have surpassed their personal differences and have advocated economic and social development.
China and India, as important neighbors, can help build on their relationship through multilateral institutions like BRICS, SCO and the Chinese-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Undoubtedly, there is great potential for cooperation in various fields.
The two countries are biggest developing and emerging markets. Economic cooperation has become even more important against the backdrop of rising anti-globalization and anti-free trade trends in the world.
The bilateral economic and trade cooperation between China and India has entered a new stage with the trade volume exceeding US$70 billion last year and China becoming India's largest trading partner.
Peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation should be an inevitable choice and correct direction of China-India ties amid the mounting global challenges as well as the increasing uncertainties and instability in the international landscape. There should be no race between the two countries.
As Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi pointed out, the two sides should strengthen mutual trust and treat each other as development opportunities and partners, not opponents and a threat.
Rabi Sankar Bosu, secretary of New Horizon Radio Listeners' Club, West Bengal, India
Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors only, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
She's been pounding the runways all week as one of Fashion Week's most in-demand models.
But Bella Hadid looked ready for anything on Monday, as she stormed the Oscar de la Renta SS/18 presentation during New York Fashion Week.
Strutting in perspex heels and a pajama-inspired co-ord, designed by Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia, Bella's lithe legs looked endless.
Scroll down for video
Woke up like this: Bella Hadid got leggy in a pajama-inspired ensemble for Oscar de la Renta's SS/18 presentation during New York Fashion Week on Monday
The IMG Model - who turns 21 next month - emerged on the Sotheby's catwalk in the same fashion Donald Trump originally announced his bid for the presidency, via escalator.
The half-Jordanian, half-Dutch stunner certainly looked comfortable storming the runway in an oversized black blouse splattered with white paint, matching shorts, and nude stilettos.
With her infectious energy, it's hard to believe that Bella takes '30 pills and self-administers two shots a day in the keester' just to properly function with her Lyme Disease - according to InStyle.
Glamorous: The IMG Model - who turns 21 next month - emerged on the Sotheby's catwalk in the same fashion Donald Trump originally announced his bid for the presidency, via escalator
Hadid wore her brunette bob sideparted and straight, and make-up artist Tom Pecheux applied her futuristic cat-eye featuring pastel-blue MAC Chromacake pigment.
'It's subtle,' Pecheux explained to Vogue backstage. 'You can only see it when you're [up] close.'
The nepotistically-privileged daughter of RHOBH alum Yolanda and real estate mogul Mohamed also scored NYFW gigs strutting her stuff for designers Anna Sui, Brandon Maxwell, and Jason Wu.
Un desfile para la historia inspirado en la pasion de Oscar de la Renta por el arte . @realalexbolen @fernandogarciam1205 @tokibunbun @oscardelarenta video credit : @carloslamarche1 @listindiario @lassocialesld A post shared by RITMO SOCIAL (@ritmosocialrd) on Sep 11, 2017 at 4:52pm PDT
Splattered with white paint: The half-Jordanian, half-Dutch stunner looked comfortable storming the runway in an oversized black blouse, matching shorts, and nude stilettos
Tick-born illness: It's hard to believe Bella takes '30 pills and self-administers two shots a day in the keester' just to properly function with her Lyme Disease - according to InStyle
The magic of @oscardelarenta Spring 2018 show @sothebys in #NYC #NYFW A post shared by Frank Everett (@frankbeverett) on Sep 11, 2017 at 2:19pm PDT
Prepping: Hadid wore her brunette bob sideparted and straight, and make-up artist Tom Pecheux applied her futuristic cat-eye featuring pastel-blue MAC Chromacake pigment
Pecheux (R) explained to Vogue backstage: 'It's subtle. You can only see it when you're [up] close'
Joining the 5ft9in millennial at Anna Sui on Monday morning was none other than her big sister Gigi.
And while Bella remained mum about the 9/11 terrorist attack, her 22-year-old sibling shared a skyline snap from New York captioned: 'Weekly I look up and remember the lives lost on 9/11, and have so much pride to live in a city that came together in the aftermath to help one another, strongly rebuild, and never forget.'
The Hadid sisters will make their triumphant return to the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show catwalk on November 28 in Shanghai.
In demand: The nepotistically-privileged daughter of RHOBH alum Yolanda and real estate mogul Mohamed also scored NYFW gigs for Anna Sui, Brandon Maxwell, and Jason Wu
Good genes: Joining the 5ft9in homeschooled millennial at Anna Sui on Monday morning was none other than her big sister Gigi
'I have so much pride to live in a city that came together': And while Bella remained mum about the 9/11 terrorist attack, her 22-year-old sibling shared a skyline snap
Bella confirmed her casting in the lingerie label's annual CBS-broadcast in an August 26Instagram post.
'I am so excited!' the avid equestrian - who boasts 15.9M social media followers - gushed.
'I feel so crazy humbled to get the opportunity to be a part of this show again...Walking into the offices this year I felt so happy, healthy, and honored. I can't wait for another incredible experience!!! Congrats to all of the beautiful ladies I will be walking beside. I can't wait!'
Strutting by her ex The Weeknd: The Hadid sisters will make their triumphant return to the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show catwalk on November 28 in Shanghai (pictured November 30)
'I am so excited!' The Fyre Festival promoter confirmed her casting in the lingerie label's annual CBS-broadcast in an August 26 Instagram post
She's been like the cat that's got the cream since going public with her romance with actor Jamie Foxx last week.
And on Monday, Katie Holmes couldn't stop beaming as she rocked yet another fashion forward number as she continued to do the rounds at New York Fashion Week.
The actress, 38, went bare-legged in a pretty lacey pastels mini dress as she arrived for a front row seat at the Lanyu show.
Fashion maven: Katie Holmes put on a leggy display Monday in a pastel mini dress as she continued to do the rounds of New York Fashion Week
The pretty brunette's dress featured a long-sleeved blue and white patterned overlay over a white slip.
She added a pair of beige pointed toe pumps.
The former wife of Tom Cruise wore her brunette locks tied back in a sophisticated do.
Katie wore dusky shadow on her lids and rimmed her eyes with black liner and mascara.
She added some rosy blush and dark pink lip color with a touch of gloss.
Designer duds: Katie's dress featured a long-sleeved blue and white patterned overlay over a white slip. She wore her brunette locks tied back from her face in a sophisticated do
Leggy look: The former Dawson's Creek star, 38, went bare-legged in a pair of beige pointed toe pumps
Natural beauty: The actress wore dusky shadow on her lids and rimmed her eyes with black liner and mascara, She added some rosy blush and dark pink lip color with a touch of gloss
Pals: Katie posed for photos with Chinese designer Lan Yu
Signature look: The Chinese designer, who is renowned for her use of Suzhou embroidery in her outfits, wore one of her own pretty blouses
The former Dawson's Creek star posed for photos with designer Lan Yu.
The Chinese designer is renowned for her use of Suzhou embroidery in her outfits.
She wore one of her own pretty blouses with a full-length black skirt.
A week ago, Katie was photographed walking hand-in-hand with Ray Oscar winner Foxx on the beach in Malibu.
Leading the runway: The Lanyu catwalk featured an array of colourful outfits with a sweet twist
New season pastels: One suited ensemble featured a caped skirt around the trousers
The couple confirmed their relationship after several years of speculation that the two were an item.
It's believed that they had to keep their romance a secret due to a clause in Katie's divorce agreement with Cruise not to publicly date anyone for five years following the end of their marriage.
She wed the Top Gun star in November 2006, six months after the birth of daughter Suri. She filed for divorce on June 29, 2012.
They say all that glitters is not gold.
And that was certainly the case when Paris Hilton wore a dramatic sparkling gown to the Lanyu fashion show at New York Fashion Week on Monday.
The self-styled DJ looked every inch the fashionista as she showed off her slender figure in the memorable champagne-coloured ensemble.
Champagne moment: Paris Hilton wore a sparkling gown to the Lanyu fashion show at New York Fashion Week on Monday
For the 36-year-old socialite combined the dramatic dress with a matching cape.
And, as if that were not enough, she rounded off her outfit with a pair of dainty shoes in a matching hue.
The reality television pioneer, who boasts an estimated net worth of $100 million, looked in her element in the world of fashion.
All that glitters: Paris certainly ensured the old adage stood fast
Guest of honour: She later posed up with Chinese designer Lan Yu
However she had plenty of other appointments to keep her busy.
For she posed for a picture as she briefly held a telephone at the Annual Charity Day hosted by Cantor Fitzgerald, BGC and GFI.
And, in an exciting development for fans of the wealthy family, she posed up with sister Nicky as they looked at the latest threads at the Oscar de la Renta show.
Watch out : Model Dasha Denisenko dominated the runway at Oscar De La Renta
Leading the runway: The catwalk featured an array of colourful outfits with a sweet twist
New season pastels: One suited ensemble featured a caped skirt around the trousers
Her outing comes after she was given a verbal spanking by love rival Sophie Monk.
The Bachelorette favourite revealed she had fumed after it was claimed Paris Hilton had 'stolen' her ex Benji Madden after they broke off their engagement in 2008.
The 37-year-old Aussie said: 'She started saying that she stole him off me, which is bulls***.'
Manning the phone: She posed with a handset at the Annual Charity Day hosted by Cantor Fitzgerald, BGC and GFI
Sister act: The excitement reached new heights when she posed with sister Nicky at the Oscar de la Renta show
Stunning siblings: Paris rocked a glowing tan while Nicky added a pop of colour with scarlet lipstick as they sat down in the front row
Fashion fever: Both Paris and Nicky looked spellbound by the stunning designs as they sat next to Vogue's Lauren Santo Domingo with Carine Roitfeld and Nicky Minaj also on the FROW
She's about to have a very busy few days during New York Fashion Week.
And Australian model Bambi Northwood-Blyth attended her first show on Monday, for homegrown Australian designers Zimmermann.
At the event, the 26-year-old showed off her lithe frame in a white off-the-shoulder dress from the label's upcoming collection.
Slender: Bambi Northwood-Blyth reveals her very flat tummy and slender frame in an off the shoulder mini dress as she attends Zimmermann's New York Fashion Week show on Monday
The brunette beauty made her 237,000 followers aware of her presence at the show, posting a snap to Instagram alongside former Home And Away actress, 24-year-old Demi Harman.
'My fave soul sister to sit with @demiharm soaking up the magical vibes at @zimmerman #NYFW this morning,' she captioned.
Bambi's frock was made of white embroidered fabric with a blue dotted pattern, and flaunted her flat stomach and her lean legs.
Accessorising with thick brown hoop earrings, she had her hair tied and brushed back.
Model mates: Bambi was pictured with Danish beauty Nina Agdal at the event
Bambi has recently been in the spotlight after rumours of marriage woes with husband and Ksubi founder Dan Single, 39.
The couple have been rumoured to be on the rocks since Dan's controversial Go Fund Me campaign in March when he asked fans to help pay $250,000 for flights home and medical bills after he suffered a horrific fall from a Paris hotel balcony.
He was in a coma for two weeks and underwent eight operations, which saw bolts and pins put in his bones.
The pair haven't been seen together in months, with Bambi being spotted numerous times at different events without her wedding ring.
She's the social media superstar who turned the modelling world on it's head.
And on Monday, all eyes were on Australian model Mimi Elashiry as she attended the Zimmermann Spring/Summer 2018 show at Spring Studios during New York Fashion Week.
The stunning 21-year-old was wearing a head full of neon coloured dreadlocks, but it was her sheer outfit that was really attention-grabbing.
Stunning! On Monday, Mimi Elashiry turned heads as she attended the Zimmermann Spring/Summer 2018 show at Spring Studios during New York Fashion Week
The model wore a daring ensemble featuring a completely see-through, white lace skirt with ruffles along the hem.
The sheer fabric revealed the beauty's black underwear underneath, and gave a glimpse of her slender legs.
She wore a matching high-neck top which was also sheer, and a hint of her bra was visible through the fabric.
Dare to bare: The model wore a completely see-through, white lace skirt with ruffles along the hem
Eye catching: The sheer fabric revealed the beauty's black underwear underneath, and gave a glimpse of her slender legs
A wide brown belt pulled the look together as did a pair of black shoes in a shiny black material and a wicker handbag in a black tone.
The stunner had indicated on Instagram that she had her colored dreadlocks in for her attendance at the Burning Man festival in Nevada last week.
Fellow influencer Tanja Gacic also attended the show, her slender pins on full display in a pale floral jumpsuit with ruffled edges.
Retro: Fellow influencer Tanja Gacic attended the show, her slender pins on full display in a pale floral jumpsuit with ruffled edges
Earthy: The blogger completed the neutral look with tan, laced heels, a grey bag, and a choker that matched her dress
She added a retro flair to the outfit with a huge shaggy jacket and 1960s style round sunglasses which she wore inside.
The blogger completed the neutral look with tan, laced heels, a grey bag, and a choker that matched her dress.
Model Annabella Barber opted for a floor-length, pink dress in a satin fabric paired with sunglasses with darker pink lenses.
She unusually teamed the glamorous dress with a pair of white sneakers and held a matching white handbag.
Edgy: Model Annabella Barber opted for a floor-length, pink dress in a satin fabric paired with sunglasses with darker pink lenses
Sneaking around: She unusually teamed the glamorous dress with a pair of white sneakers and held a matching white handbag
Think pink: Large pink sunglasses that matched her pink put completed the blush toned palette of her ensemble
Large pink sunglasses that matched her pink put completed the blush toned palette of her ensemble.
Actress Demi Harman kept the muted pastel, floral trend going with an skirt that featured a floral print and was cult in multiple lengths, showing off her tan legs.
She wore a white shirt half tucked in, and sported round sunglasses in a dark pink tint.
Lavender heels with long straps and a tan bag completed the eclectic look and the beauty wore her hair down.
Also at the Australian designer's show was Lady Kitty Spencer who made sure she was in town for the most unmissable week in the fashion calendar.
Floral: Actress Demi Harman kept the muted pastel, floral trend going with an skirt that featured a floral print and was cult in multiple lengths, showing off her tan legs
Sunny inside? She wore a white shirt half tucked in, and sported round sunglasses in a dark pink tint
Princess Diana's niece Lady Kitty Spencer wore a pretty floral dress made of a sheer chiffon fabric that fell below the knee.
The outfit also featured a high neckline and long sleeves as well as its modest length.
Despite the demure cut of the dress, the fabric was entirely see-through and featured a lingerie-like slip underneath.
She's the former Home And Away star who turned heads in Summer Bay.
And while Demi Harman, 23, may no longer appear in the series, the stunning brunette still knows how to wow the crowds with her effortless beauty.
Wearing a chic floral skirt teamed with a crisp white shirt, the actress cut a stylish figure as she attended the Zimmerman New York Fashion Week runway show on Tuesday.
Scroll down for video
Blooming lovely! Wearing a chic floral skirt teamed with a crisp white shirt, Demi Harman cut a stylish figure as she attended the Zimmerman New York fashion week on Tuesday
The brunette beauty flashed a hint of her bra in the top, tucking some of the hem of the shirt into her skirt.
She accessorised with a pair of lilac strappy heels, a beige handbag and a pair of round-rimmed glasses.
Demi had her long locks out in soft waves and she kept her makeup simple and fresh.
She added a pop of colour with tangerine nail polish.
Hippy chic! She accessorised with a pair of lilac strappy heels, a beige handbag and a pair of round-rimmed glasses
Demi rose to fame after playing Sasha Bezmel in the long-running soap.
She left the show after four years in an attempt to forge a career in Hollywood.
After struggling to hit the big time in the US, Demi returned to Australia to take on the role of Riley Hart in Winners & Losers, joining the show in its fifth season.
Since the show's end she appears to be splitting her time between the US and Australia.
What she's best known for: Demi rose to fame after playing Sasha Bezmel in the long-running soap Home And Away
Christian Bale gave his wife Sibi a tender kiss outside the Princess of Wales Theatre at the Toronto International Film Festival premiere of his movie Hostiles on Monday.
The 43-year-old Oscar winner and the SAG Award-nominated stuntwoman impressively celebrated their 17th wedding anniversary on January 29.
The Haverfordwest-born Brit and the Chicago-born brunette appeared to enjoy a glamorous date night on the town without their son Joseph, 3; and daughter Emmeline, 12.
Scroll down for video
PDA: Christian Bale gave his wife Sibi a tender kiss outside the Princess of Wales Theatre at the Toronto International Film Festival premiere of his movie Hostiles on Monday
Still going strong! The 43-year-old Oscar winner and the SAG Award-nominated stuntwoman impressively celebrated their 17th wedding anniversary on January 29
Holding hands: The Haverfordwest-born Brit and the Chicago-born brunette appeared to enjoy a glamorous date night on the town without their son Joseph, 3; and daughter Emmeline, 12
Matching: Christian dressed his fuller 6ft figure in a black three-piece suit, while Sibi (born Srboslava Blazic) coordinated with him in a long- sleeved lace cocktail dress and pumps
Christian dressed his fuller 6ft figure in a black three-piece suit, while Sibi (born Srboslava Blazic) coordinated with him in a long-sleeved lace cocktail dress and pumps.
Earlier that day, Bale told Variety Studio that he's 'just eating a lot of pies so far' to prepare for his role as the 46th Vice President Dick Cheney (2001-2009) in Adam McKay's biopic, Backseat.
Aside from packing on the pounds, the Promise actor has also bleached his signature dark brows to better inhabit the polarizing Republican politician.
The Golden Globe winner previously demonstrated his commitment to transforming for roles when he tanned and beefed up for American Psycho in 2000 and shed 70lbs for The Machinist in 2004.
Christian Bale says he's been eating "lots of pies" to look like former VP Dick Cheney for upcoming film #VarietyStudio presented by @att pic.twitter.com/kc6jxINLZZ Variety (@Variety) September 12, 2017
Nom nom nom! Earlier that day, Bale told Variety that he's 'just eating a lot of pies so far' to prepare for his role as the 46th Vice President Dick Cheney (pictured in 2004) in Adam McKay's biopic, Backseat
Disappearing: Aside from packing on the pounds, the Promise actor has also bleached his signature dark brows to better inhabit the polarizing Republican politician
Chameleon: The Golden Globe winner previously demonstrated his commitment to transforming for roles when he beefed up for American Psycho in 2000 and shed 70lbs for The Machinist in 2004
Also attending the Hostiles premiere was Christian's castmate Rosamund Pike, who plays a suicidal widow called Rosalie Quaid in the 1892-set period drama.
The 37-year-old Oscar nominee greeted her Canadian fans in a sheer floral long-sleeved gown selected by stylist Ryan Hastings.
The British beauty paired her nude embellished creation with a bright red-crimson pout, a sleek ponytail, and diamond stud earrings.
Red carpet: Also attending the Hostiles premiere was Christian's castmate Rosamund Pike, who plays a suicidal widow called Rosalie Quaid in the 1892-set period drama
Luminous: The 37-year-old Oscar nominee greeted her Canadian fans in a sheer floral long-sleeved gown selected by stylist Ryan Hastings
Elegant: The British beauty paired her nude embellished creation with a bright red-crimson pout, a sleek ponytail, and diamond stud earrings
Seventies-inspired: And Q'orianka Kilcher - who plays Moon Deer - bared her taut tummy in a scarlet cinched blouse and white bell bottoms
And Q'orianka Kilcher - who plays Moon Deer - bared her taut tummy in a scarlet cinched blouse and white bell bottoms.
In Scott Cooper's Hostiles, Bale plays Army Captain Joseph J. Blocker, who agrees to escort a dying Cheyenne war chief (Wes Studi) and his family back to his tribal lands in Montana.
But first fans can catch the former child star discussing his Empire of the Sun director's 50-year career in the HBO documentary Spielberg, which premieres October 7.
No release date: In Scott Cooper's Hostiles, Bale plays Army Captain Joseph J. Blocker, who agrees to escort a dying Cheyenne war chief (Wes Studi) and his family back to his tribal lands
She just turned 16 over a week ago.
And Kaia Gerber is already taking the fashion world by storm, just like her supermodel mother Cindy Crawford.
The brunette, whose father Rande Gerber was also a model, showed up to Paper Magazine's party celebrating their Beautiful People issue during New York Fashion Week.
Scroll down for video
Pulling out all the stops: Kaia Gerber showed up to Paper Magazine's party celebrating their Beautiful People issue during New York Fashion Week
Kaia sported an edgy leather biker jacket from The Mighty Company which she draped over her shoulders at the event, which saw guests treated to a performance by rapper Gucci Mane on an MCM-sponsored stage.
Adding even more flair to the ensemble she opted for a pin stripe crop top teamed with a matching mini skirt, which featured lacing down one side.
Kaia complete her outfit with a silver handbag by Stalvey and white heels while pulling her hair back into a loose ponytail.
Fashion edge: Kaia sported an edgy leather biker jacket from The Mighty Company which she draped over her shoulders as she posed in front of MCM-sponsored arcade games at the event
Not to be forgotten: Also in attendance was her brother, 18, who is also a model in the making
Also in attendance was her brother, 18, who is also a model in the making.
The siblings appear to be great friends as Kaia was joined by her brother at Daily Front Row's Fashion Media Awards in New York City on Friday night.
Meanwhile, Kaia has been taking the fashion industry by storm, also walking in shows for Alexander Wang and Calvin Klein during her first Fashion Week.
Goofballs: Kaia also played around with the magazine issue with Jordan Barrett
Posers: The pair of models got in a sweet snap together at the event
After her first runway, her mother wrote on Instagram: 'Congrats @KaiaGerber! What a way to kick off your first runway season!! So excited for you!'
The amazing career accomplishments come just days after she got her California state driver's license.
The young model hit the runway for the first time in her budding modeling career on Thursday for the Calvin Klein Collection Spring 2018 show.
The daughter of Cindy and Rande donned satin yellow trousers with a Western style black and white button layered over a blue turtleneck.
She's game! Paris Hilton was also in attendance and made sure to check out the arcade games, which enabled guests to win prized from high-end accessories brand MCM
Kristen Bell is one celebrity with a heart of gold.
The 37-year-old actress found herself stranded in her Orlando hotel over the weekend as Hurricane Irma hit Florida.
But instead of hunkering down in her room, Kristen organized a series of activities for a group of senior citizens who had been evacuated to the hotel from their nursing homes.
Scroll down for video
Staying safe: Kristen Bell found herself stranded in her Orlando hotel over the weekend as Hurricane Irma hit Florida
The Frozen star - who is currently in Florida filming a movie - has been documenting her shenanigans during the storm with a series of heartfelt yet hilarious posts on Instagram, and on Monday, she spoke to Jimmy Kimmel during a live satellite feed.
Wedged in between the hotel's manager, Gary, and her new 'side piece', an elderly gentleman named John, Kristen recounted the details of the last few harrowing days.
'We're all safe and sound here. We've been making the most of a crazy situation,' she said.
Introducing Gary, Kristen said the Walt Disney World Resort manager was feeling 'exhausted' after the weekend's events.
Making the most of it... Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel on Monday, Kristen introduced some of the people who are at the hotel with her
New friends: Wedged in between the hotel's manager, Gary, and her new 'side piece', an elderly gentleman named John, Kristen recounted the details of the last few harrowing days
'He's been running toilet paper to people's rooms at two in the morning,' she said.
After confessing he'd been awake for 72 hours, Jimmy asked Gary if people were asking for toilet paper or if he was 'just delirious and running it to their rooms'.
She then introduced John, another new friend she had made while being trapped inside the hotel during the storm.
'This is my side piece here in Orlando, Jimmy,' joked the blonde beauty, who has been married to Dax Shepard, 42, since 2013.
Finding love: 'This is my side piece here in Orlando, Jimmy,' joked the blonde beauty, who is married to actor Dax Shepard
When Jimmy asked John how he was holding up, the senior citizen had a hilarious comeback. 'I'm swamped under, but with beautiful women,' replied the smooth-talking ladies man
When Jimmy asked John how he was holding up, the senior citizen had a hilarious comeback.
'I'm swamped under, but with beautiful women,' replied the smooth-talking ladies man.
'I'll never be the same,' he added, prompting both Jimmy and Kristen to burst out laughing.
Getting the group together... The actress then panned the camera around to show the people who had gathered at the hotel to wait out the storm
Getting creative: Among the activities the kind-hearted actress has organized at the hotel are bingo, karaoke and wheelchair races
The actress then panned the camera around to show the people who had gathered at the hotel to wait out the storm.
'Kristen, you really are the best. That is unbelievable that you're doing all this stuff for everyone,' Jimmy told her.
Among the activities the kind-hearted actress has organized at the hotel are bingo, karaoke and wheelchair races.
Turning back to Jimmy, Kristen said she had to tell John the TV host was 'Johnny Carson 'cos he didn't know who you were'.
Rosamund Pike dazzled on the red carpet at the Toronto International Film Festival on Monday night.
The British actress, 38, looked sensational in a floral-themed gown as she attended a screening for the film Hostiles.
Her dress featured a sheer embroidered long-sleeved overlay on top of a low-cut slip.
Gorgeous: Rosamund Pike dazzled on the red carpet at the Toronto International Film Festival on Monday night in a floral-themed gown
Her dress featured red peonies and roses, daisies, forget-me-nots and white doves.
The Gone Girl star wore her dark blonde hair scraped back from her forehead in a sophisticated do.
Rosamund penciled in arched brows and added lashings of black mascara to her lashes.
She completed her look with dark red lip color and a pair of diamond earrings.
Natural beauty: The Gone Girl star wore her dark blonde hair scraped back from her forehead in a sophisticated do and accessorized with diamond earrings
Making a statement: Her dress featured a sheer long-sleeved overlay on top of a low-cut slip and was embroidered with red peonies and roses, daisies, forget-me-nots and white doves
Leading lady: Rosamund penciled in arched brows and added lashings of black mascara to her lashes. She completed her look with dark red lip color
Rosamund stars with Christian Bale in Hostiles, a turn-of-the-century drama about an Army captain who escorts a Cherokee chief and his family across dangerous territory.
The actress also has two other movies in the can - the thriller High Wire Act with Jon Hamm and the based-on-a-true-story drama Entebbe with Eddie Marsan and Daniel Bruhl.
She's also prepping A Private War about Sunday Times war reporter Marie Colvin who was killed in war-torn Syria.
Period drama: Rosamund stars with Christian Bale in Hostiles, a turn-of-the-century drama about an Army captain who escorts a Cherokee chief and his family across dangerous territory
Flash
Located in southeast Fujian Province, the coastal city Quanzhou is dotted with rolling hills, valleys, and basins; the Daiyun Mountain extends southwest from the northeast of the city. Throughout its long history, Quanzhou has seen the birth of southern Fujianese culture, and it was one of the first Chinese trade ports opened to the outside world. With scores of scenic spots and historical sites, Quanzhou has been affirmed by UNESCO as the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road.
A Culture with Far-reaching Influence
Southern Fujianese culture is also called Minnan culture (in Chinese, Min is the shortened name for Fujian, and nan means south). It originated in Quanzhou and has been cultivated together with the people of southern Fujian. With the Minnan dialect as its carrier and maritime culture at its core, Minnan culture constitutes an important part of the greater Chinese culture; its sphere of influence reaching Fujian, Zhejiang, Guangdong and Taiwan, and even as far as Singapore and other Southeast Asian countries.
Two ancient stone towers in the Kaiyuan Temple of Quanzhou City. Chen Yingjie
In the Han (206 BC-AD 220) and Jin (265-420) dynasties, large numbers of ethnic Han people from the central plains of China migrated south to Quanzhou. Hence the culture of the central plains began to merge with that of southern Fujian, thus precipitating the formation of Minnan culture.
Quanzhou saw a significant population increase and economic development during the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1206-1368) dynasties, and the city thus became the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road and an important port in the East. As Arabs and Persians arrived in Quanzhou for trade, they enriched the Minnan culture with their own Islamic traditions.
During the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1616-1911) dynasties, European businessmen and missionaries brought Western culture to Quanzhou, further boosting local cultural development. After thousands of years of encounters and integration with various peoples, a diversified cultural system fusing agricultural civilization, maritime trade, and religious culture took shape.
An aerial view of Quanzhou. Chen Yingjie
Minnan dialect, one of Chinas eight major dialects, originated in Quanzhou, but its popularity has gone far beyond its geographical homeland. In Taiwan, apart from that in the Gaoshan ethnic group settlements, Minnan dialect can be heard almost everywhere. In Singapore, 70-80 percent of the local population can speak or understand it. More than 40 million people across the world are proficient in it.
Architecture is an important proponent and embodiment of a culture. In Quanzhou, the most typical of traditional architectural styles is the ancient cuo (meaning house in the local language). These ostentatious and magnificent ancient cuos feature red bricks and tiles, white stone bases, roofs that are sunken in the middle and tipped with raised, fork-tailed ridges at either end, and embellished with exquisite stone and wood carvings. The larger residences, fashioned in the traditional style in modern and contemporary times, have mostly been built by eminent figures, as well as overseas Chinese and business tycoons to house several generations of their family.
Another of Quanzhous distinctive local architectural styles is the oyster shell house, whose walls are inlaid with oyster shells. The greyish white shells contrast beautifully with the mottled granite and red bricks. Together they create a stunning sight to behold. These oyster shell houses are mainly distributed throughout the Xunpu, Fashi, Dongmei, and Jinqi neighborhoods, in Fengze District of Quanzhou City with Xunpu having the densest cluster of oyster shell houses.
Fanzai is a term used by Quanzhou people for the buildings that combine foreign and traditional Chinese architectural elements, mostly built during the Republic of China (1912-1949) period by overseas Chinese who returned from Southeast Asia. Fanzai buildings were mostly built with construction materials imported from Southeast Asia. Absorbing the merits of both traditional Minnan residential buildings and Southeast Asian architectural styles, these Fanzai buildings feature distinct designs, exquisite pieces of art work, marvelous carvings, colorful paintings, brick patterns, and sculptures.
Just days ago she was rushed into hospital in agonizing pain.
But Busy Phillipps looked the picture of health as she stepped out in Beverly Hills on Monday.
The blonde beauty seemed in a jolly good mood as she sauntered around the well-heeled area of Los Angeles County.
Out and about: Busy Philipps was back on her feet in Beverly Hills on Monday following her hospitalisation
Indeed the 38-year-old seemed rather upbeat as she enjoyed a walk in the sweltering sunshine in a trendy blouse, blue jeans and high heels.
The initial drama began on Saturday, as she partook in Michelle Williams 37th birthday in Boston.
Their girls' night out was cut short when Phillips, 38, was sent to the hospital with excruciating pains in her lower-right side.
Later taking to Instagram, the social media favorite explained that 'after a long time at Mass Gen [Massachusetts General Hospital], it was determined my ovary had flipped over,' a condition which is called torsion.
Smile on her face: She looked like she did not have a care in the world during her stroll
Pain-stricken: Busy Philipps was with BFF Michelle Williams to celebrate her 37th birthday in Boston Saturday, but the girls' night was cut short when the Cougar Town star was sent to the hospital with excruciating pains in her lower-right side
Though the night started out great, Busy's Instagram updated fans with a lengthy caption that began 'Last night ended super weird.'
The accompanying image showed the worried looking Freaks And Geeks star hooked up to an IV while sporting a shirt that read 'Hysterical Female.'
Busy shared the ensuing drama with followers.
'I had a crazy excruciating pain in my lower right side and after a long time at Mass Gen, it was determined my ovary had flipped over- it's called torsion.
Made for each other! Before the Freaks And Geeks star was stuck with unexpected aches, she posted a tender tribute to her pal which showed them wearing matching 'Best Friends' jackets
Plot twist! Though the night started out great, Busy's Instagram updated fans with a lengthy caption that began 'Last night ended super weird' as she described her hospital ordeal with her BFF (above at February's Academy Awards together)
'Mine flipped back by itself and I'm ok but sometimes if it doesn't you have to get surgery or you can lose your ovary(which actually happened to a really good friend of mine)
Busy shared her experience in hopes of helping others listen to their bodies no matter what.
'My point of posting this was I felt like an idiot for going to the hospital but ultimately, going was the right move!' she told followers.
Follow your intution! Busy shared her experience in hopes of helping other's not avoid signs from their body, writing 'My point of posting this was I felt like an idiot for going to the hospital but ultimately, going was the right move!'
'It always is! Even if they say you're fine and send you on your way! And a huge thank you to the amazing doctors and nurses who took care of me!'
Before the Cougar Town star was stuck with unexpected aches, she posted a tender tribute to her pal on Instagram which showed the duo wearing a matching set of 'Best Friends' motorcycle jackets.
'Found her. Happy birthday to my better half,' the Instagram favorite captioned the pic.
'My better half': Before the health ordeal, the starlet wrote a loving birthday Instagram for her partner in crime, saying 'Found her. Happy birthday to my better half'
She continued, writing 'I love you, M. You make everything better.'
Michelle and Busy have been joined at the hip since meeting each other on the later seasons of Dawson's Creek.
Busy, full name Elizabeth Jean Philipps, stood by the starlet's side in the wake of Heath Ledger's unexpected death in early 2008.
During the trying time, Philipps was fiercely protective of her pal, repeated declining to discuss the 'personal' and 'tough situation' with the media.
She recently confirmed she had found love.
And one of these four men could be Sophie Monk's final choice on The Bachelorette, as viewers gear up to watch the 37-year-old pick and choose from a very diverse bunch of suitors.
Professional polo player Bingham Fitz-Henry, 25, is the latest hopeful confirmed as vying for the blonde bombshell's affections.
Scroll down for video
Is he the one? Professional polo player Bingham Fitz-Henry, 25, is the latest hopeful confirmed as vying for the blonde bombshell's affections
Bingham, who hails from Queensland, joins three other confirmed hopefuls in pursuit of Sophie.
He is no stranger to competition, having played polo for Australia on numerous occasions.
Also in the running is Western Australian 'investor and entrepreneur' Blake, 29, and aspiring actor and Gold Coast magician Apollo Jackson, 24.
A player: Bingham is no stranger to competition, having played polo for Australia on numerous occasions
Looking for love: Aspiring actor and Gold Coast magician Apollo Jackson, 24, is also a Bachelorette contestant
Business-minded: Also in the running is Western Australian 'investor and entrepreneur' Blake, 29
Emerging as a potential frontrunner to win the show is Victorian vineyard manager Jarrod, 31.
In a preview for the series the handsome winemaker can be see presenting Sophie with a bundle of grapes to crush.
He is also the closest in age to Sophie's 37 years, her other confirmed suitors all under the age of 30.
Ticks all the boxes? Emerging as a potential frontrunner to win the show is Victorian vineyard manager Jarrod, 31
Romantic meeting: In a preview for the series the handsome winemaker can be see presenting Sophie with a bundle of grapes to crush
Also competing but yet to be confirmed by the network is pub baron Stu Laundy, 44, who was photographed on a romantic yacht date with Sophie during filming.
Stu, a divorced father of four, is heir to an estimated $500 million fortune.
Speaking to Stellar magazine after filming of The Bachelorette wrapped up, Sophie revealed she had finally found her happy ending, confirming she is in love with one of the show's contestants.
'You never know, but my gut is saying this is amazing,' she gushed about the new relationship.
Christian Bale looks unrecognisable as he debuts bleached eyebrows at TIFF premiere... after he reveals his weight gain secret ahead of Dick Cheney biopic
He's known for undergoing extreme transformations all in the name of art throughout his career.
And Christian Bale, 43, has continued to shock fans with his latest appearance as he stepped out at the Toronto International Film Festival premiere of his movie Hostiles on Monday with barely any eyebrows.
Sporting a fuller face, the Oscar-winning actor posed for photos at the Princess of Wales Theatre with far more sparse brows as he prepares for his new role as former American Vice President Dick Cheney in Adam McKay's Backseat.
Scroll down for video
Eye-brow raising: Christian Bale, 43, has continued to shock fans with his latest appearance as he stepped out at the Toronto International Film Festival premiere of his movie Hostiles on Monday with barely an eyebrows
What a difference: Sporting a fuller face, the Oscar-winning actor (L) posed for photos with far more sparse brows (pictured in 2016 on the right) as he prepares for his new role as former American Vice President Dick Cheney in Adam McKay's biopic Backseat
Appearing in jovial spirits on the carpet, the British star looked almost unrecognisable as his bleached brows failed to frame his brown eyes while attending the cinematic event.
Earlier that day, Bale told Variety Studio that he's 'just eating a lot of pies so far' to prepare for his role as the 46th Vice President Dick Cheney (2001-2009) in the biopic.
Aside from bleaching his brows, the Promise actor has also packed on the pounds to better inhabit the polarizing Republican politician who served in the administrations of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and George H.W. Bush.
Disappearing: Aside from packing on the pounds, the Promise actor has also bleached his signature dark brows to better inhabit the polarizing Republican politician
Nom nom nom! Earlier that day, Bale told Variety that he's 'just eating a lot of pies so far' to prepare for his role as the 46th Vice President Dick Cheney (pictured in 2004) in Adam McKay's biopic, Backseat
Christian Bale says he's been eating "lots of pies" to look like former VP Dick Cheney for upcoming film #VarietyStudio presented by @att pic.twitter.com/kc6jxINLZZ Variety (@Variety) September 12, 2017
In later years, he became the CEO of Halliburton but was most notably known for being in the centre of foreign policy which pursued both Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
Also starring in the highly-anticipated flick is his American Hustle co-star Amy Adams, who will play his wife Lynne Cheney, while Steve Carell will undertake the role of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
No stranger to undergoing a transformation, the Golden Globe winner previously demonstrated his commitment to transforming for roles when he tanned and beefed up for American Psycho in 2000 and shed 70lbs for The Machinist in 2004.
Arriving at his cinematic event Hostiles, Christian shared a tender kiss outside the premiere with his wife Sibi.
Chameleon: The Golden Globe winner previously demonstrated his commitment to transforming for roles when he beefed up for American Psycho in 2000 and shed 70lbs for The Machinist in 2004
PDA: Christian gave his wife Sibi a tender kiss outside the Princess of Wales Theatre
The award-winning star and the SAG Award-nominated stuntwoman impressively celebrated their 17th wedding anniversary on January 29.
The Haverfordwest-born Brit and the Chicago-born brunette appeared to enjoy a glamorous date night on the town without their son Joseph, 3; and daughter Emmeline, 12.
Christian dressed his fuller 6ft figure in a black three-piece suit, while Sibi (born Srboslava Blazic) coordinated with him in a long-sleeved lace cocktail dress and pumps.
Still going strong! The award-winning actor and the SAG Award-nominated stuntwoman impressively celebrated their 17th wedding anniversary on January 29
Holding hands: The Haverfordwest-born Brit and the Chicago-born brunette appeared to enjoy a glamorous date night on the town without their son Joseph, 3; and daughter Emmeline, 12
Also attending the Hostiles premiere was Christian's castmate Rosamund Pike, who plays a suicidal widow called Rosalie Quaid in the 1892-set period drama.
The 37-year-old Oscar nominee greeted her Canadian fans in a sheer floral long-sleeved gown selected by stylist Ryan Hastings.
The British beauty paired her nude embellished creation with a bright red-crimson pout, a sleek ponytail, and diamond stud earrings.
Matching: Christian dressed his fuller 6ft figure in a black three-piece suit, while Sibi (born Srboslava Blazic) coordinated with him in a long- sleeved lace cocktail dress and pumps
Red carpet: Also attending the Hostiles premiere was Christian's castmate Rosamund Pike, who plays a suicidal widow called Rosalie Quaid in the 1892-set period drama
Luminous: The 37-year-old Oscar nominee greeted her Canadian fans in a sheer floral long-sleeved gown selected by stylist Ryan Hastings
Elegant: The British beauty paired her nude embellished creation with a bright red-crimson pout, a sleek ponytail, and diamond stud earrings
Seventies-inspired: And Q'orianka Kilcher - who plays Moon Deer - bared her taut tummy in a scarlet cinched blouse and white bell bottoms
And Q'orianka Kilcher - who plays Moon Deer - bared her taut tummy in a scarlet cinched blouse and white bell bottoms.
In Scott Cooper's Hostiles, Bale plays Army Captain Joseph J. Blocker, who agrees to escort a dying Cheyenne war chief (Wes Studi) and his family back to his tribal lands in Montana.
But first fans can catch the former child star discussing his Empire of the Sun director's 50-year career in the HBO documentary Spielberg, which premieres October 7.
No release date: In Scott Cooper's Hostiles, Bale plays Army Captain Joseph J. Blocker, who agrees to escort a dying Cheyenne war chief (Wes Studi) and his family back to his tribal lands
They had seemed completely smitten with each other, after striking up a relationship on the third series of Love Island, but had split just weeks after the show wrapped.
But Montana Brown has insisted a reunion could still be on the cards for herself and ex-boyfriend Alex Beattie, as they have remained on 'good terms' following their early break up.
The reality star, who has launched her own collection with Pretty Little Thing, exclusively admitted to Mail Online that distance had been a 'big issue' for herself and her ex-beau - ultimately leading them to call it quits.
Scroll down for video
Not entirely over? Montana Brown, who has launched her own collection with Pretty Little Thing, teased reunion with ex-boyfriend Alex Beattie, as they have remained on 'good terms'
Love Island fans saw Montana fall for model Alex on the dating series, following his late arrival to the villa.
The Geordie lad had confessed his feelings for Montana on the show, telling her he was in love with her, and the duo narrowly missed out on a place in the final, leaving just days before it took place.
Despite continuing their romance once they had arrived back on home soil, shortly after their return the couple were forced to face speculation they had split. And while they remained defiant at first, insisting they were still together, it later came to light that they had chosen to separate.
Insisting there is no bad blood between them, however, Montana revealed: 'We call each other still and we're still on good terms - we do really get on.
All over: The reality beauty exclusively admitted to Mail Online that distance had been a 'big issue' for herself and her ex-beau (pictured above) - ultimately leading them to call it quits
'We have a lot of things in common. We both like going to the gym, we both really clicked in the villa.'
Addressing their split, Montana continued: 'As soon as we came out the distance was a really big issue. I'm not someone who would want to see someone all the time anyway, but it was more we weren't seeing each other a lot.
'We knew we would be really, really busy and it was quite early on to start going out with someone.'
Although, it seems Montana is refusing to rule out the possibility of a reconciliation with Alex, as she confessed: 'It's just seeing if he moves closer or something like that... never say never.'
She did, however, admit that she found it difficult to have a relationship in the public eye.
Split: Addressing their break up, Montana said: 'I'm not someone who would want to see someone all the time anyway, but it was more we weren't seeing each other a lot'
Reunion on the cards? She did, however, tease that a reconciliation could happen in the future, she added: 'It's just seeing if he moves closer or something like that... never say never'
Montana explained to MailOnline: 'I used to get girls messaging me on Twitter saying, "I'm with Alex in a club, he's with girls and stuff." To be honest, I completely trusted Alex, he's a really good guy.
'It's just annoying more than anything else. I think relationship wise I like my private life to stay private and that was the opposite of what happened!'
Montana and Alex had taken to Twitter at the beginning of August to confirm their split.
She penned: 'Alex and I have decided to split. Making our relationship work on the outside has been hard. He hasn't been the same since coming out of the villa. Despite this we are still close and I will always support him.'
Alex, meanwhile, had revealed that the pair had met in person to discuss their future as a couple, deciding that it would be best for them to instead part ways.
He shared on his Instagram story: 'Me and Montana met yesterday and have decided that it's best to call it a day with relationship with each other.
'I like my private life to stay private': Montana admitted that she found it difficult to have a romance while in the public eye, especially as girls would message her about Alex on social media
She explained: 'I used to get girls messaging me on Twitter saying, "I'm with Alex in a club, he's with girls and stuff." To be honest, I completely trusted Alex, he's a really good guy'
'It's been very hard on the outside to make us work how we desired. I still have strong feelings towards her and will be remaining close friends and supporting her throughout everything.'
Like Montana, Alex has seen a slew of exciting opportunities come his way, with reports claiming he was 'thrilled' to have signed with online retailer Boohoo men for a six-figure sum, as he looks to establish himself as a successful male model.
Quite the contrast from his Boohoo man collaboration, however, the hunky Geordie had carried out a special one-off meet and greet at a Poundland store in the West Midlands.
The much-loved bargain retailer even ran a contest alongside the impending visit with customers for a chance to bag an 100 voucher to use in store if they guessed correctly.
Sharing her thoughts on Alex's PA, that he had been forced to defend after being mocked on social media, Montana joked: 'I hope he got paid more than 1 thats all Im saying! Ive never actually been to Poundland.'
Model pair: Like Montana, Alex has seen a slew of exciting opportunities come his way, with reports claiming he was 'thrilled' to have signed with online retailer Boohoo men for a six-figure sum
While she has stayed in touch with her former flame, Montana has confessed that she will be cutting ties with some of her Love Island co-stars.
Defending her decision to do so, she admitted: 'I think, like real life, not everyone gets along. It's just natural.
'There are a handful of people from the show I will be friends with for life, and I know that, and there is also a handful of people I won't be friends with for life. I don't think I can say who!
'There are just certain people I didn't get along with as much as others and certain things I would approve of and certain things I wouldn't approve of that other people would do.
Montana cryptically continued: 'I like to be a very loyal friend and I would always back them up in situations, and if you can't back up what your friends do, then you can't be friends with them.'
He's the bad boy of fashion who recently took out the Daily Front Row Media award for Male Model of the Year at New York Fashion Week.
And Jordan Barrett has another reason to smile after finding his in-demand face on the cover of New York culture magazine Paper for their beautiful people issue.
Jordan looked to be in an upbeat mood as he attended a launch party for the issue in the Big Apple on Monday.
Cover boy: Jordan Barrett had a good reason to smile after finding his in-demand face on the cover of New York culture magazine Paper for their beautiful people issue.
Jordan rocked a decidedly sporty look for the celebrations in a black and red loose -fitting tracksuit.
He matched his casual attire with a simple black T-shirt and a pair of black Chuck Taylor Converse sneakers.
With his fashionably tousled locks hastily brushed away from his face, Jordan also wore an array of neck bling.
Sporty: Jordan rocked a decidedly sporty look for the celebrations in a black and red loose -fitting tracksuit
Jordan looked all business as he posed on the red carpet with a fellow guest who wore a striking black leather dress and a red and white bandanna.
He seemed to pep up a bit as he stood in front of a colourful wall of balloons with fellow model and daughter of iconic supermodel Kaia Gerber.
Looking strikingly like her mother, Kaia, 16, wore a simple black leather jacket and a skimpy black pin-striped skirt.
Serious business: Jordan looked all business as he posed on the red carpet with a fellow guest who wore a striking black leather dress and a red and white bandanna
Star pals: He seemed to pep up a bit as he stood in front of a colourful wall of balloons with fellow model and daughter of iconic supermodel Kaia Gerber
With her brunette locks falling in long bands on the sides of her face, Kaia accessorised with a silver handbag.
As they took their places in a booth, both Jordan and Kaia, who were joined by more revelers, playfully hammed it up with copies of the magazine that featured Jordan's visage on the cover.
As Kaia held one copy up, she cheekily poked out her tongue as if to lick Jordan's image before she gave the cover a playful kiss.
Jordan looked clearly chuffed to see his face on the prestigious mag, smiling broadly as he held a copy aloft.
Other A-list guests at the party included Paris Hilton, Jourdan Dunn, Kaia's brother Presley, and rapper Gucci Mane, who performed for attendees on an MCM-sponsored stage.
Chic: Looking strikingly like her mother, Kaia, 16, wore a simple black leather jacket and a skimpy black pin-striped skirt
Advertisement
Tommy Hilfigers opulent Manhattan penthouse is back on the market and available to buy for a surprisingly low $50 million after the celebrated fashion designer cut 30 million from the original asking price.
Hilfiger, 66, has slashed the cost of his sprawling Plaza Hotel apartment as he endeavours to sell the property four years after putting it on the market for $80 million.
With 5,600 square-feet of space and stunning views across New Yorks Central Park, the duplex represents good value for anyone with pockets deep enough to afford its revised valuation.
Value for money: Tommy Hilfigers opulent Manhattan penthouse is back on the market and available to buy for a surprisingly low $50 million after the celebrated fashion designer cut 30 million from the original asking price
Wealth: The designer also owns homes in Miami and a hideaway villa in Mustique, a private island in the Caribbean
The designer has reportedly spent 20,000 on renovations to the apartment since he originally purchased it for $25.5 million in 2008, and a series of new shots capture its stunning interiors in all their glory.
Hilfiger has combined the units into the 5,600 sq ft condo it is today, offering four bedrooms, four bathrooms and unobstructed views of Central Park and Fifth Avenue.
The first floor has views overlooking the famous street, known for having some of the most expensive shopping in the world, as well as Manhattan's skyline.
Lavish: Hilfiger, 66, has slashed the cost of his sprawling Plaza Hotel apartment as he endeavours to sell the property four years after putting it on the market for $80 million
Come and get me: With 5,600 square-feet of space and stunning views across New Yorks Central Park, the duplex represents good value for anyone with pockets deep enough to afford its revised valuation
Stunning: There is a formal dining room with a wet bar, a breakfast room right under the dome of the Plaza Hotel
There is a formal dining room with a wet bar, a breakfast room right under the dome of the Plaza Hotel, and a paneled library nook.
An eat-in kitchen, powder room, family room and study also fill the floor.
A curving staircase leads to the second level, where a private terrace in the master bedroom suite offers an incredible view of Central Park.
Calming: A cosy living room offers sweeping views across Manhattan and a cosy fireplace
Welcome: Of its four bedrooms, three come with their own private bathrooms
Relaxing: A large double bed and numerous fitted wardrobes fill one of the spacious bedrooms
Elegant: One bedroom even boasts its own dressing room and a walk-in closet, filled with shoes and immaculately folded clothes
The colour purple: A tasteful colour scheme dominates in one of its smaller bedrooms, as do five framed pictures of The Rolling Stones
The bedroom also has a dressing room and a walk-in closet.
The top floor also features three more bedrooms, two with private bathrooms, and a sitting room.
Apartment 1809 at One Central Park South comes with all the perks of a hotel - including valet parking, housecleaning and room service from celebrity chef Todd English's restaurant.
Not bad: A private terrace in the master bedroom suite offers an incredible view of Central Park
Nice touch: A powder room sits between a bedroom and a walk-in closet
Bed ahoy: The children's bedroom is decorated in a red and blue nautical theme that seems to be directly inspired by Hilfiger's own fashion lines
Bargain: Apartment 1809 at One Central Park South comes with all the perks of a hotel - including valet parking, housecleaning and room service from celebrity chef Todd English's restaurant
It's all in the details: Hilfiger had reclaimed wood floors and vintage fireplaces from England installed in the unit
Space to spare: One of its bathrooms boasts all the accouterments one would expect from a multi-million dollar penthouse apartment
The first floor makes heavy use of elegant black lacquered walls, coordinated with deep rich reds and even cheetah print.
Hilfiger had reclaimed wood floors and vintage fireplaces from England installed in the unit, which is also decorated with antiqued mirrors.
While some of the rooms are done in the crisp and elegant cream and gold colors one would expect to see inside a five-star hotel, others have much more personality.
Read all about it: The duplex even boasts its own library, complete with an extensive array of books
Going wild: The first floor makes heavy use of elegant black lacquered walls, coordinated with deep rich reds and even cheetah prints
Flying the flag: A framed Union Jack takes a prominent place in another of the property's bathrooms
Step by step: A sweeping staircase leads to the property's second level
Cooking up a storm: The kitchen gives the penthouse a modern flair in a hotel known for its French-Renaissance style
One of the bedrooms is done in a bright lavender, while the children's bedroom is decorated in a red and blue nautical theme that seems to be directly inspired by Hilfiger's own fashion lines.
Perhaps most distinctive is the dome which features a mural painted by Hillary Knight, the original illustrator of the Eloise books.
Just like Hilfiger's family, Eloise lives in the room on the 'tippy-top floor' of the Plaza Hotel, as the classic goes.
Knight incorporated both Eloise and members of the Hilfiger family into the mural.
Finishing touch: An outdoor terrace offers the prospective buyer an opportunity to enjoy al fresco breakfast, lunch or dinner
Room with a view: The apartment, which is on the 18th and 19th floors of the Plaza, features incredible views of Central Park
Quite a sight: Central Park and downtown Manhattan stretch off into the distance
Incredible: Perhaps most distinctive is the dome which features a mural painted by Hillary Knight, the original illustrator of the Eloise books
But Hilfiger's love for contemporary pop art also shines through the interior, which was decorated throughout with paintings by the likes of Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Richard Prince and graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Hilfiger said in the past he wanted to build 'a home' at the Plaza, but is now ready to say goodbye to the apartment for good as he and wife Dee Ocleppo spend most of their time at the family's Greenwich, Connecticut estate.
They also have a home in Miami and a hideaway villa in Mustique, a private island in the Caribbean.
Making his stamp: Some of the rooms are done in the crisp and elegant cream and gold colors one would expect to see inside a five-star hotel
Take the weight off your feet: Window seats also offer incredible views across Central Park
He's one of Australia's well-known television personalities, having hosted Sunrise for the past 15 years.
And David 'Kochie' Koch, 61, has revealed that he went to school with other Australian stars.
Speaking to Nova's Kate, Tim & Marty on Tuesday, Kochie revealed he went to school with INXS.
Scroll down for video
'I went to school with them': Sunrise's David 'Kochie' Koch, 61, reveals he 'grew up' with musicians from INXS
'You know I went to school with them? Forest High. Kirk Pengilly was about two years behind me and Michael went to Davison High School so I grew up with them,' he said.
Forest High School, is a government day school located in Frenchs Forest, Sydney.
'In the early days youd go and see them at the Antler, they were a resident down there and they would swap with Midnight Oil every other week,' Kochie said.
Radio host Kate Ritchie chimed in, saying she went to school with Human Nature: 'They used to perform at the assemblies.'
Kochie joked: 'Are you comparing Human Nature to Midnight Oil and INXS? Give me a break!'
'In the early days youd go and see them at the Antler': Kochie said he would go see them perform as they 'would swap with Midnight Oil every other week'
'Give me a break!' Kochie joked that Kate Ritchie going to school with Human Nature didn't compare to INXS or Midnight Oil
Earlier this week, Kochie took fans through an average day in his busy life.
Sharing a clip to Twitter, the finance guru and AFL fanatic called his job 'bullsh*t' and wondered if people really care what he gets up to.
'It's a bit of a bullsh*t job!' Sunrise's David 'Kochie' Koch, 61, takes fans through an average day and shares his gruelling workout routine
The clip was first aired on Sunrise, and shows him getting into the Seven studio at 4:30am and squeezing in a gruelling workout after filming the show.
'It is a bit of a bullsh*t job... not like emergency services workers or cancer researchers... but apparently some are interested in my day,' Kochie tweeted alongside the clip.
In the video, he arrives at the studios before going into hair and makeup for four minutes.
Putting in the time! The clip was first aired on Sunrise , and shows him getting into the Seven studio at 4:30am and squeezing in a gruelling workout after filming the show
'Are you going to blow-dry my hair?' In the video, he arrives at the studios before going into hair and makeup for four minutes
He joked to the hair and makeup artists: 'Are you going to blow-dry my hair?'
At 5.15am he gets changed before appearing on air.
By 10am, he's in the gym, working out with a personal trainer.
Kochie stretches before doing exercises including dead lifts and a crane pose, using his body weight to lift himself up.
'I'm feeling my age now. I maybe tried to show off,' Kochie said at the end of the workout.
He then revealed that he heads to his side finance business, and then films another show he's working on, before visiting injured Sunrise co-star, Mark Beretta, 51, who has a broken knee cap.
Pals: In the clip, he visited injured Sunrise co-star, Mark Beretta, 51, who has a broken knee cap
Familiar faces: Kochie co-hosts Sunrise with Samantha Armytage, 41, (pictured) who replaced his former co-host, Melissa Doyle
After the clip played live on Sunrise, Edwina Bartholomew joked to Kochie that he's 'very interesting.'
'It's a revelation,' she said with a laugh.
Kochie co-hosts Sunrise with Samantha Armytage, 41, who replaced his former co-host, Melissa Doyle.
The former finance journalist is married to wife Libby, and has been been nominated for silver Logies.
She was out and about on Sunday night in an abs-flashing ensemble and killer heels.
But Sofia Richie's day-wear for her appearance at New York Fashion Week on Monday was much more conservative - on the whole.
She stepped out of the Oscar De La Renta fashion show at Sotheby's in a crisp white blouse with a drawstring detailing at the neck and camel high-waisted slacks.
Scroll down for video
Cheetah girl! Sofia Richie mixed conservative with extravagant as she attended the Oscar de la Renta NYFW runway show in a classic white blouse teamed with an animal print fur coat
She teamed this, however, with a cheetah print fur, which swept along behind her as she strutted out of the show.
The daughter of crooner Lionel Richie tied her blonde locks tightly back and displayed a pair of thick, silver hooped earrings.
The 19-year-old kept her make-up clean, with just a lick of pink to her pout.
Travelling light, she swung her phone in her hand, opting to make her trip to the shows without a purse or bag.
Doing the shows: Travelling light, she swung her phone in her hand, opting to make her trip to the shows without a purse or bag
Woke up like this: Bella Hadid got leggy in a pajama-inspired ensemble for Oscar de la Renta's SS/18 presentation during New York Fashion Week on Monday
She was there to see pal Bella Hadid storming the SS/18 presentation during New York Fashion Week.
Strutting in perspex heels and a pajama-inspired co-ord, designed by Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia, Bella's lithe legs looked endless.
The IMG Model - who turns 21 next month - emerged on the Sotheby's catwalk in the same fashion Donald Trump originally announced his bid for the presidency, via escalator.
Glamorous: The IMG Model - who turns 21 next month - emerged on the Sotheby's catwalk in the same fashion Donald Trump originally announced his bid for the presidency, via escalator
Sister act! Gigi was joined on the catwalk by younger sister Bella, 20
Bohemian: Gigi was styled in a sheer patterned frock complete with a circle and star design
Hot stepper : Model Dasha Denisenko always is on hand to show the models how its done
All things bright: The Oscar de la Renta catwalk featured yellow, green and pink brights
Slip into something silky: Lingerie-style camisoles were also a common theme within the collection, and many of the pieces featured a hint of the metallic fabric woven into them
Something for everyone: As well as lingerie-style dresses, casual pieces including T-shirts and sweaters were elevated with the addition of a camisole element
The half-Jordanian, half-Dutch stunner certainly looked comfortable storming the runway in an oversized black blouse splattered with white paint, matching shorts, and nude stilettos.
With her infectious energy, it's hard to believe that Bella takes '30 pills and self-administers two shots a day in the keester' just to properly function with her Lyme Disease - according to InStyle.
Hadid wore her brunette bob sideparted and straight, and make-up artist Tom Pecheux applied her futuristic cat-eye featuring pastel-blue MAC Chromacake pigment.
Charisma: Model and actress Suki Waterhouse hit the outdoor runways in a plunging silver and white crop top
Tick-born illness: It's hard to believe Bella takes '30 pills and self-administers two shots a day in the keester' just to properly function with her Lyme Disease - according to InStyle
Prepping: Hadid wore her brunette bob sideparted and straight, and make-up artist Tom Pecheux applied her futuristic cat-eye featuring pastel-blue MAC Chromacake pigment
In demand: The nepotistically-privileged daughter of RHOBH alum Yolanda and real estate mogul Mohamed also scored NYFW gigs for Anna Sui, Brandon Maxwell, and Jason Wu
'It's subtle,' Pecheux explained to Vogue backstage. 'You can only see it when you're [up] close.'
The nepotistically-privileged daughter of RHOBH alum Yolanda and real estate mogul Mohamed also scored NYFW gigs strutting her stuff for designers Anna Sui, Brandon Maxwell, and Jason Wu.
She sensationally admitted to steam cleaning her private parts in 2015.
And James Corden paid homage to Gwyneth Paltrow's bizarre cleansing ritual as he tried out the intimate regime on the Late Late Show, after the actress crept up behind him while he was mocking her website Goop.
The comedian, 39, hilariously began his Monday night show by poking fun at the star posing topless and covered in mud for Goop's first $15 print edition.
Scroll down for video
Awkward: James Corden paid homage to Gwyneth Paltrow's bizarre cleansing ritual as he tried out 'vaginal steaming' on The Late Late Show, as the actress crept up behind him while he was mocking her website Goop
Wow: James looked like he was slowly getting used to the sensation as he sampled the steaming process on his Monday night show
He told the audience: 'I can't believe Gwyneth Paltrow beat out all the others to be on the cover of Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop. Pretending to be 'down to earth' is Gwyneth Paltrow's best performance yet.'
As he carried on with his jokey repertoire and showed off a doctored front cover, reading Poop. the Oscar-winning star shockingly walked out and crept up behind him.
Crossing her arms in mock outrage and standing in silence, looking leggy in a metallic minidress, it was only a matter of seconds before James realised she was behind him.
Oh dear: The comedian, 39, hilariously began his show by poking fun at the star posing topless and covered in mud for Goop's first $15 print edition
Laugh out loud: As he carried on with his jokey repertoire and showed off a doctored front cover, reading Poop. the Oscar-winning star shockingly walked out and crept up behind him
Rumbled:Crossing her arms in mock outrage and standing in silence, looking leggy in a metallic minidress, it was only a matter of seconds before James realised she was behind him
It's me! James looked shocked as he realised the star had heard everything he said
Um: As she greeted him, a clearly awkward James tried to backtrack on his comments saying: 'I didn't say anything out of line, and we're all thinking it'
As the beautiful blonde greeted him, a clearly awkward James tried to backtrack on his comments saying: 'I didn't say anything out of line, and we're all thinking it.'
He then challenged the Shakespeare In Love star to name anyone that Goop had helped.
And she was quick to point out his band leader Reggie Watts who was amusingly standing in a bucket of mud to 'feel more grounded'.
She then gestured to the cameraman Gary who thanked her for cupping to help his bad back after hours standing in the studio.
Challenge: He then challenged the Shakespeare In Love star to name anyone that Goop had helped
Ha! And she was quick to point out his band leader Reggie Watts who was amusingly standing in a bucket of mud to 'feel more grounded'
Wow: James was in shock as he saw Reggie enjoying the mud bath
Groundbreaking: She then gestured to the cameraman Gary who thanked her for cupping to help his bad back after hours standing in the studio
Intimate: Finally, another staff member Ian was seen getting 'vaginal steaming'
Finally, another staff member Ian was seen getting 'vaginal steaming'.
James, who whispered in Gwyneth's ear that he had some kind of problem in his genital area finally caved and tried out the controversial procedure.
He then got into a semi-squatting position and was fogged, claiming it felt great as Gwyneth tried not to laugh.
The ex of Coldplay singer Chris Martin waxed lyrical about the procedure at the start of 2015, when she recommended a vaginal spa in Santa Monica where women have their genitals steamed.
Steamy: James looked on with apparent interest as it got steamy in the studio
Revelation: James, who whispered in Gwyneth's ear that he had some kind of problem in his genital area finally caved and tried out the controversial procedure
Sampling: He then got into a semi-squatting position and was fogged, claiming it felt great as Gwyneth tried not to laugh
Winner: Gwyneth looked over the moon as she whooped to celebrate her victory over James
Gushing about the treatment she said: 'Were burying the lede though, because the real golden ticket here is the Mugworth V-Steam: You sit on what is essentially a mini-throne, and a combination of infrared and mugwort steam cleanses your uterus, et al.'
She continued: 'It is an energetic releasenot just a steam douchethat balances female hormone levels. If youre in LA, you have to do it. '
Earlier this week, Gwyneth released the sensational nude shot of herself for the cover of her new Goop online magazine.
Taglined 'Earth to Gwyneth', the shot was the centrepiece of Goop's first printed edition.
'Earth to Gwyneth!'Earlier this week, Gwyneth stripped nude and covered herself in mud for the cover of her new Goop online magazine
It showed the topless Oscar winner lying on her back, one arm behind her head as she gazed into the lens.
While her flawless skin was highlighted with minimal make-up, the 44-year-old preserved her modesty with a healthy heaping of dirt - smeared from her neck downwards over her bikini bottoms.
Gwyneth shared the cover to Instagram on Friday morning, reminding fans they could pick up a copy of the quarterly publication next week on September 19.
Inside the pages they can look forward to reading up on how Gwyneth had bee venom injected into her C-section scar.
'The doctor stings you [with a live bee] like its an acupuncture needle. I had it done on my cesarean scar I had some buckling in the scar, and it really evened it out,' explains the mother-of-two.
All her own work: Often mocked, Gwyneth's unashamedly aspirational lifestyle blog has been turned into a real-life magazine by Vogue's publisher, media company Conde Naste (file image from online magazine)
Fans can also learn about how Gwyn enjoys the more simple things in life.
'For me, when I take my shoes off and walk in the grass, its so healing. Its hard to find scientific evidence for the idea that "I feel good." But by trying, you get so much juice out of life.'
Then there are her thoughts on failure:
'You can only be a perfectionist if you think, erroneously, that theres a finish line in life. I try to succeed and fail all the time in all kinds of ways.'
Alternative: The magazine is aimed at women hoping to improve their health and well being
Often mocked, Gwyneth's unashamedly aspirational lifestyle blog has been turned into a real-life magazine by Vogue's publisher, media company Conde Naste.
Gwyneth founded Goop in 2008 as a weekly newsletter giving healthy living advice and an insight to her own loves.
As subscribers surged she expanded it into an online portal with recommendations for all aspects of modern life for visitors.
Over the years Goop has been lambasted for recommending controversy treatments such as vaginal steaming which may not have the health benefits stated and urging users to purchase costly products, such as a $15,000 14-karat-gold sex toy, which are completely affordable to most people.
Gwyneth - whose ex-husband is Coldplay frontman Chris Martin - is adamant most of the criticisms are unfounded and are knee-jerk reactions to headlines rather than constructive.
He's the up and coming Australian actor who received a mammoth boost after winning the 2017 Heath Ledger scholarship.
And Mojean Aria, has revealed that the prestigious award had opened plenty of doors for the burgeoning star.
'It's shifted things for me so much and it was an amazing experience,' he told the publication.'
Rising star: Up-and-coming actor Mojean Aria, has revealed that wining the Heath Ledger scholarship has opened plenty of doors for the burgeoning star
Mojean was given the tick of approval for the scholarship by Hollywood A-lister and former flame of Heath's Naomi Watts.
He was also given the nod from the likes of Hollywood veteran Gary Oldman, Glee writer Ryan Murphy and fellow Australian actress Jacqueline Mckenzie.
Mojean added that the nod was made extra special given that he was a budding actor and had no representation.
'I know I was the only one as a finalist who was completely unrepresented at the time,' he said.
Good company: Mojean was given the tick of approval for the scholarship by Hollywood A-lister and former flame of Heath's Naomi Watts (pictured) and such luminaries as Gary Oldman and Glee writer Ryan Murphy
Foot in the door: 'It's shifted things for me so much and it was an amazing experience,' he told Confidential
'I went in with no Australian representatives, no American representatives. So, when i won it, I had the ability to meet any agent or any manager. i could walk into any office.'
The son of Iranian immigrants, Mojean is now based in Los Angeles but has headed back home to shoot the four-part SBS crime drama Dead Lucky alongside Rachel Griffiths.
Mojean revealed to the publication that he was impressed with Rachel's lack of ego.
'Where I am in my career and she is in her career is a little different right now and she has a bigger trailer than me, but she's like 'come use it.'
Flash
Liu Jieyi (C, Front), China's permanent representative to the United Nations, votes in favor of a Security Council resolution to impose fresh sanctions on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) over its latest nuclear test, at the UN headquarters in New York, on Sept. 11, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]
China supports the UN Security Council in taking necessary measures regarding the DPRK's nuclear test, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said Tuesday morning.
The UN Security Council Monday unanimously adopted a resolution to impose fresh sanctions on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) over its nuclear test on Sept. 3 for violation of previous Security Council resolutions.
Geng said the resolution reflected the unanimous stance of Security Council members in safeguarding peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the region, advancing denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and upholding international non-proliferation.
He said the resolution called for a peaceful settlement through diplomatic and political means, supported the resumption of six-party talks and stressed measures to de-escalate tension on the peninsula.
"The Chinese side hopes that this resolution will be implemented comprehensively and completely," the spokesperson said.
As a neighbor of the Korean Peninsula, China has been closely following the development of the situation there, Geng said.
He said that China's unswerving stance was for denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, maintaining peace and stability there and resolving problems through dialogue and consultation.
The related parties should bear their responsibilities, take practical measures to ease tension and resume dialogue and negotiation in order to solve the Korean Peninsula issue, Geng said.
He called on the DPRK to abide by the resolutions of the UN Security Council and stop the development of nuclear missiles, and urged the United States and the Republic of Korea (ROK) to avoid any actions that may further complicate the situation.
The "dual-track approach" and the "suspension for suspension" initiative proposed by China, Geng said, are practical methods to solve the Korean Peninsula issue.
"We called on the relevant parties to work with China to push for dialogue and negotiation and make joint efforts to realize peace and stability on the Peninsula," he said.
Geng said China firmly opposes the deployment of the U.S. anti-missile Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in ROK, which will severely harm the strategic security of China and other countries in the region, and damage the trust and cooperation among related parties on the Korean Peninsula issue.
They announced their engagement in May.
But Eva Herzigova and her fiance Gregorio Marsiaj appeared to be in the honeymoon phase already as they shared a loving kiss on the Kings Road in London on Tuesday.
The 44-year-old model wore a casually stylish ensemble as she donned a pair of baggy denim jeans with a jaunty neckerchief.
Loved-up: Model Eva Herzigova, 44, and her fiance Gregorio Marsiaj appeared to be in the honeymoon phase already as they shared a loving kiss on the Kings Road in London on Tuesday
The parents-of-three tenderly embraced as Italian businessman Gregorio clambered into his car.
The Czech-born beauty, who made her mark in Wonderbra's iconic Hello Boys campaign, kept warm in a khaki anorak and red jumper as she enjoyed her day in the Big Smoke.
Though Eva and Gregorio just decided to tie the knot, the pair already have a family together.
Casual cool: Eva wore a casually stylish ensemble as she donned a pair of baggy denim jeans with a jaunty neckerchief
Their eldest George is 10, was born in Turin, Italy in 2007.
Son Philipe, six, was born in London and their youngest Edward, three, was welcomed in 2014.
The DNA Models managed stunner famously swore off marriage following her two-year union with Bon Jovi drummer Tico, which ended in 1998.
A warm welcome! The mother-of-three made her mark in Wonderbra's iconic Hello Boys campaign, above
The cat's meow! 'Im not a fan of marriage, Eva said after she started dating Marsiaj in 2002, 'Actually, Im like a cat: I like being caressed, but I also need to go away.' The Playboy centerfold dazzled during Dior's Fall/Winter fashion show in 2005
'Im not a fan of marriage, Eva said after she started dating Marsiaj in 2002. 'A relationship is about evolution and marriage halts the progression of love.
'Im a very independent girl and I quite like solitude.
'Actually, Im like a cat: I like being caressed, but I also need to go away and then come back.'
And the longtime couple are in no rush to the altar and have yet to set a wedding date.
She whisked away to Indonesia with a girlfriend after her split from boyfriend of one year Elon Musk last month.
And Amber Heard is enjoying her Bali break with friend Raquel Pennington as the ladies embark on jungle adventures in between some serious rest and relaxation.
The 31-year-old actress was beaming from ear-to-ear as she posed in a shoulder-baring top with Raquel in front of the forest. The two were also seen cuddling in a car.
Scroll down for video
Tired? Amber Heard and her friend Raquel Pennington took a break from trekking through the jungle in Bali to enjoy a night on the town
Bali babes! The star was also seen in an off-the-shoulder top in the wild
With her long blonde hair fastened up in a top bun, Amber looked care-free and confident on the Indonesia archipelago.
Her sun-kissed skin glowed in the images as she showed a peek of her toned tummy in a tiny white crop top with sleeves hugging her biceps.
The Friday Night Lights actress sported a pair of flowing linen pants for her island adventure with her gal pal.
Sun-kissed: The 31-year-old actress was beaming from ear-to-ear
Adventure! In a series of stories on her Instagram account, Heard is seen relaxing in the front seat of a car as the pair drive through the streets of Bali
Relax! The Alpha Dog actress later posted a photo of a checkered walkway leading to a secluded oasis deep in the Bali jungle
In a series of stories on her Instagram account, Heard is seen relaxing in the front seat of a car as the pair drive through the streets of Bali.
'Rocky gets a hold of phone' is written in big pink letters, alluding to her friend Raquel taking away Amber's phone to post on social media.
Heard is perched in the passenger seat with her foot casually resting on the dashboard as her blonde hair blows in the wind.
The Alpha Dog actress later posted a photo of a checkered walkway leading to a secluded oasis deep in the Bali jungle.
Gal pals! Amber and Raquel posed in the jungle during their Bali adventure
Amber also posted a photo of her and Raquel completely Zen-ed out from their blissful Bali break.
She captioned the sleepy snap, 'Earned.'
Earlier in the day, the blonde bombshell posted a jaw-dropping photo from her sun-soaked Bali break to her Instagram on Monday.
She stripped down to just a tiny pair of bikini bottoms as she emerged from a crystalline pool, flashing her perfectly peachy posterior in the process.
Cheeky: Heard showed she was feeling chipper, and very confident, as she posted a jaw-dropping photo from her sun-soaked Bali break to her Instagram on Monday
The Rum Diaries star also revealed her tiny waist and her two back tattoos.
One of the tattoos is a Spanish inking that translates as: 'I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul,' while the other is a Sanskrit inking.
Flashing a relaxed smile in the photo, the star wore a light dusting of make-up to bring out her pretty features, including fluttery lashes.
She accessorised with a stylish cream panama hat with a navy ribbon.
Toned: Amber is currently winding down after wrapping filming in Australia on Aquaman, which is slated for release in 2018; seen here in January
Amber is currently winding down after wrapping filming in Australia on Aquaman, which is slated for release in 2018.
The star has clearly got her sparkle back after splitting from the billionaire businessman, 46, with the pair blaming 'distance' on the demise of their long-term relationship,
In a joint statement, released to People, the former couple said: 'The distance has been really tough on our relationship, because we havent been able to see each other much. All relationships have their ups and downs, of course.
It's over: The star has clearly got her sparkle back after splitting from the billionaire businessman, 46, with the pair blaming 'distance' on the demise of their long-term relationship
'People occasionally send out speculation, which has no basis in fact, without our knowledge, believing that that they have our best interests in mind. Sometimes, other agendas are at work. It can get a little weird
'However, we would like to state directly that we have the utmost respect for one another, and it would be troubling if anyone had the impression that we thought otherwise.'
The tech entrepreneur is based in Los Angeles, California, while Amber is based in Sydney, Australia, meaning the former couple have been forced to endure a long-distance relationship for the duration of their romance.
Exes: As her relationship with Elon struck up, Amber was still recovering from what she called a toxic split from ex-husband Johnny Depp - who she accused of hitting her, claims he denied
The joint statement concluded: 'As a closing note, it is worth bearing in mind that events are always amplified and dramatized in a high profile relationship, whether the people involved like it or not (and we definitely dont).
'The reality is that this is just a normal relationship with a giant magnifying glass applied.'
Amber broke her silence on her split from the businessman earlier this week, confirming the couple 'remain close' and 'care deeply for one another' after parting ways.
The actress - formerly married to actor Johnny Depp, 54 - thanked fans via her Instagram page for their 'support, respect and privacy during a difficult time'.
Amber's words come just hours after the Telsa CEO, 46, confirmed the couple's split, but hinted a reconciliation could be on the cards in the future.
Writing on her Instagram page, Amber said: 'Being in the public eye means having to explain yourself to so many people, so much of the time. In this case, I'd like to remain more quiet.
'Although we have broken up, Elon and I care deeply for one another and remain close.
'Thank you for the continued support, respect, and privacy during these difficult, very human times.'
Musk confirmed the couple's split via an announcement on his ex-girlfriend's Instagram page on Monday, but hinted a future romance could be on the cards.
She's Australia's sweetheart and the only daughter of the late Steve Irwin.
And Bindi Irwin, 19, will share her fascinating life story in an upcoming memoir about growing up at Australia Zoo.
The bubbly wild life warrior told News Corp on Tuesday that the book is close to finished and there will be no shortage of content with the star explaining: 'I feel like I've lived 10 lives in one lifetime.'
A glimpse into Bindi Irwin's life: The 19-year-old will share her fascinating life story in an upcoming memoir about growing up at Australia Zoo
'I am writing a book and it's one of those things, you are writing and you think you are in the right space, but then you rewrite the whole thing,' she said.
'The book is about my journey, my journey growing up at Australia Zoo and travelling around the world with our conservation work.
She added: 'I feel like I've lived 10 lives in one lifetime.'
Revealing: The bubbly wild life warrior told News Corp on Tuesday that the book is close to finished and there will be no shortage of content with the star explaining: 'I feel like I've lived 10 lives in one lifetime'
Bindi will likely give fans a personal glimpse into her family life, including her struggle with the 2006 death of her late father Steve.
Earlier this month, the media personality and her brother Robert, 13, paid tribute to the late Crocodile Hunter in heartfelt Father's Day posts.
Bindi shared a throwback video to Instagram that showed her, as a cherubic three-year-old, on set with Steve.
Remembering dad: Bindi Irwin, 19, and brother Robert, 13, shared emotional Father's Day tributes to their late dad Steve on Sunday
The video starts with Steve instructing Bindi to say 'action' to the camera and after she complies Steve adds: 'One of the greatest honours while we're on this movie shoot is working with my daughter and the wildlife that's around here.
'I'm trying to teach Bindi to be a wild life warrior and love all wildlife - even the bull ants.'
It appears that Steve's instruction had rubbed off on his daughter, who posted a gushing caption to accompany the video.
Memory lane: Bindi shared a throwback video to Instagram that showed her, as a cherubic three-year-old, on set with Steve
'Remembering these days... Life is always changing and evolving and I'll always be thankful that I learned so much from my dad. He taught me to treat every being on earth the way you would wish to be treated - from the tiny ants to the enormous elephants,' she wrote.
'We are all connected and must respect each other to live in true harmony. I'll forever be thankful to have had these values passed on to me. Happy Australian Father's Day. May your heart be full and your day be filled with the ones you hold dear. Here's to unconditional love and happiness beyond compare.'
Bindi's post was met with a flurry of emotion from her followers with the likes of: 'I cannot imagine how much you all miss him!! Such a special person who created a very special family!! Love you all!!'
Lessons: Life is always changing and evolving and I'll always be thankful that I learned so much from my dad. He taught me to treat every being on earth the way you would wish to be treated - from the tiny ants to the enormous elephants,' Bindi wrote
On seeing Bindi's post, mum Terri tweeted: 'Your dad's love continues @Bindiirwin. I see it every day in your kindness & compassion for every living being. You & Robert make him proud.'
Brother Robert also shared a tribute to Steve, posting a photo that showed Robert as a toddler being pushed on a swing by Steve.
Robert sported a precocious grin as his dad stood proudly behind him making sure his little boy was safe.
Best dad: Brother Robert also shared a tribute to Steve, posting a photo that showed Robert as a toddler being pushed on a swing by Steve. Robert sported a precocious grin as his dad stood proudly behind him making sure his little boy was safe
'This #fathersday in Australia remembering the best dad in the world. He was all about family and fun and I hope to dedicate my life to honouring his legacy,' Robert wrote.
'Yes your dad was an amazing human I'm sure he'd be incredibly proud of his family and the legacy he left behind,' one fan commented.
Steve died in 2006 after being pierced repeatedly in the chest by a stingray barb in Batt Reef near Port Douglas in Queensland.
Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna have been trying to figure out a child custody agreement over their 10-month-old child Dream every since they split earlier this year.
And according to a Tuesday report from TMZ, it looks as if they are very close, even though the former stripper asked for a 'large amount of child support' and is allegedly being investigated by LA child welfare officials over her drug use.
There is also the problem of the Kardashian sisters - Kim, Khloe and Kourtney - not being comfortable with Chyna taking care of Dream.
Rob and Chyna split earlier this year after getting engaged and welcoming their first child in 2016. Their issues were explored on the reality TV series Rob & Chyna.
End to a long feud? Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna are close to reaching a child custody agreement over their daughter Dream; seen in May 2016
Mommy time: The reality TV star with her little girl, who was born in November
The site claimed the exes 'have been hashing out a joint custody arrangement for months.'
It was added they 'are not far apart over the division of physical custody' as they seem to be fine with the other getting plenty of time with little Dream, even though the Kardashian sisters don't like the thought of Chyna spending so much time with the baby, it was claimed.
The sisters don't have any say in the agreement, however, and Rob feels Chyna is a fine parent, it was claimed.
The child: It was added they 'are not far apart over the division of physical custody' as they seem to be fine with the other getting plenty of time with little Dream
Money to be a mommy: Another issue is child support. 'Chyna wants a lot,' a source told TMZ. 'Way more than Rob thinks she deserves, but it appears there's been some movement toward a compromise'
But there have been plenty of other issues slowing down the process.
One is that the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) have an open case over Chyna's alleged drug use.
In February 2016 Chyna - whose real name is Angela Renee White - was arrested in Texas for having Ecstasy on her when trying to fly to London on British Airways. She was also seen ordering alcohol at a pub.
'Whites behavior was unpredictable, going from extremely angry, cursing at everyone then to crying,' the affidavit read. 'White was being verbally aggressive to the bartender at Saxon Pub whom she claimed would not serve her the amount of alcohol that she requested.'
Another issue is child support. 'Chyna wants a lot,' a source told TMZ. 'Way more than Rob thinks she deserves, but it appears there's been some movement toward a compromise.'
The site added that because there's a 'open case' in Dependency Court, 'any custody agreement must be signed off by that judge.'
Complicated: The site added that because there's a 'open case' in Dependency Court, 'any custody agreement must be signed off by that judge.' Seen in July
The former couple, who starred on the E! reality show Rob & Chyna, confirmed their split in March after just over a year of dating and just four months after the birth of their child.
The former stripper, 29, currently has a restraining order against Rob, 30, the only son of Keeping Up With The Kardashians momager Kris Jenner and late lawyer Rob Kardashian.
In July, Rob targeted her in a rambling foul-mouthed rant on social media and posted explicit photos of her online.
Chyna obtained a restraining order against him and claimed he had been physically abusive during their relationship.
Broken home:The little girl seen here on Chyna's social media account this summer
Meanwhile, People reported Monday that Rob 'very much resents' his former fiancee.
The George Arthur sock entrepreneur thinks Chyna is 'evil,' but is remaining calm for the sake of their young daughter, according to the publication.
One source said: '[Rob was] basically told to shut up and lay low until he and Chyna come to an agreement. There have been concerns that he will lose custody.'
At work? Chyna shared an image by a microphone on Tuesday to her Instagram account
The next big thing? The cover girl has been trying to launch a music career
And a source insists the reclusive sock designer 'misses' his daughter when she's with her mother and 'really cares' about making sure the tot has the best life possible.
The insider told People magazine: 'Everyone wants him to be quiet and not get into any more trouble.'
'He isn't happy about going to court, but he also isn't agreeing with Chyna's demands. [Rob] isn't healthy, and isn't making huge efforts to get healthier, but he does really care about Dream. He loves spending time with her. He always misses Dream when she is with Chyna.'
Meanwhile, Chyna's attorney Lisa Bloom previously revealed both parties will be trying to come to an 'amicable resolution' when the case goes back to court on September 18.
She said: 'We are attempting to work out an amicable resolution of all issues. If that fails, we will go forward with the hearing on September 18 so that the court will impose long-term consequences on Mr. Kardashian for his vicious online attacks on Blac Chyna.'
The much-loved ABC crime drama was feared axed until fans set up a change.org petition to save the show from the chopping block.
And now The Doctor Blake Mysteries' lead star Craig McLachlan has insisted fans will be rewarded with a very 'sensual' fifth season.
Craig, who plays Dr Lucien Blake, told The Herald Sun on Wednesday a long-teased romance will play out on screen, describing it as : 'pretty erotic.'
Scroll down for video
'I think pretty erotic': Craig McLachlan teases romance between Dr Blake and housekeeper Jean Beazley in fifth season of ABC crime drama The Doctor Blake Mysteries in interview with The Herald Sun on Wednesday
Craig claimed 'There is a lot of romance in this series' when speaking about the relationship heating up between Dr Blake and housekeeper Jean Beazley (played by Nadine Garner).
'There are two people in love with each other. In their heads they're in bed with each other... That, for an audience, is, I think pretty erotic,' the actor said.
The love isn't without obstacles though, as he revealed Jean is conflicted by her catholic faith and his character is seeking a divorce from his previous wife.
'In their heads they're in bed with each other': Craig claimed 'There is a lot of romance in this series' when speaking about the relationship heating up between Dr Blake and housekeeper Jean Beazley (played by Nadine Garner)
He was the 1980s teen heartthrob who has undergone a career resurgence thanks to his turn on the popular ABC drama The Doctor Blake Mysteries.
And with the network announcing they were cancelling the popular show, Craig McLachlan has slammed the ABC saying he didn't even get a phone call to tell him of the axing.
Speaking to Australian Women's Weekly this week, the former Neighbours star admitted that the news was 'disappointing.'
Unhappy: And with the ABC announcing they were cancelling the popular show, Craig slammed the network saying he didn't even get a phone call to tell him of the axing
'Not even a 'Hey Craig, just letting you know the show's coming to an end,'' he told the publication.
'That was disappointing. For me, it's about the audience and they obviously want this show.'
Taking to Facebook in March after the announcement, Craig said that he was at a loss to explain the decision.
'Like Poirot or Midsummer Murders, I always believed The Dr Blake Mysteries could run and run,' he wrote. 'Certainly, one might think the viewing figures at home in Australia alone would support this notion. Consistent, stunning results mirrored in over 130 countries around the world.
'Friends, my glorious crew and I were ready to rock...what does that tell ya? There really is no business quite like show business.'
It appears that Craig wasn't far off the mark with the show's loyal fans dubbed the Blake Army setting up a change.org petition to save the show from the chopping block.
Fan favourite: 'That was disappointing. For me, it's about the audience and they obviously want this show.' Craig is pictured with co-star Nadine Garner
At the time of writing, the petition had more than 16,000 signatures.
News.com.au recently reported that the show's creator George Adams also slammed the decision during an appearance on ABC Radio Ballarat.
'I'm not really sure what the reasons are and to some extent, I don't really care. I've been doing this for 30 years and I've never been in a situation where a top rating show doesn't carry on until it's not a top rating show,' he said.
She's the model of the moment who has the world's biggest names in fashion at her disposal.
And Bella Hadid has recruited Sydney-based vintage retailer and fashionista Cara Weinstock to style her for New York Fashion Week after spotting her on Instagram.
'It is really validating,' Cara told The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday.
'This is an amazing honour': Bella Hadid enlists Sydney fashionista Cara Weinstock to style her for New York Fashion Week
In a photo shared to Cara's Instagram account @caramiavintage on Saturday, 20-year-old Bella wears an outfit styled by the Sydney vintage retailer.
The stunning supermodel wears a Christian Lacroix denim vest and skirt with a Chanel belt and red cap.
In the caption, Cara describes styling Bella for fashion week as 'so major', the Instagram post soon scoring a slew of admiring comments.
Big honour: Bella Hadid recruited Sydney-based vintage retailer and fashionista Cara Weinstock (pictured right) to style her for New York Fashion Week
Multi-talented: Cara is a fashion stylist and runs online store Cara Mia Vintage
Bella is understood to have enlisted Cara's help to style her for the Mert and Marcus party at New York Fashion Week last Friday after admiring her vintage look on Instagram.
Speaking to News Corp, Cara described dressing Bella as 'really validating' and a proud moment.
'To be a small micro business from Sydney, Australia, and to be spotted by a model who is at the centre of fashion right now is an amazing honour,' she said.
Vintage: The stunning supermodel wears a Christian Lacroix denim vest and skirt with a Chanel belt and red cap
It's not the first time Cara has dressed an A-lister, previously styling Nicole Richie and Frances Bean Cobain.
Meanwhile it's been a busy few days for Bella at fashion week, walking the runway for Anna Sui arm in arm with older sister Gigi Hadid on Monday.
The beauty is rumoured to have another Australian connection, having been romantically linked to bad boy supermodel Jordan Barrett earlier this year.
She is best-known for giving captivating performances in front of the camera.
And Rosario Dawson ensured all eyes were on her as she put on an animated display while arriving at Gallery One for the Anna Sui New York Fashion Week presentation in Manhattan on Monday night.
The actress, 38, looked elegant in a patterned strapless maxi-dress, before larking around in front of the cameras with a variety of hilarious poses.
Scroll down for video
All eyes on her: Rosario Dawson put on an animated display while arriving at Gallery One for the Anna Sui New York Fashion Week presentation in Manhattan on Monday night
Rosario displayed her slim figure in a orange, white and brown tie-dyed strapless number that tied at her waist.
The Defenders star went for a boho-inspired look by teaming the colorful dress with tan leather shoe-boots by BED|STU.
While giving the camera a quirky performance, Rosario accessorized her playful ensemble with a straw fedora.
The Rent actress wore her raven locks down and had only a minimal amount of make-up to accentuate her natural beauty.
Kicking things off: The actress, 38, looked elegant in a patterned strapless maxi-dress, before larking around in front of the cameras with a variety of hilarious poses
Elegant: Rosario displayed her slim figure in a orange, white and brown tie-dyed strapless number that tied at her waist
Upon arrival, Rosario stole the show with her elated gesture by curtsying and kicking for the cameras.
The actress continued her animated performance next her her model pal, Niki Taylor, 42.
The two friends watched the Anna Sui fashion show from the front row.
Putting the boot in: The Defenders star went for a boho-inspired look by teaming the colorful dress with tan leather shoe-boots by BED|STU
While in the front row, Rosario was seen posing acting playfully shocked next to Niki.
Niki attended the New York Fashion Week event in a burgundy sheer dress that was embellished with glittery green floral print.
The Anna Sui fashion show featured many notable stars walking the runway such as the Hadid sisters, Gigi, 22, and Bella, 20.
Posed: Rosario was seen posing acting playfully shocked next to Niki Taylor as they sat on the front row at the high-profile event
Side by side: Rosario continued her animated performance next her her model pal
Stylish: The Rent actress wore her raven locks down and had only a minimal amount of make-up to accentuate her natural beauty
Prior to attending The Gallery One show, Rosario had her own event for Studio 189.
The Studio 189 event took place at the Metropolitan Pavillion where the actress showcased her new line for 2018.
The actress is a co-founder of the fashion label, which focuses on creating chic and green clothing for both men and women.
Happy moments: Prior to attending The Gallery One show, Rosario had her own event for Studio 189 alongside the likes of Paula Abdul (right)
Moment in the spotlight: The Studio 189 event took place at the Metropolitan Pavillion where the actress showcased her new line for 2018
At work: Rosario was joined on stage by Studio 189 designer Abrima Erwiah (right)
Rosario was joined on stage by Studio 189 designer Abrima Erwiah.
The line of clothes are meant to help promote and curate African-style pieces with worldwide distribution.
At the green conscious fashion event, stars such as Paula Abdul were seen in attendance.
Rosario was just one of the celebs getting about NYFW via the Absolut Elyx Copper Cab.
Jaime King, Ditta Von Teese and Catt Sadler were all also spotted negotiating the city in the flashy ride.
Hail-o: Rosario was just one of the celebs getting about NYFW via the Absolut Elyx Copper Cab
Traveling like a King: Jaime King was also spotted negotiating the city in the flashy ride
Ditto: Dita Von Teese flagged down the copper cab
Former Strictly star Kristina Rihanoff has candidly discussed the difficult childhood she faced while growing up in the Soviet Union.
The 39-year-old professional dancer, who soared to fame on Strictly Come Dancing in 2008, revealed her embattled former years at the hands of her parents led to her turning her back on school and seeking solace in dance.
Speaking to Closer magazine, Kristina admitted since becoming a mother to daughter Milena last summer, with partner Ben Cohen, her life has changed for the better and helped heal the wounds of her youth.
Scroll down for video
Happier times: Former Strictly star Kristina Rihanoff has candidly discussed the abuse she was subjected to during her childhood in the Soviet Union
Kristina grew up in Vladivostok, Russia to engineer parents, who split when she was 10, leading to the star having to work as a part-time dance instructor at the age of 15 to help in her mother's single parent household.
Prior to their split, the blonde beauty, nicknamed the Siberian Siren on Strictly, revealed the struggles of her parents' constant rows and violence.
She told the magazine: 'My parents were often violent towards each other, always arguing and being verbally aggressive. From about the age of 10, I saw my mum being very unhappy in her relationship.
'It drove me away from home and towards dance school. That's where I felt comfortable. The dance floor became my safe zone.
Moving on: The 39-year-old professional dancer, who soared to fame on Strictly Come Dancing in 2008, revealed her embattled former years at the hands of violent parents led to her turning her back on school and seeking solace in dance
Found love: Kristina found love with Ben Cohen in 2015 before welcoming a child last year
'A lot was going on in Russia at that time - the Soviet Union was collapsing, families were losing their jobs and savings and kids were going off the rails. But dancing kept me happy and away from trouble.'
Kristina has spoken in the past about life growing up in the Soviet Union, as she told The Telegraph in 2013, she said: 'When I grew up in Vladivostok in Russia my parents didn't have much money. They were both engineers.
'At that time it was still the Soviet Union and everybody got paid the same by the government, which wasn't much.
'We managed OK but it taught me to be very careful with money. When I started earning and I started teaching dance very early, when I was 15 I was very careful with the little that I earned.
'Even now, when I make a bit more money and could buy loads of things, I never go crazy because I send money back to Russia to my family. I support my mum and my aunt, who is a single mother with two kids.'
They appeared alongside each other in Showtime drama The Affair.
And Joshua Jackson and co-star Maura Tierney looked delighted to be reunited as they chatted over a glass of white wine outside Morandi in New York's West Village on Monday.
The actor, 39, put his hands over his face as he laughed out loud about something Maura, 52, said.
Big hugs: Maura Tierney leaped into her The Affair co-star Joshua Jackson's arms when they left Morandi in New York's West Village after a catch-up on Monday
The actress was casually dressed in a grey cowl neck top, skinny jeans and grey suede booties.
The Good Wife star left her long brunette tresses to cascade over her shoulders.
Maura, who divorced husband Billy Morrissette in 2006, wore sunglasses that did double duty by holding her hair back.
Joshua, who is single after splitting up with long-time love Diane Kruger last year, was also casually dressed for their meet up.
Enjoying each other's company: The couple enjoyed a chat over a glass of white wine
That's too much: The actor, 39, put his hands over his face as he laughed out loud about something Maura, 52, said
He paired a dark blue denim shirt with beige pants and Nike sneakers and sported a neatly cut dark beard and mustache.
The couple hugged enthusiastically when they parted, with Maura almost throwing herself into Joshua's arms.
In The Affair, the pair play the significant others of lead characters Noah and Alison (portrayed by British actors Dominic West and Ruth Wilson), who are having an affair.
Casual outing: Joshua wore a blue denim shirt, beige pants and Nike sneakers, while Maura opted for a grey cowl neck top, skinny jeans and grey suede booties
It's a wrap: The pair hugged their goodbyes as they left the restaurant together
Showtime has picked the drama up for a fourth season, but has yet to share the release date.
Joshua has been a dating a bevy of beauties since the end of his relationship with actress Diane, 41.
He was last seen out with bikini model Shafia West at a farmers' market in Studio City, Los Angeles, in August.
She lost her Hollywood royalty mother and grandmother within one day of each other in December 2016.
And Billie Lourd, 25, opened up about the pain of having both mother Carrie Fisher and grandmother Debbie Reynolds pass away so suddenly during an appearance on the The Ellen DeGeneres Show in Burbank, California, on Tuesday.
It was a fitting venue, given it was on Ellen DeGeneres' show that Fisher made her final public appearance before her tragic death at the age of 60.
Baring her soul: Billie Lourd, 25, opened up about the pain of losing both mother Carrie Fisher and grandmother Debbie Reynolds during an appearance on the The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The American Horror Story: Cult star looked lovely in a gray plaid cocktail dress and black heels.
Her blonde locks were pinned up high on her head and she completed her look with a gold locket around her neck and gold hoop earrings.
But despite looking thoroughly composed, the New York University graduate admitted of her twin losses: 'Yeah, it's completely surreal. There's no way to really explain it. It's so hard to talk about.'
The religion and psychology major said of how she was coping without the "goddesses" in her life: 'I don't know, if I say that I'm doing good, I'm too happy. And if I say that I'm not doing good, then I'm a mess.
Hollywood princess: The American Horror Story: Cult star, 25, looked amazing in a gray plaid cocktail dress and black heels
Staying strong: The New York University graduate admitted of her twin losses: 'Yeah, it's completely surreal. There's no way to really explain it. It's so hard to talk about'
'So it's really hard to know what to say about it because it is just so surreal and impossible to deal with.'
Fisher died of cardiac arrest on December 27, four days after experiencing a medical emergency during a transatlantic flight from London to Los Angeles.
Reynolds suffered a stroke the following day on December 28, just one day after the death of her only daughter.
It was with Carrie Fisher that Billie had her first taste of professional acting. She appeared alongside her mother in the sci-fi sequel Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015.
But her parents - Fisher and talent agent Bryan Lourd - were not overjoyed for their daughter to be bitten by the acting bug.
Royal family: Lourde opened up about the pain of having both mother Carrie Fisher and grandmother Debbie Reynolds pass away so suddenly (pictured January 2015)
She explained: 'They did not want me to act at all, my dad and my mom, because they were both in the industry and saw that it's not really the best place to want your child to go into.'
But it appears the screen star has quickly acclimatized to the family business.
She's been busily posting photos from the set of her upcoming series American Horror Story: Cult to her Instagram account.
In one image she and co-star Sarah Paulson posed while wrapped in blankets.
The image is captioned: 'The progression of a 72 hour work week'.
In another she poses with the show's star-studded cast, including Cher, Allison Pill, Chaz Bono and Billy Eichner.
Hard at work: In one Instagram image, Billie and American Horror Story co-star Sarah Paulson posed while wrapped in blankets
Janesville Volunteer line crews from18 Wisconsin electric cooperatives are joining in Floridas massive recovery effort, helping rebuild shattered electric systems in the wake of Hurricane Irmas devastation.
The Florida Electric Cooperatives Association, a statewide trade group, put out a call for help last Thursday, anticipating Irmas Sunday morning landfall and the huge storms potential to simultaneously batter the entire state.
All the Wisconsin volunteers are assigned to assist rebuilding at Clay Electric Cooperative, headquartered in Keystone Heights, Florida, northeast of Gainesville. As of Monday morning, Clay Electric had approximately 130,000 members representing about 75 percent of its system without power.
More than 50 Wisconsin co-op employees were traveling southward Monday. Participating co-ops include Adams-Columbia, Barron, Bayfield, Central Wisconsin, and Clark Electric Cooperatives, Dairyland Power Cooperative, Dunn and Eau Claire Energy Cooperatives, Oakdale and Oconto Electric Cooperatives, Pierce Pepin Cooperative Services, Price and Richland Electric Cooperatives, Riverland, Rock, and Scenic Rivers Energy Cooperatives, and Taylor and Vernon Electric Cooperatives.
Line superintendents from Wisconsin cooperatives got word of the request at a previously scheduled meeting in Stevens Point and immediately began planning their response, assessing availability of workers and equipment.
Those preparations were completed during a busy weekend. Early Monday morning, co-op vehicles began departing from local headquarters across the state for assembly points at Eau Claire, Oakdale, Portage, and Janesville. At least three multi-co-op convoys planned to reach Ste. Genevieve, Mo. by Monday night, and Hattiesburg, Miss. by Tuesday night, arriving in Florida by late Wednesday afternoon.
Anticipating a lengthy rebuilding project, a second round of 24 co-op volunteers had been recruited for later rotation into the damaged area.
The relief mission is similar to assistance rendered by Wisconsin co-ops 12 years ago following Hurricane Katrina. Personnel from 14 Wisconsin electric cooperatives were dispatched over a four-week period to Louisiana on a rotating basis, helping to rebuild a local co-op distribution system that had been almost totally destroyed.
Its also similar on a larger scale to the ROPE (restoration of power in an emergency) program in which Wisconsin co-ops help each other shorten recovery times when severe weather damages local electrics systems.
On three previous occasions since this past spring, 10 Wisconsin co-ops have loaned out line crews in ROPE deployments to help others speed up rebuilding of storm-damaged systems.
Scott Disick has been spending a lot of time with young women since his 2015 split from partner Kourtney Kardashian.
And on Monday evening the 34-year-old father-of-three surrounded himself with teenage girls as she headed to Catch New York City's sixth anniversary party.
The Keeping Up With The Kardashians standout was spotted ushering Suede Brooks, 16, Madison Beer, 18, and Delilah Hamlin, 19, out of a large black party van and into the venue after midnight.
New friends: Scott Disick was seen having fun on Monday night in NYC with, left to right, Suede Brooks, 16, Madison Beer, 18, and Delilah Hamlin, 19
The man on the town: Here Disick, 34, is seen in the party van with his friend David Einhorn aka Papi
Scott kept his head down as party goers got a good look at his friends, who were all dressed up for the late night on the town.
The self-proclaimed Lord Disick wore a red hoodie sweatshirt from Balenciaga and black jeans with a floral print.
The TV star was also seen with a an older and bearded male pal who goes by the name Papi. He had on a heavy gold chain and a hoodie with blue flames.
Photogenic: Delilah is the daughter of Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills star Lisa Rinna and actor Harry Hamlin. The blonde had on a nude bodysuit with gold chains on the straps
Good genes: The Instagram favorite also wore ripped boyfriend jeans that were faded and tucked in. They fell off her hips
Delilah is the daughter of Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills star Lisa Rinna and actor Harry Hamlin.
The blonde had on a nude bodysuit with gold chains and wide straps that also went up on the hips.
The Instagram favorite also wore ripped boyfriend jeans that were faded and fell off her hips. Pointy beige boots that laced up looked fashion forward for the Los Angeles native.
She was also seen with Scott at Rihanna's Fenty fashion show on Sunday and the night before was at the Lord's fashion party with Papi at his NYC apartment; Madison was also in attendance to both events.
Sweet child o mine: Beer is the protege of Justin Bieber who has a few hit songs under her belt such as All For Love and Melodies
Cool look: The crooner wore a black bandeau top that had off the shoulder sleeves. She added drawstring camo slacks in orange, green and white
Beer is the protege of Justin Bieber who has a few hit songs under her belt such as All For Love and Melodies.
The crooner wore a black bandeau top that had off the shoulder sleeves. She added drawstring camo slacks in orange, green and white.
Black, shiny military boots looked a bit punk rock and comfortable. She held onto a Louis Vuitton backpack.
Teen power: Brooks is from Las Vegas but spends a lot of time in Los Angeles, and now NYC
A star online: She rose to fame as an internet star and gained a following with her beachbikiniklass Tumblr blog
She loves clothes: The teen is also known for her YouTube channel MSFTxGYPSY, where she video blogs about beauty and fashion
Brooks is from Las Vegas but spends a lot of time in Los Angeles, and now NYC.
She rose to fame as an internet star and gained a following with her beachbikiniklass Tumblr blog.
The teen is also known for her YouTube channel MSFTxGYPSY, where she video blogs about beauty and fashion.
More beauties at Catch: Also seen hitting the party were Tatiana Price, L, and Ashley Moore, R
The budding model has been seen with Scott for the past several days; over the weekend they shared an al fresco lunch in Manhattan.
Suede had on a white sheer top under a grey drawstring, zip-up hoodie with black leather slacks.
Her hair was worn up in a top knot and she showed off pretty diamond stud earrings.
More teen spirit: Last week Disick was spotted with another teen: Audreyana Michelle, 18. The beauty looks much like 38-year-old Kourtney's younger sister Kim Kardashian, 36
More teens: The bad boy of reality TV has also hung out with Sofia Richie, left, and Bella Thorne, right; they are both 19-years-old
Also seen hitting the Catch party were Tatiana Price and Ashley Moore.
Last week Disick was spotted with another teen: Audreyana Michelle, 18. The beauty looks much like 38-year-old Kourtney's younger sister Kim Kardashian, 36.
The bad boy of reality TV was also seen having fun with Lionel Richie's daughter Sofia, a 19-year-old model who used to date Bieber.
And in the spring he had a romance with Bella Thorne, 19, an actress best known for her TV series Shake It Up and her Adam Sandler movie Blended.
This Catch sighting comes just days after it was claimed Scott had to be taken to the hospital in August after he was acting strangely at his Calabasas home. It was alleged that he was placed on a 5150 hold for a psychiatric evaluation and Kourtney rushed to his side to aid him.
A friend: This comes after it was claimed Scott had to be taken to the hospital in August after he was acting strangely at his Calabasas home. Seen in 2016 with Kourtney and kids
According to The Blast, he was taken to the West Hills Hospital near Los Angeles on August 18. The site claimed that the Los Angeles County Fire Department responded to a call from Disicks Hidden Hills home at 4:54 PM on August 18.
The site added that a member of the fire department told them that the Los Angeles County Sheriffs also 'responded to assist.' And law enforcement sources told the site that the sheriffs were called because 'at the time Disick was being uncooperative.'
A source told RadarOnline he was 'involuntarily hospitalized for being a danger to himself or others... he was transported to a local hospital shortly after the Lost Hills Sheriff arrived to the scene. No other information is available.'
His representative has not returned calls to DailyMail.com.
On the loose: Disick has been spending a lot of time with young women since his 2015 split from partner Kourtney; here they are seen in 2015
Later The Blast shared another report after listening to the 911 call. The person who called 911 was Scott's very own security guard who said that the TV star was 'drunk and needed to go to the hospital.'
The guard said: 'He got drunk and they told me to call.' He also made it clear, 'someone needs to take him to the hospital.'
'Scott was removed from his home on a stretcher before being transported to the hospital on a 5150 psychiatric hold,' a source told The Blast after reading the incident report.
He then calmed down but the officials still felt the need to take him to the hospital on a 5150 hold. Kanye West and Britney Spears have also been placed on 5150 holds.
Tough times: It was alleged that he was placed on a 5150 hold for a psychiatric evaluation on August 18 after his security guard called 911; here the star is seen in March in Las Vegas
The hold usually lasts 72 hours and several tests are performed. Scott was 'transported to the ER at West Hills Hospital,' it was claimed.
Kourtney 'showed up to support the father of her children and wanted to be there because he has no other family.' Though doctors recommend a 72 hour hold for a 5150 patient, the source claimed that Scott was released earlier.
Scott had entered rehab in 2015 after his split from longtime partner Kourtney. He later said the rehab was for pills and not for alcohol. It marked the fourth time Disick had entered rehab. He previously sought treatment in Costa Rica in March 2015, although he checked out of the facility later that month.
In November 2014, his attempt at recovery for alcohol and drug-related health issues was also documented on Kourtney & Khloe Take The Hamptons. 'This behavior has been going on for years,' Kourtney said on the show. Scott added, 'I've pretty much become a broken record and I'm sick of hearing myself.'
Disick entered a Connecticut facility following a night of hard partying that left him thinking he was going to die, although he left early.
He has three children with Kourtney: Mason, aged seven, Penelope, aged five, and Reign, aged two.
She previously accused her estranged boxer husband George Kay of spitting in her face and displaying 'controlling' behaviour.
And it seems Kerry Katona's new boyfriend James English has a violent past, as it has emerged the Scottish comedian once assaulted a woman and spat in her face.
The shamed 32-year-old actor, who was pals with slain gangster Euan 'EJ' Johnston, pled guilty to the assault during a furious bust-up at a McDonald's in 2015.
Scroll down for video
Shocking: Kerry Katona's new boyfriend James English has a violent past, as it was revealed the Scottish comedian once assaulted a woman in McDonald's and spat in her face
Kerry, 37, seemed unfazed by James' past as she was pictured kissing him passionately at a London airport last week - three months after splitting from George.
In April, James was initially charged with punching Michelle McArthur, 33, on the head and pulling her hair to the extent of an injury.
But that was later deleted from the charge - and instead he pled guilty to assault and spitting in her face during the brawl in November 2015.
James, who appeared on the reality show Glow last year, which was dubbed as 'Scotland's answer to TOWIE', had his sentence put back for a year for good behaviour when he appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court.
Past: The shamed 32-year-old actor, who was pals with slain gangster Euan 'EJ' Johnston, pled guilty to the assault during a furious bust-up at a McDonald's in 2015
It's all coming out: James was also friends with gangster Euan EJ Johnston and was previously questioned by police as a potential witness over two gang killing
James was also friends with gangster Euan EJ Johnston and was previously questioned by police as a potential witness over two gang killings.
Detectives probed him in the hope that he could give information on the murders of his uncle Billy Bates and barman Tam Cameron.
Despite his rocky past, the couple seemed very much happy as they kissed and hugged at the airport.
Happy: Kerry and James, who kissed passionately at a London airport last week, seemed unfazed by the past with their PDA-packed display
New horizons: The pair, who met at one of her Atomic Kitten gigs earlier this year, have reportedly been enjoying private dates in Scotland
The pair, who met at one of her Atomic Kitten gigs earlier this year, have reportedly been enjoying private dates in Scotland.
Kerry's PDA-packed outing with James after the mum-of-four announced she and husband George Kay were splitting, after three years of marriage.
The couple, who share daughter Dylan-Jorge, 3, had been due to enter Channel 5's Celebrity Big Brother - but 'domestic issues' saw them pulling out.
Kerry previously split with George in October 2015 after thirteen months together and a month later appeared in court accusing him of beating her up at their home, after allegedly arming himself with a Taser-style device and a knife.
It's over: Kerry's new loved-up display comes after she announced she was splitting with her third husband George Kay in July, with her spokesperson telling MailOnline: 'Going forward her focus is going to be on her children'
However he was later acquitted after prosecutors revealed that they didn't have enough evidence to secure a conviction.
Kerry has previously accused former boxer George of persuading her to ditch her friendships to spend time with him instead and regularly using foul language towards her, as well as 'spitting in her face' on several occasions.
Yet, after their second split this year, the mother-of-five hinted at abuse once again, by claiming she would 'never forgive herself' for letting her children witness his 'controlling' behaviour.
Speaking to the Sunday People last month, she said: 'I feel like the worst mother in the world and I will never forgive myself.
'No child should have to hear what they heard or see what they saw.'
Claims: Kerry has previously accused former boxer George of regularly using foul language towards her, as well as 'spitting in her face' on several occasions
Carey Mulligan has reportedly given birth to her second child with husband Marcus Mumford.
US Weekly report that The Great Gatsby actress and her rocker partner, who are already parents to two-year-old daughter Evelyn Grace, have welcomed a second child - with the family 'thrilled' at the news.
The 32-year-old Brit never officially confirmed her pregnancy yet she displayed a prominent baby bump on various occasions earlier in the year.
Scroll down for video
Happy days: Carey Mulligan has reportedly given birth to her second child with husband Marcus Mumford
The famously tight-lipped actress had not confirmed she was expecting a second child, though her first pregnancy was similarly shrouded in secrecy.
Reports first emerged about a surprise pregnancy in July when super-slim Carey was suddenly spotted with a rounded stomach at hot spot Sexy Fish.
She and husband Marcus, who married in 2012, welcomed their first child Evelyn in 2015, three years after tying the knot.
The couple's story is a romantic one: they were childhood pen pals who lost touch but later reconnected as adults.
Joyous: US Weekly report that The Great Gatsby actress and her rocker partner, who are already parents to two-year-old daughter Evelyn Grace, have welcomed a second child - with the family 'thrilled' at the news
MailOnline has contacted Carey and Marcus' representative for comment.
On April 21, the pair celebrated their five year wedding anniversary, having wed in 2012 a few days after the movie Inside Llewyn Davis wrapped production - on which they were both working.
Carey has previously spoken about her daughter with New York Daily News, in which she said that the life lesson she'd teach Evelyn Grace would be: 'No make-up, no piercings, no tattoos.'
Despite the actress' successful career - which saw her nominated for an Oscar for An Education in 2009 - she recently revealed her nerves at dealing with fame.
She told So It Goes magazine: 'I would do red carpets and be a wreck by the end; I found it awful and weird, standing there in my outfits with my body being judged and my appearance and make-up.
She endured a tumultuous romance with her ex, Jeremy McConnell, who was last month convicted of assaulting her.
And Stephanie Davis, 24, is rumoured to have moved on from the Irish model and is secretly dating former TOWIE star Ricky Rayment, 27.
Eagle-eyed fans have spotted the mother-of-one and reality star liberally liking each other's photos and sending flirty love heart emojis on social media.
Scroll down for video
New love? Stephanie Davis, 24, is rumoured to have moved on from the Celebrity Big Brother alum and is secretly dating former TOWIE star Ricky Rayment, 27
Rumours were sparked after Stephanie shared a photo of her bubble bath during her current getaway to Sweden.
Ricky replied with a love heart-eyed emoji and Stephanie upped the flirting ante by sending back blushing emojis and a pair of kissing lips.
The former Hollyoaks star also posted a mysterious tweet that appeared to hint at changes in her dating world.
She penned cryptically: 'Wow, god works in mysterious ways and what's just happened is FATE! So weird! Someone is watching.'
MailOnline has contacted reps for Stephanie and Ricky for comment.
Cheeky: Fans have spotted the mother-of-one and reality star liberally liking each other's photos and sending flirty love heart emojis on social media
Relaxing: Stephanie is currently enjoying an idyllic trip to Sweden with nine-month-old son Caben-Albi
Rumour has it: Ricky replied to a photo of a bathtub with a love heart-eyed emoji and Stephanie upped the flirting ante by sending back blushing emojis and a pair of kissing lips
Cryptic: The former Hollyoaks star also posted a mysterious tweet that left fans speculating at a romance with Ricky
Fans speculated at a romance with Ricky, writing: 'Definitely dating Ricky Rayment see it a mile off.'
Another added: 'Good luck to them. Everyone deserves happiness.'
Stephanie and Ricky's flirtation appears to have been sparked earlier this month, after the Essex star caught her attention with snaps of him cuddling puppies.
Ricky has flooded his account with sweet shots of him with pooches during a visit to help the A Better Life Dog Rescue organisation. Since then, the pair have been liberally liking each other's posts.
In the past: Rayment previously dated Geordie Shore's Marnie Simpson. Pictured in 2015
Former flames: He also dated fellow TOWIE star Jessica Wright. She dumped him in 2014 after two years, after finding out he had secretly sent 'flirty texts' to 'some 20-year-old'
Bitter split: The couple's relationship broke down on TOWIE screens, while Ricky later commented that she was 'boring as f**k'. Pictured in 2014
Ricky previously dated Geordie Shore's Marnie Simpson and fellow TOWIE star Jessica Wright.
Jessica dumped Ricky in 2014 after two years together, after finding out he had secretly sent 'flirty texts' to 'some 20-year-old'.
The couple's relationship then broke down, with TOWIE fans able to see it falling apart on their TV screens, while Ricky later commented that she was 'boring as f**k'.
'I can't believe what I was then,' she confessed at the time. 'I became a shell of myself - I was pent-up, scared to stay in my flat on my own, unsure of myself and always looking for people's approval.
Worried: Stephanie caused shock among fans on Saturday when she took to Instagram to share an image in which she was branded 'painfully thin'
Figure flaunting: The 24-year-old former Hollyoaks star sparked huge debate in the comments section as concerned followers urged the star to eat yet other fans insisted her worried fans were merely 'body shamers' and claimed she looked healthy
'I didn't know who I was... I was a wreck, a quivering wreck,' she added, explaining that the relationship left her lacking in confidence.
It comes as Stephanie caused shock among fans on Saturday when she took to Instagram to share an image in which she was branded 'painfully thin'.
With the reaction to the shot, her followers were conflicted as some insisted she was looking too thin while others lashed out at women on the feed for defying Stephanie's feminist message adorned across the top.
Users penned: 'Look how skinny she is... So skinny !!!!... Too skinny eat please... You look incredibly thin and not your usual healthy glowing self please stay strong and healthy x... Omg she looks so skinny hope your ok...
Meanwhile Stephanie's ex Jeremy has appeared to delete nearly all traces of his nine-month-old son Caben-Albi from Instagram, leaving just two snaps of himself and his baby.
The reality star seemed to embark on a deleting spree on his account, with there now being no photos of Stephanie on the page and just a couple of himself and Caben.
Unusual move? Jeremy has appeared to delete nearly all traces of his nine-month-old son Caben-Albi from Instagram, leaving just two snaps of himself and his baby
Gone: The reality star took to the photo-sharing site on Saturday and seemed to embark on a deleting spree, with there now being no photos of Stephanie left
Jeremy's last picture with his son dates back to May, with the second left on his page being posted in March earlier this year.
The Irish model had welcomed son Caben into the world back in January, having previously denied Stephanie's paternity claims that her child belonged to him.
Proven to be his via a DNA test shortly after his birth, Jeremy appeared to embark on a relationship with his son and had reunited with Stephanie, but their tumultuous romance came to an abrupt end, with Jeremy later being found guilty of assaulting the former Hollyoaks star.
Flaunting it: Meanwhile Stephanie has 'hit the roof' as ex Jeremy cosies up to rumoured new flame Mandi Flood in an array of gushy Instagram posts
He was spared jail and given a suspended sentence, along with a restraining order to ensure he is unable to contact Stephanie for three years.
It comes as Stephanie allegedly 'hit the roof' after seeing Jeremy flaunting his supposed romance with make-up artist Mandi Floor on social media.
Sources close to the actress told The Sun: 'Steph hit the roof when she saw the pictures of Mandi and Jeremy together. Theyve known each other for years and although they have hooked up in the past, it was nothing serious.
'Steph asked Jeremy to cut all contact with her when they were together. Jeremy did it for an easy life, but now hes single again hes met up with Mandi and is letting his hair down.
'Steph thinks its a dig at her and has taken it really personally. She thinks Jeremy is trying to wind her up.'
She rescued her cute puppies from Hurricane Harvey.
And Naomi Watts and her two sons took the dogs out for a morning stroll in New York on Monday.
The 48-year-old actress wore a tweed jacket over a white T-shirt along with blue jeans while she walked alongside 10-year-old Alexander and eight-year-old Samuel.
Scroll down for video
It's puppy love! Naomi Watts and her two sons took the dogs out for a morning stroll in New York on Monday
The Mulholland Drive star completed her casual outfit with a pair of light brown brogues and a green leather cross body bag.
She accessorised with a pair of oversized sunglasses and simple drop earrings while her sons kept it casual with T-shirts, jeans and runners.
At one point, Naomi was seen taking a call as she strolled through the streets with her dogs bouncing happily alongside her.
Far from ruff: The actress, 48, smiled as she walked her canine companion with her son Samuel, eight, and his friend
The 48-year-old actress wore a tweed jacket over a white T-shirt along with blue jeans with her 10-year-old Alexander and youngest Samuel
Not pawful: Naomi was all smiles with her pet pooch and son Sam behind her
Naomi's ex and father of her children, Liev Schreiber, 49, met the pooches displaced by Hurricane Harvey on Wednesday while appearing on Live With Kelly And Ryan.
The puppies along with other dogs were sent to New York to make room in a Texas shelter for canines displaced by the natural disaster.
The morning talk show shared a YouTube video of Liev video chatting backstage with Naomi and the boys as he met the animals.
Hello there! Naomi took a call while she strolled through the streets of NYC
Cool kids: Her boys kept it casual with T-shirts, jeans and runners
Liev backstage held up a cute pup named Woody while Kelly cradled a pooch later named Willow before the actor took them both home.
The Spotlight star in the video also referenced the family's other dogs Ziggy and Bob and later shared an Instagram snap of himself with the family's new pets.
Liev and Naomi in September 2016 announced their separation after 11 years together.
Naomi can be seen next year on the big screen in the romance drama Ophelia that offers a telling of Hamlet from the perspective of the young noblewoman.
Pawfect times! The puppies along with other dogs were sent to New York to make room in a Texas shelter for canines displaced by Hurricane Harvey
Here boys! Naomi leads her dogs down the road
Flawless: Naomi bellies her 48 years with her youthful visage
Liev currently stars in Ray Donovan that premiered its fifth season on August 6 on Showtime.
Her display comes after she recalled the death of ex-boyfriend Heath Ledger, who tragically died of an accidental prescription drug overdose in 2008 at age 28.
Naomi and Heath dated from 2002 to 2004 after falling in love while filming Australian film Ned Kelly.
Speaking to I Am Heath Ledger's filmmakers, Naomi said it was 'a very sad day' when she learned of her former flame's death.
Chit chat! Naomi chats to her boys as she walks
Loving mother: The actress affectionately touches her youngest son Samuel
Sunny days: The trio enjoyed the sunshine in the Big Apple
The Ring star spoke about Heath for a documentary on his life which aired on Channel Seven.
Visibly upset and fighting back emotion, Naomi tells the filmmakers behind I Am Heath Ledger what she felt after learning the actor had died.
'That was a very sad day,' she said.
The documentary included interviews with Heath's family and friends, as well as hours of home video shot by the actor himself.
Star: Naomi can be seen next year on the big screen in the romance drama Ophelia that offers a telling of Hamlet from the perspective of the young noblewoman
The country is becoming obsessed with Doctor Foster all over again.
Even the mighty Great British Bake Off crumbled in their Showstopper Challenge to whip up the best ratings for last Tuesdays debuts.
6.3 million viewers made an appointment to see the appealing but unhinged GP on her return to Parminster, leaving Paul Hollywood with a decidedly soggy bottom. (An unattractive image I know. He needs to go to the doctor.)
Saucy: As well as the marital mind games Dr. Gemma Foster was wrapped in her interactions with James - her son Tom's teacher and her patient
The Doctor Foster phenomenon is strange though. Youd be hard pressed to say it was entertaining or exactly enjoyable to watch.
For the most part its actually excruciating - a master-class in torturing the audience with writer Mike Bartlett, Suranne Jones, and Bertie Carvel clearly having the time of their lives making us suffer.
This weeks episode was even more unbearable than the first, because it deployed two forms of torment.
As well as the marital mind games Dr. Gemma Foster was wrapped in with her loathsome, manipulative, ex-husband Simon, we now had to endure her interactions with surrounding characters such as her son Tom, his best friend Max, and James (Toms teacher, Gemmas new man, and her patient).
Cheeky: The pair were seen locked in a passionate embrace in one X-rated scene
Oh dear: James was visibly stunned and not noticeably amused when she started babbling about her relationship with her last lover, which had originally (happily) been purely sexual
These were erratic to the point of being kamikaze.
She attempted to persuade her colleagues to break the confidentiality between her son and his doctor; was virtually stalking Tom, even following him in her car as he cycled to school; and went on what she called the kind of night out I havent had in 15 years.
I am s**t-faced and I am desperate for another drink and thats exactly how I want to feel she defiantly told a thug in a nightclub when he threatened her. I havent got a clue whats going on in my life at the moment.
Two episodes in and Gemma was not only losing the psychological battle with her ex-husband but generally losing the plot.
Viewers who had enjoyed episode one because they assumed Series Two was going to be about Gemma this time exacting justice properly realised in fact Simon was set on avenging her.
Candid: She said: Then he started to have feelings for me and wanted to talk about my life. Im not into emotional intimacy and I just wasnt into that so
Outrageous: You broke up... James concluded. I started paying him ! she corrected. Fifty quid a time!
Would you blame me if I have an opportunity to get my son back and remove her from my life? he put it to Neil, chillingly deluded about the events in the first series. I know I cheated but by the time she finished with me I had a criminal record, I had no friends, no career, and my son hated me.
Poor Simon. Put it this way, Im winning, Simon starkly proclaimed.
It transpired that Sian had been his spy, passing him information about her.
And to say Gemmas ploy of sending Neil to extract information about Simons finances during a drunken night out back-fired was an understatement.
Predictably Simon saw through it, seemingly feeding him false information before casually wrecking Neils marriage.
Even more uncomfortably, Simon exploited Neils need to hang around and started reminiscing about Gemmas sexual peccadilloes, her body, even her orgasms.
Sad: She knew the way she was smoking again and drinking so much was a bad sign. My husband coming back has really thrown me, she told James. Maybe Toms right to leave. Im a messed up mum
Passionate: The pair got hot and heavy again in a nightclub scene
Pucker up: She amorously locked lips with her patient
What was she like - when you slept with her? he asked characteristically coolly, still referring to Gemma as my wife.
Alarmingly as this was happening, she was talking about having sex with Simon too, albeit more jovially. (Still, you wished she wouldnt.)
Simon liked having sex in castles, she told Sian during their drunken dinner, remembering the time they f**ked in the battlements.
Her candour was admirable but her growing recklessness suggested she was falling apart.
James was visibly stunned and not noticeably amused when she started babbling about her relationship with her last lover, which had originally (happily) been purely sexual.
Then he started to have feelings for me and wanted to talk about my life. Im not into emotional intimacy and I just wasnt into that so
Watch out: Viewers who had enjoyed episode one because they assumed Series Two was going to be about Gemma this time exacting justice properly realised in fact Simon was set on avenging her
TMI: Gemma revealed Simon liked having sex in castles, and told Sian about the time they f**ked in the battlements
You broke up... James concluded. I started paying him ! she corrected. Fifty quid a time!
She knew the way she was smoking again and drinking so much was a bad sign.
My husband coming back has really thrown me, she told James. Maybe Toms right to leave. Im a messed up mum.
Her nadir came when she added yet another property to the places she had trespassed, abandoning her dinner with Sian and staggering off to see if Tom was at his mate Maxs house.
Things became even more ominous when she slurred have you got any wine? - not least because she was carrying a bottle she had nabbed when she left Sians.
Excruciatingly Gemma then gave an object lesson in how a mother of a teenage boy shouldnt behave sitting sprawled on the sofa next to Max, knocking back wine, edging alarmingly closer as she grilled him about Tom.
Ploy: Gemmas ploy of sending Neil to extract information about Simons finances during a drunken night out back-fired was an understatement
Not having it: Predictably Simon saw through it, seemingly feeding him false information before casually wrecking Neils marriage
What doesnt he tell me? she pleaded desperately.
The trauma of Tom leaving her had left her obsessed.
We squirmed with Max as she demanded to know whether her son smoked, had a girlfriend, or liked girls at all.
Has he had sex? she then asked catastrophically. Im not really comfortable talking about that kind of stuff, Max mustered.
Why has he gone to his dads? she continued, regardless rambling: Hes been to the doctors because hes not sleeping properly. Do you know why?
He says he doesnt love you, Max blurted out, finally pushed too far, stopping her in her tracks.
At this Gemma just crumpled like a tissue. Brilliantly Suranne Jones face suddenly looked older and harsher as smiling in pain, Gemma gulped: He used to love me. Whats changed?
Painful viewing: Her nadir came when she added yet another property to the places she had trespassed, abandoning her dinner with Sian and staggering off to see if Tom was at his mate Maxs house
Avert your eyes: We squirmed with Max as she demanded to know whether her son smoked, had a girlfriend, or liked girls at all
We all knew. Her one attempt to stand up to Simon flopped feebly.
Youll be gone in a month, he reaffirmed. Toms got all the facts now, he purred, reminding her that her big night out had ended with him taking a photo of her looking wasted.
I really think you need to see someone professional, he mocked calmly as she struggled to hold it together. Your eyes twitching.
Shortly after they were called to the school. Tom had been in a fight, having attacked Max.
All in all, the only thing that could have been worse was if she discovered that like Sian, James was secretly on Simons side too.
At this point, Gemmas life is such a car-crash nothing would surprise you.
She always manages to turn heads wherever she goes.
And Emily Ratajkowski ensured all eyes were on her in a bold and bright co-ord while out in New York City on Tuesday.
Accompanied by her music producer boyfriend Jeff Magid, the model and actress, 26, showed off her amazing abs in a quirky orange plaid crop top and matching trousers.
Checkmate! Emily Ratajkowski ensured all eyes were on her as she turned heads in a bold and bright ensemble while out in New York City on Tuesday
The Gone Girl star added height to her frame with a pair of white boot-heels as she strutted through Manhattan.
Emily accessorized her chic ensemble with a small canary yellow Kooples handbag and retro-style cat eye shades.
The beauty styled her her dark locks poker straight and kept her make-up natural with a nude pout.
The brunette was accompanied by her long-time musician boyfriend Jeff Magid for her casual daytime outing.
Plaid's the way to do it: Accompanied by her music producer boyfriend Jeff Magid, the model and actress, 26, showed off her amazing abs in a quirky orange plaid crop top
Catwalker: The Gone Girl star added height to her frame with a pair of white boot-heels as she strutted through Manhattan
While in New York the happy couple - who have been dating since November 2014 -were seen grabbing a coffee together before resuming their busy schedules.
Jeff also put on a fashion-forward display in an unusual olive green male jumpsuit.
The boyfriend of the DKNY model wore a tan hat and white laced-up sneakers to finish off his look.
On Emily's Instagram story, the Entourage actress posted a video and picture of her bright outfit, while out at lunch with friends.
Bold and bright: Emily accessorized her chic ensemble with a small canary yellow handbag and retro-style cat eye shades
Besides attending New York Fashion Week, Emily has been keeping busy since her announcement about becoming the new face of denim brand DL1961.
In last month's interview with Jimmy Kimmel, she explained why she was excited about the new campaign.
The model said: 'There is nothing sexier to me than a woman wearing an amazing pair of jeans and feeling comfortable and beautiful in her own skin.'
Putting her best foot forward: On her Instagram story the Entourage actress posted a video and picture of her bright outfit while out at lunch with friends
Busy Emily is set to co-star star in four films in the coming months.
The actress will join Natalie Dormer in the thriller In Darkness and take the lead in romance, Cruise, both of which have yet to set release dates.
In 2018, she will join forces with Amy Schumer and Michelle Williams for the comedy, I Feel Pretty, due out June 29.
Emily will also join Aaron Paul for the chiller, Welcome Home, about a couple's romantic trip to a cottage in the Italian countryside that turns into a nightmare. It's due out next year.
Pretty as a picture: The beauty styled her her dark locks poker straight and kept her make-up natural with a nude pout
An Egyptian policeman stands guard on Cairo's landmark Tahrir Square on January 25, 2017
Militants killed 18 people in an attack Monday on a security convoy in Egypt's North Sinai, where police and troops are battling a jihadist insurgency, security and medical sources said.
The interior ministry confirmed an attack around the town of Bir al-Abed had caused deaths and injuries but did not provide a toll.
An Islamic State group affiliate based in North Sinai has killed hundreds of soldiers and police in attacks since the military in 2013 ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.
Monday's incident took place when a vehicle tried to break through a security convoy passing between Qantara near the Egyptian port city of Ismailiya, and El-Arish, the capital of North Sinai.
IS claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it killed eight Egyptian soldiers in an ambush on the outskirts of El-Arish, according to the Aamaq news agency, which is affiliated with IS.
"As the forces dealt with the car, it blew up," the ministry said.
The explosion was followed by a shootout with "militant elements who were hiding in the desert area alongside the road," the ministry said.
"This led to the martyrdom of some of the convoy's individuals and the injury of others," it said.
It was not immediately clear whether any civilians were among the dead.
The United States condemned the attack.
"We will continue to stand with Egypt as it confronts the threat from terrorism," the State Department said in a statement.
While based in North Sinai, the IS affiliate in Egypt has carried out attacks elsewhere including in Cairo, and has claimed attacks that have killed more than 100 Coptic Christians since December.
The National Security Agency's data collection center is located in Bluffdale, Utah
The US Justice and Intelligence chiefs on Monday formally asked Congress to renew a crucial surveillance law, setting up a battle with civil libertarians over collection of Americans' personal data.
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and Attorney General Jeff Sessions are seeking a reauthorization of Title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), whose key Section 702 allows the National Security Agency to tap the communications of foreigners located abroad for intelligence purposes.
That power has become crucial, intelligence officials say, in preventing terror attacks and other major threats.
But in that process, critics say, the NSA also scoops up the communications of Americans, violating their privacy rights and leaving the information freely available to other intelligence agencies and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Section 702 was passed in 2008 to replace a previously secret and illegal warrantless wiretap program instituted after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
It gave intelligence agencies the power to tap the phone calls and emails of foreigners located outside the United States carried by US communications companies.
It was renewed in 2012 for five more years, and comes up for reauthorization again by December 31.
Section 702 "produces significant foreign intelligence that is vital to protect the nation against international terrorism and other threats," Coats and Sessions said in a letter to congressional leaders.
They asked for unchanged and permanent reauthorization, arguing that the statute "provides a comprehensive regime of oversight by all three branches of Government to protect the privacy and civil liberties of US persons."
Critics, however, say that the measure has allowed the NSA to reap communications of Americans, including communications wholly inside the country without a foreign component.
It has also been revealed that the law allowed the collection and retention of incidental personal information unrelated to the targets of investigations.
The government has also been accused of using information collected in prosecutions of Americans, such as in drug cases.
Senator Ron Wyden, the leading critic of 702 in Congress who serves on the Senate Intelligence Committee, has suggested that the amounts of incidentally collected data on Americans is sizable.
Wyden argues that 702 must be revised to tighten the authorizations and require more protection of Americans from the NSA's spying.
"How many innocent law-abiding Americans have been swept up in this program that has been written and developed to target foreigners overseas?" he wrote in a statement early this year.
"Congress's judgment about the impact of section 702 depends on getting this number."
US President Donald Trump greets Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak outside of the West Wing of the White House
US President Donald Trump welcomed Malaysia's prime minister to the White House Tuesday, amid questions about his guest's involvement in a spiraling corruption scandal.
Trump greeted Prime Minister Najib Razak at the West Wing with a handshake and warm thanks, brushing aside criticism for hosting a man being investigated by the US Justice Department.
"I want to thank you very much for all the investments you have made in the United States," Trump said during a joint appearance in the Cabinet Room, heralding a Boeing deal worth "20 billion dollars."
Trump also hailed Najib's "major role" in countering the Islamic State group and other jihadist groups. "He's been very very strong on terrorism in Malaysia and a great supporter from that standpoint. That's a very important thing for the United States," he said.
The run-up to Najib's visit had been dominated by questions about his entanglement in an ongoing US Justice Department investigation.
- US probe -
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak (L) meets with US President Donald Trump (R) and others in the White House Cabinet Room
The veteran prime minister faces allegations that billions were looted from a sovereign wealth fund, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), in complex overseas deals that are being investigated by authorities in several countries, including the United States.
Both the prime minister and the fund deny any wrongdoing, but the Justice Department has filed civil lawsuits to seize assets, from high-end real estate to artworks, it says are worth about $1.7 billion.
The White House had refused to say whether Trump would raise the issue, preferring to shift the focus onto relations with a key partner in South East Asia.
Although the White House insisted there was no snub, Najib's opponents are sure to see the cancellation of a joint public appearance in the Oval Office as a sign of unease.
"Look, we're not going to comment on an ongoing investigation being led by the Department of Justice," said press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Monday. "That investigation is apolitical and certainly independent of anything taking place tomorrow."
"The United States and Malaysia have had a 60-year relationship and partnership built on common economic and security interests, and that continues."
Trump is expected to visit the region later this year for summits in Vietnam and the Philippines.
Ahead of his arrival at the White House, Najib sought to play up majority-Muslim Malaysia's role as a partner in countering violent extremism.
He reiterated that message when the two leaders met face-to-face: "We are committed to fight Daesh, IS, Al-Qaeda, Abu Sayyaf -- you name it," he said.
"They are the enemy of the United States, they are also the enemy of Malaysia. We will do our part to make sure our part of the world is safe."
- Criticism of Najib -
Ahead of the visit, Malaysian opposition lawmaker Lim Kit Siang painted that security focus as a deflection.
"No prime minister of Malaysia in the past 60 years had to face such phalanx of international media hostility or avalanche of adverse press publicity both in the United States and the world," he said in a statement.
"It is inconceivable that Najib would have the credibility to salvage his own as well as the nations reputation with his visit to the United States."
"Najib cannot free Malaysia from the ignominy and infamy of being regarded worldwide as a global kleptocrat."
In an editorial, the Washington Post said Najib's visit "sets a new low" for the Trump administration.
"Not only is Mr Najib known for imprisoning peaceful opponents, silencing critical media and reversing Malaysia's progress toward democracy," the paper wrote.
"He also is a subject of the largest foreign kleptocracy investigation ever launched by the US Justice Department."
Trump faces his own Justice Department investigation into his presidential campaign's ties Russia and alleged efforts to obstruct justice. Trump has also denied any wrongdoing.
In July, the legislative committee of Dunn County approved a referendum question that is unprecedented in rural America. The question asked Congress and the U.S. president to nationalize health care.
Its chances of success looked good ahead of the Nov. 8 referendum. Results of this referendum could make waves in Wisconsin.
The attorneys general of California, Minnesota, Maryland and Maine filed a joint lawsuit at a federal court in northern California, following a similar decision by a coalition of 15 states as well as the District of Colombia last week
Four more US states announced Monday they are suing the Trump administration over its decision to rescind a program that deferred deportations of immigrants who arrived illegally as children.
The attorneys general of California, Maine, Maryland and Minnesota filed a joint lawsuit at a federal court in northern California, following a similar decision last week by a coalition of 15 states as well as the District of Colombia that houses the capital Washington.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said the program "has allowed more than 800,000 Dreamers, children brought to this country without documentation, to come out of the shadows and become successful and productive Americans."
President Donald Trump abrogated on Tuesday an order issued in 2012 by his predecessor Barack Obama that had granted the migrants temporary legal status as part of The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program (DACA).
Unless Congress passes an immigrant reform bill, the "dreamers" will in six months be forced to live in the shadows, or risk deportation.
"One in four of those DACA Dreamers know California as home, and it's no coincidence that our great state is the sixth largest economy in the world," Becerra said.
According to a study published in January by the Center for American Progress, ending DACA could cost California as much as $11.3 billion a year, more than any other state.
The complaint noted that the decision to end the program may lead to the administration reneging "on the promise it made to Dreamers and their employers that information they gave to the government for their participation in the program will not be used to deport them or prosecute their employers."
Using information provided by migrants in good faith risks violating the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution, which guarantees due process, it added.
The practice also ignores the government's legal obligations to analyze the effects of proposed changes to small businesses, "many of which are owned by, or employ, Dreamers," according to the complaint.
The decision was strongly criticized by Democrats but also some Republicans. Protests broke out across the country and thousands of people took part in a demonstration in Los Angeles on Sunday.
Citizen journalists have used cell phones and social media to document protests and abuses since Syria's uprising began in 2011, as well as jihadist atrocities in Raqa since 2014
They honed their media skills secretly filming Islamic State group beheadings in Raqa. Now, these Syrian activists have become impromptu war reporters, covering the US-backed assault on their city from the ground.
"If the crack is sharp and the column of smoke goes straight up, it's an air strike," Syrian activist Tim Ramadan tells AFP from Raqa, using a pseudonym and communicating through a Facebook profile that disguises his identity.
Every night, Ramadan discreetly turns on his internet satellite service, uploads his daily records from the battle-torn city to Europe-based colleagues at the "Sound and Picture" collective, then immediately deletes the messages.
Media networks including Sound and Picture are providing a rare window into life in Raqa, ravaged by fighting since the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces broke into the city on June 6.
They write stories on what it's like for civilians to scavenge for food and water, publish footage of air strikes, and commemorate civilians killed in fighting.
"This is the only thing I can do right now -- keep track of how many air strikes, shells, dead, wounded. Who was killed by a sniper, an air strike, or a mine. How many houses were destroyed," Ramadan says.
Activists like him once solely focused on documenting the gruesome atrocities of IS's three-year-reign over the city.
But the assault on Raqa changed all that.
"We used to be afraid of being arrested (by IS) if we went out in the street. Now we're afraid of going outside in case an artillery shell hits us. And if we don't go out, we're scared an air strike could flatten the whole house on top of us," says Ramadan.
US-led coalition warplanes and SDF shelling have pounded Raqa, where up to 25,000 civilians still live after tens of thousands escaped.
The SDF has captured around 65 percent of Raqa, recently overrunning the strategic Old City.
"When the coalition and the SDF entered the scene, we had to document more. Daesh wasn't the only side killing civilians anymore," Ramadan says, using the Arabic acronym for IS.
- 'Human shields' -
Since Syria's uprising began in 2011, citizen journalists have used cell phones and social media to document protests and violations by armed forces.
A picture taken on September 5, 2017 shows smoke billowing out following a coalition air strike in the western al-Daraiya neighbourhood of the embattled northern Syrian city of Raqa
They adapted the same tools to document IS atrocities after it captured Raqa in 2014, with groups like Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently publishing footage of beheadings and jihadist patrols.
When coalition air strikes on Raqa began in 2014, the city's activists started to document those too.
But the activists say the real change in their work came when the SDF entered the city, prompting clashes that brought rampant power cuts and made moving around much more difficult.
"IS has actually lifted some of its restrictions on people because it's busy with clashes," says 21-year-old Mazen Hassoun, who manages news outlet Raqqa Post from Germany.
"But communicating with our team is harder now than before, especially after the internet cafes were shut and fighting reached the city itself," he says.
Like other activists, Raqqa Post's team stockpiled food, water, and medicine and turned basements into makeshift bomb shelters in anticipation of a long fight, says Hassoun.
Mohammad al-Khaled, who heads the Raqqa24 media collective from northern Syria, warned his correspondents that he had seen how brutally IS responded to other US-backed assaults.
"I told them Daesh would be more evil towards civilians, that they would use them and their families as human shields if they stayed," Khaled tells AFP, adding that some chose to flee.
- IS leaves, but ideas stay -
In recent months, Khaled has begun using new messaging programmes and code words to protect his correspondents.
Two members of the network's six-person team have been wounded in clashes, but correspondent Khalil still refuses to leave.
"My specialisation with the network is documenting casualties because of my background in medicine. I record the number and cause of deaths," Khalil says, using a pseudonym and communicating via an online messaging app.
A displaced woman who fled the Islamic State group's Syrian stronghold of Raqa hangs laundry at a shrapnel riddled abandoned building in the town of Tabqa
"If I was to leave at a time like this, it would be a betrayal of my countrymen, whom I've decided to stay with in this situation."
Aghiad al-Kheder, who coordinates with Ramadan and other Sound and Picture correspondents from Germany, spent a year living under IS in Raqa before escaping in 2015.
At the time, he graffitied anti-IS messages and distributed flyers to combat the jihadists' extreme ideology.
These campaigns halted when fighting reached Raqa, but they will be essential after IS is ousted from the city, according to Kheder.
"Every person, regardless of gender or age, has seen so many executions that it became normal. Children were taught a curriculum set by Daesh. The men were exposed to toxic thoughts every day," he tells AFP.
"This is why rebuilding society and erasing the impact of Daesh is our most important job. Daesh will leave one day, but the ideas that they planted during their stay could remain."
A downed tree blocks the roadway after falling from Hurricane Irma winds in Coconut Grove, Florida
Hurricane Irma was supposed to be a monster storm, immense and record-breaking in size as it charged toward Florida packing a punch that could lay waste to a state that is home to some 20 million people.
But as the sun rose Monday, floodwaters in Florida quickly receded, and torn off roofs, tree-damaged homes and toppled boats were limited to isolated pockets of the state.
Hurricane Irma is blamed for killing at least 40 people across the Caribbean. Just two deaths in Florida were reported by state officials Monday.
"I didn't see the damage I thought I would see," Florida Governor Rick Scott said after an aerial tour of the island chain of the Keys, which were hit by the Category Four storm early Saturday.
One of the most alarming warnings had to do with storm surge -- a wall of water that rushes over land during a hurricane and often kills far more people than the wind.
In the end, the surge was "not as bad as we thought," Scott added.
Part of the reason Florida escaped the worst had to do with the path of the storm, meteorologists said.
Hurricane Irma razed the northern coast of Cuba as a potent Category Five storm on its way toward Florida, losing some of its strength in the process.
Its westward shift, away from Miami, also spared the coastal tourist haven from the storm's fearsome right-front quadrant, with the highest winds and surge potential.
"The storm surge flooding in Miami is a mere fraction of what would have happened if the core of the storm had been further east," tweeted Rick Knabb, former director of the National Hurricane Center and currently an expert on the Weather Channel.
- Orderly exit -
People clean up debris in the street in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Miami
With weather forecasters warning of the impact to Florida a full week in advance, many people took time to shutter their windows and take to highways in search of safer ground.
Five and six days out, Irma looked set to charge up the east coast of Florida. In the last day or two, suddenly the Gulf Coast was bracing for the worst.
This uncertainty was unsurprising from a meteorological standpoint, said Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness and professor at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
"We are way better than we used to be but we are nowhere near where we could be," he told AFP.
Despite fuel shortages and traffic bottlenecks, Florida somehow managed to evacuate six million people from the vulnerable coasts -- a far larger exodus than any other storm in recent memory.
"The evacuation went more smoothly than I thought it was going to go," Redlener added.
While plenty of Floridians chose to shelter in place, the evacuations likely saved lives and kept first responders out of harm's way.
Dennis Jones, chief of Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, which includes the city of Tampa, said he was "thankful" for those who left dangerous areas, noting that 260 people had called 911 in the thick of the storm, when emergency crews could not respond.
All those calls were resolved without incident by early Monday, he said.
- The worst to come? -
But plenty of challenges remain, and the large scale of the disaster zone presents its own problems.
"The real test is going to be in the ability to recover effectively," said Redlener.
Some 5.6 million customers -- or about 15 million people -- are without power, and officials warn it could be weeks before the electricity is fully restored.
"We are worried about flooding, housing, debris and power restoration," Homeland Security Advisor Tom Bossert told a White House press briefing.
"We haven't assessed yet entirely what the damage is... Remember, it's a peninsula, it is a wider-scale problem and it has been a larger-swath storm."
With water lines and sewers damaged in the Keys, debris to clear and power infrastructure to rebuild, Miami Mayor Carlos Gimenez cautioned that the road to normalcy could be rocky.
"We now go through the much longer phase, which is the recovery phase. And believe me, folks, some of this is going to take a while, especially power restoration," he said.
"But you know what? Inconvenience is a great thing versus having your home destroyed and your life significantly altered."
More than 300,000 Rohingya have poured into Bangladesh since the latest flare-up in violence on August 25
Thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees who fled violence in Myanmar in search of refuge could be forced to make their new homes on a barren Bangladeshi island that floods every year.
The Bangladesh government has appealed for international support to move the Rohingya to the island as the impoverished country confronts a growing crisis over where to house an influx that has mounted following a military crackdown in Buddhist-dominated Myanmar's Rakhine state.
More than 300,000 Rohingya have poured into Bangladesh since the latest flare-up in violence on August 25, adding to around 300,000 refugees already living in overflowing UN-run camps in Cox's Bazar district, close to the border with Myanmar.
The surge has overwhelmed the Bangladesh authorities, who are scrambling to find land to build more camps, including on the inhospitable and uninhabited Thengar Char island -- recently renamed Bhashan Char -- despite reluctance on the part of Rohingya leaders and UN officials.
Bhashan Char, located in the estuary of the Meghna river, is a one-hour boat ride from Sandwip, the nearest inhabited island, and two hours from Hatiya, one of Bangladesh's largest islands.
The authorities first proposed settling Rohingya refugees there in 2015, as the camps in Cox's Bazar became overstretched with new arrivals.
But the plan was apparently shelved last year amid reports that the silt island, which only emerged from the sea in 2006, was unhabitable due to regular tidal flooding.
The government is trying to find more space for the Rohingya, including establishing a new 2,000-acre (800-hectare) camp near Cox's Bazar, close to the Myanmar border, which will house around 250,000 Rohingya.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was to visit the construction site on Tuesday.
As the exodus swells however, there are fears that may not be enough to accommodate all those in need of shelter.
The newcomers have added to around 300,000 refugees already living in overflowing UN-run camps in Cox's Bazar district, close to the border with Myanmar
As a result, the Bangladesh government is speeding up work at Bhashan Char with a view to building a 10,000-acre facility that can house hundreds of thousands of Rohingya.
But they face huge challenges.
- 'Complex and controversial' -
A police official in the region told AFP that the island, which is used sporadically by fishermen and farmers seeking to graze their animals, was susceptible to tidal flooding once or twice a year.
"I think the island needs... massive infrastructure before it gets habitable," the official said.
Bangladesh authorities first proposed settling Rohingya refugees on the inhospitable and uninhabited Thengar Char island -- recently renamed Bhasan Char -- in 2015
The presence of the Bangladesh Navy, which is involved in developing the island, has deterred pirates who used to operate in the seas around Bhashan Char.
"The Navy has... already set up two helipads and are now building roads and a shed for their use", said Mahbub Alam Talkukder, a government administrator based in the region.
Bangladesh Foreign Minister A.H Mahmood Ali on Sunday appealed for international assistance to help transport the Rohingya to Bhashan Char during a meeting with diplomats and UN officials.
But Rohingya leaders remain opposed to the move, while a UN agency official warned that any attempt at a forced relocation would be "very complex and controversial".
The Rohingya, a stateless Muslim minority, have faced decades of persecution in Myanmar where they are regarded as illegal immigrants, despite having lived there for generations.
Exhausted refugees in Cox's Bazar told AFP they did not want to move yet again.
"I fled my village in Rakhine to escape murder at the hands of the Burmese," said Ayubur Rahman, a 26-year-old who fled Rakhine before the latest violence erupted.
"I don't want to go to the island," he told AFP.
"I would rather stay here."
Q&A session takes place for Netflix's 'Stranger Things' at the Directors Guild in Los Angeles, California, on August 17, 2017
From sci-fi horror series "Stranger Things" to drama "Big Little Lies" and sitcom "black-ish," one notable feature of many contenders for this weekend's Emmy Awards is that they star children.
Unlike the elaborate riders sometimes specified by their adult counterparts, these pint-sized thespians have more mundane requirements -- time for homework, regular breaks and the odd afternoon nap.
"They are not trained actors like adults, but the kids that get the roles have an inherent ability," said casting director Amanda Lenker Doyle, who worked on "black-ish."
"They have the charisma, the willingness to dive into a role. They listen well... They're very smart."
Child actors sometimes arrive at auditions better prepared than adults and with scripts memorized from top to bottom, despite not yet being able to read.
While the maxim "never work with children or animals" is clearly not worth heeding, there are of course challenges to hiring youngsters for TV or film.
"With children I'm dealing with the family dynamics, the family politics. It's a lot about the parents," talent manager Jason MacRay told AFP.
MacRay says he will turn a young actor away -- even a kid with clear talent -- if the parents don't give off the right vibe.
"I can just tell it'll be a disaster dealing with mum or dad or both, particularly if they don't agree," he said.
- Complex emotions -
Actors Miles Brown (L) and Marsai Martin attend a 'Black-ish' event at the Television Academy in North Hollywood, California, in April 2017
Another challenge in working with actors who are far from fully mentally developed is getting them to access and express the full range of emotions that they might not yet have experienced in real life.
A successful series director who asked to remain anonymous remembers having filmed with a boy for the role of "a six-year-old who has lost his mother and is living with a father who can't come to terms with his wife's death."
"Pretty heavy stuff, and I was very worried about how I would get across to this boy all of the complex emotional turns that were needed from him," the director said.
"One day I saw that he was playing with Pokemon cards on set and so I sat down and had him explain who all the characters were. There were a lot of them but by the time he was finished, we were friends... It helped both of us."
Children are limited in their contracts to about nine hours a day on set, but it's invariably an intense day.
They can be required to start at dawn and, on top of all the usual pressures of acting, they have to find time to squeeze in three hours a day for schooling.
"There's millions of dollars involved -- each minute on the set costs thousands of dollars -- then you ask a 10-year-old to behave professionally and be at the level of Tom Cruise," said MacRay.
The manager said he considers 12 auditions or more a month "too much" for his young clients.
- Regrets -
Child actors have to learn to keep their feet on the ground amid the sudden glare of the media spotlight and previously unimaginable wages, which isn't easy if they have pushy parents trying to live vicariously through their newly famous offspring.
For every Leonardo DiCaprio or Natalie Portman who transitions successfully from child star to adult actor, there is a Lindsay Lohan or Macaulay Culkin, who cracks under the pressure or just falls by the wayside.
"It's about the parents, managers et cetera being in tune... they need grounding in the family. The teens I work with are very reasonable," said MacRay.
Edouard Holdener, a 13-year-old French actor living in Los Angeles, has always dreamed of being an actor and is being educated by correspondence course to free up more time to dedicate to his passion.
He has already begun chalking up his first feature films, including a leading role in independent picture "Hunky Dory" (2016) and has just shot a series for Amazon with Jean-Claude Van Damme, due to come out in the fall.
"I love preparing for auditions, immersing myself in the script and learning my lines, but it's hard when you don't get picked for a role. You cannot help being angry with yourself," he told AFP.
Among his biggest regrets is getting to the third round of auditions before missing out on Netflix's "Stranger Things" -- which is up for five Emmy Awards, including for its 13-year-old star Millie Bobby Brown, at Sunday's ceremony in Los Angeles.
"I'm still sad when I see the posters," he said wistfully.
New laws to be introduced in Australia's parliament this week will impose harsher fines on internet service providers if they do not report abusive material to police and increase jail terms for paedophilia crimes
New offences and tougher penalties targeting live-streamed child abuse and online grooming were announced in Australia Tuesday in a bid to crack down on the growing role of technology in paedophilia.
The new laws, to be introduced in parliament this week, will also impose harsher fines on internet service providers if they do not report abusive material to police and increase jail terms for paedophilia crimes.
"This represents the strongest crackdown on paedophiles in a generation," Justice Minister Michael Keenan told reporters in Canberra, without releasing details of the higher penalties and new offences.
"Specifically, these reforms are intended to criminalise emerging forms of child sexual abuse."
The Herald Sun reported that internet providers and sites that host content such as Facebook would see potential fines jump from Aus$21,000 (US$16,800) to Aus$168,000.
Keenan expressed frustration at the "manifestly inadequate" levels of current jail terms for those convicted of paedophilia crimes, saying the new legislation would also include mandatory minimum sentences "for the worst and repeat offenders".
"Since 2012, only 58 percent of convicted Commonwealth child sex offenders have spent time in prison," Keenan said, adding that the common period of time behind bars was just six months.
"This represents a staggering and unacceptable number of offenders who are released into the community without them being monitored, posing an unacceptable risk to our children."
The announcement came months after Canberra introduced tough new laws hailed as a "world first" to cancel the passports of convicted paedophiles, preventing them from travelling overseas.
The Australian Institute of Criminology said in January there was limited data on the extent of online child sexual exploitation.
But the government body said a 2014-15 report by the Office of the Children's eSafety Commissioner pointed to the scale of the issue, with more than 5,000 investigations completed into child abuse material for that year.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has begun the first visit by an Israeli premier to Argentina
Benjamin Netanyahu urged all countries to fight terrorism and singled out Iran as a serial offender as he paid tribute to the victims of two bombings in Argentina on the first trip by an Israeli premier to Latin America.
Surrounded by heavy security, Netanyahu held a closed-door meeting with members of Argentina's Jewish community, estimated to be Latin America's most numerous with 300,000 members.
He also participated in a ceremony to remember victims of bomb attacks at the Israeli embassy in 1992, and at a Jewish community center in 1994.
The embassy attack killed 29 and injured 220, while the community center blast left 85 dead and 300 injured.
Israel blamed the embassy attack on the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah. Argentine investigators accused five former Iranian officials of sponsoring Hezbollah's attack on the community center but Iran denied involvement.
"Iran is the one that was behind of the great attacks in Buenos Aires in the 90s and is the 'octopus of terror,' and also Hezbollah that is sending branches (of terror) around the world, arms to Latin America as well," Netanyahu said, according to a transcript provided by the Israeli embassy.
The Israeli leader, who arrived on Monday, said it is "an obligation for all countries of culture to fight against terrorism ... and in particular, against the Iranian terrorism system."
Israel "will continue to act resolutely to countering Iran's terror and terror in general" along with its partners in Latin America and in North America, he said.
- Netanyahu's critics -
DAIA, an umbrella organization for the country's Jewish community, welcomed the visit and said it represented a "rapprochement between Argentina and Israel."
But some relatives of victims of the 1994 bombing refused an invitation to the Netanyahu event.
"Netanyahu did not come to commemorate the attack, but to increase business," said Diana Malamud, who heads a group called Active Memory.
"In these 23 years (since the bombing) Israel has been an observer, like any other country," and did not honestly help "search for the truth" behind the attack, she said.
Argentina's 1980 Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel was also critical.
"Not only is he himself accused of committing crimes against humanity in the International Criminal Court for killing civilians, bombing schools, hospitals and Palestinian mosques, but he provides protection to a repressor of the last Argentine dictatorship," Perez Esquivel said.
Esquivel was referring to Israel's refusal to extradite Teodoro Anibal Gauto, accused of committing crimes against humanity during Argentina's 1976-1983 military dictatorship.
- Protests planned -
Pro-Palestinian and left-wing demonstrators plan to protest on Tuesday, when the Israeli premier meets Argentine President Mauricio Macri and Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes.
Israel is looking to expand its commercial ties with new regions and is seeking allies likely to vote in its favor at UN bodies, where it is regularly condemned over the occupation of Palestinian territories.
"There is a good opportunity to increase investment and trade," a senior official in the Argentine foreign ministry said.
Argentina will also make a statement regarding the transfer of some 140,000 World War II documents and photos to allow for further research on the Holocaust.
Following the two-day trip, Netanyahu will visit Colombia and Mexico before heading to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
burs/ia-ch/ach
North Korea has shrugged off numerous sets of sanctions aimed at crimping its nuclear and missile programmes, and this month unveiled what it said was a working hydrogen bomb
The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted new sanctions on North Korea, including restrictions on oil shipments, to punish Pyongyang for its sixth and largest nuclear test.
But Washington toned down its initial proposals to secure backing from China and Russia.
Here are some key questions on UNSC resolution 2375, and its attempt to end the North's nuclear weapons and missile programmes.
What impact will the oil measures have?
The new resolution ends natural gas shipments to North Korea, caps crude oil shipments at their current levels, and puts a ceiling on refined oil products such as petrol and diesel.
North Korea has little oil of its own, relying on imports to keep its citizens and soldiers moving.
The US initially sought an oil embargo, which China -- North Korea's sole ally and main trading partner -- strongly opposed.
Instead the resolution limits crude oil shipments from any country to the amount sent to the North in the last 12 months.
North Korea refined oil imports
Beijing does not publish statistics for crude oil shipments to the North, shrouding the issue in secrecy, but is believed to supply around 4 million barrels a year.
The resolution also limits the North to importing 2 million barrels a year of refined oil products -- representing a 15 percent cut based on UN-WTO International Trade Centre estimates, although some analysts put the effect as high as 56 percent.
"It's a red light for the growth of the North Korean economy," said Cheong Seong-Chang of Seoul's Sejong Institute, "but will not have huge impact on North Korea's military because the crude oil supply remains the same".
Crucially, the resolution includes an exemption for "livelihood purposes" -- similar to clauses in past resolutions that have been used as loopholes.
Kim Hyun-Wook, professor at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, warned there are "no means to check how much crude oil is delivered through the pipeline" between China and North Korea.
Koo Kab-Woo of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul said the measures carried symbolic value as the "first US attempt at touching North Korea's economic lifeline".
How significant is the textiles ban?
The resolution bans the import and export of textiles -- both fabric and clothing -- by the North.
Textiles are one of North Korea's major exports, estimated by Rajiv Biswas of IHS Markit to value $750 million.
Textiles are one of North Korea's major exports, estimated to be worth around $750 million a year
Analysts say the move could cut off a major source of foreign currency for Pyongyang.
China supplies materials to the North, where they are made into clothing in factories using cheap labour, and re-exported to China.
Most go to China and Russia, so the effects will depend on enforcement by Beijing and Moscow, said Koo.
"It all depends on China and Russia's willingness."
A UN report published at the weekend said Pyongyang collected at least $270 million over a six month-period this year by exporting "almost all of the commodities prohibited" by existing sanctions.
What about overseas workers?
The resolution bars countries from issuing new permits to the roughly 93,000 North Korean labourers working abroad.
Their toil, mainly at construction sites in Middle Eastern countries as well as Russia and China, earns revenue for Pyongyang.
There is an exemption for existing contracts. Analysts are sceptical about any immediate effects of the ban, but say it could increase pressure on Pyongyang over time.
Will cargo inspections increase?
Under the measure, countries are authorised to inspect ships suspected of carrying banned North Korean cargo -- but must first seek the consent of the vessel's flag state, limiting the impact.
North Korea's exported labour
Washington had sought authorisation for searches by force, which Koo said China and Russia "strongly opposed".
North Korea is suspected of engaging in arms trade with countries in Africa and the Middle East.
The UN report said it was investigating "chemical, ballistic missile and conventional arms cooperation" between North Korea and Syria.
UN member states had interdicted shipments destined for Syria believed to be from the North's state-owned arms dealer, the Korea Mining and Development Trading Corporation (KOMID), it said.
Will the sanctions curb Pyongyang's ambitions?
Analysts say the sanctions were significantly watered down from the initial draft proposal to get China and Russia on board and are sceptical about whether they will curb Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.
North Korea is already under multiple UN sanctions but has still made rapid progress in its nuclear and missile programmes.
North Korea is already under multiple UN sanctions but has still made rapid progress in its nuclear and missile programmes
"It is not enough to cause pain," said Go Myong-Hyun at the Asan Institute of Policy Studies.
Instead, said Koh of Dongguk University, the new sanctions will drive Pyongyang to accelerate its programmes.
"North Korea will try to become a nuclear state as quickly as possible to negotiate with the US as an equal before the effect of the sanctions fully kicks in," he said.
Pyongyang habitually attributes UN measures to the "hostile" US, which it blames for the body's actions.
And Kim Hyun-Wook of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, predicted: "The sanctions will only provide North Korea with an excuse for further provocations, such as an ICBM launch."
Experts suspect North Korean hackers of trying to steal bitcoins and other virtual currencies
North Korea is suspected of intensifying cyber-attacks to steal virtual currency in order to obtain funds and avert tightening sanctions, according to security experts.
North Korean hackers have mounted attacks on at least three South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges since May, security researcher FireEye said in a report Monday.
The attacks include an apparently successful one when four wallets at Seoul-based exchange Yapizon were compromised.
Local news reports said that in May Yapizon had more than 3,800 bitcoins worth $15 million stolen -- although FireEye said there were no clear indications of North Korean involvement in that case.
South Korea's opposition Bareun Party lawmaker Ha Tae-Kyung, who has followed North Korean hacking attempts, said it had apparently stolen more than 90 billion won ($80 million) from South Korea through hacking attacks in the four years to June, including cyber-attacks on ATMs.
"North Korea has set its sights on the so-called next generation financial markets, including virtual currencies, pin-tech and blockchains," he told journalists last week.
"Alongside the UN-imposed sanctions, international cooperation is also required to curb the North's cyber-hacking which can be used to finance its nuclear and missile programmes", he said.
South Korea has become one of the world's busiest trading hubs for cryptocurrencies, with Seoul-based Bithumb ranking as the world's largest exchange for the ethereum virtual currency.
In June Bithumb was hit by cyber attacks, possibly linked to the North, in which information about 30,000 customers was leaked.
Some 160 customers are preparing a class action suit against Bithumb, claiming they lost around $10 million in total.
North Korean actors used "spearphishing" attacks targeting the personal email accounts of employees at digital currency exchanges, FireEye said in its report published Monday.
They frequently use tax-themed lures and deployed malware and variants linked to the North Koreans who are suspected of being behind intrusions into global banks in 2016, FireEye said.
"It should be no surprise that cryptocurencies, as an emerging asset class, are becoming a target of interest by a regime that operates in many ways like a criminal enterprise", it said.
Demonstrators in Hong Kong gather to protest the visit of US President Donald Trump's former top strategist Steve Bannon
Activists gathered in central Hong Kong Tuesday to protest the visit of US President Donald Trump's former top strategist Steve Bannon, chanting "Nazis are not welcome here!" as they donned cartoon Trump masks.
The protesters stood outside the harbourfront Grand Hyatt hotel in Hong Kong where the 63-year-old was due to speak at a closed-door investors' forum, holding a rooster-shaped cardboard cut-out capped with Trump's hairstyle and labelled "toxic nationalist".
Media were denied access to Bannon's speech, hosted by CLSA, a Hong Kong-based brokerage firm owned by China's CITIC Securities, China's biggest investment bank.
Another banner bearing the faces of Bannon and China's President Xi Jinping denounced racism and nationalism, with protesters accusing both of using divisive populist agendas to boost political support.
A pugnacious defender of populist and nationalist policies, Bannon was ousted from office last month as the White House was left reeling over the president's response to a violent white supremacist rally.
He also championed trade protectionism and was seen as the driving force behind Trump's isolationist and anti-immigrant agenda.
"Racism and bigotry have no borders. We are here in solidarity with global citizens as well as US citizens to condemn Donald Trump's administration and Steve Bannon's actions," said activist Avery Ng of the Hong Kong pro-democracy party League of Social Democrats.
Sally Tang of political organisation Socialist Action questioned the sincerity of Bannon's populist agenda.
Hong Kong protesters chanted "Nazis are not welcome here!" as Steve Bannon -- US President Donald Trump's former top strategist -- prepared to speak at a closed-door investors' forum in the city
"Bannon is inside with a lot of super-rich billionaires," she said.
"The Chinese government and the US government are both using nationalism and (propaganda) to raise support inside their own countries," Tang added.
Since being ousted from office Bannon has returned to the ultra-conservative news outlet Breitbart, which he headed before joining Trump's team.
He has previously worked in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
US ambassador William Heidt speaks during a press conference at the embassy in Phnom Penh
The American ambassador to Cambodia on Tuesday rejected allegations by strongman premier Hun Sen that the US was involved in plotting to overthrow the government, calling the claims a "red herring".
The accusations followed the arrest of leading opposition politician Kem Sokha, who was charged last week with treason and espionage in a "secret plan" with foreigners.
Hun Sen publicly accused the US of involvement in the plot, citing a 2013 speech in which Kem Sokha said he had received American help to build a pro-democracy movement inside Cambodia.
The finger-pointing comes as Hun Sen dramatically escalates his rhetorical attacks on the US -- an ally whose foreign aid has become less vital as Cambodia edges closer to China.
"On dozens of occasions over the past year, the United States has been subject to intentionally inaccurate, misleading and baseless accusations," ambassador William Heidt said in a withering statement.
Tall tales about US plots with Kem Sokha "have completely, and intentionally, mischaracterised what the United States is doing in Cambodia," he added, calling them "classic red herrings".
"Honestly, the whole thing is just absurd," he added in unusually frank remarks.
Over the past week the embassy's social media accounts have been publishing images of a red fish, along with the hashtag #RedHerringsKH, beneath posts about US aid projects in the kingdom.
The ambassador called for Kem Sokha's immediate release and said his arrest had imperilled Cambodia's fragile democracy.
Washington and Phnom Penh have a complex history.
The US pummelled the country with bombs during the Vietnam War and then became one of its biggest donors as the kingdom rebuilt from the ashes of the brutal Khmer Rouge era of 1975-79.
But its influence has waned significantly as China muscles into Southeast Asia, enticing authoritarian leaders like Hun Sen with aid and investment free of pressure to safeguard human rights.
Kem Sokha's dramatic arrest was only the latest blow to his Cambodian National Rescue Party, the only party offering a viable alternative to Hun Sen in next year's election.
After almost losing to the opposition party in 2013, Hun Sen's government has moved systematically to silence his opponents in politics, the media and rights groups.
The self-described strongman has ruled Cambodia for 32 years and vowed last week to stay on for another ten.
Iraqi troops hold a captured Islamic State group flag beside the ruins of the Al-Nuri Mosque on June 30, 2017 as victory over the jihadists in Mosul neared
An Iraqi court on Tuesday sentenced to death by hanging a Russian man captured in Mosul after finding him guilty of fighting for the Islamic State group, in the first ruling of its kind.
"It is the first time that an Iraqi court sentences to death, by hanging, a Russian jihadist," a judicial source said.
The Central Criminal Court which issued the ruling said the 28-year-old man, who was not named, had admitted to carrying out attacks against the security forces since 2015.
"He belonged to the Zarqawi Brigade, one of the armed wings of the terrorist IS group," said judge Abdel Sattar Bayraqdar.
Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi led Iraq's main jihadist organisation until his death in a US air strike in 2006.
Iraqi forces detained hundreds of suspected jihadists during the nine-month operation to recapture Mosul, Iraq's second city, which culminated in July. Many more were killed.
They included foreign fighters from a string of Arab and other countries, including Russia, which has faced insurgencies by Chechens and other Muslim groups in the North Caucasus.
Joint Operations Command spokesman General Yahya Rasool said the Russian was "the first (jihadist) to surrender" to Iraqi forces in west Mosul, scene of the most ferocious battles.
The Russian was handed over to Iraqi intelligence and then to judicial authorities, said Rasool.
During his interrogation, the Russian said he had studied engineering and discovered Islam in Moscow, where Uzbek construction workers introduced him to the religion.
After obtaining his degree in 2014, the Russia said he travelled to Turkey with the intention of entering Syria to join IS.
According to his testimony, he pledged allegiance to the jihadist group in Mosul, trained for a month and took the name Abu Yasmina al-Russi.
The Russian said he was wounded during compact in Iraq -- in Baiji and in Fallujah -- before his capture in Mosul.
Iraqi authorities have never provided a tally for the number of jihadists who have been arrested in the offensive to drive IS out of the country.
But Iraqi and Kurdish peshmerga commanders have said that hundreds of jihadists have surrendered since the group swept across Iraq in 2014 seizing swathes of territory.
The Saudi-led coalition entered Yemen's war in 2015 in support of the government against the Iran-backed rebels, who are in a fragile alliance with troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh
A series of Saudi-led coalition air strikes which killed 26 children in Yemen in June amount to war crimes, Human Rights Watch said on Monday.
"The attacks, which struck four family homes and a grocery, in one case killing 14 members of the same family, caused indiscriminate loss of civilian life in violation of the laws of war. Such attacks carried out deliberately or recklessly are war crimes," the New York-based HRW said.
Saudi Arabia leads an Arab military coalition that intervened in Yemen in 2015 to support the government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi after Iran-backed Huthi rebels forced him into exile.
HRW is urging the United Nations Human Rights Council, which is currently in session, to return the coalition to its yearly "list of shame" for violations against children in war.
The UN blacklisted the coalition after concluding in a report released one year ago that it had been responsible for the majority of children's deaths in Yemen.
But in an embarrassing climbdown, the world body then announced that the coalition would be removed from the list.
The then UN chief Ban Ki-moon admitted at the time that the decision was influenced by threats from Saudi Arabia and its allies to cut off funding to UN aid programmes.
Saudi Arabia holds a seat on the 47-member Human Rights Council, re-elected in October last year in a vote sharply criticised by rights groups.
An Iraqi prints Kurdish flags in the regional capital Arbil ahead of an independence referendum planned for September 25, 2017
The Iraqi parliament voted on Tuesday to oppose an independence referendum planned by Iraqi Kurdish leaders for later this month prompting a walkout by Kurdish lawmakers.
Speaker Salim al-Juburi, a Sunni Arab, said the vote required the government to "take all steps to protect the unity of Iraq and open a serious dialogue" with Iraqi Kurdish leaders.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and other top officials have said repeatedly that the referendum planned for September 25 would violate Iraq's constitution.
Kurdish leaders plan to hold the plebiscite not only in the three northern provinces where they have long enjoyed autonomy but also in other historically Kurdish-majority areas of Iraq that Kurdish forces captured during the battle against the Islamic State group.
Tuesday's vote in the federal parliament was held after 80 lawmakers asked for the issue to be added to the day's agenda.
The planned referendum is non-binding but has been criticised by Iraq's Western allies as a distraction from the war against IS.
It has drawn stronger opposition from powerful neighbours Iran and Turkey who fear that it will stoke separatist sentiment among their own large Kurish minorities.
An image grab created on August 16, 2016 from footage released by the Russian defence ministry reportedly shows a Russian Tupolev Tu-22M3 conducting an air strike
Separate Russian and US-led coalition air strikes on Tuesday killed 35 civilians in Syria's eastern Deir Ezzor province, where parallel offensives against the Islamic State group are under way, a monitor said.
The province lies along Syria's border with Iraq and is seen as a strategic prize by both the Russian-backed Syrian regime and an alliance of Kurdish and Arab forces supported by the US-led coalition fighting IS.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, had earlier reported a toll of 28 dead in Russian and US-led strikes, but raised the figure after new Russian raids on the village of Hawayej Thiab in the west of the province.
Earlier, the monitor reported Russian air strikes hit a cluster of tents on the western banks of the Euphrates river, killing "16 civilians including five children," according to the Observatory's director Rami Abdel Rahman.
He said civilians had set up the camp on the edge of the Zaghir Shamiyah village after fleeing their homes in fear of clashes.
Syrian government troops are fighting to the west of the Euphrates River that slices diagonally across Deir Ezzor province, in an assault backed by Moscow.
Separately, the Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-Arab alliance backed by the US-led coalition, is battling IS east of the river.
The Observatory said deadly US-led coalition raids in support of that operation hit the village of Al-Shahabat earlier Tuesday, killing 12 members of a single family including five children.
IS-held Al-Shahabat lies on the eastern side of the Euphrates, around seven kilometres (four miles) from the river.
The strikes follow three days of suspected Russian raids in Deir Ezzor province that have killed dozens of civilians, according to the Observatory.
A man prepares food for Rohingya refugees in the Bangladeshi city of Teknaf
Sajeed Hassan is spending his school holidays volunteering in a kitchen that provides hot meals to Rohingya refugees, joining an army of ordinary Bangladeshis pitching in as aid agencies struggle to cope with an overwhelming tide of desperate civilians.
Some 370,000 refugees have flooded into Bangladesh in the last two and a half weeks fleeing violence in Myanmar, a Buddhist-majority country where the Muslim Rohingya minority has suffered decades of persecution.
Aid agencies have warned of an unfolding humanitarian crisis in predominantly Muslim Bangladesh, an impoverished nation of 160 million which is still reeling from devastating floods.
But ordinary citizens have turned out in droves to help their "Muslim brothers".
At the makeshift kitchen in his uncle's front yard near the border town of Teknaf, Hassan works alongside about a dozen volunteers packaging hot meals of rice and lentils, stirring bubbling cauldrons of meat stew over open fires.
"They are Muslims, and they are coming from another country, that's why we are helping," Hassan, 12, told AFP.
"They have come from far away, and they are suffering."
The Rohingya have centuries-old ties to the Chittagong region over the border in Bangladesh, and images on social media purportedly showing abuses against the Muslim minority have stoked immense sympathy here.
Ordinary Bangladeshi citizens have turned out in droves to volunteer in a kitchen that provides hot meals to Rohingya refugees
"Sometimes they come to my restaurant, eat, and then let us know they don't have any money," said Abdul Khalek at his simple roadside stall with a tarpaulin roof and mud floor.
"But I don't mind. It is a duty from a Muslim brother to another to help in distress."
Bangladesh already hosted at least 300,000 Rohingya refugees in squalid camps along its border with Myanmar before this latest influx, offering sanctuary for more than three decades to civilians fleeing violence and persecution in neighbouring Rakhine State.
But this fresh wave is unprecedented in its magnitude, pushing conditions at the camps to the absolute limit.
Charities are warning of an unfolding humanitarian crisis as Bangladesh pushes for a diplomatic solution to close the floodgates.
- Prices soaring -
At the congested market near Kutupalong refugee camp, where children bang on the windows of passing cars pleading for food, Bangladeshis are helping out with whatever meagre resources they have.
Some of these freelance relief efforts are shambolic, with tremendous crushes and children knocked down as donated supplies are tossed from moving trucks.
Rohingya refugees from Myanmar's Rakhine state wait for aid in the Bangladeshi town of Teknaf
As the crisis enters its third week, patience is also running thin among some Bangladeshis living near the border, where many earn little.
Prices for food and other staples have soared in local markets, which have become choked with chronic traffic and large numbers of beggars.
Kuilla Mia, a tea seller working a street corner amid a chaotic swirl of refugees, said he had nothing to spare.
"I would like to give them a discount, but I cannot because the price of sugar is high," he told AFP.
Bangladesh -- which initially ordered border guards to turn back newcomers before the effort became futile -- has been praised for taking on the burden despite its own pressing challenges as one of the region's poorest countries.
The plight of the Rohingya, who are reviled and denied citizenship in Myanmar, has particularly roused emotion across the Islamic world.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina toured Kutupalong, one of the biggest camps, where she was seen consoling a young Rohingya boy.
"I can't hold back the tears in eyes as I look at this scene... Why should people suffer such pain?" she said, according to private news portal bdnews24.com.
Bangladeshi authorities have said they will register all new arrivals, setting up booths in the camps to collect fingerprints and family information.
Rohingya Muslim refugees arrive from Myanmar after crossing the Naf river in the Bangladeshi town of Teknaf
Hasina wants the Rohingya returned to what she has labelled their "ancestral homeland" in Myanmar.
"Myanmar has created the problem and it will have to resolve it," she told parliament on Monday.
Dhaka has pointed to a deal with Yangon in 1992 that saw more than 236,000 Rohingya repatriated as "members of Myanmar society".
Mohammad Hussain, a lentil vendor, said he was giving away what he could, but Bangladeshis alone could not be expected to care for all the refugees.
"If aid doesn't arrive from abroad, then these people will be in serious danger," he told AFP.
But for young Hassan, the experience has been moving
"I feel great helping them, and I want to do more," he said.
Former speaker of Singapore's parliament Halimah Yacob is expected to be formally nominated to the presidency Wednesday
Singaporeans Tuesday poured scorn on the process to select their new president after an establishment figure was deemed the only eligible candidate, meaning no election will be held.
Halimah Yacob, a former speaker of parliament from the city-state's Muslim Malay minority, will be the first woman to hold the largely ceremonial role if -- as expected -- she is formally nominated to the presidency Wednesday.
But the 63-year-old will avoid an election originally slated for September 23, as others hoping to run against her were judged by authorities not to have met strict eligibility criteria.
Five people had expressed an interest in becoming president of the tightly-controlled, affluent nation of about 5.5 million people.
Two were disqualified as they were not Malay -- the presidency was on this occasion reserved for members of the ethnic minority -- while two Malay businessmen were disqualified as their companies were too small.
"All Singaporeans are unhappy that meritocracy and electoral fairness, core Singaporean values, have been eroded to fulfil perceived political goals," writer and political commentator Sudhir Thomas Vadaketh told AFP.
There was criticism of the process on social media, with Facebook user Hussain Shamsuddin commenting: "As a citizen of this democratic island nation, I'm deeply embarrassed."
"Don't call it an election if we Singaporeans can't vote," wrote Fazly Jijio Din on Facebook.
When asked for a response, the Singapore Elections Department referred AFP to information about the presidency.
Under election rules, potential candidates must either have served in public office, headed a government-linked organisation, or headed a company worth at least Sg$500 million (US$370 million) in shareholder equity.
But those who do not qualify can still stand if they are approved by the six-member Presidential Elections Committee -- a government-appointed group.
It is not the first time that a president has been chosen unopposed, and when there has been a vote, the establishment candidate has always won.
The president's role is largely that of a figurehead but the head of state does have some limited powers.
It was the first time that the presidency had been reserved for a particular ethnic group, as authorities seek to foster harmony in a multicultural society dominated by ethnic Chinese.
Singapore is one of the world's wealthiest and most stable societies but its political system is tightly controlled. The People's Action Party has been in power since the city gained self-rule from the British in 1959.
Jimbaran, a fishing village and resort area in southern Bali, where the scorched corpses of Japanese couple Nurio Matsuba, 76, and his 73-year-old wife Hiroko were discovered on September 4 by their Indonesian foster son
Indonesian police have launched a murder investigation into the deaths of an elderly Japanese couple whose bodies were found burned beyond recognition on the holiday island of Bali.
The scorched corpses of Nurio Matsuba, 76, and his 73-year-old wife Hiroko were discovered on September 4 by their Indonesian foster son in Jimbaran, a fishing village and resort area in southern Bali.
"This is a planned murder ... it's clear the person has planned it before going to the victims' house," Denpasar police chief Hadi Purnomo said on Monday.
Investigators are looking for more than one suspect and have interviewed 42 witnesses so far, ranging from family to business associates, Purnomo said.
They are yet to establish a motive for the murders.
The couple had lived in Bali for seven years and the husband was a broker in a tuna export company, according to police.
Authorities are still waiting for the results of an autopsy but initial examinations revealed multiple stab wounds to the Matsubas.
Investigators found rope and two knives at the crime scene.
Observers can play a key role in bolstering confidence, particularly in places where allegations of vote tampering and disputed results have repeatedly undermined the electoral process
Accused of glossing over flaws in Kenya's election which later caused the result to be overturned, international observers are under a harsh spotlight ahead of a re-run next month.
The August 8 poll, which saw President Uhuru Kenyatta reelected, was annulled by Kenya's Supreme Court earlier this month on grounds of "irregularities and illegalities", notably in the transmission of election results.
The shock decision put foreign observers in a particularly difficult position, accused by Kenya's opposition and many media outlets of being too quick to declare the elections were "free and fair" in a preference for the status quo over democracy.
But observers themselves -- and some analysts -- told AFP this characterisation was unfair, saying enthusiastic praise for part of the electoral process was mistaken for endorsement of the whole.
And they point to the media, as well as Kenya's polarised public and combative opposition, for over-simplifying and misinterpreting their messages.
In a continent where allegations of vote tampering and disputed results have repeatedly undermined the electoral process, monitors can play an important role in bolstering confidence.
The debate has intensified as Kenyatta and his main rival Raila Odinga step up campaigning for the re-run which will take place on October 17.
- 'Few ringing endorsements' -
Some election observers have accused the media of oversimplifying their reports, preferring a quick soundbite to a more nuanced explanation
The story begins not on polling day but afterwards, on August 10, when a succession of observation mission chiefs held live televised press conferences to present their "preliminary findings" on the voting and its run-up.
Citing the deployment of hundreds of their observers, the missions -- among them the European Union (EU), the African Union (AU) and the US-based Carter Center -- broadly welcomed the good conduct of the vote itself, which passed off smoothly and peacefully.
And they praised the work of the IEBC election commission while noting that the tallying and transmitting of results was still ongoing -- the latter playing a key role in the Supreme Court's September 1 decision to annul the vote.
Alongside the praise, some listed irregularities, while others condemned the use of public funds for party campaigns or flagged a lack of transparency in the electronic voter system.
"Few of those statements could be read as ringing endorsements of the polls, while most highlighted significant flaws," said the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank in a report.
Yet, "the impression created, by the statements themselves and by observers' other pronouncements, was that results were accurate, and it was time to move on."
- Perception is everything -
To explain this, analysts pointed to an "overly approving" tone from observers, who by their own admission were seeking to "encourage" the electoral process.
"At that point, what we were worried about was more the possibility for violence," said Sarah Johnson, an associate director in the Carter Center's democracy programme.
Nic Cheeseman, professor of African politics at the University of Birmingham, said the legacy of 2007 when over 1,100 people died in post-election violence put observers in a difficult position.
Some international observers -- notably the EU -- were more critical, but all eyes were on the big names: former US secretary of state John Kerry who headed the Carter Centre mission, and former South African president Thabo Mbeki leading the AU team.
Both skirted over allegations of irregularities before appealing for peace and taking a tone which was "way too positive", said one Kenyan analyst.
"(Kerry) called the ones who were protesting against the election to go to court or concede defeat, but I think he insisted too much on the second option and, among other things, he talked about his personal experience" of conceding defeat in 2004, he said.
Post-election violence in 2007 and again this year has put international observers in a difficult position, analysts say
Kerry's high profile compounded the impact of his words because he was sometimes misconstrued as speaking for the United States rather than for an independent observer mission.
Days later, as the IEBC delayed in its legal obligation to publish tally forms from every polling centre, observation missions became much more critical but in press releases that had "less weight" and failed to grab the attention of their earlier public pronouncements, the analyst said.
- 'Mercenaries' -
Marietje Schaake, a European MP who led the EU observation mission, blamed the "polarised" and partisan nature of Kenyan political discourse: "We get criticism for almost everything we say, from one side or the other."
Schaake said that many in the media -- both Kenyan and international, wilfully or otherwise -- ignored the nuances of her preliminary report, preferring a soundbite answer to an impossibly simple question.
"Media are looking for one answer to one question, and that is were the elections free and fair?"
Jeffrey Smith, executive director of Vanguard Africa, a US organisation promoting free and transparent elections, said that observers in Kenya were seen as putting "a stamp of approval" on flawed elections.
"The bar for what constitutes acceptable elections in Africa has been lowered to such an extent that it is virtually meaningless," he said. "Now, when observers say 'peaceful' everyone hears 'free, fair and credible'."
So what then is the point of the observers?
Writing in Le Monde newspaper, Nigerian journalist Seidik Abba criticised the "mercenary" nature of parachute observers, former heads of state and ministers who "get back on their planes the day after the vote."
The Kenyan example, he wrote, reveals election observation in Africa, "is a masquerade that must simply be abandoned."
But the ICG sees a role for observers who, "like the media and outside organisations, can play a central role in deterring abuse and in improving the atmosphere in heavily polarised environments".
That description is apt for Kenya, ahead of another bitterly contested presidential election which will take place in five weeks' time.
Buddhist nuns pray during the funeral of Myanmar fortune-teller Swe Swe Win, known as ET
Hundreds of mourners gathered Tuesday to say a tearful farewell to Myanmar's most famous soothsayer ET, a deaf mystic who died aged 58 after a career courted by billionaires and generals.
The fortune teller, whose name is believed to have been inspired by her resemblance to the character in Steven Spielberg's film "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial", died Sunday at her home in Yangon.
Her clients came from across Southeast Asia's elite, including generals in Myanmar's former junta.
Than Shwe, Myanmar's feared former dictator, is rumoured to have been a regular client, while Thai ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra also leaned on her wisdom.
Legend has it that the mystic, whose full name was Swe Swe Win, lost her hearing and ability to speak during a thunderstorm as a child -- but gained the power of a higher vision.
Funeralgoers wiped away tears as the soothsayer was carried by in a glass casket, adorned with flowers, before her burial.
Dozens of pink-clad nuns carried her portrait as they prayed.
One mourner told AFP she travelled from France for the occasion.
"We feel very blessed that she has also helped us and helped a lot of people in the families around the world. And today we hope that she is in a better place, in paradise," Kelly Lee said.
ET's sister Thi Thi, who acted as her interpreter, told AFP in 2013 that that her sibling's predictions over the years had been "80 percent correct".
One of these was that she would have an early death from heart failure.
But Thi Thi said at the time the prediction did not worry her sister, who was confident she would be "very pretty" in her next life.
Swiss Lutherans Mark 500 Years of the Reformation
Contact: Media Office, World Council of Churches, +41 79 507 6363
GENEVE, Sept. 12, 2017 /Christian Newswire/ -- Lutherans from all over Switzerland gathered in Geneva on 10 September for a eucharistic worship commemorating both the 500th anniversary of the Reformation and 50 years of the Federation of Lutheran Churches in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein (BELK).
Photo: Worship service for the 500th anniversary of the Reformation and 50 years of the Federation of Lutheran Churches in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein. Photo: Arni Danielsson/LWF
Hundreds of worshippers filled the Temple de la Madeleine Reformed church where the Sunday service was held, reflecting the diversity of Lutherans in the country, drawn from Danish, English, Finnish, German, Malagasy, Norwegian and Swedish speaking congregations. Also attending were ecumenical guests from the Reformed tradition, Catholic church and other Christian denominations.
The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) General Secretary Rev. Dr Martin Junge preached on the theme of the service "Bound to be Free."
A freedom with and for others
In his sermon, Junge emphasized that the unity of Lutheran churches was found in the message of justification by grace through faith, which conveys that "we are saved not because of who we are and what we do, but because of who God is and what God does."
He said the Reformation Anniversary was an opportunity "to reassert the preciousness of this message" that speaks to our human condition. "One doesn't need to live in any special time, nor in any special place to be able to receive the good news of God who has chosen to set a tone of compassion, solidarity, justice and peace in our world." This is a message, he said, that people need to continue hearing.
The general secretary reminded worshippers that the message of reformation 500 years ago spoke powerfully as well because it resonated with the perception that things were "being pushed into the marketplace which didn't belong there: forgiveness, life and future."
Explaining the LWF's "Not for sale" tagline for the anniversary, Junge challenged churches to keep questioning the very notion that everything today can be tradable including human beings, creation and salvation. The message of justification "today inspires us to address a trend that makes trade to become the sole driver of social, communal and political interaction."
Referring to the Epistle of the apostle Paul to the Galatians, he urged churches to hold together justification by grace through faith and freedom. "A church that preaches the gospel of justification will always be a church that stands without hesitation for freedom." The general secretary emphasized the special character of Christian freedom and contrasted it with a prevailing model of understanding freedom today, which "is increasingly losing its social competence." Christian freedom, he said, is a "freedom that sees the 'I' in relationship to the 'we,' never cut off or in isolation. It is a freedom with others and for others."
Addressing the ecological challenges, including climate change, he called for a new approach "to develop a theology, sermons, catechism and songs that help us to grasp both the preciousness and the fragility of the web of relationships into which God has placed us."
Referring to the Joint CatholicLutheran commemoration of the Reformation in October 2016, Junge said it was a blessing that for the first time in five centuries, the Reformation anniversary is being approached with a spirit of ecumenical accountability, "by spelling out how much we hold in common, and how much we long to be healed from the brokenness that affects us."
Reformation, he concluded, "is not over, because God's mission is not over. God continues claiming space in our lives, inviting us to live from what is given to us. God continues to set us free from the anxiety of perfection, accomplishment and success, inviting us into a journey of transformation to become who God wants us to be."
The centrality of the Bible
The festive service included the sharing of Bible verses written out on long cloth ribbons, which after being read out by a representative of each BELK congregation were passed around the worshippers and displayed on a wooden frame at the front of the church. Moved to the church entrance at the end of the service, the colorful ribbons acted as a gate through which worshippers passed to emphasize the centrality of the Bible in the life of the Lutheran church. Those gathered later shared a common lunch on a boat at Lake Geneva, which included a presentation on BELK's history.
The BELK (Bund Evangelische-Lutherischer Kirchen in der Schweiz und im Furstentum Liechtenstein) was founded in the early 1960s by five independent Lutheran churches to promote community across the boundaries of their own parishes. It joined the LWF in 1979, and its congregations bring together nearly 5,000 members.
Full text of the sermon by LWF general secretary Rev. Dr Martin Junge
The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 348 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 550 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway.
Indian priest Thomas Uzhunnalil talks to journalists in Muscat on September 12, 2017, following his release
Muscat has secured the release of an Indian priest who was abducted last year during a deadly attack by Islamist militants in Yemen, Oman's official news agency said on Tuesday.
Thomas Uzhunnalil had been held captive since March 2016, when jihadists attacked a care home operated by missionaries in the southern port city of Aden, killing 16 people including four nuns.
Uzhunnalil was pictured Tuesday wearing local traditional dress and with a flowing but tidy white beard grown while in captivity.
He appeared relatively healthy, standing tall before a portrait of Oman's Sultan Qaboos.
The news release said Omani authorities "coordinated with Yemeni parties" to free Uzhunnalil, described as a "Vatican employee", at the request of the sultan.
The Vatican welcomed his release in a statement, and thanked Oman in particular for bringing out of Yemen.
It said he would spend time in Rome before returning to India.
In video footage earlier on Oman TV, Uzhunnalil was seen arriving in Muscat.
He disembarked from a Royal Air Force of Oman plane unaided, but struggled as he made his way down the steps to the tarmac.
"I wish first and foremost to thank God almighty for this day," the priest said before thanking Sultan Qaboos and those who prayed for his release.
Uzhunnalil, who is in his mid-50s, last appeared in a video circulated online in December 2016, in which he appealed to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pope Francis to secure his freedom.
Yemeni authorities have blamed the Islamic State group for last year's attack. Al-Qaeda, which is also active in the area, distanced itself from the mass shooting, saying that it was not involved.
The internationally recognised government in war-torn Yemen is grappling with both an Iran-backed rebellion and a growing jihadist presence.
Al-Qaeda and IS have stepped up attacks in Aden, targeting mainly loyalists and members of a Saudi-led coalition battling Huthi rebels and their allies.
President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi has declared Aden to be Yemen's temporary capital since Sanaa was seized by the rebels in September 2014.
Last week, hundreds of thousands took to the streets of Lome and other cities across Togo to protest against the President Faure Gnassingbe and his family who have held power for 50 years
Opposition lawmakers in Togo forced the adjournment of parliament on Tuesday in protest at a constitutional reform bill being left off the day's agenda, despite days of anti-government protests.
The president of the National Assembly, Dama Dramani, agreed to suspend the extraordinary session as lawmakers had "no say" in setting the topic for debate.
The only subject on the agenda was the assembly's administrative budget for next year. The session would resume on Wednesday, he added.
Eric Dupuy, spokesman for the main opposition National Alliance for Change (ANC), blasted the parliament as "out of sync with what's happening politically" in Togo.
Security services had thrown up a cordon around the parliament building in the capital, Lome, after opposition calls for a demonstration.
Last week, hundreds of thousands took to the streets of Lome and cities across the country against President Faure Gnassingbe and his family who have held power for 50 years.
He has been president since 2005 following the death of his father, Gnassingbe Eyadema, who had been in power since 1967.
Opposition parties have long called for the introduction of two-term limits for presidents and a change to the two-round voting system.
- 'Delaying tactic' -
Togo's 1992 constitution has been modified a number of times, including by Gnassingbe Eyadema, who in 2002 got rid of the limits on presidential mandates.
Last week, the government appeared to offer a concession to protesters by approving a parliamentary bill on reform, suggesting lawmakers could debate it on Tuesday.
But Alphonse Waguena, secretary-general of the National Assembly, on Monday said a proper debate on constitutional reform could not be held at such short notice.
"The bill must be assigned to the constitutional law commission," he told state television.
"The commission will do its job and produce a report that will presented in a plenary session."
Dramani said the consultation process would now begin. That risks making it a drawn-out affair, confounding opposition hopes of rapid reform.
Opposition leaders have described the government bill as a "delaying tactic". Attempts to discuss reform with the government in previous years have also come to nothing.
Pakistani civil society activists protest in Islamabad on July 18, 2016 against the murder of social media celebrity Qandeel Baloch by her own brother
Pakistani police were Tuesday hunting a tribal elder who ordered a teenage couple to be electrocuted by their families as punishment for eloping, in the countrys latest gruesome "honour" killing.
The couple, members of the Pashtun ethnic group living in the southern city of Karachi, fell foul of their families after eloping last month. But police said the man's family persuaded them to return home so they could be married.
A tribal jirga (council) then ordered the couple's execution after the families had put their case to the influential group of elders.
The couple were tied to a wooden bed and electrocuted by family members. Police said the girl was aged 15 or 16 and the man was around 18 years old.
"The (jirga) decided that the girl would be electrocuted by her own father and uncle and the boy by his father and uncle," police officer Amanullah Marwat told AFP, adding that the families later buried the bodies in secret.
Jirgas commonly adjudicate in communal disputes in rural Pakistan, especially in the northern tribal belt, but are rare in cities.
However the bustling port city of Karachi is home to large numbers of migrants from the tribal territories, where jirgas are held in high esteem.
Police have arrested the relatives behind the killings, charging them with murder and tampering with evidence. However the leader of the jirga who ordered the murders remains at large.
"We are raiding different places to arrest him," Marwat said.
Hundreds of women are murdered by their relatives each year after allegedly bringing shame on their families in the deeply conservative Muslim country.
Under previous legislation the culprits -- usually men -- could escape punishment if they were pardoned by members of their family.
But in July last year the high-profile murder of social media star Qandeel Baloch, whose brother confessed to the killing, reignited calls for reform.
Parliament has since passed a law aimed at scrapping the ability to forgive "honour" killers. But critics contend some loopholes still exist.
Spanish territories Ceuta and Melilla in northern Morocco represent Africa's sole land borders with the EU
The number of migrants arriving in Spain so far this year has soared more than 88 percent from the same period in 2016, Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido said Tuesday.
Speaking in a parliamentary commission on internal affairs, he added that the number of people merely attempting to get to the Spanish overseas territory of Ceuta in northern Morocco had dramatically increased.
Up until Monday, 15,473 migrants had entered Spain illegally by sea and over land, he said.
Of the 11,162 people who arrived by sea, some 11,000 were rescued by coastguards from rickety boats in which they were crossing the Mediterranean between Morocco and Spain.
The others arrived on their own.
At least 121 people have died along the way, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Many Africans undertaking the long route to Europe are choosing to avoid crossing danger-ridden Libya to get to Italy along the so-called central Mediterranean route, and choosing instead to get there via Morocco and Spain.
But figures show that the route to Italy is still the most popular, with some 100,000 people arriving so far this year.
Zoido said there had been a leap in coordinated attempts to break through high double border fences or storm frontier posts in Ceuta, which with Melilla, another Spanish territory in northern Morocco, represents the only land border between Africa and Europe.
He said that so far this year, close to 9,000 people -- mostly from sub-Saharan Africa -- had attempted to force their way into the Spanish territory compared to 613 in the same period in 2016.
"There is a constant trickle of people attempting to break through Ceuta's fence," he said.
He added that the double fence in Ceuta, built in 1999 and increased in height from three to six metres (10 to 20 feet) in 2005, "doesn't fulfil the purpose for which it was once built."
"The migrants use tools such as clubs, metal cutters or hooks to break doors in the border fence and cut or climb over the fences," he said.
The Spanish government aims to invest some 12 million euros ($14.4 million) next year to shore up the border fence between Morocco and Ceuta, by for instance reinforcing security along the barrier.
Prince Moulay Hicham, cousin of Morocco's King Mohammed VI, in a September 17, 2012 picture
Tunisia's presidency on Tuesday expressed its regret over the expulsion of Morocco's Prince Moulay Hicham, first cousin of King Mohammed VI, but did not explain why he had been deported.
The prince was expelled from Tunisia Friday after arriving to attend an academic conference organised by Stanford University on the political transition in Tunisia after the 2011 Arab Spring uprising.
"The president of the republic is exasperated by what happened to researcher (Prince Moulay) Hicham Al-Aloui and his expulsion from Tunisian territory," presidency spokeswoman Saida Garrach wrote on Facebook.
Garrach said the prince was deported "according to automatic administrative procedures without being referred to officials, which we regret".
She gave no further information on why the prince was expelled, and was not available for further comment.
Rights groups were highly critical of the incident, saying it smacked of practices under longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who was overthrown in a 2011 revolution.
Campaign group CRLDHT expressed its "solidarity" with the prince and its "indignation" at his expulsion, saying it "constitutes a violation of human rights and freedom of movement guaranteed by the rule of law".
Known as the "rebel prince" for his outspoken criticism of Morocco's political system, Moulay Hicham lives in the United States where he is a researcher at Harvard University.
He said he had demanded to be given a "document to justify my expulsion, since I had done nothing wrong".
A new Republican sponsored bill would make it easier for US gun enthusiasts to buy silencers for guns
Republican lawmakers on Tuesday proposed making it easier to buy silencers for firearms, scandalizing Democrats.
The proposed legislation aims mainly to benefit hunters or owners of firing ranges and contains several provisions, including the one on silencers.
Since 1934, a government permit has been required to buy a silencer. Applicants have to undergo a background check, provide fingerprints and a photograph, and pay a $200 fee.
But sales of silencers are on the rise and Republicans argue that hunters need them to protect their hearing from the sound of their guns firing.
"My father himself suffered from it," Tom McClintock, a Republican representative from California, said at a House hearing on the bill.
He said silencers also would help reduce noise at shooting ranges near residential areas.
"In my district, it's been a major complaint of residents near a recently opened outdoors shooting range," he said.
The Republicans want to make buying a silencer no different from buying most firearms, subject only to a quick background check run by gunshops.
But even those controls are not applied to firearms sold at gun fairs or between individuals.
"It seems sportsmen have to choose between damaging their hearing and being able to hunt, shoot, target practice," said Liz Cheney, the Republican representative from Wyoming.
"You shouldn't have to injure your hearing to exercise a constitutional right," said Stephen Halbrook, a gun rights activist from Fairfax, Virginia.
Opponents of easing the rules say a shooter equipped with a silencer is a greater threat to police.
Silencers don't suppress the sound of a gunshot completely, but they do muffle and deform it.
California congressman Jimmy Gomez recalled a 2013 incident in which a former Los Angeles police officer killed four people over a ten-day period using a silencer.
"This gave (him) a distinct tactical advantage against the police," Gomez said. "We should not make it easier for anyone to obtain these weapons of war."
The bill is still in the early stages of the process.
This file picture from March 20, 2017 shows Israeli police spraying water at ultra-Orthodox Jews during a protest against army conscription
The Israeli Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down military draft exemptions for Jewish seminary students, enraging the small but powerful ultra-Orthodox community.
Court documents seen by AFP showed a panel of nine justices agreed that a 2015 amendment to the law on military service treated the students more generously than their secular compatriots.
"All the justices ruled that the new draft arrangement violates equality," the decision read.
It said an eight-to-one majority went a step further, ruling that it must be struck from the law books.
Most Jewish Israelis are obliged to enlist, usually at the age of 18, with men serving for two years and eight months and women for two years.
Many continue to be called up for periodic periods of reserve duty into their 40s.
"The majority justices ruled that the annulment of the arrangement would take effect only a year from the date of the ruling, in order to enable the arrangement to be implemented," an official summary of the judgement said.
The year of grace gave the military and other authorities time to organise for an enlarged draft.
It also gave politicians a chance to find an alternative formula which would be acceptable both to the court and the ultra-Orthodox political parties, whose support is vital for the government's slender parliamentary majority.
Ultra-Orthodox leaders raged against Tuesday's decision but did not threaten the stability of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition, currently halfway through its four-year term.
"It's a miserable ruling," lawmaker Menachem Eliezer Moses, of the United Torah Judaism party, told state-owned Channel One TV.
"We are certainly not going to dismantle the government," he added. "There are still two years to elections. We shall change the law."
Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, took a similar line.
"The Supreme Court is totally cut off from our (Jewish) heritage and tradition," he said on Twitter.
"We will act with all our might to amend the law to allow the continuation of the existing arrangement."
Ultra-Orthodox Jews represent about 10 percent of the Israeli population and live by a strict interpretation of Jewish laws.
There have been large and heated ultra-Orthodox protests against the draft, which many of them view as a source of temptation for young people taken out of the cloistered world of prayer and religious study.
In March thousands took to the streets and dozens have been arrested on public disorder offences in the past few months.
Theresa May and Justin Trudeau will talk trade and the ongoing dispute between Bombardier and Boeing in Ottawa next week
British Prime Minister Theresa May will meet Canada's Justin Trudeau next Monday in Ottawa, with economic issues atop the agenda, a Canadian government official said Tuesday.
The two leaders will discuss an ongoing dispute between Canadian aerospace manufacturer Bombardier and the United States' Boeing, the official said, a matter that could also affect Britain.
Brexit's impact on trade will also be a topic of discussion, ahead of a free trade agreement between Canada and the EU (CETA) coming into effect on September 21.
Britain is currently Canada's primary trade partner in Europe.
But the Bombardier issue is without doubt the most pressing, as Canada renegotiates the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with the United States and Mexico.
Bombardier is one of the biggest employers in Northern Ireland, whose Democratic Union Party is crucial to May's majority in Parliament.
Of the company's almost 8,000 Northern Ireland employees, about 4,200 work solely on aeronautics. Most are based at its Belfast factory producing wings and components of the CSeries fuselage.
In the spring, Boeing filed a lawsuit against Bombardier, alleging that it sold its last CSeries aircraft below its manufacturing costs after receiving more than $3 billion in public subsidies.
Boeing claims Bombardier sold American Delta Airlines 75 CS100 aircraft for $19.6 million, despite manufacturing costs of $33.2 million.
In October, the United States will decide whether to impose anti-dumping restrictions on Bombardier.
Canada's foreign affairs minister on Tuesday criticized the opening of "anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations" by the US Department of Commerce.
The Canadian government will "continue to raise this important issue at the highest levels -- as well as with Boeing itself -- to defend Canada's aerospace industry as well as Bombardier," said Adam Austen, spokesman for Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland.
RT has been singled out for its links to President Donald Trump's former national security advisor Michael Flynn, who was paid tens of thousands of dollars in December 2015 to attend an RT anniversary gala where he sat with Vladimir Putin
The US Justice Department has asked Russian broadcaster RT to register its American operations as a "foreign agent," putting fresh pressure on a major media group that Washington regards as Moscow's propaganda arm.
RT said late Monday that the company that supplies all the services for its RT America channel was told by the DOJ in a letter that it is obligated to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, an act aimed at lobbyists and lawyers representing foreign political interests.
RT is "consulting with our lawyers and are reviewing the request," the broadcaster's spokeswoman Anna Belkina told AFP on Tuesday.
On its website, RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan condemned the move as part of a US "war" on Russian media.
"The war the US establishment wages with our journalists is dedicated to all the starry-eyed idealists who still believe in freedom of speech. Those who invented it, have buried it," she said.
The Moscow-based broadcaster has become a focus of the investigations into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election.
RT has been singled out for its links to President Donald Trump's discredited former national security advisor Michael Flynn.
Flynn, the former US defense intelligence chief, was paid tens of thousands of dollars in December 2015 to attend an RT anniversary gala where he sat with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In January, a US intelligence community report on Russian election interference labeled RT "the Kremlin's principal international propaganda outlet."
Originally written in 1938 to blunt Nazi propaganda on the eve of World War II, the Foreign Agents Registration Act has been used to shed light on who in Washington might be working for foreign governments.
FARA specifically exempts US and foreign news organizations, and the DOJ focus on the company that supplies services for RT might be a way around that stipulation.
Justice Department official declined to comment on the issue.
- FBI probe -
The move comes as the US government fights what it calls a barrage of "fake" news from Russian media and online outlets aimed at interfering in US domestic politics.
According to reports, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating Sputnik, part of state-controlled Russian news group Rossiya Segodnya, the former RIA Novosti.
Washington journalist Andrew Feinberg, who worked for Sputnik early this year, said he was interviewed by FBI agents on September 1.
Feinberg said the agents focused on how Sputnik operates as it generates news across different interfaces and operates a Washington radio station.
The questioning, according to Feinberg, seemed directed at whether Sputnik operates more like a foreign agent or lobbyist than other news operations.
"There are clear differences in the editorial process" at Sputnik, he said. "They do not practice journalism the way a bona fide news agency practices journalism."
Nevertheless, US pressure on Russian news outlets raised worries that a backlash will be felt by US outlets and even local journalists in Moscow.
Courtney Radsch of the Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern that the move "could be used by Russian authorities to justify their repressive media policies."
"Russia already heavily censors its information space, including by branding some of its most prominent human rights defenders as foreign agents, in an attempt to delegitimize and vilify them," Radsch said.
Rohingya Muslim refugees disembark from a boat on the Bangladeshi side of Naf river in Teknaf
Two leading human rights groups on Tuesday slammed the UN Security Council for inaction over the crisis in Myanmar, where 370,000 Rohingya Muslims have been forced to flee in a campaign described as ethnic cleansing.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International deplored the council's failure to speak out and demand an end to the violence in western Rakhine state as the top UN body prepared to hold a closed-door session on Wednesday.
Britain and Sweden requested the meeting on Myanmar, two weeks after the council met, also behind closed doors. No formal statement was issued following that meeting on August 30.
"This is ethnic cleansing on a large scale, it seems, and the Security Council cannot open its doors and stand in front of the cameras? It's appalling frankly," HRW's UN director Louis Charbonneau told reporters.
The exodus from Rakine state began after Rohingya militants attacked police posts on August 25, prompting a military backlash that has sent a third of the Muslim minority population fleeing for their lives.
Exhausted Rohingya refugees crossing into Bangladesh have given accounts of atrocities at the hands of soldiers and Buddhist mobs who burned their villages to the ground.
"Without some sort of public proclamation by Security Council members, the message you are sending to the Myanmar government is deadly, and they will continue to do it," said Sherine Tadros, head of Amnesty International's UN office.
Other than condemning the violence, the council could adopt a resolution threatening sanctions against those responsible for the repression, said Human Rights Watch.
- Rakhine still burning -
Since the council last met on Myanmar, 310,000 Rohingyas have fled violence and been forced to become refugees, said HRW's deputy UN director Akshaya Kumar.
Rohingya Muslim refugees arrive from Myanmar after crossing the Naf river in the Bangladeshi town of Teknaf
Kumar quoted reports from HRW researchers in the field who said Rakhine state was "still on fire" with hundreds of destitute Rohingyas continuing to cross into Bangladesh.
At the meeting on Wednesday, China is expected to push back against appeals for UN involvement and declare its support for the Yangon government, which maintains its military operation is aimed at countering an insurgency.
Last week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres took the rare step of writing a letter to the council urging members to send a message to Myanmar authorities to end the security operation.
Guterres spoke to Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi last week and is expected to once again make an appeal to end the crisis during a press conference at UN headquarters on Wednesday, his spokesman said.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said they were disappointed with Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace prize laureate and once a darling of the rights movement who has been accused of turning a blind eye to the violence.
"Silence is not helping the fact that we have a growing xenophobic rhetoric and climate which is whirling around Yangon at the moment," said Tirana Hassan, Amnesty's crisis response director.
"We need to see leadership from her to actually de-escalate and not remain silent."
The United Nations set up a fact-finding mission in March to investigate allegations of atrocities in Rakhine state, but the investigators have not been allowed into the country.
Myanmar's second vice president, Henry van Thio, will attend next week's gathering of world leaders at the United Nations and is due to deliver his address at the General Assembly on September 20.
New Book Exposes the Errors of Popular American Pastor John Piper Contact: Cathy Mickels, 360-387-7373, cathymickels@gmail.com
SEATTLE, Sept. 12, 2017 /Christian Newswire/ -- A newly released book titled "Christian Hedonism? A biblical examination of John Piper's teaching," written by respected British author Dr. ES Williams, is sure to spark discussion and debate among American evangelicals. Examining the teachings of one of America's most well-known pastors and conference speakers, Dr. Williams, a member of Charles Spurgeon's London Metropolitan Tabernacle Church, shows how Scripture is being compromised and provides clear evidence that antinomianism is the underlying error upon which Piper's Christian Hedonism is built.
Moreover, William's book argues that this "is an insidiously destructive system of false teaching that wrecks the authentic Christian life and shamefully distorts the Word of God."
Sharing the concerns of Dr. Williams is evangelical leader, John Thackway, pastor of Holywell Evangelical Church in Wales, and editor of The Bible League Quarterly who has written a foreword to the book. Thackway concurs Piper's Christian Hedonism is a departure from biblical and historic Christianity and a dangerous error saying, "To those who have accepted this Christian philosophy as orthodoxI warmly commend this book."
Support also comes from a network of American Christians, which includes Cathy Mickels, co-author of "Spiritual Junk Food: The Dumbing Down of Christian Youth." Mickels says, "The message John Piper delivered at Lou Giglio's 2017 Atlanta Passion Conference in an atmosphere of a worldly rock concert is an example of Piper's Christian Hedonism and the dumbing down of college-age students in the extreme."
Mickels states, "His talk gave God's Word a new spin by dogmatically declaring 'the fall of Adam and Eve was not that they disobeyed a commandment' of God." Furthermore, she says, "Piper suggested if they were taught to believe Adam and Eve did disobey, they were taught wrong. Hence, he gave thousands of young adults a taste of falsehood rooted in his Christian hedonistic philosophy."
Christian researcher, Denise Gumprecht, who has worked behind the scene on many projects detailing a compromised American Church and a growing carelessness amongst American Christians, added, "This book is a gift to the Church. If men take the time to read it, they will begin to understand why Christians can no longer blindly follow the teachings of John Piper."
The book is available at Amazon.
Dr. ES Williams is also the author of many books, including "The New Calvinists," "Ecumenism: Another Gospel" and "Holistic Mission: Weighed in the Balances."
For further information, please see: www.therealjohnpiper.com/
Share Tweet
No caption
The Trump administration released new guidelines Tuesday designed to promote the development of self-driving cars.
"Our country is on the verge of one of the most exciting and important innovations in transportation history," Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said at a press conference at the University of Michigan.
"We are motivated by the potential of automated tech to transform mobility, reshape transportation and revolutionize safety."
Chao, flanked by auto industry representatives and the president of the National Federation of the Blind, said her goal was to prod progress from car and technology companies, while allowing that customers will be the final arbiters of how fast automation comes to America's roads.
She said self-driving technology could reduce accidents and improve mobility for the elderly, disabled and other restricted populations.
The new guidelines, which build on rules under the Obama administration, focus on systems that go well beyond the self-parking and automated braking systems now widely available to much more aggressive self-driving tools all the way up to full automation.
The guidelines clarify existing rules to permit more testing and address regulation between the federal government and states.
They won praise from the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, whose members have been investing heavily in automated technologies.
"This federal guidance is helpful in advancing road safety and safe testing, while also providing more clarity on the role of states," the trade group said.
"The guidance provides the right balance, allowing emerging innovations to thrive while government still keeps a watchful eye over new developments."
The Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets, which includes Google, Uber and Lyft, also welcomed the move.
"With more than 35,000 motor vehicle deaths in 2015, the potential safety benefits of fully self-driving technology are too important to delay," the group said in a statement.
- 'Robot car' dangers -
A Lincoln MKZ equipped with autonomous technology maneuvers at the Mcity Test Facility in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the first purpose-built proving ground for testing connected and automated vehicles and technologies
But the nonprofit Consumer Watchdog warned of disaster.
"This isn't a vision for safety," said John Simpson, Consumer Watchdog's privacy project director.
"It's a roadmap that allows manufacturers to do whatever they want, wherever and whenever they want, turning our roads into private laboratories for robot cars with no regard for our safety."
The announcement came as the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a finding that a May 2016 fatal car crash in Florida was caused in part by the driver's overreliance on Tesla's Autopilot system.
The driver's "overreliance" on the Tesla system -- designed as a semi-autonomous driving system to be used with a human operator -- permitted "prolonged disengagement" that led to the collision with a truck, the NTSB report said.
The system also permitted the driver to use it on a road not intended for Autopilot, NTSB officials said.
Tanzania's President John Magufuli, who came to power in 2015 as a corruption-fighting "man of the people", has been increasingly criticised over his authoritarian leadership style
Tanzania's main opposition party claimed Tuesday that the government of President John Magufuli played a role in the gun attack last week that wounded an outspoken politician and shocked the country.
The lawmaker, Tundu Lissu, has had a series of run-ins with the government and has been arrested at least six times this year, accused of insulting the president and disturbing public order, among other charges.
"The government is involved in this attack," Benson Kigaila, who handles defence and security matters for opposition party CHADEMA, told reporters in Tanzania's main city of Dar es Salaam.
"Magufuli and his government harassed Tundu Lissu because he wouldn't stop criticising, in and out of parliament, President Magufuli."
Lissu, chief whip for the parliamentary opposition, was attacked at his home in the capital Dodoma on Thursday, after returning from a parliamentary session.
He was shot in the stomach and leg, according to local media reports, and the party said he was in critical condition.
After being transferred to a hospital in Nairobi, the party reported that his condition had improved.
"They kill in order to silence people, but we will not be silenced," said Kigaila, who added that the attack happened in an area guarded by security forces that is home to ministers.
Lissu, 49, is also president of Tanzania's bar association, the Tanganyika Law Society, as well as being CHADEMA's attorney general.
His most recent arrest was in August after revealing that a plane bought for the national carrier had been impounded in Canada over unpaid government debts.
CHADEMA's vice president Abdallah Safari said the "only inference for ordinary Tanzanians is that the police and the government are involved in this attempted assassination."
For his part, Magufuli wrote Thursday on Twitter that he was "shocked to hear the news of the attack on Tundu Lissu and I pray to god almighty that he will soon recover."
The president, who came to power in 2015 as a corruption-fighting "man of the people", has been increasingly criticised over his authoritarian leadership style, with a clampdown on the opposition, journalists and artists.
In July, Lissu was charged with hate speech after calling Magufuli a "dictator".
Israel has fought three devastating wars since 2008 against the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement in charge of the Gaza strip
A sharp fall in international aid reaching the Palestinian territories due in part to Israel's occupation is worsening humanitarian and economic crises in Gaza and the West Bank, the UN's development agency said Tuesday.
The agency also said a spike in Israeli settlement building and confiscations of Palestinian land, water and other resources were keeping poverty and joblessness at intolerable levels.
In a report, the agency said international donor support for Palestinian territories fell by 38 percent between 2014 and 2016, "due in part to the fact that occupation (has prevented) previous aid flows from translating into tangible development gains."
Israel has fought three devastating wars since 2008 against the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement in charge of the Gaza strip.
Israel has maintained a decade-long blockade on the coastal enclave which it says is necessary to prevent arms and materials reaching Hamas militants.
UN chief Antonio Guterres visited Gaza in July and called the blockade "one of the most dramatic humanitarian crises" he had seen.
In its annual report two years ago, the UN agency warned that the situation was so dire that the Gaza Strip could become uninhabitable by 2020 without drastic action to rebuild the area ravaged by wars.
But rather than improvements, "the humanitarian and economic situation has instead worsened since then", Tuesday's report said.
Denouncing a "protracted, unprecedented level of human suffering in Gaza", it said that 80 percent of Gaza's population currently receives humanitarian aid, while half of inhabitants do not know where their next meal is coming from.
- Settlement boom -
Palestinians have for the past 50 years of occupation faced "suppressed human potential, ... (leaving the) economy incapable of employing one-third of its workforce," the report said.
Lacking access to land and water, as well as an import ban on suitable fertilisers and other restrictions, for instance helped shrink agricultural output in the West Bank by 11 percent between 2015 and 2016.
"The fact that today, real GDP per capita in the (West Bank) is at the same level as in 1999 is a clear indication of the human cost and lost economic potential resulting from the occupation," the report said.
The per capita gross domestic product in Gaza, meanwhile, had shrunk by nearly a quarter since 1994.
Unemployment, especially among young people, was particularly concerning, the report said.
Despite international demands for Israel to halt its settlement activity, Tuesday's report said that the country had sped up development this year, following a 40 percent hike in 2016 over 2015.
"In recent years, population growth in settlements has not only surpassed population growth in Israel but also that of the Palestinian population," it said.
Since 1995, the settler population has more than doubled to between 600,000 and 750,000 people, it said.
The overall jobless rate stood at 27 percent in the West Bank and at 42 percent in Gaza last year.
For young people aged 15 to 29, the official unemployment rate is 27 percent in the West Bank and 56 percent in Gaza -- the highest rate in the region.
And even those figures do not tell the full story, since they do not include the nearly 60 percent of Palestinian youths who have given up on seeking work or attending school.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad meets with Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu in Damascus
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad welcomed Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu to Damascus on Tuesday as Syrian forces supported by the Russian army prepare to make a final push into parts of the eastern city of Deir Ezzor.
Shoigu gave a letter from Russian President Vladimir Putin to Assad "congratulating him on lifting the siege imposed by Islamic State terrorists in the city of Deir Ezzor," according to a statement by the Syrian presidency.
Last week Syrian troops, backed by Russian airstrikes, broke the siege of two enclaves in and around Deir Ezzor, which had been encircled by jihadists for nearly three years.
An unwavering ally of Assad's regime, Russia militarily intervened in the Syria's six-year conflict in September 2015 when the government was in trouble in its fight against rebels and jihadist groups.
The Damascus regime has had many victories since and now controls nearly all Syria's main cities.
The loss of Deir Ezzor would be a major blow to the jihadist group, whose territory in Syria and neighbouring Iraq has been shrinking.
Shoigu and Assad, who last met in June 2016 in Damascus, discussed their "military and tactical cooperation... for the destruction of the Islamic State group in Syria," a statement from the Russian defence ministry said.
According to the Syrian president, the meeting emphasised "the importance of the Astana process," with a new round of peace talks scheduled on Thursday and Friday aiming to strengthen de-escalation zones meant to allow the establishment of a lasting ceasefire in Syria.
In a statement issued Tuesday, the Russian army claimed that more than 450 IS fighters had been killed in the Deir Ezzor offensive.
"Only yesterday, the Russian airforce carried out more than 50 flights to help the Syrian army's offensive," the statement said.
Israel may be planning to revoke Amnesty International's tax-exempt status over the human rights organization's opposition to Jewish settlements like this one in Kokhav HaShahar, north of Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank
Amnesty International said Tuesday it was alarmed at reports Israel was planning to target its funding in retaliation for its stance against Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The Israel Hayom daily ran a two-page story Tuesday saying the London-based rights group would be the first organisation hit by a 2011 law which penalises those who advocate boycotting the country or products from its settlements.
The freesheet, which is close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said Finance Minister Moshe Kahalon had decided to use the legislation to remove the tax-free status of donations to Amnesty's Israel branch.
Haaretz daily said the finance ministry would summon Amnesty representatives to a hearing before implementing the change.
"The reports that the Israeli government plans to punish Amnesty International over its settlements campaign are deeply alarming," the group said in a statement.
"While we have not been officially informed of any such action by the authorities, if true, this would be a serious setback to freedom of expression and an ominous sign for the ability of human rights NGOs in Israel to operate freely and without arbitrary interference."
The finance ministry did not issue any statement on the issue Tuesday and did not respond to AFP's request for comment.
Netanyahu's government, seen as the most right-wing in Israel's history, passed legislation in March banning entry to foreigners who support boycotting the Jewish state or its settlements, which are illegal under international law.
It sees the boycott movement as a strategic threat and accuses it of anti-Semitism -- a claim activists deny, saying they only want to see an end to Israel's occupation.
Last year, Israel budgeted 118 million shekels ($32 million, 30 million euros) to fight the high-profile BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement.
Amnesty said that removing its tax-exempt status would be "the latest effort by the authorities to silence human rights organisations and activists who criticise the Israeli government and call for accountability."
J.J. Abrams is going to direct "Star Wars: Episode IX," Lucasfilm says
Sci-fi filmmaker J.J. Abrams has been tapped to direct "Star Wars: Episode IX" after the departure of Colin Trevorrow, Lucasfilm announced on Tuesday, delaying its release for seven months.
Abrams -- a familiar face in the "Star Wars" universe who directed "The Force Awakens" (2015) -- will co-write the film with Chris Terrio, who won an Oscar for the screenplay for "Argo" (2012), the Disney-owned studio said.
"With 'The Force Awakens,' J.J. delivered everything we could have possibly hoped for, and I am so excited that he is coming back to close out this trilogy," Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said in a statement.
Disney later announced that "Episode IX," originally scheduled to hit theaters on May 24, 2019, will now be released on December 20 of that year.
Abrams has considerable pedigree in sci-fi, having successfully rebooted the "Star Trek" franchise, directing two of the new films, as well as producing the "Cloverfield" trilogy and the upcoming "Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi."
The "Force Awakens" is the third-highest grossing movie of all time, taking $2.1 billion, and spinoff movie "Rogue One" was beaten only by "Captain America: Civil War" in 2016.
But it hasn't been plain sailing for Lucasfilm, which has parted company with several of its directors recently, starting with Josh Trank, who dropped out of developing a "Star Wars" spinoff in 2015, citing the enormous pressures of being involved with the franchise.
"Rogue One" itself made headlines in 2016, when Tony Gilroy ("The Bourne Legacy") was brought in to helm extensive reshoots just a few months ahead of the release of the Gareth Edwards-directed movie.
Lucasfilm announced a week ago that Trevorrow had left as director of "Episode IX," attributing his exit to differing visions between the filmmaker and studio executives.
The Hollywood Reporter, citing unnamed sources, said the main point of contention was ongoing "script issues," with Trevorrow being forced into several rewrites.
The weekly trade paper reported that the relationship between Trevorrow and Kennedy had become "unmanageable," although it added that she had tried to avoid losing another director.
- 'Huge opportunity missed' -
In June, Lucasfilm sacked directing duo Phil Lord and Chris Miller ("21 Jump Street," "The Lego Movie"), who were just weeks away from wrapping principal photography on the hotly-anticipated Han Solo spinoff.
The pair were replaced by Oscar-winning filmmaker Ron Howard after clashing with Kennedy and writer Lawrence Kasdan, according to reports.
Trevorrow's departure was seen as a significant upheaval as he is considered hot property after scoring big with Universal's creature feature "Jurassic World" (2015), the fourth-highest grossing movie of all time.
Reaction to Trevorrow's replacement was divided on Twitter, where the announcement quickly became one of the top worldwide trending topics, with more than 37,000 tweets.
Many fans expressed admiration for "The Force Awakens" and signaled their approval of the decision, although others saw it as a missed opportunity.
"'Star Wars Chapter Nine: Revenge of the Lens Flare,' written and directed by JJ Abrams," quipped New York Times columnist John Podhoretz, referring to the director's predilection for the visual effect he used extensively in "Star Trek" (2009).
Melissa Silverstein, artistic director of New York's female-focused Athena Film Festival, called it a "huge opportunity missed" with no female director yet in the Star Wars franchise.
"I LOVED Force Awakens so I'm sort of okay with Abrams returning, but at the same time, dang. Star Wars needs to fix its diversity problem," agreed Tim Hanley, author of "The Many Lives of Catwoman: The Felonious History of a Feline Fatale."
The untitled Han Solo movie is due out on May 25 next year, while "The Last Jedi," the next film in the main franchise, directed by Rian Johnson, opens on December 15.
Visitors wait to go through security at Walt Disney World Resort Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida, two days after Hurricane Irma hit the southeastern US state
Walt Disney World in Orlando reopened its doors Tuesday, welcoming tourists and locals still without power and air conditioning two days after Hurricane Irma battered Florida.
"We decided if we're going to bake, we might as well do it at Disney," said Veann Grigajtis, who traveled with her family to the theme park from Melbourne, where they still lack power.
Hundreds of visitors flocked to the iconic Magic Kingdom entrance, transported from the giant car park in small trains.
Disney's other theme parks -- Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios -- also reopened, but some attractions are still closed.
It was also business as usual at Universal Orlando -- but work to repair damage at SeaWorld is still in progress.
"We are here just to stretch out and hang out since we were cooped up in the house for three days," said Katherine Tenea, who traveled to Disney from Tampa, Florida.
"Disney has been part of Florida for about 45, 46 years," added her companion Josh Geller, who said it would be "weird" to imagine a long-term closure of the theme park.
Patty Purdo returned to a scene of desolation at her home in a trailer park in Islamorada, which was badly hit when Hurricane Irma rammed the Florida Keys
After Hurricane Irma reduced her home on a Florida Keys trailer park to rubble, Patty Purdo fears it's now only a matter of time before property developers complete her misery.
"We are afraid that they are going to bulldoze this thing and build a high rise condo and rich people's homes, but we don't have any other place to go," said the waitress on Tuesday as she surveyed what was left of her home of the last 35 years.
"We don't want to leave, we want to stay. It is what it is," she added before breaking down in tears. "We don't have much left."
The Florida Keys, a ribbon of islands on the southern tip of the United States, has long been a magnet for millionaires and film stars drawn to its warm waters and sunsets.
Islamorada, situated in the middle of the archipelago, counts the actor Gene Hackman among its residents and draws thousands of well-heeled tourists over the summer months.
But when Irma hurtled into the Keys as a Category Four hurricane on Saturday night, the biggest losers were not the owners of luxury condos but the likes of Purdo.
Much of Islamorada's 6,000-strong local population's livelihoods are dependent on tourism and live in flimsy trailers, a world away from the Keys' glamorous image.
- 'We're not the rich people' -
"We are the people who serve you coffee. I'm the one that serves you dinner and lunch and coffee in the morning," said the 55-year-old Purdo.
Hurricane Irma's fierce winds brought sailboats ashore in Islamorada, in the Florida Keys
"We're not the rich people here."
Purdo, who rode out the storm in a friend's brick-built house, was distraught when she returned to her home and found its doors were blocked by debris.
She was only able to get into her property by carving a hole with a chainsaw and was then confronted by a blanket of seaweed that smothered her possessions.
"This was my porch," she said with a nervous laugh, pointing at a tangle of wreckage next to her home.
Inside, the floor is covered in a film of sludge that has soiled everything from clothes to books.
The park, called Seabreeze, commands glorious views of the Atlantic Ocean and it's not hard to imagine how developers might be tempted to erect high-end vacation properties or hotels rather than resurrect the more basic homes.
Residents estimated that around 75 percent of the 106 trailers in the park had been largely destroyed by the hurricane winds or subsequent storm surges.
Residents estimate that Irma destroyed three-quarters of homes at the Seabreeze Trailer Park in Islamorada, in the Florida Keys
Nearby businesses have also taken a pounding from Irma such as the Habanos restaurant which was not only coated in algae but also stank of rotten food after the electricity went down.
"The ceiling collapsed in the dining area, in the kitchen we have a lot of water damage," said the proprietor Marilyn Ramos as she spoke to an AFP reporter.
"We haven't been able to assess the whole thing yet. There's been damage in every area, some more than others. So it's devastating for us but we're a strong community, we're going to get this going soon."
Like Purdo, Ramos knows she faces an uncertain future if tourists don't make a swift return but she cannot afford to just wait for them to come back.
"It's going to take some time to get it back to what it was used to be. I want to be hopeful and say weeks, but it can be months. This is our livelihood."
Oscar Wilde, the Irish wit and playwright, was convicted of gross indecency, sentenced in 1895 to two years hard labor, most of which he served in the southern English town of Reading
A secular temple devoted to Oscar Wilde opened in the basement of a New York church Tuesday, crammed with devotional style religious art to honor a trailblazer of gay rights.
Those involved in the project said it had been 20 years in the making but with transgender rights under threat from President Donald Trump's administration and gays feeling more discrimination, it was more timely than ever.
Conceived by artists David McDermott and Peter McGough at The Church of the Village, the space will be open to members of the public five days a week and available for private ceremonies, including weddings.
Wilde, the Irish wit and playwright, was convicted of gross indecency, sentenced in 1895 to two years hard labor, most of which he served in the southern English town of Reading.
"He invoked all of us to rebel, that it was the inherent quality of human beings to be rebellious, to move society, to be individual," said curator Alison Gingeras, who organized the project.
McDermott said the temple was a place "free of religious doctrine, honoring a watershed historical figure who pioneered the long struggle for equal rights for gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender peoples."
Pastor Jeff Wells welcomed the collaboration, saying the installation "fits so deeply into the ethos of this congregation, which we call radically inclusive."
The church, which has a strong LGBTQ contingent, is located in the heart of Greenwich Village near the Stonewall Inn, a landmark of the gay rights movement in the United States.
Conceived by artists David McDermott and Peter McGough at The Church of the Village, "The Oscar Wilde Temple" will be open to members of the public five days a week and available for private ceremonies, including weddings
"The Oscar Wilde Temple" transforms a basement chapel, which will continue to serve as a place of worship for deaf congregants on Sundays, back to 1882-83, the time of Wilde's lecture tour to America.
The centerpiece is an altar built around a more than four-foot (1.2-meter) statute of Wilde, carved out of wood but made to resemble marble, and on the pedestal below, his prisoner number at Reading jail.
Wilde wrote the "Ballad of Reading Gaol" under the pseudonym of that number, C33, after fleeing in exile and disgrace to France.
On the walls, hang seven oil and gold leaf canvases on linen based on newspaper coverage of his trial and imprisonment, and inspired by the Stations of the Cross paintings at the cathedral in Avranches, France.
Also honored are other leading lights who fell victim to homophobia, such as Britain's Alan Turing, the father of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence.
All proceeds from private events and donations to the Temple will go to support LGBTQ youth at risk of homelessness.
"We hope that this temple is a place that is really used," said Gingeras. It will remain open until December 2 before moving to London.
McDermott and McGough, who have collaborated as artists since 1980, began their careers by living as if it were 1890, taking electricity and gas out of their apartment, and wearing starched collars.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Police say two brothers have been arrested in the shooting death of a Philadelphia community activist during a carjacking while his 2-year-old daughter sat in the back seat.
Police say 21-year-old Maurice Roberts and his 16-year-old brother were arrested Saturday in the death of 38-year-old Gerard Grandzol.
Police say Grandzol was approached outside his residence Thursday night by two men who took his wallet and demanded his car keys. Police say Grandzol was trying to get his 2-year-old daughter out of the car when he was shot twice in the head.
He died later that night at a hospital.
He was a community activist in his neighborhood and served on its development board.
No attorney information is available for either suspect.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. Secret Service has restored access to the White House and surrounding areas after objects were thrown over the fence.
The agency - which is responsible for security at the White House - tweeted late Monday morning that a male subject has been arrested and turned over to the local police department for throwing a sign and a notebook over the Pennsylvania Avenue fence.
The incident prompted a temporary "lockdown" of the White House, meaning no one could enter or leave the area. Pedestrian access to Pennsylvania Avenue and Lafayette Park directly opposite the executive mansion also was halted for more than an hour.
Members of the U.S. Secret Service investigate items thrown over the fence at the White House, Monday, Sept. 11, 2017, in Washington. The Secret Service says on Twitter that it has detained two people for throwing unknown objects over the fence. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump was attending a 9/11 ceremony at the Pentagon. He returned to the White House during the lockdown.
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - An appellate court has ruled that a suspended New Jersey judge who allegedly hindered the search for a wanted man she was dating and living with won't have to face an official misconduct count. But Carlia Brady will still face two hindering counts.
The ruling was made public Monday and upheld a lower court ruling.
Brady's lawyer has argued she was acting as a private citizen and had no legal obligation to tell police that the man was headed to and later in her home.
Brady was a Superior Court judge in Middlesex County when she was arrested in July 2013. She had started serving on the bench about three months earlier.
Brady allegedly harbored her then-boyfriend at her Woodbridge home and offered to help him obtain money, transportation or clothing to help him avoid apprehension.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California Gov. Jerry Brown and the state Senate leader said Monday they've agreed to changes in proposed legislation that would further restrict interactions between law enforcement officers and federal immigration agents.
The agreement came on the same day the state sued the Trump administration over its decision to end a program that shields young immigrants from deportation.
Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, agreed to changes demanded by Brown following fierce opposition from sheriffs and other law-enforcement officials.
FILE - In this Sept. 1, 2017 file photo, a woman joins a rally in support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA program, outside the Edward Roybal Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles Friday, Sept. 1, 2017. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed a lawsuit Monday, Sept. 11, against the Trump administration over its decision to end a program that protects young immigrants from deportation who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children or by parents who overstayed visas. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
The bill would still prohibit state and local police from asking about people's immigration status or enforcing federal immigration laws.
However, following Monday's changes, it would preserve the ability of law officers to cooperate on federal task forces as long as the task force doesn't specifically work on immigration enforcement.
Police and jail officials would be able to notify U.S. immigration agents if they detain people with convictions for some 800 crimes, including serious felonies, battery, assault and sexual crimes.
Immigration agents would still be allowed to interview immigrants in jail, and immigration agents would not be barred from accessing state databases.
"This bill protects public safety and people who come to California to work hard and make this state a better place," Brown said in a statement.
Brown and de Leon reached their agreement in the last week of the legislative year. The Assembly and Senate must approve the measure by Friday or delay action until next year.
U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement had no immediate comment.
California already has some of the most protective laws in the country for immigrants detained by law enforcement. The state has limited the ability of police to detain immigrants for federal deportation agents since 2014, and requires jailers to inform inmates if agents are trying to detain immigrants.
Illinois recently passed even more protective legislation that bars law enforcement from detaining immigrants solely for deportation, said Shiu Ming Cheer, senior staff attorney at the National Immigration Law Center.
A handful of cities including Chicago and San Francisco, meanwhile, are refusing to cooperate with new federal requirements for tougher immigration enforcement, prompting the Trump administration to threaten to withhold funding.
Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood, a critic of the initial state bill, said sheriffs would be discussing the latest version on a call Tuesday and declined to discuss the details. He noted that ICE generally seeks cooperation on people convicted of major crimes.
Immigrant rights groups held a noisy rally in the Capitol last week urging Brown and de Leon not to back off from the strict immigrant protections de Leon originally proposed in the wake of Donald Trump's election as president.
But the activists generally praised the compromise with Brown.
"We hope that it will serve as a model for other states and encourage them to adopt similar protections," said Jenny Pasquarella, immigrant rights director for the American Civil Liberties Union of California. "This is where the dragnet is."
The legislative deal was announced the same day that California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said he's filing a lawsuit over the Trump administration's decision to phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects young immigrants living in the U.S. illegally from deportation.
The lawsuit's legal arguments largely mirror those already filed in a lawsuit last week by 15 other states and the District of Columbia. Attorney generals for the states of Maine, Maryland and Minnesota joined California's lawsuit.
More than 200,000 of the 800,000 participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program live in California.
The University of California has also filed a legal challenge to ending the program.
Also on Monday, Mexico Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray said he and other Mexican diplomats are urging members of Congress to make the DACA program permanent and that he is not expecting an immediate influx of hundreds of thousands of young people back to Mexico.
___
Associated Press writers Sudhin Thanawala in San Francisco, Amy Taxin in Orange County, Kathleen Ronayne in Sacramento and Marine Villeneuve in Augusta, Maine, contributed reporting.
FILE - In this Sept. 1, 2017 file photo, Loyola Marymount University student and dreamer Maria Carolina Gomez joins a rally in support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA program, outside the Edward Roybal Federal Building in Los Angeles. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed a lawsuit Monday, Sept. 11, against the Trump administration over its decision to end a program that protects young immigrants from deportation who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children or by parents who overstayed visas. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
FILE - In this Sept. 5, 2017 file photo, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, right, flanked by Secretary of State Alex Padilla, speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Sacramento. Becerra filed a lawsuit Monday, Sept. 11, against the Trump administration over its decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, that protects young immigrants from deportation who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children or by parents who overstayed visas. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
BANGKOK (AP) - Interpol has released a "wanted" listing for a Thai heir to the Red Bull energy drink fortune who is accused in a car crash that killed a Bangkok police officer five years ago.
The international police network made the "red notice" for Vorayuth Yoovidhya viewable to the public on Monday. Law-enforcement officials have been able to access the listing since last month.
Interpol says a red notice is a request to police forces around the world "to locate and provisionally arrest an individual, pending extradition."
This image made from the website of the international police network, Interpol, shows the "wanted" listing for the billionaire Thai heir to the Red Bull energy drink fortune, Vorayuth Yoovidhya, on Monday, Sept. 11, 2017. Interpol listing known as a Red Notice was on its database since August 2017 but has only just made it viewable to the public. Vorayuth, better known by his nickname "Boss", is wanted in connection with a hit-and-run incident in Bangkok in September 2012, in which a Thai policeman on motorbike patrol was struck and killed by a driver in a Ferrari. (Interpol via AP)
Vorayuth, better known by his nickname "Boss," is wanted in connection with a hit-and-run incident in Bangkok in September 2012, in which a Thai policeman on motorbike patrol was struck and killed by a driver in a Ferrari.
He has avoided meeting prosecutors ever since, and his case has raised allegations that Thai authorities are lenient with wealthy suspects.
Vorayuth left Thailand in April, days before authorities finally issued an arrest warrant, and his Thai passports were later revoked. He went to Singapore and then to Taiwan, but his whereabouts since early May are unknown.
The suspect originally faced three charges, but only one remains because he has avoided authorities for so long. A speeding count expired in 2013, and a hit-and-run charge expired early this month. The statute of limitations for the last charge, causing death by reckless driving, runs out in 10 years.
Vorayuth's family owns about half of the Red Bull empire, which was co-founded by his grandfather. For more than four years after the crash, he lived a high-flying and even public life. Relying in part on public social-media posts from his family and friends, the AP found that Vorayuth had gone to Formula One races, snowboarded in Japan and cruised Venice, often flying in private Red Bull jets, and all while failing to show up for court dates.
LOWER MATECUMBE KEY, Fla. (AP) - With 25 percent of the homes in the Florida Keys feared destroyed, emergency workers Tuesday rushed to find Hurricane Irma's victims - dead or alive - and deliver food and water to the stricken island chain.
As crews labored to repair the lone highway connecting the Keys, residents of some of the islands closest to Florida's mainland were allowed to return and get their first look at the devastation.
"It's going to be pretty hard for those coming home," said Petrona Hernandez, whose concrete home on Plantation Key with 35-foot walls was unscathed, unlike others a few blocks away. "It's going to be devastating to them."
A bed sits amongst the remains of its room in a home demolished from Hurricane Irma in Goodland, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
But because of disrupted phone service and other damage, the full extent of the destruction was still a question mark, more than two days after Irma roared into the Keys with 130 mph (209 kph) winds.
Elsewhere in Florida, life inched closer to normal, with some flights again taking off, many curfews lifted and major theme parks reopening. Cruise ships that extended their voyages and rode out the storm at sea began returning to port with thousands of passengers.
The number of people without electricity in the steamy late-summer heat dropped to 9.5 million - just under half of Florida's population. Utility officials warned it could take 10 days or more for power to be fully restored. About 110,000 people remained in shelters across Florida.
The number of deaths blamed on Irma in Florida climbed to 12, in addition to four in South Carolina and two in Georgia. At least 37 people were killed in the Caribbean.
"We've got a lot of work to do, but everybody's going to come together," Florida Gov. Rick Scott said. "We're going to get this state rebuilt."
In hard-hit Naples, on Florida's southwest coast, more than 300 people stood outside a Publix grocery store in the morning, waiting for it to open.
A manager came to the store's sliding door with occasional progress reports. Once he said that workers were throwing out produce that had gone bad; another time, that they were trying to get the cash registers working.
One man complained loudly that the line had too many gaps. Others shook their heads in frustration at word of another delay.
At the front of the line after a more than two-hour wait, Phill Chirchirillo, 57, said days without electricity and other basics were beginning to wear on people.
"At first it's like, 'We're safe, thank God.' Now they're testy," he said. "The order of the day is to keep people calm."
Irma's rainy remnants, meanwhile, pushed through Alabama and Mississippi after drenching Georgia. Flash-flood watches and warnings were issued across the Southeast.
While nearly all of Florida was engulfed by the 400-mile-wide (645-kilometer) storm, the Keys - home to about 70,000 people - appeared to be the hardest hit. Drinking water and power were cut off, all three of the islands' hospitals were closed, and the supply of gasoline was extremely limited.
Search-and-rescue teams made their way into the more distant reaches of the Keys, and an aircraft carrier was positioned off Key West to help. Officials said it was not known how many people ignored evacuation orders and stayed behind in the Keys.
Monroe County began setting up shelters and food-and-water distribution points for Irma's victims in the Keys.
Crews also worked to repair two washed-out, 300-foot (90-meter) sections of U.S. 1, the highway that runs through the Keys, and check the safety of the 42 bridges linking the islands.
Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator Brock Long said preliminary estimates suggested that 25 percent of the homes in the Keys were destroyed and 65 percent sustained major damage.
"Basically, every house in the Keys was impacted," he said.
In Islamorada, a trailer park was devastated, the homes ripped apart as if by a giant claw. A sewage-like stench hung over the place.
Debris was scattered everywhere, including refrigerators, washers and dryers, a 25-foot (8-meter) fishing boat and a Jacuzzi. Homes were torn open to give a glimpse of their contents, including a bedroom with a small Christmas tree decorated with starfish.
One man and his family came to check on a weekend home and found it destroyed. The sight was too much to bear. The man told his family to get back in the car, and they drove off toward Miami.
In Key Largo, Lisa Storey and her husband said they had yet to be contacted by the power company or by city, county or state officials. As she spoke to a reporter, a helicopter passed overhead.
"That's a beautiful sound, a rescue sound," she said.
Authorities stopped people and checked for documentation such as proof of residency or business ownership before allowing them back into the Upper Keys, including Key Largo, Tavernier and Islamorada.
The Lower Keys - including the chain's most distant and most populous island, Key West, with 27,000 people - were still off-limits, with a roadblock in place where the highway was washed out.
In Lower Matecumbe Key, just south of Islamorada, 57-year-old Donald Garner checked on his houseboat, which had only minor damage. Nearby, three other houseboats were partially sunk. Garner had tied his to mangroves.
"That's the only way to make it," said Garner, who works for a shrimp company.
Although the Keys are studded with mansions and beachfront resorts, about 13 percent of the people live in poverty and could face big obstacles as the cleanup begins.
"People who bag your groceries when you're on vacation - the bus drivers, hotel cleaners, cooks and dishwashers - they're already living beyond paycheck to paycheck," said Stephanie Kaple, who runs an organization that helps the homeless in the Keys.
Corey Smith, a UPS driver who rode out the hurricane in Key Largo, said it was a relief that many buildings on the island escaped major damage. But he said conditions were still not good, with branches blocking roads and supermarkets closed.
"They're shoving people back to a place with no resources," he said by telephone. "It's just going to get crazy pretty quick."
____
Mendoza reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writers Terry Spencer in Palm Beach County; Gary Fineout and Joe Reedy in Tallahassee; Jay Reeves in Immokalee; Terrance Harris in Orlando; Claire Galofaro in Jacksonville; and Freida Frisaro, Jennifer Kay, Curt Anderson and David Fischer in Miami contributed to this report.
____
HURRICANE NEWSLETTER - Get the best of the AP's all-formats reporting on Irma and Harvey in your inbox: http://apne.ws/ahYQGtb
A member of the Arizona Task Force 1 search and rescue team knocks on doors while checking on homes and their owners after Hurricane Irma in Goodland, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A man paddles a kayak near a flooded home along the Alafia River Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Lithia, Fla. A storm surge from Hurricane Irma pushed water into the low lying area. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
A man, who refused to be identified, pushes a canoe through water from the Alafia River Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Lithia, Fla. A storm surge from Hurricane Irma pushed water into the low lying area. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Alfonso Jose Jr., 2, is floated down his flooded street by his parents as the wade through water to reach an open convenience store in the wake of Hurricane Irma in Bonita Springs, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Rob Brehm cleans up debris from his home as a demolished house sits across the street after Hurricane Irma in Goodland, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Damaged homes sit in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Key West, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
A sailboat is pushed up between two buildings in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Key West, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Angelina Ventura, left, and Jose Gonzalez retrieve belongings from their flooded home in the wake of Hurricane Irma in Bonita Springs, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Jose Lopez floats his son Jose Jr, 1, in a splash pool as they retrieve belongings from their flooded home following Hurricane Irma in Bonita Springs, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Jose Encarnacion pulls a chicken out from a cage as he retrieves belongings from his flooded home following Hurricane Irma in Bonita Springs, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Children's bicycles are flooded outside a home as Ezequiel Cruz retrieves belongings in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Bonita Springs, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Pierre Ghantos, left, and his son Nathan paddle though their flooded neighborhood in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Fort Myers, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Damaged houses are shown in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, Monday, Sept. 11, 2017, in the Florida Keys. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post via AP, Pool)
MIAMI (AP) - The Latest on Irma (all times local):
8:45 p.m.
Three people are dead from apparent carbon monoxide poisoning at a Florida home following Hurricane Irma, and four others have been hospitalized.
Alfonso Jose Jr., 2, is floated down his flooded street by his parents as the wade through water to reach an open convenience store in the wake of Hurricane Irma in Bonita Springs, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Orange County Sheriff's Office spokesman Jeff Williams says a deputy responded to the Orlando home Tuesday evening following a 911 call from what sounded like a juvenile. The deputy was overcome by fumes while approaching the home and called for fire rescue.
Firefighters pulled seven people from the home, three of whom died at the scene. Four others were taken to a nearby hospital in various conditions.
Rescue workers found a portable gasoline generator running inside the home.
Williamson described the victims as a multi-generational family.
___
8:20 p.m.
Authorities say a Mississippi man died in a crash at a Florida intersection where the traffic signals weren't working after Hurricane Irma.
The Ocala Star-Banner reports that the 59-year-old Coffeeville, Mississippi, man died early Tuesday when his pickup truck collided with a semitrailer in Marion County. The Florida Highway Patrol says Irma had knocked out the signals.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene. His name was not immediately released.
Officials say intersections with broken traffic signals should be treated as four-way stops.
___
8:20 p.m.
The cost of Hurricane Irma to Florida is at nearly $250 million.
During a Tuesday briefing, 31 state agencies have reported spending $249,815,222 on preparations and recovery efforts. The final costs could well surpass what the state spent for Hurricane Matthew last year ($268,498,784).
___
7:45 p.m.
Florida officials say crews are restoring power across the state, but 9.5 million people remain without electricity.
State Emergency Management Center officials say they restored power to 1.7 million homes and businesses on Tuesday.
Of the three South Florida counties that were hit the hardest, Palm Beach is the only one where more than half have power.
___
7:45 p.m.
A South Florida couple managed to make it through Hurricane Irma without major damage to their home, but a kitchen fire that broke out after power was restored gutted the town house.
Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue spokesman Mike Jachles says the man and woman from Deerfield Beach still didn't have power when they decided to go for a swim Tuesday afternoon. But the power apparently returned while they were out, causing the stove to turn on and set fire to objects on the cooking surface.
Jachles says it wasn't clear whether the stove had been left on before the power went out or had been accidentally turned on while the power was off.
___
7:45 p.m.
South Florida kids could be back at school next week after having more than a week off because of Hurricane Irma.
School officials in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties all tweeted on Tuesday that they were preparing to resume classes next Monday. Broward County officials said it would depend on whether power had been restored.
Many school districts around Florida canceled classes last week in anticipation of Irma making landfall Sunday.
___
7 p.m.
Miami police officers and firefighters are evacuating residents who live near a crane that collapsed in Hurricane Irma.
A city of Miami news release says evacuations were ordered Tuesday for two buildings across the street from the Gran Paraiso construction site north of downtown. The top of the crane was damaged during Sunday's storm but did not fall to the ground. Officials say it hasn't been secured since the storm.
Plaza Construction, the general contractor, has been notified that there are available hotel rooms in the areas for evacuees.
___
7 p.m.
Authorities suspect a Miami man died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator running inside his home.
Miami-Dade Police Department Officer Robin Pinkard said Tuesday that a neighbor discovered 65-year-old David Boatswain in his home Monday morning after he didn't answer his phone. A medical examiner is investigating, but emergency responders said the home tested positive for carbon monoxide.
The fatality brings Florida's death toll to 13, and the total death toll in all areas affected by the storm to 56.
___
7 p.m.
Several Royal Caribbean International cruise ships have been doing storm relief duty.
Company spokeswoman Celia de la Llama says the ship Adventure of the Seas arrived in St. Maarten on Sunday, picked up 300 visitors from various countries who had been trying to leave after Hurricane Irma hit, and dropped off provisions for residents.
Adventure was on a regular cruise from Puerto Rico but had room for the evacuees because of cancellations. The evacuees are being given the option to disembark at any of the regularly scheduled ports of call and head home from there or to continue on with the ship to Puerto Rico.
De la Llama says the ship Majesty of the Seas has picked up evacuees from the U.S. Virgin Island's St. Thomas and was scheduled to depart with them en route to Puerto Rico on Wednesday. The ship will pick up supplies in Puerto Rico, then head to St. Maarten to drop them off and load additional evacuees. The ship is scheduled to go back to San Juan on Friday to drop off the evacuees.
___
7 p.m.
Former NFL player and Jacksonville, Florida, native Tim Tebow visited workers at the State Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee, and thanked them for their efforts during Hurricane Irma.
Tebow visited with emergency workers on Tuesday. The day before, he accepted an invitation from Gov. Rick Scott to tour shelters in Duval County.
Tebow just completed his first season playing baseball for the New York Mets. Before that he played for the Denver Broncos and New York Jets. In 2008, he won the Heisman Trophy as the University of Florida's quarterback.
___
5:45 p.m.
Firefighters are evacuating a Miami-area building because of the lack of power and water, saying it's not safe for the elderly tenants who live there.
Those evacuated Tuesday afternoon from the building in the Miami suburb of Coral Gables included a 97-year-old woman who had to be carried down 12 flights of stairs in a special evacuation chair.
The building has been without power since Sunday.
___
5:15 p.m.
State officials are raising the number of deaths in Florida from Hurricane Irma to 12 from the previous seven. That brings the total death toll in all areas affected by the storm to 55.
McKinley Lewis is a spokesman for Florida Gov. Rick Scott. Lewis says six people died in car crashes, four while engaged in storm preparations, one was electrocuted by a downed power line, and another had a cardiac issue.
Officials have reported 37 deaths in the Caribbean, four deaths in South Carolina, and two deaths in Georgia.
___
5:10 p.m.
Carbon monoxide expelled by generators has killed one man each in South Carolina and Florida, and sent two to the hospital in Florida.
Miami-Dade Police Department Officer Robin Pinkard said Tuesday that a neighbor discovered 65-year-old David Boatswain in his home Monday morning after he didn't answer his phone. A medical examiner is investigating, but emergency responders said the home tested positive for carbon monoxide.
Sumter County, South Carolina, Coroner Robert Baker Jr. said 54-year-old William McBride was pronounced dead Tuesday after he was found lifeless at his mobile home, where a generator was running inside.
Polk County, Florida, spokesman Kevin Watler says fire rescue crews have treated patients in Lakeland and Lake Alfred for carbon monoxide poisoning.
He says that in both cases the people were running generators in an enclosed garage.
Watler says the most common dangers associated with generators are carbon monoxide poisoning, electrical shock or electrocution.
___
4 p.m.
U.S. Virgin Islands Police Commissioner Delroy Richards is denying reports of violent crime in the territory after Hurricane Irma.
Richards says there have been no reports of serious crime associated with the storm or its aftermath. He said there have been some arrests for curfew violations on St. Thomas.
The police commission and Gov. Kenneth Mapp said in a statement Tuesday that reports of widespread looting on St. John and the theft of firearms are also untrue.
Police spokesman Glen Dratte said there have been four confirmed deaths on St. Thomas as a result of the storm but he could not provide details.
___
4 p.m.
Hurricane Irma has completely destroyed a trailer park in the Florida Keys community of Islamorada.
A visitor to Windley Key Condo Association saw mobile homes that had been ripped apart, with their rooms exposed.
The storm had scattered small and large debris around the park, including a hot tub, a 25-foot-long (8-meter-long) fishing boat, refrigerators, ice machines, washer-dryers, furniture of all types, a surfboard, and a hamster cage. The homes were covered in seaweed.
Four male residents who had ridden out the storm elsewhere returned to clear through the debris Tuesday. Shirtless and sweating, they hooked items by chain to a pickup to haul them out of the way. They said that it was the storm surge that had ripped open the homes.
When one resident who returned to check out the damage saw what was left of what had been his family's weekend home, he told his family to get back in the car and they drove away.
___
3:30 p.m.
Florida's emergency management director says officials are trying to get gas flowing to stations as quickly as possible.
Bryan Koon said on Tuesday that gas is available throughout the state and that the reopening of Port Everglades and the Port of Tampa Bay should also help get more supplies to stations.
A lot also depends on getting power back to gas stations as quickly as possible, especially in South Florida where a lot of areas are still without electricity.
___
3:30 p.m.
Officials at the main cruise-ship port in the Miami area have gotten the green light from the Coast Guard to allow ships to return after being stranded during Irma.
Port Everglades spokeswoman Alinda Montfort said the 3,000 passengers on Carnival Cruises' Carnival Conquest were the first to arrive Tuesday. Six-thousand passengers on Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas were next in line, followed by 3,000 passengers on Carnival Cruises' Carnival Splendor.
Port Everglades is located in Broward County near Fort Lauderdale.
___
3 p.m.
The White House says President Donald Trump will visit hurricane-stricken Florida on Thursday.
Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders did not announce the specific location or locations. Trump said earlier this week that he would visit the state "very soon."
About 10 million people - half of Florida's population - remained without electricity Tuesday, two days after Hurricane Irma roared across the length of the state.
Seven deaths in Florida have been blamed on Irma.
Trump visited Texas and Louisiana after Hurricane Harvey struck both states in late August.
___ 2:15 p.m.
The United Nations says it is airlifting food to stricken islands devastated by Hurricane Irma in the eastern and western Caribbean.
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the World Food Program is flying in 20 metric tons (22 tons) of high-energy biscuits, enough to feed nearly 17,000 people for three days. The biscuits are being sent from Haiti to a newly established hub in Antigua, where the population of Barbuda has been evacuated, and to nearby St. Martin.
He said this will be followed by "cash-based assistance" for 20,000 people on islands in the eastern Caribbean whose livelihoods have been ruined.
Dujarric told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York on Tuesday that the World Food Program is also launching an emergency operation in the western Caribbean islands, including the Turks and Caicos, which is serving as an operational hub.
He said 10 metric tons (11 tons) of high-energy biscuits are being airlifted to the Turks and Caicos to help 8,500 vulnerable people.
Dujarric said the U.N. is also airlifting other crucial items to the eastern and western Caribbean including mobile storage units, tarpaulins, prefabs, generators and other logistics and telecommunications support equipment.
He said the World Food Program has also offered to provide food and logistical assistance to Cuba.
___
2:15 p.m.
The storms' massive winds also knocked possibly thousands of baby squirrels out of their nests. By Tuesday, some animal rescue centers with squealing new patients, while other Floridians worked to save the tennis ball-sized fluff balls at home.
The Naples News Daily even posted a story about one found squealing on the trunk of an oak tree. The reporter tried to feed it and tucked it into a shoebox with rags in the tree branches.
"We've got close to 100 baby squirrels right now, and they just keep coming," said Dawn Marie Pangburn, who runs a rescue service in Longwood, Florida.
Pangburn, who said baby squirrels are often tossed to the ground during Florida storms, cautioned against trying to bottle feed them - a potentially fatal move.
She suggested warming them up, either on a soft blanket on a heating pad or "direct body heat, skin to skin." She feeds them with a syringe. The Irma rescues will be handfed for up to 22 weeks before she can return them to the wild.
___
2:15 p.m.
Georgia's governor has lifted a mandatory evacuation order for 540,000 people in six coastal counties.
Gov. Nathan Deal said Tuesday in a news release that he lifted the order after the Georgia Department of Transportation inspected 49 state bridges that were affected by Tropical Storm Irma. The governor said it is now up to local authorities to decide when the residents who live in their areas may return home and to provide appropriate guidance.
Deal says recovery could take awhile because damage occurred across the state, not just in coastal communities. More than 1.2 million Georgia Power and Electric Membership Corp. customers were without power Tuesday morning. The utility companies said they would continue to assess damage as power is restored. Alabama Power reported 20,000 outages mostly in eastern Alabama as the remnants of Irma toppled tree and power lines, but didn't cause major damage. The utilities said repairs could take several days.
___
1:50 p.m.
Authorities say Irma has caused a fourth death in South Carolina when a city worker drove off the road during heavy rains.
Columbia City Manager Teresa Wilson says 48-year-old Arthur Strudwick died after a single-vehicle crash Monday night.
Columbia police said they believe weather was a factor. Police said it appears Strudwick lost control of his pickup truck and went off the road, striking a tree, during windy and rainy conditions.
Wilson says Strudwick was pronounced dead at a hospital. The worker for the forestry division of the city's Public Works Department had been on his way to help with a downed tree when he crashed.
Three other deaths in South Carolina have been attributed to the storm.
___
1:40 p.m.
An American Airlines flight was the first to arrive at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Tuesday morning after the airport was shut down for three days during Hurricane Irma and its aftermath.
The busy South Florida airport usually handles about 800 flights a day, but was handling about half as many Tuesday.
Airport spokesman Greg Meyer said the airport was ramping up its capacity.
About 2,800 flights have been cancelled since Thursday, including 356 on Tuesday.
Both runways were operational and were not damaged. But out of an abundance of caution the airport was only using the south runway because of standing water between the taxi and the runway on the north runway.
Airport staff, including TSA and vendors, arrived around 4 a.m. Many workers were diverted to customer service positions to help stranded passengers, including those who were stuck on cruise ships at sea.
___
1:15 p.m.
People on the Georgia coast are facing their second round of expensive storm repairs in less than a year thanks to Tropical Storm Irma.
When Irma arrived Monday, Joey Spalding of Tybee Island was still finishing flood damage repairs from when Hurricane Matthew hit last October. The new storm pushed 2 feet (0.6 meters) of water into Spalding's house at high tide. He waded into waist-deep floodwaters in the street.
Spalding says new drywall, insulation and flooring installed after Matthew is now ruined and needs to be replaced.
Tybee Island Mayor Jason Buelterman says Irma caused worse flooding on the island than Matthew. He estimates roughly 200 homes got flooded by both storms. Storm surge and heavy rain from Irma caused flooding all along the Georgia coast.
___
1:00 p.m.
Gov. Roy Cooper said forestry crews equipped with chain saws and some National Guard soldiers are helping clear roads in parts of western North Carolina affected by the remnants of Hurricane Irma.
Cooper said Tuesday that the crews were working mostly in Buncombe, Jackson and Macon counties. Buncombe County includes Asheville.
The governor said the state had five emergency shelters open Monday night and they had about 80 people in them at midnight.
Cooper said two rescue teams have been sent to Florida to help with recovery there.
___
12:55 p.m.
A third death in South Carolina has been attributed to Hurricane Irma.
Sumter County Coroner Robert Baker Jr. says 54-year-old William McBride was pronounced dead Tuesday of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Baker says McBride had been running a generator inside his mobile home for at least several hours, with only a single window cracked for ventilation.
Baker says power was knocked out in some parts of the county at around 8:30 p.m. Monday.
Baker says McBride's sons found him Tuesday morning and called authorities.
___
12:45 p.m.
Emergency response aircraft have places to land in the Florida Keys.
Monroe County officials said Tuesday that airports in Key West and Marathon, as well as the Navy base in Key West, were operational - but only emergency response flights were allowed.
Authorities were working to reopen three hospitals in the Keys. Mariners Hospital in Tavernier, in the Upper Keys, was found to have water damage that delayed reopening.
Three air ambulances that rode out the storm in Alabama will be returning to the Keys and begin flying for medical emergencies.
The county said two 300-foot stretches of road that were washed out by Irma at the 75 and 38 mile markers were expected to be repaired Tuesday.
Shelters are being opened where food and water would be distributed. The locations include at a Key West shopping plaza, a school near the point of landfall on Cudjoe Key, the high school in Marathon and along the Overseas Highway in the Florida Key Deer Refuge.
___
12:10 p.m.
Florida's largest utility says much of the state's east coast could have power back by Sunday, but other areas could take 10 days or more.
Rob Gould, vice president and chief communications officer for Florida Power & Light, said Tuesday that the utility expects to have power on for most customers along the state's eastern coast by the end of this weekend.
Gould said it would take until the end of Sept. 22 to restore power along the state's western coast where the damage was much more severe. He did say that some areas hit by tornadoes or flooding may take longer.
FPL says that 2.8 million homes and businesses are without power throughout its service area as of Tuesday.
Utility officials say they have nearly 20,000 workers helping with the restoration effort. FPL says it has gotten crews from as far away as Canada to California.
___
11:55 a.m.
A convoy of federal emergency management trucks was preparing to head to Florida from an Alabama staging area to help with Irma recovery.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has scheduled 180 trucks to depart Alabama for Florida on Tuesday. That's according to Richard Brewer, the director of external affairs for FEMA's Center for Domestic Preparedness.
FEMA had staged 930 tractor-trailer trucks at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery ahead of the storm's arrival.
FEMA maintains large stores of food, bottled water, medical supplies, cots and blankets that are pre-packed and strategically placed at locations throughout the United States. Those supplies were pre-staged on semi-trucks so they can be driven into the disaster zone after the storm passes.
__
11:35 a.m.
Beyond the luxurious mansions and beachfront resorts are thousands of Florida Keys residents living on the brink of poverty. Advocates say these are the people facing massive hurdles as hurricane clean up begins.
Stephanie Kaple runs the Florida Keys Outreach Coalition for the Homeless. She says many people who work in hotels and restaurants are already living paycheck to paycheck.
The string of tropical islands that stretch south from Florida, connected by bridges, are home to about 70,000 people, with about 13 percent living in poverty.
In addition to providing shelter and recovery service, Kaple said her organization helps prevent homelessness by paying emergency rent, air conditioner repairs and medical bills for community members in need.
She said that despite support from the United Way and Monroe County, those funds, post hurricane, will soon be running out.
___
11:30 a.m.
The remnants of Irma toppled trees and power lines in Alabama, leaving thousands without electricity, but didn't appear to cause major damage.
Alabama Power Co., the state's largest provider of electricity, reported that on Tuesday morning that 20,000 households and businesses were without power. The power outages were concentrated in the eastern portion of the state.
Irma, at tropical storm status, pelted the state with cold rain and wind gusts as high as 45 mph on Monday. Rains and wind began to dissipate on Tuesday.
Several school systems remained closed on Tuesday after official announced two days of closures ahead of the storm's approach.
___
11:25 a.m.
Miami Beach's mayor said hospitals, police and fire stations were getting power restored first.
But Mayor Philip Levine also said he sympathized with residents who lacked relief from the heat in the barrier island city across the water from downtown Miami.
Levine said in an emailed statement Tuesday that he would exert what pressure he could on Florida Power and Light to do repairs as fast as possible for residents.
Levine said: "I promise you that I will use the full force of my office to continue to put pressure on FPL to get our community's power restored so we can return to normalcy."
___
11:20 a.m.
The remnants of Hurricane Irma blew down trees and caused power outages in southeastern Tennessee, causing some school districts to close or delay classes.
Crews were out Tuesday morning clearing trees off some roadways, and a local electric company was working to restore power to homes. No injuries have been reported.
Meanwhile, officials in Nashville deactivated the city's emergency operations center around 1 a.m. Tuesday, about five hours after partially activating it.
The National Weather Service in Nashville called Irma's impact "underwhelming" and said while the next couple of days will be rainy and breezy, warmer temperatures are expected to return on Friday, when the high is projected to reach the mid-80s.
___
11:15 a.m.
Police across Florida are warning of scams in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.
Boynton Beach police spokeswoman Stephanie Slater said in a news release that two men posing as power company workers stole nearly $13,000 in jewelry from a 95-year-old woman.
Slater says the woman was sitting in her living room with the front door open Monday afternoon when the men walked in. They told the woman they were checking switches to restore power. She told police one man remained in the living room while she escorted the other man through the house, flipping light switches.
According to a police report, the men told the woman her power would come on shortly. She later discovered that her jewelry and some cash had been stolen.
Police say there is no reason for anyone with a power company to enter individual homes at this time. Any power company officials will be credentialed and most will be driving vehicles marked with company signage.
___
11:05 a.m.
South Carolina officials say a man was killed in a wreck on a wet and windy interstate as Irma moved past.
Public Safety Director Leroy Smith said 21-year-old Zhen Tain died in the crash on Interstate 77 east of Columbia around 3:15 p.m. Monday.
Troopers say Tain crashed into another car and his Ford Mustang flipped, trapping him inside. Authorities say the second driver was taken to the hospital. Her condition was not known.
Troopers say the wreck is still under investigation.
The National Weather Service says there was heavy rain in Columbia with wind gusts around 40 mph when the wreck happened.
Tain is the second person killed in South Carolina during Irma. Authorities say a man was hit by a falling limb while clearing debris near his home Monday afternoon in Calhoun Falls.
Smith says Tain was driving too fast for conditions losing control on the wet road, hitting the other vehicle before flipping over on its roof, trapping Tain inside.
___
10:50 a.m.
Florida's governor says that bridges linking the Florida Keys appeared to escape serious damage from Hurricane Irma, but more time is needed to finish inspections.
Gov. Rick Scott said Tuesday that officials continue to check the 42 Overseas Highway bridges that link the Florida Keys together. He said none appear seriously damaged but that "we're not sure that on the bridges we should be putting on significant weight."
Residents were allowed to return Tuesday to some islands in the Upper Keys. But there was a roadblock preventing people from accessing islands further away while repairs and inspections continue.
__
10:25 a.m.
NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida remains closed, but appears to have weathered Hurricane Irma well.
The same holds true at adjoining Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Inspection crews were out in full force Tuesday.
Power has been restored to NASA and Air Force facilities but water service is out. Until that's restored, Kennedy will stay closed to non-essential personnel.
Over at Kennedy's tourist area, life-size replicas of the space shuttle fuel tank and booster rockets were still standing outside the home of shuttle Atlantis. No major damage has been reported at the visitor complex.
Brigadier General Wayne Monteith, who's in charge of Air Force operations says, "We dodged another bullet." Last October, Hurricane Matthew stayed safely off shore. On Monday, Irma remained well to the west of Cape Canaveral.
___
9:55 a.m.
Officials in Miami Beach allowed residents to return to their homes Tuesday morning after Hurricane Irma pounded Florida with wind and rain.
A long line of cars amassed on Interstate 195 at 6:55 a.m. Tuesday, waiting for the road blocks to be taken down.
The entryways have been blocked since Sunday night so crews could remove numerous downed branches from main arteries and clear debris.
To re-enter the beach, residents must show a state ID or other proof of residency.
___
9:55 a.m.
The Public Prosecutor's office in Dutch St. Maarten says police and soldiers there have put an end to what it calls "large-scale robberies and looting" in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.
The office released a statement saying it doesn't know how many people have been arrested but that some accused of minor offenses have been released and some have been assigned to help the Caribbean island clean up from the ravages of the storm.
The government only has enough space to detain only those accused of the most serious offenses.
The statement released Tuesday says authorities there have photos and videos of suspects involved in looting and robbery and will be working with the public to identify them in the coming days.
___
9 a.m.
Jacksonville sheriff's officials said on Twitter that 356 people were rescued from flooding on Monday as Hurricane Irma moved over Florida.
And they tweeted some advice for them: "We hope the 356 people who had their lives saved yesterday will take evacuation orders seriously in the future."
Sheriff's officials also said that all bridges leading into downtown Jacksonville have re-opened.
They noted that many roads are still blocked or flooded Tuesday morning and motorist are urged to treat intersections without working red lights as four-way stops.
___
9 a.m.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the government's "top priority" is to help the populations return to normal life in French Caribbean territories that have been hit by Hurricane Irma.
Macron said in a news conference in Pointe-a-Pitre airport, in Guadeloupe, that a major air bridge is bringing emergency aid and rescuers to St. Martin and St. Barts islands.
He added that about 1,900 police and troops are now on the ground to ensure security in St. Martin, one of the hardest-hit islands where 11 people were killed.
Macron said power was restored in about 50 percent of homes in St. Martin. He also hoped some schools will be able to open as soon as next week. All of the island's schools have been damaged or destroyed.
Macron is now heading to St. Martin to meet with residents. He'll then go to St. Barts.
___
9 a.m.
FEMA Administrator Brock Long says the Florida Keys "took the brunt of the hit" from Hurricane Irma and it will take time to survey the damage there before residents there can return.
In a news conference Tuesday, Long says of Monroe County: "A majority of the homes there have been impacted in some way" with homes destroyed or damaged.
Long says Irma damage is more complex than Hurricane Harvey, affecting the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Florida's Seminole Tribe, which relies on the federal government for disaster relief.
___
8:30 a.m.
Federal officials are warning of possible fuel shortages in the Southeast because of hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
Last week, the Homeland Security Department issued a week-long waiver on federal restrictions of foreign vessels so they could help distribute fuel. Officials noted this action should help, but urged patience.
Christopher Krebs, head of infrastructure protection for the Homeland Security Department, told reporters Tuesday that Harvey took a "significant amount" of the nation's refining capacity offline and affected distribution. "As a result," he said, "there may be some fuel supply shortages throughout the Southeast."
___
7:55 a.m.
The mayor of Jacksonville, Florida, says his city has the money it needs to begin rebuilding after Hurricane Irma.
Mayor Lenny Curry tells NBC's "Today" that his city is on firm financial ground. He says it can begin rebuilding as it works with the federal and state governments to secure additional funding.
Curry says he doesn't have an estimate for what it will cost to repair the damage.
In Washington, Brock Long, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, says officials are keeping an eye on flooding in Jacksonville from the St. John River.
Long says authorities are still conducting "life-safety" missions in Jacksonville due to the severe flooding.
Mayor Curry says the flooding could take weeks to subside.
___
7:55 a.m.
Federal officials say their focus Tuesday in storm-ravaged Florida will be on deploying aircraft to survey the damage and orchestrate any needed rescues.
They're warning residents not to return home until local authorities declare their area safe.
Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke told reporters in Washington "our No. 1 concern today is with saving lives."
Duke says weather is cooperating, and the Defense Department and other federal agencies are contributing resources. She says: "We are working to get as many aircraft in the air as possible."
Brock Long, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, says of Irma damage: "This is going to be a frustrating event" and it will likely be "some time" before people are allowed back into their homes.
___
7:55 a.m.
A 55-year-old Florida man died when the chain saw he was using to clear trees in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma became entangled in a branch, causing it to kick up and cut his carotid artery.
Hillsborough County Sheriff's spokeswoman Cristal Nunez said in a news release that Wilfredo Hernandez was clearing trees in Tampa on Monday afternoon when the accident occurred.
Nunez said deputies used a harness to lower the man from the tree, but he died at the scene.
___
7:35 a.m.
Officials in the upper Florida Keys are allowing residents and business owners to return after Hurricane Irma.
People were able to return to Monroe County as of 7 a.m. EDT Tuesday.
In a Facebook posting, Monroe County officials said a yellow re-entry sticker or proof of residency or business ownership will be required.
County officials said a roadblock will be put around mile marker 74, where part of U.S. 1 was washed out by Hurricane Irma, which slammed into the state Sunday as a Category 4 storm. A road crew is expected to begin repairs Tuesday.
Officials warned returning residents that there are limited services available. Most areas are still without power and water and cellphone service is limited. Most gas stations in the Key Largo area are still closed.
Crews are working to clear U.S. 1, the only road that runs north/south through the Florida Keys.
County officials also said Mariners Hospital in Tavernier was expected to reopen Tuesday morning.
___
7:15 a.m.
The 600 monkeys, birds and other animals at Miami's Jungle Island made it through Hurricane Irma just fine. But the park sustained a lot of tree damage.
The park's managing director Christopher Gould tells the Miami Herald the tree damage was worse than in Hurricane Andrew. "We have weeks of work ahead of us to overcome this type of damage," he said.
Gould said he's not sure when the park will reopen. He says workers are still estimating the damage.
After Hurricane Andrew, the park - which was then called Parrot Jungle - suffered nearly $5 million in damage and was closed for three weeks.
The animals rode out the storm secured in hurricane-proof enclosures. Gould says there were specialists on hand to help the animals deal with the stress. All of the animals were back in their habitats by Monday.
___
6:45 a.m.
French President Emmanuel Macron has arrived in Guadeloupe, the first step of his visit to French Caribbean islands hammered by Hurricane Irma.
Macron is meeting in Pointe-a-Pitre airport with rescuers and local authorities officials to discuss the support and aid they can bring to nearby St. Martin and St. Barts islands, the hardest-hit by the storm.
He'll then be heading to St. Martin to meet with residents, and then to St. Barts.
Macron's plane is bringing water, food and tons of medicines and emergency equipment. The president is also being accompanied by doctors and experts who will be in charge of evaluating the damage.
___
5:55 a.m.
The airport for Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has re-opened Tuesday morning after closing as Hurricane Irma pounded the state.
Operations at the airport resumed at 4 a.m. EDT, but a check of the airport's website Tuesday morning showed many flights still canceled.
Meanwhile, the Miami International Airport said in a tweet that it will resume operations on a limited basis Tuesday. But the airport said passengers should contact their airlines to check on flight status before coming.
Six deaths in Florida have been blamed on Irma, which first hit the state Sunday as a powerful Category 4 hurricane.
___
HURRICANE NEWSLETTER - Get the best of the AP's all-formats reporting on Irma and Harvey in your inbox: http://apne.ws/ahYQGtb
House boats, some damaged from Hurricane Irma, sit in a marina, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Key West, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Lisa Borruso plays pool using a headlamp as the power remains out following Hurricane Irma at Gators' Crossroads in Naples, Fla., Monday, Sept. 11, 2017. Statewide, an estimated 13 million people, or two-thirds of Florida's population, remained without power. That's more than the population of New York and Los Angeles combined. Officials warned it could take weeks for electricity to be restored to everyone. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Cesar De La Cruz makes breakfast on a propane stove in his driveway as his neighborhood is flooded from Hurricane Irma in Fort Myers, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Millions statewide remained without power and officials warned it could take weeks for electricity to be restored to everyone. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A man paddles a kayak near a flooded home along the Alafia River Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Lithia, Fla. A storm surge from Hurricane Irma pushed water into the low lying area. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
A bed sits amongst the remains of its room in a home demolished from Hurricane Irma in Goodland, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A member of the Arizona Task Force 1 search and rescue team walks by debris from a home as they knock on doors while checking on homes and their owners after Hurricane Irma in Goodland, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Rob Brehm cleans up debris from his home as a demolished house sits across the street after Hurricane Irma in Goodland, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A member of the Arizona Task Force 1 search and rescue team knocks on doors while checking on homes and their owners after Hurricane Irma in Goodland, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Jean Chatelier walks through a flooded street from Hurricane Irma to retrieve his uniform from his house to return to work today at a supermarket in Fort Myers, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Chatelier walked about a mile each way in knee-high water as a Publix supermarket was planning on reopening to the public today. "I want to go back to work. I want to help," said Chatelier. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Sandra Pagan, right, looks out from her front door while escaping the heat inside her home with her dog Goldo, nephew Misael Fernandez, center, and niece Lorraene Andaluz, in window at left, after Hurricane Irma flooded their neighborhood leaving them without power and impassable with their cars in Fort Myers, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. "It's unbearable," said Pagan who rode out the storm in the home with her family. "We can't sleep at all it's so hot." (AP Photo/David Goldman)
UKHIYA, Bangladesh (AP) - The Latest on violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state and the flood of ethnic Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh (all times local):
5:30 a.m.
The world's largest Muslim body is urging Myanmar to allow in U.N. monitors so they can investigate what it alleges is systematic brutality against the Rohingya ethnic minority.
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, center, meets with a Rohingya Muslim child at Kutupalong refugee camp, near the border town of Ukhia, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Hasina visited the struggling refugee camp that has absorbed some of the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya who fled recent violence in Myanmar, a crisis she said left her speechless. (AP Photo/Saiful Kallol)
At least 370,000 Rohingya have flooded into Bangladesh since Aug. 25, when Myanmar's military responded to an insurgent attack with what it called "clearance operations" to root out the rebels. Many of the fleeing Rohingya have said Myanmar soldiers shot indiscriminately, burned their homes and warned them to leave or die. Others said they were attacked by Buddhist mobs.
The U.N. Human Rights Council approved an investigative mission earlier this year, but Myanmar in June refused to allow it to enter. An envoy's visit in July was met with protests.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation issued its statement Tuesday after an emergency meeting on the sidelines of a technology conference in Astana, Kazakhstan.
___
1:15 a.m.
Two human rights groups are accusing the U.N. Security Council of ignoring the "ethnic cleansing" taking place on a large scale against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar who are fleeing across the border to Bangladesh.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International representatives said at a joint press conference at U.N. headquarters Tuesday that the U.N.'s most powerful body has failed to speak out and immediately demand an end to the violence.
It comes ahead of closed council discussions Wednesday on the crisis.
The U.N. said Tuesday that 370,000 Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh since Aug. 25 and thousands are arriving every day.
Louis Charbonneau, the U.N. director for Human Rights Watch, said, "This is an international peace and security crisis" and there is no excuse for the Security Council "sitting on its hands."
___
1:05 a.m.
The United Nations says two flights have landed in Bangladesh with supplies to help 25,000 Rohingya Muslim refugees fleeing violence in Myanmar.
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said one flight chartered by the U.N. refugee agency carried shelter materials, sleeping mats and other emergency supplies for a refugee camp in Cox's Bazar district in the country's southeast. He said a second flight, donated by the United Arab Emirates, carried nearly 2,000 family tents.
Further flights are planned to enable a total of 120,000 refugees to be reached.
Dujarric says the U.N. World Food Program is providing food to some 70,000 people as they arrive in Cox's Bazar and to nearly 60,000 people living in camps and makeshift settlements.
In Myanmar, Dujarric said most aid activities in northern Rakhine state remain either suspended or severely interrupted, although the government is delivering some aid through the Red Cross.
___
5 p.m.
Myanmar's military says Rohingya Muslim villagers helped them arrest six suspected Rohingya insurgents armed with swords and slingshots in the country's conflict-torn northern Rakhine state.
The government says the six are suspected of being members of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, which attacked police posts Aug. 25. Violence since then has sent hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fleeing, burned 60 villages and left hundreds dead. The government and Rohingya blame each other.
The military commander in chief's office said Tuesday on its Facebook page that six alleged insurgents were detained Monday by fellow Rohingya as they entered Ka Nyin Tan village in Maungdaw township.
Authorities in Buddhist-majority Myanmar refer to Rohingya as Bengalis, contending that they immigrated illegally from nearby Bangladesh, though many Rohingya families have lived in Myanmar for generations.
4:15 p.m.
The U.N. refugee agency says the number of Rohingya refugees that have fled recent violence in Myanmar has spiked to about 370,000.
That new estimate given Tuesday in a statement by UNHCR is more than 50,000 higher than Monday's estimate - a result of aid agencies reaching "more villages, hamlet and pockets where refugees have gathered."
Thousands of ethnic Rohingya Muslims have been arriving daily by foot across the swampy border as well as by rickety wooden boats traveling on wild seas since violence erupted on Aug. 25 in Myanmar.
The influx has left Bangladesh refugee camps reeling. The UNHCR said it was flying in two shipments of aid materials including jerry cans, blankets, sleeping mats and shelter materials.
It said the goods would help some 25,000 refugees at jam-packed refugee camps in Bangladesh's border district of Cox's Bazar. More airlifts were planned in coming days.
___
11:45 a.m.
Iran's Supreme Leader has strongly condemned the killing of Muslims in Myanmar by the government.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the killing of Rohingya Muslims is a political disaster for Myanmar because it is being carried out by a government led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, whom he called a "brutal woman."
He urged Muslim countries to take practical steps to stop the violence and said they should "increase political, economic and commercial pressures on the government of Myanmar."
At least 313,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since Aug. 25, when Rohingya insurgents attacked police posts, prompting Myanmar's military to retaliate with what it called "clearance operations" to root out the rebels.
Myanmar authorities said more than a week ago that some 400 Rohingya, mostly insurgents, had died in clashes with troops, but it has offered no update. It has also blamed Rohingya for burning their own homes even though new fires were occurring after Rohingya fled.
___
11:30 a.m.
The Bangladeshi prime minister is visiting a struggling refugee camp that has absorbed some of the hundreds of thousands who fled recent violence in Myanmar.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told a rally during Tuesday's visit to the Kutupalong refugee camp, near the border town of Ukhiya, that she wished for peace for the Rohingya and would not "tolerate injustice" against them.
She pledged that Bangladesh would do its best to help the Rohingya, but said Myanmar should take steps soon to "take their nationals back."
On Monday night, she lambasted Myanmar for "atrocities" that she said had reached a level beyond description.
___
9 a.m.
The Bangladeshi leader has lambasted Myanmar for the "atrocities" that have driven hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims into Bangladesh in recent weeks.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urged Buddhist-majority Myanmar to bring the Rohingya back, while parliament passed a motion Monday night urging the U.N. and other countries to pressure Myanmar for their safety and citizenship.
"Myanmar must take back every Rohingya who has entered Bangladesh and who are coming in now," she told lawmakers late Monday. "We can cooperate to rehabilitate them in their country."
Hasina criticized Myanmar's authorities for the recent violence against the Rohingya, which she said had reached a level beyond description.
___
3 a.m.
The United States says it is "deeply troubled" by the Myanmar crisis, which hundreds of thousands of Muslims have fled to escape violence.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders says the administration continues to condemn the violence between Rohingya Muslims and Myanmar security forces.
The United Nations reported Monday that 313,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh to escape violence in Myanmar's western state of Rakhine - the biggest flight of the minority Rohingya in a generation.
The violence began Aug. 25, when an ethnic Rohingya insurgent group attacked police posts in Myanmar and security forces retaliated.
Villages were burned and hundreds of people died, mainly Rohingya Muslims, who are denied citizenship and regarded by Myanmar's majority Buddhists as illegal immigrants.
Supporters of Pakistani religious party Jamaat-e-Islami stage a rally to condemn ongoing violence against the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry says it has summoned Myanmar's ambassador to protest violence against the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar's Rakhine state. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash)
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, center, meets with Rohingya Muslims at Kutupalong refugee camp, near the border town of Ukhia, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Hasina visited the struggling refugee camp that has absorbed some of the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya who fled recent violence in Myanmar, a crisis she said left her speechless. (AP Photo/Saiful Kallol)
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) - A gas field discovered off Cyprus that contains "less than" 0.5 trillion cubic feet of the hydrocarbon is too small to make it commercially viable on its own, Cyprus' energy minister said Tuesday.
But Yiorgos Lakkotrypis said the fact that gas was found in an area whose geological make-up is similar to that where a huge discovery was made off Egypt offers "encouraging signs" that more could be found in Cypriot waters.
"We're not disappointed with this drilling," Lakkotrypis told reporters. "It leaves us optimistic for the future."
Cyprus' Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis is seen through a camera monitor, talks to the media during a press conference at the Energy ministry in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Lakkotrypis says exploratory drilling off the island's southern coast has discovered a small gas deposit that contains "less than" 0.5 trillion cubic feet of the hydrocarbon, not enough to make it commercially viable. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
Exploratory drilling at the "Onisiforos" well was conducted by a consortium made up of French energy company Total and Italy's Eni. Lakkotrypis said the consortium is obligated by contract to notify Cypriot authorities within 30 days whether they'll go ahead with more exploratory drilling in Block 11.
Block 11 sits near Egypt's Zohr gas field, discovered by Eni in 2015, which holds an estimated 30 trillion cubic feet of gas and is the biggest gas field ever found in the Mediterranean.
The block is one of eight areas where major oil and gas companies, including ExxonMobil, hold licenses to carry out exploratory drilling off Cyprus' southern coast. ExxonMobil officials have said they would start drilling in the second half of next year.
"The significance of the Onisiforos drilling is that it proved that the Zohr-type geological model works," said Lakkotrypis. "This raises prospects about the geological structures found in other Blocks that are similar in nature to Zohr and Onisiforos."
In earlier drilling, Texas-based Noble Energy discovered a field off Cyprus estimated to contain over 4 trillion cubic feet in reserves.
Lakkotrypis said the Cypriot government's aim is to build a gas processing plant on the island where the hydrocarbon can be liquefied for export, as long as enough reserves are discovered to merit the huge investment.
Cyprus' Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis talks to the media during a press conference at the Energy ministry in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Lakkotrypis says exploratory drilling off the island's southern coast has discovered a small gas deposit that contains "less than" 0.5 trillion cubic feet of the hydrocarbon, not enough to make it commercially viable. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
BERLIN (AP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel says it's unacceptable for Hungary to ignore a ruling by the European Union's top court that it must accept refugees under an EU-wide plan. But she's not specifying any consequences.
Hungary's prime minister has said that while he "took note" of the European Court of Justice's ruling last week, he'd continue to oppose the plans.
Merkel told Tuesday's edition of the daily Berliner Zeitung: "That one government says it isn't interested in a verdict by the European Court of Justice cannot be accepted."
German chancellor Angela Merkel arrives for the Christian Democratic party's, CDU, board meeting in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Sept. 11, 2017. (Kay Nietfeld/dpa via AP)
Asked whether that means Hungary must leave the EU, she replied: "It means that a very fundamental European question is affected, because for me Europe is a place governed by laws." Merkel said an EU summit in October must discuss the issue.
BERLIN (AP) - The Latest on migrants and refugees in Europe (all times local):
8:15 p.m.
Romania's coast guard has sent ships to rescue a vessel in distress on the Black Sea that is suspected of transporting migrants.
FILE - A Tuesday, July 25, 2017 file photo of Sub Saharan migrants waiting to be rescued by aid workers of Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms in the Mediterranean Sea, about 15 miles north of Sabratha, Libya. The United Nations' children's and migration agencies said Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017 that more than three in four of the migrants aged 14-24 report being subjected to forced labor, sexual abuse and other forms of exploitation while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea from Libya to Italy. (AP Photo/Santi Palacios, File)
The coast guard said it spotted a "clandestine ship" outside Romanian territorial waters some 32 miles east of the port of Midia on Tuesday morning.
The ship sent out a radio distress signal and two coast guard boats were dispatched to the area.
An official speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media says the ship is expected to be towed to shore by Wednesday morning
Migrants are increasingly trying to cross the Black Sea from Turkey to reach Romania.
- By Alison Mutler.
___
7:45 p.m.
The head of Italy's parliamentary intelligence commission says Italy has offered concrete projects to local leaders in Libya to halt migrant trafficking.
Giacomo Stucchi said the people involved were village leaders, not traffickers themselves. He spoke to reporters Tuesday after a briefing by Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni.
The Associated Press reported last month that two Libyan militias long involved in human trafficking are being paid to prevent migrants from crossing the Mediterranean to Europe, under a deal with the Libyan government backed by Italy. The AP cited militia and security officials.
Stucchi said they tried to deal with institutional representatives in Libya and insisted they were "not the traffickers."
Tens of thousands of migrants are crossing the Mediterranean Sea yearly from Libya to Italy, seeing a better life in Europe.
___
6:00 p.m.
The head of the United Nations' refugee agency says Hungary clearly intends to "severely limit" the access refugees have to protection in the country.
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi says he is particularly concerned that Hungary is detaining asylum-seekers in closed centers at the border while they await decisions on their applications and appeals.
Grandi on Tuesday visited a transit zone for asylum-seekers at Roszke, located on Hungary's border with Serbia.
He says conditions there are "acceptable" but that the detention aspect of Hungary's approach is worrying, especially some of those being held are minors ages 14-17.
Hungary erected fences on its southern borders in 2015 to stop the flow of migrants and is accepting only five asylum requests a day at each of the two transit zones
___
1:10 p.m.
Germany's President Frank-Walter Steinmeier says a verdict by the European Union's top court on relocating migrants in the EU must be accepted even by those who don't agree with it.
The European Court of Justice rejected legal action by Hungary and Slovakia seeking to avoid accepting refugees under an EU-wide plan. The ruling was seen as a victory for European countries bearing the greatest burden of the continent's migrant influx.
Hungary and Slovakia - along with the Czech Republic and Poland, which also rejected the plan - said the court decision have not changed their critical view.
Speaking after meeting his Czech counterpart Milos Zeman, Steinmeier said it was a EU principle to accept the court's ruling.
__
10:20 a.m.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says it's unacceptable for Hungary to ignore a ruling by the European Union's top court that it must accept refugees under an EU-wide plan. But she's not specifying any consequences.
Hungary's prime minister has said that while he "took note" of the European Court of Justice's ruling last week, he'd continue to oppose the plans.
Merkel told Tuesday's edition of the daily Berliner Zeitung: "That one government says it isn't interested in a verdict by the European Court of Justice cannot be accepted."
Asked whether that means Hungary must leave the EU, she replied: "It means that a very fundamental European question is affected, because for me Europe is a place governed by laws." Merkel said an EU summit in October must discuss the issue.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban addresses the opening session of the 67th session of the World Health Organization Regional Committee for Europe in Budapest Congress Center in Budapest, Hungary, Monday, Sept. 11, 2017. (Szilard Koszticsak/MTI via AP)
FILE - A Friday, Sept. 1, 2017 file photo of African migrants who were rescued from the Mediterranean Sea north of the Libyan coast, looking from the deck as the Aquarius vessel of SOS Mediterranee and MSF (Doctors Without Borders) NGOs, approaches the port of Pozzallo on Sicily, Italy. The United Nations' children's and migration agencies said Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017 that more than three in four of the migrants aged 14-24 report being subjected to forced labor, sexual abuse and other forms of exploitation while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea from Libya to Italy. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic, File)
A woman with her child migrant from Syria walk towards a refugee camp at Kokkinotrimithia, outside of the capital Nicosia, in the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017. Cyprus police say a 36-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly driving one of a pair of boats that brought 305 Syrian refugees to the island's northwestern coast. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
Migrants from Syria walk towards a refugee camp at Kokkinotrimithia, outside the capital Nicosia, in the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017. Cyprus police say a 36-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly driving one of a pair of boats that brought 305 Syrian refugees to the island's northwestern coast. The migrants they departed from Mersin, Turkey on Saturday late. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
Women and a child migrants from Syria walk towards a refugee camp at Kokkinotrimithia, outside of the capital Nicosia, in the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017. Cyprus police say a 36-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly driving one of a pair of boats that brought 305 Syrian refugees to the island's northwestern coast. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
Ammar Hammasho, migrant from Edlib in Syria who lives in Cyprus, kisses one of his four children after they arrived with his mother to a refugees camp in Kokkinotrimithia outside of the capital Nicosia, in the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017. Cyprus police say a 36-year-old man was arrested Sunday for allegedly driving one of a pair of boats that brought 305 Syrian refugees to the island's northwestern coast. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
This domain was recently registered at Namecheap.com. Please check back later!
JOHANNESBURG (AP) - South African leaders are marking the 40th anniversary of the death of Steve Biko, the anti-apartheid activist and black consciousness leader who died in police custody after being severely beaten.
Leading politicians on Tuesday hailed Biko as a symbol of the fight against racial oppression in South Africa, which at the time of Biko's 1977 killing was under white minority rule. President Jacob Zuma is laying a wreath in honor of Biko at the Pretoria prison where he died.
The death of 30-year-old Biko ignited international outrage and inspired a hit song by musician Peter Gabriel. Actor Denzel Washington starred as Biko in the 1987 film "Cry Freedom."
Biko, who advocated black self-reliance, was not a member of the African National Congress, the main anti-apartheid movement and current ruling party.
MADRID (AP) - Spanish media are reporting that the country's top court has preventively suspended the law that was meant to become Catalonia's transitional constitution if the northeastern region declares itself a separate nation.
The country's Constitutional Court has already suspended the law and decree calling for a referendum on secession while it considers the Spanish government's claim that it is unconstitutional.
Catalan leaders say they will go ahead with the Oct. 1 ballot anyway.
A man leaves the metro station of Plaza Cataluna wrapped with an "estelada" or independence flag, during Catalan National Day, in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, Sept. 11, 2017. Thousands of people are expected to rally in Barcelona to show their support for an independent Catalan nation and the right to vote in a controversial referendum that has been banned by Spain. (AP Photo /Santi Palacios)
The state prosecutor's office said the chiefs of the three judicial police forces in Catalonia, including the regional Mossos police force, are being briefed Tuesday on their legal obligation to stop any actions toward holding a referendum.
On Monday, hundreds of thousands of Catalans marked their national holiday by supporting the right to vote and become independent.
People with estelada or independence flags walk at the end of a big rally during the Catalan National Day in Barcelona, Spain, Monday Sept. 11, 2017. Many thousands rally in Barcelona to show support for an independent Catalan nation and the right to vote in a controversial referendum that has been banned by Spain. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
EDS NOTE : SPANISH LAW REQUIRES THAT THE FACES OF MINORS ARE MASKED IN PUBLICATIONS WITHIN SPAIN: A boy wrapped with an "estelada" or independence flag waits for the metro at Plaza Cataluna station during the Catalan National Day, in Barcelona, Spain, on Monday, Sept. 11, 2017. Some thousands of people are expected to rally in Barcelona to show their support for an independent Catalan nation and the right to vote in a controversial referendum that has been banned by Spain. (AP Photo / Santi Palacios)
A woman enters in a Barcelona's metro station wrapped with an "estelada" or independence flag, during the Catalan National Day in Barcelona, Spain, on Monday, Sept. 11, 2017. Some thousands are expected to rally in Barcelona to show support for an independent Catalan nation and the right to vote in a controversial referendum that has been banned by Spain. (AP Photo / Santi Palacios)
Family members wearing estelada or independence flags on their back walk at the end of a big rally during the Catalan National Day in Barcelona, Spain, Monday Sept. 11, 2017. Some thousands rally in Barcelona to show support for an independent Catalan nation and the right to vote in a controversial referendum that has been banned by Spain. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A couple wrapped with "esteladas" or independence flags, travel on a metro train, during the Catalan National Day in Barcelona, Spain, on Monday, Sept. 11, 2017. Some thousands of people are expected to rally in Barcelona to show their support for an independent Catalan nation and the right to vote in a controversial referendum that has been banned by Spain. (AP Photo / Santi Palacios)
A couple wrapped with "esteladas" or independence flags, walk inside a Barcelona's metro station during the Catalan National Day in Barcelona, Spain, on Monday, Sept. 11, 2017. Some thousands of people are expected to rally in Barcelona to show their support for an independent Catalan nation and the right to vote in a controversial referendum that has been banned by Spain. (AP Photo / Santi Palacios)
Catalans with estelada or independence flags gather during the Catalan National Day in Barcelona, Spain, Monday Sept. 11, 2017. Hundreds of thousands rally in Barcelona to show support for an independent Catalan nation and the right to vote in a controversial referendum that has been banned by Spain. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
People holds up a giant estelada or independence flag during the Catalan National Day in Barcelona, Spain, Monday Sept. 11, 2017.Hundreds of thousands rally in Barcelona to show support for an independent Catalan nation and the right to vote in a controversial referendum that has been banned by Spain. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Performers build human towers as Catalans with estelada or independence flags gather during the Catalan National Day in Barcelona, Spain, Monday Sept. 11, 2017. Hundreds of thousands rally in Barcelona to show support for an independent Catalan nation and the right to vote in a controversial referendum that has been banned by Spain. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Catalans with estelada or independence flags gather during the Catalan National Day in Barcelona, Spain, Monday Sept. 11, 2017. Hundreds of thousands are expected to rally in Barcelona to show support for an independent Catalan nation and the right to vote in a controversial referendum that has been banned by Spain. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Catalans with estelada or independence flags gather during the Catalan National Day in Barcelona, Spain, Monday Sept. 11, 2017. Hundreds of thousands are expected to rally in Barcelona to show support for an independent Catalan nation and the right to vote in a controversial referendum that has been banned by Spain. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A woman holds an umbrella with the colors of the estelada or Catalan independence flag as she gathers with thousands during the Catalan National Day in Barcelona, Spain, Monday Sept. 11, 2017. Hundreds of thousands are expected to rally in Barcelona to show support for an independent Catalan nation and the right to vote in a controversial referendum that has been banned by Spain. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Two young woman are silhouetted against an estelada or independence flag as they gather with thousands during the Catalan National Day in Barcelona, Spain, Monday Sept. 11, 2017. Hundreds of thousands are expected to rally in Barcelona to show support for an independent Catalan nation and the right to vote in a controversial referendum that has been banned by Spain. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Catalans with estelada or independence flags gather during the Catalan National Day in Barcelona, Spain, Monday Sept. 11, 2017. Hundreds of thousands are expected to rally in Barcelona to show support for an independent Catalan nation and the right to vote in a controversial referendum that has been banned by Spain. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Catalans with estelada or independence flags gather during the Catalan National Day in Barcelona, Spain, Monday Sept. 11, 2017. Hundreds of thousands are expected to rally in Barcelona to show support for an independent Catalan nation and the right to vote in a controversial referendum that has been banned by Spain. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A man sits on the street holding a estelada or independence flag as he gathers with thousands during the Catalan National Day in Barcelona, Spain, Monday Sept. 11, 2017. Hundreds of thousands are expected to rally in Barcelona to show support for an independent Catalan nation and the right to vote in a controversial referendum that has been banned by Spain. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Catalans with estelada or independence flags gather during the Catalan National Day in Barcelona, Spain, Monday Sept. 11, 2017. Hundreds of thousands are expected to rally in Barcelona to show support for an independent Catalan nation and the right to vote in a controversial referendum that has been banned by Spain. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
People wave esteladas or independence flags, during the Catalan National Day in Barcelona, Spain, Monday Sept. 11, 2017. Hundreds of thousands rally in Barcelona to show support for an independent Catalan nation and the right to vote in a controversial referendum that has been banned by Spain. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
MOSCOW (AP) - Russia on Tuesday strongly condemned a new education law in Ukraine, saying it will infringe on the rights of Russian-speakers.
The law, approved Sept. 5 by the Ukrainian parliament, restructures Ukraine's education system and specifies that Ukrainian must be the main language used in schools, rolling back the option for lessons to be taught in other languages.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Tuesday that the law is designed to "forcefully establish a mono-ethnic language regime in a multi-national state" and alleged that it violates Ukraine's constitution and Kiev's international obligations.
Ukrainian officials have rejected the suggestion that minority languages will be sidelined. Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin wrote on Twitter earlier this week that the law will not hamper the free development of languages other than Ukrainian.
Russian is spoken across Ukraine but language is a particularly sensitive issue in the country's majority Russian-speaking eastern regions. Russian-backed rebels carved out two strongholds in eastern Ukraine following the country's 2014 pro-European revolution and fighting continues between the separatists and troops loyal to Kiev.
Ukraine's other neighbors, including Hungary, Romania and Moldova, have also expressed concern about the legislation.
Hungary's foreign minister Peter Szijjarto said Monday that Ukraine "stabbed Hungary in the back" with the law. Poland's Foreign Ministry said last week they would be "closely monitoring" the implementation of the law.
BEIRUT (AP) - Syria's government signed a contract with an Iranian company on Tuesday to import five gas-fired power plants to the war-battered city of Aleppo, in an early sign of the major role Tehran is expected to play in Syria's reconstruction.
The deal, reported by Syria's state news agency SANA, is part of a broader understanding reached by Damascus and Tehran promising Iranian companies contracts to restore electrical infrastructure in Syria, Electricity Minister Zuhair Kharboutli said during a visit to Tehran.
The Aleppo contract was awarded to the Iranian firm Mabna and is valued at around 130 million Euros, according to a Kharboutli statement carried by SANA on Sunday.
In this Dec. 4, 2016 photo, Syrian army soldiers walk next to damaged electricity transmission towers on their way back from the frontline of fighting, in Karam al-Tarab neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria. Syrian state news says the government has signed a contract to import Iranian power plants for the country's war-battered city of Aleppo, an early sign of the major role Tehran is expected to play in Syria's reconstruction. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Kharboutli also signed memorandums with Iranian Energy Minister Sattar Mahmoudi promising to import five plants to provide 540 megawatts of electricity to the coastal Latakia province, as well as to build wind and solar plants, and to restore plants in Deir el-Zour and Homs.
Iran has been an indispensable ally to President Bashar Assad, organizing militias from Lebanon to Afghanistan to fight for alongside his forces and sending its own Revolutionary Guards Corps to Syria to manage battles. Assad has been battling an uprising against his family's 47-year dynasty since 2011.
The fighting has come at a tremendous cost to the nation's infrastructure. Electricity generation dropped by more than half from 2010 to 2014, according to the latest figures available from the OECD's International Energy Agency monitoring group.
Syrian troops retook eastern Aleppo at the end of last year with the help of Russian air raids and Iran-backed militias after years of heavy fighting. In the weeks after the fighting ended, electricity was cut off across the entire city, even government-held neighborhoods, but residents say power has since been restored in some areas.
Most of the city's power plants were located in eastern Aleppo, which was captured by rebels in 2012 and suffered catastrophic destruction during the government's drive to recapture it.
Assad's government awarded a concession to Iran to operate a new cellular network for Syria in January. Other concessions signed to Iran include thousands of hectares of land for farming and oil and gas terminals, and the operation of a phosphate mine in central Syria, according to Iran's official IRNA news agency.
___
Associated Press writer Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria contributed to this report.
FILE - In this Nov. 30, 2016 file photo, a Syrian woman uses her mobile phone light as she walks in the Bab Sharqi neighborhood during a power cut, in old Damascus, Syria. Syrian state news says the government has signed a contract to import Iranian power plants for the country's war-battered city of Aleppo, an early sign of the major role Tehran is expected to play in Syria's reconstruction. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)
In this May 18, 2017 photo, residents walk through rubble with damaged electricity lines at the mountain resort town of Zabadani in the Damascus countryside, Syria. Syrian state news says the government has signed a contract to import Iranian power plants for the country's war-battered city of Aleppo, an early sign of the major role Tehran is expected to play in Syria's reconstruction. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
In this May 18, 2017 photo, a Syrian electricity worker fixes power cables, in the town of Madaya, in the Damascus countryside, Syria. Syrian state news says the government has signed a contract to import Iranian power plants for the country's war-battered city of Aleppo, an early sign of the major role Tehran is expected to play in Syria's reconstruction. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
President Donald Trump said it was a 'great honor' to have the prime minister of Malaysia at the White House, and the president's spokeswoman said she wasn't aware whether a massive corruption investigation of his associates came up.
Trump praised Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak for his country's investments in the U.S. and singled out purchases of Boeing aircraft that could hit $20 billion.
'Malaysia is a massive investor in the U.S.,' Trump said during a joint meeting in the White House cabinet room. 'It's an honor to have you here and your delegation with us,' said Trump.
In the faint praise department, the president added: 'He does not do business with North Korea any longer and we find that to be very important"
WELCOME! President Donald Trump welcomes Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak to the White House in Washington, U.S. September 12, 2017
The prime minister's entourage was spotted several times at Trump's luxury hotel in D.C., which is located nearby the White House. According to a BBC report, Najib has a photo of he and Trump golfing that he keeps on his office desk.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said it was a 'personal decision' where the Malaysian leader stayed.
'We certainly dont book their hotel accommodations, so I couldnt speak to the personal decision they made about where to stay here in D.C.'
Although Trump transferred the hotel and other businesses to a family trust run by his adult sons, the president still owns and profits from the hotel, which saw a spike in room rates and bar tabs after he won the White House.
President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Washington
Najib said Malaysia was committed to purchasing 25 of Boeing's 737 aircraft, and there is a 'strong possibility' to purchase another 25 in the near future.
'Thank you,' replied Trump.
He also mentioned U.S. investments that were even bigger.
'We have Employees Provident Fund, which is a major pension fund in Malaysia. Theyve got quite a big sum of capital to be exported,' the prime minister said.
'They have invested close to $7 billion, in terms of equity, in the United States. And they intend to invest three to four additional billion dollars to support your infrastructure redevelopment in the United States.'
'Great,' Trump responded.
Trump praised Malaysia's investments in the U.S., and the Malaysian prime minister said his country would pour billions into Trump's infrastructure plan and keep buying U.S.-made planes
Left unsaid by either leader: anything about the massive corruption scandal swirling around Najib's multibillion-dollar state fund.
The White House said it wasn't aware if the issue came up between the two men.
Malaysia's government has said it found no criminal wrongdoing at the fund, called 1MDB and founded by Najib. But it has been at the center of investigations in the U.S. and several countries amid allegations of a global embezzlement and money-laundering scheme.
The U.S. Justice Department says people close to Najib stole billions of dollars, and the federal government is working to seize $1.7 billion it says was taken from the fund to buy assets in the U.S.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said later Tuesday that she was "not aware" of the corruption accusation coming up during Trump's conversations with Najib.
President Donald Trump waits for the arrival of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak of Malaysia outside the West Wing of the White House September 12, 2017 in Washington, DC
At their meeting, Trump and Najib instead focused on areas of agreement, such as economic development and counterterrorism measures when they spoke during a public appearance in the Cabinet room of the White House.
"Mr. Prime Minister, it's a great honor to have you in the United States and in the White House," Trump said.
Flanked by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Vice President Mike Pence, the president crossed his arms and listened raptly as Najib described Malaysia's purchase of billions of dollars' worth of aircraft from Chicago-based Boeing. Trump said the deal is worth $10 billion to $20 billion.
President Donald Trump waits for a meeting with Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Razak and others in the Cabinet Room of the White House September 12, 2017 in Washington
Trump also pointed out that Malaysia is a "massive investor in the United States in terms of stocks and bonds."
"They have to be very happy because we are hitting new highs on almost a weekly basis," Trump said. "We're very proud of our stock market, what's happened since I became president."
On fighting ISIS, Najib said his country would do its part to "keep our part of the world safe." And he encouraged Trump to continue building partnerships in the region.
"The key is to support moderate and progressive Muslim regimes and governments around the world because that is the true face of Islam," Najib said.
Najib has resisted calls to resign, has clamped down on critics and continues to enjoy the unwavering support of most ruling-party members, but his real test will come in general elections due by mid-2018.
Senior opposition lawmaker Lim Kit Siang said many Malaysians viewed Najib's White House visit as a "national humiliation and shame" as he is tainted by the 1MDB financial saga.
Analysts said Najib hoped to dispel the corruption scandal and secure political legitimacy with the White House visit.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, second from left, speaks during a meeting with President Donald Trump in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
"He can tell Malaysians that the 1MDB is a non-issue and that the opposition's message that he is unwelcome by world leaders is not true. He will also try to convey the impression that the U.S. investigation on 1MDB has nothing to do with him," said James Chin, who heads the Asia Institute in Australia's University of Tasmania.
Najib's entourage was spotted several times at the Trump International Hotel, down the street from the White House. Trump stepped away from his global real estate, marketing and property management company when he took office, but he has not cut financial ties with it.
Sanders said Tuesday that the White House had nothing to do with choosing the accommodations of visiting foreign dignitaries. She said she did not believe Najib was trying to curry favor with Trump by staying at his hotel.
The Department of Justices anti-money-laundering division filed a complaint seeking forfeiture of properties connected to the Malaysian fund. Included in the complaint was a Picasso that a Malaysian financier and art collector named Jho Low gave to DiCaprio, Art News reported.
A DiCaprio spokesman said he returned it to the government before the filing, and that the painting had been offered for a charity auction for his foundation. The 1939 painting is titled Nature morte au crane de taureau.
GENEVA (AP) - A Turkish consular official in Geneva says a rare, ancient sarcophagus depicting the 12 labors of Hercules is poised to be shipped home to Turkey.
The sarcophagus sat for years in Geneva's customs-office warehouse before being seized by Swiss customs officials in 2010. Ending a legal battle, the Geneva prosecutor's office in 2015 approved the restitution.
Consul Levant Ceri says the hulking relic will be driven from Geneva to Zurich for a flight Wednesday to Turkey to eventually be displayed in the Antalya Archaeological Museum.
FILE - In this June 22, 2017 file photo a Roman sarcophagus is on display in Geneva. The coffin was discovered by Swiss customs in a warehouse in Geneva in 2010 and will be returned to Turkey. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)
The second-century marble coffin shows scenes like Hercules strangling the Nemean Lion and killing the Hydra. It has been traced to the ancient Roman city of Dokimeion, believed to be in today's Antalya province.
Experts believe it is one of only 12 in the world.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A federal judge has rejected Los Angeles' efforts to join a lawsuit by San Francisco over immigration restrictions placed on a major federal grant by the Trump administration.
U.S. District Judge William Orrick said Monday that allowing Los Angeles in the suit would open the door for cities across the country to join. The judge says that situation would upend rules about what courts cases belong in.
The Los Angeles City Attorney's office says it will file its own lawsuit.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in July cities and states can only receive Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance grants if they allow federal immigration officials access to detention facilities. They must also provide advance notice when someone in the country illegally is about to be released.
Canada's police services told the Canadian government Tuesday that there is no chance they will be ready to enforce new laws for nationwide legalized marijuana by next summer.
The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police already wrote to the federal government this week officially requesting a delay in implementation of the plan by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government to implement legal pot sales next July 1.
Some of the premiers of Canada's 10 provinces told the government in June that they also might not be ready by that deadline, and only one province has completed and published its rules for the sale of recreational pot, including regulations on where it can be sold.
Police asked to postpone Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's bill to make marijuana legal because they didn't feel the force could be trained in time
Representatives from the police chiefs association, the Ontario Provincial Police and the Saskatoon Police Service said that they need more time to properly train officers about the new laws and that they will have to more than double the number of officers certified to conduct roadside tests for drug-impaired driving. They also said more time is needed for public education.
Appearing before a Parliament health committee studying Trudeau's bill to make marijuana legal, the representatives also called for the government to reconsider allowing people to grow pot at home They said it will be difficult to police and could make it easier for young people to obtain marijuana.
Bill Blair, the parliamentary secretary to Canada's minister of justice, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that police departments have questions that need to be answered and said the federal government knows there is an enormous amount of work to do
'Certainly the time lines are tight. I very much respect what law enforcement said today. We've listened to their concerns,' said Blair, a former police chief in Toronto. 'We can't allow the status quo to remain because it's unacceptable. We have the highest rates of cannabis use in the world. The entire cannabis market is controlled by criminal enterprise.'
If marijuana is legalized nationwide, Canada would be the second county in the world to do so
Blair said the provinces of British Columbia and Quebec have said they will be ready and noted that Ontario has announced its rules for legal pot.
Ontario, which is Canada's most populous province, announced Friday that marijuana will be sold in as many as 150 government-run stores and a government-run website. It decided pot would not be sold at government-run alcohol stores, and private marijuana dispensaries that have sprung up around the province will be illegal.
Legalization would make Canada the second country to have nationwide legalization, after Uruguay.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The Latest on Wisconsin Senate debate of Foxconn bill (all times local):
12:25 p.m.
A Wisconsin Republican legislative leader is urging state Senate Democrats to support a $3 billion incentive package for electronics manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group.
Sen. Alberta Darling said during debate Tuesday that Foxconn's planned investment in the state will be transformational and Democrats should be supportive. The Republican-controlled Senate is expected to pass the bill later Tuesday.
Darling is co-chair of the Legislature's budget committee. She calls the incentives a "good deal for Wisconsin taxpayers."
Foxconn could get nearly $3 billion in cash payments if it hires 13,000 people and invests $10 billion on the flat-screen production facility.
Democrats say there aren't enough safeguards in the deal to protect taxpayers.
___
10:25 a.m.
Wisconsin Senate Democrats say they will push for changes to a $3 billion incentive package for electronics giant Foxconn Technology Group that would protect taxpayers and the environment.
But Republicans have enough votes in the state Senate to approve the bill Tuesday with no changes. It is the largest state incentive package in U.S. history for a foreign company.
Foxconn is based in Taiwan and plans to invest up to $10 billion on a flat-screen production facility in southeast Wisconsin. The company has said it could employ up to 13,000 people.
Senate Democrats say they want changes to ensure the state can recover up to $2.85 billion in cash payments to Foxconn if it doesn't make the job or financial investment.
Democratic amendments would also strengthen environmental protections.
___
12:46 a.m.
The Wisconsin Senate is poised to approve nearly $3 billion in cash payments for Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology Group to locate a flat-screen factory in the state.
The incentive package up for a vote Tuesday would be the largest ever from a U.S. state to a foreign company and 10 times bigger than anything Wisconsin has extended to a private business.
Foxconn would receive $2.85 billion in cash payments over 15 years if it invests $10 billion in the state and employs 13,000 people. It could also qualify for $150 million in sales tax exemptions for construction equipment.
Democrats say state taxpayers are giving up too much under the agreement negotiated by Republican Gov. Scott Walker. But Walker and supporters say the project offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to the state.
FORT DIX, N.J. (AP) - The husband of "Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Teresa Giudice says prison officials are improperly preventing him from entering an alcohol-treatment program as he serves a sentence for bankruptcy fraud.
Joe Giudice said authorities at Fort Dix are using a detainer placed on him by Immigration and Customs Enforcement as a reason to exclude him from the prison's treatment program, according to a court filing Friday.
Inmates at the prison can't join the program if a detainer prevents completion of the community treatment aspect, according to the Bureau of Prisons' website. Giudice is to be deported to his native Italy after completing his 41-month sentence under federal immigration laws.
A judge recommended that Giudice participate in the program after he and his wife were sentenced in 2014.
The two pleaded guilty to bankruptcy fraud and submitting false loan applications to get $5 million in mortgages and construction loans. Joe Giudice also pleaded guilty to not paying about $200,000 in income taxes.
The judge staggered their sentences so one of them could be at home with their four daughters. Teresa Giudice completed her 15-month sentence in December 2015.
The alcohol-treatment program would have helped Joe Giudice reduce his prison sentence by up to one year.
Giudice also claimed in the filing that the prison is preventing him from fighting his scheduled deportation. The prison does not allow inmates to appear before immigration judges.
Giudice said other federal prisons allow inmates to challenge their deportations. The earliest he will be able to challenge the order is 2019.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The Latest on the investigation into a Minneapolis police officer's fatal shooting of Australian woman Justine Damond (all times local):
12:30 p.m.
The fiance of an Australian woman who was killed by a Minneapolis police officer in July says he wants justice.
FILE - In this Aug. 11, 2017, file photo, Johanna Morrow plays the didgeridoo during a memorial service for Justine Damond in Minneapolis. Damond was shot and killed by a Minneapolis police Officer Mohamed Noor on July 15, 2017 after she called 911 to report a possible sexual assault near her home. The investigation in the case of Noor has been handed over to prosecutors for possible charges, investigators and prosecutors announced Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. (Aaron Lavinsky/Star Tribune via AP, File)
Don Damond released a statement Tuesday, shortly after state investigators announced they have finished investigating the death of Justine Damond and have forwarded the case to prosecutors for possible charges.
Officer Mohamed Noor shot and killed the 40-year-old woman July 15 after she called 911 to report a possible sexual assault.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman has said he expects to decide on charges before the end of the year.
Justine Damond was engaged to be married and had already started using her fiance's last name. Don Damond said Tuesday that "the wait continues for Justine's family and me." He says the family hopes that Freeman will "act swiftly to review the findings and determine charges."
___
9:20 a.m.
The case of a Minneapolis police officer who shot and killed an Australian woman in July has been handed to prosecutors for possible charges.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said Tuesday that they have finished their investigation into Officer Mohamed Noor and have turned the case over to prosecutors for review.
Noor fatally shot 40-year-old Justine Damond on July 15 after she called to 911 to report a possible sexual assault.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman has said he expects to decide on charges before the end of the year.
During a meeting with Minneapolis residents Sunday, Freeman said the shooting of Damond "didn't have to happen."
Noor's partner, Officer Matthew Harrity, has told investigators that Harrity was startled by a loud noise shortly before Damond appeared at the window of the police cruiser and Noor fired.
SAO PAULO (AP) - Police in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro have arrested more than 30 fire department officials accused of taking bribes to let businesses avoid safety checks.
Rio's Public Prosecutor's office says the officials were charging between $242 and $10,000 to give licenses without the required checks of electrical and hydraulic installations and emergency exits.
The arrests were made Tuesday.
Gas leaks and faulty construction safety measures are often cited as the cause of explosions and the collapse of homes, restaurants and shops in Rio.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Stephen Colbert rolled out the ceremonial red carpet Tuesday for the upcoming Emmy Awards. And as soon as he finished, a pair of workers rolled it back up and hauled it away.
The first-time Emmy host was joined by Emmy telecast producers at L.A. Live for the promotional appearance.
Colbert says that while it's an honor to host the Emmys, "it's even more of an honor to be installing the carpet."
Stephen Colbert, left, and Hayma Washington participate in the 2017 Primetime Emmy Red Carpet Rollout at the Microsoft Theater on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Los Angeles. The Emmys will be held on Sunday. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
He said few people realize "just how much manual labor is involved with hosting the Emmys every year." He joked that he also plans to re-grout the Microsoft Theater's bathrooms before Sunday's ceremony.
Ricky Kirshner, from left, Glenn Weiss, Stephen Colbert, Jack Sussman and Hayma Washington participate in the 2017 Primetime Emmy Red Carpet Rollout at the Microsoft Theater on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Glenn Weiss, from left, Stephen Colbert and Jack Sussman participate in the 2017 Primetime Emmy Red Carpet Rollout at the Microsoft Theater on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Stephen Colbert participates in the 2017 Primetime Emmy Red Carpet Rollout at the Microsoft Theater on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Ricky Kirshner, from left, Glenn Weiss, Stephen Colbert, Jack Sussman and Hayma Washington participate in the 2017 Primetime Emmy Red Carpet Rollout at the Microsoft Theater on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Ricky Kirshner, from left, Glenn Weiss, Stephen Colbert and Jack Sussman participate in the 2017 Primetime Emmy Red Carpet Rollout at the Microsoft Theater on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) - Argentina on Tuesday gave Israel thousands of World War II era documents during a visit by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he says marks "a new dawn" in his country's relationship with Latin America.
The digital documents delivered by President Mauricio Macri include nearly 140,000 secret files and photographs from 1939-1950. They include letters, telegrams and reports that were digitized by Argentina and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington.
"We have delivered these digitalized historical documents about the Holocaust so that the state of Israel can make sure that they are investigated," Macri told Netanyahu after giving him a box containing five hard drives.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and Argentina's President Mauricio Macri, stand arm in arm, at the government house in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Netanyahu arrived to Argentina's capital Monday, marking the first visit by an Israeli leader since the creation of the Israeli state in 1948. He is also scheduled to visit Colombia and Mexico and the U.N. General Assembly.(AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Argentina remained neutral during the war but later became a refuge for fleeing Nazi criminals, including some of the most notorious. Today, it has Latin America's largest Jewish community and of the world's biggest.
Netanyahu arrived Monday in Buenos Aires for the first visit by an Israeli leader to the region since Israel's creation in 1948. He is also scheduled to visit Colombia and Mexico before going to New York, where he will address the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 26.
"It's incredible that in 70 years of Israel, no prime minister visited any country in the Western Hemisphere south than the United States," Netanyahu said. "We are beginning here the dawn of a new era and not accidentally we begin it here in Argentina."
Netanyahu also praised Macri's "commitment" to solve two terror attacks against the Jewish community in Argentina.
"We know, without a doubt, that Iran and Hezbollah were backing up and in fact initiating these attacks," Netanyahu said.
Israel and Argentina have long accused Iran of being behind 1990s bombings in Buenos Aires that killed 29 people at the Israeli Embassy and 85 people at a Jewish community center. Iran has denied any role in the attacks.
The leading prosecutor investigating the attack on the AMIA community center was found dead in his apartment with a gunshot wound to the head on Jan. 18, 2015.
Alberto Nisman had been scheduled to appear in Congress the next day to present allegations that then President Cristina Fernandez orchestrated a secret deal to cover up Iranian officials' alleged role in the attack. Fernandez denied the allegations and judges threw out the case.
Conspiracy theories have flourished around the mysterious death. While some people believe Nisman killed himself because he felt his claims against the former president lacked proof, others say he was murdered because he was a threat to the Argentine and Iranian governments.
Macri, who has met with Nisman's family, says resolving the death of the prosecutor and the bombings remain among his government's top priorities.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talks at the government house in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Netanyahu arrived to Argentina's capital Monday, marking the first visit by an Israeli leader since the creation of the Israeli state in 1948. He is also scheduled to visit Colombia and Mexico and the U.N. General Assembly. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
A Rhode Island man who fatally shot his mother in the intensive care unit of New Hampshire's largest hospital, sending dozens of police officers scrambling there and briefly forcing a lockdown, has been arrested, authorities said. No one else was injured in the violence.
Authorities said Travis Frink, of Warwick, Rhode Island, was expected to be arraigned Wednesday on murder charges for the shooting at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon.
Attorney General Gordon MacDonald identified the victim as Frink's 70-year-old mother, Pamela Ferriere, of Groton.
The shooting sparked panic at the hospital as employees and patients were evacuated into the parking lot. Travis Frink was detained as he tried to leave the grounds of Dartmouth-Hitchcock
Travis Frink, 49, reportedly signed into the medical center's visitor center just after 1 p.m. Tuesday
MacDonald said the 49-year-old Frink signed into the medical center's visitor center just after 1 p.m. Tuesday and went to the intensive care unit. Soon after, Lebanon police received a call about shots fired in in the intensive care unit.
'The facts gathered to this point reveal that the purpose of Mr. Frink's visit to the hospital today was to kill his mother,' MacDonald said, adding that the crime scene was still being investigated and that more than one shot had been fired. 'No other patients, visitors or staff were physically injured as a result of the incident today.'
Frink was detained as he tried to leave the grounds of Dartmouth-Hitchcock, authorities said. He was in custody late Tuesday and couldn't be reached for comment. No possible motive for the shooting was released.
Rhode Island state police said the shooting suspect's car had Rhode Island plates so police in New Hampshire reached out to the state's Fusion Center, an information center under the command of the state police that also involves representatives from local, state and federal agencies. The center helped identify the suspect as a Rhode Island resident.
Authorities released very little information about Frink, although a 2013 story in the Providence Journal said that police suspected that alcohol played a role in the death of his wife and son, whose bodies were found in a running car in an apartment complex.
The motive for why train allegedly shot his mother Pamela Ferriere is not clear at this point
Travis Frink, the suspect in an active shooter incident at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center was pulled from a grey Ford Escape on Tuesday
The shooting sparked panic at the hospital as employees and patients were evacuated into the parking lot. People were told to avoid the area around the hospital, and traffic was stopped on a route leading to the medical center. WCAX-TV reported that an employee said all workers received an email from the hospital about a 'code silver,' indicating a violent situation is unfolding, telling them to get out if possible and otherwise to shelter in place.
Susan Flynn, who was about to have surgery at the hospital, told WCAX she and her husband escaped to a patio soon after the shooting.
'We were sitting in this patio area and two police came running out with guns and those shields that they wear and said, 'Run, run!' So we ran out of there as fast as we could and on to next location and kept moving and moving to different locations until they put us in a secure location,' Flynn said.
Joanne Conroy, the president of Dartmouth-Hitchcock, praised her staff for its response and said everyone had taken part in several active-shooter trainings in the past.
'Today was an incredibly stressful day and a tragic day for the affected family,' she said. 'We had the best outcome from this. Nobody else was hurt, and that is all we can ask for.'
SEATTLE (AP) - Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, beset over the past five months by sex abuse allegations, plans to resign Wednesday, bringing an ignoble end to a lengthy political career in which he championed gay rights and better pay for workers.
His announcement Tuesday came after The Seattle Times reported that a fifth man - one of his cousins - had accused Murray of molesting him decades ago. Though he has vehemently denied all of the accusations against him, Murray, a Democrat, had already decided not to seek re-election.
"While the allegations against me are not true, it is important that my personal issues do not affect the ability of our city government to conduct the public's business," he said in a statement.
FILE - This June 14, 2017 file photo Seattle Mayor Ed Murray takes a question at a news conference at City Hall in Seattle. Murray announced his resignation, Tuesday, Sept. 12 after a fifth man came forward and accused him of sexual abuse decades ago. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)
He apologized to his staff and to the city for "this painful situation," and said it had become clear that his resignation was best for the city.
The news left the city waiting to hear who would fulfill the remaining months in his term.
The latest allegations came from Joseph Dyer, the son of Murray's first cousin, Maryellen Sottile. Dyer told the newspaper he was 13 and Murray was in his early 20s when Murray came to live with Dyer's family in Medford, New York, in 1975. The two shared a bedroom, and Murray repeatedly molested him over the course of a year, Dyer said.
"There would be times when I would fake sleeping because I didn't want him touching me," Dyer said.
Dyer said the molestation stopped only after Murray was accused of abuse by a boy in a Catholic group home where Murray worked. Dyer told the newspaper his uncle persuaded the group home not to pursue charges as long as Murray left.
Efforts by The Associated Press to reach Dyer were not immediately successful.
Murray, who is gay, has not faced criminal charges. He denied abusing Dyer and blamed the allegation on resentment between their families.
He initially told the Times he would not resign, but eventually did so as pressure mounted Tuesday.
Former U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan, who is vying to succeed him, called for Murray to step down and removed his endorsement from her campaign website. Her rival, urban planner Cary Moon, reiterated her own call for Murray's resignation, which she first made months ago.
"Mayor Murray is doing the right thing by stepping down," Gov. Jay Inslee said in a statement. "He has done good things for Seattle and his resignation will allow the city to move forward."
City Council President Bruce Harrell will become mayor upon Murray's resignation and has five days to decide whether to fill out the remainder of his term. If he declines, the council would appoint someone else, possibly Councilman Tim Burgess, who is retiring this year.
Before being elected mayor in 2013, Murray, 62, was a long-time state lawmaker who led the campaign to legalize same-sex marriage in Washington state. As mayor he pushed to raise the city's minimum hourly wage to $15.
Murray grew up in working class neighborhoods in and around Seattle as one of seven children in an Irish Catholic family and became one of the state's most prominent political figures.
As a young man, he considered joining the priesthood and spent a year at a seminary in 1976 before studying sociology at the University of Portland, a private Catholic institution.
Murray worked as a paralegal with public defender lawyers in Portland before returning to Seattle and joining the vanguard of the gay rights movement in the 1980s, serving as campaign manager for Cal Anderson, a Seattle state senator who was the state's first openly gay member.
Anderson, Murray's mentor, died in 1995. Murray failed in his bid to win Anderson's seat, but he was appointed to fill the legislative seat of the state representative who won the state Senate campaign.
During his 18 years as a state lawmaker, Murray was the prime sponsor of Washington's gay marriage law, spearheaded an effort to protect LGBTQ youth in public schools and led the state's push to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation.
As mayor, Murray recently fought to boost funding to address Seattle's homelessness crisis.
Before Dyer, four men had accused Murray of sexually abusing them. Delvonn Heckard sued the mayor in April, saying Murray had paid him for sex when Heckard was a teen.
Heckard subsequently dropped the case, saying he would refile it after Murray was out of office. The mayor claimed the dropping of the lawsuit as vindication.
Another man who accused Murray, his former foster son Jeff Simpson, had first approached Seattle media with the allegations in 2008, when Murray was a state legislator. The Times decided at the time not to write about the allegations because details could not be verified.
This year, Oregon's Department of Human Services discovered old files that included a child-welfare investigator's conclusion that Murray sexually abused Simpson in the early 1980s.
___
La Corte reported from Olympia, Washington.
___
Information from: The Seattle Times, http://www.seattletimes.com
Tim Burgess, a citywide member of the Seattle City Council, talks on his phone at Seattle City Hall, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017 in Seattle. Mayor Ed Murray announced his resignation Tuesday after one of his cousins came forward and accused him of sexual abuse decades ago. Murray said he would step down effective 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Tim Burgess, a citywide member of the Seattle City Council, talks to reporters at Seattle City Hall, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017 in Seattle. Mayor Ed Murray announced his resignation Tuesday after one of his cousins came forward and accused him of sexual abuse decades ago. Murray said he would step down effective 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
PHOENIX (AP) - Lawmakers from 19 states are trying to develop a plan in Arizona this week for carrying out a growing, but unlikely, national effort to amend the Constitution to require a balanced U.S. budget, a long-held goal of conservatives who believe out-of-control spending is harming the nation.
The plan is to add an amendment to the Constitution through a convention - a longshot effort that has never been successfully done. All 27 amendments that have been adopted were proposed by Congress.
A balanced budget amendment is a core goal of conservative Republicans who have gained control of an increasing number of state Legislatures in recent years, now holding both chambers in 32 states. Backers include groups like the American Legislative Exchange Council and the Koch brothers-backed Americans for Prosperity.
The effort also comes against the backdrop of deep turmoil in Washington over debt spending. Top congressional Democrats last week cut a deal with President Donald Trump to increase the federal debt limit, avoiding for now a fight that commonly causes divisions and threats of a government shutdown.
The goal of amendment backers is to eliminate the federal deficit and drive down the national debt, which is approaching $20 trillion. The current federal budget includes spending of about $4 trillion and has a shortfall of nearly $700 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Congress debated a balanced budget amendment in the early and mid-1990s, but it did not pass.
The lawmakers meeting this week are discussing a process that requires several steps. Thirty-four states must vote to adopt the amendment and convene a convention, but it still must be ratified by three-quarters of the states. Now, 27 states have active requests to convene a convention, all controlled by Republicans.
Arizona is hosting 75 delegates this week, all Republicans. Arizona state Rep. Kelly Townsend said efforts to invite Democratic states have not been successful. Proposed rules say delegates must be approved by both chambers of their state Legislature "so that they can legitimately vote and represent their state," Townsend said.
Opponents of the amendment argue that a convention could go dangerously off-track and move into wholesale rewrites of other areas of the Constitution, such as gun rights, an abortion ban and term limits. They also say a balanced budget amendment could threaten the economy.
"By requiring a balanced budget every year, no matter the state of the economy, such an amendment would risk tipping weak economies into recession and making recessions longer and deeper, causing very large job losses," according to a policy paper by the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
That's because lawmakers would be forced to cut spending during recessions, removing a key way the federal government can boost economic activity.
Townsend said the three-quarters requirement to ratify the amendment limits the chances of a "runaway convention" where delegates could do a wholesale rewrite of the Constitution.
"Whatever we do when we close down and adjourn, our final product has to be viable. It's not binding yet, and the states have to ratify it - that's 38 of them," she said.
Even some conservatives worry about a constitutional convention.
U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, an Arizona Republican, routinely blocked legislation authorizing a convention during the four years he led the state Senate. He wrote a book in 2015, "The Con of the Con Con," laying out his concerns about a convention.
Biggs wrote that if people believe the Constitution is fallible, "how do you know that the remedy you rely on, Article V, is not flawed as well?"
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Three men were shot and killed Tuesday at an Alaska shop that buys and sells coins and precious metals and police acting on a tip took a suspect into custody.
Police could not immediately determine the motive for the shootings, said spokesman MJ Thim but were confident there was no further threat to public safety.
"Detectives are confident that this situation is contained," Thim said. "Now they're trying to figure out who is responsible for what."
A crime scene photographer takes a photo of a victim at the scene of a deadly shooting at a store in Anchorage, Alaska, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Police say they have a suspect in custody. Anchorage police say the shootings occurred Tuesday at The Bullion Brothers, a shop with displays of gold and silver coins. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
Police received reports of shots fired at The Bullion Brothers, a shop on the ground floor of a two-story building. The building is in a busy area across the street from a print shop and pizza restaurant and next to a closed pawn shop.
Police found a man dead in the entryway, his legs outside the door. They found a second man dead inside an office.
Another man inside the shop was critically wounded. He was taken to a hospital, where he died, Thim said.
Police received a tip that a man who had been at the shop was headed toward south Anchorage. Patrol officers pulled over the man's car and took the driver into custody.
Detectives had not immediately determined the relationship between the suspect and the dead men.
James Jones has a custom jewelry business in the back of the precious metals store and went there after his daughter alerted him about the shooting.
Police told him "it's going to be many, many, many hours before I can get back to my shop to see if everything's there," he said.
"It's just stuff," he said.
He was recovering from neck surgery and said he hasn't been to his jewelry business in four months.
The deaths brought the Anchorage homicide total for 2017 to 28. The city had 27 homicide deaths as of Aug. 12 last year, Thim said.
___
Associated Press writer Mark Thiessen contributed to this report.
The foot of a shooting victim can be seen sticking out of the doorway of a precious metal shop in Anchorage, Alaska, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Police say three people are dead following the shooting. Anchorage police say the shootings occurred Tuesday at The Bullion Brothers, a shop with displays of gold and silver coins. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
Police are shown at the scene of a shooting that left three dead at a precious-metals store in Anchorage, Alaska, on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. A suspect has been taken into custody. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
The legs of one shooting victim are shown sticking out from a precious-metals store in Anchorage, Alaska, on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Three people were killed, and police say they have a suspect in custody. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The Latest on a shooting that left three men dead at a precious-metals shop in Alaska (all times local):
1 p.m.
Police in Alaska say they're confident there's no threat to public safety after a suspect was arrested in a shooting at a precious-metals shop that left three people dead.
The foot of a shooting victim can be seen sticking out of the doorway of a precious metal shop in Anchorage, Alaska, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Police say three people are dead following the shooting. Anchorage police say the shootings occurred Tuesday at The Bullion Brothers, a shop with displays of gold and silver coins. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
Anchorage police spokesman MJ Thim (TIM) says investigators are sorting out the suspect's relationship with the victims and the possible motive for the shooting Tuesday.
Just before 10 a.m., police received calls of a shooting at the Bullion Brothers, a shop that buys and sells gold, silver and coins.
They found a man dead in the doorway, another in an office and a third man mortally wounded.
Acting on a tip, police stopped a car and took the driver into custody.
___
12:25 p.m.
Three people are dead following a shooting at an Alaska shop that buys and sells precious metals.
Anchorage police say the shootings occurred Tuesday at The Bullion Brothers, a shop with displays of gold and silver coins.
Witnesses reported a person had left the shop. The suspect was spotted in south Anchorage and taken into custody.
Police spokesman MJ Thim (TIM) told Anchorage television station KTUU (http://bit.ly/2xXZ44C ) that two people died at the scene.
One was inside the shop and a second was in the entryway.
A third person, found injured inside the shop, was rushed to a hospital, where he died.
Police have not released names of the people killed.
Police were still at the scene and could not be immediately reached by The Associated Press for additional details.
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - A new lawsuit accuses Poland Spring water of deceiving customers by putting the words "100 percent natural spring water" on product labels.
The federal class-action lawsuit in Maine targets corporate parent Nestle Waters North America, which is accused of bottling water from wells and municipal sources that don't meet the federal definition of spring water.
New York attorney Gregory Nespole said Tuesday that consumers paid a premium for spring water and received "common groundwater."
A similar federal lawsuit was filed last month in Connecticut.
A panel of senior judges will likely need to decide whether the lawsuits should be combined, and where they should be heard.
A Nestle Waters official called the new lawsuit filed Friday a "copycat" that's likely based on the same "meritless claims" as the earlier lawsuit.
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Venezuelan authorities say gunmen assaulted an army patrol in an eastern area where illegal mining has become increasingly common, and 11 of the attackers were killed and one soldier was wounded in the gunbattle.
Officials said Tuesday that the soldiers were patrolling in a remote part of Bolivar province when they were ambushed Sunday.
Lawmaker Americo de Grazia says the opposition-controlled National Assembly is opening an inquiry. He says the men killed included illegal mine workers.
Seventeen miners were killed by a paramilitary group last year at a mine near the site of Sunday's clash.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Latest on a state senator from Oklahoma accused of grabbing his Uber driver's head and kissing her neck while she drove him to a bar (all times local):
4:30 p.m.
An attorney for an Oklahoma state senator accused of groping an Uber driver says the senator has resigned from office.
In this photo provided by the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office, Oklahoma state Sen. Bryce Marlatt, R-Woodward, is pictured in a booking photo dated Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Marlatt was booked on one felony count of sexual battery. He is accused of grabbing his Uber driver's head and kissing her neck while she was driving him to a bar, on June 26. He was released on a $5,000 bond. (Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office via AP)
Attorney Scott Anderson said Republican state Sen. Bryce Marlatt submitted his letter of resignation to Gov. Mary Fallin on Tuesday afternoon.
Marlatt was booked Tuesday morning on one felony count of sexual battery, arraigned before a judge and later released on a $5,000 bond.
A married father of four children from the western Oklahoma city of Woodward, Marlatt was charged after the Uber driver told police he grabbed her head and kissed her neck after she picked him up from an Oklahoma City restaurant June 26.
Anderson said he had no further comment about the allegations against Marlatt.
If convicted, Marlatt faces up to 10 years in prison.
___
9:55 a.m.
An Oklahoma state senator accused of grabbing his Uber driver's head and kissing her neck while she was driving him to a bar has been booked into the Oklahoma County jail.
Online jail records show 40-year-old Republican state Sen. Bryce Marlatt was booked Tuesday morning on one felony count of sexual battery. He was released on a $5,000 bond.
A married father of four from the western Oklahoma city of Woodward, Marlatt was charged after an Uber driver told police he groped her after she picked him up from an Oklahoma City restaurant June 26.
Marlatt has previously said he was shocked by the allegations, but neither he nor his attorney immediately responded to telephone messages Tuesday seeking comment.
If convicted, Marlatt faces up to 10 years in prison.
The Supreme Court is allowing the Trump administration to maintain its restrictive policy on refugees.
The justices on Tuesday agreed to an administration request to block a lower court ruling that would have eased the refugee ban and allowed up to 24,000 refugees to enter the country before the end of October.
The order was not the court's last word on the travel policy that President Donald Trump first rolled out in January.
The Supreme Court is allowing the Trump administration to maintain its restrictive policy on refugees
The justices are scheduled to hear arguments on October 10 on the legality of the bans on travelers from six mostly Muslim countries (May protest in Seattle, pictured)
In a statement, the justices said: 'The application for stay of mandate presented to Justice Kennedy and by him referred to the Court is granted, and the issuance of the mandate of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in case No. 17-16426 is stayed with respect to refugees covered by a formal assurance, pending further order of this Court.'
The justices are scheduled to hear arguments on October 10 on the legality of the bans on travelers from six mostly Muslim countries and refugees anywhere in the world.
It's unclear, though, what will be left for the court to decide. The 90-day travel ban lapses in late September and the 120-day refugee ban will expire a month later.
The administration has yet to say whether it will seek to renew the bans, make them permanent or expand the travel ban to other countries.
Lower courts have ruled that the bans violate the Constitution and federal immigration law. The high court has agreed to review those rulings. Its intervention so far has been to evaluate what parts of the policy can take effect in the meantime.
The justices said in June that the administration could not enforce the bans against people who have a 'bona fide' relationship with people or entities in the United States. The justices declined to define the required relationships more precisely.
The appeals court also upheld another part of the judge's ruling that applies to the ban on visitors from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen
A panel of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district judge's order that would have allowed refugees to enter the United States if a resettlement agency in the U.S. had agreed to take them in.
The administration objected, saying the relationship between refugees and resettlement agencies shouldn't count. The high court's unsigned, one-sentence order agreed with the administration, at least for now.
The appeals court also upheld another part of the judge's ruling that applies to the ban on visitors from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
Grandparents and cousins of people already in the U.S. can't be excluded from the country under the travel ban, as the Trump administration had wanted. The administration did not ask the Supreme Court to block that part of the ruling.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Members of Congress say a Louisiana man has been detained in Guatemala since March after bullets were found in his luggage during an airport scan.
Sen. Bill Cassidy and Rep. Mike Johnson say Zachary Wilson of Shreveport was arrested following a church mission trip.
Johnson's office released a copy of a July letter to Gladys Marithza Ruiz de Vielman, then the Guatemalan ambassador to the United States. It says Wilson inadvertently left the bullets in the bag after a hunting trip and they were not detected as he exited the U.S. or entered Guatemala.
"Regrettably, according to information provided to me, when Mr. Wilson tried to leave Guatemala he was unaware of the consequences of attempting to return to the United States with bullets," Johnson's July 20 letter said.
Johnson, who represents northwest Louisiana, and Cassidy say Wilson has ulcerative colitis. Getting medication to him has been expensive for his family and he has little left from his last prescription, according to the statement from the two lawmakers.
Johnson and Cassidy said they met with current Ambassador Manuel Alfredo Espina Pinto on Tuesday.
"As a doctor, I went over his medical condition with the ambassador and explained his urgent medical needs," Cassidy, a Republican physician from Baton Rouge, said in the statement. "Ambassador Espina agreed to make an inquiry into the legal and medical aspects of Mr. Wilson's case and the interplay between the two."
The two Republicans said a meeting Tuesday with Espina was "productive." They expect an update next week.
President Donald Trump, leading his first commemoration of the 9/11 anniversary, has said the living, breathing soul of America wept with grief for each of the nearly 3,000 lives that were lost on that day 16 years ago.
Addressing an audience at the Pentagon, one of three sites attacked on September 11 2001, Mr Trump used the anniversary to sternly warn terrorists that America cannot be intimidated.
He said those who try are destined to join a long list of vanquished enemies who dared to test our mettle.
New York City firefighters
Mr Trump and first lady Melania Trump observed a moment of silence at the White House at the exact moment that a hijacked plane was slammed into the World Trade Centre.
The Trumps bowed their heads and placed their hands over their hearts as the Taps bugle call rang out across the South Lawn.
Donald and Melania Trump
They were surrounded by White House aides and other administration officials in what has become an annual day of remembrance.
Nearly 3,000 people were killed when hijackers flew commercial planes into New Yorks World Trade Centre, the Pentagon and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Mr Trump, a native New Yorker who was in the city on 9/11, said the attack was worse than the Japanese assault on Pearl Harbour during the Second World War because it targeted civilians.
He vowed that it would never be repeated.
A man stands at the edge of a waterfall pool during a ceremony at ground zero in New York (Seth Wenig/AP)
The terrorists who attacked us thought they could incite fear and weaken our spirit, Mr Trump said later at the Pentagon, where he was joined by defence secretary Jim Mattis and General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
But America cannot be intimidated and those who try will join a long list of vanquished enemies who dared test our mettle.
He said that when America is united, no force on earth can break us apart.
Mr Trump also offered words of comfort for the many whose loved ones perished in the attacks.
For the families with us on this anniversary, we know that not a single day goes by when you dont think about the loved one stolen from your life. Today, our entire nation grieves with you, Mr Trump said.
Later, he said the living, breathing soul of America wept with grief for every life taken on that day.
Vice President Mike Pence was representing the administration at a ceremony at the 9/11 memorial in Shanksville.
Today we pause as a nation not so much to remember tragedy, as to celebrate heroism and patriotism. pic.twitter.com/qVlIuXpt42 Vice President Mike Pence Archived (@VP45) September 11, 2017
Mr Trump has a chequered history with 9/11.
He frequently uses the attack to praise the citys response but has also made unsubstantiated claims about what he did and saw on that day.
Mr Trump often lauds the bravery of New York police officers, firefighters and other emergency responders who rushed to the Twin Towers to help as an example of the resilience of the city where he made a name for himself.
We fight because our fallen heroes demand justice - and so long as we have strength, we will honor their memories. pic.twitter.com/RRMbxP56gh Vice President Mike Pence Archived (@VP45) September 11, 2017
But he has also criticised former president George W Bushs handling of the attacks, accusing Mr Bush of failing in his duty to keep Americans safe.
Mr Trump has made dubious claims about September 11, particularly saying when talking about Muslims that thousands of people were cheering in Jersey City, New Jersey, across the Hudson River from lower Manhattan, as the towers collapsed.
There is no evidence in news archives of mass celebrations there by Muslims.
Mr Trump also said he lost hundreds of friends in the attack and that he helped clear rubble afterwards.
He has not provided the names of those he knew who perished in the attack, but has mentioned knowing a Roman Catholic priest who died while serving as a chaplain to the citys fire department.
The Government has comfortably defeated attempts to derail its flagship Brexit legislation, amid warnings from senior Tories that changes will be required.
MPs gave the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill a second reading by 326 votes to 290, majority 36, following more than 13 hours of debate.
A Labour attempt to block the draft legislation was also defeated by 318 votes to 296, majority 22.
Heres what the Repeal Bill means for you - certainty, continuity and control for businesses, workers and consumers after we leave the EU pic.twitter.com/GQUHmpjRid Department for Exiting the EU (@DExEUgov) September 11, 2017
Prime Minister Theresa May was sat on the Government frontbench as the second reading result was announced.
There were cheers in the Commons chamber from Tory MPs.
But the Bills future success seems dependent on various amendments being made at the next stage in Parliament, with several Tory MPs indicating their support at second reading was conditional on the expectation of future changes at committee.
The Bill repeals the 1972 Act that took Britain into the European Economic Community and incorporates relevant EU rules and regulations into the domestic law book.
Concerns have been raised that the Bill would give the Government so-called Henry VIII powers, which would allow secondary legislation to be passed with little parliamentary scrutiny.
Closing the debate, Justice Secretary David Lidington hinted at changes as he told MPs: We accept that we need to get the balance right, for example, between negative and affirmative procedure and between debates in committee and debates on the floor.
Seven Labour MPs rebelled against the party whip and voted in favour of the Bills second reading.
They were Ronnie Campbell (Blyth Valley), Frank Field (Birkenhead), Kate Hoey (Vauxhall), Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North), John Mann (Bassetlaw), Dennis Skinner (Bolsover) and Graham Stringer (Blackley and Broughton).
No Conservatives rebelled by voting against the Bill at second reading.
Ken Clarke did not vote at second reading (PA Wire)
A division list analysis showed there were 13 Labour MPs who did not vote on the Bills second reading.
They were Ian Austin (Dudley North), Kevin Barron (Rother Valley), David Crausby (Bolton North East), Caroline Flint (Don Valley), Yvonne Fovargue (Makerfield), David Hanson (Delyn), Helen Jones (Warrington North), Kevan Jones (Durham North), Ged Killen (Rutherglen and Hamilton West), Madeleine Moon (Bridgend), John Spellar (Warley), Anna Turley (Redcar) and Derek Twigg (Halton).
There were five Conservative MPs who did not vote at second reading. They were: Sir David Amess (Southend West), Nick Boles (Grantham and Stamford), Ken Clarke (Rushcliffe), Johnny Mercer (Plymouth Moor View) and Gary Streeter (South West Devon).
The absence of these MPs from the division lobbies does not automatically mean they defied their party whips.
Ms Turley earlier tweeted she could not vote as she was still in hospital following an operation.
Around 100 very serious prisoners have escaped from jail on the British Virgin Islands in the wake of Hurricane Irma, a minister has said.
Foreign minister Sir Alan Duncan told the Commons that the convicts pose a serious threat of the complete breakdown of law and order on the overseas territory.
He told MPs: The prison was breached, over 100 very serious prisoners escaped.
"Pre-positioning of RFA Mounts Bay allowed the relief effort to begin immediately after the hurricane had passed" @AlanDuncanMP pic.twitter.com/xahxzkCOOy Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (@FCDOGovUK) September 12, 2017
Sir Alan said Marines from RFA Mounts Bay were used to protect the Governor and everything else about law and order on Friday.
He said that more than 500,000 British nationals have been in the path of the hurricane and that 997 British military personnel are now in the Caribbean helping with the relief effort.
He added that while the death toll was low for a storm of this magnitude, the infrastructure on the island of Barbuda no longer exists.
"At this critical moment, our principle focus is on the 80,000 British citizens who inhabit our Overseas Territories" @AlanDuncanMP pic.twitter.com/KLGzLNFrS9 Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (@FCDOGovUK) September 12, 2017
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is visiting the British territories devastated by the hurricane.
Sir Alan said: Over 500,000 British nationals, either residents or tourists, have been in the path of Hurricane Irma, which has caused devastation across an area spanning well over 1,000 miles.
Giving an update to MPs, Sir Alan said five people had died in the British Virgin Islands and four in Anguilla.
Mr Johnson is expected to visit these British territories in the coming days.
Just chaired latest #HurricaneIrma COBR. UK gov't continues to work around the clock to help get the Overseas Territories back on their feet pic.twitter.com/JcJYrSdYV1 Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) September 11, 2017
In addition to the military personnel, 47 British police officers have also arrived in the British Virgin Islands to assist local officers.
Already, 20 tonnes of UK aid has arrived in the region, including more than 2,500 shelter kits and 2,300 solar lanterns.
Nine tonnes of food and water supplies are due to be flown out to Anguilla imminently, Sir Alan said.
He added that HMS Ocean, Britains biggest warship in service, is heading to the Caribbean and should be there within 10 days.
There were 420,000 British citizens in Florida either as residents or visitors, where Hurricane Irma also caused devastation.
Ocean working around the clock to embark disaster relief stores pic.twitter.com/EJuQv6ROXq HMS Ocean (@hms_ocean) September 12, 2017
We should all be humble in the face of the power of nature, and whatever relief we are able to provide will not be enough for many who have lost so much, said Sir Alan.
But hundreds of dedicated British public servants are doing their utmost to help, and they will not relent in their efforts.
And Im pleased to say that 24 hours later, or 48 hours later, weve been able significantly to reinforce the Marines.
More supplies flown into #Anguilla from RFA Mounts Bay including building supplies @AnguillaGov now on to BVI @DefenceHQ #HurricaneIrma pic.twitter.com/aELl6ahkqH 40 Commando Royal Marines (@40commando) September 12, 2017
So we have maintained and kept law and order on the British Virgin Islands, which at one point could have dramatically threatened the already-unfortunate plight of those who had been hit by the hurricane.
Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry attacked the Governments response to the disaster for being too little and too late.
She said it was alarming that almost a week had passed since the hurricane and Sir Alan was still talking about the potential evacuation of British citizens.
Army Commando Engineers in #Tortola have restored power, running water and made vital repairs at the International Airport #HurricaneIrma pic.twitter.com/JQOmRjqDgT British Army (@BritishArmy) September 12, 2017
With the security situation deteriorating in many of the affected islands all British citizens should be considered vulnerable.
Ms Thornberry said the risk of waterborne infections was growing on some islands, and asked: What is the Government doing as part of its emergency support for the overseas territories to help their governments establish command and control, maintain law and order where it is threatening to break down and put in place emergency plans to stop causes of preventable waterborne diseases before they begin to spread?
She also urged the Government to create a long-term plan for the overseas territories to address threats posed by climate change.
Can the minister confirm that when the Government sits down with their counterparts in the affected islands, the question of coping with climate change and future extreme weather events will be at the top of the agenda with financial commitments to match, not as usually happens, the afterthought which always proves too difficult and too expensive.
American aircraft manufacturer Boeing is refusing to back down in a bitter aerospace trade dispute which could financially devastate one of Northern Irelands biggest employers.
Prime Minister Theresa May has asked US President Trump to help broker a deal in the spat between Boeing and Canadian aerospace giant Bombardier.
Bombardier, which employs around 4,500 people in Belfast and accounts for 10% of the regions manufacturing exports, is facing significant costs in the dispute.
The Bombardier main entrance at Derby
The fallout centres on Boeings allegations that Bombardier received subsidies allowing it to sell its CSeries planes at below-market prices.
The US Department of Commerce is expected to announce a decision on whether to impose duties against Bombardier on September 25.
The UK Government has been actively lobbying in the US for a compromise between the two companies amid growing concern about the potential implications for Bombardiers Belfast operations.
Mrs May raised the matter with the US president in a phone call last week.
Business Secretary Greg Clark
Business Secretary Greg Clark also recently travelled to Boeings base in Chicago to discuss the potential impact of the dispute and Northern Ireland Secretary of State James Brokenshire has been involved in negotiations.
However, despite the diplomatic efforts of the UK Government to get the case dropped and a compromise reached Boeing insisted on Tuesday it is going to let the process play out.
The company said it is seeking to restore a level playing field in the US single-aisle airplane market.
Boeing had to take action as subsidised competition has hurt us now and will continue to hurt us for years to come, the company said in a statement.
Northern Ireland Secretary of State James Brokenshire has been involved in negotiations
This is the normal course of action for addressing instances where a competitor is selling into the US market below cost, and we will let the process play out.
We believe that global trade only works if everyone plays by the same rules of the road, and thats a principle that ultimately creates the greatest value for Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, and our aerospace industry, the company added.
A UK Government spokesman said: This is a commercial matter but the UK Government is working tirelessly to safeguard Bombardiers operations and its highly skilled workers in Belfast.
Ministers across government have engaged swiftly and extensively with Boeing, Bombardier, the US and Canadian governments.
Our priority is to encourage Boeing to drop its case and seek a negotiated settlement with Bombardier.
The fact Downing Street has become involved demonstrates the level of concern over the impact an adverse ruling by the US Department of Commerce against Bombardier could have on the future of the Northern Ireland factory.
The number of Rohingya refugees who have fled violence in Burma has soared to about 370,000, according to the UN refugee agency.
The new estimate from the UNHCR is more than 50,000 higher than Mondays figure after aid agencies reached more villages, hamlet and pockets where refugees have gathered in Bangladesh.
Thousands of ethnic Rohingya Muslims have been arriving daily by foot across the swampy border as well as by rickety wooden boats travelling on wild seas since violence erupted on August 25 in Burma.
A Rohingya man stretches his arms out for food distributed by local volunteers at Kutupalong
The influx has left Bangladeshs refugee camps reeling. The UNHCR said it was flying in two shipments of aid materials including jerry cans, blankets, sleeping mats and shelter materials.
It said the goods would help 25,000 refugees at packed refugee camps in Bangladeshs border district of Coxs Bazar. More airlifts are planned in coming days.
Newly arrived Rohingya try to get their tokens validated in order to collect a bag of rice (Bernat Armangue/AP)
The update came as the Bangladeshi prime minister visited a struggling refugee camp that has absorbed some of the influx.
Sheikh Hasina demanded that Burma take steps to take their nationals back, and pledged temporary aid until that happens.
We will not tolerate injustice, she said at a rally at the Kutupalong refugee camp, near the border town of Ukhiya.
Kifawet Ullah is helped by other newly arrived Rohingya after he collapsed while waiting to have his token validated in order to collect a bag of rice
On Monday night, she condemned Buddhist-majority Burma for atrocities she said had reached a level beyond description, telling legislators she had no words to condemn Burma and noting that Bangladesh had long been protesting against the persecution of the Rohingya.
The UN human rights chief said the violence and injustice faced by the Rohingya in Burma where UN rights investigators have been barred from entry seems a textbook example of ethnic cleansing.
The Burma government should stop pretending that the Rohingya are setting fire to their own homes and laying waste to their own villages, Zeid Raad al-Hussein said, calling it a complete denial of reality.
The first named storm of the year, Storm Aileen, is set to bring winds of up 75 miles per hour to parts of the UK this week, the Met Office said.
Storm Aileen is the first storm to be named since this seasons names were released last week, as part of the scheme by the Met Office and Met Eireann to raise awareness of extreme weather in the UK and Ireland.
Low pressure will bring very strong winds across much of England and Wales on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, with an amber severe weather warning for gusts of 55-65mph in parts of Cheshire, Lancashire, Derbyshire, Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire.
Gusts up to around 75mph could also be possible in exposed locations such as the coast and hills in these areas, the Met Office said.
#StormAileen has officially been named & will bring severe gales to central parts of the UK. More here https://t.co/b5tJBGZGiT #WeatherAware pic.twitter.com/1OoA7zIYNY Met Office (@metoffice) September 12, 2017
A yellow weather warning for rain is also in place for parts of Northern Ireland, northern England and southern Scotland, which warns of 30-40 mm (1.2 to 1.6 inches) of rain falling within six to nine hours which could cause some disruption.
Chief forecaster Frank Saunders said: Storm Aileen is expected to bring strong winds of up to 75mph to a central segment of the UK and an amber weather warning has been issued.
As well as the strong winds, there will be some heavy rain pushing eastwards overnight which could see accumulations of 30-40mm.
The low-pressure system that is bringing these strong winds will move fairly swiftly from west to east over the UK and although there will still be some disruption through Wednesday morning, the winds will ease by the afternoon leaving a day of blustery showers.
The Met Office said there was no connection between the high winds the UK is expected to see and the severe weather battering the Caribbean and the US, with the UKs weather system originating north in the Atlantic, independent of the current hurricanes across the ocean.
As Storm Aileen clears out eastwards into the North Sea, the UK will be left with cool, showery conditions by the end of the week and into the weekend, the forecasters said.
Rod Dennis, spokesman for motoring organisation the RAC, said: The arrival of the first named storm appears to mark a very early arrival of autumn.
Aileens impact is likely to be short but sharp in the north of England, and felt most by those driving in the early hours of Wednesday morning and into the morning rush hour.
High-sided vehicles will need to take particular care, but anyone driving can expect to experience some very strong gusts and heavy rain which will make driving conditions difficult.
Plan ahead and if you can delay your journey until conditions are expected to improve later on Wednesday, then do so.
Storm Aileen: weather warnings.
Richard Leonard, head of road user safety at Highways England, said: Were encouraging drivers to check the latest weather and travel conditions before setting off on journeys, with strong winds and heavy rain expected from Tuesday evening until Wednesday morning.
In high winds, theres a particular risk to lorries, caravans and motorbikes, so wed advise drivers of these vehicles to slow down and avoid using exposed sections of road if possible.
Workers at the Sellafield nuclear site are to stage a 24-hour strike in a dispute over pay.
Members of the GMB union will walk out at 6.01am on September 27 in protest at an imposed pay rise of 1.5%.
GMB official Chris Jukes said: Despite repeated requests to try and get Sellafield management to come to the table to talk, it is clear that they seem intent on being intransigent and petulant as usual in their attitude to dispute resolution.
Sellafield workers to strike in pay dispute
Enough is enough. Vote Yes for action. pic.twitter.com/C7dn22erlS Unite Sellafield (@UniteSellafield) September 3, 2017
Mr Jukes added: No-one likes to take strike action but GMB members have been given a pay cut, on top of a 0.25% increase last year, and their pay has failed to keep up with rising prices.
Like everyone else, GMB members have bills to pay.
Meanwhile, those at the top seem more interested in their big performance bonuses, as the gulf between them and those working on the shop floor at Sellafield gets ever wider.
Clearly GMB members have signalled that they have had enough.
GMB members voted for industrial action by more than three to one in a ballot earlier this month.
The NHS in England has been warned to prepare for a busy winter following a heavy flu season in Australia and New Zealand.
Here are some questions answered by Andrew Easton, professor of virology at the University of Warwick.
Do you have a family member over 65 years? The #flu vaccine is free for them. Help protect your family this winter https://t.co/UkCDQJZaMJ pic.twitter.com/49JHC0pDdh Australian Department of Health and Aged Care (@healthgovau) May 23, 2017
The reasons for the high incidence of flu in Australia are not yet clear. Flu is notoriously difficult to predict and many factors play a role. Historically the incidence of flu changes a lot from year to year so while there is some concern at the high levels seen in Australia it is not possible to say definitively why it has occurred. One factor that is being investigated is the level of vaccine uptake in the population: if that is lower than usual it may be a factor - but it would only be one factor.
Elderly man
Flu is a serious disease but represents a particular risk for certain groups of people. These are the elderly and anyone with an additional predisposing condition such as severe asthma or other respiratory complaint - these individuals can be of any age. There is no suggestion at the moment that one particular group has been affected more than might be seen in any annual outbreak.
There is no suggestion of that at the moment and people are encouraged to get a vaccination if they have not already done so.
Did you know the child flu vaccination is a nasal spray and not a jab! #staywellthiswinter pic.twitter.com/gWXEFKWqdP Slough Public Health (@SloughPH) August 30, 2017
There is no reason at the moment to believe that the vaccine will not work. However, it takes 10 days or so for the vaccine to provide protection and during that time the individual is still at risk so getting the vaccine as early as possible is important.
The precise formulation for vaccines used in the Northern and Southern hemispheres can be different and this is designed to take account of the variation in flu strains that appear in these two regions.
The World Health Organisation operates a surveillance programme to detect what strains are most likely to be around and vaccine manufacturers follow this advice for their products. The current vaccine contains material to protect against the two most prevalent influenza A and the two most prevalent influenza B strains most likely to be around in the winter. Occasionally the circulating strains have been found to differ a bit from those predicted but that is not frequent and there is always some level of protection provided.
Sydney
It does not. However the surveillance programme picks up these unusually high levels and they are taken as a warning that the particular strains around may represent a greater challenge than normal. However, as indicated, it is extremely difficult to predict the nature of a future flu season in terms of severity and so this is at the moment a heads up and not a prediction.
The key thing is that people should be made aware of any issues with flu if it develops. Those particularly at risk of severe disease should seek advice about receiving a vaccination.
Hospital
The main effect will not be seen at the hospital level but in the community. Hospitals will have their normal procedures in place to offer vaccine to staff to help ensure that they are not affected and will ensure that their facilities will be in good shape to address any issue. However, as the incidence of flu is detected when it appears in the UK winter it will become clearer what the true situation is and what steps will be needed to reduce the impact.
SOFIA, Sept 12 (Reuters) - These are some of the main stories in Bulgarian newspapers on Tuesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
-- Bulgaria's Supreme Judicial Council elected judge Georgi Cholakov to head the country's Supreme Administrative Court for a 7-year term. (Capital Daily, 24 Chasa, Monitor, Sega, Trud, Standart)
-- Bulgaria expects a grape harvest of about 350,000 tonnes, the agriculture minister said. The wine production is forecast to reach between 140 to 150 million liters. (Capital Daily, Duma, Monitor, Standart)
-- The funds under management at Bulgarian insurance companies have increased by 10 percent to 7.2 billion levs ($4.41 billion)at the end of June on an annual basis, central bank data showed. (Capital Daily, Trud, Standart) ($1 = 1.6336 leva)
By Engen Tham
SHANGHAI, Sept 12 (Reuters) - China's Big Four state-owned banks have stopped providing financial services to new North Korean clients, according to branch staff, amid U.S. concerns that Beijing has not been tough enough over Pyongyang's repeated nuclear tests.
Tensions between the United States and North Korea have ratcheted up after the sixth and most powerful nuclear test conducted by Pyongyang on Sept. 3 prompted the United Nations Security Council to impose further sanctions on Tuesday.
Chinese banks have come under scrutiny for their role as a conduit for funds flowing to and from China's increasingly isolated neighbour.
China Construction Bank (CCB) has "completely prohibited business with North Korea", said a bank teller at a branch in the northeastern province of Liaoning. The ban started on Aug. 28, the teller said.
Frustrated that China had not done more to rein in North Korea, the Trump administration was mulling new sanctions in July on small Chinese banks and other firms doing business with Pyongyang, two senior U.S. officials told Reuters.
A person answering the customer hotline at the world's largest lender, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC), said the bank had stopped opening accounts for North Koreans and Iranians since July 16. The person did not explain why or answer further questions.
The measures taken by the largest Chinese banks began as early as the end of last year, when the Dandong city branch of China's most international lender, Bank of China Ltd (BoC) , stopped allowing North Koreans to open individual or business accounts, said a BoC bank teller who declined to be identified.
Existing North Korean account holders could not deposit or remove money from their accounts, the BoC bank teller said.
At Agricultural Bank of China Ltd (AgBank), a teller at a branch in Dandong, a northeastern Chinese city that borders North Korea, said North Koreans could not open accounts. The teller did not provide further details.
Official representatives for BoC, ICBC, CCB and AgBank could not be reached for comment.
Banks in Dandong have been under the microscope as tensions have risen, given their proximity to North Korea.
In June, the United States accused the Bank of Dandong, a small lender, of laundering money for Pyongyang.
Attempts to slowly choke off the flow of funds to and from North Korea come after the United States sanctioned a Chinese industrial machinery wholesaler that it said was acting on behalf of a Pyongyang bank already sanctioned by the United Nations for supporting the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The Chinese wholesaler was found to be operating through 25 accounts at banks in China.
Although measures are in place, some bankers questioned how well the rules would be enforced.
Chinese lenders have experienced high-profile failures to police money-laundering in recent years, with some facing allegations that bankers were complicit in the movement of illicit funds.
"Asking whether we will be able to enforce the new rules is the same question as asking how tight our know-your-client checks are," said a senior corporate banker at the Bank of China who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.
"There will always be holes," she said. (Reporting by Shanghai newsroom and Engen Tham; Editing by Paul Tait)
By Ahmed Rasheed and Raya Jalabi
BAGHDAD/ERBIL, Iraq, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Iraqs Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani vowed on Tuesday to press ahead with a referendum on Kurdish independence on Sept. 25 despite a vote by Iraq's parliament to reject the move.
Earlier the parliament in Baghdad authorised the prime minister to "take all measures" to preserve Iraq's unity. Kurdish lawmakers walked out of the session before the vote and issued statements rejecting the decision.
Western powers fear a plebiscite in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region - including the oil-rich city of Kirkuk - could ignite conflict with the central government in Baghdad and divert attention from the war against Islamic State militants.
Iraq's neighbours - Turkey, Iran and Syria - also oppose the referendum, fearing it could fan separatism among their own ethnic Kurdish populations.
"The referendum will be held on time... Dialogue with Baghdad will resume after the referendum," Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), said in a statement on his ruling party's official website after the vote.
Barzani told a gathering of Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen in Kirkuk that the referendum was "a natural right", according to a tweet from his aide Hemin Hawrami. Barzani also said Kirkuk should have a "special status" in a new, independent Kurdistan.
Iraqi lawmakers worry that the referendum will consolidate Kurdish control over several areas claimed by both the central government in Baghdad and the autonomous KRG in northern Iraq.
"UNCONSTITUTIONAL"
"This referendum lacks a constitutional basis and thus it is considered unconstitutional," the parliamentary resolution said, without specifying what measures the central government should take to stop Kurdistan from breaking away.
Mohammed al-Karbouli, a Sunni Muslim lawmaker, said: "Kurdish lawmakers walked out of (Tuesday's) session but the decision to reject the referendum was passed by a majority."
A senior Kurdish official dismissed the vote as non-binding though an Iraqi lawmaker said it would be published in the official gazette after approval from the Iraqi presidency.
The KRG has said it is up to local councils of disputed regions in northern Iraq to decide whether to join the vote.
Kirkuk, an ethnically mixed city, voted last month to participate in the referendum, a move that stoked tensions with its Arab and Turkmen residents, as well as with Baghdad.
Kurdish peshmerga forces took control of the Kirkuk area and other areas claimed by both Baghdad and the Kurds after Islamic State militants overran about a third of Iraq in 2014 and Baghdads local forces disintegrated.
At a news conference on Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the Kurds were continuing to "illegally export" Kirkuk's oil, and he called for urgent talks.
"I call upon the Kurdish leadership to come to Baghdad and conclude a dialogue," Abadi said.
A Kurdish delegation met officials in Baghdad for a first round of talks in August concerning the referendum. An Iraqi delegation was expected to visit the Kurdish capital of Erbil in early September for a second round of talks, but the visit has yet to happen with less than two weeks before the vote.
Kurds have sought an independent state since at least the end of World War One, when colonial powers divided up the Middle East after the collapse of the multi-ethnic Ottoman Empire and left Kurdish-populated territory split between Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. (Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed and Raya Jalabi; Writing by Ulf Laessing and Raya Jalabi; Editing by Gareth Jones)
PORT LOUIS, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Mauritius cut its 2017 sugar production forecast by 2.7 percent on Tuesday, blaming above average rainfall for a poor harvest.
The Chamber of Agriculture said it now expects sugar production of 350,000 tonnes this year, down from a previous forecast of 360,000 tonnes.
"Rainfall in the month of May was well above average representing 272 percent of the long-term average while the island received only 90 percent of the normal sunshine," the Chamber said in a statement.
Mauritius produced 386,277 tonnes of sugar in 2016. Sugar contributes about 1 percent of the Indian Ocean island's $13 billion gross domestic product.
Sugar processors in Mauritius include Omnicane, Alteo Ltd and Terra Mauricia.
Once focused on sugar and textiles, Mauritius has diversified into tourism, offshore banking and business outsourcing to cement its reputation as one of Africa's most stable and prosperous economies. (Reporting by Jean Paul Arouff; Editing by Katharine Houreld and Susan Fenton)
Sept 12 (Reuters) - Qatar Tourism Authority Opens Representative Offices in China
Offices to be headquartered in Beijing, with supporting locations in Shanghai and Guangzhou
Opening comes as Qatar awarded Approved Destination Status by China
Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) has announced the opening of representative offices in China, with headquarters in Beijing, and supporting locations in Shanghai and Guangzhou.
The offices will be operated in partnership with PHG Consulting, a division of Preferred Hospitality Group; the premier global provider of representation and consultancy services for tourism boards, destination management companies, airlines, and hotel brands.
The opening comes as Qatar has officially been awarded Approved Destination Status (ADS), allowing it to receive tourists from China and to promote Qatar as a tourism destination within China.
"Qatar has become an increasingly accessible destination for Chinese travelers, especially after Qatar waived entry visa requirements for Chinese citizens," commented His Excellency Sultan Salmeen Al Mansouri, Qatars Ambassador to China. "Chinese visitors to Qatar no longer need to apply or pay for a visa; instead, a multi-entry waiver is issued to them free-of-charge at the port of entry. At the same time, the Chinese outbound tourism market has been growing exponentially, making the time ripe for Qatar to establish a presence in China and actively engage with the domestic travel and tourism market."
The QTA office in China will aim to greatly enhance the organisations on-the-ground presence and capabilities, introducing and developing awareness and knowledge about Qatar as a quality destination through pro-active marketing to tour operators, travel agencies, hospitality partners and media, as well as consumers.
According to Rashed AlQurese, Chief Marketing and Promotion Officer at QTA, Qatars marketing campaign in China will cover a wide range of promotional initiatives, including workshops, sales visits, travel agents destination training through QTAs online TAWASH programme, partnerships with tour operators, familiarisation trips, media campaigns and a variety of innovative activities to raise Qatars profile as a destination among Chinese tourists.
"China has risen rapidly as a major source of outbound tourists in the world and we have identified it as key source market for future growth, among both leisure and business visitors," said AlQurese. "Qatar has been developing its assets in both areas, and we look forward to working with our partners at the China National Tourism Administration and PHG Consulting to raise awareness of our unique tourism offering. Our on-the-ground presence in China will enable us to actively promote Qatar to Chinese consumers, and develop relationships with members of the Chinese travel trade who will sell Qatar as a destination."
He continued, "Now that Qatar has been granted ADS, our work can begin immediately, and will culminate in a major campaign that will kick off in January 2018, which will include advertising in major publications, key outdoor locations and familiarisation trips for media to experience Qatar first hand."
Chinese travellers interested in Qatar will also have easy access to information about the destinations tourism offerings, hospitality options and key tourism events online, with its official website (www.visitqatar.qa) now available in Mandarin. Additionally, Visit Qatar will establish a presence across the most prominent Chinese social media platforms in the coming months.
"As demand for unique, exciting, and experience-rich destinations continues to grow among Chinese travellers, we are excited to embark on this multi-year partnership with QTA. We look forward to working together to achieve Qatars ambitions of generating great awareness and demand for the destinations compelling tourism offerings among Chinas booming outbound travel market," said Ken Mastrandrea, Chief Operating Officer of PHG.
QTAs office in China is in the third to open in Asia and the ninth globally. It joins an international network currently covering the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Turkey, the United States of America, the GCC markets and South East Asia. QTA officials anticipate the opening of additional offices in Russia and India before the end of the year.
Qatar is home to the award-winning five star airline Qatar Airways. The national carrier flies directly to 6 destinations in mainland China, including Beijing, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Chengdu, Shanghai, and Hangzhou.
- Ends -
Find out what Qatar has to offer: visitqatar.qa For media enquiries please contact: pressoffice@visitQatar.qa
Content provided by Visit Qatar, via Reuters.
By Hamid Ould Ahmed
ALGIERS, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Algeria's new government will introduce Islamic finance and develop its stock market to draw more investment into the economy as it struggles to cope with a sharp fall in energy earnings, according to an official document.
The measures are part of wider reforms by Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia's government, which also said it plans to start fracking for shale hydrocarbons to boost oil and gas revenue, the main source of state income.
The North African OPEC member's finances have been hit by a more than 50 percent drop in crude oil prices since mid-2014, prompting authorities to announce changes to the largely state-controlled economy.
"The situation remains extremely tense for the budget," the government said in its economic action plan, using unusually blunt language. "In the current situation, 2017 will end with real difficulties, while 2018 looks to be even more complex".
The crisis was likely to be sustained because "there is no prospect of a significant recovery in oil prices for the short and medium terms," it said. "At the domestic level, the state of public finances is worrying."
In a bid to ease financial pressure for the coming years, the government plans to "strengthen the supply of banking products, including leasing and products of the so-called Islamic finance".
It is the first time the authorities have openly mentioned the introduction of Sharia-compliant Islamic finance, which respects the prohibition in Islam against paying interest.
This will coincide with plans "to ensure the development of the capital market as well as the stock exchange to offer alternatives to financing of investment and capital increases," according to the action plan.
SPENDING CUTS
Algeria has failed in the past to modernise its stock market, now smaller than those in neighbouring Morocco and Tunisia, and has a very low level of liquidity.
Its firms currently rely on state finances, which in turn depend on the hard-hit oil and gas sector.
The government had previously dropped fracking plans after environmental protests in the Sahara desert. The new attempt "will be accompanied with a special effort of explanation ...in the direction of public opinion," the government said.
It also plans to continue spending cuts, including to subsidies, which currently apply to almost everything from food and medicine to housing, education and energy.
Cutting subsidies would require "good preparation, which will be followed by consultation with economic and social partners and then with parliament," the government said. It has slashed public spending by 14 percent this year, after a 9 percent reduction in 2016.
But analysts say spending cuts alone may not be enough to tackle the crisis. Foreign exchange reserves fell to $105 billion in July this year from $193 billion in May 2014 - mainly due to high imports, on which the government has spent $561 billion since 2000. (Reporting by Hamid Ould Ahmed; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
Sept 12 (Reuters) - Qatar Gains Approved Destination Status in China
Agreement allows Qatar to tap into worlds largest outbound tourism market
Qatar has officially become an approved destination for Chinese tourists, following the signing of a bilateral agreement between Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) and the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA).
The agreement grants Qatar Approved Destination Status (ADS), allowing it to receive tourists from China and to promote Qatar as a tourism destination within China.
Li Jinzao, Chairman of CNTA, commented, "We are delighted to welcome Qatar to the list of countries that have ADS. This system aims to guarantee safe and reliable tourism services for Chinese customers, from both local travel agencies and international tour operators. We have seen the Qatari tourism sector make great strides, and we are certain Chinese travellers will find fulfilling experiences and a high level of service in Qatar."
His Excellency Sultan Salmeen Al Mansouri, Qatars Ambassador to China, said "We have been watching the Chinese outbound market grow by leaps and bounds over the past few years, reaching 135 million travellers in 2016. With growing interest from Chinese tourists to venture outside the Far East and explore the Arab world, this is a great opportunity to build new bridges between the two regions. This agreement also embodies our support for the Belt and Road Initiative, for which Qatar was one of the first countries to express support. As more projects are implemented as part of the initiative, we expect more opportunities for collaboration between our two countries, particularly in commerce, tourism, sport and culture."
Hassan Al Ibrahim, Acting Chairman of QTA, added, "Thanks to a robust economy and an increasingly open tourism policy, the Chinese outbound tourism market has been the largest in the world since 2012, with the growth expected to continue. We are excited to work with our partners in the tourism industry to offer our renowned hospitality to our Chinese guests. We look forward to welcoming visitors as they discover our cultural heritage and natural treasures."
Qatar is home to the award-winning five star airline Qatar Airways. The national carrier flies directly to 6 destinations in mainland China, including Beijing, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Chengdu, Shanghai, and Hangzhou.
- Ends -
Find out what Qatar has to offer: visitqatar.qa For media enquiries please contact: pressoffice@visitQatar.qa
Content provided by Visit Qatar, via Reuters.
By Chris Arsenault
TORONTO, Sept 12 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Cities should use subsidies and taxes to get homeowners to protect themselves from climate change, experts said, as millions have been displaced by massive storms across swathes of Florida and the Caribbean and rains in India.
The cost of rebuilding from disasters linked to climate change will grow dramatically if cities do not take action, analysts and a Canadian official said.
"Homeowners are expected to play a part in flood risk management," said Daniel Henstra, a professor studying climate change adaptation at Canada's University of Waterloo.
"This is a way of sharing the cost and responsibility."
While government infrastructure programmes, like flood barriers, better drainage and wetland preservation, are key, individual actions taken en masse are also crucial, he said.
Hurricane Irma caused record flooding in parts of Florida this week after it left a path of deadly destruction on several Caribbean islands.
South Asia's most devastating floods in a decade killed more than 1,400 people and focused attention on poor planning and lack of preparedness for annual monsoon rains.
Cities can use financial incentives to encourage homeowners to act, said Stephen Tyler, president of Adaptive Resource Management, which advises on urban planning, in Canada's western British Columbia province.
"We have to design and build for a future that is unpredictable," Tyler told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
"Institutions need to help reduce the risks in the first place."
British Columbia, which has been ravaged by forest fires, is one of several Canadian provinces that offer incentives to people to clear brush from around their homes.
Changing homeowners' perceptions is crucial as government often doesn't own most of the land in major cities, Henstra said.
People sometimes sometimes baulk at the idea of paying extra taxes, he said, citing an unsuccessful attempt by Toronto in May to charge homeowners for the rising costs of storm and flood protection.
"One councillor called it a 'roof tax' or just another tax grab," Henstra told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Toronto's chief resilience officer, Elliott Cappell, said homeowners are willing to invest in schemes like flood insurance and better drainage if issues are framed the right way.
"I don't think it is as simple as saying 'homeowners do not want to pay," Cappell told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
"Where we can work with insurance companies and homeowners themselves to make their properties more resilient, I think there is a lot of buy-in."
Toronto is giving homeowners up to 3,400 Canadian dollars ($2,800) per home to install flood protection devices.
($1 = 1.2133 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Chris Arsenault @chrisarsenaul, Editing by Katy Migiro. 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)
WASHINGTON, Sept 12 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Tuesday that if China doesn't follow the United Nations sanctions approved on North Korea, he will seek new financial sanctions on Beijing to cut off access to the U.S. financial system.
Mnuchin told a conference broadcast on CNBC that China agreed to "historic" sanctions on North Korea on Monday in a UN Security Council vote.
"If China doesn't follow these sanctions, we will put additional sanctions on them and prevent them from accessing the U.S. and international dollar system, and that's quite meaningful," Mnuchin said. (Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
By Tom Perry and Katya Golubkova
BEIRUT/MOSCOW, Sept 12 (Reuters) - The Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah has declared victory in the Syrian war while Russia said government forces had driven militants from much of the country where President Bashar al-Assad's rule seemed in danger two years ago.
The comments from two Syrian government allies mark the most confident assessments yet of Assad's position in the war, though significant parts of the country remain outside the government's control. Russia's assertion that the army had won back 85 percent of Syria was dismissed by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. It said the government held 48 percent of Syria.
On Tuesday, Russia's defence minister met with Assad in Damascus to discuss joint military efforts and the fight against Islamic State.
The government's most recent advances have recovered swathes of territory in eastern Syria from Islamic State, which is being targeted in the same region by U.S.-backed Kurdish and Arab militias.
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, whose group has sent thousands of fighters to Syria, dismissed the fighting left to be done in Syria as "scattered battles".
"We have won in the war (in Syria)," he said in comments reported by the Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar.
Referring to Assad's opponents, Nasrallah said "the path of the other project has failed and wants to negotiate for some gains". The comments, made at a religious gathering, were confirmed to Reuters by a source familiar with the speech.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict, which has fractured Syria into a patchwork of areas and generated a refugee crisis of historic proportions, forcing millions of people into neighbouring states and Europe.
Military backing from Iran and Russia has proven critical to Assad in the war with insurgents including rebels who have been backed by Gulf Arab states, Turkey and the United States, which has decided to end a programme of covert support to rebels.
Rebel groups were making steady advances against Assad as recently as 2015, when the deployment of the Russian air force to Syria turned the tide in his favour.
Over the past year, Assad has crushed numerous pockets of rebel-held territory in the cities of Aleppo, Homs and Damascus, brokering local deals by which thousands of his opponents have been moved to remaining rebel-held enclaves of the country.
Ceasefire deals brokered by Russia, Turkey, Iran and the United States in remaining rebel-held areas of western Syria have freed up manpower on the government side, helping its advance east into the oil-rich province of Deir al-Zor.
AIR STRIKES
Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu visited Assad on Tuesday on the orders of President Vladimir Putin, the ministry said.
The meeting focused on plans to recapture Deir al-Zor city and to "strengthen efforts to combat terrorism in all Syrian territory until its utter annihilation," Assad's office said.
Shoigu and Assad discussed the de-escalation deals in parts of Syria that have "sped up the victories of the Syrian army and its allies in fighting terrorism in other areas", it said.
Government forces last week reached Deir al-Zor city, the provincial capital on the Euphrates River, breaking an Islamic State siege of a government-held pocket and a nearby air base.
"To date, 85 percent of Syria's territory has been cleared of the militants of illegal armed groups," the RIA news agency cited Alexander Lapin, chief of staff of the Russian military contingent in Syria, as saying.
Lapin made no reference to a swathe of territory held in northern Syria by an alliance of U.S.-backed militias - the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) which is led by the Kurdish YPG and is not at war with Assad. The Observatory said SDF-held territory amounts to 23 percent of Syria.
Lapin said Islamic State fighters are still in control of around 27,000 square km of Syria's territory.
"The liberation of (Deir al-Zor) city is proceeding," Lapin said. "Syrian troops are finalising the defeat of the ISIL group blocking the northern and southern districts of Deir al-Zor," he said. He said the assault was being led by General Suheil al-Hassan, a Syrian officer who has risen to prominence in the war.
Referring to the Russian figure of 85 percent, a Western diplomat said: "Other numbers tell a darker story: over 400,000 killed; half the population displaced; millions of refugees."
"The harder question for Russia to answer is whether any of its vaunted 85 percent is stable. The Assad state is a thin veneer stretched over a patchwork of fiefdoms."
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said air strikes likely to have been carried out by Russian warplanes killed 69 people since Sunday near the Euphrates River in Deir al-Zor.
The Russian Defence Ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Tuesday's report by the Britain-based monitoring group.
The Observatory, which identified the victims as civilians, said the air strikes had hit encampments on the western bank of the river and vessels crossing to the eastern side.
Syrian state television separately reported the army was conducting artillery and machine gun attacks on rafts carrying Islamic State militants to the eastern side of the river from their last positions in Deir al-Zor city.
"ONLY ESCAPE ROUTE"
"Their only escape route out of the city is through rafts on the river, and god willing, we will target them in the water before they get away," a commander said in a televised interview.
Aside from the territory held by the SDF and Islamic State, rebels still control a corner of the northwest, a corner of the southwest, an area near Damascus, and an area north of the city of Homs.
Syrian government attacks in the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta region near Damascus suggest Assad may yet try to recapture the remaining rebel-held areas of the west, including enclaves at the borders with Turkey, Jordan and Israel.
A major general in the Syrian Republican Guard interviewed by a state-run TV station from Deir al-Zor on Monday warned Syrians who had "run away or escaped from Syria to any other country" not to return.
Major General Issam Zahreddine, head of the 104 Brigade which was under IS-siege for three years in Deir al-Zor, later issued a clarification on his Facebook page, saying his warning had been directed only at people who had taken up arms. (Additional reporting by Sarah Dadouch and Laila Bassam in Beirut, Dmitry Solovyov and Jack Stubbs in Moscow; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Alison Williams)
By Ece Toksabay and Sabine Siebold
ANKARA/BERLIN, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday Germany would only restrict some arms sales to Turkey, softening an earlier announcement of a freeze on major arms sales after Ankara said that would hurt their joint fight against Islamic State.
Merkel spoke a day after Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said Berlin had put all major arms exports to NATO partner Turkey on hold, citing deteriorating human rights there and strained diplomatic ties.
She told broadcaster NDR that Germany would decide on arms sales requests from Turkey on a case-by-case basis, noting that Berlin cooperated with Ankara on security matters.
"We also remain in a joint fight against Islamic State," Merkel said, in an apparent rebuff of the more forceful remarks made by Gabriel, a senior member of the Social Democrats (SPD), junior partners in her ruling coalition.
Turkey accused Gabriel of using the issue for political gain ahead of a Sept. 24 national election.
The countries' ties through the U.S.-led military alliance have come under increased pressure since Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan started a crackdown on political opponents after a failed coup last year.
Germany has criticised mass arrests in Turkey, refused to extradite people Turkey says were involved in the putsch and demanded the release of around a dozen German or Turkish-German citizens arrested in recent months.
This month, Merkel went as far as saying she would seek to end Turkey's membership talks with the European Union - drawing accusations from Turkey that she was flirting with populism to build support before the election.
Berlin is also considering adding Turkey to a list of countries that pose high security risks for intelligence agents, police officers and military officials, Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper and two broadcasters reported, citing a spokesman for the Interior Ministry.
The list includes China, Russia, Pakistan, North Korea and 26 other countries.
BOMBS, TORPEDOES, MISSILES
Merkel did not give details of what criteria Germany would use to make its case-by-case decisions on arms exports.
But in a written response to a question from Greens lawmaker Ozcan Mutlu about German arms exports to Turkey, Economy Ministry state secretary Matthias Machnig said they would not be approved if Berlin suspected they could be used for repression.
Machnig's response, dated Sept. 7, also showed arms sales to Turkey had declined significantly since a year earlier.
He listed arms exports to Turkey approved between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31 this year - primarily bombs, torpedoes and missiles with some small arms and munitions - worth a total of about 25 million euros ($29.84 million), down from 69 million euros in the same period last year.
After Merkel spoke, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said he found the chancellor's approach more "suitable" and chided Gabriel for using the issue to drum up votes.
Gabriel's SPD is running 13 to 14 percent behind Merkel's conservatives in many opinion polls.
Turkish EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik, speaking in London, had said Gabriel's ban on major arms deals would weaken Turkey's fight against terrorism and make Europe less secure.
A NATO spokesman said the alliance has no role in commercial arms sales between member states.
"It does not monitor, promote or facilitate such transactions," the spokesman added. (Additional reporting by Michael Nienaber and Andrea Shalal in Berlin, Robin Emmott in Brussels, Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara; Writing by Paul Carrel and Daren Butler; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)
EDINBURGH, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Scotland's devolved government has recommended that its parliament at Holyrood withhold consent for legislation to withdraw Britain from the European Union, on the grounds that it could water down their powers, a document filed by the Scottish government said on Tuesday.
The approval of the devolved parliaments in Scotland and Wales does not represent a veto to the Brexit process, although it would stretch Britain's constitutional tensions yet further by forcing the UK government of Prime Minister Theresa May to ignore the expressed wish of the devolved bodies.
Scotland would work with the Welsh government to propose amendments to the bill which, if agreement were reached, would allow it to recommend its passage in the devolved assemblies, the document said.
The bill will end the supremacy of EU law in the UK and convert all existing EU laws into domestic ones.
"Along with the Welsh government, the Scottish government cannot recommend to the parliament that it gives consent to the bill as currently drafted," the document filed with the Scottish parliament said.
"The Scottish government is also clear that the result of withdrawal from the EU should not be centralisation of power in Whitehall and Westminster. However, that is what the bill proposes."
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been arguing that Brexit as proposed flies in the face of the devolution agreement, which up to now has allowed assemblies in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast to legislate on their own domestic policies such as health and education.
Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to keep EU membership in a June 2016 referendum while England and Wales voted to leave.
"It remains a matter of regret to the Scottish government that the UK plans to withdraw from the EU. The government nevertheless accepts that preparations should be made for withdrawal from the EU, including preserving a functioning legal system," the document said.
"The Scottish government's key objections to the bill as introduced relate to the provisions on the competence of the Scottish parliament and government (...) and those on powers for UK and Scottish ministers to alter domestic law," it said.
The Scottish and Welsh governments argue that returning powers now exercised by the EU to the UK government will imply restrictions on the power of Scottish and Welsh chambers.
But Britain's Scotland minister, David Mundell, has said that the repeal will ultimately result in a boost in devolved parliamentary power.
(Reporting by Elisabeth O'Leary; editing by Stephen Addison)
CASABLANCA, Morocco, Sept 12 (Reuters) - A Moroccan court on Tuesday postponed until next month the trial of protesters arrested for their role in organising demonstrations that rocked a northern region for months in one of the most serious challenges to the kingdom in years.
Months of protests erupted in the Rif region around the northern city of Al-Hoceima last October, triggered by the death of a fishmonger whose produce was confiscated by police. The death became a symbol of corruption and official abuse.
Dozens of family members chanted outside the Casablanca courthouse where 17 detained protest leaders were due to go on trial along with two others who are currently free. They face charges ranging from conspiring against the state to protesting without authorisation.
Lawyers confirmed the postponement and criticised what they said was unfair process, forced confessions and irregularities in detentions.
The attorney general dismissed those claims, saying the case respected rights. The trial was postponed until Oct. 3, attorneys said.
"We are worried because of the gravity of the accusations," said Hayat Boulhjal, sister of one detained man.
The "Hirak" protest movement was born after the death in October of fishmonger Mouhcine Fikri in Al-Hoceima. Local police confiscated fish they said he had bought illegally and dumped it in a garbage truck. Desperate to recover his stock, Fikri jumped inside and was killed by a rubbish crusher.
Authorities responded by arresting more than 100 leaders and members of the movement.
Political protests are rare in Morocco, where the royal palace remains the ultimate power. Demonstrators directed their anger at the government and the king's entourage rather than the monarch himself. They were the largest Moroccan protests since the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings in the region. (Reporting by Zakia Abdennebi; Writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)
By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin and Ellen Francis
LONDON/BEIRUT, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Iran signed deals with Damascus on Tuesday to repair Syria's power grid, state media said, a potentially lucrative move for Tehran that points to a deepening economic role after years of fighting in the Syrian conflict.
Shunned by Western powers, the Syrian government is looking to friendly states such as Iran, Russia and China to play a major role in rebuilding the country, as the war heads towards its seventh year.
Since at least 2012, Iran has provided critical military support to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government, helping it regain control of swathes of the country. Iran experts say Tehran is now looking to reap a financial dividend.
In January, Irans government and entities close to Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) signed major telecommunications and mining deals with Damascus.
On Tuesday, Iran and Syria signed a memorandum of understanding during a visit by Syria's electricity minister to Tehran, including building a power plant the coastal province Latakia with a capacity of 540 megawatts, Syrian state news agency SANA said.
The agreement involves restoring the main control centre for Syria's electricity grid in the capital Damascus, it said.
The new electricity deals could be worth millions of euros, Iranian state media said on Tuesday.
The agreement also includes rehabilitating a 90-megawatt power station in Deir al-Zor province, where the Syrian army and allied forces have made swift advances against Islamic State in recent days.
With Russian air power and Iran-backed militias, the government has driven rebels from Syria's main urban centres in western Syria and marched eastwards against Islamic State.
"The Syrian government ... is working relentlessly to restore the power system," SANA cited Syrian Electricity Minister Mohammad Zuhair Kharboutli as saying. "Iranian companies will have a role in rebuilding Syria."
Two contracts were also signed, including for Iran to supply power to Aleppo city, which the Syrian military and its allies fully regained last year in a major blow to rebels, SANA said.
"We will stand by the Syrian people to rebuild this country ... We will bring light to houses of the Syrian people," Sattar Mahmoudi, Iran's caretaker energy minister, was quoted as saying on the ministry's website.
The deals will be worth hundreds of millions of euros if finalised, and Tehran is also keen to expand its cooperation to construct water and sewerage facilities in Syria, he said.
More than 1,000 soldiers deployed by the Revolutionary Guards to Syria have died on the front lines of the multi-sided conflict in recent years.
"Iran's Revolutionary Guards saved the Assad regime from collapsing at a heavy price for Damascus for now they own Syria," Emanuele Ottolenghi, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told Reuters.
"I expect these to be the first in a wave of tenders won by IRGC companies, which will have the best reconstruction projects to Iran," he added.
Iranian firms are already involved in a series of electricity generation projects in Syria. Iran aims to export electricity and create the biggest power network in the Islamic world by hooking up Iran's national grid with those of Iraq and Lebanon.
Iran said in August that it has exported $58 million worth of goods to Syria in the first four months of this year, marking a 100 percent increase compared with the same period a year ago. (Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin in London and Ellen Francis in Beirut; Editing by Alison Williams)
By Joe Bavier
ABIDJAN, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Portugal, Spain, Greece and Italy broke European Union law by authorising vessels to fish in the territorial waters off Gambia and Equatorial Guinea, according to the findings of conservation group Oceana published on Tuesday.
Fishing vessels from Europe and Asia are drawn to West Africa, particularly for high-value tuna. Many ships operate legally but West African states are vulnerable to illegal fishing because of corruption and a lack of maritime policing capacity.
Using data from their onboard tracking devices, Oceana found that 19 vessels illegally spent over 31,000 hours in Gambia and Equatorial Guinea's exclusive economic zones - waters which extend 200 nautical miles from the coast - from April 2012 to August 2015.
"Oceana was unable to document the fishing effort of vessels not transmitting ... therefore, it is likely that the prevalence of fishing may be even higher," the report said.
Illegal fishing costs West African economies $2.3 billion a year, according to a recent study published in Frontiers in Marine Science journal. Africa's fisheries and aquaculture sector was estimated at more than $24 billion in 2011, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.
Both Gambia and Equatorial Guinea negotiated official access agreements with the EU. Such deals tighten oversight and allow European boats to only fish for surplus stocks.
However, the requirements of the deals have not been met, so they are considered dormant. European vessels are not allowed to operate in waters subject to dormant agreements.
The ships, according to Oceana, had signed private agreements with authorities in the two states. But the European Commission twice notified EU fisheries ministries, in January 2014 and again in April 2015, that they could not fish after agreements go dormant, even under private deals.
"This demonstrates serious shortcomings in transparency and accountability from these EU flag states," the Oceana report's authors wrote. The organisation is based in Washington.
An official with Greece's agriculture ministry told Reuters it had received no official warning of the issue but said it would investigate when it did.
"Greek authorities conduct strict checks on these matters," the official, who asked not to be named, said, adding that only a few Greek vessels were granted overseas fishing licences.
Italian and Portuguese authorities did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment, but they told Oceana they were investigating and were in contact with Gambian officials.
Spain told Oceana that after the second European Commission notification it had recalled from Gambia the one Spanish fishing boat still operating there at the time.
Spanish authorities did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for further information. (Additional reporting by Steve Scherer in Rome, Axel Bugge in Lisbon, Lefteris Papadimas in Athens, Emma Pinedo Gonzalez in Madrid, and Lamin Jahateh in Banjul; Editing by Edward McAllister and Matthew Mpoke Bigg)
VIENNA, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Austrian specialty steelmaker Voestalpine said Germany's antitrust regulator raided its headquarters in Linz on Tuesday as part of an investigation into steel producers.
Germany's competition watchdog last week widened its investigation into suspected violations of antitrust laws in the industry, with ArcelorMittal and Salzgitter confirming searches at some of their subsidiaries.
The investigation expands a cartel office inquiry already covering makers and sellers of stainless steel, car manufacturers and suppliers, as well as firms in the forging sector.
"The reason for the inspection is the suspicion of anti-competitive practices in the market for heavy plates," Voestalpine said, adding that it took the allegations seriously and was supporting the authorities in their work.
A spokesman for Voestalpine said it could not provide further information at this point as it did not have any more details.
The Austrian company is involved in another investigation by German authorities into possible fixing of alloy surcharges, which dates back to November 2015.
Voestalpine was also one of four companies fined in 2012 for fixing the price of railway tracks in Germany. (Reporting by Kirsti Knolle; editing by David Clarke)
CAIRO, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Egypt's United Nations envoy on Tuesday criticized U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad al-Hussein's remarks on systemic violence in the country, saying they reflected "flawed logic", state news agency MENA reported.
Ambassador Amr Ramadan was quoted as saying that he had cautioned Zeid against his office becoming a "mouthpiece for paid agencies with political and economic agendas," and he rejected his accusations, without elaborating.
At a UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva on Monday, Hussein said the state of emergency declared by the Egyptian government last April had been used to justify "systemic silencing of civil society."
He cited reports of waves of arrests, arbitrary detention, black-listing, travel bans, asset freezes, intimidation and other reprisals against human rights defenders, journalists, political dissidents and those affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood group.
Last week Egypt came under fire from Human Rights Watch, which said in a report that there was systemic torture in the country's jails, leading Cairo to block access to HRW's website.
Egypt's human rights parliamentary committee, which was critical of the report, has also developed an action plan in response, state media reported on Tuesday.
The plan reportedly includes meeting with foreign diplomats in Egypt and outside the country to explain its efforts to defend human rights. (Reporting by Nadine Awadalla; Additional reporting by Mostafa Hashem in Cairo and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
By Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON, Sept 12 (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday he would not support a resolution targeting Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi over the treatment of the country's Rohingya Muslims, and said Washington should not be "lecturing" her.
"I don't favor a resolution going after her," McConnell, who has been engaged with issues related to Myanmar, also known as Burma, for years. "I think she's the greatest hope that we have to move Burma from where it has been, a military dictatorship, to where I hope it's going."
Senators John McCain, a Republican, and Richard Durbin, a Democrat, introduced a resolution last week condemning the violence and urging Suu Kyi to act.
But McConnell said he did not support the resolution.
"My personal view is America kind of singling her out, and lecturing her when she's in a very challenging position is not helpful. So ... I don't intend to be a part of that," he said at a weekly news conference by the Senate's Republican leaders.
McConnell did not respond to a question about whether there was any consideration of reconsidering Democratic former President Barack Obama's lifting of sanctions on Myanmar.
International pressure has been mounting on Myanmar to end violence that has sent about 370,000 Rohingya Muslims fleeing to Bangladesh. The Trump administration has called for protection of civilians, and Bangladesh has urged safe zones so refugees can return home.
While Washington has been a staunch supporter of Myanmar's transition from decades of harsh military rule being led by Suu Kyi, the Nobel laureate has been criticized as doing too little to stop the violence.
In addition to co-sponsoring the resolution, McCain, the influential chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said on Tuesday he would seek to remove U.S. military cooperation with Myanmar from a sweeping defense policy bill now making its way through Congress.
The 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, had called for expanded military cooperation.
"While I had hoped the NDAA could contribute to positive reform in Burma, I can no longer support expanding military-to-military cooperation given the worsening humanitarian crisis and human rights crackdown against the Rohingya people," McCain said in a statement. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; editing by Grant McCool and Jonathan Oatis)
The International Advertising Association (IAA) Sri Lanka Chapter is set to present Good vs. Gold, an inspiring session featuring the globally acclaimed Group Creative Director of Leo Burnett Toronto, Anthony Chelvanathan. The event will take place on 19th September 2017, from 6.30 pm onwards, at The Pavilion, Havelock City Clubhouse.
Having been at the forefront of the global creative space for six consecutive years, Anthony Chelvanathan, the multi-award-winning ad professional is famed as one of the most accomplished creative directors in the field since 2009. His artfully directed masterpieces and campaigns for global brands such as James Ready Beer, Coors Light, Procter and Gamble, Raising the Roof and IKEA, have garnered him much international recognition and an array of prestigious accolades. His exceptional work in both the traditional and digital advertising spheres has also led him to being ranked as the number one Art Director in Canada four times in a row by Strategy Magazine. Now clocking in 10 years of resounding success in the advertising industry, Anthony Chelvanathan is set to share his incredible story of perseverance, determination and the secret formula for his success at this years Good vs. Gold event.
Commenting on the IAA organizing the Good vs. Gold event featuring Anthony Chelvanathan, Laila Gunasekera President, International Advertising Association (IAA), Sri Lanka Chapter stated: We are delighted to be hosting the Good vs Gold event, as part of our consistent commitment to champion and inspire Sri Lankas top tier creative professionals and the next generation of creative leaders in the industry to truly excel in their roles. We are honoured to be featuring Anthony Chelvanathan, a highly accomplished leader in the creative space, and we look forward to learning from his remarkable journey.
Commenting on the upcoming event, Anthony Chelvanathan Group Creative Director,
Leo Burnett Canada said: I am grateful and excited to meet Sri Lankas ad professionals and representatives from different agencies. I hope that this event will prove useful in supporting rising professionals in the industry and inspiring them to reach for the stars when it comes to delivering creative excellence. I look forward to sharing what I have learned over the course of my career with them and I hope that this event will encourage and motivate Sri Lankas top marketing communications professionals and add value to their clients and campaigns.
The international Advertising Association (IAA), headquartered in New York, was founded in 1938 to champion responsible marketing. The IAA, with members in over 40 countries, is a one-of-a-kind strategic global partnership comprising advertisers, media, advertising and public relations agencies, media companies and academics. The IAA is a platform for industry issues and is dedicated to protecting and advancing freedom of commercial speech, responsible advertising, consumer choice and the education of marketing professionals. The IAA Sri Lanka Chapter is committed to providing high quality training opportunities, to help support the development of the local advertising industry, whilst ensuring its continuous evolution and progression at large.
To sign up for the Good vs. Gold event, e-mail iaa@ferro.lk or contact Shyami Cabraal on 0777 482 290, tickets are priced at Rs. 3000/- per person, which will include refreshments.
Bemoan the non-availability of fresh material in the upper tiers of politics to replace the decrepit. For survival, the decayed leadership is ready to reach alliance with a devilish opponent. Unsuitable descendants await, both kinsmen and sycophants, located craftily in the wings of the second tier.
TNA, the official minuscule opposition, unable to reach acceptability outside the province
Maybe a UNP govt under a new leader is a more pragmatic alternate
Wings of SLFP will re-merge under a Sirisena and Rajapakse combine
MRs chief executive stands convicted of failing to keep his boss on the correct path
Among this wild bunch, TNAs honest Sampanthan stands like a beacon, living under trying circumstances under his invented avenger Wigneswaran and his crazy coots, making TNA, the official minuscular opposition - an unstable parochial outfit, unable to reach acceptability outside the province.
Return of the UNP under a Wickremasinghe administration is out of the reckoning a cause long lost. Process will be accelerated if an unacceptable constitution is presented to the South leading to a breakdown. Ongoing stupidity will bind the divided SLFP.
MRs comprehension was not beyond what he last heard from the last meeeting Understatement of a man that won the war many said was unwinnable. Yet, there is an element of wisdom in the utterance
UNP as a party is ahead of its leader in public esteem. Maybe a UNP govt under a new leader is a more pragmatic alternate: prevents their first line of defence from crossing to enemy territory in disgust? Ranil is less self-centred than Mahinda, prepared to yield place to a stronger candidate, as he did in 2015, decision he rues in hindsight. President Sirisena short on votes; waits long to eat into the disgusted UNPs bases to strengthen his domain. Wings of the SLFP will re-merge under a Sirisena and Rajapakse combine. Promises another corrupt regime in the making. Join the devil to keep afloat is a staying principle. It sidelines Gota - suits Mahinda and Basil. Necessity will make Gota play second fiddle.
If Gotabhaya stands instead of Mahinda as the Presidential/Premiership candidate, majorities will soar in the south as he reflects the want of the Sinhala youth and voters express confidence in his delivery service. He holds a proven track record as against a lackadaisical Mahinda, whose chief executive stands convicted of failing to keep his boss on the correct path. Amount of Rs. 600 million is not peanuts sanctioned out of public funds near election time in distributing sil clothes to devotees. That is not a form of charity that acquires merit. Amount is mind-boggling but the price is equidistant to the fringe benefits picked by Yes Minister gentlemen.
Elbowing the entrenched elite is virtually impossible where experienced Mahinda upstaged the politically naive Gotabhaya Rajapakse - came on invitation but took over the centrefold at a seminar organized by an inexperienced coterie displaying Gotas bare cupboard of talent from an over-crowded think tank [more a reservoir] that took months to gather. Worse, carries segments of the contaminated muck of the last regime.
Initial reaction was a horror story notwithstanding the presence of astute Kamal Guneratne, the military heavyweight with a spotless record and the wavering intellectual stimulator Dr. Dayan Jayatilleke; appear to be the maestros attaches for beckoning. Neglected to tap encyclopedic Prof. Gerry Pieris, an intellect par excellence at a well-attended seminar organized with military precision.
Writer declined an invitation to the podium at the seminar, felt uncomfortable in the company of a few disreputable that makes Gota, no more than a provider of sub standard intellectual feeder to his brothers ancient wannabe cabinet. Gota committed hara-kiri at a posh seminar while a few good men lost their independence in the allotted six minute cameos to be branded as Gota boys while the corrupt thrived in showing they are soon in business on the back of Gotas name to mar him success in politics.
The man of the match was Mahinda Rajapakse - his domineering personality made his kid brother look juvenile. Gota in a cabinet will play a lesser role than as Defence Secretary: being feeble in the tricky unaccustomed art of politics. His organization lacks depth in knowledgeable politics. Wasted, a chance of a lifetime, with many expecting a change that did not augur well, looking at the front rows of invitees. He needs to change his palace guards discreetly. Most likely Team Gota is congratulating each other for a pop show presented with the same old timers singing the same signature tunes. It is economics that matter: a new economic order counts; constitution is the instrument of jointer of the two wings of the SLFP, to place old faces in new places.
UNP can only cut down losses (not win of course) if it brings in more dynamic players into key offices - otherwise leaves the field wide open in bringing - the twice rejected MR back to office with Gota in a reduced role, that would falter from the beginning to fail miserably only to re-establish the UNP at the next session of electioneering. In short the prime cry is for a leadership change. Spirit of our electorate is to rightly fault the holders in office and look lovingly at the team they defeated once, forgetting their sordid past. This psyche leaves Mother Lanka in a state of a troubled trauma?
UNP dropped a sitter in a dream situation. They had overcome MR, colossus that won the war overcoming terrorism that created a mini world record; brought a majority of the SLFP under the UNP fold to present a coalition govt; split the SLFP down the centre; won goodwill by restoring the independence of justice; made friends with the heirs of terrorism in the north; replaced the opposition in the hands of a sympathetic TNA; boosted the confidence of a shattered police force that was loyal to the UNP at the elections. UNP are the repository of financial wizardly but handed the subject to the least qualified for the assignment - Ravi Karunanayake. That was the beginning of serial undoing for the UNP. It is finance and economics that bodes ill for the UNP with Ranil Wickremasinghe shattering his claim of a clean image after the bond issue.
Both Ranil and MR are fighting for survival and have no time to think long. Ranil begotten with affairs of state, with a few to rescue him from the mess his countrymen are facing due to the economic collapse caused by two successive regimes. A more leisurely paced MR was never a thinking man, as a esteemed columnist once stated his comprehension was not beyond what he last heard from the last meeeting. Understatement of a man that won the war many said was unwinnable. Yet, there is an element of wisdom in the utterance.
Sirimavo Bandaranaike rid the party of corrupt parliamentarians that were found guilty of bribery under the Commission of Inquiry Act. She held bye-elections on schedule, won most but lost a few, but never feared of an ouster. She lost a Bill in Parliament and called for general elections and lost it, handed over power and returned to be restored at the next election with a 2/3 majority. MRs and Ranils problems are that they give cover to many alleged crooks and inevitably carry questions marks on their shoulders?
It needs a hostile take over for a genuine regime-change within the political parties: a friendly succession would carry the renewable sewage, reincarnated to resurface as the next coming leader adapts on coming to power. Leaders are preferable to their handlers as they held moments of worthwhile glory. Follow the Leader should not be the motto. A parallel leadership must be placed on a gradient/incline where few more of the front liners are trained to succeed in times of need. MR out of office looks at dowdy kinsmen and the boot licking fraternity while Wickremasinghe in office goes for dude friends alienated from realities of local conditions making amiable friends for fellowship on dull evenings. Maithripala Sirisena is a victim of hanging on with too many of dead wood sycophants waiting to jump ship and MR waits to pick any discarded rubbish let loose as he hopes to come to power without the peoples vote if possible under the queer provisions of the constitution. Old men are often in a hurry.
Remember both MR (a great man that dethroned deadly terrorism with bare local hands) and Ranil (never in the mould of the great UNPs of the past like Gamini Jayasuriya, U.B. Wanninayake, M.D.Banda and M.D.H. Jayewardene) came to politics in the 1970s in the midst of two violent insurrections in the North and South.
Two generations have by-passed them but yet there is no replacement in a country sprouting with emerging unexposed talent because the party structures are non-democratic to any challenge to the leadership, is off-set by a kept second tier. Both leaders need each other to keep them in office as they work in tandem. If one falls other is likely to fade away by compulsion. Ranil - the more likely candidate to back down made a compelling sacrifice being the less selfish in agreeing to make way for Sirisena at a time UNP peaked in popularity after the Badulla provincial election results. Parliamentarians matter as their sole desire is to be re-elected unlikely for many under Ranils leadership.
Nation can be proud of a born-again judiciary with brave and bold like Judge Gihan Kulatunga at the helm who listens to both sides attentively, studies the law and gives judgements on the merits, mindful of the needs of society, without delay. What more can be asked from a Judge? Most of his judgements stood in appeal and the respected young Judge has won esteem. We live in hope, as is in many Asian societies to be kept within civilized bounds by an un-kept judiciary.
PROFESSOR C. C. DE SILVA How I Found that Bright and Guiding Light in my Fathers Loving Wise Eyes A daughters tribute to her doctor father
It is 30 years after my fathers death, and I thought it was time I paid a tribute to him. Sri Lankans from all over the world still contact me to get his book Mother, Your Baby, which they say was the medical bible that their children were brought up on. They want it now so that their children could do the same. My thoughts go back to my childhood when my tall, incredibly handsome father was my hero and the only man in my life! He had little time to spend with us, as he was busy building up his private practice in Dehiwela and in Kollupitiya.
I would long for his company and my happiest hours were spent on his lap, listening in rapt, awesome wonder as he related tales about his childhood and family legends about his grandfather, the late Charles Henry de Soysa. My father to me, was the embodiment of love, faithfulness, sacrificial giving and strong faith. He lost his own father, the late Dr W.H de Silva when he was just four years old and was brought up in his early childhood, by the late Lady Catherine de Soysa, his maternal grandmother at Alfred House.
The late Dr. W.H. de Silva, was the first person from Ceylon to qualify as a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in Opthalmology and on his return worked without a salary at the Eye Hospital soon after it was built. My fathers colleagues at that time, who were in and out of our home, were all great names in medicine, the Late Professor M.V.P. Peiris, the late Dr. Noel Bartholomeusz, the late Professor Milroy Paul and the late Dr. A.D.P.A. Wijegoonewardene, whose son Preethi, is now my doctor. During the many trips I made with my parents to Europe, it was a privilege to meet leading paediatricians all over the UK, Europe and Scandinavia.
While in private practice, my father was family doctor to many well-known families and also the school doctor at Bishops College, which was his first Alma Mater, before going on to St Thomas College, Mt Lavinia, where his portrait now adorns its walls as a distinguished old boy. After his schooldays, where Im told he had a brilliant academic record, he entered Medical College here for the first year, and then proceeded to University College, London for the rest of his years as a student where he got his degree. When he returned, he started his private practice here.
My fathers special interest was always Paediatrics and he was made the first Professor of Paediatrics in 1949. It was a sacrifice financially, but his heart was with paediatrics and researching the subject. He was keen on finding out more about both prevention and cures to help decrease suffering in children. He took a special interest in the children in his ward 1 at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital and every Christmas, straight after Church we would go there, laden with gifts for the children and staff.
The children loved him and one of my most vivid memories of those days was the exuberant and loving way, they greeted my father. He was also in charge of the newborn babies at the De Soysa Maternity Hospital. As Professor, he entertained every group of students. Among his favourite students and interns were the late Dr. Tony Don Michael, the late Dr. Hubert Aloysius, the late Dr. Christopher Canagaratne and Dr. Denis Aloysius. Denis related an anecdote when he was once late for a ward round. My father had inquired why and when Denis said he had danced all night, Thaththi had danced with him down the ward to the amusement of staff and patients. Most doctors today refer to father as a legend.Among his other great enthusiastic interests were reading, writing and music. He had a vast library at home, full of every kind of book, biographies, history, fiction and we were encouraged to read anything we wanted to, from his library. He later gifted much of this to the Jaffna library, when it was burnt. He was a founder member of The Ceylon Paediatrics Association, and was its President three times.
The Ceylon Association for the Advancement of Science, where he was President General in 1961 and The Family Planning Association. He founded The Convalescent Home for Children at Talagolla and paid regular visits there even after his retirement. He chaired the National Committee of the Freedom from Hunger Campaign and The Meals for Millions Campaign Foundation of Ceylon. He was also Chairman of the Board of Governors of C.M.S. schools which included Ladies College, Trinity and Mowbray in Kandy and Chundikuli Girls School and St Johns Jaffna and visited all these schools regularly. The first book authored by him was Mother, Your Baby, written in collaboration with Mrs.
Visvanathan and is still being used and talked about. After his visit to Russia, he wrote a book about it called Out Steppes The Don. After his retirement, he chose to live at Kaduwella, grew acres of passion fruit, which unfortunately was lost through land reform, other fruit and had a few chickens as a hobby. Later on he returned to Colombo to my childhood home Ellora Green Path and I occupied the upstairs with my husband and family, while my parents lived downstairs. Despite his failing health, he wrote his autobiography, Life As I Lived It, the title was suggested by me. The book was finished the day before he died and it was my privilege to hand him the first copy to look at. I slept by his side that last night, but left to go to Church early that morning, when I returned he had breathed his last. He was always keen that I follow his footsteps into medicine. Not being a studious, academic type, the idea didnt appeal to me.
But Im glad that I have followed him into his other great interest, writing and I know that from wherever he is, he is my inspiration. I always knew that he was regarded as the last word in Paediatrics in Sri Lanka, but to my surprise, I learned with great pride the other day, about how great a reputation he has in the UK.
A Paediatrician from the UK who was here a few years ago for the Paediatric Conference and the commemoration oration for my father, told me that it was because of my fathers research and writing that Paediatrics gained importance in the world map of medicine. It made my day to hear those words. I miss my beloved Thaththi more and more each day, especially when I feel ill and regret the headaches I gave him in my rather rebellious youth! Oh for the touch of a vanished hand and the sound of a voice that is still.
He dedicated his autobiography to his six grandchildren, with these words What else is wisdom? What of mans endeavor? Or Gods high grace so lovely and so great. To stand from fear set free, to breathe and wait. To hold a hand uplifted over hate; and shall not loveliness be loved forever.
From the translation of Euripedes by Sir Gilbert Murray.
Former Presidential Secretary K.H.J. Wijedasa during a recent interview aired his views on issues pertaining to the allegations made against war heroes, war crimes and the response of Sarath Fonseka with regard to Jagath Jayasuriya. Here are excerpts of the interview.
These charges are being proved by confessions made by Tamil refugees who fled to England during the war
There are moves in Peru, Chile, Argentina and Surinam, the other countries where he had served as ambassador, to file action against him
If this statement had been made without any malice and is true, it brings disrepute to the Sri Lankan Army. Now the Sri Lankan Government is in a serious predicament
This is because given the statement Fonseka has made, then he knew that a senior army official under him had committed war crimes and he didnt take any disciplinary action against him nor did he charge him (Jayasuriya) in a court
The statement harmful to the Unity Government and its stability. One cant say that this is a direct violation of Cabinet collective responsibility
What Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka has done is make an utterly baseless allegation. By his action he has put the country in hot water
Q After assuming power the present Government declared that all charges levelled against the former government regarding war crimes and war tribunals had ended. But what is the reason behind the sudden emergence of war crime charges against former Army Commander Jagath Jayasuriya?
The charges being made against Jagath Jayasuriya are that during his tenure as the Wanni Commander, the soldiers who were under his command, had launched Rockets and artillery fire on hospitals and subjected the innocent public to gruesome torture. Some civilians were killed unmercifully during these attacks. These charges are being proved by confessions made by Tamil refugees who fled to England during the war. In support of their claims they had produced medical reports on the injuries sustained by them and the mental stress they had undergone. But there is a serious doubt on the veracity of these reports.
I agree hundred percent that the statement made by Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka is not only unethical and an undisciplined one, but it is harmful to the Unity Government and its stability.
Q Does that mean they are all fabricated?
Most of this evidence may have been fabricated with the view of obtaining permanent residentship in their adopted countries.Up to now no official indictment or charges have been framed by the Sri Lankan Government or the Sri Lanka Army on any sort of violation of human rights by Gen. Jagath Jayasuriya. However in Brazil and Colombia, where he functioned as the Sri Lankan Ambassador, cases had been already filed. There are moves in Peru, Chile, Argentina and Surinam, the other countries where he had served as ambassador, to file action against him.
Q The former as well as the present Government had clearly stated at international forums that no war crimes were committed in this country. Who do you suspect is behind the machinery that is making these allegations despite an assurance being given that war crimes werent committed in this country?
Sri Lanka has no interest in framing charges against General Jagath Jayasuriya with regard to human rights violations and war crimes. But in the forefront of this move in framing charges is South African Indian origin Lawyer Yesmin Sooka. She is the Director of the Truth and Justice Movement of South Africa which is a Government organization for Human Rights in South Africa. She was a member of the committee appointed by the United Nations to inquire in to the alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka boycotted this committee. She is bent on teaching Sri Lanka a good lesson.
Sri Lanka has no interest in framing charges against General Jagath Jayasuriya with regard to human rights violations and war crimes. But in the forefront of this move in framing charges is South African Indian origin Lawyer Yesmin Sooka
Q This story became very sensational with former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka declaring that General Jagath Jayasuriya is a war criminal and he would give evidence in a court trial against Jayasuriya. What is your opinion on this statement?
If this statement had been made without any malice and is true, it brings disrepute to the Sri Lankan Army. Now the Sri Lankan Government is in a serious predicament. In this instance even Field Marshal Fonseka wouldnt be spared. This is because given the statement Fonseka has made, then he knew that a senior army official under him had committed war crimes and he didnt take any disciplinary action against him nor did he charge him (Jayasuriya) in a court. All these can be considered as serious offences. Not reporting such offences over a period of eight years is a serious matter. In the event Gen. Jayasuriya is hauled up before a court, which is after eight years, it will be very difficult to obtain evidence from eye witnesses.
If this charge is fabricated and levelled against taking vengeance on Gen. Jayasuriya, instant repercussions on such misdeeds would follow as ennunciated by Lord Buddha.
Q Is there any basis for these charges made by Fonseka?
What Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka has done is make an utterly baseless allegation. By his action he has put the country in hot water. This statement will bring misery to the whole country. Now he is in a pitiful state. By this statement of his the fate that befell Yugoslavia, Serbia and Kosova could befall on Sri Lanka as well.
Q Doesnt an army commit war crimes? Shouldnt such crimes be opposed?
There is a saying that in war and love there is no justice or injustice. During the past thirty years our army wasnt engaged in fondling children. They were fighting a dangerous war. It is natural that certain crimes take place. But there are laws and procedures to be followed, duties to be performed, etiquettes in war to be adhered to and know about the dos and the donts. When ninety nine strictly adhere to these guidelines and one person does the opposite then he should be taken before courts and charged. This is the global practice. If this charge is fabricated and levelled against taking vengeance on Gen. Jayasuriya, instant repercussions on such misdeeds would follow as ennunciated by Lord Buddha.
During the past thirty years our army was fighting a dangerous war. It is natural that certain crimes take place. But there are laws and procedures to be followed, duties to be performed, etiquettes in war to be adhered to and know about the dos and the donts.
Q President Maithripala Sirisena declared at the SLFP anniversary, that no one should level charges against Jagath Jayasuriya or against any war hero regarding war crimes and the Government would protect war heroes. A day after that, in Kelaniya, Fonseka repeated what he said. Can he overstep the President in this manner?
The inference from this is that it is evident that Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka is experiencing mental worries and is exercising hatred. He may have made this statement with the mindset that he would face any situation. He hasnt given thought to the disrepute that would be brought upon the country and how our credibility can be tarnished through such statements. Such statements affect a regimes good governance in its forward march. These types of statements have an eroding effect on the present United National Party.
Q If the Government is truly protecting the war heroes how should its actions be in this regard?
It is a political gimmick of this Government when it makes statements that it will protect war heroes. In every flock of sheep there will be a black sheep. In an army comprising 200,000 men, there can be twenty who would have violated human rights. In other words there can be one criminal among every 10,000 soldiers. Filing charges against him on disciplinary grounds and taking court action would clear the country of its blemishes regarding human rights violation. Such action will help rebuild the image we lost. This approach to dealing with those who have charges levelled against them will enable us to remain unblemished in the face of international investigations.
But in this case when the Government is maintaining the position repeatedly that it is protecting the war heroes, this statement can be interpreted as declaring a war against the Government.
Q Some insist that a no confidence motion should be moved against Fonseka, while others argue that disciplinary action should be taken against him and that he should be stripped of his ministerial position. As an experienced Government servant what have you got to say?
I agree hundred percent that the statement made by Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka is not only unethical and an undisciplined one, but it is harmful to the Unity Government and its stability. One cant say that this is a direct violation of Cabinet collective responsibility. And if a Cabinet decision has been taken then it can be interpreted as going against Cabinet responsibility. But in this case when the Government is maintaining the position repeatedly that it is protecting the war heroes, this statement can be interpreted as declaring a war against the Government. Therefore the Government should support the no confidence motion to be moved against Fonseka or remove the accused from the post of cabinet minister. It is clear that the Government has no option other than the two I have mentioned.
By his action he has put the country in hot water. This statement will bring misery to the whole country. Now he is in a pitiful state. By this statement of his the fate that befell Yugoslavia, Serbia and Kosova could befall on Sri Lanka as well
Q This Government is facing no confidence motions against its Ministers. Some Ministers have resigned. Can such a Government move forward?
This is a Government formed with handpicked individuals. When forming this type of a Government one should have expected this type of setbacks. A Government like this cant continue as it has turned in to no bodys business.
The Light Infantry Colours Night-2017 was held at the Defense Service College in Colombo Today with Army Commander Lf. General Mahesh Senanayake gracing the event as the Chief Guest . The Best Sportsman of the year Light Infantry L/CPL Dilshan EAN is seen receiving his award from the Army Chief. Chief of Staff Major General Amal Karunasekera is also present. Pics by Pradeep Pathirana
The private sector yesterday received a rather harsh wake-up call from Prime Minster Ranil Wickremesinghe, where he asserted the need for the private sector to pick up pace in supporting the national economy to reach the countrys ambitious economic goals.
Keeping in mind the expiry date of the unity government, which will reach its full term in three years from now, Wickremesinghe stressed that it is imperative the private sector get its act together within that period.
We have a lot more to do in reaching our economic goals and for that, you (private sector) need to leverage on the opportunities created by the government. Understand that in the next three years, for the country to achieve its growth, we want you all to expand, Wickremesinghe told the private sector leaders last evening as he addressed CIMA Business Leaders Summit 2017 in Colombo.
It was pointed out that the need of the hour in fulfilling the governments aspirations are the need to unleashing the potential of local entrepreneurs, encouraging private FDI, capitalizing on GSP Plus, maximizing the use of the new ease of doing business law and facilitating investments.
Referring to these measures as the nuts and bolts of the envisaged plans, Wickremesinghe asserted it is time for the private sector to change gear.If we dont do this now, we will be nowhere. Understand the advantages before you and go by the comparative advantages. The future depends on technology and innovation. The world is fast changing and in that where we stand we need to question, he opined.
Wickremesinghe also took a jab at the previous regime by highlighting its failure in bringing sustained stability.
Noting that the country suffered from misappropriation during the previous regime that hampered growth and development, Wickremesinghe sang praises to the current governments initiatives in bringing in the stability factor.
While pointing out that the progress achieved since the inheritance of a struggling economy, Wickremesinghe said: The government can create the environment but it is up to you all to decide how to use it. We must understand that the economy is central to everything we do.It was warned that if the created opportunities were not exploited, soon Bangladesh would surpass Sri Lanka in terms of GDP per capita, as in the case of Pakistan. This is the last chance we have, he stressed.
You need to realize that innovation and technology is imperative and that is what matters. Reiterating the need for greater collaboration between the public and private sectors, he pointed out Sri Lanka is presented with a wonderful opportunity since it has a national governmenthaving the two main political parties on one page.Political and economic stability is important but both alone is insufficient if we dont have enterprises. We are changing the business landscape. All I can tell you is we are doing our best, you do your best and the country will reach its best, said Wickremesinghe concluding his remarks. (Shabiya Ali Ahlam)
A religious programme was held at the Gangaramaya Temple today to invoke blessings on Chief Incumbent Ven. Galaboda Gnanissara Thera who returned to Sri Lanka after undergoing medical treatment.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, government and opposition politicians, the IGP and officers of the forces attended the ceremony. An alms giving was also held for the monks. Pix By Nisal Baduge
There comes a point where a man must refuse to answer to his leader if he is also to answer to his conscience.
Ann Tusa, The Nuremberg Trial
Rs.600 million belonging to the TRC used to distribute Sil Redi
JO is trying to portray the two convicts as heroes and victims
MR, his corrupt clan headed by his siblings did not know the impermanence of power either
On Thursday, September 7, 2017, the High Court of Colombo issued a chilling verdict on one of the most anticipated cases filed by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID): Lalith Weeratunga, former Presidential Secretary and Anusha Palpita, former Director General of the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (TRC), were sentenced to three years rigorous imprisonment after being found guilty to the charge of misappropriating Rs.600 million belonging to the TRC and using it to distribute Sil Redi (meditation cloth) during the 2015 presidential election campaign.
Colombo High Court Judge Gihan Kulatunga also imposed a fine of Rs.2 million on each of the convicts and ordered to pay Rs.50 million to the TRC as compensation. They allegedly carried out an order given to them by politicians who happened to be their masters. Lalith Weeratunga was the Secretary to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. He was also the Chairman of the TRC.
According to reports in the print media, a brief description of the alleged crime and the subsequent judgment is thus: The Attorney General had filed indictments against former Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga and former Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) Director General Anusha Palpita under three counts, in connection with a criminal misappropriation of Rs.600 million belonging to the TRC funds during the 2015-Presidential Election campaign. They were found guilty of all charges.
The AG had filed indictments against the two accused on three counts of committing criminal misappropriations of funds amounting to Rs.600 million at TRC while spending for a Sil Redi distribution programme in contravention of the Telecommunication Act No. 25 of 1991 during the period of October 30, 2014 to January 5, 2015. The prosecutors alleged that the funds referred to had been remitted to a bank account maintained by Secretary to the President.
In his judgment, the High Court Judge observed that on December 5, 2014 a sum of Rs.600 million had been remitted to a bank account maintained by former Secretary to the President through the intervention of Anusha Palpita.
Evidence given by a secretary attached to the TRC had proved that the Board of Directors approval was not obtained for this transaction. It was revealed that this transaction had been done through a method called circulation in which no written approval was given to remit the concerned funds, the High Court judge added.
While observing that he cannot agree with the defence contention that the Sil Redi distribution programme was a long-time process, the High Court Judge maintained that this programme had been initiated with the intention of gaining undue advantage to a particular candidate in an urgent manner.
According to the defence contention, distribution of Sil Redi comes under the expenditure of President. The defence was of the view that due to insufficient funds with the Presidents expenditure, they sought financial assistance from the TRC. The court is of the view that they should have sought funds through a supplementary estimate to meet financial requirements without following an irregular and illegal process.
The findings of the Court are damning. Would the convicted, Weeratunga and Palpita now think more carefully and wisely about the orders they carried out at the behest of their political masters? Would they have not done what they did, had it dawned on them that power is so temporary and the powerful positions they once held did not grant them licence to carry out illegal orders issued to them by their masters. Rs. 600 million is, as they say in street corners, no chicken feed. Allow me to substantiate my argument:
As per the judgment ordered in the case of Ossen v Ponniah, 34 New Law Report page 50, an Excise Inspector had spread a frame of iron spikes on a highway to stop a car. He argued that the placing of spikes in that way had been sanctioned by the Excise Commissioner. The Excise Officer was charged and convicted of the offence of obstruction and criminal restraint. In that case, the Supreme Court also warned the Excise Department not to use such methods in their work since innocent users of the highway will be seriously injured by such method. (Source: The Law Governing Public Administration in Sri Lanka by Dr. Wickrema Weerasooria, p.188)
Dr. Weerasoorias book on the sub heading Superior Officers liability for acts of Subordinate Officers, p.188, further adds thus: However, if a subordinate official acts directly under the orders of his superior, both officials may be sued: See Brainbridge v Postmaster General. (1906) 1KB 178. The fundamental principle of law that an illegal order carried out by a subordinate officer cannot argue that he/she acted under orders of a superior. The famous Nuremberg Law established that fundamental principle of law without any dispute. Hitlers henchmen couldnt invoke that defence.
Weeratunga and Palpita were not mere scapegoats. They apparently knew that they were carrying out had been illegal orders. What they did not know was the impermanence of power! Mahinda Rajapaksa and his corrupt clan headed by his siblings did not know the impermanence of power either. The malignancy of corruption and its inevitable spread across the body politic is now visible. An order from the High Court had to deliver that bitter and cruel truth. Those who sympathize with the two officers need to realize that the victims in this case were not Lalith Weeratunga and Anusha Palpita. On the contrary, Weeratunga and Palpita were the perpetrators of a white collar crime and there are 600 million threads woven into that gross and unpardonable crime! Sil Redi was not a donation with compliments of the President of the country. They were a bribe shrouded in cloth.
The Joint Opposition is now trying to portray the two convicts as heroes and victims. The whole country knows who would pay their fine of Rs.52 million each. An Officer in the Allied Control Commission at the groundbreaking Nuremberg Trials, which was held to pay homage to six million Jews and others and issue a warning to future would-be-offenders, characterized the accused at the trials thus:, So grotesque and preposterous are the principle characters in this galaxy of clowns and crooks that none but a thrice double ass could have taken them for rulers.
The white collar crimes so committed, as per the judgment of High Court Judge Kulatunga, belong in the arena of yet-untold stories of our innocent men and women who had immense faith and trust in the past regime that the so-called pious acts were piloted by the then rulers were in the genuine interests of the suffering masses. It is far from the truth. With the impending elections in 2015 in mind, a group of ruthless rulers abused and pilfered the government coffers to enlist the support of millions of pious men and women living in the most rural hamlets. The effort failed. Success of such ill-conceived thoughts and objects of politicians are far from assured. Those who willingly carried out these orders never ever doubted the outcome of the elections.
A 10-year-rule from 2005 to 2015 seemed too short for them. The passage and enactment of the 18th Amendment removed the term-limit imposed on individuals from contesting for the highest office of the land for more than twice. Enjoying a two-thirds majority in the House of Parliament, this majority was not received at the elections but ensured via many an improper and unethical political deal - the Rajapaksas resorted to illegal, unethical and undemocratic means to ensure an extension of their immoral political life. By controlling the power of Presidency, Premiership and other major portfolios, they controlled the lives of millions of Sri Lankans.
One would realize that changing the political heads of the country is not enough. A culture of corruption, a culture of warped human values, and a culture of abundant avarice has destroyed our national character. What is even more demeaning is the culture of apathy on the part of the masses. No meaningful outcome is possible after the Kulatunga-ruling, if the country at large decides to move on without making the essential ethical and moral adjustments. A willingness and determination on the part of the masses not to disregard such corrupt practices, but to seek justice and punish the perpetrators, whether they come from the highest ranks of government or of civil life, with a view to enhancing the character and soul of a nation is a prerequisite for the country to go forward.
The writer can be contacted at vishwamithra1984@gmail.com
The issue about powerful or affluent people remanded or convicted taking shelter in the prison hospital has come up again. This time it has come into the public domain after former Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga and Anusha Palpita, the former Director General of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) were transferred to the prison hospital soon after their conviction in the Sil redi case.
On Monday, Deputy Minister Ranjan Ramanayake and six other civil society activists had requested the Health Ministry to transfer the Welikada prisons acting Chief Medical Officer Nirmalie Thenuwara after she had recommended that the two convicts be transferred to the prison hospital.
In a letter to the Ministry Secretary they said the action taken by the acting CMO with regard to the transfer of the two had not followed proper procedure and was questionable.
The Deputy Minister, Executive Director of Centre for Human Rights (CHR), Ranjith Keerthi Tennakoon, Human Rights lawyer and former IUSF convener Udul Premaratne, Colombo Remand Prisons Nursing Officers Association Secretary Mahinda Kodagoda, Secretary of the Committee for Protecting Rights of Prisoners, Attorney at Law Senaka Perera, Attorney at Law Namal Rajapakse and Journalist Kasun Pussawela were the signatories of the letter.
The outcry by the civil society activists was an outcome of a series of similar incidents where powerful people of the previous Government were given preferential treatment over the other ordinary prisoners remanded or convicted.
It must be recalled that former Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa and two officials, who were remanded in April 2015 on charges of misappropriating Divi Neguma funds, were also admitted to the prison hospital and interestingly the three of them had been later transferred to the Colombo National Hospital.
Now it has come to a point where one can predict whether a person who is remanded or convicted would fall sick, soon after he or she enters through the prison gate, considering his social status.
A few months ago Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne also had accused a medical doctor attached to the prison hospital of recommending undeserving prisoners to be admitted to the prison hospital for obvious reasons.
However, the practice seems to be continuing. Hence Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs Minister D.M. Swaminathan had this week made it mandatory for any prison inmate seeking admission to the prison hospital to get consent of three doctors. But the question remains as to what prevents these powerful people getting the consent of the three doctors as well by using their power, in a system riddled with corruption.
Nobody can and should oppose Mr. Weeratunga or for that matter any ordinary prisoner, convicted or remanded being provided with facilities such as a bed and a proper toilet.
But the issues before us are the attempts to make a mockery of the law and corruption involved in the mechanism that is meant for the eradication of corruption.
The magnitude of the corruption could be gauged if a thorough inspection of the assets of those involved, was made, possibly running into millions.
Another serious matter is the repeated and unhindered preferential treatment especially of people accused or convicted of high profile corruption over convicts or suspects of minor offences who are not provided with even the basic amenities.
While these things happen there are another set of Tamil prisoners, who have been languishing in prison cells with minimal facilities for more than a decade without being charge-sheeted. Some people are kicked into the Police vehicles while some others are invited to the Police Station or authorities visit them to record their statements.
Some prisoners are allowed to bring their meals and mattresses from their homes but not others. Some people are admitted to the prison hospital when they enter the prison, while some others are given an aluminum plate to eat in and a canvas sheet to lie on in a cell shared with five or six inmates. What an unjust justice system.
One wonders whether the authorities are maintaining the system preferably for their future convenience, as some day they too would be in the Opposition.
Wimal Abeysundera is closely associated with the Colombo School of Poets that had a profound impact on Sinhala poetry mainly during the period from 1940 to 1970.There was much poetry written during this period. Admittedly, much of the poetry written during this period is mediocre. However there were poets like Wimalaratna Kumaragama and Sagara Palansuriya who wrote poetry worthy of serious consideration. Wimal Abeysundera distinguished himself from most other Colombo poets by his deep knowledge of Sinhala, Pali, Sanskrit and his intimate acquaintance with Buddhist thought.
One feature that marks Wimal Abeusunderas poetry is its display of a Buddhist consciousness. It inflects his themes, tropes, and vision. When we examine his poetry we see that it is closely related to Buddhist thought and Buddhist sensibility. It is evident that in his poetry he has been inspired by traditional Buddhist narratives. Among his interesting poetic compositions are retellings of traditional Buddhist narratives. He has also recreated vividly various sites of Buddhist worship which generate in the reader a sense of awe and reverence. In addition Abeysundera has sought to recreate the power and glory of diverse Buddhist personalities that have a relevance to the generality of readers. Most Importantly, Abeysundera was keen on displaying the continuing relevance of Buddhist understandings, values, norms and outlook for contemporary society.
Heidegger subscribed to an extreme form of this constitutive theory of language. He said that it isnt man that speaks language, but language that speaks through man. He asserted that, We dont merely speak the language. We have already listened to language. What do we hear?
In order to understand the true significance of Abeysunderas poetry we need to pay closer attention to Buddhist values. As a consequence of the forces of modernization and globalization the face of society is changing rapidly. This has profound consequences on the values and norms that guide our lives.
Abeysundera was clearly perturbed by the inimical and destructive forces unleashed by the consumer society. The imperative of the consumer is everywhere and he views with alarm the corrosive effect it has on the day to day lives of people. In order to counteract these unhealthy forces, Abeysundera, through his poetry, has sought to underscore the importance and relevance of Buddhist values. This indeed constitutes an important facet of his poetry.
In addition to his poetry, Abeysundera has written a number of important critical essays that deal with the discourse of poetry as well as the distinguishing features of the poetry produced by the Colombo School. Some of these critical essays offer us many significant insights in to the ambitions, preferred pathways, agendas and visions of this group of poets. He does so based on his intimate experiences with this group of poets.
As I stated earlier, a significant feature that serves to differentiate Abeysundera from many other poets belonging to the Colombo School is the vast linguistic resources he had at is command. His fluency in Sinhala, Pali and Sanskrit stood him in good stead. This verbal facility is intimately linked to what I think is an important concept on poetic discourse, namely, the distinct ability to listen to language. The ability to listen to language sensitively and purposefully, it seems to me, is a mark of a good poet.
The phrase listening to language was put into wider circulation by the German philosopher Martin Heidegger. He is, to be sure, a controversial figure. His flirtation with Nazism for a short period of time permanently tarnished his reputation. At the same time, most esteemed philosophers regard him very highly. Some even claim that he was the most original thinker of the twentieth century. He had important things to say about a variety of topics including language and poetry.
As I stated earlier, a significant feature that serves to differentiate Abeysundera from many other poets belonging to the Colombo School is the vast linguistic resources he had at is command. His fluency in Sinhala, Pali and Sanskrit stood him in good stead
To my mind, Heideggers approach to language merits very close attention, especially if those of us are deeply interested in poetry. His favourite poet was the German poet Holderlin. He had very many interesting observations to make about Holderlins poetry and the intricate ways in which language works in and through his poems. It seems that we in Sri Lanka havent paid adequate attention to Heideggers specific views on language and poetry.
As I stated earlier Heidegger was responsible for putting into wider circulation the idea of listening to language and its compelling significance in order to understand the true important of this idea. Let us first explore in broad outline martin Heideggers approach to language or as he would prefer to say path to language. As he sees it, there are two broad approaches to language, instrumental and constitutive. The first seeks to encircle the fact that language is an instrument of communication, that we exchange ideas, thoughts and opinions that are re-formed through the medium of language.
Those who subscribe to this view believe that language can be understood within a picture of life. This means that language arises from within this framework, but the framework itself operated independently of, or prior to, language. The constitutive approach, on the other hand, states emphatically that language is no mere instrument of thought, but rather that it is constitutive of thought. Here language becomes pivotal to thought formation. Heidegger subscribed to an extreme form of this constitutive theory of language.
He said that it isnt man that speaks language, but language that speaks through man. He asserted that, We dont merely speak the language. We have already listened to language. What do we hear? We hear language speaking. His central trope of language was that of a house of being. This encapsulates ably the essence of his thinking on language. He was of the opinion that it wasnt possible for us to step outside language, because human beings was inescapably within language already. Heidegger isnt interested in the surface phenomena of language, the communication that transpires within a context that is already fashioned, but rather in the manner in which language makes that very context possible. He once remarked that, only when there is language is there a world.
In order to understand Heideggers constitutive approach to language, we need to pay close attention to the way he commented upon admiringly on Holderlins poetry. The language of poetry, for him, was of paramount importance. The significance of poetry for Heidegger resides in the fact that it reproduces the original moment before speech. This original moment is marked by our willingness to allow language to speak to us. In an essay titled language in the poem, which deals with the poetry of Georg Traki, Heidegger remarked that, the dialogue of thinking with poetry aims to call for the nature of language, so that mortals may learn to live with language again. What he is stating here is that in the poem language should be regarded as an opening to language, and it is only by listening to language that we can situate ourselves in the very existence of the world.
One feature that marks Wimal Abeusunderas poetry is its display of a Buddhist consciousness. It inflects his themes, tropes, and vision.
What this discussion about Heideggers attitude to language and his vision of poetry tells us about our own endeavours to study Sinhala poetry in terms of the uniqueness if a given language and its intersections of phonetic and syntactic structured are the following; language should be seen as constitutive of meaning, nothing happens outside language, we operate within specified linguistic universes, the uniqueness of languages and their respective and informing acoustic patterns merit very close study. These observations have a pointed relevance to Abeysunderas poetry. He was sensitive to languages; he listened to language much more intently than most other Colombo school poets.
Distinguished English critic Graham Hough, in his book on essays, makes the point that each language, whether it be English or German or Chinese, has its own distinctive phonetic and semantic features which demand close attention.
These features could constitute a useful basis for the productive exploration into the complexities of the poetic experience and the nature of poetry. Similarly George Steiner, in many of his critical essays, has drawn attention to the lexical, syntactic, phonetic features of different languages and what this means to the understanding of poetry.
As I stated earlier Heidegger was responsible for putting into wider circulation the idea of listening to language and its compelling significance in order to understand the true important of this idea.
This linguistic uniqueness, in my judgment, can become a useful point of departure in investigating the defining and constitutive features of poetry. Perceptive poets are sustained by the conviction that recognition of the uniqueness of his or her linguistic terrain is a prelude to poetic achievement. Abeysundera was deeply aware of this fact.
What I have sought to achieve in this short essay, then, is to focus on the constitutive theory of language and the imperative need to listen to language as a way of illuminating an important facet of Abeysunderas poetry. Poems contained in a book, such as the Manasa, illustrates this point forcefully. This is all the more important in view of the fact that much of the poetry written today displays a conspicuous lack of this desire to listen to language intently, to hear language speaking to us.
UN Human Rights High Commissioner Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said on Monday the absence of credible action in Sri Lanka to ensure accountability for alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian laws has made the exercise of universal jurisdiction even more necessary.
In his address to the 36th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on human rights concerns around the world, Prince Zeid urged the Sri Lankan Government to swiftly operationalize the Office of Missing Persons (OMP).
The Government should also move faster on other essential confidence-building measures such as the release of land occupied by the military and resolving long-pending cases registered under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). I repeat my request for the PTA to be replaced with a new law in line with international human rights standards, he said.
Prince Zeid said in the North, protests by victims indicate their growing frustration over the slow pace of reforms.
He said he encouraged the Government to act on its commitment in Resolution 30/1 to establish transitional justice mechanisms and to establish a clear timeline and benchmarks for the implementation of these and other commitments.
This should not be viewed by the Government as a box-ticking exercise to placate the Council, but as an essential undertaking to address the rights of all its people, Prince Zeid said.
The Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) today warned that it would surround the Colombo City on Friday (15) if the government failed to provide an lasting solution to the SAITM issue.
It said that the Presidential committee appointed to look into the matter headed by Deputy Minister Harsha de Silva was to hand over its report last Monday (11) but had failed to do so leaving them with no option put to launch a trade union action.
GMOA Assistant Secretary Dr. Naveen De Zoysa said the there was no use in appointing Presidential committees as only the Health Ministers views were being sought and would be implemented.
Therefore he warned the government to brace itself for a backlash as the whole of Colombo would be surrounded by members of the GMOA and many anti-SAITM forces on Friday (15), thus causing the authorities much inconvenience if they did not solve the issue before that.
He advised the general public to get ready to be inconvenienced as a result or to avoid entering Colombo during the time the trade union action would take place.
Further, he said the GMOA had given the government a deadline, which was September 21 to come up with a solution to the SAITM issue and warned that an Islandwide trade union action would be launched after the deadline date. After the 21st the government will experience unprecedented trade union action that would be launched by us, he said.(Thilanka Kanakarathna)
Video by Susantha
As the situation in Myanmar worsens day by day, and the United Nations calls it "a textbook example of ethnic cleansing", a level of condemnation that is rarely used by the international body, people are looking for people to blame. Blaming the military junta, which is directly responsible for the horror given the powers it holds under the 2008 Constitution, is passe. Lambasting Aung San Suu Kyi, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, who has over the last few years offered one pathetic excuse or another as this atrocity has unfolded, has also palled.
So now the people have turned to blame the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, in one of the cases of moral blindness that is shocking in its idiocy. Of all things, they have latched onto the Dalai Lama's condemnation of the unfolding horror and how un-Buddhist it is. His detractors suggest that this condemnation is mild and not enough, some go so far as to suggest that he and other Tibetans should not have been given refuge as they fled the horrors they faced in Chinese-governed Tibet.
To say this is ill-informed and nauseating would be to put it too mildly.
The Dalai Lama has spoken to Aung San Suu Kyi personally and he has spoken about the issue publicly, not just once, but multiple times.
For the record, the Dalai Lama has condemned the horrid treatment of the Rohingyas at the hands of the Myanmarese state, and his fellow Buddhists since at least 2012. He has spoken to Aung San Suu Kyi personally and he has spoken about the issue publicly, not just once, but multiple times. He has neither waited until now, nor has he been silent, unlike some of his fellow Nobel laureates such as former US president Barack Obama whose secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, is the one who lobbied for Aung San Suu Kyi to enter the government under a constitution that gave the military full power.
Even if he had not, this condemnation of the Dalai Lama would have been idiotic in the extreme. He is not responsible for the actions of fellow Buddhists in Myanmar. He has no political power over them, and he has done nothing, nor said anything, that would encourage such violent, immoral actions. If anything, he has spoken in favour of non violence in even the most difficult circumstances.
When more than a hundred Tibetans, both monks and ordinary citizens, self-immolated in protest, he empathised with their distress but did not approve of the violence - directed towards themselves - as a form of protest.
In fact, the Dalai Lama has no political power at all, not in Myanmar, not in Tibet, nor even among the Tibetan exiled community. He disassociated all political power from his religion in 2011, when the Tibetans in exile voted for their first Sikyong, or political leader, Dr Lobsang Sangay. It was a step that he had been working towards for a long time.
At a reception after the elections, he expressed his delight at finally doing so, saying that since the religious role had been merged with political powers in the time of the 5th Dalai Lama there had always been controversies, and he hoped that with dispensing with the remnants of political role - he had been slowly passing power to elected representatives since the foundation of the Central Tibetan Administration - the controversies would end.
Obviously his expectations for good sense were not in line with what people display.
He has no responsibility in this tragedy beyond that of being a moral and religious teacher. In that regard, his behaviour has been exemplary. He has gone out of his way to explain to Buddhists over whom he has no political power, that the harassment and targeting of the Rohingyas is against Buddhist teachings and, in fact, the Buddha would have stood by the Rohingyas.
This is a remarkable condemnation, only comparable to Pope Francis washing the feet of non-Christian refugees in Europe.
The Dalai Lama has said that the harassment and targeting of the Rohingyas is against Buddhist teachings.
What is even more pathetic about those condemning his "silence" (when he has been, by far, the most consistently vocal global figure on this topic) and his "weak condemnation", is that these people would be the first to say that all Muslims are not responsible for the attacks of ISIS, and don't have to line up to condemn each and every ugly attack made in the name of Islam. Or that all Hindus are not responsible for the reprehensible lynching and harassment being undertaken in the name of cow protection, only a small violent minority are. Or that Jews all over the world are not to blame for the war crimes that Israel indulges in.
If this consideration is extended to people of all faiths, why are Buddhists, and the Dalai Lama, being singled out? This is hypocritical and ugly.
For some ignorant people it is because the Dalai Lama is the "leader of all Buddhists". This is sheer nonsense. He is the most important figure of Gelugpa school of Himalayan Buddhism. It is only one of four main schools of thought of Himalayan Buddhism, even if it is the most influential among them. Himalayan Buddhism is only a small part of the larger body of Buddhism. His influence and position is a reflection of a moral path he has followed - though not unlinked with the politics that afflicts his homeland.
But maybe the worst, the absolutely worst, of all the criticism that I have heard is that he, and other Tibetans, should not have been granted refuge if they aren't fighting for the rights of the Rohingyas.
Condemning violence, the Dalai Lama said that the Buddha would have stood by the Rohingyas.
The support given to the persecuted is not a reflection on them, but on those who offer - or do not offer - that support. If you have the capacity to help those in need, and you do, that is a moral act. If you have the capacity and do not, frankly, you're acting like an a*****e.
Stop suggesting that anybody should have behaved like an a******e to the Tibetans seeking refuge.
In the end, all of this is a distraction from the tragedy which is unfolding so that one set of persecuted people are set to hate another set. Focus on those who are carrying out the persecution, the crimes, focus on who is aiding the persecution, who is justifying the crimes.
Those are the people that need to be called out, and called to account.
Directing hate at those already marginalised, who have pursued a path of rare morality, is the exact opposite of moral.
Who is a liberal? Let's first rule out who isn't.
Anyone who believes in violence is not a liberal. That rules out Naxals who believe in unleashing violence on the state.
Anyone who discriminates based on religion, race, caste, gender or sexual orientation isn't a liberal. That rules out the RSS which frowns on the LGBT community a group comprising some of the country's most creative, interesting and non violent people.
Anyone who is intolerant of opposing political views is not a liberal. That rules out most politicians, including those from the BJP, Congress and the Left.
Anyone who opposes gender equality is not a liberal. That rules out Muslim clerics and Hindu priests who discriminate against women entering places of worship.
Anyone who curtails free speech is not a liberal. That rules out the leaders of dictatorships such as China and Saudi Arabia where dissent can get you a life term in prison.
A cursory look at the headlines of newspapers reveals how dissent against the Modi government is in fact alive and kicking.
Who then is a liberal? You need to pass these six tests of liberalism:
Test one: You must believe in the right to criticise religion. No religion is exempt: neither Islam, nor Hinduism, nor Christianity. Blasphemy is not a taboo.
Test two: You must shun violence. Argue with words, not guns. As one famous leader said, the answer to a book is another book, not a fatwa.
Test three: You must embrace gender equality. Women should be able to head an organisation such as the RSS. The idea of a woman sarsanghchalak should not cause consternation. It should cause celebration.
Test four: You must reject political dynasty. Feudalism and liberalism operate at opposite ends of the spectrum of progressive, liberal democracy.
Test five: You must not divide people on the basis of religion or caste. Whether you are a Hindu or a Muslim, you are Indian first, Hindu or Muslim second. The idea of a Hindu Rashtra is illiberal. The idea of a Bharat Rashtra is liberal. Similarly, Muslims must abandon the illiberal idea of being Muslim first, Indian second.
Test six: A liberal is tolerant. Even those on the hard Right and the hard Left must engage each other in civil debate. Words, not bullets, are the weapons of choice for liberals.
The big liberal myth
Dissent has been stifled in Modi's India. A cursory look at the headlines of newspapers such as The Telegraph, The Hindu and The Indian Express reveal how dissent against the Modi government is in fact alive and kicking as it should be in a vibrant democracy.
Surf through TV channels, English, Hindi and regional. You'll see enough vitriol against the BJP in general and Modi in particular to prove how free speech thrives in India.
Online news sites are even more robust: From The Wire and Scroll to CatchNews and even our own DailyO, the "resistance" to Modi is strong if at times highly strung.
Those who complain about dissent being stifled under Modi should speak to Raghuram Rajan and Amartya Sen who sell their books with anti-Modi barbs of the kind they never dared employ for Congress president Sonia Gandhi even at the height of the UPA government's serial corruption scams.
Sonia Gandhi wasn't as we all know fond of dissent. She even remote-controlled her own Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh into 10 years of silence. If Dr Singh felt humiliated by Rahul Gandhi publicly tearing up his ordinance on allowing convicted lawmakers to contest elections, he didn't show it. Dissent was silenced without a murmur of protest.
To claim publicly that the murderers of Gauri Lankesh very likely came from the Sangh Parivar, reveals a prejudiced, not liberal, mind.
The Bengaluru-based writer Shashi Deshpande wrote in The Indian Express last week: "Are we now living in a country where people are killed because of their ideology, their beliefs? Are we living in a country where dissent is silenced by a bullet?"
It is this empty, misplaced rhetoric that does a disservice to the quality of intellectual public discourse. There is more vigorous editorial dissent, more public debate, and more online vitriol against Hindutva today under a "Hindutva" government than there ever was under
Congress governments of the past. And yet those who profess to be sensible, intelligent and liberal claim the opposite. That says much about them.
The Modi government, however, has much to answer for too. Right-wing fringe elements have threatened journalists with the same fate that befell Gauri Lankesh. Kerala Hindu Aikyavedi leader KP Sasikala, in an inflammatory speech at a meeting in Ernakulam on September 10, issued the latest such warning. Her speech must be condemned by the BJP and she is rightly being prosecuted by the police.
Violence against journalists has been rising steadily since the beginning of the decade: In 2011 three journalists were murdered; in 2012 five were killed; in 2013 and 2014 the number spiked to eight journalists killed in each year; in 2015 the number rose to nine before declining in 2016 to five.
But to claim publicly, as historian Ramachandra Guha has done without evidence, that the murderers of Gauri Lankesh "very likely came from the Sangh Parivar", reveals a prejudiced, not liberal, mind.
At the other end of the communal spectrum, a newly married Muslim woman, Nagma Praveen, was assaulted last week by her husband Pervez Khan and five other men. She was thrown out of her marital home because she had painted a portrait of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Yogi Adityanath.
Our relations with Myanmar are important for multiple reasons. Curiously, despite being a direct neighbour, it does not impinge on our national consciousness in the same way as our other neighbours do. Actually, Myanmar deserves equal attention, if not more, for weighty national security reasons. It abuts our northeastern states whose full integration into the national mainstream has been difficult because of geography and local insurgencies. The economic development of this region has suffered in consequence.
Insurgents
Today, with the Sheikh Hasina government rooting out anti-Indian insurgents (ULFA) from its soil and open to granting India transit rights to the Northeast, the political and security environment as a whole has improved for us. This has made our ties with Myanmar even more important for achieving our twin objectives of integrating and economically developing our northeastern states.
If Chinas increasing grip over Pakistan causes us great concern, so must the geopolitical gains China has made in Myanmar. If through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) China is accessing the Arabian Sea, it is gaining access to the Bay of Bengal through the oil and gas pipelines and other connectivity projects in Myanmar.
In both cases, we are being outflanked in the Indian Ocean. If China is the largest investor in Pakistan today, it is the largest investor in Myanmar with over $18.5 billion of investment compared to Indias $2 billion. Both Pakistan and Myanmar support Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which India opposes. If Chinas port building activity in Sri Lanka as part of its so-called maritime silk route project makes us uneasy, acquiring port facilities in Myanmar is very much a part of Chinas grand design to expand its maritime presence in the Indian Ocean.
However, unlike in the case of a hostile Pakistan, we have a friendly government in Myanmar that would favour a balancing of Chinas influence in view of rising domestic resistance to the costs of Beijings enveloping embrace.
Myanmar is vital for our Act East policy as we cannot connect with ASEAN by land except through it. If we want to balance China's BRI in Asia, we have to expedite the construction of the much delayed 1,400km-long India-Myanmar-Thailand tri-lateral highway as well as the Kaladan Multi-modal Transit Transport Project (KMTTP) that will serve to connect landlocked Mizoram to the Bay of Bengal. In general, improved infrastructure in the region will facilitate the economic development of the Northeast, where a continuing feeling of neglect can damage our national security. Our geopolitical stakes in Myanmar are, therefore, high both bilaterally and in the context of Chinas hegemonic ambitions in Asia.
Beleaguered
Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Myanmar from September 5 to 7 on his way back from the BRICS summit in China was timely and produced extra gains as it took place when Myanmar and Aung San Suu Kyi have attracted international opprobrium on the Rohingya issue. In their joint press conference, Modi gave comfort to the beleaguered Myanmar leader by defining the problem as one of extremist violence in Rakhine, an aspect glossed over by Islamic countries and humanitarian organisations, both of which become indignant selectively as our own experience has often shown.
The joint statement frames the issue more widely by describing the situation in the Rakhine state as having both a developmental and a security dimension, with India willing to contribute constructively to a medium-term solution by participating in the states development through infrastructure and socio-economic projects.
India is not insensitive to the humanitarian dimension of the Rohingya exodus, but talking about it would prevent us from deporting the 40,000 that have entered India illegally through Bangladesh (which shows that our borders with it remain porous despite the 20 million plus illegal Bangladeshi migrants in India, a problem that requires controlling) and have by the thousands settled down in Jammu & Kashmir where Muslims rally against any settlement of Hindu refugees as a conspiracy to change the demographic balance in the state. This disturbing lack of internal controls over refugee movements requires serious attention.
Terrorism
On terrorism, the joint statement fully meets our requirements, to Pakistans undoubted vexation. It seeks strong measures against states that provide sanctuary to terrorists... and falsely extols their virtue, condemns the recent barbaric terror attacks during the Amarnath Yatra in India as also various acts of terror perpetrated by terrorists from across the borders and opposes the glorification of terrorists as martyrs.
Other gains consolidated by Modis visit are Myanmars commitment to not allow any insurgent group to utilise Myanmars soil to undertake hostile acts against the Indian government, an agreement to foster deeper defence cooperation, promote "closer bilateral cooperation in maritime security (for which a MoU was signed during the visit) and stand by each other as good and trustworthy neighbours in the years ahead.
The joint statement notes the substantial progress on the KMTTP with the completion of works on the Sittwe Port as well as on reconstruction of bridges on some sectors of the Trilateral Highway. With increased energy cooperation in view, leading Indian oil and gas companies are in the process of opening their offices in Myanmar. The first consignment of the high-speed diesel from an Indian refinery reached Myanmar on September 4, 2017. However, the issue of Indian restrictions on the import of pulses from Myanmar, a sensitive issue for that nation, has not been resolved.
Albemarle County has volunteer vacancies on Community Advisory Committees for the Fifth & Avon community, Crozet, Pantops, Places 29 and the Village of Rivanna. Details and applications are available at albemarle.org/cac or by visiting the Board of Supervisors Clerks Office on the fourth floor of the County Office Building on McIntire Road. (434) 296-5843.
Albemarle County hosts a stakeholder roundtable for existing hosts and operators of home-based transient lodging at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Albemarle County Office Building on McIntire Road. Public input sessions on the zoning ordinance as it relates to residential transient occupancy will be at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Red Hill Elementary School, at 5:30 p.m. Monday at Greer Elementary School, at 7:15 p.m. at East Rivanna Fire Department and at 7 p.m. Sept. 20 at Crozet Library. Additional input sessions will take place this month. Details: albemarle.org. (434) 296-5832.
Charlottesville Office of Victim and Witness Assistance provides information and resources to those who may have been victims of crimes during the Aug. 12 rally and any other crimes in the city. Details: (434) 970-3176.
Deer Feeding Ban is in effect statewide through Jan. 6. Details: DGIF.virginia.gov. (434) 525-7654.
Goodwill Industries holds the Making Connections in Your Job Search workshop from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Charlottesville Workforce Center at 2211 Hydraulic Road. (434) 963-2960.
The Haven hosts the grand opening of The Haven Homecooking Community Lunch from noon to 1:30 p.m. Sept. 20 and each Wednesday going forward. Meals will include an appetizer, choice of vegetarian or regular main dish, side dish, desserts and drink for a suggested $10 donation. 112 E. Market St. (434) 973-1234.
Hurricane Relief Supplies are being collected at Sigora Solar at 1222 Harris St. Needed items include cleaning materials, water, non-perishable foods, baby items and gift cards to national retailers. (540) 949-6553.
Job Fair with representatives from local employers will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday at Carver Recreation Center at 233 Fourth St. NW. Details: charlottesville.org/jobcenter. (434) 970-3117.
Junior League of Charlottesville accepts applications through Sept. 22 for its 2017 Community Action Grants program. Two $4,000 grants will be awarded to local projects that will have meaningful and lasting impact on the community. Details and grant applications: jlcville.org.
League of Women Voters of the Charlottesville Area holds its monthly Sunday seminar with Vivian Thomson, director of the BA program in environmental thought and practice at University of Virginia, discussing the link between campaign finance and our state legislature that favors coal and electric companies at 2 p.m. Sunday at CitySpace at 100 Fifth St. NE. lwv.avenue.org. (434) 970-1707.
Narconon offers help to individuals and their families in overcoming addiction. Details: narcononnewliferetreat.org or (800) 431-1754.
Piedmont Virginia Community College invites employers to participate in the 10th-Grade Biz Kids Career Pathways Expo to be held Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 at Newcomb Hall on UVa Grounds. Details: kidscollege@pvcc.edu or (434) 961-5354.
Piedmont Virginia Community College holds Getting Started information sessions for prospective students from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Greene County Library in Stanardsville, from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday during the Cville Sabroso Cultural Fair at Ix Art Park and from 6 to 7 p.m. Monday at Crozet Library. Additional sessions will be held in September. pvcc.edu/outreach. (434) 961-5275.
Regional College Fair and College Planning Night are held from 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday at Albemarle High School at 2775 Hydraulic Road. (434) 974-4321.
Understanding Advance Directives, a six-week series, will meet from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and continue each Tuesday through Oct. 24 at Hospice of the Piedmont at 675 Peter Jefferson Parkway, Suite 300. Register in advance at (434) 817-6900.
Virginia House of Delegates 25th and 58th Districts Candidates Forum is hosted by Senior Statesmen of Virginia from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Senior Center at 1180 Pepsi Place. seniorstatesmen.org. (434) 974-7756.
RICHMOND Almost two-thirds of students at Virginias 23 community colleges dont complete their two-year degrees or short-term certificates.
Four-year colleges and universities dont always accept credits from students who take community college courses in high school, or allow community college students to transfer, despite agreements designed to ensure they can.
And the community college system hasnt done enough with a new pot of state money to ensure that it is providing work-force training in the jobs that employers most need filled.
Those conclusions left some state legislators cross-eyed on Monday after the first hard look at the Virginia community college system in more than 25 years.
This is a frustrating report, House Majority Leader M. Kirkland Cox, R-Colonial Heights, said after a detailed presentation to the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission by its staff.
But the range of legislative reactions to the study also reflected the competing missions for the 51-year-old system to fulfill in the face of declining enrollment, rising costs and increasing pressure to help bolster Virginias economy by helping students who might not follow a traditional academic track.
The report identified correctly, mind you the biggest difference between our colleges and Virginias universities: we serve different people, said Glenn DuBois, chancellor of a system that provides open admission to people across the state for a wide array of programs at less than half of the cost of four-year institutions. And those people come to us with different needs.
About 38 percent of the 250,000 students at Virginias community colleges attend part time, which is one of the reasons why 61 percent of them dont complete their associate or bachelors degrees, or programs to earn certificates for training in non-academic professions. Those students also tend to be older, poorer, from ethnic or racial minorities and starting behind academically with remedial courses.
The report said the completion rates trail those of four-year institutions but are comparable to rates for community colleges nationally. Those rates are still unacceptable to me, DuBois said.
One potential solution is improving academic advising at community colleges to help students stay engaged to finish their studies, a recommendation that DuBois supports, though he cautioned that it would require more financial resources to accomplish.
However, some legislators were upset with what JLARC Chairman Robert D. Orrock, R-Caroline, called the incredibly narrow focus of the report, which he said appears to measure success by completion of degrees and credentials rather than the other help that community colleges give to students who dont necessarily need a degree or certificate.
I dont believe we should turn them into stepping stones to four-year institutions, said Del. Kenneth R. Plum, D-Reston, who wants the colleges to focus more on what employers say they need.
Tracey Smith, associate director of JLARC, said the study focused on student achievement in part because the watchdog agency had studied the community college systems role in work force development in a report she led in 2014.
Smith also pointed out that the systems 39-percent completion rate includes workforce credential and certificate programs, not just academic degrees.
House Appropriations Chairman S. Chris Jones, R-Suffolk, was upset by the reports conclusion that the community college system had spent an additional $12.5 million the state provided last year on training for professions that dont represent the unmet employer demand the money was intended to address in regions across Virginia.
We missed the mark, in my opinion, by a country mile in terms of what the intent was, said Jones, who played a key role in finding money for the new Workforce Credentials Grant program.
The JLARC study said that that while the programs money was spent on programs with demonstrated demand, it didnt look for evidence of worker shortages or whether demand was unmet by worker supply.
However, DuBois contended that the program was successful in its first year, tripling the number of people who earned credentials for high-wage jobs. Once the state has income data to measure the program, he said, I believe we are going to see that this is nothing but a winner for the commonwealth.
On the other end of the spectrum, Cox was perturbed by the finding that dual enrollment programs for high school students to take community college courses arent always credited at four-year institutions, in part because of concerns about their quality.
There is a certain elitism here, too, said Cox, a retired high school government teacher.
Similarly, many four-year institutions arent taking many community college students under transfer agreements intended to provide them an academic path. George Mason University, Old Dominion University and Virginia Commonwealth University accept two-thirds of the 12,000 students who transfer from community colleges to four-year institutions.
Senate Finance Co-Chairman Emmett W. Hanger Jr., R-Augusta, praised the community college system, while noting its challenges at a time when enrollment is falling instead of growing.
I, for one, am very pleased overall with the product being delivered by our community college system, Hanger said.
DuBois said the reports recommendations were largely balanced and helpful, and noted that community colleges across the country face enrollment that has declined steadily since its peak during the recession.
But inside our numbers, we can see that helping more of our students stay with it instead of leaving before completion is no less important that attracting more new kids to campus, he said.
The steel beam is rusted and curls at the bottom, as if made of paper. It juts down from the ceiling to cut through the middle of the room a stark reminder of the violence that shattered New York City on Sept. 11, 2001.
Everyone remembers where they were that day.
On Monday the 16th anniversary of the terror attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania the Charlottesville Fire Departments Fontaine Fire Station 9/11 Memorial served as a space for the public to remember, reflect and honor those who died in and responded to the attacks.
For the fire service and for people in my generation, this was our Kennedy assassination and our Pearl Harbor every generation has that moment, said Chief Andrew Baxter. For the fire service, this is that at an exponential level, just because of the loss.
I think about that incredible sacrifice, he said.
On that day, 343 firefighters were killed as they rushed toward danger to help others in need. Sixty law enforcement officers and eight EMS personnel also died that day, along with nearly 3,000 civilians, many of whom were trapped in the Twin Towers.
The 9/11 Memorial Atrium was designed in 2012 around a piece of steel beam from the World Trade Center. Retired Fire Chief Charles Werner traveled to New York in 2009 and picked out the artifact from the North Tower of the trade center, after applying to acquire a piece for the departments future memorial site.
Its integral to the design of this space, Baxter said. This space was designed around the beam.
The letters FDNY are painted on the beam in four different places, indicating the bodies of four New York City firefighters that were located near the beam at the site. Many of those lost in the line of duty that day were taken out of the wreckage by their firefighter brothers from the same unit, Baxter said.
Also on display is a piece of the stone facade from the Pentagon after it was hit by a plane, as well as an American flag that was flown over the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2014, and a memorial stone from a site near the Shanksville, Pennsylvania, Flight 93 crash.
Theres a tangible piece of that day from all three of the main sites, Baxter said. One of the things I hope the community reflects on is the fact that there are people on duty right now, in every community across the country, who stand ready to respond to events like this.
That is sobering for us; its a reminder for us that its what were here to do, he said. We dont take that mission lightly.
The memorial is open and accessible to the public on any day, just by pressing the doorbell on the front door, Baxter said. But on the 16th anniversary, the fire department wanted to give people a place to gather in remembrance as a community.
We hope that people will know this space is here and why its here, Baxter said. Fire stations are public buildings; we encourage people to come by.
Hobby Cole was living in New York City at the time of the attacks. Just in her 20s, she said she was taking a shower when she felt one of the planes fly over her apartment. Not sure what was happening, she was on her way to work a short time later when she heard about the second plane flying into the World Trade Center.
Feeling numb when she realized what was happening, Cole said everything was surreal: the sky was blue, the day was beautiful, but terror had ripped apart her city.
Im happy Charlottesville is doing something like this, Cole said, standing underneath the steel beam. I feel like everyone needs to remember, and a lot of people just dont.
Charlottesville firefighter Jess Rodzinka had just completed his shift at the Staunton Fire Department that morning when a friend called him and told him to turn on the news. Rodzinka, an 18-year fire veteran, said he saw footage of the first plane hit and started recording the news on his VCR.
A bunch of us went back to work just to hang out with everybody, he said. There was nothing else on TV. Every channel you went to, it was the same thing. You just became numb to it all.
Having the 9/11 memorial in the fire station, he said, helps people remember the sacrifices made that day and to remember his fellow firefighters who died in the line of duty. Having it as a space for the public keeps the memory of those first responders alive, he said.
It always keeps you remembering, said Rodzinka. People soon forget, until the one day of the year rolls around.
Capt. Ed Early was working part-time as a driver for JAUNT and was on Michie Drive waiting to pick up passengers. With no passengers outside, he went around the building and saw everyone standing around a television. Thats when he saw the second plane hit the trade center.
I kind of went numb watching, Early said.
Early, who joined the Army Reserves in 1986 and became a firefighter in 1989, was deployed to Iraq about a year after the attacks as a first sergeant in the war on terrorism. For 11 months, he was assigned to a 10-man team embedded with the Iraqi Army in the city of Fallujah, where he oversaw and went out on military operations.
It kind of hit me two-fold, he said.
When he walks through the memorial at the fire station, Early said it helps put things in perspective and reminds him of the people who gave their lives that day.
Its kind of like being in a war situation, what those guys went through, with all the chaos and distress, Early said. They ran into it.
The ultimate sacrifice is giving your life to save another, he said. They will always be remembered for that.
Also on Monday, the Our Lady of Peace retirement community offered free drive-thru lunch to all first responders. Mission Barbeque also offered free lunch to first responders and Travinia Italian Kitchen donated 10 percent of its food and beverage sales on Monday to the Albemarle County Police Foundation.
Two people have been arrested in recent grand larcenies at antique stores in Greene County.
According to the Greene County Sheriffs Office, Crystal Ann Mayo, 35, was charged with grand larceny of $200 or more from the Wooly Lam antique store, as well as shoplifting or concealing goods valued at more than $200 from the Country Store Antique Mall.
Shawn Bryant Kitzmiller also was charged with shoplifting or concealing goods valued at more than $200 from the Country Store Antique Mall.
Both businesses are in Ruckersville.
Kitzmiller and Mayo recently relocated to Greene County, according to a news release.
After their arrests Aug. 31, both were taken to the Central Virginia Regional Jail in Orange.
They are set to appear in Greene County General District Court on Wednesday.
RICHMOND Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney and other city leaders made a "plea for peace" at a tense news conference Tuesday morning after nine fatal shootings in an eight-day period.
Stoney, flanked by Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham, CEO of the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority T.K. Somanath and Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney Michael Herring, announced short-term and long-term efforts to stem what the mayor repeatedly called a rising tide of violence in Richmond, and specifically, in its public housing communities.
Stoney directed Durham and Somanath to use "any legal means necessary" to address the spike in violent crime in recent weeks.
"Today, I want everyone to know that my heart sinks every time I receive a phone call from Chief Durham early in the wee hours of the morning, because I know what that call means," Stoney said.
The mayor offered his condolences to the victims of two separate shootings Sunday that left four people dead in the Gilpin Court public housing community. A fifth man was fatally wounded in another shooting Saturday in North Richmond.
Durham said that the killings brought to 45 the number of homicides Richmond police are investigating in 2017.
That figure does not include three homicides that state police are investigating, two officer-involved fatal shootings and other deaths, including self-defense cases that have been ruled justified.
Counting those, the number of people killed as a result of violence in the city stands at 58 with 3 1/2 months remaining in the calendar year. Last year, the city saw 67 killings - 61 of which Richmond police called homicides.
Durham said Tuesday he is assigning two officers to patrol Gilpin Court on foot - a strategy the chief said was effective in Mosby Court after a Virginia State Police special agent was killed there in May.
The chief said that Mosby, Whitcomb, Gilpin and Creighton courts have been the biggest trouble spots in public housing this year. Police have made more than 700 arrests in the four communities so far this year, Durham said, including 13 in Gilpin on Sunday for drug and weapons offenses.
An impassioned Durham defended his department's response to the shootings. He called on residents to step forward and assist overburdened detectives who are working overtime to keep up the number of open cases.
"The thing that's disheartening to them, when they go and visit those next of kin, the family members, to provide them updates, it hurts them that they can't provide the updates because we can't get the information," Durham said.
Somanath, CEO of the RRHA, said lighting and cameras will be added to public housing communities and there will be stricter lease enforcement. He said more residents will be evicted for activity involving guns, drugs or gangs.
Somanath also said residents living in public housing will have to have car registration and decals so that staff can home in on vehicles that are not associated with a housing property.
Stoney's administration is coordinating a "housing summit" to be held on Oct. 31 with representatives from the Better Housing Coalition, the Richmond Association of REALTORs and other housing-focused organizations with the goal of drafting a "new plan for housing in the city," he said.
That plan will include "options for a dedicated funding source for the redevelopment of public housing" in the city, Stoney said. Details about a "crime summit" would also be announced at a later date, he added.
In a statement Monday, Stoney pointed at "weak state gun laws" as the culprit for the increase of violent crime in the city.
He did not belabor that point at Tuesday's conference, saying at the outset that the event was not about "the policies or policymakers that have enabled this kind of gunplay to ravage our most vulnerable neighborhoods."
Before the press event began, city staffers tried to block several community activists and advocates from entering the room. An invitation announcing the event said it was for credentialed members of the media, a prerequisite the press office seldom enforces.
"You're telling me I don't have the credentials to be at the table for a discussion about a killing in my own community," said Lynetta Thompson, a former president of the local NAACP branch. "That's not fair."
At one point, a member of the mayor's press office, Thomas Byrnes, tried to physically restrain one of the activists, Omar Al-Qadaffi, who was attempting to enter the room. A brief tussle ensued.
Upon his arrival, Stoney tried to play the part of peacemaker.
"They're trying to tell me they don't want to let me in the room," Al-Qadaffi said to the mayor.
"As long as you're here, you're welcome to be here," Stoney said, shaking Al-Qadaffi's hand. "You want to get to me, you want to talk afterwards, we can do that, too."
The community members remained for the duration of the 40-minute briefing and asked questions of city leaders at the end.
Mumbai: HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh has joined the advisory board of Investcorp, a provider and manager of alternative investment products.
"Investcorp is driving an ambitious phase of growth that is guided by a vision to transform itself into one of the world's leading diversified global alternative asset managers. I am truly excited to join their advisory board," Parekh was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the company.
Investcorp chairman Mohammed Alardhi said as someone who is globally recognised and deeply respected for his insights and guidance by both multinationals and policy- makers, Parekh brings to us a new perspective that will only enhance our ability to become one of the world's leading alternative asset managers.
Parekh also serves on the boards of several leading corporations like Siemens, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals and BAE Systems India as non-executive chairman. He is also involved in an advisory capacity for international bodies including Indo-US CEO Forum, City of London's finance committee, Indo-German Chamber and India-British Financial Partnership.
Investcorp's international advisory board consists of Kofi Annan, former UN secretary-general; Mohamed El-Erian, former CEO and co-chief investment officer of Pimco among others.
Investcorp is a leading global provider and manager of alternative investments, offering such investments to its high networth private and institutional clients on a global basis and manages USD 21.3 billion in total AUM as of end June since its inception in 1982.
Job market also is looking forward to a boost, however its impact for reasonable job growth is going to take some time.
New Delhi: It's raining jobs on Internet. Online recruitment posted 14 per cent growth in August, driven by segments such as home appliances, BFSI and FMCG, and the job outlook for coming months looks sanguine, says a report.
The Monster Employment Index for August stood at 279, a 14 per cent jump over the same period a year ago when it stood at 244. The August index registered a slight improvement from 274 in July.
"While sectors such as home appliances, BFSI and FMCG continue to exhibit growth, other sectors such as real estate, retail, BPO-IT, production and manufacturing await revival. Overall market, however, continues to be dynamic owing to various socio-economic factors and technological revolution," Sanjay Modi, MD, APAC and Middle-East, Monster.com, said.
Amid the festive season, the home appliances sector leads the hiring chart with a 54 per cent year-on-year growth in August. Online hiring in banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) grew 35 per cent in August from a year ago.
He noted that the "new GST tax regime is expected to have a positive impact on ease of doing business, thereby making it conducive for foreign investors and companies. The job market also is looking forward to a boost, however its impact for reasonable job growth is going to take some time".
The report further stated that online demand exceeded the year-ago level in 12 of the 13 occupation groups monitored by the index. Sales and business development professionals saw further increase in demand -- up 35 per cent (y-o-y) in August, from 29 per cent in July.
Other most sought-after job roles include engineering/production (up 32 per cent); software, hardware, telecom (28 per cent) and finance and accounts (up 20 per cent).
Among tier I cities, Kolkata saw the maximum hiring (up 46 per cent) in August, followed by Mumbai (11 per cent), Hyderabad (8 per cent) and Bengaluru (4 per cent). Annual growth trend in Delhi-NCR (down 1 per cent) hovered below the year-ago level in August, the report added.
Mumbai: An IAS at the Kanpur Electricity Supply Co. has been making headlines for halving the companys losses by digitising power to prevent power theft.
The tale of Ritu Maheshwari, a graduate from the Punjab Engineering College, who steered away the losses of Kanpur Electricity Supply Co., is one of courage to change the system and of embracing technology to drive that change.
According to a report in Bloomberg, upon her appointment at the company in 2011, Maheshwari installed new meters across almost a third of the company's customer base. The devices recorded the daily power consumption and exposed leaks in the distribution system, in real-time.
The company that was incurring a distribution loss of 30 per cent when she joined, currently records 15 per cent loss now. "I managed to change 160,000 meters of 500,000 amid protests from pilfering consumers that drastically brought down the city's distribution losses, which were at 30 percent then," she said in an interview with Bloomberg.
However, like in every other sphere of life, corruption and protection of interests of the power thieves, led to her transfer after 11 months.
In a country where power loss due to illegal tapping is rampant, Maheshwaris efforts re-iterate the need for digitisation of power. The woman, whose story was filed in 2014 Bollywood movie Katiyabaaz, was recently leading Prime Minister Narendra Modis efforts to help out loss-incurring state power departments.
Maheshwaris UDAY initiative slashed the combined financial losses of these states to Rs. 40,295 crore in the year to March 31 -- about 22 per cent lower than the previous year, according to the power ministry.
This strategy has gained popularity among retailers like Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd , in Delhi and Mumbai, who found their losses minimizing.
It has led to the upgradation of power grids with hi-tech meters, transformers, automation and new wiring supplied by companies such as Schneider Electric SE, Landis+Gyr Group AG, and Nokia Oyj.
Currently, the government is contemplating investing about USD 50 billion in the power transmission and distribution industries in the next five years through 2019, according to former power minister Piyush Goyal.
Digitization of power so far covers only about 10 percent of the consumption side of electricity use in India, according to Schneider Electric. In states like Uttar Pradesh, where losses amount to 35 percent for distribution companies, 29 million rural households receive electricity without meters, while 11.2 million are left without power, according to government data.
India issued its first tender to buy 5 million smart meters in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana on August 1. "This is a pilot project where 4 million smart meters will go to Uttar Pradesh and the rest to Haryana," said Saurabh Kumar, of Energy Efficiency Services Ltd, the agency handling the energy efficient programs on the governments behalf.
"The next two years will be very crucial as several states need to move from poor metering to smart metering," said Maheshwari who was heading that program till two weeks ago.
New Delhi/Tokyo: Japans Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will lay the foundation stone for Indias first bullet train in Prime Minister Narendra Modis home state Gujarat this week, in a tightening of ties just days after New Delhi ended a dangerous military confrontation with China.
The move by Abe, who starts a two-day visit to India on Wednesday, highlights an early lead for Japan in a sector where the Chinese have also been trying to secure a foothold, but without much success.
Modi has made the 500-km- (311-mile-) long high-speed rail link between the financial hub of Mumbai and the industrial city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat a centrepiece of his efforts to showcase Indias ability to build cutting-edge infrastructure.
The leaders will launch the start of work on the line on Thursday, Indias railways ministry said in a statement.
This technology will revolutionize and transform the transport sector, said Railways Minister Piyush Goyal, welcoming the prospects for growth brought by Japans high-speed shinkansen technology.
In Tokyo, a Japanese foreign ministry official told reporters, We would like to support Make in India as much as possible, referring to Modis signature policy to lure investors in manufacturing.
And for that, we want to do whats beyond the Mumbai-Ahmedabad line and achieve economies of scale.
India would make all-out efforts to complete the line by August 2022, more than a year earlier than planned, the government said this week.
Japan is providing 81 percent of the funding for the 1.08-trillion-rupee ($16.9-billion) project, through a 50-year loan at 0.1 percent annual interest.
Ties blossomed
Ties between India and Japan have blossomed as Modi and Abe increasingly see eye-to-eye in countering growing Chinese assertiveness across Asia.
Japanese investment into India has surged in areas ranging from automotives to infrastructure in the remote northeast, making Tokyo its third-largest foreign direct investor.
India and Japan are also trying to move forward on a plan for New Delhi to buy Japanese amphibious aircraft - ShinMaywa Industries US-2 - in what would be one of Tokyos first arms transfers since ending a self-imposed embargo.
Tokyo hopes that by gaining a head start on rival exporters of rail technology such as China and Germany, its companies will be able to dominate business in one of the most promising markets for high-speed rail equipment.
In 2015, China won a contract to assess the feasibility of a high-speed link between Delhi and Mumbai, part of a network of more than 10,000 km (6,214 miles) of track India wants to set up, but little progress has been made.
Bullet train critics say the funds would be far better spent to modernise Indias slow and rickety state-controlled rail system, the worlds fourth largest.
But a $15-billion safety overhaul has hit delays as a state steel firm proved unable to fill demand for new rail.
Mumbai: The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday evening cleared some important proposals, among them was increasing dearness allowance of the central government employees by additional 1 per cent.
After the decision, central government staff will now get a dearness allowance at 5 per cent in proportion to their basic salary. Besides, another 1 per cent hike was also doled out to central government pensioners who will now get an increased monthly lump sum amount as part of their pension installments.
"Cabinet approves release of additional 1 per cent Dearness Allowance to Central Govt employees & Dearness Relief to pensioners w.e.f. 01.07.2017," news agency ANI said in a tweet.
A proposal related to an amended gratuity bill that is to be tabled in Parliament was also given the green signal. Cabinet approves introduction of Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, 2017 in Parliament. Once passed by the Parliament, the amendment will revise gratuity ceiling for private sector employees.
Among the most important proposals was related to implementation of a scheme that aims to set up a Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund. Besides, approval concerning development of six-laning of Narasannapeta-Ranastalam section of national highway (NH) 16 in Andhra Pradesh was also given at Tuesday's meet.
Meanwhile, CBI arrested an Enforcement Officer attached to Employees Provident Fund organization at Regional Office in Kolkata for accepting Rs 20,000 bribe, ANI tweeted.
The main purpose for enacting this Act is to provide social security to workmen after retirement, whether it is because of rules of superannuation, or physical disablement or impairment of vital parts of the body.
New Delhi: In a significant decision which will benefit employees of both public sector undertakings as well as those of the private sector, the Centre on Tuesday approved an amendment bill that seeks to double tax-free gratuity for formal sector employees to Rs 20 lakh.
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval to introduction of the Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, 2017, in Parliament, an official statement said.
The amendment will put the maximum limit of gratuity of employees of the private sector as well as public undertakings and autonomous organisations under the government who are not covered under Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, at par with central government employees, which is Rs 20 lakh.
The main purpose for enacting this Act is to provide social security to workmen after retirement, whether it is because of rules of superannuation, or physical disablement or impairment of vital parts of the body. The current upper ceiling on gratuity under the Act is Rs 10 lakh.
Before implementation of the 7th Central Pay Commission, the ceiling under CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972, was Rs 10 lakh. However, post rollout, in the case of government servants, the ceiling stands at Rs 20 lakh, effective January 1, 2016.
On courting controversy
Kangana cannot keep mum on the things connected to her life. People need to know the truth. Other women in the industry feel I am insane. They feel we must always be politically correct. Bhai, hum aisa kyun karen? Being politically correct is overrated. In fact, I feel actresses giving such statements need to change their attitude, she says.
There are two sides to every story. Though it isnt necessary to always react to things, Kangana feels the public should know her side of the story. When people like Karan Johar, Hrithik and Apurva mention me in their blogs or social media posts, its essential for me to give befitting replies. They are considered to be intelligent, but they have such Dakiyanusi vichar (low thinking.) People should know what exactly goes on inside the industry, she explains, adding, Until the day I portrayed myself as a bechari, they were the ones who pretended to support feminism. But the day I raised my voice they boycotted the Mahila mandal (she laughs). The moment I started demanding for my rights they stopped supporting me.
On her journey
She says, When I entered Bollywood, I was merely 16 or 17. Today I am 30 and mature. I have a clarity of mind because of various experiences. People hate me because Im brilliant at my work. In a male-dominated industry they wonder how a beautiful young girl can be intelligent.
About being labeled as having a man-bashing attitude, she bluntly says, I am a household name today. Having won three national awards, I do not need to attract eyeballs by merely bashing men. I need to share my sweet and sour experiences with the people who love me. For the girls who are the future of our industry, I feel they should know a little about the profession they are choosing.
Kangana doesnt believe in compromising on her dignity for work. I left home to achieve my ambitions. I have achieved more than expected. I may or may not get work, but will never get work by losing my dignity. I am a success story. I have no problem if I have no future in the industry. If I am working, then good for the industry. But if I pack my bags and go, then good for me, she says.
After Rangoons dismal performance, she has decided not let the outcome of her films affect her. When Rangoon was to release I prayed really hard for the film to be successful. Meine dher saari mannat bhi mangi thi. But the film flopped. I knew people who dont like me, would be rejoicing. With Simran, I have made a conscious decision that whether the film does well at the B.O. or not, it will not affect me. I have a house in Manali. I will go and relax over there, she explains.
She further adds, Whether I am offered films by the industry wallas or not, I cannot keep mum on things connected to my life. Truth needs to be told. I only care for one thing and that is I need to lead a peaceful life. Yeh meri zindagi hai, apne hisab se jeena hai mujhe, kisi ke dabab mein nahi jee skti hoon mein.
On pay disparity
My question is when we put in the same number of working hours as men do, then why shouldnt we be paid well? I am also investing my time, energy and hard work. I am not asking to be paid equally as the hero but at least wish to be paid well for the responsibilities I share in the business equation, she explains.
Kochi: The Ernakulam Rural superintendent of police on Monday suspended a civil police officer found to have helped Pulsar Suni aka Sunil Kumar, the prime accused in the actor abduction and sexual assault case, to contact Dileep on his mobile while in custody. According to sources, a preliminary probe found the suspended officer, P. K. Aneesh of the Kalamassery A R camp, had handed over his mobile to Suni who dialled Dileep and director Nadirsha and sent a voice message to Dileep.
The incident happened on March 6, and the accused had damaged the sim card. A separate case was also earlier lodged against him for the destruction of evidence. Wed first handed over the list of all police personnel who escorted Suni to the court from jail on various occasions. All their phone conversations were analysed, and we found that Aneeshs phone was used to send voice recording of Suni besides contacting the actor and his close friend, he said.
A new study finds cure for melanoma, a form of skin cancer, in food not good for the brain, heart or waistline.
Even though melanoma only makes up 1% of skin cancer diagnoses, it is the deadliest form, according to a report by the Daily Mail.
Extensive research, led a team from Boston University in Massachusetts to discover palmitic acid, a fatty acid found in saturated fats has healing properties for the disease.
Palmitic acid, which is in junk food products like burgers and cookies, helps fuel a protein involved in the pigmentation process to protect people from harmful skin cancer mutations, researchers explained.
It helps control the activity of the MC1R gene, which affects a type of melanin pigment produced for the skin, the report revealed.
"Individuals carrying MC1R variants - especially those associated with red hair color, fair skin and poor tanning ability - are associated with higher risk of melanoma," Professor Rutao Cui, of Boston University in Massachusetts, told the Daily Mail.
Exposure to the sun, ultraviolet light or even sunbeds can damage your DNA and cause mutations which can cause skin cancer. For the study, researchers gave mice with gene mutations palmitic acid. They found it prevented melanomas and increased skin pigmentation.
The study's findings help explain why people with red hair are more likely to be diagnosed with the disease. "Collectively, our results highlight a central role for MC1R palmitoylation in protecting against melanoma," Professor Cui told the Daily Mail. "It might be a potential clinical prevention strategy for melanoma in individuals carrying red hair colour variants."
The results could soon lead to a drug for those more prone to the disease.
This research suggests that, while motivation to use cannabis for sleep is high, and might initially be beneficial to sleep, these improvements might wane with chronic use over time. (Photo: Pixabay)
If you speak to someone who has suffered from insomnia at all as an adult, chances are good that person has either tried using marijuana, or cannabis, for sleep or has thought about it.
This is reflected in the many variations of cannabinoid or cannabis-based medicines available to improve sleep like Nabilone, Dronabinol and Marinol.
It's also a common reason why many cannabis users seek medical marijuana cards.
I am a sleep psychologist who has treated hundreds of patients with insomnia, and it seems to me the success of cannabis as a sleep aid is highly individual.
What makes cannabis effective for one person's sleep and not another's?
While there are still many questions to be answered, existing research suggests that the effects of cannabis on sleep may depend on many factors, including individual differences, cannabis concentrations and frequency of use.
Access to cannabis is increasing. As of last November, 28 US states and the District of Columbia had legalized cannabis for medicinal purposes.
Research on the effects of cannabis on sleep in humans has largely been compiled of somewhat inconsistent studies conducted in the 1970s.
Researchers seeking to learn how cannabis affects the sleeping brain have studied volunteers in the sleep laboratory and measured sleep stages and sleep continuity.
Some studies showed that users' ability to fall and stay asleep improved.
A small number of subjects also had a slight increase in slow wave sleep, the deepest stage of sleep.
However, once nightly cannabis use stops, sleep clearly worsens across the withdrawal period.
Over the past decade, research has focused more on the use of cannabis for medical purposes. Individuals with insomnia tend to use medical cannabis for sleep at a high rate.
Up to 65 percent of former cannabis users identified poor sleep as a reason for relapsing. Use for sleep is particularly common in individuals with PTSD and pain.
This research suggests that, while motivation to use cannabis for sleep is high, and might initially be beneficial to sleep, these improvements might wane with chronic use over time.
We were interested in how sleep quality differs between daily cannabis users, occasional users who smoked at least once in the last month and people who don't smoke at all.
We asked 98 mostly young and healthy male volunteers to answer surveys, keep daily sleep diaries and wear accelerometers for one week.
Accelerometers, or actigraphs, measure activity patterns across multiple days.
Throughout the study, subjects used cannabis as they typically would.
Our results show that the frequency of use seems to be an important factor as it relates to the effects on sleep.
Thirty-nine percent of daily users complained of clinically significant insomnia.
Meanwhile, only 10 percent of occasional users had insomnia complaints. There were no differences in sleep complaints between nonusers and non-daily users.
Interestingly, when controlling for the presence of anxiety and depression, the differences disappeared.
This suggests that cannabis's effect on sleep may differ depending on whether you have depression or anxiety.
In order words, if you have depression, cannabis may help you sleep but if you don't, cannabis may hurt.
Cannabis is still a schedule I substance, meaning that the government does not consider cannabis to be medically therapeutic due to lack of research to support its benefits.
This creates a barrier to research, as only one university in the country, University of Mississippi, is permitted by the National Institute of Drug Abuse to grow marijuana for research.
New areas for exploration in the field of cannabis research might examine how various cannabis subspecies influence sleep and how this may differ between individuals.
One research group has been exploring cannabis types or cannabinoid concentrations that are preferable depending on one's sleep disturbance. For example, one strain might relieve insomnia, while another can affect nightmares.
Other studies suggest that medical cannabis users with insomnia tend to prefer higher concentrations of cannabidiol, a nonintoxicating ingredient in cannabis.
This raises an important question.
Should the medical community communicate these findings to patients with insomnia who inquire about medical cannabis?
Some health professionals may not feel comfortable due to the fluctuating legal status, a lack of confidence in the state of the science or their personal opinions.
At this point, cannabis's effect on sleep seems highly variable, depending on the person, the timing of use, the cannabis type and concentration, mode of ingestion and other factors.
Perhaps the future will yield more fruitful discoveries.
The article written by Deirdre Conroy originally appeared in The Conversation
Chennai: A four-year-old boy, Shown Debnath from Bangladesh won a year-old battle against a growing cyst at the back of his tongue after being operated for the 4 centimeter epidermoid cyst.
Cysts, fluid-filled sacs that developed in his throat had a tendency to become infected with bacteria and could grow in size obstructing the airway or swallowing passage. Therefore, it needed to be removed, which was done by a team of doctors at Apollo Childrens Hospital using imaging technologies. Shown was successfully operated and is now pain free, eating normally and has adequate speech performance.
We used robotic arms with 7 degree movements to perform this procedure as using Robotic technology magnifies the vision 10 times and provides a 3-D view of the surgical area. The small, precise movements that are possible with transoral robotic surgery offer huge advantages over standard surgical techniques, said Dr. Venkatakarthikeyan C, Consultant- ENT, Head and Neck Surgery, Apollo Childrens Hospital.
The case filed by PETA in 2015 raises important issues about expanding legal rights for non-human animals. (Photo: Pixabay)
Attorneys representing a macaque monkey have agreed to a compromise in a case where they asserted the animal owned the copyright to selfie photos it had shot with a photographer's camera.
Under the deal, the photographer agreed to donate 25 percent of any future revenue from the images to charities dedicated to protecting crested macaques in Indonesia, said the lawyers from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA )who filed the lawsuit.
Attorneys for the group and the photographer, David Slater, on Monday asked the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to dismiss the case and throw out a lower-court decision that said animals cannot own copyrights.
Andrew J. Dhuey, an attorney for Slater, declined to comment on how much money the photos have generated or whether Slater would keep all of the remaining 75 percent of future revenue.
"PETA and David Slater agree that this case raises important, cutting-edge issues about expanding legal rights for non-human animals, a goal that they both support, and they will continue their respective work to achieve this goal," Slater and PETA said in a joint statement.
There was no immediate ruling from the 9th Circuit on the dismissal.
PETA sued on behalf of the monkey in 2015, seeking financial control of the photographs for the benefit of the monkey named Naruto that snapped the photos with Slater's camera.
Lawyers for Slater argued that his company, Wildlife Personalities Ltd., owns worldwide commercial rights to the photos, including a now-famous selfie of the monkey's toothy grin.
The photos were taken during a 2011 trip to Sulawesi, Indonesia, with an unattended camera owned by Slater. Slater said the British copyright obtained for the photos by Wildlife Personalities should be honored worldwide.
U.S. District Judge William Orrick said in a ruling in favor of Slater last year that "while Congress and the president can extend the protection of law to animals as well as humans, there is no indication that they did so in the Copyright Act." The 9th Circuit was considering PETA's appeal.
The lawyers notified the appeals court on Aug. 4 that they were nearing a settlement and asked the judges not to rule. A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit heard oral arguments in the case in July.
In 2010 the kangaroo population was only 27 million. The sharp rise is due to abundance of food after rainfall.
Melbourne: Australians are being urged to eat kangaroos after the population of the animals reached double that of humans.
The kangaroo population in Australia is nearing 50 million, while the human population is 24 million, according to latest data. Experts are now asking Australians to hunt, eat and cull the native animal.
In recent years Australia has been a boom in the kangaroo population which rose to 45 million last year from 27 million in 2010, news.com.au reported. The huge rise in their numbers is due to an abundance of food after high rainfall. Many fear millions could starve if a dry summer produces a drought.
Since kangaroo is the national animal of Australia, eating its their meat remains stigmatised. Kangaroo meat has been legal across the country since 1993 .
There are strict regulations for killing the animals and each state has rigid quotas on commercial shooting licences and species culling, the BBC reported.
David Paton, associate professor at the University of Adelaide, told ABC News communities needed to support kangaroo culling programmes and eat their meat to avoid wasting carcasses. A large kangaroo population could also pose a threat to biodiversity, professor Paton said. Its not the kangaroos fault theyre overabundant, its probably weve just been too reluctant to take a stick to them, remove them out of the system sooner, to actually prevent the damage being caused, he said.
Scottish man is charged with a hate crime after posting a video of himself training dog to give Nazi salute. (Photo: Pexels)
A man from Scotland has been charged with a hate crime after posting a video on Youtube training a dog to give a Nazi salute.
"My girlfriend is always ranting and raving about how cute and adorable her wee dog is so I thought I would turn him into the least cute thing I could think of, which is a Nazi," Mark Meechan reportedly said in the video.
In the video posted in April 2016, a pug named Buddha is seen lifting his paws when he hears the "Sieg Heil" command in the video, according to The Telegraph. 29-year-old Meechan, from Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire also recorded the pug responding to statements such as "gas the Jews". The video has been seen more than a million times.
Some viewers filed a complaint over the content which led to Meechan's arrest for allegedly committing a hate crime over the uploaded video "M8 Yer Dugs a Nazi".
In the hate crime trial at Airdrie Sheriff Court, Ephraim Borowski, director of the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities (SCoJeC), condemned the clip and spoke of how it is grossly offensive". Borowski himself lost family members to the Nazis.
"My immediate reaction is that there is a clear distinction to be made between an off-hand remark and the amount of effort that is required to train a dog like that, I actually feel sorry for the dog," Borowski told the court, The Telegraph reported. Adding, "In many ways, the bit I found most offensive was the repetition of 'gas the Jews' rather than the dog itself.
"I'm no historian, but it is the marching signal of the Nazi storm troopers who contributed and supported the murder of six million Jews including members of my own family and I take this all slightly personally," he went on to state.
Mark Meechan has denied any wrongdoing and insists he only made the video to annoy his 29-year-old girlfriend Suzanne Kelly. The trial is currently ongoing.
MALAPPURAM: In yet another major haul of defunct banknotes in the district, the police in Perinthalmanna seized currencies of 1,000 and 500 denominations previously valued at Rs 3.14 crore and arrested three persons. They found banned notes hidden inside their car after they stopped them at Angadippuram near the town following a tip off, including its registration number. They identified them as Shamsudheen of Wayanad and M.V. Abutty and M.V. Adhil of Areekode.
They also took the car into custody.
The first accused, Mr Shamsudheen, is a Chennai-based businessman. The three were held during a secret raid by the special investigation team of Perinthalmanna Police led by DySP M.P. Mohanachandran, inspector T.S. Binu and sub-inspector V.K. Kamarudheen. The raid was part of ongoing crackdown on illegal money dealings in the district.
The police had information that covert dealers were facilitating the exchange of
demonetised notes through banks. We are investigating the case and the involvement of black money dealers outside Kerala. The probe will also be extended to Chennai, Mr Mohanachandran said. A clandestine network is active in this illegal trade which offers huge commission for exchanging the defunct currencies, he said. The police had seized demonetized notes worth Rs 4.5 crore from various parts of Perinthalmanna during the past two months and held 15 persons. In another crackdown on Friday, they had seized unaccounted money worth Rs 1.1 crore from two carriers.
A CCTV screengrab, which was captured near the spot where Chandinis body was found, shows her walking with an unidentified boy. (Photo:DC)
Hyderabad: Chandinis parents said that she was not so weak to commit suicide whatever the reason might be, and they do not have suspicions on anyone regarding the murder. They appealed to the police to nab the killers immediately and to punish them severely, so that no other girl will face such a situation in future.
Meanwhile, the Silver Oaks School in Bachupally, where Chandini was studying, organised a condolence meet. They remembered Chandini as a disciplined student. Chandini had been studying in the school from pre-primary. Her elder sister, Nivedita Jain, had also passed out from the school and her younger brother Gautam Jain is in Class VIII in the same school.
Her father, Mr Kishore Jain, who is into textile business, said their family had only friends in the surroundings and among relatives, and had no enemies. We have no suspicion regarding anyone. We still cant even imagine who wanted to kill my daughter, he said.
Chandinis sister Nivedita said that before leaving home Chandini had told her that she was going to meet friends. She is a very strong girl and cannot commit suicide. She did not have any problems too. This is a clear case of murder and the killers should be arrested immediately, said Nivedita.
Chandinis mother said her daughter was friendly with everyone, but lack of proper security for girls had led to this incident.
Father Uzhunnalil, who hails from Kerala, was abducted in March. (YouTube screengrab)
Kottayam: Salesian priest Fr Tom Uzhunnalil is completing a year in captivity in Yemen this Saturday. But his family and congregation have no clue about his whereabouts.
The Union government had formed a team headed by external affairs secretary to secure his release from suspected rebel fighters.
The congregation is not aware of their initiatives. The only information available to us is that the security agencies are in talks for his release, its Bangalore province spokesperson Fr Mathew Valerkot told DC.
"The congregation, as well as the bishop of the Vicariate of Southern Arabia Paul Hinder, are in touch with Vatican for facilitating the priests early release. We have no other information."
In a video released on December 27, the priest had appealed Indian government and the church to intervene. He appeared weak and virtually begging for his life.
Thomas Uzhunnalil, his second cousin, said his family also has no information on his status now.
We don't know if he's alive, except that the Abu Dhabi archbishop's secretary who visited Kottayam told us that negotiations were continuing. He didnt say anything about its progress, he told DC.
"The government has not intimated us anything."
Fr Tom was working as a priest at the Missionaries of Charity destitute home in the port city of Aden when he was taken away allegedly by the ISIS. Four nuns, including one from India, died in the attack.
Fr Tom, a native of Ramapuram near Kottayam, was with the prominent Catholic congregation for the past 28 years.
Kerala Priest, Father Tom Uzhunnalil was allegedly abducted by the ISIS from Yemen in 2016. (Photo: ANI | Twitter)
Kerala: Kerala priest Father Tom Uzhunnalil, who was abducted allegedly by ISIS militants in Yemen last year, has been rescued, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Tuesday.
"I am happy to inform that Father Tom Uzhunnalil has been rescued," she tweeted.
I am happy to inform that Father Tom Uzhunnalil has been rescued.pic.twitter.com/FwAYoTkbj2 Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) September 12, 2017
The release of the Indian Christian priest was reportedly secured by Oman, reported AFP.
Omani authorities coordinated with Yemeni parties to free Uzhunnalil, described as a "Vatican employee", at the request of the sultan.
"Happy to hear about the release of Father Tom. It is learnt that Oman played a crucial role in his release," said Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan expressing his happiness.
On March 22, Uzhunnalil completed a year in captivity in Yemen after being abducted in 2016.
The Union government had formed a team headed by external affairs secretary to secure his release from suspected rebel fighters.
In a video released on December 27, 2016, the priest had appealed Indian government and the church to intervene. He appeared weak and virtually begging for his life.
Father Tom was working as a priest at the Missionaries of Charity destitute home in the port city of Aden when he was taken away allegedly by the ISIS. Four nuns, including one from India, died in the attack.
A native of Ramapuram near Kottayam, he has been with the prominent Catholic congregation for the past 28 years.
Al-Qaeda and IS have stepped up attacks in Aden, targeting mainly loyalists and members of a Saudi-led coalition battling Huthi rebels and their allies. Yemen President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi has declared Aden to be Yemen's temporary capital since Sanaa has been in the hands of rebels since September 2014, AFP reported.
Mohan Bhagwat was speaking at Patanjali Yogpeeth where a programme was organised by yoga guru Ramdev on Monday to mark RSS chiefs birthday. (Photo: PTI)
Haridwar: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Monday said all Indians were originally Hindus and that the doors of Hinduism are open to all.
He was speaking at Patanjali Yogpeeth where a programme was organised by yoga guru Ramdev on Monday to mark Bhagwats birthday.
We dont convert people to Hinduisim and we believe that our forefathers, no matter which community we represent today, were Hindus, the RSS chief said.
The doors of Hinduism are open to all even today as we believe all of us originally are Hindus, he said.
Ramdev gifted the RSS chief a mace on his birthday and appealed to him to keep the flame of Hinduism burning.
Earlier in the day, Bhagwat visited the Suratgiri Ashram for a Ganga Arti and to seek the blessings of the saints and seers.
Chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat also arrived at the ashram to greet him and gifted him a book and a replica of the Kedarnath shrine.
Bhagwat also felicitated the parents of Captain Vikram Batra and Captain Manoj Pandey, who were killed during the 1999 Kargil war, at the ashram.
Uttarakhand assembly speaker Premchand Agrawal, cabinet minister Madan Kaushik and Ashram chief Jagadguru Vishweshwaranand Giri were among those who attended the programme.
The sources said the barrel of the US-manufactured gun exploded when it was firing Indian ammunition on September 2. (Photo: BAE Systems)
New Delhi: The Army's new long-range ultra-light (ULH) howitzer M-777 was damaged during a field trial in Pokhran firing range and a probe has been ordered into the incident, Army sources said in New Delhi.
The sources said the barrel of the US-manufactured gun exploded when it was firing Indian ammunition on September 2.
India had received two M-777 ultra-light howitzers in May, each worth around Rs 35 crore, after a gap of 30 years since the Bofors scandal broke out, and the accident took place in one of them.
The field trials of the 155 mm, 39-calibre guns manufactured by BAE systems were being carried out at Pokhran in Rajasthan with an aim to collate and determine various critical data like trajectory, speed and frequency.
"During the firing, the projectile which was fifth of the series, exited the barrel in multiple pieces, causing the accident," an army source said. There was no injury to anyone. "The barrel of the gun has been damaged, extent of which is being assessed by Joint Investigation Team," the source said.
The Army had received the howitzers as part of an order for 145 guns. Three more guns are to be supplied to the Army in September 2018 for training. Thereafter, induction will commence from March 2019 onwards with five guns per month till the complete consignment is received by mid-2021.
The Army badly needs the howitzers considering the evolving regional security scenario. India had last procured howitzers in the mid-1980s from Swedish defence major Bofors.
The alleged pay-offs in the deal and its subsequent political ramifications had severely crippled the Indian Army's procurement of artillery guns.
India had struck a government-to-government deal with the US in November 2016 for supply of the 145 howitzers at a cost of nearly Rs 5,000 crore. While 25 guns will come in a fly-away condition, the rest will be assembled in India by the BAE Systems in partnership with Mahindra Defence.
The Army has been pressing the government to speed up its modernisation programme.
Stalin had said that if the governor did not act on their plea within a week, the party would take legal recourse and also approach 'people's court'. (Photo: File)
Chennai: DMK working President M K Stalin on Monday said his party will move a no-confidence motion against the K Palanisamy government in the event of the assembly being convened.
The Leader of Opposition, who has been demanding that Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao direct a floor test for the government, also questioned the claims of ruling dispensation that it had the required majority.
"If the Chief Minister has the guts to prove the confidence on him (by way of a confidence vote), he will recommend to the Governor to convene the Assembly. If they convene the Assembly, we will certainly move no-confidence motion," he said.
Stalin had on Sunday called on the Governor and urged him to direct the state government to prove its majority in the assembly within a week, in the wake of the revolt by 19 AIADMK MLAs against the Chief Minister last month.
He had also said that if the governor did not act on their plea within a week, the party would take legal recourse and also approach "people's court."
Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani said Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi has Rahul has failed to connect with the people of India and hence chosen a platform of convenience for berating his political opponents. (Photo: PTI)
New Delhi: Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani on Tuesday said a failed dynast has chosen to speak about his failed political journeys while addressing the students of University of California in the United States.
"Appalling to hear him say 'this is how India functions' when asked about dynastic politics. He seems to have forgotten that people around him in all other walks of life, and including in politics, do not follow this in India. In fact, India's Prime Minister is a man who has risen from a humble background, as have the President and the Vice President," Irani said.
Rahul said, "Dynastic politics is a problem in all political parties. Akhilesh Yadav, MK Stalin, Abhishek Bachchan - are all examples of dynastic legacy, also Ambani, that's how the entire country is running. Even Dhumal's son is a dynast, so don't go just after me."
Read: In US, Rahul hints he is open to PM role in 2019, admits arrogance in Congress
The Information and Broadcasting minister said that Rahul has failed to connect with the people of India and hence chosen a platform of convenience for berating his political opponents.
Taking a jibe at Congress vice-president for his comments against Modi, Irani said, "The fact that Mr Gandhi chose to belittle the PM is not surprising infact expected."
In his address in the California University, Rahul attacked Modi, blaming him for the violence in Kashmir and saying he had "opened up space for terrorists in the valley".
Rahul said the Congress had broken the back of terrorism in Kashmir by 2013, but it returned when the BJP forged an alliance with the PDP in Jammu and Kashmir.
By 2013, we basically broke the back of terror, I hugged (then) prime minister Manmohan Singh and told him it was one of the biggest achievements, Rahul said.
So he (Modi) massively opened up space for the terrorists in Kashmir, and you saw the increase in violence, Rahul said on foreign soil.
Mobile museum in Columbus
LINCOLN -- Nebraska150 Celebrations largest project, Truckin Through Nebraska: A Mobile Childrens Museum," will visit Columbus this month.
The mobile museum will be in Columbus from Thursday through Saturday along 14th Street between 23rd and 24th avenues.
Inside exhibits will include areas where kids will build shelters and test them in a wind chamber or earthquake simulator, design their own 10-acre homestead, test their knowledge of Nebraska, create their own movie, explore toys from the past and craft their own postcards. There will also be outside exhibits where kids can participate in a challenge obstacle course, foam block invention area and toy creation station. While exhibits in the Mobile Childrens Museum are intended for children ages 5-12, audiences of all ages are welcome. Admittance is free and open to the public.
Visit www.ne150.org/museum/ for additional details prior to the museums visit to each community or contact the local chamber of commerce. Follow the mobile museum on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TruckinNE Twitter @TruckinNE and Instagram @TruckinNE.
UNL conducting farm survey
COLUMBUS -- Nebraska farmers and ranchers are invited to take a survey about their farm or ranch succession plans.
The survey can be completed online at http://go.unl.edu/succession. The survey seeks to uncover how Nebraska farmers and ranchers are planning for succession or retirement. How retirement would be financed is another key issue being examined. The data collected will be used to design educational materials, a website and meetings specific to Nebraska producers. The survey will take five to 10 minutes to complete and participants must be 19 or older to participate.
Allan Vyhnalek, farm succession Extension educator; Dave Aiken, agricultural law specialist; and Kate Brooks, assistant professor at the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; are conducting the survey.
For more information, contact Vyhnalek at 402-472-1771 or by email at avyhnalek2@unl.edu.
Photo contest entries sought
COLUMBUS -- The Columbus/Platte County Convention and Visitors Bureau is sponsoring a photography contest.
This contest is open to professional and amateur photographers; all ages are welcome. Photographs can be entered in four categories: festivals, outdoor activities and vistas, nature still life and landmarks. Prizes will be awarded in each category with an overall best of show winner. All photographs must be of events, people or scenes in Platte County. Entries will be accepted until Oct. 13.
Complete contest rules are available at www.visitcolumbusne.com or at the Convention and Visitors Bureau office, 753 33rd Ave. For more information, contact Deb Loseke at 402-564-2769.
Varun Thakur, father of Pradyumna Thakur, the 7-year-old boy who was found murdered inside a Gurgaon school, talking to the media outside the Supreme Court in New Delhi on Monday. (Photo: PTI)
New Delhi: A few Gurgaon-based private schools have offered admission to Vidhi, the sister of 7-year-old Pradhyumn Thakur who was tragically murdered inside Ryan International School in Bhondsi.
Vidhi studies in Class V at Ryan's Bhondsi campus.
CEO of Kunskapsskolan International, Kunal Bhadoo, met Pradhyumn's parents and offered free admission to Vidhi. Bhadoo said, "We have given an open offer to enrol the girl at Kunskapsskolan International without any admission fee. The school has also offered to charge a concessional/nominal fee for her entire schooling, up to Class XII."
Other schools too are contemplating how to take in Ryan students, particularly since the schools CBSE affiliation could be cancelled.
Meanwhile, the bus conductor of the school, who was arrested for allegedly killing 7-year-old student Pradyuman Thakur, has been sent to judicial custody and will be produced in a special court on September 18.
Also read: Bus conductor arrested for 7-year-old's murder in top Gurgaon school
The main accused, conductor Ashok, 40, had attempted to sexually assault the boy and killed him when he raised an alarm, police said.
Parents on Tuesday protested at Ryan International School, Navi Mumbai, and questioned the safety of students after the death of Pradyuman Thakur in the school's Gurgaon branch.
Two officials of the Haryana Police are questioning the management of Ryan International School at Kandivali in Mumbai.
CEO of Ryan International School Augustine Pinto and his wife Grace Pinto on Tuesday were given interim protection from arrest till Wednesday.
School authorities have sent messages to parents, stating the school ensures adequate checks to provide safety to its students.
The letter sent to parents in the schools Gurgaon branches states, "We already have CCTV cameras outside toilets to keep a closer watch in this vulnerable area. Class movement charts and duty charts help in monitoring time in/out of the students. Sweepers are deputed duly to be present all time outside their allotted washroom. Section Incharges/Cleaniliness Incharge/floor incharhes /PETs /Activity teachers are constantly on rounds and the school campus is under CCTV coverage and constantly monitored."
Shinzo Abe will arrive in Gandhinagar on Wednesday on a two-day India visit during which he and Narendra Modi will hold the 12th India-Japan annual summit Gandhinagar. (Photo: AP)
Gandhinagar: In a first, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe would take part in a road show in Ahmedabad in Gujarat on Wednesday when the latter begins his visit.
The eight-km-long road show would start from the Ahmedabad airport and culminate at the Sabarmati Ashram, according to the BJP.
Abe will arrive in Gandhinagar on Wednesday on a two-day India visit during which he and Modi will hold the 12th India-Japan annual summit Gandhinagar.
"This is for the first time in the country when our prime minister along with the prime minister of another country is doing a joint road show. The Japanese PM is landing here directly on September 13. This makes the occasion more important, as he is visiting a state on the very first day of his India visit," Gujarat BJP unit president Jitubhai Vaghani told reporters on Monday.
He said both the leaders will be accorded a "grand welcome" along the route of the road show.
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation's standing committee chairman Pravin Patel said a large number of people, including singing troupes who will be performing at 28 different locations along the route, will greet Modi and Abe.
"On the entire route of the the road show, which will also pass from Sabarmati Riverfront, we have erected 28 small stages where dancers from 28 different states, all dressed in their traditional attire, would showcase their performance when these leaders pass," said Patel.
After visiting the Sabarmati Ashram, where Mahatma Gandhi lived between 1917 and 1930, both the leaders would take a break till evening, said Patel.
"In the evening, both the PMs would visit the iconic Sidi Saiyyed Mosque in the eastern part of the city. The mosque is known across the world for the stone lattice work," he said, adding that both the leaders would be shown a presentation about the city's heritage on the occasion.
Modi and Abe would then have dinner at 'Agashiye' restaurant located near the mosque, Patel added.
On September 14, Abe and Modi will attend the ground breaking ceremony for the ambitious Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project, commonly referred to as the Bullet Train project.
Later that day, both the premiers will hold the 12th India-Japan annual summit at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar.
Chennai: The BJP has dared DMK working president M. K. Stalin to move the trust vote against the Palaniswami government in the Assembly rather than pressurising the Governor. The saffron party even attempted to taunt the DMK leader asking him why he is afraid of bringing the no confidence motion.
Since the DMK led the anti-Neet protests and had even vowed to bring down the BJP government at the Centre and the state government as well, the saffron party and the DMK were involved in a war of words. On Monday BJP national secretary H. Raja launched a tirade against Mr. Stalin over the latters ultimatum to the Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao to direct the State to prove its majority in the Assembly.
Instead of pressurising the Governor or issuing empty threats, Stalin can bring no-confidence motion. Why he is afraid of it?, Mr. Raja tweeted.
Meanwhile, BJP state president Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan who hit out at the DMK working president on Neet, asked why his party, which was part of the UPA government in the Centre, did not oppose when NEET draft bill was tabled in Parliament in 2010. In 2016, the Centre announced that exemption from Neet would be granted for one year only. This means NEET would come from the next year. Why was the DMK silent then? she asked.
Karan Joseph, 29, jumped off the window of a 12th floor flat of a high-rise in suburban Bandra on Saturday morning. (Photo: Facebook)
Mumbai: In a new twist in the suicide case of Bengaluru musician Karan Joseph, the police have found that he had sent a message to his mother stating that he was "scared".
The police have registered an abetment of suicide case after his parents claimed that he was "mentally tortured" by somebody.
Joseph, 29, jumped off the window of a 12th floor flat of a high-rise in suburban Bandra on Saturday morning. The flat, located on Bullock Road in the posh suburb, was owned by a company where his friend Rishi Shah works.
The Bandra Police have recovered Joseph's mobile phone and found that he had sent a message to his mother saying "I am scared" on the day he killed himself, a senior officer said.
The Bandra Police, on Tuesday, registered a case of abetment of suicide under Section 306 of the IPC after Joseph's parents approached them, he said.
"Tina and Thomas Joseph told the police that their son was too strong and couldn't have taken such an extreme step. They alleged that he was being mentally tortured by some unknown person," he said, adding that the police investigating the messages and calls made by the deceased.
Police also found a cigar and tobacco from the flat.
Police have so far recorded statements of the deceased musician's parents, his brother, two friends, a cousin, and of a watchman of the building, the officer said.
"Joseph's friends stated they found nothing unusual in his behaviour on the day he committed suicide. They claimed that Joseph came to the flat on Friday night and all of them watched television in the living area on Saturday morning, which was their routine...Joseph suddenly went to window and jumped off," he said quoting the statements.
Joseph was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead.
"As per the postmortem report, Joseph suffered multiple fractures. Besides that, there were no signs of any scuffle or injuries," the officer said citing the report.
BJP President Amit Shah interacts with the party workers and their families who have been affected by the alleged political violence in the State, during a meeting in Kolkata on Tuesday. (Photo: PTI)
Kolkata: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on Tuesday accused West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress of unleashing violence against BJP workers in the state and urged human rights organisations to speak against it.
No violence could stop the growth of the BJP in Bengal, he said.
"Today, I met the family members of the victims of political violence in Bengal in the last six months... All this happened because they did not support the ideology of the ruling Trinamool Congress," Shah said on the last day of his three-day visit to the state.
"I want to ask the people here -- is this Rabindranath Tagore's Bengal? Is this Swami Vivekananda's Bengal? No one has the freedom to play a part in any political party other than the TMC," he said.
This kind of violence was perhaps not seen anywhere else, the BJP president said.
Several people were killed, many injured and their property destroyed, he alleged, targeting the Mamata Banerjee-led government in the state.
The BJP chief said development could not take place in Bengal under such circumstances. He urged human rights organisations to report political violence against BJP workers in the state.
Members of human rights organisations should visit Basirhat, Birbhum and other places in the state and talk to the victims of political violence, he said.
Rajnath Singh said he had conveyed to the BSF DG that if a single bullet was fired from across the border, then bullets fired in retaliation by the Indian side should not be counted. (Photo: PTI)
Naushera border: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday assured people living in border areas of the Jammu region that India was taking steps to ensure Pakistan was forced to stop firing.
"Just wait for some more time. Pakistan will be forced to stop firing. If a single bullet is fired from Pakistan, then India should not count the bullets fired in retaliation," he told a rally of migrants in Naushera from the Line of Control (LoC).
Over 5,000 people living along the LoC were forced to move out their homes in the Naushera sector of Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir four months ago in the wake of heavy firing and shelling by Pakistan forces.
Singh said, "Whether they (Pakistan) stop firing today or tomorrow, they will have to stop firing and ceasefire violation."
Flanked by Union minister Jitendra Singh and J&K Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh, the home minister said after the 2014 ceasefire violations, he had told the BSF director general that no firing should be carried out from the Indian side as Pakistan was a neighbour.
"Don't fire first because Pakistan is our neighbour," he recalled as having said.
He said, "Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee used to always says that friends can be changed but not neighbours."
Singh said he had conveyed to the BSF DG that if a single bullet was fired from across the border, then bullets fired in retaliation by the Indian side should not be counted.
He said, "The situation was better to an extent. The situation is better now also. I hope that the situation in the future will better too."
The minister, who visited border camps and interacted with migrants including woman and children, assured them that steps would be taken to mitigate their problems.
"Whatever is possible I will do. People across the country have great respect and regard for the residents of the border areas. People in the border areas are facing unnecessary problems," he said.
The minister said he had told the director general of border-guarding force Pakistan Ranger in 2015 that Pakistan was resorting to firing violating certain protocols which should be respected and followed.
"India is not a weak nation now. It has emerged as a powerful country under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. No one in the world now considers India as a weak nation.
"The image and prestige of India has increased globally as compared to the past," he said.
Singh said after he took over as the home minister, the compensation paid to the next of the kin of people killed in cross-border firing was raised from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh.
He also said that five India Reserve Battalions have been sanctioned for J-K and 60 per cent of recruitment for these should take place from the border areas.
The minister said that recruitment in paramilitary forces also would be undertaken from border areas.
The migrants, during their interaction with Singh, made a strong demand for setting up of "bunkers" at their homes along the LoC.
"Our first and foremost demand is that the government should set up bunkers in each of the border houses if we have to live again along the LoC. We need bunkers more than food," Jangarh resident Parshottam Kumar, the president of the Border Migrants Coordination Committee, told Singh.
The home minister visited one of the six camps set up in Noushera by the government for the migrants.
The sarpanch of Kalsian border hamlet Bahadur Choudhary said, "If we have bunkers in our homes, we will not leave our homes at all."
Naushera MLA Ravinder Raina demanded safer places for the LoC dewellers, besides waiver of loans.
Singh also visited BSF troops at a camp near the LoC here and said latest equipment was being inducted into the force for better and more effective domination of the border.
The latest tehnology would act as a force multiplier and also reduce the workload on the troops, he told BSF personnel.
He lauded the troops for guarding the border areas under adverse conditions.
According to Shah, the Modi government has increased the amount of central funds more than double to the state government. (Photo: PTI)
Kolkata: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah, on Tuesday, demanded an account from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee about the expenditure of the central funds provided to her government.
Lashing out at the Trinamool Congress supremo over the rampant syndicate Raj in the state, he alleged that the central funds were spent in the illegal business of supply of raw materials.
According to Shah, the Modi government has increased the amount of central funds more than double to the state government.
Addressing a meeting at the ICCR auditorium he said, "Earlier the West Bengal government used to receive Rs 1,32,783 crores as grants from the Centre. Ever since the Modi government came to power, Rs 3,59,406 crores are being sent to the state government."
Showing a document, the BJP chief added, "I want to tell Mamatadi, I have showed the statistics about how much we pay to her government. But who will explain where the funds have gone? Where have the funds gone? The entire grants get wasted in the syndicate business."
Referring to the people of West Bengal Shah mentioned, "You had brought a change in the state. You replaced the government of red with the government of the blue."
"You had also imagined that the violence would cease to exist. You had thought poverty would come to an end and the state would return to the path of prosperity once again. I want to know what has happened after seven years?, Shah added.
Training guns on the UPA government over massive scams, Shah asserted that even an arch-rival like the Trinamool supremo in the opposition has failed to bring any allegation of corruption on the Modi government.
"Those were the days when cases of scams and corruption totalling around Rs 12 lakh crores surfaced across the country. All used to wait for the Prime Minister when he would break his silence. It was a government in which every minister used to consider themselves as the PM. None used to respect the PM in his role," he alleged.
Shah claimed, "Three years have passed since we came to power after the end of the government of corruption. None in the opposition, even Mamataji who is very much opposed to us, has levelled any complaint of corruption on us so far."
Earlier, Shah accused the ruling party of unleashing violence across the state after meeting around 93 people who were injured in the attacks allegedly by the Trinamool.
"I want to tell the people of Bengal: is this Bengal of Tagore and Vivekananda? What kind of culture is encouraged here? Those who carry their own political ideology are killed. A six-year-old girl has been shot at in her stomach. Even a doctor is failing to extract the bullet from her wound. Bengal can not move towards prosperity amidst such violence," the BJP president observed.
Countering the BJP chief Trinamool secretary general Partha Chatterjee claimed that the Modi government has actually stopped releasing funds in various projects. According to him, the prosperity has been stalled in the state because of the BJP government at the Centre.
On the allegation of corruption Chatterjee said, "Those who sit on the peak of corruption and are surrounded by those who are also corrupted claim that there is no allegation of corruption against the central government."
The minister also accused the BJP of unleashing violence in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat to intimidate common people.
Chennai: The late J. Jayalalithaas long-time aide V.K. Sasikala, now in Bengaluru jail for corruption, will be removed as interim general secretary of the AIADMK at the general council meeting here on Tuesday. A steering committee, to be headed by deputy chief minister O. Panneerselvam, is expected to be appointed to run the party at the meeting.
Three resolutions sacking Sasikala from the post to which she was appointed in December 2016 immediately after the death of Jayalalithaa, ratifying the merger of rival EPS and OPS factions and appointing a steering committee to run the affairs of the party till a full-time General Secretary is appointed are expected to be moved at the meeting and may be passed unanimously.
Decks for the conduct of General Council were cleared by the Madras High Court late on Monday night as it dismissed a petition filed by TTV Dhinakaran supporter and Perambur MLA P Vetrivel who demanded a stay on the meeting expected to be attended by a majority of 2,780 members.
Besides MPs and MLAs, headquarter secretaries will participate in the council meeting as special invitees and EPS-OPS camp insiders maintained there would 90 to 95 per cent attendance at the meeting.
As the EPS-OPS faction fear supporters of the Sasikala family would create trouble at the venue - Sri Varu Venkatachalapathy Palace in Vanagaram on the outskirts of the city - more than a hundred private security personnel have been deployed in the premises, besides heavy presence of police personnel.
Main agenda of meeting is to remove sasi
Sources said the invitees to the meeting would be allowed inside the premises only if they show their photo identity card along with the invitation sent to them by the party high command.
Highly-placed sources in the AIADMK told DC that they expect the General Council to be a smooth affair since all leaders and invitees have been taken into confidence about the decisions to be taken.
The main agenda of the meeting is to remove Sasikala from the post of interim general secretary and from the party since it was one of the major pre-conditions set by O. Panneerselvam for merging his faction with EPS camp, a senior leader told DC.
On the day of the merger of the factions, Rajya Sabha member R Vaithilingam had announced that Sasikala would be removed as general secretary and that a formal resolution would be moved at the general council meeting to be convened.
Though it is certain that Panneerselvam would head the steering committee that will run the party till proper elections are held to elect new leader, there was confusion on the composition of the panel with reports suggesting that it could either have seven, nine or eleven members.
Kalaburagi: The rice mills in the 'Rice Bowl' of Karnataka are in turmoil with paddy production likely to see a sharp decline this year in the command area of Tungabhadra reservoir due to inadequate storage levels in the reservoir.
Added to this is the increased maintenance cost and imposition of (GST) on branded rice which made the rice business, once highly lucrative, almost a loss making one.
The irrigated areas of Raichur, Koppal and Ballari districts where paddy is cultivated, has of late emerged as the Rice Bowl of Karnataka. Besides Raichur city, rice mills are situated in Manvi, Sindhanur, Karatagi, Gangavathi, Sirguppa and other urban centres. It is estimated that over 20 lakh farmers in these districts cultivate paddy and the mills hull and process 13 lakh tonnes of rice every year.
Apart from the paddy grown in these areas, paddy from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are also brought and processed here. The region, which is irrigated by Tungabhadra reservoir, is known for high quality Sona Masuri rice, which has a big market not only in Karnataka but also in Andhra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Kerala and is exported too.
With the state government urging farmers not to cultivate a water intensive crop such as paddy this year, paddy production has almost hit rock bottom.
Usually, TB dam water is released from June end and supplied upto March end or early April depending upon the availability. But this year the authorities have decided to release water for only 90 days while urging farmers not to cultivate paddy.
"During recent years a large number of rice mills have sprouted in the region, thanks to expansion of the irrigated area. In Raichur city alone there are 102 rice mills. These mills have the capacity to hull and process 3,000 to 6,000 tonnes of paddy daily. While small mill owners have invested around Rs 2 crore to establish a mill, the bigger ones have invested upto Rs 20 crore, apart from the working capital.
The entire business is in doldrums because there is no chance of getting even one good crop this year", Mr Papareddy, President of Raichur District Rice Mill Owners Association, said.
Srinagar: Home Minister Rajnath Singh, on Tuesday, said that Pakistan seems to be disinterested in improving relations with India as was evident from frequent violations of the November 2003 ceasefire agreement by its troops along the Line of Control (LoC).
Singh, who is on a 4-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir visited frontier Rajouri to make a first-hand assessment of the situation set off by the truce violations and resultant plight of the border dwellers.
Pakistan is regularly resorting to ceasefire violations due to which I feel Pakistan is not showing interest in improving relations with India.
The Home Minister was told by local officials that more than 5,000 people living in 23 villages along the LoC in Rajouris Nowshehra sector alone have abandoned their home. They are living in relief camps, for the last four months to escape firing and shelling from across the de facto border.
Rajouris DC Shahid Iqbal Choudhary made a detailed presentation before Singh, about problems and losses faced by border dwellers due to ceasefire violations. These including, deaths and injuries, damage to private properties, schools and other infrastructure.
After hearing some of the horror stories from the victims, the Home Minister said that it was painful to know about their plight.
He said, Our Army and BSF jawans are giving a befitting reply to these ceasefire violations. But we will create such conditions that they (Pakistan) will be forced to stop violations today or tomorrow.
On the basis of information provided to him at a meeting of the officials including those from the local administration, the police, the Army and other security forces, the Home Minister said that Pakistan has, since 2014, violated the truce agreement more than 400 times every year. This ought to stop, he added.
The Home Minister, at the meeting, also reviewed the status of migration in Nowshera in the aftermath of ceasefire violations, the status of relief camps set up for displaced families and rescue and rehabilitation measures which are taken in the event of active hostilities breaking out along the LoC.
Choudhary said that the situation was so grim that alternative shelters for the border dwellers have to be set up on a land, measuring about 129 acres away from the divide line.
Also, bunkers have been or are being set up for the residents in the area even as the locals who interacted with the Home Minister demanded that individual bunkers be set up for each household at respective houses.
They also demanded adequate cash compensation for the losses suffered in firing and shelling, special recruitment drive and education package, need for improvement in power and roads infrastructure in border villages, inclusion of crop losses under Prime Minister Fasal Bema Yojana, coverage of border migrants under SDRF norms and other proposals.
The Home Minister acknowledged their hardships but said that the country is proud of the border dwellers who are strategic asset for India.
He asserted, If there is any biggest strategic asset of India, it is the Indian citizens living along the borders of the country. If we get strategic successes, it is because of your contribution.
He said that the troops from the Army and the BSF have greatly contributed to defend the border of the country.
But the border residents who are undeterred by the ceasefire violation have also contributed towards defending the borders, he added.
He promised them all help from the government and said that already sixty major bunkers have been constructed and more would come up for the border dwellers.
He also said that the Centre has constituted a group of experts to study the problems and challenges of the people living along the border.
This expert group will study the issue and give its opinion. We will act on that, he said.
Singh who was accompanied by Minister of State at the PMO Jitendra Singh, J&Ks Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh, Union Home Secretary Rajiv Goba and a battery of other officials reviewed the status of various issues and held detailed discussions with public representatives and senior officers.
He asked the State and Central government functionaries to work out a comprehensive action plan about various issues and demands raised for welfare, settlement and safety of border residents.
Local lawmakers who met the Home Minister strongly pitched for construction of bunkers, cash compensation for crop losses and recruitment of border residents in central forces, compensation to farmers located close to the LoC fence, package for bunkers, improvement in BRO road network, infrastructure development and providing basic facilities to border residents, the officials said.
In winter capital Jammu, the Home Minister met 39 delegations comprising various political, social, business, travel and trade organizations from across the region. The political delegations included those from the BJP, the PDP, National Conference, the Congress and others.
When asked about the Rohingya refugees in India, the Home Minister said that they could pose a security threat to the country.
Rohingyas are illegal immigrants. Security threat cant be ruled out, he said.
He said that the government has adopted a "humane" approach towards migrants and displaced people but is strongly against illegal immigration.
Singhs statement comes a day after UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein flayed any attempts by India to deport Rohingyas to Myanmar when the ethnic minority community is facing violence in their country.
He had said, I deplore current measures in India to deport Rohingyas at a time of such violence against them in their country.
U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos will visit Nebraska this week and her trip could include a stop at Lincoln Public Schools science focus program.
A U.S. Department of Education release announced DeVos will be in Nebraska Colorado, Kansas, Missouri and Indiana as part of her first back-to-school tour.
The release indicates her "Rethink School" tour will highlight the "innovative and groundbreaking work happening in schools across America."
Lincoln Board of Education President Lanny Boswell said Friday that LPS was contacted last week by the federal agency about a possible visit, although nothing had been set in stone.
It still may or may not happen, he said. We wont know for certain until the last minute.
"We will have classes and if it happens it will be a great opportunity for our students to visit with the secretary and for the secretary to see our program, and if it doesnt happen we will go on with business as usual, he added.
LPS officials confirmed Friday they'd been contacted by DeVos' office about a possible visit to the zoo school and were working out details with her office.
The zoo school focus program operates out of the Lincoln Childrens Zoo, which sent out a notification Friday that it would be closed Thursday for a Lincoln Public Schools event. The notification did not elaborate.
DeVos, who was narrowly approved as President Trumps education secretary, is a former Republican Party chairwoman in Michigan. She's a longtime supporter of school choice and a force behind the spread of charter schools in her home state.
Teachers unions vigorously opposed her nomination and her speeches as education secretary have drawn protests in other states. The prospect of her visiting schools in Omaha in August was greeted with some concern by the Omaha Education Association.
Lincoln Education Association President Rita Bennett said Friday the news about a possible DeVos visit had been trickling out slowly and she's not yet gotten any feedback from teachers.
"A lot of our concerns about Betsy DeVos is her limited to no experience with the public school realm," she said. "So I tend to think the best way to learn is to visit a great public school."
Bennett said she's proud to show off LPS' zoo school, one of the best examples of how to personalize and individualize education for students without charter schools.
"Lincoln has done a fantastic job without needing those kinds of structures that her record shows she tends to be in favor of," Bennett said.
While charter schools are not authorized in Nebraska, school choice advocates have gained ground in pushing for them and Gov. Pete Ricketts supports school choice.
Zoo school was the first focus program created for LPS high school students and remains one of the most successful. The district also offers an arts and humanities focus program and folded two other focus programs into the new Career Academy, which offers dual credit courses in conjunction with Southeast Community College.
According to an Education Week tracker, DeVos has visited 19 schools, including 10 traditional public schools, four charter schools and five private schools this year.
Madurai: The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday decided to hear the views of the Action Committee of Tamil Nadu Teachers Organisations- Government Employees Organisations (Jacto-Geo) before it decides on initiating contempt proceedings against the protesting government employees.
A division bench comprising Justices K K Sasidharan and G R Swaminathan also directed A K Viswanthan, Greater Chennai police commissioner, to issue the court notice to the government employees' organisations to ensure it reaches them for their appearance before this court on September 15.
The court issued this direction on a contempt petition filed by an advocate T Sekaran against (Jacto-Geo) for participating in the strike disobeying the order of this court.
The court last Thursday issued injunction restraining the government employees associations from restoring to indefinite strike for redressing their grievances.
The judges in their order clearly stated that the government employees have no fundamental rights to participate in the strike and that it was also prohibited under the Rule 22 of Tamil Nadu Government Servants Conduct Rules, 1973.
When the contempt petition was heard today, the government public prosecutor informed the judges that the State Chief Secretary had communicated the court order to the Jacto-Geo office-bearers on September 7 itself. The government also uploaded on its website that the government employees organising strike was prohibited under the rules.
Recording the submission, the judge directed the public prosecutor to give the court's notice to the city police commissioner who will pass it on directly to the Jactto-Geo office-bearers.
After college, Vijay returned home, went to the fourth floor of the apartment and called his father Manik Prabhu and told him that his teachers had punished him for a mistake he had made. (Representational image)
Hyderabad: An Intermediate student jumped from the terrace of a five floor building in Champapet after being scolded by his teachers, and fractured his right leg. The police have registered a case against the faculty.
According to the police, Injamuri Vijay, a resident of Champapet, studies in Sri Gayatri Junior College in Saidabad. On Monday, he wrote a vulgar comment on the class bench about a girl, who complained to a member of the staff, Mr Sandeep.
Vijay admitted he had written the comment and apologised. Sandeep and two other members of the staff slapped him and told him that they will inform his father about what he had done and he needn't attend college from Tuesday.
After college, Vijay returned home, went to the fourth floor of the apartment and called his father Manik Prabhu and told him that his teachers had punished him for a mistake he had made. His father told him that they would talk about it at home. While his father was still talking to him, Vijay threw his phone onto the terrace and jumped from the top. Luckily, he fell on a heap of sand and fractured his right leg, said Inspector N Ch Rangaswamy of the Meerpet police. The parents rushed the boy to the hospital, where he is said to be out of danger.
Based on a complaint from the father, a case under section 324 read with 109 of the IPC was registered against the staff members Sandeep, Rohith and Vamshi Police said once Vijay recovers, his statement will be recorded and based on the evidence, the investigation will proceed.
Hyderabad: The Director of Medical Education has served notices to Continental Hospital, asking it to explain the allegations of irregularities in kidney transplant involving Bangladeshi donors and recipients.
A case has already been booked with the Madhapur police regarding the alleged violations of the Human Organ Transplantation Act, and also for forgery.
The DME, K. Ramesh Reddy, said that following the complaint from one of the doctors at the hospital, Dr Praveen Kumar, and a request from the Madhapur police, notices were served on Continental Hospital seeking their explanation as well as documents. They were supposed to reply by Tuesday. Dr Kumar also alleged that his signature was forged on the note that establishes that the donor and receiver are related.
The internet service providers must be directed to take due diligence to remove all the links and hash tags presently being circulated in the social media platforms.
Madurai: The Madurai bench of the Madras High court on Tuesday urged the Centre to use their diplomatic channel to prevail upon Russia to block dangerous online 'Blue Whale Game'.
Justices K K Sasidharan and G R Swaminathan, who had suo motu taken up the 'Blue Whale Menace' in view of the huge public interest, gave this ruling after hearing the views of the law enforcing agencies of the Central and State governments, cyber crime experts and advocates.
"The Central Government must seek cooperation and use its diplomatic relationship with Russia to block the URLS/Links related to Blue Whale game and take penal action against the culprits on behalf of India," said Justice Sasidharan while disposing the case.
The Court gave further directed the Central government to take appropriate steps, as expeditiously as possible, to bring all the "Over The Top (OTT)" services as well as service providers into a legal framework obliging them to comply with the laws of India, and to provide the required information to the law enforcing agencies.
And methods must be devised to ensure that those OTTs which could not be brought within such framework are not accessible in India, said the Judges.
The internet service providers must be directed to take due diligence to remove all the links and hash tags presently being circulated in the social media platforms and also in dark net with URLs/links related to 'Blue Whale' game, said the judges, adding, they should called upon to provide those suspicious information to the authorities prior to removal from their platforms.
The judges also directed the Tamil Nadu government to designate IPS officer S Murugan, an expert in Cyber law, presently working as joint director, department of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, Chennai, as a nodal officer to ensure the implementation of the order blocking the website and removal of links. The state government should provide necessary manpower and resource to the nodal officer, said the court.
The principal secretaries to the Government, School and Higher Education departments were asked to take active steps to ensure that all the educational institutions in the state would sensitize and warn the students as well as their parents not only about this game, but also the lurking dangers in the digital world. Taluk and district level committees should be formed involving various stakeholders to provide counselling and to earmark a dedicated telephone numbers for this purpose, said the judges.
The Court also directed the Computer Emergency Response Team, Union Government to collect the digital equipment used by the victims of 'Blue Whale Challenge game' for conducting digital analysis. The Madurai rural SP, P N Manivannan was asked to transmit the equipment seized in connection with 'Blue Whale induce suicide' of college student Vicky alias Vignesh on August 30 here.
Jammu: Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday indicated that some action will be taken with regard to deportation of Rohingyas, who are considered to be a security threat to Jammu and Kashmir.
Talking to reporters here, Singh said the Centre has a tough stand towards illegal migrants but a sympathetic view towards those displaced within the country and the minorities of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who have become refugees in this country.
To a question on deportation of foreigners from Jammu and Kashmir, he said, we are discussing the issue of illegal migrants and some action will be taken.
The home minister was asked about governments stand on deportation of Rohingyas from Jammu as they are considered to be a security threat to Jammu and Kashmir.
We cannot rule out the possibility of security threat and I have already cleared our stand with regard to illegal immigrants, the home minister replied.
Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao said all public and private organisations in Telangana state must have signboards in Telugu. If they want, they can use another language as well.
He was speaking at a meeting to discuss plans for the five day World Telugu Conference that will be held in Hyderabad from December 15 to 19, 2017, and for which the government has sanctioned Rs 50 crore.
In addition, Rs 5 crore will be given to the Sahitya Academy which is the nodal organisation for the conference, and Rs 2 crore will go to the Official Language Committee. To safeguard the Telugu language, the Chief Minister announced that from the next academic year all educational institutions must teach Telugu from Class 1 to 12. Students can take Urdu as an optional subject.
The Sahitya Academy has been told to prepare a syllabus for Telugu as a subject to be taught in primary, medium, higher and intermediate classes and to print the required text books.
Mr Rao made it clear that no school will be allowed to function in the state if it does not teach Telugu.
Some schools in the city were offering special English instead of teaching Telugu.
KOZHIKODE: For the first time in Kozhikode, a special clinic exclusively for transgenders will be started at the Government General Hospital, Kozhikode Beach. It is learnt that the proposal put up by the Kozhikode District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) has been approved by the Director of Health Services (DHS) in principle. A special clinic for transgenders, who complain about the indifferent attitude they face in hospital outpatient departments in various hospitals including the Government Medical College, will be a boon.
At present, exclusive clinics for transgenders are functioning at Kottayam Medical College and Pathanamthitta District Government Hospital. DLSA Secretary and Sub Judge R L Baiju told Deccan Chronicle that he would soon hold discussions with the Hospital Superintendent to decide about the establishment of the facility, timing and staff required. When they go to hospitals, they find it difficult as there is no separate queue for them. They have to stand either in the mens or womens queue and obviously some tension arises there. An exclusive clinic would help them to feel that they have special status in society and are not outcasts, he said.
We are also planning to give a special slip or OP ticket when they are referred to higher hospitals like the Medical College in order to ensure they get priority in referral hospitals too where there are no special clinics for transgenders, he added. The DLSA is planning to start the clinic by September-end where a medical team will examine the community members on specific days at a particular space in the Hospital. The DLSA is also planning to hold an awareness class for the medical team dealing with treatment of transgenders.
Hyderabad: The Osmania University police has registered a case after social activist Prof. Kancha Ilaiah complained of receiving threatening calls and abusive messages, after the release of his book on the Vysya community. This follows an outrage among the members of the Vysya community after he released his book Samajika Smugglurlu Komatollu. In his complaint, Prof. Ilaiah said that from Sunday he had been receiving calls from unknown numbers and the callers were talking rudely.
On Sunday afternoon, the International Arya Vysya Sangham condemned him. Speaking on a television channel, one Mr Ramana said that he would cut Prof. Ilaiahs tongue. Protesters burnt his effigies at many places. I feel terribly threatened due to the calls and messages. The unending phone calls and messages on my phone indicate a threat to my life. If anything happens, they will be responsible, Prof. Ilaiah, a well known Dalit activist from Hyderabad, said in his complaint.
He had also mentioned seven mobile numbers in his complaint from which he had been receiving calls continuously. I cannot even make calls from my phone due to incoming calls. Kindly provide me police protection, he said in his complaint. A case was registered and we are collecting evidence. Based on that, the investigation will proceed, said station house officer V. Ashok Reddy of Osmania University police station.
Various organisations filed complaints with the police against Prof. Kancha Ilaiah on Monday regarding his new book. The All India Vysya Journalists Association and the Telangana Vysya Journalists Association filed complaints against Prof Ilaiah at Punjagutta police station, stating that the writer had hurt the community through his new book. Meanwhile, the Arya Vysya community of Vanasthalipuram also filed a complaint seeking action against Prof. Ilaiah. However, no case was registered at both Punjagutta and Vanasthalipuram police stations. The police said that the complaints have been sent for legal opinion.
New Delhi: Ending the nightmare of 18 months in ISIS captivity in Yemen, Fr Tom Uzhunnalil from Kerala has regained his freedom bringing a huge sigh of relief to his family and friends and the Catholic Church in general. He was rescued reportedly at the intervention of Oman which utilised its influence in Yemen. He was brought to Muscat in an Omani military plane on Tuesday morning and later flown to Vatican, which had intervened in speeding up the rescue efforts. The Indian government, which confirmed on Tuesday that he had been rescued, had said recently that it was working to get the priest released. I am happy to inform that Father Tom Uzhunnalil has been rescued, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted.
An international newswire report from Muscat had cited Omans official news agency as saying that Oman had secured the release of Fr Tom. Some media reports said Fr Tom had thanked Omans ruler Sultan Qaboos for his release and that he had been flown to Muscat. Fr Tom was kidnapped in Yemen by suspected ISIS militants on March 4, 2016, after they attacked a care home operated by missionaries in the southern port city of Aden, killing 16 people. He had, in a video circulated in December last year, blamed India and the Vatican for lack of action in securing his release.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of India expressed joy over the release of Fr. Tom and said, as we thank God for this unique grace bestowed on Fr. Tom and his family and the Salesian Congregation ( Society of Don Bosco) and the Catholic Church in India, we pray for his continued good health and complete recovery to resume active Salesian ministry for God and His people in his congregation and the Church. The CBCI thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ms Sushma Swaraj and the government of India for working to obtain the release of Fr. Tom. It also thanked Pope Francis who took personal interest in Fr. Toms release and Bishop Paul Hinder, Vicar-Apostolic of Southern Arabia, the Bishop in charge of the Middle East, and the Sultan of Oman, for their efforts. We thank all men and women of goodwill who stood with us with prayer and encouragement. It said in a statement.
After a video started doing the rounds last December showing Fr. Tom blaming the Indian government and the Vatican for the alleged lack of action in securing his release, India had then said it was in regular touch with Yemeni authorities and Saudi Arabia regarding his safe release. The video showed him pleading for help and it became viral. The priest said in the video, "Several months have gone by and my captors have made many contacts with the government of India to get me released. Honourable President and Prime Minister of India, I am very sad nothing has been done seriously in my regard. Reports say that everything is being done to get me released quickly but in reality nothing seems to have happened." He further said that had he been a European priest, I would have been taken more seriously by authorities and people and (they) would have got me released. I am from India and, therefore, I perhaps am not considered as of much value."
He had reportedly referred to a kidnapped French journalist who was released and said this had happened because the journalist was from France. Ms. Swaraj had told concerned Christian priests who had met her last month that "all efforts are made with utmost urgency by the government of India and help is sought from governments, organisations, and people who could assist in this process." Further, she had asserted that "Fr. Tom is alive and safe for sure and it is the strong hope of the government that he could be released soon."
In December last year, Ms. Swaraj had said that India will spare no effort to secure his release and that the life of every Indian is most precious for the government, pointing out further that the government had got two Indian nationals (including another Christian priest) freed earlier from Afghanistan. "I have seen the video from Fr. Tom. He is an Indian citizen and the life of every Indian is most precious for us. We got Fr Alex Prem Kumar and Judith D'Souza released from Afghanistan. We have spared no effort and we will spare no effort to secure Fr. Tom's release from captivity," Ms. Swaraj had said.
Mysuru: For farmers of Manyda, the long wait for water could end soon with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah assuring them that water would be released from the KRS dam thrice over the next fortnight to help them commence cultivation of crops.
He told the media near his residence in Sharadadevinagar in view of sufficient rainfall, the government has decided to provide water to farmers for irrigation.
The authorities concerned have been told to release water thrice over 15 days in Mandya district, he said adding "farmers can grow whatever they can grow with it (water)."
Asked whether farmers would encounter problems such as shortage of seeds or other agricultural inputs, he said "In our government there is no shortage of anything. During Mr B S Yeddyurappa's rule, there was police firing because of shortage of fertilizers."
On visiting his classmate Rajalakshmi's residence on Sunday evening, he said, "She was my classmate from class 5 to class 7. She kept inviting me to her house after I became the CM, so I visited her house."
The region has been experiencing heavy rainfal in recent weeks with most dams including KRS steadily filing up. In fact the water level in KRS has crossed 100 feet.
1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.
2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war.
3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament of the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.
4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.
5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.
6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.
7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N.
8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev's promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N.
9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress.
10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N.
11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.)
12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party.
13. Do away with all loyalty oaths.
14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office.
15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.
16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.
17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks.
18. Gain control of all student newspapers.
19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.
20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policymaking positions.
21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.
22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms."
23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art."
24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press.
25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.
26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy."
27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a "religious crutch."
28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state."
29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.
30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man."
31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the "big picture." Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.
32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.
33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus.
34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI.
36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.
37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business.
38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand.
39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals.
40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.
41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.
42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use united force to solve economic, political or social problems.
43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government.
44. Internationalize the Panama Canal.
45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction over nations and individuals alike.
Chennai: Nine months after she was catapulted to head the party after her long time friend J, Jayalalithaas death, VK Sasikala was on Tuesday sacked as the interim general secretary of the AIADMK by the powerful General Council. The council also transferred all powers to run the party to coordinator O.Panneerselvam and joint coordinator Edappadi K Palaniswami.
The General Council, which was last convened in December last year to appoint Sasikala as interim general secretary, passed 12 resolutions unanimously, including one on abolishing the post of General Secretary since none can fill the void left by Jayalalithaa, who will be the eternal general secretary.
Attended by 95 per cent of around 2,700 numbers, the General Council also annulled all the appointments and expulsions made by Sasikala between December 29, 2016 and February 15, 2017 which was the day she surrendered at the Parapana Agrahara prison in Bengaluru thereby effectively removing her nephew TTV Dhinakaran both from the primary membership of the party and as deputy general secretary.
The large hall at the Sri Varu Venkatachalapathy Palace in Vanagaram on the outskirts of the city erupted in applause as the resolutions relating to Sasikalas sacking and Dhinakarans appointment being annulled were read out by Revenue Minister RB Uthayakumar. Ironically, it was Uthayakumar who first proposed Sasikala for Chief Ministership, two weeks after Jayalalithaas death.
Numerous amendments made to the AIADMK constitution by transferring all the powers hitherto held by the general secretary to Panneerselvam and Palaniswami in their capacities as coordinator and joint coordinator of the party represented a kind of silver lining in the otherwise sombre proceedings of removal of the Sasikala family. While Palaniswami termed the successful conduct of the general council as the first victory for a unified AIADMK, Panneerselvam vowed to work for the party without any selfish interests.
VK Sasikala was appointed as interim general secretary to attend to routine party work when a shocking atmosphere prevailed in the AIADMK due to the untimely death of Amma (Jayalalithaa). This General Council unanimously resolves to cancel her appointment made on December 29, 2016, a resolution said.
Though Sasikala was removed as interim general secretary, she continues to remain as primary member of the AIADMK as the general council decided to continue with the decision taken by late Jayalalithaa and allow office bearers appointed by her to resume their work. However, Dhinakaran has lost his primary membership since Sasikala revoked his expulsion, ordered by Jayalalithaa in 2011, the day she went to jail.
The removal of Sasikala as the interim general secretary had been in the works for the past few months as the teams led by EPS and OPS camps sat across the table to thrash out modalities for a merger. Only after Palaniswami agreed to sack Sasikala and throw the Mannargudi Family out of the party did Panneerselvam give his assent for the merger pact that came into force on August 21 when he was inducted as deputy chief minister in the present government.
The General Council, which was held amid tight security provided both by private security personnel and state police, was a smooth affair as there was not even a murmur when historic decisions were announced from the dais. More than 2, 200 of the 2,700 members attended the General Council and helped pass all 12 resolutions unanimously.
Other important resolutions passed at the meeting were to retrieve the Two Leaves symbol frozen by the Election Commission and commending the decision of the Tamil Nadu Government for building a memorial for late Jayalalithaa.
The resolutions were conveyed to the members a day earlier so that no one raised any objections at the meeting. The meeting went off peacefully and the transition of power was very smooth, a senior leader said, requesting anonymity.
Madurai: Soon after the ruling faction under Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami ousted party general secretary V.K. Sasikala and her family members, TTV Dhinakaran launched a full-scale attack vowing to dislodge the Edappadi K. Palaniswami government. Dhinakaran also rejected the resolutions passed at the General Council meet, saying that they were subject to the ruling of the Madras high Court.
Speaking to reporters in Madurai, he said that they would wait for a few more days for Tamil Nadu Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao to take appropriate action on his representation to conduct a confidence vote in the state legislature. If the Governor doesnt take any action in a few days, we will initiate appropriate action, he said.
The reluctance of the Governor to take action despite his knowledge that the present government had lost its majority would only lead to people losing faith in his post, Dhinakaran said. He also made a scathing attack on the Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, calling them traitors.
The party cadres will not accept the traitors coalition rule because it was functioning against the wishes of Amma (late CM Jayalalithaa) he said and added that both Palaniswami and Panneerselvam were not fit for CM post held by Amma. CM Palaniswami and his cabinet were not taking forward the policies of Jayalalithaa as being claimed him.
This was evident in the implementation of the National Entrance Cum Eligibility Test (Neet), he charged. Referring to Chinnaamma (Sasikala) remarks that she had full confidence in him to dislodge this corrupt government, Dhinakaran said that he had already started working towards it. Senior ministers like P. Thangamani, S.P. Velumani and Veeramani were among others who had opposed it when Chinnaamma proposed Edappadi K. Palaniswami for the CM post, but they have now joined hands with him only to enjoy power, he said.
Challenging the AIADMK (Amma) MLAs to give up their seats and seek re-election, Dhinakaran said that, Only it will show who represents real AIADMK. While dismissing allegations that he had allied with DMK as rumour, he said that DMK is the only opposition to us in the election.
Addressing the youth of India on the 124th anniversary of Swami Vivekanandas pathbreaking address to the Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893, Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned how on several occasions he was inspired by Swamijis thoughts and philosophy. During the 2014 Lok Sabha campaign, Mr Modi took time off from his hectic schedule to visit Belur Math and meditated in Swamijis room, overlooking the vast expanse of the Hooghly, a tributary of the Ganga. In that ambience of pure serenity, did he reflect upon Swamijis words? Did he contemplate how he was going to shoulder the immense responsibility if he was chosen to be Indias Prime Minister? Did he think of ways and means to translate Swamijis philosophy into action? If he did, then as PM he has not only failed miserably to turn Swamijis philosophy into government policy, but his party and its ideological fountainhead, the RSS, have done everything possible that is contrary to what Swami Vivekananda stands for. While communal violence is hardly anything that is new to India, never before has it been so deliberately and blatantly fanned by inflammatory speeches and statements by members of the ruling party, including members of Parliament, and the larger Sangh Parivar. Mob lynching in the name of gau raksha have become commonplace. If a member of minority community dares to voice his feeling of insecurity amid an atmosphere of rising intolerance, he is immediately termed anti-national and asked to go to Pakistan. Former vice-president Hamid Ansari too was not spared such humiliation and was (metaphorically) ripped apart by the BJPs troll army. One wonders what Mr Modi makes of the famous statement by Swamiji in his Chicago speech: I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true.
One wonders why Mr Modi, a strong Prime Minister, doesnt take strong action against party colleagues and others spreading communal hatred, which is totally contradictory to the philosophy of Swami Vivekananda. The glaring difference between preaching and practice makes the PMs speech mere rhetoric without intent. Or perhaps he is not as strong as his fans would like to believe? In his speech, the PM said: There is no better place for creativity and innovation than university campuses. There is no life without creativity. Let our creativity also strengthen our nation and fulfil the aspirations of our people. Does the PM realise that the most essential requirement for creativity and innovation is the spirit of freedom freedom of quest, freedom to question well-established norms and paradigms, the freedom best manifested in youth. His former HRD minister didnt think twice about banning study groups, harassing students who dont agree with ideology of the current regime, ordering the police into university campus. Mr Modi talks about inculcating the spirit of creativity and innovation, but his government is bent upon killing the liberty to question, the spirit of free enquiry in youth. Perhaps under the current regime, creativity and innovation could be cast only in a single mould, prescribed by the ideology of the ruling group. Creative people are the soul of a civilisation and the conscience-keepers of society. The wave of protests by writers and artistes returning awards to protest against the killings of rationalists was seen as an attempt to malign the government.; and those individuals who have done the country proud through their achivements were ridiculed and defamed.
A legitimate means of expressing pain and horror; a non-violent protest to express the deep anguish that they felt in an atmosphere that strives to obliterate dissimilarities and silence dissent through violence, was promptly dismissed as anti-national. In his speech, the Prime Minister mentioned, and correctly so, how Swami Vivekananda didnt refrain from criticising the shortcomings of the nation. In todays vicious atmosphere, had Swamiji been alive, he too would probably have been called anti-national by the vicious troll army, many of whom are honoured to be followed by the PM himself. Mr Modi also invoked Rabindranath Tagore in his speech, perhaps to take a political dig at Mamata Banerjee, who had refused to follow UGC directions on the live-streaming of the PMs speech in educational institutions in West Bengal. Mr Modi talked about how Tagore had brought glory to India after he won the Nobel Prize, and the fact that both Tagore and Swami Vivekananda belong to Bengal. But Mr Modi forgot to mention another Bengali who is a Nobel Prize winner, Amartya Sen, who has been viciously hounded by the trolls and repeatedly attacked by the official spokespersons of his party for criticising the government.
Rabindranath Tagores universalism, against the narrow parochial view of nationalism of the ruling partys ideologues, would be an anathema to the bhakts. Similarly, Tagore would have been utterly appalled by the hyper-nationalism prevalent in the country today. His famous novel Ghare-Baire deals with the phenomenon of hyper-nationalism even in the midst of the nationalist movement. RSS historian Dinanath Batra, who credits everything to the Vedic age, from stem-cell technology to the automobile industry, and whose books are being taught in the BJP-ruled states of Gujarat and Haryana, has even suggested removing Tagore from school textbooks. Given a chance, the bhakts would perhaps like to ban Tagore and term him anti-national as well, though that will clearly spell the end of any attempts by the BJP of a political foray in West Bengal. It has been three years since Mr Modi assumed power. Rather than empty rhetoric, its perhaps time for him to begin practising raj dharma that another Prime Minister of his own party had once reminded him of. If he wants to be a true statesman, its time for him to realise that he is not the Prime Minister of a political party; he is the Prime Minister of India!
It is an easy explanation for her death at the hands of suspected Hindu extremists that Gauri Lankesh stood for secularism, gender equality and human rights, which offended her foes. These are all causes associated with Indian liberals who oppose Hindutva. However, some from this club have truly targeted the right-wing quarrys beating heart as Lankesh and her ideological soulmates did. And they did it by rejecting their Hindu identity. That is by far the bigger challenge for Hindutva people disowning their Hindu identity. Muslim- and Christian-baiting is a means to dealing with this potentially insurmountable challenge. Lankesh and her fellow apostates, include, but are not confined to, social reformers in the Lingayat community of rationalists and Shiva mystics. Unlike many of her supporters, Lankeshs sympathy for causes she embraced was firmly aligned with her aloofness from Hinduism, which goes beyond the fact that she was buried and not cremated. Let us stay with the crucial point. Lalu Yadav, Sitaram Yechury, Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal and Rahul Gandhi are perceived as ideologically disparate politicians fighting Hindutva in their different ways.
In their opposition to the extremists, they indeed reject Hindu majoritarianism as well. But they do not disown the popular perception that they belong to the religious majority, which their Hindu identity constitutes. They may see themselves as good, kindly, or even atheist Hindus, followers of Nehru, perhaps, or Bertrand Russell or even Karl Marx. Yet, for better or worse they would perhaps struggle to denounce their Hindu identity, as Lankesh did. Communist cadres carrying Ganpati idols in Kerala in recent years offer as good an evidence as any that being overtly Hindu may have become a political requirement in this era of religious surge. Right-wing groupies may deride admirers of Lankesh as anti-Hindu but her liberal supporters do not, in their own reasoning, see the Hindu identity as problematic, which Ambedkar and Gauri Lankesh did.
Lankesh saw Hinduism not as a religion but as a hidebound hierarchy ranged against women and the lower classes. The difference is that she underscored her non-Hindu minority identity in the battle with Hindutva. And, for rejecting that identity she became an apostate worthy of matching retribution. Consider this: The clarion call of Hindutva is: Garv se kaho hum Hindu hain. And what was Lankesh saying? I am not a Hindu. To be sure, apostates have been a feature almost exclusively within Semitic religions in which there is only one God, one Satan and one Book. I once unburdened on Shimon Peres my knowledge of Judaism, which I had picked up from The Ten Commandments, the movie. I asked him why Israel, which should follow the tenet Though shalt not kill, does just the opposite with Palestinians. Peres, who was visiting Delhi as deputy PM, cleverly dodged the question, and said a brilliant mind like Einsteins could be snuffed out with a bullet. And a brilliant mind needed to be protected.
The secular-communal binary, shared enthusiastically by Lankeshs liberal admirers, was not her winning card, however, we can see that the more vociferous the call for secularism the greater the victory graph of the communalists becomes. Ambedkar had warned against the trick. But he also gave the antidote, emphasising that Hinduism is constructed around self-absorbed castes that have little in common except when there is anti-Muslim violence. Muslims provide traction to Hindutva and vanquishing a community may not necessarily be the chief aim of the extremists. The real objective, in Gauri Lankeshs view, was her fear of the subjugation of the vast intractable majority of Hindus by the elite. The impact of Lankeshs ideas could go beyond the fact that she challenged Hinduism. A less consolidated Hindu identity was possible had Ambedkar won his battle. Had Lankesh been around to assist Ambedkar before Partition she would have challenged Jinnah and Gandhi alike.
By arrangement with Dawn
It is ironical that the RSS, which never allowed the tricolour to be hoisted on Hegdewar Bhavan, its Nagpur headquarters, wants to celebrate the hoisting of the tricolour in Hyderabad on September 17, 1948 as Liberation Day. On the eve of Independence, the RSS mouthpiece Organiser wrote: The people who have come to power by the kick of fate may give in our hands the tricolour but it never be respected and owned by Hindus. The word three is in itself evil, and a flag having three colours will certainly produce a very bad psychological effect and is injurious to a country. The tricolour went up Hegdewar Bhavan only on January 26, 2001 when three young men belonging to the Rashtrapremi Yuva Dal forcibly hoisted the national flag at Nagpur. The truth of the matter is that the RSS never took part even in the Quit India Movement of 1942. It made an abortive attempt to inveigle itself in the 1942 movement in the 1990s when it began to peddle a tale about the young Atal Behari Vajpayees participation in Quit India activities in Bateshwar. It ended with egg on its face when Frontline published young Mr Vajpayees confessional statement where he excluded himself from the events, affirming that he was a mere onlooker.
Apart from Hyderabad, J&K and Junagadh did not accede to the newly-independent India in August 1947. J&K did so only on October 26, 1947 when Pakistani raiders began knocking on the gates of Srinagar. The Nawab of Junagadh actually acceded to Pakistan, but a popular upsurge forced him to flee to Pakistan and the referendum of September 15, 1947 ratified the accession. But the RSS never celebrates Kashmirs accession on October 26 and Junagadhs on September 15 as Liberation Days. It wants to celebrate Hyderabads accession on September 17, 1948, in which it had no role, just as it tries to appropriate a role in the nationalist movement. At the time of Indias Independence, Hyderabad was the largest Indian princely state in terms of population and GNP. Its territory of 82,698 sq. miles was more than that of England and Scotland together. The 1941 census estimated its population was 16.34 million, over 85 per cent of who were Hindus and with Muslims accounting for about 12 per cent. It was also a multilingual state consisting of peoples speaking Telugu (48.2 per cent), Marathi (26.4 per cent), Kannada (12.3 per cent) and Urdu (10.3 per cent). It was a Muslim-dominated state and its vast Hindu majority was generally excluded from government. It was a mirror image of J&K, which was a Hindu-dominated fiefdom.
Hyderabad had its Hindu nobility, and a couple of them even rose to become Prime Ministers. Maharaja Chandulal was Prime Minister from 1833 to 1844 during the rule of Sikandar Jah. Sir Kishen Pershad was Prime Minister 1902-12. Nevertheless, it was a government of Muslims and by Muslims. Records of 1911 show that 70 per cent of the police, 55 per cent of the Army and 26 per cent of the public administration were Muslims. In 1941, a report on the civil service revealed that of 1,765 officers, 1,268 were Muslims, 421 were Hindus, and 121 others, presumably British, Christians, Parsis and Sikhs. Of the officials drawing a pay between `600-1,200 per month, 59 were Muslims, 38 were others, and a mere five were Hindus. The Nizam and his nobles, mostly Muslims, owned 40 per cent of the total land in the kingdom. The BJPs only power base is in the old city of Hyderabad, which is the political domain of the Majlis-e-Ittihad-ul-Muslimeen (MIM), its mortal enemy. The nature of its power here is best symbolised by how it managed to inflict a temple on the southeast corner of Charminar, where it still grows like a fungus right under the nose of Charminar police station.
The first stirrings of political activity in the Asaf Jah kingdom began in 1927 when the MIM was formed to unite various Islamic sects for the solution of their problems within the principle of Islam; and to protect the economic, social and educational interests of Muslims. They presumably were affected by the happenings in Turkey and the direction the Khilafat movement took in India when it allied with the Congress and joined the nationalist movement in 1920. The MIM soon became a movement to establish an Islamic state in Hyderabad. In 1933 an association of mulkis, or local-born Hindus and Muslims called the Nizams Subjects League, was formed as a reaction to the continued domination of gair-mulkis, mostly Muslim and Hindu Kayasthas from what is now UP, in the government. This was soon to be known as the Mulki League. It was the Mulki League that first mooted the idea of a responsible government in Hyderabad. In 1937, the Mulki League split between the more radical elements, mostly Hindus, and the more status quo inclined. This led to the formation of the Hyderabad Peoples Convention in 1937, a prelude to the establishment of the Hyderabad State Congress next year. With this, the movement for political and constitutional reform picked up momentum. The RSS did not exist in Hyderabad even on paper. The Hindu nationalist rump was of the Hindu Mahasabha, and mostly confined to Marathawada.
The Hyderabad State Congress agitation coincided with a parallel agitation led by the Arya Samaj and Hindu Mahasabha of V.D. Savarkar on Hindu civil rights. To a large extent the interests of the Congress and Hindu organisations coincided. This put them squarely against the Majlis, now led by Bahadur Yar Jung, who was also founder of Anjuman-i-Tabligh-i-Islam, a proselytising Muslim organisation whose prime activity was the conversion of Hindus. Bahadur Yar Jung was a charismatic figure who became popular among Muslims and had the ear of the Nizam, Osman Ali Khan. Bahadur Yar Jung summed up his goal very succinctly: The Majlis policy is to keep the sovereignty of His Exalted Highness intact and to prevent Hindus from establishing supremacy over Muslims. The leadership of the Congress took more nationalist overtones after the arrival of Swami Ramanand Tirtha on the scene. Tirtha hailed from Gulbarga and as a young man became a sadhu. He became president of the Hyderabad Congress in 1946 and attracted around him several young men who rose to prominence in Independent India. Foremost among these was P.V. Narasimha Rao, and others were former CMs Shankarrao Chavan, Veerendra Patil and Marri Channa Reddy.
While the Congress was gaining strength, the Communists were also active in Telugu-speaking areas. They captured the Andhra Mahasabha, formed in 1921 to represent the interests of Telugu-speaking people in 1942. Unlike the Hyderabad Congress, which launched a movement for democratic rights to run parallel to the Quit India movement, the Communists joined hands with Majlis to support the Nizam, who was being a faithful ally of the British. Accession brought in its wake the changes that were sought ever since political activity began in the state. The Muslim elite soon found themselves marginalised and many migrated to Pakistan. Others like Ali Yavar Jung made a smooth transition into the new order. A new bureaucratic elite was quickly installed even as the Communist insurrection was being quelled. The Muslim feudal regime was replaced by a government which enjoyed the peoples mandate. The RSS had nothing to do with this.
Apple will launch an expected iPhone 8 on Tuesday, hoping the numbers auspicious connotations in China will help turn around fortunes in the worlds biggest smartphone market.
The latest model is tipped to have a price tag upward of $1,000, compared with less than $800 for the top-end iPhone 7 Plus. That is unlikely to make a major dent in US sales, analysts say, but could have a greater impact in China, where the cost is roughly double the average Chinese monthly salary.
The success of Apples next iPhone in China is crucial for the Cupertino-based firm, which has seen its once-coveted phone slip into fifth position in China behind offerings from local rivals Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi Inc.
Greater China, which for Apple includes Taiwan and Hong Kong, accounted for roughly 18 per cent of iPhone sales in the quarter ended in July, making it the companys top market after the United States and Europe. Yet those sales have been declining steadily and are down 10 percent from a year earlier, in contrast with growth in all other regions.
And the iPhones share of Chinas smartphone shipments fell to 9 percent in January-June, down from 14 percent in 2015, showed data from consultancy Counterpoint Research.
While the iPhone 6 took China by storm in 2014, models since have received a more muted response.
Ill wait for a drop in price, its too expensive, said Angie Chen, 23, a project manager in Nanjing and iPhone 6 owner.
Chen said she might wait for the new phones successor, when prices will fall. Its a nice number to hear, but theres no rush.
Eight is the luckiest number in China because it sounds similar to the phrase meaning to get rich.
Apple really needs to launch a very innovative product this time around, said Mo Jia, Shanghai-based analyst at Canalys. However, the rising clout of local rivals would nevertheless make life tough for the US firm, he said. It has its work cut out.
The iPhone 7 suffered from the perception that it was too similar to earlier models. This time, despite talk of wireless charging, advanced touch screen and facial recognition technology, Chinese netizens are yet to replicate the online mania around previous iPhone launches.
Mentions of iPhone 8 on popular Chinese social media platform Weibo - an indicator of consumer interest - were running slightly ahead of the similar period before the iPhone 7 launch, but were far more muted than with the iPhone 6.
Apple declined to comment on the new phone, price or supply.
In the United States, analysts are less certain that a $1,000 price will have a dramatic effect. Around four out of five of the consumers who in the past bought the top end model would likely be willing to do so again despite the price jump, estimated analyst and veteran Apple watcher Gene Munster of Loup Ventures.
Beyond that, Apple is expected to cover other price points by retaining some sort of low-end model similar to the current iPhone SE, which sells for $399. That is likely to ensure iPhone customers stay within the Apple ecosystem even if prices on top-end models rise.
They need to still offer something for each market. They still will have that, Munster said.
Another factor for US sales will be discounts from carriers, which might opt to use the buzz around the new iPhone launch to lure customers away from their competitors by offering deals that would soften the blow of higher prices.
The weapons of competition are increased phone subsidies, discounted phone payment plans and device trade-in offers, BTIG analyst Walter Piecyk wrote in a note to clients. Promotions are already on the rise for the Samsung phones introduced earlier this year.
BUY ON CREDIT
In China, one effect of Apples costliest phone to date will be the rise of sales on credit.
Wang Yang, who runs a bricks-and-mortar smartphone store in Beijings largest tech market, said he expected more purchases online this time, as consumers make payments by instalment.
We will continue to stock the cheaper models or we wont sell much, he said.
Fenqile, a platform backed by Tencent allowing users to pay in instalments, said shoppers buying iPhones on the site had increased alongside rising prices - spiking in the second quarter of the year.
Services backed by Alibaba Group and JD.com have also introduced features this year aimed at price-conscious smartphone buyers, including flexible payment services and second-hand smartphone rentals.
Apple itself has launched an instalments plan in China supported by three state-linked banks.
If its under $1,100 then Ill buy it, said Liu Song, 29, who works for a fintech startup in Beijing
Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.
Irma was downgraded to a tropical storm over Florida, but it still had winds near hurricane force (Photo: AP/Representational Image)
A weakened but still dangerous Irma pushed inland on Monday as it hammered Florida with winds and floodwaters that created hazards even for rescuers trying to help beleaguered residents.
Irma was downgraded to a tropical storm over Florida, but it still had winds near hurricane force. Its outer bands were also blowing into Georgia, where the storms center was expected to arrive later in the day. With rough conditions persisting across Florida, many communities in Irmas wake feared what destruction would be revealed as daylight allowed authorities to canvass neighborhoods.
The city of Jacksonville in northeast Florida ordered urgent evacuations on Monday.
Meanwhile, Irmas rampage across northern Cuban took the lives of 10 people, officials said on Monday as the scope of the disaster came more fully into view. Some of the victims had ignored instructions to evacuate, the civil defense authority said.
Indian-Americans in Atlanta and Georgia pooled in their resources to help several million people from Florida affected by Irma.
Rahul Gandhi said the Congress had broken the back of terrorism in Kashmir by 2013, but it returned when the BJP forged an alliance with the PDP in Jammu and Kashmir. (Photo: Shashi Tharoor/Twitter)
Berkeley: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi hinted at an US university interaction Tuesday that he was ready to be the Prime Ministerial candidate in the 2019 general elections.
Rahul began his two-week US trip today, and his first stop was the University of California, Berkeley.
During a chat, the moderator asked Rahul: When the UPA was in power, there was a great clamour for you to be part of the executive, to become a Cabinet minister, even the Prime Minister In 2014, they wanted you to be the Prime Ministerial candidate which you declined. And you are very likely to face the same demand in 2019. Are you ready to now take charge in an executive role?
Rahul answered: I am absolutely ready to do that. But the way our party works We have an organisational election process that decides that. That process is currently ongoing. To say that decision would be mine, would not be fair. That is being decided by the party.
To the moderator further probing whether Rahul was open to the idea, he said: Yes.
Addressing Berkeley students, Rahul Gandhi attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, blaming him for the violence in Kashmir and saying he had "opened up space for terrorists in the valley".
During his speech at the prestigious American university, Rahul said the Congress had broken the back of terrorism in Kashmir by 2013, but it returned when the BJP forged an alliance with the PDP in Jammu and Kashmir.
By 2013, we basically broke the back of terror, I hugged (then) prime minister Manmohan Singh and told him it was one of the biggest achievements, Rahul said.
So he (Modi) massively opened up space for the terrorists in Kashmir, and you saw the increase in violence, Rahul said on foreign soil.
Rahul also admitted that arrogance had crept into the Congress party around 2012 and we stopped having conversations with people.
Rahul added India runs on the dynasty formula and that it was unfair to forever berate him about it. Most of the country runs like this. That is how India works, he told Berkeley students.
Read: Dynastic rule a problem in Indian political parties: Rahul at Berkeley university
Rahul went on to point at the DNA flag-bearers -- Dynastic politics is a problem in all political parties. Akhilesh (Yadav son of Mulayam Singh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party), (MK) Stalin (son of M Karunanidhi in DMK), Abhishek Bachchan (son of Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan) -- are all examples of dynastic legacy, also (Mukesh and Anil) Ambani (son of Dhirubhai Ambani), that's how the entire country is running."
Rahul, who is on a two-week trip to the United States, addressed the students of University of California on contemporary India and the path forward for the world's largest democracy.
His great grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister, delivered a speech at Berkeley in 1949.
Here are the highlights of his speech:
North Korea had successfully conducted a test of a hydrogen bomb that is meant to be loaded into an intercontinental ballistic missile. (Photo: AFP)
United Nations: North Korea Tuesday condemned "vicious" new UN sanctions imposed over its sixth and largest nuclear test, warning it would make the US "suffer the greatest pain" it has ever experienced.
The new sanctions imposed unanimously by the UN Security Council Monday ban North Korean textile exports and restrict shipments of oil products.
The resolution, passed after Washington toned down its original proposals to secure backing from China and Russia, came just one month after the council banned exports of coal, lead and seafood in response to the North's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
North Korea Tuesday categorically rejected the new measures, with UN ambassador Han Tae-Song saying in Geneva that the US had "fabricated the most vicious sanction resolution" and warning of retaliation.
"The forthcoming measures by DPRK (North Korea) will make the US suffer the greatest pain it has ever experienced in its history," he told a disarmament conference in the Swiss city.
US ambassador Nikki Haley said Monday at the UN the tough new measures were a message to Pyongyang that "the world will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea". But she also held out the prospect of a peaceful resolution to the crisis.
"We are not looking for war. The North Korean regime has not yet passed the point of no return," Haley told the Security Council, adding: "If North Korea continues its dangerous path, we will continue with further pressure. The choice is theirs."
During tough negotiations, the United States dropped initial demands for a full oil embargo and a freeze on the foreign assets of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.
The resolution instead bans trade in textiles, cuts off natural gas shipments to North Korea, places a ceiling on deliveries of refined oil products and caps crude oil shipments at current levels.
It bars countries from issuing new work permits to North Korean labourers sent abroad -- there are some 93,000, providing Kim's regime with a source of revenue to develop its missile and nuclear programmes, according to a US official familiar with the negotiations.
Under the measure, countries are authorised to inspect ships suspected of carrying banned North Korean cargo but must first seek the consent of the flag-state.
Joint ventures will be banned and the names of senior North Korean official and three entities were added to a UN sanctions blacklist that provides for an assets freeze and a global travel ban.
It was the eighth series of sanctions imposed on North Korea since it first tested a nuclear device in 2006.
- 'Concrete action' -
South Korea welcomed the resolution while Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the sanctions were much stronger than earlier measures. He urged Pyongyang to take "concrete action" toward denuclearization.
The United States and its allies argue that tougher sanctions will pile pressure on Kim's regime to negotiate an end to its nuclear and missile tests.
Russia and China are pushing for talks with North Korea, but the US rejects their proposal for a freeze on Pyongyang's missile and nuclear tests in exchange for a suspension of US-South Korean military drills.
Chinese UN ambassador Liu Jieyi again called for talks "sooner rather than later".
China, North Korea's sole ally and main trading partner, had strongly objected to an oil embargo initially sought by the United States out of fear it would bring the North's economy to its knees.
Instead, annual crude oil supplies are capped at current levels -- China is believed to supply around four million barrels a year through a pipeline, while deliveries of refined oil products such as gasoline and diesel are limited to two million barrels a year.
That would amount to a 10 percent cut in oil products, according to the US Energy Information Administration, which estimates annual exports to North Korea at nearly 2.2 million barrels.
The US official said the ban on textile exports would deprive North Korea of some $726 million in annual revenue.
- 'Further provocations' -
But analysts were sceptical about their impact.
North Korea has made rapid progress in its nuclear and missile programmes despite multiple sets of UN sanctions, and Go Myong-Hyun at the Asan Institute of Policy Studies said the latest measures were "not enough to cause pain".
Kim Hyun-Wook of Seoul's Korea National Diplomatic Academy, predicted: "The sanctions will only provide North Korea with an excuse for further provocations, such as an ICBM launch."
Washington has said military action remains an option in dealing with Pyongyang and has threatened to cut economic ties with countries that continue to trade with it.
North Korea says its weapons development is vital to stave off the threat of a US invasion.
Pyongyang has staged a series of missile tests in recent months that appeared to bring much of the US mainland into range.
It followed up with a sixth nuclear test on September 3, its largest to date, which it said was a miniaturised hydrogen bomb.
The resolution instead bans trade in textiles, cuts off natural gas shipments to North Korea (Photo: AFP)
United Nations: The UN Security Council unanimously imposed new sanctions on North Korea, banning textile exports and restricting shipments of oil products to punish Pyongyang for its sixth and largest nuclear test.
The resolution, passed after Washington toned down its original proposals to secure backing from China and Russia, came just one month after the council banned exports of coal, lead and seafood in response to North Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
US Ambassador Nikki Haley said the tough new measures were a message to Pyongyang that "the world will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea," but she also held out the prospect of a peaceful resolution to the crisis.
"We are not looking for war. The North Korean regime has not yet passed the point of no-return," Haley told the council, adding: "If North Korea continues its dangerous path, we will continue with further pressure. The choice is theirs."
During tough negotiations, the United States dropped initial demands for a full oil embargo and a freeze on the foreign assets of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.
The resolution instead bans trade in textiles, cuts off natural gas shipments to North Korea, places a ceiling on deliveries of refined oil products and caps crude oil shipments at current levels.
It bars countries from issuing new work permits to North Korean laborers sent abroad -- there are some 93,000, providing Kim's regime with a source of revenue to develop its missile and nuclear programs, according to a US official familiar with the negotiations.
Under the measure, countries are authorized to inspect ships suspected of carrying banned North Korean cargo but must first seek the consent of the flag-state.
Joint ventures will be banned and the names of senior North Korean official and three entities were added to a UN sanctions blacklist that provides for an assets freeze and a global travel ban.
It was the eighth series of sanctions imposed on North Korea since it first tested a nuclear device in 2006.
- 'Concrete action' -
Seoul welcomed the resolution, calling it a "grave warning that (North Korea's) continued provocations will only intensify its diplomatic isolation and economic pressure."
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the sanctions were much stronger than earlier measures and urged Pyongyang to take "concrete action" toward denuclearization.
The United States and its allies argue that tougher sanctions will pile pressure on Kim's regime to come to the negotiating table to discuss an end to its nuclear and missile tests.
Russia and China are pushing for talks with North Korea, but their proposal for a freeze on Pyongyang's missile and nuclear tests in exchange for suspending US-South Korean military drills has been rejected by the United States.
Chinese Ambassador Liu Jieyi again called for talks "sooner rather than later."
China, North Korea's sole ally and main trading partner, had strongly objected to an oil embargo initially sought by the United States out of fear that it would bring the North's economy to its knees.
Instead, annual crude oil supplies are capped at current levels -- China is believed to supply around four million barrels a year through a pipeline, while deliveries of refined oil products such as gasoline and diesel are limited to two million barrels a year.
Page Content
Local leaders from Romania's municipalities, cities and communes have expressed their full support to the #CohesionAlliance which aims to protect EU funds earmarked for the regions.
With the #CohesionAlliance due to be formally launched on 9 October during the European Week of Regions and Cities , the President of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), Karl-Heinz Lambertz, spoke to the CoR's Romanian Delegation about the objectives of this alliance during his visit in Bucharest on 7-8 September.
"The EU's cohesion policy creates jobs, improve infrastructure and strengthen social and territorial cohesion. It is a symbol of European solidarity which is why a Europe without cohesion policy is a Europe we cannot imagine. I am pleased that in every meeting I have had here in Romania I received clear signals that local authorities are ready to support us; I particularly welcome the commitment of our Committee's Romanian members", said the President Lambertz.
"We, as our country's delegation to the CoR, are committed to working hard, being vocal and expressing our views. I would like all our members to take action in order to find a new meaning and new direction for the European Union. This is why over the past two days we have been in many meetings both with the local and central authorities as everyone has a stake in the EU's future and in Romania's involvement in the entire decision-making process," stated Robert Sorin Negoita (RO/PSE) in his capacity as President of the Association of Romanian Municipalities (ARM) and Chair of the Romanian Delegation to the CoR.
Together with Mayor Negoita, the CoR President met with the President of the Senate, Calin Popescu Tariceanu; the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Liviu Dragnea; the Romanian Prime Minister, Mihai Tudose; the Minister-Delegate for European Affairs, Victor Negrescu; the Minister-Delegate for European Funds Rovana Plumb and Bucharest General Mayor Gabriela Firea. The CoR President also took part in a citizen's dialogue with the EU Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Cretu.
As part of the Committee of the Regions' EU-wide consultation process called " Reflecting on Europe " which collects citizens' concerns and expectations at the grassroots, President Lambertz and the EU's Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Cretu, participated in a citizens' dialogue with 200 people.
Contact:
pressecdr@cor.europa.eu
The mob attack on Sunday night in the Magway region of the mainly Buddhist nation (Photo: Representational Image/AFP)
Police fired rubber bullets to break up a mob which stoned the home of a Muslim butcher in central Myanmar, authorities said on Monday, as religious tensions rise amid a surge of violence in the west.
The mob attack on Sunday night in the Magway region of the mainly Buddhist nation was fuelled by anger over the deepening crisis in Rakhine, according to a government press release.
The tension bubbled over in Taung Twin Gyi township on Sunday night when dozens of villagers in a 400-strong crowd sang the national anthem and lobbed rocks at the home of a Muslim butcher before marching over to the local mosque, where police dispersed the mob.
Police arrested 30-year-old Hnin Ko Ko Lin, who said the group acted because they could not accept the things that happened in Rakhine.
Geneva: The UN Security Council on Tuesday unanimously approved new sanctions on North Korea but not the toughest-ever measures sought by the Trump administration to ban all oil imports and freeze international assets of the government and its leader, Kim Jong Un.
The resolution, responding to Pyongyangs sixth and strongest nuclear test explosion on September 3, does ban North Korea from importing all natural gas liquids and condensates. It also bans all textile exports and prohibits any country from authorising new work permits for North Korean workers two key sources of hard currency for the northeast Asian nation.
As for energy, it caps Pyongyangs imports of crude oil at the level of the last 12 months, and it limits the import of refined petroleum products to 2 million barrels a year.
The watered-down resolution does not include sanctions that the US wanted on North Koreas national airline and the army.
North Korea blasted the vicious sanctions and threatened revenge against Washington, who it blamed for leading the charge.
The Washington regime fabricated the most vicious sanctions resolution, Pyongyangs ambassador in Geneva told the UN. Ambassador Han Tae Song said North Korea denounced Washingtons evil intention and would make sure the US pays a due price.
The Rohingya, a stateless Muslim minority, have faced decades of persecution in Myanmar where they are regarded as illegal immigrants (Representational Image)
The situation in Myanmar is a textbook example of ethnic cleansing, the United Nations rights chief said on Monday, as the number of Rohingya Muslims fleeing the country for Bangladesh topped 3,00,000.
The Rohingya, a stateless Muslim minority, have faced decades of persecution in Myanmar where they are regarded as illegal immigrants.
But since the latest upsurge in violence on August 25, hundreds of thousands have flooded across the border into Bangladesh bringing stories of entire villages burned to the ground by Buddhist mobs and Myanmar troops.
On Monday the UN human rights chief Zeid Raad Al Hussein accused Myanmar of waging a systematic attack on the Rohingya and warned that ethnic cleansing seemed to be under way.
Because Myanmar has refused access to human rights investigators the current situation cannot yet be fully assessed, but the situation seems a textbook example of ethnic cleansing, he told the UN Human Rights Council.
Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace laureate, has come in for strong international criticism over the military crackdown on the Rohingya, which began when militants ambushed security forces on August 25.
The UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar has said the latest violence may have left more than 1,000 dead, most of them Rohingya.
A further 27,000 ethnic Rakhine Buddhists as well as Hindus have also fled violence that has gripped northern Rakhine, where international aid programmes have been severely curtailed.
Most have walked for days and the United Nations says many are sick, exhausted and in desperate need of shelter, food and water.
Safura Khatun, 60, was among the hundreds who crossed into Bangladesh on Monday.
She said it had taken her 15 days to reach Bangladesh from her village south of Maungdaw, where her husband and three sons had been killed. I had only water for the last five days, she said, rocking on the spot in a yellow headscarf.
Dhaka, which initially tried to block the Rohingya from entering, on Monday said it would start registering all new arrivals. The Bangladesh government plans to build a huge new camp that will house a quarter of a million refugees.
After unrelenting protest by staff members of the Baldwin Co-Education Extension School, Rajarajeshwari Nagar, demanding that the schools manager be removed, the management agreed to conduct an enquiry into the matter.
Over a hundred teachers and non-teaching staff of the school protested in front of the residence of the Baldwin group of institutions chairman, Bishop N L Karkare, on Tuesday.
They were joined by teachers from the Baldwin Girls and Boys Schools as well. They gathered in front of the Richmond Park, before moving towards the Bishops house on Rhenius Street.
On Friday, the teachers protested at the school in Rajarajeshwari Nagar against the manager Beena Unni Peter. Teachers alleged that she treated them badly, was verbally abusive and caused them great mental harassment. Their protest continued from Friday afternoon to Saturday evening and was called off after the Karnataka State Womens Commission chairperson Nagalakshmi Bai assured them that she would take action against the management on Monday.
Last month, Beena had been removed from the post of manager of Baldwin Boys School after teachers staged an overnight protest citing similar complaints.
On Monday, the teachers handed in their complaints against the manager in writing, citing specific instances. When a helper was absent from work for two days, the manager punished her by making her clean all the toilets all alone for two days, a staff member said.
Nagalakshmi Bai along with some teachers met representatives of the management.
Teachers have submitted their written complaints to the management. We have decided that we will constitute an independent enquiry committee to look into the problems by calling both parties. The committee will have 15 days time to submit a report, said Rev David Nathaniel, secretary, Baldwin Society.
The management assured teachers that until the report was submitted, the manager would not be allowed into the school campus. Though Nagalakshmi Bai said that officials from the Departments of Public Instruction, Women and Child Development department and the state womens commission would be part of the committee, Rev Nathaniel said it was only an advice.
The chairperson suggested that we should have officials of these departments but we have not agreed to anything, The Bishop will constitute the committee. He will decide who will be part of it. But no one from the school or management will be part of it, he said.
DH News Service
The UN Security Council has unanimously passed a US-drafted resolution that imposes strongest sanctions ever on North Korea, including restricting its oil imports and banning textile exports, to curb the reclusive nation's nuclear programme.
The move comes in response to the sixth and largest nuclear test by North Korea on September 3.
"Today, we are saying the world will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea. And today, the Security Council is saying that if the North Korean regime does not halt its nuclear programme, we will act to stop it ourselves," US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said as the 15-member UN body yesterday passed the resolution on North Korea.
"We are done trying to prod the regime to do the right thing. We are now acting to stop it from having the ability to continue doing the wrong thing," the Indian-origin diplomat said.
She said the international community was doing that by hitting North Korea's ability to fund its weapons programme.
The US had originally proposed harsher sanctions, including a total ban on oil imports by North Korea. But the vote was passed only after Pyongyang allies Russia and China agreed to the reduced measures.
Noting that oil "is the lifeblood" of North Korea's effort to build and deliver a nuclear weapon, Haley said the resolution reduces almost 30 per cent of oil provided to the North by cutting off over 55 per cent of its gas, diesel, and heavy fuel oil.
"Today's resolution completely bans natural gas and other oil byproducts that could be used as substitutes for the reduced petroleum. This will cut deep," she said.
Haley said these are by far the strongest measures ever imposed on North Korea.
"They give us a much better chance to halt the regime's ability to fuel and finance its nuclear and missile programmes. But we all know these steps only work if all nations implement them completely and aggressively," she said.
When these new stronger sanctions are added to those passed last month, over 90 per cent of North Korea's publicly reported exports are now fully banned.
Moreover, this resolution also puts an end to the regime making money from the 93,000 North Korean citizens it sends overseas to work and heavily taxes, she noted.
This ban will eventually starve the regime of an additional USD 500 million or more in annual revenues, she added.
"Beyond the USD 1.3 billion in annual revenues we will cut from North Korea, new maritime authorities will help us stop them from obtaining funds by smuggling coal and other prohibited materials around the world by ship," Haley said.
The resolution bans all North Korean textile exports.
Textile exports North Korea's largest economic sector that the Security Council had not previously restricted earned North Korea an average of USD 760 million in the past three years.
The resolution requires the end of all joint ventures with North Korea.
This will not only starve the regime of any revenues generated through such arrangements, it will now stop all future foreign investments and technology transfers to help North Korea's nascent and weak commercial industries, according to a US factsheet.
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will lay the foundation stone for India's first bullet train in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state this week, in a tightening of ties just days after New Delhi ended a dangerous military confrontation with China.
The move by Abe, who starts a two-day visit to India on Wednesday, highlights an early lead for Japan in a sector where the Chinese have also been trying to secure a foothold, but without much success.
Modi has made the 500-km (311-mile) long high-speed rail link between the financial hub of Mumbai and the industrial city of Ahmedabad in western Gujarat a centrepiece of his efforts to showcase India's ability to build cutting-edge infrastructure.
The leaders will launch the start of work on the line on Thursday, India's railways ministry said in a statement.
"This technology will revolutionize and transform the transport sector," said Railways Minister Piyush Goyal, welcoming the prospects for growth brought by Japan's high-speed "shinkansen" technology.
In Tokyo, a Japanese foreign ministry official told reporters, "We would like to support 'Make in India' as much as possible," referring to Modi's signature policy to lure investors in manufacturing, "And for that, we want to do what's beyond the Mumbai-Ahmedabad line and achieve economies of scale."
India would make "all-out efforts" to complete the line by August 2022, more than a year earlier than planned, the government said this week.
Japan is providing 81 percent of the funding for the 1.08-trillion-rupee ($16.9-billion) project, through a 50-year loan at 0.1 percent annual interest.
Ties blossomed
Ties between India and Japan have blossomed as Modi and Abe increasingly see eye-to-eye in countering growing Chinese assertiveness across Asia.
Japanese investment into India has surged in areas ranging from automotives to infrastructure in the remote northeast, making Tokyo its third-largest foreign direct investor.
India and Japan are also trying to move forward on a plan for New Delhi to buy Japanese amphibious aircraft - ShinMaywa Industries' US-2 - in what would be one of Tokyo's first arms transfers since ending a self-imposed embargo.
Tokyo hopes that by gaining a head start on rival exporters of rail technology such as China and Germany, its companies will be able to dominate business in one of the most promising markets for high-speed rail equipment.
In 2015, China won a contract to assess the feasibility of a high-speed link between Delhi and Mumbai, part of a network of more than 10,000 km (6,214 miles) of track India wants to set up, but little progress has been made.
Bullet train critics say the funds would be far better spent to modernise India's slow and rickety state-controlled rail system, the world's fourth largest.
But a $15-billion safety overhaul has hit delays as a state steel firm proved unable to fill demand for new rail. ($1=63.9600 Indian rupees)
Indian Army's latest piece of artillery M777 ultra light weight howitzer had met with an accident during trials at the Pokhran firing range in Rajasthan.
Sources in the Army on Tuesday admitted that during a routine firing exercise on September 2, the barrel of one of the guns was burst.
While there has been no injury to anyone, a joint inspection team from the manufacturer, BAE Systems and Army is at the site to examine the gun to find out the reason behind the accident.
The Army received the first two M-777 guns in May. They were put to trial from June onwards to compile a firing table for these guns the first new artillery for the Indian Army since the Bofors guns that came in the 1980s. The trial was to continue till September end, sources said.
During the firing, the ammunition exited the barrel in multiple pieces, causing the accident. The ammunition used in the guns were Indian. The barrel of the gun has been damaged, the extent of which is being assessed by the joint investigation team, said an official.
Further firing of the gun to complete the firing table would commence only after a report from the probe team, he said.
BAE Systems is aware of an irregularity recorded during routine field firing of the M777 ultra-light howitzer gun on Saturday (September 2). We can confirm that there were no injuries and all personnel on site are safe, said a company spokesperson.
We are working closely with the Indian Army and the US government to explore the incident. The company stands ready to provide assistance as required, she added.
In December 2016, India signed the $ 737 million (about 4,700 crore) deal with the USA to purchase 145 M777 howitzers from the BAE Systems in a government-to-government contract.
While the first 25 guns are to be imported in the next two years, the rest would be assembled at a factory at Faridabad that Mahindra set up in partnership with the BAE System. The entire order is to be executed in 54 months.
At half the weight of other 155mm towed howitzers, the ultra-light weight howitzers provide a rapid reaction capability. For the Indian army, the guns would be useful while in the mountain.
Since they can be carried by Chinook helicopters which too India is buying from the USA they can be quickly moved to areas close to the border.
The Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC) today sought immediate intervention of the Union home minister Rajnath Singh on the issue of ban imposed by the Karnataka government on carrying Kirpans, besides other weapons.
In a letter written to the home minister, general secretary of the committee Manjinder Singh Sirsa said it has come to fore that the Karnataka has issued an order banning acquisition, possession and carrying of arms without license in public places under the jurisdiction of Bengaluru city. The banning weapons list includes Kirpan which is a religious symbol of the Sikhism and it is inseparable article of faith for the Sikhs and must be worn at all the time as per Sikh code of conduct, he said.
He further said that as per the Constitution of India under the Article 25, Sikhs have been granted exemption to carry kirpan (article of Sikh faith) under freedom of practice of religion. It is against the Right to Freedom of Practice of Religion as well, he said. Sirsa also brought to the notice of Home Minister that in an earlier incident at the Bengaluru airport, Sikh passengers were forcefully deboarded from the flight due to the Kirpan he wore as a article of faith. This, despite the fact Sikh passengers traveling in domestic flight in India are allowed to carry the kirpan with size 6 inch blade and 3 inch handle on board under Civil Aviation Rules.
The clamour for the release of freelance photojournalist Kamran Yousuf, who was arrested by the NIA last week on the charges of involvement in stone pelting incidents, is growing in the Valley with Kashmir Editors Guild (KEG) on Tuesday asking the investigation agency to release him immediately.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), probing terror funding to separatists and militants, had arrested Yousuf and another youth Javed Ahmad Bhat on September 5 over the charges of being involved in "stone pelting incidents besides organising groups of youths who would throw stones at security personnel during counterinsurgency operations."
However, Yousuf's colleagues and family dismissed the charges that he was a stone pelter. I dont even know what my son has been trapped into. I have no idea what NIA is and why they have taken away the only person I have in my life, his mother Rubeena told reporters in Pulwama.
She is devastated at the fact that she was not even allowed to meet her son once before he was taken away. What am I supposed to do now? I dont even know what doors to knock at, Rubeena laments. All I know is that my son is innocent. There was no stone pelting case registered against him as well, which can be checked from the local police records," 42-year-old Rubeena said.
A spokesperson for the KEG while demanding his immediate release said the NIA arrested Yousuf but did not say why, and that this goes against the law in a democratic setup.
Mouzam Bhat, president of Young Journalists Association, who has been spearheading the campaign to release Yousuf demanded that NIA should make the charges slapped against the photojournalist public. "We as journalists want that NIA should make charges public slapped against him (Yousuf). We have not been given anything why he was arrested and it is arbitrary," he told Deccan Herald.
A group of senior journalist had on Monday raised the issue with the visiting Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Srinagar also. Singh had reportedly assured help in the case and directed MoS in Prime Ministers Office Jitendra Singh to look into the matter.
The journalists had asked Singh that local police could have questioned Yousuf if he was accused of stone-pelting charges. The media students of Government Degree College in northern Baramulla district also held a protest demonstration inside the college premises against the arrest of Yousuf on Monday and demanded his immediate release.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today accused Myanmar of committing "atrocities" on Rohingya Muslims and asked the Buddhist-majority country to stop the violence against innocent people that had led to an exodus of over 3 lakh refugees to her country.
She also asked Myanmar to "take steps" to take back its nationals who have fled to Bangladesh following the violence and suggested it to set up safe zones to enable their return.
"We want peace and a friendly relation with neighbouring countries...(but) we cannot allow and accept any kind of unjust and our protest will continue to this end," Hasina said after visiting a Rohingya refugee camp near the border town of Ukhiya in Cox's Bazar district.
She said Myanmar will have to take back all Rohingya refugees who entered Bangladesh. "Myanmar has created the problem and they will have to solve it," Hasina said.
She assured the refugees that Bangladesh would continue to provide humanitarian assistance to them.
"As long as they don't return to their country we will remain beside them," she said.
"Bangladesh is a country of 16 crore people and we have ensured their basic needs, we also have capability to provide all kinds of help including food and healthcare services to the Myanmar refugees," she said.
"We will not tolerate injustice," she said, referring to the ethnic violence in the neighbouring country that has forced at least 313,000 people to take shelter in Bangladesh.
According to UN estimates, over 1,000 people may have been killed in the crackdown launched by the Myanmar Army in the Rakhine state since August 25 when a fresh wave of violence erupted there.
Rohingyas have faced decades of discrimination and persecution in Myanmar and are denied citizenship despite centuries-olds roots in the Rakhine region.
Bangladesh had earlier said the new influx of Rohingya refugees is an unbearable additional burden on the country which has been hosting around 400,000 Myanmar nationals who had to leave their country in the past due to communal violence and repeated military operations.
Hasina's comments came after the parliament last night passed a resolution denouncing Myanmar for the atrocities and called upon the international community to mount intensified pressure on Naypyidaw to stop the atrocities and take back the refugees.
"A handful of people of a shadow group had staged the attack which we (Bangladesh) also condemned, but should the entire community of one million populations be punished for that," the resolution read.
Hasina today said that being the neighbour Bangladesh would extend cooperation whatever Naypyidaw needed "but they will have to first stop inhuman attitude towards these people in Rakhaine state and provide them security."
"They (Rohingyas) are human beings and they will live as human beings...Myanmar has no right to deny the Rakhaine people as they are their citizens," she added.
Hasina said the massive exodus of its own population tarnished Myanmar's image as "this is not a dignified thing for a country".
Indian Army is set to have back-to-back training exercises with the USA and Russia, demonstrating its acceptability as a strategic partner to the world's top military powers.
Nearly 200 men from a Gorkha Rifle regiment on Tuesday would leave for a US joint base at Lewis McChord in Washington to participate in the 2017 edition of the exercise Yudh Abhyas, to be held on September 14-27, between the two armies.
This will be the 13th edition of joint exercise hosted alternately between the two nations that are increasingly coming closer to security and military cooperation.
Next month another contingent of Army troops will head towards Russia for the first ever India-Russia tri-service exercise.
While the Indra series of exercise between the two traditional allies were being held for a long time, Indra-2017 would be the first tri-service exercise with specific Army, Air Force and Navy components in the drill.
Over the years, the nature of complexities has increased in the Indo-US exercise too. In Yudh Abhyas 2017, the planning would be done at the Brigade level while the field exercise would be held at the battalion level. The first few days (Sept 16-20) will be spent on planning the exercise.
The final task of the exercise would be simulating a joint operation by the two armies under the UN mandate. The firing of anti-tank missile Javelin, which the Army wants to buy, will be a part of the mock drill at the US base.
The subsequent drill with the Russians will be held at three separate locations. While the Army leg of Indra-2017 is likely to take place in Vladivostok, two of the Indian Navy ships INS Satpura and INS Kadmat from the Eastern Naval command left the Indian shore last week for the sea-leg of the tri-service exercise.
Indian Army will end the year with two more war games with the UK and Kazakhstan on the Indian soil. While the first one (Ex Ajeya) will take place in Mahajan range in December, the exercise with the Central Asian nation will happen in Bakloh in Himachal Pradesh in November.
Apple unveiled an updated version of its smartwatch today, as it claimed the device had become the top-selling watch in the world ahead of rivals such as Rolex and Fossil.
The Apple Watch Series 3 has its own mobile connectivity which allows the user to remain connected without a smartphone for phone calls, music and other functions.
"The Apple Watch is now the number one watch in the world," Apple chief executive Tim Cook told the media event, the first at the company's "spaceship" campus in Cupertino.
While Apple has not provided detailed sales figures for the watch, Cook said sales were up 50 percent in the past quarter from a year earlier.
Apple said the new smartwatch offers several improvements including cellular connectivity and applications to help detect health problems such as heart arrythmia.
"You can receive a call with just your watch," Apple's Jeff Williams told the event, where the company was set to announce a new range of iPhones.
The watch with cellular connectivity will be available in nine countries September 22 starting at $399, Apple said.
Analyst Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights & Strategy, who was attending the event, said the new device was a significant step forward with arrythmia detection.
"I believe this kind of capability is what wearables were always intended to do, and that is to detect maladies before they impact people," Moor said. "This is a great step in the industry."
The event was a tribute to late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who died in 2011, and was the first event at the Steve Jobs Theater on Apple's new campus.
"We dedicated this theater to Steve because we loved him and because he loved days like this," Cook said.
Apple unveiled three new iPhone models today, including a top-of-line handset described as "the biggest leap forward" since the original iPhone 10 years ago.
Apple chief executive Tim Cook announced the premium iPhone X -- pronounced 10 -- as well as a new iPhone 8 and 8 Plus.
Cook, speaking at the first event at the new campus theater named for the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, said the latest flagship handset is a milestone for the company a decade after the first iPhone release.
"Ten years later it is only fitting that we are here in this place, on this day to reveal a product that will set the path for technology for the next decade," Cook said, calling the iPhone X "the biggest leap forward since the original iPhone."
The iPhone X has an edge-to-edge screen and uses facial recognition to unlock the device, and improved "super retina" display with improved graphics and resolution.
Apple senior vice president Phil Schiller said the glass-body iPhone 8 and 8 Plus handsets were the first smartphones "really created for augmented reality," with improved power and graphics over their predecessors.
Apple also unveiled an updated smartwatch and an upgraded streaming video system for 4K high-definition television.
Curfew was relaxed for six hours on Tuesday in violence-hit areas of the walled city of Jaipur. Law and order situation is under control in Ramganj, Subhash Chowk, Galta Gate and Manak Chowk police station areas where curfew was imposed on since Friday midnight.
One more body was recovered in Ramganj on Monday night. DCP North Satyendra Singh said, "The body of Bharat Sindhi, who died in the day violence erupted, has been handed over to his family. The cause of his death will be revealed after the postmortem report, the officer said".
No untoward incident was reported from the curfew-bound areas on Tuesday. Police also conducted a flag march and arranged for the supply of milk and bread for the residents who were forced to remain indoors because of the prohibitory orders. The mobile Internet services remained suspended in 14 police station areas to check the spread of rumours.
The clashes began on Friday late night at Ramganj of Jaipur after a police constable allegedly assaulted a couple who were riding on a two wheeler. Following which hundreds of people gathered at a police station in the area in protest and started throwing stones at the cops.
In retaliation, Police tried to disperse the mob and by opening tear gas and fired in the air which allegedly led to the death of a local. Also, 9 people including four policemen were severely injured in the clashes.
Ramganj is situated in the walled city of Jaipur. The area is known for its busy market and crowded streets and is demographically a Muslim majority area.
A four-year-old girl was sexually assaulted at a private school in Dasarahalli, north Bengaluru, on Tuesday. Police have detained five security guards at the school for questioning.
The girl felt unease and started vomiting after coming home. The parents got worried and took her to the MS Ramaiah Memorial Hospital where doctors confirmed that she had been sexually assaulted. The girl also told her parents that a man in her school had misbehaved with her by touching her private parts. The parents then went to the Bagalagunte police and filed a complaint. Police registered a case under the Pocso Act.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Chetan Singh Rathore said five security guards at the school had been detained for questioning. Police are also reviewing the footage of CCTV cameras installed at the school, he added.
The JD(S) is playing its card close to its chest on continuing the alliance with the Congress in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) ahead of the mayoral elections.
Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy on Tuesday met JD(S) president H D Deve Gowda at his Padmanabhanagar residence and sought his partys support in the election.
But Gowda asked Reddy to meet JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy in this regard.
Gowda told reporters that Kumaraswamy would take the final call on the matter. I have told Reddy to speak to Kumaraswamy. The JD(S) will arrive at a final decision only after Kumaraswamy holds consultations with the party Bengaluru from and corporators, he added.
Reddy expressed hope that the JD(S) will continue the alliance. I met Gowda for the first time after I assumed charge as the Home minister -- I took his blessings. For the last two years, the JD(S) has supported the Congress in the BBMP. This time too the Congress is hoping that the JD(S) will support us. Like the Congress, the JD(S) too upholds secular values. We (the Congress) are certain that the JD(S) will not go with the BJP, he said.
Kumaraswamy, however, said he was not aware of what transpired between his father and Reddy. The JD(S) corporators are demanding that one of our members should be made the mayor this time. We will take an appropriate decision soon, he added.
The mayoral election is scheduled to be held on September 28.
DH News Service
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Tuesday conducted coordination meetings with telecom operators for faster processing of data requested by the police for investigation into journalist Gauri Lankeshs murder.
The police had requested telecom operators to process tower dumps data of phone lines that were active during the day of her murder and a few days before of both mobile towers of her office in Gandhi Bazaar and her house in Rajarajeshwari Nagar.
As the volume of calls made and received could be more, the operators were taking time. Hence, the police requested telecom firms to speed up the process so that investigations could progress faster. Meanwhile, the SIT has also written to all city police stations to give them a list of all abandoned vehicles found in their jurisdictions post September 5 as they suspect the assailants, fearing nakabandis could have abandoned the vehicles they had used.
The probe is slow and tedious, but we have made some headway, and we have to build on it. It will take more than two weeks at least, said a senior SIT official adding, We will crack it and we are confident about it.
The core investigating team which confirmed that four rounds were fired, have retrieved four bullets from the spot of crime and have sent them to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Madiwala. The first bullet was retrieved from a wall of Gauris house on the same day of the crime. The second, third and the fourth bullets that pierced through her body were recovered only by the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) who used heavy frequency metal detectors. One of the three bullets was fragmented, said SIT sources to DH.
Ananda Theertha Suresh, Bengaluru-born 28-year-old Google research scientist, who is based in New York, has won the Paul Baran Young Scholar award for 2017, the US-based Marconi Society said on Tuesday.
Suresh has been selected for this years Young Scholar award for creating technology that makes search faster and easier even on low-end mobile devices, with basic Internet, the Society said in an e-mail to DH. The release said Sureshs work is used by millions of people within speech and keyboard input applications in Google products.
Suresh will receive the award from the Society at a special ceremony in New Jersey on October 3. The award consists of a cash prize of $4,000 (Rs 256,000) and expenses to attend the annual ceremony.
Suresh, who did his schooling at Sri Rajarajeshwari Vidya Mandira in Bengaluru and obtained a science degree from National College in south Bengaluru, went to the US in 2010 after graduating in engineering physics from IIT-Madras. He also took a masters and PhD in the same subject from the University of California-San Diego by 2016.
I am humbled and honoured to be in the company of the Societys past and present award winners. I will also interact with them, as learning from them will inspire me to tackle the challenging problems in the world over, he said. Sureshs late father ran a printing press in the city. His mother is a homemaker.
The four-decade-old Society, named after Noble Laureate Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937), who invented the radio, is also honouring two other Indian-born scientists Thomas Kailath with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his stellar contribution to modern communications, and Arun Netravalli with the Marconi Prize for his pioneering work in digital video technology used in mobile phones and television sets.
The news of Father Tom Uzhunnalils release was greeted with much cheer at the Bengaluru province of Salesians of Don Bosco Congregation in K R Puram.
We are overwhelmed with joy. In the beginning, after he was abducted, we had no hope at all because there were rumours that he would be crucified. We had no news about him, except for the videos which were released, said Father Anil DSa, youth director for Karnataka.
Fr Uzhunnalil had been rendering his services in Karnataka between 1993 and 2010. He was principal of Don Bosco Technical schools in Kolar, Bhadravathi and Hassan. He also headed the Kristu Jyoti College in K R Puram.
He was technically qualified and very involved in working with youth. When the superiors asked him to go to Yemen to give spiritual help to the Mother Teresa sisters there, he offered himself willingly, Fr DSa said.
Since his abduction, several prayers were held for him and rallies were organised to put pressure on the Centre to bring him back safely. Fr DSa said Fr Uzhunnalil would definitely be coming to Bengaluru though they do not know when, yet.
BJP national general secretary in-charge of Karnataka P Muralidhar Rao on Tuesday accused the Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi of trying to influence and change the direction of investigation in the Gauri Lankesh murder case.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Rao took exception to Rahuls recent comment that those who do not accept the BJP and RSS are not just attacked but also killed. Why is Rahul Gandhi trying to create a smokescreen ? Whom is he trying to protect ? This is a misinformation campaign filled with mischief and malice. It is a deliberate attempt to divert the investigation. I have doubts about the intentions of the government, the BJP leader said.
Rao also charged the government with creating an environment in the state that is encouraging radicalisation among Muslims. For the sake of vote bank, the Congress government is supporting narrow, sectarian fundamentalists among Muslims. This has created a security threat not only for Karnataka but also for the country, he stated.
Coming down heavily on the state government on the issue of corruption, Rao said, The Siddaramaiah government is the most corrupt and most shameless in the history of independent India. Practice of thievery is its nature. The BJP will fight tooth and nail against corruption and mal-administration of the Congress government.
Alleging that sincere officers are hounded out, he said, By doing this, the government is sending out a message that professional competency is not valued.
Rao said that the BJP was ready to accept the challenge posed by AICC general secretary in-charge of Karnataka K C Venugopal for an open debate on the issue of corruption and mal-administration of the state government.
Join our Community!
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.
The Central government has dumped a proposal to pump at least Rs 1000 crore a year into seven top Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) for five years to help them boost research and innovation to earn a place among the top 100 world class institutions.
The finance ministrys change of heart came after the premier seven failed to start the ground work for implementing Project Vishwajeet, even after a year.
The IITs had to motivate a sizeable number of students to take up research and innovation to get the project approved. They were also expected to develop a strong network of alumni, increase their linkage with industry for research and development projects and attract foreign faculty, among the host of other measures.
However, the initiatives taken by the IITs so far failed to pass the muster when the proposed scheme reached the finance ministry for clearance, official sources told DH.
Project Vishwajeet, mooted at the highest level of the government, proposed to provide IITs Kharagpur, Bombay, Kanpur, Madras, Delhi, Guwahati and Roorkee with a fund of about Rs 8,700 crore over five years to improve their
international ranking.
The project, as conceived last year, sought to enable these institutes eventually become research hubs and contribute to the countrys development. IIT-Delhi Director V Ram Gopal Rao on Tuesday expressed his disappointment with the finance ministrys resolve in the presence of Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Prakash Javadekar.
Minister is here. And, I must tell him that we are a little disappointed that Vishwajeet proposal did not go through. This was something that we were looking forward to desperately, Rao said, urging the HRD ministry to push for clearance.
Outraged by spilt drink, a man shot and killed two children who were playing closer to home in Deoratia village in Uttar Pradeshs Etah district, 300 kilometres from Lucknow.
Yogendra, who sat drinking outside his friend Idris home in the village on Monday, killed the children since they fell on him while playing and made him spill the drink he was holding.
Police said Yogendra worked as a security guard in Ghaziabad and had a licensed double barrel gun.
A habitual drinker, Yogendra came to Idris home with a bottle of liquor. Since his friend was not at home, he sat outside and began drinking.
Police said three children in the neighbourhood, playing close by, ran helter-skelter and fell on Yogendra that tilted the drink.
The man was so outraged that he began shooting at the kids immediately. Gulafshan (6) and her brother Shan Mohammed(3) died on the spot while one more child was injured as Yogendra kept shooting.
Minutes before the incident, Yogendra asked Gulafshan to fetch him water to mix his drink.
Locals rushed to the spot hearing the gunshots and handed Yogendra to police after beating him up.
DH News Service
In a first, 80 legislators from eight southern states, including Karnataka, will hold a day-long session to discuss child rights at Vikasa Soudha in Bengaluru on Thursday.
The unique initiative Legislators Regional Conference on Child Rights is organised by the Karnataka Legislature and the Karnataka State Legislators Forum for Child Rights with support from Unicef and Karnataka Child Rights Observatory.
As many as 50 legislators from Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Kerala, Maharashtra, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and Telangana have confirmed their participation.
As chorus for the suburban rail has gained strength, the railways has once again reminded the state government that without insufficient land for maintenance lines at the Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna (KSR) station, enhancing the services is impossible.
In a letter written to the Department of Urban Land Transport (DULT) on August 10, Divisional Railway Manager R S Saxena noted that the KSR station was facing severe limitations due as rail infrastructure has made it impossible to introduce any further services.
Besides handling long-distance and suburban-like trains, the KSR station connects metro as well as KSRTC and BMTC bus stations. Without dedicated lines at the central nerve of the city, the suburban rail cannot function.
The railways planned to establish maintenance activities (pit lines and sicklines) at Binny Mill land area. We are making maximum utilisation of KSR station. Shifting the maintanance lines is essential to clear the platforms. However, the land that was handed over to us (3.3 acres) is not enough, Saxena said.
SWR officials said as the state did not hand over sufficient area of Binny Mill land, the railways had put the project on the back-burner.
We need additional 6 acres and we are ready to buy the land. We just want the state government to facilitate the deal. Building additional rail infrastructure is not an option anymore, a senior official added.
The land is still with Binny Mill owners and no construction activity is in process. Delay (handing over the land) will only push the land cost higher. We want this transaction to happen at the earliest, the official said.
Additional Chief Secretary in Urban Development Department, Mahendra Jain, who is also a nodal officer in the suburban rail project, said the issue was discussed in a meeting presided over by Chief Secretary. We have informed them about the cost. The land in question doesnt belong to the state government. It is a privately owned land. The state government will look into the issue, he said.
Sanjeev Dyamannavar, one of the activists campaigning for suburban rail, said the railways has failed to come up with a comprehensive plan despite getting 3.3 acres years ago.
The railways should come up with a masterplan which will include projects for optimum utilisation of existing infrastructure besides explaining how they will use the Binny Mill land. For example platform number 1 to 6 are not connected to Mysore line, he said.
Tamil Nadu police on Tuesday paid a surprise visit to the resort at Suntikoppa in Kodagu district, where AIADMK MLAs loyal to TTV Dhinakaran are camping.
Using the case registered against one of the MLAs at Namakkal police station in Tamil Nadu, around 25 cops led by a senior police official raided the resort. After verifying that the MLAs are camping there, the cops left the place.
Sources said while constables stood guard outside the resort, senior police officers inspected the rooms inside for an hour.
The Tamil Nadu police told the Kodagu police that the MLA they were searching for is not staying at the resort. The 19 lawmakers currently camping at the resort would go back to their state on Wednesday.
In a setback for rebel MP Sharad Yadav, the Election Commission on Tuesday refused to take cognisance of his factions application to recognise them as real JD(U), citing lack of proper documentation.
Yadav also received a notice from Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu seeking his response within a week on a petition filed by JD(U) seeking his disqualification as MP for anti-party activities. Another JD(U) MP Ali Anwar Ansari has also received a notice.
Official sources said the EC sent a communication to the Yadav camp saying their application was not supported by affidavits of those who supported them.
Muscat has secured the release of an Indian priest, who was abducted last year in a deadly attack by Islamist militants in Yemen, Omans official news agency said on Tuesday.
Father Tom Uzhunnalil from Kottayam in Kerala had been held captive since March 4 2016, when jihadists attacked a care home operated by missionaries in the southern port city of Aden, killing 16 people, including four nuns. He belonged to the Salesian Congregation (The Society of Don Bosco) in Bengaluru.
Uzhunnalil was pictured Tuesday wearing local traditional dress and with a flowing but tidy white beard grown while in captivity.
He appeared relatively healthy, standing tall before a portrait of Omans Sultan Qaboos.
The news release said Omani authorities coordinated with Yemeni parties to free Uzhunnalil, described as a Vatican employee, at the request of the Sultan. In video footage from Oman TV, Uzhunnalil is seen arriving in Muscat.
He disembarks from a Royal Air Force of Oman plane unaided, but struggles as he makes his way down the steps to the tarmac.
I wish first and foremost to thank God almighty for this day, the priest said before thanking Sultan Qaboos and those who prayed for his release.
Sushma tweet
Uzhunnalil, who is in his mid-50s, last appeared in a video circulated online in December 2016, in which he alleged that his captors had sent many messages to Governnebt of India to negotiate the terms of his release, but to no avail.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of India, however, expressed its profound gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, apart from Sultan of Oman, for the release of Uzhunnalil. It said that Pope Francis had taken personal interest in efforts to get him released.
I am happy to inform that Father Tom Uzhunnalil has been rescued, Sushma Swaraj wrote on Twitter.
Yemeni authorities have blamed the Islamic State group for last years attack. Al-Qaeda, which is also active in the area, distanced itself from the mass shooting, saying that it was not involved.
What made New Delhis efforts to rescue Uzhunnallil all the more uphill is the absence of Indias diplomatic mission in Yemen. The country has been ravaged by a conflict since early 2015 when Saudi Arabia started air-strikes to support forces and militias loyal to deposed President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi in their fight against rebel Houthis. In view of the worsening security situation, India had first shifted its embassy in Sanaa to neighbouring Djibouti and later to MEA headquarters in New Delhi.
Oman has frequently helped facilitate the release of foreign nationals detained in Yemen.
The internationally recognised government in war-torn Yemen is grappling with both an Iran-backed rebellion and a growing jihadist presence.
Al-Qaeda and IS have stepped up attacks in Aden, targeting mainly loyalists and members of a Saudi-led coalition battling Huthi rebels and their allies.
Japan is likely to commit its support to several infrastructure projects in the Northeastern states during Prime Minister Narendra Modis summit with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe in Gandhinagar.
With the recent India-China military face-off in Doklam Plateau in western Bhutan making New Delhi cagey about the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCIM-EC) proposed by Beijing, the Modi government is keen on seeking greater support from Tokyo, to address the development deficit in the Northeastern region.
Beijing has been hard selling the BCIM-EC to New Delhi, highlighting that it could spur economic development in the Northeastern states and link the landlocked region with the neighbouring nations.
While Japan has already been supporting some projects in the Northeast, Modi and Abe will discuss ways to expand bilateral development partnership in the region during the annual summit in Gandhinagar on Thursday, sources told DH. According to Tokyos envoy to New Delhi Kenji Hiramatsu, Japan is keen on enhancing its official development assistance to the Northeastern states because it views the region as a strategically and economically important juncture between India and Southeast Asia.
The road Chinas Peoples Liberation Army was keen on building in Doklam Plateau on the disputed Sino-Bhutan border, would have given China a strategic advantage against India in a possible military conflict in future. The plateau overlooks the Chumbi Valley, which is not far from Siliguri Corridor.
The Pennsylvania Legislature is weighing its options in light of a recent state Supreme Court decision that could reduce the size of the states sex offender registry.
In July, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled the current iteration of the states sex offender registry was a form of punishment and could not be imposed retroactively.
The decision stemmed from a case in Cumberland County where a defendant, Jose Muniz, was convicted of indecent assault of a person less than 13 years old in 2007, but was not sentenced until 2014 because he fled.
In 2011, the Legislature changed the states sex offender registration law to comply with federal law.
The change meant Muniz would have to be on the registry for life, rather than register for 10 years under the version of the law that was in effect at the time of his conviction.
Roughly 2,000 people who had previously not been required to register were added to the state database and many others saw the length of their registration period increase like Muniz.
We need a statutory fix in order to ensure we have a robust and constitutional sex offender registry in Pennsylvania, Cumberland County District Attorney David Freed said during a Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee hearing on sex offender registration.
Freed said without a change in legislation it was possible that people will be removed from the registry or will not be able to be prosecuted for failing to comply with registration requirements.
Freed said he plans to ask the U.S. Supreme Court review the Muniz decision and has been granted an order temporarily halting the decision while that paperwork is being put together.
Judicial scrutiny
Much of the discussion Tuesday revolved around reinstating a previous version of the states sex offender registration law, with the belief that it would be able to survive judicial scrutiny.
However, Rep. Todd Stephens, R-Montgomery County, suggested circumventing the state registry by creating a website of people charged with sexual offenses utilizing public information such as their charging records and mug shots.
Roughly 98 percent of all charged sex crimes in Cumberland County between 2013 and 2016 involved defendants not on the registry, according to analysis of court records conducted by The Sentinel.
To be sure, looking at sex offender registries can never be the exclusive way in which an individual tries to keep him or herself or his or her children safe from sexual predators, Freed said. If used as a tool and not the exclusive tool, sex offender registries do provide important information for protecting both children and adults from sexual predators.
Most sex offender registry policies are passed with a notion that people convicted of sexual offenses are highly likely to go on to commit new sexual offenses.
When the Legislature passed its update in 2011 it added language that sexual offenders pose a high risk of committing additional sexual offences, and protection from this type of offender is a paramount government interest.
During his testimony Tuesday, Freed cited a study saying that four out of every 10 (convicted sex offenders) returned to prison within three years.
While the Bureau of Justice Statistics study Freed cited showed roughly 40 percent of nearly 10,000 people released in 1994 for committing a sexual offense were arrested again, only about 5 percent were arrested for a new sexual offense and only 3.5 percent were re-convicted.
The study, which was conducted prior to the widespread adoption and implementation of state sex offender registries, also found sex offenders had an overall rearrest rate more than 20 percentage points lower than nonsex offenders.
A follow up study by the BJS released in 2016 found similar rates of sexual recidivism.
Freed also cited a study that found 39 percent of people convicted of rape and 52 percent of people convicted of child molestation are rearrested for a sexual offenses.
That study, published in 1997 by Robert Prentky, did find a higher rate of sexual recidivism but is often misapplied to all sex offenders.
Prentkys study looked at the long-term recidivism rate of roughly 250 sexual offenders released from a Massachusetts civil commitment program, of which Prentky was the director, whose victims were either nonfamily members in cases of child molestation or strangers in cases of rapes.
In more than 90 percent of child sexual assault and 70 percent of adult rapes reported to police, the victim knew the perpetrator, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, an organization dedicated to preventing sexual violence.
Civil commitment is typically a process in which people who have completed their sentence, but are deemed to be an extreme danger to society, are continued to be held in custody until they are no longer a threat.
This means Prentkys study is likely applicable only to a subsection of sexual offenders who are most likely to commit a new crime and not all sexual offenders as a group.
On Tuesday, Sept. 19, Fresh Brothers will donate 20 percent of its sales from all stores to the American Red Cross to support Hurricane Irma relief efforts in Florida.
On Sept. 12, the fast-casual pizza restaurant donated 20 percent of its sales from all its stores to the Greater Houston Community Foundations Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund.
With 19 stores in Southern California including one in the Village of Pacific Highlands Ranch, the nearest Fresh Brothers may be 1,500 miles from Houston and more than 2,500 miles from Miami, but the community-focused restaurant wants to do its part toward helping victims affected by both Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma.
We are a family business helping families across the country whose lives have been affected by these devastating hurricanes, said Adam Goldberg, founder and CEO of Fresh Brothers. My wife Debbie and I started this company as a way to give back to our local communities. When the hurricanes hit, it was a no brainer to use our local Fresh Brothers stores to assist in hurricane relief efforts.
Established by Houstons mayor, Sylvester Turner, the philanthropic fund is designed to support the flood relief and reconstruction efforts in Houston.
The American Red Cross provides shelters for those displaced by Hurricane Irma and has thousands of volunteers on the ground in Florida.
To contribute, customers can place an order by phone or online at FreshBrothers.com for delivery or pick-up, or dine-in at any Fresh Brothers in Southern California on Tuesday Sept. 19 from open to close (11 a.m. to 9 p.m.) and 20 percent of every order will be donated to the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund and American Red Cross, respectively. Go to FreshBrothers.com to find the nearest Fresh Brothers store.
Fresh Brothers is located at 5950 Village Way, Carmel Valley, 92130 next to The Baked Bear. For more information visit freshbrothers.com or call (858) 252-7000.
PHILADELPHIA A judge on Tuesday dismissed criminal charges against the engineer in an Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia that killed eight people, citing a lack of evidence.
Based on this evidence, I feel its more likely an accident than criminal negligence, Judge Thomas Gehret said after a preliminary hearing for Brandon Bostian, who faced charges that included involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment.
The 34-year-old engineer was arrested in May after the family of one of the victims filed a private criminal complaint, and another judge overruled prosecutors whod said there wasnt enough evidence against him. Bostians lawyers argued in court documents that the unusual circumstances leading to Bostians arrest, as the statute of limitations loomed, had violated his due process rights.
Bostians Washington-to-New York train tumbled from the tracks on May 12, 2015, after accelerating to 106 mph as it entered a 50-mph curve. About 200 people were injured.
Federal safety investigators concluded Bostian lost his bearings while distracted by an incident with a nearby train.
At Tuesdays hearing, a passenger who survived the deadly crash testified that she could feel the train speed up as it approached a curve, then heard a big bang as her car hurtled off the tracks and she wound up unconscious in the woods.
As the train accelerated and began going way too fast, Blair Berman said she removed an earbud and looked into the aisle to see what was happening.
I heard screaming from the front of the car and then a big bang and then I blacked out and woke up in the woods, she said, adding that other passengers were lying on top of her.
Berman, who suffered several broken bones, testified that she encountered Bostian when she regained consciousness barefoot and unable to put weight on her leg and began screaming for help.
She said Bostian initially refused to let her use his phone, then relented, and she called her father.
Berman, who was living in New York at the time of the crash and was heading home after a Mothers Day weekend in the Philadelphia area, said Bostian appeared alert and aware. She said he was able to tell her where along the route the train had crashed.
But Philadelphia Police Det. Joseph Knoll, testifying later Tuesday, said that Bostian didnt seem to know where he was when he arrived at a hospital a few miles from the crash scene.
Are we in New York? Bostian asked nurses and others as he walked into the hospital, according to Knoll.
Knoll said he could tell Bostian was injured in the crash because he had a visible head wound, but didnt know the engineer had suffered a concussion.
The National Transportation Safety Board found no evidence that Bostian was impaired or using a cellphone. The agency also called Amtraks long failure to implement automatic speed control throughout the busy Northeast Corridor a contributing factor.
It has since installed speed controls on all the tracks it owns on the Northeast Corridor from Boston to Washington.
Tuesdays testimony revealed that Bostian had a second electronic device with him the night of the crash a tablet computer.
Eric McClendon, with the police departments bomb disposal unit, said he found a small tablet inside Bostians backpack in the locomotive. But the device later went missing and was never examined by federal investigators for possible use while Bostian was operating the train.
The news that President Trump abandoned Republicans to strike a deal with Congressional Democrats on a three-month extension of the debt limit yielded a predictable response from his predictable cheerleaders: It was brilliant and typically shrewd for the author of The Art of the Deal to take the very first offer the Democrats made and ask for nothing in return.
Less obsequious observers on the right claimed that this was the long-prophesied moment. The seventh seal had been broken. Donald Trump was pivoting at last. The pivot is real and its spectacular! proclaimed Ben Domenech, the publisher of The Federalist.
In the lexicon of Trumpism and anti-Trumpism, pivot has many meanings. But in this context, pivot means to reach across party lines and work with Democrats, giving the shaft to his own party, or at least to the conservatives in the GOP.
Such a move has been feared by many conservatives from the earliest days of Trumps candidacy. The former New York Democrat holds no deep love for ideological conservatism, and many of his favorite issues protectionism, infrastructure, etc. are more naturally part of the Democratic portfolio.
But those fears didnt pan out at first. The president and congressional Republicans tried to mimic the Democrats in the wake of Barack Obamas victory in 2008 and run the table, particularly on Obamacare repeal and replace, on a partisan basis. Unfortunately, the GOP couldnt get it done. This infuriated many conservatives, Republicans and Donald Trump himself, and to some extent rightly so.
For years, Republicans said that if they could win both Congress and the White House thered be nothing they couldnt do. Whether this was a lie or just wishful thinking is debatable. Regardless, they failed for several reasons. The Republican majority in the Senate is much narrower than the Democratic majority was when Obama was elected. Many GOP leaders never thought Trump would win, and so they hadnt prepared for victory. Also, the Republican Party is divided along a host of fault lines, and a large swath of the Republican caucus has no experience at actually governing.
This is why Trumps decision this week to throw Sen. Mitch McConnell and Speaker Paul Ryan under the bus was greeted with such glee by many Trump boosters. They place the blame for all of Trumps myriad blunders on the GOP establishment. Theyd rather see Trump pivot and work with Democrats if it means Trump can declare victory about something anything and if it makes the establishment look bad. What was once a fear is now a hope.
The problem is theres another reason Congress has disappointed the president and his most ardent supporters: Donald Trump doesnt know what hes doing.
Even under the best circumstances, major legislation cannot get out of Congress without robust presidential leadership. I wish it were otherwise, because the Congress is the first branch of government and should take the lead. But in the modern era, you cant outsource the big stuff to Congress. Trump didnt know this and refuses to learn.
For instance, earlier in the week the White House said Trump was ending the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals program, which lets undocumented immigrants brought to this country as children stay here. Attorney General Jeff Sessions came out and said it was unconstitutional. But when the press and former president Obama castigated Trump as heartless and cruel, the president made it clear he wants Congress to restore the program by passing legislation. And if it doesnt, he suggested, he might keep the program via the same means his AG had just described as unconstitutional.
Mark Krikorian, the leading intellectual advocate for a more restricted immigration policy, should be a natural ally of this White House. He told the New York Times, (Trumps) being pulled in a bunch of different directions, and because he doesnt have any strong ideological anchor, or deep knowledge of the issue, he ends up sort of not knowing what to do. Instead, the president goes with his gut on everything, letting himself be baited by negative TV coverage.
There are many reasons why the pivot theory wont pan out. Trump has made himself too radioactive with the Democratic rank-and-file. Most of his agenda is equally radioactive. But the main reason it will fail is that, contrary to wishful theories that Trump is playing four-dimensional chess, the president doesnt really know what hes doing.
Save my User ID and Password
Some subscribers prefer to save their log-in information so they do not have to enter their User ID and Password each time they visit the site. To activate this function, check the 'Save my User ID and Password' box in the log-in section. This will save the password on the computer you're using to access the site.
Note: If you choose to use the log-out feature, you will lose your saved information. This means you will be required to log-in the next time you visit our site.
EMS provider Lite-On Technology expects to post another sequential and on-year revenue increase in the third quarter of 2022, thanks to strong demand for automotive and cloud computing...
As she embarks on her spread the blame tour to juice sales of her book, What Happened, Hillary Clinton risks becoming a caricature an embittered sore loser driven by vanity and incapable of accepting any narrative or explanation that differs from hers.
The release of excerpts and the hype surrounding her national tour and interviews have created serious angst among Democratic Party leaders who unlike Clinton have come to terms with her defeat and want nothing more than to move on with rebuilding a shattered party organization and positioning itself for a legitimate shot at gaining seats in the Congress in 2018.
They fear her efforts to relitigate the election will exacerbate intra-party divisions rather than helping heal them and by drawing outsized media attention completely overshadow any attempt to deliver a cogent, credible message to the American people.
Hers was a textbook case of a candidate who believed her own press clippings. The storm clouds gathering on the horizon were blotted out by the blizzard of rose petals strewn in her path by the party establishment, pollsters, major donors, a sycophantic staff and hangers-on, and a sympathetic and, in some instances, unabashedly supportive national media.
She blew $1 billion on a campaign to lose to a thrice-married New York real estate developer who spent about half that. Small wonder shes bitter.
To be sure, she won the popular vote but, in politics, theres no such thing as a silver medal.You win or you dont.
She again blames her loss on former FBI Director James Comey, alleged Russian interference, an inept national party organization, and the flood of embarrassing campaign e-mails published by WikiLeaks.
In the book, however, she goes much further, castigating Vermonts socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders for his audacity in challenging her in the primaries, and, to a lesser extent, on President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden for their perceived lukewarm support.
Her sharp words for Sanders surprised some, not so much for the criticism itself, but for the intensity with which it was delivered.She accused him of not being a Democrat, suggesting that she felt it improper for him to run, and claimed his only reason for entering the race was to be a disruptive force in the party.
He stole her ideas, she claims, and took whatever she said a step further in a blatant appeal to the far left to convince them she was insufficiently supportive of the partys principles.
It is yet another attempt in the ongoing effort to downplay the damage she brought on herself by maintaining a private e-mail server in her home and using it to convey classified State Department documents.
Her constantly shifting explanations I didnt want to be burdened by carrying two devices to communicate was, perhaps, the most incredible reinforced the perception that she felt it unnecessary to abide by the same rules as others.
Donald Trump spoke directly to that woman and millions of others in the same predicament, while Hillary airily consigned them to a basket of deplorables who deserved their fate of going directly to Albrights Hades.
Coming from someone who accepted quarter million dollar fees for 20-minute speeches and whose former president husband flew around the world collecting millions in speaking honoria or donations to the family foundation, it was a jolting reminder of how badly out of touch she was with ordinary Americans.
The speculation that her book and her promotional tour are designed to maintain relevancy and position her for yet another presidential run in 2020, assuming Trump will have self-destructed by then, cant be taken seriously.
Torching all her bridges while blaming leaders of her party for her loss is a peculiar strategy for someone looking to the future.
The words of Oliver Cromwell, British military and political leader, come to mind when, in 1653, addressing Parliament, he said: Depart I say and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!
Many hand-wringing Democrat leaders, faced with Hillarys earth-scorching must be wondering:Wheres go old Ollie when we need him?
Subscriber content preview
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray said he will resign after a fifth man came forward and accused him of sexual abuse decades ago.
Murray had already said earlier that he would not seek a second term as mayor. He said Tuesday that he would step down Wednesday at 5 p.m.
. . .
Subscriber content preview
PORT ANGELES (AP) The rare, weasel-like fisher will remain on Washington state's endangered species list, despite signs that it's making a comeback since being reintroduced.
The Peninsula Daily News reports that the state Fish and Wildlife Commission voted 6-0 Friday to retain state-specific protections for the small mammal following a meeting in Port Angeles.
. . .
North West Simon Community has launched its annual sleep out in Donegal which takes place in Letterkenny on Friday, October 6th.
The event is held in conjunction with Simon Week a national awareness campaign. The Sleep Out for Simon was launched today in Letterkennys Station House Hotel.
Finn Harps showed their support along with Shiloe Gormley, sales and marketing manager, Station House Hotel and Maria McCormack, of The Happy Camper, Glenveagh; who are amongst the many who will sleep out in Lettekenny and Sligo on Friday, October 6th for one night only so, others dont have to.
Collette Ferguson, Donegal Development Officer for Simon, said: While rough sleeping represents the severest form of homelessness, the majority of people who are homeless or experiencing homelessness in Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo are not immediately identifiable as homeless. They are living in emergency or temporary accommodation, on social housing lists or waiting in vain for affordable private rental accommodation to become available.
More and more people in the north west are today turning to North West Simon Community for help and support. The cause prevented 186 families and individuals during 2016 from becoming homeless in Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo. North West Simon Community works with people not only to address their immediate crisis but to try and have long term sustainable solutions for the individual and their family such as developing a routine, providing life-skills, accessing training and educational opportunities.
Hurricane Irma weakened to a tropical storm as it entered the Wiregrass region over the weekend, with little damage reported in Coffee County from the storm as of Monday morning.
Grant Lyons, deputy director for the Coffee County Emergency Management Agency, said there was a tree that went down on County Road 712 southeast of Enterprise, and that the tree was taken care of. Outside of that, there was no major damage or power outages reported in the county through Monday morning.
Winds were expected to stay at 25-35 mph into Monday evening, with possible gusts up to 45 mph, Lyons said. The majority of the storm weather was forecasted to be out of the area by Monday night.
Enterprise City Communications Director Jason Wright said things were quiet in the city, with no major damage or outages reported there, either. A citywide curfew that was imposed from 11 p.m. Sunday to 6 a.m. Monday was not going to be re-imposed, he said.
The lack of damage from the storm through its initial several hours in Coffee County can be at least partially attributed to the real-estate mantra of Location, location, location. Lyons said the county stayed on the western edge of the storm as it rolled through Alabama and Georgia, which worked to the countys favor as the northeast side of the storm in Georgia was stronger. The storm also was not as strong as forecasted when it came into the county, he said.
Lyons praised the preparations ahead of the storm and the precautions that were taken when it began bearing down on the area. Traffic was sparse as people largely stayed off the roads.
Everybody heeded the warnings, he said.
Wright also was proud of the work done ahead of time, citing the city and county as taking the situation seriously from the beginning and being in communication as Hurricane Irma began hitting the Bahamas.
Although the end result was not what we planned for it was what we hoped for but as of (Sunday) morning, the outlook wasnt very good for our area, but as the day unfolded the outlook became better and better, Wright said.
Enterprise City Schools, Coffee County Schools and Enterprise State Community College announced over the weekend that their classes would be cancelled for Monday and Tuesday. Also, the City of Enterprise said Sunday that its offices would be closed Monday and Tuesday.
Only a handful of businesses and restaurants along Boll Weevil Circle and Rucker Boulevard appeared to be open Monday morning, with many posting signs on their front doors or buildings of being closed.
Enterprise High School was opened as a shelter on Sunday evening for evacuees or those living in mobile homes. Wright said about 30 people a mix of evacuees and local residents used the shelter. Some churches provided dinner and breakfast for those in the shelter, he said.
A local dog groomer is doing her part to help victims of the hurricane in Dallas that are often overlooked rescue dogs.
Tonya Naumann, owner of V.I. Pups Grooming in Desloge collected donations Monday, and donated from the days profits toward a rescue operation in Dallas called Dallas DogRRR (rescue, rehab, reform).
Naumann said she saw the effects of Hurricane Harvey on the rescue operation in a Facebook post and thought she could do something to help.
I saw them on Facebook, and saw that theyd flooded, Naumann said. When they released the floodgates, they didnt have a lot of notice and the dogs were in standing water they lost everything.
Naumann had the help of not only her staff, but her sister, Misty Rice who runs a grooming shop of her own.
My sister, shes a dog groomer, Naumann said. She has a shop over in Catawissa. She came with donations from her customers and shes donating her time today. All the proceeds go to the rescue.
This is the first charity donation of this type that Naumann has made, though she said she also grooms strays and shelter animals at no charge. After seeing the situation the dogs in Dallas had been put in, she said she felt the need to do her part.
I just wanted to do something for the dogs, she said. Everybodys always jumping in and helping the people, but the dogs need help too.
She estimated that by the end of the day, they would have collected just under $1,000 to donate toward Dallas DogRRR, saying the funds would go toward helping the organization rebuild what was lost in the flooding.
For more information about Dallas DogRRR, visit them on Facebook or at www.dallasdogrrr.org.
More than 500 people wound up at Marianna High School to take shelter as Hurricane Irma churned inland.
By Sunday around noon, only about 150 had arrived but a steady stream started pouring in that afternoon as the storms path toward Naples became more certain.
MHS is the countys only shelter certified as capable of withstanding hurricane force winds. It had opened under the designation as a host shelter as of 2 p.m. on Friday, with no signs of the storm yet apparent locally.
The storm had its first, isolated effects in Jackson County on Sunday, when an outer band of Hurricane Irma is believed to have snapped a tree in half in Marianna. And there wasnt much more until Monday.
As heavy winds started blowing through the county that morning, the shelter was transitioned to designation as a risk shelter since it was able take people in for protection in the midst of the storm. As more evacuees started streaming in, locals were pouring in to help, as well.
Never have I seen such outstanding outreach, said Jackson County Emergency Management Director Rodney Andreasen. Not only from our first responders in fire- rescue, not only from the school board and Sodexo food service there, not only the power companies, not only from law enforcement but from students, ordinary citizens and churches and businesses. The Chamber of Commerce brought in food and their personnel supported us. Tiffany Garling (Chamber Executive Director) coordinated operations related to business concerns, and Steve Young and Darwin Gilmore were here from Chipola College to support us as well. And there were many young people who came out on their own to volunteer. I wish I could sit down and write a letter to each and every one of the people who helped. It was really something to see. If you want to look at whats right about our country, you dont have to look any further that what happened right here in Jackson County. Its what this country ought to be about.
Andreasen said food, blankets, pillows, cots and other supplies, including crates for animals that had been brought to the shelter without them, started arriving with the volunteers who came in without prompting.
We need to celebrate this response somehow in a big way, Andreasen said. Everyone stood up and I was really overwhelmed by what happened in this community.
The heaviest winds had subsided by late Monday afternoon and by about 4:30 p.m., almost everyone was gone from the shelter except the special needs guests, who transitioned out Tuesday morning.
On Tuesday, personnel from the Jackson County school system took their facility over again.
Jackson County School Superintendent Larry Moore said faculty and staff came in from every school in the county to help in the clean-up.
He, too, was amazed by the communitys storm response and proud of the districts young people in particular.
It has been amazing and it just makes me very proud, Moore said. Students, staff and teachers have been right here doing more than their part. MHS Principal Hunter Nolen, for instance, could not be convinced to leave except for brief periods to get a shower and freshen up. Amy Allen, Golson School principal, was also a key team member, along with Travis Blanton-- an MHS assistant principal, and School Resource Officer David Cobb from the Marianna Police Department. As for the student volunteers, Moore said they were model citizens.
Several students came in and kept the young children occupied with games and other activities in one room, he said. They came together as individuals on their own to do this. I dont think it was a club or anything like that, just different one pulling together to make a difficult time for children a lot less stressful. Young people also helped in various other ways, Moore said. They and everybody else involved did a super, super job from beginning to end.
And he had high praise for the school systems Sodexo food service team as well. I dont think Jack Noonan left one time since Friday. He was still here this morning, Moore said Tuesday. Noonan, Sodexos district food service director, coordinated three square meals a day for the people in the shelter on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, as well as meals on Friday after the shelter opened at 2 p.m. and breakfast on Tuesday as the last of the evacuees headed out.
Moore said the local community left an overall big impression on the guests who came here looking for shelter but that they found much more.
It was impressive, Moore said Tuesday. I met a couple from Tampa who were staying in the shelter. The gentleman was 84 years old. He told me last night at supper that being here was a blessing. He said the people in this community are the nicest people hes ever met. I think that sums it up.
In the aftermath of the big shelter event, Moore said individuals from every school gathered early to help custodians sanitize the space. Its spick and span, Moore said. Everybody pitched in. This whole thing has been nothing short of amazing in terms of people pulling together. We have so many people to thank, and a lot of good lessons were learned. Well have a debriefing to go over all that happened to see if we can plan for any future event to make things even better but this was a very, very good response.
And in that debriefing, Moore said, some though will be given to how the district can show its students and the community at large its gratitude. It was humbling and gratifying to know the community has that spirit and demonstrated it on a scale that leaves no doubt.
Nolen finally left the school just after noon on Tuesday. He said he was heading to bed. But before he did that, he said, he wanted to make sure the community understands his gratitude. I hope the public knows how great they are. We had several people volunteer to take care of the animals-we had probably 30 or 40 pets, which was a bit of a dilemma, Nolen said. Their help was most appreciated. There are so many othersRex Lumber sent a gift card and tons of water, Zaxbys, Beef O Bradys, Sonic, Domino's and others came in and fed people Saturday night between 9-10 p.m. Dinner was at 5 p.m., and some people had only come in after that, so it was great to have something for them. Evangel Worship Center brought in about 100 cots, and Baptist College of Florida brought in about 100 mattresses.
The American Red Cross had run out of cots, so those contributions were so important. No one had to sleep on the floor. That was really big to us. I am so fortunate to be part of a great community like this. Jackson County is awesome. There were people who came in with literally nothing but the clothes on their backs. Your heart goes out to people like that and I cant stress enough the fact that this community came through in a huge way.
The Park Hills City Council and the Leadington Board of Aldermen will each hold meetings tonight.
Park Hills
The Park Hills City Council will meet in regular session at 6 p.m. tonight in council chambers to hold public hearings and to consider several bills and requests.
The council will first hear public opinion regarding a special use permit request to operate a day care facility on Adams Street and come to a determination related to the specific criteria for the special use permit.
A public hearing will also be held regarding vacating an alley located at 1312 Main Street. The council will then consider an ordinance to ratify vacating said alley.
The council will receive a report from City Administrator Mark McFarland, who will discuss the Parks and Recreation Department, street and sidewalk work, utilities and other city matters. Mayor Daniel Naucke will then receive committee reports.
In unfinished business, the council will receive an update on a memorial plaque for city hall.
In new business, the council will consider an ordinance authorizing the mayor to enter into an agreement to purchase a utility truck and an ordinance authorizing the mayor to enter into an agreement with Lead Belt Materials for street paving.
The council will consider a request from the Downtown Park Hills Association for the use of a parking lot for the organizations annual Trunk n Treat. A request to seek Traffic Engineering Assistance Program funds through MoDOT will also be considered.
The council will discuss IT services and Pimville Road regarding state route designation.
An ordinance authorizing the mayor to enter into an agreement with the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission will be considered. Health insurance plans for the 2017-2018 year will also be considered.
The council will consider an ordinance authorizing the mayor to enter into an agreement with the International City/County Management Association for employee retirement plans. Also to be considered will be a wage increase for the 2017-2018 fiscal year and an ordinance providing for retaining a city counselor. The council will also receive a report from the city attorney.
This meeting will be open to the public.
Leadington
The Leadington Board of Aldermen will meet in regular session at 6 p.m. tonight in the municipal building at 12 Weir St.
According to the tentative agenda, in old business, the board will discuss a dump trailer. In new business, the aldermen will consider a letter of engagement from Gilmore Bell, a letter of agreement with SEMO, cellphones and the Southeast Regional meeting.
Ordinances to establish a TIF Commission, liquor amendment and C-1 Commercial Regulations amendment will also be discussed.
The meeting is open to the public.
Local veterans visited area schools on Monday, holding ceremonies to reinforce the importance of remembering the events and aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The Desloge VFW Post 2426 first visited West County Elementary, then held a ceremony for middle and high school students in the West County gymnasium. High School Principal Eric Moyers explained the reason for the ceremony to the gathered students, briefly describing the events of the attack.
And since that time, we take time out of our day to remember those people whose lives were lost that day, Moyers said. It was the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil in American history. And hopefully, we never see another day like it.
West County Senior Jacob Briley then led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance and a brief video from newscasts on Sept. 11, 2001 was shown. Moyers then asked for a moment of silence in remembrance of the lives lost during the attacks and introduced Dennis Sweet of the Desloge VFW Post.
Sweet thanked the students for their respect during the ceremony, saying their behavior is indicative of the areas dedication to community and respect of the country. He said this is directly attributable to the faculty and staff of the West County School District.
I remember September 11, 2001, Sweet said. It was a Tuesday morning, in the 70s with a breeze. It was a nice day. Average news stories seemed to be talking about shark attacks in the Caribbean. It was a slow news day.
He recounted being in a meeting at work when somebody entered the room and told everyone to get to the TV, where the images of the first planes damage were being relayed. Sweet said from his time in the military and with special operations units, he recognized the situation as a terrorist attack immediately.
I was in the Air Force from 78 to 82, he said. Then I got out out for a little bit and in 91 I went back into the Army. I ended up joining a special operations group. We trained for situations like that. When it first happened, I recognized it.
Sweet told the students that he the re-enlisted, feeling a need to do something. In the wake of Sept. 11, Sweet said he served in around 15 countries, including Iraq.
I lost friends, I witnessed destruction and I watched my men die, he said. And all this was to fight the people who brought the planes to the towers.
This day is important to remember. Because we have to remember what we lost that day it started a new era. Most of you didnt experience the change, but its important for us to come together.
While the Desloge VFW was holding ceremonies in the West County School District, the Leadington VFW Post 5741 was making similar rounds in the Central School District. Their last stop was at Central High School, where veterans and auxiliary personnel held a flag-raising ceremony around the schools flagpole.
Post Commander Bill Henson spoke to the encircled students, asking for any student born before Sept. 11, 2001 to raise their hands. After surveying the raised hands, he said the ceremony was meant to ensure the memory of the attacks does not die with those who saw it unfold on TV.
Today, Monday, Sept. 11, we commemorate the events that happened 16 years ago on Sept. 11 2001, Henson said. Most of you were not born 16 years ago, but many of your older brothers and sisters, as well as your parents remember that day quite well.
The flag was raised over the crowd and Henson asked for student volunteers to lead the Pledge of Allegiance. Two girls volunteered, leading their classmates as the flag was raised.
Henson then spoke to the students about the importance of remembering the attacks of 16 years ago and the lessons America was forced to learn in their wake.
On this day in 2001 nearly 3,000 Americans died in New York City, Arlington, Virginia and Pennsylvania, Henson said. We, the American people, were given a cause on this day in 2001 to unite. And we united in the face of danger and adversity and with the resilience of the American spirit.
He stressed the sacrifice made by first responders during the attacks, those who put their own lives at risk to attempt to save others. Despite the fear and pain caused by the attacks, Henson said they caused America to rise to the occasion and become even better than it had been before.
Americans put aside their differences by coming together and showing the power of patriotism by reaching deep into their souls and finding the strength to love and help their neighbor, no matter the color of their skin, their religious background or how much money they had, he said. None of that mattered. All that mattered was that we were all Americans and we would stick together.
Henson said the lessons learned that day and in the days that followed still echo through the hearts and minds of Americans, even those who were not alive during the attacks. He said those lessons can be boiled down to treating one another with kindness and love.
We must have the courage to do the right thing and protect and defend each other, he said. We have to put aside our differences and care for each others equality, which sometimes means sacrifice.
I hope you will keep these thoughts in your mind as you hear more about 9/11 this week. If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask your parents, your teachers or a friend. We feel blessed to have you as students. You are the future of this country.
After the ceremony, Henson and representatives of the Leadington VFW presented Central High School administrators with an American flag in remembrance of 9/11.
Area VFW Posts are also planning POW/MIA ceremonies later this week; Desloges ceremony will be on Sept. 15, while Farmington and Leadington ceremonies will be held on Sept. 16.
"Congress has been dropping in relative power along a
descending curve of 60 years' duration, with the rate of
fall markedly increased since 1933. ... The fall of the
American Congress seems to be correlated with a more
general historical transformation toward political and
social forms within which the representative assembly --
the major political organism of post-Renaissance Western
civilization -- does not have a primary political function."
-- James Burnham, "Congress and the American Tradition" (1959)
WASHINGTON -- Today, worse is better. The president's manifest and manifold inadequacies might awaken a slumbering Congress to the existence of its Article I powers and responsibilities.
As a candidate, Donald Trump vowed devotion to all 12 of the Constitution's seven articles. As president, Barack Obama, discerning a defect in the work of the 1787 Constitutional Convention, supplied Article VIII, which has expired. It stipulated: "Between Jan. 20, 2009, and Jan. 20, 2017, the president shall have the power to do whatever Congress declines to do." So, when Congress did not confer legal status on "Dreamers" (immigrants brought to America illegally as children), he did it. He conferred such status and attendant benefits on a large category of people and called this patently legislative act a routine exercise of law enforcement discretion.
As a candidate, Trump's policy regarding Dreamers made up in concision what it lacked in reflection: "They have to go." As a president whose incoherence has a kind of majesty, he says he has "a love for these people" who are "incredible" when they are not engaged in rampant criminality. When he is not pardoning Arizona's scofflaw sheriff Joe Arpaio for his anti-immigrant criminality, Trump casts immigration as a law-and-order issue.
So does Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who preaches fire-and-brimstone law and order when he is not encouraging legalized theft under "civil forfeiture," whereby government enriches itself by seizing the property of persons not convicted of crimes. Sessions, whose canine loyalty to Trump is not scrupulously reciprocated, seemed to relish the privilege of announcing Trump's policy that, absent action from a Congress that is especially loath to act on immigration, could punish 800,000 children for what their parents did long ago.
Trump's policy now is to state that Obama's policy will expire in six months unless Congress chooses to "legalize" -- Trump's word -- it. If Congress does not, Trump will do ... something: "I will revisit this issue!" Perhaps his exclamatory punctuation foreshadows something as forceful, meaning as unilateral, as what Obama did.
What Obama did was popular and unconstitutional. The latter attribute probably does not interest Obama's successor, but the former attribute evidently does. Hence Trump has sent this hot-potato issue where it belongs, to Congress, which now faces the unaccustomed agony of actually setting national policy.
The day that Trump and Sessions disturbed Congress' serenity, Nikki Haley did likewise. The U.S ambassador to the U.N. and a former executive (as South Carolina's governor) intimated that the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran might yet wind up where, constitutionally, it should have started -- in the national legislature. An international pact of this complexity and gravity should have been a treaty, submitted to the Senate for committee hearings, floor debate, and ratification by a two-thirds supermajority. Instead, as a redundant expression of Obama's disdain for Congress and the separation of powers, it was submitted to the U.N., and then to Congress. The House voted disapproval and the Senate attempted the same, although the margins were too small to override an Obama veto in any case.
Haley suggested that Trump might declare that Iran is not in compliance with the agreement, thereby initiating a 60-day congressional review, potentially culminating in the administration leaving Congress to decide for or against U.S. withdrawal from the agreement. Just as many Republicans, after years of denouncing Obamacare, flinched from repealing it, many critics of the Iran agreement might flinch. Haley said, "I get that Congress doesn't want this." Which is a reason -- exercising atrophied institutional sinews -- for hoping it happens.
In 1959, before the exhilarating experience of Ronald Reagan's presidency, congressional supremacy was still a tenet of conservatism. Then James Burnham, a founding editor of the then 4-year-old National Review, wondered whether Congress could "survive as an autonomous, active political entity with some measure of real power, not merely as a rubber stamp, a name and a ritual, or an echo of powers lodged elsewhere." The slope of the long descending curve might be changing.
George Will's email address is georgewill@washpost.com.
Country
Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Canada Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cuba, Republic of Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Dominican Republic Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Haiti, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Jamaica Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Mexico, United Mexican States Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu US Virgin Islands Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland United States Minor Outlying Islands United States of America Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
I believe that retirement is not the end of your life but the beginning of your new one. It was just that it was seen negatively as it is associated with old age. We all could retire at any age as long as we have secure financial capabilities like living on passive income or savings. []
President Chakrabarti ends visit to Warsaw and travels on to Minsk
Against the backdrop of stronger than expected growth in Poland this year, EBRD President Sir Suma Chakrabarti has appealed to the authorities to continue market-friendly reforms and emphasised the Banks support for the country.
President Chakrabarti met Polands President Andrzej Duda, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development and Finance, Mateusz Morawiecki, and the President of the National Bank of Poland and EBRD Governor Adam Glapinski during a two-day visit to Warsaw which ended today. The meetings focused on the countrys economic and political development.
Summing up his visit President Chakrabarti said: It was good to return to Poland three years after our successful 2014 Annual Meeting. I was pleased to hear that the government is planning a number of market-friendly reforms. This path has served Poland well and we are confident the country will continue to benefit from addressing issues such as improving competitiveness, boosting cross-border trade and strengthening the green economy.
Poland was the first country in which the EBRD signed a project after its establishment in 1991 and the first country in which the Bank opened an office. To date, the EBRD has invested more than 8.6 billion through 388 projects in the country. Despite Polands economic transformation over the past 25 years the Bank remains a relevant player, focusing on areas where the market is not yet as strongly developed. This was also reflected in last years results when Poland was the EBRDs third largest country of operations with 776 million.
From Warsaw, President Chakrabarti is travelling on to Minsk for meetings with the authorities and representatives of the business communities as well as the signing of new EBRD engagements.
There are no good outcomes of an electronic data system breach. At best, companies dealing with e-commerce technologies face the formidable task and the resulting cost of repairs.
In addition having to fix information technology systems, companies suffering breaches may be increasingly vulnerable to legal action taken by customers whose personal data was affected. A federal appeals court decision handed down earlier this month underscores the potential legal leverage available to consumers whose electronic records are hacked.
Taken together, the recent decision and similar rulings by other courts significantly expand the circumstances under which consumers may pursue class actions against companies victimized by hackers who access highly sensitive personal information, commented Edward McAndrew, a partner at Ballard Spahr.
The case involves the hacking of nearly 1 million customer records maintained by health insurance company CareFirst. The company suffered the attack in July 2014 but only detected the breach in April 2015. The company notified customers in May of 2015. Shortly thereafter, several customers filed a class action suit against CareFirst, attributing the breach to the companys carelessness, and alleging that customers suffered an increased risk of identity theft as a result of the hack.
Appeal Decision Favors Consumers
CareFirst won the first round. A federal district court dismissed the complaint by ruling that the class action plaintiffs failed to provide adequate support for their claim that the breach caused any substantial harm to customers. The court characterized the assertion of harm as speculative.
However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia earlier this month reversed the district courts decision. The customers allegation of harm was correct, the appeals court said, because the district court had misread the complaint as to the nature of the data involved in the case, and that the plaintiffs had established that personally identifiable information (PII), protected health information (PHI) and sensitive information had been hacked.
These categories include Social Security and credit card data, the Chantal Attias v. CareFirst appellate ruling notes.
The appeals court then connected the dots between the type of data involved in the hack and the subsequent potential for identity theft, and determined that the customers had established plausible grounds for suffering harm as a result of the breach.
Nobody doubts that identity theft, should it befall one of these plaintiffs, would constitute a concrete and particularized injury, appeals court judge Thomas Griffith wrote.
The plaintiffs had established that any harm resulting from the breach would be fairly traceable to CareFirst, according to the ruling.
In its submission to the appeals court, CareFirst contended that the customers had failed to show that the risk of harm is certainly impending or has a substantial risk of occurring.
CareFirst, through spokesperson Sarah Wolf, declined to comment for this story.
Companies Face Massive Settlements
The impact on e-commerce could be substantial if customers are allowed to file suit against companies that have experienced breaches without sufficiently establishing harm, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The organization supported CareFirst in the appeals court litigation.
If plaintiffs are permitted to pursue cases like the one against CareFirst, the Chambers members will be mired in lawsuits over breaches that have not caused any actual or imminent harm to the plaintiffs and yet those cases threaten to extract massive settlements from businesses that were victimized by hackers or thieves, the Chamber of Commerce argued in an amicus brief.
We have nothing to add here, so well let the brief speak for itself, spokesperson Lindsay Bembenek told the E-Commerce Times in response to our query about the decision.
Companies experiencing hacks likely will be unhappy with the results of two other recent cases that reinforce consumers rights in situations similar to the CareFirst incident.
The Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals earlier this year ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in a suit filed against Horizon Healthcare Services regarding a breach of records, in which the court upheld the assertion of harm. The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in a 2015 case decided in favor of the plaintiffs in a suit against Neiman Marcus, citing grounds similar to those in the CareFirst and Horizon cases.
However, in contrast to the CareFirst and Horizon decisions, the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals this spring ruled against the plaintiff in Whalen v. Michaels Stores, finding that the plaintiff had failed to establish a concrete injury sufficient to bring a suit related to a breach of private data.
Establishing the element of harm or injury is essential for affected customers to achieve legal standing for filing suits.
Ultimately, whether data breach plaintiffs can survive a motion to dismiss for lack of standing will continue to be a key issue. The split in the circuit courts will heighten the cost of litigation for all and increases the potential risk of liability for companies facing class action suits based on allegations of increased risk of identity theft after a data breach, wrote Sidley Austin attorneys Edward McNicholas and Grady Nye.
The differences among appeals court decisions in such data breach cases could bring the issue before the U.S. Supreme Court.
I think there is a strong possibility that the Supreme Court will eventually weigh in on how standing doctrine should apply where individuals sue companies that suffer data breaches involving sensitive personal information, Ballard Spahrs McAndrews told the E-Commerce Times.
However, the Supreme Court may wait until a variety of associated legal issues play out in lower courts, he said.
In the meantime, commercial companies must be more vigilant than ever not only regarding technical issues, but also concerning the legal implications associated with data breaches.
Companies Must Up Their Cybersecurity Game
The D.C. Circuit decision and others like it are likely to lead to an increase in the types and numbers of civil cases filed against organizations that suffer data breaches of personal information. First, and foremost, organizations must develop a track record provable in a courtroom of reasonable actions to protect sensitive data from unauthorized access, McAndrew noted.
Companies need to create and implement a sound cybersecurity program including appropriate administrative, technical and physical controls and documentation. Then they must actually follow that program and the policies and procedures that govern it, he said.
In addition, organizations must conduct cyberincident response and internal investigations while anticipating litigation, McAndrew advised.
Litigation invariably involves not only why a breach occurred but also on how an organization responded to the incident.
Not understanding and managing the legal risk related to a cyberincident during the response and investigation phases is one of the biggest mistakes I see organizations of all types make. Too often, incident response activity remains at the information technology and security or compliance levels of organizations, being conducted by individuals with no expertise or experience in how the developing evidence is likely to be used in litigation that follows, McAndrew pointed out.
Bringing the lawyers in later does not work, he said. Unless lawyers are helping to lead cyberincident responses, the die of liability will likely be cast well before the incident response process ends.
Blog Archive June 2021 (1) May 2021 (77) April 2021 (77) March 2021 (82) February 2021 (68) January 2021 (64) December 2020 (67) November 2020 (66) October 2020 (66) September 2020 (67) August 2020 (74) July 2020 (83) June 2020 (92) May 2020 (86) April 2020 (104) March 2020 (105) February 2020 (74) January 2020 (75) December 2019 (75) November 2019 (70) October 2019 (89) September 2019 (69) August 2019 (81) July 2019 (77) June 2019 (73) May 2019 (110) April 2019 (110) March 2019 (102) February 2019 (85) January 2019 (123) December 2018 (116) November 2018 (112) October 2018 (121) September 2018 (107) August 2018 (150) July 2018 (163) June 2018 (190) May 2018 (145) April 2018 (112) March 2018 (124) February 2018 (113) January 2018 (164) December 2017 (150) November 2017 (144) October 2017 (169) September 2017 (171) August 2017 (135) July 2017 (131) June 2017 (147) May 2017 (160) April 2017 (138) March 2017 (156) February 2017 (143) January 2017 (203) December 2016 (208) November 2016 (185) October 2016 (173) September 2016 (194) August 2016 (232) July 2016 (225) June 2016 (238) May 2016 (231) April 2016 (215) March 2016 (246) February 2016 (226) January 2016 (252) December 2015 (230) November 2015 (250) October 2015 (234) September 2015 (222) August 2015 (253) July 2015 (275) June 2015 (279) May 2015 (223) April 2015 (226) March 2015 (243) February 2015 (258) January 2015 (281) December 2014 (292) November 2014 (296) October 2014 (413) September 2014 (472) August 2014 (506) July 2014 (483) June 2014 (488) May 2014 (512) April 2014 (497) March 2014 (531) February 2014 (482) January 2014 (535) December 2013 (482) November 2013 (441) October 2013 (416) September 2013 (491) August 2013 (521) July 2013 (491) June 2013 (470) May 2013 (457) April 2013 (426) March 2013 (420) February 2013 (414) January 2013 (489) December 2012 (433) November 2012 (504) October 2012 (469) September 2012 (430) August 2012 (427) July 2012 (360) June 2012 (336) May 2012 (362) April 2012 (322) March 2012 (263) February 2012 (224) January 2012 (291) December 2011 (295) November 2011 (325) October 2011 (330) September 2011 (319) August 2011 (333) July 2011 (318) June 2011 (387) May 2011 (373) April 2011 (389) March 2011 (375) February 2011 (335) January 2011 (400) December 2010 (445) November 2010 (395) October 2010 (312) September 2010 (262) August 2010 (277) July 2010 (323) June 2010 (386) May 2010 (360) April 2010 (333) March 2010 (351) February 2010 (336) January 2010 (384) December 2009 (353) November 2009 (300) October 2009 (308) September 2009 (350) August 2009 (298) July 2009 (255) June 2009 (203) May 2009 (193) April 2009 (186) March 2009 (197) February 2009 (173) January 2009 (148) December 2008 (181) November 2008 (197) October 2008 (236) September 2008 (304) August 2008 (314) July 2008 (273) June 2008 (27) May 2008 (1) April 2008 (6) October 2007 (1) May 2007 (1) April 2007 (6) March 2007 (2) February 2007 (1) October 2006 (1) September 2006 (1) August 2006 (4) July 2006 (4) June 2006 (1) July 2005 (1) May 2005 (2) March 2005 (1) June 2004 (2) May 2004 (1) April 2004 (4) March 2004 (2) February 2004 (2) July 2003 (2) June 2003 (5)
Coming out of preservice training, many soon-to-be teachers register the same complaint: They didnt get enough practice managing a classroom.
Researchers at New Yorks University at Buffalo, in conjunction with a local public charter school and a digital-media company, are working to help ease that transition using virtual reality.
The technology offers a middle ground between what can happen in the university context and the real classroom, said Lynn Shanahan, an associate professor at the university who is currently working as an administrator at Enterprise Charter School, which serves K-8 students. Its a safe space because theyre practicing not on real kids.
Although several companies are already building virtual environments to simulate the classroom experience, those scenarios have tended to use avatars, which look a bit like cartoon characters, in place of real students. As part of the new effort, teachers watch videos of actual students, shot with 360-degree cameras in the classroom.
The idea is that incoming teachers can feel what its like to be confronted with challenging behaviorsfor instance, students yelling, pulling out their cellphones, jumping on deskswithout having to step into a physical classroom. And they can do so at any time on their own by using a smartphone and VR headset, which can cost as little as $10.
But the use of real video for VR does pose some financial and ethical concerns: Its quite expensive to shoot; a single 360-degree camera costs about $5,000. And it can reinforce racial, ethnic, or gender stereotypesespecially when theres limited footage featuring a small pool of students.
The project, underwritten by a $20,000 innovation grant from New Yorks state university system, is still in its early stages, but preservice teachers at the University at Buffalo, as well as some practicing teachers at Enterprise, located in the citys downtown area, will use a pilot of the basic technology this fall.
Were not saying to replace those [student-teaching] field experiences, but the VR is another tool that can enhance the clinical preparation of the preservice teacher, said Elisabeth Etopio, the director of the Teacher Education Institute and the interim assistant dean for teacher education at the university. You can rack up the hours of experience and actually master skills prior to when you go to interact with students.
Amber Grzechowiak, a K-2 teacher at Enterprise Charter School, had never used VR before putting on a headset during a demonstration of the technology last month.
This is the craziest thing Ive ever seen in my life, she said, turning her head from left to right, up and down, to see the virtual classroom in its entirety.
In one of the scenarios, which were created by Crosswater Digital Media, a Buffalo, N.Y.-based audio- and video-production studio, and filmed at Enterprise Charter, a middle school boy is irritating a classmateballing up paper and throwing it at her, pulling her hair, teasing her. Eventually, she stands up and slaps him on the back. (The students were acting.) In another, students enter a classroom shouting, and one girl hops up on a desk to challenge another girl.
The technology is still in proof-of-concept stage and far from fully interactive right now. VR users can turn their heads and see the classroom all around them, but they cannot walk closer to students or talk to them and get a response. An assessment appears on the screen asking the teachers how they would respond, but as of now, the VR doesnt capture their answers.
A Visceral Feeling
As some will point out, the current technology is not so different from watching a regular videoexcept that it surrounds the user.
When youre watching it on [a flat] screen, its a window and its somebody else, its not me, said Grzechowiak. You dont get the same connection as you do when youre actually standing and you look down and can see the floor right in front of you.
The VR gave the universitys Shanahan a visceral feeling.
I teach with video, and its different. I just think its the encompassed-body piece, she said.
Richard Lamb, an associate professor of education at Buffalo and the director of the Neurocognition Science Laboratory there, who is leading the cross-organizational project with Etopio, has some data.
Through brain-imaging and physiological tests, such as measures of heart rate, blood pressure, and galvanized skin response, Lamb has shown that the body and mind respond similarly to virtual reality and real life.
For instance, he said, whether teachers are doing a lesson in front of a real group of students at his laboratory or in front of a VR class, the test results follow the same general trend. Its looking like the brain doesnt care, he said.
Authenticity is important, though, which is why he thinks its best to use video.
Teach Live, a program created by the University of Central Florida that is now in use at dozens of teacher education institutions across the country, including Buffalo, has a similar conceptbut instead of using video, its a simulated environment. The students are computer-generated characters, or avatars, whose movements and speech are controlled on the other end by a professional actor.
Within that kind of animated simulation, the students and teacher can engage in a natural back-and-forth, which isnt yet possible with the video VR project. But the sessions have to be scheduled to accommodate parties on both ends, unlike the VR, which teachers can pick up and practice with at any time using even a cheap cardboard headset.
David Cantaffa, an assistant provost for educator preparation for the State University of New York, the project funder, was surprised by the extent to which the VR made him feel transported to the classroom.
But to be most powerful for classroom-management training, I think it would need to be interactive so that you could step forward, step back, interact with kids, kneel down, and have a conversation of some sort, he said.
The producers and programmers at Crosswater Digital say theyre getting there. Companies like IBM are making advances in natural-language processing to allow computers to better understand human speech, which Crosswater is exploring incorporating into its VR scenarios.
Forward movement in virtual reality is also possible, but quite complicated. When you take a 360-degree camera shot, the camera is in one position, and youre taking data from that position, said Lauren Innes, a video editor at Crosswater. If you wanted to move, you would literally have to take camera shots of [every position].
Armin St. George, the senior vice president at Crosswater, which is creating the pilot VR for the university-charter collaboration at a much-reduced rate, estimated there would be some minimal interaction capabilities within the next four to six months. The ability to speak to the system, though, is likely more than a year away.
Julie Schwab, the school superintendent for Enterprise, is eyeing using the VR scenarios both for in-service teacher training this school year and during the teacher-hiring process.
Most of the teachers who come in to her school are white, middle-class women, she said, and many have never worked in an urban setting.
They dont have the background knowledge to understand where these kids are coming from, Schwab said.
Stereotyping Threat Is Real
With the VR, teachers could practice responding to challenging behaviors without the risk of causing emotional harm to real students, she said.
Ideally, theyd be more measured in their reactions to tough situations when they got to the classroom, she said. From a cognition side, Ive already processed this before, so I have some experiences I can draw on, explained Lamb, the researcher.
But a problem with this work is that it can also potentially reinforce stereotypes about students.
The majority of students at Enterprise are blackand the half-dozen students featured misbehaving in the videos are all black. Research has consistently shown that black and Latino students are disciplined at disproportionately higher rates than their white peers.
I do get nervous about putting my kids out there and the stereotypes that could come, said Schwab.
The training programs that use avatars have a leg up here, said Christopher Dede, a professor of learning technologies at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Within those simulations, its easy to change students races and gendersso the programs can even be used to help teachers recognize their own biases, he said.
With video, in particular, because its so expensive to shoot, I think the stereotyping threat is real because its just harder to show so many alternatives that youre not stereotyping, said Dede.
Cantaffa of SUNY sees a lot of promise in the video-based VR technology beyond the fraught area of classroom management. Perhaps education schools can use it for practice administering literacy tests, running special education meetings, or delivering lessons.
Having been a teacher, there are many moments in which its quite anxiety-ridden to be in front of a class, he said. But if the VR experience can help create those anxieties, it might help me in terms of muscle memory when I encounter that pedagogical moment in which Im also anxious.
By 1 p.m. Monday, as Hurricane Irmas ferocity weakened and the storm continued its northward march, just 50 people were left at the shelter inside Boca Raton High School.
It was a dramatic change from just a day earlier, when 1,700 evacuees had sought shelter at the high school in the Palm Beach County school district, about 50 miles north of Miami.
One of the holdouts was Susie King, the principal, whod been hunkered down at the school since dawn Friday. With 32 volunteers working in the sheltermany of them school employees working around the clock to feed evacuees, keep the shelter clean, and provide other supportsKing had pivoted to deploying her skills as a decisionmaker, problem-solver, and comforter, which she usually devotes to the schools 3,500 students and their teachers.
Similar scenes had been playing out in other Palm Beach County schoolswhere during the storms peak 17,000 evacuees sought refuge, according to Superintendent Robert Avossaand across the states emergency shelters for multiple days as Hurricane Irma churned toward Florida and millions of people sought a safe place to go. The size and predicted ferocity of the hurricane prompted the evacuation of more than 6 million people, tens of thousands of whom either had no means to leave the state or waited too long to find other options for escaping the storms direct path.
About 600 shelters had opened across the state ahead of the storms arrival, and about 500 of those were housed in K-12 schools.
By late Monday afternoon, roughly 162,000 people were still in shelters across the state, according to the Florida Division of Emergency Management. And some school-based shelters were beginning to move toward closing down, said Meghan Collins, a spokeswoman for the Florida department of education.
At the same time, Collins said, state and local officials were hashing out which shelters needed to stay open to house evacuees who find their homes uninhabitable. In Palm Beach County, where 14 schools had been shelters, the district had closed all but one by late Monday, Avossa, the superintendent, said.
Many of Floridas counties have agreements with school districtswhich are also countywidesaying that school buildings can be used as evacuation shelters during hurricanes, said Jodie Halsne, the manager of mass care and sheltering for the American Red Cross. Schools are frequently used as shelters because they are plentiful, officials know how many people the buildings can hold, and they are solidly built structures, she said.
All-Hands Effort
Bringing order to chaotic situations is familiar territory for many educators, helpful experience for working in shelters where people can be under a great deal of stress and strain.
It comes naturally to school personnel, said Andrea Messina, the executive director of the Florida School Boards Association. They just show up and say, Tell me what to do. For principals and assistant principals especially, who know their facilities intimately and are used to being in charge, they are not afraid to make a decision, Messina said.
At Sessums Elementary School in Riverview, Fla., Principal Allison Norgard had been on duty nearly nonstop since Friday when the school became refuge to more than 1,600 people.
The schools head custodian and main secretary never left the building until the storm had moved through early Monday, she said. A custodian from a neighboring school also joined them for 48 hours to help maintain order and cleanliness in the Hillsborough County school.
Between Norgard, three Red Cross workers, a county sheriff deputy, and numerous other school staff and community volunteers, Sessums shelter team ran a tight ship on meal service and keeping people in the right rooms for their needs. One part of the building was reserved for families with young children. Elderly evacuees were kept on the ground floor, and another space was reserved for people with older or no children.
Norgards job was to take care of the detailsno matter how prosaic. Wiping tables and making coffee were among the duties she took on, along with dispensing hugs to children and tending to various needs of evacuees.
I know that if the people truly know that we care about them and their safety, then I believe that it would be a better experience for everyone, she said.
As evacuees began leaving Sessums earlier Monday, Norgard said they asked for brooms and cleaning supplies. They wanted to help clean the school.
I cried today when I walked through my building, she said. Because the people were so respectful. It was clean. The bathrooms were clean. We didnt expect that.
Transitioning Back to School Mode
For many districts across the state, reopening dates were still up in the air as officials were just beginning to get a grasp of how much damage Irma had brought to their buildings. Getting a handle on the availability of teachers, many of whom would have evacuated, as well as when students would be returning to their homes, will be another logistical challenge in making decisions about reopening.
And for districts where dozens of schools had been operated as shelters, theres different work to be done to ready them for reopening. Messina, of the school boards association, said cots must be broken down, floors must be sanitized to required standards. If shelters allowed pets, dander must be removed, she said, while shelters that took in elderly evacuees might need more time to help them transition back into their homes or assisted living facilities.
The people running the shelters are being diligent, Messina said. They are trying to assist evacuees first and then get back to schools.
Guarn Sims breathed a sigh of relief Monday afternoon, after the last of his 1,200 shelter guests left Boynton Beach Community High School, the Palm Beach County school where hes the principal. People started flowing into the center Friday afternoon, and by 10 a.m. Monday, he received the all-clear that everyone could leave.
It was humbling, he said, to see people from all walks of life being kind and helpful to one another in stressful conditions. The buildings power went out late Sunday afternoon on Sunday, and the generator kicked in, but that didnt support air conditioning. Temperatures soared inside the school, Sims said. Still, people were grateful for the food and shelter they received there, Sims reported.
They overlooked how hot it got last night, and they were still appreciative we brought food to them, he said.
Now, Sims said, the hard work of restoring the school in time for the return of students will get underway, with picking up trash and cleaning bathrooms at the top of the to-do list, he said. The school wasnt damaged by Irma.
As teachers at Sessums Elementary in Riverview packed up ahead of the storm last week, they wrote notes on their classroom white boards to welcome evacuees and point them to puzzles, pens and paper, and bottles of hand sanitizer they had left for them.
Some evacuees responded in kind before they cleared out of the school Monday.
Mrs. Wappet and class, one person wrote, We want to thank you for the use of your room during the storm. Hope you all are safe!
To build the largest and most complete Amateur Radio community site on the Internet - a "portal" that hams think of as the first place to go for information, to exchange ideas, and be part of whats happening with ham radio on the Internet. eHam.net provides recognition and enjoyment to the people who use, contribute, and build the site. This project involves a management team of volunteers who each take a topic of interest and manage it with passion. The site will stand above all other ham radio sites by employing the latest technology and professional design/programming standards, developed by a team of community programmers who contribute their skills to the effort. The site will be something of which everyone involved can be proud to say they were a part. We welcome your comments. The eHam.net Team, Revision 07/2020.
Search All categories Advertising General Aerospace General Agriculture General Airlines General America - Post 9/11 General Apparel General Apple Products General Architectural General Architecture Architecture Art & Entertainments Books Celebrities Country Music Dance Magazines Movies Museums Music Music Downloads News & Talk Shows Performing Arts Photography Television Web Sites Arts/Culture General Auction General Automotive Aftermarket Classic Autos Consumer Publications General Motorcycle & Bike Racing Recreational Vehicle Repair & Service Trade Publications Blogging & Social Media Blogging & Social Media Business Advertising / Marketing Books Consumer Research Direct Marketing e-Commerce Entrepreneurs Finance Franchise Human Resources Insurance Investment Management Markets Network Marketing Online Marketing / SEO Payday Loans Public Relations Publications Real Estate Retail Stocks Supermarkets Women in Business Careers/HR General Chemical General Coaching / Mentoring Coaching / Mentoring Computers Apple Products Databases Games & Entertainment General Hosting Instruction Linux / GNU "Open Source" Macintosh Microsoft Windows PC Operating Systems Programming Security Software Tablet PCs Utilities Construction General Consumer Gifts and Collectibles Hobbies Web sites / Internet Design Graphic Design Industrial Web E-Cigarette General eCommerce General Economy General Education College / University General Home Schooling K-12 Post Graduate Technical Electronics General Email Marketing General EmailWire Press Releases Press Release Tips Employment/Careers General Engineering General Entertainment General Environment General Events / Trade Shows General Finance General Food General Franchise General Fraud / Identity Theft General Gaming General Government General Judicial Law Enforcement Legislative Local National Public Services Security State Transportation Healthcare General Home and Family Banking / Personal Finance Bereavement / Loss Home Furnishings / Interiors Landscaping & Gardening Marriage / Relationships Money Parenting Payday Loans Pets Taxes Wedding / Bridal Home Schooling General Hotels/Resorts General Household General Industry Aerospace / Defense Agriculture Apparel / Textiles Broadcast Construction / Building Electrical Food Funeral Healthcare Leisure / Hospitality Logistics / Shipping Manufacturing / Production Mining / Metals Oil / Energy Paper / Forest Products Plumbing, Heating & AC Print Media Printing Publishing Radio Restaurants Tobacco Toy Insurance General Internet/Online General Legal General Leisure General Lifestyle Beauty Dating / Singles Diet / Weight Loss Fashion Food / Beverage Health & Fitness Hotel / Resorts Pastimes Restaurants Retirement Travel & Tourism Machinery General Maritime General Medical Addiction Allergies Alternative Medicine Asthma Cancer Cardiology Chiropractic Dental Dermatology Diabetes Emergency Family Medicine General General Geriatrics Hospitals Infectious Diseases Internal Medicine Managed Care / HMO Medical Products Mental Health Neurology Nursing Nutrition OB / GYN Pediatrics Pharmaceuticals Physical Therapy Plastic Surgery Psychology Radiology / Imaging Research Sports Medicine Surgery Vision Military General Mining/Metals General Miscellaneous General Nanotechnology Nanotechnology Non-profit General Occupational Safety Occupational Safety Oil/Energy General Opinion / Editorial Opinion / Editorial Paper Products General Paper/Forest General Pharmaceuticals General Podcasting Announce Tools and Services Politics Politics Print Media General Public Utilities Public Utilities Publishing General Radio General Real Estate General Religion Christian General Islam Jewish Other Restaurants General Retail General RSS & Content Syndication RSS & Content Syndication Science and Research Science and Research Self-Help / Personal Growth Self-Help / Personal Growth Shipbuilding General Society African American Interests Asian Interests Childrens Issues Disabled Issues / Disabilities Gay / Lesbian Hispanic Mens Interests Native American Senior Citizens Social Services Teen Issues/Interests Womens Interest Software General Sports Baseball Basketball Bicycling Boating / Maritime Bowling Boxing Fishing Football Golf Hockey Hunting Martial Arts Outdoors Rugby Soccer Tennis Water Winter/Snow Sports/Fitness General Stocks General Supermarkets General Technology Biotechnology Computer Electronics Enterprise Software Games Graphics/Printing/CAD Hardware / Peripherals Industrial Information Internet Multimedia Networking Public Sector/Government Robotics Semiconductor Software Telecommunications Webmasters Telecom General Wireless Television General Tobacco General Trade General Transportation General Travel General Utilities General Volunteer Volunteer Weather Weather
George Clooney has been known as an actor who has also a great track record in terms of making films which are beautifully crafted and made even if these films ended up being great at the end of the day. Some of her previous films might have fumbled their attempts at action and comedy but this "Suburbicon" just demonstrated his skill as a great storyteller.
Latest reports claimed that "Suburbicon" can get close to a cinematic success whit a script and story that originated from Joel and Ethan Coen. Moreover, the said movie by Clooney also casts Matt Damon, Oscar Isaac, and Julianne Moore. It was also claimed that the film presents a darkly comedic tone which matches George's own sensibilities.
Moreover, The Verge claimed that Clooney is an actor who never crushed his words when he is asked about his political views and opinions. With this, some film critics said that the actor uses "Suburbicon" as an opportunity to step into the larger discussion about racism. This movie also tries to chip away at the tenacious romanticization of 1950s in America.
The film itself is giving the viewers a glance about idyllic people who are living idyllic lives too. However, it was narrated in the movie that behind those perfectly manicured lawns and cheery neighborhood relationships are evils and deceptions. With this, reports claimed that "Suburbicon" is really at its best when it delivers into a familiar groove.
"Subrbicon" by Clooney is categorized as a comedic crime thriller but it focuses more on drama just to get the ball rolling. This has been compared to one of the Coen brothers' creations named "Fargo" and the setting of the film is set in 1950s suburbia.
Clooney further shared as mentioned by The Guardian that the film is mostly about the 50 heydays of white America. This was then compared to the recent political campaign about making America great again which also reportedly hides corruption and cruelty. Though this is not a new idea, Clooney reportedly focuses more on race relations as part of that lie.
With this, the "Suburbicon" film is all about a film which features a proud all-white community that when a black family moves into the place, the residents made an immediate action. These residents even signed petitions to drive this black family away and this showed horrible display and there is not much refinement in the point of view of George Clooney.
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
A Baird Equity Research report [PDF] blamed the recent Equifax breach that exposed 143 million consumers personal information on a security flaw in the open source Apache Struts framework, which is used to build Java Web applications.
Contrast Security co-founder and CTO Jeff Williams noted in a blog post that the Struts vulnerability in question could either be CVE-2017-5638, which was made public in March 2017, or CVE-2017-9805, which was made public last week.
Because the Equifax breach took place in July, Williams noted, the former is much more likely CVE-2017-5638 is also easier to exploit and is much better known, and Contrast has seen widespread attacks against CVE-2017-5638 worldwide for several months.
I have recently talked with several large organizations that took over four months to deal with CVE-2017-5638, he wrote. Even in the best run organizations, there is often a gap of many months between vulnerability disclosure and updates being made to applications.
The incident highlights the ongoing need for proper patch management.
Tracking Vulnerabilities
Its no surprise, Williams said, that Web application attacks are the leading cause of large breaches. The *average* Web application or API has 26.7 serious vulnerabilities, he wrote. That is a staggering, unbelievable number. And organizations often have hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of applications.
In a statement, the Apache Struts vice president Rene Gielen said the Struts development team puts enormous efforts in securing and hardening the software we produce, and fixing problems whenever they come to our attention.
To avoid breaches like the one at Equifax, Gielen urged users to be sure they know which supporting frameworks and libraries are used in their software products, and keep track of security announcements affecting those products.
Its also crucial to establish a speedy security fix process for those products if supporting frameworks are updated. Most breaches we become aware of are caused by failure to update software components that are known to be vulnerable for months or even years, Gielen wrote.
The automotive industry solved this problem over 100 years ago by maintaining a bill-of-materials for all parts used in a car, Black Duck Software vice president of security strategy Mike Pittenger told eSecurity Planet by email. Doing the same with software maintaining an accurate list of all components used in each application makes incident response much easier when vulnerabilities like this are disclosed.
Know Your Assets
But most companies today dont even have an up-to-date application inventory, High-Tech Bridge CEO and founder Ilia Kolochenko said by email. Without knowing your assets, you wont be able to protect them, he said. Many global companies still rely on obsolete automated solutions and tools for their application security, while cybercriminals are already using machine learning in their attacks.
In a blog post, Alert Logic co-founder Misha Govshteyn said its important to keep in mind that its not specifically Equifax code that failed the vulnerability was inherited from an underlying Web application component. This is one of the most misunderstood points in cyber security today Web application stacks are complex organisms and you can end up with [a] major vulnerability without trying too hard, he wrote.
Most enterprise cyber security teams spend more time brushing up on the latest activities of Grizzly Steppe and Deep Panda than understanding the Web application stack their own software teams are using, and these stacks are a major source of risk, Govshteyn wrote.
At the same time, Govshteyn noted, proper controls would have made a big difference for Equifax. In this case, only a properly configured Web Application Firewall would have stopped the attack and effective post-compromise detection could have reduced dwell time from two months to a much smaller window, he wrote. That could have been the difference between stopping this breach and losing data for 143 million people.
Something went wrong, please try again later.
Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later.
Get the latest on all the biggest court and crime news in Essex direct from our expert court reporter
A girl who claims she was abused by her teacher cried as she gave evidence in court.
Edward Ryan, 67, is charged with four counts of sexually assaulting a child under the age of 13 between September 15 and October 20, 2015.
He is alleged to have committed the offences while teaching at a school in Harlow , which cannot be named for legal reasons.
Ryan, of Venmore Drive, Dunmow, who was previously a governor at Helena Romanes School in Great Dunmow, denies the charges.
Today (Tuesday, September 12), saw the complainant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, give evidence via video link at Chelmsford Crown Court .
Representing Ryan, Sasha Bailey asked the girl a number of question relating to her time at school and her interests before speaking about the time the supposed incidents took place.
Turning to the statement given to a police officer on October 20, 2015, Ms Bailey asked: "In that interview you say that one of your teachers had seen you sat on Mr Ryan's knee, maybe three times?"
"Yes," the girl replied.
When asked if she had ever hugged any teachers while at school , the girl confirmed that she had and listed several of them.
But when asked if she had ever sat on any of the other teachers' knees, the reply was "No."
"During your interview, you said that Mr Ryan would ask you to sit on his knee when you were doing your work," said Ms Bailey.
"Did he really ask you to sit on his knee?"
The girl replied: "Yes."
"Or, did you get on his knee because you wanted to?" asked Ms Bailey.
"No," the girl answered.
Delving further into the alleged incidents, Ms Bailey asked: "You explained to the police officer that when you sat on his knee that he would touch you?"
The girl confirmed this was what she had said.
It was shortly after this line of questioning the girl was seen to be tearful as she clutched a stuffed toy, but said she was fine to continue answering questions when asked by Judge David Turner QC .
Ms Bailey then asked the girl whether she had told any of her friends about what she said had happened and she confirmed that she had.
"Did you think about telling a teacher?" she asked.
The girl was unable to remember whether she had thought about confiding in any staff members.
"You don't tell a teacher, you don't tell mummy or daddy when it happened first of all," said Ms Bailey.
"But you tell two friends?"
The girl replied that she did before audible sobbing.
After a short break, Ms Bailey resumed her questioning and asked how the girl's friends reacted.
She explained that one of them acted "strangely as if that thing was normal" but that another was told her it "wasn't normal" and that she should tell her parents.
The girl also told the court that she "didn't know" why she did not want her second friend to tell anyone.
Ms Bailey also asked the girl to confirm she had a conversation with a staff member on October 20, 2015, in which she revealed she had a "stinging" sensation when she passed urine , which she did.
When asked why she did not tell her mother or father what had happened, the girl said: "To be honest I think I was frightened.
"What really swayed me was one friend telling me it was normal and nothing to worry about."
The trial continues.
Something went wrong, please try again later.
Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later.
Get the latest traffic and travel news straight to your inbox
Greater Anglia has revealed their plans to roll out brand new trains, complete with free Wi-Fi, USB ports and even underfloor heating.
The 1.4 billion investment includes trains that will be operational across Essex from 2019 onwards, serving commuter towns such as Harlow, Bishops Stortford, Chelmsford, Witham, Braintree, Colchester, Clacton and the line to Southend Victoria.
The companys locomotives will have air conditioning, plug and USB points and free Wi-Fi.
The trains will also have more seats than the ones that are currently in use.
Guests were invited to watch a presentation at the Bombardier factory in Derby yesterday (September 11) where they saw a life-size mock-up of the interior of the new trains that will be deployed across the region.
665 carriages are going to be built at the factory, forming 111 new trains across the region.
More than 1000 people have also taken part in an online consultation on the final design of the locomotives interior.
Mike Kean, Greater Anglia Deputy Managing Director, said: Were very excited about our new trains, as they will transform journeys for everyone.
Weve consulted widely to make sure the trains are suitable for all of our customers and we have received very positive feedback and helpful comments.
Alan Fravolini, Project Director, East Anglia AVENTRA said: Bombardier are delighted to have hit this important contract milestone, that will help secure the design phase for East Anglia.
A further 58 trains are being built for Greater Anglia by Stadler, in Switzerland, for Greater Anglias Intercity, Stansted Express and regional services.
Something went wrong, please try again later.
Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later.
For daily updates and all the latest breaking news sent straight to your inbox sign up to our daily newsletter
MPs from around the UK took to the House of Commons to vote on the Brexit Repeal Bill last night (September 11).
The House sat long beyond midnight for the crunch vote, which saw the bill pass its first Parliamentary hurdle by 36 votes, 326-290.
The Bill shifts existing EU laws on to the UK statue book to give businesses and citizens certainty for when Britain leaves the bloc.
So how did your MP vote on the bill? Did they choose to back Theresa May's proposals, go against the party or opt out all together.
Almost every MP in Essex voted for the bill, which is hardly surprising as they are all Tory party members.
But David Amess, MP for Southend West, did not vote at all on the matter - he was one of just six Tory MPs in the whole of the UK not to participate at the first vote.
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel has recently interrupted his holiday to respond to Ankaras jailing of a German human rights activist. He also used the occasion to warn German tourists about the dangers of visiting Turkey and said to German businesses to rethink their potential investments in the country that is increasingly teetering on the brink of the rule of law and human rights protection. This move underlined Berlins new policy towards Turkey and reaffirmed Germanys standing as an economic power.
Germanys apt response did not come by surprise but it marked a break from Berlins traditional diplomatic style. Some domestic voices also suggest that Mr. Gabriels move was a political calculation in anticipation of the parliamentary elections at the end of September. His party, the Social Democratic Party (SPD), can only benefit from standing up to Ankara, who has alienated Germans with the recent wave of authoritarianism, Islamist influences, and disrespectful allusions to the Holocaust.
Despite these allegations, Germanys fresh approach to Turkey predates Mr. Gabriel. During the euro crisis, Berlin deployed its economic means within Europe but when it comes to dealing with countries like Russia, China, Turkey but also the United States, Germany has been using its economic power to advance its strategic goals. For example, following the Russian annexation of Crimea, the Wests response was not led by the United States, but by Germany. It was Berlin that pursued spearheaded diplomacy with Russia and Ukraine to de-escalate the conflict. Germany had also persuaded the rest of the EU to introduce unprecedentedly harsh restrictive measures on Moscow to deter any further aggression.
Germany was also leading the talks on the migrant deal with Turkey to reduce the flow of migrants coming from the Middle East to Europe, thus essentially revamping the EU-Turkey relationship. Instead of maintaining that Turkey still is a viable candidate for EU membership, Berlin forged a more realistic strategic bilateral relationship. Both sides can still work on advancing common interests but the EU keeps sufficient space to raise objections to Ankaras increasing authoritarianism.
Germanys new approach to Turkey suggests that the country is finally escaping from its two complexes that have for long constrained German strategic thinking. The first one is the psycho-historical complex, which have forced German leaders to play only a supportive rule in foreign policy to reassure others about their intentions.
The second complex involves the use of military force that has been a great taboo in its foreign policy planning and making since the Second World War. Germany still spends only 1.2% of its GDP on defense, which stands in stark contrast with the United States that spends about 3.3% of its GDP, according to the World Bank data. Germanys decision to bring its massive export-led economy to the world stage is an important development and Sigmar Gabriels latest response to Turkey is a decisive step in that direction.
Germanys New Power of the Purse Commentary by Mark Leonard European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).
(The Commentary can be downloaded here)
LISBON, Portugal, September 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --
Fiasp(R) (fast-acting insulin aspart), the only approved, new-generation, ultra-fast acting[1]-[3] mealtime insulin, improved overall blood sugar (HbA1c) and post-meal sugar (postprandial glucose or PPG) control over 52 weeks, compared to conventional insulin aspart (NovoRapid(R)), in new study findings[4].
(Logo: enlace )
The findings were presented today at the 53rd European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Annual Meeting, and showed that Fiasp(R) maintained the significant improvement in overall blood sugar control that was seen in a shorter-term (26 weeks) study period[1]. The results also reconfirmed the safety profile of Fiasp(R), showing comparable overall numbers of severe or blood-sugar confirmed hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar levels)[4].
"These results provide reassurance of the meaningful long-term benefits of Fiasp(R) versus conventional insulin aspart," said Professor Chantal Mathieu, study investigator, chair of Endocrinology and professor of Medicine at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium. "Accordingly, for people with diabetes who struggle to control their post-meal sugar levels, Fiasp(R) might offer a better option to meet their needs."
After eating, blood sugar levels rise rapidly. In diabetes, the body either cannot bring these high sugar levels down, or struggles to do so. Sustained high post-meal sugar levels are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and other diabetes-related complications, including damage to eyes and kidneys and cancer[5],[6]. High post-meal sugar levels also contribute to inadequate overall blood sugar control[2], [5],[7].
While mealtime insulins aim to bring post-meal sugar levels down, conventional rapid-acting insulins are not as fast as the speed of the natural physiological insulin response. Due to this slower response, people with diabetes can remain in an elevated post-meal sugar state for an extended period[2].
"Compared to conventional insulin aspart, Fiasp(R) is a closer match to the natural physiological insulin response, leading to better long-term blood sugar control," said Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, executive vice president and chief science officer of Novo Nordisk. "Fiasp(R) delivers benefits for people with diabetes, helping them to achieve better post-meal and overall blood sugar control."
About the study
The onset 1 trial (1,143 people randomised) was a phase 3a, partially double-blind, basal-bolus, treat-to-target trial, evaluating the efficacy and safety of Fiasp(R) compared with conventional insulin aspart in type 1 diabetes over 52 weeks, in two 26 week treatment periods. The findings from the 52 week study period were presented at the EASD Annual Meeting 2017.
In the 52 week study period, Fiasp(R) demonstrated a statistically significantly greater overall blood sugar reduction of -0.10% in adults with type 1 diabetes, in comparison to conventional insulin aspart. Fiasp(R) also showed a statistically significant reduction in 1-hour post-meal sugar increment of -0.91 mmol/L; no significant difference was seen in 2-hour post-meal sugar increment, compared with conventional insulin aspart. These results were achieved with a comparable overall rate of severe or blood-sugar confirmed hypoglycaemia between the two treatments[4].
About Fiasp(R)
Fiasp(R) is the only approved, new-generation, ultra-fast acting[1]-[3] mealtime insulin. Fiasp(R) is insulin aspart in an innovative formulation, in which two excipients have been added: Vitamin B3 (niacinamide) to increase the speed of absorption and a naturally occurring amino acid (L-Arginine) for stability[8].
Fiasp(R) received marketing authorisation from the European Commission on 9 January, from Health Canada on 6 January, from Swissmedic on 7 June and from the Australian Government Department of Health on 28 June 2017. It is currently under regulatory review in over 10 countries.
After receiving a Complete Response Letter (CRL) from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in October 2016, Novo Nordisk resubmitted the fast-acting insulin aspart new drug application (NDA) as a class II resubmission on 29 March 2017 and FDA approval is expected at the end of Q3 2017.
About Novo Nordisk
Novo Nordisk is a global healthcare company with more than 90 years of innovation and leadership in diabetes care. This heritage has given us experience and capabilities that also enable us to help people defeat other serious chronic conditions: haemophilia, growth disorders and obesity. Headquartered in Denmark, Novo Nordisk employs approximately 41,400 people in 77 countries and markets its products in more than 165 countries. For more information, visit novonordisk.com [http://www.novonordisk.com ], Facebook [http://www.facebook.com/novonordisk ], Twitter [http://www.twitter.com/novonordisk ], LinkedIn [enlace ], YouTube [http://www.Youtube.com/novonordisk ]
References
1) Russell-Jones D, et al. Fast-acting insulin aspart improves glycemic control in basal-bolus treatment for type 1 diabetes: results of a 26-week multicenter, active-controlled, treat-to-target, randomized, parallel-group trial (onset 1). Diabetes Care 2017; 40(7):943-50. 2) Heinemann L and Muchmore DB. Ultrafast-acting insulins: state of the art. Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology 2012; 6(4):728-42. 3) Cengiz E, et al. Moving toward the ideal insulin for insulin pumps. Expert Review of Medical Devices 2016; 13(1):57-69. 4) Mathieu C, et al. Efficacy and safety of fast-acting insulin aspart are maintained over 52 weeks: comparison with insulin aspart in onset 1. Poster presentation at the 53rd EASD Annual Meeting. 11-15 September 2017; Lisbon, Portugal. 5) Madsbad S. Impact of postprandial glucose control on diabetes-related complications: how is the evidence evolving? Journal of Diabetes and Its Complications 2016; 30(2) :374-85. 6) International Diabetes Federation (IDF). Guideline for management of postmeal glucose in diabetes. 2011. 7) Monnier L, et al. Postprandial and basal glucose in type 2 diabetes: assessment and respective impacts. Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics 2011; 13(Suppl.1):25-32. 8) Heise T, et al. A pooled analysis of clinical pharmacology trials investigating the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic characteristics of fast-acting insulin aspart in adults with type 1 diabetes. Clinical Pharmacokinetics 2017; 56(5):551-9.
Further information Media: Katrine Sperling +45-3079-6718 krsp@novonordisk.com Asa Josefsson +45-3079-7708 aajf@novonordisk.com Investors: Peter Hugreffe Ankersen +45-3075-9085 phak@novonordisk.com Hanna Ogren +45-3079-8519 haoe@novonordisk.com Anders Mikkelsen +45-3079-4461 arm@novonordisk.com Christina Jensen +45-3079-3009 cnje@novonordisk.com Kasper Veje (US) +1-609-235-8567 kpvj@novonordisk.com
ZINC#: HQMMA/FA/0717/0218
Date of preparation: August 2017
Photo: enlace
LISBON, Portugal, September 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --
Poster # 820
A post-hoc analysis of the SUSTAIN 1-5 trials demonstrated that a greater proportion of adults with type 2 diabetes achieved a clinically meaningful reduction in both HbA1c and body weight with once-weekly semaglutide vs. comparator treatments. Comparators included placebo, sitagliptin, insulin glargine U100 or exenatide extended release (ER). The analysis was presented today at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the European Association For The Study Of Diabetes.[1]
"As a physician, helping patients with type 2 diabetes achieve glycaemic and weight loss targets can be challenging," said Dr Helena Rodbard, SUSTAIN 5 investigator and medical director at Endocrine and Metabolic Consultants, Rockville, Maryland. "The meaningful reductions demonstrated with semaglutide in both glucose and body weight are encouraging, as more treatment strategies are needed to help meet this challenge."
Significantly more people treated with once-weekly semaglutide achieved the clinically meaningful composite endpoint of greater than or equal to1% HbA1c reduction and greater than or equal to5% weight loss with 0.5 mg (25-35%) and 1.0 mg (38-56%) semaglutide vs. all comparators (2-13%; p<0.0001) in SUSTAIN 1-5.[1]
In addition, more people achieved the composite endpoint with once-weekly semaglutide 1.0 mg compared with semaglutide 0.5 mg (p<0.0001 for SUSTAIN 2, 4 and 5; p=0.17 for SUSTAIN 1).[1]
In this post-hoc analysis, semaglutide was well tolerated, with a safety profile similar to that of other glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists. The most common adverse event with semaglutide was nausea. In SUSTAIN 1-4, severe or blood glucose confirmed symptomatic hypoglycaemia events were fewer or similar with once-weekly semaglutide vs. comparators. In SUSTAIN 5, on a background of basal insulin, more events were observed with once-weekly semaglutide than with placebo.[1]
About semaglutide
Semaglutide is a once-weekly analogue of human glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) that stimulates insulin and suppresses glucagon secretion in a glucose-dependent manner, while decreasing appetite and food intake.[2]-[5] Once-weekly semaglutide is currently under review by seven regulatory agencies, including the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the Japanese Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA).
About the SUSTAIN clinical trial programme
SUSTAIN (Semaglutide Unabated Sustainability in Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes) is a clinical trial programme for semaglutide, administered once weekly, that comprises seven phase 3a global clinical trials and a cardiovascular outcomes trial, involving more than 8,000 adults with type 2 diabetes.
Novo Nordisk is a global healthcare company with more than 90 years of innovation and leadership in diabetes care. This heritage has given us experience and capabilities that also enable us to help people defeat other serious chronic conditions: haemophilia, growth disorders and obesity. Headquartered in Denmark, Novo Nordisk employs approximately 41,400 people in 77 countries and markets its products in more than 165 countries. For more information, visit novonordisk.com [http://www.novonordisk.com ], Facebook [http://www.facebook.com/novonordisk ], Twitter [http://www.twitter.com/novonordisk ], LinkedIn [enlace ], YouTube [http://www.Youtube.com/novonordisk ]
Novo Nordisk A/S Corporate Affairs Novo Alle 2880 Bagsvaerd Denmark Telephone: +45-4444-8888 Internet: http://www.novonordisk.com CVR no: 24 25 67 90
References
1. Rodbard H, Bellary S, Hramiak I, et al. Responder analysis of subjects achieving HbA1c greater than or equal to1% and weight loss greater than or equal to5% across SUSTAIN 1-5 clinical trials. Poster 802. 53rd Annual Meeting of the European Association For The Study Of Diabetes (EASD), Lisbon, Portugal; 11-15 September 2017.
2. Korsatko A, Brunner M, Sach-Friedl S, et al. Effect of once-weekly semaglutide on the counter-regulatory response to hypoglycaemia in subjects with type 2 diabetes. Abstract 764. 52nd Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), Munich, Germany; 12-16 September 2016.
3. Kapitza C, Dahl K, Jaconsen B, et al. The effects of once-weekly semaglutide on ss-cell function in subjects with type 2 diabetes. Abstract 754. 52nd Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), Munich, Germany; 12-16 September 2016.
4. Blundell J, Finlayson G, Axelsen MB, et al. Effects of once-weekly semaglutide on appetite, energy intake, control of eating, food preference and body weight in subjects with obesity. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2017; ePub ahead of print. DOI: 10.1111/dom.12932.
5. Saad H, Hjersted J, Axelsen MB, et al. Semaglutide improves postprandial glucose and lipid metabolism and delays first-hour gastric emptying in subjects with obesity. Canadian Journal of Diabetes. 2016; 40:S34-S35.
Further information Media: Katrine Sperling +45-4442-6718 krsp@novonordisk.com Asa Josefsson +45-3079-7708 aajf@novonordisk.com Investors: Peter Hugreffe Ankersen +45-3075-9085 phak@novonordisk.com Hanna Ogren +45-3079-8519 haoe@novonordisk.com Anders Mikkelsen +45-3079-4461 armk@novonordisk.com Christina Jensen +45-3079-3009 cnje@novonordisk.com Kasper Veje (US) +1-609-235-8567 kpvj@novonordisk.com
If you have registered in your married name and your ID is in your maiden name, you must bring an original UK Marriage certificate or a UK Spouse Visa (in date) to support this. Without one of these you will not be allowed to take your test and your test fee will not be refunded.
Hi,Wondering if anyone might know about the requirements for the test.To register I will use my maiden name as it is the name I use for my visa application, and I will use my passport as ID as it also shows my maiden name (although it has a note that includes my husband's surname). The problem is that the proof of postcode that I will use (because I don't have other documents I can use at this time) is my driving licence which shows my married name not the maiden name. Is there any chance they might not accept it because of this reason?I found this in the guidance documents which is not exactly my case but maybe still applies?:Am I correct in assuming that if along with the driving licence (as proof of postcode) I show my marriage certificate/BRP then I should be all right?
I have changed roles a few times in the twelve years Since I relocated to Cyprus but principally have been involved in consultancy in Higher Education partnerships with local and international Universities. It has involved a lot of international travel within the last few years which is one reason I have not been on the forum for quite some time. Now have returned to a more settled timetable and reliable connectivity. Have thoroughly enjoyed what has become a very varied and challenging role.
DejW said: 1. Pass by your local Marie andt tell them that you arrived. Ask you neighbours in for an apero. as soon as possible.... a good way to start entering in local social life.
DejW Click to expand...
You're a bold one! I like going unnoticed! Depends on what one wants, I suppose...Anyway sTrout, yes good luck. Expect unexpected obstacles. When they arise, don't consider them failures but just an extra step you hadn't anticipated, but yet, by doing it, you're still one step closer even if you were farther away than you initially thought.I felt like everything I tried to do in one step revealed 930902 more steps I hadn't known about. Maybe that was just me, though. So yeah...be flexible to random obstacles. And make sure to take time to start enjoying things even if you're not totally settled yet...the scenery, the food, the sights.... Things all tend to work out in the end.This isn't supposed to be a prophecy of doom, lol, just that IF you encounter unexpected obstacles....that's normal, don't get discouraged, and make a point to go out and do fun things too amidst it!
What can I say, but "welcome to France!" The problem here is that Service Public is set up and run by the State and the procedures listed there are what is allowed. Not all mairies or prefectures have yet "read the memo" and may still be operating in their own "traditional" manner.
As "centralized" as things are supposed to be in France, they often turn out to be not terribly centralized at all.
Cheers,
Bev
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
If you want to learn how not to make a heartfelt apology, youd do well to study the example of Louise Linton. The actress and wife of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin recently landed in social media hot water when she Instagrammed a photo of herself alighting from a government airplane after accompanying her husband on a trip.
When she was criticized for her let them eat cake decision to tag the high-dollar designer clothing she wore, Linton responded with pure invective.
Did you think this was a personal trip?! Linton fired back at her critics. Have you given more to the economy than me and my husband? Either as an individual earner in taxes OR in self sacrifice to your country?
Stung by the criticism that tone-deaf response received, she made her Instagram and Facebook accounts private and later asked forgiveness in perhaps the worst possible way clothed in more pricey couture in the pages of Washington Life, a magazine that bills itself as the premier luxury lifestyle magazine in the nations capital.
A more sorry-not-sorry apology would be hard to imagine
Apologizing for small things is easy. If you spill a glass of red wine on a friends carpet, say youre sorry, offer to pay the cleaning bill and you should be good to go, said Harriet Lerner, author of Why Wont You Apologize? (Touchstone, $24).
Whats hard is apologizing for larger hurts and betrayals. And too often a clumsy or insensitive apology can make a bad situation worse.
We are wired for defensiveness, Lerner said, so its very challenging to listen with an open heart because no apology has meaning if you havent listened carefully to the hurt partys anger and pain.
Here are some common apology mistakes people make:
Failing to apologize. Some people have difficulty apologizing because they feel it makes them look weak and incompetent, Lerner said. This is especially true in professional situations, where they may worry that others will take advantage of the situation and use it as an opportunity to expose ones weakness.
On the contrary, an apology shows strength of character and sends the message they are self-confident and want to improve the situation or relationship, Lerner said.
Not apologizing promptly. Knowing you owe someone an apology but being too proud or embarrassed to deliver it only compounds the hurt. Better to man- or woman-up and say youre sorry than to let things fester. If emotions are running too high, its OK to wait for things to cool down. But dont use that as an excuse to put off your mea culpa indefinitely.
Adding a but. Nothing sweeps the leg of a good apology like a seemingly innocuous but. Dont say, Im sorry I cut you off and told the punchline before you could, but you were telling the joke wrong. No, you just wanted to get the big laugh. Better: Im sorry I cut you off. I realize I embarrassed you and I promise I wont do that again.
Adding an if. Dont say youre sorry if you hurt someones feelings, if they took something the wrong way or if they misunderstood your intentions. That puts the onus on the other person. A true apology is about what you did.
You must take responsibility for your own actions, said Diane Gottsman, a national etiquette expert who owns the Protocol School of Texas in San Antonio. It takes courage and character to own your mistake.
Forcing children to apologize. Demanding kids say theyre sorry when theyre really not only teaches them how to lie, according to Jane Nelsen, a licensed marriage and family therapist and author of the Positive Discipline series of child-rearing books. Instead, she suggests gently leading them to the realization that they should apologize by asking a series of what she calls curiosity questions. These include:
What happened?
How do you feel about it?
How can you fix it?
If, at this point, the child doesnt suggest apologizing, try asking, Do you think it will help if you apologize?
These questions empower kids to be self-disciplined and responsible, Nelsen said. It helps them solve their own problems without having a parent tell them what to do.
Say your apology and shut up. Ironically for Linton, she may have avoided the whirlwind of criticism had she ended her apology tour early.
You see, before the Washington Life fiasco, shed already apologized, releasing a statement from her publicist that read, I apologize for my post on social media yesterday as well as my response. It was inappropriate and highly insensitive.
Short and direct, she should have quit while she was, if not quite ahead, then not so far behind.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
Beware, evil clowns ahead.
The latest adaptation of Stephen Kings supernatural horrorfest It, based on his 1986 book that also was made into a 1990 TV miniseries, opened Friday in theaters nationwide, introducing a whole new generation to the malevolent Pennywise the Dancing Clown.
The current season of FXs anthology series American Horror Story features killer clowns rampaging through a quaint Michigan suburb.
And haunted houses throughout the city are gearing up for Halloween, their terrifying offerings bound to include many an insane clown and his posse.
In other words, the public cant seem to get enough of bizarro Bozos scaring the bejesus out of them.
But what say traditional working-class clowns? Those makeup-wearing, slapstick-performing goofballs, long a mainstay of circuses, birthday parties and supermarket openings? Are they laughing on the outside, crying on the inside?
We checked in with several of our favorites from around town to see if the scary clown syndrome keeps them up at night.
Click through the slideshow to see what they said.
rmarini@express-news.net
Twitter: @RichardMarini
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
MISSION The detention Monday of nine recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program has caused some to worry that their protections could quickly erode after President Donald Trump ordered an end to the Obama-era program.
Border Patrol agents detained the young undocumented immigrants, who were en route to Corpus Christi, at an immigration checkpoint in Falfurrias for several hours while their status was verified.
CBP must ensure that Border Patrol agents at all levels are informed that DACA is still in place for the next six months, said Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Brownsville, referring to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency. DACA recipients cannot and should not be held for hours at checkpoints due to confusion over changes in policy.
In a tweet last week days after announcing plans to end DACA, Trump attempted to reassure recipients that no action would be taken against them. And yet, the agency Monday said DACA recipients will now be temporarily detained at checkpoints, signaling a shift in policing of the young immigrants.
When a DACA recipient presents themselves for immigration inspection, they will temporarily be detained for accuracy and verification of status, a statement from the Rio Grande Valley sector of the Border Patrol said. Once substantiated, the DACA recipient will be processed and released accordingly.
Texas is home to about 124,000 of the nearly 800,000 recipients of the DACA program, which gives two-year renewable work permits to qualifying young people who were brought to the country illegally as children. Under the 5-year-old policy, recipients living along the border were allowed to pass interior immigration checkpoints for the first time.
The Homeland Security Department said recipients of the program whose permits expire in the next six months can apply by Oct. 5 to have their permits renewed. New permits are not being issued, and recipients whose permits expire after March 5 will not be able to renew them.
The Border Patrol said the nine immigrants were screened with established policies and procedures and were eventually released. The lengthy screening process was attributed to technical issues and slow data speed, the agency told Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen.
Still, the temporary detentions at checkpoints make little sense, according to San Antonio immigration attorney Gerardo Menchaca. Applicants to the program undergo fingerprinting and retina scans as part of their background check before being approved, and DACA authorization cards display an expiration date.
If they wanted to do their job very thoroughly, they could be doing that to every (lawful permanent resident), everyone who has a visa, but theyre not, Menchaca said. Theyre only doing that to DACA recipients. Theyre singling out DACA recipients.
Mondays detention took place on the same day California, Maine, Maryland and Minnesota sued the Trump administration over its decision to end DACA and leaders in California agreed to proposed legislation that would strengthen immigrant protections.
We will not permit Donald Trump to destroy the lives of young immigrants who make California and our country stronger, state Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement after filing the lawsuit in federal court in San Francisco.
The suit argued that ending the program discriminates against its participants and violates fundamental conceptions of justice by depriving them of a right to work legally and further their education.
Meanwhile, California Gov. Jerry Brown and Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, both Democrats, agreed to changes in proposed legislation that would further restrict interactions between law enforcement officers and federal immigration agents
The bill would still prohibit state and local police from asking about peoples immigration status or enforcing federal immigration laws.
However, after Mondays changes, it would preserve the ability of law enforcement officers to cooperate on federal task forces as long as the task forces dont specifically work on immigration enforcement.
Police and jail officials would be able to notify U.S. immigration agents if they detain people with convictions for some 800 crimes, including serious felonies, battery, assault and sexual crimes.
Immigration agents would still be allowed to interview immigrants in jail, and immigration agents would not be barred from accessing state databases.
This bill protects public safety and people who come to California to work hard and make this state a better place, Brown said in a statement.
anelsen@express-news.net
Twitter: @amnelsen
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
As Tommy Thompson climbed higher up the Tower of the Americas, ascending to the observation deck for the second time in the last hour, his thighs and calves began to ache. His breathing quickened as his pace slowed.
Thompsons legs felt like rubber, but he climbed higher and higher.
A retired battalion chief with the San Antonio Fire Department, Thompson, 63, passed photos at each stairwell of first responders killed 16 years ago on Sept. 11. A thought passed through his head: I could have been one of those guys.
The only thing that kept me going was knowing the people that I'm doing this for, he said.
Joining Thompson on his grueling Monday morning climb were 342 other firefighters wearing tags each inscribed with the name of a firefighter killed responding to 9/11. The event, the fifth iteration of the San Antonio 110 9/11 Memorial Climb, brought firefighters, police officers and EMS officials from around Texas who paid tribute to their fallen colleagues.
The participants, numbering more than 500, climbed the tower twice, matching the 110 floors in the World Trade Center towers.
Dawn Solinski, the events founder and director, said the climb for her is personal. She climbed the tower alone for years before starting an event that morphed into one of the largest 9/11 memorial climbs in the country.
When youre going up there, you feel a full connection with these strangers, she said, referring to the fallen responders.
This years climb carried extra weight, as it occurred less than four months after 31-year-old firefighter Scott Deem died in a four-alarm fire at a Northwest Side strip mall in May. The participants held a moment of silence in his honor, after which firefighters from Deems home Station 35 led the way into the tower.
Deems wife, Jennifer, wore a shirt that read, Last Alarm, May 18, 2017. She wiped tears from her eyes as she stood with her children Dakota, 13, Tyler, 7, and 2-week-old Aubrey. Firefighters and their spouses came up to hug Jennifer throughout the morning, as she stood next to the large American flag signed by participants as they exited the tower.
Solinski, like Thompson, said she sometimes thinks about what would have happened if the Sept. 11 attacks occurred in San Antonio. She said the crews would have gathered their gear and hopped on the trucks to report for duty.
Those guys in New York, they don't do a different job than us, Solinski said. Had that happened here, let's say at the Tower of the Americas, that would have been us.
jscherer@express-news.net
Christian non-profit organizations have outdone FEMA and provided the vast majority of the relief aid to victims of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
Faith-based relief groups are responsible for providing nearly 80 percent of the aid delivered thus far to communities with homes devastated by the recent hurricanes, according to USA Today. An alliance of non-profit organizations called National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD), 75 percent of which are faith based, has helped FEMA distribute relief assistance to communities hit by disasters and assisted families in navigating government aid programs to begin the process of rebuilding.
About 80 percent of all recovery happens because of non-profits, and the majority of them are faith-based, Greg Forrester, CEO of NVOAD, told USA Today.
Several individual organizations have aided in the relief operations in major ways as well. Samaritans Purse, an evangelical disaster relief group led by evangelist Franklin Graham, recently began a relief mission to the Caribbean to help victims of the hurricanes on various islands. Samaritans Purse also has ongoing relief operations in Houston and is preparing to aid Florida in the aftermath of Irma.
FEMA they have been a big blessing to us, theyre an assistance to us, Luther Harrison, vice president of North American Ministries for Samaritans Purse, told USA Today. For Hurricane Irma, the majority of our equipment has already been dispatched to Texas so our office in Canada is bringing their equipment across the border and FEMA was instrumental in helping us clear that with customs and getting all the paperwork done.
The United Methodist Committee on Relief, which has 20,000 volunteers trained to serve in disaster response teams, not only helps clean up the mess and repair the damage inflicted on homes by disasters, but also helps families with the process of applying for and receiving aid from various government relief programs.
The Seventh Day Adventists help state governments with warehousing various goods and necessities to aid communities in the aftermath of a disaster.
Right now, in the state of Texas, we are going around with FEMA trying to help them select a facility, Derek Lee, director of disaster response for Adventist Community Services, told USA Today. Itll actually be the states facility but itll be us that helps them manage it. We are going around with them right now trying to help them pick out a facility that will accommodate what the need is going to be on the ground.
Non-denominational Christian relief organization Convoy of Hope helps to provide meals to victims of natural disasters by setting up feeding stations in affected communities, and they often do so at FEMAs request. Most recently the group prepared three trailer trucks filled with food and necessities to be shipped out to areas affected the worst by the hurricanes.
The services that faith-based relief groups have rendered to ravaged communities has not only helped the families and individuals affected by the storms, but has also translated into billions of dollars worth of aid for the states in general, which must match and pay back the economic aid given to them by FEMA. The volunteers, who come at no cost to state governments, count toward the states matching of FEMA funds.
FEMA can not do what it does so well without the cooperation of faith-based non-profit organizations and churches, Rev. Jamie Johnson, director of the Department of Homeland Securitys Center for Faith-Based & Neighborhood Partnerships, told USA Today. Its a beautiful relationship between government and the private sector and it is something to behold.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
As Tommy Thompson climbed up the Tower of the Americas, ascending to the observation deck for the second time in the past hour, his thighs and calves began to ache. His breathing quickened as his pace slowed.
Thompsons legs felt like rubber, but he climbed higher and higher.
A retired battalion chief with the San Antonio Fire Department, Thompson, 63, passed photos in the stairwell of first responders killed 16 years ago on 9/11. A thought passed through his head: I could have been one of those guys.
The only thing that kept me going was knowing the people that Im doing this for, he said.
Joining Thompson on his grueling Monday morning climb were 342 other firefighters wearing tags each inscribed with the name of a firefighter killed responding to 9/11. The event, the fifth iteration of the San Antonio 110 9/11 Memorial Climb, brought firefighters, police officers and EMS officials from around Texas who paid tribute to their fallen colleagues.
The participants, numbering more than 500, climbed the tower twice, matching the 110 floors in the World Trade Center towers.
Dawn Solinski, the events founder and director, said the climb for her is personal. She climbed the tower alone for years before starting an event that morphed into one of the largest 9/11 memorial climbs in the country.
When youre going up there, you feel a full connection with these strangers, she said, referring to the fallen responders.
This years climb carried extra weight, as it occurred less than four months after 31-year-old firefighter Scott Deem died in a four-alarm fire at a Northwest Side strip mall. The participants held a moment of silence in his honor, after which firefighters from Deems home Station 35 led the way into the tower.
Deems wife, Jennifer, wore a shirt that read, Last Alarm, May 18, 2017. She wiped away tears as she stood with her children Dakota, 13, Tyler, 7, and 2-week-old Aubrey. Firefighters and their spouses came up to hug Jennifer throughout the morning as she stood next to the large American flag signed by participants as they exited the tower.
In 2001, many of the firefighters who climbed the tower Monday were too young to comprehend the magnitude of 9/11. Preston Foose, a firefighter with the Houston Fire Department, said he was in sixth grade at the time.
I didnt know what the World Trade Center was, said Foose, 27. But you could tell the teachers were concerned.
Before climbing the tower for the second year in a row, Foose said he expected the trek to be just as difficult as last year.
The first ones a breeze, but a third of the way up on the second climb, your legs burn and you get very winded, Foose said.
At 8:46 a.m., a bell tolled to mark the first planes impact with the north tower of the World Trade Center.
Five more bells would follow: The first was at 9:03, signifying the moment the south tower was struck, and another was at 9:37, when the third plane hit the Pentagon. Three more bells sounded, to signal Flight 93 crashing in Pennsylvania and the collapse of each tower.
The Pentagon crash provided perhaps the closest link to San Antonio. Zandra Cooper Ploger, an Incarnate Word High School graduate, and Providence High School graduate Dora Menchaca were on the American Airlines flight as it hit the military compound.
Army Lt. Col. Karen Wagner, an ROTC member at Judson High School, was in the Personnel Command section of the Pentagon, the building where San Antonio native Rosa Maria Rosemary Chapa also worked.
All four were killed in the crash.
At the end of the climb, as the participants returned to the base of the tower, they lined up single file in front of a microphone. One by one, they leaned into the mic and spoke the name of the fallen responder on the name tag they carried.
Then, after ringing a bell with a firm, single clang, they placed the name tag on a board. The stack of names continued to grow, until the board held the tags of all 343 firefighters, 70 law enforcement officers and nine EMS officials who died on 9/11.
Solinski, like Thompson, said she sometimes thinks about what would have happened if 9/11 had occurred in San Antonio. She said the crews would have gathered their gear and hopped on the trucks to report for duty.
Those guys in New York, they dont do a different job than us, Solinski said. Had that happened here, lets say at the Tower of the Americas, that would have been us.
jscherer@express-news.net
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
FREDERICKSBURG Dan Pfeiffers art includes antique desk fans recast as curious flying machines, a wind chime with cow bells clanging inside a resin-hardened wedding dress and pricey tables on animal horn legs.
Its just kind of a funky, cool, eclectic mix of contemporary art, says Samantha Little, manager of Pfeiffers gallery and wine bar on Fredericksburgs Main Street, the former longtime site of Henke Meat Market.
The butchers old freezer door serves these days as a functioning tabletop, and the meat hooks overhead are decorated with musical instruments.
I got connected to nature at a really early age and I just come up with stuff, Pfeiffer, 59, said of his whimsical works.
But his catalog of creations also features a far more reverent category pulpits, altars and other hand-carved furniture and accessories for religious settings and sanctuaries.
The creative talent that I have is God-given, so if I dont use it, I would kind of be like shunning God, Pfeiffer said. Thats why I like to do church furniture.
He caught the woodworking bug while attending St. Anthony Seminary, now St. Anthony Catholic High School, in San Antonio. Even while studying architecture at the University of Texas at Austin, he continued accumulating chisels, drills, saws, planers and other accoutrements of the trade.
I started carving wood at the seminary. Then I became a cedar chopper. Then I became a deck builder. Then I started framing homes, Pfeiffer recalled.
Hes been a professional artist since his 20s. His current religious project coaxing a small table and two chairs from chunks of sugar maple holds special significance for Pfeiffer and St. Marys Catholic Church, where theyre slated to be delivered this month.
His great-grandfather Jacob H. Wagner built the ornate stone church in 1906. And the churchs striking Germanic style and elaborate interior of arched ceilings and stained glass windows were designed by Leo Dielmann, Pfeiffers great-uncle.
Since moving here from San Antonio in 2011, Pfeiffer has worshiped at the church on West San Antonio Street. He made an altar and donated it to the church last year.
A Texas historical marker installed in 1995 touts the buildings asymmetrical facade with a dominant corner tower and spire containing three bells. The parishs older church next door, built in 1863, remains in use for daily Masses and Eucharistic Adoration.
My great-grandfather had a phenomenal reputation as a contractor in San Antonio, Pfeiffer said of Wagner, an emigre from Germany.
Wagner died before Pfeiffer was born, but Pfeiffer recalls visits as a youngster to the San Antonio home of Dielmann, who designed more than 100 churches and died in 1969.
Four decades after they last chiseled wood together, Pfeiffer still stands out in the memory of Father Jack Franko, who directed vocational studies at St. Anthony in the 1970s.
Dan showed a lot of interest and potential, recalled Franko, 79. He made an impression as a young man who had visions and goals and seemed very content within himself.
He hasnt seen Pfeiffers more exotic gallery works such as the candelabra made from a large pneumatic drill, or the $3,200 walnut sofa table set atop longhorns.
But Franko is familiar with Pfeiffers furniture from an altar, a tabernacle and a lectern that he made years ago for the Oblate Mission in San Antonio, where Franko now lives in retirement.
St. Marys commissioned Pfeiffer to build the table and the presider and deacon chairs to match the elaborate altar he gave the church last year.
It was a blessing to have Dan come along at the time that he did and offer the altar, said Jimmy Lukacs, a parishioner and volunteer at the sanctuary where Father John P. Nolan recently replaced Monsignor Enda McKenna. He gave us a gift that truly does reflect the architecture and the work of his great-grandfather and his great-uncle.
Nolan, who transferred here in July from St. Stanislaus Catholic Church in Bandera, commended Pfeiffers use of his talents to build up the body of Christ.
Its beautiful and were happy with what hes given to the church, he said of the altar, whose design includes a depiction of three doves, symbolizing the Holy Trinity. Were grateful, but were humble as well.
The consecration of the altar by Bishop Emeritus Michael Pfeifer of San Angelo drew three of Pfeiffers four siblings to Fredericksburg.
To this day, Im still amazed he was able to produce the altar the way the old Germans did, said Fred Pfeiffer, 62, of San Antonio. They layered the wood and then carved into that.
Another brother, Bill Pfeiffer, 58, also of San Antonio, called the altar a beautiful addition to the church.
He took the motif of some of the interior of the church and incorporated that into its design, he said.
Creating the altar was especially challenging because of the deaths of Pfeiffers parents first his mother, Barbara Klar Pfeiffer, in April 2015, followed three months later by his dad, Carl H. Pfeiffer.
For months, Dan Pfeiffer couldnt work on it, but he was inspired to finish the altar after an owl flew into his studio, stayed for days and repeatedly perched on it.
I put my hand down right next to him, and he jumped on my arm and got up on my shoulder, said Pfeiffer with a laugh. Eventually, he would always fly back and land on the altar pieces.
Pfeiffer even traveled with his feathered guest to the gallery, where someone spotted the bird and called authorities. A state game warden seized the owl and issued Pfeiffer a citation, which he said was dismissed by a judge.
I finally concluded, He wants me to finish the altar, Pfeiffer recalled.
Spirituality is something that you have to always feed. Its not something thats God-given, he said. This is one way for me to enhance my spirituality.
zeke@express-news.net
From the World Heritage San Antonio Missions to the Texas Hill Country and the Rio Grande Valley, San Antonio Express-News photographers offer the best visual journalism of the region.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
A woman was sexually assaulted while running Tuesday morning in a North Side park.
A San Antonio police sergeant at the scene said the assault occurred around 9 a.m. on a trail in Hardberger Park, in the 13000 block of Blanco Road.
San Antonio Police Sgt. James Lint said the victim told police she heard a noise behind her moments before the attack.
"She didn't think much of it at first because of all the animals you have out there," he said.
RELATED: Suspect in Med. Center sexual assaults is recent Marshall graduate, played varsity basketball
She told police someone grabbed her from behind, took her behind a bush and raped her.
She fought back, freed herself and ran across the street to a friend's apartment, where she reported the attack to police, Lint said.
Police described the suspect as a white man in a grey hoodie.
Now Playing: SAPD investigates a report of a sexual assault on a trail in Hardberger Park, Tuesday morning, Sept. 12, 2017. Video: San Antonio Express-News
After having the victim help them find the crime scene, police are working to collect evidence, Lint said. A helicopter was brought in to search for the person responsible.
Lint said authorities detained a person of interest, though they are "not very sure" he was responsible for the attack.
Debra Nelson, of San Antonio, said she saw police officers driving the victim around the park on an ATV and taking her to an area at the back of the park on the Water Loop Trail.
"She was very scared, you know, traumatized," Nelson said, adding, of the area that police were searching, "There's a lot of bushes and narrow trails. It's secluded. Not a lot of foot traffic."
READ ALSO: SAPD: 23-year-old man fatally shot in chest at South Side park
Nelson said she's a regular at Hardberger Park and though the attack is shocking, she always considers the possibility it may happen to her when she exercises along the trails.
"I'm going to be very cautious about my surroundings, but already as a female I don't like going to that back area," she said. "It makes me uneasy being so far from a lot of these other more traveled trails."
Lint, a former sex crimes investigator himself, said police have responded to a few similar calls at Hardberger Park in the past, but they are uncommon.
"Most attacks by strangers are very rare," he said. "But they're the ones that make the highlights on the news."
Text "NEWS" to 77453 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com
cdowns@mysa.com
Twitter: @calebjdowns
It takes a deft touch these days even to mention the issue of climate change.
In Florida, where the onslaught of Hurricane Irma left more than 10 million people without power Monday, some scientists avoid the phrase altogether, lest it inspire backlash from that states Gov. Rick Scott, who has refused to acknowledge any human role in the phenomenon.
In Houston, where the torrential rains of Harvey flooded hundreds of thousands of homes last month, congressional representatives from the region are dismissing the topic as a distraction.
I'm focused on relief of our families back home and our communities, so I don't have time for the politics side of that, Republican Rep. Kevin Brady of The Woodlands said last week when asked whether climate change had affected the flooding, according to E&E News.
Last month, with Houston still underwater, I questioned in a column why state leaders have ignored climate change while remaining mired in identity politics, and more than one reader took me to task.
In the middle of all this suffering all you do is criticize our leaders who are doing everything they can to help, one wrote. If you cant think of anything helpful to say then shut up.
I have some bad news for this reader: San Antonio is about to spark a citywide discussion on this most taboo of topics.
In June, Mayor Ron Nirenberg created a new Community Health and Equity Committee and tasked it with a broad scope of issues, from libraries to, yes, climate change. A week later, not long after President Donald Trump announced the nation would withdraw from the Paris climate accord, the City Council endorsed the international agreement and resolved to advance its goals on a local level.
That same day, CPS Energy announced it would contribute $500,000 to the University of Texas at San Antonio so researchers there could develop a framework for a local climate action plan. Now, city staff are working with the university and the city-owned utility to develop a comprehensive plan of attack, said District 7 Councilwoman Ana Sandoval, whom Nirenberg appointed to chair the new committee.
The work that staff does will be reporting to our committee, said Sandoval, who has worked in the field of climate change for the San Francisco Bay Area Air Quality Management District.
The public will have an opportunity to weigh in on the plan. But how will Sandoval lead on an issue so divisive some refuse even to talk about it?
I think weve pretty much come out and said we recognize (climate change) and were going to do something about it, Sandoval said. If we just look at the data, we do have more extreme weather events in San Antonio, we do have more flooding events, hotter days. Theres no denying it.
As far as the devastating effects of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, Sandoval echoed the scientific consensus: Climate change didnt cause the storms, but it certainly made them worse.
The oceans are warmer, she said. That means when hurricanes are building up energy they will be more powerful.
In creating a climate action plan, I think what its going to take is having the right players at the table so its not a matter of winners or losers, Sandoval said. Of course, we cant get anywhere without the business communitys buy-in.
The councilwoman added that controversy wont mute her committee.
I dont mean to be political, but this is part of my charge, she said. Im going to do my work.
She has a strong supporter in the mayors seat. Next week, Nirenberg will join a panel at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin called How Cities are Tackling Climate Change.
With the U.S. out of the Paris Accord, the fate of the world could be in the hands of mayors, reads a description of the Sept. 23 discussion.
On Monday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders only reinforced that stark assessment. Asked about Trumps views on climate change following Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, she echoed the continued indifference of state leaders in Texas and Florida.
I dont think thats changed, she said.
bchasnoff@express-news.net
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
AUSTIN - As state lawmakers deal with the devastation left by Harvey, a handful will be able to share a view from the frontlines of the response.
Four House members were among hundreds of Texas State Guard members activated as part of the response to the hurricane, which left some 70 people dead and took out critical infrastructure and homes along a swath of the Gulf Coast.
Rep. Phil King, a colonel in the Guard, said his service informs his thinking as a policymaker.
Any time you witness things like this, it obviously reshapes your priorities. It reminds you of whats really important, and so going through an event like this will, without question, have an effect on me as a legislator, said King, R-Weatherford, who commands the strategic initiatives unit including several lawmakers. For all of us, its a reminder and maybe a wakeup call to the fact (that) you cant grow lax in your preparation and thats very expensive, that preparation.
Its just a huge remainder of how we need to have adequately funded and well-prepared emergency management response in place, he said. When something like this happens, you dont have time to ramp up and get ready for it. Youve got to be ready to get up and go.
Besides King, Republican Reps. Tony Dale of Cedar Park, Briscoe Cain of Deer Park and Cecil Bell of Magnolia were activated, according to the Texas Military Department. They arent the only lawmakers in the State Guard, but a couple of others were dealing with Harvey damage to their own property.
Bell, a major, put his expertise in water and wastewater treatment facilities construction management to work by helping communities whose facilities were taken out, King said. Assignments for King, Cain (a first lieutenant) and Dale (a major) included working at a food and water distribution center in Victoria.
When I visited the Guards headquarters last week, Col. Thomas Hamilton laughed when asked if lawmakers get special treatment.
We dont make it easy for them, said Hamilton, the State Guards chief of staff. Theyre just like the rest of us. They do whatever they can do, and you never hear a word about it. Great folks to have.
To put a point on it, King related, I slept three nights on a floor last week in Victoria along with Briscoe Cain and Tony Dale, which I really dont want to sleep on the floor with them again. Theyre terrible snorers.
Dale and Cain were due in for the overnight shift last Thursday at the operations center, helping coordinate efforts around the state.
The Texas State Guard called up along with the Texas National Guard as Gov. Greg Abbott marshalled resources handled missions in the Harvey response including boat rescues, shelter assistance and supply distribution.
Among key initiatives, State Guard members ensure people who are evacuated are part of the emergency tracking system, which can allow family members to find each other if they are separated. Evacuees information is coded onto wristbands that can be electronically scanned.
The tracking effort isnt limited to human family members but extends to pets of all kinds, King said. We even had to do two pythons that were in cages, King said. A band with identifying information was attached to the cages, not the snakes themselves, he explained.
Guard members backgrounds run the gamut among them, the fields of law enforcement, the military, government, engineering, medicine, technology, and the law.
We tend to get people who really want to be in uniform, and people who bring a vast amount of experience. You dont see a lot of 18-year-olds. This isnt like the regular Army. People here tend to be older and more experienced, said Col. Frank Stead of Fredericksburg, task force shelter plans chief.
Stead, 70, said members are dedicated, and they really want to make a difference. Thats the reason I joined 15 years ago.
Everybody thats serving here is serving because they have that volunteer spirit, said King, who counted Harvey as his fifth hurricane in the State Guard. Were the ones that are there to show up at the hurricanes and the wildfires and the floods and all the emergencies that happen.
Although they are volunteers, State Guard members are under military orders, King said. That makes them subject to military rules, regulations and discipline.
While King is the commander of his unit, he laughed when asked if he lords it over his fellow lawmakers.
Not at all. They can get even too easily on the House floor. That doesnt work, he said. As for any comparison between the stress of emergency response and that of lawmaking, King said, I havent had to sleep on the floor in the Legislature, but I have been there all night.
pfikac@express-news.net
Twitter: @pfikac
Thales is launching the F90MBR a new assault rifle at DSEI 2017. The weapon represents a new generation of the F90 currently in service with the Australian Defence Force. The Modular Bullpup Rifle is NATO interoperable and is suited to support the modern integrated solider systems. At a total weight of 3.25 kg it is one of the lightest weapons of its class. NATO compatibility is supported by the tri-rail system and magazine compatibility, that ensures interoperability with existing NATO weapons and ammunition. It is fitted with ambidextrous controls to enable fast reaction times and rapid target engagement.
As a modular weapon system, it is able to be packaged with multiple barrels, and compatible optics, accessories, and ancillaries with Grab Case, allowing an operator to quickly transition between different tactical employments of the weapon system. Designed for use by amphibious forces, soldiers can swim with the weapon, and fire immediately after emerging from the water. Both the F90 and F90MBR enable the soldier to reach up to 600m accurately.
availability in multiple barrel lengths, fully-ambidextrous forward bolt and magazine release controls, and a drop free magazine release function to facilitate even faster magazine changes, regardless of the hand-dominance of the firer. The F90MBR safely accommodates off-handed shooting techniques through the use of a case deflector and can be easily modified by the operator without tools to a dedicated left or right handed ejecting weapon.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
Near the corner of South Laredo and Dolorosa streets stands a small stucco house with a history as long as it is eclectic.
Built in the late 18th century, and located a short distance from Military Plaza, the one-story structure variously served as a family dwelling, army headquarters, brothel and office space.
Named for Melchor De la Garza its owner and occupant way, way back in the day the house and the nearby Spanish Governors Palace rank as the oldest residential buildings in downtown San Antonio.
Spanish colonists from the Canary Islands founded the villa of San Fernando de Bexar in 1731, and according to the National Register of Historic Places, they began building one-story houses around what became known as the Military and Main plazas.
The homes, typically made of caliche and topped with gabled, wood-shingled roofs, gave shape and a sense of permanence to the settlements core.
Documents on file with the San Antonio Conservation Society show that, while the precise year of construction of the De la Garza house remains unknown, Melchor was born there in 1790 to Pedro Jose De la Garza and Maria Ximines. The De la Garza family, one of the first to settle in the area, may have built the home as much as a quarter-century earlier.
The house withstood the Texas Revolution that began in 1835, and historical records suggest that Cols. Frank Johnson and Ben Milam converted it into a headquarters for the Texian Army after seizing it during the Siege of Bexar.
Melchor De la Garza retained ownership of the house until his death in 1849, and his son, Jose Antonio, lived there for nearly 30 more years. The De la Garza family sold its last stake in the property in 1901.
Details are scarce about the houses use between the turn of the century and 1978, when San Antonio attorney David Carter bought the property from the San Antonio Development Agency.
Carter, who died at age 91 in 2013, counted the home among an array of historic renovation projects that he embarked on over several decades, including the Wolfson Building, the Maverick-Carter house, Toltec Apartments and the O. Henry House. His efforts earned him the Amanda Cartwright Taylor Award, the San Antonio Conservation Societys top service award in 2010.
Paul Carter, his son and partner on many of those jobs, recalled a story his father told him about the restoration of the De la Garza house in the late 70s.
The citys historic preservation officer at the time chided the elder Carter for painting over the names of judges, lawyers and other prominent local figures that appeared on the interior walls.
That was the client list, Paul Carter said, referring to the houses iteration as a brothel during the 1920s, when a red-light district existed downtown.
David Carter reinforced the buildings exterior with stucco but took care to place a window over a small section of the facade to reveal the original stonework underneath.
He leased the space to Bexar County for use as a probation office annex, a law-and-order transformation of what had been a house of ill repute.
The building has remained vacant since the county moved out in the mid-1990s, and today it holds a jumble of metal filing cabinets, wooden tables and other random pieces of furniture.
Paul Carter would like to find a developer committed to its historic restoration in the spirit and manner that his father renovated the O. Henry House almost two decades ago.
The famed short-story writer had lived in the home more than a century earlier when it stood downtown off South Presa Street. It was later moved to the former site of the Lone Star Brewery Co., and from there, David Carter disassembled and relocated the house to within 100 feet of the De la Garza property.
The O. Henry House, comparable in size and style to its neighbor, opened as a museum in 1999 and celebrates an obscure piece of the citys past. Paul envisions a similar fate for the De la Garza house.
I want to carry my fathers efforts into the future to preserve San Antonios identity and legacy, he said. This city has so much history to offer.
The De la Garza homestead at 118 S. Laredo St. is on the conservation societys Texas Star Trail downtown walking tour that was established in 1986. See the map and its 76 stops at saconservation.org.
COMING WEDNESDAY: New Texas GLO map shows Texans in WWI.
As noted in the prior post, there are no formal legal defenses available when a company violates the Gross Human Rights Abuse provisions of the Criminal Finances Act. How, then, should companies deal with allegations that theyve committed violations?
Should a violation occur, the company might be able to rely on prosecutorial discretion to disregard cases where there is a genuine effort by the company to deal with complex human rights situations in a responsible way.
Companies can demonstrate their efforts by showing strong due diligence programs, proactive responses to potential violations, self-reporting of potential violations, as well as reparations to victims.
Deferred Prosecution Agreements as seen in UK Bribery act cases are only formally available for criminal proceedings, meaning they do not apply to Gross Human Rights Abuse cases. However, companies may be able to mitigate the damages of a case by making informal agreements with prosecutors that resemble DPAs.
This will require active cooperation with the investigation from the start, as well as continued cooperation by the entity with investigations of individuals. Past DPAs have included payment of the costs of the investigation, as well as penalties and requirements to establish stronger diligence programs.
Once a company is aware that it is doing business with an individual or entity that is committing Gross Human Rights Abuses (for example, by accidentally profiting from the abuse), it should consider taking immediate preventative action, including terminating its relationship with the abusive party. While this may create contractual issues, the potential penalties and complications from the assets being frozen during the trial, as we discussed earlier, will likely outweigh them, not to mention the potential reputational damage.
A business may also consider self-reporting any serious violations it discovers to the National Crime Agency. It is reasonable to expect prosecuting authorities to focus their attention on the worst offenders, rather than companies who find themselves unwillingly and unknowingly caught in the Criminal Finances Act s web, despite efforts to operate responsibly. Self-reporting is the best way to ensure that, if there are to be proceedings, they begin on the right foot.
Finally, consider ways to pay reparations to victims. The willing payment of reparations to victims will likely be far cheaper than any penalty or disgorgement of profit, and is a strong showing of good faith. This will be particularly useful in situations where the company unknowingly profited from a Gross Human Rights Abuse. In many cases, supporting victims is likely to encourage prosecutors to use their discretion favorably.
The Criminal Finances Act s Gross Human Rights Abuse provisions expand far further than the mere seizure of the assets of corrupt officials, as imagined by commenters in the press and Parliament. They pose real risks for liability for companies engaged in international business particularly in unstable regions where human rights abuses are common and should be treated accordingly.
Through strong due diligence, good faith compliance with the law, responsible self-reporting, payment of reparations, and other steps, companies will minimize the chances of becoming caught by the Criminal Finances Act.
____
Richard J. Rogers is a founding partner at Global Diligence LLP, a London-based law firm specializing in international law and human rights compliance. It offers a wide range of services to companies operating in high-risk zones to help ensure compliance with international standards. He can be contacted here.
Sasho Todorov is a third year Vanderbilt law student and an intern at Global Diligence. He can be contacted here.
Im originally from Iceland but Ive lived in London most of my adult life. My name comes from Norse mythology Sif is the goddess wife of Thor, the strong and handsome thunder god. I tried to find a Thor for a husband but no one was available.
Sif Sigmarsdottir
What I miss most from Iceland is the chocolate covered liquorice and the short, dark winter days.
My favourite book of all times is Pippi Longstocking by the Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. I recently listened to an interview with Sheryl Sandberg where she urged governments and companies to do more to close the gender pay gap and said that girls should be encouraged to become leaders from an early age. I believe that if all girls read Pippi Longstocking, women would be running the world.
Im a professional thief. All writers are thieves. In my office, theres a sign that says: Careful, or youll end up in my novel. Im a news junkie and I get inspiration and ideas from reading the papers in the morning. Quite a few politicians have made an appearance in my books in disguise of course. So have friends and family members. As a writer you steal characteristics, you steal experiences and everything in-between.
Ive been writing books for ten years and my novels for teenagers and young adults are best sellers in Iceland. I have a regular column on politics in Icelands main newspaper. I was once blacklisted by a prime minister. He is now on my blacklist and Im working on my revenge: All will be revealed in my next book which will feature an unbalanced prime minister whos out to destroy the world.
My writing is fuelled by cold coffee. Without it Im a like a car with an empty tank.
I love travelling and the idea for my latest book, I Am Traitor, came to me whilst visiting Sarajevo in 2007. My husband and I went on a guided tour of the city. There werent many tourists there and we were the only people on the tour. After the tour, we had tea with the tour guide, who was the same age as us, and he told us about being a teenager during the siege of Sarajevo. Id assumed that during a war like that people would just stay inside and wait for the awfulness to be over. But far from it. He told us amazing stories about how the kids snuck out of their houses to meet up, go to parties and just carry on with normal life. They were stories of regular people trying to hold on to a semblance of normality during the breakdown of everything we take for granted. His stories inspired me to write a book about survival, courage and the prevailing of the human spirit under the most extreme circumstances.
My writing is greatly influenced by my Nordic background. The strangest Scandinavian thing that has inspired me is a bowl. The space crafts in I am Traitor are inspired by a bowl as in fruit bowl. Not any old bowl though, but a famous bowl made by the Danish designer Georg Jensen. These bowls are very minimalistic, made from stainless steel and stand empty on countless table-tops all across the Nordic countries. I have one. My parents have one, my brothers, my friends in Iceland, my cousins in Denmark, everyone
I dont believe in inspiration; I believe in perspiration. Its important to sit and write everyday whether you feel up to it or not.
My favourite word in any language is Schnurrbart. Its German and means moustache. It just sounds funny.
I Am Traitor is available now online and in book stores
Rian Johnson doesn't know anything about the plans for 'Star Wars: Episode IX'.
Rian Johnson
The acclaimed moviemaker has been touted as a possible replacement for Colin Trevorrow as the director, but he has denied those rumours and admitted he doesn't know where the franchise is headed.
Speaking at a press conference in Japan, Rian explained: "It was never in the plan for me to direct 'Episode IX', so I don't know what's going to happen with it.
"For me, I was entirely focused on 'Episode VIII' and having this experience. Now I'm just thinking about putting the movie out there and seeing how audiences respond to it. So no, I'm not really thinking about that right now."
However, Rian revealed he was looking forward to enjoying the movie as a fan, regardless of who eventually directs 'Star Wars: Episode IX'.
He shared: "Whoever does it, I'm going to be really excited to be an audience member again, and to sit down and see what the next filmmaker has to show us and where this story ends up going."
Meanwhile, it was recently announced that Joseph Gordon-Levitt will voice an alien in 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi'.
The actor has collaborated with Rian on three of his movies, including 'Looper' and 'Brick', and the filmmaker is said to have revealed the actor will lend his voice to the forthcoming movie.
Rian - who has been promoting the upcoming motion picture in Japan - told fans: "My great friend Joseph Gordon Levitt is appearing as a voice actor."
by Charlotte Hough for www.femalefirst.co.uk
Daniel Dae Kim is in talks to replace Ed Skrein in the 'Hellboy' reboot.
Daniel Dae Kim
The 49-year-old actor, who is best known for starring in TV series 'Lost', could be starring as Major Ben Daimo, a consultant to the titular character at the Bureau for Paranormal Research, in the Neil Marshall reboot after Skrein dropped out of the movie due to complaints the character was being "whitewashed", Variety reports.
The casting of the 'Deadpool' star had been slammed by fans, as the character is originally portrayed as Japanese-American in the comic book.
Skrein said in a statement on Twitter: "It is clear that representing this character in a culturally accurate way holds significance for people, and that to neglect this responsibility would continue a worrying tendency to obscure ethnic minority stories and voice in the Arts. I feel it is important to honour and respect that. Therefore I have decided to step down so the role can be cast appropriately.
"Representation of ethnic diversity is important, especially to me as I have a mixed heritage family. It is our responsibility to make moral decisions in difficult times and to give voice to inclusivity. It is my hope that one day these discussions will become less necessary and that we can help make equal representation in the Arts a reality."
The plot in the new movie follows Hellboy as he battles with a medieval evil wizard who is determined to destroy humankind.
David Harbour has already been cast as Hellboy and will be joined by Milla Jovovich, 41, as the Blood Queen and Ian McShane, 74, as Professor Broom, the scientist who adopts the titular demon child, in the Marshall-helmed movie.
The part of Professor Broom was originally brought to life by the late John Hurt in the Ron Perlman starring-movies 'Hellboy' and 'Hellboy 2: The Golden Army'.
The upcoming project has been in the pipeline for some time, but the reboot is set to happen without original director Guillermo del Toro, who couldn't agree with the studio's vision for the movie.
Instead, Marshall - who worked on the likes of 'The Descent' and 'Game of Thrones' - is taking charge of the film.
Noel Gallagher has reportedly channelled his anger about brother Liam Gallagher into his new solo album.
Noel Gallagher
The 50-year-old guitarist has barely spoken to his younger sibling and bitter rival ever since he quit Oasis in August 2009, but that hasn't stopped Liam regularly taking to Twitter to throw jibes at Noel who he has branded a "stalker potato", blasted for supporting U2 and criticised for his response to the terrorist attack that took place outside the Manchester Arena in the pair's hometown in May - following his no-show at the One Love Manchester benefit concert held in June.
Noel was busy working on his third High Flying Birds album with producer David Holmes for much much of 2017 and two songs called 'Be Careful What You Wish For' and 'Black And White Sunshine' are believed to take aim at the 'Songbird' songwriter.
David - who has remixed tracks for the likes of U2, Primal Scream and Ice Cube in the past and is renowned for his movie soundtrack work - encouraged Noel to come into his studio in Belfast, Northern Ireland, with no pre-written songs so the pair could write spontaneously and some of the tracks were created in the midst of 44-year-old Liam's relentless barbs.
A source told the Daily Star newspaper: "David wanted Noel to ditch all the material he had when they started sessions last year and experiment in the studio. Inevitably there were days when Noel would have read or seen some of Liam's rants. He may have stayed silent publicly so far but he channelled some reactions into his songs."
Following the We Are Manchester benefit gig which was held on Saturday (09.09.17) to re-open the Manchester Arena and headlined by Noel, Liam slammed his brother's emotional performance, claiming his sibling "doesn't give a f**k" about what happened.
Noel was tearful as he sang 'Don't Look Back in Anger' at the reopening of Manchester Arena on Saturday (09.09.17) urging the crowd to sing along to the "anthem of defiance" in a showing of solidarity with the victims of the attack that happened at an Ariana Grande concert, but Liam felt Noel wasn't being sincere.
He tweeted: "NG broke down in tears cmon you seriously ain't buying that. He doesn't give a f**k. Don't buy into his PR stunt. He doesn't give a f**k. If the same thing had have gone on in Edinburgh he'd been up there like a shot ahem. (sic)"
The first single from Noel's as-yet-untitled LP - the follow-up to 2015's 'Chasing Yesterday' - is called 'It's A Beautiful World' and is due to be released imminently. His album follows in November.
Liam's debut solo LP 'As You Were' is out on October 6 and he previously told fans to expect 2017 to be "the year of the face off" between the pair.
He tweeted: "2017 the year of the face off Wright vs wrong Real Vs fake Love vs Hate as you were LFUKING x He's not the messiahs he's a vet NORTY boy ... Chilli putter Carlo void man (sic)"
Like brother Noel, Liam has previously used his music to attack his family rival.
On 'BE', the second album by 'Beady Eye' - the band he formed with the other final members of Oasis in the wake of the break-up - Liam penned 'Don't Brother Me' which contained lyrics mocking Noel's solo career and his friendships.
It has been speculated that his new tracks 'Greedy Soul' and 'You Better Run' contain swipes at Noel.
Yes have cancelled the rest of their 'Yestival Tour' following the sudden death of guitarist Steve Howe's son.
Yes' Steve Howe
The progressive rock group - comprised of Steve, Alan White, Geoff Downes, Jon Davison and Billy Sherwood - have asked for fans to respect their privacy at the "difficult time" as they take time out following the tragic news that 42-year-old Virgil passed away, with his cause of death currently unknown.
The Hall of Fame inductees have pulled their shows in Moorhead, Cedar Rapids, London, Rochester, Boston and Huntington and have offered refunds to ticket holders.
A post on the 'Roundabout' hitmaker's Facebook page read: "Due to the tragic, unexpected death of guitarist Steve Howe's beloved younger son, Virgil, YES regrettably announces that the remaining dates of their Yestival Tour have been cancelled.
Ticket refunds for the affected tour dates (in Moorhead, Cedar Rapids, London, Rochester, Boston and Huntington) will be available at point of purchase.
YES -- Steve Howe, Alan White, Geoff Downes, Jon Davison and Billy Sherwood -- want to thank all their fans for their support and understanding at this time.
Steve Howe and family ask for their privacy to be respected during this difficult time. (sic)"
Virgil was also a respected musician, a drummer in the band Little Barrie, famed for penning the Netflix theme song for the show 'Better Call Saul'.
The news broke just as the band were due to start a tour in Cambridge in the UK on Tuesday (12.09.17), in support of their album 'Death Express' which was released in July.
Virgil had teamed up with his famous father on several occasions providing the drums, vocals and keys on Steve's 1993 record 'The Grand Scheme of Things'.
The late sticksman leaves behind his model wife Jen Dawson - whom he married in 2007 - his parents Steve and Janet and his siblings Dylan, Georgia and Stephanie.
Montana Brown thinks there's a possibility she and Alex Beattie may reunite.
Montana Brown
The 'Love Island' couple called time on their romance just weeks after they left the famous villa two months ago because they were struggling to deal with the distance between them, but the brunette beauty has admitted they're still in touch with one another, get on really well and have a lot in common with one another.
Speaking to the Mail Online, she said: "We call each other still and we're still on good terms - we do really get on. We have a lot of things in common. We both like going to the gym, we both really clicked in the villa. As soon as we came out the distance was a really big issue. I'm not someone who would want to see someone all the time anyway, but it was more we weren't seeing each other a lot. We knew we would be really, really busy and it was quite early on to start going out with someone. It's just seeing if he moves closer or something like that... never say never."
And the 21-year-old beauty couldn't deal with how many girls were messaging her on Twitter about her relationship and would rather date out of the public eye.
She explained: "I used to get girls messaging me on Twitter saying, 'I'm with Alex in a club, he's with girls and stuff.' To be honest, I completely trusted Alex, he's a really good guy. It's just annoying more than anything else. I think relationship wise I like my private life to stay private and that was the opposite of what happened!"
Their split came just days after Montana - who is hoping to carve out a presenting career - admitted she was not in love with Alex.
Asked if she loves him, she said at the time on national television: "I don't love Alex yet, no. I'm really true to myself. I don't want to just say it if I don't mean it."
This article was written by Semsi Toprak, Project Coordinator for the Travel Foundation in Turkey.
Thanks to customer donations, Holiday Extras is supporting the Travel Foundations work across the globe including our programme in Fethiye, Turkey where Im based as a Project Coordinator.
A visit to Fethiye
Last month they paid us a visit to understand where some of their funds are being used and to see for themselves the positive impacts on the ground. Caroline and Abi from Holiday Extras were joined by British blogger Sabina who writes Girl Vs Globe (http://girlvsglobe.com) and is a big advocate of sustainable travel.
Taste of Fethiye
Fethiye is a vibrant and beautiful coastal region, drawing 600,000 tourists each year and is an important area for marine biodiversity. Weve had a history with this destination as its where weve previously worked with partners to set up the Taste of Fethiye project which improved supply links between local food growers and the hotels in the region.
?? Taste of Fethiye with Girl vs Globe & The Travel Foundation We recently explored Fethiye, Turkey with Girl vs Globe and The Travel Foundation! ??While we were there, we learnt about some of the projects the foundation's been working on, including the Taste of Fethiye project, which aimed to link local farmers to large hotel chains. ?The results were absolutely amazing, and you can learn more about them by watching this video! ? Have you got any tips on travelling responsibly? ? Tell us in the comments! ? Posted by Holiday Extras on Friday, August 18, 2017
Blue Wave project
Last year, the Travel Foundation handed the long-term project management to a local agency and we are now working on another initiative, Blue Wave, to preserve the regions marine environment.
?? Blue Wave Project with Girl vs Globe and the Travel Foundat Did you see our recent video about The Travel Foundation's Taste of Fethiye project? ?Well that's not the only project we learnt about! ? While we were in Turkey with Girl vs Globe we also learnt about the Blue Wave project, a project carried out in partnership with the Chamber of Shipping, TURMEPA, D Marin and the Travel Foundation, which is all about minimising the effects of marine tourism, keeping the destinations we love beautiful for future generations. ? Watch our video to learn more about it! There's also a link on the screen that allows you to donate to amazing projects like this around the world. ?Have you visited the Mugla region in Turkey? Tell us about it in the comments. ?? Posted by Holiday Extras on Friday, September 1, 2017
A whistle-stop tour
Our whistle-stop tour with Sabina and the Holiday Extras team included visits to the bustling local produce markets; tasting authentic Turkish cuisine; meeting the local farmers supplying the hotels and the hotels themselves; and boat and standup paddle boarding excursions to appreciate the marine activities on offer to tourists (and of course to soak up the sun and admire the beautiful bays and crystal-clear waters!).
We also made sure our guests had the opportunity to talk to some of our partners including FETAV Fethiyes tourism, culture and environment NGO, and D-Marin who manages one of the best marinas in Gocek. Sabina was well-received by the local press which in turn was a good opportunity for us to raise our local profile and fly the flag for sustainable tourism.
A great opportunity
Their visit was a great opportunity for two worlds to meet and were looking forward to future collaboration and support from Holiday Extras. Id like to thank everybody who took time to meet our guests and shared their passion for sustainable tourism in this destination.
Special thanks go to our Blue Wave partners, the Chamber of Shipping, who arranged an excursion for our guests on board a stunning yacht and also to D-Marin who gave them a tour of the marina and another boat trip in nearby Gocek.
Here are just a few of Holiday Extras and Sabinas videos captured during the trip. They reached almost 500.000 viewers for now and by the looks of it, they will reach over a million people by the end of the summer season. It is wonderful to see how good practice and sustainability can bring great stories to tell for tourism destinations.
Watch Sabrinas Vlog
If you would like to know more about the Travel Foundation please visit:
www.thetravelfoundation.org.uk
Tirta Investama, producer of Aqua bottled water brand and the Indonesian unit of French consumer giant Danone, recently signed an agreement with Swedish clothing giant Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) to turn plastic waste into apparel. The pact for the Bottle2Fashion initiative was signed during the launch of The Alliance for Marine Plastic Solutions Forum in Bali.We realize that the solution for the plastic waste problem in Indonesia must be solved through multi-stakeholder collaboration, Tirta Investama president director Corine Tap said in a statement recently.
Tirta Investama, producer of Aqua brand of bottled water and the local unit of French consumer giant Danone, recently signed an agreement with Swedish clothing giant Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) to turn plastic waste into apparel. The pact for the Bottle2Fashion initiative was signed during the launch of The Alliance for Marine Plastic Solutions Forum in Bali.#
The company will collect plastic bottle waste in Jakartas Thousand Islands district. After sorting, washing and shredding it into flakes at its South Tangerang, the waste will be transported to Kahatex, a West Java-based integrated textile company, a business partner of H&M Indonesia.Kahatex will generate polyester material from the plastic flakes and produce apparels at its garment manufacturing facility.Indonesia has pledged to reduce marine pollution by 70 percent by 2025, as the waste harms marine life and undermines tourism.H&M also has a vision of achieving 100 percent renewable production by only using recycled and sustainable materials in all its products by 2030. (DS)
Fibre2Fashion News Desk India
LONDON, Sept. 11,2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ExCeL Exhibition Centre-- At Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI), General Dynamics Land Systems-UK and General Dynamics European Land Systems are showcasing PIRANHA 5, General Dynamics' 8x8 platform that is a candidate for the British Army's Mechanised Infantry Vehicle (MIV) Programme.
Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/554393/GDLS_UK_Piranha5_DSEI.jpg
PIRANHA 5 is a highly mobile and protected platform with a payload of over 13 tonnes, providing significant growth potential throughout the life of the platform. It is modular by design and can be reconfigured quickly to accomplish a wide-range of mission objectives.
General Dynamics Land Systems-UK will demonstrate PIRANHA 5's innovations in electronic architectures, mobility and protection. It has proven its success in competitive trials around the world, and has been selected by Denmark and Spain for the modernisation of their Armed Forces. PIRANHA 5 is currently in production for the Danish Army.
Kevin Connell, vice president of General Dynamics Land Systems-UK, said: "The PIRANHA family of vehicles are highly reliable and in active service with Armed Forces worldwide. We can deliver PIRANHA 5 vehicles quickly to the British Army to meet the planned Initial Operating Capability for the MIV programme from an existing production line, before transferring production to our Merthyr Tydfil facility in South Wales, creating significant employment right across our extensive UK supply chain. PIRANHA 5 is the best-value-for-money solution to the British Army's MIV requirement, supporting British industry and jobs."
General Dynamics Land Systems has a long pedigree and worldwide experience in delivering tracked and wheeled military vehicles, alongside specialist knowledge in complex, scalable electronic architectures. It delivers, amongst others, AJAX, the Abrams main battle tank, LAV (Light Armoured Vehicle) and Stryker Family of Vehicles, and the Cougar Mine Resistant Ambush - Protected (MRAP).
Note to Editor: On Tuesday 12 September 2017 at 15:30 in the East Theatre at the London ExCeL, General Dynamics will give a presentation entitled 'How Does a Modern, Digitised 8x8 Deliver a Strike Capability?' It will cover the British Army's Strike concept, and offer thoughts on the coherent capability required to deliver the Strike capability, including the role of an 8x8 platform in enabling manoeuvre at a Divisional level, as well as the importance of a network enabled Land Environment Tactical CIS that allows agile sharing and dissemination of information across the battlefield.
About General Dynamics UK
General Dynamics United Kingdom ( General Dynamics UK) has two primary lines of business: Land Systems and Mission Systems. General Dynamics UK works in partnership with the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence (MoD) providing the nation's primary land capabilities including, amongst others, Bowman, the British Armed Forces tactical communications programme, and AJAX, the replacement for the British Army's reconnaissance vehicle fleet. The company also delivers avionics equipment used in rotary and fixed wing platforms, highly integrated mission and video management systems, flexible stores management systems, data link processing and video and data recorders for UK and international customers.
General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia.
Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/81320/general_dynamics_logo.jpg
NEW YORK, Sept. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --GoldenTree Asset Management LP, an institutional global asset management firm that specializes in opportunities across the credit universe, today announced the opening of an office in Sydney, Australia. The firm also announced the appointment of Russell Taylor as Managing Director to lead the new office. Mr. Taylor joins from JP Morgan, where he was most recently Managing Director, Head of Institutional Sales for Australia and New Zealand.
GoldenTree's new Sydney office represents its latest expansion in the Asia-Pacific region, following upon the opening of an office in Singapore three years ago. The area is home to a number of the firm's institutional clients.
"Australia has long been an important market for GoldenTree and we are pleased to establish an on-the-ground presence in the region, which we believe will offer significant benefits to our investors," said Kathy Sutherland, Partner and Head of Business Development at GoldenTree. "Russell has a long standing relationship with GoldenTree as well as terrific business development credentials in Australia and New Zealand and we welcome him to the firm."
"GoldenTree is a highly respected leader in the global credit markets, and I am excited about the opportunity to work with Kathy and the team to help further deepen and expand our presence in the Asia-Pacific region," said Mr. Taylor.
Prior to joining GoldenTree, Russell Taylor spent over 30 years with JP Morgan, holding several key management and sales roles across Credit Derivatives, Structured Credit, Securitization, Loans and Rates. Mr. Taylor joined JP Morgan in 1985 and helped establish JP Morgan's institutional coverage of fixed income and derivatives in Australia. Most recently, Mr. Taylor managed JP Morgan's sales team responsible for distribution of Credit and Alternative products to financial institutions in Australia and New Zealand. During his time at JP Morgan, Mr. Taylor helped drive the firm's diversity initiatives as an inaugural member of the Asia Pacific Inclusive Leadership Council and the Australia and New Zealand Diversity Council. Mr. Taylor is a graduate of University of Technology Sydney.
About GoldenTree
GoldenTree is an employee-owned, global asset management firm that specializes in opportunities across the credit universe in sectors such as high yield bonds, leveraged loans, distressed debt, structured products, emerging markets and credit-themed equities. GoldenTree was founded in 2000 and is one of the largest independent asset managers focused on credit. GoldenTree manages over $25 billion for institutional investors including leading public and corporate pensions, endowments, foundations, insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds. For more information, please visit www.goldentree.com
View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/goldentree-continues-expansion-in-asia-pacific-region-300517415.html
LINN COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
All cases from Monday afternoon.
Vandalism Stephen Leon Gregory, 51, of Sweet Home, was charged with first-degree criminal mischief, fourth-degree assault (domestic violence), fourth-degree assault and menacing. The crimes allegedly occurred in the Quartzville area on Saturday and Gregory was arrested by the Linn County Sheriffs Office. Two separate females were listed on court paperwork as the victims of the assaults. In a separate case Gregory was charged with depositing trash within 100 yards of waters, a violation. That allegedly occurred on June 3.
Driving while suspended Bobby Raymound Helms Jr., 31, of Sweet Home, was charged with felony driving while suspended or revoked, misdemeanor fleeing or attempt to elude a police officer, two counts of second-degree criminal trespass, second-degree burglary, giving false information to a police officer and possession of methamphetamine. The crimes allegedly occurred on Sunday. The state has filed a notice of intent to seek an enhanced sentence in the case.
Identity theft Bryce Taylor Keenon, 21, of Sweet Home, was charged with identity theft, unlawful entry into a motor vehicle and second-degree theft. The crimes allegedly occurred on Aug. 22.
Attempt to elude Richard Dean Raisor, 41, of Sweet Home, was charged with felony fleeing or attempt to elude a police officer and two counts of recklessly endangering another. The crimes allegedly occurred on Sept. 7.
Mistreatment Lorrie Luvenia Schlegel, 51, of Albany, was charged with two counts of first-degree criminal mistreatment and one count of felony fourth-degree assault. According to the charging document, she knowingly and in violation of a legal duty caused physical injury to a dependent person.
Vehicle theft Bryson Verl Setzkorn, 28, of Lebanon, was charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle. The crime occurred sometime between June 1 and Aug. 6.
Drug delivery Roy Ted Shinall, 47, of Salem, was charged with delivery and possession of methamphetamine, delivery and possession of heroin and delivery and possession of cocaine. The crimes allegedly occurred on or about July 11.
Unlawful use of a weapon Eric Shane Zervas, 50, of Albany, was charged with unlawful use of a weapon and menacing. The crimes allegedly occurred on Sept. 9.
OREGON STATE POLICE
Injury crash 5:48 p.m. Sunday, Interstate 5 southbound near Millersburg. A car failed to drive within its lane and sideswiped a second vehicle headed southbound. Both cars traveled onto the right shoulder and crashed into a guardrail. The driver of the car that moved into the other lane, Tam Thanh Howitt, 31, of Eugene, and her passenger, Phung Rose Baker, 35, of Elmira, were both taken to Samaritan Albany General Hospital with complaints of pain.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Pizza Hut has come under fire on social media after a manager of one Pizza Hut franchisee in Jacksonville, Florida threatened to punish employees who evacuated for the storm outside of a designated time frame. The manager posted a one-page note for the Pizza Hut employees by saying that the company's '#1 priority is the safety and security of our team.' However, he laid out his terms about evacuation plans for the employees. He ordered that they cannot evacuate more than 24 hours before the storm and must return within 72 hours. He threatened that failure to show for these shifts, regardless of reason, will be considered a no call/no show and documentation will be issued. 'After the storm, we need all TM's available to get the store up and running and serve our communities as needed,' he said. Irma was expected to hit Jacksonville on Tuesday. The city's mayor ordered its residents to evacuate before Saturday. The note went viral on social media and many fired the company for risking its employees' lives. Pizza Hut responded with a statement posted on its website. It read, 'We absolutely do not have a policy that dictates when team members can leave or return from a disaster, and the manager who posted this letter did not follow company guidelines. We can also confirm that the local franchise operator has addressed this situation with the manager involved.' 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.
US Study results presented at European Burns Association (EBA) Annual Meeting
The ReCell Autologous Cell Harvesting Device effectively reduces the amount of skin harvesting required relative to conventional treatment of burn injuries, which has important benefits from both clinical and economic perspectives, according to burn surgeons presenting at a major burns conference this past week.
Avita Medical Ltd. (ASX: AVH), (OTCQX: AVMXY), a regenerative medicine company specializing in the treatment of wounds and skin defects, reports that key findings were presented by U.S. surgeons, alongside German and British surgeons who presented on their routine use of ReCell this week at the 17th European Burns Association Congress, held September 6-8, 2017 in Barcelona.
In reporting on the largest prospective study of the ReCell device in treatment of second-degree burn injuries, Dr William Hickerson (Firefighters Regional Burn Center, Memphis, Tenn.) reviewed outcomes from 101 subjects studied in the U.S., showing a 97.5% reduction in donor skin harvested for treatment of second-degree burn injuries, which yielded a 4.4 times greater likelihood of donor site healing after one week.
Dr James H Holmes IV (Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina) highlighted the successful co-primary endpoint outcomes in the U.S. confirmatory trial for the Company's premarket approval (PMA) study for the U.S. FDA. Dr Holmes reported on treatment of 30 patients who sustained third-degree burn injuries and concluded that relative to conventional skin grafting treatment, use of the ReCell device achieved comparable short-term healing and long-term scar and satisfaction outcomes using less donor skin, with no safety concerns. On average, in this randomized control trial, a 32% reduction in use of donor skin was observed. Dr Holmes further presented a clinical case conducted under Compassionate Use, highlighting how autograft-sparing with ReCell translates into life-saving treatment of an extensive burn injury.
Ms Isabel Jones (Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London) reviewed the algorithm established for treatment of acute facial burns at the burn center she directs, and Dr Simon Kuepper (Unfallkrankenhaus, Berlin) reviewed the integration of the ReCell device into the burn care pathway at his burn center in Berlin.
"Presentations of positive outcomes for treatment of burn injuries of both second- and third-degree, ranging from the face to massive total body surface area injuries, validates the broad implications for application of ReCell in elevating the standard of care in burns, and we eagerly anticipate the opportunity to launch the ReCell device in the United States," said Erin Liberto, Chief Commercial Officer.
ABOUT AVITA MEDICAL LIMITED
Avita's patented and proprietary collection and application technology provides innovative treatment solutions derived from the regenerative properties of a patient's own skin. Our medical devices work by preparing a Regenerative Epithelial Suspension (RES), an autologous suspension comprised of the patients' own skin cells and wound healing factors that are necessary to regenerate natural healthy skin. This is then applied to the area to be treated.
In all countries outside of Europe, our portfolio is marketed under the ReCell brand to promote skin healing in a wide range of applications including burns, chronic wounds and aesthetics.
ReCell is TGA-registered in Australia, and CFDA-cleared in China. In the United States, ReCell is an investigational device limited by federal law to investigational use.
In Europe, our portfolio of medical device products received CE-mark approval as three tailored product presentations, with three individual brand names. ReCell is designed for the treatment of burns and plastic reconstructive procedures; ReGenerCell has been formulated for chronic wounds including leg and foot ulcers; and ReNovaCell is tailored for aesthetic applications including the restoration of pigmentation.
To learn more, visit www.avitamedical.com.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This letter includes forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "expect," "intend," "could," "may," "will," "believe," "estimate," "look forward," "forecast," "goal," "target," "project," "continue," "outlook," "guidance," "future," other words of similar meaning and the use of future dates. Forward-looking statements in this letter include, but are not limited to, statements concerning, among other things, our ongoing clinical trials and product development activities, regulatory approval of our products, the potential for future growth in our business, and our ability to achieve our key strategic, operational and financial goal. Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. Each forward-looking statement contained in this letter is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statement. Applicable risks and uncertainties include, among others, the timing of regulatory approvals of our products; physician acceptance, endorsement, and use of our products; failure to achieve the anticipated benefits from approval of our products; the effect of regulatory actions; product liability claims; risks associated with international operations and expansion; and other business effects, including the effects of industry, economic or political conditions outside of the company's control. Investors should not place considerable reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this letter. Investors are encouraged to read our publicly available filings for a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements in this letter speak only as of the date of this release, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any of these statements.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170911006350/en/
Contacts:
Australia
Monsoon Communications
Sarah Kemter
Phone: +61 (0)3 9620 3333
Mobile: +61 (0)407 162 530
sarahk@monsoon.com.au
or
USA
Westwicke Partners
Jamar Ismail
Phone +1 (415) 513-1282
jamar.ismail@westwicke.com
SINGAPORE -- (Marketwired) -- 09/11/17 -- Avnet (NYSE: AVT), a leading global technology distributor, recently received the 2017 Best Distributor Dedicated Field Application Engineering (DFAE) Award in Taiwan and ASEAN from Xilinx, Inc., as a result of accelerating sales to achieve profitable growth.
Xilinx, a leading provider of All Programmable products and technology, is one of Avnet's longest running partners, with a relationship spanning more than 25 years. The two companies work closely to deliver Xilinx's comprehensive portfolio of All Programmable technology to Avnet's broad customer base across a wide range of markets. Avnet's Field Application Engineers (FAEs) are responsible for applying an in-depth understanding of both the customer and industry requirements to provide technical solutions that deliver optimal design performance for unique market applications.
The DFAE Award was given in recognition of Avnet's outstanding performance and support to Xilinx, in particular for technical work done with one of Vietnam's largest mobile network operators.
Arthur Chung, director of supplier and product management, Avnet Asia, said, "Vietnam is a fast growing economy with a thriving technology sector. Our team of specialized FAEs support our customers from idea through to design, and from product to prototype, opening up new business opportunities in the process. We're honored to be receiving the best distributor DFAE award in Taiwan and ASEAN from Xilinx in recognition of the valuable business connection we have forged together with companies in Vietnam. This successful partnership and great teamwork with Xilinx enables us to serve our customers well and is a prime example of Avnet's ability to provide high-value and innovative solutions to our customers in the region."
"Avnet has been instrumental in driving the success of our products. This award not only recognizes the business performance of the team, but also the incredible dedication and effort the Avnet team has shown to enable our customers' success," said Jay Wang, regional sales manager of Taiwan and ASEAN at Xilinx.
Avnet has an extensive portfolio of Xilinx development kits, System-on-Modules (SOMs), and embedded board solutions to support designers from concept to production. Avnet attends to customer design needs from a system level approach with hardware and software solutions. The company also offers unique Xilinx training programs, both in-person and on-demand, that help designers learn what they need to know in a very concise and practical manner.
More information is available on the full portfolio of Xilinx products and solutions from Avnet.
All brands and trade names are trademarks or registered trademarks, and are the properties of their respective owners. Avnet disclaims any proprietary interest in marks other than its own.
Follow Avnet on Twitter: @Avnet
Connect with Avnet on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/avnet
Connect with Avnet on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AvnetInc
About Xilinx
Xilinx is the leading provider of All Programmable semiconductor products, including FPGAs, SoCs, MPSoCs, RFSoCs, and 3D ICs. Xilinx uniquely enables applications that are both software defined and hardware optimized - powering industry advancements in Cloud Computing, 5G Wireless, Embedded Vision, and Industrial IoT. For more information, visit www.xilinx.com.
About Avnet
From idea to design and from prototype to production, Avnet supports customers at each stage of a product's lifecycle. A comprehensive portfolio of design and supply chain services makes Avnet the go-to guide for innovators who set the pace for technological change. For nearly a century, Avnet has helped its customers and suppliers around the world realize the transformative possibilities of technology. Learn more about Avnet at www.avnet.com.
Press contact:
Yeap Wei Ting
Avnet Asia Pacific
+65.6580.6611
Email Contact
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / November 8, 2017 / Maxtech Ventures Inc. (CSE: MVT) (Frankfurt: M1N) (OTC: MTEHF), ("Maxtech" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that after a site visit, it is moving forward with further research on a potential asset located in the state of Goias, Brazil due to positive indications of potential manganese deposits.
Maxtech in conjunction with Maringa Ferro-Liga, is planning to return to the Raimunda, Cavalcante claim in northern Goias for further due diligence. The Company signed a letter of interest on the existing mining operation as previously released on September 12th 2017. Initial results of the visit were positive and warrant further research activities. The exploration team from Maringa indicated that there was manganese mineralization visible in sieved stockpiles and they recommended further fieldwork to ascertain the potential resource of the site.
Peter Wilson, CEO of Maxtech said "Although the rainy season has begun in Brazil, it is a good time to expand research on new manganese claims and potential acquisitions. We are committed to make Brazil our base in South America while teaming up with Maringa. We are fortunate to have such an engaged and experienced strategic partner who we hope to be our key off-take partner both in Brazil and throughout the South American region."
Additionally, Maxtech Ventures Inc. announces that it is undertaking a non-brokered private placement of up to $2,000,000 by the issuance of units priced at $.30 per unit, each unit being comprised of one common share in the capital of the Company and one share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one additional common share for a period of one year at an exercise price of $.40 per share. The Warrants will be subject to an accelerated expiration period in the event the Company's shares trade on a recognized exchange at more than $.60 for a 14 day period, which will include days where no shares trade, after a period that is four months and a day from the issuance of the Warrants.
The Company has issued 3,000,000 million options at $.30 per share to certain officers, directors and consultants, pursuant to the Company's stock option plan.
About Grupo Maringa
Founded in 1946, Grupo Maringa now has over 2,000 employees with over USD $200 million in 2016 revenues. The Maringa companies are located in the states of Parana and Sao Paulo. They produce sugar cane, sugar, ethanol, energy and manganese alloy. Maringa Ferro-Liga S.A. is a subsidiary of Grupo Maringa and is located in Itapeva, State of Sao Paulo. It is the second largest manganese ferroalloy producer in South America, producing high quality silico-manganese and high-carbon ferromanganese.
About Maxtech Ventures Inc.
Maxtech Ventures Inc. is a Canadian based diversified industries corporation with gold and manganese mineral properties. Its focus is on mining and the products that are derived therefrom.
For additional information see the Company's web site at http://www.maxtech-ventures.com
Email to info@maxtech-ventures.com
Phone: 604-484-8989
Further information about the Company is available on www.SEDAR.com under the Company's profile.
Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Certain statements contained in this release may constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" (collectively "forward-looking information") as those terms are used in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and similar Canadian laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated", "anticipates" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Company's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. In particular, this release contains forward-looking information relating to the business of the Company, the Property, financing and certain corporate changes. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof and the Company is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein.
SOURCE: Maxtech Ventures Inc.
NEW YORK (dpa-AFX Broker) - Die US-Investmentbank Goldman Sachs hat Teva von "Neutral" auf "Buy" hochgestuft und das Kursziel von 15 auf 20 US-Dollar angehoben. Mit der Ankundigung von Kostensenkungen in Hohe von drei Milliarden Dollar bis 2019 liege der Pharmakonzern deutlich uber ihren Erwartungen und sollte damit die Kehrtwende geschafft haben, schrieb Analystin Jami Rubin in einer am Freitag vorliegenden Studie./ajx/la
Datum der Analyse: 15.12.2017
dpa-AFX Broker - die Trader News von dpa-AFX
ISIN US8816242098
AXC0278 2017-12-15/17:17
CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The Australian dollar weakened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Tuesday. The Australian dollar fell to a 5-day low of 0.7998 against the U.S. dollar and a 6-day low of 0.9693 against the Canadian dollar, from yesterday's closing quotes of 0.8026 and 0.9720, respectively. Against the euro and the yen, the aussie dropped to 1.4940 and 87.48 from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.4885 and 87.81, respectively. If the aussie extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 0.78 against the greenback, 0.95 against the loonie, 1.51 against the euro and 89.00 against the yen. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
LINKOPING, Sweden, Dec. 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- International medical imaging IT and cybersecurity company Sectra(STO: SECT B) reported increased order bookings and net sales compared with the year-earlier period. The earnings trend for the Group as a whole was stable. Sectra's financial focus is to increase its operating profit per share while maintaining its operating margin, and Sectra's financial performance measures continue to exceed the Group's target levels.
Six-month period in figures
Order bookings increased 24.6% to SEK 654.4 million (525.1).
(525.1). Net sales rose 14.4% to SEK 578.5 million (505.9). Adjusted for currency fluctuations, sales increased 16.2%.
(505.9). Adjusted for currency fluctuations, sales increased 16.2%. Operating profit rose 32.6% to SEK 104.1 million (78.5), corresponding to an operating margin of 18.0% (15.5). Adjusted for currency fluctuations, operating profit increased 35.6%.
(78.5), corresponding to an operating margin of 18.0% (15.5). Adjusted for currency fluctuations, operating profit increased 35.6%. Cash flow after changes in working capital increased to SEK 74.7 million (70.2).
Second quarter in figures
Order bookings increased 42.5% to SEK 426.8 million (299.6).
(299.6). Net sales rose 13.8% to SEK 313.4 million (275.4). Adjusted for currency fluctuations, sales increased 16.9%.
(275.4). Adjusted for currency fluctuations, sales increased 16.9%. Operating profit rose 28.9% to SEK 59.8 million (46.4), corresponding to an operating margin of 19.1% (16.8). Adjusted for currency fluctuations, operating profit increased 33.5%.
(46.4), corresponding to an operating margin of 19.1% (16.8). Adjusted for currency fluctuations, operating profit increased 33.5%. Cash flow after changes in working capital amounted to SEK 50.4 million (52.6).
Torbjorn Kronander, President and CEO of Sectra AB, comments
"Sectra continues to experience major variations between quarters, particularly in terms of order bookings. During the second quarter, we reported increased order bookings in both Imaging IT Solutions and Secure Communications. We signed agreements with several new US customers, and won a prestigious order in the Netherlands for a nationwide breast screening solution. Our greatest growth opportunities currently lie in the US market, where we have a high level of customer satisfaction but a relatively small market share to date.
"Several of our new orders will initially be charged to earnings. A significant portion of our costs arise in the early stages of the multiyear projects, while revenue and profit recognition are distributed over the entire duration of the customer contract. We are also investing in the countries where we have established new offices, Canada and France, which entails higher initial costs but ultimately will contribute to our continued growth and earnings.
"Healthcare and cybersecurity are growing and rapidly changing markets, where numerous opportunities are being created for companies such as Sectra. We are well positioned in these areas, with stable solutions, a long-term future focus and high customer satisfaction. I am therefore optimistic when it comes to our ability to continue this positive trend going forward. Our financial goals remain firm: an equity/assets ratio of 30%, an operating margin of 15%, and 50% growth in operating earnings per share over a five-year period. However, I would like to point out that growth comes at a price. Our aim is to continue growing in the long term, but we will not be able to simultaneously increase our margins beyond our goal."
For further CEO comments and information, see the attached interim report.
Presentation of the interim report
A teleconference will be held by Torbjorn Kronander, President and CEO of Sectra AB, and Mats Franzen, CFO of Sectra AB. The presentation will be held in English.
Time: December 8, 2017 at10:00 a.m. (CET)
To participate, call:
SE: +46 856642690
UK: +44 2030089801
US: +1 8557532235
The report presentation can also be followed live online: www.sectra.com/irwebcast. A recorded version will also be available via this link after the conference.
This information constitutes information that Sectra AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and/or the Swedish Securities Markets Act. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, at 8:00 a.m. (CET) on December 8, 2017.
For further information, please contact:
Torbjorn Kronander
President and CEO
Sectra AB, tel +46-705-23-52-27
Press images: flickr.com/photos/sectramedicalsystems
This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com
http://news.cision.com/sectra/r/sectra-s-six-month-interim-report-2017-2018--increased-order-bookings-and-stable-earnings-trend,c2409960
The following files are available for download:
Conference Series has scheduled 300 more Pharmameetingsfor 2018 in 30+ countries
LONDON, and SINGAPORE, Sept. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --Associated with over 1000 scientific societies and organizations, Conference Series is scheduled to organize pharmaceutical conferences in Europe, USA, and Asia Pacific with a view to unleash precious scientific findings for the benefit of humanity.
With the changing face of pharmaceutical markets around the world, the industry exhibits enormous potential exponential growth. In the US, healthcare spending is in the range of $3.12 trillion with pharmaceutical sales of around $333 billion. Of this, $244 billion comes from patented sales and $70 billion from generic sales. Considering this vast economyin thepharmaceutical field, we at Conference Series are organizing some of our best conferences in theUSA, Europe and Asia-Pacific regions on the current topics, which are instrumentalin the changinglandscape of thepharmaceutical market.
Our pharmaceutical conferences scheduled during 2018 span all over theworldand featureseveral pharmaceutical topics like drug delivery systems, drug discovery, drug designing, pharmacology, neuropharmacology, bioavailability bioequivalence studies, biopharmaceutical drug discovery, antibiotics, toxicology, clinical trials, best compliance methods, regulatory frameworks and other related topics. Conference Series Pharmaceuticalmeetings promote extended networking between experts and address all such challenges, which require earlytroubleshooting. Attendees of the conferences witness several hours of pharmaceutical knowledge exchange and sharing that would inevitably boost scientific research and developments in the pharmaceutical sciences.
ConferenceSeries and its partnered companies organise 3000+ conferences across the USA, Europe & Asia and publish 1000+ Peer Reviewed Journals, which attract over 50 million readers andfeature over 50,000 eminent personalities and reputed scientists as editorial board members.
During these conferences we have alsopartnered with some of the best pharmaceutical and healthcare companies around the globe who are not only pioneers in drug discovery, but also the market leaders in terms of revenue, to unveil their latest discoveries. Reputed universities across theUSA, UK, Europe and Asia grace these conferences with a view to promote industry-academia collaborations. These pharma conferenceswitness a web traffic total of one million visits, whereas the total page views are 4 million(analyzed twice a year).
For a glimpse of our conferences and testimonials visit our Conference Gallery & Meetings Experts Outlook
For assistances on registrations/exhibitions and other details Contact:
T: +1-650-889-4686
E: contact@conferenceseries.com
Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/554693/Conference_Series_Logo.jpg
BANGKOK, Sept. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- As a country well-known for eccentric fashion trends, refined cuisine, and arguably the world's most iconic popular culture, Japan - through its soft power - has gained great influence among the Thai people. Look no further than the crowds of cosplayers in the Siam shopping district or the abundance of Japanese restaurants on every street in downtown Bangkok. In 2016, Japan welcomed a total of up to 901,525 Thai tourists - an exponential increase from 796,731 tourists in 2015. Indeed, the interest is mutual: the amount of Japanese visitor arrivals in Thailand has also been on the rise in recent years. In 2016, the number of Japanese tourists entering Thailand was 4th highest among those from foreign countries, with up to 1.44 million arrivals.
Despite impressive tourism statistics and what would seem like a great deal of familiarity between the two countries, in truth, not many on either side are aware of the historical ties which make the relationship that Thailand has with Japan one of the strongest and most meaningful, among all other nations. As this year marks the 130th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Thailand and Japan, it is perhaps as good a time as any to reflect on the journey the two countries have taken together up to the present day.
First interaction between the peoples of Siam, the former name for Thailand and Japan began over 600 years ago through trade. By the early 17th century, the trade volume between Siam and Japan was larger than the combined trade volume between Siam and all other countries. Not long after, Japanese migrants started settling in Siam, forming a Japanese village or 'mooban yeepoon' in Ayutthaya, which was home to around 1,500 Japanese settlers, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand stated.
It wasn't until the late 19th century, however, that Siam and Japan established their diplomatic relations through the signing of the Declaration of Amity and Commerce on September 26th, 1887, during the reign of King Chulalongkorn and Emperor Meiji. In the years that followed, Japanese scholars were frequently sent to Siam to help develop and modernize the country in the areas of education and culture.
At the heart of Thai - Japanese relations has always been the close ties between the two royal families. Over the years, members of the Chakri Dynasty and Japan's Imperial Family have continually exchanged visits. The latest visit to Thailand of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan in March 2017, in order to pay their last respects to His Majesty the Late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, was a reflection of the goodwill between the two royal families, and represented a gesture of support from a true friend for Thailand during a difficult time. This strong foundation has underpinned growth in other aspects of the Thailand - Japan relationship over the past 130 years.
The driving force behind modern Thailand - Japan relations lies in economic cooperation. Japan is currently Thailand's number one investor. The Board of Investment of Thailand (BOI) statistics for the first half of 2017 estimate an investment value of up to 65.44 billion Baht (US$1.97 billion) from Japan (compared to 40.9 billion Baht in the first half of 2016). Japan is also Thailand's second largest trading partner, with a total trade value of 917.05 billion Baht (US$27.56 billion) in the first half of 2017. New dimensions of economic cooperation have also emerged in response to shifting global economic trends and new economic policies and initiatives launched by the governments of both countries, such as industrial development in special economic zones, infrastructure development, science and technology, and human resources development.
In commemorating 130 years of the diplomatic relations between Thailand and Japan, relevant agencies of both sides have organised a series of activities throughout the year in Bangkok, Tokyo, and other cities in Thailand and Japan. Among the upcoming key events is a concert by the Royal Bangkok Symphony Orchestra at the Suntory Hall in Tokyo on September 26th, 2017. In Bangkok, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, in cooperation with the Embassy of Japan in Bangkok and the Japan Foundation, will organise an exhibition under the title '130 Years of Thailand - Japan Friendship' at Rattanakosin Exhibition Hall from September 27th until October 8th, 2017.
The exhibition, which will be open to the public from 10:00 to 19:00 hrs. every day, except Monday when the museum is closed, presents various aspects of the Thai - Japan relationship, ranging from interactions among the royal families to political and economic cooperation. It is a must for anyone wanting to learn more about history and the relationship between the Land of Smiles and the Land of the Rising Sun.
Department of East Asian Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand
Tel: +662-203-5000
Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/554124/130th_Anniversary_of_Thailand_Japan_Diplomatic_Relations.jpg
A consortium of 24 Danish institutional investors has now decided also to issue a writ against the issuing banks Morgan Stanley and Carnegie in the action for prospectus liability. This extends the group of defendants in the action for claim for damages against OW Bunker A/S in bankruptcy, relevant Altor units and the former Board of Directors and day-to-day management of OW Bunker of a total amount of approx. DKK 767 million.
The Danish institutional investors have suffered a loss of DKK 767 million following their investment in shares in OW Bunker on the basis of a prospectus which was insufficient in material aspects.
On behalf of the consortium Tomas Kruger Andersen, Head of Legal, Investments, ATP says:
"The consortium has decided to extend the group of defendants to include the issuing banks Morgan Stanley and Carnegie. This decision is based on new information in extensive exhibits from the bankruptcy estate, which we were given access to only this spring. We believe that the banks knew about OW Bunker's speculative activities and that the banks contributed to misleading investors. Against this background, we believe that they may be liable to pay damages."
Background:
In December 2014, a number of Danish institutional investors launched an investigation into OW Bunker's bankruptcy with the purpose of determining whether there was a basis for claiming legal liability. The investigation focused on errors and deficiencies in the prospectus prepared in connection with the IPO of OW Bunker, liability in connection with the offer and sale of shares in OW Bunker as well as management liability in connection with the operation of OW Bunker.
Based on the conclusions of the investigation, the Danish institutional investors, representing a total claim of just over DKK 767 million, in early April 2016 brought legal proceedings with a view to obtaining compensation and determining responsibility. The action is pending before the Danish Eastern High Court.
The institutional investors reserve the right to continue to involve additional parties or bring new actions.
The law firm Bruun & Hjejle represents the investors in the proceedings.
Participating institutional investors in the prospect liability action include:
ATP, Investeringsforeningen PFA Invest, PFA Kapitalforening, Investeringsforeningen Absalon Invest, Kapitalforeningen PenSam Invest, Kapitalforeningen Mermaid Nordic, Kapitalforeningen SEBinvest II, Kapitalforeningen SEB Kontofrende, Kapitalforeningen Wealth Invest, Investeringsforeningen SEBinvest, Kapitalforeningen Lrernes Pension Invest, PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab, Kapitalforeningen Unipension Invest, Investeringsforeningen Maj Invest, AP Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab, Kapitalforeningen Sampension Invest, Kapitalforeningen EMD Invest, Investeringsforeningen Danske Invest, Investeringsforeningen Danske Invest Select, Kapitalforeningen Danske Invest Institutional, Danske Invest (fonds commune de placement), Danske Invest Nordic Opportunities Fund, Topdanmark Forsikring A/S and Topdanmark Livsforsikring A/S.
Contact person on behalf of the consortium: Maria Lindeberg, media relations manager, ATP. Mobile +45 24 99 84 55, email: lin@atp.dk
Attachment:
https://cns.omxgroup.com/cds/DisclosureAttachmentServlet?messageAttachmentId=645065
Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
A crowd gathered on the Linn County Courthouse lawn on Monday morning to remember the nearly 3,000 people who were killed in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, as well as the 6,000 wounded and others affected in the aftermath.
But local leaders also reminded the audience that the attacks brought a resilient United States together, and they called for renewed unity in what seems at times like a fractured country today.
From Albany, Oregon, to Albany, New York, there was a sense of patriotism and duty in the wake of 9/11, as firefighters and other volunteers from across the country came to Ground Zero to help. Others contributed funds or helped raise resources.
We must forever remember the goodness it brought out of thousands of people, said Linn County Sheriff Bruce Riley.
Thats who we are. Thats who we should be, he later added.
This week, the United States has new reasons to unite, such as Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma, as well as to a lesser extent, wildfires here in Oregon.
People like you and I have been ripped from their homes, have lost everything they own, have lost their loved ones, Riley said.
Petty differences seem to melt away in the face of disasters, but Riley wondered why it takes a tragedy to bring Americans together.
Do I wish we would unite in the good times like we do in the bad? Yes, I do, he said.
Albany Mayor Sharon Konopa asked the crowd to bring love and compassion to all mankind, and commended the few hundred people who showed up for the memorial. This has been 16 years now and we still get a great turnout in our community, she said.
The sacrifice and bravery of firefighters and policemen who rushed to the scenes of the attacks was noted several times during the memorial. Konopa made sure to thank local public safety workers and volunteers from numerous agencies who attended.
They are here daily protecting us, Konopa said.
David Solomon vice commander of American Legion Post 10 in Albany, also spoke. Solomon was a paramedic with the Forest Hills Volunteer Ambulance Corps, and responded to the scene after airliners hit the World Trade Center towers.
I was a rescuer there and it was hard and it hurts, Solomon said. People, some of them on fire, some not, were jumping from burning buildings to their deaths.
One of his medic students, teenager Richard Pearlman, went into the Twin Towers three times to help people, despite Solomons warnings that he should get out of the area.
He said he had to help people. Richie went into the building three times. The third time, the building came down on him. He perished, Solomon said.
Friends that he worked next to are dying of lung cancer from exposure to airborne particles released as the buildings collapsed. Others, such as Solomon himself, have respiratory issues or other health problems.
He also touched on the feelings of unity that the attacks created, with feuding neighbors banding together with a sense of purpose for the greater good.
I wish that would stay all these years, and unfortunately, it doesnt, Solomon said.
MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 09/18/17 -- Aurvista Gold Corporation ("Aurvista" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: AVA)(OTCQB: ARVSF)(FRANKFURT: AV2) is pleased to announce the appointment of Friedrich (Fred) Speidel as the Company's new Vice-President, Exploration. Mr. Speidel will lead Aurvista's exploration team and coordinate with the Company's recently announced Technical Advisory Committee (see press release July 27, 2017) to execute the Company's updated exploration and drilling plans (see press release September 12, 2017).
Aurvista's President and CEO, Matthew Hornor, stated: "We are very pleased to welcome Fred Speidel to the Aurvista team. Fred is a multilingual geologist with tremendous greenfields and brownfields exploration experience. We believe his diverse skill set is well-suited to lead the Company's exploration team going forward."
Fred Speidel, P.Geo., M.Sc., FSEG
Mr. Speidel has over 30 years exploration experience in North, Central and South America, and has been involved in discoveries in each region. From 1987 to 1992, Fred explored for gold in Ontario and Quebec, mostly with Minnova, and was involved in the Boyvinet and Troilus discoveries, the latter of which became a mine. From 1993 to 2013, he continued to work with the same group, which eventually became Inmet Mining (now First Quantum), mostly as Regional Exploration Manager for Central and South America. During that period he was involved in several gold and copper discoveries, including at Cobre Panama which is currently under construction. From 2013 to 2015, Fred served as Antofagasta Minerals' Regional Exploration Manager for North America, and since then he has been working on several exploration projects as a consultant in Canada and Mexico. Mr. Speidel holds a B.Sc. (Hons) in Geology from McGill University, and a M.Sc. (Mineral Exploration) from Queen's University.
The Company is also pleased to announce the appointment of Tracy Hansen as the Company's VP, Compliance & Corporate Secretary. Mrs. Hansen has 20 years of corporate securities and regulatory experience providing management services to public and private companies, primarily in the mining sector.
Aurvista's President and CEO, Matthew Hornor, stated: "I have worked with Tracy beginning with the Ivanhoe group 12 years ago and then at Western Lithium Corporation, where I witnessed firsthand her professionalism, integrity and ability to dutifully oversee the corporate functions of a quickly growing company"
Tracy Hansen
Tracy Hansen is a securities paralegal with 20 years of experience in providing regulatory and management services to public and private companies, primarily in mining and resource development. From 2010 to 2017 she was Vice President and Corporate Secretary of Lithium Americas Corp. (formerly Western Lithium USA Corp.). Prior to Lithium Americas, Mrs. Hansen was Vice President of Operations at Nexvu Capital Corp, a boutique venture capital company, and Vice President and Corporate Secretary of Bell Copper Corporation. Over the last 20 years Mrs. Hansen has worked with a number of exploration and development companies focused on lithium, uranium, copper, zinc and gold in Argentina, Canada, Mexico and USA.
Douay Gold Project and Company Profile:
Aurvista Gold Corporation is a well-funded gold exploration and development company focused on advancing one of the largest undeveloped gold projects in Quebec. The Company's district-scale Douay Gold Project is located along the Casa Berardi Deformation Zone within the prolific Abitibi Greenstone Belt in northern Quebec. The Project hosts an inferred gold resource that remains open in several directions, with excellent infrastructure and several large scale operating mines within 150km. The Douay Gold Project's high-grade lenses have never been mined and the Company has aggressive property-wide exploration and drilling plans, with the aim of establishing high-quality ounces in one of the best mining jurisdictions in the world.
ON BEHALF OF AURVISTA GOLD CORPORATION
B. Matthew Hornor, President & CEO
NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS PRESS RELEASE.
Forward Looking Statements:
This news release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions, uncertainties and management's best estimate of future events. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations and projections. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. When used herein, words such as "anticipate", "will", "intend" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. For a more detailed discussion of such risks and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, refer to Aurvista Gold Corporation's filings with Canadian securities regulators available on www.sedar.com or the Company's website at www.aurvistagold.com. 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.
Contacts:
Mr. Joness Lang
VP, Corporate Development
Office: +1 416.682.2674
jlang@aurvistagold.com
International Survey Illustrates how the Airline Industry can Better Encourage Feedback to Capture the Voice of the Customer and Improve Loyalty
Clarabridge, Inc., the leading provider of Customer Experience Management (CEM) solutions for the world's top brands, today revealed the results from its comprehensive airline consumer survey. Clarabridge surveyed more than 1,200 consumers in both the United States and United Kingdom respectively. In both surveys respondents were between the ages of 18 and 60. The survey asked airline consumers share their feedback on all aspects of their air travel experience including personal preferences, expectations and key complaints. Clarabridge also analyzed more than 750,000 online ratings/reviews and mentions shared on public forums from Facebook, Airline Quality and TripAdvisor to capture the Voice of the Customer (VoC).
Clarabridge conducted this survey to identify actionable takeaways for airlines to improve the customer experience as a whole. The results illuminate customers' true behaviors and expectations around air travel to enable airlines to improve overall satisfaction and increase loyalty. In today's digitally connected world when the consequences of a customer's negative interaction has the potential to go viral, it is crucial for airlines to understand what their customers are saying and implement that feedback into positive change. Listening to the customer not only creates a more enjoyable experience for air travelers, but ultimately saves airlines countless dollars in preventing customer experience crises before they arise.
The survey unveiled three critical findings:
Consumers believe airlines are not listening. 69% and 73% of U.S. and U.K. consumers respectively have never submitted a complaint, nor delivered feedback to an airline company. Within both markets, about two thirds of all consumers report that even when they do deliver feedback on their experience, complaints go unrecognized or unaddressed. This suggests that it is imperative for airlines to accurately collect and respond to feedback to ensure customers know they are being heard, and that their feedback is being acted upon in order to provide the best possible travel experience.
69% and 73% of U.S. and U.K. consumers respectively have never submitted a complaint, nor delivered feedback to an airline company. Within both markets, about two thirds of all consumers report that even when they do deliver feedback on their experience, complaints go unrecognized or unaddressed. This suggests that it is imperative for airlines to accurately collect and respond to feedback to ensure customers know they are being heard, and that their feedback is being acted upon in order to provide the best possible travel experience. Attitude matters. Flight staff and crew attitude drives loyalty even more than affordable flights. In the U.S., 38% of customers are loyal to a particular airline based on how they are treated, compared to 35% of customers who choose their airlines based on price. Friendly staff is more indicative of whether or not an individual recommends an airline to a future traveler, with 33% of all U.K. customers citing it as the primary reason for their recommendation. Therefore, airlines must use the customer voice to adjust their policies, procedures and training and encourage the entire organization-from teams both in the sky and back at headquarters-to instill a culture of friendliness and positivity so that customers keep coming back.
Flight staff and crew attitude drives loyalty even more than affordable flights. In the U.S., 38% of customers are loyal to a particular airline based on how they are treated, compared to 35% of customers who choose their airlines based on price. Friendly staff is more indicative of whether or not an individual recommends an airline to a future traveler, with 33% of all U.K. customers citing it as the primary reason for their recommendation. Therefore, airlines must use the customer voice to adjust their policies, procedures and training and encourage the entire organization-from teams both in the sky and back at headquarters-to instill a culture of friendliness and positivity so that customers keep coming back. It's time to improve digital feedback channels. In both the United States and the United Kingdom, customers expressed a preference for digital feedback. Of the customers that do provide feedback, 46% and 42% in the U.K. and U.S. do so by email, and 13% and 11%, respectively, by social media. Across both markets, more than half of all customers utilize digital tools to comment on their experience. In the U.K. only 1 in 10 complaints actually involves a human interaction. In conjunction with an increase in digital feedback, the data suggests that airlines must improve and invest in the technical infrastructure necessary to support customer complaints via digital means, be it on social media or in-app. This will not only satisfy customers, but also reduce the weight and cost of in person channels.
"Clarabridge is the industry standard solution for uncovering customer feedback and providing some of the world's top brands and airlines with actionable advice based on that data across every customer touchpoint," said Mark Bishof, CEO of Clarabridge. "The insights gleaned from this survey equip airlines with the necessary customer perspective to go above and beyond their true desires and expectations. Clarabridge empowers airlines to narrow in on the root cause of customer complaints to help create better customer experiences in a time when one bad interaction has the potential to go viral."
Clarabridge helps improve the customer experience by putting customer feedback to work. The Clarabridge solution CX Analytics is the only solution that listens to all customer feedback data, analyzes exactly why customers feel the way they do, and powers real-time, front-line response and business optimization. Clarabridge provides relevant insights for airlines and other brands to take action and improve the customer experience across all stages of the customer journey.
For more information and actionable advice on how airlines can improve their customer experience for travelers, please refer to Clarabridge's "Customer Experience in the Clouds: A Look at Today's Air Traveler Expectations" report.
About Clarabridge
Clarabridge's SaaS customer experience management solution helps hundreds of the world's leading brands put customer feedback to work. Offering the most comprehensive solution for omni-source listening, accurate customer and text analytics, and real-time, guided action is why leading brands trust Clarabridge to power their CX programs and drive a customer focused strategy. The result: better customer experiences. For more information, visit www.clarabridge.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170926005230/en/
Contacts:
LaunchSquad for Clarabridge
Allie Rosenberg, 212-546-3665
clarabridge@launchsquad.com
Dr Carolyn Woo, former CEO of Catholic Relief Services; Professor John Ruggie, Harvard Kennedy School; and Yolanda Kakabadse, President of WWF International, to join Arabesque's Board
Arabesque is pleased to announce the appointment of three new non-executive directors to the Board. Subject to regulatory approval, the new members of the Board are:
Dr. Carolyn Woo, former CEO and President of Catholic Relief Services.
John Ruggie, the Berthold Beitz Professor in Human Rights and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School.
Yolanda Kakabadse, President of WWF International. Ms. Kakabadse's role on the Board will commence on January 1st 2018, following the completion of her term of office at WWF International.
They join Barbara J. Krumsiek, former CEO and President of Calvert Investments, and Georg Kell, founding Executive Director of the United Nations Global Compact, on the Board of Directors.
Speaking on today's announcement, Chairman Georg Kell, said: "For the next phase of Arabesque's growth, we have been looking to add globally recognised leaders in sustainable development to the board. I am delighted to welcome Yolanda Kakabadse, Professor John Ruggie, and Dr. Carolyn Woo to Arabesque. Their expertise in the respective fields of the environment, human rights, and faith-based investing will prove invaluable for the continued development of our company."
Kell said: "I have no doubt they will contribute significantly to our long-term success, and to achieving our vision of mainstreaming sustainable finance. This board has the capacity, experience and determination to guide Arabesque to become a leader in ESG investment."
Omar Selim, CEO of Arabesque, said: "Under the chairmanship of Georg, our new board includes some of the most respected names in their fields. I am deeply humbled by the gravitas they bring to the firm, and of their shared commitment to using finance as a tool that can help create a more sustainable world. Working together, our vision is to grow and expand ESG investing around the globe."
Arabesque is an asset management firm, spun off from Barclays Bank in 2013, that uses self-learning quantitative models and big data to assess the performance and sustainability of listed companies. The firm's rules-based approach to stock selection integrates environmental, social and governance ("ESG") information with financial and momentum analysis, processing over 100 billion data points via 250,000 lines of code to construct its strategies, and to deliver a range of ESG investment products.
Ends
Notes to editors
For all media enquiries and interview requests, please email Ciaran McCale at Ciaran.mccale@arabesque.com or call 0044 7956 175 100
About Arabesque
Arabesque is a specialist ESG Quant fund manager that uses self-learning quantitative models and big data to assess the performance and sustainability of globally listed companies.
Arabesque was launched in 2013 following a management buyout from Barclays Bank PLC, and was built in cooperation with professors from the universities of Stanford, Cambridge, Oxford, Maastricht, and the German Fraunhofer Society, in support of the United Nations Global Compact. Arabesque is regulated by the FCA in London.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170912005845/en/
Contacts:
Media enquiries and interview requests:
Arabesque
Ciaran McCale
Ciaran.mccale@arabesque.com
0044 7956 175 100
LAYFAYETTE, CO / ACCESSWIRE / September 12, 2017 / AcuStream Corp. announced today that six of the nation's 20 "Honor Roll" hospital systems, as ranked by US News & World Report, are now fully contracted with AcuStream to assist in optimizing revenues and eliminating income leakage through its proprietary products, RevBuilder and RevReview.
"The most elite, respected, honored and sophisticated hospital systems in the U.S. are now using AcuStream to fully capture and bill for services and supplies provided that otherwise would simply be missed. These facilities have invested millions of dollars in their own, highly sophisticated patient billing systems, yet have found that adding AcuStream to their billing and recovery process results in revenue increases each month," says John Mackay of AcuStream.
Adding AcuStream to any hospital or physician group is a simple process with minimal initial investment of administrative and IT resources. The average start-up period is less than 30 days.
"This means that our client partners receive revenue increases within the first 90 days of working with us," Mackay says.
The AcuStream process consists of two primary products, including:
RevBuilder - a rules-based predictive analytics tool applied to identify revenue leakage associated with missed, misplaced, and miscoded opportunities. It is a web-based communications platform that enables complete post-bill charge reconciliation and end-to-end workflow to assure that all missing charges are identified and reimbursed by insurance providers. The product also transforms data into actionable intelligence and insight that allows corrective measures to be put into place.
RevReview - a proprietary service provided by a team of certified auditors to provide human intervention between the potential missed charges identified by RevBuilder and the reimbursable charges presented back to customers for billing. This service filters-out potential false positives, validates recommendations with supporting EMR evidence, and allows in-house coders to quickly verify findings, update codes, and provide updated charges to a client's billing and collections team.
"With over 50 hospital systems including six of the country's largest and over 100,000 physicians now using AcuStream, there is no doubt about the value of the process," says Mackay. "In fact, literally every AcuStream client has recovered previously lost revenues and, more importantly, worked to ensured that future revenue leakage will cease. This translates into millions of dollars in legitimate additions to each organization's top line, resulting in greater profitability or the ability to invest in new technologies, patient care programs, and equipment to better serve patients."
ABOUT ACUSTREAM
AcuStream helps healthcare clients become more efficient and profitable so they can focus on their primary goal of providing quality healthcare to patients. AcuStream products and services are designed for ease-of-use, minimal start-up time, immediate impact, and a payment structure based solely on success. AcuStream is based at 2770 Dagny Way, Suite 312, Lafayette, Colorado, 80026. Further information is available by calling 303.993.2914 or online at www.acustream.com.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
At the Company:
John Mackay
VP of Business Development
616-402-0866
jmackay@acustream.com
Doug Sundlof
Executive Vice President Sales
720-557-2921
dsundlof@acustream.com
Dan Reid
Media Contact
303-993-2914
SOURCE: AcuStream Corp.
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.
BANGKOK, Sept. 12,2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Prime Minister Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha welcomed Mr. Hiroshige Seko, Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Investment (METI) on Sept. 11, who led a mission of 570-high level Japanese business people and economic organisations to visit Thailand on the occasion of the 130th anniversary of Thailand-Japan diplomatic relations celebration.
Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/554706/Thai_Japanese_Partnership_towards_Thailand_4_0.jpg
The PM said Japan has remained top foreign investors in Thailand and continues to have strong confidence in the country's economic potential due to the fact that Thai political stability was the highest in 10 years.
The courtesy visit has created an opportunity for the integration of Thai government's "Thailand 4.0" and Japan's "Connected Industries" strategies as the two countries has strengthened their strategic economic partnership. Both parties also explored opportunity to strengthen trade and investment, as well as cooperation to develop the 10 target industries and SMEs. The Prime Minister and the Japanese delegation also discussed the possibility of cooperation to develop the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), comprised of three provinces, Chachoengsao, Chonburi and Rayong. The Prime Minister also invites Japanese companies to consider business opportunities in the EECd (Eastern Economic Corridor of Digital Park) and EECi (Eastern Economic Corridor of Innovation) in order to support digital industries and R&D and innovation activities respectively.
According to the EEC Development Project, the government has prepared the 5-year investment plan in transport infrastructure development that connects Bangkok to EEC and other regions nationwide. This plan includes the expansion of U-Tapao International Airport to increase passenger handling capacity from currently three million to 60 million per year by 2032, the construction of highways to make a complete road transport network, amendment of related laws, investment incentive improvement to attract more investment, and technology transfer in the target industries.
The PM said that among all partner nations, Japanstoodat the forefront andwasa true partner of Thailand for decades in many ways, especially trade, investment, economic and industrial development.
In 2017, Thailand and Japan celebrated the 130th anniversary of their diplomatic relations. Both countries are experiencing significant economic recovery. Japan is enjoying the fastest economic growth rate in two years, resulting in more expenditure and investment. While Japan implements the Abenomics and the Connected Industries, Thailand is engaging in economic cooperation in the CLMVT countries, EEC development plan and Thailand 4.0 economic model. The two countries' economic visions are heading towards the same direction, indicating the mutual interests and prospect for close cooperation which will drive the two countries' economies to a higher level.
The Japanese mission of 570 representatives from leading investors and economic organisations led by METI Minister indicates a strong confidence in Thailand's business environment, where many new measures initiated and implemented by Thailand's Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Commerce, the Eastern Economic Corridor Office and the Thailand Board of Investment.
This development clearly demonstrated Thailand's economic capability, resulting in business community's strong confidence in the Thai government, which has shown its commitment to ensuring the country's political stability.
Thai political situation was the strongest in 2017, said the Prime Minister, adding that this would encourage positive momentum in economic growth and development in other sectors and tangible result in the near future.
The PM noted that in ensuring that nation's economic development plan was well integrated, the government and concerned organisations continued to focus on the Thailand 4.0 economic model. This model matches well with Japan's Connected Industries. The government hoped the strategic partnership with Japan will lead to the integration of both country's economic model, resulting in the new concept of "Thailand 4.0 towards Connected Industries". The integration will start from forging economic partnership that covers trade cooperation, investment promotion, development of the 10 target industries and SMEs. In the end, such cooperation will support the development of EEC and make it one of the most advanced industrial hubs and landmarks of Asia.
The government also plans to make EEC the new economic hub driven by technology and innovation or EECi. The EECi will be the innovation town that is the role model of holistic technology and innovation research development. Resources will be shared and optimised since Fabrication Laboratories & Test-Bed Sandbox, and automation system and equipment innovation standard certification centers will be set up in EECi. This intelligent innovation testing zone will see regulations and legal requirements that may be obstacles to such development being relaxed.
In addition, the government has drawn a five-year transport infrastructure development in support of EEC (2017-2021). Such transport infrastructure will connect Bangkok with the eastern region of Thailand and parts nationwide as well as neighbouring countries, including Mynamar, Vietnam, Lao PDR, Cambodia and South of China. Major projects under this plan are as follows:
5-year U-Tapao International Airport Development Plan to increase passenger handling capacity from currently three million to five million and to 60 million by 2032
Dual track and high-speed rail systems that for greater efficiency in travel and transport of people and goods
Laem Chabang Port Development Plan Phase 3 to support increasing demand in domestic and international maritime transport in the future
Map Ta Phut Industrial Port Development Phase 3 which will become a major infrastructure to support liquid cargo and natural gas handling and downstream industry
Sattahip Port Development Project
Construction of three new motorways
The establishment of One Stop Service Center to facilitate investors in target industries
To encourage investment in the country, the government has also amended Investment Promotion Act and enforced new measures to promote more investment with more attractive incentives, as well as upgraded services to better facilitate the investors. This will encourage new investment and make Thailand the investment hub for both existing and new investors who look for opportunities to expand their businesses into the neighbouring countries. In this transition, the government aims to encourage transfer and exchange of technologies in both current and new industries, including automotive, aviation, medical equipment, and green technology. All activities will be introduced under "Smart" concept in order to promote technological advancement in all areas.
During the courtesy visit, Prime Minister Gen. Prayuth welcomed the Japanese mission at the Government House. The Japanese mission was led by Mr. Hiroshige Seko, Minister of Economy, Trade and Investment of Japan, high-ranking officials and executives from the Japanese public and private sectors, such as the Director General of the Department of Trade Policy, the President of Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), the Chairman and CEO of Organization for Small & Medium Enterprises andRegional Innovation, JAPAN (SMRJ), executives from Ajinomoto, Kubota Corporation, and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance. At the meeting, both parties discussed ways to promote target industries, including future vehicle development cooperation and healthcare industry promotion.
Japanese investors shared experiences where SMEs with high technology and expertise played a significant role in enhancing industrial sector's competitiveness as stimulating the Japanese economy.
The PM also appreciated Japanese economic leaders and investors for their commitment to economic cooperation and confidence in Thailand. He also confirmed that Thailand will continue to improve her business environment to ensure Thailand remains a conducive investment hub of the region.
In the evening, Dr Suvit Maesincee, Minister Attached to the Office of the Prime Minister, represented the Thai government in hosting a business networking reception for the Japanese mission to celebrate the 130th anniversary of Thailand-Japan diplomatic relations. Deputy Prime Minister, Dr Somkid Jatusripitak, graced the event and delivered a keynote speech. The event was held at the Plaza Athenee Hotel.
For more information, please contact Ministry of Industry at Tel +66 2204 4435 or www.industry.go.th or facebook.com/industryprmoi
SAN FRANCISCO, September 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --
The global robotic prosthetics marketis expected to reach USD 1.76 billion by 2025, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Increase in amputee population due to various factors, such as accidents, frostbite, diabetes, and vascular disease, is one of the crucial factors expected to drive the market in the coming years. According to the data published by Amputee Coalition, there are approximately 2.1 million amputees living in the U.S. According to the Statistics Brain Research Institute, 82% of the amputations are performed due to vascular disease, 22% of cases are due to trauma and 4% cases are due to congenital disabilities. Rise in prevalence of diabetes and vascular diseases, is anticipated to increase the demand for prosthetics over the forecast period.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160524/371361LOGO )
Increasing number of technologically advanced products, such as SYMBIONIC LEG 3, RHEO KNEE, PROPRIO FOOT, and POWER KNEE, is anticipated to raise product awareness in developed regions, such as North America and Europe, thus increasing the demand for such devices. In 2015, Ossur developed a mind-controlled prosthetic leg; which is undergoing clinical trials for its assessment. Growing R&D activities and increasing investment by private and public players to technologically upgrade prosthetic products are among the few factors expected to propel the market.
Various initiatives undertaken by the government and nonprofit organizations, such as CDC, Douglas Bader Foundation, Limbless Association, Amputee Coalition, to provide assistance to amputees are increasing the interest of private players to invest in this market. April is considered Limb Loss Awareness Month. It helps create awareness about the limb loss community and helps people affected by limb loss achieve their full potential.
Browse full research report with TOC on "Robotic Prosthetics Market Analysis By Technology (Microprocessor Controlled, Myoelectric Prosthetics), By Extremity (Lower Body, Upper Body Extremity), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2014 - 2025" at: http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/robotic-prosthetics-market
Further key findings from the report suggest:
The robotic prosthetics market size was estimated at USD 790.8 million in 2016 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.2% from 2017 to 2025
in 2016 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.2% from 2017 to 2025 Microprocessor Controlled (MPC) prosthetics segment held majority of the revenue share in 2016 and is estimated to generate revenue over USD 983.0 million by 2025
by 2025 The lower body prosthetics is expected to grow at a lucrative growth rate of 9.5% over the forecast period
North America emerged as the largest regional market with a share of 44.2% in 2016
emerged as the largest regional market with a share of 44.2% in 2016 Some of the key players in this market are Touch Bionics, Inc.; HDT Global; SynTouch, Inc.; Shadow Robot Company; Ottobock; Ossur Americas; and Endolite. Forming collaborations and partnerships for developing novel technologies is one of the foremost strategies employed by major players
Browse related reports by Grand View Research:
Fluid Management Systems Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/fluid-management-systems-market
Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Devices Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/gastrointestinal-endoscopic-devices-market
Contrast Agent Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/contrast-agent-market
X-Ray Detectors Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/x-ray-detectors-market
Grand View Research has segmented robotic prosthetics on the basis of technology, extremity, and region:
Technology Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025) MPC prosthetics Myoelectric prosthetics
Extremity Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025) Lower body prosthetics Upper body prosthetics
Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025) North America U.S. Canada Europe Germany UK Asia Pacific China Japan Latin America Brazil Mexico Middle East & Africa South Africa
Read Our Blog By Grand View Research: http://www.grandviewresearch.com/blogs/healthcare
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. Thecompany 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
CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar retreated from its early highs against its most major rivals in early European deals on Tuesday, as waning concerns over North Korea and Hurricane Irma dampened demand for safe-haven assets.
Investors heaved a sigh of relief after Hurricane Irma was downgraded to a tropical storm and the damage from its impact was less than had been predicted.
The UN Security Council on Monday imposed new sanctions on North Korea, banning all textile exports and restrict shipments of oil products to Pyongyang.
However, these measures fell short of the stronger sanctions initially proposed by the U.S., which includes freezing the assets of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and a complete ban on oil exports to the country.
With today's economic calendar being light, traders focus on the consumer price index and weekly jobless claims on Thursday as well as retail sales, industrial production and consumer sentiment on Friday for more clues about economy.
The greenback was higher against its major rivals in the Asian session.
Reversing from an early 5-day high of 1.1946 against the euro, the greenback dropped to 1.1978. If the greenback weakens further, 1.21 is possibly seen as its next support level.
The greenback weakened to 1.3210 against the pound, following a 4-day high of 1.3161 hit at 8:30 pm ET. The next possible support for the greenback is seen around the 1.34 mark.
The greenback retreated to 0.9547 against the Swiss franc, from a 5-day high of 0.9574 set at 1:15 am ET. On the downside, 0.94 is likely seen as the next support level for the greenback-franc pair.
The greenback dropped to 4-day lows of 1.2082 against the loonie and 0.7320 against the kiwi, off its early high of 1.2124 and a 5-day high of 0.7217, respectively. The greenback is seen finding support around 1.19 against the loonie and 0.76 against the kiwi.
On the flip side, the greenback rose to a weekly high of 109.60 against the Japanese yen, after having dropped to 109.24 at 6:00 pm ET. Continuation of the greenback's uptrend may see it challenging resistance around the 111.00 region.
Looking ahead, at 6:20 am ET, the Bank of England Executive Director Chris Salmon will give a speech at TradeTech FX Europe, Barcelona.
The European Central Bank Vice President Vitor Constancio speaks at a conference on monetary policy in Frankfurt at 9:45 am ET.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
DUBLIN (dpa-AFX) - Irish no-frills airline Ryanair Holdings Plc (RYA.L, RYAAY) Tuesday announced additional $300 million investment in Frankfurt. The company announced 35 new routes. The company announced an additional three based aircraft worth $300 million, to bring it to a total of 10, worth $1 billion, at Frankfurt Main airport. The Frankfurt summer 2018 schedule includes 38 Frankfurt Main routes and 43 Frankfurt Hahn routes which will deliver over 4.7 million customers per annum through Ryanair's two Frankfurt airports next year. This includes 34 new Frankfurt Main routes and 1 new Frankfurt Hahn routes. The company said that German consumers and visitors can book their holidays as far out as October 2018, on even lower fares, and enjoy the latest 'Always Getting Better' improvements. Ryanair will continue to connect Frankfurt with major business centres on high frequency, low fare services including Dublin, Madrid and London, on the lowest lower fares. Ryanair's David O'Brien said, 'We are pleased to announce an additional three based aircraft at Frankfurt Main to bring it to a total of 10 and an investment of $1billion. We have also launched our Frankfurt summer 2018 schedule with a total of 81 (35 new) routes to/from both Frankfurt Main and Frankfurt Hahn, which will deliver over 4.7m customers through the two airports this year.' The company further said that, as part of Frankfurt summer 2018 schedule, it is releasing seats for sale from just 14.99 for travel in October and November which are available for booking until midnight September 14. 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.
HAWTHORNE, NJ -- (Marketwired) -- 09/12/17 -- STEALTHbits Technologies Inc., a leading cybersecurity software company focused on protecting an organization's credentials and data, today announced the availability of its Active Directory (AD) Attacks Video and Webinar Training series on Randy Franklin Smith's Ultimate Windows Security website.
"When STEALTHbits approached me about making the AD Attacks training series available on Ultimate Windows Security, I viewed the content and felt it would serve a growing need among my audience to learn how to protect against these attacks," noted Randy Franklin Smith, Microsoft MVP and Founder of Monterey Technology Group. "The video and webinar training series provides in-depth information participants can start applying right away in their organizations."
The comprehensive four-part Active Directory Attacks Video Training series begins with a review of AD security fundamentals and then details how attackers exploit them to perform reconnaissance, escalate privileges, and achieve persistence to accomplish their goals:
Overview: Active Directory Security
Attack 1: Credential Theft & Domain Compromise
Attack 2: Service Accounts
Attack 3: AD Permissions
The video series is complemented by two in-depth webinars hosted by Smith on how to detect and protect against Active Directory attacks.
"There are a variety of tools like PowerSploit, BloodHound, and Mimikatz that enable even newbie attackers to take advantage of Active Directory vulnerabilities and native features to steal credentials," said Jeff Warren, STEALTHbits SVP of Technical Product Management. "Compounding this problem is the fact that many companies are unaware of how attackers use these tools across the kill chain to gain admin rights and exfiltrate sensitive information."
"With this training series available on Ultimate Windows Security, we hope to educate security professionals on how to detect, block, and mitigate Active Directory attacks so they don't fall victim to a data breach," added Warren.
Please visit Randy Franklin Smith's Ultimate Windows Security website to sign up for the Active Directory Attacks webinar and video training series (CPEs available).
About Randy Franklin Smith
Randy Franklin Smith is an internationally recognized expert on the security and control of Windows and AD security. He publishes www.UltimateWindowsSecurity.com and wrote The Windows Server 2008 Security Log Revealed -- the only book devoted to the Windows security log. Smith is the creator of LOGbinder software, which makes cryptic application logs understandable and available to log-management and SIEM solutions. As a Certified Information Systems Auditor, he performs security reviews for clients ranging from small, privately held firms to Fortune 500 companies, national, and international organizations. He is also a Microsoft Security Most Valuable Professional.
About STEALTHbits Technologies
STEALTHbits Technologies is a cybersecurity software company focused on protecting an organization's credentials and data. By removing inappropriate data access, enforcing security policy, and detecting advanced threats, we reduce security risk, fulfill compliance requirements, and decrease operations expense.
Identify threats. Secure data. Reduce risk.
For more information, visit http://www.stealthbits.com, email sales@stealthbits.com, or call +1-201-447-9300.
The STEALTHbits logo and all other STEALTHbits product or service names and slogans are registered trademarks or trademarks of STEALTHbits Technologies, Inc. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.
Media Contact:
Dan Chmielewski
Madison Alexander PR
Office: +1 714-832-8716
Mobile: +1 949-231-2965
dchm@madisonalexanderpr.com
The Lebanon Square Circlers will hold a Demonstration Square Dance 4:30 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, at the Lebanon Farmers Market, corner of Grant and Main streets.
The event is free to the public.
The club also is offering square dance lessons beginning Sunday, Sept.17, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Lebanon IOOF Hall, 20 E. Ash St. No partner is required. A donation of $5 per person or $12 for a family of three or more is asked.
No previous dance experience is necessary. Classes are taught by Charlotte Jeskey.
For more information or to inquire about lessons, call 541-401-9780 or visit http://www.lebanonsquarecirclers.com.
IRW-PRESS: FIRST GLOBAL DATA LIMITED: First Global ernennt neuen CFO
First Global ernennt neuen CFO
Toronto, ON, 2. Oktober 2017 - First Global Data Limited (First Global oder das Unternehmen) gibt den Rucktritt von Nayeem Alli und die Ernennung von Vicki Ringelberg zum Chief Financial Officer des Unternehmens bekannt.
Nayeem Alli ist ein Mitbegrunder des Unternehmens und hat mageblich zur Vision und dem Erfolg des Unternehmens beigetragen. Der Rucktritt war fur ihn eine zutiefst personliche Entscheidung. Das Unternehmen arbeitet mit Herrn Alli am Aufbau eines Beratungsverhaltnisses, sobald er dafur bereit ist. Das Board of Directors, die Geschaftsleitung und die Aktionare von First Global mochten Herrn Alli fur seinen Einsatz und seine Beitrage als Chief Financial Officer danken und wunschen ihm alles Gute. Herr Alli bleibt dem Unternehmen als Director erhalten.
Vicki Ringelberg ist eine hochqualifizierte Fuhrungskraft mit nachweislichen Erfolgen. Frau Ringelberg ist derzeit Vorsitzende des Treuhanderausschusses und des Governance- und Verwaltungsausschusses sowie ehemalige Vorsitzende des Prufungsausschusses und des Investitionsausschusses des OPSEU Pension Trust (OPTrust). Davor war Frau Ringelberg 20 Jahre lang in verschiedenen Fuhrungsfunktionen im Finanzbereich wie etwa als Chief Financial Officer des Portland Investment Counsel und als Chief Financial Officer und Chief Operating Officer der AIC Limited (AIC) tatig. Wahrend ihrer Zeit bei AIC war Frau Ringelberg auch Mitglied in verschiedenen Verwaltungsraten. Frau Ringelberg hat umfassende Erfahrung im Finanzdienstleistungsgewerbe, u.a. mit der Durchfuhrung gro angelegter Initiativen, der Einfuhrung komplexer Rechnungsfuhrungssysteme, der Bewertung von Geschaftsmoglichkeiten und der Abwicklung der Akquisitionen und Verauerungen verschiedener Geschafte. Frau Ringelberg ist ein Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) und hat einen MBA von der Rotman School of Business an der University of Toronto.
Wir respektieren Naveems Entscheidung, vom Posten des CFO zuruckzutreten. Er war seit der Grundung des Unternehmens fuhrend an dessen Entwicklung beteiligt und hat mageblich dazu beigetragen, dass das Unternehmen die bisherigen Erfolge erzielen konnte, sagte Andre Itwaru, Chairman und CEO des Unternehmens. Wir freuen uns sehr, dass Vicki sich bereit erklart hat, First Global beizutreten. Sie bringt langjahrige Erfahrung, finanzielle Kompetenzen und Diszipliniertheit in das Unternehmen ein und ich freue mich auf eine enge Zusammenarbeit wahrend der nachsten Entwicklungsphase des Unternehmens.
Die Ernennung von Vicki Ringelberg zum Chief Financial Officer ist der Zustimmung der TSX Venture Exchange vorbehalten.
Uber First Global Data Ltd. (www.firstglobaldata.com)
First Global ist ein international tatiges Finanzdienstleistungstechnologieunternehmen (FINTECH). Die zwei wichtigsten Geschaftsbereiche des Unternehmens sind mobile Zahlungen und grenzuberschreitende Zahlungen. First Globals geschutzte Spitzentechnologie ermoglicht die Konvergenz von Inlands- und Auslandszahlungen, Einkaufen und Zahlungen in den P2P-, B2C- und B2B-Bereichen. First Global bietet seinen strategischen Partnern und Kunden in aller Welt mit dieser hochmodernen Technologieplattform fur Finanzdienstleistungen ein Plus an Moglichkeiten.
Nahere Informationen erhalten Sie uber: Andre Itwaru, Chairman und CEO First Global Data Limited E-Mail: ir@firstglobaldata.com
Renmark Financial Communications Inc. Steve Hosein: shosein@renmarkfinancial.com
Tel: (416) 644-2020 oder (514) 939-3989 www.renmarkfinancial.com TSX Venture Exchange: FGD
Frankfurer Wertpapierborse: 1G5 Vorsorglicher Hinweis: Die TSX Venture Exchange und deren Regulierungsorgane (in den Statuten der TSX Venture Exchange als Regulation Services Provider bezeichnet) ubernehmen keinerlei Verantwortung fur die Angemessenheit oder Genauigkeit dieser Meldung.
Die angebotenen Wertpapiere wurden nicht gema dem U.S. Securities Act von 1933 in der geltenden Fassung registriert. Sie durfen daher in den Vereinigten Staaten ohne Registrierung bzw. ohne eine entsprechende Ausnahmegenehmigung von den Registrierungsbestimmungen weder angeboten noch verkauft werden. Diese Pressemeldung stellt kein Verkaufsangebot bzw. kein Vermittlungsangebot zum Kauf oder Verkauf der Wertpapiere in Rechtssystemen dar, wo ein solches Angebot oder ein solcher Verkauf ungesetzlich ware.
Zukunftsgerichtete Informationen Diese Pressemitteilung enthalt zukunftsgerichtete Informationen im Sinne der einschlagigen Wertpapiergesetze. Obwohl First Global der Ansicht ist, dass die in zukunftsgerichteten Informationen zum Ausdruck gebrachten Erwartungen angesichts der Erfahrung seiner leitenden Angestellten und Board-Mitglieder, der aktuellen Bedingungen und erwarteten zukunftigen Entwicklungen sowie anderer Faktoren, die als angemessen gelten, vernunftig sind, sollte man sich nicht auf diese Informationen verlassen, da First Global nicht gewahrleisten kann, dass diese sich als richtig erweisen werden.Informationen zu verlassen. Die Leser werden ausdrucklich darauf hingewiesen, sich nicht vorbehaltlos auf zukunftsgerichtete Informationen zu verlassen. Die tatsachlichen Ereignisse, Ergebnisse und Entwicklungen konnen sich erheblich von jenen in diesen Aussagen unterscheiden. Die Aussagen in dieser Pressemeldung gelten zum Zeitpunkt der Veroffentlichung dieser Pressemeldung. First Global ist nicht verpflichtet, sich zu den Analysen, Erwartungen oder Aussagen Dritter in Bezug auf First Global, seine Wertpapiere oder gegebenenfalls Finanz- oder Betriebsergebnisse zu auern. Sofern nicht gesetzlich vorgeschrieben, lehnt First Global jede Absicht oder Verpflichtung zur offentlichen Aktualisierung von zukunftsgerichteten Informationen - sei es aufgrund neuer Informationen, zukunftiger Ereignisse oder Ergebnisse bzw. anderer Faktoren - ab.
Die Ausgangssprache (in der Regel Englisch), in der der Originaltext veroffentlicht wird, ist die offizielle, autorisierte und rechtsgultige Version. Diese Ubersetzung wird zur besseren Verstandigung mitgeliefert. Die deutschsprachige Fassung kann gekurzt oder zusammengefasst sein. Es wird keine Verantwortung oder Haftung: fur den Inhalt, fur die Richtigkeit, der Angemessenheit oder der Genauigkeit dieser Ubersetzung ubernommen. Aus Sicht des Ubersetzers stellt die Meldung keine Kauf- oder Verkaufsempfehlung dar! Bitte beachten Sie die englische Originalmeldung auf www.sedar.com , www.sec.gov , www.asx.com.au/ oder auf der Firmenwebsite!
Die englische Originalmeldung finden Sie unter folgendem Link: http://www.irw-press.at/press_html.aspx?messageID=41003 Die ubersetzte Meldung finden Sie unter folgendem Link: http://www.irw-press.at/press_html.aspx?messageID=41003&tr=1
NEWSLETTER REGISTRIERUNG:
Aktuelle Pressemeldungen dieses Unternehmens direkt in Ihr Postfach: http://www.irw-press.com/alert_subscription.php?lang=de&isin=CA32037 R1001
Mitteilung ubermittelt durch IRW-Press.com. Fur den Inhalt ist der Aussender verantwortlich.
Kostenloser Abdruck mit Quellenangabe erlaubt.
ISIN CA32037R1001
AXC0018 2017-10-03/07:47
BEIRUT, September 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --
Another annual celebration of innovation, entrepreneurship and excellence
The MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Pan Arab announced the inauguration of the MIT Enterprise Forum Arab Startup Competition for 2018 in partnership with Community Jameel, a social enterprise organization that operates a wide range of initiatives that promote and contribute towards positive societal change and economic sustainability. The registration opened on September 3rd on the competition's official website: mitarabcompetition.com, and will last until November 27, 2017. Last year, on its 10th anniversary, the prestigious competition witnessed an unprecedented increase in the number of applications from across the Arab world, up 39% from the year before.
(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/554794/Arab_Startup_Competition.jpg )
The MIT Enterprise Forum Arab Startup Competition has evolved into an annual occurrence that is awaited by thousands of young Arabs, who see it as a platform that allows them to showcase, test and develop their creative and pioneering ideas. Each year, the competition incorporates three tracks: the Ideas track, the Startups track and the Social Entrepreneurship track, with cumulative cash prizes of $160,000. The teams that qualify for the semi-finals will be invited to participate in preparatory activities that compromise trainings and workshops. The timing and location will be announced at a later stage.
In the final stages of the competition, the most promising teams will be crowned winners from each of the three tracks. In addition to monetary rewards, they will also benefit from advanced training sessions, personal mentorship and guidance, not to mention a great deal of media coverage and excellent networking opportunities.
Hala Fadel, Chair of the board of MITEF Pan Arab expressed her deep content with the status of this competition in the Arab world and its positive contribution to fostering a culture of entrepreneurship and a community of entrepreneurs. She elaborated on its crucial support and constructive approach towards young Arab's pioneering ideas, some of which have become international success stories. She said, "Following the competition's tenth anniversary last year, we are very excited to be embarking on another decade of innovation . The region graduates over 300,000 engineers every year, that's 3 times as much as California. Talent in this region is here and ready to innovate and we are here to support these talented young men and women."
Fady Jameel, President of Community Jameel International, said "The drive to increase opportunities for innovation across the Arab world is well known, and is an area which has seen tremendous support from government entities and NGOs across the region. At Community Jameel, we too are keen to play our part in supporting our young entrepreneurs. Through our partnership with the MITEF Pan Arab, we are helping to shape a supportive environment where new ideas flourish and can be brought to life. We look forward to seeing young minds continue to explore and develop exciting projects in this 11th edition of MITEF Arab Startup Competition."
The MIT Enterprise Forum Arab Startup Competition will conclude with an event organized over the course of 3 days in April 2018 where the winners will be announced in an official awards ceremony.
For more information on this year's MIT Enterprise Forum Arab Startup Competition registration process, eligibility and judging criteria, as well as the planned roadshows, please visit: www.mitarabcompetition.com
About MITEF Pan Arab: Founded in 2005, the MIT Enterprise Forum of the Pan Arab Region ( http://www.mitefarab.org ) is one of the28 worldwidechapters of the MIT Enterprise Forum Global, an avid promoter of entrepreneurship and innovation worldwide. The MIT Enterprise Forum- Pan Arab has a proven record in promoting MIT-style entrepreneurship by organizing each year the MIT Enterprise Forum Arab Startup Competition targeting 21 countries of the Arab region and attracting over12,000entrepreneurs a year.
About Community Jameel: Established in 2003, Community Jameel is a social enterprise organisation that operates a wide range of initiatives to promote a positive society and economic sustainability. From individual, community and Arab life as a whole, in Saudi Arabia and beyond, Community Jameel promotes Arab arts and culture in the Middle East and around the world, works against unemployment, enables research for poverty alleviation and food and water security, and provides education and training opportunities.
Community Jameel supports and partners with global institutions, which employ hundreds of people, all aiming to provide people with opportunities and training in the following areas:
Job Creation - Bab Rizq Jameel
Arts and Culture - Art Jameel
Global Poverty Alleviation
Food and Water Security
Education and Training
Health and Social
Contacts:
Maggie El Eid
+961-1-973030 ext.3124
Studio City, California--(Newsfile Corp. - March 5, 2018) - Petroteq Energy Inc. (TSXV: PQE) (OTCQX: PQEFF) (FSE: A2DYWC) ("Petroteq" or the "Company"), a company focused on the development and implementation of proprietary technologies for the energy industry, today announced that it has successfully completed testing of all major process systems at its heavy oil extraction facility in Asphalt Ridge, Utah. Further, the Company has initiated test runs of the utility system-among the final steps prior to launching commercial production.
The Company has completed testing of the following process systems:
Oil sands ore-raw feed material-preparation systems
Excavator and custom-designed bucket that is able to shred raw oil sands ore into smaller pieces have been fully tested.
Increased surface area of ore enables more efficient oil extraction.
Both the excavator and bucket ran continuously for at least eight hours.
Oil sands ore pre-treatment and delivery system
Electric motor for feeding conveyor has been fully tested.
Auger motors and pumps from the material pre-treatment and delivery systems have been fully tested.
Extraction of oil from oil sands
The motors and blades for the mixing and oil extraction tanks have been fully tested.
Solvent capture and recirculation system
The fin fan cooler has been fully tested, including running the motors and executing a high pressure check of the system to ensure there is no leakage.
The Company's proprietary closed-loop technology process recycles all hydrocarbon vapors.
Pressurization tests are critical steps in ensuring the integrity of the system such that no harmful hydrocarbon vapors are released into the environment.
Solid-liquid phase separation systems
All components of the phase separation system have been fully tested, including the centrifuges, motors, drives and caps.
Heavy oil recovery and clean solids removal processes
The oil storage tanks have been cleaned and tested and are fully ready for heavy oil storage.
Petroteq Energy has received all requisite permissions from the relevant Utah agencies, including the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), needed to build and operate the facility in production mode. Notably, the Company has received an Air Exemption Permit based on its patented closed-loop, zero-emission technology and a Ground Water Discharge Permit certifying that the construction and operation of the plant have no deleterious impact on the quality of the surrounding ground water.
"We are on the verge of beginning our production phase at Asphalt Ridge," said Alex Blyumkin, CEO of Petroteq Energy. "We completed reassembly and testing of the major process systems successfully and are in the final stages of pre-production testing of the utility system, bringing us one step closer to commercial launch at a time when demand for our products is on the rise."
According to a "World Asphalt" report from Freedonia Group, demand for asphalt (bitumen) in the US is forecast to rebound from the softness seen between 2005 and 2013, driven by stronger economic growth and increased residential construction activity as well as increased infrastructure spending at the federal, state and municipal level.
About Petroteq Energy Inc.
Petroteq is a fully integrated oil and gas company focused on the development and implementation of a new proprietary technology for oil extraction. The Company has an environmentally safe and sustainable technology for the extraction of heavy oils from oil sands, oil shale deposits and shallow oil deposits. Petroteq is engaged in the development and implementation of its patented environmentally friendly heavy oil processing and extraction technologies. Our proprietary process produces zero greenhouse gas, zero waste and requires no high temperatures. Petroteq is currently focused on developing its oil sands resources and expanding production capacity at its Asphalt Ridge heavy oil extraction facility located near Vernal, Utah. The Company also owns a minority stake in an exploration and production play located in southwest Texas held by Accord GR Energy Inc. In addition, the Company, through its wholly owned subsidiary PetroBLOQ, LLC, is seeking to develop the first blockchain based platform created exclusively for the supply chain needs of the oil & gas sector. For more information, visit www.Petroteq.energy and PetroBLOQ.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this press release contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. and Canadian securities laws. Words such as "may," "would," "could," "should," "potential," "will," "seek," "intend," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect" and similar expressions as they relate to the Company, on the verge of beginning its production phase at Asphalt Ridge, are intended to identify forward-looking information. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking information. Such statements reflect the Company's current views and intentions with respect to future events, based on information available to the Company, and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Material factors or assumptions were applied in providing forward-looking information, including: PetroBLOQ successfully developing and implementing a blockchain-based supply chain management system at the Asphalt Ridge plant; and the timely delivery and assembly of the remaining components of the extraction facility. While forward-looking statements are based on data, assumptions and analyses that the Company believes are reasonable under the circumstances, whether actual results, performance or developments will meet the Company's expectations and predictions depends on a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results, performance and financial condition of the Company to differ materially from its expectations. Certain of the "risk factors" that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's forward-looking statements in this press release include, without limitation: PetroBLOQ not having the expertise and/or funds necessary to develop and implement a blockchain-based supply chain management system at the Asphalt Ridge plant; and the timely delivery and assembly of the remaining components of the extraction facility changes in laws or regulations; the ability to implement business strategies or to pursue business opportunities, whether for economic or other reasons; status of the world oil markets, oil prices and price volatility; oil pricing; state of capital markets and ability by the Company to raise capital; litigation; the commercial and economic viability of the Company's oil sands hydrocarbon extraction technology, the SWEPT technology, the S-BRPT technology, and other proprietary technologies developed or licensed by the Company or by Accord, which are of experimental nature and have not been used at full capacity for an extended period of time; reliance on suppliers, contractors, consultants and key personnel; the ability of the Company and Accord to maintain their respective mineral lease holdings; potential failure of the Company's business plans or model; the nature of oil and gas production and oil sands mining, extraction and production; uncertainties in exploration and drilling for oil, gas and other hydrocarbon-bearing substances; unanticipated costs and expenses, availability of financing and other capital; potential damage to or destruction of property, loss of life and environmental damage; risks associated with compliance with environmental protection laws and regulations; uninsurable or uninsured risks; potential conflicts of interest of officers and directors; and other general economic, market and business conditions and factors, including the risk factors discussed or referred to in the Company's disclosure documents, filed with the securities regulatory authorities in certain provinces of Canada and available at www.sedar.com.
Should any factor affect the Company in an unexpected manner, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information prove incorrect, the actual results or events may differ materially from the results or events predicted. Any such forward-looking information is expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement. Moreover, the Company does not assume responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of such forward-looking information. The forward-looking information included in this press release is made as of the date of this press release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information, other than as required by applicable law.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Petroteq Energy Inc.
Alex Blyumkin
Chief Executive Officer
Tel: (800) 979-1897
Citi has launched its annual e for Education campaign, a global initiative which has raised over $16 million for education-focused non-profits since the inception of the campaign in 2013.
Over the next three months, Citi's FX business will donate $1 for every $1 million of FX traded with Citi via a broad range of electronic platforms including Citi's proprietary platforms- Citi Velocity for institutional clients and CitiFX Pulse for corporate clients.
Access to education remains a key challenge for young people globally. A recent survey commissioned by the Citi Foundation and conducted by Ipsos based on interviews of over 7,000 young people in 45 cities across 32 countries showed that 69% of young people see education as beyond their financial means. The following non-profit organizations supported by Citi's e for Education initiative strive to facilitate equal access to education globally:
Civic Builders : develops high-performing charter schools where need is greatest across the U.S
: develops high-performing charter schools where need is greatest across the U.S EMpower : supports at-risk youth in emerging market countries
: supports at-risk youth in emerging market countries Fallen Patriots : provides college scholarships and educational counselling to North American children who have lost a parent in the U.S. military
: provides college scholarships and educational counselling to North American children who have lost a parent in the U.S. military Room to Read : focuses on increasing literacy and gender equality in education in low-income countries
: focuses on increasing literacy and gender equality in education in low-income countries SkillForce : uses veterans skills to help young people flourish at school in the UK
: uses veterans skills to help young people flourish at school in the UK Teach First : trains and support committed individuals to become inspirational classroom leaders in low-income communities across England and Wales
: trains and support committed individuals to become inspirational classroom leaders in low-income communities across England and Wales Uncommon Schools: starts and manages 52 public schools serving 18,000 students in the US to prepare low-income students to graduate from college
Over the past four years Citi's e for Education campaign contributed to the success of several key initiatives supporting youth inclusion globally, including the development of new, high-quality charter schools serving 3,000 students in the US each year, the implementation of educational programs spanning 15 emerging market countries world-wide, and the support of college fees for over 900 children of fallen patriots in the US.
"The five-year milestone of Citi's e for Education campaignis a testament to our commitment to increasing financial inclusion and empowering young people globally", Nadir Mahmud, Citi's Global Head of Foreign Exchange and Local Markets said. "We are proud of the significant progress achieved through the campaign to date and grateful for the support that our clients and staff have consistently demonstrated to facilitate equal access to quality education in the communities we operate in."
In addition to the donations raised on the back of electronic trading activity, Citi clients and employees also support selected non-profits through a series of educational activities including CV clinics, mock interviews, trading simulation, visits to the trading floor and economics lessons.
Commenting on Citi's involvement, David Umansky, CEO and Co-Founder of Civic Builders said: "Citi has been an invaluable partner over the last five years. Not only does the Citi team provide critical funding to develop high-performing schools where need is greatest, they are also incredibly generous with their time and energy. Each year throughout the campaign, Citi employees practice interview techniques with our scholars, teach lessons about the markets, and share career advice. These experiences have a real impact on young adults as they develop skills for a bright and successful future."
"The e for Education initiative builds on Citi's expertise and track record of helping young people gain the necessary knowledge, skills and resources they need to realize their full potential," Itay Tuchman, Global Head of FX Trading at Citi said. "We look forward to working with our non-profit partners to further support youth inclusion and help young people move towards their career goals."
Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.
Additional information may be found at http://www.citigroup.com | Twitter: @Citi YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/citi | Blog: http://blog.citigroup.com/| Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/citi | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/citi.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170912005920/en/
Contacts:
Media Contacts:
Citi
London
Capucine Boncenne
capucine.boncenne@citi.com
+44 (20) 7508-9355
or
New York
Scott Helfman
scott.helfman@citi.com
+ (212) 816-9241
or
Hong Kong
James Griffiths
james.a.griffiths@citi.com
852-2868-7668
DENVER, COLORADO -- (Marketwired) -- 09/12/17 -- TrackX Holdings Inc. (TSX VENTURE: TKX) ("TrackX" or the "Company"), an enterprise IIoT software platform provider for the management of physical assets, is pleased to announce the completion of Phase I of its national roll-out with Carvana (NYSE: CVNA), a leading eCommerce platform for buying used cars. Carvana uses advanced, proprietary technology to deliver a complete and seamless online car buying experience. By visiting carvana.com on a mobile phone, tablet or computer, customers can search for, buy, finance, and sell a car, all from their desktop or mobile device. The first phase of the solution manages vehicle location and inventory of tens of thousands of vehicles at Carvana's current 37 U.S. locations. During Phase II, the TrackX Solution will further increase efficiencies by providing detailed analytics and workflows through the inspection, repair and maintenance processes.
"TrackX will help us achieve real-time visibility to the inspection, repair, certification, and distribution of vehicles through our innovative and industry-leading online used car retail process," said Ernie Garcia, founder and CEO of Carvana. "The improved visibility, processing efficiencies and business analytics offered by the TrackX Vehicle Inventory and Processing Solution, supports Carvana's unparalleled commitment to deliver the highest quality vehicle to our customers faster than any other company in the online used car retail space."
All vehicles acquired by Carvana are put through mechanical and maintenance inspections, any necessary repairs, and finally, a sophisticated media center to prepare the vehicle for presentation on their retail website. The implementations will continue as Carvana expands nationwide to more than 40 locations.
"Carvana places significant importance on efficient, transparent service in the delivery of high quality vehicles to its customers," said Tim Harvie, CEO of TrackX. "Therefore, Carvana leverages substantial human capital and technological assets to manage each vehicle's location, status, repair, and delivery. TrackX shares the commitment to customer satisfaction and ease of doing business, and we are proud to be the solution provider to help Carvana further achieve its vision."
About Carvana
Founded in 2012 and based in Phoenix, Ariz., Carvana's mission is to change the way people buy cars. By removing the traditional dealership infrastructure and replacing it with technology and exceptional customer service, Carvana offers consumers an intuitive and convenient online automotive retail platform, with a fully transactional website that enables consumers to quickly and easily buy a car online, including finding their preferred vehicle, qualifying for financing, completing the purchase and loan with signed contracts, and receiving delivery or pickup of the vehicle from one of Carvana's proprietary automated Car Vending Machines.
About TrackX
TrackX, based in Denver, Colorado, is an enterprise Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) software platform provider leveraging multiple auto-ID technologies for the comprehensive management of physical assets. TrackX's Global Asset Management for the Enterprise (GAME) platform enables the IIoT by providing unique item level tracking, workflow processing, event management, alerts and powerful analytics to deliver solutions across a growing number of industries. This platform creates unprecedented visibility and business intelligence of man-to-machine and machine-to-machine interaction. TrackX delivers significant value to a growing list of Fortune 500 companies and for customers in industries such as transportation, beverage, brewery, healthcare, hi-tech, hospitality, mining, agriculture, horticulture, manufacturing and government.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements that address future plans, activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur, including the implementation of TrackX's solution on a national basis with Carvana are management's best estimates and cannot be guaranteed or relied upon and is forward-looking information. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements in this news release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
Contacts:
TrackX Holdings Inc.
Knox Henderson
778-373-2003
khenderson@trackx.com
Sophic Capital
Sean Peasgood
416-565-2805
Sean@SophicCapital.com
Platinum Sponsor at the Atlassian Summit identifies its real-time integration with JIRA software as a key driver of success
SAN JOSE, Calif., 2017-09-12 13:00 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- This week, QASymphony, a leader in enterprise software testing, will be a Platinum Sponsor of the Atlassian Summit in San Jose, CA. The sponsorship of this event comes right after the company was named the 8th fastest-growing private software company in America on the Inc. 5000 list with three-year sales growth of 3700%.
A significant factor in QASymphony's success has been a real-time integration with Atlassian's JIRA software. The QASymphony team will be showcasing that integration and other innovative testing solutions at the Atlassian Summit this week.
"Several years ago we observed the market shifting away from legacy software like HP ALM to modern solutions like JIRA," said Dave Keil, CEO of QASymphony. "As we created our qTest platform, we knew that having a real-time JIRA integration could help software testers collaborate more effectively with the development team using JIRA. In fact, about 90% of qTest users say that the integration with JIRA has helped improve their workflow. Global 2000 enterprises using JIRA are increasingly adopting our solution as the industry standard."
QASymphony users are able to clearly see the benefits of the real-time JIRA integration. Below are quotes from several enterprise customers:
"I like that you can easily import JIRA requirements into qTest and submit defects from test runs directly to JIRA. That's a big time saver." -Adam Wollacott, QA Lead at CloudLock, a Cisco Company
"With qTest, it's easy to set up folders, assign team members to projects and the integration with JIRA was incredibly smooth." -Alex Bantz, Director of Quality Engineering at Salesforce Marketing Cloud
"qTest made it extremely easy to get off HP Quality Center. When we make a change in JIRA, I see that change in qTest a second later. That real-time sync is huge for us." -Jerry Loch, Director of Quality Assurance at Vonage
In addition to showing the JIRA integration at the Atlassian Summit, QASymphony will be demoing the new qTest Pulse, designed for enterprises doing Behavioral Driven Development (BDD) and qTest Scenario, a free JIRA add-on available in the Atlassian Marketplace. Also, Kevin Dunne, QASymphony's SVP of Global Channels will be giving a presentation on Wednesday, September 13th at 12pm PDT in Expo Theater "A" entitled, Building Better Collaboration Between Development and Testing in a DevOps World.
"We have developed a tremendous partnership with Atlassian and several of the top Atlassian resellers around the world," said Keil. "Our Platinum sponsorship of the Atlassian Summit this year is a testament to the strength of that relationship and our commitment to the helping Atlassian customers solve their software testing challenges."
About QASymphony QASymphony is a leading provider of software testing solutions for the enterprise, enabling teams to test smarter, test faster and test at scale. QASymphony's innovative qTest Platform covers test case management, exploratory testing, test analytics and behavioral driven development (BDD). The platform integrates with a wide range of open source and commercial software including Atlassian's JIRA, VersionOne, CA Agile Central (formerly Rally), Selenium, Jenkins and many more. The company has over 500 customers across 30+ countries including Salesforce, Barclays, Cisco, Samsung, Verizon and Office Depot. QASymphony was selected by Gartner as a "Cool Vendor in Application Development" and recognized as the 8th fastest-growing private software company in America on the Inc. 5000 list for 2017. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, GA. To learn more, visit www.qasymphony.com or follow the company on Twitter at @QASymphony.
Media Contact: Jeff Perkins, CMO QASymphony 404-219-4720 jeffperkins@qasymphony.com
Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
LAS VEGAS, NV / ACCESSWIRE / September 12, 2017 / South American Gold Corp. (OTC PINK: SAGD) announces it is actively creating the most dynamic and valuable cannabis social media company in the United States with several complementary assets, including cNation, KushJournal, PotCircles, and WeedFeed.Live. SAGD's chairman explains exactly why the Company has chosen this particular internet marketplace.
"When you consider the reality that cannabis is legal in some form or another in forty-six states, we were astounded to discover many big, social media and email companies are filtering out cannabis-related hashtags and keywords, essentially resulting in zero search results across their platforms," said South American Gold Corp. Chairman, Gary Austin, Jr.
Fully developed medical and adult-use cannabis programs are either functioning or in the process of coming to life in 29 states and the District of Columbia. Another 16 states have some form of CBD-only programs in place but lack the seed-to-consumer marketplace found in the other states.
"We are a cannabis-friendly company and recognize at this point in the legalization movement that cannabis enthusiasts around the world deserve better treatment than being shut out by various large corporations just because of some level of reefer madness," continued Austin.
Several major social media outlets have even gone so far as to outright ban cannabis companies, and even refuse to run targeted ads for cannabis activist groups. SAGD sees a tremendous market opportunity in this void.
"Our cannabis social media assets are open to all things cannabis, and actively promote healthy discussions, openly sharing accurate information, educating everyone on all aspects of cannabis, and in short a true friend of the entire cannabis community. We can't even imagine the mindset that decides these types of companies and discussions have no rightful place in the overall social media marketplace," said Austin.
The company's social media assets, including cNation, KushJournal.com, PotCircles, and WeedFeed.Live have been designed to work together, resulting in the development of open policies regarding cannabis discussions. Short of allowing sales of actual cannabis products across its platform, it prides itself as a synergistic cannabis media group with very few restrictions in this regard.
"We believe our open policy, our non-filtering and censoring, and our completely enthusiastic attitude toward cannabis will attract those individuals and companies looking for a place where they can feel free to be themselves. This is exactly why we're in this space," Austin concluded.
KushJournal.com will work synergistically with the company's other social media cannabis offerings cNation, PotCircles, and WeedFeed.Live to create a true online cannabis destination, with the goal of outsized gains for SAGD shareholders.
About South American Gold Corp:
South American Gold Corp is a publicly traded company on the OTC under the symbol SAGD, and is focused on enhancing shareholder value by acquiring and operating undervalued assets.
For More Information:
Corporate Website: www.sagdcorp.co
Media contact: info@sagdcorp.co
General contact: info@sagdcorp.co
Disclaimer:
This release contains forward-looking statements that are based on beliefs of South American Gold Corp. management and reflect South American Gold Corp.'s current expectations as contemplated under section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. When we use in this release the words "estimate," "project," "looks," "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "expect," "plan," "predict," "may," "should," "will," "can," the negative of these words, or such other variations thereon, or comparable terminology, are all intended to identify forward looking statements. Such statements reflect the current views of South America Gold Corp. with respect to future events based on currently available information and are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to, risks and uncertainties pertaining to development of mining properties, changes in economic conditions and other risks, uncertainties and factors, which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievement expressed or implied by such forward looking statements to differ materially from the forward looking statements. The information contained in this press release is historical in nature, has not been updated, and is current only to the date shown in this press release. This information may no longer be accurate and therefore you should not rely on the information contained in this press release. To the extent permitted by law, South American Gold Corp. and its employees, agents and consultants exclude all liability for any loss or damage arising from the use of, or reliance on, any such information, whether or not caused by any negligent act or omission. This press release may incorporate by reference the Company's reports and other filings. Investors are encouraged to review all filings. There is no assurance South American Gold Corp. will identify projects of merit or if it will have sufficient financing to implement its business plan. There is no assurance that the Company's due diligence on the potential projects and/or acquisitions will be favorable nor that definitive terms can be negotiated. Investors should consult their financial advisor before making an investment in a company.
SOURCE: South American Gold Corp.
COLMAR-BERG, Luxembourg, September 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --
-- Growth in Vehicle Models, Options Drives Increasing Demand for Premium Tires
-- Innovative Mercury Production Process Allows On-Demand Fulfillment of Customer Orders
-- New Luxembourg Facility to Begin Production in 2019
Advancing its connected-business model, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company today announced plans to create a new facility in Luxembourg that utilizes an innovative production process to meet growing customer and consumer demand for premium tires.
(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/554360/Goodyear.jpg )
Named Mercury, the proprietary process features highly-automated, interconnected workstations, using additive manufacturing technologies to efficiently produce premium tires in small-batch quantities on-demand for replacement and original equipment customers.
Goodyear Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President Richard J. Kramer announced Mercury and the company's plans at the groundbreaking event for the facility here.
"Mercury addresses the increasing complexity in the tire industry as the number of vehicle models and options available to consumers continues to proliferate," said Kramer. "It gives us the capability to increase our speed and flexibility to meet the growing demand for small volumes of high-margin, premium Goodyear tires and to deliver them to customers on demand, faster than ever."
"Mercury will advance our connected business model, which aligns all of our assets - from the production floor to consumers who choose Goodyear online and at retail," he added. "It will complement our existing high-volume facilities and give us a true competitive advantage."
The new facility, set to open in 2019, is in close proximity to Goodyear's Luxembourg innovation center and a tire proving grounds. The company is investing $77 million in the facility, which will produce approximately 500,000 tires annually and create approximately 70 new, full-time positions.
The technology used in the Mercury production process was developed and tested over the past five years at Goodyear's innovation and development centers. The name Mercury is a reference to the mythical god of trade and travel, which inspired the creation of Goodyear's winged foot logo by company founder Frank A. Seiberling.
About Goodyear
Goodyear is one of the world's largest tire companies. It employs about 65,000 people and manufactures its products in 47 facilities in 21 countries around the world. Its two Innovation Centers in Akron, Ohio and Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg strive to develop state-of-the-art products and services that set the technology and performance standard for the industry. For more information about Goodyear and its products, go to http://www.goodyear.com/corporate .
Contact Information
Malachy Tuohy
Corporate Communications Manager EMEA
Goodyear Dunlop Tires Operations S.A.
Telephone: +32-2-711-51-14
eMail: malachy_tuohy@goodyear.com
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2018 / Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust, Inc. (NASDAQ: WHLR) will be discussing their earnings results in their Q4 Earnings Call to be held on March 7, 2018 at 10:00 AM Eastern Time.
To listen to the event live or access a replay of the call - visit https://www.investornetwork.com/company/23157.
To receive updates for this company you can register by emailing info@investornetwork.com or by clicking get investment info from the company's profile.
About Investor Network
Investor Network (IN) is a financial content community, serving millions of unique investors market information, earnings, commentary and news on the what's trending. Dedicated to both the professional and the average traders, IN offers timely, trusted and relevant financial information for virtually every investor. IN is an Issuer Direct brand, to learn more or for the latest financial news and market information, visit www.investornetwork.com. Follow us on Twitter @investornetwork.
SOURCE: Investor Network
Special specification "Final Edition" (options shown), Hilux Z grade, Land Cruiser Prado TZ-G grade (options shown)
Public Affairs Division Global Communications Department Toyota Motor Corporation Tel: +81-3-3817-9926
Toyota City, Japan, Sept 12, 2017 - (JCN Newswire) - Toyota will reintroduce Hilux into the Japanese market after a 13 year hiatus, and make a partial redesign to Land Cruiser Prado, both of which will be launched through Toyota dealers(1) across Japan on September 12. In addition, special specifications have been designed for FJ Cruiser, which will be launched through Toyota dealers across Japan on October 16.Since its first launch in 1968, Hilux has been sold in approximately 180 countries and regions worldwide. It enjoys popularity around the world, with cumulative global sales reaching 17.3 million units(2).In introducing Hilux to the Japanese market, Masahiko Maeda, chief development engineer, said, "Sales in Japan ended in 2004, but there are still around 9,000 owners, mainly using them for work, and many people have called for its reintroduction. We especially hope to provide for the needs of such customers.""Furthermore, I would like to propose to customers not only the functional value of objects but also their conceptual value, in terms of special experiences and time gained by their possessing. We realize that for various practical reasons, Hilux can be a difficult vehicle to choose--for example, being a Class 1 vehicle, it requires annual inspection, and it is subject to slightly higher expressway tolls.""However, I believe that Hilux is a vehicle that embodies the joy of possessing distinctive objects which is due to its dignified appearance, together with a toughness forged in the real world. Furthermore, we hope to express an active lifestyle for baby boomers, a customer segment that want to enjoy an active life."In addition to the advanced exterior which further strengthened its power and innovation, Land Cruiser Prado has evolved through the inclusion of the Toyota Safety Sense P collision avoidance assist package as standard in all grades. With the FJ Cruiser, we designate this special specification as the "Final Edition," and adopted a unique beige throughout the vehicle--both for exterior and interior, thereby enhancing its modernity.http://www.acnnewswire.com/topimg/Low_Toyota91217.jpgSpecial specification "Final Edition" (options shown), Hilux Z grade, Land Cruiser Prado TZ-G grade (options shown)Vehicle OutlineHilux- The exterior expresses concepts of "tough yet emotional" with power and vigor. The interior features silver highlights throughout, and unified blue illumination, producing a sense of sophistication. For the exterior panels, five colors were selected, including Nebula Blue Metallic, and Crimson Spark Red Metallic, while the interior is black.- It is equipped with a 2GD-FTV 2.4L diesel engine. Besides providing power performance demonstrating high torque even in the low revolution range, it also achieves excellent environmental performance through high heat efficiency. Not only does it achieve fuels efficiency of 11.8 km/L.- It has been fitted with collision avoidance assist type pre-crash safety(2) with pedestrian detection function to recognize pedestrians as well as cars. Furthermore, lane departure alert(2) is installed to help prevent deviation from the traffic lane.- It is equipped with a part-time 4WD system that allows the driver to select a driving mode with a dial operation designed with in consideration of safety factors. It is a two-wheel drive which boasts superior quietness and fuel efficiency performance, for driving in urban areas and on expressways, which can be switched to 4-wheel drive on rough terrain and slippery roads, thus combining comfort and performance. Also, driving power can be adjusted to suit the road conditions by using Hill-start Assist Control and Active Traction Control(2), or Downhill Assist Control(2). As a genuine 4WD vehicle, it has realized high driving performance for both on-road and off-road.- It adopts a suspension system that boosts vibration damping in addition to a high strength frame that ensures excellent running stability and driving comfort both on-road and off-road.- By setting the steel bumper at a low deck position, passengers can get up and down when loading and unloading. A large hand grip helps passengers to get in and out more easily.Land Cruiser Prado- The new exterior design further enhances strength and innovation- The front adopts a hood-center shape that takes visibility into account, and exudes power by combining the large front grill and headlamps. Other new specifications include LEDs for the headlamps in all cars, and 19-inch aluminum wheels (machine-cut highlights and dark gray metallic paintwork)(3).- The rear design represses protrusion of the combination lamp, and realizes a more stable positioning by modifying the garnish design.- The interior has a more advanced design, in particular for the instrument panel- Lowering the upper part of the air vent ring (air conditioning outlet) has improved visibility. In addition, the navigation has a thin, tablet-style design that emphasizes its modernity. Metal highlights have been added to the center cluster and meter panels to enhance the feel of high quality.- The steering wheel is designed in consideration of ease of grip, and its unique decoration enhances a sense of unity with the instrument panel.- It supports safe driving through inclusion of the "Toyota Safety Sense P" collision avoidance assist package and Drive-start Control as standard features, together with the new addition of the Blind Spot Monitor(4).- The exterior panels adopt a total of nine colors including the new Blackish Ageha Glass Flake (optional) and Avant Garde Bronze Metallic. The interior specifications adopt two colors including Neutral Beige.- For the first time, the Land Cruiser series uses Torsen5 LSD for the rear differential and the option to select between five driving modes (NORMAL, ECO, COMFORT, SPORT S, SPORT S +) to suit the driving conditions, included as standard on the TZ - G, to enhance driving pleasure.- The diesel vehicle grade system has been revised, with the addition of a 7-seater to "TX" and a 5-seater to TX "L package.FJ Cruiser- This special "Final Edition" specification adopts unique beige for the exterior color, together with the seat upholstery, and the center cluster garnish. Furthermore, black paintwork has been used extensively in the interior and exterior, and special 20-inch aluminum wheels and side steps have been used, adding to the appeal.1. Dealers:Toyota dealers throughout Japan (Land Cruiser Prado: through Osaka Toyopet Co., Ltd. in that region)2. Sales target for Japan:Hilux - 2,000 units / yearLand Cruiser Prado - 1,800 units / monthFJ Cruiser - 200 units / month3. Dealer launch events:October 21 and 22Assembly PlantHilux: Ban Pho Plant, Toyota Motor Thailand Co., Ltd.Land Cruiser Prado, FJ Cruiser: Hamura Plant, Hino Motors Ltd.(1) Under the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's JC08 test cycle(2) Standard inclusion for "Z"(3) Standard for the "TZ-G," optional for the TX "L package"(4) Optional for the "TZ-G" and the TX "L package"(5) Torsen is a trademark of JTEKT CorporationAbout ToyotaSupported by people around the world, Toyota Motor Corporation (TSE: 7203; NYSE: TM), has endeavored since its establishment in 1937 to serve society by creating better products. As of the end of December 2013, Toyota conducts its business worldwide with 52 overseas manufacturing companies in 27 countries and regions. Toyota's vehicles are sold in more than 170 countries and regions. For more information, please visit www.toyota-global.com.Source: ToyotaContact:Copyright 2017 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
WASHINGTON Education Secretary Betsy DeVos talked to lots of people victims, students who said they were falsely accused and the family members of both before she started to reform a policy instituted under President Barack Obama that instructs college campuses on how to deal with allegations of sexual assault.
She came to a simple conclusion, she said in a speech Thursday at George Mason University, "One rape is too many. One assault is too many. One aggressive act of harassment is too many. One person denied due process is one too many."
That last sentence is key as DeVos has taken upon herself the difficult task of righting a pendulum that has swung too far.
In the not so distant past, university administrators often failed to protect female students or establish a culture that discouraged aggressive predatory behavior. In such an atmosphere, victims of sexual assault had good reason to fear reporting crimes committed against them lest they be subjected to an onslaught of questions that looked for fault in their behavior, instead of that of their attackers.
With the rise of feminism, the paradigm shifted. Authorities generally stopped looking for excuses to explain away violent or abusive acts. In the criminal justice system, the word was out don't blame the victim.
And then, as happens, the movement to stand up for victims morphed into something different. In 2011, the Office of Civil Rights for the Education Department sent a "Dear Colleague" letter to colleges with new guidelines for handling sexual assault cases. The letter threatened to withhold funds from institutions that did not adhere to the new policy, which requires schools to investigate all complaints of sexual assault and details how they must conduct disciplinary proceedings.
Desperate not to appear insensitive to victims of sexual assault, academia went overboard. The burden shifted from the accuser to the accused. The horror stories made news. Male students charged with assault were presumed guilty. Tribunals had the ability to expel students who were denied due process.
In The Atlantic, Emily Yoffe wrote about a University of Massachusetts, Amherst junior who was accused of sexual assault in 2014. His accuser wrote that the two students had gotten high together, then engaged in foreplay. She decided to leave. Later she wrote, "as my RA (resident adviser) training kicked in, I realized I'd been sexually assaulted."
"I want to fully own my participation in what happened, but at the same time recognize that I felt violated and that I owe it to myself and others to hold him accountable for something I felt in my bones wasn't right," she wrote.
Police investigated the case and never charged Kwado Bonsu. But the university restricted Bonsu's movement on campus, while investigating him. Yoffe wrote that the university found Bonsu was not responsible for sexual misconduct, but suspended him for not adhering to its restrictions. Bonsu sued and his case was settled confidentially.
"Definitions of sexual wrongdoing on college campuses are now seriously over-broad," four Harvard law professors wrote in an August paper, "Fairness to All Students under Title IX," that challenged the Obama policy. "They go way beyond accepted legal definitions of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment. They often include sexual conduct that is merely unwelcome, even if it does not create a hostile environment, even if the person accused had no way of knowing it was unwanted, and even if the accuser's sense that it was unwelcome arose after the encounter. The definitions often include mere speech about sexual matters."
The Harvard law professors noted, "The procedures for enforcing these definitions are frequently so unfair as to be truly shocking. Some colleges and universities fail even to give students the complaint against them, or notice of the factual basis of charges, the evidence gathered, or the identities of witnesses."
Here's the interesting part. The four Harvard law professors Elizabeth Bartholet, Nancy Gertner, Janet Halley and Jeannie Suk Gersen are self-described feminists.
Their decision to release this memo, said Walter Olson, a senior fellow at the Libertarian-leaning Cato Institute, sends the message that if you want to defend the policy, "you're not going to have to argue with Libertarians and conservatives" only, you are going to have to argue with left-leaning legal scholars who also care about fairness and due process.
That makes it harder to push the notion that if you are truly outraged about rape, you are willing to go overboard.
That's the tack former Vice President Joe Biden took when he wrote on Facebook, "Sexual assault is the ultimate abuse of power, and its pernicious presence in our schools is unacceptable. Policies that do not treat this epidemic with the utmost seriousness are an insult to the lives it has damaged and the survivors who have worked so hard to make positive change."
Biden urged like-minded individuals to "speak up. Any rollback of Title IX protections will hurt your classmates, your students, your friends, your sisters. Make your views known."
There are many reasons DeVos could have decided to let the current policy continue.
Her boss, President Donald Trump, after all, boasted to "Access Hollywood" in 2005 that he had license to grab women's crotches. "And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything," he said.
Nonetheless, the White House released a statement that applauded DeVos' decision "to overhaul the Department of Education's approach to campus sexual assault enforcement under Title IX. These efforts will produce better policy one that ensures that sexual assault is taken seriously on campuses without denying the accused the fundamental protections of due process."
DeVos didn't detail how the rules will change but she said her office will seek feedback from the public and universities to develop new rules, a decision the White House also applauded.
"So much momentum has built up for federally driven changes in campus discipline and rules, so much momentum for unreasonableness," Olson said, but the unfairness was so striking that it brought together feminists, Libertarians and Trump supporters.
Still, he added, "It took a great deal of courage for her to do this. It would have been easy for her to find some way to dodge it, or postpone it."
Open architecture and open source components enable organizations to normalize security data, unlocking analytics at scale
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. and AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands, 2017-09-12 14:00 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Elastic, the company behind Elasticsearch, and the Elastic Stack, the most widely used collection of open source products for solving mission-critical use cases like search, logging, and analytics, today announced a new partnership with Micro Focus and product integration between the Elastic Stack and ArcSight. Unveiled today during the keynote at Protect 2017, this new partnership combines Elastic's open source search, logging and analytics products with the ArcSight Data Platform (ADP), a best-in-class open platform for collecting, enriching and normalizing security data, to provide real-time capabilities and ad hoc security data exploration at scale.
Available immediately, the Elastic Stack ArcSight Integration gives security teams real-time visibility into ArcSight security events and provides the necessary tools to augment security operations with an open source capability to "build-your-own" security insights. The integration provides a turnkey experience for processing data in Logstash, ingesting data into Elasticsearch, visualizing data in packaged Kibana dashboards, and the ability to install Elastic's X-Pack features, such as security, alerting, monitoring, reporting, Graph analytics, and machine learning.
"Today's security teams have adopted the Elastic Stack because of its interactive investigation capabilities, horizontal scale, and flexibility to handle highly complex and variant data types," said Shay Banon, Elastic Founder and CEO. "We are thrilled to partner with Micro Focus to enable this ArcSight integration in a way that is simple for users to get started, adds immediate value to their deployments, and further, validates the importance of real-time search to help solve their critical business issues."
"Security data underpins the modern security operations environment and organizations require an open architecture that can consolidate and normalize data," said Travis Grandpre, Director of Security marketing, Micro Focus. "The Elastic Stack integration with ArcSight Data Platform's open architecture, gives organizations interactive investigation capabilities for real-time cyber-threat detection as part of a sophisticated security information and event management (SIEM)."
With a single command, users can install the Logstash ArcSight module for free, which controls the integration between the Elastic Stack and the ArcSight Data Platform (ADP). By using ArcSight's Event Broker and Smart Connectors, security events can be received, enriched, indexed, and analyzed in real time in Elasticsearch at scale. Then, using Kibana visualizations, security operators and analysts can gain immediate insights, such as understanding top devices, endpoints, attackers, and targets alongside the ability to instantly drill down on any and all aspects of the data to get a holistic view of the security environment.
Learn More
-- Elastic Stack ArcSight Integration -- Elastic and ArcSight Blog
About Elastic Elastic builds software to make data usable in real time and at scale for search, logging, security, and analytics use cases. Founded in 2012, the company develops the open source Elastic Stack (Elasticsearch, Kibana, Beats, and Logstash), X-Pack (commercial features), and Elastic Cloud (a hosted offering). To date, there have been more than 140 million cumulative downloads. Backed by Benchmark Capital, Index Ventures, and NEA with more than $100 million in funding, Elastic has a distributed workforce with more than 600 employees in 30 countries. Learn more at elastic.co.
Elastic Media Contacts:
AMER Michael Lindenberger Reidy Communications for Elastic michael@reidycommunications.com +1-415-531-1449
EMEA Rory MacDonald Age of Peers Ltd for Elastic rory@ageofpeers.com +44 (0)7899 965232
APAC Jeff Yoshimura Communications @ Elastic pr@elastic.co +650-458-2620
Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
SANTA ANA, CA and CONSHOHOCKEN, PA -- (Marketwired) -- 09/12/17 -- Allied Universal, a leading facility services company and the largest security force in North America, is proud to celebrate all security professionals with the third annual National Security Officer Appreciation Week, observed this year Sept. 17-23. The Freedonia Group reports that U.S. guarding expenditures are expected to increase to $27.3 billion by 2021. The rise of this sector demands a dramatic shift in public perception about this critically important job.
"The next time your path crosses with security personnel, consider thanking them for all they do to keep your environment safer and more secure," says Steve Jones, CEO, Allied Universal. "As guardians, protectors and first responders, security professionals not only deserve our respect and gratitude during National Security Officer Appreciation Week, but every single day of the year."
National Security Officer Appreciation Week is an annual event featured in Chase's Calendar of Events. It was established in 2015 to recognize security officers' many contributions to our daily lives. This includes contract and in-house security professionals across all industries. The appreciation week is also an opportunity to profile the many roles security officers fill; debunk misconceptions and stereotypes; and raise awareness of the career opportunities that exist within the security services industry.
Join in the celebration on social media using ThankYouSecurity. For more information or to recognize a security officer, visit AUS.com/ThankYouSecurity.
About Allied Universal
Allied Universal, a leading facility services company and the largest security force in North America with over 150,000 employees, provides unparalleled security services and solutions. With headquarters in Santa Ana, Calif., and Conshohocken, Pa., Allied Universal combines people and technology to deliver evolving, tailored solutions that allow our clients to focus on their core business. An unrelenting focus on clients' success creates partnerships rooted in quality and value, and is supported by experience gained from being in business for over 60 years. Through our people and leading services, systems and solutions...Allied Universal is there for you. For more information, please visit www.aus.com.
https://twitter.com/AU_Services
https://www.facebook.com/AlliedUniversal/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/allied-universal?trk=top_nav_home
Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3167750
Contact:
Nancy Thompson
Vorticom Public Relations
Phone: 212-532-2208
Email: Email Contact
ATLANTA, GA -- (Marketwired) -- 09/12/17 -- Small business benefits provider Decisely today unveiled the first centralized HR technology hub for small businesses. The new, expanded Decisely HR Platform integrates and automates recruiting, applicant tracking, insurance benefits and payroll to simply and effectively manage an employee's lifecycle with an employer.
Decisely enables employers and HR teams to post resumes online at more than 75 websites, including Indeed, Glassdoor, CareerBuilder and Google Recruiter; track candidates; send job offers; onboard new hires; execute payroll; and manage benefit open enrollment periods through a single, integrated dashboard, eliminating the hassle and expense of managing disparate HR technologies and disciplines.
"We are delivering incredible efficiencies for small business owners and HR teams with one easy-to-use system with complete visibility and management functionality," said Decisely CEO Kevin Dunn. "With Decisely, small businesses can offer a thoroughly modern employee experience that also saves them time and money."
Key features of the Decisely platform include:
Recruiting and Applicant Tracking: Research from Bersin by Deloitte shows that it takes an average of 52 days and $4,000 to fill an open position. Decisely Recruiter helps small businesses streamline the hiring process through integrated recruiting, review and hiring tools.
Paperless Onboarding of New Hires: Decisely eliminates the hassle and expense of traditional paper-based onboarding, managing everything from the signing of an offer letter to enrolling in insurance benefits electronically.
Integrated Payroll: The Decisely platform integrates key information, reporting and payroll vendors into a single, centralized dashboard via PrimePay to eliminate dual data entry tasks, saving time and reducing errors.
Employees Annual Renewal of Insurance Benefits: A trusted Decisely advisor is assigned to every employer and employee to help provide advice and guidance for informed decision-making.
Employees Self-Service Life Event Management: The Decisely platform allows employees to quickly and easily make necessary changes, including tax elections or adding a new dependent.
Employer Self-Service Work Event Management: Decisely also empowers employers to seamlessly manage employee work events such as class changes from full time to part time, salary changes, and promotions. Work events like these often affect payroll and benefits such as recalculating payroll deductions, or allowing an employee to enroll in benefits for the first time.
"Business Administrators, HR and payroll functions serve as the critical heart of a business, helping to collect and manage information and tasks throughout an employee's entire relationship with a company," continued Dunn. "The Decisely platform mirrors this model with the first integrated, centralized platform that eliminates the wasted time and costs of managing duplicate tasks and technology systems. We deliver the big business advantage to small businesses by creating efficiencies that save time, save money, and keep them compliant."
About Decisely
Decisely is reimagining the way brokers and small businesses work together. The Decisely platform provides the best combination of benefits, HR resources, and technology to support small businesses in the United States. Decisely is headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia with offices in California, Utah, and North Carolina. To learn more, please visit www.decisely.com.
About PrimePay
PrimePay believes in the power of small business. Since 1986, PrimePay has been helping small businesses get time back in their day to focus on what matters most. This is possible through payroll and other services that help to ensure compliance and provide exceptional support during the employee lifecycle.
Press Contact:
Carey Godbee
Cosmo PR for Decisely
(760) 521-9068
carey@cosmo-pr.com
SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 09/12/17 -- Element Critical, formerly known as CentralColo, announces today a comprehensive rebranding. The new brand reflects both the recent evolution of the company as well as its vision for the future, including a new corporate name and strategy. With facilities established in two of the most active data center markets in the country, Northern Virginia and Silicon Valley, Element Critical is charting a course for a national platform of mission-critical technology facilities in collaboration with its two private equity partners, Safanad and Industry Capital, who enable the platform with significant capital resources.
The record-breaking $10 billion in mergers and acquisitions in first half of 2017 continues to limit customer data center choices. In response to this lack of choice and the growing rigidity of many competitors, Element Critical will aggressively pursue an acquisition strategy to quickly add portfolio depth and deliver essential technology facilities with customized engineering, rapid deployments, vigilant operations and contractual flexibility. The company believes no two customers are identical because every workload requires a customized blend of critical "elements" such as density, security, networking, scalability, redundancy and customer service.
"We live in a world where one size doesn't fit all and the combination of data center elements change more frequently than ever before," states Ken Parent, CEO of Element Critical. "We're designing solutions ranging from a customer moving a lab into a data center for the first time to hyperscale Artificial Intelligence companies requiring liquid cooling for their 30-45 kW racks. We've assembled an impressive roster of industry veterans who possess the vision necessary to execute upon a simple proposition -- translate data center requirements into custom solutions for less than the big box providers."
In the past year, Element Critical strengthened its sales, operations and finance organizations, and filled key leadership positions on the executive team, including Jason Green as CTO and Bryan Chong as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. The company announced the $96 million acquisition of a 200,000-square-foot data center in Vienna, Virginia, earlier this year and seeks to acquire two to three properties each year in key primary and secondary markets domestically, with an eye toward international expansion.
To learn more about Element Critical, visit www.elementcritical.com or email elementcritical@imillerpr.com.
About Element Critical
Element Critical owns and operates data centers in the heart of Silicon Valley in Sunnyvale, California, and Northern Virginia. Our Tier III hybrid IT ready facilities are carrier-neutral, network-rich, concurrently maintainable and available in a variety of deployment sizes and densities. Element Critical cares as much about the people we serve as the servers we house. We offer a data center experience that brings solutions engineering and customer service out of the shadows and into the spotlight.
For more information, visit www.elementcritical.com.
Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3167869
MEDIA INQUIRIES:
iMiller Public Relations for Element Critical
Tel: +1 866 307 2510
elementcritical@imillerpr.com
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 09/12/17 -- Pine Point Mining Limited (TSX VENTURE: ZINC) ("Pine Point" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that is has negotiated and signed two Exploration Agreements (EA) with three First Nations groups in the Northwest Territories. The first agreement is jointly between the Deninu Kue First Nation (DKFN) and the Fort Resolution Metis Council (FRMC) (the "Coalition") and the second exploration agreement is with the Ka'tl'odeeche First Nation (KFN). These First Nations groups are located near the towns of Hay River and Fort Resolution, near the previous Pine Point mine site where the Company's property is located. These agreements establish a commitment by all parties for a mutually beneficial, co-operative and productive working relationship with respect to exploration activities within the Coalition's and the Ka'tl'odeeche First Nation's traditional territory for the potential development of the Pine Point Project.
The agreement allows for Pine Point, the Coalition and the KFN to cooperatively establish a long-term relationship based on mutual respect and openness towards developing an Impact Benefits Agreement (IBA) for eventual production. Pine Point recognizes that its proposed Exploration Program will potentially impact the First Nation's traditional lands, their relationship with the land, water and resources, their social and cultural values, their way of life and the environment, and therefore wanted to take positive steps towards development of a respectful relationship with the First Nation. Pine Point intends to conduct its Exploration Program in a manner which is beneficial to the First Nation's and their traditional territory.
John Key, Chief Operating Officer of the company stated, "I am extremely pleased and impressed with the desire of each of these leaders to bring development to the South Slave region that will benefit the aboriginal residents while protecting the traditional land uses and cultural quality of the Pine Point area. I look forward to working with these forward-thinking groups in the exploration and eventual development of the Pine Point in a manner that is respectful to their values and desires. I thank each of the leaders, their councils and the people of the KFN, DKFN and the FRMC for the honest and open discussions."
About Pine Point Mining Limited
Pine Point Mining acquired a 100% interest in the Pine Point lead-zinc project in December, 2016. Since that time a positive Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) on the project showing a robust mining operation which, over a 13-year mine life, would have an after-tax net present value of $C210.5 million and internal rate of return of 34.5%, with a payback of 1.8 years. The study assumed a zinc price of US$1.10 per pound and a lead price of US$1.00 per pound, and used an exchange rate $C:$US of 0.75. The PEA was prepared by JDS Energy and Mining and is based on a mineral resource estimate for the Pine Point project published as a National Instrument 43-101 technical report with an effective date of April 18, 2017.
Cautionary statement
Readers are cautioned that the Pine Point 2017 PEA is preliminary in nature and includes the use of inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that the PEA will be realized. There is no certainty that the inferred resources will be converted to the indicated or measured categories, or that the potential measured or indicated resources would be converted to the proven or probable mineral reserve categories. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
The estimates of mineral resources in the PEA and the mineral resource statement may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing or other relevant issues. The Pine Point 2017 PEA recommends that the project be advanced to a feasibility-level study in order to increase confidence in the estimates.
Stanley Clemmer, a Qualified Person under NI 43-101, reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information presented in this press release.
Forward-Looking Information
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address future production, reserve potential, exploration drilling, exploitation activities and events or developments that Pine Point expects are forward-looking statements. Although Pine Point believes the expectations expressed in such statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the statements. There are certain factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. These include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. For more information on Pine Point, investors should review registered filings at www.sedar.com.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Contacts:
Jamie Levy
President and Chief Executive Officer
(416) 567-2440
jlevy@pinepointmining.com
www.pinepointmining.com
Renmark Financial Communications Inc.
Steve Hosein
(416) 644-2020 or (514) 939-3989
shosein@renmarkfinancial.com
www.renmarkfinancial.com
ROUYN-NORANDA, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 09/12/17 -- Radisson Mining Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE: RDS)(OTC: RMRDF)
Press release highlights:
-- This intersection is included in a wider mineralized envelope of 54 m grading 2.8 g/t Gold (see figure 1). -- Assays are pending for 21 drill holes completed in 2017 representing 12,000 metres of drilling. -- Specs of visible gold were observed in 2 exploration drill holes in the newly named Vintage zone (see figure 2).
Radisson Mining Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE: RDS)(OTC: RMRDF) ("Radisson" or the "Company") is pleased to announce additional results from the ongoing 20,000 m drill program at the Company's O'Brien gold project located along the Larder-Lake-Cadillac ("L-L-C") fault halfway between Rouyn-Noranda and Val-d'Or, Quebec. Hole OB-17-25W intersected 12.9 g/t Au over 8 metres within a wider interval of 54 metres grading 2.8 g/t Au. This wedge hole aimed the vertical continuity of hole OB-17-25 70 metres closer to surface, which as highlighted in May 9th, 2017 Press Release, returned 1.0 g/t Au over 93 metres. Radisson continues to confirm the presence of high-grade gold intercepts within wider lower grade mineralized envelopes on the 36E zone of the O'Brien deposit.
Since the last update, results have been received for eight resource expansion drill holes. The company is currently drilling hole OB-17-60. Assays are pending for 21 drill holes. 10 exploration drill holes and 11 resource expansion drill holes.
Mario Bouchard, President and CEO commented: "Current results continue to demonstrate the potential to expand known resources at the 36E and Kewagama zone. The fact that we continue to encounter high-grade gold mineralization in wider lower-grade envelopes at several depths could represent a game-changer for 36E. The newly named Vintage zone was first explored in the 80s and never followed upon. Via historical data compilation, the company established a number of high-priority exploration targets in this area of the O'Brien project. We aim to complete the 20,000 metres drill program in the coming weeks by focusing on resource expansion targets, while the company awaits results from its exploration drilling program completed this summer."
Newly named Vintage zone exploration program
The Vintage zone is a parallel zone of the O'Brien project approximately located 85 metres north of the Larder-Lake-Cadillac fault in the Cadillac Group of meta-sediments comprising sequence of polymictic conglomerate, banded iron formation (BIF) and grauwacke. In comparison, current resources of 36E and Kewagama zones are located in the Piche Group, south of the L-L-C fault. Vintage zone saw small exploration work in the 80s, which were never followed upon. The company established several high-priority exploration drill targets through historical data compilation in this area. The first two drill holes that tested these targets were completed 65m along strike from each other. Specs of visible gold associated with multiple narrow quartz-sulfides (mostly arsenopyrite) veins were intersected in both holes. The new info added to the few available historical information helps to demonstrate the continuity and the favorable geometry of the Vintage zone. All intercepts remain open laterally and at depth. Results are currently pending and will be made available in the coming weeks.
Historical drill core re-logging and assaying
In light of the wide zones of mineralization recently intersected on 36E area, the company will review drill cores from a series of historical drill holes in the near-surface area of the 36E zone. After re-log, selected drill core will be sent for assaying. Prior to 2016, most of these holes have incomplete assay within the Piche group sequence. Only highly mineralized zones were assayed without paying attention to a possible wider low-grade envelope model.
Table 1 Drilling results summary at the O'Brien gold project
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From To Length Grade Hole (m) (m) (m) Au Interpreted zone ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OB-17-23W1 363.0 365.0 2.0 4.9 QFP #1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Including 363.0 364.0 1.0 8.0 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- And 364.0 365.0 1.0 1.7 VG ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OB-17-25W1 PICHE CENTRAL SEQUENCE (QFP'S, 394.0 448.1 54.1 2.8 CONGLOMERATE AND VOLCANICS) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Including 414.0 422.0 8.0 12.9 PICHE CONGLOMERATE ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Which includes 414.0 415.2 1.2 21.2 VG -------------------------------------------------------------- 420.0 421.0 1.0 4.5 VG -------------------------------------------------------------- 421.0 422.0 1.0 71.7 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OB-17-32 - - - - NSV ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OB-17-34 - - - - NSV ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OB-17-35 350.4 351.4 1.0 6.9 PICHE VOLCANICS ---------------------------------------------- And 385.0 390.7 5.7 4.0 ---------------------------------------------- Including 389.7 390.7 1.0 20.6 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OB-17-37 101.0 101.5 0.5 3.5 PONTIAC(i) VG ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- And 195.3 199.6 4.3 2.2 PICHE VOLCANICS ---------------------------------------------- Including 198.5 199.6 1.1 4.6 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OB-17-38 46.2 61.5 15.3 1.1 PICHE VOLCANICS + QFP#1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OB-17-40 377.0 378.0 1.0 5.2 PICHE CONGLOMERATE ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (i)VG; Denotes presence of visible gold (ii)NSV; No significant value Note; Results are presented as down hole width; true width are estimated between 55 to 70% of down hole thickness.
All drill cores in this campaign are NQ in size. Assays were completed on sawn half-cores, with the second half kept for future reference. The samples were analyzed using standard fire assay procedures with Atomic Absorption (AA) finish at Swastika Laboratories Ltd, in Swastika, Ontario. Samples yielding a grade higher than 5 g/t were analyzed a second time by fire assay with gravimetric finish at the same laboratory. Samples containing visible gold were analyzed with metallic sieve procedure. Standard reference materials and blank samples were inserted prior to shipment for quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) program.
Appointment of Jacques Levesque as Chief Financial Officer
Radisson is pleased to announce the appointment of Jacques Levesque, CPA, CA as Chief financial officer. M. Levesque has been a CPA, CA and income tax specialist since 1971. From 1975 to 1988, he was an associate and the director of the income tax department of Maheu Noiseux, Abitibi-Temiscamingue. Since 1988, he is acting as an independent CPA, CA and income tax specialist and his principal occupation is the business financing and project manager. Mr. Levesque was a director of Orex Exploration Inc. from December 1991 to October 2007 and he was its president from March 1993 to October 2007. From December 2009 to May 2017, Mr. Levesque was a director and the Chief Financial Officer of Orex Exploration Inc., a junior exploration company listed on TSX Venture. Since May 19, 2017, Mr. Levesque is a director of Anaconda Mining Inc., a mining company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Mario Bouchard, President and CEO commented: "On behalf of Radisson, I would like to offer a sincere welcome to M. Levesque. Jacques brings with him a wealth of experience in finance and exploration that will assist the company moving forward with its exploration and development plan for the O'Brien gold project. I also want to acknowledge the work completed by Donald Lacasse since 2007. We all recognize his unwavering commitment and the contribution he as brought to Radisson."
Qualified Person
Tony Brisson, P. Geo, independent consultant, acts as a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical information in this press release.
About Radisson Mining Resources Inc.
Radisson is a Quebec-based mineral exploration company. The O'Brien project, cut by the regional Larder-Lake-Cadillac Fault, is Radisson's flagship asset. The project hosts the former O'Brien Mine, considered to have been the Abitibi Greenstone Belt's highest-grade gold producer during its production (1,197,147 metric tons at 15.25 g/t Au for 587,121 ounces of gold from 1926 to 1957; InnovExplo, April 2015).
For more information on Radisson, visit our website at www.radissonmining.com.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward-Looking Statements: This press release may contain certain forward-looking information. All statements included herein, including the scheduled Closing date, but other than statements of historical fact, is forward-looking information and such information involves various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. A description of assumptions used to develop such forward-looking information and a description of risk factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from forward looking information can be found in Radisson's disclosure documents on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com.
Contacts:
Mario Bouchard
President and CEO
819-277-6578
mbouchard@radissonmining.com
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ALXN) announced an operational plan to re-align the global organization with its refocused corporate strategy. The restructuring will reduce the company's global workforce by approximately 20%. The plan is expected to deliver approximately $270 million in GAAP and approximately $250 million in non-GAAP pre-tax savings annually by 2019. The company plans to relocate its headquarters to Boston, MA by mid-2018. Alexion anticipates the total pre-tax restructuring and related expenses associated with the announcement to be in the range of $340 to $440 million. Pre-tax restructuring and related expenses of approximately $240 million to $300 million are expected to be recorded in 2017. The company's 2017 revenue guidance remains unchanged. GAAP EPS guidance will be impacted by restructuring and related expenses and non-GAAP EPS guidance is unchanged. Alexion expects that the increased financial flexibility will allow the company to reinvest approximately $100 million a year into research and development through disciplined business development and additional complement proof-of-concept studies starting in 2018. 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.
MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 09/12/17 -- PyroGenesis Additive, a division of PyroGenesis Canada Inc. (http://pyrogenesis.com) (TSX VENTURE: PYR)(OTCQB: PYRNF), a high-tech company (the "Company" or "PyroGenesis") that designs, develops, manufactures and commercializes plasma waste-to-energy systems and plasma torch products, is pleased to announce today that, further to its press release dated August 14th, 2017, the Company has made additional developments to its previously announced new plasma-based atomization process, which produces metal powders for metal 3D printers. Specifically, these developments include the ability to produce extremely narrow size distributions which can be easily shifted to any particle size required for Additive Manufacturing ("AM"), at significantly higher production rates, higher yields (i.e. little to no waste), and at much lower operating costs than seen to date. Management believes that this new plasma-based atomization process will have as great, if not greater, impact on the AM market, specifically addressing metal 3D printers' demand for new particle size distributions.
Mr. P. Peter Pascali, President and CEO of PyroGenesis, provides an overview of today's announcement in the following Q&A format:
Q. On August 14th, 2017, the Company announced a new plasma-based atomization process. How have you developed this further?
A. What we announced on August 14th was revolutionary in its own right. What we are announcing today is that this new process can effectively produce higher yields of very narrow particle size distributions, with little or no waste, and for any powders under 150 microns (the sweet spot for 3D metal printers), and not just the MIM cut (which we define for the purposes of the discussion herein as small fine metal powders, that can be used by metal 3D printers, typically in the 5-25-micron size range).
In short, for any particle size distribution used by metal 3D printers we can:
1. Produce extremely narrow size distributions, of bulk powders, which are easily shifted to any other size cut required by metal 3D printers (i.e. 5-25 microns, 15-45 microns, 45-106 microns, 45-150 microns, etc.); 2. At significantly higher production rates than seen in the past; 3. With higher yields (i.e. little to no waste); and 4. At much lower operating costs.
Q. This is extraordinary.
A. It is, but not only from a cost perspective. Of course, increasing production rates, narrowing size distributions, increasing yields and lowering operating costs all lower the cost of production significantly, but the most significant aspect of this new process is that we can do this for any specific powder size catering to the AM Industry. What this means specifically is that, when producing a specific size cut, you do not have to worry about selling the off-cuts, or getting rid of waste, as you did in the past. We can now shift the particle size distribution to a customer's specific needs and then shift it easily to address another's.
Q. So total control?
A. Yes, and management believes this is beyond anything seen to date as production rates are significantly higher than in the past.
Q. Can you put this in perspective? What was happening in the past, and how is this better today?
A. Most certainly. To put it in perspective, in the past, you could meet a customer's order with a specific production run, but you would have a significant amount of powder left over of a different particle size distribution that was either ideal for different 3D printers ("off-cuts") or was waste. That means that, in the case of off-cuts, one would have to, hopefully, have another client for these cuts, which is quite challenging, as you can imagine, as not all particle size demands are equal. If the off-cuts are waste then the problem is a bigger one of disposal. In both cases, storage is also an issue.
Q. How does this enable 3D printers, and how may this be game-changing?
A. It all has to do with the production profile, rates and costs. If as a powder producer, you must sell multiple size cuts, from each production run, to different clients it becomes a limiting factor; It becomes a limiting factor in terms of both your ability to store off-cuts you haven't matched a client to, and your ability to meet the demand for new powder size cuts; this is particularly true if there is a significant demand in new powder size cuts that does not match your production profile.
Our game-changing process has changed all that as it is no longer dependent on a broad production profile which, as we said, is limited by client matching, storage and/or disposal.
This problem has become evident as companies (such as Desktop Metal, 3DEO, and Markforged) started to express an interest in very fine powders which, until recently, could only be considered as an off-cut of broad production profiles. How could an explosive need for such powders be met if production was limited to matching the balance of production? PyroGenesis' new plasma-based atomization process can now address this by producing extremely narrow size distributions, which easily shift to any particle size distribution, at significantly higher production rates, higher yields (i.e. little to no waste), and at much lower operating costs.
This is a huge breakthrough which we consider game changing, and the very reason why we consider this development to be as significant, if not more significant, than PyroGenesis' original Plasma Atomization invention.
Q. Conclusion?
A. Not only are we the inventors of Plasma Atomization but we coined the term in our original patent issued in 1998. All other plasma atomization technologies used in the AM space owe their existence to our original patent notwithstanding any improvements they purport to have made.
We are back as a powder producer. Our stated goal is to enable AM (i.e. 3D printing) to reach new heights while at the same time address the current powder needs of the industry. We believe we have, so far, not only been true to this goal, but have excelled in pursuing it; which is the essence of our press release today. We have only had a system in ramp-up phase since March of this year, but in this short timeframe have new patents pending and, as of late, developed further game-changing know-how. In addition, the reception by the market has caused us to look at ways to accelerate our original strategic plan.
We look forward to completing the ramp-up phase, by incorporating our advances, and developing strategic relationships to accelerate our growth. We are also looking forward to playing a significant role in this dynamic AM market and anticipate a very exciting year ahead.
PyroGenesis Additive further announces that it will be exhibiting at this year's TCT show in Birmingham, England (Sept 26 - 28). The TCT Show is one of the world's leading events dedicated to 3D printing, additive manufacturing and product development as over 250 exhibitors are showcased to more than 7,000 attendees. We invite those who will be attending the show to stop by our booth# C61 and speak with our sales team; Mr. Massimo Dattilo, VP, PyroGenesis Additive, and Mr. Alex Pascali, Sales Manager, PyroGenesis Additive.
Separately, PyroGenesis announces today that it is featured as a presenting company at the 19th Annual Rodman & Renshaw Global Investment Conference, sponsored by H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC. The conference is currently in process, scheduled for September 10-12, at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel in New York City. Mr. Pascali will provide an overview of the Company's business on Tuesday, September 12th, during a live presentation and has scheduled several one-on-one meetings with investors who are registered to attend the conference. The conference is attended by over 2,000 attendees.
Finally, the Company announces today that an additional CAN$600,000 of previously issued warrants have been exercised. "Once again, this exercise of warrants is timely," said Mr. Pascali. "As announced herein, we are currently looking beyond the ramp-up phase towards increasing production capacity ahead of our original expectations. This exercise of warrants, together with any future exercise of warrants and options, will enable us to implement plans to accelerate this growth, including our original schedule to increase our production capacity of metal powders for the AM (3D Printing) Industry. As previously announced, we are still looking at ways to have up to three (3) additional powder production systems operating in 2018. To date, our metal powder production strategy is progressing far better than planned, and we are very pleased."
About PyroGenesis Canada Inc.
PyroGenesis Canada Inc. is the world leader in the design, development, manufacture and commercialization of advanced plasma processes. We provide engineering and manufacturing expertise, cutting-edge contract research, as well as turnkey process equipment packages to the defense, metallurgical, mining, advanced materials (including 3D printing), oil & gas, and environmental industries. With a team of experienced engineers, scientists and technicians working out of our Montreal office and our 3,800 m2 manufacturing facility, PyroGenesis maintains its competitive advantage by remaining at the forefront of technology development and commercialization. Our core competencies allow PyroGenesis to lead the way in providing innovative plasma torches, plasma waste processes, high-temperature metallurgical processes, and engineering services to the global marketplace. Our operations are ISO 9001:2008 certified, and have been ISO certified since 1997. PyroGenesis is a publicly-traded Canadian company on the TSX Venture Exchange (Ticker Symbol: PYR) and on the OTCQB Marketplace (Ticker Symbol: PYRNF). For more information, please visit www.pyrogenesis.com.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements containing the words "may", "plan", "will", "estimate", "continue", "anticipate", "intend", "expect", "in the process" and other similar expressions which constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current expectation and assumptions, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, our expectations regarding the acceptance of our products by the market, our strategy to develop new products and enhance the capabilities of existing products, our strategy with respect to research and development, the impact of competitive products and pricing, new product development, and uncertainties related to the regulatory approval process. Such statements reflect the current views of the Company with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and other risks detailed from time-to-time in the Company's ongoing filings with the securities regulatory authorities, which filings can be found at www.sedar.com, or at www.otcmarkets.com. Actual results, events, and performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements either as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange, its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) nor the OTC Markets Group Inc. accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
SOURCE PyroGenesis Canada Inc.
Contacts:
Rodayna Kafal
VP, Investor Relations and Communications
(514) 937-0002
ir@pyrogenesis.com or rkafal@pyrogenesis.com
OTTAWA (dpa-AFX) - Canadian insurer Manulife Financial Corp. (MFC, MFC.TO) announced several structural and leadership changes to drive better alignment with its strategic priorities, accelerate the company's growth, optimize legacy blocks of business in North America and leverage its talent across geographies. Manulife said it is creating stronger global alignment and direct accountability for all of its wealth and asset management businesses by bringing them together into a primary reporting segment, Global Wealth and Asset Management. The company has appointed Paul Lorentz as Head, Global Wealth and Asset Management. The appointment of Lorentz, who joined Manulife in 1993, is effective October 1, 2017, and he will report to Warren Thomson, Manulife's Chief Investment Officer. Kai Sotorp, Head, Global Wealth and Asset Management, has decided to retire. Sotorp joined Manulife in 2014. He will work with Lorentz over the next three months to help ensure a smooth transition. Manulife said it has created a dedicated senior leadership role with direct responsibility for Manulife's closed legacy businesses in North America. These important operations include the company's legacy annuity business, long-term care insurance and select long-duration, guaranteed insurance products. Naveed Irshad has been appointed Head, North America Legacy Business, effective January 1, 2018. He currently serves as the CEO of Manulife Singapore and his career with Manulife spans 20 years. Anil Wadhwani has been appointed President and CEO of Manulife Asia, effective November 13, 2017. He has spent a 25-year career with Citi. Further, the company named Marianne Harrison as President and CEO of John Hancock, Manulife's U.S. business, effective October 1, 2017. She currently serves as President and CEO of Manulife Canada. Michael Doughty has been appointed President and CEO of Manulife Canada, also effective October 1, 2017. Doughty has served as the interim President and CEO of John Hancock since May, and, prior to that, led John Hancock Insurance. Steve Roder, Manulife's Chief Financial Officer, has decided to retire for personal reasons, effective December 31, 2017. Philip Witherington, currently the interim President and CEO of Manulife Asia, has been appointed Manulife's Chief Financial Officer, effective January 1, 2018, subject to immigration approvals. Manulife said it has also made the decision to elevate the role of Chief Actuary to reflect the importance of this function to the company's success. As a result, Steven Finch, Manulife's Chief Actuary, will report directly to Roy Gori, Manulife's President and incoming Chief Executive Officer, effective January 1, 2018. 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.
White supremacists incited deadly violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, last week in defense of a Confederate monument. We must show the country that Albany gives no safe harbor to such hatred. We must change the mascot name Rebel at the South Albany High School campus.
Confederate symbols on public land, in effect, endorse a movement founded on white supremacy. If our government continues to pay homage to the Confederacy, people of color can never be sure they will be treated fairly. And we will never solve our communitys problems if an entire group of citizens is alienated or feels targeted for discrimination.
Confederate symbols belong in museums. In museums, we can learn their full history.
But it is past time to change the Rebel mascot to an appropriate mascot that celebrates the best in all our students. Superintendent Golden, Albany School Board, Albany City Council and the rest of our community should research a new and fitting name that will be the pride of our community not a blot on our reputation. Then we should act.
Peter Goodman
Albany (Aug. 25)
First-of-its-kind blueprint that maps analytics to IIoT applications
The Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC), the world's leading organization transforming business and society by accelerating the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), has published the IIC Industrial IoT Analytics Framework Technical Report (IIAF). It is the first IoT-industry technical document to include a complete set of instructions that IIoT system architects and business leaders can use to deploy industrial analytics systems in their organizations.
IDC has predicted that by 2020 one tenth of the world's data will be produced by machines. Yet without an analytics blueprint, that data could sit unused, never being analyzed and turned into useful insights. The IIAF is a first-of-its-kind blueprint for system architects and designers to map analytics to the IIoT applications they are supporting, to ensure that business leaders can realize the potential of analytics to enable more-informed decision making.
"Using analytics to provide insights is the holy grail of industrial IoT," said Wael William Diab, IIC Industrial Analytics Task Group Chair, IIC Steering Committee Member and Senior Director at Huawei. "The IIC IIAF takes a holistic approach by developing the foundational principles of industrial analytics as well as looking at the complete picture from design considerations to creation of business value and functionality. This entire ecosystem approach is valuable to both business leaders as well as technologists, engineers and architects looking to deploy IIoT systems."
The IIC IIAF is the first document to offer a broad scope of requirements and concerns for industrial analytics applied to IIoT systems. It shows IIoT system architects the steps involved in developing analytics for IIoT systems with state-of-the-art information, including definitions and information flows that shows how the technologies can be applied to the applications. Guidance is provided how and where to deploy industrial analytics based on the characteristics of the applications and outcome expectations. In addition, the IIAF looks at emerging technologies including artificial intelligence (AI) and big data, which are expected to play an increasingly important role in industrial analytics.
"Industrial Analytics is changing rapidly, from data lake to stream processing and machine learning. Our framework provides a common understanding and encourages interoperability across the IIoT ecosystem," said K. Eric Harper, IIC Industrial Analytics Task Group Chair, IIC Steering Committee Member and Senior Principal Scientist at ABB. "With this foundation, it is more likely that applications will be able to adopt new technologies and techniques in the future without substantial rework."
Analytics have been applied to other many other fields such as finance and retail to improve the customer experience and increase corporate revenue. The major differentiation in industrial settings is the physicality of the systems. For example, if IIoT systems are not configured correctly, or if their maintenance schedule is wrong, the systems can cause physical harm. Analysis and improvement of operational maintenance across multiple systems must be performed with extreme diligence, and are as important to technology leaders as they are to business leaders looking to increase profits.
"Industrial analytics are the engine that takes data from industrial systems and creates value and insight to get business results," said Will Sobel, IIC Industrial Analytics Task Group Chair and Chief Strategy Officer at VIMANA. "The sophistication of analytical methods in other domains, such as finance and media, have been evolving at a breakneck pace, but little has been done to apply these techniques to industrial systems. The IIAF provides the special considerations one needs to consider before one uses these technologies in an industrial system."
When analytics are applied to machine and process data, they help optimize decision-making and enable intelligent operations. These new insights and intelligence can be applied across all levels of any enterprise in any industry if the appropriate data can be collected, curated and analytics are applied correctly.
"In transforming machine raw data into actionable information, industrial analytics plays a crucial role in the industrial Internet just like refineries that turns crude oil into high energy fuel. The actionable information from the analytics is the fuel that drives the optimization of industrial operations and production, the creation of new revenue streams and the enablement of new business models," said Shi-wan Lin, IIC Technology Working Group Chair and CEO and Co-Founder, Thingswise, LLC.
The full IIC Industrial IoT Analytics Framework Technical Report and list of IIC members who contributed can be found on the IIC website.
About the Industrial Internet Consortium
The Industrial Internet Consortium is the world's leading membership program transforming business and society by accelerating the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). The IIC delivers a trustworthy IIoT in which the world's systems and devices are securely connected and controlled to deliver transformational outcomes. The Industrial Internet Consortium is a program of the Object Management Group (OMG). For more information, visit www.iiconsortium.org.
Note to editors: Industrial Internet Consortium is a registered trademark of OMG. For a listing of all OMG trademarks, visit www.omg.org/legal/tm_list. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171024005049/en/
Contacts:
Industrial Internet Consortium
Karen Quatromoni, +1-781-444-0404 x146
quatromoni@iiconsortium.org
Travel Solution named best EHS Software in the Occupational Health & Safety 2017 New Product of the Year Award
TORONTO, 2017-09-12 15:01 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cority, (formerly Medgate), the most trusted EHSQ software for assuring client success, is the winner in the EHS Software category for the Occupational Health & Safety 2017 New Product of the Year Award.
Cority's pioneering Travel Solution helps companies ensure the health and safety of employees as they travel. By streamlining the approval process and consolidating key data, the solution provides an efficient way to medically prepare employees for travel. Health practitioners can track, report, and analyze employees' health and travel data, gather health data to identify and create required action plans prior to approval (i.e., obtaining immunization and travel kits), and automate the way they notify employees of required actions.
Mark Wallace, CEO of Cority, said: "We are proud and honoured that our Travel Solution has been recognised for its ability to deliver streamlined management of employee immunizations and medical records when travelling abroad. With the EHSQ market inundated with products and services, companies and decision makers need to know which one is right for them. Prestigious industry award programs such as this play an important role in showcasing best in class solutions."
The Occupational Health & Safety New Product of the Year Award is now in its ninth year. The award program honors the outstanding product development achievements of health and safety manufacturers across 21 different categories. The winning entries were chosen by a panel of three independent judges.
OH&S Magazine Editor, Jerry Laws, said: "Informing our readers and online audience about the best new products available to solve their safety and health challenges has always been at the heart of our magazine's mission, from 1932 up to today. This contest is an essential extension of our outreach to the industry. I congratulate all of our 2017 contest winners and extend my thanks to every company that entered. We hope all of them will participate again in next year's contest."
About Cority
Cority (formerly Medgate) is the most trusted environmental, health, safety, and quality (EHSQ) software for assuring client success. Cority enables organizations to utilize EHSQ software to advance their journey to sustainability and operational excellence by combining the deepest domain expertise with the most comprehensive and secure SaaS platform. With 30+ years of innovation and experience, Cority's team of 250 experts serve more than 800 clients in 70 countries, supporting millions of end users. The company enjoys the industry's highest levels of client satisfaction and has received many awards for its strong employee culture and outstanding business performance.
About the OH&S Awards
The Occupational Health & Safety New Product of the Year Award is now in its ninth successful year. The award programme honours the outstanding product development achievements of health and safety manufacturers whose products are considered particularly noteworthy in their ability to improve workplace safety.
Attachments:
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/fc9acfb0-e333-4a24-b3f7-6fdde 9bd6d99
Attachments:
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/dcfaf244-7eae-4c95-8634-e3162 67e32a4
Cority Software Inc. media@cority.com
Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 09/12/17 -- Aurvista Gold Corporation ("Aurvista" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: AVA)(OTCQB: ARVSF)(FRANKFURT: AV2) is pleased to provide an update on current and planned exploration work at the Douay Gold Project ("Douay" or the "Project"). The Company's Technical Advisory Committee (the "Committee") has spent significant time reviewing Project data, visiting site and working with the Company's geologic consultants to develop a refined go-forward program and strategy.
Brownfields and Greenfields Potential at Douay
Aurvista controls a large 40+ km long segment along the Casa Berardi Deformation Zone (the "CBDZ") (see press release September 5, 2017), one of several regionally productive structural "breaks" within the Abitibi Greenstone Belt, and host to multiple gold and base metal deposits (see Figure 1 below). A central, approx. 7km long portion of this segment on the CBDZ North Break hosts defined Inferred Mineral Resources (the "Douay Resources") totalling 2.8 million ounces of gold (83.33 Mt @ 1.05 g/t Au, using a 0.5 g/t cut-off; Micon, 2017(1)).
This brownfields area contains two distinct styles of gold mineralization, as well as copper-zinc associated with volcanogenic massive sulphide ("VMS") mineralization. Gold mineralization hosted by altered mafic volcanics is generally of higher grade, occurring in zones such as Douay West (4.47 Mt @ 2.36 g/t Au; Micon, 2017), whereas gold hosted by altered porphyritic rocks forms large lower-grade zones such as the Porphyry Zone (72.16 Mt @ 0.96 g/t Au; Micon, 2017). The Douay Resources are open along strike and plunge, such that brownfields exploration potential for resource expansion is considered excellent.
The remaining majority portion of the Project remains relatively unexplored, despite its location along a major regional structure. This greenfields area is considered to have potential not only for VMS and mafic- and porphyry-hosted gold mineralization, but also for other styles of mineralization such as occurs deposits elsewhere along the CBDZ and in the region (i.e. Casa Berardi, Estrades, Eagle - Telbel, Vezza, and Sleeping Giant; Figure 1).
The Company has revised its exploration plans to capture both the brownfields and greenfields potential of the project. A thorough review and analysis of all existing geological, geochemical and geophysical data is in progress, which combined with generation of new data from re-logging and sampling programs, will be used to produce a comprehensive exploration strategy and diamond drilling plan during Q4 2017.
(1) The independent Technical Report was completed by Micon International Limited ("Micon"), titled "NI 43-101 F1 Technical Report, Updated Resources Estimate for the Douay Gold Project, Douay Township, Quebec, Canada" dated April 10, 2017, filed April 11, 2017, with an effective date of February 15, 2017: http://www.aurvistagold.com/images/pdf/2017/Aurvista-Douay-Project-FinalA.PDF
Aurvista's President and CEO, Matthew Hornor, stated: "We believe the potential for defining additional resources and making new high-grade gold discoveries are very favourable based on the existing resource, large property package and prospective geology. Our technical team has developed a strategy and program that will establish high-quality drill-targets beyond the known resource areas, and we will commence our diamond drilling campaign in the coming months once we've refined our resource extension and greenfields discovery targets."
To view Figure 1: Regional Map Highlighting Aurvista Gold's Property Package, please visit: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1102103_figure_1.jpg.
Historical Drill-Core Re-logging & Assaying Program
The Company is very fortunate to have more than 220,000 metres of drill core archived onsite, covering all the drill programs back to the initial discovery by Inco Gold in 1976. The Company's exploration team has re-logged much of this historical core over the past 18 months, significantly simplifying the geological model and improving understanding of controls on gold and base metal mineralization. Completing this exercise by re-logging the remaining approx. 27,000 metres is a critical step that will provide valuable targeting information for future exploration and drilling campaigns (see Figure 2). In addition to the improved geological and exploration models that will result from the re-logging, a significant amount of the historical drill-core was not assayed for gold. An initial 8,000 samples have already been collected, and during the final phase of re-logging another approx. 10,000 samples will be collected in the coming weeks. These new assays will help identify mineralization vectors and substantively improve geostatistical modelling of the Douay Mineral Resources. Sample assays will be completed by ALS Laboratory Group.
To view Figure 2: Highlighted Drill-Hole Locations (black) for Completion of Historical Core Re-logging Project, please visit: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1102103f2.jpg.
Geophysical Program
The Douay Project is covered by both airborne magnetic and airborne EM surveys that provide a solid basis for interpretation of stratigraphic and structural trends, coupled with the potential for direct detection of gold and base metal mineralization associated with conductive and magnetic features. The Company has decided that further expenditure on airborne geophysical data is not warranted at this time, although detailed ground surveys focused on specific targets will be considered for target definition.
Top-of-Bedrock RC Drill Program
Much of Aurvista's prospective ground over the Casa Berardi Deformation Zone is covered by post-mineral glacial deposits, such that conventional soil sampling is ineffective at targeting bedrock anomalies. Aurvista's technical committee has recommended a property-scale reverse circulation drilling (RC) or similar top-of-bedrock sampling program to provide critically important geochemical data, including characterization of lithologies, alteration and mineralization, for exploration vectoring and targeting. The geochemical results paired with the Company's existing geophysical data sets, historical diamond drill-core re-logging and assaying work and top-of-bedrock sampling data, and updated exploration models will form the basis of a revised exploration diamond drilling plan.
Diamond Drill Program
The majority of the Company's recently raised exploration funds (see press release July 14, 2017) will be budgeted for diamond drilling. This drilling is best conducted during the winter season to avoid costly helicopter-supported drilling on unfrozen ground. Following review and analysis of the extensive geological, geochemical and geophysical datasets available to the geological team, the Company anticipates commencing a revised and refocused diamond drilling campaign to test greenfields and brownfields targets once the Q3-Q4 exploration and interpretation work is completed.
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical data contained in this press release was reviewed and prepared under the supervision of Jean Lafleur, M. Sc, P. Geo., Technical Advisory Committee member, a non-independent Qualified Person to Aurvista Gold Corp., who is responsible for ensuring that the geologic information provided in this presentation is accurate and acts as a "Qualified Person" under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
Quality Assurance ("QA") and Quality Control ("QC")
Aurvista follows strict Quality Assurance ("QA") and Quality Control ("QC") protocols at Douay covering core sampling and assaying; bagging of core for analysis; transport of core from site to the analytical laboratory; sample preparation for assaying; and analysis, recording and final statistical vetting of results. For a complete description of protocols, please visit the Company's QA/QC page on the website at www.aurvistagold.com.
Douay Gold Project and Company Profile:
Aurvista Gold Corporation is a well-funded gold exploration and development company focused on advancing one of the largest undeveloped gold projects in Quebec. The Company's district-scale Douay Gold Project is located along the Casa Berardi Deformation Zone within the prolific Abitibi Greenstone Belt in northern Quebec. The Project hosts an inferred gold resource that remains open in several directions, with excellent infrastructure and several large scale operating mines within 150km. The Douay Gold Project's high-grade lenses have never been mined and the Company has property-wide exploration and drilling plans, with the aim of establishing high-quality ounces in one of the best mining jurisdictions in the world.
ON BEHALF OF AURVISTA GOLD CORPORATION,
B. Matthew Hornor, President & CEO
NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS PRESS RELEASE.
Forward Looking Statements:
This news release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions, uncertainties and management's best estimate of future events. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations and projections. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. When used herein, words such as "anticipate", "will", "intend" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. For a more detailed discussion of such risks and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, refer to Aurvista Gold Corporation's filings with Canadian securities regulators available on www.sedar.com or the Company's website at www.aurvistagold.com. 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.
Contacts:
Mr. Joness Lang
VP, Corporate Development
Office: +1 416.682.2674
Email: jlang@aurvistagold.com
The two organizations deepen relationship to drive customer value through connected planning
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --Anaplan, a leading platform provider driving a new age of connected planning, today announced a significantly strengthened relationship with Deloitte, one of the world's largest professional services organizations. The two organizations committed to an accelerated growth plan to help drive the value that joint customers achieve with Anaplan's connected planning platform in finance, sales, and supply chain.
"We are thrilled to work even more closely with Deloitte to share the connected planning message with the market," said Anaplan President and CEO Frank Calderoni. "Customers tell us that connected planning is a key driver of successful digital transformation, and this strategic alliance with Deloitte will help us deliver the benefits of connected planning to even more customers worldwide."
Deloitte will endeavor to make investments to strengthen its Anaplan capability. These include certifying additional Anaplan consultants; using the Anaplan platform as one of the core components in its digital transformation offering; and developing sales-, finance-, and supply chain-specific planning solutions based on its deep operational knowledge. Deloitte enters into similar accelerated growth plans with alliance relationships when the opportunity exists to drive significant impact to clients.
Anaplan was recently recognized as a leader for its planning platform in Gartner's 2017 Magic Quadrant for Sales Performance Management,1 Gartner's 2017 Magic Quadrant for Cloud Strategic Corporate Performance Management (SCPM) Solutions,2 and the "The Forrester Wave': Enterprise Performance Management, Q4 2016"3 report by Forrester Research, Inc.
"The Anaplan platform can enable enterprises to make better-informed plans and business decisions, and its potential benefits extend to the people charged with executing those plans and decisions," said John Malikowski, Principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP. "Deloitte is pleased to work more closely with Anaplan to help companies achieve digital transformation."
About Anaplan
Anaplan is driving a new age of connected planning. Large and fast-growing organizations use Anaplan's cloud platform in every business function to make informed decisions and drive faster, more effective planning processes. Anaplan also provides support, training, and planning transformation advisory services. Anaplan is a privately held company based in San Francisco with 16 offices and over 150 expert partners worldwide. To learn more, visitanaplan.com.
About Deloitte
Deloitte provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax and advisory services to many of the world's most admired brands, including 80 percent of the Fortune 500 and more than 6,000 private and middle market companies.Our people work across more than 20 industry sectors to deliver measurable and lasting results that help reinforce public trust in our capital markets, inspire clients to make their most challenging business decisions with confidence, and help lead the way toward a stronger economy and a healthy society.
Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee ("DTTL"), its network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL (also referred to as "Deloitte Global") does not provide services to clients. In the United States, Deloitte refers to one or more of the US member firms of DTTL, their related entities that operate using the "Deloitte" name in the United States and their respective affiliates. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting. Please see www.deloitte.com/aboutto learn more about our global network of member firms.
1 Melissa A. Hilbert and Tad Travis, "Gartner Magic Quadrant for Sales Performance Management," March 28, 2017.
2 Chris Iervolino and John Van Decker, "Magic Quadrant for Cloud Strategic Corporate Performance Management Solutions," Gartner, June 29, 2017.
3 Paul Hamerman, "The Forrester Wave': Enterprise Performance Management 2016 Q4 2016," October 6, 2016.
Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/482892/Anaplan_Logo.jpg
ROUYN-NORANDA, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 09/12/17 -- GLOBEX MINING ENTERPRISES INC. (TSX: GMX)(FRANKFURT: G1MN)(STUTTGART: G1MN)(BERLIN: G1MN)(MUNICH: G1MN)(XETRA: G1MN)(OTCQX: GLBXF) is pleased to inform shareholders that we have acquired a 164 square km (63.3 square mile) land package measuring 36 km long by up to 5 km wide in the State of Saxony in southeast Germany. The project herein called the Braunsdorf licence includes the western part of the famous Freiberg silver mining district which, over an approximate 850 year history, has produced some 5,700 tonnes of silver as well as zinc and lead. The area forming the Braunsdorf licence has produced, over a 750 year period, at least 882 tonnes of silver (28.8 million ounces) with a current value of over US$ 500,000,000 (at US$ 17.50 per oz). Six major historic silver mine camps and five minor camps or prospects are included in the licence. Previous production was from surface to a maximum depth of 580 m with most production from shallow depths due to limits imposed by mining methods and water table levels over the extensive historical mining period. Currently, the permit area is weakly populated and most of the land is used for agricultural purposes. Ten percent of the area is forested. Alluvium and overburden cover about 50% of the southern part of the Braunsdorf licence area and approximately 80% of the northern part. Weathering extends to depths of up to 30 m and most silver veins are not exposed on surface.
German mining laws are somewhat similar to those in Canada with clearly defined obligations such as undertaking proposed work programs in a workman like manner and meeting agreed to expenditure requirements. Environmental laws are also similar in that exploration must be preformed respecting designated protected areas and the rights of surface land owners.
The Braunsdorf licence is centred on an over 35 km long by 1 to 5 km wide hydrothermal (epithermal) vein system. Numerous historic mining camps and small mines and prospects from Braunsdorf in the southwest to Scharfenberg the northeast were exploited for silver over a 750 year period.
Globex decided to acquire the large western vein system of the Freiberg district as we feel that it offers the highest potential for the discovery of significant silver resources. The central area of the Freiberg district has been more extensively explored and mined, generally on narrow veins and to greater depth. Many vein systems on the Braunsdorf licence have only been explored and/or mined to shallow depths thus offering a greater potential to find untapped resources, both in the area of the old mine workings as well as along strike in the extensive unexplored overburden covered areas.
Mineralization is divided between the EARLY high and low temperature epithermal assemblages listed directly below:
Pyrite dominated - Zn-Pb-Cu, Ag, +/- Sn, +/-W, +/- Au Silver dominated - Ag, Sb, minor Pb, Zn, Cu and +/- Au Lead dominated - Pb-Ag, Zn-Cu, +/- Au and LATE lower temperature epithermal assemblages which occur as three principal types: Barite dominated - Pb-Ag-Cu Barite dominated - Pb-Cu-Zn, +/- Ag Barite dominated - Ag-Ni-Co-As-Bi, +/- Cu
The veins in the Braunsdorf licence are thought to be dominated by lower temperature epithermal mineral assemblages which could indicate that higher grade silver mineralization may extend to greater depth than in other mining areas.
Each mining camp has its own history. For example, the Braunsdorf Mining Camp which produced 112.5 t of silver from 1673 to 1862 from low temperature, epithermal silver dominated veins. The veins varied in width up to 4.2 m along a strike length of 2,600 m with production depths of up to 250 - 290 m in the central and southern section and from shallow depth in the northern 1 km. The mine functioned from two inclined shafts on 8 levels, the deepest being at 281 m. The principal vein extends from some 460 m along strike near surface to 300 m along the deepest (No. 8) level as a single vein which then branches into several often horse tailing vein structures. The vein system may continue for some 7 km as far as the Grossvoigtsberg Mining Camp but has not been explored, due to the overburden cover. Ore shoots of up to 4.3 kg/t Ag (4,300 g/t Ag) are reported.
Other mining camps in the Braunsdorf licence (with production from incomplete historical records) include:
Halsbrucke (Grossschirma) - 319.6 t Ag, 46,381 t Pb, 370 t Cu, 3,000 t barite, 341 t fluorite. Reichenbach & Grauer Wolf (prospects) - unknown Grossvoigtsberg - 31.5 t Ag Hohentanne - 10.0 t Ag Kleinvoigtsberg 192.8 t Ag Obergruna 159.0 t Ag + Cu and Zn Siebenlehn - 0.77 t Ag Munzig - 0.89 t Ag Scharfenberg 55 t Ag, 1,907 t Pb
In addition to the silver potential of the Braunsdorf licence, there is exploration potential for zinc-lead, particularly in the Scharfenberg - Munzig - Kleinvoigtsberg - Grossvoigtsberg-Obergruna mining camps, by-product tin (Sn) and associated Cu, Zn between Braunsdorf and Obergruna as well as graphite, barite and fluorite.
As shareholders may have guessed, due to the long period of the mining history and incomplete records, it is impossible to know the complete mining production from the Braunsdorf licence area but it is clearly a significant mining belt. Previous historical work was limited by the crude exploration and mining methods available at the time as well as water extraction methods required to keep the mines dry and the metallurgical complexity and recovery methods. Globex will apply modern exploration methods to the Braunsdorf licence once the location and compilation of all available historical data is completed.
Historical and geological information will be made available on Globex's website www.globexmining.com shortly.
This press release was written by Jack Stoch, P. Geo., President and CEO of Globex in his capacity as a Qualified Person (Q.P.) under NI 43-101 with research input from Matthias Jurgeit, Euro Geologist.
We Seek Safe Harbour. Foreign Private Issuer 12g3 - 2(b) CUSIP Number 379900 50 9
Forward Looking Statements: Except for historical information, this news release may contain certain "forward looking statements". These statements may involve a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity and performance to be materially different from the expectations and projections of Globex Mining Enterprises Inc. ("Globex"). No assurance can be given that any events anticipated by the forward-looking information will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what benefits Globex will derive therefrom. A more detailed discussion of the risks is available in the "Annual Information Form" filed by Globex on SEDAR at www.sedar.com
50,172,424 shares issued and outstanding
Contacts:
Jack Stoch, P.Geo., Acc.Dir.
President & CEO
Globex Mining Enterprises Inc.
819.797.5242
819.797.1470 (FAX)
info@globexmining.com
www.globexmining.com
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / November 3, 2017 / Purcell Julie & Lefkowitz LLP, a class action law firm dedicated to representing shareholders nationwide, is investigating a potential breach of fiduciary duty claim involving the board of directors of Universal Electronics Inc. (NASDAQ: UEIC).
If you are a shareholder of Universal Electronics Inc. and are interested in obtaining additional information regarding this investigation, free of charge, please visit us at:
http://pjlfirm.com/universal-electronics-inc/
You may also contact Robert H. Lefkowitz, Esq. either via email at rl@pjlfirm.com or by telephone at 212-725-1000. One of our attorneys will personally speak with you about the case at no cost or obligation.
Purcell Julie & Lefkowitz LLP is a law firm exclusively committed to representing shareholders nationwide who are victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty and other types of corporate misconduct. For more information about the firm and its attorneys, please visit http://pjlfirm.com. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
SOURCE: Purcell Julie & Lefkowitz LLP
TORONTO, 2017-11-08 23:59 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mandalay Resources Corporation ("Mandalay" or the "Company") (TSX:MND) today announced revenue of $35.4 million, adjusted EBITDA of $10.7 million and consolidated net loss of $7.2 million, or $0.02 loss per share, for the third quarter of 2017. The Company's condensed and consolidated interim financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2017, together with its Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") for the corresponding period, can be accessed under the Company's profile on www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at www.mandalayresources.com. All currency references in this press release are in U.S. dollars except as otherwise indicated. Commenting on the quarterly results, Dr. Mark Sander, President and CEO of Mandalay, noted, "Bjorkdal continues to emerge as a long-lived anchor operation for Mandalay. For the last two quarters, the mine has produced at an annualized rate of approximately 60,000 ounces of gold at an average cash cost of $845/oz owing to the combined impacts of our grade control and mine debottlenecking programs. We are pleased that the grade control program continues to function well and that the debottlenecking actions we took in the open pit and underground mines at the end of the first quarter continue to perform as planned. We expect this strong performance from Bjorkdal to continue for the rest of the year as these programs strengthen with experience, and we expect to deliver a Mineral Resources and Reserves update by the end of 2017." Dr. Sander continued, "Costerfield delivered dependable performance in the third quarter of 2017, producing 12,586 gold equivalent ounces at a sound cash cost of $736 per ounce and all-in cost of $1,068 per ounce. We expect performance at these levels to continue for the balance of the year. As well, we passed a major milestone at Costerfield with commitment of capital to develop the Brunswick lode. This project will extend the reserve life of the operation by approximately a year; the impacts on Mineral Resources and Reserves will be announced in a Mineral Resources and Reserves update in the first quarter of next year." "Mandalay's financial performance in the third quarter of 2017 was negatively affected by the operating suspension at Cerro Bayo in response to the June 9, 2017 flooding of the Delia NW mine. Operations at Cerro Bayo remain suspended and under force majeure; as a consequence, there was no production at Cerro Bayo during the quarter. On September 29, 2017, the mine was moved to care and maintenance in order to conserve cash pending completion of the investigation of the root cause of the flooding and the risk assessment of restarting mining in the vicinity of Laguna Verde (both expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2017) as well as the granting of all permits needed to execute the Life of Mine plan. We expect ongoing care and maintenance costs to decline to a rate of approximately $1.5 million per quarter going forward." Dr. Sander concluded, "With our two operating mines performing well in the third quarter, we are maintaining our revised guidance for the full year 2017 of 114,000-128,000 ounces of gold equivalent at average cash cost of $925-$975 per ounce, as stated in our press release on August 10, 2017. We expect to issue production and cost guidance for 2018 with our full-year production and sales report in mid-January, 2018. Considering the $40 million revolving credit facility announced in July, 2017, Mandalay's balance sheet is strong and the Company is well-funded to maintain its capital investment program in its existing mines, maintain working capital, and execute its strategy." Third Quarter 2017 Financial Highlights The following table summarizes the Company's financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016: Three months Three Nine months Nine Ended months Ended month September Ended September Ended 30, 2017 September 30, September 30, 2017 30, 2016 2016 $'000 $'000 $'000 $'000 Revenue 35,407 48,544 124,90 153,15 4 2 Cost of Sales 22,403 31,389 84,421 92,742 Adjusted EBITDA* 10,650 13,797 34,192 53,186 Income from mine operations 13,004 17,155 40,483 60,410 before depreciation and depletion Adjusted net (loss) income (1,673 ) 1,110 (10,95 ) 7,239 before special items* 4 Consolidated net (loss) income (7,181 ) 549 (19,63 ) 5,309 4 Cash capex 9,890 10,369 34,980 34,898 Total assets 331,24 384,87 331,24 384,87 1 5 1 5 Total liabilities 141,85 145,73 141,85 145,73 9 4 9 4 Adjusted net (loss) income per $ (0.00 ) $ 0.00 $ (0.02 ) $ 0.02 share* Consolidated net (loss) income $ (0.02 ) $ 0.00 $ (0.04 ) $ 0.01 per share * Adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income before special items and adjusted net (loss) income per share are non-IFRS measures. See "Non-IFRS Measures" at the end of this press release. During the third quarter of 2017, Mandalay sold 23% fewer ounces of gold equivalent versus the third quarter of 2016. At the same time, average antimony prices rose 14% quarter-over-quarter, while average gold and silver prices decreased by 4% and 14% respectively. The net effect is that Mandalay's revenue of $35.4 million in the third quarter of 2017 was $13.1 million lower than in the third quarter of 2016. Total cost of sales across the Company was lower in the third quarter of 2017 than in the third quarter of 2016. Other than the $8.3 million decline due to nil production at Cerro Bayo, cost of sales decreased at Costerfield (by $0.5 million) and Bjorkdal (by $0.2 million). Consolidated administrative costs decreased by $1.0 million. Mandalay generated $10.7 million in adjusted EBITDA in the current quarter, $1.4 million lower than in the previous quarter, and $3.1 million lower than the third quarter of 2016. This led to a consolidated net loss of $7.2 million in the third quarter of 2017 versus a loss of $10.1 million in the second quarter of 2017, which was impacted by the expenses of search efforts related to the flooding incident at Cerro Bayo and accrual of estimated future costs stemming from the event. Mandalay ended the third quarter of 2017 with $24.8 million in cash and cash equivalents; $15 million has been drawn on the revolving credit facility. Third Quarter Operational Highlights The table below summarizes the Company's capital expenditures and operational unit costs for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016: Three Three Nine Nine months months months months ended ended ended ended September September September September 30, 2017 30, 2016 30, 2017 30, 2016 $'000 $'000 $'000 $'000 Costerfi eld Gold produced (oz) 7,370 9,102 24,290 33,787 Antimony produced (t) 804 844 2,310 2,806 Gold equivalent produced 12,586 13,684 39,777 47,673 (oz) Cash cost* per oz gold $ 736 $ 755 $ 699 $ 588 equivalent produced All-in cost* per oz gold $ 1,068 $ 1,064 $ 1,019 $ 845 equivalent produced Underground capital devel. 9 Nil 1,884 Nil & open pit prestrip Capital purchases 1,065 779 3,545 2,374 Capital exploration 847 1,429 3,233 3,541 Cerro Bayo Silver produced (oz) - 388,13 794,53 1,365, 9 3 817 Gold produced (oz) - 2,831 5,909 10,985 Cash cost* per oz silver - $ 15.18 $ 13.50 $ 10.95 net byproduct credit All-in cost* per oz silver - $ 25.70 $ 25.22 $ 20.08 net byproduct credit Underground capital devel. 340 2,342 5,971 6,245 & open pit prestrip Capital purchases 121 574 1,475 3,032 Capital exploration 125 972 872 2,278 Bjorkda l Gold produced (oz) 13,233 12,376 39,993 37,210 Cash cost* per oz gold $ 871 $ 897 $ 926 $ 896 produced All-in cost* per oz gold $ 1,199 $ 1,135 1,213 1,138 produced Underground capital devel. 4,018 2,564 5,860 7,468 & open pit prestrip Capital purchases 2,684 174 3,050 2,917 Capital exploration 561 1,530 1,082 3,032 Consolid ated Gold equivalent produced 25,819 34,586 96,791 114,20 (oz) 4 Average cash cost* per oz $ 907 $ 970 $ 912 $ 843 gold equivalent Average all-in cost* per $ 1,301 $ 1,266 $ 1,258 $ 1,135 oz gold equivalent Underground capital devel. 4,916 4,978 19,155 17,292 & open pit prestrip Capital purchases 3,887 1,563 10,812 8,519 Capital exploration 1,086 3,828 5,013 9,087 *Cash cost and all-in cost are non-IFRS measures. See "Non-IFRS Measures" at the end of this press release. Bjorkdal gold mine, Sweden Bjorkdal delivered its second-best production quarter since being acquired by Mandalay, trailing only the second quarter of 2017. The mine continued to deliver both high rates of stoping, which generates the highest-grade ore, and high rates of open pit production. As a result, both mine produced and mill head grade has averaged approximately 1.5 g/t for the year to date, much higher than the previous year. Key operational milestones include commissioning the flotation plant on time and budget. While recoveries were slightly depressed during the commissioning period, the plant is now operating in steady state, with recovery improvements matching or exceeding the expected 1.7%. Meanwhile, land acquisition and permitting for the tailings expansion project proceeds on track. Exploration is winding up for the year, and the Company expects to deliver its updated Mineral Resources and Reserves estimate by the end of the year. Costerfield gold-antimony mine, Victoria, Australia Costerfield continued its dependable performance, in which well-controlled costs and a consistently full plant deliver production directly related to the grade of mill feed in the period, and cash costs per ounce that are inversely related. Costerfield's production of 12,586 ounces gold equivalent in the third quarter of 2017 was less than in the second quarter of 2017 due to lower grades. Lower production in the third quarter of 2017 compared to the third quarter of 2016 was expected, as a year ago Mandalay was mining in the heart of the highest-grade portion of the Cuffley lode and currently is mining lower-grade parts of the deposit. After the end of the third quarter, Mandalay committed to develop the Brunswick lode, which is expected to result in reserve additions and an extended mine life for the operation. Details will be released in the next Mineral Resources and Reserves update for the mine, expected in February, 2018. Cerro Bayo silver-gold mine, Patagonia, Chile No production occurred at Cerro Bayo in the third quarter. The mine reached agreement with the two unions with which it was in negotiations when the production suspension occurred, and after the required one month waiting period, a reduction in workforce from approximately 400 to approximately 100 employees occurred at the end of the quarter in order to conserve Company cash for a potential restart. Any restart will be contingent on the Company being confident that flooding will not recur in the mines around Laguna Verde and the receipt of all permits necessary to complete the Life of Mine plan. The investigation of the event and risk assessment for resumption of mining around the lake is nearing completion. The Company is engaged with Chilean regulators to submit high-quality applications based on this work, respond to questions with timely, high-quality answers and achieve rapid permitting outcomes. Challacollo, Chile Mandalay completed its water exploration program at Challacollo in the second quarter of 2017, finding significant supply of groundwater in four of four holes. The Company has applied for the surface rights to construct a permanent water production well in a process that is expected to take several months. La Quebrada The La Quebrada copper-silver project in central Chile remained on care and maintenance throughout the period. Spending on care and maintenance at La Quebrada was less than $0.1 million during the third quarter of 2017. Lupin and Ulu The Lupin and Ulu gold projects in Nunavut, Canada were acquired with the Elgin acquisition and are currently held for sale as non-core assets. On October 31, 2016, the Company entered into a definitive agreement for sale of both projects to WPC Resources Inc. ("WPC"), but the transaction was not completed due to a C$9.1 million increase in reclamation bonding requirements for the Lupin project that was imposed shortly before the planned closing date. Subsequently, and due to the bonding requirements, the Company and WPC entered into two separate non-binding Letters of Intent regarding WPC's potential acquisition of the two projects on terms that are substantially similar, in the aggregate, to those contemplated by the prior definitive agreement. Conference Call Mandalay's management will be hosting a conference call for investors and analysts on November 9, 2017 at 8:00 am (Toronto time). Analysts and interested investors are invited to participate using the following dial-in numbers: Participant Number: (201) 689-8341 Participant Number (Toll free): (877) 407-8289 Conference ID: 13672556 A replay of the conference call will be available until 11:59 pm (Toronto time), November 23, 2017 and can be accessed using the following dial-in number: Encore Toll Free Dial-in Number: (877) 660-6853 Encore ID: 13672556 For further information: Mark Sander President and Chief Executive Officer Greg DiTomaso Director of Investor Relations Contact: 1.647.260.1566 About Mandalay Resources Corporation: Mandalay Resources is a Canadian-based natural resource company with producing assets in Australia, Chile and Sweden, and a development project in Chile. The Company is focused on executing a roll-up strategy, creating critical mass by aggregating advanced or in-production gold, copper, silver and antimony projects in Australia, the Americas, and Europe to generate near-term cash flow and shareholder value. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including guidance as to anticipated gold, silver, and antimony production and production costs in the future and the potential for a restart of operations at the Company's Cerro Bayo mine. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements depending on, among other things, changes in commodity prices and general market and economic conditions. The factors identified above are not intended to represent a complete list of the factors that could affect Mandalay. A description of additional risks that could result in actual results and developments differing from those contemplated by forward-looking statements in this news release can be found under the heading "Risk Factors" in Mandalay's annual information form dated March 31, 2017, a copy of which is available under Mandalay's profile at www.sedar.com. Although Mandalay has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Non-IFRS Measures This news release may contain references to adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income, cash cost per saleable ounce of gold equivalent produced, cash cost per saleable ounce of silver produced net of gold credits, site all-in cost per saleable ounce of gold equivalent produced, site all-in cost per saleable ounce of silver produced net of gold credits, all-in costs and cash capex, all of which are non-IFRS measures and do not have standardized meanings under IFRS. Therefore, these measures may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. Management uses adjusted EBITDA as a measure of operating performance to assist in assessing the Company's ability to generate liquidity through operating cash flow to fund future working capital needs and to fund future capital expenditures, as well as to assist in comparing financial performance from period to period on a consistent basis. Management uses adjusted net income in order to facilitate an understanding of the Company's financial performance prior to the impact of non-recurring or special items. The Company believes that these measures are used by and are useful to investors and other users of the Company's financial statements in evaluating the Company's operating and cash performance because they allow for analysis of its financial results without regard to special, non-cash and other non-core items, which can vary substantially from company to company and over different periods. The Company defines adjusted EBITDA as income from mine operations, net of administration costs, and before interest, taxes, non-cash charges/(income), intercompany charges and finance costs. For a reconciliation between adjusted EBITDA and net income, please refer to page 17 of management's discussion and analysis of the Company's financial statements for the third quarter of 2017. The Company defines cash capex as cash spent on mining interests, property, plant and equipment, and exploration as set out in the cash flow statement of the financial statements. The Company defines free cash flow as a measure of the Corporation's ability to generate and manage liquidity. This term does not have a standard meaning and is intended to provide the reader with additional information. For Costerfield, saleable equivalent gold ounces produced is calculated by adding to saleable gold ounces produced, the saleable antimony tonnes produced times the average antimony price in the period divided by the average gold price in the period. The total cash operating cost associated with the production of these saleable equivalent ounces produced in the period is then divided by the saleable equivalent gold ounces produced to yield the cash cost per saleable equivalent ounce produced. The cash cost excludes royalty expenses. Site all-in costs include total cash operating costs, royalty expense, accretion, depletion, depreciation and amortization. The site all-in cost is then divided by the saleable equivalent gold ounces produced to yield the site all-in cost per saleable equivalent ounce produced. For Cerro Bayo, the cash cost per saleable silver ounce produced net of gold byproduct credit is calculated by deducting the gold credit (which equals saleable ounces gold produced times the realized gold price in the period) from the cash operating costs in the period and dividing the resultant number by the saleable silver ounces produced in the period. The cash cost excludes royalty expenses. The site all-in cost per saleable silver ounce produced net of gold byproduct credit is calculated by adding royalty expenses, accretion, depletion, depreciation, and amortization to the cash cost net of gold byproduct credit, dividing the resultant number by the saleable silver ounces produced in the period. Also for Cerro Bayo, saleable equivalent gold ounces produced is calculated by adding to saleable gold ounces produced, the saleable silver ounces produced times the average silver price in the period divided by the average gold price in the period. The total cash operating cost associated with the production of these saleable equivalent ounces produced in the period is then divided by the saleable equivalent gold ounces produced to yield the cash cost per saleable equivalent ounce produced. The cash cost excludes royalty expenses. Site all-in costs include total cash operating costs, royalty expense, accretion, depletion, depreciation and amortization. The site all-in cost is then divided by the saleable equivalent gold ounces produced to yield the site all-in cost per saleable equivalent ounce produced. For Bjorkdal, the total cash operating cost associated with the production of saleable gold ounces produced in the period is then divided by the saleable gold ounces produced to yield the cash cost per saleable gold ounce produced. The cash cost excludes royalty expenses. Site all-in costs include total cash operating costs, royalty expense, accretion, depletion, depreciation and amortization. The site all-in cost is then divided by the saleable gold ounces produced to yield the site all-in cost per saleable gold ounce produced. For the Company as a whole, cash cost per saleable gold equivalent ounce is calculated by summing the gold equivalent ounces produced by each site and dividing the total by the sum of cash operating costs at the sites plus corporate overhead spending.
HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA -- (Marketwired) -- 01/10/18 -- Erdene Resource Development Corp. (TSX: ERD) ("Erdene" or "Company") is pleased to report the highest-grade gold intersection encountered to date at its 100%-owned Bayan Khundii Gold Project ("Bayan Khundii") in southwest Mongolia.
"We are excited by this intersection, not only because of the ultra high-grade nature but by the continuity that continues to be demonstrated within multiple, high-grade gold domains within a broad lower-grade halo throughout this 1.4 kilometre long system," said Peter Akerley, Erdene's President and CEO. "The continuity of these high-grade gold bearing veins, that extend from surface and up to 150 metres vertically, provides an excellent base for advancing the project. These results clearly demonstrate the continued exploration upside potential of this relatively new gold discovery. They also support further detailed exploration targeting gold bearing structures not only within the Bayan Khundii deposit area but also within the larger district which we are confident will lead to additional discoveries."
HIGHLIGHTS(see attached plan maps, cross-sections and drill core photograph for reference)
-- Drilling in the North Midfield Zone returns highest gold result to date, 2,200 g/t gold (70.7 oz/t) and 948 g/t silver (30.5 oz/t) over 1 metre (BKD-231). -- Drilling in the North Midfield Zone, 65 metres north of BKD-231, returns 22 metres of 8.3 g/t gold, within 36.5 metres of 5.6 g/t gold (BKD-232). -- Drilling within the Midfield Zone returns 25 metres of 5.8 g/t gold within a 127.5 metre interval of 1.8 g/t gold (BKD-230). -- Structural interpretation by Dr. Armelle Kloppenburg provides greater understanding of controls on gold mineralization at Bayan Khundii and improves targeting of ultra high-grade zones and district-scale targets. -- Additional results pending for Altan Arrow and Altan Nar gold projects.
SUMMARY
The exploration program reported on herein was developed by the Erdene technical team in conjunction with an independent expert's review to identify high priority structural targets within the Bayan Khundii project area. This included: testing the recently discovered North Midfield Zone with more detailed, closer-spaced drilling and testing structural concepts and extensions at depth; testing the Midfield area for the presence of shallower zones of mineralization; testing the continuity of broad mineralized zones in the central portion of the North Midfield target area; and testing the southeast extension of the Striker Zone.
Six holes (BKD-229 to BKD-234), totalling 1,192 metres, were completed at Bayan Khundii in November and are included in this update. Three holes were completed in the Midfield Zone (BKD-229, 230, and 233), two holes were completed in the North Midfield Zone (BKD-231 and 232), and one hole was completed along the southeast end of the Striker Zone (BKD-234). Table 1 below includes drill result highlights of these six holes, followed by a description of results.
Table 1. Bayan Khundii drill highlights
-------------------------------------------------------- Drill Hole From (m)To (m)Interval (m) (1)Gold (g/t) -------------------------------------------------------- BKD-229 3 8 5 2.39 -------------------------------------------------------- and 22 30 8 0.61 -------------------------------------------------------- and 56 156.7 100.7 0.74 -------------------------------------------------------- incl 100 147 47 1.31 -------------------------------------------------------- incl 113 114 1 14.4 -------------------------------------------------------- and 133 147 14 2.41 -------------------------------------------------------- incl 144 145 1 18.9 -------------------------------------------------------- BKD-230 31 158.5 127.5 1.80 -------------------------------------------------------- incl 73 98 25 5.84 -------------------------------------------------------- incl 95 98 3 36.8 -------------------------------------------------------- BKD-231 118 193 75 0.35 -------------------------------------------------------- and 193 207 14 158.3 -------------------------------------------------------- incl 193 194 1 2,200 -------------------------------------------------------- and 207 230 23 0.34 -------------------------------------------------------- BKD-232 90.5 127 36.5 5.62 -------------------------------------------------------- incl 102 124 22 8.29 -------------------------------------------------------- incl 102 112 10 11.7 -------------------------------------------------------- incl 102 103 1 15.5 -------------------------------------------------------- and 106 107 1 13.4 -------------------------------------------------------- and 110 112 2 31.1 -------------------------------------------------------- and 120 124 4 10.8 -------------------------------------------------------- and 138.4 146 7.6 1.75 -------------------------------------------------------- BKD-233 26 33 7 1.43 -------------------------------------------------------- and 38 45 7 0.43 -------------------------------------------------------- and 65 66 1 2.01 -------------------------------------------------------- and 72 78 6 4.12 -------------------------------------------------------- incl 72 73 1 22.5 -------------------------------------------------------- and 94 104 10 0.49 -------------------------------------------------------- and 113 132 19 0.72 -------------------------------------------------------- BKD-234 3 7 4 1.54 -------------------------------------------------------- and 40 55 15 1.03 -------------------------------------------------------- and 76 104 28 0.84 -------------------------------------------------------- incl 79 93 14 1.19 --------------------------------------------------------
(1) Reported intervals are not true width. At this time, there is insufficient data with respect to the shape of the mineralized system to calculate true orientations in space. They represent drill intersection widths from holes drilled at a dip of -45 to -85 degrees and oriented to the north-northeast. The Bayan Khundii mineralization is interpreted to be moderately dipping (approximately 40 to 50 degrees to the southwest).
Two plan maps, two cross-sections, and a photograph of the high-grade intersection from hole BKD-231 have been attached for reference:
(MarketWired to insert link) - Bayan Khundii Plan Map #1(MarketWired to insert link) - Bayan Khundii Plan Map #2(MarketWired to insert link) - Bayan Khundii Cross-Section #1(MarketWired to insert link) - Bayan Khundii Cross-Section #2(MarketWired to insert link) - Photograph of high-grade intersection in BKD-231
DISCUSSION OF DRILL RESULTS
NORTH OF MIDFIELD ZONE
Two holes (BKD-231 and BKD-232) were completed in the North Midfield Zone to test the down-dip extension of the high-grade gold intervals in this area.
Hole BKD-231 intersected one metre of 2,200 g/t gold and 948 g/t silver within a 14 metre interval of 158 g/t gold at 193 metres depth (140 metres vertical depth). The mineralization was hosted by multi-phase quartz-adularia-specularite veins and hematite breccia, with abundant fine-grained visible gold (see attached photo of drill core). The 14 metre interval is enveloped by a 112 metre wide interval of gold mineralization starting at 118 metres depth, ranging from 0.1 to 2.8 g/t gold. This high-grade intersection confirms strong continuity down-dip from earlier holes, including BKD-110, 30 metres north, which intersected 1 metre of 115 g/t gold and 1 metre of 108 g/t gold, and BKD-111, 30 metres northwest, which intersected 1 metre of 44 g/t gold and 1 metre of 33 g/t gold. The discovery of this high-grade vein represents an important new target area that will require additional, closer-spaced drilling in 2018.
Hole BKD-232 was completed approximately 65 metres north of BKD-231 and 100 metres north of the Midfield Zone, within an area that previously had 80-metre hole spacing and relatively lower grade results. This hole returned 22 metres of 8.3 g/t gold, and included multiple zones grading over 10 g/t gold (see Table 1 above). The top of the mineralized interval was intersected at 90.5 metres depth (74 metres vertical depth).
MIDFIELD ZONE
Three holes were completed along the south and southeast end of the Midfield Zone (BKD-229, 230 and 233). Hole BKD-230, completed near the center of Midfield, intersected a continuously mineralized 127 metre interval starting at 31 metres depth (24 metres vertical) that averaged 1.8 g/t gold, and included a 25 metre wide interval that averaged 5.8 g/t gold.
Two additional holes (BKD-229 and BKD-233) successfully intersected high-grade gold mineralization, and in the case of BKD-233, although lower grade, expanded the southeast boundary of the Midfield Zone which remains open to the east (see attached plan map for drill hole locations) while BKD-229 intersected gold mineralization at the shallowest levels to date.
STRUCTURAL INTERPRETATION
In Q4-2017, Dr. Armelle Kloppenburg conducted a comprehensive structural study of the Company's gold projects in southwest Mongolia and the broader metals district. The results of that study provide new insights into the Bayan Khundii gold project. Gold mineralizing events are believed to be late Devonian - early Caboniferous and are interpreted to exploit dilational structures in a belt-parallel extensional zone. At Bayan Khundii, northeast-trending extensional faults have intersected a northwest-trending basement structure that is proposed to be a conduit for gold-bearing fluids. In this area a relay ramp structure developed and promoted further local faulting, fracturing and dilation to focus fluid flow, and veining for mineralization. In relation to the specific high-grade domains at Bayan Khundii it is thought that the most prospective areas of these structures would typically be in proximity to the intersection of the major, deep-seated faults, and locally in the hanging wall, and at the ends of the bounding structures (fault tips or extensional stepovers). These areas were the focus of limited drilling during the Q4-2017 program but will be the focus of future drilling and of regional exploration along trend exploring for similar structural environments. District-scale targets for gold mineralization are in areas where the dilation, steepening or intersection with other major structures or more competent units occurs.
2018 TECHNICAL PROGRAM
During Q1-2018 the Company's technical team will assess results of the 2017 drill and exploration programs to determine what additional drilling may be required prior to an independent resource evaluation. Timing of the eventual resource studies for both Bayan Khundii and the Company's neighboring Altan Nar gold-polymetallic project will be influenced by that determination, however, it is anticipated that the studies will be completed in 2018.
REGIONAL DISTRICT EXPLORATION
In addition to drilling at Bayan Khundii, the Company completed significant exploration work during Q4-2017 within the larger, gold district, including the evaluation of targets within the 11.4 km long Bayan Khundii license. A particular focus was placed on the Altan Arrow (3.5 km north of Bayan Khundii) and Khundii North (3.2 km northeast of Bayan Khundii) target areas, and also on the Ulaan (immediately west of Bayan Khundii) and Altan Nar (16 km northwest of Bayan Khundii) license areas.
The northeast-trending faults outlined above are part of a larger network of regional northeast transverse faults that are present throughout the Khundii prospect area. The thoroughgoing structure at Bayan Khundii can be traced 4.6 km northeast to the untested Khundii North prospect where areas of quartz stockwork, chalcedonic quartz with hematite breccia clasts have returned rock sample results up to 22.7 g/t gold.
At Altan Arrow, detailed soil and rock chip sampling has returned highly anomalous gold assays, with up to 27 g/t in rock chips in an area south of the main northeast-trending Altan Arrow structure. The Altan Arrow gold prospect area is also located at the intersection of proposed major deep-seated structures.
A three-hole, 450 metre drill program was also completed at Altan Arrow as part of the Q4-2017 drill program. Drilling included two holes designed to test coincident soil geochemical and geophysical targets, and one hole was oriented to test a potential down-dip extension of high-grade gold mineralization encountered in the 2016 reconnaissance drilling program at Altan Arrow.
The Company also completed a three-hole, 450 metre drill program at the Altan Nar deposit as part of the Q4-2017 drill program. Holes were oriented to test lateral and down-dip extensions of gold-polymetallic mineralization within both the Discovery Zone and Maggie Zone.
Additional analytical results for Altan Nar and Altan Arrow are expected to be released by February 2018.
BACKGROUND ON BAYAN KHUNDII GOLD PROJECT
In Q2-2015, Erdene conducted an initial exploration program on the southern portion of the Company's 100%-owned Khundii exploration license in southwest Mongolia, including an initial rock-chip sampling program which revealed multiple very high-grade surface quartz veins that returned up to 4,380 g/t gold. Since that time, drilling has revealed the presence of very high gold grades, with up to 2,200 g/t gold over 1-metre intervals, within broad mineralized zones, with up to 131 metres of 3.9 g/t gold, including 80 metres of 6.0 g/t gold. Since the first drill hole in Q4-2015, the Company has completed 234 diamond drill holes, totaling 38,072 metres. In addition to drilling, the Company has completed a comprehensive exploration program at Bayan Khundii that has included: geological mapping; soil geochemical surveys; additional surface rock chip sampling; a ground magnetic survey; gradient array and dipole-dipole induced polarization surveys. In addition to this work, a series of detailed follow-up studies have also been completed, predominantly on drill core and surface outcrop, including: petrographic and mineralogical analyses; a fluid inclusion study; SEM gold composition analysis; Short-Wave Infra-Red Analysis (SWIR); structural analysis; and overall petrogenetic analysis. Detailed studies indicate the mineralized zones can be characterized as low-sulphidation epithermal, quartz-illite-adularia type mineralization.
In Q1-2016 and Q3-2017, the Company completed metallurgical test work on Bayan Khundii master composites that indicated gravity concentration and cyanidation of the gravity tails yield very good overall gold recoveries, with 91% to 99% gold recovery on a range of gold grades from 0.7 g/t to 25.9 g/t gold.
The Bayan Khundii license has a 2% net smelter returns royalty ("NSR Royalty") in favour of Sandstorm Gold Ltd. with a buy-back option to reduce the NSR Royalty to 1%.
QUALIFIED PERSON AND SAMPLE PROTOCOL
Michael MacDonald, P.Geo. (Nova Scotia), Vice President Exploration for Erdene, is the Qualified Person as that term is defined in National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release. All samples have been assayed at SGS Laboratory in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. In addition to internal checks by SGS Laboratory, the Company incorporates a QA/QC sample protocol utilizing prepared standards and blanks.
Erdene's sampling protocol for drill core consisted of collection of samples over 1 metre or 2 metre intervals (depending on the lithology and style of mineralization) over the entire length of the drill hole, excluding minor post-mineral lithologies and un-mineralized granitoids. Sample intervals were based on meterage, not geological controls or mineralization. All drill core was cut in half with a diamond saw, with half of the core placed in sample bags and the remaining half securely retained in core boxes at Erdene's Bayan Khundii exploration camp. All samples were organized into batches of 30 samples including a commercially prepared standard, blank, and either a field duplicate, consisting of two 1/4 core intervals, or a laboratory duplicate. Sample batches were periodically shipped directly to SGS in Ulaanbaatar via Erdene's logistical contractor, Monrud Co. Ltd.
ABOUT ERDENE
Erdene Resource Development Corp. is a Canada-based resource company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of base and precious metals in underexplored and highly prospective Mongolia. The Company has interests in five exploration licenses and a mining license in southwest Mongolia. In addition to the Bayan Khundii project, other deposits and prospects within these licenses include: Altan Nar - an extensive, high-grade, near-surface, gold-polymetallic project located 16 kilometres northwest of Bayan Khundii that the Company is actively advancing; Altan Arrow - an early-stage gold-silver project 3.5 kilometres north of Bayan Khundii; Ulaan - a recently acquired copper-gold porphyry prospect adjacent to Bayan Khundii; Khuvyn Khar - an early-stage, copper-silver porphyry project with multiple drill targets and significant copper intersections; Nomin Tal - a narrow, high-grade copper-gold discovery; and Zuun Mod - a large molybdenum-copper porphyry deposit. In addition to the above properties, the Company has an Alliance with Teck Resources Limited on regional copper-gold exploration in the prospective Trans Altai region of southwest Mongolia. For further information on the Company, please visit www.erdene.com. Erdene has 145,963,086 issued and outstanding common shares and a fully diluted position of 156,592,160 common shares.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain information regarding Erdene contained herein may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements may include estimates, plans, expectations, opinions, forecasts, projections, guidance or other statements that are not statements of fact. Although Erdene believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Erdene cautions that actual performance will be affected by many factors, most of which are beyond its control, and that future events and results may vary substantially from what Erdene currently foresees. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration results, continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. The forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The information contained herein is stated as of the current date and is subject to change after that date. The Company does not assume the obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
ERDENE CONTACT INFORMATION
Peter C. Akerley, President and CEOorKen W. MacDonald, Vice President and CFO Phone: (902) 423-6419 E-mail: info@erdene.com Website: www.erdene.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/ErdeneRes
No Regulatory Authority Has Approved or Disapproved The Contents of This Release
Contacts:
Erdene Resource Development Corp.
Peter C. Akerley, President and CEO
Ken W. MacDonald, Vice President and CFO
(902) 423-6419
info@erdene.com / www.erdene.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ErdeneRes
RICHMOND HILL, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 01/04/18 -- Helix BioPharma Corp. (TSX: HBP)(FRANKFURT: HBP) ("Helix" or the "Company"), an immuno-oncology company developing innovative drug candidates for the prevention and treatment of cancer, today announced the finalization of a collaborative binding letter of intent ("LOI") with ProMab Biotechnologies, Inc. ("ProMab") to develop chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy ("CAR-T") for hematological malignances and solid tumours.
The collaboration exploits Helix's innovative single-domain antibody based CAR-T and ProMab's proprietary vector designs, antibodies library and cell based production know-how. The immediate focus will involve preclinical work in support of a new investigational drug ("IND") application of a CAR-T for hematological malignancies. Additional cell-based therapies will also be considered by mutual agreement of the parties. Such therapies may include combination of Helix's newest DOS47 technology for alkalization of tumor microenvironment thus resulting in enhancement of cell-based immunotherapies.
As part of the collaboration agreement, Helix retains an exclusive license for commercialization of any drug product candidate developed alone or in combination with DOS47 and a non-exclusive license to any technology developed in the licensed territories which include Europe and Canada. Helix will be responsible for clinical development in the licensed territories and ProMab will develop in the other territories. Helix will pay certain milestone and royalties to product licensed from ProMab. ProMab's use of any Helix technologies is subject to a separate agreement, which is to be negotiated.
"We are very excited to work with ProMab," said Heman Chao, CEO. "This collaboration will accelerate Helix's cell therapy development program and bring additional value to Helix's shareholders."
About Helix BioPharma Corp.
Helix BioPharma Corp. is an immuno-oncology company specializing in the field of cancer therapy. The company is actively developing innovative products for the prevention and treatment of cancer based on its proprietary technologies. Helix's product development initiatives include its novel L-DOS47 new drug candidate. Helix is currently listed on the TSX and FSE under the symbol "HBP".
About ProMab Biotechnologies
ProMab Biotechnologies is a biotechnology company that develops and commercializes recombinant proteins and custom monoclonal antibodies through the integration of bioinformatics, gene cloning, protein expression and purification, and immunology, using novel high-throughput technologies.
Cautionary Statements
This news release may contain forward-looking statements and information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws including, without limitation, those relating to Helix's operations and strategy and its research and development activities. These statements generally can be identified by forward looking words such as "immediate", "successfully", "significant", "achievement", "advancement", "rapidly", "best", "further", "ongoing", "excited", "efforts", "will" or "modify", and other similar expressions, are intended to provide information about management's current plans and expectations.
Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements concerning (i) the Company's ability to operate on a going concern being dependent mainly on obtaining additional financing; (ii) the Company's priority continuing to be L-DOS47; (iii) the Company's development programs for DOS47 and L-DOS47; (iv) future expenditures, the insufficiency of the Company's current cash resources and the need for financing; and (v) future financing requirements and the seeking of additional funding. Forward-looking statements can further be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "ongoing", "estimates", "expects", or the negative thereof or any other variations thereon or comparable terminology referring to future events or results, or that events or conditions "will", "may", "could", or "should" occur or be achieved, or comparable terminology referring to future events or results.
Although Helix believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated and no assurance can be given that these expectations will be realized, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements include, without limitation, risks inherent in Helix's research and development activities and those risks and uncertainties affecting the Company, as more fully described in Helix's most recent Annual Information Form, including under the headings "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors", filed under Helix's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com (together, the "Helix Risk Factors"). Certain material factors, estimates or assumptions have been applied in making forward-looking statements including, without limitation, the safety and efficacy of the Company's drug product candidates; that sufficient financing will be obtained in a timely manner to allow the Company to continue operations and implement its clinical trials in the manner and on the timelines anticipated; the timely provision of services and supplies or other performance of contracts by third parties; future costs; the absence of any material changes in business strategy or plans; the timely receipt of required regulatory approvals and strategic partner support and that the factors described in the Helix Risk Factors will not cause the Company's actual results or events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. These cautionary statements qualify all such forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements and information are based on the beliefs, assumptions, opinions, plans and expectations of Helix's management on the date of this news release, and the Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statement or information should those beliefs, assumptions, opinions, plans or expectations, or other circumstances change, except as required by law.
Contacts:
Investor Relations
Helix BioPharma Corp.
9120 Leslie Street, Suite 205
Richmond Hill, Ontario, L4B 3J9
Tel: 905-841-2300
Email: ir@helixbiopharma.com
The "Global Adaptive Robotics Market 2017-2021" report has been added to Research and Markets' offering.
The global adaptive robotics market to grow at a CAGR of 27.20% during the period 2017-2021.
Global Adaptive Robotics Market 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.
Adaptive robots have varied characteristics of integrating with technologies such as IoT, which allows real-time monitoring of the environment and activities. These robots are anticipated to reform and disrupt the way robots are currently used during the forecast period. Adaptive robots can improve the production process by standardizing product assembly and quality, constructing valid data out of their working and actions, creating knowledge repository, and simultaneously acquiring the required information from the existing data.
One trend in the market is integration of swarm technology in adaptive robots. After analysis and introspection, many engineers and scientists have tried to adapt automation to highly efficient patterns observed in nature. Worker ants are noted examples of efficient workers that execute all tasks in a focused manner, while maintaining constant communication.
Market trends
Integration of swarm technology in adaptive robots
IoT and Industry 4.0
R&D in adaptive robotics
Key vendors
iRobot
Rethink Robotics
SoftBank Group
Universal Robots
Yaskawa Motoman
Other prominent vendors
Giraff Technologies
HONDA
PaR Systems
Robotiq
Teledyne SeaBotix
Key Topics Covered:
Part 01: Executive Summary
Part 02: Scope Of The Report
Part 03: Research Methodology
Part 04: Introduction
Part 05: Market Landscape
Part 06: Market Segmentation By Application
Part 07: Market Segmentation By Product
Part 08: Regional Landscape
Part 09: Decision Framework
Part 10: Drivers And Challenges
Part 11: Market Trends
Part 12: Vendor Landscape
Part 13: Vendor Analysis
Part 14: Appendix
For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/mjz8tt/global_adaptive?w=4.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180108006351/en/
Contacts:
Research and Markets
Laura Wood, Senior Manager
press@researchandmarkets.com
For E.S.T. Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470
For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630
For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900
Related Topics: Robotics
Blog Archive October (1) June (1) January (1) June (1) January (1) November (2) September (1) August (1) July (2) May (1) April (1) March (1) January (8) December (9) November (10) October (11) September (8) August (2) July (4) June (8) May (11) April (15) March (15) February (14) January (13) December (12) November (11) October (15) September (14) August (13) July (16) June (16) May (20) April (21) March (21) February (20) January (20) December (10) November (20) October (20) September (20) August (15) July (17) June (23) May (27) April (29) March (22) February (20) January (19) December (26) November (28) October (27) September (23) August (27) July (21) June (31) May (31) April (16) March (24) February (26) January (29) December (28) November (21) October (25) September (22) August (23) July (14) June (24) May (22) April (28) March (25) February (25) January (23) December (25) November (20) October (26) September (23) August (26) July (24) June (31) May (26) April (15) March (13) February (8) January (8) December (15) November (18) October (14) September (23) August (13) July (19) June (11) May (23) April (25) March (23) February (19) January (26) December (25) November (23) October (19) September (22) August (23) July (22) June (22) May (16) April (25) March (24) February (27) January (24) December (18) November (18) October (22) September (15) August (24) July (24) June (20) May (33) April (35) March (41) February (37) January (41) December (36) November (45) October (41) September (47) August (47) July (43) June (46) May (39) April (38) March (33) February (36) January (38) December (33) November (25) October (30) September (31) August (27) July (26) June (34) May (34) April (36) March (38) February (29) January (36) December (34) November (41) October (37) September (30) August (34) July (34) June (29) May (44) April (38) March (48) February (48) January (72) December (49) November (44) October (29) September (14) August (16) July (12) June (12) May (17) April (15) March (9)
DUBLIN, October 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --
The "X-By-Wire Systems - Global Strategic Business Report" report has been added to Research and Markets' offering.
The report provides separate comprehensive analytics for the US, Canada, Japan, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of World. Annual estimates and forecasts are provided for the period 2015 through 2022. Market data and analytics are derived from primary and secondary research.
This report analyzes the worldwide markets for X-By-Wire Systems in Thousand Units. The Global Market is further analyzed by the following System Types:
Throttle-by-Wire Systems
Shift-by-Wire Systems
Other by-Wire Systems
The report profiles 29 companies including many key and niche players such as:
Continental AG
CTS Corporation
Curtiss-Wright Corporation
LORD Corporation
Mobil Elektronik GmbH
Orscheln Products LLC
Robert Bosch GmbH
SKF Group
TORC Robotics, Inc.
ZF Friedrichshafen AG
Key Topics Covered:
1. INDUSTRY OVERVIEW
Automobile "Electronification: The Cornerstone for Growth of X-By Wire Systems
X By Wire: Market Review
Market Outlook
2. KEY MARKETS TRENDS, DRIVERS & CHALLENGES
Focus on Lightweighting Fuels the X By Wire Trend
Focus on Vehicle Stability Control Fuels Engineering Interest in X by Wire
X by Wire: The Foundation for Driverless Cars
Design Flexibility Spurs Interest in X by Wire Systems
Trend Towards Auto Transmission Benefits Shift by Wire Transmission Systems
Drive-by-Wire: Primped As the Technology of the Future
Electronic Throttle Control: The Most Widely Used X-by-Wire System
Surging Interest in E-Mobility Paves the Way for X-by-Wire Systems
Component Manufacturers' Focus On X By Wire Research to Benefit Market Growth
ZF Friedrichshafen AG Remains Committed to Innovation in Auto Electronics
Continental to Develop Electronic Brake System
Robert Bosch Develops iBooster & eClutch
Siemens Focuses on Developing BbW & SbW Systems
Stable Automobile Production to Benefit Market Growth
Expanding Middle Class Population in Developing Countries Fuels Growth
Off-Highway Vehicles: A Major End-Use Sector for X-By-Wire Systems
Stringent Regulations Governing Dependability of Automotive Systems Dampen Market Growth
Rise in Vehicle Recalls Due to Failure of X-by-Wire Systems Aggravates Safety Concerns
Automotive Fiber Optics & Fault Tolerant Electronics & Communication: The Answer to Reliability Issues in X by Wire Systems
42Volt Bus: The Solution for High Power Requirements in Automobiles
3. PRODUCT OVERVIEW
An Introduction to X-By-Wire Systems
Factors Driving Development of X-by-Wire Systems
X-by-Wire Systems Vs Mechanical Systems
Flexible Placement of Steering Unit
Easy Upgradation
Safety
Improved Control
Lower Weight
Quick and Simple Tuning
Eliminating Mechanical Hysteresis
Simple Integration with Electronic Systems
Eco-Friendliness
Better Failure Diagnosis
Cost-effectiveness
Lesser Constraints for Manufacturers
Communication System
Time-Triggered Communication
Fault Tolerant Unit (FTU)
Relevance of Fault Tolerant Architecture
Advantages of X-by-Wire Systems
Limitations of X-by-Wire Systems
Safety Concerns
Sensitivity Issues
Real-Time Constraints
Reliability Constraints
High Power Requirements
Regulations & Legislation
Types of X-by-Wire Systems
Throttle-by-Wire Systems
Shift-by-Wire Systems
Other by-Wire Systems
Park-by-wire
Drive-by-Wire/Electro-Hydraulic Steering Assist Systems
Steering Systems
Power Steering
Electrical Assist Steering
Steer-by-Wire Systems
Advantages of Steer-by-Wire Systems
Structure of Steer-By-Wire Systems
Steer-By-Wire System with Hydraulic Backup
Purely Electrical Steer-by-Wire System
Electronic Steering Systems in Industrial Utility Vehicles Market
Regulatory and Legal Environment for Steer-by-Wire Systems
The Steer-by-Wire Working Group
Directives Governing Steer-by-Wire Systems
An Insight
Passenger and Goods Carrying Motor Vehicles
Agricultural or Forestry Tractors
Mobile Machinery
Brake-by-Wire Systems
The Need for Electronic Braking Systems
Working of Brake-by-Wire Systems
Levels of Brake-by-Wire Systems
Electric Hydraulic Braking (EHB)
Working of the Electro-Hydraulic Brake
Electric Mechanical Braking (EMB)
Working of the Electro Mechanical Brake
Challenges Facing Adoption of Brake-by-Wire Technology
4. PRODUCT INNOVATIONS/INTRODUCTIONS
Thyssenkrupp to Exhibit Steer-By-Wire Concept Vehicle
ZF Unveils Clutch-by-Wire
Orscheln Industries Offers Electronic Shift-By-Wire Systems
Infiniti Introduces Infiniti Q50 with Steer-by-Wire System
Raymarine Unveils Drive-by-Wire Steering Interface for Boat Builders
5. RECENT INDUSTRY ACTIVITY
ZF Takes over TRW Automotive
Renault Opts for Shift-by-Wire Gearshift Designed by Ficosa in its Espace
NASA Incorporates Fly-By-Wire Driving System in its MRV
6. FOCUS ON SELECT PLAYERS
7. GLOBAL MARKET PERSPECTIVE
For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/vcqqdw/xbywire_systems
Media Contact:
Research and Markets
Laura Wood, Senior Manager
press@researchandmarkets.com
For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470
For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630
For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900
U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907
Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716
AURORA, IL -- (Marketwired) -- 09/12/17 -- BERNINA of America, the world's premier manufacturer of sewing, embroidery and quilting machines, is pleased to announce that in celebration of National Sewing month, its WeAllSew blog is offering the BERNINA Sewing Room Photo sweepstakes, a contest where sewists can share up to twelve photos of their sewing room. To enter, sewists upload photos on the WeAllSew Community section for a chance to win a BERNINA 215 Simply Red (B 215 Simply Red) sewing machine. Photos should include a description of the unique sewing spot. One Grand Prize winner will receive a B 215 Simply Red. The Second Prize winner will receive Tula Pink Scissors and the Third, an OLFA Ergonomic Rotary Cutter. The sweepstakes will end on September 30. Winners will be chosen by members of the BERNINA of America team and recognized in early October.
"We continually try to engage and encourage our online community to share and in celebration of National Sewing month, we wanted to give them the opportunity to show off their sewing rooms; the place where all the magic and creativity takes place," said Amy Sherfinski, Director of Marketing for BERNINA of America.
Participants, who are U.S. citizens, 18 years of age or older who are registered, can log in and submit sewing room photos directly to WeAllSew (www.WeAllSew.com). For those who aren't registered, go to www.WeAllSew.com to register first. To submit a photo, click on the Community tab and choose upload project. Participants will then provide their photos along with a brief description in order to submit an entry for consideration. Participants must have a valid email address, Internet access and be a member of the WeAllSew blog community. For more information, visit https://weallsew.com/celebrate-national-sewing-month-for-a-chance-to-win/.
WeAllSew is a unique online community where sewists, quilters, embroiders and crafters from around the country come to share their passion for designing and creating. The blog is easy-to-navigate and provides sewists quick access to projects, videos, tips, tricks, and WeAllSew experts. Visitors can also register to become a WeAllSew member or receive the WeAllSew newsletter. For more information, visit www.WeAllSew.com.
About BERNINA
Founded in Switzerland more than 100 years ago, BERNINA is the world's premier manufacturer with a proven reputation for offering quality state-of-the-art sewing, quilting and embroidery machines, overlockers, and embroidery software. BERNINA's leadership is marked by an impressive number of ambassadors, industry leaders, influencers and bloggers, who chose to partner with the company. BERNINA products are sold in the United States through a network of over 400 fully trained independent dealerships that also offer support and education. Select BERNINA and bernette machines, and BERNINA software can also be purchased online. BERNINA products are designed for beginning to advanced sewists and priced to meet a variety of budgets, with new products being introduced every year. You can follow BERNINA on Facebook: www.facebook.com/berninausa, Instagram: @BERNINAUSA, and Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/WeAllSew, and read BERNINA's WeAllSew blog at www.weallsew.com. To learn more about BERNINA and to find a Dealer, visit www.bernina.com or call (630)978-2500.
Media Contacts for BERNINA of America, Inc.:
Joanne Tedesco
(312)780-7210
Email Contact
Mike Mason
(917)841-8371
Email Contact
Regulatory News:
Ecoslops (Paris:ALESA) (ISIN: FR0011490648; Ticker: ALESA PEA-PME eligible), an innovative technology company that regenerates ship-generated hydrocarbon residues (or "slops") into valuable new fuels and light bitumen, today announced that all the bearers of ORNANE (Bonds with the option of conversion into existing or new shares) issued in February 2016, exercised their rights to convert their bonds from July to August 2017.
The company has decided to issue new shares in favour of all the bearers.
Consequently, it has created 610 704 new shares with a nominal value of 1 euro, increasing the share capital of the company by 610 704 euros, with a share issue premium of 4 885 632 euros.
The share capital has been raised from 3 337 690 euros to 3 948 394 euros, and is now divided into 3 948 394 ordinary shares.
No more ORNANE are outstanding.
Vincent Favier, Chairman and CEO of Ecoslops, declared: "I would like to thanks all the investors who trusted us. The issuance of ORNANE has contributed to the development of the group and their conversion allows today a reinforcement of the equity of Ecoslops, a reduction of the company's debt and a diversification of the shareholders basis."
________________________
About Ecoslops (http://www.ecoslops.com):
Ecoslops has developed and implemented a unique technology to upgrade maritime transport oil residues (slops and sludge) into new fuels and light bitumen. The solution proposed by Ecoslops is based on a unique micro-refining industrial process that transforms these residues into commercial products that meet international standards. Ecoslops offers an economic and ecological solution to port infrastructure, waste collectors and ship-owners through its processing plants.
Ecoslops is listed on Alternext in Paris (ISIN: FR0011490648; ticker: ALESA) and is PEA PME eligible.
Follow us on Twitter @Ecoslops.
http://www.Ecoslops.com
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170912006254/en/
Contacts:
Ecoslops
Sebastien Desarbres, 06 25 14 13 52
Investor Relations
sebastien.desarbres@ecoslops.com
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / September 12, 2017 / The following statement is being issued by Levi & Korsinsky, LLP:
To: All persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired securities of Sequans Communications S.A. ("Sequans") (NYSE: SQNS) between April 29, 2016 and July 31, 2017 . You are hereby notified that a securities class action lawsuit has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. To get more information go to:
http://www.zlk.com/pslra-sba/sequans-communications-s-a?wire=1
or contact Joseph E. Levi, Esq. either via email at jlevi@levikorsinsky.com or by telephone at (212) 363-7500, toll-free: (877) 363-5972. There is no cost or obligation to you.
The complaint alleges that throughout the class period Defendants issued materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) the Company was improperly recognizing revenue; and (2) as a result, certain public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. On August 1, 2017, Sequans revealed that its revenue in the second quarter was negatively affected by a product return from an early 2016 sale related to the tablet business. When this news was announced, shares of Sequans declined in value materially, which caused investors harm.
If you suffered a loss in Sequans you have until October 10, 2017 to request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.
Levi & Korsinsky is a national firm with offices in New York, California, Connecticut, and Washington D.C. The firm's attorneys have extensive expertise and experience representing investors in securities litigation, and have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for aggrieved shareholders. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
CONTACT:
Levi & Korsinsky, LLP
Joseph E. Levi, Esq.
30 Broad Street - 24th Floor
New York, NY 10004
Tel: (212) 363-7500
Toll Free: (877) 363-5972
Fax: (212) 363-7171
www.zlk.com
SOURCE: Levi & Korsinsky, LLP
Observation Tower to be new city landmark on the Chao Phraya River
BANGKOK, Sept. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Thailand's capital is to get its first city observation.A 459-metre-high tower will rank 6th among the world's tallest towers as well as be the tallest observation tower in Southeast Asia.
The tower is being jointly built by two foundations, the Bangkok Observation Tower Foundation and the National Identity Foundation, after the Thai cabinet recently gave approval for the country's new landmark project to proceed. The cost of construction, totaling approximately US$138 million is being funded by more than 50 private sector organisations who are contributing to the project.
Located on the banks of the Chao Phraya River, the Bangkok Observation Tower is set on a 6,400 square metre land plot owned by Thailand's Treasury Department and leased to the Bangkok Observation Tower Foundation for 30 years. The Foundation is required to deliver ownership of the tower and all other structures on the land to the Treasury Department when the construction is completed in 2019.
The tower has been enthusiastically embraced by Thailand's tourism sector as a much-needed addition to the nation's tourist-pulling attractions and as a catalyst to investment and employment in the sector.
Mr. Ittirith Kinglake, President, Tourism Council of Thailand, said, "The tower is the most important new addition to Bangkok's rich array of tourism magnets and one that will attract people from around the world. The Bangkok Observation Tower helps mark our city as one of the world's most important and exciting destinations."
He cited parallels with the Tokyo Skytree and Shanghai's Canton Tower as powerful tourism drivers for their host city.
"There were 32.6 million visitors to Thailand in 2016 who, together, spent almost 72 billion dollars. In 2020, the number of visitors to Thailand is expected to increase to be 41.5 million visitors. Tourism has consistently been one of our country's most important revenue sources and accounts for 17.7% of GDP. The coming of the tower will act as significant tourism drivers for the country." Mr. Ittirith said.
He added that tourism is also one of the biggest employers of the country and creates employment for around 4.2 million people.
Cdr. ParinyaRuckwatin Rtn., Chairman of the Chao Phraya River Tourism Association, said, "The Bangkok Observation Tower's riverside location will reignite interest in the river and accelerate efforts to make the river a clean, safe and natural corridor that is lined with historical and culturally significant landmarks, from every era, and which act as enduring testaments to the endeavours of our nation."
"I am confident that with the arrival of the tower, businesses stretching for 10 kilometers along the length of the river will benefit, including boat operators, restaurants, hotels, retailers and convention organisers.We can also expect improvements of more than 10 piers along the river to make them safer and easier to use.It's a true historic turning point for this part of the river. Chao Phraya River will become one of the world's exciting new destinations, offering a diverse range of experiences that will meet a great variety of needs of visitors." he added.
Local residents in the vicinity of the tower have been very welcoming of the initiative, believing it will lift interest in their communities, creating new employment and boosting their livelihoods.
Mrs. 'Granny' Tim Somsong Somsuk, said, "Our Suvarnabhumi Mosque community located on the Thonburi side of the river had always been a place of historic importance and then it slipped into obscurity and neglect. The Bangkok Observation Tower will help regenerate our community and re-establish its prestige as a place of historic significance."
This location in Klongsarn District is reputedly the historic site on which a flag would be flown, several centuries ago, as a symbolic marker to foreign vessels navigating the river to tell them that they were in Siamese territory.
She added that the building of the private sector sponsored "Golden Line" mass transit rail line that runs in front of the community and the observation tower was also a factor that would enhance the community's fortunes.
An unprecedented array of Thailand's foremost architectural and engineering firms as well as architectural experts came together to design the tower in a show of national solidarity.
Inspiration for the candle-like design of the Bangkok Observation Tower is drawn from the popular celebratory tradition, observed by millions around the country, of lighting candles on the birthday of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej as a symbolic gesture of lighting up the country with prosperity.
The Bangkok Observation Tower Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation that has the right to operate and manage the tower for 30 years. There is no commercial space for rent inside the tower. The space inside the tower will be used for educational purpose promoting Thailand's historical and cultural heritage as well as various aspects of particular pride from Thailand's 77 provinces. The surplus from income generated from ticket sells and other sources will be used for social causes that benefit the local community or for charities only.
Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/554817/Bangkok_Observation_Tower.jpg
HOUSTON, TX -- (Marketwired) -- 09/12/17 -- One Exam Prep, a division of ProBility Media Corp. (OTCQB: PBYA), an EdTech company building the first full-service training and career advancement brand for the skilled trades, today announces that it has entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement with Contractor Exam Preps, of Pittsboro, North Carolina. This transaction further expands One Exam Prep as a nationwide leader in exam prep for contractors and licenses, including all NASCLA-related certifications.
"One Exam Prep founder and President Rob Estell is a master instructor that has built the division into a powerhouse, from the ground up, and has taken the Company under ProBility to new levels," stated Noah Davis, President and Chief Operating Officer of ProBility Media. "With sales on pace to exceed a 70% increase year-over-year, combined with the anticipated addition of Contractor Exam Preps, One Exam Prep is poised to enter new markets and offer more to its current and new customers than ever before."
For 20 years, Contractor Exam Preps has prepared students to pass the exam required by the National Association of State Contractor Licensing Agencies ("NASCLA"). NASCLA is the leading association composed of state agencies that have enacted laws to regulate the business of contractors while promoting best practices and license uniformity for agencies that oversee the construction industry. As part of the noted agreement, Contractor Exam Preps President Chris Barrow will join One Exam Prep as a NASCLA master instructor.
"This transaction with Contractor Exam Preps propels One Exam Prep as a nationwide leader in contractor education," states Rob Estell, founder and President of One Exam Prep. "We are very much looking forward to integrating Barrow's expertise and skillsets into One Exam Prep. We currently service 22 states and offer hundreds of high-quality online courses, private e-tutoring, application processing, daily physical classes, and all of the training materials, at very competitive pricing."
About ProBility Media Corp.
ProBility Media Corp. is an EdTech company building the first full-service training and career advancement brand for the skilled trades. Through its divisions Brown Technical Media Corp., Brown Technical Publications Inc., Brown Book Shop, Inc., National Electrical Wholesale Providers, W Marketing, One Exam Prep, LLC, ProBility Safety Academy, ProBility Immersive Technologies, Cranbury International and its partnership with Globalsim Inc., ProBility is executing a disruptive strategy of defragmenting the skilled trades training market place by offering high quality training courses and materials and preparing the workforce for excellence. ProBility services customers from the tradesman to the small business to the enterprise level corporation.
For more information, visit http://www.ProBilityMedia.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This Press Release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements reflect the Company's current beliefs and are based upon information currently available to it. Accordingly, such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or advise in the event of any change, addition or alteration to the information included in this Press Release including such forward-looking statements.
Contacts:
ProBility Media Corp.
Evan Levine
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Noah Davis
President and Chief Operating Officer
713.652.3937
Investor Contact:
PCG Advisory Group
Chuck Harbey
646.863.7997
Email Contact
Communications Contact:
NetworkNewsWire (NNW)
New York, New York
www.NetworkNewsWire.com
212.418.1217 Office
Email Contact
WASHINGTON, Sept. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --The Cohen Group announces that Ambassador Stuart E. Jones, a career diplomat with extensive experience in the Middle East, has joined the firm as a Vice President. Ambassador Jones will lead the firm's robust Middle East practice, which supports international clients throughout the region.
"Stu Jones is a highly respected career diplomat, who has served in several of the toughest jobs in the State Department; he is an excitingaddition to our firm," says former Secretary of Defense Bill Cohen, the Chairman and CEO of The Cohen Group.
Prior to joining The Cohen Group, most recently served as the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, the State Department's senior diplomat for the Middle East. He accompanied the President to the historic Riyadh Summit in May and on his first visit to Israel. As a senior aide to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Ambassador Jones has traveled broadly in the region in support of the Secretary's agenda. He retired from the U.S. Foreign Service in August, 2017.
Prior to his return to Washington to lead the Middle East Bureau, Ambassador Jones served as the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq from 2014 - 16, a period of intense conflict and stabilization and also rejuvenation of the US-Iraqi relationship. From 2011 - 14, he served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, where he oversaw a rapid expansion of US security and development assistance to one of the United States' closest regional partners, in response to the pressures created by the Syrian civil war.
Previous tours include:Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Iraq from 2010 to 2011; Deputy Assistant Secretary for European Affairs, with responsibility for the European Union and the Balkans (2008 - 10)Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Cairo (2005 - 08). Ambassador Jones was also Country Director for Iraq on President George W. Bush's National Security Council from 2004 to 2005 and Governorate Coordinator in Al Anbar Province Iraq, under the Coalition Provisional Authority in 2004. Ambassador Jones spent two tours in Turkey, as Political Counselor in the Embassy in Ankara and also as Principal Officer at the U.S. Consulate in Adana, 1997 - 2002. He was also Special Assistant to the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Secretary Madeleine Albright.
A native of Philadelphia, Ambassador Jones is a graduate of Duke University, and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He is married to Barbara L. Jones, also a State Department official, and they have three children.
Ambassador Jones joins a number of senior leaders at The Cohen Group with deep experience in the Middle East and around the world. In addition to Secretary Cohen, these leaders include:
General Joseph Ralston , former NATO Supreme Allied Commander and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Ambassador Marc Grossman , former US Ambassador to Turkey , former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, and former US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan
, former US Ambassador to , former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, and former US Special Representative for and Ambassador Nicholas Burns , former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and US Ambassador to NATO and Greece
, former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and US Ambassador to NATO and Admiral James Loy , former Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and Commandant of the US Coast Guard
, former Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and Commandant of the US Coast Guard Ambassador Jeff Davidow , former Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs and U.S. Ambassador to Mexico , Venezuela , and Zambia
, former Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs and U.S. Ambassador to , , and Lord George Robertson , former NATO Secretary General and Defense Minister of the United Kingdom
, former NATO Secretary General and Defense Minister of the General Paul Kern , former Commander of the Army Materiel Command and the Senior Adviser for Army Research, Development and Acquisition
, former Commander of the Army Materiel Command and the Senior Adviser for Army Research, Development and Acquisition Lt. General Joe Yakovac , former Director of the Army Acquisition Corps and Military Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology
, former Director of the Army Acquisition Corps and Military Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology Lt. General Harry Raduege , former Director of the Defense Information Systems Agency and Commander of the Joint Task Force Global Network Operations
, former Director of the Defense Information Systems Agency and Commander of the Joint Task Force Global Network Operations William Zarit , current Chairman of AmCham China, former Minister for Commercial Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in China , former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for International Operations, and former Regional Director for East Asia at the U.S. Department of Commerce
About The Cohen Group:
Formed in 2001, The Cohen Group is comprised of more than 60 professionals with many decades of combined experience working in top-level positions in Congress, the White House, the State Department, the Defense Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the intelligence community, other federal agencies, and in European and Asian governments, international organizations and the private sector.
With offices in Washington, London, Beijing, Tianjin, and New Delhi, The Cohen Group provides its clients the insights and intelligence needed to better understand and shape the business, political, legal, regulatory, and media environments in which they operate. This includes both developing strategic business plans to help clients achieve their objectives, and actively participating with clients in the execution of those plans. The Cohen Group practice groups include Aerospace & Defense; Homeland Security; Middle East; China; India; Telecommunications and Information Technology; Energy & Resources; Transportation & Logistics; Health Care & Life Sciences; Financial Services & Investment; and Real Estate, serving clients in North America, East Asia, South Asia, Europe, Russia, Australia, Africa and Latin America.
The Cohen Group also has a strong strategic partnership with DLA Piper, an international law firm with over 4,200 lawyers and 71 offices in 30 countries throughout the world.
LONDON, September 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --
The two companies have launched a new service that makes it easier and quicker for enterprises to move VMware workloads between on-premises environments and IBM Cloud
Through a new agreement with IBM (NYSE:IBM), Vodafone announced today that it is offering an international service that enables enterprises to support the movement of VMware-based workloads on a Vodafone Hosted Private Cloud to and from the IBM Cloud. The new service means Vodafone customers can more easily and quickly deploy and move VMware-based workloads with confidence, speed and scale globally, while supporting growing data residency needs.
Working with IBM, Vodafone is helping its clients tackle one of the most pressing IT challenges for enterprises; moving existing VMware workloads from on premises environments to the cloud without incurring the cost and risk associated with re-tooling operations, re-architecting applications and re-designing security policies.
With over half a million enterprises running an estimated 50 million workloads, enterprises need fast, easy and cost effective ways to deploy and move VMware workloads between on-premises and cloud environments and across geographic boundaries.
The IBM Cloud capability helps clients meet this growing demand by extending the global footprint of Vodafone's Hosted Private Cloud service and helping establish a new hybrid cloud offering for enterprises. This new service is designed to help Vodafone enterprise customers reduce latency by locating applications closer to users while maintaining data within a security-rich global network.
In utilising VMware NSX network virtualisation across Vodafone's global network, a single virtual data centre based on VMware was created to bridge between the Vodafone Hosted Private Cloud and the IBM Cloud, This enables enterprises to establish true application portability and burst capability across a geographically diverse data centre footprint using a single management portal.
The Vodafone Hosted Private Cloud solution and the IBM Cloud offers a number of advantages including:
With Vodafone's and IBM's expertise, solutions and cloud infrastructure enterprises can quickly manage and scale their workloads utilising the VMware cloud software, processes and APIs with which they are already familiar.
The Vodafone network and Hosted Private Cloud capabilities will allow customers to rapidly provision new or scale existing workloads across 19 countries as a result of the combined Vodafone and IBM cloud data centre footprint.
Enterprises requiring compliance and data residency regulation are able to move workloads easily to the appropriate geography and are able to have greater flexibility to respond to changes as needs evolve.
As well as benefitting from flexible, consumption based pricing models and access to professional services, enterprises can also access the combined possibilities of Vodafone connectivity and IoT capabilities.
Enable Vodafone customers to tap into IBM's hybrid cloud capabilities and relationship with VMware to expand on the value from their existing investments while giving them on-demand, scalable access to infrastructure and services, including higher value IBM services like Watson.
Responding to the announcement, Ajay Patel, senior vice president, Product Development, Cloud Services, VMware said, "VMware is pleased to see Vodafone and IBM partner to empower our mutual customers to innovate across clouds using VMware Cross-Cloud Architecture. This new offering from Vodafone and IBM will enable businesses to utilise a globally consistent, common operating model for running, managing and securing their workloads across clouds."
Vodafone director of Cloud and Hosting Services Greg Hyttenrauch said, "IBM is an excellent partner for Vodafone. The combination of our network and our VMware based Hosted Private Cloud with the global reach of IBM's capabilities gives customers more flexibility, more choice and the possibility of a true hybrid cloud. There is no doubt in my mind that we are starting out on a long and fruitful relationship."
Sebastian Krause general manager IBM Cloud Europe added, "The IBM Cloud is bringing expanded capabilities to Vodafone by providing its customers with quick and easy access to a variety of higher value services across a broader geographical footprint than ever before. Through this collaboration, we are further helping enterprises take advantage of the opportunity and value of cloud."
About Vodafone Group
Vodafone Group is one of the world's largest telecommunications companies and provides a range of services including voice, messaging, data and fixed communications. Vodafone Group has mobile operations in 26 countries, partners with mobile networks in 49 more, and fixed broadband operations in 19 markets. As of 30 June 2017, Vodafone Group had 523.5 million mobile customers and 18.5 million fixed broadband customers, including India and all of the customers in Vodafone's joint ventures and associates. For more information, please visit: http://www.vodafone.com
For more information on IBM Cloud visit http://www.ibm.com/cloud
VMware, NSX and Cross-Cloud Architecture are registered trademarks or trademarks of VMware, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.
For further information:
Media Relations
http://www.vodafone.com/media/contact
IRVINE, CA / ACCESSWIRE / September 14, 2017 / Khang & Khang LLP (the "Firm") announces the filing of a securities class action lawsuit against Vitamin Shoppe, Inc. ("Vitamin Shoppe" or the "Company") (NYSE: VSI). Investors, who purchased or otherwise acquired shares between March 1, 2017 and August 6, 2017, inclusive (the "Class Period"), are encouraged to contact the Firm in advance of the October 27, 2017 lead plaintiff motion deadline.
If you purchased Vitamin Shoppe shares during the Class Period, please contact Joon M. Khang, Esq., of Khang & Khang LLP, 4000 Barranca Parkway, Suite 250, Irvine, CA 92604, by telephone at (949) 419-3834 , or by e-mail at joon@khanglaw.com.
There has been no class certification in this case yet. Until certification occurs, you are not represented by an attorney. You may choose to take no action and remain a passive class member as well.
According to the Complaint, throughout the Class Period, Vitamin Shoppe made false and/or misleading statements, and/or failed to disclose: that the Company's retail segment was continuing to dramatically decline; that its ongoing "reinvention plan" had been unsuccessful and brought more than $168 million in goodwill impairment, and it was not properly recognizing that impairment charge; and that, as a result of the above, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. On May 10, 2017, Vitamin Shoppe released first quarter 2017 financial results that were lower than market expectations and slashed its fiscal 2017 guidance by 45%, yet claimed the "reinvention plan" was still succeeding. Following this news, the Company's stock price fell dramatically. On August 9, 2017, the Company announced that it was taking a $168.1 million impairment charge on the goodwill being carried on its books associated with its retail segment, and that it would report a loss per share of $6.73. Also, citing "the potential increase in variability of the Company's results due to the number of initiatives being launched in the back half of the year," Vitamin Shoppe dropped its fiscal 2017 earnings per share guidance altogether. When this information reached the public, the Company's shares fell in value materially, which caused investors harm according to the Complaint.
If you wish to learn more about this lawsuit, or if you have any questions concerning this notice or your rights, please contact Joon M. Khang, Esq., a prominent litigator for almost two decades, by telephone at (949) 419-3834 , or by e-mail at joon@khanglaw.com.
This press release may constitute Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions.
Contact:
Joon M. Khang, Esq.
Telephone: 949-419-3834
Facsimile: 949-225-4474
joon@khanglaw.com
SOURCE: Khang & Khang LLP
QUEBEC CITY, CANADA -- (Marketwired) -- 09/12/17 -- Fasken Martineau is pleased to announce that Carl Tremblay has been appointed managing partner of its Quebec City office. His appointment takes effect September 12, 2017.
Carl succeeds Guy Dion, who carried out this function for more than 10 years. Guy will continue practising in the areas of labour law and commercial litigation.
"I thank Guy for his commitment to the firm and our clients. His work was exceptional and highly instrumental in building an extraordinary team in Quebec City," remarked Eric Bedard, Fasken Martineau's Managing Partner for the Quebec Region. "I also congratulate Carl Tremblay. His experience, professional talents and role as a leader in the Quebec City business community will serve him in fulfilling his duties, and in keeping with the firm's tradition of excellence for the utmost benefit of our clients."
"Fasken Martineau is very proud of its Quebec City office. We are certain that Carl's leadership will contribute to providing our clients with the best services possible," continued Peter Feldberg, Firm Managing Partner.
"I am very happy with the confidence that the Fasken Martineau partners have shown in me and with the leadership role that I will be playing at this major firm that also espouses such an entrepreneurial spirit" stated Carl Tremblay. "Guy Dion figured significantly in my decision to return to Fasken Martineau after more than 20 years, where I know that he performed his duties with dedication, generosity and availability. He will remain involved and active in the affairs of the firm and for this I thank him in advance."
Carl joined the ranks of Fasken Martineau in April 2017 as a partner with the Corporate/Commercial group. A leader in the Quebec City business community, he is recognized for his practice in the areas of mergers, acquisitions and strategic partnerships. He also acts on behalf of investors during private placements. He advises several boards of directors, in particular on governance and integrity matters. His expertise has been recognized by a number of legal directories, including Best Lawyers in Canada and Lexpert.
About Fasken Martineau
Fasken Martineau is a leading international business law and litigation firm. With more than 700 lawyers, the firm has offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, London and Johannesburg. For additional information, please visit the firm's website at fasken.com.
Contacts:
Fasken Martineau
Stephanie Berthiaume
+1 514 397 5212
sberthiaume@fasken.com
Genevieve Chalifour
+1 514 871 5987
gchalifour@fasken.com
SMYRNA, TN -- (Marketwired) -- 09/12/17 -- Nearly 500 entrepreneurs, opinion leaders, innovators and influencers gathered in Franke's Aarburg, Switzerland headquarters on Thursday, Aug. 31 for the company's first thought leadership event, "THINK NEXT by Franke." Experts discussed innovations and trends in the food industry -- with a focus on cuisine, design, consumer behavior, architecture, sustainability and technology -- via panels, insight sessions and trend labs.
"THINK NEXT by Franke" was born from Franke's commitment to "Make It Wonderful" -- a promise to make everyday life more special for its business partners and customers. This promise is infused in Franke's culture and impacts the company's corporate strategy -- a promise from Franke to think beyond product and towards thought leadership, inspiration, emotions, and experiences.
"This event is all about how we think about the future of cooking, eating and living," explained Alexander Zschokke, CEO of Franke Group. "Yet, we also believe that it is important for us to know what real people will eat, and how they will cook and live in 10 years' time. We do indeed crunch numbers, but we are also bringing 'Big Data' to life. We want to create wonderful moments, so we need to start with the real-life experience of our customers."
Renowned specialists from every corner of the world shared valuable insights:
Claus Meyer, culinary entrepreneur, emphasized the need to reflect varying seasons in a meal and use exceptional ingredients based on climate, landscape and waters.
Philippe Starck, French designer, involved the audience in a presentation that focused on "The Duty of Creativity."
Matteo Thun, Italian architect, discussed the importance of integrating nature and architecture so that architecture is perceived as a part of nature and not treated as a foreign object.
Marius Robles, CEO and co-founder of ReImagine Food, and Stephan Sigrist, head of W.I.R.E., presented "The Influence of Technology on the Future of Cooking," showcasing how smart devices and machines are shaping new ways of cooking, eating and shopping.
Marije Vogelzang, food designer, invited guests to participate in a multi-sensorial food experience, discovering foods such as tangerines, marshmallows and rice pudding by smelling, touching and tasting only.
Tyler Brule, editor-in-chief of Monocle, discussed insights on innovations and trends in the food industry.
Melchior Lengsfeld, executive director of Helvetas, and Michael Lammel, designer and co-founder of NOA, illustrated that developing new designs and technologies for faucets is not contradictory to the importance of providing worldwide access to clean water.
"THINK NEXT by Franke" concluded with a food festival featuring stands from around the world with presentations by renowned chefs Rene Schudel and Bruno Barbieri as well as cookbook author Nadia Damaso.
"Digitalization is the big topic nowadays," explained Zschokke. "It is all about Big Data, algorithm, Industry 4.0 or artificial intelligence to name a few. Those are also big topics for us, naturally. Yet we never forget that at the core of what we do, there are always, and foremost, emotions."
Innovative Solutions
Franke does not design its products merely to fill voids in buildings, homes and businesses. The company creates innovative product systems and solutions that enhance living spaces and environments. These solutions influence the way people experience their homes and their work environments -- they, in fact, turn a house into a home, and a workplace into an inspiring environment.
"Our brand has many touchpoints with people's everyday life, so we aim to engage in discussions and involve people who inspire us," said Zschokke. "This is what we did at the summit and where we find the insights and vision that lead us to where society as a whole will move."
About Franke Group
Franke belongs to the Artemis Group and is a world-leading provider of solutions for residential kitchens and bathrooms, public washrooms, professional foodservice and coffee preparation. The Group operates worldwide and employs around 9,000 people in 40 countries. For more information, visit www.franke.us/ks.
Media Contact:
Laura Stephens
laura.stephens@dvlseigenthaler.com
General Atlantic, a global growth equity firm, appointed Aaron Goldman to Head of Financial Services and Software for the EMEA region.
Mr. Goldman, who joined General Atlantics New York Office in 2007, has relocated and will now be based in the firms London office.
Mr. Goldman has spent the past 10 years focused on global financial technology investments, with a focus on payments, e-commerce, and data analytics software.
Most recently, he co-led the firms 2014 investment in Adyen, a global payments technology company based in Amsterdam; its 2015 investment in Dubai-based Network International, a payment solutions provider in the Middle East and Africa; its 2015 investment in Billdesk, an electronic payments platform in India; and its 2016 investment in Clip, a payment solutions provider in Mexico.
In addition, Mr. Goldman has been closely involved in the firms global investments across the technology, software, and financial services sectors including Affinion Group, Avant, First Republic Bank, IHS Markit, Klarna, Mu Sigma, Net1, Pierpont Securities, and Sura Asset Management.
Prior to joining General Atlantic, he spent five years with the growth equity team at the Fremont Group in San Francisco, where he made several investments in the internet, communications, and healthcare sectors and served as President and CFO of LPL Technologies, a growth company focused on the early diagnosis of ovarian cancer.
Before joining the Fremont Group, Mr. Goldman was an analyst in the leveraged finance group at Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette.
He graduated with a B.S. in economics with a concentration in finance from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and earned an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. Mr. Goldman currently serves as the General Atlantic shareholder representative for Adyen and as a board observer for Network International.
FinSMEs
12/09/2017
Red Dot Payment Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based online payment company, raised over USD$5.2m in Series B funding.
Backers included GMO Venture Partners, Wavemaker Partners, Skype co-founder Toivo Annus and MDI Ventures and new investor DORR Group.
The company intends to use the funds to strengthen and upgrade its technical infrastructure and to add expertise.
Led by Richard Kai-Tzung Chang, Chairman, and Randy Tan, Managing Director, Red Dot Payment is an online payment company providing premium payment solutions to merchants across Asia Pacific. Products include online payments, rapid e-commerce, online invoicing, alternative payments, one-click payments, recurring payments and hotel Solutions.
The company has a dedicated team of 40 people in Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.
FinSMEs
12/09/2017
After transport minister Nitin Gadkari last week made a tough statement by asking the automobile industry to shift to electrical vehicles (EVs), Maruti Suzuki chairman RC Bhargava has today said that customers can't be forced to buy EVs.
"Unless the EV is good for the customer, I can't push him to buy it," The Economic Times report said quoting Bhargava.
However, he is of the opinion that the government's intent to create an all-EV market over the next decade or so is good. The existing fossil fuel-run automobile industry cannot be killed, as it is a huge generator of wealth and employment for the country, he has said.
In order to control polluting vehicles and curb oil imports, Gadkari had last week said petrol and diesel vehicles will need to make way for electric powertrains and engines running on other fuel variants such as ethanol and biofuels.
"I am going to do it, whether you like it or not. I will bulldoze. Petrol, diesel banaane walon kaa band-baajaa bajaanaa hai (We will take the makers of petrol/diesel engine vehicles to task)," Gadkari had said.
Bhargava has, however, said before implementing the shift to clean technology, the government should try and build consensus among various segments of the auto industry.
According to him, the automobile industry has an association which represents two-wheelers, cars and commercial vehicles, and the government should try to address their concerns before arriving at any decision. "The way out is not easy," Bhargava has been quoted as saying in the ET report.
According to a report published in Firstpost earlier this week, electric cars are still too expensive to make sense in India. The report states that the upfront cost of an affordable electric car is still just the US average for a new car (which is mighty expensive compared to the average price of a new car in India).
In fact, Tesla CEO Elon Musk noted a few weeks ago that Teslas entry into India was going to be delayed by local production requirements here.
However, it has to be remembered that globally there has been push towards electric vehicles due to heightening environmental concerns over increased use of fossil fuels.
On Sunday, China, which is aggressively pushing clean energy, said it would end sales of fossil-fuel-run vehicles "in the near future". The country, the biggest automobile market globally, is planning to set a timetable to phase out vehicles running on diesel and petrol in push for electric vehicles.
However, a report in Bloomberg quoted an official at Chery Automobile Co as saying that the ban deadline can be after 2040.
The implementation of the ban for such a big market like China can be later than 2040. That will leave plenty of time for everyone to prepare, the report quoted the official as saying.
In July, the UK and France had announced that they would ban sales of all cars and vans running on petrol and diesel from 2040.
New Delhi: Embattled Sahara group today said a Dubai investment fund has agreed to provide a loan of USD 1.6 billion (over Rs 10,000 crore) against security of 26 percent shares of its Aamby Valley project.
"Royale Partners Investment Fund Limited of Dubai, headed by HE Sultan Al Ahbabi has entered into an agreement with Sahara to provide loan of USD 1.6 Billion against the security of 26 percent of the shares of Aamby Valley Ltd," a Sahara group lawyer said in a statement.
"They (the fund) have committed through a mutual agreement and the agreement was submitted in the last hearing of the court on August 10, 2017. The same was raised in todays hearing as well," advocate Gautam Awasthy said in the statement.
The statement came on a day when the Supreme Court directed the official liquidator to go ahead with the scheduled auction of Aamby Valley property in Maharashtra, as it rejected Sahara Group Chief Subrata Roy's plea for some more time.
The liquidator has fixed the reserve price for the luxury resort town project at about Rs 37,000 crore, though the group pegs its market valuation at over Rs 1 lakh crore.
The directions came after Roy said he had deposited Rs 533.20 crore in the Sebi-Sahara account and wanted to pay the remaining Rs 966.80 crore through cheques dated November 11.
The top court said that barring "hyperbolic arguments and rhetoric statements" by the Sahara chief, the amount in its entirety has not yet been paid.
The court had on July 25 asked the embattled Sahara chief to deposit Rs 1,500 crore in the Sebi-Sahara account by September 7 and said it may only then deliberate upon his plea seeking 18 months more for making the full repayment of the outstanding amount to be refunded to the investors.
Sahara group said Aamby Valley Ltd has entered into a pact for Royale Partners Investment Fund, registered in Mauritius as a global business company and owned by Dubai- headquartered RPMG Investment, to invest money in return for a strategic stake of 26 percent.
The pact has been signed with Viktor Koenig UK Limited, with Royale Partners Investment Fund Limited as its nominee.
Sahara has been engaged in a long-running battle with the capital market regulator Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India).
After years of speculation, Amrita Singh and Saif Ali Khans eldest daughter Sara Ali Khan has started shooting for her first Bollywood film, Kedarnath. Directed by Abhishek Kapoor (Kai Po Che, Rock On!!), Kedarnath is described as a love story that unfolds during the course of a pilgrimage. Sara, along with her co-star Sushant Singh Rajput, visited the Kedarnath temple on the eve of the shoot.
Meanwhile, Sridevi and Boney Kapoors daughter Jhanvi Kapoors debut film, a remake of the Marathi blockbuster Sairat, will go on the floors this November. Her co-star, in this Dharma Productions film, is another star kid Shahid Kapoors younger brother Ishaan. The Sairat-remake will be Ishaans second film. The 22-year-old will make his debut with Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidis Beyond The Clouds.
These two newbies are probably the most hyped debutantes Bollywood has seen in recent times. Even Alia Bhatt, who debuted in Karan Johar's Student of the Year five years ago, didnt have the kind of pre-launch hype these girls do.
Lets take a look at how Sara and Jhanvi's debuts compare.
The Beginning
Bollywood first took notice of Sara in early 2012 when she posed, with her mother Amrita Singh, for the cover of Hello magazine. The then-16-year-old Science student looked elegant in an ivory-and-gold Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla creation. While it was obvious that the teen had her heart set on a career in Bollywood, her parents insisted that she complete her education. Weeks after the magazine hit stands, Amrita, in an interview, said, Sara is good at academics. She even plans to go for further studies to Yale University. So we need to give her some time.
Even while Sara was studying at Columbia University, speculations about the film shed debut in continued to swirl. There was Dharma productions remake of the Hollywood film Fault in Our Stars opposite Shahid Kapoors brother Ishaan Khattar, a film opposite Hrithik Roshan which was to be directed by Karan Malhotra (Agneepath, Brothers) and the sequel to Student of the Year opposite Tiger Shroff. It was only earlier this summer that Kedarnath was confirmed by Amrita as Saras debut film.
Close on Saras heels, Jhanvi also first made her presence felt with a magazine cover. She was seen on the cover of People Magazine (Dec 2012), along with her mother Sridevi and young sister Khushi. Like Amrita, Sridevi also said that Jhanvi was too young to sign a film but shes always wanted to act. The 20-year-old finished her schooling at Dhirubhai Ambani School, Mumbai before completely focusing on getting Bollywood ready. While Amrita hesitated about Saras association with Dharma, Sridevi, it was said, didnt even bother looking at any other opportunities for her daughter. After Karan Johar announced in 2015 that Dharma will launch Jhanvi, it was just a matter of finding the right film.
The Film
In June last year, Karan watched Sairat, the highest earning Marathi film of all-time, and he was bowled over. Directed by Nagraj Manjule, the film is a young love story juxtaposed against caste conflict. With Nagraj keen on focusing on his Hindi directorial debut (starring Amitabh Bachchan), the reins of the Hindi remake were handed to Shashank Khaitan whose previous two films Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania and Badrinath Ki Dulhania were megahits.
What made Parshya and Archies love relatable was that Sairat was soaked in realism. From the naturalistic acting to the brutal violence, the semi-rural landscape and even Archies inexpensive sartorial sense helped make the film real. It would be interesting to see how Shashank will find the balance between realism and the trademark Dharma sensibilities. After all, Manish Malhotra has been roped in to dress Jhanvi for the remake.
Details about Saras film Kedarnath, on the other hand, have been hard to come by. Even the films first look that was launched to coincide with the beginning of the shoot, gives away almost nothing about the storyline, which is credited to its director. According to early buzz, the Uttarakhand floods of 2013 form the backdrop of this story of human spirit that persists in the face of tragedy. Sushants character in the film is a pitthu, who carries pilgrims on their shoulders. The film will mostly be shot in Uttarakhand.
The Mothers
Like the heroines mummyjis of yore, both Amrita and Sridevi have been working meticulously behind-the-scenes to make sure that their daughters make the right moves. The Mom actress has come a long way from when she wasnt keen on a career in showbiz for either of her daughters. In the early days when Jhanvi first started making headlines for her Instagram posts, her superstar mom even ordered her to stay off any kind of social media. Sridevi was instrumental in getting Karan to launch Jhanvi and now that the films shoot is just months away, its all hands on deck. One hears that she is even closely monitoring all the looks Malhotra is creating for her daughter.
While Sridevi was instrumental in her daughter getting a launch as a Dharma heroine, the buzz is that Amrita is the reason why Sara lost out on the opportunity. Apparently, the actress wasnt keen on the three-film caveat that a Dharma launch film came with. By debuting with Kedarnath, not only is Sara not tied down to any production house, she is also free to choose managers and staff that shes comfortable with instead of those recommended by Karan. What also tipped the scales in favour of Kedarnath, for Amrita, was that her friend Ekta Kapoor is one of the films producers.
Kedarnath is slated for a summer 2018 release and if the untitled Sairat-remake doesnt get pushed, it should also hit theatres next year. While trade pundits feel that Jhanvi might have an edge over Sara because she has Karan Johar as a mentor, only time will tell how the audience will receive these star daughters.
Lucknow Central, starring Farhan Akhtar and Diana Penty, is the story of a group of prison inmates who get together to form a band in jail and subsequently take part in various gigs. Healing Hearts is the real-life Lucknow-based band who inspired the film. The musical group was established in Adarsh Karagar jail, situated on the outskirts of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
The idea for a band was devised in 2007 by senior superintendent VK Jain, who wanted the band to be formed so that the inmates could participate in the annual inter-prison talent showcase. Funds were raised and the band members were bought 15 musical instruments.
Twelve inmates who were sentenced to life imprisonment on murder charges formed a band which was then called Healing Hearts and they received musical training from Noor Mohammad, a prison security guard who came from a musical background, as his father was also a part of a band.
Healing Hearts reportedly went on to perform on Republic Day, and since then, the band has had several requests to play at varying functions from weddings to private parties. The band has reportedly gained massive popularity in and around Lucknow, and have even learnt how to play the latest Bollywood numbers.
Healing Hearts apparently also gets many booking requests from outside of Lucknow. The band reportedly operates via a booking counter where they can be hired to perform at various events. The members of the band head back to jail after each performance and are still serving out their sentences.
The cast of Lucknow Central recently went to Lucknow and paid the members of Healing Hearts a visit. The film is the directorial debut of Ranjit Tiwari and stars Ronit Roy, Gippy Grewal, Rajesh Sharma and Deepak Dobriyal alongside Akhtar and Penty.
Lucknow Central will be in cinemas on 15 September.
A day prior to the release of Omung Kumar's revenge saga Bhoomi, his first film since release from Yerawada Jail last year, Sanjay Dutt will begin shooting for his next, Tigmanshu Dhulia's third installment of the crime drama franchise Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster, on 21 September in Bikaner.
While it was earlier reported that Chitrangda Singh has been roped in to play Sanjay's love interest in the film, Pune Mirror now reports that veteran actors Kabir Bedi and Nafisa Ali have been signed as his parents. This will be the second instance when Kabir will play Sanjay's father as the duo also shared screen space in the late Feroz Khan's 1992 action film Yalgaar.
As far as Nafisa is concerned, her longtime due collaboration with Sanjay will finally fulfill the latter's late father and veteran actor Sunil Dutt's wish to see the two actors share the same frame. The same report states that Sunil wanted to cast Nafisa and Sanjay together in a film back in 1980 but Sanjay was busy shooting for his debut film Rocky then.
The same report states that Nafisa and Kabir will play members of the royal family and that the former seeks to embody her inspiration Maharani Gayatri Devi of Jaipur into her role. She reveals in the same report that she knew the royal figure personally, through her husband and polo player Colonel RS 'Pickles' Sodhi.
The third installment of Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster will also star Mahie Gill and Jimmy Shergill, who will reprise their respective roles of Biwi and Saheb from the previous two installments of the successful franchise.
The arrest of actor Dileep has revealed the fault lines in the Malayalam film industry and a little over 60 days since he was taken into police custody, Mollywood finds itself on the verge of an irreparable division along gender lines. The trigger: what is seen as a highly patriarchal industry pulling out all the stops to drum up sympathy for a man accused of a crime as heinous as masterminding the rape of a colleague.
That Mollywood is male dominated is not a surprise. What has shocked many is the industry's open support for Dileep, and painting him as the victim, in the face of the inevitable reality of Dileeps involvement in the crime bolstered by the courts denial of bail three times, on the basis of prime facie evidence against the actor.
For Dileep's supporters, this is still a witch hunt against an innocent celebrity led by an inept police force.
Under the leadership of actor KB Ganesh Kumar, the vice president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) and more importantly a prominent MLA of the Left government, many believe that a well crafted attempt has been unleashed to ensure that a message is sent out through the media that it is time to stand with the actor in the hour of his need.
Ganesh told mediapersons after spending an hour-and-a-half with Dileep at the Aluva sub jail: All those who had taken favours from Dileep and all those who were pals with him till yesterday should declare their support for him at this hour. Till the courts declare him guilty no one has a right to label him as one. Police will make their stories and we have seen that before also (sic).
Attempt to derail investigation?
Ganeshs statement has now sent the investigating agency scurrying back to the court with a report seeking its intervention in the matter. Kerala police believes that such a statement from a person as prominent as Ganesh Kumar is a well thought out strategy to derail the investigation and the subsequent trial by influencing the witnesses who are all part of the film world.
Highly-placed police sources have expressed apprehension that witnesses turning hostile could perhaps be the biggest byproduct of this shameless propaganda unleashed by certain sections of the industry.
According to the report filed at the Angamaly Magistrate court, the police have alleged that Ganesh Kumar's statement is an attempt to cast aspersions on an ongoing criminal investigation. The report has also asked for the court to initiate steps to restrain the number of people visiting Dileep, which is now a free for all affair.
Police have all the right to feel aggrieved. Such statements will give an impression for the witnesses that the investigation is not on the right track and that I need not stand by what I deposed before the police earlier and I can say anything in the court, which is detrimental for the case, special public prosecutor CP Udayabhanu told Firstpost.
The police is not alone in thinking this. The Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), a first-of-its-kind organisation that prtotects the rights of women working in the industry, has launched its own campaign to counter the men's offensive.
The statements of Ganesh Kumar are contrary to the very principles of the Constitution. He is not just an actor but an elected representative. His endorsement is clearly a vicious campaign which needs to be opposed because we have an obligation to tell the victim that this is not the reality, but that the majority of Kerala and its society stands with her and not with the alleged perpetrator, prominent director and one of the faces of WCC Vidhu Vincent told Firstpost.
As Onam festivities neared, Dileep had approached the High Court for bail again. The court denied the application, although the trial court did give him a two-hour interim relief to perform the annual remembrance rites on his father's death anniversary. The judiciarys stand was clear: the prosecution having prima facie established enough evidence against the accused, there would be little mercy for the superstar before the trail, something that has registered with most of the industrywallahs who made a beeline to visit the actor in the run-up to Onam.
That Padma Shri awardee Jayaram among the most prominent actors in Mollywood flew down all the way from Chennai to honour Dileep with the traditional Onam mundu has only baffled many in the industry.
Larger conspiracy at play
What makes experts believe that Dileeps stranglehold on the industry, built up over two decades, is still very much in effect? What makes them think that it is Dileep who is stage-managing this effort to paint him in a sympathetic light?
Senior police officers have confirmed to Firstpost that crucial phone calls were made to a number of likely witnesses in the case from outside the prison with lures, threats and future promises on behalf of the actor.
No wonder the sentiment in the industry is that if and when Dileep returns to Mollywood, he will only be more powerful than before. It is this fear that is causing many to stick with him, even though their beliefs may be contrary to their actions.
See, the majority of the witnesses are from the industry and they will surely have a fear of what will happen if Dileep returns. Now when people like Ganesh Kumar makes such statements, most of them would not want to take a chance with their livelihoods. This is how the case will now be weakened, director Ali Akbar told Firstpost.
However, veteran police officers say that those glorifying an accused whatever his social position may be need to be taken to task, and should not be allowed to create an atmosphere where the accused is perceived as the victim. This is the classic strategy adopted by all high profile accused. These statements will certainly intimidate witnesses and create doubts in their minds when the trial starts. They are aiming for this. What I am saying is, the police should take action against all these people based on the Indian Evidence Acts relevant section because whatever such prominent people say comes under the ambit of a public proclamation. So when an MLA or a prominent actor proclaims that a rape accused is innocent even before a trial has started, it's an attempt to destroy evidence and derail a probe and he needs to face the law too, said retired superintendent of police George Joseph.
What Team Dileep is trying to do, is smoothen the legal battle by ensuring witnesses turn hostile and evidence, diminished. Not everyone thinks the strategy will work. In fact, they seem to think it will be counterproductive just like the actor's efforts to hire PR companies to prop up his image on social media after his arrest.
This is only a desperate attempt by a person who has committed a mistake. If has not done it then why should he go for such measures, use PR agencies, rope in others to speak well of him? All this shows that he has a definite role in the crime. Otherwise he would just keep quiet and let the law take its own course. But he is not confident about that. All this will only backfire at the end, Aleppy Ashraf, prominent director and actor, told Firstpost.
Counter campaign by the women
Mollywood's women, meanwhile, are on the war path something they say has been forced upon them by the sheer gender insensitivity shown by their male counterparts, who have sworn their support to Dileep even at this stage.
On Monday, 11 September, at the sidelines of the distribution of the State Film Awards at Thalaserry, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijan took potshots at prominent Mollywood stars for not finding time to attend the ceremony. The actors stand only vitiates the already strained relationship between Mollywood and the state governments post-Dileep's arrest.
But what stood out at the event was the launch of a signature campaign titled Avalkoppam which means With her. It was the Women in Cinema Collectives way of consolidating the belief that the major part of Kerala's society is standing with the victim and not with Dileep. It is in such a situation that one realizes how deep the gender insensitivity in this industry is. When such a crisis hits a woman in the industry, where should the organization (AMMA) and its people stand? The accused person may also be known to you, or close to you. But even to sympathise with the accused because he is known to you, shouldnt you first show your solidarity and support for the victim who is also your colleague? What is shocking is this insensitivity, Sajitha Madathil, award-winning actor and deputy secretary of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, told Firstpost.
Madhathil added that there had been a move to equate the condition of the victim with the perpetrator and claim that just like you are standing with the victim we are standing with the accused which in itself shows how the industry is divided on gender lines.
There are activists in the state who say that one did not need a Dileep to understand how deep this male chauvinism is ingrained in the Malayalam film industry. What happened to the actress is just a tip of the iceberg when it comes to harassment at the workplace, female actors have suffered it for years.
When this issue came to light, we saw everyone coming out in support for the actress. But over a period of time, they have all gone back on it which shows how low these stars are when it comes to social responsibility. That is clearly reflected in the words of Ganesh Kumar who has completely forgotten that he is an elected representative of the people and not just Dileeps friend, well known activist NM Pearson told Firstpost.
The investigation team is meanwhile burning the midnight oil to ensure that the charge-sheet against Dileep is filed on time at Angamaly Court, which would ensure that the actor will continue as an undertrial lodged in prison. Dileep on the other hand, will try his best to get bail, something which is unlikely to go in his favour after the court has seen what the actor is capable of doing from behind prison bars.
Dileep seems to be in for the long haul indeed.
From playing the mother of two slum children in the National Award-winning Tamil film Kaaka Muttai, actress Aishwarya Rajessh has come a long way as her Bollywood debut Daddy (starring Arjun Rampal as gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli), hit the screens on Friday. She is currently in the best phase of her career and she cant stop enthusing over how things have panned out for her, especially on the career front, in the last two years.
I had eight releases last year but they were all Tamil films. Daddy is my fifth release of this year and 2017 has been very special because I ventured into other industries as well. I did two Malayalam films and both were very well received. I have been choosy this year but my choices have worked, she told Firstpost in an exclusive chat.
In Ashim Ahluwalias Daddy, Aishwarya plays Asha Gawli. When quizzed if she ever dreamt of a career in Bollywood, she said, I didnt even aspire to be an actress. I wanted to act in TV serials and the goal was to make some money and settle down. Even when I started acting in movies, I never thought Id come this far. However, having reached this stage in a short span of time, Ive realised I have a long way to go. The recognition I have got so far for my work will push me to pursue challenging roles. Even though I have done a Kaaka Muttai and films like Dharma Durai and Sakhavu, I still feel a fully satisfying role hasnt come my way yet.
Recalling how she landed an opportunity to work in Daddy, Aishwarya said she got a call from an assistant director when she was shooting for Tamil film Kattappava Kaanom. We were shooting this film on a tight budget and were racing against time. This meant we couldnt miss any dates and stick to the schedule. It was around the same time that she got a call from the team of Daddy. I was told they want to audition me for a role. I was curious to know why I was even considered in the first place. They told me they saw Kaaka Muttai at a screening in Mumbai and liked my work. I was the last person to be signed for Daddy, she said, adding she was quite apprehensive about the offer.
Aishwarya didnt know how to adjust her dates for Daddy as she was already committed to Kattappava Kaanom. Irrespective of the size of a project, when I sign a film I give it my all. I didnt want to leave a Tamil film because of Daddy. I was even ready to let go of the opportunity to finish my Tamil film. But I knew Id be making a mistake if I miss doing Daddy, so I decided to give the audition anyway. I requested the director of my Tamil film to adjust my dates but he couldnt promise me anything as he was a newcomer and he was under tremendous pressure. Aishwarya went ahead and gave her auditions, with very little hope of being selected.
A week later, she received a call from Arjun Rampal, but she didnt believe it was him. I received the call around 10.30 pm and when the person on the other end of the line introduced himself as Arjun Rampal, I hung up. I thought it was a prank call. When he called again, I put the call on speaker and asked my brother to find out if it was Arjuns voice. My brother confirmed his voice and only then I continued the call. Arjun said he liked my audition and asked me if I can fly to Mumbai the next morning. I couldnt believe I was on board but I wanted to embrace the moment.
On the sets of Daddy, it was a different world altogether. Aishwarya had not seen such a busy set and she was naturally very nervous. There were around 200 crew members and each one had a walkie-talkie. In Tamil films, only the direction department uses walkie-talkie. But on the sets of Daddy, even the spot boy was using a walkie-talkie. It was all very new for me and I hadnt seen such a big team. The whole of the first day I sat in the caravan, waiting to be called for my shot. In my introduction shot, I had to lift the veil of my burqa and scold Arjun. I have never spoken Hindi in my entire life and I was finding it very difficult to memorise and deliver my lines, she said.
Arjun put Aishwarya at ease and helped her pick up the dialogues. He practised dialogues with her. Hed explain my dialogues and then make me deliver the lines in Tamil first. When I spoke in Tamil, I would get the emotion of the scene right. Wed shoot the next take in Hindi. The Bollywood experience boosted Aishwaryas confidence. When I shoot for Tamil films now, I feel a lot more confident. Having played a character like Asha Gawli, about whom we knew very little when we were shooting, I believe I can play any character easily today.
Aishwarya will next be seen in Vikrams Dhruva Natchathiram and she also has Dhanushs Vada Chennai. But the biggest project of all will be Mani Ratnams next yet-untitled multilingual film. Im thrilled to be teaming up with Mani sir. Its been my long-time desire to work with him and Im sure every actor would feel the same. The film has three heroes and Im not sure with whom Ill be paired, she said, signing off.
Pulsar Suni, the prime accused in the case of the abduction and assault of a popular Malayalam actress on 17 February, has claimed that director Nadirshah paid him Rs 25,000 on the instruction of Dileep, reports Manorama Online. Dileep is also an accused in this case, and the police say he was responsible for hatching a conspiracy against the actress.
According to Suni's 'revelations' Nadirshah paid him the amount at a movie location in Thodupuzha to carry out the abduction and molestation. The Special Investigation Team set up to probe this case has not yet interrogated Nadirshah about this detail.
Previously, Suni said that he had been given the money by Nadirshah's manager on the sets of Kattapanayile Hrithik Roshan, a film directed by Nadirshah. The police had already gathered evidence using mobile tower location documents to prove that Suni was in fact at Thodupuzha at the time.
Nadirshah has submitted a plea for anticipatory bail, and in his application, he has mentioned that the police asked him to confirm that he gave Suni the money. He also alleged that the police is forcing him to provide a statement that is in favour of the prosecution. His bail plea hearing was postponed to 13 September from 8 September.
Dileep is currently lodged at the Aluva sub-jail. He applied for bail thrice, and it was rejected all three times by a trial court and the Kerala High Court on the grounds that the actor may influence witnesses and contaminate evidence.
As a part of UNICEF's Mission for Children initiative, actress Priyanka Chopra recently visited Syrian refugee children in Jordan. However, journalist Ravindra Gautam criticised her for not paying enough attention to "the malnourished kids" in the rural areas of India.
However, Chopra immediately defended her stance. She pointed out that she has worked with UNICEF India for 12 years as well, unlike Gautam whom she challenged to show his contribution to the cause. Also, she pointed out that children, irrespective of their origin and nationality, deserve such gestures.
Ive worked w/ @UNICEFIndia for 12 yrs&visited many such places. What have u done @RavindraGautam_ ?Y is 1 childs prob less imp than another? https://t.co/GaxeKyXDrK PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) September 10, 2017
Fadi. Seven years old. Was so excited that he knew how to write his name in English but wrote it left to right because he knew arabic. It was very cute so we learnt how to write his name in English and he taught me to write my name in Arabic. #MissionForChildren #ChildrenUprooted #PCInJordan #ChildrenOfSyria @unicef A post shared by Priyanka Chopra (@priyankachopra) on Sep 10, 2017 at 1:21am PDT
Her fellow actress Sonakshi Sinha lauded Chopra's efforts through a tweet that read: "What @PriyankaChopra is doing RIGHT now with @UNICEF is what we must all aspire to do in life make a difference. #WomanofSubstance" Chopra thanked Sinha for her appreciation and reiterated that the cause is the need of the hour, irrespective of which country the child belongs to. "War is not a choice for most," she added.
Amid reports that veteran actor and Padma Shri awardee Tom Alter has been diagnosed with Stage 4 skin cancer, his son Jamie Alter has said that his father is showing signs of improvement and recovery.
The 67-year-old actor has reportedly been admitted to Saifee Hospital in South Mumbai.
He is fighting it. He is showing the will to battle it out. He is under the best care possible. Various doctors across the country are in consultation. As a family, we are very happy with the treatment he is getting. His bodily functions are absolutely fine. The doctors are very happy with that. The past one week has gone in getting him to a state of physical strength, so the doctor is able to start the next round of medication," said Jamie according to an IANS report.
His son further added that Tom is showing signs of improvement both physically and mentally, and that the actor's treatment had begun last Monday. The family and doctors will be monitoring how he copes with the treatment over the next week, after which they will decide their course of action. Tom's liver and lungs are functioning properly.
Co-stars from Tom's upcoming movie The End, in which the actor plays a scientist have also spoken out about the actor's condition, expressing their shock and condolences.
We go back a long way as I studied at FTII (Film and television Institute of India) when he used to take classes there. Toms always been positive and encouraging. I got to know about his condition a couple of hours ago. We shot in February-March 2016. He was so energetic on set, completely involved in the shoot and improvising scenes," said Tom's co-star Divyendu Sharma, according to a Pune Mirror report.
Another member of The End's cast, Kiku Sharda; who previously worked with Tom in the popular fantasy television show Hatim, said that he had grown up watching Tom's work, and that the actor's enthusiasm had only grown with age.
(With inputs from IANS)
New Delhi: Amidst the uproar over Rohingya Muslims, nearly one lakh Chakma and Hajong refugees, who came from the erstwhile East Pakistan five decades ago and currently living in camps in the Northeast, are set to get Indian citizenship. The move came following an order of the Supreme Court, which in 2015 had directed the central government to grant citizenship to the Chakma and Hajong refugees, mostly staying in Arunachal Pradesh.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh will on Tuesday discuss the issue with Pema Khandu, Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, which has been opposing granting of citizenship to the refugees saying it would change the demography of the state, a Home Ministry official said. The central government is trying to find a workable
solution to the issue by proposing that the Chakma and Hajong refugees will not be given rights enjoyed by Scheduled Tribes, including land ownership, in Arunachal Pradesh, the official said.
However, the refugees may be given the Inner Line permits, which is required for non-locals in Arunachal Pradesh, allowing them to travel and work. Chakmas and Hajongs were originally residents of Chittagong Hill Tracts in the erstwhile East Pakistan who left their homeland when it was submerged by the Kaptai dam project in the 1960s.
The Chakmas, who are Buddhists, and Hajongs, who are Hindus, also allegedly faced religious persecution and entered India through the then Lushai Hills district of Assam (now Mizoram). The Centre moved the majority of them to the North East Frontier Agency (NEFA), which is now Arunachal Pradesh.
According to officials, the number of these refugees has increased from about 5,000 in 1964-69 to 1,00,000. At present, they do not posses citizenship and land rights but are provided basic amenities by the state government. In 2015, the Centre was directed by the Supreme Court to confer citizenship to these refugees.
The Arunachal Pradesh government approached the apex court to review its order but in vain. After the Supreme Court's rejection, both the central and state governments have started consultations to find a solution to the issue. The move came amidst a row over the Centre's plans to deport Rohingya Muslims, who have come to India due to alleged persecution in Myanmar. Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju, who hails from Arunachal Pradesh, had said the Rohingyas were illegal immigrants and stand to be deported. He had also said that India absorbed the maximum number of refugees in the world.
On Tuesday, in Geneva, UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein flayed any attempts by India to deport Rohingyas to Myanmar when the ethnic minority community is facing violence in their country.
Kolkata: BJP chief Amit Shah on Tuesday asked the West Bengal party leadership to work towards spreading awareness about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's developmental schemes at the grassroots level in the state, a senior party leader said.
"Amitji has asked us to spread the news and benefits of prime minister's developmental works. He said every person... in cities and far off villages in Bengal should get the benefits of Modiji's wave of development," BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha said on the sidelines of the party workers meeting at the ICCR.
"He also asked the party activists to intensify the party's booth-level engagement programme in the state," Sinha said.
According to the state BJP leader, the party president met 100 victims of the Trinamool's political violence and expressed his concern about the current situation in the state.
"Amitji met the victims on Wednesday and heard their grievances. He felt sorry about their situation as nowhere else in the country political violence of such magnitude is witnessed," Sinha added.
New Delhi: The Income Tax Department has issued a final attachment order against some assets in connection with its benami deal probe against RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his family.
Officials privy to the probe said the order was issued against a firm allegedly involved in the case AB Exports Private Limited and also alleged that Prasad's relatives were the "beneficiaries" of the immovable properties of this firm.
A property in south Delhi's New Friends Colony is owned by this firm, they said.
A provisional order for attachment under the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 2016 was issued by the department in June 2017 and now the order has been confirmed after adjudication, they said.
The cases of other assets which were provisionally attached in June will also be processed similarly, they added.
The department had earlier served notices of attachment of assets to Prasad, Bihar's ex-chief minister, his wife Rabri Devi, also a former CM, son Tejashwi Yadav, former state deputy CM, daughters Chanda, Ragini Yadav and Misa Bharti, an MP, and son-in-law Shailesh Kumar.
The tax department had attached about a dozen plots and buildings in Delhi and Bihar including a farmhouse and land in the Palam Vihar area, a building in the upmarket New Friends Colony area of south Delhi, nine plots on a 256.75 decimal land area in Patna's Phulwari Sharif area, where a shopping mall was being constructed, among a few others in the same area in Bihar's capital.
The department has said these alleged benami assets bear a "deed" value of about Rs 9.32 crore but the taxman has estimated their current market value at Rs 170-180 crore.
Benami properties are those in which the real beneficiary is not the one in whose name (benamidar) the property has been purchased.
The Prasad family has said the cases are the outcome of a "political vendetta" against them.
The Act allows for the prosecution of the beneficial owner, the benamidar, the abettor and the inducer to benami transactions.
Under the provisions of the Act, assets held benami after the final prosecution are liable for confiscation by the government without payment of compensation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently returned from his first bilateral visit to Myanmar, undertaken from 5 to 7 September, after attending the eventful ninth BRICS Summit in Xiamen, China. The tour comes amidst heightened violence in the north of Myanmars restive Rakhine State, triggered by a coordinated insurgent attack by local Rohingya militants on security installations on 25 August. The assault was claimed by a newly-formed local armed group known as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA).
The ensuing violence, including the aggressive response by Myanmars security forces, allegations of human rights violations, and the mass exodus of Rohingyas to neighbouring Bangladesh, has drawn the attention of the international community like never before. With the United Nations predicting that the number of refugees could soon cross a staggering 3 lakhs, human rights activists, international organisations, and foreign governments have equivocally expressed serious concern about the sharpening humanitarian crisis and more crucially, the apparent inaction of Myanmars Nobel Peace Prize-winning State Counsellor, Aung San Suu Kyi.
However, Modi categorically avoided pinning any blame on the Suu Kyi administration, Myanmars first popularly-elected government in six decades, for the continuing violence and displacement. Back home, the low talk of the town is that the prime minister only reaffirmed his anti-Muslim pathologies by not condemning the alleged state-sponsored violence against the Muslim minority community in Rakhine that identifies itself as Rohingyas.
What did Modi really say and not say while in Myanmar? Is New Delhis diplomacy with Myanmar devoid of moral concerns?
Convergence of biases?
With respect to the crisis in Rakhine, Modi in his official press statement said the following:
"We are partners in your concerns over the loss of lives of security forces and innocent people due to the extremist violence in Rakhine State. Be it a large peace process or be it to resolve a specific problem, we hope that all the stakeholders can work together in the direction to find such a solution that will ensure peace, justice, and dignity for all by respecting the unity and territorial integrity of Myanmar."
While the language of the above statement appears neutral, it is hardly so. The prime minister only alluded to the 'extremist violence in Rakhine State' an indistinct yet obvious reference to Rohingya extremists who attacked security forces on 25 August without talking about the violent disruption caused due to the disproportionate response by state security forces, the steady military build-up in northern Rakhine since a similar attack last year in October 2016 or the longstanding persecution of the Rohingya community by Myanmar state. Modi also skirted the direct political context of the violence, that is, the issue of providing citizenship to the Rohingya community.
Truth remains that extremism in Rakhine exists on both sides of the communal divide majority Buddhists and minority Muslims. However, any extremism from the Muslims seems to draw far greater attention from foreign governments as compared to extremism from Buddhists. This is despite the fact that several first-hand accounts have accused ethnic Rakhine Buddhist extremists of attacking Rohingya villages from time to time, just as Buddhists (and the government) have accused Rohingya extremists of assaulting them.
Does Modi's understanding of extremist violence include Buddhist extremists too?
The answer remains unclear, or rather, nonexistent. Thats because New Delhi has cautiously postured itself on the diplomatic front over the Rakhine issue, with a clear intent of not fanning the flames on Myanmars Buddhist majoritarian sentiments. Noting crucial exceptions, of course, it would be fair to say that a large section of the Buddhist majority in Myanmar remains suspicious of its Rohingya Muslim population.
This communally-driven sensibility is even more pronounced in Rakhine State where the two communities live contiguously. What more? The ruling party in Rakhine State Arakan National Party (ANP) is dominated by staunch pro-Buddhist political figures who have continually hammered anti-Rohingya sentiments on to the public discourse. At the national level, things are not quite different, with the union ruling party National League for Democracy (NLD) enjoying a strong support of the Buddhist majority.
Thus, one finds a strong political logic in the Suu Kyi administrations repeated emphasis on Rohingya extremism with zilch reference to Buddhist militancy. Does this then fall perfectly in line with New Delhis obsession with extremism of only a particular kind, that is Islamist extremism? At the very least, the incidental congruence of institutional sentiments is a comfortable marriage of convenience for New Delhi and Naypyidaw, if nothing else.
Exchange of condemnations
Further, a part of the joint press statement by Modi and Suu Kyi reads as follows:
"Myanmar condemned the recent barbaric terror attacks during the Amarnath Yatra in India as also various acts of terror perpetrated by terrorists from across the borders. India condemned the recent terrorist attacks in northern Rakhine State, wherein several members of the Myanmar security forces lost their lives. Both sides agreed that terrorism violates human rights and there should, therefore, be no glorification of terrorists as martyrs."
There's stark reciprocity in the above statement. Clearly, the statement talking about "no glorification of terrorists as martyrs" makes a not-so-implicit reference to former Hizbul Mujahideen leader Burhan Wani who was gunned down by Indian security forces in Kashmir last year and was later hailed as a martyr by local separatists.
The whole narrative appears to be a smooth quid pro quo between the two leaders whose understandings of terrorism converge on a common politico-communal standpoint. Intriguingly, this exchange of condemnations of Islamist extremism generally augured well with the majority populations of both Myanmar and India.
Furthermore, Modi pointedly referred to the 25 August incident as a "terrorist attack". On deeper assessment, the assault does not look like a typical peacetime terror attack, but rather a classic insurgent offensive that took place in an already-active conflict zone. This is even more so given the non-religious narrative of ARSA. While labeling any violent attack by non-state actors, it is important to distinguish the context and the targets, which in this case were hard (military) and not soft (civilian) targets. New Delhi seems to have completely bypassed this crucial nuance, something that it has always done while also making policies for Kashmir.
The Importance of Suu Kyis Myanmar
Unfortunately, it's almost pointless to expect Modi to condemn Suu Kyi for the latters apparent failure to prevent the Rohingya crisis.
The prime reason behind this is that the Modi government considers Myanmar a crucial geopolitical, strategic, and economic partner in its flagship 'Act East' agenda unlike the previous UPA government that did not really prioritise the country.
Under Modi, New Delhi has drawn up an elaborate plan to proactively reach out to the ASEAN region with the hope of linking Indian markets to the tiger economies of Southeast Asia. Thanks to the endemic geography of the region, Myanmar as India's 'land bridge' to the southeast automatically stands out as a pivotal partner.
This is even more so given the newly-synthesised space for broader bilateral engagement in Myanmar after the coming of a popularly-elected government in April 2016.
The Modi government has already put pending infrastructure projects in Myanmar on a fast track with the unmistakable intent of finishing the incomplete work of its predecessors. Incidentally, the most prominent of all Indian infrastructure projects in Myanmar is the recently-completed port in Sittwe, the capital city of Rakhine State. Hence, the politically restless Rakhine is a key component in Indias economic blueprint in Myanmar. New Delhi has also begun to forward an overt agenda of modernising the Tatmadaw (Myanmars defence services), having already transferred advanced military hardware, including attack helicopters, to the latter. Recently, India also hosted Myanmars commander-in-chief on a rare eight day-long visit.
Moreover, India is also concerned about its 1,640 km-long overland border with Myanmar, straddling the formers northeast and the latters northwest. New Delhi seeks the active partnership and willingness of the Suu Kyi administration to secure the jungles of Myanmars Sagaing Division that have provided safe haven to a bunch of North East Indian insurgent groups like the Myanmar-based National Socialist Council of Nagaland Khaplang (NSCN-K).
While the government of Myanmar continues to maintain a conciliatory status quo with NSCN-K, courtesy of a 2012 ceasefire, India remains edgy about the threat. A large part of the military-to-military intimacy between the two countries is rooted in precisely this: securing the volatile border.
Indias revamped outreach to Myanmar also has a bigger geostrategic logic: countering China.
Under its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Beijing has made significant inroads into Myanmar over the past two years, taking advantage of the newfound openness of engagement. It has already operationalised a full-fledged deep sea port in Kyauk Phyu, located in southern Rakhine State, to transport crude oil to the Yunnan Province in southern China. The two countries have also finalised several other critical infrastructure projects and public goods deals with Beijing, thanks to the latters unending supply of cheap goods.
The Chinese also enjoy strong political leverage in Myanmars ongoing ethnic peace process through a bunch of powerful armed groups in the latters north, most prominently the United Wa State Army (UWSA).
India, clearly, is quite anxious about Chinas growing clout in Myanmar, including the possibility of a permanent Chinese strategic presence in the country and resultant dominance over the Bay of Bengal region. Thus, today, the Land of Jade is far more important to India than ever before.
In such a situation, New Delhi would not want to stoke the hearth by cornering Naypyidaw over a highly sensitive topic like the Rohingya crisis. If it does so, New Delhi stands to instantly lose all the diplomatic capital accrued over the past three years and ultimately, cede significant geostrategic space to China. A potential Islamist extremism is perhaps the only common agenda that Modi and Suu Kyi are willing to publicly talk about with respect to Rakhine.
Thus, there is little doubt Modis bespoke and perhaps, morally strained, stance on the Rohingya is deeply rooted in a realist state-centric politics, ridden by an objective transactional logic. To expect some sort of morality in this narrative would be ideal but naive.
Angshuman Choudhury is researcher and coordinator of South East Asia Research Programme at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS) in New Delhi.
The rights of the transgender community were defined in 2014 by the Supreme Court, and yet there is a sense of helplessness in the organs of the government about how to move further in terms of substantially creating justice pathways for them. The most recent progress is that the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Justice has brought out a report in July, 2017. A part of the report assures to the community that they are safe and that a historic paradigm shift is underway.
"The Committee would like to assure and remind all members of the transgender community that a historic shift is underway... you are not alone in your struggle for the end of violence and discrimination. It is a shared struggle. Transgender is not an anomaly. It is a part of the spectrum of people's realities," the report said.
Despite this assurance, not a lot has moved since the NALSA versus Union of India verdict. The Supreme Court recognised transgender persons as the 'third gender' a feat unthought of, despites decades of struggle by trans-activists and stated that all basic human rights and constitutional freedoms of the transgender community are absolute, inalienable and indivisible.
Currently, there are two Bills around the rights of the transgender community: the Rights of Transgender Persons Bill, 2014, a private-member Bill, incorporates the spirit of the NALSA judgment, while the Central government's Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016 is a diluted version, full of loopholes and does more harm than good for the community.
The Parliamentary Committee's report has, in fact, reviewed the 2016 Bill and has brought up several areas that need to be revised so that it can move towards passage. One such area is perhaps the most important, the right to self-identify.
The report suggests that a part of the definitions clause is "primitive and unscientific" and that it heavily deviates from the NALSA judgment, which is draconian because the judgment has paved the way for a rights-based legislation for transpeople. Clause 2(i) defines transgender as "neither wholly female nor wholly male; a combination of female or male; neither female nor male and whose sense of gender does not match with the gender assigned to the person at the time of birth."
The Bill, the report found, heavily focussed on two-fold criteria to identify members of the community by administering a "biological test" and thereafter, a "psychological test", completely at odds with the NALSA directive. The Committee has also recommended a more nuanced definition of transgender "All persons whose own sense of gender does not match with the gender assigned to them at birth. They will include trans-men and trans-women (whether or not they have undergone sex reassignment surgery or hormonal treatment or laser therapy, etc.) genderqueers and a number of socio-cultural identities, such as Kinnars, hijras, aravanis, jogtas, etc. The term 'transgender' shall be construed accordingly."
Keeping this in mind, the Centre may "tweak" the definition of transgender persons to shift the focus from a biological test to the individual's absolute freedom to choose their gender identity. Biological features would not be a mandate for the identification of trans-persons.
Such an affirmation was already made by the Supreme Court in NALSA. Both Justices KS Radhakrishnan and AK Sikri broke down the hegemonic binary constructs of 'man' and 'woman'', that is deep-rooted in Indian laws, and stated that there is a spectrum of different gender identities.
The apex court progressively stated that "the gender to which a person belongs is to be determined by the person concerned", therefore, recognising an inherent right to personal identity and autonomy under Article 21 (the right to life) of the Indian Constitution. The enjoyment of "full moral citizenship" under the NALSA verdict would first and foremost require this specific right to self-identity.
The 2016 Bill, therefore, provided for the right to perceived gender identity, which is not absolute and required every transgender person to apply to a District Screening Committee consisting of the chief medical officer , the district social welfare officer, a psychologist or psychiatrist, a representative of the transgender community and an officer of the relevant government that would conduct an inquiry and attempt to certify transgender identities.
The blatant shift of the 2016 Bill from these principles was a gross violation of constitutional rights and basic human rights and became state-sanctioned discrimination against a community that deserves affirmative action and support. In the garb of protecting this community, this certification would, in all likelihood, be misused against them, and would result in a complete ghettoisation of the transgender community.
It is, therefore, very commendable that the Centre has decided to take action about the definition of trans-people. Additionally, the Parliamentary Committee has brought up a significant issue it has recommended that all legislations be aligned with the rights of the transgender community after the definitions clause has been tackled.
This would mean that the community will find justice pathways in existing criminal and property laws and be permitted to register their marriages, adoptions, and divorces. Most significantly, the report traces out protection from sexual violence as an important part of the overall pathway for trans-people and has suggested to the Centre to provide clarity on this as well.
Lastly, it looks at discrimination and stigma as issues that often stop the community from progressing on many fronts. The report "recommend[s] that the Bill should also specifically recognise, and provide appropriate penalties for, violence that transgender persons face from officials in educational institutions, healthcare institutions, police stations, jails, shelter and remand homes and other places of custody."
In many ways, resolving the definition question will support the recognition of civil and political rights of the community.
Beijing: China on Tuesday said it is ready for talks to reopen the Nath La pass for Indian pilgrims, which it had closed in mid June over the military standoff at Doka La.
"China is ready to keep communication with Indian side in regard to opening of the pass and other issues concerning the pilgrimage by Indians," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said.
While the over two-month standoff was resolved in August, the pass through which many Indian pilgrims go to Kailash Mansarovar in China's Tibet remained shut.
The Nathu La pass, the second route for Indian pilgrims was opened in 2015 by China. The new route is shorter than the one through Lipulekh pass.
"For a long time, China has made great efforts against all odds to provide necessary convenience to Indian pilgrims," Geng said.
"And according to the agreement reached between two state leaders (Chinese president Xi Jinping and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi) and the fact that the western sector of the India-China boundary has been recognised by the two sides, China used to open the pass to the Indian pilgrims and this operation has gone very well," Geng said.
"However in this June, Indian troops illegally crossed the border, which led to tensions in the border areas of the two sides," he added. "So the pass was suspended due to this consideration."
The militaries of both sides were locked in an over two-month standoff at Doka La in the Sikkim section of the India-China boundary, at the tri-junction of India-China-Bhutan.
It began when the Indian Army on 16 June halted a road construction by China's People's Liberation Army at Doka La in the area. China in retaliation stopped the entry of Indian pilgrims via the Nathu La pass.
The Doka La region is also very close to India's arterial corridor which connects its northeast with the rest of the country.
The ongoing turf war between workers of Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Sangh Parivar in Kerala's politically sensitive Kannur district aggravated further, with the rival outfits taking out parallel processions and pageantry on Tuesday, on the occasion of Sree Krishna Jayanthi.
The events, organised under the aegis of Balagokulam and Balasangham, children's outfits backed by RSS and CPM respectively, passed off peacefully on Tuesday. But the unease they created in a district which has already witnessed violent clashes may linger on.
Such post-Krishna Jayanthi tensions had led to clashes in several parts of the district in the past. The police was on its toes since it recovered seven high-explosive steel bombs from a temple under the control of RSS at Keezhur, on the eve of the festival this year.
Last year, an RSS worker at Thalaserry was killed while manufacturing bombs. The police had later recovered a big cache of weapons from his house. The temple from where the bombs were recovered on 8 September this year was one of the concluding spots for the 'Shobha Yatra' organised by Balagokulam.
The police averted a showdown between the two warring groups this year by assigning separate spots and routes for their respective processions. The police also did not allow them to go beyond 6 pm. Over 3,500 policemen, including armed personnel, were deployed in sensitive areas of the northern district.
The Balagokulam, which has been conducting the programme for the last 40 years, organised processions in about 450 centres in the district. Children dressed up as Krishna and Radhika in glittering robes took part in processions organised by the RSS-backed outfit. The Balasangham also took out over 300 processions.
The CPM, which celebrated the occasion for the first time in 2015, used the same religious symbols. But following criticism from several quarters, the party kept out deities the next year and instead depicted social reformers like Sree Narayana Guru and Ayyankali, freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh and Mohandas Gandhi, and former president APJ Abdul Kalam.
But the processions organised by CPM this year did feature religious symbolism alongside cultural leaders. It came with the slogan 'Great personalities for humanity'. Many children turned up decked in Krishna attires in processions led by district secretary P Jayarajan at Thillankkary, where an RSS worker had fallen prey to political violence in September last year.
The CPM had earlier opposed the Shobha Yatra, saying it was a strain on children. The Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the youth wing of the party, had even undertaken a door-to-door campaign against parading children on the streets.
However, the party set aside this concern for children as well its atheistic moorings, and mooted parallel pageantry in 2015, alleging that the RSS was using the religious event to wean children into the Hindutva ideology. Though the programme was said to be part of the CPM's campaign against communalism, it was confined mostly to Kannur district. The party did not organise such programmes in other districts.
The CPM had organised the first Shobha Yatra saying it was part of its week-long Onam celebrations in the state. The second yatra in 2016 was organised on the pretext of Sree Narayana Guru Jayanti and Chattambiswamy Jayanti celebrations. And the third one is purportedly aimed at spreading the renaissance message.
The BJP views the CPM's bid as an attempt to disrupt the Balagokulam's Shobha Yatra. The party's state president Kummanam Rajasekharan termed it as a challenge to the believers and the children. He said it was against the spirit of the peace meeting initiated by the government to end the spate of political violence in the district.
"Though the CPM's counter processions were brought to the attention of the peace meeting, the district administration and the police were obliging the CPM by enforcing restrictions on mike permit and denying permission to Balagokulam processions," he alleged.
RSS leader Valsan Thillankery said the CPM was organising parallel events after the party found its cadre increasingly being drawn into the saffron fold. He said that a large number of CPM workers belonging to the Hindu community have been joining BJP in Kannur, as they felt that the latter was the best defender of the community's interests.
"The CPM is rattled by the spiritual awakening among Hindus. They are experimenting with new tactics after they failed to use muscle power to stop the exodus of cadres. But this too will not succeed. CPM workers are fed up with the party's outdated philosophy," he said.
However, P Jayarajan, CPM's Kannur district secretary, said there was nothing religious in the party's programme. He said the party was countering the Sangh Parivar's attempt to utilise the occasion to take children to the streets with political motives. "Traditionally, Ashtami Rohini had been observed by believers in temples. It was the Sangh Parivar that took believers to the streets. And it's the Sangh Parivar which is opposing the CPM's processions, because it fears children would be weaned away from the Balagokulam processions," he added.
He said that the procession, being organised under the aegis of cultural organisations with a slogan "great personalities for humanity", was being opposed by the Sangh Parivar because they feared that it would draw a large turnout like it did last year.
Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala said CPM's decision to organise the programme on Sree Krishna Jayanthi revealed its ideological bankruptcy. The party is trying to counter RSS by staging religious events, as it is clueless about its political standing, he said.
Political observers view the CPM's indulgence in the Hindu religious activity as a sign of the communist movement's decay. NP Chekutty, a political analyst based out of Kozhikode, said that the CPM was trying to fool the people by organising a parallel programme on Krishna Jayanthi. "If the party is honest, it should conduct the programme as a religious event. Instead it is organising it under different names. This is cultural mimicry," he said.
Political observers view the CPM's decision to confine the programme to the violence-prone northern district alone as an admission that the party cannot stop the growth of the RSS through arms.
Kannur, the cradle of Communism in the state, has been gripped by waves of political violence ever since RSS made inroads into the Marxist bastion in the 1980s. More than 250 people have been killed and hundreds maimed in cross-fire in the district over the last three decades.
The stand-off between the two sides in the run up to the Shobha Yatra has turned many places in the district into flash-points, threatening to escalate the fragile situation in the coming days.
New Delhi: Sexual violence against minors have to be stopped, the Delhi High Court said on Tuesday while taking note of the recent spurt in the incidents of sexual assault on minors in the capital.
"Let Delhi take the lead in this matter," a bench of acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar said.
The high court took note of news reports regarding sexual assault on a five-year-old girl inside her school in East Delhi and issued a notice to the Delhi government, police and the Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DSLSA) asking them to file an affidavit before 21 September.
The court decided to initiate proceedings on its own after also noting that Delhi government has ordered a suspension of the medical officer for "negligence" in treating the rape survivor.
"The reports raise issues of public interest," the bench remarked and said that "there can be nothing more important than the information or report of such crime being brought to the immediate attention of the DSLSA, to enable it to take immediate steps for providing legal aid to the victim as well as compensation".
It noted that in the present case, there was intervention by the police. However, there was no intervention by the DSLSA. The bench said DSLSA interventions are "must" so far as the victims of sexual offence, both adults and children, are concerned.
This, while ensuring justice to the victim, will also ensure that the best assistance is available to the police for effectively investigating the crime as well as medical treatment and examination of the victims, it said.
"DSLSA shall also ensure that compensation in accordance with the Victim Compensation Scheme, 2015 is henceforth released to the victims at the earliest," it said, adding that it should also inform this court about the status of the release of compensation and legal to the victims.
Reuters
The family of the driver of a Tesla Model S who was killed in a May 2016 crash while using the cars semi-autonomous driving system said on Monday the car was not to blame for the crash.
The statement from the family of Joshua Brown, released by a law firm, comes a day before the National Transportation Safety Board is set to hold a hearing in Washington and vote on the probable cause of the crash.
We heard numerous times that the car killed our son. That is simply not the case, said the statement from the family, breaking its silence on the crash. There was a small window of time when neither Joshua nor the Tesla features noticed the truck making the left-hand turn in front of the car.
People die every day in car accidents, the statement said. Change always comes with risks, and zero tolerance for deaths would totally stop innovation and improvements.
A spokeswoman for Tesla Inc and a lawyer for the family, Jack Landskroner, have declined to say if the automaker has reached a legal settlement with the Brown family.
Josh Brown was a friend to Tesla, and as his family articulated so eloquently, a passionate advocate for technology. Our thoughts are with the entire Brown family, the company said in a statement Monday.
The fatal incident raised questions about the safety of systems that can perform driving tasks for long stretches with little or no human intervention, but which cannot completely replace human drivers.
Brown was killed near Williston, Florida, when his Model S collided with a truck while it was engaged in the Autopilot mode.
In January, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it found no evidence of defects in the crash. NHTSA said Brown did not apply the brakes and his last action was to set the cruise control at 74 miles per hour (119 kph), less than two minutes before the crash - above the 65-mph speed limit.
In June, the NTSB said that during a 37-minute period of his final drive Brown had his hands on the wheel for just 25 seconds.
Tesla in September 2016 unveiled improvements in Autopilot, putting new limits on hands-off driving and other features that its chief executive officer said likely would have prevented the crash death.
The family noted Teslas continued improvements to Autopilot and said it takes solace and pride in the fact that our son is making such a positive impact on future highway safety.
NTSB could make policy recommendations but cannot order recalls or force regulatory changes.
Father Tom Uzhunnallil abducted in 2016 by the Islamic State terrorists in warn-torn Yemen has been rescued from an undisclosed location after 17 months with the help of Oman government's intervention.
I am happy to inform that Father Tom Uzhunnalil has been rescued.pic.twitter.com/FwAYoTkbj2 Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) September 12, 2017
According to media reports, the priest who was abducted from Yemen's port city Aden, has been transferred to Muscat and will be flown to his home in Kerala on Tuesday. According to IANS, the Gulf nation helped to find and rescue Uzhannalil, who is an employee of the Vatican.
The Times of Oman quoted the Oman government as saying, "In response to the royal orders of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said and as per a request from the Vatican... the concerned authorities in the Sultanate, in coordination with the Yemeni authorities, have managed to find a Vatican government employee. He was transferred this (Tuesday) morning to Muscat in preparation for his return home,"
According to Oman Observer, Qaboos bin Said, Sultan of Oman, with the help of Yemeni parties managed to find the priest and secure his release. The report further added that Uzhunnalil also thanked all the people involved in his rescue, including his relatives and friends who prayed for his safety.
Father Tom rescued from Yemen after 17 months. He is in Muscat right now and will be flown to Vatican, @Zakka_Jacob with more details pic.twitter.com/ms6wpVamrq News18 (@CNNnews18) September 12, 2017
Several leaders in Kerala also hailed the news of Uzhunnalil's rescue including state's chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and former chief minister Oommen Chandy. Chandy was quoted as saying by Times Now, "We were waiting for the day. We are very thankful to Sushma Swaraj and all the others who worked towards his release."
Happy to hear about the release of Father Tom (Kerala priest), it is learnt that Oman played a crucial role in his release: Kerala CM pic.twitter.com/lKWmqKZFaq ANI (@ANI) September 12, 2017
Uzhunnalil, who hails from Kottayam in Kerala was abducted in March last year by the Islamic State terror group, which attacked the old-age home run by Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity including four nuns and an Indian. After the shooting, they abducted Uzhunnallil.
Uzhunnalil, had been sent to Yemen in 2010, however, when his five-year term in the country ended, the church "asked him to stay back till another person assumed the charges," treasurer of Uzhunnalil Kudumbayogam was quoted as saying by The Times Of India.
Earlier on 12 July, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj had held extensive talks with the deputy prime minister of Yemen Abdulmalik Abduljalil Al-Mekhlafi during which she conveyed India's concern over the safety of Father Tom Uzhunnalil.
Earlier in a video posted on Yemeni news portal Aden-TM, Uzhunnalil had spoken about his deteriorating health condition. He was quoted as saying, "They are treating me well to the extent they are able."
"My health condition is deteriorating quickly and I require hospitalisation as early as possible,"
Uzhunnalil said his kidnappers had contacted the Indian government and the Catholic bishop in Abu Dhabi with their demands, but the response was "not encouraging".
In December 2016, the priest, in a video, had appealed to the Indian government and Pope Francis to secure his release from his captors.
In the earlier video, Uzhunnalil said that there have been reports in the media that everything was being done to secure his release "but in reality, nothing seems to have happened".
Uzhunnalil's ancestral home in Ramapuram in Kottayam district is presently shut as two of his brothers live abroad, while another lives in Gujarat.
Some time ago when I was speaking to senior author Shashi Deshpande, she had made a comment that the present situation was "scary". It is not a term she uses often. If someone like Deshpande feels something is "scary", then it is time to take a step back and take stock of the situation by way of context, the author quit her position at the Sahitya Akademi protesting against MM Kalburgi's killing. After all we are in Karnataka, not in Pakistan, North Korea or even Kashmir.
Karnataka writers or intelligentsia live in safety compared to their counterparts in some troubled places. That is why the killing of Kalburgi was a great shock. That is why the killing of Gauri Lankesh is an even larger mystery. Both were expressing their dissent, but were in no way dangerous to society. They were not converting people. Their influence was not a threat to the powers they were opposing. In fact, Gauri was not at all a threat. She was not a force to reckon with. Whatever she wrote could not shake their empire. She was only a minor irritation.
Of course, she did use the sort of language that would irk persons targeted. She did not mince words but used street language to cut down the people she was opposing. One may disagree with the ruling party but still it is an elected party, and its leader has millions of followers. To call a prime minister a "chhakka" or "chaddi" was not in good taste. To write an article titled 'Carnage of Chaddis' is definitely instigating. Some of the videos circulating show her using some very rough words to condemn the right-wing.
The following are edited excerpts of my discussion with Deshpande:
Is liberty under threat in Karnataka? And do writers in the state feel threatened? What should the intelligentsia do? Stop writing?
I dont like the word intelligentsia or intellectual. Writers are ordinary people. They are not dangerous. Dangerous are those young people who are trained to hate. They are most dangerous. I dont worry about the killers, I worry about these youngsters who are being trained to hate.
There is this atmosphere of fear. When did the writers feel this threatened before? Was it during Emergency? Writers protested even then. Do you feel the threat?
The threat is very much there. But the type of fear is vague. Whom do we fear? Of whom am I afraid? The fear now is unidentified, undefined. This is shadow fighting. You dont know who you are fighting against. Strangers turn up on motorcycles, kill and get away. This cannot happen over and over again. This will stop, has to stop. Every time there is a killing, there is fear.
But has the threat perception changed? How significant is the police protection that the state government has announced for some select writers? After all, if the intelligentsia is fighting the system, can it go seeking protection from the same source?
Nothing is achieved by merely providing police protection. The government just wants to show that it is doing something, in order to answer all those who question what the government is doing. Police protection will not stop those driven by hate to stop doing what they want to do. They will find some way to accomplish their task. For the writers, police protection is actually a nuisance. Imagine constantly being with someone who you think will protect you. In theory it sounds good and gives confidence to both the writers and the government. Actually, this is the first time Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has given a message that writers matter. Writers never mattered very much in the past.
I think a soft-spoken and gentle man like Channaveera Kanavi (89) and freedom fighter, thinker HS Doreswamy (99) do not depend on police protection to speak their mind. The very idea of speaking one's mind only under police protection is misleading. The real solution should be that people must learn to live with dissent. That does not mean one can defame anyone. There is a thin line between speaking the truth and being offensive.
In Karnataka there is a rich tradition of eminent writers and thinkers who have stood up for their beliefs, even under great pressure. My father Sriranga, and Shivarama Karanth, and Lankesh. They have always believed in writing, speaking their mind without fear. We must not let that spirit die. We must not let go.
There is already talk about how "if one person has police protection, why doesn't some other person?". It's slightly cringeworthy.
It is high time writers come together as one voice. After Independence, writers have not come together. Writers are very selfish. They only worry about their publicity, their awards and their foreign tours. It is so strange to hear writers involved in caste politics. Imagine dividing writers on caste! It is time we have to put aside our differences and come together. If 1,000 people write what they want to write it will make an impact. Whatever you feel like writing, you should feel free to write. Not just against government, religion or ideology but anything one believes in. It takes courage to do that.
Are there writers with courage?
There are many. Take for example Nayantara Sahgal. She is 90 and suffering from two kinds of cancer, yet her spirit does not die. Ramachandra Guha is another example. He is not afraid to speak his mind. People should not be afraid.
Actually, it is people who are not afraid who have been targeted. Take for example Salman Rushdie and Taslima Nasreen...
In Rushdie's case, they really went after him. He knew who his enemies were and why he was being persecuted. Britain spent too much money protecting him. Taslima is a very unfortunate woman, I feel. She has not been able to find a place. In both their cases, they knew the source of the threat. Now, we really dont know, who killed Kalburgi and Gauri. The undefined fear, undefined threat is the difference.
The author is a poet, scriptwriter and journalist
Mumbai: Two officers from Haryana Police on Tuesday questioned staff at the Ryan International School in Kandivali in connection with the the murder of a boy in the institution's premises in Gurugram.
The two officials from Haryana Police are at the campus of Ryan International School, said DCP (Zone-XII) Vinay Rathod.
Of the two officials one of them is an inspector-level officer. They are verifying documents and questioning staff, said an official.
Fourteen police teams have been constituted to probe the case.
The Haryana Police will be questioning school CEO Ryan Pinto and other top brass.
The seven-year-old was found dead with his throat slit in the washroom of the school in Gurugram.
Mumbai: The Ryan International School has been in the news for last five days for all the wrong reasons. The brutal murder of a seven year old child, Pradyuman Thakur, at the group's Gurugram campus in Sohna area on Friday has earned the school widespread condemnation for security lapses across various campuses.
Turns out, that Pradyuman's murder was not the first instance which highlighted the severe irregularities in children's security at the school campuses owned by or linked to the Ryan Pinto-led group. Several red flags have been raised in the past too.
Two years ago, another incident of sexual abuse of a child at a Mumbai school of which, both Augustine Francis Pinto and Grace Pinto are trustees was reported. Mumbai Police had arrested the then principal of St Xaviers High School, Poonam Nagar, Andheri for allegedly sexually abusing a six year old boy in the gents toilet in the school premises.
The incident dates back to 31st August 2015. When the six-year-old student narrated the whole incident to his mother, the parents of the victim and other parents took out a morcha and staged protests and vandalized the school's property, spurring the police into action.
The child's parents had filed the first information report on 8th September at the MIDC police station in the western suburbs of the city. Soon after, a case under the stringent Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (Posco) was registered against the schools then principal, Rozario Martin Alphonso, who was arrested and produced before a sessions court and had been remanded to police custody till 15th September 2015.
Two year's on, the charges remain unproved and Alphonso is out on bail.
According to the police, Alphonso had allegedly taken the child to the bathroom and molested him spurring a protest of around 500 parents of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA), who had gathered in front of the school and demanded strict action against the accused.
As per the details in the complaint, the child had narrated the assault to his mother while she was dressing him up for school on 8 September. The boy told his mother that he had gone to the toilet at around 3 pm on 31 August, while Alfonso was also present in the toilet. After the boy went to the urinal, the principal came close to him and touched his chest and private parts. The child's mother complaint about the incident to the boys class teacher and she also tried to meet the principal, who was not available.
The victim's mother then called on the child helpline number 1090 after which she was offered assistance in the case.
Alphonso had been posted as the principal at the St Xavier's School for nine years, before who was dismissed after the incident came to light. He had over 20 years of experience in the education sector. Alphonso, a resident of Malad area, was dismissed from the service after the case was registered, and he remains unemployed, according to one of his former colleagues at St Xavier's school.
The Ryan International School group runs more that 100 schools as part of the chain of St Xavier's Schools across Mumbai and Maharashtra. In 1983, Augustine Francis Pinto started his first St Xavier's High School in Borivali East, Mumbai with the help of his wife Grace Pinto. The Catholic school, affiliated to Maharashtra State Education Board then became the building block for the nationwide expansion of the group.
According to the group's website, Ryan International Schools are a group of private educational institutions in India that were founded in 1976 by Dr AF Pinto. The Ryan Group started its first school in Mumbai in 1976 and it currently has 186 schools located in 18 states within India and at many places outside India too. It employs more than 18,000 faculty members and has over 3 lakhs students across campuses. Every year around 30,000 students pass out from Ryan group of schools.
The group is again in news after the killing of Pradyuman on Friday and the CEO of Ryan International Group Ryan Pinto is also under the scanner this time. A Haryana Police team is in Mumbai to question Pinto, amid allegations of grave security lapses on the school's part and claims that the evidence in the case was tampered with. This was the second death of a child on the premises of the group's schools in two years.
Earlier too, the group's school courted controversy after a six-year-old child was mysteriously found dead in the school water tank on 30 January, 2016. Then too, voices had been raised about security lapses and negligence on the part of school staff.
8 September: A seven-year-old, Class 2 student of Ryan International School in Gurugram is murdered inside the school washroom.
9 September: A five-year-old girl studying at Tagore Public School, New Delhi is raped inside a classroom by a peon.
9 September: A six-year-old kindergarten student of Ghaziabad based Silver Shine School was crushed to death by the school bus while she was alighting from the vehicle.
11 September: An 11-year-old girl studying in Class V in Raos High School, a private school in Hyderabad was made to stand in boys' washroom by a woman teacher as a punishment for not wearing school uniform.
These incidents are only the tip of the iceberg. Surely, something's horribly wrong somewhere. Our schools have failed the students they are supposed to protect. The frequency of incidents such as above across the country makes the attitude criminal. But where's the public outrage over these?
After the murder of Bengaluru-based journalist Gauri Lankesh, the nation witnessed a series of protests by various bodies that grabbed headlines, including #IAmGauri in Bengaluru on Tuesday. We see no such public show of anger in the case of atrocities committed against school children. Parents vent their anger but the wider support from the society is conspicuously absent.
It is as if the sole responsibility of outraging against apathetic school administrations is left to the aggrieved parents and guardians. This is unlike what's seen in other cases where civil society activists, artistes, and intellectuals hit the streets to raise the red flag.
Why don't these groups and political and ideology-backed organisations come out strongly for these ill-fated children? Is it because children dont belong to any ideology Left, Right or Centre? Or, is it because they are incapable of holding dharnas at Jantar Mantar and make noise?
Why is there no debate under a banner saying 'Not In The Name Of Children' similar to 'Not In My Name' or 'Where Are You' for these innocent children, who dont have any ideology or political backing? And, is it because they arent the vote banks for political parties?
One may recall, a group of intellectuals and artistes had held protest at Jantar Mantar on 28 June, raising questions on mob lynching of Junaid Khan and other similar atrocities in the country. Close on the heels of it, another public debate #WhereAreYou? was launched on 10 August in Jantar Mantar by a group of 'Right-wing' intellectuals, academicians, artistes, and students protesting the killing of RSS-BJP workers in Kerala,
Barring a few official statements and ordering a probe, nothing much has been heard from the political class, including the government. The strong voice of intellectuals, artistes, theatre groups, music bands, bureaucrats-turned-activists and many of the social activists and NGOs working on child rights is missing, unlike in the case of Gauri Lankesh, Junaid or RSS workers.
However, as an exception, actress Renuka Shahane took to Facebook and reacted sharply to the brutal crime at Ryan International School. She expressed her shock and dismay over the callous manner in which sexual predators are able to target children within institutions like schools, where one assumes children will be safe.
Why so?
"The overall levels of consciousness and conscience have gone down in the society, especially in urban India, which is very unfortunate. Barring a few, the so-called NGOs and activists are self-centred and take up only those issues that suit them. They are not bothered about these social evils due to lack of conscience. In India, there is one NGO per 600 people. They are unemployed and belong to the petty bourgeois class, and act like parasites thriving on government facilities," remarked child rights lawyer Ashok Agarwal.
The voice of parents against schools is feeble as they are at the receiving end. Despite their children being ill-treated by school authorities, aggrieved parents are afraid of raising their voice fearing future consequences.
These private international and global brand schools are the biggest scams in our country. Parents cant be blamed for not making an organised campaign against such schools. They are the exploited lot and are always at the receiving end. The irony is that no one will stand up for these parents," added Agarwal, founder of Social Jurist, a lawyers collective. Agarwal had earlier fought for reservation for children from economically weaker sections (EWS) in private schools.
Lack of strong voice making schools more insensitive
Due to a lack of strong voice and persistent campaigning, many of the schools across the country are increasingly growing insensitive towards children. The incident at a Hyderabad school, where a girl student was made to stand inside the boys washroom, is a case in point.
According to the victims father, the incident had such a humiliating and traumatic effect on the girl that she has refused to go to school.
"Such an incident can be traumatic for any child, further having a negative impact on their academic and social life, along with their self-esteem. It reflects lack of sensitisation of school authorities towards their students and their mental health. Its important for the school management to stay alert on campus, communicate with parents and use punishment as the last resort," Delhi-based psychologist Shreya Singhal remarked.
The autopsy report of the Class 2 student of Ryan International School who was killed on Friday, stated that there were no signs of a sexual assault on the child's body. The doctors have confirmed that the child died within two minutes of the attack due to excessive blood loss. However, the school authorities had claimed that the child was alive, when he was taken to the hospital.
#BREAKING -- Doctor's report on #RyanInternationalSchool murder case says the victim, Pradhyuman Thakur, was not sexually assaulted pic.twitter.com/1cRuIEs8eY News18 (@CNNnews18) September 12, 2017
Dr Deepak Mathur, who conducted the post mortem, also said there were two cuts on the boy's body and a nerve was slashed due to which, he could not cry for help when he was attacked. "The second point that came out in the report is that the child died due to excessive bleeding. There was no sexual assault on the minor and no semen marks were found on his school dress," he said. Meanwhile, police recorded statements of two students in connection with the murder of their schoolmate. "The SIT recorded statements of two students who went to change their Taekwondo dress inside the toilet at the time of the crime. The team is also questioning the suspended school principal Neerja Batra and two other female teachers," a senior police officer said. As police are working to crack the case, Subhash Garg, a businessman, claimed that he saw the conductor carry the child to a car to be shifted to a hospital, on the orders of two teachers. Garg said he had gone to deposit his son's fees on Friday and was standing at the main reception in the school, when he heard some commotion. "I saw two female teachers and two students were following an injured student who was being carried by Ashok Kumar. One of the teachers was weeping at that moment. She ordered Kumar to place him at the rear seat of the car," Garg told PTI. "There were also blood stains spread all over the place in a small toilet on the ground floor of the school building. There were blood stains on Kumar's shirt which may be due to the fact that he was carrying the boy," he claimed. He further claimed that Kumar was behaving normally which is a rare thing for someone who has committed a crime, adding he recorded a 1.14-minute video of the incident. The school bus' driver Saurabh Raghav claimed Kumar was made a scapegoat by the school teachers. The police arrested the school's bus conductor in the case and remanded him to three-days custody after he confessed to committing the crime. ACP Birem Singh told reporters on Tuesday that the questioning of Ashok is complete and it is clear that he is involved in the murder.
Questioning with bus-conductor complete, remand has ended. He told us whatever we needed to know.We are satisfied:Birem Singh ACP #Pradyuman pic.twitter.com/Gc1G4V71Jp ANI (@ANI) September 12, 2017
While saying that only Ashok has murdered Pradyumna, the ACP added that negligence of the school is a different matter and two people are being questioned for the same. He also said that two children revealed that he was present in the toilet before the incident. Police sources also told DNA that Pradyumna had seen the conductor masturbating in the washroom. When the child tried to run, Ashok grabbed him.
Pradyumna was found lying in a pool of blood in a toilet in the school building by some students. "The students alerted the teachers and the school management then informed the police, who rushed him to Artemis Hospital. He was declared brought dead by doctors," Ravinder Kumar, PRO Gurgaon Police, said.
With inputs from agencies
Thousands took to the streets of Bengaluru on Tuesday to demand justice for journalist Gauri Lankesh, according to media reports.
According to India Today, around 50,000 people were expected to attend the day-long protest, which was described by the organisers as a movement to resist the quashing of dissent all over India.
Hundreds of activists, thinkers and writers from all over the country participated in the protest rally, demonstration and a public meeting at Central College grounds, India Today reported.
Lankesh, the 55-year-old editor of a Kannada tabloid Gauri Lankesh Patrike, was gunned down outside her home in the city's southwest suburb on the night of 5 September by an unknown assailant.
#IAmGauri Protest at Bengaluru City Railway Station pic.twitter.com/ZBRf0xBCsv Sabina Basha (@SabinaBasha) September 12, 2017
Wearing black head bands that read "I am Gauri", the protesters took out the march from the city railway station to the Central College Grounds, where a protest meeting would be held later during the day.
CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury and noted social activist Medha Patkar also joined in the protest.
Well-known journalists P Sainath and Sagarika Ghose, Prashant Bhushan and Yogandra Yadav of Swaraj India and civil rights activists Teesta Setalvad, Kavitha Krishnan and film producer Prakash Rai were also join.
The forum "Gauri Lankesh Hatya Virodhi Vedike" decided to hold the national-level resistance convention.
Progressive thinkers, writers, social activists, artistes and intellectuals formed the forum last week to protest Lankesh's killing.
#IamGauri protest takes Bengaluru by storm. Thousands gather at Bengaluru city railway station pic.twitter.com/kRXRjLEKmb Anusha Ravi (@anusharavi10) September 12, 2017
Patriotic songs, street plays, screening of short films and paintings and music concerts will be held during the event.
This is not the first protest in Bengaluru since Lankesh's death.
On 5 September, senior Kannada writers and activists gathered in front of Town Hall in Bengaluru.
On Tuesday, Karnataka's Aam Aadmi Party was a prominent participant in the protest, with journalist-turned-politician Ashish Khetan also joining the rally.
Members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), Karnataka Janashakthi and several student groups were also part of the rally.
With inputs from IANS
New Delhi: India and Belarus on Tuesday inked 10 pacts to expand cooperation in a range of areas and decided to explore joint development and manufacturing in the defence sector.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Belarus president AG Lukashenko, who held extensive talks, also agreed to focus on ramping up economic engagement between the two countries, holding that there was huge scope to boost trade and investment.
The pacts inked provided for enhancing bilateral cooperation in a variety of areas, including oil and gas, agriculture, science and technology, education and sports.
Modi described the discussions as wide-ranging and forward-looking and said they were marked by the warmth of ties of over two and a half decades.
"We exchanged views on bilateral issues and on regional and global developments. We reviewed the architecture of our partnership. We considered ideas and initiatives for further expanding it," Modi told reporters after the talks.
Modi said both sides agreed to encourage joint development and manufacturing in the defence sector under the Make in India initiative.
He said there was progress on a discussion on utilising the $100 million line of credit India had offered in 2015 for implementing specific projects in Belarus.
"We decided to enhance the interaction in all aspects of cooperation. I found in President Lukashenko matching the enthusiasm and desire to scale up our partnership for the benefit of our people," Modi said.
On his part, the Belarusian president said the two countries were at the doorstep of a "new stage" of cooperation.
Inviting Indian investors to Belarus, Lukashenko said his government was ready to provide them with the most favourable and ideal conditions for doing business.
Discussing trade potential, Modi said there were abundant business and investment opportunities in various sectors, including in pharmaceuticals and oil and gas.
"Our companies have to evolve from a buyer-seller framework to deeper engagement," he said, adding that both sides would work to diversify economic linkages and the focus would be to build upon the natural complementarity between the two countries.
In this context, Modi also mentioned India's on-going negotiations with the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) for a free trade agreement. Belarus is part of the five member-EEU, considered an influential central Asian bloc.
The volume of bilateral trade in 2016 amounted to $402 million approximately.
Asserting that he advocated and promoted the idea of a multi-polar world, Lukashenko expressed the hope that India would become a "mightful pole" in the multi-polar world.
A stamp commemorating 25 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries was also released by the India Post and postal department of Belarus.
The two sides also agreed to close cooperation on "matters of mutual interest" in multilateral fora.
India is linked with Belarus under multilateral economic initiatives such as the Eurasian Economic Union and the International North South Transport Corridor.
"The seriousness of our intention can be proved by the fact that during the visit we initiated Investment Protection Agreement between India and Belarus and secondly I can promise my support for finalising the free zone between India and the Eurasian Economic Union," Lukashenko said.
Noting that science and technology was another area of stronger cooperation between the two countries, Modi noted that Belarus was a long-time partner in the field and innovation.
Belarus is known for powder metallurgy. India has an advanced research centre in powder metallurgy in Hyderabad, established with the help of the Eurasian nation.
Modi said the two sides were also exploring setting up of a technology demonstration centre in India to showcase Belarusian technology.
Noushera: Union minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said the latest equipment was being inducted into the BSF for better and more effective domination of the border areas along the LoC and to help reduce the work load of personnel.
Singh, who was on a three-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, met the Border Security Force (BSF) personnel on the Line of Control (LoC) campus in Noushera in Rajouri district.
"The latest gadgets and equipment are being inducted into the BSF, which besides acting as force multiplier for better and more effective domination of the border areas, will also provide relief to jawans by reducing their work load," Singh told BSF personnel at Noushera campus.
The home minister said that excellent border management by the BSF has helped in instilling belief among general public that they are safe as one of the best border guarding force in the world was guarding them.
Praising the jawans of the "First Wall of Indian Defence", he said safety and security of our soldiers, performing duties in complex circumstances, was the prime concern of the government, particularly the home ministry.
"Getting the best surveillance equipments under modernisation programme is one of the priorities for the government", he said.
During his visit, Singh also took stock of operational preparedness on the Line of Control and International Boundary (IB) in prevailing security scenario.
The home minister was welcomed at the Naushera campus by ADG BSF Western Command, Kamal Nayan Chaubey and IG BSF Jammu Frontier Ram Awatar.
Minister of State (PMO) Jitendra Singh, Jammu and Kashmir deputy chief minister Nirmal Kumar Singh, Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary BB Vyas and Director General of Police SP Vaid also attended the programme.
The IG BSF briefed the Home minister on the prevailing security scenario, various measures undertaken by the force to strengthen the border protection, the existing border control and protection mechanism undertaken and the likely threats.
ADG BSF Kamal Nayan Chaubey said that due to gallant and vigilant duty by BSF troops, that all infiltration bids from counterpart territory were successfully thwarted during last one year.
Singh also addressed the 'Prahari Sammellan' held with BSF officers and jawans. He had an informal interaction with jawans.
Jammu: A woman was injured on Tuesday in an unprovoked ceasefire violation by the Pakistani Army on the Line of Control (LoC) in Nowshera sector.
The incident occurred in the Lam area in Jammu and Kashmir, police sources said.
This came a day after Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh visited the border residents in the area.
During his media conference in Jammu on Tuesday the Home Minister asserted: "India will ensure Pakistan is forced to stop ceasefire violations".
On 1 September, BSF Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Kamaljit Singh died after suffering injuries due to enemy fire from across the Line of Control while he was deployed at a forward post in Krishna Ghati Sector.
On 30 August, Pakistani troops initiated firing and shelling from across the border in Nowshera sector, targeting forward posts and civilian areas.
Three days before that, five civilians, including a woman and two minor boys, were injured in ceasefire violation by Pakistan in the Shahpur belt of Poonch district.
Thiruvananthapuram: Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi on Tuesday called for a mass movement to make schools in the country safer for children.
He also termed the killing of the seven-year-old boy by a bus conductor at a school in Gurugram for resisting sexual abuse, "shameful and disgusting".
Interacting with children from various schools in this district as part of his 'Bharat Yatra', which began on Monday, he said the notions of childhood and child rights should be part of the nation's culture and consciousness.
"Schools are supposed to be safe havens for children. Schools will be safer only if there is a mass movement against child abuse," Satyarthi said when a student asked him about the incident in the Gurugram school.
Starting from the southernmost tip of peninsular India, Kanyakumari, and passing through Kashmir, the Bharat Yatra will culminate in New Delhi on 16 October. It aims to mobilise action against sexual abuse and trafficking of children.
The country has no choice other than speaking out against child abuse, Sathyarthi said adding if the society continues with its silence, it would only help strengthen the abusers.
When the problem of abuse becomes a "moral epidemic", the society cannot simply tolerate it, but has to act, he said, adding if the society keeps on hiding the problem, it would become much worse.
About on his 'Bharat Yatra' mission, Satyarthi said it is a "non-violent war" against violence, rape, abuse and trafficking of children.
The Nobel laureate said it is the largest ever social movement on the issue in the history of the country and urged every child to be a part of it.
The activist, during the interactions with school students, said he supports imparting education to children in their mother tongue and termed child labour as a social evil and a crime.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who took part in the event organised by the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, wished that Satyarthi's march would be a turning point in putting an end to the menace of child abuse.
No society can grow without creating an environment that fosters the growth of children, Vijayan said.
"We are living at a time when violence against children is on the rise. Child labour is also prevailing in many parts. A comprehensive awareness is needed against this," Vijayan said.
Kerala minister for health and social justice KK Shylaja, state child rights panel chief Shobha Koshy and state chief secretary KM Abraham were also present at the event.
Father Tom Uzhunnalil, a Vatican priest from Kerala, who was abducted by Islamic State militants from an old age home run by Missionaries of Charity at Aden in strife-torn Yemen more than 18 months ago, has been released.
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj confirmed the news via her Twitter handle at 3.45 pm on Tuesday. "I am happy to inform that Father Tom Uzhunnalil has been rescued," the message said.
I am happy to inform that Father Tom Uzhunnalil has been rescued.pic.twitter.com/FwAYoTkbj2 Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) September 12, 2017
Happy to hear about the release of Father Tom (Kerala priest), it is learnt that Oman played a crucial role in his release: Kerala CM pic.twitter.com/lKWmqKZFaq ANI (@ANI) September 12, 2017
Details of the release are not immediately available, however, Oman Observer, a leading English daily based in Muscat, said that the Omani ruler Sultan Qaboos bin Said had secured the priests release from Islamic State in coordination with the Yemeni parties. The newspaper also released an image of the rescued priest.
The report said that Tom is in Muscat and will soon return to his home in Kerala. "Tom Uzhunnalil, a Vatican priest, expressed thanks to God Almighty and appreciation to Sultan Qaboos. He also thanked his brothers and sisters and all relatives and friends who called on God for safety and release, the report said.
Shajan Uzhunnalil, a cousin of the abducted priest at Pala in Kottayam district, said that the family was relieved to hear the news. The family, however, has not been able to establish any communication with him so far, Shajan told Firstpost.
"We have heard that Tom has reached Muscat safely and would return to Kerala in a day or two. We could not confirm this. We are trying to contact him through our acquaintances in Muscat," Shajan said.
"We are told that the health condition of the priest is bad and the Oman government was giving him proper medical care. He may come only after an improvement in his health, Shajan said.
He said that the release of the priest, who belongs to Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), Bengaluru, from the captivity of terrorists was a result of the sustained efforts of many, including the government and the church, and the prayers from all sections of people in the country. Shajan said that the family is looking forward to a reunion with the priest.
Following the media reports, the relatives of the priest from different parts of the state have started gathering at his home at Ramapuram in Pala. Shajan said that a large stream of people from near and far are also flowing to Ramapuram.
Armed men had stormed the old age home where Tom was serving on 4 March 2016. He was taken away after the terrorists gunned down 16 people, including four Catholic nuns serving the home. One of the nuns was also from India.
The priest had communicated to the church and the government through videos released on social networking sites. In one video, he even blamed the government and the church for their failure to save his life.
The priest had raised concern about his deteriorating health in the last video. He looked more tired and weak compared to the video released earlier in December 2016.
Following this, the church in Kerala and the state government had mounted pressure on the Narendra Modi government for securing his release. Vatican also intervened in the matter after Tom made a direct appeal to Pope Francis.
Several delegations of the church met Modi and Swaraj. Following this, the government had set up a three-member committee to help secure the priests release.
Cardinal Mar George Alencherry, head of Syro-Malabar Church, one of the three Catholic rites in the state, said that Pope Francis had shown personal interest in the matter and had directed actions to save the priests life. He also appreciated the efforts made by the Government of India.
The Cardinal, who met the prime minister twice regarding the priests release, was not ready to blame the government and the Vatican as the situation in Yemen was volatile and India had no full-fledged diplomatic mission there.
"What we can do at this juncture is to pray to the God to give strength to the priest to face the situation," he added.
The state BJP considers the release of Tom as yet another feather in the cap of the prime minister. Modi himself had recalled the efforts he made in evacuating the nurses trapped in conflict areas in the Middle East as well as the release of aid worker Judith DSouza and Father Alexis Prem Kumar from Afghanistan.
DSouza was released in July more than a month after she was kidnapped in Kabul.
The release of Jesuit priest Kumar from the captivity of Taliban in February 2015 is also considered as a diplomatic success. The priest, who hails from Tamil Nadu, was abducted by the Taliban in Herat, Afghanistan, in June 2014.
Nowshera: Uprooted from their homes and living in schools-turned-camps, people living along borders on Monday demanded setting up of "individual bunkers" at their residences near the Line of Control (LoC) as Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh reached out to them in Nowshera.
Over 5,000 people living in 23 hamlets along the LoC were forced to shun homes and hearths in Nowshera sector of Rajouri district following heavy firing and shelling four months ago.
Four civilians were killed and five others were injured while over 100 cattle perished and 40 houses damaged in firing and shelling by Pakistani troops in different sectors of Rajouri in the recent past.
"Our first and foremost demand is that government should set up individual bunkers in each of the border house, if we have to live again along the LoC. This is most and first demand of the LoC people," Jangarh resident Prashtom Kumar said.
Kumar, who is the president of Border Migrants Coordination Committee, conveyed to Singh, who visited one of the six camps setup in Nowshera by the government, said, "We need bunkers more than food. It serves as a bullet-proof jacket to us and our families from Pakistan shelling."
Sarpanch of Kalsian border hamlet Bahadur Choudhary said, "If all the residents get individual bunkers at their homes, no one will leave the LoC hamlets no matter how worse Pakistan may shell us."
Nowshera MLA Ravinder Raina also supported their demand and said a chunk of land should be provided to the LoC dwellers to build safe places.
"I appreciate Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh reaching out to the LoC migrants in Nowshera sector of Rajouri...The visit will on one hand boost the morale of security forces while the people living along the LoC will feel they have full-backing from the state and the central governments," Raina said.
Forced to take shelter in camps in five schools in Nowshera sector, border dwellers are said to be reluctant to go back to their homes even after four months due to repeated shelling and firing.
The affected villagers rue lack of proper medical facilities and other amenities at the camps which have become their "second home".
"How can we go back when Pakistan army is firing and shelling our homes? We have been facing Pakistani aggression for decades but over the past two years...We prefer to stay away from our homes rather than becoming sitting ducks for unprovoked firing by Pakistani troops from across the border," said Sarveshwari Devi, a resident of Sair Makri village along the zero line in Nowshera sector.
The Union home minister, along with minister of state in the prime minister's office Jitendra Singh and J-K deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh, today interacted with men, woman and children at the camp.
"Just wait for some more time, Pakistan will be forced to stop firing. Whether they stop firing today or tomorrow, they will have to stop firing and ceasefire violation," Singh told the border dwellers.
"Whatever is possible, I will do it (to resolve problems of the border dwellers). You are facing unnecessary problems," Singh said.
"I know that whether it is Indo-Pak border or any other border in the world, if their locals will not be living there, and if border belts would be vacant without habitation of people, you never known which foreigners will come and start its activities and encroachment the borderlands. Nothing can be said with confidence about it," he said.
"If there is any biggest strategic asset of India, it is the India citizens living on the borders of the country. If we get strategic successes, it is because of your contribution," he said.
Singh told the border dwellers that he could not visit them earlier due to bad weather conditions and said he has been briefed about their demands and do whatever is possible.
"If need be to talk to the prime minister, I will talk to him too," he said.
He said that five Indian Reserve Police Force (IRP) have been sanctioned and for Jammu and Kashmir 60 percent of recruitment should take place from border areas.
He also assured the locals that recruitments in para military forces will be undertaken in border belts too.
District Development Commissioner Shahid Iqbal Choudhary said the government was planning to construct nearly 7,000 underground "individual and community" bunkers along the LoC for the safety of civilians.
The project report has already been submitted to the Centre for its approval and funds.
The government has started construction of 100 bunkers in the worst-hit Nowshera district under the local area development fund and the work is in progress, he added.
New Delhi: Maharashtra and Gujarat would sign an agreement over the Damanganga-Pinjal river inter-linking project in the next 10-15 days, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday.
Gadkari said he had already spoken to Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and his Gujarat counterpart, Vijay Rupani, on the issue and added that both had consented to moving ahead with the project, which aimed at taking care of the water requirements of Mumbai.
Gadkari said apart from Damanganga-Pinjal, the government was also aiming at starting the "actual work" on the Ken-Betwa, Par-Tapi-Narmada river-linking and Pancheshwar and North Koel dam projects in the next three months.
"I have spoken to the chief ministers of Maharashtra and Gujarat over the Damanganga-Pinjal project. We have worked out a solution and will sign an agreement in the next 10-15 days. This will help fast-track the project," he added.
The Union water resources minister said this at the 31st annual general meeting of the National Water Development Agency, which is working on the river inter-linking projects.
The water resources ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Jharkhand and Kerala also attended the meeting.
The Damanganga-Pinjal project proposes to divert the surplus water of the Bhugad and Khargihill reservoirs in the Damanganga basin to Mumbai, via the Pinjal dam on the Pinjal river in the Vaitarna basin.
The project is expected to provide 909 million cubic metres of water to Mumbai for the city's domestic and industrial requirements.
Gadkari, who is also the Union road transport and shipping minister, said he would hold discussions with Yogi Adityanath and Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh respectively, on expediting the Ken-Betwa river-linking project, which aims at fulfilling the water requirements of the Bundelkhand region.
The ambitious project of the Centre, which has received almost all the major environmental clearances, hit a roadblock in July, when the Madhya Pradesh government allegedly objected to it.
The Chouhan government allegedly warned that the first phase of the project would not be allowed to take off if it was not reworked to incorporate three other smaller projects of the state.
The Uttar Pradesh government has given a no-objection certificate to the project.
Gadkari asked the state water resources ministers to raise awareness among the public on the river-linking projects, given that these could help combat floods and droughts, besides generating electricity and employment.
"We will try to present a balanced view before the people. I am in favour of development as well as the the environment," he said.
The Union minister asked those present at the meeting to figure out how the rain or river water flowing into the seas could be utilised. He also urged them to look for cost-effective ways such as building flood protection walls to tackle floods.
Besides the three river-linking projects, the government had worked out 27 similar programmes to mitigate floods and drought situations, he said.
Thane: Two persons died and nine others were injured when a huge tree fell on them following heavy rainfall in Thane on Monday night, an official said Tuesday.
The victims were standing near an automobile garage in Narpoli area of Bhiwandi township here when the tree suddenly fell on them amid the heavy downpour at around 9 pm on Monday, the official of the district's disaster control cell said.
In the mishap, two persons died on the spot, he said.
The deceased were identified as Imran Ansari (28) and Lallan Yadav (54).
The nine injured persons were rushed to a government hospital. Three of them were later discharged while the others were still undergoing treatment, the official added.
Mumbai: The Mumbai University (MU), facing a severe flak over the delays and glitches in declaring results of various courses this year, on Monday said the results of eight disciplines are awaited now.
The MU had earlier missed numerous deadlines for declaring the results which caused a huge inconvenience to thousands of students.
"Till 10 August, 180 results were declared by the MU. Since then, the university administration as well as the assessment staff have upped their efforts and results of 469 disciplines are out. With this, the results of 3,95,790 students are out while another 57,099 students will get their results soon," said MU's acting vice-chancellor Devanand Shinde.
Meanwhile, the varsity said in its official communication that results of only eight disciplines are awaited as of Monday.
"Except commerce and IDOL (Open and Distance Learning), results of (other) disciplines and subjects are out. The other subjects include arts, management, technology, law and science where only a small number of papers are yet to be assessed. The university had held 477 exams of various disciplines in its first session," it stated.
MU has received as many as 22,275 applications for revaluation of papers and 4,920 applications seeking photocopies of the assessment papers, it said.
"Besides that, the varsity has given results to 2,630 students on a priority basis as they had applied for universities abroad and needed early results. The results were given on the condition of secrecy, which means the students were asked not to disclose their results," the varsity said.
MU had decided to go for online assessment of all the exams conducted this year which delayed the declaration of results by almost two months.
Ahmedabad: A special SIT court hearing the 2002 Naroda Gam riot case on Tuesday summoned BJP president Amit Shah to appear before it as a defence witness for former Gujarat minister Maya Kodnani, who is one of the prime accused.
On a petition filed by Kodnani, special SIT judge PB Desai summoned Shah to appear before the court on 18 September. The court said it will not re-issue the summons in case Shah fails to present himself on a given date.
Kodnani's advocate Amit Patel submitted before the court the residential address of Shah in Thaltej area of Ahmedabad city, after which the court issued the summons to him on the same address.
Earlier, Kodnani had failed to give the address to which the summons to Shah were to be issued. Her advocate had twice sought time for four days each to her to find out and submit the address on which the summons could be issued to Shah.
The court had in April allowed Kodnani's plea to have the summons issued to Shah and some others as witnesses in her defence.
At the subsequent hearings, the court had asked Kodnani to tell it whether Shah will depose as her witness.
Kodnani, in her application to prove her innocence, said that on the day of incident she had visited Sola civil hospital after attending the state Legislative Assembly. She claimed in the application that Shah, who was an MLA at that time, was also present at the Sola civil hospital, where bodies of 'karsevaks' killed in the Sabarmati train burning incident were brought from Godhra.
Kodnani said that Shah's testimony will help prove her alibi.
Two weeks back, the Supreme Court had asked the SIT court to conclude the trial within four months.
A bench headed by then Chief Justice JS Khehar was informed that the trial was in progress and evidence of the defence witnesses was being recorded by a special court. The top court had asked the lower court to complete the recording of evidence of the remaining defence witnesses in two months.
The massacre in Naroda Gam in Ahmedabad is one of the nine major 2002 communal riots cases which were investigated by the Special Investigation Team (SIT). Eleven persons belonging to the minority community were killed in Naroda Gam in the 2002 riots, during a bandh called to protest the Godhra train burning incident.
A total of 82 persons are facing trial in the case.
Kodnani, who was then a minister in the Narendra Modi-led state government, has already been convicted and sentenced to 28 years in jail in the case of riot at Naroda Patiya where 97 people were massacred.
Jammu: Opposition National Conference (NC) on Tuesday pitched for granting "regional autonomy" to Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh during a meeting with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Jammu.
The party said that setting up autonomous administrative structures for sub-regions on the pattern of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council will help address regional aspirations of the people.
Expressing satisfaction over the "assurance" of the Union Home Minister on Article 35A, the NC voiced hope that it will be reflected in the way the Centre represents its case in Supreme Court.
The National Conference will support every move aimed at bringing peace in the state, provided these take care of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and the unique identity of its people, the NC's provincial president Devender Singh Rana, who led a 25-member delegation, told reporters after the 40-minute meeting with Singh.
The minister is on a four-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir since 9 September.
Rana said a hope has been rekindled in Jammu and Kashmir by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Independence Day speech and Singh's stress on five Cs "compassion, communication, co- existence, confidence building and consistency" for dealing with the Kashmir issue. "Therefore, we are eagerly waiting that the process of reconciliation is taken forward," he said, adding that more onus lies on the ruling BJP in preserving "the idea of Jammu and Kashmir, which synchronises with the idea of India".
"We strongly believe that autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir and regional autonomy to the three regions with autonomous administrative structures for sub-regions on the pattern of Ladakh Hill Development Council can defeat the nefarious designs of the forces, which want trifurcation of the state for their petty political interests," Rana said.
He also expressed concern over alleged "attempts being made to divide people of Jammu and Kashmir on regional and communal lines".
Hailing the "successful initiative" taken by the Centre in ending Dokalam standoff after sustained talks with China, the NC said it is hopeful that the same spirit will be emulated in tackling issues with Pakistan. There is a need for generating conducive atmosphere by both India and Pakistan to have a meaningful dialogue, he said.
On the issue of Rohingyas, Rana reiterated the stand of the National Conference, saying that the Centre can take a call on the issue under Foreign Nationals Act and the UN Charter.
New Delhi: Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Sunday favoured enacting a new law on desilting of rivers to prevent floods and said such a legislation will be drafted in consultation with states, according to an official statement.
The water resources minister also pitched for inter-linking of rivers to stave off floods. Around 100 districts of the country are deluge-prone, he said.
"Gadkari has called for a new, comprehensive law on de-silting of rivers ... The minister said the law will be framed in consultation with states," the statement said.
The minister made the remarks at a meeting of the Consultative Committee of Parliament on flood management.
Gadkari, who also holds road transport and shipping portfolios, was of the view that measures like inter-linking of rivers and construction of check dams should be given priority to mitigate flood fury, the statement said.
He stressed the need to improve and strengthen the flood forecasting network.
The members of Parliament who attended the meeting supported the measures taken by the ministry to manage floods, the statement said.
"A member suggested giving more thrust to inter-linking of rivers, while another member was of the opinion that more embankments should be constructed along the Ganga to check floods," it added.
Ministers of States for Water Resources Satya Pal Singh and Arjun Ram Meghwal attended the meeting.
AT (Nana) Patil, Anju Bala, Bahadur Singh Koli, Dharambir Bhaleram, Prem Singh Chandumajra, Sunil Kumar Mondal and Dr Swami Sakshiji Maharaj all from the Lok Sabha and Ram Narain Dubi from the Rajya Sabha were also in attendance.
Lahore: Pakistan's Punjab government has dismissed the plea of Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed to end his detention fearing that it may create a law and order situation in the province, the Lahore High Court (LHC) was informed on Tuesday.
The Home Department of Punjab on Tuesday submitted a two-page reply to the LHC, informing the court of its decision.
Citing different illegal acts of his organisations JuD and Falah-i-Insaniat - the department said, "The act on the part of Hafiz Saeed reaffirms the apprehension of the law enforcement and intelligence agencies that if he is released his activities will create law and order situation."
It has been recommended to keep the detenue (Saeed) under detention "in larger public interest".
The department further said that the activities of Saeed will "pose grave threat to the public safety and cause the breach of public order."
It said that after hearing the counsel for Saeed and representatives of the Counter Terrorism Department, Special Branch, Lahore police chief, DIG Operations and Security Branch, Home Secretary MaJ (R) Azam Suleman "finds no merits in the representation of Saeed hence it is rejected".
LHC Justice Mazahir Ali Naqvi adjourned the hearing till 15 September.
Mumbai attack mastermind Saeed and his four aides -Abdullah Ubaid, Malik Zafar Iqbal, Abdul Rehman Abid and Qazi Kashif Hussain - had challenged the extension of their house arrest for another 60 days under Section 1 of Section 3 of Maintenance of Public Order, 1960.
Saeed had filed a fresh petition a couple of weeks ago after getting frustrated for not getting a decision from the LHC that had on 7 June reserved on his and four aides' petition against their first detention order issued on 30 January.
Saeed's counsel advocate AK Dogar told the court that the government in its July 28 detention order has only shown apprehension against the petitioners.
"Under the law no presumption and assumption can give rise to any apprehension unless it is supported by some piece of evidence. There is no evidence whatsoever that the petitioners are planning to spread chaos in the country or that they have planned violent demonstrations," he argued.
He requested the court to set aside the detention order for being issued without lawful authority.
On 7 June, a division bench headed by Justice Abdul Sami Khan had reserved the decision on Saeed and his four aides' petitions against their detention after hearing the arguments from petitioners counsel and the government law officer.
The verdict has yet to be announced. No reason has been provided for its delay.
Saeed and four others were put under house arrest in Lahore on 30 January under the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997.
Pakistan's Interior Ministry in a written reply to the LHC has defended the detention of the JuD leaders saying that no laws were violated in an issuance of the detention orders against Saeed and his aides.
The JuD has already been declared as a foreign terrorist organisation by the United States in June 2014. The JuD chief carries a reward of USD 10 million announced by the US for his role in terror activities.
A slap on the wrist by the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) seems to have forced a change in India's Rohingya policy. India had earlier announced that it will act "as per law" and deport around 40,000 illegal immigrants who are located in different parts of the country. Around 14,000 more are reportedly registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
On Monday, however, Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju told The Hindu that there are no plans yet to push them out. He added that states have only been asked to identify the illegal immigrants and "act per procedure". The minister also appeared extremely touchy about criticism from the human rights body.
The security threat posed by the Rohingya influx is well documented, and we will explore it further. But this climbdown is commensurate with India's image as a "soft State". It suggests that India remains vulnerable to coercive behavior when it comes to even non-negotiable issues such as national security. All it needs for India to yield is just the just the right amount of push.
Liberals and human rights bodies have framed the argument exclusively within the parameters of humanitarian crises. It has been alleged that India is being insensitive in ignoring the plight of the Stateless Rohingya and that its claim of being a liberal democracy is hollow.
UNHRC chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein has deplored India's plan to deport the illegal immigrants who have fled due to violence in Myanmar, and reminded India of its "obligations of due process and the universal principle of non-refoulement", and has curiously tied it with "rise of intolerance towards religious and other minorities in India".
This isn't the first time liberals have tried to portray morality as a compulsion higher than national security, and tried to showcase India, against all evidences, as a "lesser democracy". This is a faux argument. The biggest moral responsibility of any democratic State lies not towards illegal immigrants, but its own citizens. Ensuring their safety, security and upholding the sanctity of its borders is the primary duty of any government. This position enjoys constitutional support.
Besides, this attempt to highlight the religious identity of Rohingya Muslims and suggest that they are somehow being discriminated against by a "Hindu majority government" is not only from the UNHRC playbook, but some Opposition politicians and rights activists in India are also advocating this narrative. This focus on religious identity shifts the goalposts and pushes the debate to the realm of "persecution of minorities", from where discussions on national security which should be the first concern are easily stifled.
It's strange that human rights bodies sermonise India, a country that has always believed in an open border policy and never shied away from taking refugees in. And unlike the West, India has also never sought to create moral capital out of sheltering refugees.
The influx of Syrian refugees triggered an almighty pushback from western civil societies, and in many cases, resulted in political prominence of Right-wing forces. Some liberal democracies such as Germany, which laid out the carpet for refugees, later had to retract. In India, however, the refugee influx has happened over many years, largely illegally, without any vetting, and it has greatly changed the demographic matrix of the border states.
Sanjeev Tripathi, former head of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), points out in Carnegie India, "An analysis of population growth and demographic statistics for Bangladesh and India in the last four censuses of 2011, 2001, 1991, and 1981 suggests that their number exceeds 15 million. The influx of such a large number of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, particularly in the border states, has proved to be a huge challenge for India, with serious implications for its resources and national security. It has substantially contributed to changing the demographic pattern in the northeastern states, where locals feel overwhelmed by outsiders. This has adversely affected their way of life and led to simmering tension between the two sides. It has also fueled insurgency."
This influx gave rise to twin political divergences. While central security agencies and the Union government saw it as a security threat and a huge strain on resources, for political leaders the influx paved the way for identity politics. To complicate issues, India's attempts to seal the border have proven ineffective, and Bangladesh has not paid heed to India's requests to take them back. The gravest consequence of this influx lay in national security. When Dhaka started taking action against Harkat and Jamaat terrorists, they readily crossed over and melted into India's border states.
The threat posed by the Rohingya influx is multifarious. It is to be noted that Jaish-e-Muhammad chief Masood Azhar and Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed, both notorious terrorists who operate out of Pakistan and exclusively target India, have come out in support of the Rohingya. The threat arising from this backing can be divided into two parts: Ideological and operational.
Operationally, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), which launched a series of coordinated attacks on Myanmar's 30 police posts and army bases on 25 August, thereby sparking the latest round of violence, receives active help from these Pakistan-based terrorist groups, who in turn find ready recruits among the Rohingya.
As Nirupama Subramanian has written in The Indian Express, "India's national security fears are based on intelligence reports linking the radical Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army to the Lashkar-e-Taiba; key individuals in ARSA, or its front organisations such as Rohingya Solidarity Organisation, are allegedly close to Hafiz Saeed. RSO has a Pakistan chapter, and the Jamaat-ud-Dawa front Falah-e-Insaniyat had a presence in Rohingya refugee camps in 2012."
This heady cocktail poses a grave challenge for India, which is already battling terrorism and insurgency in its northern and north-eastern border areas. The other challenge is ideological. In his article for JeM's house magazine al-Qalam, Masood Azhar exhorted all Muslims to take up the Rohingya cause and warned Myanmar, as Praveen Swami writes in The Indian Express, to prepare "for the thudding sound of the footsteps of its conquerors". "The entire Muslim ummah is feeling the pain of the Muslim nation. It is because of the sacrifices of the Myanmar Muslims that the ummah is waking up and we are seeing this new awakening among the Muslims of the world."
The Rohingya movement is essentially political, seeking to carve out a separate Muslim state from the Buddhist-majority nation, and it has its moorings in a pan-Islamic movement. For India, a country which has witnessed repeated instances of communal violence, this presents a particularly volatile challenge.
Kolkata, for instance, witnessed a huge rally by Muslim organisations on Monday in favour of Rohingya, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was exclusively targeted for planning to deport them.
As India Foundation research fellow Rajat Sethi is quoted in The Print, "In a strategic scenario analysis, it is always the worst case that determines the policies of the security establishment. It is in this regard that the Indian State should be careful in dealing with the issue of Rohingya migrants."
India must show sensitivity and uphold the standards of humanitarianism, but that cannot come at the cost of national security and instability to our social fabric. Some Rohingya could be settled, but this requires formulating policies and strict vetting, so that apprehensions could be properly addressed.
The murder of a seven-year old-student in Gurugrams Ryan International School has forced the countrys parents to wake up and take note of how vulnerable their wards are, even on school property.
Even as the parents of the victim are demanding strict action against the school management, alleging lax security, the managing directors of Ryan International have sought anticipatory bail claiming that while they oversee all schools from Mumbai, local authorities are in charge of each school.
Terming the death of the victim as unfortunate, they say "the management cannot be held culpable and that they were victims of unfortunate circumstances.
Perhaps they are right. Or not. That's in the hands of the Supreme Court.
But we must look beyond this particular case, tragic as it is and ask ourselves how we can make schools more accountable.
This includes framing regulations that directs schools to set up safety committees on their premises, installing surveillance systems and investing in training teachers.
The first step should be putting in place uniform safety standards across all schools and strictly enforcing them. Stern action must be taken against those found violating regulations. But is this possible given todays education laws? The answer, sadly, is no.
Parents and protesters clamouring for new laws or stricter regulations for schools, especially those protesting in front of Ryan International, ought to know that the changes they are demanding cannot be enforced on schools such as Ryan International. And the Haryana government can't take over such schools either, even though many are demanding that Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar do so in this instance.
Chapter IV, Section 10 of the Haryana School Education Act, 1995 states: If the manager of any aided school has indulged in any financial irregularity or administrative mismanagement or neglected to perform any of his duties imposed on it by or under this Act or any rule made thereunder then the management of such school can be taken over for a limited period not exceeding two years. Ryan International is an aided school that is partly funded by the government but it is also a minority-run institution. And Section 11 clearly states that Section 10 doesnt apply to minority school - Nothing contained in section 10 shall apply to aided minority school.
The story is same in all states. Regulations that are normally applicable to aided or unaided non-minority schools do not apply to minority ones. The root cause of this anomaly is our Constitution.
Article 30 Clause 1 gives minorities the right to establish and administer educational institutions. It reads: All minorities, whether based on religion or language, shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.
This is also the reason why Right to Education Act, which mandates that schools reserve 25 percent of the seats for students from disadvantaged groups, doesnt apply to either aided or unaided private minority-run institutions.
The founders of the Indian Republic intended to create a protection clause for the minorities so that they could preserve their culture and language through the medium of educational institutions in case the threat of majoritarianism arose. However, over the years, this has created separate legal regimes when it comes to education, which ends up making a hash of rule of law.
Earlier this month, the Christian Medical College (CMC) in Vellore, Tamil Nadu refused to admit MBBS students on basis of National Eligibility-cum Entrance Test (NEET). The college argued that NEET violated its rights as a minority institution. CMC Vellore allots 85 percent seats to Christians.
Under NEET, this arrangement would have stood but instead of the college selecting students in a discretionary manner, NEET would have chosen the students on the basis of their rankings. One can gauge from this example how even giving up a fraction of autonomy is an anathema to minority institutions.
No one is arguing that minority institutions should feel free to do as they like and flout the laws of the land by citing Article 30 (1).
In Sidhirajbhai v. State Of Gujarat, the Supreme Court ruled that Article 30 (1) did not give absolute power to minorities and said that the government can set regulations.
However, they must pass two tests:
a) The regulations must be reasonable
(b) It must be regulative of the educational character of the institution and conducive to making the institution an effective vehicle of education for minority community or other persons who resort to it.
These two tests give vast powers to minority institutions over their non-minority counterparts. The recent rush among "strong" communities like Lingayats to get the minority tag can be better understood in this context.
The perks are simply too lucrative: The institutions dont have to follow SC/ST/OBC quota while filling faculty posts, they can hire as many non-minority teachers as they need, set independent admission criteria and can avail of state aid up to 95 percent! And as noted above, the State cant take over these institutions except when they offer unconditional surrender.
The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government made matters worse by passing the 93rd constitutional amendment specifically excluding minority institutions from government regulations in the field of education. It amended Article 15 and added a new clause.
Article 15 (5): Nothing in this article or in sub-clause (g) of clause (1) of article 19 shall prevent the State from making any special provision, by law, for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes in so far as such special provisions relate to their admission to educational institutions including private educational institutions, whether aided or unaided by the State, other than the minority educational institutions referred to in clause (1) of article 30.
This unprecedented autonomy restricts the ability of the State to frame even common sense regulations and these institutions cant be held accountable in case unfortunate incidents, such as the murder of the 7-year-old student, occur. This grievous error must be set right at the earliest.
The only way to do that is to amend Article 30 (1). Of all the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution, this is the only article which doesnt place any restrictions on its implementation and leaves it to the courts to decide which restrictions imposed by the government are reasonable and which are not.
This needs to change. Quickly.
Rule of law must reign supreme. Equal protection clause must be given precedence over rights of one section of citizens. Article 30(1) could be suitably amended to reflect these constitutional principles.
A new clause 1B could be added to the article stating: Nothing contained in this article shall prevent the State from enforcing the laws of the land. If and when the choice is between maintaining autonomy of minority institutions and implementing rule of the law, the latter shall prevail.
Doing so would not only maintain the autonomy of these institutions but also give a clear message that a true democracy cannot afford to keep rights of a section of citizens on a higher pedestal than the rest of us.
Everyone must be treated equally in the eyes of the law.
Now that would be true secularism.
New Delhi: Union ministers Maneka Gandhi and Prakash Javadekar will hold a high-level meeting on Wednesday to develop a protocol for educational institutions to ensure safety of students following incidents of child sexual abuse in schools, a government official said.
Officials of the ministries of women and child development (WCD) and human resource development (HRD) as well as representative of the National Commission of Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), CBSE, NCERT, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan will be a part of this meeting.
The conference comes in the backdrop of the murder of a Class II student inside Ryan International School in Gurugram for allegedly resisting sexual assault and the rape of a five-year-old girl in a private school in Shahdara.
The two ministries will develop a set of guidelines and protocols for schools to ensure that children are "protected from any kind of abuse or physical and mental harm", a WCD spokesperson said.
WCD minister Maneka Gandhi has also discussed the matter with HRD minister Prakash Javadekar over phone and recommended
that women be employed as support staff, including bus drivers and conductors.
She also stressed on the need to have strict norms for employing non-teaching staff, according to the official.
The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Centre and the Haryana Police on a plea by the father of the Ryan
student seeking a CBI probe into the murder as well as framing of guidelines to ensure safety of children.
The father, Barun Chandra Thakur, has sought laying down of guidelines by which "liability, responsibility and accountability of the management of the school" across the country can be fixed in matters relating to safety and security of children at educational institutions.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear on 15 September a plea filed by two women lawyers seeking implementation of existing guidelines to ensure safety and well-being of children in schools across the country.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices Amitava Roy and AM Khanwilkar said that it has already issued notice on a similar plea filed by the father of the child, who was brutally murdered at Gurugram's Ryan International School.
"We will tag it (writ petition) with the earlier one," the bench said and fixed the PIL, filed by two practising apex court lawyers Abha Sharma and Sangeeta Bharti, for hearing on Friday.
The lawyers, in their petition, has sought implementation of various existing guidelines on safety of school-going children.
They have also suggested some additional guidelines to ensure that the responsibility is fastened on the schools with regard to the safety of children from the moment they get into the school bus/vehicle.
On Monday, the court had issued a notice to the Centre, the Haryana police, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the CBI on a plea filed by the father of the child seeking a CBI probe into the matter.
A Class 2 student of the high-profile Ryan International School in Gurgaon was found dead on the morning of 8 September after his throat was slit with a sharp-edged weapon allegedly by 42-year-old bus conductor Ashok Kumar inside the toilet as the boy resisted a bid to sodomise him.
His plea has sought setting up of a committee headed by a former apex court judge for suggesting guidelines to be framed and implemented under the observance of the top court.
It has also sought a "free, fair, independent and fearless investigation including an enquiry and investigation by the CBI" under the supervision of the court.
The plea also sought a direction for ensuring safety and security of family members of the deceased boy.
On Monday, farmers in Rajasthan faced off with the police in Sikar, News18 reported.
Sikar farmers called for a blockade and 'gherao' of district collectorate on Monday day 10 of their protest after talks with the state government failed.
According to the report, the farmers began marching towards the district collectors at noon, but were met with barricades put up by the Rajasthan Police. The report noted that the government also suspended internet services and imposed Section 144 in the district.
What was interesting was the presence of local DJs, who joined the protest on Saturday. According to the News18 report, on Saturday, several SUVs, loaded with a high-end sound system, arrived for the protest.
The farmers have been demanding the implementation of Swaminathan Commission recommendations and crop loan waiver.
Rajasthan's 'Devsthan' minister Rajkumar Rinwa spoke to the farmers but his efforts did not bear any fruit, News18 reported.
"We were given an assurance letter by the government that it wants to resolve the issues but nothing concrete came out in the meeting. We stand firm on our demands and will block roads," former MLA and leader of the Akhil Bhartiya Kisan Sabha, Amra Ram, told reporters.
Rinwa earlier assured farmers that the government was taking their demands seriously and that a committee would be constituted to look into the issues.
Meanwhile, NPP MLA Kirori Lal Meena and independent MLA Hanuman Beniwal reached Sikar on Monday to lend their support to the farmers' protest.
Talking to the reporters, Meena said that demands of the farmers were reasonable.
The state government is neglecting farmers, he alleged.
Ample security arrangements were made in Sikar and nearby areas to maintain law and order, the police said.
With inputs from PTI
Rameswaram: Twelve fishermen from this coastal town were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy on Monday night for allegedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).
They were arrested while allegedly fishing off the Katchatheevu islet and later taken to Talaimannar, S Emerit, Fisheries Association president told reporters.
Their boats were also seized, he said.
On 5 September, the Lankan navy personnel had allegedly attacked a group of fishermen from Tamil Nadu and damaged their boats and fishing equipment while they were fishing off Katchatheevu.
Three fishermen from Mandapam were arrested by the Lankan navy on 2 September for allegedly crossing the IMBL.
Chennai: The AIADMK's top policy making body today showed the door to incarcerated interim general secretary VK Sasikala, removing her from the post and declaring all appointments made by her as invalid.
The General Council meet also did away with the powerful General Secretary post, adopting resolutions to these effect.
The keenly awaited meeting declared as invalid all appointments and removals made by Sasikala till 15 February when she surrendered in a Bengaluru court in connection with a corruption case.
With the general council declaring that decisions taken by Sasikala were not valid, the appointment of her nephew Dhinkaran to the post by her is also annuled by default.
Sasikala was appointed to the post on 29 December by the AIADMK general council in the aftermath of the death of party supremo J Jayalalithaa.
However, a day after the Supreme Court convicted her and two others in a disproportionate assets case, she had surrendered in the court and was lodged in the central prison in Bengaluru on 15 February.
Today's meeting also decided to create two new posts: Coordinator and Joint Coordinator to run the party.
Party top leaders deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam and chief minister E Palaniswamy will be the Coordinator and Joint Coordinator respectively till elections are held to the posts.
Meeting after the green signal by the Madras High Court, which declined a plea to stay the event, the General Council also gave administrative powers to the Coordinator and Joint Coordinator to steer the party.
"Following an atmosphere of shock of Amma's (Jayalalithaa) untimely death and concern, VK Sasikala was appointed as interim general secretary to attend to routine party work.
"This General Council unanimously resolves to cancel her appointment made on 29 December, 2016. (It also) resolves that all those appointments and removals made by her between 30 December, 2016 and 15 February, 2017 are not valid," the meeting, the second since Jayalalithaa's death, resolved.
After the merger of the factions led by Palaniswamy and Panneerselvam on 21 August, a senior functionary has said steps would be taken to remove Sasikala from the top party post, a key demand of then rebel camp for the unification.
The move triggered a rebellion by 19 MLAs loyal to sidelined deputy general secretary TTV Dhinakaran who met Tamil Nadu governor Vidayasagar Rao and expressed lack of confidence in the chief minister.
Before proceeding to Bengaluru court, Sasikala had re-inducted Dhinakaran and appointed him as her deputy. She had also reinstated another of her relative S Venkatesh in the AIADMK.
In 2011, Sasikala and scores of her relatives, including Dhinakaran and Venkatesh, were expelled from AIADMK by then chief minister J Jayalalithaa though she later re-inducted the former, her close aide, alone.
The general council also resolved that appointments and other changes made by Dhinakaran were not valid and that they were not 'acceptable' to party laws.
On doing away with the General Secretary post, the council, which described Jayalalithaa as "permanent" general secretary, said none can fill the void caused by her demise and party founder the late MG Ramachandran.
"Accordingly, bylaw no.43 is being amended. The General Council unanimously approves this," it said.
The meeting was attended by, among others, Palaniswamy and Panneerselvam and presided over by party presidium chairman E Madusudhanan.
Auto refresh feeds
Justice CV Karthikeyan dismissed the application filed by MLA P Vetrivel and fined him Rs one lakh for "wasting the time of the court".
Madras High Court on Monday dismissed a plea by an MLA, owing allegiance to sidelined AIADMK deputy chief TTV Dhinakaran, who was looking to stall the general council meeting.
Speaking to Times Now, BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy said that calling a meeting of the general council, the highest executive body in AIADMK, is illegal without the presence of jailed leader VK Sasikala.
While the AIADMK has 134 MLAs at present, 21 are supporting TTV Dhinakaran at the moment. So, the EPS faction is technically in a minority if there is a vote of confidence against the government.
According to CNN News18, the sacking of Sasikala is imminent. However, she is likely to be expelled as the general secretary but not from the primary membership of the party.
Sasikala to be sacked as general secretary but not from party
Similar to what is expected of Sasikala, Dhinakaran too is expected to be sacked as the deputy chief of the party. However, he too will likely be allowed to remain a member of the party.
According to India Today, deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam will likely get more power as AIADMK steering committee chairman. The report also added that the post of the general secretary may never be filled as a tribute to Jayalalithaa.
AIADMK Bylaws may be amended to make the post of general secretary permanent one for the late J Jayalalithaa. Another resolution is to convert the Poes Garden residence a memorial for the late leader.
Over 2000 members of the AIADMK general council are attending the meeting in Chennai, which is being presided by party presidium head E Madhusudhanan.
The AIADMK general council meeting will invalidate decisions taken in violation of party by-laws. News18 reports that If the resolution on by-laws is passed, that will nullify Sasikala's allegiance to the party.
TTV Dhinakaran camp spokesperson CR Saraswathi calls the general council meeting illegal. Speaking to India Today TV, Saraswathi said that TTV camp will move the Madras High Court to decalre the meeting illegal.
According to various reports, out of the 2400-odd members of the general council, 2148 are attending the meeting. This amounts to around 90 percent of the total strength of the council.
According to India Today TV, the whole proceedings will be videographed and the signatures of all members who attended the meeting will be taken. The party, in a bid to reclaim the two leaves symbol, will meet Election Commission officials tomorrow.
According to News18, the AIADMK has passed a resolution sacking jailed Jayalalithaa confidante VK Sasikala from the post of general secretary.
As per the tenth resolution of the general council meeting, Panneerselvam has been made the head of the coordination committee while Palaniswamy is the co-coordinator of the party. General Secretary post has been scrapped.
All powers of General Secretary is given to the chief co-ordinator and assistant chief co-ordinator, reports News18.
The general council meeting on Tuesday was also the first after the unification of the two camps led by the Chief Minister E Palaniswamy and his deputy O Panneerselvam - PTI
"When Amma was in power, she was the queen of the party and the people of Tamil Nadu. Bur what has happened is the betrayal of voters. When Anitha commited suicide, none of these people came to meet the family. We will follow the path of Chinaamma and Amma. We bring back the rule of Amma. I am the chosen one of Jayalalithaa."
"This is the betrayal of Chinaamma (Sasikala). The man who was amde the CM by Sasikala has betrayed us. How can these people work for the people of Tamil Nadu. I am listening to the heart of cadres and people of Tamil Nadu who long for the return of Amma rule. It was on 31 December that OPS and EPS made her the general secretary of AIADMK. Cadres do not want them (OPS and EPS) in power, " TTV Dhinakaran said.
Dhinakaran says that the government has lost the trust of the people of Tamil Nadu so the chief minister needs and his council of minister needs to resign.
"We need to save the party. The Tamil Nadu Governor has asked us to wait for a couple of days. All my 21 MLAs are going to vote against E Palaniswamy government, says Dhinkaran. - News18
Split still wide open in AIADMK as Jaya TV broadcasts its own list of general council members
Sasikala was appointed as general secretary on a temporary basis following the death of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. But before going to jail after conviction in the disproportionate assets case, she had appointed Dhinakaran as the deputy general secretary. -- IANS
Speaking to India Today, DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan criticised the lack of governance and said that there is no watchman in the state, in an apparent dig at the sparing faction of E Palaniswamy and TTV Dhinakaran. He said that in such a scenario, any Tom, Dick and Harry can steal things in the state.
The party also scrapped the post of general secretary, which was being held by VK Sasikala.
The party also announced that those appointed by the former party chief before her death would continue to hold their respective positions within the party, effectively removing VK Sasikala and her nephew TTV Dhinakaran from all top posts, reported Zee News.
Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK on Tuesday announced J Jayalalithaa would be granted the title of the party's "eternal general secretary".
The appointment of her nephew TTV Dhinakaran as deputy general secretary also stands cancelled as every decision taken by Sasikala has retrospectively been declared null and void.
BJP MP Subramanian Swamy told India Today TV that the TTV faction may force E Palaniswamy to quit as chief minister. He added that there is a speculation that Tamil Nadu Assembly speaker P Dhanapal may be made the consensus candidate to take over as chief minister.
While the two-member bench of the Madras High Court has cleared legal hurdles, the apex court did say that all the decisions taken would be subject to scrutiny at the next hearing, which is fixed for 23 October, Livemint reported. This means there is still a chance that the decision against Sasikala and Dhinakaran may be overturned too.
The principal Opposition party DMK on Tuesday moved the Madras High Court seeking a floor test against the E Palaniswamy-led AIADMK government, India Today TV reported. The party urged the ruling dispensation to prove its majoirty in the 233-member Assembly after 21 of the MLAs are reported to be in the TTV Dhinakaran camp.
In the revolving door culture of the AIADMK, EPS who was appointed as chief minister by Sasikala has now officially stabbed her in the back to join hands with friend-turned-foe-turned-friend OPS. Unsurprisingly, Dhinakaran is seeing red and has vowed to "send the government packing".
What will this mean for the AIADMK? The plan is to project OPS and EPS as the inheritors of the Jayalalithaa legacy and portray the Mannargudi clan as a group that was shown the door in the past by the former chief minister.
What was unveiled in Chennai was a sequel to the turbulent month of February when OPS revolted against Sasikala. 'AIADMK Returns' has a new cast, with the late Jayalalithaa as the permanent general secretary. It is political insurance for the OPS-EPS duo to take all decisions in the name of Jayalalithaa, as it will help curb dissidence. Power will be vested in a steering committee with OPS and EPS to head the party.
AIADMK meeting does away with general secretary post, decides to appoint coordinator, joint coordinator with all administrative powers. E Palaniswamy and O Panneerselvam now hold full powers.
CNN News18 reports that Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami told the general council meeting that TTV Dhinakaran has no locus standi to criticise them as the late Jayalalithaa had kept him away from party affairs for 10 years.
In the 235-member Assembly, there are 234 members, including one nominated member without voting rights. One seat remains vacant following the death of Jayalalithaa last year. Effectively, the number of legislators with voting rights in the Assembly is 233. The number of legislators opposed to the government is 119, including the DMK and allies with 98 and Dhinakaran faction's 21.
Dhinakaran said, "DMK is our main challenger and we'll fight against them, and win the elections. The ruling faction is spreading falsehood that we are in alignment with DMK."
Dhinakaran said it was deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam who broke away from the party and was instrumental in the Election Commission freezing the party's 'two leaves' symbol.
The Election Commission had on 23 March issued an interim order freezing the "two leaves" election symbol of AIADMK, saying both camps (the then OPS and EPS camps) cannot use the symbol as well as its name for the RK Nagar Assembly bypoll, which was scrapped after large scale irregularities were found days before the voting.
O Panneerselvam says no one can divide the AIADMK, promises to rule as per Jayalalithaa's wishes
The Madras High Court has agreed to hear DMK & PMK's pleas on 10 October for ordering floor test in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, reports CNN News18.
MK Stalin filed a writ petition demanding floor test to prove E Palaniswamy government's majority. News18 added that case is likely to come up on Thursday.
TTV Dhinakaran says, "All MLAs will come back to us soon"
In total, 12 resolutions were passed in the much awaited AIADMK general council meeting among them the most important being the party doing away with the post of the general secretary. VK Sasikala's post has been removed altogether. The reins of the party will now be in the hands of EPS and OPS who are the convenor and co-convener of AIADMK.
The AIADMK reported 95% attendance at the meeting of over 2,000 party members. Eighteen legislators loyal to VK Sasikala missed the meeting, but the united AIADMK claims that already nine of them have pledged support to Chief Minister Palaniswamy, also called EPS.
Jayalalithaa has been appointed Eternal General Secretary of AIADMK. Now to appoint MGR as Eternal President. Then everyone else can chill.
The general body meeting of @AIADMK proves they r jacks of all trades n masters of none..what a crisis my state TN is going through..
No one can divide and rule the party cadre & our unity is shown by #AIADMKGeneralCouncil meeting.
O Panneerselvam says no one can divide the AIADMK, promises to rule as per Jayalalithaa's wishes
How can TTVDhinakaran who is not even a primary member can remove party office bearers? #AIADMKGeneralCouncil
Only a few political parties have the privilege of coming together after facing a split #AIADMKGeneralCouncil
The Madras High Court has agreed to hear DMK & PMK's pleas on 10 October for ordering floor test in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, reports CNN News18.
Now after no action by the Guv I have moved to court & requested for convening of assembly session & floor test: MK Stalin #TamilNadu pic.twitter.com/jElbB65Sq2
In my earlier meeting with Guv I said that if Guv fails to perform his duty we'll resort to legal course of action: MK Stalin,DMK #TamilNadu pic.twitter.com/XfKUVX28Ob
MK Stalin filed a writ petition demanding floor test to prove E Palaniswamy government's majority. News18 added that case is likely to come up on Thursday.
TTV Dhinakaran says, "All MLAs will come back to us soon"
In total, 12 resolutions were passed in the much awaited AIADMK general council meeting among them the most important being the party doing away with the post of the general secretary. VK Sasikala's post has been removed altogether. The reins of the party will now be in the hands of EPS and OPS who are the convenor and co-convener of AIADMK.
General council meet should be conducted only with the permission of the General Secy: TTV Dhinakaran on AIADMK (OPS-EPS faction) meet pic.twitter.com/euJ77n2M6n
It was not a general council meet. People who have attended are not general council members: TTV Dhinakaran on AIADMK (OPS-EPS faction) meet pic.twitter.com/gzwwVcdUdm
The AIADMK reported 95% attendance at the meeting of over 2,000 party members. Eighteen legislators loyal to VK Sasikala missed the meeting, but the united AIADMK claims that already nine of them have pledged support to Chief Minister Palaniswamy, also called EPS.
The decks were cleared for the 12 September general council and executive committee meeting called by Chief Minister E Palaniswamy-led faction after the Madras High Court on Monday dismissed a plea by an MLA owing allegiance to sidelined AIADMK deputy chief TTV Dhinakaran.
The fate of jailed AIADMK leader VK Sasikla hangs in the balance.
Dhinakaran aide plea dismissed
Justice CV Karthikeyan dismissed the application filed by MLA P Vetrivel and fined him Rs one lakh for "wasting the time of the court".
In his suit, the MLA sought a permanent injunction restraining Palaniswamy and deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam from using the name AIADMK (Amma)and AIADMK (Puratchi Talaivi Amma) in any manner and calling the general council meeting. He also filed an application seeking an interim order staying the meeting.
The judge pointed out that being an MLA, the applicant should have taken note of a circular issued by the high court earlier, which stated that MPs and MLAs should first get the nod of the chief justice for filing petitions. Vetrivel filed the suit without getting the nod the judge said.
Referring to the contention of his counsel that the suit has been filed in Vetrivel's individual capacity and also that the defendants had been sued in their individual names, Justice Karthikeyan said it had only helped the applicant to circumvent to the court's circular.
Coming down heavily on the applicant, the judge in his order said he did not have any cause of action.
He then said Vetrivel had three options: Attend tomorrow's meeting either in his individual capacity or as a MLA, choose to remain at his home with his family and friends and enjoy lunch and afternoon siesta or resign from his post as a legislator and be rid of the irritants which upset his peace of mind.
When Vetrivel's counsel made a request to grant liberty to the petitioner to approach the Election Commission against the general council meet, the judge observed that no one could prevent any person from approaching an appropriate forum to vent grievances.
Later, senior counsel TV Ramanujam appeared before the first bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M Sundar and made a special mention stating that they would file an appeal against the single judge's order. The chief justice told the counsel to file the appeal and approach the appropriate bench for taking up the issue.
Decision to hold meeting taken on 28 August
The decision to hold a general council meeting on 12 September was taken during the 28 August meeting. The meeting, however, not attended by some of the party MLAs and MPs. During the meeting, the validity of the appointments made by Sasikala before going to jail in the Rs 66.6 crore disproportionate assets case was also discussed, AIADMK sources told PTI.
Convened by Palaniswamy and attended by senior party functionaries and ministers, the 28 August meeting also discussed Dhinakaran's recent shuffling of the party ranks, sources said. Dhinakaran removed Palaniswamy as the party's Salem district secretary on Sunday, besides sacking many other ministers from party posts.
Speaking on the agenda of the 12 September meeting, AIADMK sources told PTI that steps would be taken to consider removing Sasikala as the chief of the party at the meeting of the general council, the apex body of the AIADMK.
With inputs from PTI
It was as if Tamil Nadu was being treated to a morning show of its favorite prime time reality show Bigg Boss on Tuesday. With the voting rights vested in the 2,140 members of the AIADMK general council and 290 executive council members, VK Sasikala was finally eliminated from the House where she had stayed as captain aka interim general secretary for close to 35 weeks. In the mean time, the producers of this real life political reality show that started on 22 September last year, the night J Jayalalithaa was admitted to Apollo Hospitals in Chennai, had summoned Sasikala's proxy TTV Dhinakaran several times into the confession room, asking him and his aunt to leave the House on their own.
When several eviction notices did not bear fruit, the party decided to resort to strong-arm tactics, with the muscle power in the form of numbers carrying out the ouster.
With this, the Panneerselvam-Palaniswami united faction has bitten the bullet. The decision ran the risk of desertions from the ruling camp, but it is a calculated risk. The ruling camp believes the Dhinakaran camp will not see a significant rise in numbers and many of the Mannargudi family loyalists over the past couple of weeks have been identified and wooed. These were the sleeper cells about which Dhinakaran kept bragging and he may find to his dismay that he no longer controls the password to activate many of them when the time comes.
The visuals from inside the meeting venue where the decision to sack Sasikala was taken, followed by thunderous applause will upset Dhinakaran. For the family that thought it owned the AIADMK, it was visual proof of the coup that had unseated them.
Rewind to December 2016, when as soon as Sasikala was elected the interim general secretary, banners with her photograph came up at the meeting venue to signify the new power regime. Then just about every AIADMK leader stood in line to fall at her feet, their backs suitably bent. On Tuesday, the rug was pulled from under Sasikala's feet by the same combination of leaders.
What was unveiled in Chennai was a sequel to the turbulent month of February when OPS revolted against Sasikala. 'AIADMK Returns' has a new cast, with the late Jayalalithaa as the permanent general secretary. It is political insurance for the OPS-EPS duo to take all decisions in the name of Jayalalithaa, as it will help curb dissidence. Power will be vested in a steering committee with OPS and EPS to head the party.
What will this mean for the AIADMK? The plan is to project OPS and EPS as the inheritors of the Jayalalithaa legacy and portray the Mannargudi clan as a group that was shown the door in the past by the former chief minister.
In the revolving door culture of the AIADMK, EPS who was appointed as chief minister by Sasikala has now officially stabbed her in the back to join hands with friend-turned-foe-turned-friend OPS. Unsurprisingly, Dhinakaran is seeing red and has vowed to "send the government packing".
But can he? That is the question. While all resolutions passed by the general council will have to pass the legal scrutiny of the Madras High Court, the bigger challenge for Dhinakaran will be to carry out his threat. The DMK is likely to go to court this week asking for a floor test on the plea that technically, the EPS government is short of a majority by at least four MLAs. Dhinakaran's future and with it, the future of the Mannargudi family will depend on whether he can together with MK Stalin, upset Palaniswami's applecart. If they cannot, it will be political sunset at least in the immediate future for Dhinakaran.
The question is whether Dhinakaran, who claims to have the support of 21 lawmakers, can hold on to his strength. Many of the AIADMK legislators admit that chances of re-election are slim, given the dirty linen the party leaders have been washing in public all through 2017. So the urge to make the most of the next three-and-a-half years in power will be seen as a huge incentive.
Dhinakaran, it would seem, is also losing the perception battle. His aim to topple the EPS administration is being spoken of as a desire to overthrow "Amma's government" and appoint a "Mannargudi regime".
Dhinakaran, over the past few weeks, has been focussed on controlling the party rather than the government. The two party organs, Jaya TV and Namadhu MGR are in the family's control. But the united party will have a better chance of getting back the frozen two leaves symbol from the Election Commission.
On Tuesday, Jaya TV kept airing visuals of Sasikala announcing Palaniswami as the chief minister at the Koovathur resort on 14 February, the day she was convicted by the Supreme Court in the Disproportionate Assets case and ordered to go to Bengaluru Jail. Sasikala calls OPS a 'drohi' (betrayer) even as EPS is seen falling at Sasikala's feet, gratitude written all over his face.
Tamil Nadu's political theatre could not get more Shakespearean.
Follow all the live updates here
Kolkata: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah accused West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress on Tuesday of unleashing violence against BJP workers in the state and urged human rights organisations to speak against it.
No violence could stop the growth of the BJP in Bengal, he said.
"Today, I met the family members of the victims of political violence in Bengal in the last six months... All this happened because they did not support the ideology of the ruling Trinamool Congress," Shah told reporters on the last day of his three-day visit to the state.
"I want to ask the people here is this Rabindranath Tagore's Bengal? Is this Swami Vivekananda's Bengal? No one has the freedom to play a part in any political party other than the TMC," he said.
This kind of violence was perhaps not seen anywhere else, the BJP president said.
Several people were killed, many injured and their property destroyed, he alleged, targeting the Mamata Banerjee-led government in the state.
The BJP chief said development could not take place in Bengal under such circumstances.
He urged human rights organisations to report political violence against BJP workers in the state.
Members of human rights organisations should visit Basirhat, Birbhum and other places in the state and talk to the victims of political violence, he said.
Pune: BJP chief Amit Shah is studying the history of Marathas and planning to write a book on it in Gujarati, a senior party functionary said.
"A year ago, he told me that he wished to read the history of Marathas and requested me to look for some books on Maratha history in Hindi in the Parliament library," BJP national vice-president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe said.
He was speaking at a function held at the Balgandharva auditorium here yesterday at the release of the translated versions of the book "Why BJP in politics" penned by Shah.
The event was organised by the RSS think tank Rambhau Mhalgi Prabhodini (RMP).
"According to Shah, Gujarati people's knowledge about Chhatrapati Shivaji and Maratha history is limited only to the 'Surat loot'. There is a need to broaden the knowledge and understanding about the Maratha king for which there is a need to write about it differently," Sahasrabuddhe said quoting Shah.
He said the BJP chief is currently studying Maratha history so that he could bring the "original history" in front of people through the book.
Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir BJP on Monday termed as a "political gimmick" the maiden visit of former prime minister Manmohan Singh-led policy and planning group to the state and asked the Congress party to play a "positive role" for the interest of the state and the country.
The Congress panel arrived on a two-day visit on Sunday, nearly five months after its formation.
The panel met the party leadership and over 30 delegations representing a cross section of the society, besides representatives of National Conference, CPM and other mainstream Opposition parties.
"Even though it (Congress) thinks its fundamental right is to criticise the Centre for its policies regarding Jammu and Kashmir, the team and any of its central leader did not bother to take stock of the situation," state BJP spokesperson Virender Gupta said.
He said the group did not think to provide its "valuable suggestion" to the government in "retrieving the situation".
"Instead of playing political gimmick, it should play a positive role for the interest of the state and the country," Gupta said.
He questioned the seriousness of the planning group, saying, "it did not feel its concern about the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir in the last five months".
Blaming the Congress for the present situation in the state, Gupta said the party had kept the Jammu and Kashmir issue "alive and burning" because of its "wrong policies since the accession of the state with India".
"It remained in power both at the Centre and in Jammu and Kashmir for the most of the times, it was in power in the state in 1990 when situation in the valley had taken an ugly turn when Kashmiri Pandits and other minorities suffered a mass exodus," Gupta said.
"It was in power from 2002 to 2014 in state and also at the Centre before 2014 for 10 year but it failed to resolve the issue," the BJP leader said.
Gupta asked the Congress party to clear its stand on Article 35A and said the party is a "divided house" on the issue.
"Kashmir leadership of the party supports Article 35A whereas its leaders in Jammu province oppose continuation of 35A and Article 370 in Indian Constitution, however, the leadership at the Centre is confusing the people by speaking in different tones on the issue," he said in a statement.
Gupta said the Congress should clear its stand on west Pakistan refugees and on deporting of Rohingyas in Jammu province instead of beating about the bush.
"Congress party needs also to clear its stand on the statements issued by some of its leaders on the Kashmir issue, who are supporting Azadi (freedom) and autonomy for the valley, which include Mani Shankar Ayyar and even P Chidambaram who was part of the visiting team," Gupta said.
Reacting to the statement of senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad who said the PDP-BJP government and NDA-led Centre had taken the state back to 1990s when the law and order situation was at its worst, Gupta reminded Azad of the situation in 2008 when he was the chief minister and of 2010 when Congress was sharing power with National Conference.
The BJP wasted little time in hitting back at Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi over his remarks at the University of California, Berkeley in the United States.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani said that Rahul had forgotten that the voter is an Indian citizen and not a foreigner.
"Maybe Rahul Gandhi has forgotten that the voter is an Indian citizen. And that voter put his trust in Narendra Modi in 2014," Irani said.
On the issue of dynastic politics, the Union minister said, "Rahul Gandhi forgot that in free India, there are many citizens who have contributed to India but do not have a political legacy. The prime minister himself comes from a village and was born in a poor family. The president is from a marginalised community. The vice-president is a farmer's son."
When Rahul was asked about dynastic politics, he had said that this was a problem that "this is present in all political parties in India". "Don't go after me because the entire country is running like that. That's what happens in India," he had said.
"The presence of these three dignitaries at the top constitutional posts shows that Indian democracy thrives and gives an opportunity to merit, not to dynasty," Irani said, in response to Rahul.
"A failed dynast today chose to speak about his failed political journey in the United States of America," the minister said.
"It was fascinating for me to watch that the Congress vice-president has publicly proclaimed that under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi, the Congress became arrogant. The confession is something for the Congress to delve into," she said.
Irani's remark came after Rahul had earlier in the day said that during 2012, "arrogance crept into Congress party and we stopped having conversations with people."
"The fact that he chose to belittle the prime minister is expected. After failing to connect with the people of India, Mr Gandhi chooses a platform of convenience for berating his opponents," Irani said.
"The fact that he said that dynasts and dynastic politics is the very fulcrum of India is itself an anomaly," she said. "All I shall say that it is not surprising that a dynast has absolutely no support, no kind words about cooperative federalism which is very evident in the Indian polity and administration," she added.
On Rahul's comments on the Kashmir issue, Irani said that he ignored the "challenges" left behind by the Nehru-Gandhi family.
"He did not say anything about the legacy of challenges the Nehru-Gandhi family left behind as far as Kashmir is concerned. Today, if you look at Jammu and Kashmir, our security forces have had major achievements against those who are terrorising the state. When it comes to Jammu and Kashmir, for Mr Gandhi, what is important is the politics and not the interest of the nation or the state at large," Irani said.
"PDP was the instrument that brought Kashmiri youngsters into the political space. The day Mr Modi made an alliance between PDP and BJP, he destroyed PDP as an instrument for bringing youth into the political space," Rahul had earlier said in University of California, Berkeley about the Kashmir issue.
When asked about whether he was a reluctant politician, Rahul had said that this was a false image which had been created by a "BJP machine that basically tells you about me".
"For Mr Gandhi to indicate that a leadership's reluctance is defined by the right-wing is itself an oxymoron. This means Mr Gandhi thinks that his leadership is defined by us and not by his own contributions," Irani said in response.
On Rahul's remarks against GST, Irani said, "Under the leadership of the prime minister, all the states came together. This speaks a lot about cooperative federalism. If you look at any discussion on GST Council, the finance minister says that the decisions are taken unanimously after discussions with all the states."
Telling the success stories of the mining industry became a theme of the 2017 Nevada Mining Association Conventions last day Saturday, Sept. 9, at Harrahs Lake Tahoe in Stateline.
We have a good story, said incoming NvMA Board Chairman Timothy Dyhr, vice president of environment and external relations for Nevada Copper.
Mining companies economic impact, community support, environmental reclamation and concern for safety were among the positive stories speakers had to share during the event, held Sept. 6-9. The benefits of mining in Nevada also became a focal point, as guests reflected on the past century of mining in the state.
I really think Nevada is the best place in the world to mine, Dyhr said, citing a favorable regulatory and political climate.
Katharine MacGregor, acting assistant secretary for lands and minerals management at U.S. Department of the Interior, said the federal government under the presidential administration recognizes the states contributions to the national economy and wants to foster the development of mineral resources.
Mining in Nevada continues to be a sound investment for America, she said, and I assure you that Washington is listening.
MacGregor touted positive statics from the states mining industry success stories such as total minerals mined and jobs created and said the department is interested in reducing regulatory red tape.
We simply cannot and will not continue with policies in Washington that ignore important jobs in the West, like those in the mining industry, that put food on the table for so many families and communities, she said. We have been working to improve the way we make our public lands available for multiple use activities including hard-rock mining in order to ensure a vibrant economy in rural America.
Bradley Crowell, director of the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, also discussed state programs that affect mining, including programs for environmental protection, water resources, historic preservation and sagebrush ecosystem.
He echoed some of MacGregors comments regarding streamlining processes that mining companies must face, such as permitting, and reducing certain national regulations because Nevada already has arguably successful policies that cover those areas.
To recognize mining companies successes in environmental efforts, the Nevada Excellence in Mine Reclamation Awards for 2017 were presented at the event with four companies earning honors: Comstock Mining Inc., Kinross, Newmont Mining Corp. and Newmont Exploration.
These operators are to be commended for their efforts to improve practices for mine reclamation, wildlife protection and habitat enhancement, said Rich Perry, administrator of the Nevada Division of Minerals. By sharing their designs and successes with other mine operators, the Nevada Mining and Exploration industries continue to lead the nation in successful reclamation and environmental protection practices.
Economic analyst Jeremy Aguero with Applied Analysis described how mining is helping to establish Nevada as one of the strongest economies in the country. The industry pays the highest wages and generates four times its weight in general fund revenue, Aguero said.
Even when the economy was at the absolute worst, he said, this industry continues to take care of its employees both in terms of keeping them employed and continuing to pay them more.
Steve Hill, executive director of Nevada Governors Office of Economic Development, lauded the mining industrys workforce and community development initiatives, such as Barrick Gold Corp.s support of Operation Bravo to help veterans get degrees and work experience through internships.
Those are the kinds of success stories, Aguero said, that help change the publics perception and understanding of the mining industry in a positive way.
Perhaps no other story type, however, is more meaningful than those of mine workers staying safe and going home every night to their families. The NvMA Safety Awards crowned the convention on the last day, as the association bestowed 30 awards to mine operators and 42 awards to individuals.
Safety continues to be the No. 1 priority for Nevada mining companies and employees, said Dana Bennett, NvMA president. NvMA is thrilled to give thanks to and recognize the hard-working men and women who continue to dedicate themselves to making mining one of the safest industries in our great state.
Left wing student organisations' thumping victory in the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union elections has led many leaders of the winning front to believe that the same mandate would be achieved by it in the Delhi University Students Union election too. But a close scrutiny into the prevailing political culture in Delhi University shows that the terrain there is quite unfriendly for the Left.
Soon after the JNUSU election results were announced, Left wing students organisation All India Students Association came out with a press release where it buoyantly claimed that the results would have bearing on the DUSU elections to be held on Tuesday.
The mandate of the JNUSU elections is a strong message for the power-protected gang of hooligans that the minds and souls of students cant be captured by the threat of violence. The students of DU will give a strong mandate for a university without violence, academics without fear and country without hate," claimed the release.
The enthusiasm among the Left wing students organisations over the JNUSU results was understandable. Though JNU has been a Left stronghold for several decades, challenges were quite high for it to win the election this time, due to the rise of caste-based identity politics in the campus.
Emergence of Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students Association (BAPSA), which is seen as an outfit based on caste-based identity politics, has challenged the traditional Left wing student politics in JNU.
The BAPSA leaders have been criticising the former AISA-SFI-led student union, stating that its members were upper caste, who were suppressing the real struggle against Brahminism on the campus.
There has been fear among Left parties that the emotional appeal of caste-based identity politics would lead to division of Left wing votes.
Division of Left votes could have made way for ABVPs victory. Last year, the Left alliance was limited between AISA and Students Federation of India. This year, it was further fortified by taking Democratic Students Federation on board.
The alliance is seen as one of the reasons behind the Left wing's victory in JNU campus.
The advantages of a suitable alliance with like-minded parties is not available for the Left in the DUSU elections, which has long been an ABVP stronghold.
The left and right binary is not quite clear in DUSU elections historically, unlike in JNU. In the last ten years, Delhi University has seen six ABVP, one independent and three NSUI presidents. The Left wing students' organisations have been absent in this position.
The only Left organisation which has some hold in Delhi University is AISA. If it has to ally to prevent ABVP from winning the election, the natural choice has to be National Students Union of India. There is a belief among AISA leaders that allying with NSUI would result in it losing its own votes. For alliance also means sharing of seats. AISA voters may not vote if their leader is not given a chance to contest.
The disadvantage of not being able to ally with other students organisations is likely to result in the division in secular vote bank between AISA, NSUI and others.
Indifference among many of the students for campus politics also puts AISA on the back foot. The voting percentage in DUSU elections has been as low as 44% in past two years, which only means that polling is concentrated among the party-affiliated voters rather than among the neutral ones. This gives ABVP another advantage because it has more than 60,000 members in the student community.
Caste-based politics, which has always been playing a major role in DUSU polls right since it was first held in 1954, is also seen as a factor against the Left wing.
On most occasions, the candidates fielded by arch-rivals ABVP and NSUI have been from the Gujjar or Jat community. The website DUbeat reports that from 2011 to 2017, every DUSU president has been from either the Jat or the Gujjar community.It further said that not just presidents, but often the entire panel hails from these two communities.
No wonder the caste-based identity politics gives the DU elections the feel of mainstream Indian politics, where caste-based emotional appeal plays a decisive role in voting patterns than issues, giving ABVP an edge over AISA.
The ABVP also has the facility to depend on a senior force for strategies. Many of the leaders of the ABVP stay back in the youth wing of the party and work behind the scenes for the organisation. They are called permanent members. They are a constant source of guidance for the young ABVP workers.
The permanent members devote full time to devise election strategy, which is lacking among other parties.
Patna: RJD chief Lalu Prasad said he will not rest until FIRs are lodged against Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi in the alleged Srijan scam. Attacking the two leaders, he alleged that that they had knowledge of the scam.
"We will take the matter to the logical conclusion. We will not rest unless FIRs are lodged against Nitish Kumar and Sushil Modi in the scam," Lalu said, and questioned why the two have not been booked already in the case.
Referring to Nitish Kumar's "suicidal street play" remark, Lalu said he reckoned that it was a "warning" but he will continue his fight to expose those involved in the scam. "It was a atmaghati nukkad-natak (suicidal street play) which will cost Lalu heavily," Nitish had told reporters while commenting on the public meeting of the RJD chief and his son Tejashwi at Bhagalpur on Monday.
Refuting Nitish's claim that he first detected the scam after an incident of cheque bouncing surfaced on 7 August this year, Lalu alleged that cheques bounced several times between 10 July and 29 July. "Why did Nitish Kumar hide the issue of cheques bouncing for 27 days?" asked Lalu, who was accompanied by his son and former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav and senior party leaders Jagdanand Singh and Shivanand Tiwari during the press meet.
"Why has he not come out with a public explanation so far, though he used to tell Tejashwi to explain in public the charges levelled against him," Lalu said. He claimed that the 2008 CAG report clearly stated about the alleged scam related to irregularities in allocation of fund to Srijan NGO, but Nitish chose to remain silent.
"Why did Nitish Kumar make 'so many frequent visits' to Delhi between 10 July and 26 July?" Lalu asked, and claimed that that the chief minister was told that if he breaks the grand alliance, nothing would happen to him. The RJD chief also said Nitish was "giving him lessons on maintaining dignity as if he was his headmaster".
Tejashwi Yadav, leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly, said the state government does not want the Opposition to expose it on the scam. He alleged that a fair probe is not being held in the Srijan scam by the CBI "which is under pressure". He said that his party would move the Supreme Court seeking monitoring of the probe. Tejashwi also asked Nitish Kumar as to "what happened to his commitment of finding out the culprits of the scam even from patal (from beneath the ground)".
The former deputy chief minister also accused Nitish Kumar of being the 'Bhishm Pitamah' of moral corruption, "besides indulging in political corruption by betraying the mandate given to the grand alliance".
New Delhi: Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman, railway minister Piyush Goyal and petroleum minister Dharmandra Pradhan have become members of key cabinet committees reconstituted after the 3 September reshuffle.
After her elevation as defence minister, Sitharaman has become a member of the cabinet committee on security headed by the prime minister. Finance minister Arun Jaitley was till recently holding the additional charge of defence after Manohar Parrikar quit the Union Cabinet in March.
The other members are home minister Rajnath Singh, Jaitley and external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj. Minister of state for urban development with independent charge Hardeep Singh Puri has also become part of the cabinet committee on accommodation.
Minority affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi is no more part of the cabinet committee on parliamentary affairs. Before his elevation as a cabinet minister, he was a minister of state in the parliamentary affairs ministry.
SS Ahluwalia, who was divested of his charge as minister of state for parliamentary affairs, is also no longer a member of the cabinet panel on parliamentary affairs which recommends dates of parliament sessions.
Vijay Goel, who has been made the minister of state for parliamentary affairs, is part of the reconstituted parliamentary affairs ministry as a special invitee along with Arjun Ram Meghwal, another MoS in the parliamentary affairs committee.
Sitharaman and Goyal have also become part of the cabinet committee on political affairs and cabinet committee on economic affairs. Pradhan has also become a member of the cabinet committee on economic affairs which meets almost every week just before the meeting of the full cabinet usually on Wednesdays.
Uma Bharti, who was divested of her water resources ministry portfolio, is not a member of any of the cabinet committees.
Patna: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Monday mocked Lalu Prasad for holding a rally at Bhagalpur on the Srijan "scam" issue by calling it a "suicidal street play" and said the RJD supremo should approach the judiciary for a court-monitored CBI probe into the matter.
"It was a suicidal street play (atmaghati nukkad-natak) which will cost him (Prasad) heavily," he told reporters while commenting on the public meeting of the RJD chief and his son Tejashwi Prasad Yadav at Bhagalpur on Sunday.
"Go to the Supreme Court or high court to say that you do not have faith in the CBI and ask them to monitor the central probe agency's inquiry into the Srijan scam," Kumar said on the demand of Prasad and his partymen.
Talking to reporters after his weekly 'Lok Samvad' (interaction with the public) programme, the chief minister
said there was no point in getting into a debate with the RJD over the Srijan "scam" when a CBI probe was underway.
"If anyone has any document against anybody related to the scandal, it should be handed over to the CBI," he added.
Prasad and Tejashwi, the Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, had yesterday come down heavily on Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi (BJP) and demanded that they spelt out the details of "every penny embezzled" by the Srijan Mahila Vikas Sahyog Samiti Ltd, a Bhagalpur-based NGO.
Prasad wanted to know why FIRs were not lodged against Kumar, Modi, Union minister Ashwini Choubey and others in connection with the matter, which, he claimed, was nothing short of a "maha ghotala" (big scam).
The Rashtriya Janata Dal chief has also been making snide remarks against Kumar and Sushil Modi.
"Some persons forget 'maryada' (decency) in politics. I believe in work, instead of wasting time arguing with them," Kumar said in an oblique dig at Prasad. He also claimed that everyone got to know about the Srijan "scam" after he brought it to the public domain on 9 August.
During the hour-long interaction with reporters, the Janata Dal (United) national president answered a barrage of questions on rebel party leader Sharad Yadav calling a national executive meeting in Delhi on 17 September.
"Will a political person sit idle? Everyone has the right to get engaged in political activities. Everyone has seen how many legislators, parliamentarians and office-bearers of the party attended their programme and how many of them are with us.
"The publicity he (Sharad Yadav) has drawn from the media in the last one-and-a-half months, he had never drawn in the last 40 years of his political career," he said.
On the outcome of demonetisation, Kumar, who had supported the Centre's move even when he was with the Grand Alliance by describing it as a "fight against black money", said money had returned to the banks and the owners of the money had to explain about it.
He added that he had suggested earlier also that scrapping high-value currency notes alone would not yield the desired result, unless there was a simultaneous attack on benami properties.
"I am happy that an attack has been launched against benami properties," Kumar said, in an apparent reference to the CBI probing cases against Prasad and his family members. On a question on the killing of journalist Gauri Lankesh in Bengaluru, Kumar said the investigation should unearth the truth behind the incident.
"Had this happened in Bihar, there would have been a hue and cry all over the country. The Karnataka government should crack the case soon," he added.
Berkeley: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has declared he is "absolutely ready" to be the party's prime ministerial candidate for the 2019 general elections.
However, he made it clear that the decision has to be finally approved by the party. Often under attack from the Bharatiya Janata Party, especially by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah, over dynasty politics, Gandhi said it "is a problem in all political parties in India" but that was how "most of the country runs like".
"I am absolutely ready to do that," Gandhi, who is widely tipped to succeed his mother Sonia as Congress party president, said when he was asked during his talk on Monday night at a university in Berkeley if he was ready to be the prime ministerial candidate of the Congress for the next Lok Sabha elections.
This is for the first time the Gandhi scion has publicly affirmed his readiness to be the Congress choice for the top post.
Gandhi, who is on a two-week US visit to interact with political leaders, global thinkers and overseas Indians, was speaking to students at the university where his great-grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru delivered his speech in 1949.
In reply to the question about Congress' prime ministerial choice, Gandhi said it was not fair on his part to go public with that because the party has to approve it.
"...the way our party works. We have an internal system where we elect certain delegates who make that decision. We have an organisational election process that decides, and the process is currently ongoing.
"For me to say that the decision is mine would not be fair. That is the decision the Congress party has to make," the 47-year-old said.
Probed further by the moderator if he was open to the idea, Gandhi nodded his head in affirmation and said: "Yeah, sure."
Gandhi said dynastic politics "is a problem in all political parties in India" but that was how "most of the country runs like".
He said former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, son of Mulayam Singh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, MK Stalin, son of M Karunanidhi of DMK, BJP leader Prem Kumar Dhumal's son Anurag Thakur, Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan's son Abhishek Bachchan, Dhirubhai Ambani's sons Mukesh and Anil were all examples of dynastic legacy in India.
"That's how the entire country is running. So don't just go after me.... That's what happens in India."
Speaking at the event 'India at 70: Reflections on the Path Forward', Gandhi talked about a range of issues including the Congress' loss in the 2014 general elections in which his party slid to its lowest tally ever in the Lok Sabha.
He admitted that "in around 2012 arrogance crept into the Congress and we stopped having conversations with people" that led to the party's loss in the last poll.
"For rebuilding the party, we need to design a vision that we can use moving forward. Most of what the BJP (government) is doing, is what we once said," Gandhi said citing the examples of the UPA government's MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) and the GST.
Gandhi criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's demonetisation and the "hastily implemented" Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime that he said caused "tremendous damage to the Indian economy".
Gandhi also said that the government's decision to scrap Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes has led to decline in economic growth that "cost us two percent loss in the GDP".
He accused Modi of controlling and managing an online machine of over a thousand trolls whose purpose is to destroy Gandhi's credibility and call him "stupid and incompetent".
"There is a BJP machine. A 1,000 guys sitting on computers telling you about me. It's a tremendous machine, all day they spread abuse about me, say that I'm a 'reluctant politician... and the operation is run by the gentleman who is running our country," said Gandhi.
He, however, acknowledged that Modi was a "better communicator" than he is.
"Modi has certain skills, he is a very good communicator, he's much better than me. He knows how to give a message to 3-4 different groups in a crowd, so his messaging ability is very effective and subtle."
Gandhi said the BJP's vision was flawed because it come from "top to bottom" while as the Congress constructed "a bottom-up vision".
He gave an example of dealing with the Kashmir issue and alleged that the government had opened up the space for terrorism in the state.
"When we started, terrorism was rampant in Kashmir. And when we finished by 2013, we basically broke the back of terror, I hugged (then) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and told him it was one of the biggest achievements."
"For nine years I worked behind the scenes with PM Manmohan Singh, P Chidambaram, Jairam Ramesh and others on Jammu and Kashmir," said Rahul.
He also slammed the BJP-led central government over the incidents of mob lynching and cow vigilantism that damaged India's image.
"I understand what violence does, violence against anybody is wrong. Hatred, anger and violence can destroy us, the politics of polarisation is dangerous," he said, adding "liberal journalists were being shot (referring to Kannada journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh's murder), people are being lynched.
"These incidents are making millions feel that they have no future in their country."
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who was present in the audience during Gandhi's speech tweeted: "A speech marked by acuity and passion, and a discussion infused with candour and insight."
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday morning took jibes at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Narendra Modi government as he spoke on the issue of 'India at 70' at the University of California, Berkeley.
Rahul started his speech by using an anecdote about the December 2004 tsunami in India.
"Many years ago, there was a huge tsunami in India," he said, "One of the tribal people in Andaman and Nicobar Islands told me that when the tsunami comes, the sea goes out and a huge number of fish get stranded."
"Therefore, the tribals knew that when a tsunami comes, the sea goes out. When the tsunami came, all the non-tribals went out to get the fish. Some of the tribals went to the non-tribals and told them not to go. And that's why, no tribals died," said the Congress vice-president.
"And as a liberal today, that's what I feel. Everyone knows that something has gone wrong. Right-wing politicians are telling people to go and pick up the fish... But you're not going to get simple answers," he said.
"The idea of non-violence is under attack today, yet it is only idea which can take humanity forward," he added.
"The only response to a person having a bad idea is is love and compassion. Using violence against a person infected by a bad idea results in the idea spreading. This non-violent philosohphy has spread far beyond India. Non-violence is hard work. It is this idea that is viciously under attack today," Rahul said.
"When Rajiv Gandhi and Sam Pitroda spoke about bringing computers to India, a leader of the BJP who became prime minister of the nation said, 'What do we need computers for?'," he pointed out.
Rahul then spoke about the significance of India's story of development.
"For everything anyone says about India, there is no democratic country in human history that has raised as many people out of poverty as India. We have done it peacefully together... It is imperative that India sustain a high growth rate for 10 to 15 years uninterrupted," said the Congress vice-president.
On economy and jobs
"No amount of growth is enough for India if it is not accompanied by creation of jobs. So, the central challenge for India is jobs. Roughly, 12 million people enter the job market every year... India does not have and nor does it want China's coercive instruments," he said.
He then said the Modi government was currently paying attention only to the top 100 companies in India.
Small & medium entrepreneurs are the bedrock of India's economic progress: Rahul Gandhi in #UCBerkeley pic.twitter.com/qZlYAjphiD ANI (@ANI) September 12, 2017
"India needs to turn colossal number of small and medium businesses. Currently, attention is only being paid to the top 100 companies in India. Big businesses are protected by their deep pockets," he said.
"What India is trying to do is to connect its people with the global economy. If this process breaks down, it will shake the entire world," he said. "Listening to India is very important. We have experts in every single field. Currently, we are not producing enough jobs. 30,000 new youngsters are joining the job market every day and yet, the government is creating just 500 jobs every day," said the Congress leader.
On intolerance
The Congress vice-president then attacked the government on various fronts.
"What can destroy our momentum is the opposite energy: Hatred, anger and politics of polarisation, which has raised its ugly head in India today," said Rahul.
"Muslims are being killed in India today, liberal journalists are being shot," he said, referring to the murder of activist-journalist Gauri Lankesh.
On demonetisation
Rahul then hit out at demonetisation.
"The government's economic policies like demonetisation and GST were applied hastily. Millions of jobs were wiped out after demonetisation. Farmers were hit very hard. Farmer suicides have skyrocketed throughout the country. Demonetisation, a completely self-inflicted wound, resulted in a loss of 2 percent in GDP," he said.
"Decisions like demonetisation were taken without asking Chief Economic Advisor and Parliament, which caused tremendous damage," ANI further quoted him as saying.
On Congress
After he finished his speech, when asked about what the Congress was doing to solve its problems which could get it back into power, Rahul said, "Any party which has been in power for 10 years will run into a problem. It is natural. The vision we had laid out in 2004 was for 10 years."
"Congress, unlike the BJP and RSS, is basically a conversation. Most of my work is sitting in a room and listening to people."
"If you look at most of the things BJP is doing, they are things we said. The central architecture is that they borrowed from us. But that architecture does not work now because we know it stopped working," he said.
"We need to make a smooth transition between senior people and younger people. You can't just brush aside senior people," he added.
"India has basically lost its vision... Modi has clamped down on RTI. The amount of information that was flowing around during our time was much more than the amount now," said the Congress vice-president.
On the 1984 anti-Sikh riots
When questioned about the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Rahul said that he was "with them in their quest for justice". "I lost my father and my grandmother to violence. If I don't understand violence, who will?" he said.
I am with them in their quest for justice, violence again anybody I strongly condemn: Rahul Gandhi on '84 riots pic.twitter.com/AQ8qXb4HXc ANI (@ANI) September 12, 2017
On dynastic politics
When Rahul Gandhi was questioned about dynastic politics, there was applause from the audience and a visibly nervous Rahul said, "This is a problem that is present in all political parties in India. Akhilesh Yadav is a dynast. (MK) Stalin is a dynast... Even Abhishek Bachchan is a dynast. Don't go after me because the entire country is running like that. That's what happens in India."
Most of the country runs like this, so don't go after me, Akhilesh Yadav a dynast, Mr Stalin a dynast,Mr Dhumal's son a dynast:Rahul Gandhi pic.twitter.com/eIDsvnlxtp ANI (@ANI) September 12, 2017
He then added, "I do try to change that in the Congress party." He also said that during 2012, "arrogance crept into Congress party and we stopped having conversations with people."
On being asked whether he was a reluctant politician, Rahul said, "There is a BJP machine that basically tells you about me. They tell you I'm reluctant. They tell you I'm stupid. You've seen me now. You make up your mind. This operation is basically run by the gentleman running our country," he said.
There is a BJP machine,about 1000 guys sitting on computers&telling you about me: Rahul Gandhi on question of being a reluctant politician pic.twitter.com/JzyJj6CU6c ANI (@ANI) September 12, 2017
On being asked whether Rahul would become the Congress president soon, he said that he was ready to head Congress but decision was not his.
On India's political machinery
He said that the "political machinery" in India had now become weak. "Our political machinery the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha they are not as empowered as they should be," he said.
"Laws in India are made by ministers and five or six people surrounding the ministers. To me, 546 people in Lok Sabha should be 546 institutions," he said. "Today, our MPs don't make laws. They get worried about making roads in villages. That is the fundamental thing that has gone wrong in India... Taking India to the next level is ensuring our Parliament works."
On Jammu and Kashmir
The Congress vice-president also had a lot to say about the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
"For nine years, I worked behind the scenes with (the then) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Mr Chidambaram, Mr Jairam Ramesh and a large number of people and we worked silently on Jammu and Kashmir. When we started in 2004, terrorism was rampant in Jammu and Kashmir. In 2013, I hugged the (then) prime minister and told him one of his biggest successes was the end of violence in Jammu and Kashmir," he said.
"We did that by holding panchayati raj elections. We did by linking women to banks... Our strategy was to close the space for terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir," he added.
"In 2014, the Indian government did something that inflicted a huge strategic cost in India," Rahul said.
"PDP was the instrument that brought Kashmiri youngsters into the political space. The day Mr Modi made an alliance between PDP and BJP, he destroyed PDP as an instrument for bringing youth into the political space," he said.
So he(PM Modi) massively opened up space for the terrorists in Kashmir, and you saw the increase in violence: Rahul Gandhi pic.twitter.com/mJCMrDy5eO ANI (@ANI) September 12, 2017
"Today, the space in Jammu and Kashmir has been opened up not only for Pakistanis but for terrorists," Rahul said.
Rahul also implied that Modi had dictatorial tendencies. "What I sense is he doesn't converse with people he works with. Even Members of Parliament and BJP tell me that," ANI quoted him as saying.
Rahul Gandhi's speech at the University of California, Berkeley which took jibes at the Narendra Modi government has now started a war of words between BJP and Congress.
The drama unfolded with Rahul Gandhi criticising the government for attacking the philosophy of non-violence.
"The only response to a person having a bad idea is love and compassion. Using violence against a person infected by a bad idea results in the idea spreading. This non-violent philosophy has spread far beyond India. Non-violence is hard work. It is this idea that is viciously under attack today."
He further blamed the Modi government for paying attention to only the top 100 companies in India.
However, the real points of contention between the two political parties of India were on dynasty politics and demonetisation. Over the course of Tuesday, leaders from Congress and BJP took jibes at each other for the comments that Gandhi made in Berkley with BJP leaders which also saw party president Amit Shah also joining in naturally taking an anti-Gandhi stand, and Congress leaders like Anand Sharma and Digvijay Singh pointing out faults in BJP and its ideological head, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
On dynasty politics
When asked about dynastic politics, Rahul Gandhi tried to defend himself and said, "This is a problem that is present in all political parties in India. Akhilesh Yadav is a dynast. (MK) Stalin is a dynast...Even Abhishek Bachchan is a dynast. Don't go after me because the entire country is running like that. That's what happens in India."
Furthermore, he said that he was trying to change the culture of dynasty politics in the Congress party. He also said that during 2012, "arrogance crept into Congress party and we stopped having conversations with people".
On being asked whether he was a reluctant politician, Rahul said, "There is a BJP machine that basically tells you about me. They tell you I'm reluctant. They tell you I'm stupid. You've seen me now. You make up your mind. This operation is basically run by the gentleman running our country," he said.
Slamming Gandhi for his comments, Amit Shah told CNN-News18 that India is moving away from the politics of dynasty.
Union minister Smriti Irani also reacted to these remarks at a press conference on Tuesday. She said, "Rahul Gandhi forgot that in free India, there are many citizens who have contributed to India but do not have a political legacy. The prime minister himself comes from a village and was born in a poor family. The president is from a marginalised community. The vice-president is a farmer's son."
She further said that Gandhi's confession about arrogance in the party is something Congress should delve into.
"A failed dynast today chose to speak about his failed political journey in the United States of America," Irani said.
"The fact that he chose to belittle the prime minister is expected. After failing to connect with the people of India, Gandhi chooses a platform of convenience for berating his opponents," she added.
Following Irani's remarks, Congress leader Anand Sharma hit out at her for being an "apologist for a prime minister who has betrayed his country".
Sharma supported Gandhi's stance on dynastic politics and said, "Yes, it is true that there are dynasties in India. There have been dynasties in many countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and both the Americas."
"But when it comes to the Nehru-Gandhi family, they have spent five generations in service of the country," said the Congress leader.
Another Congress leader Digvijaya Singh also tweeted in support of Rahul, saying that dynastic politics took place in RSS too.
Mohan Bhagwat is son of Ex Prachar Pramukh of Gujarat Madhukar Rao Bhagwat. digvijaya singh (@digvijaya_28) September 12, 2017
Singh also said that dynasty had its effect on politics just like other sectors and what matters is whether he has "merit or not. Let (the) people decide".
On Jammu and Kashmir
Gandhi blamed the Modi government for not allowing the youth into the political space in Jammu and Kashmir.
" In 2013, I hugged the (then) prime minister and told him one of his biggest successes was the end of violence in Jammu and Kashmir. We did that by holding Panchayati Raj elections. We did (that) by linking women to banks.... Our strategy was to close the space for terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir," he said.
"PDP was the instrument that brought Kashmiri youngsters into the political space. The day Modi made an alliance between PDP and BJP, he destroyed PDP as an instrument for bringing youth into the political space," he added.
Gandhi's comment on Modi government's Kashmir policy didn't go well with the party either. Irani said that in his remarks, Gandhi was not looking at the interest of the nation or the state (of Jammu and Kashmir) at large.
"He did not say anything about the legacy of challenges the Nehru-Gandhi family left behind as far as Kashmir is concerned. Today, if you look at Jammu and Kashmir, our security forces have had major achievements against those who are terrorising the state. When it comes to Jammu and Kashmir, for Gandhi, what is important is the politics and not the interest of the nation or the state at large," she said.
On demonetisation
In his speech, Rahul Gandhi also hit out at demonetisation and called it a 'self-inflicted wound'.
"The government's economic policies like demonetisation and GST were applied hastily. Millions of jobs were wiped out after demonetisation. Farmers were hit very hard. Farmer suicides have skyrocketed throughout the country. Demonetisation, a completely self-inflicted wound, resulted in a loss of 2 percent in the GDP," he said.
Again, Sharma asserted that demonetisation had harmed the economy of India. "It is true that demonetisation has affected employment...What is the objection to this being said that demonetisation hurt the economy? Economists in India and economists worldwide (have) said this," he said.
Rahul Gandhi's speech at the University of California, Berkeley has now started a caustic war of words between BJP and Congress.
After Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani called the Congress vice-president a "failed dynast" in response to his speech against the Modi government, Congress leader Anand Sharma lashed out at Irani and said she is ignorant of history.
"The issues raised by the I&B minister show her ignorance of history and her eagerness to be an apologist for a prime minister who has betrayed his country," said Sharma.
"It is true that we built institutions of excellence which are acknowledged. We produced our men and women who compete with the world," he said, also referring to the IT revolution in 1980s.
"What is wrong in talking about India's proud achievements? We were able to raise our economy to the point that we were included in the top ten economies of the world," he said.
"These are facts which cannot be contested. If today India is acknowledged as a nuclear power, the credit belongs to this country but also to those people who contributed to it," Sharma said.
"This is what a national leader is supposed to say about his country on an international platform. This should be supported, not condemned," Sharma said.
"BJP cannot take any credit for India's independence because it was not involved in the freedom struggle," he further said.
"Rahul Gandhi was not belittling the prime minister. He, like a statesman, said that the prime minister was his own PM too. In a democracy, this is allowed," he also said.
"If the society of India will not stay as one, how will the country go forward? Which country would want ties with a country in which people are told what to wear or what to eat? Rahul Gandhi has raised the country's respect in the world," Sharma said.
"If anyone has insulted the country globally, it is the prime minister."
"Is it not true that the prime minister had earlier said that before his government came to power, India had an image of being a corrupt nation? When Modi had gone to Canada, he had said that before 2014, India had an image of a country with a begging bowl in its hands," Sharma said.
"The prime minister had said in China and then in Korea that before his government, when NRIs would come to India, they felt ashamed at being called Indians," he said.
Sharma also said that demonetisation had harmed the economy of India. "It is true that demonetisation has affected employment...What is the objection to this being said that demonetisation hurt the economy? Economists in India and economicts worldwide said this," he said.
On the issue of dynastic politics, Sharma said, "Yes, it is true that there are dynasties in India. There have been dynasties in many countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and both the Americas."
"But when it comes to the Nehru-Gandhi family, they have spent five generations in service of the country," said the Congress leader.
"Jawaharlal Nehru, when he faced the lathis of the British, did not think that he was going to be the prime minister," he said.
Another Congress leader Digvijaya Singh also tweeted in support of Rahul, saying that dynastic politics took place in RSS too.
Mohan Bhagwat is son of Ex Prachar Pramukh of Gujarat Madhukar Rao Bhagwat. digvijaya singh (@digvijaya_28) September 12, 2017
Present Prachar Pramukh of RSS is Manmohan Vaidya who is son of MG Vaidya senior RSS leader. digvijaya singh (@digvijaya_28) September 12, 2017
Rahul Gandhi does not see any problem with him being a dynast because "thats what happens in India".
He made the world know of his latest pearls of wisdom at one of the world's most reputed places of learning, at the University of California, Berkeley in the beginning of his fortnight long trip to the US. He landed in America with the stated purpose to get some firsthand information about artificial intelligence. This is the Congress vice-presidents second foreign trip in the last 20 days. He took off for the US about 10 days after he returned from a trip to Norway.
According to Rahul, dynasty and dynastic succession are there in many spheres of life in India in politics, cinema and industry and thus he wondered they were "going just after me". Rahul didn't realise that out of three political dynasts that he named two of them Akhilesh Yadav (son of Mulayam Singh Yadav) and MK Stalin (son of K Karunanidhi) have inherited mantle from their fathers and now bosses of Samajwadi Party and DMK respectively are his political allies. The third person he named in this regard, Anurag Thakur (son of Prem Kumar Dhumal) is an MP and despite displaying certain dynamism in BCCI, Parliament and in organisational structure of the BJP he has not been made a minister in the Modi government just because his father used to be chief minister of Himachal Pradesh.
He spoke it in a manner as if dynastic succession was an accepted fact in India, almost a virtue and repeated it three times: "thats how India runs thats how the entire country is running thats what happens in India" and then added, "the real question is if that person is a capable, sensitive person".
The Congress second-in-command thinks for certain that he is a capable and a sensitive person to lead the party and "absolutely ready" to become prime minister of the country. "I am absolutely ready to do that (be declared as prime ministerial candidate) but we have an organisational election process that decides and the process is currently ongoing. That decision is something the Congress party should take," he said. To a supplementary query from the moderator whether he was open to becoming prime minister in future, he said "sure".
That should make thousands of Congress workers happy that their leader is finally ready to take up the mantle from his mother Sonia and put an end to the dual power centre structure in the party.
While claiming natural rights of a dynast, Rahul forgot that India of 2017 had rejected dynasts in politics. Just as Rahul was rejected by people in 2014 with Congress getting lowest ever numbers, 44 in Lok Sabha which even deprived it of the Leader of the Opposition position, Akhilesh was rejected by people in Uttar Pradesh earlier this year. Under Akhileshs leadership, Samajwadi Party slid to the lowest ever numbers in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly.
As on now, all the three persons holding three top constitutional posts President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi are self-made persons who have risen through the ranks and made it big. None of the four top ministers in government had any political lineage. BJP president Amit Shah also has risen from the ranks of a humble party worker.
The Congress leaders would find it difficult to explain and defend their leader in the face of a blistering offensive launched by the BJP. Rahul said when the Congress came to power in 2004 its "designed vision" was "at best for 10 years". "By the time we arrived at 2010-11 it was not working any more. Somewhere around 2012 a certain arrogance had crept into the Congress party," he said.
Its no secret that though Singh was in office as prime minister he was not in "power". The actual power in the government was wielded by Sonia and Rahul. Also by the later part of 2012, Mamata Banerjees Trinamool Congress had exited the UPA leaving the party with smaller allies like AIMIM. The UPA at the Centre had primarily turned into a Congress government with the DMK also pulling out of the alliance a year later. Rahul thus cant blame it on anyone else rather than himself and his mother Sonia.
Also, when Rahul says he is absolutely ready to become prime ministerial candidate how would Congress explain his tendency to simply vanish and go on extended trips abroad. When the Congress party was working on Opposition unity and had announced an agitation plan on farmers' issues, Rahul chose to visit relatives in Italy. Shortly thereafter he went on to visit the UK, then to Norway and now to the US.
For the first time, the Congress vice-president has gone on record to confirm what Modi had been charging all along in the run-up to 2014 that the UPA had always been a "Maa-bete ki sarkar". Mark Rahul's words: "For nine years I worked behind the scenes with prime minister Manmohan Singh, P Chidambaram, Jairam Ramesh and others on J&K. When we started, terrorism was rampant in Kashmir, when we finished there was peace, we had broken the back of terrorism." He then publicly told how he patronised Singh: "I hugged prime minister Manmohan Singh and told him it was one of the biggest achievements."
It was for the first time that Rahul admitted that Modi was a much superior communicator than him: "Modi has certain skills, he is a very good communicator, he's much better than me."
What should concern Indians, domestically and abroad is Rahul's attempts on foreign soil to portray India as a place where "millions feel they have no future in their own country, isolates people and turns them to radicalisation". The leader of the party which ruled India for 60 years and aspires to rule India again painted an ugly picture of India where Muslims, Dalits and liberals are either oppressed or killed and any dissenting voice is throttled simply because they are not in conformity with the ruling BJP narrative. That's Rahul's style of politics which runs down his own country as one of the worst places.
Jammu: Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday hit out at Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi for his comments on Kashmir made at an event in the United States, saying national issues should not be politicised.
He countered Gandhi's contention that terrorism in Kashmir had increased under the Modi government by reminding him of the situation which existed in the Valley in 1989 as well as 7-8 years back.
"National issues should not be politicised...We cannot forget about 1989 (when militancy in Kashmir started). What was the situation then? What was the situation 7-8 years ago? I don't blame anybody," Singh told reporters.
He was replying to Gandhi's remarks made at a university event in the US that the previous Congress-led government had broken the back of terrorism in Kashmir and accused the Modi dispensation of "massively opening up space" for terrorists.
"Why has the situation never been peaceful (in Kashmir) since 1947? I don't want blame, anybody," the home minister said.
He was also asked to comment on reports that an MLA of Jammu and Kashmir had allegedly taken money from Pakistan, purportedly according to the NIA.
In his response, Singh said, "the NIA is an autonomous agency. They are doing their work. Let us allow them to work. The government should not raise a question mark on the working of such an organization, which is such autonomous."
About problems related to scholarships for Kashmiri students, the home minister said 2-3 students had come to him with complaints in this regard and after a few days, their complaints were resolved after meeting the officials of HRD ministry.
For addressing the problem, a nodal officer has been appointed, he said.
"Till now, 1200 complaints from such students have been received by us and nine complaints have been addressed," he added.
On the demand for elections to panchayats and local bodies, Singh said polls should take place.
He said he had talked to Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti in this regard.
To a question about incidents taking place in schools, like the murder of a 7-year-old student in Ryan International in Gurugram, he said, "whatever has happened, is condemnable. But I think that law and order is a state subject. It is state government which has to think about it, how to provide security to children."
For the Centre's part, he said from time to time, advisories are sent to the state governments.
ELKO A local man was arrested on a charge of attempted murder after allegedly attacking another man with a knife in a casino parking lot.
Carl A. Bond Jr., 41, approached the victim Saturday evening when he was leaving the Red Lion Hotel & Casino. The victim asked Bond how he was doing as a greeting. Bond responded by saying, Im going to kill somebody, according to police.
The victim continued walking to his vehicle, but Bond reportedly attacked him from behind with a knife.
The victim wrestled the knife away from Bond, sustaining minor injuries to his hand in the process. Red Lion security helped detain Bond until police arrived at the scene. The victim was treated for his injuries at the scene.
Police said they are not sure what contributed to Bonds violent behavior.
Bond was arrested on charges of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon. His bail was set at $120,000.
To say that grand preparations are being made for Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe's visit to Gujarat on Wednesday would be an understatement.
In a first, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Abe will take part in a road show in Ahmedabad. "This is for the first time in the country when our prime minister along with the prime minister of another country is doing a joint road show. The Japanese prime minister is landing here directly on 13 September. This makes the occasion more important, as he is visiting a state on the very first day of his India visit," Gujarat BJP unit president Jitubhai Vaghani told reporters.
As Vaghani pointed out, this will indeed be a rare occasion when the head of a state skips New Delhi during his or her bilateral visit to India. This fact itself shows how important the Modi-Abe visit will be for BJP as far as the upcoming Gujarat election is concerned.
As this Livemint article also points out, the Modi-Abe visit and the grand preparations for the same should be seen as the one of the first major steps BJP is taking for its campaign in the upcoming state polls.
In fact, a senior BJP leader speaking on condition of anonymity had said in the report that BJP targeting Congress in such an intense manner showed signs of nervousness in the saffron party because Congress had been out for power in Gujarat for over 20 years now.
The pothole-ridden roads of Ahmedabad are getting a makeover and state government bureaucrats are getting new visiting cards printed for the visit, reported Business Standard.
Vaghani also said that both the leaders will be accorded a "grand welcome" along the route of the road show.
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation's standing committee chairman Pravin Patel said a large number of people, including singing troupes who will be performing at 28 different locations along the route, will greet Modi and Abe.
"On the entire route of the the road show, which will also pass from Sabarmati Riverfront, we have erected 28 small stages where dancers from 28 different states, all dressed in their traditional attire, would showcase their performance when these leaders pass," said Patel.
Apart from such extravagant preparations, some projects planned for Gujarat will also be highlighted.
On Thursday, Abe and Modi will attend the ceremony for the ambitious Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project, commonly referred to as the Bullet Train project, which will give India its first bullet train.
The 508-kilometre project will entail an estimated cost of Rs 1,10,000 crore. "Out of this Rs 1,10,000 crore, Japan is giving a loan of Rs 88,000 crore and the interest on this loan is minimal, ie 0.1 percent," Goyal said.
"This loan is to be repaid to Japan in 50 years. Loan repayment period of 50 years with 15 years grace."
Of the 508-kilometre stretch, 92 percent of the route will be elevated, six percent in tunnel and the rest two percent will be on the ground.
That is, 508-kilometre stretch will have 468 kilometres of elevated track, 27-kilometre inside tunnel and the remaining 13 kilometres on the ground.
The high-speed train will also pass through the country's biggest tunnel measuring 21 kilometres, of which seven kilometres will be under the sea.
On the Ahmedabad-Mumbai route, a total of 12 stations have been proposed that include Mumbai, Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad and Sabarmati.
The distance of 508 kilometres will be covered in two hours and seven minutes by the bullet train if it stops at four stations namely Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and Mumbai.
According to railway ministry officials, the operating speed of the bullet train will be 320 kilometres per hour and maximum speed will be 350 kilometres per hour.
If the bullet train will stop at all 12 stations, then it will cover the distance in two hours and fifty-eight minutes.
In a day, the high-speed train will make 70 Ahmedabad-Mumbai sorties.
Moreover, according to The Economic Times, Gujarat has also planned a second Japanese-supported industrial park at Sanand. It is planned on over 1,000 hectares, about ten times the size of the existing one at Mandal. This park is expected to attract over Rs 20,000 crore of investment.
Plans for a residential colony probably for expats at par with Japanese standards are also being made. Investments in Gujarat from Japan are also expected to rise in the near future.
Bilateral talks between Indian and Japanese delegations are also expected and sevral MoUs are expected to be signed at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar.
With inputs from agencies
Patna: RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Tuesday said his party will soon approach the Supreme Court seeking monitoring of the ongoing CBI probe into the Rs 2,000-crore Srijan scam.
"RJD will approach the Supreme Court soon with documentary evidences to monitor the CBI probe into the multi-crore-rupee Srijan scam in Bihar. Deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi is directly involved in the scam and chief minister Nitish Kumar has protected him despite knowing it," Lalu Prasad told media persons in Patna.
He said the party will not sit silent over this mega-scam. "We will go from the peoples' court to the country's apex court. The state government is trying to shield people involved in the Srijan scam."
Launching a scathing attack on Kumar, Prasad said: "Nitish Kumar has lied in public over the Srijan scam. He was fully aware of the scam since 2006. Even a CAG report in 2008 had referred to the scam and then a District Magistrate of Bhagalpur had informed the government about it. But everything was ignored and suppressed in full knowledge of Nitish Kumar."
The Rashtriya Janata Dal chief said Kumar should explain how public money in crores of rupees was looted. "Nitish Kumar should have to face a fact-wise reply session in public as to why he was sitting over the scam and why he tried to hide the scam. People want to know his explanation."
Questioning the CBI, which has began a probe into the scam, Prasad wondered why no FIR has been registered against Kumar and Sushil Modi so far.
He said he will have to hold a series of press conferences in the coming days to expose Kumar and Modi's involvement in the scam. "It is just a beginning, wait for more to come."
He also said that after information about the scam reached Delhi, the BJP leadership had put pressure on Kumar to break the Grand Alliance of JD(U), RJD and Congress in Bihar and join hands with the BJP to form a new government. "Nitish Kumar was blackmailed by BJP to frame him in a scam and he was put under tremendous pressure to finalise a deal to dump RJD and Congress and form a government with BJP. Look, how many times Nitish Kumar had visited Delhi in July 2017. He surrendered to BJP to save himself."
Bihar's Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav, who is Prasad's younger son, produced two alleged documentary evidences before media persons in connection with the scam.
"CAG report in 2008 clearly mentioned about the scam but Nitish Kumar and Sushil Modi ignored it." Tejashwi, who is a former deputy chief minister, said.
After the Opposition RJD demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the "mega scam", the chief minister also recommended the same last month. The CBI has already began to probe the scam.
The Srijan scam involves a Bhagalpur-based NGO, Srijan Mahila Vikas Sahyog Samiti Ltd, which used to provide vocational training to women. The NGO allegedly pilfered funds meant for government welfare schemes from the bank accounts of the Bhagalpur district administration.
According to police, so far 20 people have been arrested and over two dozen FIRs, including 10 by CBI, have been lodged in connection with the scam.
Madurai: Sidelined AIADMK leader TTV Dhinakaran on Tuesday sought to play down the unified AIADMK's decision annulling the appointment of his aunt VK Sasikala as party interim chief, indicating court could have a final say on the matter.
A combative Dhinakaran also dubbed the general council meeting, where the decision was taken, as a 'public meeting' and said he had undertaken efforts to "send home this regime" (led by Chief Minister K Palaniswami).
Referring to the Madras High Court's order that decisions taken at the General Council will be subject to the final outcome of an appeal on the matter, he said only then will it be known if the ouster of Sasikala was 'valid.'
While hearing an appeal by an MLA of Dhinakaran faction against a single judge's order dismissing his plea for a stay on the general council meeting, the court last night gave the go ahead for the meeting and posted the matter to 23 October.
"So we need not make big (a big issue) of it," Dhinakaran, who is involved in a tussle for power with Palaniswami, said about the General council resolution on Sasikala. He said it was the same decision-making body which last year appointed her to the post of interim general secretary.
Training his guns against "Palaniswami and Co", Dhinakaran alleged the Chief Minister was not taking forward the policies of late Jayalalithaa as being claimed by him. This was evident in the implementation of the National Entrance Cum Eligibility Test (NEET), he charged.
He said members in the government were thinking that they were the real AIADMK because they were in power, but their real strength would be known at the time of elections. "All those with the Palaniswami group will come back to us if the government is not there," claimed Dhinakaran, who was appointed deputy general secretary in February last by Sasikala just before she left for Bengaluru to serve her term in the disproportionate assets case.
The unified AIADMK had earlier said Dhinakaran had been removed from the post on 10 August itself. "Whoever I meet, whether it is party supporters, youth or general public, want this government to go. I have undertaken efforts to send this regime home," he said.
"Betrayal has aligned with betrayal," he said in an apparent reference to the August 21 merger of the two factions led by Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam.
New Delhi: Swami Vivekananda's message of oneness in his historic Chicago speech was as relevant today as it was in 1893, the Congress party said and accused the Narendra Modi government of doing just the opposite of what the monk-philosopher preached and represented.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi said Vivekananda's slogan of oneness should be the "magna carta" (the great charter) for the way forward in what she described as today's "atmosphere of intolerance and hate".
"Unfortunately three years down the line of this government, we are seeing the preaching (about) attaining every new heights of glory and prose, the practice is completely the opposite, attaining the depths of despair in real life India.
"This government's use and actions including views are the diametrically opposite of what Swami Vivekananda preached, espoused, or represented," Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi told reporters.
Hailing Vivekananda on the 125th year of his address at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago, Gandhi said his message that sectarianism, bigotry and fanaticism had possessed the earth was still as relevant.
While highlighting the idea of the oneness of all religions, Swamiji promoted with equal zeal the idea of the equality of all human beings, she said.
Recalling that Vivekananda spoke of both tolerance and universal acceptance in his 1893 address, she said, "Today, more than ever, we are engulfed with the same challenges of prejudices which Swamiji spoke about".
"In today's atmosphere of intolerance and hate, Swamiji's message should be the Magna Carta for the way forward," she said in a message.
The Congress president said she hoped his inspiring thoughts would continue to guide everybody, especially the country's youth.
"His clarion call 'Arise! Awake! And stop not till the goal is reached!' was at once a call to spiritual as well as political liberation," Gandhi said.
Paying homage to the spiritual leader, she added that he went to Chicago in 1893 to attend the world Parliament as a representative of Hinduism and India where he eloquently quoted from the 'Bhagvad Gita'.
"Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful earth. They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed civilization, and sent whole nations to despair," she quoted Vivekananda as saying.
She described this "universal" message as "time-invariant". It is as relevant today as it was over 124 years ago" Gandhi said.
Singhvi said Swami Vivekananda personified the eternal energy of Indian youth and their incessant quest for truth. "But you dont insult him like this when surreptitiously you disobey the path shown by him... when you encourage a culture of hate, bigotry, narrow mindedness, parochialism, politics of prejudice and division, do you really in any sense of the word follow Swami Vivekananda in practice, sprit or action?" he asked, targeting the Modi government.
Singhvi alleged that Modi government decides what we wear, what we eat, where do we move, what we practice, what we do and how we live our lives.
It has completely "strangulated" any kind of dissent and divergence of views. The recent incident of lynchings, the murder of free-thinkers, rationalists, dissenters is a "grim reminder" of the times we live in, he said.
Referring to Modi's talk of respecting women, the Congress leader said while nobody can differ with him but unfortunately the actions of this government are just the opposite.
He said every six minutes, a woman is raped in Delhi and referred to the gangrape of a minor in Dumka in Jharkhand.
Singhvi also said that Modi and his government was waxing eloquent about it Make in India initiative but according to CMIE data, in first quarter of this year, as many as 15 lakh jobs have been lost.
He also criticised the 'Clean India Mission', saying it sent the whole country on a toilet construction spree and a
lot of hype was created around it but 51 percent of Indian households do not have an improved sanitation system.
"All the height and hoopla on one side - this new toilet truth is a sad truth," he said, adding that most people use
dry pit toilets which spreads maximum disease and encourages manual scavenging in remote and rural areas.
Reuters
Elliott Management Corps private equity arm has submitted a bid to acquire U.S. networking software maker Gigamon Inc according to people familiar with the matter.
The bid from the private equity arm, called Evergreen Coast Capital Partners, comes five months after Elliotts activist investor wing purchased a 15.3 percent stake in Gigamon and pushed it to explore a sale.
Reuters could not confirm Elliotts offer price for Gigamon, which had a market capitalization of about $1.58 billion based on its closing price on Friday. Evergreen has secured financing from two investment banks and made a formal bid in recent days, the sources added, asking not to be named because the matter is private. Gigamons shares jumped 5 percent on Monday immediately following the news, before paring gains to trade up 3.8 percent at $43.95.
Elliott and Gigamon declined to comment. Elliotts role at Gigamon as both shareholder activist and potential buyer highlights the hedge funds affinity for tech targets and its reputation as one of the worlds most aggressive shareholders.
Should Evergreen succeed in acquiring Gigamon, it would mark the first time Elliotts private equity group led the acquisition of a company that its activist side had put into play.
While activist investors have made offers for companies in the past, New York-based Elliott, with assets of more than $33 billion, is one of the few hedge funds with a dedicated team chasing buyouts of whole companies. Elliott launched Evergreen in 2015.
Gigamon has been working with an investment bank to evaluate takeover interest in recent months. The company could end its exploration of alternatives if the acquisition offers it receives do not meet its valuation expectations, the sources said.
Gigamon, based in Santa Clara, California, attracted the interest of some companies and other private equity firms, but they appear to have fallen away from the sales process, the sources said. Gigamons stock has risen more than 22 percent since Elliott first disclosed its stake.
Gigamon makes software used in large data centers to boost the flow of traffic and prevent bottlenecks. Gigamon is not the first time that Elliotts activist team has converged with its private equity group.
Evergreen participated in the auction for security software firm LifeLock Inc, where Elliott had taken an activist stake and pushed the company into a sale. LifeLock ultimately sold to Symantec Corp for $2.3 billion.
tech2 News Staff
It appears that Facebook is through with its faster-loading article format, Instant Articles, from Messenger at least. The Menlo Park company is trying out another format on Messenger if reports are to be believed.
According to TechCrunch Instant Articles will be replaced by paid-content model that will be tested later in 2017.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Instant Articles, it was introduced by the social media giant in 2015 with the objective of speeding up the load time of articles by up to 10 times which would increase user engagement on mobile devices. Facebook later expanded the Instant Articles to its Messenger app to enhance content consumption on its chat application as well.
However, there were a few problems, one of which was the lack of monetisation. According to TechCrunch widely known publications such as the New York Times, Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal, ESPN, CBS News, Vice and others refrained from using the platform because of this reason. There were also reports of mistakes in reporting of traffic on the pages.
TechCrunch also found out that adding UTM parameters to the URL's of Instant Articles to track the location of incoming web traffic is not easy.
As we continue to refine and improve Instant Articles and in order to have the greatest impact on people and publishers were focusing our investment in Instant Articles in the Facebook core app and are no longer offering Instant Articles in Messenger, a Facebook spokesperson told TechCrunch.
A report in the Wall Street Journal described how Facebook's new paid content model will operate. According to it, readers will be able to subscribe and pay directly from the native Facebook app. However, the participating publishers would have to publish their content on Facebook's native app only.
PTI
Law and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad today warned companies of consequences if they release data or information about an individual with name and without his or her consent. "Some things are completely private, should not come in public. Today, I would like to gently remind, all the companies dealing with data, that if any data of an individual is released by name you will suffer consequence unless there is specific consent of person whose data you are seeking to make public," Prasad said while launching a nation-wide hackathon.
He said the government is committed to make best use of big data in establishing rule of precision governance. "While doing so every care would be taken to ensure that strict privacy rights of individuals are protected. However, unauthorised use of data would be dealt with iron-hand to ensure that nothing comes in the way of making data-analytics a national movement," he said.
The government has launched open data platform in 2012 for public use. Later, it issued an open licence for people.
The minister said the government has opened up many data sets for developing innovating solutions but the data has anonymity. "Please don't confuse. Government data is anonymous. It does have an identity. If data is anonymous. It is free from all the constraints. It should be available for innovation," Prasad said. He said the Supreme Court in its recent judgement has given elaborate consideration the way India is innovating, embarked on digital empowerment with financial inclusion.
The minister said that the apex court has said that right to privacy is not absolute. "If an individual data which is private is disclosed without his consent surely consequences will follow and should follow. I want to assure that strict privacy rights of an individual must be protected. We in the government will ensure that it is protected," Prasad said. He said the government will be very tough in any unauthorised use of data in the interest of India's citizen for their right of privacy but in the garb of privacy it should not be hyped that innovation, initiative, entrepreneurship development is restrained.
"We have to find middle path. On middle path, I have always said that data availability, data utility, data anonymity, data privacy -- on these four principle if we proceed then surely India will emerge as a very important place as a democracy ruled by law, as a beacon for the world as to how India has set up a robust regime which set out benchmark for data utilisation maturity," Prasad said.
Ministry of Electronics and IT Secretary Ajay Prakash Sawhney said that the open data platform is a huge opportunity for the country and a brilliant foundation in place to have so much of data already being made available. "However, there is big gap between data being available and data being utilised. I believe, there are not only gaps, but we have serious opportunities available. A lot of intellectual effort needs to go into creating that value," Sawhney said.
tech2 News Staff
NASA has released a movie made from images captured during Cassini's final observations of the Saturnian moon, Enceladus. The sequence of images covers a period of fourteen hours, captured on 28 August, 2017, with the narrow angle camera on board the spacecraft.
Cassini has previously beamed back a number of images of the water spouts on Enceladus, which erupt near the south pole of the Moon, close to a geologically tortured region known as the "Tiger Stripes". The Tiger Stripes are prominent features that stretch across a large section of the moon. The Cassini mission was the first to discover the jets of water on Enceladus, and also found evidence that an ancient asteroid strike had shifted the poles on the moon.
The water spouts originate from a geologically active region on the moon, and Cassini has passed through the plumes in a close flyby to observe the water jets better. As scientists did not know that the plumes existed when the Cassini mission was planned, the spacecraft was not equipped with all the necessary scientific instruments needed to study the plumes thoroughly. Still, Cassini and the Hubble Space Telescope have together increased the human understanding of the remote icy world.
Life as we know it on Earth requires liquid water, a source of chemical energy to support metabolism, and the right mix of ingredients including oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, phosphorous and sulfur. Cassini has detected the presence of nearly all the requirements on Enceladus, except for phosphorus and sulfur. Scientists suspect that the rocky core of Enceladus may have phosphorous and sulfur as well, considering the elements were found in meteorites that are thought to be chemically similar to the kind of rocky core Enceladus has.
The Cassini Spacecraft is going to plunge into the atmosphere of Titan on 15 September, in a final science rich dive. The spacecraft is being destroyed as there is not enough fuel left on board to maintain control, and a drifting Cassini may end up on moons such as Titan or Enceladus, which may harbour life, and end up contaminating the moons with microbes piggybacking from Earth. Such a contamination may have disastrous consequences on any local forms of life. Cassini has executed a "Goodbye Kiss" maneuver around Titan, which puts the spacecraft on target to burn up in the hydrogen rich Saturnian atmosphere.
tech2 News Staff
Alongside the Note 8 launch in India, Samsung has also announced the arrival of its Bixby voice assistant to the Indian markets. The AI digital assistant market in India had three major competitors which were Apple's Siri, Google's Assistant and Microsoft's Cortona. However, with the introduction of Bixby and Amazon's Alexa being launched in India by the year-end, the competition will intensify.
Samsung has been working on the Bixby Assistant so that it can understand Indian accents properly. The Bixby update will be first introduced on the Note 8 on September 30 and may later be introduced the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus.
Earlier it was announced that the Bixby voice asssitant, after being introduced in the US was available in 200 countries globally but the voice feature would only understand US English and Korean languages
Reports have suggested that going by the likes of Apple's Siri or Google Assistant, Samsung's Bixby Voice is looking forward to expand the voice feature to other connected devices as well.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is now available in India at a price of Rs 67,900. The phone has an Exynos 8895 chipset clocked at 2.3 GHz which is paired with 6 GB RAM and is available in 64, 128 and 256 GB internal storage options. It also has a 6.3-inch Super AMOLED Infinity Display sporting a resolution of 1440x2960 pixels and is the first Samsung smartphone to sport a dual-camera setup. Pre-bookings for the phone have begin and it will start shipping from 21 September onwards.
Anirudh Regidi
Truth be told, Samsungs real flagship device this year is the upcoming Galaxy Note 8. The Galaxy S8 and S8+ are handsome devices, but they feel incomplete. The odd placement of the fingerprint sensor, non-standard aspect ratio and a useless voice assistant are only some of the issues with the devices.
Apple is also preparing a rather special phone this year, the iPhone 8, and it had better be something special because Samsung is leading an Android charge that is slowly but surely eating into the foundations of Apple's complacency.
Living down the Note 7 fiasco
Following the Note 7 disaster, there was a lot riding on the success of the S8. Samsung had to make an incredible and safe device if it wanted to restore peoples faith in the brand, and it did, after a fashion. As far as Android flagships go, the S8 is indeed the best you can buy today, but thats not saying much.
With the Galaxy S8, I think Samsung has managed to put together an incredible teaser for what is to come. The gorgeous glass finish, the subtle curves, the Infinity display, the force touch home button, etc.
The Note 8 is expected to release in September, which is still a few months away, giving Samsung plenty of time to further refine the design that the S8 introduced. This is also enough time for developers to adopt the new aspect ratio guidelines introduced by Google and for Samsungs Bixby to actually gain some IQ points.
When the Note 8 comes out, it will be the more refined Android flagship that I think all of us have been waiting for.
In terms of specifications, VentureBeat reports that the Note 8 will be powered by the flagship Exynos 8895 chipset and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, both of which power the Galaxy S8. The phone is expected to up the RAM to 6 GB and also include a dual-camera with independent optical image stabilisation for each lens. Unfortunately, the report also says that the fingerprint sensor will once again be placed on the rear of the device.
Of course, you can rest assured that Samsung is likely triple checking its Note 8 design for battery issues. Oh, and dont forget the S-Pen, which will apparently be accompanied by more capable software.
Is there any wonder, then, that the Note 8 is to be the true Android flagship?
And in Apples court...
The Apple iPhone 8 will also mean a lot to Apple. For a start, the iPhone 8, or whatever itll be dubbed at launch, will represent 10 years of the iPhone and the first major design overhaul since Steve Jobs passing.
The iPhone has been making do with the exact same design that Apple introduced in 2014. In smartphone terms, thats an eternity. Put three generations of iPhones side-by-side and youll be hard-pressed to tell them apart. A change in design is needed, and fast.
Put an iPhone next to an S8 and the iPhone will look and feel really old, and this is coming from a person whos used an iPhone for three years and sees no point in switching back to Android.
Putting all the rumours together, were expecting an iPhone with a bezel-less display, a fingerprint sensor integrated into the display or the power button, 3D Touch everywhere and wireless charging.
As an Apple user, the iPhone 8 is significant because judging by the past, were going to be looking at the same design for the next 3-4 years.
For the first time in three years, the iPhone might also see a significantly larger battery. As far as the rest of the specifications are concerned, theres really nothing to add. One can expect it to be powered by a platform that Apple will dub the A11 or A11X, it will have at least 3 GB of RAM and the dual-cameras on the rear will remain.
Both devices are expected to be the most expensive mainstream smartphones ever made (and no, Prada and Vertu and the like dont count) as both are expected to be priced in the $999 range.
A battle of titans
The battle might seem moot to the average observer, the Android user will go for the Note 8 and an Apple user to the iPhone 8 (or the iPhone 7s), after all.
However, it was just before the Note 7 started blowing up that news started trickling in of Samsung grabbing chunks of Apple's user base. If it wasn't for the Note 7, Apple might have indeed been on the back foot this year. Neither company can afford a dud of a smartphone this year.
On Friday, Sept. 8, Third Rail with OZY opened by asking: Is truth overrated? Is lying the American way?
Of course, lies have long been a big part of American politics, but fibs, tall tales and whoppers also affect our home and work lives.
We searched The Conversation archive for stories that explore how, why and when people lie and what happens as a result.
Do you lie and why?
Liars arent born but they do start early.
Gail Heyman is a professor of psychology at the University of California, San Diego who studies how children as young as three-and-a-half years old need to develop before they can become successful liars. Heyman acknowledges the corrosive power of lying on relationships, organizations and institutions. But she also admits that lying is a source of great social power, as it allows people to shape interactions in ways that serve their interests: They can evade responsibility for their misdeeds, take credit for accomplishments that are not really theirs, and rally friends and allies to the cause.
Have you ever harnessed this great social power by telling a lie?
If you answered no, perhaps thats true, but perhaps thats just something you mistakenly believe a falsehood.
Ronald W. Pies, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine, walked us through the difference between those two terms.
Someone who deliberately misrepresents what he or she knows to be true is lying typically, to secure some personal advantage, Pies writes. In contrast, someone who voices a mistaken claim without any intent to deceive is not lying. That person may simply be unaware of the facts, or may refuse to believe the best available evidence. Rather than lying, hes stating a falsehood.
Parsing lies from falsehoods requires us to understand another persons motivation. Thats tricky business anytime but it gets more complicated when the speaker youre scrutinizing is the president of the United States.
Into the political realm
Donald Trump, of course, embraced what Kellyanne Conway later dubbed alternative facts in the first official act of his presidency his inauguration speech.
During the speech, Trump claimed that unemployment went up under President Obama. It didnt, as researchers at the University of Florida point out, but 67 percent of Trumps supporters believed it at the time. Such misinformation contributes to Americans sense that there is a reality gap between conservatives and liberals in the United States.
But UFs Lauren Griffin writes that these far-fetched claims arent lies, but something she sees as much more dangerous bullshit.
Griffin quotes the philosopher Harry Frankfurt as explaining that a bullshitter does not care whether the things he says describe reality correctly. He just picks them out, or makes them up, to suit his purpose.
Of course, politically motivated skepticism of science is certainly not new, as Elizabeth Suhay, an assistant professor of government at American University, observed. Trump didnt invent the divide between scientists and politicians or between science and policy.
Science is consistently a political target precisely because of its political power, Suhay writes. The problem for science and evidence-based policy comes when politicians and other political actors decide to discredit the science on which a conclusion is based or bend the science to support their policy position. Call it policy-based evidence as opposed to evidence-based policy.
Could an embrace of policy-based evidence harm U.S. credibility in the world?
One example to consider is how the world reacted when American leadership turned its back on settled climate science and withdrew from the Paris Agreement. But perhaps embracing such hard truths is overrated.
Do you disagree? Make your voice heard in Third Rails online poll or tweet with the hashtag #ThirdRailPBS.
Berlin: German chancellor Angela Merkel has urged Hungary to quickly implement a ruling by the European Unions top court that member states must take in a share of refugees who reach the continent.
In its ruling last week, the court dismissed complaints by Slovakia and Hungary over the mandatory quotas introduced in 2015 to relocate asylum seekers from Greece and Italy.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday his government would not change its anti-immigration stance.
In an interview with Berliner Zeitung to be published on Tuesday, Merkel insisted that Hungary had to implement the court ruling.
"Its unacceptable that a government says a ruling of the European Court of Justice does not interest them," Merkel said, according to a preview published by the daily late on Monday.
Asked whether this meant that Hungary had to leave the European Union, Merkel said, "This means that a very fundamental question of Europe is being touched because for me, Europe is an area of the rule of law. We will have to talk about this at the European Council in October."
During the Mediterranean migrant crisis of 2015, hundreds of thousand of refugees arrived in the Balkans, Italy and Greece. That prompted the European Union to impose mandatory quotas on its member countries for relocating asylum seekers.
The flow of migrants has since receded, easing pressure to force compliance on nationalist leaders like Orban, who is benefiting domestically from his tough anti-immigrant policies as elections approach in 2018.
Merkel told another newspaper in an interview published over the weekend that she was optimistic that a dispute over how to distribute asylum seekers in the European Union would soon be resolved.
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung also reported that in negotiations between member states about redistribution, a compromise was starting to emerge that would link accepting refugees to payments from the European Union.
Washington: US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy on Monday provided a temporary reprieve for President Trumps order blocking most refugees from entering the United States, putting on hold a lower courts ruling loosening the prohibition.
Kennedys action gave the nine justices more time to consider the Justice Departments challenge filed on Monday to the lower courts decision allowing entry to refugees from around the world if they had a formal offer from a resettlement agency. The full Supreme Court could act within days.
The Justice Department opted not to appeal another part of last Thursdays ruling by the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals that related to Trumps ban on travellers from six Muslim-majority nations. The 9th Circuit ruling broadened the number of people with exemptions to the ban to include grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins of legal US residents.
Without Kennedys intervention, the appeals court decision would have gone into effect on Tuesday. Kennedy asked refugee ban challengers to file a response to the Trump administrations filing by noon (1600 GMT) on Tuesday.
Under the 9th US Circuits ruling, up to 24,000 additional refugees would become eligible to enter the United States than otherwise would be allowed, according to the administration.
Trumps 6 March order banned travellers from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days and locked out most aspiring refugees for 120 days in a move the Republican president argued was needed to prevent terrorist attacks.
The order, which replaced a broader January one that was blocked by federal courts, was one of the most contentious acts of his presidency. Critics called it an unlawful Muslim ban that made good on Trumps promise as a candidate of a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.
The broader question of whether the travel ban discriminates against Muslims in violation of the US Constitution, as lower courts previously ruled, will be argued before the Supreme Court on 10 October. The Supreme Court in June partially revived the order after its provisions were blocked by lower courts. But the justices said a ban could be applied only to those without a bona fide relationship to people or entities in the United States.
New litigation was brought by Hawaii over the meaning of that phrase, including whether written assurances by resettlement agencies obligating them to provide services for specific refugees would count. Hawaii and other Democratic-led states, the American Civil Liberties Union and refugee groups filed legal challenges after Trump signed his order in March.
The Trump administration has ended its odd and ill-advised quest to ban grandmas from the country, Hawaii Attorney-General Douglas Chin said on Monday. With respect to the admission to the United States of refugees with formal assurances and the Supreme Courts temporary stay order, each day matters, Chin added, promising to respond soon to the administrations filing.
In court papers filed earlier on Monday, the Justice Department said the 9th Circuit refugees decision will disrupt the status quo and frustrate orderly implementation of the orders refugee provisions.
Omar Jadwat, an ACLU lawyer, contrasted Trumps efforts to keep alive his travel ban with the Republican presidents decision last week to rescind a program that protected from deportation people brought to the United States illegally as children, dubbed Dreamers.
The extraordinary efforts the administration is taking in pursuit of the Muslim ban stand in stark contrast to its unwillingness to take a single step to protect 8,00,000 Dreamers, Jadwat said.
Paris: President Emmanuel Macron's presidency is facing its first big public test, as unions hold nationwide protests against changes to labour laws that they fear corrode job security.
The prominent CGT union is leading Tuesday's protests, calling for strikes across transport and other public sector businesses and planning some 180 demonstrations.
The protests are in response to August draft decrees that reduce the power of unions and give companies more authority to fire workers and influence workplace rules.
Some unions have refused to join the protests, preferring to negotiate with Macron's government over upcoming plans to change unemployment and retirement rules.
Tuesday's protests are the first big public display of discontent with Macron, and come as his popularity is sinking.
Macron is heading to hurricane-battered islands in the French Caribbean.
Berlin: A German court on Tuesday said it had dropped a case against a 96-year-old former medical orderly at the Auschwitz death camp because he suffers from dementia, ending one of the last high-profile Nazi prosecutions.
Wheelchair-bound Hubert Zafke had faced 3,681 counts of being an accessory to murder at the concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland.
The decision to end the proceedings was widely expected after prosecutors in August said the accused was unfit for trial and the case should be dismissed.
Concerns over Zafke's mental and physical health had led to repeated postponements of his trial, which began in February 2016 in the northeastern lakeside town of Neubrandenburg.
"Because of his dementia he is no longer capable of following a trial," court spokesman Carl Christian Deutsch said in a statement.
Two independent psychiatrists had confirmed the diagnosis, finding that Zafke was incapable of following a discussion or retaining information "for more than a few minutes", he added.
The charges against Zafke focused on a one-month period in 1944 when 14 trains carrying prisoners including the Jewish teenage diarist Anne Frank arrived at Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Frank, who arrived in Auschwitz with her parents and sister, was later transferred to another camp, Bergen-Belsen, where she died in March 1945, just two months before the Nazis were defeated.
After World War II, a Polish court in 1948 sentenced Zafke to a four-year jail term from which he was released in 1951.
But during his first questioning by German prosecutors in 2014, he denied ever having worked at Auschwitz.
In later depositions, he acknowledged his presence but said he was unaware of the gas chambers and crematoria at the death camp until after the end of the war.
Some 1.1 million people, most of them European Jews, perished between 1940 and 1945 in Auschwitz before it was liberated by Soviet forces.
Zafke was the fourth former concentration camp worker in the dock in Germany in the most recent series of trials, following John Demjanjuk in 2011, Oskar Groening in 2015 and Reinhold Hanning last year all convicted of complicity in mass murder.
All were tried using a new standard of evidence: that it was sufficient to work at a death camp to be prosecuted, even without proof of a link to specific deaths.
On Tuesday, the AIADMK announced that J Jayalalithaa would be granted title of the party's "eternal general secretary".
The announcement came during the general council and executive committee meeting called by the E Palaniswamy-led faction after the Madras High Court on Monday dismissed a plea by an MLA owing allegiance to sidelined AIADMK deputy chief TTV Dhinakaran.
While J Jayalalithaa, who has been dead for 10 months, being bestowed this honour by the AIADMK seems to be a first in the history of Indian politics, those familiar with world history will recognise this as nothing new. Politicians have, from time immemorial, been attempting to bestow glory upon themselves.
By popular acclaim
In North Korea, a cult of personality has been carefully weaved around Kim Jong-un's family for decades.
Kim's grandfather, Kim Il-Sung, who passed away in 1994, is known as the 'Eternal President of the Republic'. Talk about tenure!
His father Kim Jong-Il, who clearly didn't want to be left behind, held the following impressive sounding titles: Dear Leader, Supreme Leader, Our Father, The General, Generalissimo, Hero of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Marshal of the DPRK. We're exhausted just listing them!
Self-proclaimed greatness
When Oscar Wilde was visiting America, he reportedly told customs officials, "I have nothing to declare but my genius."
Leaders, especially dictators in third world nations, have been proudly proclaiming their genius to the heavens for years.
Kim Jong-un, perhaps the world's youngest head of State, took power in 2011 after the death of his father.
Undoubtedly wanting to continue the family tradition, he assigned the following titles to himself: Dear Respected Comrade Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the Workers Party of Korea, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea and Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army. Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the crazy tree.
While boxer Floyd Mayweather may have only recently declared himself TBE (The Best Ever), Ugandan military dictator Idi Amin was way ahead of him. According to a report in The Guardian, Amin, perhaps a man not easily given to humility, declared himself 'CBE: Conquerer of the British Empire' (yes, really!) And that's not all; Amin also gave himself the following titles: His Excellency, President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin Dada, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Seas (whew).
The VC, by the way, is not the famed British Victoria Cross but the rather less regarded 'Victorious Cross'. And yes, you guessed it, he awarded it to himself. And while he famously offered to be the king of Scotland, the truth is that his advances were probably rebuffed by a nation of bewildered Scotsmen. Your countrymen might not miss you Idi, but... neither do we.
According to a report in The New York Times, Romanian president Nicolae Ceausescu who some called the ''Idi Amin of Communism' (uh-oh) declared himself The Great Conductor, The Genius of the Carpathians and The Danube of Thought on his 71st birthday even as his countrymen starved. It truly doesn't get better than the Danube of Thought.
Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo was one of many dictators who fancied himself as God. At first, Trujillo was content to call himself 'El Jefe' (the Chief), but his ambitions seemed to get the better of him.
According to a report, Trujillo renamed his country's capital, roads, buildings, bridges and even mountains after himself. He required every license plate to say 'Viva Trujillo' and every church to feature the phrase Dios en cielo, Trujillo en tierra or God in Heaven, Trujillo on Earth. Seems like a nice, down to earth chap.
According to a BBC report, Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe is referred to as thus: His Excellency, The President, Robert Gabriel Mugabe and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces. However, the following list of titles is added to his prolific list at social events: Patron of War Veterans, First Secretary of the Party and Chancellor of State Universities, Supreme Leader, First Citizen of the Nation, Professor of Diplomacy, and Honorary Black Belt. But he knows karate, so we probably shouldn't mock him.
When in Rome...
Like many other things running water, newspapers, social welfare, bound books, roads and highways and the calendar we probably have ancient Rome to thank (or curse) for our politicians' obsessions with grandiosity.
According to a BBC report, the imperial cult loomed large in the Roman State religion where emperors and members of their families were regarded as gods. Julius Caesar was famously declared as divine upon his death and Caesar's son allowed temples to be set up to worship him.
As they say, when in Rome...
With inputs from agencies
Tehran: Myanmar's crackdown on Rohingya Muslims marks the "death of the Nobel Peace prize", Iran's supreme leader said Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday in a sharp attack on Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
"A cruel government, at the top of which sits a cruel woman who was awarded a Nobel prize, kills innocent people, sets fire to them, destroys their houses and displaces them and no tangible reaction is seen," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a speech in Tehran.
Once lauded by the international community for standing up to the Myanmar military, Suu Kyi has been sharply criticised around the world for her failure to condemn brutal attacks on her country's Muslim minority now she is the effective leader.
"Yes, they condemn it, issue statements, but what good does it do? They should take action. This marks the death of the Nobel Peace prize," Khamenei said.
The United Nations says 370,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Buddhist-majority Myanmar since the army launched a huge security operation in response to attacks by militants late last month.
UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein described the operation as a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing".
Khamenei said the problem was not about Buddhists and Muslims.
"Maybe a few religious fanatics play a role, but a government is doing this. This is a political issue," he said.
"The solution is for Muslim governments to act. We are not saying they should send troops there, but impose political and economic pressure," Khamenei said.
He called on the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to convene "for this specific purpose and to discuss what measures can be taken for these Muslims."
The Iranian Red Crescent has prepared an aid package for the Rohingya but is awaiting permission from Myanmar for its delivery, the Mizan Online news agency reported.
Washington: President Donald Trump on Monday said America "cannot be intimidated" and vowed to eliminate terrorist safe havens in any part of the world as he led the nation in mourning the death of nearly 3,000 people in the worst terror attack on the US soil 16 years ago.
"The terrorists who attacked us thought they could incite fear and weaken our spirit," Trump said in his first 9/11 memorial address as the US president.
Nearly 3,000 people, including Indians, were killed when Al-Qaeda militants flew commercial planes into New York's World Trade Centre, the Pentagon and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Addressing an audience at the Pentagon, one of three sites attacked on 11 September, 2001, Trump issued stern warning to terrorists and said, "America cannot be intimidated and those who try will soon join the list of vanquished enemies who dared to test our mettle."
"We're ensuring that they never again have a safe haven to launch attacks against our country. We are making plain to these savage killers that there is no dark corner beyond our reach, no sanctuary beyond our grasp, and nowhere to hide anywhere on this very large Earth," he said. Trump in August issued the sternest warning yet by an American leader to Pakistan for providing safe havens to terrorists that kill Americans in Afghanistan and warned Islamabad that it has "much to lose" by harbouring them.
Earlier on Monday, Trump and the First Lady Melania observed a moment of silence at the White House. He was joined by White House staff and top officials including spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders, senior advisers Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, National Security Advisor HR McMaster and his Chief of Staff John Kelly.
At 8.46 am, a bell tolled as they stood between the two wings of the crowd with their heads bowed in silence. A Marine Played Taps on the trumpet at 8.47 am and all including Trump and the First Lady placed their hands over their hearts. 8.46 am is the exact time the first plane crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York.
Trump said the horror and anguish of that dark day were seared into the national memory forever. "It was the worst attack on our country since Pearl Harbour and even worse because this was an attack on civilians innocent men, women, and children whose lives were taken so needlessly," he said. "America does not bend. We do not waver. And we will never, ever yield," Trump said.
"While we had never asked for this fight, we are steadfastly committed to seeing it through, as President Trump has made abundantly clear, and with no more temporising, as our example of leadership galvanises other nations to stand united against this threat to all humankind," Defence secretary Jim Mattis said speaking at the Pentagon Memorial.
General Joseph Dunford, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the terrorists believed that these attacks would shake Americas commitment to its values. "And, as President Bush said hours after the attacks, the terrorists thought they could frighten us into chaos and retreat. But they were wrong," he asserted.
"Instead of retreat, the tragedy of 9/11 produced in us an unyielding resolve. Instead of hopelessness, our mourning turned into action. And we have strengthened our commitment to the idea that the freedom of many should never be endangered by the hatred of a few," Dunford said.
"Though our country was wounded that day, today we remind the world that terrorism will never defeat the United States," Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said.
This date also marks a solemn tragedy where four Americans, including two of State Department personnel, were killed in a terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. "Their loss will always weigh heavy in our hearts," he said in a statement.
"As an American, and as a native New Yorker, memories of 9/11 stir deep emotions, even 16 years later. As we observe Patriot Day to honor those we lost that fateful day, our resolve to 'never forget' remains as strong as ever," said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
Islamabad: Pakistan prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has warned the US against cutting military assistance, saying it will be counter-productive, a media report said on Tuesday.
According to Urdu daily Roznama Express, Abbasi said that any such move would harm the war against militancy, which both countries are fighting for the last 16 years, reports Xinhua news agency.
He warned that Washington will not achieve its counter-terrorism aims by "starving" Pakistan of funds, adding that both countries need to make cooperative efforts to win over militancy in the region.
The prime minister's remarks came after Washington asked Islamabad to do more against the Haqqani Network terror group, which the US believes has close ties with Pakistan.
The US also conditioned future aid to Pakistan on its tackling the network which is believed to be carrying out terrorist attacks on allied forces in Afghanistan.
Abbasi said it was unfair on Washington's part to hold Pakistan responsible for all the troubles it was facing against militants in Afghanistan.
He urged the US to show more appreciation for Pakistan's losses in war on terror and its role in hosting 3.5 million Afghan refugees.
Talking about the US Congress blocking the sale of subsidised F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, Abbasi said that Islamabad will have no choice but to look at other options to maintain its national defensive forces.
Aboard the Papal plane: Pope Francis has sharply criticised climate change doubters, saying history will judge those who failed to take the necessary decisions to curb heat-trapping emissions blamed for the warming of the Earth.
Francis was asked about climate change and the spate of hurricanes that have pummeled the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean recently as his charter plane left Colombia on Sunday and flew over some of the devastated areas.
"Those who deny this must go to the scientists and ask them. They speak very clearly," he said, referring to experts who blame global warming on man-made activities.
Francis said scientists have also clearly charted what needed to be done to reverse course on global warming and said individuals and politicians had a "moral responsibility" to do their part.
"These aren't opinions pulled out of thin air. They are very clear," he said. "Then they (leaders) decide and history will judge those decisions."
Francis has made caring for the environment a hallmark of his papacy, writing an entire encyclical about how the poor in particular are most harmed when multinationals move into exploit natural resources.
During his visit to Colombia, Francis spoke out frequently about the need to preserve the country's rich biodiversity from over-development and exploitation.
For those who have denied climate change, or delayed actions to counter it, he responded with an Old Testament saying: "Man is stupid."
"When you don't want to see, you don't see," he said.
Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar on Tuesday called for action against Myanmar over its alleged crackdown on Rohingya Muslims.
In the terror group's house magazine, al-Qalam, Azhar, chief of the Pakistan-based terror group warned Myanmar "for the thundering sound of its conquerors", The Indian Express reported.
Azhar further said, All of us must do whatever we can for the Myanmar Muslims. Just say your prayers and get up to help them. You dont need to show off what you are doing: Just do it, and never stop."
This is the first time any terror group has called for "action" against Myanmar, according to The Indian Express report.
However, in the past terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) have instigated Rohingyas to avenge the sectarian violence in Myanmar, reported Hindustan Times.
Along with LeT, several militant outfits are training Rohingya militants in Pakistan, with the aim to create sabotage including covert killings in Bangladesh, India and Myanmar, India Today reported.
The militants who later formed a group Aqa Mul Mujahideen, recruited Rohingya Muslims, reported The Economic Times .
The report also states that the group is allegedly fighting alongside Pakistani extremists in Kashmir. Last year, one of their top leaders, Chotta Burmi, was killed in Kashmir along with JEM commander Adil Pathan.
Recently, Islamabad had taken a strong stand against Myanmar and previously expressed "deep anguish" at the violence, The New Indian Express reported.
The Pakistan foreign office also issued an official reaction to mass killings of Rohingya Muslims, stating: In line with its consistent position on protecting the rights of Muslim minorities worldwide, Pakistan will work with the international community in particular the OIC to express solidarity with the Rohingya Muslims and to work towards safeguarding their rights", Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported.
On Saturday, thousands of Pakistani nationals took to the streets in major cities to condemn the reported crackdown on Rohingyas. In Karachi, more than 2,000 people demonstrated outside the Karachi Press Club, according to media reports.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai also called upon the international community to intervene to protect Myanmar's Muslim minority Rohingya fleeing violence and terror, Geo TV reported.
"We can't be silent right now. The number of people who have been displaced is hundreds of thousands", Malala said, according to the report.
India, on the other hand has reportedly avoiding condemning Myanmar over the issue, NDTV reported.
In fact, New Delhi refused to sign global declaration against Myanmar at World Parliamentary Forum on Sustainable Development held at Nusa Dua in Indonesia, according to the report.
India issued the following statement at the forum:
"The declaration, which was to be adopted at the conclusion of the forum, was not in line with the agreed global principles of sustainable development, and specifying a particular country is unjustified in the forum."
In its first bilateral visit to Myanmar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India stands by Myanmar amid the challenges it is facing. He also asked all stakeholders to preserve the country's unity and territorial integrity.
The violence in Myanmar erupted following an attack by a Rohingya insurgent group on police and military posts in Rakhine state, leading to a violent offensive by the Myanmar army.
The death toll has touched 400, according to official figures. Indiscriminate firing at local communities and torching of entire villages and other human rights violations were also reported.
Some 290,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh to escape the violence.
With inputs from PTI
Ukhiya (Bangladesh): Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday visited a struggling refugee camp that has absorbed some of the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya who fled recent violence in Myanmar a crisis she said left her speechless.
Hasina demanded that Myanmar "take steps to take their nationals back," and assured temporary aid until that happened.
"We will not tolerate injustice," she said at a rally at the Kutupalong refugee camp, near the border town of Ukhiya in Cox's Bazar district.
On Monday night, she lambasted Buddhist-majority Myanmar for "atrocities" that she said had reached a level beyond description, telling lawmakers she had "no words to condemn Myanmar" and noting that Bangladesh had long been protesting the persecution of Rohingya Muslims.
At least 3,13,000 Rohingya have flooded into Bangladesh since 25 August, when Rohingya insurgents attacked police posts, prompting Myanmar's military to retaliate with what it called "clearance operations" to root out the rebels.
The crisis has drawn sharp criticism from around the world. Germany has halted several aid projects with Myanmar in protest, and Iran's Supreme Leader called the killing of Muslims a political disaster for Myanmar. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also urged other Muslim countries Tuesday to "increase political, economic and commercial pressures" on Myanmar to stop the violence.
The United Nations human rights chief said Myanmar's ethnic Rohingya minority was facing what "seems a textbook example of ethnic cleansing." UN rights investigators have been barred from entering the country.
"The Myanmar government should stop pretending that the Rohingya are setting fire to their own homes and laying waste to their own villages," Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein said Monday in Geneva, calling it a "complete denial of reality."
Meanwhile, a Rohingya villager in Myanmar said security forces had arrived Monday in the village of Pa Din village, firing guns, setting new fires to homes and driving hundreds of Rohingya to flee.
"People were scared and running out of the village," the villager said, speaking on condition of anonymity out of fear for his safety.
Myanmar police disputed that, saying the houses were burned by terrorists they called Bengalis. That term is used derisively by many in Myanmar to describe the Rohingya, who they say migrated illegally from neighboring Bangladesh, though many Rohingya families have lived in Myanmar for generations.
Bangladesh has said it would free 2,000 acres (810 hectares) of land for a new camp in Cox's Bazar district, to help shelter newly arrived Rohingya. The government was also fingerprinting and registering new arrivals.
Kutupalong and another pre-existing Rohingya camps were already beyond capacity. Other new arrivals were staying in schools, or huddling in makeshift settlements with no toilets along roadsides and in open fields.
Basic resources were scarce, including food, clean water and medical aid.
Aid agencies have been overwhelmed by the influx of Rohingya, many of whom are arriving hungry and traumatized after walking days through jungles or being packed into rickety wooden boats in search of safety in Bangladesh.
Many tell similar stories of Myanmar soldiers firing indiscriminately on their villages, burning their homes and warning them to leave or to die. Some say they were attacked by Buddhist mobs.
In the last two weeks, the government hospital in Cox's Bazar has been overwhelmed by Rohingya patients, with 80 arriving in the last two weeks suffering gunshot wounds as well as bad infections.
At least three Rohingya have been wounded in land mine blasts, and dozens have drowned when boats capsized during sea crossings.
Myanmar's authorities said more than a week ago that some 400 Rohingya mostly insurgents had died in clashes with troops, but it has offered no updated death toll since.
Rohingya have faced decades of discrimination and persecution in Myanmar and are denied citizenship despite centuries-olds roots in the Rakhine region.
Before 25 August, Bangladesh had already been housing some 500,000 Rohingya who arrived after bloody anti-Muslim rioting in 2012 or amid earlier persecution drives in Myanmar.
Washington: Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon says the firing of former FBI director James Comey may have been the biggest mistake in "modern political history."
Bannon confirmed he opposed President Donald Trump's decision to oust Comey, calling the FBI "an institution."
Bannon told CBS that institutions such as the US Senate and House of Representatives can be changed "if the leadership is changed."
But he also said the FBI is different.
"I don't believe that the institutional logic of the FBI, and particularly in regards to an investigation, could possibly be changed by changing the head of it," Bannon said.
The ousted White House adviser also said that if Comey hadn't been fired, "We would not have the Mueller investigation," referring to special counsel Robert Mueller.
The White House rejected Bannon's statement, saying President Donald Trump "was right" to fire former FBI Director James Comey.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders says Trump's decision was justified given Comey's conduct after the decision.
She is accusing the former FBI director of "giving false testimony," ''leaking privileged information to journalists" and politicizing his investigation.
Comey's firing angered career officials at the FBI, and the former director has defended his handling of the investigation into the Trump campaign's possible connections with Russia.
Bannon said in an interview with CBS News that Comey's firing may have been the biggest mistake in "modern political history" and said it led to the investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller.
The United Nations Security Council on Monday unanimously imposed new sanctions on North Korea, slapping a ban on textile exports and restricting shipments of oil products to punish Pyongyang for its sixth and largest nuclear test.
With backing from China and Russia, the council adopted a United States-drafted sanctions resolution just one month after banning exports of coal, lead and seafood in response to North Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
American Ambassador Nikki Haley said the tough new measures were a message to Pyongyang that "the world will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea," but she also held out the prospect of a peaceful resolution to the crisis.
"We don't take pleasure in further strengthening sanctions today," Haley told the council. "We are not looking for war. The North Korean regime has not yet passed the point of no-return." "If it agrees to stop its nuclear program, it can reclaim its future. If it proves it can live in peace, the world will live in peace with it," she added. "If North Korea continues its dangerous path, we will continue with further pressure. The choice is theirs."
During tough negotiations, the United States dropped initial demands for a full oil embargo and a freeze on the foreign assets of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un in a bid to win support from China and Russia.
The resolution instead bans textile exports, cuts off natural gas shipments to North Korea, places a ceiling on deliveries of refined oil products and caps crude oil shipments at their current level.
It bars countries from issuing new work permits to North Korean laborers sent abroad and seeks to phase out the practice by asking countries to report on the date for ending existing contracts.
Some 93,000 North Koreans work abroad, providing Kim's regime with a source of revenue to develop its missile and nuclear programs, according to an American official familiar with the negotiations.
Under the measure, countries are authorized to inspect ships suspected of carrying banned North Korean cargo but must first seek the consent of the flag-state.
Joint ventures will be banned and the names of senior North Korean official and three entities were added to a United Nations sanctions blacklist that provides for an assets freeze and a global travel ban.
It was the eighth series of sanctions imposed on North Korea since it first tested a nuclear device in 2006.
'Big mistake' to avoid talks
The United States and its allies argue that tougher sanctions will pile pressure on Kim's regime to come to the negotiation table to discuss an end to its nuclear and missile tests.
Russia and China are pushing for talks with North Korea, but their proposal for a freeze on Pyongyang's missile and nuclear tests in exchange for suspending US-South Korean military drills has been rejected by the United States.
Addressing Russian and Chinese concerns, the resolution expressed support for dialogue and the need "to resolve the situation through peaceful, diplomatic and political means".
Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the council it would be a "big mistake to under-estimate this Russia-China initiative" for a so-called freeze-for freeze, adding that Moscow would "insist on it being considered."
Chinese Ambassador Liu Jieyi again called for talks "sooner rather than later".
China, North Korea's sole ally and main trading partner, had strongly objected to an oil embargo initially sought by the United States out of fear that it would bring the North's economy to its knees.
Some four million barrels per year of crude oil will continue to flow from China through a pipeline, but the resolution would cap those deliveries at the current level, according to the United States official.
The resolution limits deliveries of refined oil products to 5,00,000 barrels for three months from 1 October and to two million barrels from 1 January for a period of 12 months.
That would amount to a 10 percent cut in oil products, according to the United States Energy Information Administration, which estimates annual exports to North Korea at nearly 2.2 million barrels.
North Korea imports mostly gasoline and diesel fuel from China vital to the country's agriculture, transportation and military sectors, according to the EIA.
The United States official said the ban on textile exports would deprive North Korea of some $726 million in annual revenue.
Washington has said military action remains an option in dealing with North Korea and threatened to cut economic ties with countries that continue to trade with the it. Around 90 percent of the North's external commerce is with China.
Earlier, North Korea said it would not accept any chastisement over its nuclear and missile program, which it says is vital to stave off the threat of an American invasion.
"The DPRK shall make absolutely sure that the US pays due price," its foreign ministry said, in a statement published by the official KCNA news agency.
"The forthcoming measures to be taken by the DPRK will cause the United States the greatest pain and suffering it had ever gone through in its entire history."
Pyongyang has staged a series of missile tests in recent months, culminating in an intercontinental ballistic missile that appeared to bring much of the United States mainland into range.
It followed up with a sixth nuclear test on 3 September, its largest to date, which North Korea said was a hydrogen bomb small enough to fit onto a missile.
Washington: The Trump administration warned on Tuesday that the US will punish companies in China and Russia that don't comply with restrictions in the new international sanctions on North Korea. State Department and Treasury Department officials testified to the House Foreign Affairs Committee about the US pressure campaign against North Korea's rapid progress toward a nuclear weapon that could strike America.
The hearing came a day after the UN Security Council imposed its latest sanctions over what North Korea says was a hydrogen bomb test 3 September, its most powerful atomic test yet. The council banned North Korean textile exports, an important source of hard currency, and capped its imports of crude oil.
Treasury Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing Marshall Billingslea credited China and Russia's support of the UN resolution but said both countries "must do much more" to implement and enforce the sanctions, in the face of Pyongyang's ability to evade restrictions that have been progressively tightened for a decade.
"Because of uneven, and sometimes nonexistent, international implementation, North Korea shrugs off the practical impact of many restrictions, and is still exporting prohibited goods such as weapons, minerals, and statues," Billingslea said.
He showed to the hearing satellite images provided by US intelligence of ships purported to travel between Russia and China with illicit exports of North Korean coal in violation of sanctions. Susan Thornton, the acting top US diplomat for East Asia, noted that last month the US rolled out new sanctions targeting Russian and Chinese individuals and entities.
She said the US would continue to act to disrupt North Korea's illicit activities wherever they are located. That included a 29 June designation of the Bank of Dandong, a regional Chinese bank, which is believed to help North Korea access the US and international financial systems. Thornton said the administration "has made clear that if China and Russia do not act, we will use the tools we have at our disposal."
Republican Rep. Ed Royce, the committee chairman, said efforts by the US and its allies to counter the threat from North Korea nuclear and missile programs should be "super-charged."
He said the North's access to hard currency was its "Achilles heel." He urged the administration to "dramatically ramp up" US sanctions designations of entities that deal with North Korea, particularly Chinese banks. He singled out the China Merchants Bank and the Agricultural Bank of China. Rep. Eliot Engel, the committee's top-ranking Democrat, supported the pressure campaign but strongly criticized President Donald Trump's commentary on the North Korean crisis, which he said was making matters worse.
He cited Trump's warning last month of "fire and fury" against the North if it makes more threats, and his "shaming" of allies through tweets, which he said undermined US credibility.
Washington: The White House condemned on Monday an upsurge in violence in Myanmar that has sent 3,00,000 Rohingya Muslims fleeing to neighbouring Bangladesh, saying it was concerned by violence on both sides.
"The United States is deeply troubled by the ongoing crisis in Burma," said Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, condemning attacks on Burmese military positions and subsequent convulsion of deadly ethnic tinged violence.
"At least 3,00,000 people have fled their homes in the wake of attacks on (a) Burmese security post on 25 August," Sanders said.
We "reiterate our condemnation of those attacks and ensuing violence," she added, without pointing the finger of blame at any specific groups.
The initial attacks have been blamed on the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, a militant group, while Burmese security forces are being held responsible for a backlash that may have killed more than 1,000, mostly Rohingya.
The Rohingya, a stateless Muslim minority, have faced decades of persecution in Myanmar, where they are regarded as illegal immigrants.
The Trump White House had been facing questions about its silence in the face of a crisis that a United Nations envoy has called a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing".
NA Deputy Speaker thinks if they are not in power, they are in opposition (video)
Armen Rostomyan, Head of the parliamentary group of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation - Dashnaktsutyun, personally does not see the benefits of the current government led by Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan. It does not matter for him who will fill the seat of Prime Minister next year. The important thing is not to have any deviation from the projects. "Who will it be implemented by? Of course, it is important that the person be devoted to the job and be able to perform his functions with love. There are many such people." Only time can show which government will be approved by the ARF Dashnaktsutyun. Today, Armen Rostomyan does not want to touch upon that theme. The party does not think about putting forward their candidate, that is the Republicans' responsibility. By the way, Mr. Rostomyan refused to speak about the possibility of the Tsarukyan Alliance's joining the coalition memorandum after 2018, calling it 'hypothetical.' Mikael Melkumyan, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, once again quoted Otto von Bismack: "Politics is the art of possible essay." There is no issue of forming a coalition with the Republican Party and the ARF-Dashnaktsutyun in the agenda of the Tsarukyan Alliance, the alliance is still in opposition. Mikael Melkumyan says that if they are not with the government, then they are against it. "It is not as if I have passed from the opposition to the authorities. We should go the way that leads to our national interests." By the way, the alliance currently does not discuss the issue of presenting its own candidate for Prime Minister, Mikael Melkumyan says that many things will be decided by that moment. When the time comes, they will discuss it.
Last month Samsung started rolling out its Bixby Voice assistant globally. Today at the launch of its flagship Galaxy Note8 smartphone in India, Dipesh Shah, MD, Samsung R&D Institute said that Bixby Voice will be available in India in the next few weeks for the Galaxy Note8, Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ smartphones.
It supports U.S. English, but it has been optimized to understand English in Indian accents. It doesnt matter which part of India you are from, Bixby will work hard to understand you and take care of your daily activities, he said at the event.
With full voice capabilities for U.S. English, users can easily activate voice commands such as turning on the flashlight, taking a selfie, setting reminders, find photos from your gallery and more by pressing the Bixby button and saying Hi, Bixby.
Samsung already said that it plans to continue expanding Bixbys voice capabilities to additional languages, devices, features and third-party applications.
Just when Apple is all set to unveil the much anticipated iPhone X tonight, Samsung is opening about its plans for the foldable smartphone. Samsung mobile President Dong Jin Koh has revealed that the company is aiming to release the foldable smartphones in 2018.
We have already seen a number of rumors and reports about the foldable smartphones since the beginning of this year. Jin Koh stated that there are several technological hurdles that is causing the delay for the foldable smartphones.
Samsung mobile President Dong Jin Koh told reporters,
As the head of the business, I can say our current goal is next year. When we can overcome some problems for sure, we will launch the product.
As per earlier reports, Samsung is working on foldable smartphones dubbed as Galaxy X and Galaxy X1 which were expected to be showcased at MWC 2017. This is the first time that Samsung has publicly mentioned a specific plan for the next-generation product.
Source
Morgan Community College celebrated National Poetry Month, in spite of the wet weather, with an open mic on Friday.
The events special guest, Wendy Videlock, drove all the way from her home in Palisade, which she described as a harrowing journey. Videlock, who has published four books of poetry, including one chapbook, and regularly contributes to Poetry and other prestigious magazines, read some of her work at the open mic alongside poets from the community. On Saturday she also taught a poetry workshop, entitled From Lucid Rhythms to Barbaric Yawps.
Rachel Kellum, the advisor for MCCs Associate of Arts program and a longtime friend of Videlock, introduced her by reading some reviews of her work from the New York Times, Sherman Alexie and other critics.
I am really honored to present Wendy Videlock to you, she said. Were grateful that you are persistent.
The open mic was rescheduled from its originally planned date, April 8, due to a family emergency. But it still drew a bigger crowd than the fall open mic.
It started off with performances from several local poets, including regulars like Brenda Wildrick. Their poems ranged from funny and lighthearted to deeply emotional, with a wide variety of styles. Videlock said she was impressed with the diverse nature of what you guys are producing here.
Her own poems drew heavily from the nature and wildlife of her home on the Western Slope, as well as universal topics like aging and raising children. Although they often dealt with serious matters, the poems she read were written with a tongue-in-cheek flair, and she cracked herself up several times while reading them.
Poetry is fundamentally fun, she said, quoting a colleague.
One of the traits Videlocks admirers talk about most in her poetry is her use of rhythm, and that was the focus of the workshop she led at MCC on Saturday. The participants, most of whom also performed at the open mic, studied the rhythms present in works by Edna St. Vincent Millay, Walt Whitman and other famous poets. Then they read some of their own poetry and discussed it in the same way.
Both the open mic and workshop had a friendly, welcoming atmosphere, as usual for CACE artistic events. Kellum and Videlock both praised the work coming from local poets of all ages. During the workshop, Videlock made a point of encouraging all the participants to keep writing, even if they didnt like their own work at first.
Poetry is a family, she said. We look after each other.
During the open mic, she also praised Kellum and the rest of the CACE staff for working to encourage the arts in Morgan County.
God bless what you do here, Videlock said.
Stephanie Alderton: 970-867-5651 ext 227, salderton@fmtimes.com or twitter.com/slalderton
Military veterans of the war on terrorism deserve a memorial. Lets hope they dont have to wait as long for it as World War II veterans did theirs.
Pittsburgher Andrew Brennan, an Army veteran who flew helicopters in Afghanistan, has been promoting the idea of a national memorial in Washington, D.C., for about three years. Significant obstacles remain. Funding is one of them, but thats a worry for another day. First, Congress would have to waive a law that permits memorials to be built only 10 years or more after a war is concluded.
The war on terror, however, is more nebulous than most. Its a fight against a concept, a tactic used by non-state actors, not a foreign power. Its waged on many fronts, not two or three. Unlike other wars, such as World War II, it might never end. But thats no reason to hold off giving veterans their due.
The National WWII Memorial did not open until 2004, 59 years after the wars end. Now, WWII veterans are dying at a rate of hundreds per day, and theres a rush to get as many as possible to Washington to see the memorial while theyre still able to travel. The nonprofit Honor Flight Network has cobbled together money and planes to fly tens of thousands of them to Washington.
Veterans of the war on terrorism shouldnt have to wait until they are 80 or 90 to visit their memorial. They reported when called, putting duty before families, careers and convenience. Recognition of their sacrifices should be prompt, too.
Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., is correct to point out that the 10-year-rule is intended to provide historical context to a war. The waiting period theoretically leads to a more fitting tribute. But 10 years is completely arbitrary; historians could provide even better context 20, 30 or 40 years afterward.
While much about the war on terrorism remains unknown, the broad outlines are clear. Thats enough to get started. An unconventional war deserves an unconventional memorial, and this one should be built in a way that allows later chapters of the story to be added. Architects will find a way.
For inspiration, Congress might look at the example set 75 years ago by the people of Monongahela, Pa., who wasted no time erecting an honor roll to friends and relatives serving during WWII. Their memorial went up in June 1942, the work done by local craftsmen and the space donated by a town businessman. Planning, according to the old Daily Republican newspaper, began soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Two girls with brothers in the military pulled aside a red, white and blue curtain unveiling the honor roll, to which names were to be added each month. For America, the war was just getting started. But folks in Monongahela needed no more context than the empty seats at their dinner tables.
Moving on a memorial now would be just thanks to veterans of the war on terrorism. It also might help to steel those of us on the home front.
Jacksonville Daily News
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.
Alaska Airlines is offering deals on one-way tickets to destinations across the United States for as little as $42.
Customers departing from Las Vegas to Los Angeles can scoop up tickets at the $42 mark, while those flying from Burbank, Calif. to San Jose, Calif. can find prices as low as $49. Passengers on flights from Dallas (Love Field) to Washington, D.C. (Reagan Airport) and Denver to San Franciscoeach between two and a half to three hourscan buy tickets for as little as $69.
For longer flights such as New York (JFK Airport) to Las Vegas and Washington, D.C. (Dulles Airport) to Los Angeles, tickets range from as little as $159 and $179, respectively.
In order to take advantage of the airfare deal, purchases must be made by 11:59 PM (Pacific Time) on Tuesday and at least 14 days prior to travel. All travel is valid Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays from Sept. 26-Dec. 13 of 2017, while blackout dates apply Nov. 16-Dec. 2. The flights are operated by Virgin America, which Alaska bought late last year in a $2.6 billion deal.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said Tuesday the country intends to have its flag-carrying airline purchase more Boeing (NYSE:BA) aircraft, as part of its effort to help strengthen the U.S. economy.
We intend to increase the number of Boeing planes to be purchased by MAS. We have committed to 25 planes of the 737 MAX 10, plus eight 787 Dreamliners, and a very strong probabilitynot possibilitythat we will add 24-25 more 737 MAX 10 in the near future. So within five years the deal will be worth beyond $10 billion, Razak said during a meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House.
Boeing and Malaysia Airlines announced an order for 10 of the airplane makers 737 MAX 10, the latest version in the 737 family, at the Paris Air Show in late June. The deal, which is valued at $1.25 billion at list prices, will convert 10 of the airlines current 737 MAXs on order to the newest version of the jet.
Additionally, the prime minister said his government would try to persuade Malaysias long-haul budget carrier AirAsia to switch to General Electric (NYSE:GE) engines. In June, one of the airlines flights from Malaysia to Perth, Australia was forced to turn around due to a technical issue, after its Airbus A330-300 aircraft experienced a problem with one of its Rolls-Royce engines.
Boeing did not have comment regarding Prime Minister Razak's remarks. GE did not return FOX Business' request for comment at the time of publication.
Russian Ambassador is upset about arms sale issue
Russia supplies weapons to Azerbaijan, which is in war with Armenia and Artsakh but Russia's President Vladimir Putin accuses the United States of supplying weapons to Ukraine. To what extent does this fit within healthy logic? Ivan Volynkin, Russian Ambassador in Armenia, is cautious while answering the question. "Ethically, it is not correct for a diplomat to comment on the president's words." The diplomat criticized the journalists who addressed him "unpleasant" questions. "Don't you have other themes? How much can you talk about this? Everything is already clear, the Russian leadership has expressed an opinion on the issue." And how will the Ambassador comment on the prospects for Armenia's withdrawal from the EEU? "If they see such perspectives, then, of course, no one will interfere, another question is if Armenia needs it. I think that the majority of the Armenia's population does not agree with the perspective, because they see advantages of being part of the EEA." The next question whether Russia would continue to supply weapons to Azerbaijan, frankly upset Mr. Volynkin, who asked where the elevator was located. Today he participated in the official ceremony of signing the program document "Mitigating the Impact of Climate Change in Armenia through Developing the Potential of Forest and Field Fire Management" which took place in the Ministry of Ecology Details in the video
A U.S. senator on Tuesday called for a criminal investigation of executives from credit bureau Equifax Inc for stock sales after a massive data breach this summer, and said their actions were comparable to insider trading.
The breach, which the company learned about in July but did not acknowledge until this month, also prompted expressions of concern from U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and the Federal Trade Commission. Cyber security experts believe it is one of the largest data hacks ever disclosed.
Senator Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat who sits on the Senate Banking Committee, said it was "disturbing" that it appeared executives sold nearly $2 million worth of company stock in the time between learning of a sweeping hacker intrusion and making it public.
"If that happened, somebody needs to go to jail," Heitkamp said at a credit union industry conference in Washington. "It's a problem when people can act with impunity with no consequences. How is that not insider trading?"
Heitkamp is the latest U.S. senator to ask that Equifax be held to account for alleged missteps after it discovered the hack. On Monday, Senator Orrin Hatch, who chairs the Finance Committee, and ranking Democrat Ron Wyden, demanded that Equifax Chief Executive Rick Smith provide a timeline of the breach and its discovery.
Equifax announced last week that it had learned on July 29 that hackers had infiltrated its systems in mid-May, gaining access to a wide swath of personal information.
The hackers pilfered names, birthdays and addresses, as well as Social Security and drivers license numbers - a treasure trove for identity thieves. The data of up to 143 million people may have been affected.
Three days after Equifax discovered the breach, three top company executives, including Chief Financial Officer John Gamble and a president of a unit, sold Equifax shares or exercised options to dispose of stock worth about $1.8 million, regulatory filings show.
Equifax said in a statement last week that the executives were not aware that an intrusion had occurred when they sold their shares.
Any investigation into insider trading would likely involve the Securities and Exchange Commission. A spokesman for SEC Chairman Jay Clayton declined to comment, citing a policy of refusing to confirm or deny ongoing investigations.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin on Tuesday called the Equifax breach "quite unfortunate" and insisted that his top priority is to make sure financial data is safe.
"I am concerned about the global financial system and keeping it safe," Mnuchin said at the CNBC Institutional Investor Delivering Alpha Conference in New York, adding that he was having meetings about the cyber attack.
Also on Tuesday, Senator Gary Peters, a Democrat, called on the FTC to launch a probe into whether the company misled consumers by saying it considered protecting customer information a top priority.
The acting FTC chairman, Maureen Ohlhausen, said that her agency was aware of the massive breach but declined to say if an investigation was underway.
"We're trying to get a handle on the scope of all of this. We're certainly taking this very seriously," she told reporters on the sidelines of an antitrust conference.
The agency has historically probed big breaches but only sued companies that they deemed had been sloppy in protecting consumer data.
Equifax did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Pete Schroeder. Additional reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Dan Grebler and Chris Sanders)
Enbridge Energy has failed to establish the need for its proposal to replace its aging Line 3 crude oil pipeline across northern Minnesota and it might be better to just shut down the existing line, the Minnesota Department of Commerce said Monday.
In filings with the state Public Utilities Commission on Monday, the agency said refineries in Minnesota and the upper Midwest already have sufficient supplies of crude oil and little capacity for processing more of it. It said Minnesota's demand for gasoline and other refined petroleum products appears unlikely to increase over the long term. And it said the proposal carries serious environmental and socio-economic risks that outweigh the benefits to Minnesota.
"In light of the serious risks of the existing Line 3 and the limited benefit that the existing Line 3 provides to Minnesota refineries, Minnesota would be better off if Enbridge proposed to cease operations of the existing Line 3, without any new pipeline being built," said a filing by Kate O'Connell, manager of the department's Energy Regulation and Planning Unit.
The proposal by Calgary, Alberta-based Enbridge to replace Line 3, which was built in the 1960s to carry Canadian crude to its terminal in Superior, Wisconsin, has generated strong opposition from tribal and environmental groups. That's because the company's preferred route cuts through the Mississippi River headwaters region and pristine lake country where Ojibwe bands harvest wild rice, and because the new pipeline could carry tar sands oil, which they consider dirtier to produce than lighter crude. Business and labor groups back the $7.5 billion Enbridge project.
The final decision on whether to grant a certificate of need is up to the commission, which is independent of Gov. Mark Dayton's administration, though the Democratic governor appointed all five commissioners. The commission must also decide on a route. Enbridge wants to follow Line 3's existing corridor at the start of its route across Minnesota, but take a more southerly path for the rest.
The commission is scheduled to decide those questions in April after extensive further proceedings and more chances for the public to weigh in.
Dayton called the Commerce analysis "very comprehensive," but said he would wait for the "complete record" to emerge from the 30-day response period before declaring his view on the project. He said he was confident the commission would make a decision in the state's best interests.
"This document will arouse considerable controversy," the governor said in a statement. "That discord should be recognized as part of the wisdom of the process."
Republican House Speaker Kurt Daudt called the filings "yet another example of (Democrats) siding with extreme environmental activists while putting Minnesotans' jobs and safety at risk."
In a statement Monday evening, Enbridge said it disagreed with the state agency's filings and is reviewing the evidence.
The company called the infrastructure critical, adding that it would be "replaced with the most advanced materials, most up to date technology and under superior construction methods."
The company will have a chance to file a formal response with the commission within the 30 days. But Enbridge previously said it needs to replace Line 3 because it has had to sharply restrict the volume the pipeline carries to just over half its original capacity of 760,000 barrels per day. And it said the old pipeline's maintenance needs continue to grow. It calls Line 3 a vital link for meeting the demand for Canadian oil from refineries in Minnesota, Wisconsin and elsewhere. The replacement would have a capacity of 844,000 barrels per day, the Commerce filings said.
Commerce said that if the PUC approves the project, it should require a stronger emergency response plan, thicker pipe and other safety measures, as well as more insurance coverage and other financial assurances for cleaning up major releases and decommissioning the pipeline when it reaches the end of its useful life.
What happened
Shares of Tahoe Resources Inc. (NYSE: TAHO) skyrocketed 33.4% on Monday, after the precious-metals mining company announced that the Guatemalan Supreme Court has decided to reinstate its Escobal mining license.
For perspective, the ruling reverses an unfavorable preliminary decision to suspend the license, which came in response to anti-mining organization CALAS and its allegation that the country's Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) had unlawfully awarded it to Tahoe's Guatemalan subsidiary, Minera San Rafael. More specifically, CALAS claimed that MEM violated the Xinca indigenous people's right of consultation before issuing the license.
More recently, late last month Tahoe stock also plunged after the company warned that its latest appeal, which would have enabled it to continue operations at the mine while the situation was resolved in court, was expected to be denied.
So what
That's not to say Tahoe is completely in the clear just yet. As part of the decision, the country's Ministry of Energy and Mines will be required to conduct a consultation with Xinca communities within certain geographic areas, and then report the results of that consultation "to the satisfaction of the Court within 12 months."
Tahoe further said it expects that a number of "interested parties," including CALAS and the Xinca Parliament, might appeal this ruling to Guatemala's Constitutional Court. The Constitutional Court would then be expected to rule on any appeals by the end of the year.
Now what
In the meantime, Tahoe warned that while its restored license affords it the right to immediately commence Escobal operations, it still faces an illegal roadblock at Casillas, which is preventing operations from starting.
"While we support the rights of all peoples to peacefully protest, we do not support the illegal blockage of public highway by non-locals, which has had a devastating economic impact on our employees, contractors, and communities," elaborated Tahoe CEO Ron Clayton. "Once the road is reopened at Casillas, we will resume full operations without disruption and put our valued employees and vendors back to work, support the economy of our local communities, and return value to our shareholders."
Finally, Tahoe reminded investors that until its operations begin, it can only access $75 million of its $300 million revolving credit facility and "may continue to be subject to events of default." Tahoe Resources also expects to update its previously suspended guidance for its gold operations, including exploration, later this month.
As such, Tahoe investors still face a number of significant risks that could easily wipe out today's gains. But for now, this is a significant step in the right direction toward resuming its Escobal operations, and it's no surprise to see the stock up big in response.
10 stocks we like better than Tahoe ResourcesWhen 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 Tahoe Resources 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 September 5, 2017
Steve Symington has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) is aiming to reverse its months-long slump with the nationwide release of an all-natural queso product on Tuesday.
After a test period earlier this year, the popular cheese dip will be available at all of the fast casual restaurant chains U.S. locations. Pricing will vary by store, but Chipotle said it will cost about $1.25 to add queso to an entree or $5.25 for a side order with chips. Chipotles version is made from organic ingredients, including aged cheddar cheese and several types of peppers.
Some Wall Street analysts are optimistic that the products launch will help Chipotle recover from its recent struggles, including a now-infamous E.coli outbreak in 2015 that forced the temporary closure of hundreds of locations. Chipotle shares are down more than 20% since July, when customers fell sick after eating at a restaurant in Sterling, Virginia, and nearly 40% since May.
Maxim Group equity analyst Stephen Anderson upgraded Chipotles stock rating to Buy last July. In a note to investors, Anderson said the addition of queso would drive traffic to Chipotle restaurants and boost the companys margins.
We believe [Chipotles] queso is differentiated enough to be not only a potential traffic driver in its own right, but also take market share from immediate rivals, including Qdoba, Anderson wrote.
Anderson isnt alone in his bullish assessment of quesos impact. Credit Suisse analysts predicted last month that queso could boost Chipotles sales by up to 3% -- enough to move the needle for the embattled chain, but not enough to serve as a silver bullet to solve all of its problems.
Repeated instances of foodborne illnesses among Chipotle customers have raised consumer doubts about the trustworthiness of the chains food. A recent Cowen & Cowen survey found just 47.2% of the population rated Chipotles food as above average in terms of quality.
Chipotle founder and CEO Steve Ells said queso was the number one requested menu item before its launch.
We never added it to our menu before now because we wouldnt use the industrial additives used in most quesos, Ells said in a press release. Additives make typical queso very consistent and predictable, but are not at all in keeping with our food culture.
Investor Carl Icahn never wielded excessive influence on U.S. biofuels policy while acting as President Donald Trump's adviser on regulation, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency said in a letter to a Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse.
The letter, dated September 11, was a response to repeated requests by Whitehouse and other Democratic lawmakers for information on Icahn's dual role as an adviser on biofuels regulation and a majority stakeholder in a refining company, CVR Energy, directly affected by those rules.
Icahn ended his adviser role in August after facing criticism his guidance to Trump represented a conflict of interests as it may have benefited CVR. Icahn has denied the allegations.
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said in the letter to Whitehouse, seen by Reuters on Tuesday, that Icahn was "one of many" of Trump's advisers that he met during his confirmation process, and he "made no assurances with regard to the point of obligation or any other substantive issue."
The "point of obligation" refers to a requirement under the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard that refiners blend increasing amounts of biofuels like ethanol into their gasoline every year. Icahn, his company CVR, and a handful of other refiners wanted to shift that responsibility off refiners in a way that would have saved them hundreds of millions of dollars.
Icahn proposed the reform to the administration in February. The Trump administration has not made a decision on the request, but environmental regulators are preparing to formally reject it, sources have told Reuters.
Icahn, who has an 82 percent stake in CVR, has said his proposal did not constitute self-dealing because it would have benefited some of his competitors too.
Pruitt added in the letter that the EPA's Office of Environmental Information searched the EPA emails of 39 senior leadership employees, and found "no emails to or from any of those employees and Mr. Icahn or CVR on any subject" between Feb. 17 and Aug. 18.
A spokesman for Whitehouse said the senator was reviewing Pruitt's response "for accuracy and to determine whether additional steps are warranted."
Icahn's proposal to shift the point of obligation would have lowered prices for renewable fuels credits known as RINs. A Reuters review of CVR filings showed the company was building up a large bet on a decline in RIN prices months before Icahn made his reform proposal.
Investors, meanwhile, have built up a large short position in CVR in the past three months, according to Reuters data.
(Reporting By Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Andrew Hay)
Florida is providing police escorts for Home Depot (NYSE:HD) trucks that are carrying water, generators and other supplies, as the Sunshine State begins the recovery process after Hurricane Irma.
The nations largest home-improvement retailer was set to receive a police escort Tuesday for more than 80 trucks packed with supplies and headed to Florida from Atlanta, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi told the FOX Business Network. The shipments come as Home Depot reopens more stores in hard-hit areas around South Florida. Atlanta-based Home Depot said Tuesday most stores impacted by Irma are back in business.
A Home Depot spokesperson confirmed that trucks will receive police escorts through Florida. The Florida Highway Patrol has also escorted fuel trucks to quickly restock gas stations before and after the storm hit.
In an interview on Varney & Co., Bondi said new shipments to Home Depot stores will help the state prevent price gougers from taking advantage of Irma victims in need of generators and fresh water. Home Depots cases of water are priced at $2.97 each, according to Bondi.
Lowes (NYSE:LOW) has reopened all of its stores impacted by Irma, though some locations adjusted their hours Tuesday. The retailer is expediting shipments of storm-related supplies from regional distribution centers, two of which are located in Kissimmee, Florida, and Valdosta, Georgia. Emergency management agencies and the Florida Department of Transportation are helping Lowes move supplies needed for recovery, a company spokesperson said. Lowes trucks havent experienced any issues traveling to their destinations.
Coeur Mining (NYSE: CDE) is a diversified gold and silver producer that operates five mines across North and South America. However, while the company expects those mines to produce between 37.8 million to 40.7 million silver equivalent ounces this year, gold will make up 58% of that output, while silver accounts for the other 42%. Given that split, gold is where the company makes most of its money, even though it still reports many metrics in silver equivalents. Here's a closer look at why that's the case -- and if gold will continue to shine for Coeur in the future.
Digging into Coeur's gold business
Last quarter, gold accounted for 60% of Coeur's revenue, which was down from 62% during the first quarter due to lower production. One of the reasons gold is the company's biggest money maker is that four out of its five mines produce that precious metal, two of which do so exclusively.
Its largest gold mine is in Kensington, Alaska, which contributed 22% of its revenue last year. While production was down 18% last quarter to 26,424 ounces due to lower ore grades, that was still good for 32% of Coeur's total gold output. Meanwhile, the company expects grades and production to be higher in the second half of the year.
Another major contributor is the Palmarejo mine in Mexico, which supplied 21% of revenue last year, though that's down from the mid-40s a few years ago. Overall, the mine produces slightly less gold than Kensington, with output hitting 24,292 ounces last quarter, though it's the company's largest silver producer. One thing worth noting about this mine is that it's under a stream agreement with Franco-Nevada (NYSE: FNV) for a portion of the gold output. As a result of that deal, Coeur Mining expects 40% to 45% of Palmarejo's gold sales this year to be sold to Franco-Nevada at $800 an ounce, which is well below the current market price. While that deal results in the company collecting less revenue and cash flow from the gold output of this mine, it's a significant improvement to a previous agreement with Franco-Nevada that was for just $416 per ounce.
Next up is the Wharf Mine in South Dakota, which produced 21,314 ounces last quarter. While only its third largest gold producer, this mine is the primary reason gold is now Coeur's biggest moneymaker instead of silver. That's because it's the most recent entrant to the company's portfolio after it was acquired from Goldcorp (NYSE: GG) two years ago for $99 million.
Finally, the company also produces gold from its Rochester, Nevada mine, which contributed 10,745 ounces last quarter.
Gold doesn't appear likely to lose its luster
Given the current makeup of the company's portfolio, gold will likely remain Coeur's biggest moneymaker for the foreseeable future. That is unless, of course, there is a significant spike in silver prices, or it completes a silver-focused acquisition. Driving this view is the fact that the bulk of the company's near-term organic growth initiatives are at its gold-focused mines.
First up is the ramp-up of underground operations from the Guadalupe and Independencia deposits at Palmarejo, which Coeur expects will drive a 50% year-over-year boost in production from that mine. Incidentally, one of the drivers of that growth is the new Franco-Nevada agreement, which helped fund development of the Guadalupe deposit. That said, it's worth noting that production from the Independencia Este deposit isn't subject to the gold stream, which means it'll provide a bigger boost to the company's revenue and cash flow. Meanwhile, the company expects to finish construction of its Stage IV leach pad expansion at Rochester later this year while delivering initial production from its Jualin deposit at Kensington by year-end. Since those mines all produce gold, these projects will help keep that precious metal on top.
Looking further ahead, the company does have one potential new mine in development that could shift the balance back to silver. That mine, La Preciosa in Mexico, holds an estimated 115.4 million ounces of measured and inferred silver resources, which represents more than 50% of the company's total. That said, Coeur has yet to sanction its development, so it would be several years before it would ever contribute to results.
Going for the gold
Just a few short years ago, Coeur Mining was primarily a silver producer, which was how it made most of its money. However, thanks to several organic growth initiatives and the acquisition of Wharf from Goldcorp, that balance has shifted toward gold. That's important for investors to note because they might want to consider another option if they're seeking exposure to silver since Coeur has more upside to gold these days.
10 stocks we like better than Coeur MiningWhen 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 Coeur Mining 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 September 5, 2017
Matthew DiLallo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
As local and federal officials begin to assess the devastation wrought by Hurricane Irma, which barreled through the southeastern part of the United States last weekend, Floridaas insurance industry is a big focal point as damage estimates span up to $40 billion.
aThe thing to watch is whether small insurance companies are going be able to survive massive amount of claims that we expect with hurricane Irma,a Dan Weber, Association of Mature American Citizens CEO and a former Florida state insurance specialist for 30 years, said.
Floridaas insurance landscape is largely made up of smaller companies since the industry giants pulled out of the state years ago due to high risks they were unwilling to take and a challenging regulatory environment. Therefore, reinsurance will play a big part in the recovery efforts for Floridians over the coming months.
aEach state has a state-backed guarantee corporation which can help these smaller insurance companies survive natural disasters - which is the lesson we learned with Hurricane Andrew in the 1990s,a Weber said.
The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, the stateas reinsurer created in 1993 after Hurricane Andrew, has an accumulated $17 billion, according to The New York Times.
When Hurricane Andrew struck Florida in August of 1992, it was the most destructive, and most expensive, storm to hit the state at the time. The damages reached $27 billion. Along with buildings and beaches, more than 20 of the stateas small insurers went under as well, leaving 1 million policyholders uncovered, according to The Times.
Dr. Shahid Hamid, a finance professor at Florida International Universityas International Hurricane Research Center, told FOX Business it is possible that insurance companies will end up in the same position as they were in the 1990s, depending largely on their reinsurance policies. However, he believes the situation will be manageable because the hurricane shifted west and did not travel directly up the east coast.
aIf [Irma] had gone up the East Coast and if it had gone through Miami-Dade County a then the losses wouldave been $100 billion or more,a he said.
While Dr. Hamid, whose group conducts simulations to help the state predict potential losses, says insurance companies will likely survive, policyholders may not end up getting the full value of their lost property. Insurance companies buy reinsurance at varying levels, so if a firm only participates at a level of 45%, it is not going to be able to pay all of its policyholders in full after a storm of this magnitude, Dr. Hamid said. Regardless, insured individuals will receive some money.
Similar to Houston after Harvey, Dr. Hamid said flooding could pose a problem for residents. Only 18% of homeowners have flood insurance in Florida, while 79% of the exposure for properties in the state is coastal, he said.
Victims of Hurricane Irmas destruction will need to replace up to 400,000 vehicles, according to an analysis by Cox Automotive.
Irma ripped through Florida with high winds and severe storm surge, causing extensive damage to homes, businesses and other property. Cox Automotive, the parent company of Kelley Blue Book and Autotrader, estimated that South Florida residents lost between 130,000 and 200,000 vehicles. Including the entire Sunshine State and neighboring states to the north, Irma took out approximately 200,000 to 400,000 vehicles, not including new vehicles waiting to be sold.
By comparison, Hurricane Harvey destroyed 300,000 to 500,000 vehicles in the Houston market, based on Cox Automotives estimates.
The damage caused by Harvey and Irma is expected to hurt new-vehicle sales in the short run. Dealers in Texas and Florida are working with fewer selling days after closing during the storms. Harvey also flooded thousands of vehicles on dealership lots. Automakers had planned to ship more used vehicles into the Houston market to help dealers restock. In Florida, the industry lost about seven selling days due to preparation for the storm and its aftermath, Cox Automotive said. The result is a decline of 20,000 to 30,000 in new-vehicle sales.
But Irma likely sets up a period of intense buying activity starting in the near future, similar to what the auto market saw in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for Cox Automotive, noted that while September volume will fall 10% to 15%, October sales should rise by a similar amount. He also said demand typically remains elevated for two to three months following a major storm.
Looking at the history of prior storms, the impact on new and used demand happens pretty quickly, Smoke said. We could see people respond by later this week, when businesses get back up and running.
AutoNation (NYSE:AN), the largest car dealer in the U.S., closed nearly all of its stores in Florida late last week. A spokesperson told FOX Business that AutoNation planned to reopen those stores Tuesday.
Floridians shopping for a replacement vehicle should brace for higher prices. Even though automakers are capable of swiftly moving inventory into an area of high demand, supply will be constrained for the time being. That will drive up prices locally, Smoke said.
With no staff or permanent office space and only a limited budget, the newly appointed board that will regulate marijuana in Massachusetts met publicly for the first time Tuesday, more than 10 months after voters approved the legalization of recreational pot.
Among the first votes taken by the five-member Cannabis Control Commission was to allow its chairman, Steven Hoffman, to also serve as interim executive director of the agency until a permanent director is hired.
"We have a lot of work to do, and we need to get started right away," said Hoffman, noting deadlines spelled out under the November ballot and later revised by the Legislature.
The first meeting of the commission was largely procedural and lasted barely a half hour. The word "marijuana" was never spoken, but Hoffman and the other commissioners reiterated their commitment to carrying out the will of the electorate and doing so in an "open and transparent" manner.
Future meetings would be held not only in Boston, but around the state, Hoffman said.
While it became legal in December for adults to possess up to an ounce of marijuana and grow up to a dozen pot plants in private homes, there remains no legal way to buy the drug for non-medical purposes in Massachusetts, and the first retail pot shops aren't expected to open until next July at the earliest.
The Legislature voted to delay key regulatory deadlines for six months while drafting a set of revisions to the law that were signed early last month by Republican Gov. Charlie Baker, allowing regulatory commission members finally to be appointed.
Sponsors of the ballot question complained that Massachusetts is the only one of the eight states that have legalized recreational marijuana to delay implementation. They also expressed alarm that four of the five commissioners on the panel had voted against Question 4 in November.
Jim Borghesani, spokesman for Yes on 4, said while those concerns have not been eliminated, he was encouraged by the early tone struck by the board and the stated commitment by Hoffman, a retired business executive, to meet deadlines for licensing marijuana businesses.
"This is what 54 percent of Massachusetts voters said in November they wanted to see happen," Borghesani said.
The commission's first major act should be asking Baker and lawmakers for more funding, Borghesani added. The state so far has released $500,000 of a $2 million appropriation for the agency's operations in the current fiscal year. Hoffman said after Tuesday's meeting that "substantially more than $2 million" would likely be needed.
Commissioner Britte McBride, a former assistant attorney general, called for an executive director to be named as quickly as possible to avoid potential conflicts arising from Hoffman's dual role. The chairman agreed he would hold the interim role no longer than necessary.
The other commissioners are former Democratic state Sen. Jennifer Flanagan; Kay Doyle, former counsel to the state's medical marijuana program; and Shaleen Title, who headed a cannabis industry staffing firm.
Change of the West's policy on Azerbaijan and Karabakh conflict settlement
End of August and beginning of September 2017 is full of interesting news about settlement of conflict between Azerbaijan and Artsakh. In recent weeks periodically there have been published several interesting news that seem to constitute the change of attitude of the West, especially USA, towards Azerbaijan. News on corruption The last two weeks Western media were filled with many negative publications on Azerbaijan. The reason was the article with the title Azerbaijani Laundromat which revealed the money laundering transactions by the Aliyevs clan amounting to 3 billion US dollars. This news has made a negative impact on Azerbaijan's international rating. USA pressure on Baku On September 7, US senator Dick Derby proposed to impose sanctions on a number of Azerbaijani officials. According to the proposal, US entry restrictions should be imposed on the Azerbaijani officials who have links to the illegal detention of the founder of Turan news agency Mehman Aliyev. The journalist was detained on August 28 on the grounds of having tax problems and on September 9, exactly two days after Derbin's proposal, he was released. Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev also granted a pardon to Israeli and Russian citizen blogger Alexander Lapshin who had been arrested in Belarus and later handed over to Baku by Lukashenko. It should be reminded that according to the criminal case filed by the Azerbaijani prosecutor's office the 40-year-old blogger was accused of making public calls for violation of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and lack of necessary documents for crossing political border of the country. Aliyev's strange "kindness" unequivocally shows that western pressure works and sanctions can change Aliyev's regime policy. Possible change of OSCE Minsk Group format In the light of the above-mentioned news the news about the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's letter remained unnoticed. The letter, which Tilerson sent to Senator Bob Cockchin regarding proposed changes in the Department of State, suggested eliminating about 70 USA special positions including the position of co-chair in the OSCE Minsk Group dealing with the Karabakh issue. In his letter Tillerson suggests handing over that authority to the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs of the State Department. It is mentioned that Deputy Assistant to the Secretary will fully assume the functions of the co-chair and the staffing will be maintained. If Tillerson's proposal is approved, the OSCE Minsk Group format will actually change. The presence of the OSCE Minsk co-chair position allowed holding frequent meetings and discussions, while after the elimination of the American co-chair position the successor could be less mobile. On the other hand, however, processes of the OSCE Minsk Group will be settled immediately by the US Department of State what may mean a more clear position of the United States in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement process. Although Tillersons proposal has not been approved yet and maybe will not be, nevertheless, events of the last two weeks show that the equations in the West-Azerbaijan relations are changing forcing Aliyev to make concessions. This can definitely have a positive impact on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement process. Anna Pambukhchyan Union of Informed Citizens
Oil prices rose on Tuesday after OPEC forecast higher demand in 2018 and Russia and Venezuela confirmed their commitment to a production-cutting deal to reduce the global crude glut.
In its monthly report, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries also said the two hurricanes that hit the United States in recent weeks would have a "negligible" impact on demand.
About 6.1 million customers were without power following Hurricane Irma, down from a peak over 7.4 million late Monday, according to local utilities.
The market was assessing Irma's effect on demand, even as refinery restarts in the wake of Hurricane Harvey boosted expectations for crude oil consumption.
The largest refinery in the United States, in Port Arthur Texas, was running at reduced rates, sources told Reuters.
Brent crude settled up 43 cents or 0.8 percent to $54.27 per barrel. Its session low was $53.42.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was up 16 cents or 0.3 percent to $48.23 a barrel. It hit a session low of $47.73.
U.S. crude stockpiles rose nearly twice expected levels last week as refineries cut output following Hurricane Harvey, while gasoline and distillate inventories drew, industry group the American Petroleum Institute said after the market settled.
After the API report, U.S. gasoline futures rose, surpassing their session high.
Crude inventories rose by 6.2 million barrels in the week to Sept. 8 to 468.8 million, compared with analysts' expectations for an increase of 3.2 million barrels.
The U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports Wednesday.
This week's numbers might be incomplete indicators of the longer-term supply and demand outlook, said Mark Watkins, regional investment manager at U.S. Bank.
"Over the next two to three weeks, the EIA inventory numbers will be rather sloppy because you have production disrupted, refineries going offline and online," he said. He added that OPEC figures are a better signal. "Thatas why you have to look out further."
Output by OPEC's 14 member countries fell in August by 79,000 barrels per day (bpd) from July to 32.76 million bpd.
Should OPEC keep pumping at August's rate, the market would see a small supply deficit next year, versus a 450,000-bpd surplus implied by last month's report.
OPEC said inventories were falling and noted a rising premium of Brent crude for immediate delivery over that for later supplies.
Russian and Venezuelan energy ministers met in Moscow and confirmed their commitment to the output cut deal.
The U.S. EIA said it expects U.S. crude oil production in 2018 to rise by more than previously expected. (Additional reporting by Libby George and Fanny Potkin in London, and Jane Chung in Seoul; Editing by Marguerita Choy, Greg Mahlich and Chris Reese)
Senate Republicans are struggling with how many billions of dollars President Donald Trump's tax code overhaul will add to the deficit as they work on a GOP budget plan that's a prerequisite to any far-reaching change in the nation's tax system.
Trump had dinner Tuesday with a group of Republican and Democratic senators to talk taxes, after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and GOP members of the Budget Committee met with two top Trump administration officials to make progress on forging the budget plan, which is required to stave off potential Democratic blocking tactics and pass the subsequent tax bill with just GOP votes.
The as-yet-undrafted bill to overhaul the tax code is the top priority for Trump and Republicans after the collapse of their effort to dismantle Barack Obama's health care law. Trump's top economic adviser, Gary Cohn, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin met with McConnell, R-Ky., and budget panel members.
"From my standpoint, let's set ourselves up for success on tax reform," Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., a member of the committee, said before the meeting.
The meeting ended in late afternoon without specific proposed numbers for the size of the budget coming forward. Not wanting to show disappointment, participants stressed that it was intended to be preliminary.
Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Orrin Hatch said afterward that the group, which discussed the broad outlines of the deficit trade-off for a new tax bill, had not reached an agreement. Hatch, R-Utah, said he expected more information to come soon.
Mnuchin signaled ahead of the meeting that the administration would be open to changes sought by lawmakers to improve the chances for passage of a tax overhaul this year. In an interview with CNBC, Mnuchin also said the administration would "absolutely" consider making tax cuts retroactive to the start of this year if overhaul legislation didn't pass until 2018.
In addition, the administration would consider including an infrastructure spending bill as part of the tax legislation, Mnuchin said.
"This is a pass-fail exercise," he said, indicating that the critical goal was to enact legislation. "Passing tax reform, which hasn't been done in 31 years, that is a win," he said.
Capitol Hill Republicans have promised that the tax rewrite will be "revenue neutral" and not add to the nation's $20 trillion-plus debt, but they are in fact counting on budget maneuvers to find hundreds of billions of dollars to help maximize cuts to corporate and individual tax rates. For starters, they are going to assume the tax legislation will mean higher economic growth and greater future tax revenues.
Underscoring the president's desire for tax legislation, Trump hosted a bipartisan group of senators for dinner at the White House, including a trio of moderate Democrats from states Trump won last November and whose votes he'd like to have on a tax bill.
Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Joe Donnelly of Indiana were joined at dinner by Republican Sens. John Thune of North Dakota, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Hatch, the White House said.
"I had a productive conversation with @POTUS @realDonaldTrump about ways we can work together in a bipartisan manner on tax reform," Manchin tweeted after the dinner, along with a photo of himself and the president. He said in a statement that he would "continue to fight for a simpler tax code that lowers rates for West Virginians," but said that must be done "without adding to our staggering debt."
Heitkamp said she welcomed any chance "to talk with the president about issues important to North Dakota" and was looking forward to reviewing Trump's plans in more detail.
"It's encouraging that this meeting included Republican and Democratic senators, as I've long said I want to work with those on both sides of the aisle on a comprehensive, permanent tax reform plan that works for North Dakota workers and retirees and helps grow the economy, and I hope these bipartisan discussions continue," she said.
Manchin, Heitkamp and Donnelly are the only Democratic senators who did not sign a letter addressed to Republican leaders and Trump that said the Democratic caucus would not support a tax overhaul that cuts taxes for the "top 1 percent" or adds to the government's $20 trillion debt.
The White House, meanwhile, said the president "looks forward to continuing to work with members from both parties to grow the economy, provide tax relief and look for real solutions."
"When members of different parties sit down together for friendly conversation about the legislative agenda, after not doing so for 8 years, it certainly is progress," Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.
House action has been held up by a battle between moderates and conservatives over whether to pair spending cuts with the filibuster-proof tax measure. Senate action has been on hold while the House struggles.
An impasse could doom the tax overhaul effort.
GOP aides say the Senate panel is also likely to reject a House plan to link $200 billion in spending cuts to the tax legislation a key demand of House conservatives.
The momentum toward deficit-financed tax cuts runs counter to the longtime promises from top Capitol Hill leaders that this year's effort to rewrite the tax code wouldn't add to the government's $20 trillion-plus national debt. And it sets up a scenario in which many of the promised new tax rates would expire after 10 years. That's because of the Senate's arcane rules.
On the budget panel, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., is hoping to limit the deficit cost of the tax effort, while Toomey is on the other end of the spectrum favoring more robust deficit-financed tax cuts. GOP leaders have asked them to try to craft an agreement among the 12 budget panel Republicans. Any Republican defection on the budget plan would deadlock the narrowly divided committee.
___
Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.
The European Parliament's top Brexit envoy says not enough progress has been made in discussions between Britain and the European Union for any negotiations on a future trade relationship to begin.
Guy Verhofstadt said Tuesday that "sufficient progress has not been made" on Britain's divorce bill, the future border arrangements between Ireland and Northern Ireland and the rights of citizens affected by Brexit.
Verhofstadt said lawmakers are set to debate on Oct. 3 whether the negotiations should be broadened to discuss trade and the shape of post-Brexit relations.
EU leaders insist the talks must first focus on Britain's withdrawal and that they rule whether "sufficient progress" has been made to move forward. London opposes this process.
EU lawmakers must endorse any agreement before Britain leaves in March 2019.
Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Trump, on Monday said that the American people should not be concerned that President Trump and his administration didnt use the terms radical Islamic terrorism, during their 9/11 speeches.
Conway believes the American people shouldnt be afraid that Trump is becoming politicized for not using the phrase radical Islamic terrorism, but should instead focus on his legislative agenda.
This is a president who's made very clear his joint sessions speech earlier this year. Many of the talks hes given recently, calling out the enemy for who they are and most importantly somebody is putting the action behind that," she told FOX Business Lou Dobbs on Lou Dobbs Tonight.
"He believes that we should be a sovereign nation with borders. He wants that border wall constructed, he wants Congress to get to the task of paying for it along with other big legislative priorities, Conway added.
Conway also criticized former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for not speaking the words radical Islamic terrorism during her presidential campaign.
This is a president who won in large part because he is tough on terrorism and continues to be. Hillary Clinton in her convention last year referred to the terrorists as our determined enemies. As if we were playing a Rugby match against them. Donald Trump has always been willing to call them who they really are and call them out for whom they are trying to destroy, she said.
A Maryland judge has order an investigation into three lawyers who reportedly helped Hillary Clinton delete her private emails. But Judge Andrew Napolitano, Fox News senior judicial analyst, told the FOX Business Networks Stuart Varney that the worst that could happen to them is a public reprimand.
This is not a criminal investigation and its not a civil lawsuit. Its an ethics investigation, Napolitano said on Varney & Co.
Napolitano sees criminal charges against Clinton as unlikely at this point.
The government has chosen not to prosecute. [Attorney General] Jeff Sessions, the Justice Department, can investigate, indict and prosecute, but they choose not to do so, he said.
Napolitano disagreed with the decision not to prosecute, telling Varney, I think its a terrible decision not to prosecute. They should prosecute Mrs. Clinton because theres ample evidence of her guilt, and they should prosecute anybody that destroyed evidence in a criminal investigation.
When Varney asked Napolitano if he was disappointed with Sessions so far, Napolitano responded, Yes, even though hes my friend, Im going to hear about this, yes, for this and for other reasons.
According to Napolitano, the culture in government is holding back Sessions from pursuing an investigation against Clinton.
Its an institutional culture in government, he said. We dont want to go after our predecessors because we dont want our successors to come after us.
U.S. President Donald Trump plans to host a bipartisan group of senators for dinner on Tuesday to make a push for tax reform and other top agenda items a week after he made an alliance with Democrats on raising the debt ceiling and funding government.
The White House announced the dinner with the Republican president late on Monday, and a White House aide confirmed the guest list included three Democrats: Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
It also included Republican members of the Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch of Utah, Patrick Toomey of Pennsylvania and John Thune of South Dakota, the aide said, confirming a guest list first reported by the Washington Post.
"The president is committed to getting tax relief for middle-class Americans passed and is willing to work with Democrats and Republicans to do it," the official said.
The dinner comes as the Senate begins hearings this week on tax reform, an issue that Trump and Republicans in Congress promised to tackle on the campaign trail last year.
Trump is trying to persuade Democrats to support his push to cut tax rates and simplify the tax code this year, a plan critical to bolstering Republicans heading into 2018 congressional elections.
Last month, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer laid out his party's demands for any bipartisan tax reform package in a letter to the president signed by 43 Senate Democrats and two independents.
But Donnelly, Heitkamp and Manchin, who face re-election in states that Trump won easily in the 2016 presidential election, did not sign it.
The White House saw that as a sign that they are "more open to working with us," the White House official said.
The dinner is the latest sign the president is willing to work with Democrats in Congress.
Last Wednesday, he stunned fellow Republicans by making a deal with Democrats to extend the U.S. debt limit and provide government funding until Dec. 8.
Heitkamp also traveled with the president on Air Force One on Wednesday to a tax event in her home state. She and Manchin had been in the running for a Cabinet position earlier in Trump's administration.
Trump last week also signaled willingness to work with Democrats to end congressional battles over the debt limit.
(Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Brendan O'Brien; Editing by Susan Heavey and Chizu Nomiyama)
"Baywatch" actress Yasmine Bleeth's husband is suing Disney for injuries he allegedly suffered after falling over film equipment while the studio was shooting at his residence.
Paul Cerrito is claiming he has suffered a permanent back injury due to the fall.
According to the lawsuit obtained by TMZ, Disney was filming a pilot at Cerrito's home. Prior to his spinal injury, he was already recovering from a previous spill at a grocery store and was using a walker to get around. He is suing both the grocery store and Disney.
'Baywatch' Babes Alexandra Daddario & Ilfenesh Hadera Talk Bikini Confidence
The gossip site reports that Cerrito is seeking for Disney to pay for his medical bills and damages.
Bleeth and Cerrito have been married since 2002 after meeting in rehab.
A year before they wed, Cerrito was in the car with the actress when she was caught with cocaine in her car according to EW.
Disney did not return Fox News' request for comment.
Idris Elba has moved on from addressing those rumors about becoming James Bond Daniel Craig is already suiting up as the secret agent in 2019 but there is one role he would absolutely say yes to for the big screen.
The Alchemist' is one of the first books I read that I loved, the 45-year-old British actor told Fox News. The Alchemist' is a really beautiful story, and I really would love to play that character and be in that film. Its a great, great story. Very simple, but it has a real touchstone and heart to it.
But Elba, who shot to fame as drug kingpin Stringer Bell on HBOs hit drama The Wire, doesnt need much convincing to pursue acting. He insisted that when it comes to diversity in Hollywood, theres progress in sight.
Yes, yes, not just in Hollywood, but in life, he explained. You know, Hollywood is more and more affected by everyday people and thats a multicultural society for the most part. Especially in England where I live. Theres a massive move towards that. The progress is slow, but its permanent. And thats really important. Its the same thing both in the U.S. and the U.K. The progress is a slow move towards the right direction. And its a slow, permanent move.
Elba is feeling motivated these days to take on new roles.
My life is a creative one, he explained. I get to live a really full life through my work. I get to travel the world, meet people, and do creative things. That always keeps you motivated. Ive been in love with acting since I was 10-years-old when I saw my first film. I thought, I want to do that. And I still say this now, even as I turned 45-years-old.
But Elba isnt just moved by Hollywood. One of his many passions has been raising awareness on what he calls the adult illiteracy crisis.
Through Project Literacy, he befriended Wanda Steward, a former illiterate mother from Philadelphia who struggled to read her children bedtime stories. She then made up her own tales to match the illustrations she saw and created a character called Pong-Pong the Brave.' The organization partnered with Steward to bring her stories to life in the form of a childrens book.
Elba isn't shocked by the United States' adult illiteracy issue.
It doesnt surprise me that its a worldwide problem, not just a U.S. issue. What you have to understand about illiteracy is that its very hard to admit it. And its easy to go around, pretending you can read or write It doesnt surprise me its such a huge problem because its almost undetectable.
Elba became determined to help resolve the issue.
Just having children [inspired me], he explained. Just being able to read books to my children. And the moment they recognized words, the moment they recognized the alphabet. Thats truly one of the purest moments for me.
Elba also encountered the problem while working as an ambassador for the Princes Trust, a U.K.-based charity founded by Prince Charles. The Metro reported Elba first received a grant from the organization at age 16 when he couldnt afford to attend the National Youth Music Theatre.
Theres an alarming amount of young people that cannot read or write, he said. And theres an alarming amount of young people who cannot read or write in jail. Im meeting these gentlemen and some of them become a common denominator they cannot read or write. And as soon as they can read and write, that opens up a whole level of awareness for them, including their self awareness, which sometimes makes them not want to reoffend. And thats really important here.
And while Elba is gearing up to launch one of his next films titled "The Mountain Between Us, which also stars British Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet, he has zero plans to slow down on his fight to help place the spotlight on illiteracy.
This is something I feel quite passionate about. It speaks to me, he said. I consider myself to be a self-taught person. Especially when it comes to my profession and pursuing the things I want to accomplish. Ive always taught myself how do it. And illiteracy is a crisis amongst adults. I just want to raise some awareness around it.
Members of a famous Polish death metal band were arrested on suspicion of kidnapping a woman after a Washington concert last month, authorities said.
The four members of the band Decapitated were arrested Saturday in Santa Ana, California, on suspicion of kidnapping a woman after their Aug. 31 concert in Spokane, Spokane Police Department spokeswoman Cpl. Teresa Fuller said in a statement.
The woman told police just before 2 a.m. on Sept. 1 about the alleged kidnapping by the band members, Fuller said. The band had performed at a concert in downtown Spokane. The woman attended the heavy metal concert, Fuller said.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office arrested the band members after their Friday night concert in Santa Ana, Fuller said. They are 27-year-old Michal M. Lysejko, 35-year-old Waclaw J. Kieltyka, 31-year-old Rafal T. Piotrowski, and 30-year-old Hubert E. Wiecek. All are Polish citizens.
"After they finished playing, they were kind of hanging out," Santa Ana police Sgt. Javier Aceves told the Orange County Register on Saturday. "There was nothing dramatic."
They are being held in the Los Angeles County Jail and will face extradition to Spokane, Fuller said.
Steve Graham, the band's Spokane-based defense attorney, told the Spokane Spokesman-Review that the band members are innocent of the accusations.
"There is another side to this," he told the newspaper. "We have witnesses that can testify to the fact that the accuser came to visit (the) band of her own free will and left on good terms."
Graham said he told police that the band members had offered to surrender but never heard anything back.
The attorney said he fears the band members will spend weeks in the Los Angeles County Jail before being returned to Spokane. But Graham told the newspaper that the four will not fight extradition and will return to Spokane willingly.
The band, founded in Poland in 1996, has won critical acclaim for its albums among fans of death metal.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Pizza Hut has stated that they "absolutely do not have a policy that dictates when team members can leave or return from a disaster" after a store in Hurricane Irma's path got heat for trying to do just that.
We are uncompromising in our commitment to the safety and well-being of our team members," wrote the company in a statement issued earlier this week. "All locations in the path of Irma are closed and will remain closed until local authorities deem the area safe. We absolutely do not have a policy that dictates when team members can leave or return from a disaster, and the manager who posted this letter did not follow company guidelines."
The hubbub over Pizza Hut's policy started making headlines earlier this week, when a Pizza Hut restaurant in the storms path issued a much different statement to its crew.
U.S. AIR TRAFFIC DIAGRAM SHOWS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE WITH EVERY FLIGHT IN FLORIDA GROUNDED
In a now-viral post on Twitter, a Pizza Hut team member shared a photo of a printout pinned to a cork board that advised Pizza Hut employees on hurricane guidelines.
The paper, addressed To all Team members, starts with expectations as hurricane Irma approaches Florida, stating our #1 priority is the safety and security of our team. But, we also have a responsibility and commitment to our community to be there when they need us. With that said, I/we need some guidelines in place to ensure both of those expectations are met.
The sheet continued with general rules the store will close 6-12 hours before a storm but explained that if a team member plans to evacuate, they must alert a manager and let them know when they plan to return, citing that a member is only allowed a 24-hour period before storm grace period and must be back from an evacuation within 72 hours.
You cannot evacuate Friday for a Tuesday storm event! the paper read, before reiterating that after the 24-hour grace period, team members are expected to work their assigned shifts.
Failure to show for these shifts, regardless of reason, will be considered a no call/no show and documentation will be issued, it read.
Twitter users quickly responded negatively to the post, calling the company out for caring more about their profits than their employees.
One user pointed out the seemingly absurd fact that Pizza Hut will close for a holiday, but not for a life-threatening hurricane.
FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS
In its statement, Pizza Hut added that the offending manager had been dealt with.
"We can also confirm that the local franchise operator has addressed this situation with the manager involved," the company added.
As of Monday, 6.5 million people in the state are left without power after Hurricane Irma changed to a tropical storm once it moved north swept up Florida.
Hurricane Irma caused massive destruction in Florida, but before the storm made landfall, more than 5 million residents about one-third of the states population were told to evacuate for their own safety. Governor Rick Scott even issued a plea for residents to "leave now, don't wait."
Council members to receive 55,000 drams
At the first meeting of the second session of the third convocation of the Yerevan Council of Elders, chaired by Mayor Taron Margaryan, the draft decision on granting monetary compensation to members of Yerevan Council of Elders was submitted to the their approval. Accordingly, monthly compensation for the expenses of Yerevan City Council members will be provided from the Yerevan City Budget for the costs incurred due to the fulfillment of their duties at the rate of AMD 55,000, the minimum salary of the Republic of Armenia defined by the RA Law on Minimum Monthly Salary. The draft decision on agreeing to the Yerevan land balance included in the agenda of the session was also debated and approved by members of the Council of Elders. The Yerevan Council has discussed and approved the draft decisions on altering the target value of a number of land plots included in the agenda, as well as granting free of charge apartments to households residing on those addresses. Other issues included in the agenda have also been approved by the council members. The next regular session of the Yerevan Council of Elders will take place on October 31, at 11:00 am.
An Australian grandmother who had her first child 30 years ago and has 10 grandchildren defied odds when she gave birth to her fifth child at the age of 51.
Lynn Cooper, of Gold Coast, Australia, and her husband Brad, 34, welcomed their son, Harrison, nearly four years after having their first daughter, Mia, 9News Australia reported. Cooper said it only took one round of IVF for her to become pregnant.
DOCTOR SUSPENDED AFTER 4 PATIENTS TEST POSITIVE FOR HEPATITIS C
"They were a little bit astonished because they couldn't believe that," Cooper told 9News.
"I actually breezed through it," she added.
Cooper said she and her husband met more than a decade ago online and after they got married, the topic of children came up.
"She was willing to give it a go, have a look at least," Brad Cooper said.
Cooper, who was 47 at the time of her first pregnancy, said specialists were unwilling to provide IVF treatment because of her age. The window of success for the treatment decreases as a woman becomes older. A doctor finally agreed and said she encountered no problems during the pregnancy.
LUNG RECIPIENT MEETS DONOR'S FAMILY YEAR AFTER TRANSPLANT
The grandmother said she has three children from a previous relationship and initially didnt think of having more children. Her older children also have 10 children.
"You're only as old as you feel," Cooper said. "I will always stand by my kids."
A number of patients suffered a rare infection while being treated at Childrens Hospital of New Orleans, with one parent claiming the number was around a dozen, Fox 8 reported. A letter from the hospital identified the infection as Mycobacterium abscessus, and said affected patients underwent surgery between late May and July 2017.
This is the first time Childrens Hospital has experienced surgical site infections caused by mycobacterium, an environmental contaminant that is commonly found to be in water, soil and dust, the letter said, according to Fox 8. The infection is treatable and all patients are currently undergoing successful treatment in this hospital.
DOCTOR SUSPENDED AFTER 4 PATIENTS TEST POSITIVE FOR HEPATITIS C
The letter went on to state that the hospital has complied with all Louisiana Office of Public Health mandatory requirements, and that it was working with the states office of public health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and outside infection control consultants.
Because a common element in the affected children was open-heart surgery requiring the use of cardiopulmonary bypass, our investigation focused on the environment and equipment used in the cardiac operating room, the letter said, according to Fox 8. We believe a piece of equipment used to regulate the temperature of patients while on bypass is the most likely source of this infection, and all suspected equipment has been removed from service and replaced.
A pregnant woman who was allegedly set on fire by her boyfriend in Maryland gave birth seven weeks early to a baby girl, reports said.
Laquinn Phillips, 34, is accused of setting his girlfriend, Andrea Grinage, 30, on fire during a domestic incident just before 12 p.m. Friday at their apartment in Capitol Heights, FOX5 DC reported. Grinage banged on neighbors door looking for help, suffering from severe burns throughout her body.
"She was very brave," Prince George's County police spokesperson Jennifer Donelan said. "We want her family to know how brave she was, suffering as badly as she was, critically burned, worried about her unborn child, dealing with those injuries and was able to share that information with us so that we could get moving with our investigation and locate this person."
Police said they could see smoke billowing from the second and third floors of the apartment building.
Grinage went into early labor when she was rushed to the hospital. She and her newborn girl are in critical condition, the victims mother told the news station.
Phillips was arrested after he turned himself in. He faces charges including first and second-degree attempted murder, arson and assault.
The parents of an 18-month-old who was rushed to the hospital after ingesting marijuana are under investigation for possible criminal neglect, San Diego police said. The Otay Mesa couple, who was not identified, said the incident occurred at their home.
RESCUE DOG DIES AFTER EATING CUPCAKE MADE WITH SUGAR SUBSTITUTE
The child was brought to the Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center on Sunday, where an unidentified nurse described him as lethargic, Fox 5 San Diego reported. He was later transferred to Rady Childrens Hospital in San Diego, but his condition was not released.
A child-abuse detective is investigating the case, which remained open as of Monday, the news outlet reported.
A British family is planning to sue their six-year-old sons school after boys were allowed to come to class in dresses.
Husband and wife Nigel and Sally Rowe, removed their son from the elementary school after a male classmate arrived in a dress.
PRINCE GEORGE'S STYLISH TEACHER WINS OVER THE INTERNET
A child aged six would sometimes come to school as a girl or sometimes comes to school as a boy, Mr. Rowe reportedly told The Sunday Times.
Our concerns were raised when our son came back home from school saying he was confused as to why and how a boy was now a girl, he continued. We believe it is wrong to encourage very young children to embrace transgenderism, boys are boys and girls are girls.
The couple is mounting legal action against the school, arguing that it is not respectful of their Christian values to teach gender ambiguity to their young son.
The Telegraph reported that Mr. and Mrs. Rowe plan to educate their six-year-old at home along with his eight-year-old brother who was pulled from the same school last year when a boy in his class started wearing dresses.
Though the couple states, gender dysphoria is something we as Christians need to address with love and compassion, they believe it doesnt belong in the sphere of a primary school environment.
The accused school defended their practices by saying transgender students are protected under the Equalities Act of 2010 and that there were policies in place to handle transphobic behavior defined as refusing to use a transgender persons preferred name or pronoun.
FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS
According to The Telegraph, a spokesman for the Diocese of Portsmouth, under which the school falls, said its schools are inclusive safe spaces which respect diversity of all kinds.
A neighboring county in East Sussex stated that transgender students should not be seen as a problem, but as an opportunity to enrich the school community and to challenge gender stereotypes and norms on a wider scale, The Telegraph reports.
Still, the parents are moving forward with their legal claims, bringing the case to the high court, where it could find the school guilty of failing to adequately balance the needs of both cisgender and transgender students.
A Croatian reality star claims he has a condition that has left him with a permanent erection following plastic surgery on his nose that went wrong.
Neven Ciganovic, 45, said he went to Iran to get the surgery and he was filming part of it for an upcoming documentary, The Sun reported.
I was in Iran for rhinoplasty for the documentary film that Channel 4 is filming covering my life. We did not record the surgery but only the consultation sessions with the doctor. They gave me general anesthesia and I reacted badly to it.
The stylist said that the doctors diagnosed him with priapism during his surgery.
PIZZA FESTIVAL A SCAM; TINY PIE COST $75, ATTENDEES CLAIM
The Mayo Clinic defines priapism as a prolonged erection of the penis. The persistent erection continues hours beyond or isnt caused by sexual stimulation. Priapism is usually painful.
The clinic says the disorder is uncommon but is most seen in males in their 30s with sickle cell anemia.
If a person experiences an erection for longer than four hours it is considered a medical emergency, The Sun reported.
Recreational drugs, such as cocaine and crystal meth, and other medications can provoke the condition.
The Croatian stylist was said to be recovering in the hospital since Friday and had surgery to alleviate his priapism. Doctors told the reality star that it would be a few months until he recovered.
BIKINI BARISTAS SUE WASHINGTON CITY OVER DRESS CODE LAW
Ciganovic has undergone more than a dozen plastic surgery operations, including three on his nose.
"I look forward to a movie about myself, Ciganovic told The Sun.
"Channel 4 dedicated a whole episode about me. I think this is a big deal and I hope this is the start of my international career."
Ciganovic said he is often criticized for his numerous plastic surgeries.
FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS
"I often hear from people that I looked better before surgery," the stylist said.
"It was a long time ago and I'm curious, who will not look better if they are 20 years younger?"
A mom claims her 17-year-old daughter was branded busty and plus-sized by a teacher and pulled out of class for wearing a blouse that "didnt cover her cleavage properly."
Melissa Barber says Kelsey Anderson was singled out at Joplin High School in Missouri because her long-sleeved blouse and jeans violated the dress code.
She shared a photo of the outfit and wrote: "This is the shirt that just got my 17-year-old dress coded.
"The teacher said, 'Your boobs are bigger than most girls, and you are gonna have to try harder.'
CHRISTIAN FAMILY SUES SON'S SCHOOL OVER MALE DRESS CODE
"She really needs to not speak to my daughter like that. What is wrong with the way this child is dressed????"
Barber claims her daughter was sent to the principals office by her female child development teacher after being sexualized in front of her classmates.
When she asked why she had been excluded, the teacher reportedly said, "bustier women need to wear clothing that covers their cleavage" and "plus-sized women need to dress accordingly."
In a viral Facebook post, Barber fumed: How often does this happen to your sons? Seems like another way to keep girls uneducated. #sheisnotadistraction #letthegirlslearn.
It has been liked and shared 40,000 times since it was posted after the incident on Friday and has sparked a backlash on social media.
Lynda Menicucci Farrenkopf wrote: Both of them need glasses. Her clothes are fine. That's ridiculous. She's a pretty girl and is dressed appropriately.
Kc Richards wrote: Number one, she isn't even plus-sized and number two someone please tell me where her boobs are even showing in that shirt.
A spokeswoman for the Joplin School District, which serves 7,395 pupils in Missouri, said: The District does not consider comments by staff members about students bodies appropriate. Our staff conduct policy requires all staff members to maintain courteous and professional relationships with students. This incident is being investigated by the administration to determine if this policy has been violated.
Barber now plans to take legal action against Joplin High School, which is part of the Joplin School District in Joplin, Missouri, and is in talks with an attorney.
FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS
The Districts Board of Education policy on student dress code allows individual student expression but requires that outfits adhere to health and safety codes.
It also states: Dress that materially disrupts the educational environment will be prohibited.
No procedure will impose dress and grooming rules based on gender.
Marisa Papen says shes taken nude photographs in at least 50 countries during the course of her modeling career, but Egypt was the only place where she encountered any trouble.
According to Papen, she and her photographer, Jesse Walker, were arrested earlier this year after staging the risque photoshoot for Walker's ENKI Eyewear brand alongside the Egyptian landmarks in Giza and Luxor. Whats more, the two reportedly knew the risks they were taking by having Papen publicly undress in the conservative country, but went ahead with their plan regardless.
INSTAGRAM MODEL ARRESTED FOR ATTACKING POLICE DURING NUDE ENCOUNTER
It indeed was the first time I actually modelled naked in an Arabic country, Papen tells Fox News. And to be clear, we didnt want to offend anyone, our goal was to recreate the Ancient Egyptian World the Pyramids and Karnak temple were built long before the Islam existed.
During her and Walkers first stop in Giza, Papen wrote on her website (link is NSFW) they were able to enter an outer pyramid by bribing a young boy near the entrance. They were soon caught by two guards, but gained their freedom through yet another bribe.
Over the next few days, Papen and Walker enlisted the help of a guide named Mohamed, who shuttled them back and forth between the pyramids, and allowed them to use his horse in a photo.
The two then left Egypt for Ethiopia, but returned to stage another nude shoot at the Karnak temple complex in Luxor but again, they were busted, and this time they werent so lucky. Like [two] beaten dogs, we got guided out by four security guards including the principal of the temple police would be waiting for us with open arms.
CURVY MODEL'S PICS SHOW WHY SWIMSUIT SHOPPING IS THE WORST
As Papen explained, Walker managed to delete all the photos off his camera by the time police confiscated it, allowing his enough wiggle room to claim they had only been testing the lighting. Once in jail, they began retelling the facts of the case to different police officers and court officials over and over. The two also spent a night in jail amid a group of at least 20 other offenders, some of whom were bleeding and yelling for help.
I never really was super scared, but there were moments I couldnt see the end of this mess anymore, Papen told Fox News. We were sent from the one office to the other, explaining the same story over and over again the feeling of being scared turned into frustration multiple times.
Eventually, Papen and Walker were able to convince a judge that she was merely frolicking in skin-colored underwear, and received a stern warning to never do anything so foolish ever again.
The two were released and allowed to return to their hotel extremely exhausted but full of adrenaline, and Walker worked to retrieve the deleted photos with special software.
FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS
Still, Papen says it was the riskiest shoot she's ever done, and she's worn only her birthday suit in several big cities.
A few months ago I did a naked skateboard story through the streets of New York, surrounded by plenty of people, she tells Fox News.
Nothing happened there. But obviously, Egypt is slightly different then New York
Billions of dollars in damage caused by Hurricanes Harvey in Texas and Louisiana and now Hurricane Irma in Florida has created crises of massive proportions, requiring emergency action to provide victims with shelter, food and water. But as recovery proceeds, survivors will have a critical need for something less obvious legal help.
Hurricanes and other disasters strike quickly, but recovery can take months and even years. Survivors need help applying for disaster assistance to rebuild their homes, livelihoods and communities. Thats where lawyers and others providing legal aid come in, and why they are desperately needed.
When Hurricane Katrina ravaged Mississippis coast in 2005 and again when the BP oil spill compounded the destruction in 2010, I saw firsthand how access or the lack of access to civil legal aid can make or break a familys recovery.
Without legal help, people can be denied insurance and federal disaster benefits to which theyre entitled, simply because they cant find a deed or other document, which may have been destroyed, or because they dont understand the process.
At the Mississippi Center for Justice, I coordinated the legal aid communitys response to both disasters. I learned that legal problems abound after a disaster, and that people with low incomes and few assets are at the greatest risk of losing everything even after theyve already suffered devastating losses.
No one can turn back the clock and undo the damage of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and other disasters. But to help people whove already suffered terribly, its important that federal disaster relief include funding for civil legal aid.
This is why Congress and President Trump must continue to fund the nonprofit Legal Services Corporation, to make sure all disaster survivors have a fighting chance to get back on their feet.
But although more than two-thirds of low-income families experienced at least one civil legal problem in the past year, the Trump administration has proposed eliminating the Legal Services Corporation. This would create a new man-made disaster for victims of natural disasters and other crises forcing them to find their way, alone, through a morass of legal issues.
Without legal help, people can be denied insurance and federal disaster benefits theyre entitled to, simply because they cant find a deed or other document that may have been destroyed, or because they dont understand the process.
Disaster survivors can be coerced into paying a landlord who demands rent for housing that is no longer habitable. They can be unlawfully evicted in court by a landlord planning to jack up the rent in response to a post-disaster housing shortage.
Disaster victims can also be scammed by phony contractors or be unable to collect on a final paycheck from an employer that has laid them off. The wide array and complexity of legal problems that impede recovery from a disaster is stunning.
Civil legal aid exists to protect disaster survivors from being victimized a second time. When disasters hit, attorneys mobilize to provide free legal information and direct representation to low-income survivors in hard-hit communities.
As central players in the recovery effort, groups offering civil legal aid even partner with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Red Cross to ensure survivors get the help they need to rebuild. Lawyers mobilize to staff help desks in disaster recovery centers, right beside food and medical stations.
President Trump and congressional leaders have promised help is on the way. Right now, they have a responsibility to ensure that the federal response to Harvey, Irma and future disasters includes legal help. To do so, they should approve federal funding for civil legal aid in disaster relief measures and also fund the Legal Services Corporation in the federal budget.
The Legal Services Corporation created in 1974 under legislation signed into law by President Richard Nixon is an independent agency that distributes federal funding to 133 nonprofit civil legal aid groups with more than 800 offices across the country.
As the former president of the Legal Services Corporation, I know from first-hand experience how it can help Americans with enormous needs as they try to get through crises. Funding from the corporation enables lawyers and others in the legal profession to help ordinary Americans with legal matters like wrongful evictions, veterans benefits and natural disaster recovery.
Lone Star Legal Aid and Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid two groups providing the most vital on-the-ground aid to Hurricane Harvey survivors receive half their funding from the Legal Services Corporation. Cutting off funding to these groups and to legal aid groups in Florida in the wake of Hurricane Irma would cause storm survivors an immense new round of suffering.
After Katrina and the BP oil spill during my time as the head of the Mississippi Center for Justice, we represented everyone we could who needed our help. Yet even today, the Mississippi Center for Justice hasnt closed all those cases a startling indication of just how stubborn these problems can be and how important it is that civil legal aid be provided to people in need.
President Trump told Harveys survivors: Were going to get you back and operating immediately.
And in his weekly address on Friday the president said: As Hurricane Irma approaches, my Administration is working closely with our state and local partners to help save lives, protect families and assist those in need. The president added that when the time comes, we will restore, recover and rebuild together, as Americans.
House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have both echoed the presidents desire to make recovery a priority.
If these leaders are serious about helping the people of Texas, Louisiana and Florida recover and rebuild they should demonstrate the strength of their commitment by funding the Legal Services Corporation and meeting the corporations supplemental disaster request of $10.5 million. Survivors of Harvey and Irma need and deserve this help.
Editor's note: The following column originally appeared in The Hill newspaper and on TheHill.com.
Hes just like he is on TV...Hes an a--hole, but hes our a--hole.
Thats how Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., recently described President Trump to a group of young Republicans, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
The disparaging assessment of Trumps character came days before the president gave his approval for ending Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
President Obama put that policy in place in the absence of Congressional action on immigration reform to allow undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children to register with the government and build a life without threat of deportation.
Now Trump has those young people and their families in emotional turmoil. Their fears are climbing as Trump ramps up deportations and falsely demonizes immigrants as stealing jobs and hurting the economy.
Having set off so much fright, Trump then promised that none of the young people would be deported until March. He tweeted: Congress now has 6 months to legalize DACA (something the Obama Administration was unable to do). If they can't, I will revisit this issue!
Essentially, he pinned the blame on Congress for his decision to go after politically defenseless young people.
If he was sincere, Trump could have asked Congress to act while leaving the Obama rules in place. That would have avoided the current waves of desperation among 800,000 young people trying to do their best in school, on the job and in the military.
But in this test of character, Trump chose to focus only on the political pay-off for himself in fulfilling a campaign pledge he made to appeal to his anti-immigrant political base.
Talk about reducing people to political pawns. This must be the kind of behavior that Hunter had in mind with his insulting description of the presidents character.
But Trump was not done. Once a backlash started with leaders of the Fortune 500 to Catholic bishops condemning his actions Trump further displayed his lack of principles by saying he wants to sign a new DACA program into law. So now he believes the young people should be protected?
However, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders added the president will only sign a new plan as part of comprehensive immigration reform.
How cynical can Trump get?
As recently as July he dismissed the chances of Congress passing any immigration reform: Our country and political forces are not ready yet, he said.
He also knows Congress has failed to pass any signature legislation since he took office. So, what are the odds?
The big problem is that a GOP effort at immigration reform failed in 2006 and a bipartisan effort failed in 2013. In both cases, conservative talk radio attacked reform as amnesty for lawbreakers.
Already, Trumps call for total immigration reform is generating outrage and skepticism from right-wing talkers.
Conservative columnist Ann Coulter, once one of Trumps most enthusiastic supporters, lit into the president on Twitter.
That's great. Sarah Huckabee Sanders says Trump wants COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM! Exactly what he used to denounce, Coulter tweeted. Weird how Huckabee Sanders obsessively attacks congress. Trump's not going to get out of betraying voters on the wall by blaming congress.
While the right remains set against immigration reform, the president is hurting himself with mainstream voters.
A Politico/Morning Consult poll last week found that 58 percent of voters believe DACA kids should be allowed to stay and become eligible for citizenship. Eighteen percent said they should be allowed to stay and become legal residents.
According to the poll, support for allowing DACA kids to stay in the country is bipartisan: 84 percent of Democrats and 69 percent of Republicans want the young people here.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said as much in denouncing the presidents decision as a heartbreaking moment in our history that shows the absence of mercy and goodwill, and a short-sighted vision for the future.
Writing in the Daily Beast, Frank Sharry, the executive director of Americas Voice, a pro-immigration group, similarly branded Trumps DACA decision a national disgrace on the order of the internment of Japanese-Americans during the Second World War and the refusal to admit Jewish refugees from the Holocaust.
America is a noble idea, and on Tuesday, President Trump crushed it, Sharry wrote.
I know how important that noble idea is to a child. I came to the U.S. as a four-year-old immigrant from Panama.
My mother took my sister, brother and me to Brooklyn to get an American education and compete in the American economy. We came to America on a banana boat. Thats no joke: We literally came as added freight on a boat carrying bananas bound for New York.
My sister graduated from Harvard; my brother has a law degree; and Ive been able to write this column and best-selling books, and succeed in American media.
Thats why my heart aches for these children and their families. Their story is my story.
The DACA decision was announced before Trump accepted the first deal on the debt ceiling offered to him by Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
Would it surprise anyone if Trump also turns away from Republicans and works with Democrats on a comprehensive immigration deal with amnesty for all undocumented immigrants?
To quote Hunter, hes an a--hole. Though after this week, his most ardent supporters have reason to wonder if he is still their a--hole.
UCOM HAS INTRODUCED FUTURE NETWORK WI-FI 6E ROUTERS
Statement by the Spokesperson on the conflict resolution and reconciliation efforts
Foreign Minister of Armenia to participate in the Fifth Paris Peace Forum
Armenia: EU and Armenia Hold annual Dialogue on Human Rights
Google Ad
Todays Shushi, Occupied and Cleared of Armenians, is a Real Example of Turkish-Azerbaijani Policy of Ethnic Cleansing of Artsakh
Ookla, the the global leader in internet testing and analysis has awarded Ucom
Sweden will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union
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
Google Ad
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
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
North Korea represents the most imminent threat to U.S. national security. Pyongyangs test this month of a fusion bomb and its launch last month of an ICBM have demonstrated its ability to launch nuclear attacks on U.S. soil. Kim Jong Uns regime may not be fully deterred by a retaliatory strike it already enslaves most of its population. Even if North Korea never fires upon the continental U.S., it might attack South Korea and Japan or share its technology with other American enemies, such as Iran or even terrorist groups.
Nevertheless, we will likely witness yet another cycle of fruitless diplomacy. The U.N. Security Council has already imposed the toughest sanctions ever on North Korea. After President Donald Trump declared that North Korea will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen, Pyongyang publicly threatened to launch missiles against U.S. bases in Guam.
Rapidly developing technologies can offer options beyond the tragic choice of appeasement or conventional attacks on Seoul. Robotics, cyber, and space-based communications have sparked an economy revolution. These same advances are triggering a comparable transformation in military affairs. These new weapons and, just as important, the will to use them allow for faster, more precise uses of force with less harm and risk, which could allow us to face down North Korea and other, looming threats.
Using robotics, cyber, or space based weapons to conduct pinpoint warfare could even produce more freedom for a negotiated peaceful resolution of disputes, before leaders risk their soldiers lives and their nations honor.
U.S. aerial robots have launched pinpoint strikes on terrorist leaders. More advanced drones could stealthily enter North Korean airspace to cripple Pyongyangs nuclear weapons and missile infrastructure. Robotic weapon systems could multiply the effect of manned forces on defense too. While the Navy can surround North Korea with Aegis anti-missile cruisers, the Air Force could deploy drones in the airspace above to shoot down North Korean ICBMs in their initial boost phase, when they are most vulnerable.
Cyber weapons would enhance a new robotic anti-missile campaign. U.S. hackers could degrade North Koreas command and control of its missiles and destroy networks used to design and test missiles and warheads. If the U.S. is going to use sanctions, which rely on the idea that economic suffering by the North Korean people will place pressure on the regime, it should use cyber too. Degrading Pyongyangs communications and finances will increase the economic punishment for its nuclear program. American hackers could freeze North Korean regime accounts held abroad and cut the government off from the global banking system. U.S. cyber warriors can target companies doing business with North Korea, whether they be Russian, Chinese, or Malaysian.
Expanded space-based weapons can provide a third means to defend against the North. Until now, the great powers have primarily used space to monitor military deployments and to detect missile launches. Private companies such as SpaceX have driven launch costs down by more than 90 percent, and advances in robotics and communications have sparked a revolution in precision-guided munitions. The United States may soon have it within its abilities to station an anti-missile system in geo-synchronous orbit over North Korea. It could attack North Korean ICBMs not only in their initial boost phase, but also as their warheads traverse space before plunging to their targets. Future space platforms could quickly strike North Korean ground targets with conventional weapons that have the force of tactical nuclear warheads, but with no radioactive fallout.
Intellectual roadblocks, not technical difficulties, ultimately will slow the deployment of these weapons. Critics already warn that the destabilizing nature of these new weapons require new treaties to ban them. United Nations officials called for an end to the U.S.s drone campaign against al Qaeda terrorists and Iraqi insurgents because UAVs made it too easy to engage in war. Elon Musk, founder of Tesla, recently called artificial intelligence the greatest risk we face as a civilization that could trigger wars. Self-appointed guardians of international law, such as various U.N. organs or the International Committee of the Red Cross, will criticize precision weapons or internet and space combat for violating long-cherished arms control norms.
Ever since the Catholic Church and European kings tried to ban the cross-bow, these arguments appear almost every time technological progress spurs advances in warfare. Critics argued that World War I long-range artillery, aerial bombing, and submarine attacks violated the laws of war by making violence too distant and too easy. The International Court of Justice has come close to declaring nuclear weapons a violation of international law, and this summer most nations joined a treaty to ban nukes.
Efforts to ban these new weapons, however, would harm the cause of global security by limiting options to bring economic pressure and gradually escalating force against troublemakers. For decades before the Second World War, great powers would underline their demands for satisfaction by sending a naval squadron to close a port or even bombard harbor facilities. Diplomats had a name for this pacific reprisals.
New technologies offer the opportunity for the United States and its allies to return to coercion as a tool of statecraft. The cruise missiles and drones used against Syria and in the past decade in Afghanistan and Iraq are the most visible illustrations. These new weapons can strike from far away, with great precision. They can hit a particular target while leaving surrounding structures untouched. They can temporarily paralyze a nations communications, internet, or economic systems.
Such coercion relies on the similar logic to the favorite tool of those opposed to military solutions: the economic sanction. Sanctions impose steadily escalating costs on civilians in the hopes that they will pressure a regime to change course. A cyber attack, similarly, might have the effects of a trade sanction but more promptly and with greater precision yet without the physical harm associated with conventional bombing. New technologies could impose the same level of pressure with far less permanent damage by, for example, striking critical bottlenecks in Irans energy industry with precision drone strikes, crashing the financial markets and banking system with cyber weapons, or shutting down all internet communications in Teheran. Using robotics, cyber, or space based weapons to conduct pinpoint warfare could even produce more freedom for a negotiated peaceful resolution of disputes, before leaders risk their soldiers lives and their nations honor.
It would be the height of folly if the United States were to continue to restrain its development and deployment of new weapon as challenges rise around us, not just from North Korea but from rivals around the world.
Behind the high-minded rhetoric surrounding many government programs, there often (or even usually) lies some grant of special privilege to a powerful business interest. The most well-known example, of course, is ObamaCares individual mandate creating a guaranteed market for insurance companies. However, the most common hiding place for corporate welfare is the Pentagon. Hawkish politicians love sticking gifts to big corporations in the yearly National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). So it is no surprise to find an example of cronyism in the Fiscal Year 2018 NDAA, which the Senate is expected to vote on this week.
Specifically, Section 1615 of this years NDAA expressly forbids the Air Force from developing new launch vehicles by restricting expenditures to the development of new engines or the modification of existing systems. This prohibition is supposedly designed to address the Russian threat -- a threat manufactured by those seeking a new Cold War. In addition to flaming anti-Russian hysteria, this provision makes the company SpaceX the only affordable option for launch services.
For obvious political reasons, Washington wants to phase out the use of Russian-manufactured RD-180 rocket engines. However, as former Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James made clear, the Department of Defense "would strongly prefer to not have to pay for the development of an RD-180 engine replacement that would benefit only one launch service provider."
The union between politicians seeking to grow the welfare-warfare state and businesses seeking special favors from government solidifies the forces of big governments control of Capitol Hill.
Allowing SpaceX to obtain a monopoly over launch services harms taxpayers much more than forbidding the Pentagon from purchasing Russian products harms Vladimir Putin. If this provision becomes law, SpaceX will be able to charge the government more than they could in even a quasi-competitive market. This monopoly will also stifle innovation in rocket launching technology.
Despite the numerous public statements by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk decrying crony capitalism, SpaceX would not exist without government contracts and subsidies. According to The Wall Street Journal, government contracts account for about 70 percent of SpaceXs contracts. U.S. taxpayers have provided SpaceX more than $5.5 billion in the form of Air Force and NASA contracts.
SpaceXs reliance on government subsidies lead it to behave in ways that distort the political and policy process. Companies like SpaceX have an incentive to invest in lobbyists and campaign contributions to keep the government money flowing. These companies shower their largess on powerful politicians whose political or ideological agenda dovetails with the companies demand for taxpayer subsidies.
The union between politicians seeking to grow the welfare-warfare state and businesses seeking special favors from government solidifies the forces of big governments control of Capitol Hill.
A perfect example of how this system works against the taxpayer is the relationship between SpaceX and Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz. Elon Musk is a generous donor to both Senator McCains campaigns and the McCain Institute, while Senator McCain has in the past been a lead sponsor of provisions that would give SpaceX a monopoly on launch services.
I do not mean to suggest that Senator McCain is helping start a new Cold War to receive donations from SpaceX. Anyone who knows John McCain knows he does not need financial incentives to promote a belligerent foreign policy. Rather, SpaceX supports John McCain because his policy preferences coincide with their business interests.
I rarely agree with Pentagon officials, and it is rare that I am on the same side of questions involving military spending as President Trump. However, the president and the Pentagon brass are correct in that this protectionist provision should be removed from the NDAA. It poisons relations between the U.S. and Russia to benefit one company. Killing this piece of cronyism would be a great way to start draining the swamp.
As ObamaCare continues to collapse, options for quality, affordable health care move further out of reach for many Americans. This week, Senator Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., and other Senate Democrats plan to offer their solution: a complete Washington takeover of Americas health care system.
A majority of Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have signed on as co-sponsors of their own single-payer legislation. This idea is good for whipping up the far-left base and bad for everyone else. It will deliver worse care, inevitably leading to rationing. It also will be outrageously expensive for everyone.
This idea is good for whipping up the far-left base and bad for everyone else.
Supporters of putting the federal government in charge of personal health care decisions often cite the United Kingdom as their model. Democrats in the U.S. are pushing this idea at the same time many in the U.K. see their system of nationalized health care entering an ObamaCare-like death spiral.
The number of patients left waiting 12 hours or more for emergency care has spiked this year. There has also been a jump in the number of people waiting 18 weeks or longer to start treatment for long-term conditions.
Democrats would import these wait times to American health care. Everyone will get to experience the kind of delays at the heart of the VA hospital scandal a few years ago.
Some patients will never get the care they need. When Washington pays all the bills, it will soon decide to exert tighter control over everybodys care.
In Britain, the rationing of health care has meant prohibiting certain medications and limits on surgery for things like cataracts and knee and hip operations. Some medical boards have banned routine surgeries for patients who are obese or smokers.
The British have found rationing necessary partly because of the exorbitant cost of free medical care. Another reason is the shortage of professionals to provide this care. The number of general practitioners has fallen, and four out of 10 say they are unlikely to be practicing in five years. Just since March 2016 theres been a drop of 5,000 nurses and midwives across the British health care system.
Many cite disillusionment with the quality of care provided to patients. Its a legitimate concern. The U.K. ranks 20th out of 24 western countries for breast cancer survival. The U.S. is first. For ischemic stroke the U.K. is 25th out of 30 countries. The U.S. is fourth.
If thats the kind of quality care Democrats are planning, they should know that it wont come cheap. Democrats in the California state senate passed their own version of single-payer earlier this year. The plan was estimated to cost about $400 billion per year more than double the entire state budget.
Senator Sanders outlined a similar government takeover when he was running for president last year that included higher payroll and other taxes. The left-leaning Urban Institute said it would raise Washingtons total health care expenditures by 233 percent an increase of more than $32 trillion over the first decade. Sanders new taxes would pay for less than half of the new spending.
Not surprisingly, other Democrats have suddenly become vague about the ideas costs. House Democrats say their version would be paid for by things like a modest tax on unearned income and a small tax on stock and bond transactions.
The lack of specifics will sound familiar to anyone who remembers the debate over ObamaCare eight years ago. So far, even this has not been enough to help the idea get traction. Senator Sanders state of Vermont scrapped its own plan three years ago when faced with the overwhelming tax increases it would require.
The U.S. Senate actually took a vote on the bill written by House Democrats. It failed by a vote of 0 to 57. Every Republican voted against the legislation, while 43 Democrats voted present. Given a chance to stand up and vote for the idea they love to talk about, not a single senator did including Bernie Sanders.
With the ObamaCare markets in shambles, Democratic activists are making governmentcontrolled health care the new litmus test for the liberal left. The plan is aimed squarely at anyone who believed the hype about how great ObamaCare would be. Democrats promises about their new health care scheme are even more outlandish. The American people cant afford to get fooled again.
Regardless of background, ethnicity, religion or political affiliation, everyone in the country can agree on one thing: We are a country divided.
These days it feels that every topic of political conversation leads to a heated argument, with personal attacks and low blows. And we are tired of it. Fighting doesnt solve anything. It just leads to more fighting. Only by coming together, working through our differences, and focusing on ideas instead of insults, can we form the more perfect union we know the United States can be.
It may seem impossible to do this, but we know for a fact that it is not. After all, if I, Harlan Hill, a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, and I, Danielle McLaughlin, a liberal political commentator, can write a column together, certainly the multitude of groups within our country can attempt to have a calm, progressive, and constructive conversation about how to collectively address the most pressing issues of the day.
Our unity for this column, and our renewed commitment to civil discourse, was inspired by the Day of Jewish Unity on Sept. 15. The Jewish organization Acheinu (a division of the educational organization Dirshu) is encouraging Jews around the world to come together on that day to pray for peace and to pledge to refrain from divisive, pointless, or harmful speech.
The Jewish world is an apt metaphor in many ways for our country: There are various groups and subgroups who have different beliefs and agendas and who often are at odds with one another. And yet, these groups are able to put aside their disagreements to come together in peace and prayer. We knew we could too.
We both believe that the United States is the greatest country on Earth. The City on a Hill of de Tocqueville, echoed by Reagan and Kennedy. A place of opportunity, strong in its diversity, and assured in its freedoms. Why else would so many people be trying to immigrate here?
Now, we may disagree on immigration reform. One of us may want to build a wall and the other might not, but we can at least agree that we have to formulate new, bipartisan solutions for border security and immigration.
Better policy and more robust -- and just -- laws will never come to pass if we are unable to hold a civil conversation. This does not mean we cannot disagree with one another, even passionately. It means that we must commit to disagreeing with open ears, open hearts, with critical thought, and with words that inform rather than insult.
Through civil discourse and a pledge to work towards common goals rather than tear each other apart, we can begin the important work of improving our communities and our country, together. These common goals include economic growth, beneficial trade, fighting terrorism, standing up to nation states that seek to undermine the international order, ensuring a working social safety net and a health care system that enables quality coverage at low cost, protecting our national security, and encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit that burns brighter in America than anywhere else in the world.
We have always been strongest as a country when we stand together. We face existential and economic threats from Russian aggression in Europe, the balance of power and security in Asia, and the terrorism of ISIS, to name just a few. When we show a weak facade and a disunited front, we invite those who would wish us harm to exploit those divisions.
For these reasons, though we are not Jewish, we will be participating in the Day of Jewish Unity. Similarly, we ask you to engage in a positive and civil conversation with someone from across the aisle. Just try it; you may be surprised at how much you have in common.
No progress towards unity can be made without words of unity. We commend Acheinu for organizing this global movement and for providing us an opportunity to recommit to better, more productive dialog. We hope you will too.
A Maryland county judge has ordered the state bar to investigate three lawyers accused of deleting thousands of Hillary Clinton's emails.
Circuit Judge Paul F. Harris Jr. ruled Monday that the Attorney Grievance Commission and Office of Bar Counsel Maryland Office of Bar Counsel must look into complaints against Cheryl Mills, Heather Samuelson and David E. Kendall, citing "allegations of destroying evidence, according to the Washington Times.
The ruling came after Ty Clevenger, an attorney in New York City, filed the complaint. He recently was denied files from the FBI related to Clintons email investigation, due to what the bureau called a lack of public interest.
FBI SHUTS DOWN REQUEST FOR FILES ON HILLARY CLINTON BY CITING LACK OF PUBLIC INTEREST
Clevenger argued that the lawyers should be investigated for wrongdoing by destroying evidence, The Baltimore Sun reported.
Harris said Clevengers appeal to have the lawyers investigated appears to have merit, the Times reported.
Clevenger is looking to prove Clinton committed perjury, the Times reported. He said he was writing a book about political corruption -- and has lobbed accusations against both Republicans and Democrats.
HILLARY CLINTON'S BOOK RELEASE HAS DEMS WORRIED, IRRITATED
A lawyer for the bar counsel said Monday that Clevengers complaint was frivolous but wouldnt elaborate, citing confidentiality reasons. Judge Harris rejected the argument.
The court is ordering bar counsel to investigate, Harris said.
Former FBI Director James Comey said in July 2016 that while Clintons use of a private email server was extremely careless, he decided against recommending criminal charges.
Fox News' Alex Pappas contributed to this report.
Some of President Donald Trump's lawyers earlier this summer concluded that Jared Kushner should step down as senior White House adviser because of possible legal complications related to a probe of Russia's involvement in the 2016 presidential election and aired concerns about him to the president, people familiar with the matter said.
Among their concerns was that Mr. Kushner was the adviser closest to the president who had the most dealings with Russian officials and businesspeople during the campaign and transition, some of which are currently being examined by federal investigators and congressional oversight panels. Mr. Kushner, Mr. Trump's son-in-law and confidant, has said he had four such meetings or interactions.
Another issue was Mr. Kushner's initial omission of any contacts with foreign officials from the form required to obtain a security clearance. He later updated the form several times to include what he has said were more than 100 contacts with foreign officials.
The president's lawyers were not united in the view that Mr. Kushner should step down.
TRUMP AND RUSSIA INVESTIGATION: WHAT TO KNOW
John Dowd, who first joined the legal team in June and now heads it, said in an interview Monday that "to my knowledge" the proposal wasn't taken to Mr. Trump. Mr. Dowd also said he did not side with some of his colleagues who believed Mr. Kushner needed to go.
"I didn't agree with that view at all. I thought it was absurd," Mr. Dowd said. "I made my views known." He called Mr. Kushner "absolutely terrific" and "a great asset, real gentleman, a pleasure to work with."
TRUMP JR. SAID HE WANTED TO KNOW CLINTON'S 'FITNESS' FOR OFFICE IN MEETING
After some members of the legal team aired their concerns to Mr. Trump in June, including in at least one meeting in the White House, press aides to the legal team began to prepare for the possibility that Mr. Kushner would step down, drafting a statement explaining his departure, said people familiar with the matter.
Mr. Trump wasn't persuaded that Mr. Kushner needed to leave. One person said Mr. Trump's view was that Mr. Kushner hadn't done anything wrong and that there was no need for him to step down.
Click for more from The Wall Street Journal.
In a political year that has blown up conventional wisdom, the special election to fill the Alabama Senate seat vacated by Sen. Jeff Sessions confirmation to Attorney General, may further upend the status quo.
In an August 15th GOP primary, controversial former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, Roy Moore, bested interim Senator Luther Strange by roughly 6 percent, forcing a September 26 run-off. On primary night, Moore touted his maverick reputation.
"I'm running to make a difference in Washington, and those in Washington are scared," he said.
'TEN COMMANDMENTS JUDGE' ROY MOORE'S STAR RISING IN ALABAMA SENATE RUNOFF RACE
In 2003, the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission stripped Moore of his chief justice job for refusing to remove a monument to the 10 Commandments at the state judicial building, a monument that Moore himself commissioned. Thirteen years later, after he won re-election to chief justice, the commission suspended him for instructing judges to enforce Alabama's same-sex marriage ban, in defiance of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
Strange, who was appointed to office last February by then-Gov. Robert Bentley, maintains he has all the social conservative credentials as Moore, but without the baggage.
TRUMP MAKES FINAL PUSH FOR STRANGE IN ALABAMA SENATE RACE
"I have supported a traditional marriage in court and have litigated that for many years the same thing with the 10 Commandments," he told Fox News. "It's a question whether you respect the rule of law and the Constitution."
Adding to Moore's non-conformist credentials, he is heavily supported by trial lawyers typically a loyal Democratic Party constituency. They made up almost 20 percent of his campaign contributions when he ran for the Alabama Supreme Court in 2012. He is also supported by Breitbart publisher Steve Bannon, while Bannons former boss, President Trump, backs Strange.
The general election is set for December 12 against Democrat Doug Jones.
"I don't know if its possible for a Republican to lose the state of Alabama, but if it is, it's with a candidate like Roy Moore," said Josh Holmes, the former Chief of Staff to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Republicans worry that if Moore wins the run-off, trial attorneys may flee him for the formidable Democrat, Jones. They also worry that if Moore wins the general election, Senate Democrats will gain another to vote to block tort reform, which the GOP sees as a key component to lowering the costs of healthcare.
One thing is clear after his 60 Minutes interview: Steve Bannon is a newsmaking machine.
Nearly a dozen major headlines emerged from his sitdown with Charlie Rose, which was not just the first TV interview since Bannon resigned as President Trumps chief strategist, but his first TV interview ever.
So its not sheer hype when Breitbart plays up the comments of its executive chairman in a lead story headlined 25 Key Quotes From Steve Bannons 60 Minutes Interview.
CNN, after all, has The 48 Most Revealing Lines of Steve Bannons '60 Minutes Interview.
Whats more, the first half-dozen questions at Sarah Sanders briefing yesterday were aboutthe Bannon interview.
Rose was unusually aggressive for himbut fairin Sundays two segments. Bannon got plenty of time to respond. And the preeminent headline involves a three-letter military metaphor.
Washington Post: Bannon Declares War with Republican Leadership in Congress.
Thats no exaggeration, given that Bannon told the CBS show that the Republican establishment is trying to nullify the 2016 election. He named names, saying Mitch McConnell, and to a degree, Paul Ryando not want Donald Trump's populist, economic nationalist agenda to be implemented. (Although another way of looking at it is that they havent been able to amass the necessary votes, as on ObamaCare.)
And lawmakers will be put on notice and held accountable if they do not support the president of the United States, Bannon said.
Politico says Bannon is launching an all-out war against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the Republican establishment, and potentially undermining the partys prospects in 2018 and further inflaming tensions between GOP leaders and the White House.
Whats being reported is that Bannon will lead Trumps allies in recruiting candidates for primary challenges against recalcitrant Republicans, and that he could get financial support from wealthy conservative donor Robert Mercer, a major backer of Breitbart.
I dont know how many of these challenges will materialize, but its not hard to see why incumbent Republicans would be upset about the presidents people targeting lawmakers of his own partyespecially after his budget deal with the Democrats.
Bannon, a self-described street fighter, said Ryan and his colleagues assured the White House that they could repeal Obamas health care program by Easter.
And he said Im worried about losing the House now. That was when he said the Dreamers program should be abolished, a not-so-subtle split with the president who says he wants Congress to legalize it within six months. And this could lead to a civil war inside the Republican Party.
More fundamentally, Bannon says we embraced the establishment after winningwhich was necessary to staff a government, he says, but in his view tilted away from the candidates hard-line campaign promises.
The Trump confidante also told 60 Minutes that White House aides such as Gary Cohn should quit after criticizing the presidents response to Charlottesville: If youre going to break with him, resign.
Bannon said the presidents firing of James Comey was the worst decision in modern political history.
He said Dick Cheney, Condi Rice and the rest of George W. Bushs national security team were idiots on foreign policy (and that the same could be said of the Obama and Clinton teams).
He said the Russia investigation is a waste of time.
Bannon said Catholic bishops have an economic interest in unlimited immigration, unlimited illegal immigrationwhich prompted a strong denial from the church.
When Rose suggested that Trumps tweeting is not in his best interest, Bannon pushed back against the Washington Post, and the New York Times, and CBS News, saying Trump doesnt think theyre looking out for his interests. As for himself, I dont need the affirmation of the mainstream media.
Whether you like Bannon or not, consider what he has accomplished. He wasnt widely known, except to political and media insiders, when he joined Trumps campaign in the late summer of 2016. Now, after a short stint in the White House, his appearance on televisions top newsmagazine made news everywhere as he positions himself as Trumps outside field general for 2018.
Steve Bannon may not need the affirmation of the mainstream press, but he sure knows how to use it.
Hillary Clinton's newly released campaign memoir adds voter ID laws and Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to the list of reasons why she lost the 2016 presidential election.
In What Happened, which was formally released on Tuesday, Clinton tells the full, 469-page story of what she saw, felt and thought during two of the most intense years shes ever experienced.
She kicked off the promotion Tuesday at Barnes & Noble in New York Citys Union Square, arriving to the event an hour late after some supporters waited overnight outside the store to see her. She eventually started signing her book -- which claims to pull back the curtain on a number of factors that contributed to her loss.
While previously released passages faulted James Comey and even primary rival Bernie Sanders, the end of the book turns focus to allegedly discriminatory voter laws.
On page 418, Clinton begins a section titled Voter Suppression, where she claims the Trump campaign actively tried to discourage people from voting at all, and adds that their play was just the latest in a long-term Republican strategy to discourage and disenfranchise Democratic-leaning voters.
The Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts opened the floodgates by gutting the Voting Rights Act in 2013. When I was in the Senate, we voted to reauthorize the law 98 to 0 and President George W. Bush signed it, Clinton writes. But Justice Roberts essentially argued that racism was a thing of the past, and therefore the country no longer needed key protections of the Voting Rights Act.
Clinton describes Roberts' decision as one of the worst the court has ever made, and goes on to list fourteen states that had new voter ID restrictions by the 2016 election that she wrote were aimed at weeding out students, poor people, the elderly, and people of color. She goes on to blame Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, now-vice chairman of President Trumps voter fraud commission, for much of the national effort.
As part of her case, Clinton cites a debunked study on Wisconsin.
Since the election, studies have documented how big an impact all this suppression had on the outcome. States with harsh new voting laws, such as Wisconsin, saw turnout dip 1.7 points, compared with a 1.3-point increase in states where the law didnt change, Clinton writes.
In Wisconsin, where I lost by just 22,748 votes, a study from Priorities USA estimated that the new voter ID law helped reduce turnout by 200,000 votes, primarily from low-income and minority areas, Clinton says. ... Before the election, one Republican state representative in Wisconsin predicted the new law would help Trump pull off an upset in the state. It turns out he was right.
But PolitiFact slammed that study as Mostly False.
Priorities USA, a group that supports Democratic candidates, had issued a report saying a decline in voter turnout between the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections in Wisconsin was entirely due to the states photo ID requirement, PolitiFact wrote Tuesday. But experts told us that while photo ID requirements may reduce turnout to some extent, they questioned the methodology of the report.
PolitiFact also wrote that experts said there was no way to put a number on how many people did not vote in Wisconsin because of the ID requirement.
Clinton also infamously did not visit Wisconsin after the primaries.
But throughout What Happened, Clinton blames multiple factors for her losslike the attention on Those Damn Emails, the unprecedented intervention in our election by former FBI Director Comey, and the audacious information warfare waged from the Kremlin.
Clinton even questioned the support of those who attended the massive Womens March on Jan. 21. On page 14, Clinton explains how bittersweet the day after the inauguration was, as thousands of people joined to march on Washington.
Yet I couldnt help but ask where those feelings of solidarity, outrage, and passion had been during the election, Clinton writes, noting the dozens of women who have approached her in months since, some apologizing for not voting. We all have to live with the consequences of our decisions.
Clinton walked into the formal release on Tuesday with the chairman and founder of Barnes & Noble, Len Riggio. She was joined by longtime aide Huma Abedin and Nick Merrill, her campaign press secretary. The event was a prelude to a bigger book tour being launched across the country and Canada set to last through December.
According to the director of corporate communications for B&N, Alan McNamara, they sold more than 1,200 copies of What Happened at the event by around noonmore than during her 2014 launch of Hard Choices.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders was asked at the press briefing Tuesday whether President Trump would read Clintons book.
Im not sure, Sanders said Tuesday. I would think that hes pretty well-versed on what happened.
Never mind the special counsel probe Hillary Clinton apparently already knows what happened.
The 2016 Democratic presidential nominee told USA Today in a new interview that shes convinced then-candidate Donald Trumps associates coordinated with Russia to help the foreign government meddle in the U.S. election.
She spoke with the newspaper from her Chappaqua, N.Y., home, as part of the promotion for her new book What Happened, which hit the shelves Tuesday.
Clinton uses the memoir to reflect on her 2016 loss to Trump, casting blame for the upset on everyone from former FBI director James Comey to Democratic primary rival Bernie Sanders and sharing some of it herself.
But in the interview and the book, she emphasizes the role played by Russia. While the special counsel investigation ramps up, Clinton told USA Today there certainly was communication and there certainly was an understanding of some sort between Moscow and Trumps team.
Because there's no doubt in my mind that Putin wanted me to lose and wanted Trump to win. And there's no doubt in my mind that there are a tangle of financial relationships between Trump and his operation with Russian money. And there's no doubt in my mind that the Trump campaign and other associates have worked really hard to hide their connections with Russians, she said.
Asked if she thinks there was collusion, Clinton responded, "I'm convinced of it, without actually saying the word.
She clarified, "I happen to believe in the rule of law and believe in evidence, so I'm not going to go off and make all kinds of outrageous claims. But if you look at what we've learned since [the election], it's pretty troubling."
Trump and his advisers have long denied collusion claims, with the president occasionally referring to the investigation as a witch hunt. Hes also pushed back on the notion that Vladimir Putin wanted him to win.
The investigation, meanwhile, is heating up, as the former FBI director leading the probe looks to question several top current and former Trump advisers.
UCOM HAS INTRODUCED FUTURE NETWORK WI-FI 6E ROUTERS
Statement by the Spokesperson on the conflict resolution and reconciliation efforts
Foreign Minister of Armenia to participate in the Fifth Paris Peace Forum
Armenia: EU and Armenia Hold annual Dialogue on Human Rights
Todays Shushi, Occupied and Cleared of Armenians, is a Real Example of Turkish-Azerbaijani Policy of Ethnic Cleansing of Artsakh
Ookla, the the global leader in internet testing and analysis has awarded Ucom
Sweden will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union
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
Google Ad
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
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
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Democrats were too hasty in celebrating the shock spending deal they made with President Donald Trump last week, saying it is not as good as they believe.
The deal is not quite as good as my counterpart thought it was, the Senator from Kentucky told the New York Times' 'The New Washington' podcast, explaining that the battle for the debt limit increase will be delayed well beyond the initially agreed December deadline.
Last week, Trump overruled Republicans in Congress and struck a deal with senior congressional Democrats to raise the debt ceiling just as long as to ensure the government runs until December.
Republicans initially wanted an 18-month debt limit extension in a bid to avoid politically costly negotiations in the wake of the looming 2018 elections where most Senate and House seats will be up for grabs.
Trump later agreed to a 3-month extension suggested by Democrats but fiercely opposed by Republicans, telling reporters that after a very good meeting with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer they reached a deal that will be very good.
McConnell, however, told the Times that the debt limit will not have to be increased until well into 2018 as the newly passed legislation allows the Treasury to apply extraordinary measures to move money around and pay off the governments skyrocketing debt.
Since I was in charge of drafting the debt ceiling provision that we inserted into the flood bill we likely almost certainly are not going to have another debt ceiling discussion until well into 2018, the senior Republican said.
He added this will take away the big wins from the Democratic Party who believed they gained an upper hand in the upcoming negotiations to keep the government running.
Republicans at the time slammed the Presidents decision to overrule them and instead make a deal with the Democrats.
The Pelosi-Schumer-Trump deal is bad, Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse said on Twitter. Hopefully we'll realize that negotiating with Democrats doesn't normally produce outstanding results, seconded Mark Meadows, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus.
Paul Ryan, hours before the deal was reached, said a 3-month debt limit extension was disgraceful and unworkable.
Chuck Schumer celebrated the deal, saying We think we made a very reasonable and strong argument. And, to his credit, (president) went with the better argument."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A federal administrative judge on Monday prohibited members of the public and media from attedning a Homeland Security Department hearing on the cancellation of a contract for a groundbreaking technology that allow the agency to detect bioterrorist threats.
Judge Allan H. Goodman of the U.S. Civilian Board of Contract Appeals issued the order barring the public from the hearing and prohibiting anyone involved including lawyers or witnesses in the case from talking about the proceedings, The Los Angeles Times reported.
The ruling was reportedly prompted by lawyers at DHS who objected to media reports about the technology.
In 2010, a Silicon Valley Company, NVS technologies Inc., won a government contract for $23.4 million to produce devices capable of telling whether an air sample contains biowarfare agents, the paper reported.
The government has been trying for years to develop technology quickly detecting bioterrorism agents such as anthrax and has splashed out more than $20 billion over the last 16 years.
Senior Homeland Security scientist Segaran Pillai reportedly said in 2013 report that the tech company has done a tremendous job in fulfilling our requirements and the continuation of the project was important to ensure a successful outcome for the nation.
Sally A. Hovjat, a division director at the Food and Drug Administration, also welcomed the new technology.
We strongly believe the government must take the initiative to make this happen if we plan to have a highly robust diagnostics and surveillance program to capture a potential biological attack early and also to support the clinical intervention/mitigation and save lives, she wrote in 2013, according to the LA Times.
Despite all that, the government agency cancelled the contract just months before the firm was supposed to deliver prototypes. The official reason for the cancellation, according to the La Times, was convenience.
NVS is now seeking to establish that the government acted in bad faith when they cancelled the contract. Hans Fuernkranz, NVS chief executive, told the LA Times the request to bar the public from the hearing was initiated by the government and not his firm.
Sen. Ron Johnson is demanding full transcripts from interviews the Office of Special Counsel conducted with former FBI staffers for James Comey, becoming the latest lawmaker to dig deeper after the documents raised questions about the bureaus handling of the Hillary Clinton email case and the ex-directors statements to Congress.
The White House on Monday accused Comey of giving false testimony, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told Fox News last week he wants Comey to return to Capitol Hill saying I smell a rat.
Johnson, R-Wis., chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, made his request for the full, un-redacted transcripts in a letter to Acting Special Counsel Adam Miles.
The Committee has conducted oversight of the FBIs investigation into Secretary Clintons use of a private email system. The information in OSCs possession could further explain the scope, course, and nature of the FBIs investigation, Johnson wrote on Sept. 8.
The transcripts were from interviews conducted by the OSC with James Rybicki, Comeys former chief of staff, and Trisha Anderson, the principal deputy general counsel of national security and cyber law. The Senate Judiciary Committee earlier received redacted transcripts of the interviews, revealing last month that they include claims that Comey wrote a draft of an "exoneration statement" for Clinton around early May 2016.
This would have been well before the bureau's early July interview with Clinton.
NEW PRESSURE ON COMEY TO RETURN TO CAPITOL HILL, AS WHITE HOUSE ACCUSES HIM OF 'FALSE TESTIMONY'
Johnson said the full transcripts may shed light on the FBIs decision-making process during their investigation, the FBIs interactions with other federal entities, and the FBIs distinction between extreme carelessness and gross negligence, when referring to Clintons handling of her private email server.
Comey ultimately accused Clinton of being extremely careless in her handling of her personal email and server while secretary of state, but recommended against criminal charges. The claim that he drafted an exoneration statement weeks before Clinton was interviewed, however, raised questions about the bureau's handling of the case -- and about Comey's prior testimony.
Comey in June said one of the big reasons he spoke out on the case was concern over then-Attorney General Loretta Lynchs infamous meeting days earlier on an Arizona tarmac with former President Bill Clinton. He also testified a year ago that he made the decision not to seek charges after the Clinton interview.
Some Republicans want Comey to return to Capitol Hill to testify and clarify his past statements. Just Monday, the White House slammed Comeys testimony as false.
The interviews with Rybicki and Anderson were part of an OSC investigation into whether Comey violated the Hatch Act in October 2016. Richard Painter, former White House chief ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush, requested an investigation after complaining that Comey may have influenced the election by telling Congress in late October that the bureau was revisiting the Clinton email probe.
Due to longstanding OSC policy, the only punishment from such a probe could be termination. So after President Trump fired Comey in May, the OSC investigation ended.
During that investigation, though, the OSC signed non-disclosure agreements with the FBI, giving them the privilege of redacting protected information. Those non-disclosure agreements bar the OSC from turning over any documents to Congress without permission from the FBI, despite Johnsons committee having jurisdiction over the watchdog agency.
However, Johnson contends that, Any reliance upon these non-disclosure agreements to withhold information from the Committee would be inappropriate.
Johnson gave a deadline of Sept. 21 for the OSC to provide full transcripts, documents, and details regarding their investigation into Comey.
Both the FBI and the OSC told Fox News they had no comment on the interviews or on why portions of the transcripts have been redacted.
Hope Hicks, one of President Trump's closest aides since before the start of the billionaire businessman's quest for the presidency, has officially been tapped as White House communications director, officials confirmed Tuesday.
Hicks had been named to the post on an interim basis in August, when Anthony Scaramucci left the job after his brief and tumultuous tenure.
Hicks, 28, is an ardent loyalist to the president who was one of the first staffers on the Trump campaign. She also worked for The Trump Organization where she worked on several ventures including projects for Ivanka Trump, senior White House adviser and Trumps daughter.
"[Hicks] has the credibility, leadership and respect from everyone in the West Wing. And in a very short order has helped the communications operation enormously," a senior White House official told Fox News.
The Trump White House now has three women in major roles in the communication and press shops. Along with Hicks, Sarah Sanders is press secretary and Stephanie Grisham is communications director for first lady Melania Trump.
Last week on ABCs The View, Sanders said Trump was "empowering" women by placing them in top brass roles at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
"We have never had a female press secretary and a female communications director [at the same time], ever, in the history of the White House -- and we do in this one, Sanders said.
Hicks initially was reluctant to take the communications director role but is a favorite aide to the president and first family and has the respect of White House staff.
In August, following Hicks' selection to run the communications shop on an interim basis, Ivanka Trump seemed to hint that the position could be more permanent.
Congratulations to my talented friend & colleague Hope Hicks on being named WH Communications Director. I know she will do an amazing job! she tweeted.
Fox News' John Roberts and Fox Business Networks Blake Burman contributed to this report.
Members of President Trumps election integrity commission clashed Tuesday over new claims that thousands of out-of-state voters may have swung last years election in New Hampshire in Democrats favor.
With the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity holding its second meeting in New Hampshire, the allegations took center stage.
Co-chairman Kris Kobach, Kansas' Republican secretary of state, challenged the legitimacy of last years blockbuster Senate election in New Hampshire.
New Hampshires longtime Secretary of State Bill Gardner, a Democrat, fired back, saying the results were real and valid.
The session at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics came less than a week after Kobach charged in a column on Breitbart.com that voter fraud in the Granite State may account for Democrat Maggie Hassans narrow Senate victory last November over incumbent Republican Kelly Ayotte.
Kobach cited a report compiled by Gardner and released by Republican state House Speaker Shawn Jasper. The report which some Republicans say also could raise questions about Hillary Clintons narrow win over Donald Trump in the state showed that more than 5,000 people who registered to vote last November using out-of-state drivers licenses never subsequently obtained in-state licenses or registered their cars in the state.
In his article, which was heavily criticized by Democrats, Kobach suggested that the data was proof voter fraud likely led to Hassans 1,017-vote victory over Ayotte out of nearly three-quarters of a million ballots cast.
The states laws allow a person for instance, a college student to be domiciled in New Hampshire for voting purposes and still be a resident of another state for driver's licensing purposes. But state law also requires that people who come to live in the state and have a vehicle register it and obtain a New Hampshire drivers license within 60 days.
New Hampshire is a swing state. Everybody comes here, Kobach said Tuesday, adding that people are flooding across the border to participate in primaries, to possibly cast a vote.
Kobach charged that until further research is done we will never know the answer regarding the legitimacy of that particular election.
Countering Kobach, Gardner said the problem that has occurred because of what you wrote is that the question of whether our election as we recorded it is real and valid. And it is real and valid.
Gardner pleaded that we all need to stay focused on the marching orders from Vice President Pence, the commissions chairman, that we work in a way that we dont have preconceived, preordained ideas of what the facts are going to turn out to be.
Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, another commission member, also criticized Kobach, calling his voter fraud allegations reckless.
President Trump lost New Hampshires four electoral votes last November to Democratic presidential nominee Clinton by fewer than 2,800 votes.
While Trump trounced Clinton in the all-important Electoral College vote, 306 to 232, to win the presidency, he also lost the national popular count by nearly 3 million votes to Clinton.
Soon after his victory, Trump claimed he would have won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally. And he singled out New Hampshire as one of three states with serious voter fraud.
Democrats argue the commission is a voter suppression effort led by Trump to justify his voter fraud claims. Top New Hampshire Democrats have urged Gardner, who has served more than four decades as secretary of state, to quit the commission.
Gardner referenced the incoming fire hes taken in recent days, saying in his opening comments that some have questioned why I am here.
After highlighting the states rich political history, he added that New Hampshire people arent accustomed to walking away or stepping down from their civic duty and I will not either.
But the commissions role came under attack during a protest outside the New Hampshire Institute of Politics prior to the start of the meeting.
The commission should not exist, said Jason Kander, the former Missouri secretary of state who now heads Let America Vote, a new nonprofit group that works to increase voter participation.
Kander, who ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat for U.S. Senate last year, told demonstrators that Trumps allegations of voter fraud are the biggest lie a president has ever told.
More than a week after North Korea detonated its largest nuclear device to date, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will visit the only base in the United States to house nuclear-capable bombers and nuclear tipped intercontinental ballistic missilesMinot Air Force Base in North Dakota.
Mattis will make the trip to the base on Wednesday, the Defense Department said on Tuesday. It will be part of a three-day trip for the defense secretary.
On Thursday, Mattis will travel to Omaha, Neb., "to meet with U.S. Strategic Command leadership and discuss strategic deterrence in the 21st century." And on Friday he will be in Mexico as the first Defense Secretary to participate in Mexican Independence Day activities. It will be the fifth ever visit by a U.S. Secretary of Defense to Mexico.
The trips to the locations by Mattis will mark his first during his tenure as defense secretary.
Earlier Tuesday, Mattis reacted to new sanctions slapped on North Korea, which cap oil imports and include a ban on textile imports. Mattis said the next move is up to Pyongyang.
"These are the most severe sanctions yet laid on North Korea, Mattis said. We'll see what choices the North Koreans make."
The Minot Air Force Base that Mattis will visit was on 35 years of continuous alert before dropping off the status following the conclusion of the "Cold War" in Sept. 1991, according to the base's website.
Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report.
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power is expected to testify this fall behind closed doors to the House Intelligence Committee as part of its Russia probe, and one of the big unanswered questions will be why, during her final year as chief U.S. envoy to the U.N., she apparently made hundreds of requests for the unmasking in U.S. intelligence intercepts of the identities of American citizens.
Those identities are closely guarded under Fourth Amendment constitutional protection, and one of lawmakers chief concerns, according to Jason Chaffetz, former chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (and now a Fox News contributor) is the overall perceived ramp-up in the number of unmasking requests during a sensitive election year.
Although Power, 46, also was a member of the administrations National Security Council, Chaffetz told Fox News, the U.N. is a highly suspicious perch from which those requests were made.
No one has accused Power of any wrong-doing. Nonetheless, congressional investigators have been trying to track down how classified information including the unmasked names of U.S. individuals --notably Michael Flynn, later President Trumps national security adviser -- leaked to the press.
In a statement last month, Powers lawyer, David Pressman, declared that Any insinuation that Ambassador Power was involved in leaking classified information is absolutely false.
Pressman will likely accompany Power to any investigation panel hearing, since he was expressly hired as her attorney for the issue. Interestingly enough, the lawyer was also someone she described last year as my partner at the U.S. Mission to the U.N. At the time, Pressman was one of the Missions three top diplomats and a fast-rising star in the Obama administration whose job meant he was privy to many of the Missions most sensitive concerns.
Pressman was more than a close aide to Power. He served as her alternate on the U.N. Security Council, the U.N.s most sensitive venue, with the rank of Ambassador for Special Political Affairs. His office on the 12th floor of the U.S. mission building in New York was steps away from hers, part of a suite for Power and her two top deputies. According to a former mission insider, they conferred constantly. He was himself the recipient of daily intelligence briefings similar to those given Power.
When Pressman left the mission and the Obama Administration last November to go into private legal practice, Power praised him not only as having been my partner but as a tremendous leader of our team, dealing with issues such as North Korea, the Middle East, and responding to Russian aggression in Ukraine and beyond.
In other words, if there was anyone working alongside Power in the U.S. government who could serve as a cross-check to legislators on Powers activities and concerns from her top-level U.N. perch, it would be Pressman. But as it now stands, despite his intimate understanding of those things, Pressman wont be speaking with the committee as a witness.
In response to questions for this article, a spokesperson for Pressmans law firm, Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, stated that Outside of his representation of Amb. Power, David Pressman has not been contacted by the House or Senate Intelligence committees because he has never been involved in any way with the issues those Committees are investigating. He has also never been involved in the so-called unmasking of political campaign officials. Any suggestion to the contrary is absolutely false.
For now, congressional investigators are still puzzling over why Power made unmasking requests on what appears to have been an extraordinary scale. (Unmasking means filling in the automatically redacted name of a U.S. person in intelligence intercepts. Within the intelligence community, the carefully prescribed practice is also referred to as deminimizing.)
In a July 27 letter to Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes explained his broad concern: we have found evidence that current and former government officials had easy access to U.S. person information, and it is possible that these officials used this information to achieve partisan political purposes, including the selective, anonymous leaking of such information.
In the letter, Nunes mentioned that one official, whose position had no apparent intelligence-related function, made hundreds of unmasking requests during the final year of the Obama administration. He added while there might have been valid reasons for these hundreds of unmasking requests, only one offered a justification that was not boilerplate.
CLICK HERE FOR THE LETTER
That official is understood to be Power, an inference that neither Power nor her attorney, in his carefully crafted statement on her behalf, has denied.
In all, the committee is known to have subpoenaed the unmasking requests of four former Obama administration senior officials, including Power. The others are former National Security Adviser (and former Ambassador to the U.N.) Susan Rice; former Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes; and former CIA director John Brennan.
Power is the only one whose main job involved, as Nunes put it, no clear intelligence function, though Pressmans statement underlined her other NSC role, responsible for advising the President on the full range of threats confronting the United States.
Powers requests, however, apparently stand out for their sheer volume. A spokesperson for U.S. intelligence authorities declined to provide Fox News with data on the total number of unmasking requests that the National Security Agency received in 2016. But a report released last year by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence notes that in 2015 the year before the period now under congressional scrutiny the total number of unmasking requests approved came to 645.
By that rough yardstick, Powers hundreds of requests in 2016 made with boilerplate justifications, loom as extremely high.
By contrast, former diplomat John Bolton told Fox News that during four years dealing with ultrasensitive nonproliferation issues in the State Department from 2001 to 2005, he made 10 unmasking requests. During 16 months as ambassador to the UN, from 2005 to 2006, he added, I may have asked for one or two names to be deminimized, but that was about it. (Bolton is also a Fox News contributor).
Its unclear how Powers role on Obamas NSC tied in to her primary responsibility as a U.S. Ambassador, for which she was confirmed by the Senate in 2013. The archived Obama White House web site lists a dozen high-level government posts whose occupants routinely attended, or were invited to attend, NSC meetings. The position of U.S. Ambassador to the UN is not among them.
Power did, however, have longstanding, close connections to the Obama White House, where during Barack Obamas first term she worked as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights on the national security staff. Prior to that, she was an early and active Obama supporter who, in 2008, famously referred to his chief rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Hillary Clinton, as a monster.
As it happens, in her White House role, one of her close associates was the same David Pressman who later became her alternate to the UN, and is now her lawyer.
Like Power, Pressman joined the Obama administration in 2009. After a brief spell as a counselor at the Department of Homeland Security, he was detailed to the NSC from 2010 to 2011, as Director for War Crimes and Atrocities, working shoulder-to-shoulder with Power.
In 2011, the duo coauthored an article, published on the White House web site, discussing atrocity prevention measures. This was an accompaniment to Obamas creation under the umbrella of the NSC of the Atrocities Prevention Board, chaired by Power, on which Pressman also served.
So if congressional investigators are seeking context on Power and the nexus between the concerns of the U.S. mission to the U.N. and the Obama NSC, as well as national security matters in general, Pressmans resume encompasses it all.
In response to a question from Fox News, a spokesperson for Pressmans law firm underlined that he did not have access to the same classified material as a Principal on the National Security Council," although that assertion does not necessarily cover the material on the basis of which unmasking requests were made.
Pressmans career, like Powers, was built on an even earlier involvement in politics and human rights advocacy. According to his law firms website, he worked as an aide to the Clinton administrations Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright; her tenure ended in 2001. He graduated from New York Universitys law school in 2004, worked on the ill-starred John Kerry presidential campaign, and over the next four years did stints with the American Civil Liberties Union in Chicago and the controversial, left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center.
He also clerked for the Supreme Court of Rwanda and worked with high-profile leftist lawyer Ron Kuby, among other things assisting in advocating on behalf of Leonard Peltier, a Native American activist sentenced to life in prison for shooting two FBI agents.
By 2006 Pressman had also formed a high-profile relationship with movie star George Clooney, a relationship so close that a 2008 article in the Los Angeles Times referred to Pressman as Clooneys consiglieri, and reported that Clooney referred to Pressman as Cuz.
Pressman accompanied Clooney on a 2006 trip to Darfur, and co-founded with Clooney an advocacy organization called Not On Our Watch, which was joined by Hollywood celebrities Brad Pitt and Matt Damon.
Hired in 2009 into the nascent Obama administration, Pressman worked initially at the Department of Homeland Security as a counselor for Deputy Secretary Jane Holl Lute, whose previous job had been at the UN, as Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support.
He then worked with Power on the NSC from 2010-2011, before returning to Homeland Security from 2011-2013 as Assistant Secretary for Policy Development a post that would necessarily have entailed familiarity with matters of national security as well as the handling of classified information.
In 2013, shortly after Power took up her post as ambassador to the UN, Pressman became her counselor at the U.S. Mission. In 2014, Obama nominated Pressman to serve as Powers alternate with the rank of ambassador, a post to which Pressman was confirmed on Sept. 17, 2014, and in which he served until he left the administration on Nov. 3, 2016, the week before the presidential election.
Now in private practice, Pressman is also serving as the executive director of the newly established Clooney Foundation for Justicewhich among other things has partnered with the Southern Poverty Law Center and provided $1 million in funding, according to the foundations website, to immediately expand the Centers efforts to combat hate groups in the United States.
As it happens, the Southern Poverty Law Centers methods and tactics have come under harsh criticism from political conservatives and moderates in past weeks, for tarring Christian groups that oppose gay marriage and advocate for religious freedom as hate groups and stigmatizing critics of Islam, like the human rights activist and feminist Ayaan Hirsi Ali, as extremists.
Back in 2006, in an NYU alumnus interview, Pressman described the essence of his job as a civil rights lawyer and political strategist as trying to render the invisible, visible.
But when and if Samantha Power appears before congressional committee members in their probe, he is going to be a singularly well-qualified presence operating in the shadows of their current legal relationship.
Claudia Rosett is a foreign policy fellow with the Independent Womens Forum, and blogs at PJMedia.com. George Russell is editor-at-large of Fox News.
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray has announced plans to resign following multiple accusations of sexual abuse after a fifth accuser -- who is the mayor's younger cousin -- came forward and alleged that Murray repeatedly molested him in the 1970s.
Murray, 62, announced Tuesday that he will step down effective 5 p.m. Wednesday.
The mayor had already said that he wouldn't seek a second term.
Accuser Joseph Dyer, who is a dialysis technician and Air Force veteran, says the molestation occurred in New York when he was a teen, according to The Seattle Times.
The 54-year-old Dyer Murray's first cousin once removed told the newspaper that he wants the mayor punished for the alleged actions, saying, "I have had enough. ... Something has got to be done."
Murray has denied the accusation, attributing it to a longstanding family schism.
CALLS GROW FOR SEATTLE MAYOR TO RESIGN
"While the allegations against me are not true, it is important that my personal issues do not affect the ability of our City government to conduct the public's business," the mayor said in a statement.
Dyer reportedly said the incidents occurred when he was 13, while Murray, who was then in his early 20s, shared a bedroom with Dyer in his mothers Long Island home.
"There would be times when I would fake sleeping because I didn't want him touching me," Dyer told the newspaper.
Four men had previously accused Murray of sexually abusing them. Murray has denied all of the allegations.
Before being elected mayor in 2013, Murray was a long-time Democrat state lawmaker who led the campaign to legalize same-sex marriage in Washington state.
As mayor, Murray pushed to raise the city's minimum hourly wage to $15.
"To the people of this special city and to my dedicated staff, I am sorry for this painful situation," Murray said.
Fox News' Frank Miles and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday blocked a lower court's ruling that would have eased President Donald Trump's revised travel ban and allowed up to 24,000 refugees to enter the country before the end of October.
The Trump administration had objected to a ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that refugees could enter the United States if a resettlement agency had agreed to take them in, arguing that the relationship between refugees and resettlement agencies was not "bona fide" as outlined by the high court in an earlier ruling.
The Supreme Court's unsigned, one-sentence order agreed with the administration, at least for now.
The justices are scheduled to hear arguments on Oct. 10 on the legality of the bans on travelers from six mostly Muslim countries and refugees anywhere in the world.
It's unclear, though, what will be left for the court to decide. The 90-day travel ban lapses in late September and the 120-day refugee ban will expire a month later. Trump first rolled out the policy soon after taking office in January and issued a revised version in March.
The administration has yet to say whether it will seek to renew the bans, make them permanent or expand the travel ban to other countries.
Lower courts have ruled that the bans violate the Constitution and federal immigration law. The high court has agreed to review those rulings. Its intervention so far has been to evaluate what parts of the policy can take effect in the meantime.
The justices said in June that the administration could not enforce the bans against people who have a "bona fide" relationship with people or entities in the United States. The justices declined to define the required relationships more precisely.
The 9th Circuit also upheld another part of the judge's ruling that applies to the ban on visitors from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
Grandparents and cousins of people already in the U.S. can't be excluded from the country under the travel ban, as the Trump administration had wanted. The administration did not ask the Supreme Court to block that part of the ruling.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A Texas professor and lawyer reportedly has resigned from his firm after tweeting that hed be ok with Education Secretary Betsy DeVos being sexually assaulted.
Robert Ranco had posted a tweet late last week saying, Im not wishing for it but Id be ok if #BetsyDevos was sexually assaulted.
The tweet was one of several criticizing DeVos for moving to overhaul how Title IX rules are applied to campus sex assault cases. DeVos claims those rules have led to improper investigations, though Ranco alleged she was making the world more dangerous for girls.
Rancos account and the tweet itself have since been taken down.
As reported by Campus Reform, Ranco is an adjunct professor of paralegal studies at Austin Community College and part of the Carlson Law Firm.
But according to Fox 7 in Austin, the firms founder Craig Carlson has announced Rancos resignation after a Twitter backlash.
I wasnt going to make a rash decision about a member of this family just to appease people on social media. That said, I considered the health of everyone in our organization, promised my partners and my employees that we would act according to the values of our firm, and sat down to speak with Mr. Ranco, he said in a statement, according to Fox 7.
Carlson said they concluded that even expressing apathy towards sexual assault is [an] affront to all victims and a line that simply cannot be uncrossed.
He said Ranco is taking full responsibility and choosing to resign.
In a statement to KVUE, Ranco called the tweet a mistake. He apologized and said he takes full responsibility.
Its been nearly 500 days since the presidential election, but even still, President Trump and Hillary Clinton havent stopped their bickering.
Once friends Clinton was even a guest at Trumps third wedding in 2005 the two New Yorkers havent left their squabbling behind in what was a volatile campaign season.
Heres a look at the jabs Clinton and Trump have taken at one another since Nov. 8, 2016.
March 17: 494 days since the election
In a lengthy Facebook post, Clinton sought to clarify remarks she made about voters, particularly women, who cast their ballot for Trump in 2016. In particular, she said men pressured white women to vote for Clinton.
During an interview last week with an Indian news publication, I was asked about 2016, and whether Trump is the virus or a symptom of something deeper going on in American society. Like most Americans, people overseas remain shocked and dismayed at what they are witnessing daily, Clinton said.
Clinton said she understood that many people were upset over her misinterpreted comments and stressed that there are women in the U.S. who question whether powerful women do have the ability to be leaders.
I know this because even I spent parts of my life wondering if I could achieve the same as male leaders, and a lot of that insecurity stemmed from my gender and how society views women, she said. When I was serving in various roles in public life, I was always more popular when I was working for or defending a man then when I was out there on my own. Thats the point I was making, in an effort to explain to an audience some of the many dynamics that have gone into these tumultuous last few years.
In her post, Clinton continued with a jab at Trump and his iconic slogan.
As I said throughout the campaign, Trumps message was dark and backwards looking, she wrote. I dont need to list the reasons, but the foundation of his message, Make America Great AGAIN suggests that to be great we have to go back to something we are no longer. I never accepted that and never will.
March 10: 487 days since the election
While on a trip to India, Clinton sat down for an interview during the India Today Conclave 2018 conference in Mumbai and castigated the president.
She accused Trump of having quite an affinity for dictators and said he really likes their authoritarian posturing and behavior.
And as for her election loss more than a year ago, Clinton said the Democratic Party does not do well with white men or married, white women.
And part of that is an identification with the Republican Party, and a sort of ongoing pressure to vote the way that your husband, your boss, your son, whoever, believes you should, she told India Today editor-in-chief Aroon Purie.
She added that Trump ran a backwards campaign that appealed to misogynists and racists. His campaign slogan Make America Great Again was looking backwards," she added.
She claimed Trumps message to voters was: You know, you didn't like black people getting rights, you don't like women, you know, getting jobs. You don't want, you know, to see that Indian American succeeding more than you are.
"I won the places that represent two-thirds of America's gross domestic product, Clinton continued. So I won the places that are optimistic, diverse, dynamic, moving forward.
March 5: 482 days since the election
In a tweet, Trump accused the Obama administration of launching an investigation into his campaign in order to help Clinton or Crooked H, as he called her win the election.
Why did the Obama Administration start an investigation into the Trump Campaign (with zero proof of wrongdoing) long before the Election in November? Trump said. Wanted to discredit so Crooked H would win.
Unprecedented. Bigger than Watergate! Plus, Obama did NOTHING about Russian meddling, he continued.
Feb. 28: 477 days since the election
Linking to a Washington Post report detailing a testimony from Adm. Michael S. Rogers, the head of U.S. Cyber Command who also directs the National Security Agency, Clinton warned in a tweet the Russians are still coming.
Rogers recently told the Senate Armed Services Committee that were probably not doing enough to deter Russians from interfering in future elections, including the 2018 midterms.
Our intelligence professionals are imploring Trump to act. Will he continue to ignore & surrender, or protect our country? Clinton asked.
Feb. 23: 472 days since the election
During his speech before the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Md., Trump called out the crooked media and the crooked candidate, referring to Clinton.
His remark led the crowd to begin chants of lock her up, a common refrain at Trump campaign rallies.
Jan. 12: 430 days since the election
After reports surfaced that Trump lamented immigration from s---hole countries, Clinton took aim at the president in a tweet. She lambasted his ignorant, racist views of anyone who doesnt look like him.
The anniversary of the devastating earthquake 8 years ago is a day to remember the tragedy, honor the resilient people of Haiti, & affirm Americas commitment to helping our neighbors. Instead, were subjected to Trumps ignorant, racist views of anyone who doesnt look like him.
A day prior, Clinton retweeted conservative commentator Bill Kristol.
Two weeks ago a 26-year old soldier raced repeatedly into a burning Bronx apartment building, saving four people before he died in the flames. His name was Pvt. Emmanuel Mensah and he immigrated from Ghana, a country Donald Trump apparently thinks produces very subpar immigrants, Kristol tweeted.
Jan. 11: 429 days since the election
In an early morning tweet, Trump called Clintons missing emails into question.
Did Dems or Clinton also pay Russians? Where are hidden and smashed DNC servers? Where are Crooked Hillary Emails? What a mess!
Jan. 7: 425 days since the election
On Twitter, Trump quoted parts of a column by the New York Posts Michael Goodwin, which had praise for the current administration and criticism for Clinton.
Goodwin said in his column, as Trump quoted, that the mere thought of Clinton in the White House, doubling down on Barack Obamas failed policies, washes away any doubts that America made the right choice.
Jan. 6: 424 days since the election
Trump slammed Clinton and others who questioned his intelligence in a series of weekend tweets. He said his former opponent went down in flames.
Now that Russian collusion, after one year of intense study, has proven to be a total hoax on the American public, the Democrats and their lapdogs, the Fake News Mainstream Media, are taking out the old Ronald Reagan playbook and screaming mental stability and intelligence, Trump said.
Actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart. Crooked Hillary Clinton also played these cards very hard and, as everyone knows, went down in flames. I went from VERY successful businessman, to top T.V. Star to President of the United States (on my first try), Trump continued. I think that would qualify as not smart, but genius and a very stable genius at that!
Jan. 5: 423 days since the election
A scathing, tell-all book about the Trump White House hit the shelves, and the president used his former opponent to criticize the media coverage of it.
Well, now that collusion with Russia is proving to be a total hoax and the only collusion is with Hillary Clinton and the FBI/Russia, the Fake News Media (Mainstream) and this phony new book are hitting out at every new front imaginable. They should try winning an election. Sad!
Dec. 31: 418 days since the election
On New Years Eve, Trump said a Clinton presidency would have lowered the value of stocks by 50 percent.
If the Dems (Crooked Hillary) got elected, your stocks would be down 50% from values on Election Day, Trump said in a morning tweet. Now they have a great future and just beginning!
Dec. 11: 398 days since the election
In Seattle, Wash., to discuss her book What Happened, Clinton blamed her presidential loss, in part, on Russian hackers influencing social media and massive voter suppression, the Seattle Times reported.
She also said Trump doesnt just like Putin, he wants to be like Putin.
Dec. 2: 389 days since the election
After Michael Flynn, Trumps former national security adviser, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in regards to its investigation into Russian interference in the presidential election, Trump compared Flynns situation to that of Clintons.
"So General Flynn lies to the FBI and his life is destroyed, while Crooked Hillary Clinton, on that now famous FBI holiday 'interrogation' with no swearing in and no recording, lies many times and nothing happens to her? Rigged system, or just a double standard?" Trump tweeted.
Clinton, too, took digs at Trump while she was at a Teen Vogue summit in California.
Speaking to Black-ish star Yara Shahidi, Clinton addressed the presidential debate when Trump stood closely behind her as she moved around the stage, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
She also discussed some of the things Trump said about her, particularly him calling her a nasty woman.
All of that stuff he did didnt end up hurting him that much because men are given a much broader range of emotions to demonstrate their authentic feelings, Clinton said.
Nov. 18: 375 days since the election
Trump encouraged Clinton to get on with [her] life while he also seemingly encouraged her to run for president again.
Crooked Hillary Clinton is the worst (and biggest) loser of all time. She just cant stop, which is so good for the Republican Party, the president tweeted. Hillary, get on with your life and give it another try in three years!
Nov. 17: 374 days since the election
In a video for the progressive Mother Jones website, Clinton questioned the legitimacy of Trumps presidency.
I think there are lots of questions about its legitimacy, the former secretary of state said. She also suggested that she believes Trumps campaign colluded with Russian officials to win the election.
Nov. 3: 360 days since the election
Trump again castigated the DNC and Clinton over allegations that the party colluded with Clinton to hand her the nomination.
Everybody is asking why the Justice Department (and FBI) isnt looking into all of the dishonesty going on with Crooked Hillary & the Dems, Trump said on Twitter. New Donna B book says she paid for and stole the Dem Primary. What about the deleted E-mails, Uranium, Podesta, the Server, plus, plus
People are angry. At some point the Justice Department, and the FBI, must do what is right and proper. The American public deserves it!
The real story of Collusion is in Donna Bs new book. Crooked Hillary bought the DNC & then stole the Democratic Primary from Crazy Bernie!
Trump also noted that Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. who he referred to as Pocahontas answered in the affirmative when asked by CNN if she believed the DNC was rigged in favor of Clinton.
Nov. 2: 359 days since the election
Former interim DNC chairwoman Donna Brazile claimed that the party rigged the primary in favor of Clinton over Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. In response, Trump alleged that Clinton broke campaign finance laws and is guilty of money laundering.
Donna Brazile just stated the DNC RIGGED the system to illegally steal the Primary from Bernie Sanders. Bought and paid for by Crooked H, Trump said. This is real collusion and dishonesty. Major violation of Campaign Finance Laws and Money Laundering where is our Justice Department?
Later, in an interview with Fox News The Ingraham Angle, Trump continued to criticize the DNCs apparent involvement with Clinton.
Oct. 19: 345 days since the election
Trump used news about a controversial Obama-era 2010 uranium deal to blast the media using Clinton to do so.
Uranium deal to Russia, with Clinton help and Obama Administration knowledge, is the biggest story that Fake Media doesn't want to follow! Trump tweeted.
Oct. 18: 344 days since the election
In response to the revelation that Comey drafted a statement about the Clinton email investigation months before the probe was completed or he even interviewed her, Trump blasted both his former FBI director and former opponent online.
As it turned out, James Comey lied and leaked and totally protected Hillary Clinton. He was the best thing that ever happened to her, Trump said.
He also implied that the letter Comey wrote exonerating Crooked Hillary Clinton was obviously a fix.
Oct. 16: 342 days since the election
Trump said he would like to see Clinton challenge him in 2020.
"I was recently asked if Crooked Hillary Clinton is going to run in 2020," Trump tweeted. "My answer was: 'I hope so!'"
Trump later reiterated his desire for Clinton to run during a press briefing in the Rose Garden. He also criticized her for sticking up for professional athletes who have chosen to kneel during the national anthem in a sign of protest.
Oct. 13: 339 days since the election
While discussing the multiple sexual assault and harassment allegations against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, Clinton said there is someone admitting to being a sexual assaulter in the Oval Office.
The really sad part of the campaign was how this horrific tape, what he said about women in the past, what he said about women during the campaign, was discounted by a lot of voters, Clinton told the BBC.
Clinton was most likely referring to the infamous Access Hollywood tape from 2005 that caught Trump bragging that he could do anything to a woman because of his status. He also said he could grab them by the p----.
Trump later apologized for his comments and chalked them up to locker room talk.
Sept. 21: 317 days since the election
When Trump met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, the Asian leader used a word that Trump liked to hear deplorable. Using a translator, Moon said North Koreas actions were deplorable.
I am very happy that you used the word 'deplorable,' Trump said. I was very interested in that word.
In Clintons new memoir about the presidential election, she blamed her use of the word deplorables to describe Trumps supporters, in part, for her loss.
Sept. 13: 309 days since the election
As Clinton began her book tour across the country, promoting her memoir of the 2016 election, Trump dusted off his favorite campaign nickname for her.
Crooked Hillary Clinton blames everybody (and every thing [sic]) but herself for her election loss. She lost the debates and lost her direction! Trump said.
The deplorables came back to haunt Hillary. They expressed their feelings loud and clear, he continued in another tweet. She spent big money but, in the end, had no game!
While Clinton apologized for calling Trump supporters deplorable at the time, she defended her use of the word in an interview with CBS News.
I thought Trump was behaving in a deplorable manner. I thought a lot of his appeals to voters were deplorable. I thought his behavior, as we saw on the Access Hollywood tape was deplorable. And there were a large number of people who didnt care. It did not matter to them, Clinton said.
As the Daily Caller noted, the deplorable comment came almost a full month before the Access Hollywood tape was released.
July 24: 258 days since the election
Trump addressed approximately 40,000 people in West Virginia for the annual Boy Scout Jamboree and couldnt resist taking a few jabs at Clinton.
He told the crowd that the reason he won Michigan was because he worked hard there unlike Clinton.
You know, my opponent didnt work hard there because she was told she was going to win Michigan, Trump said.
Trump also repeated his questions about the investigation into possible collusion between the Russian government and his campaign during the presidential election continues.
So why arent the Committees and investigators, and of course our beleaguered [Attorney General Jeff Sessions], looking into Crooked Hillarys [sic] crimes & Russia relations? Trump tweeted.
July 22: 256 days since the election
Trump asked on Twitter why a special counsel or the attorney general isnt investigating more alleged crimes committed by Comey and Clinton.
In his tweet, Trump referenced the emails deleted from Clintons private server she used during her tenure as secretary of state.
In an additional tweet, Trump again compared his sons publishing of emails pertaining to a meeting with a Russian lawyer to Clintons own handling of her email server.
July 16: 250 days since the election
As Trumps son is criticized for meeting with a Russian lawyer who was supposed to have damaging information about Clinton during the presidential campaign, Trump defended his son on social media while still criticizing his former opponent.
Hillary Clinton can illegally get the questions to the Debate & delete 33,000 emails but my son Don is being scorned by the Fake News Media?
Former CNN commentator and interim Democratic National Committee chairwoman Donna Brazile admitted in March 2017 to sharing debate questions with the Clinton campaign ahead of the primary town hall event.
July 12: 247 days since the election
On Twitter, Trump railed on the alleged double standards for Democrats.
Why arent the same standards placed on the Democrats, Trump tweeted. Look what Hillary Clinton may have gotten away with. Disgraceful!
July 10: 244 days since the election
As Trump came under fire for allowing his daughter, Ivanka, to sit in his place during a meeting at the G-20 summit, the president attempted to turn the tables on Clintons own daughter.
In a tweet, Trump alleged that if Clinton would have let daughter Chelsea Clinton sit in for her, the media would have heralded the decision.
If Chelsea Clinton were asked to hold the seat for her mother, as her mother gave our country away, the Fake News would say CHELSEA FOR PRES!
Chelsea Clinton got in on the feud and responded on social media.
Good morning Mr. President. It would never have occurred to my mother or my father to ask me. Were you giving our country away? Hoping not, she said.
May 31: 204 days since the election
After Clinton placed the blame of her presidential loss on a variety of reasons misogyny, Facebook and the Democratic National Committee, to name a few Trump took to Twitter.
Crooked Hillary Clinton now blames everybody but herself, refuses to say she was a terrible candidate. Hits Facebook & even Dems & the DNC, Trump tweeted.
Clinton fired back less than an hour later, mocking Trump for an erroneous but viral tweet he sent earlier in the day.
People in covfefe houses shouldnt throw covfefe, she said.
May 26: 199 days since the election
Clinton didnt miss an opportunity to criticize the president while she delivered the commencement address at Wellesley College in Massachusetts.
When people in power invent their own facts and attack those who question them, it can mark the beginning of the end of a free society, Clinton said. That is not hyperbole; it is what authoritarian regimes throughout history have done They attempt to control reality.
May 24: 197 days since the election
Clinton harshly condemned Trumps proposed budget plan after she was honored by the Childrens Health Fund, a nonprofit in New York City. Clinton said Republican lawmakers are mounting an onslaught against the needs of children and people with disabilities, women and seniors.
The budget shows an unimaginable level of cruelty and lack of imagination and disdain for the struggles of millions of Americans, including millions of children, she said. None of us can remain silent in the face of these attacks.
"It hurts the well-being of children," Clinton continued. "It's time to send a resounding message that we will not stand for this attack on the most vulnerable among us."
May 3: 176 days since the election
Focusing on national security threats from North Korea, Clinton criticized Trump for his penchant for tweeting.
"If [Trump] wants to tweet about me I'm happy to be the diversion because we've got lots of other things to worry about. And he should worry less about the election, and my winning the popular vote, than doing some other things that would be important to the country," Clinton said at an event in New York City.
May 2: 175 days since the election
Clinton took a jab at Trump during a television interview as he continuously focused on his loss of the popular vote in the election.
He should worry less about the election and me winning the popular vote and more about other things, the former secretary of state said.
Remember, I did win more than 3 million votes than my opponent, Clinton added.
She also said that shes now a private citizen and part of the resistance.
April 23: 166 days since the election
Trump seemed to continue to compete with Clinton for the popular vote.
New polls out today are very good considering that much of the media is FAKE and almost always negative, Trump tweeted. Would still beat Hillary in popular vote.
Trump then cited an ABC News/Washington Post poll that he said showed almost all stand by their vote for Trump.
March 29, 2017: 141 days since the election
In one of her first public speeches since she lost the election, Clinton excoriated the Trump administration without actually using Trumps name.
Of Trumps policies, Clinton encouraged the women gathered to resist, insist, persist, enlist.
These are bad policies that will hurt people and take our country in the wrong direction, she said.
Dec. 23: 45 days since the election
Trump quoted Russian President Vladimir Putin to express his opinion on his former opponent.
Vladimir Putin said today about Hillary and Dems: In my opinion, it is humiliating. One must be able to lose with dignity. So true! Trump tweeted.
Dec. 21: 43 days since the election
Trump criticized Clintons campaign style in a tweet, arguing that she focused on the wrong states.
Campaigning to win the Electoral College is much more difficult [and] sophisticated than the popular vote, Trump said. Hillary focused on the wrong states!
Nov. 27, 2016: 19 days since the election
Trump claimed that Clinton won the popular vote by nearly 3 million people because millions of people voted illegally.
In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally, Trump, then the president-elect, tweeted.
Fox News Brooke Singman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
President Trump warned North Korea on Tuesday that the sanctions imposed a day earlier on the regime by the U.N. Security Council are nothing compared to what ultimately will have to happen.
The presidents comments are the latest tough talk against North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who has dramatically escalated his countrys nuclear and missile tests in recent weeks.
The Security Council on Monday voted unanimously to impose tougher economic sanctions, about a week after North Korea claimed to have conducted an underground hydrogen bomb test.
We think its just another very small step -- not a big deal, Trump said Tuesday, referring to his and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's view of the sanctions.
"I don't know if it has any impact, but certainly it was nice to get a 15-to-nothing vote. But those sanctions are nothing compared to what ultimately will have to happen," he said.
The president spoke from the Oval Office where he was meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, whom Trump praised for no longer doing business with North Korea.
We find that to be very important, Trump said.
North Korea has apparently conducted six nuclear tests, including the Sept. 3 one, and has tested several inter-continental missiles on which a nuclear warhead could be affixed.
Earlier in the day, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs held a hearing examining North Korea and sanctions, which included calls to cut off the rogue nations ties to banks.
These banks are not complying with the Security Council, committee Chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif., said So I would say this is where the discussion needs to go next because what is at risk is national security. And there is only one way to shut it down -- with revenues.
The Security Council resolution did not impose the toughest-ever measures sought by the Trump administration to ban all oil imports and freeze international assets of the government and Kim.
However, it bans North Korea from importing all natural gas liquids and condensates. It also bans all textile exports and prohibits any country from authorizing new work permits for North Korean workers two key sources of hard currency for the northeast Asian nation.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Department of Justice should consider prosecuting James Comey for his improper actions while serving as FBI director, the White House said Tuesday.
Sarah Sanders, the White House press secretary, argued during the daily press briefing that Comeys actions as FBI director were improper and likely could have been illegal.
Asked if President Trump wants the Department of Justice to prosecute Comey, Sanders said thats something they should certainly look at.
Sanders said the former FBI director politicized an investigation by signaling he would exonerate Hillary Clinton before he ever interviewed her or other key witnesses.
Thats in reference to new allegations Comey drafted an exoneration statement for Clinton weeks before interviewing her during the investigation into her email server.
Sanders also said Comey, by his own admission, leaked privileged government information.
Thats in apparent reference to Comeys acknowledgement during a June congressional hearing that he authorized the leaking of a memo about his conversations with the president to the New York Times.
I think if theres ever a moment where we feel someones broken the law, particularly if theyre the head of the FBI, then I think thats something [that] certainly should be looked at, she said.
Her comments were in response to former chief strategist Steve Bannon, who told CBS News' 60 Minutes that Trumps decision to fire Comey was perhaps the worst mistake in modern political history because it paved the way for the special counsels Russia investigation.
Sanders, however, said Trump still stands by his decision to fire Comey.
The president is proud of the decision that he made, Sanders said Tuesday. The president was 100 percent right in firing James Comey. He knew at the time it could be bad for him politically, but he also knew and felt he had an obligation to do what was right.
She added: Hes very happy with the decision hes made and I think hes been fully vindicated."
On Monday, Sanders accused Comey of giving false testimony, though she did not specify what testimony she was citing.
NEW PRESSURE ON COMEY TO RETURN TO CAPITOL HILL
Sen. Lindsey Graham told Fox News Catherine Herridge last week that he wants to bring back Comey to Capitol Hill, over concerns about Comey's statements on the conclusion of the Clinton email case.
This doesnt add up, and I smell a rat here, Graham, R-S.C., said.
Comey is the focus of two known investigations, including a Hatch Act investigation by the Justice Departments Office of Special Counsel.
The Justice Departments inspector general is also looking into Comeys handling of the Clinton email investigation, and whether he violated procedures and went outside the chain of command when he announced in July 2016 he was not recommending criminal charges for Clinton.
Comey was fired by Trump in May amid tensions over the Russia probe.
Meanwhile, Sanders also announced during Tuesdays briefing that the president planned to travel to Florida on Thursday to tour the destruction from Hurricane Irma.
Those details are still being finalized, Sanders said. We hope to have some of that ironed out later today and well certainly keep you guys posted on that travel.
Fox News Judson Berger and Catherine Herridge contributed to this report.
Tanks, fighter jets, drones, armored fighting vehicles, laser weapons, bomb defusing robots - and even submarines. These are just a few of the latest military and security innovations from around the world on offer at the Defence and Security Equipment International Show (DSEI) in the U.K. this week.
DSEI runs from Sept. 10 through Sept 15 at the Excel Center in London.
The gigantic scale of biennial DSEI is often described as unrivalled. If you are a country looking to upgrade your military might then this one stop shop is the place to be.
Pretty much anything you would need to defend your country in war or to launch a war for that matter - is here in London at largest show of its kind on Earth.
What can you see at the event?
For those looking for an edge to help their country dominate in a conflict, this years DSEI has attracted a record 1,605 exhibitors from 54 countries.
But this is not like the movies. You will not, for example, see suitcases of cash delivered by scary security teams and in exchange keys to a tank handed over.
SOUND WEAPONS THAT DELIVER INVISIBLE AMMO IN SPOTLIGHT AFTER AMERICAN DIPLOMATS INJURED
Instead, this is a chance for delegations to discover new options and discuss them with the relevant experts no money changes hands.
Conversations that take place in the swanky meeting rooms within companies exhibits or at posh London restaurants and bars may, of course, lead to eventual sales.
Cutting edge tech for all terrains is on show. Representatives will be hunting for tech that could provide their countries with critical advantages.
Air Superiority
For those with air needs, there is everything from pocket-sized surveillance drones to giant weaponized drones that are the most powerful on earth. There is also a wide selection of helicopters and fighter jets.
Ground Battles
Shopping for looming battles fought on land? There is a mind-boggling array of offerings, from the latest in body armor and ways to covertly armor up civilian vehicles through to Special Forces equipment and ATVS, rations and explosion containment.
PODCAST: Listen to this Special Operations Expert Describe Calling in Air Strikes on Dangerous Missions
Weapons
Thinking about something new for your countrys arsenal? The most state-of-the art and futuristic weapons can be found alongside the tried-and-true favorites in the endless maze of aisles.
NEW RUSSIAN STEALTH FIGHTER JET REVEALED
Lasers, RPGS (Rocket Propelled Grenades), missiles, sniper rifles, the latest lethal and nonlethal bullets, special operations sniper rifles, artillery and much, much more are on offer.
Options for a precision surgical strike launched from a continent away through to shoulder-launched mega firepower that would devastate an enemy basically anything throughout the spectrum of weaponry is available.
Warships and beyond
Considering how to advance your naval capabilities? From big assets like submarines and aircraft carriers through to smaller sized but crucial capabilities like diver equipment and mine-locating swimming robots, there is no shortage of options at DSEI.
Seven warships, from the Royal Navy and international allies, sailed up the River Thames to participate in the event.
Also drawing crowds riverside, there are demonstrations on the river Thames of Operation MARCAP, a marine interdiction scenario featuring Royal Marines Offshore Raiding Craft and more
Protecting the Homeland
Security is a very big part of DSEI. On the sexier end of security, there are gadgets and tech that would fit right into a James Bond movie think biometrics like iris, face and voice for access to a fortified, secure room. Or tracking devices, vehicle identification and interception gadgets to locate a bad guy.
PODCAST: Learn the How this Special Forces Guy is Building a Business Empire
Dealing with Potential North Korea Nuclear and Radiological Threats
For countries thinking about possible intervention with North Korea and Syria that could pose Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN)-type threats, delegations are looking at potential solutions like suits to protect forces against radiological and nuclear weapons, as well as decontamination technology.
MEET THE WOLVERINE - WWII STYLE WITH STATE-OF-THE-ART TECH
For the first time this year, there is also a Joint Zone dedicated to supporting allied militaries working together - particularly timely in light of the intensification of threats like North Korea.
There is also an entire area dedicated to field medicine featuring front line advances and experts.
So who gets to go inside?
Not just anyone can walk in off the streets to get a glimpse of the worlds most cutting-edge defense and security tech. Attendance is highly restricted and closely vetted.
This is window shopping at the level of a countrys top officials, a countrys top military level not individual level. Approximately 34,000 visitors from 121 countries this year are permitted to walk the vast floors.
There are 2,500 international delegations from both traditional and emerging markets hitting the floors. More than 3,000 VIPs, thats designated as 1 star and above, from around the world are expected.
Controversy
DSEI is not without controversy. London Mayor Sadiq Khan stated he wanted DSEI banned because he did not condone defense sales to countries that contribute to human rights abuses- but was unable to prevent the event from going ahead.
Authorities in London deployed new technology Sunday meant to thwart vehicle terror attacks, after a number of incidents in Europe over the past year where vehicles were used as weapons.
The specially designed net, referred to by London Metropolitan Police Officers as "Talon," can stop a vehicle weighing up to 17 tons and be deployed by just two officers in less than a minute, police said.
This equipment undoubtedly has the potential to save lives and is just one of a number of measures being taken to provide protection to crowds attending major events in London and reassuring businesses, workers and visitors as they go about their daily lives," Chief Inspector Nick Staley of the Mets Protective Security Operations Unit said.
The net spreads across a roadway when deployed, using tungsten steel spikes. It was used Sunday for the first time at the Naval Association Parade in London.
TIMELINE OF RECENT VEHICLE INCIDENTS IN EUROPE
"If a vehicle fails to stop and drives over the net, the spikes will puncture the tires of the vehicle and the net becomes tangled around the front wheels bringing the vehicle to a stop," police said.
The net is another tool police have to protect crowded areas. In other parts of London, police have installed hostile vehicle mitigation barriers on nine bridges and a number of other sites across the capital in the wake of terror attacks at Westminster and London Bridges.
Vehicles have been used in a number of terror attacks across Europe in the past year, including in Barcelona and Paris. A vehicle was also used as a weapon against counter-demonstrators at white-nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia last month.
A Disney World resort has been accused of price gouging by stranded Hurricane Irma refugees.
Disneys Art of Animation Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, marked up their food and beverage prices during the natural disaster in what a spokesperson for the brand told The Street is an isolated situation.
Small bottles of Dasani water were sold for $2, Minute Maid apple juice boxes were $2.69, and there was even allegedly a hamburger being sold for $15.
The happiest place on Earth reportedly chalked it up to an over-anxious cast member and corrected the issue by offering a menu of food and beverage deals for $6.
This is not the first accusation of price gouging reported during Hurricane Irma. Multiple people accused South Florida 7-Eleven stores of jacking up the price for a case of water. According to Fortune, Amazon faced a lot of online criticism for exorbitant water and phone charger costs. Skyrocketing ticket prices from Delta Airlines were also the cause of outrage on Twitter one passengers screenshot showed that her ticket from Miami to Phoenix had gone from $547 to $3,258. Whatever items were not hiked up to crazy costs quickly vanished from shelves; an entire pallet of water disappeared from a South Florida Sams Club in 42 seconds.
The chairman of the Arizona Board of Regents says the board welcomes a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Mark Brnovich over steep increase in tuition.
Board chairman Bill Ridenour in a statement Monday says the board has long resisted challenging the Legislature over big funding cuts it holds mainly responsible for tuition increases. But Ridenour says the board is "disappointed" in the Brnovich's tactics, noting that he's never expressed concerns about the board or the university system's performance.
He says the suit is "full of attacks but offers no constructive remedies."
Brnovich sued the board Friday over its decision to keep allowing lower in-state tuition for some immigrants. He also accused the board of violating the state Constitution by not offering tuition that is "as close to free as possible."
The city of Miami Beach will be opened back up on Tuesday -- ahead of schedule.
In an advisory released by city officials on Wednesday evening, it was announced that all causeways into the city will be reopened by 8 am.
This is 4 hours ahead of schedule, due to our team who will be working tirelessly through the night to make this possible. We greatly appreciate your patience, reads a line from the advisory.
There are a few caveats as recovery efforts in the city begin.
Residents will be required to show a valid ID that proves they live in Miami Beach if they want to re-enter. They have also been told by officials to take caution and watch out for fallen power lines and fallen trees that may be blocking roadways.
The city will also be running their trolley service and have extended free parking in the citys public garages until Monday, September 18th.
The city will also be ramping up policing efforts to combat looting and other criminal behavior.
With over 200 uniformed officers patrolling the city over night.
Every major artery and residential neighborhood will be aggressively patrolled through the night and into the morning hours, Miami Beach officials said in the advisory. Our community, working together, has excelled at keeping everyone safe before and during Hurricane Irma. Let's make sure that we do the same during our return and recovery.
An author and journalist came under fire on social media Monday, after she tweeted a reply to an anti-looting warning from Miami police by saying: "The carceral state... is inseparable from white supremacy."
The Miami Police Department took to Twitter on Sunday, as Hurricane Irma battered the state. "Thinking about looting? Ask these guys how that turned out. #stayindoors," the post read, sharing a photo of people inside a jail cell.
Though Sarah Jaffes tweet on Monday garnered 1,500 likes, it sparked more than 100 comments -- many of which were critical and accused her of being racist.
"They have prisons, crime, and private property in Nigeria too," one user wrote. "And Egypt. And India. Nothing to do with white supremacy. Poverty/inequality."
"So you'd be ok with someone breaking into your house and stealing all your stuff to avoid a 'carceral state'?" another asked.
Someone replying to Jaffe said, "You're saying non-whites can't help but steal, so they shouldn't be punished? Seriously? Keep your racist opinions to yourself. #ShameOnYou."
Jaffe is the author of the book "Necessary Trouble: Americans in Revolt." The book's website says it focuses on various movements, including Black Lives Matter and the Tea Party.
HURRICANE IRMA: COPS WARN LOOTERS THEY'RE MAKING 'FAIRLY BAD LIFE CHOICE'
Her online bio lists her as "an independent journalist covering labor, economic justice, social movements, politics, gender, and pop culture."
Later Monday, Jaffe tweeted that "every now and then I check replies on my tweets and confirm why I have the quality filter on: that s---'s full of nazis."
Campus officials at the University of California, Berkeley, said Monday that they were going to investigate the viral video that appears to show a campus police officer confiscating a hot dog vendor's money who was allegedly operating without a permit.
The cart vendor, identified only as Juan, was working on a public sidewalk on Saturday near California Memorial Stadium during the Cal Berkeley game when he was approached by a campus police officer, reports said.
UC Berkeley alumnus Martin Flores, who recorded the incident, called the officer's decision to confiscate the man's money unfair.
Flores could be heard telling the officer what he was doing was "not right."
"You're going to take his hard-earned money," Flores says to the officer.
The officer said in the video that the vendor was operating without a permit and that a judge could decide whether or not it's right.
The video has prompted a campaign to have the officer fired.
UC Berkeley Vice Chancellor Scott Biddy said in a statement that the university has instructed officers to monitor illegal vending outside event venues over concerns about public health.
"While I cannot comment on the specifics of this particular case, our practice is to issue warnings before giving a citation," he said. UC police detained three other people for vending without a license on the same day, but each was released with a warning, UC officials said.
The video quickly went viral on social media and sparked an online outcry which led to a fundraising campaign that had raised more than $36,000 for the vendor.
University Police Sgt. Sabrina Reich said the officer cited the vendor for operating without a license and the money was seized as evidence of the "suspected proceeds of the violation."
UC officials said the officer seized $60.
"In general, when an officer issues a citation, makes an arrest or investigates a crime, the officer may seize items as evidence of the proceeds of the crime or violation," Reich said in an email to The Associated Press.
The Associated Press contributed to this story
After days of warnings and a devastating trek up Florida, Irma's assault finally ended. Those left in its wake emerged from homes and shelters to see what was left. For many, there was a measure of relief. Others faced questions that would take weeks or months to answer after the powerful storm robbed them of their homes and belongings.
Their stories provide a glimpse into the extensive reach of Irma's wrath:
___
A STRUGGLE TO START THE DAY
Jen Gilreath and Cameron Brainard didn't want to get out of bed Tuesday morning. They tried to keep their eyes closed as long as they could, and avoid confronting the chaos left behind by floodwaters that rushed into their rented house in the San Marco neighborhood of Jacksonville.
"We didn't want to wake up and think about it this morning," Brainard said. "It's too much."
They decided to get up at 9:30 a.m. and start surveying the wreckage: They lost everything on the first floor furniture, food and a 100-year-old leather-bound Bible from Gilreath's great-grandmother.
"It's devastating, everything's gone," said Gilreath, a 33-year-old bartender.
The water that poured in higher than their knees slowly drained out, and their apartment now smells like sewage and mildew. The flood consumed their Ford Explorer, their only working car, which no longer will start. They have two cats, a young son, a roommate and a pit bull.
"We have no place to go," Brainard, 34, said.
___
ESCAPING A SAILBOAT
David and Andrea Jewell planned to ride out Hurricane Irma in the sailboat they live in, docked at a marina in Jacksonville. They expected the storm would peter out by the time it made it all the way north to Jacksonville.
But around 3 a.m. Monday, the boat started listing badly. David ran to the deck and saw water pouring over the dock. He grabbed his cellphone, his wife's epilepsy medication, and his 13-year-old calico cat named Tiffany. They fled their sailboat with only the clothes on their backs. David was wearing swim trunks and a T-shirt; he didn't even have on shoes.
He was at a city shelter in Jacksonville on Tuesday with dozens of others who fled their homes. They have no idea if their boat and everything the own inside it survived the storm.
"It's my home," he said. "If it's gone, then we've just lost everything. I just don't even know how to think about that. There is no place to go, no place."
___
DON'T LAUGH AT THAT
Laura Keeney, of Key West, had her pet bird with her in a hotel lobby in Miami.
"He has been making so much noise in the room," said Keeney, who works as a concierge at the Hyatt in Key West.
She said that her apartment manager told her that her unit had flooded, but she didn't know the extent of the damage.
"They told me 'there is definitely water in the downstairs apartment,' which is me," she said.
Her pet bird, a blue macaw named Odie, chuckled.
"He is laughing at the most inopportune moments," she said.
___
HOWLING WINDS AND FLOODED HOUSES
Donne Spielman and her brother Jeff Storey listened to Hurricane Irma's wind howl and the shutters clatter and watched as the water was sucked out from Florida Bay for almost a mile. They worried whether its return might gush into their Key Largo house, which is 11 feet above sea level.
Across U.S. 1, fronting the Atlantic, the storm surge flooded homes. But they were lucky.
They've been spending time since cleaning up the downed trees in their driveway. They have enough food and water and are getting ice from a friend. They know many others were much worse off.
They put up a sign outside the home: "Family of Five, no power, no generator."
___
'I'M NOT LEAVING MY BABY'
Paul Johnson and Shonda Brecheen were working late Sunday night at a house they're remodeling in the San Marco neighborhood of Jacksonville. Bridges were closing and the wind started blowing so hard it was bending trees, so they decided to stay the night on the second floor of the empty house.
The sound of the wind kept them up late.
"My God, she was howling," Brecheen said.
When Johnson woke up Monday and looked out the window, he saw waters from the St. Johns River and its tributaries that jumped its banks and consumed the streets for blocks around the home. Boats passed by where cars once drove.
Johnson thought of his green 1994 Ford Ranger that he calls Fiona, after the cartoon ogre in the Shrek movies, because she's "not the prettiest but she gets the job done." It's the only thing of any value he owns, and it was parked in the carport.
"My truck, my truck, my truck, that's all that I have in this world," he remembers moaning.
When he made it outside to check on it, the water had reached the door handles and panic set in. He hopped inside and started it up. He tried to drive it out of the flood a split-second decision he now deeply regrets. He made it out of the driveway and about 25 yards before it sputtered and died with water rushing up nearly to the windows. He and Brecheen pushed it in to a parking lot and he tried to start it periodically all day.
"I'm not leaving my baby," he said.
___
'THIS IS NOT SAFE'
Aide Valadares packed up her belongings Monday after Hurricane Irma ripped the roof off of her apartment complex in Miami.
She said water leaked into the top-floor apartments and the ceiling sagged in her one-bedroom unit below.
The walls bowed and cracked in the living room, where she had hung prints of her favorite paintings from Colombian painter Fernando Botero, and Spanish artist Diego de Velazquez.
"You come home. You see this. It's devastating," she said. "The fire department came and said that structurally this is not safe," she said. "It will collapse."
___
WAITING ON THE BRIDGE
Robert Hickok, a 51-year-old commercial fisherman, spent hours stranded in his truck on a bridge amid fast-rising waters as he tried to leave Plantation Island.
He decided to ride out the storm on the island, where he's lived for about four years, and sat tight through hours of rain and wind and flying debris. He was relieved when things became calm in the wee hours of Monday morning.
"It got real calm, you know," he said in a phone interview. "The rain let up and it quit blowing and I was still on the island and I thought it was all over."
But when he looked out the window 30 or 45 minutes later, the road was covered with water. As he watched, it began rising fast. He immediately got in his truck, but by the time he'd driven roughly a mile to the bridge, it was too late. Everglades City, on the other side of the bridge, was flooded and there was nowhere to go.
"Thank God the bridge was there," he said. "If the bridge wasn't there, it'd have been bad."
He hunkered down in his truck and hoped the water wouldn't rise any higher. At daybreak, the water began to recede and he was able to drive off the island.
He returned to his home around midday Monday to find it destroyed.
"It's all gone. It's a total loss," he said. "The trailer, boat, car, everything."
___
Associated Press writers Claire Galofaro and Doug Ferguson in Jacksonville, and Freida Frisaro and Adriana Gomez Licon in Miami contributed to this report.___
HURRICANE NEWSLETTER Get the best of the AP's all-formats reporting on Irma and Harvey in your inbox: http://apne.ws/ahYQGtb
The author of the just-released "ANTIFA: The Anti-Fascist Handbook" kicked off a tour for his book in front of a New York City crowd on Monday night but if you are envisioning a cadre of black-clad militant anarchists plotting street skirmish tactics, you would be sorely mistaken.
And while the discussion, and the book, were largely academic and historical, the author did not shy away when it came to the question of protesters arming themselves in the United States.
Mark Bray, a visiting Dartmouth professor and European historian, read excerpts of his book to a standing-room-only crowd that ranged in both age and background, before taking a variety of questions. And while activists were clearly present, the discussion unfolded more like a history lesson than a strategy session, or a reading of the infamous Anarchist Cookbook - which is exactly what Bray says he is hoping to achieve.
The author, whose comments have divided the Dartmouth community of which he is now a visiting part, began by reading an excerpt of his book that seemed intended to set the tone of the discussion.
The passage describes the experiences of a British lawmaker in the 1940s, who reported back to Parliament on the horrors that unfolded at the Buchenwald Concentration Camp. Bray references the "stacks of emaciated bodies in the back of a truck" and "charred skeletons" that this lawmaker said she witnessed with her own eyes.
When the passage was finished, Bray didn't pound his fists and call for folks to take up arms. Instead, he launched into an approximately hour-long power point-style presentation detailing the history of anti-fascist movements (primarily in Europe), their successes and failures, and why he believes the experiences of those groups suggests anti-fascists in the U.S. need to act now.
Bray shared a variety of non-violent tactics employed by anti-fascists through history. In one case, Bray said that British anti-fascists nearly a century ago were able to shut-down fascist rallies by simply toppling the podiums from which their opponents were speaking. The law at the time, Bray said, prevented microphones at public rallies from being uprighted once knocked over.
Another favorite tactic, Bray said, was calling the mothers of young fascists to let them know what their boys had been up to. This was apparently one of the most successful techniques in the effort to stymie the spread of fascism among youths in the United Kingdom.
Bray's ascent into the media cycle was not only due to the spate of recent protests involving anti-fascist protestors in the U.S., but to his public defense of violence, which he describes as self-defense, on behalf of anti-fascist groups.
During an interview in late August, Bray argued that people who share his beliefs are "not that small of a minority," before stipulating that it is when confronted with "white supremacy and neo-Nazi violence" that "self-defense [becomes] a legitimate" response.
On Monday night, Bray made it a point to say that he wasn't telling anyone in the audience what to do, and that he simply hoped others would learn from the historical anecdotes he shared. When asked about the emergence of armed militias at protests in the U.S., he made his position clear.
"The [anti-fascists] I've spoken to in other countries... are pretty freaked out about the notion of guns being involved in this," Bray said. "I'm not trying to go too far into telling anyone what to do... But I don't think it's ludicrous that if white supremacists are carrying guns, that anti-fascists might want to carry guns, too."
A Michigan farmer banned from selling his produce in East Lansing because he wont let same-sex couples rent his property for weddings plans to ask a federal judge Wednesday for an injunction against the ban.
City officials plan to ask the judge to deny the farmers request and also dismiss his lawsuit against the city.
East Lansing has had LGBT civil rights protections on the books since 1974, but this year it broadened its nondiscrimination ordinance to require anyone doing business in the city including nonresidents -- to not discriminate against same-sex couples.
The city denied farmer Steve Tennes application to be a vendor at the farmers market after a Facebook post he made last December surfaced. East Lansing officials said the post outlines a business practice that violates the citys civil rights ordinances and his policy toward same-sex marriages violates its anti-discrimination policies.
The Facebook post in question said that Tennes Country Mill Farms Inc. would continue scheduling weddings at its orchard as long as the ceremonies did not violate Tennes Roman Catholic beliefs.
After months of conflict between the farmer and East Lansing officials over Tennes refusal to allow same-sex marriages to be held on his property, which is outside of East Lansing, the city banned him and, in May, Tennes sued East Lansing.
His attorney will ask the judge to grant a preliminary injunction that would allow him to continue selling his organic apples at East Lansings farmers market. City officials say the suit should be tossed.
The city created a policy to punish Steve for his religious beliefs, said Kate Anderson, an attorney for the Alliance Defending Freedom.
Tennes says that he has no problem selling his produce to any member of the LGBT community and that some of his employees at the farm are LGBT. However, by virtue of his religious commitment as a member of the Roman Catholic Church which deems homosexual relations as sinful he is conscience-bound to not facilitate something sinful.
Tennes believes that he is now the one being discriminated against and filed suit in late May in the hopes that a judge would award him damages.
My wife Bridget and I feel tolerance is a two-way street, he told Fox News in June.
Tennes legal team added that the city also has no jurisdiction over what the farmer does on his 120-acre property, which is located 22 miles from East Lansing in the small town of Charlotte.
The city is reaching way outside of its jurisdiction, Anderson said. The precedent being laid down here is very, very dangerous.
East Lansing Mayor Mark Meadows, however, told Fox News that the decision to bar Tennes from selling his apples at the market has little to do with the farmers personal religious beliefs and free speech being violated or where his farm is located.
It has nothing to do with free speech, Meadows said. Any organization that wants to be a vendor at the market has to comply with all the civil rights ordinances in East Lansing. Tennes business wasnt in compliance with the ordinance and consequently wasnt granted the opportunity to sell.
The case has drawn a great deal of attention both locally and nationally, with city officials receiving around 1,100 emails and more than 100 phone calls in the month after the lawsuit was filed.
The vast majority, theyre opposed, City Manager George Lahanas told the Lansing State Journal in reference to the citys stance on the issue. Many of the opposed were from outside the city or state.
Authorities say a 70-year-old woman was shot and killed by her son in the intensive care unit at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center Tuesday, sending New Hampshire's largest hospital into lockdown.
Travis Frink, 49, of Warwick, R.I. was arrested as he tried to drive off the hospital's campus and was charged with first-degree murder of Pamela Ferriere of Groton, N.H., state Attorney General Gordon MacDonald said Tuesday night.
McDonald said Frink signed in at the hospital's visiting desk at 1:15 p.m. Approximately 10 minutes later, police responded to a report of a shooting in the fourth-floor intensive care unit.
People were told to avoid the area around the hospital, and traffic was stopped on a route leading to the medical center in the town of Lebanon, near the Vermont border. Images taken inside the hospital showed SWAT team members accompanying staff as they swept the building for further signs of trouble.
The hospital urged everyone on the main campus to evacuate or shelter in place. One staffer told WMUR that patients with wheelchairs and others needing assistance were helped into a parking lot.
Another hospital employee told WMUR that the hospital issued a "code silver" alert, indicating that someone was possibly being violent with a weapon. Another employee told WCAX that an alert flashed on computer monitors saying that there was an active shooter.
"You hear an alert and you just respond and you go," staff member Barbara Rodgers told WMUR. "You do what you have to do and make sure everybody gets out. It's just hard, because you're getting patients out and visitors and just whatever, and they don't know what's going on. You can't tell them anything. You don't know anything to tell them."
The hospital had resumed normal operations as of Tuesday evening.
John Kacavas, the medical center's chief legal officer, thanked police and the attorney general's office for their response to a "tragic situation."
Investigators have not disclosed a specific motive for the shooting. The state attorney general's office is investigating, along with the New Hampshire State Police Major Crimes Unit and the Lebanon Police Department.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Georgia's power company is warning customers it may take weeks to restore electricity to the estimated one million residents who are now living in the dark.
Well, we havent had power since I dont know even know what time it went out, Valdosta resident Corky Collins told Fox News.
Powerful winds and heavy rain brought by Hurricane Irma damaged many houses and knocked down trees -- which, in turn, walloped power lines across the state.
I was kind of concerned with all the trees we have, cause I have a couple of dead pine trees and I knew I would have a bunch of branches in the morning, Collins said. But I was afraid a tree might fall over.
Georgia Power tweeted it was mobilizing more than 5,000 workers, with aid from the Army National Guard, to help restore service.
One of the biggest things we will be doing is assisting local police and recovery assets. Do what ever is necessary, Army National Guard Captain Mike Ireland told Fox News. A lot of that is roads that are down, trees and branches. Recovering those assets and helping out as they try to make the roads passable and any other thing that might come up.
At least 45 people lost their lives since Irma made landfall in the Caribbean. Three people have died in Georgia.
Floridians are returning from their Irma-induced exodus on Tuesday to find wrecked homes, food shortages and widespread power outages -- and now face a long and daunting road to recovery.
Around 15 million people remain without electricity across the state, according to Chris Krebs, Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Protection at the Department of Homeland Security.
"I do ask that everyone have patience," Krebs said at a news conference Tuesday morning. "This is going to take some time to restore."
Due to the extent of the damage caused by Irma, Krebs said "this will be a situation about rebuilding," instead of simply repairing damaged power infrastructure.
Communication also remains an issue on some barrier islands, due to cellular disruptions, Krebs said.
Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke said nearly 22,000 federal personnel are in Florida to handle the "long and challenging road ahead.
"A storm of this magnitude needs team effort," she said.
Displaced residents and business owners from Key Largo, Tavernier and Islamorada were allowed to return for their first glimpse of the damage to their homes and offices on Tuesday morning.
Those people from the Lower Keys, however, faced a longer wait, with a roadblock in place where the highway to farther-away islands was washed out by the storm.
HURRICANE IRMA LEAVES 1 MILLION GEORGIA RESIDENTS WITHOUT ELECTRICITY
Florida Gov. Rick Scott said Tuesday the Florida Keys bridges appeared to escape serious damage from Irma, but more time is needed to finish inspections.
Gov. Rick Scott said officials continue to check the 42 Overseas Highway bridges that link the Florida Keys together. He said none appear seriously damaged but that "we're not sure that on the bridges we should be putting on significant weight."
Key West City Commissioner Sam Kaufman said late Monday two sections of U.S. 1 washed away from Irma will be repaired by the end of the week. The National Guard is expected to arrive in Key West to distribute water and food, which are at "critically low supplies," according to Kaufman.
Hungry residents across the state are also looking for whatever restaurants and stores still have power to stock up on supplies, and whose food hasn't spoiled due to a lack of refrigeration.
Miami Beach residents were allowed to return their homes Tuesday to assess damage done by Irma, sparking heavy traffic by 7 a.m. at police blocks.
Among them were Lyle and Lydia Calhoun. The couple, originally from South Carolina, has a condo in the Biscayne Bay area and were eager to return home.
Weve been waiting for an hour, Lydia told Fox News. Were tired, were dirty and we want to go home.
A handful of businesses, including several Walgreens and 7-Elevens, had reopened with more stores expected to join throughout the day.
Miami Beach will be up and running soon, resident Scott Looker, who had taken his dog Diggie Smalls for a walk near the Port of Miami, told Fox News. Weve done it before and well do it again.
Lack of widespread working air conditioning comes at an inopportune time, as temperatures sit in the mid-80s and feel nearly 10 degrees warmer.
In Key West, Kaufman said the city is also desperately low on fuel, and is working with the military for emergency supplies.
Key West resident Laura Keeney was waiting in a Miami hotel until it was safe to return home, and she was anxious to hear more about her apartment complex. Her building manager told her there was flooding there, but further updates were hard to come by because power and cell phone service have been down on the island.
"They told me there is definitely water in the downstairs apartment, which is me," Keeney told the Associated Press.
As sweltering tropical heat returned across the peninsula as Irma moved northward, people in the Tampa Bay area fired up generators or headed outdoors to sit outside to pass the time awaiting for their lights to come back on.
"It's a luxury right? It's a luxury. Big luxury," Jennifer Blaskvitch told FOX 13 Tampa. "I know we pay for it but when it goes out, you expect it to be back quick. But, I understand the circumstances. It could have been a lot worse. So, you just have to be patient."
FLORIDA LOOTING CRACKDOWN IS 'WHITE SUPREMACY,' CLAIMS AUTHOR SARAH JAFFE
Florida Power and Light said its working to restore power as quickly as possible, staging hundreds of trucks and crews from across the country at South Florida sites, WSVN reported.
Even though we are restoring power, people need to be prepared for some prolonged and extended outages, FPL President and CEO Eric Silagy said. There are pockets of some real destruction.'
The power company said Tuesday the East Coast of the state is estimated to have power restored by the end of weekend except in areas hit by tornados, flooding, and severe damage.
On the state's West Coast, Florida Power said power is estimated to be restored by Sept. 22, except in areas hit by tornadoes, flooding, and severe damage.
The remnants of Irma were blowing through Alabama and Mississippi on Tuesday after drenching Georgia.
Six deaths in Florida have been blamed on Irma, along with three in Georgia and one in South Carolina. At least 35 people were killed in the Caribbean.
Around the Tampa-St. Petersburg area, where Irma rolled through early Monday, damage appeared modest, and Florida Gov. Rick Scott said effects on the southwest coast, including in Naples and Fort Myers, was not as bad as feared.
Still, Scott predicted that recovery could take a long time in many areas.
"I know for our entire state, especially the Keys, it's going to be a long road," he said.
Fox News' Barnini Chakraborty and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Gevorg Gorgisyan appeals to the police chief on the issue of the threats to Narine Tukhikyan
Written statement by Narine Tukhikian, Director of Hovhannes Tumanyan Museum, to be considered as a crime report On September 12, Gevorg Gorgisyan, the NA member of the YELK(Way Out) faction, appealed to the RA Police Chief Vladimir Gasparyan on the announcement made by the Director of Hovhannes Tumanyan Museum Narine Tukhikyan on "Kentron" TV's "In front of the mirror" show, on September 9.The latter informed that on August 3 she was threatened by a person who introduced himself as Lieutenant Colonel Mnatsakanyan or Manoogian, person in connection with the exhibition entitled "Eclipse", dedicated to the memory of Armenian victims of the Bolshevik repression. The MP considers any pressure against free speech and threats directed to Narine Tukhikyan as unacceptable. "I ask you to consider this announcement as a report about crime and to take appropriate measures," is written in the announcement. Let us mention that a day ago the MP sent a letter to the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Armenia with a view to obtaining clarifications from the Ministry of Culture, who took an active part in the forced closure of the exhibition. The letter said, "We express our concern about this approach and find that any form of self-expression, any opinion, if it does not contain an invitation to abuse or violence, should be heard."
The U.S. Navy dispatched the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln and two other ships to the Florida Keys to help with search-and-rescue operations after Hurricane Irma slammed the region.
Gov. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said, "I just hope everyone survived," after a flyover of the hurricane-battered Keys yielded what the governor said were scenes of devastation.
He said boats were cast ashore, water, sewers and electricity were knocked out, and "I don't think I saw one trailer park where almost everything wasn't overturned." Authorities also struggled to clear the single highway connecting the string of islands to the mainland.
The Keys felt Irma's full fury when the storm blew ashore as a Category 4 hurricane Sunday morning with 130 mph winds. How many people in the dangerously exposed, low-lying islands defied evacuation orders and stayed behind was unclear.
In a tweet Monday morning, a WFOR reporter said its hard to describe" the lower Florida Keys, but it could be best described as a war zone.
As Irma weakened into a tropical storm and finally left Florida on Monday after a run up the entire 400-mile length of the state, the full scale of its destruction was still unknown, in part because of cutoff communications and blocked roads. Monday night, the storm had weakened to a tropical depression near Columbus, Georgia.
Six deaths in Florida have been blamed on Irma, along with three in Georgia and one in South Carolina. At least 35 people were killed in the Caribbean.
Statewide, an estimated 13 million people, or two-thirds of Florida's population, remained without power. That's more than the population of New York and Los Angeles combined. Officials warned it could take weeks for electricity to be restored to everyone.
More than 180,000 people huddled in shelters in the Sunshine State.
The governor said it was way too early to put a dollar estimate on the damage.
During its march up Florida's west coast, Irma swamped homes, uprooted trees, flooded streets, snapped miles of power lines and toppled construction cranes.
In a parting shot, it triggered severe flooding around Jacksonville in the state's northeastern corner. It also spread misery into Georgia and South Carolina as it moved inland with winds at 50 mph, causing flooding and power outages.
Around the Tampa-St. Petersburg area, where Irma rolled through early Monday, damage appeared modest. And the governor said damage on the southwest coast, including in Naples and Fort Myers, was not as bad as feared. In the Keys, though, he said "there is devastation."
"It's horrible, what we saw," Scott said. "I know for our entire state, especially the Keys, it's going to be a long road."
He said the Navy dispatched the Abraham Lincoln, the USS Iwo Jima and USS New York. Emergency managers in the islands declared on Monday "the Keys are not open for business" and warned that there was no fuel, electricity, running water or cell service and that supplies were low and anxiety high.
"HELP IS ON THE WAY," they promised on Facebook.
The Keys are linked by 42 bridges that have to be checked for safety before motorists can be allowed in, officials said. The governor said the route also needs to be cleared of debris and sand, but should be usable fairly quickly.
In the Jacksonville area, close to the Georgia line, storm surge brought some of the worst flooding ever seen there, with at least 46 people pulled from swamped homes.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office warned residents along the St. Johns River to "Get out NOW."
"If you need to get out, put a white flag in front of your house. A t-shirt, anything white," the office said on its Facebook page. "Search and rescue teams are ready to deploy."
A tornado spun off by Irma was reported on the Georgia coast, and firefighters inland had to rescue several people after trees fell on their homes.
A tropical storm warning was issued for the first time ever in Atlanta, and school was canceled in communities around the state. More than 1.5million customers were without power Monday night in Georgia.
Over the next two days, Irma is expected to push to the northwest, into Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee.
People in the heavily populated Tampa-St. Petersburg area had braced for the first direct hit from a major hurricane since 1921. But by the time Irma arrived in the middle of the night Monday, its winds were down to 100 mph or less.
"When that sun came out this morning and the damage was minimal, it became a good day," said Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Blood collected from a carport at the home of a slain Tennessee nursing student matched the woman's DNA, a crime scene investigator said Tuesday.
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Lawrence James testified on the second day of Zachary Adams's trial in Savannah. Adams has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping, raping and killing Holly Bobo, who was 20 when she disappeared from her home in Parsons on April 13, 2011.
Her remains were found 3 years later in woods not far from her home in Decatur County, about 100 miles (161 kilometers) southwest of Nashville.
Bobo's brother testified Monday that he saw his sister and a man in the carport before they walked together into woods next to the family's home. Clint Bobo said he saw blood in the carport, but he did not know where it came from.
The blood is the first forensic evidence related to Holly Bobo presented at Adams' trial. Jurors were shown photos of blood droplets and a patch of smeared blood.
The blood evidence suggests a struggle may have taken place. It was tested to determine not only if Bobo was bleeding, but also to pinpoint whether the person who kidnapped her also was bleeding.
"There was a good amount of blood at the scene," James said.
Prosecutors say Adams, 33, took Bobo from her home, drugged her, raped her and killed her. Two other men, Jason Autry and Adams' brother, John Dylan Adams, also face charges of kidnapping, rape and murder in the case. Their trials have not been set.
James, a forensic scientist, said one of five blood samples taken from the floor of the carport next to Bobo's car yielded a complete DNA profile. James said that complete profile matched Bobo's DNA, which he had taken from underwear recovered from a hamper in the house. Two samples yielded partial profiles, and they also matched her DNA, James said. He was unable to build a profile from the two other samples.
In other testimony Tuesday, FBI agent Matthew Ross, under questioning by defense attorney Jennifer Thompson, said Adams told him he got up from bed at about 10 or 10:30 a.m. on the day Bobo disappeared about two hours after Clint Bobo called 911 to report his sister missing. Ross, who spoke with Adams days after Holly Bobo's disappearance, said that Adams told him that he then went to an area gas station with his brother and a friend.
Bobo's disappearance led to a massive search of the fields, farms and woods of western Tennessee. Her case received national attention, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said it was the most exhaustive and expensive investigation the agency ever conducted.
Judge C. Creed McGinley moved the trial from Decatur County to neighboring Hardin County to secure an unbiased jury. Adams, who has a criminal record that includes drug possession and assault, faces the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder.
The Latest on the investigation into a Minneapolis police officer's fatal shooting of Australian woman Justine Damond (all times local):
12:30 p.m.
The fiance of an Australian woman who was killed by a Minneapolis police officer in July says he wants justice.
Don Damond released a statement Tuesday, shortly after state investigators announced they have finished investigating the death of Justine Damond and have forwarded the case to prosecutors for possible charges.
Officer Mohamed Noor shot and killed the 40-year-old woman July 15 after she called 911 to report a possible sexual assault.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman has said he expects to decide on charges before the end of the year.
Justine Damond was engaged to be married and had already started using her fiance's last name. Don Damond said Tuesday that "the wait continues for Justine's family and me." He says the family hopes that Freeman will "act swiftly to review the findings and determine charges."
___
9:20 a.m.
The case of a Minneapolis police officer who shot and killed an Australian woman in July has been handed to prosecutors for possible charges.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said Tuesday that they have finished their investigation into Officer Mohamed Noor and have turned the case over to prosecutors for review.
Noor fatally shot 40-year-old Justine Damond on July 15 after she called to 911 to report a possible sexual assault.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman has said he expects to decide on charges before the end of the year.
During a meeting with Minneapolis residents Sunday, Freeman said the shooting of Damond "didn't have to happen."
Noor's partner, Officer Matthew Harrity, has told investigators that Harrity was startled by a loud noise shortly before Damond appeared at the window of the police cruiser and Noor fired.
The Latest on a shooting that left three men dead at a precious-metals shop in Alaska (all times local):
1 p.m.
Police in Alaska say they're confident there's no threat to public safety after a suspect was arrested in a shooting at a precious-metals shop that left three people dead.
Anchorage police spokesman MJ Thim (TIM) says investigators are sorting out the suspect's relationship with the victims and the possible motive for the shooting Tuesday.
Just before 10 a.m., police received calls of a shooting at the Bullion Brothers, a shop that buys and sells gold, silver and coins.
They found a man dead in the doorway, another in an office and a third man mortally wounded.
Acting on a tip, police stopped a car and took the driver into custody.
___
12:25 p.m.
Three people are dead following a shooting at an Alaska shop that buys and sells precious metals.
Anchorage police say the shootings occurred Tuesday at The Bullion Brothers, a shop with displays of gold and silver coins.
Witnesses reported a person had left the shop. The suspect was spotted in south Anchorage and taken into custody.
Police spokesman MJ Thim (TIM) told Anchorage television station KTUU that two people died at the scene.
One was inside the shop and a second was in the entryway.
A third person, found injured inside the shop, was rushed to a hospital, where he died.
Police have not released names of the people killed.
Police were still at the scene and could not be immediately reached by The Associated Press for additional details.
The U.S. Navy dispatched the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln and two other ships to the Florida Keys to help with search-and-rescue operations after Hurricane Irma slammed the region.
Gov. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said, "I just hope everyone survived," after a flyover of the hurricane-battered Keys yielded what the governor said were scenes of devastation.
FOX BUSINESS: JetBlue offers $99 tickets to Florida | U.S. Gulf refiners rumble back to life
WAIT A SECOND
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Democrats were too hasty to celebrate the shock spending deal they made with President Donald Trump last week, saying it is not as good as they believe to be.
The deal is not quite as good as my counterpart thought it was, the Senator from Kentucky told the New York Times' 'The New Washington' podcast, explaining that the battle for the debt limit increase will be delayed well beyond the initially agreed December deadline.
DESTROYING EVIDENCE?
A Maryland county judge has ordered the state bar to investigate three lawyers accused of deleting thousands of Hillary Clinton's emails.
Circuit Judge Paul F. Harris Jr. ruled Monday that the Attorney Grievance Commission and Office of Bar Counsel Maryland Office of Bar Counsel must look into complaints against Cheryl Mills, Heather Samuelson and David E. Kendall, citing "allegations of destroying evidence, according to The Washington Times.
UC BERKELEY CONTROVERSY
Campus officials at the University of California, Berkeley, said Monday that they were going to investigate the viral video that appears to show a campus police officer confiscating a hot dog vendor's money who was allegedly operating without a permit.
The cart vendor, identified only as Juan, was working on a public sidewalk on Saturday near California Memorial Stadium during the Cal Berkeley game when he was approached by a campus police officer, reports said.
COMING UP ON FOX NEWS CHANNEL
11 AM ET: Hillary Clinton kicks off book tour at Barnes & Noble in Union Square, NYC. Watch live on FoxNews.com
11:45 AM ET: President Trump welcomes Malaysian PM Najib Abdul Razak to the White House. Watch live on FoxNews.com
COMING UP ON FOX BUSINESS
7:50 AM ET: Darryl Strawberry, former New York Met, will appear on 'Mornings with Maria'
Those who abandoned their pets as Hurricane Irma barreled down on the Florida Peninsula could face criminal charges for doing so.
Animal Care and Control officers in Palm Beach County have found and rescued up to 40 dogs in the in the days before the storm made landfall. Many of them were left tied to poles or in outside pens, officials said to the New York Post.
There is absolutely no excuse for doing that, agency Director Dianne Sauve said to the newspaper.
Both Sauve and Palm Beach Countys state prosecutor, Dave Aronberg say that they intend to file felony prosecutions against those who may have left these dogs out in the storm.
This is a prime example of animal cruelty, Aronberg said. We will find you, and we will prosecute you.
Animal Care and Control also took in another 40 cats and dogs who were relinquished by their owners. While its more common during storms, the number of surrenders was higher in the lead up to Irma.
"These are things that are not unexpected during a situation like this," Sauve said to USA Today, adding there are two pet-friendly shelters in Palm Beach County. "It's always disappointing. Our goal is to keep pets and people together."
Willingly giving up your pet in Palm Beach County means you give up ownership and therefore cannot get the pet back after the storm passes.
"I feel torn about that at times," she said, "but we're not a boarding facility."
A pregnant 19-year-old woman who was accidentally shot twice in the head is recovering from brain surgery and was expected to learn her babys gender Monday.
Tytianna Sparks, who is seven months pregnant, was standing outside her Crown Heights, Brooklyn home when shots were fired Sunday afternoon, the New York Post reported.
I heard the shots and then screaming, witness Louis Leak, 64, told the Post. I ran down to the corner and saw the body. She looked bad. There was a lot of blood. Her relatives ran over and were screaming, Oh, Lord, shes been shot!
8 SHOT DEAD AT FOOTBALL WATCH PARTY; GUNMAN KILLED, POLICE SAID
Police said Monday that Sparks shooter was aiming for another nearby man but missed, shooting the mother-to-be twice in the head instead. One bullet reportedly entered through her forehead and exited the back of her head, while a second hit the side of her head.
Sparks mother, Ruth Sparks, 59, said Tytianna underwent surgery on her brain that lasted nearly 5 hours Sunday and is now recovering.
They said they didnt think shell have any brain damage, Sparks said. The doctor said the baby is good.
DARTMOUTH-HITCHCOCK MEDICAL CENTER SAYS GUNMAN 'CONTAINED'
We will probably find out the (babys) sex later today, she said Monday. God is good... it could have been her and the baby dead.
The mother urged the shooter to come forward and confess, according to the Post.
I hope they catch the person who did this, Sparks said. No one around here is talking. We dont know who did it.
The shooter, who police described as a man in a black shirt, fled the scene following the incident. As of Monday, police said he was still at large.
A girl who told investigators she helped stab her 12-year-old classmate was under "control of a delusional disorder" and convinced the crime would protect her and her family from a fictional horror character called Slender Man, her attorney told jurors Tuesday.
Attorney Joseph Smith told jurors during opening statements Anissa Weier had a "broken mind," and was suffering from a mental illness at the time of the stabbing at a Waukesha park in 2014, and therefore is not criminally responsible.
"Anissa's broken mind caused her to lose touch with reality," Smith told jurors. "Anissa was under the command and control of a delusional disorder."
Weir's classmate, Payton Leutner was stabbed 19 times in a plot by Weier and co-defendant Morgan Geyser, prosecutors said, and left in a wooded park where she eventually crawled for help after the girls left.
A passing bicyclist found Leutner. Weier and Geyser were arrested later that day while reportedly walking to meet Slender Man in a northern Wisconsin forest. All three girls were 12 years old at the time.
Waukesha County Assistant District Attorney Kevin Osborne told jurors Weier and Geyser knew they were committing a crime, and the initial plan was for Weier to stab Leutner, but Weier couldn't do it, and she instead commanded Geyser to do the stabbing.
"They knew this was wrong. They understood what they were doing was wrong," Osborne said.
Prosecutors charged both girls with being a party to attempted first-degree intentional homicide. Weier struck a deal with prosecutors in August in which she pleaded guilty to being a party to attempted second-degree intentional homicide, essentially acknowledging she committed all the elements of the offense. But she also has pleaded not guilty due to mental illness, meaning she believes she isn't responsible for her actions because she lacks the capacity to understand her conduct was wrong.
"How could she have believed this?" Smith Jr. ask jurors rhetorically, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Weier told a judge during her plea hearing in August that she believed Slender Man would attack her and her family if she didn't kill Leutner. Psychologists have testified that she suffered from persistent depression and a delusional disorder linked to schizotypy, a diminished ability to separate reality from fantasy.
At least 10 of the 12 jurors must agree on a verdict.
Geyser has pleaded not guilty to being a party to first-degree attempted homicide. Her trial is set to begin Oct. 9.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A former special education teacher pleaded guilty Tuesday to raping an underage student she mentored while working at a South Dakota school.
Kari Boll pleaded guilty to nine counts each of fourth-degree rape and sexual contact with a child under 16, two counts of sexual exploitation and one count of solicitation of a minor, Argus Leader reported.
Boll, who is married, was a special education teacher at West Central High School for three years before her sexual relationship with the student was revealed. Boll told investigators she and the student waited until he was 16 years old the age of consent in the state before beginning their sexual relationship.
However, she later admitted the two had sex before the boy turned 16. Boll and the student allegedly had sex more than 20 times during the summer of 2016 including between 10 and 15 times before he turned 16.
Boll also said the student told her he had feelings for her, court documents stated. She told police the relationship started when the student worked for her on her Hartford farm.
A Utah high school teacher has been placed on administrative leave after giving students a questionnaire that scored them based on their sex lives and drug use, district officials said Monday.
The teacher gave juniors at Roy High School, about 30 miles north of Salt Lake City, the 30-question survey as part of an Adult Roles course, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.
The courses intention is to teach students about human relationships and financial literacy, Lane Findlay, a spokesperson for the Weber School District told The Associated Press.
The questionnaire was reportedly a quiz from an Ann Landers advice column from 1981 but officials have not immediately confirmed where it originated.
UTAH NURSE WHO DRAGGED NURSE FIRED FROM PARAMEDIC JOB
Some questions were: Ever been kissed while in a reclining position? Ever made a member of the opposite sex cry? Do you drink alcohol or beer every day? Have you ever had sex without using a contraceptive? Have you ever slipped angel dust (anything) into someones drink? And Even though you are straight, would you go kinky to see what its like?
At the bottom of the quiz was a score chart that ranked your responses. If you scored lower than a 10, you were considered a nerd, just where you should be at your age but if you scored over 104 then you were hopeless and condemned. Other ranges included pure as Ivory soap and maybe a fruitcake, indecent and headed for serious trouble.
"I was just in complete shock," said parent Heather Miller, who said the questionnaire was invasive, judgmental and homophobic.
Miller said she learned of the assignment last week when her 16-year-old daughter came home with it and was dismayed at her "score."
Miller said she complained to school officials about the questionnaire and could not believe teenagers would be expected to put their names on it and turn it in.
"It's just alarming," she said. "I really was concerned about the amount of kids who could take something like this and it would really get to them, just like it did with my daughter."
Reilley Stringham, a student at the school, told Fox 13 that the quiz made her feel uncomfortable.
"Kids felt really insecure after taking that test," Stringham told Fox 13.
CHRISTIAN FAMILY SUES SONS SCHOOL OVER MALE DRESS CODE
Findlay said he did not believe the assignment was any kind of malicious intent but believed it was inappropriate.
The Salt Lake Tribune reported Candace Thurgood has been placed on leave, but Findlay, told Fox News the district was not releasing the name of the teacher at the moment due to the ongoing investigation.
"At this time, we are not releasing the name of the teacher since the investigation remains active and ongoing. I'm not sure where the Salt Lake Tribune received the name they are reporting," Findlay told Fox News.
Findlay said students had to receive parental permission in order to participate in the Adult Roles course but the district said parents did not consent to the survey.
"Officials from Weber School District and Roy High School want to extend our sincere apology to the students who were asked to complete this questionnaire, as well as their parents and we assure you this survey will not be used in the future," the district said in a statement.
The district said federal and state laws bar surveys of student sexual or illegal behaviors.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Vardan Bostanjyan: I want to understand it hard
Hrayr Tovmasyan hears about Narine Tukhikyan, the head of Tumanyan Home-Museum, for the first time and doesn't know anything about yesterday's forced closure of the exhibition dedicated to the victims of the Soviet era. "Yes, I don't know her, I and art ..." says Hrayr Tovmasyan, member of NA of the HHK faction. The MP says that the Parliament accepts a dozen of laws in which other treatment for the oppressed and exiled is provided. To remind, yesterday the Ministry of Culture forbade an exhibition called "Eclipse" reasoning that it was politicized. May or should an exhibition devoted to political repression be antypolitical? It should be antipolitical. Actually, I want to understand it hard. Especially I want to approach the issue connected with Tokhikyan in a strange manner, like you do," says Vardan Bostanjyan the NA member of Tsarukyan Alliance. In any case, the representative of Tsarukyan Alliance says that the incident is not a good one but he would not call the action of the Ministry of Culture reprehensible. "From the point of view of ethics it is not condemnable to say, for example, that a cosmic crime was not committed, but in all cases a subjective step was taken. If the process continues it will become condemnable." The opposition MP does not see anything in the political scene and there is no need for the parliament to have a position on this issue, perhaps only expressing concern will be enough. Mr. Bostanjyan does not know yet what kind of repression was represented in the exhibition, but he would not hurry to condemn Anastas Mikoyan, who demanded from Armenian leaders to increase the number of people killed in the 30s of the last century. "If Mikoyan didn't come maybe 100000 people would be killed.Mikoyan came and 10000 were killed. We do not want to evaluate him, he was not Lucifer's or Satan's son, was he?" commented Vardan Bostanjyan. The MP would not call the action of the Ministry of Culture censorship. In general, censorship is a relative concept. "Nowadays people say let the child grow up and choose the gender he/she wants to belong to. The same way is censorship. They say you have no right, you use violence. Our opinion may sound old fashioned." The MP suggests not to dilate the topic and make him speak about the Minister of Culture. It is a fact that the incident was no good for the state.
A Metro bus driver has been suspended after video surfaced of him reading a newspaper while operating the bus, according to officials.
Video posted to Twitter by Myles Hill shows the driver flipping through pages of the newspaper as the bus is in motion.
Should my bus driver be reading and flipping pages in the newspaper while driving? Hill wrote on Twitter.
Hill told FOX 5 he shot the video at about 2 p.m. on Friday while taking the F6 bus home from the University of Maryland where he is a student.
WMATA told FOX 5 the bus driver has been removed from service pending an investigation.
We appreciate the rider who brought this safety concern to our attention. What is shown in the video is obviously disturbing and completely unacceptable. The bus operator was quickly identified Friday and immediately removed from service pending an investigation, WMATA said in a written statement.
WMATA said distracted driving violations could result in discipline up to and including termination.
More than a million residents of Miami are setting themselves for overbearingly hot weather after Hurricane Irma left them without electricity or air conditioning.
Authorities have reportedly warned Floridians that it will take weeks to restore electricity in Miami-Dade County, where around 1.1 million people have no power.
This will cause troubles as weather temperatures are expected to jump significantly, with a heat index as high as 108 degrees, The New York Post reported.
John Wagner, Boca Plaza hotel owner who was let electricity engineers enter his inn to restore power on Monday, said he hoped the recovery accelerates.
We put them up when needed, he told The Post. Maybe theyll get power back here sooner.
Despite being recently defeated from their major strongholds of Mosul and Tel Afar in Iraq, more than two years after Iraqi forces specifically sought to retake oil-rich areas from the Islamic State, its militants are continuing to steal, spill and smuggle crude oil from Iraqi oil fields as a means to wreak havoc and fund their spluttering but surviving campaign of terror.
While ISIS is steadily losing its hold on populated areas, it still controls a not-insignificant portion of territory that contains oil and oil infrastructure, Justin Dargin, global energy expert at the University of Oxford, told Fox News. As a result, ISIS is continuing at a frantic pace to produce and smuggle as much oil as possible in a bid to acquire its ever-declining revenue base.
According to Iraqs state-run North Oil Company (NOC), ISIS still controls scores of wellheads in parts of the northern Ajil field which are considered contested land between Iraq and Kurdish governments. The terror network still controls some 75 percent of the Alas Dome in the nearby and prominent Hamrin field, NOC adds.
ISIS gained control of the two fields in June 2014 after its sudden assault on the countrys second-largest city of Mosul. While Iraqi forces took back much of the region in early 2015, the militants have retained a foothold in the more remote parts, such as the provinces of Salahuddin and Diyala. The black-clad jihadist army can access these areas from its last major Iraq stronghold of Hawija near the oil-rich city of Kirkuk.
It is in these areas that the terrorists are reported to have orchestrated a massive oil spill spanning thousands of acres southbound from the Hamrin Mountains and into emancipated territory, where it is even flooding into the streets of villages just northeast of Tikrit, according to Iraq Oil Report and satellite imagery of the area.
But beyond its severe environmental impact, ISIS is still making money from the trade. The group continues to exploit local, financially desperate workers to continue the production and delivery of oil, and relies heavily on the professional technicians and engineers previously working in the areas to maintain and administer wells and production.
ISIS was able to utilize to a great degree the old smuggling networks established during the Saddam (Hussein) regime to evade the international sanctions regime, Dargin said. While there has been a significant degradation of these networks due to the bombardment and global efforts against ISIS, they still exist. When one smuggling route is under threat, ISIS is able to switch to another route.
Indeed, ISISs capacity to extract, refine and export oil has been markedly degraded over the last two years as it has now lost some 90 percent of the land it once dominated. But since the groups shocking rise to prominence in 2014, the terrorists have managed to survive through their illicit oil and gas trade. At its pinnacle in 2014 and much of 2015, it was estimated ISIS was making as much as $50 million per month from its contraband energy operations, a figure that has been reduced now to a still-notable $10 million or less, according to Dargin.
Lee Oughton, a longtime Iraq security expert and former global manager for executive protection at oil field service giant Halliburton, pointed out that smuggling and selling endeavors have gone on with the help of splinter cells that have allowed illegal trafficking into Turkey, Syria and Iran.
ISIS and other militia groups often have state-of-the art weapons systems and intelligence networks just as good as some of the best intel agencies in the world, he contended.
Oughton also observed that ISIS-originated oil is known to have been trafficked up through Iraq and into Turkey, and refined inside Turkey and then either utilized within the country or extended outside its borders. The U.S. State Department in January also accused the Syrian government of making deals with the militants to buy the black market oil, which Bashar al-Assad's regime denied.
But the reality is that in majority of sales, the recipients of the terror-financing oil often have no idea of its starting point.
That is why ISIS oil operations have been so successful, explained Joseph Fallon, Islamic extremism expert and U.K. Defense Forum research associate, adding that the smuggling is essentially undertaken by an ISIS network of venture capitalists using smuggling routes across Syria, Iraq and Turkey where they then bribe or threaten government officials to accept their oil and get paid market prices. It is then mixed with the oil in legitimate pipelines, thus becoming untraceable, and buyers often are unaware of its terrorist origins.
ISIS makes its money up front selling to smugglers who take the risk and, if successful, make a significant profit. In addition to trucks and tankers, smugglers use boats, horses or go on foot, Fallon continued. ISIS is unlike other terror groups, the Taliban or Al Qaeda, because the transportation routes for smuggling are also used by international energy companies; this source of revenue cannot be eliminated by traditional sanctions on a terror groups banking network. Because of oil laundering, no one knows if the oil purchased is from ISIS.
RAQQA'S ESCAPING VICTIMS FORCED TO LIVE IN TOXIC OIL REFINERY WITH GASOLINE-LACED WATER AND NO SEWER SYSTEM
Dargin asserted that those who knowingly purchased the ISIS oil would often wire payments to female members of ISIS in countries like Turkey, upon the belief that women would not be as suspicious as men upon receiving international transfers.
The money would then be physically transported into Syria and Iraq (to the terrorists) by courier, he said.
Hussein Allawi, CEO of the Akkad Center for Strategic Affairs and Future Studies and a national security professor at Baghdads Al Nahrain University, also stressed that ISIS continues to profit from oil derivatives within the communities it controls. Civilians are left with little choice but to buy gasoline, diesel and fuel to supply electricity from the militants reigning over them.
And before being run out an area by liberating forces, ISIS in its final blow notoriously sets oil wells and tankers on fire to limit vision and prohibit coalition airplanes from striking the area. The terrorists also set pour oil into the streets and open taps on pipelines not only to damage towns, but also to trigger major pollution in the Tigris River, which empties into the Persian Gulf.
AS U.S. CLOSE TO VICTORY VS. ISIS IN SYRIA, AL QAEDA TAKES TERRITORIAL CONTROL
In Allawis view, only a solid partnership between Baghdad and locals will be the key to ensuring another terror faction like ISIS doesnt swoop in and imitate the financing-with-fuel model of militancy.
The control of the land by Iraqi forces and people is the guarantor, he added. But we need an economic program for development that makes communities work in the oil areas for a partnership to protect wealth from theft, smuggling and financing of terrorist groups.
next Image 1 of 2
prev Image 2 of 2
A Soyuz space capsule with two Americans and a Russian aboard has blasted off for the International Space Station from Russia's manned launch facility in Kazakhstan.
The launch started at 3:17 a.m. Wednesday (2117 GMT Tuesday) and entered orbit nine minutes later. The craft is to dock with the orbiting laboratory about six hours later.
Joe Acaba of NASA is making his third trip into space and Russian Alexander Misurkin his second. It's the first voyage for American Mark Vande Hei. All three are to stay on the space station for about 5 1/2 months.
They will join Russia's Sergey Ryazanskiy, American Randy Bresnik and Italy's Paolo Nespoli, who have been aboard the station since late July.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus eldest son has taken down an anti-Semitic Facebook post aimed at his fathers critics following a public outcry from Israeli political leaders.
Yair Netanyahu, 26, posted the meme on his public Facebook page. The image depicted American Jewish billionaire George Soros and a figure that resembled Nazi depictions of Jewish people manipulating former Prime Minister Ehud Barak and two leaders of weekly protests calling on Netanyahu to step down over corruption allegations.
The post was shared by former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. Duke wrote: Welcome to the club, Yair absolutely amazing, wow, just wow.
Andrew Anglin, the founder and editor of The Daily Stormer, a neo-Nazi website, wrote: Yair Netanyahu is a total bro. Next hes going to call for gassings, The Washington Post reported.
ISRAELI PM BENJAMIN NETANYAHU SHEDS STATESMANLIKE PERSONA AS SCANDALS MOUNT AGAINST HIM; WIFE PRESUMED TO BE INDICTED
The opposition Labor Partys chairman Avi Gabbay told Army Radio the post crossed every line imaginable, saying it was a very sad day for Israel and the Jewish people when the prime ministers son posts a cartoon that the former leader of the Ku Klux Klan agreed with.
On Twitter, Barak wondered whether Yair, who has a state-funded driver and bodyguard, absorbed such ideology at home.
What is it, genetics or a spontaneous mental illness? It doesn't matter. In any case, we ought to pay for him to have a psychiatrist, not a bodyguard and a chauffeur," Barak wrote.
Yair Netanyahu responded by calling Barak a drunk who needed geriatric care.
Netanyahus eldest son has come under fire for previous social media posts. Last month, he tweeted following the violent rally in Charlottesville, Va., where one American died and dozens were injured. The Unite the Right rally was organized by white supremacists protesting the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue from a Charlottesville park.
ISRAELI OFFICIAL: NETANYAHU MUST PUSH TRUMP TO END IRAN DEAL
Im a Jew, Im an Israeli, the neo nazi scums in Virginia hate me and my country. But they belong to the past. Their breed is dying out, Yair Netanyahu wrote on his Facebook page. However the thugs of Antifa and BLM [Black Lives Matter] who hate my country (and America too in my view) just as much are getting stronger and stronger and becoming super dominant in American universities and public life.
The Netanyahu family is facing a slew of corruption allegations.
The prime minister has been questioned about his ties to executives in media, international business and Hollywood. His associates have been engulfed in a probe relating to a possible conflict of interest involving a $2 billion purchase of German submarines. Israel's attorney general has said he intends to indict the prime minister's wife, Sara, for fraud over her household expenses.
The prime minister has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, portraying the accusations as a witch hunt against him and his family by a hostile media. He has resisted increasing calls to step down.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A member of a Muslim minority group has been sentenced to two years in a Chinese prison after forming online discussions groups to teach about Islam.
The official website China Judgments Online said Huang Shike was arrested in 2016 in Xinjiang province, three months after forming a discussion group about Muslim worship on the messaging app WeChat. He taught about the Quran, Islam's holy book, in another WeChat discussion group. More than 100 people were members of each group, the website said. Huang is a member of the Hui minority.
The discussion groups "disturbed normal religious activity" and violated laws about using the internet to discuss religion, the website said.
Chinese authorities have steadily tightened controls on Xinjiang, where they believe radical Islamic thought has infiltrated the region.
A South Korean news agency reports that Egypt's defense minister has announced it has cut military ties with North Korea during a visit to Seoul.
Yonhap quoted the South Korean Defense Ministry on Monday as saying Egypt's Defense Minister Sedki Sobhi told his counterpart Song Young-moo that Egypt has "already severed all military ties with North Korea."
"Egypt will actively cooperate with South Korea against North Korea acts that threaten peace," the agency quoted Sobhi as saying.
Last month, the United States cut or delayed some $300 million in military and economic aid over human rights concerns and ties to North Korea.
This is Sohbi's first meeting with Song, which came after a South Korean-Egypt memorandum of understanding on defense cooperation was signed in March.
An Italian couple died Tuesday while trying to rescue their 11-year-old son from a steamy volcanic field near Naples after the boy entered an off-limits area, investigators said.
Authorities identified the parents as Massimiliano Carrer, 45, and Tiziana Zaramella, 42. Their son was identified only as Lorenzo. The Italian news agency ANSA said the family was from the town of Meolo in northeastern Italy, near Venice, but Zaramella was originally from Turin.
Police said Lorenzo apparently slipped after he breached a fence surrounding the prohibited area at the Solfatara Crater in Pozzuoli.
It wasn't immediately clear if the 11-year-old and his parents were overcome by gases or were killed as the result of an explosion of super-heated mud. Heavy rains in recent days may have played a role by creating more openings in the volcanic field's surface.
ANSA's account of the tragedy describes how Massimiliano "was sucked [in]" attempting to free the trapped boy and the same thing happened to Tiziana in turn. The account adds that both were "overwhelmed by the exhalations." An autopsy is pending.
The couple's other son, 7-year-old Alessio, managed to get to safety.
A witness to the incident told la Repubblica newspaper he saw the 7-year-old crying and asking for help.
"I saw a child run crying, I did not think I was facing the worst tragedy of my life, I'm a father, too," Diego Vitagliano said.
"I've been here for forty years and such an accident has never happened," said Armando Guerriero, the owner of a nearby bar where Alessio was brought. "We tried to calm him, of course he was very shocked."
The surviving child's grandparents were expected to collect him sometime Tuesday.
The crater is located in the Phlegraean Fields, a sprawling constellation of ancient volcanic craters frequented by Italian school children and tourists from around the world. The fields are scorching hot only a few inches below the surface.
Signs around the crater in multiple languages warn of the danger of burning from high soil temperatures and steam up to 320 degrees Fahrenheit. Visitors are told to stay clear of fumaroles, openings in the Earth's crust that emit steam and gases, and not to climb the slopes or breach the fences.
While the Phlegraean Fields are privately run, geologists monitor the area round the clock, checking temperatures and chemically analyzing gases. They have determined that the fields rose by about 12 inches over a decade.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Jose, once a hurricane threatening the Caribbean, is now weakened to a post-tropical cyclone storm, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Jose will "meander" off the southern coast of New England for a few days as it slowly travels to the west.
Here's what you need to know.
Where is Jose now?
Jose is approximately 115 miles south-southeast of Nantucket, Mass., the National Hurricane Centers 8 a.m. ET advisory said Friday. It has maximum sustained winds of 50 mph.
FLORIDA SEES LOOTING, BVI PRISONERS ESCAPE IN IRMA AFTERMATH
Jose was downgraded to a tropical storm last week, earlier than initially expected by forecasters, but then became a Category 1 hurricane a day later. It has since been downgraded back to a tropical storm.
What else should I know about the hurricane?
Shortly after Irma ravaged the Caribbean, Jose formed, threatening already wrecked houses, businesses and shelters with a major loss of communication.
Jose passed north of the Caribbean islands and Puerto Rico last week as a Category 4 hurricane, a situation, the Netherlands navy said, that was better than expected.
A tropical storm warning is in effect for Block Island, R.I., as well as Nantucket and Marthas Vineyard, both in Massachusetts.
The warning also applies to a stretch of the state going from Woods Hole to Sagmore Beach that includes Cape Cod, according to forecasters.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Israel's Supreme Court has struck down a 2015 law granting exemptions from military service to ultra-Orthodox men.
Tuesday's decision threatened to re-ignite tensions between Israel's politically powerful ultra-Orthodox community and the secular Jewish majority.
Military service is mandatory for most Jewish men, but the ultra-Orthodox community has won exemptions. Their leaders say they serve the nation through study and prayer. Secular Israelis say the system is unfair.
Past attempts to force religious men to enlist have triggered violent protests.
Israel's government moved to reduce exemptions and increase ultra-Orthodox military service in a 2014 law. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled those reforms in 2015 after forming a new coalition with religious partners.
In Tuesday's decision, the court said the 2015 law is discriminatory and must be replaced.
next Image 1 of 2
prev Image 2 of 2
The Latest on violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state and the flood of ethnic Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh (all times local):
11:45 a.m.
Iran's Supreme Leader has strongly condemned the killing of Muslims in Myanmar by the government.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the killing of Rohingya Muslims is a political disaster for Myanmar because it is being carried out by a government led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, whom he called a "brutal woman."
He urged Muslim countries to take practical steps to stop the violence and said they should "increase political, economic and commercial pressures on the government of Myanmar."
At least 313,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since Aug. 25, when Rohingya insurgents attacked police posts, prompting Myanmar's military to retaliate with what it called "clearance operations" to root out the rebels.
Myanmar authorities said more than a week ago that some 400 Rohingya, mostly insurgents, had died in clashes with troops, but it has offered no update. It has also blamed Rohingya for burning their own homes even though new fires were occurring after Rohingya fled.
___
11:30 a.m.
The Bangladeshi prime minister is visiting a struggling refugee camp that has absorbed some of the hundreds of thousands who fled recent violence in Myanmar.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told a rally during Tuesday's visit to the Kutupalong refugee camp, near the border town of Ukhiya, that she wished for peace for the Rohingya and would not "tolerate injustice" against them.
She pledged that Bangladesh would do its best to help the Rohingya, but said Myanmar should take steps soon to "take their nationals back."
On Monday night, she lambasted Myanmar for "atrocities" that she said had reached a level beyond description.
___
9 a.m.
The Bangladeshi leader has lambasted Myanmar for the "atrocities" that have driven hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims into Bangladesh in recent weeks.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urged Buddhist-majority Myanmar to bring the Rohingya back, while parliament passed a motion Monday night urging the U.N. and other countries to pressure Myanmar for their safety and citizenship.
"Myanmar must take back every Rohingya who has entered Bangladesh and who are coming in now," she told lawmakers late Monday. "We can cooperate to rehabilitate them in their country."
Hasina criticized Myanmar's authorities for the recent violence against the Rohingya, which she said had reached a level beyond description.
___
3 a.m.
The United States says it is "deeply troubled" by the Myanmar crisis, which hundreds of thousands of Muslims have fled to escape violence.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders says the administration continues to condemn the violence between Rohingya Muslims and Myanmar security forces.
The United Nations reported Monday that 313,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh to escape violence in Myanmar's western state of Rakhine the biggest flight of the minority Rohingya in a generation.
The violence began Aug. 25, when an ethnic Rohingya insurgent group attacked police posts in Myanmar and security forces retaliated.
Villages were burned and hundreds of people died, mainly Rohingya Muslims, who are denied citizenship and regarded by Myanmar's majority Buddhists as illegal immigrants.
The latest on the U.N. Security Council's latest sanctions in response to North Korea's nuclear and missile programs (all times local):
7 p.m.:
North Korea's top envoy to a leading U.N. disarmament body says his country "categorically" rejects a U.N. Security Council resolution imposing new sanctions over its nuclear and missile programs.
Ambassador Han Tae Song also lashed out at the United States during a plenary session of the U.N.'s Conference on Disarmament, saying North Korea denounces Washington's "evil intention" and would "make sure the U.S. pays a due price."
The comments Tuesday came as North Korea faced renewed criticism at the Geneva-based body of its recent ballistic missile and nuclear weapons tests. Peru's envoy, Maria Antonia Masana Garcia, said North Korea's ambassador to her country would be considered persona non grata.
U.S. Ambassador Robert Wood hailed the Security Council sanctions imposed Monday, saying "the international community will never accept North Korea as a nuclear weapons state."
___
2 p.m.:
North Korea will be feeling the pain of new United Nations sanctions targeting some of its biggest remaining foreign revenue streams. But the Security Council eased off the biggest target of all: the oil the North needs to stay alive, and to fuel its million-man military.
Though the United States had proposed a complete ban, the sanctions by the U.N. Security Council to punish North Korea for its sixth nuclear test cap Pyongyang's annual imports of crude oil at the same level they have been for the past 12 months: an estimated 4 million barrels.
The import of refined petroleum products is also limited. Some experts, however, doubt the oil and fuel component on the sanctions will have much impact.
The measures were approved unanimously on Monday.
Business owners on one of the Caribbean islands ravaged by Hurricane Irma say the government needs to send in the Marines -- literally -- and increase patrols to combat the thieves and looters running rampant at Sint Maarten's shopping destination.
Elsewhere on the island, men armed with guns and machetes are terrorizing residents and tourists alike, while some wait on piers to steal the bounty of boats and ships carrying aid to the devastated community.
We cant sleep in peace because of the thieves, Yovanny Roque, 48, said.
Residents of the small island - divided in the 17th century into the French territory of Saint-Martin and the Dutch territory of Sint Maarten say they have to hide inside their homes and in makeshift shelters as night falls, fearful of robbers roaming the streets.
On Frontstreet, a shopping destination for the thousands of tourists who arrive via cruise ships each year, looters broke into a customs office and stole arms, according to reports.
Anthea Turner, a tourism and cruise expert who has worked with business owners on St. Martin for more than 19 years, told Fox News on Tuesday that looters were going storefront to storefront stealing all they could.
The Caribbean tourist destination has been working its way out of the wreckage heaped on it last week by Irma, churning as a full Category 5 storm when it blasted the island. Cars lie tossed upside down, large boats lean sideways on dry land and debris from businesses and homes fill the streets.
Some say the destruction is on a biblical scale.
Reports of rampant looting broke just hours after the devastating storm.
Massimiliano Napoliello, the manager at a bar at Sonesta Maho Resort, wrote on Facebook over the weekend: The situation in SXM is a HELL!!!
They are completely isolated and there are CRIMINALS carrying GUNS AND KNIVES SHOOTING and looting all over! NOTHING IS WORKING, THERE ARE NO RULES, THERE IS NO LAW AND NO PROTECTION RIGHT NOW!
There have been reports out of St. Martin of residents brawling in the streets over supplies and of residents arming themselves with machetes to defend themselves. One solider said he was stopping attempted lootings every ten minutes, the Daily Mail reported.
Adam Lynch, an American rescued from St. Martin, told Fox News on Tuesday the destruction on the island is far worse than imagined.
We heard of people coming into different hotels posing as tourists and stealing everything, he said.
Dutch King Willem-Alexander, who arrived on Monday, said the scenes of devastation he witnessed on St. Martin in the hurricane's aftermath were the worst he had ever seen.
In images broadcast by Dutch national network NOS, Willem-Alexander said: "I've never experienced anything like this before and I've seen a lot of natural disasters in my life. I've seen a lot of war zones in my life, but I've never seen anything like this."
More than 1,200 American citizens have been evacuated from the island. The United States does not have a consulate on St. Martin, making it difficult to gather information about Americans still on the island.
In response to growing unrest, French and Dutch police have sent extra officers and military personnel to St. Martin to help contain looking. About 1,500 French troops, police and emergency workers are already on the ground and 500 others are expected to arrive in the coming days, French authorities said.
Turner said things have gotten slightly better since the days directly following the storm, however, looters still have more control of the streets than the police.
As of yesterday, people told me we desperately need more Marines. We desperately need more supplies,' she added.
Similar stories have emerged from nearby islands ravaged by the storm.
In the British Virgin Islands, Sir Alan Duncan, the UKs foreign minister, said more than 100 prisoners escaped when Irma hit, the BBC reported.
He told prime ministers there had been a serious threat of the complete breakdown of law and order.
Royal Marines have been sent to BVI to protect the Governor, he added.
Sam Branson, the son of Virgin tycoon Richard Branson, whose luxury resort in the British Virgin Islands was destroyed in the storm, warned of 'civil unrest' and said prisoners had escaped.
FEMA director Brock Long downplayed reports of lawlessness at the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
There is not widespread security issues across those islands, he said Tuesday, adding that military police on the island are maintaining safety and security. Were making progress.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Mexico on Monday reversed its decision to send aid to Texas in the wake of destruction caused by Hurricane Harvey's rampage through the Lone Star State, the U-turn coming after Mexico suffered two of its own natural disasters back-to-back.
Mexicos Foreign Ministry said in a statement the country was no longer in a condition to provide aid after a magnitude 8.2 earthquake struck on Sept. 7 and Hurricane Katia caused severe damage along its southern Gulf shores after making landfall Sept. 8.
All available aid in Mexico will now go to families and communities affected by the duel disasters, the Foreign Ministry said.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spoke with Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray on Monday night and offered condolences for the tragedies. Tillerson told Videgaray the U.S. stood ready to help Mexico.
Videgaray had originally called Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Aug. 27 to detail aid Mexico was sending to the U.S. in Harvey's catastrophic aftermath, Mexico's Foreign Ministry had said. Mexico then sent a note to the U.S. State Department on Aug. 28 offering personnel, equipment and supplies.
The Foreign Ministry said it received a letter from Tillerson on Sept. 6 stating the U.S. would accept the support, but only required logistical support.
Mexico's decision to reverse its offer of aid also comes amid increasing tensions between the U.S. and Mexico over President Trump's proposed border wall and the coming renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The same day Mexico offered the country's help to Abbott, Trump tweeted about the wall and NAFTA.
With Mexico being one of the highest crime nations in the world, we must have THE WALL. Mexico will pay for it through reimbursement/other, Trump wrote.
He added: "We are in the NAFTA (worst trade deal ever made) renegotiation process with Mexico & Canada.Both being very difficult,may have to terminate?"
In the Monday announcement, the Foreign Ministry said it continued to stand in solidarity with Texas, Louisiana and Florida in the wake of Hurricane's Harvey and Irma.
Fox News' Nick Kalman contributed to this report.
North Korean hackers are reportedly targeting cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea in an attempt to funnel money to Kim Jong Uns dictatorship, after a new wave of United Nations sanctions threatens to choke the rogue regimes cash flow.
Hackers linked to North Korea have stolen bitcoins from at least three South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges since May 2017, security firm FireEye revealed in a Monday report. As Pyongyang faces export and trade limitations -- due to sanctions such as those approved by the U.N. Security Council on Monday -- North Korean hackers are showing more interest in increasing bitcoin attacks.
Now, we may be witnessing a second wave of this campaign: state-sponsored actors seeking to steal bitcoin and other virtual currencies as a means of evading sanctions and obtaining hard currencies to fund the regime, the report stated.
UN SECURITY COUNCIL APPROVES NEW SANCTIONS AGAINST NORTH KOREA
Cryptocurrency attacks by North Korea were first detected in 2016, when observers noticed Pyongyang utilizing traditional cyber-spying techniques in an effort to steal millions in virtual currency. In April, four wallets on South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Yapizon were compromised, though FireEye noted it could not find a direct link to North Korea involvement in that incident. Yapizon announced in May it was hacked, losing 3,816 bitcoins about $5.3 million on April 22. The company did not disclose who it believed to be the culprit.
FireEye noted North Korean hackers were suspected of targeting cryptocurrency service providers in South Korea in early June. Spearphishing fake emails against South Korean exchanges were also uncovered in May and July.
Bitcoin value has increased more than 400 percent since the start of 2017. Cryptocurrencies lack state control and are secretive, giving North Korea the ability to launder money without being detected.
As the regulatory environment around cryptocurrencies is still emerging, some exchanges in different jurisdictions may have lax anti-money laundering controls easing this process and [making] the exchanges an attractive tactic for anyone seeking hard currency, the report said.
NORTH KOREA ILLEGALLY EXPORTED $270M IN GOODS SO FAR THIS YEAR, UN SAYS
North Korean hackers have been linked to malware found in South Korean ATMs, the Wall Street Journal reported. Using stolen bank information, the regime is then able to move cryptocurrency out of online wallets and cash out the money into U.S., South Korean or Chinese currency, the report stated. The hackers can also convert bitcoins to more ambiguous cryptocurrencies to make them tough to trace.
The secretive regime may now be prepared to amplify the bitcoin hacking after the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved new sanctions against North Korea, capping crude oil imports and banning natural gas liquids and condensates. China and Russia agreed to the watered-down version of the resolution after Russian President Vladimir Putin slammed the useless sanctions and refused to support banning all oil imports to North Korea.
This resolution sends a very clear message to North Korea that the Security Council is united in condemning North Korea's violations and demanding North Korea give up its prohibited nuclear and ballistic missile programs, the U.S. mission to the U.N. said after the vote.
The sanctions may damage North Koreas economy. North Korea said before the sanctions were approved the the U.S. would face pain and suffering and Pyongyang was ready and willing to retaliate if the vote passed. The dictatorship launched its sixth nuclear test earlier this month, testing what it said was a hydrogen bomb. Global leaders also fear another intercontinental ballistic missile test could be conducted in the near future.
A Spanish Red Cross staffer who worked at a rehabilitation center in Afghanistans northern Balkh province was shot and killed Monday by a patient she was teaching to walk.
Spanish national Lorena Enebral Perez, 38, a physiotherapist working with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), was described as a skilled and caring physiotherapist who assisted patients, especially children, Monica Zanarelli, the head of the ICRCs delegation in Afghanistan, said.
Perez was shot and killed at the hospital in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan.
Energetic and full of laughter, Lorena was the heart of our office. Today, our hearts are broken, Zanarelli added.
Lorenas work involved helping children, women and men who lost limbs or had other forms of disability learn how to walk and feed themselves again.
5 US TROOPS WOUNDED IN AFGHANISTAN SUICIDE ATTACK ON 9/11 ANNIVERSARY
The violent fluctuations of life seem particularly cruel today, the statement said.
It was not immediately clear if Mondays attack was politically motivated or related to a personal dispute. No militant groups, including the Taliban or the Islamic State, immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
Perez had been working in Afghanistan for more than year, The New York Times reported.
The suspect who reportedly shot her was Mohammed Nasim, 21, a polio patient, Gen. Abdul Razaq Qaderi, the police chief of the Balkh Province, told The New York Times. Nasim is reportedly under arrest.
He was a polio victim and he was under treatment in the hospital since he was 2 years old, Qaderi said. He was always coming to the hospital and had visited the day before as well.
US APOLOGIZES FOR LEAFLETS DROPPED IN AFGHANISTAN THAT OFFENDED MUSLIMS
He fired only one bullet. After the first bullet, people and the guards tackled him and didnt allow him to fire more.
Rais Abdul Khaliq, an associate of the Balkh provincial council, reported another man was also arrested for being an accomplice.
Both had polio and were paralyzed, Khaliq said. They defamed the name of Afghans. This is a terrorist attack.
Physical rehabilitation was one of the ICRC's first activities in Afghanistan, starting in Kabul in 1988, according to the organization, which now has seven centers across the country.
The seven centers manufacture more than 19,000 artificial legs, arms and other orthopedic devices a year and treat hundreds of thousands of patients, according to the ICRC.
Last week, two local ICRC members were released after being held by an armed group for seven months. The two were abducted on Feb. 8 while on their way to assist in the northern Jawzjan province with six other colleagues, who were shot and killed. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, and the Taliban denied involvement.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Russia's military says Syrian troops have liberated about 85 percent of the war-torn country' territory from militants.
Lt. Gen. Alexander Lapin told reporters on Tuesday at Hemeimeem air base near the Syrian coastal city of Latakia that Syrian government forces have yet to clear the remaining 15 percent, approximately 27,000 square kilometers (10,425 square miles) from the extremists.
Russia has been providing air cover for President Bashar Assad's offensive against Islamic State group militants since 2015 and the support has changed the tide of the war.
Syrian troops, along with strong support from Iranian-backed ground fighters, have in recent weeks pushed out IS militants from the central Homs province, near the border with Lebanon, and are now fighting them in the oil-rich Deir el-Zour province in the east.
next Image 1 of 2
prev Image 2 of 2
Just eight months into his job as Sao Paulo mayor, Joao Doria appears to be positioning himself as a presidential hopeful who can save Brazil from a seemingly bottomless pit of graft scandals, even while insisting he isn't running.
Telegenic and media savvy thanks to years of working in television studios, the millionaire communications mogul has something the majority of Brazilian presidential hopefuls don't: a name unsullied by allegations of corruption at a time when much of Brazil's congress is believed to be under criminal investigation.
That image helped him shock the political establishment last year with a landslide mayoral victory in Sao Paulo. It was the first time in decades a mayoral candidate in the country's largest city had won in the first round, automatically vaulting him into consideration for the October 2018 presidential election.
Since taking office Jan. 1, Doria's routine denials of interest in the presidency have done little to quell speculation.
The 59-year-old mayor has led splashy efforts to stamp out the city's drug-infested "crackland," clean up graffiti and sell off dozens of public properties, including a public cemetery. He has also been speaking about national issues, such as pension and labor law reforms, as well as international topics, denouncing Venezuela's socialist government and occasionally showing off the French he learned as a child while living a few years in Paris.
"Doria is clearly trying to show and construct an image that goes beyond just the mayor of Sao Paulo," said Mauricio Santoro, a political scientist at the state University of Rio de Janeiro. "As a candidate, however, he'll run into many problems."
A July poll by the respected Datafolha institute said Doria was favored by 10 percent of potential voters next year, putting him in fourth place, ahead of far more established candidates.
Doria was born into Sao Paulo's social elite, and his father, a political consultant, briefly served in Congress. The family went to Paris in exile when his father clashed with the dictators after the military took power in 1964.
His father stayed away for a decade, but Doria returned to Brazil after a few years with his mother and younger brother, going to school and helping his mother run a diaper factory. He has described those years as "filled with difficulties," saying the "maximum luxury" was having Jello on the weekends.
After graduating with a degree in communications, Doria built a successful career in marketing and consulting, publishing magazines such as "Caviar" and "Women Leaders" and establishing himself as a motivational guru with books such as "Success With Style and Lessons to Win."
In another parallel with Donald Trump, he briefly hosted the Brazilian version of "The Apprentice" reality show, though Doria prefers to compare himself with another U.S. businessman turned politician: former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
He plays to that business-minded image, boasting of working weekends in a country where politicians are notorious for putting in three-day work weeks. His social media videos show him hobnobbing with everyone from street cleaners to power brokers.
The biggest challenge to a presidential run is that the white knight probably would have to embrace some of the swamp-stained parties that dominate the country's politics: Mounting a viable nationwide candidacy requires the money and organizational muscle of major parties.
Doria's own Brazilian Social Democratic Party is sharply divided because its 2014 presidential candidate, Sen. Aecio Neves, has gotten caught up in in the mammoth "Car Wash" corruption probe that has rocked the country. Neves is awaiting trial on charges of corruption and obstruction of justice.
Doria would also have to leapfrog over established party figures such as his own political mentor, Sao Paulo Gov. Geraldo Alckmin, who wants to run for president himself.
Speculation that Doria would run reached such a level that he felt compelled to make a recent video showing him standing beside Alckmin and declaring his "loyalty," though he didn't actually endorse Alckmin for president.
Alckmin hasn't directly referred to Doria's presidential hopes, though he now trails the mayor in some polls. But the elder politician has taken to arguing that next year's election will come down to "experience."
"Doria is the party's future, the new generation, but he must first show he is a competent administrator as mayor," said Pedro Tobias, president of the party for Sao Paulo state.
Paulistanos, as Sao Paulo residents are known, assume Doria is already in the race.
"His business experience and apparently clean, corruption-free background is what Brazil needs to get out of its crisis," said Eduardo Barcellos, a 52-year-old dentist.
Still, as a fiscally conservative white man from a privileged background, Doria would have to work hard to win over a national electorate that is predominantly nonwhite and that includes tens of millions people in abject poverty who fear any signs of cuts in government social spending.
During a visit to the left-leaning northeastern city of Salvador last month, several protesters threw eggs at Doria, with one hitting and cracking on his forehead.
A few days later, Doria poked fun at the incident while helping to serve 10,000 omelets to the poor.
"I learned that lemons can be made into lemonade," said Doria for his social media video. "Now in public service, I've learned that thrown eggs can be turned into eggnog."
___
Online:
Joao Doria News: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0u1AEpN1sTel10S-gyIMCQ
___
Peter Prengaman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/peterprengaman
Syrian state news says the government has signed a contract to import Iranian power plants for the country's war-battered city of Aleppo, an early sign of the major role Tehran is expected to play in Syria's reconstruction.
SANA says the contract was signed Tuesday with the Iranian company Mabna during a visit by Syrian Electricity Minister Zuhair Kharboutli.
Kharboutli was quoted by SANA on Sunday as valuing the deal at 130 million Euros. The five gas-powered plants will provide 125 megawatts of electricity to Aleppo, Syria's largest city before the war.
Kharboutli also signed memorandums of understanding to import five plants to the coastal region of Latakia and restore electrical infrastructure nationwide. The new plants would generate 540 megawatts.
Iran is a key ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Turkey's state-run news agency says authorities have issued detention warrants for 63 people, mostly ex-intelligence agency workers, for alleged ties to the U.S.-based Muslim cleric accused of masterminding last year's failed coup attempt.
Anadolu Agency reported that warrants were issued Tuesday for 45 former employees of the National Intelligence Agency, MIT, and 18 others suspected of being operatives of the cleric, Fethullah Gulen. Anadolu said that nine of the suspects have been detained in the capital, Ankara.
Turkey has launched a large-scale crackdown against Gulen's movement after the July 2016 coup attempt, dismissing more than 110,000 people from government jobs and arresting more than 50,000 people for alleged links to terror groups.
Gulen denies involvement in the coup attempt.
The man accused by Fredericksburg police of shooting his girlfriend to death over the weekend has a troubled past, including a conviction for stabbing and slashing a man in 2002.
Cortez Antonio Mills was charged with second-degree murder in the Saturday night shooting death of 26-year-old Caroline County resident Antoinette Anne Beverly. Fredericksburg police officers found the woman dead in her car after it crashed on a street in the Mayfield neighborhood shortly before 10 p.m.
The car had struck other vehicles and a pole in the 300 block of Palmer Street, according to police.
Beverly was found in the car with a fatal gunshot wound. Mills was not at the scene when police arrived and they soon began searching for him. The 34-year-old turned himself in to police Sunday night. He remains incarcerated without bail at the Rappahannock Regional Jail.
Police said the couple had gone to Mayfield to visit a relative of Mills, but otherwise have not released many details about what they believe led to the shooting or what happened when Beverly was shot.
Court records shed some light on a difficult family life and violent track record for Mills, whose record goes back to his juvenile days.
He was convicted in Fredericksburg of stabbing and slashing a man over $400 Mills claimed to have given the man for a gun, according to a transcript from the 2002 trial. The man suffered a stab wound to the abdomen and cuts to his chest and eye in a fight with Mills.
Mills was arrested in 2015 in Stafford County on charges of burglary, abduction, larceny and conspiracy stemming from a 2009 incident. But those charges were dropped. He also was charged with assaulting a police officer in Spotsylvania County in 2008, but was acquitted of the charge at trial.
In the 2002 assault case, Mills claimed self-defense, but it didnt work in the trial or on appeal. In denying Mills appeal, the court noted that the victim in the 2002 assault was attempting to cover his face and the [petitioner] was continuing to slash him.
Mills was sentenced to 10 years with five and a half years suspended on the assault conviction. After his release from prison, Mills violated his probation because of cocaine use and was ordered to serve two months in jail in 2015.
According to the transcript from the 2002 assault trial, Mills had a tough childhood.
His mother was 13 when he was born and he never met his father, the records state. With his parents out of the picture, Mills was raised by his uncle and aunt in Fredericksburg.
Testimony from the assault case indicated possible sexual abuse and noted that Mills was dropped on his head as a baby.
Mills was described as having anger issues and has been diagnosed as bipolar, according to the transcripts, which noted that he had attempted suicide five times since the age of 11.
A motorcyclist from Maryland died Tuesday morning in an Orange County crash, according to the Virginia State Police.
At about 8:40 a.m., William Francis Libert, 57, of Mount Airy, Md., was traveling northbound on State Route 20 about two-tenths of a mile south of the State Route 3 intersection, said state police spokesman Sgt. Les Tyler. Libert's 2014 Harley-Davidson entered a curve, ran off the road to the right and struck some trees, Tyler said.
Libert died at the scene as a result of his injuries.
According to Tyler, Libert was wearing a helmet. The cause of the crash remains under review, Tyler added.
Trooper M.S. Burgett investigated at the scene, assisted by the Orange County Sheriff's Office and rescue squads from Orange County and Lake of the Woods
For the last 11 years, on this day, Mike Phillippe has arrived before most. He lowers the flags and sets out the chairs and waits as the others arrive.
In the years just after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when the wounds were fresher, the crowd seemed larger.
Sixteen years have passed nowlong enough for children to grow up and people to move on and memories to fade.
But for Phillippe, who helps set up for Stafford Countys annual commemoration honoring the nearly 3,000 lives lost, it gets in the back of my mind.
As a member of Staffords maintenance department, he is among the first to arrive and also the last to leave the bell-ringing ceremony in front of the county administration building.
Phillippes father was a Marine who served on Iwo Jima. Sept. 11 is his generations Pearl Harbor, he said, and like so many, he remembers the first time he heard the news on that clear morning.
He was in Fredericksburg and knew he had to get to a television, where it unfolded in real time.
On Monday, a group of county employees, supervisors and public safety officials that included the Stafford Sheriffs Office Honor Guard stood outside the Government Center, signifying that it was no ordinary day. That the time had come again to remember the lives lost and the lives that were never the same.
Because of the regions proximity to Washington and the Pentagon and multiple military installations, we were disproportionately touched by the events of that day, said Board of Supervisors Chairman Paul Milde.
At least 22 people with ties to the greater Fredericksburg area died in the attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Local service members would fight in the wars that followed, Milde said, and not all would come home.
Milde likes to believe that day also created in the county a sense of unity that still lingers. Our children have grown up with a greater sense of what it means to be an American.
At the University of Mary Washington, one group of students, who were toddlers or perhaps not even born on this day 16 years ago, marked the day with a display of 2,997 American flagsone for each life lost.
The group, made up of around 20 students belonging to the newly established UMW chapter of Young Americans for Freedom, installed the flags on Ball Circle at 6 a.m. Monday, Chapter Chair Courtney Owen said. They remained out until sunset.
The 9/11: Never Forget Project was carried out on more than 200 college campuses this year, said Owen, a sophomore.
A lot of freshmen dont know what happened on that day, she said. I mean, I was only 3. But I feel like a lot changed in our countrys history after that day. I didnt want knowledge to be lost.
She said many students who walked by the memorial didnt initially know what it was for, but were appreciative of it after she talked with them about its symbolism. Others came up and told her stories about how their parents would have been at the Pentagon that day had they not taken the day off work.
Theres been a lot of positive response, Owen said.
At the Stafford event, Sheriff David Decatur and fire chief Mike Lockhart recalled how ordinary people responded in extraordinary ways.
The event revealed character as much as it built it, Decatur said.
On that dark and horrible day, there was love, Lockhart said. We saw the very best that mankind can summon.
Nearly 350 firefighters died rushing into that conflagration that so many else were fleeing. And though threats to the nations safety have continued to evolve and grow, this is what we do. This is our chosen profession, the fire chief said.
A bell, which has signified the safe return of firefighters after an operation and also recalled funerals for those lost, began to ring outfour sets of five ringing out on a crisp, familiar morning.
Another year had passed.
Staff reporter Adele UphausConner contributed to this story.
Stafford County resident Mauricio Cornejo received a call he didnt expect on Monday.
A representative from the Chatham Heights branch of BB&T bank in Stafford informed Cornejo of three fraudulent charges, each around $500, on his account. His daughter, Wendy Cornejo, said BB&T is refunding the money immediately, but the incident left them shaken.
Cornejo is one of many BB&T customers who became victims of a skimming theft at the Chatham Heights location. Dozens of customers posted to local Facebook pages about similar incidents that seemed to follow the same pattern of three fraudulent withdrawals of around $500 each.
Everybody who has been in the bank since we arrived was there about the fraudulent charges, Wendy Cornejo said as she waited for her father at the bank Monday afternoon.
The Stafford Sheriffs Office is investigating the skimming incident, and has received more than 30 fraud reports related to BB&T accounts since Sunday, according to sheriffs spokesman Eric Quinn. The Sheriff's Office posted photos of two suspects on its Facebook page Tuesday afternoon and asked for the public's help in identifying them.
Sheriffs Office investigators believe a skimming device was illegally placed on the ATM machine at BB&Ts Chatham Heights branch. These devices are used to capture all the information on the magnetic strip of an ATM card, which can then be used to access the account and make withdrawals.
BB&T spokesman David White explained that the bank employs layered security tools to monitor customers card accounts in an attempt to protect them from fraud. BB&T encourages their clients to check their accounts and report any suspicious transactions immediately.
White said there are a number of ways people can reduce their chances of becoming the victim of a skimming incident. They should be on the lookout for fake boxes placed over the card slots and for signs of damage, glue or tape residue on the ATM, he said.
They should also look for devices or cameras mounted near the ATM machine, he added. Cameras are sometimes used to provide a view of the PIN keypad.
The Sheriffs Office is asking anyone who thinks they have been a victim of the skimming incident or who has information about the crime or the men in the photographs to call 540/658-4400.
Dr. Joshua Roth, lead author of the HICOR analysis, said he does not believe that the new WHI study would change his findings. The biggest cost savings, he said, were related to reduced prescriptions for combined hormone therapy and reduced breast cancer incidence and treatment costs. These costs wouldnt be greatly impacted by long-term mortality rates.
Different therapies, different risks
The new JAMA paper shows that participants in the original studies who had hysterectomies and took estrogen alone had a 45 percent lower risk of death specifically from breast cancer.
The new study also showed that those who took combined hormone therapy of estrogen plus progestin had a 44 percent increase in breast cancer mortality, but that result failed to reach statistical significance.
Fred Hutchs Anderson has stated in the past that women eligible for estrogen-only therapy may want to consider it for a year or two, despite an elevated risk of stroke, if their symptoms are severe. A woman having a few moderate hot flashes may not want to take the risk of a stroke to relieve those, she told Fred Hutch News Service in 2014. But for a woman waking up nightly from hot flashes or night sweats, for a woman going for days without any quality sleep, that trade-off may seem much more reasonable.
On the other hand, for women who have not had a hysterectomy, Anderson sees combined hormone replacement therapy as a much riskier tradeoff. Estrogen plus progestin has all of these adverse effects breast cancer, heart disease, stroke, blood clots, dementia, she said previously. Its much more risky and the adverse effects were the same in younger women in their 50s as in women in their 60s and 70s. And breast cancer in some ways is the bigger concern.
Anderson said the risks and benefits for hormone replacement therapies should always be considered; this newest study adds another layer of information about mortality risks that a woman and her doctor can use when considering treatment options. In weighing the risks, she said, a woman may want to consider that a stroke in your 50s can be a horribly disabling event, even if it does not translate into mortality for another 10 to 15 years.
Harvards Manson also stressed that the new study does not support the use of hormone replacement therapy for the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Uncovering the link between these drugs, heart attack and stroke remains a crowning achievement of the Womens Health Initiative, because it disproved observational studies that had been used to promote hormone therapy as enhancing heart health.
WHI studies are conducted to give patients and their doctors grounds on which to make informed choices, Manson said. In clinical decision making, these considerations must be weighed against the impact of untreated menopausal symptoms that women experience, including impaired quality of life, disrupted sleep, reduced work productivity and increased health care expenditures.
The WHI is funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; the National Institutes of Health; and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Wyeth Ayerst donated the study drugs.
Talk about this story on our Facebook page.
Free Freightnet Membership
List your company in the Freightnet directory. It's Free, it's Easy and your company can be displayed in front of potential freight buyers within 24 hours.
Farm vets and scientists have voiced concern at the governments badger culling policy to combat bovine tuberculosis in cattle.
The NFU insists that culling is helping to reduce TB outbreaks and has welcomed a government announcement of 11 new badger control licences.
But scientists say it would be more effective to ramp up biosecurity rather than culling badgers, which they argue could make the situation worse.
See also: Badger culling extended to Cheshire and Wiltshire
Four prominent scientists released statements through the independent Science Media Centre after the government announced the new culls.
No benefit so far
Professor Lord John Krebs said the governments own analysis of pilot badger culls in Gloucestershire and Somerset showed no benefit so far in reducing TB in cattle.
He added: The Welsh Policy of no culling but stronger biosecurity is working, and the Irish government has said it will stop culling as it is not sustainable.
Yet the English government is persisting with its pointless and misguided policy.
Tim Coulson, professor of zoology at Oxford University, said bovine TB was a serious problem for dairy farmers and solving it should be a priority for the government.
Prof Coulson said: It is not clear to me why the government believes this, as it is contrary to scientific understanding.
For culling to contribute to the eradication of bovine TB, Prof Coulson said the badger population needed to be reduced by at least 70%.
Humane delivery
Trial culls revealed that the humane delivery of this target was unachievable, he added.
What is more pernicious is that a reduction of less than 70% can hasten the spread of the disease, which really does not help our dairy farmers.
The British Veterinary Association said it supported culling but called for the government to abandon its current method of shooting free-running badgers.
President Gudrun Ravetz said: We will continue to call on the government to use the targeted and humane method of cage trapping and shooting only.
Ms Ravetz said the BVA was also concerned that the government had moved away from intensive culling within a short time frame as a means of securing optimum disease control. Yet we are concerned that government policy seems to have moved away from the original, evidence-based proposal of a six-week time limit for badger control within the open season.
Call for clarity
The BVA has called for government clarity over cull time frames, numbers and mid-cull review methodology to ensure that any progress made from culling is not undermined.
The government has defended its culling policy saying it is part of a clear plan which includes biosecurity and vaccination to eradicate the disease over the next 20 years.
Farm minister George Eustice said: Bovine TB not only has a devastating impact on our beef and dairy farms, but causes harm and distress to infected cattle.
Farmers faced the reality of bovine TB every day, added Mr Eustice.
This was why the government was also launching a bovine TB Advisory Service to offer advice to all farmers on limiting on-farm disease risk.
City council holding special called meeting for final vote on returning to committees For some reason, Gaffney City Council is in a hurry to make the citys 10 standing committees in good standing again. After approving first reading of an ordinance at its...
POLICE REPORTS Its my birthday and I need a haircut
Just because its your birthday, doesnt mean you get a free pass to take merchandise from stores. According to a report on file at the City of Gaffney Police Department,...
Challenges facing healthcare in rural areas discussed at summit Community access to mental health services and health care providers loom as two of the major rural health challenges facing Cherokee County. The Cherokee County School District has seen an...
A Pinch of Salt: The election is over, I think, so what now?
State Rep. Dan Rayfield of Corvallis has been named legislator of the year by the Oregon AFL-CIO.
Rayfield was honored Friday by the Oregon branch of the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations for his efforts to protect the rights of Oregon workers.
Representative Rayfield has stood by workers time and time again, ensuring that their voices are heard in the legislative process, said Tom Chamberlain, president of the Oregon AFL-CIO.
I am humbled by this award but also know that everything weve done to move Oregon forward was done with the help of many people, including members of the the Oregon AFL-CIO and our House leadership team, said Rayfield, who is in his second term in the House representing District 8.
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.
Cancellations on Tuesday : Air Berlin cancellations at Cologne-Bonn and other airports
Bei Air Berlin bleiben am Dienstag zahlreiche Flieger am Boden. Foto: dpa
Koln/Bonn Air Berlin has been cancelling flights since Tuesday morning at Cologne-Bonn and other airports because of numerous pilots calling in sick. Eurowings flights are also affected.
Teilen
Teilen Weiterleiten
Weiterleiten Tweeten
Tweeten Weiterleiten
Weiterleiten Drucken
The bankrupt airline Air Berlin has had to cancel numerous flights today, Tuesday. A spokesman for the company said the cancellations were due to an unusually high number of pilots calling in sick. The company did not give any further information on the number of flight cancellations.
There were multiple cancellations at Cologne-Bonn and Dusseldorf airports according to the online departures information. According to a statement from Cologne-Bonn airport, eight flights (four departures and four arrivals) on the Berlin and Munich routes are currently affected. Eurowings, which has been using Air Berlin planes, pilots and crew, has also cancelled flights. Eight flights have so far been cancelled (four departures and four arrivals) on the Leipzig, Hamburg, Zurich and Nice routes. Eurowings long haul flights are not affected. Cologne-Bonn airport is warning of further disruptions to the flight plan throughout the day.
According to the German Press Agency, almost 20 flights have been cancelled in Dusseldorf. The same number has been affected at Berlin-Tegel. Passengers whose flights have been cancelled will be offered the best possible travel alternative.
The airline regrets any inconvenience to passengers and asks them to check the status of their flight at www.airberlin.com/fluginfo before going to the airport.
The pilots union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) fears Air Berlins long haul business could be completely shut down. According to VC President Ilja Schulz, there is concern that large price increases could make long haul routes unattractive allowing them to be scrubbed before the takeover. Schulz says the company wants to be rid of well-paid long haul pilots before parts of the business are transferred. The VC will not tolerate such measures.
Independent Bonn International School : Smart Camp teaches Bonn school children about Smartphones
Heiderhof A Smart Camp gave students at the Independent Bonn International School a peek behind the scenes of the digital world and taught them what to look out for when using Smartphones, tablets and computers.
Teilen
Teilen Weiterleiten
Weiterleiten Tweeten
Tweeten Weiterleiten
Weiterleiten Drucken
When a Youtube star like Julez comes to your school, fun is guaranteed. Julian Weibach, who has worked with Luke Mockridge, is not only funny in his video clips. In only a few minutes he had the 6th graders onside with his friendly and open manner and all in English. But the coming days will not just be exciting for these 10 and 11 year olds; 150 schoolchildren from the Independent Bonn International School (Ibis) will get new insights into the digital world at the Smart Camp, which runs until Wednesday. They will also learn how to avoid the pitfalls of using Smartphones, tablets and computers.
And there are many such pitfalls, from being too careless about inputting personal data, e-mails or bullying when using programmes such as Whatsapp. These are not problems limited to Ibis and children are encountering them at an increasingly early age. Today, nine-year-olds are already asking for Instagram accounts. Previously it was 13-year-olds, says Nathalie Thelen, head of the Volunteer Parents at the international school in Heiderhof. She likes the fact that any school can host the Smart Camp. It has already been to the Integrated Comprehensive School twice as well as to the Nicolaus-Cusanus-Gymnasium and the Otto-Kuhne-Schule.
However, the camp at Heiderhof is the first time the service offered by the Bonner BG 3000, a so-called Social Impact Start Up concerned with digital education, has taken place in English. Its important to introduce young people to communications media early, says camp leader Alina Lux. Other countries invest more in digital education. Thelen is convinced that good knowledge in this field is important for all jobs today.
However, Carsten Senz, from Huawei, one of the schemes sponsors, says there is often a shortage of equipment in schools. Other countries, such as Japan and Korea, are more advanced. However, you also need to recognise the risks, says Andreas Bothe, State Secretary of the NRW Family Ministry, who paid a visit to the camp.
The Smart Camp is intended for children from seven years of age. School director Irene Bolik said the youngest pupils would first be introduced to the technology.
Eleven-year-old Finn finds it all very exciting and hopes to learn something in the coming days. I want to know how I can use apps correctly and more carefully in the future, he says. Samuel (11) wants to do everything properly in future when posting news on social networks.
Carver, from the United States, who is the same age, had to read defamatory statements about him and his mother, which included swearwords. But he stays calm: When someone writes something bad about me, I dont care, because its not true. Interacting respectfully on net is one of the main topics of the project days. Julez, like all the other experts, is working towards the schoolchildren not only using communications media in the future, but also actively and consciously shaping them, without losing the fun.
Alligator Stuns Firefighter As It Strolls Across Florida Street After Hurricane Irma Ravages State
clarajancita at 12-09-2017 11:29 AM (5 years ago) (f)
With large parts of Florida underwater after Hurricane Irma and residents already facing a string of hazards, fire crews have spotted something else they need to worry about. A large alligator was seen casually strolling through a neighbourhood in the Melbourne area of the stricken US state by a stunned firefighter.
With large parts of Florida underwater after Hurricane Irma and residents already facing a string of hazards, fire crews have spotted something else they need to worry about. A large alligator was seen casually strolling through a neighbourhood in the Melbourne area of the stricken US state by a stunned firefighter.
Authorities have warned people to be on the lookout for dangerous escaped animals after a mass evacuation ahead of the deadly hurricane. Posting a video of a police truck keeping an eye on the reptile, photojournalist Michael Moore wrote: "Not sure the mandatory evacuations apply to this guy."
Bosses at Gatorland wildlife reserve in Orlando - which is home to more than 2,000 alligators - have said the animal is nothing to do with them. Park president Mark McHugh told us : Authorities have warned people to be on the lookout for dangerous escaped animals after a mass evacuation ahead of the deadly hurricane. Posting a video of a police truck keeping an eye on the reptile, photojournalist Michael Moore wrote: "Not sure the mandatory evacuations apply to this guy."Bosses at Gatorland wildlife reserve in Orlando - which is home to more than 2,000 alligators - have said the animal is nothing to do with them. Park president Mark McHugh told us : Quote "If you see an alligator floating down the street right by your house, it ain't ours. Don't call us. Call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Department."
Post Reply I am a metro reporter on Gistmania, I have been publishing news materials for over 5 years Posted: at 12-09-2017 11:29 AM (5 years ago) | Hero
ruthie at 12-09-2017 11:40 AM (5 years ago)
(f) WETIN U WAN MAKE E DO....EVERYTHING NA FOOD FOR AM NOW... Posted: at 12-09-2017 11:40 AM (5 years ago) | Hero WETIN U WAN MAKE E DO....EVERYTHING NA FOOD FOR AM NOW... Reply
christiano10 at 12-09-2017 01:29 PM (5 years ago)
(m) Why are hurricanes always named after women? Posted: at 12-09-2017 01:29 PM (5 years ago) | Upcoming Why are hurricanes always named after women? Reply
osarobo62 at 12-09-2017 03:16 PM (5 years ago)
(m) Quote from: christiano10 on 12-09-2017 01:29 PM Why are hurricanes always named after women?
Harvey is a man's name. Posted: at 12-09-2017 03:16 PM (5 years ago) | Hero Harvey is a man's name. Reply
kaposky at 12-09-2017 03:20 PM (5 years ago)
(m) Quote from: christiano10 on 12-09-2017 01:29 PM Why are hurricanes always named after women?
BECAUSE WOMEN ARE DESTROYERS AND THEY ARE FULL OF DESTRUCTION SINCE THEY WERE CREATED, RIGHT FROM EVE TO JEZEBEL, DOWN TO DELILAH AND ALSO TO THE PRESENT TIME WOMEN Posted: at 12-09-2017 03:20 PM (5 years ago) | Gistmaniac BECAUSE WOMEN ARE DESTROYERS AND THEY ARE FULL OF DESTRUCTION SINCE THEY WERE CREATED, RIGHT FROM EVE TO JEZEBEL, DOWN TO DELILAH AND ALSO TO THE PRESENT TIME WOMEN Reply
Floyd29 at 12-09-2017 03:51 PM (5 years ago)
(f) Alligator hell no Posted: at 12-09-2017 03:51 PM (5 years ago) | Gistmaniac Alligator hell no Reply
christiano10 at 12-09-2017 05:04 PM (5 years ago)
(m) Quote from: osarobo62 on 12-09-2017 03:16 PM Harvey is a man's name.
i think there should be something like hurricane Evans and hurricane Shakau in the future. Posted: at 12-09-2017 05:04 PM (5 years ago) | Upcoming i think there should be something like hurricane Evans and hurricane Shakau in the future. Reply
yawa_don_gas at 16-09-2017 04:55 AM (5 years ago)
(m) Please please hold on, why e be say everywhere I take even when I wan hide yawa dey there?
Why why?
Na yawa life, yawa goes on Posted: at 16-09-2017 04:55 AM (5 years ago) | Addicted Hero Please please hold on, why e be say everywhere I take even when I wan hide yawa dey there?Why why?Na yawa life, yawa goes on Reply
yawa_don_gas at 16-09-2017 04:55 AM (5 years ago)
(m) Please please hold on, why e be say everywhere I take even when I wan hide yawa dey there?
Why why?
Na yawa life, yawa goes on Posted: at 16-09-2017 04:55 AM (5 years ago) | Addicted Hero Please please hold on, why e be say everywhere I take even when I wan hide yawa dey there?Why why?Na yawa life, yawa goes on Reply
christiano10 at 16-09-2017 05:15 PM (5 years ago)
(m) Quote from: yawa_don_gas on 16-09-2017 04:55 AM Please please hold on, why e be say everywhere I take even when I wan hide yawa dey there?
Why why?
Na yawa life, yawa goes on
the problem no be where you find yourself, the problem be say na you carry yawa dey waka . Posted: at 16-09-2017 05:15 PM (5 years ago) | Upcoming the problem no be where you find yourself, the problem be say na you carry yawa dey waka . Reply
kacylee at 12-09-2017 09:30 PM (5 years ago) (f)
REPORT REACHING US THAT THE OONI OF IFE HAS ACCEPTED A BRIDE PRICE REFUND FROM HER FAMILY.
REPORT REACHING US THAT THE OONI OF IFE HAS ACCEPTED A BRIDE PRICE REFUND FROM HER FAMILY.
For Olori Wuraola who is the former wife of the Ooni Of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, the coast seems clear now for her to remarry if she wishes.
Why? The customary bride price paid by the revered monarch has been returned fully from the elders of Queen Zynabs Family in Benin City, Nigeria.
According to a source in Benin, the Ooni was initially reluctant to collect the bride price, but was persuaded by the Elders as a way of closing the controversial marriage and separation.
Shes free now, shes free, the Ooni was quoted to have exclaimed afterwards.
Recall that after the declaration of Olori Wuraola that she was done with the king, a Yoruba popular Ifa traditionalist, playwright, actor and author, Yemi Elebuibon opined on the consequence of a queen separating from a king.
While noting that Ooni would not be the first Yoruba Oba to be separated from his wife, Elebuibon stressed that marriage breakup is not very common among Yoruba Obas.
He said, The wife of the Oba will be asked to consult Ifa and Ifa will give directions on how she will make the necessary atonement for her cleansing. In Yoruba tradition, a woman who has been married to a king cannot lay with any other man even if the marriage breaks up. But when the right atonements have been made, there wont be problem.
On the kind of problems which an Obas ex-wife might encounter if she refuses to undergo the traditional cleansing rites, Elebuibon said: For the woman, she might not really have a problem but for any man who sleeps with a queen or marries an ex-queen without the appropriate cleansing, the man may die prematurely, he may be struck with sickness or there might be retrogression in his life.
He explained that if an ex-queen wants to remarry, she will have to do the cleansing with her new husband. Both of them have to take part in the atonement procedures so that they wont have any future problem. For Olori Wuraola who is the former wife of the Ooni Of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, the coast seems clear now for her to remarry if she wishes.Why? The customary bride price paid by the revered monarch has been returned fully from the elders of Queen Zynabs Family in Benin City, Nigeria.According to a source in Benin, the Ooni was initially reluctant to collect the bride price, but was persuaded by the Elders as a way of closing the controversial marriage and separation.Shes free now, shes free, the Ooni was quoted to have exclaimed afterwards.Recall that after the declaration of Olori Wuraola that she was done with the king, a Yoruba popular Ifa traditionalist, playwright, actor and author, Yemi Elebuibon opined on the consequence of a queen separating from a king.While noting that Ooni would not be the first Yoruba Oba to be separated from his wife, Elebuibon stressed that marriage breakup is not very common among Yoruba Obas.He said, The wife of the Oba will be asked to consult Ifa and Ifa will give directions on how she will make the necessary atonement for her cleansing. In Yoruba tradition, a woman who has been married to a king cannot lay with any other man even if the marriage breaks up. But when the right atonements have been made, there wont be problem.On the kind of problems which an Obas ex-wife might encounter if she refuses to undergo the traditional cleansing rites, Elebuibon said: For the woman, she might not really have a problem but for any man who sleeps with a queen or marries an ex-queen without the appropriate cleansing, the man may die prematurely, he may be struck with sickness or there might be retrogression in his life.He explained that if an ex-queen wants to remarry, she will have to do the cleansing with her new husband. Both of them have to take part in the atonement procedures so that they wont have any future problem.
Post Reply I have been reporting for several years now and I am very interested in visual news reportage with strong inclusion of photos and video multimedia. Posted: at 12-09-2017 09:30 PM (5 years ago) | Addicted Hero
Lab-grown bone cell breakthrough heralds new benefits for orthopaedics
Technology originally developed to detect gravitational waves is being used to generate tissue engineered bone grafts for future use in orthopaedic medicine, scientists report in a new paper published today (Tuesday 12 September).
The latest development in a technique known as nanokicking has allowed scientists from the Universities of Glasgow, Strathclyde, the West of Scotland and Galway to grow three-dimensional samples of mineralised bone in the laboratory for the first time.
Bone is the second most grafted tissue after blood and is used in reconstructive, maxillofacial and orthopaedic surgeries. Currently, however, surgeons can only harvest limited amounts of living bone from the patient for use in graft, and bone from other donors is likely to be rejected by the body. Instead, surgeons must rely on inferior donor sources which contain no cells capable of regenerating bone, limiting the size of repairs they can effect.
In a paper in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering, the researchers describe how they have used measurement technology, based on the sophisticated laser interferometer systems built for gravitational wave detection of astrophysical objects, to turn mesenchymal cells taken from human donors into bone cells in three dimensions. These 3D living bone grafts, when implanted into patients in the future, will be able to repair or replace damaged sections of bone.
Mesenchymal stem cells, which are naturally produced by the human body in bone marrow, have the potential to differentiate into a range of specialised cell types such as bone, cartilage, ligament, tendon and muscle. Nanokicking subjects cells to ultra-precise, nanoscale vibrations while they are suspended inside collagen gels. The process of nanokicking turns the cells in the gels into a bone putty that has potential to be used to heal bone fractures and fill bone where there is a gap. Using patients own mesenchymal cells means surgeons will be able to prevent the problem of rejection, and can bridge larger gaps in bone.
Matthew Dalby, professor of cell engineering at the University of Glasgow, is one of the lead authors of the paper.
Professor Dalby said: This is an exciting step forward for nanokicking, and it takes us one step further towards making the technique available for use in medical therapies. We are especially excited by these developments as much of the work were doing now is funded by Sir Bobby Charltons landmine charity Find a Better Way, which help individuals and communities heal from the devastating impact of landmines and other explosive remnants of war.
Now that we have advanced the process to the point where its readily reproducible and affordable, we will begin our first human trials around three years from now in the NHS along with the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service and reconstructive and orthopaedic surgeons in Glasgow.
Find A Better Way CEO Lou McGrath said: Producing synthetic, off-the-shelf bone tissue will potentially transform the lives of untold numbers of civilian landmine blast survivors around the world. Find A Better Way is delighted to be funding this project - it is a perfect match for Sir Bobbys dream of devising new solutions for one of the worlds most intractable set of problems.
The Find A Better Way project at the University of Glasgow is led by professor of bioengineering Manuel Salmeron-Sanchez. In the Find a Better Way project, the team will combine the bone putty with large 3D printed scaffolds to fill even larger bone defects.
Prof Salmeron-Sanchez recently visited Cambodia to meet local people who have suffered landmine-related injuries. He added: For many people who have lost legs in landmine accidents, the difference between being confined to a wheelchair and being able to use a prosthesis could be only a few centimetres of bone.
Professor Dalby said: In partnership with Find A Better Way, we have already proven the effectiveness of our scaffolds in veterinary medicine, by helping to grow new bone to save the leg of a dog who would otherwise have had to have it amputated. Combining bone putty and mechanically strong scaffolds will allow us to address large bone deficits in humans in the future.
Some of the technology which underpins the nanokicking technique was originally developed by astrophysicists working on the search for gravitational waves, ripples in spacetime caused by massive events such as the collision of black holes.
Stuart Reid, Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Strathclyde, and formerly at the University of the West of Scotland, said: Having spent 15 years working in astrophysics and gravitational wave detection with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), it is amazing to see technology arising that could revolutionise key aspects of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. The team is hard at work to get the technology ready for the first human trials, and to get devices into other labs around the UK and further afield.
The nanokick bioreactors developed by the researchers are currently being further tested in a network of laboratories across the UK. Since mesenchymal cells have the potential to differentiate into numerous other types of cell in addition to bone, the researchers expect that other clinically relevant applications of nanokicking will be discovered in partner labs in the future.
The research was funded by Find a Better Way, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), with aspects of the laser interferometry and computational techniques having been developed previously through support from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE).
The teams paper, titled Stimulation of 3D osteogenesis by mesenchymal stem cells using a nanovibrational bioreactor, is published in Nature Biomedical Engineering.
Hundreds of students, administrators and teachers filed into Dan River Middle Schools gym on Monday for its annual Patriot Day remembrance ceremony to honor those who died when passenger planes crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001.
Our way of life was under attack, said guest speaker Virginia State Police Trooper Marcus Gravely. It changed the landscape of our country.
The ceremony kicked off with eighth-grade student Rylee Flethcer singing the National Anthem, followed by the posting of colors by Emily Liverman, Paige Perkins, Hannah Mullins, Denisse Nova and Andrew Shelton of Dan River High Schools ROTC program and the Pledge of Allegiance recited by all.
First responders from area fire departments, police departments and EMS crews, as well as veterans in attendance, were honored with Thank You cards attached to red-white-and-blue-striped lanyards.
Gravely was in 10th grade world history class in Collinsville, Henry County, when the planes crashed.
And while recalling that horrific day, he also noted that 9/11 brought us together like nothing before, inspiring people to join the armed forces and first responder teams.
He then stressed to the students the importance of service to their county and community. After the ceremony, he said he felt that was the most important message he conveyed during his talk.
The power of serving others will always be reciprocated, Gravely said.
Others talked about what they were doing that historic day.
Robbie Barker, of the Kentuck Volunteer Fire Department, remembers coming home after working his third-shift job.
I didnt know about it until I got home, Barker said. I watched the second tower fall. I couldnt believe it and Ill never forget it.
Mike Neal, chief of Ringgold Volunteer Fire and Rescue, got home from working third shirt at Goodyear at about 8:30 a.m. that day.
My wife came in at 8:45-8:50 a.m. and said, Youre not going to believe this, Neal remembered.
Like Barker, he watched the second tower fall on television.
I didnt get much sleep that day, Neal said. There have been a lot of changes since then.
Neal said it is hard to believe most of the students at the school werent even born when 9/11 occurred, and it is important to continue to hold ceremonies honoring those who died that day.
Its important to show them the history, Neal said.
Greensboro, North Carolina-based BGF Industries now is operating a third location in Altavista, in the former Timken Company plant that closed last month.
BGF, which has been present in the town since the 1950s, purchased the former Timken facility in the Dearing Ford Industrial Park for $4 million, said the firms president, Robby Dunnagan. The company already has locations on both 5th Street and Amherst Avenue.
BGF produces industrial textiles, both woven and non-woven, Dunnagan said. Some of those products are used inautomotive and appliance insulation, he said.
Dunnagan said the facility will be referred to now as the Blue Ridge plant, where the company will house its expanding engineered-component business.
This part of our business, converting textiles into parts, is a growing part of our business, he said. It has been growing for the past several years.
BGF, which currently employs about 600 workers in Altavista, plans to move equipment over the next few months into the facility as well as install new equipment in the plant.
BGF has hired some additional employees and will continue to hire more as it migrates operations to the Blue Ridge plant, Dunnagan said, although he would not specify how many workers are being added. It will take about six months to reach full production there, he said.
Altavista Mayor Mike Maddox said he was pleased with the news of theBGF expansion.
It really shows the work ethic of our community, he said. Manufacturing-industrial sites dont stay empty too long, and were a great place to do business. Were extremely happy that BGF decided to expand their operations in Altavista.
Timken opened in 1991 and manufactured ball bearings for sport utility vehicles and four-wheel drive trucks. The company employed 125 people when Timken announced in March 2016 it was relocating the Altavista manufacturing operation to Lincolnton, North Carolina. Employee layoffs began last December and concluded in August.
SOUTH BOSTON SoVA Center of Manufacturing Excellence trainers Will Soyars and Ricky Gordon recently completed the Siemens Mechatronic Systems Certification Program and earned Level 3 certification.
With two certified trainers on staff, the center in South Boston can now offer all levels (1-3) of the program.
The SVHEC is extremely fortunate to have first-rate instructors like Will Soyars and Ricky Gordon. With their newly-earned teaching credentials from Berlin, the SVHEC can now offer regional manufacturers the full complement of SMSCP training, recognized globally as the premier Mechatronics training option, said Betty Adams, SVHEC executive director.
To earn Level 3 certification, Soyars and Gordon traveled to Berlin, Germany for two weeks of training at the Siemens Technik Academie. With students from around the world, they were placed on teams to design and build an automated system able to heat printed circuit boards.
Level 3 Siemens Certified Mechatronic Systems Professionals are considered experts on complex integrated systems and are able to troubleshoot, repair, and design these systems. The SVHEC is the only institution in the world offering non-credit Siemens Level 3 training and certification.
Siemens Mechatronics training allows regional employers to have access to a top-notch workforce. This is a great opportunity for the SVHEC to provide training to Southern Virginia, said Will Soyars, SoVA CME associate director.
The Siemens Mechatronic Systems Certification Program is recognized in the United States and around the world as the gold-standard in mechatronics certification, and verifies that trainees have a world-class technical background. Level 1 certification demonstrates that an individual has completed at least 60 hours of training, and is knowledgeable of a machine operating system. Level 2 certification demonstrates that a student understands the machine operating system as a whole, and can work with the systems individual components.
SoVA CME Mechatronics Level 1 trainees are working at regional and local employers including M.C. Dean Electrical, Essel Propack, Huber Engineered Woods, and Beach Mold and Tool among others.
SoVA CME is now recruiting for its first Siemens Level 2 training cohort. Level 1 training or certification is not required to enroll in Level 2. For more information on mechatronics training offered through the SoVA Center of Manufacturing Excellence visit www.sovacme.org, email scarlettbrandon@svhec.org or call (434) 572-5473.
TORONTO, Sept. 11, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Minera Alamos Inc. (TSXV:MAI) (OTCQB:VGMTF) (the "Company" or "Minera Alamo") is pleased to announce it has received approval for an OTCQB listing in the United States. The Companys common shares now trade on the OTCQB under the symbol VGMTF.
We are pleased to announce the conclusion of our efforts to elevate the status of our share trading in the U.S. to the OTCQB, said Darren Koningen, President and CEO of Minera Alamos. The listing will provide enhanced access for the Company to investors in the worlds largest equity market. Management believes it will also create a wider awareness of the Companys ongoing progress as it advances the La Fortuna gold project towards production.
About Minera Alamos
Minera Alamos is an advanced stage exploration and development company. Its growing portfolio of high-grade Mexican projects includes the La Fortuna open pit gold project in Durango and the Los Verdes open pit copper-molybdenum project in Sonora. The Company is well financed to conduct all of its planned exploration and development activities and continues to pursue additional project acquisitions in Latin America.
OTCQB Marketplace
The OTCQB Marketplace is for developing U.S. and international companies. An OTCQB listing increases investor confidence by knowing that companies are current in their reporting and will undergo an annual verification and management certification process. Investors in OTCQB listed companies have access to greater information available through the OTC Disclosure & News Service as well as transparent prices through full depth of book with Real Time Level 2 quotes. Investors can find Real-Time Level 2 quotes and market information for Minera Alamos on www.otcmarkets.com.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Minera Alamos Inc.
Darren Koningen, President & CEO
416-306-0990 ext 201
Patrick Piette, Investor Relations
416-306-0990 ext 203
www.mineraalamos.com
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This news release may contain forward-looking information and Minera Alamos cautions readers that forward-looking information is based on certain assumptions and risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations of Minera Alamos included in this news release. This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements, which often, but not always, can be identified by the use of words such as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "may", "could", "would", "will", or "plan". These statements are based on information currently available to Minera Alamos and Minera Alamos provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements with respect to Minera Alamos future plans, objectives or goals, to the effect that Minera Alamos or management expects a stated condition or result to occur, including funding and exercise of royalty options contemplated under the Investment Agreement with Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd., on the terms provided for therein or at all, the expected timing for release of an updated resource and reserve estimate and a preliminary economic assessment on Fortuna and whether or not the assessment will conclude that mineral production is feasible on a technical or economic basis, and the ability to successfully develop other mineral exploration properties now or in the future. Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results relating to, among other things, results of exploration, the economics of processing methods, project development, reclamation and capital costs of Minera Alamos mineral properties, the ability to complete a preliminary economic assessment which supports the technical and economic viability of mineral production. Minera Alamos financial condition and prospects, could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements for many reasons such as: the absence of funding resulting from a determination by Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd. not to exercise the royalty options contemplated under the Investment Agreement on the terms provided for therein or at all; an inability to finance and/or complete an updated resource and reserve estimate and a preliminary economic assessment which supports the technical and economic viability of mineral production; changes in general economic conditions and conditions in the financial markets; changes in demand and prices for minerals; litigation, legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; technological and operational difficulties encountered in connection with Minera Alamos activities; and other matters discussed in this news release and in filings made with securities regulators. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of Minera Alamos forward-looking statements. These and other factors should be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on Minera Alamos forward-looking statements. Minera Alamos does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by Minera Alamos or on its behalf, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
ROUYN-NORANDA, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - Sep 12, 2017) - Globex Mining Enterprises Inc. (TSX:GMX)(FRANKFURT:G1MN)(STUTTGART:G1MN)(BERLIN:G1MN)(MUNICH:G1MN)(XETRA:G1MN)(OTCQX:GLBXF) is pleased to inform shareholders that we have acquired a 164 square km (63.3 square mile) land package measuring 36 km long by up to 5 km wide in the State of Saxony in southeast Germany. The project herein called the Braunsdorf licence includes the western part of the famous Freiberg silver mining district which, over an approximate 850 year history, has produced some 5,700 tonnes of silver as well as zinc and lead. The area forming the Braunsdorf licence has produced, over a 750 year period, at least 882 tonnes of silver (28.8 million ounces) with a current value of over US$ 500,000,000 (at US$ 17.50 per oz). Six major historic silver mine camps and five minor camps or prospects are included in the licence. Previous production was from surface to a maximum depth of 580 m with most production from shallow depths due to limits imposed by mining methods and water table levels over the extensive historical mining period. Currently, the permit area is weakly populated and most of the land is used for agricultural purposes. Ten percent of the area is forested. Alluvium and overburden cover about 50% of the southern part of the Braunsdorf licence area and approximately 80% of the northern part. Weathering extends to depths of up to 30 m and most silver veins are not exposed on surface.
German mining laws are somewhat similar to those in Canada with clearly defined obligations such as undertaking proposed work programs in a workman like manner and meeting agreed to expenditure requirements. Environmental laws are also similar in that exploration must be preformed respecting designated protected areas and the rights of surface land owners.
The Braunsdorf licence is centred on an over 35 km long by 1 to 5 km wide hydrothermal (epithermal) vein system. Numerous historic mining camps and small mines and prospects from Braunsdorf in the southwest to Scharfenberg the northeast were exploited for silver over a 750 year period.
Globex decided to acquire the large western vein system of the Freiberg district as we feel that it offers the highest potential for the discovery of significant silver resources. The central area of the Freiberg district has been more extensively explored and mined, generally on narrow veins and to greater depth. Many vein systems on the Braunsdorf licence have only been explored and/or mined to shallow depths thus offering a greater potential to find untapped resources, both in the area of the old mine workings as well as along strike in the extensive unexplored overburden covered areas.
Mineralization is divided between the EARLY high and low temperature epithermal assemblages listed directly below:
Pyrite dominated - Zn-Pb-Cu, Ag, Sn, W, Au Silver dominated - Ag, Sb, minor Pb, Zn, Cu and Au Lead dominated - Pb-Ag, Zn-Cu, Au and LATE lower temperature epithermal assemblages which occur as three principal types: Barite dominated - Pb-Ag-Cu Barite dominated - Pb-Cu-Zn, Ag Barite dominated - Ag-Ni-Co-As-Bi, Cu
The veins in the Braunsdorf licence are thought to be dominated by lower temperature epithermal mineral assemblages which could indicate that higher grade silver mineralization may extend to greater depth than in other mining areas.
Each mining camp has its own history. For example, the Braunsdorf Mining Camp which produced 112.5 t of silver from 1673 to 1862 from low temperature, epithermal silver dominated veins. The veins varied in width up to 4.2 m along a strike length of 2,600 m with production depths of up to 250 - 290 m in the central and southern section and from shallow depth in the northern 1 km. The mine functioned from two inclined shafts on 8 levels, the deepest being at 281 m. The principal vein extends from some 460 m along strike near surface to 300 m along the deepest (No. 8) level as a single vein which then branches into several often horse tailing vein structures. The vein system may continue for some 7 km as far as the Grovoigtsberg Mining Camp but has not been explored, due to the overburden cover. Ore shoots of up to 4.3 kg/t Ag (4,300 g/t Ag) are reported.
Other mining camps in the Braunsdorf licence (with production from incomplete historical records) include:
Halsbrucke (Groschirma) - 319.6 t Ag, 46,381 t Pb, 370 t Cu, 3,000 t barite, 341 t fluorite. Reichenbach & Grauer Wolf (prospects) - unknown Grovoigtsberg - 31.5 t Ag Hohentanne - 10.0 t Ag Kleinvoigtsberg 192.8 t Ag Obergruna 159.0 t Ag + Cu and Zn Siebenlehn - 0.77 t Ag Munzig - 0.89 t Ag Scharfenberg 55 t Ag, 1,907 t Pb
In addition to the silver potential of the Braunsdorf licence, there is exploration potential for zinc-lead, particularly in the Scharfenberg - Munzig - Kleinvoigtsberg - Grovoigtsberg-Obergruna mining camps, by-product tin (Sn) and associated Cu, Zn between Braunsdorf and Obergruna as well as graphite, barite and fluorite.
As shareholders may have guessed, due to the long period of the mining history and incomplete records, it is impossible to know the complete mining production from the Braunsdorf licence area but it is clearly a significant mining belt. Previous historical work was limited by the crude exploration and mining methods available at the time as well as water extraction methods required to keep the mines dry and the metallurgical complexity and recovery methods. Globex will apply modern exploration methods to the Braunsdorf licence once the location and compilation of all available historical data is completed.
Historical and geological information will be made available on Globex's website www.globexmining.com shortly.
This press release was written by Jack Stoch, P. Geo., President and CEO of Globex in his capacity as a Qualified Person (Q.P.) under NI 43-101 with research input from Matthias Jurgeit, Euro Geologist.
We Seek Safe Harbour. Foreign Private Issuer 12g3 - 2(b) CUSIP Number 379900 50 9
Forward Looking Statements: Except for historical information, this news release may contain certain "forward looking statements". These statements may involve a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity and performance to be materially different from the expectations and projections of Globex Mining Enterprises Inc. ("Globex"). No assurance can be given that any events anticipated by the forward-looking information will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what benefits Globex will derive therefrom. A more detailed discussion of the risks is available in the "Annual Information Form" filed by Globex on SEDAR at www.sedar.com
50,172,424 shares issued and outstanding
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MX Gold Corp. (TSX-V:MXL) (FSE:ODV) (OTCQX:MXLGF) (the Company or MX Gold) announced on October 25, 2016 a binding agreement with Gracepoint Mining Corp., a subsidiary of Firma Holdings Corp. (OTC:FRMA) to acquire a 50% interest in the Magistral, Del Oro tailings project, which is located within the Golden Triangle in Santa Maria Del Oro, Durango, Mexico. The project in 2016 included a fully permitted, 500 tonne/day Dynamic Cyanide counter current system plant constructed in 2013, for approximately $4.5 million and is in excellent condition. Additionally, the Magistral project includes the exclusive rights to process the mineralized mill tailings.
MX Gold since then has conducted extensive due diligence studies that include testing of the tailings deposit by Wayne Ash PEng. Mr. Ashs results, listed below show an average gold grade of 2.17 grams/tonne gold with a recovery rate averaging 82.30%.
CALC GOLD GOLD GOLD SILVER SILVER SILVER COPPER COPPER COPPER HEAD HEAD TAIL RECOV HEAD TAIL RECOV HEAD TAIL RECOV SAMPLE WT ASSY ASSY (%) ASSY ASSY (%) ASSY ASSY (%) NO. (g) ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm 1 468.0 2.64 0.47 82.2 4.6 2.3 50.0 1692.5 1048 38.1 1a 474.5 2.77 0.47 83.0 3.51 2.1 40.2 1887.7 860 54.4 2 461.2 1.99 0.55 72.4 2.44 1.2 50.8 2095.9 967 53.9 3 481.0 2.44 0.25 89.8 4.53 3.5 22.7 1458.0 954 34.6 4 473.9 1.65 0.26 84.2 3.68 2.0 45.7 1186.3 1010 14.9 5a 492.6 1.85 0.32 82.7 4.24 1.5 64.6 2105.5 1281 39.2 5b 492.3 1.87 0.34 81.8 4.27 1.5 64.9 2151.6 1331 38.1 Average Grade 2.17 82.30 %
METALLURGICAL TEST WORK CONDUCED ON BEHALF OF MX GOLD CORP.
In order to confirm that the samples tested by to Kappes Cassiday Associates (KCA) were, in fact, from the Magistral tailings deposit, during the recent visit, samples were taken on the site from five test pits, totalling about 10 kg. The pits were excavated by a backhoe and supervised by the author and associated metallurgical engineers. The depth of each pit varied from 2.0 to 2.5 m. The sampling included a central pit located approximately at the centre of the tailings deposit, plus one pit each to the north, south, east and west of the central pit at approximately 100 m spacing. The samples were delivered immediately to Parral, Chihuahua and shipped by air (DHL Carriers) to the Met-Solve Lab in Surrey, BC.
At Met-Solve, preliminary 24-hour cyanide bottle rolls were conducted on each of the samples. Both the calculated head grades in gold and copper, and the gold and copper in solution were found to be almost identical to those of the bulk sample tested by KCA. Therefore, the author is satisfied that the KCA samples were from the Magistral deposit and that the KCA test work can be used in assessment.
In actuality, seven tests were conducted. For the central pit, two samples from different depths were bottle rolled (sample Nos. 1 and 1a), which showed remarkably similar head grade and recovery. From Pit #5, bottle rolls were conducted using alternative pH reagents to determine unit consumptions of each. Again, both showed almost identical head grade, recovery, and reagent consumptions.
Although KCA conducted preliminary metallurgical test work, considerably more test work is required in order to ensure that the recommended improvements to the plant and infrastructure will result in optimizing gold recovery.
PAST METALLURGICAL BENCH-SCALE TEST WORK
The core from the 24 holes was collected in late 2011 and shipped to Kappes Cassiday Associates (KCA) in Reno, Nevada for metallurgical test work. KCA is one of the premier consulting companies in cyanide heap leach (CHL), carbon-in-leach (CIL) and carbon in pulp (CIP). At the KCA lab, the samples were dried, crushed and combined to form a homogeneous mixture upon which bottle-rolls cyanide tests were conducted, and which resulted in gold recoveries averaging in the range of 80 to 84%.
Based on MX Golds due diligence work, the 500 tonne/day Dynamic Cyanide Plant is being upgraded to take 1000 tonnes/day.
Magistral Project Mineralized Tailings Project:
A historical estimate was completed by Corporation Ambiental de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. referred to as CM on January 20, 2012 titled Perforacion y Muestreo en Presa de Jaleas Estimation Volumetrica, Tonelaje y Ley Promedio. CM reported from an auger drilling program a probable reserve of 1,292,917.2 tonnes averaging 2.06 grams/tonne gold. No preliminary feasibility or feasibility study was completed to support the historical estimate of probable reserves.
The assumptions for this estimate are based on 58 auger samples, 2.45 to 3.0 metres in length from 24 drill holes. There has been no additional work on the tailings project since January 20, 2012 to upgrade or verify the historical estimate. MX Gold Corp. stated that an independent, qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as a current mineral resource or reserve and is not treating the historical estimate as a current mineral resource or reserve.
Bullet Points
24 auger drillholes have been completed of the tailings using a hollow stem auger.
Drilling tested 96,000 square metre area.
Average depth of tailings - 7.91 metres.
58 auger samples ranging from 2.45 to 3.0 metre lengths were submitted for analysis. Results range from 0.49 to 4.21 grams/tonne gold.
Average gold grade - 2.06 grams/tonne
The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Lorne Warner, P.Geo, and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
Dan Omeniuk MX Gold Corp. Chairman and CEO said: MX Gold due diligence work to date has provided us with results very similar to if not slightly better than previous studies thereby giving us greater confidence in the project as we move towards production.
About MX Gold
MX Gold is a junior mining company focused on the exploration and development of advanced projects located in Mexico and British Columbia, Canada. The companys primary focus, is the Magistral del Oro tailings project located 392 km SW of Chihuahua and includes a fully permitted, 500 tonne-per-day dynamic cyanide countercurrent system plant constructed in 2013 and tailings containing a historic estimate of 1.25 million tonnes averaging 2.06 grams per tonne gold. The company is currently expanding to 1000 tonne-per day which is scheduled to be completed by the 4th quarter of 2017. The Company also owns 50% of the IDS Project, which includes a fully permitted smelter that was completed in 2014 for a throughput capacity of 50 tonnes per day. The smelter was built to receive and process high-grade direct-ship ores and concentrates from small-scale miners across the state of Durango and beyond.
MX Gold Corp. is also focused on the exploration, development and mining of advanced projects located in British Columbia and Mexico. The Companys primary focus in British Columbia is its high-grade Willa gold and copper project located 12 kilometers south of Silverton, B.C. In 2015, MX Gold Corp. completed the accretive acquisition of the Willa project and the Max Molybdenum Mine and Mill Complex. This acquisition removed major costs and shortened timelines typically associated with mine project development. The Willa mine is located 135 kilometers south of the Max Mill. MX Gold Corp. can also elect to reopen the Max Molybdenum mining operation once world Moly prices improve. For updates on the Magistral Project please visit our website. www.mxgoldcorp.com
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
Akash Patel
Akash Patel, Vice President and Director, MX Gold Corp.
For further information, please contact
Dan Omeniuk, CEO
Email: dano@mxgoldcorp.com
Or by email to:
info@mxgoldcorp.com
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange Inc. nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange Inc.) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
We used to come down here when I was a kid for the hurricanes. My parents would bring a generator and hook it up. And we would listen to the rain and wind. Hurricanes are part of living on the coast. Im not leaving.
As part of its tough stance against illegal immigration, Texas has been one of the few states requiring state agencies to use a federal system known as E-Verify to check job applicants.The system checks Social Security numbers to make sure a prospective employee can legally work in the U.S.But despite the state's determined use of technology, it has no one in charge of making agencies comply with the law. It also does not require private employers to use the system if they are not working with the state.And that, some immigration experts say, highlights a flaw in how states and the federal government combat illegal immigration.E-Verify is supposed to weed out would-be workers in the country illegally, but its use is largely optional. In states that do require E-Verify, its use is inconsistent, even in a state such as Texas.Some immigrant rights activists complain that governments, though eager to target workers in the country illegally, protect the employers who hire them. Texas Democrats have come up with a term to describe this situation -- a twist on the phrase "sanctuary cities" -- that JoAnn Flemming, executive director of the conservative group Grassroots America, says she can agree with."It's called 'sanctuary businesses/industry,'" she said. "That makes a lot of Republicans mad when you use that term, but the fact of the matter is that there is a strong cheap labor lobby in Texas, and they give a lot of money to candidates and they have a lot of influence."Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, has long criticized government officials about the tendency to crack down on people in the country illegally while largely giving a pass to those who illegally hire them.In March, she questioned the president of the National Immigration and Customs Enforcement Council during a congressional hearing about immigration enforcement."Why aren't we going after the employers who are knowingly cheating?" McCaskill asked. "They are in fact a magnet that is in fact helping draw people over the border. I mean, most of these people aren't coming for a vacation. They are coming to try to find work."The dueling desires to balance targeting immigrants without legal status while not hurting businesses that rely on them is partly embodied by the use of E-Verify.Currently, the system is only mandatory nationwide only for employers that contract with the federal government.Earlier this year, Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) introduced a bill that would compel every U.S. employer to use E-Verify when hiring new employees. Grassley has introduced similar measures in the past, but they never advanced far in Congress.Only Arizona, Alabama, Mississippi and South Carolina require that all private and public employers use E-Verify within their borders. But enforcement is weak and punishment rare, according to immigration experts. The South Carolina law contains multiple loopholes that exempt housekeepers, landscapers, farm workers, nannies and fisherman working in small crews."The loopholes are exactly in the areas where they should be concerned," said Frank Knapp, executive director of the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce, which opposes mandating the system on the grounds that it's a burden on businesses.But even if E-Verify were widely used, the system has some fundamental flaws, according to the Department of Homeland Security. It can't, for example, detect borrowed or stolen Social Security numbers.Mark Reed, an expert on immigration enforcement, said that each of the nearly 1,300 workers arrested in the 2006 Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids at Swift & Co. meatpacking plants in the Midwest had passed an E-Verify check. Reed, who consults with companies on immigration issues, was once a top official with ICE's predecessor, the Immigration and Naturalization Service.In 2009, an independent review of the E-Verify program for Homeland Security found that about 54% of unauthorized workers screened through the system were still approved for work.And in the three states where E-Verify is required for all employers, only about half of new employees were checked against it by employers, according to data compiled by the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank that opposes a nationwide push.Critics of mandatory E-Verify argue that the failure of the states to gain wide compliance is a signal of what would happen if the system were mandated across the U.S.."If these states can't enforce E-Verify within their own borders, how can the federal government do so nationally?" said Alex Nowrasteh, immigration policy analyst at the Cato Institute's Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity.If E-Verify were made mandatory nationwide, the most far-reaching effects would be felt in two states that take drastically different approaches to immigration. Texas and California have by far the some of the largest numbers of people in the country illegally: 1.65 million and 2.35 million respectively.In Texas, 8.5% of the labor force is made up by people without legal status, according to a 2016 Pew Research Center report. In California, it's 9%. (Nevada takes the top spot in the nation at 10.4%, according to Pew.)Six years ago, California barred municipalities from mandating E-Verify ordinances -- even voiding a number of local laws in cities such as Temecula, Murrieta and Lake Elsinore. With the exception of federal government contracts, the program is voluntary in California.But even in Texas, the use of E-Verify is limited. It was not mandated until 2014, issued by an executive order from then-Gov. Rick Perry.Perry's order applied only to state agencies under the governor's purview -- and businesses that they contracted with them. But because the order did not assign a specific agency to oversee its enforcement, compliance largely operates on the honor system.In 2015, Perry's successor, Greg Abbott, signed into law a bill that requires all state agencies to screen job applicants with E-Verify.The law, however, spared companies contracting with the state from the same requirement, though a court later ruled that those companies had to use E-Verify too.This year, a bill was introduced in the Legislature to put teeth into that court ruling; it called for penalizing state contractors who failed to use E-Verify. Once again, though, lawmakers declined to single out businesses for enforcement, and the bill died in the Legislature.Cathy DeWitt, vice president of governmental affairs for the influential Texas Assn. of Business, argues that mandating E-Verify would devastate the Texas economy and push workers into the underground economy."I think the reality is that there are almost 2 million undocumented workers in Texas, so laws like that do get them to move, but then these are people who contribute to society," DeWitt said. "Separate from the jobs, you have whole other things. They are buying homes. They are buying groceries. They have buying power in Texas. ...They have become valuable citizens of Texas. For us just to kick them out of the states would be a huge economic blow."Fleming, of Grassroots America, called the state's tough rhetoric against illegal immigration "the great Texas fairy tale" because lawmakers are unwilling to target big business that hire unauthorized workers.In Arizona, another state with a recent history of pushing tough measures to combat illegal immigration, no agency is tasked with actively checking whether employers are complying and signing up for E-Verify, according to the attorney general's office.Since E-Verify's inception, the attorney general's office has investigated two E-Verify non-compliance cases. The agency can investigate only if a formal complaint is brought to its attention, said Mia Garcia, spokeswoman for Arizona Atty. Gen. Mark Brnovich.The Legal Arizona Workers Act requires every business to use E-Verify and threatens to strip licenses from businesses that knowingly hire people who are in the country illegally. Even so, only 57% of employers in Arizona used E-Verify for new hires, according to 2014 data analyzed by the Cato Institute."It was the great hope that never was," said former state Sen. Rich Crandall, a Republican from Mesa, of the Arizona law. "It was promised as the silver bullet to immigration problems. E-Verify was going to solve our challenges with immigration."
Billionaire Michael Bloomberg is prepared to spend millions of dollars more to make sure backers of Cook County's controversial soda pop tax don't suffer defeat in next year's elections, a spokesman for the former New York mayor said Monday."Mike has made a commitment that he will do everything necessary to ensure that the elected officials who stood up against the soda industry are re-elected," spokesman Howard Wolfson said. "And when I asked him what figure he had in mind for that purpose, his answer was, 'Whatever it takes.'"Bloomberg's announcement comes after a new political action committee calling itself Citizens for a More Affordable Cook County on Thursday announced its formation and intent to back County Board candidates "who will make the county more affordable for working families and easier for small businesses to thrive." The group's treasurer is well-known Democratic attorney Michael Kasper, who counts among his clients the American Beverage Association.And it comes two days before county commissioners opposed to the penny-an-ounce tax on sugar- and artificially sweetened beverages will introduce their repeal proposal before the County Board. On Tuesday, the Can the Tax Coalition backed by the beverage industry plans to stage a repeal rally at the Thompson Center Plaza, where they intend to make an issue of Bloomberg's involvement."Cook County commissioners have a choice when it comes to the future of the county's unfair, over-reaching and vastly unpopular beverage tax: they can stand with Cook County (Board) President Toni Preckwinkle and New York City billionaire Michael Bloomberg -- or they can stand with county residents and businesses and repeal the tax," a news release promoting the rally stated.Commissioner Richard Boykin, an Oak Park Democrat and repeal sponsor, is expected to take part in the rally an hour after presenting a plan to cut county spending to show "ways the county can continue to operate if the tax is eliminated."The effort by anti-beverage tax retailers backed by the deep pockets of Big Soda is trying to paint Bloomberg as a Big Apple carpetbagger interfering in Windy City business. Wolfson, a Democratic political operative who's now the senior adviser at Bloomberg Philanthropies, said his side needs to be heard too."I think that this is an issue that will be decided on the merits, and our goal is to make sure that people hear both sides of the argument, because certainly the soda industry -- which the last time I looked is not headquartered in Chicago either -- is likely to be heavily engaged," Wolfson said. "Pepsi is in New York and Coke is in Atlanta, so they are obviously from those places, offering their perspectives on this issue and sharing it with people in Chicago."Bloomberg, the owner of a media empire, already has committed $5 million to a TV advertising campaign promoting what he views as the health benefits of the tax, which public health advocates say will reduce the sugar consumption that can contribute to obesity, diabetes and heart disease.The beverage industry has committed $1.4 million to TV spots promoting repeal, contending that Preckwinkle engineered the passage of a tax to feed a bloated county government, not promote public health. That effort comes on top of Can the Tax raid ads that have been airing for months, the organization of anti-beverage tax events and a lawsuit by the Illinois Retail Merchants Association that delayed implementation of the tax, which went into effect in early August.Preckwinkle last November broke a rare County Board tie vote to approve the tax. She has repeatedly stated that the tax is a way to raise money to prevent layoffs at the county's criminal justice and health systems that also has a public health benefit.It's not clear that backers of repeal have the votes they need to succeed, particularly when it comes to overriding Preckwinkle's expected veto of any repeal ordinance. On Wednesday, their proposal is expected to be referred to the Finance Committee for October consideration.As a way of highlighting Bloomberg's financial wherewithal, Wolfson said Bloomberg spent $20 million to back successful referendums last year in San Francisco and Oakland, Calif., to enact soda taxes. Wolfson said the effort was designed to counter the $30 million spent by the soda industry. Bloomberg also spent smaller amounts to back soda taxes in Berkeley, Calif.; Boulder, Colo.; and Philadelphia.Wolfson said backing soda taxes is in keeping with Bloomberg's interest in public health."All of the public health issues have been sort of near and dear to him," Wolfson said. "He has led the fight in the United States and around the world against the tobacco industry. He spent about a billion dollars in the last decade to fight Big Tobacco in the United States and around the world. He sees companies that are distributing products that are not good for people and contribute to really, really bad health outcomes -- and (are) spending enormous amounts of money to market those products to people."
Continuing its role as a leading counter-force to Trump administration policies, California filed a lawsuit Monday challenging as unconstitutional the president's plan to rescind a program that protects young immigrants from deportation, with officials warning the state will be hardest hit by the change.State Attorney General Xavier Becerra said he decided to file a suit separate from legal actions by 15 other states, the University of California and civil rights activists because California and its economy will be hurt the most by the president's decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program."There is no state that will be more economically impacted by the Trump administration's unconstitutional and illegal termination of DACA than California," Becerra said at a Sacramento news conference, noting that California is home to a quarter of the 800,000 young people in the DACA program.Participants were brought to the country illegally as children, and Becerra said they should not be punished by the decisions of others.The suit filed in San Francisco federal court Monday marks at least the 25th legal action from Becerra this year against policies by the Trump administration, putting California among a handful of states, including New York and Washington, that are fighting Trump at every turn.Gov. Jerry Brown supported the latest challenge."California stands with the millions of immigrants who make this state a vibrant and prosperous place," Brown said in a statement. "We are investing millions of dollars in new legal aid to help law-abiding people stay with their families in the U.S."The latest lawsuit was criticized Monday by Robin Hvidston, executive director of the Claremont group We the People Rising, which advocates for tougher enforcement of immigration laws."It's misguided and premature and a misuse of tax dollars," Hvidston said.She noted that President Donald Trump delayed repeal of the program for six months to give Congress a chance to address the issue, and that Trump acted only after several Republican-led states sued to end the DACA program.Becerra's lawsuit says canceling the program violates the due process guarantee of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by substantially altering the Department of Homeland Security's assurances on handling the personal information provided by DACA participants.The repeal "may lead to the untenable outcome that the (Trump) Administration will renege on the promise it made to Dreamers and their employers that information they gave to the government for their participation in the program will not be used to deport them or prosecute their employers," said the lawsuit, which also includes Maine, Maryland and Massachusetts as plaintiffs."We don't bait and switch in this country," Becerra said. He was joined at the announcement by two DACA participants who were brought to the U.S. illegally when they were 4 years old.Eva Jimenez, 21, said hearing the threat of DACA being repealed has been "terrifying.""I felt vulnerable," Jimenez said, adding that she worries whether she will be able to graduate and use her studies in international relations at the University of California, Davis.The lawsuit also claims the federal government violated procedures requiring a period for public comment on major policy changes.That argument worked before for Texas and other states that opposed the 2012 policy implemented by President Barack Obama, said University of Southern California law professor Niels Frenzen, who specializes in immigration law."If the states win on this, they will succeed in delaying the termination of DACA," Frenzen said.The California lawsuit deviates slightly from an argument by 15 states including New York that sued last week, which alleged the repeal is "a culmination of President's Trump's oft-stated commitments ... to punish and disparage people with Mexican roots."The California lawsuit alleges the administration "discriminated against this class of young immigrants," or DACA participants, in violation of the equal protection guarantee of the Fifth Amendment.Becerra's lawsuit won support from state Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, who said the state owes such action to the young immigrants, often called "Dreamers.""Trump's decision to pull the rug out from beneath them is not only immoral, but I'm confident is illegal," he said, thanking Becerra, who is seeking a full term in the office next year after being appointed to the post by Brown in December.The lawsuit follows a long year of state government activism on the issue of illegal immigration. California lawmakers jumped into the national fray over illegal immigration at the beginning of the year with a package of bills filed by Democrats. The measures this legislative session would enhance workplace protections against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, provide college grants, fee waivers or reimbursements to young immigrants in exchange for community service, and limit state and local police from collaborating with federal immigration agents to hold, question or identify people who are in the U.S. illegally.Meanwhile, the state's budget deal in June allocated $45 million to expand and refocus state-funded legal aid services for immigrants searching for pathways to citizenship, or who are battling removal orders from the country. An additional $20 million was added Sunday to a pending budget bill, money that would go to nonprofits that contract with the state to help people apply for or renew their DACA status.
Description
GIS 12 September 2017: A state-of-the-art digital platform, aiming to facilitate interconnectivity between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade and its Overseas Missions, is being developed . The platform has as objective to ease access to information by officers in the course of their work.
Accordingly, a Government-to-Government Agreement in the field of Information Technology was signed with the Republic of Estonia. An Estonian group of experts would field a mission to Mauritius in October 2017 to advise the Ministry on the establishment of the platform.
A Transformation Implementation Committee has also been set up to take forward the Mauritian Economic Diplomacy Project as recommended by Beasley Intercultural, an Australian Consultancy Firm.
Description
GIS - 12 September, 2017: Mauritius and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will further enhance the existing bilateral relations and tap various avenues of cooperation in different economic spheres such as trade and investment and tourism among others. Mauritius and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will further enhance the existing bilateral relations and tap various avenues of cooperation in different economic spheres such as trade and investment and tourism among others.
This was at the fore of discussions during a courtesy call by the newly appointed Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Mauritius with residence in Pretoria, Mr Ghorm Said Malhan, on the Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, this afternoon at the New Treasury Building in Port Louis.
In a statement, the Saudi Arabian Ambassador, Mr Ghorm Said Malhan, expressed satisfaction regarding his meeting with Prime Minister Jugnauth. He further underlined that the Saudi Arabian authorities sought the support of the Mauritian Prime Minister to consolidate and strengthen the relationship between the two countries thus bringing it to new heights.
The newly appointed Ambassador presented his credential letter this morning to the President of the Republic. Diplomatic relations between Mauritius and Saudi Arabia were established in August 1978.
Description
GIS - 12 September, 2017: Mauritius contribution to global emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) stood only at around 0.01 % last year, and yet it is the 7th most exposed country of the world to natural disasters. This undoubtedly calls for enhancing our adaptive capacity in regards to the adverse effects of climate change. Mauritius contribution to global emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) stood only at around 0.01 % last year, and yet it is the 7most exposed country of the world to natural disasters. This undoubtedly calls for enhancing our adaptive capacity in regards to the adverse effects of climate change.
The Minister of Social Security, National Solidarity, and Environment and Sustainable Development, Mr Etienne Sinatambou, made this statement yesterday at the opening of a training workshop on National Greenhouse Gas Inventory using the 2006 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Guidelines, at the Intercontinental Mauritius Resort, in Balaclava.
On this occasion, Minister Sinatambou highlighted that major indicators of climate change continue to reflect trends consistent with a warming planet. He pointed out to the report of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration which showed that several markers such as land, ocean temperatures, sea level, and greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere broke records. This alarming situation calls for reinforced actions to stabilise the GHG emissions, he added.
He recalled that Mauritius was among the first countries to ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change and has also pledged to abate its GNG emissions by 30% by 2030. Furthermore, he underlined that Government has set the goal of transitioning to a low-carbon economy in view of building resilience against climate change.
On that note, the Minister underscored the perennial necessity of addressing the adverse impacts that are hurdles in the achievement of sustainable development goals of the country. The gist of our intervention should be majorly focused on adaptation, he emphasised.
Mr Sinatambou also pointed out that Mauritius is poised to become a role model, since as part of its moral obligation to save the planet it is espousing mitigation actions to join global efforts to catalyse the effects of climate change.
He listed out that the various proactive measures spearheaded by the Government attest to its firm will and commitment to achieve this goal, namely the preparation of a Climate Change Bill, developing a Low Carbon Development Strategy and a Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions. He also announced the setting up of a refugee centre at Quatre Soeurs and the development of natural danger zones, natural danger map and natural danger plans under the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act.
The Training Workshop
The workshop, spanning over three days, aims at improving GHG Inventory in the energy, transport, industrial process and product use and waste sectors. The training is an opportunity for stakeholders to understand and learn the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change tools and software in view to improve and refine GHG inventory process. It is being carried out by resource persons delegated by the UNEP/UNDP Global Support Programme, namely Mr Stanford Mwakasonda, Programme Management Officer at UNEP/UNDP Global Support Programme and Mr Jongikhaya Witi, Expert from South Africa.
Description
GIS 12 September, 2017: A total of 94 unemployed youth, holders of School Certificate and Higher School Certificate qualifications, received their certificate of achievement after completing a customised training programme in a Third Language course for Business under the National Skills Development Programme (NSDP), yesterday at the BPML Conference Hall, Ebene. The Minister of Education and Human Resources, Tertiary Education and Scientific Research, Mrs Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun, was present on this occasion.
The training programme is an initiative of Accenture Operations, in collaboration with the Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) and Websun Management and Consultant Ltd. A selection exercise was carried out to identify eligible trainees who then received training in German, Italian or Spanish Language for Business.
In her address, the Minister highlighted that many employers report difficulties in finding suitably skilled workers. The importance of having the right skills is more pronounced in todays dynamic and globalised world, she added, and thus matching skills with available jobs is a high priority. Consequently, Government is fully committed to addressing the root causes of mismatch between training and the skills that employers are looking for, emphasised Mrs Dookun-Luchoomun.
She underscored that Government has devoted considerable resources to training and up-skilling programmes to help unemployed youngsters integrate the labour market. The NSDP was launched last year with the aim to equip unemployed youth with the right mix of skills to match the demands of the labour market, pointed out the Minister. The purpose of this initiative, stated Mrs Dookun-Luchoomun, is in line with target 4.4 of the Sustainable Development Goals that commits Government to substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship by 2030.
Furthermore, the Minister reiterated that young people are the asset of the country and that the future depends on how their potential is harnessed. She recalled that in 2016, some 2 500 youngsters benefitted from training under the NSDP and added that this year, it is expected that another batch of 2 500 youth will be trained under this system.
About the National Skills Development Programme
The NSDP was first announced in Budget Speech 2016/2017 with the aim to better match skills with the demand of employers by equipping young people with technical skills in high demand in the following sectors: ICT; construction; nursing and paramedics; tourism and hospitality; manufacturing; financial services; health and social care, among others.
The NSDP targets unemployed individuals aged between 16 and 35, and comprises enterprise-relevant training and industrial placement. Each trainee receives a monthly stipend of Rs 5 000 and an additional Rs 1 000 as travelling expenses provided by the HRDC based on satisfactory participation in the training programme.
Best Application Serving an Agencys Business Needs
Demonstrated Excellence in Project Management
Best Application Serving the Public
Winners of the Best of California 2017 Awards worked hard at everything from helping grow business to improving how state, county and local agencies serve the neediest populations, as well as stimulating interest in the Affordable Care Act and predicting criminal behavior.But officials behind several of the 18 winning solutions recognized on Tuesday, Sept. 12, at the 2017 California Technology Forum in Sacramento toldtheir projects all shared a common trait: each provided return on investment to both citizens and their governments.Los Angeles County, the nations largest, is home to more than 10 million people according to 2015 U.S. Census Bureau data and one of four agencies recognized in this area.Until Oct. 24, 2016, however, its back-end system that provided automated case management to county public assistance programs was COBOL-based and had been originally conceptualized 20-some years ago.Considered state-of-the-art in the 1990s, by the early 2010s the Los Angeles Eligibility, Automated Determination, Evaluation and Reporting (LEADER) systems dated user interface and lack of flexibility were becoming painfully evident.So were the siloed aspects of the countys many legacy systems. Established to provide CalFresh and CalWORKS benefits, and case management and eligibility, LEADER was siloed from the Gain Employment Activity and Reporting System (GEARS), another system that tracked welfare-to-work assistance.Both systems were also isolated from the General Relief Opportunity for Work (GROW) system, which helps CalWORKS recipients find, maintain and change employment.In all, the county had 17 legacy systems it would need to modernize and integrate.Michael Sylvester, assistant director of the Bureau of Contract and Technical Services for the countys Department of Public Social Services (DPSS), and DPSS agency CIO, toldthat changes in regulation and political structures can force the agency to move quickly into different spaces.And we need a system that is flexible, that does not have a proprietary type of architecture or user interface that requires extensive retraining of staff if you add and make changes to it, Sylvester said, adding that the agency also needed something that would require less training.Working with main contractor Accenture, software provider Oracle and hosting data center provider Northrop Grumman Corp., DPSS and county agencies including the Bureau of Contract and Technical Services, officials were able in about four years to successfully launch the LEADER Replacement System (LRS).LRS replaces an antiquated back-end with whats believed to be the biggest leading-edge system of its kind in the nation, featuring service-oriented architecture and, most importantly, a scalable, renewable enterprise platform.Designed and developed in collaboration with the Statewide Automated Welfare System (SAWS) Consortium IV (C-IV), one of three groups representing 39 California counties, officials plan to eventually consolidate the C-IV system and the LRS into a single system serving 40 of the states 58 counties.Theyll move from there, Sylvester said, to bring the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids Information Network (CalWIN) onboard, joining 50 counties, and eventually will link all 58. This, however, wont happen for a few years, he said.Sylvester emphasized the accomplishment of not just standing up LRS on time and on budget, at $376 million and achieving a cost savings of nearly $18.5 million in its first fiscal year of operation but of adapting its launch strategy to go enterprisewide, embracing offices that had to go live simultaneously to maintain legacy links.It actually required us to pivot and adjust our training, adjust our support resources, adjust our equipment distribution. Everything had to be adjusted accordingly and since we had buy-in from the top down and from every one of our service arms, we were able to make that pivot, Sylvester said.The result, he added, is a system unlikely to become outdated like its predecessor, but capable of flexing to the growing likelihood of remote and regional workspaces.And I think thats a huge step forward from where we were," Sylvester said, "kind of frozen in time with this system we implemented."Stockton police Capt. Antonio Sajor was one of three public employees from agencies around the state recognized in this category.Sajor, who was elevated from lieutenant to captain in 2014, had one previous technology-related assignment before taking on the weighty responsibility of migrating his police department's computer-aided dispatch (CAD) and records management systems (RMS) from a platform at the end of its end-of-life.But the officer had long had a way with technology, filming promotional videos for the department on his own that were so well-received they earned public release.The task of extricating CAD and RMS applications for Stockton, a Central Valley city of more than 300,000 residents served by more than 400 sworn police officers, wasnt easy.Stockton Police Department (SPD) wasnt leaving its provider, Tiburon. But the company had given the police department about two years notice that it would no longer provide maintenance and upgrades to SPDs Unix-based platform.Many platform replacements are tricky. But Sajor, praised in the departments award application as never failing to remain calm, have words of wisdom, take time to recognize and address issues and employees, and inspire completion of tasks, toldthat public safetys life-saving mission made its renewal especially problematic.When things dont work normally, everybody sees it. But when they do work normally, everybody just goes about their day. Were in the shadows," said Sajor, who leads SPDs technical services division and is also its liaison to city information technology.Getting to law enforcement and wanting to be a police officer, Im not sure if theres ever a whole lot of people who say, I want to get into building CAD systems, or, I want to work on a 911 line," he said. "But once you work on it you never forget how important it is just for other people to do their jobs."SPD had to know that its data would migrate over seamlessly, Sajor said, because we do a lot of work in violent crime forecasting and just analytics-led type of policing. It couldnt afford to lose case files, evidence or access to any sensitive information.With that in mind, police officials began meeting with every section of their department in early 2015, to learn what worked with the old system and what didnt. Retirings and lateral moves had made SPD a very young department lacking in institutional knowledge, but generally technology-savvy and lacking only training.Heavy lifting to migrate to a Windows SQL-based platform began in earnest during the late summer of 2016, with the goal of April 2017 for the cut-over date. Training and customization issues pushed that date out one month, to Tuesday, May 2. But, said Sajor, when the department stood up the new CAD and RMS systems, they stood up. There were no failures.The $1.2 million project, brought in within budget, is several years ahead of a legislative requirement looming in 2020, requiring SPD to report to the state demographics on pedestrians and consensual stops. SPDs new CAD program eliminates any extra work for officers by building in a screen to complete those requirements.The departments CAD program has also served as an inspiration to the Stockton Fire Department, which will migrate its own separate CAD to the same solution used by SPD. Now in the works, the fire department plans its own CAD cut-over for March or April of 2018.Technology really is the future for law enforcement. For me, its specific to what our staff here at the PD that worked on it, and IT, I always had a deep respect for what they did. But now, after this upgrade, words cant express how much I respect them, said Sajor, emphasizing how much has to go right for us just to be able to send officers out into the community, to help the community when they call for help.Its estimated that more than 60 percent of Californians have patient records in the state's immunization registry, a number that includes nearly 100 percent of children and almost 50 percent of adults.The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) won recognition for adapting an existing but modern and versatile solution to wrangle immunization data from seven regional registries into one location, the new California Immunization Registry (CAIR2). It was one of three agencies recognized in this area.The states previous regional databases had begun as countywide pilot systems in the 1990s. But according to the CDPH, it had become more difficult to maintain and no longer met the needs of our users.Among its deficiencies, the system offered limited access for people who had moved between different regions of the state; and had a limited ability to exchange data with Electronic Health Records (EHR), which is how roughly 90 percent of immunization records entered the original CAIR system. In practice, this had required health-care providers to enter records twice.CAIR2, which went live on Sunday, April 30, was created using Wisconsin Immunization Registry (WIR) software thats in the public domain and used by 17 other states including New York and Texas.It operates on the Oracle platform well-suited for large databases, CDPH said and features a Linux operating system housed in a premium, tenant-managed services environment at the state Department of Technology.As a result, EHR messages that previously took the system up to four days to process are now handled instantaneously.CDPH did not specify the projects cost or its exact savings, but toldvia email it expects that by providing complete, accessible immunization records, providers can avoid over-vaccination and time wasted searching for patient records. The department said its also likely patient reminders will result in more complete vaccinations and help providers meet performance targets.The new systems speed, however, is clearly winning. The agency said it has shattered benchmarks and now processes roughly 2 million vaccination-containing messages a month, compared to about 300,000 previously.On CAIR2s [initial] go-live date in October 2016, we received and processed nearly 250,000 real-time messages in one day, a testament to the volume CAIR2 can stand, the department stated.Looking up records, which is significantly quicker in CAIR2, appears to have become more popular as well; CDPH said query-based parameter messages increased from zero in April to 60,000 in August.The system wont be statewide until 2018, according to CDPH, when three remaining registries in the Central Valley and in San Diego and Imperial counties will be incorporated.But in using the WIR technology, the state has been able to achieve another goal: to share its innovations with other agencies. In adapting WIR, officials changed about 25 percent of the final application.When a member state develops an enhancement," CDPH toldvia email, "other participating states are allowed access to the code, thus reducing overall development costs."
I have read numerous times that there is little new, only adaptation of old ideas and methods utilized in new ways.See this article,The title makes it should like they are delivering supplies, but in reality they are looking to gain situational awareness by using a drone to gather visual information.They have an adaptation of the "normal" use of a drone that eliminates several factors that impact the utilization of drones in disasters. First is flight duration. The drone is tethered and so has continuous power to remain aloft, eliminating the need to return often to have the batteries swapped out. The 30X camera, in good visibility, will give a great view if placed properly to get the most from a single point of view. They have eliminated the need for a trained operator by having the drone be stationary and by being at the 400-foot level, they are in accordance with FAA rules on the use of drones as long as they follow the other guidance like avoiding airports, etc.Is it a "perfect solution"? No but I like the creativity behind the idea.What is the connection to the Civil War? During that war, 150 years ago, they use balloons, tethered to the ground with someone in it with a spyglass looking to "gain situational awareness" from a viewpoint that could not be gained on the ground. The drone idea is adaptation of an old idea!
(TNS) -- As they struggle to compete with ride-share companies such as Uber and Lyft, many traditional taxi companies face challenges posed by their business models and outdated government regulations, transportation analysts say."Because of the business being the way it is, ridership is down 40 percent from 2012," said Donna Blythe-Shaw, a taxi industry advocate and retired representative of the Boston Taxi Drivers Association. "Before, the taxi industry survived on street hails and taxi pull at the airport and major hotels. They lost major business as a result of Uber and Lyft."Newton's Yellow Cab recently became the latest taxi company to close it doors for good."This is the end of the line for a local institution," longtime Yellow Cab owner Richard Johnston told the Newton Tab before the company gave its last ride Aug. 30. "The whole company is honestly a dinosaur."Unlike Uber and Lyft, which contract drivers who drive their own cars and are responsible for their vehicles' maintenance and upkeep, Yellow Cab owned its vehicle fleet and garage. Its drivers were full-time employees."It's the labor costs, overhead, the garage, the office. That's a lot of expenses," Blythe-Shaw said. "Newton had a lot of costs, and now had competition. The taxi industry for many years was a monopoly."In the traditional taxi industry, cities and towns are allotted a fixed number of medallions, or taxi permits. Medallion owners can then sell, lease or transfer them.In the suburbs and smaller cities, taxi companies typically own a garage and vehicle fleet and employ their drivers. In Boston, single companies might own hundreds of medallions, then lease them out to drivers who pay to drive a cab for a shift. Currently, a cabbie will pay $88 to drive a taxi for a 12-hour shift, Blythe-Shaw said."There's a population of workers who have to pay to work," she said. "They become hustlers because they have to make $70 or $100 in the first few hours to pay for the shift. It's a very unhealthy and exploitative system."The smaller companies that employ drivers and own facilities and vehicles are the ones typically hit hardest by the entry of Uber and Lyft into the market, analysts say.Government regulations also put traditional taxi companies at a disadvantage against Uber and Lyft, said Matt Blackbourn, a researcher with the Boston-based Pioneer Institute. While a cab can drop off a passenger in any community, it can only pick up new passengers in the city or town it's licensed in. That means a cab, for example, could bring someone from Newton to Boston, but would have to drive back to Newton before picking up any new customers.Under current regulations, municipal governments set minimum rates, rather than letting cab companies set their own market rates."All these regulations are reflective of a different time, and you could do a lot to make it more competitive there," Blackbourn said. "It's a sensitive subject, and those restrictions were put in place for a reason, and part of that is market protection."Loosening some of those restrictions, though, would make the system more equitable, Blackbourn said. He suggested replacing the municipal restrictions with regional metropolitan zones.Giant ride-share companies, which operate in hundreds of cities and have enormous financial backing, might not even be the biggest challenge facing the taxi industry, Blackbourn said. He expects autonomous self-driving vehicles to enter the market in the coming decade.In the meantime, he said government has a role to play. While it wouldn't be prudent public policy to prop up a failing industry against overwhelming market forces, it would make sense to move toward a more level regulatory playing field, Blackbourn said."We want to celebrate innovation ... but, at the same time, it is imperative that lawmakers have to revise these regulations to reflect the realities of the 21st century," he said.
Lokesh goof-up: AP is a state or a company?
Despite taking training from a language expert and also undergoing 'treatment' from psychological experts in change of mind set, Telugu Desam Party general secretary and Andhra Pradesh IT minister Nara Lokesh does not seem to have improved his public speaking skills.
Lokeshs latest goof-up while speaking at the International Innovation Fair at Visakhapatnam on Sunday has gone viral causing a lot of embarrassment to him.
It clearly showed how the only son of chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu is yet to learn the art of public speaking without making any mistakes.
While addressing the gathering, Lokesh said Andhra Pradesh is the only company in India to have fibre optics network to every home.
He, however, corrected himself immediately saying AP is the only state in the country. But the damage was done already as the audiences went into laughter.
Within no time, Lokeshs fumbling went viral in the social media, thanks to his political rivals who always look for an opportunity to take a dig at pappu, as they call him.
They uploaded this small bit in which he fumbled, while conveniently ignoring the corrected portion. And Lokesh has become a butt of ridicule!
This means that, by then, there will be at least one electrified version of each of the 300 or so Group models across all brands and markets. This makes Volkswagen the first big mobility group to have put a date on the electrification of its entire fleet. The Group will need more than 150 GWh of battery capacity annually by 2025 for its own e-fleet alone. This is equivalent to at least four gigafactories for battery cells. To meet this demand, the Company has put one of the largest procurement volumes in the industrys history out to tender: more than 50 billion (US60 billion).
At the Volkswagen Group Media Night ahead of the International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, Germany, the Volkswagen Group announced what it called the most comprehensive electrification initiative in the global automotive industry. Under the new Roadmap E, Volkswagen will have electrified its entire model portfolio by 2030 at the latest.
We have got the message and we will deliver. This is not some vague declaration of intent. It is a strong self-commitment which, from today, becomes the yardstick by which we measure our performance. The transformation in our industry is unstoppable. And we will lead that transformation. Matthias Muller, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG
Volkswagen had already firmly established e-mobility as a key focus area in the TOGETHER Strategy 2025 future program presented in June 2016, and set itself the goal of becoming the global number one in e-mobility by 2025. (Earlier post.)
The Group estimates that around one in four new Group vehiclesup to three million units a year depending on how the market developscould already be purely battery-powered in 2025.
Roadmap E gives an added boost to product planning massively to accelerate the electrification of the Group-wide vehicle portfolio. The Group brands will bring a total of more than 80 new electrified models to customers by 2025, including some 50 purely battery-powered vehicles and 30 plug-in hybrids.
This figure will then increase by leaps and bounds over subsequent years until there is at least one electrified version for each of the Groups 300 or so models across all vehicle classes worldwide by 2030 at the latest, in line with Volkswagens commitment.
With Roadmap E we are opening up a new chapter in our Groups history. And setting the scene for e-mobilitys final breakthrough. Then it is up to customers to decide how fast it will gain widespread acceptance.Matthias Muller
Capex in e-mobility to be ramped up. Roadmap E is also coupled with another increase in capex on e-mobility. Up until 2030, the Group will earmark more than 20 billion (US$24 billion) for direct investments in the industrialization of e-mobility: in new vehicles based on two entirely new electric platforms, in upgrading plants and in training for the workforce, in charging infrastructure, in trading and sales and, last but not least, in battery technology and production.
Volkswagen is addressing the issue of battery technology with a multi-stage medium- to long-term strategy starting with bundling Group-wide development, procurement and quality assurance activities for all battery cells and modules in a Center of Excellence in Salzgitter. The Volkswagen brand is also setting up its first pilot line there to accumulate production know-how. (Earlier post.)
By 2025, the Group will need over 150 GWh of li-ion battery capacity annually for its own fleet alone.
In order to meet this huge requirement, a tender process has been initiated with regard to long-term strategic partnerships for China, Europe and North America. The procurement project is one of the largest in the history of the automotive industry, with a total order volume of more than 50 billion just for the Group's future volume vehicles based on the Modular Electrification Toolkit (earlier post).
That will meet the Groups needs for the first wave of e-mobility. Looking further ahead, Volkswagen is already gearing up for the next generation: solid-state batteries. The Group also plans to bring this forward-looking technology to market maturity together with partners.
For us, the transformation of transportation and the energy transition are inseparable. And creating a comprehensive charging infrastructure rapidly in cities and on highways will be critical to success. In Europe, and particularly in the automotive stronghold of Germany, much more needs to be done. Only then will customers trust grow. And only then will electric cars come out of the niche and achieve relevant market share in years to come. Im convinced this will succeed if politicians, the energy industry and automakers work in harness. Matthias Muller
Conventional drivetrain portfolio as a bridge. At the same time, the announcement of its accelerated electrification initiative underlines the Volkswagen Groups commitment to an orderly system changeover, with todays internal combustion engine as an indispensable bridge to an emission-free age.
For the time being, we will be offering the entire powertrain spectrum from conventional to fully-electric to enable sustainable and affordable mass mobility. We are not being arbitrary. We are listening to the voice of reason. Matthias Muller
Independent studies are showing that the Volkswagen Groups present generation of internal combustion engines ranks among the cleanest and most efficient. The latest Euro 6 diesel engines deliver above-average performance in the new WLTP cycle under real-world conditions. Volkswagen will continue to invest in the ongoing improvement of its conventional drives over the coming years.
For example, an SCR catalytic converter will be a standard feature of every new diesel engine produced by the Group going forward. All new gasoline engines will be equipped with a particulate filter across the board. The next engine generation from 2019 onward is expected to bring further significant improvements in consumption and emissions.
In addition, the Group is working on synthetic fuels produced from renewable energies that could turn internal combustion engines into carbon-neutral powertrains (e-fuels). The Group is also significantly expanding its range of CNG vehicles and, spearheaded by Audi, refining fuel cell technology toward market maturity.
Shell will benefit from technical solutions, contract management expertise and cost efficient initiatives Petrobras applies to Brazils pre and post-salt projects. Shell will share with Petrobras its global deep water experience, especially on cost efficiency efforts and use of technology.
The MoU also involves sharing best practices and learnings on safety and governance management, technical and operational solutions, contract management, logistics, wells construction and air transportation safety.
Competitive growth of deep-water resources remains key to our companys strategy for decades to come, and were very pleased to advance the technical and operational benefits of our joint-ventures with Petrobras in Brazil. Weve seen cost, safety, innovative thinking, and production growth evolve in a very positive way. Preferred partnerships and shared expertise are core to that success. Wael Sawan, Executive Vice-President, Deep Water for Shell
The agreement is valid for five years and can be renewed. Shell is a strategic partner of Petrobras in the pre-salt, with minority interests in the Libra and Lula fields and other important areas such as Sapinhoa, Lapa, and Iara, all of which are in Santos Basin.
Sept. 12, 2012
The U.S. dispatched an elite group of Marines to Tripoli, Libya, after the mob attack in Benghazi that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans. President Barack Obama strongly condemned the violence and vowed to bring the killers to justice. Republican challenger Mitt Romney accused the administration of showing weakness in the face of tumultuous events in the Middle East. Communications issues became a huge part of the storyline about what inspired the attack by terrorists and why the threat hadnt been realized. Secretary of State Hillary Clintons handling of this attack became an issue that continued into her failed presidential campaign in 2016.
GREENSBORO Two community leaders known for promoting tolerance and speaking up for others will be honored with the 2017 Brotherhood/Sisterhood Citation Award given by the National Conference for Community and Justice of the Piedmont Triad.
Thomas S. Haggai of High Point and Julie Peeples of Greensboro will be honored Nov. 9 during the annual awards dinner.
Bev and Odell Cleveland will chair the groups fundraising dinner.
We are proud to honor Tom and Julie, two of our communitys most dedicated champions of fairness and inclusion, said Ivan Canada, NCCJs executive director. Both are widely known for their efforts to make the Triad a better place for everyone. Together, they are an extraordinary example of two different, highly effective approaches to building more just and compassionate communities.
Peeples is a powerful voice of justice and compassion according to the nominating committee. She is the longtime senior pastor of Congregational United Church of Christ, one of Greensboros most diverse populations. In 2002, she performed what is believed to be the first commitment service of a gay couple in a mainline Greensboro church. More recently, she organized faith communities in opposition to Amendment One and House Bill 2.
As a key advocate on behalf of our most vulnerable and marginalized neighbors, she regularly mobilizes her congregation and the Triads faith community to take action on issues including racial equity, LGBTQ rights, voting rights, workers rights, hunger relief, healthcare, and immigration, according to the group statement.
Peeples was instrumental in founding the Greensboro Faith Leaders Council, the Greensboro Congregational Assistance Network, and Mustard Seed Community Health, and has worked with many other community organizations, including FaithAction International House and NCCJ of the Piedmont Triad. She is the recipient of several awards, including the United Church of Christs Antoinette Brown Award, Equality NCs Bob Page Equality Champion for the Triad Region Award, and the Greensboro Club of the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Womens Clubs Sojourner Truth Award.
Haggai considers High Point his adopted hometown and has worked extensively there and around the world to promote education, entrepreneurship, religious tolerance, and cross-cultural understanding, according to his nomination. As founding pastor of Emerywood Baptist Church, Haggai built relationships across many lines of difference, including the forging of close ties with the Jewish community at nearby Bnai Israel Synagogue.
A motivational speaker and former radio personality, Haggai served for 20 years as chairman and CEO of IGA Global. He was instrumental in forming the Business Roundtable, which is focused on downtown High Points success.
For 52 years, the Thomas Haggai and Associates Foundation granted scholarships to train nontraditional students as elementary school teachers; in 2016, the Foundation distributed the last of its funds to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro to endow a new program for that purpose. Haggai has received many honorary degrees and awards, including High Points Distinguished Citizen of the Year award, the Horatio Alger Associations Norman Vincent Peale Award, and the Food Marketing Institutes Herbert Hoover Award.
Tickets to the event can be purchased at www.nccjtriad.org/citation. The Brotherhood/Sisterhood Citation Award Dinner Cabinet is also seeking corporate sponsors. For more information about the dinner or to become a table sponsor, contact NCCJs Director of Development Erika Wilhite at ewilhite@nccjtriad.org or go to www.nccjtriad.org/citation.
RALEIGH A chemical company that for years has discharged compounds with unknown health risks into a major drinking-water supply is under court order to provide more details to North Carolina investigators.
The court order signed late Friday requires The Chemours Co. to turn over internal data to state and federal environmental officials once the company and North Carolina reach a confidentiality agreement. The Wilmington, Delaware-based chemical giant did not respond Monday to questions about the disclosure deal it reached with the state Department of Environmental Quality ahead of the order signed by Bladen County Superior Court Judge Douglas Sasser.
The agreement commits the company to cooperating more fully with a state investigation of chemical runoffs into the Cape Fear River. The river is a key water supply for more than 200,000 people downstream from the Chemours plant in Bladen County, which employs nearly 1,000 workers.
The court order requires Chemours to turn over details about its manufacturing process for the chemical GenX at the plant south of Fayetteville, as well as all studies the company has into the effects of chemicals made at the plant on human health, toxicity, and aquatic life studies.
The order said it doesn't affect the state's potential claims about polluted groundwater or involving other chemicals. Chemours is also required to continue preventing GenX from entering the Cape Fear River. Chemours specified that the agreement isn't an admission of any facts in the dispute.
The state environmental officials said last week they will test wells of the plant's neighbors after finding worrying early signs of GenX in the groundwater under the factory. Chemours said GenX was found in trace levels and it, too, will test nearby water wells for signs of the chemical.
The state environmental agency has argued that Chemours, a Fortune 500 company, hasn't adequately disclosed releases of GenX, an unregulated compound used to make Teflon.
Only after news organizations in June publicized a North Carolina State University researcher's findings did Chemours inform the state agency that GenX byproducts had been discharged into the river for decades, DEQ said.
There are no federal health standards for GenX. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies it as an "emerging contaminant" to be studied. The chemical has been used since 2009 to make Teflon and other non-stick products, replacing the suspected carcinogen PFOA.
In February, DuPont and Chemours agreed to pay nearly $671 million to settle 3,500 lawsuits related to the release of PFOA from a Parkersburg, West Virginia, plant more than a decade ago. DuPont spun off Chemours two years ago.
GenX is part of a broader problem of chemicals deployed into industrial production before their risks are clear. For example, researchers are increasingly finding a likely human carcinogen called 1,4-dioxane in water supplies in North Carolina and dozens of other states.
Public water supplies in the Cape Fear River basin around Fayetteville are some of the most contaminated with the industrial solvent in the country, with levels well above what the EPA considers to increase cancer risk, according to a report last week by Environmental Working Group, an advocacy organization.
Several N.C. State Highway Patrol troopers are accused of lying about where they live when questioned about discrepancies in their mileage reimbursements, State Auditor Beth Wood said in an investigative report released Monday.
The report focused on eight troopers, most of whom ultimately lied about their living situation, according to the report.
All of the troopers live in either Wake or Cumberland counties. One captain commuted 187 miles one way from his home in Wake County to his station in Morganton, by far the longest distance among troopers cited in the report, Wood found. Violations were in 2016.
According to state policy, troopers must maintain their primary home in the county where theyre assigned or within 20 miles of the county.
Most of the troopers initially told Woods investigators that they were commuting not from their primary homes but from secondary residences such as apartments, relatives homes, rescue squads, fire stations and National Guard stations near their duty stations, according to Woods report.
Records, however, showed the troopers were refueling near their primary homes, Wood found. All of the troopers ultimately acknowledged they were driving from their primary residences, she said. They also failed to submit a Request to Reside Outside County of Assigned Duty Station for the location of their primary residences, according to the investigative report.
Violations might have jeopardized response times, the report states. The report did not estimate how much the extra mileage might have cost taxpayers.
Supervisors failed to enforce the residency policy and obtain authorization for exceptions as required by the policy, according to the report.
In a Sept. 5 letter to Wood, Erik Hooks, secretary of the N.C. Department of Public Safety, said he does not dispute the findings. The violations occurred before he became secretary, Hooks said.
All of the troopers are now in compliance, he said.
The report does not list the names of the troopers, only where they were commuting to and from and the mileage each way.
Joe Marusak: 704-358-5067, @jmarusak
2017 The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)
Visit The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.) at www.charlotteobserver.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Elon and High Point universities held onto their No. 1 spots in the annual college rankings published Tuesday by U.S. News & World Report.
Elon is the top Southern regional university in the 2018 Best Colleges report. High Point is the best Southern regional college, according to the magazine.
Regional universities award masters degrees and a few doctoral degrees. Regional colleges focus largely on undergraduate programs. Both universities remained No. 1 in their respective categories for the fifth straight year.
Duke University is North Carolinas highest-ranked school at No. 9 on the U.S. News list of top national universities. Wake Forest University is 27th, and UNC-Chapel Hill is 30th. N.C. State is 81st 11 spots higher than a year ago.
Among public universities, UNC-CH remains in its usual spot of fifth behind University of California at Berkeley, UCLA, University of Virginia and University of Michigan. N.C. State is No. 33.
Greensboros two UNC schools N.C. A&T and UNC-Greensboro are unranked on the national university list. A&T, meanwhile, is the top historically black college in the state and No. 8 in the nation.
Princeton University in New Jersey sits atop the national university rankings for the seventh straight year. The rest of the top 10 is Harvard, University of Chicago and Yale (tied for third), Columbia, MIT and Stanford (tied for fifth), Penn, Duke and Cal Tech. Cal Tech is the new entry into the top 10; Johns Hopkins fell out.
Williams College in Massachusetts is the top national liberal arts colleges for the 15th straight year, according to U.S. News. Davidson College is 10th on that list this year.
The annual U.S. News college package uses multiple factors including graduation and retention rates, admissions selectivity, faculty salaries, university spending, class sizes and undergraduate academic reputation to determine its rankings.
The magazines methodology changed little from last year. For the first time it reported salary data for graduates of 1,000 colleges but did not factor those numbers into the rankings.
Critics often fault the U.S. News rankings as too subjective, too skewed toward well-known private schools and too prone to manipulation.
The political website Politico published a story this week saying that the U.S. News rankings give elite schools an incentive to favor wealthier applicants over less affluent ones. The U.S. News editor who coordinates the rankings took to Twitter to call the Politico story bogus.
A mom who wanted to help storm victims did so in a very personal way: by sending babies her breast milk after Hurricane Harvey.
According to ABC News, Danielle Palmer, of Owensville, Missouri, had an excess because of her sons medical condition that prevented him from consuming her milk. Six-month-old Truett has a complex congenital heart defect.
"For the first big part of his life he was unable to take my milk," Palmer told ABC News. "All the milk I was pumping was going into the freezer. I have always had an oversupply of milk. Truett has had eight surgeries to date and over time my stash has continued to build."
Earlier this month, Palmer sent more than 1,000 ounces of breast milk to Texas to help babies and moms affected by Hurricane Harvey.
WASHINGTON Hope Hicks of Greenwich has been named the permanent White House communications director, a White House spokesman confirmed on Tuesday.
Hicks, 28, had been serving as President Donald Trumps top communications adviser since being named to the position on an interim basis last month.
The appointment may bring to an end the revolving-door status that has marked the job in the tumultuous first eight months of the Trump presidency.
Hicks, a former child model and Greenwich High School lacrosse team co-captain, joined the Trump campaign early on after working for daughter Ivanka Trump as a publicist.
She quickly gained the confidence of Trump, who is said to refer to her as ``The Hopester. She was a constant presence on the campaign trail, and has demonstrated remarkable longevity in a White House where the only constant is fast turnover.
The Greenwich native, who has a public relations pedigree, was the Trump campaigns national communications director.
Shes a slam dunk, said E. Pendleton James when Hicks was first named as part of the Trump administration after the election. James is a longtime Greenwich resident who served as Ronald Reagans assistant for presidential personnel from 1981-83. She has his trust.
Hicks stands to follow a similar career path as Jen Psaki, who is also from Greenwich and was President Barack Obamas White House communications director.
Hicks initially replaced Anthony Scaramucci, a tart-tongued Wall Streeter who lasted a little over a week in the job until Trump fired him in July at the request of his then new chief of staff, retired Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly.
Hicks has often been described as a gate keeper but those who know her describe her role as that of a sounding board and confidant. She has proven to be someone to whom Trump listens an all-important ingredient for survival in the White House.
Apart from Scaramucci, two other communications managers also have come and gone. Mike Dubke held the position until May. And White House spokesman Sean Spicer was acting communications director until he quit in July after Trump named Scaramucci to the position.
Politically, Hicks roots are in Connecticut.
Her father, Paul Hicks III, served as chief of staff to Stewart B. McKinney, the longtime Republican congressman for Fairfield County. Her godfather is Tom Dudchik, a deputy chief of staff to former Gov. Lowell Weicker Jr. and creator of a state political news aggregation website, ctcapitolreport.com.
During the campaign, Hicks developed a reputation as the diplomatic good cop in the middle of Trumps battles with the media. When several journalists were banned from Trumps news conference last summer at his SoHo New York hotel, it was the low-key Hicks who intervened to get them in.
The outside world might never have heard about the suspected massacre if not for some barroom boasting by a group of miners fresh from working an illegal gig in the Amazon jungle.
The garimpeiros had bragged that they'd come across members of a reclusive, uncontacted Amazonian tribe near Brazil's border with Peru and Colombia, authorities say.
The tribe members were greater in number - there were as many as 10 - but the gold miners said they'd gotten the better of them and killed the entire lot, said Carla de Lello Lorenzi, communications officer for Survival International in Brazil.
The miners cut the tribe members' bodies so that they wouldn't float, Lorenzi said, then dropped them into the Jandiatuba River.
The miners had collected tools and jewelry from the indigenous dead, corroborating their story.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 5 1 of 5 Gleison Miranda/FUNAI / Survival Show More Show Less 2 of 5 D.Cortijo/Associated Press Show More Show Less 3 of 5 4 of 5 Survival International Show More Show Less 5 of 5
An unidentified person who overheard the story was disturbed by it, recorded the miners' conversation and turned the audio over to authorities. They have since launched an investigation into what, if confirmed, would be one of the largest mass murders of uncontacted people in decades.
Advocates for stricter protective measures say the suspected massacre is evidence that the Brazilian government isn't doing enough to safeguard the more than 100 vulnerable tribes that have never made contact with the outside world - and have no desire to.
"If these reports are confirmed, [Brazilian President Michel Temer] and his government bear a heavy responsibility for this genocidal attack," said Survival International's director, Stephen Corry, who said the government has slashed funds for an agency that protects the tribes, leaving them "defenseless against thousands of invaders - gold miners, ranchers and loggers - who are desperate to steal and ransack their lands."
"All these tribes should have had their lands properly recognized and protected years ago - the government's open support for those who want to open up indigenous territories is utterly shameful, and is setting indigenous rights in Brazil back decades."
According to the New York Times, the government closed five of the 19 bases it uses to monitor uncontacted tribes and prevent incursions by miners and loggers.
Three of the closed bases were in the Javari Valley, home to more uncontacted tribes than anywhere else on Earth.
For obvious reasons, little is known about the indigenous group involved in the suspected killings.
Locally, Lorenzi said, they're known as Fleicheros, or "the ones who throw arrows," but their language and customs - and how they interact with at least two other uncontacted tribes in the immediate area - remain a mystery.
But the tribe members are not the only people in that part of the Amazon, Lorenzi said. It is illegal to mine there, but prospectors have brought earth-moving equipment to the area, leaving giant craters that can be seen from the sky.
They also bring violence, according to the government, which says garimpeiros are responsible for threats, child prostitution and killings.
Even their nonviolent presence in the protected lands can be dangerous to uncontacted tribes, which lack the immunity to fight the diseases that miners and loggers bring.
Any contact can be contentious and even violent, with the uncontacted usually getting the worst of it because, as Lorenzi told The Post, "it's usually bows and arrows against guns."
Details about those contacts remain hazy, because they involve two groups of people unlikely to speak to authorities.
Still, tales of the worst violence sometimes gets out. Survival International documented the story of Marisa Yanomami and Leida Yanomami, survivors of the Haximu massacre in 1993:
'The gold-miners killed our brothers and sisters and also killed our father with machetes; some of them were killed with guns," they told the organization. "After the first 10 people died, at the start of the war, we moved to another place to hide and stayed in our shabono (communal house), but the next day, the miners appeared again."
In a statement on its website, the Brazilian National Indian Foundation, or Funai, said it had prompted the federal public prosecutor's office to investigate the most recent allegation.
The government has also trumpeted its latest operation against incursions into protected lands. In August, it shut down an illegal-mining operation. Soldiers destroyed four dredging machines and fined mining operators $1 million for environmental crimes.
Investigations are tough undertakings. The site of the suspected killing, for example, is a 12-hour trek by boat during the dry season. And it involves a group of people with their own language and a centuries-long wariness of outsiders.
Even the details of the killing are sketchy, Lorenzi said. And the vacuum of information speaks to another fear advocates have: that these types of violent interactions happen a lot more frequently than is reported.
"That's highly probable, yes, because it's so difficult to document," she said. "It's the uncontacted versus illegal miners who think they can get away with anything.
"Unfortunately, a lot of the time they do."
What middle-aged, bald guy Goldman was up against. Photo: Lionel Chamoiseau/AFP/Getty Images
When Hurricane Irma began destroying the Caribbean last week, Brother Jimmys founder Jim Goldman a 30-year veteran of the New York restaurant industry was dry and probably pretty content in the city. But he soon learned that several friends were trapped on St. Martin, the tiny island where locals say people are now fighting in the street for food. Against his better judgment (he calls himself a middle-aged, bald, bit overweight Jewish guy whos not exactly trained for combat), he flew straight to Puerto Rico, and without alerting authorities, launched his own renegade helicopter rescue service.
There were apparently a few others, but the primary beneficiaries were longtime business associate Manny Almirakis and his wife and 3-year-old son. According to The Wall Street Journals retelling, theyd planned on staying, but then had a change of heart after watching men break into a restaurant with machetes. Goldmans friends helicopter whisked them away, but they had to stop at a hospital in Puerto Rico (their son got dehydrated, and somehow, also carbon-monoxide poisoning). The crews reportedly fine now, though theyre recuperating with family in Connecticut.
In an interview recounting his gonzo trip, Goldman says he kept asking himself what on earth he was doing: He was there for only 30 hours, yet tells the Journal, from a Harlem sushi spot he owns, that hes still jittery and shaking. At one point, he says he was walking around in search of a cell signal when he saw a pregnant woman get robbed. These guys came up on a scooter, he explains. They put the gun towards her belly and they grabbed the chain off her neck and ran away. Goldman actually owns a home there on St. Martin, plus several businesses, including a night club, lounge, and restaurant that he and Almirakis run together. It got destroyed by Irma, but both men say theyll be back to rebuild.
These are the best offers from our affiliate partners. We may get a commission from qualifying sales.
Tim Atkin MW: Lidls Prosecco party
By Tim Atkin
It was a familiar scenario. Offer Brits what seems like a bargain and theyll form orderly queues at 6.30am on a Bank Holiday Monday. To be fair to those early morning Lidl shoppers, it looked like a spectacular deal: a case of Prosecco for the flute-clinking sum of 20, the equivalent of 3.33 a bottle. When you bear in mind that the duty and VAT amount to 3.23, it would be legally impossible to offer the wine any cheaper.
Can Lidls Super Weekend be seen as a success? It depends on who you ask. Most stores only had 20 cases and ran out within minutes, leaving a lot of frustrated customers outside. One Twitter user reported a near fight in Huddersfield; others commented on the unseemly dash to get to the front of the queue. People were going mad, said a punter in Ludlow. Lidl themselves commented on the unprecedented demand and sincerely apologised to anyone that hasnt been able to take advantage of the offer.
Was the surprise at the shortfall credible? Or, to put it another way, had Lidl deliberately set up the deal to drive footfall and generate publicity? Its worth thinking about the figures involved. If Lidl, rather than the supplier, funded the whole thing, which they told me they did, then it would have cost them around 260,000 to pay for and deliver the wine to their 660 stores. To such a successful business, thats small change. More importantly, you couldnt buy much advertising for that. As one ex-supermarket buyer told me: Only Lidl knows the answer to whether the whole thing was worth it.
There are different views about whether the publicity was good or bad. Clearly, plenty of Lidl customers were unhappy (although we dont know how many of them are regulars), but the deal got a lot of coverage on social media and in the written press, cementing Lidls reputation as a place that sells wine at unfeasibly low prices. Was the Prosecco drinkable? I havent tasted it, but my guess is that it was. Just. But what do you expect for 3.33, around 3 less than basic Prosecco (as opposed to cheaper Prosecco frizzante)?
Lidl wouldnt share the name of the supplier with me, but did say that it wasnt a one-off deal with someone desperate to shift stock before the new vintage arrives. (Prosecco is fermented to order and generally sold within the year of production.) Lidl added that the supplier was someone the company worked with across various countries and that the discounters vast buying power is one reason were able to pass our savings on to our customers. Was the supplier told about the discount? Probably not. But this is part of a longer-term relationship.
Lidl has to abide by the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP) and is a member of the Business Social Compliance Initiative, so is aware of the rules.
Marketing genius?
Depending on your point of view, what Lidl did with Prosecco over the August Bank Holiday and subsequently with 7.99 Champagne may have been cynical, ill-advised or a stroke of marketing brilliance, but it wasnt illegal. Interestingly, in Scotland, which has different legislation covering multibuys and alcohol pricing, the wine was reduced from 5.25 to 3.49 but not offered as a case.
But whether the wine was on offer at 3.49 or 3.33, what message does this send to consumers? Some might argue that the image of basic DOC Prosecco is so poor as to be beyond damage, but I think thats incorrect. We Brits love drinking the Italian bubbly sales last year hit 112.7 million bottles and with good reason. Part of that success stems from the fact that Prosecco doesnt take itself too seriously. As Luca Giavi, director of the Prosecco Consorzio, said earlier this year: Consumers want wines that are easy to drink that they dont have to think about too much.
And yet I cant help feeling that these ultra-cheap deals, funded by a discounter for its own ends, are not good for Prosecco, the wine industry or, ultimately, for consumers.
The rise and rise of the discounters (all too understandable in a country whose economy is struggling) has reduced prices by reducing choice. This, at a time when the high street is less inspiring than at any point in my 32-year wine-writing career. Anyone remember Threshers, Victoria Wine, Augustus Barnett, Peter Dominic, Davisons, Safeway, Somerfield, Wine Rack, Wine Cellar and Bottoms Up, all of which are now mouldering in the dustbin of history?
Its all very well for Lidl to say that its aim is to provide our customers with the best quality products at the lowest possible prices, but it costs money to make good quality wine, even good quality Prosecco. Pretending it doesnt, even as part of a short-term promotion, encourages punters to believe otherwise. Cheapness and value for money sometimes coincide, but its increasingly rare as the pound continues to slide. Teaching consumers the difference between the two and encouraging them to drink better wine is part of the job of responsible retailers.
Italian co-operative outlines plans for quality rebrand
By Jo Gilbert
A large-scale Italian cooperative is aiming to challenge its reliable Pinot Grigio reputation with a marketing push in the UK.
Cavit, which is represented by Boutinot in the UK, was formed in 1950 to train winegrowers in northern Italys Trentino region and create a winemaking culture there.
In 2017 they are have taken on a new PR agency in the UK with the aim of changing perceptions and rebranding themselves as a quality still and sparkling producer.
Yes, Cavit is a largescale producer, export direct Andrea Nicolini, said. But it is comprised of a number of small wineries, each with a craftsmans approach. So we are in the enviable position of being able to combine the advantages of a big company with the values and traditions typical of small-scale family operations.
Today, the company has access to 5,500h of vines via its 10 member wineries and 4,500 member growers.
Cavit has taken on Emma Wellings PR to look after their UK activities which will include the launch of a new trio of top tier wines.
These have been three years in development, with the aim of illustrating the co-operatives winemaking experience and ability to produce wine at the premium as well as the volume end.
UK subsidy for offshore wind significantly lower than nuclear in latest government auctions
The UK government has awarded Contracts for Difference (CfD) to three offshore wind farms totalling 3.2GW, with a new record low of 57.50 per megawatt-hour (MWh) set in the country. Dong Energy secured support for the 1.4GW Hornsea 2 off Yorkshire while EDPR and Engie won a CfD for the 950MW Moray 1 off northern Scotland. Both sites will come online by 2023.
Artist's impression of Hornsea 2 windfarm - Image: Dong Energy
The cost of subsidies for new offshore wind farms has halved since the last 2015 auction for clean energy projects. Energy from offshore wind in the UK will be cheaper than electricity from new nuclear power for the first time with the subsidy of 57.50 comparing with a figure of 92.50 per MWh for the new Hinkley Point C nuclear plant being built in Somerset.
Innogy and Statkraft have also secured support with the 860MW Triton Knoll off Lincolnshire, which will come online by 2022 at 74.75/MWh. Biomass CHP and Advanced Conversion Technology projects secured support for 150MW. Five advanced conversion technologies won contracts with strike prices of 74.75/MWh, while a sixth the Redruth energy from waste project won with a price of 40/MWh. Two biomass projects secured contracts for 74.75 starting in 2021-22.
Dong Energy UK managing director Matthew Wright said: This is a breakthrough moment for offshore wind in the UK and a massive step forward for the industry. Not only will Hornsea 2 provide low cost, clean energy to the UK, it will also deliver high quality jobs and another huge boost to the UK supply chain.
He added that successive UK governments should be given great credit for providing the certainty for continued investment in offshore wind, enabling it to become the thriving renewable industry it is today. He said the company was already building the 1.2GW Hornsea 1 project and has started the consultation process for Hornsea 3.
Energy minister Richard Harrington said offshore wind will invest 17.5bn (19.2bn) in the UK to 2021 with thousands of jobs created.
Emma Pinchbeck from the wind energy trade body Renewable UK said the latest figures were "truly astonishing". She said nuclear should still be part of the mix but as offshore wind had driven down subsidies, so the nuclear sector should do the same.
However, the nuclear industry said that because wind power is intermittent, nuclear energy would still be needed.
Tom Greatrex, chief executive of the Nuclear Industry Association, said the intermittent nature of wind power would mean it would always need to be backed up by nuclear. "It doesn't matter how low the price of offshore wind is, he said. On last year's figures it only produced electricity for 36% of the time."
There are also costs of dealing with excess electricity when there is too much wind or sun, with large scale energy storage the next technological requirement.
Energy analysts said UK government policy helped to lower the costs by nurturing the fledgling industry, then incentivising it to expand - and then demanding firms should bid in auction for their subsidies.
Michael Grubb, professor of energy policy at University College London, was quoted by the BBC as saying that the cost reduction was a huge step forward in the energy revolution.
"It shows that Britain's biggest renewable resource - and least politically problematic - is available at reasonable cost. It will be like the North Sea oil and gas industry: it started off expensive, then as the industry expanded, costs fell. We can expect offshore wind costs to fall more, too," he said.
The price of building offshore windfarms has fallen by nearly a third since 2012 as the technology has matured and the supply chain has become more efficient, Developers believe that a new generation of even bigger turbines mean they can achieve further cost reductions in coming years. The newest 8 megawatt offshore turbines stand almost 200 metres high, and could be double this size by the 2020s.
Employsure has its Check-In every 90 days where the entire company takes the opportunity to reflect on accomplishments, challenges, and obstacles from the last quarter.
This process is the same for each employee as a transparent and fair method to promote people, and forms the foundation of Employsures recognition approach.
This is one of the many reasons Employsure won Best Reward and Recognition Program at the 2017 Australian HR Awards last Friday night.
Indeed, their programs cross a variety of different approaches including:
quarterly peer-based awards that saw over 75% of the employee population nominate a peer
team awards given by team leaders
Employee of the Year awards
announced recognition through their internal communication platform (Workplace by Facebook)
Employsures Head of Talent Michael Morris said their approach provides a fair and consistent way to measure and reward performance, as well as direct the development of their people.
We also ask employees to recognise each other for overachievements, he said.
Our Ambassadors Club recognises those who have tenure and have made significant contribution to the growth, development and progression of Employsure.
Morris added that the top spot in the HR Awards reinforces that people are at the heart of what Employsure stands for.
The HR Awards are the most prestigious recognition for people practices within the industry it illustrates what we do for more than 14,000 businesses across Australia, starts with us," he said.
The Award distinguishes our approach to the way we grow and develop our people.
Prime Minister Juha Sipila has told Yle that he would be willing to temporarily raise Finlands quota to as many as 2,000 refugees. Speaking during an interview on Yles Haloo Eurooppa podcast series, the Prime Minister said that Finland could use the quota system to help ease the burden of distributing refugees throughout Europe.
Along with the rest of the EU, Finland had previously agreed to take on its share of the 160,000 refugees that are being distributed across Europe. Sipila confirmed that Finland had so far managed to fulfil its commitment in this regard. However, he believes that Finland could use the quota system to shoulder a greater share of the refugee burden. The Prime Minister wants an increase in quotas to be decided at EU level and intends to actively pursue the matter.
The Finnish refugee quota is currently 750, although in 2013-14 it was raised to 1,050 due to the worsening crisis in Syria. While the Ministry of the Interior has since presented a budget increase that would have allowed the quota to be raised back to 1,050, no agreement was reached. It was expected that the government would raise the refugee quota in the springtime, but this was not possible as the Blue Reform party made it clear that they were against doing so.
Interior Minister Paula Risikko has also spoken in favour of raising the refugee quota in order to help those that are most severely affected by crisis situations. It should be noted that quota refugees come to Finland through a different system than asylum seekers. In the former case, Finland is able to select people directly from abroad that are designated as refugees by the UN.
Dan Anderson HT
Photo: Lehtikuva / Heikki Saukkomaa
Source: Uusi Suomi
This is in contrast to Blue Reforms partners in the Finnish government, the Centre and National Coalition parties, who have both supported the idea. Most recently, Prime Minister Juha Sipila announced that he would personally be prepared to "temporarily raise Finland's quota to as many as 2,000 refugees." The current quota is 750.
The Blue Reform group has stated that it is not in favour of raising the refugee quota.
The moderate increase in the refugee quota can be discussed once the costs of the immigration system have been better managed, said the Minister for European Affairs, Culture and Sport, Sampo Terho.
The party believes that the asylum system should be improved. A statement from Blue Reform explains: "For the sustainability of the immigration system, it is essential that asylum applications be processed outside the EU."
This should, in my opinion, be one of the top EU policy goals in Finland at the moment, stated Terho.
Blue Reform regard the processing of applications outside Europe as a sensible idea, while they also believe that resources should be provided in order to help victims of crises more effectively.
The processing of asylum applications outside Europe should be made more accessible to host societies. Doing so would help in reallocating resources to, for example, the humanitarian needs of the affected regions. Looking at the big picture, this would be much more important than raising the refugee quota, Terho explained.
Dan Anderson HT
Photo: Lehtikuva / Antti Aimo-Koivisto
Source: Uusi Suomi
The participants at the program (Photo: baoquocte.vn)
This is the fifth time the exchange and connection program has been organized by Vietnams Consulate General to meet the needs of Japanese enterprises in recruiting high-quality Vietnamese human resources as well as support Vietnamese students studying in Japan to find jobs in Japanese businesses.
18 small- and medium-sized Japanese companies which have invested or planned to expand their business in Vietnam, participated in the program to find outstanding Vietnamese students in many fields, including mechanical engineering, information technology, logistics, hotel and service.
The program was also participated in by 130 Vietnamese students preparing to graduate from universities and Japanese language training schools in the region.
Vietnamese students who have a Japanese level equivalent to N2-N1 certificates, hoped to work for Japanese companies to accumulate experience in their favoured fields.
At the program, Japanese enterprises highly appreciated the knowledge, working ability, dynamism and diligence of Vietnamese students. Many businesses took advantage of the program to select and interview qualified candidates to meet the demand for human resources in Japan, as well as plans to expand their business in Vietnam in the future.
It is a great opportunity for Vietnamese students studying in Japan while Japanese enterprises increasingly want to recruit qualified human resources from Vietnam.
Following the success of the program, Vietnams Consulate General and Japans Hyogo Prefecture will host a similar program on October 13th./.
A murder investigation is under way after a man was shot dead in a late-night gun attack in the capital.
The incident took place just before 10pm in the Neilstown area of west Dublin.
The victim was named locally as 36-year-old Darragh Nugent.
Nugent was a close associate of jailed gangster James 'Nellie' Walsh.
He was shot five times in the attack, which is believed to be related to a bitter local dispute.
It is understood the victim is from the locality. He was shot only metres from his home on Wheatfield Avenue.
Feud
However, it is feared that there may have been no witnesses to the murder.
"It's unclear whether anyone has seen what happened," a source said last night.
Gardai do not believe that the shooting is connected to the ongoing Hutch-Kinahan feud, which has so far claimed 12 lives.
The murder is being investigated as part of a bitter dispute in the Clondalkin area that has led to a number of other murders in the past.
The victim was known to gardai and was on bail for possession of firearms offences after being arrested in Clondalkin last February.
A garda source said: "Gardai and emergency services are at the scene of a shooting incident at Wheatfield Avenue, Clondalkin in Dublin.
"The incident was reported to Gardai at 9.40pm on Monday," they said last night.
Local residents gathered outside but nobody was willing to talk about the shooting.
One young woman said: "People heard bangs but they just thought it was fireworks."
Another local resident said she heard about eight "shots" before hearing a garda helicopter overhead and garda and ambulance sirens.
The Dublin Fire Brigade said the man was initially still breathing but unconscious as paramedics performed CPR.
A garda car was forced to take evasive action after a vehicle was driven towards it at high speed and on the wrong side of the road. (stock photo)
A garda car was forced to take evasive action after a vehicle was driven towards it at high speed and on the wrong side of the road.
Michael Fay (26) was pursued by gardai along the M1 motorway before he drove through a busy junction and crashed into a kerb.
Judge Dermot Dempsey imposed a six-month prison sentence and disqualified him from driving for 10 years.
The defendant, of Castlegrange Heights, Swords, admitted before Swords District Court to driving without insurance or a licence.
He also pleaded guilty to a number of counts of dangerous driving.
Sgt Bob Kavanagh said gardai were on routine vehicle pat- rol in Balrothery, north Co Dublin, when a Nissan Micra came at speed towards them on the wrong side of the road.
Sgt Kavanagh said the car nearly collided with the patrol car, and the garda driver was forced to take evasive action to avoid a crash.
The court heard that Fay drove along the M1 at speed before taking the exit ramp to Swords.
Convictions
Sgt Kavanagh said that Fay drove well in excess of the speed limit.
He also said the defendant ran a number of red lights, narrowly avoiding an accident, before he crashed into a kerb at Glen Ellan Road, Swords.
The court heard that Fay has a number of convictions, and was previously disqualified from driving for four years in 2014.
Defence solicitor Fiona D'Arcy said the defendant, a father-of-one, got in trouble when he was younger, but had not been before the courts in the past three years.
In relation to this incident, Ms D'Arcy said it was "a blowout" after a stressful time involving family matters.
Ms D'Arcy said Fay is currently doing very well and is working part-time in a community centre, which is giving structure to his days.
She asked the judge not to jail him, saying Fay was willing to complete community service.
Ms D'Arcy also said that Fay enjoys the support of his family.
Judge Dempsey imposed the six-month sentence, saying he did not believe community service was suitable.
Photo for illustration (Source: vovworld.vn)
The biennial event is co-organized by the Albert Einstein University in cooperation with the Germany-Vietnam Friendship Association, Germany-Laos Friendship Association, Germany-Thailand Friendship Association and Germany-Cambodia Friendship Association.
Speaking at the event, Ms. Jutta Kaddatz, who is in charge of culture and education of Berlins Tempelhof-Schoneberg district, affirmed that the festival is a good opportunity to promote the image of the lands and peoples of the Mekong subregion countries, while contributing to increasing understanding and cooperation among countries in the subregion, as well as the local people with the cultures of the nations.
In the area for Vietnamese culture, seminars on culture, people, integration process, and Vietnamese laborers in Germany were organized. In particular, Professor Wilfried Lulei, Head of the Advisory Council of the Germany-Vietnam Friendship Association, shared his experience of the land, people, culture and politics of Vietnam.
Having been in Vietnam more than 50 years ago, and having then returned to the country for many times for study and work, Mr. Lulei is very close and knowledgeable about Vietnam, as well as changes of the Southeast Asian country.
In addition, the participants are invited to attend a presentation about Vietnams sea and islands by Dr. Gerhard Will, an expert on Southeast Asia who has worked at the Institute of Politics and Science (SWP) in Berlin. The presentation was appreciated by the participants, thereby helping them to visualize and obtain accurate information on the current situation of disputes in the East Sea.
During the festival, the visitors also enjoyed special art performances of Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, with films about the cultures of the countries. Besides, a photo exhibition named "GLAD to be here", which runs until October 20th, also attracts a large number of people.
Mr. Siegfried Sommer, Head of the Germany-Vietnam Friendship Association, said this year's festival attracted a large number of visitors and it is a good opportunity to promote the culture, tourism and people of the Mekong sub-region countries to the local people. For Vietnam, it is meaningful in engaging and developing the friendly relations with Germany./.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. Expanding on its expertise in the area of governmental relations, Farrar & Bates, LLP, announces the addition of former Tennessee Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey to its new lobbying affiliate, Ramsey, Farrar & Bates, LLC.
Founding partner of Farrar & Bates and general counsel and lobbyist for the Tennessee Association of Realtors Russell Farrar said he is pleased to welcome Ramsey to the company.
This new subsidiary is a natural progression for our firm, and we look forward to the depth and perspective Ron will bring to our clients through this new partnership.
The government of the Republic of Turkey has decided to reduce duties on imports of cattle from Ukraine to 26%, cattle carcass to 40%, wheat to 45%, barley to 35%, corn to 25%, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food has reported.
According to the report, the government of Turkey also decided to apply zero rates to imports of cattle from Ukraine within the tariff quota of 500,000 animals, sheep and goats 475,000 animals, and beef 750,000 tonnes.
"Interested Ukrainian institutions and companies for exporting the relevant products to the Republic of Turkey, if necessary, can apply to the Ukrainian Embassy in Turkey. The Embassy is ready to support and facilitate the establishment of contacts and interaction with local profile institutions within the competence," the ministry said.
The corporate development concept of national joint-stock company Naftogaz Ukrainy officially sent to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in June includes potential initial public offering (IPO) of the company, Naftogaz Head Andriy Kobolev has said.
"The strategy has the element of potential IPO of Naftogaz. Of course, the decision to enter the exchange could be made only by the Verkhovna Rada. Our goal is to prepare the company that the Verkhovna Rada has a motive to consider this decision. It will take three years of active work," he said in an interview with the Dzerkalo Tyzhnia.Ukraine (ZN.UA) publication.
Kobolev said that the development of the Ukrainian stock market without high quality assets, blue chips is impossible: the market would never develop if no funds are invested.
"One can build schemes, exchanges and create rules, but if there are no high quality companies, in which, for example, the Pension Fund can invest funds, the market would not exist," he said.
The placement of Naftogaz's shares on the exchange would allow providing for stability of supervision elements of corporate governance and transparent operations of the company, he said.
Rachel Carson's expose shocked the world. And we're better for it
columns
By the end of this year thee companies could be privatized Agrarian Fund, State Food-Grain Corporation and United Mining Chemical Company, Deputy Chairman of the State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPF) Yuriy Nikitin has told the Focus publication.
"According to our calculations, State Food-Grain Corporation costs near UAH 1.5 billion. The cost of Agrarian Fund depends on the issue of bonds and varies from UAH 1 billion to UAH 5 billion. The starting price for United Mining Chemical Company is at least UAH 2 billion. There are a dozen of rivals [competing for the company], not only our investors. The price should be significantly increased," Nikitin said.
He said that at present the SPF is waiting that the Economic Development and Trade Ministry will transfer the assets of the above-mentioned enterprises and United Mining Chemical Company, which manages Vilnohirsk mining and metallurgical combine (Dnipropetrovsk region) and Irshansk mining and processing combine (Zhytomyr region), for their privatization.
"It is expected that large money will be received from the privatization of United Mining Chemical Company. These are two titanium mining companies. Six months have passed since the moment of adopting the resolution on its privatization and the enterprise should be transferred to the SPF within one month. For example, now we have started actively working with the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) and are preparing one of their non-profile facilities a health and resort center for the privatization," he said.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has accepted a complaint on the case of detention of Ukrainian citizen Pavlo Hryb by Russian special services in the territory of Belarus, Ukraine's Minister of Justice Pavlo Petrenko has said.
"Having examined the materials submitted, on September 11, 2017 the European Court of Human Rights decided to adjourn the consideration of application of Rule 39 of the Rules of the European Court until the necessary information is received from the government of the Russian Federation. According to Ihor Hryb, the father of the detained man, the court decided to demand data on the health status of Pavlo from Russian representatives for a further consideration of the case," Petrenko wrote on his Facebook page.
The government of the Russian Federation must provide the required information on time until September 25, 2017.
"I will personally control the situation. We must stop abductions of our citizens by the aggressor country," the minister said.
The number of Ukrainian tourists to Russia in the first half of 2017 increased by 56.1%, while the number of those who left for Poland decreased by 45.4%.
The relevant data from the State Border Guard Service have been posted on the website of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade.
The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine recorded 2.673 million Ukrainians leaving for Russia, which is 56.1% more than in the same period in 2016. The largest number of Ukrainians in this period went to Poland - 4.341 million people, which is 45.4% less compared to the first half of 2016, according to the State Border Service.
The top three countries where Ukrainian citizens traveled during this period, also includes Hungary with 1.447 million Ukrainian tourists, which is 6.7% more than last year's figure.
According to the State Border Service, 6.3 million tourists entered Ukraine in the first half of the year, which is 8.7% more than the same figure for the previous year.
The number of Belarusians who arrived in Ukraine increased by 55.3%, to 1.048 million in the first half of the year. This is 16.6% of all foreigners who crossed the border of Ukraine. One-third of all foreigners who entered Ukraine during the mentioned period are citizens of Moldova (2.013 million). However, this figure is insignificantly different from last year's data for the same period - 1.3% more. The number of tourists from Russia increased by 4%, to 620,280.
One foreign investor has shown an interest in buying the Ukrainian subsidiary of Sberbank of Russia, Kateryna Rozhkova, Deputy Head of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), has told reporters.
"One potential buyer has approached us and we're working with them. I can't be more precise for now," she told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Kyiv on the protection of the rights of consumers of financial services.
She did say this was a nonresident who had sent a letter of intent to the NBU but had not yet submitted the paperwork in support of a deal.
"The potential ability of a buyer to support develop is important for us as a regulator. This is very important, not taking into account restructuring moments. We attentively look at these things," she said.
The mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is likely to arrive in Kyiv in the second half of September, Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Kateryna Rozhkova has said.
"The [IMF] mission is likely to arrive in the second half of September. They would arrive to review the EFF [Extended Fund Facility]," she told reporters at an international conference on the protection of the rights of consumers of financial services in Kyiv.
The further steps of the IMF regarding the provision of a new tranche to Ukraine will depend on the speed of processing the results of the mission work, arrangements with authorities and the date when they are ready to consider the issue by the Board of Directors, Rozhkova said.
She also said that along with the mission, the NBU board intends to meet First Deputy IMF Head David Lipton.
"We plan to have a meeting of Lipton and NBU top managers. We have fulfilled everything under the program [EFF] It is unlikely that the absence of the NBU governor would be an obstacle to the program. We are ready to this meeting and waiting for it," she said.
HICKORY I want to share the words of someone who is dear to me, a patriot, a helicopter pilot, a veteran, but for me, most importantly, my dad, retired Lt. Col. Lee E. Moritz Jr. His words honor a young man, a warrior, and Catawba County native, who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.
This past Friday, through tomorrow, Monday, Sept 11, the City of Conover is hosting the traveling Vietnam Wall, a 3/5 scale of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. This traveling memorial solemnly stands as a reminder of the 58,318 priceless sacrifices made during the Vietnam War.
Conover Mayor Lee Moritz stated during the opening ceremony, We all have different memories about the Vietnam War. For me as a young boy here in Conover I saw on nightly news reports about the war. But this war took on a different meaning after a family here in Conover lost their son. Pgc. Charles Dellinger was killed in combat on Jan. 29, 1968. The Dellinger family lived a very simple life and were known by many in town as hard-working folks.
My parents took me with them to take food to the family. As a 10-year-old boy this visit had profound impact on me, one that molded my character and taught me what real sacrifice looked like. I recall much sorrow during this visit but also the extreme pride shared by Mrs. Dellinger as she described her son and how he served this great nation, paying the ultimate sacrifice.
Today, as I have the honor of declaring this monument officially open to our citizens and visitors, we remember and honor Charles Dellinger, one of many tens of thousands of personal and compelling stories from this wall.
Many years later while stationed in Washington, D.C., and just after the wall was opened by President Reagan, I traced Pfc. Dellingers name and sent this back home to Mrs. Dellinger. My parents delivered the simple piece of paper to her and it instantly became a priceless treasure. That is the power of this wall.
It is not simply another monument; it is a symbol of hope and opportunity that during the monuments time with us my fellow veterans will reconnect. That this will be a sacred gathering place for veterans of this war, or any military conflict, to reflect and remember. That for some it will be a time to seek comfort or assistance. That all citizens will soberly and thoughtfully pay tribute to those that have paid the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country. That parents will seize a teaching moment with their children about what it means to serve. That school students will get a chance to hear stories and learn from the heroes that served with the men and women who are honored on this wall. This is a healing time, this is a time to remember, this is a time to honor. Thank you and God bless.
For the full schedule of the events, all open to the public, that will accompany the traveling Vietnam Wall in Conover, visit http://www.conovernc.gov/vetwall.
I also encourage you to read about how your Catawba County Chamber and the Catawba EDC are partnering to recruit veteran families to our community to fill great local careers and grow our population at www.welcome-hky-metro.org.
Lindsay Keisler is president and CEO of the Catawba County Chamber of Commerce.
This domain has expired. If you owned this domain, contact your domain registration service provider for further assistance. If you need help identifying your provider, visit https://www.tucowsdomains.com/
Authorities in Madhya Pradesh suspended a school teacher for open defecation because it amounted to misconduct by a government official.
District education officer Ashoknagar issued an order on Monday that suspending Mahendra Singh Yadav, who teaches at a government primary school in Budera village, with immediate effect in a case which is the first of its kind.
The order said that the teacher was suspended for violating the governments ambitious Swachh Bharat Mission by going for open defecation despite having a toilet at his home.
The order maintained that not abiding the government directions regarding Swachh Bharat Mission, amounted to misconduct by Yadav.
In June last year, teachers in Satna district were ordered to keep watch on people who defecate in the open in the morning and evening time and take photos of such people on their mobile phones.
The Block education officer (BEO) who issued the order had even issued directions for constitution of a six member committee of teachers for implementation of the order. In June last year, Harda district administration took action against three villagers for open defecation and sent them to jail. The action was taken against them under section 151of CrPc (Arrest to prevent the commission of cognizable offences) for speaking against the open defecation-free campaign, officials said. In another case, sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Barwani sent a youth to jail last year after he was caught defecating in the open in his village Jalgaon.
The Centre, under Swachh Bharat Mission has set a target to make the country open defecation-free by October 2, 2019, which coincides with the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
A man allegedly ran his car over a police official who had come to arrest his absconding brother at Jamunia village in Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday.
Head constable Inderpal Singh Sengar, attached to Bharkach police station, died in hospital, police said.
Sengar had gone to the village, 80 km from the district headquarters, alone to arrest Bhaiji Rajput (45), an absconder, said District Superintendent of Police Jagatsingh Rajput.
Akshay Singh Rajput (35), Bhaijis brother, helped him escape. In a fit of anger, Akshay then ran his car over the police officer who was only carrying a baton (lathi), the SP added.
Sengar was rushed to a hospital in Bhopal where he died during treatment.
Akshay fled from his house after the incident. Police have registered a case of murder against him and launched a manhunt for both him and his absconding brother, the SP said.
Bhaiji Rajput was wanted in a case under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, he said.
The Nadalina dry cargo ship under the flag of Sierra Leone has arrived in the port of Sevastopol in occupied Crimea and violated the ban to enter ports and terminals closed by Ukraine in Crimea, the Ministry for Temporary Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons of Ukraine has reported.
"At 16:39 on September 8, 2017, entrance of the port of Sevastopol by the Nadalina dry cargo ship under the flag of Sierra Leone was recorded. The ship arrived from Libyan port of Tripoli. The ship left Tripoli on August 30," the ministry said on its website.
The ministry recalled seaports located in Crimea Yevpatoria, Kerch, Sevastopol, Feodosia and Yalta are closed under resolution of the Cabinet of Minister of Ukraine No. 578-r dated April 30, 2014 and under order No. 255 of Infrastructure Ministry of Ukraine dated June 16, 2014 on the closure of seaports.
Days after threatening to take legal action against Kangana Ranaut, actor Aditya Pancholi has demanded that the Simran actor must show him the FIRs she filed against him years ago to prove that she is speaking the truth. While Kangana is yet to react, her sister and former manager Rangoli Chandel has responded.
Referring to Aditya in her interview with Barkha Dutt, Kangana said, He got an apartment for me but didnt allow my friend to come there. It was a kind of house arrest. I later went to the police and they took care of it.
In an interaction with SpotBoye, Aditya said, Kangana is lying through her teeth. If she had filed an FIR, I want her to show it to the world. Even if she claims that she has lost the copy, I would want her to tell the world why police station did she file it in, extract the copy from that police station, and throw it out in public. Can she please accept this small challenge? Its really a small challenge because if she has filed it, the whole exercise wouldnt take her long. But if she hasnt, which she actually hasnt, I think she will stand exposed.
Reacting to Adityas statement, Rangoli took to Twitter for another series of angry tweets. Why should the reigning Queen of the film industry should scum to this small time goons bullying ......Who hs multipl cmplns n cases on hm lyk mlstation neghbrs physcl asolt n on duty polc officers beatin......lso hs wyf brags bout hs afairs n d son is a part f a runin murdr case, y sud Kangana bothr with dis family f d millennium..Y cnt he himself go 2 Versova Police station and chek 10 years old recrds 2 remov the complain dat he wans 2 see 2day in 2017?, she wrote.
Why should the reigning Queen of the film industry should scum to this small time goons bullying ..... @Spotboye https://t.co/RkxJNKYzIU Rangoli Chandel (@Rangoli_A) September 11, 2017
..Who hs multipl cmplns n cases on hm lyk mlstation neghbrs physcl asolt n on duty polc officers beatin @Spotboye
https://t.co/RkxJNKYzIU Rangoli Chandel (@Rangoli_A) September 11, 2017
...lso hs wyf brags bout hs afairs n d son is a part f a runin murdr case, y sud Kangana bothr with dis family f d millennium ?@Spotboye Rangoli Chandel (@Rangoli_A) September 11, 2017
Y cn't he himself go 2 Versova Police station and chek 10 years old recrds 2 remov the complain dat he wans 2 see 2day in 2017? @Spotboye Rangoli Chandel (@Rangoli_A) September 11, 2017
Kanganas lawyer Rizwan Siddiquee also took to Twitter to answer Adityas queries. Aditya P. do speak to Ex Add Police Commissioner Bipin Bihari & Inspector Mohan Shanke who probed Kanganas complaint against you.What more?, he wrote.
Aditya P. do speak to Ex Add Police Commissioner Bipin Bihari & Inspector Mohan Shanke who probed Kangana's complaint against you.What more? Rizwan Siddiquee (@RizwanSiddiquee) September 12, 2017
Speaking to Pinkvilla, Adityas wife Zarina Wahab had said, I was just going through some stories on my mobile and I read Kangana has said She (Zarina) used to treat her (Kangana) like a daughter. This is completely untrue! When I knew she was dating my husband how can I say shes like my daughter? That is ridiculous! Usually, I dont react to such things but these two things have been really upsetting! I was very upset when I read it! She was dating my husband (Aditya) for four-and-a-half-years so how can I say that shes like my daughter? Impossible! On national television, shes going on saying that shes (Kangana) is like my daughter (Sana) What nonsense is Kangana talking about?
Kangana has been at the centre of a storm for the past two weeks, ever since she raked up controversies by speaking about her past relationships with actors Hrithik Roshan, Aditya and Adhyayan Suman in three different interviews. While Hrithik chose to walk away when asked for a reaction, Aditya has announced he will take legal action against her. Adhyayan, on the other hand, claimed ignorance of the entire episode and refused to say anything.
Kangana had also told Rajat Sharma, He got an apartment for me but didnt allow my friend to come there. It was a kind of house arrest. Then I went to meet his wife. His daughter is a year older than me. My film Gangster was about to release then. I met his wife and asked for her help. She said to me that they are happy whenever he is not at home otherwise he raises his hands on domestic helps and others around. Its actually good for us if he is not around, so I cant help you.
In an angry outburst to Bollywoodlife.com, Aditya had said earlier, She is a mad girl, what to do, did you see the interview? Didnt you feel like some mad person was talking? Who talks like that? We have been in the industry for so long, nobody has ever spoken anything so evil about anyone. What should I say, shes a mad girl. If you throw stones in mud, it will only spoil your clothes. In the same interaction, he had said he would take legal action against Kangana.
Follow @htshowbiz for more
Filmmaker Anurag Kashyaps next production Zoo, which stars Shweta Tripathi, will have its world premiere at the Busan Film Festival (BIFF). The film, directed by Shlok Sharma, has been selected for A window on Asian Cinema category at the film festival.
Zoo has been entirely shot on iPhone 6. In the movie, Shweta plays the role of a young teenager by the name of Misha Mehta, who blames herself for an accident that happened a few years ago and finds herself trapped in her house to escape her emotions. She finds solace in drugs.
I always wanted to be a part of films which matter and being rewarded by getting recognition from a festival like Busan is something I as an actor work for primarily. I always wanted to be part of experimental cinema and this film gives me exactly that, Shweta said in a statement.
Shlok is a director who gave me my first feature film I shot but unfortunately it was stuck for various reasons and then he wanted to make another film with me.
Manoj Bajpayees In The Shadows will also premiere at the festival. The film is a psychological drama about a man who is trapped within the city walls and in his own mind. He attempts to break free to find a human connection.
In The Shadows will premier at Busan Film Fest. Great news for the entire team. Dipesh Jain, Shuchi Jain, Ranvir Shorey, Manoj tweeted on Tuesday.
The cast also includes Indian actors Ranvir Shorey, Neeraj Kabi and Shahana Goswami along with Oscar-nominated Belgian actor Laura Verlinden.
Two Indian films, Ajji and Ashwatthama, will also compete under the New Currents, BIFFs signature competition category.
BIFF is scheduled to be held October 12-21
Follow @htshowbiz for more
It may have been a coincidence that Indian director Hansal Mehtas film Omerta had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on 9/11, but it was certainly fitting.
After all, the film is a biopic of Pakistani-origin terrorist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who was among those involved in the planning of that attack 16 years ago.
That this is that rare subject, a biopic of a global jihadi is almost certain to attract criticism, but the director said, I dont care. I had t tell a story and its there.
Mehta started planning the film several years ago, producers changed during those years, before it finally came together. Mehta made it clear the film was not about making people comfortable: Global audiences need to be provoked, need to respond to the film.
Much of Omar Sheikhs career is well-documented, starting with a kidnapping of four foreigners in New Delhi, his capture, and his subsequent release in exchange for the passengers aboard the Air India flight hijacked to Kandahar.
Rajkummar Rao, who plays Omar Sheikh, locates the human facet of the terrorist, but also delivers the psychopath lurking within, one with mood swings that go from geniality to outbursts and violence within seconds. (Image courtesy: TIFF)
His fingerprints are there in major terror strike including 9/11 and 26/11 (though he was in a Pakistani jail at the time of the Mumbai attacks). He was the man behind the brutal beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, for which he was arrested and imprisoned in Pakistan.
Mehta tries to fill in the blanks, his relationship with his father, a liberal, for instance, or his wife, how this milk-drinking, chess-playing middle-class person who grew up in London self-radicalised after watching clips of the Bosnian massacre, and then was recruited for other causes, including Kashmir.
A lot of it was imagination, Mehta said, as he tries to answer the question: What would have transpired between those walls? Or even between his ears, as Mehta pointed out, Its a difficult film to make. The guy, everything is running inside his head.
The film is not judgemental, and Indian actor Rajkummar Rao, who plays Omar Sheikh, locates the human facet of the terrorist, but also delivers the psychopath lurking within, one with mood swings that go from geniality to outbursts and violence within seconds.
Hansal Mehta, director of Omerta, doesnt shy away from showing the Pakistani establishment was complicit in Omars reign of terror. (Image courtesy: TIFF)
Rao spent a fortnight in London for accent training and also getting a feel for places like the London School of Economics where Omar studied or East London, where he lived.
It was not as an easy process, hard space for me to explore. For me it was very important to get into the mental space of a guy like Omar, Rao said.
TIFFs Artistic Director Cameron Bailey described Omerta as a powerful story. He said, Its a story that references very recent history, very contentious history. But its told with great sensitivity, with great depth and complexity.
Mehta is also direct in showing Pakistani intelligence agencies conspiring with him in planning terror attacks.
Mehta doesnt shy away from showing the Pakistani establishment was complicit in Omars reign of terror: Its important to name them. Its important to stop b*******ing about it, the director said. He pointed out Omar is considered an adopted son in Pakistan.
In fact, while Omar was first sentenced to death, that punishment was commuted to life in prison. And given the length of such terms in Pakistan currently, this could mean he may be released from prison some time next year, just around the time the movie on his life so far hits theatres.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Padmapriya, who plays the lead in the upcoming film, Chef, opposite Saif Ali Khan, isnt worried about the audiences response to the film, which is an adaptation of the Hollywood film of the same name starring Sofia Vergara and Jon Favreau. However, Padmapriya says that the film will be very different from the original film, owing to the cultural context.
Obviously the plot is similar, but apart from that, everything else will be different. The food, the setting, everything is very different from the Hollywood one, because there are cultural differences between the countries, she says. I mean my character in this film is not like Sofia Vergaras,as women in America are different, and here they are shaped by different sensibilities. Also, in contrast to the Hollywood film, this one dwells deeper into the relationship between Saifs and my character, she adds.
The 35-year-old actor saw the Hollywood version in New York when she was pursuing Masters in Public Administration there. I had seen it, when I wasnt involved in the Hindi adaptation of it. As I was staying in New York, I could connect to it more, because of the food. I really liked it back then, and thought it was a really beautiful film, she says. I think Chef has a universal appeal. Not only because of food, which obviously makes it universal. But, theres also the fact about how a person goes through crap in his life, and comes out of it in the end. Its also about the family, so its pretty universal in that sense, and thats why I think it will work here, says Padmapriya.
Follow @htshowbiz for more
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Actor Sooraj Pancholi has deleted his Twitter account after sending out a series of tweets requesting people not to tag his younger sister Sana in news regarding the ongoing battle of words between their father, actor Aditya Pancholi and his ex-girlfriend, actor Kangana Ranaut.
Sooraj sent out a series of tweets saying, Its my humble request to all media platforms out there! To please keep my sister out of the current situation. I have nothing against anyone and I would like to keep away from the mess...its something I have been trying to avoid for years.
Actor Sooraj Pancholi sent out these tweets.
He also appealed to people to understand his and sister Sanas situation.
Sooraj has asked to be left alone.
Soorajs father, who was in a relationship with Kangana several years back, fired at the actor for accusing him of keeping her under house arrest when they were in a relationship. This eventually triggered a war of words between Aditya and Kanganas sister, Rangoli.
The actor has now deleted his account.
Aditya, who has demanded legal proof of Kanganas allegations against him, received tough words from Rangoli, who tweeted, Why should the reigning Queen of the film industry should scum to this small time goons bullying ......Who hs multipl cmplns n cases on hm lyk mlstation neghbrs physcl asolt n on duty polc officers beatin......lso hs wyf brags bout hs afairs n d son is a part f a runin murdr case, y sud Kangana bothr with dis family f d millennium..Y cnt he himself go 2 Versova Police station and chek 10 years old recrds 2 remov the complain dat he wans 2 see 2day in 2017? (sic).
Follow @htshowbiz for more
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The Cabinet on Tuesday gave its approval for hiving off the mobile tower assets of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) into a separate company, fully owned by BSNL.
We will complete the hiving off process in two years. Out of total telecom towers in the country, around 15 per cent is with BSNL, Communications Minister Manoj Sinha said while briefing the media on this Cabinet decision.
He also said the tenancy ratio of BSNL will improve with this hiving off decision.
There are around 4,42,000 mobile towers in the country out of which more than 66,000 mobile towers are of BSNL.
This approval authorizes BSNL to monetize its telecom tower infrastructure with the formation of a separate subsidiary company, an official statement said here.
An independent, dedicated tower company of BSNL with a focused approach will lead to increasing of external tenancies and consequentially higher revenue for the new company, the statement added.
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought the response of TRAI on Vodafone Indias appeal against a single judge order dismissing its petition against the consultation process adopted for fixing interconnection usage charges (IUCs) between cellular and fixed line operators.
A bench of justices S Ravindra Bhat and Sunil Gaur sought to know the stand of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on the issue and listed the matter for September 15.
IUCs are charges paid by operators of telecommunication services on whom the call originates to operators on whose end the call terminates. The charges are currently determined in accordance with the Telecom Interconnection Usage Charges Regulations 2015.
The single judge had on September 4 dismissed Vodafone India Ltds petition against the consultation papers on IUCs floated by the TRAI.
The plea had claimed that if the data was not shared with them, the entire consultation would be violative of the principles of natural justice in accordance with the TRAI Act and other provisions of law.
The single judge had said that clearly, there can be no fixed formula for the manner in which consultation is required to take place.
Administrative acts may require deliberation between the two parties and a higher level of interaction. However, the same would not hold true in case of a legislative exercise, it had said.
The court had further said it was of the view that TRAI has conformed to the requirement of transparency as mandated under the provisions of TRAI Act.
More than 1.06 lakh directors will be disqualified for their association with shell companies, according to the government, as it steps up the fight against black money.
The latest move comes close on the heels of the corporate affairs ministry cancelling the registration of 2.09 lakh companies that have not been carrying out business activities for a long period.
Besides, banks have been asked to restrict operations of these companies bank accounts by their directors or their authorised representatives.
The ministry has identified 1,06,578 directors for disqualification under Section 164(2)(a) of the Companies Act, 2013 as on September 12, 2017, an official release said.
Under Section 164, a director in a company that has not filed financial statements or annual returns for three financial years continuously would not be eligible for re- appointment in that company or any other firm for five years.
Signalling that more regulatory action is expected, the ministry is further analysing the data of the 2.09 lakh firms available with the Registrar of Companies (RoCs) to identify the directors and the significant beneficial interests behind these entities.
Profiles of directors such as their background, antecedents and their role in the operations/functioning of these companies are also being compiled in collaboration with the enforcement agencies, the release said.
Further, money laundering activities performed under the aegis of these companies are also under the scanner, it said.
The ministry, which is implementing the companies law, has also identified professionals, chartered accountants, company secretaries and cost accountants associated with the defaulting companies.
Besides, such people involved in illegal activities have been identified in certain cases and the action by professional institutes such as ICAI, ICSI and ICoAI is also being monitored.
The fight against black money shall be incomplete without breaking the network of shell companies. Possibility of using the shell companies for laundering the black money cannot be undermined, minister of state for corporate affairs P P Chaudhary said.
According to the release, there are about 11 lakh companies with active status after deregistration of over 2.09 lakh firms.
The minister is also monitoring the situation emerging out of cancellation of registration of the companies and is holding regular meetings with officials of the ministry and various related organisations.
These include Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), ROCs, Department of Financial Services, Indian Banks Association and other departments involved in the crackdown against defaulting companies.
The disqualification under Section 164 of the Act is by operation of law. We are identifying the defaulting directors of these shell companies. My officers have assured me that by the end of this month, we would be ready with the relevant details of all defaulting directors of these shell companies, the minister said.
He also said that the whole exercise would go a long way in creating an atmosphere of confidence and faith in the system paving the way for ease of doing business in India.
Founder Jack Ma celebrated his Chinese e-commerce company Alibabas 18th anniversary on September 8 in style.
The billionaire and one of the most celebrated entrepreneurs in the world dedicated his performance to Michael Jackson.
He entered the stage on a bike donning a black-and-gold mask and performed on the King of Pops iconic song, Billie Jean, emulating Jacksons pelvic thrusts and hand flips. He then removed the mask and invited others from his team to perform with him. Together, they grooved to the tunes of the very famous numbers Dangerous and Black and White.
Ma has a reason to celebrate his companys 18th birthday in style, notes a Quartz report. The companys stock has endured a rally since January 2017, and its valuation recently passed the $400 billion markputting it just a short distance behind Amazon.
Social media cant get over Mas moves. This is what they had to say:
Hahaha!!! What do you say Jeff Bezos @amazon ?? Mark (@Mark_Duarte) September 12, 2017
If your boss is not as cool as the Alibaba CEO, you need to get a new job https://t.co/f4yVKXCt3u Annabel R Nielsen (@annabel_rn) September 12, 2017
This is enough to make Michael pirouette in his grave. David J.Catchpoole (@Hopcatchy) September 12, 2017
:)) Vijay Shekhar (@vijayshekhar) September 12, 2017
This was not the first time Ma, a fan of theatrics, regaled his audience in such a grandiose celebration. In 2009, he sported a heavy metal wig and performed parts of the Lion King in front of thousands of employees at the companys 10th anniversary.
It is a difficult time to be a part of the minority community in India today with threats of various sorts coming from different quarters. But a new assault on them is the approval by the Jharkhand Cabinet of a stringent anti-conversion law, titled in characteristic double-speak, as the Religious Freedom Bill, 2017. It contains stiff jail sentences and fines for converting people through allurement or coercion.
A day before this Cabinet decision, residents of Jharkhand awoke to front-page advertisements with pictures of Mahatma Gandhi, and a toxic quote attributed to him attacking conversions by Christian missionaries. As a columnist wrote in an online publication, the words were pulled out of context and distorted. Gandhi must not be appropriated by an ideology that is violently opposed to all he stood far: An India with full religious freedom and equal rights. And it is intensely worrying that taxpayers money is used to foment hatred against a segment of people of the state.
Christians constitute a small 4.3% of the population of Jharkhand. The same tribal family may have adherents of the animist Sarna faith (comprising nearly 13% of the population), Christians and persons who identify themselves as Hindus. Left to themselves, tribal families and communities live with peace with this diversity of faith practices. But the propaganda of the Right-wing, now backed by the state government, aggravated by the draconian anti-conversion law, will tear apart these families and communities.
The proposed anti-conversion law in Jharkhand has fostered enormous disquiet among Christians everywhere in India. The ultra Right-wing regards Islam and Christianity to be a foreign religion, and therefore requires its adherents to respect Hindu culture and practices. But to advance its political juggernaut objectives, it has built alliances with Christian community leaders in some parts of India, such as Kerala and north-eastern states. However, particularly in large tribal states of central India like Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh, the political strategy of choice has been to target, defame and intimidate Christians, with violence against their shrines, priests, nuns and women, and with laws that criminalise conversions to Christianity.
But it must be stressed that Jharkhand will not be the first government to pass an anti-conversion law if this is voted for by the state assembly. Anti-conversion laws were passed in Orissa in 1967 under a Swatantra Party government; in Madhya Pradesh in 1968 under the Samyukta Vidhayak Dal coalition (which included the Jan Sangh); and in Gujarat in 2003 and Chhattisgarh in 2006 under BJP governments. The Jayalalithaa government in Tamil Nadu passed the law in 2002 but repealed it in two years after its passage in 2004. The only Congress government to pass such a law was in Himachal Pradesh in 2006. Rajasthan passed an anti-conversion law in 2006, but the governor refused to sign the law. Arunachal Pradesh passed such a law in 1978 under the Peoples Party of Arunachal, but it was never enforced as rules have not been framed to date.
Members of the Constituent Assembly took great care to uphold the freedom of religious belief in Indias Constitution. After extended debate, it decided that this freedom should not just be to practise and profess ones faith, but also to propagate it. KM Munshi declared that under freedom of speech which the Constitution guarantees, it will be open to any religious community to persuade other people to join their faith.
However, organisations like the RSS never reconciled to this fundamental guarantee of the Constitution. They rail against the menace of Christian conversions allegedly funded by big foreign money. It matters little that the facts dont bear out their claims. Christians constituted 2.5% of Indias population in 1981, and 2.3% in 1991, 2001 and 2011. If large-scale conversions were indeed occurring, their numbers would have swelled. This sustained misinformation has resulted in profound and sometimes violent schisms between Christian and other tribal people.
In this divisive competition for the religious allegiance of Indias poorest and most vulnerable people, marked by stridency and hate, it is important to recall the gentle counsel of one of the worlds tallest public figures, the Dalai Lama: It does not matter which God you worship, or even if you worship no God. What is important is to be a compassionate human being.
Harsh Mander is author, Looking Away: Inequality, Prejudice and Indifference in New India
The views expressed are personal
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Lithuania may decide to implement a key energy project for the Baltic States - synchronization of electricity grids with the rest of the EU - on its own, BNS reported.
While discussing the synchronization issue during a visit to Poland last week, Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis unexpectedly announced that an agreement would be signed with Poland in the near future. Virgilijus Poderys, the chairman of the Energy Commission in the Seimas, has also called for enacting "plan B."
"Events are unfolding in such a way the time has come for Lithuania to prepare for 'plan B:' synchronization with European electricity grids independently, not tying ourselves to electricity grid plans in Latvia and Estonia," Poderys said.
Steps Russia is taking to prepare for synchronization of the Baltic States with the rest of the EU are the motivating factor, they said.
According to European Network of Transmission System Operators (ENTSO-E), Russia is building a new electrical transmission line along the border with Estonia and along the border with Belarus, in order to strengthen its electrical transmission system. In addition, Belarus is buildingEU an electrical transmission line from the Belarusian nuclear power plant now under construction. The electricity independence of the Kaliningrad region is being provided by construction of new thermal power plants there.
"Russia today is preparing for our synchronization and preparing to work in a closed regime and is doing everything to shore up BRELL [the Belarus-Russia-Estonia-Latvia-Lithuania electricity ring] without us. I would not be very surprised if, in a few years, instead of us doing the unplugging, we are the ones who get unplugged," opposition lawmaker Dainius Kreivys, who is a member of the Energy Commission, told the BNS.
The head of Lithuanian electricity grid operator Litgrid, Rimvydas Stilinis, said the idea of Lithuania going it alone has not previously been examined and whether it is technically possible would be studied in order to be ready if the political decision is made.
If Lithuania decides to carry out the project, it would have to install so-called converters at the border with Latvia, in order to maintain linkage with grids operating in various synchronization regimes.
In May 2017, the Baltic States and Poland reached preliminary agreement on synchronization of the grids in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia with the rest of the EU via Poland, on the already existing LitPol Link. They did not rule out construction of new links.
However, at the beginning of September, differences over the project emerged among the countries.
Estonia said it could not agree to synchronize electricity grids over the unreliable and expensive option of a single link and could not support the agreement between Lithuania and Poland. Economic Affairs and Infrastructure Minister Kadri Simson said at least two Lithuania-Poland links are essential for system reliability.
Latvian Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis also maintains that a second LitPol link is needed for synchronization to take place.
A report prepared by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre says that the optimal variant for synchronization is via two LitPol Links: in that case, spending on synchronization might total 770 million-960 million euro compared with a cost given one link of 900 million euro.
The electricity grids of Russia, Belarus and the Baltic States are currently united by the BRELL electricity ring.
DEHRADUN: With not even a week left for BJP national president Amit Shahs visit to Uttarakhand, the ruling party is still batting infighting. For the last two months, a few incidents have given clear signs of cracks within the party. BJP state president Ajay Bhatt spoke to Hindustan Times about the growing unrest among the party workers and how the leaders are trying to calm them.
Q) What action has been taken after the clash between Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad members and supporters of Haridwar Rural MLA Swami Yatishwaranand?
ABVP is a different organisation as we do not share similar school of thought. Had it been one of our frontal organisations, we would have suspended those found guilty. We are trying to maintain dialogue with the organisational heads to resolve this issue.
Q) But, it is known that the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh has supported the ABVP in the episode.
The matter is definitely serious. We will try to resolve this issue mutually. Even then, if they dont agree, they can proceed with legal battle. The party has no say in that.
Q) ABVP claims Swami supported the rival candidate at the Gurukul Kangri University due to which it lost the students union election. Is it true?
Swami has already stated that there was a misunderstanding. We will try to find what exactly happened and also
to bridge the gap between the both sides.
Q) The scuffle between supporters of Cabinet minister Satpal Maharaj and Haridwar mayor Manoj Garg exposed infighting in the party as Garg is a loyalist of Cabinet minister Madan Kaushik.
Our disciplinary committee is recording statements regarding the incident. Neither the members of the ashram nor the sanitation workers who fought with each other are our party members. However, we are trying to resolve the issue.
Q) Does these incidents indicate war within the parivaar (family)?
The BJP is a large family and such small incidents are bound to happen. Sometimes, there are misunderstanding as well. I spoke to the Haridwar mayor who said it was unfortunate that he reached the spot when the administration was about to take action. He claimed he became the victim.
Q) But the sanitation workers deliberately threw garbage outside Maharajs ashram.
Yes, they did. We are seeking explanation from the mayor.
Q) Some senior leaders claim the BJP is not taking strict action against those disturbing the peace
of the party.
Its not like that. There is a mechanism for everything and we are taking detail report of all incidents.
Q) Do you think these incidents will blot the unified image of BJP especially when Shahs visit is nearing? Leaders are contemplating to complain him about the ongoing tussle.
Anyone can complain to Shahji. We cant stop them. But, the BJP is a unified party and just because of a few incidents, I dont think it is right to label the party as fragmented.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
They came in search of livelihood to provide a better future for their families, but were forced to make the hard choice of selling off kidneys once jobs proved elusive.
It is the common link connecting the four people, who were apprehended along with middlemen in the kidney racket running from the Gangotri Charitable Hospital. Located on the DehradunHaridwar national highway, the Gangotri Charitable Hospital would allegedly open only when there was any operation on schedule. The men were intercepted when they were going to Delhi to collect payments.
I am from a poor family, with no ancestral agriculture land or resources to properly feed my family. Then I came in contact with some agent who assured me of providing employment in a company. But, when we came here we were given a proposal to earn anywhere between 3-4 lakh in a single day by giving our kidney. Initially, I was shocked to hear this but the thought of returning and starting on my own with this money came up in the mind, said Bhawaji Bhai.
The 48-year-old man from Gujarat had consented to give kidney but retracted at the last moment.
Sheikh Taj Ali Ahmed, 28, whose kidney was removed at the hospital, now rues his decision. We were offered around 3.60 lakh but when I asked for the said amount after the surgery, the middlemen dilly-dallied on payment. From operating doctor, medical staff members to middlemen, their behaviour changed after the surgery. I realised the huge mistake I had made and yelled for help... I have lost both kidney and money, a weeping Ahmed said.
The men said the hospital was well equipped with three operation theatres and 20 beds in ICU. We were asked to provide contact details of individuals who would easily give consent for kidney removal in lieu of money. Middlemen accompanied us throughout our arrival, stay and departure. We were strictly told not to interact with fellow patients or nursing staff, else they would not give full payment, Ahmed added.
Chief medical officer, Haridwar, Dr Ravindra Thapliyal said ultrasound and primary medical checkup of the two kidney illegal donors on Monday confirmed removal of kidneys and medicines were given to prevent spread of infection which is common after surgeries. The patients were discharged and are under police security cover at an undisclosed location, he said.
Cabinet Minister Madan Kaushik said the government has ordered a probe into this matter and the police still investigating further to trace the organ racket.
The Uttarakhand government on Tuesday said investigation would be carried out to find out if similar organ rackets were being run in other parts of the state, a day after the police busted a kidney racket being run from a hospital near the Uttarakhand capital.
Cabinet minister and government spokesperson Madan Kaushik said the government was awaiting a detailed report in the matter. The strictest action will be taken against the culprits once the final report comes in. Police and health officials have been asked to find out if similar (illegal kidney removal) incidents could be operating in other parts of the state as well, Kaushik said.
Preliminary police investigation suggests that the Gangotri Charitable Hospital at Lal Tappad, around 30 km from Dehradun, was primarily used for illegal surgeries as there were no signs of any outpatient department at the hospital. Two operation theatres and dialysis machine were found at the hospital, though no proper records of patients or doctors were found there.
While patients are kept under medical care after removal/transplantation of kidneys, it appears that they used to be packed off to Delhi within 24 hours of the surgery, Dehradun senior superintendent of police (SSP) Nivedita Kukreti Kumar said.
The police suspect that over 25 surgeries might have been conducted at the hospital in about three months, though further investigations are on to ascertain the same. The modus operandi was to entice the poor people from far-off states such as West Bengal, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, after which the rich patients, including foreigners, underwent transplants, a police officer said.
One of the four people, who had been brought to the hospital for kidney removal and were later apprehended near Haridwar on their way to Delhi, told the police that the tout Javed Khan promised Rs 3 lakh for each kidney. It is suspected that the patients may have been charged anywhere up to Rs 50 lakh. It also appears from initial investigation that surgeons from other cities used to carry out the illegal surgeries, the police said.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) Tuesday suspended the helicopter services in the Kedarnath valley over non-compliance of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) directions on height and level of noise that the choppers generate.
Hundreds of pilgrims were stranded at Kedarnath and nearby areas in Rudrprayag district as UCADA ordered all the nine operators to ground their helicopters. A large number of pilgrims, intending to avoid the 16-km trek to the Kedarnath shrine, opt for the chopper services.
The move comes after the operators failed to respond to several notices that the UCADA issued to the helicopter operators in last two months asking them to submit a detailed compliance report on flying choppers above 2000 ft (600 m) from the ground level in consonance with the NGTs directive.
We sent several notices to these companies, but none replied. They have to submit the coordinates of choppers mentioning whether or not they are flying above 2000 feet as directed by the NGT. So, we asked for suspending the services for one day, R Rajesh Kumar, additional secretary, civil aviation department, told Hindustan Times.
After suspending the chopper services, the UCADA, in the afternoon, held a meeting with the operators. Eight of the nine aviation companies are functional.
The suspension spurred the eight aviation companies to submit their reports which were scrutinized by chief engineer UCADA, G Seetaiah. After the scrutiny, the UCADA decided late Tuesday evening to allow eight choppers of the eight aviation companies positioned at Guptkashi, Phata and Sersi helipads to resume services from Wednesday morning.
The eco-sensitive Kedarnath valley is home to a wide range of flora and fauna. In a report that Wildlife Institute of India (WII) submitted to NGT after conducting study, it was found that the operators were flying the choppers at low altitude sometimes as low as 150 metres (500 ft approx) from ground level to cut short the trip time and save fuel. This, in turn, leads to high noise pollution with choppers generating up to 80 decibels of sound. The study was conducted after a PIL was filed before the green tribunal seeking to put in place an aviation policy in the eco-sensitive zones such as the Kedarnath valley. Officers from Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) also visited the valley after the portals were opened for tourists on May 3.
Pilgrims, however, had to bear the brunt of the suspension of helicopter services on Tuesday. Kedarnath MLA Manoj Rawat, who was in Delhi, said, I received calls from many tourists who were seeking help because of the suspension of the choppers services. Many told me that they have come with their elderly parents or grandparents and are now stranded.
Mangesh Ghildiyal, district magistrate (DM), Rudraprayag, claimed that the situation was under control. We came to know about suspension of flights in morning. There are facilities at various points for tourists. We were told the suspension would be for one day and we will send the pilgrims to the shrine on Wednesday morning.
In 2013, Kedarnath had faced massive flashfloods claiming lives of over 5000 people. Following the natural calamity, the chopper service was launched for safe travel of pilgrims.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
htdehradun@htlive.com
HARIDWAR/DEHRADUN: A joint team of Haridwar and Dehradun police personnel busted an illegal kidney-removal operation being allegedly run from a hospital at Lal Tappad, near the Uttarakhand capital, on Monday.
Police said flight tickets to Oman were found at the spot, hinting at a possible international link to the racket.
Acting on a tip-off, the joint team stopped a car plying from the Gangotri Charitable Hospital to Delhi at the Saptrishi border checkpost near Haridwar. Four people Sheikhtaj Ali, Susama Banerjee, Krishna Das (all residents of West Bengal) and Bhavji Bhai (from Gujarat) were arrested along with the driver, identified as local resident Deepak Kumar. Though a tout Javed Khan from Mumbai managed to escape from the spot, he was later taken into custody.
When questioned, Bhavji told police that he and his companions had been promised Rs 3 lakh per kidney by the tout. The kidneys of Das and Ali had been removed at the hospital, and Banerjee and Bhavji were to be operated on next. However, when Javed did not pay the promised amount, we refused to go ahead with the procedure. When we started protesting, they decided to pack us off to Delhi in a car with Javed, Bhavji said.
Police are conducting raids to arrest Dr Amit Rawat, a medical professional allegedly involved in the racket. Forensic experts and health department officials are assisting investigators in the probe.
According to the preliminary investigation, the accuseds modus operandi was to bring people from faraway states like Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Gujarat, and conduct the kidney-removal procedure at the hospital, Dehradun senior superintendent of police (SSP) Nivedita Kukreti Kumar said. The possible involvement of hospital staffers in the racket is also being probed.
Ali, Banerjee, Das and Bhavji were later referred to the Chaman Rai district hospital at Haridwar for a medical examination. Chief medical superintendent Aarti Dhaundiyal said though ultrasound reports were still awaited, it prima facie seemed as if surgical procedures had been conducted on two people.
The Faridabad Police arrested an 18-year-old boy on Monday allegedly for killing a 12-year-old school boy, who had been missing since August 24.
The victims decomposing body, besides his uniform, were recovered from the crime spot on Monday while the accused was sent into five-day police custody.
Police said the accused has admitted to the crime and disclosed that he sexually assaulted the victim before killing him. We rounded up Suraj late on Sunday and questioned him. During the interrogation he confessed to having killed the boy. The accused revealed that during recess on August 24, he lured the boy and took him to the nearby bushes where he strangled him to death, said Hans Raj, SHO, Ballabgarh Sadar.
The police said they have recovered shirt, pant and decomposing body of the victim from the crime spot and sent them for forensic examination. All angles of the case are being investigated, the SHO said.
The family of the victim had registered a missing case with Ballabgarh Sadar Police station on August 24. The family had alleged that their ward, who studied in class 7 in a government school in their village, did not return after he had gone to school on August 24.
Police said the family got suspicious about Suraj of the same village as he had gone missing from home after the incident.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Following recent cases of crime against children in schools, the Delhi government on Monday ordered every school to install CCTV cameras in its premises and complete police verification of their non-teaching staff within three weeks.
The order was issued after deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia held a meeting of school principals, police officers, heads of all government departments and other stakeholders on the issue of safety of students.
All schools, whether government/MCD-run or private, will have to mandatorily install CCTV cameras in classrooms, washroom, corridors, stairways and playgrounds, Sisodia said. There are over 5,700 schools in Delhi and while there is no official number of their non-teaching staff, rough estimates by government officials suggest there are around one lakh of them.
Schools have been asked to conduct police verification of their non-teaching staff in three weeks. Be it sanitation workers, security staff or drivers, every one under this category will have to be covered under this.
He said the schools will be required to submit the details about police verification on the portal of the Directorate of Education (DoE). They will also have to give the details on the number of CCTV cameras installed and submit monthly reports on the upkeep of these devices.
The government has also set up a high-level committee chaired by the DoE director that will frame guidelines for the safety of students in schools. The committee has representatives from all related sectors, including school principals, police officials, transport officials, civic body officials and so on.
The committee will look into all aspects be it transport safety or the conduct of the non-teaching staff and submit its recommendations within a month, Sisodia said.
The Delhi Police informed the minister that it will carry out the verification process on priority basis. Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Bhairon Singh has been nominated on the high-level committee. We also urge schools to deploy sufficient security guards from recognised security agency only, said Ravindra Yadav, Joint Commissioner of Police (Eastern Range).
On Sunday, Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik had said that the Delhi Police would conduct an extensive safety audit of all schools in Delhi.
There is a list of people convicted for sexual offences on the Delhi Police website and we have asked schools to have a look at the list before hiring staffers, the JCP said.
All these measures are being taken amid increased concerns over the safety on school premises after the killing of a seven-year-old student in Gurgaons Ryan International School and alleged rape of five-year-old girl at her school in East Delhi's Gandhinagar.
A week after the Lieutenant Governors rider-laden approval to set up mohalla clinics, Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain has claimed the government is very close to achieving its goal.
The Delhi government had set a target of 1,000 mohalla clinics across the national capital. Currently, there are only around 155 of such clinics.
On Facebook Live on Monday, Jain said, We thought opening the mohalla clinics should be an easy project and we would be able to do it in one or one-and-a-half years time. However, it took us that much time to get the approvals alone. We built 100 clinics, showed the world its benefits and yet the project was stuck. Now, we have crossed the biggest hurdle (of getting approvals) and the clinics should come up soon.
The minister has refused to give a completion date for the project.
I have realised that whenever I give a date for projects, they try and prevent it from happening on time, Jain said, blaming political rivals for creating hurdles in delivering good governance.
Civic bodies unlikely to transfer 121 sites for mohalla clinics to Delhi government
LG Anil Baijals nod on September 5 was followed by refusal from municipal corporations to transfer land.
The civic agencies have said that most sites identified are in premises of primary schools, community centres, parks, welfare centres and even on roads. They have said that since this land is already with different departments the municipal corporation cannot transfer the rights for use to Delhi government.
Of the total 1,000 mohalla clinics, the Delhi government plans to set up 300 inside government schools.
These clinics will help implement school health programmes... there will be a doctor at hand for all medical emergencies. This (model) is better than (the ones in) even Western countries where only a trained nurse is posted in schools, the health minister said.
Assuring childrens safety, Jain said people will be allowed to visit these clinics only after school hours and there will be a separate entrance.
Brutal crimes against children in schools have earned various governments and private schools in the national capital region harsh criticism and penal action for lax security.
A man has been arrested for kidnapping his own son from his estranged wife over two-and-a-half months ago.
Mohammad Shahid kidnapped his son from his first wife, Muskaan, because the court had given the childs custody to the mother and he wanted to keep the boy, Romil Baaniya, deputy commissioner of police (south-east), told Hindustan Times .
Muskaan married another man one-and-a half years ago.
The two-year-old boy was kidnapped from a busy market in south Delhis Batla House was rescued from a flat in east Delhis West Vinod Nagar.
Shahid and his live-in partner Kashish, alias, Alisha, have been arrested for the crime. Shahid is an actor and dancer and worked in some Bhojpuri films. He also worked in regional music albums.
Shahid wanted to keep his son with him. But as Muskaan was not ready to give her sons custody to Shahid, he and Kashish kidnapped the boy and kept him with them in their West Vinod Nagar home, said Baaniya.
The DCP said that on June 26, Muskaans mother Mumtaz lodged a missing complaint at the Jamia Nagar police station.
Mumtaz had taken the child to Batla House market for Eid shopping. Shahid was also present in the market when the child went missing.
A kidnapping case was registered. Initially, Shahid diverted the probe by his suggesting his live-in partner Kashishs involvement.
He misled the police by making them conduct raids in Bareilly and Delhi to locate Kashish. But when his role came under police scanner, Shahid went underground.
We learnt that Shahid was staying in a flat with his live-in partner in east Delhi. We raided the flat and safely rescued the child, the DCP added. The child was restored to his mother.
Police had announced a cash reward of Rs 20,000 on any information about the missing child.
Delhi Police Tuesday claimed to have solved the murder of a man whose headless body was found in outer Delhis Samaypur Badli on Monday morning and arrested three men for the crime.
The murder, investigators said, was an honour killing.
The deceased, Javed, a 22-year-old, allegedly had an affair with of one of the arrested mens sister. Police also learnt that Javed was having another affair with the wife of a man who is yet to be arrested.
Police said the arrested men are Ranjeet,18, Gulab Singh, 21 and Rahul, 20 -- all residents of Siraspur in Samaipur Badli.
On Monday, the police control room received information about a headless body in the fields near the Siras Pur metro station. Police registered a case and identified the body as that of Javed.
A local informed police that Javed could have been murdered by his neighbour. The two were last seen together on Sunday night.
Within hours of the tip-off, the police raided Ranjeets house in Siraspur and arrested him along with his friends Gulab Singh and Rahul on Monday night. The three led police to the spot where they had hidden Javeds severed head. Their friend Darshay is yet to be arrested.
DCP Rohini, Rishi Pal, said the three men said Javed had an illicit relationship with Ranjeets sister and another affair with Darshays wife.
The four had earlier warned him to sever ties with the women but Javed had reportedly refused after which they planned to eliminate him.
DCP Pal said that as per the plan, Ranjeet, who works in a carpet factory, called Javed for a drink on Sunday evening. The two drank heavily in the fields behind the Siraspur metro station while Darshay waited in the bushes with a meat cleaver.
When Javed was heavily drunk, all the accused person overpowered him while Darshay came out with the cleaver and chopped Javeds head in several attempts. After cutting Javeds dead, they threw it in the paddy field to ensure that he was not identified, said the officer.
Estonian Foreign Minister Sven Mikser has said that Estonia intends to continue supporting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
"Estonia has always been and will always remain a strong supporter of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said during a meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman in Kyiv on Tuesday.
The minister noted cooperation between the countries in the areas of electronic governance and security.
"We all appreciate Estonia's position with regard to Ukraine, and we highly appreciate the support we receive from your country," Groysman said in turn.
Polling began in the Delhi University (DU) on Tuesday for the next batch of student representatives. The voting for morning students is open from 8.30am to 1pm while the evening classes students will get chance to vote from 3pm to 7.30pm.
The candidates have been campaigning long and hard, with posters plastered across almost every inch of the campus, and have been looking at issues such as transportation and accommodation.
But, this time, besides the run of the mill issues, ideological matters will also come into play in the backdrop of the violence at Ramjas where the Left-leaning student outfits clashed with the RSS-backed ABVP.
The major players in the fray include the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Congress student outfit National Students Union of India. The left wing All India Students Association (AISA) is also one of the more vocal participants.
For the college union elections, I will vote for the candidates who came and met us personally; those who helped us out during the admission time and the first few days in college, about accommodation, books, exploration of the campus. For DUSU, I think I will have to rely on which candidates the seniors in my college are supporting, said Girish Kumar Gudda, a first year Life Sciences student at Ramjas College.
While the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) polls are contested on national and political issues, the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) polls are many a times determined by muscle and money power and grassroots issues.
For DU students, connectivity, accommodation, drinking water and canteen facilities still remain major concerns. However, this year, many believe what happened at Ramjas College earlier this year and the allegedly growing violence on campus, will have a direct impact on their decision when they reach the polling booth.
DUSU elections: Broken rules, dirty rivalry, dodgy nominees its quite a potboiler
Divyanshu Gupta, a student of Ram Lal Anand College said, This year it will not be just about local issues but students will ideological preference at the back of their mind too while voting and there are high chances of polarisation of votes among two main students outfit in the campus politics.
The ideological battle lines are drawn mainly between the ABVP and AISA, who had clashed at Ramjas earlier this year; but many say it might actually be the NSUI who might emerge the winner in the midst of the tussle.
Deepika Sharma and Prashansha Wadhwa, third year history students at Kirori Mal College, said that many people do not see any merit in voting for AISA, as they do not think they can win. People who want to vote against ABVP, but do not think AISA can actually win and do not want their votes to go to waste, may actually end up voting for NSUI, said Sharma.
A student of Motilal Nehru College , who did not wished to be named said besides the issue of transportation, connectivity, hostels and better drinking water or canteen facility, the elections, especially in off campus and South Campus colleges are also influenced by village heads.
Most colleges are near to South Delhi villages. The candidates often seek helps of village heads who ask the boys of the village to actively participate in elections. For instance the villagers of Katwaria Sarai and Lado Sarai village will give a dictate to help a candidate in Aurobindo college and most students of villages studying there will caste vote accordingly, he said.
The Supreme Court order in the Jaypee insolvency case is a clear indication that the government must amend the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and give adequate representation to homebuyers interest.
Enacted last August, the IBC aims to first restructure the debt of a company, failing which, it goes into liquidation. The Code has made provisions for the appointment of insolvency resolution professional after the company fails to pay the debt of its creditors.
But while it gives representation to all types of creditors in the resolution proceedings of a company, it doesnt recognise homebuyers as creditors nor has it any provision to represent them in resolution proceedings.
This lacuna was first highlighted in the Jaypee Infratech insolvency case, in which the savings of about 32,000 buyers is involved. The Supreme Court on Monday directed Jaiprakash Associates the parent company of Jaypee Infratech to pay up Rs 2,000 crore by October 27, and sought the formulation of a plan to protect affected homebuyers within 45 days.
Insolvency proceedings against Jaypee were admitted by the Allahabad bench of National Company Law Tribunal on August 9 after IDBI Bank, the lead consortium of lenders to the construction firm, moved a petition that the company defaulted on a Rs 526-crore loan.
But last month, the Supreme Court put the insolvency proceedings on hold after homebuyers petitioned it to ensure their investments were protected.
Legal and insolvency experts say in case of a real estate company, the insolvency code acts against the interests of the homebuyers.
Besides the non-representation of buyers interest, the insolvency resolution process (IRP) puts a moratorium under Section 14 of the Code on institution of fresh suits, pending suits, recoveries, etc.
So buyers are neither properly represented in the IRP nor can they go for any for legal remedy anywhere.
When the SC stayed the insolvency resolution process (IRP) on September 4, it was a clear indication that there was some lacuna in the code, said Ashwarya Sinha, a Supreme Court lawyer who represents Jaypee buyers.
It has further fortified on September 11 when the SC appointed two lawyers to espouse the cause of the home buyers in the IRP and protect their interests, he said.
Sinha said its an indication to the government that the code is incomplete because it doesnt factor in the interests of the real estate.
Venket Rao, expert on insolvencies, said unlike other industries, real estate is one where the customers i.e. home buyers are in a different footing and their claim or involvement with the real estate company under insolvency is much longer and larger.
One can argue that IBC could not be made industry specific but in the current situation, it calls for a special carve-out situation. The message from the SC order is clear and loud that an amendment is called for in the Code, Rao said.
Homebuyers also say that the SC order has put to rest a lot of questions being asked earlier with regard to the misuse of the insolvency process by real estate companies to further delay the project as the Code gives six months time to complete the resolution process.
Realising the plight of the buyers, SC has asked IRP to finish the process in 45 days, says Pushkar Singh, a Jaypee buyer.
Adds Rajinder Mallik, another buyer, With this apex courts landmark order, homebuyers say in the entire process of insolvency of real estate companies has become a must.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The three civic agencies have swung into action after the Delhi governments directions to complete police verification of non-teaching staff at schools within three weeks.
But going by their past performances, the chances of installing CCTV cameras in school premises for the safety of children look bleak.
The directives were issued by the Delhi government on Monday, amid rising concerns over safety of kids in schools after an eight-year-old student was murdered in Gurgaons Ryan International and the alleged rape of a five-year-old girl at her school in Gandhi Nagar.
The plan to install surveillance cameras in primary schools was part of the three municipal corporations budgets for the two last consecutive years. But none could cover even one-fourth of schools so far.
The three municipal corporations have around 1,200 school buildings and only 77 have provisions for CCTV cameras.
Out of them, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation failed to install cameras even in a single school while EDMC could start work a few months back in 15 schools after Rs 2 crore was allocated by Member of Parliament and Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari.
On the other hand, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, which is doing financially well compared to its counterparts, has covered only 62 school buildings so far. Officials, though, claim that tenders would be allocated soon for installing cameras in all schools.
Preeti Agarwal, mayor, North DMC said budget is the main constraint for the delay in implementing the proposal. We are running under financial deficit even right now but efforts would be made to install cameras in some schools, to begin with, she said.
Agarwal accepted that safety of students is important for the civic agency and thats why orders have been issued to start verification of non-teaching staff.
Though there is no deadline for installing CCTV cameras, we will arrange them over the period of time even if it requires arrangement of funds from other sources, EDMC commissioner, Ranbir Singh.
Besides, the number of other non-teaching staff deployed in civic agencies is not encouraging too. Of the 1097 posts created for school attendants, 415 are unoccupied in North and East Corporations. Similarly, of the 589 posts for nursery, 116 posts for vacant for years.
Nearly 241 posts for chowkidars are lying vacant in three civic agencies, of which 200 are in South. Though private guards are deployed at some places, we are going to hire manpower from civil defence soon, said a south corporation official.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Last week, vice-president M Venkaiah Naidu, who was the NDAs urban development minister before his elevation, said people must be prepared to pay higher taxes or user charges for smart cities. This burden will have to be borne by the people for availing modern infrastructure in the existing ones, he said at a meeting in Ranchi. This may surprise many because to date the NDA has not explicitly said anything about these charges, but as things fall in place, they would probably be more open about it. The SCM document, mentions the principles for levying user charges: Where services can be measured and beneficiaries identified; user charges could be levied for maintenance; and that it would be linked to improved quality of service.
As an earlier piece in these pages mentioned, the funds for these SCM projects are raised from a variety of public and private sources; the primary part comes from the smart cities budget. The mission offers cities Rs 1,000 crore per city over five years, and this accounts for over 50% of the budget of the top 90 cities. The funding was initially imagined as seed money that could help cities venture into the debt market, however, this funding seems to be used more as a regular grant, wrote the author of the piece, Persis Taraporevala, a research associate with the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi. Over 20% of funding for the 90 cities is sourced through a process of convergence wherein the cities incorporate the budgets of other government schemes such as the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and the affordable housing schemes etc into the smart city proposal budgets.
Already West Bengal has shown its reluctance towards the levying of user charges. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has said that her government didnt believe in lcharges for basic rights like water and has not sent any other cities for the competition after this statement. New town, Kolkata, was selected in the top 60 but they have not created a special purpose vehicle, which means it will not get central funds for the city.
For citizens (who are already saddled with different kind of cesses), what would be of interest is the quantum of charges that would be levied on them and what is the Centres plan to ensure that these smart cities are affordable for all. Last but not the least, they would want the process of levying user charges and its collection to be transparent and accountable.
A study published in the British Medical Journals BMJ Global Health reveals that Indian women who are victims of assault are 40 times more likely to die than US women who are victims of assault. The study that compared more than 25,000 trauma cases in the two countries found that while women in the US had five times better odds of surviving road accidents and falls as compared to Indian women, largely due to better available medical care; the numbers were really skewed when it came to assault. The paper goes on to cite several studies that show that only about one in four women in India seeks care services related to experiencing intimate partner violence.
This is a worrying trend and reflects a much larger social problem of condoning and not recognising incidents of violence against women, especially within the family system. It cannot be denied that the twin problems of blaming and shaming victims of assault physical, emotional, or sexual are deeply entrenched in the traditional conservative family set-up in which women are actively encouraged to adjust to almost anything. Most of the hidden instances of assault and abuse arise as a direct result of the honour argument. The victim is seen as a culprit for having maligned the honour of the family by revealing the abuse she has been subjected to; instead of looking at it as dishonourable to subject a person to emotional or physical abuse and assault. It is this deep seated patriarchal mindset that must first change for there to be adequate rehabilitation for those who have suffered assault at the hands of an intimate partner or someone from the immediate family. The slow process of the law is another impediment when it comes to victims reporting instances of such violence.
India needs a better system of legal help and social support in order for victims to not only be able to report physical abuse but also to escape it. The mindset that shames women and other victims of abuse into silence will have to change drastically for that to happen. The legal system will have to take the lead in encouraging more reporting of violence; but the social and family systems must undergo a major overhaul in order to prevent such abuse and help victims.
The Haryana government on Tuesday directed universities and their affiliated colleges to provide information like number of seats in each course and fee structure on their websites.
According to a release, the website must display information about number of seats in each course, fee structure, number of students in each class, list of teaching and non-teaching staff along with designations and qualifications.
Education minister Ram Bilas Sharma said students often complain that they are not given admission despite seats lying vacant in universities and they were being charged higher fees.
He said universities would ensure that all its affiliated colleges have a well maintained and updated website along with mandatory information.
The murder of an eight-year-old at Ryan International School in Bhondsi near Gurgaon has put the focus back on safety of children within schools.
Investigations have pointed to lapses in security and safety measures that could have prevented the murder at Ryan. Earlier this year, Hindustan Times ran a series, How Safe Are Our Kids, diving deep into how schools could address lurking dangers.
Here are five key areas of focus:
Sexual abuse
According to the National Crimes Records Bureau (NCRB), 15,039 children were identified as victims of assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in 2015. Of these, 8,800 cases were filed under sections 4 & 6 of the Act dealing with penetrative and aggressively penetrative sexual assaults respectively.
In 8,341 cases, the attacker was known to the child.
From constituting special counselling teams to address issues related to child abuse to teaching children about bad and good touch, and encouraging them to speak up if anything untoward happens to them schools need to step up and take action. Registering staffers with police, limiting access for outsiders and establishing child protection committees are other ways to tackle and prevent such incidents.
Read more here
School Transport
School children continue to die every year despite the issuance of strict guidelines by the Supreme Court in the aftermath of a horrific accident in 1997, when a school bus plunged into the Yamuna from a bridge at Wazirabad in Delhi, killing 28 students of a government-run school at Ludlow Castle.
Twenty years later, not much has changed. Though government data says Delhi has 2,468 school buses and around 500 vans, officials believe the number could be over 3,000 because many schools and private cab owners continue to operate vans and buses without permits. Last year, the Delhi traffic police penalised the owners of 1,160 school buses and vans for not possessing the requisite permission.
Guidelines for school buses include, among other things, a school bus label with name and number of school, not exceeding 50 kmph speed, having an escort from school travel in the bus etc.
Read more here
Safety Audits
Schools must conduct safety audits at least twice a year, say experts. A draft checklist prepared by educational consultant Ambuja Iyer, includes aspects such as fire safety, security, disaster preparedness.
Fire exits should be located at convenient points, while students and teachers should be aware of the evacuation plan. The safety audit should also involve measures to prevent accidents, including banisters and rails along stairway and corridors.
Read more here
Cyber bullying
Of all the risks children face online, cyber bullying or use of social media to embarrass or humiliate others, is most familiar and remains unchallenged. Posts uploaded for fun or in retaliation have caused serious damage to the target in the past.
In 2015, a class 12 student of Chhatarpur in Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself. Police probe revealed that Sandeep Sen was upset about a video uploaded on social media that showed him getting thrashed by some people. Police said he ended his life as he could not bear the humiliation.
According to Teens, Tweens and Technology report 2015 by cyber security firm Intel Security, at least one in every four children surveyed across metro cities said that they had been bullied online. A Parliamentary Standing Committee also acknowledged in its report on cyber crime in 2014 that cyber bullying was more prevalent than other perils of social media.
Read more here
Corporal Punishment
Even though the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, prohibits physical punishment and mental harassment under Section 17(1) and makes it a punishable offence under Section 17(2), majority of the teachers in Indian schools still believe in the old saying, spare the rod and spoil the child.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) which has more than 18000 schools affiliated to it across the country issues regular advisories to all the schools to sensitise the staff regarding corporal punishment. In letters to schools, CBSE highlights the fact that RTE Act has framed strong rules against corporal punishment, defining it as physical or mental harassment as illegal and punishable under sections 17(1) and 17(2).
Read more here.
Ward 35 of Gurgaon is surrounded by Delhi on three sides. Yet, despite so close to the National Capital, the ward lacks even the basic of civic amenities.
Officials said that Ward 35 is the only ward in the city whose arterial roads end at the tip of the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway at one end and Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road on the other.
However, that has done very little to bring relief to the residents here.
Its roads here are damaged, sewer connection blocked, illegal construction plenty and water supply scarce.
Amid these deficiencies, the expansion of Metro connectivity in the area, the mushrooming of offices at nearby Cyber City and a road leading to a popular mall often ensures that traffic is thrown out of gear.
Those who settled in the area in the early 2000s recollect that the situation wasnt this barbaric then. They remember being able to see their house from the Mehrauli-Gurgaon border when area had huge open spaces instead of the houses being virtually attached to each other.
My society was ensconced in a quiet corner overlooking a forested area. Water and electricity supply was plenty, and the plots were well spread out. Soon, MNCs started basing their offices in Cyber City and the area became an attraction for the working class. Once urbanization hit, illegal houses sprang up like mushroom, the supply-demand ration of amenities took a hit and things have never been the same again, Nitin Kumar, a resident of pink town houses in DLF Phase 3 said.
The DLF Phase 3 colony is one of the nine localities whose maintenance is due to be transferred from private colony to the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG). This issue has prompted residents from deciding not to vote during the upcoming elections.
The MCG was to take over the maintenance of the colony last year, but they never did. Even at present, it seems they arent going to take over the maintenance. How can we vote in the civic elections, when the civic body itself has failed us? Karan Sharma, a resident of white town houses in DLF Phase 3, said.
Many residents also voiced their concerns regarding MCGs failure to execute fumigation activities properly.
Despite numerous letters, emails and personal visits to MCG officials about mosquito breeding spots in the locality, no action has been taken. After that some residents tested positive for dengue and chikungunya. We hope that the new councilor addresses our issues, which the civic officials have failed to, said Anil Johri, a resident of U-block, DLF Phase 3.
The rural parts of the ward also have their issues with the MCG. In the past they have had numerous run-ins with the civic officials that have turned violent. For them, the elections holds importance as they want to choose a councilor that can be a representative of their interests in the civic body.
Two people from the village were arrested by the police for clashing with MCG officials, after the civic officials tried to take away their cattle claiming them to be stray animals. Dont they understand that the animals are their bread and butter and help them provide for the family? Navin Yadav, a resident of Nathupur said.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
An autopsy into the murder of an eight-year-old student of Ryan International School didnt establish sodomy but other forms of sexual assault cannot be ruled out, the doctor who conducted the procedure said on Tuesday.
A 42-year-old bus conductor, Ashok Kumar, was arrested after publicly confessing to slitting the throat of the Class 2 student who he allegedly tried to sexually abuse inside the private schools toilet on Friday.
Dr Deepak Mathur, who conducted the autopsy at Gurgaon civil hospital, said the boy was not sodomised and no semen marks were found on his school uniform. But a forensic report might be able to answer if any sexual attempt, say oral sex, was made before the murder, he added.
The boys parents think there is more to the murder that has triggered public outrage and raised concern about safety measures in schools.
They suspect their son was killed because he must have seen some dirty secret in the school.
It is not possible that my son was killed within 10 minutes of entering the school without any motive, said the father, who wants a CBI investigation and have filed a suit in the Supreme Court.
He wants to know why no one heard the boy screaming when the crime happened close to classrooms of the school in Bhondsi, near Gurgaon.
Dr Mathur ruled out the possibility of the child raising the alarm as his windpipe was slit and he bled to death in about a minute from two deep knife attacks.
The accused had overpowered him and the second cut, which was very deep, led to his death. The boy must have struggled for a minute before he succumbed to his injuries, he said.
The victim could have survived if he did not sustain a second cut, Mathur said.
As the murder continued to rivet the nation, Union ministers Maneka Gandhi and Prakash Javadekar decided to hold a high-level meeting on Wednesday to design a protocol to prevent sexual abuse and other crimes in schools.
The investigators turned their focus on the management of the Ryan group that has schools across the country.
The Bombay high court granted interim protection from arrest to the groups founders Grace and Augustine Pinto till Wednesday. They had sought anticipatory bail.
The murdered boys father has accused the school management of lax security on the campus, a fact corroborated by a government-appointed inquiry committee.
The panel found that around 40 adult staff, including drivers and conductors, shared toilets with students. Washroom windows were broken and there were no guards.
There are allegations that the school authorities tampered with evidence, cleaning out bloodstains from the toilet floor and the boys water bottle.
The murder suspect was remanded in judicial custody, after a potency test and his clothes were sent for DNA tests.
A magistrate recorded the statements of three junior school students, who were in the toilet when Kumar walked in. The three students, who had gone to the toilet to change clothes for their taekwondo class, crossed the victim in the corridor on their way out.
The bus conductor was arrested after they identified him in the surveillance camera video.
During the hearing of the murder of class 2 student of Ryan International School, the police told the Sohna court on Monday that the school authorities tampered with the evidence at the crime spot by wiping off blood from floor and walls.
Two top officials of Ryan Group of Institutions, who were arrested on Sunday, were remanded to two-day police custody for further questioning in the murder of the eight-year-old allegedly by a bus conductor of the groups school at Bhondsi in Gurgaon on Friday.
Francis Thomas, regional head of the group, and HR head Jayesh Thomas were arrested on Sunday night and booked under section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act. Section 75 of the JJ Act deals with cruelty and crime against children under custody of someone andinvites punishment of 5-10 years.
Police produced them at the Sohna court on Monday and demanded three-day remand but the court granted two-day custody. The police also added section 34 (common intention) of the IPC in the murder case. Prosecution counsels demanded addition of section 201 of the IPC (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender).
Francis was also booked in connection with drowning of a boy in a water tank at Ryan International School in south Delhis Vasant Kunj area. Six-year-old Devansh Meena went missing on January 30, 2016, and his body was recovered the same day from a water tank in the school.
Delhi police had made Francis the first accused as he was responsible for administration and civil work inside the school premises.
Police had on Friday night arrested the accused, Ashok Kumar, a 42-year-old bus conductor for the murder. He would be produced in court on Tuesday after his three-day remand ends.
CEO moves court
Apprehending immediate arrest in the case, Ryan International Schools CEO Ryan Pinto and his parents, Grace and Augustine, who are its founders, moved the Bombay high court on Monday seeking transit anticipatory bail.
Also, Gurgaon deputy commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh submitted a report on Monday by three-member committee to inquire into safety and security measures at the school.
Several loopholes have been found by the committee. There are no separate toilets for bus staff and students, CCTV cameras are not in sufficient number, toilets for students are unsafe, schools boundary wall is broken etc, said Singh. He forwarded the report to director of secondary education department for further action.
Meanwhile, a four-member team of Gurgaon police also went to Mumbai on Monday for questioning at Ryan head office and seek some documents related to Ryan International School, Bhondsi, regarding funds spent on safety and security.
Suspended principal in hospital
Acting principal of the school, Neerja Batra, who was suspended on Saturday, was rushed to a private hospital in Khandsa road on Monday after she complained of sudden pain in the chest during questioning by a Special Investigation Team of the police. The SIT is questioning three teachers including Batra.
Police said her blood pressure fluctuated suddenly and she was taken to a hospital. Batra claims that she took bleeding boy to a hospital in her car. Police sources said she might be arrested for negligence.
Ryan schools shut
All schools of Ryan group in Gurgaon have been ordered to remain shut on Monday and Tuesday on the directions of the district administration. Security has been stepped up at the school.
SHO suspended
Police also suspended inspector Arun Kumar, the SHO Sohna Sadar police station, in connection with the baton-charge on protestors which left several media persons injured and drew strong criticism from the opposition.
Gurgaon police spokesperson said the SHO was suspended after probe found that baton-charge was uncalled for and could have been avoided.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The Crimean Supreme Court has sentenced Akhtem Chiygoz, deputy chair of the Crimean Tatar Majilis (banned in Russia), to eight years in a penitentiary for instigating mass disturbances at a Simferopol rally on February 26, 2014, ahead of the referendum on Crimea's reunification with Russia, an Interfax correspondent reported from the courtroom.
Chiygoz was charged under Part 1, Article 212 of the Russian Criminal Code.
He listened to the proclamation of the sentence from the detention facility via a video-link.
The square in front of the court building was cordoned off, a metal detector gate was installed, and police officers were put on protection detail, the correspondent said.
Director JJ Abrams is all set to replace Colin Trevorrow as the helmer of the ninth chapter of the Star Wars film franchise.
Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy confirmed the news that the Star Wars: The Force Awakens director will return to head Star Wars: Episode IX, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
With The Force Awakens, JJ delivered everything we could have possibly hoped for, and I am so excited that he is coming back to close out this trilogy, Kennedy in a statement.
Abrams will also pen the script of the film, along with Chris Terrio.
Earlier, rumours were rife that Rian Johnson will direct Star Wars: Episode IX, after Colin Trevorrow left the project.
Johnson denied the reports saying, It was never in the plan for me to direct Episode IX, so I dont know whats going to happen with it. For me, I was entirely focused on (directing) Episode VIII and having this experience.
Follow @htshowbiz for more
Author Stephen Kings books have churned out some of the biggest films in Hollywood. The 1994 film, The Shawshank Redemption, which is adapted from his novella, titled Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, is rated as one of the best films of all times. The new horror film titled It, which has been receiving rave reviews across the globe, has been adapted from Kings 1986 novel by the same name. In an interview, King explains the secret behind the adaptations, It, and more. Excerpts:
When you watch a film based on one of your books, such as It, do you find yourself thinking about the changes the filmmaker has made, or are you able to just sit back and enjoy it like a member of the audience?
Both. I look for the changes and I look to see whats there and whats not there. But I like movies, so I have a tendency to just kick back in the third row with a box of popcorn and enjoy it as much as I can.
What, specifically, did you connect with in this film?
This film really feels like something different and worthwhile on every level. It isnt just a horror movie; it has resonance. Andy (Andres) Muschietti (the director) really caught the kids and their friendship. He captured the reality of kids growing up in the 80s, and I liked that because I raised kids at that particular time, so for me it was like a double dip. The things that these kids go through are things that I related to very much. When I wrote the book, I set the kids story in the 50s because thats when I grew up.
Youve said that you were a fan of Muschiettis previous film, Mama. Can you tell us what you liked about that and how does it connect with It?
Andy has the same things going in It as he had in Mama both movies have a visual lushness. But that visual lushness is always kept under control by the storytelling. The storytelling is always paramount in this movie. It never goes off track, never once. It holds onto the narrative thread completely so that everything else is just thrilling. You can really settle back and enjoy it. I like that.
Stephen King has been impressed by Bill Skarsgards portrayal of Pennywise.
Theres an old saying in Hollywood that casting is everything. Can you talk a little bit about the qualities that the seven young actors in It bring to their roles of The Losers, both individually and as a group?
Its almost eerie how good child actors have gotten. I grew up in an era where they said the lines, looked cute, and that was the whole deal right there. But these kids in It are terrific. I enjoyed them all, but Ive always had a soft spot in my heart for Richie Tozier. He was the wise-ass that I was as a kid. Finn Wolfhard is terrific as Richie.
Andy must have an amazing ability to deal with kids at a certain level, because the movie rises and falls on them. You hardly see the adults. But this films Pennywise, Bill Skarsgard, does a terrific job reinventing the character, who is the avatar of all scary childhood monsters. Hes maybe a little more eerie, a little darker than (Tim) Currys Pennywise (in the 1990s mini-series), but hes terrific. The makeup is a little bit different, but it works just as well or even better.
How did you feel when you learned that this film covers about half of your book, and centres on the kids?
I thought it was perfect. Its the only way you can do it that it will work. The book is like this rock that splits evenly into two parts.
There was a lot of advance interest in It. The first trailer had over half a billion views, which set a record. How do you explain that?
From the beginning, I understood the films potential to break out. I said to myself, theyre going to get everybody who remembers that mini-series, and how it warped them so badly. People will come up to me and say, Tim Curry, you know, I still cant go near a sewer grate without thinking about that clown. At the same time, the film is going to get every Millennial, because they grew up in the 80s.
A lot of your work deals with faith. Can you talk about the role that faith plays in this film?
Well, there are books that Ive written that deal with faith in God as a power of good to counterbalance evil. The faith in It is about is about the faith you put in your friends. Its about friendship under pressure.
This is a big time of the year for you, as far as filmed adaptations of your work go. In addition to It, there was the big-screen adaptation of The Dark Tower, and Mr Mercedes on TV. Have you experienced anything like this before, with Hollywood adapting your works in such proximity?
No, never. Its like having everything come out of the oven at the same time. Its crazy, but its nice. There are also the movies Geralds Game and 1922 coming soon, as well as a television series, Castle Rock, from J.J. Abrams. Then theres a book I wrote with my son, Sleeping Beauties, that comes out in September. So, we expect to tour it on a wave of good feelings, knock on wood, because I think people are going to like It very much, and therell be a lot of talk about that.
Follow @htshowbiz for more
All ready to receive his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said India truly values its ties with Japan and that he looked forward to further boost the bilateral relations in a wide range of areas.
Abe will undertake a two-day official visit to India from Wednesday to hold the annual India-Japan Summit with Modi in Gandhinagar, the capital of the prime ministers home state Gujarat.
I look forward to welcoming PM @AbeShinzo. I will be hosting him in Gujarat in our fourth annual summit together, Modi tweeted in English as well as in Japanese.
PM @AbeShinzo and I will attend a wide range of programmes on 13th and 14th September 2017, aimed at further boosting India-Japan ties, he added.
I look forward to welcoming PM @AbeShinzo. I will be hosting him in Gujarat in our fourth annual summit together. https://t.co/1gaiLCsem9 Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 12, 2017
In another tweet, he said the two leaders will attend a programme to mark the start of work of Indias first high- speed rail project between Ahmedabad and Mumbai.
The train is expected to significantly reduce travel time between the two cities. Japan is a pioneer in high-speed rail networks, and its Shinkansen bullet train is among the fastest in the world.
India truly values the relationship with Japan and we look forward to further boosting our bilateral ties in a wide range of sectors, the prime minister said.
India truly values the relationship with Japan and we look forward to further boosting our bilateral ties in a wide range of sectors. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 12, 2017
The two leaders will review the recent progress in the multifaceted cooperation between India and Japan under the framework of their Special Strategic and Global Partnership and will set its future direction, said a statement on Narendramodi.in.
A civic reception will be held for the Japanese Prime Minister in Ahmedabad on Wednesday evening where the cultural diversity of India will be showcased through a series of performances.
The two prime ministers will visit Sabarmati Ashram, established by Mahatma Gandhi on the banks of the Sabarmati river.
They will then visit the- Sidi Saiyyid Ni Jaali- a famous 16th century mosque in Ahmedabad.
The two leaders will also visit Dandi Kutir, the museum dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi, at the Mahatma Mandir.
Amidst the uproar over Rohingya Muslims, nearly one lakh Chakma and Hajong refugees, who came from the erstwhile East Pakistan five decades ago and currently living in camps in the Northeast, are set to get Indian citizenship.
The move came following an order of the Supreme Court, which in 2015 had directed the central government to grant citizenship to the Chakma and Hajong refugees, mostly staying in Arunachal Pradesh.
Home minister Rajnath Singh will on Wednesday discuss the issue with Pema Khandu, Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, which has been opposing granting of citizenship to the refugees saying it would change the demography of the state, a home ministry official said.
The central government is trying to find a workable solution to the issue by proposing that the Chakma and Hajong refugees will not be given rights enjoyed by Scheduled Tribes, including land ownership, in Arunachal Pradesh, the official said.
However, the refugees may be given the Inner Line permits, which is required for non-locals in Arunachal Pradesh, allowing them to travel and work.
Read more: BJPs Arunachal test case for citizenship to non-Muslims runs into rough weather
Chakmas and Hajongs were originally residents of Chittagong Hill Tracts in the erstwhile East Pakistan who left their homeland when it was submerged by the Kaptai dam project in the 1960s.
The Chakmas, who are Buddhists, and Hajongs, who are Hindus, also allegedly faced religious persecution and entered India through the then Lushai Hills district of Assam (now Mizoram).
The Centre moved the majority of them to the North East Frontier Agency (NEFA), which is now Arunachal Pradesh.
According to officials, the number of these refugees has increased from about 5,000 in 1964-69 to 1,00,000. At present, they do not posses citizenship and land rights but are provided basic amenities by the state government.
In 2015, the Centre was directed by the Supreme Court to confer citizenship to these refugees.
The Arunachal Pradesh government approached the apex court to review its order but in vain. After the Supreme Courts rejection, both the central and state governments have started consultations to find a solution to the issue.
The move came amidst a row over the Centres plans to deport Rohingya Muslims, who have come to India due to alleged persecution in Myanmar.
Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju, who hails from Arunachal Pradesh, had said the Rohingyas were illegal immigrants and stand to be deported.
He had also said that India absorbed the maximum number of refugees in the world.
On Monday, in Geneva, UN human rights chief Zeid Raad al-Hussein flayed any attempts by India to deport Rohingyas to Myanmar when the ethnic minority community is facing violence in their country.
The armys new M777 ultra-light American howitzer was partly damaged when a 155mm artillery round misfired and exploded in the barrel during a drill early September.
The gun is one of the two howitzers that arrived in New Delhi in May as part of a $750-million contract signed with the US in November 2016. India has ordered 145 howitzers.
The gun was firing Indian ammunition in Rajasthans Pokhran ranges.
During the firing on September 2, the projectile, which was fifth of the series, exited the barrel in multiple pieces, an army officer said on Tuesday.
No one was injured.
He said an investigating team is assessing the damage to the gun. A detailed input from the guns manufacturer, BAE Systems, would follow.
BAE Systems is aware of an irregularity recorded during routine field firing of the M777. We are working closely with the Indian Army and the US government to explore the incident, a company spokesperson said.
The M777 order is the first contract for artillery guns in almost 30 years after the Bofors scandal unfolded in the late 1980s.
The two guns are part of the 25 ready-built weapons that will be supplied by the US over the next two years. The remaining 120 howitzers will be manufactured in the country under the governments Make in India initiative, in collaboration with Mahindra Defence.
Read more: Korean mishap raises doubts over reliability of Indian Armys future artillery gun
The 155mm, 39-calibre howitzers are inducted to increase the armys capabilities in high altitude. These will be deployed in the northern and eastern sectors.
The armys new mountain strike corps, raised in West Bengals Panagarh, will be equipped with the new guns.
Built with titanium and aluminum alloys, the howitzers weigh 4,218kg, providing them superior tactical mobility. In contrast, 155mm towed howitzers weigh twice as much. The howitzers can be underslung from helicopters and swiftly deployed in high-altitude areas.
More than 1,090 M777s are in service globally. The howitzers have been used during operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. India is the latest user of the guns used by the US, Australian and Canadian militaries for accurate artillery fire support.
The governments move to demonetise old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes last November seems to have borne one intended result end of fake currency, at least in part.
Apparently, the value of illegal notes entering India from Pakistan seems to have come down as production bases of fake currencies in that country have taken a hit. However, Bangladesh is emerging as the main source for production and smuggling of fake Rs 2,000 notes, suggest official data of seizures by the Border Security Force (BSF).
Earlier, fake currency manufactured in Pakistan and Bangladesh was smuggled through 13 frontiers located in the border states of Jammu, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, West Bengal, Assam and Meghalaya.
While 11 frontiers have witnessed almost a lull in the seizure of fake notes, known formally as FICN (Fake Indian Currency Notes), two frontiers in Assam and West Bengal have seen a spike since January 2017.
Also, the value of fake notes seized by the BSF in the first six months of 2017 (Rs 32 lakh) is lower than that in 2016 when the FICN mainly comprised Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 denominations. It was Rs 2.6 crore from Guwahati and south Bengal frontiers in 2015 and around Rs 1.5 crore in 2016.
Intelligence inputs received by the BSF suggest that while fake note syndicates have not made any major infrastructural investments since demonetisation, they are again attempting to gain foothold in India.
An official source said that to match the paper used by India to manufacture new Rs 2,000 notes, Bangladeshi syndicates have started using paper smuggled from Saudi Arabia and Malaysia.
The paper coming from Saudi Arabia and Malaysia comes very close to the consistency of the new Rs 2,000 note, said the official.
The two frontiers south Bengal and Guwahati have witnessed an increase in seizures of fake currencies since January this year although the volume tapered during monsoon as the flow of rivers is very high, making it risky for FICN smugglers.
Fake notes worth Rs 1 lakh was seized in January, which went up to Rs 2.96 lakh in February and Rs 4.60 lakh in March. In April, it spiked to Rs 20 lakh, which came down to Rs 6.98 lakh the next month. There was a lull in July but the BSFs 24 battalion recovered fake currency notes worth Rs 5.20 lakh in a single operation in Malda sector on August 22.
The good news in all of this is that FICN syndicates are manufacturing the notes through offset printing machines as opposed to the past where cotton rag material was being used to produce the fake notes. Smugglers had been using the same to produce the notes through highly sophisticated machinery which is sold only to sovereign governments. This is not happening anymore, said a senior BSF official.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Bengaluru echoed with slogans on Tuesday, when thousands of people who had rubbed shoulders with journalist Gauri Lankesh in a lifetime of social activism marched together to condemn her murder exactly a week ago.
Lankesh, who also doubled as a vocal anti-right activist, was shot dead by unidentified people while she was entering her residence in the city on September 5. The state government has formed a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the case.
The rally began from the Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna railway station in the heart of the city and culminated at the Central College ground, where a convention was held. The slogan I am Gauri was raised throughout.
At the convention, which police said was attended by at least 3,000 people, the organisers released a commemorative edition of the Gauri Lankesh Patrike her weekly tabloid featuring articles by people who recalled their earliest memories of the deceased journalist. Indira, Lankeshs mother, saluted all the participants by declaring: I welcome all the Gauris who have come here.
Narmada Bachao Andolan activist Medha Patkar was among the thousands who came to pay their respects to Lankesh. This is not a condolence meet, she said. We are here to show that we are united, strong. Only when we have a convention condemning the lives that have been taken in the name of development can we have justice.
Patkar was referring to the impending launch of the Sardar Sarovar dam project on the Narmada river.
Protesters hold placards to condemn the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh at the Central College ground. (PTI photo)
K Neela, who hails from the All India Democratic Womens Association, said Lankeshs life was a never-ending battle against injustice in all forms. She fought against caste inequality, she fought to uphold our Constitution. I want to tell her killers that you can aim your bullets at our forehead, but you cannot kill our ideas, she added.
Speaker after speaker took potshots at the Hindutva ideology, dubbing it as the reason for the rising climate of hatred and fear in the country. In May 2014 (when the NDA won by a landslide), I cried with Gauri not in desperation but out of concern for the direction our country was taking, said activist Teesta Setalvad. But Gauri stood for a culture of questioning, and no majoritarian power can take that away from us.
Writer Devanur Mahadeva said the dreams of our Independence are being systematically destroyed by governments that promote capitalism and a culture of hatred. What do we do when such governments try to make the past our present? he asked.
Indira, the mother of journalist Gauri Lankesh, breaks down in the course of the rally as activist Teesta Setalvad consoles her. (Arijit Sen/HT Photo)
Sitaram Yechury, general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), lamented the change in Indias ethos that has ushered in times such as these. Gauri Lankeshs murder is not an isolated incident, he said. Before this, we lost (Narendra) Dabholkar, (Govind) Pansare and (MM) Kalburgi. We have gau rakshaks who are being set on Dalits and Muslims. We have the moral police telling us what to eat, wear and who to befriend. This is the beginning of authoritarianism and totalitarianism, which is the antithesis of our idea of India.
Journalist P Sainath, however, saw a silver lining in the number of people who turned up for the event. This will be a stirring chapter in the fight-back against the culture of intolerance and hatred, he said, but issued a warning that the road ahead will not be easy. What we are up against is the largest machinery of hatred seen since the partition of the country. Perhaps greater, because it has spread to many more states and regions.
Reading from Where do they go, the dead?, a poem he had written in 1989, litterateur Chandrashekar Patil said Lankesh had not gone anywhere. She has become an intrinsic part of all of us here, he proclaimed.
CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechuri (right) and social activist Medha Patkar (third from left) raise the I am Gauri cry at Central College ground in Bengaluru. (Arijit Sen/HT Photo)
The rally was also attended by many seers, notably those from the Lingayat sect who are demanding separation from mainstream Hinduism.
Veerabhadra Chennamalla Swami, the seer of Nidumamidi Mutt, said Lankesh was martyred by the proponents of Hindutva terror. He also criticised the direction the country was taking, noting that its future cannot be built on the foundations of hatred.
Lingayat seer Nijagunanda Swami said it was futile to expect justice from the supporters of Hindutva. Can those who pulled at Draupadis sari, who asked Sita to undergo trial by fire, who chased away the Buddha, give us justice? he asked.
The seer also dubbed the people who gunned down Gauri as cowards. They attack from behind, but we face them baring our chest, he said.
A memorandum calling on the government-constituted SIT to expedite the probe into Lankeshs murder was also issued at the convention. It also wanted those celebrating the journalists death on the social media to be booked for incitement.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Students from Bihar have sought the intervention of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to rescind the decision to conduct the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE)-Advanced for admission to prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) online from next year.
The Joint Admission Board (JAB), responsible for laying down the policy for the examination, took the decision in August to conduct the exam online in order to make logistics and evaluations easier.
Pankaj Kumar Kapadia, an alumnus of IIT-Delhi, who is leading the protest, sent an email to the Prime Ministers Office on Tuesday. He also tweeted their concern by tagging the Prime Minister and Union human resource development minister Prakash Javadekar on August 23.
The students feel that many meritorious students from rural India, especially Bihar and other less developed states, would be at a grossly disadvantageous position if the exam is conducted online because they are not computer savvy.
Demanding a level playing field for all students, they argued the government should first make computers available in rural schools before making the test online.
The students have already written to the Union HRD minister and to Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on September 8 urging the later to take up the issue with the Centre.
Already grappling to overcome the English language barrier, many of us who had earlier not even touched the mouse of a computer will now have to write the exam on a computer. It is like eliminating them in the very beginning. They deserve the right to equality, Kapadia, the son of a cloth merchant from Nasriganj block in Rohtas district, said.
Rahul Kumar (white T-shirt), son of a marginalised farmer and rickshaw puller, who made it to the IIT-Mumbai last year. (HT photo) (HT photo)
Kapadia, a student of Super-30, took admission at IIT Delhi in 2006 to study chemical engineering.
He cited another example of the son of a Muzaffarpur-based marginalised farmer and rickshaw puller, Rahul Kumar, who knew neither English nor computers but made it to IIT Bombay in his first attempt last year.
The government earlier made it optional to take the JEE-Mains test online. Of the 118,600 lakh candidates who registered for JEE Mains 2017, only 165,000 took the exam online and 956,000 opted for the conventional pen and paper based exam.
Students vying for admission to National Institutes of Technology (NITs) and other centrally-funded technical institutions need to clear the JEE-Mains. Only the top few who clear the JEE-Mains qualify for the next level of JEE-Advanced.
More than 150,000 students took the JEE Advanced in 2017.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
A day after saying the Centre had neither initiated any action nor gone to court to abrogate Article 35 A which provides special rights and privileges to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday appeared non-committal about the Centre filing a counter-affidavit in the Supreme Court to defend contentious Article.
First of all let me clarify that there is no need to distort my statement. I had referred to sentiments of all people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. I talked about sentiments of people living in this entire region. As far as Article 35 A is concerned, I have said whatever I had to say. The matter is sub-judice, so I dont need to say anything more, he said at a press conference on the last leg of his four day visit to Jammu and Kashmir
When asked will the Centre file a counteraffidavit to defend Article 35-A, he said that the PIL has already been filed by some people and whatever unfolds will be conveyed to you. I wont say anything more than it.
Read more: Wont go against sentiments of Kashmiris on Article 35A: Rajnath Singh
Rohingya immigrants
Rajnath Singh described Rohingyas as illegal immigrants and said that possibilities that they could pose security threats could not be ruled out.
We have adopted a humane approach towards the migrants and displaced people. But we are strongly against illegal immigration. The government will take stern action if a person infringes geographical lines illegally, he said.
Lets wait and see how the matter is pursued. We are pondering over the issue. Some action will definitely be initiated, he responded when asked to elaborate how the government will tackle the intricate issue.
Around 14,000 Rohingyas living in the country are registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, while about 40,000 are said to be staying illegally. In January this year, the UNHCR told HT that Jammu region had 7,000 registered Rohingyas.
While the Rohingyas remain a sticky issue for the government, the home minister said the Centre has allocated a package of Rs 2000 crores for rehabilitation of more than 36,000 refugee families from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Each family will get around Rs 5.5 lakh which will be paid directly into their accounts through digital transactions to check corruption, he said.
Pakistan not interested in improving ties
Rajnath Singh also slammed Pakistan saying the neighbouring country doesnt want to improve ties with India. He reiterated that Pakistan has to stop ceasefire violations.
Pakistan is not showing interest in improving ties with India. It is regularly resorting to ceasefire violations, but security forces have been given a free hand to respond to the provocations and therefore, Pakistan has no option than to stop firing.
Pakistan violated ceasefire agreements over 400 times every year since 2014, he said.
On villagers living close to the Indo-Pak borders, he said that Centre has decided to set up an expert group to study their problems and challenges.
This study group will give its opinion and we will act on it. While 60 bunkers (in Rajouri) have been constructed, more bunkers and other needs of the border villagers shall be looked into in right earnest, he said
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Ninety five passengers and crew of a Jorhat-Guwahati-Kolkata flight had a miraculous escape when the aircraft skidded off the runway at Rowriah airport here this afternoon.
All the passengers and crew of the Jet Konnect flight number 7048 are safe and were brought down from the aircraft unhurt, said Pravakar Mishra, station director of Airport Authority of India (AAI) based at Rowriah Airport.
The Jet Konnect flight after landing at the airport at 1.45pm was taking the first right turn on the runway to the parking bay when it skidded off it, after one of its rear wheels got stuck to the ground, he said.
As the wheel got stuck to the ground, the front part of the plane tipped downward. There was panic among those on-board, but the situation was saved as the engine had been switched off and the aircraft was running at limited speed. It was about 1,500 metres away from the airport lounge, the airport authority said.
The stuck aircraft was later pulled out from the ground with the help of an Indian Air Force crane and other machinery.
The flight was cancelled for technical investigation and the passengers were accommodated in local hotels, the airport authority officials added.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has received a delegation of French senators led by head of the Ukraine-France friendship group Herve Maurey and discussed the situation in Russian-occupied Donbas and Crimea with them.
"The head of state expressed concern about the systemic violations of the Minsk accords by Russia and the militants it supports, in particular about the ongoing provocations that undermine the implementation of the ceasefire initiative related to the start of the new school year. They also hamper the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission's work," the presidential website said in a statement.
Poroshenko backed the French senators' plans to the Anti-Terrorist Operation zone in eastern Ukraine to learn first-hand the situation in Donbas caused by Russian aggression. The sides also discussed the state of implementation of political and economic reforms in Ukraine.
Maurey welcomed the introduction of reforms in Ukraine. "We were convinced that in the two years that have passed since our previous visit, Ukraine, being under your leadership, has managed to introduce many reforms in different sectors: fighting corruption, reforming the banking sector and the energy sector. This result really amazes. Furthermore, these reforms are conducted in the conditions of actual war, and therefore we want to congratulate you on these achievements," he said.
Poroshenko, in turn, expressed hope for France's support of Ukraine's further steps towards integration into the EU.
The CPI(M) central leadership is anti-Bengali and Politburo members Prakash Karat and his wife Brinda took the lead in blocking general secretary Sitaram Yechurys return to the Rajya Sabha, the partys young Upper House member Ritabrata Banerjee has alleged.
Banerjee in the eye of a storm since February after his Mont Blanc pen and Apple watch raised a storm also alleged the Communist Party of India (Marxist)s Lok Sabha legislator Md Salim and his son, also a party member, were carrying out a malicious campaign against him ever since he was nominated to the Rajya Sabha.
I was suspended before an inquiry and the three-member inquiry commission headed by Md Salim was nothing short of a kangaroo court, Banerjee told a Bengali television channel on Monday night.
He alleged Salim was in the Politburo only because the partys highest executive body had a quota for Muslims. How can a Communist party have a quota for Muslims or, even women for that matter? he asked.
Majority in the CPI(M) national leadership are anti-Bengali. In 1996, they did not allow Jyoti Basu to become the Prime Minister of the first United Front government. He later described it as a historic blunder, alleged Banerjee.
During the interview, Banerjee said though he kept silent after he was suspended for three months on charges of leading a non-communist lifestyle, Salim and his son carried out a campaign on social media against him.
I suspected that Salim and other members of the inquiry commission might make some moves against me so I secretly recorded the entire proceedings of the closed-door inquiry, said Banerjee.
They illegally accessed my bank statement. On August 11, I requested Union finance Arun Jaitley to probe into the leak of information from a bank in Delhi. I will also approach the cyber wing of Kolkata Police, he added.
In August, the Bengal state committee upheld the report of the inquiry commission that recommended Banerjees expulsion from the state committee. The decision came after a stormy session of the committee in Kolkata.
There were mainly complaints against Banerjee of leading a lavish lifestyle that included the use of expensive personal gadgets and romantic liaisons not befitting a Marxist.
The final decision will be taken by the central committee. But he must get some punishment for his own rectification, CPI(M) Bengal state secretary Suryakanta Mishra said last month.
Banerjees interview raised a storm not only among leaders in the CPI(M)s Bengal unit but other state units as well. Several senior leaders told the Hindustan Times what Banerjee had done was unprecedented and accounts for the highest form of anti-party activity the punishment for which is summary expulsion.
Though Banerjee told HT he had no plans to join any political party right away, there were strong rumours that he might join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Sources close to Banerjee said he would soon give an interview to a popular English news channel.
After Banerjees interview was aired on Monday night, party leaders said the Rajya Sabha MP would now be summarily expelled from the CPI(M) any day.
I have just now landed at the Bangalore airport. I did not watch the interview. Let me get the details first, Yechury told HT at 9.50pm.
Mishra did not take calls from HT and Md Salim could not be contacted.
Banerjee has been a member of the Rajya Sabha since February 2014. He became the Students Federation of India (SFI) district president in 2003 and in 2005, he was made the vice-president of the West Bengal wing of the partys student wing.
He joined full-time politics before 2005 and soon came close to the West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. The former chief minister, however, stayed aloof ever since the charges were levelled at Banerjee.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Tamil Nadus ruling AIADMK removed jailed general secretary VK Sasikala from all party posts on Tuesday and named former chief minister J Jayalalithaa eternal general secretary, signalling a fresh stand-off in a protracted political crisis that has roiled the southern state.
At a general council meeting in Chennai, the party removed Sasikala and her nephew, TTV Dinakaran, from all positions and scrapped all appointments made by them. The AIADMK also restored all people appointed by Jayalalithaa, whose death last December triggered the crisis.The meeting also resolved to approach the election commission to reclaim the partys frozen two-leaves symbol.
The party will now be run by a 11-member panel headed by deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam with chief minister Edapaddi Palanisami as co-coordinator.
Minutes later, Dinakaran rejected the resolution of the meeting and said that the party had no powers to remove either him or his aunt, who is in jail for corruption.
But the drama might not be over yet. 114 MLAs attended the general council meeting with 20 MLAs siding with Dinakaran staying away. This means that the government would be in danger if a floor test is called in an assembly with a majority mark of 117.
Senior minister D Jayakumar declared that action will be taken against those who failed to attend the meeting. Speaker P Dhanpal has already issued notices to the dissident MLAs to explain their stand on September 14. It is widely expected that they will be disqualified and may lose membership.
The Dinakaran camp hit back, saying that we will bring down the government. Their spokesperson CR Saraswathi said the meeting itself was illegal and all decisions taken by the illegal general council meeting will be scrutinised by the Madras high court.
We have full faith in judiciary, she said adding that now the battle for the party control will move to the high court. And higher courts if necessary, she said.
But senior AIADMK leaders are confident that all 19 MLAs with Dinakaran will gravitate towards the party and support the government as and when the times comes. Now, the party affairs will be solely be under the control of the panel headed by O Panneerselvam and chief minister Edapaddi Palanisami.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Sidelined AIADMK leader TTV Dinakaran on Tuesday sought to play down the unified AIADMKs decision annulling the appointment of his aunt V K Sasikala as party interim chief, indicating court could have a final say on the matter.
A combative Dinakaran also dubbed the general council meeting, where the decision was taken, as a public meeting and said he had undertaken efforts to send home this regime (led by chief minister K Palaniswami).
He asserted that Sasikala alone had the right to convene the general council meeting and dared the camp led by Palaniswami to dissolve the assembly and face elections if the party was with them as they claim.
They (Palaniswami and deputy chief minister O Paneerselvam and others) selected Sasikala as the General Secretary. But after Sasikala went to jail they started taking steps arbitrarily, he told reporters here.
Referring to the Madras high courts order that decisions taken at on Tuesdays General Council will be subject to the final outcome of an appeal on the matter, he said only then will it be known if the ouster of Sasikala was valid.
While hearing an appeal by an MLA of Dinakaran faction against a single judges order dismissing his plea for a stay on the general council meeting, the court last night gave the go ahead for the meeting and posted the matter to October 23.
So we need not make big (a big issue) of it, Dinakaran, who is involved in a tussle for power with Palaniswami, said about the General Council resolution on Sasikala.
He said it was the same decision-making body which last year appointed her to the post of interim general secretary.
Training his guns at Palaniswami and Co, Dinakaran alleged the Chief Minister was not taking forward the policies of late Jayalalithaa as being claimed by him.
This was evident in the implementation of the National Entrance Cum Eligibility Test (NEET), he charged.
He said members in the government were thinking that they were the real AIADMK because they were in power, but their real strength would be known at the time of elections.
They are afraid of facing the elections. If I say this government should not continue, they say I have joined hands with the DMK, Dinakaran said.
He said if elections were held even the ministers would lose deposit.
All those with the Palaniswami group will come back to us if the government is not there, claimed Dinakaran, who was appointed deputy general secretary in February last by Sasikala just before she left for Bengaluru to serve her term in the disproportionate assets case.
The unified AIADMK had earlier said Dinakaran had been removed from the post on August 10 itself.
Whoever I meet, whether it is party supporters, youth or general public, want this government to go. I have undertaken efforts to send this regime home, he said.
Reiterating his stand that the Palaniswami government had lost majority, he said the state governor should convene the assembly.
We have given a representation to the Governor for convening the assembly. We will wait for two days and make our next move to send this government home, Dinakaran said.
Betrayal has aligned with betrayal, he said in an apparent reference to the August 21 merger of the two factions led by Palaniswami and Panneerselvam.
The 73-day Doklam standoff between India and China along the Sikkim border is likely to be the new normal, a reputed defence think tank has observed, making a strong case for building military capabilities as China respects strength.
In a new paper titled Looking Beyond Doklam, the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS), a think tank set up by the defence ministry a decade ago, said it is crucial for India to demonstrate strength as peace along the disputed border or Line of Actual Control (LAC) will be constantly and continuously under stress with increase in frequency, intensity and depth of (Chinese) transgressions leading to more and more standoffs.
On Doklam, China had accused India of trespass and preventing its troops from building a road in the remote Himalayan plateau that is claimed by both China and Bhutan. The 73-day standoff ended with withdrawal of troops and China removing road-building equipment.
Doklam was definitely different from Chumar (2014) and Depsang (2013), as China resorted to an information war, exploiting both the Chinese media and also investing in the Indian media, wrote CENJOWS director, lieutenant general (retd) Vinod Bhatia in the paper.
Bhatia was the director general of military operations when India and China were locked in a tense border standoff at Depsang in Ladakh four years ago. He has also commanded the Siliguri-based HQs 33 Corps that controls the Sikkim sector.
The paper credited India, China and Bhutan for peaceful resolution of the standoff at politico-diplomatic and military levels.
It also said the dual command and control structure the LAC is manned by both the army and the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is a recipe for disaster as conflicting directions can emanate from the controlling ministries.
The Army comes under the defence ministry and the ITBP is controlled by the home ministry.
Bhatia was part of the Shekatkar committee whose recommendations on military reforms are being implemented by the government to make the armed forces more effective.
He said the government should immediately fix the flawed structure in line with the recommendations made by group of ministers in 2001 after the Kargil war.
Bhatia reiterated that the ITBP should be placed under the armys command and control to avoid competition and conflict situations.
The paper also highlighted the need to speed up infrastructure development and amend the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013 to exempt all areas within 100 km of the India-China border from its purview.
Launched 65 years ago, Indias family planning program has been stressing on limiting the size of families. The first such initiative in the world has been fairly successful.
But Zoram Nationalist Party (ZNP) wants to do away with its implementation in Mizoram as the regional political outfit feels if the programme continues in the northeastern state, it could adversely impact the ethnic population, which might get outnumbered by outsiders.
Family planning makes sense for other states where population density is high. But it doesnt for Mizoram with a population of just 1.1 million, ZNP president Lalduhoma told the Hindustan Times.
Indias population density is 382 persons per square kilometre (2011 census). But the figure for Mizoram is just 52, making it the second least densely populated state after Arunachal Pradesh with 17 persons per square kilometre.
Lalduhomas party, which espouses to safeguard the culture, religion and boundaries of the Mizos, feels family planning has prevented the people of the state from availing government benefits and also affected the workforce.
Our people get fewer seats in educational institutions outside the state. Mizos need to debunk family planning to increase the size of their families, he said.
Elections are due in Mizoram next year and ZNP, which has no presence in the present assembly, is promising a slew of benefits to families which have more children if the party comes to power.
The party, which is planning to contest the polls as part of an alliance with four other small regional players, has said it will provide educational, residential, and maintenance allowances to families with more kids.
Mizoram shares a 722-km border with Myanmar and Bangladesh and there are fears that influx of illegal immigrants could upset the demographic balance in the state. The state is among the three in the region (Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh are the other two) where inner line permit (ILP) system, which regulates the entry of people from other states, is in force.
Our main concern is illegal immigrants. There are vast stretches of land in the border areas where there are no people and outsiders could enter and settle there, said Lalduhoma.
The ZNP is also against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which makes religious minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan eligible for Indian citizenship, and wants Mizoram to be kept outside its purview.
Mizoram isnt the only state where fear of outsiders has prompted some to urge families to have more children.
In Manipur, Indigenous Peoples Association of Kangleipak (IPAK), a non-profit organisation whose motto is save indigenous people, has been urging the majority Meitei community to increase its numbers for the past three years.
Every year, IPAK honours Meitei mothers who have given birth to many children. Last Thursday, it felicitated three women who have borne 28 children among themselves.
The population of Meiteis is about eight lakhs. If we take into account Manipuri Muslims, the figure is about 10 lakhs. There is a need to increase our population if we have to withstand influx (of outsiders), said IPAK president MB Meitei at the function held in Imphal.
As per 2011 census, Manipurs population is 2.7 million.
A decade ago, the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council in Meghalaya started doling cash incentives to Khasi mothers with more than 15 children to save Khasis from being outnumbered by outsiders.
Khasis are one of the three major tribes in Meghalayathe other two are Garos and Jaintias.
States such as Meghalaya and Manipur are mulling the introduction of ILP system in order to keep a check on outsiders.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Five militants of the banned Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) were killed in an exchange of fire between NSCN-IM and PLA at Makan in Manipurs Kamjong district on Tuesday, police said.
The incident took place at about 5.30 am near the Indo-Myanmar international border, 53 km away from Kasom Khullen police station, they said.
Details are awaited.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi addressed students at the University of California, Berkeley on Tuesday, attacking the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government for its economic policies and the spiraling conflict in Jammu and Kashmir.
Here are the key takeaways from his address:
Dynastic politics
When asked about dynastic politics, Gandhi said: Most of the country runs like this. Thats how India works.
Dynastic politics is a problem in all political parties... Akhilesh (Yadav, Samajwadi Party), (MK, DMK) Stalin, Abhishek Bachchan (son of Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan) -- are all examples of dynastic legacy; also (Mukesh and Anil) Ambanis, thats how the entire country is running.
Even (Prem Kumar) Dhumals son (Anurag Thakur) is a dynast, so dont go just after me.
Congress decline
Gandhi was candid about Congress arrogance in 2012. The party lost power in 2014 General elections and has witnessed several defeats in state assembly elections since then.
Around 2012, arrogance crept into the Congress party and we stopped having conversations with people... For rebuilding the party, we need to design a vision that we can use moving forward. Most of what the BJP is doing, is what we once said, Gandhi said, citing the examples of UPA government schemes such as MNREGA and GST.
The core architecture of the BJP schemes are ours.
1984 anti-Sikh riots
When asked why politicians like Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar, named in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots being shielded by Congress, Gandhi said: Violence against anybody is wrong, and I condemn it, I absolutely love the (Sikh) community. If theres anything I can do to help them get justice Ill be the first person to do so...
NDAs economic policies
Governments economic policy of demonetisation and the hastily implemented GST has caused tremendous pressure on the economy, Gandhi said, adding that the governments decision to scrap Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes cost us two per cent loss in GDP (gross domestic product).
Decisions like demonetisation, which removed 86% of cash from circulation were done unilaterally, without asking the chief economic advisor or the Cabinet or even Parliament. It (demonetisation) caused tremendous damage.
Kashmir conflict
When we started, terrorism was rampant in Kashmir. And when we finished by 2013, we basically broke the back of terror, I hugged the (then) prime minister Manmohan Singh and told him it was one of the biggest achievements, Gandhi said, accusing PM Modi of opening the space for terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.
Gandhi also referred to the role of the ruling party in J-K, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and its alliance partner BJP in the state: PDP was instrumental in bringing youngsters in politics, but the day Modi made alliance with PDP, he destroyed them.
So he (Modi) massively opened up space for the terrorists in Kashmir, and you saw the increase in violence.
Lynchings and attacks on Liberals
Slamming the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government for the incidents of mob lynching and cow vigilantism that unleashed violence, Gandhi said, I understand what violence does, violence against anybody is wrong.
Hatred, anger and violence can destroy us, the politics of polarisation is dangerous, he said, adding that even liberal journalists are being shot.
Gandhis statement came days after Kannada journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead in Bengaluru.
These incidents are making millions feel that they have no future in their country.
Non-violence
The idea of non-violence or ahimsa is what has allowed this mass of people (India) to rise together and it is the only idea which can take humanity forward.
I lost my father, my grandmother to violence. If I dont understand violence, then who will? Gandhi asked, referring to the the assassinations of his grandmother Indira Gandhi and his father Rajiv Gandhi.
Jobs in India
The Congress leader spoke about why it is extremely important to create jobs in India. Taking a jibe at the Modi government as well as at China, he said: The core constituency of right wing leaders are those who cannot get a job.
Unlike China, India has to create jobs in a democratic environment. But India doesnt want or need Chinas coercive model.
(With IANS inputs)
Hundreds of social activists, journalists, peoples forums and various political party workers from across the country on Tuesday took out a protest rally here condemning the murder of journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh a week ago.
The protesters gathered at the citys railway station before taking to the streets.
Members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), Karnataka Janashakthi, Aam Aadmi Party and several student groups were also part of the rally.
Massive #IamGauri rally & convention in Bangalore today. So many young students, rainbow of people's movement groups rallied against fascism pic.twitter.com/RhkK3KlTib Kavita Krishnan (@kavita_krishnan) September 12, 2017
The 55-year-old editor of Kannada weekly tabloid by her name Gauri Lankesh was gunned down by unidentified men outside her home in the city suburb on September 5.
Those marching were seen singing protest songs, raising slogans like Gauri Lankesh Amar Rahe (Long live Gauri Lankesh) and demanding that Lankeshs assailants be brought to book.
Wearing black head bands that read I am Gauri, the protesters took out the march from the city railway station to the Central College Grounds, where a protest meeting would be held later during the day.
Those participating in the protest meet include CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, noted social activist Medha Patkar, journalists P. Sainath and Sagarika Ghose, Swaraj India leaders Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav, documentary producers Anand Patwardhan and Rakesh Sharma, and civil rights activists Teesta Setalvad, Kavitha Krishnan and Jignesh Mevani, besides film producer Prakash Rai.
The progressive forum Gauri Lankesh Hatya Virodhi Vedike took out the rally.
The forum of progressive thinkers, writers, social activists, artistes and intellectuals was formed last Friday to fight against Lankesh killing and decided to hold the national-level resistance convention here, the forum convenor K Leela had told reporters on Monday.
The forum was expecting about 50,000 people to be a part of the event.
Two US scientists, whose work has contributed to creating immunological treatments for cancer, and an Indian economist are among the winners of this years Balzan Prize that recognise scholarly and scientific achievements.
James Allison of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Robert Schreiber of the Washington University School of Medicine were cited for their work on antibody treatments that has increased the survival of patients with metastatic melanoma.
Indian economist Bina Agarwal, a professor at the University of Manchester, was recognised in the gender studies category for her heroic work studying womens contributions to agriculture in India.
Belgian astrophysicist Michael Gillon was awarded for his work that has helped map new solar systems from the comfort of planet Earth, using robotic telescopes instead of much more costly satellites.
Germans Aleida and Jan Assmann, a married couple was recognised for their work presenting collective memory as a requirement for the formation of the identity of religious and political communities.
The Balzan Foundation awards two prizes in the sciences and two in the humanities each year, rotating specialties to highlight new or emerging areas of research and sustain fields that might be overlooked elsewhere.
Recipients receive 750,000 Swiss francs ($790,000), half of which must be used for research, preferably by young scholars or scientists.
Nobel Prize-winner Jules Hoffman, a presenter of the awards, said the work focusing on using the immune system to fight cancer, expanding from the traditional treatments of removal, radiation and chemotherapy, has already had success in 25-30% of melanoma patients in a study who had previously gone through the traditional battery of treatments. It is now being developed for small cell lung cancer and rectal cancer.
This year, the Balzan Foundation also awarded a fifth prize, in international relations, which was deferred from last year after the committee failed to reach agreement on a winner.
It went to Robert O Keohane of the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University, best known for his influential 1984 book After Hegemony: Cooperation and Discord in the World Political Economy.
Prizes will be awarded in Bern, Switzerland, on November 17.
The special CBI court here on Monday dismissed the bail plea of a key accused involved in arson during the Jat agitation in Rohtak that was the hotbed of violence in February last year, claiming 30 lives and damaging property worth crores.
The court turned down the bail plea of Manoj Duhan, a Rohtak based lawyer, who was charged as key conspirator behind the arson at the residence of Haryana finance minister Capt Abhimanyu.
In another case, as many as 40 accused, including Sudeep Kalkal, were arrested for allegedly looting weapons from the Border Security Force (BSF) personnel and Haryana Police and damaging public property.
Kalkals plea was turned down due to grave charges against him and his accomplice Abhishek alias Binni, even as many accused named in this case were granted bail.
The special investigation team (SIT) had then maintained that Kalkals telephonic conversation of February 17 indicated that the arson and violence were pre-planned. Kalkal headed the youth wing of the All India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti.
The CBI took over the investigation in these cases on the request of the Haryana government and consequent orders from the Centres department of personnel and training. Even as cases were registered last year in October, the central probe agency is yet to file the chargesheet in both the cases
Those who have been granted bail include Mahender Singh Hooda, Rahul Rinku, Pardeep Rana and Narender Singh.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has filed a protest note with the Russian Foreign Ministry in connection with the conduct of local election in Sevastopol.
"Ukraine resolutely denounces Russia's organization on September 10, 2017, in the city of Sevastopol [Autonomous Republic of Crimea], which it [Russia] has temporarily occupied, of the illegal election of the 'governor', 'the by-election of a deputy of the Sevastopol legislative assembly', and 'the by-election of deputies to individual municipalities' of this city. We deem Kremlin's such actions as Russia's further rude breaches of Ukraine's state sovereignty and territorial integrity," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement released on Monday.
Russia's holding of the election in Sevastopol "is another harsh violation of fundamental norms and principles of international law by Moscow," it also said.
Ukraine urged foreign countries and international organizations "to put it clearly" not to recognize the election results in Sevastopol, not to maintain contacts with local administration members neither at bilateral levels, nor as part of multilateral forums, and "to step up consolidated pressure on Russia, including by expanding sanctions with the purpose to return it into the international legal field, stop illegal occupation of a part of Ukrainian sovereign territory, carry out acts of armed aggression in Donbas, and to withdraw occupation troops from the Ukrainian state."
With respect to Russia's perpetration of an illegal international act, the relevant protest note was filed with the Russian Foreign Ministry, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.
So-called Acting Governor Dmitry Ovsyannikov won the Sunday election in Sevastopol with 71.12% of the vote.
Is Bihar heading for a mid-term poll along with the Lok Sabha elections due in 2019?
If state Janata Dal (United) president Bashistha Narain Singhs remarks on Tuesday are any indication, the ruling party in the state is gearing up for the snap poll.
Singh said if all political parties agreed on the idea of holding simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections, JD(U) was game for it. We are ready for mid-term polls if the Election Commission is willing and there is general consensus among all political parties, said Singh.
Bihar assembly elections are due in 2020.
The JD(U)s support will give strength to Centres move to hold simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections. The JD(U) had earlier supported the NDA government on demonetisation, surgical strike and presidential election before joining the ruling coalition.
Earlier this year, the NITI Aayog had suggested a synchronised two-phase Lok Sabha and assembly polls from 2024 so as to ensure minimum campaign-mode disruption to governance.
Outlining the details, the policy think-tank had said implementing the proposal might necessitate a maximum one-time curtailment or extension of some state assemblies.
Read more: PM Modis reasoning for simultaneous elections stands on weak ground
It has made the Election Commission the nodal agency to look into the suggestion and recommended setting up of a working group of stakeholders for deciding a roadmap for synchronised elections.
The draft report was circulated among governing council members (comprising chief ministers of all states and others) of the NITI Aayog on April 23.
The recommendation assumes significance as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pitched for simultaneous polls. Even former President Pranab Mukherjee had supported the idea.
A few days ago, Union minister for minority affairs and senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, too, had stressed on the need for extensive electoral reforms that included holding simultaneous Lok Sabha and state assembly elections to minimise burden on the exchequer and also ensure uninterrupted development of the country.
Speaking about the electoral reforms, the Union minister had said the Centre was seriously mulling over the concept of one nation, one election, as frequent polls were adversely affecting progress of the country.
He said development projects were impeded when the model code of conduct was imposed during polls in various states, adding that nearly 30-40% of such activities were delayed during the period.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
A Catholic priest from Kerala who was abducted by the Islamic State in Yemen last year has been rescued, Union foreign minister Sushma Swaraj said on Tuesday.
I am happy to inform that Father Tom Uzhunnalil has been rescued, tweeted Swaraj.
The priest, Tom Uzhunnalil, was abducted during a terrorist raid on a Missionaries of Charity-run old age home in Aden in Yemen on March 4, 2016. At least 16 people including four nuns were killed in the attack. Uzhunnalil belongs to Ramapuram village in Keralas Kottayam district.
The priests release was achieved through the intervention of the Oman government.
According to reports reaching Kerala, after Uzhunnalils release he was flown from Yemen to Muscat in the Sultanate of Oman.
He has left Oman on a chartered flight -- either for New Delhi or for the Vatican, reports said.
The media in Oman confirmed the news of the release of the priest and posted a picture of him -- standing in a room with the picture of the Oman king in the background.
He will be flown to Kerala later in the day.
Our prayers were finally heard. We thank all stood with us in trying times, Toms elder brother Mathew, 71, told Hindustan Times.
In May this year, Uzhunnalil made an emotional appeal for a rescue through a five-minute video that was posted on YouTube, accusing the Indian government and the Pope of doing little for his release.
But on Tuesday, his family profusely thanked both the Indian and Oman governments, and especially Swaraj, for their efforts.
Varapuzha archbishop Joseph Kalathiparambhil also welcomed the development. It is great relief. We thanks everyone who helped us, he told HT.
(With inputs from IANS)
The CBI has arrested an enforcement official of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation here on the charge of accepting Rs 20,000 as bribe, an official said on Tuesday.
A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team caught Samiran Kumar Mondal on Monday while receiving the bribe, the official said.
Mondal is currently working at the Kolkata-based regional office of the EPFO.
The CBI team also searched his office and residence and seized incriminating documents.
We registered a case against Mondal on a complaint that he had demanded Rs 1 lakh from the complainant for not complying with the provisions of the Provident Fund Act. The accused scaled down his demand for bribe to Rs 20,000 after the complainant expressed his inability to pay the bigger amount, the official said.
Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project ready for takeoff; Modi, Shinzo Abe to lay foundation on Sept 14
Indias ambitious High Speed Rail (HSR) project is now at the take-off stage, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe scheduled to lay the foundation stone of the 508-km long Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) on September 14 in Ahmedabad. Once complete (scheduled in December 2023, but commencement date sought to be advanced to August 2022), the train which will have a top speed of 350 km per hour will reduce travel time between the two cities to around 2 hours from the existing 7-8 hours. Read the story here.
UN rights commissioner criticises India over Gauri Lankesh murder, handling of Rohingya refugees
The UN high commissioner for human rights on Monday criticised India for the rise of religious intolerance and attacks on freedom of expression, including the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh, as well as its handling of Rohingya refugees. In unusually frank remarks made while addressing the 36th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Zeid Raad Al Hussein said rights defenders working for Indias most vulnerable groups were being harassed or denied protection by the state instead of being seen as allies in building a more inclusive society. There was no official reaction from the Indian government to Al Husseins comments. Read the story here.
Srinivas Kuchibhotla murder: Widow faced deportation from US after losing resident status
The widow of Indian national Srinivas Kuchibhotla, who was shot and killed in a suspected hate crime in Kansas in February, faced deportation from the US after her husbands murder till a lawmaker and others helped her get a one-year visa. Sunayana Dumala lost her US resident status after Kuchibhotla was gunned down in a bar in Olathe, Kansas, on February 22 by a man who shouted racial slurs before he opened fire. Kevin Yoder, a Republican member of the house of representatives, said he became apoplectic when he heard the news and began working to help Dumala maintain her residency after she travelled to Hyderabad for her husbands funeral and feared she would be unable to return to the US. Read the story here.
Fresh concerns after cops bust gang cloning fingerprints of Aadhaar operators
The arrest of 10 men for allegedly cloning fingerprints to subvert Aadhaars vaunted biometric-based security system has revealed fresh vulnerabilities in Indias controversial identity project. On Sunday, the Uttar Pradesh police announced they had busted a Lucknow-based gang, which stole the fingerprints of authorised Aadhaar enrolment operators. These fingerprints were cloned and used to access the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)s enrolment service to create fake Aadhaar numbers. The gang acquired images of the fingerprints of Aadhaar enrolment operators, printed these images on butter-paper, and placed these prints on a sheet of a light-sensitive resin which was then exposed to ultra-violet light. Read the story here.
Jaypee insolvency case: SC asks holding company to deposit Rs 2,000 crore
The Supreme Court on Monday asked real estate firm Jaypee to deposit Rs 2,000 crore before October 27 and asked for a plan within 45 days on how it will protect homebuyers interest. The court also restrained directors and managing director of Jaypee Infratech and its holding company, Jaypee Associates, from travelling abroad. The holding company will have to deposit the money. We are not concerned about the company, we are only concerned about homebuyers, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra said, handing over the management of Jaypee Infratech to insolvency resolution professional. Read the story here.
India complains over offensive Australian ad showing Lord Ganesha eating lamb
India has lodged an official complaint over an Australian advertisement that features the Hindu god Ganesha and other religious icons endorsing lamb. In the TV commercial from industry group Meat and Livestock Australia, a number of religious figures -- including Lord Ganesha, Jesus, Buddha and Scientology founder L Ron Hubbard -- are seen sitting down together to a lamb-based meal and raising a glass to the meat. The image of elephant-headed Lord Ganesha, who is widely considered to be vegetarian, was met with anger in Australias Indian community. Read the story here.
Ryan school murder: SC seeks reply from Centre, Haryana govt; two officials held
The Supreme Court on Monday sought replies from the Centre and Haryana government on a petition filed by a father seeking a CBI probe into the murder of his eight-year-old son at Ryan International School in Gurgaon. The court order came a day after police arrested two top Ryan officials and accused school authorities of tampering with evidence by wiping bloodstains from floors and walls. The boys father asked for comprehensive guidelines for all schools to prevent such crimes. He also sought a national tribunal to look into such cases across the country. Read the story here.
Only those who clean the country can chant Vande Mataram: PM Modi
People lose the right to chant Vande Mataram if they cant keep the country clean, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday as he urged people to fight social evils such as disrespect to women. He underlined the need to bring social changes during a motivating speech at a student convention marking the 125th anniversary of Swami Vivekanandas famous Chicago address and ideologue Pandit Deendayal Upadhyayas centenary. I know many people might be hurt, but do we have the right to say it? Think 50 times if we have the right to say Vande Mataram, Modi said, minutes after he was greeted with chants of Vande Mataram at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi. Read the story here.
Sitharaman to meet military chiefs every day to speed up decision-making process
Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman has decided to meet the three service chiefs every morning to speed up the decision-making process and ensure military readiness, a spokesperson said on Monday. A whole range of meetings has been scheduled with the three defence service chiefs to review military preparedness and allied issues of strategic interest, the official said, adding that the defence secretary will also be required to meet her on a daily basis. The Defence Acquisition Council, the ministrys apex decision-making body, will now meet every fortnight to speed up weapon purchases. Read the story here.
Disappointed over Ramdevs name missing from fake baba list: Digvijaya
Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Monday said he was disappointed over the missing name of Baba Ramdev from a list of fraud saints released a day earlier by a religious body. The Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, an apex body of Hindu holy men, on Sunday released a list of 14 babas it said were fake and announced that it planned to bring in a mechanism to award the sant title to various persons. Disappointed to find Baba Ramdevs name missing from the list, the former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh tweeted. He alleged that Baba Ramdev was conning everyone in the country by selling fake products by touting them as original. Read the story here.
In probe into benami assets case involving Lalus family, I-T issues attachment order
The income tax department has issued a final attachment order against some assets in connection with its benami deal probe against RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his family. Officials said the order was issued against a firm allegedly involved in the case -- AB Exports Private Limited -- and also alleged that Prasads relatives were the beneficiaries of the immovable properties of this firm. A property in south Delhis New Friends Colony is owned by this firm, they said. The department had earlier served notices of attachment of assets to Prasad, Bihars ex-chief minister, his wife Rabri Devi, also a former CM, son Tejashwi Yadav, former state deputy CM, daughters Chanda, Ragini Yadav and Misa Bharti, an MP, and son-in-law Shailesh Kumar. Read the story here.
Pakistan has no option but to stop ceasefire violations, says Rajnath Singh
Union home Rajnath Singh on Monday warned Islamabad to mend its ways and stop firing at Indian posts and villages along the 744 km long Line of Control and 198- km long International Border in Jammu and Kashmir. Singhs warning followed the latest ceasefire violation by the Pakistani army in Shahpur Kerni sector of Poonch district in the morning. Addressing displaced border villagers at a relief camp in Nowshera town in Rajouri district, Singh said that he had told the BSF DG in 2014 that we shouldnt fire first but if they (Pakistani forces) fire even a single bullet then there should be no count of bullets from our side. Read the story here.
The December 16, 2012 gangrape changed India, including a woman who completing her Masters in England at the time.
As the country erupted in protests and a movement to ensure justice for the rape victim, Madhumita Pandey, now 26, asked herself why the rapists do they what they do. What prompts these men? What are the circumstances which produce men like this? I thought, ask the source, Pandey told The Washington Post.
At 22, Pandey went to the Tihar Jail in New Delhi to interview rape convicts for understanding the perpetrators attitudes towards their victims. Starting from 2013, she spoke to more than 100 rape convicts. Many of the convicts were uneducated or primary school drop-outs and only a handful of them had graduated high school.
When I went to research, I was convinced these men are monsters. But when you talk to them, you realise these are not extraordinary men, they are really ordinary. What theyve done because of upbringing and thought process, Pandey said.
Pandey, a doctoral research student of criminology at the Anglia Ruskin University in the UK, digged deeper to understand the society in which the convicts were brought up. Men have a false idea of masculinity while women are in a hegemonic trap of believing they have to be submissive, the Delhi University graduate explained.
Everyones out to make it look like theres something inherently wrong with (rapists). But they are a part of our own society. They are not aliens whove been brought in from another world.
The number of rapes reported each year in Delhi -- where the paramedical student was brutally gangraped on December 16 -- more than tripled over the last five years, registering an increase of nearly 1500 cases from 2011 to 2016, according to data released by the police earlier this year. This doesnt necessarily translate into more cases of rapes; it may signal the changing trend of more women approaching authorities.
Although the government introduced stricter measures after the December 16 gangrape, only one in four rape trials leads to conviction across the country, IndiaSpend reported in March 2015.
After you speak to (the rape convicts), it shocks you; these men have the power to make you feel sorry for them. As a woman thats not how you expect to feel. I would almost forget that these men have been convicted of raping a woman, said Pandey, who worked as a consultant psychologist for the BBC documentary Indias Daughter.
In my experience, a lot of these men dont realise that what theyve done is rape. They dont understand what consent is.
There was one case, participant No 49, which stayed with Pandey. The convict (23) -- a school drop-out -- was a temple cleaner who was jailed in 2010 for raping a five-year-old girl. He said the beggar girl had provoked him while he was busy with his work and he wanted to teach her a lesson.She was touching me inappropriately so I thought Ill teach her a lesson, Pandey quoted the convict as saying in an article on The Conversation.
Sex offenders often blame the victim for provoking them and many accused dont feel remorse for their actions.
Participant No 49, however, was repentant of his actions. He said he wanted to marry the girl after he left jail because he ruined her life. She is no longer a virgin, no one would marry her.
Pandey said she found the rape victim after talking to the temple priest and spoke to her, who was now 10. The girl was unfazed and didnt have any recollection of the rape, but she loved painting in school. The victims mother, however, was shocked. She didnt know the temple cleaner had been imprisoned at all.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said he worked behind the scenes with prime minister Manmohan Singh for nine years to normalise situation in Kashmir but the good work was undone by the BJP when it came to power in 2014.
From 2004, he along with Singh, P Chidambaram and Jairam Ramesh silently worked to ensure that peace returned to Jammu and Kashmir, the 47-year-old leader said, talking about the year Congress-led UPA government won the Lok Sabha election.
When we started, terrorism was rampant in Kashmir. When we finished there was peace. By 2013, we had basically broken the back of terror, he told students at the University of California in Berkeley, speaking on India at 70: Reflections on the Path Forward.
The Manmohan Singh government served two consecutive terms before the BJP demolished the Congress in 2014.
The UPA government held panchayat elections, created women self-help groups, provided employment to the youth, building their confidence.
I hugged PM Manmohan Singh and told him it was one of his biggest achievements, Gandhi said.
The Congress accuses the Modi government of throwing Kashmir back to the days of turmoil.
The Kashmir Valley was rocked by violent street protest in the 2016 after Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani was killed in a gunfight with security forces on July 8. More than 100 people, most of them civilians, were killed in clashes with security forces.
Gandhi credited erstwhile partner the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with playing a key role in bringing the youth to the mainstream.
The Congress tied up with the PDP, which has its support base in Kashmir, in 2002 after the assembly election threw up a hung House. The two parties decided to share power for three years each unlike other states of India, Jammu and Kashmir assembly has a six-year term.
While the PDP got its three years, the Congress stint was cut short due to the Amarnath land agitation in 2008. The PDP withdrew its support, after the Congress-led Centre give a piece of forest land in Muslim-majority Kashmir for pilgrims visiting the revered Hindu shrine of Amarnath.
The allotment was cancelled but the PDP didnt budge and the government fell a few months before completing its term.
In the December 2008 assembly election, the Congress was again part of the ruling alliance but with a new partner, the National Conference (NC).
The PDP was instrumental in bringing youth to politics, but the day PM Modi made an alliance with the PDP, he destroyed them, said the Congress leader who is on a two-week visit to the United States.
In 2014, Gandhi said, the BJP-led government inflicted a huge strategic cost on India by joining hands with the PDP.
The PDP emerged as the largest party with 28 seats, most of which were from the Muslim-majority Valley, while the BJP swept the Hindu-dominated Jammu region with 25 seats. The NC got 15, the Congress 12 and the others seven in the 87-member House.
PDP founder and late chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, the first and till now, the only Muslim home minister of the country, was keen on an alliance with the BJP in deference to the mandate of people in Jammu.
Sayeed, who died on January 7, 2016, had described the alliance as coming together of the North and the South Poles, a decision that gave the BJP its first taste of power in the Muslim-majority state.
When this happened, I heard that large numbers of youth went towards militancy. PM Modi massively opened up a space for terrorists in Kashmir, and we saw an increase in violence, Gandhi said.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said he was ready to take over as the Congress chief but it was up to the party, and an electoral process for that was on.
The 47-year-old Congress vice-president was replying to question whether he was ready to take charge of the Congress ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, unlike 2014 when he declined to be the prime ministerial candidate.
I am absolutely ready to do that but the way our party works, we have an organisational election process that decides that and that process is currently ongoing, he said during a question-answer session after addressing students at University of California, Berkeley on India at 70: Reflections on the Path Forward.
We have an internal system where we elect certain delegates who make that decision. So for me to say that the decision is mine, that wouldnt be very fair. Thats the decision that the Congress party has to make and thats the process which is currently going on right now, he said.
When asked about the accusations of Congress being a dynastic party, Gandhi said it was a problem in all political parties in India.
Most of the country runs like this. So, dont go after me. Akhilesh Yadav is a dynast, Mr Stalin (DMK supremo M Karunanidhis son) is a dynast, Mr (Prem Kumar) Dhumals son (Anurag Thakur of the BJP) is a dynast. Even Mr Abhishek Bachchan is a dynast, also Mr Ambani, he said.
Thats what happens in India and just the way India runs. The real question is if that person is a capable, sensitive person.
Gandhi, who is on a two-week tour of the United States, accepted the Congress lost touch with people in the run-up to 2014 election that saw the BJP sweep the polls and his party reduced to its worst ever tally of 44 seats.
Somewhere around 2012, certain arrogance crept into Congress and they stopped having a conversation with people, he said.
The Congress leader, however, was unsparing in his criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government.
Demonetisation and hurriedly implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) had hit growth hard, he said, adding note ban caused tremendous damage to the economy as the decision taken without discussion with the chief economic adviser and Parliament.
Gandhi also criticised the government over the recent spate in lynchings, saying the politics of polarisation was very dangerous.
Hatred, anger and violence can destroy us. Liberal journalists are being shot. People are being lynched, Dalits are being killed over suspicions of carrying beef, Muslims are killed over suspicions of eating beef, all this is new in India, he said.
Gandhi conceded Modi had good communication skills. He has certain skills. Hes a very good communicator and understands how to deliver a message to three or four groups in a crowd; his messaging ability is very subtle, he said.
Im an opposition leader, but Mr Modi is also my Prime Minister. Hes a very good communicator, probably much better than me.. but what I sense is that he doesnt converse with people he works with. Even many BJP MPs told me that he doesnt listen to anyone.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi addressed students at the University of California, Berkeley, criticising the Modi government on its economic policies and handling of Kashmir conflict.
Apart from demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax, Gandhi also referred to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and the killing of leftist journalist Gauri Lankesh earlier this month in his address on Tuesday.
Twitter users had a mixed response to Gandhis address. Some deemed it the best speech by the Congress leader while his critics said it was difficult to take the party seriously.
Heres a look at some of the reactions:
Congress leaders were all praises for Gandhi:
In 1949, Indias first prime minister and Gandhis grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru had delivered a speech at the university. Leaders from Congress party praised Gandhis speech for its candour and eloquence.
A speech marked by acuity & passion, & a discussion infused with candour & insight #RGinUS @UCBerkeley pic.twitter.com/z9tg4x7aM0 Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) September 12, 2017
Glad @OfficeOfRG made it to @UCBerkeley. Massive turnout & great speech/interaction. I had the opportunity to address the university in 2015 pic.twitter.com/dTi14T7k66 Milind Deora (@milinddeora) September 12, 2017
Eloquent speech, candid thoughts and open conversation marks Shri Rahul Gandhi's interaction at @UCBerkeley today. #RGInUS pic.twitter.com/OxslUvkP18 Randeep S Surjewala (@rssurjewala) September 12, 2017
@OfficeOfRG makes a fine speech in Berkeley but surely this is the time to be speaking on west coast of India, not US west coast! #RGinUS Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) September 12, 2017
His supporters were there in numbers
Good one. Hitting where it hurts the most. Yes- BJP's proaganda machinery spreading lies since @OfficeOfRG 's debut in 2004. #RGinUS https://t.co/O2YCBsQqtO Sadhavi Khosla (@sadhavi) September 12, 2017
But Gandhis critics were unsparing too:
His own understanding is childish. He can only cry and never be a leader of even the lowest knowledge quotient in Congress. Fun material! TR Pandey (@tr_pandey) September 12, 2017
Day after day, it is becoming progressively more difficult to take Rahul Gandhi and his party seriously. Daraius Ardeshir (@DEArdeshir) September 12, 2017
BJP leaders were vocal in their criticism of Gandhis speech:
Astonishing that Congress VP, Rahul Gandhi goes to US and slams his own Country,India ..It's frustration of Rahul speaking..Deplorable! Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj) September 12, 2017
Rahul Gandhi killed all enterprise and dreams of a million people who aren't dynasts but toiling hard to make a mark.. #RahulInsultsIndia https://t.co/91MERQI96q Amit Malviya (@malviyamit) September 12, 2017
Rahul Gandhi said on Tuesday he was ready to take over as president of the Congress but it was up to the party to elect him to the post.
The Congress vice president made the comments at the University of California, Berkeley, where he also took a broad swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modis economic policies, including the scrapping of high-value banknotes and the hasty rollout of a goods and services tax (GST).
He accused the government of pursuing divisive politics and doing little to stop vigilante violence and attacks on activists and journalists. Without naming him, Gandhi accused Modi of controlling a BJP machine of 1,000 people to abuse him online.
Gandhis comments triggered protests from the BJP, which called him a failed dynast who spoke in the United States because nobody in India was listening to him.
Asked if he was ready to take on an executive role in the party, Gandhi whose elevation as Congress president is long awaited said he was absolutely ready to do that.
But the way our party works, we have an organisational election process that decides that, and that process is currently ongoing.
DYNASTS RUN INDIA
Gandhi also sought to deflect criticism that the Congress was a dynastic party, saying he shouldnt be singled out because thats how India runs, be it in politics, business or the film industry.
Most parties in India have that problem Akhilesh Yadav is a dynast; Mr Stalin is a dynast; Mr Dhumals son (Anurag Thakur) is a dynast; even Mr Abhishek Bachchan is a dynast, he said. So, dont get after me.
Gandhi, 47, kicked off a two-week tour of the United States with Tuesdays speaking assignment at the UCB. He also took questions after a speech on India at 70: Reflections on the Path Forward.
Introspecting on the Congress decline, Gandhi said after years in power his party became arrogant, and around 2012 it stopped a long tradition of internal dialogue to devise political strategy.
A certain arrogance crept into the Congress party and they stopped having that conversation, he said.
Gandhi reserved his strongest words for Prime Minister Modi and his policies. He said demonetisation and the hurried implementation of GST had tremendously damaged the economy, which was now struggling to recover from sluggish growth.
The Congress leader also criticised the governments policies in troubled Kashmir, saying these had opened the space for terrorism. He also spoke about a spate of lynching across the country, especially of Muslims suspected of carrying or eating beef, and blamed the BJPs politics of polarisation for it.
Liberal journalists [are] being shot. People [are] being lynched because they are Dalits, Muslims killed on suspicion of carrying beef This is new in India and damages India very badly, he said.
But Gandhi conceded Modi was a better communicator than him.
He has certain skills. Hes a very good communicator and understands how to deliver a message to three or four groups in a crowd, he said.
But what I sense is that he doesnt converse with people he works with. Even many BJP MPs told me that he doesnt listen to anyone.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The Congress said on Tuesday its vice-president Rahul Gandhi was visiting the United States to present the oppositions perspective on contemporary India and the way forward for the worlds largest democracy.
Hitting out at the Bharatiya Janata Party for criticising Rahuls US visit, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said the party vice-president has gone abroad only 0.001% as compared to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
If you calculate, Rahul Gandhis foreign visits constitute barely .001% of the visits made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi abroad.
But it has become a habit of some people (like BJP) to make fun of this and crack jokes. The BJP has become a master at doing it, he said.
Rahul, 47, left on Monday for his nearly two-week trip to the United States. He is scheduled to address the University of California, Berkeley, on the subject India at 70 Reflections on the Path forward, where he will talk about contemporary India and the path forward for the worlds largest democracy.
He is expected to meet US politicians with whom he will discuss policy and bilateral issues. The Congress vice president is also likely to meet intellectuals, researchers and the academia and have a first-hand view of emerging technologies like nanotechnology, biotechnology and artificial intelligence, sources said.
Almost all military units of Air Forces of Ukraine in state of combat readiness
Almost all combat military units of the Air Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been put on alert for tryout, the General Staff of the Armed Forces has reported.
"Almost all military units of the Air Forces of Ukraine have been put on alert to check readiness for fulfillment of assigned tasks," the General Staff said on its Facebook page.
During the implementation of these measures, a call is made for military gatherings of battle reserve staff of the first and second stages for completing these military units to full staff. Particular attention is paid to the ability of these military units to organize the reserve personnel and comprehensive support. Individual training with will be held with the reservists.
The Supreme Court agreed on Tuesday to hear on September 15 a plea filed by two women lawyers seeking implementation of existing guidelines to ensure safety and well-being of children in schools across the country.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices Amitava Roy and AM Khanwilkar said it has already issued notice on a similar plea filed by the father of the child, who was brutally murdered at Gurgaons Ryan International School.
We will tag it (writ petition) with the earlier one, the bench said and fixed the PIL, filed by two practising apex court lawyers Abha Sharma and Sangeeta Bharti, for hearing on Friday.
The lawyers, in their petition, sought implementation of various existing guidelines on safety of school-going children.
They also suggested some additional guidelines to ensure that the responsibility is fastened on the schools with regard to safety of children from the moment they get into the school bus/vehicle.
On Monday, the court issued notice to the Centre, Haryana Police, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the CBI on a plea filed by the father of the child seeking a CBI probe into the matter.
A Class 2 student of Ryan International School in Gurgaon was found dead on the morning of September 8 after his throat was slit with a sharp-edged weapon allegedly by 42-year-old bus conductor Ashok Kumar inside the toilet as the boy resisted a bid to sodomise him.
The fathers plea sought setting up of a committee headed by a former apex court judge for suggesting guidelines to be framed and implemented under the observance of the top court.
It sought a free, fair, independent and fearless investigation including an enquiry and investigation by the CBI under the supervision of the court.
The plea also sought a direction for ensuring safety and security of family members of the deceased boy.
Japan is all set to enhance support to Indias flagship programmes and announce new investments in Gujarat, besides stepping up international cooperation to counter Chinas one-road-one-belt connectivity project.
Japanese premier Shinzo Abe arrives in Ahmedabad on Wednesday for a two-day visit that will feature his fourth annual summit meeting and tenth encounter with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. After Russia, Japan is the only other country with which India holds annual summit meetings.
An ambitious agenda is on the cards at the summit, with Japan expressing its willingness to scale up investment in key flagship projects such as Make in India, Skill India and the Clean Ganga Mission. Most of it would be in continuation of the developmental-cooperation trajectory the two leaders had arrived at in 2015: The provision of soft loans to build Indias first bullet train and another $12 billion in incentives for Japanese companies investing in India. India can leverage Japanese technology and expertise in various fields to strengthen many of the governments flagship projects, an official said.
Poll-bound Gujarat, which happens to be Modis home state, will also benefit from Japanese assistance. An agreement between the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Gujarat Maritime Board for developing the Alang shipbuilding yard, besides the establishment of two industrial parks, will be on the table during Abes visit.
Both the sides will also strive to enhance their international cooperation in Asia and Africa, with a sharp focus on infrastructural projects. This development comes in the wake of China aggressively pushing ahead with its one-road-one-belt connectivity project, which was boycotted by India but endorsed by its South-Asian neighbours like Sri Lanka and Nepal.
While Indian companies enjoy a large presence in Africa, Japanese companies possess advanced technologies. If we come together there, it could be a win-win situation for both countries, Kenji Hiramatsu, the Japanese ambassador to India, told Hindustan Times in a recent interview.
Incidentally, the fact that the African Union has 54 members one-third of the United Nations total membership can even help India and Japan achieve their dream of becoming permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
China is already expanding its economic and strategic influence in the resource-rich continent. Its new military base in Djibouti the first in the region has raised global concerns over the Xi Jinping governments designs on Africa.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The BJP on Tuesday accused Rahul Gandhi of trying to belittle Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a foreign soil after the Congress vice president criticised the government for its handling of economy and over growing polarisation in the country.
The fact that he chose to belittle the Prime Minister is not surprising, in fact expected, BJP leader and information and broadcasting minister Smriti Irani told reporters within hours of the Congress leader addressing students at the University of California, Berkeley.
After failing to connect with the people of India, Mr Gandhi chooses a platform of convenience for beating his political opponents.
The 47-year-old Gandhi arrived in the US on Monday for a two-week tour.
Irani criticised him for his public proclamation that the Congress become arrogant in 2012. It was a reflection on his mother Sonia Gandhi, who heads the party, and it was a matter for the opposition party to delve into, Irani said.
She also took on Gandhi for his remarks that dynasties were common to all political parties. Indian democracy gives opportunity to merit and is not beholden to dynasty, Irani said.
A failed dynast today chose to speak about his failed political journey in US, Irani said.
The minister said the Congress leaders remarks that dynasts and dynasties were the fulcrum of Indian democracy were an anomaly as she went on point to the modest backgrounds of President Ram Nath Kovind, vice president M Venakaih Naidu and Prime Minister Modi and argued they rose of high offices on back of merit.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Around 59% of India has received substantially less rainfall as compared to previous years, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) data shows, raising apprehension that poor agriculture output could adversely impact the economy.
The latest economic growth, measured by the gross domestic product, grew by 5.7% in the first quarter of 2017-18 as compared to 7.9% in the same quarter a year ago slowest since the National Democratic Alliance government came to power in May 2014.
The government had predicted in April that it expects the farm output growth to remain stable at 4% while setting a foodgrain production target of 273 million tonnes in 2017-18 crop year (July-June) amid expectation of a normal rainfall in June-September.
That did not happen as once again IMDs prediction of a normal monsoon went wrong.
Although the overall deficit is 6%, Indias food bowl states of Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh received up to 36% less rainfall than the long-term average rainfall. These states account for almost half of the countrys food production.
In addition, large parts of agriculturally significant Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka and Kerala received less rainfall than previous years, and face drought for the third year in a row.
The rainfall distress is also visible on the crop sowing data from these states even though the agriculture ministry is hopeful the impact on overall production will not be high. Production of crops like soybean, cotton, oilseeds and vegetables would be less in October-November season.
Farm production in Punjab, Haryana and western UP is not entirely dependant on monsoon, a senior ministry official said, adding there can be some concerns in Karnataka and Kerala where rainfall has been scanty.
Chandigarh-based economist Devendra Sharma said scanty rainfall may reduce the farm growth this year by half as the area of impact is vast. The impact on production will be huge, he said, and added that the countrys agriculture sector was going through its worst phase and nobody was talking about it.
As the crisis looms large, the state governments are only just getting ready to tackle what may be another year of distress and misery for the poor farmers.
Madhya Pradesh, which has received up to 30% less rain, has constituted a committee under chief secretary Basant Pratap Singh to evaluate the extent of drought. Only four of the 51 districts in the state have received normal rainfall while in regions such as Bundelkhand, the deficiency is as high as 59%.
Rajasthan has set up a committee to examine the farmers demands of compensation and loan waiver.
Drought surveys have also been initiated in Karnataka and Kerala. Maharashtra has begun the process to pay compensation to its affected farmers.
Not much rainfall is expected in the remaining two weeks of the south-west monsoon as IMD has not forecasted any revival so far.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
A Tamil Nadu Police team on Tuesday visited a resort in Kodagu district of Karnataka in search of an AIADMK MLA in connection with a pending case against him.
The AIADMK legislators loyal to the Sasikala camp are at present lodged in the Paddington resort near Kushalnagar.
Sources at the resort said MLA Pallaniyappan had left the place on Monday and that his whereabouts were not known.
The police team had to return empty-handed.
The legislators loyal to sidelined party deputy general secretary TTV Dhinakaran who are cooling their heels in the cooler climes of Kodagu district with turmoil in the party. They are expected to stay at the resort for two more days, the sources said.
The visit by the Tamil Nadu Police came as AIADMKs top policy making body eased out jailed interim general secretary V K Sasikala from the post and declared all appointments made by her invalid.
Sasikala is in the central jail at Parapana Agragara here since February after the apex court convicted her and two others in a disproportionate assets case.
Ahmedabad is all decked up to host Japanese PM Shinzo Abe on Wednesday, the second Asian world leader after Chinese President Xi Jinping to be welcomed by PM Narendra Modi in Gujarat, in three years.
Xi was given a grand public reception back in 2014, the kind of which had not been extended to any Chinese leader since the two countries went to war in 1962 .
Officials were now attempting to ensure that the welcome programme they organise for Abe goes one step ahead of the one held for the Chinese leader.
Abe will begin his two-day visit with a roadshow the first to be held by a foreign head of state in India from the Ahmedabad airport to Sabarmati Ashram.
According to Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, artistes from various states will perform on over 25 stages set up on the eight-km stretch of the roadshow.
After inviting Xi Jinping to the city in 2014, Modi has again set his own protocol by bringing another head of state directly to his home state. Unlike Xi, Abe will not visit Delhi and instead directly leave for Japan from Gujarat.
The Japanese PM is landing here directly. This makes the occasion more important, as he is visiting the state on the very first day of his India visit, said Jitu Vaghani, Gujarat BJP president.
Both the leaders will visit the historic Sidi Saiyyed Mosque in the old city area where they will be shown a presentation on the heritage of Ahmedabad.
Modi and Abe will dine at the restaurant Agashiye, which is part of heritage hotel House of Mangaldas. Officials said the two leaders will be served traditional all-vegetarian Gujarati cuisines.
A mob set two buses and three motorbikes afire to protest the detention of a few members of the Patidar community in Surat on Tuesday night, the eve of Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abes two-day visit to Gujarat.
The youngsters were taken into custody for allegedly protesting against a youth convention held by BJP youth wing president Rutvij Patel. Tension prevailed in Varachha, the diamond-polishing industry hub in Surat. Most of the workers in this industry are Patidars from Saurashtra.
Ripple effects of the Surat violence were witnessed at a public event held in Ahmedabad to celebrate the completion of the Sardar Sarovar Dam project on the Narmada river. Some youngsters reportedly began shouting slogans in support of the ongoing Patidar agitation for OBC status, disrupting the programme.
The authorities made several preventive detentions in Ahmedabad to ensure that no untoward incident takes place at a time when the city is decked up to welcome the Japanese premier. Reacting to the detention, Patidar agitation leader Hardik Patel tweeted: There will be a stir in Gujarat if those detained are not released soon.
The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) will take up the issue of fake babas, who the apex body of Hindu saints say are maligning saints and ascetics, at its three-day gathering of religious figures to be held in Karnataka in November.
The issue was raised by the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP), an umbrella organisation of 13 recognised akharas or monastic orders, on Sunday when it released a list of 14 fake godmen and demanded a crackdown on rootless cult leaders by bringing in a legislation.
The list, which includes Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, Haryana cult leader Rampal, rape accused Asaram and his son Narayan Sai, came against the backdrop of a series of controversies surrounding self-styled godmen, including Singh who has been convicted of rape.
A delegation of saints from Akhara Parishad, led by its chief Narendra Giri, is also scheduled to meet the chief minister Yogi Adityanath with a list of fake babas.
The fake babas issue could also figure in the meeting of the Kendriya Margdarshak Mandal, the highest decision-making body of the Hindu nationalist group, scheduled for early 2018 as well as at the meeting of the Bharat Sadhu Samaj, a body of ascetics and saints set up in 1956.
Kamal Nayan Das, the Ayodhya priest and heir apparent to Ram Janmbhoomi Nyas chief Nritya Gopal Das, confirmed that as a member of the VHPs margdarshak mandal he would, along with other saints, will flag the issue of fake babas for discussion during the dharma sansad.
Ram Vilas Vedanti, a former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator and member of the margdarshak mandal, said he would also like to move a resolution barring the indiscriminate use of the term baba.
I guess media, too, is to be blamed for this as everyone from Gurmeet Ram Rahim to Asaram are described as babas. Nobody ever asked if they belonged to any monastic order and when they are exposed they bring a bad name to all of us, Vedanti told the Hindustan Times over the phone.
Even though the issue of fake babas is making headlines, mainly after the recent conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief, many feel that the enthusiasm wont last long.
Wait and see. For any meaningful activity, all of us, including the akhara parishad would need to reflect and look within. For instance, despite the parishad has been raising the issue of fake shankaracharyas at its meetings, why hasnt any action been possible against them, a seer, who did not want to be named, told HT.
Some of the seers HT spoke to wondered whether the akhara parishad would also put up a list of fake shankaracharyas.
Only last year, the akhara parishad had for the umpteenth time discussed the issue of fake shankaracharyas and the need to stop their entry at the Ardh Kumbh scheduled in Allahabad in 2019. But due to differences among the different akharas, the issue never gets resolved. Imagine over a dozen people moving around calling themselves as shankaracharyas, a saint from Ayodhya said.
The VHP was guarded on the issue of fake shankaracharyas as well as allegations that several saffron clad men from Ayodhya are involved in various criminal cases, including murder.
Its for the saints to decide, said an evasive Sharad Sharma, the Ayodhya-based spokesperson of the VHP.
We are against fake babas but it would be unfair to view the entire saint community in the same light, Sharma said.
Kamal Nayan Das, who received a threat to his life some time ago, said people tend to get attracted to the glamour and the well-meaning saint is often ignored.
That is the reason for most of the problems we face today. We will discuss the issue in our meetings. Lets see what comes out of it, Das said.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Most of the country runs like this. So, dont go after me, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said on Tuesday, maintaining dynastic politics was common to all parties in India.
Gandhi is the fifth generation of the Nehru-Gandhi family in politics. His father Rajiv Gandhi, grandmother Indira Gandhi and great-grandfather (Jawaharlal Nehru) all served as prime ministers.
Akhilesh Yadav is a dynast, Mr Stalin (DMK supremo M Karunanidhis son) is a dynast, Mr (Prem Kumar) Dhumals son (Anurag Thakur of the BJP) is a dynast. Even Mr Abhishek Bachchan is a dynast, also Mr Ambani, Gandhi said.
He was responding to a query that there was a perception that the Congress was associated with dynastic politics. The question-answer session followed a speech he delivered at the University of California, Berkeley on India at 70: Reflections on the Path Forward.
Thats what happens in India and just the way India runs. The real question is if that person is a capable, sensitive person, the 47-year-old leader said.
Within hours, the Bharatiya Janata Party hit back and called Gandhi a failed dynast.
A failed dynast today chose to speak about his failed political journey in the US... the country (India) is not listening so he is speaking somewhere else, Union information and broadcasting minister Smriti Irani said at a press conference in New Delhi.
The fact that Rahul Gandhi chose to belittle the prime minister is not a surprise but expected... It is an indication of his failed strategy. The people of the country where he leads a political party no longer support him so he is expressing his pain abroad.
Irani, who had lost to Gandhi in Amethi in the last Lok Sabha poll and is seen as the BJPs nominee in the next election as well, described the US college as a platform of convenience for the Congress leader.
The BJP has often pointed to the Gandhi dynasty to project itself as a party based on merit. Speaking at BJP event in July, party chief Amit Shah said, Everyone knows who is going to be the next Congress president after Sonia Gandhi Isnt it? Tell me, who? He then went to say that no one knew who would succeed him.
In his speech, Rahul Gandhi said he tried to change things in the Congress and there were a large number of people who were not from dynastic families.
There are also people who have a father, a grandmother or a great grandfather in politics. Not much I could about this, he said.
After he was named the Congress vice-president in January 2013, Gandhi vowed to end the heirloom politics but he has his task cut out.
Political parties, including the Congress and the BJP, are often criticised for promoting families in distribution of tickets during elections.
Leaders from both the parties have defended the move, saying though the family name helps carve an identity in politics but its sustainability hinges on the persons performance.
Commenting on dynastic politics, Congress president Sonia Gandhi once said, Just like in a family of doctors, professors, businessmen, one or another will choose the path of the father. There is a difference in politics, as you are elected and defeated democratically.
(with PTI inputs)
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Under siege from thousands of farmers who are out on the streets in north Rajasthan demanding crop loan waiver and the opposition parties, the BJP government finally held talks to resolve the agitation on Tuesday.
The Akhil Bhartiya Kisan Sabha, the farmer organisation of the CPM, has been leading the agitation, which has been going on for the last 11 days is Sikar.
The farmers have 11 demands, including crop loan waiver, purchase of crops at minimum support price (MSP), increasing farmers pension from 500 to 5,000, tackling the menace of stray cattle, removing the ban on the sale of cattle imposed by the state government and implementation of the Swaminathan commission recommendations.
We have been protesting for last 10 days, but the government is not serious about resolving the issues. We will call for a statewide chakka jam if the government does not concede to our demands, former CPI(M) MLA Amraram, who is leading the stir, said.
Farmers are incurring losses and debts as the state government is not buying crops at MSP, Amraram said. The agriculture loan in the state amounts to 49,500 crore.
However, economists argue against loan waivers. Prof VS Vyas, a former member of the prime ministers advisory council, said that loan waivers are not in the long-term interest of farmers.
It can be a short-term remedy but in the long-term it can create hurdles in getting loans from banks and farmers will be forced to go back to sahukars and money-lenders, he said.
While talking about the states failure to implement MSP, Vyas blamed the ineffective procurement agencies. The procurement agencies are supposed to buy from farmers at the MSP but they are ineffective, which forces farmers to sell at lower prices to private traders.
But almost every time politics trounces economics.
Almost 70% people in Rajasthan are engaged in agriculture and farmers constitute a crucial vote bank. Assembly elections are due next year and the farmer organisations sense an opportunity in rallying against the government.
The opposition is also supporting the farmers demand for crop loan waiver. Terming the BJP government anti-farmer, state Congress president Sachin Pilot has said the party will hold protests in all the districts to seek loan waiver.
National Peoples Party state president Kirori Lal Meena and independent MLA Hanuman Beniwal too have backed the farmers demands.
Apart from MSP, this year up to 80% of the crops in parts of Rajasthan has been destroyed by unseasonal rain and farmers have been demanding compensation, but the government has not responded so far, said Rampal Jat, national president of the Kisan Mahapanchayat. He said that the organisation wants freedom from loans and not loan waiver.
In March this year, rains destroyed crops in large parts of Rajasthan. In August, Jalore, Sirohi, Barmer and Pali districts received heavy rainfall that led to crop loss.
The government assessed that 8.34 hectare land had been affected by the rains in August and assessed crop loss to the tune of 156.3 crore. The disaster relief department had sent a memo to the centre seeking relief. But farmers claim that they have not received any compensation.
Rampal Jat said that the government fixes the MSP but at the mandis, where the crops are auctioned, private traders buy them at a lesser price. We want the government to amend the law to ensure that the auction starts from the MSP and not from lower rates.
The Kisan Mahapanchayat has rallied farmers from the Ajmer region, where pulses are grown, for an agitation at Dudu. Jat cited the instance of moong dal. The MSP is 5,575 per quintal while the cost of production is 5,700 per quintal. However, it was sold at 3,500 per quintal.
Jat said that the government has time and again assured the farmers that the issue will be resolved but nothing has done so far.
Two activists have been detained for their involvement in the Sunday events that saw former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and a crowd of supporters barge past border guards to enter Ukraine from Poland, David Sakvarelidze, a Saakashvili supporter and a Movement of New Forces member, has said.
"Our activist from Cherkasy, Andriy Kotychenko, has now been arrested. He was precisely among those who brought Mikheil into Ukraine... He is being transported to Lviv at the moment. Yesterday, 15 representatives of the Interior Ministry detained our supporter from Ivano-Frankivsk, Oleksandr Burtsev, who also played an active role in Sunday's events," Sakvarelidze wrote on his Facebook page.
Sakvarelidze described these actions taken by law enforcement agencies as "political reprisals."
"We will defend each of our supporters and like-minded persons," he said.
Saakashvili arrived in Ukraine on September 10. His supporters gathered at the Shehyni checkpoint and started a fight with border guards in the transit zone, thus helping Saakashvili and a group of other people, including five parliamentarians, illegally cross the border. Eleven Ukrainian National Police officers and five border guards were injured in the incident.
The Lviv region police have opened a criminal investigation on the count of "illegal transportation of people across the state border of Ukraine." Another criminal inquiry was subsequently launched on a count of "resistance to officers of law enforcement agencies performing their duties."
Curfew was relaxed for six hours in violence-hit areas of the Walled City of Jaipur on Tuesday, which was the fourth day since violence erupted in Ramganj locality.
On Tuesday, curfew was relaxed from noon to 6pm during which everything was peaceful. Internet services are still suspended inside the Walled City and areas coming under a few other police stations, said deputy commissioner of police, north, Satyendra Singh.
Curfew was imposed in Manak Chowk, Galta Gate, Ramganj and Subhash Chowk areas of the Walled City following the death of one person in clashes between police and protesters in Ramganj area on Friday night.
Mohammed Raees alias Aadeel, was allegedly killed in police firing after a mob went berserk following an incident of an alleged assault on a couple by a constable in the area.
On Monday, curfew was relaxed for two hours and the body of Raees was buried after an agreement for the compensation was reached between his family and the administration.
A similar scene took place on Tuesday when a postmortem was to be conducted on the body of Bharat Kodnani, another man found dead inside the city on Friday night. He was cremated on Tuesday.
We allowed the postmortem to be conducted after the administration told us that his elderly mother will receive the same compensation as the family of Raees. Bharat was specially-abled and also the only earning member of the family, said Narayan Das Kodwani, his uncle.
Police said that any decision to lift the curfew will be taken after taking stock of the situation later in the day.
On Tuesday, BJP MLA Gyan Dev Ahuja said that the cost of the damages incurred during Fridays violence should be recovered from Muslim bodies.
In the recent case of violence by Dera Sacha Sauda followers, the cost of the damages was recovered from their property and a similar step should be taken here in Jaipur, said Ahuja.
The government should recover the cost from the Muslim Forum which is demanding compensation for Raees, he added.
No doubt, the family of Raees deserves compensation but the death of Kodnani should also be investigated, added Ahuja.
Acrucial meeting between Mamata Banerjee and Gorkhaland agitators on Tuesday afternoon will be held under the shadow of two questions -- when will the shutdown end and with the demand for a tripartite meeting rising among all hill parties, what exactly could the two-party meetings yield.
While leaders of four parties met Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Friday in Delhi with the request to hold a tripartite meeting, even expelled Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) leaders such as Binoy Tamang and Anit Thapa have publicly said that the bipartite meeting has to pave the way for a tripartite meeting, failing which, they would resort to hunger strike.
The other question, a more popular one, is about ending the 90-day shutdown .
Banerjee chairs Tuesdays meeting in Siliguri to restore normalcy in Darjeeling hills. This would be the second meeting after the one in state secretariat on August 29.
Hill leaders who represented in the last meeting -- Gorkha National Liberation Front, Jan Andolan Party and two Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) leaders who have subsequently been expelled from the party.
However, the biggest political party GJM, led by Bimal Gurung, has not yet been invited. The GJM chief told HT earlier that the bandh will continue till the Centre calls a tripartite meeting to discuss the creation of a separate state.
The bandh began on June 15. On June 19, the administration suspended Internet services in the hills. Following a meeting of the agitators with Rajnath Singh on August 13, GJM withdrew its fast unto death programme in the hills. But life continues to be paralysed for a record three months at a stretch.
Though none is saying it officially, hill leaders belonging to different parties told HT unless GJM is taken on board, it would be nearly impossible for the state government to usher in peace in the hills.
BJP Bengal president, Dilip Ghosh, has said any solution to the hill problem is not possible keeping Bimal Gurung out.
Attempts by former GJM leaders, Binay Tamang and Anit Thapa after the August 29 meeting to withdraw the bandh failed as the GJM expelled them from the party. Since then both Tamang and Thapa have mellowed down their stand on the ongoing bandh.
Though Trinamool Congress leaders, police and administration have been unsuccessfully trying to convince people to withdraw the shutdown, the fate of the bandh would largely depend on what Gurung and his followers would do.
Sensing the mood of the people, Tamang and Thapa have already announced that they would sit for fast unto death if tripartite meeting is not called after Tuesdays bilateral meeting.
The state government did not response to the letter I sent on September 8 to the chief minister requesting her to call GJM for Tuesdays meeting. Three GJMs MLAs on Saturday delivered a letter at the chief ministers Kalighat office in Kolkata, said Jyoti Kumar Rai, GJM assistant general secretary.
We are yet to get any response, said Amar Singh Rai, MLA from Darjeeling.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
A joint team of the Bengal Crime Investigation Department (CID) and the Border Security Force (BSF) arrested three men from Barasat in North 24 Parganas district on Tuesday, and seized snake venom worth Rs 100 crore from their possession.
Officials said the venom was meant to be smuggled to China through Bangladesh in three inconspicuous jars. The arrested people were identified as Narayan Das (26) from Madhyamgram in North 24 Parganas; Debojyoti Bose (43), a resident of Tollygunge in Kolkata; and Buddhadev Khanra (40), who hails from Jadavpur in south Kolkata.
According to the CID, the three are part of an international gang that smuggles snake venom to the neighbouring country. Animal parts and illegal wildlife products fetch a hefty price in the Chinese black market.
The forest department has taken possession of the venom, and launched an official probe into the incident.
This is the fourth instance of the contraband being confiscated by the BSF at the Bengal-Bangladesh border since January 2017. All the previous seizures were made in Malda district.
The Sashastra Seema Bal and the Customs department had also carried out a major operation in Siliguri this May, resulting in the arrest of two people and seizure of venom worth Rs 70 crore.
The fifth accused in the BRD tragedy, Dr Sateesh Kumar surrendered before the ADJ court on Monday and was sent to 14-day judicial custody. Dr Sateesh Kumar, who was head of department of anaesthesia at BRD Medical College, had been absconding since an FIR was lodged against him and eight others at Hazratganj police station in Lucknow on August 23. The case was later transferred to Gulharia police station, Gorakhpur.
Dr Sateeshs counsel had submitted an application for his surrender following which the court had asked police to submit the report related to his case. The report was handed over to the ADJ court on Monday. Dr Sateesh was accused of not maintaining proper records of oxygen supply stock and updating log books at BRD Medical College. There were allegations that the childrens deaths at BRD had happened due to disruption in oxygen supply as the vendor had not been paid for several months.
A non-bailable warrant had been issued against Dr Sateesh. While coming out of the court, Dr Sateesh avoided media glare and didnt respond to questions of reporters.
Earlier, police arrested the then principal of the college Rajiv Mishra, his medico-wife Purnima Shukla, and Dr Kafeel Khan, the then nodal officer of the 100-bed Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) ward of the college and Sudhir Pandey, clerk of BRD Medical College.
Read more| Gorakhpurs BRD Medical: After 10-11 tragedy, spate of suspensions
Four other accused who are still at large include gas supplier Manish Bhandari, junior clerk Uday Pratap Singh, pharmacist Gajanan Jaiswal and assistant clerk Sanjay Tripathi.
A 29-member delegation of saints from the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP) on Tuesday met chief minister Yogi Adityanath to seek action against 14 self-styled godmen who have been blacklisted by the Parishad.
Informing the CM about ABAPs decision to sound a countrywide alert against fake babas, the seers sought UP governments support in their campaign.
After its first list of 14 fake babas that has names like Asaram Bapu, Gurmeet Ram Rahim and others created a stir, ABAP now plans to come out with a bigger second list. It has asked all the temples, maths and other holy Hindu places to report suspicious or fake babas.
This is probably the first time when Hindu saints are seeking action against controversial godmen.
The CM reportedly assured the delegation that his government would ensure action fake godmen in Uttar Pradesh.
We sought action against all those sullying our reputation. All saints, maths and temples have been asked to report all suspicious babas to us. The CM has assured us of his full cooperation, head of ABAP Narendra Giri told HT after meeting the CM.
Adityanath, who is also the head priest of Gorakhnath Temple in Gorakhpur, was also informed about Akhara Parishads decision to ban the entry of fake babas in the 2019 Ardh Kumbh.
The seers also demanded that Allahabad be renamed as Prayagraj.
Deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, who hails from Allahabad, was also present in the meeting.
ABAP, an umbrella body of all 13 akharas or monastic orders, was set up by 8th century seer Adi Sankara to defend Hindu religion and its followers.
Though the delegation also discussed preparations for Ardh Kumbh, the focus was mostly on fake babas who are in the limelight since the conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim for raping his disciples.
There was no clarity on whether the Akhara Parishad would also ensure the entry of fake Shankaracharyas in important religious events like Kumbh and Ardh Kumbh.
Read more: Akhara Parishad panels to scrutinise conduct of seers across country
We wont let them (fake godmen) attend Kumbh as babas. They can come as common people but not as saints, Giri said.
The Akhara Parishad has also been seeking a ban on the entry of fake Shankaracharyas in events like Kumbh but it has not met with much success due to differences among various akharas. We have taken up all the issues, Giri said without going into the specifics.
Juna Akhara spokesman Vidyanand Saraswati said ABAP would also move the court if fake babas tried to seek legal intervention on the ban imposed by ABAP on their entry in Kumbh.
A kindergarten student was allegedly held hostage in a school at Khurja in Bulandshahr district after his father, a farmer, failed to deposit his fee.
Sunil Pratap Singh, the father of Abhay (4), registered a case against the school management.
Refuting allegations, the school management claimed the boy had to stay back in school as his van left while he was in washroom.
Superintendent of police (rural), Bulandshahr, PK Tiwari said the incident occurred on Friday and investigations were on in the case.
Abhay is a resident of Hajratpur village and goes to school in a van.
His father could not deposit his fee for the last few months due to financial crisis. He accused the school management of keeping the boy in captivity to force him to clear the dues.
Think of German food and your mind conjures up images of hearty meat-based dishes, fat and juicy sausages and sauerkraut. However, at this upcoming five-day pop-up in Mumbai, German food will be given a modern twist by Berlin-born, Bangkok-based chefs, Mathias and Thomas Suhring.
Bismarck herring snack. (Sanguine)
They are twins who run Suhring in Bangkok, which appeared at no.13 on Asias 50 Best Restaurants list, within a year of its opening - a feat unheard of. Their food philosophy is inspired by their grandmothers recipes, interpreted in a modern way. Think of what Chef Gaggan Anand did with Indian food; the Suhring twins apply the same thought to traditional German cuisine, says Raaj Sanghvi of Sanguine, an events company thats bringing this experience to The Chambers at The Taj Mahal Palace from September 13 to September 17.
For the pop-up, the Suhring brothers are coming down with loads of fresh truffles, Russian caviars, special plates and cutlery. About 10 members of their staff from Bangkok will also be flying down to give the diners an authentic Suhring experience. Diners will be treated to a 12-course veg or non-veg menu paired with expensive wine. Its best if diners come with no expectations as their perception about German food will change completely after the meal, adds Sanghvi. Apart from luxurious ingredients, the brothers are also bringing their two-and-a-half-year-old sourdough starter to bake authentic German breads.
Sourdough starter. (Sanguine)
This exquisite meal will include dishes such as Curry 36 (the chefs take on German street food), Spatzle (soft egg noodles with fresh black truffles) and of course their delicious salmon preparation (with a generous topping of Ossetra caviar).
Sibling chefs Thomas and Mathias Suhring. (The Taj Mahal Palace)
Housed in a beautiful villa in Bangkok, Suhring has become a popular destination for locals and tourists. The sibling chefs have over two decades of experience cooking in countries such as Netherlands and Italy.
Forelle Blau. (Sanguine)
Follow @htlifeandstyle for more.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
A 20-year-old man was arrested on Monday for allegedly groping a woman police sub-inspector on the last day of Ganpati immersions.
The police said Manoj Kumar Kartik Kaudar has a criminal record.
On September 5, the sub-inspector had finished duty and was returning home at 1.30am when the incident took place.
A constable dropped her till Wadala TT, which is near her house.
The woman PSI, in casual clothes, was unaware that a man was following her. The man pounced on her, pinned her down and groped her. She kicked him and managed to escape and shout for help.
By the time, the policemen on patrol duty came to the rescue, the accused had escaped.
Police inspector Amol Tamke from Wadala TT police station said they prepared a sketch of the accused based on the description given by the sub-inspector.
We circulated the sketch across the city and alerted our informers, said Tamke.
On Monday, the police received a tip-off that a man, whose description matched the suspects, was seen in the Sanjay Gandhi area near Sion. A police team was sent to the spot. Seeing the police, Kaudar tried to escape, said Tamke.
The man was detained. During questioning, he denied the molestation charge saying that he was not present in the area that night.
For the first time in six years, the median salary offered at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) job placements has dipped.
The annual placement report of the institute reveals the median salary offered by companies for campus recruitment fell by 4.3% during the last academic year. Static growth in the information technology (IT) and manufacturing sectors seems to be the primary reason why the annual salary package offered to the average student which is usually on an upward trajectory slumped this year.
The placement report put the annual gross median salary for 2016-17 at Rs9.38 lakh, down from Rs9.8 lakh in 2015-16. In other words, half the IITians who got jobs in campus placements last year received salary packages less than Rs9.38 lakh an annum.
In recent years, the premier institute had been witnessing a steady, if not a sizeable, swelling of packages. In the period between 2011-12 and 2015-16, the median salary offered by companies visiting IIT-B rose from Rs7.6 lakh to Rs9.8 lakh.
While the highest salaries are often in tens of lakh rupees (converted from dollars), a majority of students get much smaller packages. The average gross salary which indicates the average size of a package last year was Rs 11.41 lakh per annum, while the average cost to company (CTC) was Rs13.38 lakh.
The usually high-paying information technology (IT) sector, which is witnessing massive layoffs, is also likely to be responsible for lower salaries, suggest experts. The number of job offers made by IT companies dropped from 270 in 2015-16 to 184 last year.
While IT companies that produce original products dont reduce their offers, those made by the IT services industry have shrunk. Many of the high-paying companies havent made many campus visits. They are not making many offers either. The offers made by engineering firms, too, seem to be static, said Kamal Karanth, a human resources executive.
Data revealed the students, in general, received smaller packages this year, with fewer companies offering higher salaries. For example, during 2015-16 placement season, 96 companies had offered more than Rs11 lakh per annum the highest bracket to 435 candidates who were placed. By comparison, a year later in 2016-17, 403 candidates received more than Rs11 lakh packages, even though the number of companies offering in the highest bracket rose to 111.
The premier institute also saw fewer students getting placed in the last season. Of the 1,718 students who registered for placements, only 1,114 (65%) were placed. By comparison, 1,143 out of 1,628 (70%) candidates found jobs in 2015-16. IIT-B clarified that not all of the registered candidates participate in the placement process. Some opt for higher studies instead.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a student coordinator from IIT-Bs placement team suggested the students preferred better career prospects than higher salaries. Many students chose to go for research and technology or analytics because it provides them with better exit options and more opportunities for career advancement, he said.
However, Karanth believes that IIT-B may have lost some of its bargaining capacity due to lower industry demand and abundant availability of non-IIT engineers. The institute seems to have caught up between ensuring the placement of most of its students and getting a good deal for them, he said.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The designated TADA court on Tuesday awarded life imprisonment to approver-turned-accused Riyaz Siddiqui in the 1995 murder case of builder Pradeep Jain.
According to prosecution, on March 7, 1995, Jain was shot dead by assailants outside his Juhu bungalow after he refused to part with his huge property and give it to gangster Abu Salem.
The TADA judge Govind Sanap had while convicting Siddiqui observed that he was an integral part of the conspiracy hatched against Jain brothers to make them surrender their rights over the property, to demand the extortion money and later in their conspiracy to eliminate one of the Jain brothers when they failed to fulfil the demand.
The TADA court had, in February 2015, convicted the three accused Abu Salem, Mehendi Hassan Shaikh and Virendrakumar Jhamb for conspiring to kill Jain. Sidhique was made an approver in the case but he did not support the prosecution.
The special public prosecutor Ujwal Nikam soon asked the court to turn him into an accused. The plea was allowed and his trial was separated from the other accused.
Along with the charges of conspiracy, conspiracy to murder and criminal trespass with extortion, Siddiqui is also convicted for giving false evidence to court. The TADA court observed that the prosecution with concrete and cogent evidence proved that Siddiqui with other accused had conspired to eliminate Jain. The court held that he agreed to strike terror in Jain brothers and builders community to compel them to surrender their rights over the property. The court held that the conspiracy was hatched between November 1994 and March 1995 in Dubai.
The court said, The prosecution has proved that Riyaz Siddiqui has committed breach of the conditions of pardon tendered to him on July 18, 2006 whereby he was legally bound to state the truth before the court at the time of his evidence. But he have false evidence to court.
Siddiqui was sentenced to 10 years in jail by the same court for his role in 1993 blasts case.
He has been held guilty for transporting the arms and ammunitions brought by Abu Salem in his van to various other places.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Mikheil Saakashvili, the leader of the Movement of New Forces party, former Georgian president and former head of Odesa State Regional Administration, first signed an objection proposed by his lawyers to a report on illegal crossing the border and then the report itself on Tuesday.
An Interfax-Ukraine correspondent reported from Lviv that the objection was attached to the report. Following these procedures, Ukrainian border guards left the territory of the Leopolis hotel in Lviv, where Saakashvili is staying.
Before this, Saakashvili's lawyer Markiyan Halabala said "we will give Mikheil Saakashvili our objection to the administrative offence report, saying that we see the report on holding him liable as unlawful. Our reasons are set out on these sheets of paper, which Saakashvili will sign."
Saakashvili himself added his corrections and an objection to the report in handwriting and said "Okay. September 18. And before September 18, if they don't create obstacles for me, I will begin my trips around Ukraine."
"Beginning tomorrow, I will have meetings in all regions of Ukraine... We will change the system together with you," he said.
As reported, the Mostyska District Court in Lviv region would hear the report on Saakashvili's illegal crossing of the border on Monday, September 18. Saakashvili is supposed to be present at the hearing.
On the surface, the lodging of a complaint against her cook by a deputy director of forecasts at the Pune observatory for pretending to be a Brahmin might seem ridiculous or even frivolous. But the incident raises serious questions about the resurgence of caste discrimination and is said to be indirectly connected to the recent Maratha morchas in the state.
When one speaks of caste discrimination, atrocity automatically comes to mind. But this is neither. The cook did not belong to a caste that might be considered untouchable and there cannot be any atrocity against someone as high up the caste hierarchy as a Maratha.
The case is not even one of impersonation per se (although the police have registered a case for this) for the woman was merely working under a pseudonym that sounded like a Brahmin name. She is said to have been a good cook, the scientists family enjoyed her fare on more than one occasion, but now she is seen as polluting food meant for the gods by being a non-Brahmin in a Brahmins only job.
A few years ago such discrimination between two upper castes would have been unheard of at an official level, though many homes have employed cooks they referred to as Maharajs and that was always a dead giveaway about caste. But now I am stunned by the fact that not only was an official complaint lodged against this cook for not being Brahmin, neither the scientist nor the cops recognise they may be violating Article 17 of the Constitution, which bans untouchability in any form. Moreover, although the scientist has also complained that the cook misbehaved with her when she went to her home to ascertain her caste, I wonder if putting that kind of intimidation on record does not make the scientist herself open to charges of criminal intimidation and caste discrimination?
While the authorities need to sort that one out, I would think this battle between a Brahmin and a Maratha is not so much about caste discrimination as it is a struggle for supremacy. Marathas are nearly 38 percent of the population in the state and they are a considerable vote bank. They had turned up in lakhs at the 58 silent morchas across the state over the past year, which culminated in a huge meeting in Mumbai last month. They have put the government on notice - to meet their demands for reservation and dilution of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities Act) 1989 which, they allege, was being used by Dalits to lodge false cases against them. Their numbers have bothered many and, as Professor Sudhir Gavhane, Dean of Liberal Arts at the MIT University of World Peace in Pune, told me, no political leader in this country can ever raise crowds in such numbers at their own meetings.So they must be taken seriously.
The Maratha Kranti Morcha had given the Devendra Fadnavis government time to meet their demands, failure of which could lead to violence. And when we go violent, the country would never have seen anything like it before, the convenor of the MKM Karan Gaykar told me.
Threatening violence itself could be a crime under the law, but the supreme confidence of the Maratha community in enforcing their demands -- and Fadnavis is not unaware of the consequences of failure to meet them -- is causing much concern among all.
I am told that this complaint now is not so much a private dispute between a scientist and her cook as an attempt to put the Marathas in their place and show them where they really stand. According to my sources, the scientists husband is a political worker and was warned that a complaint of this nature could instantly lead to controversy and create communal discord, but that certain groups decided they must not lose an opportunity like this one to put the Marathas in their place. But now many are afraid that this attempt to put them in their place should not ignite Maratha passions again and lead to social unrest or worse.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The proposed Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train, whose foundation stone PM Modi will lay on September 14, will come with two speed options for the passengershigh-speed and rapid high-speedand its fare could be in the range of Rs3,000 to Rs 5,000. While Maharashtra government has decided to rope in mayors, corporators and senior bureaucrats to take rounds of cities and ensure that people are not defecating in the open, Mumbaiites were charged with 2,354 animal cruelty cases this year. For the first time in six years, the median salary offered at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) job placements has dipped. Also, the Bombay high court on Tuesday granted protection from arrest to the founders of the Ryan International Group, and the parents of its CEO, Ryan Pinto, who had sought anticipatory bail in connection with the murder of an eight-year-old boy on their institutions campus in Gurgaon.
Here are today top five picks:
1. Proposed Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train to have 2 speed options, fare likely between Rs 3,000-5,000
The proposed Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train will come with two speed options for the passengershigh-speed and rapid high-speedand its fare could be in the range of Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be laying the foundation stone of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project with the Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, on September 14. To fund the ambitious Rs1,10,000-crore project, a loan of Rs88,000 crore will be taken from Japan.
2. Maharashtra asks its mayors, corporators to keep check on open defecation
With less than a month to go for its target to completely rid urban Maharashtra of open defecation, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Maharashtra government has decided to rope in mayors, corporators and senior bureaucrats to take rounds of cities and ensure that people are not defecating in the open. So far, of Maharashtras 384 cities and towns, about 44 are yet to get the open defecation free tag from the state government, while the rest have since 2015 gone through three levels of scrutiny to be certified open defecation-free.
3. Median salaries for IIT-B students fall for first time in 6 years to Rs 9.4 lakh
For the first time in six years, the median salary offered at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) job placements has dipped. The annual placement report of the institute reveals that the median salary offered by companies for campus recruitment fell by 4.3% during the last academic year. Static growth in the information technology (IT) and manufacturing sectors seems to be the primary reason why the annual salary package offered to the average student - which is usually on an upward trajectory - slumped this year.
4. Gurgaon school murder: Bombay HC grants Ryan International owners protection from arrest
The Bombay high court on Tuesday granted protection from arrest to the founders of the Ryan International Group, and the parents of its CEO, Ryan Pinto, who had sought anticipatory bail in connection with the murder of an eight-year-old boy on their institutions campus in Gurgaon. The relief for Augustine, 73, and Grace, 62, is, however, limited till tomorrow only.
5. Mumbaiites charged with 2,354 animal cruelty cases this year
Mumbais cruelty to animals is a matter of concern, with almost 300 cases of animal cruelty filed every month. Data compiled by the Bombay Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BSCPA) reveals 2,354 animal cruelty cases between January and August. Animals that faced human cruelty included those raised as pets, like dogs, cats, birds and turtles to cattle such as cows, bullocks, horses, fowl and goats.
Family of slain artist Hema Upadhyay alleged that Raja Thakare, lawyer representing her husband Chintan, Mumbai crime branch and sections of the media were watering down the murder case of Hema and her lawyer . Vinod Gangwal, advocate for Hema's family, said since Thakare has represented the state in various cases in the past, "he is using state machinery to his advantage in the murder case.
Hemas family will move the Bombay High Court next week with a petition to remove Thakare from the case and to expedite the trial.
Gangwal said, Raja Thakare has represented the state in major cases such as the Best Bakery case and Arun Gawli's case among many high profile ones. All of a sudden, in this matter, Thakare is representing Chintan. The states machinery works under such an advocate and he can get information by calling any ACP, DCP for the reports.
READ MORE: One and a half years later, key suspect in murders of Hema Upadhyay and Harish Bhambani still at large
The family plans to approach the HC demanding that the state change the counsel in the case and also the trial be expedited. Charges are yet to be framed in the case which is going on in Dindoshi sessions court.
Gangwal also questioned Mumbai police commissioner Datta Padsalgikars decision to abruptly transfer the probe from Kandivli police to unit 7 of Mumbai crime branch. All of a sudden, on May 18, 2016, the commissioner transferred the case to the crime branch. The order was arbitrary and against the rules. It was transferred at the request of Chintan. Neither of the deceased persons families asked for a transfer, said Gangwal.
READ MORE: Hema-Bhambhani murders: Chintan Upadhyay says probe is prejudiced
Raising questions on the crime branchs investigation, he said, The fifth accused [Vidhyadhar Rajbhar] was close to being arrested but the case was transferred abruptly. Since then, there has been no progress. While the crime branch filed a supplementary chargesheet, there is not a single document in there that shows they conducted further investigation. All the statements in the chargesheet are that of before May 18, which were recorded by Kandivli police.
Gangwal also blamed a section of the media for sympathising with Chintan by publishing reports of the art exhibition inside Thane jail. The cost of Chintans each painting is between Rs50 lakh and Rs1 crore. The report said he gave the painting to jail authorities. When we filed an RTI, we were told that IG prisons Rajyavardhan Sinha did not receive any such painting, the advocate added.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The accused arrested in IPS and IAS posting scam busted in May had approached at least three senior IPS officers in March offering to get them transferred to places of their choice, claims charge sheet filed by Mumbai crime branch.
The posting racket was busted by Mumbai crime branch on the complaint of an IPS officer on May 31. The racket was headed by Ravindra Yadav, 51, a resident of Delhi, with the help of others including Vidyasagar Hirmukhe, 47, a deputy secretary and general manager of Mahananda Dairy.
Apart from the two, the police has charge sheeted Kishor Mali, 38, Vishal Ombale, 40, Kamlesh Kanade, 29, Chandrakant Rakhunde, 39, and Bandenjwaj Maner, 29, in the case.
The charge sheet claims the accused operated as a gang and would approach people who needed help from any government department. This help included getting transfers, files cleared, black money cleared, license for sugar factory or a job in merchant navy. The recent was the posting scam. The accused would introduce their prospective clients to Yadav who would take it from there.
As per the charge sheet, at least three senior IPS officers Namdev Chavan, deputy commissioner of police, Solapur, Ashok Dudhe, deputy commissioner of police (Traffic) and Vitthal Jadhav, Spl IG(Prisons), Pune and few of the police officials attached with Maharashtra police were approached by the accused.
The charge sheet has all three IPS officers admitting that the accused had approached them for good posts in the state. Apart from the three IPS officers, the accused had also approached police inspectors and sub inspectors for posting. Harshvardhan Gund, police inspector (prohibition), was approached by Mali and Ombale with an offer of a good posting. The statement reads that the two asked him for Rs25 lakh for a good posting in the city.
Gund said he was told that out of Rs25 lakh, they have to pay Rs5 lakh to their counterpart Yadav in Delhi as advance. Gund realised something strange. He declined the offer and told them that he doesnt want to do anything against the law, Gund said in his statement in Marathi.
They had also approached Umesh Sapkal, assistant police inspector, attached with Anti-Narcotics Cell of Mumbai police. The accused had promised to help him get a house allotted at the official quarters in Dadar or Colaba.
Later Kanade approached him for transfer at a good place. In his statement, Sapkal said, I told Kanade that I had already applied for transfer. However, if you can do something at your level do it. Later Sapkal said Kanade asked him for money, to which he denied.
Just before the arrest on May 31, Hirmukhe had promised Deepak Jadhav, assistant police inspector, posted in Godhia. Jadhav claimed that he knew him while he was posted in Matralaya with one of the ministers where Hirmukhe was personal secretary to minister. Hirmukhe had offered him a post out of the Naxalite area. However, before the deal could work, he was arrested by the Mumbai crime branch.
READ MORE
Another man arrested in government posting scam
IPS-IAS posting scam: Crime branch arrests Sangli resident from Mumbai
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Prolonged dry spells and deviation in rainfall for about six weeks in July and August has led to a drop in agricultural production and productivity when compared to the states five-year average and the bumper crop yielded last year. The drop, which ranges between 15% and 28%, in the production of pulses, cereals and oilseeds is expected to put the farmers in further distress.
According to primary estimates collated by the agriculture department, although the sown area is equal to that sown last year or the average of the past five years, production and productivity is estimated to drop significantly. Around 148.14 lakh hectares of land was sown this year compared to the five-year average of 149 lakh hectares. But production from various crops is expected to drop to 882 lakh tonnes against the average of 1,042 lakh tonnes. The drop is more in cereals and pulses than in oilseeds.
Productivity is also expected to drop further to about 35% owing to intermittent rains. This may even lead to a rise in prices of certain commodities.
Also, it will affect farmers if their production drops significantly.
As reported by the Hindustan Times on Monday, the National Agriculture and Drought Assessment System (NADAMS) predicted a drought in many districts of Vidarbha and Marathwada. Although the state government has announced a farm loan waiver of Rs34,000 to help farmers in distress, a drop in production may make it even more difficult for them to recover input costs. Of the 1,605 farmer suicides until July this year, 536 were from eight districts of Marathwada and 737 from 11 districts of Vidarbha.
Activists said the drop is likely to take hit the Vidarbha farmer the most. Most of the Vidarbha districts have recorded poor rainfall, resulting in scarcity of drinking water. We are worried about farmers recovering their input costs. For instance, the production of Udid is estimated to drop to 1.5 quintal an acre against the average production of four quintals and with the fall in the market rate, it will be difficult for farmers to cover their costs, said Vijay Jawandhia, a farm activist from Vidarbha.
Farmers organisations said the waiver announced by the government is likely to be equal to the losses farmers are likely to sustain this year, compelling them to take loans again next year.
According to officials from the agriculture department, the situation is expected to improve subsequently. The estimates are primary and taken on the basis standing crop and at the early stage of the sowing. We have received satisfactory rain in the past few weeks and expect productivity to improve subsequently. Last year, too, our first estimate had predicted the production of tur to be five lakh tonnes, which improved to 22 lakh tonnes, the official said.
In a report sent to the Central government, the agriculture department stated that as per the drought manual, many talukas have witness deviation in the rainfall and it may result in the reduction of production.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday issued a notice to a private hospital to vacate a building in Masjid Bunder in 24 hours. The officials said the building falls in the C1 category an extremely dilapidated building and dangerous for habitation. However, authorities have disputed the BMCs notice. The trust claims the building cannot be considered dilapidated, as it was constructed only in 1988.
A notice was issued to The Muslim Ambulance Society diagnostic centre, a privately-run charitable hospital trust housed in Subani Parda municipal school building on Zakeria Masjid road. The B ward, which comprises Masjid Bunder, Dongri, and some portions of Bhendi Bazar and Mohammad Ali road, has four other buildings that fall in the C1 category, of which, only one has been vacated and demolished.
Uday Shiroorkar, assistant commissioner of the B ward, said, I dont want to take any chances with dilapidated buildings in this area, especially since this is a hospital where patients are admitted overnight. I have to think about the patients before taking other actions such as cutting its electricity and water supply.
Following a structural audit of this ground+1 storey building conducted by B ward on July 31, BMC classified it in the C1 category, of highly dangerous and dilapidated buildings. It has served three notices to the trust since then. On Friday last week, Shiroorkar issued a warning notice to the hospital, cautioning it about the state of the building.
Dr Abdul Rauf Sumar, president of the Muslim Ambulance society which runs the hospital said, We have countered BMCs notice with a letter, asking to see the structural audit report. However, the civic body has refused to show it to us. Sumar said since the hospital is a charitable trust, it provides healthcare to the poor at very cheap rates. There are 21 admitted to the hospital for dialysis at any point of time, and the centre carries out about 2000 dialysis cases a month.
When HT visited the hospital, a trustee claimed the BMC visited the building, and hammered out portions of a wall to take away concrete for testing. Thats the only damage caused to the building, he said.
The University of Mumbai is far from finishing the process of announcing results with more than 28,400 answer scripts still being misplaced or not found. In a meeting held at the universitys Fort campus on Monday, officials said the results of more than 75,000 students are still pending.
Although results of only eight of the 477 examinations held between March and May this year are pending, the number of students awaiting their individual results is higher because the university is still looking for lost answer scripts.
HT had last week reported how the university was searching for misplaced answer booklets, with officials claiming the answer sheets could either be in a warehouse, misplaced in the assessment software or lost altogether.
The search is on and we are using all mechanisms possible to trace these papers. We believe some of the answer scripts might not be scanned so a physical and a logistical search is on at present, said Arjun Ghatule, in-charge controller of examination and evaluation, MU.
Ghatule said various reasons have led to the answer booklets being misplaced and these include wrong question paper codes being filled in at the time of scanning and uploading of papers, papers lost during transmission of answer scripts from the examination house godown to the scanning centre or a programming bug. We are brainstorming to find new ways to override any technical bugs and find all the answer booklets that are lost in the software first, he said.
With thousands of answer booklets still pending for assessment, MU officials blamed the numbers on the fact that almost 40-45% papers from every department were called for moderation this year.
According to university rules, moderation is only conducted for 10-15% of answer scripts of students who have either scored above 75% or below 35% in the paper. However, figures revealed by the university show in Management, Technology and Arts departments, moderation stood at 45%, 43% and 41% respectively this year.
Over and above the 17.65 lakh answer scripts that were evaluated this time, another 6.87 lakh had to be moderated as well so the total figure was above 24 lakh, making the assessment process more lengthy for our teachers, said Dhiren Patel, acting pro vice-chancellor of the university at present.
Following the result debacle, the university has received close to 10,000 grievances through their help desk and another 2,095 on the online grievance cell. Similarly, the university has also received more than 22,000 applications for re-evaluation from students.
Meanwhile, the university has also announced tentative dates for exams for the current batch of students. Except for the repeater exam that will be held in the second week of October, all other exams will be held after Diwali. Third-year degree and MA MSc exams will be held between November second week and the end of December, said university officials.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The tunnelling work for a 4.5km section between Azad Maidan and Grant Road of the Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ Metro-3 underground corridor will commence by early November. The tunnel boring machine (TBM) for the section has been shipped from China and would be arriving in Mumbai next week, Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation officials (MMRC) said.
The tunneling work for package 2 of the project will start from the Azad Maidan launching shaft. The TBM for the section will arrive in this week and the work there is expected to start by early November, said SK Gupta, director (projects), MMRC.
This will be the second TBM being brought for the Metro-3 work. Last week, the MMRC received its first TBM from China, and the machine will be used for boring a 6.10km tunnel between Dharavi and Siddhivinayak Metro station. In all, 17 TBMs will be deployed at 11 launching sites across the 33.5km alignment between October and February next year.
Several old and dilapidated structures dot the proposed alignment of the section along with heritage structures. Last month, Hindustan Times reported that the structural health of some buildings in the Girgaum-Kalbadevi area has not been found to be satisfactory in a detailed survey. A pre-construction building condition survey revealed that few of the buildings in the area fall under severe category of damage degree, while some others fall under moderate category.
The residents of these buildings are a worried lot and fear that tunnelling could lead to collapse of their buildings. However, Gupta dismissed these fears and said, This is the fear of the unknown. These are unfounded fears; I would like to assure people that they should not have any such worries. The MMRC will take precaution while carrying tunnelling activities, Gupta assured.
Apart from south Mumbai, the tunnelling work at Vidyanagari (Kalina, Santacruz east) will start by in November followed by Pali ground at Andheri east in November and Cuffe Parade sometime in February.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
After the death of a well-known gastroenterologist on August 29, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is expected to get the inquiry report this week.
According to the locals, the Elphinstone junction manhole Dr Deepak Amrapurkar allegedly fell into, was barricaded with bamboo strips to indicate the opening of the 8x6 feet barrel drain.
According to the BMC officials, manholes cannot be opened by any BMC worker in the months between May October and it would have been possible that locals opened it up for water to flow out.
As the blame game pans out between the locals and the BMC, the police filed an accidental death report and are carrying out an investigation into who had opened the manholes in the area.
A senior police official told HT, this will be figured out in due course of the inquiry.
According to locals, there were more manholes open in the area at the time for the water to flow down. V H Khandkar, deputy chief engineer in the civic body, said, Anybody with a crowbar or pickaxe can open the manhole.
Additional municipal commissioner Vijay Singhal said the civic bodys inquiry report will not only say what happened on the day of the deluge but will also say how it could have been avoided. We are looking at remedial measures, he added.
However, police officials of Dadar-Mahim division said several people who did not actually witness the event on Aug 29 have been giving statements, making the investigation work a bit meticulous.
The Bombay high court on Tuesday sought a report on investigation into the case related to Shifu Sunkriti cult and its leader Sunil Kulkarni.
The division bench of Justice RM Savant and Justice Sandip Shinde directed the deputy commissioner of police (Detection) Dilip Sawant, who is supervising the investigation, to file the report in two weeks. The court was hearing a petition filed by the Malad-based couple whose two daughters were allegedly trapped by the cult leader.
Kulkarni was arrested after the couple moved high court in April and the Mumbai police crime branch was asked to investigate the claims made by the parents that Kulkarni had sexually exploited their daughters. The parents sought a detailed probe into the case citing that Kulkarni was not booked for rape.
Their lawyer, advocate Sandesh Patil, pointed told the court that a friend of the girls had stated how one of them was sexually assaulted by Kulkarni, but her statement has not been incorporated in the charge sheet. He said a pregnancy termination kit, indicative of the offence of rape, was seized by the police. He also complained about lack of forensic examination of the pills given to schizophrenic patients.
The bench said the apprehension expressed by the parents were of a very serious nature and that it wants to ensure that the person conducting the investigation is on the right track.
Ukraine's Security Service Chief (SBU) Vasyl Hrytsak and business ombudsman Algirdas Semeta signed a memorandum of partnership and cooperation between the two agencies in Kyiv.
The press center of the SBU reported on Monday that under the memo the sides decided to establish effective cooperation via the permanent and transparent contact tool and exchange of information. The sides pointed out the importance of signing the memo for analyzing possible conflicts in business environment and creating favorable investment climate in Ukraine.
"SBU is not committed to combating business, but we should stop those who work for the enemy in the interests of the state," Hrytsak said.
He said that the SBU is ready to open dialog with the Business Ombudsman Council.
The Shiv Sena has set a deadline before the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led state government to fully implement its loan waiver scheme before Dussehra, which is on September 30.
This comes a day after chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that farmers will start getting loan relief from October and that the scrutiny of applications will begin from September 15.
After a massive agitation in June, the state government announced a Rs34,000-crore package to waive off farm loans, claiming it would benefit nearly 89 lakh farmers.
Last month, farmers relaunched their protest demanding a blanket loan waiver and implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report for better prices for their produce.
On Monday, Shiv Sena legislators and party functionaries across the state went to the district headquarters and gave a letter to district collectors, asking them to ensure farmers are debt-free by Dussehra.
Sena ministers and senior party functionaries too gave a similar letter to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, asking the government to ensure farmers are debt-free before Dussehra.
Shiv Sena minister Ramdas Kadam said, We met the chief minister and demanded that the loan waiver should be implemented immediately. It has been more than three months now since the loan waiver was announced, but farmers suicides continue unabated. The chief minister has assured us that the money for the farm loan waiver will be deposited by the first week of October.
The Shiv Sena has been constantly targeting the government over the issue, first agitating for the loan waiver and then protesting for its speedy implementation. After the chief minister announced the loan waiver, the party beat drums outside district cooperative banks and demanded a list of eligible farmers.
The partys recent deadline for the government to clear farmers debts also sets the stage for Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackerays speech at the Senas annual Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park.
A total of 47.75 lakh farmers have registered for the loan waiver through the state governments online process till September 1. The government is in the process of verifying the applications.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Rauts weekly column in party mouthpiece, Saamna, on Sunday once again triggered speculations over the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) cosying up to one another in the light of worsening relations with their allies, the Congress and the Shiv Sena.
While NCP MP and daughter of party chief Sharad Pawar, Supriya Sule, on Monday denied any such meeting between herself, her father and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss a cabinet berth for her, there is little denying both parties have continued to publicly display their camaraderie, especially at the top.
I have not met Mr Modi with Mr Pawar ever, said Sule. She, however, did not clarify if she was offered a cabinet berth in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, outside of such a meeting.
The BJP also rubbished the claims made by Raut, with party spokesperson Madhav Bhandari saying it does not even warrant a reaction.
But beyond refusals and clarifications, there is indication this growing bonhomie is mutually beneficial for both parties, even if it is just to keep all political players guessing.
The BJP, which is in the midst of poll preparations in Gujarat, such speculation is one way of keeping Pawar away from the UPA. It also doesnt hurt to keep the pressure on its troublesome ally, the Sena.
A divided opposition is always better than tackling the Congress and NCP together. In 2019, this will work in our favour. Also, it does send a signal to the Sena that their party can be replaced in the state and they should tone down their attacks. The party top brass is indeed fed up with the Senas attacks and barbs, said a BJP senior leader.
He, however, said it was unlikely such speculation would lead to changes in the state government or state political dynamics any time soon.
For the NCP, the guessing game about its relations with the party in power is one way of keeping its flock together ahead of the 2019 elections. Senior NCP leaders and sitting legislators have been in talks with the BJP to shift party loyalties and such speculation only stems immediate rebellion.
The buzz off late about the NCP and BJP bonhomie has also indirectly pushed Sule as the frontline leader of the party. Party sources said such speculation is preparing ground for her role in the 2019 polls, given that her cousin and former Deputy Chief Minister, Ajit Pawar is lying low due to a probe in the irrigation scam.
Over the past one year, Sule has been more aggressive in state politics, including taking on chief minister Devendra Fadnavis directly. While Pawar has been seen as the defacto leader of the party in the state, the internal dynamics in the party could change, said a NCP leader and former minister.
Can such a bonhomie have implications for the BJP-led state government beyond party politics? For now, it seems unlikely that the political dynamics will change for the state government given Fadnavis distaste at having NCP as a partner in the government.
The BJP came to power in the state in 2014 on the plank of anti-corruption by targeting scams like irrigation, in which senior NCP leaders including Pawar have been accused. Fadnavis USP is his clean image and by sharing power with NCP, he believes that he dents his own image and partys prospects in the state.
The CM would like status quo and no political upheaval in the state. In these two years, we will have to deliver on our promises and stability is the key to that. Why would we have otherwise handed over BMC to Sena on a platter. What happens just ahead of the 2019 elections and after that is anyones guess, said a BJP minister.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Noida Police has seized a Hummer vehicle from Garhi Chaukhandi area, after its driver could not produce necessary documents of the SUV.
According to police, the high-end SUV is originally registered under a Punjab-based NRI Surjeet Verma, but was sold multiple times without transferring original documents in order to evade tax.
Sub-Inspector of Phase 3 police station, Vinod Tripathi, told Hindustan Times that last Friday, they received a call on UP Police helpline number about an accident in Garhi Chaukhandi village.
We rushed a police response vehicle (PRV) to the spot to take stock of the situation and found that the information received was wrong. Further inquiry with the caller revealed that two parties were in dispute over issues concerning the sale of yellow-coloured Hummer H2, Tripathi said.
When we grilled further, the person, who claims to be the owner of the vehicle, said he was trying to sell the SUV to a former village head of Garhi Chaukhandi, Tripathi said, adding both parties were at loggerheads over payment.
Later, when the police asked the person to produce documents of the vehicle, he failed to furnish them. He told the police that he had bought the SUV from a Delhi-based businessman, who had transferred the documents in his name.
Read I Noida: Car rams bike on DND Flyway, couple grievously injured
Due to the huge cost involved in transferring ownership of the vehicle, subsequent buyers did not bother to register the vehicle under their names. The SUV was bought and sold at least four times, but it was still registered in the name of a Punjab-based NRI, said Avnish Dixit, the station house officer of Phase 3.
The police have seized the vehicle under section 207 of Motor Vehicles Act 1988. So far, no person has come forward with documents claiming ownership of the SUV, Dixit said.
The Centre has said it would soon set a cut-off date for the states to grant tribals and other traditional forest dwellers legal title of the land they have traditionally used. According to a report in HT, the sluggish pace at which land titles are being granted to tribals in some states has prompted the Prime Ministers office to nudge the tribal affairs ministry to set the deadline. The tribal affairs ministry, which monitors the grant of land titles under the Scheduled Tribes and the Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 or the Forest Rights Act (FRA), will set the deadline soon.
KD: What is the implementation status of the Forest Rights Act? Which are the states that are doing well/badly?
SG: Implementation of the Act continues to be abysmal. As per estimates available at the end of 2016, community rights have been formally recorded for only 3% of the forests over which forest dwelling communities have rights. The biggest problem is resistance from forest officials. They continue to block recognition of rights, illegally divert forest land for companies without consent of forest dwellers, and harass and attack forest dwellers. In multiple states, district forest officials have refused to sign certificates that have already been approved; forest officials have evicted people with recognised rights, filed cases against them or planted trees on their lands; etc. No state is complying with the law in full.
KD: The Prime Ministers Office has nudged the tribal affairs ministry to set a deadline for granting land rights to tribals
SG: This might appear to be a positive development. But one has to see it in the context of the approach of this government. Ever since the BJP came to power in 2014, there has been an active and systematic attempt to sabotage the Act. The environment ministry has continued to illegally divert forest land for corporate projects and has illegally exempted projects from compliance. It has also formulated policies like the Compensatory Forestation Fund Act, or policies for privatisation of forests, which ignore the Act. State governments - particularly BJP-led ones - have passed parallel policies that undercut the Act and provide funds only to forest department-controlled bodies and programmers.
In this context, setting a target date is likely to become, in practice, a cut-off date after which the state and central governments will declare without any basis - that implementation is complete, and then proceed to shut down all implementation entirely.
Millions of people have still not even been made aware of this law - for instance, even today, there is still no complete official translation of the procedural rules into Hindi, leave alone regional and advice languages. Any cut-off now would mean that cores of people would never receive their rights.
This would be a repeat of precisely the century-old historical injustice that the Act was intended to address.
KD: What needs to be done for better implementation of the Act?
SG: The biggest problem is the consistent message from the central and state governments that forest officials can violate this Act with impunity. Hence the first priority should be clear instructions to prosecute forest officials who violate the Act (violations are criminal offences under the FRA and, often, under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act as well). State and central policies that violate or ignore the Act should be withdrawn and revised. Under the law, recognition of individual and community rights, as well as the consent of village assemblies, is mandatory before the execution of any other project, plan or plantation on forest lands. This should be enforced. Only then can we begin the transformation of this countrys forest management institutions that the FRA mandates - from a colonial, autocratic and corrupt legacy towards a democratic future.
@kumkumdasgupta
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Pune: City-based activists have blamed Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limiteds (MSEDCL) inefficiency and poor planning for its recent statement that the power utility has implemented temporary load-shedding across the state as it is facing unavailability of coal.
The state power utility on Monday released a statement that due to problems with availability and supply of coal to electricity producing plants, a temporary load-shedding is being carried across the state.
Maharashtra State Power Generation Company (MAHAGENCO) is supposed to provide 7,000 MW of power while Adani Power Company is supposed to generate 4,500 MW for distribution. But due to problems with unavailability of coal, MAHAGENCO is supplying only 4,500 MW of power while Adani is supplying only 1,700-2,000 MW of power," a MSEDCL official said.
The officials added that MSEDCL is making efforts to increase power availability and 395 MW has been purchased from the market which would be available in the coming two days.They stated that efforts are also being made to buy power from the power exchange.
Meanwhile, city-based civic activist Vivek Velankar said that the reason of unavailability of coal for shortage of power put forth by MSEDCL is questionable. He asked that even if there is coal shortage whose responsibility it was to ensure sufficient supply to the plants. At a time when power demand from agriculture sectors, industries and even residential users is not very high, load-shedding by MSEDCL seems unnecessary and the real reasons for the same seem to be hidden, he said.
Maharashtra Veej Grahak Sanghatana president Pratap Hogade said, MSEDCL had told Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) that they have 30,255 MW of power during May. Yet, there was load-shedding in loss making regions in May similar to what is being done now when the demand was just little above 19,000 MW.
He said that the real reasons for load-shedding are lack of efficiency and lack of planning by MSEDCL and MAHAGENCO which must be addressed.
Hogade stated that the capacity charges paid by consumers should be returned for the period of load-shedding as consumers should not face the burnt of problems like unavailability of coal which they are not responsible for.
A six-year-old boy, Shubhpreet Singh, was strangulated to death allegedly by an 18-year-old neighbour over his fiddling with a power generator and scratching his tractor with a needle, in Malakpur village of Jandiala Guru subdivision in Amritsar district, police said on Tuesday.
Shubhpreet, a student of Class 1 and belonging to a Dalit family, was reported missing late Monday evening, and teams of Amritsar rural police joined forces with villagers for a search. Near his house, inside a room that farmer Gurmej Singh utilised to store cattle feed, they found his slipper that was identified by the family. The body was found under a large tyre around 1 am on Tuesday. A piece of cloth purportedly used to strangle the boy was found near it, said Parampal Singh, senior superintendent of police, at a press conference held here.
Gurmejs 18-year-old son, Gurpreet Singh, emerged as one of the suspects. We rounded up the persons who were seen with the victim that day. By the morning, we solved the case and arrested Gurpreet Singh, said the SSP.
He claimed Gurpreet confessed that he killed the child because he used to irritate him by defacing his tractor with a metal needle and playing with the electricity generator. Police said he had planned to throw the body into the village pond.
A case was registered under sections 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC); police ruled out sexual abuse.
If a child commits mischief while playing, it does not mean that he should be killed, commented the SSP.
The lawyer of the man accused of raping his 10-year-old niece confirmed on Tuesday that his clients DNA did not match that of the baby born to the rape victim. The DNA test result gives a dramatic twist to the case, which came to light when the victim was 30 weeks pregnant. The matter had caught national attention after a public interest litigation was filed in the Supreme Court, seeking termination of her pregnancy.
The lawyer, Manjeet Singh, was speaking to the media after the hearing in a city court on Tuesday afternoon. At this moment, I can only say that the DNA of the accused does not match that of the newborn, Singh said.
Hindustan Times had on Tuesday cited a report of Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), Chandigarh, which stated that the DNA of the newborn didnt match with that of the accused. The accused arrested for the offence is the victims maternal uncle.
It is learnt that the Chandigarh administration law officer has written to city SSP informing her about the development. However, when contacted, the SSP, Nilambari Vijay Jagdale, refused to comment.
The accused, a resident of Sector 37, was booked for raping his 10-year-old niece in July.
The case came to light when the victim was 30 weeks pregnant. It caught national attention after a public interest litigation was filed in the Supreme Court seeking termination of her pregnancy. The apex court constituted a medical board of experts from the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) to ascertain whether the foetus could be terminated. The board decided against it.
The forensic report was submitted to the trial court on Monday. The matter was taken up by the additional district and sessions judge, Poonam R Joshi, on Tuesday afternoon, and prosecution witnesses were examined. Later, the hearing was deferred.
The accused uncle was arrested on July 14, when an FIR was registered on the complaint of the victims mother. The victim too had identified the accused in the court.
During the trial, it had come to light that the mother initially took the girl for abortion, but doctors refused. Then she approached the police and also filed a plea for the termination of pregnancy.
Recently, the apex court had directed the Chandigarh administration to give family Rs 1 lakh as interim relief. The minor gave birth to a baby girl on August 17.
A Chandigarh court had initiated a speedy trial in the case soon after the victim delivered at Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32.
According to the victims statement and police investigation, she was repeatedly raped as her father, a government employee, remained out of the house in the day and her mother, a domestic help, also used to go for work. The accused, a security guard at a hotel in Sector 35, was usually on night duty and hence was believed to interact with the victim when neither of her parents were at home, once she was back from school.
.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
A local court on Monday dismissed the application that had sought B-class jail facility to Colonel Manvir Singh Bains booked for murder. The court of judicial magistrate first class (JMIC) Jagmeet Singh dismissed the application stating the accused in the case was not entitled to the same as per the rules.
WHAT ARE B-CLASS FACILITIES? Those availing of such facilities generally cook food separately, or eat home-cooked food; get more newspapers and magazines; get more visitors; wear own clothes rather than such worn by ordinary prisoners; exemption from hard jobs (mushakkat); and beddings.
According to the polices reply to the defences plea, as per the latest amendment and Section 509, 510 of the Punjab Jail Manual, no such provision is there. The court also observed that a person is entitled to such facility in murder case, yet whether that offence had been committed by the accused or not, was not yet proved and hence he wasnt entitled to the same.
The colonels defence counsel had applied for B-class facility last week on the basis that he was posted as colonel in the Indian Army. After the police filed the reply on Friday, the defence counsel rebutted the same and filed another application stating the law had been misquoted in their reply.
They referred to a case titled Raj Kumar Vs. State of Punjab at the Punjab and Haryana high court where B-class facility was granted to jail inmates during the investigation.
The accused is currently in judicial custody. The accused, resident of Phase 7, Mohali, was arrested on September 2 and booked for murder after the family of deceased Praveen Yadav of Sector 37 alleged that he had been beaten to death. According to police, the colonel thrashed Yadav following a minor mishap of road rage on the Sector 34 and 35 dividing road in Chandigarh.
An Artificial Intelligence machine can guess the sexual orientation of a person by analysing facial features, a study conducted by Stanford University researchers Michal Kosinski and Yilun Wang showed.
The study -- to be published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology -- said the software could do this by noticing subtle differences in facial structures, The Economist reported this month.
When showed a single image of a person, the machine accurately distinguished between gay and heterosexual men in 81% of the cases. The accuracy went down to 74% in cases of women. The algorithms accuracy increased to 91% (men) and 83% (women) when the machine was shown five facial images per person.
In contrast, humans can judge the sexual orientation correctly 61% of the times for men and 54% for women.
The study suggests sexual orientation may be derived from biological traits such as hormones, raising questions about the individual choice determining if a person is gay or straight.
It also found that gay men and women could have gender-atypical features, expressions and grooming styles, The Guardian said, adding that it may mean homosexuals appeared to be more feminine.
One of the researchers, Dr Kosinski, told The Economist that similar AI systems can be used to determine other traits such as political leanings and IQ of people, sparking a debate about the possible misuse of such machines.
Researchers downloaded 130,741 images of more than 36,000 men and 170,360 images of over 38,000 women from a dating website. They then subjected them to facial-detection technology which left 35,326 pictures of 14,776 people.
The machine paid attention to the nose, eyes, eyebrows, cheeks, hairline and chin for determining male sexuality. Mouth corners, hair and neckline were more important features to determines womens sexual orientation.
The study, however, did not include people of colour, transgender or biosexual people.
Opposition to the research
Two LGBT groups have called the study reckless and warned of its negative impact.
Critics have also said such studies and software in the public domain can be misused by governments to prosecute or target the LGBT community, while images from social media websites can be used to determine sexuality without a persons consent.
Its certainly unsettling. Like any new tool, if it gets into the wrong hands, it can be used for ill purposes, The Guardian quoted Nick Rule, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, who has published research on the science of gaydar.
If you can start profiling people based on their appearance, then identifying them and doing horrible things to them, thats really bad.
Others have pointed out that the differences between gay and straight men and women may not be due to facial features at all.
These subtle differences could be a consequence of gay and straight people choosing to portray themselves in systematically different ways, rather than differences in facial appearance itself, Professor Benedict Jones, who runs a Face Research Lab at the University of Glasgow, told the BBC.
Eighty-six years after Bhagat Singh was hanged for the murder of a British police officer, a Pakistani lawyer is fighting to prove the freedom fighters innocence in a Lahore court.
Advocate Imtiaz Rashid Qureshi on Monday filed a fresh petition in the Lahore high court for the early hearing of his case to prove Singhs innocence. The court had in February 2016 asked the Pakistan chief justice to constitute a larger bench to hear the petition by Qureshi, who runs the Lahore-based Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation.
However, no action has been taken yet.
In his petition, Qureshi said Singh was a freedom fighter and fought for the independence of undivided India.
Many Pakistanis, especially in the Lahore area, consider Singh a hero. Qureshi said Singh is respected in the subcontinent by both Indians and Pakistanis, adding that even the founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, had twice paid tribute to him.
It is a matter of national importance, he said.
His petition wants the court set Singhs sentence aside by exercising the principles of review and order the government to honour him with a state award.
Bhagat Singh was hanged by the British on March 23, 1931 in Lahore after being charged of hatching a conspiracy against the colonial government. The case was filed against Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru for allegedly killing British police officer John P Saunders.
Qureshi said he hopes the case will be heard this month. He said he has also written to the federal government for erecting a statue of Singh at Shadman Chowk in central Lahore, where three freedom fighters were hanged.
I have written to the government for building a statue of Singh but have not yet got any response from it in this regard, he said.
In 2014, Lahore police searched through records of the Anarkali police station on the courts order and found the First Information Report on Saunders murder in 1928. A copy of the FIR was provided to Qureshi on the courts order.
Written in Urdu, the FIR was registered on December 17, 1928 at 4.30 pm against two unknown gunmen. The case was registered under Sections 302, 1201 and 109 of Indian Penal Code. Singhs name was not mentioned in the FIR, even though he was eventually handed down the death sentence for the murder.
Qureshi said special judges of the tribunal handling Singhs case awarded death sentence to him without hearing the 450 witnesses in the case. Singhs lawyers were not given the opportunity to cross-examine them.
I will establish Bhagat Singhs innocence in the Saunders case, he said.
The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has noted a decrease in the number of civilian casualties as a result of the conflict in Donbas and called on the parties to respect the truce and the Minsk accords.
"From May 16 to August 15, 2017 the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recorded 161 conflict-related civilian casualties (26 deaths and 135 injuries), slightly more than half of which were caused by shelling. The monthly totals of civilian casualties decreased from May to June and again from June to July, possibly attributable in part to the "harvest ceasefire" which commenced on June 24. Nevertheless, the daily reality of sudden spikes and drops in armed hostilities, including shelling, continued to pose physical risks and psychological trauma," Fiona Frazer, the Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, said at a briefing in Kyiv, presenting the 19th UN report on the situation with human rights in Ukraine.
There are hazards to filmmaking, but terrorist attacks arent considered to be a common hurdle in the process.
Unless, of course, the movie is set entirely in the Afghan capital of Kabul, as in the case of Vancouver-based Afghan-origin director Tarique Qayumis The Black Kite, which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
The Dari language film is also the first fiction feature made as an Afghanistan co-production (along with Canada) to get to this prestigious showcase, a bit of history for the conflict-ridden country. Given the challenges of filming in Kabul, it was shot guerrilla style in just 14 days, the director said in an interview.
The film focuses on the life of Arian and his boyhood obsession with kites, one that stays with him till the end. Thats also a metaphor for Afghanistan, from a nation with a sense of freedom under King Zahir Shah, and the decades of chaos and killing that have consumed the country after he was deposed in a coup in 1973.
From freely seeing kites of multiple hues and designs soar skyward as a child, Arian assists the mujahideen battling the Communists in Afghanistan, using the colours of the kites he flies as signals. Ironically, the joy he finds in this activity is snuffed out as the ultimate killjoys, the Taliban, declare kite-flying forbidden.
Arian defies them, to introduce his daughter to the delight but by flying a black kite on moonless nights. He wants to give the sense of childhoodness to his daughter at the risk of his own life, Qayumi said.
A still from the Afghan film, The Black Kite, which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. (Courtesy TIFF)
The story features live action, embellished with animation and archival documentary footage. The project was obviously close to Qayumi, who himself arrived in Canada as a refugee in 1983.
Storytelling is a means of healing the nation, he said. He described it as his love song to Afghanistan and the Afghan people.
The youth of his nation have been robbed of their sense of place in history, through the depredatory years of the Taliban. The film, which traces itself through the countrys recent decades, attempts to play a small part in filling in those blanks.
It is important for a nation to have an identity and for it to have a memory, Qayumi said.
Qayumi hopes the film will play at two or three cinemas in Kabul, including a couple that feature Bollywood offerings. The idea of the film started with a short story he wrote in 2003, but germinated in December 2014 as he was completing a lengthy stint in Kabul, where he worked for the Afghan channel TOLO.
A still from the Afghan film, The Black Kite, which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. (Courtesy TIFF)
The brief period of filming was followed by two more years of securing financing and editing it, before presenting it to the world at TIFF.
As for those terrorist intrusions, Qayumi said he and his crew heard an explosion in Kabul while they were filming on a mountaintop near the city, and on another occasion, there was a Taliban attack two or three streets down from where he was in pre-production.
The worst involved a suicide bombing at the French Cultural Center, at an event screening a film on suicide bombers.
The films lead actress Leena Alam, well known in her country, was present there and was traumatized by the tragedy, which killed six civilians. Qayumi said, She was in bad shape, and then she showed up the next day. On time and ready to shoot
Alams reason for persisting was simple, Qayumi explained: No, were going to shoot this because they want us to stop and were not going to stop.
Watch | Trailer for the Afghan film The Black Kit
And there lies the heart of what this film means beyond its narrative: An attempt by the creative class to rejuvenate Afghanistans cultural ethos, and with some success, as this global debut for this Afghan film exemplifies. The films description itself point to a beautiful focus on the power of playing and imagination to get through crisis times.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday accused Buddhist-majority Myanmar of committing atrocities on Rohingya Muslims, saying Dhaka will not tolerate any kind of injustice and its protest will continue.
She also asked Myanmar to take steps to take back its nationals who have fled to Bangladesh following the violence.
We want peace and a friendly relation with neighbouring countries...(but) we cannot allow and accept any kind of unjust and our protest will continue to this end, Hasina said after visiting a Rohingya refugee camp near the border town of Ukhiya in Coxs Bazar district.
She assured the refugees that Bangladesh would continue to provide humanitarian assistance to them.
As long as they dont return to their country we will remain beside them, she said.
Bangladesh is a country of 16 crore people and we have ensured their basic needs, we also have capability to provide all kinds of help including food and healthcare services to the Myanmar refugees, she said.
We will not tolerate injustice, she said, referring to the ethnic violence in neighbouring country that has forced at least 313,000 people to take shelter in Bangladesh.
According to UN estimates, over 1,000 people may have been killed in the crackdown launched by the Myanmar Army in the Rakhine state since August 25 when a fresh wave of violence erupted there.
Bangladesh had earlier said the new influx of Rohingya refugees is an unbearable additional burden on the country which has been hosting around 400,000 Myanmar nationals who had to leave their country in the past due to communal violence and repeated military operations.
Hasinas comments came after the parliament last night passed a resolution denouncing Myanmar for the atrocities and called upon the international community to mount intensified pressure on Naypyidaw to stop the atrocities and take back the refugees.
A handful of people of a shadow group had staged the attack which we (Bangladesh) also condemned, but should the entire community of one million populations be punished for that, the resolution read.
Hasina on Tuesday said that being the neighbour Bangladesh would extend cooperation whatever Naypyidaw needed but they will have to first stop inhuman attitude towards these people in Rakhaine and provide them security.
They (Rohingyas) are human beings and they will live as human beings...Myanmar has no right to deny the Rakhaine people as they are their citizens, she added.
Hasina said the massive exodus of its own population tarnished Myanmars image as this is not a dignified thing for a country.
Rohingyas have faced decades of discrimination and persecution in Myanmar and are denied citizenship despite centuries-olds roots in the Rakhine region.
The Bangladeshi prime minister on Tuesday visited a struggling refugee camp that has absorbed some of the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya who fled recent violence in Myanmar a crisis she said left her speechless.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina demanded that Myanmar take steps to take their nationals back, and assured temporary aid until that happened.
We will not tolerate injustice, she said at a rally at the Kutupalong refugee camp, near the border town of Ukhiya in Coxs Bazar district.
On Monday night, she lambasted Buddhist-majority Myanmar for atrocities that she said had reached a level beyond description, telling lawmakers she had no words to condemn Myanmar and noting that Bangladesh had long been protesting the persecution of Rohingya Muslims.
At least 313,000 Rohingya have flooded into Bangladesh since August 25, when Rohingya insurgents attacked police posts, prompting Myanmars military to retaliate with what it called clearance operations to root out the rebels.
The crisis has drawn sharp criticism from around the world. The UN human rights chief said the violence and injustice faced by the ethnic Rohingya minority in Myanmar where UN rights investigators have been barred from entry seems a textbook example of ethnic cleansing.
The Myanmar government should stop pretending that the Rohingya are setting fire to their own homes and laying waste to their own villages, Zeid Raad al-Hussein said Monday in Geneva, calling it a complete denial of reality.
Meanwhile, a Rohingya villager in Myanmar said security forces had arrived Monday in the village of Pa Din village, firing guns, setting new fires to homes and driving hundreds of Rohingya to flee.
People were scared and running out of the village, the villager said, speaking on condition of anonymity out of fear for his safety.
Myanmar police disputed that, saying the houses were burned by terrorists they called Bengalis. That term is used derisively by many in Myanmar to describe the Rohingya, who they say migrated illegally from neighboring Bangladesh, though many Rohingya families have lived in Myanmar for generations.
Bangladesh has said it would free 2,000 acres (810 hectares) of land for a new camp in Coxs Bazar district, to help shelter newly arrived Rohingya. The government was also fingerprinting and registering new arrivals.
Kutupalong and another pre-existing Rohingya camps were already beyond capacity. Other new arrivals were staying in schools, or huddling in makeshift settlements with no toilets along roadsides and in open fields.
Basic resources were scarce, including food, clean water and medical aid.
Aid agencies have been overwhelmed by the influx of Rohingya, many of whom are arriving hungry and traumatized after walking days through jungles or being packed into rickety wooden boats in search of safety in Bangladesh.
Many tell similar stories - of Myanmar soldiers firing indiscriminately on their villages, burning their homes and warning them to leave or to die. Some say they were attacked by Buddhist mobs.
In the last two weeks, the government hospital in Coxs Bazar has been overwhelmed by Rohingya patients, with 80 arriving in the last two weeks suffering gunshot wounds as well as bad infections.
At least three Rohingya have been wounded in land mine blasts, and dozens have drowned when boats capsized during sea crossings.
Myanmars authorities said more than a week ago that some 400 Rohingya mostly insurgents had died in clashes with troops, but it has offered no updated death toll since.
Rohingya have faced decades of discrimination and persecution in Myanmar and are denied citizenship despite centuries-olds roots in the Rakhine region.
Before Aug. 25, Bangladesh had already been housing more than 100,000 Rohingya who arrived after bloody anti-Muslim rioting in 2012 or amid earlier persecution drives in Myanmar.
Hurricane Irma may have wreaked devastation to the Florida Keys islands, but much to everyones relief, a colony of six-toed cats descended from a pet owned by Ernest Hemingway have survived without a scratch.
Stern orders to evacuate, dire warnings of the doom that inevitably awaited and the desperate pleas of the legendary writers granddaughter werent enough to budge the caretakers of the historic house who decided to place their faith in the buildings thick limestone walls and ride out the monster storm with their 54 feline friends.
We took them inside that fortress with us and we had 10 employees stay here on site, Dave Gonzales, curator of the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum on the island of Key West told broadcaster NBC.
Were comfortable with them; theyre comfortable with us. We love them. They love us. We all hung out last night together, he added.
As the hurricane approached, packing gusts of 200 km (120 miles) an hour, many grew worried and urged the staff to reconsider their decision.
Ultimately its just a house. Save the cats. Get all the cats in the car and take off! actress Mariel Hemingway, Ernests granddaughter, urged in a video posted to the website TMZ Friday.
Jacque Sands, the sites general manager, did not. Instead, she and the others reinforced the windows of the colonial-style home, which Hemingway bought in 1931 and where he wrote A Farewell to Arms, and waited it out.
The cats seemed to be more aware sooner of the storm coming in, and in fact when we started to round up the cats to take them inside, some of them actually ran inside, knowing it was time to take shelter, said Gonzales. Sometimes I think theyre smarter than the human beings.
The animals are descendants of a six-toed cat named Snow White that was given to Hemingway by a ships captain, according to the museum. About half of them have six-toes, as opposed to the usual five on the front and four on the rear paws, which sometimes give them the appearance of wearing mittens.
Major US allies in Asia welcomed on Tuesday the UN Security Councils unanimous vote to step up sanctions on North Korea, with its profitable textile exports now banned and fuel supplies to the reclusive North capped after its sixth nuclear test.
Japan and South Korea said after the passage of the US-drafted Security Council resolution they were prepared to apply more pressure if Pyongyang refused to end its aggressive development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.
Mondays decision was the ninth sanctions resolution unanimously adopted by the 15-member Security Council since 2006 over North Koreas ballistic missile and nuclear programmes.
A tougher initial US draft was weakened to win the support of China, Pyongyangs main ally and trading partner, and Russia, both of which hold veto power in the council.
We dont take pleasure in further strengthening sanctions today. We are not looking for war, US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told the council after the vote. The North Korean regime has not yet passed the point of no return.
If it agrees to stop its nuclear programme, it can reclaim its future ... if North Korea continues its dangerous path, we will continue with further pressure, said Haley, who credited a strong relationship between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping for the successful resolution negotiations.
US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, delivers remarks during a United Nations Security Council meeting on North Korea in New York City, US, September 11, 2017. (REUTERS)
UN member states are now required to halt imports of textiles from North Korea, its second largest export after coal and other minerals in 2016 that totalled $752 million and accounted for a quarter of its income from trade, according to South Korean data. Nearly 80% went to China.
This resolution also puts an end to the regime making money from the 93,000 North Korean citizens it sends overseas to work and heavily taxes, Haley said.
This ban will eventually starve the regime of an additional $500 million or more in annual revenues, she said.
RESUME DIALOGUE
South Koreas presidential Blue House said on Tuesday the only way for Pyongyang to end diplomatic isolation and become free of economic pressure was to end it nuclear programme and resume dialogue.
North Korea needs to realise that a reckless challenge against international peace will only bring about even stronger international sanctions against it, the Blue House said.
However, Chinas official Xinhua news agency said in a commentary that the Trump administration was making a mistake by rejecting diplomatic engagement with the North.
The US needs to switch from isolation to communication in order to end an endless loop on the Korean peninsula where nuclear and missile tests trigger tougher sanctions and tougher sanctions invite further tests, Xinhua said.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe quickly welcomed the resolution and said after the vote it was important to change North Koreas policy by imposing a higher level of pressure.
US GANGSTERS
The resolution imposes a ban on condensates and natural gas liquids, a cap of 2 million barrels a year on refined petroleum products, and a cap on crude oil exports to North Korea at current levels. China supplies most of North Koreas crude.
A US official, familiar with the council negotiations and speaking on condition of anonymity, said North Korea imported some 4.5 million barrels of refined petroleum products annually and 4 million barrels of crude oil.
Pyongyang warned the United States on Monday that it would pay a due price for spearheading efforts on UN sanctions over its nuclear programme, which it said was part of legitimate self-defensive measures.
The world will witness how (North Korea) tames the US gangsters by taking a series of actions tougher than they have ever envisaged, the foreign ministry said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency.
However, North Korea did not issue a response immediately after the adoption of the latest resolution.
Chinese officials have privately expressed fears that an oil embargo could risk causing massive instability in its neighbour. Russia and China have also expressed concern about the humanitarian impact of strengthening sanctions on North Korea.
Haley said the resolution aimed to hit North Koreas ability to fuel and fund its weapons programme. Trump has vowed not to allow North Korea to develop a nuclear missile capable of hitting the mainland United States.
INTERNATIONAL WILL
South Korean officials said after the Norths sixth nuclear test that Pyongyang could soon launch another intercontinental ballistic missile in defiance of international pressure. North Korea said its Sept. 3 test was of an advanced hydrogen bomb and was its most powerful by far.
The latest resolution contained new political language urging further work to reduce tensions so as to advance the prospects for a comprehensive settlement.
Chinas UN ambassador, Liu Jieyi, called for a resumption of negotiations sooner rather than later. He called on North Korea to take seriously the will of the international community to halt its nuclear and ballistic missile development.
The resolution also calls on states to inspect vessels on the high seas, with the consent of the flag state, if they have reasonable grounds to believe the ships are carrying prohibited cargo.
It also bans joint ventures with North Korean entities, except for non-profit public utility infrastructure projects.
More than 100 MPs have written to Britains official statistician asking for a separate ethnic category for Sikhs in the 2021 Census so that an accurate estimate of the communitys strength can be used to guide and plan public services.
The MPs include Indian-origin lawmakers Virendra Sharma, Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, Preet Kaur Gill, Seema Malhotra and Keith Vaz.
The letter to John Pullinger, the UK national statistician and head of the Government Statistical Service, was organised by the Sikh Federation UK through the All Party Parliamentary Group for British Sikhs.
The Sikh body recalled that in 2002, an Early Day Motion on the subject was tabled in the House of Commons and received support from 174 MPs, including current Prime Minister Theresa May and former premier David Cameron.
The letter, released on Tuesday, states: Sikhs are a legally recognised ethnic group and Sikhs have been protected under UK law following a House of Lords ruling in 1983.
A number of issues faced by Sikhs ranging from the reporting of hate crimes through to accessing healthcare provisions in the UK are not receiving appropriate attention by public bodies as they often only monitor ethnic group categories specified in the Census.
The minority Sikh community has therefore been campaigning in the last two censuses for inclusion of a separate Sikh ethnic tick box for the compulsory ethnicity question.
The letter states that in Census 2011, around 84,000 Sikhs objected to the existing ethnic group categories by using the write-in option and specifying Sikh.
A separate Sikh category in the forthcoming census will also provide a better estimate of the community in the UK, the letter adds.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
A 102-year-old man in the UK has been given a suspended sentence for sex offences dating to the 1970s and ordered to pay 25,000 to the victim, making him the oldest person convicted of a crime in the country.
Douglas Hammersley, born in 1915, was given the two-year suspended sentence at Aylesbury Crown Court on Monday after pleading guilty to three counts of indecent assault in the incidents that took place in Buckinghamshire, when the victim was between five and eight years old.
Hammersley was interviewed at home under caution after the victim told Thames Valley Police in October 2015 that she had been abused by him. He was then summoned to court and the charges were put before him.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said he originally pleaded not guilty to the charges but admitted the offences at a plea and trial preparation hearing in July.
Hammersley admitted to the three counts of indecent assault on a girl aged under 14 years that violated provisions of the Schedule 2 Sexual Offences Act 1956. He was ordered to pay 25,000 as compensation to the victim within 21 days, and 3,500 costs to the CPS within the same period.
The compensation was awarded in July as the victim was entitled to sue the defendant for damages and in case the victim died before the sentencing remarks were made.
Senior prosecutor Jennie Laskar-Hall of the CPS said: "We were able to prosecute Hammersley thanks to the victim coming forward, even though the offences were committed more than four decades ago. Hammersley was determined to put his victim through a trial by pleading not guilty.
His defence team also claimed he was not fit to stand trial and provided two expert reports in support of this. We successfully challenged this evidence by providing our own expert report that he was fit for trial and the judge accepted our argument. Following the fitness to plead argument he admitted his guilt."
The victim, who is now in her forties, reported Hammersley to police after his family threw him a 100th birthday party that was reported in a local newspaper.
Hammersley is thought to be the oldest person convicted of a crime in Britain, prosecutors said. In December 2016, a 101-year-old man was jailed for 13 years for sex crimes against two young sisters and their brother. Police said at the time he was the oldest person to have been found guilty of a crime in British legal history.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Pakistan should maintain a good brotherly relationship with Afghanistan irrespective of the latters ties with any other country including India, Afghan ambassador to Pakistan Omar Zakhilwal said on Tuesday.
Zakhilwal was addressing a round table discussion, titled Bilateral Reconciliation: Opportunities and Challenges, organised by the Regional Peace Institute in the federal capital, Dawn online reported.
Pakistan should not object to our ties with India. We assure that Afghanistan-India relationship will not inflict harm upon Pakistan, he said.
Zakhilwal said both the sides will have to respect each others sovereignty and move ahead to narrow down their differences to build long lasting trust.
He emphatically said that peace in Afghanistan is mandatory to establish durable peace in Pakistan, adding that both the countries should move forward to remove mistrust.
The Afghan envoy also accepted the mismanagement on the part of Kabul. He said that the Afghan government should take action against Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistans sanctuaries operating against Islamabad from inside Afghanistan.
Pakistan Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar on Tuesday formed a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court to hear review petitions filed by former premier Nawaz Sharif and his children challenging the courts July 28 verdict in the Panama Papers case.
Earlier in the day, a three-judge bench of the apex court recommended to Nisar that a larger bench should be set up to hear the petitions by Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz, sons Hussain and Hasan, son-in-law Muhammad Safdar and his relative finance minister Ishaq Dar.
When the three-judge bench took up the petitions filed by the deposed prime minister and his children, their counsel Salman Akram Raja and Khawaja Haris argued that a larger bench was competent to hear the matter.
Accepting this request, the bench recommended that the Chief Justice should form a larger bench to hear the petitions on Wednesday.
The Sharif family had moved two separate petitions challenging the former premiers disqualification in the Panama Papers case and the charges of corruption levelled against his children and Dar.
The 67- year-old Sharif was disqualified for dishonesty because he had not declared an income due to him from his sons Dubai-based firm. Sharif has said he was never paid any salary by the firm.
The petitions asked the apex court to review its verdict as it violated several provisions of the law.
Meanwhile, the National Accountability Bureau, Pakistans anti-corruption watchdog, filed four corruption cases against members of the Sharif family last week.
Monkey see. Monkey sue. Monkey settle.
Attorneys representing a macaque monkey have agreed to a compromise in a case where they asserted the animal owned the copyright to selfie photos it had shot with a photographers camera.
Under the deal, the photographer agreed to donate 25% of any future revenue from the images to charities dedicated to protecting crested macaques in Indonesia, said the lawyers from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals who filed the lawsuit.
Attorneys for the group and the photographer, David Slater, on Monday asked the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals to dismiss the case and throw out a lower-court decision that said animals cannot own copyrights.
Andrew J Dhuey, an attorney for Slater, declined to comment on how much money the photos have generated or whether Slater would keep all of the remaining 75% of future revenue.
PETA and David Slater agree that this case raises important, cutting-edge issues about expanding legal rights for non-human animals, a goal that they both support, and they will continue their respective work to achieve this goal, Slater and PETA said in a joint statement.
There was no immediate ruling from the 9th Circuit on the dismissal.
PETA sued on behalf of the monkey in 2015, seeking financial control of the photographs for the benefit of the monkey named Naruto that snapped the photos with Slaters camera.
Lawyers for Slater argued that his company, Wildlife Personalities Ltd, owns worldwide commercial rights to the photos, including a now famous selfie of the monkeys toothy grin.
The photos were taken during a 2011 trip to Sulawesi, Indonesia, with an unattended camera owned by Slater. Slater said the British copyright obtained for the photos by Wildlife Personalities should be honored worldwide.
US District Judge William Orrick said in a ruling in favour of Slater last year that while Congress and the president can extend the protection of law to animals as well as humans, there is no indication that they did so in the Copyright Act. The 9th Circuit was considering PETAs appeal.
The lawyers notified the appeals court on August 4 that they were nearing a settlement and asked the judges not to rule. A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit heard oral arguments in the case in July.
A group of people's deputies has registered in the Verkhovna Rada bill No. 7106, which proposes to legislate conditions for equipping the state border of Ukraine, primarily that with the Russian Federation, with engineering and technical infrastructure.
"The bill is aimed at creating conditions for the development of engineering and technical infrastructure on the state border of Ukraine. The adoption of the bill will allow creating appropriate conditions for the engineering and technical equipment of the state border of Ukraine with the adjacent states, primarily with the Russian Federation," the co-author of the document, MP from the Bloc of Petro Poroshenko faction Iryna Friz said.
She noted today legal acts do not determine the legal grounds for transferring land plots to the bodies of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine for the construction and maintenance of engineering structures, fences, border marks and other border infrastructure objects to ensure compliance with the state border regime.
China on Tuesday said it is prepared to discuss the reopening of the Nathu La route for Indian pilgrims to visit Kailash Mansarovar shrine, which was closed by Beijing soon after the military standoff at Doklam began in mid-June.
During a regular news briefing, foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang emphasised the efforts that China has initiated to ease the journey of Indians pilgrims. He said China is also ready to discuss other matters connected to the pilgrimage with India.
However, Geng also said China would be unable to share hydrological data from the upper reaches of Brahmaputra river, before it flows into India, as a data collection centre in the Tibet Autonomous Region is being renovated.
Beijing sounded more amenable to talking about reopening the Nathu La route though the narrow window for Indian pilgrims to head to Tibet closes this month because of inclement weather.
For a long time, China has made great efforts against all odds to provide necessary convenience to Indian pilgrims. And according to the agreement reached between two state leaders and based on the fact that the western sector of the India-China boundary has been recognised by the two sides, China used to open the pass to Indian pilgrims and this operation has been very well, Geng said.
Referring to the Doklam standoff, he added: However in this June, Indian troops illegally crossed the border, which lead to tensions in the border areas of the two sides. So the pass was suspended due to this consideration.
So China seems ready to keep communication with the Indian side in regard to the opening of the pass and other issues concerning the pilgrimage by the Indians.
Hundreds of Indian pilgrims were stranded at the border with China in Sikkim in the third week of June when Chinese border troops refused to allow them to use the Nathu La route to go to Mount Kailash.
China denied entry to them citing damage to roads, forcing many pilgrims to return to Sikkims capital Gangtok.
China initially refused to state why the pilgrims were stopped but the reason for doing so the military impasse on Doklam plateau emerged soon after.
At least seven batches of 50 pilgrims each were to cross over to Tibet through Nathu La, on their way to Mount Kailash, held sacred by Buddhists, Hindus and Jains.
The Nathu La route was inaugurated in June 2015. Till then, 18 batches of 60 Indians undertook the journey every year through Lipu Lekh pass between May and September.
The new route administered by the Tibet Autonomous Region government on the Chinese side reduced the trekking time and allowed pilgrims to make the journey by bus.
Spokesperson Geng wasnt optimistic about the sharing of data on the Brahmaputra river.
For a long time, we have conducted cooperation on the river data with the Indian side. But due to the upgrading and renovation of the relevant station on the Chinese side, now we do not have the conditions to collect the relevant statistics of the river, he said.
We will later consider that, Geng said while responding to a question about when China will provide the data, a practice that was reportedly suspended during the Doklam standoff.
The standoff, which ended last month with both sides pulling their troops back on the plateau, was seen as one of the most serious confrontations between India and China in recent decades.
India on Tuesday said it was perplexed by the top UN human rights officials criticism of New Delhis approach to Rohingya refugees and his remarks related to journalist Gauri Lankeshs murder and the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
Responding to the criticism by the UN high commissioner for human rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, at the opening session of the 36th Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday, Rajiv K Chander said there was inadequate appreciation of the freedoms and rights guaranteed and practised daily in India.
Al Hussein had deplored steps to deport Rohingya refugees from India, and expressed dismay at what he called the broader rise of intolerance towards religious and other minorities in India. He also came down heavily on the Myanmar government for its handling of the Rohingya issue.
Chander, Indias permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, said: We are perplexed at some of the observations made by the high commissioner in his oral update. There appears to be inadequate appreciation of the freedoms and rights that are guaranteed and practised daily in a vibrant democracy that has been built under challenging conditions.
Tendentious judgements made on the basis of selective and even inaccurate reports do not further the understanding of human rights in any society. Like many other nations, India is concerned about illegal migrants, in particular, with the possibility that they could pose security challenges. Enforcing the laws should not be mistaken for lack of compassion.
Chander said it was also surprising that individual incidents were being extrapolated to suggest a broader societal situation, when a more informed view would have noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had publicly condemned violence in the name of cow protection.
India does not condone any actions in violation of law and imputations to the contrary are not justified. We have also noted that the issue of the human rights situation in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir has been raised. It is a matter of regret that the central role of terrorism is once again being overlooked. Assessments of human rights should not be a matter of political convenience, he added.
India, Chander told the council, believed that achieving human rights goals called for objective consideration, balanced judgements and verification of facts.
Our governments motto of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, that is all together and development for all, is a true reflection of our commitment to achieve inclusive development in the spirit of leaving none of our citizens behind, he said.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Bengaluru-born 28-year-old Google research scientist Ananda Theertha Suresh in New York has won the Paul Baran Young Scholar award for 2017, the US-based Marconi Society said on Tuesday.
Suresh has been selected for this years Young Scholar award for creating technology that makes search faster and easier even on low-end mobile devices, with basic Internet, the Society said in an e-mail to IANS.
The Google geek, who has a PhD from the University of California-San Diego, will receive the award from the Society at a special ceremony in New Jersey on October 3.
Sureshs work is used by millions of people within speech and keyboard input applications in Google products. His research focused on understanding the most efficient ways to use information, data and communication, the Society said.
Demystifying his technology, Suresh explained that when an Indian user of a basic feature phone does an internet search through a slow connection, his query is sent to a distant server and he waits for the feedback.
The glitch for the delay is the uplink which connects to the network. A logjam means a long wait and a mounting data bill for the user. If the information is stripped of all non-essentials and compressed, it will travel faster, Suresh explained in an e-mail to IANS.
The four-decade-old Society, named after Noble Laureate Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937), who invented the radio, is also honouring two other Indian-born scientists -- Thomas Kailath with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his stellar contribution to modern communications, and Arun Netravalli with the Marconi Prize for his pioneering work in digital video technology used in mobile phones and television sets.
Kailath, 82, from Pune and a former professor at Stanford, is the Hitachi American Professor in Engineering Emeritus at the reputed university. He was also conferred with the Padma Bhushan, Indias third highest civilian award, in 2009.
Netravalli, 71, a native of Ankola on Karnatakas west coast, studied at Mumbais Elphinstone College and graduated in electrical engineering from IIT-Bombay before migrating to the US in 1967 for his post-graduation and doctorate from Houstons Rice University.
Set up in 1975 by Marconis daughter Gioia Marconi Braga through an endowment, the Society annually awards outstanding individuals whose scope of work and influence emulate the principle of creativity in service to humanity that inspired Marconi.
The Young Scholars are selected by an international jury of engineers from leading universities and firms on nomination from their academic advisers.
The award consists of $4,000 (Rs2,56,000) and expenses to attend the annual ceremony on October 3 where three Young Scholars are honoured every year.
More than the prize, Young Scholars are offered mentoring and guidance by the Societys distinguished roster of engineering greats, said the Society.
I am humbled and honoured to be in the company of the Societys past and present award winners. I will also interact with them, as learning from them will inspire me to tackle the challenging problems in the world over, Suresh said in his e-mail.
Suresh went to the US in 2010 after graduating in engineering physics from IIT-Madras the same year for a masters and PhD in the same subject the University of California-San Diego by 2016.
Suresh did his schooling at Sri Rajarajeshwari Vidya Mandira and obtained a science degree from National College in south Bengaluru. His late father had a printing press and his mother is a homemaker.
As the first in his family to attend college, the geeks goal is to understand the fundamental limits of what is possible in data science so that he can develop tools that will make an impact on people with limited resources.
At the worlds largest search engines research office in New York, where Suresh works, he helps provide latest communication capabilities to netizens with low bandwidth and low-end devices.
Access and opportunities in the developing countries are limited by low-bandwidth and low-end devices with limited storage and intelligence. Sureshs algorithms reduce data sent and data costs immensely, the Society said.
According to Google Research Manager Michael D Riley, Sureshs contribution had led to algorithms that give better compression for a decompression time budget than previously used.
The White House said on Monday the violent displacement of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar showed the countrys security forces were not protecting civilians.
We call on Burmese security authorities to respect the rule of law, stop the violence, and end the displacement of civilians from all communities, the White House said in a statement.
Meanwhile, The United Nations top human rights official has accused Myanmar of carrying out a textbook example of ethnic cleansing against Rohingya Muslims, hundreds of thousands of whom have crossed into Bangladesh since late August to escape a military crackdown.
Zeid Raad al-Hussein, UN high commissioner for human rights, said the militarys brutal security campaign was in clear violation of international law, and cited what he called refugees consistent accounts of widespread extrajudicial killings, rape and other atrocities.
United States commerce secretary Wilbur Ross on Tuesday said the upcoming Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Hyderabad will be an ideal meeting place for investors, innovators and entrepreneurs, reiterating the Donald Trump administrations strong support for the convention that the US and India are jointly hosting in Hyderabad.
By investing in women across the world, we are investing in families, economies and peace, Ross said at an event hosted by the US India Business Council, a Washington-based advocacy, referring to the theme of the summit.
The summit was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump when they met in Washington in June. Trump later announced his daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump will be leading the US delegation, the registration for which is currently on.
The theme of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2017 recognises that women entrepreneurs are drivers of the global economy, Ross said.
He went on to pitch the summit to investors, saying he expects to see a better turnout at the 2017 summit than the 700 entrepreneurs who attended the previous one.
Ross, who is currently in the process of reviewing Americas bilateral trade deficits with partner countries as instructed by Trump, reiterated the stated US position that that the current administration would like to reduce the deficit, which stands at $29 billion.
He also said India must give American countries greater access to its markets and level the playing field for them, in relations to privileges and benefits enjoyed by its own domestic firms.
But he also noted positive development in India in the adoption of the unified Goods and Services Tax, the reforming of the bankruptcy, and insolvency codes
Ross, who has had a long experience working with India as an investor and who is considered close to Trump, started his remarks recalling his own business association with investments in Mumbai and in SpiceJet, which has returned the favour the airline recently announced massive purchase of airplanes from US manufacturers.
He also said he has a warm feeling for India.
The US ambassador to Cambodia on Tuesday rejected government accusations of interference by the United States as inaccurate, misleading and baseless and called for the release of detained opposition leader Kem Sokha.
It was the strongest US response since the Sept. 3 arrest of Kem Sokha, who has been charged with treason and accused of plotting with the United States to take power from Prime Minister Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge commander who has ruled Cambodia for more than 30 years.
Hun Sen, now one of Chinas closest regional allies, has stepped up rhetoric against the United States alongside a crackdown on opponents, independent media and other critics ahead of a general election next year.
In this June 4, 2017 photo, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen shows off his inked finger after voting in local elections at Takhmau polling station in Kandal province, southeast of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. (AP File Photo)
On dozens of occasions over the past year, the United States has been subject to intentionally inaccurate, misleading and baseless accusations, Ambassador William Heidt said in a statement. All of the accusations you have heard in recent weeks about the United States - every one of them - are false.
Heidt called for the release of Kem Sokha, an end to pressure on civil society and dialogue between the government and opposition to salvage elections and restore ties between the two countries.
If Cambodias national elections were held today, no credible international observer would certify them as free, fair and reflecting the will of the Cambodian people, he said.
American and Western companies were feeling less welcome in Cambodia and fewer will invest, he said.
Government spokesman Phay Siphan said the evidence of American collusion came from Kem Sokha himself and that Cambodia did not see the United States as an enemy.
We just use our rights to tell the US not to interfere in our domestic affairs, he told Reuters.
On Monday, 65-year-old Hun Sen threatened that Kem Sokhas Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) would be dissolved if it continued to back him. Kem Sokha, 64, is the only serious election rival to Hun Sen, who could face his biggest electoral challenge next year.
Kem Sokha, leader of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), gestures during an interview with Reuters at the CNRP headquarter in Phnom Penh, June 23, 2016. (Reuters File Photo)
The opposition will not boycott the July 2018 general election in which it faces Hun Sens ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) senior CNRP member Son Chhay said on Tuesday.
The CNRP will go into the 2018 election despite the enormous difficulties, he told a news briefing.
The evidence presented against Kem Sokha so far is a video recorded in 2013 in which he discusses a strategy to win power with the help of unspecified Americans. His lawyers have dismissed it as nonsense, saying he was only discussing election strategy.
Son Chhay said Kem Sokha was innocent until a final court conviction, calling his arrest and a parliament vote to allow his prosecution illegal.
CPP spokesman Sok Eysan said, Kem Sokha committed serious crimes that would lead to the destruction of peace and political stability.
An Ivy League graduate headed to law school, with eyes on becoming her states first female governor, Miss North Dakota Cara Mund knew the importance of answering a question head-on.
So when judges at the Miss America competition asked her whether President Donald Trump was wrong to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accords that seek to rein in greenhouse gas emissions, she did not hesitate.
Its a bad decision, she said during Sunday nights nationally televised finale. There is evidence that climate change is existing, and we need to be at that table.
That answer helped her win the crown as Miss America 2018 at Atlantic Citys Boardwalk Hall.
Meeting with reporters afterwards, Mund said she wanted first and foremost to give a real answer to the question.
I wasnt really afraid if my opinion wasnt the opinion of my judges, she said. Miss America needs to have an opinion and she needs to know whats happening in the current climate.
On Monday, after taking the winners traditional morning-after dip in the Atlantic City surf, Mund reiterated that the US should be part of the talks on greenhouse gases, which contribute to global warming.
My onstage question answer was just my personal opinion, she told The Associated Press. I think everyone has a right to think what they want. But its important to have a spot at the negotiating table. This isnt necessarily: Does climate change exist or not? but rather the fact that were going to keep our Earth clean for future generations, and I just think its really important that we have a seat there. To pull out, I think, is just really unfortunate.
Trump, who once owned the now-shuttered Atlantic City casino next door to where Mund spoke on Monday, has said the Paris accord was a bad deal economically for the United States. He has also called global warming a hoax.
Mund wants to one day be the first woman elected governor of North Dakota. She would not say if she is registered with any political party.
I have my personal opinions, and Id rather say Im not a Republican and Im not a Democrat. Im an American, she said.
But it wasnt just Miss America who turned the beauty pageant political. Each of the top 5 contestants criticised Trump -- former owner of Miss Universe pageant -- in their question-answer round on a range of issues such as white supremacy, Russian interference and 2016 election.
The justice system should do their due diligence and they should be punished accordingly, said Miss Missouri, Jennifer Davis, when asked if the Trump campaign had colluded with Russia, The Guardian reported.
Miss Texas, Margana Wood, was asked if Charlottesville violence -- in which a white supremacist plowed a car into a counter protester at the Unite the Right rally -- was a terrorist attack. She said: I think that the white supremacist issue, it was very obvious that it was a terrorist attack and I think that President Donald Trump should have made a statement earlier addressing the fact, and making sure all Americans feel safe in this country. That is the number one issue right now.
Twitter users lauded the contestants for criticising the President on a public platform, with many saying they showed more integrity than Trump.
A Miss America judge asked a contestant if Trump colluded with Russia.
My pageant sisters have proven to be more intelligent than Congress. pic.twitter.com/wRu5RPpuCs Sameera Khan (@SameeraKhan) September 11, 2017
Miss Texas--a white woman--showed more integrity in 20 seconds than Trump has known all his life.#MissAmerica Charles Clymer (@cmclymer) September 11, 2017
On the various Miss America questions, each candidate slams Donald Trump. Hell, Yeah. Team Tudor (@TeamTudor) September 11, 2017
(With AP inputs)
Hugo Grotius and Emmerich de Vattel laid the intellectual groundwork for the modern concept of lawful warfare.
The idea that warfare should be regulated or restrained by a code of conduct of some kind is sometimes assumed to be fairly modern, but for thousands of years commentators have offered arguments for certain standards of behavior on the battlefield. What is relatively new is the creation of formal codifications of law that not only seek to impose standards of acceptable conduct on soldiers but also define what types of actions violate those standards.
The Dutch jurist Hugo Grotius is widely regarded as the intellectual father of modern laws of war. Grotius lived in the time of the Eighty Years War in the Spanish Netherlands and the Thirty Years War that ravaged Germanywars of religion and politics that laid waste to northern Europe and killed as much as a third of the civilian populations of the affected countries. The scale of human suffering caused by such unrestrained warfare convinced Grotius that moderation was desperately needed in the conduct of war. Throughout the Christian world I observed a lack of restraint in relation to war, he wrote. I observed that men rush to arms for slight causes, or no cause at all, and that when arms have once been taken up there is no longer any respect for law, divine or human.
Grotius published De Jure Belli ac Pacis, or On the Law of War and Peace, in 1625. He based his treatise on a belief in the rational intelligence of man, which provided the foundation for his arguments of universal laws. In constructing his theory of lawful warfare, he first set out to define the concept of a just war and then presented his argument that universal laws, timeless and perpetual, continue even during strife and constitute the laws of war.To disavow the imperative character of these perpetual laws is to revert to barbarism.
In support of his theories, Grotius marshaled the full weight of classical authoritiesnames that were instantly familiar to every well-educated 17th-century European reader. Homer, Cicero, Plato, Xenophon, Augustin, Tacitus, Polybius, Plutarch, and othersGrotius quoted them all with an enthusiastic frequency that has occasionally led modern commentators to criticize him for indulging in a bit of intellectual name-dropping. There was more to it than that, however; Grotius was reaching back into hallowed antiquity to demonstrate that his concepts of universal law were supported by millennia of human understanding.
De Jure Belli ac Pacis had an almost immediate impact on Europes intellectual landscape. Within a decade of its publication, the governments of Denmark, England, Poland, Spain, and Sweden had all offered Grotius positions of importance in their service. He eventually accepted the Swedish offer. Swedens great soldier-king, Gustavus Adolphus, had been an ardent student of Grotiuss theories on lawful warfare, famously keeping a Bible and a copy of De Jure Belli with him on campaign before the Battle of Lutzen, where he was killed in 1632.
The savagery and horrific death toll of the Thirty Years War, in particular, influenced Grotius in his work on the ideas of justified conflict and lawful conduct of war. He was driven by the love of peace, but he was in no way a pacifist. Rather than seeking to eliminate warfare, Grotius sought to define what was lawful war and what was not; what was acceptable in fighting a war and what was a violation of universal or natural law. Grotius was a progressive thinker, but he was also a realist. Killing an enemy is indeed everywhere called a right of war, he wrote, and he accepted that as part of natural law. But having accepted that reality, he went on to argue that forbearance in war is not only a tribute to justice, it is a tribute to humanity, it is a tribute to moderation, it is a tribute to greatness of soul.
De Jure Bellis contribution to the development and maturation of modern laws of war is undeniable, but as one scholar points out, it was only the book of Genesis in the canon of lawful warfare doctrine. In laying the foundation for his theory of lawful warfare, Grotius spent more time arguing for the recognition of the concepts of just and unjust warfare than he did actually suggesting specific rules for belligerent conduct. It fell to other scholars in following centuries to build a system of codified laws onto the framework provided by De Jure Belli. Grotius had many disciples, but perhaps none was more deserving of his mantle than Emmerich de Vattel, the German-Swiss philosopher and jurist.
Vattel, whose first name also appears as Emer, published his most significant work, Le Droit des Gens, or The Law of Nations, in 1758. Just as Grotius had grappled with articulating the concepts of lawful warfare, Vattel also engaged with the broad issues of international diplomacy and states in conflict, formulating his famous Golden Rule of Sovereigns when he wrote, One cannot complain when he is treated as he treats others. The idea of just war was also a central tenet of Vattels treatise. War cannot be just on both sides, he argued. One party claims a right; the other disputes itthe one complains of an injury; the other denies having done it. It is impossible that two contrary sentiments should be true at the same time.
Where Vattel surpassed Grotius was in the detail with which he considered specific acts that belligerent nations and their soldiers would commit in war, and in The Law of Nations we find many of the arguments for restraint of military actions that are part of lawful-war doctrine today. The presence of noncombatants was an inevitable part of Western European warfare; Women, children, feeble old men, and sick persons come under the description of enemies, and we have certain rights over them, inasmuch as they belong to the nation with whom we are at war, Vattel argued. But these are enemies who make no resistance, and consequently we have no right to maltreat their persons or use any violence against them, much less to take away their lives. The Law of Nations also tackled the issue of how prisoners of war should be treated. As soon as your enemy has laid down his arms and surrendered his person, Vattel wrote, you have no longer any right over his life, unless he should give you such right by some new attempt.
Vattel, like Grotius, did not seek to eliminate war, since his doctrine of just war allowed that war might be necessary in some circumstances. But he was concerned with how war might be brought to an end with the least destruction and loss of life, and so he argued against any actions that would lead to a perpetual cycle of retaliation. Wars, Vattel believed, should be fought as effectively as possible to achieve victory with the least amount of suffering. All damage done to the enemy unnecessarily, every act of hostility which does not tend to procure victory and bring the war to a conclusion, he wrote, is a licentiousness condemned by the law of nature.
The degree to which De Jure Belli and The Law of Nations have influenced modern concept of lawful warfare is demonstrated by the fact that in the 2015 edition of the Law of War Manual published by the U.S. Department of Defense, four men are named as foundational authorities on the laws of war, with Grotius listed first and Vattel second.
Vattels work was also highly regarded by George Washington, who in 1789 borrowed a copy of The Law of Nations from the New York Society Library and never returned it. Two hundred years later the case of the unreturned book came to the attention of the staff at the museum at Mount Vernon. By then the original borrowed copy of the book was missing, so a replacement copy of the same edition was purchased for $12,000. When the book was returned to the New York Society Library in May 2010, it was 221 years overdue. The library graciously waived the considerable late fees. MHQ
JOHN A. HAYMOND is the author of The Infamous Dakota War Trials of 1862: Revenge, Military Law, and the Judgment of History (McFarland & Company, 2016).
[hr]
This article appears in the Autumn 2017 issue (Vol. 30, No. 1) of MHQThe Quarterly Journal of Military History with the headline: Founding Fathers
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!
In 1863 a veteran newspaper correspondent defied a Union generals order. He was court-martialed for the transgression.
IN LATE DECEMBER 1862, MAJOR GENERAL WILLIAM T. SHERMAN opened the campaign to capture the fortified Confederate city of Vicksburg, Mississippi, by landing troops in the swamps to the north. The rebels strong defensive positions repulsed every one of Shermans assaults, and after three days of frustrated battle, he withdrew his divisions. The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou was a small foretaste of the difficulties that Union forces would face in capturing Vicksburg. It also provided the backdrop to a precedent-setting case of American military law.
Before embarking on the expedition, Sherman had issued General Order No. 8, which expressly prohibited reporters from accompanying his forces or sending dispatches for publication from his area of operations. Any correspondents sending out news that might give the enemy information and comfort, the order stated, will be arrested and treated as spies. Shermans dislike of newspaper reporters was already well known; the most contemptible race of men that exist was one of his more polite descriptions of them.
Thomas W. Knox, a correspondent for the New York Herald, defied General Order No. 8, bringing down on himself the full force of Shermans dislike for the press. For whatever reasoneither because he was unaware of Shermans order or because he assumed it did not apply to himKnox had attached himself to the expedition and written a dispatch in which he denounced Sherman in scathing terms. One of Shermans staff officers found Knoxs report in the outgoing mail, read it, and called it to Shermans attention. Undeterred by the confiscation of his draft, Knox wrote his story a second time and carried it by hand upriver to Cairo, Illinoissome 400 miles awaywhere he mailed it to the Herald.
In his article, Knox said there is little doubt that Vicksburg would, ere this, have been in Union hands, if only someone other than Sherman were in command. General Sherman was so exceedingly erratic, he wrote, that the discussion of the past twelve months with respect to his sanity, was revived with much earnestness. He accused Sherman of refusing proper medical care for wounded soldiers in an attempt to keep the failure of his assault from becoming public knowledge and of ordering the destruction of 50,000 rations in his haste to leave the field.
Knox hadnt witnessed most of the events he described, instead compiling his report from dubious secondhand sources, but still he assured the Heralds readers that the battle of Chickasaw Bayou has been a repetition on a smaller scale of the great battle of Fredericksburg, a month ago. The publics horror over the carnage from Union general Ambrose Burnsides repeated frontal assaults on Fredericksburgs Maryes Heights on December 13, 1862, was still painfully fresh. Knoxs claim was wildly inaccurate: The Union army suffered more than 12,000 casualties at Fredericksburg, compared with 1,776 total losses at Chickasaw Bayou. Knoxs hyperbole was stubbornly impervious to such facts. Shermans failure has dashed the hopes of the nation, he wrote; insanity and inefficiency have brought their result. He declared that the only hope of capturing Vicksburg was Shermans immediate removal from command.
Knox was not the only correspondent who made slanderous statements about Shermans mental state. The New York Times ran an article maintaining that Shermans operational plans were proof of his madness; another newspaper printed a story declaring that during the fighting at Chickasaw Bayou, Sherman was confined to his stateroom perfectly insane. What made Knox different, though, was that he was physically within the reach of Shermans military authority, a fact the journalist perhaps overlooked when he figuratively threw his gauntlet at the generals feet and all but dared him to pick it up. He did not have to wait long for Shermans response.
ON FEBRUARY 3 SHERMAN RECEIVED A COPY OF THE HERALD with Knoxs dispatch. The next day he wrote: I am going to have the correspondent of the New York Herald tried by a court-martial as a spy, not that I want the fellow shot, but because I want to establish the principle that such people cannot attend our armies, in violation of orders, and defy us, publishing their garbled statements and defaming officers who are doing their best. Reporters such as Knox, Sherman believed, were undermining the war effort with their limited and tainted observations as the history of events they neither see nor comprehend.
On February 5 Sherman issued General Order No. 13, convening a general court-martial at Youngs Point, Louisiana. Thomas Knox was charged with giving intelligence to the enemy, directly or indirectly, being a spy, and disobedience of orders. The first two charges were the most serious, invoking the possibility of a death sentence if Knox were to be convicted. But the court found Knox guilty only of the third charge, disobeying orders. The sentence of the court-martial was that he be sent without the lines of the army, and not to return under penalty of imprisonment.
SHERMAN MIGHT HAVE THOUGH HE HAD SEEN THE LAST of Knox, but the newspaperman had influential friends, who appealed to President Abraham Lincoln to override the court-martial verdict and allow Knox back into Shermans theater of operations. Lincoln, mindful of the need to avoid antagonizing the New York newspapers and his generals in the field, agreed only to allow Knox to put his request to Major General Ulysses S. Grant, Shermans commander.
Grant gave the petition short shrift. You came here first in positive violation of an order from General Sherman, he wrote in his reply to Knox. You made insinuations against his sanity, and said many things which were untrue.General Sherman is one of the ablest soldiers and purest men in the country. He would allow Knox to return, Grant added, only if Sherman first gives his consent. Since Knox still had not apologized or published a retraction, such consent was unlikely.
When the matter reached Sherman, he reminded Knox that the reporter had earlier tried to excuse his conduct with the explanation that you had to supply the public demand for news; true if possible, but false if your interest demanded it. Sherman said that he would welcome Knox if he came as a soldier, but his presence as a reporter was intolerable. Come as you do nowas a representative of the press, which you yourself say makes so slight a difference between truth and falsehood, Sherman wrote, and my answer is, Never. He would not relent.
Sherman had actually overstepped his bounds by hauling Knox before a court-martial. It was not that he didnt have the authority to charge a civilian with criminal activities and bring him to trialhe did. The problem was that he tried Knox before the wrong kind of court. As a civilian, Knox was not subject to the conventional military law represented by a court-martial. And since Sherman was campaigning in Confederate territory, where no U.S. civil courts had jurisdiction, there was no recourse to a civilian court. With court-martial or civil court out of the question, the only legal option was a trial by military commission.
In the aftermath of the Mexican-American War of 1847, Major General Winfield Scott had created military commissions so that the U.S. Army would have a way to handle cases that fell outside the reach of courts-martial. An unorthodox and slightly field-expedient idea at first, military commissions gained a new legitimacy and codified structure in the first year of the Civil War. In 1862, just a few months before Knox ran afoul of Sherman, the U.S. government legislatively recognized them as courts of law. Major General Henry Halleck, the foremost legal scholar of the Union army during the Civil War, pointed out at the time that many classes of people cannot be arraigned before [courts-martial] for any offense whatsoever, and many crimes committed cannot be tried under the Rules and Articles of War. Military commissions must be resorted to for such cases. The Knox case clearly fit that definition.
More important than the question of jurisdiction and venue, however, was the fact that Shermans decision to prosecute a newspaper correspondent raised troubling questions about the line between the armys legitimate need to control operationally sensitive information and the vital constitutional protections that guaranteed freedom of the press, even in time of war. It was understandable that inaccurate and distorted newspaper reports infuriated Shermanespecially accounts that impugned him personallyand he would have been well within his rights if he had decided to sue those papers for slander. As the commander of an army in the field, however, he established a dangerous precedent when he ordered Knoxs arrest and trial. To date, it remains a precedent without repetition: Thomas W. Knox is still the only credentialed representative of the American press ever tried and convicted by a U.S. Army court-martial for his reporting. MHQ
JOHN A. HAYMOND, a conflict historian, is the author of The Infamous Dakota War Trials of 1862: Revenge, Military Law, and the Judgment of History (McFarland & Company, 2016).
Photo: (From left) Mathew Brady Collection/National Archives; A.D. Worthington & Co., Publishers
[hr]
This article appears in the Summer 2017 issue (Vol. 29, No. 4) of MHQThe Quarterly Journal of Military History with the headline: The Trial of Thomas Knox
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!
Riders4Helmets.com has teamed up with leading helmet manufacturers to host the eighth International Helmet Awareness Day on Saturday September 16th and Sunday 17th. Building on the success of International Helmet Awareness Day 2016, participating retailers all over the world will be offering discounts on helmets on these dates.
International Helmet Awareness Day was founded in 2010 as a direct result of US Olympian Courtney King Dyes accident, with the aim of educating equestrians on the benefits of wearing a properly fitting, secured and certified helmet.
Get Our Free Weekly Enewsletter About Horses
The helmet brands that have committed involvement in International Helmet Awareness Day 2017 are: Caldene, Champion, Charles Owen, Gatehouse, GPA, Harry Hall Hats, International Riding Helmets (IRH), Kask, KEP Italia, LAS helmets (Leslie Sutcliffe UK), One K, Ovation, Samshield, Tipperary, Troxel and Uvex.
It is a testament to the continued need for educating equestrians on all aspects of helmet wearing that sees us organizing our eighth International Helmet Awareness Day, said Lyndsey White, Riders4Helmets. Retailers in Australia, Belgium, Canada, England, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, USA and Zambia have already registered to participate in this years event. Last year, retailers had so many people wanting to be fitted for helmets that they asked us to expand the event to two days this year, so everyone could be properly fitted.
Retailers around the globe who wish to register to participate in the event may register at this link and will then be added to the participating retailer map (please note retailers will not immediately appear on the map but will once the listing is approved). Only retailers who register with riders4helmets will be eligible for restocking discounts from the participating helmet brands (participating brands vary by country). There is no fee for retailers to participate this year as the event is being sponsored by Equiseen LLC.
Equestrians may visit this link to learn more about International Helmet Awareness Day and may search for participating retailers by Name or Geographic Location at this link. Equestrians are encouraged to visit the site on September 16th and 17th, 2016, to view the most current update, as participating retailers will continue to be added on a daily basis.
For more information on the Riders4Helmets campaign, visit www.riders4helmets.com. You can also follow the campaign at www.facebook.com/riders4helmets, www.instagram.com/riders4helmets and www.twitter.com/riders4helmets.
Mikheil Saakashvili, the leader of the Movement of New Forces party, former Georgian president and former head of Odesa State Regional Administration, claims that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is now in possession of his Ukrainian passport.
While a Ukrainian Border Service official was reading out an administrative offence report on Saakashvili's illegal crossing of the Ukrainian border in Lviv on Tuesday and asked him whether he can produce any document of identification, Saakashvili replied "the documents and IDs are kept by your president, our president of Ukraine, in his office."
"I am declaring officially that the passport that was stolen from me, based on information that I received from very, very well-informed sources, is currently at the office of Ukrainian President Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko. My passport was brought to him in the morning, when he came to work after our return to Ukraine. This is information that I possess now," Saakashvili said.
Saakashvili said on Monday that Ukrainian law enforcement officials had seized his passport while searching the bus that had taken him across the Polish-Ukrainian border. Saakashvili said his passport disappeared after special services had searched the bus and suggested that the media "make conclusions on their own."
The Ukrainian police denied Saakashvili's statement that his passport had been seized by law enforcement officials.
"The statement claiming that the passport was seized by policemen is at odds with the circumstances that occurred while a number of individuals were illegally transferred across Ukraine's state border at the Shehyni checkpoint," the police said.
Sounds from a Safe Harbour returns to Cork City this weekend, bringing music, dance, visual art and conversation, to over 60 venues across Leeside. We spoke to Bryce Dessner of The National, one of the event curators, about the festival.
Curated by Bryce & Aaron Dessner of National, Mary Hickson, Cillian Murphy and Enda Walsh, the festival will be a spectacular four days of events in all shapes and forms, with an impressive schedule of FREE shows all over the city. Collaboration and shared experiences are strong themes in the festival, and the use of intimate venues will create immersive experiences for audiences to enjoy.
Festival headliners include Lisa Hannigan with the RTE Symphony Orchestra & Aaron Dessner, Bon Iver, The National, Crash Ensemble, Iarla OLionaird and Steve Cooney, Fionn Regan, Peter Broderick, Amiina, Wyvern Lingo, Saint Sister, Slow Moving Clouds, This is How We Fly, Ye Vagabonds, and much, much more.
Nialler9 is also onboard to help curate an extensive Heineken Free Music Trail to appear in venues throughout the city, this programme includes: New Jackson, Soule, Rosie Carney, Saint Caoilian, Sorcha Richardson, Rosa Nutty, Rowan, and many exciting top secret events which will be released this week on the festivals social channels.
Advertisement
Sounds from a Safe Harbour also have a FREE Conversations & Words trail, in association with Creative Ireland. The festival invites you to engage in intimate conversations, and listen to inspiring talks from renowned artists, djs, writers, and filmmakers, both from home and abroad. Be inspired by Kevin Barry, Cillian Murphy, Bryce Dessner, and Donal Dineen, among others.
Following the sell-out success of 2016s Josephine Hart Poetry Hour at the Abbey Theatre, some popular faces from the Irish acting world will be reading poetry by W.H. Auden at the national theatre on 17 September.
The Josephine Hart Poetry Foundation returns to the Abbey Stage to celebrate the poetry of Pulitzer Prize winner, and one of the most influential poets of the 20th century, W.H. Auden.
Auden was a great admirer of Yeats and collaborated with the Thirties Poets Christopher Isherwood, Cecil Day-Lewis, Louis MacNeice and Stephen Spender.
Actors Angeline Ball (Redwater, The Commitments), Patrick Bergin (Red Rock, Patriot Games, Sleeping With the Enemy) and Ingrid Craigie (Special Tribute Award Irish Times, Striking Out, The Dead), along with writer Colm Toibin (House of Names, Nora Webster) will perform readings of some of Audens most famous poems, along with the greatly admired introductions written by Josephine Hart.
The programme includes Audens much acclaimed masterpiece In Memory of W.B. Yeats, and some of the most beautiful love poetry ever written, including Funeral Blues popularised as Stop All the Clocks in the film Four Weddings and a Funeral.
About The Josephine Hart Poetry Hour: Josephine Hart (1942 2011) was born and raised in Mullingar before moving to London in her twenties.
She was a publisher, a well-known and much-loved West End theatre producer and a best-selling author of six novels, including Damage which was adapted into a film starring Juliette Binoche and Jeremy Irons.
When Josephine Hart died suddenly in 2011 of peritoneal cancer, the Dean of Westminster Abbey arranged a memorial reading in Poets Corner, in recognition of her contribution to promoting poetry.
For over 25 years Josephine Harts hugely popular Poetry Hours were presented at such celebrated venues as The National Theatre, The Donmar Warehouse, The New York Public Library and Harvard University.
Now, Lord Saatchi, her husband of 27 years, through the Foundation continues the tradition at the British Library, London University and the Abbey Theatre in her memory. Luminaries from theatre, television, music and film, including Eileen Atkins, Bono, Sinead Cusack, Ralph Fiennes, Jeremy Irons, Elizabeth McGovern, Edna OBrien, Eddie Redmayne, Juliet Stevenson, Harriet Walter and Dominic West, perform at the Poetry Hours.
Tickets for the event cost 25 - 30 / 20 and are available from https://www.abbeytheatre.ie/whats-on/josephine-hart-poetry-hour-w-h-auden/ or (01) 87 87 222
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
Gasoline prices are starting to fall after peaking late last week as temporary shortages caused by Hurricane Harvey begin to ease.
Texas gas stations have mostly replenished their supplies - though some pockets of outages remain in Houston, Dallas and San Antonio, according to GasBuddy.com, a website that tracks gasoline prices and refining activity.
The Houston average for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline Monday was $2.48, down from a high of $2.50 Thursday and Friday, but still well above the $2.10 average before Harvey approached the Texas coast. The national average slipped to $2.67 per gallon, down by nearly 1 cent, but up 35 cents from pre-Harvey levels.
Average gas prices nationally, however, will likely remain elevated longer as Hurricane Irma, which made landfall in Florida over the weekend, creates shortages in Florida, South Carolina and Georgia.
In Texas, only a few locations remain out of fuel. Damage from Harvey's floodwaters, rather than lack of gasoline, is largely responsible for keeping Houston-area stations closed.
"Harvey may be long gone, but his wrath continued to drive gasoline prices up in much of the country in the last week," said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy. "However, the effects are finally starting to weaken as refineries return to production and fuel begins to flow once again from many Houston refineries."
Fuel prices could fall back to their pre-Harvey levels in two or three weeks, he said, as refining capacity and distribution networks get back to normal.
Harvey, which struck Texas on Aug. 25, knocked out nearly 25 percent of the nation's oil refining capacity, which is concentrated along the Texas Gulf Coast. More than a dozen major refineries shut down and fuel prices climbed 20 percent in the course of two weeks.
The outages halted about 4 million barrels per day of fuel production. About 2 million barrels a day of production have returned, with more coming back each day, according to data from the companies.
All but a couple of refineries have restarted or begun the process of restarting. The two furthest from resuming production are Exxon Mobil Corp.'s Beaumont refinery and Paris-based Total's Port Arthur refinery, both of which were hit hard by flooding.
Exxon Mobil spokeswoman Suann Guthrie said the company completed its assessments at the Beaumont refinery and is developing a plan for its restart. The nation's second-largest refinery, Exxon Mobil's Baytown complex, is still completing "minor repairs."
The country's largest refinery, Motiva Enterprises' Port Arthur plant, is operating at about 40 percent operating capacity and ramping up more each day, according to the refinery, which is owned by Saudi Arabia's national oil company, Saudi Aramco.
The latest refinery to begin restarting is Royal Dutch Shell's refinery in Deer Park. Since it takes refineries a week or two to restart, the Gulf Coast refining complex won't return to normal for some time.
Early Sunday morning, Bill Weir, a veteran CNN correspondent, was talking to anchor Chris Cuomo in the middle of a live shot in Key Largo, Florida. He could barely stand up straight in the lashing winds of Hurricane Irma. At one point, he was nearly blown over by a gust.
As video of the incident spread on social media, criticism mounted. "Why do these news networks feel the need to put these reporters out there?" read one tweet. Another said: "This is not safe. Lead by example."
Others pointed out that reporters were standing in conditions that they were advising residents to stay out of. Even Cuomo acknowledged the criticism: "There is a strong argument to be made that standing in a storm is not a smart thing to do."
Weir was one of many television journalists facing potentially unsafe conditions in covering the hurricane. Hours later, over at MSNBC, correspondent Mariana Atencio stood on a boulevard in Miami and pointed to a large tree that had fallen across the street, as other trees bowed in the wind alongside her, raising the question of whether her team was in danger. And around noon, Kyung Lah, a reporter for CNN, said on the air from Miami Beach, "If I didn't have this steel railing, I'd be flying."
Sensational footage
The tradition of television crews standing in the middle of a dangerous storm goes back decades, reflecting the hunger to be on the scene for a nationally significant event. But the news value of dangerous stand-ups - in which a correspondent is seen in the field talking to the camera - is increasingly being questioned, particularly with the rise of social media. Some critics wondered whether they are unnecessary and overly sensational spectacles, especially in cases where correspondents are struggling to deliver information.
But those same field reporters insist that the visuals from the storms are essential in persuading people to take hurricane threats seriously and getting them to leave the area. At the same time, veteran reporters say they take every precaution to stay out of life-threatening situations. On CNN, John Berman, in Miami, described flying debris nearby and took pains to say that he didn't believe he was in serious danger.
"It's blowing in the other direction, just so you know," he said.
One MSNBC studio anchor, Ali Velshi, addressed the issue directly, saying before 10 a.m. that he wanted to pause the coverage: "I want to take a quick break. I want to reset. I want to find out that our reporters are safe."
The custom of reporters broadcasting live from hurricanes began with Dan Rather, the former CBS News anchor, in 1961. Working for Houston's KHOU, he broadcast the first live radar image of a hurricane - Hurricane Carla - on television and took to the streets to show the conditions firsthand. CBS took the broadcast live, giving viewers around the country their first look at the threat posed by such a storm. Pictures of Rather wading through waist-high water propelled his rise to network anchor.
Pictures are routine
Today, this kind of reporting seems routine. And as it has become more common, reporters have become more aware of the criticism and have tried to justify this approach, as Sam Champion, a weather contributor for MSNBC, did on the air Sunday.
"Everyone says, 'Well, look, if you're standing out in the storm, Sam, then how come I can't stand out in the storm?' " Champion said. "And what I'm going to tell you is we do this so you can see what it's like outside."
Reporters, at both the national and local level, echoed that reasoning.
"I think it's a fair question: Why would you have reporters standing potentially in harm's way who are telling people to do exactly the opposite?" Mark Strassmann, a CBS News correspondent who has covered hurricanes for 25 years, said in an interview shortly after taking part in a live special from Miami.
"Part of that is that television is all about visual proof," he said. "You want to persuade people that what they're seeing is real and matters to them. And if they can see me standing out there getting knocked around, it'll convince them that they should not do the same thing."
Local reporters have fewer resources than network correspondents and this could lead them to brave some particularly unsafe conditions. In a Facebook post on Aug. 25, Jacque Masse, a reporter for 12News in Beaumont, said she covered Hurricane Harvey by herself, acting as an "MMJ" - industry jargon for "multimedia journalist," or a solo television news reporter. She was her own camerawoman, producer and editor. The station came under withering criticism from industry watchers.
"Sending a single MMJ to cover a hurricane is not only one of the cheapest moves we've ever seen, it was dangerous," said an article on FTV Live, a website that covers television news.
In those cases, reporters said, they have to know when to say no to their bosses.
"Somewhere it's been ingrained in our minds that there's a million people that would love to have your job, so if you won't do it, someone else will," said Hayley Minogue, a reporter for WKRG, a CBS affiliate in Mobile, Ala., who was covering her first major hurricane from Jacksonville, Fla. "So you get pressured into doing stuff for that, but that's not really my attitude." Minogue added that her own station had never pressured her in that way.
Crazy live shot
Whitney Burbank, a reporter for WPBF, the ABC affiliate in West Palm Beach, Fla., said that she had not been pressured, either.
"I'm looking at a tree that's fallen through a concrete wall that's covering half of a major road," Burbank said after her 10th live appearance of the day. She described harrowing conditions that at times forced her crew to huddle inside their satellite truck. But, she said, her bosses place a premium on her team's safety.
"My employers are pretty careful if something is unsafe," Burbank said. "They don't want you to do it. They don't want you to do a crazy live shot in the middle of a tornado. If it's too windy to go out, they're going to say, 'Don't do it.' "
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
A Conroe man who shot and killed his roommate in 2015 pleaded guilty Friday to a lesser charge.
Michael Irion Decker, 45, was originally charged with capital murder for the May 14, 2015 shooting death of Joel Aponte, 48, at their Conroe rent house on Woodlands Hills Drive off Texas 75. Now, more than two years after Aponte's death, Decker pleaded guilty to a first-degree murder charge in exchange for a 40-year prison sentence.
He was facing life without parole if a jury convicted him of the capital murder charge. He will not be eligible for parole for another 20 years.
THE LATEST: Bombshell evidence in Baytown realtor's death
Decker's accomplice, 48-year-old Everett Earl Hieden Jr., pleaded guilty June 8 to a first-degree aggravated robbery charge in exchange for a recommended 30-year prison sentence. Hieden was set to testify during Decker's upcoming trial.
Decker and Aponte were roommates at the time of shooting, according to Jim Prewitt, lead prosecutor on the case and Major Offenders Chief with the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office. Days before the shooting, Decker told a handful of friends that he was going to kill Aponte asking to borrow a shotgun and motorcycle muffler to silence the blast.
INDICTMENTS: Spring man faces several child porn charges
At some point before the shooting, Decker convinced Hieden to help kill Aponte. Prewitt said Decker promised Hieden cash and drugs from the home in exchange for his help.
On the night of May 14, 2015, Decker and Hieden went to Aponte's room, where he was with his 23-year-old girlfriend, and knocked on the door to get his attention. Once they got in the door, Prewitt said, Decker shot Aponte several times with the shotgun, instantly killing him.
The two stayed the night in the house, not allowing the 23-year-old woman out of their sight until later the next morning. That's when they cleaned up the crime scene and loaded Aponte's body in the back of Decker's pickup truck, Prewitt said.
Decker drove north and left his truck, with Aponte still in the back, at a trailer park in Willis. During all this, the 23-year-old girlfriend was able to escape to a family member's home in Willis where she called the Willis Police Department about the murder.
Conroe police led the investigation since Decker shot Aponte within Conroe's city limits, although detectives with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office and Willis Police Department assisted in the investigation. After developing Decker and Hieden as their main suspects, Conroe police arrested the two days later. Decker confessed to the shooting, Prewitt said. He credited detectives for Decker and Hieden's pleas.
"CPD's investigation revealed a glimpse of the methamphetamine world in Montgomery County and it destructive effects on the lives of parties and witnesses in this case, most notably (Aponte's)," Prewitt said in a release. "Their efforts got a violent individual and his cohort off the street and no doubt led to a guilty plea in the case as opposed to a lengthy, protracted trial."
Aponte was a former airline employee and tax preparation business owner, Prewitt said. He was also a Renaissance Festival participant and enthusiast.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
WASHINGTON Someone once told Jack Brooks, the legendary Texas congressman, that he shouldn't be smoking a cigar on the floor of the U.S. House.
His reply: "It isn't lit."
The powerhouse Houston-area congressman was remembered Tuesday with the planting of a bur oak tree on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol, where Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi recalled the allegedly unlit cigar.
"I don't know if he challenged them to prove that point or not," Pelosi told a gathering of family, colleagues and friends, including Lynda Johnson Robb, the elder daughter of the late President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Brooks, who died in 2012 just shy of his 90th birthday, served in the Marines in World War II and then in Congress for 42 years, making his mark as chairman of the powerful House Judiciary Committee that drafted the 1974 articles of impeachment against President Richard Nixon.
Remembered fondly for his quips and one-liners, he also made history by being one of only 11 southerners to support the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which he helped write. In the 1950s, he defied his state delegation by refusing to sign the segregationist "Southern Manifesto."
"He never apologized or backed down from his belief that we are all created equal," Pelosi said.
Brooks also was remembered for fostering economic development projects in his native southeast Texas, from keeping NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston to building out the Port of Beaumont, now the nation's busiest port for military equipment.
"He was a giant in Congress, and in Texas," said U.S. Rep. Gene Green, a Houston Democrat who served with Brooks in Congress and the Texas Legislature.
Brooks also was a witness to Texas and national history, standing behind Lyndon B. Johnson when he was sworn in as president on the fateful day in 1963 when John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas.
"Jack Brooks' legacy in our area of Texas and beyond..... is well-planted, well-watered, well-deserved and it will well be remembered for a long time," said U.S. Rep. Randy Weber, a Republican from Friendswood. "He was a fighter, he was principled, he was a man of character.
"I'm told, I wasn't there," Weber added, "he was one of the few congressmen that LBJ feared, because he would stand up and speak his mind."
The memorial oak tree was planted across Independence Avenue from a House office building named for another Texas legend, Sam Rayburn, a mentor and contemporary of Brooks. Brooks was defeated for reelection in 1994 in what was considered a major upset at the hands of GOP maverick Steve Stockman, who now faces federal fraud charges.
In the end, Brooks was honored by Texans on both sides of the aisle, including U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith of San Antonio, a Republican, and former Texas U.S. Rep. Martin Frost, a Democrat.
And nobody could forget the trademark cigars.
"He wielded a formidable arsenal of charm, intellect and bare-knuckled politics," Pelosi recalled. "More often than not with smoldering cigar in hand."
The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine is concerned by a lack of progress in the assassination of Belarusian journalist Pavel Sheremet, facts of expulsion of foreign journalists for anti-Ukrainian propaganda and the danger for people with pro-Ukraine sentiments in Donbas in areas not controlled by Ukrainian government forces.
"Our concern is based on the weakening of free speech liberties. A year after the killing of journalist Pavel Sheremet on July 20, 2016, little progress was observed in the investigation into this case," Fiona Frazer, the Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, said at a briefing in Kyiv, presenting the 19th UN report on the situation with human rights in Ukraine.
At the same time, foreign journalists are more often being expelled from Ukraine for spreading anti-Ukrainian propaganda, she said.
She added that residents of areas controlled by Russian occupation forces in Donbas "continue to be harassed and physically threatened for their pro-Ukraine views.
According to Frazer, a blogger who wrote about life in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic was arrested and is being held by militants.
As reported, on July 20, 2016 the automobile belonging to Ukrayinska Pravda co-founder Olena Prytula was blown up in the center of Kyiv. Sheremet, the driver of the car, was behind the wheel and killed on the spot following the blast. Investigators said they believed the main motive for the murder was Sheremet's work as a journalist in the country.
Adina Rena Hall, 51, of Plato, passed away Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017, at her residence.
She was born Sept. 28, 1965, in Frankford, Germany, daughter of Alton and Geraldine Potter Hall.
She graduated from Kansas State University in 1990 with a bachelors degree in theatre, arts and French. She was employed by AAFES in Fort Leonard Wood.
She enjoyed researching ancestry, listening to various types of music, watching T.V. and movies, building things and mechanic work. But most of all, she enjoyed family gatherings at church where they had Bible study on Monday nights.
She was preceded in death by her father, Alton Hall Sr.
Survivors include her mother, Geraldine Hall of Plato; three brothers, Alton Russell Hall Jr. of Junction City, Kan., Allen Hall of Junction City, Kan., and Aaron Hall of Plato; an aunt; and an uncle.
Memorial services are 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Houston. Cremation was under the direction of Rolla Cremation and Memorial.
In lieu of flowers, expressions may be made to: Geraldine Hall, 9410 Peace Chapel Road, Plato, Mo., 65552.
Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print.
Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition.
If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create.
The garrison and the airfield of the Petro Franko tactical aviation brigade in Starokostiantyniv, Khmelnytsky region, are hosting the Rapid Trident 2017 command-and-staff exercise of Ukraine and the United States, which began on Monday, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Tuesday.
Officers of the Franko tactical aviation brigade and a Californian airbase exchanged ideas on further training, and their commanders approved cooperation plans at a briefing.
"Col. Mykola Kovalenko notified the guests from overseas of security precautions to be in place during their stay at the garrison and the brigade airfield, while Maj. Todd Morgan thanked him for the hospitality," the General Staff reported.
The opening ceremony of the Rapid Trident 2017 exercise took place on Monday, September 11, at the base of the International Peacekeeping and Security Center of the Ukrainian Armed Force's Hetman Sahai dachny Ground Forces Academy in Starychy, Yavoriv district of the Lviv region.
This year's drill involves about 2,500 servicemen from 15 countries, among them Bulgaria, Canada, Estonia, Italy, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Romania, Ukraine, the United States, the United Kingdom and Turkey.
Rapid Trident 2017 will be taking place throughout the International Peacekeeping and Security Center's range for two weeks. Servicemen will improve their knowledge and skills through joint tactical operations, including patrols, convoys and demining of improvised explosive devices.
A team of U.S. servicemen arrived in the Starokostiantyniv airfield of the Petro Franko tactical aviation brigade on September 8. They will give a number of theoretical and practical classes, for instance, sharing the experience of medical evacuation and airdropping of cargo and troops.
Indonesia and Singapore are strengthening their cooperation in education and training on industrial vocation, aimed to increase technical competence of workers in mechanical engineering, electricity utilization installation and industrial automation technique.
The partnership will use the link-and-match programme between vocational high school (SMK) and industry in supporting the provision of competent workers in accordance with current market needs, Airlangga said, according to NetralNews.
Indonesias Minister of Industry Airlangga Hartarto, and Singapores Minister of Higher Education and Skills Ong Ye Kung, signed the memorandum of understanding. Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong were witnesses.
The two countries are celebrating the 50 years of diplomatic relations.
The MoU covers:
-training for faculty and managers of education
-vocational training units for industry
-development of vocational education system quality
-provision of access and opportunities for industrial apprenticeship
-curriculum development cooperation
-technology development; and
-expert assistance and development of qualification standards
"This Memorandum of Understanding will be followed up with training for lecturers and organizers of education units and vocational training for 100 people in 2018," he said.
Implementation will be done jointly by the Ministry of Industrys Education and Training Center and Institute of Technical Education (ITE) in Singapore.
Employers in the Philippines are no longer require their female employees to wear high-heeled shoes to work.
Department Order No. 178 or the Safety and Health Measures for Workers who by the Nature of their Work have to Stand at Work of the Department of Labor and Employment disallows the mandatory use of high-heeled shoes among women in work places.
Covered by the order are private-sector employees who are required by their employers or establishments to wear high-heeled shoes, stand at work for long period of hours, and those who have jobs which require frequent walking.
Workers should also be given time to rest if their job requires them to stand or walk for long periods.
There are attendant health issues in prolonged standing, said Bureau of Working Conditions director Teresita Cucueco, especially when wearing high-heeled shoes.
If the muscles have been overloaded because of the prolonged standing position, there will be a burden on our back as well as on our legs. There will be pain because of fatigue. What will be affected here are the joints, the musculoskeletal system. It can cause some problems in the spine, in the lower legs, and in the end, if this is not properly corrected, one can have arthritis and other related musculoskeletal disorders, she said.
The order mandates business establishments to implement the use of practical and comfortable footwear which does not pinch the feet or toes; well-fitted and non-slipping; provide adequate cushion and support to the arch of the feet; flat or low heels which are not higher than one inch and must be wide-based or wedge type.
It also requires employers to provide rest periods to break or cut the time spent on standing or walking, as well as provide the employees with accessible seats where they can perform their duties without detriment or affect the efficiency of their jobs.
The Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines lauded the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for the order
The ALU-TUCP commends the swift action made by DOLE on a request made by salesladies to do away with the wearing of high heel shoe because it causes pain and exposes them to the risk of sliding, falling, and tripping. Salesladies are happy with the decision of DOLE, said ALU-TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay.
In a pioneering effort by Vietnams food industry, representatives from some of the leading food service and hospitality companies around the world met today with Vietnamese egg and pork producers interested in supplying higher welfare cage-free eggs and crate-free pork. Humane Society International, in partnership with Nong Lam University, hosted the roundtable to discuss the growing shift in Vietnams food sector towards higher animal welfare products.
The roundtable, which took place at the Pullman Saigon Centre in Ho Chi Minh City, brought together Accor Hotels, Sodexo and Marriott International, along with government officials, and egg and pork farmers from Tien Giang province. In response to consumer concerns about the treatment of animals, a growing number of food companies are ending the caged confinement hens and breeding pigs from their supply chains globally, including in Vietnam.
Trang Dang, HSI Vietnam campaign manager for farm animals, said: Were excited to bring together food service providers, restaurants, hospitality chains, egg producers and government officials to plan the transition to cage-free eggs and crate-free pork in Vietnam. This is the first step towards improving the welfare of millions of animals raised for food in the country, and we look forward to engaging more stakeholders in the food industry in this effort moving forward.
Support Farm Animals.
Dr. Nguyen Quang Thieu, Associate Dean of the Faculty of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine from Nong Lam University issued the following statement: As a part of the university goals and mission, we aim to educate students with knowledge on animal welfare as they will become the future of Vietnams agriculture industry. Were glad to partner with Humane Society International on this informative workshop, which is a great initial on spreading animal welfare to the public.
In Vietnam and around the world, breeding sows are often confined for most of their lives in gestation crates, individual metal cages barely larger than their bodies, preventing them from turning around and taking more than a few steps forward and backward. Egg-laying hens also spend their entire lives confined in wire battery cages, so small that they cannot even fully spread their wings. Science confirms what common sense tells us: the lack of space and restriction of movement is detrimental to the physical health of these animals and causes enormous frustration and suffering.
However, advocates for better animal welfare are making progress around the world. The use of conventional battery cages for laying hens is banned or being phased out under laws or regulations throughout the EU, in five U.S. states, in New Zealand, Bhutan and in the Australian Capital Territory. Officials in the majority of states in India, the worlds third largest egg producer, have declared that the use of battery cages violates the countrys animal welfare legislation, and the country is debating a national ban.
Media contact:
In Vietnam: Trang Dang, Trangd@humanesociety.org
In the U.S.: Raul Arce-Contreras, rcontreras@humanesociety.org, +1 301-721-6440
Last week, new data highlighted that an extremely low number of foreign students are remaining in the country illegally. The data, which is the first based on exit checks, shows that over 97% of 181,024 foreign students left the country in-time, a higher percentage than for work and visitor visas.
In previous years, Theresa May, who was then Home Secretary, had accepted and loudly proclaimed that estimates figured roughly 100,000 foreign students were illegally staying in Britain, in reality the figure is less than 5,000. This estimate, based upon "experimental" data by the Office for National Statistics, was a central motivation behind a shift in the Conservative Government's policy to include foreign students in their official immigration statistics. For Theresa May, cracking down on the tens of thousands of students illegally remaining in the country, was a much touted means of reducing net migration numbers.
The difference between 100,000 and less than 5,000 is shocking in itself and even more so considering the consequence of what so evidently seemed an unlikely statistic. Indeed, this example of shifting facts helps us identify three strands of the British political system - The false immigration commitments that the government have announced over the last decade, the over reliance on poor data which offers political gain for the government, and the breakdown in communication between community and student groups and the government - which are simply failing. As a consequence, we are being left with policies that cause immeasurable harm to people across the country.
Advertisement
For a start, and it has been said many times before, there is a clear breakdown between government claims over immigration - both New Labour and Conservative - and the reality. Any commitment to reduce net immigration levels by 100,000 or cap immigration is based upon a founding assumption that the Government has the ability to control migration levels in such a tight-grip manner. Irrelevant of your feelings on Brexit, it is obvious that whilst the UK was/is a member of the EU and party to the free movement of people, the government could not control migration levels in the way that they purported to. Even when outside of the EU, it seems evident that in the 21st century, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible - with huge inequality between countries, a rise in forcibly displaced people, and technological developments which make large-scale migration easier - to 'control' immigration in the manner which the debate over British politics has assumed. Over the last decade, the British government has knowingly stretched the truth in order to cover up the gap between their policies and their manifesto commitments. The Conservative Party, in order to portray themselves as achieving their self-imposed targets, have obsessively sought new means of creating statistics which show they are reducing net migration, even if that reduction is extremely small and hugely self-harming.
Secondly, an over reliance on statistics, and often bad statistics, is shaping government politics. All governments want to find and create solutions to problems, however increasingly it does not seem to matter to the government whether those solutions are the right ones. In this case, Theresa May latched on to shoddy piece of data because it helped the government's position. The idea that 100,000 foreign students were staying in the country gave the Conservative Government an easy problem that they could publicise and then claim to solve. Consequently, the Government could create a facade of control over immigration. An over reliance on poor statistics, and especially poor statistics which can be propagated as both a serious problem and an opportunity for solution, is increasingly having a greater role in government politics.
Advertisement
Politicians oversell their ability to control immigration. In this breakdown between propaganda and reality, the Conservative Government uses false data to create problems that they can consequently solve. This policy surrounding foreign students over the last decade is the perfect example of this breakdown in British politics.
If ever proof were needed that it is not possible to "have cake and eat it" over the EU, here it is. I refer to the revelations last week about the details of migrant controls (in a leaked Home Office paper) which prompted business concerns at the "catastrophic" consequences for employee recruitment in a range of sectors.
So where will all the waiters, chefs and care workers as well as the skilled scientists and health workers who currently fill gaps in our labour force, come from? Are they really going to be filled by unemployed people or retirees tempted to augment pensions with part time work?
To reapply Boris Johnson's cake strategy, the pastry cooks will have gone home, and any pigeons waiting for crumbs will be flying home too - hungry.
Advertisement
In the same spirit of absurdity, the comments of former Environment Secretary Owen Paterson come to mind. He suggested that farmers could easily hire pensioners to replace the Bulgarian and Rumanian fruit pickers, who will no longer be coming here to pick fruit below the minimum wage. Pensioners, stepping up for under paid, back breaking work? I don't think so.
Help may be on hand from Andy Briggs, Chief Executive of Aviva Life and the Government's business champion for older workers. A year ago he called on every firm to raise by 12 per cent the number of people they employ between 50 and 69. Such a move would boost the number of older workers in the UK from 9 million to 10 million, he claimed.
"Just like that!" as Tommy Cooper used to say. Sure, there will be more people working longer anyway, but a million more workers in how long? It is not going to happen.
There are two problems with the Government's strategy on the ageing workforce and Brexit. The first is that almost no-one talks about it, the second is that what is said is simply naive. The DWP's Fuller Working Lives strategy contains sensible encouragement of employers to "recruit, retain and retrain older workers," but the scale of the problem is massive. The effects of the new migration controls will add to it enormously.
Advertisement
By the mid-2030s, people aged 50 or over will account for over half the UK's adults, and existing plans to raise state pension ages to 67 by 2028 will contribute to increasing numbers in the workforce, but switching older Brits for the young EU citizens when the migration tap is turned off, will be problematic.
Many low skilled jobs are currently done by young people, happy to gain experience and learn our language for a few years. How many employers will want to see large numbers of older people in an organisation where youth is deemed to define their culture? And how many older people will want such jobs anyway?
The severity of the coming skills shortages cannot be understated. Nursing is a case in point. Registrations of nurses to work in the UK have already fallen by 96 per cent since the referendum. Nursing vacancies are harder to fill and this will only get worse as immigration controls begin to bite. In the South East of England, many NHS Trusts recruit 20 per cent of their nurses from the EU. Yet one in three nurses are due to retire in the next ten years and the Government has ended a nursing bursary scheme, supporting new entrants into the profession.
No matter which way you look at it, the situation seems desperate. Where are the policies to show that the Government recognises the problem?
Bringing more unemployed and inactive people into jobs done by Europeans was part of the leitmotiv of the Brexit campaign, but in truth the UK's labour market is already tight. Less than one and half million people are now officially looking for work. Many unemployed people lack the skills employers need. Those who have been claiming incapacity benefits may not be "job ready."
Advertisement
Employers will have to accommodate to a range of employees' needs and be ready to employ both older people and others whose impairments have prevented them from getting work. Jobs will have to change, both in terms of content and conditions. Pay cannot be ignored. The 8.85 an hour (including bonuses) paid to London based staff in the catering industry attracts few indigenous Brits at the moment. Something will have to change. We may end up paying more for our coffee.
Coming back to work in a part time "bridge job" might be attractive, but someone who retired at 58 may not be very interested in working as a waiter, a care worker or in the fast food sector to augment their pension. Using older workers to fill the emerging skills gaps will be unrealistic without changes in training policy so that people can re-launch careers or start afresh in a new role.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the financial crisis - and the beginning of increasing public distrust towards the industry.
August 2007 saw Northern Rock customers flocking to withdraw their savings in fear of the bank going bust, the collapse of Lehman Brothers, and the bailout of Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds/HBOS to the tune of tens of billions of pounds of British taxpayers' money.
Advertisement
But is the future any brighter for the banks right now? Well, something pretty spectacular is about to happen to the banking sector, in the form of PSD2.
Not to be confused with R2D2, PSD2 stands for Payment Services Directive Number Two, which is being brought into force by the European Union - and it's set to revolutionise the way we pay for things online and how we use banks.
PSD2 will do away with the banks' monopoly on their customers' data. It will allow businesses like Amazon to get your account data from your bank - with your permission - so that when you buy something, they can make the payment for you, without you having to use yet another service like PayPal or Visa.
It will also allow other businesses to hold all your bank account information, however many accounts you may have, all in one place.
Advertisement
Many countries in mainland Europe have already implemented the directive, but everyone else - including the UK - has to make the changes by next year.
It's good news for us consumers - but less so for banks, who are having to invest a lot of money to make the changes within their systems. Even more worryingly for them, it could relegate their role to no more than that of an infrastructure provider - the guys who provide the back-end money piping, if you will.
Banks are, quite rightly, very concerned about this, in a world where people have increasing confidence in mobile banking, and with branches closing willy nilly. We don't have the connection with or reliance on whichever brand of bank we're with.
The traditional 'bank manager relationship' feels oddly quaint nowadays, with very little financial guidance and handholding coming from the high street.
And a banking system that has relied over the years on an early snaring of a current account customer, followed by the opening up of a world of additional products and services, doesn't now appear as clear-cut.
Advertisement
Why do I need any relationship at all with my bank if I'm (hypothetically, for now):
Seeing my live account balance when I open up my browser
Able to transfer money between my wife's account and mine whilst we're chatting on WhatsApp
Using a new app to monitor my spending activity and to optimise by monthly outgoings
Pay for goods on say, Amazon, without having to use another platform like Paypal or Visa
This breaking up of traditional banking services will result in new fintech companies winning custom away from banks, or web giants like Amazon hoovering up people through their sheer presence in the online world.
And this leaves banks with a dilemma.
Do they look to rebuild their services so that they can keep existing customers and pull in new ones by providing a compelling, modern, and rewarding experience?
Or do they break their own services up and compete on a micro-services level with the new fintech companies?
This scenario is already playing out across other industries too.
From pharmacies to car breakdown services, we're seeing businesses think long and hard about how they tackle the disruption and fragmentation they're seeing.
The RAC, the AA, and Green Flag for example are watching closely to see whether US apps such as Honk and Urgent.ly become enough of a success make their way over here.
Advertisement
And the likes of Push Doctor and Babylon are making the traditional models for GPs and pharmacies look old hat, slow, and irrelevant for modern patient care.
At the heart of this is a need to understand the new priorities of customers, and the new role businesses must play in our fast-paced, on-demand, shiny-new-thing world.
Sure heritage, trust, scale, and history can play a significant role in a customer's choice of brand, but that is fast being replaced with flexibility, convenience and experience.
And that's where the need for creative thinking and execution is key to survival for the traditionally big players, as fragmentation takes hold and customer choice exponentially grows.
Investment in the brand, carefully building strong relationships, and continually curating the customer experience is key, because you can no longer rely on inertia to keep your customers coming back.
Advertisement
Every generation likes to think its circumstances are unique. But the issues facing us now are not new. In the past decade, living standards have fallen; public services people rely on have been butchered; and escaping poverty has become little more than a dream for millions. History shows that times like these are fertile soil for the politics of identity and grievance. And those circumstances allow the voice of the demagogue, with their simplistic solutions, to scream loudest.
The problem with demagogues is that they never solve anything. They know how to use anger and division to get elected, then, manipulate that same anger and division to avoid accountability. Their solutions conveniently appeal to people's innermost prejudices. The solutions fail, we are told, as a result of everyone conspiring against them. How can you argue with that narrative, when people agree because of emotion rather than reason? Once you've inflamed anger and grievance, it becomes more popular to build a wall, or "take back control", than to implement a complex policy to deal with poverty or lack of opportunity.
History has taught us that when populism takes hold, we must reflect on our society and our country. Borders, sovereignty, sexuality, gender and religion, do not matter to a child; but every child grows into a socially constructed and divided world where those issues seem to matter most. When injustice, hunger, poverty, exploitation, and suffering, seem to be a never-ending part of human existence; why does where you were born, what skin colour you have, your religion, sexuality, or gender, really matter? Someone speaking a different language, believing in a different religion, or loving a bit differently to you, does not stop any of us living our lives. Hating or blaming other people because you think they are different, does. And it distracts from those who are actually to blame.
Advertisement
If there are not enough houses, then we should build more houses. If our public services are under pressure, then we should invest in them instead of cutting their budgets. If employers do not pay people enough to live, while making millions in profit, how about we force them to pay people a proper wage? The duty of any government should be to improve the lives of its citizens. And it is irresponsible for a government to seek to blame immigration or external organisations, for internal problems. Or indeed, to pretend something is an issue out of political convenience. Unemployment is at a 42 year low and companies are complaining of a skills shortage, so why is immigration an issue? It is not.
When people are living on the streets, when people are dependent on food banks, and people are struggling on low pay, in the fifth richest country in the world, then we have a problem. But that problem isn't down to a Polish plumber, the European Union, or someone fleeing war. It is a question of priorities. Britain found 500 Billion to give to the banks in 2008. We've found money to cut the taxes for companies and the richest individuals. We've found money for war, for nuclear weapons, and for palaces. How can Britain afford all of that, but not have enough money to look after people? Blaming anyone but our government is a distraction.
UNHCR
The world's growing refugee crisis is not only about numbers. It is also about time. There are 17.2million refugees under UNHCR's mandate, and half of them are under the age of 18.
By the end of 2016, some 11.6million refugees were in a state of "protracted displacement" -
meaning that they were in situations where at least 25,000 people have been forcibly displaced for more than five years. For 4.1million refugees, exile has lasted for 20 years or more. Two decades is longer than a standard school career. For millions of young people, these are the years they should be spending in the classroom, learning not just how to read, write and count but also how to inquire, assess, debate and calculate, how to look after themselves and others, how to stand on their own two feet. Yet those millions are being robbed of that time.
Advertisement
The case for education is clear, as a new report Left Behind: Refugee Education in Crisis released today shows. Education gives refugee children a place of safety amid the tumult of displacement. It amounts to an investment in the future, creating and nurturing new scientists, philosophers, architects, poets, teachers and public servants - people who are crucial to the peaceful and sustainable development of the places that have welcomed them, and to the future prosperity of their own countries.
Yet compared to other children and youth around the world, the gap in opportunity for the 6.4million school-age refugees under UNHCR's mandate is growing ever wider.
Globally, 91% of children attend primary school. For refugees, that figure is far lower at only 61% -
Advertisement
and in low-income countries it is less than 50%. As refugee children get older, the obstacles only increase. Just 23% of refugee adolescents are enrolled in secondary school, compared to 84% globally. In low-income countries, which host 28% of the world's refugees, the number in secondary education is disturbingly low, at a mere 9%.
As for tertiary education - the crucible in which tomorrow's leaders are forged - the picture is just as grim. Across the world, enrolment in tertiary education stands at 36%. For refugees, despite big improvements in overall numbers thanks to investment in scholarships and other programmes, the percentage remains stuck at 1%.
A year ago, politicians, diplomats, officials and activists from around the world gathered to forge a path for addressing the plight of the world's refugees. The result was the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, signed by 193 countries, which emphasized education as a critical element of the international response. Furthermore, the ambition of Sustainable Development Goal 4 - one of the 17 Global Goals aimed at ending poverty, protecting the planet and promoting prosperity - is to deliver "inclusive and quality education for all and to promote lifelong learning".
Despite overwhelming support for the New York Declaration and SDG4, refugees remain in danger of being left behind in terms of their education. The international community must now match words with action.
Advertisement
Education must be considered an integral part of the emergency response to a refugee crisis. It can provide a protective and stable environment for a young person when all around them seems to have descended into chaos. It imparts life-saving skills, promotes resilience and self-reliance, and helps to meet the psychological and social needs of children affected by conflict. Education is not a luxury, it is a basic need.
At the same time, education is a social service that requires long-term planning and investment. A child's schooling must not be curtailed the instant a new crisis arises elsewhere and the emergency response moves on. Instead, we want to see sustained, predictable investment and a holistic approach to supporting education systems in refugee-hosting countries.
In order to square this circle of emergency response and long-term need, we must ensure that refugee children and youth are included in national education systems. Refugees, like all young people around the world, deserve an education of value - to follow a curriculum that is accredited, and to take exams that lead to the next phase of their schooling.
Finally, we must not forget those who dedicate themselves to the education of in often overcrowded, under-resourced classrooms - working day after day in some of the toughest classrooms in the world. Teachers of refugees deserve our wholehearted support - suitable pay, the right materials in sufficient quantities, and expert assistance.
Anthony Devlin/PA Archive
I voted in the early hours of this morning for a Bill that we had before us which was to implement the result of the EU referendum. I did so because the majority of my constituents voted in the referendum to leave the EU. I did so also because a majority of the country voted to leave the EU.
There is a real issue in the Bill of a possible power grab by the Government. All of our natural sentiments are right in being suspicious as to what the Government is up to. But this was not a good enough reason to be voting against the whole Bill.
Advertisement
The House of Commons will come back to discussing the Government's Bill in detail. It is at this stage that the power grab, through the so-called Henry VIII clauses, should be struck out or modified.
MPs should consider carefully at this stage how decades of EU membership has led to a volume of legislation and regulation which, if we were to go through each one line by line, would fill the House of Commons chamber to overflowing.
So my preference at this stage will be for a modification of those clauses in the Bill. How might this take effect?
When the House gets down to the detailed work on the Bill, called the committee stage, it will need to agree some new method to deal with all of this EU legislation as it is incorporated into British law.
Advertisement
It is at this stage that I will be tabling a series of amendments, grouped together, to give us a new short Brexit bill. Clause 1 will affirm the date on which we leave the EU. Clause 2 will incorporate all European law at that stage into British law; Clause 3 will then task Parliament with reviewing this great bulk of legislation to see which parts we wish to maintain and which others we wish to boot out of British law; and Clause 4 will commit the Government to seeking to secure a safe harbour from which it negotiates our future trading relationship with the EU.
The Government's Bill, in its current form, is huge. This therefore gives a massive opportunity to those wolves in sheep's clothing who say they accept the referendum result, but whose actions suggest otherwise.
The bill that I propose will allow the Government to get on with the business of negotiating properly and have time to consider when Parliament needs to bring forward, if at all, other legislative measures to secure a smooth Brexit.
The seeking of a safe harbour, which I include as Clause 4, would then give us the opportunity to have a full debate on our future trading relationship with the EU, and meet the concerns of those who are reluctant about Brexit. Should or should we not remain in the single market and the customs union and if so for how long? If not that option, what other options remain open to us?
The hard work for Parliament of building a successful Brexit will soon begin in earnest. But the vote in the early hours of this morning was to implement the referendum result.
Advertisement
This week, City Lit will be hosting its 3rd annual Mental Wealth Festival (12-14 September), exploring the human face of wellbeing. Over the three days of the festival, we are looking forward to hearing real life stories from various mental health ambassadors and experts, as well as personal reflections from those who have encountered mental health issues.
During the last three years, it's been encouraging to see a noticeable cultural shift in attitudes towards discussing mental health issues. From royalty, to sporting icons, to politicians, it's fantastic to see we are becoming more comfortable as a society in openly discussing mental health problems with friends, family members and colleagues. However, statistics suggest there is still plenty of work to do to ensure even more people can overcome any fears they may hold about opening up about a mental health issue.
Mental illness affects nearly 1 in 4 people in the UK, and suicide rates remain worryingly high (over 6,000 people committed suicide in 2014). Whilst the scale of mental health issues naturally differ from person to person, these numbers suggest that there are still far too many people not getting the required help they need to overcome a mental health issue.
Advertisement
London in particular faces a growing mental health crisis, especially when demographic trends are taken into account. The population of London continues to grow unabated, and with people living longer and staying healthier, the capital's population is noticeably ageing. If current trends continue, the number of over 65s will outstrip under 16s by 2035, and tackling the problem of social isolation as people age should be a key priority moving forward of both policymakers and institutions such as City Lit.
Aside from isolation, the financial pressures of living in a city as expensive as London is another factor in the city's growing mental health 'timebomb'. This is borne out by figures from the ONS showing that, perhaps counter to what many people might expect, anxiety or depression is highest in the 40-59 year old demographic. Anxiety, stress, or depression can be attributed to over 6.5 million lost working days per year in London, with a rough cost of just over 1 billion.
As one of London's leading adult education colleges, we believe the onus is on us to play a leading role in promoting positive mental wellbeing, and also in helping people make that first step in having the confidence to talk openly about their personal challenges. In a difficult financial climate, with social care facing a funding gap of at least 2 billion, we believe the opportunities offered by adult education and lifelong learning can help combat some of the underlying issues in society presented by mental health challenges.
A recent report from UNESCO suggests adult learning is one of the 'keys of the twenty-first century.' We agree with this sentiment, no more so than when applied to fostering positive mental wellbeing. Adult education provides the opportunity to learn new skills but also combats some of the emerging issues now facing society. At City Lit, I've witnessed countless examples of students of all ages and backgrounds emerging from a course with a renewed sense of self-confidence and purpose, and one of the joys of walking through our doors every morning is witnessing the hive of activity in our cafe area, where students socialise before or after their courses. Studying on an adult education course is not only a chance for an individual to broaden their horizons, upskill or simply enjoy some much-needed downtime from work or personal pressures. It also provides an invaluable opportunity to socialise, meet people from different backgrounds, and forge lasting friendships and connections for life. All of these factors play their own part in helping people keep mentally well. However, the need for increased funding and more thoughtful policy making around mental health remains a pressing concern given the challenges we face as a society, and we hope the role of adult learning will be closely considered in any future policy making decisions,
Advertisement
At the Mental Wealth Festival, Londoners will have the chance to hear keynote speakers including Sir Vince Cable, Ed Balls, Jonny Benjamin and Neil Laybourn, Bryony Gordon and Mandy Stevens reflect on their own wellbeing experiences. They will also be sharing their own insights on building mental resilience and tips for maintaining good mental health.
We would love for you to join us so you can play your own small part in ensuring the national conversation around mental health and wellbeing continues to remain open and transparent.
Phil Chamberlain is Executive Director of External Engagement at City Lit.
The Mental Wealth Festival takes place between 12-14 September at venues across London including City Lit, the National Gallery and the Houses of Parliament.
Highwaystarz-Photography via Getty Images
A recent study published in the British Medical Journal Open shows that there is a need for more research on the effects of alcohol on pregnancy. On this we all agree. We all want healthy pregnancies and advice that maximizes the healthiest prospects for mum and child. As mother to an adopted child with Foetal Alcohol Syndrome, I encourage everyone to look more closely at what the study said before they start planning baby showers at the local.
Researchers in Bristol looked at 26 studies and concluded that drinking up to four units a week while pregnant, on average, was associated with an 8% higher risk of having a small baby." (For those counting, a large glass of 13% wine is nearly 4 units, though people are inconsistent in judging and some pour 5 units in a glass - so we are talking about a glass of wine a week.) They also said there is a "potential risk linked to premature birth" and that there is "a distinct lack of evidence" on most other outcomes for the baby, including a range of other cognitive impairments and developmental issues. Even these researchers say that a lack of evidence is not proof that it is okay to drink alcohol.
Advertisement
There is nothing new here. But watch the headlines roar once again. The British pub culture runs deep. Nothing wrong, some will claim, with a little tipple to relax you and your bump...
Except that is not what this research says.
The fact remains there is no PROOF that it is SAFE to drink low levels of alcohol while pregnant.
The 'new' research simply says there's not enough research. Some known critics are once again claiming therefore that the guidance against drinking alcohol in pregnancy is too rigid. They will cynically confuse the message yet again.
No one says that everyone will be affected by low levels or any level of alcohol in pregnancy. Scientists do not yet know why some are affected and some are not. But there is a risk. The more you drink the more the risk, which is why it matters greatly if a woman takes an early test and stops as soon as she knows she is pregnant. It's also why it matters that she has the support of her partner and those around her, and that she have access to appropriate counselling if she is wrestling with an addiction. We have to get beyond stigma. It is, they say, older more educated women who are drinking most during pregnancy.
How many cigarettes have been proven to cause damage to a fetus? Do we know? And yet we have all collectively decided we will take the advice that it's just not on to smoke during pregnancy. Do we know exactly how much soft cheese contains listeria? And yet, as a rule we avoid it just in case.
Advertisement
Think about it. We wear a seatbelt in a car, not because everyone who drives is going to have an accident. We wear a seatbelt because we understand the serious risk of lifelong harm that might come if we were to have an accident. The risk is small, unknown, and yet we buckle up. No alcohol, no risk. Or, as the chief medical officers in the country have said, "The safest approach is not to drink alcohol at all" when pregnant or trying to become pregnant. This message is not to scare, it is to inform.
Would you want the Duchess of Cambridge to ignore the risk?
Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders are a range of lifelong brain-based and other physical conditions that experts say may affect more than autism. You are not alone if you feel you don't have enough information. OnePoll recently conducted a small survey of 150 GPs for NOFAS-UK and even 47% of GPs say more information about FASD should be taught in medical school. Only 23% said they felt 'strongly confident' that all those with an FASD are being properly diagnosed.
Until we have proper diagnosis, and until we see and hear from more adults with FASD we will continue as a society to pretend as if this is not happening.
I could introduce researchers to adults with FASD who fight every single day of their lives to be seen and understood in a world that seems to deny their very existence. People whose brains are wired differently, who face huge challenges navigating their way around busy cities, who struggle to hold a job and pay their rent when their employers don't see their disability, people who were forced to feel naughty in school and some of whom took to self-medicating and tried to end their lives. People who live lives of courage and determination, but who are going to read these headlines once again and feel punched in the stomach by this societal refusal to take precautions when possible to avoid a lifetime of daily challenges. Or I could introduce them to some birth mothers I know, who were given conflicting messages about alcohol and pregnancy, and who bang against prejudice and bureaucratic walls to get a diagnosis for their children now. Parents and carers who are trying their hardest to help guide young people into a world that refuses to acknowledge their struggles are real. These experiences deserve more research too. My son deserves a more compassionate response to his disability.
Earlier this week people in more than 60 countries marked the international FASD Awareness Day on 9/9. Yet here in the UK we are still ignoring common sense.
narvikk via Getty Images
Theresa May hasn't had a great start this month with Brexit. The third round of Brexit negotiations ended in stalemate, Cabinet members revolted over leaked plans to curb EU migration, and the Prime Minister faces wider Parliamentary backlash over the powers proposed in the Great Repeal Bill.
More embarrassingly, Downing Street's attempt to win business support backfired when SkyNews leaked a joint letter seeking FTSE 100 companies' backing for its Brexit strategy. Some of Britain's largest companies have reportedly refused to sign the letter 'owing to the state of chaos surrounding the [Brexit] talks'.
Advertisement
Downing Street has missed an important step here. If it wants to present a Brexit strategy that businesses can get behind, it's Britain's SMEs and microbusinesses that the Government really needs to reach out to. 99% of UK businesses are SMEs, and 95% are micros - businesses that employ less than 10 people. Furthermore, micros account for roughly a third of private sector employment and nearly a fifth of all private sector turn-over.
Small businesses are the backbone of the economy, and they have very serious concerns about the way that Brexit is proceeding - specifically regarding the continued question mark over EU citizens working in the UK. Despite repeatedly voicing concerns, small businesses remain in the dark over how they will be able to recruit and retain EU citizens post Brexit. This is highly concerning when you look at the growing gap between the skills required by SME employers and the skills available within the workforce.
Each year, survey after survey identifies the skills gap as the biggest barrier to SME growth, and this gap is only due to widen. Over the next seven years, around 14 million employees are expected to retire, yet only seven million people of working age will enter the market. This widening gap will hit SMEs harder than larger firms which have more resources to recruit talent in a highly competitive jobs market.
While sourcing talent is already a challenge for SMEs, particularly those in the tech and manufacturing sectors, access to the Single Market and the wider EU workforce has prevented a recruitment challenge from becoming a recruitment crisis. According to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), over a fifth of SMEs currently employ EU citizens, 72% of which hired their workers after they were living in the UK.
Advertisement
Many SMEs, microbusinesses especially, have developed employment models reliant on freelance work from EU citizens. According to PeoplePerHour, over two thirds of UK SMEs are filling skills gaps by hiring freelancers from across Europe. In many cases, teams consist of an average of three full-time employees and 12 freelancers. Managers claim this allows access to over 50 different skills while the in-house team is only able to deliver an average of five to 10 skills.
Needless to say, the reaction to Brexit from most SMEs and microbusinesses has not been positive. A FreeAgent survey earlier this year found that nearly three quarters of microbusinesses believe Brexit will have a negative impact on the UK economy. According to the FSB, 13% of small businesses would consider moving abroad in reaction to the extra strain Brexit could put on their workforce and nearly 10% would consider shutting down.
If Downing Street wants businesses to get behind its Brexit strategy, then it must urgently address the very serious concerns SMEs have about Brexit's impact on the workforce. That means recognising the importance of EU immigration in plugging Britain's skills gap, and setting out a detailed strategy to ensure SMEs can continue to recruit EU citizens without hindrance after Brexit.
More widely, there is a need for a microbusiness charter to officially recognise the significance of micros, as 95% of all private sector businesses, to UK employment levels and GDP. The needs of microbusinesses are too often overlooked in macro-policy decisions, as we are seeing with Brexit. A formal charter, which amongst other points should establish principles to make it easier for microbusinesses to hire, would help provide more security and stability for micros by ensuring their priorities are considered in the round.
Getty
Last week the Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg declared that he was completely against abortion, and yes, even if a woman had been raped. He further defended his views on Friday stating: 'The Catholic Church's teachings are authoritative. To take a life after rape is not the answer'.
Aside from the feminist response about choice, a further interesting development was the comparison of Mr Rees-Mogg with British-Muslim politicians. Imagine if the London mayor Sadiq Khan had spoken those words, people tweeted, the whole matter would have become one of extremism.
Advertisement
Experts were soon joining in.
I can absolutely appreciate the exposure of double standards when members of the establishment voice what an ordinary, hardworking Briton cannot. One rule for them and another for the rest of us. Fair enough. But there is a problem at the heart of this comparison which I would like to explain.
The 'What if a Muslim had said this' argument implies that Muslims secretly agree with Mr Rees-Mogg, but are just too frightened to voice their real views.
This is simply not true.
Muslims have not stood up to claim that they disagree with a raped woman's abortion simply because they do not believe that. The vast majority of the 1.6billion Muslims in the world do not believe that ALL abortion is forbidden.
Yes, you read that correctly.
All abortion is not forbidden because there is no direct prohibition in the Quran. In the Islamic faith, abortion is allowed for up to forty days in the matter of pregnancy after rape and up to 120 days if the mother's life is endangered by the pregnancy. A mother's life always comes first as it is already established, whereas the foetus is regarded as 'potential of life'. The reasoning behind this ruling is the belief that all human beings possess souls, and the foetus, which until then is a group of cells, receives its soul on the 120th day after conception. It would be a sin to abort the foetus after sixteen weeks as it is viewed as a human being.
Advertisement
I won't deny that there are Muslim individuals who do not agree with any abortion on moral grounds, but they are not the majority and should not be paraded as the voice for all. It is also worth pointing out that no Muslim majority country has banned abortion completely. These countries' restrictive abortion laws may not suit the ideals of the feminist on the issue of choice, but it goes further than the views of men like Mr Rees-Mogg by putting the welfare of a traumatised woman first.
Islam teaches that life is sacred, but the Quran emphasizes this for the children who are already born. Infanticide is clearly forbidden. In pre-Islam Arabia, it was common practise for baby girls to be buried alive and it only came to an end with the acceptance of Islam in the region.
The care of orphans is also pressed upon Muslims. Every Ramadan, Muslims must donate 2.5% of their wealth to the poor. In 2016, in the period between 5 June and 5 July, the Charity Commission recorded that 100 million was donated by British Muslims in the UK. The majority of the money is given for the food, shelter and care of underage orphans.
Jacob Rees-Mogg may believe that the Catholic Church's teaching is authoritative on the issue of abortion. The Islamic faith's teaching is not and it gives women a choice at termination when their bodies have been violated. So please don't lump us with Mr Rees-Mogg because we simply don't agree with him.
ADRIAN DENNIS via Getty Images
The Liberal Democrats are still not sure how to feel about the 2017 general election. For many, it is ambiguous whether their increased number of seats constitutes a comeback, or whether their failure to make significant electoral gains exposes the party's long-term problems.
There is some justification for optimism in the party. The Lib Dems saw their number of MPs rise for the first time since 2005, they came agonisingly close to winning seats like Richmond, St Ives and Ceredigion, and their membership surged to over 100,000. This, plus the return of frontbench talent like Vince Cable, Ed Davey and Jo Swinson, might justify calling 2017 a success for the Lib Dems, albeit an unspectacular one.
Advertisement
But a different picture could be painted from the same results. Despite gaining 4 seats, the Lib Dems received a reduced share of the vote. In this country, you win elections with seats not with vote share, so this is not necessarily a sign of failure. But winning fewer votes obviously impacts a party's ability to win seats, and since June 8th, the Lib Dems have smaller majorities whilst their opponents' majorities have become bigger. This lower vote share may not have translated into seat losses in this election, but it will make their next election more difficult.
So the Lib Dems should feel uneasy about the size of their majorities. Three quarters of their MPs now have majorities of less than 5,000, and a quarter, including ex-leader Tim Farron, have majorities of less than 2,000. Only Vince Cable has a convincing majority, but given that the Tories turned over his 12,140 majority in 2015, Twickenham should not be considered a safe seat. The Lib Dems' safest seat percentagewise is Orkney and Shetland with a majority of 19.6%. But to put this in context, the Conservatives' safest seat has a majority of 49.7% and Labour's safest seat has a majority of 77.1%. The lack of convincing majorities puts the party on thin ice: a small swing in the wrong direction could bring electoral oblivion in the next election.
And this is not just a theoretical risk; it will impact the way their next campaign is fought. Unlike Labour and the Tories, who can afford to be strategic with the distribution of campaign resources, the absence of safe Lib Dem seats means that all of their MPs will require the maximum amount of campaign support. Despite the increase in membership, the Lib Dems still do not have a war chest that can compete with the resources of the two main parties. They will have to make a decision: either focus their energies on a select few seats, or try to stretch their resources and risk the worst.
2017 has made it easier for Lib Dems to lose seats in the next election, but it has also made it harder for them to win seats. They have been left behind in many of their old constituencies, denting their chances of ever returning to the levels of success enjoyed by Kennedy in 2005 and Clegg in 2010. In Cambridge, for example, Lib Dem Julian Huppert was 600 votes away from winning his seat back in 2015. Now the Labour MP enjoys a majority of 12,661. Similarly, Labour's Neil Coyle almost trebled his majority in Bermondsey and Southwark - even though the Lib Dem MP enjoyed a 19.1% majority in 2010. Hornsey and Wood Green, which was held by the Lib Dems from 2005 to 2015, now has a 30,000-strong Labour majority.
Advertisement
This picture is replicated throughout the country: the Lib Dems are now the third largest party in 18 of the 57 seats they held in 2010. In the South West, their old heartland and the key to their previous success, the Lib Dems are becoming electorally irrelevant. Despite winning 7 out of the 7 Cornish constituencies in 2005, the Lib Dems currently hold no seats in the county and are the second largest party in only two of its constituencies. Since the South West predominantly voted for Brexit in last year's referendum and since the Lib Dems are continuing to pursue their anti-Brexit agenda, things will get worse for the Lib Dems before they get better.
Please Wait - Uploading....
Polaron solar technology showcase: Part of Ontario-wide Green Energy Doors Open 2017 (#GEDO2017)
Sep 12th, 2017 6:00 AM
Polaron solar photovoltaic product showcaseSpeakers on solar technology and the benefits of residential rooftop installationChance to win 1 of 10 Ecobee3 Smart Thermostats + more prizesCustomer Appreciation BBQSolar Experts, Community Leaders, Polaron CustomersSunday September 24, 2017 11am-3pm Customer appreciation BBQ 11am Solar technology speakers 11:30 Prize winners announced 1pmMilliken Park, 5555 Steeles Ave E. (Gazebos on east side of park)Polaron Solartech will showcase residential rooftop solar technology at Milliken Park at Steeles and McCowan Road. On September 24 customers and community leaders are invited to join as part of Green Energy Doors Open (GEDO) 2017 that is happening across Ontario.On site will be Polaron technical staff (Chinese and English speaking), sample solar PV (photovoltaic) panels and related technology. This is an excellent opportunity to learn about how solar PV works and environmental and economic benefits of installing it on residential roofs. Participants can enjoy a barbeque (with a $1 donation to Sick Kids Foundation).The location was selected because Polaron has installed numerous rooftop solarprojects in the Milliken Park neighborhood and over 2000 installations across the Province. janis.wilkinson@ontario-sea.org | 647-680-4214To learn more, please visit http://polaronsolar.com or follow @PolaronSolarGreen Energy Doors Open (GEDO) is a showcase of sustainable energy projects and success stories from around Ontario. GEDO17 runs from September 22th-24th across Ontario. This is a great opportunity for Ontarians to learn about the many innovative green energy technologies that exist in their communities.Polaron Solartech Corp is Better Business Bureau (BBB) accredited business that strives to provide customers with the best solar rooftop installation programs in Ontario. Polaron offers design, financial planning, installation and professional maintenance. Their dedicated team works tirelessly to ensure that each step is accomplished with care and precision so that you can get both a quality solar panel system and a significant financial benefit.The parent company, Xinyi Solar Holdings Ltd. Is one of the largest solar developers in the world with assets totaling over $10 billion Canadian.
Building An Online Presence 7 Key Tips For Musicians
[UPDATED] In 2017, having a professional looking website and an active presence on social media has become a key component of any band's success. That said, there are a variety of 'right' ways to go about about building an online presence. Here we look at seven tips for doing so successfully.
________________________
Guest post Mike Wright of SongCast
A band that isnt striving to build an audience through online media isnt really trying. It is 2017, and if you want your band to succeed, you require at minimum a professional website and active social media accounts.
Before diving into some tips for creating an online following and persona, understand thats theres several paths you can take. Thats the beauty of social media and the internet, theres boundless opportunities to express creativity and to reach people. Some bands are amazing Instagram posters. Others struck gold through their YouTube channels. The key is to work efficiently while online, with the goal of connecting to the right people with content and sites that best represent your band. Taken as a whole, your web presence should reflect who you are, what kind of music do you play, and where you want to be in the future.
Bands that want to gain exposure to global audiences and build a fan base should follow these eight tips:
1) Create a simple yet effective website. Consider using Squarespace to manage your domain and to build a site. Its a great service that includes many useful features at a low price point, including an e-commerce feature that helps you sell swag to your (soon-to-be) legions of fans. Remember that a Facebook page is not a website, you need a clean and dynamic site as a home base for fans and transactions.
2) Sell your music online. Youve created a great album and are getting some fans, and now want to move to online selling. Use a service such as SongCast or Bandcamp to present your work to your fans, and allow them to choose how the music is delivered. Both services put the control with the artist.
3) Get social. Social media is essential for growing a fan base. What other service allows you to share your story, images, and thoughts with more than a billion other people and do it for free? Pick the right social media sites for your style and be sure you offer unique content for each channel. Dont phone it in by duplicating images from the road on Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook or reposting from six months ago. Fans want dynamic real-life comments and imagery. Focus a lot of your efforts on Instagram, as that channel is exceedingly popular with musicians who have established massive followings.
4) Develop an email list. It might seem too old school, but email is still an effective communication tool. Millennials and Generation Z are using email because it provides efficient one-on-one correspondence and is useful for record keeping. Pick an inexpensive email platform such as MailChimp and keep updated lists of all your fans. Ask for email from your site visitors to build a fan base over time.
5) Update intelligently. So you have fans that follow you on Twitter, watch intently for your Instagram posts, and like you on FB. Now you need to update them with information. Always remember that your information and updates need to be accessible to everyone. Not every fan will be using Instagram, so dont announce a show only on Instagram or just via email. Also consider if the content itself is appropriate for the channel. FB posts should be constructed differently than Twitter posts. Study the channels of other successful artists to see how theyre reaching fans with tailored content.
6) Create a posting strategy. You might find a formal online strategy to be too corporate, but its essential to work efficiently if you want to create a fan base. Most of your time should of course be spent on creating great music, so embrace structure so you have time to write and rehearse. Your strategy should detail the bigger questions such as what kind of brand are we creating, and more specific ones such as what action (if any) are we hoping the fans take? A simple where/what/when structure is ideal, for example you could commit to an Instagram post every day, with some offering behind-the-scenes looks and others featuring show news.
7) Develop a plan. To put these tips and steps into action, you should have a checklist with concrete steps. Making a list helps you to delegate tasks to other bandmates and keeps everyone working towards the same goal. A useful tip is to create and use a single Gmail account for all of the social and website building tool signups. This is a much better approach than using individual band members emails. What if the bass player quits and takes the Instagram handle with them? Make it clear which accounts are personal and which ones belong to the band.
Creating an online presence should be met with enthusiasm if its going to be successful. Remember that every online fan you create holds the same value as the people you meet outside of a club after a show. By developing a solid plan and executing that plan, you can efficiently stretch your indie dollars to make a presentable and engaging website and get the most out of free social platforms.
Share on:
Music Industry Asks Google Why It Doesnt Do More To Stop YouTube Stream Ripping
Last week, when an RIAA lawsuit forced YouTube-MP3 offline, we asked why Google has not worked to shut it down sooner. With other stream ripping sites still live, others in the music industry are now asking Google and YouTube the same question.
__________________________________________________
Shortly after our op-ed "Why Didn't Google Shut Down YouTube-MP3 Sooner?," the RIAA's EVP Communications and Marketing Jonathan Lamy tweeted:
while we rightly welcome this ????@Hypebot asks good related q: Why Didnt Google/Youtube Shut Down Youtube-MP3 Sooner: https://t.co/NYkfBO7CF7 https://t.co/ogk2kUVdep Jonathan Lamy (@LamyJ) September 7, 2017
By many measures, YouTube stream ripping became the #1 source of music piracy, widening the riff between the music industry and the online giant. But the shuttering of #1 ripper YouTube-MP3 came only after legal action from some injured parties the major record labels.
In the comments section of our piece, former RIAA executive Neil Turkewitz wrote:
"This is something that Google/YouTube should have handled on its own. They were well aware of it, and didn't need RIAA to step up to identify it as problematic. I should add, sadly, that Google is still steering people to stream rippers through auto-complete Google and many of its allies like to think of it as meaning an absence of rules and lack of responsibility. And while that may result in freedom for wolves, it does little to create conditions for freedom of sheep." (more here)
Now UK music industry trade group BPI is also asking why. Geoff Taylor, BPIs Chief Executive, tells TorrentFreak:
BPI and other music industry bodies have been urging YouTube for several years to take effective action to block access to its servers for stream ripping sites, which infringe copyright on a huge scale and also breach YouTubes terms of service."
There are more steps YouTube could take to prevent stream ripping but so far the music community has been forced to pursue the stream ripping sites directly
We've reached out to Google for comment.
Share on:
Town Manager Paul Sieloff brought the idea to the Finance Committee, which will have to take a stance on whether or not to allocate the additional money this year.
Lanesborough Considering Increasing Hours For Tax Collector, COA Director
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. Town Manager Paul Sieloff would like to increase the tax collector's hours and become more proactive in chasing down delinquent payers.
Sieloff said on Monday that he's working on a proposal to increase Caryn Wendling's hours from 18 to 30. Wendling also works part time in Peru, and Sieloff said she'd still work there while increasing hours in Lanesborough.
"I think it would be good for the town to have her come in on Tuesday nights as well and have four days of tax collection," Sieloff said.
The town manager didn't have a specific number of the amount of unpaid taxes but said typically only the most egregious cases end up going into tax title. Working only 18 hours a week, Sieloff said much of the tasks are ultimately delayed while she processes the bills for the both taxes and the Water Department.
"This would be a moderate increase in cost," Sieloff said, estimating an increase of between $8,000 and $10,000.
That cost would be cut in half for this year, with the expanded hours starting in January and then the full cost budgeted for the following fiscal year. The money for the last half of this year would require a town meeting vote.
The salary is split between the Water Department and Sieloff said the department has agreed to fund a similar increase if the hours are increased. Currently, the tax collector's office is open on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. and on Wednesday night from 5 until 7 p.m. Residents also have the option to pay their bills online.
Sieloff believes if the hours are expanded, it would give her more time to move tax title processes forward and the collection rate will increase.
"I think it is good value," he said.
Sieloff is also considering a proposal to increase the hours of Council on Aging Director Lorna Gayle. The town's Finance Committee had asked if there was more than can be done to help the aging population and Sieloff is considering working with the state Department of Transitional Assistance on a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program partnership.
The state is looking to partner with Council on Agings for outreach work for the SNAP program and is willing to pay up to 50 percent of the administrative costs associated with the work.
"I feel very strongly that we need to do more for seniors," Sieloff said.
The program helps connect seniors with the federal low-income food assistance program. Sieloff said the benefit also gives more face to face time between Gayle and the seniors, some of whom are often in isolation most of the time. He said not every senior in town participates in the lunch or transportation program and this is another way to reach that population.
"It gets the interaction going with the senior services director," he said.
He told the Finance Committee that another future possibility for seniors would be to look to the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission to help with bringing in a housing specialist -- like the town had done with an economic development planner. Sieloff said during surveys residents have voiced a desire for more senior housing.
The Finance Committee is also looking to hear from school officials regarding the proposed regionalization agreement. The two elementary schools and the high school are proposed to fully regionalize. The vote is in November.
The proposal is nearing finalization and presentations are expected to be held. Sieloff said he hopes to see a final draft later this week and that will be forwarded to the Board of Selectmen to be placed on the warrant for a special town meeting.
The Board of Selectmen already held one public meeting on the topic and heard many pros and cons. In October, the Finance Committee is expecting to hear a presentation from those crafting the regionalization agreement on the final proposal.
Sieloff said already the schools have made a particularly important change for Lanesborough when it comes to local control.
"They have decided to break out the elementary school budgets so each elementary school can have its own individual budget which is not exclusively controlled by Mount Greylock," Sieloff said. "This is a good thing for people who are concerned about losing local control."
Finance Committee Chairman Ray Jones would like an added level of local control by allowing the town to walk away from the agreement if it deems it is not working.
"If we don't like the way it is going and we want to steer our ship out of it, can we do it without asking someone's permission?" Jones said. "I don't want to have to have anybody else permission, anybody else votes."
The agreement will have the process of breaking the agreement detailed, which the committee will be able to review in October.
Finance Committee member Ronald Tinkham wants to reopen the funding formula as well. Tinkham wants a piece added that will include Williams College and other tax-exempt properties in the equalization value. That would raise up Williamstown's share of the annual cost for the schools while decreasing Lanesborough's.
"That has a major financial impact on the formula," Tinkham said.
Finance Committee member Steven Wentworth, however, said that's not going to happen. He doesn't believe the town of Williamstown would approve such a change.
"You are not going to get it because no town is going to put that on there and if they did, it wouldn't pass. It is as simple as that," Wentworth said. "It is dead on an arrival in any town that has a significant amount of tax-exempt property."
Some Lanesborough officials had pushed for that in sharing the capital costs associated with building the new high school but it got little support and was never included in the agreement that was approved by town meeting. Changes to have regional agreement has to be approved by both towns.
Wentworth said regionalization would be a benefit for the town financially. It makes the system operate much more efficiently and brings in more revenue.
Imperial Valley News Center
Endangered Sumatran Tiger Cub, Rejected by Its Mother, Arrives at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park Animal Care Center
Escondido, California - The San Diego Zoo Safari Park welcomed a new arrival today: a 9-week-old endangered Sumatran tiger cub. The male cub flew to San Diego earlier today via a commercial flight from the Smithsonians National Zoo in Washington, D.C., accompanied by his keepers.
Animal care staff from the Safari Park were on hand at San Diego International Airport to meet the cub and the keepers upon their arrival. The young tiger was immediately transported to the Safari Parks Ione and Paul Harter Animal Care Center, where he will continue to receive the care he needs.
We are beyond thrilled to welcome this tiger cub to the Safari Park, said Andy Blue, associate curator of mammals at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. His keepers reported he did extremely well during the flightslept most of the way. Our priority now is to ensure he continues to thrive and acclimates well to his new surroundings.
The cub was born July 11 at the National Zoo to mom Damai, who is on a breeding loan to the National Zoo from the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. When the cub was about 19 days old, keepers noticed Damai began displaying aggressive behavior toward him when he tried to nurse and suspected that he might not be receiving proper nourishment. Keepers began providing the cub with supplemental feedings, and his mom continued to care for him attentively.
However, on Aug. 23, it became apparent to keepers that Damai was becoming increasingly aggressive to the cub. They suspected the cubs mother was either not producing enough milk or had stopped producing any milk at all. Keepers moved the cub to a separate enclosure right next to Damais, with a howdy doora door that provides the opportunity for mom and cub to see each other and interact through a mesh screenwith the hope of being able to reintroduce mom and cub. But on Sept. 4, Damai was displaying signs she had entered estrus (a mating cycle), and keepers knew the reintroduction would not be possible.
Both the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and the National Zoo are members of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), and in a collaborative effort, both zoos animal care teams determined the best solution for the well-being of the National Zoo cub was to transfer it to the care of keepers at the Safari Park.
The animal care staff at the Safari Park currently are caring for another male tiger cub that was confiscated on Aug. 23 by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, during a vehicle inspection at the U.S./Mexico port of entry near San Diego. That cub remains under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, so it would not have been possible to send him out of state to join the cub at the National Zoo.
Initial plans were to introduce the two cubs to each other in the next few days, after the cub from the National Zoo settled in and became acclimated to his new surroundings. However, because the young cub did well on the flight and showed no signs of stress upon his arrival at the nursery at the Safari Park, animal care staff decided to introduce the two tigers for a brief period this afternoon. The cubs took to each other immediately, and interacted by wrestling, jumping and engaging in a lot of friendly roughhousingthings tiger cubs do. Keepers will keep a close on eye on the cubs for 24 hours, and if all goes well, guests at the Safari Park will be able to see them through the nursery window at the Animal Care Center tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Bringing species back from the brink of extinction is the goal of San Diego Zoo Global. As a leader in conservation, the work of San Diego Zoo Global includes on-site wildlife conservation efforts (representing both plants and animals) at the San Diego Zoo, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, as well as international field programs on six continents. The work of these entities is inspiring children through the San Diego Zoo Kids network, reaching out through the internet and in childrens hospitals nationwide. The work of San Diego Zoo Global is made possible by the San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy and is supported in part by the Foundation of San Diego Zoo Global.
Imperial Valley News Center
San Diego Zoo Global Co-Hosts Illegal Wildlife Trade Symposium
Oxford, United Kingdom - San Diego Zoo Global will co-host the inaugural Illegal Wildlife Trade Symposium September 2527, 2017, planned as an annual event to address a growing international threat to species survival. Presented by the Oxford Martin Programme on the Illegal Wildlife Trade, TRAFFIC (The Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network) and the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, this unique gathering of conservationists will unite experts and scientists from around the world to discuss evolving perspectives on the demand for illegal wildlife products.
As a conservation organization devoted to saving species, San Diego Zoo Global recognizes the far-reaching and devastating impact that illegal and unsustainable trafficking has on plant and animal species, said Allison Alberts, Ph.D., chief conservation and research officer, San Diego Zoo Global. We are excited to partner in hosting the first annual Wildlife Trade Symposium, with its cross-disciplinary focus on innovative approaches to understanding and reducing the demand for wildlife products.
Illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade has been recognized as a major and growing threat to biodiversity. Wildlife trafficking comprises the illegal activities of obtaining and selling live animals and plants, or their partsincluding meat, ivory, horns, bones, teeth, fur, skin, wood, leaves, feathers and shells. Products are sold to people who use them as exotic food, for adornment and display, to show off wealth or status, or as traditional medicines. Demand for wildlife products has decimated populations worldwide, and illegal wildlife trafficking is estimated to account for $8 billion to $10 billion in illicit trade.
We are delighted to partner with San Diego Zoo Global to put on this symposium, said E.J. Milner-Gulland, Tasso Leventis Professor of Biodiversity, University of Oxford. We share the same values around bringing people together to share ideas and build mutual support, which is critical to addressing the huge challenge of conserving illegally traded species. This symposium aims to do just this, and catalyze new thinking.
The three-day symposium is scheduled Sept. 2527, 2017 at St Catherines College in Oxford, United Kingdom. The conference will feature speakers, panel discussions and interactive sessions. For additional information about the Wildlife Trade Symposium, visit illegalwildlifetrade.net/2017symposium/.
Bringing species back from the brink of extinction is the goal of San Diego Zoo Global. As a leader in conservation, the work of San Diego Zoo Global includes on-site wildlife conservation efforts (representing both plants and animals) at the San Diego Zoo, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, as well as international field programs on six continents. The work of these entities is inspiring children through the San Diego Zoo Kids network, reaching out through the internet and in childrens hospitals nationwide. The work of San Diego Zoo Global is made possible by the San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy and is supported in part by the Foundation of San Diego Zoo Global.
Governor Brown Issues Proclamation Declaring Patriot Day
Sacramento, California - Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today issued a proclamation declaring Saturday, September 9, 2017, as Admission Day in the State of California.
PROCLAMATION
Soon after the outbreak of war in 1846, United States forces invaded the Mexican province of Alta California. Seven months later, on January 13, 1847, representatives of both countries signed the Treaty of Cahuenga in the San Fernando Valley, ending the fighting. For three years thereafter, California remained under American martial law. During this period, our population exploded following the discovery of gold, giving impetus to the demand that California be admitted to the Union. In 1849, leaders from around the future state met in Monterey to draft the first constitution, which was approved on November 13 of that year by a vote of 12,064 to 811. Peter Burnett was elected governor, and in January, 1850, the State Legislature began its first two-year session.
As our lawmakers went about establishing the basic institutions of state governance, the United States Congress argued about whether to admit California to the Union as a slave or free state or as two separate states, one slave and one free. The issue was resolved by the famous Compromise of 1850, and on September 9th of that year California was admitted to the Union as the 31st state.
The observance of Admission Day was once prominent in the civic life of our state and nation. On September 9, 1924, by order of President Coolidge, the Bear Flag flew over the White House in honor of Californias admission to the Union. In 1976, I vetoed a measure to remove the observance of Admission Day as a state holiday, writing: For 125 years California has celebrated its admission into the Union on September 9th. To change now comes a bit late in our history and hardly seems in keeping with the Bicentennial Spirit. In 1984, however, Governor Deukmejian signed legislation eliminating our traditional observance of Admission Day on September 9th in favor of a personal holidayconvenient to some but in no way respectful of our storied founding.
Californias early history is too often neglected in schools and among our citizens. For that reason, I call upon Californians to pause and celebrate Admission Day this year by reflecting on how it was that California became the 31st state.
NOW THEREFORE I, EDMUND G. BROWN JR., Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim September 9, 2017, as Admission Day.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 8th day of September 2017.
___________________________________
EDMUND G. BROWN JR.
Governor of California
ATTEST:
__________________________________
ALEX PADILLA
Secretary of State
Governor and First Lady Honor Marine Reserve Pvt. Donald S. Spayd
Sacramento, California - On behalf of all Californians, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. and First Lady Anne Gust Brown honor Marine Reserve Pvt. Donald S. Spayd, a U.S. serviceman missing from World War II.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) has announced that Pvt. Spayds remains have been identified and that he will be buried on September 13 with full military honors.
Pvt. Donald S. Spayd, 19, of Los Angeles, CA, bravely gave his life in service to our state and nation and the Governor and First Lady extend their deepest condolences to his family and friends. In memorial, Governor Brown ordered that flags be flown at half-staff over the State Capitol. Pvt. Spayds family will receive a letter of condolence from the Governor.
In November 1943, Pvt. Spayd was assigned to Company F, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, 2nd Marine Division, which landed on the island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands in an attempt to secure the island. Pvt. Spayd died on the first day of battle, November 20, 1943.
In the immediate aftermath of the fighting on Tarawa, U.S. service members who died in the battle were buried in a number of battlefield cemeteries on the island. On February 28, 1949, a military review board declared Pvt. Spayd's remains non-recoverable.
In June 2015, a nongovernmental organization, History Flight Inc., notified DPAA that they discovered a burial site on Betio Island and recovered the remains of what they believed were 35 U.S. Marines who fought during the battle in November 1943. The remains were turned over to DPAA in July 2015.
Scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used DNA analysis and material and circumstantial evidence in the identification of the remains.
Photo taken on Sept. 11, 2017 shows the United Nations Security Council voting on a resolution on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) at the UN headquarters in New York. UN Security Council on Monday imposed new sanctions on the DPRK over its latest nuclear test. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)
UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Monday unanimously adopted a resolution to impose fresh sanctions on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) over its nuclear test on Sept. 3 in violation of previous Security Council resolutions.
Monday's resolution, the third Security Council action concerning the Asian country in five weeks, curtails the DPRK's oil supply by almost 30 percent, bans all its textile exports worth 800 million U.S. dollars and remittances of DPRK laborers from abroad.
With the new measures, 90 percent of the DPRK's exports are now banned.
Monday's resolution followed a council resolution on Aug. 5, which imposed a ban on the export of coal, iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore, and seafood from the DPRK, among other restrictive measures. The council also adopted a presidential statement on Aug. 29 condemning the DPRK's launch of a ballistic missile earlier as well as other missile launches on Aug. 25.
Related: China hopes UN Security Council resolution will be fully carried out
China calls for calm over Korean Peninsula crisis
Governor and First Lady Honor Army Cpl. Clarence R. Skates
Sacramento, California - On behalf of all Californians, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. and First Lady Anne Gust Brown honor Army Cpl. Clarence R. Skates, a U.S. serviceman missing from the Korean War.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) has announced that Cpl. Skates' remains have been identified and that he will be buried on September 15 with full military honors.
Cpl. Clarence R. Skates, 19, of Los Angeles, CA, bravely gave his life in service to our state and nation and the Governor and First Lady extend their deepest condolences to his family and friends. In memorial, Governor Brown ordered that flags be flown at half-staff over the State Capitol. Cpl. Skates' family will receive a letter of condolence from the Governor.
In November 1950, Cpl. Skates was a member of Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, when the division suffered heavy losses between the towns of Kunu-ri and Sunchon, North Korea. Cpl. Skates' regiment suffered many casualties, and he was reported missing in action on November 30, 1950, after his unit was overrun by units of the Chinese People's Volunteer Forces.
At the end of the war, during "Operation Big Switch," where all remaining prisoners of war were returned, the former prisoners were interviewed. One reported hearing that Cpl. Skates died while marching to POW Camp 5, but he was unable to provide further information. Based on this information, Cpl. Skates was declared deceased as of February 5, 1954.
In August and September 2002, a Joint U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory-Hawaii and KPA Recovery Team conducted the 28th Joint Recovery Operation in Unsan County, North Pyongan Province, North Korea. A site reported to be a temporary prison camp was located and recovery operations were conducted. Remains of up to 11 individuals were recovered and sent to the laboratory for analysis.
Scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used DNA and anthropological analysis as well as circumstantial evidence in the identification of the remains.
NAVFAC Pacific Theater Engagement Engineering Team Completes Facility in Vietnam
Hanoi, Vietnam - Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Pacific Theater Engagement Engineering celebrated the completion of a seven-story Vietnamese Peacekeeping Training Facility with a dedication ceremony held August 28 in Hanoi, Vietnam.
The ceremony was hosted by the Vietnamese Peacekeeping Center (VNPKC), which featured the following keynote speakers: U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius and Vice Minister of Defense for the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Senior Lt. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh. NAVFAC Pacific Resident Officer in Charge of Construction (ROICC) Thailand Lt. Cmdr. Gareth Montgomery represented U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) and the Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI) by also serving as one of the guest speakers.
"The event highlighted the continued strategic support from the U.S. government to increase Vietnam's capabilities to participate and lead United Nations (UN) peacekeeping efforts around the globe," said Montgomery.
The $2.7 million facility is fully-furnished and includes twelve 32-student classrooms; three 72-student classrooms; a 254-seat auditorium with an interpreter room; offices for 15 instructors and 23 permanent staff; guest reception room; kitchenette; and basement parking for nine vehicles and 40 motorbikes.
"With the completed training facility, the VNPKC can currently train troops in one place," said NAVFAC Pacific ROICC Thailand Project Engineer Thanh Nguyen. "This building was well designed by incorporating not only current requirements to increase the capacity of the VNPKC, but also future development requirements were taken into account."
The VNPKC, formed in 2014 under the Vietnam National Defense Ministry, will utilize the facility to conduct training and enhance capability of the Vietnamese peacekeepers in support of UN peacekeeping missions. Since 2014, Vietnam has sent peacekeepers to South Sudan and the Central African Republic.
The ribbon-cutting event marked the official completion of a long-standing project that began in 2016, funded by U.S.PACOM through the GPOI and administered by NAVFAC.
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!
Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the
The Life Cinematic email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}
Christian Bale has been dedicated and disciplined in controlling his weight for film roles, famously losing 65 pounds and eating only an apple and a can of tuna a day for The Machinist, bulking up his muscle mass for American Psycho and the Dark Knight films, and sporting a pot belly in American Hustle.
The actor looks almost unrecognisable at the moment, as he gains weight to play Vice President Dick Cheney upcoming biopic Backseat.
Asked about how he'd done it at Toronto International Film Festival this week, he smiled: "I've just been eating a lot of pies."
Bale in 2004's The Machinist
Bale in 1999's American Psycho
Bale at TIFF 2017 (Photo: Getty)
(Photo: Getty)
Dick Cheney with George W. Bush in 2006 (Photo: Getty) (AFP/Getty Images)
Bale was not an obvious casting choice for Cheney in terms of appearance, but nor was Steve Carell as Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
The pair will reunite with The Big Short director Adam McKay for the film (who also wrote the screenplay), joined by Bale's American Hustle co-star Amy Adams (Lynne Cheney), Sam Rockwell (George W. Bush) and Bill Pullman (Nelson Rockefeller).
Cheney served as Bush's VP between 2001 and 2009 and was a key player in US foreign policy during that time, particularly with regards to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He is regarded by many as the most powerful VP in US history.
He is probably best remembered, however - at least in pop cultural terms - for accidentally shooting a lawyer during a quail hunt in 2006.
For more good film, music and TV things, follow Independent Culture on Facebook.
Sign up to Roisin OConnors free weekly newsletter Now Hear This for the inside track on all things music Get our Now Hear This email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the
Roisin OConnors email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}
Foo Fighters have announced that they will open their very own pub in London this weekend.
The Foo Fighters Arms will be situated at 339 Cambridge Heath Road, London E2 9LH and be open for business between 15 and 20 September, selling exclusive merchandise and limited edition items.
It coincides with the release of the band's ninth album Concrete and Gold, which is released this week on 15 September.
The band announced their new business venture on Twitter, sharing a coat of arms with two dragon skeletons holding a shield - a play on the coat of arms for the City of London - with the same Latin motto, 'Domine Dirige Nos' ('Lord, guide us').
On the pub's website, the band also revealed that The Foo Fighters Arms will host "a series of events for both fans and the general public", serve Foo Fighters beer, and hold a pub quiz on Monday 18 September with exclusive prizes.
Frontman Dave Grohl recently revealed that Justin Timberlake is the mystery pop star who sings on the band's new record, after they struck up a friendship while recording at the same studio in LA.
"We'd drink whiskey in the parking lot," he told Rolling Stone. "He was really, really cool. Then the night before his last day, he says: 'Can I sing on your record? I don't want to push it, but - I just want to be able to tell my friends.'"
Foo Fighters' new album Concrete and Gold is out on 15 September.
Follow Independent Culture on Facebook for the latest news, videos and features
Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the
Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}
Hitting the snooze button repeatedly inflicts cardiovascular assault on the body and abuses your nervous system, a neuroscientist has warned.
Professor Matthew Walker, who teaches at the University of Californias Centre for Human Sleep Science, has issued a slew of advice for people who struggle nodding off, as its revealed that 39 per cent of Brits sleep for less than seven hours each night despite mainstream research recommending a minimum of eight.
Sleeping for less than six or seven hours a night has been linked to a myriad of health problems, including depression, Alzheimers and anxiety. Not to mention the numerous studies which link sleep deprivation to weight gain.
In addition to abandoning the snooze button, Walker also strongly advises against taking power naps and drinking decaf coffee.
Given that caffeine inactivates the chemical in our brains that helps us get to sleep - adenosine - the sleep science director strongly advises against drinking caffeine after dinner, explaining on the Mail Online that more than half of the caffeine content remains in your brain into the wee hours, long after you drank it.
He added that decaf coffee is not much better, as it typically contains up to a third of the caffeine dose as regular coffee meaning that three cups of the decaf stuff are just as harmful to your sleep as one normal cuppa Joe.
As for power naps? They're not much better, the professor explained. They reflect a biphasic sleeping pattern which mimics that of a hunter-gatherer tribe in Kenya, Walker explained, whereby people combine seven hours of sleep at night with a 30 to 60 minute nap during the day.
Recommended Mother unable to wake three year old from nap warns parents
Known in some European cultures as a siesta, Walker explains that while napping may momentarily boost alertness, it cannot support complex cognitive functions such as decision making and emotional stability - in the long run.
However, hitting the snooze button on your alarm clock may be the worst offender when it comes to sleep deprivation, Walker explained.
If alarming your heart, quite literally, were not bad enough, using the snooze feature means you will repeatedly inflict that cardiovascular assault again and again within a short span of time, he said.
If you use an alarm clock, the professor suggests disabling the snooze function and adapting to waking up at the first sound of your alarm.
Rise and shine, people.
Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the
Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}
Menopause, when periods stop for good, is a normal stage in every womans reproductive life. The symptoms usually begin in a womans forties, with the average age of menopause itself being 51. Experiences differ from woman to woman. Some report sailing through transition, others are pleased to no longer menstruate or be able to fall pregnant, or just embrace getting older.
Symptoms also vary. Some are probably familiar like unpredictable periods or heavy bleeding, hot flushes, night sweats, poor sleep and emotional outbursts. Others are less well known, including growth or loss of body hair, clumsiness, pins and needles and moments of forgetfulness or poor concentration. About 25 per cent of women have very debilitating symptoms.
When we consider that most women in the UK now work outside of the home, and that employment rates among women over 50 have increased dramatically over the last three decades, it is obvious menopause is an important workplace issue. This is for three main reasons.
The first is corporate social responsibility the need to ensure that mid-life women have the highest possible quality of working life, and are able to work for as long as they choose, unimpeded by menopause-related difficulties. The second is the law workplace discrimination based on gender or age is illegal under the Equality Act, and BT were the subject of the first successful employment tribunal in 2012. Here direct sex discrimination and unfair dismissal were proven after the plaintiff was dismissed for under-performance, despite providing a medical note documenting that her poor concentration was due to menopause transition.
The third reason is economic. As demonstrated in the BT tribunal, menopause symptoms can affect performance at work. They can also contribute to higher sickness absence. If a woman has to leave work because of her symptoms, replacing her costs an average of 30,000. So there are important cost savings to be made here, as well as the benefits of retaining expertise and experience.
Different treatment
And yet, as many women experience, menopause is not on most employers agendas. In fact, very few menopause-specific health and wellbeing policies exist in UK organisations. Little training or information about the menopause is provided for managers or any other employees. There is also evidence that mid-life women feel they are treated differently perhaps even harassed or ridiculed by others at work, whether they are actually menopausal or not.
There is a wealth of workplace advice relating to pregnancy, less so the menopause (Shutterstock)
The analogy we draw is to pregnancy and maternity. Imagine a woman in her early thirties telling her manager she is pregnant, and saying she wants to take maternity leave at a certain point and return to work when the baby is three months old. Nothing unusual there.
Now imagine the same woman, 15 years later, telling the same manager she is experiencing severe menopausal hot flushes and night sweats and wants to work from home when these symptoms are especially bothersome. The evidence suggests that, even if this woman felt able to disclose her symptoms (and many, many mid-life women workers do not), she is likely to meet with bafflement, at best.
There is a range of advice available for employers on menopause as a workplace issue. Some of the best guidance we have found is provided by Business in the Community, a responsible business network run by the Prince of Wales. There are also pioneers such as retailer Marks & Spencer and the Nottinghamshire Police Service, who have provision in place already. Others, like the water company Severn Trent and the University of Leicester (where three of us work), are developing this provision, supported by consultants from Henpicked, a social network for women over the age of 40.
It is important to emphasise that support mechanisms can cost very little like allowing women to wear uniforms made of natural fibres or to work in an office with natural light, providing USB fans or supplies of cold drinking water and sanitary protection.
Other approaches, including specialist occupational health support, may cost more, but individual women will only need them for a short period of time. Flexible working, which can, as we suggest above, help women to cope during menopause transition, is something every UK worker has the right to request anyway.
To be clear, we are not advocating for special treatment for mid-life women workers. That is, not unless risk assessments during pregnancy and maternity leave represent special treatment. Neither are we suggesting that men dont have mid-life experiences that could prove equally challenging to manage at work.
Instead, we think its important to normalise womens experiences of the menopause so mid-life women can raise it at work without worrying about being judged or stereotyped; and to impress on employers how important it is that this demographically pressing phenomenon is no longer ignored.
Jo Brewis is a professor of organisation and consumption, Andrea Davies is an associate professor in marketing and consumer research and Jesse Matheson is an associate professor in economics at the University of Leicester; Vanessa Beck is a senior lecturer in work and organisation at the University of Bristol. This article was originally published on The Conversation (theconversation.com)
Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the
Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}
Finding a second, third or fourth wife is about to get a whole lot easier with the launch of a new dating application designed for Muslim men in Indonesia who wish to enter polygamy.
Set to launch in October, Ayopoligami or lets do polygamy is described as a platform that works to match male users with women ready to be part of a large family.
Following its initial launch earlier this year, the controversial app was downloaded by thousands of users before being taken down pending a relaunch.
But, while the founding company Pandu Solusi consulted with Islamic clerics, it has continued to stir and spark debates among the countrys netizens, many of which brand it as a potential marriage breaker.
However, the app is taking measures to ensure this doesnt happen. Not only does it require users to provide official identification, it also asks them to supply a letter from the first wife consenting to the husbands venture into polygamy, which is legal in Indonesia as long as the first wife grants permission.
Awaiting its relaunch, the apps webpage currently features a cartoon of a bearded man sat in front of a laptop and surrounded by three women in Indonesian-style Islamic clothes, with two children.
In a country where almost 90 per cent of the 260 million population is Muslim, the Tinder-esque dating app continues to divide opinion.
'We just clicked': How Britain fell in love with online dating Show all 6 1 /6 'We just clicked': How Britain fell in love with online dating 'We just clicked': How Britain fell in love with online dating 246580.bin RICHARD GRANGE/IMAGES INTERNATIONAL 'We just clicked': How Britain fell in love with online dating 246581.bin ANDREW HASSON 'We just clicked': How Britain fell in love with online dating 246582.bin 'We just clicked': How Britain fell in love with online dating 246579.bin NICK DESPRES 'We just clicked': How Britain fell in love with online dating 246583.bin SAM HOLDEN 'We just clicked': How Britain fell in love with online dating 246584.bin VICTOR DE JESUS/UNP
I dont think the application will be popular, Bonar Tigor Naispospos of the Setara Institute, told the Telegraph.
Many women, even the religiously devout, disagree.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the
Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}
Disgraced British PR firm Bell Pottinger has gone into administration after a divisive campaign in South Africa sparked industry outrage, leading to an exodus of clients and prompting the industry trade body to strip it of membership.
Accountancy and business advisory firm BDO said on Tuesday that three of the groups operating entities in the UK Bell Pottinger Private Ltd, Bell Pottinger LLP and Bell Pottinger Services Ltd had been placed into administration.
Following an immediate assessment of the financial position, the administrators have made a number of redundancies, a spokesperson for BDO said.
The administrators are now working with the remaining partners and employees to seek an orderly transfer of Bell Pottingers clients to other firms in order to protect and realise value for creditors, the spokesperson added.
We have taken appropriate steps to preserve the rights Bell Pottinger may have in relation to the failure of the business.
None of Bell Pottingers subsidiaries outside the UK are in administration. They continue to trade under the control of their separate management teams, BDO said.
Tuesdays announcement marks a bitter conclusion to the swift demise of one of the UKs most well-known public relations firms.
The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) last week stripped the group of membership, saying that it had brought the PR and communications industry into disrepute with a campaign in South Africa that was accused of stirring up racial tensions.
The company was understood to have been haemorrhaging clients for several weeks prior to that and a major shareholder last month wrote off its stake.
The accusations relate to Bell Pottingers relationship with Oakbay, a company controlled by the wealthy Gupta family of Indian-born businessmen, which has widely been accused of exerting undue influence over South African President Jacob Zuma.
The PRCA launched an investigation into Bell Pottinger whose clients had ranged from multinational businesses to governments, public sector organisations, entrepreneurs and some of the worlds richest individuals following a complaint from South Africas main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA).
The DA blamed Bell Pottinger of working to divide and conquer the South African public by exploiting racial tensions in a bid to keep Jacob Zuma and the ANC in power.
The allegations reportedly originally stemmed from leaked emails that suggested Bell Pottinger had worked with Oakbay to create a narrative that grabs the attention of the grassroots population.
Bell Pottinger left the Oakbay account in April, and in July the group said that it had fired one partner and suspended another, as well as two other employees, as a result of the campaign.
Bell Pottingers chief executive James Henderson, who at the time said that he was deeply sorry that this happened, resigned earlier this month.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the
Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}
Three alleged members of a banned neo-Nazi group have appeared in court charged with terror offences.
Two soldiers and a civilian stand accused of joining National Action, which became the first far-right group prohibited by the UK last year because of its virulently racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic ideology.
Lance Corporal Mikko Vehvilainen, Private Mark Barrett and Alexander Deakin were allegedly members of a chat group where racist messages were exchanged, including plans for a white-only Britain and race war.
Vehvilainen, who was arrested at Sennybridge Camp in Powys, is also charged with possessing a document containing information likely to be useful for terrorism and publishing threatening, abusive or insulting material.
The 32-year-old allegedly posted comments on the supremacist website Christogenea.org, intending to stir up racial hatred, and had a copy of a manifesto written by far-right terrorist Anders Behring Breivik, who massacred 77 people in Norway in 2011.
Vehvilainen is also charged with possessing illegal pepper spray.
Barrett, a 24-year-old soldier based at Kendrew Army Barracks in Rutland, faces a single charge of membership of National Action, contrary to the Terrorism Act 2000.
Deakin, of Great Barr in Birmingham, faces the same charge and is also accused of possessing documents likely to be useful to a person preparing to commit an act of terrorism and distribution of a terrorist publication.
UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 12 November 2022 The City of London Pride Group take part in the parade during the Lord Mayor's Show PA UK news in pictures 11 November 2022 City workers attend a Remembrance Day ceremony at Lloyd's of London, in the City of London, to mark Armistice Day, the anniversary of the end of the First World War PA UK news in pictures 10 November 2022 A grey heron lands on the river Dodder in Dublin on a sunny autumn morning PA UK news in pictures 9 November 2022 Australia and Spain play during the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup group A match at the Copper Box Arena, London PA UK news in pictures 8 November 2022 A migrant attempting to communicate with journalists is pinned against a fence by members of staff, before being taken out of view, at the Manston immigration short-term holding facility, located at the former Defence Fire Training and Development Centre in Thanet, Kent PA 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 Florence Kasumba, Letitia Wright, Tenoch Huerta and Lupita Nyongo attend the European Premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in London Getty 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
The 22-year-old allegedly had a copy of a white resistance manual for fun and sent ethnic cleansing operations to people over Skype.
The three men appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on Tuesday, wearing grey prison tracksuits.
After confirming his details, Deakin told the court: Im a prisoner of conscience, I believe Im innocent of these charges.
He and Vehvilainen gave no indication of a plea and were remanded in custody, while Barrett pleaded not guilty.
Barrett, who was detained at Dhekelia Garrison in Cyprus, will have a bail hearing later today.
All three defendants are due to appear at the Old Bailey on 21 September for a preliminary hearing.
Two other men initially detained in the case, both aged 24 from Northampton and Ipswich, were released without charge.
Additional reporting by PA
Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli poses for a group photo with guests attending the 14th China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Sept. 11, 2017. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)
NANNING, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli met with leaders of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states in south China's Nanning on Monday, calling for stronger ties between China and ASEAN.
The foreign dignitaries included Brunei's Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh and Lao Deputy Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone.
Zhang welcomed the foreign leaders to attend the 14th China-ASEAN Expo and the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit slated from Tuesday to Friday in Nanning, capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of ASEAN, a regional group comprising Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as the China-ASEAN year of tourism.
During his meeting with Brunei's Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, Zhang said China-ASEAN ties have entered a key stage.
As China and ASEAN celebrate the 15th anniversary of the establishment of a strategic partnership next year, Zhang said China is ready to further strengthen ties with ASEAN countries to build a community with shared future.
Calling China and Brunei reliable friends and cooperation partners, Zhang said China is willing to work with Brunei to make the best of the Belt and Road Initiative and dovetail the development strategies of the two countries.
Brunei is the Country of Honor at the 14th China-ASEAN Expo.
Hassanal said he is leading a delegation of nearly 100 entrepreneurs at the expo and welcomed Chinese entrepreneurs to invest in Brunei.
Brunei would like to strengthen cooperation with China in such areas as economy and trade, people-to-people exchanges, tourism, energy, ports and education, he said, pledging to play a constructive role in strengthening ASEAN-China cooperation.
When meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Zhang said the two sides need to implement the consensus reached by their leaders to strengthen economic and trade cooperation and have more exchanges on state governance.
The two countries agreed to cement traditional friendship as next year marks the 60th anniversary of forging diplomatic ties.
Zhang said China highly appreciates the important contribution Cambodia has made to China-ASEAN friendship and cooperation.
Hun Sen expressed appreciation for China's long-term support to Cambodia.
Cambodia is willing to take an active part in the Belt and Road Initiative, he said, calling for agricultural cooperation and more agricultural exports to China.
In 2018, Cambodia will co-chair the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC), a sub-regional cooperation mechanism jointly established by the six countries along the Mekong River, known in China as Lancang River, namely China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
The two countries agreed to work closely to host a successful LMC leaders' meeting.
During his meeting with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh, Zhang said deepening friendship and expanding cooperation are in line with the interests of China and Vietnam and the peace, stability and prosperity in the region and the world.
China attaches great importance to the relations with Vietnam and is willing to work with the country to plan high-level visits, promote economic cooperation and cultural exchanges and maintain maritime stability, Zhang said.
Echoing Zhang's remarks, Binh said the development of a comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation between Vietnam and China has maintained good momentum.
The two sides need to implement the consensus of their leaders, enhance high-level contacts and cooperation on trade, culture and production capacity, Binh said.
During his meeting with Lao Deputy Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, Zhang said the China-Laos relationship has advanced much this year especially after Lao President Boungnang Vorachith's visit to China in May.
He suggested the two countries carry out the deals on Belt and Road construction and production capacity and investment cooperation, intensify local relations and people-to-people exchanges so as to add new impetus into the strategic partnership between the two countries.
Sonexay spoke highly of the China-ASEAN Expo hosted by China. He called on the two sides to strengthen cooperation in areas including economy and trade, investment, healthcare, infrastructure construction and tourism.
Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the
Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}
A song labelling gay men as fairies and fags is not homophobic, a court has ruled.
Nick Fiveash, 61, and his male partner, from east London, alleged their neighbours performed the song in a bid to offend them following a row on 12 August last year.
The couple provided the court with audio evidence of the neighbours singing the song, which included the words: Well you are a fairy, youre friends call you Mary/Well you are a fag you dress up in drag.
The recording, heard by The Independent, also features the lyrics: "You knit and you sew, you tie things with bows/Cos thats what you do when you are a fag fag fag".
People can be heard laughing in the background.
But on 26 June, judges at Stratford Magistrates Court unanimously ruled the song was not offensive. They said the lyrics should be taken as satire.
Mr Fiveash said the situation erupted when he complained to their new neighbours Olivia Still and her partner Nick Stott about noise levels.
The pair who had recently moved in were alleged to have said theyre gonna love this, before singing along to the Mark Silverman song.
After a disagreement over the song's content, Mr Fiveash made the recording from his window.
After they spotted him listening, his neighbours could be heard saying: Theyre at the window.
Three magistrates found Ms Still and Mr Stott "not guilty" of the charge of "using threatening, abusive, and insulting words to cause alarm and distress as they concluded the song was "satirical" and not "homophobic".
Stunned by the ruling, Mr Fiveash and wrote to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) asking them to appeal the verdict on the grounds it is in the public interest.
He said it highlighted unconscious homophobia in the legal system.
But the CPS replied that it would not appeal because it could not be proved there was intent on the neighbours' part.
Where there is any doubt whatsoever, they must find in the defendant not guilty," they wrote. "This does not mean that they accepted the defendants accounts or that you were not believed."
Nick Fiveash said the mental stress of trying to get the incident recoginsed as a homophobic hate crime has been 'unbearable' (Nick Fiveash)
Part of the reason for the not guilty verdict was that Mr Fiveash began recording the song on his phone before the offensive lyrics began, it said.
It added: Unfortunately, I cannot see that there are any grounds for an appeal. The decision appears to be based on the magistrates assessment of the factual evidence they heard and it is not possible to appeal in those circumstances."
Mr Fiveash told The Independent the refusal by the legal system to recognise what happened as homophobic was a demonstration of the difficulty for LGBT people to report hate crimes and get justice for LGBT hate crimes.
It just feels like they keep changing the goal posts and just wont accept responsibility. Were going round and round in circles. This has been a horrific event and even though we were fortunate not to be physically hurt, the mental stress has been unbearable," he said.
But for me, Ive moved past the fact that my neighbours are homophobic and Ive got to live next door to them. My issue is how difficult Ive discovered it is for LGBT people to report these things and get listened to. Its all very well getting the numbers up for the number of people reporting hate crime, but if someone said to me tomorrow weve been subject to homophobic abuse what do we do? Id say dont bother.
It's not been a pleasant year. We had to be on the stand in court for two hours and were character assassinated. We felt like the criminals. I almost just felt like saying I was guilty. I just find it all ridiculous, and I wonder whether if these words were replaced with racial or religious slurs it would be the same.
The couples local MP, Labours Rushanara Ali, has since intervened in the case. She said she felt the incident was homophobia and called for the case to be reconsidered in a letter to the CPS.
The Bethnal Green and Bow politician said: It is disappointing that Mr Fiveashs case has not reached a satisfactory conclusion. It is vital these types of incidents are taken seriously and homophobic and discriminatory behaviour do not go unchallenged and unpunished.
In a letter to the director of Public Prosecutions, Ms Ali wrote: I fully agree with Mr Fiveash that it would be right for the CPS to appeal this verdict and the case should be reviewed by a higher court. I believe it would be in the public interest to ensure that these types of incident are taken seriously and no tolerance is given to outright homophobic and discriminatory behaviour.
But the CPS have responded to her with a similar response to the one they sent to Mr fiveash, saying they will not appeal the case.
A CPS spokesperson told The Independent: Following an investigation by the Metropolitan Police, the CPS considered the case in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors. It was determined there was sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction and that it was in the public interest to prosecute.
London Pride 2017 Show all 14 1 /14 London Pride 2017 London Pride 2017 Revellers in Trafalgar Square in front of the National Portrait gallery take part in London Pride, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) parade in London EPA London Pride 2017 A man wearing two hats attends the Pride in London Festival Getty London Pride 2017 Protesters demonstrate during the Pride in London Festival in London. This year's London Pride event marks 50 years since homosexuality was decriminalised in England and Wales under the 1967 Sexual Offences Getty London Pride 2017 The parade passes Nelson's Column as revellers take part in London Pride, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) parade in London, EPA London Pride 2017 Members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community take part in the annual Pride Parade in London on July 8 AFP London Pride 2017 Revelers enjoy the Pride London Parade in London. The Parade attracts an estimated crowd of 1 million onlookers, while around 26,500 people are taking part in the annual Parade making this the city's biggest one-day event and one of the world's biggest LGBT+ celebrations. AP London Pride 2017 Revellers take part in London Pride, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) parade in London EPA London Pride 2017 A participant sits on a rainbow coloured flag during the Pride in London Parade in central London PA London Pride 2017 Two men sit on a rainbow flag painted on the pavement at Oxford Circus as revellers take part in London Pride, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) parade in London, Britain EPA London Pride 2017 Revellers take part in London Pride, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) parade in London EPA London Pride 2017 A woman from the homeless charity 'Crisis' takes part in London Pride, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) parade in London EPA London Pride 2017 Revellers wave their flags as they take part in London Pride, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) parade in London EPA London Pride 2017 A woman walks past a shop front decorated with the Pride flag colours Getty London Pride 2017 People ride a tube escalator decorated with the Pride flag colours Getty
The two defendants appeared at Stratford Magistrates Court charged with using threatening or abusive words or behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress, contrary to section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986. After a trial both were found not guilty by the Court and there are no grounds upon which to appeal the decision.
The case was recorded as a homophobic hate crime and we are satisfied that the case was handled in accordance with our policy on prosecuting such crimes.
It comes after new figures revealed the number of attacks on lesbian, gay and bisexual people in the UK has soared by nearly 80 per cent in the past four years.
The data, collected by charity Stonewall, also showed that four in five LGBT people who experienced a hate crime or incident in the last 12 months had not reported it to the police.
LGBT people told the researchers it was because they felt that they werent taken seriously by authorities they approached about hate crime they had experienced.
Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the
Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}
A man from north Wales has been fined $330 (250) by American police after he swam across the Hoover Dam on a stag do, apparently making himself the first person to make it across the reservoir alive.
Arron Hughes, a 28-year-old forklift driver, had reportedly been partying for 37 hours in Nevada when he decided to jump into the water and swim across it.
It was around 45-40 degrees outside and we were on a stag do in Vegas. You go to Vegas to have fun, dont you? We made The Hangover look tame, he told the Daily Post.
Recommended Police take selfie with drunk man to remind him how he got home
We were all just standing there, and I thought, f*** it! Im going for a swim.
Mr Hughes said his friends cheered him on as he swam across the Colorado River, which borders the states of Nevada and Arizona.
He said the swim took around 30 minutes but admitted he felt knackered half way across, but knew he had to make it to the other side as he could feel the water pulling him towards the dam.
I was sucked towards the wall and had to swim hard. At the other side I was exhausted. Then I heard police shout, he told The Sun.
He was handcuffed and arrested by Nevada police after making it across the water in front of the 726ft structure, and fined $330 (250) for jumping, diving, swimming from dams spillways or other structures.
The forklift driver is only thought to have survived as nine of the dams 10 turbines were switched off at the time.
One officer said, In my whole lifetime Ive never seen or heard of anyone doing it, Mr Hughes told MailOnline, while admitting his decision to go for a swim had been fuelled by drink.
Some 275 people have reportedly died at the site in the last 10 years.
I dont have any regrets, Mr Hughes told the BBC. I even have a tattoo saying no regrets, thats the type of person I am.
Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the
Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}
Abigail lived in a Nigerian suburb, making ends meet by selling pies to construction workers.
One of her customers, who owned a nearby building firm, offered to help her get a job in the UK to follow her dream of becoming a nurse. After six months of winning her friendship, he even paid for her plane ticket there.
I was happy, thinking that hes a nice man, says Abigail, now 36 and too terrified to use her real name. Thats how he brought me to this country only it was prostitution that he introduced me to. He wanted me to make money for him.
As soon as she arrived at Gatwick, her friend changed. He told her she would have sex with strangers for money, and that he wanted to make thousands from her.
He bundled her to a dingy London flat where women waited, terrified, in the kitchen for two bedrooms to become free so they could be forced to take turns sleeping with the men who had paid to have sex with them.
I told him I dont want to do that, I cant do that. But he said Im a slave to him from now on, says Abigail. He said I am nobody.
Recommended The time has come to end the scourge of modern slavery
Beaten when she resisted, Abigail was made to work as a prostitute every day thats what hes happy about, because every hour he makes money out of you.
Since her captor had threatened her children back in Nigeria through relatives, Abigail believed she or they could be killed if she tried to escape. You become so scared, she says.
Abigail was trapped in this situation for years. Only last year was she freed when the brothel in central London where she was then working was targeted in an immigration raid.
She was referred to Hestia, a charity whose services include support for victims of human trafficking. They listened, they talked with her, and they helped. She threw herself into volunteering for a church to give her life a sense of purpose. Finally, she says, she is slowly beginning to put her life back together, day by day.
It seems impossible that cases such as Abigails can still exist today. Yet they do. We have already talked with many people who have found themselves just as trapped. That is why The Independent, in partnership with our sister paper the London Evening Standard, is today launching a special investigation into the scandal of modern slavery in todays Britain.
Abigail is still afraid for her family and waiting on an asylum claim. But she knows that there are others whose situation is worse. The Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, Kevin Hyland, says there are up to 13,000 people in Britain trapped in modern slavery, many of them facing daily ordeals just like those Abigail had to endure.
Most of these cases go unnoticed. In 2016, the National Referral Mechanism assessed 3,805 potential victims of modern slavery in the UK, more than double the figure from 2013. Many are trapped in cultures of abuse, in alien environments where they do not speak the language. But the victims are not only from abroad. Of the potential victims assessed last year, the third largest group by nationality was British. Most go unnoticed by the authorities. But we know the numbers are likely to be getting worse.
Victims of the crime are relentlessly abused and repeatedly raped, says Mr Hyland. Their dignity is denied and freedom taken. This isnt a crime that is hidden and impossible to detect it is happening before our eyes. Its a huge problem, horrifying in its inhumanity, but it is one that we can all work to eradicate.
Recommended What you can do to help tackle the scourge of modern slavery
This evil phenomenon is all around us. The busy professional who goes for a manicure, gets their car washed, buys UK-grown marijuana at the weekend, maybe goes for dinner at the house of a rich friend with live-in staff, could easily think slavery was a problem for another country or era. But those activities are all the most common areas where slavery can be found in the UK today.
Over the coming weeks and months The Independent will be exploring the scale and scope of modern slavery today, speaking to everyone from law enforcement, political and business leaders to victims and victim support groups, in order to show readers the extent of the problem. We will also be taking practical steps, with measures and proposals to help end slavery wherever it is found, from victim support to stamping it out in corporate supply chains. In February we will present ideas to the Santa Marta anti-slavery conference at the Vatican.
The awareness isnt there yet, says Mr Hyland. If you see something that looks bad if six people are washing your car for 4, or if the person doing your nails isnt allowed to talk to the clients then say something. Once the public says this is unacceptable, then the agencies who work for the public have to take more action. Modern slavery manifests in different ways, and sometimes theres discussion about whether slavery is the right term to use. Absolutely its right. Its crucial we understand it for what it is. Its where somebody takes control of a person and turns them into a commodity.
Achieving that understanding is exactly what the focus of this campaign will be in the coming months.
Visit Freedom United's action hub for The Independent
Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the
Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}
A Staffordshire Bull Terrier that was suspected to have eaten crack cocaine mauled and killed its owner while he was filming a documentary on drugs.
Mario Perivoitos, who worked in IT, died in hospital shortly after he was attacked by "Major".
Perivoitos received serious injuries to his face and neck, extensive haemorrhaging and his larynx was crushed, an inquest heard.
The BBC film crew at his home in North London called an ambulance and tried to fight off the dog, which had attached itself to the 41-year-olds neck.
They were trapped in the flat for around 30 minutes. Police took almost 10 minutes to open the door in the tower block as it was heavily locked.
Perivoitos had been filming a BBC documentary called Drugs Map Britain. On the night he died, he came home after 10pm having consumed cocaine and became unwell, resulting in an epileptic fit.
The dog then attacked his owner as he lay on his bed.
UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 11 November 2022 City workers attend a Remembrance Day ceremony at Lloyd's of London, in the City of London, to mark Armistice Day, the anniversary of the end of the First World War PA UK news in pictures 10 November 2022 A grey heron lands on the river Dodder in Dublin on a sunny autumn morning PA UK news in pictures 9 November 2022 Australia and Spain play during the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup group A match at the Copper Box Arena, London PA UK news in pictures 8 November 2022 A migrant attempting to communicate with journalists is pinned against a fence by members of staff, before being taken out of view, at the Manston immigration short-term holding facility, located at the former Defence Fire Training and Development Centre in Thanet, Kent PA 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 Florence Kasumba, Letitia Wright, Tenoch Huerta and Lupita Nyongo attend the European Premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in London Getty 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
The dog was eight times the drug drive limit, said Nicholas Carmichael, a veterinary toxicology expert, who found cocaine and morphine in the dogs urine, according to reports.
The dog had clearly taken it and, whether it had eaten it or taken it in by smoke, it is likely to have been a factor in the dog's behaviour."
Coroner Andrew Walker concluded that the dog had probably eaten the drug and been provoked by his owner having an epileptic fit.
He also said that Perivoitos had died due to his injuries from the attack.
Major was due to be destroyed, according to police. It is not clear if it has happened yet.
Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the
Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}
The British Government's second attempt to deport an Afghan asylum seeker threatened with beheading by the Taliban has failed.
Samim Bigzad was granted his first dramatic reprieve last month when the pilot of a passenger plane due to remove him to Kabul via Turkey refused to take off.
Relatives were informed on Tuesday morning that the 22-year-old had been forced onto another Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul - but lawyers have successfully applied for a last-minute injunction requiring the Home Office to transport Mr Bigzad back to the UK.
Mr Bigzad's cousin, Arash, told The Independent G4S guards informed the asylum seeker he would be removed with less than four hours notice.
Samim said 'they are coming to take me back to the airport'. He was crying and then the phone cut off, he added.
Mr Bigzad later phoned his cousin from Gatwick Airport after being given a mobile phone to make a last call to relatives.
He was very emotional, very upset he was crying and saying Im scared for my life, Arash added at the time.
Im sure 100 per cent that the Taliban will assassinate him, they will kill him.
Samim Bigzad, an Afghan asylum seeker, is facing a new attempt to deport him to Kabul (Supplied)
G4S guards allegedly covered Mr Bigzads mouth and restrained him to prevent a disturbance that would result in him being removed from the flight.
Pilots are able refuse any passenger because of safety concerns or using their own discretion a power that thwarted the Home Offices previous deportation attempt.
Campaigners had travelled to Heathrow Airport in August to alert passengers and crew to the fact Mr Bigzad would be on board, resulting in concerns reaching the captain, but were not able to mount the same action on Tuesday because of the short notice given ahead of his removal.
After his flight took off for Istanbul, lawyers continued their efforts to stay the deportation in a 10-hour window before Mr Bigzad was due to travel onwards to Kabul.
They managed to obtain a last-minute injunction to prevent Mr Bigzad being put on a connecting flight to Afghanistan that was supposed to take off shortly after midnight local time.
A legal representative said the order would force the Home Office to return him from Turkey to the UK pending the proper examination of his case.
Solicitors are applying for a judicial review into the handling of Mr Bigzads original asylum claim, which was refused, and other actions by the British Government.
Meanwhile, campaigners were launching frantic attempts to lobby Turkish Airlines and the Home Office online, on social networks and by phone.
Bridget Chapman chair of the Kent Anti-Racism Network, said the world was watching.
Sending him to Kabul him would be the gravest injustice, she said, adding that any agencies and companies taking part in the deportation could have a death on their conscience.
Kabul bomb blast kills at least 90 people Show all 13 1 /13 Kabul bomb blast kills at least 90 people Kabul bomb blast kills at least 90 people A man reacts in shock after a suicide car bombing in a diplomatic zone of Kabul, Afghanistan, left at least 80 people dead Reuters Kabul bomb blast kills at least 90 people The Taliban has denied responsibility for the deadly suicide car bombing that set more than 50 cars alight Reuters Kabul bomb blast kills at least 90 people Two Afghan men carry one of the many injured in the attack REUTERS Kabul bomb blast kills at least 90 people A man tries to drive his vehicle heavily damaged in the blast AP Kabul bomb blast kills at least 90 people Two men walk away from the scene, covered in blood REUTERS Kabul bomb blast kills at least 90 people The bomb was detonated near the German embassy in the citys heavily guarded diplomatic district REUTERS Kabul bomb blast kills at least 90 people One of many cars destroyed in the attack burns Reuters Kabul bomb blast kills at least 90 people The attack sent plumes of smoke over Afghanistans capital AP Kabul bomb blast kills at least 90 people Several buildings have been damaged in the blast AP Kabul bomb blast kills at least 90 people The car bombing is thought to be one of the most deadly attacks ever to hit the capital Alamy Kabul bomb blast kills at least 90 people Wounded victims lie on their beds in Wazir Akbar Khan Hospital in Kabul AP Kabul bomb blast kills at least 90 people Relatives of Afghan victims mourn outside a hospital after the blast in Kabul Reuters Kabul bomb blast kills at least 90 people Crowds in Kabul survey the damage after the deadly attack EPA
Mr Bigzad's initial application for protection was refused last year and was detained without warning during a routing immigration appointment in July.
He has been held at Brook House, where nine G4S guards were suspended after the mistreatment and abuse of asylum seekers was revealed by undercover footage broadcast by the BBC.
Mr Bigzad told The Independent he believes he will be killed if he is deported to Kabul, which he fled in 2015 to join his father and cousin in the UK.
I escaped from my country because I was targeted by the Taliban and I am scared to go back, he said. I just need a chance for the Home Office to save my life.
Mr Bigzad said he hoped to build a life in the UK, where he has been living in Margate, Kent, while learning English and acting as the primary carer for his father.
The elder Mr Bigzad, a British citizen, suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder after being imprisoned and tortured by the Taliban two decades ago.
He previously applied to bring his son to the UK using asylum legislation in 2010 but was refused.
Mr Bigzad said he was threatened with beheading by Taliban militants who targeted him because of his work for a construction company that had contracts with the Afghan government and American military.
The Independent has seen evidence including contracts, tax returns and rental agreements that support Mr Bigzad's claims.
Islamist insurgents have launched frequent attacks on puppets accused of colluding with their enemies, amid a rise in conflict and terror attacks in Afghanistan.
Afghan security forces arrive at the mosque after a recent terror attack in Kabul (Reuters)
Humanitarian organisations have appealed for the British Government to halt deportations to the country, where it announced it would be sending more troops to fight the Taliban earlier this year.
But Kabul has been ruled officially safe for returns after Theresa May won a legal battle as Home Secretary in the Court of Appeal.
Jonathan Bartley, co-leader of the Green Party, said: Only a cold, cruel Government would push through this deportation.
The Home Office could end up with blood on its hands if it sends Samim Bigzad to Afghanistan and I urge it to reconsider. After military involvement in the country for 13 years it is appalling that the Government would seek to wash its hands.
We have a moral duty to offer refuge to those fleeing conflict and persecution in Afghanistan.
The British Government forced 284 people back to the country last year despite the intensifying conflict and terror attacks linked to the Taliban, Isis and al-Qaeda.
Mr Bigzads cousin accused the UK of hypocrisy with its treatment of Afghan asylum seekers, adding: On the one hand theyre sending more troops and saying they need to bring security, but when people flee from the Taliban and the terrorists theyre sending all the young people back and saying we dont care.
A Home Office spokesperson would not comment on Mr Bigzad's case or operational details of the deportation, but said: The UK has a proud history of granting asylum to those who need our protection. Where someone is found not to need our protection we expect them to leave the country voluntarily. Where they do not, we will seek to enforce their removal.
"All country policy and information is based on a careful and objective assessment of available evidence from a range of sources including media outlets, local, national and international organisations, and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
We continually review our country policy and information to ensure it is up-to-date, accurate and relevant, so that staff can make fair and considered decisions.
Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the
Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}
A senior German ally of Angela Merkel has warned that Theresa Mays current approach to Brexit will not fly pouring cold water over eurosceptics hopes that the Chancellor will cut Britain a favourable deal.
Manfred Weber, the leader of the centre-right European Peoples Party, the largest group in the European Parliament, accused the UK of cherry picking and repeated concerns that Britain had not grasped the disadvantages of leaving the bloc.
MPs vote on Brexit Bill after 13-hour debate
It seems to be that Great Britain is still thinking that it can follow the full cherry-picking approach, Mr Weber, who is domestically a member of Ms Merkels CDU/CSU party, told reporters in Strasbourg.
Recommended Ministers accused of using UK military as leverage on Brexit
That will not work you have to decide whether you want to have the advantages of the European Union or you have to leave the European Union.
For me it look like all the documents are defining what is in the interests of Great Britain and hat is what Great Britain wants to sustain, wants to keep and the rest is not acceptable. That will not fly.
Eurosceptics have been holding out hope that Ms Merkel will intervene in Brexit negotiations following the German elections later this month and make concessions to the UK.
Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage said on his LBC radio show earlier this month that the Chancellor was a pragmatist, and probably the most positive leader in the European Union towards finding a sensible solution.
Manfred Weber, leader of the EPP (European Parliament)
He added that "if there is any hope of saving Brexit talks, it lies with her".
But Mr Weber effectively repeated the criticisms of the UK position made by chief negotiator Michel Barnier, who he said he and the entire European Parliament backed fully.
Brexit: the deciders Show all 8 1 /8 Brexit: the deciders Brexit: the deciders European Union's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier Getty Brexit: the deciders French President Emmanuel Macron Getty Brexit: the deciders German Chancellor Angela Merkel Reuters Brexit: the deciders Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker EPA Brexit: the deciders The European Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt Getty Brexit: the deciders Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May Getty Images Brexit: the deciders Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond PA Brexit: the deciders After the first and second appointed Brexit secretaries resigned (David Davis and Dominic Raab respectively), Stephen Barclay is currently heading up the position PA
Mr Barnier said at the end of the most recent round of EU talks that Britain wanted an impossible Brexit deal and did not understand the consequences of leaving the single market. He also warned that the UK needed to choose between the advantages of being close to the EU in a Norway-style deal and taking back control outside.
Ms Merkel is currently on course to be returned as Chancellor in the German federal elections to be held on 24 September.
Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the
Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}
Philip Hammond has admitted UK ports could be plunged into chaos if the country crashes out of the EU without a deal maintaining customs arrangements similar to those in place now.
The Chancellor warned of significant disruption if trucks entering the UK are held for even minutes more, as he revealed the UK has had only limited engagement with neighbours like Ireland and France on preparing for Brexit.
He also accepted the UK economy has been overshadowed by Brexit uncertainty, and admitted that even if the UK does get a customs deal with Europe it is unlikely to be as good as terms currently enjoyed.
Recommended Next round of Brexit talks delayed for a week in bid to end stalemate
His frank words comes as it emerged the next round of Brexit talks will be delayed, so that they happen after a major speech on withdrawal expected from Theresa May.
Mr Hammond was asked at the Lords Economic Affairs Committee whether Britain's ports, like Dover, were ready to deal with additional inspections after Brexit, replying: No, it is clearly not.
Dover operates as a flow-through port and the volumes of trade at Dover could not be accommodated if goods had to be held for inspection. Even if they were only held for minutes, it would still impede the operation of the port.
Anything that caused delay in vehicles exiting the port, delay in vehicles offloading, would cause significant disruption to patterns of movement.
He explained work is under way on contingency arrangements to try to maintain smooth operations even if the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal.
Brexit: the deciders Show all 8 1 /8 Brexit: the deciders Brexit: the deciders European Union's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier Getty Brexit: the deciders French President Emmanuel Macron Getty Brexit: the deciders German Chancellor Angela Merkel Reuters Brexit: the deciders Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker EPA Brexit: the deciders The European Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt Getty Brexit: the deciders Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May Getty Images Brexit: the deciders Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond PA Brexit: the deciders After the first and second appointed Brexit secretaries resigned (David Davis and Dominic Raab respectively), Stephen Barclay is currently heading up the position PA
But he said: We have had less engagement than we would like with customs counterparts in our immediate neighbours at the technical level, both to discuss possible deal scenario challenges and no deal scenario challenges.
Speaking more broadly about Brexit, the Chancellor spelled out how he thinks the negotiations accepting there is a lack of clarity around them had impacted on British growth.
He said: Our economy was in a good place, it has inevitably been overshadowed by the uncertainty of the Brexit negotiating process.
The quicker we can generate some clarity about the future for business and consumers the better, so that we can get back to the business of perusing what I think looked like a very positive outlook for the economy in early 2016.
Mr Hammond said he thought it would be possible for the UK to maintain frictionless borders with the EU during a transition period, as long as the UK refrained from implementing new trade deals.
But he was less hopeful about the prospects of smooth border trade in the long term after the transition.
He said: I dont think anybody is looking for a better arrangement than there is now and it may be that it cannot be as frictionless as it is now in a long term settlement, because of the desire to negotiate third country trade deals.
But the design challenge is to use technology to minimise the friction to a level that is acceptable to business.
MPs vote on Brexit Bill after 13-hour debate
It emerged on Tuesday that Brexit negotiations will now not resume until about September 25, despite British and EU officials having been due to meet in Brussels next Monday.
The delay follows suggestions that Theresa May is planning a major public speech towards the end of next week that will finally flesh out her exit strategy.
It is thought Ms May is preparing to try to reassure business and Brussels by setting out that any transitional agreement must be as close as possible to current relations with the EU.
Downing Street has been considering several European venues for the speech and is said to have pencilled in September 22 as a possible date.
Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the
Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}
Theresa May should come to Brussels personally and debate her Brexit negotiating position with the European Parliaments MEPs in public, the bodys Brexit coordinator has said.
Guy Verhofstadt told reporters in Strasbourg that Ms May and MEPs should have an open dialogue with MEPs to discuss the issues because the European Parliament would ultimately have a vote on whether to agreed the final deal.
Ms May was branded out of her depth and in danger of further weakening the UKs position at the opening of the European Parliament on Tuesday in Strasbourg following reports that she had refused to attend such a public meeting.
Last week EU sources said the Prime Minister had turned down an invitation to address MEPs in public as most of her recent predecessors have done for fear of a hostile grilling.
Instead, Downing Street confirmed Ms May is set only to address the so-called conference of presidents a meeting of the leaders of the Parliaments political groups held behind closed doors.
Mr Verhofstadt said on Tuesday that Ms May really should address a public meeting because of the importance of MEPs to signing off the negotiation process.
Im very pleased that Mrs May has accepted the invitation of the European Parliament to come to the European Parliament, as you know since the beginning of the year there was a standing invitation to address the European Parliament, he said.
But my proposal is that instead of only addressing the Conference of Presidents I would encourage her to address the full House, the plenary.
I think that can only be helpful because it will be the European Parliament that at the end will need to give the green light for the outcome of the negotiations.
What is at stake for the moment are issues that are very near to the heart of most MEPs: the whole question of citizens rights, the Irish border, the financial settlement, the future all this, I think, needs to be debated in an open dialogue between Mrs May and all members.
The Liberal group leader said he did not know the date Ms May was planning to come, adding: Im not responsible for Mrs Mays diary so I cant provide you with any more information there.
European Parliament Green group co-leader Philippe Lamberts had stern words for Ms May about her non-attendance. He said: The impression I get of her is that she is a lady out of her depth, meaning that she is reaching the very edge of her skills now, and I think its starting to show.
The fact that Mrs May hasnt come, and if I were her advisor I would have advise her the same, I think she had more to lose by coming and I think it was the right calculation for her.
Guy Verhofstadt speaking at the European Parliament's alternative base in Strasbourg (European Parliament)
If she were coming to Brussels or to Strasbourg I thinks he would risk further weakening the UKs position.
Centre-right EPP leader Manfred Weber, a German ally of Angela Merkel, also said Ms Mays approach to Brexit will not fly.
A Downing Street spokesperson did not deny that Ms May had declined to address a plenary session of the EU-wide elected body.
The Prime Minister has confirmed to President Tajani that she would be happy to address the conference of presidents. A date will now be arranged with his team, the spokesperson said when asked last week.
Brexit: the deciders Show all 8 1 /8 Brexit: the deciders Brexit: the deciders European Union's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier Getty Brexit: the deciders French President Emmanuel Macron Getty Brexit: the deciders German Chancellor Angela Merkel Reuters Brexit: the deciders Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker EPA Brexit: the deciders The European Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt Getty Brexit: the deciders Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May Getty Images Brexit: the deciders Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond PA Brexit: the deciders After the first and second appointed Brexit secretaries resigned (David Davis and Dominic Raab respectively), Stephen Barclay is currently heading up the position PA
Margaret Thatcher famously faced the European Parliament in 1986 to argue for reforms of the then European Communitys Commons Agricultural Policy. Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have also addressed the chamber; David Cameron agreed to do so but suspended his speech and resigned before it could be re-scheduled.
The PM, notorious for her dislike of unscripted media appearances, may be wary of appearing in public in the Parliament because all proceedings are broadcast live on television. When her predecessor Margaret Thatcher appeared before the body in 1986 she was interrupted by a protester and Ms May has no shortage of enemies on the benches in Brussels who might be willing to cause a scene.
Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli addresses a forum on local cooperation between China and Kazakhstan in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Sept. 11, 2017. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)
NANNING, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- China and Kazakhstan Monday held their first forum on local cooperation in the southern China city of Nanning, agreeing to further lift bilateral economic ties.
Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli and Kazakhstan First Deputy Prime Minister Askar Mamin attended the forum, held on the sidelines of the annual expo, business and investment summit between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Hailing fruitful cooperation between China and Kazakhstan in recent years, Zhang said in his speech that local cooperation between the two countries enjoys great potential.
He encouraged the two countries to make use of the opportunities of Belt and Road construction to consolidate cooperation in the areas of energy, resources, agriculture, cross-border transportation, tourism, culture and people-to-people exchanges, lift the quality of industrial cooperation and create new modes of cooperation.
Kazakhstan took part in this year's China-ASEAN Expo as a special partner.
During a meeting prior to the forum, Zhang told Mamin that China welcomes Kazakhstan as a special partner of the expo.
Stressing that China attaches great importance to the ties with Kazakhstan, Zhang said the two countries need to implement the consensus reached by the two presidents and resolve questions in cooperation via consultation.
He called on the two countries to strengthen connectivity and promote the development of the China-Kazakhstan Horgos International Frontier Cooperation Center to raise the comprehensive strategic partnership to a higher level.
Mamin expressed appreciation for the opportunity to attend the China-ASEAN Expo and display Kazakh products.
Speaking highly of the healthy development of bilateral ties in the past 25 years, Mamin said Kazakhstan is willing to work with China to join the Belt and Road initiative with the country's Path of Light economic strategy, expanding cooperation in trade, production capacity, transportation and other areas.
The 14th China-ASEAN Expo is scheduled to be held from Sept. 12 to 15 in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
As a special partner, Kazakhstan will set up a pavilion and host a trade promotion conference and diverse cultural events during the expo.
Kazakhstan is China's largest trade partner in Central Asia. Statistics from the Ministry of Commerce showed that bilateral trade jumped by 39.2 percent year on year to 9.27 billion U.S. dollars in the first seven months this year.
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the
Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}
Florida woke up to blazing sunshine just a day after Hurricane Irma descended upon the state with devastating rain and winds that reached upwards of 120 mph, tearing trees and road signs to the ground, flooding streets, and damaging homes in its path.
Whatever sense of normalcy the rising sun may seem to bring, though, is deceptive.
The state was largely spared from the devastation that experts believed to be on the way, but many Floridians are still tasked with waiting out the lingering effects of a major hurricane making landfall here, and with beginning the process of rebuilding and cleaning up.
Power, water, and gas, can still be tough to come by across the state. There are still about 13 million people without power as of Sunday night, according to estimates. Doing business without power is tricky, and long lines form outside of the few shops that manage to open their doors. At gas stations with petrol to sell, lines stretch down the street.
Irma battered Florida Sunday, killing at least 11 people across Florida, South Carolina and Georgia - with that number expected to change - and sending storm surges of more than 10 feet into parts of the coast. The storm forced just under 7 million people to evacuate their communities, fearing that they could be trapped in their homes or worse if they stayed. Cell service from Miami out west was sparse, and communicating was difficult. In the Florida Keys, where Irma initially made landfall in the US, about 25 per cent of the buildings there have been damaged, according to an official, and roughly 65 per cent of the homes were significantly damaged. In Miami, areas of downtown were flooded, and mobile phone service was sparse for many there looking to get in touch with family or loved ones.
Local authorities told around 90,000 residents of Miami Beach and people from some parts of the Keys they could go home but warned it might not be prudent to remain there.
This is going to be a frustrating event. It's going to take some time to let people back into their homes particularly in the Florida Keys, Brock Long, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), said.
Millions of people were still without power in Florida.
But, still, some Floridians refused skip a beat, even if an incredibly strong storm had just visited.
Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami Show all 8 1 /8 Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami Jennifer Nelson, senior keeper at Zoo Miami, leads a cheetah named Koda to a hurricane resistant structure within the zoo, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017 in Miami. AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami Ryan Martinez, a trainer at Zoo Miami, places an Eurasion Eagle Owl into a crate AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami Flamingos at Zoo Miami, are shown in a temporary enclosure in a hurricane resistant structure within the zoo, (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee) Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami Brown pelicans and an American white pelican take refuge in a shelter ahead of the downfall of Hurricane Irma at the zoo in Miami REUTERS/Adrees Latif Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami An African crested porcupine is moved into a shelter ahead of the downfall of Hurricane Irma at the zoo in Miami, Florida, REUTERS/Adrees Latif Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami A macaw parrot looks out of it's cage after being put into a shelter REUTERS/Adrees Latif Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami An African grey parrot is moved into a shelter ahead of the downfall of Hurricane Irma REUTERS/Adrees Latif Animals take shelter from Hurricane Irma at Zoo Miami Cheetahs are photographed in a shelter ahead of the downfall of Hurricane Irma at the zoo in Miami, Florida, REUTERS/Adrees Latif
Sami Rahmir opened up his restaurant in Marco Island at 10am Monday, offering up hot chicken sandwiches, tacos, ice, and drinks to locals. Inside his restaurant which looked like something of a triage station for food Mr Rahmir hurried about to pack orders, addressing many of his customers by name.
The way I look at it, every moment, were alive, Mr Rahmir, who said he couldnt get much sleep over the previous three days because he was horrified about the apocalyptic predictions for Irma on TV, said.
In both Naples and Marco Island, debris could be seen everywhere. Palm fronds were hardly the worst of it: Broken branches, toppled street signs, and entire felled trees made many streets impassible. Firemen crisscrossed Naples with chainsaws dismembering the larger branches; bulldozers smashed through accumulated debris and trees to clear roads.
While most buildings appeared to have avoided major damage in the area, some were completely torn apart. A petrol station between Naples and Marco Island was toppled during the storm, leaving behind splintered white metal where supports cracked. In the nearby Riverwood Estates, a 55 and older community, walls and roofs were completely removed from mobile homes.
It was rough. It was, really, nothing I wouldve ever expected, Dawn Byington, who lives in Marco Island, said.
Ms Byington said she stayed in town for the storm where it directly hit and that her home had sustained roof damage, her boat was damaged, and that her air conditioning was hit. I have to just get everything fixed, and go back to enjoying Marco, she said.
It looks worse than it is, Julie Bryant said of the damage to her home in Marco Island. She and her family had waited out the storm in Fort Meyer, and were pleasantly surprised to see that their home was mostly in tact when they returned. Theyre still without power, and their boat is propped nearly vertical from the wind, but they still expect a full recovery.
The city of Jacksonville, in Florida's northeast was also was recovering from heavy flooding.
There are so many areas that you would never have thought would have flooded that have flooded, Florida Governor Rick Scott said after a helicopter tour of the area.
All told, estimates indicate that Irma could cost roughly $49.5 billion, a dramatic drop from initial estimates that pegged the figure at around $150 billion. Still, that amounts to a pretty steep natural disaster check for the US, after Hurricane Harvey inundated Houston and southeastern Texas with floods. Harvey is expected to cost between $65 and $75 billion.
As the outside world argues those figures, though, people stuck without power have different concerns. People waiting in hotels for word on their homes debate how quickly power might go back on, and which utilities are given priority. They exchange tips on where you might find gas, and they try to lend expertise to trouble shoot internet problems that seem to be plaguing the few places with power.
And, with that power still out in much of the surrounding region, first responders continue clear safe paths, and police lights can be seen at intersections where officers have been dispatched to direct traffic where lights are still down.
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the
Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}
Mexico has withdrawn its offer of aid to US victims of Hurricane Harvey after a 8.1 magnitude earthquake hit the southern states of Oaxaca and Chiapas, killing 96 people.
A statement released by Mexicos Foreign Ministry said the aid would now be redirected to help those affected by the devastating earthquake and Hurricane Katia that wreaked havoc on home soil.
As many as 5,000 homes were destroyed in Chiapas, with authorities fearing the damage in Oaxaca could be even worse.
"Given this situation, the Mexican government will channel all available logistical support to the families and communities that have been affected in Mexico and has informed the Texas and US governments that, unfortunately, on this occasion, it won't be possible to provide the assistance originally offered to Texas in late August in the wake of Hurricane Harvey," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Mexico had pledged to offer food, generators and medical aid to Texas as good neighbours should always do in trying times.
Mexico earthquake - in pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Mexico earthquake - in pictures Mexico earthquake - in pictures Damage to a building in Oaxaca following the strong earthquake (magnitude 8.4 on the open Richter scale) that violently shook Mexico EPA/Mario Arturo Martinez Mexico earthquake - in pictures A handout photo made available by the Mexican government show a collapsed building in Matias Romero, Oaxaca EPA Mexico earthquake - in pictures Patients and doctors of a hospital in Villahermosa remain in the open after the earthquake hit the area EPA/STR Mexico earthquake - in pictures Patients and doctors wait to be allowed back in the hospital EPA/STR Mexico earthquake - in pictures Members of the Mexican army survey the damage in the Port of Veracuz Mexico earthquake - in pictures Debris from a collapsed wall sits in Oaxaca AP Mexico earthquake - in pictures Damage on the floor in an entrance of the Benito Juarez international airport in Mexico City on 8 September Reuters/Claudia Daut Mexico earthquake - in pictures People gather on a street after an earthquake hit Mexico City Reuters/Claudia Daut Mexico earthquake - in pictures A man in a bathrobe in downtown Mexico City during the earthquake Luis Perez/AFP Mexico earthquake - in pictures People gather outside a nightclub in downtown Mexico City
The Mexican Red Cross also sent 33 volunteers to help the relief effort in Houston.
But the US President never formally accepted the offer and continued to attack Mexico on Twitter, calling the country "one of the highest crime nations in the world."
Mr Trump failed to offer condolences to the country after the earthquake and the separate hurricane, sparking heavy condemnation from around the world.
Hours after rescinding the aid offer, Mexico's Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray reportedly received a phone call from US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
"[Mr] Tillerson offered his condolences for the loss of life and the devastation caused by the earthquake in Mexico and from Hurricane Katia," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said. He emphasised to Foreign Secretary Videgaray that the US government stands ready to assist our neighbours in Mexico during this difficult time.
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the
Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}
For the first time in North Carolinas history, the state has six African American women serving as police chiefs.
When Catrina Amelia Thompson was recently sworn in as the police chief of Winston-Salem, she brought to half-a-dozen, the number of black women serving as chief law enforcement officials in the state.
The fact that Im standing before you as an incoming police chief is a testament to the fact that if I can do it, anybody can do it, and I want our children to know and believe that, she said, according to the Winston-Salem Journal. We always talk a lot about what to do in the future, but if we dont take the time to invest in the youth in our community, we have no future.
A month before, Gina Hawkins was sworn in as police chief Fayetteville, a city with a population of 200,000 and located 60 miles from Raleigh.
I do recognise that I am the first female minority coming in to Fayetteville and that means a lot. I will represent to the best. I will not fail. I will do everything to represent, women, minorities, but also the profession of law enforcement, she said in August.
A local media channel, WRAL, recently brought together some of the women to talk about the challenges they face in a state that has long experienced racial discrimination, and a profession that often fails to promote women.
North Carolina anti-racism activists topple Confederate soldier statue
Weve broken a glass ceiling, said Raleighs police cheif Cassandra Deck-Brown. So, becoming chief, the honour is knowing that somebody else has that opportunity to get there.
Ms Hawkins and CJ Davis, police chief in Durham, both started their careers at the Atlanta Police Department in Georgia. They said racial diversity was not a an issue there, but said there were very few women.
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
Even far into our careers, it was always a proving game, said Ms Davis.
Patrice Andrews, the police chief of Morrisville, said she also felt she was having to prove something to others.
There was a proving ground, Ms Andrews told the news channel. It wasnt because I was a black woman. It was because I was a woman, and I think [everyone just wanted] to see, What is she really made of.
Winifred Bowen, who is also an African-American woman, is chief of police in Littleton, North Carolina. She and Ms Thompson were not present at the roundtable conversation.
Ms Deck-Brown said the womens success marked a paradigm shift in policing.
This is what 21st century [policing] looks like. All we need is the opportunity. Some do it better than others, but we need the opportunity, she said.
Ms Andrews added: Know that its not just happening here. Its happening in Dallas, in Portland its all over. Its happening all over, and I just tell you, I love the black girl magic.
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the
Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}
The Trump administration has reportedly started handing over documents to the special counsels team investigating possible collusion between the Presidents 2016 campaign and Russias alleged effort to interfere with the election.
Earlier this summer, it was revealed that special prosecutor Robert Mueller had requested the White House preserve a number of documents relating to various members of Donald Trumps campaign team.
He asked it to preserve evidence relating to former general Michael Flynn, who was forced to resign as Mr Trumps national security adviser, as well as to a June 2016 meeting between a Kremlin-linked Russian lawyer and the Presidents eldest son, son-in-law and campaign manager.
Putin and Trump joke about journalists being hostile to them
Now it has emerged the White House has begun passing some of the those documents to Mr Muellers team, as he continues his probe into possible collusion and even obstruction of justice.
The Daily Beast said that Jones Day, the New York law firm representing Mr Trumps campaign, had assigned lawyers to find documents relating to Mr Muellers investigation, and that John Dowd, a veteran Washington lawyer who is representing Mr Trump, is personally delivering them.
Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural Show all 14 1 /14 Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural A lesbian couple kisses in front of mural depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, on the walls of a barbecue bar 'Keule Ruke' on May 19, 2016 in Vilnius, Lithuania. Barcroft Media/Getty Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural A lesbian couple kisses in front of mural depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, on the walls of a barbecue bar 'Keule Ruke' on May 19, 2016 in Vilnius, Lithuania. Barcroft Media/Getty Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural VILNIUS, LITHUANIA - NOVEMBER 23: A woman walks past a mural showing U.S. President-elect Donald Trump (R) blowing marijuana smoke into the mouth of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the wall of a bar-b-que restaurant on November 23, 2016 in Vilnius, Lithuania. Many people in the three Baltic nations of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are concerned that Russia, because Trump has expressed both admiration for Putin and doubt over defending NATO member states, will be emboldened to intervene militarily in the Baltics. Sean Gallup/Getty Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural A woman walks past a mural on a restaurant wall depicting US Presidential hopeful Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin greeting each other with a kiss in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on May 13, 2016. Kestutis Girnius, associate professor of the Institute of International Relations and Political Science in Vilnius university, told AFP -This graffiti expresses the fear of some Lithuanians that Donald Trump is likely to kowtow to Vladimir Putin and be indifferent to Lithuanias security concerns. Trump has notoriously stated that Putin is a strong leader, and that NATO is obsolete and expensive. Petras Malukas/AFP/Getty Images Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural AP Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural A child walks past a graffiti depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, on the walls of a bar in the old town in Vilnius, Lithuania, Saturday, May 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis) AP Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural People walk past a mural on a restaurant wall depicting US Presidential hopeful Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin greeting each other with a kiss in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on May 13, 2016. Kestutis Girnius, associate professor of the Institute of International Relations and Political Science in Vilnius university, told AFP -This graffiti expresses the fear of some Lithuanians that Donald Trump is likely to kowtow to Vladimir Putin and be indifferent to Lithuanias security concerns. Trump has notoriously stated that Putin is a strong leader, and that NATO is obsolete and expensive. Petras Malukas/AFP/Getty Images Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural A man photographs a mural on a restaurant wall depicting US Presidential hopeful Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin greeting each other with a kiss in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on May 13, 2016. Kestutis Girnius, associate professor of the Institute of International Relations and Political Science in Vilnius university, told AFP -This graffiti expresses the fear of some Lithuanians that Donald Trump is likely to kowtow to Vladimir Putin and be indifferent to Lithuanias security concerns. Trump has notoriously stated that Putin is a strong leader, and that NATO is obsolete and expensive. Petras Malukas/AFP/Getty Images Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural AP Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural A young woman walks past a mural showing U.S. President-elect Donald Trump (R) blowing marijuana smoke into the mouth of Russian President Vladimir Putin with the slogan "make everything great again," in reference to Trump's campaign slogan of "Make America Great Again," on the wall of a bar-b-que restaurant on November 23, 2016 in Vilnius, Lithuania. Many people in the three Baltic nations of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are concerned that Russia, because Trump has expressed both admiration for Putin and doubt over defending NATO member states, will be emboldened to intervene militarily in the Baltics. Sean Gallup/Getty Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural A morning commuter stops to look at a mural on a restaurant wall depicting US Presidential hopeful Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin greeting each other with a kiss in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on May 13, 2016. Kestutis Girnius, associate professor of the Institute of International Relations and Political Science in Vilnius university, told AFP -This graffiti expresses the fear of some Lithuanians that Donald Trump is likely to kowtow to Vladimir Putin and be indifferent to Lithuanias security concerns. Trump has notoriously stated that Putin is a strong leader, and that NATO is obsolete and expensive. Petras Malukas/AFP/Getty Images Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural Restaurant owner Dominykas Ceckauskas pose next to a mural on the wall of his establishment depicting US Presidential hopeful Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin greeting each other with a kiss in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on May 13, 2016. Kestutis Girnius, associate professor of the Institute of International Relations and Political Science in Vilnius university, told AFP -This graffiti expresses the fear of some Lithuanians that Donald Trump is likely to kowtow to Vladimir Putin and be indifferent to Lithuanias security concerns. Trump has notoriously stated that Putin is a strong leader, and that NATO is obsolete and expensive. / AFP / Petras Malukas (Photo credit should read PETRAS MALUKAS/AFP/Getty Images) Petras Malukas/AFP/Getty Images Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural A passerby photographs a mural showing U.S. President-elect Donald Trump (R) blowing marijuana smoke into the mouth of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the wall of a bar-b-que restaurant on November 23, 2016 in Vilnius, Lithuania. Many people in the three Baltic nations of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are concerned that Russia, because Trump has expressed both admiration for Putin and doubt over defending NATO member states, will be emboldened to intervene militarily in the Baltics. Sean Gallup/Getty Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural Getty
Mr Dowd said he was too tied up to speak on Tuesday. However, he told the Daily Beast the campaign was in total cooperation with Mr Mueller.
Jones Day has got a wonderful team handling the production, Mr Dowd said.
The Trump campaign has previously turned over documents to congressional investigators, but this was reportedly the first instance of documents produced for Muellers office at the Justice Department. It may suggest that Mr Muellers investigation and those being carried out by officials on Capitol Hill, may be focussing on common ground.
Earlier this year, it was reported that Mr Muellers office had asked that the White House preserve any documentation relating to the meeting in the summer of 2016 between Mr Trumps senior aides and Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya.
Donald Trump Jr said he had agreed to the meeting after being told the lawyer wanted to provide incriminating material about Hillary Clinton. He said she actually offered no such information but rather wanted to press him about the Magnitsky Act, a US law that blacklists several Russians linked to the 2009 murder of another Russian lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky.
If its what you say I love it, Mr Trump Jr initially said, when told about the information he claimed he had been offered.
Ms Veselnitskaya has denied working for the Russian authorities or offering any incriminating information to the Trump campaign.
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the
Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}
Donald Trump needs to apply a little bit of common sense when considering the link between climate change and the devastating hurricanes battering the southern United States, a senior European politician has warned.
Gianni Pittella, leader of the socialist group in the European Parliament, said the world, and in particular the US president, needed to wake up to the fact of climate change and the effect it was having on extreme weather.
Mr Trump has previously said he believes climate change to be a hoax perpetuated by the Chinese in order to make American manufacturing uncompetitive.
I think even Mr Trump has to apply a little bit of common sense here and see whats going on in his country and in the world, Mr Pittella told reporters at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
Its incredibly important, of course, bearing in mind the dramatic weather events that weve seen, that people do need solidarity.
We have to wake up to whats going on and us in Europe need to be the main champions in the fight against climate change and the implementation of the Paris agreement.
Mr Pittella, from Italys centre-left Democratic Party, leads the second largest group in the European Parliament, including MEPs Britains Labour Party.
Powerful hurricanes have been battering the Caribbean and southern United States during this years hurricane season, with huge evacuations ordered in the US states of Texas and Florida.
Mr Pittella speaking at the European Parliament in Strasbourg (European Parliament)
Hurricane Irna is the strongest ever hurricane to form in the Atlantic Ocean outside the Gulf of Mexico and Carribean Sea, while the US has seen the highest-ever rainfall total for any Atlantic tropical cyclone in the United States in 2017.
Scientists have pointed out that warming temperatures allow the air to retain more moisture, meaning weather events tend to be more intense when they do occur.
Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures Show all 45 1 /45 Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures Recently planted palm trees lie strewn across the road as Hurricane Irma passes by in Miami Beach, Fla. 10 September 2017. AP Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures Damage outside the Mercure hotel in Marigot, on the Bay of Nettle, on the island of Saint-Martin AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures People pick up debris in Fajardo as Hurricane Irma howled past Puerto Rico after thrashing several smaller Caribbean islands Reuters/Alvin Baez Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures Large waves produced by Hurricane Irma crash into the end of Anglins Fishing Pier in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The category 4 hurricane made landfall in the United States in the Florida Keys at 9:10 a.m. after raking across the north coast of Cuba. 10 September 2017 Getty Images Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures A Royal Air Force Puma has been delivered to the US Virgin Islands to assist with the humanitarian efforts post Hurricane Irma. The Puma will be delivering Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief in support of the Department for International Development. Royal Air Force logisticians from RAF Brize Norton have assisted with the delivery of military personnel and aid cargo to the Caribbean to support disaster relief in the wake of Hurricane Irma. RAF aircraft including, C-17 A400M and Voyager are supporting a Joint Task Force of RAF, Royal Marines, Army and RN personnel who are supporting the Department for International Development as it delivers aid to stricken Caribbean Islands. MoD Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures Flamingos at Zoo Miami, are shown in a temporary enclosure in a hurricane resistant structure within the zoo, Saturday, 9 September 2017 in Miami. Though most animals will reman in their secure structures, the cheetahs and some birds will ride out the storm in temporary housing. AP Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures Boats are seen at a marina in South Beach as Hurricane Irma arrives at south Florida, in Miami Beach, Florida, U.S. 10 September 2017 Reuters Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures Storm clouds are seen over Fisher Island as Hurricane Irma approaches on 9 September 2017 in Miami Beach, Florida. Florida is in the path of the Hurricane which may come ashore at category 4 Getty Images Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures Waves crash over a seawall at the mouth of the Miami River from Biscayne Bay, Fla., as Hurricane Irma passes by. 10 September 2017 AP Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures Some of the damage on Saint Martin EPA/Gerben Van Es/Dutch Department of Defence Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures The skyline is seen as the outerbands of Hurricane Irma start to reach Florida on 9 September 2017 in Miami, Florida. Florida is in the path of the Hurricane which may come ashore at category 4. Getty Images Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures A tree toped by hurricane Irma is seen on a empty street in Remedios, Cuba, 9 September 2017. Hurricane Irma reached Cuba bringing winds between 160 and 190 kilometers per hour. The hurricane has hit the north coast of the island. EPA Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures James Constantineau loads sands bags in his truck as he prepares for the approach of Hurricane Irma Saturday, 9 September 2017, in East Palatka, Fla. Gov. Rick Scott is urging anyone living in an evacuation zone in southwest Florida to leave by noon as the threat of Hurricane Irma has shifted west. AP Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures The Fort Louis Marina in Marigot is seen on 8 September 2017 in Saint-Martin island, devastated by Hurricane Irma. AFP Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures Destruction in Orient Bay on the island of Saint-Martin AFP/Getty Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures The wreckage in Orient Bay on the island of Saint-Martin AFP/Getty Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures View of the aftermath of Hurricane Irma on Saint Martin Reuters Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures A mobile network tower snapped in two by the hurricane on the island of Barbuda ABS TV Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures A house reduced to rubble on the island of Saint Barthelemy AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures General view of damage on Saint Martin Reuters Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures A damaged Casino Royale on Saint Martin after the passage of Hurricane Irma Anna Mazur/AFP Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures An aerial photograph taken and released by the Dutch department of Defense shows the damage of Hurricane Irma in Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, the Dutch section of the Caribbean Island Gerben Van Es/AFP Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures Flooded houses in Gustavia on the island of Saint-Barthelemy Kevin Barrallon/AFP Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures The damage on the island of Saint-Martin, a day after Hurricane Irma hit AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures A man carrying an umbrella is battered by the wind in Fajardo, Puerto Rico Reuters/Alvin Baez Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures A lone police car on patrol during the passing of Hurricane Irma in Fajardo, Puerto Rico Jose Jimenez/Getty Images Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures Haitian people walk through the wind and rain on a beach in Cap-Haitien on September 7 as Hurricane Irma approaches Hector Retamal/AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures A flooded street on the island of Saint Martin AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures A tree collapsed on a house in Saint Martin Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures A hotel in Saint Martin is gutted by floodwater during the hurricane Guadeloupe 1ere Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures Cars submerged in Saint Martin Rinsy Xieng Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures Debris floats amongst the floodwater in Saint Martin @la1ere Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures Household items float down the street in Gustavia, Saint-Barthelemy Carole Greaux Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures The coast of Saint Martin is flooded as the hurricane hits the island Meteo Express Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures A whole street underwater in Saint Martin @la1ere Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures A car crashes into the tree amongst the chaos in Saint Martin @Bondtehond Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures A building on the Saint Martin seafront, destroyed by the hurricane @Bondtehond Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures A mobile home overturned at Princess Juliana International Airport in Saint Martin @Bondtehond Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures Palm trees bend in the wind in San Juan, Puerto Rico as Hurricane Irma slammed across islands in the northern Caribbean Reuters/Alvin Baez Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures A woman runs in the rain as Hurricane Irma slammed into San Juan, Puerto Rico Reuters/Alvin Baez Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures A picture taken on September 5, 2017 shows a view of the Baie Nettle beach in Marigot, with the wind blowing ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures A man rides past a boarded up house as part of preparations ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Irma on September 5, 2017, in the French overseas island of Guadeloupe Helene Valenzuela/AFP Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures Employees of the Mercure Hotel fill sand bags on the Baie Nettle beach in Marigot, as part of the preparations for the arrival of Hurricane Irma Lionel Chamoiseau/AFP Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures People in line at Costco, as they find out the store has ran out of water on September 5, 2017 in North Miami Michele Eve Sandberg/AFP Hurricane Irma devastation caused in pictures Night view of the city of Cap-Haitien, in the north of Haiti, 240 km from Port-au-Prince, on September 5, 2017 Hector Retamal/AFP
But the head of the US Environmental Protection Agency a man-made climate change denier appointed by Mr Trump himself has urged people not to discuss climate change during the catastrophe.
Scott Pruitt said: To discuss the cause and effect of these storms, there's the... place [and time] to do that, it's not now."
Mr Trump has already started the process of withdrawing the US from the Paris climate change agreement, which was hashed out by world leaders including his predecessor Barack Obama in 2015.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the
Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}
China has said it backs Burma's efforts to "safeguard stability" as pressure mounts to end violence which has sent more than 300,000 Rohingya Muslims fleeing to Bangladesh.
Around 370,000 Rohingya refugees have arrived in Bangladesh since 25 August, up from the previous estimate of 313,000, the International Organisation for Migration has said.
The top UN human rights official has denounced Burma, also known as Myanmar, for conducting a "cruel military operation" against the Rohingya, branding it "a textbook example of ethnic cleansing".
The government of the Buddhist-majority country says its security forces are fighting Rohingya militants behind a surge of violence and they are doing all they can to avoid harming civilians.
Video shows Rohingya flee burning villages in Myanmar
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China condemned the violence in Rakhine state.
According to The Straits Times, he said: "We support Myanmar's efforts in upholding peace and stability in the Rakhine state. We hope order and the normal life there will be recovered as soon as possible."
He added: "We think the international community should support the efforts of Myanmar in safeguarding the stability of its national development."
The government says about 400 people have been killed in the fighting in Rakhine State, western Burma.
Rohingya refugees in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 Rohingya refugees in pictures Rohingya refugees in pictures A young girl and a baby wade through mud after arriving in Whaikhyang, Bangladesh from Burma on 10 September Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Rohingya refugees in pictures Rohingya refugees walk through a camp in Whaikhyang, Bangladesh after arriving from Burma Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Rohingya refugees in pictures A young Rohingya refugee gathers firewood after arriving in Whaikhyang, Bangladesh from Burma Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Rohingya refugees in pictures Rohingya refugees wait for sacks of rice to be distributed in Whaikhyang, Bangladesh Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Rohingya refugees in pictures Rohingya Muslim refugees arrive on a boat in Whaikhyang, Bangladesh after crossing from Burma on 8 September Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Rohingya refugees in pictures Rohingya Muslim refugees react after being re-united with each other after arriving in Whaikhyang, Bangladesh on a boat from Burma Getty Rohingya refugees in pictures Rohingya Muslim refugees walk along the remains of a road after arriving in Whaikhyang, Bangladesh on a boat from Burma Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Rohingya refugees in pictures Rohingya Muslim refugees wade through water after arriving in Whaikhyang, Bangladesh by boat from Burma Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Rohingya refugees in pictures Rohingya Muslim refugees wade through water after arriving in Whaikhyang, Bangladesh by boat from Myanmar Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Rohingya refugees in pictures Rohingya Muslim refugees stand in the rain after arriving in Whaikhyang, Bangladesh by boat from Burma Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Rohingya refugees in pictures Indian children hold placards and shout slogans during a protest against the alleged persecution of the Rohingya Muslims in Burma EPA/Raminder Pal Singh Rohingya refugees in pictures Supporters of the Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC), an Islamic organisation, listen to their leaders' speeches against Burma's persecution of Rohingya Muslims, during a demonstration in Karachi Reuters/Akhtar Soomro Rohingya refugees in pictures Hundreds of Iranians take part in a protest against violence in Myanmar after weekly Friday prayers, in Tehran EPA/Abedin Taherkenareh Rohingya refugees in pictures Indonesian Muslim activists hold placards and shout slogans during a protest against the alleged persecution of the Rohingya minority in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia EPA/Ali Lutfi Rohingya refugees in pictures Members of an Islamic organisation shout slogans against the Burma government during a protest in Dhaka, Bangladesh EPA
The United States said the violent displacement of Rohingya Muslims showed Burma's security forces were not protecting civilians.
Washington has been a staunch supporter of Burma's transition from decades of harsh military rule, which is being led by Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
"We call on Burmese security authorities to respect the rule of law, stop the violence, and end the displacement of civilians from all communities," the White House said in a statement.
Burma's foreign ministry said shortly before the US statement was issued that Burma was also concerned about the suffering. It said its forces were carrying out their legitimate duty to restore order in response to acts of extremism.
"The government of Myanmar fully shares the concern of the international community regarding the displacement and suffering of all communities affected by the latest escalation of violence ignited by the acts of terrorism," the ministry said in a statement.
A young girl is squashed as Rohingya refugees wait for sacks of rice to be distributed in Whaikhyang, Bangladesh (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Burma's government regards the Rohingya as illegal migrants from neighbouring Bangladesh and denies them citizenship, even though many Rohingya families have lived there for generations.
Unverified reports from refugees and rights groups paint a picture of widespread attacks on Rohingya villages in the north of Rahkine State by the security forces and ethnic Rakhine Buddhists, who have burned numerous Muslim villages.
Authorities deny the accusations and say nearly 30,000 Buddhist villagers have also been displaced, fleeing to towns to the south.
Rohingya Muslims, fleeing from ongoing military operations in Burma's Rakhine state, try to take food aid at a refugee camp 50 kilometres south of Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh (Getty)
Attacks by a Rohingya insurgent group, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), on police posts and an army base in the north of Rakhine State on 25 August provoked the military counter-offensive refugees say is aimed at pushing Rohingya out of the country.
A similar but smaller wave of attacks by the same insurgents last October also led to what critics said was a heavy-handed response by the security forces that sent 87,000 Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh.
On Sunday, Burma rebuffed a ceasefire declared by ARSA to enable the delivery of aid to thousands of displaced and hungry people in the north of Rakhine state, declaring simply that it did not negotiate with terrorists.
Bangladesh is seeking help as it struggles to cope with the latest influx Rohingya refugees, who have joined more than 400,000 others already there.
Additional reporting by agencies
BEIJING, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government attaches great importance to advancing the rule of law, and China is willing to have more judicial cooperation with other countries, according to President Xi Jinping.
Xi made the remarks in a letter of congratulation to the 22nd annual conference and general meeting of the International Association of Prosecutors, which opened Monday morning in Beijing.
"As representatives of the public interest, prosecutors shoulder important responsibilities," Xi said.
He said the annual conference, focusing on prosecution in the public interest and building a safe, fair, harmonious and rule-of-law society, holds significance to the progress of rule of law in countries involved.
Xi stressed the Chinese government attaches great importance to the rule of law and has continuously pushed forward legislation in a scientific way, with strict law-enforcement, judicial justice and law compliance by all citizens.
"China works to ensure the country, the government and society are all under the rule of law," the president said.
Xi said Chinese procuratorates are important players in protecting the national and public interest, as they have the functions of punishing and preventing crime and supervising litigation.
Xi encouraged prosecutors from all around the world to share their experience in protecting the public interest and advancing the rule of law to deepen judicial cooperation.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the
Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}
When Jocko Willink, a former US Navy SEAL who is now an author and occasional Business Insider contributor, was asked on Twitter how he would handle the North Korean crisis, he gave an unexpected answer that one expert said just might work.
Willink's proposal didn't involve any covert special operation strikes or military moves of any kind. Instead of bombs, Willink suggested the US drop iPhones.
Drop 25 million iPhones on them and put satellites over them with free wifi, Willink tweeted last week.
Key moments in North Korea's nuclear programme
While the proposal itself is fantastical and far-fetched, Yun Sun, an expert on North Korea at the Stimson Center, says the core concept could work.
Kim Jong-un understands that as soon as society is open and North Korean people realise what they're missing, Kim's regime is unsustainable, and it's going to be overthrown, Sun told Business Insider.
For this reason, North Korea's government would strongly oppose any measures that mirror Willink's suggestion.
Sun pointed out that when South Korea had previously flown balloons that dropped pamphlets and DVDs over North Korea, the Kim regime had responded militarily, sensing the frailty of its government relative to those of prosperous liberal democracies.
For this reason, North Korea would turn down even free iPhones for its entire population, thought to be about 25.2 million.
Kim Jong-un attending an art performance dedicated to nuclear scientists and technicians, who worked on a hydrogen bomb which the regime claimed to have successfully tested (Getty)
Such a measure, Sun said, would also open the West to criticism for rewarding a illegitimately nuclear dictatorship that we know has committed massive human rights against its people.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at a celebration for nuclear scientists and engineers who contributed to a hydrogen bomb test, in an undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency.
And as North Korea puts the Kim regime above all else, any investment or aid would be exploited first and foremost by the government, Sun said, adding: We will have to swallow the consequence that of $100 investment, maybe $10 would reach the people.
US: North Korea could be met with 'massive military response'
North Korea harshly punishes ordinary citizens who are found to enjoy South Korean media, so there's good reason to think providing internet access or devices to North Koreans could get people killed.
But in a purely practical sense, the US has few options. War with North Korea could start a nuclear conflict or otherwise introduce a more long-term proliferation risk.
They're not going to denuclearise until their regime changes and society changes, Sun said. This approach may be the longer route, but it has the hope of succeeding.
The Louvre is opening a Middle East outpost in Abu Dhabi
The 20 most dangerous countries in the world
How men's hairstyles have evolved over the last 50 years
Read the original article on Business Insider UK. 2017. Follow Business Insider UK on Twitter.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the
Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}
North Koreas envoy to the UN has warned forthcoming measures will make the US suffer the greatest pain it has ever experienced.
Pyongyangs ambassador, Han Tae Song, made the vitriolic comments at the UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.
The Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) is ready to use a form of ultimate means, Mr Han said, without elaborating.
He said: The Washington regime fired up for political, economic, and military confrontation, [is] obsessed with the wild game of reversing the DPRKs development of nuclear force which has already reached the completion phase.
Key moments in North Korea's nuclear programme
The Security Council unanimously approved new sanctions on North Korea, but not the toughest-ever measures sought by Donald Trumps administration to ban all oil imports and freeze international assets of the government and its leader, Kim Jong-un.
My hope is the regime will hear the message loud and clear and it will choose a different path, US disarmament ambassador Robert Woods told the Geneva forum.
The resolution, adopted in response to Pyongyangs sixth and strongest nuclear test explosion, bans North Korea from importing all natural gas liquids and condensates.
It also bans all textile exports and prohibits any country from authorising new work permits for North Korean workers two key sources of hard currency for the northeast Asian nation.
Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb Show all 6 1 /6 Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb Photos released by North Korea show Kim Jong-un talking to subordinates next to a device thought to be the new thermonuclear weapon. There is no way of independently verifying the pictures STR/AFP/Getty Images Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb North Korea claims it has successfully tested an advanced hydrogen bomb which could be loaded onto an intercontinental ballistic missile AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb A diagram on the wall behind Mr Kim shows a bomb mounted inside a cone STR/AFP/Getty Images Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (C) attending a photo session with participants of the fourth conference of active secretaries of primary organisations of the youth league of the Korean People's Army (KPA) in Pyongyang STR/AFP/Getty Images Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb A new stamp issued in commemoration of the successful second test launch of the "Hwasong-14" intercontinental ballistic missile KCNA via Reuters Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb A new stamp issued in commemoration of the successful second test launch of the "Hwasong-14" intercontinental ballistic missile KCNA via Reuters
As for energy, it caps Pyongyangs imports of crude oil at the level of the last 12 months, and it limits the import of refined petroleum products to two million barrels a year.
The watered-down resolution does not include sanctions the US wanted on North Koreas national airline and the army.
Nevertheless, US Ambassador Nikki Haley told the council after the vote that these are by far the strongest measures ever imposed on North Korea.
But she stressed that these steps only work if all nations implement them completely and aggressively.
We will never forget the lesson that those who have evil intentions must be confronted US Ambassador Nikki Haley said (AFP/Getty)
Ms Haley noted the council was meeting on the 16th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack. In a clear message to North Korean threats to attack the US, she said: We will never forget the lesson that those who have evil intentions must be confronted.
Today we are saying the world will never accept a nuclear armed North Korea, she said. We are done trying to prod the regime to do the right thing and instead are taking steps to prevent it from doing the wrong thing.
She said the US doesnt take pleasure in strengthening sanctions and reiterated that the US does not want war.
The North Korean regime has not yet passed the point of no return, she said.
If it agrees to stop its nuclear programme it can reclaim its future. If it proves it can live in peace, the world will live in peace with it... If North Korea continues its dangerous path, we will continue with further pressure.
Britains UN ambassador, Matthew Rycroft, told reporters who questioned the watering down of the initial US text there is a significant prize in keeping the whole of the Security Council united.
Mr Rycroft called the resolution a very significant set of additional sanctions, declaring we are tightening the screw, and we stand prepared to tighten it further.
China and Russia had called for a resolution focused on a political solution to the escalating crisis over North Koreas nuclear programme.
They have proposed a freeze-for-freeze which would halt North Korean nuclear and missile tests in exchange for the US and South Korea stopping their joint military exercises something the Trump administration has rejected as a false equivalence.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the
Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}
More than three quarters of child refugees trying to reach Europe are facing appalling levels of human rights abuses along the central Mediterranean route, a new study has revealed.
Of nearly 1,600 child refugees aged 14-17 who came to Italy through the Mediterranean during the second half of 2016, 77 per cent reported direct experiences of abuse, exploitation and practices which may amount to human trafficking.
Survey results from early 2017, based on the testimonies of some 22,000 refugees, indicate that the situation might be worsening with 91 per cent of children reporting such experiences.
The report, co-produced by Unicef, the International Office for Migration (IOM) and the UN Migration Agency, shows that children and young people on the move are nearly twice as likely to experience exploitation and trafficking than adults aged 25 years and above on the eastern Mediterranean route.
One 17-year-old Nigerian girl reported being raped and held prisoner in a house in Tripoli, before being threatened once she sought help. An Afghan boy, 16, reported being forced to work on a farm in Libya, where he was beaten with a cane if he stopped working, to pay his smugglers.
Children and youths travelling alone or over longer periods, as well as those possessing lower levels of education, were also found to be highly vulnerable to exploitation at the hands of traffickers and criminal groups over the course of their journeys.
According to the report the central Mediterranean route is particularly dangerous, with most of the refugees passing through Libya, which remains riven with lawlessness, militias and criminality.
It comes amid a surge in the number of youngsters pursuing routes to Europe in recent years, with at least 300,000 unaccompanied and separated children moving across borders having registered in 80 countries last year a near fivefold increase from 66,000 in 20102011.
Unaccompanied and separated children made up 92 per cent of all under-18s arriving in Italy via the central Mediterranean Sea passage from North Africa in 2016, and the figure remained at this level through the first two months of 2017 up from 75 per cent the year before.
Recommended More than 100 child refugees missing in UK
Most of these children came from Eritrea, the Gambia, Nigeria, Egypt and Guinea. Ninety-two per cent of children who arrived in Italy in 2016 and the first two months of 2017 were unaccompanied up from 75 per cent in 2015.
The children indicated that they had been held against their will or forced to work or had agreed to work for pay, and then were not paid. A smaller number told researchers they had been offered arranged marriage or cash for blood, organs or body parts.
Smugglers may offer refugees, including children moving on their own, a pay as you go deal asking for no money up front, but later demanding sums children may not be able to pay. Children may subsequently be forced to work off their debts under conditions akin to contemporary forms of slavery and under threats of violence.
Speaking to researchers at a shelter in Italy, 16-year-old Aimamo, an unaccompanied child from the Gambia, described being forced into months of gruelling manual labour by traffickers following his arrival in Libya.
If you try to run, they shoot you. If you stop working, they beat you. We were just like slaves. At the end of the day, they just lock you inside, he said.
Another youngster, 17-year-old Mary* from Nigeria, told of how she left her country to escape a life with no prospects, but found herself being sexually exploited at the hands of a man who had promised to help her.
The man threatened to hand her over to someone else and leave her in Libya, then raped her. She was then held prisoner in a house in Tripoli with several other girls and young women, deprived of food and with no one to contact for help. I wanted to get away, but I couldnt I had no money, no phone. I didnt even know where I was to escape, she said.
Karim, 16, from Afghanistan, ran out of money while on his way to Europe, so to fund his journey he spent eight months making T-shirts and pants for a textile manufacturer in Istanbul, Turkey.
It was backbreaking work, the report states, requiring him to lift crates weighing 40-50 kg. He worked 14- to 15-hour days six days a week until he earned the 3,000 euros he needed to move on.
The findings reveal there are racial trends in the exploitation of unaccompanied minors, with those originating from sub-Saharan Africa being considerably more at risk. Racism is likely a major underlying factor behind this discrepancy, according to researchers.
Children from sub-Saharan Africa were more than four times more likely to experience exploitation and trafficking than those from other parts of the world along the Eastern Mediterranean route at 65 per cent compared with 15 per cent.
The discrepancy also exists along the central Mediterranean route, with 83 per cent of sub-Saharan African children subject to exploitation or trafficking, compared with 56 per cent of others.
The report has prompted renewed calls for all concerned parties countries of origin, transit and destination, the African Union, the EU, international and national organisations with support from the donor community to prioritise a series of actions.
These include establishing safe and regular pathways for children on the move, strengthening services to protect refugee children, finding alternatives to the detention of children on the move, working across borders to combat trafficking and exploitation, and combating xenophobia, racism and discrimination against all refugees.
In light of the findings, Afshan Khan, Unicef Regional Director and Special Coordinator for the Refugee and Migrant Crisis in Europe, urged EU leaders to establish protections for child refugees.
The stark reality is that it is now standard practice that children moving through the Mediterranean are abused, trafficked, beaten and discriminated against, he said.
EU leaders should put in place lasting solutions that include safe and legal migration pathways, establishing protection corridors and finding alternatives to the detention of migrant children.
Eugenio Ambrosi, IOMs Regional Director for the EU, Norway and Switzerland, said: For people who leave their countries to escape violence, instability or poverty, the factors pushing them to migrate are severe and they make perilous journeys knowing that they may be forced to pay with their dignity, their wellbeing or even their lives.
Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis Show all 7 1 /7 Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis The Solidarity With Refugees group said Saturdays protest aimed to show our Government and the world that Britain is ready to welcome more refugees. Rex Features Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis People march through central London as they take part in a protest rally organised by Solidarity with Refugees in a bid to urge the Government to take more action on the migrant crisis Press Association Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis The protest comes days before world leaders meet to discuss crisis at UN General Assembly Press Association Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis Demonstrators made their way from Park Lane to Parliament Square in London on Saturday afternoon Press Association Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis Marchers chanted refugees are welcome here and waved banners reading no-one is illegal and lets help people Press Association Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis The march was supported by charities and groups including the Red Cross, Asylum Aid, Save the Children, Hope Not Hate, Oxfam and the UN Refugee Agency Rex Features Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis In the wake of Alans death, David Cameron pledged to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees in the UK over the coming five years but there have been additional calls to re-home those who have already reached Europe, as well as asylum seekers coming from other conflict zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan Rex Features
Without the establishment of more regular migration pathways, other measures will be relatively ineffective. We must also re-invigorate a rights-based approach to migration, improving mechanisms to identify and protect the most vulnerable throughout the migration process, regardless of their legal status.
Lily Caprani, Deputy Executive Director of Unicef UK, said Britain has a crucial role to play, saying: This is a global problem but the UK has a crucial role to play in preventing such dangerous and traumatising journeys in the first place.
If we are serious about protecting these children, the UK must change its own family reunion rules so that children do not have to attempt to reach Europe to be reunited with loved ones. This simple move could save lives, and avoid children falling into the hand of traffickers and smugglers.
*Name changed to protect girls identity
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the
Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}
Turkey has signed a deal with Russia to buy nearly 2bn worth of anti-aircraft missiles.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said they the country had already paid the deposit following the deal which is estimated to be worth $2.5bn (1.9bn).
The deal is likely to raise eyebrows among Ankaras fellow Nato members as they are supposed to only buy compatible weapons systems from other members.
Turkey has the second-largest military force in Nato, after the US, but it has been drifting away from other members of the alliance since the government began its brutal crackdown on dissent following the failed coup last year.
Ankara also objects to some other Nato members military support for Syrian Kurdish rebels who they believe are linked to rebel Kurds within Turkey.
Russia says the S-400 system has a range of 248 miles and can shot down up to 80 targets in one go.
Moscow first deployed its own S-400 at its air base near Latakia in Syria in December 2015 after Turkey shot down a Russian Su-24 warplane on the Turkish-Syrian border.
The incident led to six months of diplomatic strife between Mr Erdogan and Russia's President, Vladimir Putin. But both sides began to cooperate last year in the face of Western opprobrium for their policies at home and abroad.
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
Mr Erdogan told Turkish newspaper Hurriyet that his Western partners were seeking enormous amounts of money for military hardware and the armed forces had killed 90 Kurdish terrorists in the past week using Turkish drones because the Western models were too expensive.
Its us who will make decisions regarding our independence. We are responsible for taking security measures for the defence of our country, he said.
Relations between Nato and Russia remain fraught, with both sides ramping up military exercises and extending troop deployments along border areas in Eastern Europe.
Last week, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the world was more unpredictable now than it has been at any point in his 30-year career.
He said: It is more unpredictable, and its more difficult because we have so many challenges at the same time.
We have proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in North Korea, we have terrorists, instability, and we have a more assertive Russia. It is a more dangerous world.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the
Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}
Catalan police evacuated the iconic Sagrada Familia church in central Barcelona after a bomb scare, after a "suspicious" van was parked near the church.
The surrounding streets were also cleared and public transport was diverted.
An anti-terrorism operation was announced after concern was raised over the vehicle, which had two people inside. No one was detained.
Officers from the bomb squad were on the scene on Tuesday evening, according to Mossos, the Catalan police service.
Armed police officers were also seen patrolling the area and locals were told to avoid it.
"If you live near Sagrda Familia, do not leave your home," the Mossos Twitter account said earlier on Tuesday.
"Stay calm and follow official information. We are working to restore normality."
The force later announced it was a "false alarm".
The Sagrada Familia, a Barcelona landmark, was said to be the intended target of a terrorist attack in August which killed 16 people.
Barcelona Attack Show all 30 1 /30 Barcelona Attack Barcelona Attack Police officers patrol on Las Ramblas following yesterday's terrorist attack, on August 18, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. Thirteen people were killed and dozens injured when a van hit crowds in the Las Ramblas area of Barcelona on Thursday. Spanish police have also killed five suspected terrorists in the town of Cambrils to stop a second terrorist attack Getty Images Barcelona Attack Tourists and locals walk along Las Ramblas following yesterday's terrorist attack, on August 18, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. Thirteen people were killed and dozens injured when a van hit crowds in the Las Ramblas area of Barcelona on Thursday. Spanish police have also killed five suspected terrorists in the town of Cambrils to stop a second terrorist attack. Getty Images Barcelona Attack Police officers patrol on Las Ramblas following yesterday's terrorist attack, on August 18, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. Thirteen people were killed and dozens injured when a van hit crowds in the Las Ramblas area of Barcelona on Thursday. Spanish police have also killed five suspected terrorists in the town of Cambrils to stop a second terrorist attack. Getty Images Barcelona Attack People leave a fastfood with hands up as asked by policemen after a van ploughed into the crowd, killing two persons and injuring several others on the Rambla in Barcelona on August 17, 2017. A driver deliberately rammed a van into a crowd on Barcelona's most popular street on August 17, 2017 killing at least two people before fleeing to a nearby bar, police said. Officers in Spain's second-largest city said the ramming on Las Ramblas was a "terrorist attack" and a police source said one suspect had left the scene and was "holed up in a bar". The police source said they were hunting for a total of two suspects AFP/Getty Barcelona Attack Police officers tell members of the public to leave the scene in a street in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. Police in the northern Spanish city of Barcelona say a white van has jumped the sidewalk in the city's historic Las Ramblas district, injuring several people. AP Barcelona Attack Injured people react after a van crashed into pedestrians in Las Ramblas, downtown Barcelona, Spain, 17 August 2017. According to initial reports a van crashed into a crowd in Barcelona's famous Placa Catalunya square at Las Ramblas area injuring several. Local media report the van driver ran away, metro and train stations were closed. The number of people injured and the reasons behind the incident are not yet known. Official sources have not confirmed that the incident is a terrorist attack. EPA Barcelona Attack AP Barcelona Attack REUTERS Barcelona Attack AP Barcelona Attack People move from the scene after a van crashed into pedestrians near the Las Ramblas avenue Reuters Barcelona Attack A policeman stands next to an ambulance after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack Reuters Barcelona Attack Firefighters stands outside an evacuated mall after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack Policemen stand next to vehicles in a cordoned off area after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack Plain-clothes policemen phone as they walk past police cars in a cordoned off area after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack A policemen and a medical staff member stand past police cars and an ambulance in a cordoned off area after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack A person is stretched out of a mall by medical staff members in a cordoned off area after a van ploughed into the crowd, injuring several persons on the Rambla in Barcelona on August 17, 2017. Police in Barcelona said they were dealing with a "terrorist attack" after a vehicle ploughed into a crowd of pedestrians on the city's famous Las Ramblas boulevard on August 17, 2017. Police were clearing the area after the incident, which has left a number of people injured. AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack Children, some in tears, are escorted down a road in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. Police in Barcelona say a white van has mounted a sidewalk, struck several people in the city's Las Ramblas district. AP Barcelona Attack Mossos d'Esquadra Police officers and emergency service workers move an injured man, after a van crashes into pedestrians in Las Ramblas, downtown Barcelona, Spain, 17 August 2017. According to initial reports a van crashed into a crowd in Barcelona's famous Placa Catalunya square at Las Ramblas area injuring several. Local media report the van driver ran away, metro and train stations were closed. The number of people injured and the reasons behind the incident are not yet known. Official sources have not confirmed that the incident is a terrorist attack. EPA Barcelona Attack Mossos d'Esquadra Police officers attend injured people after a van crashed into pedestrians in Las Ramblas, downtown Barcelona, Spain, 17 August 2017. According to initial reports a van crashed into a crowd in Barcelona's famous Placa Catalunya square at Las Ramblas area injuring several. Local media report the van driver ran away, metro and train stations were closed. The number of people injured and the reasons behind the incident are not yet known. Official sources have not confirmed that the incident is a terrorist attack. EPA Barcelona Attack Injured people react after a van crashed into pedestrians in Las Ramblas, downtown Barcelona, Spain, 17 August 2017. According to initial reports a van crashed into a crowd in Barcelona's famous Placa Catalunya square at Las Ramblas area injuring several. Local media report the van driver ran away, metro and train stations were closed. The number of people injured and the reasons behind the incident are not yet known. Official sources have not confirmed that the incident is a terrorist attack. EPA Barcelona Attack A police officer cordon off a street in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. Police in the northern Spanish city of Barcelona say a white van has jumped the sidewalk in the city's historic Las Ramblas district, injuring several people. AP Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Images Barcelona Attack AFP/Getty Images
Extremist group Isis claimed responsibility for the attacks.
A terrorist cell, which carried out the two vehicle ramming attacks in Barcelona's busy Las Ramblas area, are believed to have been planned a much larger bomb attack on the Church.
But is is thought the terrorists' plans were scuppered due to an accidental explosion at their safe house, in the town of Alcanar.
Gov't should provide more incentives to foreign talent
China urgently needs more qualified international talent, with Shanghai the country's only city that enjoys global talent competitiveness above the world's average, a new report revealed.
Shanghai is the favorite Chinese city of foreign talent, said the report, released by the Center for China and Globalization (CCG) on Monday, followed by Beijing, South China's Guangdong Province and East China's Jiangsu Province.
Shanghai beat other cities and scored 65.17 out of 100 in global talent competitiveness, because of its openness, work environment, job opportunities and preferential policies.
"I finally chose to stay in Shanghai because it has more work opportunities than other Chinese cities, and the city's lifestyle is more international, which makes me feel more comfortable," said Juan, a Mexican electronics engineer who has worked in several other Chinese cities.
Surprisingly, East China's Jiangsu Province has more foreign talent than Beijing, the CCG report said.
Coastal province Jiangsu is home to many foreign companies because it's relatively developed and the environment is enjoyable and pleasant, Zhang Yunling, director of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute for International Studies, told the Global Times.
The Jiangsu government has invested heavily to attract foreign talent, CCG vice secretary Zheng Qinglian said.
For instance, a medical park in Taizhou city gives each PhD holder an additional subsidy of 20,000 yuan ($3,070) and 150,000 yuan to buy a house, Jiangsu's official newspaper, Xinhua Daily, reported.
However, Wang Huiyao, head of Southwestern University of Finance and Economics' Institute of Development Studies, said China's global talent competitiveness still lags behind developed countries.
According to the 2017 Global Talent Competitiveness Index, a report produced by The Business School for the World (INSEAD), China ranks 54th in global talent competitiveness.
As a developing country, China faces the challenge of attracting international talent because it provides less work opportunities for foreigners than developed countries, and Chinese society is relatively more conservative, said Zhang, adding that foreigners also face cultural and language barriers.
Providing incentives
"China has a great potential to attract international talent," said Xie Shouguang, head of the Social Sciences Academic Press.
China is in a reasonably robust position of talent readiness because of improvements to its educational and employment system, connectivity of stakeholders, and level of technological competence, the INSEAD report said.
Many foreigners also complained that aside from cultural and language barriers, they also have a difficult time applying for a visa. Reforms have been implemented in different regions to correct this problem.
"It is impossible for fresh college graduates to apply for a work visa because the country requires two years of work experience," Jon, a Dane, who currently studies in Shanghai, told the Global Times.
The Shanghai government began a pilot program in 2015 that allows foreign students with a master's degree from Shanghai universities to start a business after graduating, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
In May, the Anhui government said that high-level foreign talent, their spouse and minor children, as well as overseas Chinese with PhD degrees who work in Anhui, can apply for permanent residency.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the
Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}
A family of three have died after falling into a volcanic crater in Pozzuoli, Italy.
An 11-year-old boy is believed to have fallen into a hole at the Solfatara Crater, with his 42-year-old mother and 45-year-old father also falling in after attempting to save him.
It was not immediately clear if the family were overcome by gases or molten lava.
The couple's second son, aged seven-years-old, managed to get to safety.
Rescuers arrive at Solfatara di Pozzuoli where three people died in the crater at Pozzuoli, Naples (EPA/CIRO FUSCO)
Local media reports say the 11-year-old crossed a safety barrier before falling into the crater.
Emergency crews rushed to the scene, but were unable to save the family.
Reports said the family were from Turin in northern Italy.
World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty
The crater is in the Phlegraen Fields, a sprawling constellation of ancient volcanic craters frequented by Italian school children and tourists from around the world.
The fields are scorching hot only a few inches below the surface.
Solfatara is a dormant volcano which still emits jets of steam and sulfurous fumes.
It was formed around 4,000 years ago and last erupted in 1198.
In Roman myth it was purported to be the home of the god Vulcan.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the
Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}
Taking home a bigger paycheck sounds nice to just about anyone.
It sounds so nice to some people that they will move to a different country to earn more money.
Globally, 41% of expats relocated because of their career or their partner's career, whether by choice or out of necessity, according to the Expat Insider 2017 report from expatriate network and global guide InterNations.
To compile the data, InterNations surveyed 12,519 expats, representing 166 nationalities and living in 188 countries around the world.
In the survey, expats were asked to compare their current income to the income they would earn at home for the same or a similar job.
The top 10 countries where at least 60% of expats said they earn more than at home are concentrated in the Middle East and Northern Europe. But it's all relative the report found expats' satisfaction with their personal finances varied greatly depending on cost of living and the state of the country's economy, even if workers were earning a higher dollar amount than in their home country.
For instance, 76% of expats in Luxembourg report earning a higher income a greater share than any other country surveyed but 23% said their disposable household income is still not enough to cover everything they need in daily life.
Below, learn more about the 10 countries where expats are earning more money than they would at home, and how it affects their personal finances.
10. Singapore
62% of expats in Singapore think they make more than they would in a similar position back home one-third believe their income is a lot higher.
43% have a gross annual household income of more than $100,000. On average, 21% of global expats have household earnings above six-figures.
Still, cost of living is particularly high in Singapore, securing it a spot in the bottom 10 on the cost of living index.
9. Norway
72% of expats in Norway believe they make more than they would in a similar position back home 33% say it's a lot more.
Yet, 71% judge the cost of living less than favorably.
On the bright side: Norway ranks among the top 10 destinations for work-life balance worldwide.
8. United Arab Emirates
(Getty)
71% of expats believe they make more in the UAE than they would in a similar position back home about half think that they make a lot more.
16% have an annual household income of more than $150,000, compared to only one in ten expats worldwide.
However, 67% rate the affordability of housing in UAE negatively, and 27% say their disposable household income is not enough to cover everything they need for daily life.
7. Nigeria
68% of expats in Nigeria believe they make more than they would in a similar position back home.
One in ten expats has an annual household income of more than $200,000 86% say their disposable household income is enough to cover everything they need.
Despite coming in at No. 12 on the personal fiance index, Nigeria ranked last on the quality of life index due to poor rankings for health and well-being, safety and security, and transportation.
6. Saudi Arabia
70% of expats in Saudi Arabia think they earn more than they would in a similar position back home 42% think that it is a lot more.
87% say their disposable household income is enough or more than enough to cover everything they need in daily life 22% even say that they have a lot more than enough.
Despite good pay for workers, Saudi Arabia ranks low on the indices for family life and child education options.
5. Bahrain
70% of expats in Bahrain believe their income is higher than what they would make at home 41% think their income is a lot higher.
Bahrain tanks third in the working abroad index, thanks to excellent ratings in job & career and work/life balance subcategories.
93% of expats in Bahrain work full-time, spending an average of 42.9 hours a week at work compared to the global average of 44.3 hours.
4. Kuwait
(AFP/Getty) (AFP/Getty Images)
But 70% of expats in Kuwait think their income is higher than what they would make in a similar position in their home country.
Still, incomes are low 62% have a disposable household income of less than $50,000.
Many expats in Kuwait move from India (22%) and the Philippines (13%), countries with low incomes, which could explain why they rate their incomes in Kuwait as much higher.
3. Qatar
76% of expats in Qatar believe their income is higher than what they would make in a similar position back home 46% say it is a lot higher.
One-third of expats have disposable household income of at least $100,000.
67% of expats in Qatar found the cost of housing to be unaffordable yet, 81% still feel that their household income is enough or more than enough to get by.
2. Switzerland
77% of expats in Switzerland believe their income is higher than what they would make in a similar position back home 44% say it is a lot higher.
57% of expats in Switzerland have an annual gross household income of at least $100,000 14% make $200,000 or more.
Due to the high cost of living, 17% of expats are still unhappy with their financial situation.
(Paul Hilbert/LFT) (Paul Hilbert / LFT)
1. Luxembourg
76% of expats who are working in Luxembourg believe that they make more than they would in a similar position back home.
Still, 23% of expats in Luxembourg say their disposable household income is not enough to cover everything they need in daily life.
66% of expats rate the cost of living negatively in Luxembourg.
The Louvre is opening a Middle East outpost in Abu Dhabi
The 20 most dangerous countries in the world
How men's hairstyles have evolved over the last 50 years
Read the original article on Business Insider UK. 2017. Follow Business Insider UK on Twitter.
Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the
Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}
I want Colombia to be different, says Jhon Benavides, an aspiring barista and, from the age of 14 until last year, a guerrilla in the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc). Hes just prepared a brew, carefully weighing out freshly ground coffee beans before making some cups of arabica grown here in Popayan, an agricultural town in the department of Cauca.
The 28-year-old married father-of-two has been living in Resguardo Pueblo Nuevo zona veredal de paz one of three rural United Nations-managed demobilisation zones set up for 400 ex-rebels who downed weapons after Farc signed a peace agreement in November 2016 with Colombias President Juan Manuel Santos in Caldono, Cauca. A Farc stronghold during the 53-year conflict, Caucas fertile, volcanic land that soars to 2,100m above sea level has earned its place as Colombias fourth-largest coffee-growing department, with 95,000 hectares under plantation, microlots farmed by 93,000 families. In 2016, however, another 36,000 hectares were dedicated to coca, according to Insight Crime, also making Cauca Colombias third-largest cocaine cultivating department.
Jhon is now an apprentice on a scheme hatched to create a different Colombia. Following several interviews, he and 29 former guerrillas, including two women, were moved from Caldono to Popayan two weeks ago, selected to undertake a three-month coffee growing training programme at Tecnicafe coffee technology park. This is the first such scheme to kickstart former guerrillas reintegration into civilian life in Cauca. Supported by several organisations, including Colombias National Learning Service (Sena), National Federation of Coffee Growers (FNC), and Illy Caffe and its local supplier Ascafe, the students live and breathe the training programme. There are four to a dorm and all meals are provided; one condition of the programme is that participants cant leave Tecnicafe for the duration.
Dressed in jeans and the camel-coloured shirt he wears to class, Jhon, enthusiastically preparing the coffee with a Chemex maker, tells me: It seemed a good idea to join this programme as I wanted to learn more about coffee growing. I want the best for my family and for my community.
Jhons family purchased a small coffee farm four years ago, he says, but he hasnt been able to get involved. Farc imposed rules and norms so if I had left, [they] would have come to find me. Id visit, but sporadically. It wasnt safe and I had to anticipate that.
Some participants already have coffee farms back home (illycaffe/Pablo Molano)
Hes not the only one leaving behind his loved ones to study; Nancy Lopezs boyfriend is caring for their toddler. Born into a coffee-growing family with a six-hectare estate, Nancy could have made a decent income from Arabica instead she joined Farc aged 11. Now that shes realising coffees potential and her own, at the age of 23 the vicious circle will hopefully be broken.
Nancy says: There was conflict at home when I was younger and joining Farc was a way out. I wasnt very mature and didnt think about the consequences.
I started this course a week after my companions as I had to make arrangements for my daughter; I can call her every day. I havent been to school much and I dont know much about growing coffee. But training is worth the effort for those of us who live in the countryside to learn about producing quality coffee. I wanted to take advantage of this opportunity; they dont come around often.
Students are immersed in all things coffee for the duration (illycaffe/Pablo Molano)
Jhon, Nancy and their fellow students dont yet know that Illy Caffe has committed to buying the green coffee (pulped and ready to roast) they grow via Ascafe as part of the Italian roasting companys sustainability commitments in Colombia. Fortunate because he already owns a finca, it seems Jhons enthusiasm and thirst for knowledge will ensure he progresses quickly in this new career. Other muchachos (guys, as Farc rebels refer to themselves), however, are less certain about the future. One, who wished to remain unnamed, said: I dont own any land and I dont have the money to buy some, either. Im not sure what Ill do after this course; I dont want to work as a coffee picker.
A second commitment these students are unaware of is an eight-million-peso government stipend (2,027) they will receive on completing the course; a one-hectare farm in the Popayan area costs around 60 million pesos.
This initiative is in its infancy, but the outlook is positive. Its very new but this is historic, says Carlos Lopez from Ascafe. Coffee is a way out from the conflict and can help these people return to society. Were giving them the knowledge to produce quality coffee: we have to join together so we all reap the rewards.
The programme offers ex-guerrillas a second chance (illycaffe/Pablo Molano)
Driving the green winding road from Cali to Popayan, its hard to imagine that war and conflict dominated this mountainous land covered with arabica bushes, banana trees and sugarcane just eight months ago. While the peace deal was struck only recently, Tecnicafes air is filled with hope hope that coffee can be foundational in creating a peaceful Colombia. Jhon shares that sentiment.
When I finish this course, well harvest our coffee cherries in November I cant wait to bring them to Tecnicafe to be tasted. As for the long term, he wants to be a great barista. It would be a mistake to return to what I used to do. Just being here, reintegration, Im starting to understand why I mustnt go back.
Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the
Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}
American Airlines flight 1070 signalled the resumption of flights at Florida's main hub airport when it touched down in Miami just after 7am local time (noon BST) on Tuesday. The Boeing 737 jet from Seattle was the first operation at the airport for four days, after Hurricane Irma struck the "Sunshine State".
A wave of overnight flights from South America, starting with Sao Paulo, Brasilia and Rio, followed in its wake.
But hundreds of flights to and from Floridas main hub have been cancelled on Tuesday, as airlines struggle to re-establish operations after Hurricane Irma. With aircraft moved out of the area to avoid storm damage, the usual first wave of departures from Miami did not take place. Outbound flights will begin only when aircraft have arrived from outside Florida.
The same American Airlines jet is therefore likely to be the first departure for four days, too, leaving gate D48 for Las Vegas shortly before 9am local time (2pm BST).
British Airways and American Airlines cancelled their morning services from Heathrow to Miami, but BA is planning to dispatch a Jumbo jet this afternoon on the route as scheduled at 1.45pm. BA has deployed aircraft to Bermuda, Baltimore and Boston in order to be able to fly in to Florida, pick up passengers and return to London with the same flight crew.
The airline expects to operate both its flights from Miami to Heathrow today, though the earlier departure due out at 5.10pm local time has been delayed by two-and-a-half hours.
BA will also operate one of its two daily flights from Orlando to Gatwick.
At Orlando, where thousands of British holidaymakers are waiting to return, the main airport is resuming some limited commercial service.
Damage to the airport includes Water intrusions throughout the Main Terminal and Debris and obstructions on airport roadway system.
The airport says: After multiple days of cancelled flights, all passengers are advised to verify a confirmed seat assignment with their individual airline before arriving at the airport.
Virgin Atlantic is sending five Boeing 747s from Gatwick, Manchester and Glasgow to Orlando to pick up almost 2,000 stranded passengers.
BAs services to and from Tampa continue to be cancelled, and Key West airport remains closed.
Many curfews are still in operation throughout Florida, with no cars permitted in South Beach, Miami, until noon on Tuesday (5pm BST).
The LE Samuel Beckett is moored at the ExCel centre in Docklands, east London
Ireland's military chiefs have defended the decision to send a flagship navy vessel to the world's biggest arms fair.
The LE Samuel Beckett's presence at the controversial Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) in London sparked anger among anti-war activists, as the Republic has a longstanding tradition as a neutral state.
The 9 0m-long offshore patrol vessel is fitted with a 76mm gun, two 20mm cannons and four general purpose machine guns.
It was commissioned in May 2014 and cost 71 million euro.
It has been deployed on humanitarian missions in the Mediterranean and its crew are credited with rescuing 2,818 people.
Ship manufacturers Babcock asked for it to be sent to the multibillion showcase of military hardware and software, which is attended by 1,600 exhibitors from 54 countries.
"The attendance at the exhibition is an opportunity to portray the considerable level of commitment and investment made in recent years to a wide audience towards protecting and safeguarding Irish territorial waters, by showcasing the success of the offshore patrol vessel design and build capabilities," Ireland's Department of Defence said.
The ship's appearance on the Thames was flagged by Da nish company Systematic Maritime. Some of its SitaWare command and control technology is fitted to the vessel.
The Defence Forces of Ireland, which takes part in UN-mandated peacekeeping and peace enforcement, is the first military to use the company's software to create an operational picture for its forces over land, sea and air.
SitaWare is described as a unique command and control system used by more than 20 countries to give "warfighters at all tactical levels" better situational awareness and greater operational capability.
Edward Horgan, of the Irish Anti-War Movement and a United Nations elections' inspector, said an Irish Naval Service vessel's presence in the world's biggest arms fair was a misuse.
"It is completely inappropriate for the Irish Defence Forces to be involved in any way in this arms fair, or in the international arms market that is notorious for corruption," he said.
"And if the LE Samuel Beckett is attending this arms fair due to some contractual clause in its original purchase agreement, this raises more concerns about the appropriateness of our defence purchasing procedures.
"With more than 8,000 Irish citizens homeless, we cannot afford to waste precious resources supporting the corrupt international arms industries."
The LE Samuel Beckett is open to visitors to the naval zone at the arms fair.
Mr Horgan called on Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to explain who authorised the ship's deployment to the arms fair and whether a fee was paid for it to attend.
The riverside section includes waterborne demonstrations and interactive presentations on eight warships, including a demonstration of the SitaWare Maritime solution on the LE Samuel Beckett.
Shipbuilder Babcock, which built the vessel at its north Devon yard, declined to discuss whether the LE Samuel Beckett's presence at the arms fair had been written into the manufacturing contract.
"We have an ongoing relationship with Ireland's Department of Defence and the Irish Naval Service due to our successful work on the Irish OPV (offshore patrol vessel) programme," the company said.
Babcock built three Irish Naval Service ships in recent years and is in the process of completing a fourth.
UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- China's permanent representative to the United Nations, Liu Jieyi, on Monday called for calm over the crisis on the Korean Peninsula after the UN Security Council adopted new sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) over its latest nuclear test.
"At present, the situation on the Korean Peninsula remains complex and grave. All relevant parties must be cool-headed and avoid rhetoric or action that might aggravate tension," Liu told the council after the vote.
Monday's resolution imposed further sanctions on the DPRK over the country's nuclear test on Sept. 3, particularly targeting its oil supplies and textile exports.
The Chinese envoy condemned the DPRK's nuclear test, and said China is committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the maintenance of peace and stability there and a peaceful settlement of the issue through dialogue.
He urged the DPRK to heed the aspirations and will of the international community, abide by relevant Security Council resolutions, refrain from any more missile launches or nuclear tests, and return to the track of denuclearization.
He noted that Monday's resolution also reiterated the maintenance of peace and security of the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia and the peaceful settlement of the issue, the resumption of the six-party talks and the importance of de-escalation of tension on the Korean Peninsula.
He called for the comprehensive implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions.
"The nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula must be resolved peacefully, integrated measures must be taken to balance the legitimate concerns of all parties," said Liu.
He said the suspension-for-suspension proposal and dual-track approach put forward by China and the idea of step-by-step approach proposed by Russia formed a roadmap for the settlement of the issue.
The roadmap is realistic and feasible, he said, asking the relevant parties for due consideration and positive responses.
The idea of dual-track approach involves parallel efforts to move forward both denuclearization and the establishment of a peaceful mechanism on the peninsula, the initiative of suspension-for-suspension calls for the DPRK to suspend its nuclear and missile activities and for the United States and South Korea to suspend their large-scale war games.
Liu expressed the hope that the United States would incorporate into its DPRK policy its promises of not seeking a regime change in Pyongyang, not seeking the collapse of the DPRK government, not seeking acceleration of reunification of the Korean Peninsula and not sending its military north of the 38 Parallel.
The deployment of military forces on the Korean Peninsula runs counter to the goal of denuclearization and to regional peace and stability. The deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile shield severely jeopardizes the strategic interests of regional countries, including those of China, said Liu. China strongly urges the relevant parties to stop deployment of the system and dismantle relevant equipment, he said.
Parties concerned should resume dialogue and negotiations in order to push for the denuclearization of the peninsula. The Security Council should take up its historic responsibility on the issue, said the Chinese envoy.
China will continue to push for dialogue and consultations, and together with various parties, to play a constructive role in realizing the goal of denuclearization and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, he said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact gardai
A man killed in a suspected gang-related shooting in Dublin was murdered outside his home while his young children were inside, gardai have said.
Darragh Nugent, 35, was shot dead on Wheatfield Avenue in Clondalkin at around 9.40pm on Monday night.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Gardai believe his killers were lying in wait for their victim from at least 9pm.
Superintendent Dermot Mann said at least one person forced their way into Mr Nugent's home before the shooting.
He was not in the house at that time.
A confrontation ensued later at the front of the house and he was shot dead.
"He was the father of a number of small children. That makes it all the more horrific," said Mr Mann.
He said a number of people were in the area at the time of the shooting, and appealed for anyone with information to come forward.
The gunman and an accomplice fled in a car to Collinstown Road following the shooting, but gardai are unsure where the car went from there.
"At this stage, we believe that that car was a large saloon, it may be a BMW or similar, and probably an old car.
"The direction of that car is unknown to us at this stage, but it is very important in our investigation," said Mr Mann.
The victim was known to gardai and was on bail for a firearm offence.
Although his murder is believed to be gang-related, it is not thought to be connected to the ongoing Hutch-Kinahan feud.
Anyone with information is asked to contact gardai at Ronastown Garda Station on 01-666 7700.
A farmer, landlord and employee made a settlement of 103,966 with the Revenue Commissioners in the latest tax defaulters list.
Brian Brogan, Sockar, Trentagh, Letterkenny, Donegal made the settlement with Revenue for under declaration of tax.
A farmer and agricultural contractor from Clare, Patrick Scanlon, Garranboy, Killaloe, made a settlement of 46,633 with revenue for under declaration of income tax and VAT.
Fourteen farmers were named on the most recent tax defaulters list, including Seamus Lappin, 191 Granemore Road, Tassagh, Armagh who settled with Revenue for 48,391 for under declaration of PAYE, PRSI and USC.
Other farmers featuring on the list including two for the misuse of marked mineral oil. Both farmers were fined 2,500.
Kerry farmer, James Relihan, Knockeragh, Listowel made a 34,703 settlement with Revenue for the under declaration of Capital Gains Tax.
Michael J Flynn, 6 Rathbawn Avenue, Castlebar, Mayo, a meat distribution agent, settled with Revenue for 164,000 for the under declaration of income tax and VAT.
Revenue published details that showed 124 cases of failure to file a tax return, failure to remit tax, failure to produce books and records, or delivery of an incorrect return. Court fines of up to 30,000 and a 7 month custodial sentence were imposed.
It also highlighted 52 cases of misuse of marked mineral oil, in respect of which Court fines of between 5,000 and 1,250 were imposed.
Details of 58 settlements were published and 11,080,518.65 is the total settlement amount in these cases. Some 27 cases were for amounts exceeding 100,000, of which four exceeded 500,000 and one of which exceeded 1m.
Glanbia Ireland will pay its milk suppliers 35 cent per litre (cpl) including VAT for August manufacturing milk supplies.
Glanbia Ireland has also announced that it will pay its milk suppliers a 1 cpl bonus on all milk supplied in January to June of 2017.
Glanbia Ireland has increased its base price for August by 1 cpl to 35 cpl including VAT for manufacturing milk at 3.6% butterfat and 3.3% protein.
The Board of Glanbia Ireland today also agreed to pay a 1 cpl including VAT bonus on all milk supplied in January to June of 2017.
It says this very significant bonus on all liquid and manufacturing milk supplies will be included in this months milk payment.
Milk volumes allocated to Glanbias Fixed Milk Price Schemes will also benefit from the flat 1cpl bonus payment.
Glanbia Ireland Chairman Henry Corbally said: while the short term outlook remains positive, we note that the current high prices are leading to higher production in key regions and may affect demand when fully passed through the supply chain. Exchange rates, particularly the weakening dollar, may also have an impact on returns in the medium term. The Board will continue to monitor market developments on a monthly basis.
As a business majority owned by our farmers, we are always committed to returning the highest possible milk price to our suppliers. We are pleased that the business is in a position to make this very significant payment to our farmers for all milk supplied in the first half of this year.
IFA National Dairy Committee Chairman Sean OLeary has said that a quick look at the most up-to-date available indices of milk returns in Europe suggests that Irish milk prices have some catching up to do.
He said continued firming in butterfat prices may lead to some further uplift in the August Ornua PPI, and pointed out that August 2017 average EU MMO commodity returns - at just under 36c/l after deduction of 5c/l processing costs - also argued in favour of an Irish August milk price increase of at least 1c/l.
Most of the indices (see graph below) are strongly supported by the historically high value of butterfat, with EU average butter prices on 3 September coming in at 6390/t a massive 155% increase compared to its lowest ebb of May 2016, Mr OLeary said.
Strong butterfat value is also sustaining strong WMP and cheese prices, and all the indices have continued to strengthen despite the weaker SMP prices, he said.
I urge co-op board members, who will be meeting from this week to decide on their August milk price, to be sure to allow their fellow milk suppliers to fully benefit from the rising dairy returns, with a minimum of 1c/l price increase, he concluded.
The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) has formally complained to the European Commission (EC) that the Irish government is failing in its duty under the Birds and Habitats Directives to protect threatened wildlife in our uplands and hills.
The IWT presented to the EC a table of 97 wild fires between the March 24 and May 22, 2017 from 19 counties in the republic (Kerry, Cork, Mayo, Galway, Waterford, Wicklow, Donegal, Louth, Carlow, Limerick, Wexford, Dublin, Tipperary, Sligo, Roscommon, Kildare, Cavan, Monaghan and Leitrim) which they deem illegal.
It says 39 of these (40%) were within sites designated under the Natura 2000 network (Special Areas of Conservation or Special Protection Areas under the EUs Habitats/Birds Directive).
These include Killarney National Park, Wicklow Mountains National Park, Connemara, Mount Leinster in Carlow/Wexford, Mount Brandon in Kerry and the Ox Mountains in Sligo.
The trust says these areas are affected annually by wild fires and no action has been taken by the government to prevent them.
As a result, it highlights that all of the habitats of our hills were assessed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service as being in bad condition while once common upland birds such as Curlew, Golden Eagle, Ring Ouzel, Nightjar, Twite and Hen Harrier are threatened with extinction.
Accoding to IWT, policy measures which would dramatically reduce the levels of fires include removing the requirement for farmers in uplands to have vegetation at grazable height (something that is difficult to achieve without recourse to fire), designing new eligibility criteria which include options for rewilding the land, high nature value farming, or sustainable grazing systems with re-establishment of native woodlands.
Specific management plans for all Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas should be produced which sets out how our uplands can be restored. This should include removal/replacement of plantations of non-native coniferous trees.
IWT Campaign Officer Padraic Fogarty said Irish mountains have suffered an ecological catastrophe over the past 50 years.
"They are no longer the beautiful, wildlife-rich places they once were.
Landscapes and nature have been replaced with scorched land and plantations which contribute to carbon emissions, pollution, erosion, flooding, loss of scenic value and livelihoods. This has happened not because of lack of resources or uncertain science but a lack of political will," he said.
Cork retail group Musgrave has appointed CRH chairman Nicky Hartery as its own chairman, succeeding Peter Lacy, who retires from the role at the end of the year.
Musgrave controls the SuperValu chain, as well as brands such as Centra and Daybreak.
It also has a wholesale operation and owns a retail and wholesale business in Spain.
Mr Lacy has been a non-executive director of the family-owned Musgrave group since 2006, and has served as chairman since 2014.
He was formerly a partner at accountancy firm PwC.
Mr Hartery joined Musgrave as a non-executive director in 2010.
He has held executive roles with companies including Dell, where he was vice president of manufacturing and business operations at its Europe, Middle East and Africa division.
He held that role between 2000 and 2008.
Prior to that, he was executive vice president with Eastman Kodak and also served as CEO of computer storage firm Verbatim.
"In his role as non-executive director, Nicky has already made a valuable contribution to the business and I know we will continue to benefit from his deep expertise, particularly in the area of supply chain," said Musgrave CEO Chris Martin.
Mr Martin also thanked Mr Lacy for his contribution to the group.
Musgrave generated turnover of 3.7bn last year.
Group pre-tax profit, excluding a 15.5m net pension gain, after it closed its final defined benefit scheme last year, was 73m, compared to 38.1m a year earlier from continuing operations.
Nama has had a receiver appointed over a company owned by developer Bryan Cullen - less than a year after another of his building firms, Jackson Homes, cleared a debt it owed to the state agency.
The receiver, George Maloney of RSM, has been appointed by Nama over Goldenball Ltd, on foot of a mortgage with AIB in 2010.
The debt was subsequently transferred to Nama.
The mortgage was attached to more than 18 acres of land in south Dublin, where construction of more than 100 homes was planned.
Filings for Goldenball at the Companies Registration Office show it is entirely owned by Mr Cullen.
The filings also show that the charge with AIB was created in December 2010. It related to a parcel of 14.64 acres of land at Kilternan Domain south of Dublin city, and a separate 3.63 acres of land at the location.
Last year, Mr Cullen used the proceeds from the sale of about 100 homes in Stillorgan, south Dublin, to clear a multimillion euro debt owed by his Jackson Homes company to Nama.
Mr Cullen's Precinct Investments, whose debts were also with Nama, is the former owner of Dublin's iconic Gresham Hotel, which was sold last year by Nama to Spain's Riu Hotel group for 92m.
The latest accounts for Jackson Homes show the firm made an operating loss of 3.1m in 2015, with net liabilities of 19.2m at the end of that year.
Attracting and retaining talent, as well as reform of the personal tax system, are the biggest challenges facing Ireland's life sciences sector, according to new research from global executive search firm Accreate.
Of the 350 leaders of life science businesses in Ireland that took part in the survey, 84pc said that attracting and retaining talent were the 'most challenging' or 'challenging' issue affecting their businesses, while just over one in two identified Ireland's personal income tax regime and regulatory environment as the next 'most challenging' or 'challenging' issues facing the sector.
In the area of Ireland's personal tax regime, nine in 10 respondents believe Ireland is a less favourable location than our EU counterparts, however, unsurprisingly 98pc said that they saw Ireland as having a favourable corporate tax regime when compared to other EU countries.
Just over 80pc of those surveyed identified personal taxation reform as being 'most important' or 'important' measure that would enhance their ability to attract and retain talent, boosting economic growth, the research found.
"Overall, the sentiment for the businesses currently situated in Ireland is strong, 79pc of respondents see Ireland as being of significant importance to the future of their businesses, which is a considerable endorsement of the value which Ireland brings to the many multinational businesses here," David Phelan, Managing Partner, Accreate, said.
Ireland's life sciences industry employs over 50,000 people across all regions. It is home to eight of the world's ten largest medical device companies, all of whom contribute to the sector's 45bn worth of exports each year.
Karl Deeter and Charlie Weston at the launch of their new book at Hodges and Figgis in Dublin last night. Photo: Arthur Carron
Finance guru Charlie Weston has released a new book to help consumers avoid rip-offs and bad deals.
The book, written by the Irish Independent journalist with finance expert Karl Deeter and called 'This Book is Worth 25,000', was launched yesterday in Hodges Figgis on Dublin's Dawson Street.
"We're trying to equip people in a fightback and make a fist of avoiding rip-offs because we're getting pummelled in this country from bad deals," Mr Weston said.
"It's an easy-to-follow guide in ways to fix your finance. You can improve your finances every time by getting a deal, whether it's health insurance, motor insurance, mortgages, you name it," he added.
There's 50 short chapters that provide a step-by-step guide where you're told the problem, how to fix it, the length of time it will take you, the difficulty level and some tips.
"There's all sorts of tricks. You can dip into it, you can dip out of it," Mr Weston added.
"The idea is just to arm the ordinary consumer out there so they can get better value because we overpay for everything in this country, we're the second most expensive country in Europe."
Co-author Mr Deeter joked the book would "provide you with a cure for insomnia".
"It was extremely enjoyable to work with Charlie on it, he's a complete professional in what he does and I needed that," he said.
Conor Nagle, a commissioning editor for Gill Books, said: "What makes it really unique is that the two guys are approaching it from the perspective of not wanting to be totally comprehensive.
"It's all about the practical approach and keeping it as accessible as possible," he said.
Apple has unveiled a new flagship iPhone called the iPhone X, which features a 5.8-inch screen that stretches across the entirety of the front of the handset.
The phone has no home button, with control instead used by swiping up on the screen and using the side power button.
The iPhone X replaces Touch ID with new facial recognition technology that measures and records 30,000 different facial points. This will now also be used with the phone when paying in shops using Apple Pay.
Facial recognition is the future of how we will unlock our phones, said Apple executive Phil Schiller from the stage at Apples new Steve Jobs Theatre at its headquarters campus near San Jose in California.
The phones facial recognition abilities can also be used for new animoji, animated emoji that closely mimic a users facial expressions and which can be used within iMessage. New Snapchat filters based on the technology were also hinted at from Apples presentation stage.
The iPhone X also has advanced new cameras which are stabilised, shoot 4K video and have new portrait modes that enhance a persons facial lighting from either the selfie or rear cameras. It will have wireless charging capability based on the Qi open standard. Apple intends to sell a wireless charging mat called AirPower in 2018.
However, the iPhone X will cost over 1,000 when launched in Ireland as Apple tests its loyal customer base. The device will also not be available until early November, with pre-orders taken in late October.
Apple also launched a new iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, which are more conventional upgrades to the existing iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus phones. Using the same size screens, the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus models also have better cameras and faster processors. However, they retain the Touch ID home buttons of previous iPhone models.
The new iPhones are being launched as smartphone penetration has plateau'd in Ireland and Europe. With aggressive new rivals such as Huawei on its tail, Apple needs to maintain its famously high sales margins, which reach almost 50pc of the overall phone's cost.
The company has also announced a new Apple Watch Series 3, which will come with a cellular SIM card built in. The move means that the Watch can be used by runners or fitness enthusiasts to listen to streamed music or check messages and notifications without having their phone with them.
The device is set to cost over 400 in Ireland when it launches later this month, with Apple retaining the Apple Watch 2 and Apple Watch 1 at lower price points. However, there has been no deal struck with any Irish operator at launch, while EE in the UK will be a launch operator for the Apple Watch 3.
Apple chief executive Tim Cook told the assembled audience that the Watch is now the best-selling watch globally, ahead of rivals such as Rolex.
Apple also unveiled the Apple TV 4K, which can play movies and television programmes in high dynamic range (HDR) as well as more than twice the resolution of existing full HD. The company will automatically upgrade any HD content on customer Apple TVs to 4K (where applicable), while 4K content will cost the same as HD content to download.
The iPhone launch occurred on the tenth anniversary of the original iPhone sale, released in 2007 by the late Apple cofounder Steve Jobs.
1.2bn iPhones have been sold worldwide in that time, with Apple's gadget credited as having kicked off the world's smartphone obsession and changing people's reading, TV, messaging and dating habits.
Facebook are rolling out a number of fundraising tools aimed at making it safer and easier for nonprofit companies in Ireland to raise money online.
The charitable giving tools include the ability to collect funds using the donate button and engaging supporters through Facebook Fundraisers and Facebook Live.
Already active in the US, donate buttons in Facebook Live helped raise over $450,000 during Ariana Grandes benefit concert to honor victims of the Manchester terror attack.
The testing for the fundraising tools will take place in some 16 countries across Europe, starting in Ireland, France, Germany and Spain and the UK this month.
In October, the test will be expanded to Italy, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Portugal, Denmark, Austria, Finland and Luxembourg.
According to Anita Yuen, Strategic Partnerships Social Good at Facebook, while the tools are not expected to go fully live until late September, non profits can sign up to achieve their fundraising objectives immediately.
Ms Yuen, formerly Global Head of Digital Funding at UNICEF, said that Facebook are already working with a range of non profits across Europe - and a number of Irish partners.
"Since we launched these tools in the US in 2015, we have seen the platform's community raise millions of dollars for causes such as disaster relief, the environment and education," she told independent.ie.
"Following the devastation of Hurricane Harvey, the Facebook community came together to raise over $10m to help people affected."
Verified firms that have signed up directly for Facebook's fundraising tools pay a 5pc fee on each donation, 3.5pc for the costs of nonprofit vetting, language translation, fraud prevention, operational costs and payment support and 1.5pc for payment processing.
The tools
Donate button. Individuals and nonprofit pages can attach the donate button to page headers and posts, including video, photo or text.
Facebook Fundraisers. People can set up a dedicated page to tell others about their preferred nonprofit and its mission and encourage them to rally around a targeted fundraising goal.
Facebook Live. Individuals and verified Facebook Pages can add the donate button directly to Live broadcasts to raise money for a nonprofit on their iOS device. Android users who have created a nonprofit fundraiser can attach their fundraiser to their Live broadcasts.
Charities can sign-up and learn more at https://donations.fb.com/
From Brazilian gospel to Puerto Rican reggaeton and Dutch hip-hop, music streaming company Deezer is scouring the globe for gaps in the market where it can survive and thrive against Spotify and Apple.
The French firm has little hope of success going toe-to-toe with its far bigger rivals in the mass-market realms inhabited by the likes of Taylor Swift.
Instead it is focusing on local music genres in fast-growing, often non-English language markets, areas where it believes it can steal a march. It is targeting local listeners while also looking to position itself for a global audience as a "cool", non-mainstream alternative.
As part of its Deezer Next strategy it is dispatching local teams of 'editors' to identify talent in niche genres and create original content, Netflix-style. The aim is not only to differentiate its catalogue but also to reduce its reliance on the record labels that take the lion's share of streaming services' revenue. It has 40 editors and is looking to recruit more.
Deezer CEO Hans-Holger Albrecht said he would target selected markets in Latin America, Asia and Africa where Spotify was not already predominant. They include Guatemala, Bolivia, Paraguay, Colombia, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa.
"I strongly believe in the localisation of content," he told Reuters.
"While Spotify is mainly playlist-focused, we are betting on local differentiation, and this has helped us become number one in gospel in Brazil."
It has a similar 'freemium' to market leader Spotify, offering advert-supported free access and charging $10 a month for the full service. However it has only 12 million users - 9 million paying - compared with Spotify's 60 million paying subscribers, and brings in just a tenth of the Swedish firm's $3bn annual revenue.
Deezer, controlled by billionaire Len Blavatnik, is sinking tens of millions of euro into the project in a gamble that music streaming will continue to grow rapidly to eventually eclipse all other forms of music listening.
The paid streaming market is expected to grow to $28bn a year by 2030, according to Goldman Sachs
Spotify is loss-making but nevertheless valued at $13bn. The millennial megabrand, is eyeing a stock market listing and Albrecht said Deezer could also consider going public should that flotation prove successful.
Deezer users listen to an average of 30-60 hours of music per month, a sevenfold increase from two years ago, said Albrecht. It is the leader in its home market of France where it has been profitable for nearly five years.
It is the fourth-biggest music streaming company in the world, by paid users, after Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon. The latter two, have the advantage of being able to rack up losses on streaming while the market grows and recoup the money from bumper sales of phones and tablets. Scale is the biggest challenge to Deezer and fellow minnows Tidal, backed by rapper Jay-Z, and Berlin-based SoundCloud, which recently came close to bankruptcy.
A spokesman for Blavatnik, who was born in the former Soviet Union and is now a US and British citizen, said his policy was not to comment on existing investments.
Mark Mulligan, an analyst with technology research company MIDIA, said the fact the tycoon also controlled major music label Warner Music and other industry assets threw up interesting possibilities."
"Blavatnik has a card to play," he added. "An efficient way to compete against integrated tech giants like Apple and Amazon would be to combine Deezer, Warner Music and all the other concert and artists management firms he owns to build a full-stack music powerhouse." (Reuters)
Irish musicians are losing millions of euro in royalties, according to one of the most respected figures in the industry, Paddy Cole.
"Our backs are against the wall," says the Monaghan clarinettist and chairman of Recorded Artists Actors Performers (RAAP).
"Businesses paying royalties probably imagine the money collected from them is shared broadly between producers and performers.
"They might be surprised to learn that the bulk of the money goes to just three US music labels: Universal, Sony and Warner."
Royalties are collected from radio stations, restaurants, pubs and other outlets which play music via the Phonographic Performance Ireland (PPI).
Cole and Eanna Casey, CEO of RAAP, say of the 11m collected in 2016 only 1.9m was paid to performers. The two organisations are engaged in litigation about the share out of these funds - with Cole claiming that substantial changes were made in the way royalties were shared without proper consultation.
"It's totally unacceptable for performers," says Casey.
Cole describes it as a "hostile act" that now has the two organisations in the High Court.
Cole, who has played all over the world for the last 60 years, is appealing to musicians and performers to attend RAAP's annual general meeting on Thursday, September 21, at the Royal Marine Hotel in Dun Laoghaire.
"The problem is the money is being withheld from us and unless we get support there will be no Irish performance organisation to challenge the big labels," he says.
"Unless they come out now and we have a show of strength there is a real danger that the Irish organisation will become redundant and Irish performers and producers will have to depend on an offshore organisation for their annual royalty cheque."
Boss: Daniel Kinahan is said to be heading the drugs gang
Arrogant cartel boss Daniel Kinahan has laughed off suggestions that he will be arrested by gardai, and claimed he is being "set up" by the State.
The 40-year-old mob boss has come under mounting pressure from gardai and his own associates after a series of significant operations against his organised crime gang.
He has now taken to his Twitter account to hit back at reports suggesting he will be arrested on his return to Ireland.
The Herald reported in May that gardai are closing in on Kinahan after receiving information of his direct involvement in a murder plot against a member of the Hutch gang.
We revealed that detectives were confident they have enough evidence to charge Kinahan with a serious offence that could see him jailed for life.
It was reported this week that Kinahan may be detained and questioned if he returns to Ireland in relation to his gang's activities as part of the Hutch-Kinahan feud.
However, the gang leader dismissed this, saying he is being "set up" by gardai.
Taking to Twitter, Kinahan wrote: "Arrested? More like set up!!!
"Ha ha sorry our amazing Irish police system would never do anything wrong like that."
It previously emerged that gardai were gathering evidence against Kinahan in relation to a foiled hit on an associate of the Hutch mob. It is understood that electronic devices seized from an alleged cartel associate linked Kinahan to a suspected murder plot.
The Herald revealed yesterday that Kinahan faces being taken out by his own mob following a string of garda successes against the ruthless gang's operations in Dublin.
A senior source said it was "likely" that detectives would formally inform him of credible threats on his life if he returned to Ireland.
He would be served with a Garda Information Message (GIM), an official document in which officers give formal notice that they are aware of a possible threat to a target's life or safety.
Read More
The revelation comes after 18 months of significant Garda operations that have seen 4m in cash, 55m in drugs and almost 40 firearms seized from the State's biggest organised crime gang.
Sources said that, while Kinahan is in exile in Dubai, immune from gardai and his gangland rivals, more than 30 associates have been charged with serious offences.
The cartel is in the middle of its most serious crisis, with gardai believing that the "mob is turning on itself" as many foot soldiers blame Kinahan for their woes.
"The view from the street is that it's fine and dandy for Daniel as he sips pina coladas or whatever in Dubai while the people on the ground are getting blitzed by gardai," a senior source said.
"The feeling is that he's arrogant and has broken the golden rule of organised crime, just like John Gilligan did before him, by thumbing his nose at the State."
The drive against the cartel is being led by the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (DOCB).
Sources have revealed that, in a massive multi-layered attack on a crime organisation, gardai would expect to have a success rate of around 10pc in operations against the targeted mob.
However, in the detailed investigation into the cartel, it is estimated that gardai have had a 50pc success rate over the past 15 months.
Gardai investigate the shooting of a man at Wheatfield Avenue in Neilstown, Dublin. Picture: Arthur Carron
Scene of the fatal shooting of a male in his 30s on Wheatfield Ave Photo: Kyran O'Brien
Scene of the fatal shooting of a male in his 30s on Wheatfield Ave Photo: Kyran O'Brien
Scene of the fatal shooting of a male in his 30s on Wheatfield Ave Photo: Kyran O'Brien
The remains of shooting victim Darragh Nugent is removed from the scene at Wheatfield Ave Neilstown Photo: Kyran O'Brien
The scene of Monday night's shooting and (inset) victim Darragh Nugent
The scene of the Fatal shooting of Darragh Nugent on Wheatfield Ave, Neilstown Photo: Kyran O'Brien
A man has died after he was shot multiple times in West Dublin on Monday night.
Gardai are investigating this incident which took place on Wheatfield Avenue in Neilstown shortly after 9.30pm.
The victim was named locally as 36-year-old Darragh Nugent.
The Herald is reporting that Nugent was a close associate of gangster James 'Nellie' Walsh.
Expand Close Gardai investigate the shooting of a man at Wheatfield Avenue in Neilstown, Dublin. Picture: Arthur Carron / Facebook
Twitter
Email
Whatsapp Gardai investigate the shooting of a man at Wheatfield Avenue in Neilstown, Dublin. Picture: Arthur Carron
The victim, who is known to gardai and was on bail for gun offences, was shot up to five times in the gangland style attack.
Dublin Fire Brigade paramedics attended the scene and an eye-witness said emergency workers administered CPR to the victim.
Expand Close Supt Dermot Mann Lucan Garda Station at the scene at Wheatfield Ave Neilstown Photo: Kyran O'Brien / Facebook
Twitter
Email
Whatsapp Supt Dermot Mann Lucan Garda Station at the scene at Wheatfield Ave Neilstown Photo: Kyran O'Brien
It is understood that the victim, who lived in the area, was shot a number of times.
Gardai do not, at this stage, believe it is related to the ongoing Kinahan and Hutch feud that has already claimed the lives of 12 people. It is believed that the shooting may be linked to a local dispute.
Independent.ie has learned that the victim was known to gardai and was previously arrested after a gun and ammunition was discovered in a discarded bag last February.
He was on bail at the time of Monday night's attack.
Locals reported hearing a number of shots in quick succession.
"I heard the bangs. I knew straight away what it was, and then I came out and saw the man on the road," one neighbour told Independent.ie.
"It's absolutely awful, he had two kids," they added.
"All I head was five shots, one after the other. Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang. Five of them. I heard a car driving away really quickly," said a local woman.
"Then I shouted at my partner to ring the guards, and they were here in seconds. It's awful. I looked out and saw him there, just lying in the middle of the road," she added.
This morning Mr Nugent's body remained at the scene covered by a garda forensic tent.
A spent bullet casing could be seen on the road, and plastic sheeting covered other evidence.
In a statement gardai confirmed they were investigating the attack: "Gardai and emergency services are at the scene of a shooting incident at Wheatfield Avenue, Clondalkin in Dublin.
"The incident was reported to Gardai at 9.40pm on Monday 11th September 2017."
The Garda Air Support Unit and forensic investigators been called in.
Local TD Gino Kenny (PBP) said he passed by the incident and saw a lot of activity but didn't realise what had happened until he returned home.
"It is obviously shocking that there is another shooting in Dublin and in the Clondalkin area especially," he said.
"Any violence like that needs to be condemned."
Mr Kenny said the estate where it happened is private and would have a large number of rented houses.
The Government is to consider a pay increase for the next garda commissioner, as recruitment worldwide begins to find a replacement for Noirin O'Sullivan.
According to the Irish Independent, the recruitment for candidates will stretch to English-speaking jurisdictions including the US, Australia and New Zealand.
Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan confirmed yesterday that salary would be the subject of discussions between the Policing Authority and the Public Appointments Service.
This comes as there are fears that top candidates may not apply if the salary is not increased from the current 180,613 a year.
A Government source told the Irish Independent that if the Policing Authority now formally recommended an increase, then this could hardly be ignored.
Meanwhile, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the stability of the Government would be put under threat if he or any of his ministers had moved against the former Garda commissioner.
Dr Rhona Mahony, Master of the National Maternity Hospital, at the Labour think-in. Photo: Eamonn Farrell/Photocall
Ireland's best known maternity doctor, Dr Rhona Mahony, has admitted that she is "often exhausted going to work".
The Master of the National Maternity Hospital in Dublin, where 25 babies are born each day, has confessed she is weary of the "bureaucratic churn" which makes it extremely difficult for health care professionals to work.
The outspoken doctor said: "The Irish health system is a toxic place to work six years in, I'm exhausted I really am."
But she also stressed that she loves her daily work and finds that there is too much despondency around the Irish health care system where very many good things happen each day.
Speaking to Labour Party TDs and senators, she said the "Irish health system" was a historical accident built up over 300 years.
She said efforts to restructure and streamline it would take a generation - but reforms must continue.
Dr Mahony also said it was time to remove a Constitutional ban on abortion for women whose health was at risk.
"We cannot keep sending women to England and pretending it doesn't happen," Dr Mahony told Labour's pre-Dail conference in Athy, Co Kildare.
Her comments come as a new debate opens on a planned referendum on the vexed issue, perhaps as early as next year.
Later, Dr Mahony told reporters she favoured repealing the 1983 Constitutional ban on abortion, the so-called Eighth Amendment, for a number of key reasons.
She said the provision put women's health at serious risk - because an abortion was only possible where the mother's life was at risk.
Favoured
"We are making decisions based on risk, trying to quantify risk. And in certain conditions we have to wait until a woman is sick enough before she qualifies for substantial risk to her life. And to me, to some extent, that is medical roulette," Dr Mahony said. "The law deals with right - medicine deals with risk," she added.
Dr Mahony said she favoured pregnancy termination in cases of fatal foetal abnormality and in cases of ectopic pregnancies and other non-viable pregnancies.
But she stressed the parents' decision was paramount - some wanted just one hour with a baby and that was their right.
Ms Mahony said she was unhappy with her patients travelling to Britain for abortions.
She said the current law did not allow her to care for them once they chose that option and travel of itself was stressful and risky.
The 2013 Protection of Life in Pregnancy Act had helped things. But it was very restrictive as it provided only for the "X-case".
The Master of the maternity hospital, which delivers thousands of babies a year, also said there were too many hospitals in Ireland, with 49 acute hospitals in a population of 4.7 million people.
Each of these acute hospitals is performing four different functions, emergency, acute care, general practice and elderly care.
This means many hospitals actually have a shortage of acute beds and the use of resources is inefficient.
"I think we need to have more efficient hospitals and a campus system of care," she said.
Dr Mahony said the most neglected aspect of the health system was education.
She added that a person's good health frequently depended on their level of education.
She said that she looked forward to taking a more active role in this field in the coming years.
The mother of a young man who tragically died in a road accident in Canada has described her son as a "lovely fella who lived a great life".
Tommy Jackson (22), from Ballisodare, Co Sligo was killed when his motorbike crashed into a moose while he was travelling to work in Fort Saskatachewn, Alberta on Friday, September 8.
Mr Jackson had been living in Canada for the past year and his mother, Ann, has paid a heartbreaking tribute to her son.
"Tommy was born a joker. Sure enough, as he grew up, his very unique character started to shine through and everyone adored him. He was always making jokes, and had a fantastic ability to make people laugh and make any situation light hearted," she told Independent.ie.
"Since Tommy's passing, lots of people from all parts of his life have been sharing stories about Tommy, including the friends he has made in Canada over the past year. What has been comforting, is that it's obvious from these stories, that no matter where he went, or who he was with, he was the same man, same old Tommy."
Mrs Jackson said her son was very adventurous, loved travelling and was in a happy relationship.
"It's important to Tommy's family, that people remember him for the lovely fella he was, and know that he was really happy. He moved to Canada and created a wonderful life for himself. He had a good job and colleagues that loved and respected him. He had a girlfriend, whom he adored, and who he was bringing home to meet his family in January.
"Tommy was living life the way it was supposed to be lived, and making the most of it, and he did it with a cheeky grin and a twinkle in his eye."
The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help bring Tommy's body back to Ireland.
A spokeswoman for the family said that after the costs of repatriation, all remaining funds will be given straight to the Kevin Bell Trust to go towards helping families in the same situation.
You can donate here.
The Department of Foreign Affairs is aware of the case and is providing consular assistance to the family.
Gardai at the scene of the shooting of a man in Neilstown, Dublin. Photo: Arthur Carron
A murder investigation is under way after a man was shot dead in a gun attack in the capital last night.
The incident took place around 9.30pm yesterday in Neilstown in west Dublin.
The victim was named locally as 36-year-old Darragh Nugent, who was a close associate of jailed gangster James 'Nelly' Walsh.
He was shot several times in the attack, which is believed to be part of a bitter local dispute.
It is understood the victim was shot just yards from his home on Wheatfield Avenue.
However, it is feared there may have been no witnesses to the murder at this early stage of the investigation.
Expand Close Victim Darragh Nugent / Facebook
Twitter
Email
Whatsapp Victim Darragh Nugent
Gardai do not believe the shooting is connected to the ongoing Hutch/Kinahan feud which has so far claimed 12 lives.
The murder is being investigated as part of a bitter dispute in the Clondalkin area that has led to a number of other murders in the past.
The victim was known to Gardai and was on bail for firearms offences after being arrested last February.
The incident was reported to Gardai at 9.40pm. The Garda Air Support Unit was called in and Dublin Fire Brigade paramedics also arrived.
An eye-witness said emergency workers were administering CPR to the victim.
The area was sealed off by a large Garda cordon as members of the Garda Armed Response Unit patrolled the scene.
A Garda forensics tent was erected at around 10.45pm in the middle of the tree-lined street where it is understood the victim was shot.
A large number of residents gathered on the streets last night and one young woman said: "People heard bangs but they just thought it was fireworks."
Another local resident said she heard about eight "shots" before hearing a Garda helicopter overhead.
Local TD Gino Kenny (PBP) said it was worrying that the area had seen another shooting incident.
"It is obviously shocking that there is another shooting in Dublin, and in the Clondalkin area especially. Any violence like that needs to be condemned."
Mr Kenny said a large number of homes in the estate where the shooting happened were rented.
Investigating gardai appealed for anyone with information to contact them at Ronanstown Garda Station on (01) 666 7700.
Two heroic young girls prevented a possible tragedy last month when they bravely rescued a boy from drowning.
Kirsta Valteris (11) dragged the unconscious boy (6) from a muddy quarry, herself and her friend Keisha Moloney (12) then took turns performing CPR before raising the alarm.
Kirsta, who lives in Gortnahowan in Tullow, Co Carlow, explained that the girls were hanging out together at around 4pm on August 30 when they heard screaming from a swampy area at the back of their housing estate.
She told Independent.ie: "People approached us asking had we seen three boys and we hadn't but we decided to help look.
"We heard screaming and we ran over and there was a trail to a swamp, through that we could see there were three boys - two of them were near the edge of the water screaming, one of them was crying, the third boy was in the water."
Kirsta has been kayaking for three years and has completed a water safety course, she said she didn't think twice about putting herself at risk to help the boy.
She said: "At first I grabbed a branch and tried to pull him in but he was jut drifting further out, so I took off my shoes and went into the water up to my knees but I still couldn't grab him and I kept wading in but he still wasn't coming closer.
"So then I just had to jump in but when I was swimming over I saw him going fully under the water, the water was way over his head and I was really scared for him but I had to do something so I dived under the water and managed to grab his arm."
Expand Close Kirsta is a keen kayaker and has completed a water safety course / Facebook
Twitter
Email
Whatsapp Kirsta is a keen kayaker and has completed a water safety course
Read More
Kirsta, who moved to Carlow from Latvia with her family 12 years ago, said that the boy wasn't responding so the girls had to put their life-saving skills into practice.
She said: "He was unconscious so Keisha and I took it in turns doing CPR, finally he started coughing and saying he couldn't see so we grabbed one of the lad's t-shirts and wiped his eyes with it because they were covered in muck.
"I went back to the estate for help and started knocking on doors to ask if someone could check if he was okay and to bring towels, that was when someone contacted the guards."
Despite his ordeal, thankfully the boy and his two companions weren't seriously injured and Kirsta only sustained scratches.
Sixth class student Kirsta said that they are aged between six and nine year-old and she recognised them from living in an estate nearby.
She said that they went to visit the boy they rescue to check how he was doing and his parents were understandably grateful.
Modest Kirsta said: "We went to his house a couple of days later and he was still feeling sick but he was alright.
"His parents seemed really happy and kept thanking us."
When ex-Made in Chelsea actor Fabian Bolin was diagnosed with Leukaemia, his world fell apart.
Hed been working hard in London to get his big break, and it was looking like he was on his way.
But one night when he was out at dinner with his parents on a short trip home to Sweden, he got a stabbing pain in his chest and was rushed to hospital.
Days later, after numerous tests, doctors revealed Fabian had cancer. Fabian recalls a feeling of helplessness, and he was asking the medics questions that they seemed unwilling to answer. He felt helpless, until he took to social media to find answers.
I keep saying that cancer changed my life. But how it all started was I shared a post on Facebook. The reason I did that was because I asked the doctors and nurses what could I expect for the next two years [during the chemotherapy treatment]?
They gave me very inadequate answers, if any at all, around these questions.
He explained: Theres a structural problem in healthcare when the mental health of patients is being ignored.
Fabian felt like a patient with no voice, and he took to social media to share his experiences with what grew to be a huge follow base.
I also asked the doctors and nurses is there anything I could do with food, in the way of boosting my immune system and making myself strong for the next two years. They just said eat what you like. That is kind of belittling, because here I was in the middle of my life and career, wanting to make the best out of my situation, and I felt like I was being treated as a patient with no voice.
The popularity of his social media posts inspired him to create something bigger - #WarOnCancer.
Essentially, it's social media merging with a support forum. As its digitally centred it means people can communicate, share stories, connect and find support much faster and more frequently than with traditional ways, a spokesperson for #WarOnCancer said.
Follow Fabian and #WaronCancer on Instagram @fabianbolin @waroncancerunited, and see waroncancer.com.
Army soldiers from China and Australia pose for a group photo at the opening ceremony of the training. (mod.gov.cn/Photo by Li Song)
KUNMING, Sept. 11 (ChinaMil) -- Chinese and Australian ground forces started their bilateral joint training named "Exercise Panda-Kangaroo 2017" on September 10 at a training ground of the PLA Southern Theater Command in Kunming, capital city of southwest China's Yunnan Province.
This is the first joint training held in China by Chinese and Australian armies. The two ground forces have conducted such joint training in 2015 and 2016 in Australia.
This joint training, focusing on mountain comprehensive skills, aims to practice and improve the ground forces' comprehensive skills in mountainous areas.
China and Australia each sent 10 personnel to participate in the training. The Chinese participants are selected from the army of the PLA Southern Theater Command.
During the over ten-day activity, participants from both sides will undergo such wild survival training items as marching, overcoming natural obstacles, making and using floating equipment, camping and picnicking in complex and unfamiliar mountainous area.
It is said that the joint training between the Chinese and Australian armies is a pragmatic measure to enhance the military training cooperation and promote the steady development of the relations between the two armed forces.
The Exercise Panda-Kangaroo training is also an important platform for enhancing the mutual understanding and trust and deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.
Besides, cultural exchanges and other friendly activities will also be held during the training.
The picture shows the scene of the opening ceremony of the "Panda-Kangaroo 2017" Chinese-Australian joint army training on the morning of Sept.10, 2017. (mod.gov.cn/Photo by Li Song)
A week after Ryanair unveiled its controversial new baggage policy, Aer Lingus has ruled out introducing fees for cabin bags.
"We have no current plans to charge for cabin baggage," Declan Kearney, the airline's Director of Communications, told Independent.ie Travel.
"We do not plan to do so in the foreseeable future."
Aer Lingus recently rolled out an unbundled transatlantic ' Saver Fare', with lead-in rates from 169 each-way but checked bags charged as an optional extra.
The slimmed-down fares still include two free pieces of cabin baggage, however - as do its European and short-haul flights.
The comments come after Ryanair changed its cabin bag policy, only allowing passengers who pay a 5 Priority Boarding fee to take 10kg carry-on bags on board.
Read an explainer on Ryanair's new bag policy here.
From November 1, Ryanair's "non-priority" passengers must check their 10kg cabin bags for free at the boarding gate, where they will be placed in the hold.
"Non-priority" customers will still be able to carry smaller pieces of free hand luggage such as laptops and handbags into the cabin, however.
Expand Close Ryanair has operated a strict baggage policy in the past / Facebook
Twitter
Email
Whatsapp Ryanair has operated a strict baggage policy in the past
Ryanair's changes were introduced as volumes of cabin baggage mounted, with passengers " repeatedly flouting" rules, leading to flight delays.
Last week, Ryanair also said it will increase its check-in bag allowance from 15kg to 20kg, and drop its 20kg check-in bag fee from 35 to 25, from November 1.
A 10 supplement will be levied on these bags at peak times, however.
Our readers respond
Readers posted thousands of comments following our original story on Ryanair's baggage policy changes, both criticising and supporting the changes.
"Greed, greed and more greed," said Marie Casey on our Facebook page.
"I love Ryanair," commented Patricia Nightingale. "I think this is a great idea, it should really speed up the boarding fiasco, I hate the fighting to find a space in the overhead lockers... play by the rules and there is no problem."
"This has nothing to do with 'misusing second bag policy'," said Bob Johnston. "Because they could just move back to one bag only.
"[Ryanair] created their own problems."
"No big problem, really," commented Shamir Ravel. "It does a favour for people like myself who travel with two young children. We normally have three or four cabin-sized hand luggages (sic), and now they'll take them for free so we don't have to struggle up and down the stairs."
"I bloody hate Ryanair," said Wes Deans. "Unless they go somewhere I want to go."
Read more:
Ryanair has been forced to cancel 110 flights to, from and over France today as French ATC unions strike once again.
Further cancellations are possible and delays likely, it said, while advising customers to check their flight status before travelling to the airport.
Flight cancellations from Ireland are as follows:
FR1984 - Dublin to Carcassonne
FR1116 - Dublin to Reus
FR1982 - Dublin to Biarritz
FR1985 - Carcassonne to Dublin
FR1115 - Reus to Dublin
FR1983 - Biarritz to Dublin cork
Aer Lingus flights EI514 and EI515 (Dublin to/from Marseille) and EI542 and EI 543 (to/from Nice) were also listed as cancelled on Dublin Airport's website this morning.
Unions are striking as part of a nationwide walk-out in response to French President Macron's labour reforms.
Ryanair has called on the Macron Government and European Commission to take immediate action to prevent the disruptions by French ATC unions.
President Macrons Government has announced a major transformation of French labour laws but it appears nothing changes when it comes to ATC disruption and unions holding Europe to ransom," said Chief Marketing Officer, Kenny Jacobs.
"Enough is enough."
Ryanair and other EU airlines are lobbying the European Commission to require French ATC unions to engage in binding arbitration instead of strikes, to allow Europe's other ATCs to operate overflights over France while their unions strike, and to protect overflights (under minimum service obligations) during such strikes.
A petition is available for customers to sign at keepeuropesskiesopen.com.
Airline passengers whose flights are cancelled are entitled to a full refund, rebooking onto the next available flight, or rebooking onto an alternative route.
Read More
The airline says all affected customers have been contacted by email and SMS text message and advised of their options.
A full list of cancelled flights is available here.
Read more:
I was driving out of Dublin on Saturday evening around 8pm on the M7 at 120kph, and suddenly I had to drop anchor and hope to God the car would stop in time.
Yellow hazard warnings from the cars ahead acting as makeshift runway lights guided my imminent arrival at speed. The car stopped and a number of expletives filled the cabin. I apologise for the mixed metaphors. Then came the sudden realisation as I was stopped stone dead somewhere in Kildare on a motorway - a line of other cars was barrelling down behind me, eyeing up my rear end, and not in a good way. So it was on with the hazard lights, and hope. The cars behind me managed to stop too.
Google Maps informed of a traffic jam on the M7. I was to expect a 17-minute delay. This was all very precise, but I needed that info five minutes earlier.
The cause? Road works. Where did they put them? Right where the M7 splits into the M7 and the M9. Any advance signage and warnings? None, or at least not far enough back to make an impact - pardon the pun. Two lanes of traffic at a standstill. Kildare's newest car park. An accident waiting to happen - except it already had.
We crawled for numerous kilometres until blue flashing lights illuminated the darkness. It was only a fender bender and had been moved to the side. Probably more down to luck than design.
Can this crazy, lackadaisical approach to motorway safety still be normal in Ireland? Road Safety Authority take note.
Aodan McCaul
Ovens, Co Cork
Tubridy shows great sensitivity
Last Saturday's Irish Independent contained an article outlining the problems at RTE ('Forget stars' big salaries - RTE has far greater problems', August 9).
However, might I suggest that if RTE ever lets Ryan Tubridy go, he should take up a career in counselling. I was very impressed by the way he sensitively handled his interview with Marian Keyes on last Friday's 'Late Late Show' about her experience of depression. In fact, it looked as if the viewers were eavesdropping on a private psychotherapy session. Tubridy was empathetic and serious when needed, but also more upbeat at other times, matching his 'client's' emotions, while at the same time acknowledging the seriousness of the interview. He also used standard therapeutic techniques such as reflecting back to his 'client' what she was saying and making connections - for instance, Keyes telling of instances of fear in her life and the fear she experienced when depressed.
Well done Ryan for an excellent interview, or 'counselling session'.
Tommy Roddy
Salthill, Galway
Coursing is good for the hare
I refer to John Fitzgerald's almost weekly letters commenting on the status of the Irish hare and regulated coursing. He claims the Irish hare is "endangered" because of "urbanisation and the ravages of modern farming practices", in addition to "coursing". We are offered further spin, citing Dr Donald Broom as the authority on the effects of coursing on the "physiological changes" experienced by a hare.
When the facts are examined, the story is very different: nature and biodiversity is constantly changing/adapting and this includes farming practices also. It is the farmers who are the custodians of the Irish countryside and because of their work we can continue to enjoy the abundance and variety of wildlife in Ireland today.
The Irish hare is not an endangered species and is not in decline, as we are continually misinformed by Mr Fitzgerald. This is verified by reference to the EU Habitats Directive survey, where the future prospects of the Irish hare are reported "favourable". Dr Broom's quotes have been in circulation since 2012 and still no source has ever been cited, be it a research study or peer-reviewed publication. If all prey species experienced such conditions and ultimately died as a result, there would be no wildlife. Coursing has a positive impact on the hare population, as evidenced by the published Quercus study, where there are 18 times more hares where coursing clubs exist.
It is quite amazing how Mr Fitzgerald fails to continually flag one of the major scourges inflicted on the Irish hare, and that is the act of illegal hunting perpetrated by a cohort of people with packs of unmuzzled lurcher-type dogs, trespassing on farmers' lands, destroying property and randomly killing the Irish hare on a daily basis. This is the real threat to the Irish hare, in addition to the proliferation of the buzzard, which was introduced in Donegal and is now abundant in every county in Ireland.
Mr Fitzgerald fails to mention the pine marten, which was released by animal rights campaigners, and the devastation it has perpetrated in the wild.
As much as he may wish to dredge up tired and unsubstantiated quotes and use hyperbole, the simple fact is that Mr Fitzgerald is unhappy with the reality that regulated coursing contributes to helping the Irish hare not only survive, but thrive through its club network and regulated environment.
DJ Histon
CEO, Irish Coursing Club
Bin this culture of littering
For more years than I now have capacity to count, I have visited Ireland. I hope it never loses its uniqueness. I like its compelling history and fight for nationhood, its understanding that culture and language are inseparable, its attachment to the arts, its haunting music, the wonderful literature reflected in having produced more Nobel Prize winners than any small country could hope for, its superb countryside, its stoic people and much more.
I hope I might therefore venture a criticism. When I first came here, littering was a national eyesore. At some point, efforts were made to combat it. There has been a marked improvement. Indeed, Ireland today leads the way in banning the plastic bags we know are so globally destructive - more than can be said for my home country, Australia, where reactionary vested interests fight to retain this damaging pollutant.
However, the littering here appears to be increasing again. I see it everywhere, including people openly dropping garbage. Perhaps your Government might consider a publicity campaign (as once was done with the 'Don't Rubbish Australia' venture) to enhance this land's natural attractiveness by fostering an ethic of national pride in those individuals who have become the new culprits.
Dr Ron Sinclair
Dundrum, Dublin
Human Rights Watch has called for an international investigation into possible war crimes in Yemen
The Saudi-led coalition waging an air campaign against Houthi rebels in northern Yemen is killing children in what amounts to war crimes, according to an international rights group.
Human Rights Watch released a detailed report documenting the deaths of 26 children in five air strikes since June.
The group said that despite coalition promises to abide by international law, the air strikes have failed to do that and it urged the United Nations to place the coalition on its "list of shame", a blacklist of countries that violate children's rights.
HRW also called for an international investigation into possible war crimes.
"Saudi Arabia pledged to minimise civilian harm, yet coalition air strikes are still wiping out entire families," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director of the New York-based group.
"Yemeni civilians should not be asked to wait any longer for (United Nations) Human Rights Council members, including Saudi allies the US and UK, to support a credible international inquiry."
In most of its internal investigations, the coalition either admits making mistakes due to technical errors or bad intelligence or denies responsibility.
No international investigation has taken place despite repeated calls from rights groups. The US and Western countries have continued to support the coalition with intelligence, logistics and billion-pound arms deals.
The conflict in Yemen pits Shiite Houthi rebels and allied forces of the ousted Yemeni president against the internationally recognised government and its main backers, the Saudi-led coalition.
Air strikes over the past two years have targeted civilian gatherings at weddings, funerals, hospitals, markets and houses.
More than 10,000 people have been killed and three million displaced as the conflict coupled with a naval and air blockade has pushed Yemen to the brink of famine.
The UN's annual report on children and armed conflict showed that 785 were killed and more than 1,000 wounded in Yemen in 2015, with 60% of the casualties caused by coalition air strikes.
Peace talks have failed to bridge the gap between warring parties while alliances on both sides appear to be unravelling, threatening to prolong the conflict.
AP
Several pets and rescue dogs were left displaced by Hurricane Harvey, which lashed parts of Texas.
However, a Canadian rescue dog group has stepped in to help some of those pups who were already staying at rescue centres and theyve made it their new destination: Toronto.
They are here!! Posted by Redemption Dogs on Monday, September 11, 2017
We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference
Redemption Dogs, an advocacy group for rescue pooches, partnered with six Houston dog shelters to provide a new home for those pups already in the rescue system.
Their aim is to alleviate stress from rescues on the ground in Houston.
As of Monday, 39 dogs had safely arrived in Toronto, where they are being taken care of by vets.
We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference
We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference
Over four days, the team hired vans and drove down to Houston to pick up the dogs from overwhelmed rescue centres, and transported them back to Toronto where they are being assessed. They will be up for adoption in the coming days.
Interestingly, each of the three vans was named after Canadian celebrities: Ryan Reynolds, Shania Twain and Ryan Gosling.
Redemption Dogs founder Nicole Simone told CBC: We were not on the streets rescuing dogs or taking dogs that could potentially be missing dogs.
We worked with local rescues that had some dogs that went through Hurricane Harvey and some dogs that had been in rescue for up to two to three years.
We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference
A trending GoFundMe campaign has almost reached its $30,000 goal in less than a fortnight. Proceeds will go towards travel costs and vet care, as well as to six shelters in Houston.
The group of eight volunteers also took down humanitarian supplies to some of the flood-hit zones in the Lone Star state.
We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference
We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference
We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference
Redemption Dogs is accepting volunteers to help with their Irma rescue efforts, as well as Harvey.
A heartfelt tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales is being mocked online, with one calling the creation absolutely horrendous.
Pictures of the memorial, which was made from flowers, egg shells, leaves and grass seeds, went viral for the wrong reasons as social media users compared the late royals likeness to Clare Balding and Theresa May.
The tribute, made lovingly by volunteers to mark the 20-year anniversary of Dianas death, was posted on Chesterfield Councils Facebook page, but left some followers less than impressed.
Expand Close Diana tribute / Facebook
Twitter
Email
Whatsapp Diana tribute
A council spokesman said the memorial, which was unveiled at a ceremony in the towns market place, was designed to attract visitors to the area. It sits in front of a local water pump.
Facebook user Karen Byfleet commented: Absolutely horrendous makes me ashamed to say I come from Chesterfield. How much money has gone into this? Chesterfield borough council you should be ashamed of yourselves.
Nicola Wallis-McCarty called it an insult to Dianas memory, and wrote: I doubt it was meant to cause offence, probably meant as a respectful gesturesorry but is is a disgraceit should be taken down immediately.
But Emma-Leigh Rose disagreed, saying: Maybe its not an exact likeness guys but come on! Show some respect. I know for one I couldnt do a better job!
Others questioned why the tribute, which took a painstaking 120 hours to make, did not feature Dianas date of birth and date of death.
Some on Twitter gave it the meme treatment.
We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference
We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference
We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference
A spokesman for Chesterfield Council described the artwork as a talking point.
The well dressing is produced by 14 volunteers using the ancient Derbyshire art of well dressing, which involves creating designs from flower petals and other natural materials.
All art is meant to be a talking point and that certainly seems to be the case with this years design.
The well dressing is designed to attract visitors to the area and if the publicity encourages more people to come and experience our historic market town and local shops then that can only be good for Chesterfield.
It will be on display in Chesterfield market place until September 16.
US President Donald Trump has said new UN sanctions "are nothing compared to what ultimately will have to happen" to stop North Korea's nuclear march.
US officials showed Congress satellite images of illicit trade to highlight the challenge of getting China and Russia to cut off commerce with the rogue nation.
The UN Security Council's new restrictions could further bite into North Korea's meagre economy after what Kim Jong Un's authoritarian government says was a hydrogen bomb test on September 3.
The world body banned North Korean textile exports on Monday, an important source of hard currency, and capped its imports of crude oil.
The measures fell short of Washington's goals: a potentially crippling ban on oil imports and freezing the international assets of Kim and his government.
"We think it's just another very small step - not a big deal," Mr Trump said as he met with Malaysia's prime minister at the White House. "But those sanctions are nothing compared to what ultimately will have to happen."
Despite its limited economic impact, the new sanctions succeed in adding further pressure on Pyongyang without alienating Moscow and Beijing.
The US needs the support of both of its geopolitical rivals for its current strategy of using economic pressure and diplomacy - and not military options - for getting North Korea to halt its testing of nuclear bombs and the missiles for delivering them.
Mr Trump said it was "nice" to get a 15-0 vote at the UN.
But underscoring the big questions about Chinese and Russian compliance, senior US officials told the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday that effective enforcement by both of the North's neighbours and trading partners will be the acid test of whether sanctions work.
The UN has adopted multiple resolutions against North Korea since its first nuclear test explosion in 2006, banning it from arms trading and curbing exports of commodities it heavily relies on for revenue. That has failed to stop its progress towards developing a nuclear-tipped missile that could soon range the American mainland.
Briefing Congress, treasury assistant secretary for terrorist financing Marshall Billingslea displayed satellite photos to demonstrate North Korea's deceptive shipping practices. He focused in particular on how it masks exports of coal that were banned in August after North Korea tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles.
In one example, a North Korean ship registered in St Kitts and Nevis was said to have sailed from China to North Korea, turning off its transponder to conceal its location as it loaded coal. The ship then docked in Vladivostok, Russia, before finally going to China to presumably unload its cargo.
China accounts for 90% of North Korea's external trade.
"The success of the pressure strategy will depend on cooperation from international partners, especially Beijing," said Susan Thornton, America's top diplomat for East Asia. "We have also made clear that if China and Russia do not act, we will use the tools we have at our disposal."
Those tools include more sanctions. In June, the US designated the Bank of Dandong, a regional Chinese bank, as a "primary money laundering concern" over its alleged help to North Korea in accessing the US and international financial systems.
Billingsea described the action as "a very clear warning shot that the Chinese understood."
He said North Korean bank representatives still operate in Russia in "flagrant disregard" of UN resolutions that Moscow voted for. This summer, the US targeted two Russian companies with penalties for supporting North Korean missile procurement.
AP
Former Coronation Street actor John Michie, has said his daughter's death at a popular UK festival was a "tragic accident".
The Holby City star said the death of his 25-year-old daughter, Louella Michie, was "not murder".
A murder investigation was launched after her body was discovered in the early hours of Monday morning at the music festival, Bestival, in Dorset.
A 28-year-old man from London was arrested on suspicion of murder.
Expand Close Louella Michie Photo: Facebook / Facebook
Twitter
Email
Whatsapp Louella Michie Photo: Facebook
Speaking to the Sun, Mr Michie said: "We've lost our angel. It's not murder - they were friends. It was just a tragic mistake, a tragic accident. This was not a murder.
"She touched so many lives. She was so very positive, so bright, so out there. She had such energy. The tributes to her have been incredible."
In a statement, Michie's agent said: "Sadly, I can confirm the tragic death of John Michie's daughter, Louella, at Bestival.
"John and his wife Carol ask that the privacy of their family be respected at this traumatic time."
Security at the music festival were alerted just before 1am on Monday when friends became concerned for the missing Miss Michie.
Her body was later found in a wooded area of the festival.
Expand Close John Michie's agent confirmed the news / Facebook
Twitter
Email
Whatsapp John Michie's agent confirmed the news
Ms Michie's Facebook profile says she is a former student of Tiffany Theatre College in Essex, a performing arts school.
She worked as a dancer, model and actor and lived for a time in Miami Beach, Florida although it is understood that she had been living in London prior to her death.
According to the Evening Standard, she was not believed to have suffered any obvious physical injuries.
Officers are currently trying to establish the cause of death.
Mr Michie is known for his roles as as DI Robbie Ross in Scottish detective series Taggart and as Karl Munro in'Coronation Street.
He is currently starring as neurosurgeon Guy Self in both Casualty and Holby City.
The actor lives in north London with his wife. The couple had three children, Daisy (27), a stylist, Samuel (26), a music video director, and Louella.
Damaged houses in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in the Florida Keys (Washington Post/AP)
Residents have been allowed to return to some islands in the hurricane-slammed Florida Keys as officials try to piece together the scope of Irma's destruction and rush aid to the drenched and debris-strewn state.
Two days after the storm roared into the Keys with 130mph winds, the full extent of the destruction is still a question mark because communications and access are cut off in many areas.
But residents and business owners from Key Largo, Tavernier and Islamorada near the mainland were allowed back for their first look.
The Lower Keys - including the chain's most distant and most populous island, Key West, with 27,000 people - are still off-limits, with a roadblock where the single highway to the farther islands was washed out.
Corey Smith, a delivery driver who rode out the hurricane in Key Largo, said power was out on the island, there was very limited fuel and supermarkets were closed. Branches and other brush blocked some roads.
"They're shoving people back to a place with no resources," he said by telephone. "It's just going to get crazy pretty quick."
But he added that people returning to Key Largo should be relieved that many buildings escaped major damage.
Seven deaths in Florida have been blamed on Irma, along with two in Georgia and two in South Carolina. At least 35 people were killed in the Caribbean.
An estimated 13 million Florida residents were without electricity - two-thirds of the state - as sweltering heat returned across the peninsula in the storm's wake.
More than 180,000 people huddled in shelters in Florida, and officials warned it could take weeks for electricity to be restored to everyone.
"I know for our entire state, especially the Keys, it's going to be a long road," governor Rick Scott said.
Off Florida's southern tip, authorities were stopping people to check documentation such as proof of residency or business ownership before allowing them back into the Upper Keys. All three hospitals on the island chain were still closed.
After flying over the Keys on Monday, the governor described overturned mobile homes, washed-ashore boats and other damage. A navy aircraft carrier was due to anchor off Key West to help in the search-and-rescue effort.
The Keys are linked by 42 bridges that have to be checked for safety before motorists can be allowed on the farther islands, officials said. County officials said crews are working to reopen the major US 1 route as quickly as possible.
In a parting blow to the state, the storm caused record flooding in the Jacksonville area.
Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said 356 people were rescued from the floodwaters on Monday. The sheriff's office said it hopes "people who had their lives saved yesterday will take evacuation orders seriously in the future".
AP
Richard Branson among the debris on his private island. Photo: Virgin.com/PA Wire
Richard Branson has shared photographs and video showing the devastation caused by Hurricane Irma on his private island Necker.
The billionaire businessman was pictured in front of torn-down buildings and uprooted trees.
In a blog post, the Virgin founder wrote: "As you can see from the photos, much of the buildings and vegetation on Necker has been destroyed or badly damaged.
"We felt the full force of the strongest hurricane ever in the Atlantic Ocean. But we are very fortunate to have a strong cellar built into Necker's Great House and were very lucky all of our teams who stayed on [the] island during the storm are safe and well.
"This story is about the tens of thousands of people who have lost their homes and their livelihoods."
Branson was writing from Puerto Rico, where he said he is mobilising aid efforts and rebuilding plans for the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and the wider Caribbean.
Supplies
He said he has spent the past two days visiting staff who live on Virgin Gorda and "as many people as possible" to distribute aid, water and supplies.
Read more: Irish families take shelter from storm in baths and closets
"We have seen first-hand just how ferocious and unforgiving this storm was," he said.
The entrepreneur said the British government has a "massive role to play in the recovery of its territories" through short-term aid and long-term infrastructure spending.
Read more: Florida counts cost of the carnage
He compared the situation to the US giving funding to western Europe for rebuilding after World War II, calling for a "Disaster Recovery Marshall Plan".
Branson signed off his update by saying he has been "overwhelmed by the messages of support sent to those across the region and to myself".
He added: "I've lived in the BVI for a long time and I know this wonderful part of the world and its amazing people will bounce back stronger than ever. Thank you for your continuing support, it means the world to us."
A street in Cojimar neighbourhood in Havana, Cuba, after the passage of Hurricane Irma. Photo: Yamil Lage/Getty Images
With ports mended and weather cleared, officials sent in more aid and arranged stepped-up evacuations yesterday in remote Caribbean islands devastated and cut off by Hurricane Irma.
Many in the chain of Leeward Islands, known as the playground for the rich and famous, have criticised governments for failing to respond quickly to the disaster caused by the Category-5 hurricane.
The storm stripped the islands' formerly lush green hills to a brown stubble and flattened buildings, then swamped much of Cuba's coastline, including Havana's iconic Malecon seawall.
At least 24 people died in Anguilla, Barbuda, the French-Dutch island of St Martin, St Barts, the US Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands. Among them was a two-year-old boy swept away when his home filled with water.
Expand Close Security officers order two children to leave the area at the iconic seafront Malecon in Havana, Cuba. Photo: Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters / Facebook
Twitter
Email
Whatsapp Security officers order two children to leave the area at the iconic seafront Malecon in Havana, Cuba. Photo: Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters
Residents have reported shortages of food, water and medicine, and many have complained of looting.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson defended his government's response to what he called an "unprecedented catastrophe" and promised to increase funding for the relief effort. Britain has sent a navy ship and almost 500 troops to help people on the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla and the Turks and Caicos islands that were pummelled by the hurricane.
Read more: Irish families take shelter from storm in baths and closets
The US government said it was sending a flight to evacuate its citizens from one of the hardest hit islands, St Martin. Evacuees were warned to expect long queues and no running water at the airport.
A Royal Caribbean Cruise Line ship docked near St Martin to help in the aftermath, and a boat was bringing a five-tonne crane capable of unloading large shipping containers filled with aid. A French military ship is scheduled to arrive today with materials to build temporary housing.
Some 70pc of the beds at the main hospital in the French portion of St Martin were severely damaged, and more than 100 people in need of urgent medical care have been evacuated. Eight of the territory's 11 pharmacies were destroyed, and Guadeloupe was sending medication.
Criticism
French President Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to arrive in St Martin today to bring aid and fend off criticism that he didn't do enough to respond to the storm's wrath.
French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said the "whole government is mobilised" to help and the pillaging that hit the island in the immediate aftermath of the storm had stopped.
Mr Macron promised to go to the region as soon as weather conditions allowed. Soon after Irma left 10 dead on St Martin, Category-4 Hurricane Jose threatened the area, halting evacuations for hours before heading out to sea and causing little additional damage.
Read more: Branson calls for 'Marshall Plan' to help islands bounce back from the devastation
Also hit hard was Cuba, where central Havana neighbourhoods along the coast between the Almendares River and the harbour suffered the brunt of the flooding. Seawater penetrated as much as a half a kilometre inland in places.
There were no reported fatalities in Cuba, and government officials credited their disaster preparedness and evacuation of more than one million people from flood-prone areas.
Hector Pulpito recounted a harrowing night at his job as night custodian of a car park that flooded, five blocks from the sea in Havana's Vedado neighbourhood.
Read more: Florida counts cost of the carnage
"This was the worst of the storms I have been through, and the sea rose much higher," Mr Pulpito said. "The trees were shaking. Metal roofs went flying."
Cuban state television reported severe damage to hotels on the northern keys off Ciego de Avila and Camaguey provinces.
The Communist Party newspaper 'Granma' reported that the Jardines del Rey airport serving the northern keys was destroyed and posted photos to Twitter showing the shattered terminal hall littered with debris.
Storm damage is seen from the air after hurricane Irma passed Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands. Captain George Eatwell RM/Ministry of Defence handout via REUTERS
Over 100 "very serious" prisoners have escaped from jail on the British Virgin Islands in the wake of Hurricane Irma, a minister has said.
British Foreign minister Sir Alan Duncan told the UK House of Commons that the convicts pose a "serious threat of the complete breakdown of law and order" on the overseas territory.
He told MPs: "The prison was breached, over 100 very serious prisoners escaped."
Sir Alan said Marines from RFA Mounts Bay were used to "protect the Governor and everything else about law and order" on Friday.
Expand Close Storm damage is seen from the air after hurricane Irma passed Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands. Captain George Eatwell RM/Ministry of Defence handout via REUTERS / Facebook
Twitter
Email
Whatsapp Storm damage is seen from the air after hurricane Irma passed Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands. Captain George Eatwell RM/Ministry of Defence handout via REUTERS
He said that more than 500,000 British nationals have been in the path of the hurricane and that 997 British military personnel are now in the Caribbean helping with the relief effort.
He added that while the death toll was low for a storm of this magnitude, the infrastructure on the island of Barbuda "no longer exists".
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is visiting the British territories devastated by the hurricane.
Sir Alan said: "Over 500,000 British nationals, either residents or tourists, have been in the path of Hurricane Irma, which has caused devastation across an area spanning well over 1,000 miles."
Giving an update to MPs, Sir Alan said five people had died in the British Virgin Islands and four in Anguilla.
Mr Johnson is expected to visit these British territories in the coming days.
In addition to the military personnel, 47 British police officers have also arrived in the British Virgin Islands to assist local officers.
Already, 20 tonnes of UK aid has arrived in the region, including more than 2,500 shelter kits and 2,300 solar lanterns.
Nine tonnes of food and water supplies are due to be flown out to Anguilla imminently, Sir Alan said.
He added that HMS Ocean, Britain's biggest warship in service, is heading to the Caribbean and should be there within 10 days.
There were 420,000 British citizens in Florida either as residents or visitors, where Hurricane Irma also caused devastation.
"We should all be humble in the face of the power of nature, and whatever relief we are able to provide will not be enough for many who have lost so much," said Sir Alan.
"But hundreds of dedicated British public servants are doing their utmost to help, and they will not relent in their efforts."
"And I'm pleased to say that 24 hours later, or 48 hours later, we've been able significantly to reinforce the Marines.
"So we have maintained and kept law and order on the British Virgin Islands, which at one point could have dramatically threatened the already-unfortunate plight of those who had been hit by the hurricane."
Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry attacked the Government's response to the disaster for being "too little and too late".
She said it was "alarming" that almost a week had passed since the hurricane and Sir Alan was "still talking about the potential evacuation of British citizens".
"With the security situation deteriorating in many of the affected islands all British citizens should be considered vulnerable."
Ms Thornberry said the risk of waterborne infections was growing on some islands, and asked: "What is the Government doing as part of its emergency support for the overseas territories to help their governments establish command and control, maintain law and order where it is threatening to break down and put in place emergency plans to stop causes of preventable waterborne diseases before they begin to spread?"
She also urged the Government to create a "long-term plan" for the overseas territories to address threats posed by climate change.
"Can the minister confirm that when the Government sits down with their counterparts in the affected islands, the question of coping with climate change and future extreme weather events will be at the top of the agenda with financial commitments to match, not as usually happens, the afterthought which always proves too difficult and too expensive."
A woman has been charged with attempted murder after she allegedly shot a homeless man who asked her to move her Porsche SUV.
Katie Layne Quackenbush (26), from Tennessee is accused of shooting 54-year-old Gerald Melton, who remains hospitalised at Vanderbilt University Medical Center with critical injuries.
According to the Tennessean Mr Melton was "trying to sleep on the sidewalk" near Music Row in Nashville at around 3am when he became disturbed by exhaust fumes and loud music coming from a Porsche SUV".
Police say that the homeless man asked Ms Quackenbush to move the vehicle and there was a robust exchange.
Mr Melton reportedly walked back to where he had been trying to sleep. According to police Ms Quackenbush got out of her vehicle with a gun and the argument continued.
Ms Quackenbush, a single mother, allegedly fired two shots at Mr Melton who was wounded in the abdomen.
The homeless man told police that the alleged shooter got back into her car and left the scene.
The woman's father Jesse Quakenbush told the newspaper that his daughter and her firend were being accosted by bthe homeless man when she opened fire.
She didnt try and kill this guy, he said. She had no intention of killing him. She didnt know that she hit him.
In this Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017 photo, Pyongyang residents welcome contributors to their countryOs sixth underground nuclear test, in Pyongyang, North Korea. The test of what Pyongyang claims was an H-bomb small enough to be mounted on an intercontinental ballistic missile was the biggest North Korea has ever conducted. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin)
In this Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017 photo, fireworks explode after civilians and military personnel participated in a mass rally in Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea, to mark their countryOs sixth underground nuclear test. The test of what Pyongyang claims was an H-bomb small enough to be mounted on an intercontinental ballistic missile was the biggest North Korea has ever conducted. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin)
North Korea on Tuesday rejected a U.N. Security Council resolution imposing tougher sanctions and said the United States would soon face the "greatest pain" it had ever experienced.
The Security Council unanimously stepped up sanctions against North Korea on Monday over the country's sixth and most powerful nuclear test, imposing a ban on its textile exports and capping imports of crude oil.
"My delegation condemns in the strongest terms and categorically rejects the latest illegal and unlawful U.N. Security Council resolution," Pyongyang's ambassador, Han Tae Song, told the U.N.-sponsored Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.
Han accused the U.S. administration of being "fired up for political, economic, and military confrontation," and of being "obsessed with the wild game of reversing the DPRK's development of nuclear force which has already reached the completion phase".
North Korea was condemned globally for its latest nuclear test on Sept. 3, which it said was of an advanced hydrogen bomb.
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is "ready to use a form of ultimate means", Han said without elaborating.
Expand Close The Trump administration's original draft would have ordered all countries to impose an asset freeze and travel ban on North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (AP) / Facebook
Twitter
Email
Whatsapp The Trump administration's original draft would have ordered all countries to impose an asset freeze and travel ban on North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (AP)
"The forthcoming measures by DPRK will make the U.S. suffer the greatest pain it ever experienced in its history," he said.
U.S. disarmament ambassador Robert Wood took the floor to say that the Security Council resolution "frankly sent a very clear and unambiguous message to the regime that the international community is tired, is no longer willing to put up provocative behaviour from this regime".
"My hope is the regime will hear the message loud and clear and it will choose a different path," Wood said.
"We call on all countries to vigorously implement these new sanctions and all other existing sanctions," he added.
US President Donald Trump, leading his first commemoration of the 9/11 anniversary, has said "the living, breathing soul of America wept with grief" for each of the nearly 3,000 lives that were lost on that day 16 years ago.
Addressing an audience at the Pentagon, one of three sites attacked on September 11, 2001, Mr Trump used the anniversary to sternly warn terrorists that "America cannot be intimidated".
He said those who try are destined to join a long list of vanquished enemies "who dared to test our mettle".
Mr Trump and his wife Melania observed a moment of silence at the White House at the exact time that a hijacked plane was slammed into New York's World Trade Centre.
Nearly 3,000 people were killed when hijackers flew commercial planes into the World Trade Centre, the Pentagon and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Mr Trump, a native New Yorker who was in the city on 9/11, said the attack was worse than the Japanese assault on Pearl Harbour during the Second World War because it targeted civilians. He vowed that it would never be repeated.
"The terrorists who attacked us thought they could incite fear and weaken our spirit," Mr Trump said later at the Pentagon. "But Ameria cannot be intimidated and those who try will join a long list of vanquished enemies who dared test our mettle." He said that when America is united, "no force on Earth can break us apart".
Mr Trump also offered words of comfort for the many whose loved ones perished in the attacks. "Today, our entire nation grieves with you," he said.
Unions said workers at the Eiffel Tower will walk out on Tuesday afternoon (AP)
A demonstrator throws a stone during clashes with police at a protest march in Paris (AP)
Police have used water cannons and tear gas on several hundred hooded youths who joined a protest march in Paris against French President Emmanuel Macron's pro-business labour policies.
The youths who showed up near the end of the march pelted security forces with objects, briefly halting the event held by unions and other groups.
While union marches are usually peaceful, troublemakers on the margins often clash with police.
The CGT union, which organised marches around France, said 60,000 people participated in the Paris protest.
Police put the figure at 24,000. A statement said four people were detained and one person with a minor injury was taken to hospital.
The protests are the first big public display of discontent with Mr Macron's presidency, which kicked off in May amid enthusiasm over his promises of revving up the French economy but is now foundering amid anger over the labour decrees and other domestic troubles.
Thousands of union activists marched on Tuesday morning in the Mediterranean city of Marseille, in Le Havre on the English Channel and other cities.
The CGT union had called for strikes and organised 180 marches against labour decrees unveiled last month by Mr Macron's government.
The Eiffel Tower was affected by the union-organised protests, with afternoon viewing limited to the first floor, which visitors had to access by a stairway.
Horn-tooting funfair workers held a separate protest against legal changes they say favour big corporations and could wipe out their centuries-old industry.
Dozens of big rigs drove at a snail's pace around the Arc de Triomphe, causing rush-hour traffic jams as protesters danced and waved flags on a flat-bed truck with a severed plastic head from a funfair ride.
The workers said they timed their protest to coincide with the broader labour demonstrations, since both movements are about workers fearing their jobs are at threat.
"Everybody likes funfairs. Everybody has been to a funfair one time in his life," bumper car worker Sam Frechon said. "Funfair is France."
Meanwhile, thousands of union activists marched in the Mediterranean city of Marseille, in Le Havre on the English Channel and other cities.
AP
The number of Rohingya refugees who have fled violence in Burma has soared to about 370,000, according to the UN refugee agency.
The new estimate from the UNHCR is more than 50,000 higher than Monday's figure after aid agencies reached "more villages, hamlet and pockets where refugees have gathered" in Bangladesh.
Thousands of ethnic Rohingya Muslims have been arriving daily by foot across the swampy border as well as by rickety wooden boats travelling on wild seas since violence erupted on August 25 in Burma.
The influx has left Bangladesh's refugee camps reeling. The UNHCR said it was flying in two shipments of aid materials including jerry cans, blankets, sleeping mats and shelter materials.
It said the goods would help 25,000 refugees at packed refugee camps in Bangladesh's border district of Cox's Bazar. More airlifts are planned in coming days.
The update came as t he Bangladeshi prime minister visited a struggling refugee camp that has absorbed some of the influx.
Sheikh Hasina demanded that Burma "take steps to take their nationals back", and pledged temporary aid until that happens.
"We will not tolerate injustice," she said at a rally at the Kutupalong refugee camp, near the border town of Ukhiya.
On Monday night, she condemned Buddhist-majority Burma for "atrocities" she said had reached a level beyond description, telling legislators she had "no words to condemn Burma" and noting that Bangladesh had long been protesting against the persecution of the Rohingya.
The UN human rights chief said the violence and injustice faced by the Rohingya in Burma - where UN rights investigators have been barred from entry - "seems a textbook example of ethnic cleansing".
"The Burma government should stop pretending that the Rohingya are setting fire to their own homes and laying waste to their own villages," Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein said, calling it a "complete denial of reality".
AP
The UKs financial watchdog has joined international peers in raising the alarm over initial coin offerings (ICOs).
A consumer warning issued by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) highlighted the risks involved with investing in companies in exchange for a digital coin or token, adding that most ICOs are not currently regulated.
ICOs are being used in most cases as digital fundraising tools, allowing investors to exchange cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin for proprietary coins or tokens linked to a specific firm or project.
They can act like a share in a firm, drawing parallels with an initial public offering (IPO) on a public exchange, a prepayment voucher for future services or in some cases offer no discernable value at all, the FCA warned.
Expand Close London skyline stock / Facebook
Twitter
Email
Whatsapp London skyline stock
ICOs are very high-risk, speculative investments, the UK watchdog explained.
You should be conscious of the risks involved and fully research the specific project if you are thinking about buying digital tokens.
China went as far as to ban ICOs earlier this month in a move that cause the price of Bitcoin to slide.
Regulators in other countries including Canada and the US have issued their own notices to highlight the potential risks involved with ICOs, including the possibility that the projects are linked to illegal schemes or fraud.
Some issuers might not have the intention to use the funds raised in the way set out when the project was marketed, the FCA warned.
Watchdogs have also raised concerns over the lack of transparency and higher volatility in the price of the unregulated coins.
ICOs have grown in popularity and gained backing from celebrities including Paris Hilton.
We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference
The socialite and reality TV star tweeted earlier this month that she was set to take part in an ICO for Lydian Coin, which is set to combine blockchain technology with AI-driven digital marketing and advertising.
Professional boxer Floyd Mayweather has also stepped in to promote the ICO for Stox, a prediction market platform that will use use the wisdom of the crowd to predict and trade the outcome of financial, sporting and political events.
The remnants of Hurricane Irma have forced Atlanta's international airport - one of the world's busiest - to cancel nearly 200 flights as the storm claimed at least four lives in Georgia and South Carolina.
The flights cancelled at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport put the total number of interrupted trips there due to Irma at about 1,300, spokesman Andrew Gobeil said.
The airport remained operational, although some passengers were forced to spend the night at the airport.
Meteorologist Keith Stellman said Atlanta's airport recorded sustained winds of 45mph with gusts up to 64mph.
The National Hurricane Centre said it expects Irma to drop 5in to 8in of rain across South Carolina and the northern regions of Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi.
More than 1.2 million Georgia Power and Electric Membership customers were without power on Tuesday morning. The utility companies said they would continue to assess damage as power is restored.
Alabama Power reported 20,000 outages. The utilities said repairs could take several days.
In Atlanta, people nervously watched towering oak trees as the city, 250 miles inland, experienced its first tropical storm warning.
Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority resumed service on Tuesday but with limited routes. The transport operator said it will have rail services running at 20-minute intervals.
Weakened to a tropical depression after hammering Florida, Irma still had enough force when it swirled into Georgia to cause significant damage.
Heavy rain and strong wind caused flooding along the coast, downed power lines and sent trees crashing on to homes.
In south Georgia, a 62-year-old man had a heart attack and died after climbing a ladder to try to secure the roof above his tractor-trailer.
John Kline was found under debris on the roof of his shed in Worth County, where winds topped 40mph. Coroner John Johnson said Mr Kline suffered chronic heart disease and believes his death was not storm-related.
Another man, in his 50s, was killed just outside Atlanta when a tree fell on his house, Sandy Springs police Sergeant Sam Worsham said.
In addition, a woman died when a tree fell on a vehicle in a private driveway, Forsyth County Sheriff's Office said.
About 540,000 people were ordered to evacuate days earlier from Savannah and the rest of Georgia's coast. Irma sent 4ft of ocean water into central Charleston, South Carolina, as the storm's centre passed 250 miles way.
Charles Saxon, 57, became South Carolina's first recorded death when he was struck by a tree limb while clearing debris outside his home in Calhoun Falls amid wind gusts of about 40mph, according to the Abbeville County Coroner.
Another man was killed in a crash on a wet and windy motorway in South Carolina as Irma moved past. Public safety officials said 21-year-old Zhen Tain died in the accident on Interstate 77 just east of Columbia.
AP
CONCORD- Police say there was no evidence of gun violence in the reported shooting incident at Concord Mills over the weekend.
Officers with the Concord Police Department responded to a shots fired call at Concord Mills near Dave and Busters and AMC Movie Theater on Saturday, Sept. 9 around 9 p.m.
After everyone was evacuated from the mall, law enforcement officers and mall security conducted an on-scene investigation that included a review of surveillance cameras and witness interviews.
Our joint investigation revealed that a large group of juveniles and young adults engaged in disorderly conduct which became physical, Police Chief Gary Gacek said. Aside from the report of shots being fired, there is no evidence of gun violence - no shots fired and no one shot.
The Charlotte Observer reported that several people were arrested related to the altercation.
Gacek added that social media chatter suggesting the incident was something more than what the evidence shows is irresponsible and needs to stop.
The department does not intend to comment further on this matter, unless new information from the public is brought to light, Gacek said.
The Concord Police department was assisted by deputies from the Cabarrus County Sheriff's Office and troopers from the NC State Highway Patrol.
The department encourages anyone who was present at the mall last night - and who has evidence of gun violence - to contact the department immediately at 704-920-5000.
The magazine provides a general overview of the options available to foreign firms to sell to the online India...
Easy Trip Planners achieves GBR of Rs3,641 crore for H1FY23 Easy Trip Planners Limited has released its results for the quarter ended 30th September 2022 to clock its highest-ever Gross Booking Revenue (GBR) in a quarter of ~ Rs2000 crore. As... November 14, 2022 | 2:33 pm
Markets trade lower amid volatility; Sensex falls 100 pts while Nifty around 18,400 Domestic benchmark indices trading mixed after a gap-up opening on Monday. Both the Sensex and Nifty benchmarks are trading lower in the afternoon market session. On the sectoral front, F... November 14, 2022 | 2:00 pm
Gravita India suffers fire accident at Mundra plant, Gujarat; Stock down 2% Gravita India Limited has informed to the stock exchanges regarding fire incident at company's Mundra Plant, Gujarat. According to the filing, a fire incident occurred on Sunday's ev... November 14, 2022 | 1:06 pm
Sinclairs Hotels stock declines ~6% despite PAT jumps 628% yoy in Q2FY23 For the quarter ended September 30, 2022, Sinclairs Hotels Limited posted a Total Income of Rs962.51 lakh, a 60% increase over Rs602.81 lakh for the corresponding quarter in the previ... November 14, 2022 | 12:33 pm
Keystone Realtors IPO opens today, check live subscription on Day 1 Keystone Realtors, Parent company of Rustomjee Brand has opens today for public subscription and will be closing on November 16, 2022. The IPO price band is Rs 514-541 per share. Investors can ... November 14, 2022 | 12:07 pm
Pradyuman Thakur, a seven-year-student of class two, along with her sister was dropped at the school gate by his father, who didnt know that just in some time he would get a call from his sons school later know that he is no-more.
Nobody knew what happened inside the washroom of Ryan International School where allegedly a bus conductor, after a failed attempt of sexual assault, killed him. He must have shouted, he must have sought help, said his mother, seeking to know what exactly happened with her darling son. Justice must prevail, she sobs.
Twitter
The entire nation is grieving the death of the innocent soul, and wondering what the world has come to. A lot of questions have been raised upon the authorities but they remain unanswered.
khabarnwi.com
Amid all of this, lyricist and screenwriter Prasoon Joshi, who is known for his writing that resonates human emotions, posted a poem on the case, which has left many devastated and worried.
Jub bachpan tumhari goud mein aaney se katrane lage
Jub maa ki kokh se jhankti zindagi bahar aaney se ghabrane lage
Samjho kuch ghalat hai
Jub talwarein phoolon par zor aazmane lagein
Jub masoom ankhon mein khauf nazar aane lage
Samjho kuch ghalat hai
Jub oos ki boondon ko hatheliyon pe nahin hathiyaron ki nok par theherna ho
Jub nanhe nanhe talwon ko aag se guzarna ho
Samjho kuch ghalat hai
Jub kilkariyan sahem jayein
Jub totli boliyan khamosh ho jayein
Samjho kuch ghalat hai
Khuch nahin bahut kuch ghalat hai
Kyonki zor se barish honi chahiye thi
Poori duniya mein
Har jagah tapakne chahiye the aansoo
Rona chaiye tha upar wale ko
Aasman se
Phoot phoot kar
Sharm se jhukni chaiye thein insaani sabhyata ki gardanein
Shok nahin soch ka waqt hai
Matam nahin sawalon ka waqt hai
Agar iske baad bhi sar utha kar khada ho sakta hai insaan
Toh samjho kuch ghalat hai.
Rampant cases of Child abuse have shaken the soul.
We cannot let this happen anymore. - #PrasoonJoshi
Prasoon Joshi had originally written this poem in 2014 in the wake of the Peshawar attack at an Army Public School.
Bangladesh has finally agreed to free land for a new camp to shelter hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who have fled Myanmar in a recent spate of violence. The new camp will ease some pressure on existing settlements on the Bangladesh border near the Coxs Bazar district where as many as 3,13,000 refugees have arrived since August 25, as per a recent report by the United Nations.
Reuters/Representational Image
"The two refugees camps we are in are beyond overcrowded," said UN refugee agency spokeswoman Vivian Tan. Other new arrivals were being sheltered in schools or were huddling in makeshift settlements with no toilets along roadsides and in open fields. Basic resources were scarce, including food, clean water and medical aid.
Still, more refugees were arriving. An Associated Press reporter witnessed hundreds streaming through the border at Shah Puri Dwip on Monday.
AFP
"Tomorrow we are expecting an airlift of relief supplies for 20,000 people," Tan said. PM Sheikh Hasina offered 810 hectares near the existing camp of Kutupalong, "To build temporary shelters for the Rohingya newcomers," according to a Facebook post today by Mohammed Shahriar Alam, a junior minister for foreign affairs.
He also said the government would begin fingerprinting and registering the new arrivals on Monday. Hasina is scheduled to visit Rohingya refugees on Tuesday.
Aid agencies have been overwhelmed by the influx of Rohingya, many of whom are arriving hungry and traumatized after walking days through jungles or packing into rickety wooden boats in search of safety in Bangladesh.
When surgeons were removing a tumour from the most sensitive part of a 10-year-old girl's brain in a Chennai hospital, she was playing her favourite game on her uncle's cell phone.
By staying awake, talking and moving her limbs, the girl gave her doctors the confidence that they were on the right track.
representational image
Nandini, a Class V student and a Bharatanatyam dancer, was brought to SIMS Hospital with complaints of sudden onset of fits. A brain scan revealed that she had a tumour in an important area of brain which controls the movement of the left half of the body, including face, hand and leg.
SIMS Hospital neuro surgeon Dr Roopesh Kumar told her parents that if a tumour grew further, it could cause paralysis or could be fatal.
In a conventional procedure, called craniotomy, a disc of bone is removed from the skull using special tools to give surgeons access to the brain when the patient is unconscious.
"I did not want to go in for the conventional method of removing the tumour. It was in the sensitive part of the brain and if we accidentally touched a wrong nerve, it could cause complete paralysis of left half of her body," he said.
reuters/representational image
The doctors decided to do the same procedure by keeping the patient awake and alert. "That way, I will know exactly which areas of your brain control those functions and avoid them," Dr Kumar said.
The awake surgery is done in nearly 2% of brain tumour patients who are adults, but is rare in children, said SIMS Institute of Neurosciences director Dr Suresh Bapu. The patients feel no pain during the surgery since the neurons in the brain don't have pain receptors.
While her parents were initially hesitant, the surgeons took the help of the patient's uncle in Puducherry, who is a doctor, to convince them.
"I was in the theatre when they removed a tumour. Nandini was playing Candy Crush on my cell phone. She moved her hands and legs when we asked her to do so. The surgeon had to make sure that the point he is operating on does not affect her mobility. She was brave," said her uncle.
reuters/representational image
At the end of the procedure, she was moving her hands and legs. She was discharged from hospital on Friday, two days after the surgery. Nandini told the doctors that she would resume Bharatanatyam practice in a few days.
Union HRD minister, Prakash Javedkar, has a solution to address the issue of safety on campus. A greater presence of women -- employees and bus drivers -- in schools can help increase safety at school campuses, said Javedkar after a 7-year-old Gurgaon student was killed in a washroom.
bccl
He added that the school and parents need to work together to find a solution to the issue of students' safety, the minister said. "There should be more and more women employees in schools and school buses can also have women drivers so that there is more safety for students," Mr Javadekar told reporters in Delhi.
"The culprits will be booked and charge-sheeted and we will address this issue," he added.
bccl
The killing of the class 2 student of Gurgaon's Ryan International School sparked outrage among parents and others on the issue of safety of children in schools. The boy was found dead, with his throat slit, in the school's washroom last week. The police alleged he had been killed by a school bus conductor.
Father Tom Uzhunnalil, a Christian priest from India who was abducted by unidentified gunmen from Aden in Yemen last year has been freed by his captors, reports have claimed.
Oman Observer
According to a report in Oman Observer, the priest from Kerala was rescued due to the intervention of Qaboos bin Said al Said the Sultan of Oman. The report added that Fr Tom has been transferred to Muscat from where he will return to his home in Kerala.
I am happy to inform that Father Tom Uzhunnalil has been rescued.pic.twitter.com/FwAYoTkbj2 Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) September 12, 2017
However, it is still unclear who are the kidnappers and how the release was secured.
Fr Tom who hails from Ramapuram in Kottayam, was abducted by unidentified gunmen on March 4 last year, after an attack on an old-age home run by Missionaries of Charity in Aden.
His captors had released videos of him appealing to the Indian government and the Vatican to secure his release.
Dhairya Pujara sits in one of those swanky corporate offices in Bandra-Kurla Complex that could easily intimidate a lot of people. Pujara, however, modestly admits that the owners of the company were humble enough to let him have a workspace in their building.
Despite having achieved what most can only dream of at 29, Pujara has not even a hint of an air of superiority about himself, nor the typical NRI complex that one usually expects from a foreign return. If we had to describe him in a word, Pujara can be called a thorough gentleman, not only insisting but making sure we have lunch with him.
Pujaras story in one line can be told as A Gujarati man quits his job, goes to Africa, comes to India to uplift his own people.
Sounds familiar doesnt it? he jokes, but modestly denies this similarity that while the story may sound like Gandhis, but his struggle story has been quite different. His story, as a matter of fact, resembles slightly to the film Swades.
Pujara representing India at the UN
The 29-year-old established his company YCenter, in 2013, along with his partner Aditya Brahmabhatt, has been a speaker at the United Nations representing India, has been offering programs and done workshops in 7 countries across 3 years and is looked at as one of the most promising entrepreneurs in the country. Its hard to imagine what he tells us next few years ago, Pujara recalls sat in a room, afraid of video calling his parents because he wore six layers of clothing due to lack of a heater in a not-so-comfortable apartment, and did not want them to know about. While now he lives in New York with his wife, he has ventured out to change the world - quite literally!
The journey to 'Philly'
A very chatty and perky Pujara seems like he never runs out of energy. Perhaps which is why he works 24x7 without any days off. We can guess that hes always been a workaholic, as hes relentlessly tried to uplift areas of the world that not many would want to volunteer for.
Pujara and partner Brahmabhatt in Africa dressed in the traditional of the locals attire
He had it all The Mumbai boy who went to the US to live the great American dream, got his masters in biomedical engineering and even ended up finding a job in US.
On the very first day, I quit my job. I remember that day being one of the longest days of my life. I came back home and realized that the 9 to 5 routine was not meant for me, he tells us with evident passion in his eyes.
Pujara prefers calling himself a storyteller than an entrepreneur.
When you tell a story, you inevitably engage people in a conversation. That, I think is an essential quality for an entrepreneur as well. In India, most people dream of making it big but fail because of lack of communication skills. This is exactly what I wish to focus on with YCenter, he tells us while explaining the importance of various life skills required for a successful business.
Conducting classes at YCenter in Kenya
Pujara set up YCenter in Philadelphia, and moved to New York later. He has been to Mozambique and Kenya so far, and informed us that various other African countries wish to adopt the program he has designed that focuses on problem solving and developing not just business but basic life skills such as communication and personality development.
Teaching the villagers in Mozambique
The first time he visited Africa for about five months with volunteers from his University in a program called We Serve, he realized he needed to do something with a higher purpose. He told us that despite all the challenges he faced when he got back to the US including the deadline of his visa expiry and lack of cash, he knew in his heart that he wanted to do something for the greater good of the society, but also have his own entrepreneurial venture.
The African adventure
He went back to Africa with a bunch of other volunteers as a part of his own program, Where students learnt a lot more than just volunteering. My idea was to realize the concept of teach a man how to fish and he will eat for life. Which is what happened when people in Africa began to adopt newer things we introduced like getting checked for Malaria at the push of a button in their mobile phones as soon as they suspected any symptoms, he tells us as he describes the scenario in Africa where the hospital in any remote village was situated under a tree with no infrastructure
The villagers in Africa did not have an umbrella, so they would use chairs as shelter against rain
It was when he was in Africa for the second time, when Pujara remembered his mothers words youre trying to uplift the entire world, but what are you doing for your own country? This was exactly when he bought a one-way ticket to India, and decided that he needs to spread this program across the country. Currently having set up a base in Mumbai, he has already conducted several workshops and is mentoring several aspiring entrepreneurs.
Brahmabhatt conducting a workshop in Dharavi
A Patriot's calling
Pujara is particularly happy about the difference he made by conducting free workshops in Dharavi, where teenagers and youngsters were taught basic communication skills.
"We taught them curriculum from the best US universities on a blackboard. The locations and conditions may have been different but students everywhere have been equally eager to learn," he said.
Students from Dharavi attending workshops by YCenter
Discussing how different YCenter is than other NGOs, he says, "Most parents from an economically challenged background send their kids to work early instead of schools.
What most NGOs do is try to send the children to school and raise funds, which is something I am completely supportive of. However, I believe that education is much more than just learning from books its about developing an attitude and learning to deal with the challenges life throws at you which is what I aim at doing for Indian kids in the long run, he tells us.
Theres a sparkle in his eye when we ask him about where he sees YCenter in the near future. He tells us that he wishes to touch a million lives in only the next two to three years. I think every person who is a dreamer should be taught how to sustain his or herself, and also be able to employ others and empower them as well, he shares with us before rushing off to another one of his workshops.
As the Indian government is planning to deport 40,000 Rohingya Muslim refugees living in many parts of the country, the UN human rights chief Zeid Raad alHussein has criticised the move to send them back Myanmar, where the army and the Buddhist militia are accused of killing them in huge numbers. The UN had earlier termed the killing as, "A textbook example of ethnic cleansing".
AFP
I deplore current measures in India to deport Rohingyas at a time of such violence against them in their country, Zeid said while addressing the 36th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday.
AP
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights noted MoS Home, Kiren Rijiju had reportedly said that because India is not a signatory to the Refugee Convention it, Can dispense with international law on the matter, together with basic human compassion.
AP
However, by virtue of customary law, its ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the obligations of due process and the universal principle of nonrefoulement, India cannot carry out collective expulsions, or return people to a place where they risk torture or other serious violations, the UN Human Rights Chief said.
He also expressed concern over the increasing mob violence in India in the name of cow.
"I am also dismayed by a broader rise of intolerance towards religious and other minorities in India. The current wave of violent, and often lethal, mob attacks against people under the pretext of protecting the lives of cows is alarming".
AFP
Zeid also touched upon the murder of journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh and the attacks freedom of expression.
"People who speak out for fundamental human rights are also threatened. Gauri Lankesh, a journalist who tirelessly addressed the corrosive effect of sectarianism and hatred, was assassinated last week. I have been heartened by the subsequent marches calling for protection of the right to freedom of expression, and by demonstrations in 12 cities to protest the lynchings".
While Indias Home Ministry has received flak from different quarter for being adamant on the deportation of Rohingya Muslims living in India, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), at the behest of PM Modi is silently working with Myanma and Bangladesh to find the solution to the crisis.
AFP
According to an article by DNA, the MEA has even offered help to develop Rakhine province from where thousands of Rohingya Muslims have been fleeing to Bangladesh and India to escape violence.
Contrary to MHA's decision, MEA has asked for a two-pronged approach: support to Suu Kyi government and condemnation of Rohingya terrorists with the simultaneous economic development of Rakhine province. India has traditionally refrained from deporting refugees fleeing war, ethnic violence or occupation.
Reuters
The continuance of violence there is also affecting PM Modi's pet Kaladan Multi-modal Transit Transport project, aimed at developing transport infrastructure in southwestern Myanmar and northeastern India.
The project includes the construction of a deepwater port at the mouth of the Kaladan river in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine on the Bay of Bengal. MEA has been encouraging Aung San Suu Kyi's government to adopt recommendations of a panel headed by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the crisis and development of Rakhine.
AFP
The recommendations of the panel include citizenship for Rohingya. It has been learnt that only 4000 out of 10 lakh population in Rakhine has citizenship documents. India has also made it clear to Myanmar that its assistance it provides for the development of the region will go to both Buddhist as well Rohingya community in Rakhine which has a poverty rate of 70 percent against the national average of 35 %.
The United Nations Human Rights chief today slammed Myanmars apparent systematic attack on the Rohingya minority in Myanmar, warning that ethnic cleansing seemed to be underway.
Reuters
Because Myanmar has refused access to human rights investigators the current situation cannot yet be fully assessed, but the situation seems a textbook example of ethnic cleansing, Zeid Raad Al Hussein told the UN Human Rights Council.
According to a report by the UN, over 3,00,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar and crossed the border to Bangladesh.
Army chief Bipin Rawat says neither China nor Pakistan is a threat to Indias security. (PTI File Photo )
Indian army chief General Bipin Rawat has been ridiculed by Indian netizens after he changed his hard-line stance on China on Saturday, as he claimed that neither China nor Pakistan is an imminent threat to India.
According to Hindustan Times, the hawkish army chief made the remarks on the sidelines of an event in Uttarakhands capital Dehradun on Saturday, contradicting his previous claims of China flexing its muscles a week ago.
Referring to the 73-day long Sino-Indian standoff, Rawat said earlier that India should be prepared for a two-front war, as the situation may snowball into a larger conflict on the northern border, according to Ptinew.com.
The change of attitude has lead to online sarcasm targeting Rawat, with many Indian netizens calling him an insult for the post he is acquiring.
Remove this person as he doesnt have the capacity to assess outside military threat. It has become a circus and he is the clown, said a netizen named Kunal Deshamukhya on Twitter.
This is not the first time that the controversial army chief has been slammed for his irresponsible comments. In June, the Chinese military denounced his extremely irresponsible remarks that India is ready for a two-and-a-half front war, urging him to stop clamoring for war.
Rawats new claims have somehow received more support from Chinese public, which has been viewed over half a million times as of press time on the Peoples Daily website.
I hope India can keep its promise, and the two nations can cooperate and work together peacefully, said a netizen.
Men of the Nigeria police have arrested a notorious 16-year-old boy who suppliers armed robbers with deadly weapons.
A 16 year- old teenage boy, Onyedikachi Iyaka, was yesterday arrested by the police for suspected gun running and possession of weapons and other police kits.
The boy from Ehime Mbano Local Government Area of the state was paraded by the State Commissioner of Police, Chris Ezike, who disclosed that 400 rounds of chained GPMG live ammunition, 1,016 rounds of AK47 live ammunition, one AK 47 empty magazine, one K2 empty magazine and one army camouflage bullet proof vest was recovered from him.
Other exhibits recovered from him according to the CP were, one police bullet proof vest, one blue police raincoat, one green beret cap and one empty ammunition.
Ezike who expressed surprise and was visibly shocked by the quantum of exhibits recovered, said that recovered weapons could shoot an helicopter.
When interviewed, the 16 year- old suspect acknowledged that he was into the business of selling ammunition untill the police caught him. But he disclosed that the crime business belong to his elder brother whom he identified as Jeff Iyaka, who is now at large.
The teenager said I am not the owner of the business, it belongs to my brother, Jeff Iyaka. I sell each packet of ammunition N7,000.
The Force Commander, Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF),Maj.-Gen. Lucky Irabor has commended troops of sector 1 Task Force in Cameroon for their relentless effort in fighting the Boko Haram terrorists.
He said this when he paid an operational visit on the troops in Mora in Cameroon Republic.
Col. Mustapha Anka the MNJTF Information Officer stated this in a statement in Maiduguri on Monday.
Anka quoted the commander as promising additional support for the troops to enhance their operations.
On arrival, the commander and his entourage were received by the Commander Sector 1 Brig.-Gen. Dobekreo who presented a detailed brief on the activities, achievements and prospects of the formation in the fight against terrorism and insurgency.
In his response, Irabor thanked Dobekreo and his troop for the warm reception and detailed brief.
He expressed happiness at the achievements and successes recorded by the formation and promised to give necessary support to the command.
Irabor used the medium to appreciate the President of the Republic of Cameroon Paul Biya and other Presidents of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) countries and Benin for their commitment, determination and purposeful leadership towards ensuring peace and security in the region.
He said that the commander also commiserated with the Sector for the souls of those that paid the supreme sacrifice and wounded during the fight against terrorism.
Irabor also visited the Senior Divisional Officer Mora and was received by the Secretary General on behalf of the Divisional Officer.
Irabor reiterated that terrorism required contributions of other agencies in order to maintain peace, security and harmony in the area.
He also visited Maroua and paid a courtesy visit on the governor of the Far North Region.
While at the Governors office, he was received by the Secretary General of the service of the governor of the region who welcomed him on behalf of the governor.
Source: ( PM News )
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), National Caretaker Committee has fixed Tuesday, for the hearing of appeals arising from the partys Anambra gubernatorial primary election held on Monday, Aug. 28.
This was disclosed in a notice issued by Chinwe Nnorom, the Head of Publicity Division for the National Publicity Secretary on Monday in Abuja.
The hearing according to the notice will take place at the PDP National Secretariat, Wadata Plaza, Wuse, Zone 5, Abuja, at 11 a.m.
It said that all aspirants and other concerned stakeholders were invited to the hearing.
It, however, warned that no aspirant to the NCC Appeal Panel was allowed to come with any crowd.
Non compliance with this directive will be viewed seriously by the Party.
Source:(PM News )
BEIJING, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- On September 12, Premier Li Keqiang hosted the "1+6" Roundtable with heads of major international economic institutions in Beijing.
Premier Li noted that China's biggest strength for development lies in its rich human resources. The 1.3 billion Chinese people, of which over 900 million are in the labor force and over 170 million have received higher education or acquired specialized skills, represent an infinite source of entrepreneurship and innovation. We have launched a mass entrepreneurship and innovation initiative across the country, which greatly unleashed market vitality and social creativity. Since 2014, 14,000 new businesses have been registered on a daily basis and the number has topped 16,000 since the start of this year. Seventy percent of these new businesses have been active, giving a strong boost to job creation. Importantly, not only individuals and small and micro enterprises have joined the initiative, but many big companies have as well, contributing to integrated development between businesses of various sizes.
Two of the suspects are alleged Yemeni members of IS while the others are Saudis accused of links to them, the official news agency SPA reported.
They were allegedly preparing to attack two defence ministry headquarters in Riyadh, it reported, without saying when the arrests were made.
The two Saudis are suspected of involvement with two Yemeni suicide bombers, who were planning attacks against (defence ministry) buildings, SPA said.
The Yemeni men were arrested before they reached their intended target, the agency quoted an unnamed official as saying.
Photos published by SPA showed a safe house a small, one-storey building in an enclosed courtyard where the Yemeni men had allegedly sheltered and trained to use suicide belts.
Other photos showed the prepared belts and homemade grenades found inside the house in a northern district of Riyadh.
Since late 2014, IS has claimed a series of bombings and shootings against Shiites and security forces in the Sunni-majority kingdom.
Saudi Arabia is a member of the US-led international coalition that has been battling the Sunni extremist group in Syria and Iraq.
Source: ( AFP )
An internet fraudster from Nigeria has met his waterloo in the UK after he was convicted for fraud.
A fraudster who threw a wallet full of bogus credit cards out of his window when NCA officers arrived to arrest him has been jailed for two years and four months.
Alexander Akinyele, 37, of Doncaster Place, Barrow-in-Furness, had earlier pleaded guilty to ten fraud offences, a Computer Misuse Act Offence and to possession of a false ID with intent.
NCA officers arrived at Akinyeles home in August 2016. Moments before his arrest, Akinyele threw a wallet containing eight fraudulent credit and store cards and a forged driving licence out of a window.
The subsequent NCA investigation revealed he had possession of 500 valid usernames and passwords for online Sky accounts and the same number for BT accounts which he had bought on the internet.
During their search of Akinyeles house, NCA officers found he had also stolen several peoples personal details, including those of a 74-year-old man, in order to set up bank and credit card accounts and to buy access to Netflix and Argos.
Sentencing him today at Preston Crown Court, Judge Heather Lloyd described Akinyeles criminal activity as a persistent and serious offence.
NCA officer Andrew Shorrock said: Akinyele used other peoples identities for financial gain, including that of a 74-year-old man. When Akinyele finally had to accept responsibility himself he resorted to really quite desperate measures, throwing evidence out of the window.
The effect of ID fraud on victims, who are often the most vulnerable in our society, can last for a long time. But there are simple steps you can take to reduce your chances of being a victim.
If you would like to learn how to protect your personal details on line then visit www.staysafeonline.org or if you feel you have been the victim of fraud visit the Action Fraud website at www.actionfraud.police.uk.
Two Chinese executives get life sentence for $7.6 billion Ponzi scheme
Two executives of the Chinese peer-to-peer lender Ezubao who directed a large Ponzi scheme were sentenced to life imprisonment by a Beijing court on Sept. 12.
Ezubao, the online peer-to-peer lending platform, shut down last year after raising more than 50 billion RMB ($7.6 billion) from about 900,000 investors.
Ding Ning, Ezubaos founder and chairman of the platforms holdings company Anhui Yucheng, was fined 100 million RMB in addition to his life sentence. He has been charged with fraud and crimes including precious metals smuggling and illegally possessing firearms.
Ding Dian, the brother of the chairman, was also sentenced to life and fined 70 million RMB ($10.7 million).
Twenty-four others involved in the scam were jailed for three to 15 years.
A policeman has allegedly shot to death one identified as Imo Ekanem, a final year student of the Department of Mass Communication, Uyo City Polytechnic, Nduetong Oku, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, over the victims refusal to give N100 bribe.
PUNCH Correspondent learnt that Ekanem was shot dead by the policeman at his hometown, Nkek, in Ukanafun Local Government Area of the state on Saturday, while he was on errand using his mothers motorcycle.
An eyewitness, Usung Simeon, told PUNCH correspondent on Monday that Ekanem was killed by one of the policemen attached to the special squad the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Zubairu Muazu, sent to the area to confront recurrent cult activities.
Simeon said the policemen stopped and searched Ekanem but they did not find anything incriminating thing with him. He added that the policemen demanded N100 from him, but his refusal to part with the money led to a policeman killing him.
Simeon said;
He was shot dead after a heated argument with one of the policemen attached to the special squad sent by the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Zubairu Muazu, to fight recurrent cult activities in our LGA.
Because the activities of the cultists are always carried out with the use of motorbikes, the police have been conducting stop-and-search operations. So, they just stopped him and subjected him to a search, but nothing was found on him.
We were surprised that the police demanded for N100 bribe.
His refusal to part with the money infuriated one of the policemen, who cocked his gun and shot him at close range.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Chukwu Ikechukwu, who confirmed the incident to PUNCH correspondent, denied that Ekanem was killed by his refusal to give the police N100 bribe.
Ikechukwu said what he first heard was that the deceased was trying to collect the rifle from the policeman, who shot and killed him in self-defence.
He said;
The matter was not about N100 issue, though the police is still investigating the case.
After our meeting today (Monday), the CP has directed the Area Commander, Ikot Ekpene, to transfer the matter to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Ikot Akpanabia, for thorough investigation,
He said everything necessary would be done to ensure that justice is served.
Chi-Chi Nwa Blog
Uniport student Ifeanyi Dike who murdered his neighbour 8-yr-old girl, revealed that power outage aided his escape and hunger led to his re-arrest.
He, however, pleaded for mercy on the murder of the eight-year-old girl, Chikamso Mezuwuba.
Dike, who spoke in Port Harcourt while he was re-paraded by the Rivers State Police Command, insisted that the Investigative Police Officer, IPO, Johnbosco Okoroeze, nabbed over his (Dikes) escape was innocent.
Ifeanyi Dike killed the eight-year-old Chikamso, removed her vital organs and was on his way to dispose of her remains when he was arrested by a local vigilante group in Okporo community, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state.
The suspected ritualist had escaped from the custody of State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, but was re-arrested in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State, last week, Thursday.
Dike told newsmen that he took advantage of the darkness in the premises of SCID, when he was asked to go into the cell and escaped, noting that nobody knew when he sneaked out.
Dike said:
At the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, after I entered my statement late in the evening of the day of my first parade, my IPO asked me to go inside the cell.
That was when I had the opportunity to run away. My IPO did not help me escape. I know what I did was wrong, please forgive me and have mercy.
Dike disclosed that he was re-arrested after his successful disappearance from Port Harcourt, when he got involved in another crime in the place he had escaped to in Plateau State. He explained that he was faced with starvation after he arrived Plateau State and in an attempt to steal food he was apprehended by residents of the area, who later handed him over to the Police.
He said;
I escaped to Jos. Having stayed for several days without food and due to the injuries I sustained, I was unable to get food to eat. So due to the hunger, I decided to source for food and that was where I was caught and handed over to the Police.
When I got to the Police station, at first I was hiding my identity, but on interrogation I got fed up and gave them (Police) my auntys phone number.
As soon as the Police called my aunty, she told them that I was declared wanted by the Rivers State Police command. She also handed my IPOs phone number to the Police officers and they later confirmed that I am on the wanted list.
After I was confirmed, I was detained and returned back to Rivers State on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police in Rivers State, Mr. Ahmed Zaki, has described the re-arrest of Dike as an act of God, noting that providence has brought the suspect back to face justice.
He said:
Today (yesterday), with profound humility, I present to you the most wanted ritual killer, Mr. Ifeanyi Maxwell Dike. His re-arrest was made possible by God Almighty, through your numerous prayers and concerns, following his escape three weeks ago.
I wish to assure you that justice will not only be done, but be seen to be done in the circumstance to bring the full weight of the law to bear on him and any other person implicated in the cause of further investigations.
Triple MG boss, Ubi Franklin, who a few days ago was pictured with curvy Kenyan socialite, Vera Sidika, in Lagos, as they went for a boat cruise with her other friends, has taken to Instagram to drop a little advice for up and coming arts..
The label boss, who recently donated to Benue flood victims, wrote;
Develop your gift; a developed gift would work without notice. Your gift is your transportation to your destiny. #Emerge You will never lack faith for your dreams. You wont see your weakness nor the challenges, youll see the greatness of Gods power.
Source: Naijaloaded
Boko Haram activity has increased recently. Again many people were kidnapped and murdered. If Nigerian Armed Forces cannot fight the terrorists, residents try to do it by themselves.
They are called vigilantes. They try to strike a blow against Boko Haram militants. In connection with these events, many people have a reasonable question. Indeed, their help in fighting against criminals cannot be overestimated. NAIJ Nigeria tries to figure out whether they can become another threat for Nigerians.
Presently, there are almost 26,500 vigilantes in Nigeria. They are gathering in groups to protect their homes and communities from Boko Haram Islamists constant attacks. Since 2009, due to continued rebellion, the north-eastern Nigeria has been completely devastated. It even spread to the territories of Nigeria`s neighborsNiger, Chad, and Cameroon.
In 2013, the world first knew about the vigilantes when they defended the city of Maiduguri from Boko Haram killers. At that time, Nigerian army was in complete disorder. That is why locals could not allow their city to be destroyed.
Thus, young people in Maiduguri started to form some vigilante groups. They began to find, isolate, and kill Boko Haram criminals. By doing this, the youth showed they would not stand Boko Haram on their land.
The officers of the weak and poor Nigerian Armed Forces immediately realized the real value of additional human resources and knowledge about all local events and geography, which had the vigilantes. And the army and the vigilantes teamed up. Informally, the vigilantes are titled the Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF).
Official statistics say that over 650 vigilantes have already been murder during the war against Boko Haram.
Who are they?
Here we have the mixed audience. Most of them are simply volunteers. These are civil servants, poor traders, and jobless youth. They never get a salary for their work. However, almost two thousand vigilantes used to have a kind of military training. So, now they receive some money from the government.
They serve at special checkpoints where they spot possible suicide bombers. They also help Nigerian soldiers to find the terrorists in the bush where militants have a shelter.
The vigilantes have the poorest arm one can ever imagine. They try to fight perfectly-armed militants with machetes, wooden clubs, and homemade rifles. The government is aware of this. However, it refuses to provide the vigilantes with real weapons because it might appear in the wrong hands.
In general, Nigerians consider the vigilantes to be heroes because they bravely fight against Boko Haram. However, some of them have already been accused of extortion and rape, as well as of extrajudicial murders of alleged criminals.
What do we have now?
Years of severe fighting have already passed. Now, there is an increasing concern that toughened vigilantes can become a serious armed force that the authorities will not be able to manage. Political experts say that the vigilantes now have the strongest sense of entitlement as ever. They are sure that they not only managed to protect Maiduguri, but they have fought a rebellion together with the Nigerian government.
The considerable part of the vigilantes wishes to join the Nigerian Army officially and receive a salary. Others want skills training, scholarships or grants to start their small businesses. And if the vigilantes` expectations are ignored, the government will have another big trouble.
Peace cannot be established without jobs
The chairman of Civilian JTF, Lawan Jaafar, is almost 40. He keeps on working as a cattle trader and a leather merchant when he does not lead his organization. He is a brave man and the real leader whom thousands of vigilantes respect.
At the beginning of 2017, the Nigerian security forces put Jaafar under arrest on suspicion of selling farm animals to Boko Haram terrorists. In a few weeks, the authorities released him. He was not even charged.
This case demonstrates what a powerful player in this region Lawan Jaafar. He asked the government to provide jobs to the vigilantes for several times already. He also begged to help families of those vigilantes who were killed while fighting Boko Haram. Otherwise, Nigeria will continue experienced severe problems with kidnapping and armed robberies. The government must finally understand: if we have not any jobs, we shall do everything to feed families and survive, concluded the chairman of Civilian JTF.
The courageousness of the vigilantes is unquestionable in the Nigerian north-east. They really help greatly in fighting Boko Haram. However, unless their sacrifices are recognized, they might end up present a new security danger.
Soybean (ZS) Weekly MACD Positively Crossing Tradable Patterns - Sun Nov 13, 10:10PM CST Soybean (ZSF23) is consolidating to start the week, hesitating for roughly 2 weeks now just below triangle resistance (on the weekly chart) and near the 50% Fib retrace of the slide from the June high... ZSF23 : 1441-4 (-0.59%) SOYB : 27.39 (+2.16%)
Sam Bankman-Fried's downfall sends shockwaves through crypto AP - Sun Nov 13, 7:18PM CST Sam Bankman-Fried received numerous plaudits as he rapidly achieved superstar status as the head of cryptocurrency exchange FTX: the savior of crypto, the newest force in Democratic politics and potentially... $SPX : 3,992.93 (+0.92%) $DOWI : 33,747.86 (+0.10%) $IUXX : 11,817.01 (+1.82%)
For full functionality of this site it is necessary to enable JavaScript. Here are the instructions how to enable JavaScript in your web browser
Update 8/27/18 Adams French Property has requested that Niles officials extend its special-use approval as well as recommend to Cook County that it receive a class-7B property-tax incentive for its Waukegan Road self-storage project. Though the developer received approval last August, the special-use permit it received expires after one year. Village trustees are expected to discuss granting a one-year extension on Tuesday, according to Ostman.
The city approved the project on condition that Adams French add 6-foot shrubs around the facility. It also stipulated that no trucks could be stored onsite, the source reported.
The 7B tax break would lower property-tax rates at the site from 25 percent to 10 percent for 10 years. The rate would increase to 15 percent in year 11 and 20 percent in year 12, before moving to 25 percent in year 13. To be eligible, a property must be vacant for at least two years and receive more than $2 million in redevelopment, according to the source.
9/11/17 Adams French Property received zoning approval last month to move forward with its mixed-use development in Niles, Ill. Expected to open in about a year, the project will cost $8 million to $9 million and comprise 90,000 square feet of climate-controlled storage, according to the source.
Residents opposed to the project expressed their concerns about increased crime and decreased property values during the Aug. 22 village-board meeting. This is a bad idea from a [village] branding perspective, voiced resident Georgia Logothetis, who said she moved into the neighborhood to be close to schools, the police station and the library.
Dean Strzelecki, former chief of the Niles Police Department and a village trustee, noted that other storage facilities in the area havent had problems with crime.
Developer Phil French purchased the vacant site at Jarvis Avenue near Milwaukee Avenue in 1985. It previously housed a dry-cleaning business, dating back to the 1920s, that left the land contaminated. Although the pollution was cleaned up in 2000, the developers attempt to identify and secure non-commercial options for the site have proven fruitless, according to a memo to village officials.
Prior to the vote, Niles Village Trustee Joe LoVerde noted the vacant property isnt generating any tax revenue for the village. Im trying to represent the citizens and their wallets, he said.
As part of the approval, the storage facility will be required to include 6-foot shrubs around the property. If the business offers truck-rental services, the vehicles must be operated offsite, the source reported.
7/25/17 Indianapolis-based self-storage developer Adams French Properties LLC (AFP) intends to build a four-story mixed-use facility in Niles, Ill. The structure at 7421 Waukegan Road would be 50 feet tall, with the top three floors dedicated to storage and the ground floor featuring office and retail space that could serve as a business incubator, according to the source. The planning and zoning board voted 6-1 on July 10 to approve several zoning variances. It also recommended approval to change the zoning from residential to manufacturing on four adjoining parcels as well as two special-use permits for self-storage and parking.
The variances were necessary to minimize the gap between the building and the sidewalks along Niles Terrace and Waukegan Road. The three smaller parcels also targeted for rezoning would house a parking lot and retention pond, the source reported. The planning and zoning board has full authority to approve the variances, but the zoning changes and special-use permits must be approved by the board of trustees.
Though all the parcels have been zoned for residential use for the last 10 years, they were originally zoned for manufacturing. Residential proposals that have come before the board in the last decade required too much density for approval, according to Charles Ostman, director of community development.
The project has drawn opposition from residents who voiced concerns during the meeting about an increase in noise and other negative impacts on the area. Some expressed a desire to have a residential development that would be better suited for the community. Personally, I would rather see it as a vacant lot than [self-storage], resident Jeremy Foszcz told the board. I hope to see condos or townhouses or something go up instead.
Some residents also raised concern over what other manufacturing uses would be allowed under the zoning change should the self-storage project ultimately not be built or if the business failed.
Jim Adams, owner of AFP, told the board Niles is underserved for self-storage, with no facilities within a three-mile radius. He expects 75 percent of tenants will be residents and argued the location will assist startup businesses that dont have offices in addition to providing space for inventory and delivery-acceptance services.
Weve been, for many years, [building] top-of-the-class storage facilities, Adams told the board. Wed like to say good communities have good facilities.
Under its proposal, AFP would update the sidewalks and alley at the rear of the parcels, and redirect water toward Waukegan Road and away from lots to the east, the source reported.
The board of trustees is expected to review the project during its July 25 meeting.
Sources:
Journal & Topics, Developers of Niles Self Storage Facility Seek Extension, Tax Break
Bugle Newspapers, Proposed Waukegan Road Self-Storage Facility Moves Forward in Niles
Journal & Topics, Over Objections Of Some, Storage To Fill Vacant Site
The Monroe, Mich., City Council unanimously rejected a rezoning application last week from Indianapolis-based self-storage operator Storage of America LLC (SOA), but recommended the company and its developer, McKenna Development LLC, pursue a planned-unit development (PUD) instead. In an effort to convert the former La-Z-Boy Inc. furniture-manufacturing facility at 1284 N. Telegraph Road, SOA requested the zoning be changed from general commercial to light industrial to allow self-storage. Though that request was denied, the PUD favored by the city would allow a mixed-use development that could include self-storage, according to the source.
In declining the rezoning request, the council followed the recommendation of the planning commission. Our initial discussions were primarily about storage, city manager Vincent Pastue told the council. As an option, we have had dialogue that the property would lend itself a lot more for a PUD to be considered. This [vote] does not close the door on this.
We took a run at the Target that was vacant, and we are excited to be here in this city, Robert Walker, president of SOA, said during the meeting. The La-Z-Boy site is the perfect facility for us. Walker also stressed to the council that SOA specializes in self-storage conversion projects.
I understand that the objection at the planning commission was going from C-2 to I-1 [zoning], Walker said. I understand there was concern that if we dont do storage, then we could do something like heavy manufacturing. We are prepared to agree today to a deed restriction so that should eliminate concerns.
Despite the concession, the council didnt vote on a deed restriction. Walker then proposed moving forward with a mixed-use project for the site, the source reported. We would want to have an executive office program to lease to other businesses, he told the council. With the lobby, we proposed to do a retail store along with a property-management office. We would sell storage and packaging goods. The rest would be self-storage.
Kurt L. Darrow, president and CEO of La-Z-Boy, indicated the building has been for sale for more than three years. We have had two legitimate offers, he said during the meeting. The first was U-Haul and now this. Its a big piece of property, and it is ironic it was OK to manufacture furniture there but not OK to store stuff now.
Darrow also urged the council to consider changes in consumer habits and subsequent retail closures in determining appropriate uses for the site, according to the source.
No expected timeline for the approval process was provided should SOA pursue the PUD recommendation.
SOA operates six self-storage facilities in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. Founded in 2003, the company also has 10 locations under development, according to its website. It uses a vertical-integration model, in which 12 wholly owned subsidiaries perform most of the design, planning and construction on its projects.
Self-storage rental rates declined an average of 1 percent across the United States in August, according to the monthly Self Storage Rent Index maintained by Storage Seeker, an online self-storage directory and price aggregator. The decline marked the end of five consecutive months of rate growth dating back to March, according to a press release.
The index displays the percent increase or decrease in prices for the top 50 major markets. Jefferson, La., in the New Orleans Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) showed the largest average decline in August at 21 percent, while units in Modesto, Calif., posted the largest increase at 15.5 percent.
After Jefferson, the top five cities showing price reductions were Plymouth, Mass. (8.8 percent); St Louis (6.8 percent); Oakland, Calif. (6.6 percent); Nashville, Tenn. (5.6 percent); and Raleigh, N.C. (5.5 percent). All other cities in the top 50 had declines of less than 5 percent, with half below 2 percent.
The largest price increases behind Modesto were Corona, Calif. (9.7 percent); Lexington, S.C. (7.1 percent); Fontana, Calif. (5.8 percent); and San Francisco (4.8 percent). Among the top 10 growth markets, six were in California. In the top 50, 28 cities posted average rate increases below 2 percent and 10 markets indicated no increase at all.
Launched in December, the index tracks self-storage rent changes at same-store units in more than 3,000 cities across the nation, according to the company.
Based in Dover, Del., StorageSeeker.com allows consumers to compare self-storage unit prices at different facilities, while also providing some discounted rental rates or move-in specials when a unit is reserved online, according to the release.
ST. JOHNS (September 11, 2017) Heavy rain and high winds welcomed the competitors to the first competitive stages of the 16th annual tarmac rally. The challenging conditions played havoc with the teams as they tried to battle it out for early leads in their classes and divisions.
The Classic division currently has a tie for first place, with the 1965 Ford Mustang of Americans Jack Rogers and C.J. Strupp and the 1991 Mazda Miata of Canadians Bryan Bursey and Martin Cadieux on top of the standings.
The Modern division also has several teams tied for first place, but the bigger story is the fan favourite 2006 Lotus Exige of Stan Hartling and Andy Proudfoot is out of the Targa due to mechanical issues. The team is extremely disappointed to be finished so early into this years event.
In Open division, the 2005 Lotus Elise of American brothers Scott and Mark Knott had a major engine failure which means an early exit for the Targa regulars. The team is discussing options to potentially return in another vehicle to finish the event. Several competitors are currently tired for first place in this highly competitive division.
The Grand Touring division has already had some separation, with the leaders splitting away from the majority of the pack. Four teams are tied for first place and will look to increase their lead on the others in Tuesdays Burin Centre stages.
Stages are scheduled on the Burin Peninsula for Boat Harbour, Petite Forte, Harbour Mille, Grand le Pierre, English Harbour, and Terrenceville.
Owned and operated by Newfoundland International Motorsports Limited, Targa Newfoundland is one of three internationally recognized Targa motorsports events in the world. The 2017 competition will start in St. Johns on September 10th and concludes back in the capital on September 15th. The annual rally will cover more than 1,500 kilometres of the challenging, twisty roads of the central and eastern portion of Newfoundland, including over 430 kilometres of closed-road, flat-out Targa stages.
Contacts:
Media: Robert Giannou 709-722-2413 rgiannou@targanewfoundland.com
Competitors: Darren Sheppard 1-877-332-2413 registrar@targanewfoundland.com
Websites: http://targanfld.com/ www.facebook.com/targanl www.twitter.com/targanl www.instagram.com/targa_nl
Bridgewater Associates Ray Dalio thinks it would be bad for the Trump administration as well as the markets if Gary Cohn resigned as National Economic Council Director and cited social tensions as one of his greatest concerns in a wide-ranging interview on Tuesday.
If he leaves it would be terrible, the Bridgewater founder, chairman and chief investment officer said of Cohn in the interview, conducted by CNBCs Andrew Ross Sorkin at the CNBC Institutional Investor Delivering Alpha Conference. It would undermine future progress of economic reforms being contemplated by the Trump administration.
Noting there are openings in crucial departments in the Trump administration, Dalio said a Cohn departure would also send a signal about what it is like to work in the Trump administration and harm recruitment of key people. Pundits have been speculating about Cohns employment status since he partially criticized Trumps reaction to the Charlottesville demonstrations and murder of a protester.
In the interview, Dalio, who heads the worlds largest hedge fund firm, touched on topics he has written on in recent months, such as the economys current parallels to 1937, when the Federal Reserve began tightening following an easy money environment in response to a major economic crisis. However, he is not predicting imminent war.
Dalio also expressed concerns about geopolitical events, such as the North Korean crisis, asserting that for this and other reasons investors should maintain a 5 percent to 10 percent allocation to gold. Otherwise, he is looking for 2.5 percent to 3 percent economic growth. He also predicted the corporate tax rate will wind up at 23 percent when tax reform is completed, higher than the 15 percent Trump has been advocating.
At the same time, Dalio is concerned about the governments multiple obligations in addition to its debt, such as pensions and health care, and how they may potentially undermine productivity. He also tried to raise strong concerns several times during the interview about the growing income inequality in the country, especially how the bottom 60 percent would respond to a recession, which he asserted breeds populism.
The founder also discussed his firms controversial culture, codified in a guidebook entitled Principles, which Dalio is publishing as a book, to be released next week. Dalio defended Bridgewaters culture of what he has called radical transparency, encouraging employees to openly critique and disagree with one another, saying that he has tried to foster a culture of thoughtful disagreement, to which he credits Bridgewaters success. But when asked how well he takes criticism, Dalio admitted, I try. It depends on the moment.
Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman said markets could go up for some time even as geopolitical risk remains a concern.
Current market valuations may be high by absolute standards, but these prices are not overly high when factors like economic performance and impending tax reform are taken into account, according to Blackstone Group Chief Executive Officer Stephen Schwarzman.
Speaking at the 2017 Delivering Alpha conference, hosted by CNBC and Institutional Investor at the Pierre Hotel in New York, Schwarzman pointed to positive economic growth around the world and the promise of tax reform and infrastructure spending in the U.S. as events that could move markets higher.
If you get tax reform, if you get an infrastructure bill thats substantial, you could have the economy go up for some time, he said.
Schwarzman said he believed tax reform would be accomplished before mid-term elections, if Republican politicians hope to remain in office. He estimated that the federal corporate tax rate would be cut to somewhere between 22 percent and 28 percent.
Theres certainly consensus to do that, he said. I think the probability something gets done is quite high.
[II Deep Dive: Schwarzman on Hedge Funds, Private Equity and Presidential Politics]
Until last month, Schwarzman had served in an official capacity as an advisor to President Donald Trump as the head of his strategy and policy forum. The council disbanded last month shortly after Trump failed to immediately and explicitly condemn the white-nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia that ended in deadly violence. CEOs on the council had fallen under pressure from shareholders and employees to publicly distance themselves from the administration.
People were under legitimate, astonishing pressure, Schwarzman said. I was accused of being a Nazi Im Jewish.
The Blackstone CEO said he continues to speak to Trump, although he would not comment on how often or the exact nature of the relationship. He said he previously advised both President George W. Bush and President Barrack Obama, arguing that he has an obligation to serve regardless of which political party is in office.
Im a great believer that people who have a background thats relevant should help their government and help society, Schwarzman said. Now thats become a little controversial.
The billionaire co-founder of Blackstone, the worlds largest private-equity firm, added that we all have a higher obligation than just making money.
Although Schwarzman said he believed economies around the world are currently pretty good, he warned that there are some major geopolitical risks, such as the threat of nuclear war with North Korea.
There are some bad things going on, he said. Those are the things I think about.
The Starboard Value CEO and CIO, who also touted Altaba, said the pharmaceutical company has great growth potential in the U.S. and is improving margins in its international segment.
Jeffrey Smith, CEO and CIO of activist hedge fund firm Starboard Value, highlighted pharmaceutical company Perrigo and internet holding company Altaba as his top stock picks during Delivering Alpha conference, saying the former is undervalued and the latter presents a promising way to play potential corporate tax reform.
Smith spent most of his talk discussing Perrigo, in which Starboard disclosed taking a 4.6 percent stake last September, now 6.7 percent. Shares for the stock, which Smith called his best investment idea, jumped by more than 5 percent at mid-day on Tuesday.
The company has three business lines: a consumer segment making store-brand versions of over-the-counter medications, an international segment of that same business, and a generic pharmaceutical business. Smith said the U.S. store-brand business has consistent and defensible growth, particularly in e-commerce, pointing out that in a search for Tylenol on Amazon.com, five of the top six search results are products made by Perrigo.
He added that the company is conducting a strategic review of the generics business, which could entail a sale, partnership, or spinoff, among other options, and is also conducting a CEO search.
Smith also said that the companys international consumer segment is making progress in improving its margins.
We believe these initiatives will close the valuation gap between Perrigo and its peers while also creating value, he said.
Smith also touted Altaba, the company formerly known as Yahoo!, calling it one of the most interesting ways to have an uncorrelated opportunity to invest in corporate tax reform. Between its Yahoo! Japan and Alibaba businesses, the company has $82 billion in value but trades at a nearly 34 percent discount to pretax value. Smith asserted that if tax reform actually happens, that discount has to go down.
When asked about his firms decision to dump its stake in Macys an investment Smith announced to much fanfare at the Delivering Alpha conference in July 2015 Smith asserted that while he thinks the company still has value even beyond its real-estate holdings, trying to fix Macys in the public markets is too difficult.
Property & casualty (P&C) insurer Chubb is flying to France once the UK is done packing and finally leaves the European Union.Chairman and chief executive Evan Greenberg said placing Chubbs EU headquarters in France after Britains departure was a clear choice for the US firm. However, the insurer will continue to have a substantial presence in London post-Brexit.Paris is the principal office for our Continental European operations and we have a significant investment there in both financial and human resources, as well as a large portfolio of commercial and consumer insurance business throughout France, explained Greenberg.He continued: Our many years of experience in the French market and working closely with the French regulators gives us great confidence in making this decision and reinforces our commitment to our staff, clients, and distribution partners in both France and across the continent.Joseph Wayland, Chubb executive vice president and general counsel, said they have been encouraged by the French governments assistance and cooperation. We look forward to working closely with the French authorities as we move forward on this project, he added.We are confident that locating our EU base in Paris will ensure that Chubb is well positioned to serve its clients whatever the ultimate terms of the UKs exit from the European Union, noted Wayland.Chubb, the worlds largest publicly traded P&C insurer, has offices across the UK and EU. It operates in 54 countries and employs approximately 31,000 people.
It is a criminal offence if directors do not apply for their director ID on time
Over 82,000 victims of Hurricane Harvey have so far filed claims with the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), reports say.The number does not include any Irma victims.More problematic than the number of claims is that several of the adjusters assigned to assess the homes of claimants have very little training, if any, and work in a system that rewards them for carrying out as many inspections as possible leading some to rush their assessments.NPR reported that after Sandy hit New York and New Jersey in 2012, approximately 15% of policyholders complained about being short-changed; something similar could happen following Hurricane Harvey and Irma.In a special feature, NPR compared the workflow of two adjusters inspecting homes in Texas to highlight how some of these inspectors are carrying out their jobs haphazardly.Sean Westerling, one of the adjusters featured, is meticulous with his inspections everything from closets, doorways, and windows are checked. He also carefully lists the serial numbers of appliances that have been damaged by flooding.If you dont watch what youre doing, if you dont remember to get your windows, you dont remember to get your doors, well, not only are you going to pay for that drywall and that window, but youre going to forget about the door trim and the door, Westerling told NPR.On average, it takes Westerling and his assistant more than two hours to assess each house.By comparison, adjuster James Gardner spends under 45 minutes per house he inspects; he does not measure or count windows, nor does he take down the serial numbers of appliances. While Gardner has a lot of compassion for his customers, most adjusting companies assign claims in stacks this allows adjusters like him to generate more profit by inspecting fast enough to be assigned another stack.You definitely wanted to get as many claims as you could on those because you dont know when theyre going to stop, Gardner explained.Mark Buntyn, a man contracted by FEMA to train new adjusters, confirms that the business model does pressure adjusters to inspect as many houses as possible. But there are other, uglier problems that could arise when adjusters get greedy, he admits.Individual companies are not going to give an adjuster too many claims generally, Buntyn stated. But some adjusters, just like any other people, are unscrupulous and they get claims from another company. And then thats when trouble happens.
The World Tourism Alliance (WTA) initiated by China was officially established during the ongoing 22nd General Assembly of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) held in Chengdu on Sept. 11. It is the first global, comprehensive, non-governmental, non-profit international tourism organization.
UNWTO Vice President Jason Westbury noted that the WTA will enhance communication between Chinese and Australian tourism industries. It is an economic cooperation that promotes people-to-people bonds, he added.
With the idea tourism makes the world a better place, the alliance aims to promote development, poverty reduction, and peace.
Eighty-nine members from 29 countries and regions, including China, the U.S., France, Germany, Japan, Australia, Malaysia, and Brazil participate in the alliance.
Chairman Li Jinzao of the China National Tourism Administration said the WTA serves as a platform for international tourism cooperation. It will further improve Chinas influence in the international tourism industry by absorbing other countries advanced experiences, the chairman added.
China now enjoys an increasingly important position in the global tourism industry, becoming the largest country of outbound trips and the fourth largest tourism destination. Putting a great value on the countrys experiences and market, the world is expecting to enhance cooperation with China.
Secretary-General of UNWTO Taleb Rifai spoke highly of Chinas role in the global tourism industry, stressing the countrys great contributions. China has offered a best example to take tourism as a developmental priority, he said, adding that it has fully released its potential in terms of rural development and poverty alleviation.
We believe that Chinese approaches and measures could also be applied to guide the development of other countries, Rifai explained.
The UNWTO anticipates China will soon become the worlds largest inbound destination. Rifai expects China to lead the healthy, rapid, and sustainable development of global tourism.
Work on an International Capital Standard (ICS) for insurers worldwide has been put on hold, as transatlantic disagreements appear to delay the rules development.Four years have been spent establishing a proper ICS, which would allow investors and policyholders to compare insurers from around the world. But experts think there is more to the ICSs delay than just red tape.The sense is there has been a collective pause around the ICS following elections in the United States and the European Union, as well as Brexit, National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) CEO Mike Consedine told Reuters.The slow progress has some experts thinking that regulators will tell insurers that the implementation process will be put on hold as the industry meets in Kuala Lumpur this November.Association of British Insurers director of regulation Hugh Savill commented that the ICS lacked enough political support to see it through to implementation.There is a serious stalemate, and I see us no nearer agreement than two years ago, Savill added.Other industry experts also hit out.Its a mess. The US wont play and the ICS is going nowhere, the CEO of a European insurer said. I dont think you will get a material change in global capital because nobody can afford it.There is no question that arriving at an ICS that achieves greater convergence than that of the different group capital standards adopted in different jurisdictions and regions is a challenging task, said Victoria Saporta, Bank of England executive director and chair of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), which writes the ICS.But it is also a necessary one if policyholders of international groups are to be better protected, while also enjoying the more inclusive offering that can result from the greater capital efficiencies of international diversification.The IAIS has yet to establish a unified approach to calculating the amount of capital the worlds top insurers will have to hold, but it is testing two approaches for valuing liabilities: one approach modeled after US accounting rules, and the other based on the EUs Solvency II capital rules.While a step in the right direction, without definitive adjustments established, the two approaches would come up with completely different capital requirements.Is there a bridge between US accounting and Europes Solvency II? There is none that is economically sound, commented Allianz head of regulatory strategy Tobias Buecheler. Its unclear how those approaches can be combined, aligned. You have a divide between the United States and Europe.Complicating matters is that both the US and the EU have announced plans to write new accounting and capital rules, with both sides insisting that the ICS should accommodate one over the other.We have stressed the need previously for the ICS to be principles-based and to give countries a certain level of jurisdictional flexibility. Thats going to be critical for the United States, said Consedine.There are more goalposts and they are all moving, that is the problem, stated Buecheler.
QBE has announced that John Neal, group CEO of the firm, will step down from his role after five years in the top job.
Neal will be replaced by Pat Regan, current CEO of Australian and New Zealand operations and former group CFO, on January 01, 2018.
Regan will remain on the QBE board as an executive director following his four month leadership transition.
Marty Becker, QBE group chairman, praised Neals work at the firm through a challenging period.
John has led the business through a significant transformation and a challenging period in the insurance industry globally and has been working closely with the board to ensure a smooth transition for his succession, Becker said.
Becker said that Regans turnaround of the Australian and New Zealand operations of the business, which he has led since August 2016, highlight Regans operational skills and business acumen.
The board has undertaken a detailed succession planning process over the last two years, and has carried out an internal and external candidate review process for this appointment, Becker continued.
Regan, who joined QBE in 2014, said that finding a replacement for the key local business is paramount.
One of my first priorities will be to lead a search for my successor as chief executive officer of our Australian and New Zealand operations, Regan said.
Neals decision to step down comes as a surprise for the industry as he stressed after the announcement of QBEs half yearly results last month that his job was not yet finished with the firm.
QBE saw strong results in its Australian and New Zealand operations as well as a good performance in its US business impacted by issues in emerging markets in Latin America and Asia.
Congress has granted a reprieve to a program that insures homes in flood-prone areas.Congress has given the debt-saddled National Flood Insurance Program, set to expire Sept. 30, a three-month extension. The program will now extend through December 08, according to a Morning Consult report. The extension was tacked on to a $15.3 billion package to provide relief for victims of Hurricane Harvey in Texas and Louisiana.The NFIP provides flood insurance to homeowners in flood-prone areas. In many areas of high flood risk, borrowers are required to have flood insurance in order to take out a mortgage. Without the NFIP, flood insurance would otherwise be hard to come by; in some areas the flood risk is so high that private insurers dont want to touch it.Many Republicans were unhappy with the programs extension. The NFIP is already $25 billion in debt and thats before accounting for damage from hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Even four Texas Republicans among them House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling voted against the package. Hensarling admitted that an extension was the best alternative right now, but urged Congress to get serious about overhauling the program, Morning Consult reported. Hensarling wants to see private insurers in the market to relieve some of the financial pressure on the government.After the images weve all just seen from Hurricane Harvey, Im not willing to look a citizen in the eye who just had their life shattered by a flood and say a government-run program with no choice, with rules that endanger lives, and that cant pay its bills in the middle of a crisis is the best we can do, Hensarling said in a statement. Shame on Congress if we dont use the time afforded by this short-term extension to pass a long-term reauthorization that offers Americans something better.
The need for cyber insurance is now even shining brightly among the non-profit community after Iowa-based nonprofit ACT, known for producing a proprietary college entrance exam, canceled an ACT exam scheduled for Saturday at several of its international testing centers, citing a breach of the testing materials.The organization could not give any specifics as to how the test materials were leaked because the breach is still under investigation.A spokesperson said that ACT had informed affected students and sent them instructions on how to reschedule their test.Spokesman Ed Colby also told Reuters in an email that the breach and cancellations were confined only to specific international test centers.ACT added that it was hard at work rescheduling tests set for Saturday in states affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, such as Texas, Louisiana, and Florida.This has been a huge effort, and our goal has been to make sure that every single student in those impacted areas can cross the ACT test off their list of worries, as so many of them have much bigger issues to deal with now, Colby explained.In the past year, ACT has sustained a number of major security breaches. Following the October sitting of the exam, ACT had to cancel scores for an undisclosed number of students in Asia and Oceania on the writing section of the test due to a leak. And in June, the exam was canceled for all participants in South Korea and Hong Kong due to another cybersecurity incident.
A New Jersey business owner is facing up to five years in jail for allegedly committing insurance fraud to get lower premiums on his workers compensation policy.Oneill Medina is the owner of Maxi-Tech, a Deptford, N.J., commercial roofing contractor. According to the Gloucester County, N.J., prosecutors office, Medina grossly understated the number of employees working for him in order to commit insurance fraud.Prosecutors said that Medinas workers compensation policy with New Jersey Manufacturers insured one roofer, one carpenter and two salesmen in 2015 and 2016, according to a report in the Courier-Post. However, between eight and 10 roofers were actually working for the company at any given time during those years, authorities say.Falsifying payroll information ultimately hurts honest companies by increasing their insurance costs, Prosecutor Sean F. Fulton told the Courier-Post. These criminal investigations, aimed at eliminating fraud and abuse, will help New Jersey businesses that are doing the right thing.
NBT Bancorp Inc., a financial holding company headquartered in Norwich, N.Y., has hired Tucker Lounsbury as president of NBT-Mang Insurance Agency.
His experience in all aspects of the insurance industry makes him a strong choice to lead the efforts of our team of professionals at NBT-Mang, said Timothy L. Brenner, executive vice president and president of wealth management at NBT Bancorp Inc., in a company press release. His commitment to building solid customer relationships and delivering effective insurance solutions to meet the current and future needs of our customers will support and enhance the efforts of our team as we move forward.
Lounsbury has 22 years of experience in the insurance industry. He comes to NBT from M&T Insurance Agency, where he was responsible for the Northeast commercial insurance production and service teams.
Lounsbury started his career with Great American Insurance Company (GAIC) as a commercial lines production underwriter and management trainee in 1995. In 1999, he became an insurance broker and agency owner in Central New York. In 2003, he sold the Lounsbury Insurance Agency to M&T Bank, which served as the hub for M&T Insurance Agencys Syracuse regional office.
NBT Bancorp Inc. primarily operates through NBT Bank, N.A. and two financial services companies: NBT-Mang Insurance Agency and EPIC Advisors Inc.
Source: NBT Bancorp Inc.
New Hampshire employers could pay less for their workers compensation insurance next year because of a filing that lowers the rates and loss cost factors insurers use to develop prices. This move would mark the sixth year in a row that New Hampshire workers compensation rates have decreased, according to a press release issued by the New Hampshire Insurance Department.
A decrease in workers compensation rates means a decrease in costs to New Hampshire businesses. said Insurance Department Commissioner Roger Sevigny in the release. These considerable savings could be used to bring more workers, higher salaries and expanded operations to New Hampshire.
The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) filed a rate proposal in August with the New Hampshire Insurance Department to reduce voluntary loss costs by 13.3%. The NCCI is a licensed rating and statistical organization that gathers data, analyzes industry trends, and prepares workers compensation rate filings for New Hampshire and many other states.
The loss cost is the portion of an employers insurance premium that pays claims costs for work-related injuries. It is ultimately used by insurers to set rates and premiums in the voluntary market. All insurers writing voluntary workers compensation in New Hampshire are required to use the new loss costs, along with a loading to cover company expenses.
The NCCI has filed a decrease of 10.3% for the assigned risk, or residual, market. The residual market ensures access to workers compensation for companies that are not able to buy coverage on the open market. About 9% of workers compensation insurance is obtained this way, according to the press release.
The New Hampshire Insurance Department has scheduled a public rate hearing for 10 a.m. September 21 to give NCCI an opportunity to discuss the filing and interested parties and other stakeholders the ability to provide testimony or comments. The hearing will be held in the Insurance Departments Conference Room 274.
After the hearing and a short public comment period, Commissioner Sevigny will issue a decision on the filing, and the new rates will apply to policies effective January 1, 2018.
The decrease in workers compensation rates is great news for job creators and seekers all across the Granite State, said Governor Chris Sununu in the release. This will increase New Hampshires advantage with regards to attracting, retaining and growing jobs.
The New Hampshire Insurance Departments mission is to promote and protect the public good by ensuring the existence of a safe and competitive insurance marketplace through the development and enforcement of the insurance laws of the State of New Hampshire.
Source: New Hampshire Insurance Department
Topics Trends Workers' Compensation Pricing Trends New Hampshire
A corporate controller who stole more than $19 million from the information technology firm that employed him has been sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison.
Forty-eight-year-old Jon Frank of Nokesville, Virginia, pleaded guilty to wire fraud earlier this year.
He admitted stealing $19.4 million over a 10-year period from his company, Reston, Va.-based NCI Inc. The company, which provided IT services to a variety of government clients, was subsequently sold for $283 million.
The sentence was 18 months longer than the five-year term requested by Franks lawyers at Fridays sentencing hearing in Alexandria, Va.
Federal prosecutors say he spent the money on real estate, including a beach house in North Carolina, and high-end automobiles including Porsches, McLarens, BMWs, Range Rovers, a Ferrari and an Aston Martin.
Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Topics Virginia
The first global standard for investors to compare how much capital insurers from different countries hold to keep policies safe is caught in a transatlantic tussle, casting doubt on whether it is practical, industry and regulatory officials say.
Global banks have used common Basel capital rules for decades, and the $180 billion bailout for insurer AIG during the 2007-09 financial crisis prompted regulators to embark on a similar standard for insurers in 2013 for the worlds top 50 insurers.
But four years into the work there is no completed International Capital Standard (ICS) nor a firm date for its introduction, making it harder for investors and policyholders to compare insurers from different parts of the world.
The sense is there has been a collective pause around the ICS following elections in the United States and the European Union, as well as Brexit, said Mike Consedine, chief executive of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), which groups U.S. state-level regulators.
Slow progress has triggered speculation within the industry that regulators may tell insurers the process is now on hold when they meet in Kuala Lumpur in November.
Hugh Savill, director of regulation at the Association of British Insurers, a trade body, said the ICS lacked sufficient political support for now to drive it through to completion.
There is a serious stalemate, and I see us no nearer agreement than two years ago, Savill said.
Others were openly critical.
Its a mess. The U.S. wont play and the ICS is going nowhere, said the chief executive of a European insurer.
I dont think you will get a material change in global capital because nobody can afford it.
Few believe, however, that a new capital rule would lead to big hikes in requirements.
The ICS is being written by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) whose chair, Victoria Saporta, a Bank of England executive director, said a significant step forward was taken in July when the first version of the ICS was published for field testing.
There is no question that arriving at an ICS that achieves greater convergence than that of the different group capital standards adopted in different jurisdictions and regions is a challenging task, Saporta told Reuters.
But it is also a necessary one if policyholders of international groups are to be better protected, whilst also enjoying the more inclusive offering that can result from the greatercapital efficiencies of international diversification.
CARRY ON TALKING
The IAIS has yet to come up with a single approach to calculating the amount of capitalthe worlds top 50 or so insurers will have to hold.
It is testing two approaches for valuing liabilities such as future payouts on policies.
The first approach is based on U.S. accounting rules, while the second is based on market prices, similar to EU capital rules known as Solvency II.
But without as yet unclarified adjustments, the two approaches would come up with different capital requirements and leave investors scratching their heads.
Is there a bridge between U.S. accounting and Europes Solvency II? There is none that is economically sound, said Tobias Buecheler, head of regulatory strategy at German insurer Allianz.
Its unclear how those approaches can be combined, aligned. You have a divide between the United States and Europe.
Insurance industry officials say the IAIS should instead focus on managing risks from the sectors activities, seen as more fruitful regulatory territory.
Insurers point out that AIG was the only insurer bailed out in the financial crisis, and this was because it had moved into non-core, riskier hedge fund activities.
Cristina Mihai, head of international affairs at Insurance Europe, a trade body, said it would be hard to have an ICS based on just one approach.
Finding a common approach is becoming more difficult.
NAIC announced a few weeks ago it was teaming up with the Federal Reserve to write a new U.S. capital rule, and Consedine made clear that any global rule would have to fit in with what this double act comes up with, not the other way round.
We have stressed the need previously for the ICS to be principles-based and to give countries a certain level of jurisdictional flexibility. Thats going to be critical for the United States, Consedine said.
Complications loom in Europe, too.
European insurers will begin using a new accounting rule in 2021 known as IFRS 17, representing a major overhaul of how income is calculated. The EUs Solvency II rules will be reviewed, meaning there could be changes with knock-on effects for the ICS.
There are more goalposts and they are all moving, that is the problem, Allianzs Buecheler said.
Consedine said NAIC remains committed to the goals of the ICS, but it must result in something that is workable for the United States and for regulators.
(Reporting by Huw Jones; editing by Mike Collett-White)
Topics Carriers USA Legislation Europe
A poster for the documentary
Twenty Two, a documentary about comfort women made by China, recently opened in Australia and New Zealand, and received positive comments from local audiences, chinanews.com reported on Sept. 12.
The documentary film, which features 22 Chinese comfort women who peacefully share their eyewitness accounts of history, made a debut in China on Aug. 14.
Its premiere in Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand, was a big success, with all 150 seats selling out. HOYTS Cinema in Australia now shows the film twice every day at prime time in the afternoon and evening.
At least 200,000 women were forced into sex slavery by the Japanese army during World War II. Twenty Two presents the daily life of the 22 survivors by recording their talks on the past, collecting the precious evidence of historical importance in a way without interrupting their life, said Richard Gray, a critic in Australia.
Tang Can, an overseas student in Australia, went to the premiere. The film shows people the life of the 22 survivors with an anti-war stance and humanitarianism, said Tang.
The going out of Chinese films like Twenty Two enables the world to know Chinese films and culture, said He Bo, a representative from China Lion Film, a distributor that is committed to promoting Chinese films in the global market.
The film touched local viewers, including Jan Ruff-OHerne, a Dutch-Australian wartime sex slave. The Japanese government should apologize and offer compensations to the survivors in China, South Korea, Australia, and even the world at large, said Mrs. Ruff-OHerne.
As of August, the number of survivors in China dropped to eight. They will soon all be gone, but the history they shared with us will never die. The Japanese government should acknowledge the crimes they have done on comfort women, as the world will never forget, said a China expert from Australia.
Global reinsurance broker JLT Re has reported that Stephen Balderston will be joining its Credit and Political Risk team as a partner once he has completed his contractual obligations with his current employer, Guy Carpenter.
Balderston joins JLT Re after eight years at Guy Carpenter where he was a senior vice president in Credit, Bond and Political Risk Treaty Reinsurance. Previous to that, Balderston was at RK Carvill.
Balderston is expected to join at the beginning of next year and will be based in JLT Res London office.
Nick Jay, divisional head for JLT Res Marine, Energy and Political Risk unit, noted that Balderston is one of three recent appointments to the Credit and Political Risk team.
A change to the Dairy Margin Protection Program means Wisconsin dairy farmers can choose to opt out of the federal program and turn to other risk management strategies.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture no longer requires farmers to enroll in the safety net program, Wisconsin Public Radio reported. Farmers previously had to enroll for the duration of the Farm Bill, which is passed by Congress every four years and sets federal agriculture policy.
The program pays farmers if price drops or other events impact income. But industry groups have been working to create alternatives to the program for the 2018 Farm Bill.
It seems like theres been a lot of money thats been put into the federal treasury and very little of its actually went back to dairy farmers, said Darin Von Ruden, president of the Wisconsin Farmers Union.
The American Farm Bureau Federation has proposed a Dairy Revenue Protection plan that would be similar to crop insurance.
It would kind of be a hybrid of MPP and using the future market, said Karen Gefvert from the Wisconsin Farm Bureau. Its something that were interested in and supportive of moving forward as another tool in the toolbox for farmers to utilize for risk management.
Some industry groups believe that the margin protection program wont be replaced.
Whether its the right answer or not, MPP is probably going to be preserved and slightly improved upon or theres going to be some attempt to try to salvage the program and make it more functional and more appealing for farmers, said John Holevoe , the director of government affairs with the Dairy Business Milk Marketing Cooperative.
Farmers can also participate in the Livestock Gross Margin federal safety net program, Holevoet said.
Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Topics Agribusiness Wisconsin Risk Management
Less than a day after Equifax revealed one of the biggest data breaches in U.S. corporate history, the credit reporting company has already been hit with two proposed class actions in federal court and one of those cases was filed by consumer lawyers who just won the right to move forward with gargantuan data breach litigation against Yahoo.
Thats an ominous development for Equifax. And you can be sure there will be more suits to come.
Equifax said hackers accessed files that contained the names, Social Security numbers and drivers license numbers of as many as 143 million U.S. consumers. The profusion of potential data breach victims will attract lots of lawyers who will probably file lots more proposed class actions. (Equifax did not respond to a request for comment on the litigation from my Reuters colleague Jon Stempel.)
Filing of Lawsuits Against Equifax Over Data Breach Is Underway
Eventually, if recent data breach litigation against Anthem, Yahoo and Target is a guide, the Equifax cases will be consolidated by a panel of federal judges who will transfer the cases to a single federal court. That court will rule on the crucial early-stage motions that will shape Equifaxs liability to the millions of consumers whose data has been compromised.
WHO HAS THE RIGHT TO SUE?
Thats where things could get very interesting. In data breach litigation, the answer to a threshold question about who has the right to sue depends on which court is hearing the case.
If litigation against Equifax ends up in Chicago, for example, data breach victims must only show they are at risk of identity theft to establish the constitutional right to sue in federal court, otherwise known as standing. But in Richmond, Virginia, heightened risk isnt enough to satisfy standing requirements.
Federal appellate courts are deeply divided on the question of who has standing to sue over data breaches. Several federal circuits, including the 3rd, 6th, 7th and District of Columbia U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal, have held in the past two years that the mere increased risk of identity theft or credit card fraud gives consumers a threshold right to bring a class action.
Those rulings make it much easier to move forward with data breach litigation because lawyers representing consumers whose personal information has been stolen dont have to show their clients data has actually been misused. Getting class actions past the threshold requirement can, in turn, lead to quicker, larger settlements.
This summer, for instance, the insurer Anthem agreed to a record-setting $115 million settlement of data-breach litigation consolidated in federal court in San Jose. The 9th Circuit, which encompasses California, has held that data breach victims meet standing requirements if they can show a credible threat of real and immediate harm.
The 2nd, 4th and 8th Circuits dont buy that reasoning. They have all recently held that risk alone without allegations that personal information has actually been misused is not an adequately concrete injury to allow consumers to sue.
Equifax is based in Atlanta, which is located in the 11th Circuit. That appeals court most recently ruled on standing for data breach victims in 2012, in a proposed class action called Resnick v. AvMed, which involved the theft of two laptops containing personal information about clients of AvMed, a healthcare provider.
The AvMed clients who filed the case claimed their information had already been misused. AvMed argued that they didnt meet constitutional standing requirements because they couldnt show the supposed misuse stemmed from the theft of AvMed laptops. The 11th Circuit concluded that data breach victims do not have to prove such a link in order to establish their threshold right to sue.
But the Resnick opinion did not address the question of standing for data breach victims whose information has only been stolen but not yet misused which is what consumers are alleging in the two Equifax proposed class actions that have already been filed. At least one federal district judge in the 11th Circuit has found, in a 2016 decision, that the risk of identity theft after a data breach is not enough to give consumers a right to sue.
SUPREME COURT BOUND
Sooner or later, the U.S. Supreme Court will probably have to resolve uncertainty among the federal appellate courts on the standing of data breach victims facing increased risk of identity theft. The health insurer CareFirst, which last month lost an appeal at the D.C. Circuit in which it tried to bounce a data breach class action, has informed the appeals court that it intends to ask the justices to hear the issue.
Possible Supreme Court involvement is just one of the factors that will ultimately determine the magnitude of Equifaxs litigation exposure to consumers. (Another could be Equifaxs terms of service, which include a provision that appears to require consumers enrolling in a complimentary monitoring service called TrustedID Premier to waive their class action rights and submit disputes to arbitration.) These big data breach class actions are typically measured in years, not weeks or even months.
But keep an eye on which court ends up overseeing the consolidated litigation. In data breach class actions, as in real estate, much depends on location, location, location.
(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.)
(Reporting by Alison Frankel. Editing by Alessandra Rafferty.)
Related:
Topics Lawsuits USA Cyber
Federal accident investigators are poised to find that Tesla Inc.s auto-driving system should share blame for a fatal 2016 crash in which a Model S sedan drove itself into the side of a truck.
The investigative staff of U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, in its first probe of the wave of autonomous driving systems being introduced by carmakers, has recommended that Teslas Autopilot system be declared a contributing factor in the crash because it allowed the driver to go for long periods without steering or apparently even looking at the road, according to a person briefed on the findings.
The safety boards findings and recommendations could have broad implications for how self-driving technology is phased in on vehicles and trucks, and it comes as Congress is debating legislation to spur autonomous vehicle systems. Tech and auto companies are pouring billions of dollars into a race to develop self-driving vehicles, which carmakers from Tesla to Volvo Cars say could be deployed in less than 10 years.
The NTSB is meeting Tuesday to issue its final findings on the crash and the conclusions are subject to revision by its board members. The staff has recommended a finding that Teslas automation allowed Joshua Brown to effectively let the car drive itself even though the manufacturer had warned customers they werent allowed to do so, the person said.
Brown, a former Navy SEAL, died when his Model S struck the truck at an intersection. The truck drivers failure to yield and Browns inattention to the highway were the primary reasons for the collision, the NTSB staff concluded in its draft report, according to the person briefed on it.
Aviation Systems
Such automation has on the whole reduced accidents, but overly complex systems or poor understanding of how they work can lead to problems. In multiple aviation accidents, such as the 2013 crash of an Asiana Airlines Inc. jetliner in San Francisco, the safety board has found automation systems were at least partly to blame.
Brown, who loved technology, believed the Tesla automation has saved lives, according to a statement released by his family on Monday through their attorneys. We heard numerous times that the car killed our son, said the statement issued by the law firm Landskroner Grieco Merriman LLC. That is simply not the case.
The statement also praised Tesla for improving its Autopilot software after the accident, changes it said were a direct result of the crash.
Tesla didnt provide an immediate comment on the draft conclusions. The company said in a statement last year that customers had to acknowledge Autopilots limitations before it would allow the systems to operate. Every time the system is engaged, it reminds drivers: Always keep your hands on the wheel. Be prepared to take over at any time.
Brown, 40, who lived in Ohio, was driving near Williston, Florida, on May 7, 2016, when his car struck the side of a truck trailer that was making a left turn in front of him. There was no evidence that his car attempted to slow down or that he made any evasive maneuvers, according to previously released NTSB data.
Of the last 41 minutes of his trip, the cars cruise control and auto-steering systems were engaged for more than 37 minutes, according to previously released data from NTSB. Browns hands were detected on the steering wheel just twice during that time for brief periods of 20-30 seconds, according to the agency.
While the car gave Brown a visual warning to Hold Steering Wheel on seven occasions, six of which were followed by a sound warning as well, the car permitted him to keep driving, according to NTSB records.
Updated Autopilot
Four months after the accident, Tesla released a new version of Autopilot that makes it harder for drivers to ignore warnings to put their hands on the steering wheel. The car will automatically stop after a driver ignores the warnings and the auto-steering function cant be reengaged until the car has been parked.
The company also altered how its system detected potential obstructions ahead, such as the white side of the tractor trailer that it couldnt distinguish against a bright sky. The newer version emphasized a radar system for scanning ahead rather than camera sensors, according to a company statement.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conducted a separate investigation and concluded in January that it didnt find a defect in the Tesla design that warranted a recall.
A safety-related defect trend has not been identified at this time and further examination of this issue does not appear to be warranted, the highway safety agency said in a release.
A class-action suit was filed against Tesla in April alleging that the Autopilot software is dangerously defective when engaged. The cars sometimes veer out of lanes, jam on the brakes for no reason or fail to stop when approaching other vehicles, the suit filed in California claimed.
Tesla responded that it never claimed its vehicles are equipped with full self-driving capability, said the suit misrepresented facts and called the action a disingenuous attempt to secure attorneys fees.
Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.
Topics Auto InsurTech Tesla
For the first time in 15 years Delawares court system has lost the top spot in a key business survey, ceding its place to South Dakota, according to a Monday poll conducted by an arm of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Delaware has held the number one spot since 2002, when the U.S. Chamber of Commerces Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) began polling lawyers and executives about the lawsuit climate in U.S. states.
Delaware fell to 11th in this years survey.
The rankings are based on questions about impartiality and competence of judges, quality of appellate review and treatment of class action lawsuits, among other things.
Law is big business in tiny Delaware. A majority of Fortune 500 companies incorporate in the state, providing more than 20 percent of its general budget revenue, in part because its courts set a high bar for shareholders to sue corporate boards.
Lisa Rickard, the president of the ILR, said in an interview that Delaware had been resting on its reputation while other states adopted changes and passed it by.
Some like South Dakota have tried to make it easier to register a business, while others such as North Carolina have formed business courts to mimic Delawares Court of Chancery.
Jeff Bullock, Delawares secretary of state, said its leading position makes Delaware a target for criticism, and noted that lawmakers annually updated the states business laws in response.
South Dakotas governors office did not respond to a request for comment.
Since the last survey in 2015, Delaware barred companies that incorporate in the state from forcing loser pays rules on shareholders who sue.
That was heard by a lot of board rooms and a lot of general counsel, said Rickard.
She did compliment Delawares judges for a string of recent rulings that have severely curtailed investor class actions challenging merger deals.
Those class actions in Delaware over the last five years peaked at 486 in 2015 before tumbling to 206 last year, according to the Court of Chancery. Only 68 were filed through the end of August this year.
The idea that anyone could objectively believe that Delaware has become less business friendly is absurd, said Stuart Grant of Grant & Eisenhofer, the states most prominent law firm representing shareholders.
(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Andrew Hay)
Topics Lawsuits USA
Paul Martin has joined Texas-based independent MGA and wholesaler, Myron F. Steves and Co., as director of Education and Development. He will also oversee the companys operations in San Antonio.
Martin most recently served as vice president of sales at TrustedChoice.com, where he had the opportunity to advise independent agents throughout the United States. He also developed extensive knowledge and expertise while operating his own company, PZ Martin Education Strategies, where he designed and delivered customized continuing education for insurance agents and brokers as well as specialty insurers.
Paul previously served as the director of Education and CE Programs manager for the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas, and as assistant vice president of Staff Development for Texas Mutual Insurance Co.
Martin holds the CPCU professional insurance designation.
Source: Myron Steves
Topics Texas Training Development
Storm-shocked Floridians returned to shattered homes on Monday as the remnants of Hurricane Irma pushed inland, leaving more than half of all state residents without power and city streets underwater from Orlando and Jacksonville into coastal Georgia and South Carolina.
Downgraded to a tropical storm early on Monday, Irma had ranked as one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes on record before barreling into the Florida Keys on Sunday and plowing northward along the Gulf Coast to wreak havoc across a wide swath of the third-most populous U.S. state.
Especially hard hit was the resort archipelago of the Keys, extending into the Gulf of Mexico from the tip of Floridas peninsula and connected to the mainland by a single, narrow highway, Governor Rick Scott told a news conference on Monday.
Theres devastation, he said, adding that virtually every mobile-home park on the island chain was left upended. Its horrible what we saw.
While some evacuees from the Keys expressed anger at authorities refusing to allow them to return to their homes, the U.S. Defense Department said as many as 10,000 residents who had stayed put on the island may now be stranded and in need of evacuation.
Monroe County fire officials said later they would reopen road access on Tuesday morning at 7 a.m. EDT (1100 GMT) for residents and business owners from Key Largo, the main island at the upper end of the chain, as well as the towns of Tavernier and Islamorada farther to the south.
No timetable for reopening the remainder of the Keys has been given.
In Miami, which escaped the worst of Irmas winds but experienced heavy flooding, residents in the citys Little Haiti neighborhood returned to the wreckage of trailer homes that were shredded by the storm.
I wanted to cry, but this is what it is, this is life, Melida Hernandez, 67, who had ridden out the storm at a nearby church, said as she gazed at the ruins of her dwelling, split in two by a fallen tree.
Severe flooding was reported on Monday in northeastern Florida, including Jacksonville, where police were rescuing residents from waist-deep water as the St. Johns River rose to levels unseen since 1846.
Stay inside. Go up. Not out, Jacksonvilles website warned residents. There is flooding throughout the city. The city also warned residents to be wary of snakes and alligators driven into the floodwaters.
Before dawn on Monday, Florida National Guard troops and local firefighters rescued nearly 150 people from dozens of flooded homes in western Orlando and ferried them in large trucks and rescue launches to a shelter on higher ground.
As Irma crossed into Georgia later in the day, packing sustained winds of 60 miles per hour (100 kph), the storms tidal surge unleashed flooding in coastal communities from Brunswick and Savannah, Georgia, to Charleston, South Carolina. In Charleston, waves crashed over the citys Battery sea wall and filled downtown streets for blocks.
EVACUEES URGED TO STAY PUT
Still, the scope of damage in Florida and neighboring states paled in comparison with the utter devastation left by Irma as a rare Category 5 hurricane in parts of the Caribbean, where the storm killed nearly 40 people at least 10 of them in Cuba before turning its fury on Florida.
The storm claimed its first known U.S. fatality over the weekend in the Keys a man found dead in a pickup truck that had crashed into a tree in high winds.
At least one other possibly storm-related fatal car crash was reported on Sunday in Orange County, Florida. On Monday, two people were killed by falling trees in two Atlanta suburbs, according to local authorities.
Some 6.5 million people, about one-third of Floridas population, had been ordered from their homes ahead of Irmas arrival, and more than 200,000 people sought refuge in about 700 shelters, according to state data.
Scott urged evacuees all over the state to stay put for now rather than rush home, saying downed power lines, debris and other hazards abounded. Dont put any more lives at risk, he said.
WITHOUT POWER
One of the biggest lingering problems was widespread power outages, with utilities reporting more than 7.4 million homes and businesses without electricity in Florida and neighboring states. They said it could take weeks to fully restore service.
Scott said 65 percent of Florida was without power.
Travel into and out of the state likewise remained stymied. Miami International Airport, one of the busiest in the country, halted passenger flights through at least Monday.
Police in Miami-Dade County and Fort Lauderdale reported making 48 arrests for looting.
The Keys were largely evacuated before the storm struck with winds of up to 130 mph (209 kph), and police established a checkpoint on Monday to keep displaced residents from returning while authorities work to restore power, water, fuel supplies and medical service.
Some seeking re-entry argued with police who stopped them at the first of a series of bridges leading to the island chain.
I would expect that the Keys are not fit for re-entry for regular citizenry for weeks, Tom Bossert, a homeland security adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, told a White House news briefing.
Irmas arrival in Florida came about two weeks after Hurricane Harvey claimed about 60 lives and caused property damage estimates as high as $180 billion after pummeling the Gulf Coasts of Texas and Louisiana with heavy rains and severe flooding.
Insured property losses in Florida from Irma are expected to run from $20 billion to $40 billion, catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide estimated.
That tally, lower than earlier forecasts of up to $50 billion in insured losses, helped spur a relief rally on Wall Street as fears eased that Irma would cut into U.S. economic growth.
As shelters began to empty on Monday, some 7,000 people filed out of Germain Arena in Estero, south of Fort Myers. The crowd included Don Sciarretta, 73, and his 90-year-old friend, Elsie Johnston, who suffers from Alzheimers disease.
For the next storm, Ill go somewhere on my own like a hotel or a friends house, Sciarretta said. Im not going through this again.
(Additional reporting by Daniel Trotta in Orlando, Fla., Bernie Woodall, Ben Gruber and Zachary Fagenson in Miami, Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles, Letitia Stein in Detroit, Colleen Jenkins in Winston-Salem, N.C., Harriet McLeod in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., Doina Chiacu and Jeff Mason in Washington, Scott DiSavino in New York and Marc Frank in Havana; Writing by Scott Malone and Steve Gorman; Editing by Paul Simao and Peter Cooney)
Topics USA Florida Flood Hurricane Georgia Homeowners
Il referendum per revocare il mandato del presidente Nicolas Maduro, chiesto dalla coalizione antichavista, non si terra prima del 10 gennaio 2017. E quanto ha affermato, in un comunicato, il Consiglio Nazionale elettorale (Cne) del Venezuela. Decisione che ha scatenato le furie dellopposizione ha sostenuto il ricorso alle urne.
Un durissimo colpo per il Tavolo dellUnita democratica in quanto se il referendum si fosse tenuto nel 2016, ed avesse avuto esito positivo, il Paese sarebbe andato subito alle elezioni e lopposizione avrebbe avuto una possibilita di andare al potere. Cosi, invece, se il mandato di Maduro fosse revocato il prossimo anno, sarebbe il vicepresidente a subentrare come presidente ed i socialisti continuerebbero quindi a governare il Paese. Infatti per far si che il Venezuela vada alle urne anticipatamente, un voto di richiamo dovrebbe essere indetto entro il 10 gennaio del 2017. Ma il Cne ha dichiarato che il referendum si potrebbe svolgere a meta del primo quadrimestre del 2017.
La Commissione elettorale ha inoltre imposto ai promotori del referendum unulteriore raccolta di firme. Ne dovranno raccogliere 4 milioni in tre giorni, dal 26 al 28 ottobre, praticamente dovra firmare un elettore su 5. Ma non solo: infatti perche liter sia valido, la soglia del 20% delle firme dovra essere raggiunta in ogni Stato del Paese. Oramai da mesi, il Venezuela sta attraversando una forte crisi economica che ha svuotato i negozi e fatto schizzare linflazione ad oltre il 700%.
Un ottobre da sogno per Antonio Conte: lex ct della Nazionale italiana, attualmente alla guida del Chelsea, nelle ultime quattro gare di Premier League ha collezionato solo successi, conditi da 11 reti segnate e addirittura nessuna incassata. Numeri da record che non sono certo passati inosservati alla Federazione inglese, la quale ha conferito al tecnico leccese lambito premio di Manager del mese.
Unavventura oltremanica iniziata in sordina, quella di Conte, pur a fronte di tre vittorie nelle prime tre gare di campionato. A far vacillare, anche se solo per un momento, le certezze del patron del club londinese, Roman Abramovich, i risultati conseguiti tra la 4a e la 6a giornata, coincisi con un pareggio sul campo dello Swansea City e, soprattutto, con le due pesanti sconfitte subite dal Liverpool, sul terreno casalingo di Stamford Bridge, e dallArsenal. In particolare, la debacle interna coi Reds, aveva irritato non poco il numero uno russo, poiche occorsa proprio nel giorno della sua 250esima partita da presidente della societa.
Come detto, solo un momento. Dopo lincontro dellEmirates, il tecnico salentino cambia modulo, adottando un piu equilibrato 3-4-3 e inserendo elementi di corsa come lo spagnolo Pedro. Una svolta totale perche, di li in poi, il Chelsea inanellera solo e soltanto vittorie: 2 gol allHull City e al Southampton in trasferta, 3 ai campioni dInghilterra del Leicester e 4 allo United in casa, con un meraviglioso numero zero nella casella delle reti subite. Un fantastico poker, ottenuto tra l1 e il 29 ottobre. Un cambio di marcia sbalorditivo, confermato dal 5 a 0 rifilato ai toffees dellEverton nel primo match di novembre, e una scalata che, man mano, ha portato i blues al secondo posto in classifica, a soli 2 punti dal Liverpool capolista.
E allora, non poteva mancare il riconoscimento di migliore allenatore del mese, ottenuto surclassando tecnici del calibro di Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool), Arsene Wenger (Arsenal) e Mark Hughes (Southampton). Tanta, ovviamente, la soddisfazione: E un grande onore e voglio condividerlo con i giocatori e con la societa ha dichiarato Conte sul sito ufficiale della Premier League -. E la prima volta che lavoro in un altro Paese, con una cultura diversa, e portare la propria filosofia non e facile, ma ora sono contento di questa scelta.
A completare la festa, la premiazione del fantasista belga, Eden Hazard, come miglior giocatore di ottobre. Due risultati importanti per il club, ottimo incentivo per la rincorsa al trono dei campioni, occupato dal Leicester di Ranieri. Il prossimo appuntamento per l11 di Conte sara al Riverside Stadium, tana del Middlesborough neopromosso. Il tempo di festeggiare e gia finito.
Top News - Investor Idea
Breaking AI Stock News: GBT's (OTCPK: GTCH) Facial and Body Recognition Patent Application Received a Notice of Allowance
San Diego, CA - November 9, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) GBT Technologies Inc. (OTC PINK: GTCH) with GBT Tokenize Corp. ("GBT/Tokenize") received a notice of allowance for its facial and body recognition non-provisional patent application.
Top EV Stock News - Investor Idea
Breaking EV Stock News: Mullen (NASDAQ: MULN) Enters into Agreement with Newgate Motor Group, one of Ireland's most Recognized Auto Groups, to Distribute the Mullen I-GOTM in Ireland and United Kingdom
BREA, Calif. - November 9, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Mullen Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN), an emerging electric vehicle manufacturer, announces today that it has entered into an agreement to appoint Newgate Motor Group, one of Ireland's most recognized dealership groups, as marketing, sales, distribution and servicing agent for the Mullen I-GO in Ireland and the United Kingdom.
Top AI Stock News - Investor Idea
Breaking AI Stock News: GBT's (OTCPK: GTCH) AI Driven Financial Technology Patent Application Received a Notice of Publication
San Diego, CA - November 3, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) GBT Technologies Inc. (OTC PINK: GTCH) received a notice of publication for its financial software patent application.
Top AI Stock News - Investor Idea
Breaking AI Stock News: Intellagents, a FatBrain AI (OTCQB: LZGI) Company, Announces Hiring of Insurtech Industry Veteran as Chief Revenue Officer
NEW YORK, NY - November 2, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) FatBrain AI (LZG International, Inc.) (OTCQB: LZGI), the leader in powerful and easy-to-use artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for star enterprises of tomorrow, announces the hiring of Euan King, an experienced and respected Insurtech industry leader as Chief Revenue Officer for insurance technology-focused subsidiary Intellagents.
Check out our Podcasts for great investor ideas:
Get new posts by email: Subscribe Powered by
Investorideas.com Newswire:
Subscribe to Investor Ideas Newswire
ARE YOU A TOP COMPANY?
What it Really Means to be a Top Company!
To be a Top Company in Irish Construction Industry Magazines Top Companies listing means far more than just a rank and position in an ordered catalogue of names. To us, it means that your efforts to be the best you can be and to excel in your industry and sector have been effective and have paid dividends. To us, it means that your determination and commitment to develop and instil a positive work culture and environment have brought your business due success plus satisfaction. We see it as you being a supportive and inclusive place in which to work that strives to bring the best out of everyone across every level of the organisation.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE
Chinese shoppers, however, are already counting the cost, with the latest model tipped to have a price tag upward of $1,000 (834) roughly double the average Chinese monthly salary.
The success of Apples next iPhone in China is crucial for the firm, which has seen its once-coveted phone slip into fifth position in China behind offerings from local rivals Huawei Technologies Co, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi. Greater China, which for Apple includes Taiwan and Hong Kong, accounted for roughly 18% of iPhone sales in the quarter ended in July, making it the companys top market after the US and Europe. Yet those sales have been declining steadily and are down 10% from a year earlier, in contrast with growth in all other regions. And the iPhones share of Chinas smartphone shipments fell to 9% in January-June, down from 14% in 2015, according to data from consultancy Counterpoint Research.
Moy Park, which employs 6,300 people at plants in Craigavon, Co Armagh, Dungannon Co Tyrone, and Ballymena, Co Antrim, also has operations in the Republic, France and the Netherlands. It processes 5.7 million chickens a week.
The deal will achieve about $50m in annual cost savings over the next two years, according to the acquirer, Pilgrims Pride.
The second-largest US chicken producer will finance the takeover using cash on hand, existing credit facilities and a seller financing note issued to JBS, which Pilgrims says it intends to replace with permanent financing. JBS, which holds 79% of Pilgrims Pride shares, bought the Moy Park business in 2015 for about $1.5bn, including debt. Pilgrims said the enterprise value of the Moy Park deal is about $1.3bn.
JBS will use the proceeds from the Moy Park sale to reduce its short-term debt in Brazil, it said. The meatpacker said the deal maintains JBS diversified product portfolio and will further support its intention to seek a public listing in the US.
The company also said the deal was approved by independent members representing minority shareholders in a special committee that was delegated full authority from Pilgrims board to analyse, negotiate and approve the transaction.
The acquisition also gives Pilgrims growth opportunities in Europe, with access to an additional 300 million consumers and to local chicken production in Ireland and the UK.
The deal doesnt need further approval by the Brazilian court or competition authorities in the UK, according Pilgrims executives. Batista Brothers Joesley and Wesley Batista, the scandal-hit Brazilian brothers whose family controls JBS, have been shedding assets to help pay for legal settlements after they confessed to graft and other crimes that allowed them to carry out a massive acquisition spree in Latin America, the US and elsewhere.
JBS and its holding company, J&F Investimentos, agreed last month to sell dairy producer Vigor Alimentos to Mexicos Grupo Lala in a deal worth $1.86bn. Joesley Batista turned himself into police, J&F confirmed Sunday, following a supreme court order.
n Bloomberg and Irish Examiner
Kernel Capital said it was investing 1.1m in Automated Intelligence, a Belfast-based company specialising in moving and organising sensitive data for companies online. The investment in Automated Intelligence reached 1.65m, with the remainder put in by a private investor.
Clients of the firm include Nationwide, Statoil, British government departments and local councils in Britain such as Cardiff, Islington and Oxfordshire.
Established in 2010 by Mark Godfrey and Simon Cole, the company analyses data before moving it to secure Microsoft platforms.
Kernel Capital partner Allen Martin said its new investment was relevant because of upcoming changes in the way data is stored in the EU.
Irish companies have been warned that they face major financial penalties unless they take action now to shore up data protection under the General Data Protection Regulation, an EU law that comes into force next May.
If companies fail to comply with the regulation, they can be fined up to 4% of annual global turnover, or 20m. The investment in the Belfast firm is expected to go towards expanding its workforce of 65, as well as entering new markets.
The firms chief executive Mark Godfrey said: General Data Protection Regulation is the biggest data protection change in almost 20 years. Working alongside Microsoft, we will help organisations understand, and take control of, all the information they hold regardless of where it is.
Kernel Capital is expected to announce another deal shortly but declined to reveal details about the plan. It manages the Bank of Ireland Kernel Capital Venture Funds, comprising 210m of funds raised in six venture capital funds since 2002.
Questions had been raised around whether the Government had agreed on a special severance package with Noirin OSullivan prior to her departure.
Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan denied that a deal had been done to allow her step down with a full pension and the lump sum.
Packages are based on the best three years pay in the 10 years prior to a persons retirement. Ms OSullivan is just shy of three years at the helm of the gardai, having been appointed as commissioner in November 2014.
The Department of Justice yesterday confirmed that her time as acting Garda commissioner would count for pension purposes.
A spokesman confirmed that any member of An Garda Siochana recruited before April 1, 2004, may retire on full pension having reached 50 years of age and have completed 30 years of service. Ms OSullivan has been a member of the force for 36 years.
A member with full pension entitlement would receive a pension of half their pensionable pay and a lump sum of one-and-a-half times their pensionable pay, said the spokesman.
Former commissioner OSullivans pension entitlements are based on a salary of 180,613 and the period during which she was acting commissioner is deemed reckonable for pension purposes.
Denying any special agreement had been reached, Mr Flanagan said: The pension arrangements are entirely in line with guidelines, rules, and regulations from the Department of Public Expenditure.
She spent 36 years in An Garda Siochana and reached the highest position. Her pension will reflect that and no more, he told RTEs Morning Ireland.
In a statement announcing her resignation, Ms OSullivan said she was stepping down because instead of focusing on reform of the force, she had spent the core of her time dealing with an unending cycle of requests, questions, instructions, and public hearings.
Donall O Cualain, the deputy commissioner, has been appointed acting commissioner with full powers.
The Policing Authority said it has commenced consideration and research on the process to identify and appoint the next commissioner.
There is strong pressure from across the political divide to appoint someone from outside of An Garda Siochana and outside the country.
In a statement released yesterday, the Policing Authority said it will be working with the Public Appointments Service and the Department of Justice over the coming weeks to agree the precise requirements for the role and to formally initiate the selection competition.
Details of the proposal to cede less territory than that recommended by Mackinnon are contained in a document adopted at a meeting in County Hall yesterday.
It says the future ability of both councils to provide a proper level of service to the public must be assured and, in particular, services have to be future-proofed in peripheral rural areas.
County councillors are concerned that a major drop in revenue from rates and Local Property Tax will make it virtually impossible to provide services for rural communities.
The Mackinnon report states compensation must be paid by the city council for 10 years, with a review after five years.
The county council submission states: Any financial compensation package incorporated into an agreement must endure in perpetuity.
It maintains that the nationally accepted principle of equalisation, which is central to the distribution of local and national taxes to weaker areas, must be respected.
County officials say their proposal to cede control of Frankfield, Grange, Douglas, and Ballyvolane would transfer 39,258 people into the city, bringing its population to 164,915 a 31.2% increase from 15,545 households.
They maintain their recently adopted local area plans for future growth in these suburbs would provide for a further increase in population of 43,700 in greenfield areas it proposes to transfer to the city council.
Their report says the joint submission from both local authorities to the National Planning Framework (NPF) proposes population growth of an additional 54,000 within the existing city boundary.
The county council says that, overall, its proposal would allow the extended city to have the capacity to grow to a population of between 262,615 and 283,615.
It claims the citys population density would increase from 3,323 per sq/km to 4,065 per sq/km. While this would still be below the current Dublin City population density of 4,822 per sq/km, it would be representing a form of urban growth density that reflects the expected aim of the NPF and that of comparable international cities.
County councillors said they hope the document will bring their counterparts in the city to the table for talks. Cllr Ian Doyle (FG) said the nuclear option of legal action to prevent Mackinnons implementation is there if needed.
Cllr Noel Collins (Ind) said the document gives them the ammunition to fight the enemy, while Cllr Derry Canty (FG) urged Simon Coveney and Micheal Martin to take Mackinnon off the table and stop driving a wedge between the city and county council.
Mayor of County Cork, Cllr Declan Hurley (Ind), urged people to engage in the public consultation process.
It (the boundary extension) will be the biggest decision taken in the region for 50 years and will have an impact for hundreds of years to come. I call on Cork City Council to enter into meaningful dialogue with us. Hopefully we dont have to go down the legal route. If we have to, we will, he said.
This weekend, model makers from all over Ireland and some from Britain will showcase their exhibits lifeboats, ships, trucks, planes, helicopters, tanks, buildings, drones, and steam engines in the community hall.
Yorkshire man Alan Wilson, who is a model maker, has a great affinity with the Courtmacsherry Lifeboat and has made a generous financial donation to the local station.
He has also presented a beautifully crafted model lifeboat that is on display at the local RNLI station.
Mr Wilson and Eric Newton from the north-east of England subsequently contacted former Courtmacsherry Lifeboat coxswain Diarmuid OMahony, who heads up the local organising team for this weekends event.
Having suffered some weather disasters over the last few years, this year it was decided to host the display at the Courtmacsherry Community Hall. Local figure Micheal Hurley, who came up with the initial idea, explains.
Yes, when we began in 1992, it certainly was something different. However, our biggest problem was the rain. As you can imagine, the model makers are extremely proud of their models and they didnt want them damaged. At that time, we had to resort to plastic and anything else that sheltered the models.
In the past, the event attracted huge crowds to Courtmacsherry and organisers of this Model Mania weekend are hoping for similar numbers.
The local lifeboat organisation relies heavily on fundraising and the weekends event follows in the footsteps of the marathon walk that was an outstanding success and is now set to become an annual event.
The Courtmacsherry RNLI has a crew of 32 including just one woman, Antje Gesche, who will be leaving Courtmacsherry in a few weeks time.
ADS ADS
With the Vintage WW1 Guynemer, Bell & Ross pays a spirited tribute to an exceptional pilot, as well as to all the Cigognes squadron pilots who covered themselves in glory.
In 1914, at the outbreak of the First World War, aviation was in its infancy and flying remained a feat reserved for a handful of pioneers. Georges Guynemer was among them.
Born in 1894 with a weak constitution, he was declared unfit when he asked to enlist in the army. First a trainee mechanic, he then qualified as a military pilot in April 1915. Assigned to the Cigognes (stork) squadron, he made a name for himself at the controls of a Morane-Saulnier Type L, which he christened Vieux Charles.
Initially assigned to simple observation tasks, Georges Guynemer became a fighter pilot in his own right by shooting down his first enemy aircraft on July 19, 1915. He soon established himself as one of the best French aviators and was awarded the Legion of Honor on his 21st birthday. He took part in the battles of Verdun and the Somme and was injured several times. He took to the air on September 11, 1917, at the head of the Cigognes squadron, having been promoted to captain, with a total of 53 confirmed and 35 probable victories. It was to be his last flight. He was aged just 22. Legendary hero, fallen at the height of his glory after three years of incessant combat. It was with this ultimate citation that the French Air Force would induct Georges Guynemer into the pantheon of flying aces
In 2011, Bell & Ross paid tribute to the pocket watches worn on the battlefield during the 1914-1918 War. With its 49mm diameter and elegant polished case, the Pocket Watch 1 encapsulated the style of timepieces from the period.
Pocket watches were gradually replaced by wristwatches aboard aircrafts, so that pilots could read the time more easily. Bell & Ross respected this history lesson by following the PW1 with its WW1 models.
WW1 Guynemer Bell & Ross
In creating the Vintage WW1 Guynemer, Bell & Ross authentically transcribes the finish and spirit of watches of the period. A case with a distressed gunmetal grey steel finish; opaline dial; sand-colored numerals and hands filled with Superluminova ; wire handles; narrow, natural calfskin bracelet with the patina of time and over-size grooved crownall give the Vintage WW1 Guynemer a truly authentic look.
The silhouette of a stork at 6 oclock as well as a portrait of Georges Guynemer engraved on the rear of the case pay homage to the legendary pilot. The figures on the dial also pay tribute to him since their design matches the 2 appearing on his planes.
While the second hand contains a blue color according to watchmaking tradition, the domes crystal evoking antique watches has been cut using modern techniques from hard-wearing sapphire.
A mechanical movement with automatic winding operates this watch, produced in a limited edition of 500 pieces.
At the Family Law Court in Ennis, Judge Patrick Durcan said that a Clare woman had recounted how her husband of 49 years slapped her after breaking plates and verbally abused her in the kitchen of their home.
Judge Durcan told the husband: Your wife contacted the gardai and they spoke to you and they asked you to give an undertaking that you would live in peace and you refused that. On that basis, gardai advised your wife to seek a protection order.
The woman has secured a protection order that offers temporary protection and was seeking a safety order that can provide more permanent protection from the courts.
Asked to comment on the incident and his wifes application by Judge Durcan, the man replied: I think it is much ado about nothing.
Judge Durcan advised the two to go down the mediation route rather than thrashing out the issues in court.
He told the man, who was without legal representation in the case: You have the right to contest the application or consent to the granting of the safety order or avail of a time span to have issues mediated by a court mediator.
Judge Durcan said: Your wife will be sworn in and you have the right to cross-examine and you will give evidence and your wifes solicitor will have the right to cross-examine you.
It does seem to be, on the eve of your 50th anniversary of marriage, that it is not a very appropriate thing to do and the next stage of life can be compromised and contaminated if the court heard evidence here today.
Judge Durcan added: Rather than press that button, there may be wisdom spending time with a court mediator rather than thrashing it out in court.
The husband said: I agree.
Ann Walsh, solicitor for the wife, said the mediation should take place within a month.
On behalf of her client, Ms Walsh said: I wouldnt like to go beyond that because there are ongoing tensions in the home.
Judge Durcan said: I hope things work out for you. The protection order remains in place and the applicant in this case remains under court protection.
Addressing the couple, Judge Durcan said: I would encourage both of you to sit back, realise where you are, realise the difficulties and if you have to be open to accommodate the other be prepared to move 55%.
They staged a protest at the tech giants facility on Corks northside yesterday and said the company must do more to address their concerns over dust, noise, and alleged structural damage to some of the homes in their Hollyhill estate.
We have been putting up with this disruption for almost 18 months but the last 12 months have been horrendous, said Jackie McKeon, spokesperson for the Ardcullen estate.
She said construction noise is almost constant, that dust has destroyed carpets and curtains in some homes, that cracks have appeared in some walls, and plaster has fallen from ceilings.
We understand that Apple is a huge employer and we dont want to stop the expansion or the creation of additional employment, she said.
We have met Apple on numerous occasions about our concerns. They have engaged with us, to be fair, and they have offered to paint the outside of our houses.
But we dont think its enough, and we dont think our concerns are being heard.
We need a compensation package, and we just want to be heard today.
Ardcullen residents protesting at Apple, Cork, today over the noise, dust and intrusive lights from the tech giants' construction site. pic.twitter.com/wmCtFkylQo Mick Barry TD (@MickBarryTD) September 11, 2017
Apple was contacted for comment but did not respond in time.
The company was granted planning permission last year for a significant expansion of its Hollyhill campus, which will create up to an additional 1,000 jobs once fully operational.
The company, which has been based in Cork since 1980 and currently employs more than 5,000 people in Ireland, is building a new four-storey office block on the western fringes of its campus, adjoining Ardcullen estate.
It is also providing an additional 750-plus parking spaces.
Local residents had objected to An Bord Pleanala but it upheld the city councils planning decision and sanctioned the project.
Ms McKeon said construction noise is almost constant but intensified in recent months during a lengthy drilling contract.
My daughter was studying for exams in UCC and had to leave the house to study elsewhere, she said.
It was constant drilling, all day every day. We could feel the vibrations in our houses.
Dust is another huge problem. It covers our cars and gets inside our houses. People have had to replace carpets and curtains.
Apple engaged contractors to clean the windows of some of the adjoining homes and it has offered to paint the outside of the homes when the project is finished.
However, Ms McKeon said residents do not think this is good enough.
We do understand that this will stop eventually, but as of now, we have to endure this situation, she said. We have been very patient, and at the start of this process, it was never about compensation. But we never realised the disruption it would cause.
We have put up with it for months without voicing our concerns publicly, but weve had enough of it now.
Apple is the largest private employer in Cork, with over 100m invested in the city since 2009 and a further 2,500 jobs supported locally.
Its Irish operations include sales support; distribution; technology support; customer care; mapping and manufacturing.
Lauragh no longer has a bar, the Garda station was closed three years ago, and the current post office is now under threat as sorting facilities are transferred by An Post to Kilgarvan, and to premises owned by the TD Michael Healy-Rae.
Two grocery shops are also to close because of retirement and Lauragh School, now the only school where there were once was three, has only 19 pupils.
Jim OSullivan, who retired to his native Lauragh after working in Cork City for 40 years, said he has come back to his roots but there are dramatic changes.
He was asked to chair last nights public meeting whose theme was the future of Lauragh and said he hasnt given up hope that the postal contract and possibly one of the shops might be saved.
Most of the people who live or who move into the area are middleaged or older and do not have schoolgoing children. And the loss of State supports for the likes of the post office, the garda station and such is killing the area.
The services are no longer supported, Mr OSullivan said.
Lauragh, near Glanmore lake and Derreen Gardens, and on the seafront of Kenmare Bay is one of the last villages before Co Cork. It is considered a walkers paradise.
Tourism is doing well and the post office is in a wing of a historic house which is part of the Pedals and Boots Cafe and bike hire business also owned by the Murphy family, Kilian and Jenny.
The closure of the post office will mean that elderly will have to travel to west Cork, to Ardgroom around six miles away, or to Kenmare which is 13 miles away.
The population of the local area is just 232, down from 269 at the last census.
Lauragh Post office, until the changes were announced, sorted the post for the wider area, and postmen with vans operated out of it.
This brought in a small but important payment which kept the post office (about 30 pensioners draw their pension there) alive.
However, the re-organisation by An Post to a central sorting office for Lauragh, Tuosist, as well as Kenmare and Kilgarvan, into Kilgarvan, miles from Lauragh, means a death blow and the post office is not longer viable.
A spokesman for An Post said the centralisation and withdrawal of the postal sorting contract is in line with national policy because proper facilities are needed for sorting parcels.
POLICING AUTHORITY
While it used to be the prerogative of the Government, the authority now leads the recruitment process for the new commissioner after consulting with the Government.
An independent competition run by the Public Appointments Service is likely to be overseen by a high-level panel.
The authority will nominate its selection to the Government, which, according to the Policing Authority Act 2015, shall accept.
In exceptional circumstances, the Government can refuse to accept and ask the authority to nominate another.
Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan clearly expressed a wish for the competition to be opened out to international candidates, though stressing this is a decision for the authority.
Given the precedent last time around with the appointment of Noirin OSullivan, when it was opened to international candidates, this is likely to happen.
The matter of the powers of the authority is still a live issue.
Initially, the commissioner was supposed to be accountable to the authority, but when the legislation was brought in, she would merely report to it.
The Government at the time said this was for constitutional reasons, but the legal advice was never made known and this issue could be revisited by the Government.
The authority can recommend the removal of the commissioner, but the decision rests with the Government.
In relation to the authoritys powers, Josephine Feehily likened it to a glass half full. Now might be the time to top that up.
GARDA INSPECTORATE
This unit, which sits within the Department of Justice, has produced detailed research most notably the Crime Investigation report of October 2014 and the Changing Policing in Ireland report of November 2015 which laid out the blueprint of Garda reform.
The inspectorate has been a bit neglected in recent times. Chairman Bob Olson retired in the summer and his replacement is imminent, as is the replacement for deputy inspector Mark Toland, who went to GSOC.
It has a number of major reports due for publication and others in progress.
GARDA OMBUDSMAN
GSOC has had a difficult, and sometimes tempestuous, relationship with Garda bosses and associations.
It has had persistent
problems in getting access to documents in sensitive cases quickly or at all.
GSOC has published a raft of policy or inspection reports and is overdue in publishing the Ian Bailey
report. It is also investigating issues arising out of the OHiggins inquiry as well as Templemore.
Last September, GSOC chairwoman Judge Mary Ellen Ring called for legal powers to seek court order to compel the Garda commissioner to hand over
information because of continuing problems in accessing documentation.
It was part of a call for more teeth a campaign backed by the Oireachtas justice committee and signalled in draft legislation published by former justice minister Frances Fitzgerald.
GSOC also had to fight for resources to investigate whistleblower cases.
OIREACHTAS COMMITTEES
The public accounts committee, chaired by Sean Fleming, played a pivotal role in various crises, previously in the McCabe/
Callinan crisis and this year in the Templemore scandal, which also damaged Ms OSullivan.
There have been concerns at the way many PAC members used their powers in the OSullivan hearings but overall the hearings exposed dysfunctionality at senior levels in the force and the financial problems at Templemore now subject of EU and GSOC probes.
The justice committee hearings with the oversight bodies a year ago performed a valuable role in highlighting the need for extra powers.
POLICING COMMISSION
The root-and-branch review is due to report in around 16 months, though Mr Flanagan mentioned a timetable of 12 months yesterday, with the possibility of interim reports. It is not clear if the highly complicated issue of separating security from the force will form one such report.
The review is taking
public submissions and is setting up separate
sub-committees to examine the massive range of issues with which it has been tasked.
It is headed by US police chief Kathleen OToole.
In January 1923, a party of men armed to the teeth and calling themselves Republicans forced their entrance into our house where in three people resided.
This sentence in a July 1924 letter recounted an incident during the Troubles of a century ago in Ireland. But Mary Ms appeal to the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Edward Byrne was more concerned with her own troubles than with the political and military turmoil of the period.
She gave birth to a little boy nine months after anti-Treaty IRA invaded her Co Westmeath home, where she confided that one brute [had] satisfied his duty passion on me. The risk of being outed as an unmarried mother in the earliest years of an independent Ireland was grave enough for her to appeal to a senior cleric for financial assistance with her sons upkeep in a so-called rescue agency rather than have him returned to her.
But still almost as little-spoken about as such births is the question of sexual and other violence suffered by women in Irelands War of Independence and Civil War.
Linda Connolly hopes that situation can be rectified during this decade of commemorations. As head of Maynooth Universitys Social Sciences Institute, she led others from disciplines wider than history in opening that discussion this month. The Irish Research Council-funded conference covered many aspects of womens experiences of feminism, violence and nationalism from 1917 to 1923.
In her own contribution, Prof Connolly referred to a Cork IRA officer recounting knowledge of two cases of sexual violence by Crown Forces in the northside of the city, matters often used in the international propaganda campaign by the republican movement.
One such case was that of Norah Healy, who was pregnant with her fifth child when she was raped in front of her husband at their Blackpool home. But seeing one of her attackers face-to-face when she visited a local police barracks, she was urged to let the matter slide by an Royal Irish Constable (RIC) sergeant.
Never mind, dont say anything now, he told her.
Almost certainly even more so than todays low reporting of sexual violence, most such incidents went unrecorded and will be impossible to ever be numbered.
But the fact that the case of Mary M was unearthed by University College Dublin (UCD) historian Lindsey Earner Byrne as part of a study on poverty in early independent Ireland speaks volumes, says Prof Connolly. She believes the many historians of the military conflict have, for far too long, overlooked the question of womens experiences.
Stories of very violent assault on women do exist. You only have to look at some of the newspaper reports at the time, and these require serious consideration by any scholar of the period, she insists.
One such scholar is historian and UCD assistant professor in gender studies Mary McAuliffe. At the conference held in the Royal Irish Academy, she outlined just a fraction of the cases she has unearthed to date in a project to shine a light down this largely unexplored avenue. Tens of thousands of homes were raided by British forces ordinary police, Black and Tans, Auxiliaries and soldiers during the years in question. But thousands more were probably raided by the IRA seeking shelter, food, or warning occupants about consorting with the enemy.
Most happened at night after the occupants had retired to bed. Being in their night clothes gave women a heightened sense of vulnerability, Mary McAuliffe points out.
Just try and imagine them banging hard on the door of some isolated cottage, those seconds of heightened terror, and then up to 14 or 15 men bursting in, she says, painting a
dramatic picture of the dread that faced women and families.
Very often, the men being sought by Crown Forces no longer had a safe place in those homes, leaving them occupied only by the women and children to face this terror alone.
Such turning of the home front into a battlefront is a portrayal too rarely offered in memoirs or other accounts of what Prof Connolly says has been a male-dominated narrative of this pivotal part of Irish history.
And even the sexual connotations of the seemingly less-harmful practice of shaving womens hair should not be underplayed, she suggests.
It wasnt just about inflicting punishment for giving information. It was, in some ways, a sexual policing, of womens bodies for fraternising with the wrong people, she argues.
One Cork member of the IRA, Leo Buckley referred in a 1947 statement to the Government-established Bureau of Military History to his local company bobbing girls hair for going out with soldiers in Ballincollig. This was a time when short hair was not at all in fashion, and so the victims stood out as a result.
The appearance of a girl with bobbed hair clearly denoted her way of life, he said about what he described as persistent offenders.
Of course, such practices were common to both sides. The ability of RIC Auxiliaries to brutalise women was recounted in Ken Loachs award-winning big-screen portrayal of the conflicts of the time, The Wind that Shakes the Barley.
In one scene, the hair of the female lead character, Eileen, was bobbed during a reprisal on her home following a deadly IRA ambush, while older female relatives were also forced from the burning house at rifle-point.
While there may be little evidence for now that either side used sexual violence as a deliberate military strategy, Mary McAuliffe says raiding parties certainly came very well prepared to impose punishments such as hair-cutting. Anne Devine was sought out by the IRA in a late-night raid of a house near Tuam in May 1920. She was suspected of keeping company with a policeman, whose letter to her was intercepted by IRA intelligence networks.
Her hair was cut off with a shears, one man holding her. A hair-cutting machine was used to complete the job with her hair being cut almost to the skin, reported a local newspaper.
Prof Connolly refers to another woman, Julia Goonan, who was taken at midnight by her attackers, hung up by her hair and shaved.
Eileen Barker was another such victim, having her head shaved by members of the IRA for allowing British troops to stay in her hotel.
The opening and digitisation of archives like the Bureau of Military History in relatively recent years has made access to some accounts easier, albeit telling the story from just one side of the conflict. The Department of Defences staggered release online of files from the Military Service Pensions Collection, including hundreds of accounts by Cumann na mBan activists, also adds to the material on womens experiences.
But the history that Prof Connolly insists must be told is one that goes beyond the women who took part in the fight for independence from British control.
A lot of the focus during 1916 was, quite rightly, about the role of women as combatants. But we also need to look at men and women as civilians, and as victims, which is just as important as the militaristic history, she says.
Some other archives, like those of welfare services, or compensation scheme for those who had property and goods taken by force, may help to redress the imbalances.
Prof Connollys challenge for new perspectives is a strong and justified one, but is not entirely a new call.
The first speaker at the conference she organised was her fellow-sociologist Louise Ryan, now based at University of Sheffield, who has written about the topic in the past.
I believe there is at least sufficient material to begin to reassess the gendered nature of violence during the Irish War of Independence and to seriously reconsider the ways in which sexual violence or the threat of sexual violence may have been deliberately used to intimidate women in the heavily militarised areas of the country, she wrote.
That was her conclusion to a 2000 article on the subject. Much more work has, clearly, yet to be done to meet that challenge.
IT WAS a wise Irish civil servant who told me once, years ago, that the time to be afraid of British negotiators was when they offered a flurry of ideas. Read them, he said, and youll notice one thing. Theyre trying to trap you into discussing points of detail, so you end up ignoring the fundamentals. His remark was made in the context of Anglo-Irish negotiations about the Northern Ireland peace process, but it applies just as much to Britains position in the Brexit negotiations, at least where Ireland is concerned. Their negotiating stance is based on an age-old truism get them haggling about price, and theyll forget the point of principle.
The good news is that the EUs chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, and his team, saw the Brits coming. In a really astute report from Brussels the other night, RTEs correspondent, Tony Connelly, pointed out that the Brits had published a 27-page paper full of technical suggestions about how you could have a border in Ireland, but that it wouldnt really be a hard border. The EU had responded with a much shorter paper, refusing to engage with the technical stuff and pointing out that Britain had entirely ignored the fundamental issue of principle.
The principle is simple. After Brexit, any border in Ireland is a border between Britain and the EU. That border affects how people and goods come into and out of the EU. If Britain leave the EU and the customs union, then Britain, and by extension Northern Ireland, are on the other side of the border. Full stop.
Michel Barnier
But a border between Britain and the EU also, as a matter of law, becomes a border on the island of Ireland. The potential for damage of the re-emergence of a hard border on this island is huge. Even the British acknowledge that.
Theres no need to spell out the extent, and kind, of damage it could do. Weve spent more than 20 years since the ceasefires and the Good Friday Agreement which took violence from the conflict, but didnt end it trying to build a political process that could sustain itself and change hearts and minds. We know how fragile and faltering that is. The idea that you would re-insert a physical border into that equation is simply mind-boggling.
But Britain voted to leave Europe because it wants borders. It wants to control the movement of people. The largest single factor in the vote to leave was the fear of immigration. Controlling the movement of people is synonymous in the minds of Brexiteers with the language of regaining control of Britains destiny.
Thats why the British paper, which pretends that you can have a hard Brexit without hard borders, reminds me so much of the angel papers they used to produce during the Anglo-Irish negotiations.
They were called angel papers, and it was a British term, because they had no official standing. A paper could be produced full of the kind of language in which an agreement could be framed. But it would be presented as random thoughts or musings. If you didnt like them, no harm done. If the British officials regretted offering them, or found they couldnt sell them to their own political masters, they simply disappeared (I suppose, as an angel does, when his or her job is done).
But if you engaged with the stuff, you were trapped. What might be a flimsy idea on a bit of paper and have no standing could suddenly become something to beat you over the head with, if you gave it credibility.
The much wiser course was simply not to go there at all, until basic principles were agreed.
That, clearly, is what the EU has decided to do. They can see the impossibility, in principle as well as in practice, of agreeing to the re-imposition of a border on the island of Ireland. They know that if they agree to some technical tricks that make it look like something to which there is a practical solution, the issue of whether or not it is the right thing to do will become irretrievably muddied.
Sooner or later, in these negotiations, someone is going to mention the unmentionable. The British have decided to leave the EU. Theyre pretending they can do so without creating a new border between them and the EU, and that that border will have to be situated in their neighbouring island.
That wont work, and it cant work. What needs to be said and Im surprised to hear myself saying this is that in deciding to leave the EU, Britain has effectively decided that it is not possible to sustain the union between Northern Ireland and what it likes to call the mainland.
In short, the only logical solution to the issue of borders is for Britain to declare that it will, over time, withdraw from Northern Ireland. That, and that alone, would enable Britain to locate its border with the EU wherever it wants to, without doing untold damage to its nearest neighbour. Of course, the Brits may not be too worried about damaging Ireland, but its clear that the EU wont allow them to undermine years of painstaking work on peace and political progress by playing jiggery-pokery with a border.
So, does that mean tiochfaidh ar la? I dont know, and its not from that perspective Im saying it. But the only possible way for us to protect the interests of the people of this entire island is by declaring that there will be no border on the island, not under any circumstances. A border between Britain and the EU can only be achieved by Britain leaving Ireland.
That will certainly take years to work out , and would be an expensive operation, for both Britain and the EU. Britain is looking for a transition period anyway, in relation to customs arrangements. Part of that transition needs to be provision for full withdrawal.
The entire peace process was made possible, and is built on, the principle of consent. The principle of consent means that you honour the views that people express democratically.
The people of Northern Ireland voted to remain in the European Union. While the principle of consent was not conceived to apply to that circumstance, it is, nevertheless, the case that taking the people of Northern Ireland out of the EU, and rebuilding a border on the island of Ireland, flies in the face of any understanding of the notion of consent.
I think it comes down to this. We cannot allow a border to be built again on this island, for a myriad of reasons. Europe cannot be protected without one, but doesnt want one, either.
Britain cannot have its cake and eat it. They must put their border elsewhere, and they must propose and facilitate whatever it takes to enable both parts of this island to remain within the EU.
In voting for Brexit, they effectively voted to leave Ireland. There is no other way forward.
Customers from Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport will have new non-stop access to Reykjavik, Iceland, when WOW air begins service in May 2018. WOW air will serve the route three times per week on a seasonal basis, utilizing Airbus A330 aircraft.
"We're pleased to welcome WOW air to Dallas Fort Worth and look forward to providing our customers with another non-stop trans-Atlantic destination," said Sean Donohue, CEO for DFW Airport. "Reykjavik is a popular tourist destination, a growing market for international business and a convenient connecting point to continental Europe. We look forward to giving visitors from Iceland a warm Texas welcome when they arrive next year."
"WOW air is thrilled to bring our low-fare, transatlantic flight service to Dallas Fort Worth in May 2018," said Skuli Mogensen, CEO and Founder of WOW air. "Dallas Fort Worth is a world-class region and we can't wait to give European travelers the opportunity to experience all that Texashas to offer."
WOW air Service Inaugural service Thursday, May 24, 2018
Reykjavik Keflavik International Airport (KEF) to DFW
Departs KEF at 9:30pm Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays
Arrives DFW at 12:45am Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays
DFW to KEF
Departs DFW at 4:10pm Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays
Arrives KEF at 4:45am Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays
The new route will open up more travel choices for DFW customers via the WOW air hub in Reykjavik, which serves 22 destinations in Europe and the Middle East.
Travelers from Iceland can take advantage of DFW's Terminal D that features highly efficient customs processing as well as world-class shopping, dining and amenities, and flight service to points across North America, Central and South America.
When it launches service in May 2018, WOW air will be the 16th international carrier to serve DFW International Airport.
About Dallas Fort Worth International Airport:
Dallas Fort Worth International (DFW) Airport earned the distinction of the best large airport in North America for customer service in 2016 from Airports Council International. DFW Airport warmly welcomes more than 65 million customers along their journey every year, elevating DFW to a status as one of the most frequently visited superhub airports in the world. DFW Airport customers can choose among 167 domestic and 57 international nonstop destinations worldwide. DFW is elevating the customer experience with modernized facilities and updated amenities, as well as through a $2.7 billion Terminal Renewal and Improvement Program. Centered between its owner cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, DFW Airport also serves as a major economic generator for the North Texas region, producing over $37 billion in economic impact each year by connecting people through business and leisure travel.
ADS ADS
In what movies did you have the most fun to act ?
Comedy. Since I started to be an actress, I have played in so many movies. But for me, I want to act in comedies as I seldom have the chance to take this kind of movie. It makes me laugh, and makes the job interesting. If theres an opportunity to act in a comedy, I will try.
What is your next movie?
"Nest" which will be on screen globally at the end of this year. This movie is about a tomb discovery, and my role is a scientist. I love the role I play, because it is so similar to my own character: someone who likes a challenge. Another movie is "MEG", together with Jason Statham, which will be on screen next summer. I wear Carl F. Bucherer Patravi ScubaTec in this movie. A really gorgeous timepiece which fits the character I play. Hope you would like it. I am reading the script for my next movie, and I constantly try to improve my performance skills.
How did you chose your charity involvements ?
I care a lot about environmental protection. At the very first, I think we all have responsibilities to ourselves, the public, the earth. Therefore, I accepted the invitation from China Environmental Protection Foundation in 2000 to be the ambassador of environmental protection.
In 2009 I established my own charity brand LOVE to promote a "Responsible Life" with a focus on carbon emission reduction and environmental protection.
Li Bingbing PPR MEDIA RELATIONS AG
Whats important for you in a ladies watch ?
Appearance! Beautiful watches are my first choice, like Carl F. Bucherer Pathos Swan! Excellent jewellery competence, gorgeous appearance! I love it!
How important is the philosophy of the brand for you ?
I think the brand philosophy and spirit are the priority for me. I like the slogan of Carl F. Bucherer which is For those who do not go with the times. This distinct brand philosophy truly reflects my own perspective in life, and it is what attracted me to work with Carl F. Bucherer.
When did you come to Switzerland the first time ? What for ?
It was a long time ago. I came here for work. But this time is really special for me. Lucerne is the hometown of Carl F. Bucherer, and Im the Global Brand Ambassador of this significant brand. I attended the opening ceremony of the first Carl F. Bucherer boutique in Lucerne, and also visited the brands manufacture in Lengnau. It was my first time to experience the Made of Lucerne and Distinct spirit of Carl F. Bucherer from the inside.
The transition from one speed plateau to the next highest is never a short-term process. The situation is no different in the move from LTE to 5G. There are exaggerated vendor and carrier claims (think faux G instead of 5G) and cost/benefits of transition that must be made by end users and a variety of other items.
Another item that slows down transitions is that older technology tends to speed up as the rollout of the new approaches. Research and development on LTE, therefore, is not stopping as attention turns to 5G. Far from it: Research is increasing as ecosystems try to take advantage of the higher interest in faster speeds gives carriers and their subscribers a path to most of the advantages of higher speed more quickly and with much less disruption than a 5G changeover.
LTE is flexing its still formidable muscle as Mobile World Congress convenes in San Francisco. In anticipation of the show, both T-Mobile and AT&T made LTE-related announcements.
T-Mobile said that it worked with Qualcomm and Nokia to achieve 1.175 Gigabit per second (Gbps). Equipment in the test was Nokias 4.9G-powered AirScale Base Station and the Snapdragon X20 LTE modem. Both are commercially available. The test featured 44 multiple in multiple out (MIMO) antennas, 256 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation, and three carriers aggregated across 60 MHz of downlink spectrum.
On September 2, Verizon said that it, along with Qualcomm and Ericsson, have transmitted data at 953 Megabits per second (Mbps) using License Assisted Access (LAA) spectrum. All elements of the test are commercially available. They include the micro Radio 2205, the Snapdragon X16 LTE modem and Ericsson remote radio head technology.
A third test of note was conducted by Verizon, Ericsson and Qualcomm. It mirrored the T-Mobile test in many technical respects. The companies reached a download speed of 1.07 Gbps. The Qualcomm X20 LTE modem, the same model as in the T-Mobile test, was used.
In the final analysis, it pays to know what the numbers really mean. Light Readings Dan Jones points out that LTE simulations promising 1 Gbps download speeds likely will provide actual speeds of 100 Mbps to 300 Mbps. Thats a lot slower. It is, however, about three times the speed of most networks today, Jones writes.
Carl Weinschenk covers telecom for IT Business Edge. He writes about wireless technology, disaster recovery/business continuity, cellular services, the Internet of Things, machine-to-machine communications and other emerging technologies and platforms. He also covers net neutrality and related regulatory issues. Weinschenk has written about the phone companies, cable operators and related companies for decades and is senior editor of Broadband Technology Report. He can be reached at [email protected] and via twitter at @DailyMusicBrk.
The ministerial meeting is a British-government initiative and brings together foreign ministers from the UK, US, Egypt, UAE, France and Italy
Egypt's foreign minister Sameh Shoukry heads to London on Wednesday to participate in a ministerial meeting on the Libyan crisis, the Egyptian foreign ministry announced Tuesday morning.
According to a ministry statement, the foreign ministers of the United States, United Kingdom, France, Italy and the United Arab Emirates will attend the meeting, along with UN special envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame.
The meeting is aimed at reviewing the latest developments in Libya based on reports from Salame, as well as the outcome of his talks with rival Libyan factions.
Ministers will also be discussing efforts on the part of various regional and international parties to unite the country, which has been fractured since the outbreak of civil war in the wake of the Arab Spring.
The Egyptian foreign ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid said the meeting is a Bitish-government initative aimed at achieving national reconciliation in Libya.
After several years of civil war, starting in 2011, the nation remains divided between two competing goverments in the east and west.
Most Western governments recognize the government based in Tripoli, led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj.
Meanwhile, an opposing government is based in the eastern city of Benghazi, with military commander Khalifa Haftar seen as the key figure.
Both governments have been battling Islamist militant factions, including fighters from the Islamic State group, which have thrived since the ousting and murder of former Libyan president Moamer Ghaddafi.
Search Keywords:
Short link:
Today
Mostly sunny skies. High 71F. Winds light and variable.
Tonight
Partly cloudy skies during the evening will give way to cloudy skies overnight. Low 43F. Winds light and variable.
Tomorrow
A few clouds early, otherwise mostly sunny. High 72F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Hamas chief Ismail Haniya has told Egyptian officials that he would dissolve a key body causing tension with rival Palestinian faction Fatah, an official with the Islamist movement said Tuesday.
In March, Hamas announced the formation of a new "administrative committee" seen as a rival government to the internationally recognised administration led by president Mahmud Abbas.
Hamas has denied the committee was a rival government.
Since the committee was formed, Abbas has sought to squeeze Hamas, reducing electricity payments for the Gaza Strip which the movement controls, among other measures.
The Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Haniya told the head of Egyptian intelligence Khaled Fawzy and other officials in Cairo on Monday that they would dissolve the council without
preconditions to make way for a unity government with Fatah.
Hamas, he said, wanted Egypt to "succeed in achieving Palestinian reconciliation, and I think there are no arguments now for Fatah to disrupt Egypt's efforts".
Hamas has run Gaza for a decade since seizing control of the territory from Abbas's secular Fatah party, which leads the government in the West Bank.
Multiple attempts at reconciliation between the two movements have failed.
A Hamas statement published late Monday said that during talks in Egypt the Hamas delegation had "emphasised its readiness to hold negotiations with Fatah in Cairo immediately to conclude a (unity) agreement".
Fatah spokesman in Gaza Fayez Abu Aita told AFP Abbas had made it clear any stopping of the measures against Hamas was "linked to a solution for the administration committee", as well as allowing the Abbas-led government to exercise control in Gaza.
Haniya's current visit to Cairo is his first since his election as Hamas leader in May.
Search Keywords:
Short link:
The US State Department issued a statement on Monday offering condolences in the wake of a terrorist attack in North Sinai on Monday that killed at least 18 people.
"We express our profound condolences to the families and friends of the victims and our wishes for a speedy recovery for those hurt in the attack," the statement said.
Militants struck a police convoy near the city of Arish in North Sinai on Monday, killing at least 18 policemen and wounding several more.
The State Department condemned the attack, also stressing its support for Egypt in the battle against terrorism.
"We will continue to stand with Egypt as it confronts the threat from terrorism," the statement concluded.
Late on Monday, anonymous sources told Al-Ahram Arabic's correspondent in Arish, Hanaa El-Tabarani, that the death toll had risen from 15 to 18, with five injured.
According to anonymous security sources quoted by Al-Ahram, militants remotely detonated an IED that destroyed three armoured vehicles in a convoy 17km from Arish. Militants also attacked the convoy by driving into it with a car primed to explode, Al-Ahram reported.
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack, issuing a statement through it's AMAQ media agency.
Search Keywords:
Short link:
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has strongly condemned a terrorist attack that killed more than a dozen policemen in Egypt's North Sinai on Monday.
In an official statement, members of the UNSC denounced the attack which it described as "heinous and cowardly".
They [the members of the UNSC] expressed their deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims and to the Government of Egypt, and they wished a speedy and full recovery to those who were injured, a statement issued to the press by the 15-member body read.
Council members stressed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security, accentuating the need to bring perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism to justice.
The UNSC's condemnation follows a series of similar statements by various nations, including US and UK, as well as Arab countries.
On Monday, the Egyptian interior ministry said that militants launched an attack on a police convoy near Arish in North Sinai, killing a number of policemen. It has not provided any further details.
However, late on Monday, Al-Ahram Arabic news website quoted anonymous sources as saying the death toll had reached 18.
According to anonymous security sources quoted by Al-Ahram, militants remotely detonated an IED that destroyed three armoured security vehicles in a convoy 17km from Arish. Meanwhile, a vehicle laden with explosives was driven into the convoy, said Al-Ahram.
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack, issuing a statement through it's AMAQ media agency.
Search Keywords:
Short link:
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
The death toll among Egyptians on the hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia this year has reached 86, Egypt's health ministry announced on Tuesday.
An 44-year-old man from Sharqiya died from cardiac arrest while in hospital in Mecca, the deputy-head of Egypt's hajj medical commission Mohamed Shawky said, according to Al-Ahram Arabic website.
Deaths from heat exhaustion, fatigue and other natural causes are a common occurrence among pilgrims on the hajj in Saudi Arabia.
More than 100,000 Egyptian pilgrims performed the hajj this year, according to housing minister Mostafa Madbouly, who heads the Egyptian hajj delegation.
Saudi authorities said more than 2.3 million Muslims participated in this year's hajj.
All Muslims who are able to do so are required by Islam to perform the hajj pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam, at least once in their lifetime.
Search Keywords:
Short link:
Egypt's Ministry of Interior denied on Tuesday reports that Interpol has cancelled its arrest warrant, or red notice, for influential Egyptian Qatar-based Islamic cleric Sheikh Youssef El-Qaradawi.
The ministry said that an internal meeting was held at Interpol headquarters in France where it was decided that the warrant on El-Qaradawi would not be lifted despite appeals made by the cleric to human rights organisations.
The ministry added that El-Qaradawi had another international arrest warrant issued upon a request by Iraq, which is accusing him of inciting to kill former Iraqi PM Nouri Al-Maliki.
On Sunday, media outlets in the region reported that Interpol had cancelled its arrest warrant for the 91-year-old and 40 others who the Egyptian government says are members of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Although El-Qaradawi is not named on the red notice section of the Interpol website, most red notices are only available to law enforcement agencies, according to a disclaimer on the website.
Interpol issued an arrest warrant for El-Qaradawi in December 2014, as he has been convicted in Egypt on several terrorism-related charges.
Red notices are used by Interpol to inform its 190 member states that an arrest warrant has been issued for an individual by a judicial authority in a concerned country.
The notice calls for the arrest of the wanted person, after which formal extradition procedures follow.
El-Qaradawi had for years hosted a religious programme that broadcast to millions in the Arab world on the Qatari-owned TV channel Al-Jazeera.
El-Qaradawi, who is the chief of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, is currently in self-exile in Qatar. The cleric holds the Qatari nationality.
Search Keywords:
Short link:
NEW YORK The Equifax breach didnt just expose sensitive personal information of 143 million Americans it underscored the huge vulnerabilities that make widespread identity theft possible.
More than 15 million Americans were victims of ID fraud last year, a record high; fraudsters stole about $16 billion, according to an annual survey by Javelin Strategy & Research. The theft of personal information can turn peoples lives inside out, damage their finances, eat away at their time, and cause tremendous anxiety and emotional distress.
The Equifax attack was particularly damaging. Intruders made off with precisely the information needed to pose as ordinary citizens and defraud them and did so with data for roughly 44 percent of the U.S. population.
Experts have warned for years that the widespread use of Social Security numbers, lax corporate security and even looser individual password practices could lead to an identity-theft apocalypse.
As Congress, state law enforcement and the nations chief financial watchdog look into the Equifax debacle, here are some of todays biggest security problems and what it could take to fix them.
Social Security numbers
A decade ago, computer scientist Annie Anton warned Congress that widespread business use of Social Security numbers as identifiers was making them more attractive to identity thieves. This is a problem of our own making and it is a problem that we can eliminate, she testified to a House committee in June 2007.
Yet the problem remains un-eliminated. Anton, now a Georgia Tech researcher whose office isnt far from Equifaxs Atlanta headquarters, argues that SSNs should be encrypted to shield them from prying eyes, much like passwords are. Equifax apparently didnt take this precaution, a fact Anton calls shocking. The company didnt immediately respond to requests on Monday for more information about its encryption practices.
Some advocates would like to outlaw the use of Social Security numbers by private companies, and even by government agencies outside of the Social Security Administration. Such efforts have gone nowhere, although several states have passed a patchwork of laws aiming to limit access to SSNs and other sensitive information.
Further changes may simply be too late. Even before the Equifax breach, millions of SSNs were already exposed from various hacks and no one can change them without enormous hassle.
One alternative might be to replace the venerable SSN with a national ID card protected with encryption, much the way credit cards with embedded chips work today. Knowing the number alone wouldnt be enough; a thief would need the physical card as well. But while other nations have adopted such cards, many Americans have traditionally resisted a national ID.
As Ryan Kalember, senior vice president of cybersecurity strategy at the security company Proofpoint, says, its time to address why we rely on these trivial and compromised pieces of information for some of the most important financial transactions we make.
Lax corporate security
Security is ultimately an expense on a companys financial sheets, an important function that produces neither revenue nor obvious benefits (though any failures are immediately obvious).
As a result, many security departments are underfunded or lack the authority to impose sound security practices across the company including on employees who write software, said Rich Mogull, who runs the security research firm Securosis. And those other employees sometimes make mistakes that lead to breaches, Mogull said.
Those most responsible ... dont have the economic incentives to actually make it a priority, Mogull said.
It might also help if more top executives lost their jobs after a major breach, Mogull said. A massive data breach at Target in 2014, for instance, contributed to the departure of CEO Gregg Steinhafel.
Boards are now feeling the pressure and responsibility to make sure this stuff doesnt happen, said David Hickton, a former U.S. attorney who now directs a cyberlaw institute at the University of Pittsburgh.
But even at companies that give security top priority, the risk is never zero. Companies can build the proverbial 10-foot firewall around their network and sensitive information, but criminals are always going to find that 11-foot ladder, said Craig Newman, a privacy and data-security attorney at the Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler law firm.
Saudi air forces will engage in joint military exercises with their Egyptian counterparts in Egypt later this week, Saudi state news agency SPA reported on Tuesday.
The military drill Faysal 11 aims to "bolster corporation and ties between the Saudi and Egyptian air forces," as well as improve technical experience and martial skills of air crews, pilots and technicians, according to SPA.
This is the 11th in a series of joint military drills between the two Arab allies that began in 2000.
Saudi Arabia emerged as a key backer of Egypt after the the 2013 ouster of Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, pumping billions of dollars in aid and investment into Egypt to help prop up its ailing economy.
In July 2015, Egypt and Saudi Arabia signed a pact aimed at boosting military and economic ties between the two countries.
In early 2016, Cairo participated in a 20-nation military drill in the Arabian Gulf, which was organised by Saudi Arabia and billed as the biggest-ever in the region.
Egypt has also been taking part in a Saudi-led military coalition that has been battling Houthi rebels in Yemen since March 2015.
Search Keywords:
Short link:
GREENSBORO A Greensboro man who barricaded himself inside a house at 1001 Huffine Mill Road on Sunday surrendered to police around 10:55 a.m. Monday following an 18-hour standoff.
Richard Roof, 57, faces six counts of felony assault with a deadly weapon and discharging a firearm in the city limits.
Officers first responded at 5:15 p.m. Sunday to a reported shooting on Huffine Mill. The first investigator who responded reported that he heard shots coming from inside the house.
No one was hurt during the shooting.
Greensboro Police officers helped family members escape the house on Sunday evening but continued negotiating with Roof through Monday morning.
Greensboro Police Capt. T. Biffle said officers are investigating the case as a domestic disturbance and are trying to determine what led Roof to allegedly fire weapons and barricade himself. She said that those officers who responded to the initial call on Sunday were returning to work and would complete their reports before filing charges, if any, against Roof.
Early Monday morning, Greensboro Police Chief Wayne Scott used a televised news conference to ask Roof to surrender.
We encourage you, I encourage you as police chief, to contact us again, Scott said. There are things we can work out once we get you out of there safely.
Scott told reporters gathered at a Walgreens near Roofs house that officers had been communicating with Roof through family members and text messaging.
Police evacuated the block as a safety measure shortly after the incident began, and surrounding roads were closed throughout Sunday and Monday morning.
Guilford County Schools officials canceled classes for the day at nearby Bessemer Elementary School and Gateway Education Center.
Residents who were not allowed to return to their homes had access to a temporary shelters set up by the county.
Dan Owens, a Red Cross leader setting up an emergency shelter for Hurricane Irma evacuees, said he was put on notice that Huffine Mill Road residents might have needed to use the shelter Monday night if Roof had not surrendered by that time.
At your age, could you go back to college and get some of the experiences that you missed?
It would be a dream come true for some of us. Or a nightmare, like dreams I still have of being in college unprepared for an upcoming final exam.
Putting aside the exams, experiencing some of the best teachers give their careful, interesting, and entertaining classes is an idea that excites me.
Such experiences are increasingly available. On Saturday, Sept. 23, in Raleigh, The News & Observer is sponsoring a One Day University that features lectures by four nationally known university professors at a cost of about $150.
Several North Carolina universities sponsor weekend or daylong programs that feature their best performing teachers. For instance, UNC Chapel Hills Carolina Public Humanities offers a range of programs including weekend events. The topic for this weekend (Sept. 15, 16) is The Triumph of Christianity in the Ancient World. The featured speaker is UNC Chapel Hill Professor Bart Ehrman, best-selling author of numerous books on the New Testament, including his latest, The Triumph of Christianity: How a Small Band of Outcasts Conquered an Empire.
The cost would be about $125 if the program were not already sold out. It is costly until you compare it with the tens of thousands of dollars undergraduates pay to have a chance to get into one of his classes.
Ehrman is worth the money. But if that cost is still too high for you, many of Dr. Ehrmans speeches and lectures, as well as those of other professors, are available without charge on the web through services such as YouTube.
Ehrman is also a prolific producer of courses on New Testament topics for a commercial business, The Great Courses. Each of his eight courses is a complete semester, usually with 24 lectures with topics such as From Jesus to Constantine: A History of Early Christianity. The courses are available on DVD and other formats. When on sale, they cost about as much as his Carolina Public Humanities program.
Other popular UNC Chapel Hill professors have produced Great Courses packages. Internationally known archaeologist Jodi Magness has two courses. Holy Land Revealed follows the lands and its peoples history from the time of Exodus. Her inspiring lectures, informed by archeological research, was the basis for an enlightening adult Sunday school class at my church. Her latest course, Jesus and His Jewish Influences, shows how ancient Judaism provided the roots for Jesuss ministry.
Lloyd Kramer, who directs Carolina Public Humanities, has two courses, European Thought and Culture in the 19th Century and European Thought and Culture in the 20th Century. Kramer explains how great thinkers and their ideas and debates shaped Western culture and helped define the world. I recommend both courses, now available only on download-audio.
Daniel Cobbs new course is "History of Native North Americans."
Michael K. Salemis Money and Banking: What Everyone Should Know explores our monetary and financial systems.
Other North Carolina professors also offer Great Courses, including N.C. States Kenneth P. Vickerys African Experience: From Lucy to Mandela and David W. Martins Psychology of Human Behavior; Dukes Connel Fullenkamps several courses including The Economics of Uncertainty; and Davidsons Tim Chartiers Big Data: How Data Analytics Is Transforming the World.
These North Carolina professors are academic rock stars. But we do not have to stand in line to enjoy their stirring lectures. Just remember, hearing a lecture does not an education make. The college classroom discussions, extra reading and study, problem solving, mentoring, and those nightmare exams are critical extras that make many real university classes so transformative.
Links to more information:
Carolina Public Humanities: http://humanities.unc.edu
Bart Ehrman on You Tube: www.youtube.com/user/bartdehrman
D.G. Martin hosts North Carolina Bookwatch, which airs Sundays at noon and Thursdays at 5 p.m. on UNC-TV
Egypt has been re-elected as a member of the Executive Council of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) for a four-year term, Egypt's tourism ministry said on Tuesday.
Egypt was elected with a majority vote during the UNWTO's 22nd General assembly titled Tourism and the Sustainable Development Goals, Journey to 2030, which is being held in Chengdu China from 11 to 16 September, the ministry said in a statement emailed to Ahram Online.
Egypt was also chosen to host the 44th meeting of the UNWTO Commission for the Middle East in the first half of 2018.
The UNWTO Executive Council, which comprises 33 member states, is the governing body that ensures that the organisation's decisions and recommendations are implemented.
The council meets at least twice a year. The term for elected members is four years.
Search Keywords:
Short link:
DONALD CREWS, Winston-Salem
True Nazis
A historical fact is that the party of Hitler, the Nazi party, used intimidation, violence and anarchy in order to suppress opposition groups and keep them from expressing any position that opposed the Nazi party. Their racist attitude was displayed in such events as the night of the crystal glass, when the real Jewish persecution began and violence against businesses resulted in massive looting. No First Amendment rights existed except for the Nazi position and terror tactics were commonplace against opposing parties. Eventually all parties except the Nazi ceased to exist and individual citizens were imprisoned if they opposed the Nazi political and amoral position.
In view of the recent violence in Virginia and California one must ask: Who are the real Nazis, the white nationalists or the radical liberal left?
***
GARY OLIVER, Winston-Salem
Evangelical support
I appreciate columnist Gary Abernathys explanation of evangelicals support of President Trump (Why most evangelicals dont condemn Trump, Sept. 7). Very insightful and disappointing.
Its hard to reconcile evangelicals condemnation of Hillary Clintons personal shortcomings with their claim that Trumps dont matter. As one minister put it, God uses rulers who arent themselves godly. If thats the case, I join the majority of voters in wishing we were being led through our current challenges by the president with experience and standing in the world.
Abernathy writes about Christians who do not blindly accept every scientific theory. Good for them, they shouldnt accept anything blindly. But the scientific community draws conclusions based on evidence, not faith.
This is illustrated nowhere as succinctly as in the 2014 Bill Nye/Ken Ham debate over creationism, in which, asked the question, What would change your mind? Ham answered, Nothing, while Nye answered, Evidence.
I see in the same edition that white Christians are losing numbers, thus influence (Survey: White Christians minority of U.S. population). Im sure many will blindly attribute the loss to a love of sinfulness. The article doesnt really offer much evidence about why, but it may be found in the increasingly rigid evangelical interest in politics that Abernathy highlights.
Maybe dwindling numbers will dilute the influence of evangelicals and, at some point, America can once again take its place as the leader of the free world.
***
DIANA WARD, Boone
At a fair price
Brick and mortar stores are complaining because a lot of people are now going online to make purchases. If the physical stores carried what people need/want at a fair price, people would not go elsewhere to shop.
In spite of what Washington says about our economy, our economy is not all that good for the average, middle-class and poor person. And this is for those who have full-time jobs. For those who can only find a part-time position or no work at all, the financial picture grows dimmer.
When stores having a physical presence decide to carry what people want at a fair price, they may find their foot traffic and sales increasing.
Please submit letters online to Letters@wsjournal.com or mail letters to: The Readers Forum, P.O. Box 3159, Winston-Salem, NC 27102. Letters are subject to editing and are limited to 250 words. For more guidelines and advice on writing letters, go to journalnow.com/opinion/submit_a_letter.
Today
Partly cloudy. High 48F. Winds light and variable.
Tonight
Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low near 30F. Winds light and variable.
Tomorrow
Rain likely. High 41F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a half an inch.
09/11/2017
The National Hurricane Center released the following update on Tropical Storm Irma on Sept. 11 at 7:49 p.m.:
Tropical Storm Irma continues to move north northwestward from south central Georgia toward east Central Alabama. Large areas of light to moderate rainfall has spread north and west, covering all of Central Alabama. Strong winds have brought trees down across most counties in far east Central Alabama this afternoon, with measured wind gusts up to 40-45 mph. As Irma continues to move toward Central Alabama this evening, the pressure gradient will tighten across the area. Wind gusts up to 50-55 mph will be possible, especially in the higher elevations of east Central Alabama, through this evening.
Irma will gradually weaken, with the surface low filling and wind fields diminishing through the early morning hours Tuesday, as the center of Irma moves into north Alabama. Rainfall coverage will begin to end from south to north as dry air wraps around the west and south side of the system. The upper level low associated with Irma will remain over the Mid Mississippi River Valley through Wednesday, and will leave low rain chances in the forecast with lingering moisture across the area.
Learn more here.
[JURIST] Australias Coalition Party on Tuesday released a proposed bill to add extra protections to a same-sex marriage postal survey mailed out to the general public. The survey asks the public to vote [Guardian report] on whether same-sex marriage should be legalized, and all completed surveys must be sent back to the Australian Bureau of Statistics [official website] by November. During that voting period, under the proposed bill, vilifying, intimidating or threatening voters based on their sex, religion or personal views will be a punishable offense. The bill also prohibits any actions that may interfere with survey responses. Such punishable offenses may be subject to civil penalties, up to $12,600, or even court-ordered injunctions. Attorney General George Brandis [official profile] will have the power to veto lawsuits enforcing civil penalties and appear in cases regarding injunctions. Furthermore, communications regarding the postal survey will require authorization, and the media will be required to give equal opportunity for both sides of the national debate to express their views. The bill still requires approval from parliament before it can be put into action.
Same-sex marriage has become one of the most controversial issues in the recent past with the marriage equality movement making significant waves in the past two years. Last week, Australias High Court dismissed [JURIST report] a challenge to the postal survey which was brought forth by proponents of marriage equality and concerned the $122 million appropriated for the purpose of the mail-in ballot. Last month, Chile President Michelle Bachelet [official profile, PDF] introduced a bill [JURIST report] that would legalize same-sex marriage. Bachelet said, We believe that it is not ethical or just to place artificial limits on love or deny essential rights based solely on the sex of the partners. In July, Malta legalized [JURIST report] same-sex marriage. That same month, the UK Supreme Court awarded [JURIST report] equal pension rights to same-sex spouses. In June, the lower house of the German Parliament voted [JURIST report] 393-226 to legalize same-sex marriage. In April, Nigerian prosecutors in Kaduna charged [JURIST report] 53 men for celebrating an LGBTQ wedding in violation of the states law against unlawful assembly and the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act.
[JURIST] A Beijing intermediate court [backgrounder] sentenced two brothers to life in prison on Tuesday after ruling that the brothers peer-to-peer lending company, Ezubao, was a Ponzi scheme. One of the brothers, Ding Ning, was founder [Reuters report] of the company and chairman of the Anhui Yucheng Holdings Group. His crimes included illegal fundraising and smuggling precious metals. The Ponzi scheme collected the equivalent of over USD $9 billion from nearly one million investors, making it close to one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in modern Chinese history. Twenty-five others involved in scheme were also arrested for up to 15 years.
In January Chinas President Xi Jinping declared [JURIST report] that the nations battle against corruption must go deeper, stressing the need for the Communist Party to be governed systematically, creatively and efficiently. That month a former China Nation Petroleum general manager was sentenced [JURIST report] to 15 years in prison for corruption. In December the Chinese government announced [JURIST report] that it will prosecute Ma Jian, a former vice minister of Chinas Ministry of State Security, on bribery charges. That same month, the Chinese government also arrested [JURIST report] Iat Hong and Chin Hung of Macau, and Bo Zheng of China on cybersecurity allegations. In October 2015 a former chairman of CNPC was sentenced to 16 years in prison for corruption [JURIST report].
Iran's Supreme Leader has strongly condemned the killing of Muslims in Myanmar by the government.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the killing of Rohingya Muslims is a political disaster for Myanmar because it is being carried out by a government led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, whom he called a "brutal woman."
He urged Muslim countries to take practical steps to stop the violence and said they should "increase political, economic and commercial pressures on the government of Myanmar."
At least 313,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since Aug. 25, when Rohingya insurgents attacked police posts, prompting Myanmar's military to retaliate with what it called "clearance operations" to root out the rebels.
Myanmar authorities said more than a week ago that some 400 Rohingya, mostly insurgents, had died in clashes with troops, but it has offered no update. It has also blamed Rohingya for burning their own homes even though new fires were occurring after Rohingya fled.a
Search Keywords:
Short link:
Brizillian billionaire Joesley Batista, owner of JBS [corporate website], and executive Ricardo Saud surrendered to police on Sunday in Sao Paulo for allegedly withholding evidence [Reuters report] during their plea bargain negotiation in the corruption case against President Michel Temer [Britannica profile]. Batista is accused of making a secret recording of Temer in May which the president apparently admitted paying bribes to influential Brazilian politicians [BBC report]. Justice Fachin revoked immunity granted to Batista and Saud through the plea bargain, and ordered their arrest for a minimum of five days for failing to proffer all information related to crimes they confessed to in the plea bargain.
Brazil has endured tumultuous times during which former presidents have been caught in scandals [JURIST report] of receiving various bribes from various businesses. Brazil Attorney General Rodrigo Janot filed charges [press release, in Portuguese] against Temer [JURIST report] for passive corruption [JURIST report].Former president Dilma Rousseff was impeached for corruption [JURIST op-ed] last year amidst a time of economic turmoil. In April, a Brazil Supreme Court [official website] justice ordered investigations [JURIST report] into eight cabinet ministers and dozens of lawmakers who are allegedly linked to the countrys so-called car wash bribery scheme. Last August Brazils Senate voted to convict Brazils President Dilma Rousseff on charges [JURIST op-ed] that she used improper accounting to cover-up a growing budget deficit and illegal loans from state-owned banks.
California filed a lawsuit [complaint, PDF] on Monday against the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) [official website], alleging the rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) [USCIS materials] program is unconstitutional. The complaint alleges that DACAs rescission violates the Fifth Amendments Due Process and Equal Protection clauses, along with other allegations including violations of federal laws. The 37-page complaint emphasizes the benefits and purposes of DACA, stating in part:
According to the DACA Memorandum, DACAs purpose was to ensure that resources were appropriately allocated to individuals who were higher priorities for immigration enforcement, recognizing among other things that young people brought here as children lacked the intent to violate the law. DACA recognizes that there are certain young people who were brought to this country as children and know only this country as home and that immigration laws are not designed to remove productive young people to countries where they may not have lived or even speak the language.
California was joined in the lawsuit by Maine, Maryland and Minnesota.
California is not the first state to file suit over DACAs rescission. Last week, a group of 15 states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administrations decision [JURIST reports] to end the Obama-era DACA program. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra [official profile] filed a separate action than that of the other 15 states because one of every four DACA participants lives in California. The Trump administrations decision to disband [CNN report] DACA will affect nearly 800,000 young undocumented immigrants. No new undocumented immigrants may register under DACA, and the immigrants whose DACA documents are about to expire must renew by October 5, 2017. According to the administrations press release, current DACA recipients generally will not be impacted until after March 5, 2018, which will give Congress the opportunity to consider appropriate legislative solutions.
[JURIST] The Neubrandenburg state court announced on Tuesday that it is ending the trial of former SS medic Hubert Zafke after experts determined he is unfit to stand trial because of his dementia. Zafke, 96, was charged [AP report] with 3,621 counts of accessory to murder during his one month at Auschwitz. The trial, which was supposed to start in February 2016, was postponed [JURIST report] until the following September because the defendant had been determined unfit to stand trial due to medical problems. The trial was postponed [JURIST report] again in October because the prosecutors alleged that the judges were biased. Three judges were removed in June due to bias.
German courts have recently seen an increase of war crime charges against former members of the Nazi party. Prior to 2011, German prosecutors often chose not to charge individuals they regarded as cogs in, rather than active members of, the Nazi war machine. The 2011 conviction [JURIST report] of former Nazi guard John Demjanjuk may have emboldened German prosecutors to pursue cases against all those who materially helped Nazi Germany function. A court in Kiel, Germany, ruled in September 2016 that a 92-year-old woman charged with Nazi crimes is unfit to stand trial [JURIST report]. In 2014 German authorities imprisoned Oskar Groening, known as the accountant of Auschwitz, who was charged [JURIST report] as an accessory to the murder of 300,000 people. In 2015 Groening was given a four-year jail sentence for his role at Auschwitz, a sentence he said he would appeal [JURIST reports].
The Congress of Guatemala [official website, in Spanish] voted Monday against lifting immunity for President Jimmy Morales over allegations of illegal campaign financing.This development comes just after a Guatemala congressional committee recommended [JURIST report] that Morales immunity be voided to pave the way for an investigation into the matter by the countrys attorney general and the UN. According to the attorney general and head of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala [official website], Morales misappropriated [JURIST report] over $800,000 from his 2015 campaign. Julio Ixcamey, head of a five-member commission entrusted with the examination of the case, had stated on Monday that there was some evidence of unregistered campaign funds, but none linking Morales directly. Morales has thus far denied any wrongdoing.
Last week the Guatemala Supreme Court [official website, in Spanish] ruled that legislators must review a request to lift Moraless immunity from prosecution, after finding that that there was sufficient evidence [JURIST report] to transfer the case to Congress. It was after this ruling that the five-member commission was formed to review the case and vote on the matter. Prior to that ruling, in late August, the Guatemala Constitutional Court [official website, in Spanish] issued [JURIST report] an order blocking the expulsion of Ivan Velasquez, the head of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), within hours of the expulsion. Morales claimed that Velasquez misused his authoritative position by pressuring the legislative process and publicly accusing Guatemalans of violations without respecting their due process rights. However, according to a spokesperson for the US State Department [press release], Velasquez has acted as the lead in efforts to combat corruption and impunity in Guatemala for a decade. Soon after the expulsion order, US, Germany, Canada, Spain, France, UK, Sweden, Switzerland and the EU issued a joint statement condemning Moraless actions. Citizens, in protest of Morales, declared a state of siege in the capital, and some ministers resigned. Since the action to lift Moraless presidential immunity failed to attain the required two-thirds or 105 votes [Al Jazeera report], it is now considered suspended and can be reconsidered in a subsequent session of Congress.
Maldives authorities suspended 56 lawyers on Monday for signing and trying to submit a petition to the Supreme Court calling to uphold the rule of law. The petition cited court violations primarily in cases against opposition politicians. The Department of Judicial Administration (DJA) deemed the petition to be an unlawful document because it interfered with the judicial system by overstepping the systems procedures and rulings. The suspension applies [AP report] to one-third of the lawyers in practice in Maldives, and the DJA offered no opportunity for a hearing. Former Attorney General Husnu al-Suood [materials], who now heads the private Maldives Lawyers Association, was among those suspended. He said that the lawyers plan to challenge their suspension.
The Maldives government has generated significant controversy in recent years. Since coming to power in November 2013, Maldives President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom [official profile] has led a crackdown on political dissent. Last October Yameen signed into law a controversial bill criminalizing defamation with fines and jail terms despite widespread criticism. The UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression David Kaye issued a warning [JURIST report] condemning the bill approved by the Maldives parliament. In October 2014 the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights [official website] expressed concern [JURIST report] over the Supreme Courts prosecution of five members of the Maldives Human Rights Commission [official website]. In February 2014 the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers found that lawyers and judges in the Maldives are not adequately independent [JURIST report] from outside influence and called for a separation of powers between the parliament and court system. In November 2013 the Supreme Court suspended [JURIST report] the nations presidential election for the third time.
The British Parliament [official site] on Monday approved a bill [press release] to continue the process of withdrawal from the EU. The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill [official summary] passed by 326 votes to 290 after a lengthy debate [official summary] and allows for the continuation of Brexit despite the recent election [JURIST report] change. Prime Minister Theresa May released a statement on Facebook [text] saying the measure will allow for a stabilized withdrawal from the EU as they enter into official negotiations as it dictates the domestic law and legal framework. The bill will know go to committee to go through amendments and changes.
The UK has steadily began to unwind from the EU since the Brexit [JURIST report] vote last year. The UK Parliament published legislation[JURIST report] in July to sever political, financial and legal ties with the EU. The UK government also in July announced its withdrawal [JURIST report] from a fishing arrangement made with other countries allowing them to fish within the UK waters. European Commission Brexit Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier in May published the EUs proposed directives for the UKs departure from the EU, saying the highest priorities were citizens rights, financial settlement and border regulation
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein called [press release] the situation in Myanmar a textbook example of ethnic cleansing at the opening of the UN Human Rights Councils 36th regular session [press release] Monday.
During his oral presentation, Zeid addressed a lack of consistency in human rights policies, EU nonuniform voice in global human rights, and specifically addressed issues in several countries.
According to Zeid, in Myanmar, there is another brutal security operation being conducted in Rakhine State with blatant disregard for international law. Those same forces and local militias are burning Rohingya villages. In less than three weeks, more than 270,000 people fled to Bangladesh. However, authorities are placing landmines along the border. India is implementing measures to deport Rohingyas; about 40,000 Rohingyas have migrated to India with only 16,000 of them receiving refugee documentation. India has also opposed engagement with the human rights office and instead encouraged ill-treatment of minorities.
Zeid also noted that last month in Venezuela there was a report of security forces using excessive force against anti-government protestors. In Turkey, the human rights effort is deteriorating as freedom of speech and information access is being restricted.
Zeid also voiced concern about President Donald Trumps decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, stating that it has had a positive impact on young migrants.
The UN Security Council [official website] reached a unanimous decision on Monday to adopt a US-drafted resolution [press release] imposing a series of fresh new sanctions on North Korea. Among other things, these sanctions include a ban on the supply, sale or transfer of all natural gas liquids and condensates and exports of textiles, a preliminary three-month ban on direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer of all refined petroleum products beyond 500,000 barrels and a one-year ban beyond two million barrels, and a ban on all refined petroleum products. The sanctions also extend some of the existing sanctions, which call for the freezing of the assets of certain individuals and entities. Additionally, these sanctions call for the freezing of an additional individuals assets and those of three additional entities, a travel ban on these entities, and a prohibition on member states in regard to the provision of work authorization to North Korean nationals. In adopting the resolution, the Security Council strongly condemned North Koreas nuclear test earlier this month urging the country to immediately suspend all activities related to its ballistic missile and nuclear programmes in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner. US representative Nikki Haley warned to stop it ourselves if North Korea does not end its nuclear and ballistic missile programs stating that Half measures against the regime have not worked. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres [official website] welcomed the resolution stating [UN News Centre report] that This firm action by the Security Council sends a clear message that the DPRK must comply fully with its international obligations. Many countries including UK, France and Japan praised the resolution, while China hoped that the US would not use this as an opportunity to dispatch its military and change the Pyongyang regime
North Koreas actions toward nuclear capability have alarmed many countries around the world in recent months, and the US has viewed such actions as persistent provocation. The last time the UNSC slapped sanctions on North Korea was barely three months ago in June when it decided to expand [JURIST report] existing sanctions placed on North Korea and applied those sanctions to 14 individuals and four organizations. In May, JURIST Guest Columnist and former human rights officer of the US Department of State [official website] James P. Rudolph discussed [JURIST op-ed] the consequences of waiting for North Korea to use its nuclear weapons. Only two days earlier, North Korea launched [JURIST report] a short range missile, creating strain in the reunification efforts with South Korea. Earlier the same month, Moon Jae-in [official website], sworn in as the nineteenth president of South Korea sought international assistance [JURIST report] with North Korean weapons threats. In February, Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe [official website] and US President Donald Trump [official profile] appeared in a joint press conference in Palm Beach, Florida, strongly condemning [JURIST report] a North Korean ballistic missile test.
When should one warn of genocide? Was the UN right to raise the alarm in recent days about a genocidal pattern in the Central African Republic? Is there not a risk that invoking the crime of crimes too quickly could devalue the term genocide and reduce its power to raise the alarm?
In August, United Nations aid chief Stephen OBrien warned the UN Security Council that there were early signs of a genocide in the Central African Republic (CAR). He was criticized by nearly all experts on the country for being overly alarmist. Genocide is a precise concept, explained Didier Niewiadowski, jurist and former advisor to the French embassy in Bangui, in an interview with JusticeInfo. Is there currently a plan to systematically eliminate an ethnic or religious group, regardless of age or gender? The answer is no. On the other hand, we should be concerned about rising numbers of massacres of civilians in the extreme east and northwest of the country, which often have an inter-communal character. These crimes remain localized and are not at this point driven by a strategy of ethnic or religious cleansing. All the same, the danger of a national explosion has never been so high. Stephen OBrien nevertheless defended his use of the term genocide in a September 9 interview with French newspaper Liberation, saying that if we wait for proof of genocide, it will be too late to act.
So when should the highest alert be sounded? If the situation is bad, war crimes and massive human rights abuses have been taking place for years but do not fully meet the definition of genocide in Article 6 of the International Criminal Courts Statutes -- i.e. the "intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such" --, then should we refrain from such alerts?
Analysing from a semantic and legal point of view the use of the word genocide has a rather shocking aspect, as if the crime of crimes label is necessary to stir public opinion, the media and finally States.
Everyone agrees that the situation in the CAR is terrible. In a recent report, the UN meticulously documented war crimes committed between 2003 and December 2015. Today some 15 armed groups reign over four-fifths of a territory bigger than France, terrorizing the population and fighting for control of the countrys rich resources of gold, diamonds and other minerals. The massacres continue without end. To help the UN, France intervened with military operation Sangaris, but pulled out in October 2016. Since April this year the number of displaced people has risen by 50% to over 600,000. The government struggles to control Bangui and only manages to do so with the help of UN peacekeepers. And the UN struggles to fund its 12,000-strong force.
Peace plans have come and gone without ever being implemented, and this has brought growing lassitude and indifference on the part of the international community. The democratic election last year of President Faustin-Archange Touadera raised high hopes among the population of an end to the interminable civil war, but those hopes have faded as violence has increased.
In the coming weeks the situation in the CAR will be discussed in New York, and the discussions will focus on continuing the presence of MINUSCA, the UN force in the country. Hence the temptation for UN officials to play the ultimate card and cry genocide, in the hope of mobilizing States in the run-up to the discussions. And so it is both an admission of powerlessness and a cry for help.
Separate Russian and US-led coalition air strikes on Tuesday killed 28 civilians in Syria's eastern Deir Ezzor province, where rival offensives against the Islamic State (IS) militant group are under way, a monitor said.
"Coalition air strikes killed 12 members of a single family, among them five children, in a village on the eastern banks of the Euphrates River," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Russian air strikes in support of a separate Syrian government offensive against IS killed 16 civilians, including five children, northwest of Deir Ezzor city, he said.
Search Keywords:
Short link:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that the nuclear deal between world powers and Iran should be amended or canceled.
Speaking in Buenos Aires alongside Argentine President Mauricio Macri, Netanyahu said he wanted to correct the impression in recent media reports that Israel's position on the 2015 deal had softened.
"So let me take this opportunity and clarify. Our position is straightforward. This is a bad deal -- either fix it or cancel it. This is Israel's position."
Netanyahu has repeatedly taken aim at Iran since arriving in Argentina on Monday as the first sitting Israeli prime minister to visit Latin America.
He accused Tehran of operating "a terror machine that encompasses the entire world, operating terror cells in many continents, including Latin America."
"In the case of Iran, it's not only merely terror, it's also the quest for nuclear weapons that concerns us and should concern the entire international community."
In a veiled reference to the US and world powers' preoccupation with North Korea, he said: "We understand the danger of a rogue nation having atomic bombs."
Macri, who hosted Netanyahu at his Casa Rosada presidential palace, said the visit was "an important step" to improve commercial relations between their two countries.
As the Israeli government seeks partners and alliances, dozens of left-wing activists waving Palestinian flags protested Netanyahu's presence in Buenos Aires late Tuesday over his "bellicose and repressive policies" against the Palestinians.
- Business delegation -
Referring affectionately to Macri as "Mauricio, my friend," the Israeli leader said his visit marked the dawn of a new era -- "and not accidentally did we begin it here with you."
Netanyahu, who is accompanied by a 30-member delegation of Israeli business leaders, said Israel was an "innovation nation" eager to share opportunities with Argentina in agriculture, water, IT, cyber security and health.
The two presidents signed a series of agreements on social insurance, streamlining customs arrangements and police cooperation.
Macri also presented Netanyahu with some 140,000 historical documents and photographs from before and after World War II in digital form.
The documents will enable a deeper understanding of the Holocaust and crimes against humanity, Israel said.
On Monday, Netanyahu participated in a ceremony to remember victims of bomb attacks at the Israeli embassy in 1992, and at a Jewish community center in 1994.
The embassy attack killed 29 and injured 220, while the community center blast left 85 dead and 300 injured.
But some relatives of victims of the 1994 bombing refused an invitation to the event on Monday.
"Netanyahu did not come to commemorate the attack, but to increase business," said Diana Malamud, who heads a group called Active Memory.
"In these 23 years (since the bombing) Israel has been an observer, like any other country," and did not honestly help "search for the truth" behind the attack, she said.
During his stay in Buenos Aires, the Israeli premier was also to meet Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes, who traveled expressly to the Argentine capital for the meeting.
Following the two-day visit, Netanyahu will visit Colombia and Mexico before heading to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
Iraq's parliament voted on Tuesday to reject a controversial referendum on independence for Iraqi Kurds set for later this month, saying it is "unconstitutional" and a "threat" to the country's unity, according to a lawmaker who attended the session.
Iraq's Kurds plan to hold the referendum on Sept. 25 in three governorates that make up their self-ruled region as well as disputed areas that are controlled by Kurdish forces but claimed by Baghdad, including the oil-rich province of Kirkuk.
The parliament decision states that the referendum is a "threat to Iraq's integrity which is guaranteed by the constitution.... in addition to the civil peace and the regional security," lawmaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani said, reading from the resolution.
Al-Mashhadani said the ruling considers the polls "unconstitutional." It also requires that the central government "shoulder its responsibly to protect the unity of Iraq and to take all necessary measures to preserve that unity," he added.
All Kurdish lawmakers boycotted Tuesday's session, while Arab lawmakers voted in favor, he said. A breakdown for the vote was not immediately available.
Turkey and Iran, concerned about separatist leanings among their own Kurdish populations, are also opposed to the referendum, and the U.N. mission to Iraq has said it will not be "engaged in any way or form" in the vote.
Late last month, the ethnically-mixed Kirkuk province voted to join the Kurdish independence vote in a meeting boycotted by Arab and Turkmen councilmen.
Kurdish regional President Masoud Barzani, who is spearheading the independence vote, visited Kirkuk on Tuesday.
Oil-rich Kirkuk is home to a mix of Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen and Christians. Kurdish forces took control of the province and other disputed areas in the summer of 2014, when the Islamic State group swept across northern and central Iraq and the Iraqi armed forces crumbled.
Search Keywords:
Short link:
The Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah has declared victory in the Syrian war while Russia said government forces had driven militants from much of the country where President Bashar al-Assad's rule seemed in danger two years ago.
The comments from two Syrian government allies mark the most confident assessments yet of Assad's position in the war, though significant parts of the country remain outside the government's control. Russia's assertion that the army had won back 85 percent of Syria was dismissed by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. It said the government held 48 percent of Syria.
The government's most recent advances have recovered swathes of territory in eastern Syria from Islamic State, which is being targeted in the same region in a campaign waged by U.S.-backed Kurdish and Arab militias.
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, whose group has sent thousands of fighters to Syria, dismissed the fighting left to be done in Syria as "scattered battles".
"We have won in the war (in Syria)," he said in comments reported by the Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar.
Referring to Assad's opponents, Nasrallah said "the path of the other project has failed and wants to negotiate for some gains". The comments, made at a religious gathering, were confirmed to Reuters by a source familiar with the speech.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict, which has fractured Syria into a patchwork of areas and generated a refugee crisis of historic proportions, forcing millions of people into neighbouring states and Europe.
Military backing from Iran and Russia has proven critical to Assad in the war with insurgents including rebels who have been backed by Gulf Arab states, Turkey and the United States, which has decided to end a programme of covert support to rebels.
Rebel groups were making steady advances against Assad as recently as 2015, when the deployment of the Russian air force to Syria turned the tide in his favour.
Over the past year, Assad has crushed numerous pockets of rebel-held territory in the cities of Aleppo, Homs and Damascus, brokering local deals by which thousands of his opponents have been moved to remaining rebel-held enclaves of the country.
Ceasefires brokered by Russia, Turkey, Iran and the United States in remaining rebel-held areas of western Syria have freed up manpower on the government side, helping its advance east into the oil-rich province of Deir al-Zor.
Air Strikes
Government forces last week reached Deir al-Zor city, the provincial capital on the Euphrates River, breaking an Islamic State siege of a government-held pocket and a nearby air base.
"To date, 85 percent of Syria's territory has been cleared of the militants of illegal armed groups," the RIA news agency cited Alexander Lapin, chief of staff of the Russian military contingent in Syria, as saying.
Lapin made no reference to a swathe of territory held in northern Syria by an alliance of U.S.-backed militias - the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) which is led by the Kurdish YPG and is not at war with Assad. The Observatory said SDF-held territory amounts to 23 percent of Syria.
Lapin said Islamic State fighters are still in control of around 27,000 square km of Syria's territory.
"The liberation of (Deir al-Zor) city is proceeding," Lapin said. "Syrian troops are finalising the defeat of the ISIL group blocking the northern and southern districts of Deir al-Zor," he said. He said the assault was being led by General Suheil al-Hassan, a Syrian officer who has risen to prominence in the war.
The SDF, which is battling to defeat Islamic State in Raqqa city, has in recent days launched a separate offensive against Islamic State in Deir al-Zor province.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said air strikes likely to have been carried out by Russian warplanes killed 69 people since Sunday near the Euphrates River in Deir al-Zor.
The Russian Defence Ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Tuesday's report by the Britain-based monitoring group.
The Observatory, which identified the victims as civilians, said the air strikes had hit encampments on the western bank of the river and vessels crossing to the eastern side.
Syrian state television separately reported the army was conducting artillery and machine gun attacks on rafts carrying Islamic State militants to the eastern side of the river from their last positions in Deir al-Zor city.
"Only Escape Route"
"Their only escape route out of the city is through rafts on the river, and god willing, we will target them in the water before they get away," a commander said in a televised interview.
Aside from the territory held by the SDF and Islamic State, rebels still control a corner of the northwest, a corner of the southwest, an area near Damascus, and an area north of the city of Homs.
Syrian government attacks in the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta region near Damascus suggest Assad may yet try to recapture the remaining rebel-held areas of the west, including enclaves at the borders with Turkey, Jordan and Israel.
A major general in the Syrian Republican Guard interviewed by a state-run TV station from Deir al-Zor on Monday warned Syrians who had "run away or escaped from Syria to any other country" not to return.
Major General Issam Zahreddine, head of the 104 Brigade which was under IS-siege for three years in Deir al-Zor, later issued a clarification on his Facebook page, saying his warning had been directed only at people who had taken up arms.
Search Keywords:
Short link:
A vote by Iraq's parliament to reject the results of this month's Iraqi Kurdish independence vote was non-binding, a high-ranking Kurdish official told Reuters on Tuesday.
"The Kurdish parliament will definitely have a response to the resolution when it convenes on Thursday," said Hoshyar Zebari, former Iraqi foreign and finance minister and now a senior adviser to Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Massoud Barzani.
Zebari said Kurdish lawmakers would convene for the first time since October 2015.
Search Keywords:
Short link:
North Korea's top envoy to a leading U.N. disarmament body says his country "categorically" rejects a U.N. Security Council resolution imposing new sanctions over its nuclear and missile programs.
Ambassador Han Tae Song also lashed out at the United States during a plenary session of the U.N.'s Conference on Disarmament, saying North Korea denounces Washington's "evil intention" and would "make sure the U.S. pays a due price."
The comments Tuesday came as North Korea faced renewed criticism at the Geneva-based body of its recent ballistic missile and nuclear weapons tests. Peru's envoy, Maria Antonia Masana Garcia, said North Korea's ambassador to her country would be considered persona non grata.
U.S. Ambassador Robert Wood hailed the Security Council sanctions imposed Monday, saying "the international community will never accept North Korea as a nuclear weapons state."
Search Keywords:
Short link:
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel's comments about stopping arms exports to Turkey are not appropriate for a foreign minister, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday.
Gabriel said on Monday Berlin had put most arms exports to NATO partner Turkey on hold due to deteriorating human rights in Turkey. However German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday rejected a total ban.
Cavusoglu told reporters that Turkey found Merkel's stance more suitable, and added that attempts to drum up support by attacking Turkey ahead of Germany's election later this month would yield no result.
Search Keywords:
Short link:
Britain and the European Commission have "jointly agreed" to postpone the next round of Brexit negotiations by a week, the UK's Department for Exiting the European Union said Tuesday.
"The UK and the European Commission have today jointly agreed to start the fourth round of negotiations on September 25," a government spokesman said in a statement.
"Both sides settled on the date after discussions between senior officials in recognition that more time for consultation would give negotiators the flexibility to make progress in the September round," he said.
Negotiating teams for Britain and the EU had been due to reconvene in Brussels next week for a fourth round of talks.
An EU source in Brussels told AFP that "the UK political calendar" was the reason behind the postponement.
The last round of negotiations was held in late August and ended with each side blaming the other for the lack of progress.
The outstanding financial settlement of Britain's exit proved to be a major stumbling bloc.
The settlement is estimated at up to 100 billion euros in Brussels but at just 40 billion euros in London, according to reports there.
The EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier also voiced concern at London's proposal for the Irish border, insisting that Brussels would not let Britain use Ireland as a "test case for future EU-UK customs relations".
The EU has refused to broach any aspect of the future trade relationship until Brexit talks have achieved sufficient progress on citizen's rights, the Irish border and Britain's financial bill for leaving the EU.
Brexit bill passes first vote in British parliament
British MPs voted in favour of a bill Tuesday to end Britain's EU membership, a key moment for the government's Brexit strategy despite opposition accusations of an unprecedented power grab.
Lawmakers voted by 326 to 290 in favour of backing the legislation, after more than 13 hours of debate, which will now go forward for further scrutiny by MPs.
The bill is aimed at repealing the 1972 law through which Britain joined the bloc, transferring in bulk around 12,000 existing EU regulations onto the British statute books.
It is the next step in implementing last year's historic referendum vote to leave the EU, after Prime Minister Theresa May formally notified Brussels of Britain's withdrawal in March.
May's Conservative government won Tuesday's parliamentary vote thanks to its alliance with the Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).
The premier described the outcome as a "historic decision" which "gives certainty and clarity ahead of our withdrawal from the European Union".
"Although there is more to do, this decision means we can move on with negotiations with solid foundations and we continue to encourage MPs from all parts of the UK to work together in support of this vital piece of legislation," May said in a statement.
The main opposition Labour party had voiced its objection to the bill, arguing that its provisions to smooth the transfer of EU laws represent an unacceptable expansion of executive power.
Many EU regulations may need adjusting as they are transferred, and the bill proposes the broad use of existing "Henry VIII powers" that allow ministers to amend legislation without full parliamentary scrutiny.
Labour lawmaker Chris Bryant said such powers would lead to "a dangerous spiral of autocracy".
"It pretends to bring back power to this country, but it actually represents the biggest peace time power grab by the executive over the legislature, by the government over parliament, in 100 years," he told parliament.
A total of seven Labour MPs however rebelled against the party line and backed the bill.
Although the legislation has passed its first test, Conservative MPs have warned they could seek to amend the bill as it comes under further scrutiny in the coming weeks, amid concerns about its constitutional implications.
While most MPs have accepted that Brexit will happen, the shape of the European divorce remains unclear and May has been under pressure from all sides after losing her parliamentary majority in the June snap election.
The government plans to leave Europe's single market and customs union after Brexit but is seeking a transitional deal that would replicate existing arrangements until it agrees a new trade deal with the EU.
Labour wants to remain in the single market during the interim period following Brexit day, currently set for March 29, 2019, while a eurosceptic group of Conservatives is pressing May to make a clean break.
Such issues will need to be agreed with the EU, and the Repeal Bill does not propose any changes in policy.
But it does give ministers the power to implement the final Brexit deal without full parliamentary debate.
"It would be ministers who decided our new trade arrangements, customs arrangements and immigration rules, any deal on citizens' rights and much else," Labour Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer wrote in the Sunday Times newspaper.
Labour and trade unions also fear ministers may seek to change EU regulations on the environment and workers' rights as they transfer them into UK law.
"We are seriously concerned that the power-grab embodied in the bill will end up with worker's rights being watered down," Frances O'Grady, head of the Trades Union Congress umbrella body, told AFP.
Brexit Secretary David Davis denies this, saying the bill is a "pragmatic and sensible" way to deal with the huge amount of EU legislation that must be incorporated into British law.
"Without it, we would be approaching a cliff-edge of uncertainty which is not in the interest of anyone," he said.
Search Keywords:
Short link:
KEARNEY Fifty years after graduating from Kearney High School in 1967, the three class valedictorians were finally recognized for their academic achievement during their 50th class reunion in Kearney this past weekend.
Susan Houchin, Jim Lane, and Dick Oliver each graduated in 1967 with a perfect 1.000 grade-point average for maintaining all As during their three years (grades 10-12) at Kearney High School. However, because all three students had tied for top academic honors, the high schools principal at the time, Gerald Brummer, recommended to the Board of Education not to bestow any valedictorian or salutatorian honors to the graduates, claiming a three-way tie would diminish the awards prestige.
KHS 1967 alumni, led by senior class President Chuck Wolf and Secretary/Treasurer Charlotte Wilken Webb, appealed to current Kearney High School Principal Dr. Jay Dostal who cited current school policy that now recognizes all honorees who tie for academic achievement awards.
During the 50th class reunion Saturday at Holiday Inn, Wolf and Webb presented valedictorian certificates signed by Dostal and medals of honor from their KHS 1967 classmates recognizing the academic achievements of Houchin, Lane, and Oliver. Houchin and Lane attended the 50th reunion and received the awards in person, plus a standing ovation from their 110 classmates, spouses and guests.
Oliver was unable to attend the 50th reunion but will receive his award later this month.
KEARNEY While complaining that a $1.5-million loss in state aid heaps a larger burden on property taxpayers, the Kearney Public Schools Board of Education approved a fiscal 2018 budget of $84,455,304 Monday.
The vote was 4-1, with Board member Angela Nickel saying her vote against the budget was a message to state lawmakers to fix Nebraskas formula for distributing state aid.
"I dont think raising the levy is the answer. We keep putting obligations on our local property taxpayers," Nickel said.
Voting for the budget were Board President Dave Glover and members Julie Agard, Tim Higgins and Kathy Gifford. Board member Alex Straatmann was absent.
The fiscal 2018 budget carries a levy of $1.21 per $100 of assessed valuation. The owner of a home valued at $200,000 will pay $2,420 in KPS property taxes in 2018, compared with $2,400 this year, when the KPS levy was at $1.20.
Glover said he expects KPS to lose even more state aid in 2019 because of the aid formula and because state revenues could decline as a result of Nebraskas struggling ag economy.
Glover said KPS will be careful to continue its commitment to students and a quality faculty while striving to keep class sizes small and teacher salaries competitive.
"Were going to look at ways to cut costs, but were also going to prioritize how we spend our money," Glover said.
Gifford, Agard and Higgins complained that lawmakers arent listening to school administrators or elected school board members asking for fixes to the state aid formula.
"There is inequity across the board," Gifford said. "I dont think legislators will listen to us until community members speak up. Its important they do that."
According to KPS Finance Director Chris Nelson, the 2018 budget of $84,455,304 is down almost 10 percent from this years budget of $93,082,220.
Nelson said that the $7.9 million in state aid KPS is slated to receive in 2018 is the least in the last 20 years, reflecting a decline of $1.5 million, of which $1.2 million is aid lost because of a change in the states distribution formula.
Nelson said the district will need to tap its $12 million cash reserves by $132,693 to make up for the losses in aid.
Also, KPS will reduce its facilities and maintenance budget by about $1 million because construction now is complete on the new Kearney High School and the district isnt funding any big projects.
Nelson said the cuts in the facilities and maintenance budgets will make up some of the loss in aid.
"Because of that substantial loss in state aid, thats what I can cut from the budget from a discretionary standpoint," he said.
Property taxes will cover $44.4 million of KPSs expenses in 2018. This year, KPS used $42.2 million in property taxes.
The KPS tax base stands at $3.7 billion in assessed value.
The general fund budget will be $56,547,000 for fiscal 2018. About 85 percent of that amount, or $48 million, goes to staffing costs, Nelson said.
He said the 2018 budget contains $20 million for additions and remodeling at Northeast and Buffalo Hills elementary schools and assorted projects at other buildings. About $8 million will go to bond repayment.
KPSs fiscal 2018 budget includes a pay increase of 3 percent for faculty, administrators and support staff and 4 percent for hourly employees. The base pay for a new teacher will be $34,492.
KPS employs 850 people.
Egypts telecoms operators will begin offering high-speed 4G mobile broadband services in September, telecomunication minister Yasser ElKady said on Monday.
The government had sold four 4G licenses in 2016 as part of a plan to reform the telecoms sector and raise dollars for stretched government finances.
The ministry would offer more wireless frequencies for sale at an unspecified later date, the minister told journalists.
Search Keywords:
Short link:
LINCOLN -- U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos will visit with staff and students at the Science Focus Program in Lincoln on Thursday, Lincoln Public Schools officials have confirmed.
DeVos visit to Nebraska will be part of a multistate tour of schools with innovative approaches to education.
Lincolns Science Focus Program known as the Zoo School is part of a partnership with the Lincoln Childrens Zoo and offers many science-centric courses to high-schoolers.
Our school district looks upon this visit as an exciting opportunity to share information about our Science Focus Program and our fine Lincoln Public Schools public education system with the U.S. Secretary of Education, said Lincoln Superintendent Steve Joel. The students at Lincoln Public Schools have a wide variety of options and possibilities for their public education: through a rich array of LPS programs, as well as partnerships with local business and industry, higher education institutions, and private and parochial schools.
DeVos office also contacted two other schools about potential visits: Bryan High School in Bellevue, part of the Omaha Public Schools, and the private Nelson Mandela Elementary School in north Omaha. Tours of those schools have not been confirmed yet.
More details about DeVos visit to Lincoln will be released later this week, said Mary Kay Roth, a spokeswoman for LPS.
The Lincoln Childrens Zoo will close all day on Thursday.
DeVos Rethink School tour starts today in Wyoming. There, shell visit a teacher-led K-8 school in Casper and St. Stephens Indian High School on the Wind River Reservation.
Shell also visit schools in Colorado, Kansas, Missouri and Indiana to highlight teachers or programs taking an outside-the-box approach to education.
LINCOLN Gov. Pete Ricketts issued a statement Monday following news that Vietnam has granted American distillers grains market access.
Recently, Vietnam lifted its ban on imports of distillers grains. Distillers grains had been subject to a ban for the last nine months after claims that supplies had been contaminated with warehouse beetles.
I am pleased to learn that Vietnam has lifted a nine-month ban of American distillers grains, Ricketts said. Nebraska is the second-largest ethanol-producing state, and with ethanol production comes the production of distillers grains.
According to a press release from Ricketts, in 2015 Nebraska exported more than $19 million in distillers grains to Vietnam.
This news will help create marketing opportunities for distillers grains and provide opportunities for Nebraskas ethanol industry and our corn farmers, Ricketts said.
Before the ban, Vietnam was the third-largest market for American distillers grains.
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!
Go to form
FILE- In this Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017 file photo, Rupert Murdoch waits for the start of the men's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis tournament between Rafael Nadal, of Spain, and Kevin Anderson, of South Africa, in New York. The British government said, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2017, it is referring Twenty-First Century Fox Inc.'s bid for satellite broadcaster Sky to the country's competition regulator, in a blow to Rupert Murdoch's takeover plans. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)
Egypts net foreign direct investment (FDI) rose by 14.5 percent to $7.9 billion in the 2016-2017 fiscal year that ended on June 30, the central bank said.
That was well below Egypts target of $10 billion as the north African country continues to struggle to attract foreign investment following a 2011 uprising.
There was a $2.3 billion rise in net inflows for oil sector investments to $4 billion, the bank said in a statement.
Egypt paid about $2.2 billion in arrears owed to foreign oil companies in the second half of 2016-2017, which helped attract investors to the sector.
Search Keywords:
Short link:
Traffic controller Richard Labrie leaves the courtroom during a break on the second day of jury selection, Tuesday, September 12, 2017 in Sherbrooke, Que. Three ex-railway employees - train driver Thomas Harding, and Jean Demaitre, manager of train operations and Labrie - face 47 counts of criminal negligence causing death stemming from the 2013 railway crash in Lac Megantic Quebec that killed 47 people.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
B.C. Finance Minister Carole James passes a letter from Lt.-Gov. Judith Guichon before delivering the budget as Premier John Horgan looks on from the legislative assembly at Legislature in Victoria, B.C., on Monday, September 11, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
In an Aug. 21, 2017 photo, a pipe fitter lays the finish finishing touches to the replacement of Line 3 stretch before it is covered up. Enbridge already has started building the 14-mile stretch of Line 3 from the Minnesota line to its terminal in Superior, Wis. In filings with the Public Utilities Commission Monday, Sept. 11, The Minnesota Department of Commerce says Enbridge Energy has failed to establish the need for its proposal to replace its aging Line 3 crude oil pipeline across northern Minnesota. Instead, the department says it might be better to just shut down the existing line. (Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune via AP)
Something went wrong, please try again later.
Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later.
Stay up to date with all the Dover news with our weekly email, as well as getting all the latest breaking news delivered directly to your inbox
The Brexit Repeal Bill was voted through the House of Commons after a two-day debate and the Kent vote probably won't come as a surprise.
The Bill moves existing EU laws on to the UK statue book to give businesses and citizens certainty for when Britain leaves the EU. And it passed its first Parliamentary hurdle by 36 votes - 326-290.
But how did your MP vote?
Every Kent MP - except one - voted for David Davis' bill when The House until past midnight for the crunch vote.
Labour MP for Canterbury Rosie Duffield, who was the only politician in Kent to vote against the bill, deemed it a 'power grab.'
She said: "It was an unprecedented power grab from the conservative executives and I could not condone the oversight on future policy making.
"I voted against and I am disappointed the vote didnt go our way but I will do my best to take it back to the committees."
Craig Mackinlay, MP for South Thanet, gave a speech to the house on the second reading of the European Union (Withdrawal) bill yesterday (September 11) and spoke passionately in support of it.
He said: "The electorate are very wary of shenanigans. We cannot afford to create failure, and it is our responsibility to make this a success.
"I am happy to trust the Government by supporting Second Reading tonight, but I would very much like to hear more about their proposals for restoring one of this nation's finest treasures our very positive fishing grounds, which have the potential to benefit our communities and should never have been taken away.
"The whole issue of our fishing policy encompasses a lot of what was wrong with our membership of the European Union, which would not listen to us.
"The Bill represents a great opportunity for our coastal communities. I intend to deliver a good fishing policy for our under-10 metre fleet, which is particularly prevalent in Ramsgate, so I will support this Bill tonight."
Two men in their 70s were killed when the muscle car they were speed testing went off the runway at a central Colorado airport and flipped end-over-end.
Chaffee County officials say the crash happened Friday afternoon near Buena Vista.
Investigators say 71-year-old Lynd Fitzgerald of Colorado Springs and his passenger, 76-year-old Roger Lichtenberger of San Marcos, California, sped down the runway in a 2016 Dodge Challenger Hellcat and traveled another 314 feet (96 meters) off the runway before going airborne over a ravine. The car hit the ground and flipped end over end. Both men died at the scene.
Sheriff John Spezze says the men had permission to use the runway and had likely reached speeds above 100 mph (161 kilometers per hour). He believes they were traveling too fast when they reached the end of the runway.
By Nicole Pinto
Sept 12 (Reuters) - Australian shares tracked Wall Street higher on Tuesday, led by gains for financials, as sentiment was boosted after hurricane Irma was downgraded to a tropical storm and caused less damage than initially feared.
Investors were also pondering sanctions imposed on North Korea by the United Nations Security Council over the country's sixth and most powerful nuclear test on Sept. 3, though there was relief Pyongyang had not test-fired any missiles during the weekend to mark the founding of the reclusive state. The S&P/ASX 200 index was cheered by strength on Wall Street, rising 0.8 percent or 43.451 points to 5756.6 by 0233 GMT. The benchmark gained 0.7 percent on Monday. "The reason for the move is because of the strong lead we had from Wall Street overnight, where financials were amongst the best performers in America and that's all driven by the relief from hurricane Irma not being as bad as what everyone had been anticipating," said Christopher Conway, head of research at brokerage Australian Stock Report
Financials led the gains on the benchmark, with the sectors index on track to close higher for a second consecutive day.
The S&P/ASX 200 Financials gained as much as 1.6 percent helped by the 'big four' banks and Macquarie Group Ltd , which climbed between 1.3 percent and 2.7 percent.
Macquarie, Australia's biggest investment bank, said on Monday that it expects first-half net profit to top year-ago result thanks to better performance fees. Base metal prices rebounded on Monday and drove up material stocks with South32 Ltd gaining as much as 3.2 percent to an all time high. Spot iron ore on the Dalian Commodity Exchange also rose, despite an overnight fall in Chinese iron ore futures to their weakest level in almost a month. Iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group Ltd gained as much as 2.1 percent.
As investor appetite for risk showed signs of picking up, safe haven assets like gold extended losses and dragged on mining companies such as Newcrest Mining Ltd , down as much as 2.4 percent, and Regis Resources Ltd off much as 5 percent. New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.1 percent, or 8.91 points, to 7842.84, snapping a four day winning streak.
Auckland International Airport Ltd fell 1.1 percent while Sky Network Television lost as much as 2.9 percent.
For more individual stocks activity click on (Reporting by Nicole Pinto additional reporting by Chandini Monnappa in Bengaluru; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
SEOUL, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Foreign investors ended a seven-month long buying spree and turned into net sellers of South Korean bonds in August as many redeemed their holdings at maturity, official data showed on Tuesday.
Offshore investors' bond holdings decreased by a net 2.2 trillion won ($1.94 billion) in August, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). In July, there was a net increase of 2.7 trillion won.
FSS said that redemption of monetary stabilisation bonds (MSBs) at maturity more than offset new purchases.
During August, investors in Europe trimmed 1.6 trillion won worth of South Korean bonds, while those in North America cut 1.1 trillion won.
By region, investors from Asia remained the largest, holding 41.8 trillion won of domestic bonds. Investors in Europe and North America held 34.6 trillion won and 11.7 trillion won, respectively.
By category, investors held 81.1 trillion won of treasury bonds and 22.5 trillion won of MSBs as of end-August.
Last month, foreign investors also turned into sellers of domestic stocks amid escalating tensions in the Korean peninsula due to North Korea's actions. They unloaded a net 2.4 trillion won during August after buying a net 5.8 trillion won worth a month earlier. ($1 = 1,131.87 won)
(Reporting by Dahee Kim; Editing by Richard Borsuk)
(Updates to close)
Sept 12 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose to a three-week high on Tuesday, lifted by financial and material sectors, as they benefited from Wall Street's strength after Hurricane Irma was downgraded to a tropical storm and caused less damage than initially feared.
Investors were also pondering sanctions imposed on North Korea by the United Nations Security Council over the country's sixth and most powerful nuclear test on Sept. 3, though there was relief Pyongyang had not test-fired any missiles during the weekend to mark the founding of the reclusive state. The S&P/ASX 200 index added 0.6 percent, or 33.251 points, to 5746.4 for its best close since Aug. 22. The benchmark index extended Monday's rise.
Among the gainers, Commonwealth Bank of Australia led the financial sector higher with a 2.2 percent gain, while the remaining 'big four' banks gained between 0.8 percent and 1.4 percent.
Macquarie Group , Australia's biggest investment bank, jumped 2.3 percent after it said on Monday that it expects first-half net profit to top its year-ago result thanks to better performance fees. Material stocks gained as financial markets responded positively to easing of Hurricane Irma that caused Aluminium led Chinese metals futures higher. Steel and iron ore futures in China also advanced as demand remained intact in the world's top consumer. Mining giants BHP Billiton Ltd and Rio Tinto gained 1.2 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively.
South32 Ltd rose 3.9 percent to end the session at a record high.
As investor appetite for risk showed signs of picking up, safe haven assets like gold hit their lowest in over a week on Tuesday and capped gains in related stocks.
Newcrest Mining Ltd lost 1.9 percent while Regis Resources Ltd slumped 5 percent.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.1 percent, or 11.34 points, to finish the session at 7840.41.
The industrial sector was the biggest drag on the index, with Auckland International Airport Ltd down 1.4 percent and Air New Zealand Ltd off 0.7 percent.
The energy sector fell as Z Energy Ltd dropped 1.7 percent.
(Reporting by Nicole Pinto in Bengaluru; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
COPENHAGEN, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Iceland's government on Tuesday presented a draft 2018 budget focused on using the country's current strong economy to bring down its debt.
"It is important that the public sector take advantage of the favourable climate to reduce debt, rein in expenditure growth contributing to expansion, and ensure a surplus in public sector operations," the Finance Ministry said in a statement.
Iceland's gross treasury debt decreased by almost 200 billion crowns ($1.88 billion) in the first half of 2017, and is expected to decrease by around 36 billion in 2018.
The gross central government debt level is expected to be reduced from the current 35.8 percent to below 30 percent by 2019, the Finance Ministry said.
Iceland's gross domestic product grew 3.4 percent in the second quarter of 2017 from the same period the previous year, the Icelandic statistics office said on Friday. ($1 = 106.4300 Icelandic Crowns)
(Reporting by Copenhagen newsroom) Keywords: ICELAND ECONOMY/
(Refiles to include full name of law firm in paragraph 3, to Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer from Arnold and Porter)
By John McCrank
NEW YORK, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Demand for exchange-traded funds that would provide exposure to cryptocurrencies like bitcoin is strong, but regulators will likely wait until the underlying market matures more before approving such products, a panel of securities industry experts said on Friday.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rejected the first U.S. ETF tracking bitcoin in March after a three-year review process, but a month later the regulator said it would revisit the ruling. "I didn't see an outright, 'bitcoin, we hate it, we won't do it,'" said Kathleen Moriarty, a partner at law firm Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer who helped develop the first U.S. ETF.
"It was more, 'it's bitcoin, it's still a little funky, let's wait,'" she said at an ETF event in Washington DC hosted by the SEC and New York University.
Virtual currencies can be used to move money around the world quickly and with relative anonymity, without the need for a central authority, such as a bank or government.
But they also present risks to investors given their limited adoption, a number of massive cybersecurity breaches affecting cryptocurrency owners and exchanges, and the lack of consistent treatment of the assets by governments.
For instance, China on Monday banned initial coin offerings (ICOs), where digital currencies are sold publicly and then often traded on secondary exchanges, and the price of bitcoin plunged more than 10 percent as a result.
That sort of price volatility is at the heart of the problem of creating cryptocurrency-tracking ETFs, said Ananth Madhavan, head of global ETF research at Blackrock .
The SEC in July deemed tokens issued through ICOs, which have help startup companies raise more than $1 billion this year, can be considered securities, making them subject to disclosure laws and regulatory scrutiny to protect investors. The SEC also said this week it has a number of active investigations into firms that have claimed to be in the digital currency business. Despite such hurdles, interest in creating cryptocurrency-based ETFs is strong, said Laura Morrison, Global Head of Exchange Traded Products at CBOE Holdings Inc's Bats exchange, the would-be listing venue for the bitcoin ETF under review by the SEC.
She said she gets three to five calls a week from prospective issuers wanting to explore cryptocurrency-based ETFs.
"The progress seems slow, there is no doubt about it, but the importance of proper regulation will help to pave this road," she said.
(Reporting by John McCrank; editing by Clive McKeef)
MOSCOW, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Russia's finance ministry will launch on Wednesday a new issue of its popular OFZ bonds worth a total of 15 billion roubles ($262.51 million) which are designated for direct sale to private persons, the ministry said in a statement.
State-controlled lenders Sberbank and VTB will act as agents selling the new paper to the population.
The nominal value of the bonds, which are due to mature on Sept. 16, 2020, is 1,000 roubles. Yields on the bonds will gradually rise from 7.0 percent annual on the first coupon to 10.1 percent on the sixth, and last, one.
The issue is part of the government's programme of domestic borrowing aimed to bridge the fiscal gap. ($1 = 57.1398 roubles)
(Reporting by Dmitry Solovyov; editing by Katya Golubkova)
HANOI, Sept 12 (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 0556 GMT.
September 12 USD/VND mid-point 22,434 USD/VND interbank 22,725/22,726 USD/VND unofficial 22,725/22,740 SJC gold (mln dong/tael) 36.53/36.75
Interbank offered rates Overnight 0.5-1.1
1 week 0.9-1.2
1 month 1.4-1.9
3 months 3.0-3.6
NOTES: As of Jan. 4, 2016, the State Bank of Vietnam has begun setting the mid-point rate on daily basis, allowing dollar/dong transactions to move in a band of +/- 3 percent around the mid point. The dong's exchange rate against other currencies is not restricted by a band. Interbank offered rates are the latest indicative bid/ask prices, quoted from market sources.
One tael is equivalent to 37.5 grams or 1.21 troy ounces. SJC gold prices are quoted by state-owned Saigon Jewelry Co.
For more interbank rate fixings released at 0400 GMT, click on .
For Vietnam market overview click on: Vietnam's bonds market auctions: Bonds auction results: (Compiled by Hanoi Newsroom; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
LONDON, Sept 12 (Reuters) - The gap between Spanish and Italian government borrowing costs narrowed to its tightest level in more than two months on Tuesday on growing investor concerns over an upcoming independence vote in the Spanish region of Catalonia. Around one million Catalans rallied in Barcelona on Monday, waving red and yellow striped flags and banging drums, in a show of support for independence after Madrid moved to block a referendum on the region's split from Spain. The Spain-Italy 10-year government bond yield spread tightened to 50.7 basis points on Tuesday, the tightest level since June 27. (Reporting by Abhinav Ramnarayan; Editing by Saikat Chatterjee)
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.
The following Spanish stocks may be affected by newspaper reports and other factors on Tuesday. Reuters has not verified the newspaper reports, and cannot vouch for their accuracy:
ACS CIMIC Group, a unit of Hochtief controlled by Spain's ACS , was awarded a 1.9 billion dollar contract for the Melbourne suburban network. CMIC's Leighton Asia also won a 470 million Australian dollar sewerage system project CODERE Codere booked a net loss of 3.1 million euros in the second quarter compared to a loss of 1.13 billion euros in the same period year ago. For today's European market outlook double click on .
For real-time moves on the Spanish blue-chip index IBEX please double click on For IBEX constituent stocks highlight .IBEX in the command box and press the F3 button on your keyboard
For latest news on Spanish stock moves double click For Spanish language market report double click on For latest Eurostocks report please double click on (Madrid Newsroom)
BERLIN, Sept 12 (Reuters) - The euro zone bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), sold 996 million euros of 8-year bonds on Tuesday, with a bid to cover ratio of 6.1, Bundesbank data showed. AUCTION DATE 12/09/17 AVG YIELD 0.4 pct LOWEST ACCEPTED PRICE 100.74 TOTAL BIDS 6.089 bln euros NON-COMPETITIVE BIDS 3.978 bln euros ALLOTTED 0.996 bln euros BID COVER RATIO 6.1 The auction details can be found at (Reporting by Berlin Newsroom)
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.
ISTANBUL, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Here are news, reports and events that may affect Turkish financial markets on Tuesday.
The lira stood at 3.4140 against the U.S. dollar at 0457 GMT, easing from 3.4085 at Monday's close.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year bond was at 10.63 percent in spot trade on Monday and dipped to 10.61 percent in Tuesday-dated trade.
The main BIST 100 share index rose 0.93 percent to 109,458.01 points on Monday.
GLOBAL MARKETS
Asian shares hit a 10-year peak on Tuesday with investors breathing a sigh of relief as North Korean fears eased slightly and the worst-case scenario from Hurricane Irma looked to have been avoided. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.2 percent to its highest level since late 2007. Japan's Nikkei added 1.0 percent. U.S. RELATIONS
Turkey said on Monday its former economy minister, indicted in the United States for conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions on Iran, acted within international law and that charges against him amounted to a coup attempt through American courts. Former minister Zafer Caglayan "has protected Turkey's interests as Turkish economy minister, and has acted within the laws of our country and international laws while doing that," government spokesman Bekir Bozdag said. GERMANY
Germany has put all major arms exports to Turkey on hold due to the deteriorating human rights situation in the country and increasingly strained ties to its NATO ally, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Monday. ERDOGAN
President Tayyip Erdogan will meet Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani (1000 GMT) and Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif (1200 GMT) at the presidential palace.
FOREIGN MINISTER
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will hold a joint news conference with his Pakistani counterpart.
EU AFFAIRS MINISTER
European Union Affairs Minister Omer Celik will hold talks with British ministers Boris Johnson and Alan Duncan.
FINANCE MINISTER
Finance Minister Naci Agbal will attend an international economic development conference at the Istanbul stock exchange.
TREASURY AUCTIONS
The Treasury will tap a five-year, fixed-coupon bond maturing on Aug. 17, 2022 and a 10-year, CPI-indexed bond maturing on July 7, 2027.
For other related news, double click on:
Turkish politics Turkish equities Turkish money Turkish debt Turkish hot stocks Forex news All emerging market news All Turkish news For real-time quotes, double click on:
Istanbul National-100 stock index , interbank lira trading , lira bond trading (Writing by Daren Butler)
NEW YORK, Sept 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday sold $20 billion of 10-year notes at a yield of 2.18 percent, the lowest since November, due to below-average demand from fund managers, foreign central banks and other indirect bidders, Treasury data showed. The Treasury allotted indirect bidders 55.28 percent of the latest 10-year note supply , their smallest share at a 10-year auction in 10 months. At the previous 10-year auction, it awarded 57.93 percent to this group of bidders. (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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.
By Ed Stoddard
JOHANNESBURG, Sept 12 (Reuters) - A senior union official was shot dead outside an Impala Platinum (Implats) mine on Tuesday in South Africa's Rustenburg area, the focus of a surge of violence that has unnerved investors.
The branch treasurer with the powerful Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) was "gunned down in cold blood" as he left the mine, 100 km (60 miles) west of Johannesburg, to get food, his organisation said in a statement.
It did not give details on any motives for the attack, which was confirmed by Implats. Police were not immediately available for comment.
Labour and social strife in South Africa's platinum belt, the source of more than 70 percent of known reserves of the precious metal, has piled pressure on an industry already hit by depressed prices.
Rustenburg has seen periodic spasms of labour violence including shootings since AMCU dislodged the once dominant National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) as the main union in the sector five years ago.
AMCU president Joseph Mathunjwa told Reuters there had been other attacks in the Rustenburg area.
"A month ago a branch leader at Lonmin had an attempt on his life as well," Mathunjwa said. Another AMCU member at Lonmin, who had been dismissed but was appealing the decision, was shot dead shortly after, he added.
Mathunjwa said he would not speculate on the motives behind the incidents.
Lonmin spokeswoman Wendy Tlou confirmed that an AMCU member at the mine had recently been shot and was now recovering out of hospital while another who was no longer an employee had been shot and killed.
In August 2012, police shot dead 34 AMCU members during a violent wildcat strike at Lonmin's Marikana operation, the bloodiest security incident in the post-apartheid era.
(Reporting by Ed Stoddard; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
* Proportion of arrears 90-plus days 7.2 pct vs 7.1 pct
* 720-day arrears account for 90 percent owed on accounts
* Government to launch revised "mortgage to rent" scheme
(Adds details on revised mortgage-to-rent scheme)
By Padraic Halpin
DUBLIN, Sept 12 (Reuters) - The number of Irish homeowners whose mortgages were in arrears continued to decline in the second quarter, but the pace of the decline slowed, as the government prepared a new scheme to offer those in most distress a sustainable solution.
Ireland's economy has recovered rapidly since it emerged from an international bailout four years ago, but the legacy of the crisis is still evident in the 7.1 percent of homeowners whose mortgages remain more than 90 days in arrears, almost a decade after a property-market crash.
Although that is down from a peak of 12.9 percent in 2013, the proportion in arrears fell only slightly in the second quarter from the first quarter's 7.2 percent. Most of those are more than two years behind in payments, central bank data showed on Tuesday.
The policy of successive governments in Ireland has been to keep families in their homes where possible. Repossessions are rare by international standards, with lenders pushed to restructure loans or sell them to non-bank entities.
Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy said on Friday that he would offer a revised "mortgage to rent" scheme by the end of the month, where private firms could buy distressed mortgages and offer the homeowner security of tenure at a rent they can afford, with the state paying the balance.
The government hopes that by widening the eligibility and offering investors a state guarantee, it can reverse the low participation when the scheme began in 2012, particularly among the 32,000 accounts now in arrears over 720 days.
That was down quarter-on-quarter and from a peak of 38,000 two years ago. However, those homeowners represented 90 percent of the total 2.7 billion euros owed in arrears, an average of 76,500 euros per borrower.
"We believe that the mortgage-to-rent scheme will play an important role in the resolution of long-term mortgage arrears, reducing potential repossessions and thereby limiting the need for additional state housing," Diarmaid Sheridan, an analyst at Davy Stockbrokers, wrote in a note.
"From a bank's perspective, the scheme will also assist in reducing non-performing exposures at a time when institutions are under regulatory pressure to reduce their exposure to non-performing loans."
Analysts at Goodbody Stockbrokers said that while the revised scheme would not be transformative, it would offer banks a helpful alternative to further restructurings and disposals.
(Editing by Larry King)
* Central bank says no legitimacy for consultations - papers
* Opposition demands Mkhwebane quits
* Mkhwebane spokeswoman says no conspiracy, guided by law
(Adds more details)
By Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo
JOHANNESBURG, Sept 12 (Reuters) - South Africa's anti-graft watchdog consulted President Jacob Zuma's legal advisers on a proposal to change the central bank's mandate, the bank said in court papers, describing her lack of disclosure of the meeting as a "glaring omission".
Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane, whose job is to ensure proper conduct in public office, triggered a political row and a plunge in the rand when she proposed changes to the mandate in June to promote growth rather than currency and price stability.
The central bank's General Counsel, Johannes De Jager, said in an affidavit filed to the High Court on Monday that Mkhwebane was required under the constitution to conduct her investigations independently and impartially, and discussions with the presidency destroyed that independence.
"There is no legitimate basis on which this ought to have been discussed with the presidency," De Jager said in the affidavit.
Mkhwebane is not accused of breaking the law, pending a ruling by the court. She is expected to file an answering affidavit with the court to respond to the accusations.
A presidency spokesman was not immediately available for comment. Mkhwebane's spokeswoman Cleopatra Mosana said her consultations with the presidency were "guided by the law" and not part of any "conspiracy".
However, the main opposition Democratic Alliance said the consultation undermined her independence and it would be asking parliament to remove her as Public Protector.
"The DA has, from the get go, had serious doubts as to Mkhwebane's suitability for the vital role of Public Protector. She has confirmed these doubts," the party said in a statement.
"NOTHING SINISTER"
Mkhwebane made the proposal to change the central bank's mandate as she announced her findings that the apartheid government that ended in 1994 had breached the constitution by supplying Bankorp, which was bought by Absa in 1992, with a series of bailouts from 1985 to 1995.
Absa is now owned by Barclays Africa Group and Mkhwebane said the bank had to pay 1.125 billion rand ($87 million).
The central bank challenged in the High Court both recommendations - that its mandate be changed and that Absa pay the money.
While the court in August quashed Mkhwebane's proposal to change the central bank's mandate, the issue of the bailout is still before the court.
It is unclear why Mkhwebane included the recommendations on monetary policy at the end of an investigation into Bankorp.
However, De Jager said Mkhwebane met Zuma's legal advisers and the State Security Agency before releasing her findings.
Mkhwebane did not disclose her meeting with the presidency on June 7 "to discuss the new remedial action in her final report", his affidavit said, describing the her failure to do so as a "glaring omission".
"The meeting traversed the Public Protector's proposed remedial action to amend the constitution to deprive the Reserve Bank of its role in protecting the value of the currency," De Jager said.
"The fact that this topic was even discussed with the State Security Agency indicates that the Public Protector's investigation was aimed at undermining the Reserve Bank," he said adding this showed that Mkhwebane's recommendations had "an ulterior purpose".
Mosana said the presidency was consulted to give all parties involved in the matter, which included the South African government that is now headed by Zuma, an opportunity be heard.
"There is nothing sinister about the Public Protector meeting the presidency because the (bailout) involved the South African government ... there is no conspiracy," Mosana said. ($1 = 12.9471 rand)
(Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by Alison Williams)
The SMH reports:
It was easy news, if not exactly news based on fact. It all began on Saturday, when Australias Prime Minister went to see the Sydney Swans play, and posted on social media a photo of himself cuddling his baby granddaughter, planting a kiss atop her sweet head.
In his non-baby-cuddling hand, Malcolm Turnbull held a beer in a plastic cup.
One Facebook commenter, it was reported, asked When was drinking while holding a child OK?
Another, displaying contempt not just for the Australian PM but also for the proper use of apostrophes, said it was disgusting to see people breathing grog all over babys but sadly Im not surprised by Malcolm doing it.
One Australian tabloid referred to an online meltdown over the photograph, and duly sought comment from properly Australian Australians, who could be relied upon to reaffirm Australian values regarding the appropriate co-mingling of beer and babies.
Social researcher Mark McCrindle said Australian had become a nation of judgers. Dick Smith said people could go and live somewhere else if they didnt like the photo, and Ita Buttrose was very ticked off indeed.
Nothing brings a people together like a public shaming on social media, and in this case it was the original Australian Prime Minister-shamers who were being shamed, bringing about an awe-inspiring shame-cycle that could well stay alive in the media for weeks, if properly stoked by an Andrew Bolt column or an Alan Jones editorial.
There is only one small problem, and it is a small problem indeed in the era of post-fact news. So small it barely warrants noting, except by pedants.
That is, the number of Facebook commenters who were outraged by the Australian PM holding a beer while cuddling a baby, numbered two.
On Monday morning, the post had been liked by 17,000 Facebook users, and 1500 people had commented on it. Because I value my mental health I did not read all the comments, however I couldnt find a single one that wasnt sticking up for the Australia Prime Minister in the face of the moral outrage he provoked, even though that moral outrage was not in evidence anywhere except in two comments quoted in the tabloid media and now, presumably, buried under an avalanche of nice comments.
Stuff reports:
Auckland Council is unconcerned about the growing scrutiny over councillors eligibility to hold office.
Government requirements state that in order to be a councillor, one must be both a New Zealand citizen and enrolled as a Parliamentary elector which also means being 18 or older.
However, despite more than half of its councillors choosing not to respond to the eligibility inquiry, Auckland Council were not ready to hit the panic button.
General manager democracy services Marguerite Delbet said council would not look internally at staff citizenship, electing to instead trust the information they were provided with at the time members were elected.
No, we dont plan on looking into staff citizenship. When a candidate lodges his/her nomination for an election, it is done on an official, prescribed nomination paper, Delbet said.
The candidate is required to consent to be nominated and to certify that they are qualified to be a candidate. Certifying they are qualified is done by ticking two check boxes, and then signing the nomination paper.
The councils electoral officer then checked each nomination paper when they were lodged to ensure both criteria (NZ citizen and Parliamentary elector) were ticked and accepted the information contained on the paper as correct, she said.
DoD offers massive response to Hurricane Irma
WASHINGTON -- The Department of Defense (DoD) has initiated response operations in Florida and continued response operations for the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico (VIPR) today. FEMA, U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), and the U.S. Coast Guard have developed an aviation command and control plan to maximize unity of effort. DoD completed evacuating U.S. citizens from St. Martin yesterday, coordinated evacuation of U.S. citizens from the British Virgin Islands, and provided humanitarian assistance (water, sanitation, logistics support, movement of relief personnel & humanitarian commodities) at the request of the Department of State.
Situation Update: Tropical Storm Irma slowly weakened while moving into southern Georgia. Florida Power & Light reports a record 6.6 million (65%) customer outages, leaving 10 million without power and exceeding the previous outage record of 6.2 million with Hurricane Sandy. An air survey of U.S. Highway 1 revealed that the road surface is intact; operations await ground assessment of bridges.
DoD Response Details:
Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico (VIPR):
- Approximately 4,600 service-members are supporting relief operations in the region.
- KEARSARGE/26th MEU, OAK HILL, and WASP are conducting relief operations in the USVI. The SS WRIGHT will depart Philadelphia tomorrow to augment VIPR support.
- USNORTHCOM and U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) are coordinating the movement of British Royal Marines to Antigua and Turks & Caicos Islands.
- USTRANSCOM is moving U.S. Army medical support capability to St. Thomas to establish temporary medical facilities there.
- USACE power restoration teams, debris removal experts, temporary roofing teams, and port survey personnel are on station and assessing support requirements.
- FEMA shipped 28 of 31 Defense Logistics Agency-provided generators to VIPR; DLA continues to push commodities.
Florida:
- Approximately 10,400 service-members are supporting relief operations in the region.
- ABRAHAM LINCOLN is positioned off Florida's east coast with 27 helicopters. IWO JIMA and NEW YORK will arrive today.
- Search and rescue (SAR) resources from Moody, Davis-Monthan, Nellis Air Force Bases, and Fort Campbell are prepared to support FL operations. NAS Key West is unusable. AFNORTH is evaluating basing options.
- US Army has 33 of 100 requested High Water Trucks enroute to FL from Fort Bragg, NC.
- USNORTHCOM will also conduct operations from the sea with aircraft from IWO JIMA, NEW YORK, SAN JACINTO, and ABE LINCOLN. - USACE power teams, debris removal teams, temporary roofing teams and port survey personnel are in place in Florida and Georgia. USACE is working closely with USCG to reopen ports - focusing on Port Everglades and Tampa, which are critical to fuel distribution.
- DLA is coordinating shipment of fuel and meals to bases in South Carolina and Georgia.
Evacuation of American Citizens. USSOUTHCOM has coordinated the evacuation of 1,904 persons (including 35 foreign nationals) over the past three days. DoD and DOS plan to evacuate all U.S. remaining U.S. citizens requesting evacuation today. Planning is ongoing to evacuate an estimated 500 U.S. citizens from the British Virgin Islands, to begin not later than tomorrow.
Foreign Disaster Assistance: USSOUTHCOM is repositioning aircraft from Honduras to St. Martin and responding to requests for air traffic control and engineering assessment support.
Published September 12, 2017
Maryville man indicted, accused of threatening judge
Drew Anthony Abbott KNOXVILLE An investigation by Special Agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has resulted in the indictment of a Maryville man accused of threatening the life of a judge.
On August 8th, at the request of 4th District Attorney General James Dunn, TBI Special Agents began investigating threats made against a Grainger County judge. The investigation revealed that Drew Anthony Abbott (DOB 6/1/81) sent a letter to the judge threatening to kill him.
On Wednesday, the Grainger County Grand Jury returned an indictment charging Abbott with one count of Harassment. This afternoon, Abbott was served in the Hamblen County Jail, where he was already being held on unrelated charges.
KNOXVILLE An investigation by Special Agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has resulted in the indictment of a Maryville man accused of threatening the life of a judge.On August 8th, at the request of 4th District Attorney General James Dunn, TBI Special Agents began investigating threats made against a Grainger County judge. The investigation revealed that Drew Anthony Abbott (DOB 6/1/81) sent a letter to the judge threatening to kill him.On Wednesday, the Grainger County Grand Jury returned an indictment charging Abbott with one count of Harassment. This afternoon, Abbott was served in the Hamblen County Jail, where he was already being held on unrelated charges. Published September 12, 2017
Florida Air National Guard staffs special-needs shelter
By Air Force Master Sgt. William Buchanan
STARKE, FL National Guardsmen have opened more than 35 shelters in Florida, Georgia, Puerto Rico, South Carolina and the U.S. Virgin Islands and more than 11,000 soldiers and airmen are responding to assist civilians and local authorities in those areas.
That assistance is typified by Florida Air National Guardsmen greeting and assisting people with special needs at a shelter opened Sept. 9 at the Atlantic Coast High School in Jacksonville, Florida.
Florida Air National Guardsmen from the 125th Fighter Wing talk with a woman at a special-needs shelter at the Atlantic Coast High School in Jacksonville, Fla., Sept. 9, 2017. The shelter is one of 11 opened in Duval County to protect citizens from Hurricane Irma. Florida Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. William Buchanan
The National Guardsmen are providing physical and emotional support for everyone who sought refuge from Hurricane Irma.
"We met them at their cars and brought everything in for them so they didn't have to deal with it," said Air Force Tech. Sgt. Mark Collins, an avionics maintenance specialist with the 125th Fighter Wing. "They came and just kind of eased the transition in."
The airmen wait by the street for shuttles and vans to arrive so they can help people out of their vehicles, carry all their belongings and medical equipment inside and help them settle into the shelter.
"We're just walking around handing out smiles," said Air Force Senior Airman Sierra Cunningham, an aircraft weapons systems specialist with the 125th Fighter Wing.
Special-Needs Shelters
The high school is one of six special needs shelters, and one of 19 total shelters opened in Duval County. Special-needs shelters are equipped with backup generators and extra power outlets to provide care for people with feeding tubes, respiratory issues, transplants and other critical needs in the event of a power outage.
The American Red Cross manages the shelters. Along with the National Guard, volunteers from the Mayo Clinic, Animal Care and Protective Services and the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office offer services for shelter occupants.
Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Alan Secrest, the aircraft weapons systems and shelter management chief with the 125th Fighter Wing, said he encouraged all volunteers to take the time to get to know those seeking shelter here. He said he wants airmen to get personal with people to get their minds off what is really going on outside.
"You don't know what kind of impact you're going to have on these people," Secrest said. "At least for that moment, you can take their minds off the situation that they're in."
The Florida National Guard is fully mobilized, with more than 8,000 soldiers and airmen activated and positioned around the state. These troops are helping at more than 200 shelters statewide, and will continue to assist however needed and requested by the counties.
"It's our community," Secrest said. "We're neighbors; we're here for you."
TDCI says be prepared for Hurricane Irma remnants, possible damaging winds, rainfall
NASHVILLE Ahead of the arrival tonight of Hurricane Irma, which is now a tropical depression, the Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance (TDCI) shares safety reminders to help ensure that Tennessee consumers are safe in the face of Irmas expected high winds and rainfall.
Forecasters predict parts of Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi can expect 2 inches to 4 inches of rainfall while the storms winds are now at 65 miles per hour. The storms center is predicted to be near Jackson around 2 a.m. on Wednesday.
While Irma might be downgraded to a tropical depression, the storm is still very powerful and poses potential risks to Tennessee consumers, said TDCI Commissioner Julie Mix McPeak. We urge Tennesseans to take precautions now in order to prepare for its arrival.
The Department shares the following safety tips:
Make sure you have bottled water, a first-aid kit, flashlights, a battery-powered radio, non-perishable food items, blankets, clothing, prescription drugs, eyeglasses, personal hygiene supplies, a cell phone charger or solar charge, and a small amount of cash as well as ATM and debit cards.
Be informed of local weather broadcasts and have multiple ways to receive weather information and warnings, such as a weather radio.
Do not drive or walk through high water. Remember: Turn Around, Dont Drown.
Do not attempt to move any downed power lines.
For personal safety, identify what storm shelter is available to your family and prepare an evacuation plan. Choose two meeting places: one right outside your home in case of a sudden emergency, such as a fire; and one outside your neighborhood in case you cant return home.
If you need to evacuate your home, turn off all utilities and disconnect appliances to reduce the chance of additional damage and electrical shock when utilities are restored.
If you are without power and using a fuel-powered generator to supply electricity, remember that generators should be used in a well-ventilated location outdoors away from any windows, doors and vent openings.
Never use a gas generator inside your home, garage, carport, basement or crawlspace. Make sure you have a working carbon monoxide detector in your home or recreational vehicle.
When possible, use a flashlight not a candle for emergency lighting.
If you use candles, ensure they are contained in a sturdy holder and placed them at least 12 inches from anything that can burn.
Never leave a burning candle unattended. Extinguish candles when you leave a room or the home or go to bed.
Keep a readily available list of 24-hour contact information for your insurance agent and insurance company.
Make a list that includes your policy numbers (both home and auto), your insurance company and insurance agent's phone numbers, website addresses and mailing addresses. Also, check to see if the company or your agent has set up an emergency information hotline, in case of storm damage. It is a good idea to store this information, and a home inventory, in a waterproof/fireproof safe or a safe deposit box. Also consider sending an electronic copy to someone you trust. If you have to evacuate your home, you want this information to be easily available to you.
A home inventory can be invaluable when deciding how much insurance your life situation requires to adequately insure your home in the path of a natural disaster. Digital tools such as the National Association of Insurance Commissioners MyHome Scr.APP.book lets you quickly capture images and descriptions of your belongings to help determine how much insurance you need and for filing a claim. For those without a smart phone, the NAIC offers a downloadable home inventory checklist and tips for effectively cataloguing your possessions. Both are available at home.insureuonline.org.
If your property sustains any damages, please see our tips on hiring contractors and filing insurance claims here.
To donate or volunteer, contact the voluntary or charitable organization of your choice through the National Voluntary Agencies Active in Disasters (NVOAD) at www.nvoad.org.
Published September 11, 2017
Troops assisting Islands, Florida following Hurricane Irma damage
WASHINGTON, The Defense Department has naval, air and ground assets and initiated response operations in Florida yesterday and will continue Hurricane Irma response operations throughout the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico region, DoD spokesman Army Lt. Col. Jamie Davis said today in a statement.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Northern Command and the Coast Guard are closely coordinating on the management of air assets to maximize the effective unity of effort, he said. DoD will completed the evacuation of U.S. citizens from St. Martin in the British Virgin Islands yesterday, coordinated evacuation of U.S. citizens from other British Virgin Islands, and will provide humanitarian assistance water, sanitation, logistics support, movement of disaster relief personnel, humanitarian commodities movement in response to State Department requests.
Coast Guard cutters from Sector San Juan and Sector Jacksonville anchor off the coast of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Sept. 10, 2017, as the crews prepare to bring ashore supplies, equipment, port assessment teams and other government agency responders after Hurricane Irma. Coast Guard photo
Irma is now a tropical storm and continues to weaken as it moves northwesterly into the Southeastern U.S. today. The center is located 60 miles north of Tampa, Florida, with sustained winds of 70 mph. FEMA estimates that nearly 5 million people -- 34 percent of the population -- are without power in Florida. The main water line into the Florida Keys is reported to be offline. Damage to the Keys may necessitate evacuation of the 10,000 persons who did not evacuate before the storm.
Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico
-- About 4,600 service members are supporting relief operations in the region.
-- The amphibious assault ships USS Wasp and USS Kearsarge -- with the embarked 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit -- and the dock landing ship USS Oak Hill are in the U.S. Virgin Islands transferring non-critical care patients and delivering food and water.
-- The 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit will transfer British Marines in St. Croix forward to the British Virgin Islands.
-- U.S. Transportation Command continues support to the St. Martin evacuation and humanitarian assistance, and the strategic lift of commodities to the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
-- Army Corps of Engineers power restoration teams, debris removal experts, temporary roofing teams, and port survey personnel are on station.
-- The Defense Logistics Agency is shipping commodities and large generators to the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
Florida
-- About 10,400 service members are supporting relief operations in the region.
-- The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln arrived off Florida's east coast last night with 24 helicopters and is prepared for operations in southern Florida and the Florida Keys this morning. The amphibious assault ships USS Iwo Jima and USS New York were expected to arrive this morning.
-- Homestead Air Reserve Base is assessed to be in good condition. The assessment of Naval Air Station Key West is ongoing.
-- The Army is pre-positioning 200 High-Water Trucks to be able to rapidly support Florida Army National Guard requirements.
-- U.S. Northern Command intends to establish airfields in southern Florida and support operations from the sea with air assets from the USS Iwo Jima, USS New York, USS San Jacinto and USS Abraham Lincoln.
-- Army Corps of Engineers power teams, debris removal teams, temporary roofing teams and port survey personnel are on alert and ready in Florida and Georgia.
-- The Defense Logistics Agency will support distribution of over 12 million meals over the next 10 days. All fuel requirements are met.
Evacuation of American Citizens
-- U.S. Southern Command has coordinated the evacuation of 1,904 persons -- including 35 foreign nationals -- over the past three days. DoD and the State Department plan to evacuate all remaining U.S. citizens requesting evacuation today.
-- Overnight, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis approved a State Department request to evacuate U.S. citizens from the British Virgin Islands.
By Yoon Ja-young
The country's industry minister plans to meet his U.S. and Chinese counterparts soon over issues such as the renegotiation of the free trade pact and economic retaliation over a military decision.
"We are coordinating with the United States to prepare a meeting within this year. Both sides cannot help being cautious," Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Paik Un-gyu said at a press meeting held in Sejong City, Monday.
Regarding the meeting with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, which will take place in the United States, Paik said concrete topics haven't been decided yet while there is coordination going on at the working level over scheduling.
When the meeting takes place, the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) is likely to be the main topic.
The Donald Trump administration has been pressuring Korea to renegotiate the bilateral free trade agreement so it could decrease its trade deficit against Korea. Paik, however, reaffirmed that analysis and evaluation of the package should come prior to renegotiation.
The country is also under pressure from China over the deployment of a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system on its soil which aims at protecting itself against North Korea's intensifying nuclear threat. China has been taking economic retaliation against Korea, claiming the U.S. system in its neighbor country will harm its defense interest.
When asked if the ministry is considering taking the case to World Trade Organization (WTO), Paik said he has no intention to avoid it if it is necessary, considering the interests of the country.
"We are serious about the damages incurred by China's retaliation," the minister said.
He added that he had requested a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart at the ASEM Economic Ministers' meeting to be held in Seoul on Sept. 21 and 22. "We are making efforts to minimize the damage through bilateral discussion."
The minister, who is an expert in renewable energy, said that it is not easy to attain the Moon Jae-in administration's target of expanding the ratio of renewable energy to 20 percent by 2030.
"There should be cooperation between ministries and measures to encourage local residents to accept it," he said, citing a solar energy panel on animal farms as an example. He also stressed renewable energy should lead to increasing the incomes of the residents.
He stressed that energy policies should focus on links between energy and industry, such as applying ICT to the energy supply.
Regarding concerns the electricity rates will be raised, he said it won't have a huge effect on businesses.
By Yoon Ja-young
Japan is becoming an attractive option for young Korean jobseekers amid the tough job market here.
According to Japan's labor ministry, a total of 48,121 Koreans landed jobs in Japan last year, 2.3 times more than 2008 when 20,661 Koreans were hired.
Young Koreans, who have similar cultural backgrounds, are attractive options for Japanese firms that have been increasingly hiring foreigners. The number of foreign workers in Japan recorded 1.08 million as of last October, up 19.4 percent from the previous year, the first time for the figure to surpass 1 million.
"Japan has been making efforts to overcome the shortage of a good labor force, especially in the IT sector, by hiring workers from overseas," said Lee Bu-hyung, a senior researcher at Hyundai Research Institute. Foreign workers have notably increased in IT as well as research and technology service.
Many varieties of fruit-flavored traditional Korean alcohols are on display at the booth for the Traditional Liquor Research & Development Institute at the Jarasum Makgeolli Festival in Gapyeong, Aug. 31. / Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar
By Jon Dunbar
Earlier this month, makgeolli aficionados descended on Jaraseom in Gapyeong, east of Seoul, for the third Jaraseom Makgeolli Festival held Friday, Aug. 31 to Sunday, Sept. 2, held by the Korean Makgeolli Association.
A couple dozen makgeolli brewers managed booths and gave out samples, including Kooksoondang, Joeun Sul and Sejong Brewing. Some private brewers were also there, as well as the Traditional Liquor Research & Development Institute.
Chun Jisung, a traditional Korean alcohol sommelier, attended for two days.
"I had fun catching up with industry people and regular makgeolli lovers and of course, the BBQ and boozing all night was fun," she told The Korea Times. "Also, the DJ and dance party at night was fun too! I was surprised to see the older crowds were all grooving and dancing to the beat!"
Chun, who got into the traditional Korean alcohol industry three years ago, runs her own company called Soy and Rice, which offers programs such as tasting classes, pairing events and trading. This was her second time at the festival.
The festival was set up with a loop of booths within the park grounds of Jaraseom. The commercial brewers set up on one side near the big stage, while the far side had food vendors and miscellaneous other stands, including the R&D institute. A line of food trucks sat in the middle, a welcome addition to this year's festival. People who drank too much had tents where they could lie down to sleep off the drunken haze.
The crowd at the festival was diverse, ranging from groups of middle-aged and elderly patrons to younger families, kids in tow. Despite being a liquor festival, the event had kid-friendly elements, including activities, games and a wide selection of non-alcoholic foods and drinks. And mascots wandered around in makgeolli bottle costumes entertaining the children. Also, three separate stages kept live music going at all times, ranging between acoustic and foreign folk to loud guitar rock and K-pop idol groups.
But some attendees remarked on the lack of premium artisan brewers at this year's festival, likely due to a decreased budget.
"The market demand for traditional liquor is gradually decreasing as can be seen through the media and statistics," said Kim Gil-hyun, a spokesman for Kooksoondang.
Ever since a surge in popularity earlier this decade, especially due to a temporary fad in Japan around 2011, the traditional Korean liquor market and makgeolli have been shrinking.
But that's not to spell the end of Korea's brewing traditions. The fewer people are feeling increasingly passionate about increasingly sophisticated traditional alcohols.
"These premium traditional liquors are not a drink for capturing and taking consumers with much improved design and flavor compared to traditional liquors, but they are in a different market from the mainstream," Kim said.
Kooksoondang engages in the Project for Reviving Traditional Korean Wines, conducting historical research to uncover and revive lost methods and recipes, as well as modern-day market research. Since 2008 Kooksoondang has revived 24 types of traditional alcoholic beverages, including makgeolli.
Chun also is optimistic about the ongoing development of makgeolli although its short shelf life is a challenge.
"Certain brands with no aspartame are growing as more people are aware of the variety of makgeolli and their palate is becoming more sophisticated," she said.
She says for traditional alcohol, including makgeolli, to grow, it needs to step beyond tradition and embrace what's distinctly Korean, whether that means contemporary or ancient.
Members of the U.N. Security Council vote at a U.N. Security Council meeting over North Korea's new sanctions on Sept. 11 at the U.N. Headquarters in New York. / AFP-Yonhap
The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted new sanctions against North Korea on Monday, imposing caps on its imports of oil but stopping short of measures that could cripple the regime.
The move comes in the wake of North Korea's sixth and most powerful nuclear test on Sept. 3.
The sanctions include a freeze on North Korean imports of crude oil at current levels of 4 million barrels a year and a cap on imports of refined petroleum products at 2 million barrels annually, or about half the current levels.
It is the first time the Security Council has targeted oil in its sanctions against the regime.
"We are done trying to prod North Korea to do the right thing," U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley said after the vote. "We are now acting to stop it from doing the wrong thing."
But she also made a gesture of appeasement toward Pyongyang, saying the U.S. is not looking for war with the country.
"If it agrees to stop its nuclear program, it can reclaim its future. If it proves it can live in peace, the world will live in peace with it," Haley said.
The North has "not yet passed the point of no return," she added.
The United States had pushed for a complete oil embargo to stop North Korea's development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles aimed at the continental U.S.
But China and Russia, two of the five veto-wielding council members, reportedly balked at any move that could destabilize the impoverished country.
Still, the restrictions on oil are expected to reduce North Korea's consumption of related products by 30 percent, according to Haley.
By Kim Rahn
The presidential office said Tuesday it supports the United Nations Security Council's (UNSC) adoption of a new resolution for tougher sanctions on North Korea for its sixth nuclear test.
It demanded the Kim Jong-un regime stop further provocations and come to negotiations.
"We highly evaluate the UNSC's prompt and unanimous adoption of Resolution 2375 today," said presidential spokesman Park Soo-hyun.
"The resolution shows the international community's consensus and full support for the need for tougher sanctions against the North than the previous Resolution 2371."
Seoul also called on Pyongyang to realize that its reckless defiance toward global peace will only cause tougher pressure by international society.
"We urge the North to stop testing the international community's stern will. We stress that the only way for the North to get out of diplomatic isolation and economic pressure is to come back to the negotiation table for complete, verifiable and irreversible nuclear dismantlement," Park said.
By Jun Ji-hye
New sanctions imposed by the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) against North Korea will not stop the Kim Jong-un regime from continuing military provocations, analysts said Tuesday.
They said the watered-down resolution will fail to choke off Pyongyang's economic lifelines, raising the possibility of the North continuing larger provocative actions including the launching of more intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
However, they agreed the new resolution is still meaningful in that it targets oil supplies to the impoverished state for the first time, signaling that further tougher action is in store.
The council unanimously approved a resolution Monday, eight days after the North's sixth nuclear test, representing a swift response by the international community to Pyongyang's latest provocation.
But its final version eliminated a total ban on oil supplies and an international asset freeze on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his sister, Yo-jong measures included in the draft resolution circulated by the U.S. last week.
The revised resolution partially restricts the North's imports of oil, capping imports at the level of the last 12 months and limiting the imports of refined petroleum products to 2 million barrels a year.
Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University in Seoul, said the latest sanctions were the result of a compromise between the United States, China and Russia.
"The U.S. may have tried to bring a maximum level of sanctions, while from China and Russia's point of view, North Korea is still strategically important for them," the professor said. "The U.S. may have accepted China and Russia's position to some extent that things need to be resolved through dialogue."
By Yi Whan-woo
A series of countries are stepping up their punishment against North Korea's sixth nuclear test, Sept. 3, ordering North Korean ambassadors to leave their countries or banning trade with the Kim Jong-un regime.
On Monday, the Peruvian government decided to expel North Korean Ambassador Kim Hak-chol because of Pyongyang's series of violations of the U.N. Security Council resolutions on its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
Peru's foreign ministry said it declared Kim Hak-chol persona non grata and gave him five days to leave the nation.
The measure comes after Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto declared North Korean Ambassador Kim Hyong-gil persona non grata on Sept. 7 and granted him 72 hours to leave the country.
The Embassy of Uzbekistan contributed the below article on the occasion of the 26th anniversary of the country's Independence Day. ED.
Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev
After gaining independence, Uzbekistan took a worthy place in the world community. Over the years, great creative work has been carried out. Human honor and dignity are exalted, the wellbeing of the people is ensured, and the appearance of our cities and villages has radically changed. Due to independence, we gained freedom, and revived ancient traditions. All this is directly connected with the name of the founder of independent Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov. The great political leader Islam Karimov left an independent and prosperous country to our people.
This noble work, taking into account modern requirements, is consistently and systematically being continued by the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Uzbekistan is implementing foreign policy based on the principles of peace and cooperation, mutual interest, respect and trust, without interference in the internal affairs of other states.
Measures that are being taken in Uzbekistan on further strengthening cooperation with neighboring countries are worthy of special attention. A vivid embodiment of these efforts is the fact that the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev made the first state visits to neighboring countries.
The ideas and initiatives forwarded by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the Action Strategy defined for 2017-2021, are opening wide opportunities for deepening socioeconomic reforms, further strengthening trade, and economic and investment cooperation with other states.
Today, Uzbekistan is demonstrating a steady pace of development in all spheres under the leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Effective multilateral foreign policy serves as an important factor in increasing the export potential and expanding economic opportunities of Uzbekistan.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev was born on July 24, 1957, in Zaamin District of Jizzakh Region to a family of doctors. He is an Uzbek by nationality, with a higher education. In 1981, he graduated from the Tashkent Institute of Engineers of Irrigation and Mechanization of Agriculture and earned a degree in mechanical engineering. He holds a Ph.D. in Technical Sciences, and is an associate professor.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev started his career in 1981 at the Tashkent Institute of Engineers of Irrigation and Mechanization of Agriculture, where he served as a junior research fellow, senior lecturer, associate professor and vice rector for academic affairs.
In 1990, he was elected deputy of the Supreme Council of the Republic. He served as chairman of the Credentials Committee.
In 1992, Shavkat Mirziyoyev was appointed khokim (governor) of Mirzo Ulugbek District of the city of Tashkent. From 1996 to 2001, he served as khokim of the Jizzakh Region, and from 2001 to 2003 as khokim of Samarkand Region, and made a great contribution to the socioeconomic development of the aforementioned district and regions.
While working in the executive branch and at the same time as deputy of the Oliy Majlis (Supreme Assembly) of the Republic of Uzbekistan from 1995 to 2003, he has actively and fruitfully participated in the elaboration and adoption of important legislative acts on political and socioeconomic development of the country, and the implementation of democratic reforms.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev was approved as the Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan in 2003, and three times (in 2005, 2010 and 2015) was approved again in his post by both Chambers of the Oliy Majlis.
From the early years of our motherland's independence Shavkat Mirziyoyev earned the high trust of the first President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov, by selflessly working as his colleague and close associate.
As head of the Government, he has shown tremendous abilities and outstanding leadership in the implementation of wide-ranging socioeconomic reforms, the modernization and improvement of the country, the realization of major and unique projects, the development and protection of private property, and the radical increase in the share of small businesses and private enterprises in the economy and consolidation of their legal security.
In his activities Shavkat Mirziyoyev attached a special significance to economic development on an industrial basis, the improvement of the country's exporting potential, a cardinal transformation of the agricultural sector, especially the extensive advancement of farming enterprise, processing of agricultural products, provision for food security of the nation and a guaranteed supply of goods for the population at reasonable prices.
In order to drastically uplift the living and working conditions of the people, Shavkat Mirziyoyev took effective measures for large-scale construction and improvement works in all regions of the country, to improve the quality of public services, and integrated development of cities and districts, including remote rural areas.
In his activities, along with the socioeconomic dimension, a significant emphasis is placed _ as a priority focus _ on the progress of education, science and healthcare in accordance with modern requirements, and the creation of conditions necessary for the formation of a healthy and comprehensively advanced younger generation, and the protection of motherhood and childhood.
He has paid much attention to the further enhancement of the credibility of the unique institution of self-government _ makhalla _ and other social organizations, the consistent consolidation of their role in the community through broad involvement in the process of democratic reforms, as well as the preservation and enrichment of national spiritual values.
Along with this, in addressing economic and social issues Shavkat Mirziyoyev directly supervised efforts to build up comprehensive mutually beneficial cooperation with other countries, international organizations and financial institutions, as well as important agreements that serve the national interests and economic development of the country.
On Sept. 8, 2016, on the basis of a joint resolution of the Legislative Chamber (Lower House) and Senate of the Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan adopted at a joint session, then-Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev was temporarily assigned the duties and powers of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
On Oct. 19, 2016 the Movement of Entrepreneurs and Businessmen _ Liberal- Democratic Party of Uzbekistan (UzLiDeP) _ during its eighth convention in Tashkent nominated the member of the Political Council of the Party Shavkat Mirziyoyev as its candidate for the presidential elections.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev was elected President of the Republic of Uzbekistan with 88.61 percent of the vote based on the results of the presidential elections that took place on Dec. 4, 2016. Shavkat Mirziyoyev officially assumed the post of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Dec. 14, 2016.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev is married, with two daughters, one son and five grandchildren. His spouse, Z.M. Mirziyoyeva, has the qualification of engineer-economist. At present, she is a housewife.
In recognition of the many years of productive work in the Government and management, the enormous contribution to the development of the country, and the improvement of the people's welfare, Shavkat Mirziyoyev was awarded the Order "Mekhnat Shukhrati" (Glory of Labor) and "Fidokorona Khizmatlari Uchun" (For Selfless Service).
By Rachel Lee
The Mexico has designated September as the "Month of Mexico" in Korea, with an extensive program of activities showing the diversity and richness of Mexican culture, music, gastronomy and art.
This year is also important for Mexico and Korea because it is the 207th anniversary of its independence and 55 years of diplomatic relations between Mexico and Korea.
The celebrations began with the visit of the Mexican cruise training ship "Cuauhtemoc" to Busan from Aug. 28-Sept.1.
From Sept. 5-10, the embassies of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela presented the third Latin American Film Festival, organized with the Korea Film Archive (KOFA).
The film "Desert," directed by Jonas Cuaron and starring renowned Mexican actor Gael Garcia-Bernal, was the Mexican selection.
According to the embassy, the celebration will conclude with a gastronomic festival "The Flavors of Mexico" from Sept. 14-20, under the direction of renowned Mexican chef Daniel Gonzalez from Fonda Mayora Restaurant in Mexico City.
The festival will take place at the Cafe 395 restaurant in the Hilton Millennium Seoul Hotel.
A few months after his arrival in Seoul as the highest representative of Mexico in Korea, Ambassador Bruno Figueroa has emphasized his commitment to "bring the societies of Korea and Mexico closer, increase our contacts and mutual understanding, as our economies have come more interconnected in the last two decades."
"Press attache Raul Mendoza Gallo said, "Diplomatic relations between Korea and Mexico are characterized by their productivity and diversity, which has been made more visible in recent years with the remarkable growth of cultural and educational exchanges.
Over the past few years, Mexico's cultural, educational and tourism promotion activities in Korea have increased significantly, as a result of the renewed popularity of Mexican culture and art as well as gastronomy and tourism.
The start of direct flights between Mexico City and Seoul last July has further assisted in developing extended connections.
Mexican dancers pose for a photo at an opening ceremony of the "Latin American Film Festival 2017" at the Korea Film Archive in Seoul on Sept. 6. /Courtesy of Embassy of Ecuador
By Rachel Lee
Thirteen Latin American countries unveiled some of that region's best movies to Korea from Sept. 5-10.
The "Latin American Film Festival 2017" featured genres including drama, comedy, adventure, romance, thrillers, biographies and science fiction at the Korea Film Archive (KOFA) in Mapo-gu. The embassies of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela organized the event with KOFA.
At an opening ceremony on Sept. 6, Peruvian Ambassador to Korea Jaime Pomareda Montenegro said the event aimed to build a bridge between the Latin American nations and Korea through culture and art.
"The images presented in the cinematographic material allow us to know historical facts, idiosyncrasies, customs or current events, providing greater tools for a greater and better understanding of the Latin American reality, all of which strengthens our bonds of friendship and admiration, despite the geographic distance that separates us physically," Montenegro said.
The festival had 13 titles from 13 countries, including: "Al final del tunel" from Argentina; "Engano a Primera Vista" from Bolivia; "O Homem do Futuro" from Brazil; "Violeta went to Heaven" from Chile; "Embrace of the Serpent" from Colombia and "A Ojos Cerrados" from Costa Rica.
The ambassador said the Peruvian film selected for this festival was "El Vientre," a suspense-drama directed by Daniel Rodriguez Risco.
"The story revolves around a young orphan who leaves her job to be hired by a widow and helps in the household," he said. "To that same house arrives a young man in ruin that ends up making arrangements in the home for money. Due to a series of events caused by the widow, the employees become a couple. Therefore, the widow is convinced that the baby that will be born as a product of that union is hers and will do everything possible to stay with him.''
The Ecuadorian Embassy's third secretary Ana Diaz said the movies took viewers on a journey across Latin America's rich and diverse cultures, enabling the public to broaden _ between laughter, tears or surprise _ their understanding of the region's social realities.
By Jung Min-ho
Chinese living in Korea said they will ask a local court to suspend the screening of the movie, "Midnight Runners," which they claim mischaracterizes them as "poor, vicious criminals."
Dozens of Chinese staged a protest near Seoul's Daerim Station, Sunday, urging director Kim Joo-hwan to take down the movie immediately and make a public apology over the negative depiction of the Chinese.
Poster of Midnight Runners
Their demand comes at a time when tension is building between the two countries over the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system here to defend against North Korea's nuclear threats.
The story is about two police trainees who witness a Chinese gang kidnapping children for organ trafficking. In the film, the Daerim District, a neighborhood predominated by Chinese, is portrayed as a dangerous area where even police have lost control.
"I think depicting Chinese as criminals and their town as a crime-ridden area really crosses the line," Park Ok-sun, the director of a special committee of more than 40 Chinese groups, said. "It thwarts the efforts of Chinese who try hard to improve the area's image as safe and lively."
They claimed that 800,000 Chinese living here have been unfairly treated even though they have contributed much to Korea's economy and culture.
Movie Rock, the production company of the movie, apologized in a statement it sent to the committee.
"We deeply apologize to everyone who felt discomfort about the way the Chinese were depicted in the film," the company said. "We made such fictional depictions only to evoke suspense."
The company also promised not to make films that can cause such misunderstanding. "We will try our best to promote harmony among multicultural members in Korean society."
But the company rejected the committee's request to choose between adding a phrase like "the movie is fiction" or taking it down. It also refused to hold a press conference to make a public apology.
In response, the committee said it will file an injunction as well as a damage suit with a Seoul court against the company.
Despite the controversy, Midnight Runners has been a big box-office success, drawing more than 5.5 million viewers here so far.
Beginning in Indonesia on Aug. 23, the movie is expected to open in a total of 12 countries overseas, including Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Britain, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, and the Philippines.
A scene from the political romance TV drama "Big Thing" (2010) on SBS, in which Go Hyun-jung (left) portrays a male toilet cleaner who accidentally meets Kwon Sang-woo and hides behind a corner enclosure.
By Ko Dong-hwan
Men's toilets in Korea have been places of embarrassment and the subject of debate for years, especially among non-Koreans, because of women cleaners there.
Whenever females enter, wearing rubber gloves and holding brushes to scrub urinals and toilet seats, male patrons cannot help feeling embarrassed.
The cleaners, mostly ajumma Korean jargon for tough middle-aged women apparently cause serious mental discomfort to men who cannot handle the awkward situation.
Some patrons are philosophical with the attitude that the women are simply doing their jobs. But other patrons claim the presence of the women is violating the men's human rights.
"I haven't seen this trend in other countries, but the fact that women clean men's toilets, while men are busy urinating, is a violation of basic human rights," said South African Francois Pieters, who has lived in Korea for almost four years and was shocked to experience such an encounter on Sep. 7.
"Most of the foreign men in Korea, if not all of them, are shocked by this and yes, we do feel violated."
Pieters claimed he went to a toilet in Seolleung Station in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, to change clothes for a wedding, but could not do so because two cleaning women were there.
"If they can put up a sign, like almost all of the other countries I've been to, then that would not violate anybody's human rights," Pieters said.
Others who agree with Pieters also claim that such encounters cause "the strict line of public etiquette to totally break down" and that toilets should be a private space.
One blogger said the cleaners were a"culture shock."
A New Zealander, Jeff Pete, 41, said in a KBS News report that when he first saw the cleaners he thought he was in the women's toilet and left.
Some Koreans are also uncomfortable with the female cleaners.
An office worker surnamed Park, in his 40s, said he had always wondered why women cleaned men's toilets and that he became"fidgety" whenever they were there.
It is true that this questionable system is one of several conventions that Korea must tackle to meet global expectations of a developed country.
For example, male toilets in North America and Europe have male janitors, while toilets in Japan have a "cleaning in progress" sign at the entrance while the women are at work.
So what do the cleaners think? It turns out the experience is as embarrassing for them as it is for the males.
And they did not take the job out of choice.
A Korean cleaning industry insider said there were never enough men available, so there was no choice but to hire women.
"When we post job opportunities for male toilet cleaners, men almost never apply, or they quit after only a few days," the insider told KBS.
At one Seoul metro station, women clean 18 of the 19 public toilets. One woman said the situation had reached the point that it would be "unnatural" for a women to work with a male cleaner.
Back in 2006, a cleaning woman surnamed Lee described her work in an interview on CBS news radio. She said some of her most difficult experiences violated her human rights as well.
"Out of all the cleaning duties for women, cleaning male toilets is the worst mentally and physically," Lee said. "The first-timers often suffer serious psychological distress."
She said she sometimes had to distance herself from male patrons in toilets so she would not have eye contact.
She said that being an ajumma also entailed being the subject of unpleasant remarks or jokes about sexual orientation, such as "a third gender."
"Most male cleaners are assigned to duties demanding hard labor like moving and arranging heavy objects so the male toilets are left for women," Lee added.
The Citizen's Coalition for Restroom is a civic federation dedicated to improving toilet culture in Korea.
It believes signs should be displayed outside male toilets while cleaning ladies are working.
In 2015, Minjoo Party of Korea lawmaker Lee Won-wook told the National Assembly that the human rights of male patrons and female workers must be protected.
Coalition head Pyo Hye-ryong said, "If there are no other options but for women to clean the male toilets, then we must improve the given environments."
The Indian Chamber of Commerce in Korea (ICCK) is hosting an ICCK networking night event at Lotte Hotel in Busan, Friday.
Attendees will also have a chance to meet Vikram Doraiswami, the ambassador of India to Korea.
People are invited to enjoy a casual night of food, wine and beer.
"It will be a great networking opportunity to meet business leaders and people. And also to meet ICCK members and enjoy a night out," the event organizer says on its website.
The venue is the Emerald Hall on the 41st floor of the Lotte Hotel, and the event begins at 6:30 p.m.
The entrance fee is 60,000 won for members and 70,000 won for nonmembers.
To RSVP, email events@indochamkorea.org.
Founded in January 2010, the ICCK's mission is to assemble trade and business communities of India and Korea under a common platform to contribute to the development of bilateral business for the economic development of both nations.
For more information, visit www.indochamkorea.org or the ICCK Networking Night in Busan Facebook page.
By Jung Min-ho
The government will consider all options, including a revision of the Juvenile Law, to better protect children from their violent peers, Education Minister Kim Sang-gon said Tuesday.
Following a series of recent brutal attacks at middle and high schools, Kim pledged to come up with more effective measures to prevent such crimes.
Education Minister Kim Sang-gon speaks during a meeting at the Government Complex in Seoul, Tuesday. / Yonhap
He also said he will start a discussion with the Ministry of Justice and the National Assembly over whether it is necessary to review the law, which protects juveniles from receiving harsh punishment.
The decision came a day after a request from President Moon Jae-in. During a meeting with senior secretaries at Cheong Wa Dae, Moon said the government should respond to the online petition for a revision of the law, which has been signed by 260,000 people, to strengthen punishment for juvenile crimes.
The current law stipulates that the maximum sentence for someone under the age of 19 committing a crime of extreme violence is a 20-year prison sentence. But almost no one receives it; in fact, very few actually serve time in prison. Criminals 14 years old or younger either have to perform community service or receive no punishment at all. Minors also do not get criminal records.
The problem is that, thanks to wider access to information, young offenders know the worst thing they can get, and abuse the leniency of the law.
When middle school students assaulted their peer for 90 minutes with a soju bottle, bricks and a steel frame in Busan earlier this month the incident that triggered discussions over a law revision one of them asked the girl, "Do you think we will go to jail?"
After the incident came into the media spotlight, the perpetrators also exchanged messages like "This will be forgotten, going to a juvenile reformatory won't be too bad."
Lawmakers, including former police officer Rep. Pyo Chang-won of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), have already proposed bills to toughen punishment for juvenile crimes, saying many abuse the law.
Given that many opposition party lawmakers agree to the necessity of a law revision, it is likely that juvenile criminals will soon face harsher punishment.
According to a recent survey by local pollster Realmeter, 90 percent of respondents said they want either to revise or completely abolish the law.
But some take a more cautious approach. Rep. Keum Tae-sup of the DPK and Korea University law professor Ha Tae-hoon are among the people who defend the current system, saying keeping young criminals behind bars longer won't solve the problem fundamentally.
DPK Chairwoman Rep. Choo Mi-ae has vowed to make a change. "Though punishment is not always the best option, we have to squarely face the reality that the age of juvenile criminals has declined, and that their crimes have become increasingly heinous" she said.
According to police, a total of 15,849 teenagers were arrested on charges of felony crimes such as homicide, sexual assault and arson between 2012 and 2016.
By You Soo-sun
Tension is rising as government bodies vowed to take tough countermeasures against private kindergartens that participate in what may become a massive walkout in the coming weeks.
Education officials called such a temporary shutdown, which members of the Korea Kindergarten Association announced Friday, illegal. The shutdown is to oppose government education policies including a plan to expand public kindergartens.
The members said they will temporarily close down the institutions nationwide for six days, first on Monday and again from Sept. 25 to 29 depending on how the government responds. They also said about 90 percent of the 4,100 kindergartens nationwide have agreed to participate in the walkout.
They are primarily calling on the government to drop its plan to expand state-run or public kindergartens, which it seeks to increase to 40 percent by 2022 from the current 25. In addition, they are against receiving a government audit and seek more financial aid, arguing all parents should be able to enjoy equal benefit.
However their move is drawing a backlash from government bodies and many parents. Education Minister Kim Sang-kon called it illegal and plans to discuss countermeasures with heads of the metropolitan and provincial education offices.
Also, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education released a statement Tuesday, denouncing the walkout as it would be a serious infringement of children's right to learn and would cause chaos for many working parents.
The office further urged the association to immediately stop its plan, and said it is not recognized under the law due to a lack of a legitimate cause. It also announced plans to minimize the damage by providing spaces in nearby public institutions in case they push ahead with the walkout.
Of the 671 privately run kindergartens in Seoul, six have reported they will close down their institutions, while 108 said they will not take part in the walkout and 557 have not yet reported according to the Seoul education office.
By Yi Whan-woo
The Moon Jae-in administration has slashed the budget for missile defense projects to increase the pay for conscripts, an opposition lawmaker claimed Tuesday.
Rep. Kim Hack-yong of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party claimed the decrease in defense budget was to supplement the expenses needed to raise the wages for soldiers in line with Moon's campaign pledge.
"It is suspected that the missile defense spending was decreased to meet the President's populist campaign promise," said Kim, who is also a member of the National Assembly Defense Committee. "The government is being negligent in national security if it is found to be deducting from the budget needed to defend against North Korean missile attacks, but instead is carrying out Moon's pledge."
Citing data obtained from the Ministry of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Kim said a total of 55.9 billion won ($49.4 million) was slashed from missile defense spending after undergoing a finance ministry review.
The amount is required to carry out eight projects linked to setting up the country's three-pronged defense system -- the Kill Chain, the Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) and the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation (KMPR) -- against North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile attacks. The defense ministry is seeking to complete building the system by 2020.
Six of the eight projects require 50.6 billion won to build the KAMD aimed at launching preemptive strikes against North Korea's nuclear and missile facilities if the South is under imminent threat.
The six are related to the carbon fiber bomb, tactical ground guided weapons, KDX-II destroyers, reconnaissance satellite imaging, long-range air-to-ground guided-missiles and maritime patrol aircraft.
The other project, worth 5 billion won, is about PAC-3 missiles that form elements of KAMD, a missile defense system being developed to track and shoot down Pyongyang's ballistic missiles.
The remaining project is worth 300 million won, with a goal of developing drones for special operations and helping South Korea retaliate against any possible North Korean attacks under the KMPR.
Kim said the 55.9 billion won is believed to be used in raising the total annual pay of the conscripts to 1.8 trillion won in 2018.
The amount will be a 73.2 percent increase from their pay this year. It is also 36.4 billion won more than the defense ministry initially planned to spend in 2018 for the pay of the soldiers.
Moon promised to raise the monthly pay of the soldiers as high as 30 percent of the minimum wage, which will rise by 16.4 percent to 7,530 won from 2017 to 2018. He also plans to cut the number of conscripts while recruiting more officers.
Moon's plan comes as part of efforts to create smaller, but more self-reliant armed forces with a higher percentage of professional soldiers.
Kim said the spending on increasing the number of military officers will rise by 41.4 percent to 73.1 billion won from 2017 to 2018.
Members of civic groups demand the resignation of Rep. Kweon Seong-dong of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party at Gangneung City Hall, Gangwon Province, Tuesday. / Yonhap
By Jung Min-ho
Casino operator Kangwon Land has admitted that almost everyone who got their jobs there between 2012 and 2013 did so thanks to their connections with politicians and the former CEO of the company.
"We apologize for committing a crime which would have been possible only in the 1960s or '70s," the company said in a statement Tuesday.
But Kangwon Land pointed the finger at former CEO Choi Heung-jip, who led the state-run company from July 2011 to February 2014, saying he made the decision to hire 518 people during that period.
The company said 493 of them (95 percent) ended up with jobs thanks to their connections with politicians and other influential people.
Among them was a former intern of Rep. Kweon Seong-dong of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, which was the ruling party when the misconduct occurred.
"A thing of the past is tarnishing the image of Kangwon Land, which has been trying hard to improve its transparency in recent years," the company said. "It breaks the hearts of all employees and we are very sorry."
Chances are that the scandal will continue to break their hearts. The ruling Democratic Party named it "Kangwon Land Gate," urging the prosecution to reinvestigate the case as well as the politicians involved in it.
In 2015, prosecutors closed the case after indicting only Choi and a human resources official.
Ruling party lawmakers, including Park Beom-kye, alleged that the prosecution did not look deeply enough into the case to help corrupt lawmakers cover it up at that time.
The Justice Party also criticized Kangwon Land, Kwon and the prosecution.
"This is an unimaginable corruption scandal involving a state-run company, which is funded by taxpayer money," the party spokesman Choi Suk said. "Kwon belonged to an Assembly committee that is supposed to oversee the company until early 2012."
"Other applicants didn't have the same chances of success prosecutors should reopen the case to reveal the whole truth."
Seoul bus / Korea Times file
By Bahk Eun-ji
A Seoul bus driver is under fire for leaving a four-year-old child alone at a bus stop.
Complaints from witnesses have flooded the Seoul Bus Transporting website.
When the route 240 bus from Jungrang-gu to Shinsa-dong, stopped at Kunkuk University at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, the little girl was unintentionally forced off the jam-packed vehicle.
When the mother realized what had happened, she also tried to get off, but the driver shut the back door and drove off.
According to a complainant on the website, passengers and the mother protested loudly, but the driver did not stop.
Reports said the mother got off at the next stop, and found her child at a nearby police station.
The website has been inundated with comments since Tuesday morning.
However, after examining CCTV footage from inside the bus, Seoul City said it had no legal basis to punish the driver.
"In the footage, the child is standing far away from her mother. Also, when the mother screams, it appears that the driver could not stop because the bus was already drove in the middle of an eight-lane road," a Seoul City said.
He said the driver would receive extensive training to prevent any reoccurrences of such an incident.
By Kim Hyo-jin
Opposition parties urged the Moon Jae-in government Tuesday to explore options to counter a nuclear North Korea, stressing the need to consider the redeployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons.
On the second day of a four-day interpellation session at the National Assembly, the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) and the minor opposition Bareun Party grilled key ministers on North Korea policies, claiming the government has been lackluster in devising countermeasures to the North's nuclear program.
"Only when we have superiority in power and a stern determination that we can even go to war, can we achieve peace," LKP lawmaker Lee Ju-young said. "At this critical timing in security, what we need is only one thing becoming stronger with all possible state resources."
Rep. Kim Young-woo of the Bareun Party agreed, saying the government should weigh the option of redeploying U.S. tactical nuclear weapons.
"When a country with nuclear weapons and the other with no nukes clash, there are only two scenarios for the non-nuclear country. Either collapsing after challenging the nuclear power or surrendering pathetically," Kim said, quoting U.S. realist thinker Hans J Morgenthau.
"The government should keep in mind that this sad picture can be our reality."
Opposition lawmakers grilled Cabinet members, demanding they clarify the government's position on a possible tactical nuclear redeployment plan. In response, the ministers said "the government was not considering this scenario."
Defense Minister Song Young-moo earlier told a National Assembly session Sept. 4, the day after North Korea's sixth nuclear test, that Seoul could consider the redeployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons as one of the options to better deter evolving North Korean threats.
Amid growing controversy over the government's obscure position on the matter, Cheong Wa Dae said Sunday it was sticking to the principle of a nuclear-free peninsula, dismissing the possibility.
Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon reiterated that the government is not considering bringing back U.S. tactical nuclear weapons into the country, adding that such a position is sync with the U.S.
"The trend now is that the U.S. is gradually decreasing its tactical nuclear weapons arsenal. Where they are deployed is not important anymore," he said.
"If redeployed here, it will damage the principal of denuclearization on the peninsula, produce economic sanctions by the international community, and fuel a nuclear domino effect in Northeast Asia."
Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha stressed Song's earlier statement was merely reflecting one of many opinions in the Cabinet, saying, "Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is the government's official position."
Song also said, "I'm aware of the nuclear-free peninsula principal and U.S. deterrence policy on nuclear expansion. My mission is to help such goals be achieved."
Political discourse shifted fast toward stronger armed deterrence following the North's sixth nuclear test Sept. 3.
The LKP declared the redeployment of U.S. tactical weapons as the party's official position and mounted a petition to seek public support. It has also pushed for a budget increase for the nuclear plan.
A group of its lawmakers plans to fly to the U.S. Wednesday to meet experts and congressmen and ask for their backing on Seoul's nuclear option. Seventy four lawmakers will send a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump and urge the U.S. to consider redeploying its tactical nuclear weapons in Korea, Rep. Won Yoo-chul said Tuesday.
The conservative opposition Bareun Party is also in favor of the option and the third-largest People' Party has been warming to the idea.
People's Party floor leader Kim Dong-cheol claimed the country needs the nuclear sharing model of NATO, a system in which U.S. tactical nuclear warheads are deployed and managed at air bases in five NATO member countries Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey, and members binding under a joint resolution for their use in an emergency.
Conservative opposition parties also upped their offensive against the government's two-track North Korea policy of seeking dialogue and sanctions.
Rep. Lee claimed Moon's peace initiative in a Berlin speech sabotaged coordination on North Korea policy between Seoul and Washington.
In their repeated calls for a shift in the policy seeking dialogue, ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) lawmaker Min Byung-doo defended the approach, saying, "the Berlin initiative should be valid and the conciliatory approach should remain unchanged."
Prime Minister Lee stressed that "I believe there's no other way but holding talks with the North. But this is not the time for pursuing it."
Minister Kang agreed, saying, "The principal remains intact. But now is the time to use more pressure and sanctions."
By Choi Ha-young
Ahn Cheol-soo
People's Party Chairman Ahn Cheol-soo proved his political influence when President Moon Jae-in's pick for Constitutional Court chief, Kim Yi-su, failed to get Assembly approval, Monday, mainly due to opposition from lawmakers tied to Ahn.
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and Cheong Wa Dae largely anticipated Kim would get legislative approval with the support of the People's Party despite objections from the two conservative parties Liberty Korea Party (LKP) and Bareun Party.
Out of 293 lawmakers, Kim received 145 ballots in favor and 145 against. Given that 120 ruling DPK lawmakers and six Justice Party lawmakers cast their ballots in favor of Kim, only nine out of 40 People's Party representatives voted for him.
"The results show the People's Party is the only decision maker in the Assembly," Ahn boasted after Kim's nomination was rejected. The unpredicted outcome bewildered the ruling camp.
In response to Ahn's remark, the DPK expressed feelings of betrayal, Tuesday. "I feel a deep sense of shame to see the People's Party has aligned itself with the far-right LKP," DPK floor leader Woo Won-shik said.
"Kim has lived as a respected judge for 40 years and spoken for social minorities in view of human rights and democracy."
A radio interview with a veteran politician of the People's Party, Rep. Park Jie-won, further sparked outrage within the DPK. Park said Kim's disapproval is in exchange for the ruling camp's "arrogance," in pushing for President Moon's disputed nominees.
Rep. Park Hong-geun, vice chief of the DPK, lashed out at Park Jie-won for betraying the liberal citizens based in the Jeolla region, the People's Party's support base where Kim was born.
The area, isolated from the higher echelons for decades, had been eager for Kim's nomination. Recently, the DPK and the People's Party were exchanging barbs over an infrastructure budget for less-developed areas to appeal to the liberal voters there.
"I vividly observed how the People's Party ignores the Jeolla area," a netizen, who claimed to be a Jeolla resident, posted on the People's Party website, Tuesday.
A flood of criticism paralyzed the website, blasting the party's "unjustifiable political attack" to drive out the reformist judge. Kim was the sole constitutional judge who opposed the disbanding of the Unified Progressive Party in 2014, concerning the ruling may erode democracy.
In 2015, he ruled in favor of the teachers' labor union, putting emphasis on worker independence and the right to organize. This year, when the top court ousted ex-President Park Geun-hye, Kim consoled the bereaved families of the Sewol ferry disaster.
For 110 days, when Kim's post was up in the air in the face of the opposition bloc's protests, Kim was grilled over his alleged advocacy for the rights of homosexuals.
Being conscious of a liberal backlash, the People's Party is being cautious ahead of the regional election slated for June next year.
"The People's Party let lawmakers cast their ballots according to their consciences. It's hard to believe all DPK lawmakers voted in favor of Kim since it was a secret vote," People's Party floor leader Kim Dong-cheol said, Tuesday.
A source close to Ahn acquitted the party leader, saying Ahn is not interested in opposing the ruling camp for the sake of opposition.
"As everyone knows, Ahn's dominance in the party has yet to be consolidated. It's hard to blame Ahn for the result of Monday's vote," the source said. "The People's Party aims to be a problem solver in the Assembly."
By You Soo-sun
Prosecutors are investigating allegations that Korea's ambassador to Ethiopia sexually harassed several embassy employees and volunteers.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office is reviewing a complaint filed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs against Ambassador Kim Moon-hwan, according to prosecutors and ministry officials.
Kim is suspected of touching a female embassy employee while taking her home. He previously denied the allegations and said he had once "tapped her on the shoulder" which she "may have taken the wrong way."
However a special in-house investigation by the ministry was met with a string of reports testifying that Kim had drinks with young female volunteers in an "improper manner." The volunteers were part of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), a foreign aid organization under the ministry.
The ministry filed a complaint to the prosecutors' office after concluding there were "multiple victims" of "one public official."
This is the first time an incumbent ambassador has faced a sexual assault charge. Kim has reportedly returned to Seoul.
A 26 year-old Korean male surnamed Kim currently working in Ethiopia expressed frustration with the embassy and the officials in question. "They are such an embarrassment to the community here, and they really messed things up," he said. "And I feel really bad for the victim. The perpetrator only got what he deserved but she didn't even get to experience her career or anything."
The case surfaced during an investigation of a different sexual assault case involving another diplomat in Ethiopia. The victim of the case testified against Kim in addition to her perpetrator who had allegedly raped her after having dinner and drinks with her.
A series of sexual offenses by Korean diplomats overseas have been revealed in the last few years. In many of these cases the officials abused their power over lower-ranking employees. According to the ministry, 40 such cases have been reported, of which 10 needed an internal investigation.
Washington is apparently considering the possibility of providing lethal military aid to Ukraine, an action that Russia would consider to be provocative.
Notably, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, a retired Marine general, has suggested that measure and presented it as a possible response to Russian intervention in America's 2016 elections.
There are a number of problems with that action. One of them is that it potentially moves the United States and possibly NATO, if it agreed to go along, one step closer to war with Russia. There is already sparring between U.S. and NATO and Russian forces on the border between East and West, with both sides carrying out exercises near the edge.
A second major problem is that Ukraine is already a divided, sometimes almost lawless area between East and West. America has recently had that image of Ukraine reinforced by evidence that elements in that country almost certainly helped North Korea proceed with its evolving nuclear and missile program through purchases of Ukrainian-based technology, expertise and probably equipment. Reports last month indicate that a firm named Yuzhmash, located in Dnipro (on the line between Ukrainian-controlled territory and Russian-supported rebel territory) has been cooperating with North Korea for about two years. The North Koreans' more successful missiles tests have been enabled by more powerful Ukrainian-made RD-250 engines.
The third reason for the United States not to move from nonlethal aid to Ukraine to more sophisticated weaponry is that such action would only make worse the conflict that has torn that country for several years now. Russian support of Ukrainian dissidents in the east of the country, plus Russian annexation of Crimea, has made it difficult in recent years to continue to regard Ukraine as a nation. Pouring more U.S. arms into the situation would only raise the level of hostilities, not lead to a peaceful resolution of the future of Ukraine.
Finally, the level of corruption in Ukraine, and the involvement of American entrepreneurs in the situation there, including that of Paul Manafort, the former campaign manager of President Donald Trump, under scrutiny by special counsel Robert Mueller and two congressional intelligence committees, suggests that deeper American involvement there would not make sense.
The impact of increased U.S. military aid to Ukraine at this time on prospects for improved U.S. relations with Russia, given growing knowledge by Americans of Russian involvement in the 2016 elections and Russian reactions, is hard to gauge.
What is clear, however, is that reduced tensions with Russia should continue to be a U.S. goal. Increased military aid to Ukraine is not consistent with that goal.
This editorial appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and was distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
President should work with opposition parties
President Moon Jae-in's nominee for the chief of Constitutional Court was rejected by the National Assembly Monday. Kim Yi-su became the first Constitutional Court president-designate to fail to get parliamentary confirmation since the court was founded in 1987. Out of the 293 lawmakers participating in the vote, 145 voted in favor, two short of the required majority.
The vote took place three months after Kim's confirmation hearing amid an intense dispute over some of his rulings on the basis of progressive political views. He is well-known for being the only dissenting judge on the nine-member panel who opposed the December 2014 ruling by a majority that saw the disbanding of the pro-North Korean Unified Progressive Party in agreement with the Constitution.
Cheong Wa Dae strongly criticized the opposition parties for an "irresponsible decision" and using the "tyranny of the majority." The ruling and opposition parties are blaming each other, hampering the passage of some key bills like the 2018 budget and others related to the people's livelihood during the regular session which opened Sept. 1.
For Moon, the parliamentary veto means a huge political loss. Above all, it should be a reminder of how important it is for him to work with the opposition parties as his Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has only 120 seats and is greatly outnumbered by the opposition parties. Reflecting this political reality, the President needs to listen to the opposition and reflect their voices in managing state affairs so as to enlist their cooperation in passing his legislative agenda. Also now when the nation is facing a North Korean crisis, Moon can't afford to count on his high popularity to browbeat the opposition parties. He should reach out first and create an atmosphere for bipartisan cooperation so as to get the nation united behind him.
The opposition parties should know that they are not winners. They delayed the voting for months by linking the vote with concessions from the ruling party and the President.
Cheong Wa Dae needs to tighten its personnel screening process. Aside from Kim, five other candidates were nominated by Moon for high-level government positions but withdrawn from consideration after mounting controversies over their qualifications.
The President should refrain from filling key posts only with his supporters or those who share his progressive leaning. After all, he is the president of not just progressives but also all other people irrespective of political stripes. He should act on this fact.
By Bernard Rowan
Mara Island or Marado marks the southernmost point of South Korea, roughly 11 kilometers from the popular Jeju Island. Mara Island is popular, as a place of natural beauty, solitude for walking and reflection, and as a place of the famous haenyeo or diving grandmas. We need to think about Mara Island and cultivate its natural beauty and potential.
Mara Island's population is small, in part because the island is so small, less than a quarter square mile. One can reach Mara by ferry from Jeju. There's plenty to see and do there. I enjoy walking around the island. It doesn't take that long to circle the entire perimeter.
Along the way, a visitor can see the homes where perhaps less than a hundred people live nowadays. There's a school, a church, a recently planted forest, and some other buildings. There's a Buddhist temple too. I don't remember what many guides mention as a Chocolate Museum. Everyone should visit Janggun Rock, which is a touchstone revered by local divers and their families. The Mara Lighthouse is impressive. Certain parts of the coastline are craggy and show the sturdy basalt rock that forms its base. Others are wonderful views of sky and seas.
One of the experiences I value most when visiting Korea is the way that her natural places and spaces provide many opportunities for quiet reflection combined with exercise. I find that time spent meditating in Korean places causes many good thoughts and restores balance to my spirit. Walking on Mara Island does so as well.
The local restaurant has its specialties, including dishes complemented by fresh local seafood such as black bean noodles with abalone or other shellfish. The inhabitants cultivate solar energy and use rainwater as freshwater.
The island had been home to an ever-shrinking number of diving women, now well-known as experts in the art of catching seafood. Stemming from Joseon times, these women work to catch the sea's bounty and are their families' breadwinners. Their husbands spend time at home and other jobs, while they dive to catch the sea's wonderful food. Modern accounts paint a romantic exaggeration of role reversals with their husbands. Mara and Jeju haenyeo mark the flexibility inherent in Korean Confucian self-understanding. Haenyeo show many of the rugged, determined, and life-loving qualities of ajummas in their lives and work.
I also note that Mara Island lies in the Korea Strait. The Strait connects the Korea Sea and East Sea. Various nations disagree and fight over the names of these great water bodies and islets. The islets of Ieodo further south and west mark one prominent example. Our world still faces conflicts because of contested borders. Like all animals, we humans stand fast on territorial jurisdictions, even in the oceans of our world.
In this way, visiting Mara Island made me think of the value of Korea to the Korean people but also of the song "Finlandia" by Sibelius with lyrics by Lloyd Stone and Georgia Harkness as "O God of All the Nations." The words speak of all nations and that people love their nations alike. Mara's quiet energy calls us to international humanity. Her peaceful face calls human motivation to a higher civilization. Humanity wants sharing and building the goods of individuals, of collectivities, and the wider public good.
There is a Facebook page entitled Mara Island South Korea. Find on it a few images of some lovely views. Other webpages capture glimpses of Mara's beauty and less touched quality. Well worth the small price for a ferry ride, it makes a different sought-after place or day excursion when visiting Jeju and South Jeolla Province.
Korea's national, provincial, and local governments should make it a priority to add to the sustainability of Mara Island. It's a monument to the resilience of many Korean traditions and people. I worry it will fall into lack of use and attention. Nothing is forever. It's not the time for Marado to fade!
Bernard Rowan is associate provost for contract administration and professor of political science at Chicago State University. He is a past fellow of the Korea Foundation and former visiting professor at Hanyang University. Reach him at browan10@yahoo.com
A man demonstrates Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Note 8 during a media day in Seoul, Tuesday. / Yonhap
By Lee Min-hyung
Samsung Electronics aims to launch a foldable smartphone next year, said Koh Dong-jin, president of mobile business at the tech giant.
During a media day for Galaxy Note 8 in Seoul, Tuesday, Koh said the company is "aims to release a smartphone with a bendable display in 2018."
The foldable smartphone is included in the mobile unit's 2018 annual roadmap, he said.
He fell short of commenting on details, such as its specifications.
"We will launch the device only after overcoming a series of technological barriers," he said.
On what he calls "very encouraging" demand for Galaxy Note 8, Koh said pre-orders have hit the highest-ever for the Note series.
Note 8 sales begin in the United States, South Korea and elsewhere on Friday. Pre-orders reached about 650,000 Note 8 handsets over five days from about 40 countries, Koh said.
By Jhoo Dong-chan
Creditors of Kumho Tire rejected the cash-strapped tire maker's self-rescue plan Tuesday, demanding it propose more drastic measures to bolster its sales and improve its financial health.
Hours after Kumho Asiana Group submitted the 730 million won ($646 million) restructuring package, the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) and other creditors dismissed the package, calling it "insufficient."
According to creditors, Kumho Asiana Group Chairman Park Sam-koo proposed to secure 330 billion won through issuing new stock while selling off shares of the group's construction affiliate. Taking account of Park's other plan to sell off Kumho Tire's production plants in China, the total self-rescue plan for the beleaguered tire maker is expected to deliver up to 730 billion won.
Of the 330 billion won, Park said in the plan that he will secure 200 billion by issuing new stock while delivering the remaining 130 billion won by selling off 4.4 percent of Daewoo Engineering & Construction shares.
Considering Korea's second-largest tire maker's local debt of 316 million won in China scheduled to mature soon this year, however, the actual volume of the self-rescue plan for Kumho Tire is expected to need 414 billion won in financing.
Park said Tuesday he will "fully cooperate with creditors in successfully submitting the self-rescue plan" but failed to satisfy them.
Creditors said it was too sketchy and remained unchanged from a previous plan submitted in July.
"Some content was even missing in the self-rescue plan," a KDB official said. "The KDB and creditors requested the submission of a new plan after reinforcing related content."
Kumho Tire posted 50.7 billion won in losses in the first six months of the year, and Park needs to persuade creditors to extend the company's maturing loans while regaining his managerial position at the nation's second-largest tire maker.
Creditors have said they will consider dismissing the beleaguered tire company's top executives, including Park, if they are not satisfied with the plan.
The KDB and other creditors asked Park to submit a viable restructuring plan by Sept. 12. Otherwise, they would subject Kumho Tire to a workout program by threatening not to extend the firm's 1.3 trillion won in loans, which will mature by the end of this month.
The total debt of Kumho Tire's Chinese corporate body and its three production plants has reportedly reached 766 billion won _ 316 billion won owed to Chinese banks and another 450 billion won to the KDB and other creditors in Korea.
In the second quarter of the year, Kumho Tire's cashable asset were 69.9 billion won, down by nearly 100 billion won from the 163.5 billion won in the fourth quarter of last year.
Kumho Tire started a workout program in 2010 after suffering a liquidity crisis caused by overspending on Kumho Group's acquisition of Daewoo Engineering & Construction in 2006.
Lei Jun, CEO and founder of Xiaomi, introduces the new ceramic Mix 2 smartphone, in Beijing on Sep. 11, 2017.
By Meng Jing
Xiaomi, whose smartphones outsold Apple Inc in China during the second quarter, has released its most expensive device a day before the US company's launch of its much anticipated 10th anniversary model, marking its progress up the value chain in the world's largest and arguably most challenging mobile phone market.
The Mi Mix 2, featuring an all-ceramic "unibody" design by Philippe Starck, comes with a full-screen display that retails for 4,699 yuan (US$720). A variant retails between 3,299 yuan and 3,999 yuan. The phone, featuring a unique 18:9 aspect ratio, is smaller than its earlier generation, a hundredth of an inch smaller than 6 inches, but comes with a bigger screen display.
"We're always striving to provide consumers with better products at cheaper prices" all the time, the Beijing-based company's founder and chief executive Lei Jun said at a launching ceremony in the Chinese capital.
Affordable smartphones with high specifications were what propelled Xiaomi to among the world's five bestselling mobile phone brands in the second quarter. A sharper focus on snazzy designs and slick marketing also helped the company bounce back from its worst shipment declines in the 12 months ended December.
Xiaomi's got the steal on its launch a day ahead of Apple's release of its phone on September 12 in Cupertino, California. The event is expected to see the world's most valuable tech firm unveil three new models for the first time, including a rumoured super premium' iPhone X featuring a bezel-free display, an effort to make screen larger at an overall smaller phone size.
After six consecutive quarters of shrinking sales in Greater China, Apple needs a new product to revive its flagging fortunes in the world's largest market for mobile phones, where as many as 2.33 billion devices were in circulation last year, according to data by the Internet Society of China.
Besides Xiaomi, the US company must also fight off competition from Huawei, Oppo and Vivo, all of which are releasing Android-based devices at cheaper prices, but with comparable, if not better, hardware specifications.
Apple has much cause for caution. Huawei, the world's largest manufacturer of network and phone hardware equipment, surpassed Apple as the world's second-largest seller of smartphones by shipment in June and July for the first time, according to report by Counterpoint Technology Market Research. August also looked like a good month for the Chinese company, analysts said.
"Chinese players such as Xiaomi and Huawei have become increasingly competitive in the high-end price range between 3,000 yuan and 4,000 yuan, that is in line with their effort to shed their old cheap image and Chinese consumers' demands for better quality products, " said Jin Di, research manager with IDC China.
Speculations have Apple's 10th anniversary edition of its iPhone X at more than US$1,000 each.
"For the premium market with price tag of more than 5,000 yuan, they are still not capable of wining iPhone users over," Jin said. "The iPhone is not just a phone but a device that can give the user access to the entire ecosystem of Apple," she said, adding that the new iPhones are expected to give Apple's revenue a big boost in the first quarter of 2018.
Local government officials are backing two GOP bills they say would protect them from undergoing costly legal challenges spurred by big-box stores looking to lower their property taxes.
But others countered the two bills target one type of business owner at the expense of everyone else and are sure to face legal challenges in court.
The bills, from Sens. Duey Stroebel, Roger Roth and Rep. Robert Brooks, look to address the so-called dark store tax loophole that has allowed retailers to appeal their assessed property tax values and argue they should be more comparable to vacant, but similarly sized buildings.
Under current practice, Roth, R-Appleton, told the Senate Revenue, Financial Institutions and Rural Issues Committee at a recent hearing, hes seeing the commercial side unfairly drawing down their assessments, thus forcing our municipalities to have to make difficult choices.
Wauwatosa Mayor Kathy Ehley pointed to the more than $400,000 in legal fees the city incurred last year following various appeals from big-box retailers to lower their property tax bills.
That amount has had a detrimental impact on the citys operating budget, she said.
Were just asking that (commercial properties) pay their fair share, she said.
Other local officials testifying also noted similar legal costs due to big-box appeals that have come on the heels of a 2008 state Supreme Court decision that property tax assessments for leased retail property must be based on market rents, which is similar property, rather than contract rents, what is paid to lease the property. That decision would be overturned in one of the bills.
But Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce Director of Environmental and Energy Policy Lucas Vebber argued if municipalities stop breaking the law, theyd be able to eliminate those legal fees and tax refunds.
If you dont illegally take money, you dont have to give it back when a court orders you to, he said.
But committee member Sen. Devin LeMahieu countered theres no clarity in the law for local communities to follow.
I think we need to find an answer and a solution to make sure businesses are paying their fair share of property taxes and not skirting law and challenging it, and make sure its clear to assessors and municipalities how to do the assessments, the Oostburg Republican said.
But Vebber countered the state Constitution uniformity clause already requires businesses to pay their fair share in taxes. He instead blamed the operations of rogue assessors in various parts of the state.
LeMahieu replied: I heard from my constituents some of these same problems, so apparently rogue assessors are all over the state of Wisconsin.
Meanwhile, other bill backers voiced support for closing up what they see as a flaw in state law.
Jerry Deschane, League of Wisconsin Municipalities executive director, said if property owners are able to argue a multimillion dollar building is only worth a fraction of that price in property taxes, hed love to be able to make that kind of argument for my house.
Bottom line is Wisconsin law is currently not treating property owners fairly, he said.
Appleton Mayor Tim Hanna said his support for the bills isnt about more money for municipalities.
We operate under levy limits, and this doesnt change levy limits, he said. This is really about fairness, its about a fair distribution of who pays those taxes.
But WMC lobbyist Scott Manley said although the legislation is no doubt looking to target retailers, the implications would be harmful to other businesses.
This is going to splatter onto a lot of other types of property owners who are going to be significantly damaged by this legislation, he said.
And Manley lamented the progress he says the state would lose by enacting the bills, calling it a step backward in the effort to improve our business climate and do tax reform in the state of Wisconsin.
PRESS RELEASE
Coup Plotter Mueller Singled Out for Covering Up Saudi Role in 9/11 Massacre
Sept. 11, 2017 (EIRNS)On the 16th anniversary of the 9/11 attack on the United States, we are reminded that the FBI and intelligence agencies leading the coup attempt today against President Trump, are the same people and agencies responsible for allowing the 9/11 attack to take place, and doing everything in their power to cover up the role of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the attack.
"Think about this for a moment: the man now in charge of investigating the President of these United States for collusion with Russia and possible obstruction of justice, himself obstructed a congressional investigation into the 9/11 terrorist attacks,"
Antiwar.com Editorial Director Justin Raimondo wrote today.
There is a great deal the American people still do not know about how the attack occurred, but after much agitation, we do know that Saudi Arabia played a key role in the attack, but, "we wouldnt know anything about this part of the 9/11 plot if Robert Muellerthen FBI director ... had had his way," Raimondo wrote.
On that, he cites Andrew Cockburns explosive report on Muellers personal efforts to block the Congressional Inquiry, included in Cockburns lengthy review of the fight to bring out the truth, published by Harpers today.
Cockburn recounts the story of how former FBI lawyer and counterterrorism analyst Michael Jacobson, working for the Joint Congressional Inquiry into 9/11, came across a reference to an FBI informant in San Diego who knew one of the hijackers. Bob Graham, head of the Senate Intelligence Committee and co-chair of Joint Inquiry,
"told me recently that Robert Mueller, then the FBI director ... made the strongest objections to Jacobson and his colleagues visiting San Diego"
to follow up the lead, Cockburn reports.
"Graham and his team defied Muellers efforts, and Jacobson flew west," Cockburn continued. They uncovered the "damning details," now well-known, of the two Saudi hijackers close relationship with Saudi agent Omar al-Bayoumi, as well as FBI informant, Abdussattar Shaikh.
"Understandably, the investigators had a lot of questions for this man. Nevertheless, Mueller adamantly refused their demands to interview him, even when backed by a congressional subpoena, and removed Shaikh to an undisclosed location for his own safety. Today, Graham believes that Mueller was acting under orders from the White House."
Citing Cockburns account, Raimondo goes for the jugular:
PRESS RELEASE
ECB Policy Kills Savings Accounts
Sept. 11, 2017 (EIRNS)The European Central Bank's zero-interest policy has destroyed traditional banking business in Germany. It has been calculated that German families lost 670 billion in failed deposit revenues between 2012 and 2016money which they would have invested in education for children, houses, etc. Although exact data are not available, deposit banks have lost a correspondent margin on those deposits, which they would have gained by investing in government bonds, life insurance policies, or business enterprises.
As a result, banks have been increasingly pushed towards financial investments in order to write some gains on their balance sheets. But even an investment banker like Deutsche Banks John Cryan understood, when he called for an end to the ECB zero-interest policy, that if commercial banking shrinks, this pulls the carpet out from under the financial sector.
PRESS RELEASE
Nikki Haley Trashed for Anti-Iran Speech at AEI
Sept. 10, 2017 (EIRNS)UN Ambassador Nikki Haley gave a speech on Sept. 5 to the American Enterprise Institute, in which she did her best to undermine the Iran Nuclear Treatysomething which is high on her list, just after Russia/Putin bashingand set the stage for escalating conflict in the Middle East. Her lies were so egregious, that they brought about a "rebuttal" from former CIA official Paul Pillar, otherwise no Trump supporter himself.
Right from the start, Haley lied, claiming that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JPCOA, the official title for the "Iran Nuclear Agreement") "gave Iran what it wanted up-front," and that all the U.S. got in return were "temporary promises" from Iran in exchange.
"The truth," Pillar writes,
"is that Iran had to fulfill most of its obligations firstincluding disposing of excess enriched uranium, disassembling enrichment cascades, gutting its heavy water reactor, and much elsebefore the agreement was fully implemented and Iran got even a whiff of additional sanctions relief."
In reality, what we got was a "cementing closed" (with concrete literally poured into a nuclear reactor) "of all possible pathways to an Iranian nuclear weapon. This isnt just a promise," Pillar points out, "this is major, material, already implemented change."
Haley tried to confuse the issue in other ways, characterizing the naturally complicated document as a "jigsaw puzzle," and further tried to "blur together" the topic of missile technology (not covered in the treaty) and nuclear weapons.
"Missing the nuclear weapons," Pillar observes, "Irans missile activity would barely merit an asterisk on any list of U.S. national security concerns" (emphasis added).
Perhaps revealing the next move of the neo-con warmongersright now reeling from the sting of peace in SyriaPillar claims that "the administration" will likely try to take advantage of a "vague clause" in the Corker Cardin bill (signed by Obama, it "authorized" the President to waive sanctions originally imposed by Congress) that stresses that sanctions relief must be "appropriate, proportionate," and in U.S. interests. Haley could then argue that the United States was not pulling out of the treaty itself, but reinstituting sanctions all the same.
PRESS RELEASE
Lavrov: U.S.-led Coalition Protecting Al Nusra Terrorists in Syria
Sept. 11, 2017 (EIRNS)Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov charged today that the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition is protecting the Nusra Front, the Al Qaeda franchise in Syria. Speaking in Amman, Jordan, during a joint press conference with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Al Safadi, Lavrov said that the situation around Al Nusra in Syria remains "very ambiguous," as some members of the U.S.-led coalition are constantly trying to protect militants from being eliminated.
"They [the U.S.] did not have the spirit or the courage or the ability to dissociate Jabhat al-Nusra from those oppositionists [of Syria] with which the U.S. side cooperated. This is absolutely unacceptable,"
Lavrov said, reported Sputnik.
At the same time, however, Reuters reported that, in southern Syria, two Free Syrian Army groups said that they have been asked to withdraw into Jordan, now that the United States is no longer supporting their campaign against Assad. The two groups said they were told to end fighting in the area by their backers from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and neighboring states that support them, which include Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Western diplomatic sources told Reuters that the request was tied to the decision by President Donald Trump in July to halt CIA support of armed opposition groups fighting to overthrow the government of Bashar al Assad. The commanders in both groups have rejected the request; they say they would rather "stay and die" in the desert than leave the battlefield, because they consider withdrawal into Jordan to be the end of their campaign.
Its quite likely that the policy battle both within and outside the Trump administration over "regime-change" in Syria is still playing out and that this is what Lavrovs remarks indicate.
Mercedes-Benz is getting back into the hydrogen fuel cell game.
The German auto giant announced at the just-convened Frankfurt International Motor Show that it would begin selling the GLC F-Cell in the U.S. by late 2019.
Mercedes, which calls the hybrid SUV the worlds first electric vehicle with fuel-cell/battery powertrain, said the new F-Cell will have an all-electric battery range of 30 miles and a total hybrid range of 271 miles.
Advertisement
The German company joins a host of vehicle manufacturers that, in anticipation of tougher future European emissions standards, are moving away from diesel and gasoline engines and toward alternative fuel machines.
Last week, BMW and Jaguar Land Rover announced plans to ramp up production of electric vehicles, joining Volvo, Volkswagen and Ford in the group of automakers that have said they are anticipating the end of internal combustion engine production.
More recent reports say that the government in China, the worlds fastest growing automotive market, plans to ban sales of all gasoline- and diesel-powered cars and trucks.
The new Mercedes vehicle will be fitted with a 4.4-kilogram hydrogen fuel storage tank paired with a 13.8-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery.
The two power sources will push an electric motor capable of 147 kilowatts of thrust, Mercedes said. The F-Cell will be able to go as far as 30 miles on battery power alone before tapping the stored hydrogen for greater range.
The vehicles will make the equivalent of 197 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, Mercedes said, and run at an electronically limited top speed of 99 miles per hour. The electric battery will be able to receive a full charge in about 1.5 hours.
Driving modes will allow the operator to run the car on hydrogen only, battery only, or in hybrid mode making it possible for the hydrogen side to recharge the battery side, among other things.
The battery can also be recharged like a traditional plug-in, connected to a home wall plug or a commercial charging station.
The GLC F-Cell joins a small collection of hydrogen fuel cell cars on U.S. roads, among them Toyotas Mirai, Hondas Clarity and Hyundais Tucson.
Those cars, along with a previous Mercedes-Benz fuel cell B-Class vehicle, were powered by hydrogen fuel cell alone, and did not include an on-board battery capable of electric-only range.
They are popular among a small but passionate population of drivers because they run silently, do not produce toxic emissions and can be refueled in three to five minutes, just like gasoline-powered cars.
But sales and leases of those cars have been slow, in part because of the continued scarcity of hydrogen fueling stations.
Not all observers were applauding. Karl Brauer, senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book, while lauding Mercedes efforts to develop more alternative fuel vehicles, said the world still isnt ready for widespread use of cars requiring hydrogen fuel.
Hydrogen fuel cell cars are too expensive, and too limited in their functionality, Brauer said. They still cant compete, largely because there arent enough stations.
Mercedes did not provide information on pricing.
charles.fleming@latimes.com
@misterfleming
How the iPhone Xs facial recognition technology works
Phil Schiller, Apples senior vice president of worldwide marketing, explains how Face ID works at the introduction of the new iPhone X on Tuesday in Cupertino, Calif. (Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)
Apple users who were squeamish about handing over their fingerprints now face an even more personal proposition: unlocking their smartphones with their faces.
With Face ID, which Apple announced Tuesday, an iPhone X user simply holds up the device and it recognizes his or her face.
Nothing has ever been simpler, more natural and effortless, said Phil Schiller, Apples senior vice president of worldwide marketing. Face ID is the future of how we unlock our smartphones and protect our sensitive information.
Convenient, but perhaps a bit creepy? Heres how it works.
The system relies on an advanced suite of tech packed into the front of the new phone. It involves an infrared camera, flood illuminator, front camera, dot projector, proximity sensor and ambient light sensor.
The dot projector beams out more than 30,000 invisible infrared dots, and the infrared camera captures an image.
Apple uses the infrared image and dot pattern and pushes them through neural networks to create a mathematical model of your face, and then it checks that mathematical model against a stored image captured earlier. Once it detects a match, the phone unlocks.
Schiller said Apple took more than a billion images and multiple neural networks to create Face ID. iPhone X will come with an A11 bionic neural engine to process faces.
To set it up, hold your iPhone X in front of your face and move your head slowly around. That will become the stored version on your phone.
Face ID is sophisticated enough to work in the dark, and to learn your face under different circumstances -- so go ahead and wear those funky glasses or grow that hipster beard.
Schiller said Apple also worked hard to ensure the technology cant be easily spoofed by things like photographs.
Theyve even gone and worked with professional mask makers and makeup artists in Hollywood to protect against these attempts to beat Face ID, he said.
The tech also requires user attention to unlock -- your eyes have to be open, and you cant be looking away (meaning your device should remain safe even if youre asleep).
How secure is it?
With Touch ID, Apples fingerprint technology, the chance that a random person could unlike your phone with his or her fingerprint is one in 50,000, Apple said. With Face ID, Apple says its one in 1 million.
And identical twins and those averse to using their faces: You can still unlock your phone with an old-fashioned passcode.
Face ID will work with Apple Pay and third-party apps.
After a former Uber employee wrote a blog post about sexual harassment at the ride-hailing company, it took four months and a raft of other problems for investors to oust then-Chief Executive Travis Kalanick in June.
At SoFi, it took just a month after an allegation of sexual harassment at the fast-growing online lender for Chief Executive Mike Cagney to announce plans to resign, a sign of the growing furor over brutish behavior in Silicon Valley and the potential regulatory ramifications the company faces as it seeks to become more like a full-fledged bank.
Cagney, who co-founded the San Francisco company formally known as Social Finance Inc. in 2011, wrote in a blog post Monday that he would step down by the end of the year because HR-related litigation and negative press have become a distraction from the companys core mission.
Advertisement
He was replaced by investor Tom Hutton as chairman of the companys board effective immediately.
Sexual harassment, and the extent to which companies tolerate it, has become a white-hot issue in Silicon Valley, leading to a wave of resignations, lawsuits and investigations.
The issue was one of several factors that led to an internal investigation at Uber and to Kalanicks eventual ouster. A number of female entrepreneurs also have come forward this summer alleging a pattern of sexual harassment by prominent venture capitalists.
Although sexual harassment has become a thorn in the side of many tech companies, it could be particularly damaging for SoFi.
The company offers mortgages and student loan refinancing but wants to expand into providing credit cards and checking accounts. To do that, the company needs regulators to grant it a state bank charter and federal deposit insurance. The allegations of sexual harassment and other problems could be factors in that process.
Banks and firms who wish to become banks, they have to be concerned about this, said Brian Knight, a senior research fellow at George Mason Universitys Mercatus Center. Its not just public opinion its also the regulators opinion of public opinion.
Jim Prosser, a SoFi spokesman, said the company would not comment on regulatory matters. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. does not comment on pending applications.
SoFi, one of the biggest names in financial technology, or fintech, has seen immense growth over the last few years. It now has about 1,200 employees, up from 400 two years ago.
In this years second quarter, it originated $3.1 billion in loans, according to Cagneys most recent blog post. Thats up from $1 billion in the second quarter of 2015.
Cagneys resignation was spurred by a lawsuit filed Aug. 11 by former employee Brandon Charles, who was hired as a manager at the companys office in Healdsburg in Sonoma County. He alleged SoFi had fired him for trying to report bad practices at the company, including sexual harassment by a manager at the Healdsburg office and the mishandling of loan applications at another office in Salt Lake City.
On Aug. 31, Charles amended the suit to include Cagney as a named defendant, alleging the CEO made sexual comments about female employees and fostered a culture that allowed sexual harassment to continue unabated. The suit also singles out SoFis former chief financial officer, Saturnino Nino Fanlo, alleging he made sexual comments at [SoFis] San Francisco office, touched women inappropriately and made them feel uncomfortable.
Then on Sunday, the Wall Street Journal posted a story quoting unnamed SoFi employees who alleged executives engaged in or condoned sexual harassment and reporting that SoFi in 2012 had reached a monetary settlement with a now-former employee over a dispute with Cagney.
A spokesman for the board confirmed to The Times that there was an investigation, commissioned by the board and handled by an outside law firm, and that the inquiry led to a settlement.
There was no allegation or evidence of a romantic or sexual relationship between Mr. Cagney and the employee, the spokesman said.
The Journal also reported that Fanlo, who left SoFi in May to join San Diego health information start-up Human Longevity Inc., said no one had raised complaints to him directly and that he did not know he had done anything to make workers feel uncomfortable.
Fanlo, a board member at Pasadena prepaid debit card issuer Green Dot Corp., could not be reached for comment through that company or Human Longevity.
Cagney had written in a company blog post a day after the suit was amended that SoFi had hired an outside attorney to investigate the claims in Charles suit and that sexual harassment has no place at SoFi. He also said that the company had learned that several people were willing to come forth and formally allege they had been victims of or had witnessed improper activity at the Healdsburg office.
He added that the company was creating an anonymous means for employees to provide our counsel information that could be helpful to their investigation and was starting new training and education programs.
At Uber, allegations of sexual harassment were only part of the problems. The company has also faced criticism for how it uses customer data, its treatment of drivers and its practice of expanding into new territories despite pushback from local officials.
However, in the world of banking, its not so easy to simply start offering services and ask permission later.
To issue credit cards and accept federally insured deposits, SoFi needs permission from regulators upfront. And among the factors regulators will consider before granting access to the federal banking systems is the institutions potential reputational risk.
Bank analyst Bert Ely said defining reputational risk is subjective but that the FDIC and other regulators generally want to ensure that new banks wont embarrass the banking industry.
Banks worry about bad actors in the industry giving the whole industry a bad name, he said.
Knight and Ely said Cagneys planned resignation is likely to at least delay SoFis application for a charter and deposit insurance.
For starters, Cagneys impending departure means SoFi will need to find a new chief executive. Ely said the FDIC probably wont approve SoFis application for deposit insurance until a new leadership team is in place.
SoFis bank would be a subsidiary of the main company and be run by its own CEO with oversight by a five-member board. Cagney is listed as one of the proposed board members in SoFi Banks application for deposit insurance.
Whos in charge, and how is the likely success of the business and its business plan going to change? Ely said. Thats a big question mark, and a question mark will mean a delay.
SoFi is known for its focus on high-earning millennials and graduates of top-ranked universities as well as for its marketing, which has included Super Bowl ads, cocktail parties and career-building workshops.
The firm had been mulling an initial public offering but held off after raising $1 billion from investors, including Japanese telecom firm Softbank, in late 2015.
james.koren@latimes.com
Follow me: @jrkoren
UPDATES:
5:45 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from bank analysts Bert Ely and Brian Knight, as well additional background and details on SoFis sexual harassment lawsuit.
This article was originally published at 11:30 p.m. on Sept. 11.
A Southern California company has recalled papaya imported from Mexico after health authorities linked its fruit shipments to a salmonella infection that has killed one person and sickened 13 others in three states.
Bravo Produce Inc. of San Ysidro, issued a recall notice Sunday, after federal investigators last week traced an infected sample of Maradol papayas to shipments the company imported from a Tijuana packer.
The fruit, grown in the western Mexican state of Colima, was shipped to California wholesale and retail markets from Aug. 10 to Aug. 29, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
Advertisement
The latest outbreak is one of four that have sickened more than 200 people in 23 states since late last year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Earlier outbreaks killed one person in New York City and left 65 others hospitalized, according to the CDC.
Salmonella bacteria are particularly hazardous to children, the elderly and people with weak immune systems. Infection can cause fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
The fruits in the Bravo recall were grown by Productores y Exportadores de Carica Papaya de Tecoman y Costa Alegre, and were packed by Frutas Selectas de Tijuana. The affected papaya can be identified by a yellow sticker on the fruit, labels on cartons and by lot numbers, which are available on the FDA recall notice.
Consumers should throw out papaya if they have any doubt about its origin, the FDA said.
Other sources involved in the outbreaks include Carica de Campeche, Caraveo Produce and El Zapotanito, according to the CDC.
Bravo Produce said in a statement that it is cooperating with the FDA and will take samples from all papaya cargo to a private laboratory authorized by the agency.
geoffrey.mohan@latimes.com
Twitter: @LATgeoffmohan
Tens of thousands of former students who say they were swindled by for-profit colleges are being left in limbo as the Trump administration delays action on requests for loan forgiveness, according to court documents obtained by the Associated Press.
The Education Department is sitting on more than 65,000 unapproved claims as it rewrites Obama-era rules that sought to better protect students. The rewrite had been sought by industry.
The for-profit college industry has found an ally in President Trump, who earlier this year paid $25 million to settle charges that his Trump University misled customers. And its yet another example of the Trump administration hiring officials to oversee the industries where they had worked previously.
Advertisement
In August, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos picked Julian Schmoke Jr., a former associate dean at DeVry University, as head of the Education Departments enforcement unit. More than 2,000 requests for loan forgiveness are pending from DeVry students.
And for the departments top lawyer, DeVos has tapped a top aide to Floridas attorney general who was involved in the decision not to pursue legal action against Trump University.
The Obama rules would have forbidden schools from forcing students to sign agreements that waived their right to sue. Defrauded students would have faced a quicker path to get their loans erased, and schools not taxpayers could have been held responsible for the costs.
Now, in a filing in federal court in California, acting Undersecretary James Manning says the department will need up to six months to decide the case of a former student at the now-defunct Corinthian Colleges and other cases like hers. Sarah Dieffenbacher, a single mother of four from California, had taken out $50,000 in student loans to study to become a paralegal. She attended the now-defunct Everest College in Ontario. But then she couldnt find a job in the field, defaulted on her debt and could face wage garnishment.
The Education Department will be able to issue a decision with regards to Ms. Dieffenbachers Borrower Defense claims within six months, as part of a larger group of Borrower Defense decisions regarding similar claims, Manning wrote to the court Aug. 28.
Department spokeswoman Liz Hill said the agency is working to streamline the process and resolve the claims as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the Obama administration left behind thousands of claims, and we will need to set up a fair and equitable system to work through them, she said.
Hill said students with claims pending are not required to make payments on their loans.
But Alec Harris, a lawyer with Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School who is representing Dieffenbacher, said the delay could put his client and her children on the street.
This is a Department of Education that has seemingly sided with industry and stacked the deck against former students of predatory for-profit schools every step of the way, Harris said.
Reid Setzer, government affairs director for Young Invincibles, an advocacy and research group, said the departments delay is harming thousands of students.
Its kind of ridiculous, Setzer said. There have been massive delays since the change of administration.
The Obama administration went hard after for-profit colleges that used false promises to lure students into taking out big loans. Chains including Corinthian Colleges and ITT Technical Institute were forced to close, and Obamas Education Department approved about $655 million in loan cancellations for their students.
No claims have been approved since DeVos came into office seven months ago, according to Mannings July response to questions from Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illi.), who is part of a group of lawmakers pressuring her to accelerate the process. The department is in the process of discharging loans for claims that had been approved by the previous administration.
Among the claims still pending are more than 45,000 filed by Corinthian students and more than 7,000 filed by ITT students.
DeVos is working on rewriting two Obama-era regulations that were meant to prevent colleges from misrepresenting their services to students and from failing to provide students with an education that would enable them to find jobs.
In an interview with the AP last month, DeVos said, Lets be clear, no student should be defrauded, and in case of fraud there should be remedy. But we also know this approach has been unevenly applied, and if theres going to be regulation around some institutions, we believe it needs to be fairly applied across the board.
Democratic attorneys general from 18 states and the District of Columbia filed suit against DeVos in July over the rules, which were finalized under President Obama and scheduled to take effect July 1.
Since Day 1 of the Trump administration, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and the administration have sided with for-profit schools over students, Massachusetts Atty. Gen. Maura Healey told reporters at the time. For me and my colleagues, its simple: When students and families are cheated out of an education and taxpayers foot the bill, everybody loses.
Equifax wont win any prizes for its handling of a massive security breach that potentially exposed the personal information of 143 million people to hackers.
But it was striking that of all the things that outraged consumers, the one that drew the most attention was Equifaxs inclusion of an arbitration clause in its offer of free credit monitoring.
Yes, it was slimy for the company to try to deny people their right to sue or to join class-action lawsuits.
Advertisement
But no, Equifax was by no means alone in pulling such a stunt.
The reality is that many if not most service agreements presented by businesses to consumers contain such a provision, and they get away with it because theres precious little outrage over this shamelessly unfair practice.
Caught up in the Equifax hack? Heres one thing you can do to protect yourself
These forced arbitration clauses are everywhere, said Christine Hines, legislative director for the National Assn. of Consumer Advocates. But Im not sure theres widespread knowledge of it.
In most data breaches, the compromised business offers free credit monitoring from one of the three leading credit agencies Equifax, Experian or TransUnion. While that monitoring routinely comes with an arbitration clause, consumers arent prevented by the services provision from suing the breached company.
In other words, Target got hacked in 2014 and offered customers credit monitoring through Experian. Experians arbitration clause didnt preempt lawsuits against Target.
Equifaxs breach is different in that the company that got hacked and the one offering credit monitoring are one and the same.
Equifax clarified last week that its arbitration clause applied only to the free credit file monitoring and identity theft protection products, and not the cybersecurity incident meaning you could still sue the company over the hacking.
Even so, the social-media backlash grew and Equifax subsequently announced it was completely erasing the arbitration clause from its credit-monitoring agreement for this cybersecurity incident.
To be as clear as possible, we will not apply any arbitration clause or class-action waiver against consumers for claims related to the free products offered in response to the cybersecurity incident or for claims related to the cybersecurity incident itself, said Wyatt Jefferies, a company spokesman.
Thats a win for consumers. But the war is still being lost.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision in 2011 that any business can include an arbitration clause in its service contract. The ruling preempted pro-consumer laws in California and other states.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced in July that financial firms under its jurisdiction banks, credit card companies cant block people from joining class-action lawsuits.
Within days, Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives voted to kill the rule. A similar vote by the Senate is expected this month.
Businesses say arbitration is better for consumers because its faster and fairer, and because it deters lawyers from filing nuisance suits in hopes of scoring a fat settlement. Some or all of that may be true.
Whats also true, though, is that arbitration overwhelmingly favors companies. The advocacy group Public Citizen found that over a four-year period, arbitrators ruled in favor of banks and credit card companies 94% of the time in disputes with California consumers.
A 2015 study by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that in grievances with financial firms, class actions provide a more effective means for consumers to challenge problematic practices by these companies.
The same report revealed that fewer than 7% of consumers understood that an arbitration clause in their credit card agreements meant they couldnt sue the company which is to say that about 93% didnt understand the provision.
Arbitration clauses are now so pervasive that its reasonable to assume if you have a bank account, credit card, cellphone, pay-TV service, insurance policy or airline ticket, youve agreed to an arbitration clause, whether you know it or not.
Many employment contracts also contain such provisions, preventing you from filing suit in the event of a workplace issue.
Aside from blocking consumers from banding together and thus wielding greater clout, arbitration is inherently imbalanced because the arbitrators fee almost always is paid by the company in a dispute. The arbitrator thus has a financial incentive to favor one side over the other.
Consumer advocates are hoping people will be more aware of the issue not just because of the Equifax breach but also the assorted scandals that have plagued Wells Fargo. State and federal courts have tossed out lawsuits against the bank, maintaining that Wells arbitration clause prohibits legal action.
Nearly two dozen Democratic lawmakers wrote Monday to Richard Smith, the chief executive of Equifax, urging him to take the lead among credit agencies in getting rid of arbitration clauses on a full-time basis.
Forced arbitration provisions in consumer contracts erode Americans ability to seek justice in the courts by forcing them into a privatized system that is inherently rigged against consumers and which offers virtually no way to challenge a biased outcome, they wrote.
Since the Supreme Courts ruling six years ago, Democratic lawmakers have introduced and reintroduced legislation, the Arbitration Fairness Act, that would do away with mandatory arbitration clauses.
It would still allow businesses and consumers to use arbitration as a dispute-resolution tool. But the decision would be mutual.
Ever since Equifax made clear that its arbitration clause wont apply to the current breach, roughly two dozen proposed class-action lawsuits have been filed. Dealing with those suits undoubtedly will be very expensive for the company.
And you know what? Equifax probably will do everything possible to avoid being hacked again and thus put in a similarly perilous position.
Simply put, arbitration wouldnt have done that.
David Lazarus column runs Tuesdays and Fridays. He also can be seen daily on KTLA-TV Channel 5 and followed on Twitter @Davidlaz. Send your tips or feedback to david.lazarus@latimes.com.
ALSO
Time is running out for California Internet privacy bill hated by industry
Even as Wells Fargo scandal deepens, GOP lawmakers push bank deregulation
Phone industry turns to James Bond for answer to robocall villainy
Do you want the newest iPhone , or the best iPhone?
Those two things are typically one and the same, with Apples latest phone being sleeker, shinier and more powerful than those that came before it. But with the announcement of the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X on Tuesday, Apple has created a tiered system: two phones, equally new, one of which is undoubtedly more powerful than earlier models, and another even more powerful than that.
Its a strategy that may confuse some customers, but one that makes sense for a company reliant on its flagship gadget to generate revenue, analysts and business experts said.
Starting at $999, the iPhone X is the most expensive iPhone ever released. Its $300 more than the base model iPhone 8 which itself is more expensive than Apples previous highest starting price for a base model phone.
The iPhone X has an edge-to-edge OLED screen, facial recognition technology and a display more vibrant and vivid than other models. But its guts arent too different from that of the iPhone 8 or the larger iPhone 8 Plus. Both phones have the same A11 Bionic chip, can support augmented reality apps and can be charged wirelessly using Qi standard technology.
Comparing the iPhone 8 with the iPhone X iPhone 8 Starting Price: $699
Size: iPhone 8, 4.7 inches; iPhone 8 Plus, 5.5 inches
Storage: 64 GB and 256 GB
Body: Glass and aluminum
Chip: A11 Bionic
Camera: Dual 12-megapixel camera with two new sensors and optical image stabilizers; shoots 4K video; "portrait lighting" feature uses the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus' dual cameras to sense depth and rework the lighting as you compose the shot
Wireless charging
Water and dust resistant
New gyroscopes and accelerometers for augmented reality
Screen: Has a bezel surrounding HD Retina display
Access: Home button, fingerprint, pass code
Available for pre-order Sept. 15, ships Sept. 22 iPhone X Starting Price: $999
Size: 5.8 inches
Storage: 64 GB and 256 GB
Body: Glass and aluminum
Chip: A11 Bionic
Camera: Dual 12-megapixel camera with two new sensors and optical image stabilizers; shoots 4K video; "portrait lighting" feature; also has 7-megapixel TrueDepth camera that enables Face ID, features wide color capture, auto image stabilization and precise exposure control
Wireless charging
Water and dust resistant
New gyroscopes and accelerometers for augmented reality
Screen: Edge-to-edge OLED super Retina display
Access: Face ID using a camera system including a dot projector, infrared camera and flood illuminator that maps and recognizes a users face from multiple angles
Available for preorder Oct. 27, ships Nov. 3
Thats a big departure from the last time Apple introduced a lower-spec phone: the iPhone 5c, which unveiled alongside the more sophisticated 5s in 2013.
The iPhone 5c was a good enough phone for developing markets. It was to get into China, India and Latin America, said Jefferson Wang, a senior partner at IBB Consulting. Here, the iPhone 8 is still the flagship phone. They havent bumped anything down. They created an ultra-premium layer.
Its a strategy that could help reestablish Apple as the premium smartphone brand. Apple products have traditionally been more expensive than comparable offerings from competitors, creating a sheen of exclusivity that has led to higher demand from those who want the latest and greatest. But as the market for smartphones has become saturated and once-emerging markets such as China have matured, the iPhone has lost some of that sheen.
Apples introduction of a $1,000 iPhone is consistent with its business strategy of differentiation and exclusivity, said Loizos Heracleous, a professor of strategy at Warwick Business School. Its targeting the higher end of the market rather than just aiming for a larger base of users.
The approach also has to do with market maturity. About three-quarters of Americans own a smartphone, according to Pew Research Center. When everyone who wants the latest and greatest phone has gone out, lined up and bought it, its time to reach the people who dont care as much.
With the announcement of the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X, Apple did not indicate that it would discontinue any previous models. Which means the company now offers the 2015 generation of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the 2016 models of the iPhone 7, the iPhone 7 Plus and the iPhone SE, and the 2017 models of the iPhone 8, the iPhone 8 Plus and the iPhone X.
That means theyve got the widest range of prices and models Apple has ever offered, [and] theyve created five tiers of phones starting at $350, said Frank Gillett, a principal analyst at Forrester Research.
In other words, an iPhone for everyone wealthy or not, early-adopting fanboy or not.
Having so many phones on the market complicates Apples supply chain, but the pricing strategy could help counterbalance material shortages, Wang said. For example, the OLED screens in the iPhone X are scarce, which means Apple might not be able to produce enough to meet demand. Its premium price in part could help restrict demand until supply ramps up. At the same time, Apple wants lots of people using its new augmented reality software, which is one of the key things that differentiate its newest phones from iPhones past and from competitors offerings.
If they just launched the iPhone X and not everyone can get the X, theyll have limited their differentiator, Wang said. By equipping the iPhone 8 with similar insides that support augmented reality apps, it gives people ready for a phone upgrade another Apple option.
Another thing the two new phones share: glass backs that enable wireless charging. The company isnt selling its own proprietary charging dock. Phone owners will be able to use any charging dock that supports Qi wireless charging, which is the same standard for Samsung devices. At its keynote event, Apple announced that it was working on a charging mat called AirPower, expected to launch next year, that will simultaneously charge an iPhone, Apple Watch , and AirPods.
Hugh Hefner spoke with the L.A. Times often and always had something memorable to say
(Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times)
Understanding Playboy-in-Chief Hugh Hefners revered and reviled lifestyle was often just a question or two away.
The iconoclastic publishing mogul, who died Wednesday at 91, was an open book when it came to his views on swinging ways and sexuality, particularly how his puritanical upbringing shaped his career and gave rise to the revolutionary Playboy empire.
Over the years, the perennially pajama-clad Hef was interviewed often by the Los Angeles Times. Heres a sampling of some of his memorable quotes.
On sexualitys problematic origins in America:
Our society is fragmented, he asserted in 1994. Messages regarding human sexuality have always been mixed in America. We are a schizophrenic nation. We were founded initially by Puritans, who escaped repression only to establish their own. Then the founding fathers gave us the Constitution to separate church and state. But the one thing that got left out of all those laws was human sexuality.
On the life he made for himself:
Much of my life has been like an adolescent dream of an adult life, he told The Times in 1992. If you were still a boy, in almost a Peter Pan kind of way, and could have just the perfect life that you wanted to have, thats the life I invented for myself.
OBITUARY: Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, who shook up American morality with an ideal of swinging singlehood, dies at 91
On why he was so happy:
You will find in my bedroom images from long ago, little photographs and things from when I was a kid. Im a very happy guy, and part of that has to do with my connection to my childhood, he said in 2009.
On how he became Hef:
Through a lifetime, you reinvent who you are, he explained in 2009. I actually reinvented myself the first time when I was 16, when a girl rejected me. I started referring to myself as Hef, started changing my wardrobe the same thing I did in 1959-1960 with the magazine, when I came out from behind the desk and started living the life and got the first Playboy mansion, started to drive a Mercedes 300SL.
On how the 1942 film Casablanca led to the Playboy Club:
I think I opened the first Playboy Club because of Casablanca. I wanted to have a place where people came to hang out as they did at Ricks, he said in 2010. It has everything not only Bogies charismatic character, but lost love, redemption, patriotism, humor it had a great musical score.
On traditional attitudes toward marriage and sex:
If you dont commit, he told The Times in 1994, you dont get hurt. I was always unwilling to commit to marriage because I was afraid to lose the romance.
On the Playboy brands global status:
It has been said that the two most famous trademarks in the world are Coca-Cola and the Playboy bunny rabbit, he said in 1994. There is certainly no one else in our area that represents the American dream in this particular kind of way. That rabbit means economic freedom, personal freedom and political freedom. That potential is unlimited.
On the Playboy Jazz Festival:
Ive never found anything that Ive cared more about than the music from my youth. I loved the Beatles, sure, but I never became except for dancing purposes a hard rocker. To me, there is something incredibly celebratory, and so wonderful about really good big-band swing and Dixieland, he said in 2002.
When I started, I just wanted to put out a mens magazine. But by the end of the 50s, it was so successful that I seized it as a vehicle for changing the direction of my life, he added. And that crucial change in my life was also associated with jazz, because it all began within a space of about six months after the first Playboy Jazz Festival in August of 1959.
Hugh Hefner, founder of the Playboy empire, relaxes during a visit to England in 1966. (John Downing / Getty Images)
On his personal legacy:
One of the reasons that I have such tremendous satisfaction at this point in my life is because I know Ive made a difference, he said in 1994. Ive made a difference in a way that really matters to me.
On publishings shift to digital:
I dont sit around thinking about, Gee, what happened to the new generation and they dont read enough and why is the internet replacing books? he said in 2009.
On his fame and sex appeal:
I think that just as [Henry] Kissinger said, power is the ultimate aphrodisiac. Celebrity is the ultimate aphrodisiac in todays world. And Im lucky enough to have fallen into a unique kind of celebrity, he said in 2009. So against all logic, nothing else matters age doesnt matter. When [my last long-term] relationship ended, last year, they were climbing over the gate. ... young women. Endless numbers of young women.
ALSO
Hugh Hefners life pushing boundaries started with comics
Hugh Hefners Playboy Mansion was hedonistic headquarters for his brand
Your legacy lives on: Hugh Hefner is remembered as an innovator, friend and supporter of civil rights
Rihannas collaboration with Puma, which has shown in Paris for the last two seasons, made an impressive return to New York Fashion Week with a Park Avenue Armory show that melded motocross and retro surf into a high-octane assortment that unspooled against the backdrop of gigantic pink sand dunes over which motocross riders vaulted spectacularly to open the show.
Grounded in a color palette of blue with pops of olive drab, orange and neon pink, the spring and summer 2018 Fenty Puma by Rihanna runway collection served up silhouettes that ranged from super-baggy to curve-hugging, with a more-than-liberal sprinkling of strap, buckle and bungee cord details.
Looks from the spring and summer 2018 Fenty Puma by Rihanna runway collection. (Brian Ach, far right, and JP Yim / Getty Images)
Advertisement
The motocross influence came by way of one-piece body-conscious race suits, racing-style stripes and fonts and checkered-flag details that ran down the arms of zip-front hoodies, up the legs of track pants and around the waistbands of mesh booty shorts.
Water-sport references included surfer-appropriate retro palm-tree prints, the words wet and drowning splashed across tops and light outerwear, pink-neon-accented zippers and neoprene fabrications throughout including in a version of the lines popular creeper shoe with bungee-cord laces. But the biggest splash in this department came by way of swimwear, a first in the partnership with Puma wetsuit-inspired bathing suits, bikinis, a couple of navel-bearing one-pieces and hooded terrycloth apres-swim gear that hits the cabana-meets-the-street sweet spot.
Instead of a traditional show-ending runway bow, Rihanna waved to the crowd from the back of a motocross bike that sped around the catwalk. It was a moment of pure showmanship that would have looked ridiculous done by anybody else, but executed by Ri Ri, it perfectly encapsulated the badass bad-girl DNA of her Puma partnership.
Rihanna takes her runway finale bow on the back of a motocross bike after the show. (Brian Ach / Getty Images)
adam.tschorn@latimes.com
For more musings on all things fashion and style, follow me at @ARTschorn.
ALSO:
Philipp Pleins fashion extravaganza during New York Fashion Week is a bust
Rihannas Puma collaboration earns a Paris Fashion Week gold star
Christian Sirianos SS18 collection and Leslie Jones reaction to it are everything
There is no better way to jettison yourself out of overheated doldrums than an icy glass of granita di caffe con panna, a parfait of sweetened granular espresso ice layered with dollops of barely sweetened whipped cream. There is some kind of synergy between the icy chill, the sugar and the caffeine that cools and jolts you all at the same time its a welcome shot in the arm when you find yourself felled by heat-induced laziness. But Im warning you, if you have it in the freezer you might find yourself spooning a second and third serving into your glass. Talk about bulletproof.
Arguably the most popular granita di caffe in the world can be found in Rome, across from the Pantheon at Tazza dOro, a coffee bar and roaster thats been serving tiny cups of black gold to customers for over 70 years.
The joy of traveling in Italy in the 1970s for the first time was that no one I knew had ever been to Rome and no one told me where I had to go. I found my way to Tazza dOro on a blisteringly hot end of summer day by just following the stream of tourists exiting the place with cups of dark ice and fluffy cream in hand. I joined the line and became mesmerized by the simplicity of how the refresher was put together.
Advertisement
I dont know if its the same now, but back then the barmen were constantly making shots of caffe espresso to us Americans for counter customers. They also kept up a steady flow of shots for the granita bins. These were metal inserts that fit into indentations of a freezer counter that lined the back bar. As they worked, they added espresso to the bins (I never saw what kind of sweetener, whether sugar or syrup). Occasionally they reached in to give the mass a vigorous stir as the minutes ticked by.
It was one of the most impressive, efficient ways of doing two jobs at once I had ever seen. It was also a lesson on lack of fussiness in cooking: It is possible to create a wonderful food experience without overthinking.
It will hopefully not surprise you to learn that you can do this pretty easily at home too. And considering how hot its been lately in Los Angeles, this is a very happy thing. Brew some espresso, or even some strong coffee. Stir sugar to taste remember that sweetness dulls when frozen, so it should be slightly sweeter than you might think into the hot espresso, then pour the mixture into a cake pan and freeze. Start checking after an hour and use a fork to scrape up the icy bits. Repeat a couple more times, an hour apart, until the mixture is a blizzard of icy granules. Then spoon the stuff into a glass and top generously with whipped cream. Or just pour really good heavy cream over the coffee ice: It will freeze and mellow out the bitterness of the coffee.
Recipe: Coffee granita (granita di caffe)
Recently, I was about to take an afternoon nap but instead I ate two glasses of the stuff and now Im writing this.
Most of us dont have a Marzocco or other fabulous espresso machine at home, but dont be daunted by this. You can use an inexpensive Italian stovetop-style metal Moka espresso brewer, as I do. Or you can just brew some really strong coffee. Or make cold brew, which will take longer but does not require making hot coffee. Youll need to make some simple syrup so that the sugar melts, but thats super easy and is worth doing anyway so you can use the mixture in lemonade or cocktails.
And, of course, if you dont want to deal with making the coffee in the first place, you could just buy a few shots to-go from your local coffee spot and add the sugar at home.
While making this, I was trying to re-create a sense memory embedded back in the 70s, so I purposely ignored the fancy third wave coffee roasts and instead used espresso-grind coffee from the supermarket. I can hear you gasp. But this whole operation is meant to remove heat stress, not create sourcing challenges. I experimented with two coffees, an all-arabica grind from longtime Los Angeles roaster Gavina and an arabica-robusta moka espresso blend from Italian brand Lavazza. (Since I knew I was drinking robusta back in the day, I thought it might increase the possibility of re-creating the memory.) The result of my extremely biased experiment was that I determined that by the time you add sugar and heavy cream to the icy coffee, it doesnt really matter what roast it is. (Coffee people: Please resist the urge to troll me.)
If you want an easy, high-quality cheat to bump up the coffee flavor, get yourself a bottle of Trablit, a French-made coffee extract that bears no relation to any coffee extract youve used before. Just a small spoonful will enhance the coffee flavor (and color) without adding any bitterness. It was the Angeli tiramisu secret for years.
Another way to create the fun, icy granules in the granita is to pour the sweetened coffee into a plastic zip-lock bag and freeze it. Because I am an impatient person who is easily felled by heat, I used an enormous 2-gallon bag for my freezing purposes. The thinner the layer of liquid, the faster it freezes, is my philosophy. If youre more comfortable creating the icy granules by scraping a fork across a frozen pond of sweetened coffee in a cake pan, be my guest. But with the bag method, all you have to do is remember to walk into the kitchen every hour for three hours and squish the freezing liquid around. If it freezes too hard in spots, you can always bash it into granules with a rolling pin.
I cant encourage you enough to try this nearly effortless way to cool off. The only downside is you might find yourself addicted to the jolt and continue making it through the cooler fall months.
Kleiman ran Angeli Caffe for 27 years. Shes the longtime host of KCRW-FMs Good Food and a member of the James Beard Foundations Whos Who of Food and Beverage in America.
food@latimes.com
The Los Angeles Unified School District appears to have once again broken its all-time record, reporting a preliminary graduation rate of 80.2% for the class of 2017.
Thats up 3 percentage points from the year before, part of a rapid uphill climb. From 2015 to 2016, the graduate rate rose 5 percentage points, from 72% to 77%.
Supt. Michelle King told board members that the rate had topped 80% at Tuesdays board meeting. District officials confirmed the number via email.
Advertisement
King has been pushing for 100% graduation since the start of the 2015-16 school year, and the district has committed at least $45 million to efforts including controversial credit recovery courses to help students make up classes quickly and graduate on time. Some question the rigor of these courses and whether the students who take them truly are mastering the subject matter.
The board passed a resolution Tuesday that directs the superintendent to gather and publicize data on long-term outcomes for current students. According to the resolution, students in the class of 2016 the first to experience the districts credit recovery push enrolled in college at lower rates than the students before them.
Data from the National Student Clearinghouse indicate that in the fall after high school graduation, 27 percent of the Districts Class of 2016 enrolled in a four-year college and another 36 percent enrolled in a two-year college, the resolution states. That 63% enrollment rate, it notes, is a drop of 2 percentage points from the year before.
Those numbers apply only to the fall directly after high school graduation. Other researchers have looked at how many students enroll in college within a year of graduating high school.
.@LASchools preliminary grad rate topped 80% for 2017, which is 3 points over last year's record high. Thank you, teachers and students! Michelle King (@MichelleKingLA) September 12, 2017
For the last few years, the school district has announced its preliminary graduation rate around the start of the school year, months before official graduation rates are released by the California Department of Education. The state data are considered more accurate.
King said last month that she would not do that this year. People get very confused. Theres a lot of numbers that go round, she said. Once the state gives us the graduation rate, well release it.
Asked why the district changed course, spokeswoman Barbara Jones said in an email Tuesday that L.A. Unified staff were able to review data including credits from adult school, summer term and community college.
Times staff writer Howard Blume contributed to this report.
Reach Sonali Kohli at Sonali.Kohli@latimes.com or on Twitter @Sonali_Kohli.
Blake Heron, an actor best known for his starring role in the 1996 film Shiloh, was found dead in his La Crescenta home Friday from what may have been a drug overdose, according to authorities.
Deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department were called to the 35-year-olds home in the 3000 block of Alabama Street around 7 a.m. after a friend had found him not breathing. The sheriffs department said in statement that Heron appeared to have suffered an apparent overdose of an illicit narcotic substance.
Deputies tried to revive Heron by administering CPR and Narcan, a nasal spray used to treat opioid overdoses. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Advertisement
As of Monday afternoon, the Los Angeles County medical examiners office said a cause of death has not been determined because an autopsy was still pending.
The death remains under investigation.
andy.nguyen@latimes.com
Nguyen writes for Times Community News.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved several motions Tuesday aimed at countering the Trump administrations decision last week to end an Obama-era program that granted young immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children a temporary reprieve from deportation.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, will end in six months unless Congress takes legislative action.
The primary motion considered Tuesday, introduced by Supervisors Hilda Solis and Janice Hahn, directed county officials to send a letter to Congress and President Trump denouncing the rescission of DACA, as well as a letter to Gov. Jerry Brown and state Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra urging legal action to protect Californias DACA recipients.
Advertisement
The motion also put in place a one-year travel restriction for county employees on official business to the nine states that threatened legal action if the Trump administration did not end DACA: Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia. It includes exceptions, however, for travel related to emergency response and assistance, child protection and public safety.
Travel restrictions [are] a way of boycotting policies adopted in other jurisdictions, Solis said. And they are legal.
The motion directs the countys recently established Office of Immigrant Affairs to conduct outreach to current DACA recipients and to assist them with their renewal applications, as well as to explore forms of relief that may be available to county employees who are DACA recipients including one member of Hahns staff.
An additional motion, introduced by board Chairman Mark Ridley-Thomas, directs the county to join or file friend-of-the-court briefs in lawsuits challenging the administrations decision to end DACA, including one filed by Becerra on Monday.
A third motion calls on the Board of Supervisors to elevate immigration to the level of a specific board priority, alongside justice reform, child protection, health integration, homelessness and environmental oversight.
Identifying immigration as a priority for L.A. County will ensure our focus on legislation, litigation, resources and services remains concentrated and consistent, Solis said.
All three motions passed, though some along divided lines. Supervisor Kathryn Barger voted against the travel restriction and support for legal action against the administration, while Ridley-Thomas abstained from voting on the travel restriction.
I support the DACA program as originally intended, Barger said, noting that the measure was not a law but a short-term measure to grant temporary relief while Congress worked out a long-term fix.
We need to push as hard as we can for immigration reform in Congress, Barger said. By not taking action over the past five years, all weve done is keep these young people in limbo.
About two dozen people spoke in support of the motions. Many of them thanked Solis and Hahn, and described how DACA recipients have been able to come out of the shadows, work, go to school and become productive members of society.
These young men and women are contributing mightily to our L.A. economy, said David Rattray of the L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce.
Rattray and others cited figures from the left-leaning Center for American Progress that estimated that eliminating DACA would mean the loss of $460 billion in gross domestic product and nearly $25 billion in Social Security and Medicare contributions over the next decade.
Hugo Romero, a project manager at the UCLA Labor Center and DACA recipient, said DACA had enabled thousands of young people like himself to work in skilled jobs after college, to avoid exploitation in the workplace and to stop living in fear.
Romero said he knew personally what that was like, recalling when he worked at a car wash before receiving DACA. We should refuse to go back to those days, he said.
nina.agrawal@latimes.com
Twitter: @AgrawalNina
Thunderstorms brought dramatic lightning strikes to the Bay Area on Monday night, briefly halting operations at San Francisco International Airport, delaying the Giants-Dodgers game and causing power outages throughout the city.
Social media lit up with stunning videos and photos showing lightning striking near the airport and AT&T Park, where spectators had gathered for the game.
We dont typically have lightning outbreaks or lightning events in the Bay Area, said Charles Bell, meteorologist with the National Weather Service. So any time we have them it definitely gets everybodys attention.
Advertisement
Giants-Dodgers game to resume at 10:50 p.m. after being delayed by lightning https://t.co/zJ9rcIDkUt pic.twitter.com/fJ4UShrWnr KRON4 News (@kron4news) September 12, 2017
About 1,100 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes were reported across the Bay Area, with most of the activity occurring after 6 p.m. and over the water.
There were still quite a few over land, Bell said.
About 9:30 p.m., a tug driver towing an aircraft on the taxiway was possibly struck by lightning, said Brian Horne, airport duty manager. Paramedics were evaluating the man, who complained only of ringing in his ears, and were trying to determine if a strike actually occurred.
Multiple flights scheduled to depart from and arrive at the airport were delayed.
The storm also caused transformer fires and power outages across the city, according to the San Francisco Fire Department. Fire officials, along with the U.S. Coast Guard, rescued a person in distress on a sailboat under the Golden Gate Bridge.
Shortly after 10 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration lifted its ground stop, and airport operations should resume shortly.
Theyre keeping ramp crews off the ramp areas for safety, then when they determine its safe theyll resume operations, Horne said. Now those aircraft can get ready to depart.
Lightning striking behind Kepler Peak and illuminating the Fire Watch tower on Copernicus Peak, Shane dome near center. #lightening #ucsc pic.twitter.com/zV1WARmg37 Lick Observatory (@LickObservatory) September 12, 2017
A low-pressure system lingering off Big Sur pulled in subtropical moisture from Southern California, causing lightning and some rain, said Will Pi, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
Some areas received 0.2 inches of rain.
Another round of thunderstorms is expected to hit the Bay Area on Tuesday, Pi said.
alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com
Twitter: @AleneTchek
UPDATES:
11:40 p.m.: This article was updated with more information about the thunderstorms and lightning.
This article was originally published at 10:30 p.m.
Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon is scheduled to come to UC Berkeley later this month as part of a four-day event organized by his former Breitbart employee and conservative firebrand Milo Yiannopoulos.
The event is titled Berkeley Free Speech Week and is set to begin Sept. 24, the latest in a series of planned speaking engagements by notable conservatives in the liberal enclave. Bannon will deliver short remarks on the final day of the event, according to a news release announcing the engagement.
Over the last year, some of these speaking commitments have been canceled or ended in violent clashes.
Advertisement
Bannon returned as the chairman of the far-right Breitbart website last month after serving as President Trumps chief strategist. When Trumps campaign was at it lowest point during the summer of 2016, Bannon was brought in to steer the ship, and his large influence on the president and his agenda was perhaps best reflected in a Time magazine cover from earlier this year with the headline The Great Manipulator.
In an interview with CBS News over the weekend, the conservative ideologue made clear that hed continue to support the presidents agenda from the outside. These comments came as media reports surfaced that Bannon was helping to organize primary challengers to incumbent Republicans running in the 2018 midterm elections.
Yiannopoulos is also scheduled to speak at the event, and the release on his website said that more than 20 additional speakers will be announced. The 32-year-old appears to relish confrontations with people of different political views. A video posted Tuesday morning on YouTube teasing the speaking engagement was titled: Bannon Infiltrates Berkeley
Uncle Steve was the force behind Trumps election victory and much of his initial policymaking, Yiannopoulos said in the release.
Nothing could be better for the leftists who oppose Trump so vehemently than a lesson in the logic behind Trumps actions, direct from the architect of his policies.
Yiannopoulos, who resigned from Breitbart after video was released showing him making comments that were interpreted as being supportive of pedophilia, is arranging a number of speaking engagements that he calls his Troll Academy tour.
Students at Cal State Fullerton have said they are finalizing a plan for Yiannopoulos to speak at their campus as well.
Campuses such as Berkeley have struggled to balance their desire to promote free speech on campus and securing such events. In February, the community descended into violence as protesters took to the street to stop a planned Yiannopoulos event on campus.
Local leaders have been voicing their opposition to the prospect of Yiannopoulos coming back, out of fear of more clashes.
In a statement Tuesday, UC Berkeley spokesman Dan Mogulof said the university could not confirm who was speaking or when, and appeared to blame the events organizer the Berkeley Patriot for failing to provide timely information or meet key deadlines.
We have repeatedly asked representatives of the Berkeley Patriot to confirm that contracts have been completed between the student organization and each of these speakers; to date they have not, Mogulof said. In addition, the tentative information the student group has shared with us about the scheduling of the proposed speakers conflicts with information that has been shared publicly by Mr. Yiannopoulos.
Security was a concern, he said.
A number of proposed events are tentatively planned for buildings on campus with specific security and procedural requirements, and the student group is expected to submit a plan on how to keep the peace, Mogulof said.
We have asked the student group to meet those requirements and have informed them in writing that critical deadlines are fast approaching, Mogulof said.
While campus officials and venue managers are working diligently to assist the Berkeley Patriot group with its proposed events, the groups failure to meet important deadlines is making it increasingly difficult to ensure a safe and secure program, he said.
Another former Breitbart writer, Ben Shapiro, who has openly opposed the president, is scheduled to speak Thursday. Over the weekend, Berkeley Provost Paul Alivisatos said the university was taking special precautions, including the use of a closed perimeter around the building and an increased and highly visible police presence.
The city government has also taken steps to allow local police to use pepper spray as a crowd-control tactic, and the university is requiring campus groups sponsoring large events to cover basic costs and give notice weeks ahead.
Staff writer Javier Panzar contributed to this report.
UPDATES:
3:05 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from UC Berkeley spokesman Dan Mogulof.
This article was originally published at 1:20 p.m.
Two embattled sidewalk food vendors one whose cart was knocked over by an angry man in Hollywood and another whose bacon hot dog profits were confiscated by a UC Berkeley bicycle officer are enjoying a groundswell of public support after their misfortunes were captured on video.
In Los Angeles, Benjamin Ramirez, an elotero who sells cooked corn on the cob, was given a new, tricked-out cart by the Los Ryderz bicycle club after his old cart was damaged in July.
On Facebook, club member Art Ramirez (no relation to Benjamin) wrote about what inspired the club to design the customized cart, which has stylish tires and spokes and the words el elotero written in a painted script on the side next to a big ear of corn on a stick.
Advertisement
I first saw Benjamin in an altercation with a belligerent neighbor on the news, Ramirez wrote Tuesday. I realized his 15 minutes were at hand. The intent of my friends and I has been from the very start, to make his last 5 minutes in the light be the best. Good luck Benjamin.
In an interview with NBC4, Ramirez, the vendor, said the new cart was much better than his previous one. Along with the Los Ryderz, the following companies donated to the effort: Team OBC; Warren Wong Wheels, Skrapfather Bikes, Old Memories Tattoo, Los Bandoleros BC and Eastco Powder Coating.
Dont give up. You got to keep working, the elotero told NBC.
Ramirezs cart was knocked over July 17 by an angry pedestrian who confronted the vendor about setting up his cart on the sidewalk. The man cussed at Ramirez and then pushed over his cart, damaging the equipment and ruining the food. Ramirez captured the incident on his cellphone, and the viral video caused widespread outrage.
Jay Pee, a local gang interventionist involved in the new, custom carts design, said he understands why people felt compelled to help the food vendor.
We were trying to do something right for someone trying to live the American dream, he said. The sad part about it is these people invest a lot of money into those carts and the food theyre going to sell.
Over the weekend, a second vendor in Berkeley had some of his days earnings taken away from him by a university police officer who cited him for operating without a permit.
In a video that since has gone viral, the officer is seen removing cash from the vendors wallet before writing him a citation.
In a statement released Monday, UC Berkeley Vice Chancellor Scott Biddy said vendors typically are given warnings before a citation, and he explained what prompted the officer to intervene.
We have instructed our officers to monitor illegal vending outside our event venues. This action has been motivated at least in part by issues of public health, the interests of local small businesses, and even human trafficking, Biddy said. In a case such as this, it is typical to collect any suspected illegal funds and enter them into evidence.
In 2016, UC Berkeley police seized $5,419.17 as part of police investigations. So far this year, theyve seized $68, including the $60 from the vendor on Saturday, officials said. The disparity is because of changes in Californias marijuana laws and a corresponding drop in enforcement, officials said.
Since the incident was posted on social media, a petition to have the officer fired has gathered more than 11,000 signatures.
A fundraiser for the vendor, meanwhile, has raised nearly $55,000. There have been more than 3,500 donations coming from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and 27 countries. The average donation was $15, a spokesperson for GoFundMe said.
The funds organizer said the money will be used to pay for the vendors legal and professional costs related to the incident and to help support other food vendors in California.
joseph.serna@latimes.com
For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna on Twitter.
ALSO
San Diego starts washing down sidewalks, streets to fight hepatitis A outbreak
Pot delivery by drone? California cannabis czars put the kibosh on stoner pipe dream
Man carrying airsoft guns killed in clash with deputies in West Valinda
One was rejected by his mother, the other seized from smugglers: How two lonely tiger cubs became pals
A man was shot to death by Los Angeles County sheriffs deputies in West Valinda on Monday night after he fired at officers with an airsoft gun, officials said.
Deputies were called to a home in the 1200 block of Stichman Avenue about 5:45 p.m. on a report of a man causing a disturbance, authorities said. Investigators said the man appeared to be under the influence of drugs, according to KABC-TV, and when authorities arrived the man locked himself in one of the homes bedrooms.
The man then climbed through the bedroom window into the backyard, where he was confronted by deputies, said sheriffs Lt. Rodney Moore.
Advertisement
The man was carrying a handgun in one hand and a rifle in the other, Moore said. When the man fired twice at deputies with the handgun, the deputies returned fire, killing the man, Moore said.
Neighbor William Archulta told KABC he heard about nine gunshots.
A closer inspection of the mans guns revealed they were airsoft guns, a type of pellet gun, sheriffs officials said.
joseph.serna@latimes.com
For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna on Twitter.
Francis Xavier Atencio, a longtime Disney animator and Imagineer who co-wrote the tune for the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, one of Disneylands most popular park attractions, has died.
Atencio died Sunday at age 98, the Disney Parks Blog announced Monday. No cause of death was given.
A Colorado native, Atencio moved to Los Angeles in 1937 to attend the Chouinard Art Institute. At the time, he thought a job at Disney was unattainable, but an art instructor encouraged him to submit his portfolio.
Advertisement
The following year, he got a job. That kicked off a nearly half-century career with the company.
Atencio, known to his friends and colleagues as X, first saw his work on screen during the 1940 premiere of Pinocchio, on which he worked as an apprentice animator. He also worked as an assistant animator for Fantasia.
He left Disney temporarily to join the U.S. Army Air Corps and returned five years later as an animator, receiving his first on-screen credit for the Oscar-winning film Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom.
He also contributed stop-motion sequences for the films The Parent Trap, Mary Poppins and Babes in Toyland.
Atencio was transferred in 1965 to WED Enterprises, which later became Walt Disney Imagineering, to work on the Primeval World diorama for Disneyland.
A month after his reluctant transfer, Atencio got a phone call from Walt Disney, who asked him to write the script for Pirates of the Caribbean ride.
So I said OK, and I put on my pirate hat, Atencio told The Times in 2003. I researched what I could Treasure Island and stuff like that to get the feeling and the jargon of pirates. By the time I finished scripting it, I thought, why not a song?
Atencio proposed the tune, though hed never actually written a song before.
Walt told him to go and do it, Bob Weis, president of Walt Disney Imagineering, told the Disney Parks Blog.
So Atencio co-wrote the lyrics to the rides theme song, Yo, Ho (A Pirates Life for Me).
That was how X worked with an enthusiastic, collaborative attitude, along with a great sense of humor, Weis said. His brilliant work continues to inspire Imagineers and bring joy to millions of guests every year.
At the beginning of the attraction, which has been one of the parks most popular attractions since it opened in 1967, riders can also hear his voice on a talking skull. Since it opened, Pirates has seen about 400 million riders.
Atencio retired from Disney in 1984, but continued to consult for Walt Disney Imagineering for many years, according to the Disney Parks Blog. He was inducted as a Disney Legend in 1996.
He is survived by his wife, three children, three stepchildren and eight grandchildren.
alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com
Twitter: @AleneTchek
Crews working for a private contractor began power-washing sidewalks with a chlorine solution in downtown San Diego on Monday, part of an effort to stop the spread of hepatitis A among homeless people.
The crews cleaned sidewalks around 17th and Imperial avenues, where hundreds of homeless congregate and live in tents and other shelters.
The washings will resume on Wednesday and Friday in other areas downtown and continue every other week.
Advertisement
The hepatitis A outbreak has left 15 homeless people dead and hospitalized nearly 300 others. A lack of adequate access to restrooms, showers and hand-washing stations is believed to have contributed to the spread.
The county has provided hepatitis vaccinations to 19,000 people, including 7,300 considered to be at risk of contracting the disease.
In March, Yefim Stolyarsky convened a meeting of fellow Russian military veterans and announced that he was stepping down as president of the Los Angeles Assn. of Veterans of World War II.
His health was fading and the groups membership had been hollowed out with the passing years. He said he hoped it was still possible for the group to survive, and possibly even expand by attracting young members.
He knew it was getting more and more difficult for him to work, said Boris Melamed, 80, the veterans associations current president. It was like he felt that just a little of his life remained.
Advertisement
Stolyarsky died Thursday at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles of a brain tumor, his son, Yevgeny Stolyarsky, said. He was 94.
He fought for over five months, but unfortunately the illness was tougher, his son said.
For most of his life, Stolyarsky was just that a fighter.
Born in 1923 in Brovki Pervyye, a small town west of Kiev in the then-Soviet republic of Ukraine, Stolyarsky served 30 years in the Red Army.
During World War II, he served as a division commander and a squad leader, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was twice wounded as he battled to help prevent the Nazis from seizing St. Petersburg, then known as Leningrad, during an 872-day siege of the city. He lost two ribs.
He received several decorations and awards for his service during the war.
Yefim Stolyarsky was a lieutenant colonel in the Red Army and a decorated veteran of World War II. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
After retiring from the military in the late 1960s, Stolyarsky worked in a meat factory and later organized an agricultural cooperative, which grew crops and produced honey.
With his wife Ala, Stolyarsky immigrated to the U.S. in 1991 as a refugee from the former Soviet republic of Moldova, where Russians and Jews faced hostility and discrimination after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
There was a lot of tension, Stolyarskys son said. It became too dangerous for Russians. We decided we had to move.
While many older Soviet emigres tended to relax once they arrived in the U.S., for Stolyarsky it was an opportunity to continue what he loved most being active.
Among other things, Stolyarsky joined the Los Angeles Assn. of Veterans of World War II, a West Hollywood-based group that was inaugurated in 1977 by a handful of Russian-speaking veterans as a social group and support network. In 1996, he became president.
The very existence of the association is even stronger than brotherhood, Stolyarsky told The Times in a 2014 interview. There is such unity. When those of us who served on the front meet those of us who were on the edge of death, enduring bombs, lost our military comrades its an inexplicable feeling.
He was concerned about preserving the legacy of the association and hoped that the group could expand, attract young people and thrive. He wanted to ensure the history and sacrifice of Russian-speaking World War II veterans was not forgotten.
At its peak the associations membership grew to more than 2,200. Today, there are but 108 registered members, many of them now living in convalescent facilities, leaving fewer than 25 active participants. The average member age is 94, Melamed said. The eldest is 103.
He was an amazing leader, Yulia Shikhleman, 84, the widow of a former Red Army officer and an association member, said of Stolyarsky. He understood people really well.
Melamed echoed the sentiment.
He had enormous energy, a voracious ability to work and was a talented organizer, he said. He undertook colossal work on behalf of our organization, ensuring its unity and existence.
Stolyarsky also served for several years as a member of West Hollywoods Russian Advisory Board, created by the city in 2000 to address the needs of Russian-speaking residents.
He was a warm-hearted man who brought together many of our Russian-speaking residents, West Hollywood Mayor John Heilman said in an email. He served as an important bridge between the city and our immigrant community.
In 2014, the Russian Advisory Board awarded Stolyarsky its Life Achievement Award for his service in the Russian-speaking community in Los Angeles.
Melamed said that it was Stolyarskys initiative that led to the 2005 establishment of a memorial in West Hollywoods Plummer Park honoring Soviet veterans of World War II.
Aside from the association and civic duties, Stolyarsky had different hobbies. He grew flowers on the balcony of his apartment. He liked to play chess, and he was the familys cook, not my mother, the younger Stolyarsky said.
Melamed said the association recently agreed to continue through the year and then reassess its future. With an aging membership and surviving primarily on annual dues of $24 a year, the association is struggling, Melamed said.
However, he said, the veterans would try to maintain the associations legacy by continuing to document their history and sharing their experiences with young people, as Stolyarsky had wanted.
His memory will forever be preserved in our association, Melamed said.
Stolyarsky is survived by his son; a daughter, Ludmila Stolyarskaya; a grandson; and two great-grandchildren. His wife died in 2014.
ann.simmons@latimes.com
For more on global development news, see our Global Development Watch page, and follow me @AMSimmons1 on Twitter
Within days of the terrorist attack that destroyed the World Trade Center, word spread in the immigrant neighborhoods of New York that workers were desperately needed to aid in the cleanup. The job would pay cash, about $10 an hour no questions asked about Society Security cards or immigration status.
Then 32, Carlos Cardona had watched with horror from a construction site across the river in Brooklyn. Although his construction job paid a little better, he felt he ought to pitch in to help the country where hed lived since his teens, having moved illegally from Colombia. He was married to a U.S. citizen and raising a 2-year-old daughter.
The money wasnt very good. But I felt I had to be there to do what I could, Cardona said. It was an emergency. We had to serve.
Advertisement
Today he suffers from respiratory and digestive disorders, known as World Trade Center syndrome, that have left him unable to climb a flight of stairs and dependent for his medical care on clinics set up for 9/11 responders.
He also faces a predicament shared by up to 2,000 immigrants who helped to clean up after Sept. 11, 2001: the threat of deportation.
After more than three decades in the United States, Cardona was detained Feb. 28 after showing up for one of his regularly scheduled check-ins with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in New York. Days earlier, the Trump administration had issued a memorandum prioritizing the removal of immigrants in the U.S. illegally with criminal records.
They told me there is a new president and the law has changed, Cardona said. He had plead guilty to a nonviolent drug offense in 1990 and served 28 days in jail which later hurt his ability to legalize his status despite being married to a U.S. citizen.
He was transferred to an immigrant detention center in Kearny, N.J., and then to a facility in Louisiana. His deportation was averted in June only through the intervention of his congressman, Joseph Crowley, and the New York governor, Andrew Cuomo, who issued Cardona a hasty pardon for the drug offense.
He returned to New York after his release but remains vulnerable to deportation.
In July, Crowley, a Democrat, announced a bill that would put 9/11 responders and cleanup workers on a fast track to legalize their status in the United States. His office estimates that 1,000 to 2,000 immigrants would be covered, many of them like Cardona suffering from illnesses thought to be related to their work.
Our nation has long recognized and offered similar appreciation for those who served the United States in times of need, whether in our armed forces, as overseas translators, or as witnesses assisting law enforcement agencies, Crowleys office said in a statement.
Camille Mackler, director of immigration legal policy at the New York Immigration Coalition, described the work of the immigrants after 9/11 as a dramatic example of the contributions people in the country illegally often make.
It was a day when we were all New Yorkers and where you started out didnt matter, she said. At a minimum these people should be allowed to remain.
The cleanup was the kind of work that stereotypically falls to immigrants difficult, dirty and dangerous.
Cleaning asbestos was work nobody wanted to do so it was left to the immigrant workforce, mostly workers from Latin America and Poland, said Edison Severino, business manager for the Laborers Union, Local 78, which represents asbestos, lead and hazardous waste workers.
The pile, as the wreckage of the World Trade Center was quickly nicknamed, contained tons of jagged steel and burning debris, and was surrounded by a toxic cloud of pulverized cement, glass fibers, asbestos, silica, benzene from the jet fuel and lead.
Pressure was intense from the White House to City Hall to clean up as quickly as possible, to clear away what remained of the World Trade Center and to get vital buildings nearby, such as the New York Stock exchange, back to normal.
By the third day after the attacks, we had these bucket brigades set up bringing out debris... Business agents were all asking for environmental cleanup workers, and there was no request for documents or paperwork, Severino said. People were working double and triple shifts, sleeping for a few hours at a church, then going back to work.
In an interview at a Colombian restaurant in the Queens borough where he lives, Cardona recalled that he worked with Mexicans, Ecuadorians, Peruvians, while other crews had workers from Jamaica, the West Indies and Eastern Europe.
You had the whole world working down there, he said.
While police and firefighters, and most of the union members wore protective gear, he and his coworkers had been hired by small, nonunionized contractors and were given only paper masks. It was a crazy time, Cardona said. We werent paying attention.
At the time, he was a fit young man. But within a few years, he noticed that he was often wheezing and out of breath. The symptoms got steadily worse until he woke up one night in 2006 feeling that he was unable to breathe.
He was soon diagnosed with asthma and emphysema. Digestive disorders and cancers have also been linked to the Sept. 11 attacks.
The way everything was pulverized into such very small particles we have nothing in history to compare this with except maybe the atomic explosions in Japan, said Jim Melius, an occupational physician and epidemiologist who serves on the board of 9/11 Health Watch.
In 2011, the World Trade Center Health Program was set up to provide monitoring and healthcare to people affected by 9/11. More than 67,000 workers and 12,000 survivors of the attacks have been certified as eligible.
Although the workers are not required to provide Social Security numbers or prove they have legal status, they have to prove their connection to Sept. 11 something that is not always possible for people paid off the books in cash. And all the hospitals and clinics participating in the program are in the United States.
Cardona has no complaints about the healthcare he gets from the federal government. He receives seven medications, including two inhalers, for free but worried how he would receive care if he were deported.
There are so many others like me. Many have already been deported, he said. They might be sick and we have no way to help them.
barbara.demick@latimes.com
Twitter: @BarbaraDemick
A federal administrative judge issued a sweeping order Monday prohibiting members of the public or the news media from seeing any part of a hearing concerning the Homeland Security Departments cancellation of a contract for a technology aimed at reliably detecting bioterrorist attacks.
The order, issued by Judge Allan H. Goodman of the U.S. Civilian Board of Contract Appeals, also bars lawyers, witnesses or anyone else connected with the case from relaying information about the proceedings.
The judges order came in response to Homeland Security lawyers who voiced displeasure with a Los Angeles Times article reporting on the case, according to persons familiar with the matter.
Advertisement
A Silicon Valley company, NVS Technologies Inc., which held the contract, is seeking to establish that the Homeland Security Department acted in bad faith in canceling it.
The companys chief executive, Hans Fuernkranz, was among those who confirmed Monday night that the Homeland Security Department not the company sought the order blocking news media coverage of the proceedings.
We did not initiate it, said Fuernkranz, who is scheduled to testify. On advice of counsel, I am unable to comment any further, he added.
In a brief interview, J. Gregory Parks, an aide to Goodman, termed the judges one-paragraph order fairly comprehensive.
The judge ordered that proceedings would be closed to the public and that the record will not be disclosed to the public by the board, counsel, the parties, or anyone else who participates in the proceedings and is privy to the contents of the record.
Lawyers for The Times plan to challenge the order.
Homeland Securitys lead lawyer on the case, Christopher M. Kovach, did not immediately respond to a telephone message and an email seeking his comment.
The dispute between NVS and the department grows out of an effort by the government to develop technology to accurately and quickly detect attacks using biowarfare agents such as anthrax. The government has spent more than $20 billion over the last 16 years on efforts to protect against potential bioterrorism, with mixed results.
In 2010, NVS won a contract ultimately worth $23.4 million to deliver portable devices that could, in less than one hour, determine whether an air sample contained potential bioterrorism agents.
In February 2014, despite positive assessments of the companys progress from Homeland Securitys chief medical and science advisor and other federal scientists whose agencies stood to use the technology a newly installed official at the department terminated the contract for what he termed the governments convenience.
The cancellation came a few months before NVS was scheduled to deliver its prototypes for advanced testing at three federal laboratories.
The senior Homeland Security scientist, Segaran Pillai, had reported in June 2013 that NVS has done a tremendous job in fulfilling our requirements. Pillai, who also is scheduled to testify at the trial, said in his seven-page internal report that continued funding for the project was necessary to ensure a successful outcome for the nation.
A division director at the Food and Drug Administration, Sally A. Hojvat, who was in line to decide whether to grant regulatory clearance for the NVS device, was similarly enthusiastic.
We strongly believe the government must take the initiative to make this happen if we plan to have a highly robust diagnostics and surveillance program to capture a potential biological attack early and also to support the clinical intervention/mitigation and save lives, she wrote in a Dec. 4, 2013, email to Pillai.
Homeland Security had originally awarded the contract to NVS because of concerns about the slowness and reliability of a nationwide system called BioWatch.
In its first seven years of existence, BioWatch had falsely warned of dozens of germ attacks in major cities including at the Democratic National Convention in Denver in 2008.
david.willman@latimes.com
Eloise Williams fell asleep Sunday night with the Bible on her chest, thanking the Lord that her house had survived the punishing assault of Hurricane Irma as it passed through.
But then the 63-year-old awoke Monday morning to the floodwater that followed the storm.
Ive never seen anything like this in my 30 years in Jacksonville, said Williams, who lives in a small bungalow in the quaint riverside neighborhood of San Marco. Even if she had lived in Jacksonville 100 years, she may have never seen anything like it. The northeastern Florida city ultimately was one of the hardest hit on the mainland by the storm, which flooded its downtown and several of its neighborhoods.
Advertisement
Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry declared it the worst flood the city has experienced in a century, as he urged residents who needed a rescue to waive a flag in front of their home.
The water came barreling down the citys streets and kept rising, to the point where it was at shoulder height in some places. By Tuesday, the city was filled with insurance adjusters, sump pumps and tears. Some streets still were underwater. Floodwater poured out of car doors when they were opened. Locals tried to cope by sharing with one another Facebook videos they posted of swimming on their streets during the storm.
The deluge seemed to take everyone by surprise. Flooding is normal in Jacksonville but not like this. Harley Pickard, 29, who lives on the ground floor of a fourplex on the St. Johns River, had stayed up until 4 a.m. Monday to watch for any trouble the tide might bring in. All seemed fine.
A few hours later, he awoke to find the room filled with water and his dog floating by on his doggie bed. People did not realize how fast this would happen, the U.S. Marine Corps veteran said.
By 10 a.m., the water was up to his waist in the apartment. At that point, Pickard had grabbed a small kayak and his surfboard, which already was starting to float down the street, and began ferrying his friends, neighbors and local pets to safety.
Pickard, who lost most everything he has, other than his wallet and an heirloom watch, put evacuees in the compact kayak and their pets stood on the surfboard tied to it. He waded through the rising stormwater, guiding them out of it. Then he and his friends went back and looked for others who needed help.
We woke up, and all of a sudden, we were part of the river, said Joshua Young, 32, who lives in the same building and took part in the kayak rescue.
Down the street, a sobbing woman carefully placed dozens of soaked family photos on the hood of her car and on sheets laid out in front of her home, hoping they could be salvaged. Much of the floodwater had receded, but the high-water line was clearly visible on cars and garage doors throughout the neighborhood, rising nearly waist high. Neighbors shared iPhone shots of their cars almost completely underwater.
In the San Marco area of Jacksonville, Fla., on Sept. 12, 2017, Joshua Young takes some of his personal belonging out by kayak after flooding hit his apartment building following Hurricane Irma. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
The worst we had ever seen before was up to this second step, said Dan Harris, 59, as he stood at the entrance of his home, showing where he expected the water to stop. Instead, it snaked over that step and through the entire first floor of his home, where he runs a photography business.
The leather couch and antique dresser in the living room were on bricks. Harris kept putting more bricks underneath as the water flooded in, hoping to keep the furniture above it. He succeeded. But much of the rest of his ground floor was a wreck. Still, Harris said it could have been worse. His neighbors home sat a foot and a half lower than the elevation of his. So its a foot and a half more water, Harris said. Her stuff had floated from the living room to the bedroom.
Closer to the river, Carol Orr checked on his 82-year-old dad, Bernard. Bernard Orr was in a 12-story building for retired people, where the water had come right through the first floor. It wasnt enough to get him to evacuate.
He didnt want to leave, the 61-year-old son said. The water rescue folks came by. They took out some folks who wanted to go. He stayed. So I came by to check on him. They take pretty good care of them over there. They set up an area where folks can grill the food they have, or plug in Crock-Pots.
1 / 79 Trailer homes at the Sea Breeze trailer park in the Florida Keys town of Islamorada were destroyed by Irma. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 79 Tom Ross inspects the damage to his three-story condominium building in Islamorada. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 79 The remains of a boat in Islamorada. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 79 Brooke Gilbert, 15, and her father, Mike Gilbert, look at the ruins of her grandparents condominium building in Islamorada. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 79 Laura Gilbert retrieves the mailbox from her fathers condominium in Islamorada after it was swept away during the storm. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 79 Sand and debris block access to trailer homes in Islamorada. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 79 Greg Garner embraces neighbor Linda Nettles in front of his longtime family home that lost part of its roof after Tropical Storm Irma hit Sullivans Island, S.C. (Mic Smith / Associated Press) 8 / 79 Israel Alvarado, 25, tries to open a gate blocked by fallen tree branches to retrieve a generator in Bonita Springs. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 79 Rescue workers help a couple evacuate their flooded home in Jacksonville. (John Raoux / Associated Press) 10 / 79 Charlotte Glaze, left gives Donna Lamb a hug as she floats out some of her belongings in floodwaters in Jacksonville,. (Dede Smith / Associated Press) 11 / 79 Ron Colby, 70, leaves his flooded Bonita Springs home after staying during Hurricane Irma. He said he was OK with the wind but that at 3:30 in the morning the water started to rise. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 79 A dresser floats by Gilberto Diaz in his Bonita Springs neighborhood. Originally from Guatemala, Diaz has lived in Florida since 1994. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 79 In Bonita Springs, floodwaters reached waist deep in some areas on Monday, flooding homes and cars. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 79 A block from the ocean in Naples, the water was still a foot deep from storm surge. Homeowner Terry Clontz put up a no wake sign because people were driving by too fast, pushing water farther onto his property. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 79 Floodwaters surround a marina in Key Largo on Monday following Hurricane Irma. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) 16 / 79 Mobile homes in Key Largo, Fla., lie in ruins on Monday after Hurricane Irma. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) 17 / 79 Floodwaters surround Gilberts Resort in Key Largo on Monday. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) 18 / 79 Kelly McClenthen returns to see the flood damage to her home with her boyfriend, Daniel Harrison, in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Bonita Springs, Fla. (Gerald Herbert / Associated Press) 19 / 79 Terry Thompson is relieved. He rode out the storm in his home in Riverwood Estates in Naples. Although the Naples area of Florida was hit hard by Hurricane Irma, damage wasnt nearly as bad as anticipated. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 79 A woman leaves her flooded home the morning after Hurricane Irma swept through the area in Fort Myers, Florida. (Spencer Platt / Getty Images) 21 / 79 People tend to a car that flipped over on Cape Coral Parkway during Hurricane Irma, in Cape Coral. (Gerald Herbert / AP) 22 / 79 A man clears the drain next to his house in Estero, Fla., during the lull in winds as the eye of the hurricane passes over. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 23 / 79 Evacuees use flashlights so others can maneuver around the stairway at Hampton Inn and Suites in Estero, Fla. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 24 / 79 Guests gather in the lobby of Hampton Inn and Suites in Estero, Fla., to watch the hurricane gusts. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 25 / 79 Darla Talia Ferro, 40, and her two parakeets ride out Hurricane Irma in the lobby of Hampton Inn and Suites in Estero, Fla. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 26 / 79 John Krowzow, 74, wades in floodwater to check out his homes in Corkscrew Woodlands, a park with 640 senior mobile home units in Estero, Fla. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 27 / 79 Peter Moodley wades through floodwater in downtown Miami. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 28 / 79 Two men walk through a downed tree as Hurricane Irmas full force strikes Miami. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 29 / 79 A woman films the damage from a house whose roof was blown off near downtown Miami. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 30 / 79 A vehicle drives through debris caused by Hurricane Irma, in Miami. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 31 / 79 Weather reporters in downtown Miami jump and cling on to illustrate the force of the winds caused by Hurricane Irma. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 32 / 79 Weather reporters do a stand-up as the force of the winds caused by Hurricane Irma hit Miami. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 33 / 79 A cargo truck is tipped over by the wind caused by Hurricane Irma in Miami. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 34 / 79 Storm surge floods the Brickell neighborhood of Miami. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 35 / 79 Streets are empty in downtown Miami as the wind picks up speed during Hurricane Irmas approach. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 36 / 79 Maria Koenig, 63, of Estero, Fla., and her dog, Baeley, sit by the window at their Estero hotel so Maria can keep an eye on the storm on Sunday. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 37 / 79 Glen Sinatra, 69, from Naples, says he feels lucky to be at a hotel in Estero instead of a shelter. Hes nervous about the storm and says hes trying not to worry his children about the conditions. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 38 / 79 Jimmy Alfano, of Ft. Myers, holds onto Alec Hoskins who is autistic, while watching the storm gusts through the window of their Estero hotel with Frank Pairs. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 39 / 79 A car sits abandoned in storm surge along North Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard as Hurricane Irma hits the southern part of the state. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) 40 / 79 The metal canopy at a gasoline station is overturned by high winds brought on by Hurricane Irma. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) 41 / 79 Youssef Ezzou, left, and Fadel Beznbachir roam outside to check out the conditions in Miami as Hurricane Irma nears the mainland. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 42 / 79 A construction crane whose arm broke off towers over a building as high wind blows through downtown Miami on Sunday. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 43 / 79 A man and woman run to safety in Miami as winds from Hurricane Irma bear down on Sunday. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 44 / 79 Storefronts in Miami are damaged as Hurricane Irmas winds hit Miami. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 45 / 79 Dustin Terkoski, Palm Bay Police officer surveys the scene after a possible tornado touched down at Palm Pam Bay Estates. (Red Huber / Orlando Sentinel) 46 / 79 A man braces against the wind by the Miami River on Sunday as water levels surge. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 47 / 79 A man stands by the Miami River as the water level surges on Sunday. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 48 / 79 The waves on the Miami River begin to surge Sunday as winds pick up speed upon Hurricane Irmas approach. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 49 / 79 Brian Williams, of Maryland, fights the winds in downtown Fort Myers. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 50 / 79 Trees fall as winds pick up speed early Sunday as Hurricane Irma approaches Miami. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 51 / 79 A TV reporter braces against the wind as Hurricane Irma approaches Miami. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 52 / 79 The outer bands of Hurricane Irma start to reach Florida on Saturday, with clouds over the Miami skyline. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images ) 53 / 79 People wade through a flooded street in Havana after Hurricane Irma battered central Cuba. (YAMIL LAGE / AFP/Getty Images) 54 / 79 Thousands wait Saturday to enter a storm shelter set up at Germain Arena in Estero, Fla., south of Fort Myers. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 55 / 79 Jean Turner, 79, waits to get into a shelter with a few of her belongings as rain begins to fall Saturday in Estero, Fla. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 56 / 79 Sherri Bourdo, 32, and Anthony Guidry, 40, look out over the water in Naples, Fla, in advance of the arrival of Hurricane Irma. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 57 / 79 Lisette Toroella and Tatiana Morera play on the beach as storm clouds approach in Miami Beach. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 58 / 79 Adam Todd, does a handstand while skateboarding down a virtually empty Ocean Drive in Miami Beach. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 59 / 79 Abby Jenkins walks against the wind with her luggage and umbrella to get to safety, in Miami Beach. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 60 / 79 James Sampero surfs in the churning ocean as Hurricane Irma approaches. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images) 61 / 79 Cubans wade through the rubble from a collapsed building in Havana on Saturday. (Yamil Lage / AFP/Getty Images) 62 / 79 A woman and child use a blanket as protection from wind and rain as they walk in Caibarien, Cuba. Hurricane Irma battered Cuba on Saturday with deafening winds and unremitting rain, pushing seawater inland and flooding homes before turning toward Florida. (Desmond Boylan / Associated Press) 63 / 79 Annette Davis plays with her son Darius, 3, while staying at a shelter in Miami on Saturday after evacuating from their home in Florida City ahead of Hurricane Irma. (David Goldman / Associated Press) 64 / 79 Residents walk through rain brought on by Hurricane Irma in Caibarien, Cuba. The powerful storm battered Cuba on Saturday and continued its march toward Florida. (Desmond Boylan / Associated Press) 65 / 79 Palmetto Ridge High School is a shelter for people with special needs near Naples, Fla. Many seniors plan to ride out the storm there. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 66 / 79 Francesca DeLuca, age 20, will be waiting for 10 hours for her flight back to Milan, Italy. She had been visiting a friend in Miami by herself, but the area where she was staying is under mandatory evacuation. At Miami International Airport, the last flights will be this afternoon with the airport closing tonight at 6pm. Most travelers are taking flights to anywhere they can find. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 67 / 79 Boats that cant be evacuated are tied off in canals to protect them from Hurricane Irma on in Key Largo, Florida. The entire Florida Keys are under a mandatory evacuation notice as Hurricane Irma approaches the low-lying chain of islands south of Miami. (Marc Serota / Getty Images) 68 / 79 Hundreds wait in line on Friday at Home Depot in Miami to get supplies line sheets of plywood, and anything else they can find, to board up their homes. Police were on the scene to keep things orderly. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 69 / 79 In the Little Haiti neighborhood of Miami, Fritz Drinks, whose family is from Haiti, helps load sandbags at Little Haiti Hardware and Lumber. Many people in the area are refusing to evacuate in advance of Hurricane Irma. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 70 / 79 In downtowm Miaimi, people wait to get on a bus headed to Orlando under a mandatory evacution plan. Preparations are underway for Hurricane Irma as the storm makes its way toward Florida. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 71 / 79 Stores are boarded up in Miami Beach in advance of Hurricane Irma. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 72 / 79 Preparations for Hurricane Irma are underway in Miami Beach as the storm makes its way toward Florida. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 73 / 79 Genaro Dacosta, 65, of Miami Beach loads sandbags in advance of Hurricane Irma. He says he cant evacuate the area because he has a monkey. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 74 / 79 An aerial photograph taken and released by the Dutch Department of Defense on Wednesday shows damage from Hurricane Irma in Philipsburg, St. Maarten. (Gerben van Es / AFP/Getty Images) 75 / 79 Juan Negron, third from left, prepares to start up a power generator in front of whats left of his damaged property in Culebra, Puerto Rico, after the passage of Hurricane Irma. (Carlos Giusti / Associated Press) 76 / 79 Residents come out to survey the damage caused by Hurricane Irma in Nagua, Dominican Republic. (Tatiana Fernandez / Associated Press) 77 / 79 People on Thursday look over damage from Hurricane Irma on a sand-covered street of Marigot, near the Bay of Nettle, on the island of St. Maarten. (Lionel Chamoiseau / AFP/Getty Images) 78 / 79 Inmate trustees from the Brevard County Jail fill sandbags for Meritt Island, Fla., residents in advance of Hurricane Irma. (Brian Blanco / Getty Images) 79 / 79 Motorists leave Key Largo, Fla., ahead of Hurricane Irma. (Alan Diaz / Associated Press)
The stilts that kept the water out of Serena Browns home for years couldnt protect it from this surge. As she picked up the garbage bins and other trash that had floated over to her lawn, a generator wheezed from the back of one of her two soaked pickups. It was powering an air-conditioning unit.
We have six dogs, said Brown, 67. Im worried about them getting overheated. Shes hoping the water came in and out quickly enough that her hardwood floors will dry out.
In the citys main downtown business district, the garage of the towering Wells Fargo building could be mistaken for a swimming pool. A stench filled the air along the riverside promenade, which was caked with mud and other debris that had washed in. Crews tried to scrub the street, but getting up all that mud was not easy.
It blew me away, said Lisa Cattanach, 49. The river came all of the way up into the city.
She pulled out her phone to share the Facebook video of her friend Rene Llano kayaking back to the flooded house nearby where Llano lived. I have lost everything, Llano said in the video, which showed water flowing through her entire ground floor.
The floodwater didnt discriminate by race or income level. It flowed into fancy neighborhoods and hardscrabble communities where residents already were struggling to afford to stay in their homes.
It was horrific, said Fred Childs, 61, who lives in one of the modest homes by the Trout River. The water was coming in through pipes that usually go out to the river. Houses were inundated. Some of these streets are totally devastated.
evan.halper@latimes.com
Follow me: @evanhalper
ALSO
A windy night among strangers human, canine and otherwise as Hurricane Irma blows through
The incredible stories of the die-hards who looked Irma in the face and stayed
Fires, droughts and hurricanes: Whats the link between climate change and natural disasters?
During a hurricane in 1900, a storm surge rose out of the Gulf of Mexico and annihilated Galveston, Texas, killing about 8,000 men, women and children.
In 1935, at least 408 people died when another cyclone slammed into the Florida Keys, many of them World War I veterans working on construction projects.
And in 1957, Hurricane Audreys storm surges crashed into the coasts of Texas and Louisiana, killing 390 people.
Advertisement
Hurricane Irma, which slammed into Florida over the weekend, was in a similar league as those storms in its sheer power, and the number of people living in vulnerable areas has only grown.
So how has the number of deaths in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina as of Monday night remained in single digits?
The answer is the modern science of hurricane monitoring and preparation, which has saved countless lives as forecasting, satellite monitoring and government planning have dramatically improved in recent decades.
One study in the journal Epidemiologic Reviews calculated that America suffered an average of 1,400 hurricane deaths per decade from 1910 to 1939, 700 deaths per decade from 1940 to 1969, and about 250 deaths per decade from 1970 to 1999.
The number of people killed in hurricanes halves about every 25 years, in spite of the fact that coastal populations have been increasing, because of what were doing with forecasting, said Hugh Willoughby, a professor of meteorology at Florida International University in Miami.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations errors in storm tracking have been cut in half in the last dozen years, giving residents 36 total hours of advance notice that a hurricane is expected, up from 24 hours five years ago, he said.
With Irma, he said, The emergency response at all levels of state government was really, really good. They did the right things, they said the right things. They gave people good advice and they didnt minimize the threat.
Irma was one of the most powerful storms to ever crawl out of the Atlantic.
After ripping through Caribbean islands with Category 5 winds, killing at least 37 people, it weakened slightly as it took direct aim at Florida, whose explosive real estate development in recent decades has made it the nations third-most-populous state.
Florida was slammed with huge storm surges, violent winds and heavy rains that socked the peninsula from south to north, flooding towns and knocking out power to millions of people.
But the most shocking thing about Irma may be what it didnt do: kill in large numbers.
The greatest threat from a hurricane comes not from its winds, but from its surges of ocean waters that flood shorelines, leaving survivors in buildings little way to escape. A 2014 National Hurricane Center study estimated that 90% of American hurricane deaths were somehow water-related, mostly drownings. Between 5% and 10% of deaths were due to winds, not counting tornadoes.
The survival lesson is clear: Get people away from flood-prone areas.
All along the states Gulf and Atlantic coasts, people heeded forecasters predictions and government orders and evacuated before the danger hit.
This was an extraordinary event, and in some places we got surges far more than predicted, said Heather Carruthers, who left her home in the Florida Keys and took her family to the relative safety of Orlando. Parts of the island chain were hammered by several feet of dangerous storm surge.
When they were looking at a storm of this size, as well as its intensity, we knew it was not something that you gamble with, said Carruthers, a Monroe County commissioner. This is one you get out of the way for. We think we made the right call.
Richard Olson, director of the International Hurricane Research Center at Florida International University, said authorities had gotten much better at making the danger clear to the public. Theres been real clarity on get the hell out of Dodge, he said.
In modern times, when hurricane deaths come, its often in areas with flooding that nobody was expecting, Olson said.
The most recent example is last months Hurricane Harvey, which dumped several feet of rain over parts of Texas and killed at least 70 people, mostly in flooding.
In Hurricane Katrina, which ravaged New Orleans in 2005 and remains Americas deadliest storm in decades, one mortality study found that many of the 1,170 or more victims died in flooding near where the storm breached man-made levees.
The previous most ruinous storm to hit Florida was Hurricane Andrew in 1992, which destroyed tens of thousands of homes. Many of the 30 or so people who died around Miami the area hardest hit were crushed in collapsed buildings or mobile homes, while most of the rest suffered heart attacks and other medical incidents in the two weeks after the storm.
The death toll made little sense to some residents, who imagined anywhere from tens to hundreds or thousands of victims buried in and under debris, or spun conspiracy theories about the existence of mass graves, secret morgues, and the clandestine removal of dead bodies by refrigerated trucks or military trains by night, one post-storm report noted in the Journal of Forensic Sciences.
And when the rumors couldnt be confirmed, some alleged that the government, Medical Examiner Department and news media were participating in a massive coverup to allay the fears of the public in an effort to protect the tourist industry, the report said.
1 / 79 Trailer homes at the Sea Breeze trailer park in the Florida Keys town of Islamorada were destroyed by Irma. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 79 Tom Ross inspects the damage to his three-story condominium building in Islamorada. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 79 The remains of a boat in Islamorada. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 79 Brooke Gilbert, 15, and her father, Mike Gilbert, look at the ruins of her grandparents condominium building in Islamorada. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 79 Laura Gilbert retrieves the mailbox from her fathers condominium in Islamorada after it was swept away during the storm. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 79 Sand and debris block access to trailer homes in Islamorada. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 79 Greg Garner embraces neighbor Linda Nettles in front of his longtime family home that lost part of its roof after Tropical Storm Irma hit Sullivans Island, S.C. (Mic Smith / Associated Press) 8 / 79 Israel Alvarado, 25, tries to open a gate blocked by fallen tree branches to retrieve a generator in Bonita Springs. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 79 Rescue workers help a couple evacuate their flooded home in Jacksonville. (John Raoux / Associated Press) 10 / 79 Charlotte Glaze, left gives Donna Lamb a hug as she floats out some of her belongings in floodwaters in Jacksonville,. (Dede Smith / Associated Press) 11 / 79 Ron Colby, 70, leaves his flooded Bonita Springs home after staying during Hurricane Irma. He said he was OK with the wind but that at 3:30 in the morning the water started to rise. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 79 A dresser floats by Gilberto Diaz in his Bonita Springs neighborhood. Originally from Guatemala, Diaz has lived in Florida since 1994. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 79 In Bonita Springs, floodwaters reached waist deep in some areas on Monday, flooding homes and cars. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 79 A block from the ocean in Naples, the water was still a foot deep from storm surge. Homeowner Terry Clontz put up a no wake sign because people were driving by too fast, pushing water farther onto his property. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 79 Floodwaters surround a marina in Key Largo on Monday following Hurricane Irma. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) 16 / 79 Mobile homes in Key Largo, Fla., lie in ruins on Monday after Hurricane Irma. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) 17 / 79 Floodwaters surround Gilberts Resort in Key Largo on Monday. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) 18 / 79 Kelly McClenthen returns to see the flood damage to her home with her boyfriend, Daniel Harrison, in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Bonita Springs, Fla. (Gerald Herbert / Associated Press) 19 / 79 Terry Thompson is relieved. He rode out the storm in his home in Riverwood Estates in Naples. Although the Naples area of Florida was hit hard by Hurricane Irma, damage wasnt nearly as bad as anticipated. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 79 A woman leaves her flooded home the morning after Hurricane Irma swept through the area in Fort Myers, Florida. (Spencer Platt / Getty Images) 21 / 79 People tend to a car that flipped over on Cape Coral Parkway during Hurricane Irma, in Cape Coral. (Gerald Herbert / AP) 22 / 79 A man clears the drain next to his house in Estero, Fla., during the lull in winds as the eye of the hurricane passes over. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 23 / 79 Evacuees use flashlights so others can maneuver around the stairway at Hampton Inn and Suites in Estero, Fla. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 24 / 79 Guests gather in the lobby of Hampton Inn and Suites in Estero, Fla., to watch the hurricane gusts. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 25 / 79 Darla Talia Ferro, 40, and her two parakeets ride out Hurricane Irma in the lobby of Hampton Inn and Suites in Estero, Fla. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 26 / 79 John Krowzow, 74, wades in floodwater to check out his homes in Corkscrew Woodlands, a park with 640 senior mobile home units in Estero, Fla. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 27 / 79 Peter Moodley wades through floodwater in downtown Miami. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 28 / 79 Two men walk through a downed tree as Hurricane Irmas full force strikes Miami. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 29 / 79 A woman films the damage from a house whose roof was blown off near downtown Miami. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 30 / 79 A vehicle drives through debris caused by Hurricane Irma, in Miami. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 31 / 79 Weather reporters in downtown Miami jump and cling on to illustrate the force of the winds caused by Hurricane Irma. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 32 / 79 Weather reporters do a stand-up as the force of the winds caused by Hurricane Irma hit Miami. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 33 / 79 A cargo truck is tipped over by the wind caused by Hurricane Irma in Miami. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 34 / 79 Storm surge floods the Brickell neighborhood of Miami. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 35 / 79 Streets are empty in downtown Miami as the wind picks up speed during Hurricane Irmas approach. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 36 / 79 Maria Koenig, 63, of Estero, Fla., and her dog, Baeley, sit by the window at their Estero hotel so Maria can keep an eye on the storm on Sunday. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 37 / 79 Glen Sinatra, 69, from Naples, says he feels lucky to be at a hotel in Estero instead of a shelter. Hes nervous about the storm and says hes trying not to worry his children about the conditions. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 38 / 79 Jimmy Alfano, of Ft. Myers, holds onto Alec Hoskins who is autistic, while watching the storm gusts through the window of their Estero hotel with Frank Pairs. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 39 / 79 A car sits abandoned in storm surge along North Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard as Hurricane Irma hits the southern part of the state. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) 40 / 79 The metal canopy at a gasoline station is overturned by high winds brought on by Hurricane Irma. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) 41 / 79 Youssef Ezzou, left, and Fadel Beznbachir roam outside to check out the conditions in Miami as Hurricane Irma nears the mainland. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 42 / 79 A construction crane whose arm broke off towers over a building as high wind blows through downtown Miami on Sunday. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 43 / 79 A man and woman run to safety in Miami as winds from Hurricane Irma bear down on Sunday. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 44 / 79 Storefronts in Miami are damaged as Hurricane Irmas winds hit Miami. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 45 / 79 Dustin Terkoski, Palm Bay Police officer surveys the scene after a possible tornado touched down at Palm Pam Bay Estates. (Red Huber / Orlando Sentinel) 46 / 79 A man braces against the wind by the Miami River on Sunday as water levels surge. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 47 / 79 A man stands by the Miami River as the water level surges on Sunday. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 48 / 79 The waves on the Miami River begin to surge Sunday as winds pick up speed upon Hurricane Irmas approach. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 49 / 79 Brian Williams, of Maryland, fights the winds in downtown Fort Myers. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 50 / 79 Trees fall as winds pick up speed early Sunday as Hurricane Irma approaches Miami. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 51 / 79 A TV reporter braces against the wind as Hurricane Irma approaches Miami. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 52 / 79 The outer bands of Hurricane Irma start to reach Florida on Saturday, with clouds over the Miami skyline. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images ) 53 / 79 People wade through a flooded street in Havana after Hurricane Irma battered central Cuba. (YAMIL LAGE / AFP/Getty Images) 54 / 79 Thousands wait Saturday to enter a storm shelter set up at Germain Arena in Estero, Fla., south of Fort Myers. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 55 / 79 Jean Turner, 79, waits to get into a shelter with a few of her belongings as rain begins to fall Saturday in Estero, Fla. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 56 / 79 Sherri Bourdo, 32, and Anthony Guidry, 40, look out over the water in Naples, Fla, in advance of the arrival of Hurricane Irma. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 57 / 79 Lisette Toroella and Tatiana Morera play on the beach as storm clouds approach in Miami Beach. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 58 / 79 Adam Todd, does a handstand while skateboarding down a virtually empty Ocean Drive in Miami Beach. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 59 / 79 Abby Jenkins walks against the wind with her luggage and umbrella to get to safety, in Miami Beach. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 60 / 79 James Sampero surfs in the churning ocean as Hurricane Irma approaches. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images) 61 / 79 Cubans wade through the rubble from a collapsed building in Havana on Saturday. (Yamil Lage / AFP/Getty Images) 62 / 79 A woman and child use a blanket as protection from wind and rain as they walk in Caibarien, Cuba. Hurricane Irma battered Cuba on Saturday with deafening winds and unremitting rain, pushing seawater inland and flooding homes before turning toward Florida. (Desmond Boylan / Associated Press) 63 / 79 Annette Davis plays with her son Darius, 3, while staying at a shelter in Miami on Saturday after evacuating from their home in Florida City ahead of Hurricane Irma. (David Goldman / Associated Press) 64 / 79 Residents walk through rain brought on by Hurricane Irma in Caibarien, Cuba. The powerful storm battered Cuba on Saturday and continued its march toward Florida. (Desmond Boylan / Associated Press) 65 / 79 Palmetto Ridge High School is a shelter for people with special needs near Naples, Fla. Many seniors plan to ride out the storm there. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 66 / 79 Francesca DeLuca, age 20, will be waiting for 10 hours for her flight back to Milan, Italy. She had been visiting a friend in Miami by herself, but the area where she was staying is under mandatory evacuation. At Miami International Airport, the last flights will be this afternoon with the airport closing tonight at 6pm. Most travelers are taking flights to anywhere they can find. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 67 / 79 Boats that cant be evacuated are tied off in canals to protect them from Hurricane Irma on in Key Largo, Florida. The entire Florida Keys are under a mandatory evacuation notice as Hurricane Irma approaches the low-lying chain of islands south of Miami. (Marc Serota / Getty Images) 68 / 79 Hundreds wait in line on Friday at Home Depot in Miami to get supplies line sheets of plywood, and anything else they can find, to board up their homes. Police were on the scene to keep things orderly. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 69 / 79 In the Little Haiti neighborhood of Miami, Fritz Drinks, whose family is from Haiti, helps load sandbags at Little Haiti Hardware and Lumber. Many people in the area are refusing to evacuate in advance of Hurricane Irma. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 70 / 79 In downtowm Miaimi, people wait to get on a bus headed to Orlando under a mandatory evacution plan. Preparations are underway for Hurricane Irma as the storm makes its way toward Florida. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 71 / 79 Stores are boarded up in Miami Beach in advance of Hurricane Irma. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 72 / 79 Preparations for Hurricane Irma are underway in Miami Beach as the storm makes its way toward Florida. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 73 / 79 Genaro Dacosta, 65, of Miami Beach loads sandbags in advance of Hurricane Irma. He says he cant evacuate the area because he has a monkey. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 74 / 79 An aerial photograph taken and released by the Dutch Department of Defense on Wednesday shows damage from Hurricane Irma in Philipsburg, St. Maarten. (Gerben van Es / AFP/Getty Images) 75 / 79 Juan Negron, third from left, prepares to start up a power generator in front of whats left of his damaged property in Culebra, Puerto Rico, after the passage of Hurricane Irma. (Carlos Giusti / Associated Press) 76 / 79 Residents come out to survey the damage caused by Hurricane Irma in Nagua, Dominican Republic. (Tatiana Fernandez / Associated Press) 77 / 79 People on Thursday look over damage from Hurricane Irma on a sand-covered street of Marigot, near the Bay of Nettle, on the island of St. Maarten. (Lionel Chamoiseau / AFP/Getty Images) 78 / 79 Inmate trustees from the Brevard County Jail fill sandbags for Meritt Island, Fla., residents in advance of Hurricane Irma. (Brian Blanco / Getty Images) 79 / 79 Motorists leave Key Largo, Fla., ahead of Hurricane Irma. (Alan Diaz / Associated Press)
Hurricane Andrew nonetheless prompted the state to overhaul its building codes to prepare for the next storm.
Leslie Chapman-Henderson, head of Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, a nonprofit formed in 1998, said all of the groups original recommendations had long since been adopted in the minimum standards for construction in Florida.
In the weeks and months ahead, experts will examine how buildings built with those standards held up. Some residents felt confident.
James Burke, 61, had no idea what would happen to his home in Naples in southwest Florida during the hurricane. The forecasts and dire warnings had him in a panic. Could it stand up to 100-mph winds?
After briefly checking out a shelter, Burke and his family returned to their home and nervously hunkered down. As the storm picked up, it became clear the house was holding its own. He even went out on his lanai to watch trees fall. It was pretty intense, but we never felt endangered, Burke said.
For now, Chapman-Henderson sounded more worried about the behavior of homeowners than the safety of the homes they were living in.
Its now common for much of a hurricanes death toll in America to come after the storm, sometimes in auto accidents in unsafe driving conditions, carbon monoxide poisonings involving generators improperly used indoors, and electrocutions by exposed power lines.
If youve never used a chainsaw before, right now is not the time to learn, Chapman-Henderson said. Survivors might be exhausted and stressed out, and not using a generator correctly. We lose people that way as well because carbon monoxide doesnt have a scent to it.
Jean-Pierre Bardet, dean of the University of Miamis college of engineering, said he was impressed with the communication from government officials about evacuating danger zones.
But with all the forecasts, all the satellite imaging, all the analyses, Bardet still wasnt satisfied. He noted that the storm was initially projected to hit southeast Florida, not southwest Florida.
It would be great in the future, Bardet said, if we had some more certainty.
A day after Hurricane Irma made landfall near here in what forecasters warned would be one of the most destructive storms ever to hit Florida, the pretty little seaside town of Naples, near ground zero of the Category 3 storms approach, found itsel
Pearce reported from Los Angeles, Hennessy-Fiske from Houston and Halper from Naples, Fla.
matt.pearce@latimes.com
Matt Pearce is a national reporter for The Times. Follow him on Twitter at @mattdpearce.
More national headlines
ALSO
A windy night among strangers human, canine and otherwise as Hurricane Irma blows through
The incredible stories of the die-hards who looked Irma in the face and stayed
Storm surge: What happens when the sea rises up during a hurricane?
Despite record-breaking rain and snowfall across the West in 2017, this years fire season has been unforgiving.
Billows of thick black smoke and red-hot flames have consumed hundreds of thousands of acres in Montana, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California and Utah.
More than 24,000 firefighters have been battling 137 blazes, some for as long as six months, leaving experts shocked at the scale and duration.
Advertisement
Typically by the third week of September we see not as much fire activity, said Jessica Gardetto, spokeswoman for the National Interagency Fire Center. But we just havent had that relief.
The blazes have been responsible for the deaths of eight firefighters and have destroyed more than 500 homes. So far in fiscal year 2017, the Forest Service has spent $1.75 billion fighting fires; as of Sept. 1, the U.S. Interior Department has spent more than $391 million.
Because fire season has been so lengthy we have to be strategic. We have been stretched thin on resources, Gardetto said.
What makes the fires burning across the West so extreme?
One aspect that sets this year apart is the length of time the fire season has lasted, in part because of dry air, conducive for sustaining wildfires.
Lightning strikes in Oregon and Washington have sparked many of the wildfires still ravaging large swaths of land, while drought-stricken Montana continues to battle several large fires.
We didnt think we were going to have large-scale wildfires like this in high elevation because of all the significant amount of snowpack. Fire season ended up being much more above normal than a lot of us had predicted, Gardetto said.
Heres a look at wildfires across several states:
Montana
According to the National Interagency Fire Center, firefighters in Montana are currently battling 25 large fires that threaten lives and homes.
The Lodgepole Complex fire in eastern Montana was the largest blaze this summer, burning more than 270,000 acres. The Rice Ridge fire is another large fire that has consumed more than 135,000 acres to the north and east of Seeley Lake, near Missoula.
Heat coupled with wind across much of the state have created an exceptionally dangerous fire season. Compounding the situation is a severe drought.
At least 12 counties in Montana are battling intense blazes, and two firefighters have died. Because the threat of wildfires remains high, people in all of western Montana are not allowed to have campfires.
Gov. Steve Bullock had already declared a state of emergency at the end of July for the wildfires, but declared a new fire emergency in mid-August.
The move allows Bullock to use state resources and opens up funds to combat the fires.
Last week, he asked Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Brock Long for more assistance and resources.
Weve had losses to homes, livestock, forage and infrastructure. We are experiencing impacts to individuals and businesses across the state, who have endured losses due to evacuations, hazardous air quality, and sustained threats to our tourism and recreation industries, Bullock said.
The situation is likely to get worse before it gets better. While I continue to pursue every available resource to support fire response and recovery, I am asking that we work together to ensure the long-term health, safety and livelihood of Montanans impacted by this disaster.
The Rice Ridge fire in Montana. The smoke from wildfires hangs like fog over large parts of the U.S. (Rion Sanders / Associated Press)
Washington
Seven large wildfires are burning thousands of acres in eastern Washington. Unhealthy air quality caused by the smoke led to school closures this week.
One of the largest is the Diamond Creek fire, which has been burning since July 23. The fire in the Pasayten Wilderness near Mazama, Wash., has grown to 105,000 acres. Firefighters have had a hard time containing the blaze because of difficult terrain, scorching weather and dry timber.
On Aug. 23, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee issued a state of emergency in 21 counties affected by the fires, citing limited manpower to fight the blazes, which include new wildfires that started in four counties during the last week of August.
More than 800 firefighters and 18 crews were assigned to fight the Jolly Mountain fire in recent days. The blaze, which was started by a lightning strike on Aug.11 in the Cle Elum Ranger District of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, has resulted in road closures and fire restrictions and has so far burned 29,432 acres.
Oregon
The fires in Oregon, along with the fires in Washington, have burned more than 739,000 acres. The state is currently battling 17 large fires.
The largest fire in Oregon, which was started by a lightning strike, is the Chetco Bar fire in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness, which has consumed more than 182,000 acres. More than 1,000 people have been deployed to fight the fire, and officials dont expect it to be contained until mid-October. On Monday, winds from the north generated more smoke, causing reduced visibility for drivers and unhealthy air quality.
Crews have also been fighting the Eagle Creek fire in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, which has grown rapidly since it started in early September. The fire has burned more than 33,000 acres as of Monday and is 7% contained. It has led to the closure of the Historic Columbia River Highway, and flames have spread across to Washington.
Idaho
The Bearskin fire is located in the Boise National Forest and is one of four large wildfires plaguing Idaho. Caused by lightning strikes near the town of Lowman, the fire has burned more than 28,000 acres and has led to hiking trail and campground closures.
Its proximity to Boise has also led residents to shield themselves from unhealthy air quality, but with increased moisture in the air and thunderstorms in the forecast, officials believe it will help them contain the fire by Oct. 1.
Firefighters battle the La Tuna blaze near Burbank. (Matt Hartman / Associated Press)
California
Despite record rainfall and snowpack this year, experts said the long, hot summer had brewed unrelenting wildfires all across the state.
More than 20,000 firefighters are battling 20 active wildfires, eight of them especially large, in several parts of the state.
Blazes in Northern California that threatened homes and endangered lives led Gov. Jerry Brown to declare a state of emergency in Madera, Mariposa and Tulare counties.
The Helena fire in Trinity County has burned more than 20,000 acres and destroyed 72 homes. The cause is still under investigation. The Salmon August Complex fire, near Etna, has burned more than 65,000 acres.
The La Tuna fire in early September grew rapidly because of favorable winds, its flames glowing brilliantly in the night sky as people drove past in the Sunland-Tujunga area. The fire prompted mandatory evacuations for residents in the Brace Canyon Park area and burned more than 7,000 acres before it was contained. Los Angeles Mayor Mayor Eric Garcetti declared a local emergency, and two firefighters were hospitalized for dehydration.
melissa.etehad@latimes.com
Follow me on Twitter @melissaetehad
Sept. 11, 2017, 9:01 p.m. Irma is now a tropical depression Once a powerful hurricane, Irma is now officially a tropical depression. In what it said was its last advisory on the storm, the National Hurricane Center announced the downgrade at 11 p.m. East Coast time. The storm was centered five miles south of Columbus, Ga., with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph, and moving northwest at 15 mph. All storm surge warnings and tropical storm warnings have been discontinued, the advisory said. Even so, the storm was continuing to assert its presence, with 2 to 5 inches of rain -- and as much as 8 inches in isolated pockets -- expected through Wednesday across South Carolina and northern portions of Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi into Tennessee and North Carolina.
Full CoverageGeorgia
Sept. 11, 2017, 6:52 p.m. Irma claims a third life in Georgia Flooding on Tybee Island, Ga., from Tropical Storm Irma. (Stephen B. Morton / Associated Press) Tropical Storm Irma has claimed a third life in Georgia. The Forsyth County Sheriffs Office says on its website that a woman died from injuries she suffered when a tree fell on a vehicle in a private driveway. The Sheriffs Office says deputies and firefighters tried to rescue the woman, but she died from her injuries. The office said it was withholding the womans name until her family and friends had been notified. The storm is also being blamed for the death of a man in his 50s who was killed when a tree fell on his house just north of Atlanta and for the death of a 62-year-old man in rural southwest Georgia who had a heart attack after he climbed onto a shed during heavy winds on Monday.
Full Coverage
Sept. 11, 2017, 6:40 p.m. When students tried to park at Florida State University during the storm, they found the spots taken by a car dealership When students and faculty at Florida State University learned that they could leave their cars parked in the campus garage over the weekend, many breathed a sigh of relief. After all, their cars could have been severely damaged by Hurricane Irmas powerful winds and dangerous storm surge. But that relief was short-lived for some. When they tried to park Friday, they found many of the spots in the covered campus garage were filled with sparkling new cars from Napleton Infiniti, a dealership in Tallahassee. Angry students took to social media to complain. Some also went to the dealerships Yelp page, flooding it with negative comments. Shame on you Napleton Infinity of Tallahassee for taking up many FSU parking garage spots and preventing FSU students and its surrounding community from parking in one of the few options they have, one Yelp reviewer wrote. There were calls to boycott the dealership, including from people out of state who took up the students cause. Out of respect for the families who have lost everything during hurricane Irma, do NOT do business with this establishment, a Yelp reviewer from Chicago wrote. On Sunday evening, the university posted on Twitter that it had addressed the matter and that the vehicles have been removed. Napleton Infinity of Tallahassee did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Full CoverageThe Keys
Sept. 11, 2017, 5:09 p.m. Images emerge of Hurricane Irmas devastation in the Florida Keys
Full CoverageThe Keys
Sept. 11, 2017, 4:49 p.m. Hurricane Irma spares Hemingways home and its cats A six-toed cat at the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum in Key West, Fla. (Florida Keys News Bureau) Hurricane Irma battered the Florida Keys over the weekend, but the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum in Key West, its staffers and its 54 six-toed cats were unharmed by the storm, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Jacque Sands, general manager of the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum, told the newspaper that the house was not severely damaged, and that the museums 10 employees and the dozens of polydactyl felines that populate the property were safe. The museums staff made headlines after announcing that it wouldnt heed orders to evacuate the Keys, thought to be particularly vulnerable to Irmas wind and rain. Mariel Hemingway, the actress and Ernest Hemingways granddaughter, had urged Sands to leave the house and seek safer shelter, the Telegraph reported. I think that youre a wonderful and admirable person for trying to stay there and save the cats, and save the house, and all that stuff, Hemingway told Sands. But ultimately, its just a house. Save the cats. Get all the cats in the car and take off. Read more
Full CoverageSouth Carolina
Sept. 11, 2017, 4:24 p.m. Authorities confirm first Irma-related death in South Carolina Pedestrians walk into huge waves crashing over the Battery park as Tropical Storm Irma hits Charleston, S.C., on Sept. 11, 2017. (Mic Smith / Associated Press) Authorities are reporting the first death in South Carolina related to Tropical Storm Irma. Abbeville County Coroner Ronnie Ashley said Charles Saxon, 57, was cleaning debris outside his home in Calhoun Falls about 3 p.m. Monday when a tree limb fell on him. Ashely said in a news release that Saxon died at the scene. An autopsy has been ordered. The National Weather Service says winds in the area were gusting to about 40 mph at the time Saxon was killed. Calhoun Falls is 60 miles south of Greenville, S.C.
Full CoverageThe Keys
Sept. 11, 2017, 3:29 p.m. Its devastation in the Florida Keys, governor says (Alan Diaz / Associated Press) Florida Gov. Rick Scott says there is devastation in the Florida Keys, but the damage from Hurricane Irma was not as extensive on the states west coast as he had feared. Scott told reporters that he flew over both areas on Monday and saw many overturned mobile homes and boats washed ashore in the Keys. My heart goes out to the people in the Keys, he said at U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Miami. Its devastation, and I just hope everybody survived. As for the west coast of Florida, Scott said, We clearly saw homes that were messed up, clearly saw roofs that were off. But I thought we would see more damage. Going forward, he said the biggest threat would be from river flooding. Parts of the state are receiving torrential rains, which combined with the storm surge has caused historic flooding along the St. Johns River.
Full CoverageJacksonville
Sept. 11, 2017, 3:11 p.m. Reporting from Orlando, Fla.
Jacksonville hit with some of its worst flooding in 100 years Rescue workers help a couple evacuate their home after it was flooded by Tropical Storm Irma in Jacksonville, Fla. (John Raoux / Associated Press) Jacksonville may have been spared the most ferocious winds of Tropical Storm Irma, but the torrential rains and storm surge have swelled the St. Johns River to historically high levels and inundated low-lying areas of the city. Tom Bossert, the White House homeland security advisor, called it some of the worst flooding to hit the city in 100 years. Get out NOW, the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office warned people in evacuation zones. It advised those who needed help escaping flooded homes to visibly display something white a shirt or a pillowcase. Florida Gov. Rick Scott mentioned the gravity of the situation at his daily news briefing Monday. In Jacksonville, he said, the storm surge is 3 to 5 feet on top of more than a foot of rainfall, which is causing record and historical flooding along the St. Johns River. Scott said he spoke with Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry and assured him that resources were being deployed. The state has sent teams from the State Emergency Operation Center and the Fish and Wildlife Commission to aid with search and rescue operations. Curry said at least 100 people in the San Marco area had been rescued by midday. Adding to the problems is that Hurricane Jose, which is churning in the Atlantic, is pushing water toward the northern part of the state and preventing water from receding from Jacksonville. Theyre not going to recede today, Curry said. This is not a one-day event. This is probably a weeklong event. The National Weather Service called the flooding a particularly dangerous situation. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) tweeted words of encouragement to the citys emergency responders. Keep going, help is on the way, he wrote. The St. Johns River meanders through Florida for 310 miles, starting near Indian River County in the middle of the state and flowing north to Jacksonville, where it connects with the Atlantic.
CaribbeanFull Coverage
Sept. 11, 2017, 1:27 p.m. Paris
French president headed to hurricane-devastated St. Martin and St. Barts (Pascal Pavani / AFP/Getty Images) French President Emmanuel Macron will visit the Caribbean on Tuesday in an effort to persuade locals on the Hurricane Irma-devastated islands of St. Martin and St. Barts that Paris has not abandoned them. Macron, whose popularity has plummeted at home, is taking flak from political opponents and islanders on the French territories for what they consider to have been inadequate hurricane preparations and a slow response to the mass destruction of homes and infrastructure. He was traveling to St. Martin, a Franco-Dutch island, on an overnight flight aboard an Airbus carrying aid and emergency supplies. During his whistle-stop visit, he is also expected to travel to St. Barts, a French territory 20 miles to the southeast. Fourteen people were killed on St. Martin -- 10 on the French side of the island, four on the Dutch side -- after Irma struck on Wednesday. Damage to the island is estimated at more than $1.65 billion by the French state-run reinsurance body, the CCR, which specializes in natural disasters. Read more
Full CoverageGeorgiaOrlandoThe Keys
Sept. 11, 2017, 2:16 p.m. Reporting from Orlando, Fla.
Irma death toll rises by three after an electrocution in Florida, two fatalities in Georgia Downed power lines can be deadly and cause electrocution if encountered in water or on land. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda / Orlando Sentinel) The death toll in Florida from Hurricane Irma grew by one Monday afternoon when a 51-year-old man in Winter Park, a suburb of Orlando, was found dead in the street after being electrocuted. Officials in Georgia also confirmed two storm-related deaths, bringing the U.S. toll to at least eight, to go along with the 37 reported fatalities in the Caribbean. Such tolls are difficult to determine because it is sometimes impossible to tell whether a death was the direct result of a storm. At least four people died as a result of traffic accidents on Florida roads soaked by Irma. A sheriffs deputy and a corrections officer were killed in a two-car crash in Hardee County, southeast of Tampa, on Sunday morning. A woman was killed in Orange County when the car she was driving struck a guard rail on Sunday. And a man in Monroe County, near the Florida Keys, lost control of his truck, possibly because of high winds, and died. In Miami-Dade County, a man died of carbon monoxide poisoning from his generator. This can happen if generators are used inside without proper ventilation. Another storm-related fatality may have occurred in Shark Key, where a man was found dead in his home. But its not clear whether the death was related to first responders not being able to assist the man. The Georgia Emergency Management Agency confirmed the storm-related deaths in Sandy Springs, a city north of Atlanta, and in Worth County, about 170 miles to the south. It provided no further details. This post was updated with authorities confirming a second storm-related death in Georgia.
Full CoverageGeorgia
Sept. 11, 2017, 12:41 p.m. Tropical Storm Irma brings extensive flooding to Georgia coast Joey Spalding walks back to his truck on Tybee Island, Ga. (Stephen B. Morton / Associated Press) Communities along the Georgia coast are seeing extensive flooding from Tropical Storm Irma. Irmas storm surge pushed water ashore at the high tide Monday afternoon, and heavy rainfall made the flooding even worse. On Tybee Island, east of Savannah, Hollard Zellers saw waist-deep water in the street as he went to fetch a kayak. About 3,000 people live on Tybee Island, which is Georgias largest public beach. The city manager, Shawn Gillen, said the waters seemed to be receding quickly, but most of the island appeared to have some level of flooding, and there was water in many homes. Storm surge also sent floodwaters into downtown St. Marys, just north of the Georgia-Florida line. St. Marys Police Lt. Shannon Brock said piers and boat docks were heavily damaged, and many boats sank.
Full CoverageThe Keys
Sept. 11, 2017, 12:23 p.m. FLORIDA CITY, Fla.
Frustrated Florida Keys residents wait for permission to return to evacuated homes Warren Stincer waits at a checkpoint along Route 1, the only road going in and out of the Florida Keys on Monday. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) There is no gas at the RaceTrac gas station along Route 1 here, and the mini-market is shut down. The site is like a lot of other anonymous roadway establishments, featuring some palm trees, shrubbery and patches of grass across the road from a flooded thicket. But the unremarkable petrol stop has become a terminus for stranded residents seeking to go back to their homes in the Florida Keys, as well as for dozens of journalists keen to survey the damage there in the wake of Hurricane Irma. Florida authorities on Monday were stopping all southbound traffic here, a 20-minute drive or so from Key Largo. There is no other roadway south. Frustration was mounting among those who want to go back home after obeying a mandatory evacuation order declared as Irma headed for Florida. A dozen or so inhabitants of the Keys waited at the gas station, below a sweltering Florida sun, a day after the powerful stormed moved on. Joining them were a half dozen or so TV satellite trucks and other media vehicles. Ive got a house full of food and water waiting for me back home, but they wont let me through, said Warren Stincer, a boat captain and carpenter from Key Largo who evacuated his home last week. Im sorry I ever agreed to evacuate. Now Im stuck here with no food and no water. My home is just 20 minutes down the road and I know the road is clear. Im very disappointed with our officials. He had heard that his home wasnt damaged in the storm. My house is fine, my boat is fine, the road is fine everythings OK, said Stincer. They just wont let me back in. Joe Sanchez, spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol, told reporters gathered here that the road would remain closed to all but emergency crews until authorities determined that it was safe. Units of the Florida National Guard and other agencies have been dispatched to the Keys for the cleanup. Pickups ferrying bulldozers and other heavy equipment were being allowed through the police checkpoint. Its a question of safety, said Sanchez, addressing a gaggle of disappointed journalists. There is debris in the roads. There is flooding. Its just not safe yet. That was no consolation for Stincer and other residents of the Keys, including Odalis Padron, who was waiting on a grassy knoll at the edge of the gas station with her pet poodle, Taini. A tree and a rain umbrella provided some shade from the sweltering sun. People tell me the road is good, I dont know why they wont let us in, said Padron, of Key West, expressing the general sense of frustration. All we want to do is go home.
Full CoverageThe Keys
Sept. 11, 2017, 11:17 a.m. Reporting from Washington
More than 10,000 U.S. service members are supporting relief efforts in Florida region The U.S. aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln in 2012, (U.S. Navy) About 10,400 U.S. service members are supporting relief operations in the Florida region. The U.S. military says it has coordinated the evacuation of 1,904 people since Friday. The Air Force is pre-positioning search and rescue units in Florida in Key West, Homestead Air Reserve Base, Patrick Air Force Base and Orlando to support state, local and national authorities. The Air Force flew in about 300 doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals over the weekend to help issue relief aid. The aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln arrived off Floridas east coast on Sunday night with 24 helicopters, and was prepared for operations in southern Florida and the Florida Keys on Monday morning. The amphibious assault ship Iwo Jima and amphibious transport dock ship New York also arrived.
Full CoverageOrlando
Sept. 11, 2017, 10:55 a.m. Reporting from Orlando, FL
Central Florida starts its cleanup after Hurricane Irma Downed trees were a common sight through much of central Florida. (John Armstrong/Orlando Sentinel) The morning after Hurricane Irma rumbled through central Florida with howling winds and torrential rain, the region was working to clean up damage that mostly amounted to downed trees and power lines and some flooding. There was hardly a neighborhood in this vast tourist corridor that did not have upended trees and no power. More than half a million people were without power. Winds blowing at 30 to 40 mph were hampering the cleanup effort, although in many neighborhoods people were out with rakes and power saws. Im so proud of the people of Orlando for taking Irma seriously, the citys mayor, Buddy Dyer, said at a news briefing. This morning I was out in many of the neighborhoods in our city and was pleased to see neighbors out helping other neighbors clean up yard debris and clear trees from yards. Overall the damage was much less than it could have been. There were one reported storm-related death, a traffic fatality on a toll road on Sunday. Seminole County, a collar county around Orlando, lifted its curfew at 11 a.m. Orange County still has a curfew in effect until 6 p.m. The major theme parks of Disney World, Universal and SeaWorld are all going to try to open on Tuesday. SeaWorld reported that all its animals and personnel were safe. Stormwaters flooded a neighborhood of 24 homes south of Pine Hills. But the National Guard, in some cases using boats because the water was too deep for their vehicles, rescued all the residents without any reported injuries. The waters were as deep as three feet, but have already started to recede, and residents are expected to return to their homes Monday to assess damage. Other areas of low-lying Orange County also reported flooding, although no injuries were reported. Some parts of central Florida had as much as 10 inches of rain. A large sinkhole was reported in east Orlando and a few small ones have also occurred, making some roads difficult to drive. Many lift stations in Seminole County were damaged, and residents were asked to limit their use of showers, laundry and flushing toilets until the stations were fixed.
Full Coverage
Sept. 11, 2017, 10:22 a.m. Reporting from BONITA SPRINGS, FL
In Bonita Springs, waist-deep polluted water flows through houses hit by Hurricane Irma (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) Some of the Floridians hardest hit by Irma live in a modest residential neighborhood near the river in Bonita Springs, where waist-deep polluted water flows through their houses. But that isnt keeping some of them from staying put. As a members of a rescue team cruise the flooded streets in a motorized raft, they say they are finding residents trapped in their homes who have no interest in leaving. The residents were determined to see the hurricane through in their homes, and now they are determined to stay in them until they are fully habitable again. Some found their way onto plastic boats. Others pushed away debris such as nearly fully submerged garbage cans bobbing along the streets. It could be a week before the massive pond of sewage-tainted storm water engulfing their properties recedes. They are happy stuck in their houses. They are saying, We have enough food and water, we are going to be fine, said Lt. Manny Hernandez of the Bonita Springs Fire Control & Rescue District. The rescuers have been knocking on every door in the neighborhood as they float by. Some residents take up the offer and leave their homes, but others say, no, thank you. Hernandez said he figured there were about a dozen people in homes inundated with waste-deep water. How many of them called for a rescue once the storm passed? Zero, he said. The neighborhood is a wreck right now, and there are others like it nearby. Yet locals are surprised to see how few communities look that way. Forecasters predicted many, many more homes would be destroyed. Even right across the beach in downtown Naples, where devastation was forecast, tony beach homes endured the storm with just a few scrapes and no serious water damage. The damage hasnt been as bad as I expected, said Hernandez as he waited for the rescue raft to get back from its rounds.
Fort Myers
Sept. 11, 2017, 9:21 a.m. reporting from Naples
Theres still flooding in Naples. But the birds are drying their feathers
Orlando
Sept. 11, 2017, 9:09 a.m. Reporting from Orlando, Fla.
Disney World may not reopen until Tuesday as Hurricane Irma damage assessment continues
Even though Hurricane Irma has passed through central Florida, Orlandos theme parks including all four at Walt Disney World may not reopen until Tuesday. All major attractions were closed Sunday and Monday as the storm worked its way up the length of the state. Tropical-storm-force winds are expected to linger well into the afternoon, and Orlando is under a curfew until 6 p.m. Monday. We are beginning an initial assessment of our property, a Disney World spokeswoman said Monday morning. While we experienced high winds and rain, we maintained power throughout the storm. Disney decided on Friday it would close Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disneys Hollywood Studios and Disneys Animal Kingdom parks for two days. Its Disney Springs shopping and entertainment complex is also closed. The companys hotels stayed open to guests. Disney closures are rare. This one is the fifth since the Florida resort opened in 1971. Read more
Resources
Sept. 11, 2017, 10:36 a.m. Reporting from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Hurricane Irma cuts power to more than 7 million homes and businesses Flooding on San Marco Island, Fla. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) Nearly 7.2 million homes and businesses are without power in multiple states as Tropical Storm Irma moves through the Southeast. The vast majority are in Florida. The states emergency management officials said the storm had cut power to more than 6.5 million account holders across the state as of Monday afternoon. Eric Silagy, chief executive of Florida Power & Light, said Irma caused the most widespread damage in the companys history. It affected all 35 counties in the utilitys territory, which is most of the states Atlantic coast and the Gulf coast south of Tampa. The most extensive damage was likely in the Naples area, but a full assessment was ongoing. He said 19,500 electric workers have been deployed in the restoration effort. Still, he said, it will take days for many people to be restored and, in some cases where the damage was extensive, weeks. Meanwhile, Duke Energy reported Monday morning that more than 860,000 of the homes and businesses it serves in Florida were without power. Georgia reported more than 570,000 homes and businesses without electricity, and there were 80,000 in South Carolina. This post has been updated with more than 7 million homes and businesses without power in multiple states
Sept. 11, 2017, 8:07 a.m. Reporting from Naples, Fla.
In a Naples mobile home park, neighbors count their blessings Terry Thompson, 65, near his home in Riverwood Estates in Naples, Fla. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) Terry Thompson moved into his home in the Riverwood Estates Mobile Home Park in Naples two weeks ago. Remarkably, it was still there on Monday. Theres a lot of cleanup, the 65-year-old Air Force veteran said as he assessed the situation around his home. Though it was intact, his neighbors carport had flown off and smacked into his wifes car. Siding had blown off the house. Water still covered many of the streets. Debris was everywhere. Thompson said he rode out the storm with his dog in the mobile home. It was wild. ... The house was lifting and moving and shifting. All sorts of things were going on, he said. John Jenkins, 52, also lives in a brand new mobile home in Riverwood Estates. The street in front of the house was still underwater Monday morning, but his house was standing and mostly intact which couldnt be said for all his neighbors homes. During the storm, he said, he went our twice and had to take aluminum sheets that were prying loose from his neighbors carport and get them out of the path of his house. It was quite interesting, he said. Their carport was peeling apart and coming at our house. ... I was worried about all the debris. A friend drove by and Jenkins reached in the drivers side window and gave him a hug. I love you, he said. He asked if the friend was OK. The friend reported that his house was fine. The stakes were particularly high for Jenkins, who couldnt get the bank to fund a loan for his home. I put everything I got in the world into [buying] it, he said.
Hurricane Irma made landfall in the Florida Keys as a Category 4 hurricane on Sunday, slamming into the state and moving inland. On Monday, Irma took out power for about 7 million people before being downgraded to a tropical depression.
Even so, the storm continues to assert its presence, with 2 to 5 inches of rain and as much as 8 inches in isolated pockets expected through Wednesday across South Carolina and northern Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi into Tennessee and North Carolina.
Heres some of what we know by the numbers.
185 mph
Irmas peak wind speed, making it the most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the open Atlantic.
142 mph
The speed of gusts near the storms eye in Naples. Tropical-storm-strength winds were churning as far as 220 miles away from Irmas center.
Weather reporters jump and cling on to illustrate the force of Hurricane Irmas winds as it arrives Sept. 10 in Miami. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
6.4 million
People told to flee in Florida in advance of the storm, leading to days of jampacked highways and frantic searches for gasoline amid one of the nations largest ever emergency evacuations. In total, nearly 7 million people in the Southeast were told to shelter or evacuate.
37
Reported fatalities in the Caribbean, as of Monday afternoon. Such tolls are difficult to determine because it is sometimes impossible to tell whether a death was the direct result of a storm.
More than 200,000
Number of Floridians still in shelters as of Monday afternoon.
Hundreds of people gather Sept. 8 in an emergency shelter at the Miami-Dade County Fair Expo Center ahead of Hurricane Irma. (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images) (SAUL LOEB / AFP/Getty Images)
Live updates on the continuing threat of Irma and its aftermath
Nearly 7.2 million
The number of homes and businesses that were without power in multiple states, as of midday Monday. More than 6.5 million were in Florida.
In Bonita Springs, Fla., floodwaters reached waist deep in some areas, flooding homes and cars. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
10 to 12 feet
The height of the storm surges expected in the Naples-Fort Myers area. A 10-foot storm surge at sea level can submerge the first floor of a building in minutes. Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was only a Category 3 storm, but it was immense in size. With a storm surge of 28 feet, combined with a broken levee, the city of New Orleans was quickly underwater. About 1,800 people lost their lives in the storm the majority from drowning.
With his Fort Myers, Fla., neighborhood flooded, Cesar De La Cruz makes breakfast Sept. 12 on a propane stove in his driveway. (David Goldman / Associated Press) (David Goldman / AP)
2
The number of Category 4 hurricanes that have made landfall in the United States in the last two weeks. The U.S. mainland has never before endured two Category 4 hurricanes in the span of a year
Water from Addicks Reservoir flows into Houston neighborhoods Aug. 29 as floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey rise. (David J. Phillip / Associated Press) (David J. Phillip / AP)
2.4 million
The numbers of meals FEMA transferred at Floridas request. The federal emergency agency also provided 1.4 million liters of water.
95%
The initial estimate of properties on the island of Barbuda that were damaged or destroyed. Later, Gaston Browne, the prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, said the losses were probably even worse. About 1,600 Barbuda residents were evacuated to Antigua.
Damage in Barbuda on Sept. 7, after Hurricane Irma. (Anika E. Kentish / Associated Press) (Anika E. Kentish / AP)
The devastation of the island of Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands on Sept. 11 after Hurricane Irma. (Capt. George Eatwell / British Ministry of Defense) (CAPT GEORGE EATWELL / AFP/Getty Images)
20 feet
The size of the waves that pounded Havana.
96 years
Since the Tampa Bay area was in the bulls-eye of a major hurricane. The so-called Tarpon Springs Hurricane struck the Tampa Bay-St. Petersburg area on Oct. 25, 1921, as a powerful Category 3 storm. A storm surge estimated at 11 feet destroyed substantial portions of the sea wall and inundated several areas.
5
The number of times Floridas Disney World has had to close since the resort opened in 1971. All major attractions were closed Sunday and Monday as the storm worked its way up the length of the state.
51
The number of cruises that were canceled, shortened or revised due to Hurricane Irma, according to Cruise Critic.
1
Tropical storm warnings in Atlanta. Mondays warning was a first for Georgias largest city.
California has $1.5 billion available this year to fight climate change, and many billions of dollars more coming in the years ahead, now that lawmakers have extended the states cap-and-trade program through 2030. Needless to say, there are plenty of people, groups, businesses and governments that would love to get a piece of the pie.
A fire district in the Bay Area, for instance, wants cap-and-trade money to reopen fire stations closed due to lack of funding. Inglewood wants $50 million for transportation infrastructure projects in its downtown redevelopment area. San Gabriel Valley leaders want money to build the Gold Line light-rail extension to Montclair. There are proposals to build farmworker housing, to pay for exhibits for the Columbia Memorial Space Center in Downey and to provide a free, electric shuttle in San Diego.
The list goes on. But heres the catch: The law requires that cap-and-trade money be spent on projects to reduce global warming. While legislators are always tempted to bring home the bacon for their constituents any way they can get it, they need to remember the underlying goal of this particular law. They should commit to programs that cut greenhouse gas emissions and deliver real reductions in local air pollution.
Advertisement
One way to do that is to dramatically reduce pollution from diesel engines. The state has long offered rebates to companies and public agencies to install cleaner equipment on old, dirty diesel trucks, buses, trains, cargo equipment and farm water pumps. But there has never been enough money to address the need or to significantly reduce the health risks of diesel pollution, particularly in communities near major highways and freight centers.
Cleaning up diesel exhaust would help cut black carbon, a potent climate change pollutant, and reduce soot and toxic air contamination in the states most polluted communities. This dual approach attack climate change and clean up local air pollution was at the heart of this years compromise to extend the states cap-and-trade program.
Senate Democrats had initially proposed spending nearly $1 billion over the next year to replace diesel trucks, buses and other vehicles with cleaner versions. A deal cut this week by Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders proposes to spend less about $750 million for programs to clean up diesel pollution. Thats a good start, but lawmakers ought to commit to the longer-term goal of ending diesel pollution entirely.
Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
My house burned down in the Oakland firestorm of 1991, along with almost 3,000 others. I and my husband at the time lost everything we owned that wasnt in our car, but we considered ourselves fortunate: Our 17-month-old son and his paternal grandparents survived. They were driven to safety by a neighbor minutes before our house burst into flames. Twenty-five people died in the firestorm, two at the foot of our driveway.
We would feel the effects of the fire for months. We had to find a temporary place to live with a toddler when thousands of others were looking and rents were skyrocketing. We had to decipher insurance policies, file and contest claims. We had to figure out whether to rebuild, and when. And we had to do all this while juggling work and disrupted child care, continuing to pay bills even though the stuff we were paying off was now a pile of ashes. Still, we were lucky. As law professors, we had financial and legal resources to meet these challenges.
Most people hit by Harvey and Irma dont have these means. And in many cases, they are navigating overwhelming loss under far more complicated circumstances with no income, no healthcare, child support obligations to meet, even vulnerable immigration statuses. In their efforts to stay afloat in this very different kind of flood, the vast majority of Harveys and Irmas victims will have almost no access to legal help.
Advertisement
Aware of the legal crisis Harvey has left in its wake, lawyers in Texas have joined the ranks of first responders. Legal aid services have set up booths in shelters to provide information and advice. Attorneys across the country will also be able to help. Under ordinary circumstances, they wouldnt be allowed to: Like every other state, Texas has a rule that only in-state lawyers can provide legal services to Texans. But after Harvey, the Texas Supreme Court issued an emergency order to temporarily allow out-of-state lawyers to provide pro bono assistance to hurricane survivors.
Lawyers defend their rules as ethical requirements, but theyre not.
This is a welcome dispensation, but it also raises a question: Why limit this benefit to the aftermath of Harvey? Large-scale catastrophes may hit hundreds of thousands at once, but just as many are hit by personal disasters requiring legal help every day.
At any given time, as many as two-thirds of all American households are facing at least one problem that requires legal assistance eviction, the need to pay or collect child support, a health insurance problem. On average more than 85% of these households get no legal help, according to surveys conducted in several states.
The reason is straightforward: Legal services are expensive. The average rate of noncorporate lawyers in this country is between $200 and $250 an hour. Thats a nonstarter for most Americans, many of whom cant cover $400 in unexpected expenses. Very few people with legal problems will get government-funded legal aid or help on a pro bono basis. Only 1% of all lawyers in the U.S. work for legal aid providers, and the average lawyer devotes less than 3% of her hours to pro bono work.
Legal services are expensive partly because lawyers are highly trained professionals. But there is another, less obvious factor: Rules like the one in Texas prevent the legal market from bringing down costs.
Lawyers create these rules through bar associations and get them adopted by state supreme courts. The rule against out-of-state lawyers, which has been put in place by courts in every state, introduces a barrier to entry and helps to limit economies of scale.
Its not the only example. For instance, there are rules that lawyers cannot be employed by, or enter into investment or contracting arrangements with, companies or organizations that are not owned by lawyers. Attorneys claim this is necessary to ensure that lawyers serve the interests of their clients rather than the profit motives of investors. But it means lawyers cant partner with entities that have business expertise or the capacity to invest in technology and consumer research things that might bring costs down. It also means that anyone looking to develop a new legal technology a phone app that helps people file for benefits or interpret legal documents, say cannot accept investment from venture capital firms.
These rules introduce significant inefficiencies into the market that serve no one, not even the lawyers. By my calculations using census data, many lawyers who charge $200 or more an hour only net $35 to $40 an hour. A recent study on the billing data of lawyers at small law firms found that, for an eight-hour day, they collected payment for about an hour and a half of work.
Lawyers defend their rules as ethical requirements, but theyre not. There are other ways to maintain legal ethics that would not radically limit the market. Fine out-of-state lawyers who give advice without adequate knowledge of local rules, for example, and make them hold malpractice insurance. This is how its done in the United Kingdom.
If American lawyers really want to help people who are hurting, they should start by fixing their own rules.
Gillian K. Hadfield is a professor of law and economics at USC and the author of Rules for a Flat World: Why Humans Invented Law and How to Reinvent It for a Complex Global Economy.
Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook
Americas school-age population is more diverse than ever before, reflecting the demographic shift rapidly taking place in our country. Americas schools, however, are more segregated than they have been for decades.
During the two decades between 1970 and 1990, the nation made steady progress toward school desegregation, particularly in the South. At peak, 40% of black southern students attended a formerly all-white school, while less than a third of all black students attended black schools.
Since the 1990s, that progress has been reversing in Southern public schools, while the largely intractable segregation of the Northern cities has intensified. Nationwide, nearly 75% of black students attend so-called majority-minority schools, and 38% attend schools with a white population of 10% or less. Similar statistics apply to Latino students: 80% and 40%, respectively. Both black and Latino students are much more likely than white students to attend a school where 60% or more of their classmates are living in poverty, as measured by the percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch programs.
Advertisement
Separate remains unequal as schools with concentrated poverty and racial segregation are more likely to have less-experienced teachers, high levels of teacher turnover, inadequate facilities and fewer classroom resources.
The cost of school segregation and white racial isolation is immense.
Legal constraints have much to do with this backward momentum. Some 60 years after Brown vs. Board of Education, a series of key Supreme Court decisions have dramatically reduced the number of implementation methods available to communities engaged in school desegregation. They have eliminated strategies such as cross-district busing, dismantled local court supervision of desegregation plans, and limited use of race-based admissions to ensure diversity in magnet school programs.
According to an analysis by the UCLA Civil Rights Project, the number of intensely segregated schools with zero to 10% white enrollment has more than tripled as these options for desegregation have been curtailed. Students are, once again, predominantly assigned to public schools based on where they live and to the extent that neighborhoods are segregated, the schools remain so. The persistence of residential segregation now ensures continuing school segregation.
Is that a national concern? Apparently not for most people.
A 2017 poll found that while 70% of parents would like to have their child in a racially diverse school, 57% prefer proximity over diversity. That is, they would rather send their child to a less diverse school in the neighborhood than a more diverse school farther away. Only 25% think diversity would be worth a trip.
The obvious solution is to diversify neighborhoods, but thats elusive. Contemporary surveys of racial attitudes among whites indicate that the larger the hypothetical black population in an area, the more likely white respondents are to express discomfort about living there. Sociologists Douglas Massey and Jonathan Tannen report that high levels of black-white segregation have remained relatively unchanged for the last 40 years. A similar pattern is visible among Latino families in the countrys two largest Latino communities New York and Los Angeles, where nearly 20% live in extremely segregated, or what researchers call hypersegregated, neighborhoods.
Such continuing segregation helps explain the 2013 American Values Survey finding that 75% of white adults have entirely white social networks, without the presence of any people of color.
The cost of school segregation and white racial isolation is immense. As long as children of color remain trapped in under-resourced schools, many wont have the opportunity to develop their talents a loss not just for those children and their families, but the whole country. Meanwhile, white children wont have sufficient opportunities to develop the skills needed to engage effectively in a multiracial society. Racial isolation means that experience of the other is too often rooted in well-worn stereotypes, rather than in knowledge nuanced by ongoing engagement. Fear and anxiety about the unfamiliar are the common result.
Colleges and universities have a role to play in changing course. More and more young people are making the choice to pursue higher education; even Harvard University has reported that for the first time in its history students of color make up more than 50% of the entering class. For many students, regardless of racial background, the higher education environment will be the most racially diverse learning environment they have experienced in their lives. It is incumbent upon educators to provide the scaffolding needed to help students engage effectively across lines of difference.
Proximity alone will not be sufficient. Because of both lack of direct contact and repeated exposure to cultural stereotypes while growing up, cross-group interactions can be uncomfortable. Even genuine efforts at friendship can be derailed by awkward interactions and unconscious bias. But institutions that create meaningful opportunities for structured interactions such as cooperative learning and intergroup dialogue have a chance to change our social trajectory.
Students who had the most diversity experiences during college continued that pattern of cross-racial interaction in their neighborhoods and at work several years after their college graduations. These young people have the potential to finally interrupt our well-established patterns of residential segregation and can perhaps begin to make the ideal of the Brown ruling a reality in this century.
Beverly Daniel Tatum, president emerita of Spelman College, is a psychologist and author of Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? and Other Conversations About Race.
Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook
To the editor: Where oh where do I begin? (On 60 Minutes, Steve Bannon strikes at his long list of enemies and raises specter of GOP fratricide ahead, Sept.10)
First, thank you to CBS News Charlie Rose for tolerating former White House advisor Steve Bannon long enough to interview him for 60 Minutes and for him to reveal himself as a person who claims to have been born, bred and educated in America but has no idea what this country stands for.
When a person works in the White House, he works for the American people, not the guy who got elected president. He is not President Trumps wingman like theyre out at some meat-market disco.
Advertisement
And what attention should the American people pay to someone who declares war on members of Congress? The Legislature and the president should work together for the good of the people.
Bannon made some crack about the American tradition of people coming to this country and assimilating being a left-wing myth that he claimed was beneath Rose for him to accept as fact. Then he made some remark about himself behaving a certain way because hes Irish.
I hope Bannons path to complete obscurity is swift and permanent.
Nicholas Orchard, Long Beach
..
To the editor: Observing Bannons clenched jaw up close on television revealed a lot about his M.O. as a really hostile individual. He said defiantly that any follower of Trump must remain loyal no matter what personal integrity be damned, evidently.
Seeing Bannon reveal his true colors did not surprise me, but it was deeply concerning. He projected the image of the archetypical mobster, the perfect sycophant to his very own godfather, Donald Trump.
Bannon must be watched closely. After his interview on 60 Minutes, I believe his influence on Trump could prove more dangerous than previously thought.
Sylvia Lewis Gunning, Thousand Oaks
..
To the editor: If Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Paul Ryan and other establishment Republicans want to retain control of their party, they must make it clear to everyone that Bannon, Trump and their followers do not speak for the GOP.
The Republicans cannot keep Bannon from speaking out or Trump from exercising his executive powers, but they can excommunicate them from the Republican Party. By making Congress the leading force in government, they can create future success for their party.
Everyone has freedom of speech, but no one has the right to declare himself a member of a political party and then take it over against the will of the establishment.
Leroy Miller, West Hills
Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
California farmworkers will have to undergo sexual assault prevention training By Jazmine Ulloa Gov. Jerry Brown/ (Monica Davey/ EPA) Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday signed legislation to ensure farm labor contractors train employees on how to prevent and report sexual assault, a response to a 2013 PBS Frontline investigation that found sexual violence against women was a pervasive problem in California fields. Senate Bill 295 by Sen. Bill Monning (D-Carmel) makes sexual harassment training mandatory at all businesses that supervise farm employees or provide them with lodging, transportation or other services. The training has to be conducted or interpreted in a language that employees can understand, the law stipulates, and farm labor contractors will have to provide proof of all of their materials and resources to the Farm Labor Commission as part of the license renewal process. Under the new law, the state labor commission also will be able to charge a $100 civil fine for any violation of the new requirements. The PBS Frontline investigative documenatory, Rape in the Fields, The Hidden Story of Rape on the Job in America found more than half a million women work in U.S. fields. Most do not have legal residency in the country, and sexual harassment and violence often go unreported. A 2012 Human Rights Watch survey found 80% of 150 women in Californias Central Valley had experienced some form of the abuse. Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Los Angeles voters can cast ballots in Assembly race on Tuesday By Chris Megerian Wendy Carrillo is one of 13 people running for a state Assembly seat. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) The political dominoes from U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxers retirement are almost done falling. Her decision two years ago to forgo reelection led to a reshuffling that eventually left vacant a state Assembly seat in Los Angeles. There are 13 candidates running in the special election, and the primary is Tuesday. Read More Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Advertisement
Gov. Brown signs major housing legislation By Liam Dillon At a signing ceremony in San Francisco on Friday morning, Gov. Jerry Brown signed 15 bills aimed at addressing the states mounting housing problems. It is a big challenge, Brown said. We have risen to it this year. The bills could add nearly $1 billion in new funding for low-income housing developments in the near term as well as lessen regulations that slow growth. Read More Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Watch live: Gov. Jerry Brown signs bills to tackle Californias housing crisis Gov. Jerry Brown and state lawmakers are gathered in San Francisco for the signing into law of a package of proposals designed to tackle some of the most pressing parts of Californias housing crisis. Read More Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Businesses in California will be required to tell customers exactly how much their automatic renewal will cost By Mina Corpuz California will require online businesses that offer free trials to tell customers exactly how much an automatic renewal will cost under a law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday. The laws author, Sen. Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys), thinks the bill, known as SB 313, will make it easier for customers to cancel service. Consumers need to know what they are signing up for and that they can just as easily cancel any service or subscription online as when they started it online, Hertzberg said in a statement. Streaming services like Hulu and Spotify and the file-sharing site Dropbox have elicited lawsuits and consumer complaints about their automatic service renewals, according to Hertzbergs statement. The law goes into effect in July. Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Advertisement
Heres why Californias early primary in 2020 is destined to pick the next president. (Nah, not really) By Mark Z. Barabak (Harry Chase / Los Angeles Times) Today we answer questions. Woo-hoo! Now that Gov. Jerry Brown has signed the bill, it looks like California is moving up its 2020 presidential primary. Finally! Uh. No more watching from the sidelines as small-fry states like Iowa and New Hampshire throw their weight around. Um. Im already fluffing pillows and prepping the guestroom for all the 2020 hopefuls wholl be camped out. Er. What? You dont seem too excited. Look, it would be great if California voted in a truly meaningful presidential primary. Its been about 50 years since that happened. But its about as likely in 2020 as President Trump dumping Vice President Pence and running for reelection on a unity ticket with Hillary Clinton. How can that be? Lots of reasons, both political and practical. Do tell. Read More Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Poll: Californians like Obamacare more than ever but are divided on single-payer healthcare By Melanie Mason Members of the California Nurses Assn. and other supporters rally at the state Capitol for a single-payer health plan June 28. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) As the latest attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act fizzles, the law has reached its highest popularity in California in four years, according to a new poll released Wednesday by the Public Policy Institute of California. Nearly 60% of the Californians hold a generally favorable view of the healthcare law, and just over a third of Californians see it unfavorably the highest approval rating since PPIC began tracking the laws popularity in 2013. But while Democrats and independents back the law, known as Obamacare, with strong majorities, three-quarters of Republicans have negative views of it. Only 18% of Californians believe congressional Republicans should try again to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, and 58% of adults want to see bipartisan efforts to improve the law. Underscoring the GOPs challenge in dramatically reducing governments role in healthcare, two-thirds of the states adults believe it is the federal governments responsibility to ensure that all Americans have health coverage. But Californians are divided on whether to substantially increase government involvement through a single-payer system, such as the Medicare for All proposal recently introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont). A national single-payer insurance program such as Medicare for All gets support from 35% of Californians, according to the poll. Support is higher among Democrats 44% and independents 34% than among Republicans. Only 6% of Republicans back such a system. But the current system, a patchwork of government and private insurance options, isnt particularly adored by Californians. Just under 30% of adults support continuing with a mix of private and public insurance options, while 36% of Democrats, 21% of Republicans and 31% of independents see that mixed system as the best way to provide health coverage. Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Half of Californias likely voters think Sen. Dianne Feinstein should retire, poll finds By Phil Willon (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) As Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein contemplates a 2018 bid for reelection, a new poll has found that 50% of Californias likely voters think she shouldnt run again. Just 43% of likely voters support Feinstein running for a sixth term, according to a Public Policy Institute of California poll released Wednesday. The results are similar among all California adults, not just likely voters, with 46% saying she should not run for another term and 41% saying she should run. Feinstein, 84, has come under increased pressure from members of Californias left, many of whom were infuriated when earlier this month she called for patience with President Trump and refused to back demands for his impeachment. Still, the poll found that Feinstein remains popular. More than half of likely voters 54% approve of the job shes doing, compared with 38% who disapprove. Thats on par with Gov. Jerry Browns approval rating, and it bests the marks for Californias other Democratic senator, Kamala Harris. When likely voters were asked about Harris, the former state attorney general elected to the Senate in November, 47% approved of the job she was doing in Washington and 30% disapproved. Almost a quarter of voters didnt offer an opinion about Harris. The contrasting results on Feinstein are difficult to decipher but at the very least indicate voters remain restless. Partly, this is a holdover from last years election in which you saw many Democrats wanting a more liberal alternative at the presidential level and you saw many independents wanting an outsider, said Mark Baldassare, president of Public Policy Institute of California. As people are looking to next year, theres a desire for something new. Speculation continues that Feinstein may face a Democratic challenger. Among those who have been mentioned is state Senate leader Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles), who is weighing his next political move after he terms out of office in 2018. De Leon lashed out at Feinstein after her comments about Trump in early September. In her last election, Feinstein trounced her Republican opponent, Elizabeth Emken, by a 25-percentage-point margin in 2012. She won by almost an identical margin in 2006 when challenged by former Republican state Sen. Richard Mountjoy. However, California has since switched to a top-two primary system. The two candidates who receive the most voters in the June primary election will advance to the 2018 general election, regardless of their party. Two Democrats faced off in the finale of Californias 2016 U.S. Senate election, with Harris besting then-Rep. Loretta Sanchez. Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Advertisement
Barbara Boxer says if Sen. Dianne Feinstein runs for another term, she should expect a tough race By Mina Corpuz Former Sen. Barbara Boxer (Mina Corpuz / Los Angeles Times ) Its one of the hottest political parlor games in California right now: Will she run again? Everyone is waiting for Sen. Dianne Feinstein to announce if shell seek a sixth term. And even though they served as colleagues in Washington for more than two decades, former Sen. Barbara Boxer said she has no inside intel on what Feinstein will do in 2018. I believe she is running until I see any other indication, Boxer said Wednesday at a Sacramento Press Club lunch. Every single race is hard.... Anyone who runs against her will give her a tough race. Feinstein, 84, has made clear she is taking her time, even as ambitious politicians eye the seat she has held since 1992. One long-shot Democrat already is raising money for the race, and Feinstein recently drew criticism from California Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, who has not ruled out a primary challenge against her. Boxer said Wednesday her own priority for next years midterm election is flipping several Republican-held House seats in Southern California. Theres no such thing as an off election year, she said. Its an on year. Much of this work will be done through the political action committee Boxer founded, PAC for a Change. The organization also supports electing more Democrats to the Senate and standing up to President Trumps policies, she said. Since leaving the Senate in January, Boxer has also given speeches and promoted her book, The Art of Tough. She doesnt like to consider herself a retiree. Boxer also skirted a question about her pick for governor in a race that already is crowded with several Democrats. All of the candidates, she joked, are like my sons and daughters. Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Californias top elections officer now says his agencys website wasnt the one scanned by Russian hackers By John Myers Secretary of State Alex Padilla (John Myers / Los Angeles Times) Five days after saying he had been told Russian hackers scanned the states main elections website for weaknesses in 2016, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla said Wednesday that it turns out it didnt actually happen that way. Padilla said that his office was given incorrect information by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and that the Russian operation was instead focused on scanning the network of the state Department of Technology. Our notification from DHS last Friday was not only a year late, it also turned out to be bad information, Padilla said in a statement. Bryce Brown, a spokesman for the states information technology agency, said officials had long known about suspect activity that occurred on our network last summer but didnt know anything else until the notification from federal officials. Although we did not have knowledge of the source until now, we have confirmed our security systems worked as planned and the activity was blocked as it happened in 2016, he said. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment. On Tuesday, the Associated Press reported that federal officials also reversed course in a notification they had made to Wisconsin elections officials about Russian activity. In June, federal officials told Congress that 21 states elections systems were targeted by Russian activity. Padilla insisted last week that the scanning incident found no vulnerabilities or access to any California voter information, and he criticized DHS officials for the delay in sharing information about 2016 activities. On Wednesday, he said hopes that federal officials will continue to work with the states in preventing cyberattacks. I remain committed to a partnership with DHS and other intelligence agencies; however, elections officials and the American public expect and deserve timely and accurate information, Padilla said. Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Advertisement
Hollywood tour buses could get more rules slapped on them under the law Gov. Jerry Brown just signed By Patrick McGreevy A tour bus passes the late Carrie Fishers gated home in Beverly Hills. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times) Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday signed legislation aimed at reining in the proliferation of tour buses offering to take fans to the homes and gathering spots of celebrities in Hollywood and other trendy neighborhoods. The measure allows cities and counties to adopt rules that restrict the routes or streets used by the tour buses, and prohibit the use of loudspeakers on open-topped buses and vans. Assemblyman Adrin Nazarian (D-Sherman Oaks) introduced the proposal in response to a report by NBC Los Angeles that found some tour buses were operating unsafely without proper permits. He also cited complaints about topless buses on narrow streets of the Hollywood Hills, Malibu and Bel-Air. Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Latino state lawmakers back Antonio Villaraigosa for California governor By Phil Willon Antonio Villaraigosa gives a pep talk in Los Angeles at Cathedral High School, where he once was also a student. ((Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) The Legislatures California Latino Caucus on Wednesday endorsed former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for governor. While expected, the nod from the politically influential caucus is a boon for Villaraigosa, a former Democratic Assembly speaker and the only major Latino candidate running for governor. Villaraigosa has lagged behind Lt. Gov. Gavin Newson in early polls and fundraising. As Assembly speaker and Los Angeles mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa worked to strengthen our economy, expand our healthcare, improve our schools and invest in strategic infrastructure projects that create middle-class jobs, Sen. Ben Hueso (D-San Diego), chair of the caucus, said in a statement Wednesday morning. An intriguing aspect of the endorsement is that one of the most prominent members of the California Latino Caucus is Senate leader Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles). In Sacramento, speculation abounds over whether De Leon may run for governor, and the Villaraigosa endorsement could indicate De Leon has other plans for his political future. Villaraigosa joins a slate of other Latino statewide candidates endorsed by the caucus: Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-Azusa) for lieutenant governor; current appointee Xavier Becerra for attorney general; incumbent Alex Padilla for secretary of state; Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) for insurance commissioner; and Assemblyman Tony Thurmond (D-Richmond) for superintendent of public instruction. Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
California is trying to educate people about marijuana before recreational sales start By Patrick McGreevy Months before California allows the sale of marijuana for recreational use, the state has launched an education campaign about the drug, including highlighting the potential harms of cannabis for minors and pregnant women. The state is scheduled to issue licenses starting Jan. 2 for growing and selling marijuana for recreational use, expanding a program that currently allows cannabis use for medical purposes. In response, the California Department of Public Health has created a website to educate Californians about the drug and its impacts, including how to purchase and safely store cannabis. We are committed to providing Californians with science-based information to ensure safe and informed choices, said State Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith. The website, Lets Talk Cannabis, notes it is illegal for people under 21 to buy marijuana for non-medical use and warns that using cannabis regularly in your teens and early 20s may lead to physical changes in your brain. The site also warns that marijuana edibles may have higher concentrations of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. If you eat too much, too fast you are at higher risk for poisoning, the website warns. The state urges parents and guardians to talk to their teenagers about legal and health issues surrounding marijuana use. The state officials also say consuming cannabis is not recommended for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, or who plan to become pregnant soon, noting that it can affect the health of your baby. The website got good marks from legalization activist Ellen Komp, deputy director of Californias chapter of National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. The website is fairly accurate, she said, but added, The risks with pregnancy are somewhat overstated, telling women they should not use cannabis for nausea or even if they are thinking of getting pregnant. Some 43% of Californians have used marijuana for recreational purposes and 54% said they have not, according to a USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll last November. Among those who have not used it, just 2% said they are much more likely to use it if Proposition 64 passed, which it did, while 5% said they are somewhat more likely to use it, and 89% said they are no more likely to smoke pot if it was legalized. Other advice from the states site: driving under the influence of cannabis is illegal and increases the chance of a car accident, and cannabis should be stored in a locked area to avoid poisoning children and pets. Updated at 11:30 am to include data from poll on marijuana use. Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Todays newsletter: Republicans fail again to repeal Obamacare By John Myers Todays Essential Politics newsletter details the last gasp of the Republican efforts in Washington to repeal the Affordable Care Act, efforts that President Trump insisted on Tuesday arent over. We also take a look at the win by Roy Moore, a former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, in a Senate runoff that saw the president back the losing candidate. And weve got the details of what happens if Gov. Jerry Brown, as expected, signs the sanctuary state bill into law. The newsletter comes out Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Are you a subscriber? Sign up below. Read More Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Advertisement
After meeting with Trump, California Democrats say they want a seat at the tax reform table By Sarah D. Wire Ahead of Republicans plans to unveil a more detailed overview of their tax reform plan Wednesday, President Trump sat down with a bipartisan group of members that included California Democratic Reps. Linda Sanchez and Mike Thompson. Sanchez, of Whittier, who serves on the House committee that has authority over tax legislation, said members didnt learn much about the details of the plan Tuesday. There were kind of generalities but no specificity, which is why were interested to see what they put out tomorrow, because clearly its not something thats had Democratic input, Sanchez said. According to a White House transcript of part of the meeting, Trump said the plan is focused on making the tax code simple and fair, increasing the deduction most families can take, lowering the business tax rate and bringing wealth stored overseas back to the United States. Thompson, of St. Helena, said the president listened to what Democrats had to say, but he didnt get the impression that the policy plan would change before it becomes public Wednesday. I dont think it was that kind of meeting. We all agreed we wanted a fair, easy-to-work-with tax code that generates more jobs, said Thompson, who is also on the committee. He said repeatedly he wants to be successful. Republicans are set to unveil a consensus document Wednesday they say will be a much more detailed overview than previous tax policy papers theyve released. But it is not expected to be an actual plan or bill. Republicans will huddle with Vice President Mike Pence for half of Wednesday to discuss tax reform. Democrats are holding their own tax reform forum too. Its been 30 years since Congress has passed a major tax overhaul, and Republican leaders have set an ambitious timeline for passing a tax-reform measure, indicating they want to get it to Trumps desk by the end of the year. Sanchez said she tried to stress in the meeting that Democrats should play a role in writing the final bill. There wasnt discussion about the group sitting down with Trump again, she said. The president was very pleased that it was a bipartisan effort, which sort of confused me because that was the first meeting where there were members of the Democratic side of the Ways and Means Committee there, Sanchez said. I dont know if theyve been telling him that the process is bipartisan or if he knew it wasnt bipartisan but didnt care, but I thought that was kind of odd. Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Advertisement
Judge rewrites summary of proposed gas tax repeal initiative, saying it was fundamentally flawed By Patrick McGreevy A Chevron gas station in Sacramento shows prices in February. ( (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)) A judge on Monday rewrote the title and summary for a proposed initiative that would repeal recent gas tax increases in California. He rejected a title and summary written by the state attorney generals office as fundamentally flawed. Sacramento Superior Court Judge Timothy M. Frawley criticized the attorney generals office for not mentioning in the title that the ballot measure would repeal newly approved taxes or fees. This is not a situation where reasonable minds may differ, Frawley wrote in his ruling. The Attorney Generals title and summary ... must be changed to avoid misleading the voters and creating prejudice against the measure. The initiative proposed by Assemblyman Travis Allen (R-Huntington Beach) would repeal a bill approved in April by the Legislature and governor that would raise the gas tax by 12 cents per gallon and increase vehicle fees in order to generate $5.2 billion for road repairs and to improve mass transit. The title and summary will be placed on petitions to be circulated by those trying to qualify the measure for the November 2018 ballot. The title and summary are also placed on the ballot if enough signatures are collected. The original title written by Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerras office was: Eliminates recently enacted road repair and transportation funding by repealing revenues dedicated for those purposes. Allens attorneys argued the voter could read that to mean that the Legislature identified existing funds for transportation and the initiative would take those funds away. The judges title says: Repeals recently enacted gas and diesel taxes and vehicle registration fees. Eliminates road repair and transportation programs funded by these taxes and fees. The judge also made it clear in the summary that an Independent Office of Audits and Investigations that would be eliminated by the initiative is newly established. Representatives of the attorney generals office were not immediately available to comment on whether the ruling would be appealed. Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Democrats to try to force vote on Dream Act with rarely successful procedural move By Sarah D. Wire House Democrats are trying to force a vote on Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allards version of the Dream Act, they announced in a news conference Monday. The House and Senate have less than six months to address the legal status of people brought into the country illegally as children before the program protecting them from deportation ends in March. In the weeks since President Trump announced he was ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, Democrats have pushed for a quick vote on Roybal-Allards bill, which is backed by every House Democrat and four Republicans. There are also a handful of other Republican-sponsored bills that could be considered. To force a vote, Democrats would need a majority of the House 218 members to sign whats called a discharge petition to pull the bill from the House Judiciary Committee and bring it to the House floor. Roybal-Allard, a Democrat from Downey, said she believes there is enough support to pass the bill if Democrats can get it to the House floor. Democratic leaders said they expect all House Democrats will sign the petition. The American people overwhelmingly oppose deporting our Dreamers, Roybal-Allard said. But the Republican leadership is ignoring the wishes of a majority of the American people. Democrats hold only 194 seats, and would have to convince 24 Republicans to buck their party leaders and sign the petition. House leaders control which bills come to the floor for a vote and when. Although discharge petitions have been used in the past to shame congressional leadership into letting a bill move forward, the procedural move is rarely successful. This month, Republican Rep. Mike Coffman of Colorado filed a discharge petition for the Bridge Act, a Republican- sponsored bill to address the legal status of people brought to the country illegally as children. Five members of Congress had signed on as of Monday. FOR THE RECORD Sept 26, 12:38 p.m.: An earlier version of this post identified the member of Congress who filed a discharge petition for the Bridge Act as Rep. Mike Thompson. It was Rep. Mike Coffman. Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
California lawmakers grant some megaprojects relief from environmental law, but not others By Liam Dillon Developers plan to build two skyscrapers near the Capitol Records building in Hollywood. (Reed Saxon / Associated Press) When professional sports team owners, Facebook and big developers have asked California lawmakers for some relief from the states main environmental law over growth, the answer usually has been yes. The law, the California Environmental Quality Act, requires developers to disclose and reduce a projects effects on the environment a process that often can get tied up in lengthy litigation. This year, legislators passed a measure aiming to shorten any potential environmental lawsuit against Facebooks expansion of its headquarters, two skyscrapers planned in Hollywood and other megaprojects to less than nine months. Doing so has led many to question why only big projects get such relief. Read More Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
The fate of Californias biggest campaign donor disclosure bill may hinge on some small details By John Myers Members of the California Fair Political Practices Commission. (Rich Pedroncelli/AP) You wouldnt expect to see the leader of Californias campaign watchdog agency rooting for Gov. Jerry Brown to veto sweeping new disclosure rules for political donors. And yet, thats where things stand in a seven-year debate over helping voters follow the money. I think we can do better than this bill, said Jodi Remke, chair of the California Fair Political Practices Commission. Remke and her staff have raised a red flag about the fine print tucked inside Assembly Bill 249, the California Disclose Act, that rewrites rules for campaign contributions that are earmarked. Read More Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Advertisement
Oceanside lifeguard receives Californias highest public safety honor By Mina Corpuz Medal of Valor recipient David Wilson stands with his parents, a family friend, Gov. Jerry Brown and Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra. (Mina Corpuz / Los Angeles Times ) An Oceanside Fire Department officer who risked his life to save a boater received the states highest award for public safety officers on Monday. Gov. Jerry Brown and Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra presented David Wilson with the Public Safety Medal of Valor at a ceremony at the state Capitol. In July 2016, Wilson rescued a man whose boat crashed into a jetty in Oceanside Harbor. The victim was barely conscious and jammed between two rocks. With only a short window between each set of waves, Wilson dove underneath the water and swam into the boulders to free the victims legs. You earned it, Brown said at the ceremony. You were assaulted by the waves and the rocks, and you went ahead anyways. Thats why you are the only one getting a medal of honor. A review board made up of law enforcement officers reviewed 21 nominations for the Medal of Valor. The award is given out once a year. There can be more than one recipient, but this year Brown chose one. Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Advertisement
7.5 million Californians could lose coverage under latest Obamacare repeal effort, state health insurance exchange says By Melanie Mason Peter V. Lee, executive director of Covered California, the states health insurance exchange, in 2013. (Rich Pedroncelli / AP) Californians who get their health coverage on the individual market could face dire consequences under the current Republican effort to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, warned a new analysis released Monday by Covered California, the states health insurance exchange. Under the latest plan, which is being led by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.), 7.5 million Californians could lose their health insurance by 2027, the analysis said. It also said the repeal could trigger a collapse of the states individual insurance market. The Graham-Cassidy plan takes resources away from California and from the majority of states, which means that far fewer Americans would have insurance or the existing protections from insurers, said Peter V. Lee, executive director of Covered California, in a statement. The effect on California would be devastating, and lead not only to there being more uninsured people than there were before the Affordable Care Act, but would also cause huge negative impacts on the health care delivery system, the economy and on those with employer-based coverage, Lee said. The report comes on the heels of another grim analysis by Gov. Jerry Browns administration, which estimated that the Senate proposal would strip California of nearly $139 billion in federal funds from 2020 to 2027. The Covered California report looked at two different scenarios for how state officials could respond to such a slash in federal dollars. If the state chose to prioritize protecting Medi-Cal, which provides coverage for low-income Californians, the analysis projects the collapse of the individual insurance market by 2021. If officials chose to direct attention to the individual market by stepping in to cover subsidies now paid for by the federal government, that could lead to large reductions in the Medi-Cal program. In both scenarios, the result would be up to 7.5 million fewer Californians with health insurance, according to the report. Proponents claim Graham-Cassidy gives states flexibility and choice, but in reality it puts states into a lose-lose situation, Lee said. Under this plan, California and states across the nation would be forced to either turn their backs on their most needy residents, or let the individual market be destroyed. Either way, millions lose coverage. Read More Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Todays newsletter: Sports spat starts with California teams By Christina Bellantoni Todays Essential Politics newsletter details President Trumps sports spat, which originated with California teams before becoming national political drama on football fields across America. It also notes last falls USC/Los Angeles Times poll, which found huge partisan divisions in how California voters viewed Colin Kaepernick at the time. Democrats liked him more, while he had just 6% favorability among tea party Republicans here. The state was evenly divided on whether to support his protest during the national anthem. The newsletter comes out Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Are you a subscriber? Sign up below. Read More Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Advertisement
Attorney running against Sen. Dianne Feinstein is hosting Hollywood fundraiser By Christine Mai-Duc Pat Harris may be a long-shot candidate for U.S. Senate, but hes not fundraising like one. On Monday Harris, a Democrat challenging Sen. Dianne Feinstein, is set to tread territory familiar to many prominent statewide candidates looking for cash: the Hollywood fundraiser. The event is to be held at the Catalina Jazz Club on Sunset Boulevard and is being billed as a CD release party for Carol Welman, a jazz musician and Harris wife. Tickets range from $150 for a single ticket to $2,700 for a VIP dinner for two. (An email to Welmans subscriber list earlier this week advertised tickets for as little as $30). Harris announced that he was running last month on a platform that includes support for single-payer healthcare and a pledge that he will only take campaign donations from individuals. Facing pressure from progressive activists, Feinstein has been coy so far about whether shell retire or run again in 2018. Either way, shes stockpiled $3.5 million in her campaign war chest. As of June 30, Harris had raised no money except for $104,685 he loaned his own campaign. Three other candidates have also filed to run against Feinstein: Democrats Steve Stokes and David Hildebrand, and independent Jerry Carroll. Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Rep. Keith Ellison headlines dinner for Orange County Democrats, who declare orange is the new blue By Christine Mai-Duc The focus was on 2018 as Orange County Democrats gathered Saturday night in Costa Mesa to bask in their high hopes here. Headliner and deputy chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, urged unity as dozens of Democrats navigate crowded primaries throughout the state. Ellison getting star treatment tonight, speaking to VIP attendees & meeting congressional candidates & gubernatorial hopeful @DelaineEastin pic.twitter.com/2Bh8K5H1Qu Christine Mai-Duc (@cmaiduc) September 24, 2017 Much of focus tonight on flipping 4 GOP congressional seats in OC. Ellison: "We need 24 more seats...I figure 4 of em we can get right here" pic.twitter.com/CDDbGWpNnT Christine Mai-Duc (@cmaiduc) September 24, 2017 The theme of the annual awards dinner was Orange is the New Blue, a twist on the title of a popular Netflix show and the latest indication of Democrats rosy outlook as they try to flip the countys four GOP-held House seats next year. Ellison told the crowd it was not the proper role of the DNC to choose among the many primary contenders. But you will sort it out running spirited campaigns, you will sort it out over ideas, and when it is over we need you to hold hands and support the Democrat. Ellison pushed for a return to grass-roots organizing and outreach to voters of all stripes and not just during election years. We cannot come a month before the election, tell them ... Come vote for us, Ellison said. Weve got to be in their lives in a physical, palpable way. Then we do have to have the right words, we do have to stand up for them. Ellison on more permanent solution for DACA: no wall, no increase in detention beds "but there might be some other things" Dems can agree to pic.twitter.com/yrmOGfXYan Christine Mai-Duc (@cmaiduc) September 24, 2017 In an interview, Ellison also stressed the need to pass legislation for young people brought to the country illegally who were allowed to stay and work under the Obama Administrations Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Ellison said Democrats are open to negotiating certain immigration enforcement provisions in order pass a replacement for DACA, which President Trump announced he will end in March. But he said Democrats wont acquiesce to Trumps demand for a border wall or allow additional capacity for immigration detentions. There are certain things that are simply not on the table the wall or more detention beds, were just not doing that, he said. Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Advertisement
Russians tried to find weaknesses in Californias election website last year, say state officials By John Myers Secretary of State Alex Padilla (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Californias chief elections officer said U.S. government officials believe Russian hackers tried to find weaknesses in the states election website during the 2016 campaign, but that theres no evidence their effort was successful. Secretary of State Alex Padilla said the Department of Homeland Security only told him on Friday of last years attempt. He described the attack as a scanning of the states website in hopes of finding weaknesses in its computer network. Our office actively monitors scanning activity as part of our routine cybersecurity protocols, Padilla said in a statement. We have no information or evidence that our systems have been breached in any way or that any voter information was compromised. Those involved were Russian cyber actors according to Padillas description of information he received from federal officials. In June, a top federal official told the Senate Intelligence Committee that systems in 21 states were believed to have been scoured by cyberattackers. The election website, www.sos.ca.gov, contains public information about voting procedures as well as data on past election results and current issues. More sensitive data, including the electronic files of some 17 million registered voters, are not included on the website. A leaked National Security Agency document earlier this year outlined a Russian effort to hack into devices made by a Florida-based voting software company. One California county, Humboldt, used the companys software, but did not find any evidence of tampering. Padilla, a frequent critic of President Trumps special panel investigating the potential of voter fraud, said federal officials should have notified him much earlier of the attempted breach. The practice of withholding critical information from elections officials is a detriment to the security of our elections and our democracy, he said. Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Antonio Villaraigosa jabs at Gavin Newsom over his apparent embrace of single-payer healthcare bill By Melanie Mason Supporters of a measure to establish single-payer healthcare in California were thrilled by Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsoms embrace of their bill on Friday, but a rival gubernatorial campaign was less impressed with his position. A spokesman for former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa accused the lieutenant governor of flip-flopping because after Newsom was asked if he explicitly endorsed the legislation Senate Bill 562 he responded that he endorsed getting this debate going again. This is an outrageous parsing of words when millions of people are at risk of losing their healthcare, Villaraigosa spokesman Luis Vizcaino said in a statement. It is a yes or no question, lieutenant governor. Are you for SB 562 or not? The nurses and California voters deserve the truth, Vizcaino added. The question of backing SB 562 is thorny since it was shelved earlier this year after Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) called it woefully incomplete. Backers have said theyd be willing to make changes to the measure, but the contours of those proposed changes have not been made public. Vizcaino said Villaraigosa has always supported universal healthcare and the concept of single payer, but agreed with Speaker Rendon that the bill couldnt be sent to the governor without a funding plan. Speaking to reporters, Newsom said he saw a single-payer system in which the government covers healthcare costs as the best way to achieve universal coverage and said he would be actively engaged in designing and developing it if SB 562 does not pass next year. RoseAnn DeMoro, executive director of the California Nurses Assn./National Nurses United, said she saw Newsoms remarks as a clear endorsement of their measure and a stance she said was not surprising. We always knew Gavin would support our bill, DeMoro said. She lambasted Villaraigosa who does not support SB 562 for criticizing Newsom, whom her group endorsed nearly two years ago. I want Villaraigosa to explain to the Latino community why he doesnt think they should have ... comprehensive healthcare, she said. Villaraigosas being disingenuous. He knows better. Hes just politically posturing trying to find a wedge issue and he knows better. UPDATE 4:32 p.m.: This post was updated with an additional statement from Villaraigosas spokesperson on the former L.A. mayors support for universal healthcare. Read More Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
In San Francisco, Bernie Sanders plays two roles: Obamacare defender and single-payer advocate By Melanie Mason View Twitter post Sen. Bernie Sanders headed west to drum up support for his recently unveiled Medicare for All proposal Friday, but first trained his sights on the Obamacare repeal bill currently gripping Congress. Sanders (I-Vt.), whose speech was the cornerstone of a California Nurses Assn. gathering in San Francisco, blasted the Republican plan led by Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina as horrific legislation. How cruel, how immoral it is, to say to those millions of Americans, we are going to take away that health insurance that keeps you alive, Sanders said. Sen. John McCain announced on Friday he could not support the measure, dealing the GOP plan a blow. Sanders thanked McCain for his stance, prompting the liberal crowd to cheer the Arizona Republican. Some Democrats had worried that Sanders push for his single-payer plan could distract from efforts to oppose the repeal bill. But the senator was explicit in his appeal to the approximately 2,000 supporters in attendance to focus their energy on defeating the repeal measure. Our job is to continue to make sure the Republicans do not get the 50 votes they need ... I beg of you, please, do everything you can to stop the bill, he said. Still, the crux of Sanders speech focused on his single-payer bill, which he sold as an improvement over the status quo. The Affordable Care Act, as we all know, made significant improvements to our healthcare system, Sanders said, citing the expansion of the number of Americans with health insurance and the ban on insurance companies ability to deny coverage to people with preexisting conditions. But we must be honest and acknowledge that with all the gains of the Affordable Care Act, it does not go far enough, he added. The bill expands the Medicare program to cover the healthcare costs of all Americans with no out-of-pocket payments for patients. The measure does not include a plan to finance such a system, but Sanders has released a report laying out various ways to cover the costs, including a progressive income tax. During his pitch, Sanders said the implications extended beyond health policy. It is a struggle about what this great nation stands for, Sanders said. It is a struggle about whether or not every working person in this country has healthcare as a right or whether we allow insurance companies and drug companies to continue to rip us off. Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Advertisement
Gas tax foes win victory as they try to get a repeal on November 2018 ballot By Patrick McGreevy A Chevron gas station in Sacramento shows prices in February. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) In a rare court rebuke of the state Attorney Generals Office, a judge said Friday that the title and summary written for a proposed initiative is misleading and that hed do a rewrite himself to make it clear the measure would repeal recently approved increases to gas taxes and vehicle fees. Sacramento Superior Court Judge Timothy M. Frawley said he would draft a new title and summary to be placed on petitions for the initiative after attorneys for the state and proponents of the ballot measure could not agree on compromise language. In this circumstance, I honestly believe that the circulated title and summary that has been prepared is misleading, Frawley told attorneys during a court hearing Friday. He hopes to release the new title and summary by Monday. The initiative proposed by Assemblyman Travis Allen (R-Huntington Beach) would repeal a bill approved in April by the Legislature and governor that would raise the gas tax by 12 cents per gallon and increase vehicle fees to generate $5.2 billion annually to fix the states roads and bridges and improve mass transit. Allen and his attorneys said the state attorney general sought to confuse voters with a title that does not use the words taxes or fees. The title was proposed to say: Eliminates recently enacted road repair and transportation funding by repealing revenues dedicated for those purposes. Allen, who is running for governor in 2018, said the court decision showed the attorney general was trying to sway voters against the initiative. Justice is being served for the voters of California, Allen said after the court hearing. I think that he [the judge] has properly seen that the attorney general has tried to intentionally mislead the voters of California because he has tried to prejudice their vote and tried to keep increased taxes for Californians. A coalition of business, labor and government officials called Fix Our Roads, which supports the gas tax legislation, had representatives in the courtroom who later criticized Allen for seeking political gain at the expense of California motorists. This is more about Travis Allens gubernatorial race than anything else, said coalition spokeswoman Kathy Fairbanks. Hes condemning voters to driving on potholed roads and being stuck in traffic. Allen said the initiative and his campaign for governor are both aimed at giving voters power to fight higher taxes. Finally ordinary Californians are understanding that they actually can hold Sacramento accountable, Allen said. This is why Im running to be the next governor of California, because for too long Sacramento has been run by out-of-touch elitists that are coming from Sacramento and the Bay Area of San Francisco. A second initiative to repeal the gas tax has been proposed by a different group of Republican activists. Allen said he supports the second initiative but noted it has to collect many more signatures because it seeks to change the state constitution. It has a long way to go, Allen said. If the judge issues a new title and summary Monday, Allen said the petitions will hit the streets immediately and he is confident they will get the 365,880 signatures to qualify the measure for the November 2018 ballot. Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
We will have universal healthcare in the state of California, Gavin Newsom promises single-payer advocates By Melanie Mason View Twitter post Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom has made his most explicit endorsement yet of a controversial single-payer healthcare proposal that has roiled Democratic politics in California. Newsom appeared Friday before the California Nurses Assn., the most ardent backers of SB 562, a stalled bill to establish a system in which the state would cover all residents healthcare costs. Theres no reason to wait around on universal healthcare and single-payer in California, Newsom said. Its time to move 562. Its time to get it out of committee. The line prompted cheers and a standing ovation from the audience of about 1,500 members of the nurses union. He capped off his remarks with a promise: If we cant get it done next year, you have my firm and absolute commitment as your next governor that I will lead the effort to get it done. We will have universal healthcare in the state of California. Enthusiastic nurses in the room heard an unequivocal backing of their effort to push forward with the bill. When he says hes going to get this done, he means, seriously, that he will pass SB 562 and make sure that there is healthcare for all Californians, said Catherine Kennedy, a neonatal nurse from Roseville. But speaking to reporters after his address, Newsom was less clear in embracing the specifics of the proposal. I 100% support moving this process along, getting this debate going again and addressing the concerns, the open-ended issues that the nurses themselves have acknowledged as it relates to the need of going through the legislative process and to fill in the blanks on the financing plan, among other issues, he said. Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Advertisement
President Obama appears in an Assembly race mailer in California but read it closely By Christina Bellantoni The race to replace Jimmy Gomez, who was elected to Congress earlier this year, has so far been waged by mail and door-knocking in northeast Los Angeles. Most of the mailers feature local leaders and endorsements from groups including Planned Parenthood and the Sierra Club. But one mailer that arrived in my mailbox Thursday has a much more familiar face former President Barack Obama. While it might seem like one to the casual voter sorting through junk mail, this isnt an endorsement. Want to know what kind of job Gabriel Sandoval will do in the Assembly? Listen to the people hes worked with in the past, the mailer reads, above Obamas official White House portrait. In small type, it notes that Sandoval served as a Senior Civil Rights Attorney and Senior Advisor for a White House initiative within the Department of Education. It features a glowing quote over an image of a July 12, 2013, letter from the president to Sandoval written on White House letterhead. Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Healthcare a hot issue in race for California governor By Phil Willon Antonio Villaraigosa, left, and Gavin Newsom (Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty Images; Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)) With the hyperpartisan politics surrounding healthcare stirred up by efforts to repeal Obamacare and calls for a single-payer system, both Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Los Angeles Antonio Villaraigosa are claiming the mantle of healthcare visionary. On the campaign trail the two Democratic candidates for governor are touting their signature healthcare accomplishments from earlier in their political careers as their bona fides. For Newsom, its about Healthy San Francisco, the nations first municipal universal healthcare program, approved while he was mayor; and for Villaraigosa, its Healthy Families, which provided healthcare coverage to the children of Californias working poor, legislation he authored as a California assemblyman. But do they deserve all the credit? It sure doesnt look that way. Healthy San Francisco is one of the many topics Newsom is expected to highlight when he speaks to the California Nurses Assn. convention in the Bay Area on Friday morning. On Thursday night, Newsom took a shot at the latest Republican effort in Washington to roll back the Affordable Care Act a bill written by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) The numbers on this make my skin crawl. Under Graham-Cassidy, an individual with metastatic cancer could see their premiums increase by $142,650. Diabetes? $5,600. Want to tackle the opioid crisis? Gets a lot tougher if an individual suffering from drug dependence sees their premiums go up by $20,450, Newsom said in an email sent out by his campaign. This is not a game. Lives are at stake. Read More Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Rep. Duncan Hunter calls for preemptive strike against North Korea By Joshua Stewart, San Diego Union-Tribune Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Alpine) introduces U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions at a news conference. (John Gibbins / San Diego Union-Tribune) Rep. Duncan Hunter said that the United States needs to launch a preemptive strike against North Korea in order to prevent the rogue nation from harming the U.S. first. You could assume, right now, that we have a nuclear missile aimed at the United States, and here in San Diego. Why would they not aim here, at Hawaii, Guam, our major naval bases? Hunter, an Alpine Republican, said Thursday during an appearance on San Diego television station KUSI. The question is, do you wait for one of those? Or two? Do you preemptively strike them? And thats what the president has to wrestle with. I would preemptively strike them. You could call it declaring war, call it whatever you want, Hunter continued. Hunter, a member of a House Armed Services Committee and the subcommittee with jurisdiction over the United States nuclear arsenal, did not say whether the military should strike North Korea with conventional or nuclear weapons. Read More Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Will Bernie Sanders push for Medicare for All help or hinder the California effort for single-payer? By Melanie Mason When Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders visited Beverly Hills last May, he made a full-throated appeal for California to lead the country and pass a pending state proposal to establish single-payer healthcare. On Friday, hell return to California for a San Francisco speech trumpeting his own higher-stakes plan a bill to drastically overhaul the nations healthcare system by covering everyone through Medicare. The push for single-payer, in which the government pays for residents medical care, has already rattled Californias political landscape. Now, the Sanders measure brings an additional jolt, elevating the issue to a national debate that has implications for the future direction of the Democratic Party and early jockeying in the 2020 presidential race. Read More Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Advertisement
What will Kevin de Leon do when his term in the California Senate expires next year? By Patrick McGreevy State Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, speaks during the last regular Senate floor session of the year. ( (Rich Pedroncelli / AP)) As he gaveled down what may be his last full year as leader of the California Senate on Saturday, Kevin de Leon had still not said what he planned to do next. Will he run for governor or U.S. Senate? Does he want to be mayor of Los Angeles some day? De Leon told reporters they will have to wait to find out. His advisors, supporters and political observers have their own ideas what De Leon could do next. Read More Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Skelton: The presidential election bills on Gov. Browns desk may be satisfying politics, but theyre risky ideas By George Skelton Two presidential election bills are on Gov. Jerry Browns desk, sent to him by the Democratic Legislature. Both should be tossed in the trash. No doubt Im in the minority on this. These bills do offer some fun, even if theyre flawed. One has strong pluses that are outweighed by unacceptable minuses. The second is a mean-spirited gotcha bill aimed at the Democrats No. 1 enemy: President Trump. It may be satisfying politics, but it sets a risky precedent. The first bill moves up Californias presidential primary from June to March. Great idea. But it also moves up the state primary along with it. A horrible idea. The second measure would require all presidential candidates to release their tax returns for the last five years. Anyone who refused wouldnt be allowed on the California ballot. Thats a sharp poke at Trump, who in 2016 was the first presidential candidate in 40 years not to release his taxes. Yes, watching Trump squirm would be entertaining. And maybe the tax information would be useful for some voters. But even if the disclosure requirement were constitutional and theres substantial doubt about that its a crummy precedent. Read More Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Advertisement
California Senate leader preparing for legal fight over sanctuary state legislation By Sarah D. Wire California Senate President Pro Tem Kevin De Leon (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Gov. Jerry Brown hasnt yet signed legislation making California a so-called sanctuary state, but state Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon is preparing to defend it in court. In between several immigration events in Washington on Wednesday, De Leon (D-Los Angeles) said he met with former U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. who has served as outside counsel to the Legislature for much of the year to continue to further discuss inoculating California from [U.S. Atty. Gen.] Jeff Sessions Department of Justice. Passed early Saturday by the Legislature, the sanctuary state bill would limit state and local law enforcement communication with federal immigration authorities and prevent officers from questioning and holding people on immigration violations. Sessions has threatened to withhold some federal grant funds from cities and counties that refuse to assist federal immigration agents. Holder and other former Justice Department lawyers believe the bill is defendable, and if the Trump administration tries to compel California cities to act by withholding funds, it will find itself in court, De Leon said. Defenders of so-called sanctuary cities often rely on a 1996 Supreme Court ruling that cited the 10th Amendment and found the federal government cant compel local governments to cooperate with enforcing federal laws. It is immoral, and quite frankly un-American, that Americas top law enforcement official would withhold dollars that our local police officers need precious dollars we need desperately to counter terrorism, to deal with the issue of human trafficking as well as international drug cartels, De Leon said. On Tuesday, Sessions urged Brown not to sign the bill, calling it unconscionable and a threat to public safety. Brown responded to Sessions comment on CNN by calling the legislation well-balanced. It protects public safety, but it also protects hardworking people who contribute a lot to California, Brown said. He has until Oct. 15 to sign the bill. De Leon also shot back against Sessions statement that the federal money isnt an entitlement, saying Californians pay more in federal taxes than they receive in federal funding. Thats not a gift or a grant from the Department of Justice to California. Those are our dollars; they belong to the people of California, he said. Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Advertisement
California, with alliance of states, pledges to keep pushing climate policies despite lack of federal progress By Chris Megerian (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) California and a growing alliance of states committed to fighting global warming said Wednesday that theyre slashing greenhouse gas emissions at the rate required by the Paris climate agreement. However, the rest of the country would need to join their effort for the United States to actually hit the target of cutting emissions by at least 26% below 2005 levels by 2025. President Trump has pledged to pull the country out of the Paris deal, but the states reiterated their pledge to keep pressing forward during a news conference in New York. Were all in, California Gov. Jerry Brown said. Eventually, Washington will join with us. You cant deny science forever. Californias climate goal is even more ambitious than the Paris target. A law signed by Brown last year requires the state to cut emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. California became a founding member of the U.S. Climate Alliance, along with New York and Washington state, months ago. Either we end this problem, or this problem will end us, said New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. On Wednesday, North Carolina became the 15th member of the U.S. Climate Alliance. Other members include Massachusetts, Oregon and Puerto Rico. Clean air and a healthy environment are vital for a strong economy and a healthier future, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a newly elected Democrat, said in a statement. Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Bay Area cities sue major oil companies over climate change By Chris Megerian (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) San Francisco and Oakland are suing to get five oil companies, including San Ramon-based Chevron, to pay for the cost of protecting the Bay Area from rising sea levels and other effects of global warming. These fossil fuel companies profited handsomely for decades while knowing they were putting the fate of our cities at risk, San Francisco City Atty. Dennis Herrera said in a statement. The lawsuits, which were filed Tuesday in state court in San Francisco and Alameda counties and announced Wednesday, dont ask for a specific dollar amount. But the cities could try to put oil companies on the hook for billions. Long-term improvements in San Franciscos seawall are projected to cost $5 billion, according to one of the lawsuits. The law is clear that the defendants are responsible for the consequences of their reckless and disastrous actions, Oakland City Atty. Barbara J. Parker said in a statement. A spokesman for Chevron, Melissa Ritchie, said the lawsuits would not help address climate change. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a global issue that requires global engagement and action, she said in a statement. Should this litigation proceed, it will only serve special interests at the expense of broader policy, regulatory, and economic priorities. Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
California sues to stop Trumps border wall: No one gets to ignore the laws. Not even the president By Patrick McGreevy California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announces lawsuit against Trump Administration. California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra filed a lawsuit Wednesday alleging that President Trumps proposal to expedite construction of a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border violates laws aimed at protecting the environment. Becerra announced the legal challenge standing in front of the existing border fencing at Border Field State Park near San Diego, saying the federal government failed to comply with federal environmental laws and relied on federal statutes that dont authorize border wall projects in San Diego and Imperial counties. No one gets to ignore the laws. Not even the president of the United States, Becerra said. The border between the U.S. and Mexico spans some 2,000 miles. The list of laws violated by the presidents administration in order to build his campaign wall is almost as long. He said the project involves the improper waiver of 37 federal statutes, many aimed at protecting the environment. Filed in federal court in San Diego and including the California Coastal Commission as a plaintiff, the lawsuit states its purpose is to protect the State of Californias residents, natural resources, economic interests, procedural rights, and sovereignty from violations of the United States Constitution and federal law. Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra at the U.S.- Mexico border where he announced lawsuit to stop a proposal for a border wall. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) The lawsuit also alleges that federal officials have not shown any data suggesting new border barriers in the San Diego area will reduce illegal entry into the U.S., nor that there is a significant problem in that area. It adds that the wall would have a chilling effect on tourism to the United States from Mexico. In August, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a notice that it was waiving federal and state laws on the environment to expedite the construction of prototypes of the wall along the San Diego border with Mexico. The California lawsuit claims the federal government violated the U.S. Constitutions separation-of-powers doctrine by vesting in the Executive Branch the power to waive state and local laws. The lawsuit also says the Department of Homeland Security decided to build the walls without complying with the Clean Water Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and the Coastal Zone Management Act. As a result, the lawsuit alleges, the federal government lacks proper environmental analysis of the impact of the 400-foot prototypes of the wall currently planned, as well as the 2,000-mile-long final wall. A federal official declined comment. As a matter of policy, we do not comment on pending litigation, said Tyler Q. Houlton, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security. State Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-San Diego) stood with Becerra at the event, saying the wall is unnecessary and will put a barrier between relations involving the two countries. Maybe to people in Iowa, it sounds like a really good idea, she said. We dont need more structure. We need a good relationship [with Mexico]. Times staff writers McGreevy reported from Sacramento and Ulloa from San Diego. AG @XavierBecerra takes some shots at Trump: He hasn't made the transition from candidate to president. #borderwall pic.twitter.com/liSJdrAK2v Jazmine Ulloa (@jazmineulloa) September 20, 2017 Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
California to sue Trump administration over plan for U.S.-Mexico border wall By Patrick McGreevy California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra plans to announce a lawsuit Wednesday on behalf of the state that will challenge President Trumps proposal to build a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border, a project Becerra has called medieval. Becerra is scheduled to travel to Border Field State Park near San Diego to announce that a lawsuit is being filed in federal court over construction of border wall projects in San Diego and Imperial counties. The lawsuit, which includes the California Coastal Commission as a plaintiff, states its purpose is to protect the State of Californias residents, natural resources, economic interests, procedural rights, and sovereignty from violations of the United States Constitution and federal law. It adds that the wall would have a chilling effect on tourism to the United States from Mexico. The states lawsuit alleges that the Trump administration has failed to comply with federal and state environmental laws and relied on federal statutes that dont authorize the proposed projects. The brief alleges the federal government violated the U.S. Constitutions separation-of-powers doctrine by vesting in the Executive Branch the power to waive state and local laws, including state criminal law.. The lawsuit also says the Department of Homeland Security decided to build the walls without complying with the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. As a result, the lawsuit alleges, the federal government lacks proper environmental analysis of the impact of 400-foot prototypes of the wall currently planned, as well as the 2,000-mile-long final wall. The Democratic attorney general has been critical of the wall for months, including in April during an appearance on ABCs This Week. Im still trying to figure out who believes that a medieval situation to fix our broken immigration system is what we need, Becerra said. He also accused Trump at the time of reneging on his promise to have Mexico pay for the wall. I think American taxpayers probably are very much aligned with Mexico. None of them, whether its Mexico or our taxpayers, wants to pay for a medieval wall, he said. This is the latest of more than two dozen lawsuits and legal briefs filed against the Trump administration by Becerra, who was appointed attorney general in January and is running for election to the post next year. He previously sued to challenge Trumps plans to end a program that protects young immigrants from deportation, ban immigration from some countries and roll back environmental laws. Last week, three advocacy groups sued the federal government to block construction of a border wall, alleging that the Trump administration overstepped its authority by waiving environmental reviews and other laws. The action by the Sierra Club, Defenders of Wildlife and Animal Legal Defense Fund seeks to prevent construction of wall prototypes in San Diego. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said last month that prototypes for a border wall may be completed by the end of October. Becerras lawsuit is the latest attempt by California Democrats to fight the wall proposal. A bill that would have banned state government contracts for any company that helps build the wall passed the state Senate, but stalled recently in an Assembly committee. Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) authored the bill, testifying at a committee hearing that the wall is another attempt to separate and divide us. It sends a message that we are better off in a homogenous society. Todd Bloomstine, a lobbyist representing the Southern California Contractors Assn., opposed the bill, asking the panel, What next unpopular project would be [on the] blacklist? Read the lawsuit >> UPDATE 8:30 a.m. This article was updated to provide additional details of the lawsuit. This article was originally published at 6 a.m. Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Advertisement
Judge rules state used misleading language in summary of ballot measure to repeal California gas tax By Patrick McGreevy GOP Assemblyman Travis Allen, in red tie, with Democratic state Sen. Bob Hertzberg, left, and Charles Munger Jr., far right, in 2014. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) A judge tentatively ruled Tuesday that the state-written title and summary of an initiative to repeal the recent gas-tax increases were misleading and should be rewritten by the state attorney generals office. The ruling by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Timothy M. Frawley, scheduled to be finalized at a court hearing on Friday, was welcomed by the initiatives lead proponent, Assemblyman Travis Allen (R-Huntington Beach). This preliminary ruling is a major victory for Californians, Allen, a candidate for governor, said in a statement. This brings us one step closer to repealing Jerry Browns hugely unpopular gas tax. I look forward to the final ruling on Friday, and ensuring that the Repeal the Gas Tax Initiative receives the straightforward ballot title and summary that it deserves. Judge Frawley agreed with Allens legal claims that the title and summary drafted by Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerras office is confusing, misleading, and likely to create prejudice against the proposed measure. The judge said the initiative would repeal taxes and fees approved by the Legislature this year, but the title and summary issued by the state makes it sound like it would eliminate transportation funding without using the words taxes and fees in the title. He ordered state officials to come to Fridays hearing prepared to discuss alternate language for the ballot measure. To avoid misleading the voters and creating prejudice against the measure, the Attorney General must prepare a true and impartial statement that reasonably informs voters of the character and real purpose of the proposed initiative in clear and understandable language, the ruling says. The existing circulating title and summary fails this test. If the judge finalizes the order after hearing arguments Friday, Allen can use the new title and summary to circulate a petition. Allen needs to collect 365,000 signatures from registered voters in 150 days to put the measure on the November 2018 ballot. Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Gov. Jerry Brown: Trumps rhetoric about North Korea adds to non-rational bluster By Mina Corpuz (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) California Gov. Jerry Brown said President Trumps name calling and threats at the United Nations can get in the way of diplomacy and statesmanship. Earlier Tuesday, Trump called North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a Rocket Man on a suicide mission and said the United States may have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea. It just raises the temperature and the exchange of non-rational bluster back and forth, Brown said in a interview with CNNs Jake Tapper. I dont think thats positive. Brown is in New York for some climate meetings related to the United Nations General Assembly. Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Yes, dahlink: Frederic Prinz von Anhalt, widower of Zsa Zsa Gabor, is running for California governor By Phil Willon Frederic Prinz von Anhalt, widower of actress Zsa Zsa Gabor, outside of the couples Bel-Air mansion in 2011. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times) Frederic Prinz von Anhalt, widower of the whimsical celebrity and actress Zsa Zsa Gabor, is back. Von Anhalt has filed to run for governor of California his second attempt after a short-lived campaign in 2010 saying hes fed up with seeing roads falling apart, people struggling to afford rent and an explosion of homelessness in the state. Ive lived in this city for 36 years. Ive never seen so many people eating out of a trash can in the Western world, Von Anhalt said Tuesday. We talk about Hollywood, and this being the entertainment center of the world. How is this possible? Von Anhalt, Garbors ninth and last husband, is running as an independent. He filed an official Candidate Intention Statement with the California Secretary of States office Monday, the first step in launching an official campaign. The 74-year-old Bel-Air resident, a German immigrant, said he has enough money to help support his own campaign. He said he dropped out of the 2010 governors race only because his wife became seriously ill. She died in December. She was the one who wanted me run, Von Anhalt said. Von Anhalt also flirted briefly with a run for Los Angeles mayor in 2013, a race eventually won by Eric Garcetti. FOR THE RECORD 5:33 p.m.: An earlier of this post said Von Anhalt was age 71. He is 74. Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Advertisement
Assemblyman urges other legislatures to join California in censuring President Trump By Mina Corpuz Assemblyman Tony Thurmond (D-Richmond) speaks with Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) A California lawmaker who authored a resolution to support a censure of President Trump sent letters to 49 other state legislatures Tuesday to urge them to join the effort. Assemblyman Tony Thurmond, a Richmond Democrat, sent the letters days after the Assembly became the first state legislative body to support a congressional censure of the president. California has spoken and we look to the rest of the nation to join us, Thurmond said in a statement. Its important that all our states unite and show that the United States of America stands against hate. Read More Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
After cap-and-trade vote, Assemblyman Chad Mayes faces a second Republican challenger for reelection By Patrick McGreevy Chad Mayes of Yucca Valley leaves the Assembly floor before resigning as Assembly Republican leader on Aug. 24. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)) Former Palm Springs Police Chief Gary Jeandron on Tuesday became the second Republican to announce plans to challenge Assemblyman Chad Mayes (R-Yucca Valley) in the 2018 election. Jeandron, a La Quinta resident, said he was angered over Mayes vote as Assembly Republican leader to support an extension of the states controversial cap-and-trade program, which requires businesses to buy permits to release greenhouse gas emissions. Jeandron saw the action as continuing a wrongful tax increase and said he is signing a no-tax pledge. I just dont believe [Mayes] has held Republican values, Jeandron told The Times. He has been blinded by ambition. He has been seduced by the governor. Mayes vote led to an outcry by Republican leaders, and he eventually succumbed to pressure to step down as leader of the Assembly Republicans. Mayes defended his position, telling colleagues during the floor debate, many of us believe that climate change is real and we have to work to address it. Jeandron, who lost to Mayes in the 2014 election, joins San Jacinto City Councilman Andrew Kotyuk in planning to challenge Mayes for the 42nd Assembly District seat. Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Advertisement
Republican John Cox tasted political defeat many times before launching his bid for California governor By Phil Willon Republican gubernatorial candidate John Cox speaks to the Lincoln Club of Riverside County in June. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times) Candidate for California governor John Cox is relatively new to the states politics, but Cox has run for office multiple times, and even tangled with Barack Obama on the debate stage when the pair ran in the 2004 Illinois U.S. Senate race. Neither candidate was considered their partys favorite. But things began looking up for Obama, of course, who won the Senate race and then the presidency. Cox dropped out before the GOP primary election. It was his third try for elected office in Illinois and his third defeat. Now hes back, this time in his new home of California, running for governor against a trio of Democratic heavyweights. Once again, Cox is a practical unknown. Once again, the Republican is in a left-leaning state reaching for a coveted political office. Once again, Coxs campaign is being fed by cash from his own bank account. Read More Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
After she was confronted by protesters, Pelosi says Democrats want a clean Dream Act with no border wall By Jazmine Ulloa House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Monday said she understood the fear in young protesters who shouted her down at a San Francisco news conference, asking for a legal path to citizenship for themselves and their parents. Speaking at Sacramento State hours after the disruption, Pelosi said she agreed with the protesters, pointing to the Dream Act as only the first step to broader immigration reform. We are all disrupters ourselves, she said, standing next to fellow congressional Democrats. So we recognize it and respect it in others. At Sac State, @NancyPelosi on SF protests today: We are all disruptors ourselves. So we recognize it and respect it in others. #dacadeal pic.twitter.com/W1WKQikmsc Jazmine Ulloa (@jazmineulloa) September 19, 2017 Both press events were scheduled by Pelosi to discuss a legislative fix to help thousands of young people affected by President Trumps decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The Obama-era policy provided temporary status for 800,000 people brought to the country illegally as children. Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York met with Trump last week after the termination of DACA was announced. In Sacramento, Pelosi said they had come to an agreement to a clean Dream Act, which would provide a path to permanent status for citizens who work, study or serve in the military, without tougher border enforcement or increased deportations. Meanwhile, Democrats are fighting with the president over the construction of a wall along the U.S-Mexico border. And House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin has made it clear he wants some kind of border security, Pelosi said. That is not under discussion, she said. We can discuss other issues, but we are not going to discuss how we protect the Dreamers. At Sac State, @NancyPelosi arrives to talk #DACAdeal and help for Dreamers. Elected officials from every level of government also present. pic.twitter.com/yoESsRC1Ok Jazmine Ulloa (@jazmineulloa) September 18, 2017 Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Feinstein, who called for patience with Trump, lashes out over his attacks on Clinton By Sarah D. Wire Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said it was appalling and disgusting to see President Trump retweet a video edited to look like he hit former rival Hillary Clinton in the head with a golf ball. He continues to obsessively lash out at her at his rallies, with his words and now through social media in a manner that is utterly unbecoming of the president of the United States, Feinstein said in a statement Monday. Every one of us should be offended by the vindictive and candidly dangerous messages the president sends that demean not only Secretary Clinton, but all women. Grow up and do your job. Clinton is out with a new book about the campaign, and Trump has repeatedly used Twitter to deride her as a sore loser. He retweeted the animated GIF Sunday which shows him hitting a golf ball that then knocks down Clinton. Feinstein, who has yet to say whether shell run again in 2018, has walked a fine line with Trump in recent months. Shes criticized him at times, but drew ire from some progressive Californians last month when she called for patience in dealing with the president, saying that Trump could be a good president if he learned and changed. Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Advertisement
California lawmakers are building a wall against President Trumps policies By George Skelton California state legislators ended their annual session the way they began it building a wall to protect undocumented immigrants from President Trump. Not an iron wall, as Trump promised to erect along the U.S.-Mexico border, but a legal barrier to prevent local police and sheriffs from teaming with the presidents agents to enforce federal immigration law. The legislators did a lot of other things, too, before adjourning early Saturday until January. They sent Gov. Jerry Brown bills to address Californias dearth of affordable housing, to borrow $4 billion for parks and waterworks, to spend $1.5 billion in greenhouse-gas pollution fees, to provide tuition-free community college for first-year students and to lift some secrecy from prescription drug pricing. Earlier in the session, the heavily Democratic Legislature passed its boldest, most controversial bill of the year: A $5.2-billion annual increase in fuel taxes and vehicle fees to finance transportation infrastructure, especially to repair crumbling highways. Republicans will attempt to repeal the bill at the ballot box in 2018. Brown says that borders on insanity. Read More Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Trump is riding a very dead horse on climate change, Gov. Brown says at New York conference By Ann Simmons (Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press) Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday touted steps California has taken toward a healthier climate, but warned that powerful forces he called climate deniers are resisting technologies and policies designed to improve conditions. I like all the optimism around here, but I dont want to minimize the steep hill that we have to climb, Brown said at the start of a gathering of international leaders called Climate Week NYC. Decarbonizing the economy when the economy depends so totally on carbon is not childs play. Its quite daunting. Hosted by the Climate Group, an international nonprofit organization that works with business and government to promote clean technologies and policies, the event was scheduled to bring together high-profile governors, executives of Fortune 500 companies and leaders of multinational businesses for a week to share their strategies in tackling climate change. The discussions come amid concerns about global warming and after Hurricanes Harvey and Irma caused devastation in Houston, Florida and across parts of the Caribbean. Some scientists believe that warmer ocean waters caused by climate change are creating stronger storms. Read More Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Advertisement
Nancy Pelosi shouted down at DACA news conference for working with Trump By Sarah D. Wire Dreamer protesters have disrupted a Pelosi presser in CA, asking for protections for Dreamer & their parents: https://t.co/o3zGNJvblL Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) September 18, 2017 More than four dozen immigration activists upset with Democrats for negotiating with President Trump shouted down House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi at a San Francisco news conference Monday. We are not your bargaining chip, the crowd chanted at one point, according to KCBS News political reporter Doug Sovern. VIDEO: Chaos at @NancyPelosi #DACA event as 40+ undocumented hijack her news conf in SF: "We are not your bargaining chip! Let us speak!" pic.twitter.com/KC2WyrjqSy Doug Sovern (@SovernNation) September 18, 2017 'All of us or none of us' Crowd takes over DREAM Act event. Pelosi getting blasted by about 100 young 'undocumented youth' pic.twitter.com/RgwnZ4dB3O Evan Sernoffsky (@EvanSernoffsky) September 18, 2017 San Francisco Chronicle reporter Evan Sernoffsky said on Twitter that some in the group were yelling, All of us or none of us. Other reporters said the group chanted, Shut down ICE. Pelosi held the news conference to advocate for speedy passage of a legislative fix to the legal status of hundreds of thousands of people brought to the country illegally as children. Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York met with Trump last week after he announced an end to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The Obama-era program deferred deportation for some people brought to the country illegally as children. Pelosi and Schumer said their discussion with the president included the possibility of adding more immigration enforcement which some immigration advocates are against to legislation to address DACA. At the news conference, Pelosi first made remarks and introduced an immigrant in the country illegally, at which point the shouting began, according to a Pelosi aide. The group surrounded Pelosi, with some gesturing close to her face. She attempted to calm the crowd for about half an hour before leaving the news conference. The aide said the group was made up of local DACA beneficiaries. We need to have a conversation, but that was completely one-sided; they dont want any answers, Pelosi told reporters afterward, according to a transcript. Pelosi said the activists should be focused on Republican members of Congress, not Democrats. I understand their frustration, Im excited by it as a matter of fact, but the fact is theyre completely wrong. The Democrats are the ones who stopped their assault on sanctuary cities, stopped the wall, the increased deportations in our last bill that was at the end of April, and we are determined to get Republicans votes to pass the clean Dream Act. Is it possible to pass a bill without some border security? Well well have to see. We didnt agree to anything in that regard, except to listen, Pelosi said. UPDATES
1:06 p.m. This post was updated with more details throughout and quotes from Pelosi. This post was originally published at 12:12 p.m. Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Advertisement
Democrats hopes of flipping seats in California are soaring, but it wont be as easy at it seems By Christine Mai-Duc (Associated Press / AFP/Getty Images) Democrats know they have to win at least a few seats in California if they want to regain control of the House in 2018. But though the energy and hopes of many Democratic activists here are soaring, flipping Republican-held seats here could be harder than it appears. There are a few bits of conventional wisdom that suggest Democrats have a long road ahead. For one, Republicans often turn out in greater numbers than their Democratic counterparts in midterm-election years. And even though Hillary Clinton won seven of the Republican-held districts Democrats are now targeting, past election data show voters there still lean much more conservative than other parts of the state. If past is prologue, says Rob Pyers, research director for the nonpartisan election guide California Target Book, Democrats will have a hard time picking up more than a couple of seats in California. With most voters unlikely to tune in until at least next spring, there are many factors that could affect the political calculus, including whether the California Republican Party will be able to field a competitive candidate for governor, or whether ballot initiatives such as a potential repeal of the newest gas tax hike will propel GOP voters to the polls. Read More Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
California will be the keeper of the nations future in the era of Trump, state Democratic lawmakers promise By Melanie Mason State Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, from left, Gov. Jerry Brown and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon. (Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press) Within a day of President Trumps election last November, Californias top Democratic lawmakers responded with a joint statement that contained an audacious promise. It was their state, not Washington, D.C., that would be the keeper of the nations future. An artistic rendering of that vow, with looping calligraphy and a roaring grizzly, is now on display in the offices of Senate leader Kevin de Leon and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon. In the wake of Trumps win, the words seemed to be a sort of foundational document Californias declaration of resistance. That pugilistic posture is often conveyed in shorthand: California versus Trump. But the ensuing legislative year, which ended Friday, revealed the messy reality of squaring up against the federal government. Its been challenging, De Leon (D-Los Angeles) said, bleary-eyed as he took a break during the final days of the session. You have to debate, you have to negotiate, you have to make your case, and I think at the end of the day, well still have the most far-reaching policy in the nation. Read More Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
California Politics Podcast: Lawmakers leave Sacramento after a busy year By John Myers From immigration issues to housing, some of the biggest debates of the Legislatures nine-month session happened at the very end. In governing, as in life, deadlines often make things happen. On this weeks California Politics Podcast, we take an early look at some of the most important decisions lawmakers made in the final few days of the 2017 session in Sacramento. That includes a landmark decision to intervene in the issue of illegal immigration, and to pass a long discussed package of bills to begin addressing Californias housing crisis. We also look at some of the broader political themes of the entire legislative year -- most notably, the effort by Democrats in the Legislature to provide a resistance to actions taken by President Trump. Im joined by Times staff writers Melanie Mason and Liam Dillon. Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Advertisement
Passage of sanctuary state bill draws rebukes from Trump administration officials, praise in California By Jazmine Ulloa Supporters of state sanctuary bill SB 54 rally outside the Hall of Justice. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) California lawmakers on Saturday passed a sanctuary state bill to protect immigrants without legal residency in the U.S., part of a broader push by Democrats to counter expanded deportation orders under the Trump administration. The landmark legislation by Sen. Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) would limit state and local law enforcement communication with federal immigration authorities, and prevent officers from questioning and holding people on immigration violations. But the bill sent to Gov. Jerry Brown drastically scaled back the version first introduced, the result of tough negotiations between Brown and De Leon in the final weeks of the legislative session. Its passage already is reverberating across the country. Trump administration officials have sounded off in opposition. And immigrant rights groups and some California law enforcement officials have come out in support of what they call a hard compromise. Read More Facebook
Twitter
Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Copy Link URL Copied!
Print
Supporters unable to resurrect California clean-energy proposal on final day of legislative session By Chris Megerian Environmentalists rally in front of Assemblyman Chris Holdens office in Pasadena on Thursday. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) Despite a last-minute push from environmentalists and actors from The Avengers, legislation that eventually would require all of Californias electricity to come from clean sources failed to advance this year. Facing opposition from unions and utilities, Assembly leadership refused to put the measure, SB 100, up for a vote on Friday, the final day of the legislative session. The decision to not move the bill this year is disappointing, said Kathryn Phillips, director of the Sierra Clubs California chapter. But we are committed to moving this policy next year. Theres no time to waste. The measure, written by Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon (
A federal judge lifted a sweeping secrecy order Tuesday after a Silicon Valley company entered into settlement talks in a legal dispute with the Department of Homeland Security over technology designed to detect a possible terrorist attack with biological agents.
Judge Allan H. Goodman of the U.S. Civilian Board of Contract Appeals had issued an unusual order late Monday that barred the news media and the public from the contract hearing, and prohibited lawyers or witnesses from talking about it.
Goodman withdrew the gag order Tuesday afternoon after the Los Angeles Times sought to challenge it. The trial was suspended while the two sides tried to resolve the dispute through arbitration.
Advertisement
Theres no protective order in place because theres nothing to protect, Goodman said, noting that the details of the dispute between Homeland Security and NVS Technologies of Menlo Park had already been revealed to the public by The Times.
The contract dispute has its roots in the governments troubled effort over the last 16 years to find a technology that can quickly and reliably detect deadly airborne germs or other pathogens, such as anthrax.
The chief focus of that effort, a nationwide system of sensors known as BioWatch that cost $1 billion to install and $80 million a year to run, remains slow, unreliable and prone to triggering false alarms.
Armed with a $23.4-million contract from Homeland Security, NVS Technologies appeared on track to develop a portable, $15,000 device that could help fix some of the problems with BioWatch. It won unusual praise from government scientists.
NVS has done a tremendous job in fulfilling our requirements, one Homeland Security scientist wrote in an internal report.
But the contract was canceled in 2014 by an acting division director at Homeland Security who was unpersuaded the technology would work.
NVS laid off all 35 employees and filed a lawsuit claiming that the government owed the company $286 million for lost sales and related costs. The companys lawyer argued in a pretrial brief that NVS was victimized by a campaign to harm its business.
Homeland Security lawyers argued that the division chief wasnt seeking to punish NVS, but simply decided to prioritize other research efforts. Homeland Security filed a counterclaim seeking $606,771 that it says it overpaid NVS.
The contracting board, formed 10 years ago in a consolidation of other agencies, hears disputes between government agencies and contractors. It usually operates with little attention but its rulings carry legal weight, and its proceedings, like other court hearings, are presumed to be open to the public.
In recent weeks, the two sides had sparred over the release of documents to The Times by a lawyer for NVS.
The opposing lawyers had agreed to an order to keep some material confidential, Goodman said, but it never took effect because neither had filed it with the court.
James S. DelSordo, attorney for NVS, said he gave the government notice that he would publicly release the material. But lawyers for the government filed a motion asking the judge for sanctions against the company.
Goodman said he put the secrecy order in place to protect both parties, but he did not explain why he thought the hearing needed to be closed.
joseph.tanfani@latimes.com
Twitter: @jtanfani
The historic Naples Pier at the end of 12th Avenue was still standing. Some of the streetlights had flickered back to life. The pricey houses that line the sugar sand beaches, the ones everyone feared would be struggling to stand against a surging inland sea, were barely damp.
A day after Hurricane Irma made landfall near here in what forecasters warned would be one of the most destructive storms ever to hit Florida, the pretty little seaside town of Naples, near ground zero of the Category 3 storms approach, found itself largely unscathed. Scattered palm fronds, fallen trees, a collapsed gas station canopy and several flooded streets seemed to be the main remnants of the hurricanes storied fury.
I was expecting there to be a couple of feet of water inside my house, said Terry Klontz, who had anticipated spending the day pumping water out of his large home across the street from the beach in Naples. I had thought of pulling out my fishing pole so I could catch some of those fish that were supposed to be swimming up the street.
Advertisement
Ron Colby, 70, leaves his flooded home after staying during Hurricane Irma. He said things were OK with the wind, but at 3:30 a.m. the water started to rise. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
To be sure, the road in front of his house was knee-deep in water, and Klontz had to yell at gawkers cruising by in their pickups, pushing waves of water toward his house. So far, the water hadnt come past the front door.
Im getting all these calls asking, How bad is the damage? Klontz said. Its mostly not that bad.
But southwest Florida did not emerge unscathed, and as Irma diminished to a tropical storm and blew into Georgia on Monday, many of those left in its wake were only beginning to assess the damage.
The scene in some parts of Bonita Springs, just north of Naples, was downright grim.
In a modest pocket of homes and businesses by the interstate, the water was waist-deep. Mobile home carports were strewn everywhere. Soaked mattresses stood propped outside front doors.
And even in parts of Naples, the weekend had been hairy.
Damage in the Naples area of Florida where Hurricane Irma hit. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
John Jenkins twice found himself flying out the door into the screaming wind and punishing sheets of rain when Irma was at its fiercest to keep his neighbors carport from slamming into his brand-new mobile home at Riverwood Estates in Naples. Their carport was peeling apart and coming at our house, he said. I was worried about all the debris.
Jenkins finally pulled off the metal sheeting and moved it out of harms way.
With that menace gone, his home made it through Irma fine.
A friend drove by Monday to check on him and told him that his house had made it through the storm too. Jenkins reached in the drivers side window and gave his buddy a hug. I love you, he said.
Residents in some of the similarly modest neighborhoods in Bonita Springs were not so fortunate.
Some returned from storm shelters and the homes of friends on higher ground to find their whole neighborhood deep underwater. They borrowed boats from friends and employers to retrieve what belongings they could, and assessed what happens next.
It is horrible, said Andreas Tellez, 40, who waded blocks across the murky water with his wife to get some possessions out of a home overrun with storm flows. It is like the house is sinking. He had no idea where he is going to find the money to fix his house.
Floodwaters rise in Bonita Springs. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Jaime Garcia came paddling up to the road in a kayak on loan from the shore-side restaurant where he works. Last time we had flooding, the water was here for a week, he said. This is going to be at least two.
Garcia said things were bad but not catastrophic when he arrived at his home in the early morning to see how it had weathered Irma. But then the tide rose. A meager amount of flooding that was there at first suddenly expanded to an entire floor under nearly a foot of water.
In some cases, residents stranded upstairs in their soaked homes, where they had remained through Irmas pass, declined offers of help when a rescue squad came through on a motorized raft. There were only a few takers.
They are happy stuck in their houses. They are saying, We have enough food and water. We are going to be fine, said Lt. Manny Hernandez of the Bonita Springs Fire Control and Rescue District.
Hernandez promised that this was not a one-time offer. The crew would come back if any of the holdouts thought better of their decision to stay.
No one needs to tell the homeowners in Bonita Springs that hurricanes can destroy. But the free pass many believe they got from Irmas glancing blow has prompted some to worry that the many, many homeowners who emerged relatively unscathed from what was supposed to be a punishing hit will get complacent when the next storm comes through.
When it happens again, nobody is going to believe the weatherman, and they are going to think they will be fine, said Steven Giles, 58, who sells real estate in nearby Fort Myers. Theyre not.
evan.halper@latimes.com
Follow me: @evanhalper
ALSO
Why didnt Hurricane Irma kill more Americans? Thank the meteorologists
Never seen anything like this: European leaders view Caribbean islands devastated by Irma
Danger lingers in Florida as Irma moves into Georgia
Sorry, guys, I dont make cakes for same-sex weddings.
With that blunt comment, Jack Phillips, a baker who designs custom wedding cakes, sent two men out the door and set off a legal battle between religious liberty and gay rights that comes before the U.S. Supreme Court this fall.
The Trump administration last week sided with Phillips and argued that decorating a wedding cake is a type of expressive conduct, similar to burning a flag or marching in a parade. If so, they say, the Constitutions free-speech protection gives the baker, a devout Christian, the right to refuse to participate in the marriage celebration of two men.
But Colorado has barred Phillips from making any more wedding cakes because he refuses to abide by its civil rights law. Since 2008, it has required public businesses to serve all customers equally and without regard to their sexual orientation. The state, allied with the American Civil Liberties Union, says this case is about discrimination, not the religious liberty of a shop owner.
Advertisement
Phillips shop, Masterpiece Cakeshop, is full of brightly colored cookies, cupcakes and birthday cakes. These days, it attracts customers from afar who make a special trip to show their support. Our prayers are with you, one woman said as she ordered cookies recently.
Phillips, 61, recalled growing up in Lakewood when it was mostly trees, fields and two-lane roads. His bake shop prospered as the city grew into a busy, commercial suburb of Denver. By 2012, he had 10 employees. Then and now, Phillips says, he does not refuse to serve customers for being gay.
I will serve anyone who comes in, he said. And I think I can make friends with them.
But to Charlie Craig and Dave Mullins, Masterpiece was far from friendly when they stopped by in the summer of 2012.
Craig, 37, grew up in a small town in Wyoming and came to Denver to enjoy the freedom of the big city. He met Mullins through a mutual friend, and they dated for several years. They were planning to be married in Provincetown, Mass. where same-sex marriages had been legal since 2003 and then return to Denver for a celebration with their family and friends. A reception planner recommended Masterpiece.
We went in with a bunch of ideas, said Mullins, 33. But [Phillips] came in, asked who the cake was for and then he said he wouldnt make a cake for us. We were shocked and mortified and got up and left.
It all took less than 30 seconds. I admit we were very emotional. We hadnt gone through anything like this. We were embarrassed, and we felt degraded, Mullins said.
Craig says Phillips started to explain he had gay friends. And he would sell us cookies or cupcakes. But we left.
Phillips recalls their anger. They swore at me, flipped me off and stormed out, he said.
The conflict took off on social media. We went home and vented online to tell our friends what happened, Craig said.
Phillips said his phone started ringing and didnt stop for several days. They would ask, Are you the baker who ? And then they would call me names and swear. It was very hateful, he said.
Phillips said he endured death threats, garbage thrown at his shop and thousands of negative messages on his shops website.
Mullins and Craig were also disturbed by the number of ugly, mean comments they received online. The couple filed a discrimination complaint with the state civil rights commission. We didnt want anyone else to have to go through this, Craig said.
Federal law does not forbid employers or public businesses from discriminating against people because of their sexual orientation. But Colorado and 20 states adopted anti-discrimination laws to protect gays and lesbians. On the national map, these laws mirror the divide between blue and red states. The broader civil rights laws apply mostly along the East Coast from Maryland to Maine, in the upper Midwest and on the West Coast. No state in the South, on the Great Plains or in the Mountain region has such a law, except for Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico.
The Colorado law says no place of public accommodations, such as a hotel, restaurant or retail store, may deny people the full and equal enjoyment of the goods [or] services because of disability, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin or ancestry.
In response to the complaint from Craig and Mullins, an administrative judge decided Phillips violated the law by refusing to provide them equal service. The seven-member Colorado Civil Rights Commission and a state appeals court agreed. Phillips does not convey a message supporting same-sex marriages merely by abiding by the law, the state court concluded.
Faced with the remarkable rise of the gay rights movement, conservative Christians have begun to push back against that argument, saying the nations tradition of religious liberty should shield them from being forced to endorse or participate in any way in a same-sex marriage.
Tolerance should be a two-way street, said Kristen Waggoner, lawyer for the Arizona-based Alliance Defending Freedom who represents Phillips. The 1st Amendment protects Jacks right to create artistic expression that is consistent with his core convictions.
Louise Melling, deputy director of the ACLU, warned such an exemption would create a constitutional right to discriminate founded on your religion. What are the limits to that?
Supporters of Colorados law worry about how a religious exemption could be applied. Could a landlord turn away unmarried couples? Would a Muslim baker be permitted to refuse service to Jews or Christians, or vice versa?
Until this year, religious rights claims had little success in the courts. Lawyers for Alliance Defending Freedom pressed similar lawsuits on behalf of a photographer in New Mexico and a florist from Washington state. Both lost in state courts. And three years ago, the Supreme Court declined to hear a 1st Amendment claim from the photographer who refused to shoot photos of a commitment ceremony for two women.
In January, the high court was due to act on the appeal from Phillips. At the time, the eight justices were waiting for President Trump to announce his nominee to fill the ninth seat. His choice, Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, is a Coloradan, a conservative and a champion of religious liberty. Gorsuch arrived in April, and on the last day of the term, the justices announced they would hear the case of Masterpiece Cakeshop vs. Colorado.
The outcome will probably depend on Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, the 81-year-old Republican appointee who engineered the key rulings that decreed equal rights and dignity for gays and lesbians. When he joined the court in 1988, the justices had recently dealt a demoralizing defeat to the gay rights movement by upholding state laws that made gay sex a crime. Kennedy, however, had other ideas.
In 1996, he spoke for the court in striking down a Colorado voter initiative that denied gays and lesbians all protections from discrimination. The law was born of animosity and cannot stand, Kennedy said. In 2003, his opinion for a 5-4 majority struck down the sex crime laws, which he said demean gays and deny them the proper respect for their private lives. And two years ago, he spoke for the 5-4 majority that upheld same-sex marriages as a constitutional right.
Kennedy seriously considered retirement last year but decided to stay for at least another year.
Former clerks and others who know Kennedy say they are not sure how he will see the Colorado case. He has been a steady champion of free-speech claims. And two years ago, while upholding gay marriages, Kennedy said the 1st Amendment ensures proper protection for people with the utmost, sincere conviction that, by divine precepts, same-sex marriage should not be condoned.
Now the court will try to decide the scope of that proper protection.
Its past rulings cut in different directions. At times, the court has ruled the government may not force someone by law to take action that carries a particular message. In a famous case from World War II, the justices ruled that children of Jehovahs Witnesses cannot be compelled to salute the flag at school. This 1943 ruling, in West Virginia State Board of Education vs. Barnette, is seen as creating the compelled speech doctrine.
This rule was invoked in early disputes over gay rights. In 1995, the court ruled unanimously that the South Boston war veterans who sponsor the annual St. Patricks Day parade could be not forced to include in their ranks a group of Irish gays and lesbians.
The states high court had said the exclusion violated the states civil rights act, but the justices overruled that decision. They said the parade was an expressive act, and under the 1st Amendment, a speaker has the autonomy to choose the content of his own message (Hurley vs. Irish-American Gays).
And in 2000, the justices in a 5-4 decision overturned a New Jersey state civil rights decision and said the Boy Scouts had a right to expressive association that allowed them to exclude from their ranks an openly gay scoutmaster (Boy Scouts vs. Dale). The lawyers for the cake maker rely heavily on these precedents.
But the court took a different tack in a case decided shortly after Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. joined the court. A coalition of leading law schools sued to challenge a federal law that required them to give military recruiters equal access on campus, even though the Pentagon then openly discriminated against gays and lesbians. Two lower courts agreed this policy violated their free speech rights because it forced them to engage in conduct that endorsed something they opposed in this instance, discrimination based on sexual orientation.
The high court disagreed in an opinion written by Roberts. The law regulates conduct, not speech, he wrote in 2006. It does not require them to say anything. It just means law schools must open their doors to military recruiters on an equal basis, he said (Rumsfeld vs. FAIR).
The Colorado courts cited this decision and concluded Phillips was not being required to endorse same-sex marriage, but rather to open his doors and bake cakes on an equal basis.
Phillips insisted that designing a custom cake for two men would cross a line for him because the Bible speaks of marriage as between a man and a woman. I shouldnt be forced to create a cake that goes against my faith, he said.
He said he has refused to make cakes with a Halloween theme because it involves witchcraft as well as cakes with an anti-American theme. He avoids any promotion of alcohol. Once, he said, he turned away a man who wanted to celebrate his impending divorce with half of a cake, because the idea was hurtful to the woman who was being divorced.
Mullins and Craig counter that it was certainly hurtful to turn them away, and they dispute their case involves free expression.
We didnt have a chance to talk about the details of a cake or a message. We were turned away, Mullins said.
Once he saw who we were, Craig added.
david.savage@latimes.com
On Twitter: DavidGSavage
ALSO
Decision time at the Supreme Court: A look at this terms rulings on religion, free speech and immigration
15 states, D.C. file lawsuit challenging Trumps DACA shutdown
Trump could pay a price if he hands out pardons in the Russia probe as he did for Joe Arpaio
Hillary Clinton, who spent decades on the public stage in a myriad of roles and changing personas, emerged Tuesday in a new one: ghost from the political past.
The reception was decidedly mixed.
On the day marking publication of her third memoir, the former first lady, U.S. senator, secretary of State, two-time Democratic White House hopeful and loser of the searing 2016 presidential race made a flurry of campaign-style stops, including a book signing and media interviews.
It was a chance to reopen old political wounds and allow partisans to fall back on familiar antagonisms.
Advertisement
For Clinton fans, their ardor undimmed, the reemergence of their heroine offered an opportunity to ponder what might have been.
In New York City, hundreds lined up at a Barnes & Noble in Manhattan for a chance to shake her hand, enjoy a snatch of conversation and buy their own autographed copy of What Happened.
Shannon and Jessica Marshall, 29-year-old twin sisters from New York, dug out the blue Im With Her T-shirts they hadnt worn since the early hours of Nov. 9, when Clinton conceded defeat to Donald Trump. The world would be a lot less stressful if shed won, said Shannon, who arrived at 5 a.m. to be among the first in line.
The former candidate, wearing a luminescent turquoise jacket and black pantsuit, arrived at the bookstore nearly an hour after the scheduled 11 a.m. starting time. The crowd greeted her with shouts of Hillary! Hillary! Hillary!
Seated on a makeshift stage separating her from reporters and those who came to see her, Clinton made no public remarks to the media but chatted with fans, offering sympathetic bromides to the many who expressed their grief over the election.
Keep up your spirits, she was overheard saying. We have to do better. ... Im glad you like the book.
In the course of 491 pages, Clinton took full responsibility for her stunning loss to President Trump she carried the popular vote, but lost in the electoral college except when she didnt.
I go back over my shortcomings and the mistakes we made, she wrote. I take responsibility for all of them. You can blame the data, blame the message, blame anything you want but I was the candidate. It was my campaign. Those were my decisions.
She said her lucrative speechifying after leaving the Obama administration, which drew attacks from both Trump and her primary rival, Bernie Sanders, was a mistake. I should have realized it would be bad optics, she wrote. I didnt. Thats on me.
She also reiterated that her decision to use a private email server as secretary of State, which led to a politically enervating FBI inquiry, was a dumb mistake. But, she said by way of qualification, it was an even dumber scandal.
In the same fashion, Clintons buck-stops-here declaration yielded to a number of grievances about misogyny, a public with little patience for substance and a gallery of villains she blamed for costing her the election.
Among those cited were Sanders, President Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin and, especially, James B. Comey. The former FBI director came in for particular derision for his handling of the email investigation and especially reopening the case in the final days of the election based on a fresh cache of emails that proved immaterial.
What happened in the homestretch that caused so many voters to turn away from me? Clinton wrote. First, and most importantly, there was the unprecedented intervention by then-FBI Director Jim Comey.
She said Obama could have been more forceful responding to Russias pro-Trump meddling in the campaign, and also writes that he kept her from going harder after Sanders.
The Vermont senator, a political independent and not a registered Democrat as Clinton notes came in for some of her most barbed commentary. Because we agreed on so much, Bernie couldnt argue against me in this area on policy, Clinton wrote. So he had to resort to innuendo and impugning my character. Some of his supporters, the so-called Bernie Bros, took to harassing my supports online. It got ugly and more than a little sexist.
The sniping at Sanders, who fired back after excerpts from the book were published last week, has only deepened the trepidation among Democrats wishing Clinton had taken the more typical route, accepting her lumps, not writing the book and retiring to the role of respected, but seldom seen, party elder.
Instead, she will embark on a months-long tour mixing free book signings and paid appearances that will stretch into mid-December. Her sole California appearance is scheduled for Oct. 9 in Davis.
This is not the time to be going around and talking about the past and giving reasons and excuses for why you lost a campaign. Frankly, it helps nothing, said Jeff Weaver, a senior advisor to Sanders. Moving forward we need fresh ideas and people who will take the fight to the Trump administration.
But Rob Stein, a Democratic strategist, said there was nothing wrong with Clintons catharsis.
Yes, as we get into 2018 and 2020 we need to get beyond the past, said Stein, who served in the Clinton administration. But in this particular moment is it terrible to continue to allow her to talk about what happened? I think its not.
For their part, Republicans were delighted to take a few shots at their old nemesis and enjoy a break from months of Trump-related upheavals. The book really is just a big excuse for why she lost, said Barry Bennett, a Republican strategist who served as an advisor to Trumps campaign. She blames everyone for her loss. She seems to truly be delusional.
Not surprisingly, Trump came in for brutal treatment in her account.
She describes him as phony, cruel, insensitive, sexist and thoroughly unqualified to serve as president, though she allowed as how: Youve got to give it to Trump hes hateful, but its hard to look away from him.
She suggested the president not only admires Putin, but wishes to be like him: A white authoritarian leader who could put down dissenters, repress minorities, disenfranchise voters, weaken the press, and amass untold billions for himself. He dreams of Moscow on the Potomac.
In an interview published Tuesday in USA Today, Clinton went even further, saying she was convinced the Trump campaign purposely colluded with the Kremlin to tilt the election against her.
There certainly was communication and there certainly was an understanding of some sort, she said. Because theres no doubt in my mind that Putin wanted me to lose and wanted Trump to win.
I happen to believe in the rule of law and believe in evidence, so Im not going to go off and make all kinds of outrageous claims, she went on. But if you look at what weve learned since [the election], its pretty troubling.
Speaking at the White House, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders offered a tart rejoinder. I think its sad that after Hillary Clinton ran one of the most negative campaigns in history, and lost ... the last chapter of her public life is going to be now defined by propping up book sales with false and reckless attacks, she said.
In one of the memoirs more tender moments, Clinton discussed her sometimes-difficult marriage to President Clinton, who was impeached for lying about his White House affair with intern Monica Lewinsky.
There were times that I was deeply unsure about whether our marriage could or should survive. But on those days, I asked myself the questions that mattered to me: Do I still love him? she wrote. And can I still be in this marriage without becoming unrecognizable to myself twisted by anger, resentment or remoteness? The answers were always yes. So I kept going.
And for those who may wonder, Clinton said, yes, it can be painful to be a public figure so deeply reviled for reasons she still cannot fathom. For the record, she wrote, it hurts to be torn apart.
But despite what Republicans and even some Democrats might hope, she said, she would not follow the path of those previously vanquished and quietly go away. There were plenty of people hoping that I, too, would just disappear, she wrote. But here I am.
Barabak reported from San Francisco and Demick from New York City. Times staff writers Kurtis Lee and Michael Finnegan contributed to this report.
mark.barabak@latimes.com
Twitter: @markzbarabak
ALSO:
What Happened in 2016? Hillary Clinton still doesnt know
Pelosi declines to endorse Sen. Bernie Sanders single-payer healthcare bill
On 60 Minutes, Steve Bannon strikes at his long list of enemies and raises specter of GOP fratricide ahead
UPDATES:
2:35 p.m.: This article was updated with additional reaction.
This article was originally published at 12:00 p.m.
Fueling concerns about the impartiality and seriousness of President Trumps voter fraud commission, members heard testimony Tuesday from a gun rights advocate who suggested using the background-check system for gun purchasers to determine the eligibility of Americans to vote.
John Lott, head of the gun rights advocacy group Crime Prevention Research Center, suggested such a process would ease the concerns of those worried about fraudulent voting.
It might be a way Democrats can use a system they claim works very well to go and prove, essentially, to Republicans that theres no fraud, said Lott, who last year criticized the same National Instant Criminal Background Check System as a mess.
Advertisement
Every credible study of voting fraud has determined it is either virtually nonexistent or too rare to affect outcomes.
The commission was created after Trump falsely insisted that he lost the popular vote due to millions of fraudulently cast votes.
Critics assailed the notion that guidelines created to prevent dangerous or unstable people from purchasing a gun should be used to determine who may vote.
Since the mid-20th century, Congress and the Supreme Court have removed most barriers that had sought to restrict voting, such as racial discrimination or literacy tests. And some recent attempts to require that voters show certain types of IDs at polls have been rejected by lower courts as unconstitutional, raising questions about the legality of Lotts proposal.
That is absurd and dangerous, said Liz Kennedy, director of democracy and government reform for the Center for American Progress. The criteria built in to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System have no parallel to the requirements to be an eligible voter.
Let America Vote, a group led by former Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander, said in a Twitter post before the meeting that Lotts idea will create barriers to voting. The American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire said in a series of tweets that Lotts proposal compared apples to alligators. The ACLU accused the commission of rigging the panels with witnesses who raise allegations of fraud so it can reach a result that will make voting harder.
Maine secretary of state and commission member Matthew Dunlap expressed concern in the meeting that using a system for background checks could create unintended consequences.
The NICS system was not designed for elections, he said.
The current background check system examines a variety of factors, including drug addiction, mental instability, citizenship and criminal record.
Lott made his proposal at the second meeting of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, which has been accused of operating under preconceived notions that voter fraud played a role in the 2016 presidential election.
These concerns were heightened for many when vice chairman of the commission, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, published an op-ed last week on Breitbart News, asserting that there was voter fraud in the New Hampshire Senate race in November because thousands of voters used out-of-state drivers licenses. Since the articles publication, voting rights advocates have pointed to the fact that New Hampshire allows out-of-state licenses to be used in elections.
After the article, many people called on New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner, who is a member of the commission, to step down. Gardner, a Democrat, declined, saying Tuesday at the meeting that New Hampshire people arent accustomed to walking away or stepping down from their civic duty, and I will not either.
But he took the opportunity to publicly criticize Kobach for spreading misinformation and casting doubt on the New Hampshire results.
Kobach was referring to the Senate contest between Republican incumbent Kelly Ayotte and Democrat Maggie Hassan, who won the election by a small margin. New Hampshires other Democratic senator, Jeanne Shaheen, said in a statement that claims of voter fraud in the state and nationwide undermine confidence in our elections and democracy and create a dishonest rationale for voter suppression laws.
Lauren.Rosenblatt@latimes.com
@LRosenblatt_
ALSO
Heres why a growing number of states are pushing back against Trumps voter fraud commission
Trump and Pence defend voter fraud panel at first meeting
Former Ohio official who accidentally released Social Security numbers is on Trumps voter fraud panel
Continuing its role as a leading counter-force to Trump administration policies, California filed a lawsuit Monday challenging as unconstitutional the presidents plan to rescind a program that protects young immigrants from deportation, with officials warning the state will be hardest hit by the change.
State Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra said he decided to file a suit separate from legal actions by 15 other states, the University of California and civil rights activists because California and its economy will be hurt the most by the presidents decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program.
There is no state that will be more economically impacted by the Trump administrations unconstitutional and illegal termination of DACA than California, Becerra said at a Sacramento news conference, noting that California is home to a quarter of the 800,000 young people in the DACA program.
Advertisement
Participants were brought to the country illegally as children, and Becerra said they should not be punished by the decisions of others.
The suit filed in San Francisco federal court Monday marks at least the 25th legal action from Becerra this year against policies by the Trump administration, putting California among a handful of states, including New York and Washington, that are fighting Trump at every turn.
Gov. Jerry Brown supported the latest challenge.
California stands with the millions of immigrants who make this state a vibrant and prosperous place, Brown said in a statement. We are investing millions of dollars in new legal aid to help law-abiding people stay with their families in the U.S.
The latest lawsuit was criticized Monday by Robin Hvidston, executive director of the Claremont group We the People Rising, which advocates for tougher enforcement of immigration laws.
Its misguided and premature and a misuse of tax dollars, Hvidston said.
She noted that President Trump delayed repeal of the program for six months to give Congress a chance to address the issue, and that Trump acted only after several Republican-led states sued to end the DACA program.
Becerras lawsuit says canceling the program violates the due process guarantee of the 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by substantially altering the Department of Homeland Securitys assurances on handling the personal information provided by DACA participants.
The repeal may lead to the untenable outcome that the [Trump] Administration will renege on the promise it made to Dreamers and their employers that information they gave to the government for their participation in the program will not be used to deport them or prosecute their employers, said the lawsuit, which also includes Maine, Maryland and Massachusetts as plaintiffs.
We dont bait and switch in this country, Becerra said. He was joined at the announcement by two DACA participants who were brought to the U.S. illegally when they were 4 years old.
Eva Jimenez, 21, said hearing the threat of DACA being repealed has been terrifying.
I felt vulnerable, Jimenez said, adding that she worries whether she will be able to graduate and use her studies in international relations at UC Davis.
The lawsuit also claims the federal government violated procedures requiring a period for public comment on major policy changes.
Updates from Sacramento
That argument worked before for Texas and other states that opposed the 2012 policy implemented by President Obama, said USC law professor Niels Frenzen, who specializes in immigration law.
If the states win on this, they will succeed in delaying the termination of DACA, Frenzen said.
The California lawsuit deviates slightly from an argument by 15 states including New York that sued last week, which alleged the repeal is a culmination of Presidents Trumps oft-stated commitments to punish and disparage people with Mexican roots.
The California lawsuit alleges the administration discriminated against this class of young immigrants, or DACA participants, in violation of the equal protection guarantee of the 5th Amendment.
Becerras lawsuit won support from Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles), who said the state owes such action to the young immigrants, often called Dreamers.
Trumps decision to pull the rug out from beneath them is not only immoral, but Im confident is illegal, he said, thanking Becerra, who is seeking a full term in the office next year after being appointed to the post by Brown in December.
The lawsuit follows a long year of state government activism on the issue of illegal immigration. California lawmakers jumped into the national fray over illegal immigration at the beginning of the year with a package of bills filed by Democrats. The measures this legislative session would enhance workplace protections against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, provide college grants, fee waivers or reimbursements to young immigrants in exchange for community service, and limit state and local police from collaborating with federal immigration agents to hold, question or identify people who are in the U.S. illegally.
Meanwhile, the states budget deal in June allocated $45 million to expand and refocus state-funded legal aid services for immigrants searching for pathways to citizenship, or who are battling removal orders from the country. An additional $20 million was added Sunday to a pending budget bill, money that would go to nonprofits that contract with the state to help people apply for or renew their DACA status.
patrick.mcgreevy@latimes.com
Twitter: @mcgreevy99
Times staff writer Jazmine Ulloa contributed to this report.
ALSO
Trumps phaseout of DACA is facing legal challenges
Dreamers face tight deadline to renew DACA permits
Are you a DACA participant? Tell us what you think of Trumps decision to end the program
Trump Jr. to speak privately to Senate staff on Thursday
(Richard Drew / Associated Press)
President Trumps oldest son is expected to meet privately with a Senate committee investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, several senators said Wednesday.
Donald Trump Jr.'s appearance Thursday before the Senate Judiciary Committee would probably focus on a meeting he had with a Russian lawyer and others during the final stretches of last years campaign. Emails released in July show that Trump Jr. was told the session at Trump Tower in New York was part of a Russian government effort to aid his father, the Republican nominee.
Special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating that meeting, also attended by Trumps son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and then-campaign chairman, Paul Manafort. A grand jury has heard testimony about it.
Trump Jr. has also agreed to appear in the coming weeks before the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is conducting its own investigation.
Separately, President Obamas national security advisor, Susan Rice, was meeting on Wednesday with the House Intelligence Committee, according to a person familiar with the interview. This person wasnt authorized to discuss the committees confidential work and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
That committee has subpoenaed the Justice Department and the FBI for documents related to a dossier of salacious allegations involving Trump and possible ties to Russia.
As for Donald Trump Jr., some Democratic senators said they planned to attend his session though tradition dictates that senators cannot ask questions at such interviews conducted by committee staff.
Sens. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said they would be there. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) was considering it.
I go in with an open mind, Durbin said. I want to hear his answers to questions there are plenty of questions about the involvement of the Trump corporation as well as the Trump campaign with the Russians and other foreigners, and I just want to hear what Mr. Trump has to say.
Durbin said he would be shocked if questions werent asked about whether Trump Sr. knew about the Trump Tower meeting.
The critical part of his testimony will be following the financial dealing, Blumenthal said. He said he also wants to find out what Trump Jr. may know about potential obstruction of justice, adding there may have been conversations between the two about the firing of FBI Director James Comey and other matters.
Blumenthal and Coons said the private interview is no substitute for a public hearing, which the committee chairman, Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), has promised will happen.
This meeting is far less important than his public testimony, under oath, before the American people, Blumenthal said.
Grassley would not say on Wednesday whether he would issue a subpoena for Trump Jr. if he refuses to testify publicly.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department is reviewing subpoenas from the House intelligence committee.
In a letter Friday that was obtained by the AP, the committee wrote that it had served subpoenas on Aug. 24 to the department and the FBI for documents related to the committees investigation of Russian meddling. The Justice Department and FBI had missed the original Sept. 1 deadline, so the committee extended the deadline to Sept. 14.
The letter was signed by the committee chairman, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), who stepped back from the Russia investigation this year after he was criticized for being too close to the White House. Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas) took over the leading role, but his name does not appear on the letter.
As chairman, Nunes retains subpoena power in the committee.
According to the letter, the original subpoenas requested any documents related to the dossier and sought information about whether the department was involved in its production.
If the documents are not produced, the committee is seeking to compel Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions, who has withdrawn from investigations examining connections between Trump and Russia, and newly installed FBI Director Christopher Wray to testify in an open hearing. The committee issued two additional subpoenas to Sessions and Wray on late Tuesday.
Resort to compulsory process was necessary because of DOJs and FBIs insufficient responsiveness to the committees numerous Russia-investigation related requests over the past several months, the letter said.
If the committee is unable to obtain documents or testimony, Nunes wrote, the committee expressly reserves its right to proceed with any and all available legal options, including a House vote to hold Sessions and Wray in contempt.
The Justice Department confirmed it was reviewing the subpoenas but declined further comment.
The dossier attracted public attention in January when it was revealed that then-FBI Director Comey had briefed Trump, soon before he was inaugurated as president, about claims from the documents that Russia had amassed compromising personal and financial allegations about him.
Its unclear to what extent the allegations in the dossier have been corroborated or verified by the FBI because the bureau has not publicly discussed it.
Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said Tuesday evening on MSNBC that the subpoenas were issued over the objections of Democrats. Schiff said Republicans are working harder to discredit those who compiled the dossier than to find out if the allegations in it are true. He said Republicans should be more focused on getting documents from the White House.
The subpoenas were first reported by the Washington Examiner.
In the predawn hours Friday, NASAs Cassini spacecraft will make a suicide dive into Saturns atmosphere, vaporizing like a tiny meteor in the vast Saturnian sky.
It will be a fiery end for a spacecraft built and flown by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory that has spent the last 13 years exploring the ringed planet and its many moons.
Cassini set off for Saturn on Oct. 15, 1997, and spent seven years looping around the solar system before it finally reached its destination. Since then, the two-story spacecraft has revealed that ocean worlds are more common in our solar system than anyone knew, watched moonlets form in Saturns rings and found conditions suitable for life on two of the planets moons.
The Cassini mission has been an unequivocal success but its fate was not always certain.
Originally conceived in the early 1980s, Cassini and its companion Huygens lander contended with debilitating budget cuts, narrowly escaped cancellation more than once, and faced last-minute attempts to ground the spacecraft out of fear that a launch mishap would cause radioactive plutonium to rain down on Earth.
Cassini followed in the footsteps of the Voyager and Galileo missions, becoming the last big spacecraft to explore the outer solar system. This is the story of how it got off the ground, told by the people who were there.
Voyagers unanswered questions
Linda Spilker, Cassini mission project scientist at JPL: Had we not had Voyager, I dont think we would have had Cassini. The whole reason we wanted to go back to Saturn was because of what Voyager was not able to do there.
Linda Spilker with members of the Voyager team in 1989. (Paul Schenk, Lunar and Planetary Institute, via NASA)
Bonnie Buratti, principal scientist and supervisor of the Comets, Asteroids, and Satellites Group at JPL: Voyager had done a reconnaissance of the Saturnian system and there were all these great discoveries. There was Titan, which looked kind of like an Earth in deep freeze. Enceladus looked like it was covered in snow. And there was Iapetus, a moon with one half as dark as tar and the other half basically as bright as snow. So there were all these mysteries.
Andy Ingersoll, planetary scientist at Caltech: Voyager had also done a lot to reveal the detailed structure of the rings. It was clear that the closer we got and the more time we spent there, it was going to be really fascinating. And it turned out it was.
Hunter Waite, director of planetary mass spectrometry at Southwest Research Institute: Its like the onion that you peel back. Voyager scratched the surface it pulled back the first layer.
Spilker: With the Voyager 1 flyby in 1980, we flew close to Titan and found that with the cameras and instruments we had, we couldnt see through the haze to the surface.
Toby Owen, planetary scientist at the University of Hawaii: What lay beneath that smog? Speculation ranged from a global ocean of ethane to a rugged landscape carved out by precipitating hydrocarbons, to a nondescript, gooey surface resembling a refrozen chocolate ice cream dessert.
Daniel Gautier, planetary scientist at the Paris Observatory at Meudon: Voyager revealed that the main component of the Titan atmosphere was molecular nitrogen, with a few percent of methane. Laboratory experiments had shown that an irradiated mixture of nitrogen and methane produces complex organic molecules and compounds, including some that are present in living systems on the Earth.
Ingersoll: Toby Owen gets a lot of credit for pushing the Cassini mission, especially the interest in Titan as an analogue of Earth in its early days. Before we had an oxygen atmosphere, before we had life, we could have had a similar atmosphere to Titans.
Life and the Solar System: The CRAF and Cassini Missions (NASA/JPL)
An idea is born
Wing-Huen Ip, planetary scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Aeronomy: The European Space Agency issued a call for mission proposals in July of 1982. Being young and naive, I thought it interesting to propose a Saturn orbiter with a probe to Saturn or Titan.
This Voyager 2 photograph of Titan, taken Aug. 23, 1981, from a range of 1.4 million miles, shows some detail in the cloud systems on this Saturnian moon. (NASA/JPL)
What Cassini revealed about Saturn's moons
Gautier: One night after dinner I received a call from a person speaking English with a strange accent. The person was Wing Ip. He explained that he intended to propose an orbiter around Saturn. After some time, I understood that he was proposing to unite our efforts.
Ip: The conversation did not go too well at first. That was partly because Daniel found it hard to believe that someone in Germany might be interested in Titan. And the other part was that we had not understood each other well.
At the critical moment, I said to Daniel, Dr. Gautier, do you know what this mission is going to be called? It is going to be named Cassini. After 10 seconds he said, OK. Lets do it!
Owen: The mission was named Cassini in honor of the first director of the Paris Observatory, Jean Dominique Cassini. In addition to his discoveries in the Saturn system, Cassini also embodies the spirit of international collaboration essential to this mission.
Ip: Naming the mission "Cassini" was quite natural after the Galileo mission to Jupiter. Especially because it would rally the support of France, which is a key member of ESA.
Gautier: Early in November, Wing Ip, Michel Combes of the Meudon Observatory in France and myself wrote the proposal for a Saturn orbiter/Titan probe mission and submitted it to the European Space Agency. It was co-signed by 27 other European scientists. The concept was clearly presented as a cooperative ESA-NASA mission.
Ip: ESA and NASA were not exactly on good terms with each other at that time because of the problem with the Ulysses mission to study the sun (which is another story). Coming on the heels of this controversy, such a close collaboration was not exactly met with enthusiasm.
Voyager 1 color-enhanced image of Saturn taken on Oct. 18, 1980. Scientists were eager to learn more about Saturn. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Meanwhile ...
Owen: In the early 1980s, NASA convened a series of workshops in which designated groups of scientists developed concepts for future missions throughout the solar system. I was the chair of the Outer Planets Group that was determined to include Saturn in the final list of proposed missions.
Although initially we had not been given the right to include collaboration with foreign partners, my long friendship with Daniel Gautier made me well aware of the proposal by Wing Ip and Daniel to develop a European mission to Saturn and Titan with some kind of U.S. partnership.
Ingersoll: I was a member of a National Academy of Sciences planning study committee called COMPLEX. That stood for Committee on Planetary and Lunar Exploration. In 1982 we published a report on the next step in planetary exploration. It was time for an orbiter. The first orbiter was to be Galileo around Jupiter and the second was to be around Saturn.
Background books about the Cassini-Huygens mission and what was known about Saturn at the time of launch, in 1997. (NASA/JPL)
Epic storms, new moons and worlds that might host life: Here are Cassini's greatest discoveries
Owen: The first idea had actually been for the Europeans to fly a copy of their highly successful Giotto spacecraft, while the Americans would build copies of the Galileo probe to be launched into the atmospheres of Saturn and Titan. The concept rapidly reversed into a European probe carried by a NASA spacecraft.
Gautier: Technical studies of the orbiter were made by JPL and those of the probe by the European Space Research and Technology Centre.
Owen: The joint ESA-NASA study culminated in a presentation to European scientists at Bruges in 1988. Cassini was in competition with another solar system mission called Vesta that would have explored asteroids, and with three astrophysical proposals as well.
Gautier: Why was Cassini-Huygens the winner of the ESA selection? In part because the mission covers practically all domains of planetology: the physics and origin of the atmospheres of Saturn and Titan, exobiology, internal structure and evolution of Saturn, rings, icy satellites, magnetosphere, asteroids, interplanetary medium.
Owen: Two critical problems remained: to convince NASA that Cassini-Huygens should be its next mission for planetary exploration, and then to convince Congress that they should add the necessary funds to the NASA budget.
Two missions for the price of one-and-a-half
Buratti: NASA is really big on efficiency, so we got the idea of building two essentially clone spacecraft. One would go to Saturn and the other one would go to a comet. Comets are very interesting they are basically the debris left over from the formation of the solar system.
Ingersoll: They stuck Cassini together with a comet mission called Comet Rendezvous Asteroid Flyby. It became CRAF-Cassini. It was a very kludgy thing, but you have to sell these to NASA higher-ups and ultimately to Congress.
Earl Maize, Cassini program manager at JPL: These large outer-planet spacecraft were very difficult to make, so they tried to make a standard bus called the Mariner Mark II. It was a standard structure of propulsion systems and avionics that one could kit out with whatever instruments you thought were appropriate for the mission.
Owen: I was given the task of presenting CRAF-Cassini to NASA administrator James Fletcher and his advisors. The administrator quickly understood that he was looking at two different missions and asked why we couldnt simply do Cassini, as he thought it would be more productive and doing just one mission would obviously save money. I made the point that NASA had not launched a planetary mission for 11 years and could certainly afford this beautiful package of two for a bargain price.
Ingersoll: In 1989 I was the division chair of the American Astronomical Societys Division of Planetary Scientists. I was the first chair to send out email messages to the membership and say, Write your congressman to support CRAF-Cassini.
Buratti: Its not really NASA that makes a decision, its Congress. So we had leaders of NASA helping us, we had the director of JPL helping us. We had Ed Stone, who was the project scientist on Voyager, helping us. A whole slew of people did push to originally have both missions.
Owen: Fortunately, enough positive interest was generated by these activities to lead to the inclusion of CRAF-Cassini in the NASA budget. In a reasonable world, that would have been the end of the story.
Well show we can bleed
Buratti: There were cost overruns. We couldnt do both missions, and CRAF was the one that got canceled.
Julie Webster, Cassini chief engineer at JPL: CRAF was canceled in 1992, and if some of NASA headquarters had its way, Cassini would have been canceled at the same time.
Spilker: We wondered if we would be next. There were signs that it was the direction we were headed. It looked likely.
Webster: NASA Administrator Dan Goldin was calling us Battlestar Galactica. We were huge in an era when they were trying to go to better, faster, cheaper. He didnt like having all the eggs in one basket like that.
Waite: People from ESA and France wrote and said how upset they would be at the U.S. if they walked away from this thing. As far I know, thats what saved it. It was the international outcry.
Spilker: The international collaboration really paid off, but it came at a reduction of cost for Cassini.
Ingersoll: John Casani, who was the project manager at JPL, said, Well show that we can bleed, and they took away the scan platform.
Buratti: What a scan platform is, it means the instruments are on a moving platform so you can point them rather than pointing the spacecraft. We werent able to get that, and that was a big loss.
Ingersoll: Casani said if we want to point the instruments well rotate the entire spacecraft, ponderous as it is. I dont know how much money it actually saved 10% or something.
Waite: At the time it was considered absolutely necessary to get Congress to continue the funding. You cant really dis the people who made the decision.
Webster: The silver lining was the incredible stability of the images taken over hours, because we are very, very stable. Its like the difference between taking a picture on a tripod and taking a picture with Parkinson's. I think it was a net positive gain for Cassini.
Spilker: The instruments also had to de-scope. Each one had to make cuts to detectors and different capabilities along the way to fit with the new budget we had from NASA.
Maize: We were essentially going to go into this thing with all guns blazing all the time a 24-hour-science machine. The Cassini we have now is not like that.
A diagram of the Cassini spacecraft and Huygens probe. (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory)
The trading board
Spilker: One thing we did that I thought was very smart is we set up a trading board and allowed the instruments to trade for mass, power, data rate and money.
Maize: In all missions there is a fixed amount of power, a fixed amount of mass, and a fixed amount of data bandwidth. So the instruments were allowed to trade various components. For example, I need 2 watts, but I dont need 2 kilograms does anyone have an extra 2 watts for 2 kilograms? Im making it much simpler than it was, but thats the general idea.
Waite: It was trying to give people an opportunity to not have to meet set guidelines with every instrument but to be able to mix and match. If someone had extra mass they could get more money and so forth. All that mattered to the spacecraft was how much the overall payload was.
Maize: It was an open commodities market on the various very critical resources. Cassini may have been the first to do something like that, but other missions have since used it.
The Huygens probe nestled in its descent module. It flew aboard Cassini. (European Space Agency)
Back on the chopping block
Maize: We were almost canceled again in fiscal year 1995. We had gone through this whole restructuring, we were actually soldering boards and creating real hardware when another big budget crunch came along. We were very seriously on the chopping block.
Webster: The Europeans had already built the probe that was going to be launched on the spacecraft, so they wrote letters to Congress and NASA saying, Hey, we put all this time and effort into this. They really went to bat for us.
Maize: The European Space Agency mounted quite an intensive campaign to pressure the Clinton administration to reconsider. Because without Cassini, Huygens didnt have a ride. Fortunately they prevailed. I think without their intervention, Cassini might have met an entirely different fate. Those were very tight times.
Webster: We just kept going on building Cassini. We were still headed to an October 1997 launch. Most of us had been through many cancellation talks on several spacecraft, so we just kept our heads down and kept working.
The plutonium scare
Maize: Saturn has about 1/100th the sunlight as we have on Earth. Solar panels would work, but they would be so inefficient that it would just be ridiculous. In the outer solar system, plutonium is the best power source.
Waite: There were a lot of people protesting because we had plutonium as a fuel. They were trying to lobby against us being able to launch because we were going to kill people and so forth.
Webster: The theory was that we were going to release radioactive materials into the atmosphere if there was a launch failure. You can make bombs out of plutonium 235, but thats a different isotope from what we used. We used plutonium 238 and we made into an oxide so its not a bomb. Its not fissionable material. But it is radioactive, so its hot. We take the heat and put it into a thermocouple and make it into electrical energy. Its exactly like a solar panel. It just happens to be a radioactive solar panel.
Waite: Plutonium is dangerous stuff but the way it is processed and used in space is pretty darn safe for the most part.
Buratti: Cassini scientists were very confident that the plutonium was packaged in a way that it would not escape the spacecraft in the case of a launch vehicle failure. The conservative engineers at JPL did a number of studies showing this. Many of the Cassini scientists were active in the antiwar and nuclear disarmament movement, so we didn't take these concerns lightly.
Nevertheless there were a lot of protests and a movement to stop the launch. JPL had a whole office to address the public's concerns at that time. I do remember the protesters: They were few but vociferous. They were mainly at Cape Canaveral, but I seem to remember a few stragglers at JPL as well.
Protesters demonstrate against the use of plutonium as Cassini's power source at Cape Canaveral Air Station in 1997. (Alicia Wagner and Tom Spitz / Orlando Sentinel)
Maize: I tend to be pretty green on environmental issues, but I had seen so many precautions taken and the reliability of these systems was so high. I dont want to dismiss the concerns of the folks who were worried about it, but I really felt we had this more than covered.
Webster: Our project manager at the time, Richard Spehalski, was on 60 Minutes right before we launched. He basically looked at the 60 Minutes guys and said, My grandchildren are watching the launch. If I was worried about this, would I have my grandchildren watching the launch?
Launch of Cassini orbiter and Huygens probe on Titan IV on Oct. 23, 1997. (NASA/JPL/KSC)
Epilogue
There would be more nail-biting moments to come over the 20 years Cassini spent in space: a harrowing 90-minute engine burn to enter Saturns orbit, Huygens 2.5-hour descent to Titan Im still trembling with fear from that time, said Ip and, just a few weeks ago, the spacecrafts first dip into Saturns atmosphere. Cassini sailed through these hurdles, and many more.
Weve been so lucky that so little has gone wrong, Spilker said. Like Earl Maize has said, the toast falls butter-side up with Cassini.
The original four-year mission was extended twice. And even now, its ending only because the orbiter has run out of fuel. Nearly all its instruments are still functioning properly.
Cassini was always the best athlete, the best child in school, Webster said. More than a thousand people worked on the spacecraft in some capacity. And look what they accomplished.
About this story
These interviews have been edited for length and clarity.
Linda Spilker, Bonnie Buratti, Earl Maize, Andy Ingersoll, Hunter Waite and Julie Webster were interviewed in person.
Toby Owen, Daniel Gautier and Wing-Huen Ip's comments were taken from first-person reminiscences published in the Proceedings of the International Conference Titan From Discovery to Encounter.
Ip worked at the Max Planck Institute for Aeronomy at the time of the events in the story. He is now a planetary scientist at the National Central University in Taiwan.
Alumni from the Cassini mission, reunited a few months before it all ends. (NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory-Caltech)
deborah.netburn@latimes.com
Do you love science? I do! Follow me @DeborahNetburn and "like" Los Angeles Times Science & Health on Facebook.
MORE ON THE CASSINI MISSION
After 13 years at Saturn, NASAs Cassini spacecraft is ready for its grand finale
Check out Cassinis jaw-dropping discoveries of Saturns moons
Epic storms, new moons and worlds that might host life: Here are Cassini's greatest discoveries
Here's the nothingness Cassini heard as it flew through the empty space between Saturn and its rings
You can spend a lot of accumulated time on your bottom in the course of a day. Or you can sit for lengthy spells without a break.
Both, it turns out, are very bad for you.
Whether youre a heavy sitter or a binge-sitter, racking up prolonged sedentary time increases your risk of early death, according to a study published in Tuesdays edition of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
That conclusion held up even after researchers took account of mitigating factors, such as time spent exercising. Even for people who hit the gym after a long day in a desk chair, sitting can be deadly.
Advertisement
The findings led the studys authors to suggest that people who sit a lot should get up and move around every 30 minutes to counter the health risks that come with prolonged sedentary behavior.
The study team, led by Columbia University exercise researcher Keith Diaz, tracked the movements of close to 8,000 Americans older than 45 by asking them to wear an accelerometer on their hip.
Over a period of 10 days, sitting or lounging behavior took up the equivalent of 12.3 hours over a 16-hour waking day about 77%, on average.
Thats a whole lot of sitting. But subjects differed in the extent to which they hunkered down for long stretches without getting up and moving around. When researchers measured the bout length of subjects sitting spells, they found that 52% lasted less than a half-hour, 22% lasted between a half-hour and just under an hour, 14% lasted 60 to 89 minutes and 14% went on for more than 90 minutes.
After tracking subjects for four years, the researchers found that subjects who racked up the most time sitting were most likely to have died during the study period, and those who spent the least time sitting were least likely to have died. That was no surprise.
But when they looked at the death rates as a function of how often subjects went long hours without getting up, they saw a similar pattern: Those whose sitting bouts tended to be lengthier were more likely to have died than were those whose sitting spells tended to be shorter.
Make no mistake, the authors of the new research cautioned: Accumulation of large volumes of sedentary time is a hazardous health behavior regardless of how it is accumulated. But logging sedentary time in shorter bouts of sitting is the least harmful pattern of accumulation.
Study participants who racked up the most time in a chair tended to be older, were more likely to smoke, and were disproportionately African-American. They tended to be teetotallers, to have a higher body-mass index, and were less likely to get much intentional exercise. They were also more likely to have diabetes, high blood pressure, worrisome cholesterol readings and a history of stroke, atrial fibrillation or coronary heart disease.
Such findings, of course, beg the question of which comes first the immobility or the illness that leads to death.
Observational studies, no matter how well designed, cannot imply causality, University of Toronto cardiologist Dr. David A. Alter warned in an editorial.
But the findings of this prospective population-based study do fit with those of experimental studies. In trials involving humans sequestered in research labs, scientists have shown that racking up prolonged, uninterrupted bouts of sitting and lounging cause more worrisome short-term changes in metabolic and cardiovascular function than sedentary behavior thats interrupted by periods of physical activity.
It only makes sense that those short-term changes translate over time to more profound changes in the risk for diseases linked to sedentary behavior, said Dr. James A. Levine, an obesity expert at the Mayo Clinic who studies the health effects of sitting.
If youre sitting too much, you need to do something about it like right now, Levine said. Unless you get moving now, youre in trouble later.
The finding that a workout will not undo the harms caused by prolonged sitting is unsurprising, Levine added.
Even if youre a gymgoer and think youre safe on account of your excellent effort, you are not, Levine said. No one gets away from this stuff. Excess sitting, this study seems to suggest, is a death sentence.
In his editorial, Alter worried that people intent on reversing patterns of sedentary behavior will have a lot on their plates.
To live longer, healthier lives may require us to count the total number of hours we are sedentary per day, the total number of minutes we sit at a time, the total number of standing breaks we take per hour, the total number of steps we take per day, and the total metabolic equivalent of task-minute volume of exercise we achieve per week, he wrote.
Yikes! That sure is a lot of counting over the course of a lifetime all to reverse the evolutionary patterns of a society gone lazy, Alter added. Might it not just be easier to return to our origins as hunters and gatherers?
melissa.healy@latimes.com
Twitter: @LATMelissaHealy
MORE IN SCIENCE
Fires, droughts and hurricanes: Whats the link between climate change and natural disasters?
Check out Cassinis jaw-dropping discoveries of Saturns moons
Lasker Awards honor Planned Parenthood and research on preventing and fighting cancer
Vice President Mike Pence has rescheduled a Newport Beach appearance originally planned for this week.
Pence was scheduled to appear with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) at a fundraising luncheon Friday at the Island Hotel. He will now visit in October.
The pair also had planned to raise money at a breakfast Friday in Bakersfield, a reception and dinner that night in Sacramento and a reception and dinner in Beverly Hills on Thursday.
Pence postponed the California trip because of hurricane recovery efforts, the Los Angeles Times reported. The events will now take place Oct. 8-10.
The fundraisers are to benefit California Victory 2018, a joint fundraising committee that benefits Pences and McCarthys political action committees, the National Republican Congressional Committee and the congressional campaign accounts of McCarthy and seven other California Republicans up for reelection in 2018, including Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa, Rep. Mimi Walters of Irvine and Rep. Ed Royce of Fullerton, who represent districts won by Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.
Democrats have targeted those seats in the midterm elections as key to their efforts to retake control of the House of Representatives.
Its a tale of two schools one in sunny Costa Mesa and the other in hurricane-ravaged Houston.
Whittier Elementary School in Costa Mesas Westside wanted to help Whittier Elementary School in eastern Houston, which was devastated by Hurricane Harvey last month.
The principal of Costa Mesas Whittier, Scott Wilcox, heard that the other Whittiers school supplies were ruined.
So the PTA at Costa Mesas Whittier went full force to help the struggling Texas school.
After school started Sept. 5, local PTA parents began gathering supplies to donate to Whittier in Houston.
On Monday morning at the Costa Mesa campus, they assembled the last donations. After a week, they had gathered about 30 boxes of supplies, including backpacks, notebooks, crayons, pens, glue sticks and pencils.
Clubs at Newport Harbor High School are covering the cost to ship the boxes to Texas.
Though its important for children to learn reading, writing and arithmetic at school, giving and being part of society are also extremely important, Wilcox said. This is a great way for them to learn.
According to the Washington Post, 70% of Harris County, which includes the Houston metropolitan area, was under water at one point and nearly every school in the Houston Independent School District, which includes Whittier Elementary, was damaged. Many students there started returning to school Monday.
Lincoln Elementary School in Newport Beach also is helping Texas by collecting gift cards and school books to give to Betty Sue Creech Elementary in Katy, west of Houston.
Early College High School in Costa Mesa is donating money to the American Red Cross to help with hurricane relief in Texas and Florida. And a fundraiser at Raising Canes restaurant in Costa Mesa is scheduled for Sept. 20.
bradley.zint@latimes.com
Twitter: @BradleyZint
Ten Years Ago
The 2008 presidential campaign of Republican hopeful and Texas congressman Ron Paul was brought to La Canada Flintridge in September 2007 when a $2,000-a-plate fundraising dinner was held on his behalf at a ranch on Angeles Crest Highway owned by William Johnson. Johnson, a white nationalist, chairs the American Freedom Party.
Twenty Years Ago
A grassroots neighborhood group, the Conservadores de Las Colinas, announced a campaign to save Rockridge Terrace acreage on the southwest side of town from development and to raise $150,000 toward purchasing the land from USC. They engaged the city of La Canada Flintridge in the effort and the city in turn eventually garnered funding to make the purchase. Today, theres a passive city park there.
Thirty Years Ago
The La Canada Thursday Club celebrated its Diamond Jubilee anniversary in the fall of 1987. The club was founded by a pioneer in the community, Elizabeth Knight, who in 1912 invited a group of women to meet in her home. The organizations clubhouse, still in use on Woodleigh Lane, was built in 1927.
Forty Years Ago
Several La Canadans complained to the City Council that too much movie and television filming was taking place in residential neighborhoods, causing a nuisance. The council subsequently passed an emergency ordinance limiting such activity.
Fifty Years Ago
A community service program on the Hippie movement taking place in the late 1960s was presented here by the local Foothill TACT (Truth About Civic Turmoil) Committee. The program, held in Lanterman Auditorium, was titled Hippies, LSD, Sex and was led by Ken Granger, a news photographer who had chronicled the Hippie happenings from the Sunset Strip to the Haight Ashbury district of San Francisco.
Sixty Years Ago
Population gains and community development in La Canada resulted in an uptick of telephone expansion by about 25% between 1955 and 1957, according to a Pacific Telephone official. The phone companys district manager said that as of mid-September 1957 there were 9,200 telephones in town and approximately 75 new numbers were being added each month.
Compiled from the Valley Sun archives by Carol Cormaci.
UPDATES:
Sept. 13; 5:46 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details about William Johnson.
They traveled down from the Pyrenees mountains and up from seaside pueblos along Spains northeastern coast, all in yellow separatist jerseys. With schools and offices shut for the day, children wore Catalan flags and rode on their parents shoulders. The elderly sang an anthem banned during their youth under the dictatorship of Gen. Francisco Franco.
Up to a million people rallied Monday in Barcelona, the capital of northeastern Spains Catalonia region, for the Diada Catalonias national day. It commemorates the regions loss of autonomy to Spain, after the 1714 Siege of Barcelona.
But the annual holiday took on fresh meaning this year, as Catalonias separatist leaders push ahead with plans for an independence referendum on Oct. 1 in violation of Spanish law.
Advertisement
Over the weekend, Spanish Civil Guards raided printing offices across Catalonia, seeking to confiscate ballot papers. Organizers say the ballots are being prepared in secret.
Spains Constitutional Court suspended the vote last week, and prosecutors said they are preparing criminal charges against all Catalan government ministers.
In his annual Diada message, Catalonias regional president, Carles Puigdemont, insisted the vote would take place, because the regional parliament had determined it was legal. He has said hes willing to go to prison for his role.
This is a legal referendum, in accordance with the laws approved by the sovereign Parliament of Catalonia, Puigdemont said. No other judicial or political entity can bar my government from office.
At exactly 5:14 p.m. or 17:14 on a 24-hour clock to denote the year Spain took over marchers donned fluorescent yellow T-shirts with separatist slogans and crowded into a downtown Barcelona intersection to form a giant plus sign visible in aerial photos. Organizers said they sold 300,000 yellow T-shirts. Local police said 1 million people participated, while the central government put the figure at 350,000.
Demonstrators also strung a banner across the front of the main Bank of Spain building downtown, renaming it the Bank of Catalonia. Masked members of a far-left group burned Spanish and European Union flags in the street, but the atmosphere was mostly peaceful.
Separatists paraded down Las Ramblas, the pedestrian thoroughfare where an Aug. 17 van attack for which the militant group Islamic State claimed responsibility left 15 people dead. There was a heavy police presence.
Like the Basque region to its west, Catalonia has its own language and culture, and has long sought autonomy from the Spanish central government based in Madrid. Under Francos nearly 40-year dictatorship, which ended in 1975, Catalan holidays, songs and language were banned in most public places.
More recently, this region of 7.5 million, with its capital, Barcelona, has become the most prosperous of Spains 17 autonomous regions, with an economy bigger than Finlands. It accounts for about a fifth of Spanish gross domestic product, and more than a quarter of exports.
Many Catalans say they resent having their taxes subsidize poorer parts of Spain, especially after a punishing economic crisis.
We want to be free, because we think we can live better, said Mercedes Ramos, 43, who is half-Catalan and half-Spanish, and grew up in Catalonia.
Spanish politicians dont recognize our deficit, Ramos said. We put a lot of money in, and they dont return it.
Catalonia held a previous referendum in 2014, but it was a nonbinding consultation, and although the separatists won with more than 80% of the vote, turnout was low. Regional leaders say the Oct. 1 vote is legally binding and would trigger a transition to independence if the yes votes win.
Some anti-independence parties are encouraging their supporters to stay home Oct. 1.
Neither Spain nor any of its European Union allies are likely to recognize any new country of Catalonia. Catalan officials say they would hope to remain in the EU, and continue using the euro currency. For the EU to admit a new member state, the vote must be unanimous.
Polls show Catalans are roughly evenly divided over whether to break away from Spain and form a new country, but a majority support the idea of voting on it.
About a third of Catalan mayors, including Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau, have not yet granted permission for regional authorities to use municipal buildings for polling stations on Oct 1. Some have sought guarantees from regional authorities, for their workers. Spain has warned that any civil servants who administer the polling could be criminally liable.
There is a strong division about the feeling for independence, said Javier Castellanos, 55, who took advantage of Mondays holiday to go for a midday swim, but did not participate in rallies. There is a hint of superiority on the independence side. Theyre talking about being the Denmark of the south, but we are a Mediterranean country! We have the same clientele politics and corruption as Madrid.
Frayer is a special correspondent.
No longer welcome in his native Georgia, which has stripped him of citizenship, former President Mikheil Saakashvili vowed Monday to remain in his adopted homeland of Ukraine and fight its oligarchic political elite.
I have a clear plan: to end theft from the economy, to end the power of the oligarchy, to end misuse of power, Saakashvili told a crowd of supporters in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.
His rousing speech came a day after Saakashvili, 49, forced his way across the border from Poland to Ukraine in a surreal scene in which dozens of the populist politicians supporters broke through a line of Ukrainian border guards who had linked arms to block his entry. In the chaos, the crowd managed to scuttle Saakashvili across the border.
Advertisement
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Saakashvili who is stateless, having lost citizenship in both Georgia and Ukraine had crossed illegally. He equated the move with fighters in the east crossing the border, a reference to the Russia-backed separatist rebels whom Ukraine has been battling for three years in the countrys eastern flank.
This is a question of the national security of the state, Poroshenko said Monday. It is all the same to me who breaches the state border, whether fighters in the east or politicians in the west. There should be precise, legal, judicial responsibility.
Saakashvilis dramatic reentry in Ukraine highlights the internal power struggles of the post-Soviet republic, which continue to hamstring reform in the country nearly four years after the start of the popular street uprising that came to be known as Maidan. The mass demonstrations ousted a Kremlin-friendly president, Viktor Yanukovich, whom protesters accused of mass corruption and nepotism. The street protests were followed by Russias annexation of Crimea and the conflict in the east with the Kremlin-backed separatists.
Poroshenko appointed Saakashvili, a university classmate and close friend, as the governor of Ukraines notoriously corrupt port city of Odessa in May 2015, less than two years after the end of Saakashvilis second term as Georgias president. He served for six months before resigning, accusing Poroshenkos administration of blocking him from doing what he had come to Odessa to do: root out corruption. In the ensuing months, Saakashvili became increasingly critical of Poroshenko, who will face reelection in 2019.
In July, Saakashvili was in the United States when he learned that his Ukrainian citizenship had been revoked, a move he said was orchestrated by Poroshenko as a way to eliminate the Ukrainian presidents political competition. Ukrainian authorities said Saakashvili had lost his citizenship because he had left out information on his residency forms regarding pending charges against him in Georgia, where he is wanted on charges of abuse of power.
Saakashvili, who led Georgia in the 2003 bloodless Rose Revolution, served as president for nearly a decade before being voted out of office.
Georgia, which does not allow dual citizenship, had already revoked his citizenship after Saakashvili took a Ukrainian passport. With claims to neither Ukraine nor Georgia, Saakashvili became stateless.
None of this looks good for Ukraine, said Balazs Jarabik, a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. What Ukraine doesnt need is another internal conflict.
Poroshenkos ratings ahead of the next election were about 11% in the most recent poll. Saakashvilis ratings in Ukraine hovered around 2%, hardly a threat to Poroshenko at the time, Jarabik said.
By stripping Saakashvilis citizenship, it appeared that Poroshenko was trying to eliminate his potential opponents, which isnt quite on the level of Yanukovich, but not that far away, Jarabik said.
Now, Saakashvili will become a tool of the opposition as a victim of Poroshenkos arbitrary use of power.
The question now remains how the West, which has thrown its support and money behind Kievs promises of economic and political reforms, will react to yet another stumble in Ukraines reform progress.
After losing his citizenship, Saakashvili vowed to return to Ukraine. On Sunday, he made several chaotic attempts to do so.
Saakashvili first tried to cross the border on a train from Poland, but it was stopped at the border for hours until Saakashvili agreed to get off. He then got on a bus, which was packed with journalists and Ukrainian parliamentary deputies, including Yulia Tymoshenko, whose thick, blond braids have become a symbol of her firebrand populism.
Again, border guards refused to let Saakashvili cross. At that point, a crowd of supporters rushed behind the linked border guards and tried to break through. Saakashvili was pushed through the crowd to loud cheers. Hours later, he showed up in central Lviv, where he addressed reporters.
On Monday, he said he would rally his supporters across the country.
I intend to travel around all the regions of Ukraine, to unite as much as possible with people and with different political forces around a shared theme that we should have democracy and not the diktat of oligarchs, he said.
Critics accused Saakashvili of using the moment to revitalize his political career, a claim he denied.
This wasnt about me, he said in a YouTube video posted Monday. It was about the hundreds who came out to support him at the border, he said.
They felt that if I could be treated like this, anyone else could be treated like this. Thats how I see it.
ALSO
Russia had its own version of the Confederate monument problem. The solution: a sculpture park in Moscow
Germanys Merkel admonishes other European nations for not accepting more refugees
Ukraines separatists propose a new country: Little Russia. Kremlin denies any involvement
Ayres is a special correspondent.
Frances president, Britains foreign secretary and the Dutch king on Tuesday were visiting Caribbean territories that were hammered by Hurricane Irma, trying to quell accusations by residents that European governments were slow to prepare, slow to react and sometimes even racist in their responses to the devastation.
French President Emmanuel Macrons plane brought water, food and tons of medicine and emergency equipment. His first stop was Guadeloupe, an overseas department of France, where he landed Tuesday morning.
Macron eventually was heading to meet with residents of the French-Dutch island of St. Martin, where 10 people were killed on the French side and four on the Dutch. He will finish his trip on the nearby island of St. Barts.
Advertisement
Macron is being accompanied by doctors and experts who will be in charge of evaluating the damage.
About 1,500 French troops, police and emergency workers already are on the ground to help islanders, and 500 others were expected to arrive in the coming days, according to French authorities. But residents on the island have spoken of hunger, homelessness, a lack of water and a feeling of abandonment after the hurricane pummeled the region on Wednesday. Some complained that the French government spent more efforts rescuing white tourists than black or mixed-race islanders.
Irma left entire islands and tens of thousands of people in the Caribbean without water or electricity and reduced many homes to splinters. The French, British and Dutch governments sent warships, planes and security forces to keep order and deliver aid, but some of that was slowed further by Hurricane Jose, which passed north of the region over the weekend.
A medical center was being set up Tuesday in the stadium of Marigot, a port on St. Martin, and a French military ship will provide additional medical facilities in coming days, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said.
He told reporters that air and sea connections with the French Caribbean islands should gradually return to normal by the end of the week, allowing up to 2,500 people a day to leave the island.
Dutch King Willem-Alexander arrived on St. Martin on Monday and said the scenes of devastation are the worst he has seen. The island is shared between a French territory and the former Dutch colony of St. Maarten, a largely autonomous part of the Dutch kingdom with a population of around 40,000.
Ive never experienced anything like this before, and Ive seen a lot of natural disasters in my life. Ive seen a lot of war zones in my life. But Ive never seen anything like this, Willem-Alexander said on the Dutch national network NOS.
Willem-Alexander said he was encouraged to see residents already working together to rebuild the shattered capital of Philipsburg.
Its been very useful to see for myself what terrible damage this storm has done and in this way to also show the population of St. Martin and the governor and prime minister that we stand together here as a kingdom and that we will solve this together, he told reporters on the island.
Willem-Alexander was to fly Tuesday to the nearby Dutch islands of Saba and St. Eustatius, which also were hit by Irma, but suffered less damage than St. Martin.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson will be visiting the British Virgin Islands and Anguilla to see the relief effort firsthand. On Monday, Johnson defended the governments response amid claims it was slow to help the British overseas territories, saying there had been an unprecedented effort to deal with the aftermath of the storm. At least five people died in the British territories.
Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders said he thinks the European Union should send relief funds to both the French and the Dutch sides of the island, despite their differing relationships with their former colonial powers.
We believe, in any case, that everybody should benefit from that money, he told reporters after a Cabinet meeting was called to discuss the fallout from Hurricane Irma.
Koenders said he also would appeal for help from the United Nations for the islands.
Nieves Martinez Burgaleta, 87, was found floating in the flooded streets outside her home in Havana.
Alberto Flores Garcia, 77, was crushed to death by a utility pole uprooted by hurricane winds.
Yolendis Castillo Martinez, 27, died when a balcony damaged by the storm collapsed onto the bus she was riding in.
Advertisement
Hurricane Irma killed at least 10 people during the 72 hours that it battered Cuba, damaging nearly every region of the island nation and leaving parts of Havanas picturesque historic district still underwater Monday, authorities said.
Its collision with Cuba and other Caribbean islands sapped some of its energy, possibly saving Florida from worse damage. By the time Irma made landfall on Marco Island, on the Florida peninsula, its winds had dropped from 185 mph to 130 mph. While still a massive storm it was about 400 miles wide Irma ended up causing less than the catastrophic damage that many had feared.
Cuba, however, was not so lucky.
The storm first hit there at 9 p.m. Friday, slamming the islands northern coast and becoming the first Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in Cuba in more than 80 years. Irma did not leave the country until Sunday afternoon.
Given the storms immense girth, few parts of the island were spared. Even Havana, hundreds of miles from where the hurricane first struck, suffered severe flooding and wind damage, with waves up to 30 feet lashing the seaside boardwalk known as the Malecon.
Parts of Havanas colorful historic district were still flooded with chest-high water Monday, according to the state newspaper Granma. It called the flooding perhaps the most severe to affect Havanas coastline and said low-lying parts of the city were under 5 feet of water. Videos showed kitchen appliances bobbing down streets that had become rivers and residents using mattresses as boats.
Cubans wade through a flooded street in Havana on Sept. 10, 2017. (Yamil Lage / AFP/Getty Images)
The hurricane also flooded coastal areas from Baracoa, a city near the islands eastern tip still recovering from last years Hurricane Matthew, to Matanzas in the west. Strong waves were still striking the northern coastline Monday, but were expected to subside, Cubas weather service said.
Despite washed-out roads and roofless homes, there was a sense that the storms destruction could have been much worse.
Government officials credited the early evacuation of about 1 million people with saving lives.
The country developed a sophisticated hurricane response system in the wake of Hurricane Flora, a 1963 storm that killed 1,750 people in Cuba. The system includes standing evacuation plans for every household and frequent drills. When a big storm like Irma approaches, people whose homes are at risk are evacuated to shelters, while others move in with friends or neighbors who live in safer structures.
The National Civil Defense Council said five people were killed when their homes collapsed: two brothers who died in Havana when a ceiling caved in and three men who failed to follow evacuation orders and died in their homes in the cities of Ciego de Avila, Camaguey and Matanzas.
Ramon Pardo Guerra, chief of the National Civil Defense Council, told the state newspaper that the damage to Cuban banana, rice and sugar cane farms was incalculable, though another official said that nearly 1,200 square miles of sugar cane fields were destroyed.
In a public address later published in Granma, Cuban President Raul Castro said the storm also severely damaged the nations electrical system as well as key tourist destinations, including Varadero, a beach resort popular with foreigners.
Castro said the government would work to make sure those areas were repaired before the busy winter season to protect the tourism industry, which has become an important part of the Communist islands economy.
These have been difficult days for our people, who in a few hours time have seen what was constructed with great effort hit by a devastating hurricane, Castro said.
This is not a time to mourn, Castro said, but to construct again that which the winds of Irma attempted to destroy.
Humans werent the only victims.
The news site Diario de Cuba reported that hundreds of flamingos died on Cayo Coco island.
Six dolphins fared better.
Typically housed in an aquarium on the island of Cayo Guillermo, the dolphins were airlifted by helicopter ahead of the hurricane to a salt-water pool in the south of the country and survived the storm.
Damage in Havana after Hurricane Irma. (Yamil Lage / AFP/Getty Images)
kate.linthicum@latimes.com
Twitter: @katelinthicum
Mexico on Monday withdrew its offer of aid to the United States to help victims of Hurricane Harvey, saying those resources are now needed at home as Mexico recovers from a separate hurricane and a devastating earthquake.
Last month, as Hurricane Harvey flooded Houston with days of record-breaking rains, Mexico issued a statement offering to send food, generators and medical aid to Texas as good neighbors should always do in trying times.
Mexico offered help even as President Trump was attacking the country on Twitter, calling Mexico one of the highest crime nations in the world and reiterating his claim that Mexico will pay for construction of a border wall between the two nations.
Advertisement
While Trump never responded to Mexicos offer, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said his state would accept the countrys aid.
In a statement released Monday, Mexicos Foreign Ministry said that aid is now being redirected to care for Mexican families and communities still reeling from the recent one-two punch of natural disasters that struck the nation.
At least 95 people died in Thursdays magnitude 8.1 earthquake, according to the Foreign Ministry, most of them in the southern Mexican states of Oaxaca and Chiapas. While aid has arrived in many of the hardest-hit regions, where thousands of homes were reduced to rubble, local media have reported that in some places, survivors are still waiting for help.
While authorities scrambled to dig victims from rubble and provide shelter to the homeless on Mexicos southwestern coast, a Category 1 hurricane struck Mexicos Gulf Coast on Saturday. At least two people were killed by Hurricane Katia, which was downgraded to a tropical storm shortly after making landfall, officials said.
Trump did not offer condolences to Mexico after either disaster, as is common when tragedies befall U.S. allies, even as multiple American mayors and governors offered their sympathies and help. Nor did Trump offer U.S. aid to Mexico.
Trumps silence as the earthquake death toll climbed was widely seen here as another sign of Trumps cool attitude toward Mexico.
While Mexico is a major U.S. trading partner and has for decades been a steadfast ally, Trump has blamed Mexico for sending drugs and criminals into the U.S. and for stealing American jobs. Negotiators from the U.S., Mexico and Canada are locked in a tense renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, the landmark trade deal Trump has threatened to scrap if he doest win major concessions from Mexico.
In its statement about rescinding aid on Monday, Mexicos Foreign Ministry made a special point to thank Abbott, who after the earthquake pledged to stand with Mexico and offer whatever aid and assistance we can to help them recover after this disaster.
The Foreign Ministry also expressed the Mexican governments full solidarity with the state of Florida in the face of the severe impact of Hurricane Irma.
Mexico will be aware of the development of this phenomenon in the following days, and hopes that soon the state of Florida as well as the state of Texas and the state of Louisiana will recover from the damages caused by the hurricanes that have impacted them, the statement said.
Several hours later, Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray received a phone call. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was on the line.
Tillerson offered his condolences for the loss of life and the devastation caused by the earthquake in Mexico and from Hurricane Katia, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said. He emphasized to Foreign Secretary Videgaray that the U.S. government stands ready to assist our neighbors in Mexico during this difficult time.
To read the article in Spanish, click here
kate.linthicum@latimes.com
Twitter: @katelinthicum
ALSO
Why didnt Hurricane Irma kill more Americans? Thank the meteorologists
Irma wasnt the total disaster that was feared. But in parts of Florida, you could see disaster from there
The incredible stories of the die-hards who looked Irma in the face and stayed
UPDATES:
8:37 p.m.: This article was updated with a statement from the U.S. Department of State
This article was originally published at 5:10 p.m.
All material is subject to strictly enforced copyright terms & conditions and cannot be repurposed or reproduced. 19882022 Latin American Financial Publications Inc.
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
Brannoxstown National School is likely to close unless five more pupils enroll by September 30.
Gerry ODonoghue, who was appointed school manager by the patron of the school (the Dublin Archdiocese) last Wednesday, outlined the current status at a public meeting at the Baptist meeting room last night.
We have to prepare ourselves for the possibility that if we dont have eight pupils or more in the school on September 30, the school will close, he said.
READ MORE: Brannoxtown NS on 'life support' with just two pupils
Because there are only three pupils enrolled at present, a board of management cannot be formed. Mr ODonoghue has been tasked with trying to save the school.
He explained how he sent out 40 letters to parents expressing an unreserved apology on the part of the school to parents for the distress caused to children and families by the whole situation.
He said he understood people were unhappy with the communication at the school, and had other issues with the school.
SEE ALSO: Department says it is not closing Brannoxtown National School
He asked parents to reconsider sending their children back to Brannoxtown National School. However, he pointed out his number one priority was the children and their happiness.
When three parents said their children were happy in their new school and didnt want to go back, Mr Donoghue said he understood this.
Once you are happy with your decision and I understand how hard that decision was to make, stick with it. I totally understand, he said.
However, he said his job was to try and keep the school open.
In the letter, he said he also thanked the parents and the community for all their input, fundraising and support over the years.
Dep Martin Heydon pointed out a number of public meetings were held over the previous months, and the community liaison committee had worked hard during the summer to try and get people to come back to Brannoxtown.
Changes were made to the board of management to give greater community representation. The aim was to get enrolment of 17 to keep two teachers.
We needed to get to the magic number of 17 and we failed to do that and it disintegrated, he said.
He said Brannoxtown was part of the educational balance in the area including Scoil Bhride and Halverstown and if it closed, it would put huge demand on places.
He said the other schools could not refuse pupils from Brannoxtown if places were available, that was the law.
In fact, he said the other schools had urged parents not to buy the uniforms for their schools in case Brannoxtown stayed open and they wanted to return.
READ MORE: Brannoxtown N.S. Board of Management encourages parents to support school
Chair of the meeting, Anthony Carter said there are 720 pupils in Scoil Bhride.
Mr ODonoghue said there were 90 applications for junior infants at Scoil Bhride next year and only 75 leaving sixth class.
The parish, the area needs this school badly and parents need choice, he said.
Some community members raised the option of restarting the school under a new patronage, but Mr Donoghue said it was a difficult and long legal process, but thats not to say it could not be done.
Robert Mehigan said if the school couldn't get 17 pupils in a month, it was unlikely to get to eight in nineteen days.
Mr Donoghue said the Department may allow the school to linger on for some time after September 30, but he wasnt sure that would be the case. Once it closed, he pointed out it would be very hard to get it reopened.
It was suggested a liaison committee be set up to engage in dialog with the Department, the Archdiocese and the principal.
Mr Donoghue said it was unlikely those parties would be agreeable to talks until after September 30, but he would ask.
He also suggested Dep Heydon might arrange a meeting with the Minister for Education.
The chair of the meeting said the community wanted the school to stay open.
Only four parents of former pupils of school going age were present. They asked what was going to be different if they returned their children to the school. Mr Donoghue said the management understood changes needed to be made and were willing to make them.
People said there was a breakdown in trust between the parents and the school and it would be hard to get that back.
I made a very difficult decision at the start. I am holding no guilt at that school closing. Its with a heavy heart, I have been at every meeting, said one parent.
A decision by Fingal County Council to move against a possible road through St Catherines Park in Leixlip has been welcomed by opponents of the group.
At their meeting on September 11, the Council voted to initiate a change of its plan to exclude the Barnhill to Leixlip link road that planners have suggested we need in order to move traffic north and south across the Liffey between Leixlip and Lucan.
The road would have passed through St. Catherine's Park and split the two communities, and effectively destroyed one of the best amenities this side of the capital, say protesters.
The Council has agreed to ask Fingals Chief Executive to initiate a variation of the Fingal Development Plan 2017-2023 to remove the N3-N4 Link Ongar to Barnhill and N3-N4 Barnhill to Leixlip Interchange.
The motion by Labour Cllr Mary McCamley also included an objective to recognize the significant importance of St. Catherine's Park as a recreational amenity for the Region and not use it for a road.
Val Colton from the Save St. Catherine's Park group, which attended the meeting, said: We are pleased, and we would like to thank all of the councillors who voted for this motion, and for the support we received, not least from Cllr. Mary McCamley herself, and also Cllr. Tania Doyle and her colleagues, and many others. Ms Colton said a rally by supporters in the summer was vital to the campaign but she said that the campaign is not over. Now that Kildare County Council and Fingal County Council have both expressed their wishes to protect the park, we want an unbreakable commitment from Transport Infrastructure Ireland that they won't try their hand here either. The Fingal part of the park is in the Taoiseach's constituency; now would be a good time to get a statement from Minister Varadkar to that effect.
This park is not just for Leixlip and Lucan residents. It's for everyone, and we need to protect these precious green spaces now more than ever."
Emmet Stagg, Kildare North Labour Representative, said the motion was passed unanimously with votes in favour, no votes against and no abstentions. It was a victory for people power, he said.
Mr Staff praised the campaign group. They mobilised people power to bring about the successful outcome of the motion, he said.
He added that the motion will preserve St. Catherine's Park, intact, for future generations, and he looked forward to the Chief Executive of Fingal County Councils now initiating the variation of the Fingal County Development Plan 2017-2023 to take into account the motion.
So, here, as promised are four dangerous ideas for the future. Please be clear. I am not necessarily proposing these. Just asking why we are not even discussing them?
Dangerous idea 1
We are guiltily obsessed with student fees. The fact that we dont need to be, because the principle is right, does not make life easier (how I wish we had called them a Graduate tax!). But now with the student loan debt rising, do we not also have to consider how we get better value for what students pay? If we have a tertiary education system which cannot be paid for without loading more and more debt on our young, should we not be looking at the system, not just at how they pay? We persist in the medieval practice of taking students to medieval ivy covered buildings, to receive their education in the medieval manner from minds, too many of which, when it comes to delivering education, are stuck in the middle ages. Yet distance learning was pioneered in Britain at the Open University when communicating with your tutor meant stuffing your academic paper in an envelope, licking it, sticking a stamp on it and putting it in the local post-box. Today the whole planet is into distance learning. Many of our own Universities make tons of money providing distance learning degree courses to students all over the world. But none of them are in Britain! If we were to convert at least part of our tertiary education syllabus to distance learning we might reduce the cost of degrees without diminishing their quality, give students more flexibility, force lecturers into the modern age, widen access and create a superb platform for adult education all at the same time. Why, beloved Lib Dems, do we allow medieval vested interests to preserve our ivy covered tertiary education system exactly as it is, loading more and more debt on students and preventing us from doing what much of the rest of the world is doing already? Just asking.
Dangerous idea 2
We have long understood that property owning rights are one of the foundation stones of democracy. Yet each of us, gives away our most intimate of property free and daily to the most powerful corporations, who make millions and millions from it.I am talking of course, about our personal data. Why do we Lib Dems not assert the citizens right to own their own data and to have control over how it is used? Why about proposing a law perhaps a European one which says to Messrs Amazon, Google, Starbucks etc, that they can use our personal data for their commercial purposes, but only with our permission and if they give us a share of the profits. Can you think of anything which would more alter the relationship between these masters of the commercial universe and the customers whose information they exploit for such enormous profit? Can you think of anything which would more empower the citizen in the market pace? Isnt that what we Lib Dems are supposed to be about? So?
Dangerous idea 3
The political parties or movements that are thriving at the moment (e.g. En Marche, Italys 5 star movement and Momentum to name a few) are those who have adopted an internet based model which enables mass younger membership, flat low cost management, modest entry fees, direct democracy, constant engagement, high participation and the opportunity to take part in politics as just one of the multi-transactional things we do in our busy lives. The older conventional political parties are stuck in the model of the1870s; vertical hierarchies, festoons of committees which claim democracy, but end up with management by those who can spare the time; low and ageing membership; high cost of entry; limited engagement; even less real participation and a dependency on political obsessives (like me). And they are dying. The number of people in political parties has dropped from 10.5% of the electorate 20 years ago, to 1.5% today. Should we be worried about this? Apparently not. I know this, because I sent a paper to our Party Board suggesting that we might take a look at these revolutionary new ideas being followed by those who are succeeding, where we are not. I did not suggest anything as radical as actually doing this. Just that we should look at it. I know it was discussed (and rejected with some muscularity) as I read about it, not always in the most admiring terms, in these and other pages where the Party, usually with delicious irreverence, exchanges its views. Fine. It probably was a dotty idea. But heres the thought. Imagine if this was one of our new members suggesting an idea for us to consider and they heard nothing more except rumours of its death, without even an acknowledgement, let alone an explanation or reply. Would they consider us, a Party open to new ideas? Or one defensively closed against them?
Dangerous idea 4
In Estonia and Lithuania they are thinking ambitiously about the application of blockchain and bitcoin to public services, and what these innovations can do to deliver greater efficiency, transparency and citizen power. Why arent we?
I have concluded that all this is so, not because we have really lost our intellectual curiosity, but because of the dead hand of Brexit. I admit second place to no-one when it comes to fighting for the best Brexit we can, and preferably no Brexit at all. I am proud of our Partys clear position on this defining issue. But is our obsession with Brexit in danger of distracting us from what kind of country we want Britain to be, whether in the EU or out of it? For me the heart of liberalism is our crusade for the empowered citizen, not the powerful state. This is a radical disruptive and insurgent idea. But where is it? When did you last at Conference or outside it hear us arguing that case, debating new ideas to make it happen or proselytising it before the court of public opinion?
Look, for instance at this weeks resolution on the Grenfell Tower tragedy. The answer to the abuse of tenants in places like at Grenfell, is to give them the power and support to manage themselves through tenants co-operatives. I thought this was our policy. So where is it?
Answers on a post card please preferably post marked Bournemouth and dated next week.
* Paddy Ashdown was the first Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1988-1999. He is now a Liberal Democrat of the House of Lords
Embed from Getty Images
At one level the answer (to the first question) is simple. As individuals, our ability to find a job, and succeed at work, depends on each of us having skills that are needed by an employer. As a society our economic well-being depends on a population that collectively has the skills that match current industry requirements. And our future prosperity depends on people using entrepreneurial skills to develop new industries and opportunities for employment.
So our complex education system encompassing school, further education, universities, adult education and workplace training should be designed to teach students and employees the skills society demands. One of Governments roles must therefore be to identify the broad range of skills that are needed, to commission courses in those skills and encourage students and employees to take them up.
So why do we still hear about the skills shortage in this country?
Well, at another level the answer is quite profound. Educators since Socrates have been asking what exactly is the function of education. Is it to teach people specific skills, to provide them with a broad understanding of culture, or to give them an intellectual toolkit so they can become fulfilled as people?
Many would argue that the emphasis in schools and universities should be to provide an understanding of fundamental principles coupled with intellectual curiosity, so that when students enter employment they are adaptable and able to learn new skills throughout their lives. The problem with that approach, in its purist form, is that it is not very responsive to the changing needs of society.
And where does Adult Education fit in to all of that?
OK, I will admit it. All that was just a preamble to encourage you to come along to a fringe meeting that your lovely hosts at LDV are putting on for you in Bournemouth. The topic is Adult Education and Training and how it can relieve the skills shortage.
But please note that it will be starting earlier than shown in the Conference Directory. It will run on Saturday from 7.45pm to 9pm in the Purbeck Suite in the Marriott Highcliff.
Maybe a list of our speakers will entice you. Vince Cable yes, we managed to book him before he became our new Leader, and we are delighted that he has been able to honour the commitment. Then Layla Moran our Education spokesperson. And Chris Fox, our spokesperson for Business and Industrial Strategy. They will be challenged by Joanna Cain from the rather different perspective of the Workers Education Association.
But perhaps all I need to tell you that there will be scones and jam and clotted cream.
* Mary Reid is a contributing editor on Lib Dem Voice. She was a councillor in Kingston upon Thames, where she is still very active with the local party, and is the Hon President of Kingston Lib Dems.
Something went wrong, please try again later.
Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later.
Lichfield 10K and fun run took place on Sunday attracting more than 1,350 runners who paced their way through the city and neighbouring Whittington for the 22nd annual event.
The weather was fine and there was a great atmosphere.
Race director, Cass Jackson, said: From the toddlers in the Fun Run to the oldest runner in the race of 82 years, we truly demonstrate that our event is open to all ages.
Main sponsor Ansons again entered a full team on the day. We thoroughly enjoy supporting this event and are now in our 7th year, said Ansons director Marie Tisdale.
In addition, the Lichfield Running club pacers were back again for their 2nd year in order to try to help some of the runners reach their personal time goals during the race.
There were also numerous teams out running for charity including Wincanton Screwfix running for St Giles Hospice and Staffordshire Search and Rescue.
10K Winner and first male, Jonathan Read of Birchfield Harriers crossed the line in 35.39.
Jonathan has just returned from Canada where he represented Great Britain in the duathlon. This was his first home race having moved to the Lichfield area two years ago.
The course is through some beautiful country lanes and is great run he said.
Kevin Loundes and Robert Dyjak came 2nd and 3rd respectively. The course record of 30.16 mins remains intact.
The first lady, Katie Allen, also of Birchfield Harriers, was close on the heels of the lead men, finishing at time of 36.51 just 40 seconds short of the womens course record. Nichola Jackson and Tamsyn Rutter came home 2nd and 3rd.
Winning male team was Lawley Running Club and Birchfield Harriers took the title for the ladies.
The Family Fun run attracted the highest numbers ever and it was fantastic to see so many families and newer runners taking on the challenge.
The overall winner and maintaining her title as first lady back was Ella Semple of Wolverhampton and Bilston AC.
The first male was back was James Walker.
The award presentation proved to be a particularly significant event this year as it marked the unveiling of the new Bob Houghton Shield, presented to the overall 10K winner.
Bob Houghton was a fully active member of LRC and was most notably known for his role as the co-founder and race director of the Lichfield 10K for 20 years; a position that he embraced with immense passion and drive.
His vision was for Lichfield Running Club to be able to put on a quality race that could enjoyed by all and through his determination, the 10K has been consistently awarded the prestigious gold BAAR standard the highest awarded in racing.
Under his stewardship, the participation of the 10K has risen from just 170 entries in its first year to more than 1,300 today.
Bob lost his brave battle against cancer in June this year. His wife Janet, who was asked to start the race in honour of Bob, was welcomed to a round of applause for her husband from all runners.
Bob was overwhelmed to learn that the club would present a trophy in his name. I am humbled today to see everyone out running and know that it would also make Bob very proud, she said.
Lichfield Running Club says it is grateful for the support received from all the helpers and sponsors including; Staffordshire County Council, Angel Springs, Running Form, Go Ape Cannock, Lichfield Lions, Poms Deli and Lichfield and Hatherton Canal Trust.
For anyone inspired to try running, Lichfield Running Club is open to members of all abilities. A beginners course will start in the new year the club website, www.lichfield-running-club.co.uk contains more information about joining and weekly training sessions.
We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.
Shannon is the State Department's third-ranking official and met earlier this year with Ryabkov to discuss numerous obstacles in the bilateral relationship.
Shannon arrived in Finland earlier Monday for the talks aimed at calming tensions, between Washington and Moscow, which have been mounting for months.
"We called for a stop to the destruction of Russia-U.S. relations and... to start finding solutions to resolve problems that are mounting through no fault of ours," said a Russian Foreign Ministry statement after Ryabkov met with U.S. Undersecretary of State Thomas Shannon in Helsinki, Finland.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has urged the United States to start finding a way to resolve the problems between the two countries.
Mounting Tensions
Tensions between the Untied States and Russia have been especially high since allegations emerged that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
The U.S. Congress passed sanctions against Moscow in July for its alleged meddling and U.S. President Donald Trump, unwilling to risk having lawmakers override a veto, signed the legislation, but blamed Congress for creating new tensions with Moscow.
Trump, who has sought closer relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, described the legislation as "significantly flawed," with "clearly unconstitutional provisions" that limited his right to conduct foreign affairs as he sees fit.
Putin retaliated to the new law by closing a U.S. recreational site and a warehouse and ordering the United States to cut 755 diplomats and staff workers, many of them Russians, from its embassy and consulates in Russia.
Trump has been largely dismissive of numerous investigations in Washington into the Russian meddling and accusations that his aides colluded with Moscow, calling them a "witch hunt" and an excuse by Democrats to explain his upset win over his Democratic challenger, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Numerous congressional investigations are under way, as is a criminal probe being conducted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, a former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Tragic Relationship
Michael McFaul, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Russia from 2012-2014, told VOA's Russian service that the current state of the U.S.-Russia relationship is a "tragedy."
"It (the U.S.-Russia relationship) is in a bad place. I think you have to go deep into the Cold War to have a comparable time, when things were so confrontational. I personally think it is tragic."
He laid much of the blame for the poor relationship with Putin. "I don't think it was inevitable, it didn't have to go this way, but I also think it is largely in response to policies that president Putin did. It takes two to tango to make a good relationship work."
McFaul cited Putin's efforts to annex Crimea and his support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as actions that have put him at odds with the United States and said, "Until he adjusts his policy, we will be in a rather difficult bilateral relationship."
"Right now, at least in the last couple of years, he (Putin) has done some very dramatic things that have been against the rules of the international system -- things like annexation, things like intervention in Syria," he said.
McFaul described the new Russian ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, whom he knows personally, as a tough negotiator. McFaul expressed hope that beyond having friendly and warm communication with President Trump, the new Russian ambassador will also reach out to members of the U.S. Congress, the media and the U.S. civil society.
McFaul stressed that despite tensions between the United States and Russia, the two countries need to collaborate on an array of issues, including North Korea's nuclear ambitions.
The UN Security Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a set of new but watered-down sanctions against North Korea in response to the country's nuclear test earlier this month.
They include a ban on the rogue country's textile exports and a cap on how much crude oil it can import rather than the full ban the U.S. and South Korea had been seeking.
The revised resolution has followed tense negotiations with China and Russia, who have a veto and opposed a full oil embargo and the blacklisting of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, his sister Kim Yo-jong and flag carrier Air Koryo.
Selfie photos taken by a monkey in Indonesia six years ago belong to the photographer who left his camera unattended in a wildlife reserve, and who later processed and published the pictures.
But a share of any proceeds the photographer makes from the photos will go toward saving the monkey and its fellow endangered creatures. Those are the terms of a settlement, announced Monday, in a San Francisco lawsuit by the nonprofit People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which sought to establish the right of a thinking nonhuman to hold rights to its own creative work.
British photographer David Slater was visiting the Tangkoko Reserve in Sulawesi, Indonesia, in 2011 when he put down his camera and walked away. When he looked back, a crested black macaque monkey was examining the camera, looking at its reflection in the lens, and, as Slater described it, making funny faces before snapping the shutter.
Now Playing: A teenager wanted to take a selfie with a monkey, but the monkey wasn't having it. Keri Lumm (@thekerilumm) shares the hilarious pictures. Video: Brandpoint
The photos became a hit on social media, even as Slater published them in a 2014 book, Wildlife Personalities. He and PETA disagreed on some of the basic facts the animal-rights group said the monkey was a 6-year-old male, which it named Naruto, while Slater said the animal was a female of a different age and on the crucial legal question of whether monkeys can own copyrights.
A federal judge in San Francisco, where the book was published, ruled in January 2016 that animals could own copyrights if federal law allowed it, but the U.S. Copyright Act, as written, applies only to humans. A federal appeals court heard PETAs appeal in July expressing doubt, according to published reports, that the group could legally represent Naruto but hadnt ruled yet when the case was settled.
Under the terms, Slater will keep the rights but will donate 25 percent of any future revenue from the selfies to charities that will promote the habitat and well-being of crested macaques in Indonesia. The macaques are classified as critically endangered, with 106,000 existing in the wild after years of habitat loss and being hunted for bush meat, according to the National Primate Research Center at the University of Wisconsin.
Slater and PETA issued a joint statement in which the photographer apparently accepted the groups description of the now-renowned monkey.
As we learn more about Naruto, his community of macaques, and all other animals, they said, we must recognize appropriate fundamental legal rights for them as our fellow global occupants and members of their own nations who want only to live their lives and be with their families.
Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko
Nearly 12 million Texans could be impacted by the Equifax Inc. data breach, the company reported to the Texas Attorney Generals Office.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday issued a consumer alert about the breach.
Equifax disclosed last week that cybercriminals stole data on as many as 143 million Americans, including sensitive information such as Social Security numbers and birth dates.
Since then, Equifax has been scrambling to contain the fallout.
My office has been in contact with Equifax and is working to get to the bottom of how this massive data breach occurred, and how we can protect the 12 million Texans it reported who are at potential risk of identity theft, Paxton said in a statement.
The Texas population is around 27.8 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and Equifax says that about 11,975,247 Texas residents are potentially impacted, according to a letter the consumer protection division received, which was obtained by the Express-News.
We will do whats necessary to hold Equifax accountable, Paxton said. In the meantime, I encourage Texans to educate themselves about how to best protect their personal information and to file a complaint with my office if they have any concerns about this breach.
Equifax said it discovered July 29 that criminals had obtained unauthorized access to Equifax data on as many as 143 million Americans from mid-May through July, adding that it acted immediately to stop the intrusion.
The information accessed primarily includes names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some instances, drivers license numbers, Equifax said.
Criminals also got away with credit card numbers of about 209,000 consumers, and certain dispute documents with personal identifying information for approximately 182,000 U.S. consumers, were accessed, the company said.
Equifax has set up a site for information around the breach at www.equifaxsecurity2017.com.
The consumer protection division of the Attorney Generals Office offered a few tips to Texans, including checking your credit report; considering a freeze on your files, or if not, a fraud alert; and reviewing bank and credit card account statements.
In the alert, the division also cautioned to be wary of email or telephone scams related to the breach.
Dont give out personal information to those who contact you asking for information to verify accounts, and be wary of clicking on links or downloading attachments in email messages, the division said. Legitimate businesses do not ask consumers to verify account information via cold calls or emails. If in doubt, contact the bank or business directly at a phone number or website known to you.
The division also said to consider filing early during tax season, and look out for any correspondence from the IRS.
This will lessen the chance of someone fraudulently filing on your behalf, the division said. This is especially important if youve confirmed youre a victim of identity theft.
sehlinger@express-news.net
Twitter: @samehlinger
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued three businesses Tuesday for allegedly overcharging customers for fuel and hotel rooms in the wake of the Harvey storm system.
So far, the agency has received 3,321 complaints of price gouging stemming from Harvey, which made landfall near Rockport on Aug. 25 and plowed up the Texas Gulf Coast, creating havoc. The storm killed dozens, left thousands homeless and dropped epic rainfall in Houston and southeast Texas.
As Texas residents scrambled, Paxtons office said some businesses tried to profit. In one instance, customers paid as much as $9.99 for a gallon of gasoline, a lawsuit alleges.
Each business faces a maximum potential civil fine of $250,000 if courts in Dallas, Nueces and La Salle counties side with Paxton.
Now Playing: Hurricane Harvey made landfall on Aug. 25. Now, gas prices have spiked in states like Georgia and North Carolina, while drivers in Texas are forced to wait in long lines just to fill up their tanks. U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry discussed the crisis on Thursday and warned against gouging gas prices. Video: Mic
Under state law, businesses can pay up to $20,000 if a court finds the businesses engaged in price gouging but the fine jumps to $250,000 if price gouging victims are 65 years old or older, the attorney generals office said in a news release Tuesday.
Its unconscionable that any business would take advantage of Texans at their most vulnerable those who are displaced from their homes, have limited resources, and are in desperate need of fuel, shelter and the basic necessities of life, Paxton said in a statement Tuesday. Texas has tough price gouging laws, and my office will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute cases arising from Hurricane Harvey.
Paxton has accused Robstown Enterprises Inc., which operates Best Western Plus Tropic Inn in Robstown, of charging customers three times its typical room rate the weekend of Aug. 25 when the Harvey storm system hit Texas.
Tropic Inn charged hotel guests $289.99 per night on Aug. 26, more than twice the average room rate of $108.14 charged by the hotel during the two previous weekends, according to a lawsuit filed in Nueces County district court.
A Tropic Inn employee told a guest that the $289.99 rate was not the normal price for the room while another employee said the price was inflated because of the weather, according to the lawsuit.
The hotel also continued to collect state and local hotel occupancy taxes from room guests despite Gov. Greg Abbotts suspension of those taxes as Harvey approached, the lawsuit said.
A representative for Tropic Inn and Robstown Enterprises did not immediately return a call requesting comment.
Best Western has terminated its relationship with Robstown Enterprises, Best Western spokeswoman Courtney McCurry said in an email.
We were deeply offended and saddened by the actions of this hotel, McCurry said. As a result, we severed the relationship with the hotel. This hotels actions are contrary to the values of Best Western. We did not and do not tolerate this type of egregious and unethical behavior.
Paxton also accused two gas stations of price gouging.
Encinal Fuel Shop, a Chevron-branded gas station in La Salle County north of Laredo, allegedly charging customers between $8.99 and $9.99 for a gallon of unleaded gasoline on Aug. 31, according to the attorney general,.
One customer who filled up their vehicle at the station paid $149 for 14.9 gallons of unleaded regular fuel, according to a lawsuit filed in La Salle County district court.
The attorney generals office also sued Bains Brothers, which owns Texaco-branded fuel stations in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, for allegedly charging $6.99 for a gallon of unleaded gasoline on Aug. 31.
While refueling her vehicle at a Bains Brothers convenience store, one customer found that 12 gallons cost her $85, according to a lawsuit filed in Dallas County district court. When she tried to contest the price, a store employee told her, It is what it is.
Representatives for Bains Brothers and Encinal Fuel Shop did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Chevron Corp., of which Texaco Inc. is a subsidiary, does not condone unlawful price gouging, which goes directly against our values as a company, Brian Coomes, Chevrons district sales manager, said in a statement.
We are working with the Attorney Generals office to investigate these complaints, Coomes said. Our branded fuel supply agreements require that independent station owners comply with all laws. Chevron will take action up to and including brand termination against station owners who are found to have broken the law. Chevron will continue to cooperate with state authorities in their efforts to prevent price gouging.
As San Franciscos queer community mourned the death of activist, artist and DJ Anthony Torres, who was best known by his gender-nonconforming alter ego, Bubbles, investigators said Monday that they do not believe his killing was hate-related.
Torres, a 44-year-old gay man who wore womens clothing and makeup, was shot early Saturday in the Tenderloin neighborhood, where he lived, according to his attorney and friends. Authorities have not officially identified the victim of the shooting, but police said evidence gathered does not point to the victims identity, gender or sexual orientation being a motive.
The preliminary information does not indicate a hate crime, said Officer Robert Rueca, a police spokesman.
Now Playing: Anthony Torres, also known as 'Bubbles,' was featured in the San Francisco Chronicle's 'City Exposed' column. Video: Mike Kepka / The Chronicle
Rueca declined to release further information, citing the sensitivity of the ongoing investigation. But witnesses told Torres friends that the male suspect had come out of New Century Theater, a strip club on the 800 block of Larkin Street, before chasing Torres and shooting him just before 3 a.m. at the corner of Larkin and Myrtle streets.
Hours before his death, Torres posted on Facebook that he wanted to go to strip clubs to promote a swimsuit he had designed. However, Jim Reilly, his friend and attorney, said Torres had not gone inside New Century that night.
A fixture in the Bay Area club scene who regularly performed as a DJ at house parties, civil rights marches and other events, Torres created the persona Bubbles more than two decades ago, shortly after moving to San Francisco from Phoenix. He lived near where he died, Reilly said, and would often set up a portable DJ booth and pass out snow cones on Larkin Street.
Bubbles signature style included over-the-top blond wigs, heavy makeup and slinky dresses as well as proudly displayed chest and facial hair. Reilly said Torres unapologetic pride in his identity made him a target for hate. Last year, Torres posted audio online of a San Francisco bartender refusing to serve him, allegedly because of how he looked.
Reilly said Monday that he had no doubt Torres was killed because of his identity, despite statements by police. Hate crimes are notoriously underreported and difficult to prove in court, as authorities must be able to demonstrate a suspects intent.
When transgender activist Mia Satya was attacked in San Franciscos Mission District in 2011, a judge initially dismissed hate crime allegations, even though Satya said she felt the intent was clear. Two men had referred to her with a slur and told her they hated men in dresses as they assaulted her. Prosecutors refiled the hate crime charges and negotiated a plea deal in which the men admitted to attacking Satya because she was transgender.
Satya said while hate is not always explicit, almost all transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals have felt threatened at times because of their increased visibility.
If you feel more comfortable in the middle having a beard, makeup and long hair like Bubbles did that very notion challenges a lot of peoples views on gender and will make you, unfortunately even in San Francisco, more subject to violence, she said. When I was younger, I would go to protests and meetings with a little mustache drawn on with makeup and a wig and lipstick, and I could just feel it. Even just walking down the sidewalk, I could feel the tension in the air.
Torres friends said they hoped police would make an arrest soon, and would hold the suspect accountable if he was driven by hate.
Torres was so clearly identifiable, Reilly said. He was so creatively and flamboyantly himself. I think the level of rage that occurred and what went down leaves no other conclusion to be drawn in my mind.
Vivian Ho is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: vho@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @VivianHo
Torrential downpours drenched the southern port city of Busan on Monday with the heaviest rainfall in the morning hours causing flooding and submerging vehicles in low-lying roads.
The Busan Metropolitan Office of Education ordered 1,047 elementary, junior and senior high schools in the city to close for the day. Many parents who were taking their children to school in the morning had to turn back either due to inundated roads or school closures.
A part of the ceiling on the first floor of Gimhae International Airport collapsed from the rain and inundated the concourse. Around dozen flights were suspended due to heavy rain and high winds.
Forest Dark
By Nicole Krauss
Harper. 304 pp. $27.99
---
Nicole Krauss has serious doubts about the legitimacy of storytelling. This may seem like a surprising crisis for the celebrated author of such novels as "Man Walks Into a Room" and "The History of Love." But there she is in the early pages of her new novel, "Forest Dark," confessing her skepticism about the whole enterprise: "The more I wrote," she says, "the more suspect the good sense and studied beauty achieved by the mechanisms of narrative seemed to me."
It's like a master chef announcing during the first course that she has no faith in cooking. (BEGIN ITAL)Bon appetit!(END ITAL)
You may be tempted to take this confession as false modesty, but beware. "Forest Dark" is, in fact, a novel that resists our presumptions of what a novel should do. Krauss' chapters reflect her concern that "the cost of administering a form to what was essentially formless was akin to the cost of breaking the spirit of an animal."
No animals were harmed in the making of this novel.
A hybrid work of fiction, memoir and literary criticism, "Forest Dark" alternates between two distinct stories about two Americans who travel to Tel Aviv searching for something they cannot articulate. In the first storyline, a New York lawyer named Epstein is in the final stages of giving away his fortune. "Something had changed in him," Krauss writes. At 68, he's newly divorced and grieving the death of his parents. "He began to bestow with the same ferocity with which he had once acquired." His children are worried; his associates are concerned. "He felt an irresistible longing for lightness - it was a quality, he realized only now, that had been alien to him all his life."
Krauss describes Epstein's trip to Israel as a spiritual journey without a map. Not particularly religious, he doesn't know what he's looking for, but "his world was making him weary," a feeling effectively re-created by this novel. Epstein visits a rabbi who assures him that "the finite remembers the infinite." He donates $2 million to plant a forest in the desert. He funds a movie about the life of King David. And as we learned in the book's opening, he vanishes in "a final act that was utterly ambiguous."
Speaking of "utterly ambiguous," consider the other introspective story woven through the tale of Epstein's disappearance. These alternating chapters are narrated by a critically acclaimed American novelist named Nicole. Although she's only 37, she's suffering a profound crisis, something like Epstein's, a mixture of writer's block, insomnia and restlessness. After experiencing a strange sensation of deja vu, she finds herself drawn to the "mystical aura" of the Tel Aviv Hilton, where we hope - in vain - that some kind of actual story may finally begin.
Those who enter this dark forest are fated to wander through a thicket of esoteric reflections on Jewish mysticism, Israel and creation. Krauss can sometimes sound like a modern-day Ralph Waldo Emerson, so long as you don't push too hard on her orphic pronouncements: "Nature creates form but it also destroys it, and it's the balance between the two that suffuses nature with such peace." Indeed, much of this material feels more essayistic than novelistic, except that an essay is meant to deliver us to greater understanding of something besides the author's pathos.
Eventually, a subplot involving Franz Kafka scurries into the story and offers a bit of cerebral intrigue - along with Krauss' illuminating commentary on Kafka's life and work. But that still leaves a lot of room for Nicole to moan about imposing form on the formlessness of narrative. Such writerly consternation may send students at the Iowa Writers' Workshop into fits of ecstasy, but most readers will be more moved by Nicole's reflections on the loss of love, on that indeterminate moment when romance evaporates.
"My husband and I had drifted apart," she writes. "We had lost faith in our marriage. And yet we didn't know how to act on this understanding, as one does not know how to act on the understanding, for example, that the afterlife does not exist." Though devoted to their two young children, Nicole and her husband find they no longer have anything else in common. "To my husband, the world was always what it appeared to be," she writes, "and to me the world was never what it appeared to be."
Some readers may wonder whether there's a connection between this narrator and the critically acclaimed novelist Nicole Krauss, who also has two sons and is separated from her husband, Jonathan Safran Foer. Nothing in these pages discourages the assumption that Krauss is revealing her own laments about the failure of their marriage, which makes "Forest Dark" feel uncomfortably passive aggressive: an act of relationship revenge with deniability built into its fictive frame.
"In the years that followed, he behaved in ways that continually shocked me despite their near constancy," Nicole writes of her brainy husband. "We walked away from our marriage side by side, and though afterward both of our sufferings were great, I do believe I could have gone on feeling very much for him all my life, this man with whom I had borne our children, who had poured his love into them, had he not become someone I could no longer recognize."
For his part, Foer's recent novel, "Here I Am," also describes a troubled, ultimately doomed marriage. And last year in a New York Times fashion spread, Foer published his weird email exchanges with Natalie Portman, who was pictured lounging in a bikini - an act that would surely prick any estranged spouse. "It's almost 6:00 in the morning," he wrote. "The boys are still asleep. I can hear the guinea pigs stirring, but that might be the residue of a nightmare."
This is the way our brilliant young writers break up nowadays. Far better than stabbing with a penknife, but still uncomfortable to watch.
Guinea pigs get a passing reference in "Forest Dark," and true to the novel's infatuation with Kafka, the residue of a nightmare sticks to these pages, too. The metamorphosis that Krauss depicts may be more life-affirming than the one immortalized by the genius from Prague, but too little light gets in between these trees.
A Column of Fire
By Ken Follett
Viking. 916 pp. $36
---
When Ken Follett's "The Pillars of the Earth" was first published in 1989, it represented a considerable gamble. By that point, Follett had acquired a passionate following through such lean, propulsive thrillers as "Eye of the Needle" and "The Key to Rebecca." Suddenly, he was offering his readers something new and unexpected: a thousand-page epic set in 12th-century England about the building of a cathedral in the fictional town of Kingsbridge. That gamble, of course, paid off handsomely. "Pillars" has since become Follett's most popular book, selling tens of millions of copies and establishing him as a master of the historical epic.
In recent years, Follett has turned his historical imagination in a different direction with the Century Trilogy, a series of doorstops that collectively reflect the wars, political movements and assorted catastrophes of the 20th century. But Kingsbridge remains a significant element in his fictional universe. "World Without End," a hugely successful follow-up to "Pillars," appeared in 2007. Now, more than 25 years after the series began, Follett turns once again to Kingsbridge in "A Column of Fire."
The Kingsbridge novels are essentially independent narratives that share a common historical background. "A Column of Fire," however, stands slightly apart from the others. First, it moves beyond the Middle Ages into the very different world of Elizabethan England. Second, it ranges well beyond Kingsbridge into the wider world of a divided Europe, propelling a large cast of characters through England, Scotland, France, Spain and the Netherlands. While the first two volumes dealt with ambitious building projects - the cathedral in "Pillars of the Earth," a bridge and hospital in "World Without End" - the new book proceeds from a more abstract premise: the radical notion of religious tolerance.
The narrative begins in 1558, late in the reign of Bloody Mary, the ferocious Catholic queen who burned hundreds of heretics (i.e. Protestants) at the stake. Upon Mary's premature death, her Protestant half sister Elizabeth assumed the throne, promising a more tolerant attitude toward religious differences. But her reforms suffered a near-fatal blow when Pope Pius V excommunicated Elizabeth and all who supported her, deepening the existing schism throughout most of Europe.
This is the world through which Follett's characters must make their way. Two families, the Willards and the Fitzgeralds, dominate the novel. Ned Willard is the oldest son of a prosperous Kingsbridge family that loses everything in the religious conflicts of the day. Ned, a moderate Protestant, also loses any hope of marrying Margery, daughter of the devoutly Catholic Fitzgeralds. Ned will eventually enter the service of the queen's spymaster, Sir Francis Walsingham, and Margery will make a bad but dutiful marriage to an appropriately Catholic nobleman. Other characters include Sylvie Palot, a Parisian Protestant and a clandestine seller of forbidden books; Pierre Aumande, an ambitious climber willing to commit any atrocity to appease his Catholic masters; and Margery's brother Rollo, who will devote his life to the destruction of the Protestant faith. These and others will find their lives shaped and sometimes warped by the unnatural pressures of an endless religious war.
Follett moves these characters briskly along through 50 eventful years encompassing births, deaths, marriages, murders and assorted betrayals. But the real spine of the narrative is the deeply researched historical backdrop against which these private dramas play out. History has provided Follett with some spectacular dramatic moments, and he takes full advantage, recreating them with a historian's eye for detail and a novelist's gift for narrative suspense. Among the more dramatic interludes are the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre of 1572, in which Parisian Catholics murdered thousands of Huguenots (French Protestants); the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, an act that sent shock waves throughout Europe; and the miraculous defeat of the Spanish Armada by a much smaller force led by Sir Francis Drake.
The final section recounts what is perhaps the most famous act of sedition in English history: The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in which Guy Fawkes and his Catholic co-conspirators planned to blow up Parliament and assassinate Elizabeth's recently crowned successor, James I. In a compelling account of the discovery and eventual disruption of that plot, the thriller writer and historical novelist come seamlessly together.
Like its predecessors in the Kingsbridge series, "A Column of Fire" is absorbing, painlessly educational and a great deal of fun. Follett uses the tools of popular fiction to great effect in these books, illuminating a nation's gradual progress toward modernity. The central theme of this latest book - the ongoing conflict between tolerance and fanaticism - lends both relevance and resonance to the slowly unfolding story of England's past. In Follett's hands, that story takes on a narrative life that is difficult, if not impossible, to resist. I only hope it continues. There are many more stories to be told.
---
Sheehan is the author of "At the Foot of the Story Tree: An Inquiry Into the Fiction of Peter Straub."
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
George Straits all-star Hand In Hand: Texas concert Tuesday night to help people devastated by Hurricane Harvey joined the annals of benefit shows going back to George Harrisons Concert for Bangladesh.
Strait and friends raised more than $20 million, including $5 million from concert ticket proceeds and a match from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, concert promoter Louis Messina said. The hourlong telethon tied to the concert, Hand in Hand: A Benefit for Hurricane Harvey Relief, raised $14.5 million. Donations were being accepted online throughout the night.
The list of causes that musicians have come together for include helping victims of famine, drought, terror attacks and storms, with events such as Live Aid, Farm Aid, the Concert for New York City and the Concert for Sandy Relief.
RELATED: Stars put a spectacular S.A. signature on hurricane relief
Once again, it was musicians leading the way Strait, Miranda Lambert, Lyle Lovett, Robert Earl Keen, Chris Stapleton and the Ace in the Hole Band to bring in the bucks for a cause.
Now Playing: Country superstar George Strait will headline a blockbuster concert at the Majestic Theatre to benefit Harvey victims. (Video: Cavender Auto Family) Video: San Antonio Express-News
Lovett and Keen opened the show at the Majestic with just their acoustic guitars.
The pair played the yodel classic T for Texas and This Old Porch. As Keen struggled to tune up, Lovett quipped, The TV show will start pretty soon.
Then Strait took the stage to deafening screams at 7:41 p.m. to sing the rollicking Here For a Good Time, which includes the lyric, Theres no way of knowing what tomorrow brings.
King George was having a good time. I see a lot of my buds out here tonight, he said.
He then called for all the gang to join him onstage. Lambert showed off her black leather vest, decorated with silver fringe and the words Texas Strong on the back.
Were just waiting on the word from L.A., Strait said as the musician waited for a cue. Hollywood suddenly arrived with the appearance of actor Matthew McConaughey. He urged the crowd to scream for the TV audience that was just tuning in.
Thank you to the rest of America for watching, McConaughey said, addressing the TV audience.
RELATED: Here's where you might be able to spot country music stars around S.A.
Strait spoke from the heart during the concert about his beloved coastal stomping grounds.
Weve got a lot of hurt people in Rockport, Port A, Aransas Pass, he said, urging people to donate.
The all-star S.A. cast provided the finale to the Hand in Hand broadcast, singing Straits rowdy Texas and the inspirational I Believe. The rest of the Majestic show, which ran about two hours, streamed on Facebook Live.
During the concert, which Messina Touring Group put together in 10 days, Strait performed Amarillo by Morning with Keen; he sang the barreling Unwound with Lovett; When Did You Stop Loving Me with Stapleton; and How Bout Them Cowgirls with Lambert.
Aaron Gillies and his wife, Kortney, sat just 11 rows back from the stage thanks to four-figure tickets that had been donated to the Army division at Fort Hood, where hes a captain.
Were very privileged to be here, said Aaron Gillies, 34, who deploys to South Korea in two weeks.
RELATED: Stars descend on S.A. theater hours before charity show
He was in Houston a couple of days after Harvey made landfall, helping to deliver water and food with other church volunteers from the Fort Hood area.
We went where and when we could, he said, including helping to rescue a single mother and child from the second story of their flooded home.
Its pretty humbling to see the devastation. It was just people helping out where they could.
Tuesday marked the first time the couple ever saw Strait in concert.
Orlando Cadena, a 6-foot-4 cowboy from Benbolt near Alice, was impossible to miss in his sharply blocked black cowboy hat, western shirt, Wranglers and boots.
The 43-year-old former firefighter and law enforcement officer came to the Majestic with his daughter, Noreen.
Im here to support the victims, said Cadena, who has surveyed the damage in Rockport. The pictures dont do it justice. Itll never be the same.
Businessman Ronnie Urbanczyk, a concrete contractor from Spring Branch, sat dead center on the front row with his wife.
He donated $10,000 to the benefit on top of sending some 20 power generators to the stricken Coastal Bend. He and his wife just saw Strait last week in Las Vegas.
Any time Texans can help Texans out, you do it,Urbanczyk said.
The national Hand in Hand event will benefit the United Way of Greater Houston, Habitat for Humanity, Save the Children, Direct Relief, Feeding Texas, the Mayors Fund for Hurricane Relief and Michael and Susan Dells Rebuild Texas Fund.
The Dells foundation will match dollar-for-dollar up to another $8.25 million any donations made at rebuildtx.org.
Gov. Greg Abbott said there was no doubt that the United States and Texas had shown the world how to respond to disaster, giving shout-outs to first responders and the Cajun Navy to screams of approval
We shall rebuild Texas, Abbott said.
hsaldana@express-news.net
While the recent dream job listing involving the Federal Emergency Management Agency was a hoax, FEMA is looking to hire people in the near future.
The agency will pay about $14 to $34 per hour, depending on the position. They are searching for medical personnel, civil engineers, graphics specialists, nurses and crisis counselors, among other roles.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
With recovery efforts following Hurricane Harvey underway, the San Antonio Food Bank is busy supporting its sister food banks in the region.
The local organization already has shipped a half million pounds of food to Corpus Christi, Houston, Victoria, Beaumont, Galveston and elsewhere, said president and CEO Eric Cooper. It also supplied 30,000 meals to evacuees who came here to escape the storm.
Weve got trucks rolling east every day taking food to people who need help in the affected areas, Cooper said. Its humbling to see the generosity of the people of South Texas as they help their fellow Texans.
It was against a background of these efforts that the12th annual Canstruction design and build competition took place last weekend to raise awareness of the hunger crisis worldwide. The event is part of the food banks S.A Goes Orange for Hunger campaign.
Under the auspices of the Society for Design Administration, the competition challenged 10 local design and construction firms to build whimsical, yet structurally sound, sculptures using about 30,000 cans of food. The structures will be on display in North Star Mall until Sept. 23, after which the food will be donated to the food bank.
To spur their competitive spirit, teams competed in a number of award categories, including Best Meal, Best Use of Labels, Structural Ingenuity, Best Original Design, Most Cans and Best Use of Orange
Over the past 12 years, Canstruction has donated more than 472,095 pounds of food; in 2014, San Antonio ranked third out of 150 cities around the world when the event donated 97,000 pounds of food, the equivalent of 81,308 meals.
To see the structures and category winners, check out the slideshow above.
rmarini@express-news.net
Twitter @RichardMarini
Hollywood star Jennifer Lawrence will visit Korea to attend the annual Busan International Film Festival in October.
Her latest film, the mystery horror "Mother!," has been invited to the festival's Gala Presentation section. Its director Darren Aronofsky will also be present.
It will be the second visit for Lawrence, who was in Seoul in December last year to promote her film "Passengers."
Aronofsky was nominated for a best director Oscar for his 2010 film "Black Swan."
"Mother!," which premiered at this year's Venice Film Festival, will hit theaters here on Oct. 19.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
LISD Superintendent Sylvia Rios is earning less than the average salary paid to her counterparts and receiving fewer perks compared to her predecessor, but the school chief said she believes her contract is fair for a first-time superintendent.
Rios, who received a three-year contract, earns a base salary of $200,000 per year, according to her finalized contract. Only two of 25 Texas superintendents of districts with student populations ranging from 19,000 to 31,000 earned less than $200,000 in 2016-17, according to results from a superintendent salary survey conducted by the Texas Association of School Boards.
Click through the gallery above to see how the LISD superintendent's salary stacks up against other districts of similar sizes around Texas.
The survey results show that Rios' salary is lower than the average earned by superintendents at similar-sized districts.
According to the survey, superintendents of districts with 10,000 to 24,999 students had an average salary of $221,937. The average salary for superintendents at districts with 25,000 to 49,999 students was $272,814. Roberto Santos, superintendent of United ISD, which enrolled about 44,000 students, earned about $263,000, according to the survey.
READ MORE: 'Home is where the heart is': Sylvia Rios introduced as new LISD superintendent
LISD enrolls about 25,000 students. However, the size of the student population doesn't always play a factor.
The superintendent of Harlingen CISD, which has 18,700 students, earned a salary of $277,866, the salary report states. The Edcouch-Elsa ISD superintendent received the same salary as Rios but served a much smaller district of about 5,320 students, while the McAllen ISD superintendent earned $178,606. McAllen ISD has about 23,800 students.
Hector Garcia, LISD school board president, said Rios' annual pay was based on a salary range and her qualifications.
Former LISD superintendent A. Marcus Nelson had a starting salary of $185,000 when he was hired in 2009. It was his first superintendent job. By January 2017, Nelson was earning an annual salary of $221,889.
Perks
Most superintendents statewide are provided monthly stipends for car and phone expenses, health insurance and paid membership duties. The school board decides on the contract's terms and what will be offered to candidates, who may then negotiate.
Rios will receive a $600 monthly auto allowance, as did Nelson. However, Nelson received a slew of other perks during his tenure. In addition to his monthly cellphone and auto allowances, the district paid for his home Internet service as well. The district also provided him with a $500,000 life insurance policy.
Starting in 2012, Nelson's annual $3,000 cellphone allowance and $1,500 life insurance payment was consolidated into a $4,500 tax-free annuity payment. According to his previous employment contract, his tax-deferred annuity totaled $20,000.
RELATED: LISD unanimously appoints new superintendent
In comparison to the extent of benefits Nelson received, Rios said she agrees with the provisions of her contract.
"At this time it is fair," Rios said. "What I do have that I'm very proud of is (the board's) support. They have been very generous in extending their support to me."
And for Rios, this support is the most important thing she has been given in her role as superintendent.
"I think that our teamwork is what's really, really important in continuing to move forward as a district," Rios said. "We share the responsibility of increasing positive outcomes for our students, and our work together as well as with the community and our staff is very important in achieving that goal."
LMTonline web producer Jordan Ray contributed to this report.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
The District Attorney's Office announced Monday it secured a guilty plea from a man who assaulted a 54-year-old three years ago in a local store parking lot.
Gilberto Alejandro Arevalo pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury for the Sept. 7, 2014 incident.
341st District Court Judge Beckie Palomo accepted his plea and sentenced Arevalo to serve 10 years in prison.
Arevalo's co-defendant, Alexandra Villalobos, pleaded guilty July 18 to an assault charge and received a 10-year probated sentence. She was ordered to attend anger management classes and pay $17,594 in restitution.
The incident occurred the afternoon of Sept. 7, 2014, when police responded to an assault report in the parking lot of Walmart, 4401 U.S. 83 South.
READ MORE: Trial delayed for man accused of killing Laredo businessman in strip mall parking lot
A caller told police that a man and a pregnant woman had been assaulted.
"When one of the officers arrived at the scene, they met with two victims who stated that a black in color Grand Marquis drove recklessly through the parking lot while they were driving on the wrong side," the District Attorney's Office said.
The complainants yelled at them because they were concerned that the driver could hit a pedestrian, according to court documents.
Police said the suspects returned to where the victims parked.
A woman, later identified as Villalobos, exited the vehicle and attacked the pregnant woman.
A 56-year-old man attempted to separate them.
RELATED: Zetas massacre suspect deported at international bridge in Laredo
But a man, identified as Arevalo, punched him in the face several times, causing a cut and his eye to swell. Arevalo then allegedly kicked the man in the face while he was on the floor.
Both suspects got back in their vehicle and drove away. The criminal complaint states that the 56-year-old man believes he was struck with brass knuckles.
Paramedics took him to Laredo Medical Center for treatment. He was later flown to San Antonio for treatment to his eye.
The duo were arrested and charged by police with aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury after investigators received information on their identities and a detailed description of the vehicle involved in the incident.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
Jury selection for a man indicted on a murder charge for the death of a local businessman was moved to December after his attorney requested time to review new evidence in the case Monday.
Efrain Leonel Hernandez was granted a continuance in his case after his attorney, Eduardo Castillo, requested time to review hundreds of telephone calls recorded while Hernandez and his co-defendants, Justin Jerman Hernandez and Felipe Arispe-Rosales, were in custody at the Webb County jail.
Castillo asked the court for time to review these recordings in preparation for the anticipated testimony of Justin Hernandez, the defendant's brother, and Arispe-Rosales who are both cooperating witnesses in the case.
The Hernandez brothers and Arispe-Rosales were indicted in the 406th District Court early last year after they allegedly killed Hector Benavides Sr., 57, in the parking lot of a strip mall he owned off McPherson Road.
READ MORE: Actors, cosplayers and a superstar wrestler headlining Laredo's South Texas Collectors Expo
During Monday's hearing, Chief Assistant District Attorney Marisela Jacaman said she had spoken to Benavides' family and they requested she express to the court their desire for the trial to go forward Monday.
"They would like to get this behind them," Jacaman said.
Aside from the family's wishes, the District Attorney's Office was not opposed to the requested continuance.
406th District Court Oscar J. Hale Jr. granted Efrain Hernandez's request, moving the trial date to Dec. 11. A status hearing has been set for Nov. 13.
Justin Hernandez's role as a cooperating witness became known in May when Oscar J. Pena Sr., Arispe-Rosales' attorney, informed the court his client had cooperated in a lengthy interview with the prosecution.
Arispe-Rosales' cooperation was announced at Monday's hearing.
Trial dates for Justin Hernandez and Arispe-Rosales are expected to be postponed until after Efrain Hernandez's case goes forward due to their roles as cooperating witnesses.
RELATED: Zetas massacre suspect deported at Laredo international bridge
Hale granted a severance between all three co-defendants in February allowing their cases to proceed individually.
If convicted, the trio could face up to life in prison and a $10,000 fine.
The men allegedly attacked Benavides and left him critically wounded on Nov. 15, 2015.
Laredo police said Benavides was collecting $10 parking fees when several individuals assaulted him in the parking lot of the Cantera Court Complex, 9802 McPherson Road.
He was airlifted to a San Antonio hospital, where he was pronounced dead Nov. 16.
All were arrested in early December 2015 and charged with murder by police. They are currently out on bond.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
A woman was driving drunk in a minivan with three children when she allegedly struck a 70-year-old man who was selling newspapers near Guadalupe Street and North Jarvis Avenue on Sunday, according to Laredo police.
Maria Dolores Rosas Salazar, 40, was charged with one count of intoxicated assault and three counts of driving while intoxicated with child younger than 15 years old. She remained held at the Webb County Jail as of Monday evening.
Authorities said they responded to the auto-pedestrian crash at 7:30 a.m. in the in the 2300 block of Guadalupe.
READ MORE: Trial delayed for man accused of killing Laredo businessman in strip mall parking lot
EMS personnel encountered a man with possible fractures to his legs and minor lacerations to other parts of his body, authorities said. They took him to Laredo Medical Center for care.
A witness traveling west on Guadalupe behind the suspect vehicle, a gray Toyota Sienna, stated the minivan veered off the roadway, jumped the curb and struck the man, who was standing on top of the corner sidewalk selling newspapers at the time of the impact, according to police.
The man's wife stated she was standing a block away when she saw the minivan hit her husband, authorities said.
While interviewing Rosas, police said they noticed she had bloodshot eyes and smelled of alcohol. A field sobriety test revealed she had clear signs of possible intoxication, authorities said.
RELATED: Man to serve 10 years for role in assault of 54-year-old, pregnant woman at Laredo parking lot
Her blood-alcohol content was 0.13, according to police. The legal limit in Texas is 0.08.
Rosas stated she had left a party at her niece's home, where she drank "about four" beers, LPD said.
Her three children ages 5, 10 and 13 were in the minivan with her. Police said they turned over the children to their grandmother.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
Trial began Monday for a man accused of assaulting four young men with a knife during an after party in early January.
Julio Cesar Hernandez Palos faces four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for an incident that allegedly occurred Jan. 8 as a result of a note he handed to a girl in attendance at the house party in the 8700 block of Cavarie Court.
The prosecution alleges Hernandez, 33, attacked the four men with a Kerambit, a curved knife that allows for cutting and slashing, after getting into a disagreement with one of the men regarding a note Hernandez handed to the man's girlfriend.
Juan Garcia, who represents Hernandez, says his client "had no other recourse but to defend himself" after the four men began repeatedly beating Hernandez.
READ MORE: Man to serve 10 years for role in assault of 54-year-old, pregnant woman at Laredo parking lot
Valeria Ramirez, 22, took the stand and testified about her interactions with Hernandez and the note he gave her. Ramirez said she felt uncomfortable when she first arrived at the party with her boyfriend, Osvaldo Lara, 21, due to a look that Hernandez gave her outside the residence.
Hernandez allegedly attempted to converse with Ramirez several times during the course of the party. When Ramirez went outside to leave the party at approximately 7:30 a.m., she said Hernandez approached her vehicle and handed her a note.
The note in Spanish reads, "You don't have a future with someone like that," and includes a phone number allegedly belonging to Hernandez at the bottom of it.
Ramirez proceeded to give the note to her boyfriend, who had been inside the residence when Hernandez approached her. Several individuals who were at the residence when the fight broke out took the stand Monday, saying Ramirez's boyfriend, Lara, confronted Hernandez about the note.
Hernandez was asked to leave the party and refused, according to witness testimony. Lara told the jury that Hernandez is a big man, several inches taller than him, and he wasn't trying to fight him.
During the course of the argument, Hernandez shoved Angela Carrillo, 22, and caused her to black out, according to Carrillo's testimony. Before Hernandez was confronted, Carrillo said Hernandez showed her the knife he was carrying and told her that "if anyone like tried to do something to me that he had (the knife) with him."
RELATED: Trial delayed for man accused of killing Laredo businessman in strip mall parking lot
The defense called into question Carrillo's testimony, saying she failed to include details regarding her alleged blackout and Hernandez's conversation about the knife in the report she wrote for police after the incident.
Carrillo and another witness, Elizabeth Colin, 18, said they were uncomfortable with Hernandez's behavior at the party.
"First he offered us weed, if we wanted to smoke, and well we don't so we said no ... he was being very weird ... he was just trying to keep a conversation but we weren't comfortable with him," Colin said.
Witness testimony regarding what happened after Carrillo was pushed was unclear with Lara saying he and Hernandez got into a physical altercation and were throwing punches at each other before Hernandez turned around and ran to the front door of the residence.
"Honestly, all I remember is just punching him and hitting him," Lara said.
MORE FROM LMTonline: Actors, cosplayers and a superstar wrestler headlining Laredo's South Texas Collectors Expo
Later during his testimony, Lara told Hernandez's defense attorney, "Dude, he is a huge man. I didn't want to fight him ... I'm not going to just let him hit me ... I'm going to hit him back."
After Hernandez got to the front door, he turned around, according to Lara. That is when Hernandez allegedly took out the knife and started using it during the altercation, in which the three other men became involved.
"Everyone stopped. Once they saw Irving (San Martin), Dominique (Mata), and me. We had blood everywhere ... everyone just stopped and (Hernandez) just got out of there."
The other men who were involved in the altercation are expected to take the stand before the prosecution rests its case.
If convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, Hernandez faces between two to 20 years in prison and a possible $10,000 fine.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
Immigration officials recently deported a man to Mexico who is wanted on allegations that he participated in an infamous massacre carried out near the Texas border by the Zetas drug cartel.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported Juan Rafael Arredondo Oviedo, 27, Tuesday at one of the international bridges in Laredo. Arredondo is wanted on aggravated kidnapping charges in the state of Coahuila, which borders Texas from just west of Laredo to the Big Bend.
Known as "El Cubano," Arredondo is accused of helping the Zetas round up dozens of people who were killed in March 2011 in the town of Allende, near the border city of Piedras Negras. According to state prosecutors, 28 people were killed in what has become known as the Allende Massacre.
According to testimony in U.S. federal courtrooms, as many as 300 people were killed over several days across the region.
READ MORE: Ex-United ISD band director stole over $100K worth of instruments, records say
In the trial last year of Marciano Millan Vasquez in San Antonio, Zetas members and associates described a yearslong reign of terror by the Zetas in the Piedras Negras area, including the 2011 massacre when family members and associates of several traffickers-turned-informants were kidnapped and executed. A judge earlier this year sentenced Millan to seven consecutive life sentences.
The killings associated with the Allende Massacre continued for years, and Arredondo is accused of a kidnapping related to the Zetas' retaliation against the informants in March 2012.
Arredondo was arrested in 2015 on a domestic battery charge in Illinois and transferred to ICE custody, according to a news release from the agency.
RELATED: Top-ranking Zeta sentenced on drug, money-laundering charges in Laredo
After his deportation to Mexico, he was taken to the jail in Piedras Negras, according to the Coahuila state prosecutor's office. That jail was also a focus of testimony in Millan's trial. Witnesses described it as being completely under the control of the Zetas. The gang took their kidnapping victims to the jail and destroyed their bodies there, according to the testimony.
The state has said it's investigating a series of murders in the jail and has launched an aggressive campaign against the Zetas in Piedras Negras, raising concerns by human rights groups that overzealous policing tactics have resulted in extrajudicial killings.
SEOUL, South Korea - The United Nations Security Council on Monday agreed on its toughest-ever sanctions against North Korea that passed unanimously after the United States softened its initial demands to win support from China and Russia.
The sanctions set limits on North Korea's oil imports and banned its textile exports in an effort to deprive the reclusive nation of the income it needs to maintain its nuclear and ballistic missile program, and increase the pressure to negotiate a way out of punishing sanctions.
"Today, we are attempting to take the future of the North Korean nuclear program out of the hands of its outlaw regime," said Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N.
"Today, we are saying the world will never accept a nuclear armed North Korea," she added. "And today the Security Council is saying if North Korea does not halt its nuclear program, we will act to stop it ourselves."
The new set of sanctions come on top of previous sanctions that cut into North Korea's exports of coal, iron ore and seafood. Haley said more than 90 percent of North Korea's reported exports are now fully banned by sanctions.
The new sanctions ratchet up the pressure on North Korea, though they are far less sweeping than what Washington originally sought after Pyongyang carried out its sixth and most potent nuclear test on Sept. 3. But the United States agreed to drop several key demands, and toned down others, to keep China and Russia from exercising their veto over the measure.
Only a week ago, Haley urged the "strongest possible" sanctions on North Korea. Among the measures Washington pushed in an initial draft were a complete oil embargo and an asset freeze and global travel ban on leader Kim Jong Un. During negotiations last week and through the weekend, the embargo became a cap and the punitive measures against the leader were dropped.
Though toned down, the sanctions are potentially far-reaching in their ability to shave as much as $1.3 billion from North Korea's revenues.
Under the Security Council resolution, imports of both refined and crude oil will be capped at 8.5 million barrels a year, which the U.S. official said represents a 30 percent cut. Natural gas and condensates also were prohibited to close off possible alternative fuels. In addition, textiles, which last year accounted for $726 million, representing more than a quarter of North Korea's export income, are banned.
In an effort to curb smuggling, the resolution allows countries to demand the inspection of ships suspected of carrying North Korean goods, though a U.S. proposal to allow the ships to be challenged with military force was dropped. But ships proven to be abetting Pyongyang's efforts to evade sanctions are subject to an asset freeze and may be barred from sailing into ports.
And in a separate measure that will not take effect immediately, countries will be required not to renew contracts for an estimated 93,000 North Korean guest workers who labor overseas. According to U.S. assessments, their salaries bring the North Korean government $500 million a year.
In her remarks at the Security Council, Haley evoked the lessons of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon exactly 16 years ago.
"That day the United States saw that mass murder can come from a clear blue sky on a beautiful Tuesday morning," she said. "But today, the threat to the United states and the world is not coming out of the blue. The North Korean regime has demonstrated that it will not act on its own to end its nuclear program. The civilized world must do what the regime refuses to do. We must stop its march toward a nuclear arsenal with the ability to deliver it anywhere in the world."
Haley said the United States is not seeking war with North Korea, which she said had "not yet passed the point of no return."
"If it agrees to stop its nuclear program, it can reclaim its future. If it proves it can live in peace, the world will live in peace with it."
In recent days, the United States and its allies spent the last several days trying to come up with a resolution that would be acceptable to Moscow and Beijing.
Chinese analysts believe the country will continue to take an incremental approach.
It's not that Beijing is not angry with Kim Jong Un - it is. But Beijing worries instability in North Korea will hurt Chinese interests.
Recent weapons tests have literally shaken Chinese border areas and residents worry about nuclear fallout. Chinese authorities worry conflict could send North Korean refugees streaming across the border or bring U.S. troops closer to their door.
"Beijing has multiple, complex strategic considerations," said Michael Kovrig, a senior adviser at the International Crisis Group. "It wants to send a message to Kim Jong Un that his nuclear program is unacceptable and to punish bad behavior, but it does not want to trigger North Korea's collapse or turn its neighbor into a permanent enemy."
Crude oil supply is vital to North Korea, particularly its military. A complete cut-off could be perceived in Pyongyang as an existential threat to the regime, Kovrig said. So China needs to seriously consider the chaos - political and otherwise - that could ensue.
And the timing is key. "Once China employs its economic leverage, it loses it as a further bargaining tool," Kovrig said. "That's why in the past, China has tried to calibrate sanctions to 'punish but not strangle' North Korea."
Haley praised Chinese President Xi Jingping, saying the Security Council resolution would not have happened without the relationship between Xi and President Trump.
Russia, itself the subject of sanctions over Ukraine, has called sanctions against Moscow "illegal." Russia's ambassador to the U.N., Vasilly Nebenzia, said Moscow believes it would be "wrong" to allow North Korea's nuclear test to go unanswered. But he criticized the United States for not assuring Pyongyang that Washington does not seek war or regime change.
"We're convinced that diverting the menace posed by North Korea could be done not by more sanctions but by political means," he said.
In Pyongyang, North Korea's Foreign Ministry on Monday issued a statement warning the United States will pay a "due price" if it pursues stronger sanctions.
"The forthcoming measures to be taken by the [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] will cause the U.S. the greatest pain and suffering it had ever gone through in its entire history," according to the statement released by the Korean Central News Agency.
Nothing says a night under the stars better than candlelight yoga at Leclaire Park.
Hosted by the Edwardsville Parks and Recreation Department, the candlelight yoga session will be held from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 19.
Yogis will meet under the parks gazebo for a relaxing, slow-paced yoga session. All levels are welcome to participate.
Assistant Recreation Coordinator Hayley Verheyen said although the department has hosted events like this before, this is the first time its taking place at Leclaire Park.
Weve done similar (events) with our yoga at the Wildey and then a few years ago when we were doing yoga in the park at Joe Glik (Park). One of our last evenings we did it but we didnt advertise it as a candlelight yoga, Verheyen said. This is a little bit different but it is a standalone event.
The yoga session is free and will be instructed by Donna Bartley, of Studio Gaia in Edwardsville.
Verheyen said Bartley has been the instructor for the departments yoga classes at Leclaire Park and the Wildey Theatre, and she was the one who came up with the idea for the session.
Donna actually came to me with this idea to do this and we didnt have anything else going on at the park, so its definitely an opportunity for people to get out in the park and enjoy some yoga, she said.
Those attending the yoga session are encouraged to bring a yoga matt, blanket, towel and a battery-operated candle. Other yoga props are also welcome.
Verheyen said no actual candles will be permitted at the park.
We will not have real candles out there. All of the candles will be battery-operated. We will have a few to hand out, but we definitely recommend to bring your own, she said.
No rain date has been set yet for this event; however, Verheyen said thats something the department will look into at a later date.
This will be the departments first candlelight yoga session being held at Leclaire Park. If this session goes well, Verheyen said the department may consider hosting something like this again in the spring.
We will probably look to doing it more in the spring when the weather gets a little bit warmer because it is starting to get cool in the evenings, she said.
The Parks Deptment recently concluded its annual Yoga in the Park series at Leclaire Park sessions that have been going on through the summer. Following this candlelight session, yoga will be returning to the Wildey Theatre for the departments annual Yoga at the Wildey series. Verheyen said the sessions will kick off in November on the third Tuesday of the month.
For more information about the candlelight yoga session or for other upcoming yoga sessions, contact the Parks Department by visiting the citys website at www.cityofedwardsville.com or call 618-692-7538.
As Nikki Haley confronts her biggest test so far as U.S. envoy to the UN -- persuading the Security Council to further tighten sanctions on North Korea -- she's leaning on a key adviser with little foreign policy experience: her South Carolina pollster.
Jon Lerner, a political strategist who helped get Haley elected twice as the Palmetto State's governor, is the ambassador's Washington-based deputy. While Haley has talked about the direct access she has to President Donald Trump, Lerner serves as her eyes and ears on the ground in the nation's capital: a critical role as Haley's profile rises in an administration buffeted by leaks and turmoil.
Lerner, 49, accompanied Haley to Vienna last month to meet International Atomic Energy Agency investigators over Iran's compliance with the nuclear accord opposed by Trump. And he helped draft Haley's Iran-focused speech in Washington last week that signaled a shift in administration policy toward the deal.
The effectiveness of their partnership will be tested Monday as Haley seeks to persuade Russia and China -- who wield veto power on the UN Security Council -- to go along with the most stringent sanctions yet against Kim Jong Un's regime.
Heading into that meeting, China showed little willingness to restrict oil exports to North Korea, a critical lifeline for Kim's regime that helps Beijing avoid having a failed state on its border. In response to opposition from China and Russia, the U.S. has watered down its proposal, omitting an oil embargo and a freeze of Kim Jong Un's assets, according to a European diplomat who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private.
But Haley has also made it clear she isn't interested in a symbolic United Nations vote, saying the time for "half-measures" is over.
"I suspect that Haley wants to avoid the sort of endless, low-impact diplomatic bartering that the U.S. got trapped in over Syria with Russia," said Richard Gowan, a UN expert with the European Council on Foreign Relations. "But the tough U.S. approach could also backfire big-time."
Haley's aggressive public stance -- she's said Kim's actions show him to be "begging for war" -- have earned her the ire of North Korean state media, which warned that the U.S. "will pay a dear price for her tongue-lashing." And it's a marked contrast from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who saw his muted praise of North Korea's restraint in launching missiles last month undermined by additional missile and nuclear tests.
Haley's high-profile performance as UN envoy has fanned speculation that she harbors ambitions to run for president or vice president at some point. In addition to her speeches she's a prolific poster on Twitter.
Haley's public persona, whether at the UN, in Washington or back in the South Carolina capital, has long been guided by Lerner, who started working with her in 2009. He had previously advised her predecessor, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, R, who became embroiled in a scandal after it was revealed he had engaged in an affair and lied about his whereabouts while in office.
Haley, 45, the daughter of Sikh immigrants, described her relationship with Lerner in her 2012 book, "Can't Is Not an Option: My American Story."
"Where I follow my gut, Jon relies on facts and the statistics he finds in his polling," Haley wrote. "I used to call him a 'lemon' because he never got excited about anything."
Haley's national profile surged in 2015 as governor when, after a deadly rampage by a white gunman at a black church in Charleston, she supported efforts to take down the Confederate flag at the statehouse, saying it "should never have been there." She never came out as a Trump surrogate during last year's Republican primaries, instead endorsing Florida Sen. Marco Rubio after he and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush jockeyed for her support.
After Trump's win, though, she met with him at Trump Tower in New York. While the meeting was scheduled to discuss the job of secretary of state, Haley has said that post wasn't offered. But the UN ambassador's post later was, despite Haley's relative lack of foreign policy experience. Since then, her position in New York has proved something of a safe haven where Haley has largely avoided many of the political disputes that have dogged other Trump aides.
Like Haley, Lerner has a thin foreign policy resume, but that may be less important to the UN envoy than having someone she can trust implicitly in Washington.
"It's important in the thick political mud of the UN to have folks around you that can be quick and strong," said former Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., an early promoter of the tea party movement. Lerner's biggest strength, DeMint said, is that "he's got a very good strategic mind."
In a rare public comment, Lerner described himself in an email as inspired by anti-Communist movements.
"My hostility to anti-American authoritarian governments that began with anti-Communism remains my primary motivation," Lerner wrote. "That manifests itself today in places that include North Korea, Iran, Syria, Cuba, Venezuela, and Russia."
Lerner is a conservative but, like Haley, not a Trump conservative. He advised the tax-cut focused Club for Growth for 15 years through 2016. Another client was Conservative Solutions PAC, which raised money in support of Rubio's presidential campaign. Other clients have included Republican Senators Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Tim Scott of South Carolina and Mike Lee of Utah.
Lerner is the founder and principal of Red Sea in Bethesda, Maryland, a Washington suburb, and of Basswood Research, which conducts political polling.
Rubio, who has praised Haley's tenure from his perch on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, says the envoy's success so far is in part due to Lerner's advice.
"Jon's doing a great job and I think that's reflected in the work Nikki is doing," Rubio said in an interview. "She's got a real good team and I think it shows in the end result. Jon is certainly a big part of that."
Amid growing international crises from North Korea to Venezuela, Haley's prominent public profile can be a mixed blessing in the Trump administration, where turmoil and turnover have plagued the White House. Lerner, as Haley's deputy, can keep abreast of those developments from his post in Washington better than Haley can from New York.
Regardless of the political fights in Washington, Haley's success will be fleeting if she can't rally U.S. allies and rivals alike to support tougher restrictions on North Korea, starting with the Security Council meeting Monday. The alternatives to diplomacy are grim: a fully nuclear North Korea able to strike the U.S., or a military conflict that would prompt Pyongyang to unleash a devastating attack on Seoul.
Yet Haley's taken such a tough public stance that it could be hard to see a negotiated agreement with China and Russia for lesser sanctions -- the most likely outcome -- as a victory, according to Gowan.
"If she settles on a weaker set of sanctions, her critics may mutter that she has gone soft," he said.
--With assistance from Terrence Dopp
U.S. Senator John McCain, the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, on Sunday said the return of tactical nuclear weapons to South Korea "ought to be seriously considered."
He was talking on CNN's "State of the Union."
Back in March, McCain counseled prudence in an interview with the Chosun Ilbo, which suggests that the atmosphere in Congress is gradually changing since the White House put the issue on the table in the wake of North Korea's latest nuclear test.
"The [South] Korean defense minister just a few days ago called for nuclear weapons to be redeployed," McCain told CNN, adding "It ought to be seriously considered."
Defense Minister Song Young-moo told the National Assembly Defense Committee on Sept. 4 that U.S. tactical nuclear weapons "should be regarded as one of many ways" to deter the North.
McCain said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is not a rational man. The U.S. should "make sure that [Kim] knows that if he acts in an aggressive fashion, the price will be extinction," he added.
WASHINGTON - Governors and insurance commissioners told lawmakers how to fix the Affordable Care Act exchanges last week. Tuesday and Thursday, we'll finally hear from some of the insurers as they testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which is seeking a bipartisan plan to stabilize the Obamacare marketplaces.
It's these insurance companies that will truly determine the success or failure of the Obamacare exchanges by providing the plans and health coverage choices for millions of Americans. They weren't terribly involved in the GOP push to craft an Obamacare replacement, a break from their heavy participation in shaping the ACA leading up to its 2010 passage.
Now, insurers are going on the record with lawmakers. And they have their own demands and deadlines following the failure of the Republican-led Congress to pass its repeal-and-replace plan.
In testimony submitted last week, the powerful health insurance lobby, America's Health Insurance Plans, laid out the urgency of the situation.
Two weeks from now, insurance companies will finalize their decisions about whether and where to sell insurance on the ACA exchanges next year, bringing to an end the ongoing saga about exactly how many counties will have little (or possibly no) choices next year.
In November, enrollment will launch for people to get insurance coverage for next year. And six weeks after that, by Dec. 15, insurers' membership rolls for 2018 will be filled.
But health-policy watchers can't exhale after that - insurance companies will start crafting their plans for 2019 in about six months, if they haven't begun to already.
Large and small insurers will testify before HELP this week, including Kaiser Permanente and Anthem, to make their case for some kind of certainty in a political climate that has been far from stable.
I spoke Monday with Susan Turney, the chief executive of the Marshfield Clinic Health System, which owns a health plan in northern Wisconsin with about 28,000 exchange members. Marshfield is one of the insurers that stepped forward at the last minute to fill a bare county next year, covering Menominee County in Wisconsin. And planning for 2019 is in full swing. Turney said that as early as two years before a plan year begins, companies must start making decisions about where and who they will cover.
Here are some of the things insurers want from lawmakers and the Trump administration as they determine how to move forward:
- Stop playing a game of chicken with federal subsidies that help lower-income people afford their deductibles and co-pays.
For months, the Trump administration has been threatening to stop paying obscure but important subsidies called cost-sharing reductions. They help defray the out-of-pocket costs, deductibles and co-pays for lower-income Americans. Cost-sharing reductions are one of the wonkiest parts of the ACA, but they have become headline news as a will-they-or-won't-they drama unfolds each month about whether the payments will be made. Funding these payments - projected to be $10 billion next year -- is a top priority for many insurers. Turney said that about half her members benefit from the payments.Trump has opted to disburse the payments on a monthly basis -- but he's also made noise about stopping them.
- Extend a reinsurance program that provides payments to plans with high-cost members.
Turney said that these payments have been essential in keeping premiums down. Marshfield's internal estimates show that premiums would have been 20 percent higher in 2014, 12 percent higher in 2015 and 6 percent higher in 2016 without the payments.
- Enforce the individual mandate, the requirement that people carry insurance, to make sure that it isn't just the sick (and expensive) people who sign up for plans.
As one of his first acts as president, Trump signed an executive order that directed the government to relieve constituencies affected by the ACA - including consumers, doctors, insurers and hospitals. Experts think that the order allowed the administration to stop enforcing the individual mandate.
- And, relatedly: Don't pull back on the marketing and outreach to encourage people to sign up for insurance.
At the end of August, the Trump administration slashed grants to groups that help people sign up for insurance by 40 percent. AHIP noted that this was even more critical for 2018 because of a much earlier deadline to enroll - Dec. 15 instead of Jan. 1.
"In order to help our area residents afford coverage, we really have to make sure they understand this is available to them. It's very complex, and it is very confusing, and we have to make sure we keep the navigator services," Turney said.
Health insurers have plenty of other things on their wish lists. They'd like to abolish a tax that they say drives up premiums. They'd like to see states get greater flexibility and control over their marketplaces.
But the tricky thing about understanding the business of selling health insurance to individuals is that the situation can vary dramatically state by state and insurer by insurer. Some of the best-known names in health insurance - companies that didn't traditionally focus on the business of selling individual insurance - dropped out of the marketplaces over the past year. Even as the financial outlook has been improving for those that have stayed, the insurers are buffeted by constant uncertainty and political rhetoric. Since the beginning of the month, Anthem has shrunk its participation in Missouri and Kentucky.
What insurers crave from politicians is certainty - a game with rules that won't keep changing every time they think they've figured out how to play.
That still doesn't seem terribly likely.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, R, upended the regional debate over subway funding Monday by offering to give the transit system an extra $500 million over four years if Virginia, the District and the federal government each do the same.
Hogan's proposal, made in a letter delivered Monday morning to Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, D, and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, D, narrowed their differences over funding and appeared to increase chances that the Washington, D.C., region could agree on a plan to save the agency, known as Metro.
But it remained to be seen whether the other three parties - especially the federal government and Virginia - would go along. Some politicians grumbled that Hogan only made the proposal because he knew it was unlikely to be accepted, and a Metro board member predicted the federal government would balk.
Overall, however, top Metro officials and other regional leaders praised Hogan for taking an important first step toward reaching consensus, while they warned that the plan falls short of a permanent solution.
Hogan's action marked a dramatic reversal from his position in a contentious, closed-door, regional summit two weeks ago. There, Hogan shocked McAuliffe and Bowser by saying Maryland would not give Metro any additional funds beyond what it already contributes each year.
On Monday, Hogan reaffirmed the stance he took at the summit against new taxes to support the subway, and he complained that Maryland contributes more than its fair share to the struggling transit agency. But he took a new approach regarding more money.
"The needs of the Metro system are immediate and overwhelming," Hogan wrote in the detailed, four-page letter. "Given the current crisis, the State of Maryland is prepared to invest an additional $500 million in increased Metro funding over the next four years if the Commonwealth of Virginia, the District of Columbia and the federal government all commit to do the same."
Hogan's about-face appeared prompted partly by intense criticism of his earlier opposition, officials said, both from other regional actors and from a strongly worded editorial in The Washington Post headlined, "Larry Hogan to Metro: Drop Dead." Hogan is expected to seek reelection next year, and an anti-Metro stance could hurt him in vote-rich Montgomery and Prince George's counties.
But Hogan spokesman Doug Mayer suggested the governor had taken the adamant position at the summit as a bargaining ploy at the start of what he expected to be a prolonged process.
Hogan is "always negotiating," Mayer said.
Mayer also rejected the idea that Hogan had altered his position, noting that the governor emphasized in the letter his previous stance that the federal government ought to contribute more to Metro. In proposing more money now from Maryland, Virginia and the District, Mayer said, the governor was expanding on his earlier strategy.
Rep. Gerald Connolly, D-Va., welcomed Hogan's change of mind and said he believed it came in response to the backlash to Hogan's position at the summit.
"He has now reconsidered, after the very negative reaction he got, including editorially" from The Post, Connolly said. "But his condition that it be matched, he knows, I think somewhat cynically, is a very tall order."
Whatever the motivation, Hogan's offer seems destined to transform the discussion about providing additional resources for the cash-strapped agency.
Hogan's plan is the first specific proposal on funding Metro to come from a top elected official since Bowser pitched a regionwide penny-per-dollar sales tax nearly a year ago.
Hogan made a point of criticizing Bowser's proposal, and he noted that McAuliffe opposed it as well.
"The sales tax is a regressive tax, which disproportionately hurts the poorest of our citizens," Hogan said in the letter.
Mayer said Maryland would cover most of its share of the new cost by drawing on the state transportation trust fund. However, Hogan has in the past resisted diverting money in that fund from roads and bridges to transit.
Hogan said his plan would buy Metro time by giving the region four years "to formulate a long-term, more permanent solution to [Metro's] fiscal challenges."
If Virginia, the District and the federal government embrace Hogan's proposal, it would go a long way toward raising the additional money Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld says the transit agency needs for new equipment and maintenance to keep the system safe and reliable. Wiedefeld says Metro needs an additional $500 million a year, and Hogan's plan would match that.
One potential shortcoming, however, is that Wiedefeld has said Metro needs the $500 million in dedicated funding - which means a reliable revenue stream, such as from a tax, that can be pledged to repay bonds so Metro can borrow more easily on financial markets. Hogan's proposal would not necessarily take that form, so the benefit to Metro would be somewhat less than what Wiedefeld desires.
"This is not the solution. It has to be dedicated [funding]," D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, D, said. "There's an advantage of buying time to work things out, but there's also a disadvantage. . . . We need to decide this now."
Wiedefeld called Hogan's proposal "a very good step," while noting that the governor recognized that it's not a long-term fix for Metro's finances.
"It's obviously shown leadership. It's something on the table," Wiedefeld said during an appearance on "The Kojo Nnamdi Show" on WAMU 88.5 FM, a D.C.-area radio show.
A bigger question is whether the federal government and Virginia will agree to the proposal. The District has consistently been the jurisdiction most supportive of increasing funding for the agency, and both Bowser and the D.C. Council have backed higher taxes to pay for it.
McAuliffe has said he would support dedicated funding for Metro only after the transit agency showed progress on safety, reliability and efficiency. He's also on his way out of office; he'll be succeeded in January by the winner of November's general election.
Both major candidates vying to succeed McAuliffe - Democrat Ralph Northam and Republican Ed Gillespie - warned that they want to see more progress at Metro before considering more money for the transit agency.
In addition, the Republican-controlled legislature in Richmond strongly opposes new taxes and also has been skeptical about increasing funding for Metro.
McAuliffe's initial response Monday was cautious and sought to link Hogan's action to work by former U.S. transportation secretary Ray LaHood. McAuliffe recruited LaHood earlier this year to try to forge a consensus on funding and governance.
McAuliffe spokesman Brian Coy said the Virginia governor "is encouraged that the ongoing review conducted by Secretary LaHood has resulted in progress between these three jurisdictions on a shared vision for the future of the Metro system."
Bowser's office said Monday morning that the mayor was studying Hogan's proposal, but they did not respond to a request for comment.
Then there's the federal government. The Trump administration's budget proposed to slash federal funding for transit. Metro supporters have been concerned that the agency will lose an annual $150 million federal subsidy that expires after the federal fiscal year ending in 2019.
Steve McMillin, one of two federal Metro board members newly appointed by the Trump administration, said that with the $150 million subsidy already on the line, the expectation of additional dollars beyond that "would not be a realistic planning assumption."
Asked what his message for the region would be, McMillin replied: "I think the message is we shouldn't be looking over the hill for a savior - we should plan on saving ourselves."
Connolly, the Northern Virginia congressman, agreed that the federal piece of the puzzle is going to be "very difficult" and the GOP-controlled Virginia legislature presents an additional challenge.
"If Virginia said 'yes' and D.C. said 'yes,' it would give us a lot more leverage in turning to the federal government and saying, 'You - the biggest user of this transit system - you need to follow suit,' " Connolly said.
Hogan's letter reaffirmed his position that the federal government needs to do more.
"Forty-two percent of Metro riders are federal employees, and yet the federal government's investment does not reflect this fact," Hogan said.
Hogan began his letter by emphasizing his backing for Metro - his support of which had been called into question at the Aug. 28 summit.
"Despite its long-standing financial mismanagement and safety and reliability issues, Metro nonetheless continues to play an incredibly important and vital role in the region," Hogan said.
He went on to say that 21 percent of Metro's ridership comes from Maryland, 23 percent comes from Virginia and 55 percent from the District.
"By any logical measure, Maryland has been paying not only our fair share, but actually more than our fair share," Hogan said.
Metro Board member Michael Goldman, whom Hogan recently reappointed to the board, said he did not have any personal insight into the governor's decision-making, but he believed the proposal was prompted by reaction to Hogan's previous position.
"I suspect there was some frustration that more didn't come out of that [summit] meeting, and the press coverage and leaks coming out of it seemed to make Maryland the bad guy in all this," Goldman said.
WASHINGTON - Key lawmakers on Monday demanded a detailed accounting of the security systems of Equifax, a leading credit-rating agency, following a hack that gave criminals access to sensitive information of up to 143 million American consumers in one of the most troubling corporate computer breaches ever disclosed.
A sternly worded letter from the top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee included a list of 13 questions intended to illuminate the murky circumstances surrounding the breach, including what data was exposed, how the hack was detected and whether the company has systems adequate for detecting and thwarting such intrusions.
"The scope and scale of this breach appears to make it one of the largest on record, and the sensitivity of the information compromised may make it the most costly to taxpayers and consumers," said the letter, signed by Sens. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chairman of the Finance Committee, and Ron Wyden (Ore.), its ranking Democrat.
It also called Equifax a "critical partner" with the federal government in the administration of the IRS, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, raising the prospect of "irreparable harm" to such programs by helping criminals use false identities to seek government benefits and tax refunds.
Monday's letter reflected rising bipartisan concern in Washington as Equifax, an Atlanta-based credit-rating agency that collects personal and financial data on 820 million consumers worldwide, struggles to manage the aftermath of a breach that has clouded the company's future.
Hatch is among the first top Republicans to speak out on the Equifax hack. The company did not respond to questions from The Washington Post about the letter. Chief executive Richard Smith apologized for the breach in a statement on Thursday but has offered scant information to the public about the incident other than to say that it was being investigated by law enforcement and a private cybersecurity company.
Also Monday, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders signaled concern within the Trump administration as well. When asked if the Equifax breach suggests the need for new regulation of how companies handle the personal information of consumers, Sanders said, "I think that's something we have to look into extensively."
The company revealed the hack Thursday - six weeks after first detecting it - and has not responded to repeated requests from The Washington Post to explain the delay. The stock price of Equifax has fallen by more than 20 percent since it announced the hack.
Democrats, including Wyden, were vocal in the first 24 hours after the hack was revealed, demanding probes and raising the prospect of legislating better protection of personal data and requirements for companies to quickly and clearly report breaches to the public. Companies often wait weeks or months to report incidents to the people affected.
Equifax has said that its "core consumer or commercial credit reporting databases" did not appear to be breached by the hackers. But it said they did gain access to Social Security numbers, home addresses, birth dates, credit cards and driver's licenses - all ingredients that can help identity thieves impersonate others for the purpose of taking out loans, opening bank accounts, or applying for jobs or government benefits.
Since the announcement of the breach, several committees have now announced plans to investigate the hack and related issues. Consumer groups, meanwhile, have blasted Equifax for taking six weeks to alert the public of the breach and for the company's fumbling efforts to help consumers through an overloaded helpline and a website that has had security issues of its own.
The letter from Hatch and Wyden asks Equifax to explain the size and reporting structure of its security team, whether it routinely seeks the assistance of outside experts to test vulnerabilities and whether the company has an established system for receiving and evaluating reports about systemic vulnerabilities.
The senators also asked Equifax to explain when it reported the breach to board members and senior executives. That includes three - Chief Financial Officer John Gamble Jr.; Joseph Loughran III, the president of U.S. information solutions; and Rodolfo O. Ploder, the president of workforce solutions - who sold large amounts of their shares of Equifax stock totaling nearly $1.8 million in the days after the breach was discovered July 29.
An Equifax spokeswoman told The Post last week that the executives "had no knowledge that an intrusion had occurred at the time they sold their shares."
- - -
The Washington Post's Damian Paletta contributed to this report.
At least 18 Egyptian security personnel were killed in North Sinai when their convoy was ambushed by suspected Islamic State militants, in one of the deadliest attacks on police in the restive area this year.
The force had been en route to the town of El-Arish when an explosives-laden vehicle tried to cut it off, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. The car blew up as the sides exchanged fire, the ministry said. Five other members of the security detachment and four ambulance service personnel were wounded, the state-run Al-Ahram reported Tuesday. The emergency service workers were injured when the gunmen attempted to prevent them from responding to the scene.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
In the wake of Hurricane Irma, the destruction suffered in the British Virgin Islands has been described as apocalyptic and devastation reminiscent of total war.
"It's just carnage here," Freeman Rogers, a local resident and the editor of the BVI Beacon, told The Washington Post last week.
That imagery is not lost on Virgin Group founder Richard Branson. The British billionaire rode out the storm in the wine cellar of his private Caribbean island, then wrote in a blog post that he had "never seen anything like this hurricane."
RELATED: Richard Branson says Hurricane Irma 'utterly devastated' his private island
On Sunday, he invoked a post-World War II reconstruction effort in Europe to describe what he believes must take place to help the Caribbean islands hammered by Irma's historically savage winds and flooding that has left at least 34 dead, the Associated Press reported.
Now Playing: Hundreds of people across an island shared by Dutch St. Martin and French St. Martin are trying to rebuild the lives they had before the hurricane hit. Video: TMTime
"The region needs a "Disaster Recovery Marshall Plan" for the BVI and other territories that will aid in recovery, sustainable reconstruction and long-term revitalisation of the local economy," he wrote Sunday on the Virgin blog, his platform of choice since Irma passed over Branson's Necker Island.
"The UK government will have a massive role to play in the recovery of its territories affected by Irma -- both through short-term aid and long-term infrastructure spending," Branson wrote.
The European Recovery Program was a U.S.-led effort to inject $13 billion into the economy of 16 European nations with agriculture and industrial production hollowed out by the war. It has been forever linked to then-Secretary of State George C. Marshall, who powerfully called for substantial aid to Europe during a speech at Harvard University in 1947.
ALSO: 'Worst ever seen': European leaders view devastated islands
By many measures, the plan was a success, with a 150 percent increase in standard of living over the next three decades in participating countries, according to the Marshall Center, and stronger ties with Europe on diplomatic and economic levels. Launched in 1948, the aid effort concluded in 1952.
"Over the coming weeks, we'll have to assess exactly what is needed. It is clear to me creating jobs is paramount - there will be a huge amount of rebuilding to be done and people will need work to help rebuild their lives as well as their homes," Branson said in his blog.
MORE: Irma devastates Cuba
Branson and his company are looking to plant seeds in the recovery effort by tasking his foundation, Virgin Unite, to coordinate aid and supplies in the short term and reconstruction efforts in the months ahead, Branson wrote.
Last week, Branson dictated his vivid updates and notes on the destruction near Necker Island through a satellite phone after communications networks were brought down.
"The boats are piled up like matchsticks in the harbour. Huge cargo ships were thrown out of the water and into rocks. Resorts have been decimated," Branson said Friday after a tour of Virgin Gorda, a nearby island southwest of Necker. "The houses have their roofs blown off; even some churches where people sheltered have lost roofs. But the whole British Virgin Islands community is rallying round," he said.
Branson had said earlier this week his compound was built with reinforced hurricane blinds designed to withstand high winds. But that wasn't the case for the surrounding area or the rest of 74-acre Necker Island, his property for four decades.
"I have never seen anything like this hurricane. Necker and the whole area have been completely and utterly devastated. We are still assessing the damage, but whole houses and trees have disappeared," he said.
"Outside of the bunker, bathroom and bedroom doors and windows have flown 40 feet away."
Branson is the 324th wealthiest person in the world, with a net worth of about $5 billion, according to Forbes, which notes that he bought Necker Island for $180,000. A few hours before Irma's impact, Branson wrote that he planned to retreat with his team to his concrete wine cellar below "the Great House."
"Knowing our wonderful team as I do, I suspect there will be little wine left in the cellar when we all emerge," he wrote on his blog.
Moon told Macron that the test was a grave provocation and on a new level in terms of scale and nature. He asked France, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, to play a proactive role in ensuring that a fresh UNSC resolution is adopted and implemented, according to presidential spokesman Park Soo-hyun.
President Moon Jae-in on Monday discussed a response to North Korea's latest nuclear test with French President Emmanuel Macron and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull over the phone.
He thanked Macron for demanding an emergency UNSC meeting right after the nuclear test and for calling his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
Macron said France will continue to work with other countries at the UNSC and welcomes South Korea's efforts to bring the North to a serious dialogue table and impose tougher sanctions at the same time.
In the conversation with Turnbull, Moon was quoted as saying that he patiently urged Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear and missile programs but is now persuaded to take "powerful and substantial" measures.
The three leaders agreed that "the international community should implement the strongest possible sanctions and pressure Pyongyang to return to the negotiating table," the spokesman added.
ISLAMABAD - Until recently, most Pakistanis knew little to nothing about the problems of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. They could talk in great detail about the plight of Muslims in Indian Kashmir and were familiar with an array of international Muslim causes, from Palestinian rights to the Arab Spring. But the Rohingya story was almost unknown here.
Except in one place: an impoverished pocket of Karachi, the huge port city on the Arabian Sea, where tens of thousands of Rohingya migrants have lived peacefully for half a century, working on fishing boats or docks. The older ones originally fled a repressive military regime, escaping on foot or by boat.
Two weeks ago, word began to reach the Rohingya community in Karachi that something terrible was happening in their homeland. On social media, relatives described military troops raiding and torching homes in Myanmar's Rakhine state. News videos showed thousands of people leaving. Soon almost 300,000 had fled to Bangladesh, a coastal neighbor on the Bay of Bengal, which was once part of Pakistan.
In Karachi, a Rohingya fisherman named Noor Mohammed, 50, told a news agency that three members of his family had been killed in Rakhine in the past week. A woman said her sister had tried to reach Bangladesh by boat but was being held by boat owners demanding a large payment.
The Rohingya Muslims are a stateless minority in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, also known as Burma, which has a powerful military. After political violence erupted in August, the military said its crackdown was in response to insurgent attacks on police posts. On Tuesday, the U.N. human rights commissioner called the repression "a textbook example of ethnic cleansing."
By last week, the outrage had spread far beyond Karachi's fishing community. In cities and towns across Pakistan, people were suddenly organizing demonstrations to protest Rohingya plight - lawyers, tradesmen, civic groups, clerics, journalists, tribal leaders and university communities all joined in. The phrase "Rohingya genocide" flashed across nightly newscasts.
"This is a human crisis of grave proportions. It is hard for me to believe what I am reading, hearing and watching," said Sajid Ishaq, chairman of the Pakistan Interfaith League. "I urge the U.N. to stir from its slumber and react as it did in the case of East Timor," he said. The former Portuguese colony faced bloody suppression in a struggle for independence from Indonesia, which it won in 2002.
On Friday, thousands of demonstrators converged on Islamabad, Pakistan's capital, after weekly prayer ceremonies, clashing with riot police near the high-security diplomatic zone. They attempted to reach the Myanmar embassy but were stopped by shipping containers placed across key streets. The march turned into a peaceful sit-in that lasted until late evening.
On Monday, leaders from religious and secular political parties joined rallies across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to urge the "civilized world to stop the mass execution of Burmese Muslims"; call on the government to cut ties with Burma; and condemn Aung San Suu Kyi, the country's de facto leader and former democratic crusader, for her "criminal silence" on the repression.
Pakistani officials, while trying to contain public demonstrations, lodged formal protests with Burmese diplomats. Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and his Cabinet, after meeting over the weekend, said in a statement that the "brutal and barbaric acts" against the unarmed civilian population constituted "state terrorism."
Demonstrations also erupted in numerous other Muslim countries and communities, from Ukraine to Indonesia. In Afghanistan, protesters rallied last weekend in the capital, Kabul, holding up posters that said "Stop Killing Muslims" and called Suu Kyi a "satanic" criminal. Suu Kyi's campaign for democracy won her the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, which some critics said should now be revoked.
In an odd twist, an Islamist party in Afghanistan, Hizb-i-Islami, blamed the Taliban for spurring anti-Muslim violence in Myanmar when the group tried to destroy the famous Bamiyan Buddha statues in 2001. Taliban officials, in turn, said they welcomed the show of international support for "the Muslims of Burma."
In Pakistan, the most powerful criticism came from Malala Yousafzai, an activist for girls' education who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 after she survived a Taliban attack. In a statement, she said she had "repeatedly condemned" the "tragic and shameful treatment" of the Rohingya in Myanmar. "I am still waiting for my fellow Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to do the same."
Russian smugglers are scurrying to the aid of North Korea with shipments of petroleum and other vital supplies that could help that country weather harsh new economic sanctions, U.S. officials say in an assessment that casts further doubt on whether financial measures alone can force dictator Kim Jong Un to abandon his nuclear weapons program.
The spike in Russian exports is occurring as China - by far North Korea's biggest trading partner - is beginning to dramatically ratchet up the economic pressure on its troublesome neighbor in the face of provocative behavior such as last week's test of a powerful nuclear bomb.
Official documents and interviews point to a rise in tanker traffic this spring between North Korean ports and Vladivostok, the far-eastern Russian city near the small land border shared by the two countries. With international trade with North Korea increasingly constrained by U.N. sanctions, Russian entrepreneurs are seizing opportunities to make a quick profit, setting up a maze of front companies to conceal transactions and launder payments, according to U.S. law enforcement officials who monitor sanction-busting activity.
Such trade could provide a lifeline to North Korea at a time when the United States is seeking to deepen Kim's economic and political isolation in response to recent nuclear and missiles tests. Trump administration officials were hoping that new trade restrictions by China - including a temporary ban on gasoline and diesel exports imposed this spring by a state-owned Chinese petroleum company - could finally drive Kim to negotiate an agreement to halt work on nuclear weapons and long-range delivery systems. The U.N. Security Council late Monday approved a package of new economic sanctions that included a cap on oil imports to North Korea, effectively slashing the country's fuel supply by 30 percent, diplomats said. A U.S. proposal for a total oil embargo was dropped in exchange for Russian and Chinese support for the measure.
"As the Chinese cut off oil and gas, we're seeing them turn to Russia," said a senior official with detailed knowledge of smuggling operations. The official, one of several current and former U.S. officials interviewed about the trend, insisted on anonymity in describing analyses based on intelligence and confidential informants.
"Whenever they are cut off from their primary supplier, they just try to get it from somewhere else," the official said.
The increase in trade with Russia was a primary reason for a series of legal measures announced last month by Justice and Treasury officials targeting Russian nationals accused of helping North Korea evade sanctions. The documents described a web of alleged front companies established by Russian citizens for the specific purpose of concealing business arrangements with Pyongyang.
While Russian companies have engaged in such illicit trade with North Korea in the past, U.S. officials and experts on North Korea observed a sharp rise beginning last spring, coinciding with new U.N. sanctions and the ban on fuel shipments in May by the state-owned China National Petroleum Corp. The smuggled goods mostly are diesel and other fuels, which are vital to North Korea's economy and can't be produced indigenously. In the past, U.S. agencies also have tracked shipments of Russian industrial equipment and ores as well as luxury goods.
Traffic between Vladivostok and the port of Rajin in North Korea has become so heavy that local officials this year launched a dedicated ferry line between the two cities. The service was temporarily suspended last week because of a financial dispute.
China, with its large shared border and traditionally close ties with Pyongyang, remains North Korea's most important trading partner, accounting for more than 90 percent of the country's foreign commerce. Thus, Beijing's cooperation is key to any sanctions regime that seeks to force Kim to alter his behavior, current and former U.S. officials say.
Still, Russia, with its massive petroleum reserves and proven willingness to partner with unsavory regimes, could provide just enough of a boost to keep North Korea's economy moving, allowing it to again resist international pressure to give up its strategic weapons, the officials said.
"Russia is now a player in this realm," said Anthony Ruggiero, a former Treasury Department official who is now a senior fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington think tank. "The Chinese may be fed up with North Korea and willing to do more to increase the pressure. But it's not clear that the Russians are willing to go along with that."
The reports of Russian oil smuggling come as Moscow continues to criticize international efforts to impose more trade restrictions on North Korean. Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a joint news conference Wednesday with South Korean leader Moon Jae-in, pointedly refused to support new restrictions on fuel supplies for the North.
"We should not act out of emotions and push North Korea to a dead end," Putin said, according to South Korean media accounts of the news conference.
Rare insight into exactly how Russian firms conduct business with Kim's isolated regime can be gleaned from the court papers filed last month to support new sanctions against Russian nationals accused of supplying diesel and other fuels to North Korea. The papers describe in detail how one company, Velmur, was set up by Russian operatives in Singapore to allegedly help North Korea purchase millions of dollars' worth of fuel while keeping details of the transactions opaque.
Velmur was registered in Singapore in 2014 as a real estate management company. Yet its chief function appears to be "facilitating the laundering of funds for North Korea financial facilitators and sanctioned entities," according to a Justice Department complaint filed on Aug. 22. The company has no known headquarters, office space or even a Web address, but rather "bears the hallmarks of a front company," the complaint states.
According to the documents, Velmur worked with other Russian partners to obtain contracts this year to purchase nearly $7 million worth of diesel fuel from a Russian supplier known as IPC between February and May. In each case, North Korean operatives wired the payments to Velmur in hard currency - U.S. dollars - and Velmur in turn used the money to pay IPC for diesel tanker shipments departing the port of Vladivostok, the documents show.
"The investigation has concluded that North Korea was the destination" of the diesel transshipments, the Justice Department records state. "As such, it appears that Velmur, while registered as a real estate management company, is in fact a North Korean financial facilitator."
Officials for Velmur could not be reached for comment. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, reacting to the U.S. court filing last month, dismissed the sanctions policy as futile, while declining to address specific allegations about sanctions-busting by Russian individuals.
"Washington, in theory, should have learned that, for us, the language of sanctions is unacceptable; the solution of real problems is only hindered by such actions," Ryabkov said. "So far, however, it does not seem that they have come to an understanding of such obvious truths."
U.S. officials acknowledged that it may be impossible to physically stop Russian tankers from delivering fuel shipments to North Korea ports, as long as the Putin government grants tacit approval. But the United States enjoys some leverage because of the smugglers' preference for conducting business in dollars.
When Justice Department officials announced sanctions on Russian businesses last month, they also sought the forfeiture of millions of dollars in U.S. currency alleged involved in the transactions, a step intended as a warning to others considering trading with North Korea. Black-market traders tend to shun the North Korea's currency, the won, which has been devalued to the point that some Pyongyang department stores insist on payment in dollars, euros or Chinese renminbi.
"There are vulnerabilities here, because the people North Korea is doing business with want dollars. It was dollars that the North Koreans were attempting to send to Russia," said Ruggiero, the former Treasury official. "The Russians are not about to start taking North Korean won."
---
The Washington Post's David Filipov contributed from Moscow.
Social Finance, an online lender that has been one of the more prominent financial technology startups, said Monday that its co-founder and chief executive, Mike Cagney, planned to step down by the end of the year.
The development follows claims and a lawsuit over sexual harassment at the San Francisco-based startup, which is known as SoFi. Several former employees said that Cagney, 46, had inappropriate relationships with SoFi employees that helped foment a toxic workplace culture.
In addition, Cagney may have been overaggressive in expanding SoFis business, skirting risk and compliance controls, said people with knowledge of the situation, who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
In a letter to employees, sent Monday evening, Cagney wrote that the combination of HR-related litigation and negative press have become a distraction from the companys core mission. Cagney is stepping down as both chief executive and chairman.
SoFi joins a list of technology startups that have been dealing with workplace culture issues. This year, Uber, the ride-hailing company based in San Francisco, has grappled with claims of sexual harassment and questions over its business tactics, resulting in many of it senior leaders including its chief executive, Travis Kalanick leaving their positions. (Kalanick was not personally accused of sexual harassment.) Venture capitalists who finance startups have also faced questions over sexual harassment of women entrepreneurs.
SoFi was founded in 2011 and began by refinancing the loans of elite students online. Since then, it has branched out to offer mortgages and personal loans, and it recently began the process of applying for a banking license. The privately held company, which is valued at more than $4 billion, has raised nearly $2 billion from investors, including SoftBank, Discovery Capital and Baseline Ventures.
The firm was sued in August by a former employee at the companys main satellite office in Healdsburg, who said that he had been fired after complaining about managers sexually harassing their subordinates.
The company announced this month that it was starting an investigation into the claims.
SoFi said Monday that Cagney would be replaced immediately as the companys chairman by another board member, Tom Hutton, an early investor in the company.
A spokesman for SoFi disputed the notion that the company had taken on too much risk in its business. The spokesman also said that the board investigated a dispute between Cagney and a former employee in 2012, and it found no evidence of a romantic or sexual relationship and reached a settlement on the issue.
Cagney did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.
Katie Benner and Nathaniel Popper are New York Times writer.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
Milo Yiannopoulos, the provocative right-wing showman whose visit to UC Berkeley in February prompted a riot that shut down the event, said Tuesday hes coming back in two weeks with like-minded cohorts: author Ann Coulter and Stephen Bannon, former adviser to President Trump.
Campus officials havent sanctioned the trios four-day event, planned by a student group and dubbed Free Speech Week.
Masked left-wing anarchists greeted Yiannopoulos in February, smashing windows, burning police equipment and forcing cancellation of the speech. Yiannopoulos told The Chronicle he wants to return because UC Berkeley likes to make a big deal that its the home of free speech. But its certainly the opposite of that.
Lets test that premise, he said, calling UC Berkeley the craziest campus in America. Among the announced events is Feminism Awareness Day.
Well have male-only speakers, said Yiannopoulos, who used a slur for gays in the title of his national campus tour last year, though he is gay. Well open with a drag queen. Speakers will be telling women what theyve been doing wrong.
Other event topics include Muslims, Silicon Valley and the First Amendment.
Bannon was unavailable for comment. But Yiannopoulos said Bannon and Coulter will join him on campus from Sept. 24-27 with Pamela Geller, author of Stop the Islamization of America, Alex Marlow, an editor with Bannon on the right-wing opinion site Breitbart News, and David Horowitz, a conservative activist.
Now Playing: Demonstrators protest a speaking engagement by Conservative author and journalist Milo Yiannopoulos on Wednesday Feb 1, 2017 outside Pauley Ballroom on the in Berkeley, Calif. Video: San Francisco Chronicle
Student Republicans had invited Coulter to speak last spring. But after the winter riot, the administration offered so few times and places for Coulter to appear that the Berkeley College Republicans canceled the event and sued the campus and the University of California, claiming bias against conservatives.
On Tuesday, UC Berkeley officials said they cannot yet confirm exactly when or if (Yiannopoulos and Bannon) will be here, nor can it confirm a list of speakers.
Not a single speaker has connected with the campus or our police department to discuss security arrangements, as is required, Dan Mogulof, the campus spokesman, said in a statement. Rental fees for venues have not been paid. Contracts with venues have not been signed.
This time, it wasnt the student Republicans who invited the conservatives, but a smaller student group called the Berkeley Patriot, which set up a Free Speech Week website to promote the events.
Students in the group did not respond to requests for comment.
Yiannopoulos told The Chronicle that each event will take place indoors, and that the last one, on Sept. 27, will be at the campus 2,000-seat Zellerbach Hall.
Were insisting in the contract that the entire theater can be filled. No bogus excuses about security, he said, referring to another event at Zellerbach this Thursday featuring conservative speaker Ben Shapiro, whom the far-right Yiannopoulos needled as my left-wing warm-up act.
Citing security reasons, campus officials have made only half of the hall available for the Shapiro event. They said they will shut down Sproul Plaza and other campus buildings three hours in advance, require all attendees to show identification, and surround the area with a police line.
The student group that invited Shapiro signed required contracts and worked with campus administrators and police for months to arrange the Shapiro event.
But with less than two weeks to go, the group behind Free Speech Week has yet to sign required security agreements with the campus and contracts with the speakers.
Were very close to signing, Yiannopoulos said. Theyre trying to make us pay $100,000 in security deposits. Well negotiate it down as best we can.
Mogulof sounded dubious.
We have repeatedly asked representatives of the Berkeley Patriot to confirm that contracts have been completed between the student organization and each of these speakers; to date they have not, his statement said.
If Free Speech Week does go forward, besides the opening talks against feminism, the event is expected to feature criticism of Muslim practices in a talk they ironically call Islamic Peace & Tolerance Day.
Yiannopoulos, who has been barred from Twitter for using offensive commentary, said a discussion about how Silicon Valley may be limiting free speech is part of the agenda, as is an awards ceremony called Mario Savio Is Dead.
Weeks after the February riot, Yiannopoulos lost a book deal, his job at Breitbart, and an invitation to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference when video clips surfaced in which he appeared to defend pedophilia.
In one video, Yiannopoulos describes sexuality between young boys and older men as important coming of age relationships.
If the Free Speech event goes forward, its unlikely that left-wing activists in particular, the masked antifascists, or antifa members will let it go unopposed.
The Chronicle reported Sunday that five major East Bay protests this year cost police departments, including UC Berkeleys, more than $1.5 million including $500,000 for the canceled Coulter event alone.
The left appears intent on shutting out the right, arguing that their talks are hate speech disguised as free speech.
Right-wing speaking events including the Free Speech Week scheduled for late September at Berkeley, featuring the odious trifecta of Yiannopoulos, Coulter and Steve Bannon are part of an increasingly coordinated nationwide effort to recruit on college campuses, wrote Berkeley doctoral student Meleiza Figueroa and Stanford University Professor David Palumbo-Liu this month in a Nation article called Why Berkeleys Battle Against White Supremacy Is Not About Free Speech.
Nanette Asimov and Jenna Lyons are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: nasimov@sfchronicle.com and jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NanetteAsimov and @JennaJourno
President Donald Trump plans an aggressive travel schedule, taking him to as many as 13 states over the next seven weeks, to sell the idea of a tax overhaul as the administration tries to avoid repeating the communications failures of its attempt to repeal Obamacare.
With a make-or-break legislative battle looming on taxes, the White House is moving to clean up a disorganized communications operation, said four people familiar with the effort.
The strategy was revealed by top advisers to about 40 allies during a closed-door meeting last week. It calls for the president to visit states he won where a Democratic senator is up for re-election next year, including Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Montana, Ohio and Pennsylvania, said three people who attended. The people asked not to be identified discussing internal strategy.
In some instances, Cabinet members will be deployed behind Trump in a "second wave" after the president's speeches and town hall meetings to amplify his message.
White House officials held the private meeting on Sept. 8 to share details on its political strategy for tax legislation with allies who can deliver the message on cable news and in local media interviews. Separately, they're prepping economists such as Arthur Laffer, Lawrence Kudlow and Stephen Moore, who served as informal advisers to Trump's campaign.
Top communications staffers were at the meeting, including White House communications director Hope Hicks, counselor Kellyanne Conway, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Cliff Sims, a messaging strategist.
The administration plans to mount the full-bore sales campaign even though congressional Republicans haven't yet determined key elements of the plan, including tax brackets for individuals, a corporate tax rate, what popular tax advantages will be eliminated or even whether the changes will be permanent or temporary. It's unclear when additional details will emerge.
But White House officials have concluded that, even without a specific tax plan, Trump can build support early by making a broad case for lower rates, a simpler tax code and more incentives for multinational corporations based in the U.S. to bring home profits stashed overseas.
Trump has already tested this strategy with trips to two states, Missouri and North Dakota, that he carried in 2016 and that are represented by a Democratic senator facing re-election in 2018. He also plans to make time for another stop next week, even though he is scheduled to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York Sept. 19 through 21.
A lack of planning and coordination hampered the White House's effort on health care and other legislative fights, said several people tapped by the White House to serve as surrogates on tax reform.
"It didn't put them on the best footing to be successful," said James Davis, executive vice president of Freedom Partners, a group partially funded by the Koch brothers. "This is vastly different the level of engagement than what we saw in health care."
"Team of Teams," a management book by former general-turned-business consultant Stanley McChrystal, is serving as the template for retooling the White House communications operation. The White House is trying to overcome high staff turnover and past rivalries, with a new emphasis on good communication between various administration teams and with congressional leaders' offices.
Hicks, who has been serving as interim communications director, will now lead the communications team on a permanent basis, two White House officials said. She's viewed by staff as a strong leader because she is one of the president's most trusted aides and therefore secure in her standing.
Fox News analyst Mercedes Schlapp is joining the team to help with long-term planning. Treasury Department spokesman Tony Sayegh has been detailed to the White House to help coordinate "all the moving pieces," one official said. Shahira Knight, a tax aide with the National Economic Council, is interfacing with the communications team, speechwriters and the Hill. Steven Cheung will move to the press team to do rapid response.
The White House legislative affairs and political affairs teams are choosing the target states for Trump to visit. They've also put red states with GOP senators on the calendar to help Republicans stay motivated, one of the people familiar with the plan said.
"It's only about the votes," said Bryan Lanza, who was a deputy communications director for the Trump campaign.
In an effort to maximize the impact with local members of Congress, the administration is planning the president's visits with an eye toward gaining additional attention in the run-up and afterward.
Although details of the tax plan remain fluid, the White House is planning for future speeches to highlight specific components of the proposed legislation. Those addresses will be drafted with input from the president himself, as part of a joint effort between top aide Stephen Miller's speech-writing staff, the communications team, and economic advisers.
The White House plans to turn to prominent corporate chief executives and members of the public to reinforce Trump's case for a tax overhaul through media interviews. Trump is expected to mix up the format at some of his events, hosting town halls and other more interactive sessions.
Administration officials were pleased with a Trump speech in North Dakota that highlighted the potential impact of a tax overhaul on Julie Ellingson, a local fourth-generation rancher who feared an estate tax might encourage her heirs to sell the farm. The anecdote generated additional coverage as local media interviewed Ellingson afterward.
WASHINGTON - A top aide to President Donald Trump signaled on Tuesday that the White House may back off its calls to pair funding for new border wall construction with a bill to provide legal protections to hundreds of thousands of immigrants known as "dreamers," signaling that the emotionally-charged issue may prove easier to resolve than initially thought.
Trump last month sparked a six-month countdown to the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that currently provides legal protections to about 690,000 people, saying that it is up to lawmakers to come up with a solution. The decision has been widely criticized by members of both parties and the issue has quickly become a top-of-mind concern across Washington.
Marc Short, the White House legislative affairs director, told a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor on Tuesday that Trump "believes that a physical barrier is important" between the United States and Mexico. But he said that the administration does not "want to bind ourselves into a construct that makes reaching a conclusion on DACA impossible."
Short's comments came as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., signaled that House Democrats are quickly coalescing around legislation that would grant legal protections to DACA recipients and set them on a years-long course to apply for U.S. citizenship. The Dream Act is co-sponsored by Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate, including Reps. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Calif., and Mike Coffman, R-Colo., and Sens. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Richard Durbin, D-Ill., and Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.
Pelosi said Tuesday that House Democrats are gathering support for a petition to force House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., to hold a vote on that legislation as early as the first weeks of October. For such a strategy to succeed, Pelosi would have to obtain signatures from every Democrat in the House and at least 24 Republicans.
Pelosi said Tuesday that Democrats should act quickly to take advantage of a moment when there appears to be widespread public support for extending legal protections for those covered under DACA.
"Public opinion is very hot," Pelosi said in an interview. "We have to strike while the iron is hot."
Several recent polls have shows that a majority of voters support extending legal protections to DACA recipients in the wake of Trump's decision to roll back the program. A recent NBC News/SurveyMonkey poll found that 64 percent of respondents support DACA, including 85 percent of Democrats, 41 percent of Republicans and 66 percent of independents. Less than one-third - 30 percent - of all respondents said they oppose DACA.
But the issue of border wall funding is still likely to emerge as a difficult sticking point in spending negotiations later this year. Congress voted last week to extend current spending levels through Dec. 8, leaving lawmakers three months to work out a long-term spending agreement. Short hinted Tuesday that Trump may demand border funding as a part of those negotiations.
"The president is committed to sticking by his commitment that a physical structure is what is needed to help protect the American people. Whether or not that is specifically part of a DACA package or a different legislative package, I am not going to prejudge. But he is committed to making sure that the wall is built," Short added.
In recent days, Trump has also privately approached Schumer to discuss trading protections for DACA recipients - widely referred to as "dreamers" - in exchange for funding for new border wall funding, according to a person familiar with their exchange who wasn't authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
Congressional Democrats have said they will not discuss any deal involving new money for new border wall construction, but are open to discussing broader border security measures. In a 2013 bipartisan immigration reform bill, Schumer and dozens of other Democrats supported billions of dollars in new funding to hire U.S. Border Patrol agents and to deploy drones and other technology to scan and protect the southern border - proposals that are still considered viable today, aides have said.
But Schumer, Pelosi and other Democrats have called construction of more border wall "immoral" and a misguided use of federal dollars, especially at a time when the federal government needs to spend hundreds of billions of dollars in relief aid to rebuild parts of Florida, Texas and Louisiana after recent major hurricanes.
Trump promised during a White House meeting last week that he would sign the Dream Act if it passes Congress, Pelosi said. Democrats have generally been skeptical of trusting Trump's word on policy matters but Pelosi said she is certain he will follow through on the pledge once it is clear that Congress has the votes to pass something.
"We have to have the votes to pass the bill," Pelosi said. "Votes are the currency of the realm."
Talk of tougher sanctions against North Korea in response to its latest nuclear test turned out to be just a lot of huffing and puffing. The sanctions actually approved by the UN Security Council are not to be laughed at, but they are still terribly inadequate if their aim is to get North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to give up his nuclear and missile programs. If anything, the bickering that preceded them probably emboldened him, because he knows that China and Russia will always have his back. The U.S. and South Korea wanted a total oil embargo, but Russia and China sided with North Korea because they cannot allow the regime to collapse.
U.S. President Donald Trump talks tough, but it has become clear that he is incapable of winning over China and Russia on the issue. Now, Kim will push the envelope even further with more nuclear and missile tests. Once he has perfected a nuclear-tipped intercontinental missile, he may well demand the pullout of U.S. troops from South Korea and an end to the Seoul-Washington alliance.
South Korea's 50 million people are hostages to North Korea's nuclear weapons, but the international community has its hands tied behind its back. The world may be trying to isolate North Korea, but it is South Korea that seems to be finding itself increasingly isolated when it comes to being able to its defense. Any sanctions against North Korea must be pursued from a long-term perspective, but that does not mean South Koreans should be exposed to the North's threats in the meantime.
U.S. Senator John McCain, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a TV interview on Monday that the prospect of redeploying tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea "ought to be seriously considered." Only a few months ago he explicitly opposed it. But he changed his mind after North Korea's latest nuclear test, probably because there is now no other option. Trump was reportedly the first to consider the tactical nuke option, and now the U.S. Senate is also weighing that possibility.
Once Seoul asks the U.S. to deploy tactical nukes here again, the issue will be seriously considered by Washington. The Moon Jae-in administration continues to deny that the matter is being considered since it would destroy any legitimacy Seoul has in seeking to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. That kind of thinking would have made sense just a few years ago, but the situation is starkly different now and dovish sentiments have become absurd. North Korea has seen again and again that tough talk from the UN Security Council is so much hot air. Now it will never give up its nukes.
The government must accept this. If it truly intends to protect South Korean lives, it must start talks with the U.S. over the redeployment of tactical nuclear weapons. A nuclear threat can only be deterred by a nuclear defense. Meaningful talks with North Korea can start only once a true balance of power has been achieved.
Tom Frieden, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is starting a new initiative to tackle some of global healths thorniest issues: cardiovascular disease and epidemics.
Frieden, a former New York City health commissioner who spent seven years leading the CDC during the Obama administration, said he chose those two issues based on his unique vantage point of surveying the world and seeing where there were areas that really are at a tipping point. Strategic investment and action in each of these areas can make substantial differences, he said.
The $225 million initiative, called Resolve, announced Tuesday in New York, aims to reduce the global burden of heart disease and stroke, the worlds leading causes of death. It also will focus on helping low- and middle-income countries fight infectious disease epidemics by strengthening laboratory networks so emerging threats are identified promptly, and training disease detectives to track and investigate disease outbreaks, including those that circulate in animals and jump to humans.
Frieden led the CDC longer than any director since the 1970s. Some of the major disease outbreaks that took place during his tenure include the 2009 global H1N1 swine flu pandemic, the deadly respiratory virus known as MERS, and the Ebola and Zika epidemics.
Resolve will be housed in a New York-based public health nonprofit organization called Vital Strategies, which operates in more than 60 countries.
The initiatives five-year funding is coming from some of the biggest names in global public health: Bloomberg Philanthropies ($100 million), the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative ($75 million) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation ($50 million).
I hope five years from now well look back and see this was the inflection point for rapid progress in preventing global cardiovascular disease deaths and improving epidemic preparedness, Frieden said. In a few years, we hope that blood pressure control, sodium reduction, elimination of trans fats and strong public health systems will have become the new normal.
Cardiovascular disease causes about 18 million deaths per year, an estimated 31 percent of all deaths worldwide. In lower-income countries, nearly half of those deaths are in people younger than 70, Frieden said.
Progress has stalled because there is virtually no money going into this space, he said. Globally, very few countries are reducing sodium or trans fat or treating high blood pressure effectively.
But with proven strategies, the initiative aims to save more than 100 million lives over 30 years, he said.
In the United States, progress has also slowed in preventing stroke deaths, according to a CDC report last week. The report did not identify the reasons for the slowdown, but other studies have pointed to increased numbers of Americans with stroke risk factors such as high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes.
Global health security was a top priority for the Obama administration, which created a partnership in early 2014 to prevent deadly outbreaks from spreading, and sought to help countries bolster their capacity to detect and monitor infectious diseases in the wake of the Ebola epidemic.
Although the collaboration has resulted in more than 50 countries posting public report cards about their readiness to battle epidemics, the fact is, most countries are still not prepared and there is limited progress in closing the gaps that have been identified, Frieden said. The world now needs to step up and accelerate these countries to close those gaps.
Bill Gates, co-chairman of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, said: While our foundation typically focuses on infectious diseases because they disproportionately affect the worlds poorest, we are increasingly concerned about the growing rate of cardiovascular disease in low- and middle-income countries.
Resolve will also support and work closely with the World Health Organization, the Bloomberg School of Public Health at the Johns Hopkins University, the CDC, the World Bank and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
As CDC director, Frieden was often frustrated by the months-long delays in securing critical funding for pressing public health emergencies, such as Zika.
One of the things that makes me particularly gratified to have this opportunity is the ability to move quickly and the freedom to choose where to work and with what organizations, he said.
The initiative will have about 10 to 15 staff members in New York City, but also will be able to draw from Vital Strategies staff of 100 people in Manhattan and 300 people globally.
A New York native, Frieden is once again working closely with his old boss, former mayor Michael Bloomberg, who supported many of the high-profile public health campaigns Frieden started as head of the citys Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. During Friedens tenure, the number of smokers dropped significantly, and New York City became the first place in the United States to eliminate trans fats from restaurants and require certain restaurants to post calorie information.
The design of the Resolve initiative will be similar to the program Bloomberg Philanthropies began a decade ago to reduce tobacco use.
The City Council ended the recent debate over the location of a Goodwill store, approving one in northwest Midland.
The store will be located east of the northeast corner at Loop 250 and Midland Drive. It will be located to the east of Havertys Furniture in the former Chelsea Reas and Big 5 sporting goods location.
Council members were unanimous in their support for the store. They amended the item to make sure an 8-foot fence is part of the site plan that they will approve at a future meeting. The fence will act as a partition between the store and the surrounding neighborhood..
Neighbors met with city leaders and store officials in August to voice their opposition to the store. Even Tuesday, one neighbor reminded the council of the 27 signatures he had from his neighbors who opposed the location.
Goodwill of West Texas officials previously said they will check at least twice a day for people dropping off items (8 a.m. and 8 p.m.). They also said changes have been made inside the store -- including the moving of a wall -- that will allow for more storage area inside the store. Dumpsters also are being moved into an enclosed area, and there will be five security cameras outside the store and enhanced lightning.
City leaders also said Tuesday they are interested in the fence coming along as promised. It appears the fence will be brick (as Goodwill officials had said they would build) or brick pillars and wood (as city leaders said would be more appropriate for the area). The fence will stretch along the north side of the property and down the east side closing off that corner of the property to neighbors.
They have a good mission and want to be good neighbors, said Jeff Sparks, the representative for north Midland. The neighborhood will find Goodwill is a better neighbor than some other business that could have moved in or as good of a neighbor as anyone else.
Councilman John Love III said he read social media commentary on the location and said it was unfortunate that people dont understand what Goodwill does. He said he has served on a Goodwill advisory committee and believes that Goodwill has always taken care of its property.
Goodwill, according to store officials, is putting more stores in higher-end locations. Sparks said after the meeting that his brother told him of one near the Highland Park area of Dallas.
Mayor Jerry Morales told Goodwill officials at the meeting that the responsibility was now on them to understand the concerns of the neighborhood and be the best neighbor possible.
AUSTIN Mexico has yanked its offer to send aid to Texas, saying it has its own natural disasters to take care of.
The Mexican government announced Monday it would rescind its offer to help Texas clean up after Hurricane Harvey due to an earthquake last week that rocked the states of Oaxaca, Chiapas and Tabasco and killed 95 people. Then came Hurricane Katia, which recently whipped into Mexico.
This decision is due to the fact that conditions in both countries have changed and that Texass need for assistance has fortunately diminished, read a news release from the Mexican government.
The Mexican government had sent boats and vehicles to help Texas respond to Hurricane Harvey, officials said. A spokesman for the governors office said Mexico also sent mobile kitchen units.
Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray had called Gov. Greg Abbott to offer assistance within the first few days of Hurricane Harveys landfall in Texas. The storm dropped about 50 inches of rain on Houston and demolished communities throughout Southeast Texas. A full recovery is expected to take years.
We are grateful for Mexicos offer of assistance in the aftermath of Harvey, and fully understand and support the decision to redirect their resources back home in the wake of this deadly earthquake, said John Wittman, the governors spokesman.
The statement from Mexico also noted that it was on Aug. 27 that Mexican officials offered specific assistance to Texas in a phone call with Abbott, followed up by an offer of assistance to the U.S. State Department on Aug. 28. But it wasnt until Sept. 6 that Texas and U.S. officials gave a response to Mexico, including a letter from Texas officials saying that only logistical support was needed.
Judging by the closure of most of the shelters located in the Houston area and from communication with Texas officials, it seems that, fortunately, the current need for aid has declined considerable, the statement from the Mexican government said.
The Mexican government takes this opportunity to thank Abbott for his message of solidarity with Mexico after the September 7 earthquake, the statement continued. In addition, the Mexican government expresses its full solidarity with Florida given the severe damage done by Hurricane Irma.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
A woman accused of capital murder referred to herself as Bonnie and her co-defendant Clyde, when she spoke to police about how they robbed and killed two men in 2014, a prosecutor said Tuesday morning at the opening of her trial.
Antoinette Martinez and Cameo Marcus Clines were 20 when arrested in June 2014 and charged in the deaths of Xavier Cordero, 20, the son of a San Antonio Police Department detective, and Steven Rendon, 19.
The deaths occurred during a streak of robberies in 2014 that were blamed on both defendants. Under an agreement reached with prosecutors in 2016, Clines pleaded guilty to murder, admitted to the killings and was sentenced to two life terms plus 20 years for a separate burglary in which he shot the victims.
Antoinette Martinez and Cameo Clines were friends in June 2014. They went from friends to Bonnie and Clyde, prosecutor Mari Janssen told the jurors during her opening statement.
The defense did not give an opening statement.
Janssen said Martinez had a previous sexual relationship with Cordero and that she lured him to her apartment with the promise of sex.
What Xavier didnt know was that she was not alone. Cameo Clines was going to be there with a gun. He was hiding in the bathroom, Janssen said.
Cordero was robbed at gunpoint inside Martinezs apartment on South New Braunfels Avenue, then taken to a secluded area near Braunig Lake in Southeast Bexar County and shot multiple times on June 18, 2014, according to reports released at the time. A Bexar County sheriffs deputy found Cordero facedown in a field.
Rendon was killed June 25, 2014, in a similar way. His body was found five days later in a South Bexar County cornfield. Witnesses told police Martinez and Clines were seen in Rendons car after his death.
The case is being heard in the 175th state District Court, with Judge Catherine Torres-Stahl presiding. The state is not seeking the death penalty for Martinez. If convicted of capital murder, she faces an automatic sentence of life in prison.
ezavala@express-news.net
Twitter: @elizabeth2863
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
HAVANA - With ports mended and weather cleared, officials struggled Monday to get aid to Caribbean islands devastated by Hurricane Irma and tried to take stock of the damage caused by the Category 5 storm.
At least 34 people were reported to have been killed in the region, including 10 in Cuba, whose northern coast was raked by the storm. Cuban state media said most of those died in Havana, where seawater surged deep into residential neighborhoods.
To the east, in the Leeward Islands known as the playground for the rich and famous, governments came under criticism for failing to respond quickly to the hurricane, which flattened many towns and turned lush, green hills to a brown stubble.
Residents have reported food, water and medicine shortages, as well as looting.
More relief promised
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson defended his government's response to what he called an "unprecedented catastrophe" and promised to increase funding for the relief effort. Britain sent a navy ship and almost 500 troops to the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla and the Turks and Caicos islands, which were pummeled by the hurricane.
The U.S. government said it was sending a flight Monday to evacuate its citizens from St. Martin, one of the hardest-hit islands. Evacuees were warned to expect long lines and no running water at the airport.
About 70 percent of the beds at the main hospital in the French portion of St. Martin were severely damaged, and more than 100 people needing urgent medical care were evacuated. Eight of the territory's 11 pharmacies were destroyed, and Guadeloupe was sending medication.
Dutch King Willem-Alexander flew to St. Maarten, which shares the island with the French dependency of St. Martin, to see the devastation wreaked by Irma and express gratitude to relief workers. Dutch news outlets showed the king touring the badly damaged Princess Juliana International Airport.
French President Emmanuel Macron was scheduled to arrive Tuesday in St. Martin to bring aid and fend off criticism that he didn't do enough to respond to the storm.
Flooding in Havana
Also hit hard was Cuba, where central Havana neighborhoods along the coast between the Almendares River and the harbor suffered the worst flooding. Seawater penetrated as much as a one-third of a mile inland in some places.
Cuban state media reported 10 deaths despite the country's usually rigorous disaster preparations. More than 1 million were evacuated from flood-prone areas.
The Jardines del Rey airport serving the northern keys was destroyed, the Communist Party newspaper Granma reported, tweeting photos of a shattered terminal hall littered with debris.
Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders announced a plan Tuesday to set aside $30 million to help immigrants affected by President Trumps decision to rescind a program that shields thousands of them from deportation.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program allows immigrants who came to the United States as children to apply for temporary protections from deportation and to receive work permits.
The plan is expected to be discussed by a legislative committee on Wednesday. It would set aside $20 million for immigration legal services and send $10 million to public colleges and universities to provide financial aid to DACA students, also known as Dreamers. Of the $10 million, $7 million would go to community colleges, $2 million to California State University and $1 million to the University of California.
Now Playing: UC President Janet Napolitano suing agency she once led Video: KTVU
The new funding is among the hundreds of bills being considered by the Legislature in the final days of its session. Major legislation is still pending, including a package of affordable housing bills that would put a $4 billion housing bond on the 2018 ballot and a new real estate fee to create $200 million to $300 million in housing money each year.
The Legislature will also take up bills to create sanctuary state policies, overhaul the sex offender registry, require the state to receive all of its power from renewable sources by 2045 and allow some counties including Alameda and San Francisco to approve safe injection sites to reduce opioid overdoses.
The last day for lawmakers to pass bills this session is Friday, pushing lawmakers to move the new DACA funding quickly following Tuesdays announcement.
We will not let one man with xenophobic tendencies undercut years of progress we have made in California to integrate these young adults into our society and economy, said Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, in a statement. California is their home and they are our future.
DACA was implemented in 2012 by President Barack Obama to allow immigrants who came to the United States before age 16 to apply for two-year renewable permits to live and work here if they have lived in the country continuously since 2007 and were in school or have graduated from high school. Of the 800,000 participating immigrants, more than 200,000 live in California.
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced last week that the Trump administration will no longer accept new DACA applications. He said people currently in the program can continue with it until March 5, 2020, if they apply for the required renewals.
The new funding for DACA services we are adding to the budget will provide answers and help young Californians stay in the only country theyve ever known, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood Los Angeles County), said in a statement. Donald Trump may love chaos. These kids dont deserve it.
On Monday, state Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed a lawsuit in federal court in San Francisco challenging Trumps decision to end DACA. California and three other states are arguing that ending the program betrayed the trust immigrants placed in the government that their information would be kept private. Instead, the home addresses, fingerprints and other information DACA participants provided will be used to help immigration agents track them down, Becerra said.
Among the bills the Legislature passed this week that now head to Brown are:
AB10 by Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, D-Bell Gardens (Los Angeles County), would require schools that serve students from sixth grade and up and receive Title 1 funding for low-income students to provide free tampons and pads in at least half of the restrooms on campus. Many schools already provide free feminine hygiene products in their front office, but Garcia said campuses need to do more. The bill passed the Assembly 70-4 and the Senate 39-0.
AB562 by Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, D-Torrance (Los Angeles County), would levy a civil fine of up to $5,000 to anyone who intentionally deceives, defrauds, obstructs or interferes with a state audit. The bill was introduced after state auditors revealed that the UC presidents office interfered with a survey the auditor sent to campuses, rendering the results useless. The bill passed the Assembly 77-0 and Senate 36-0.
AB242 by Assemblymen Joaquin Arambula, D-Fresno, and Jim Patterson, R-Fresno, would require the state Department of Public Health to report every year to the Legislature on the number of veteran suicides. The bill passed the Assembly 77-0 and the Senate 38-0.
SB797 by Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, would allow San Mateo, San Francisco and Santa Clara counties to place 1/8-cent tax measures on their ballots to fund Caltrain if first approved by two-thirds of Caltrains board, two-thirds of each countys board of supervisors and a majority of members of San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, San Mateo County Transit District, and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. It passed 48-27 in the Assembly and 26-12 in the Senate.
AB343 by Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, would allow refugees with special immigration visas to pay in-state tuition and be eligible for state financial aid programs. The special visa program is for immigrants who worked as translators for the U.S. military. The bill passed the Assembly 67-5 and the Senate 38-0.
Melody Gutierrez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mgutierrez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @MelodyGutierrez
If you do not have a current print subscription to the Lodi News-Sentinel, but want to view unlimited articles for the month, please choose this option.
SEAT Ireland has unwrapped the details behind a new, cost saving offer it is rolling out to Longford motorists.
l Encourages scrappage of older diesel vehicles against purchase of latest, Euro 6 models
l Incentives of up to 2,750, according to model, applies to new petrol and diesel vehicles
l 0% finance available on all-new Ibiza and new Leon models
l Vehicles traded will be scrapped to ensure positive impact on environment
l Offer available to owners of any pre-Euro 5 diesel vehicle
SEAT Ireland is encouraging the uptake of latest generation, lower-emission new cars, hand-in-hand with the removal, of older, Euro 1-4 emissions standard vehicles from the Irish car parc, by today launching an attractive EcoGrant offer.
Owners of any diesel vehicle that complies with Euro 1-4 emissions legislation qualify for the EcoGrant offer.
They are then able to trade-in the vehicle to benefit from incentives - ranging from 800 to 2,750 - against a range of SEAT vehicles, if the vehicle is ordered by 31 December 2017. The trade-in vehicle needs to have been owned by the customer for at least six months.
All new SEAT petrol and diesel vehicles meet the latest Euro 6 emissions standards, currently the most stringent yet. There is a huge choice of models to choose from under the EcoGrant offer, starting from entry-level cars such as the SEAT Mii, to traditional favourites such as the all-new Ibiza and the new Leon, with 0% finance available on new Ibiza and Leon models and finance from as low as 3.9% on the SEAT Mii.
Niall Phillips, Brand Director of SEAT Ireland commented: The EcoGrant offers customers of older diesel vehicles the opportunity to change into one of our new, lower emission models available across the SEAT range.
With the extremely attractive finance rates on offer including 0% finance on any new Ibiza or Leon, we are confident this will appeal to a wide audience and I would encourage everyone to visit their local SEAT dealer to find out more.
All details of these offers, including additional financing offers are available on SEAT.ie/ecogrant - with orders possible from September 8.
The court's verdict comes at a crucial juncture in the row between Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and the state government over a slew of issues.
Miami : Millions of Florida residents were without power and extensive damage was reported in the Florida Keys but most of the Sunshine State appeared to have dodged forecasts of catastrophic damage from Hurricane Irma. While Florida may have escaped the worst from the monster
storm which first pummeled the Caribbean, the death toll jumped to at least 40 as Cuba said 10 people had been killed there over the weekend as Irma spun northward. And in the Caribbean, as hard-hit residents struggled to get back on their feet, Britain, France, the Netherlands and
the United States ramped up relief efforts for their overseas territories.
Florida residents who spent an anxious night huddled indoors were venturing out to survey the damage, which did not seem to be as bad as initially feared. More than 6.5 million customers in Florida were without power, however, and Governor Rick Scott said the chain of southern islands known as the Florida Keys had suffered a lot of damage. "There's devastation," Scott said after flying over the Keys with the Coast Guard. "I just hope everybody survived. It's horrible what we saw." He said the water, electricity and sewage systems in the Keys were all non-operational and that trailer parks had been "overturned." PTI
Chennai : The unified AIADMK today resolved to annul the appointment of V K Sasikala as the party's interim general secretary, party sources said. It said the party cannot accept anyone else other than its founder, the late M G Ramachandran, and the late chief minister J Jayalalithaa as general secretary. A meeting of the general council, the apex decision making body of the party, and the executive committee passed a resolution to cancel Sasikala's appointment, sources said.
The meeting also resolved to amend the party's by-laws, indicating that there would be no general secretary in the future. Party affairs would now be managed by a steering committee, as announced during the merger of the factions led by Chief Minister K Palaniswami and his Deputy O Panneerselvam on August 21. Today's meeting was the first since the merger of the two factions. It was attended by, among others, Palaniswami and Panneerselvam and presided over by party presidium chairman E Madusudhanan. PTI
New Delhi : The BJP today slammed Rahul Gandhi as a "failed dynast" and failed politician after the Congress vice president defended dynastic politics during a public event in the United States. Within hours of Gandhi's speech, Union minister Smriti Irani blasted him at a press conference, saying his admission that the Congress had turned arrogant since 2012 was a reflection on Sonia Gandhi's leadership.
A failed dynast today chose to speak about his failed political journey in the US," Irani said at a BJP press conference.
In his speech to students at University of California in Berkeley, Gandhi also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of divisive politics and causing "tremendous damage" to India's economy with "reckless and dangerous"decisions like demonetisation and GST.
The fact that Rahul Gandhi chose to belittle the prime minister is not a surprise but expected... It is an indication of his failed strategy. The people of the country where he leads a political party no longer support him so he is expressing his pain abroad," she said.
Kottayam: Father Tom Uzhunnalil, the Indian priest who was abducted in Yemen in March 2016 has been reportedly rescued on Tuesday.
Fr Tom, who hails from Kottayam, was abducted in March last year by the Islamic State terror group which attacked an old-age home run by Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity in Yemen's city of Aden.
However, the External Ministry is yet to confirm the report. It was reported that the priest was rescued after the intervention of the Oman foreign ministry.
COLLINSVILLEA retired Martinsville correctional officer was sentenced this past week to 20 years in prison, of which hell serve four months.
The sentencing hearing for 63-year-old Kenneth Wayne McFarling was held in Henry County Circuit Court this past week. The Ridgeway resident was indicted in March on six charges of distribution of a Schedule II controlled substance, pleaded guilty in June to four reduced charges of distributing a Schedule II controlled substance as an accommodation (not for profit). As part of a plea agreement, special prosecutor Charles Simmons dropped but could reinstate two counts of distribution of a Schedule II controlled substance. Simmons, assistant commonwealth attorney for the city of Roanoke, was brought in because of McFarlings past ties with law enforcement, from his time working with the Martinsville Sheriffs Office.
According to a summary of the accusations that Simmons gave at the June court hearing, McFarling allegedly provided pills (oxymorphone or hydrocodine) to three people in exchange for sexual acts from 2012 to early 2016.
Judge David V. Williams sentenced McFarling on the four charges of distributing a Schedule II controlled substance as an accommodation to a total of 20 years in prison, with four months active and the balance suspended on conditions including supervised probation, good behavior and payment of $400 in fines.
According to court records, more than three dozen people, including several pastors, wrote letters of support for McFarling. Various letter writers praised McFarling for his integrity, kindness, compassion, professionalism and dedication to others and his family, among other positive characteristics. Several people wrote they were shocked when they heard about the allegations against McFarling and said such alleged behavior was much out of character.
According to the letters, McFarling has served as pastor at a number of churches in the region over the years. Martinsville Sheriff Steve Draper has said that McFarling was a longtime correctional officer and corrections classification officer in Martinsville before retiring a few years ago. He was working part-time doing front-door security in the Martinsville Municipal Building until he was indicted in March.
Karen O. Brady, a neighbor of McFarling for more than 20 years, wrote in a letter of support that He has always been kind, caring, respectful, honorable and always willing to help my family and me. I have always viewed him as an upstanding person with never a hint of any impropriety in any way. I am praying you (the judge) will take Kennys conduct over this long period of time into consideration as you decide this case.
Joe Terry wrote that he and McFarling were roommates at Bluefield College of Evangelism in the 1970s and good friends since then. Terry wrote that I am requesting that with regard to his years of faithful service to the community through his service as a law enforcement officer, a minister and a friend to thousands of people he has come in contact with I am beseeching clemency in your decision.
Pastor Creighton Beatty from Eden, North Carolina, wrote that I always looked up to Kenny as a minister, family man and as a deputy sheriff. Beatty wrote that the allegations against McFarling were totally out of character and that McFarling is ashamed and repentant for his actions.
Jason A Burton has worked in pre-hospital medicine for more than 10 years and is now a medical student. He wrote to the judge that in his own experiences, I have seen first-hand what opioid and pain medications can do to someone. As dependence moves to addiction, the actions of a person can become completely out of character. I have spoken to Mr. McFarling and truly believe he recognizes this addiction and has taken the right steps to combat it. He is extremely involved with his family and working with them is his motivation which I believe will allow him to overcome these obstacles.
SPRINGFIELD -- Bus carrier Greyhound, which is soon to end its partnership with Peter Pan Bus Lines, announced Monday that it has started operating out of Union Station.
Greyhound has a dedicated ticket counter at the newly rebuilt station, which opened in June following a three-year, $95-million renovation.
But Greyhound is not using that ticket counter yet, instead directing folks to the Peter Pan desk a few feet away.
Last month, both Peter Pan and Greyhound announced that they will end their cooperation agreement as of Sept. 27. after nearly 19 years.
Since October 1998, Greyhound and Springfield-based Peter Pan have coordinated routes and sold tickets on each others buses instead of acting as competitors.
Peter A. Picknelly, chairman & CEO of Peter Pan, said the agreement with Greyhound outlived its usefulness and lasted through several management changes at Greyhound.
With the agreement gone soon, Peter Pan now has the freedom to introduce new technology such as paperless boarding with e-tickets on mobile devices. Peter Pan will also be able to start boarding passengers in groups with those who bought tickets first able to get on the bus first. Airlines already do this, he said.
Peter Pan's plans for these innovations were stymied by the need to be interoperable with Greyhound, Picknelly said.
Greyhound said it has plans to introduce its own paperless boarding system.
On Monday, Greyhound also announced that it will expand its direct service to Boston, New York City and Albany, effective Sept. 27.
That will mean nine new routes with more than 13 departures per day.
Greyhound will pay $36,000 a year to operate at Union Station, according to lease information supplied by the Springfield Redevelopment Authority, which owns the facility.
Peter Pan Bus lines will pay $126,000 a year to run its service at Union Station, according to a lease the company signed in July with the Springfield Redevelopment Authority.
And local intracity bus operator Pioneer Valley Transit Authority will pay an amount not to exceed $324,000 a year for the berths and $7,800 a year for employee parking, according to its lease.
Union Station is also home to Amtrak. Starting in March 2018 it will also host CtRail, a commuter train service to Hartford and New Haven offered by the Connecticut Department of Transportation. CtRail will mesh with Metro-North service from New Haven to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan.
Possible Boston Celtics target Andrew Bogut expects to make a decision on his future next week, according to the Boston Globe's Adam Himmelsbach.
Himmelsbach reported Tuesday afternoon the Celtics are among the four teams Bogut's camp has communicated with about a possible contract. The big man broke his leg in February, but is nearing physical clearance.
With just 14 guaranteed contracts, the Celtics have room to add one more player. Though they haven't committed to any direction with that slot, Bogut would address their most obvious need, rebounding, and would be the team's only 7-footer.
As the roster stands now, the Celtics frontcourt looks small and inexperienced. Behind Al Horford, the likely starting center, Brad Stevens will have Aron Baynes (who has never averaged more than 16 minutes per game), Guershon Yabusele (a 6-foot-7 21-year-old who played in China last season), and Daniel Theis (a 6-foot-9 German rookie). Helping Boston's depth, Marcus Morris and Semi Ojeleye can operate as stretch big men and Jaylen Brown/Jayson Tatum could also be ready for minutes at the 4. But the Celtics will have a number of shortish young dudes vying for frontcourt playing time.
There's obvious opportunity for a reliable, defensive-minded big guy in Boston. Bogut's skill set could make the pairing a good one for both sides, but he does have a history of health issues. After signing with the Cleveland Cavaliers in February, Bogut broke his leg during his first appearance with the team. That injury might have just been bad luck, but the big man has struggled to stay on the court throughout his career.
Mr. Warmth will be insulting his way through The Big E fairgrounds this year.
Wait a minute, didn't Don Rickles, well, pass on as they say?
He did, indeed, but his humor lives on through celebrity impersonator Mike Wally Walter.
A stand-up comedian for the past 36 years, Walter performed for a year as the comedy star of a topless show at Harrah's Casino in Nevada called "Showgirls." And, he wasn't the one topless.
"People would come out of the show and tell me that I reminded them of Don Rickles, and I even had hair at the time," Walter said.
"Then, after I lost my hair I was watching a video called 'Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project,' when someone asked me what I was doing on television in a tuxedo," he added about the documentary on the beloved comedian directed by John Landis.
That was enough for Walter to check out the tribute artist business and find himself an agent. So, he began studying "the master" and getting all his mannerisms down, enough so, to put together his Don Rickles Tribute Show five years ago.
"I begin the show with 15 minutes of Rickles' original material, then roll into my own material for another 45 minutes, still in his persona," Walter said.
Walter noted Rickles was always one of his inspirations when it came to comedy.
"I've seen him four times. He would come out to a casino in Washington state and every time he did, I would put on a tuxedo like Don always wore and people there thought I was him," Walter laughed.
"One of my agents in Vegas got a hold of his road manager and arranged for me to meet Don at one of his shows. When he saw me, he said, 'You look like me -- and you're a damn good looking guy.' I told him I was doing a tribute show and he thought it was great telling me to 'Keep my name alive,'" he added.
If it wasn't for the birth of his son and an industrial accident, Walter may have never set foot on stage.
"I was out drinking.... celebrating the birth of my son.... and signed up for a contest for which I had no idea what it was all about. I got a call three days later asking me if I still wanted to participate in the So You Think You're Funny Contest and I had to come up with 15 minutes of original material. So, I decided to go for it and developed a routine around the fact that my wife had just had a baby," Walter said.
"I had never been on stage before, but I came in second and the emcee told me that I was a natural talent. So, I took his word for it and by day worked in a corrugated box factory in Seattle and by night became a stand-up comedian," he added.
For one year, Walter did open mic nights four days a week, leaving work at 3:30 p.m., then driving one-hour to the clubs and returning home at 1 a.m., only to be back at work at 7 a.m. It was an industrial accident that pushed him out of corrugated boxes and into the realm of full-time comedy.
It's Walter's first time performing as a walk-about attraction at a major fair.
But he won't be alone. Walter will be in the company of Danny DeVito, played by Stu Gordon.
"Stu is a good friend of mine and the reason I got this job at The Big E. I'm looking forward to being at the fair and taking time out afterward with my wife to go sightseeing in the area for a few days, including a visit to Boston, where we've never been before," Walter said.
Walter and his Danny DeVito cohort can be seen walking around the fairgrounds all 17 days of The Big E from Sept. 15 to Oct. 1.
Fair warning, be prepared to be insulted.
Following the departure of Colin Trevorrow, J.J, Abrams ("The Force Awakens," "Star Trek") has been tapped to write and direct "Star Wars: Episode IX," the final installment of the sequel trilogy.
Abrams will co-write the film with Chris Terrio. "Star Wars: Episode IX" will be produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Michelle Rejwan, Abrams, Bad Robot, and Lucasfilm.
"With The Force Awakens, J.J. delivered everything we could have possibly hoped for, and I am so excited that he is coming back to close out this trilogy," said Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy in a statement.
Trevorrow was let go over creative differences.
Script issues have continued to be a sore spot throughout the movie's development, with Trevorrow having repeated stabs at multiple drafts, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
"Episode IX" concludes the current trilogy involving a mysterious young woman, Rey, and Jedi Luke Skywalker. "Episode IX" was to have co-starred Carrie Fisher, who died in December.
The movie is scheduled for release on Dec. 20, 2019.
Nine-hundred and Seventy-five dollars-worth of parking tickets issued by the Braintree Police Department on Friday has quickly turned into a hurricane relief effort.
On Friday, Braintree Police responded directly to what looked like an organized prank by Braintree High School students, in which 65 cars parked horizontally to take up multiple parking spaces in the lot.
In a viral, light-hearted Facebook post on Friday, Braintree Police announced that each of the 65 cars would be taught "a lesson," and shared photos of red tickets on parked cars.
Police said the oddly-parked cars were rumored to be a move by "Senyas" to teach "Junyas" about "parking in their turf."
"We take parking lot turf wars very seriously," the department wrote on Facebook.
A message by Braintree Police on Saturday stated that their original Friday Facebook post "literally broke the Internet," receiving 1.5 million views. They also wrote that those who received violations could void their ticket if they donated $15 to the Houston Food Bank or to American Red Cross Disaster Relief.
The police also challenged students who had not received parking tickets to fundraise for hurricane relief causes as well.
"Form a plan, and make it happen. We know you can do it, heck a Gofundme was started for the tickets within an hour of our original post," the department wrote on Facebook Saturday.
The statement went on: "Believe it or not, it was never about the 'revenue'. It was a lesson in life. We hope the lesson was learned, and feel the money is better off going towards relief for people who've lost everything in these hurricanes."
Nine nurses from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center left Boston on Monday to assist victims who need medical help in the wake of Hurricane Irma.
The team is made up of eight emergency nurses and hospital emergency manager who plan to help displaced people that have been separated from their home and proper health care. MEMA said the team of nurses will provide medical support to evacuees in Florida shelters.
Nurse Manager Phillipa Breslin told the Boston Globe the group trained at a Center for Emergency Preparedness in Alabama last March, where they learned to work without electricity. The group plans to travel to Tallahassee first to receive instructions before heading to Florida.
The nurses will travel alongside responders from the the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. The emergency state agency announced on Tuesday it would send to Florida a 12-person incident team, expected to stay for two weeks with the Beth Israel nurses, and an 18-person Massachusetts National Guard public affairs team, expected to stay up to 30 days.
MEMA said Florida sent requests for help through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, a national system that allows states to ask for disaster assistance. Massachusetts officials are monitoring the EMAC system to provide any other personnel, equipment or resources Irma victims in Florida may need.
On its website, MEMA encourages any aid donations go to the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, and any person interested in volunteering to learn more through the National Voluntary Organization Active in Disaster.
"Theres more and more ownership being placed to everyone," said Khodor. "Us as patients, we have accountability too, to do the things we need to do. Theres patients I had that just wanted to take a pill. It was easier to take a couple three blood pressure pills than actually get 20 minutes of exercise three days a week. We need to modify that so were all accountable."
Dr. Dean French, CEO of Community Medical Center joined Dr. Samer Khodor, the physician executive of ambulatory care at Providence St. Patrick Hospital, in discussing the state of health care in western Montana during City Club Missoulas http://www.cityclubmissoula.com/ monthly gathering.
Both physicians acknowledged the states medical shortcomings, including a lack of specialists, personal behaviors regarding health, and a general misconception among state lawmakers over health care costs and how personal expenses are tied to the insurance industry.
But Missoulas medical care remains strong, trending ahead of other regions of the country. The number of practicing surgeons is 15 percent greater than in most other places, and end-of-life care costs significantly less.
By Martin Kidston
***
State lawmakers discuss future of Medicaid expansion
With Montanas Medicaid expansion due to sunset in 2019, lawmakers met here Monday to start reviewing the program that connects nearly 81,000 Montanans to health coverage.
The Children, Families, Health and Human Services Interim Committee met to talk about how the Medicaid expansion stands today and what funding changes could come down the road.
By Katheryn Houghton Chronicle Staff Writer
http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/health/state-lawmakers-discuss-future-of-medicaid-expansion/article_6520a4f3-e29f-53b4-83db-288ad62d98b6.html
***
Upcoming City Club Events:
Monday Oct. 16 (third monday due to Columbus day on the 9th) Missoulas Mayorial Candidates John Engen and Lisa Triepke
November 13 UM President Sheila Stearns
***
More than 100 tell lawmakers to halt Medicaid rate cuts would cause death, suffering
HOLLY K. MICHELS [email protected]
http://missoulian.com/print-specific/more-than-tell-lawmakers-to-halt-medicaid-rate-cuts-would/article_99173605-6ec5-536e-9eed-2dbda787ba91.html
***
This is the future of personal healthcare proactive instead of reactive
Video of Previous Presentation at the University of Montana- Missoula native Dr. Leroy Hoods "Determined Optimism" and P4 Medicine is going to revolutionize healthcare beyond your wildest imagination Arivale.com http://www.matr.net/article-73979.html
The CEO of personal finance company Social Finance Inc. will be stepping down before the end of the year following allegations of sexual harassment at the online lender, known as SoFi.
Mike Cagney, who cofounded the company in 2011, sent a company-wide note on Monday evening announcing his decision, writing: "The combination of HR-related litigation and negative press have become a distraction from the companys core mission."
Clare OConnor , Forbes Staff
https://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2017/09/12/sofi-ceo-mike-cagney-resigns-following-sexual-harassment-lawsuit/#11ab0be065be
***
Stunning success; Business booming for Helena software startup SoFi; staff expected to double great career opportunities available http://www.matr.net/article-68453.html
Utahs Rocky Mountain Power customers could end up paying more directly for power generated by their neighbors solar panels under the terms of the companys recent settlement with the solar industry.
The settlement has been praised for preserving, at least for now, most of the financial credits that customers with rooftop solar arrays receive from Rocky Mountain Power when they generate surplus electricity.
By Emma Penrod
http://www.sltrib.com/news/2017/09/11/settlement-would-let-rocky-mountain-power-charge-nonsolar-customers-to-pay-for-rooftop-solar-power/
"For small to medium to national organizations, for events and fundraisers of any size, in any format live, virtual or hybrid the platform is built for scale."
Charles "Chuck" Ambrose counts a record enrollment growth of 27 percent in six years as one of his achievements at the University of Central Missouri, according to his resume http://www.umt.edu/president/Presidential%20Search/Ambrose-Resume.Fall-2017-2.0.pdf .
Ambrose, one of four finalists for the president post at the University of Montana, also counts an increase in campus diversity among his accomplishments. And he said first-year persistence rates have consistently jumped from a half-percent to 1 percent, a "big step forward" when it comes to retention.
KEILA SZPALLER [email protected]
http://ravallirepublic.com/news/state-and-regional/article_e1e8d0b3-bec3-59dd-84ed-64d59fd64d6e.html
***
University of Montana President candidate finalist Mirta Martin believes in higher education, University of Montana http://www.matr.net/article-78774.html
A vintage caboose in Old Fort will most likely be closed for good after fire damaged the interior and exterior early Sunday morning.
Old Fort Police Chief Melvin Lytle said first responders and multiple fire departments were called to the Old Fort Depot around 2 a.m. Sunday.
Lytle said the fire started on one of the cushions inside the car, and flames were trapped inside the metal structure until the windows broke. He said fire crews were able to contain the fire pretty quickly, but the cause was still unknown.
After an investigation, we determined there was no accelerant found, Lytle said on Monday. He said the fire was most likely an accident, but officials are still seeking information on what happened.
Old Fort had recently received a beautification grant that was partly going to be used to restore the old caboose, but Lytle said now the future of the train car is uncertain. He added the town plans to clean up the outside of the railroad car for the upcoming Railroad Day festival this weekend.
According to the landmark, the caboose was placed in memory of James W. Wilson (1832-1910), Who as chief engineer and president of the western North Carolina railroad. Planned, surveyed and built this line across the Blue Ridge Mountain. Erected by the Southern Railway as a tribute to a master builder.
Bob Wilson, the late former mayor of Old Fort, was instrumental in getting the caboose to Old Fort from the Norfolk Southern Corp. in the early 1990s.
If you have any information on the caboose fire, contact the Old Fort Police Department at 668-4244, or McDowell County Crime Stoppers at 65-CRIME (652-7463). Now, you can also text your tips to Crime Stoppers. Text MCDOWELLTIPS and your information to 274637 (CRIMES). With Crime Stoppers, your identity remains anonymous, and you could receive a cash reward.
New research investigates the link between the microbial profile of the gut and the development of multiple sclerosis. While this link has been noted before, researchers now focus on the specific role played by some microbes in promoting this condition. Share on Pinterest People with MS have a specific microbial profile in the gut, but how do gut bacteria influence the progression of the disease? An estimated 2.3 million people around the world are affected by multiple sclerosis (MS), which is an autoimmune disease characterized by a misfiring of the immune system a process in which myelin, the insulation around nerves, is perceived as a foreign body and erroneously attacked. Unfortunately, despite its high prevalence, little is known about what causes MS and there is currently no cure. Treatments are largely symptomatic, aimed at facilitating the management of the condition. Previous research has pointed out that people diagnosed with MS have a specific gut microbial profile, showing that some bacteria are more abundant in the guts of people with MS while the levels of other bacteria are unusually low. A new study from the University of California, San Francisco, led by Dr. Sergio Baranzini, went one step further and sought to investigate what the significance of some of those microbes is to the immune system. Dr. Egle Cekanaviciute, another investigator involved with the study, explains that she and her colleagues were interested in going beyond just ascertaining an association. A lot of microbiome studies say, These bacteria are increased in patients with a disease, and those bacteria are reduced. And then they stop. We wanted to know more: should we care about the ones that are increased because they are harmful or the ones that are decreased because perhaps they are helpful? Dr. Egle Cekanaviciute The researchers findings are now published in the online issue of PNAS.
Gut microbiome talks to immune system As part of the study, the researchers analyzed the gut microbiomes of 71 people who had been diagnosed with MS. They did the same for 71 healthy people with no MS history (the controls). After pinpointing which microbes were more present in the guts of people with MS, and which ones tended to be present to a lesser degree, the scientists used in vitro experiments to try to identify the specific roles of those microbes. First, they tested whether these microbes could interact with human immune system cells to render them pro- or anti-inflammatory. The team noted that Akkermansia muciniphila and Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, which were commonly found in the guts of people with MS, prompted a pro-inflammatory response. At the same time, Parabacteroides distasonis which is found at abnormally low levels in the systems of people with an MS diagnosis determined immune-regulatory responses. Next, to try to understand the role that these bacteria play when interacting with the whole immune system, the researchers carried out tests in mice. The results were similar: A. muciniphila and A. calcoaceticus stimulated an inflammatory response, while P. distasonis led to an anti-inflammatory effect. From here, they wanted to see how an MS-specific gut microbiome in its totality might influence neurodegeneration. Using mice in which MS had been induced artificially, they performed fecal microbiota transplants and studied the effect of the microbe levels on the animals system. It was found that the transplanted MS-specific microbiome led to the loss of important immune-regulatory cells. It also facilitated neurodegeneration, which, the team suggested, may point to a causal link between the gut microbiome and the development of MS. The researchers told Medical News Today that, to their knowledge, this is the first study to look at the function of gut microbiota both in vitro and in vivo. Yet they acknowledge that they faced some limitations, including the restrictions of RNA sequencing , a technique they used to identify relevant bacteria. This is the first study in MS, explained Dr. Baranzini, that provides mechanistic (in vitro and in vivo) information on microbiota differences. One limitation is that the [RNA] sequencing is only at 16S resolution, thus we cannot identify every bacteria. Also, larger studies are needed to evaluate heterogeneity and eliminate confounders. Other important limitations that will need to be addressed in the future, the scientists explained for MNT, are to do with the specific interaction between gut bacteria and cells of the immune system. As Dr. Cekanaviciute told us, [A]lthough we have shown that immune cells respond to different bacteria by becoming either more pro-inflammatory or more regulatory, we dont know exactly how the bacteria interact with the immune cells.
Each day, thousands of people need donated blood and blood products to keep them in good health or allow them to stay alive. If a persons blood levels fall due to an accident or illness, or if their blood is not functioning properly, there will not be enough oxygen or other nutrients to maintain their vital organs. Donating whole blood can help these people. A similar process to whole blood donation is apheresis. This provides other blood components, such as platelets. A donation of platelets can help people who have issues related to clotting. It may also provide antibodies to help fight a disease, such as COVID-19. Giving blood can be a life saving action, but it may also have benefits for the donor. In this article, learn about the effects of giving blood.
Advantages of blood donation Share on Pinterest Donating blood can help others with health needs. Donating blood can help people with many health conditions, such as those who: have internal or external bleeding due to an injury
have sickle cell disease or another illness that affects the blood
are undergoing cancer treatment
are undergoing surgery, such as cardiovascular or orthopedic surgery
have an inherited blood disorder
are undergoing a transplant
need treatments involving plasma or other blood products COVID-19 People who have recovered from COVID-19 may be able to help others with the disease by donating blood plasma, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) . Their plasma can contain antibodies to the infection. If another person receives this plasma, it may help their body fight the virus.
Benefits for the donor For many people, blood donation offers many health benefits with few risks. The strict regulation of blood banks means that a donor can give their blood or plasma safely in the United States. Donated blood can save the lives of people in need. However, according to some medical professionals, it may also benefit the donor. The sections below will look at some benefits for the donor in more detail. Identifying adverse health effects Each person who donates blood completes a simple physical examination and blood test before giving blood. These are not in-depth tests, but they may help identify unknown health concerns, such as anemia or high or low blood pressure. The test will check the persons: blood pressure
body temperature
heart rate
hemoglobin, or iron, levels If the test reveals a problem, the person will not be able to donate blood. However, the results could be a first step toward seeking treatment. Contributing to the community Donating one unit of blood may save the lives of up to three people, according to the American Red Cross. Blood donors provide a vital service to the community. Making a difference in the lives of others can boost a donors sense of well-being. Weight management There are claims that giving blood burns 650 calories. However, there does not appear to be any scientific evidence to prove this. Any benefits of this calorie loss will be short-term and will not help a person lose weight. However, a 2012 study suggests that because blood donation centers need to weigh people before they give blood, this could help identify people with obesity and offer them help to manage their weight and any related health problems. It can also identify people with a low weight, who may also benefit from counseling and advice. Reduces iron levels for those with hemochromatosis The body needs iron to produce red blood cells. However, around 1 million people in the U.S. have type 1 hereditary hemochromatosis. People with this and other types of hemochromatosis have too much iron in their blood. The excess iron can deposit into different organs of the body, such as the liver and heart, and affect the way those organs function. According to a 2003 article by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), people with hemochromatosis can benefit from phlebotomy, which is a similar process to donating blood. People with this condition are allowed to donate blood. In other words, for those with hemochromatosis, donating blood can be a treatment option as well as a way of helping others. Not all agencies allow donations from people with this condition, but many use their blood in the general donation pool. Cardiovascular health In 2019, researchers looked at the data of nearly 160,000 females who had donated blood for 10 years or more. They concluded that blood donation offers a protective effect of long-term, high-frequency blood donation against cardiovascular disease. Blood pressure Some research has suggested that donating blood may also reduce blood pressure. In 2015, scientists monitored the blood pressure of 292 donors who gave blood one to four times over the course of a year. Around half had high blood pressure. Overall, those with high blood pressure saw an improvement in their readings. The more often a person gave blood, the more significant the improvement. Other experts have pointed out that because blood pressure testing is an integral part of blood donation, it is a good chance for people to become aware of their reading and, if necessary, learn how to reduce it. Overall health In 2007, researchers looked at the data of over 1 million blood donors. Among the participants, there was a 30% lower chance of dying from any cause and a 4% lower chance of developing cancer. The authors concluded that blood donors enjoy better than average health. A 2015 study took a fresh look at the same data. After adjusting for other factors, the researchers concluded that for each annual donation, a persons risk of dying from any cause fell by 7.5%, on average. This may indicate that donating blood is good for a persons overall health, but the researchers could not confirm this. However, they did point out that donating blood seems unlikely to shorten a persons life span.
Disadvantages Donating blood is safe, as long as the center follows the standard guidelines. The U.S. and many other countries have strict regulations to ensure safety. The FDA and American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) monitor blood banks for this purpose. Safety precautions they take include: screening donors for existing health conditions
using new needles for each donation
having professional staff on hand
providing monitoring and refreshments to ensure a safe recovery However, there are some potential disadvantages of donating blood. The following sections will discuss these in more detail. Temporary reactions Sometimes, a person can experience side effects after donating blood. Although severe adverse effects are rare, temporary reactions can occur, including: weakness
dizziness
feeling faint
lightheadedness
nausea
bleeding from the needle prick
bleeding under the skin or bruising These symptoms usually disappear within 24 hours. Some ways of minimizing these effects after donation include drinking plenty of fluids and eating well-balanced meals over the next 2448 hours. Foods that can boost a persons iron intake include: red meat
spinach
iron-fortified juices and cereals Adverse effects In rare cases, a person may experience a more severe adverse effect, such as: low blood pressure
muscle contractions
breathing difficulty
fainting
vomiting
convulsions These effects are more likely to affect younger donors, those with a low weight, and individuals who are donating for the first time. Effect on sports performance Some studies claim that donating blood can reduce athletic performance, due to its effect on iron levels and the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. However, a 2019 review concludes that there is not enough evidence to confirm this.
Procedure The donation and collection of blood follow a strictly regulated process. Preparation The person should try to get a good nights sleep before donating blood. On arriving at the donation center, they will need to: register for donation
complete a medical history
undergo a mini physical exam These steps help ensure that a person has not had exposure to diseases that could affect others through a blood donation. To give blood in the U.S., a person must normally: be at least 17 years old
weigh at least 110 pounds
have good overall health
provide two pieces of identification the first time they donate They will also need to fill in a form. During the donation During the process of donating blood, a healthcare provider will: Clean the donors arm with an alcohol pad. Insert a new and sterile needle into a vein. Attach the needle to collection equipment, consisting of tubing and a bag. Allow the blood to flow into the bag until it is full. The person will donate one unit of blood, and this will take 610 minutes. The whole process will take around 4560 minutes. After the donation After the donation, a healthcare provider will apply pressure with cotton gauze and place a dressing over the donors arm. The donor will usually need to wait for 1015 minutes before leaving, during which time they will receive some refreshments. If the needle prick is bleeding after donation, the donor should apply pressure and raise the arm for 35 minutes. If there is bruising or bleeding under the skin, they can apply a cold pack intermittently for 24 hours, then alternate with warm packs.
Considerations Before donating blood or blood products, a person should ensure that they meet the requirements. Some questions to consider include: How is their overall health?
Do they have any existing health conditions, such as hepatitis or HIV?
Do they meet the age and weight requirements?
Have they recently traveled or had a tattoo?
Do they use recreational drugs, especially intravenously?
If they are donating platelets, have they taken aspirin within the last 48 hours?
If they have diabetes, do they manage it with medication? These and many other factors can affect a persons ability to give blood. It takes only 24 hours for the body to replenish its plasma, but it can take 46 weeks to replace the missing blood. For this reason, most people cannot donate more than once every 8 weeks.
Advertisement
"When we looked at the clinical results of our intervention, we were removing the breathing tube faster, and getting patients out of the Cardiac ICU about two days earlier than previously," says study senior author Michael T. McCurdy, MD, FCCM, FCCP, FAAEM, associate professor of pulmonary & critical care medicine and emergency medicine at UM SOM. "Plus, we saved well over $4 million a year in hospital costs. It was striking."Intensivists specialize in the care of critically ill or injured patients. At UMMC, the intensivists have additional expertise in pulmonary medicine and the use of mechanical ventilators. Prior to the intensivist consultations, cardiologists were responsible for monitoring and weaning patients from mechanical ventilators in the CICU."This is a developing paradigm - critical care medicine-trained physicians working collaboratively with cardiologists in a CICU," says study co-author Gautam V. Ramani, MD, assistant professor of medicine at UM SOM and medical director of clinical advanced heart failure at UMMC. "The take-home message: there is a role for a collaborative model between critical care and cardiac care."UMMC's adult cardiac ICU has 15 beds serving about 2,000 patients annually, with a variety of cardiac abnormalities and conditions: heart attack, pre- and post-heart transplantation management, drug and mechanical circulatory support and treatment of pulmonary hypertension.Study DetailsThe study looked at data from a year before and after the intensivist consultations were started. A total of 363 patients receiving mechanical ventilation in the CICU were included: 162 in the pre-implementation group and 201 in the post-implementation group.The researchers analyzed how long patients were in the hospital, assessed whether patients met a benchmark of 28 days of unassisted breathing, calculated costs associated with both length of stay and total hospitalization, and recorded in-hospital death rates.A key finding underscores direct benefits to patients, says Dr. McCurdy, "The number of patients discharged to home from the CICU rose significantly, from 27 percent to 42 percent."Dr. Ramani says the next stage could be to use physicians trained in both cardiology and critical care medicine: "It's difficult to find these people. It's a new area, a new field. Not many people have dual certification, but there is increasing recognition that this collaborative approach can reduce the length of stay and improve patient outcomes.""The improvements in patient care alone warrant further study of this collaborative staffing model," says E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, vice president of medical affairs at the University of Maryland and dean of the School of Medicine. "Likewise, at a time when we are all striving for prudent and efficient stewardship of scarce medical care resources, expanded application of this model and a review of efforts to cross-train intensive care physicians are worthwhile pursuits."Breathing difficulties are a common aspect of certain types of heart disease. According to the American Heart Association, shortness of breath and persistent coughing or wheezing can be a sign of heart failure, in which the heart can't pump enough blood to meet the body's needs.Source: Eurekalert
The urban India we live in today is divided on the era before and after street art. Courtesy of a group of socially responsible young adults who felt like it was their duty to give back to the cities and the inhabitants a sense of creativity and imagination that had never even been up for consideration before. Contemporary art in the country has undergone a perceptional makeover because one foundation decided it was time that art changed the face of the countrynot just for outsiders; but, even for the residents of the nation.
From L to R - Akshat Nauriyal, Content Director, Hanif Kureshi, Art Director, Giulia Ambrogi, Festival Curator, Thanish Thomas, Project Director & Arjun Bahl - Festival Director_ Photography by Naman Saraiya
In 2014, a bunch of artists came together and started a movement; although an understated one at the time, that went on to become an artistic revolution. Thereafter, Indians came to know a form of street art, through the visions and creations of St+Art India; a non-profit organization that has been adding colour and creativity to the barren walls and districts of the prominent cities in the country, ever since.
It all started back in the day, when I was shooting a video for one of the first group walls that had happened, in the Hauz Khas lot. The wall was painted by Bond, Daku, Zion and a few more artists. That's when I got in touch with the street art community, says Akshat Nauriyal, Content Director & Co-Founder of St+Art India. At the time, Nauriyal used to share a studio with Hanif Kureshi, Art Director & Co-Founder, who in turn, introduced Nauriyal to Arjun Bahl, Festival Director & Co-Founder. Giulia Ambrogi, who at the time had been travelling in the country for an art festival in Khirki, New Delhi as well as to meet some of her Italian artist friends, came on board as the curator at the St+Art festivals. Together, the four of them, along with Thanish Thomas, Project Director & Co-Founder, paved the way for an art form that had previously been as non-existent as the advertisements on the walls.
St+Art at Lodhi Art District St+Art, New Delhi
The idea was to move away from the elusive nature of the uptight art gallery concepts that the cities have to offer, Nauriyal tells me. It's like a novelty of the rich and elite. Even someone like me feels really suffocated and constricted in an art gallery; like I'll drop something on the art work. It's difficult to even breathe; that's the aura it creates. At the time, the most one got out of supposed street art was the rather brash political signage and the in-your-face gupt rog' information that defaced the walls of the cities. What it meant was there was no background to street art and there was no connotation at all like in the West. Because of graffiti culture and vandalism, it earned a rather negative connotation. That's where the urge stemmed from. Nauriyal reminisces one of the earliest projects they took on under the St+Art India banner, at Shahpur Jat, New Delhi. We literally went around knocking on people's walls, asking them if we could do this and they had no idea what we were talking about. So, we would have to show them pictures of what we had in mind, he narrates. He explains that every new community shows an initial bit of hesitation and resistance that only comes from the fact that they don't know what they want to do. But once they started, the entire community really opened up.
Unusual Usual by Do & Khatra at Makhta, Hyderabad
We essentially wanted to make art more democratic, says Nauriyal. We want people to look at public spaces as not being sterile, plain, or non-interactive structures; but something that could also initiate conversation and, in some form, inculcate a thought process which extends from painting beautiful things to painting deeper meanings via projects and spaces that have a deeply rooted social context. St+Art, from its inception worked as an Indian platform for Indian artists to be exposed on a global stage which was definitely not happening before. It was to create an ecosystem around street art.
The difference was instant. The conversations changed; as did the perceptions. Before long, people were flocking to the prominent areas where, in a matter of days, art had cropped up that was worth marveling at and talking about. While earlier, any and all talks of art existed in a very small chambermost of which was restricted to art galleries and high teasnow, every street side vendor, every kid next door and every pedestrian was discussing street art. A museum might get anywhere between 100 to 200 visitors a day; on the grandest of occasions; the St+Art India foundation had, in a short span of time, gained footfalls that crossed thousands in a day! They had started the conversation; and from there various other projects. Other artists, too, began to look at public spaces as a canvas.
St+Art India
Over the years, Akshat tells us they've worked with over 20 cultural institutions across the board. You name a country and we're probably speaking to their consulates over here, he quips confidently. On an average, the organization works with approximately 25 to 30 artists, per festival. It means that by now they will have worked with over 100 to 150 artists, at least, across all festivals and projects; Indian and International. Most of their funding comes from the sponsors and partners; Asian Paints being a recurring one; year-on-year. They see value in what we do. They understood where we were coming from and it wasn't about just about branding. We were clear about the purpose of art being paramount and not venturing into a commercial space, Akshat says. But, that's just one aspect.
Being a non-profit organization that may or may not gain favour with governments and local authorities posed one of the biggest challenges initially for St+Art to grow. When we were doing the first few festivals, it was a bit difficult working with the authorities. But, we tried to create a few landmarks within the city and activate spaces that are not really inhabited and bring art into the spaces, Akshat says. With the creation of the Lodhi Art District, in Lodhi Colony, New Delhi and the Dadasaheb Phalke Mural in Mumbai, conversations became easier.
Dwa Zeta at Lodhi Art District, St+Art Delhi
People have this opinion of the government being this close-minded institution; but they are pretty open-minded, progressive and forward thinking. It may sound strange, he reveals. Of course, they come with their own set of obstacles but those are fairly negotiable and are also within realistic demands. It's understandable because there's a lot of red tape bureaucracy involved and most people have bosses that want things done their way. The point is these are partnerships we're creating; not one-sided conversations. Akshat and his team present sketches to the authorities following which, they identify an artist and a surface. The plan is then presented at every stage to ensure transparency. There are ways of winning their trust which we've explored in our own way now and we have a certain format of approaching these projects which is why the government has been great to work with, he further explains.
Cubbon Park Metro Station Bangalore by Artez, St+Art
Together, the organization has worked with various government bodies, like the Delhi Police Headquarters, the BMRC in Bangalore and Mumbai. The government also sees value in these projects; especially, with the whole idea of smart cities coming up because that's where the world is moving. Art and culture is a huge part of building a smart city. So things are changing as well. It's difficult for people, yes. But, overall it's been great, he reiterates.
As an organization, St+Art India has done approximately 6 large scale festivals so far; they're gearing up for the next edition, soon enough. With every festival we do, we try to have projects that are a balance of things that are good to look at versus things that are socially relevant and contextual, Akshat explains. I'd be lying if I said all the projects we do are socially relevant and I'd be lying if I said all the projects are just aesthetically pleasing. Depending on the artist that they're working with the team decides on a project basis on the location. This also means having some boundaries of the kind of work that they put out in the public domain. We stay away from overtly political and religious statements, or picking sides on news events. This doesn't mean that we don't make statements, or don't challenge the society and the norms on things that are happening, he shares.
Olek, St+Art, India
In 2015, for instance, St+Art, along with the government body, got Olek, a well known crochet artist, to create a massive artwork on the walls of the famous night shelter in Sarai Kale Khan to attract the homeless and make them aware of the Rain Baseras projecta project of night shelters created around the city by the government for the homeless. Similarly, in 2016, Banglore-based artist, Shilo Shiv Suleman teamed up with a government foundation called, Sewing New Futuresan organization that works for the betterment of women forced into sex trafficking in the Najafgarh areaand, along with volunteers from the foundation, painted one of the walls in the Lodhi Art District. The mural itself, tells the story of an older woman telling a younger woman that life is going to get better and to not lose hope. In yet another collaboration, St+Art came together with the Aravani Art Project in Banaglore which works with transgender people; bringing them out in the public spaces to let them paint, get them visibility and show people that they are skilled at many other things in life, rather than just the small opportunities that society gives them.
Aravani Art Project, St+Art Banaglore
Art can be the ideal medium for putting out a social message. The role that St+Art as an organization plays today is not just to brighten someone's day up with beautiful artwork; but, to provoke a socially relevant statement. It's an important measure, as a reflection of society and an artist. Because of the massive projection and reach it can have, as a medium, it stands to be able to project a lot more voices to a lot more people than most mediums we have today; especially compared to the gallery structure which is marginalising people, Akshat opines.
Shilo Shiv Suleman, St+Art India
Like any emerging scene, it takes time to get the mass' attention and the artists to get to the purview of the masses. But, the important point is, the conversation has begun. The word is out and it's spreading, like wildfirewall to wall; city to city. When we started off there wasn't some How To Do Street Art Festival In India' manual. We've written that manual as we went along, Akshat reminds us. Thanks to the digital boom, St+Art has become a global medium based on imagery. Maybe the whole country doesn't know about street art in India; but that doesn't mean that worldwide we're not visible, Akshat quips. Our audience is global. We have an organic following built on the basis of the work and appreciation. It's okay to cater only to the people who care about you rather than catering to 10,000 people out of which 9,000 people don't care.
Daku St+Art Delhi
If you are too bummed about the 2-year wait to the 8th season of Game of Thrones', don't be. We're sure there's going to be a lot of speculations, sneak peeks, set photos, spoiler hints dropped by producers if we're lucky. Just in is a photo from the Game of Thrones' set in Belfast.
The shooting for Game of Thrones' season 8 is expected to begin in October 2017 and preparations are on in full swing. Filming locations, props, sets etc. are being readied for the shoot. Some hawk-eyed people spotted a hut that looks much like a Dothraki hut at Titanic Studios in Belfast, Ireland.
Twitter/Crown for the King
The photo was captured by Spanish website Los Seite Reinos. It is claimed that in all, there were 3 huts 2 small ones and a third bigger hut. If you've been a dedicated GOT fan and have watched all seasons closely, it'd take you no time to realise that it looks like a Dothraki hut. The kind we've seen in the Dothraki Sea and in Vaes Dothrak.
HBO
HBO
Now we all know that the Dothraki army is headed North with Daenerys to fight the army of the Undead. They could be setting up camp by building Dothraki huts in Winterfell, but winter has arrived in the North and it'd be too cold for them to reside outside. They are the strongest men in the land but surely not used to the harsh winter of the North.
One thing is for sure there will be some development in the Dothraki plot. We would probably also get to see more of the Dothraki general, Qhono.
HBO
If the huts are not in the North where the Dothraki army is, where is this scene headed to? If there's a scene scheduled in Vaes Dothrak, it could only mean one thing Khal Drogo is coming back?! It could be a prequel, but nevertheless it'd be great to see Daenerys and Khal in happier times.
See you the next time a picture from the sets gets leaked!
Our country is an interesting place for talent of all kinds to breed and showcase. A self-proclaimed rapper, Mr. OmPrakash Mishra released a weird song called Aunty Ki Ghanti', which literally translates to Aunty's bell'. Yes, his creativity knows no boundaries and after all he is a millennial who is free to act upon his will.
YouTube
Anyways, my point is not that he made the song, people make things up every other day. I used to laugh when I saw what our millennials actually like these days until I came across rap gods like Sir Om here and Miss Dhinchak Pooja. Remember the selfie woman? So apparently people fell in love with the bell that aunty has been ringing and the views on his video have crossed 1 million. NOT KIDDING!
So a page on Facebook called ShitIndiansSay' actually put up an event, inviting random fans on the internet to come together at Connaught Place in Delhi, just to scream bol na aunty aau kya' in chorus.
It looked like a funny joke and people were tagging each other, urging with let's go' until, it happened for real. The response was insane and CP actually saw many random strangers united by sot' singing this song!
Internet is a funny place and these over-enthusiastic people were high on sot' yesterday. As Om would say, divided by opinions, united by sot. So the next time there is an invite for an event asking you to sing a line, take it seriously. For rap fans in Mumbai, there's another event scheduled for this Sunday.
Innovation
Humans, animals and the environment our health is all connected
Why the One Health approach is important now more than ever
Mondelez Kinh Do accelerates its presence rapidly after M&A deal
VietNamNet Bridge - Two years ago, the public was intrigued with the biggest deal in the history of Vietnams confectionery industry when Mondelez International announced its M&A deal with Kinh Do snack business.
The success story of Mondelez Kinh Do after milestone snacking deal
Visitors to a production line of Mondelez Kinh Do Vietnam
For the confectionery business, the deal was indeed a game-changer, as Mondelez Kinh Dos diverse product range is now available across Vietnam, with its factories boosting their capacities to export to other ASEAN countries, China, and Japan.
Thanks to snack markets sturdy growth, Mondelez Kinh Do is expanding beyond expectation. The firm has gained a nearly two-percentage-point share in biscuits and cakes since combining the two businesses.
Strategy is the key to success after the M&A of Modelez Kinh Do. Realizing Kinh Dos quality products and strong distribution, Mondelez Kinh Do combined the best of both: the distribution advantage of Kinh Do with the sales and marketing know-how of Mondelez. This allows the firm to grow both in modern and general trade with the best portfolio in the industry.
Setting the priority of growing its reputation, and ensuring quality and food safety in line with Mondelez Internationals standards, Mondelez Kinh Do has invested significantly to upgrade its two factories, as well as the safety of workers.
As a result, the two factories have passed various internal audits with good rating and have received an ISO certification for world class safety and quality, while the new workshop in Hung Yen was certified as a Halal A production line.
With the aim of having the best people in the industry, the company offers its employees The Power of Big and Small: the resources and the discipline of a global organization combined with the speed and agility of a local business.
Employees can grow and contribute to the success of both leading domestic and international brands, as well as have career opportunities outside Vietnam.
Keeping up the strong momentum
Diverse portfolio of Mondelez Kinh Do
With Vietnams demography and population, and the countrys connection with other ASEAN markets, the robust growth of Mondelez Kinh Do in the future is predictable.
The company is targeting the daily consumption of nutritional snacks that busy consumers can enjoy while having coffee, traveling, or at their workplace.It has also expanded into luxury segment with LU cookies, a premium gifting option to serve local high demand for Tet gifting.
Acquiring theleading mooncake brand in Vietnam, Mondelez continues innovating to offer local consumers the largest portfolio with the highest quality.
This year, the new Oreo mooncake is launched beside its traditional range to attract more consumers, with the perfect combination of Mondelez International biggest brand with the know-how and experience of Kinh Do. Mondelez Kinh Dos mooncakes are also exported to markets such as China and the USA.
Having a diverse portfolio of both local and global leading brands such as Kinh Do mooncakes and biscuits, Cosy, Solite, AFC, Oreo, Slide, Ritz, LU, Cadbury and Toblerone chocolate available in 300,000 outlets across Vietnam, the company still aims to accelerate the business and reach more customers by supporting the distributors and retailers with strong programs.
Oreo mooncake the perfect combination of Mondelez International biggest brand with the know-how and experience of Kinh Do.
In our first two years, we posted a gain of nearly two percentage points in our market share in Vietnam in biscuits and cakes, said Stephane Gripon, Mondelez Kinh Do Vietnam JSCs Managing Director.
To keep the momentum, we will continue to make our business stronger and to expand our portfolio of local and international brands. Our aim is to become the best snacking company in Vietnam. That means growing our business, growing our people and growing our reputation and impact, he said.
Aiming to create positive impact for the local communities, thecompany is setting up the foundations of a long-term business through CSR initiatives. For instance, itsfirst Joy Schools in Vietnam focuses on enhancing nutritional habits and promoting an active lifestyle for primary students.
In addition, according to Hung Yen Department of Taxation, North Kinh Do (a member of Mondelez Kinh Do) is in the top 3 foreign enterprises that have been contributed significantly to the province, with 167,3 billion taxes paid.
The company was recently honored to receive the certificate of merit from Hung Yen Tax Department and Hung Yen People's Committee.
PV
"So for me, it's personal," Vice President Mike Pence said Monday at the annual ceremony in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, commemorating the loss of 40 passengers and crew who perished aboard "Let's Roll" United Flight 93.
Pence said he was there to "pay a debt of honor to the 40 heroes of Flight 93" who rose up against the four hijackers and tried to take back the plane. The target of the hijackers was the U.S. Capitol.
He told the story of how he was a freshman Republican Representative from Indiana when the House and Senate were evacuated after the first planes hit the World Trade Center towers in Lower Manhattan, and American Flight 77 slammed into the Pentagon.
"I found myself just across the street from the U.S. Capitol eventually, on the top floor of the headquarters of the Capitol Police Chief. I was there with leaders of the House and Senate," Pence said.
The police chief was on the phone. He put the phone down "and informed the leaders gathered there that there was a plane inbound to the Capitol, and he said it was '12 minutes out.' So we waited. It was the longest 12 minutes of my life."
Related content:
"But it turned to 13 minutes, then 14, and then we were informed that the plane had gone down in a field in Pennsylvania." During those minutes, passenger Tom Burnett phoned his wife and said "We're going to do something."
At 9:57 a.m., on Sept. 11, 2001, passenger Todd Beamer "spoke those words that America and the world will never forget -- 'Let's roll.' They charged the cockpit. They took hold of their fate, and six minutes later, at 10:03 a.m., Flight 93 plummeted here to the earth. The brave men and women aboard sacrificed their lives for the country we call home," Pence said.
Pence grew emotional before the audience of family members and friends. "I will always believe that I, and many others in our nation's capital, were able to go home that day to hug our families because of the courage and selflessness of the heroes of Flight 93," he said.
The ceremony marked the final stages of the $46 million effort to transform the rural Pennsylvania crash site into a national memorial park.
"Ground was broken Sunday on the final element of the Flight 93 National Memorial -- a 93-foot tall Tower of Voices. The tower, to be built near the park's entrance, will feature 40 tubular metal wind chimes, one each for the victims.
The passengers of Flight 93 "turned what was a day of tragedy into a triumph of freedom, as our nation rallied together and charged forward to meet the enemy on our terms, on their soil," Pence said.
"And we will always cherish the memory of the nearly 7,000 Americans who have given their lives on the field of battle since that day 16 years ago," he said. "Like the heroes of Flight 93, we will never forget their service, their sacrifice, or the families they left behind."
-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.
The U.S. Air Force in August released more than 500 weapons in Afghanistan against terrorist organizations such as the Taliban, al-Qaida and the Islamic State, marking the most in a single month since 2012, according to newly released figures.
Aircraft such as F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jet and MQ-9 Reaper drone have dropped more than 2,000 bombs this year, already almost doubling the number of weapons released during all of last year, according to Air Forces Central Command's latest airpower summary.
The busy strike month came as President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and top brass at the Pentagon met to discuss a new strategy for Afghanistan going forward.
"We're in the process of doing the detailed planning [for] that strategy," Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein told Military.com on Saturday while traveling to the annual conference of the National Guard Association of the United States in Louisville, Ky.
Related content:
"And the discussion that we're having is -- which is led by the supported combatant commander but supported also by the joint chiefs -- and that is, 'What's the air-ground team that's required to be able to now execute the strategy that the president has laid out?'" Goldfein said.
Trump on Aug. 22 announced the U.S. will send more troops to Afghanistan to step up the fight against the Taliban and the offshoot of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria called Islamic State-Khorasan province, or IS-K.
The president would not cite specific numbers, but defense officials have said 3,500 to 5,000 additional troops are likely as part of the plan, which has been endorsed by Mattis.
'We've Never Come Back'
Goldfein said he doesn't foresee "a significant plus-up" in aircraft "because we've never actually come down; we just repurposed the force against various priorities," referencing the shift from the war against al-Qaida to the air war against ISIS.
"So what I see happening as we look to increase the size of the force on the ground, there will be a corresponding demand, or lift, [for] personnel recovery; command and control; close-air support; [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance], all those things that we do," he said.
"I don't think you're going to see it change that much," said Goldfein, who served as the U.S. Air Forces Central Command commander between 2011 and 2013. "Again, because we've never come back. We've been engaged in Afghanistan the entire time."
The chief also said that despite the August uptick, the number of airstrikes in country per month are relatively steady -- in the hundreds -- and that they weren't exponentially increasing by the day. He didn't elaborate on why the rate last month was higher than usual.
Even before the president's highly anticipated announcement of an updated strategy for Afghanistan -- his first major military and foreign policy plan since taking office in January -- Army Gen. John Nicholson, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and the NATO Resolute Support mission, had already been increasing airpower in the region.
In April, Nicholson approved the highly publicized drop of the 21,600-pound GBU-43 Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) -- nicknamed "mother of all bombs" -- against IS-K in the Achin district of eastern Nangarhar province. It was the first time the MOAB, the highest-yielding, non-nuclear bomb in the U.S. arsenal, had been used in combat.
U.S. warplanes, meanwhile, dropped 460 weapons across Afghanistan that same month, more than the two previous months combined. The increase in strikes came from such workhorse aircraft as the F-16 fighter, MQ-9 drone and B-52 Stratofortress bomber.
Strikes Per Aircraft
Since missions were turned over from Operation Enduring Freedom to the NATO-led Resolute Support in 2015, F-16s have dominated the fight, accounting for more than half of strike sorties -- or a flight that includes a strike -- than all the U.S. Air Force aircraft operating in Afghanistan, AFCENT officials told Military.com.
The Vipers, as theyre known in the F-16 community, have also dropped the most weapons -- more than 2,200 -- in that same timeframe, AFCENT spokesman Capt. Jose Davis said.
"The amount of weapons employed by aircraft can vary due to a number of factors, e.g. types of mission and ordnance type," he said in an email.
*/
Aircraft Type # of Weapons Released (Since 2015) F-16 fighter jet 2,223 MQ-9 drone 1,556 B-52 bomber 807 B-1B (no longer in theater) bomber 56 MQ-1 drone 33
Davis cautioned that the numbers released by the command -- which includes assets and actions only under the Combined Forces Air Component Commander, or CFACC -- don't reflect the entirety of kinetic activity in Afghanistan, which may also come from, for example, aircraft operating under Special Operations Joint Task Force Afghanistan, or SOJTF-A.
Trailing behind the F-16 is the "hunter-killer" Reaper, the larger, more lethal General Atomics-made drone, as it takes on more missions as the Air Force slowly phases out its cousin, the MQ-1 Predator.
The B-52 long-range bomber has a lower strike and sortie number. Air Force officials have said that this could be attributed to the fact it has not been in theater as long as its fighter and unmanned aerial vehicle counterparts. The Stratofortress replaced the B-1B Lancer in theater in 2016, but carries 5,000 pounds less in munitions than its supersonic bomber cousin.
Davis also noted the B-1B has a lower strike effect in the statistics, since it left the theater in early 2016 to return to the States for required depot maintenance. The Air Force has said it is "flexible" on the Lancer's return to the air wars over the Middle East.
Changing Rules of Engagement
The Pentagon last June announced then-President Barack Obama had approved an expansion of U.S. airstrikes against terrorist organizations in Afghanistan, giving more authority to commanders in the area of responsibility to call airstrikes in support of ground troops embattled in the 16-year-long conflict.
It signaled a similar approach to what the military began doing in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria in April 2016 -- a "rapid execution" of strikes, ordered and authorized by commanders.
The move allowed the U.S. to redefine its role in the air campaign as more than an air support operation.
The announcement came a month after retired Army Gens. David Petraeus, former head of U.S. Central Command, and John Campbell, who commanded the International Security Assistance Force and United States Forces-Afghanistan from August 2014 to March 2016, urged the administration to increase striking authority.
"Simply waging the Afghanistan air-power campaign with the vigor we are employing in Iraq and Syria -- even dropping bombs at a fraction of the pace at which we are conducting attacks in those Arab states -- will very likely make much of the difference between some version of victory and defeat," Petraeus said in a Wall Street Journal commentary at the time.
While the Trump plan for Afghanistan has not been fully articulated, he has made clear his preference to give more leeway to generals to take a more aggressive approach to stamp out the threat, with more troops -- albeit not yet more aircraft -- committed to the fight.
-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.
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...
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray has announced plans to resign following multiple accusations of sexual abuse.
The news came after a fifth person reportedly came forward to accuse Murray of sexual abuse -- his younger cousin, who alleges that Murray repeatedly molested him in the 1970s.
Accuser Joseph Dyer, who is a dialysis technician and Air Force veteran, says the molestation occurred in New York when he was a teen, according to the Seattle Times.
The 54-year-old Dyer -- Murray's first cousin once removed -- told the newspaper that he wants the mayor punished for the alleged actions, saying, "I have had enough. ... Something has got to be done."
Murray denies the accusation, attributing it to a longstanding family schism.
The mayor had already announced earlier that he would not seek a second term.
Murray has announced that he will step down effective 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Dyer reportedly said the incidents occurred when he was 13, while Murray, who was then in his early 20s, shared a bedroom with Dyer in his mother's Long Island home.
Four men had previously accused Murray of sexually abusing them. Murray has denied all of the allegations.
Before being elected mayor in 2013, Murray was a long-time Democrat state lawmaker who led the campaign to legalize same-sex marriage in Washington state.
As mayor, Murray pushed to raise the city's minimum hourly wage to $15.
Fox News' Frank Miles and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Spill Response and Absorbent Products for Oil, Gas and Hazardous Waste on Land and in Water
2016 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat
2016 Dodge Challenger Hellcat
(Kyle Wright | FCA)
Two people were killed when the 2016 Dodge Challenger Hellcat they were driving on an airport's runway flipped twice at a high rate of speed on Friday, Sept. 8.
The Chaffee County Sheriff's Office, of Colorado, reports that both occupants of the Challenger were killed in the wreck that saw the vehicle end up 650 feet south of the Buena Vista Regional Airport runway. Lynd L. Fitzgerald, 71, was the driver and Roger Lichtenberger, 76, was the passenger.
Fitzgerald was said to have the airport's permission to drive the Challenger on the runway, according to police. Both he and Lichtenberger were pronounced dead at the scene of the wreck.
"The vehicle travelled (sic) southbound on the runway at a high rate of speed," the sheriff's office reports in a Sunday news release. "The vehicle continued off of the runway for another 314 feet and then became airborne over a ravine before striking the ground.
"The vehicle became airborne a second time flipping end over end over a second ravine before coming to rest on its wheels."
The Denver Post reports the Challenger was most likely moving at rates faster than 100 mph. Chaffee County Sheriff John Spezze told the newspaper that the two men were just test-driving the Challenger and "went a little too fast." The sheriff added that investigators at the airport found skid marks near the end of the runway, but did not specify on their length.
"They probably got to the end of the runway and, at that speed, didn't realize they were there so fast," he told the Post. "And they lost control. It was just too high a speed and they got to the end of the runway."
Opening Downtown
In Cinetopia 2017 selection "Menashe," a widower deep in the heart of Brooklyn's ultra-orthodox Jewish community battles for custody of his son. Tradition prohibits Menashe--a kind, hapless grocery store clerk--from raising his son alone after the death of his wife. He gets a chance to prove himself a suitable man of faith and fatherhood when his rabbi grants him one week with his son before the memorial. Performed entirely in Yiddish, the film intimately explores the nature of faith and the price of parenthood. "Menashe" opens Friday.
"Lady Macbeth" takes place in rural England in 1865, where Katherine (Florence Pugh) is trapped in a loveless marriage to a bitter man twice her age. When she embarks on a passionate affair with a young worker on her husband's estate, a force is unleashed inside her and she will stop at nothing to get what she wants. Based on the novel "Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk" by Nikolai Leskov (who also wrote the screenplay), "Lady Macbeth" opens Friday.
Limited Engagements
In "The Fencer," fleeing from the Russian secret police because of his controversial past, a young Estonian fencer named Endel is forced to return to his homeland, where he begins to train a group of young children in the art of fencing. But his past catches up with him and Endel has to choose between letting his students down or putting his life in danger. The movie is partially based on the real life story of Estonian fencer Endel Nelis (1925-1993). "The Fencer" plays September 14-16.
Cinetopia 2017 selection "Whose Streets?" is an unflinching look at the uprising in Ferguson, Missouri that followed the killing of 18-year-old Mike Brown by a police officer, told by the activists and leaders who lived it. The incident marked a breaking point for the residents of St. Louis, Missouri, as grief, long-standing racial tensions and renewed anger brought residents together to hold vigil and protest this latest tragedy. "Whose Streets?" plays September 15-17.
Two of French cinema's biggest stars shine in "The Midwife," a bittersweet drama about the unlikely friendship that develops between Claire (Catherine Frot), a talented but tightly wound midwife, and Beatrice (Catherine Deneuve), the estranged, free-spirited mistress of Claire's late father. Though polar opposites in almost every way, the two come to rely on each other as they cope with the unusual circumstance that brought them together in this sharp character study from the Cesar-award winning director Martin Provost (Seraphine). "The Midwife" plays September 17 and September 19-20.
Legendary documentarian Frederick Wiseman made his debut with "Titicut Follies" in 1967, a controversial 84-minute survey of conditions that existed during the mid-1960s at the State Prison for the Criminally Insane in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. The film banned worldwide until 1992 because of a Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling that it constituted an invasion of inmate privacy. The film goes behind the walls to show stark and graphic images exposing the treatment of inmates by guards, social workers, and psychiatrists. In honor of the film's 50th anniversary, "Titicut Follies" will screen on September 20-21.
Special Screenings Downtown
In "Growing Up Hmong at the Crossroads," four children of former Hmong refugees embark from their home in Minnesota on a milestone journey to trace their family history in Laos, Thailand and France. The film gives a glimpse of the unique struggles that the children of this generation work through to relate to their parents' cultural heritage and make sense of their historical memory, against the backdrop of politically troubled times, increasing social anxieties and the global spread of xenophobic sentiments. Presented by the U-M Department of Afroamerican and African Studies, "Growing Up Hmong at the Crossroads" plays Tuesday, September 19 at 4:15 PM. Admission is free.
Opening at the Multiplex
In Darren Aronofsky's latest, "mother!", a couple's relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence. Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer star in this riveting psychological thriller about love, devotion and sacrifice. "mother!" opens Friday.
"American Assassin" follows the rise of Mitch Rapp (Dylan O'Brien) a CIA black ops recruit under the instruction of Cold War veteran Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton). The pair is enlisted by CIA Deputy Director Irene Kennedy (Sanaa Lathan) to investigate a wave of apparently random attacks on both military and civilian targets. Together the three discover a pattern in the violence leading them to a joint mission with a lethal Turkish agent (Shiva Negar) to stop a mysterious operative (Taylor Kitsch) intent on starting a World War in the Middle East. "American Assassin" opens Friday.
In "All I See Is You," Gina (Blake Lively) is a beautiful young woman who's still haunted by the accident that took her sight years earlier. Living in Bangkok with her husband, James, she undergoes a cutting-edge operation that restores the vision to her right eye. Now that Gina can see again, she slowly starts to realize that her newfound independence makes James feel jealous, threatened and insecure. "All I See Is You" opens Friday.
See you at the movies!
From Russell B. Collins
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Director, State & Michigan Theaters - Ann Arbor
Founder/Director, Art House Convergence - Utah
Artistic Dir./Founder, Cinetopia Festival Detroit/A2
Strengthening communities with persistent creativity
live bse live
nse live Volume Todays L/H More
Asahi Songwon Colors Limited submits outcome of 27th Annual General Meeting of members of the Company held on Tuesday, September 12, 2017 at 10.30 a.m. at the Registered Office of the Company at 'Asahi House', 13, Aaryans Corporate Park, Nr. Shilaj Railway Crossing, Thaltej, Ahmedabad - 380059 in terms of Regulation 30 of SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015.Source : BSE
Read More
live bse live
nse live Volume Todays L/H More
Summary of the proceedings of the 25th Annual General Meeting ('AGM') of the Company held on Monday, 11 September, 2017 at 2.30 pm at Y B Chavan Auditorium, General Jangannath Bhosle Road, Nariman Point, Opposite Mantralaya, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400021.Further, in terms of Regulation 44(3) of the SEBI Regulations, please find enclosed details of voting results in respect of the matters transacted at the said AGM. Report submitted by the Scrutinizer, Mr. Taizoon M. Khumri, Practicing Company Secretary, for remote e-voting and voting done through physical ballot form at the AGM is also enclosed herewithSource : BSE
Read More
Gaurav Bissa of LKP Securities told CNBC-TV18, "My first recommendation would be buy on Apollo Hospitals. It is not moved too much and has not participated in the rally. We have seen the short absorption clearly evident over there and now some fresh longs are seen getting built. One can have a stop loss of Rs 1,090 and play for targets of Rs 1,140-1,160."
"Voltas is looking quite robust. Good amount of short covering is seen. 550 Call option has one of the highest concentration. Once it crosses those levels, short covering till Rs 565-570 can be seen. One can have a stop loss of Rs 538 and buy for target of Rs 565."
"Among the weaker ones, consistent short positions have seen getting built in Bharti Infratel . It has given a breakdown on the daily charts. One can have a stop loss of Rs 374 and short it for a target of Rs 360," he said.
live bse live
nse live Volume Todays L/H More
Bandhan Banks Board has decided to appoint Goldman Sachs Group, JPMorgan Chase, Axis Bank, JM Financial and Kotak Mahindra Bank as lead managers to manage its proposed initial public offering (IPO).
Kotak Mahinda Bank will act as the left lead in the issue.
The size of the share sale, its timing and all other related aspects, have not been finalized as yet. The final decision on the proposed IPO will be subject to all regulatory approvals, the bank said in a statement.
According to Bloomberg report, Bandhan Bank could raise at least Rs 5000 crore (USD 780 million) and aims to sell shares in 2018. Investors will be offered about 10 percent stake in Bandhan Bank through the IPO.
The Kolkata-based new private sector bank had posted Rs 1,111.95 crore net profit for FY17 and its net profit for the quarter ended June 2017 increased by 35 percent.
Led by Chief Executive Officer Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, the microfinance-turned-universal bank operates across most Indian states and Union Territories through a robust network of 844 branches, 2,485 doorstep service centres (DSCs) and 384 ATMs, catering to more than 11 million customers. It has a workforce of about 25,200 employees.
Since its launch, the bank has collected deposits of over Rs 24,500 crore and the outstanding loan book is Rs 21,235 crore.
The banks investors include Singapores sovereign wealth fund GIC, world bank arm International Finance Corp and Small Industries Development Bank of India as its investors.
In the last few years, the banking sector has seen IPOs by RBL Bank and small finance banks AU Small Finance Bank Ujjivan Financial Services and Equitas Holdings , reaping heavy gains in the primary markets.
Tata Steel has finally freed itself from its 15 billion pound UK pension liability. The steel major has received the confirmation from UK's pension regulator for the deal.
In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Rakesh Arora, Independent Market Expert said this was in the making for some time and very well expected by the market so it will not come as a surprise.
He further said that people are more focused on a possible merger with Thyssenkrupp.
"Talking about pension liability - the first impact is that they have to provide for 550 million pounds. So it's a negative impact on the balance sheet and profit and loss (P&L). Second, they concede 33 percent stake in Port Talbot to the trust. So to that extent earnings are going to go down whenever this deal is consummated, so it's also a negative impact on the P&L," he said.
Generally looking at the sector and Tata Steel in particular, we are coming closer to the end of good news period for Tata Steel, said Arora. However, the next good news possibly is a merger with Thyssenkrupp, he added.
live bse live
nse live Volume Todays L/H More
Ever since the clarion call given by the Modi government to electrify all cars by 2030, manufacturers have gone into overdrive to prepare for the impending new normal. These include setting up of battery manufacturing plants, investing in setting up charging stations, investment in product and component development. Here is a look at what each of the aspirants are doing in the field of electric cars that has got everyone talking.
Maruti Suzuki
No concrete details available about the companys plan but work has already started on building electric vehicles. It hopes to launch these vehicles based on customer preferences. Additionally, parent company Suzuki Motor Corporation is setting up a Rs 1,200 crore lithium ion battery plant in Gujarat in association with Denso and Toshiba Corporation.
Tata Motors
Perhaps before by the end of this year Tata Motors will have launched the electric version of its largest-selling car Tiago. More such experiments are underway including an electric version of the Nano. Electric Tata buses are already under trials and are tested by some state transport undertakings.
Mahindra & Mahindra
M&M is the only company to have commercially launched fully electric cars in the Indian market. These started with a compact four-seater e2o and later graduated to e-Verito. Later, electric versions of Supro and a three-wheeler were launched.
Hyundai
The Korean company, which is Indias second biggest car maker, has said that an all-electric car is part of the 8 new model line-up it has for India by 2020. The car, however, will be developed outside India suiting global specifications.
Nissan
Japanese giant Nissan recently showcased the all-new Leaf in Tokyo which it hopes to get to India in 2018. Leaf is the worlds largest-selling fully electric car capable of providing a driving range of 400kms.
Renault
The French carmaker has done several innovations at the international level with regards to electric cars. It even showcased the Zoe, a fully electric compact four seater which has a range of 400 kms, in India last year. While reports stated Renault had firmed up plans to introduce the car here there has been no confirmation of this from the company.
Mercedes-Benz
The German heavy-weight says it has been investing in electric vehicle technology back home in Germany. The luxury car market leader said it currently has no concrete plans to bring electric vehicles to India but considering the growth in allied infrastructure it could eventually bring EVs as early as 2020.
Audi
Close on the lines of Mercedes-Benz, Indias third biggest luxury car maker, Audi said it is also ready to launch all-electric cars in India as early as 2020 provided there is enough demand for it and a supporting infrastructure. By the same time the Germany-headquartered company will have launched its first all-electric car globally.
Jaguar Land Rover
Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover said each of its new cars starting from 2020 will have an electric or hybrid powertrain option thereby reducing dependence on traditional petrol and diesel engines. It, however, has not finalized any plans for launching electric cars in India.
Tesla
The company which glamourised EVs on the world stage Caris considering building an electric car factory in India. The US-based company headed by billionaire Elon Musk wants to develop India as a counter challenge to China, which is the battery producing capital of the world. Last year, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari visited Tesla facility in San Francisco and invited Musk to set up a factory in India.
????????????????????????????????????
CNBC-TV18
It was a buzzing morning at the 9th Annual National Association of Realtors (NAR) - India convention in Mumbai. More than 1,200 realtors and developers across India were present, belying the general belief that the residential real estate market is down in doldrums! The focus at the convention was on the three tsunamis that have hit the real estate sector in the past one year namely demonetization, RERA and GST. Here are 5 takeaways from the convention.
1) RERA Harsh on Brokers: No surprise that the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) was the main topic of discussion at the conclave. The realty broker community did feel that the RERA rules were unfair to them. "The penalty for the brokers and developers is the same. This is too harsh especially when the broker manages to get only 2 percent commission. Even the registration fee is very high", said Ravi Verma, Chairman NAR India. This was countered by industry veteran Anuj Puri, Chairman, Anarock Property Consultants, who has recently moved into residential business in India. He felt that RERA has been able to weed out unscrupulous fly-by-night brokers, leaving more room for serious professionals. For the very first time brokers have been recognized as an industry, said, Puri.
2) Dilution of RERA Rules by States: Industry leaders made no bones that RERA is simply not the last mile solution to all the problems plaguing the sector. In a strongly worded statement Nirnajan Hirnandani, MD, Hiranandani Group, said RERA is a good law for all the future projects. But the problem related to ongoing projects is deep rooted, like cancer. These cannot be solved only with RERA. We need to find other solutions like alternative funding mechanisms and these projects to be taken over to be completed, with government intervention."
3) Impact of GST on Homebuyers: The implementation of Goods and Services Tax has left Real Estate Industry with more questions than answers. The tax neutrality of GST on prices of homes was challenged. GST in its current form cannot be tax neutral especially in bigger cities like Mumbai where the prices are more than Rs 10,000 per sq ft, says Boman Irani, Chairman & CEO, Rustomjee Group. So, buyers will have to be prepared to shell out more in bigger cities was the verdict.
4) Return of the Homebuyers: Despite several setbacks, first-time home buyers seem to be coming back especially for well located, well priced projects. According to the Anarock Chairman Anuj Puri, the sales in the past six consecutive quarters have been more than the launches across India. This clearly indicates that the launches have come down drastically, and unsold inventory is steadily getting absorbed. On home prices correcting further, the consensus was that most markets across India have already witnessed a 5-25 percent correction. The builders said the government was itself buying land at way above the market price for infrastructure in different locations, leaving little room for land prices to moderate. In fact, the circle rates do not even allow for property prices to fall below a certain point, added the panelists.
5) Consolidation on Cards: There was complete unanimity on the topic of consolidation. "Landowners who earlier had ambitions of becoming developers cannot do so, after RERA and now only the serious players will survive," added Kushroo Jijina, CEO, Piramal Finance. PE investments in the realty sector have touched Rs 15,000 crore amount in first six months of 2017, and a large part of these inflows have been to bail out cash strapped builders.
Agriculture Sector | Technological advancements are reshaping Africas agricultural sector in helping to pioneer a new agro-business strategy. Automation is replacing many jobs traditionally done by farm labourers such as harvesting and crop sorting. (Image Source: )
While the Shiv Sena today staged protests seeking disbursal of farm loan waiver before Dussehra, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis assured the leaders of the Uddhav Thackeray-led party that money will be deposited in the bank accounts of the cultivators by October first week.
A delegation of the Sena ministers met the chief minister and demanded that the process to disburse the loan waiver amount would start from September 21.
Uddhav Thackeray had instructed his party leaders and workers to stage protests against the state government over the issue from today.
Although the Sena ministers kept themselves away from the agitation for being part of the state government, the party MPs and MLAs led agitations in their respective constituencies.
Speaking to reporters at his Mantralaya office, Sena minister Ramdas Kadam, said his party had to stage state-wide demonstrations as the Opposition led by Congress and NCP had failed in its duty.
"Where the opposition fails, the Sena steps in," Kadam said.
Describing Devendra Fadnavis as a "sensitive" man, he added that the chief minister assured them that the first instalment of the relief amount will be deposited in the farmers' bank accounts by the first week of October.
Kadam said that the CM has assured them that the police cases registered against farmers, who had taken part in the statewide agitations earlier this year.
He said Fadnavis apprised them that the aim of the online registration process was to identify genuine farmers and weed out the ineligible ones, and to reduce the quantum of final loan waiver package.
He also said that even after 74 days of the announcement of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Shetakari Sanman Yojana (the loan waiver scheme), not a single farmer has got its benefit so far.
"Hence, the farmers across the state are disappointed with the government. It was expected that the farmers will get benefit of the scheme during the Kharif season. But due to cumbersome format of the online form and difficulties in online submission, the actual implementation of the scheme has got delayed," he added.
Meanwhile, Revenue minister Chandrakant Patil said the disbursal of loan amount will begin in the last week of October.
Speaking to reporters in Kolhapur, Patil said, "Accounts of ten lakh bogus farmers and their verification is causing a delay in the loan waiver disbursement. The process will be completed by October end."
The scheme was announced on June 28 and Fadnavis had stated that 89 lakh farmers across the state will get the benefit of Rs 34,000 crore as loan waiver.
Indian banks are likely to require around USD 65 billion (approximately Rs 415,754 crore) of additional capital to meet new Basel III capital standards that will be fully implemented by the financial year ending March 2019 (FY19), according to Fitch Ratings' latest estimates.
The capital need estimates have fallen from their previous estimate of USD 90 billion (about Rs 575,580 crore) largely as a result of asset rationalisation and weaker-than-expected loan growth, said a report by the ratings agency.
Even so, state banks - which account for 95 percent of the estimated shortage - have limited options to raise the capital they still require and are likely to be dependent on the state to meet core capital requirements, said the report co-authored by Saswata Guha, Director and Jobin Jacob, Associate Director at Fitch Ratings India.
The government is committed to investing only another Rs 20,000 crore as fresh equity for 21 state banks over FY18 and FY19, having already provided most of the originally budgeted Rs 70,000 crore.
Fitch believes the government will have to pump in more than double, even on a bare minimum basis (excluding buffers), if it is to raise loan growth, address weak provision cover, and aid in effective NPL resolution - the gross NPA (non-performing asset) ratio reached 9.7 percent in FY17, up from 7.8 percent in FY16.
Given that public sector banks have already lost around 300 bps (basis points) in market share to private banks since FY12 due to insufficient state capital, poor growth performance has led to a decline in the total CET1 (common equity Tier-1) capital of state banks over the last year, despite the injections.
Fitch said that the prospects for internal capital generation are weak and low investor confidence impedes access to the equity capital market.
Access to the Additional Tier 1 (AT1) capital market has improved in recent months - reflecting state support to help state banks avoid missing coupon payments - but around two-thirds of the capital shortage is in the form of common equity Tier 1 (CET1), it said, adding that weak capital positions have a major negative influence on Indian banks' viability ratings, which will come under more pressure if the problem is not addressed.
Further, the NPA resolution process being led by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) could potentially release capital if recovery rates are as high as banks and the government are hoping for.
Currently, there are 12 accounts, representing 25 percent of total system NPAs, in the resolution process at the insolvency courts. The RBI has also released a list of 50 more accounts that banks have been directed to resolve within three months or push into the insolvency process.
Most banks do not expect haircuts to exceed 60 percent. However, those loss assumptions may look optimistic considering the first resolution of corporate debt under the government's new insolvency code produced a recovery rate of just 6 percent, the report stated.
Banks argue this cannot be extrapolated to the other exposures, which they say are backed by more productive assets. Nevertheless, an average provision cover of 40-50 percent is quite low considering that the accounts in question have been NPAs for two or more years and are financially stretched. Lower-than-expected recoveries are likely to put earnings at risk, and capital could be further undermined as a result, it added.
Indian banks' loan growth slumped to 4.4 percent in FY17 - the lowest in several decades - and it is unlikely that state banks will grow at all in the foreseeable future given their capital constraints. Many state banks, particularly smaller ones, will struggle to survive as individual banks, and could be swept up into the government's consolidation agenda.
Foreign minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday announced that India and Afghanistan have agreed to launch a New Development Partnership through which the countries will jointly implement 116 "high impact" development projects across Afghanistan.
This decision comes shortly after US President Donald Trump suggestion to the Modi government to improve India's socio-economic footprint in Afghanistan.
According to the terms of the partnership, India will aid Afghanistan in infrastructural projects such as constructing dams, roads, and power transmission lines, among other things. These projects will not only be in the Afghanistan's capital Kabul, but also in 31 provinces across the country.
In addition to this, India and Afghanistan signed a Motor Vehicles Agreement for the regulation of passenger, personal and cargo vehicular traffic, which would provide the necessary infrastructure for much-needed overland transit. India will also help build affordable housing for refugees.
Shahtoot Dam and Drinking Water Facilities
Along with Afghanistan's Water Department, India will help in constructing the dam. World Bank too has expressed its interest in the dam's development. Costing USD 260 million, the dam will be built on Kabul River, helping the Kabul residents overcome the shortage of clean drinking water. This is not the first time India has expressed interest in constructing a dam in Afghanistan. In order to strengthen ties, in 2016 the two countries joined hands in building the 'Friendship Dam' aiming to irrigate over 75,000 hectares of land and generate 42 MW of power.
Apart from dams, India will help in building a strong water supply network for Charikar city.
Roads
India is helping Afghanistan construct a 218-km long road from Zaranj to Delaram in order to facilitate movement of goods and services to the Iranian border. This will help Afghanistan engage in international trade and develop its own economy.
Power
The construction of a 220kV DC transmission line and a 220/110/20 kV sub-station at Chimtala will also be done with India's help.
Communication
India will assist in upgrading telephone exchanges in 11 of Afghanistan's provinces and expanding its national TV network. This will be done by providing an uplink from Kabul and downlinks in all 34 provincial capitals for greater integration of the country.
Enhancing on-going projects
India will continue in helping the nation develop its health, education, and other human resource developments. Apart from providing housing to refugees, India will help in building a polyclinic in Mazar-e-Sharif, and a gypsum board manufacturing plant in Kabul so that value-added industry is promoted, along with the other projects.
(Source: Embassy of India, Kabul
IRB Infrastructure Developers | In 2020 so far, the share price has moved up 76 percent to Rs 131.20. It's trailing twelve months (TTM) P/E was 6.40 multiple while 5-year average P/E was 8.30 multiple.
The biggest issue holding the country back from achieving faster growth rates is a non-functional banking sector. The entire public sector banking space and some private sector players have way too many non-performing assets in their books that they are afraid to venture out anymore. Lack of funds is preventing companies, more small ones than bigger ones, to take expansion initiatives. The bigger players, especially the listed ones have other avenues to raise money.
One of the avenues that were very well used by bigger corporates was to tap the foreign market for funds. Apart from the conventional banking route the government introduced new instruments for companies to tap the foreign market. One such instrument was Masala Bonds which was rupee-denominated.
Indian bonds were a victim of their own popularity. Wontae Kim, Research Analyst at Western Asset Management, in an email reply to CNBC summed it up well when he said: "India offers a mix of relatively high yields, a firm political mandate, improving fundamentals and foreign exchange stability that few markets can."
India has capital controls in place to avoid the excess flow of capital which can disturb the liquidity and currency market. However, they are proving to be insufficient in the wake of the flood of money coming in. India currently caps total foreign investments into corporate bonds at Rs 2.44 lakh crore or around USD 38.1 billion. In July, overseas buying crossed 92 percent of that quota in July resulting in the government suspending issuance of offshore rupee-denominated bonds until foreign holding falls back below that level.
Rather than slowing down, buying enthusiasm gained more momentum as Indian holders sold their bonds to foreign players resulting in foreign holding crossing the 99 percent mark for the last one month.
What this effectively means is the window of raising money from international market is limited. The government has to thus depend on domestic markets for raising money.
Restrictions to raise money from foreign sources come at a time when the country needs Rs 10 lakh crore over the next few years to meet its infrastructure funding requirement. However, the government seems to have found a way to raise money. Reports say that the government is now considering raising Rs 10 lakh crore from retirees and provident fund (PF) beneficiaries to fund large infrastructure projects facing a shortage of bank credit.
Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has been quoted as saying that money will be raised in tranches of Rs 10,000 crore by selling 10-year bonds at a coupon of 7.25-7.75 percent. Each tranche will be for specific projects. As per governments budget, an investment of Rs 3.96 lakh crore was planned in the current financial year to bankroll the new integrated infrastructure programme - constructing roads, railways, waterways, and airports.
As infrastructure projects have a long gestation period, it makes sense for the government to tap this huge resource of retiree and provident fund beneficiaries. Its a win-win proposal for the developers as well as the investors.
Rather than waiting for months to raise money from banking circle, project developers can raise money faster through the bond route provided they get an investible rating from the agencies. For the investors a capital-protected instrument with tax incentives makes sense.
However, given the size of funds that is needed going forward, the government will have to look at various sources to raise money as retiree money might not be enough to meet the demand for funds. Indian provident fund and pension fund markets are not big enough to fund its infrastructure financing needs. Depending on retirees to raise funds only highlights the limited options it now has to meet the infrastructure requirement.
The loser in the entire proposal is the banks. They will have to look out for smaller projects in order to deploy their funds. Though risks will be spread in such cases, there will be an asset liability mismatch for the banks. The bankers have put themselves in such a position that there will be few sympathizers for them if they miss this opportunity. At best the bank's treasury can subscribe to the bonds in case they ever get out of the present mess.
Four years after the government's decision to "demonetise" Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, data suggest currency circulation in value and volume continuously increasing, a massive rise seen in the digital payments transaction, and seen a sharp decline in counterfeit notes detected in the banking system, according to data available on RBI. Demonetisation was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8, 2016, citizens were given 50-days to deposit old notes in banks and post-offices by December 30.
Nepal "must" be provided with a mechanism for exchanging high-value Indian currency notes that were in circulation before demonetization, the country's Ambassador Deep Kumar Upadhyay said on Tuesday.
He said there were several rounds of discussions between the central banks of the two countries to resolve the issues arising out of the decision, following which an understanding was "almost reached".
"There was almost a kind of understanding that they will provide a window just for the exchange of currency notes which Nepali people are holding.
"From the Nepal side, the request was Rs 25,000 for each account and from the Indian side, it was to go for Rs 4,500 each exchange," he told reporters during an interaction at the Foreign Correspondents Club.
Upadhyay explained that nearly every family residing in the hilly regions of Nepal has a member employed in some part of India.
"There are pensioners, also almost every family has a member in India. During festive seasons, when they return they take money for needs that may be medical...It is my moral obligation. Some kind of a window Nepal must get," he said.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced in March that Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would set up a modality of exchange and settle the related issues soon.
The Indian currency is widely used in Nepal for day-to- day transactions, especially in the border areas.
Also, Nepalese citizens working in India send remittances to their families in Nepal in higher denomination notes.
Nepal, a landlocked country, depends on India for trade and supplies.
While trivial on the surface, stealing office supplies could indicate that the employee feels that they have been wronged by the organization and have given up on the shared values that it stands for. They take it up on themselves to breach of the social and psychological contract implicitly followed in the workspace, as revenge for the wrongs carried out against them. (Image: Reuters)
The talent pool in the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry now referred to as business process management is witnessing some major changes. As automation takes over the lower level and repetitive work, the sector is becoming a preferred employer for skilled talent such as engineers and nurses.
Earlier most of the focus was on pure functionality to the demand," said Munira Loliwala, general manager at staffing firm TeamLease Services. "However, now its more efficiency focused with very less manual intervention. The traditional methods and processes are replaced with technology and specialised skill sets. The demand has moved from being cost effective to a strategy-oriented and robust mechanism.
As a result, professionals such as nurses, engineers and medical practitioners are the current and future hires for the industry, she said.
According to industry body National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom), the global industry spend last year grew at 4 percent to reach USD 183 billion. India remained the top BPM offshore destination with a 37 percent market share.
While acknowledging increased efficiencies because of automation, Nasscom has said in its Strategic Review document for 2017: Industry is expected to grow its export employment base at 6.1 percent in FY2017, an addition of nearly 66,000 employees. The export employee base accounts for 30 percent of the total IT-BPM employee base which includes over 25 percent domain specialists and technical graduates and post graduates.
Shubhayu Sengupta, Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Hinduja Global Solutions India, said that while overall hiring has slowed down in the sector, the focus is on employee productivity and on-time hiring.
The Indian IT/BPM industry is now serving global clients who are looking forward to set up their research centres in the country and hire talent with the right domain and technological knowledge as well as have the ability to upgrade their skillsets depending on the job role. The demand for technological experts would be close to 5,0008,000 every year now, he said.
Sandip Sen, chief executive of Aegis, said that the wealth of data that the industry has access to also creates newer jobs for people in the BPM industry. Data scientists, social media experts, analytics experts, and design professionals are in high demand, he said.
The supply side (of talent) needs to go up, said Sen.
Sharing this view is Raman Roy, Nasscom chairman, and one of the stalwarts of the Indian outsourcing industry. The ability to find Masters (degree graduates), PhDs, statistics and Match graduates is extremely limited.
He added that the BPM sector showed non-linear growth or increased revenue per employee growth much before IT services because of increased automation and robotics.
Earlier, the customer could help train the workforce for a problem. Today, with the rapidly changing technology, neither the customer knows nor we know how to solve certain problems. A large part of the industry is today discussing issues with the customer, so this is a fascinating opportunity, Roy said.
Sales representatives, for example, are becoming less important as consumers want direct information and study more about their product or service. Hence, they would be more interested in obtaining any such information and engaging with qualified engineers or science faculty, said TeamLeases Loliwala.
More promising in the area of specialist medicine, where clinicians are generally more interested in and the fact is that digital interactions are more effective at a fraction of cost. Even partial adoption of digital can reduce promotional costs by between 20 and 50 percent. So companies need to divert and spread their channels, Loliwala added.
GMR Group, which operates three airports in India and abroad, is eyeing projects in South East Asia, Middle East and Eastern European countries besides looking for operations and maintenance of Jaipur and Ahmedabad aerodromes.
"Airport business, going forward, can be a significant growth engine for the group. In line with our growth strategy, the Group is actively pursuing suitable airport opportunities in India as well as globally," GMR said in its latest annual report.
"Domestically, the Group is exploring upcoming opportunities for the development of Nagpur Airport and O&M opportunity of Jaipur and Ahmedabad Airports. On the global front, it has pre-qualified for development and operation of Nikola Tesla airport in Belgrade, Serbia, Norman Manley airport in Jamaica.
"Apart from the aforementioned opportunities, the Group is selectively exploring new opportunities in South East Asia, Middle East and Eastern Europe," the company said.
Currently GMR's airport business comprises of 3 operating airports -Delhi and Hyderabad International Airports in India and Mactan Cebu International Airport in Philippines.
It has also bagged contract for the Greenfield airport at Mopa in Goa.
GMR Airports Limited, subsidiary of the Company, along with local partner GEK TERNA, has been selected as Preferred Bidder to develop the new greenfield airport at Kastelli, Crete in Greece.
The company said that its Hyderabad International Airport is in the process of expanding the terminal capacity and adopting the new technology solutions to meet the future traffic demands and further improve the operational efficiency.
In this regard, GHIAL (GMR Hyderabad International Airport) has already completed the outline of its development plan and is likely to get approval from AERA by this year, on the extent of capital expenditure that GHIAL will be incurring on the expansion work, it said.
An Expert Appraisal Committee under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has recently accorded permission for GMR Group's proposal for the Rs 2,629 crore expansion plans of the Hyderabad airport and Rs 16,000 crore New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA).
Mumbai-based construction company Capacit'e Infraprojects is all set to open its Rs 400-crore initial public offering on September 13, with a price band of Rs 245 to Rs 250 per share.
The issue will close on September 15. Bids can be made for minimum of 60 equity shares and in multiples of 60 shares thereafter.
The book running lead managers to the issue are Axis Capital, IIFL Holdings and Vivro Financial Services. Its equity shares are proposed to be listed on NSE and BSE.
Here are 10 things you should know before investing in IPO:-
Company Profile
Incorporated in August 2012, Capacit'e provides end-to-end construction services, including constructing concrete building structures as well as composite steel structures. It also provides mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) and finishing works.
It predominantly operates in the Mumbai metropolitan region (MMR), the national capital region (NCR) and Bengaluru.
The company works for a number of reputed clients include Kalpataru, Oberoi Constructions, The Wadhwa Group, Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust, Lodha Group, Rustomjee, Godrej Properties Limited, Brigade Enterprises Limited and Prestige Estates Projects Limited.
As of May 31, 2017, it has an order book aggregating to Rs 4,602.47 crore, with projects spread across major regions in India, including the MMR, NCR, Pune, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kochi and Vijaywada.
The order book is nearly 4 times the consolidated revenue for FY17 and consisted of orders for construction of 12 super high rise buildings, 23 high rise buildings, six other buildings, 14 gated communities and one villament.
Objects of the Issue
The company will utilise net proceeds of the issue for funding working capital requirements (Rs 250 crore); funding purchase of capital assets (system formwork) (Rs 51.95 crore); and general corporate purposes.
Financials
Company's consolidated revenue from operations increased sharply from Rs 214.26 crore in FY14 to Rs 1,157 crore in FY17.
Capacit'e has outstanding borrowings of Rs 316.34 crore as of May 2017.
Projects
As of May 2017, company has total order book of Rs 4,602.48 crore under residential, commercial and institutional segments.
Break up of order book by type of construction:-
Break up of order book by geographic regions:
It predominantly operates in the Mumbai metropolitan region (MMR), the national capital region (NCR) and Bengaluru. Its operations are geographically divided into MMR and Pune (West Zone), NCR and Patna (North Zone) and Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi and Vijaywada (South Zone).
Strategies
> Company intends to remain focused on building construction in order to sustain profitable growth.
> Company sees significant potential for building construction services being required in the near future after the announcement of recent government initiatives such as 'Housing for All by 2022 by the Union Cabinet.
> Company intends to increase presence in MMR, NCR, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune. Additionally, it intends to expand presence in other cities, such as Ahmedabad, which it believes may present high growth potential in the near future.
> Company intends to undertake projects to be executed on a design-build basis.
> Company intends to seek a greater number of lock-and-key projects, where it undertakes building construction services, including MEP, finishing and interior services.
> Company intends to bid for, and undertake, construction projects from select public sector clients in and around current area of operations.
> Company wants capitalise on changes in the construction industry that will arise on account of the implementation of the RERD Act.
Promoter
Rohit R Katyal, Rahul R Katyal and Subir Malhotra are promoters of the company, who together hold 37.51 percent stake in the company. Rohit R Katyal and Rahul R Katyal are brothers.
Shareholding
Promoters & promoter group hold 57.29 percent stake in the company and the rest is held by public shareholders.
Here are top 10 ten shareholders of the company as of August 31, 2017:-
Management
Management Organisation Structure
Dividend Policy
In the last four fiscal years (being a period since the incorporation of the company), Capacit'e Infraprojects paid an interim dividend of Rs 2 per share in the year ended March 2016 and Rs 0.5 per share in FY17.
Risks and Concerns
Here are some risks and concerns pointed out by brokerage houses:-
> Business concentration in MMR, Chennai and NCR - The company's projects in MMR accounted for 62.5 percent while Chennai & NCR account for 10.77 percent, 6.32 percent of orderbook as on May 31, 2017, respectively.
> Contingent liabilities may adversely impact financial condition.
> Pending litigation involving company.
> Unavailability or shortage of a pool of contract labor or any strikes, work stoppages, increased wage demands by workmen or changes in regulations governing contractual labor may have an adverse impact on the business.
> Capacite is dependent on both availability and prices of steel and ready-mix concrete.
> Inability to implement projects on schedule.
> Entry into public sector could result in higher working capital requirement.
live bse live
nse live Volume Todays L/H More
Moneycontrol Research
The Supreme Court yesterday reinstated the insolvency process of Jaypee Infratech and the tone of the decision points to a resolution process, which would at least partially protect the interest of most of the aggrieved parties.
Background
Supreme Courts order staying insolvency proceedings against Jaypee Infratech (the real estate arm of JP Associates) earlier had raised concerns about the sanctity of the insolvency process.
The court, in a landmark decision yesterday, directed the Insolvency Resolution Professional (IRP) to take over the management of the company and submit an interim resolution plan that takes into account the interest of homebuyers within a period of 45 days.
The court also asked Jaiprakash Associates to deposit Rs 2,000 crore with the court by October 27 to cover the unit's liabilities towards homebuyers in its residential projects. Any property to be sold by them would have to be approved by the court.
Why is this a win-win for all the aggrieved parties?
The interest of the consumers (homebuyers) is paramount. By making the parent pay for the unfinished project, the court has protected the interest of the consumers as well as the lenders.
What is significant in the decision is that it has restored the sanctity of the insolvency process by giving the company back in the hands of the Insolvency Resolution Professional and not to the promoter.
Once NCLT initiates the resolution process, the creditors appoint an interim Insolvency Professional (IP) to take control of the debtors assets and companys operations, collect financial information of the debtor from information utilities, and constitute the creditors committee. Then the committee has to then take decisions regarding insolvency resolution by a 75% majority.
How will a middle path be found?
The middle path may be found by bringing NBCC into the picture. NBCC, the central government's engineering and construction undertaking, and has become the de-facto choice for being project management consultant for big ticket projects rolled out under governments initiatives like redevelopment, smart cities, housing for all etc.
The Ministry and lenders would be exploring the possibility of giving the mandate to NBCC to complete the stalled projects of Jaypee Infratech.
Why would NBCC be keen?
Most of the distressed assets in the system have some intrinsic value and Jaypee Infratech is no exception. Jaypee Infra's land parcels adjacent to the Yamuna Expressway between Noida and Agra are a lucrative asset, should they get monetised at the right juncture.
While the contours of the resolution are not known, the lenders may also be a party to the future upside in the value of the land parcel alongside NBCC.
How does this help?
For the homebuyers, there is a glimmer of hope that their properties under construction will get completed in the future with a government-owned contractor taking over the onus of building the project.
For the bankers, the resolution process doesnt get derailed. Moreover, in an unprecedented move, IBBI (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India) had earlier made the homebuyers a party to the insolvency process, but with a status of unsecured creditors.
However, under normal insolvency process, should any company go for liquidation, of the amount received after providing for the insolvency cost, in the waterfall structure, financial creditors are paid first followed by operational creditors.
Since home buyers are unsecured creditors their claim would be somewhere in the bottom. This was a bone of contention for the home buyers as the liquidation value is almost always less than outstanding debt. There was widespread apprehension that bankers might have to take further haircut to accommodate the home buyers.
With the interest of the homebuyers now taken care of separately (by asking the promoters to pay for the unfinished project and probably getting the government contractor to finish the job), banks are not incrementally worse off in the resolution mechanism.
Should this plan get implemented in a time-bound manner, it will be a success story that will restore hope in the resolution mechanism.
Clothes are displayed in a Lululemon Athletica retail store in New York, U.S., March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid - RTX33FJU
live bse live
nse live Volume Todays L/H More
Indian Terrain Fashions (ITF), a stock we initiated coverage on in the past, reported a healthy growth in revenue in the quarter ended June 2017 vis-a-vis the same quarter last year. However, the same didnt reflect in the bottomline on account of margin pressure.
Should investors worry or capitalise on the weakness?
The growth in Q1FY18 turnover was attributed to an uptake by wholesale channels till mid-May and pre-GST sales pickup in June 2017. The menswear segment led the pack with a gain in market share, whereas the boyswear segment also managed to double its revenues.
Extension of the end of season sale period (resulting in more discounts), increased marketing and personnel spends to enhance brand visibility, and de-stocking by traders took a toll on ITFs EBITDA margins.
Does the result weakness alter the long-term story?
ITF remains on course to achieve its objective of doubling its sales from the boyswear category by FY19 through product launches in exclusive brand outlets (EBOs) and large format stores (LFS) throughout India. Furthermore, with 85 new outlets likely to be set up by the end of FY18 in tier 1/2/3 cities, the companys retail store count will increase by 64 percent by the end of the year (from 133 outlets as on June 30, 2017).
With apparel supplies getting back to normalcy by the end of August 2017 and festive season promotional offers expected to kick off by September end (and anticipated to continue for the remainder of FY18), ITF is gearing up for a better performance in the second half of this fiscal by leveraging on the brand appeal of its menswear range.
Moreover, a GST rate of 12 percent on garments exceeding Rs 1,000 in value is largely tax-neutral, and, therefore, wont materially affect ITF.
Valuation
Though ITF has managed to align its processes to the new tax regime, we expect the companys Q2FY18 performance to be somewhat subdued owing to challenges on fronts such as inventory management, supply channel stabilization, and subdued consumer demand at the start of the quarter. The companys operating margin profile may not improve substantially in the ongoing fiscal because of a relatively weak first half, in addition to higher advertising and employee costs.
At this point, we have not made any material change to our previous estimates. At 18.4x FY19 projected earnings, the companys fundamentals definitely warrant attention for accumulation.
Follow @krishnakarwa152
For more research articles, visit our Moneycontrol Research Page
The Uttar Pradesh police on Monday busted a gang from Lucknow for allegedly stealing fingerprints of Aadhaar enrolment operators.
The gang cloned fingerprints of operators to access nodal body Unique Identification Authority of India's data in order to create fake Aadhaar cards, according to multiple media reports. Apart from the fingerprints, the gang also managed to devise a way to bypass retina scanning.
The arrests have been made in connection with an FIR filed by the UIDAI on August 16 this year.
The incident once again highlights vulnerabilities in the Union government's identity project.
UIDAI had initially introduced fingerprint security for Aadhaar. However, when hackers started cloning fingerprints, the iris scanner was introduced as a part of the authentication process.
With hackers creating a system to bypass this second layer of security as well, the police have decided to conduct a "security audit" of the enrollment process.
As per the current system, while enrolling a new user, an authorised operator accesses the system using fingerprints and retina scan.
In this case, the accused used images of fingerprints of operators and printed them on butter paper. These were then placed on a sheet of light-sensitive resin and exposed to ultra-violet light. These, at the end, looked like a rubber stamp that were pressed down on a biometric machine.
The hackers then developed a software to bypass the retina scan.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology official told India Legal that that while Aadhaar is a social revolution, India needs a cyber security system to protect its data.
"As things stand now, there are too many holes in the security set up which are being exploited by hackers. We have to prepare ourselves for a flood of cyber-related crime once the linkage happens. To make matters worse, no one is clear about the volume of Aadhaar data that has already been stolen or accessed by the wrong people, the official said.
Security concerns surrounding Aadhaar have been growing of late.
According to government data, nearly 164 government websites were hacked in 2015. Between November 2016 and June 2017, a total of 50 cyber incidents affected 19 financial organisations, Union minister Hansraj Gangaram Ahir said.
A recent report by Deloitte on Cyber Regulation in Asia Pacific states that while the governments Digital India is a good initiative, it does need a cyber security framework.
Ahir further said that the government has set aside Rs 1,000 crore for a research and development fund for cyber security. The funds will be used for upgrading technological capacity over the next five years.
Recently, a report quoting WikiLeaks data said that devices used to record biometric data for Aadhaar could have been compromised.
However, the UIDAI denied of any such leak and said that the biometric information is protected by best available security measures. The government said that the data is stored in UIDAI servers that are fool-proof. The data centres are protected physically as well as hardware and the devices are checked multiple times to ensure safety.
CNBC-TV18
The Maharashtra government has announced a reconstruction and redevelopment policy for authorised tenanted buildings in Mumbai city and suburbs. This move comes in the wake of recent building collapses which took the lives of 50 people.
The new policy whose notification is now published by the government is going to benefit the tenanted buildings in the suburbs and non-cessed tenanted buildings in the island city.
According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), there are over 600 dilapidated buildings in Mumbai which have been declared as dangerous structures. The residents, especially those belonging to the tenanted buildings, continue to reside in these dilapidated buildings as landlords do not initiate any redevelopment work due to lack of any incentives.
Tenants who have occupied the place before June 13, 1996 are covered under this policy.
Consent of 70% tenants is required to take up redevelopment of old buildings.
Each tenant will be given a carpet area occupied by him/her in the old building with the minimum area of 300 sq ft and maximum area up to 753 sq ft.
Developers will get 50 percent incentive floor space index (FSI) for redevelopment of the building.
The landlords should start the construction of the building within one year from the date of the demolition and complete it within a period of five years.
Landlords will have to provide alternate accommodation for the tenants during the time of redevelopment.
A corpus fund should be created by the landlord which will take care of the maintenance of the building for a period of 10 years.
The new policy seems to address this concern. Here are some of the key features of the policy.
The new policy has come as a big relief to the people living in the old tenanted buildings. However, there are some concerns that need to be addressed.
This policy will definitely benefit thousands of people living in the tenanted buildings. We will be keenly watching the implementation of the policy. Also, there is a question about the ownership of the flat. Will the landlords transfer the ownership rights to the tenants post redevelopment is something that needs to be made clear," says Vijay Samant, Project Management Consultant.
The developer community has also welcomed the announcement of this new policy. This is a very good move by the government. However, such policies alone cant help solve the problem of old buildings in the city. Any buildings which is above 30 years should be deemed to be dilapidated and there is a need for a cluster redevelopment policy in the suburbs as well," says Nayan Shah, MD, Mayfair Housing.
The state government or the Municipal Corporation is expected to soon issue guidelines for the better implementation of the policy.
Sahara Group Chairman Subrata Roy gestures as he arrives at the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) headquarters in Mumbai April 10, 2013. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/File Photo - RTSP2UF
Embattled Sahara group said a Dubai investment fund has agreed to provide a loan of USD 1.6 billion (over Rs 10,000 crore) against security of 26 per cent shares of its Aamby Valley project.
"Royale Partners Investment Fund Limited of Dubai, headed by HE Sultan Al Ahbabi has entered into an agreement with Sahara to provide loan of USD 1.6 Billion against the security of 26 per cent of the shares of Aamby Valley Ltd," a Sahara group lawyer said in a statement.
"They (the fund) have committed through a mutual agreement and the agreement was submitted in the last hearing of the court on August 10, 2017. The same was raised in today's hearing as well," advocate Gautam Awasthy said in the statement.
The statement came on a day when the Supreme Court directed the official liquidator to go ahead with the scheduled auction of Aamby Valley property in Maharashtra, as it rejected Sahara Group Chief Subrata Roy's plea for some more time.
The liquidator has fixed the reserve price for the luxury resort town project at about Rs 37,000 crore, though the group pegs its market valuation at over Rs 1 lakh crore.
The directions came after Roy said he had deposited Rs 533.20 crore in the Sebi-Sahara account and wanted to pay the remaining Rs 966.80 crore through cheques dated November 11.
The top court said that barring "hyperbolic arguments and rhetoric statements" by the Sahara chief, the amount in its entirety has not yet been paid.
The court had on July 25 asked the embattled Sahara chief to deposit Rs 1,500 crore in the Sebi-Sahara account by September 7 and said it may only then deliberate upon his plea seeking 18 months more for making the full repayment of the outstanding amount to be refunded to the investors.
Sahara group said Aamby Valley Ltd has entered into a pact for Royale Partners Investment Fund, registered in Mauritius as a global business company and owned by Dubai- headquartered RPMG Investment, to invest money in return for a strategic stake of 26 per cent.
The pact has been signed with Viktor Koenig UK Limited, with Royale Partners Investment Fund Limited as its nominee.
Sahara has been engaged in a long-running battle with the capital market regulator Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India).
Representative image
Catalyst, which is a collaborative initiative between the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Government of India to increase adoption of digital payments in India, is levelling up its partnership by launching a fintech-focussed incubator.
The incubator is scouting for five fintech startups for its first cohort that can create solutions to meet specific needs and requirements of small businesses and low-income consumers.
Catalyst is funded by USAID, and will offer USD 50,000 to each graduating startup as seed money.
The incubatees will also get access to Catalysts ground research work, technology infrastructure, market opportunity, mentorship, and also operations support for conducting product experiments for six months.
Badal Malick, who was earlier with Snapdeal as Vice President and Head of Omnichannel, has taken the role as the CEO of Catalyst.
Alok Gupta, former member of the first Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) team, will also mentor startups in his role as the Director of Project Incubation.
There are several fintech startups in India, but majority cater to the urban population. It hardly trickles down to the last mile. We want to find startups that have some solution in this regard. Our mission is to solve multiple problems that have blocked the penetration of digital payments among merchants and low-income consumers, Badal Malick said.
Catalyst has also roped some more big names as mentors, including Rohan Agrish, CTO of Capital Float; Sanjay Swamy, Managing Partner of Prime Ventures; and Alok Mittal, who is the CEO of Indifi Technologies.
Rakesh Mishra, a well known startup advisor and former Head of Innovation Centre at Infosys, has been appointed the program advisor for the Incubator.
In order to support this initiative, Catalyst has forged cross sector partnerships with firms such as Aspada, SAIF Partners, Accion, MasterCard, Axis Bank, Aditya Birla Payments Bank, Capital Float among others for additional funding and operational support to the incubatees.
Catalyst also has a formal agreement with the Government of Rajasthan to set up a digital payments lab in Jaipur to innovate and validate fintech ideas on the ground.
It has also established a broad partnership of nearly 150 Indian and multinational organizations and is working with select anchor partners to incubate, test, and scale promising digital payment business and delivery models.
Incubatees will get to work with the digital payments lab in Jaipur to test and validate their ideas.
The lab helps India's small businesses and low-income consumers unlock the power of digital payments to gain access to broader financial services like credit, savings, insurance, and investments.
Zydus Wellness | Brokerage: Sharekhan | Rating: Buy | Target: Rs 1,472 | Return: 18 percent
live bse live
nse live Volume Todays L/H More
Tata Steel
Brokerage: PhillipCap | Rating: Buy
The brokerage firm said that RAA nod from pension regulators is a positive for the stock and this final approval was the last key milestone for pension resolution. Further, it expects Thyssen JV to be announced soon post after this approval.
Brokerage: HSBC | Rating: Buy | Target: Rs 750
HSBC said that the approval of Regulated Approtionment Arrangement now paves the way for merger with Thyssenkrupp. In fact, this merger will consolidate European steel industries further. The merger could help unlock synergies, it added.
Brokerage: Morgan Stanley | Rating: Overweight | Target: Rs 741
The global research firm said that the pension issue is resolved and the focus now shifts to the potential JV with Thyssenkrupp. The merger will be a positive for both companies, it added.
Axis Bank
Brokerage: Edelweiss Securities
The brokerage observed that the bank had strong retail loan book growth and expects corporate loan growth to recover. Further, it said that the lender had stable asset quality and NPA issues have bottomed out. It recommends holding from a long term perspective.
HDFC Bank
Brokerage: Edelweiss Sec | Rating: Hold
The brokerage observed that the stock was maintaining a minor drawdown in its upward move. It saw crucial supports at Rs 1,780 / Rs 1,750.
ICICI Bank
Brokerage: Edelweiss Sec
The brokerage said that continued traction on retail loans & corp book recovery augur well for the stock. It expects margin to improve due to improving liability and asset mix. Additionally, it said that the asset quality was stable and is expected to improve. In fact, the bank is an interesting value unlocking play. It sees major resistance at Rs 320, while crucial support is seen at Rs 290.
Kotak Mahindra Bank
Brokerage: Edelweiss Sec
Edelweiss Securities said that the bank had among the best underwriting standards in the banking industry. The medium term trend for the lender is up and momentum oscillators have turned bullish. Moreover, its price pattern suggests that it can move towards Rs 1,200 in the medium term.
Deccan Cements
Brokerage: ICICI Securities | Target: Rs 700-725
ICICI Securities sees sales and EBITDA growing at a CAGR Of 9.9% & 21.4% over FY17-19. It has assigned an EV/EBITDA multiple Of 6.5-6.7x For FY19.
Cochin Shipyard
Brokerage: ICICI Sec | Rating: Buy | Target: Rs 725
It expects revenue, EBITDA & PAT CAGR of 14.2%, 13.3% & 10.5% For FY17-19. It values the company at 25x FY19 EPS of Rs 29.
IndusInd Bank
Brokerage: UBS | Rating: Neutral | Target: Rs 1,800
UBS sees merger with Bharat Financial Inclusion to be EPS accretive by FY19-20. The neutral rating is due to existence of NPL risks from mid-corp segment.
Brokerage: Macquarie | Rating: Outperform | Target: Rs 1,625
The global research firm said that the Bharat Fin merger could increase banks RoA by 9 bps and the merger could increase the banks MFI exposure to 10 percent of loans. Having said that, it does not expect a boost to CASA ratio from the merger.
Brokerage: IDFC Securities | Rating: Overweight | Target: Rs 1,725
IDFC believes that the merger will be capital accretive, positive on RoE and RoA on FY18/19. It expect swap ratio of 1.6-1.7 shares of Bharat Fin for every share of IndusInd Bank.
IndusInd Bank-Bharat Fin
Brokerage: Deutsche Bank
The bank sees an imminent deal between the two entities, which could be a positive. It added that long-term effects are immense as IndusInd becomes a dominant player in MFI space.
HUL
Brokerage: Jefferies | Rating: Assume coverage at buy | Target: Rs 1,320
Jefferies likes the companys execution on product innovation & steady distribution expansion. Volume growth, rise in margin should underpin 16.7% EPS CAGR in FY17-20.
Coal India
Brokerage: Morgan Stanley | Target: Underweight | Target: Rs 221
Morgan Stanley said that a volume growth recovery is likely and is factored in its estimates. It said that units were expected to raise inventory to normalised levels in coming months and any potential increase in the cost vs guidance key for stock performance.
Sushil Finance's commodity report on Gold
Gold prices fell more than 1 percent on Monday from the previous session's 13-month high as relief that North Korea did not conduct a missile test over the weekend helped to lift global stocks, the U.S. dollar and bond yields.Demand for safer assets, including gold, also weakened after Hurricane Irma wreaked less damage in Florida than had been feared.
Outlook
We expect gold prices to trade negative on the back of relief from North Koreas Missile tests.
For all commodities report, click here
Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts/broking houses/rating agencies 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.
Read More
Nestle has been working on revamping its image as well as products ever since the Maggi noodles crises. Setting up a Rs 7 crore food safety institute in Haryana can be partially attributed to that.
Crisis has also been the catalyst for change in the company. The focus areas of future are volume growth, portfolio innovations and digital push. While Nestle has recouped a large part of market share lost in instant noodles, its incremental growth will increasingly come from new products where its digital push will help in getting aligned with the end target market.
In its recent analyst meet, the company also hinted at new categories under evaluation. Given this changing landscape, it may be worth taking a look at the evolving Nestle.
New product launches add 25 percent of incremental growth
New product share in the domestic sales has increased consistently from 0.7 percent of domestic sales in H1 2016 to 2.8 percent in H1 2017. Out of 43 new launches during January-May 2017, 36 were in the value-up/ mainstream category.
Reported H1 2017 sales growth (9.3 percent) break-up
Source: Nestle, Moneycontrol research
In terms of contribution towards incremental revenue growth, new products account for 25 percent. Clearly, this emphasis is well articulated as it talks about allocating 20-25 percent of ad spend for the new launches.
Focus on digital channel for advertising
Nestle mentioned that there is a significant transition in terms of media consumption by the some of the target groups (like millennials) it is catering to. As a result, spend on advertising through the digital route has increased to the range of 15-50 percent for a given brand.
In fact, the campaign for some of the product offerings (Nutrilicious Maggi) going through the e-commerce route (Amazon) would exclusively be available in the digital format (and not TV medium).
So while the advertising spend growth is just 6 percent YoY in H1 2017, a part of it is explained by higher contribution of digital medium which is 35-40 percent cheaper than TV ad spends.
New categories under radar
Nestles global management team had recently identified core categories of growth like water, coffee and pet care for their global operations. Management of the Indian operations has clarified that while their focus on coffee and beverages segment remains and would grow, the other two categories are still getting evaluated.
Pet Care: A high growth market
Its worthwhile to note that, pet care (14 percent of H1 2017 global sales of Nestle group) and water (9 percent) segments are a significant part of Nestles global operations. In particular, pet care, is a USD 70 billion market wherein Nestle commands a global market share of 18 percent and competes closely with Mars.
Source: Nestle, Euromonitor, TechSci Research, Moneycontrol research
The Indian pet care market size is estimated to be about Rs 1700 crore and if Nestle is able to garner market share similar to the global average, sales contribution of this new category would be about 3 percent of sales.
Though prima facie, in terms of market size, it may not appear as lucrative but the pet food category is expected to clock 40 percent CAGR (2016-20) and so for Nestle, participation in a high growth segment wherein it has a global expertise may make sense.
Shift to healthy and safe food options
Another growing area in the Nestles portfolio is shift towards healthier products. Last week, the company agreed to buy Sweet Earth a US-based maker of meatless frozen foods and decided to sell confectionary business in the US (brands like Butterfinger, Baby Ruth bars).
News flow from the Indian unit is mimicking this trend. Nestle India is, reportedly, focusing on supporting home cooking with healthier options by introducing initiatives such as simplifying ingredients, reducing sodium, increasing micronutrient fortification etc.
Valuation and recommendation
Overall, we like the Nestles transformational story post the food safety crises with respect to its key product in India Maggi. Since then Nestles share in instant noodles space has crawled back to the range of 60 percent (Under 50 percent in Q1 2016). Though it is still way off from the dominance it enjoyed (75-80 percent) before the crises, Nestle is repositioning itself with a broader portfolio of value added products.
Further, new product launches along with a changed strategy with respect to promotion and channel (e-commerce) should yield results. While topline growth would be driven by market share consolidation in existing categories and foray into newer segments, margin expansion is expected on account of digital initiatives and value-added products.
Stock is currently trading at 47x 2018 earnings. While it is ahead of both its long-term average and the sector average, for long-term investors, the journey of Nestle to rediscover itself beckons attention.
Follow @anubhavsays
For more research articles, visit our Moneycontrol Research Page.
Myth 3: Everyone who has a mental illness needs medication to manage symptoms | Bulthuis says no two patients are the same. While medicines can help manage symptoms, there are some people with mental illness who do not require medication. For others, medicine is essential for recovery. (Representative image)
live bse live
nse live Volume Todays L/H More
Shares of Strides Shasun rose more than 4 percent intraday Tuesday on USFDA approval.
The company has received approval from the United States of Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) for Potassium Citrate Extended-Release Tablets USP, 5 mEq, 10 mEq and 15 mEq.
The US market for Potassium Citrate is approximately USD 110 million, as per IMS data.
The company will be the second generic player to commercialize the product.
The product, which is the first approval for an extended release tablet for the company, will be launched immediately.
Potassium Citrate, a urinary alkalinizing agent, is used for preventing certain types of kidney stones.
Recently, the company's Bangalore facility received Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) from the USFDA, which was inspected in May 2017.
At 09:23 hrs Strides Shasun was quoting at Rs 978, up Rs 36.70, or 3.90 percent on the BSE.
Posted by Rakesh Patil
Investors in Tata Steel stock cheered the companys decision to conclude its new agreement under which its UK business stands separated from the 15-billion pound British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS).
"Tata Steel UK has received confirmation from the pensions regulator that it has approved a regulated apportionment arrangement (RAA) in respect of BSPS," Tata Steel said in a statement here.
As part of the arrangement, a payment of 550 million pound has been made to BSPS by Tata Steel UK and shares in Tata Steel UK, equivalent to 33 per cent stake, have been issued to the BSPS trustee, the steel giant said.
Last month, Tats Steel had announced clinching of the deal facilitating detachment of the BSPS from its UK business. The company, in the statement, said its UK business has agreed to sponsor a proposed new pension scheme subject to meeting of certain qualifying conditions.
Major brokerage houses were upbeat on this development as most of them lastly felt that it could clear the decks for its merger with Thyssenkrupp.
Brokerage: PhillipCap | Rating: Buy
The brokerage firm said that RAA nod from pension regulators is a positive for the stock and this final approval was the last key milestone for pension resolution. Further, it expects Thyssen JV to be announced soon post after this approval.
Brokerage: HSBC | Rating: Buy | Target: Rs 750
HSBC said that the approval of Regulated Approtionment Arrangement now paves the way for merger with Thyssenkrupp. In fact, this merger will consolidate European steel industries further. The merger could help unlock synergies, it added.
Brokerage: Morgan Stanley | Rating: Overweight | Target: Rs 741
The global research firm said that the pension issue is resolved and the focus now shifts to the potential JV with Thyssenkrupp. The merger will be a positive for both companies, it added.
At the close of market hours, Tata Steel was quoting at Rs 683.15, up Rs 21.85, or 3.30 percent. It touched a 52-week high of Rs 692.00.
Bank employees plan to conduct "March to Parliament" on September 15 to draw the government's attention towards various issues, Deepak Kumar Sharma, General secretary of SBI Officers Association, Chandigarh Circle, said here.
Sharma added that as regards the banking sector there is a long list of issues like shortage of staff, real recovery of NPAs, withdrawal of FRDI Bill, increase of service charges of public, Compensation of Demonetisation etc.
He also raised some issues of SBI like merger of associate banks and said that a number of irritants in the area of implementation of merger have come before the association like placement of officers, relocation of offices and structural changes as the number of branches and new regional offices been increased.
The workforce of banking industry is preparing for a strong protest action during the next couple of months in order to convey their resentment over such issues, he said.
Sharma was visiting the city in connection with opening of the Officers Guest House at Dharamshala.
Sharma said in an official press release that "after a successful all-India strike on August 22 this year, the officers and workmen in banking industry have given a call for 'March to Parliament' on September 15, 2017".
Sharma drew attention towards the huge NPAs created by the corporate sector, helplessness of bankers in recovering the loans in the absence of strong political will and stringent legal frame work.
He said, "The government has been continuously complaining about the performance of banks by highlighting the growing NPAs with a sinister design to privatise the banking industry."
Sharma said the new wage revision is due from November 1, 2017 and the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) is yet to commence dialogue with seriousness.
Nitin Gadkari
Maharashtra and Gujarat would sign an agreement over the Damanganga-Pinjal river inter- linking project in the next 10-15 days, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said on Monday.
He said he had already spoken to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his Gujarat counterpart, Vijay Rupani, on the issue and added that both had consented to moving ahead with the project, which aimed at taking care of the water requirements of Mumbai.
Gadkari said apart from Damanganga-Pinjal, the government was also aiming at starting the "actual work" on the Ken- Betwa, Par-Tapi-Narmada river-linking and Pancheshwar and North Koel dam projects in the next three months.
"I have spoken to the chief ministers of Maharashtra and Gujarat over the Damanganga-Pinjal project. We have worked out a solution and will sign an agreement in the next 10-15 days. This will help fast-track the project," he added.
The Union water resources minister said this at the 31st annual general meeting of the National Water Development Agency, which is working on the river inter-linking projects.
The water resources ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Jharkhand and Kerala also attended the meeting.
The Damanganga-Pinjal project proposes to divert the surplus water of the Bhugad and Khargihill reservoirs in the Damanganga basin to Mumbai, via the Pinjal dam on the Pinjal river in the Vaitarna basin.
The project is expected to provide 909 million cubic metres of water to Mumbai for the city's domestic and industrial requirements.
Gadkari, who is also the Union road transport and shipping minister, said he would hold discussions with Yogi Adityanath and Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh respectively, on expediting the Ken-Betwa river-linking project, which aims at fulfilling the water requirements of the Bundelkhand region.
The ambitious project of the Centre, which has received almost all the major environmental clearances, hit a roadblock in July, when the Madhya Pradesh government allegedly objected to it.
The Chouhan government allegedly warned that the first phase of the project would not be allowed to take off if it was not reworked to incorporate three other smaller projects of the state.
The Uttar Pradesh government has given a no-objection certificate to the project.
Gadkari asked the state water resources ministers to raise awareness among the public on the river-linking projects, given that these could help combat floods and droughts, besides generating electricity and employment.
"We will try to present a balanced view before the people. I am in favour of development as well as the the environment," he said.
The Union minister asked those present at the meeting to figure out how the rain or river water flowing into the seas could be utilised. He also urged them to look for cost- effective ways such as building flood protection walls to tackle floods.
Besides the three river-linking projects, the government had worked out 27 similar programmes to mitigate floods and drought situations, he said.
The wait of Mumbai University students for results is far from over. Results of more than 75,000 students are still pending as the University of Mumbai is yet to find lost answer sheets.
The University had lost 28,400 answer sheets and has been trying to recover them but to no avail. The search is on and we are using all mechanisms possible to trace these papers. We believe some of the answer scripts might not be scanned so a physical and a logistical search is on at present, a Hindustan Times report quoted Arjun Ghatule, in-charge controller of examination and evaluation, Mumbai University.
Ghatule listed many reasons that have led to the answer books getting misplaced, including wrong question paper codes being filled in at the time of scanning and upload, papers lost during transfer of answer scripts from the examination house godown to the scanning centre or a programming bug.
He further said that the officials are brainstorming to find the bugs so that answers scripts that are scanned but lost in software can be recovered.
The University officials are also blaming the moderation process carried out this year. Usually, answer script of students who have scored above 75 percent and below 35 percent are called for moderation and the number of scripts rarely crosses 15 percent of the volume. However, this year 40-45 percent of the scripts were brought in for moderation. This has left thousands of scripts still pending for evaluation.
Earlier in July, the Governor of Maharashtra and Chancellor of the University CH Vidyasagar Rao had given an ultimatum to declare the results by July 31. The directive came after the University had crossed mandated 45-days limit under which the result needs to be declared.
According to provisions of Section 89 of the Maharashtra Public Universities Act, the University is required to declare results preferably in 30 days and in no case beyond 45 days. Given that the examinations were finished in May, the University is well past the deadline.
In August, a proposal had come to release final year results of various streams in two stages . Consequently, now, results of only eight of the 477 examinations held between March and May this year are pending.
A new malware Xafecopy Trojan has been detected in India which steals money through victims' mobile phones, cyber security firm Kaspersky said in a report.
Around 40 per cent of target of the malware has been detected in India.
"Kaspersky Lab experts have uncovered a mobile malware targeting the WAP billing payment method, stealing money through victims' mobile accounts without their knowledge," the report said.
Xafecopy Trojan is disguised as useful apps like BatteryMaster, and operates normally. The trojan secretly loads malicious code onto the device.
Once the app is activated, the Xafecopy malware clicks on web pages with Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) billing, a form of mobile payment that charges costs directly to the user's mobile phone bill. After this the malware silently subscribes the phone to a number of services, the report said.
The process also does not require user to register a debit or credit card or set up a username and password.
The malware uses technology to bypass 'captcha' systems designed to protect users by confirming the action is being performed by a human. In the captcha system, websites show a set of some letter or numbers which are required to be manually filled by the user.
"Xafecopy hit more than 4,800 users in 47 countries within the space of a month, with 37.5 per cent of the attacks detected and blocked by Kaspersky Lab products targeting India, followed by Russia, Turkey and Mexico," the report said.
Experts at Kaspersky Lab have found traces showing that cyber criminals gang promulgating other trojans are sharing malware code among themselves.
"Our research suggests WAP billing attacks are on the rise. Xafecopy's attacks targeted countries where this payment method is popular. The malware has also been detected with different modifications, such as the ability to text messages from a mobile device to premium rate phone numbers, and to delete incoming text messages to hide alerts from mobile network operators about stolen money," Kaspersky Lab Senior Malware Analyst Roman Unuchek said.
Kaspersky Lab, Managing Director- South Asia, Altaf Halde said that Android users need to be extremely cautious in how they download apps.
"It is best not to trust third party apps, and whatever apps users do download should be scanned locally with the Verify Apps utility. But beyond that, Android users should be running a mobile security suite on their devices.
Pakistani troops today violated the ceasefire by firing and shelling along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district.
"Pakistan Army troops initiated unprovoked and indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics and mortars from 1345 hours in Poonch sector along the LoC," a defence spokesman said.
The Indian troops were retaliating strongly and the firing is on, he said.
On September 9 also, the Pakistani Army had violated the ceasefire along the LoC in Debraj, Krishna Ghati and Ishapur in the Mendhar sector prompting retaliation by the Indian troops guarding the border, a police official said.
On September 4, Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire twice by firing at forward posts along the LoC in Degwar and Maldalyan areas in Poonch and along the International Border (IB) in Arnia sector of Jammu after which the Indian security forces retaliated.
On September 3, the Pakistan Army initiated unprovoked and indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics and mortars in the Krishna Ghati sector in Poonch along the LoC.
On September 1, Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Kamaljit Singh of the Border Security Force sustained bullet injuries due to firing from across the LoC while he was deployed at a forward post in the Krishna Ghati sector. Singh later succumbed to injuries.
Incidents of ceasefire violation by Pakistan have increased sharply this year.
Till August 1, there were 285 such violations by the Pakistan Army, while in 2016, the number was significantly less at 228 for the entire year, according to the Army figures.
Nagpur: Congress Party Vice President Rahul Gandhi addressing at a public meeting to mark culmination of 125th birth anniversary celebrations of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, at Kasturchand Park in Nagpur on Monday. PTI Photo (PTI4_11_2016_000433B)
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi today criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's economic policies, accusing him of causing "tremendous damage" to India's economy with "reckless and dangerous" decisions like demonetisation and "hastily-applied" GST.
Gandhi, 47, who arrived in the US yesterday on a two- week-long tour, addressed students at the University of California, Berkeley, to reflect on contemporary India and the path forward for the world's largest democracy.
He said the November 8 demonetisation decision was taken without asking the Chief Economic Advisor and Parliament, which caused tremendous damage to the economy.
Demonetisation, he alleged, imposed a devastating cost on India.
"Ignoring India's tremendous institutional knowledge and taking such decisions is reckless and dangerous," he charged.
He said 30,000 new youngsters were joining the job market every single day and the government was only creating 500 jobs a day.
"This does not include the massive pool of already unemployed youngsters," he said.
"The decline in economic growth today is leading to an upsurge of anger in the country. The government's economic policies demonetisation and hastily-applied GST have caused tremendous damage," he alleged.
Goods and Services Tax, a tax regime which combines all of India's states and union territories into a single market, was launched at midnight on June 30.
Gandhi also accused the government of wiping out millions by demonetisation.
"Millions of small businesses were simply wiped out as a result of the demonetisation, farmers and many who use cash were hit extremely hard. Agriculture is in deep distress and farmers suicides have skyrocketed across the country."
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, however, had said the fallout of demonetisation was on predicted lines and the economy will benefit in medium and long term.
Jaitley's remarks came after the Reserve Bank of India said that 99 per cent of the demonetised currency came back into the system. Jaitley had also insisted that money getting deposited in banks does not mean that all of it is legitimate.
But Gandhi described demonetisation "a completely self- inflicted wound" that caused approximately 2 per cent loss of the GDP.
India, the Congress leader said, cannot afford to grow and create jobs at the current rate.
"If we continue at the current rate, if India cannot give the millions of people entering the job market employment, anger will increase and it has the potential to derail what has been built so far. That would be catastrophic for India and the world beyond," Gandhi warned.
The Congress vice president said that the central challenge for the country today is creating jobs.
Noting that roughly 12 million young people join the Indian job market every year with nearly 90 per cent of them having a high school education or less, Gandhi said India, being a democratic country, cannot follow the Chinese model of coercion.
"Unlike China it has to create jobs in a democratic environment," he said, adding that India does not "want China's coercive" instruments.
"We cannot follow the model of massive factories controlled by a few," Gandhi said.
Jobs in India, he said, are going to come in from small and medium scale industry.
India, he asserted, needs to turn colossal numbers of small and medium businesses into international companies.
Alleging that currently all the attention in India is being paid to the top hundred companies, he said: "Everything is geared towards them, the banking systems are monopolised by them and the doors of government are always open to them."
"And laws are shaped by them," he said, adding that entrepreneurs running small and medium businesses are struggling to get bank loans.
"They have no protection and no support. Small and medium businesses are the bedrock of India and the world's innovation. Big businesses can easily manage the unpredictability of India. They are protected by their deep deep pockets and connections," he said.
India, he said, has triggered a massive process of human transformation.
The momentum is so powerful that India's failure is no longer an option, he said,
"Our success impacts the world," Gandhi said, warning that this momentum can be destroyed by "hatred, anger and violence".
"The politics of polarisation has raised its ugly head in India," he said, adding that liberal journalists are being shot.
He was apparently referring to rights activist and journalist Gauri Lankesh's killing.
"People being lynched because they are Dalit," he alleged.
"Muslims were killed on suspicion of eating beef. This is new in India and damages India very badly."
He said the politics of hate divided and polarised India and was making millions of people feel that they have no future in their own country.
"In today's connected world this is extremely dangerous," he said.
Gandhi at the same time also acknowledged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a better communicator than him.
"I'm an opposition leader. But Mr Modi is also my prime minister. Mr Modi has certain skills. He's a very good communicator. Probably much better than me. He understands how to give a message to three or four different groups in a crowd. So his messaging abilities very subtle and very effective," Gandhi said.
He was responding to a question on what does he think about Modi as the prime minister.
"What I sense is that he doesn't converse with the people he works with. Even members of Parliament of the BJP come to me and tell me that 'sunte nahi hain' (he does not listen to us)," Gandhi added.
He said Modi must speak to the people who work with him.
"I mean there is a lot of information that the opposition for example has. He is not really interested in that input. So that is what has been going on," he said.
Gandhi described Modi's flagship policies like 'Make in India' and 'Swachh Bharat' as a good idea.
"On what they have done well? What I like? I like the concept of 'Make in India'. But the orientation of 'Make in India' is slightly different than what I would. So, the orientation of Make in India is big business and a lot of it is defence.My orientation of 'Make in India' would be small and medium businesses," he said.
Gandhi said he would like to carve out space for small and medium businesses and bring in experts from Silicon Valley and take these small and medium businesses and transforming them into global companies.
"Swachh Bharat is something that Mr Modi likes. The idea of hygiene I think is a good one. And I think I think the sort of stuff that they are doing on open defecation is not a bad thing," Gandhi said.
The Congress vice president said the impression that he was a reluctant politician was a result of the campaign against him by the other political camp.
"There is a BJP machine about a thousand guys sitting on computers that basically tell you about me," he said as the audience burst into laughter.
"They tell you, I am reluctant, I'm stupid. They tell you all these things," he said amidst another round of laughter and applause.
"All they do is spread abuse about it. And the operation is basically run by the gentleman who is running our country," Gandhi said.
Responding to a question, Gandhi said the country needs political reform.
"Administrative reform is important. But much more important than administrative report is actually political reform. Today, the real problem in India is that our political machine.. they are not empowered the way they should be... The laws in India are made by the ministers and five or six people surrounding the minister.
"And until you make that process transparent and out into the open, you are not really going to transform the system," he said.
He said the lawmakers who should be formulating policies are today more worried about building roads.
"Today our MPs don't make laws. They are worried about building roads in villages. And they get punished for not building roads in villages. They should be making laws. They should be empowered to make laws. That's their job. And that is the fundamental thing that has this gone wrong in India," he said.
An employee poses for photographs with a Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Note 8 during its launching ceremony in Seoul, South Korea, September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji - RC1A58B75DD0
Samsung has finally launched its latest flagship phone, Galaxy Note 8, in India. Priced at Rs 67,900, the phone is available for pre-booking from today onwards on Samsungs website as well as on e-commerce platform Amazon India.
Deliveries will begin on September 21.
Early birds can avail freebies such as a wireless fast-charger and a one-time screen replacement free of cost. Samsung is also offering a Rs 4,000 cashback to customers who buy the phone using HDFC Bank credit cards.
The phablet will come with a 6.3 inch Quad HD+ Super AMOLED bezel-less display with a resolution of 2960x1440 at 521ppi. The screen will have Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection both on the front and the back.
The Note 8 will be powered by the latest 64-bit, octa-core Exynos 8895 processor. It will have 6GB RAM and 64GB internal storage and supports memory expansion of up to 256GB.
One of the highlights of the phone is the dual-rear 12+12 megapixel cameras with dual OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) technology where one sensor is a dedicated wide-angle lens with an aperture of f/1.7 and a second telephoto sensor with an aperture of f/2.4. The primary camera duos will feature a 2x optical zoom combined with a 10x digital zoom capability. The phone features an 8 megapixel front camera for all the selfie fans.
The dimensions of the phone stand at 162.5 x 74.8 x 8.6mm and it weighs 195 grams, which isnt as heavy as it seems considering the phones form factor. The device is waterproof and dustproof and is IP68 certified which means the phone can withstand water up to a depth of 1.5 metres and for a maximum of 30 minutes.
Other features include the S-Pen, iris scanner, rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, facial recognition, NFC and MST payments, gyro, proximity, compass, A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, SpO2, heart rate and Bixby Samsungs own voice-operated virtual Assistant.
The phone houses a 3,300 mAh battery which supports fast-charging (QC 2.0) as well as wireless charging and comes in two colours Midnight Black and Maple Gold.
A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor is launched during a successful intercept test, in this undated handout photo provided by the U.S. Department of Defense, Missile Defense Agency. THAAD provides the U.S. military a land-based, mobile capability to defend against short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, intercepting incoming missiles inside and outside the earth's atmosphere. REUTERS/U.S. Department of Defense, Missile Defense Agency/Handout via Reuters ATTENTION EDITORS - FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - TM3EBAC0VPZ01
The global pitch against North Korea's show of nuclear mettle is getting shriller by the day. The hermit nation's response has been increasingly arrogant as it readily accepts the possibility of more potent nuclear tests and an attack on Guam - an unincorporated and organised territory of the United States.
The discourse among conflict analysts and columnists has gone a step further and considered the possibility of a North Korean nuclear missile attack on mainland United States.
Whether North Korea will take such a step is best left to their conscience but a potential offensive against the world's most powerful military raises a question: Can the US protect itself from such an occurrence?
David Wright, a physicist and co-director of the Union of Concerned Scientists' Global Security Program, wrote in a blog post back in July that as many as five major US cities, namely, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston and Denver were in the range of North Korea's missiles.
The capital of the United States, Washington DC, will be safe as it will fall short of the range of North Korea's recently tested successful missile - the Hwasong-14.
However, in such an event, the US will have only minutes to neutralise the threat.
Inside Uncle Sam's hat
The US has a number of options to decimate an incoming North Korean nuclear missile. Going by the numbers the most appropriate and rather controversial is US Army's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense or THAAD missile defence system.
After North Korea conducted its most potent nuclear test yet in September 2017, South Korea's defense ministry deployed the four remaining THAAD launchers adding to the two launchers already present in its territory.
THAAD has a 100 percent accuracy rate, as per the US Missile Defense Agency, who say that the system hit 13 targets in 13 attempts up to May 2017.
Also Read: How terrifying is North Koreas nuclear threat?
Another option that the countries can rely on is the Aegis missile defence system that is fitted on the US and Japanese vessels. The system has an 83 percent success rate in tests with just seven failures until now. Though its missiles cannot tackle ICBMs, they are capable of destroying ballistic missiles.
US' surface to air missile system - Patriot - is used by South Korea and Japan. It has a shorter range but it is more potent in protecting strategic targets rather than larger areas.
Mixed Results
According to a Reuters report, not everyone agrees other than the Pentagon that the US can deal with a North Korean missile threat.
Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis had told Reuters earlier in July this year that they confident of their ability to defend themselves but he also acknowledged the test programs track program was not perfect while speaking about a successful test in May in which a US-based missile interceptor knocked down a simulated incoming North Korean ICBM.
Its something we have mixed results on. But we also have an ability to shoot more than one interceptor, Davis said.
The report further states that test records of the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA), charged with the mission to develop, test and field a ballistic missile defense system, also show mixed results.
In the latest developments, UN has unanimously accepted the US-drafted proposal of fresh sanctions on North Korea which, according to US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, will give them a "much better chance to halt the regime's ability to fuel and finance its nuclear and missile programs".
As expected, and continuing the merry-go-round, North Korea has responded by saying that "if the US adheres to sanctions and pressure it will face unprecedentedly resolute counteraction it cannot hold control of."
Sixteen years ago, terrorists crashed two passenger planes into the iconic World Trade Center in New York. The world has not been the same since.
Terrorist organization Al-Qaeda took responsibility for the event that resulted in the deaths of more than 3,000 people and irrevocably changed many more lives forever.
The policies put in place by the United States government in the aftermath of the attacks have had far-reaching effects. Here's a look at 16 major developments in the 16 years since 9/11.
War on terror:
President George W Bush declared a "war on terror" in the aftermath of 9/11, which meant that the United States would consider any country harbouring terrorists as aiding and abetting terrorism and attack it as a hostile country.
The Patriot Act: The US Patriot Act was the short form for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.
According to a NBC news report, it gave the United States government powers to carry out surveillance measures by wire-tapping. It subsequently mandated companies to hand over personal communications and Meta Data to the government. The legislation was criticised for infringing on civil liberties.
Use of military force: Three days after 9/11, Congress approved a proposal to give complete power to the then United States president George Bush to use military force without legal approval on nations, organisations and individuals deemed to have played any part in the 9/11 attacks.
The US invasion of Afghanistan: In the name of curbing terrorism post 9/11, the United States entered Afghanistan in 2001 with the aim of overthrowing the Taliban. They were initially successful before the Taliban returned with a vengeance. The war on Afghanistan continues till this day.
The Iraq war: On 20 March 2003, the United States government invaded Iraq with the support of the United Kingdom, Poland, and Australia. They claimed that the Ba'ath Party government, headed by Saddam Hussein, was a supporter of terrorist activities and carrying weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). The bloody war ended in 2011 leaving the country fractured with an unstable transitional government constantly under the threat of civil war and insurgency.
The death of Saddam Hussein: Saddam Hussein went into hiding after his government was toppled. After being found in a dramatic raid, he was executed following a public trial. Till date, no evidence of Hussein harbouring WMDs has been found, nor is there proof that he colluded with al-Qaeda.
The death of Osama bin Laden: Leader of Al-Qaeda and mastermind of 9/11, bin Laden was found in hiding with his family in Pakistan and was killed by US Navy SEALs. But that was not the end of terrorism as we know it.
The rise of ISIS: Former United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair said in a 2015 CNN interview that had there not been an Iraq war, ISIS would not have been born. The torch of terrorism was passed on to this fundamentalist terrorist organisation which wants to create its own "caliphate". It has since then taken responsibility for a series of terrorist acts across the world.
Travel laws: Internal security became top priority. The Transport Security Administration (TSA) was formed to carry out detailed screening and security measures in airports. This is why we reach airports hours ahead of the flight's departure and remove our shoes during screening.
Immigration policies: The Homeland Security Act and the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Reform Act of 2002 made it very difficult to get a tourist visa to the United States. There was also a level of mistrust and paranoia around people who were perceived to share the same ethnicity as the 9/11 attackers.
Increased Indo-US cooperation: Military cooperation between India and the United States improved since 2001. A 10-year defence framework agreement was formed in 2010, which was renewed again in 2015. Its main purpose was to improve joint military capabilities and boost counter-terrorism activities in India.
The India-US nuclear deal: In July 2005, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President George W Bush entered into the Indo-US nuclear deal which aimed to bring about the non-proliferation of nuclear armaments and nuclear-based technologies to countries that do not possess nuclear technology.
The rise United States Unemployment rates : The United States unemployment rates increased following the 9/11 attacks. From 3.9 percent to 5.76 percent in 2001. A report stated that a decrease in flights, a subsequent trimming of aviation staff and further reduction in consumer spending stalled economic progress.
Worsening of the 2008 crisis: While the 2008 meltdown was down to financial factors, it is estimated that the fiscal deficit of the United States would have been at USD 17 trillion had there been no war on terror. The war added USD 2 trillion to the fiscal deficit which resulted in a sluggish bounce-back from the financial crisis.
The rise of Guantanamo Bay : A Guardian report attested that the dreaded prison island has become synonymous with human rights violations which included the much-maligned practice of waterboarding and other torture practices. Former US President Barack Obama did not follow through on his plan to decommission the controversial prison.
Edward Snowden worked with the National Security Agency (NSA), the surveillance and intelligence gathering wing of the United States. His 2015 revelations about the extent of NSAs surveillance forced him to flee to Russia amid fears that he would be tried at home for treason.
Expressing concern over Pakistan's commitment to America's objectives in the Muslim- majority nation and neighbouring Afghanistan, a Congressional committee has called for meeting 'benchmarks' in combating terrorism.
Appropriations committees in the Senate as well as in the House have proposed tougher conditions for US aid both military and economic to Pakistan and called for meeting benchmarks for progress in the fight against terrorism.
Passing the annual appropriations bill for the State Department for the year 2018, the Senate Appropriations Committee said it "remains concerned with the commitment by Pakistan to US strategic objectives in the region, including combating terrorism".
The appropriations bill passed by the two committees last week landed in the Senate and the House of Representatives this week. The Senate Appropriations Committee recommended USD 372 million in assistance for Pakistan. Prior fiscal year carryover funds for assistance for Pakistan are projected to total more than USD 1 billion.
This in reality, the projected funding for Pakistan in the fiscal year 2018 could be more than USD 1.4 billion, according to Senate Appropriations Committee report.
While there are tough conditions for the US aid to Pakistan, these can be waived by the Secretary of State under the national interest up to 75 per cent of the allocated fund on Pakistan's cooperation on counter terrorism efforts against the Haqqani Network and other extremists. Last year it was 95 per cent of the allocated funds, according to a report of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The appropriations bill continues to withhold USD 33 million of funds made available for assistance to Pakistan until the Secretary of State reports to the Committee that Shakil Afridi has been released from prison and cleared of all charges related to the assistance provided to the United States in locating Osama bin Laden.
For all aid to Pakistan, as usual the Secretary of State is required to give certification to the Congress that Islamabad is cooperating with the United States in counter terrorism efforts against the Haqqani Network, the Quetta Shura Taliban, Lashkar e-Tayyiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Al-Qaeda, and other domestic and foreign terrorist organisations.
This also includes taking effective steps to end support for such groups and prevent them from basing and operating in Pakistan and carrying out cross border attacks into neighbouring countries.
The Secretary of State also needs to give certification that the Government of Pakistan is not supporting terrorist activities against United States or coalition forces in Afghanistan, and Pakistan's military and intelligence agencies are not intervening extra-judicially into political and judicial processes in Pakistan.
The certification also includes that Pakistan is not financing or otherwise supporting schools supported by, affiliated with, or run by the Taliban or any designated foreign terrorist organisation; and is preventing the proliferation of nuclear related material and expertise.
"The Secretary of State should suspend assistance" if Pakistan fails to meet these benchmarks.
The chronicle of a life split between urban Manhattan and rural Montana.
Education
Montgomery County Community College will present the spring installment of the interview/talk show program Issues and Insights April 20 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in Science Center room 214, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The programs will be simulcast to the Colleges West Campus in South Hall room 216, 101 College Drive, Pottstown. Dr. Kolsky will offer a humorous presentation, Carrots, Sticks and Politics: A State of the Nation and the World Message. In this speech, he will provide his interpretation of domestic and international politics and then welcome questions from the audience for discussion. Issues and Insights, is free and open to the public. For information, contact Dr. Thomas Kolsky, professor of political science, at 215-641-6380 or tkolsky@mc3.edu.
Montgomery County Community Colleges STEM Scholars Program will host a STEM Jam! open house April 25 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Advanced Technology Center at the Colleges Central Campus, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The drop-in event is designed for students interested in learning more about careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Activities will include STEM program information and career advising, STEM speakers throughout the day from industry and academia, micro-helicopter and robotics competitive obstacle courses and demonstrations and static models of STEM student and faculty work. For more information about STEM Jam! or STEM programs at MCCC, contact William Brownlowe at wbrownlowe@mc3.edu or 215-641-6644, or Robin Zuhlke at 215-619-7440 or rzuhlke@mc3.edu.
Temple Ambler, located at 580 Meetinghouse Road, presents the following events:
International Club Global Bazaar April 15 from 5 to 8 p.m. The Ambler Campus International Club invites all students, faculty, staff and the community to celebrate a multitude of diverse cultures, which will be showcased at the organizations Global Bazaar. This family friendly event will highlight cultural traditions and celebrations in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, South American, North America and Africa through music, entertainment, food and informative displays developed and presented by students at the Ambler Campus. Young visitors will be provided with passports, which they may get stamped at each country they visit. Prizes will be awarded to world travelers who talk to cultural representatives, answer questions about the countries theyve visited and take part in fun-filled activities designed to help them learn about the rich diversity of cultures found throughout the world. Refreshments will be served. The event is free. For more information, call 267-468-8108 or e-mail tuc36466@temple.edu.
EarthFest 2011 April 29 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. More than 75 exhibitors, including the Philadelphia Zoo, The Franklin Institute, the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Elmwood Park Zoo and the Insectarium, will take part in EarthFest 2011. School students of all ages are invited to attend and develop displays of their own. EarthFest partner the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society also offers its Kids Grow Expo, featuring the Junior Flower Show, as part of the event. For more information, call 267-468-8108 or e-mail duffyj@temple.edu.
Annual Spring Plant Sale May 7 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The plant sale an Ambler Campus tradition dating back to the early 1900s will feature woody plants and perennials in portable sizes, hardy trees, shrubs, and vines, native plants that are attractive to wildlife, herbs, and hanging baskets. There will also be numerous special plants for sale to highlight Amblers special anniversary year. Garden books and garden tools will also be available for sale. Students, staff, and volunteers from the Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture and the Ambler Arboretum Advisory Committee will be available to answer questions. All proceeds from the Spring Plant Sale will support the Ambler Arboretum Fund and the Pi Alpha Xi National Honor Society. Information: 267-468-8001 or judy.shatz@temple.edu. Learn more at www.ambler.temple.edu/anniversary.
June Homecoming/Louise Bush-Brown Garden Dedication June 5 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. (June Homecoming), Bright Hall Lounge; 2 p.m. (Garden Dedication), Ambler Campus Formal Perennial Gardens. Tickets June Homecoming: Participant $18 per person; Sustainer $25 per person; Benefactor $40 per person. The 2011 June Homecoming, sponsored by the School of Environmental Design Alumni Association, will include the Alumni Association annual meeting and luncheon. June Homecoming will be followed by the formal dedication of Temple University Amblers Formal Perennial Gardens as the Louise Bush-Brown Formal Gardens. During this 100th anniversary of the campus, Temple University Ambler and the Ambler Arboretum of the Temple University is honoring Louise Bush-Browns many contributions to the history of the campus by formally dedicating the gardens in her honor. During the program, campus Executive William Parshall will welcome guests, Ambler Arboretum Director Jenny Rose Carey will speak about the Bush-Browns and the history of the garden, and an official ribbon cutting will be held for the Louise Bush-Brown Formal Garden. Following the ribbon cutting, guests are invited to take a tour of the gardens, which will wend their way to the Campus Greenhouse for the School of Environmental Designs annual Plant Auction. Information (Garden Dedication): 267-468-8001 or judy.shatz@temple.edu. Information (June Homecoming): 215-482-0722. Learn more at www.ambler.temple.edu/anniversary.
Northview Garden Tour and Fundraiser for the Ambler Arboretum June 12 from noon to 5 p.m. Call for reservations. Tickets: $15 per person or $20 at the door. In addition to the gardens of the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University, Arboretum Director Jenny Rose Carey has a garden oasis all her own right in Ambler Northview. Visitors will have the opportunity to take self-guided tours throughout the many gardens, where garden experts will be available to answer questions about the various designs. The Ambler Keystone Chapter of the Womans National Farm and Garden Association will also provide tea and refreshments. All proceeds from the tours will support the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University. Information or to register: 267-468-8001 or judy.shatz@temple.edu. Learn more at www.ambler.temple.edu/anniversary.
The Senior Adult Activities Center of Montgomery County, 536 George Street, Norristown, will hold the following events:
SAAC Adult Day Care, an alternative to Nursing Home Care is available for information call 610-275-1960
Volunteers are needed for Meals on Wheels Program (call the number above)
SAACs Fifth Avenue Boutique opens Monday through Friday from 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Exercise with Theresa will be held every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1 p.m.
Dance class is held every Monday at 10 a.m.
Tai Chi is held every Monday at 10 a.m.
Yoga is held every Tuesday at 10:30 a.m.
Line Dancing is held every Thursday at 10:30 a.m.
Dancing with Joan is held every Wednesday at 10:30 a.m.
Sculpture Class is held Wednesdays from 2 to 3:30 p.m.
Why Should I Learn Spanish? will be held Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m.
Generations On-Line computer classes for seniors will be held Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. 4 p.m. computers are available during those hours.
Health Living will be held every Tuesday at 1 p.m.
Boomer U will hold the following events. Boomer U is located at 45 Forest Avenue, Ambler. Registration & payment is required for all events: 215-619-8863.
Pilates Class is held Wednesdays and Fridays at 9:30 a.m. First class is free; please bring a mat. For information call 610-291-5376.
Blue Bell School of Dance, 921 Penllyn Blue Bell Pike, Blue Bell, hosts Argentine Tango Classes and a Milonga dance party every Friday evening. Lessons start at 8:30 p.m. followed by dancing at 9:30 p.m. Andrew Conway, master Argentine Tango dancer, instructor and performer and his partner Linda Chase will instruct. All levels welcome and no partner is needed. Refreshments will be served. Fee is $12 per person and includes lesson and dancing. Information: 215-634-1101 or www.amoretango.com.
The Montgomery Hospital Medical Center will offer the following classes:
Childbirth Education Class- all parents are invited to participate, including those who are delivering at
other hospitals. For more information on maternity services or classes, call 610-270-2020.
CPR and First Aid Courses are offered for beginners to experiences health care providers. Call 610-270-2313.
The Ambler SAAC (Senior Adult Activities Center), located at 45 Forest Ave in Ambler will hold the following events:
Tai Chi every Monday and Thursday at 11 a.m.
Yoga is every Tuesday at 1 p.m. and Friday at 10:30 a.m.
Strength and balance training every Wednesday at 10 a.m.
Armchair Aerobics is held every Monday at 10 a.m.
Gourmet Weight Wise every Thursday at 12:30.
Fitness Center and Pool Room open daily 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
The Diabetes Education Center will offer day and evening classes each month. Health insurance pays for diabetes education classes. Preregistration is required. Call 610-270-2301.
For Kids & Families
The Ambler Kiwanis Club will host its annual Easter Egg Hunt April 26 at 10 a.m. in Ambler Borough Park, located just off of the intersection of Hendricks Street and Valley Brook Road. Members of the Wissahickon Key Club will assist Kiwanians in hiding thousands of wrapped chocolate eggs in a designated area of the park. Also hidden will be plastic colored eggs, which are redeemed for prizes. Elementary school children are separated by age.
Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation will hold its 21st annual Storybook Egg-Stravaganza April 15 fom 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Upper Dublin Township Building. Toddlers and preschoolers love this annual event where photo opportunities with favorite friends abound! Treasures are collected from UDP&Rs assortment of lifesize cutouts of favorite cartoon characters from Disney, Sesame Street, Nickelodeon and other well-known animation. Children can have their picture taken with Bugsy OHare; bring your own camera. And dont forget a basket for goodies! $7 for UD residents; $12 for non-residents. Pre-register at 215-643-1600 ext. 3443.
Splash Week is a free week-long program that teaches children and families basic swimming skills and water safety practices. All YMCA branches will host multiple classes each day from April 11 to 15. For more information, contact the Ambler Area YMCA at 215-628-9950.
Healthy Kids Day is April 16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The day is filled with fun, engaging and artistic activities that cultivate healthy living as part of the YMCAs larger efforts to help more kids and families become physically active. All activities are free and open to the community. For more information, contact the Ambler YMCA at 215-628-9950. No reservation is required.
The Ambler Area YMCA has added several new programs for area youngsters. Classes are held late afternoons or evenings on various weekdays. For more information, visit philaymca.org or call 215-628-9950.
Basic Beading: Ages: 10+. Wednesdays 7 to 7:45 p.m. This class will teach you the fundamentals of wiring and stringing along with how color can be used to create unique and vibrant beadwork design. You will create various jewelry including earrings, bracelets, charm pendants and much more! Supplies will be provided. Bringing your own jewelry pliers or tools would be a plus.
Messin with the Masters: Ages: 8-12. Thursdays 7 to 7:45 p.m. Learn about some of the worlds greatest artists. You will be inspired to create your own Starry Night with oil pastels and tempera paints, a tissue paper painted Monet garden, a Picasso head using scraps of paper, a Georgia OKeeffe clay flower bowl and a Rousseau jungle collage.
Super Scientist: Ages: 5-7. Mondays 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Well be concocting chemistry experiments such as making slime, mixing potions and having fun with magnet magic. Your budding little scientist will enhance his/her creative thinking and motor skills and to top it off will learn that science can be serious fun.
Wacky Junk Art: Ages: 8-12. Thursdays 6 to 6:45 p.m. Why throw it away! Instead join us to make household junk into aliens from outer space, wacky specs, crazy hats, body masks or a recycled train.
Globe Trotters: Ages: 4-6. Tuesdays 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Youre never too young to start thinking globally. Each week, we explore a new country through crafts, games, music, stories and even some taste-testing. A perfect introduction to our great big world!
Crazy about Crafts: Ages: 5-7, Thursdays 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Let your childs creative juices flow with our fun arts and crafts projects each week. Fine motor skills and creative thinking skills will be enhanced with this crafty class.
Come out and join the Ambler Area YMCAs Teen and Junior Leaders Club. Participants are given the freedom to plan community service projects year round and truly make a difference in the lives of people in need. Those in Teen and Junior Leaders also attend leadership retreats all along the East Coast three times a year and meet other leaders who are doing the same great work in their respective areas. Dont miss out on this inspiring opportunity. Teen Leaders, ages 13-17, meet every Wednesday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Junior Leaders, ages 10-12, will begin in the spring and will meet every Monday. For more information, contact Mike Miles, Teen Director, 215- 628-9950 x 1540 or mmiles@philaymca.org.
Did you know that the new Ambler Area YMCA holds childrens birthday parties at its site for members and non members as well. The Ambler Y does all the work from start to finish and birthday parties include a personalized cake, ice cream, beverage and paper products. Parties are held on Saturday and Sunday afternoons and include two party hosts to lead activities, set-up, clean-up and assist with serving. You can have a Splash Party for children ages six to 12 in the new zero depth entry pool with water slide and spray fountains. Up to 25 children have exclusive use of the pool area with 30 minutes in the party room. Sports Parties are offered for kids ages four to 12 with age appropriate activities and games, and sports such as floor hockey, soccer, basketball or dodge ball. Children ages three to five years of age will enjoy parties in the Family Active Center with use of the Moon Bounce and organized activities, such as parachute play and songs. For information, 215-628-9950 ext. 1583.
Community Events at the Ambler Y:
-YAchievers YMCA Achievers is a developmentally based, extracurricular, educational and team mentoring program designed to help students in grades five through 12 prepare for fulfilled livelihoods in college and beyond. Participation is free and all students in this program receive a free YMCA membership. Registration for the 2009 program begins now. You do not need to be a YMCA member to utilize these special services. Call 215-628-9950 to register.
Greater Norristown Art Leagues Childrens Weeklong Summer Art Camps will be held at 800 West Germantown Pike in East Norriton, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday throughout the summer. The cost per session is $125 per student for ages 6 and up. Jo Ann Cooksey Bono teaches an introduction to basic drawing skills and techniques from 10 a.m. until the lunch break each day. In the afternoon sessions, Mary Vogel Lozinak involves the students in hands on projects such as collage, papermaking, T-shirt printing, 3D design and sculpy clay. Fridays Graduation Day includes an art show, awards ceremony and reception for parents, siblings, grandparents and friends. All supplies are included. Students provide their own lunch. A refrigerator is available and the building is air-conditioned. This is the 15th year to run this successful program. Both instructors are professional artists with State Police and Child Abuse Clearances. To register, call Jo Ann at 610-279-1008, or register on-line at www.gnal.org.
Health
Dresher Physical Therapy is hosting an interactive seminar discussing its Golf Assessment Progam April 30 from 10 a.m. to noon at Dresher Physical Therapy, 1075 Virginia Drive, Suite 200, Fort Washington. Physical therapist Chris Miller, certified through the Titleist Performance Institute, will discuss why your body may be the most important piece of golf equipment you invest in and how this can drastically improve your game. $10 in advance; $15 at the door. Call 215-619-4545 to reserve your spot.
The Chestnut Hill Center for Enrichment, Center on the Hill and Chestnut Hill Hospital will host a Senior Health and Resource Fair April 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Chestnut Hill Presbyterian Church, 8855 Germantown Ave. The event is free. For more information, call 215-248-0180 or e-mail chseniors@cavtel.net.
The Ambler Senior Adult Activities Center is hosting Help Yourself to Health, a new six-week workshop for older adults with ongoing health conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure, anxiety, heart disease and others. The free workshop will take place at the Ambler Senior Adult Activities Center, 45 Forest Ave. on six Thursdays, May 12 through June 16 from 9:30 a.m. to noon. Although there is no charge to participate, registration is required. To register, call 215-619-8863.
The Ambler Senior Adult Activities Center is sponsoring an eight-week program called A Matter of Balance: Managing Concerns About Falls. Presented by the Montgomery County Health Department, this workshop will be held on Tuesdays, May 3 to June 21 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Ambler Center, 45 Forest Ave. If you pre-register by April 27, the fee is only $5! Registration at the first class is $10. (Checks should be payable to SAAC and will benefit our Meals on Wheels program that serves homebound seniors.) A workbook will be provided and refreshments will be served. Call 215-619-8863 to register or for more information.
Fort Washington Wellness Center classes are ongoing. There are several offered during lunch or right after work, for your convenience: Boot Camp from noon to 1 p.m. on Monday; Zumba is MWF from 11 a.m. to noon and Friday at 4 p.m.; there are 25 cycling classes; Ashtanga and Vinyasana Yoga and Pilates; and a group Womens Strength Training class M-F from 10 to 11 a.m. Questions, call Cathy DeMarco at 215-641-1245.
Following the success of other local area programs, Impact Sports and Upper Dublin Parks and Recreation are delighted to team up again to offer a spring program for the 2011 season! Upper Dublin area children ages 3-5 years old can attend a Sports Program featuring their favorite sports games; soccer, rugby, hockey, track and field, basketball, and more. The program will start on April 27 and run through June 1. Cost for the program is $85 for the six weeks. The classes will be running 12- 1 p.m.; 1- 2 p.m.; 2- 3 p.m. For more info or to register, call Upper Dublin Township on 215 643 1600 or visit their website a http://www.upperdublin.net.
Spring Aquatic Programs UDHS Pool:
-Summer is just around the corner Community Aquatic Programs at the UDHS Pool can help get you into shape! Programs begin in March; preregistration is required.
Shallow Water Aerobics Two 5-week programs, Wednesday nights, 8-8:45 p.m., $40R/$50NR.
Adult Swim Instructions Two 5-week programs, Wednesday nights, 7-8 p.m., $50R/$60NR
-Open Rec Swims are fun for the whole family! Come out on Fridays from 7-9 p.m. or Saturdays from 1-4 p.m. and enjoy use of the pool and diving area. Fridays are offered through June 17; Saturdays are offered March 12-May 21.
-Join a growing group of adult lap swimmers and water walkers. Lanes are set aside evenings and weekends for use; lanes are shared. Monday Thursday from 7:30-9:30 p.m.; Fridays from 7-9 p.m. and Saturdays (March 12-May 21) from 1-4 p.m.
-Private Swimming & Diving Lessons for ages 3-adult are offered at the UDHS Pool through a partnership with the Upper Dublin Aquatic Club (UDAC). Visit the UDAC website for more information, www.udac.us, and click the link to UDHS Private Lessons.
-Looking for local programs for US Masters Swimming (adults) or Water Polo (all ages)? UDAC and UDSD are working together to develop programs that will be offered at the UDHS Pool. Add your name to Interest Lists by emailing slohoefer@upperdublin.net. emails will be sent about clinics and program start dates.
Questions about Community Aquatic Programs at the UDHS Pool, group use of the pool or pool rental? Contact Susan Lohoefer, Facility & Community Affairs Manager at slohoefer@upperdublin.net or call 215-643-8800 x8994.
SilverSneakers Fitness Program. The Healthyways SilverSneakers Fitness Program is a result-oriented program that enables older adults to take charge of their health. The program is an innovative blend of physical activity, healthy lifestyle and socially oriented programing. Members of the program are eligible for a free YMCA membership, with use of the pool and exercise equipment, along with customized classes designed for older adults who want to improve their strength, flexibility, balance and endurance. If you are a subscriber to Independence Blue Cross (Personal Choice 65 PPO) or Keystone 65 HMO, Bravo Health, or Health Options Programs (HOP), call the Ambler Area YMCA, 215-628-9950 or Hatboro Area YMCA, 215-674-4545. You can also visit www.silversneakers.com.
Zumba Fitness offers Zumba dance/fitness classes at Academy of Dance and Music/BBAD Studio located at 1524 DeKalb Pike in Blue Bell (behind Sherwin Williams). Classes are offered three times a week: Tuesdays at 6 p.m., Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 8 a.m. For a free trial pass for your first class, email us at info@danceandmusic.biz or call 610-277-2557. For more info, visit our site at www.academyofdanceandmusic.org.
Chestnut Hill Health Systems presents the following Health Education Programs:
FITNESS CLASSES
Golden Yoga: A Breathing, Stretching and Relaxation Class. Fridays, 2:30-3:30 p.m. Lea Auditorium, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave. Registration for four classes at a time required. Golden Yoga is Classical Yoga, adapted by the SKY Foundation, to accommodate those who have difficulty getting up and down from the floor. The program includes postures, breathing, relaxation and meditation techniques, all performed while sitting in a chair and standing. Registration required. Call 215-247-3029. Cost: $20 for 4 classes per month.
Tai Chi: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 8:30 9:30 a.m. Springfield Residence, 8601 Stenton Ave. Classes, for the novice or beginner/intermediate student, are designed to improve balance, power, posture, coordination, flexibility and mental focus. Slow, gentle movements are modified to most everyones abilities. For more information or to sign up for a free introductory class, call 215-882-2804. Cost: $8 per class/paid monthly.
SUPPORT GROUPS
Weight Loss Surgery Support Group: Fourth Wednesday of the month, 7-8 p.m. Williams Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia. Join us for a monthly get-together where well share information for those interested in weight loss surgery, learn from guest speakers discussing current news on issues including lifestyle modification, nutrition and exercise and provide ongoing support for those who have completed surgery. Registration required. Call 215-753-2000.
Breast Cancer Networking Group: Fourth Tuesday of the month 5:30 7 p.m. Williams Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia. A free, confidential support group for women living with a diagnosis of breast cancer designed to provide a forum for sharing information, feelings and concerns associated with breast cancer. Facilitated by Tish Wakefield, LCSW, Oncology Social Worker. Registration required. To register or for more information, call 215-248-8047.
New Moms Support Groups Tuesdays 10:30 a.m. 12 p.m.; contact Jeanine ORourke, MSW or 2:30 4 p.m.; contact Susan Schack, Ph.D Volunteer Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave. The Center for Postpartum Depression at Chestnut Hill Hospital is pleased to offer two new support groups to support new moms. Both groups will be run by experienced mental health professionals who really get it when it comes to new motherhood and juggling relationships, extended family, work/family balance and self-care. If you are experiencing new mom challenges that often heighten anxiety and involve hormonally driven depression, join us for an informative and supportive forum to connect with other moms. Infants are welcome. $30 per session (flexible based on need). Registration is required. Call Dr. Schack, 646-265-2484, or Ms. ORourke, 215-206-2931.
Man to Man Prostate Cancer Support Group Third Thursday of the month 8-9 a.m. Williams Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave. A networking group for men diagnosed with prostate cancer designed to provide education, support and encouragement. Spouses and partners welcome. Harry M. Baer, MD, Chief, Urology Division, will host Ask the Doctor. Registration required. Call 215-248-8325.
Contact the Senior Center by phone 215-248-0180 or email (chseniors@cavtel.net) with your questions about these programs or any of our on-going activities and classes.
Holy Redeemer HomeCare and Hospice seeks compassionate and emotionally mature volunteers to provide support to local hospice patients and their families in Bucks, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties. Volunteers may also assist with pet therapy and administrative work within the hospice department and are requested to have daytime availability. Hospice patient care volunteers visit with patients in their homes or nursing facilities once a week for two to three hours. They provide emotional support and companionship to patients and family members, assist with errands or provide respite for caregivers. Bereavement volunteers support the families of hospice patients following the loss of a loved one, while administrative volunteers assist with typing, mailings and/or filing. Hospice care workers provide a great service to families and loved ones of hospice patients. Many volunteers also report a great deal of personal satisfaction as a result of their services. Patient care and bereavement volunteers complete an application and attend an 18-hour volunteer training program that covers the medical, psychological and spiritual aspects of hospice volunteering. Day and evening training programs are offered. To sign up for volunteer opportunities in Pennsylvania, contact Holy Redeemer Volunteer Coordinator Jean Francis at 215-698-3737 or email jfrancis@holyredeemer.com.
Librarytalk
Upper Dublin Public Library, 805 Loch Alsh Avenue, Ft. Washington, 215-628-8744
www.upperdublinlibrary.org
APRIL CHILDRENS PROGRAMS:
Storytimes: Please register in the library.
o Wee Ones: 0 to 23 months Thursdays and Fridays 10:30 to 10:50 a.m.
o Tiny Tots: age 2. Wednesdays 10:30 to 10:50 a.m. and Fridays 11 to 11:20 a.m.
o Jr. Book Lovers: ages 3 to 6. Tuesdays 10:30 to 11 a.m.
o Bedtime Storytimes: 7 to 7:30 p.m. April 20 and 27. Wear your jammies, bring your teddy & hear Miss Barbara read bedtime stories! For ages 3 to 6.
APRIL TEEN PROGRAMS:
North Hills Library Teens April 28 from 4 to 6 p.m. Movie Matinee
APRIL UDPL ADULT PROGRAMS:
NEW! ESL Conversation Group. Tuesdays from 7 to 8 p.m. Interested in practicing your English in a safe and caring environment? Come to our conversation group and improve your skills! Please register with Kay Klocko at 215-628-8744 or kklocko@mclinc.org.
One-on-One Computer Mentoring. Get personalized assistance from experienced computer volunteers! Sign-up for a one-hour session. Limit one session per month. Please register contact info above.
Book Groups Please register with Kay Klocko 215-628-8744.
o Daytimers: April 21 at 1:30 p.m. Tired of book groups where you all read the same book? Read any fiction or non-fiction book on this months theme: Explorers. Please register.
Meetings:
Annual Meeting of the Friends of UDPL: April 14 at 1 p.m.
Board of Directors: April 20 at 7 p.m.
Blue Bell Library www.wvpl.org Upcoming Events: The Wissahickon Valley Public Library, 650 Skippack Pike (Route 73) in Blue Bell, is diagonally across from the Blue Bell Inn. Call 215-643-1320 or visit their website at www.wvpl.org.
For children and teens at Blue Bell:
* Story times with guitar music by Miss Michelle, the singing librarian.
* Mondays at 10:30 a.m. for all ages.
* Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m. for all ages.
* Fridays at 10:30 a.m. for all ages.
* Family Movies, new releases, second Saturdays of the month at 1:30 p.m.
* May 14 Despicable Me
* June 11 Alpha and Omega
* Special Events
* April watch for date of spring/Easter events
* April 14 at 4:30 p.m. Junior Lego Club for children ages 3 through 5. Parents and caregivers need to stay with children.
* April 14 at 7 p.m. Jeopardy for ages 11 to 18. Test your book and library knowledge for prizes. Sign up to be a contestant. No sign up to be in the audience. Snacks provided.
* April 16 at 1 p.m. Adult Mystery Book Group discussing The Beekeepers Apprentice by Laurie King.
* April 16 at 1:30 p.m. Childrens event for One Book, Every Young Child celebration. Story and craft for book Whose Shoes?
* April 19 at 7 p.m. and April 26 at 1:30 p.m.- Adult book group discusses The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester. Group led by Adam Button.
* April 30 through May 3 Friends book sale with about 10,000 items for sale for children, teens and adults.
* May sign up for Science in the Summer
* June sign up for Enrichment Programs for Elementary-Age children
* June sign up for Summer Reading, all ages
For adults at Blue Bell:
* Daytime Book Discussion Group fourth Tuesday, Jan April at 1:30 p.m.
* April 26 The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester
* Night-time Book Discussion Group third Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m.
o April 19 The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester
* Art Series with Dr. Sheldon Weintraub, docent at The Barnes and speaker at local colleges
o April 27 at 2 p.m. The Art of Looking at Art-Is She Nude or Is She Naked?
*Mystery Book Discussion Group, third Saturday of the month at 1 p.m.; new mystery theme each month; www.wvpl.org/programs
* Yoga on Mondays at 1:30 p.m. $20 for eight classes; $5 per drop-in class.
* Tai Chi on Mondays at 3 p.m. with Dr. Kurt Findeisen. $20 for eight classes; $5 per drop in class.
* Philadelphia Museum of Art presents class on their Marc Chagall exhibit, April 13 at 2 p.m.
* Giant Book Sale, April 29 May 3
o Starts with almost 10,000 items for children and adults!
o Held during library hours.
o Preview for members of the Friends of the Library, April 28 at 7 p.m.
o Join the Friends and attend the preview sale. Modest fee to join.
* Blooms at Blue Bell Gardening Series
o May 11 at 1 p.m. Summer Bulbs by PA Horticultural Society
* Knitting group Mondays and Wednesdays at 10 a.m. Work on your project or observe and learn. The groups continue year-round in the community room.
* Socrates Cafe discussion group every Monday at 7 p.m. You pick the topic to discuss each week. No sign-up, nothing to read.
* Bridge every Friday at 12:30 p.m. New players welcome.
* Mah Jong every Wednesday at 1 p.m. New players welcome.
*Chess every Wednesday at 7p.m. for adults and teens 14 and older.
* Movie Matinee showing recent releases every Thursday at 2 p.m. April 14: Maos Last Dancer; April 21: Welcome to the Rileys; April 28: Conviction; May 5: Inception; May 12: Inside Job; May 19 The Kings Speech; May 26 The Fighter; June 2 Rabbit Hole; June 9 Black Swan; June 16 127 Hours
* Ongoing like-new, year-round book sale for adults & children during library hours
* Library opening at 10 a.m. Monday through Saturday!
Ambler Library, a branch of the Wissahickon Valley Public Library, 209 Race St., 215-646-1072. www.wvpl.org. All the following events occur at the Ambler Library.
* Story times with guitar music by Miss Michelle, the singing librarian.
* Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. for all ages.
* Thursdays at 4:30 p.m. for all ages.
* For adults:
* Beading Group meets the first and third Monday of every month at 1 p.m. Work on your own projects or come to watch and learn.
* Free Family History Lookup with Connie Briggs. Email Connie for an appointment at the Ambler Library. conniebriggs@comcast.net
* Special Events:
* April 14 at 1:30 p.m. Book Group discusses Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian.
* April 19 at 7 p.m. Travel to Paris with world traveler Harry Balin. Tea and scones at 6:30 p.m.
* April 21 at 7 p.m. Art with Sara for children in fourth through seventh grades.
*May 2 at 6:30 p.m. Discuss the movie Lone Star with Temple Professor Lisa Hawkins. Watch the movie ahead of time.
*May 10 Robert Capucci discusses Art into Fashion. Tea and scones served at 6:30 p.m. Program at 7 p.m.
*May 12 at 1:30p.m. Book Group discusses The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman.
*May 17 Tour the gardens of Devon and Southwest England with Lois McMullen. Tea and Scones at 6:30 p.m. Program at 7 p.m.
*June 13 at 6:30 p.m. Discuss the movie Blade Runner with Temple Professor Lisa Hawkins. Watch the movie ahead of time.
Meetings and Lectures
The Unisys Blue Bell Retiree Group will meet in the Church on the Mall in the Plymouth Meeting Mall April 14 at 1:30 p.m. Kathy Sacket Young, director/trainer with the North Penn YMCA, will speak on Keeping Fit in Retirement. For more information, contact Membership Committee Chairperson Jerry Feldscher at 610-275-3538 or President Al Rollin at 215-368-4833.
The next FWBA meeting will be April 28 at the Hilton Garden Inn Fort Washington. Networking begins at 11:30 a.m.; meeting from noon to 1 p.m. Leon Singletary, Principal, First Contact HR and FWBA Executive Board, will present: Social Media: How to Use It To Get More Business. Lunch is provided courtesy of the Hilton Garden Inn Fort Washington. Members are welcome to bring a guest. An RSVP is requested by return email or 215-628-0313.
Big Brothers Big Sisters Southeastern PA is hosting a information sessions over the next few weeks on how to become a Big Brother. The information sessions will take place: April 16 at noon, April 19 at 8 a.m. and April 28 at 6 p.m. All sessions will be held at the groups Norristown Office,t 530 DeKalb St., Norristown. For more information, call 610-277-2200.
The North Penn Chapter of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) normally meets on the third Tuesday of each month from now until May. Meetings are held at the William Penn Inn on Route 202 and Sumneytown Pike, Upper Gwynedd, PA. Social hour starts at 5:30 p.m., dinner is served at 6:30 p.m., and the technical program begins at 7 p.m. Cost with reservation is $28 for members. Members without reservations and guests pay $30. Students with reservations pay $15. Reservations may be made by noon on the Monday preceding the meeting by phoning 215-371-1854 or emailing the reservation to northpennima@yahoo.com northpennima@yahoo.com. Information about the North Penn Chapter is available at http://northpenn.imanet.org/.
LeTip, a professional organization of men and women who are dedicated to the highest standards of competence and service meets every Tuesday at Cedar Brook Country Club, 180 Penllyn Pike, Blue Bell at 7 a.m. -meeting officially starts at 7:16 a.m. and ends at 8:31 a.m. Our purpose is the exchange of business tips, leads, and referrals. Each business category is represented by one member and conflicts of interest are disallowed. Guests are welcome to visit any of our breakfast meetings.
Every third Thursday of month, Sunrise Assisted Living of Blue Bell (795 Penllyn Pike, Blue Bell, PA 19422, 215-619-2777) serves as a satellite site to 148th Legislative district PA congressman Mike Gerber from 10 a.m. to noon. Stop by for help needed with things such as disability placards and license plates, vehicle registration, utilities issues, birth/death certificates,property tax/rent rebates, etc. Notary services arranged by appointment.
The Eastern Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce is an action-oriented organization dedicated to promoting its members and the economic health of eastern Montgomery county. The Chamber is committed to serving as a catalyst by uniting business, community agencies, government and education to make our county a great place to live and work. For information, call 215-887-5122 or visit www.emccc.org.
Do you have a fear of public speaking? Blue Bell Toastmasters Club can help. We meet from 7 to 9 p.m., on the second and fourth Tuesday at the Marriott Courtyard, located on Route 202, directly across from the Montgomeryville Mall. Learn how to improve communication and leadership skills in a friendly and supportive environment. Guests are welcome. Admission fee: $5. For more info, visit www.bbtoast.org.
The PennSuburban Chamber of Commerce will hold the following meetings (for reservations to any of the following, email info@PennSuburban.org)
-Breakfast News Network, 7:30-8:45 a.m. at Normandy Farm Hotel (1401 Morris Road, Blue Bell, PA 19422) $15 members, includes full buffet breakfast. Join us for a networking program at Normandy Farm Hotel every Thursday morning for breakfast, business news, informative speakers, and plenty of networking. The cost includes a full breakfast buffet. Copies of the business cards will be made available to those who would like them.
The BNI, Fort Washington Chapter meets every Monday at The Hilton Garden Inn, 520 Pennsylvania Ave., Fort Washington for a networking meeting. Meetings are from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. Visitors are welcome. The only cost to attend is the cost of your meal. For information or a reservation to attend, please call Luanne Cram at 215-947-7784, or visit our Internet site at: http://www.BNIDVR.Com and click on the menu item Find a Chapter.
For the past seven years, people have enjoyed participating in WVWAs Adopt-a-Tree program. Individuals can support the Association in its reforestation efforts by purchasing native trees to be planted. Supporters can plant their adopted tree or have WVWA volunteers will plant it. Trees cost $30 each. If you would like to volunteer or purchase a tree(s), please contact: Bob Adams at Bob@wvwa.org or call: 215-646-8866 for more information. Check www.WVWA.org for directions and maps.
Sustainable Upper Dublin, http://sustainableupperdublin.org, meets the first Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m., at the Upper Dublin Township Building, 801 Loch Alsh Avenue, Fort Washington, PA 19034. Please send any questions to suec@sustainableupperdublin.org or call 610-996-6316. To learn more about Sustainable Upper Dublin, view or join the discussion at http://googlegroups.com/group/sustainableupperdublin.
Special Events
The Mattie N. Dixon Community Cupboard will hold its first nutrition class April 19 at 10 a.m. at the Community Cupboard, 150 N. Main St., Ambler. Lynne Sinclair, a nutritionist from Abington Memorial Hospital specializing in diabetic nutrition, will conduct the class. Topics will include healthy eating, beneficial foods, recipes, making meals with every day foods, and how to use unfamiliar produce. A healthy snack will be provided.The class is is open to all residents in Montgomery County.
The Historical Society of Fort Washington presents The History of Conshohocken April 19 at 8 p.m. at the Clifton House, 473 Bethlehem Pike, Fort Washington. Jack Coll will present an illustrated program on the history of the Borough of Conshohocken. Coll is a longtime resident of Conshohocken and a member of the Conshohocken Historical Society. He is co-author with his son, Brian, of the Arcadia Then and Now Series book Conshohocken. He has also done books Conshohocken and West Conshohocken Sports and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Italian Feast. He has taken many photos for the Conshohocken Record and the Norristown Times Herald. This program is free. Refreshments will be served. For additional information, call 215-646-6065.
Taste of the White House Soiree featuring former White House Chef Walter Scheib will take place April 29 at 6 p.m. at Manufacturers Golf & Country Club in Fort Washington to celebrate HealthLinks 10th anniversary and honor its founders, the Eugene Jackson Family. The evening will heat up with a Chef Meet & Greet, followed by a specially selected presidential menu. Gala tickets are $150 per person. Proceeds benefit HealthLink, a free clinic providing compassionate, quality medical and dental care to uninsured, working adults in Bucks and Montgomery counties who fall in between the health care cracks. Go to http://tasteofthewhitehouse.charityhappenings.org to make reservations online or lend support through sponsorship. For event information, call 267-699-0124 or email jmarushak@healthlinkmedical.org.
The Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association will hold an open house at the Evans-Mumbower Mill April 17 from 1 to 4 p.m. The Mill is at the corner of Swedesford and Township Line Roads in Upper Gwynedd. The open house is free but donations are welcome. For more information, call 215-646-8866 o email info@wvwa.org.
The Eastern Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce will host Breakfast With Your County Commissioners and State Representatives April 21 from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at the Holiday Inn Fort Washington, 432 W. Pennasylvania Ave. Commissioners: James R. Matthews (Chairman), Joseph M. Hoeffel (Vice Chair), State Representatives: Todd Stephens (District 151) and Josh Shapiro (District 153). Register onlineat www.emccc.org. $10 for EMCCC member; $20 for non-members.
Upper Dublins Districtwide Allied Art Show will be held April 27 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. in the Upper Dublin High School Athletic Complex.
The Rev. Alfred Muli, chaplain at Fort Washington Estates, will be the featured speaker at the Kiwanis sponsored breakfast observing the National Day of Prayer May 5 at 7 a.m. at the William Penn Inn. The breakfast is open to the public ($15). Reservations can be made by calling 215-646-4356 or by emailing georgesaurman@Juno.com.
The Upper Dublin Shade Tree Commission invites people to participate in its spring bare root planting events, sponsored in part by Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation and Friends of Robbins Park. On April 9, zix trees will be planted at the Evelyn B. Wright Park & Community Pool, 401 Logan Ave., North Hills, at 9 a.m., followed by the planting of 10 trees at Sheeleigh Park, Loch Alsh Avenue and Douglas Street, Ambler, at 10:15 a.m. On April 29, students from Upper Dublin High School will join the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to plant 16 trees in Robbins Park, Butler Pike and Meetinghouse Road, Ambler, to help launch the societys Million Trees campaign. This event will occur in conjunction with Temple Amblers EarthFest. Experienced tree-tenders are sought to assist the students. For more information,contact Ron Ayres at 215-653-0421 or 215-483-4348.
The Friends of the Wissahickon and the Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association are teaming up once again to clean the Wissahickon Creek from top to bottom April 30 from 9 a.m. to noon. This spring marks the 41st anniversary of Wissahickon Valley Watershed Associations annual Creek Clean Up, and the second year that FOW has teamed up with WVWA. Volunteers of all ages will clean the creek, the surrounding trails and the many tributaries of the Wissahickon Creek. Armed with bags, volunteers will be assigned to sections of the creek. Following the clean up, all volunteers are invited to WVWAs Talkin Trash picnic in Fort Washington State Park, with food provided by Whole Foods Market of North Wales. The pavilion is located on Mill Road in Flourtown. To help out in Montgomery County, all volunteers must be pre-assigned a section of the Wissahickon Creek to clean. Please contact Bob Adams, WVWA director of stewardship, at 215-646-8866 ext. 14 or bob@wvwa.org. To work with the Friends of the Wissahickon in Philadelphia, meet at the pavilion along Forbidden Drive, a short distance south of the intersection of Forbidden Drive and Northwestern Avenue. Limited parking is available along Northwestern Avenue and other nearby streets. Volunteers are encouraged to bike or carpool to the event. To participate, register at www.fow.org. Contact Kevin Groves with questions at 215-247-0417 ext. 105 or groves@fow.org.
Montgomery County Community Colleges International Club invites the community to the second annual International Festival April 20 from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Central Campus, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The rain date is April 26. The International Club will transform the outside quad area into multicultural celebration with various performances by dancers, singers and musicians. Artists will share their artwork at various display tables. Activities include games, raffles, Easter egg decorating and henna tattoos. Students will have samples of international cuisine at tables representing different countries and will serve food from various local ethnic restaurants. Throughout the evening, volunteers will accept donations and will raffle gift baskets and prizes to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity. Donations of food, international clothes and prizes are needed. Volunteers, including artists and performers, are welcome. For more information or to sponsor an activity, contact Gillian Nel, International Club president, at gnel9277@students.mc3.edu or 267-974-0163.
The Arts and Humanities Division at Montgomery County Community College is partnering with the Philadelphia Writers Conference to host Memoirs Matter: How Life Stories (Including Yours) Can Transform Your Relationship to Literature April 23 from 1 to 3 p.m. in Advanced Technology Center room 101, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The event is free and open to the public. In the first part of this two-hour seminar, professor and author Robert Waxler will explain how writing his two memoirs affected his life as well as his relationship to literature. In the second part, blogger and workshop leader Jerry Waxler will present a sequence of steps to help writers find their own story. For information, contact Dana Resente at dresente@mc3.edu.
The Maple Glen Garden Club will hold its fourth annual Plant Sale on May 7 from 8 to 11 a.m. Perennials, shrubs, vegetables and native plants grown by the club members will be sold. The club uses the plant sale proceeds to fund community projects, a college scholarship and community plantings. The sale will be held in the 500 block of Coach Road, Horsham, as part of a neighborhood garage sale. Plants will be sold at bargain prices. For more information, email MapleGlenGardenClub@gmail.com.
The Relay for Life Craft Show is looking for local crafters to participate in show, which will be May 21 from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Wissahickon High School track, 521 Houston Road, Ambler. There is a $10 entry fee, and 20 percent of sales are donated to the American Cancer Society. Participants will receive a 6-foot table under a tent. For information, contact Joanne at joannescoles@comcast.net or Mindy at mcamsilver@comcast.net.
Spring House Estates is hosting its annual book fair on April 18 from 4 to 7 p.m. and April 9 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Included will be hardback and paperback used books. Spring House Estates is located at 728 Norristown Road, Lower Gwynedd.
The PennSuburban Chamber of Commerce will present the Penn Suburban/Hatfield Joint Business Card Exchange April 20 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Univest Bank Lansdale Area Financial Service Center, 120 Forty Foot Road, Hatfield. The event is free. To make reservations, visit PennSuburban.org/Events. Join Univest National Bank and Trust Co. for a spring-inspired Business Card Exchange at its newest office in the Hatfield Pointe Shopping Center. Come out and meet members of Univests executive management team while enjoying fine food and beverages.
13th Annual Community Reading Day Kick-off Breakfast Get Together April 26 from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at the North Wales Area Library, 233 Swartley St., North Wales. The event is free. To make reservations, visit PennSuburban.org/Events. For more information, contact the chamber office at 215-362-9200 or info@pennsuburban.org. Join presenting sponsor Verizon, chamber staff and fellow members for the Community Reading Day volunteer get together. The Community Reading Day program allows volunteers to read a designated book to second-grade students throughout 38 area public and private schools and present the book as a gift to each class. Even if you are not a volunteer, you are cordially invited to stop by to network, enjoy coffee and pastries.
Ambler Mennonite Church is hosting a Spring Craft Show and Flea Market May 21 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Rain date will be May 28. The community is invited to shop the great craft booths, find some gifts and deals, as well as enjoy home baked goods and tasty lunch specials. Childrens activities are planned. All vendors are encouraged to contact the church at 215-643-4876 or AmblerMennonite@verizon.net. Advertising, signage, customer parking and a shuttle to auxiliary parking at nearby lots for vendors will be provided. 10 foot by 10 foot spaces can be rented for $5 each and tables for an additional $5 each. All proceeds from space and table rentals go toward school kits for children around the world. The church is located at the corner of East Mt. Pleasant Avenue and North Spring Garden Street, Ambler.
The Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association presents The Life & Times of Aquatic Insects in the Wissahickon Creek April 16 from 1 to 3 p.m. Join WVWA for a hands-on program. RSVP required: www.wvwa.org or 215-646-8866. WVWA member fee: $5 per person / $15 per family. Non-WVWA member fee: $10 per person / $20 per family.
The photography exhibition Natures Palette by photo-artist Judy Miller will run March 18 to May 19 at the Art in the Storefront gallery, 41 E. Butler Pike, Ambler.
JPRN Networking For People in Transition & People Who Can Help Them Unemployment remains high. JPRN, the Jarrettown Professional Relationship Network can help. Are you trying to network your way to a new job? Do you have expertise or contacts that can help people in transition? Is your company or organization looking for people in the area? This is a free outreach program to support those seeking work, involve people with contacts and networking know how, and involve local companies. Meetings held monthly at Jarrettown United Methodist Church, Limekiln Pike.
Pennsylvanias Low-Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) grant program is now open for the 2010-11 heating season. Grants are based on income, family size, type of heating fuel and region. Additional information, such as specific income limits, and applications for LIHEAP grants are available online via the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Access to Social Services (COMPASS) website at www.compass.state.pa.us. Applications are available at most public officals district offices, county assistance offices, local utility companies and community service agencies, such as Area Agencies on Aging or community action agencies.
Begin your holiday shopping at Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation! Entertainment books for 2011, Philadelphia North, are now on sale at $30 each. Regal/United Artists movie tickets are on sale for just $7.50 each, and tickets to the Adventure Aquarium, Baltimore Aquarium, and the Philadelphia Zoo are also available. Discounted ski vouchers to area mountains will be arriving in December; call 215-643-1600 x3443 for more information. Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation office hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
RSVP of Montgomery County and the Wissahickon Valley Public Library have partnered again to offer the public their popular free mock interview sessions. The mock interviews are conducted by RSVP volunteers who are retired professionals, some of whom were in hiring positions themselves. Packets of information which include a sample employment application and interviewing tips with mock interview questions are available at the library to pick up prior to a scheduled mock interview or will be sent via email once the interview is scheduled. To schedule your interview, please contact Janis Glusman at RSVP 610-834-1040, ext. 16. The library is also offering a free resume review service. Bring in your current resume and the professional reference staff will assist you with hints and tips on capturing your work history accurately.
Registration for Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation summer playgrounds, Camp B.I.G. and Small Folks, X-Zone, and sports camps has began. Register online at www.upperdublin.net/store, or at the UDP&R office, 801 Loch Alsh Avenue, Fort Washington. Call 215-643-1600 x3443 for more information.
Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation and Danielles Espresso Cafe presents Mornings at Mondaug Bark Park April 16 and May 21 from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Meet fellow dog lovers. These events include complimentary coffee, treats for people and pups and raffles/giveaways.
Upper Dublins Annual Spring Flea Market will be held June 4 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Reserve a table, or come and shop. Tables are $15 for UD residents, $20 for non-residents. This successful event occurs rain or shine. Refreshments available. Call 215-643-1600 ext. 3443 to register for a table.
Regal movie tickets available for purchase at Upper Dublin Township Parks & Recreation. Reduced rate: $7.50 per ticket. Some restrictions apply. Call 215-643-1600 x3443.
Whitpain Township Parks & Recreation movie tickets $7.50 Regal Cinemas, United Artist & Edwards Cinemas on sale throughout the year Monday Friday from 9 a.m. 4 p.m.
Whitpain Township Parks & Recreation Camp Sign-ups for Stony Creek Day Camp Stony Creek Tracers and Park n Tots. Register on-line at www.whitpaintownship.org OrCome to Township Building with check or Visa MasterCard Monday Friday from 9 a.m. 4 p.m. For additional information call 610.277-2400 ext. 374
Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation offers exciting new programs for the fall:
-Returning favorites include UK Elite Petite Soccer, Tiny Dancers, Kiddie Tennis, Fun-nastics, Messy Playtime, Little Chefs, and more. Babysitters Training will be offered in November and December. Continuing Adult Fitness Classes include Cardio Circuit, Core & More, Yoga, Boxing, and Adult G.Y.M. For more information call 215-643-1600 x3443. Register for programs online at www.upperdublin.net/store.
Music and Theater
The community is invited to a Cantors Concert April 16 at 8 p.m. Congregation Beth Or, 239 Welsh Road, Maple Glen. Listen and hum-along to the Yiddish, pop tunes and classical music performed by Congregation Beth Ors own Cantor David Green and his special guest, Cantor Irvin Bell, from Temple Beth Israel in Deerfield Beach, Fla. The cantors will be accompanied by Mark Sobol and his Klezmer musicians. Tickets are $18 in advance and $25 at the door. RSVP with payment to Barb Murtha, 239 Welsh Road, Maple Glen, PA 19002, or call 215-646-5806 ext. 220.
Gwynedd Friends Coffeehouse will host the Jameson Sisters May 14. Doors open at 7:30 pm, performance at 8:00 pm. Gwynedd Friends Coffeehouse is located at the corner of Rte. 202 & Sumneytown Pike, Gwynedd. $5 suggested donation. Light refreshment available at a modest cost. For further information, call 215-393-9576 or visit gwyneddmeeting.org/coffeehouse.html.
Celebrate patriotism through song with Gwynedd-Mercy Colleges choir, the Voices of Gwynedd, as it presents Hear America Singing April 15 at 8 p.m. The choir will perform song selections from all over the country, including Georgia on My Mind, New York State of Mind, and a medley including Philadelphia Freedom and Allentown. The performance will end with When the Saints Go Marching In to acknowledge the choirs upcoming tour in New Orleans. Hear America Singing will take place in the Julia Ball Auditorium, located in St. Bernard Hall. Parking is available in lots A, C and D. Admission is free.
The Choristers will present Anton Dvoraks Stabat Mater April 16 at 7:30 p.m. at Upper Dublin Lutheran Church in Ambler. The choir will be accompanied by a 41-piece orchestra. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for senior citizens, $10 for students and children are free. Tickets will be sold in advance or at the door. For more information, call 215-542-7871 or visit TheChoristers.org
Religious News
The Staircase Gallery at Or Hadash: A Reconstructionist Congregation in Fort Washington will feature the work of Emily Ennuat-Lustine. The artist will be showing paintings and graphics inspired by her own personal spiritual journey and quest for meaning. Some of the works to be shown have been inspired by Biblical Psalms and writings. Her work has been shown at Abington Art Center, Cheltenham Arts Center and Old City Gallery of Jewish Art among others. The exhibition is open Friday evenings starting Feb. 18 after Shabbat services. Gallery hours are: Mondays through Thursdays 10-4:30, Fridays 10-3 and following Shabbat Services and Sundays 10-1. The synagogue is located at 190 Camp Hill Road in Fort Washington. For additional information contact the synagogue office at 215-283-0276.
Reunions
St. Matthews High School Conshohocken Class of 1961 is looking for classmates. For details, contact Greg Marincola at 215-646-2239, 215-740-1296 or gregcola@comcast.net.
Olney High School Class of 1971 is Lloking for classmates for a 40th reunion Oct. 28. For details, contact Judy at ohsclassof71@yahoo.com or 215-870-7572.
Abington High School Class of 1961 is seeking classmates for a 50-year reunion to be held Oct. 14-15, 2011.Visit the website, www.abington61.com, for details or call 215-947-1779.
Overbrook High School class of January 1956 is having a 55 year reunion on May 22, 2011 at the Bala Golf Club in Philadelphia. For information please contact overbrookreunion56@comcast.net
Germantown High School Class Of January 1961 is looking for classmates for 50th year reunion to take place in May of 2011. Please contact: 215-362-9148, 856-577-0659 or samdelcomo@comcast.net
The June 1961 class of Germantown High School is holding their 50th reunion on May 15, which will be a brunch. For further details please contact Linda Dorfman Alten at lindaalten@yahoo.com or call 215-441-8411.
Support
New Life Presbyterian Church in Dresher, will host GriefShare, a special seminar and support group which will run on Monday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m., from March 7 through June 6. At each meeting there will be a DVD about the grief process, discussion and reference to a grief workbook. Preregistration is required to secure a place in the group and to purchase a GriefShare notebook (for a one-time fee of $15). The notebook goes along with the 13-week schedule covering such topics as: living with grief, the effects of grief, and stuck in grief. For more information or to register, call: Sandy Elder at 215-884-5149.
PUPS (People Understanding Parkinsons) A self-help group for those adjusting to a new diagnosis or dealing with the early stages of Parkinsons Disease. Meets fourth Tuesday of the month from 1 to 2:30 p.m., at Abington Health Center, Schilling Campus, Willowood Building, 2510 Maryland Road, Suite 251, Willow Grove. For more information or to RSVP, contact Lorna at 215-542-2931.
The North Penn Visiting Nurse Associations Meals on Wheels program is looking for volunteers to pack or deliver meals to the elderly and infirmed. Meals are packed and delivered mornings, Monday through Friday. You can volunteer for as many days per week or month as you would like. Packaging meals requires approximately 2-1/2 hours of your time each day and involves making sandwiches, packaging food into individual serving containers and packing coolers with the meals. Delivering meals requires approximately 1-1/2 hours of your time each day and involves loading coolers into your car and delivering a route of approximately 10 to 15 stops. The Meals on Wheels program is also in need of emergency, winter-weather volunteers to pack and deliver meals in bad weather. North Penn VNA is located at 51 Medical Campus Drive in Lansdale and delivers meals in the Lansdale, North Wales and Blue Bell areas. For more information or to volunteer, please call Bridget, North Penn VNA Meals on Wheels coordinator at 215-855-8296.
Elkins Park Area CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) meets the first Tuesday of every month, 7- 8:30 p.m., at Einstein at Elkins Park Hospital in Elkins Park. For information on CHADD or ADHD, please see our website www.chadd.net/249 or call Claire Noyes at: 215-779-6656.
Center for Loss and Bereavement, 3847 Skippack Pike, Skippack (610-222-4110) www.bereavementcenter.org Offers professional counseling for individuals, couples, children and families dealing with issues of loss and bereavement. Six-week adult support groups: Newly forming young adult grief support group every other Wednesday, 7 8:15 p.m. (free of charge); Monthly loss of child support second Mondays, 7-8:15 p.m.; Six-week young loss of spouse/partner Thursdays, 10-11:15 a.m.; Other groups scheduled as interest is shown for suicide loss support, adult loss of parent, motherless daughters, adult loss of sibling, coping with chronic illness and disability and mens loss of spouse. Nellos Corner Family Bereavement program offers peer grief support groups for ages 4 through teen and their caregivers Every other Tuesday or Wednesday (free of charge) Local chapter of Parents of Murdered Children also meets at the Center. Registration required. Call for further information.
CHADD is a national organization for children & adults with Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder, providing education, advocacy and support for individuals and their families with AD/HD. Einstein at Elkins Park Hospital, 60 Township Line Road, Elkins Park, PA 19027, will host children & adults with Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder on the First Tuesday of each month 7 8:30 p.m. Free, no childcare provided.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphias Kehillah of Old York Road is sponsoring a free Caregiver Support Group for individuals who care for an elderly person with cognitive and/or physical impairments. The group meets at SarahCare Adult Day Care Center, 101 Washington Lane, Suite G-6, Jenkintown, Pa., on the first Wednesday of each month. Patty Rich,
Jarrett Coleman goes from school board to statehouse with win in 16th Senate District race
Letter to editor: Voting is necessary to protect democracy
<
Local educators, community activists and public officials are increasingly worried about the fate of thousands of California residents and their familiesincluding some in South Countywho are suddenly in danger of being detained and deported from the country, several years after their parents brought them to the U.S. as children.
<
The growing fears are in response to President Donald Trumps recent announcement that his administration will rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals administrative relief program. This program has offered work permits and temporary protection from deportation for some 800,000 young undocumented immigrants nationwide since it was implemented under the Obama administration in 2012.
<
DACA recipients include about 24,000 residents of Santa Clara County, and about 200,000 residents of California.
<
Many DACA recipients, known as Dreamers, have not been to their native countries since their parents brought them to the U.S. when they were small children, and thus have little physical connection to their places of birth.
<
With Trumps decision to end the program, some of these young people in South County are now living in fear of losing these protections, according to some activists who attended a vigil in support of DACA Sept. 5 in front of the Morgan Hill Community and Cultural Center.
<
Some of our students have children going through college here, and they are scared to death, said Ellen Yu Costa, who teaches adult English as a Second Language classes in Santa Clara County. They are scared their parents are going to be corralled and taken away.
<
She said later there is a climate of fear among her immigrant students and their families, and it has drastically affected attendance at area ESL classes since Trumps announcement.
A palpable fear
<
The Sept. 5 rally in Morgan Hill was organized by the activist group Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) South County. Demonstrators stood on the corner of Monterey Road and Dunne Avenuejust outside the CCCholding handmade signs depicting their support for DACA.
<
Barbara Palmer, a Morgan Hill resident and a teacher at the Learning and Loving Education Center on Church Street, said many of the immigrant women in her classes are very frightened something will happen.
<
She noted that the women served by the LLEC cannot understand why the federal government has made moves to terminate their residence in the U.S.
<
The ladies there just want to better themselves, and want to better their families, Palmer said.
<
Beth Bergstrom, also a Morgan Hill resident, held a sign at the rally that said, Defend DACA. Congress, do your job!
<
I personally think its wrong to tear families apart and send children to some foreign place theyre not even familiar with, Bergstrom said. Its heartless and cruel. My heart breaks for these people.
<
She said the Sept. 5 event was only the second protest she has ever attended, and she was motivated by her own fear over what she sees as the Trump administrations growing threats to innocent people.
<
Im scared. Ive been angry before, but Ive never been afraid. Im scared for the young people, Bergstrom said.
<
Jordan Rosenfeld, a Morgan Hill resident who is active with SURJ, noted that representatives of several other groups showed up to the Sept. 5 vigil. These include SIREN and Indivisible, two other community groups that have sprouted in response to the Trump immigration agenda.
<
There was also a DACA recipient at the event in Morgan Hill.
<
He said that it meant a lot to him to know that people in his community would turn out in support of him and those in his position, who just want to make the best life possible for themselves and their families and are now afraid of what the future holds, Rosenfeld said.
Gav, county speak out
<
Trumps decision to rescind DACAwhich was intended to be a temporary programgave Congress six months to come up with a permanent policy to determine the citizenship or residency status of those affected by the program. On Sept. 7, Trump said via Twitter, For all of those (DACA) that are concerned about your status during the 6 month period, you have nothing to worry about No action!
<
Still, Trumps initial announcement rescinding DACA has prompted numerous public agencies to declare their support for the affected immigrants.
<
Gavilan College President Dr. Kathleen Rose said the school would remain open to DACA students and provide facilities and support for all students. Gavilans support includes a website with legal resources as well as a legal resource guide in English and Spanish as well as monthly DACA renewal clinics supported by Catholic Charities.
<
This has been the ongoing work of the Dreamers Task Force Group that formed this year and it will continue to be a part of how we support our students and the community, Dr. Rose said. None of that will change. We feel strongly that students that feel a lot of fear because of the changing climate nationally need to be able to have a place where they can have a number of resources that will provide useful information about decisions that they will have to make. Community colleges always have been a place of equal ground for education and Gavilan will continue to be one of those places.
<
In Santa Clara County, officials last week reiterated their commitment to DACA recipients who have received interns with various county offices. The internships are part of the New American Fellowship program, under which the countys Office of Immigrant Relations identified, recruited and provided paid internship opportunities to immigrant young adults who have benefited from DACA.
<
Selected participants, known as Fellows, were placed in a variety of county departments and agencies, as well as partner nonprofit providers over a 10-week period, according to a press release from the county.
<
These Dreamers are the best America has to offer. They are hard workers, they are going to college, they are thinking not just about the futures of their own families but the futures of our entire community, County Supervisor Cindy Chavez said. I demand that the federal government do what were doing at a local level to support children no matter where they are from and to make sure they have the best opportunity to lead our nation forward.
As I began watching the show "What Would You Do" on ABC, I was excited to see it was filmed in the great state of North Carolina. I was surprised to see that one segment was filmed in Morganton. I was born and raised in Morganton and many of our family members live in Morganton.
As I was watching, I was so proud of each of the North Carolinians that stepped up to tell the people that were being offensive to others that their behavior was unacceptable.
When the segment of Morganton inside of Food Matters Market & Cafe came on, I knew I would not be disappointed. There was a military veteran that was short on cash when he went to pay for his groceries. They wanted to see if anyone would help him out. Each person they filmed "Paid It Forward" to help this man. When Butch McSwain, a Vietnam veteran stepped up to pay the bill, I became emotional. I have known Butch and his family for years. He and his family are typical of the caring people of Morganton that I have always known.
Even though I have not lived in Morganton for many years, the lessons and values that I learned during my childhood have stayed with me and will continue to guide me.
Katia and Jose? Seriously?
As if it were not bad enough that Houston is still drying out from Hurricane Harvey and South Florida was hit by Hurricane Irma, last week found the hurricanes Katia and Jose, respectively spinning in the Gulf of Mexico and whirling west across the Atlantic. We face multiple, simultaneous, catastrophes.
But it's not just their timing that has some of us watching weather maps with fearful speculation. It's also the record-shredding ferocity of the two storms that have so far impacted the United States. They've produced superlatives like a Donald Trump press conference.
Harvey dropped more rain on the continental United States than any storm ever has. At about the size of Texas, Irma is a behemoth, not to mention one of the strongest Atlantic storms ever recorded.
And the timing of them, combined with the historic awfulness of them, feels more sinister than simple coincidence, does it not? You find yourself wondering if this might not be a consequence of that inconvenient truth Al Gore has been warning about if, thanks to global warming, this is just a preview of our ghastly new normal record-breaking storms lining up like cars at a toll booth to take turns smashing the American coast.
Unfortunately for those of us craving clear cause and effect, the answer from scientists is a bit more nuanced. Asking if global warming caused all this is, it turns out, like asking if old age causes arthritis and bad eyesight. It doesn't, but it does make those things more likely and exacerbates them when they occur.
Not that everyone sees the same thing when they look at the weather map. Last year, right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh said that hurricanes are actually part of a vast liberal plot. "It is in the interest of the left to have destructive hurricanes," he said, "because then they can blame it on climate change ..."
He expanded on that as Irma bore down on South Florida, opining that media and marketers were in on the conspiracy, using hurricanes to drive viewership and sales of bottled water. "So the media benefits with the panic with increased eyeballs," he said, "and the retailers benefit from the panic with increased sales."
Limbaugh's lunacy reflects right-wing orthodoxy, which favors doing nothing in response to climate change on the theory it's all an expensive boondoggle designed to victimize innocent oil and gas companies. So you get Trump pulling the country out of the Paris climate accord and Florida Gov. Rick Scott forbidding his team to even use the term "climate change." Where the health of our planet is concerned, Republicans essentially ask us to make a wager that science is wrong.
Mind you, no one had trouble accepting science as authoritative last month when it predicted to the very minute a solar eclipse that darkened a great swath of America. But the eclipse threatened no one's money pot. Global warming does. So conservatives pretend science is somehow suspect when it says the planet is warming because of fossil fuels. And we should accept it as just What? Coincidence? that the fossil fuels industry donated $55.1 million to the Republicans in 2016 alone?
That money is a wager against our one and only planet. And that feels especially obscene on a day when much of Houston is navigable by boat and a monster storm just slammed on Florida. Nothing to see here, say the climate deniers. Everything is just fine.
Is that dangerous, delusional, and irresponsible? You bet your life.
No, actually, they do.
Leonard Pitts is a columnist for The Miami Herald, 1 Herald Plaza, Miami, Fla., 33132. Readers may contact him via e-mail at lpitts@miamiherald.com.
Karen Bradley, the UK Culture Secretary, has referred 21st Century Foxs bid for the 61% of Sky (SKY) that it doesnt already own to competition regulators. We are not surprised with her decision and have actually been expecting it for quite some time. The concerns relate to whether the Murdoch family will have too much control over the UKs broadcasting industry.
In our view, there is minimal difference between the familys influence with 100% control and its influence with 39% control. We dont think the legal separation of the television operations, such as Sky, into 21st Century Fox from the newspaper businesses within News Corp will significantly influence the regulator's position, as the Murdochs ultimately control both.
However, the reach of the Murdochs' newspaper empire has shrunk dramatically since Foxs previous attempt to buy Sky in 2010, with the majority of British people now receiving news from the internet or other non-Murdoch media companies. Thus, we see limited legal grounds to stop the merger.
That said, it is a hot potato politically, as there are some powerful politicians and interest groups that oppose the deal. It is much easier to kick the can down the road and let someone else make the decision, and so we are not surprised by Bradleys decision. However, we still expect the deal to close, though this delay likely adds another six months to the review process. There is no change to our Sky fair value estimates of 10.10 for the UK-listed shares, which we had raised prior to the bid, based on improving fundamentals. Our narrow moat rating which suggests a slim competitive advantage - is also intact. Competitive Advantages Sky has succeeded in aggregating some of the best content available and marketing its services. More than a decade ago, the firm began to enter exclusive deals to carry major sporting events in the United Kingdom. In addition, it acquired rights to many first-run movies and US-produced television series, which are becoming increasingly popular in the UK. While it resells the majority of its purchased content to other television carriers, it also produces its own shows to distinguish its product. The completion of a new production facility in 2011 enhanced the company's content-creation capability. The firm also offers broadband and phone service. These businesses have grown rapidly and are now similar in size to Virgin Media and TalkTalk, though they are still smaller than those of BT Group, the incumbent telephone operator. While BT's new-subscriber growth in the UK has been increasing since it began offering BT Sport for free to its broadband customers, Sky continues to increase its broadband subscriber base. While the firm doesn't have the scale in broadband and telephony that it has in pay-TV services, the incremental business is improving the firm's margins and free cash flow. The Italian and German markets are far behind in their development of pay-television services versus the UK. By acquiring the firm's sister companies in these countries, management hopes to replicate its British success in Italy and Germany. In December 2016, 21st Century Fox agreed to acquire the 61% of Sky it doesn't already own for 10.75 per share. We expect the deal will eventually be approved by shareholders and regulators.
The Central Bank has been given a failing grade by one of the countrys largest lenders, following a surprise rate hike last week that few industry pundits saw coming.
To be absolutely clear, we have no problem with the Bank raising rates, Doug Porter, chief economist for the Bank of Montreal, wrote in his latest research note. On the contrary, we have been agitating for a more hawkish stance for nearly a year, and believe the case for rate hikes is strong. Unfortunately, we heard absolutely nothing about that case from the Bank over the past two months. And therein lies the issue.
Indeed, the big bank wasnt the only one blindsided when the Bank of Canada hiked its target for the overnight rate to 1% last week.
A Reuters poll of economic forecasters corroborated the surprise, with 27 of 33 experts guessing the bank would stay pat.
To say Porter was perturbed by what he believes to be a lack of communication would be an understatement.
Ahead of every FOMC meeting, we are asked to grade the Feds communications policy since the prior meeting. On the Bank of Canada, many would be tempted to give them an F in this case. We think that harsh judgement is wrongwe would give them a zero, he wrote. As in, there was no communication since the last meeting. Zilch. Zip. Nada. Nothing. As per Cool Hand Luke, what we had here was a failure to communicatean epic fail.
However, one mortgage broker argues the Bank of Canadas communication lapse may not have been intentional.
It feels to me like the Central Bank itself was surprised at the strength of the economic growth, James Laird, president of CanWise Financial, told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. And so they, themselves, probably moved from their planned position of waiting until October or later when they saw the strength.
So Laird is giving the BoC a pass.
For now, at least.
Anyone in the industry appreciates having as much foresight as possible so we can help clients strategize," he said. "We would have of course appreciated more of a heads up but Id say this one was the least telegraphed of most in the last several years. So if this is a one off thats ok; we just dont want it to become a habit because it makes us look not so smart in the eyes of our clients.
Equifax: Turning a Crisis into an Opportunity
If anything could be worse than half of the adults in the country having their personal and credit information hacked and stolen, it could be the way the company from whom it was stolen has handled it. Equifax, one of the nation's three major credit reporting companies, was the target of hackers this spring and, by all accounts, is more concerned about its bottom line than its customers' security.
What should be the most important details of the story are that the intrusion took place between May and July of this year and the credit records of 143 million people may have been affected. To put this in perspective, the Census Bureau estimates the population of the U.S. is 321 million.
Thieves took Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses as well as driver's license numbers. In some cases, they also accessed secret security questions and answers (i.e. who is your favorite Sesame Street character?), which would allow the perpetrators to alter account settings or change passwords.
In addition, according to a company statement, they also gained the credit card numbers for 209,000 consumers, including "dispute documents with personal identifying information for approximately 182,000 U.S. consumers." In addition to the millions of American consumer accounts there were also an unknown number of UK and Canadian accounts involved in the hack.
What is rapidly becoming the main topic of news coverage however is the way Equifax has performed. Quite apart from the fact that this personal and financial data was held in a way that was not immune from attack, there appears to be a lot to criticize. First, although thieves were rifling through the company's data base starting in May and were apparently either first noticed or their access was cut off in July, the public was not informed until last Thursday. That is a long time to allow those who now have the data the freedom to make mischief with it.
The LA Times' Michael Hiltzik says this wasn't the largest case of data theft in history, Yahoo's breach involving a half-million consumers gets that honor, but there are elements, in addition to the breadth of the data and the delay involved, that make is much worse than the usual, including "the signal it sends that firms like Equifax are much more concerned about collecting personal information than protecting it."
Hiltzik claims "Equifax already is trying to take advantage of the victims of its own breach," and CNBC's Sharon Profis reports that, for now, "Equifax doesn't explicitly tell you if you were a victim, and in 99.99 percent of cases (yes, literally), it won't notify you by direct mail," To check to see if their information was compromised, a consumer must visit a new website and enter their last time and the last six digits of their Social Security number.
Hiltzik says the Equifax site also invites users to sign up for its Equifax's "TrustedID Premier" credit monitoring service which it is offering free for a year to the victims. But, he says, "Not only is that woefully inadequate, since hackers can exploit stolen personal data for many years, but it gives Equifax a lucrative database of possible customers to be sold continuing subscriptions for the service after the year is expired - at a price currently set at $19.95 a month. In fact, he says, enrollment in the service typically requires customers to provide Equifax with a credit card number, which the firm uses to automatically bill them after the free trial is over."
He also points out that the TrustedID terms of services requires those enrolling to waive their right to sue Equifax and prevents them from filing or joining a class action suit. If there is any dispute they must enter arbitration as an individual.
We noted on Saturday that Equifax had started running television ads for what it calls its "Dark Web Scan." Too access the service a consumer must provide a valid email address and agree to allow the company to use it for marketing purposes. The terms of service also include an arbitration clause.
Bloomberg reports that within days of the discovery of the breach and long before it was publicly disclosed, three of the company's executives sold company stock, collecting $1.8 million from the sales, which weren't part of any prearranged option-exercise programs. Equifax maintains the executives involved were not aware at that time of the breach. However, Hiltzik points out that one of the sellers was John Gamble, the firm's CFO.
Profis says, in the absence of information to the contrary, consumers should presume their data has been hacked and take appropriate action. People who don't regularly monitor their credit reports should begin doing so. Everyone is entitled by law to one free report a year from each of the three major credit bureaus and these can be accessed here. It is also possible to freeze individual accounts so no new credit can be authorized without permission. This does require the consumer to remove the freeze when they anticipate applying for any new accounts.
Midland College recently received what President Steve Thomas described as the largest single gift ever given to the institution.
The $6.3 million received from the J. Robert Jones Charitable Trust was put toward the Marian and Jan K. Jones Scholarship, which Jones established in 2002. Distributions totaling more than $2.5 million continued to be added to the scholarship after Jones death in 2007, according to a press release from MC.
From the time the scholarship was established to the current academic semester, 1,982 students received $1.9 million from the scholarships interest earnings, according to the release.
Midland College has placed Mr. Jones initial donation, plus the distributions from his trust, into a scholarship endowment for perpetuity, meaning that the Marian and Jan K. Jones Scholarship will provide an education for countless students for many generations, Thomas said.
Mary Ann Dzubinski, trustee of the Jones Charitable Trust and executor of the J. Robert Jones Estate, said education was important to Jones.
He really wanted to help people become successful, and he knew education was their road to success, she said.
Natalie Montelongo, 28, is one of the students who received the Jones Scholarship for the fall 2017 semester. She graduated from Midland High School in 2007, and since that time has been working various restaurant jobs. She is working toward a business degree at Midland College.
I was determined to start taking classes, Montelongo said. However, without the Jones Scholarship, I would have had to take one class at a time because that is all I can afford. About a month ago, I was notified that I would receive $1,500 from the Jones Scholarship. I am so grateful to have this assistance. It has enabled me to enroll in four classes, which means I will meet my graduation and career goals sooner.
J. Robert Jones was born June 16, 1911, in St. Claire, Pennsylvania. He received bachelors and masters degrees in geology from Penn State University and went to work for Shell Oil Co. He was transferred to Shells division office in Midland in 1937 as the development geologist. He entered the consulting business with the partnership of Fitting, Fitting, and Jones in 1948.
Dzubinski said seeing the impact of helping someone achieve an education inspired Jones to set up the scholarship in honor of his late wives, Marian and Jan, who died in 1982 and 1999, respectively.
MC students who wish to apply for the Marian and Jan K. Jones Scholarship may submit a scholarship application at www.midland.edu/academicworks For more information about the scholarship, contact Chelsea Burch at 685-4528.
BIG RAMY: X-FACTOR OR EX-FACTOR? | Mr. Olympia 2017
Written by Peter McGough
12 September 2017
Ramy: X-factor or Ex-Factor?
Big Ramy has been a potential wild card at pro shows for years. Will he redefine the bodybuilding manual? This analysis, written before the 2014 Olympia, looks at a few possible scenarios.
Twelve months ago in the countdown to the 2013 Mr. Olympia contest, a major maybe the major talking point was could rookie Big Ramy (real name Mamdouh Elssbiay)make improvements to the physique that wowed the audience and crushed the opposition when he won that years New York Pro in his pose-for-pay debut?
Now we know that repetition is the mainstay of all things bodybuilding, but as we look forward to preview Big Ramys chances at the 2014 Olympia being staged in Las Vegas on September 19 and 20th, theres a been there, done that mood about such thoughts. In the immortal words of Yogi Berra, Its deja vu all over again. Its like being in the middle of the movie Groundhog Day, listening to a politicians same-old, same-old speech.
Lets review why. In his Olympia debut last year, Big Ramy, stacking 285 pounds on his 510 frame, placed eighth. The main knock was that while he had the astonishing size, fullness and sweeping contours, he still had to etch in Olympia-level detail in the style of the top five from 2013. Namely, Dexter Jackson, Shawn Rhoden, Dennis Wolf, Kai Greene and reigning champ Phil Heath, whose physique has more detail than a Wall Street bankers tax dodge filing. The consensus was if he was able to carve in that top five-like detail, he would be a threat to anyone and may be the next Mr. Olympia even as early as 2014.
The word was that detail would surface when Ramy, after an arduous eight months prep following the 2013 Mr. Olympia, rolled into the Big Apple to dispute the 2014 New York Pro last May 17. But like the starting official at the Kentucky Derby, just hold your horses a second or two, sparkie. Because in mid-March came the news that Big Ramy had been hospitalized due to a severe upper chest respiratory infection. Of course, given his rapid four years rise and increase in bodyweight, online boards hummed with the inside information (inside in the sense that info came solely from inside their heads) that his hospitalization was due to stuff pumping through his veins, and not a bug clogging up his respiratory system. Thing is, if a bodybuilder trips on the sidewalk and breaks an ankle, its immediately drug related.
FLUSHING HIS WAY TO SUCCESS
Thats as may be, but at the time his mentor Dennis James was confident that his charge would recover in time to be on target for peaking at Mays New York Pro. But as the weeks went by, it seemed unclear if that would happen. Then on May 3, two weeks before the New York event, Big Ramy made a guest appearance at the IFBB Pittsburgh Pro weighing a purported 315 pounds. He was huge, but was carrying so much water those in the first three rows were issued umbrellas. It was clear there was no way he would be ready to flex with competitive intentions 14 days hence, and so we resigned ourselves to Big Ramy having to look past the New York Pro for an Olympia-qualifying assignment.
But in a sensational manner 48 hours prior to the Gotham muscle soiree, Dennis James announced that Big Ramy would defend his title at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center in lower Manhattan. He duly showed up at 290 pounds, having shipped more water than an Evian factory on overtime and at a self confessed 85 percent cruised to a straight first victory; his closest challenger being the ever-improving Juan Morel.
So thats a resume of our subjects helter-skelter of a 2014 rise so far, but like pedaling 1,000 miles on a stationary bike, were still in the same place and have not moved from the same How Good is Ramy? spot we were at the same time last year. The year-old question still cries out, Can he reinvent his physique and attain that awesome detail look that can make him an Olympia threat to Phil Heath? Dennis James is adamant he can, saying if an 85 percent Ramy can dominate a pro show, a 100 percent version will frighten the bejesus out of the Olympia lineup. And James promises a 100 percent Ramy will stride out for battle when the prejudging for this years Sandow dispute commences at around 9:00 p.m. on September 19 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
So which Big Ramy will we see? The X-Factor one who will fulfill James promise and threaten to rock Phil Heaths world, or the Ex-Factor version who will not be much different than what weve seen so far and has already maxed-out on his potential in his astonishing four-year growth spurt? Like my surgeon said when I had that nasty interaction with the crossbar of a bicycle, Its crystal ball time. Jump into the time machine and warp forward to consider how the differing Ex-Factor and X-Factor scenarios may play out at this years 50th Mr. Olympia contest.
THE EX-FACTOR SCENARIO?
Since Mays Night of Champions, Big Ramy had been a full-time guest at Dennis James Phoenix, Arizona home. This had been agreed by both such, was their determination to leave no stone unturned, no rep undone, no calories miscalculated, no pose unpracticed in an all-out assault on toppling Phil Heath from the Olympia throne.
And yet
At the athletes meeting held at the Orleans Arena on Wednesday, September 17, each time the door to the meeting room opened, heads would swivel to check who had just entered. After 10 minutes, most of the Olympians were already seated, and the press there noted that one competitor was missing. Then the door opened and the absentee walked through. But he didnt exactly walk through; he sort of turned a little sideways so that his massive frame and shoulder width could navigate the doorframe. Big Ramy had arrived and he looked huge, although his face was not sunken in as much as some of his rivals, which in this modern I can make you look like Skeletor in 12 hours age of bodybuilding was no cause for alarm.
And yet
Fast-forward to 8:45 p.m. Friday evening, with Olympia prejudging about to commence in 15 minutes and the 20 competitors are stationed backstage most lying on the floor with their legs on a chair playing the time-honored Im keeping my duds on as long as possible Ill only show you mine if you show me yours game.
In a corner, Dennis James is seated bending over to speak in somewhat hushed tones to a prone Ramy. One hears phrases like, Now remember what I told you and Dont relax for a moment onstage keep flexed all the time.
Earlier, Dennis had told me their four-month contest-prep game plan had been executed to perfection. But Ive known Dennis a long time, and something alerted me to the thought he wasnt as confident as he had been last May. The backstage marshals started to issue orders urging the 2014 class of Olympians to get ready to do their individual mandatories. Of the 20, Big Ramy was number 15, with front-runners Dennis Wolf being 17 and Kai Greene 19. Defending champ Phil Heath was number 20 and would be last man out. Once the first competitor, Juan Morel, went out Big Ramy would have to wait 30 minutes or so to flex his stuff. With 10 minutes to go and still wearing his 50th Olympia celebration tracksuit, he started to pump up. A few press-ups, then some light dumbbell curls and lateral raises and stretches. With six minutes to go, he stripped to his trunks to have oil applied.
With the vagaries of backstage lighting and a competitor not being fully flexed, it is sometimes difficult to gauge if he has peaked or not. But, humbly I submit, that as a backstage inhabitant at countless pro contests and 30 Olympias, and as someone who is solely there to observe and not to hang out and shoot the breeze to all and sundry, I have developed a good eye as to who is ready or not. I took stock of Big Ramy. At 290 pounds, he dwarfed everyone around him
And yet
He left the oiling-up area and went toward the stage to await the instruction to go out and do his eight mandatories. As he strode away from us, photographer J.M. Manion asked, So what do you think?
I replied, Hes not ready no real improvement since May.
And so it proved as he went through his mandatories. Although the humongous mass was there in solid condition, and his thighs had more flair than Ali Babas pants, the promised cross-striations were not there, and his back though as wide as the Grand Canyon lacked real thickness. In all, like a one-paragraph resume of the history of the world, he lacked detail. He drifted into another eighth place, replicating his 2013 showing, and the man who had been vaunted as Phil Heaths worst nightmare was at contests conclusion assigned the moniker of the Ex-Factor one who had promised so much but then stood still. It seemed that like Ed Kawaks antics at the 1988 English Grand Prix (and this is a true story), when he set fire to his hotel room when trying to fry some eggs, Big Ramy really was just a spectacular flash in the pan.
THE X-FACTOR SCENARIO?
Throughout the athletes meeting on Wednesday, as Big Ramy sat in the front row of the four assigned for Olympian cheeks, Dennis James sat at the back, from time to time glancing across at me smiling and slowly shaking his head. It smacked of elements of a tsunami warning as in, You guys just dont know whats about to hit you.
I asked him about his smiling countenance and he replied quietly and simply, Wait and see; wait and see. You didnt have to be Albert Einstein to realize Dennis was as confident as Randy Couture facing a UFC challenge from Richard Simmons.
What was to be said is that James Sphinx-like, Im saying nothing persona was picked up by the other competitors and they too wondered if the former Olympian was just indulging in an epic psyche-out strategy, or he really knew that Big Ramy was about to deliver the 290-pound goods. Whatever, they, 48 hours prior to prejudging, were already thinking about the massive Egyptian: first round to the menacing Dennis.
Throughout the next two days, James kept up his smiling wait and see demeanor. Thus when we all assembled backstage on Friday night, I went up to him and presented him with a can of gourmet kitten food. Somewhat nonplused he asked, Whats this for?
I countered, Youve been grinning like a friggin Cheshire Cat all week, you might as well start eating like one.
When Big Ramy stripped for action, Stevie Wonder could have told you he had nailed it. He walked out in front of the 10,000 gathered in the Orleans Arena, and they executed such a collective intake of breath that oxygen masks fell from the ceiling. Then, recovering themselves, they went nuts. He was 290 pounds, but sharper than Stephen Hawkings IQ. He was as wide as a bantamweight posedown, and his tiny waist, accentuated even further by the mighty dimensions of his upper and lower body, made his head-to-toe shape look like a study in 3-D Photoshopping. Those flared thighs were full and as cut as the Popes copy of 50 Shades of Grey, his hams and calves had suddenly sprouted and his back looked newly reinforced with armor plating. He was, as we say in the U.K. when conveying the supreme accolade to someone, The dogs bollocks.
With all the 20 competitors completing their mandatories, they all rumbled onstage to await the first comparison. The nasal New York tone of head judge Steve Weinberger barked out only two names, Phil Heath and next to him Big Ramy!
And so we witnessed
EX OR X: WHATS IT GOING TO BE?
OK, there we have the Ex and X-Factor scenarios. Which one will actually play out on September 19 in the gambling capital of the world? In my opinion, neither of them. Instead, I think the reality will be somewhere in the middle. I think Big Ramy will be more detailed and more refined than we have so far seen, but we really are expecting too much to ask that the X-Factor scenario outlined previously comes to fruition in 2014.
Like most factors in bodybuilding, the bottom line is genetics: you either have that feathery type detail embedded in the muscles or you dont. It may be that Heath-like detail is not there for Big Ramy to mine out. Another few years of training will enable muscle maturity to kick in and improve separation, but it wont unearth crazy detail if its not inherent in the genes. To defeat a Mr. Olympia, history proves you have to beat him at his own game or wait for his decline. Phil Heaths game is packing his physique with more detail than weve seen before: Hes the Devil with the details everyone else has to get past.
However, as far as Big Ramy is concerned, taking into account his size and shape augmented, as I expect, with greater detail I see him unveiling a package that will carry him into the top five, maybe top three at this years Olympia. But I think he will have to carve in even more detail and deeper separation to really take on a 100 percent Phil Heath.
But let it not be forgotten as if? that this freak has been training for only four years. So his current journey has been much shorter than that of his peers. The logic is that he is much further away from tapping out on his full potential than those he is competing against, who have either already done so, or are just about there. In short, it would seem he has more unused potential than any other current pro. They have maxed-out on muscular development while he has still some way to go. What stage of his individual journey he has reached will become clear at the 50th Mr. Olympia contest, which kicks off on September 19th at the Orleans Arena, Las Vegas. Watch this space a space Big Ramy seems, sometime somewhere, destined to fill.
DISCUSS THIS ARTICLE ON THE MD FORUM
READ MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS IN THE OLYMPIA SECTION
FOLLOW MUSCULAR DEVELOPMENT ON:
FACEBOOK: MuscularDevelopment Magazine
TWITTER: @MuscularDevelop
INSTAGRAM: @MuscularDevelopment
Arnold - The Mr. Olympia Wins | Mr. Olympia 2017
Written by Ron Harris
12 September 2017
Arnold: The Mr. Olympia Wins
If you go by total Mr. Olympia wins, both Lee Haney and Ronnie Coleman are the best Olympia champions of all time. But in terms of sheer popularity and the magnitude of his impact on the sport and how many millions he inspired to take up pumping iron to build their own bodies, Arnold is the undisputed champion. This month, as we near the 53rd installment of Joe Weiders Mr. Olympia contest, lets look back at the seven victories claimed by the Austrian Oak.
1970
After having been bested by Sergio Oliva in The Myths third consecutive win, Arnold returned as a new decade dawned and began his own dynasty. At just 23 years old, Arnold was the youngest man to ever win the Mr. Olympia, a record that still stands and is highly unlikely to be beaten. Only Lee Haney was close, winning his first Sandow at the age of 24 in 1984. Only one other man entered, Californian Reg Lewis.
Results:
1. Arnold Schwarzenegger
2. Sergio Oliva
3. Reg Lewis
1971
There were only two times in the history of the Mr. Olympia contest when no man even bothered to attempt to beat the reigning champion. It happened with Sergio Oliva in 1968, and it happened again in 1971 with Arnold. This was also the first time the event was held outside of New York since its inception in 1965. While Arnold was winning his second title by default, the rest of the top bodybuilders were in London vying for the NABBA Universe, including winner Bill Pearl, Oliva, Arnolds idol, Reg Park, and Frank Zane.
Results:
1. Arnold Schwarzenegger
1972
Sergio came back out for blood this year in Essen, Germany, bringing what most agree was his biggest and most ripped package ever. He gave Arnold a brutal battle, but in the end Arnold held on to his title in a 4-3 vote. Sergio remained bitter about what he felt was an unjust decision until the day he died in 2012. Among the dubious reasons allegedly given by judges as to why he lost were that his dark skin color blended in with the black backdrop. This is also the Olympia when Arnold tricked Sergio into appearing to quit during the final posedown by whispering to him that he was exhausted, and that they should just walk offstage.
Results:
1. Arnold Schwarzenegger
2. Sergio Oliva
3. Serge Nubret
4. Frank Zane
5. Franco Columbu
1973
The Olympia moved back to New York once again, and this time Arnolds greatest challenge came from his best friend and training partner, Franco Columbu, who at 54 was nearly a foot shorter and 60 pounds lighter. Following this year, the event instituted two weight classes for over and under 200 pounds, with an overall posedown. That system only lasted from 1974 until 1979, or six years.
Results:
1. Arnold Schwarzenegger
2. Franco Columbu
3. Serge Nubret
1974
For the first time in his career, Arnold had to face off against a much larger man in the form of Lou Ferrigno, who was 65 and 270 pounds to Arnolds 62 and 240. Many felt this was the year Arnold looked his best.
Results:
Heavyweight
1. Arnold Schwarzenegger
2. Lou Ferrigno
3. Serge Nubret
Lightweight
1. Franco Columbu
2. Frank Zane
Overall: Arnold
1975
This was Arnolds sixth win, immortalized in the movie Pumping Iron, and took place in Pretoria, South Africa. What most people dont know is that just three months before the contest, Arnold had wrapped shooting on the drama Stay Hungry starring Jeff Bridges and Sally Field. Director Bob Rafelson had demanded Arnold take his bodyweight down to 210 pounds for his role. When filmmakers George Butler and Robert Fiore came to him with Pumping Iron, Arnold knew it would be a struggle to regain his muscle in time to defend his title again, which he hadnt planned on doing, but believed the movie would be a turning point for both himself and the sport, and he couldnt pass up the opportunity.
Results:
Heavyweight
1. Arnold Schwarzenegger
2. Serge Nubret
3. Lou Ferrigno
Lightweight
1. Franco Columbu
2. Ed Corney
3. Albert Beckles
4. Frank Zane
5. Giuseppe Deiana
Overall: Arnold Schwarzenegger
1980
Though Arnold did make his dramatic and unexpected comeback in Sydney to win an unprecedented seventh title, most feel this win tarnished his competitive record rather than bolstered it. Arnold was down roughly 20 pounds from his best, and it showed the most in his diminished legs. This was the biggest Mr. Olympia lineup ever seen thus far, and the quality was deep. Most felt Arnold was fighting for fourth or fifth place at best, and was nowhere near in contention for the win. Yet in the end, 35 years later, its down in the history books as a win, and perhaps thats all that matters.
Results:
1. Arnold Schwarzenegger
2. Chris Dickerson
3. Frank Zane
4. Boyer Coe
5. Mike Mentzer
DISCUSS THIS ARTICLE ON THE MD FORUM
READ MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS IN THE OLYMPIA SECTION
FOLLOW MUSCULAR DEVELOPMENT ON:
FACEBOOK: MuscularDevelopment Magazine
TWITTER: @MuscularDevelop
INSTAGRAM: @MuscularDevelopment
YOUTUBE: http://bit.ly/2fvHgnZ
E! News: In the finale, Lestat isn't burned and instead left in the dump, meaning he's still alive. Can you definitely say if we will see Lestat in season two? Jacob Anderson: Yes, I can definitely say that you will see Lestat in season
GET OUR APP Our Spectrum News app is the most convenient way to get the stories that matter to you. Download it here.
Since 2013, Cargill has had its Plainview beef plant on idle since a severe drought slashed cattle populations. However, Friday, Cargill said it will pull out of Plainviews plant completely as they announced that they will put the plant up for sale.
Cargill has placed its idled Plainview plant property up for sale and the Dallas office of Commercial real estate broker, CBRE, has been retained by Cargill to market the site and evaluate potential offers, said the food provider in a press release.
Cargill said the plant was idled on Feb. 1, 2013 for several reasons including beef processing overcapacity in the region brought about by the areas drought-diminished cattle herd, the impact of federally mandate Country of Origin Labeling on cattle supplies and the effects of the prior years uproar over finely textured beef also known as (pink slime)
For the past two-and-a-half years weve closely monitored the cattle supply in the U.S. hoping for a faster recovery from the drought, said John Keating, president of Cargills Wichita, Kansas-based beef business.
We dont see condition in the Texas panhandle improving to the point where it would make sense to reopen our Plainview beef plant, especially with excess processing capacity remaining in the region.
Plainview/Hale County Economic Devolvement Corporation Director Mike Fox said though Cargill made the move to sale the building, the facility could soon see life.
The closing of the Cargill Beef Processing Plant marks the end of a chapter, but does not close the book on the Plainview facility says Fox.
Fox went on to say that while some in the community had held out in hope that the plant would someday reopen, most in the community realized that was not likely. Cargill for many years was a tremendous corporate partner, providing jobs for more than 2,000 workers and giving back to the community when called on. As a community we feel for those displaced workers and local organizations like United Way who relied heavily on Cargills support.
This formal announcement from Cargill will now end the speculation and rumors that have been circulating in our community for the past 2 years. While the news is not what many had hoped for it does open the door of opportunity to market the facility to a buyer who may bring back some of the lost jobs. In the months ahead the Plainview/Hale County EDC will be working with Cargill representatives in their efforts to find a qualified buyer who can best utilize the existing assets at the facility, Fox said.
The Plainview/Hale County EDC would like to thank Cargill for the many positive things they have done over the past 45 years to help this area and we sincerely wish them the best in their future endeavors.
An 18-year-old man was held in Hale County jail Monday on bonds totaling $1,700 for possession of marijuana under 2 oz. and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was arrested about 11:30 p.m. Sunday in the 300 block of Ennis.
--A 32-year-old was held in Hale County jail Sunday without bond on an active warrant for speeding in a school zone. He was arrested about 8:20 a.m. Saturday in the 800 block of Joliet following a traffic stop.
--A 37-year-old man was held in Hale County jail Sunday on $1,500 bond for theft of property valued at $50 to $500. He was arrested with a theft that occurred in the 400 block of West 21st Street about 11:20 p.m. Saturday.
--A 33-year-old man was held in Hale County jail Saturday on $1,500 bond for driving while license invalid with previous convictions/suspensions or without evidence of financial responsibility. He was arrested about 9:20 p.m. Friday in the 1600 block of Houston during a traffic stop.
--Automotive parts valued between $750 and $2,500 were stolen from a vehicle. The theft was reported to the police department about 8 a.m. Sunday.
--Property in the 1000 block of Ash Street was vandalized between 7 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. Saturday. Damage ranged from $100 to $750.
--Jody Robert Tombs, 44, was held in Hale County jail Monday on a third-degree felony charge of assault family/household member impede breath/circulation. Bond was not reported. He was arrested about 2:15 p.m. Sunday in the 400 block of Bryan by officers responding to a disturbance.
--Property in the 1500 block of Yonkers was vandalized between 3 p.m. Saturday and 12:30 a.m. Sunday. Damage was estimated between $100 and $750.
--Something of value was stolen from the 1500 block of Yonkers on Sunday.
--Officers are investigating credit/debit card abuse which occurred between Sept. 4 and Sept. 10 in the 800 block of West 27th. The crime was reported about 4:45 p.m. Sunday.
--A hit-and-run accident involving an unattended vehicle reportedly occurred in the 700 block of North I-27 about 12:10 p.m. Friday.
--A shoplifting incident reportedly occurred about 11 a.m. Friday in the 1600 block of Kermit Drive. The stolen property is valued at less than $100.
--A 27-year-old man was held in Hale County jail Monday without bond on three active municipal warrants, for failure to maintain financial responsibility, no drivers license and operating an unregistered motor vehicle. He was arrested about 10:30 a.m. Sunday in the 300 block of West 11th Street following a traffic stop.
--An assault causing bodily injury reportedly occurred between 3-3:20 p.m. Friday in the 700 block of West 21st Street.
--The fraudulent use/possession of identifying information (under five) reportedly occurred about 7:40 p.m. Friday in the 2600 block of Olton Road.
--A hit-and-run mishap occurred between 10:30 p.m. Saturday and 10:30 a.m. Sunday in the 1200 block of Ennis.
--Property valued between $2,500 and $30,000 was stolen from the 200 block of North Broadway on Aug. 1. The crime was reported Sunday.
--A theft reportedly occurred between 2-4 a.m. Friday in the 1900 block of West Seventh Street.
--A 30-year-old man was held in Hale County jail Saturday on $1,500 bond for failing to perform required duties upon striking an unattended vehicle. He also is held without bond on three active municipal warrants, for speeding, operating an unregistered vehicle and failure to maintain financial responsibility. He was arrested about 7 a.m. Friday in the 1100 block of West 32nd Street in connection with a hit-and-run mishap.
--An assault involving family/house member by impeding breath/circulation and criminal mischief with damage ranging from $100 to $750 reportedly occurred between about 7:40-9 a.m. Friday in the 2000 block of West Sixth Street.
--A known person took property valued between $100 and $750 from the 1600 block of North Date between Sept. 1-9. The crime was reported about 6 p.m. Sunday.
--A shoplifting incident involving property valued between $100 and $750 reportedly occurred about 8:20 p.m. Wednesday. The theft was reported Friday.
(Anyone with information on crime in Plainview and Hale County may contact the Crime Stoppers Hotline at 293-8477 or 293-TIPS.)
The power cut out, winds roared and buildings shook Thursday night on the Turks and Caicos Islands as Hurricane Irma, then a Category 5 storm, unleashed its devastation while several Meriden residents hunkered down in one of the islands resorts.
It sounded like a freight train, said South Meriden resident Phil Massicotte. The wind, Id never heard anything like it. It was a like a monster outside the door trying to get in.
Turks and Caicos is north of the Dominican Republic and Haiti and east of Cuba.
Massicotte, who chairs the citys Aviation Commission, is one of a half-dozen local residents and municipal employees stranded on the island, which shut down airports and left a trail of destruction through the Caribbean to Florida. Of the about 35 Americans stuck on the island, six have ties to Meriden, Massicotte said, including city tax assessor Deborah Zunda and parking department employee Denise Keating.
Massicotte and his wife flew to the islands on Sept. 1 to spend the week at Ocean Club East. They were scheduled to return Friday. Flights off the island were booked in the days leading up to the storm, which arrived Thursday night.
With no other choice, Massicotte and his wife, Angela, waited out the storm at the resort. They soon lost power, and the shutters on the storm windows thrashed violently as loud banging noises could be heard outside.
The whole building seemed to shake. Massicotte said. We were terrified. We thought that was it.
During the storm, Zunda took refuge in a bathroom in the resort, said deputy tax assessor Mike Mordarski.
Thats where they told them to be, Mordarski said.
The storm didnt begin to let up until just before 3 a.m. Friday, Massicotte said, and the full scale of the damage was only apparent after they left the resort. Throughout the island, palm trees had snapped and other trees were stripped of leaves.
Its not the island paradise that it was before the hurricane, Massicotte said. Everyone here is trying to get through it.
Massicotte and his wife are relying on cash to buy food and water, surviving mostly on tuna and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Nonperishable food items have been scarce. The island is still without power. Massicote said that if he is unable to fly out by the end of the week, he is worried he might be further delayed if Hurricane Jose crosses their path.
Our biggest concern is to get flights down here so we can beat Jose, Massicotte said.
Massicotte said the U.S. consulate was not responsive to requests for aid and the family has reached out to U.S. Sens. Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal for a flight out.
Its pretty bad down here. We feel like weve been forgotten, Massicotte said.
Massicottes daughter, Kalee Doll of North Haven, has been desperately trying to get her parents home safely.
Weve been trying everything, Doll said. Were all really worried.
As the Massicottes wait to escape, others in the community are on standby to help assist in the storms aftermath, including Meriden Fire Lt. Paul Torres, who was given orders to prepare for deployment if necessary by the Connecticut National Guard.
Maj. Mike Petersen, a Connecticut National Guard spokesman, said 31 guardsmen were been deployed in two massive Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopters to support relief efforts in the area. Eight of them returned Monday morning.
While Torres has not been deployed yet, Petersen noted that missions are coming in rapid fire.
We are ready to support, if necessary, with people like Torres, Petersen said. Right now, the scope of Hurricane Irmas damage is widespread but still to be determined what the final outcome will be. Our guardsmen are on standby for a number of different missions but obviously already transportation of personnel and equipment are definite potential.
Meriden Fire Chief Ken Morgan hoped Torres can be of use to those impacted by the disaster.
Its comforting to think we have the expertise that could do that, Morgan said. Certainly we wish him well when he goes down there and a safe trip and we hope it doesnt take him long to deal with the situation and that we get him back.
ltauss@record-journal.com 203-317-2231 Twitter: @LeighTaussRJ
MERIDEN Several organizations, including the police and fire departments, are holding a fundraiser for hurricane relief efforts in Florida and Texas this month.
Meriden police officers and firefighters, members of the Council of Neighborhoods, Hunters Ambulance, Benjamin Franklin School K-Kids and the American Legion Womens Auxiliary will be collecting donations. The first collection is Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the corner of Hanover Avenue and Main Street in South Meriden.
The second collection will take place Sept. 22 at the corner of East Main Street and Research Parkway.
#suitcase murder suspect Justice minister orders extradition of 'suitcase' murder suspect to New Zealand South Korea's justice minister on Monday ordered the extradition of a woman believed to be the mother of two children whose bodies were found in suitcases in New Zealand in August,...
#EXO After eventful three years, EXO's Chen wants to begin anew with 3rd EP Chen, a member of popular K-pop boy group EXO, said Monday he has experienced much change in his life in the past three years and wants to show himself as he is now through his upc...
MERIDEN A Manchester man faces charges after police say he caused over $1,200 in damage during a break-in at the Dunkin Donuts on South Broad Street in May.
Police said the man is also a possible suspect in at least 20 other Dunkin Donuts burglaries.
Brett Johnson, 32, of 124 Borch St., second floor, was charged Tuesday with third-degree burglary, second-degree criminal mischief and possession of burglar tools.
About 2 a.m. on May 4, police responded to an alarm at the Dunkin Donuts, 57 S. Broad Street, and found a rear door was pried open and damaged. Nothing was missing from inside the business, according to a police report.
Security video showed a light colored Honda pull up to the rear of the building. A man, later identified as Johnson, got out of the driver seat, pried the door open and entered the building, the report said. The business gave police an invoice totaling about $1,200 for repair costs from the burglary.
While officers were investigating the case, they became aware of an emerging Dunkin Donuts burglary pattern in Connecticut and surrounding states. A substantial number of cases involved a light colored Honda and the suspect prying open a door and targeting safes, the report said.
On June 1, Granby police took Johnson into custody after he was found inside a Dunkin Donuts, the report said. Johnson told police he burglarized at least 20 Dunkin Donuts over the past few months, saying he wore clothing similar to that of the suspect seen in the Meriden incident footage, the report said. Johnson told police he pried open the doors and is familiar with the buildings because he has done HVAC work in the stores.
Johnson was arraigned in Meriden Superior Court on Tuesday. According to statements in court, he is currently held on over $60,000 for other pending cases. The judge set bond at $500 and continued the case to Oct. 17.
Advertisement
Read more articles like this and help support local journalism by subscribing to the Record Journal. Unlimited Digital Access just 99
HARTFORD Republicans presented a revised budget Tuesday as Democrats kept working toward a budget plan ready for a vote Thursday.
Democrats maintain they will be ready to adopt a budget Thursday, ending the executive budget order Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed to begin the fiscal year.
Democrats have warned that failure to adopt a budget his week would mean Malloys order would remain in place through Oct. 1, when municipalities would feel deep cuts in municipal aid.
The order would eliminate Education Cost Sharing grants to 85 towns and reduce those to another 54, something House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz, D-Berlin, called Monday a bad situation for public education in the state of Connecticut.
The legislature has yet to vote on a budget for the upcoming biennium amid ongoing disagreement over how to close a projected $3.5 billion deficit.
Malloy last week offered what he has deemed his final budget offer, agreeing to increase the sales tax from 6.35 percent to 6.5 percent and a boost in the tax on hospitals. He has also agreed to reduce the cut to municipal aid and seek retirement contributions from municipalities only for currently employed teachers.
Municipal aid cuts and a larger contribution for teachers retirement benefits have been two of the major sticking points.
Aresimowicz said Monday that House Democrats have backed off their push for a sales tax increase their proposal called for a 6.85 percent rate as Senate Democrats still do not have unanimous support for such a hike.
The tied Senate means Democrats would need all of their 18 votes to force a tie, which could be broken by Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, a Democrat, if they are unable to work out a bipartisan deal with Republicans.
Aresimowicz would not say Monday how Democrats would account for the change, other than to say revenue options raised during discussions are consistent with things that had public hearings.
Republicans, meanwhile, presented a new budget of their own Tuesday after an agreement with state employee unions, approved along a party-line vote in July, prevented some of the labor saving initiatives they had included in previous spending plans.
House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby, said the Republican plan now includes $600 million in savings tied to structural changes.
Those structural changes include changes to pension benefits beginning in 2027, when the current employee benefit agreement expires. Republicans say the state could begin saving on pension contributions now, though, and they assume those reductions in their budget.
The plan also assumes an $85 million fee $50 million in the first year, $35 million in the second from Millstone to allow the company to bid on consumer contracts that currently go to clean-energy providers. Additionally, the deal includes no increases to the sales, income, or cigarette taxes, reduces the number of appointed positions within the executive branch, and increases municipal aid, Republicans said Tuesday.
Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven, said Republicans will ask Democrats to allow for a vote on the budget on Thursday. Democrats must sign off on the emergency certification needed to allow the bill to reach the floor. We believe we have a budget that is real, Fasano said. We believe we have a budget that can go forward, that puts Connecticut on the right track.
Democrats said they would review the proposal, but Tuesdays budget talks and budget announcement also resulted in both sides accusing the other of ending bipartisan negotiations. Though it is disappointing Republicans decided to exclude themselves from our ongoing negotiations, we will be going through their revised proposal and if there are new things that are feasible and will help move our state forward they could be included in the final budget, Aresimowicz said.
Klarides, meanwhile, said Democrats never intended to back off tax hikes.
Senate and House Democrats were waiting for the moment where they can say Republicans walked out of the room, she said.
msavino@record-journal.com 203-317-2266 Twitter: @reporter_savino
A well-known East Bay developer was arraigned Tuesday in federal court on an indictment that accuses him of engaging in fraud to make illegal email campaign contributions to Rep. Eric Swalwell, the U.S. Attorney and the FBI announced.
The indictment alleges that James Tong, 72, of Pleasanton, used others to make campaign contributions in his behalf with his money, allowing him to exceed Drip campaign contribution limits.
While the indictment does not name the candidate or campaign committee, The Chronicle learned that they were made to Swalwell, D-Dublin, who was elected to Congress in 2012.
Swalwell, in a statement released through his campaign office, said he had no knowledge of the fraudulent contributions until he was notified by the FBI during its investigation.
Im deeply disappointed by whats alleged in the grand jurys indictment, he said. My campaign never would have accepted a single penny of these contributions had we known how they were being made.
Swalwell said he was told that the Department of Justice does not suspect wrongdoing by him or his campaign, and that they cooperated with the investigation. He said his campaign is totaling the allegedly illegal contributions and will donate that amount to a local charity.
I will not tolerate illicit contributions like these in my Drip campaign, or in our political process generally, he said.
In 2012 and 2013, Tong made more than $10,000 of these illegal donations, the indictment alleges.
According to a statement from the U.S. Attorneys office, Tong was arraigned and made his initial appearance in federal court in Oakland before U.S. Magistrate Kandis A. Westmore. He was released without bail, but was required to surrender his passport. He is scheduled appear in court next on Sept. 29.
Tong was convicted last year of violating the Endangered Species Act after he and his development company, Wildlife Management, admitted polluting a pond that supported the threatened California tiger salamander and forging documents to hide their actions. He was ordered to pay $1 million to conservation funds and preserve 107 acres of land as habitat for endangered species.
The indictment is the result of a year-long investigation by the FBI, and is being prosecuted by the Special Prosecution and National Security Unit of the U.S. Attorneys office.
Firefighters were battling a blaze in forested hills west of Woodside in San Mateo County on Tuesday, officials said.
The Skeggs Fire was burning southwest of Interstate 280 near Highway 35 and El Corte de Madera Creek Preserve, said the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
Customers are depositing checks, opening new accounts and even taking selfies from a truck in east Houston.
It's parked outside a Bank of America branch that remains closed two weeks after Tropical Storm Harvey flooded the bank's servers. The high-traffic location needed to reopen for its customers, so officials drove in the mobile unit - complete with ATM, bank tellers and various other employees.
The truck gets busier each day as more customers find it and realize it can handle their banking needs.
"They're more surprised because it's out of the truck," said Richard Mejia, financial center manager for the flooded branch in east Houston.
Such mobile centers are among many services that financial institutions are providing to customers affected by Harvey.
In the past two weeks, Bank of America has waived close to $20 million in fees for customers affected by the storm, which triggered widespread, historic flooding. These include deposit fees for overdraft, debit card rush and replacement fees, fees for early withdrawal on a CD, and late-payment fees on credit cards and some loans, including mortgage and auto.
The bank is also prepared to offer more flexible underwriting "to encourage people to be able to rebuild their houses and get their cars," said Thong Nguyen, president of Bank of America's retail banking unit and co-head of consumer banking, who was in Houston on Monday.
Eight of the bank's 114 area financial centers and 11 of its 619 ATMs remain closed since the storm. It has two banks on wheels and three ATMs on wheels to help customers in areas where the bank's other branches aren't convenient.
Chase said 17 of its 210 Houston-area locations remain closed.
BBVA Compass said seven of its 77 Houston-area branches were damaged by Harvey. One has reopened and the others will reopen in a matter of weeks, or BBVA Compass will decide if it needs to put temporary branches at those locations while buildings are repaired.
Wells Fargo said nine of its branches were closed in the Texas region as of Friday. It is also deploying a mobile response unit to give customers access to disaster recovery specialists and to help with mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, insurance claims processing, and advice to start the repair and recovery process.
The 75-foot heavy-duty "office on wheels" also provides customers a chance to discuss payment challenges face-to-face. Like Bank of America and others, Wells Fargo says it is being lenient with those affected by Harvey. It's suppressing negative credit reporting and waiving fees for using non-Wells Fargo ATMs, among other things.
Similarly, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is providing centers where those affected by Harvey can receive information on disaster assistance programs. It has four disaster recovery centers open in Harris County and several more elsewhere in the region.
The government agency said more than $508 million has been approved for Texas households in FEMA grants, National Flood Insurance Program claims paid and Small Business Administration loans. When using direct deposit, the money is typically in people's bank accounts within 48 hours of approval.
BBVA Compass also is offering discounted rates on home-equity loans and lines of credit, construction and renovation loans and auto loans.
Chase is waiving transaction fees and applying special provisions on loans for small businesses, including waiving the Small Business Administration Express guarantee fee for loans between $150,000 and $350,000.
Wells Fargo's Commercial Distribution Finance is increasing credit lines to handle retail orders that may come through as a result of relief and rebuilding efforts.
"We are providing all the help that the community and our customers need to get back on its feet," added Nguyen, with Bank of America. "So a lot of help to rebuild, but also an investment into making sure that we help the community prevent these disasters from happening."
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 5 1 of 5 Joshua Fechter / Show More Show Less 2 of 5 Rachel Denny Clow /TNS Show More Show Less 3 of 5 4 of 5 Rose Baca /TNS Show More Show Less 5 of 5
H-E-B will 10 supply trucks to Publix Super Markets Inc. to assist the Florida-based grocers operations and relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, the company said Tuesday.
The San Antonio-based supermarket chain will send seven trucks of water, two trucks with ice and one with cleaning supplies Wednesday from its warehouse in Houston to Publix headquarters in Lakeland, about 35 miles east of Tampa, H-E-B spokeswoman Dya Campos said.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
Union workers at Wyman-Gordon returned to work Monday after a three-week strike at the aerospace and energy manufacturing facility in northwest Houston.
Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers had taken the action to protest proposed pay and benefit cuts. Byron Williams, District 37 president and directing business representative, said the new contract included compromise from both sides.
"It wasn't everything, that's part of negotiation," he said. "But I think we came to an understanding."
The company's original proposal was to reduce entry-level wages to $7.50 an hour from $15.50 an hour and to freeze raises for the first three years. Wyman-Gordon had increased that proposed wage to $12.75 before the strike but kept the freeze on raises.
The new contract, ratified Saturday, has entry-level wages starting at $13 an hour and increasing 1 percent during the employee's second, third and fourth years.
Disability was another hot-button item. The new contract provides six months of short-term disability and 36 months long-term disability. Then there is an additional 30 months where employees can accrue seniority but not pension money.
Before this round of negotiations began, employees could stay on long-term disability until age 65. The company's first proposal, before the strike, wanted to provide six months of short-term disability and 18 months of long-term disability.
As part of the new deal, employees currently on long-term disability can remain on it until they turn 65.
Wyman-Gordon did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Williams, however, praised the company for taking care of its employees during Tropical Storm Harvey. Wyman-Gordon paid health insurance while employees were on strike, even though the contract didn't require that.
Harvey forced union members to abandon the picket line for several days, but Williams said the storm also helped bring the two sides together.
"It opens your eyes to some things that are important," he said.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
Facing criminal charges for his involvement in FourWinds Logistics, State Sen. Carlos Uresti testified Tuesday in a San Antonio bankruptcy court trial that the now-defunct oil field services company might have been a Ponzi scheme.
The San Antonio Democrat said on the witness stand that he and his legal team conducted an investigation into FourWinds because he wanted to get to the truth of the matter following his indictment in May.
I was not aware until recently from our investigation, that it appears that it might have been a Ponzi scheme, Uresti testified. A Ponzi scheme is an investment fraud that involves the payment of purported returns to existing investors from monies contributed by new investors, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
RELATED: Judge disqualifies Watts, again, as state Sen. Uresti's lawyer in criminal case
Uresti was subpoenaed to testify in the bankruptcy court trial, which centers on a dispute over roughly $2.5 million the Chapter 7 trustee is seeking to recover from a Dallas surgeon who invested with the frac-sand company. San Antonio-based FourWinds was formed to buy and sell sand, which is used in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to produce oil and gas.
FourWinds entered bankruptcy in August 2015 amid allegations from a handful of investors that they were defrauded.
Uresti, former FourWinds CEO Stan Bates and consultant Gary Cain were arrested in May in connection with their roles at the company. They have each denied the charges and are scheduled to go to trial next month.
RELATED: Development around Padre Island Schlitterbahn avoids foreclosure for now
Uresti said during Tuesdays bankruptcy court appearance that he served as FourWinds lawyer from about June or July of 2014 until January 2015, when he had to head to Austin for the legislative session. He denied owning a 1 percent interest in FourWinds. In a 2014 state financial disclosure form, Uresti disclosed owning between 100 and 499 FourWinds shares.
Uresti added he was originally introduced to Bates as a potential investor, though he didnt have the $1.4 million required to invest with FourWinds.
Uresti sought to bring in investors for FourWinds, including current Bexar County District Attorney Nico LaHood, San Antonio businessman Ronnie Gabriel and lawyer Alex Begum. None of them invested, however, he said.
Former Uresti law client Denise Cantu of Harlingen did invest $900,000, earning him a $27,000 commission. Cantu lost all but abut $100,00 and is now suing Uresti for fraud. She also sued FourWinds and Bates in a separate lawsuit. Uresti had previously represented Cantu in a wrongful-death case involving two of her children.
RELATED: Utah company files fraud suit against Uresti co-defendant's new venture
During his approximately 100 minutes of testimony, Uresti said he was not aware of (FourWinds) being a Ponzi scheme when he was involved.
Natalie Wilson, a lawyer for the Chapter 7 trustee, asked Uresti what he did after his indictment to investigate whether FourWinds was a Ponzi scheme.
We have subpoenaed thousands of documents, Uresti said. Asked from whom he subpoenaed the documents, Uresti declined to say.
I think were getting into attorney-client privilege, he replied.
Prosecutors have alleged FourWinds was a Ponzi scheme. Three former company officials already have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, though they have yet to be sentenced.
RELATED: Regulators release South Texas bank from 'troubled condition'
Uresti said that based on what he knows now, he believes that Bates created a false impression that FourWinds was a profitable venture.
Would you have introduced potential investors to (FourWinds) if you had known that it was not a profitable company, Wilson then asked.
Absolutely not, Uresti said.
A lot of the legal work that Uresti said he performed for FourWinds involved recovering monies that were held in escrow for a sand deal that didnt pan out. Urestis law firm filed a lawsuit against the sand supplier and escrow agent on behalf of FourWinds in September 2014. Another law firm later stepped in to handle the litigation when Uresti ended his involvement with FourWinds.
RELATED: USAA accuses Maryland company of riding 'coattails'
FourWinds used the $2.5 million settlement of the litigation to pay Dr. David Zehr, a Dallas surgeon who was the main principal in a company that invested in a joint venture with FourWinds.
Chapter 7 trustee Randolph Osherow alleges FourWinds fraudulently transferred the money to Zehr less than two month before it filed for bankruptcy. Osherow wants U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Craig Gargotta to undo the transfer so the money will go to the bankruptcy estate. Zehr contends its his money.
Urestis court appearance came on his 54th birthday. During a break in the trial, he quipped to Osherow, Youre ruining my birthday, Randy.
The bankruptcy court trial is scheduled to resume in November.
pdanner@express-news.net
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
State Sen. Carlos Uresti, who will go on trial next month in a criminal fraud case over FourWinds Logistics, is expected to testify Tuesday in a bankruptcy court trial involving the now-defunct frac-sand company.
Lawyers for FourWinds bankruptcy trustee said Monday they will call Uresti as a witness in a dispute over about $2.5 million the trustee is seeking to recover from a Dallas surgeon who invested with the company. FourWinds purported to buy and sell sand, which is used in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to produce oil and gas.
Chapter 7 trustee Randolph Osherow alleges FourWinds fraudulently transferred the money to Dr. David Zehr less than two months before the company filed for bankruptcy. FourWinds was either insolvent or became insolvent as a result of the transfer, Osherow says in a lawsuit. He wants U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Craig Gargotta to undo the transfer so the money will go to the bankruptcy estate.
Uresti had multiple roles in FourWinds, including serving as its outside general counsel and owning a 1 percent share of the company. He also helped recruit two investors, including Denise Cantu, his former law client who invested $900,000. The client lost about $800,000 and has sued the San Antonio Democrat, who collected a $27,000 commission on the investment.
Prosecutors allege FourWinds was a Ponzi scheme, with initial investors paid from money invested by later investors.
Uresti was charged in May in an 11-count indictment, including for securities fraud, wire fraud and acting as an unregistered securities broker. He has denied the charges. Also charged in the case are former FourWinds CEO Stan Bates and company consultant Gary Cain.
Zehr invested almost $4.3 million in a company that entered into a joint venture with FourWinds. Zehrs company then loaned about $2.4 million to the joint venture to purchase 10,000 tons of sand in the spring of 2014.
The sand deal never panned out, which led FourWinds to sue the sand supplier. The supplier countersued. The two sides eventually settled their differences and FourWinds used the proceeds from the settlement to pay Zehr. The doctor has said in a court filing that he took the money in good faith.
There is no evidence that Dr. Zehr (believed) that (FourWinds) was insolvent or orchestrating some kind of fraud, the court filing adds.
Besides Uresti, others subpoenaed to testify include Cain and two former FourWinds officials, Shannon Smith and Laura Jacobs, who have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The trustee also sought to subpoena Bates, but a process server couldnt locate Bates to serve him, said attorney Natalie Wilson, who represents Osherow.
On Thursday, Osherows legal team filed an emergency motion asking Gargotta to postpone the bankruptcy court trial until after the criminal trial, which is set for Oct. 23.
Osherows lawyers said in the motion they were alerted that Assistant U.S Attorney Joseph Blackwell was deeply concerned about the prospect of these witnesses testifying in the (bankruptcy case) and thereby compromising the United States ability to successfully prosecute the criminal claims.
The witnesses are crucial to the trustees case, the motion added. Gargotta denied the request to delay the trial, however, in a written order Friday.
Chad Muller, Cains criminal lawyer, appeared in bankruptcy court Monday to object to his client having to testify.
I think its really a violation of his rights at this point in time to be called as a witness when the court has been advised that he will exercise his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself, Muller told Gargotta. Muller said the criminal charges against his client are unproven.
Gargotta refused to excuse Cain, however. Cain then took the Fifth Amendment to each of the 19 questions posed by Wilson, including whether FourWinds was a Ponzi scheme and whether Cantus money was used to pay Zehr or others.
After the questioning, Gargotta said he will decide at a later time what inferences he can make from Cain taking the Fifth Amendment. For example, Gagotta could infer that FourWinds was insolvent and a Ponzi scheme.
Uresti has no intention of taking the Fifth Amendment when he is called to testify Tuesday, according to Tab Turner, one of his criminal defense lawyers.
He doesnt really have anything to hide, Turner said.
pdanner@express-news.net
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
NEW HAVEN >> In exchange for reduced charges, Leighton Vanderberg Tuesday agreed to cooperate with the state by testifying against two co-defendants accused of fatally shooting a store clerk on Forbes Avenue two years ago.
Vanderberg, 25, a former New Haven resident, originally faced charges of felony murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery in the slaying of Sanjay Patel, 39, a clerk at Pay Rite Food Mart/Citgo Station on the night of April 6, 2015. As part of Vanderbergs agreement with the state, Senior Assistant States Attorney Seth Garbarsky reduced the case to a single charge to aiding and abetting first-degree robbery.
Vanderberg quietly pleaded guilty to that charge Tuesday as he faced Superior Court Judge Patrick J. Clifford.
Clifford read aloud the agreement, which calls for Vanderberg to truthfully testify against co-defendants Dwayne Sayles, 24, and Jamal Sumler, 26, both of New Haven. Garbarsky said Vanderberg drove the two alleged gunmen to the store and back to the Church Street South housing complex.
Vanderberg already is serving a 40-year prison sentence for felony murder in the fatal shooting of another store clerk, Jose Salgado, who died while working at his small grocery store in Bridgeport. Salgado and his wife were closing up their shop in Bridgeports Hollow neighborhood when police said then 23-year-old Vanderberg and 20-year-old Treizy Lopez killed Salgado over a few dollars in the cash register, the Connecticut Post reported.
That murder occurred five days after the one at the New Haven store.
Garbarsky Tuesday recited the basic elements of the states case in the New Haven shooting. He said when police responded to the scene, they found Patel lying on the floor of the store with multiple gunshot wounds, including in his chest. He died that night at the hospital.
Garbarsky said the stores surveillance video showed two men (wearing partial face masks) entering the store, both of them with weapons.
They robbed Mr. Patel, Garbarsky said. They demanded money. After taking cash and a box of cigars, both of them shot him several times.
Garbarsky said Vanderberg met with police detectives about a week after the homicide and described giving a ride the night of the crime to Malley and Dwayne. They were later identified as Sumler and Sayles.
He saw their guns and he saw them run out of the store, Garbarsky said.
Garbarsky quoted Sayles saying to Vanderberg: Lets go, lets go!
He drove them back to Church Street South, Garbarsky said. Sayles gave Vanderberg $20 and a few cigars.
Garbarsky noted the state will not make a specific sentence recommendation for Vanderberg unless the sentencing judge asks for one.
The disposition rests entirely with the court, Clifford said. He added that if he is still the judge in that courtroom when the time comes for Vanderberg to be sentenced, I will be the sentencing judge.
Clifford also noted, This is not an immunity agreement.
Addressing Vanderberg, who was dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit, Clifford said conviction on aiding and abetting first-degree robbery carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years. Vanderbergs sentence could be made concurrent or consecutive with his present sentence for the Bridgeport shooting.
Clifford also told Vanderberg that if he lies during his court testimony, the agreement will be null and void and he could be prosecuted for perjury.
Vanderberg said he understood all of this and accepted the terms of the agreement.
Garbarsky told Clifford he had discussed the plea agreement with Patels widow. She is aware his (Vanderbergs) cooperation is necessary for conviction of the other two defendants.
Clifford then accepted the guilty plea and set the sentencing for Oct. 12. On that same day, Sumler is due in court as preparations begin for his trial.
When Vanderbergs attorney, James Ruane, was asked for comment after court adjourned, he replied, It speaks for itself.
Call Randall Beach at 203-680-9345.
Whether you stream, buy or rent, heres a look at whats new or notable in home video. Movies are available on streaming sites such as iTunes, Amazon and Vudu unless otherwise noted.
Decline and Fall: The school year has just begun. What better time for a dry, droll visit to what may be the worst boarding school in 1920s Great Britain. No wizards here, just embittered men who have failed into teaching jobs. New master Paul Pennyfeather (comedian Jack Whitehall) had hoped to be a priest until an unfortunate incident bounced him out of Oxford. He doesn't have a prayer with the fifth-form students until Eva Longoria, the expat American mother of one of the lads, arrives like an angel of mercy. (Acorn DVD)
Rent it now
Beatriz at Dinner: Beatriz (Salma Hayek) is a New Age healer specializing in massage, reiki and breathwork. Stranded by car trouble at a wealthy client's home, she's invited to dinner, a celebration of a recent business triumph. The guest of honor is developer Doug Strut (John Lithgow), who owns something called the Rife Corp. He thinks she's a flake. She thinks he's a villain, as do the filmmakers, director Miguel Arteta and screenwriter Mike White (The Good Girl). With sides so clearly drawn, the only question is whether the dinner menu includes just deserts.
Also: Captain Underpants, The Mummy
In theaters
Anti Matter: If you create a wormhole in a laboratory like Oxford PhD student Anna yes, a lot has changed at Oxford since the events depicted in Decline and Fall resist the impulse to test it on yourself. Tampering with time and space can create big problems, even if its not immediately apparent. You might start bumping into extras from Planet of the Apes (70s version) for no good reason. Reviews are mixed, but Anti Matter looks like the kind of indie sci-fi Primer and Coherence are prime examples that makes up for a lack of pricey special effects with smarts and plot twists.
jkiest@express-news.net
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
George Strait's Harvey relief concert in San Antonio sold out in thirty minutes, but there are still chances to watch The King perform, surrounded by other fans.
Strait will headline a concert at the Majestic Theatre on Tuesday, joined by stars like Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton, Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen, as part of the televised "Hand in Hand: A Benefit for Hurricane Harvey Relief."
The theater, which holds about 2,200 people, quickly sold out on Wednesday.
Parts of the show at the Majestic will be broadcast during a telethon by ABC, CBS, CMT, FOX and NBC. The show will be based in Los Angeles with stages in New York, Nashville and, of course, the Alamo City.
RELATED: All-star George Strait benefit at Majestic Theatre sells out quickly
Now Playing: George Strait's telethon concert for hurricane relief takes place Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Video: San Antonio Express-News
If you're one of the many San Antonians who didn't snag one of the few tickets, you can head to On The Rocks Pub and Hills & Dales Icehouse, which are both hosting watch parties starting at 7 p.m.
Both locations will be serving free tacos while supplies last.
Other stars to perform around the country include: Beyonce, Barbra Streisand, Tori Kelly, Karlie Kloss and Blake Shelton.
And if you can't make the watch parties, the concert will be aired beginning at 7 p.m. on all major networks.
Proceeds from the Strait concert will go to the Rebuild Texas Fund, which was set up by the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation to support long-term recovery from the storm.
See the gallery above for more details on the San Antonio watch parties.
Staff writer Jeanne Jakle contributed to this report.
mmendoza@mysa.com
Twitter: @MaddySkye
Despite Hurricane Harvey leaving its mark on many spots of the city last week, for some places it is business as usual, such as the ongoing construction in Bellaire for a new Police and Municipal Courts building and City Hall and Civic Center Building.
"Thankfully, there isn't much to tell in this case," Project Manager Michelle Jordan said. "We only lost a few days of work, and that was the most serious part of it.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
NEW HAVEN >> Voters turned out today to choose between incumbent Toni Harp and challenger Marcus Paca as the Democratic nominee for mayor. Seven candidates also were vying for a spot on the Democratic ticket for three seats on the Board of Alders.
Election officials at polling places visited by the Register reported turnout as moderate to low.
At the West Rock Stream Academy, election moderator reported only nine voters by 8 a.m.
We usually have a crowd between 6 and 8 (a.m.) professional folks. Yale, the hospital they usually come in between then, said moderator Pat Solomon, who supervised a Ward 30 polling place, one of the few in the city with a contest aldermanic race as well. She said typically upwards of about 200 people cast ballots at the school, she said.
Despite their being a three-way race for alderperson, voter turnout was equally low at the Clarence Rogers School, the other polling place for the 30th ward. Shortly after 10 a.m., only 15 people had voted.
Solomon believes part of the reason could be due to the decreased ward size but also mentioned that senior citizens used to walk to the polling places from Hard Street. However, now some of them have no way of getting there to vote.
James Staggers, the father of former Ward 30 Alder Carlton Staggers, was able to cast his ballot shortly before 8 a.m.
Toni Harp. No question, he said, when asked for whom he voted. He also voted for Michelle Edmonds-Sepulveda, the alder who was appointed to serve the remainder of Staggers term when he resigned from the board in August.
He then added, Its going to be closer than people think it is, but shes going to win. A lot of people like (Paca). Ive talked to a lot of people in the city and a lot of people like him.
Pablow Moreau, of Westville, likes him. He was standing outside the school handing out political palm cards for Paca that described him as a visionary who has the enthusiasm and courage to turn New Havens current challenges into next-generation opportunities.
He described Harp as too soft spoken.
We need someone who is going to be boisterous,
Tony Butler, the moderator at Mauro-Sheridan Interdistrict Magnet School on Fountain Street, likewise reported turnout as light.
The incumbent alder is running unopposed, so the mayoral race was the only item on the ballot.
He said Ward 26 generally has a strong turnout.
We do expect our ward to turn out. We have our regulars, he said.
Asked why he thought turnout was light, he said, perhaps people are generally assuming the incumbent will win. Thats the best answer I can give you.
Polling places opened less than 12 hours after news broke that Alexion Pharmaceuticals will move its headquarters from New Haven to Boston, which was viewed by political observers as a setback for the Harp administration.
We absolutely have taken note, said Paca field worker Kelly Moore. She said that Harp has more than once mentioned Alexion as a example of her administrations work to create jobs.
They challenge us to check our facts, but most of those jobs didnt trickle down to working class New Haveners.
Stewart Frankel, of Westville, said he didnt believe Mayor Harp could have had any influence on Alexions decision to move its headquarters.
While the departure certainly isnt good news, downtown has been just booming, he said. Its certainly not the only company that has given up on Connecticut and moved to Boston in the last few years.
GE announced last year that it was leaving its Fairfield headquarters for Boston.
The Westville resident cast his vote for Harp at Edgewood School, which usually has one of the top turnouts in the city.
This is a low turnout. This is pretty bad for Edgewood.
As of 11:18 a.m., there have been just 84 voters at Wilbur Cross for the 10th Ward.
Ryan Munden, the moderator for the 10th ward, said the municipal elections do not draw that big of a crowd, but we had a really good turnout last presidential election. It was crazy, estimating that they had somewhere between 80 to 85 percent of registered voters cast their ballots.
Meanwhile, there was a slow but steady stream of voters at Lincoln-Bassett Community School. Moderator Vera Peterson anticipated the 20th ward will be one of the more active wards due to the communitys desire to see improvements.
Several voters from the 20th ward cited crime and safety as issues they would like to see better addressed.
Rosa Joyner, of the 20th ward, said safety in the neighborhood is the most important thing.
You want to make sure that the police isnt in danger driving by and your grandchildren are safe, she said. So you can come out [of] your house, look at your house, and not be afraid.
Other residents, like Charlie Redd, would like to see a greater police presence as he believes there has been an increase of drugs in the area.
Supporters of both candidates agreed that a low turnout could help Paca.
I think a lower turnout will benefit him, said Adam Marchand, the alder for Ward 25 and a Harp supporter.
Even though he was running unopposed, he stood outside Edgewood School talking with residents and handing out a palm card with the link to a legislative agenda survey the alders circulated during last years presidential election to voters standing in long lines.
For me and for my colleagues, even when you dont have an opponent, its good to be out and saying hello to people.
Sal Brancati, a longtime economic developer in New Haven in the 1980s and 1990s, voted for Harp at Mauro-Sheridan.
He said he believed she did a good job. He noted the mill rate is stable, Harp has a balance budget, the town seems safe, its clean, the downtown is thriving.
Those are the things that people are looking at, he said.
Likewise, Erica Holahan voted for Harp even if she wasnt entirely enthusiastic about her.
I think there were a lot of challenges she handled well. I think there were some that she didnt, Holahan said. Plus, I dont know that much about Marcus so it wasnt a hard choice for me.
Chris Marley, a Paca supporter and longtime friend, said people shouldnt be quick to count Paca out.
He definitely has a chance. Ive canvassed all over town for him, in every ward, in every neighborhood, on every street.
Edmonds-Sepulveda is facing Tosha James-Goldson and Charlie Delgado for the Democratic nomination in ward 30.
Endorsed candidate Renee Hayword is facing Robert Lee for the Democratic nomination in Ward 11.
Endorsed candidate Kimberly Edwards is facing Sarah Ofosu in Ward 19.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
WASHINGTON - In the lobby of every federal building, just inside security turnstiles and before the elevator banks, a framed photograph of the president has always hung on the wall.
Not so, anymore. Nine months after Donald Trump's inauguration, pictures of the president and Vice President Mike Pence are missing fromthousands of federal courthouses, laboratories, military installations, ports of entry, office suites and hallways and from U.S. embassies abroad.
On the walls are empty picture hooks left when workers took down official portraits of President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden on Jan. 20. Federal employees and visitors passing through the hallways since then have puzzled over the missing images, wondering why the traditional signal of the formal transition of power has yet to occur.
The changeover appears to be tangled in a bit of red tape and mystery.
Federal agencies ordered photographs of their new commander in chief months ago. But they say they are still waiting for the Government Publishing Office, the printer of official portraits, to send them for distribution by the General Services Administration, which owns and leases 9,600 federal buildings across the country.
The Government Publishing Office says it has yet to receive the images from the White House. And the White House says the president and vice president have not yet decided when they will sit for the type of high-quality official photographs usually churned out by the modern GPO, continuing a portrait tradition that began after the Civil War.
"GPO is standing by to reproduce copies of the president and the vice president's photos for official use in federal facilities and will do so as soon as the official photo files are provided to us," agency spokesman Gary Somerset said in email.
He added, "I do not have a timeline on when GPO will receive those files from the White House."
The missing pictures might seem to be a minor matter in an administration consumed with hurricane relief, the North Korean nuclear threat, an investigation into Trump campaign contacts with Russians, illegal immigration and other issues.
Yet to some, the absence of the ubiquitous official photos is puzzling, considering the chief executive's fame was propelled by reality television and he has never been reluctant to promote his image. Some agencies have been so determined to show the president's photograph that they've improvised, downloading a scowling - and some say unflattering - photo of Trump posted on the White House website.
"You would think Trump would want his portrait spattered all over federal buildings," said Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian who teaches at Rice University and has been critical of Trump.
Obama's portrait was hung by the third month he was in office in 2009. The GPO printed more than 130,000 of his photographs in three sizes. Employees transferred the digital image from a computer to a printing plate and finally to one of the agency's four color presses.
President Bill Clinton's official photo was up by June 1993, the Associated Press reported.
White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said in a statement: "All agencies who have requested the President's portrait have received a photo to display. We're still in the process of creating the official portrait. Once it's been produced, the White House photo office will distribute it to all of the agencies and other requests."
The downloaded photos showing up at some government offices are photocopied and stuck into picture frames. The results can be pixelated or shadowy and too saturated. The president is in a dead-serious pose, with the U.S. flag and White House in the background.
Walters said agencies may also request a version of that portrait, as U.S. Customs and Border Protection has.
Still, the president's image is missing from most agencies - even in downloaded form - including from the State Department, the Energy Department, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Interior Department, to name a few.
Experts say the tradition still carries deep significance.
"It's a recognition that the president is the leader of the country but also the leader of the government," said Max Stier, president and chief executive of the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service. "One aspect of that is to be physically manifested in the buildings."
Michael Beschloss, another presidential historian, said the administration may just keep the makeshift image in place as a reflection of Trump's view of the bureaucracy. "This act is intended to convey, deliberately or not, a president who wants to stand at one remove from his own federal government," Beschloss said.
"If you look at official presidential portraits of the past half-century, the expression in virtually all of them is smiling or at least pleasant," he said. "This one has a very fierce look, as if he wants to make sure that the world knows that he is a very tough guy."
It's not just the likeness of POTUS that's missing. Many Cabinet secretaries' images are absent, too, in some cases apparently because they don't want to upstage the president.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt's framed photo hangs in the agency's Washington headquarters. But there is no photo of Secretary Ben Carson at HUD, or Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in the elegant, formal State Department lobby flanked by flags of the world.
"As soon as the White House official portraits of the President and Vice President are available, the State Department . . . will distribute the White House portraits and the official portrait of the Secretary of State to all offices as well as all posts abroad," the agency said.
The empty walls are a stark contrast with the tenures of Tillerson's predecessors, John F. Kerry and Hillary Clinton, whose photos greeting foreign diplomats and dignitaries covered the lobby.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's portrait went up in August.
An official at another agency, who requested anonymity because he did not want to openly criticize the administration, was told by senior officials there that the photo of the president from the White House website was not an option because it is not official. "We are patiently waiting" for the GPO to print, he said.
"We ordered hundreds of them back in January," the official said. "I periodically ask what's going on, because it's noticed by employees in our agency that there's nothing up."
In February, the absence of a portrait left a Florida congressman who is a disabled veteran particularly unsettled when he visited a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in West Palm Beach for a medical appointment. Some of his constituents had called him to complain that the hospital had not hung photographs of the president and the new VA secretary.
Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., helped hang their photos. But the staff took them down after they left, apparently out of concern that they were not official.
VA Secretary David Shulkin quickly ordered 1,500 hospitals and clinics in the agency's far-flung system to download an image of the president posted on the website, print it out and hang it (along with Shulkin's photograph).
"Though our facilities have been following the correct protocol [by not hanging a photo], we realize that it is more important to display these temporary photos to demonstrate a clear chain of command and respect for our Veterans," Shulkin's directive said.
It will be swapped out for the official image, whenever that arrives, VA officials said.
Former White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon, writer Milo Yiannopoulos and other provocative figures are expected to speak at the University of California at Berkeley later this month at a "Free Speech Week" planned by a conservative student group.
The Berkeley Patriot, a student group, invited Yiannopoulos and the others in a bid to ensure that a wide range of viewpoints could be heard after controversial speakers sparked protests and cancellations on campus last semester.
But a university official warned that administrators do not have the information they need to guarantee security for the events.
In February, about 150 masked extremists threaded into a large, peaceful protest of a planned speech by Yiannopoulos, smashing windows, starting fires and throwing rocks. University police shut down the event, leading President Trump to lash out at the school on social media. "If U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view - NO FEDERAL FUNDS?" he tweeted.
It was a sign of things to come, as protesters from the far right and far left confronted one another at events in Berkeley and on campus and the university worked to provide security and faced criticism from some that the school was censoring its speakers.
A leader with the Berkeley Patriot did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday afternoon.
University spokesman Dan Mogulof said in a statement that both Bannon and Yiannopoulos have announced they will speak but that the university does not yet have a complete list of confirmed speakers.
He noted that "some of the proposed events are being planned for indoor venues that have specific security and procedural requirements. We have asked the student group to meet those requirements and have informed them in writing that critical deadlines are fast approaching.
"Simply put, the University cannot provide the security and support the student organization has requested, and the campus wants to provide, if we do not receive the essential information. To date a number of key deadlines have been missed. Not a single speaker has connected with the campus or our police department to discuss security arrangements, as is required. Rental fees for venues have not been paid. Contracts with venues have not been signed.
"While campus officials and venue managers are working diligently to assist the Berkeley Patriot group with its proposed events, the group's failure to meet important deadlines is making it increasingly difficult to ensure a safe and secure program."
President Trumps decision to rescind protections shielding hundreds of thousands of young immigrants from deportation betrayed their trust in the governments assurances that their private information would not be used against them, Attorney General Xavier Becerra said Monday in a lawsuit filed by California and three other states.
Now, that information which includes home addresses, photos, fingerprints and any criminal records will be available to help immigration officers track down and remove hard-working, productive members of society, Becerra said.
We will not permit Donald Trump to destroy the lives of young immigrants who make California and our country stronger, Becerra said in a statement after filing the suit in federal court in San Francisco.
Gov. Jerry Brown, who has signed legislation making participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program eligible for drivers licenses and scholarships, said in a supporting statement that California stands with the millions of immigrants who make this state a vibrant and prosperous place.
Justice Department spokesman Devin OMalley said it was the Obama administrations circumvention of Congress that got us to this point.
The suit is the third in the past week to challenge Trumps plan to end the DACA program unless Congress enacts it by law in six months. An additional 15 states and the District of Columbia filed the first suit in New York federal court, followed by a suit from the University of California, whose president, Janet Napolitano, drafted the DACA rules in President Barack Obamas administration in 2012.
DACA provides renewable two-year reprieves from deportation to those who entered the U.S. without authorization before age 16, have attended school and have no serious criminal records. About one-fourth of the nearly 700,000 participants are in California, and many were brought by their parents to the U.S. as children.
Mondays lawsuit, joined by Democratic attorneys general from Maine, Maryland and Minnesota, argued that ending the program discriminates against its participants, and violates fundamental conceptions of justice, by depriving them of a right to work legally and further their education.
The Trump administration, the suit said, is also acting illegally by breaking the governments promise under Obama to keep DACA applicants personal information confidential. While the administration has said it will not single out participants in the program for deportation, the states lawyers noted that Trump signed an executive order in January removing privacy protections from noncitizens, and has taken other steps to make DACA recipients sensitive information available to immigration agents.
These individuals are now in danger of being placed in removal proceedings based on information they provided in reliance on (the governments) promises, the suit said.
Like the two previous suits, Mondays filing also contends that repealing DACA is a substantive step that requires the government to state legal reasons for its decision and solicit comments from the public before taking final action.
The only explanation the Trump administration has offered, the states said, was Attorney General Jeff Sessions much-disputed, legally untested assertion that Obama acted unconstitutionally in establishing the program by executive order.
The suit did not mention the fact that Napolitano, as Obamas secretary of Homeland Security, did not solicit public comments before implementing the rules for DACA.
Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko
MIAMI - The forecasters at the National Hurricane Center are the calm voices before the storm. Even off camera, they speak in a steady register, giving no indication that they are in the path of a violent tropical cyclone.
With Hurricane Irma headed toward Florida, the forecasters have been working around the clock, updating storm tracks and issuing watches and warnings - not only for this killer storm but also for two other hurricanes, Jose and Katia.
This is life-or-death stuff. People have to decide whether to evacuate. Florida has ordered evacuations for nearly 6 million people as the entire state has been imperiled.
The Coast Guard, the National Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Pentagon and the White House all hang on every word and data point from the people here at the center.
And yet, acting director Ed Rappaport remains unruffled.
He says, mildly, "I'll be looking forward to a quieter period."
Irma's journey from the remote Atlantic Ocean through the Caribbean and toward Florida's southern tip has affirmed the improveding forecasting skills of the meteorological community and shown that storm prediction remains an inexact science.
The storms are much more likely to go where the experts say they'll go.
Twenty years ago, Rappaport said, the hurricane center had a "1-2-3" rule - meaning that a day out, the forecast of the storm track was likely to be, on average, incorrect by 100 miles. Two days out, it would be off by 200. Three days, 300.
Today, the two-day forecast is on average within 70 miles, Rappaport said.
"We've cut out two-thirds of the error of the track. That was science and technology," he said.
The practical consequence is that the center now issues a five-day forecast rather than merely a three-day forecast. That gives people more time to prepare.
For residents here in Miami, it also has prolonged the frantic period in advance of the storm.
People began making a run on stores and gas stations and buying up the last plane tickets out of town on Tuesday, for a storm that isn't expect to reach Florida until Sunday.
Forecasters here have repeatedly stated that people shouldn't focus heavily on the precise center of the forecast storm track. The experts have tried to normalize uncertainty, and make people comfortable with margins of error, which is why the "Cone of Uncertainty" has become a regular feature on projection maps in their advisories.
The center's website explains: "Historical data indicate that the entire 5-day path of the center of the tropical cyclone will remain within the cone about 60-70% of the time."
The National Hurricane Center remained Saturday within the Cone of Uncertainty.
The center, which is on the campus of Florida International University in west Miami-Dade County, has been bashed by a hurricane before. In 1992, the center was located in an office building on U.S. highway 1 in Coral Gables, across from the University of Miami.
Rappaport was a young forecaster at the time and remembers being so engaged with the high-pressure job of putting out the 5 a.m. forecast for Hurricane Andrew that he didn't notice that the building was swaying until a colleague pointed it out.
The storm knocked the radome, the domed structure over the radar, off the roof of the building. A wind gauge measured a gust of 164 miles per hour.
"There were cars flying through the air," Rappaport said. "I was relatively new and didn't know what to expect from a hurricane, let alone a Category-5 hurricane."
With Irma approaching, the center has remained a remarkably calm environment. The top forecasters take turns speaking to television stations and networks around the country, and they tend to speak in a neutral, just-the-facts tone.
Mark DeMaria, the center's acting deputy director, employed the same deadpan tone when asked how he feels about Irma. Betraying no emotion, he said, "I'm very concerned about this one."
DeMaria moved to South Florida three years ago and bought a house in the western suburbs, which is what you expect from someone who spends a lot of time talking about storm surge.
"I was thinking maybe it's a little bit nicer to the east, but I'd prefer to live a little further from the beach," he explained.
The hurricane center looks like a hurricane center, with three radio antennae aiming skyward on a side lawn and a forest of dishes on the roof. A stray cat name Pit patrols the exterior. The cat eats a lot, hence the name. The security guards say they're making sure there's a way to shelter Pit during the storm.
An interior hallway is lined with vintage newspaper front pages, hurricane-themed cartoons and photographs of major hurricanes from space.
Peek into an office and you'll see loaves of bread and jars of peanut butter and jelly. It's government work, and survival food is pretty basic.
The spokesman here, Dennis Feltgen, is a former TV weatherman.
"I was one of the very first TV meteorologists out there screaming in the wind," he says.
Feltgen said he sometimes asks his colleagues to be more demonstrative when they're talking to the press or recording advisories for the public - but "they're scientists" he said.
Born in 1952, Feltgen grew up in Florida back when hurricanes seemed to blow through Florida every couple of years. He said he was sound asleep when Hurricane Cleo's eye passed right over the house in 1964.
"My dad put masking tape on the plate glass windows," he says. "Yeah, dad, right."
After all these years in the hurricane business, he still has one regret: As a weatherman chasing hurricanes, he was never in the eye of the storm.
And if Irma holds its current track - with the eye heading west of Miami - he'll have to wait longer.
Just a month or so after he was ousted from his post as White House chief strategist, Stephen Bannon is back on the warpath. Recent reports revealed that the former Trump whisperer and ultranationalist ideologue is spearheading an effort to support a slate of primary challenges against sitting Republicans seemingly opposed to his agenda.
"The anti-incumbent effort could dramatically reshape the 2018 primary landscape if it materializes," noted Politico. "It would pit a group of pro-Trump primary challengers against sitting lawmakers who are perceived as more mainstream."
Then, in an interview with CBS's "60 Minutes" on Sunday evening, Bannon railed against the party leadership, which he thinks has stymied Trump's campaign promises and failed to push through key legislation, including the repeal of Obamacare, that the White House seeks.
"The Republican establishment is trying to nullify the 2016 election," said Bannon from his Washington townhouse, which doubles as an office for the far-right Breitbart website. "They do not want Donald Trump's populist, economic nationalist agenda to be implemented. . . . It's as obvious as night follows day." He also suggested that Trump's low approval ratings are only because of his inability so far to start building the long-promised wall on the Mexican border - an insight that reveals how little Bannon cares for the opinions of those outside Trump's base.
The interview makes it clear that the ideological fault lines within the GOP are only likely to widen. When confronted by interviewer Charlie Rose on the centrality of immigration to American history, Bannon angrily rejected the lecturing of "a bunch of limousine liberals" and offered a theory that conveniently mirrored his anti-immigration, protectionist views.
"You couldn't be more dead wrong," Bannon began. "America was built on her citizens. ... Look at the 19th century. What built America [is] called the American System. ... [It was] a system of protection of our manufacturing, financial system that lends to manufacturers, and the control of our borders."
NPR's Steve Inskeep, an author of an excellent history of early 19th-century America, took Bannon to task with a breezy and interesting fact check. "He's right that Americans built a powerful country in the 19th century," Inskeep concluded. "But that country was diverse, fed off immigration, was constantly changing, and was not really walled off from the world. Any suggestion otherwise is factually wrong."
What's more politically relevant is the extent to which such Bannon views fly in the face of decades of Republican orthodoxy in Washington, where leading GOP politicians, including President Ronald Reagan, once championed immigration and free trade. Anti-immigrant sentiment, of course, has been fueling the American right wing for some time now, but the white nationalism peddled by Bannon and his allies simply can't be embraced by the entire Republican Party.
Indeed, the rise of Donald Trump exposed the extent to which the GOP is an unhappy coalition of a number of different political factions. Last year, the Economist helpfully mapped out what U.S. politics might look like if it followed a parliamentary form of democracy. The Republicans were divided between a large populist party, led by Trump, and two smaller ones - a center-right establishment party and a more religiously minded Christian party. (The Democrats, too, had their own divisions between traditional liberals and social democrats, who clash on a whole host of issues as much as they may agree on others.)
In Bannon's mind, the rest of the GOP needs to get in line with Trump's populist faction, and his planned insurgency over the next year is aimed at coaxing Republicans into his ultranationalist fold. Because of the nature of two-party politics, that could theoretically happen if Trump embraces Bannon's line.
"In the two-party system, Republicans in Congress need Trump as much as he needs them. As a result, Republicans, whether or not they think Trump is a narcissistic, amoral pathological liar, are stuck with him. So are voters who want conservatism without Trump," noted Vox earlier this summer. "Going forward, this trap will only make politics more ugly."
Such "ugliness" has been with the American political system for years now and underlies the cynicism and gridlock widely seen in Congress. It's even led some wonks to ask whether the United States could benefit from proportional voting and a parliamentary system that breaks the two-party duopoly and better tethers the executive to the legislature.
"The fact that a prime minister is held accountable to the legislature is a very good thing for governance," wrote Akhilesh Pillalamarri in the National Interest last year, before Trump's election. "First, it means that the executive and his or her government are of a like mind with the majority of legislators, because prime ministers come from the party with a majority of seats in the parliament, usually. The gridlock evident in the United States, where the president is of a different party than the majority of Congress, is far less likely in a parliamentary system."
Of course, such reform isn't going to happen. But it's telling that parliamentary democracies in Europe, so far, have better weathered the right-wing populism of the minority than the United States. Parliamentary elections in France and the Netherlands subdued the challenge of far-right candidates and returned centrists to power. A similar outcome is almost certain in Germany in a couple of weeks. In all of those cases, when given a choice between center-right parties and more extremist ones, a majority of voters opted for the former. In the United States, those choices don't really exist, and the lines are more awkwardly blurred.
Bannon, who once described Trump as "a blunt instrument" for his agenda, sees a very different political future for the United States. "The only question before us: Is it going to be a left-wing populism or a right-wing populism," he told CBS. "And that is the question that will be answered in 2020."
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
Phoebe Cormier was taken by Beaumont firefighters from her flooded apartment to the Beaumont Civic Center, and then by bus to Louisiana when the city's shelter shuttered.
A week after Harvey hit Southeast Texas, calls came in from her neighbors: eviction notices on doors, five days to leave, anything left behind will be removed.
So Cormier returned to Beaumont, to a flooded, moldy apartment near Washington Boulevard, and began emptying it of "everything."
Dozens in the Sunlight Manor apartment complex were doing the same Monday, adding their moldy furniture to the growing heaps in the parking lot where the dumpsters have overflowed. Many residents wore masks inside their damp homes.
"Unfortunately, the damage to your unit is so extensive that your unit has become totally unusable as a practical matter for residential purposes," the eviction letter said.
"You have five days from today to remove your personal possessions from the unit. If you do not remove your personal possessions by that time, we may be forced to remove your possessions and dispose of them in order to begin repairs to the building."The letter, one of several copies the residents received, was not dated or signed when posted on their doors last Wednesday. It came one day after another notice: "September rent is currently due. However, due to the current circumstances there will be no late fees charged for the month of September."
"They took the rent and then kicked us out," said Erielle Templeton, who lives in first-floor unit that was flooded.
The Sunlight Manor office referred all questions to the ITEX Property Management office in Port Arthur. ITEX did not respond Monday to numerous requests for comment.
Read more in today's print edition of The Enterprise
South Africa's High Court overturned the election of African National Congress leaders allied to President Jacob Zuma in the eastern KwaZulu-Natal province, a decision that could sway the outcome of the race to become leader of the party and the nation.
The decisions taken at the ANC provincial elective conference in 2015 "are declared null and void," Judge Jerome Mnguni said Tuesday at a hearing in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal's capital. The conference wasn't lawfully convened because it hadn't been requested by at least a third of ANC branches in the province as required, he said in his written ruling.
The verdict throws into disarray the ANC leadership in KwaZulu-Natal, Zuma's home region. With the biggest party membership of South Africa's nine provinces, it was expected to wield great influence over a conference in December to name a new leader. The party in the region is split into two loose camps, one that backs the president and his ex-wife and preferred successor, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, and another that supports Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The pro-Zuma faction immediately said it would appeal the ruling, which could mean the current leadership, headed by Sihle Zikalala, who ousted Senzo Mchunu in the election, remains in office for the time being. The pro-Mchunu group said the decision means that the current provincial leadership would have to step down and fresh elections would be held. About 1,000 supporters of the Mchunu camp gathered outside the court and cheered when the verdict was announced. There was no sign of Zikalala's backers.
"This outcome is a serious game changer," said Theo Venter, a political analyst at North-West University's business school in Potchefstroom, west of Johannesburg. "Even if it goes on appeal, the legitimacy of the current leadership is seriously undermined."
The ANC should decide how to regulate its internal processes and decide on the consequences that should result from the ruling, the court said.
The incumbent ANC leadership in KwaZulu-Natal will remain in place until the party decides on a course of action, spokesman Zizi Kodwa told Johannesburg-based broadcaster eNCA. Secretary-General Gwede Mantashe said last week the outcome of the case wouldn't delay the December conference because the branches rather than provincial authorities will elect the new leadership.
The ANC is in turmoil because of the scandals that have shadowed Zuma, 75, during his eight-year presidency. The Constitutional Court found that he violated his oath of office by failing to repay taxpayer funds spent on his private home. The nation's graft ombudsman accused him of allowing members of the Gupta family, who are in business with his son, to influence Cabinet appointments and the award of state contracts. Zuma and the Guptas deny wrongdoing.
The economy has also suffered, with the nation falling into a recession this year, unemployment at a 14-year high and business confidence close to a three-decade low.
In KwaZulu-Natal, the ANC is deeply divided and probably won't present a unified voice at the December conference, said Benedict Dube, a political analyst at the Xubera Institute for Research and Development in the eastern city of Durban.
"It would be very naive to cluster KwaZulu-Natal as one bloc," he said. "There are regions that are supporting Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and there are regions that are supporting Ramaphosa, and there are regions that are confused about who to go with."
The province has previously been viewed as a Zuma stronghold. His successor as ANC leader will also be the party's presidential candidate in 2019 elections.
Dlamini-Zuma, 68, has echoed Zuma's calls for "radical economic transformation" to address racially based income disparities that date back to apartheid rule, while Ramaphosa, 64, has emphasized the need to stamp out corruption and foster inclusive economic growth. Both leaders have called for unity within the 105-year-old ANC, which has ruled Africa's most industrialized economy since the end of white minority rule in 1994.
While the incumbent KwaZulu-Natal leaders may be able to cling to office until after the ANC's Dec. 16-20 elective conference, their lobbying efforts may be undermined because they will be seen by some as illegitimate, said Susan Booysen, a political science professor at the University of the Witwatersrand's School of Governance.
"Their campaigning will have huge question marks hanging over it now," she said. "This is a very important ruling."
---
Bloomberg's Amogelang Mbatha contributed.
California billionaire Tom Steyer is giving $1 million to immigrant advocates in Virginia to mobilize voters in November's state elections, part of an effort to fuel a Democratic resurgence in the Trump era by focusing on a swing state that has embodied the nation's polarized political climate.
The contribution by Steyer's super PAC, NextGen America, aims to tap into voter resentment over President Donald Trump's immigration policies, in particular the travel ban against immigrants from six Muslim-majority countries and plans to phase out an Obama administration program that protected from deportation 800,000 undocumented immigrants who arrived here illegally as children.
It follows a $2 million effort announced by the group last month to help Democrat Ralph Northam beat Republican Ed Gillespie in the Nov. 7 gubernatorial contest by targeting millennial voters and emphasizing climate change as an issue.
Steyer, a former hedge fund manager who is now an environmentalist and a major donor to the Democratic Party, said he was drawn to Virginia for several reasons.
First, the state's purple political terrain makes it a bellwether in the 2018 midterm elections, elevating its importance for progressives to gain momentum there.
Virginia is also where the violent protests over a Confederate monument in Charlottesville this summer captured the nation's deep ethnic and political divisions. Major Republican donors, such as the billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch, have poured money into the race for governor and some House of Delegate election contests in hopes of stopping a surge by Democrats.
"Virginia is the battleground state of 2017," Steyer said. "We feel like our most basic values and our most basic feelings for what we want as a country are on display here."
The $1 million will help advocates turn out the vote in immigrant communities through mailers, door-knocking and social media campaigns that will target Fairfax and Prince William counties, focusing on the races for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general.
Gustavo Torres, executive director of the CASA immigrant advocacy group, said the campaign will also support immigrant-friendly candidates in six state House of Delegates races.
Among them: Democrat Danica Roem, running to unseat Del. Robert G. Marshall, R-Prince William; Democrat Karrie Delaney, challenging Del. Jim LeMunyon, R-Fairfax; and Democrat Kathy Tran, who is battling Republican Lolita Mancheno-Smoak for the open seat created by the retirement of Republican Del. Dave Albo in Fairfax County.
"Those are the areas were Latinos and immigrants are growing tremendously," said Torres, whose group will join the Washington-based Center for Community Change Action and the America's Voice immigrant advocacy group in trying to reach 60,000 Virginia voters by November.
Torres said there is deep resentment among immigrants in Virginia over Trump's travel ban - most of which has been blocked in federal court - and the recently announced plans to phase out former president Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which has about 12,130 recipients in Virginia.
Although immigration has garnered a lot of attention, organizers have had mixed results in using the issue to sway elections.
Last year, immigrant advocates tried unsuccessfully to bring out enough voters to unseat Rep. Barbara Comstock, R-Va., and, in 2015 they participated in a failed effort to keep Republican Corey Stewart, chair of Prince William County's Board of Supervisors, from a third term.
That same year, however, anti-Trump sentiment among Latino voters in Prince William County and Manassas were key in helping Democratic state Sen. Jeremy S. McPike win his close election over Republican Manassas Mayor Harry J. "Hal" Parrish II.
Quentin Kidd, director of the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University, said immigration probably won't have much traction in the southern part of Virginia this November, but could make the difference in close House of Delegates elections in Northern Virginia.
"If you're in a district where the winner is decided by a few hundred votes and a few hundred voters who might otherwise not have bothered to vote because of immigration, that becomes very important," Kidd said.
WASHINGTON - White House officials trying to jump-start work on the GOP's top fall priority - tax cuts - are coming up against the same obstacle that has vexed President Donald Trump all year: divided Republican lawmakers.
Trump advisers and top congressional leaders, hoping to assuage conservatives hungry for details, are working urgently to assemble a framework that they hope to release next week, according to White House aides and lawmakers. But after months of negotiations, the thorniest disagreement remains in view: how to pay for the giant tax cuts Trump has promised.
Negotiators agree with the goal of slashing the corporate income tax rate and also cutting individual income taxes. But they have yet to agree about which tax breaks should be cut to pay for it all.
In private talks, Trump advisers are pressing to eliminate or reduce several popular tax deductions, including the interest companies pay on debt, state and local income taxes paid by families and individuals, and the hugely popular mortgage interest deduction.
Several officials from the White House and Capitol Hill confirmed that those options are being considered - and that they are pushing to release broad outlines in about a week.
But that is where the agreement ends. Congressional leaders, for instance, believe the mortgage deduction is too popular to cut, according to several officials familiar with the discussions.
All of it has forced negotiators to consider scaling back their vision. And that is before any plan has even been presented to the rank and file.
"It is always difficult, because it means what do you cut?" said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. "Everything on the books has a constituency, and that's one of the problems."
White House officials are still hopeful that they can lower the centerpiece of their effort, the corporate rate, from 35 percent to 15 percent. Many congressional Republicans, however, think that goal is ambitious.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said at a forum hosted by the New York Times last week that individual deductions for mortgage interest, health insurance premiums and charitable donations should all be preserved. "We see those more as broad-based, important things that should be encouraged," he said.
That leaves negotiators with limited options to pay for the tax cuts they all seek.
Underlying the whole endeavor is the unresolved tension over whether it will constitute the sort of "tax reform" that Ryan has championed for years - an effort to reduce rates while maintaining federal revenue by eliminating "loopholes." A straight tax cut, meanwhile, could leave the loopholes intact but add trillions of dollars to the national debt.
Ryan and GOP allies have long promised "reform" in the spirit of the bipartisan 1986 rewrite of the tax code, which after three decades of revisions allows individuals and corporations to claim more than $1.6 trillion in tax breaks each year. But in recent months, key players have discussed something closer to the temporary, deficit-exploding tax cuts pushed by President George W. Bush in his first term.
"Just looking at all the promises that were made, you cannot do all those promises," said Mark Mazur, a former head of research, analysis and statistics at the Internal Revenue Service who was later the top tax official in the Obama administration. "Some things will have to get dialed back. They overpromised on a lot of things."
The process has taken on new urgency with Trump's recent exhortations to expedite what he has called the largest tax cut in U.S. history. He has traveled to Missouri and North Dakota in recent weeks to deliver speeches; in Missouri, he promised to reduce a "crushing tax burden on our companies and on our workers."
The White House and Republican leaders are trying a different approach than they used with the failed effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act, hoping for more agreement upfront rather than risk late defections that doom the entire process.
Marc Short, the White House legislative affairs director, said administration officials have met with "more than 250 members," including Democrats, to discuss tax reform.
"Our outreach has been extensive," he said.
National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin huddled with key GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Tuesday afternoon to discuss next steps on the budget and taxes, according to Republicans familiar with the plans.
They discussed plans for a 2018 budget blueprint - a necessary first step before tax legislation can be taken up. And they drilled down with House and Senate negotiators on tax cuts.
Mnuchin also told a conference in New York on Tuesday that negotiators were still considering a number of unresolved issues. He said, for example, that they had not decided whether to cut tax rates for all 2017 income or just income in 2018 and beyond. He also said Republicans would assume that their tax cut plan would create hundreds of billions of dollars in new revenue just based on economic growth, an assertion that many budget experts have said is suspect.
Mnuchin also suggested Tuesday that companies could be treated differently under the GOP's tax proposal. He said, for example, that he favored charging a higher tax rate for accounting firms as opposed to manufacturing firms, which he says create jobs.
Later Tuesday, the president was scheduled to host a bipartisan dinner with three senior Republican members of the Senate Finance Committee and three conservative Democrats from states Trump won whose votes the president is courting for tax legislation.
Still, congressional GOP leaders are planning to use special budget procedures that would allow them to pass the tax bill with only Republican votes, skirting a potential filibuster from Senate Democrats. But they have made little progress in passing a key prerequisite, the budget blueprint, thanks to partisan infighting.
In the House, hard-line conservatives have demanded a more detailed tax plan before ponying up votes for a budget, which has created a chicken-and-egg problem for GOP leaders. In the Senate, the complication is a Budget Committee where Republicans have a single-vote majority, empowering any single GOP senator on the panel to negotiate the parameters of the tax bill.
House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows, R-N.C., said it is "critically" important to have a better sense of what the emerging tax reform plan will look like before voting on a budget blueprint. He said he was hopeful about seeing more specifics "in the next couple of weeks."
There is also talk among some Republicans of what happens if GOP leaders are unable to work out their differences. One, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly, speculated that the White House is lying in wait to cut a deal with Democrats if Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., are unable to pass a budget.
Democrats, meanwhile, have launched a campaign called "Not One Penny" aimed at pressuring Republicans to avoid sending more relief to corporations and the wealthy than to the middle and lower classes.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Tuesday that Democrats would be willing to discuss tax proposals with Republicans - just not the ideas that GOP leaders are currently discussing.
"Trickle-down economics is what they have out there," Pelosi said. "It has nothing to do with tax reform. It only has to do with their warmed-over stew."
A key element of Trump's blueprint would drastically reduce rates for businesses and individuals, changes that could eliminate more than $5 trillion in government revenue over 10 years. The president also wants to reduce the number of tax brackets for families and individuals from seven to three - and essentially to lower rates for these earners.
Complicating matters is the fact that two of the largest tax breaks eyed by the White House - eliminating the deduction for state and local taxes, and scaling back the mortgage interest deduction - have powerful interest groups that have made it more difficult for the GOP to coalesce around a plan.
Eliminating the state and local tax deduction would raise $700 billion in new taxes over 10 years, mostly from a handful of states including California, New York and New Jersey. On the mortgage interest deduction, negotiators are looking at lowering the mortgage cap that people can claim from $1 million to a level that would depend on average home prices in particular regions.
Despite Trump's goal of cutting the corporate tax rate to 15 percent, negotiators are looking at options that would lower it to around 23 percent, with a 28 percent rate for small businesses that file their taxes differently, said several individuals briefed on the discussions.
The White House has not proposed eliminating a specific corporate tax loophole to offset the rate cut.
Other goals under discussion include eliminating the estate tax and the alternative-minimum tax, and doubling the standard deduction that many Americans can claim when they file their taxes.
Tax experts believe it would be difficult if not impossible to follow through on all of these proposals without adding trillions of dollars to the national debt - even with the elimination of numerous tax breaks. Negotiators are considering making some of the tax changes permanent and allowing others to expire after several years to conform with Senate rules governing expanding the deficit.
Pushing legislation through without relying on Democrats for support would require them to use a budget mechanism known as reconciliation.
But reconciliation comes with a strict rule that any tax change must not increase the deficit after 10 years. Many budget experts believe Trump's current plan would violate the rule.
Republicans control just 52 of the 100 Senate seats, giving them a very slim margin that just three defections would imperil.
That margin makes Trump's goal of driving down the corporate tax rate as low as he can all the more challenging - and helps explain why negotiators are scrounging for ways to raise new revenue. The White House also is counting on a rosy estimate of how much future economic growth can be presumed.
Mnuchin has said the majority of the new tax revenue they plan to raise will come from economic growth, but House and Senate leaders have suggested that such inflated assumptions won't pass muster with the Joint Committee on Taxation, a congressional body that provides a crucial review of all tax proposal.
"Tax reform is hard and hasn't happened for 31 years for a reason," said Doug Holtz-Eakin, a Republican and former director of the Congressional Budget Office. "If you are doing tax reform through reconciliation, it's like doing tax reform on a tightrope. There's just not a lot of room for maneuvering."
- - -
The Washington Post's Mike DeBonis contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump is poised to host six senators from both parties for a bipartisan working dinner Tuesday, according to multiple people familiar with the plans.
The dinner is set to include three moderate Democrats - Sen. Joe Donnelly, Ind., Heidi Heitkamp, N.D., and Joe Manchin, W.Va., as well as three senior Republican members of the Senate Finance Committee: the chairman, Orrin Hatch, Utah, Patrick Toomey, Pa., and John Thune, S.D., according to aides in both parties who weren't authorized to speak publicly about the dinner. One aide suggested the White House planned to announce the meeting early Tuesday.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The University of Virginia was ill-prepared for a march through its campus last month by torch-bearing white supremacists and Nazi sympathizers that ended in a violent clash with a small group of student protesters, according to a report released by the school Monday.
The report found that the university's response could have been improved by mining more information on the marchers and acting on it, improving understanding of the school's rules on demonstrations, and adapting policies to deal with big groups of menacing protesters on U-Va. land.
The school's president, Teresa Sullivan, and others in the administration came under intense criticism after the campus march on Aug. 11, the day before white supremacists held a "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville. Students and faculty members charged that the administration and university police had not responded adequately to protect students and had allowed the marchers to parade through campus chanting racist and threatening slogans and intervened only after students were attacked.
Led by Risa Goluboff, dean of the University of Virginia School of Law, the working group's report said while the university had taken some steps to prepare for a march on campus, it assumed the demonstration would be similar to previous marches and demonstrations on campus that were not violent and were seen as expressions of free speech.
"University officials' frame of mind was shaped by a decades-long history of nonviolent protests on grounds that led them to approach the march with the assumption that it was constitutionally protected and should be accommodated with minimal police intrusion," the report read. "On a number of levels - intelligence evaluation, policy backdrop and police response - this mindset led the university to make judgments that were misaligned to the context and left [the University Police Department] insufficiently equipped to respond. As a result, UPD understood its role as being available to monitor for potential violent disorder by anyone present, amassing backup in the event of such disorder, and intervening only in response to such disorder."
Critics of the university's handling of the torchlight march and resulting violence were not satisfied with the report's findings. "UVA should apologize to those students for failing to protect them," said Jalane Schmidt, a University of Virginia professor who has led efforts in Charlottesville to remove Confederate statues. "Public officials had been warned for weeks, and in various public forums given intercepted documents written by alt-right ralliers themselves, in which the alt-right promised to be violent. UVA apparently regarded the words of avowed Nazis more credibly than the warnings of their own UVA affiliates, who alerted UVA at the highest levels already by Friday afternoon that violent, torch-wielding Nazis planned to descend on Grounds."
The report also said the university's insufficient response reflected a failure to seek out alternative sources of information rather than relying entirely on official intelligence from state, local and federal law enforcement. Additionally, the university relied on inaccurate information - some of it from the march organizers themselves - about the timing, size and route of the march that left the school unprepared to respond quickly and adequately.
The report pointed to the university's flawed application of its own protocols and its misunderstanding of laws. For instance, the university prohibits open flames on campus, but, according to the report, university police were not aware of their authority to enforce that policy.
The report also called out the campus police department for not being aware it had authority to enforce a state law that bans the burning of objects on private or public property "with intent to intimidate." And it questioned why police did not act sooner when the much larger group of white supremacist marchers surrounded counterprotesters at the base of a campus statue of Thomas Jefferson.
"With the outbreak of outright physical violence, the police identified disorder, declared an illegal assembly, shut down the demonstration, and swept the area. An earlier show of force or a police cordon between the demonstrators and counterdemonstrators might have mitigated this confrontation."
The report outlined steps the university should take to prevent a similar outcome in the future, including strengthening partnerships with law enforcement training officers in "recognizing the threshold between speech and violent intimidation and [empowering] them [to] make judgment calls in response to rapidly evolving situations." It also said it is reviewing the application of emergency notification protocols and considering additional means of alerting the community about incidents and events.
The report also sounded a warning to other schools that may soon find themselves facing similar situations.
"Going forward, the University of Virginia and higher education institutions across the nation must be prepared to respond to situations in which violence and intimidation accompany demonstrations and protests," the report concluded. "It is incumbent upon the university to forge new policies and practices that will prevent it from again becoming a locus of intimidation and violence while recommitting to the principles of free speech at the core of its mission."
There is a bottom line people lose sight of when discussing the opioid crisis sweeping the country: Millions of Americans experience chronic pain every day. They need help, and painkillers created using opioids are highly effective.
The problem, of course, is that they also are highly addictive.Since the number of deaths from painkiller overdose has swelled into tens of thousands each year, new regulations are in place to ensure doctors prescribe the most powerful painkillers only in limited cases.
Some versions have been banned in some states and at the federal level. Still, opioid-derived painkillers remain legal. Marijuana, which has led to zero overdose deaths, remains illegal at the federal level, even though some studies and many people say it helps them deal with pain.
Why?
While no one reason answers that question, two main areas control the status of prescription opioids and marijuana. One revolves around the medical benefits of both. The other, particularly for marijuana, involves a long history of politics and government machinations.
Related: To Understand the Forces Favoring and Opposing Legal Marijuana, Study Arizona.
Opioids
Chronic pain is an issue millions deal with daily. Drug companies created synthetic painkillers to combat the issue. The include oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine and morphine among many others, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
They prove extremely effective when dealing with pain. They react with opioid receptors in the body and brain, lessening pain. However, they also provide a sense of euphoria and well-being, which leads to people taking more than they need.
However, it remains legal because it is an extremely effective pain reliever. Taken for a short period of time as prescribed by a doctor, painkilling drugs prove safe. However, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) points out, the powerful euphoria can outweigh any advice from a doctor. Nearly half of the 33,000 opioid overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2015 involved prescription drugs, the CDC reports.
Part of the issue also is an active black market, where painkilling pills are available without a doctors prescription or the oversight of medical professionals.
Related: Not Exactly Penpals: Governors Debate Marijuana Facts With Jeff Sessions via Snail Mail.
A Civil War
In a way, its somewhat like alcohol. Small amounts, even daily, are not harmful and can even prove beneficial to health. However, about 88,000 alcohol-related deaths occur annually in the U.S., according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse, including almost 10,000 involving drunk driving.
Debate on the painkiller issue has led to debate among medical professionals. Some advocate eliminating opioid painkillers all together or putting strict restrictions on their use. In addition to addiction, they list other side effects, including depression, anxiety and a loss of sleep.
Others argue that the risks of opioids are not that much higher than other drugs. A Stanford University professor told PBS that 15,000 people die annually from anti-inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen. They argue for better education for patients on pain medication use.
New Book on Marijuana
The legalization of marijuana, on the other hand, has taken a completely different road.
It remains illegal at the federal level. That is primarily because the federal government does not recognized that it has any medical benefits. That makes it different than opioids (if not alcohol).
In her book on the War on the Drugs, British journalist Johann Hari provides a detailed account of how marijuana went from a plant prescribed and even used by doctors to becoming listed as one of the most dangerous drugs in the country.
How marijuana ended up listed as a Schedule I illegal drug by the federal government can be read here.
Hari goes back even further. Her investigation into marijuana found the big turning point came with a government bureaucrat in the 1930s who she claims wanted to keep the position he held during the Prohibition Era for alcohol.
Related: Is Big Pharma for or Against Legalizing Medical Marijuana? Maybe Both.
Harry J. Anslinger became the first commissioner of the U.S. Treasury Departments Federal Bureau of Narcotics. Hari argues that once prohibition against alcohol ended, Anslinger turned his attention to making marijuana illegal, despite his previous statements that marijuana caused no public health hazard.
He asked 30 medical professionals if marijuana should be illegal. Of them, 29 said no. Still, Anslinger pressed the case for making marijuana illegal by focusing on a Florida case where teenager Victor Licata killed his family with an axe. Anslinger claimed marijuana use led to the horrific murders.
Later investigations showed Licata did not use marijuana. Instead, he suffered from severe mental illness. However, the case provided the push Anslinger needed to get marijuana listed as an illegal drug. Its been there ever since and was placed on the Schedule I of illegal drugs during the Nixon Administration.
Follow dispensaries.com on Instagram to stay up to date on the latest cannabis news.
Related:
Why Are Opioid Painkillers Legal But Marijuana Isn't?
Marijuana Advocates, Your Enemy Has a Name: SAM
3 Must-Dos to Prepare for When Cannabis Is Federally Legal
Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com
In the days before Harvey hit Port Aransas, researchers at the University of Texas at Austin's Marine Science Institute prepared the campus for a heavy storm. They moved chemicals onto high ground and secured some turtles in a sturdy metal building.
It came time to euthanize thousands of pigfish, silver slivers an inch or smaller. These pigfish without food would die in the lab during Harvey, said Lee Fuiman, the director of the institute's fisheries and mariculture lab studying how to commercialize them as bait. And there was no time to release them into nearby waters during the urgent lab preparations Thursday. His team placed them in a container of chemical anesthesia, sedating them.
Attention in the days after Harvey ravaged the coast and flooded the region has rightfully focused on the devastating death toll, the thousands of damaged houses and other pressing needs around the state. But the toll on scientific research, like the estimated $60 million in damage at UT-Austin's institute, is also far-reaching and long-lasting. The institute is the first marine research facility on the Gulf Coast, and officials expect work to be delayed by weeks or months.
A drilling rig broke free days after the storm, slamming into a long concrete pier and destroying instruments that reported environmental data back to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Parts of the campus's roofing system failed, inundating new facilities with water. And beyond the euthanized pigfish, other research potentially was lost as well.
Some researchers will be able to remain on the Port Aransas campus, but their work will be delayed by at least several weeks, officials say. Others will move to other labs, including the nearby Harte Research Institute at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi. The delay comes when marine scientists say their work is especially crucial to the scientific understanding of Harvey's effects.
"We have enormous amounts of work to do to bring back a semblance of normalcy," said Robert Dickey, the Marine Science Institute's director.
The Marine Science Institute is part of UT-Austin that studies fish physiology, ecology, ecosystems and bio-geochemistry. The campus, on 72 acres of beachfront land, is located in Port Aransas, a Mustang Island town with a population of around 4,000.
Scientists near and far quickly rallied to help the institute and other scientists displaced by Harvey. About 300 signed up to host affected scientists in their labs, from a sensory biology lab at Stanford University in California to a mouse behavior lab in Binghamton, N.Y. The UT System has raised about $20,000 online for recovery, money it says will support displaced students, staff and faculty as well as clean and rebuild facilities.
Texas A&M University Corpus Christi's Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies mere miles away saw minimal damage and soon began assessing how much it could help UT's Marine Science Institute - how much lab space it had and what technology it could share, Harte Research Institute spokeswoman Nikki Buskey said. The A&M institute now will take more than two dozen UT students, research technicians, post docs and faculty. The university's Center for Coastal Studies is taking seven people, and its College of Science and Engineering is taking in another two.
Technology administrators are also helping UT offer online courses, Buskey said.
"It's personal and professional for us," said Buskey, who added that her father works at UT's institute. "We respect these people, and we want them to keep working, but they're also our friends and our families."
Officials from both institutions and systems came out with a joint statement last week, pledging to work together in recovery, without any semblance of rivalry between the UT and A&M systems.
"That's all set aside," Dickey said, noting that the institutes have collaborated for years. "There was not even a hint of that, and I'm thankful for it."
Like for too many affected by Harvey, damage to the Marine Science Institute wasn't for lack of preparation. The institute meets every year to discuss a severe weather action plan that is nearly 20 pages long, Dickey said. In the week before Harvey touched down, they secured data, took down student evacuation plans and moved birds to North Padre and the Texas State Aquarium to wait out the winds.
Researchers released healthy sea turtles into the Gulf of Mexico and secured ones still in recovery in a sturdy metal building on campus, where they stayed safe from the fast-approaching Hurricane Harvey. A sophisticated plankton imaging system was pulled from nearby waters before Harvey hit.
Christina Bonsell, a fourth-year doctoral student studying arctic kelp, said she packed a go-bag Wednesday before the storm touched down, including plastic vials of algae tissue with her personal items, lab notebooks and computer backups. She decided to leave on Thursday morning after seeing the 4 a.m. forecast.
As a Category 4 Hurricane, Harvey threw power lines and poles into Port Aransas's streets and leaked gas into the town, Mayor Charles Bujan wrote in a Facebook post.
Bonsell said she began to see photos of the damage trickle in the following weekend - first, of the city, which had been under a mandatory evacuation. Then on Sunday, she saw the first photos of the institute. Years of research were potentially lost in the damage, she said.
Two weeks later, as scholars are packing up filtering equipment and water quality monitoring instruments to move to an A&M lab, she said she is mentally torn.
"The large majority of us can't live in our homes anymore and have lost a lot of our possessions, but at the same time, we know we have important work to do," she said. "It's been a bit of a struggle to have both of those things in your brain."
Much of the $60 million that the institute estimates will be necessary to fully recover will go to rebuilding the pier and repairing the Estuarine Research Center. Rain penetrated into seven of that center's principal labs on the second and third floors. An institute spokeswoman said clean-up, temporary service costs and equipment also are included in the $60 million estimate but not lost revenue and business interruption.
Also wiped away with the storm were instruments at the end of the pier that reported data including the water's temperature and acidity levels to NOAA every 15 minutes. The federal agency used that information to monitor the coastal environment, Dickey said.
"I've been through seven or eight hurricanes, I've brought facilities back before," Dickey said. "This is probably the worst damage I've seen institutionally in all my years."
In a plea to Congress, Bexar County commissioners passed a resolution Tuesday supporting federal legislation that would grant permanent legal status to young undocumented immigrants.
The resolution comes one week after President Donald Trump announced he would phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, the Obama-era policy that granted work permits to undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children.
The resolution states that the court supports the bipartisan Dream Act introduced in July by Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. The legislation provides a path to permanent legal status for young adults who arrived in the U.S. before turning 18 and also meet other criteria.
County Judge Nelson Wolff, who lobbied for the Dream Act in Washington last week, noted that the courts resolution supports the legislation without amendments.
Now Playing: 5 video address the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Video: San Antonio Express-News
The hazard of it is that some things could get attached that bring the whole thing down, Wolff said. And that theyll take this bill that has good bipartisan support and use it as leverage to pass some things that people really dont like.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Paul Elizondo added an amendment to the courts resolution Tuesday, specifying that Congress should pass the act as soon as possible.
Otherwise theyre going to drag it out for six months, and young people wont know whats going to happen to them, Elizondo said.
Under the plan announced Sept. 5, the Trump administration will allow those with DACA permits to apply for two-year renewal by Oct. 5. But the Department of Homeland Security will no longer process new applications.
The DACA program has protected nearly 800,000 young undocumented immigrants from deportation since it was established by the Obama administration in June 2012.
jscherer@express-news.net
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
Jurors recommended 88 years in prison and a $10,000 fine Tuesday for Gloria R. Proo, 52, for the part she played in the death of her stepgrandson in 2014.
Josiah Williams, 5, had been beaten and severely malnourished. Prosecutors had urged a life sentence for Proo, whom the jury convicted Monday of injury to a child/severe bodily injury by omission for failing to alert authorities to the ongoing mistreatment.
State District Judge Ron Rangel immediately pronounced the sentence. Proo bowed her head and gave a sob when the jury announced it.
Proo is one of three defendants in the case. Her daughter, Crystal Williams, was sentenced in June 2016 to life in prison. Williams husband, Charleston Williams, is awaiting trial.
Josiah already was dead when first responders found him Dec. 27, 2012, at the home he shared with his father, stepmother, half sister and stepbrother in the 3900 block of Gayle. His eyes were black and swollen shut and his body was battered and bruised with multiple injuries that were in various stages of healing, witnesses testified at Proos trial.
Proos attorneys said she did not live with her daughter but watched Josiah on Dec. 23, 2012, while his parents took their two other children to Fiesta Texas to see Santa Claus. They maintained the abuse was at the hands of Josiahs father and stepmother, not Proo.
Prosecutors had reminded the jury that witnesses testified that Proo primarily cared for the children.
Think about Josiah and how he felt when he was being punished, being denied food, prosecutor Stephanie Boyd said. Im sure he tried everything he could but nothing was going to make this defendant love him and treat him like the other children.
Proo, who did not have a prior criminal record, had applied for probation.
In his closing argument, defense attorney Ernest Acevedo III said Proo had never been in trouble, took care of her elderly father for months leading up to the childs death and should not go to prison for life for failing to make a phone call. Acevedo said she has several medical issues and is not a danger to the community.
I find it hard to believe with the evidence presented that there was any intent to kill Josiah, Acevedo told the jury. If there is a time for mercy, it is now. Ninety-nine years she doesnt have that much time left.
James Tocci, Proos other attorney, told the jury that Proo didnt do enough to prevent the boys death but that she shouldnt go to prison for that.
Anyone that would raise a fist to a child so hard their eyes are swollen shut should go to prison, Tocci said. But if you believe she didnt call 911 on Dec. 23, you need to treat her differently. She just didnt do enough.
Josiah Williams mother, maternal grandmother and other family members, some of whom watched Proos trial, have declined to comment until the final defendants case is resolved, Boyd said.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
A man was shot and killed late Monday at a South Side park.
Police said three men met at Villa Coronado Park in the 11000 block of Ruidosa Street around 11:45 p.m. and during the meet up, an argument broke out.
RELATED: One dead in major accident that closed Interstate 35 at Weidner
One of the men pulled out a handgun and shot the victim, 23-year-old Gabriel Ybarra, in the chest, killing him.
The two remaining men then fled the scene but were detained shortly after. One is being considered a suspect in the shooting and the other is a possible witness, according to a sergeant at the scene.
RELATED: Nearly 1,200 students involved in drug-related incidents at San Antonio-area schools in 2015-2016
San Antonio Police Department detectives are investigating the shooting.
Text "NEWS" to 77453 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com
cdowns@mysa.com
Twitter: @calebjdowns
Weighing in on two areas of disagreement with a U.S. president with whom he has already clashed, Pope Francis said Monday that climate science is clearly true, and that President Donald Trump should allow young immigrants to stay in the United States if he is truly "pro-life."
"I have heard it said that the president of the United States presents himself as a man who is pro-life, and if he is a good pro-life (man) then he will understand that the family is the cradle of life, and that it must be defended as a unit," Francis said, in response to a question about Trump's decision to discontinue the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that allowed immigrants brought to the United States as children to live and work or study in the U.S. The pope's comments were reported by America magazine.
AUSTIN -- Hurricane Harvey continues to dominate Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's schedule, which will include stops in San Antonio and Houston over the next two days.
On Tuesday Abbott will be helping rally support in San Antonio for the Hand in Hand Telethon to raise money for victims for both Harvey and Irma. At 1:30 p.m., Abbott holds a press conference with country music legend George Strait to promote the telethon which later begins at 7 p.m. on 10 different television networks.
Working with his father from the age of 10, Ronald Atnip learned construction by doing.
Atnip helped build many of the now defunct Handy Andy grocery stores, restaurants for Frontier Enterprises and the Alamodome.
To supplement their income, Atnip and his wife would buy a home that needed work, move in and renovate it.
My mom would find good deals, and Dad would fix them up, his son Ronald Edward Eddie Atnip said.
More Information Ronald Atnip Born: March 23, 1932, Denison Died: Sept. 10, 2017, San Antonio Preceded by: Wife Nancy Atnip; parents Georgia Mae and Johnnie Lewis Atnip Survived by: Sons Grady Lewis Atnip and daughter-in-law Dawn, Ronald Edward Atnip and daughter-in-law Becky; daughter Melissa Wyvonne Reichenau and son-in-law Matt; 10 grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; and two brothers Services: Visitation from 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, funeral service at 11 a.m. Thursday, both at Mission Park Funeral Chapels South, 1700 S.E. Military Drive. See More Collapse
After selling, theyd do it all over again.
There was never a time we werent working around my parents house, his daughter, Melissa Wyvonne Reichenau, recalled.
Atnip died Sept. 10 at 85.
The son of a carpenter who worked for the government during World War II, Atnip lived in a variety of locations growing up.
He bounced from school to school during the year, Reichenau said. Changing sometimes five or six times.
Settling in San Antonio in the mid-1940s, Atnip attended Brackenridge High School and married his high school sweetheart immediately after graduating in 1950.
Though he had become a master carpenter, Atnip decided to join the San Antonio Police Department about a decade after graduating.
He was looking for a better job, Eddie Atnip said. He was a carpenter, and it didnt pay a whole lot; he was also looking for better benefits.
Patrolling the area around Victoria Courts, the public housing complex that was torn down in 2000, Atnip befriended the children who lived there.
He had all the kids on his side, Eddie Atnip said. One time there was a guy who had a gun and one of his kids came around and told him where the guy was; he was able to come around behind the guy and take him down.
Though he loved the job, Atnip left the force for his wifes sake.
It made my mother a nervous wreck, Reichenau said.
Returning to construction, Atnip worked for Handy Andy, Frontier and later, Marek Brothers Co., helping to build the Cental Library and the Alamodome.
Becoming an ordained minister in 1985, Atnip also preached occasionally at both Baptist and nondenominational churches and later, after retiring, learned to use Facebook to impart wisdom through what he called From my front porch.
He loved to teach, Reichenau said. He taught Sunday school for the longest time; anytime he took the pulpit, he was teaching.
mheidbrink@express-news.net
If you can stretch the meaning of the word, count former Marine Mike Gerardo lucky. Though booted from the service on an other than honorable discharge the kind that bars vets from a variety of benefits Gerardo was allowed into a veterans court that provides supportive services in lieu of jail. He had been arrested on a drug possession charge in Fort Worth.
Express-News reporter Martin Kuz told the story of Gerardo in a recent article.
Gerardo, deployed to Afghanistan as part of a mortar team, was lucky because, mostly, veterans with less than honorable discharges arent allowed into such courts. Thats because these courts rely on VA hospitals to provide the mental health and other services they need to complete the diversion program. The Veterans Affairs Department, which oversees these hospitals, generally allows these types of services only to veterans with honorable and general discharges.
Gerardo was diagnosed with PTSD in the service but was discharged after a failed drug test. He got into the court because a private therapist vouched for him. He told Kuz the court saved him from a drug-addicted life, perhaps even saved his life.
Others, however, face that or jail and prison because they have whats termed bad paper, less than honorable discharges. But these veterans who are not allowed into veterans court are part of a much bigger issue.
Like Gerardo, thousands are discharged from the military though the behaviors that got them this attention are service connected. Suffering from PTSD, for instance, often means self-medicating with drugs and alcohol. These service members are deemed problems and are discharged without being provided the services other wounded vets are accorded.
On the outside, this means being barred from the kind of services at VA hospitals or VA-provided in the private sector that helps them get well or at least cope with civilian life without running afoul of the law. But it also means denial of housing and education benefits.
According to a Government Accounting Office report from earlier this year, more than 57,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines were discharged for misconduct from 2011 through 2015 though they had been diagnosed with a mental health condition in the two years before their discharges. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice had 8,800 veterans in its jails and prisons in July, or about 6 percent of the states incarcerated population of nearly 146,000, Kuz reported.
Surely, more could have been diverted if they had been able to get into the kind of diversion court that helped Gerardo in Tarrant County. It and such courts elsewhere in Texas, including Bexar County, are one of about 300 such courts in the country.
A few solutions present themselves.
The VA has started providing emergency mental health services for up to 90 days for veterans with other than honorable discharges. This program should be expanded, with services rendered in sync with veterans courts.
The veterans courts could simply accept more such veterans and refer them to the services to which non-veterans are sent.
The Veterans Affairs Department could allow for more discretion generally in treating this population mandated to do so by Congress if need be.
Ultimately, however, Congress needs to deal with that larger issue: the military, seemingly as a matter of expediency, discharging members for misconduct without ascertaining whether their behaviors are service connected.
If the Pentagon doesnt fix this on its own, Congress must make it.
Re: Arpaios treatment of immigrants was nurtured, Other Views, Sept. 6:
Navarrette is a columnist that needs words to fill a column and he does that here.
Regarding Sheriff Arpaios trial, Judge Susan Boltons only charge was to listen to the facts presented by both sides and render a judgment based on the law.
The racist sheriffs contempt for the law was clear and based on real and demonstrated contemptible actions.
He was found guilty and, like any criminal, should have paid for his crime. End of story.
Ruben Zamora
Deja vu
Re: Flooded superfund sites pose no danger, EPA tells Abbott, A6, Sept. 6:
Isnt that the same assurance San Antonio got from the feds 20 years ago when people in East Kelly neighborhoods complained about air, soil and groundwater contamination in and around Kelly Air Force Base?
After the Air Force finally owned up to the problem, it cost over half a billion dollars for the cleanup. That cost did not include the adverse effects of toxic waste on the people and their property values.
David H. Plylar
Pro-life?
Re: Pro-choice?, Your Turn, Sept. 6:
A question was asked, What would you do if your mother had been pro-choice?
My answer is another question or two.
Do you believe each of us has an eternal soul? Do you believe in a higher power in the universe? If so, then the answer is clear.
I would still be me but with a different mother. A mother that wanted and would love me. Not a mother forced to give birth and then either give me up or resent my birth.
I find it perplexing that so-called Christians object to a womans right of free will. After all, isnt that what Gods message proclaims?
J. Kristi Hood
DACA repeal
The president showed his true colors by denying Hispanic children their right to an education and learning about the rights and freedoms of this country.
Just because they were brought here at an early age by their parents does not make them unwanted. We are fortunate that they have done so well in school, creating jobs and working hard to make better lives for themselves and their families.
They are not a burden on anyone and deserve the right to try to become citizens of this country.
We have been trying to reduce racism in this country since the 1950s, but this president does not understand the principles of the Constitution of the United States, the role of the president and the rights of all. He displays much less knowledge of world affairs.
In just eight months, he has shown his incompetence and is well on his way to becoming the worst president this country has ever had.
Rolando M. Pena
Not your business
Re: Pro-choice?, Your Turn, Sept. 6:
Ms. Dwyer asks for me to think of where I would be if my mother believed in abortion. If aborted, I wouldnt be anywhere, and certainly not able to think. I just wouldnt exist.
I do know where many unwanted children go to painful injury and gruesome death, or lifetimes of psychiatric problems.
Women have choices, and if you dont believe in abortion, dont have one, but dont tell other women what to do with their lives.
First, its none of your business (and certainly not the governments), and you have not walked in their shoes, so how could you possibly have an opinion or right to decide what they are to do?
Sally Chizek
Dont have one?
Recently you published a letter which was not original; I have seen the line before. It simply said, If you dont like abortion, dont get one, or something like that.
Based on that logic, if you dont like the name of a high school, dont go near it. Or if a statue offends you, dont look at it.
How many street repairs which sometimes go months without being fixed could have been done with the money wasted on taking down the statue in Travis Park the same night of the P.C.-driven steamroller of a vote?
Pedestrians are crying out for crosswalks, traffic lights or stop signs to improve safety in their neighborhoods, and wait and wait. But that statue that was there for over one hundred years had to come down that night? Now thats offensive!
Gene Peterson
Good, bad and ugly
The good, the bad and the ugly of Hurricane Harvey is easy to see.
The good: Im continually gratified that most of the stories about Hurricane Harvey show astoundingly good Samaritans helping out: first responders, national guard, charities, neighbors, even strangers who just came out to help. Theres a lot of good out there and theyre all helping. Its wonderful to see.
The bad: Sadly, theres some looting and price gouging. Fortunately, theres not much. But ANY is too much. This is very, very bad and needs to stop.
The ugly: Id say thats peoples behavior in the gas lines. Cutting in front of others. Blocking intersections. Yelling, screaming, threatening. Its unnecessary. A gas shortage, whether real or fake, is small stuff compared to whats happened to the Harvey victims whove lost everything. Grow up. Act like the good Samaritans helping out the victims.
Your ugliness is doubly unnecessary both because its terrible behavior, and because the gas crisis itself has been unnecessary and is caused entirely (or almost entirely) by unnecessary hoarding.
Thank you, good Samaritans. Youre not only helpful to the victims, youre a shining model for us all.
May God bless.
Karl Schank
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
NEW YORK Manhattan prosecutors seeking to try three men in the murder of Stamford man Joseph Comunale went to court to oppose efforts by defense attorneys to win separate trials and suppress state evidence believed to link the suspects to the horrific crime.
At a hearing at the 100 Center Street courthouse in Manhattan Tuesday afternoon, murder defendants James Rackover and Lawrence Dilione were presented before Judge Charles Solomon to hear the prosecutions arguments against motions filed by the mens defense attorneys.
Solomon scheduled the next hearing in the case for Oct. 3 and gave defense attorneys Robert Caliendo, Mike Pappa and Mark Bederow until Oct. 2 to respond to the prosecutions objections.
Bederow, whose client Max Gemma faces lesser charges of hindering prosecution and tampering with evidence, argued that trying all three men together would cause undue prejudice against each defendant.
I cant see any circumstance in which these people can or should be tried together, he said after the hearing.
The prosecution also opposed Bedrows motion to dismiss charges against Gemma on Tuesday.
In an Aug. 18 letter to Solomon, Bederow said one detective interviewed Gemma a day later than he said he did. The date was important because Rackover and Dilione were already in custody of New York City police when the interview took place.
Therefore, Gemma could not have rendered criminal assistance by preventing or obstructing law enforcement from apprehending or prosecuting two men already in custody before he was interviewed, Bederow said in his letter to Solomon.
Rackover, 26, and Dilione, 29, have been indicted for the alleged strangling, stabbing and dismemberment of the 26-year-old Westhill High School graduate early in the morning of Nov. 13, 2016 at Rackovers Manhattan apartment. Comunales body was brought to the New Jersey shore, where police say it was burned and buried in a shallow sandy grave.
Bederow pointed to what he called inconsistencies with the investigation, including a statement from a detective that Gemma was seen leaving Rackovers apartment building the morning after Comunales death wearing a red long-sleeved shirt. Yet, in surveillance footage, Gemma can be seen outside the apartment building in a red short-sleeved shirt.
Those mistakes and others show that the detectives lack credibility, Bederow said.
Caliendo, Rackovers attorney, said We strongly disagree with the district attorneys position on severance. We think their analysis is incorrect.
Pappa, who represents Dilione, said he planned to file a response to the prosecutors opposition, but declined to elaborate.
As far as the district attorneys opposition to suppressing evidence from Rackovers apartment on Fourth Amendment grounds, Caliendo said he did not agree with their analysis and the evidence should be excluded from the case.
Robert Abrams, an attorney working for Joseph Comunales father Patsy Comunale, declined to comment on Tuesdays hearing.
jnickerson@stamfordadvocate.com
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
WEST HAVEN >> The terrorists who attacked the United States using our own commercial airliners 16 years ago lost in more ways than one, several speakers said Monday at the citys annual Sept. 11 memorial with West Haven Fire Chief Jim OBrien pointing out that people come out every year not to remember the horrors of that day, but to remember the heroism of that day.
This is a day that will always live on, Chief OBrien told about 200 people during a sunset ceremony to commemorate Sept. 11, 2001, at the William A. Soderman Memorial Flagpole on West Havens Veterans Walk Of Honor in Bradley Point Park.
He pointed out that the people who died including 343 New York firefighters were everyday people ... doing an everyday thing: going to work.
But ultimately, the 19 attackers who killed a total of 2,996 people 2,606 in the World Trade Centers Twin Towers in New York City, 125 in the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and 246, including themselves, on the four planes failed, said Chief OBrien, who also is West Havens City Council chairman.
The terrorists wanted to destroy our society. They wanted to destroy our people, he said.
But instead, the act was greeted with unity and patriotism, said OBrien, who was joined at the ceremony by City of West Haven Fire Department Allingtown Acting Chief Michael Esposito and West Shore Fire Department Chief Stephen Scafariello.
The ceremony was followed by a candlelight vigil at the nearby Richard S. Gabrielle Sept. 11 memorial on the shorefront walkway next to the Savin Rock Conference Center. Gabrielle, who worked in the World Trade Center complex, was West Havens only victim of the attacks. An insurance broker at Aon Corp., Gabrielle, 50, was last seen on the World Trade Center south towers 78th floor.
On this day 16 years ago, we were attacked, said Chief of Police John Karajanis Jr. But the real attack was on our principals, our values.
But what they failed to destroy was something that they did not understand, however, because it is not a thing, Karajanis said. It is something deeply ingrained in us.
Mayor Ed OBrien said, It is so important that we are here. I am so very, very proud to be mayor of West Haven at a time like this, facing a crowd like this.
OBrien said that as he went about his business Monday, the one thing that kept going through his head was never forget. He also recalled that ever since the attacks, weve had many armed services members protecting our country.
Mayor OBrien was joined at the ceremony by both of his mayoral opponents Democrat Nancy Rossi, who will face him in a primary Tuesday, and Republican Councilman David Riccio, who will face the winner in the Nov. 7 General Election.
Other speakers included Master of Ceremonies and the mayors Executive Assistant John Lewis, state Reps. Charles Ferraro, R-West Haven, and Michael DiMassa, D-West Haven, aide to U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy Ben Florsheim and the Rev. Victor Borras of Gateway Christian Fellowship, who said a rememberance prayer.
State Rep. Dorinda Borer, D-West Haven, attended but did not speak, as did several City Council members.
West Haven High School freshman Nora Mullins sang The Star-Spangled Banner, the New Haven County Firefighters Emerald Society Pipes and and Drums played America the Beautiful and retired West Shore Fire Department Kevin McKeon played Taps.
The memorial service began with a presentation of the colors by the West Haven Police Color Guard and a flag-raising by the West Haven Fire Department Honor Guard and the New Haven County Firefighters Emerald Society Pipes and Drums.
Among the people who came out were West Haveners and Vietnam veterans Al Perr and Dennis Bacinello, who grew up and served together.
Were here mainly because of 9/11, for one, and becaue we are Vietnam vets, said Perr, who said he lost a friend who was on the 27th floor of one of the Twin Towers. On Sept. 11, 2001, we were under attack, just like we were in Nam.
Bacinello said it felt good to see so many people come out to commemorate what happened. Youve got to understand something. Were Americans, he said. Were the toughest people on this Earth.
THE National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) leader, Lovemore Madhuku, has accused President Emmerson Mnangagwas new dispensation of perpetuating the human rights abuses that happened under the late former President Robert Mugabe.
It is a real notion which Mnangagwa has carried on, which says that if the majority is quiet, then we will beat you (the minority) up, we will arrest you.
Let us work on political reforms until we get to the next election. We support the idea of an all-stakeholders platform where we can have a continuous discussion, but this relates to those who are not political parties. Political parties must come to Polad, he said.
Madhuku said the increase in human rights abuses in the country should be raised in the Polad platform.
Polad, a forum of fringe political parties that lost the 2018 elections was created by Mnangagwa. Madhuku is a senior member of that platform.
I know that in the political environment, there are complaints of human rights abuses. I want to make it clear that as the NCA, we believe in human rights observance. We check whether the country is going by human rights observance.
We do not look at the majority of the people; we look at the most active minority. You are judged in relation to that most active minority. Its a matter of how you treat those people, and that is how your human rights observance is judged. Human rights are about respect for everyone, including those that are regarded as the minority.
The NCA leader said Mnangagwas administration was mistaken in believing that human rights were only a preserve of the majority.
I think the government is mistaken there, and this is coming from President Robert Mugabes legacy, which says if the majority are not complaining (you are observing human rights). You are (only) three or four people complaining, he said.
Mugabe was removed by the military in a coup in November 2017. He later died in a Singapore hospital in 2019.
This comes after new MDC-T president Douglas Mwonzora on Friday snubbed a Polad meeting convened by Mnangagwa. It was the outfits first meeting following the MDC-T leadership changes.
Mwonzoras spokesperson Witness Dube yesterday told The Standard that the new MDC-T leader did not attend the meeting because they preferred more inclusive dialogue beyond Polad.
The MDC T president did not and will not attend Polad in its current form, Dube said.
We are canvassing for a broad-based dialogue which will include other stakeholders like churches, traditional leaders, labour bodies, student bodies, other political parties that did not have presidential candidates, captains of industry and all manner of Zimbabwean leadership in their diversity.
He, however, claimed that MDC-T had not pulled out of Polad, saying Khupe had joined as a presidential candidate.
We have not pulled out of Polad, Dube said.
Our understanding is that Thokozani Khupe went into the platform as a presidential candidate.
MDC-T as a party is now going to sit and give a policy direction on its participation in Polad.
Political, economic and structural conditions have drastically changed since the formation of Polad.
So we now need a more enriched approach to national questions, which includes other stakeholders outside 2018 presidential candidates and their immediate parties.
NewsDay/The Standard
Breaking News via Email
Former Zanu PF bigwigs, Didymus Mutasa and Rugare Gumbo, who were sacked from the ruling party in 2014, have expressed their willingness to rejoin the ruling party.
This comes after the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (Znlwva) recommended on Thursday that they be re-admitted into Zanu PF, along with former war veterans chairperson, Jabulani Sibanda, and other ex-combatants who were stampeded out of Zanu PF about four years ago.
Mutasa and Gumbo were expelled from Zanu PF by Mugabe along with a host of other officials who were seen as loyal to former vice president Joice Mujuru who had fallen out of favour with former president Robert Mugabe at the time.
Upon receiving their marching orders, they teamed up with Dzikamai Mavhaire, Kudakwashe Bhasikiti, Mujuru and many Zanu PF cadres who were disgruntled with Mugabes autocratic tendencies to form the Zimbabwe People First (ZPF).
A few months after its formation, ZPF split because of irreconcilable differences between its founders.
Mutasa and Gumbo were among those who clung to the partys name and offices while Mujuru moved on to form the National Peoples Party.
On Thursday, Znlwva secretary-general, Victor Matemadanda, told the Daily News that they wanted Mutasa, Gumbo, Sibanda and many others to be re-admitted into Zanu PF, which is now under the leadership of Emmerson Mnangagwa who came to power after Mugabe was toppled in November last year through a soft military coup.
He said: What came out most was the resolution of asking the party to readmit all expelled war veterans, especially the likes of comrade Jabulani Sibanda, Didymus Mutasa, Rugare Gumbo and others back into the party because we feel the party becomes strong and stronger when people are working together.
The recommendations would be forwarded to the ruling Zanu PF party for consideration and possible ratification.
Contacted for comment yesterday, Gumbo said they were still talking to the war veterans so that they could rejoin the ruling party.
There are number of issues we need to discuss before rejoining Zanu PF, he said, without elaborating.
We are still consulting and I think if they can manage to clarify some issues, we are going to rejoin the party. We are having talks with war veterans but the talks are not yet formal and I think as war veterans, we need to work together for the good of our country. For us, the war veterans are stating an obvious thing because if you are a war veteran you will remain as a war veteran, Gumbo said.
This seems to suggest that the expelled ex-combatants do not want to be re-admitted into the party as ordinary card-carrying members.
Before their sacking in 2014, Mutasa was the partys secretary for administration while Gumbo was its spokesperson.
Both were members of the partys Soviet-style political bureau, otherwise referred to as the politburo.
Zanu PFs constitution requires any individual willing to return to the party to appeal to its central committee, which is its policy-making organ.
Thereafter, the appeal is taken to an ad-hoc appeals committee of congress whose decisions shall be final.
Gumbos precondition could be based on the fact that the powers-that-be in Zanu PF are known for bending the rules when it suits them and could be out to extract some concessions before his re-admission.
In re-admitting former Higher and Tertiary Education minister Jonathan Moyo into the party in 2013, Zanu PF took the unprecedented step of inviting the serial political flip-flopper to return to the party because it was desperate at the time to utilise his propaganda skills.
Moyo had been expelled from Zanu PF in 2005 for refusing to give way to a woman candidate for the Tsholotsho constituency after the ruling party had reserved the seat for a woman.
The sharp-tongued politician, who is now in self-imposed exile following former president Robert Mugabes ouster, had fallen victim to purges that targeted Zanu PF members who had organised an unsanctioned meeting in Tsholotsho to oppose the election of Mujuru as vice president.
While Sibanda refused to comment on the matter, Mutasa, who is former State Security minister, said he was prepared to work with his former comrades.
Zanu PF without Mugabe, I will go; I am ready to join, I am ready to talk to them. We went to war for democracy and not for Mugabe, so we are ready. What the war veterans are saying that we had the same objective that is very true, he said.
Mutasa recently set tongues wagging after he met with opposition National Patriotic Front (NPF) leader, Ambrose Mutinhiri, sparking speculation that he could be considering joining the party, which is linked to Mugabe.
As an elder in ZPF, many also believe it would be duplicitous for him and Gumbo to dump their party for another.
Mutasa admitted talking to NPF and ZPF officials.
Yes I still talk to people in People First, he said.
I talk to everyone, I cannot turn down people I will talk to anyone. Of all the parties that I have been part of, Zanu PF is the one I spent most of my time in. There are many people who sacrificed (for our independence) and had we not taken part (in the liberation struggle) we could not be where we are today. People such as Emmerson (Mnangagwa) and others if they were not there Zanu PF would not be there. Of course, Mugabe did something but he is the one who destroyed (the party), he added.
DailyNews
Breaking News via Email
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.
A debate is brewing at San Francisco State University over messages popping up on windows of residence halls that some considered vulgar and offensive.
While the vast majority of the so-called Post-it notes art is harmless, expressing sentiments about pizza, music or social media, some are sexually explicit, and that is troubling to students and faculty.
Some students have complained about signs that are sexually suggestive or scream out sexual acts or highlight vulgar terms.
"I was thinking I cant bring my mom back here because shes going to see all these windows and all the graphic pictures that theyve drawn," said first-year student Lucy Garcete.
University officials said theyre listening to complaints and talking to students who post them, but so far, no rules have been broken. The administration said as deplorable as the messages might be, they dont break the terms of the students' leases or the law.
"There is nothing punishable here," said Mary Ann Begley, dean of students. "We simply are having educational conversations. It is really important to us to make sure that we are responding but that the students understand ultimately that it is their choice and their decision at this time."
Begley said so far shes received two complaints, one from a student and one from an employee.
"I think it does tend to cross the line when you get into more sexually charged things," said Lauren Taylor, a fourth-year student at SFSU.
First-year student Matt MacGugan had a different take.
"I think its more to catch attention than anything," he said. "I dont think anyone means to be offensive by it. Its just kind of an eye-grabber, and like, its a competition for which one is the funniest, I guess."
The SFSU administration said it welcomes comment on the issue and doesnt want there to be a "hostile environment" for anyone.
Some faculty members said thats exactly what it does create. They dont want to see it, and theyre concerned it violates the student code of conduct.
When should police pull the trigger and when should they back off?
That's the crux of the training officers receive in a simulation room of the San Francisco Police Academy. On Monday, members of the media were invited by SFPD to participate in the annual drill in hopes of countering the coverage police usually get when it comes to using force.
The simulation room features a screen and computer projector loaded with many scenarios. Training used to be shoot or don't shoot, but now SFPD wants to project the message now is going well beyond just two choices.
Officers are trained to hide behind cover, create distance between themselves and a suspect, and rather than bark command they are trained to listen and response when they can with less-than-lethal force.
In addition, officers are trained with a baton, pepper spray and lastly a firearm.
Missing are the Tasers police have been trying to get for years. SFPD Commander Peter Walsh said some of the push back is the belief Tasers will allow officers to forget their de-escalation tactics.
South San Francisco, from its historic hilltop sign to City Hall, is joining other cities around the United States in a push to #gogold to raise awareness about childhood cancer.
Jesus Pena says the color gold symbolizes how precious kids are.
Pena and Patricia Watson spearheaded the initiative after their daughter, Juliana, died of neuroblastoma in 2012, when she was just 2 years old.
The gold-hued bulbs ornamenting the tree at the city's hilltop sign has been lit up for the last four years in Juliana's memory and, this year, the city added gold projections blanketing City Hall.
"We hope that whenever residents see the gold-lit tree on Sign Hill, as well as City Hall adorned in gold lights during September, they will say a prayer for Juliana and others who lost their battles with childhood cancer, and help spread awareness of this horrible disease," said South San Francisco Mayor Pradeep Gupta.
Both lighting displays will be up every night throughout the month of September.
"I leave to work 5 a.m. in the morning and I see it. I say hello to it every morning," Pena said. "I hope people see the sign and they ask questions and that starts a conversation about what this cancer is about."
Julianas Journey Foundation
The San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California have the largest concentration of biotech companies in the nation, and Pena hopes that initiatives like Childhood Cancer Awareness month and cities awash in gold will help spur more research about potential treatments.
"[The treatment] affects their hearing, reproductive systems theres a lot of stuff that needs to be changed and worked on," Pena said. "Most kids that do beat it end up having secondary cancers from all of the harsh treatment."
The American Cancer Society underscores the need for research specifically for the treatment of children since most cancers that affect them are biologically different than those found in adults. However, there is less incentive to fund research and develop new drugs, the organization said, due to the rarity of pediatric cancers.
"[Doctors] told me I had a better chance of winning the lotto than my daughter getting neuroblastoma," Pena said.
Despite that bold declaration, the American Cancer Society reports that cancer remains the leading disease-related cause of death among children who are under 19 years old.
Juliana's family is determined to shed light on the devastating illness.
"I made a promise to [Juliana] that her fight didnt end there," Pena said. "There will be a reason behind why she went through what she went through. I will not stop until theres a cure or until I'm gone."
Julianas Journey Foundation will be honored at the South San Francisco City Council meeting on Oct. 11 for its work during Childhood Cancer Awareness month.
Nine lawsuits have been filed against United Parcel Service following a shooting in June that left three people dead at the company's San Francisco facility.
The lawsuits were filed Tuesday in San Francisco Superior Court, and include two wrongful-death lawsuits filed by the families of Benson Louis and Mike Lefiti. Louis and Lefiti are two of three UPS drivers killed in the workplace shooting. Wayne Chan was the other driver killed in the shooting.
Two workers who were injured in the shooting have also filed lawsuits.
On June 14, police said UPS employee Jimmy Lam opened fire during a morning meeting of UPS drivers at a company warehouse in San Francisco before the drivers went out on deliveries. Lam and the victims worked out of the warehouse.
The violence ended when Lam turned the gun on himself and took his own life as workers ran from the packing facility and police closed in, police have said.
UPS, security company Universal Protection Service and property owner Valacal Company are defendants in all lawsuits.
No other information was immediately available.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Three Chicago men were charged with armed robbery after they accidentally ran inside a suburban police department while trying to avoid being captured, authorities said.
Eddie K. Hill, 24, Cordell C. Prince, 21, and Aries A. Rickenbacker, 22, were each charged Saturday with armed robbery and numerous other charges, including armed violence, defacing a firearm, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and unlawful restraint, the Lake County Sheriffs office said.
Lake Bluff police said the three men robbed a Verizon store, located at 235 S. Waukegan Road in Lake Bluff's Carriage Way shopping center, at gunpoint around 4 p.m. Friday.
Squad cars chased a speeding vehicle along southbound Route 41, exiting on Old Deerfield Road in Highland Park before the vehicle crashed at Richfield Avenue.
The crash happened adjacent to a parking lot at the Highland Park Police Station.
Highland Park Deputy Chief Timothy Wilinski told the Chicago Tribune the men tried to flee the scene of the crash, but one was taken into custody in the parking lot of the police station. Two others allegedly continued into the lobby of the building, where they then hid behind a vending machine. Eventually, they too were taken into custody.
Wilinski reportedly said he did not believe the men knew they were entering a police station.
Yet another prominent adviser to Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has departed his office.
Following his staff overhaul in early July, then the firing of four communications staffers in August, Rauner's Secretary of Education announced her exit Monday.
Less than two weeks after spearheading a landmark bill to overhaul Illinois' education funding formula, Dr. Beth Purvis accepted a new position with a national nonprofit to oversee educational philanthropy, Rauner's office announced in a statement. After two-and-a-half years, she will leave her $250,000 position this week.
"It has been a privilege for me to work with Governor Rauner and his team," Purvis said in a statement. "I am proud of what we have accomplished and know that his administration will continue to ensure that Illinois children have access to high quality programs that will prepare them to be engaged community members with meaningful and rewarding careers."
Purvis' departure is viewed as a major loss by those whove worked alongside her. At the same time, its believed the Illinois Policy Institute - the conservative think tank that Rauner turned to for key positions in his staff overhaul - boxed Purvis out, according to those who have worked with her.
During negotiations over the school funding bill, Purvis received pushback after telling a Springfield newspaper that Rauner supported 90 percent of an earlier version of the legislation - but planned to veto it.
Still, those who know Purvis well call her "a mentor, a calming voice, a pragmatic voice, someone who would respectfully challenge and work harder than almost anyone else." One former staffer said "she is a HUGE loss."
When the governor signed the education bill, he hugged Purvis before the television cameras and credited her for her leadership. In Monday's statement announcing her departure, Rauner called Purvis a "tireless advocate for Illinois children and families," saying he was "deeply grateful for her efforts."
After learning of her resignation, Illinois House Minority Leader Jim Durkin said in a statement Purvis "played a critical role in fixing our states broken school funding formula."
Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady echoed that sentiment, saying she "has been an education pioneer whose leadership and commitment to our students have helped put Illinois at the forefront of school funding."
Stepping in to replace Purvis will be First Lady Diana Rauners former chief of staff Emily Bastedo, an attorney who will now assume oversight of the governor's education policy team.
Rod Blagojevich makes no bones about it.
Hes doing a great job in his current position.
Ive been given the jurisdiction to sweep and mop two floors, he says. So my jurisdiction has shrunk from the fifth biggest state in America, to these two floors. But I dont care what anybody says, I believe in clean government, and I believe in clean floors.
Now in his sixth year at the federal penitentiary in suburban Denver known as FCI Englewood, the former two-term Illinois governor still adamantly maintains his innocence. And says he has managed not to become bitter about his plight.
I take one day at a time and I have a purpose, he says. My purpose is very strong that I have to be strong and deal with this affliction and accept the fate thats been assigned to me.
It is Blagojevichs first public comment since he entered FCI Englewood five and a half years ago. Over the course of two one-hour conversations with NBC 5, the former governor spoke of his family and his desire to set the record straight through another appeal to the United States Supreme Court.
What sustains me during this very difficult long hard trial is the love I have for my children and my wife Patti, he said. My kids can see from both of their parents that when adversity enters their life, when your calamity comes on like a whirlwind, and just about everythings been taken from you, that you dont quit---you keep going and you draw from the hardest suffering the inspiration to carry on.
Blagojevich is now housed in the camp at the Colorado prison, a lower-security facility where he enjoys more freedom. But he still faces the balance of a 14-year sentence and a scheduled release date in 2024.
Do you realize, I have twice been given a longer prison sentence than Al Capone? he says. Ive been given a prison sentence by the same judge who gave a mafia hit man...he acknowledged under oath, a contract killer, my judge gave me a longer sentence than him!
Blagojevich is correct. And he drew that 14-year sentence in a case where the government was never able to prove that he took any money. Still, his case achieved worldwide notoriety, branding Blagojevich as a virtual poster child for political corruption. And the U.S. Attorneys office in Chicago is preparing to vigorously fight still another Blagojevich appeal.
All Im asking for is--apply the law, he says. And if you apply the right law, I didnt cross the line.
[[443828983, C]]
LEAVING HOME
For Blagojevich, the world changed radically on the day he walked into FCI Englewood, March 15, 2012.
You walk in there on the first day and your hearts broken, he says. Youre in there and then they close the gates on you, and youre in prison. And youre yearning for your children and your wife and your home, and youre looking at 14 years. And you cant even see the flicker of a light at the end of a tunnel.
At the other end of that tunnel, wife Patti has essentially become a single mother to the two Blagojevich daughters.
Life has been a challenge for the last five years, she says. The first couple of years were super hard, super distressing. Every single birthday, every single Christmas, Halloween, every single event would go by and Rod wouldnt be there--so heartbreaking!
But the sad thing is right now, its almost like you dont expect him to be there, because hes gone for(on the day of the interview) tomorrow is Amys 21st birthday. This is the sixth birthday that hes missed. So its like, youre not looking for him anymore.
Patti Blagojevich says she remembers vividly the day her husband was arrested in December of 2008.
Phone rings at six in the morning and its the FBI, and they say we have a warrant for your husbands arrest, she says. I think I hung up on them--I thought it was a joke. They called back and said if we dont come down, they were going to bust the door open.
I would say if you had to talk about the worst days of your life, that was one of them, she says. When they took him away, I just knew at that point nothing in our lives would be the same again.
LIFE INSIDE
Blagojevich spent his first three months in the main institution at FCI Englewood like any other inmate---in the kitchen. But he quickly took on other responsibilities, in the classroom.
I taught for maybe 30, 29 months in the higher security prison---I taught Civil War history and history of World War II, he says. I gave the example of Abraham Lincoln and the difficulties he had to go throughand I tell stories to these guys and say, If you think youve got it hard, think about him!
And Ive got to say, my classes were always sold out---I felt like Elvis for a second, you know?
To Illinoisans who were familiar with the sight of Blagojevich jogging through Ravenswood with his bodyguards in tow, it should not be a surprise that he continues to run on the prison track. He spends time in the weight room. And, he catches up on his reading.
Way more than I ever hoped for, he notes.
I try to work on writing, so Ive been working on a series of essays for my daughters, he says. These essays are profiles of people who have gone through crushing adversity, and the purpose is to write these stories and give them to my daughters so they can draw some inspiration from what other people have had to go through when things were difficult for them.
[[443829633, C]]
THE CASE
The former governors 14-year sentence came as the result of two criminal trials, two appeals, and one abortive trip to the Supreme Court. Out of all of those, he did manage to get five counts dropped from his convictions. But his sentence was not shortened. And now he is preparing a second trip to the nations highest court, insisting that everyone up to this point has gotten it wrong.
The rule of law is not a lump of clay, to be put into the hands of prosecutors, to be shaped by them any way they want, to fit any facts, in order for them to ensure convictions. he says. The law is the law, and the law is what the Supreme Court says it is.
Now, Blagojevich is once again hoping that the Supreme Court will listen as he essentially asks them to use his case to clarify when a politician steps over the line in fundraising. Because, he insists, he always stayed on the right side of that line. And those who prosecuted his case got it wrong.
The result, after two criminal trials, was a sentence which is one of the longest ever levied against a politician in America. Blagojevich and his legal team point to other notable cases where there were much smaller penalties: former governor George Ryan did only 6 and a half years; many other governors in other states who were convicted of taking money or accepting lucrative favors have done fewer than two years in prison.
Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, whose life collapsed in a child abuse scandal, spent only 13 months behind bars. Jesse Jackson Jr., the former congressman, admitted looting his campaign fund of $750,000, but only drew a 30-month sentence.
Evidence in the Blagojevich trial showed he never received a penny in bribes. But he is doing 14 years in prison.
FELLOW INMATES
Blagojevich says he gets on well with his fellow inmates. Indeed, on that day he arrived, they knew he was coming, because they watched it live on TV.
They call me Dawg or govvie, or sometimes they call me G, he says. They gathered up a care package to give me some of the necessary things Id need til I was able to go to the prison store and get stuff, like coffee, toothpaste, a toothbrush, they even had a yellow legal pad in there--it was really kind of touching!
At his resentencing last year, many inmates wrote letters on Blagojevichs behalf. He says he has tried to help many of them to prepare for life on the outside.
Especially in the higher security prison next dooryouve got a lot of kind of a tougher crowd over there, he says. I spent a lot of time with several of them, walking around the track and actually doing some mock job interviews, helping them try to make their case to a prospective employer that they should not be prejudiced against them because theyve been incarcerated.
And then there was the band.
Yeah, the group was originally called G-Rod and the Jailhouse Rockers, he says. But that sounded too gang-bangerish, and so the powers that be said just call it Jailhouse Rockers.
His group performed for a GED graduation in June of 2013.
And you know, my two-bit Elvis impersonation got a little less bad and I was able to work on the singing, he notes. We worked frankly hours my first year and a half, probably five hours a day, getting ready for that GED concert.
The result was a vast reportoire which included Thats Alright Mama, All Shook Up, and of course, Jailhouse Rock.
And if I ever have a chance to be in a place other than this, I feel like my version of Jailhouse Rock is much better, because Ive actually lived it!
THE FUTURE
For now, Blagojevich waits. He sees his family, on average, three times a year. And insists he is optimistic about the future.
I would do a shoutout to my fellow underdogs, that are facing powerful forces among us, he says. Dont ever quit. Even if you hit rock bottom, as I have, put faith over fear, youve got to go through the fire. Run with patience and endurance in the race thats set before you, and if you have to, take a stand.
Even if the world misunderstands you, criticizes you and say youre crazy, take a stand. Because you know what the truth is. And when you do it, my experience tells me, trust in God. Youre not alone. You never go alone. Put your faith in Him.
TUESDAY NIGHT:
The Blagojevich legal case. And why he maintains, the courts got it wrong.
Watch LIVE: The first of Phil Rogers' three-part interview with Rod Blagojevich begins at 10 p.m. Monday, Sept. 11, on NBC 5. Tune in at 10 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday for Parts 2 and 3. A half-hour special airs at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.
Five and a half years ago, on March 15, 2012, Rod Blagojevich stepped off an airplane in Denver, Colorado, en route to serving one of the longest prison sentences ever levied on a politician in America.
Just after noon, Blagojevich entered the facility known as FCI Englewood in the Colorado foothills.
And no one has heard from him since. Until now.
NBC 5 was granted extraordinary access to Blagojevich over two hours of interviews, during which he opens up about his time in prison, his family and his continuing hopes for exoneration.
I take one day at a time, he told NBC 5, saying his prime focus is staying strong for his two daughters, even as he continues to present a new legal case to the United States Supreme Court.
Also in the interviews, Patti Blagojevich talks about raising her two daughters in the absence of the former governor, and her continuing belief in his innocence.
When they took him away, I just knew at that point, that nothing in our lives would ever be the same again, she said, emphasizing that she is concentrating her efforts on clearing her husbands name. My daughters want to hold their heads high, being able to know that their father is not a criminal.
During the interviews, Blagojevich talks about his life over the last five years, his relationship to former inmates, and specifics on why he says prosecutors and the jury got his case wrong. He reveals his hopes that the Supreme Court will use the case to clarify laws concerning campaign financing.
The stories begin tonight on the NBC 5 News at 10 p.m.
A former drifter charged with killing six people in Connecticut in 2003 and disposing of the bodies behind a New Britain strip mall pleaded guilty Friday to killing five women and one man.
William Devin Howell, a 47-year-old native of Hampton, Virginia, was already serving a 15-year prison sentence for manslaughter in the killing of a seventh victim, 33-year-old Nilsa Arizmendi of Wethersfield.
Howell will be sentenced on Nov. 17. He is expected to be sentenced to 360 years in prison, or six consecutive life sentences, according to the state Division of Criminal Justice. Of that time, 150 years is mandatory for state law.
Arizmendi and the six other victims were found buried behind a strip mall.
The other victims were identified as: Joyvaline Martinez, 24, of East Hartford; Diane Cusack, 53, of New Britain; Mary Jane Menard, 40, of New Britain; Melanie Ruth Camilini, 29, of Seymour; Marilyn Gonzalez, 26, of Waterbury; and Danny Lee Whistnant, 44, of New Britain.
Howell sexually assaulted three of the women and kept one of the bodies in his van for two weeks, sleeping next to the body and calling the victim his "baby," according to an arrest warrant affidavit. Howell also told a cellmate "there was a monster inside of him that just came out" and described himself as a "sick ripper," according to the warrant.
Howell was working odd jobs and cuts grass at homes and businesses in Wethersfield, Hartford, New Britain and West Hartford at the time of the killings.
"By pleading guilty today, William Howell wanted to spare the victims families further emotional pain through a lengthy and drawn out trial that would have taken several weeks, if not months. Avoiding a trial also saves the taxpayers of the state nearly $1,000,000," Howell's attorneys, Jeffrey C. Kestenband and William H. Paetzold, said in a statement on Friday.
Alexion Pharmaceuticals, a company that develops drugs to treat rare diseases, is moving its corporate headquarters from New Haven to Boston by mid-2018 and the state is asking for the company to pay back a $20 million loan and a $6 million grant, plus interest and penalties.
Former CEO Leonard Bell founded Alexion in New Havens Science Park in 1992, but the company later moved to Cheshire, where it was based for 16 years.
In 2012, the company decided to begin building a new facility in New Haven and move its global headquarters from Cheshire back to New Haven. At that time, Alexion became a recipient of Gov. Dannel Malloys First Five initiative plan for companies to bring 200 jobs or more to the state.
Through the First Five program, the state pledged to provide up to $51 million in assistance, a 10-year loan of $20 million at a rate of 1 percent with principal and interest deferred for five years, loan forgiveness of $16 to $20 million based on the creation of 200-300 full-time jobs, a $6 million grant for laboratory construction and equipment and urban and industrial sites reinvestment tax credits of up to $25 million.
Alexion made the move from Cheshire to 100 College St. in New Haven in March 2016.
Alexions decision to move its headquarters out of the state is very disappointing, especially in light of how supportive the state has been to the company over the years as it has grown into what it is today. While Alexion will maintain a significant number of employees in state, we are requiring that all of the $20 million loan and $6 million grant be repaidwith interest and penaltiesto the department in accordance to the terms of our agreement. Setbacks like this, though unfortunate, do not deter the department from pursuing smart policies and ventures with growing companies in our state, Catherine Smith, the commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development, said in a statement.
This move comes after Alexion laid off 210 employees company-wide in March 2017. The company would not specify at the time how many jobs would be cut from Connecticut.
Alexion said New Haven will now be home to the companys Center of Excellence for its complement research and process development teams. Approximately 450 positions will be based in New Haven, including employees working in the research and process development laboratories, the clinical supply and quality teams, nurse case management and a number of important enterprise business services.
A company spokesperson said 840 people work in the College Street building and 450 will work there after the move is complete. Some employees will be relocated. It's not clear how many.
Were told New Haven, with its top-tier workforce, will retain most of the companys research operations and that hundreds of Alexion personnel will continue working at 100 College Street, New Haven Mayor Toni Harp said in a statement.
Beyond that, New Haven will remain a bustling hub of bioscience and other medical research. For example, the new College Street building is perfectly situated near the hospital and the Yale School of Medicine we expect new tenants there to contribute in this growing sector of the national economy, Mayor Harp added.
The company has been going through some internal turmoil with the layoffs and even deeper corporate restructuring. The news released issued Tuesday morning says the company will reduce its global workforce by 20 percent.
By streamlining our operations we will create a leaner organization with greater financial flexibility that is highly focused on delivering for patients, growing our rare disease business, and both leveraging our leadership in complement and pursuing disciplined business development to expand the pipeline, Ludwig Hantson, Chief Executive Officer of Alexion, said in a statement. "These types of changes are difficult and we recognize that they have a personal impact on people who have been dedicated to the mission of Alexion. We thank our employees for their contributions to the achievements of Alexion. While difficult, these changes were necessary to enable the Company to deliver sustainable long-term performance to support our ability to continue to develop and deliver life-changing therapies for patients.
The company plans to have around 400 positions in Boston.
Alexions 25 year history began in New Haven, and Connecticut remains a critical part of our future. We value our relationship with the state of Connecticut, and our New Haven-based research team is critical to growing and strengthening Alexions leadership in complement, which will allow us to fulfill our mission of serving patients and families with rare and ultra-rare diseases, Hantson said in a statement.
Even though Alexion hired more than 800 people in the state when it moved here, the move to Boston comes as a psychological blow to Connecticut, since Boston is the new home of General Electric and Aetna.
Juno, a beluga whale at Mystic Aquarium, became famous in Connecticut and beyond years ago when an adorable YouTube video surfaced of a Hartford-based mariachi band serenading him. Now, a Connecticut musician has captivated Juno again.
Carly Champion Fleming, a cello instructor at Calvary Music School in Stonington, played cello for Juno Sunday and posted it on her Facebook page.
In it, Juno appears to be transfixed by the music and stare at Champion Fleming during her entire solo.
You might recall the video posted on YouTube in July 2011 of the Los Trovadores de America, a Hartford-based mariachi band, playing for the whale during a wedding. To date, that video has been viewed more than 4 million times.
While Juno loves music, he also loved the visual fine arts.
In August 2012, Juno came into fame again when video was posted of the beluga appearing to stare through the glass of his tank and focus on artist Scott Fischers sketch pad.
In September 2015, Juno again appeared to steal the show again by photobombing Gov. Dannel Malloy held during a news conference at the aquarium.
Republicans in the Connecticut House of Representatives and the State Senate are united behind their spending proposal for the next two years.
Connecticut is in its 73rd day without a budget place since the fiscal year ended in June.
The GOP budget, presented by leaders from both chambers, has all of the elements that taxpayers like hearing. The GOP plan does not have new taxes, tax increases or cuts to municipal aid.
"We believe we have a budget that is real. We believe we have a budget that can go forward, that puts Connecticut on the right track, Sen. Len Fasano, the top Republican in the State Senate, said.
The plan depends on sweeping spending cuts to agencies across state government. They also include future savings from requiring teachers and state employees contributing more toward their retirement accounts and it looks into government waste and abuse.
There are also changes to local education spending, providing for a new formula that distributes education aid, while also providing the option for some school systems to hold back on hiring school system administrators.
When asked whether the budget was merely a wish list, knowing potential voters would like to hear the list of items in the budget, or whether it was a legitimate spending plan, Fasano said, "Every number in our budget has been, will have backup, has 100 percent backup. We will not put a number that is fuzzy out to you."
Gov. Dannel Malloy met with the Speaker of the House and President Pro Tem of the Senate on Tuesday afternoon to discuss what a final budget may look like in time for a vote of the General Assembly by Thursday.
"I'm hopeful but there's no white smoke or there's nothing done but we'll see where this leads in the coming 48 hours," Malloy said.
In a statement, Sen. Martin Looney said, "This afternoon the governor gave Democratic legislative leaders his response to our latest spending and revenue proposal. Now we have to evaluate and develop a response to the perspectives he offered. Staff and legislative leaders will be working this afternoon and evening to finalize a budget agreement."
The goal from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, they have said, is to avoid automatic spending cuts to local education that would go into effect on October 1, per an executive order signed by the governor last month.
The GOP budget, Malloy said, he hasnt reviewed in its entirety but did provide it long odds of ever reaching his desk.
"Every budget has a chance to pass, thats why people buy lottery tickets, too," Malloy said.
There was joy and jubilation around 8:45 Sunday night at Newark International Airport after a New Haven mothers prayers were answered.
Im rejoiceful, Im thankful, Im happy, Sandra Pittman said, Im just thanking God that he brought her as you see, no scratches, no bruises, still beautiful.
To celebrate her 33rd birthday, Sandras daughter Shandrea Pittman and a group of friends traveled to the idyllic island of St. Maarten. Shortly after their arrival on Sept. 1, they learned Hurricane Irma was expected to make a direct hit.
"We started searching other options in terms of other airlines and nothing was available," Shandrea told NBC Connecticut in her first interview since returning home.
Last Wednesday morning, Pittman and her five friends took shelter in their hotel suites bathroom.
"Thank God we did," she said. "Because probably about 30 minutes later thats when the first of the big windows in our villa caved in."
Together, they rode out the storm there for almost 19 hours.
"The only four walls that stood standings was the four walls that we were in in the bathroom," Pittman said. "We knew that it was nothing but God that stood those walls up for us to protect us."
From the ruins of that room, the found refuge in the lobby of a hotel that Irma didnt destroy.
"If it wasnt for Simpson Bay Hotel," Pittman said. "Id probably still be in St. Maarten."
On Friday, the group got word of a possible U.S. military flight off the island.
"It didnt matter if you were American, if you were Canadian, if you were British," Pittman said. "They were just flying everyone to Puerto Rico."
The next morning a U.S. plane airlifted the six friends to Puerto Rico. From San Juan, they took a commercial flight to Newark on Sunday.
"It was the last six seats, it was a blessing, the last six seats on an American Airlines flight and we were able to get home," Pittman said.
Back home in New Haven, Pittman said she is still processing what shes endured the past week.
"We didnt give up at all and we knew that our family and friends were fighting for us," she said. "We knew we had faith and we just basically had the trust in god that we would make it home."
The pilot who crashed in a parking lot near the Roberston Field Airport in Plainville, Connecticut Monday morning is grateful to the people who helped him get out of the plane and that no one else was hurt in the crash, he said Tuesday.
The pilot, Manfred Forst, 79, has been flying for 18 years, but said he is having second thoughts about flying again after what happened Monday morning.
Forst, who goes by Fred, is originally from Germany and now lives in Canton. He said he was going to breakfast when the 1981 Cessna 172 he was piloting crashed at 11:24 a.m. behind Carling Technologies, a business that is adjacent to the airport.
After the crash, employees of Carling Technologies came to his rescue, lifting a wing of the plane and helping Forst out of the cockpit, because of the smell of gas, according to the police report.
Videos police released Monday show the frightening moment when the low-flying plane hit a tree in the parking lot, flipped over and crashed upside down on the pavement.
The police report says Forst told them he took off from Robertson Airport earlier in the day, then flew to Simsbury Airport, then to Brainard Airport.
While flying back to Robertson Airport, Forst touched down on the runway, bounced several times and decided to lift the plane back up into the air to go around and try and land again, he told police.
However, he turned the plane took much, did not have enough speed and crashed, according to the police report.
Forst was taken to the Hospital of Central Connecticut with minor injuries, Plainville police said. On Tuesday, he said has a couple scratches but is feeling good.
"I was very fortunate I got out of it without any real injuries," Forst told NBC Connecticut Monday. "I'm just so thankful."
On Tuesday, he said he said he cannot discuss any details, but is thankful no one else got hurt and he wants to thank everyone who responded to the scene and called 911.
Forst said he was happy to see his wife when he got home and gave her a big kiss.
Shes always concerned when hes flying, Forst said, so his days as a pilot might be over.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the crash.
A man who was found unresponsive in a Hartford police holding cell has died and authorities said the death appears to be from medical issues, but they will hold an internal investigation.
The police booking staff initially thought the 49-year-old man was sleeping, but they realized when they went to wake him at 6:30 a.m. Sunday that he was unresponsive.
An ambulance then took him to St. Francis Hospital and he was pronounced dead at 7:30 a.m.
The victim had been in the Hartford Police booking facility since 2 p.m. Friday on several burglary-related charges, according to police.
Authorities said he had been taken to the hospital twice because of pre-existing medical issues and was released back to Hartford Police custody both times.
According to police, there were no immediate signs of suicide or foul play.
They said this is considered an in-custody death and police immediately notified the states attorneys office and also notified the internal affairs division and major crimes division.
Police said the death appears to be a natural, medical-related death but there will be a complete internal investigation.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner conducted an autopsy and the findings were "pending further studies" but nothing suspicious was discovered, according to police, and more lab tests are needed to determine the exact cause of death.
Budget negotiations between Governor Dan Malloy and legislative Democrats reached a critical point over the weekend and into Monday.
The House and the governor might be close to a budget compromise, but that would have to come without any help from Republicans.
"It is very clear they have no interest in changing the way the State of Connecticut works," said Rep. Themis Klarides, the top Republican in the Connecticut House of Representatives. Klarides said her and Senate Republican leader Len Fasano were not invited to budget talks held with the governor over the weekend.
She said such a move is proof that Democrats arent interested in a bipartisan solution to a budget.
"They want to fix it for next week, for next month, for next year. They do not want to fix this problem that has been a spiraling problem," Klarides said.
Democrats in the Senate said no such arrangement took place, where there was a concerted effort to block the GOP from budget talks. Republicans havent voted for a budget in more than a decade, and Democrats said they are now taking an opportunity to walk away from what have been bipartisan negotiations going back months.
Sen. Martin Looney and Sen. Bob Duff, the top two Democratic members of the Senate said in a joint statement, "Unfortunately, today, our Republican colleagues chose the easy path of political posturing over the more difficult path of making painful but necessary public policy changes."
October first has been viewed as a de facto budget deadline because on that day budget cuts go into effect authorized by Malloy that total hundreds of millions of dollars for local education.
As for budget progress, the largest sticking point to many taxpayers, a possible increase in the sales tax has been eliminated. House Democrats had pushed for an increase to 6.99 percent from 6.35 percent, but that plan has been shelved for good, so it appears.
Instead, Democrats are looking to allow cities and towns to apply the state sales tax to restaurants, and add up to .65 percent that could be for local use.
Advocates of the move say its a tax increase that most diners would never notice.
Rep. Joe Aresimowicz, the Speaker of the House asked, "The average meal of $10 if youre going out as a single person, what is that really on the bill?"
He said it could act as an offset for reductions previously planned for cities and towns.
"I just cant see how it affects a spending habit of somebody thats going out to eat and it allows the municipalities to have a revenue source to offset some of their difficulties they have right now," Aresimowics said.
Lawmakers are scheduled to meet Thursday for a vote on a state budget, however, multiple sources in the General Assembly tell NBC Connecticut that House Democrats are still short of the 76 needed to send a spending plan to the Senate. Without all 76 Democrats on board, and a pledge of no GOP support for any plan, that could make passing a budget more difficult.
Major airports throughout the Sunshine State are beginning to reopen and are still assessing the damage done by Hurricane Irma.
More than 4,200 U.S. flights scheduled for Monday were canceled by mid-afternoon and more than 9,000 since Saturday according to tracking service FlightAware.
Miami International Airport re-opened Tuesday morning with flights resuming on a limited basis. The airport endured nearly 100 mph wind gusts and sustained significant water damage from Irma Sunday, according to Aviation Director and CEO Emilio Gonzalez.
"The damage is in the gate areas, where water leaked in from jet bridges and the roof. The terminals with most damage are J, H, G, F and E," MIA Airport spokesman Greg Chin said.
The airport said on Tuesday that operations resumed there on a limited basis, and will continue to increase its operations daily until they are at full operations, which is expected to happen this weekend.
[[443642093 ,C]]
[[443642133 ,C]]
[[443642163 ,C]]
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport also re-opened early Tuesday. The airport is also running on limited operations.
Officials said only the south runway at FLL was open because of standing water on the north runway.
The damage at the airport from Hurricane Irma was minimal, according to officials at the Broward County Aviation Department. Spots where the roof leaked in all four terminals were being patched up and crews were repairing sliding doors that were knocked off the hinges but not broken. The airport didn't lose power at any point.
"Everything's working fine. All of our equipment was undamaged really so considering what we were facing earlier in the week, we are really fortunate to be facing what we are today," Aviation Department spokesman Greg Meyer said.
With thousands of flights canceled since Thursday, officials anticipate that the airport will be very busy Tuesday and for the rest of the week.
"We have to make sure we're ready to go when we have 60,000 or 80,000 people who are trying to get out of Fort Lauderdale," Meyer said.
Key West International Airport and Florida Keys Marathon Airport remained closed to travelers Tuesday but was operational only for emergency response flights. The airports already have begun to receive emergency supplies and other emergency resources, officials said.
Orlando International Airport closed Saturday and won't reopen to passenger traffic until after Hurricane Irma has passed, a damage assessment has been completed, necessary recovery efforts have been made and airlines are consulted to determine when best to resume operations.
Tampa International Airport was also closed as Hurricane Irma moved up the Florida peninsula.
Airlines are preparing their recovery schedules, which may take several days to execute.
All airports want to remind everyone to check with your airline prior to heading to the airport to make sure your flight is still scheduled.
American Airlines announced that they are going to begin resuming limited operations in South Florida once the airports reopen. AA says they have capped their fares at $99 on direct, single leg flights from all cities affected under American Airlines travel alert, which can be found here.
Disruptions spread beyond Florida. Delta canceled 900 flights Monday, including many at its Atlanta hub because of high winds. Southwest canceled the rest of the day's Atlanta schedule in early afternoon. American scrapped 300 flights in Charlotte, North Carolina, due to the wind.
Delta said they were starting to operate flights Tuesday, including flights between Atlanta and Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa and Orlando.
United Parcel Service Co. and FedEx Corp. couldn't make flights into Miami, where each has a major sorting facility, and it was unclear when deliveries would resume, partly because so many customers evacuated to avoid the storm.
"Even if we're able to make deliveries, can customers receive them?" said UPS spokesman Matthew O'Connor.
With Florida's biggest airports expected to reopen Tuesday, airlines won't lose as much money on lost flights nothing like the $150 million hit that United suffered last month from Hurricane Harvey in Texas.
Shares of American Airlines Group Inc. soared $2.26, or 5.2 percent, to close at $45.86. Spirit Airlines Inc. jumped $1.53, or 4.6 percent, to $34.63; and JetBlue Airways Corp. rose 68 cents, or 3.6 percent, to $19.38.
Those three have a greater percentage of flights in Florida and the Caribbean than do their rivals, according to a Raymond James analyst. Shares of Delta Air Lines Inc., United Continental Holdings Inc., Southwest Airlines Co. and other airlines also rose although by smaller percentages.
Anyone traveling out of any airport should make sure to check with their airline to make sure their flight is on schedule.
This story will be updated as more airlines and transportation operators provide NBC 6 with information on their updated travel protocols.
According to the latest numbers from the U.S. Department of Labor, the unemployment rate among veterans is at its lowest in a decade. An initiative launched by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce called "Hiring Our Heroes" is one reason why.
Since 2011, they've traveled the country, organizing career fairs and resume workshops for veterans and military spouses.
Tuesday, they're teaming up with the Texas Rangers to host one of those events at Globe Life Park.
"It's really about helping American businesses seize upon the tremendous that our veterans and military spouses can bring to America's workforce," said Eric Eversole, President of Hiring Our Heroes. "There's a disconnect sometimes between those employers looking for veteran talent and the veteran who doesn't know how to quite articulate their skills. If we can bridge that gap, we know that American businesses are going to be stronger as a result."
That was the case for Sergeant Dakota Meyer when he got out of the US Marine Corps. A celebrated war hero who recieved the Medal of Honor for saving 36 lives in Afghanistan, he admits he had deep reservations about what his future would look like when he made the transition into civilian life.
"It's kind of like you walk on my military base as a civilian, you don't understand anything about it," said Meyer, who now calls Texas home. "You don't understand our rules and regulations. We live a whole different life. To become a service member, you go through boot camp. It has to be the same thing to transition back out to become a civilian."
Meyer says once he was able to articulate the value he could bring to the private sector, those fears subsided. He now works with Hiring Our Heroes to try to help other veterans do the same.
"The greatest people on the face of the planet are service members," said Meyer.
More than 100 local employers are taking part in the fair, including companies like Toyota, FedEx, and Wells Fargo.
The fair runs until 2:00pm Tuesday afternoon at Globe Life Park. The event is free and open to all veterans and military spouses.
North Texas escaped the devastating effects of Hurricane Harvey that inundated the Texas Gulf Coast, but that does not mean Dallas-Fort Worth will not feel any noticeable impact from the storm.
For example, the construction industry which is already stretched thin due to ever-increasing demand and a shortage in supply of workers is bracing for a hit from Harvey over the coming months.
[Harvey] will make the labor shortage that weve had here a lot worse, at least in the months to come and into the first quarter of next year, said Phil Crone, Executive Officer of the Dallas Builders Association, a trade association that supports hundreds of Dallas-area construction companies.
Crone estimated that North Texas construction companies already suffer from a shortage of at least 20,000 workers who are badly-needed to keep up with the booming growth in the region.
With an untold amount of renovation and construction work that will be needed in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey Governor Greg Abbott estimates that cleanup alone could cost $180 billion Crone said many savvy construction workers from here could soon head there.
Im not saying that all the workers around this area are going to go down to Houston and be a part of the rebuilding effort, Crone said. But certainly some of them will, and we dont have enough to go around.
Crone anticipates that construction projects will likely be costlier as a result of the worker shortage, and that they will take longer to complete.
In addition to the availability of labor, Hurricane Harvey is expected to impact the cost of construction supplies in North Texas as well.
Experts told NBC 5 Responds plywood, softwood lumber and fiber board are all in short supply and prices have been climbing long before any hurricane entered the Gulf of Mexico.
"The Trump administration decided to slap a 10-percent tax on Canadian soft wood lumber at the beginning of the year," said David Lei, strategy professor at Southern Methodist University. "Most of the lumber does come from Canada. You're exasperating a shortness of supply when you have a huge demand."
Lei said the tariffs, along with the demand for home building both in DFW and in Houston, will likely lead to lumber prices rising about 20 percent.
A North Texas gas station chain is among the Texas businesses named in price gouging lawsuits filed in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, attorney general Ken Paxton's office announced Tuesday.
Texas law prohibits businesses from charging exorbitant prices for drinking water, food, clothing and fuel during a declared disaster.
NBC 5 Responds reported earlier this month that investigators were looking into the complaints and trying to prove the pricing was unfair. Now, they feel the proof is there, and they are ready to take it before a judge.
A reader sent the Arlington Voice a photo indicating he paid $6.99 a gallon for regular unleaded gas at the Mobil station on Green Oaks in Arlington on Aug. 31. Signs posted at the stations reportedly advertised prices between $3-$4 per gallon. The station is owned by Bains Brothers Petroleum, which owns several Texaco-branded gas stations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
The AG's Office filed suit against the gas station owner for the gouging reported to them. We left messages for the owners of Bains Brothers, but our calls weren't returned.
Robstown Enterprises, Inc., which operated the Best Western Plus Tropic Inn in Robstown, charged three times its normal room rate during the weekend Hurricane Harvey hit, authorities said. The news release said Best Western has since ended its relationship with the company.
"We called the hotel chain and they refunded the difference of a fair price and what the hotel was charging. [They] also refunded the other 39 rooms their price difference, and the next day the national chain whose name was on the sign jerked their name off that hotel and no longer allowed that owner to be a franchisee," said Marc Rylander, with the Attorney General's Office.
A Chevron-branded gas station near Laredo was also accused of charging customers $8.99 and $9.99 a gallon for regular unleaded gas on Aug. 31.
State prosecutors say they've received more than 3,300 price gouging complaints resulting from Hurricane Harvey.
Assistant Attorney General Brad Carpenter told said investigators got many complaints but are going after cases they know are air-tight.
"The hardest things about these cases are proving that they happened," Carpenter said.
Photos certainly help, because they offer some type of proof. It's even better when they show the specific location. It's something to remember as a consumer when documenting possible price gouging.
Price gouging penalties can reach $20,000 for each violation and an additional amount of up to $250,000 in cases where victims 65-years-old or older were targeted.
Texans who believe they've been scammed or price gouged should call the attorney general's Consumer Protection Hotline at 800-621-0508, email consumeremergency@oag.texas.gov or file a complaint on the attorney general's website.
Online: Filing a price gouging complaint
The historic but often decrepit buildings of Havana and other colonial Cuban cities couldn't stand up to Hurricane Irma's winds and rainfall, collapsing and killing seven people in one of the highest death tolls from the storm's passage through the Caribbean.
Authorities said Monday that three more people were killed by falling objects or drowning, pushing the death toll to 10 in Cuba and at least 24 others in the Caribbean. It was Cuba's worst hurricane death toll since 16 died in Hurricane Dennis in 2005.
Most of Cuba's grand old buildings were confiscated from the wealthy and distributed to the poor and middle classes after a 1959 revolution that promised housing, health care and education as universal rights. But with state salaries of about $25 a month and government agencies strapped for cash, most buildings have seen little maintenance in decades.
Tropical rain and sea spray have chewed into unpainted facades and seeped through unpatched roofs. Trees have sprouted from balconies. Iron rebar has rusted, sloughing off chunks of powdery concrete.
Damage wasn't limited to Havana. More than 100 houses in a small town on Cuba's coastline were destroyed in Matanzas Province when Irma swept through the area, leaving hundreds of people homeless.
In every neighborhood, residents talk warily about the buildings that are one hurricane away from total collapse.
That hurricane came Saturday and Sunday as Irma ground up the northern coast, sending chest-high seawater six blocks into Central Havana and blasting the city with 60 mph winds.
On Galeano Street in Central Havana, a fourth-floor balcony dropped onto a bus carrying Maria del Carmen Arregoitia Cardona and Yolendis Castillo Martinez, both 27. In the cities of Matanzas, Ciego de Avila and Camaguey, three men in their 50s and 60s died in building collapses. The government noted in a sternly worded press release that each "did not observe the behavior recommended by Civil Defense."
On Animas Street in Central Havana, 51-year-old Walfrido Antonio Valdes Perez was caring for his older brother, Roydis, who worked as a florist until he was diagnosed with HIV. They lived on the second floor of building divided into 11 apartments, many of them divided by crude intermediate floors known as "barbeques."
After midnight, as wind whipped the neighborhood, a wall collapsed onto the roof of their building, crushing the two brothers to death.
No one noticed until the next morning, when neighbors saw a foot sticking out of the rubble.
"We felt something, but no one imagined the roof and barbeque had collapsed," said homemaker Yudisleidis Mederos, 34. "These building are in really bad shape. Their room was the best one."
She and her neighbors remembered Roydis, 54, as a kind and helpful man who had become a virtual family member, helping care for their children, feed them and put them down for naps.
Neighbors said they were ready to evacuate Saturday but emergency officials never asked them to leave.
On Monday, they showed the cracks running through the walls of their building, water leaking through the halls and living spaces, naked metal beams and loose gas pipes and electric cables.
"We've been trying to fix things for years. It's a shame that maybe they'll come now, only after two people have died," said homemaker Laritza Penalver, 49.
Havana was in recovery mode Monday, with crews cleaning away thousands of fallen trees and electric restored to a handful of neighborhoods. Schools were closed until further notice. President Raul Castro issued a message to the nation that didn't mention the deaths, but described damage to "housing, the electrical system and agriculture."
He also acknowledged destruction in the northern keys where Cuba and foreign hotel management firms have built dozens of all-inclusive beach resorts in recent years. The Jardines del Rey airport serving the northern keys was destroyed, the Communist Party newspaper Granma reported, tweeting photos of a shattered terminal hall littered with debris.
"The storm hit some of our principal tourist destinations but the damage will be repaired before the high season," starting in November, Castro wrote.
To the east, in the Leeward Islands known as the playground for the rich and famous, governments came under criticism for failing to respond quickly to the hurricane, which flattened many towns and turned lush, green hills to a brown stubble.
Residents have reported food, water and medicine shortages, as well as looting.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson defended his government's response to what he called an "unprecedented catastrophe" and promised to increase funding for the relief effort. Britain sent a navy ship and almost 500 troops to the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla and the Turks and Caicos islands.
The U.S. government said it was sending a flight Monday to evacuate its citizens from St. Martin, one of the hardest-hit islands where 10 people were killed. Evacuees were warned to expect long lines and no running water at the airport.
A Royal Caribbean Cruise Line ship was expected to dock near St. Martin to help in the aftermath, and a boat was bringing a 5-ton crane capable of unloading large shipping containers of aid. A French military ship was scheduled to arrive Tuesday with materials for temporary housing.
About 70 percent of the beds at the main hospital in the French portion of St. Martin were severely damaged, and more than 100 people needing urgent medical care were evacuated. Eight of the territory's 11 pharmacies were destroyed, and Guadeloupe was sending medication.
French President Emmanuel Macron was scheduled to arrive in St. Martin on Tuesday to bring aid and fend off criticism that he didn't do enough to respond to the storm.
The "whole government is mobilized" to help, said Interior Minister Gerard Collomb.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is expected to consider two motions today to fight back against the Trump administration's decision to phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
Supervisor Hilda Solis has championed a one-year restriction on county government travel to nine states that threatened legal action to end the program.
"For many years, the DACA program has brought hope and security for thousands of young DREAMers throughout the nation. Our immigrant communities work day in and day out to succeed in this country. Programs like DACA help our young immigrants provide support to their parents and inspire them to believe in the 'American Dream,'" Solis said when she previewed her proposal last week.
Solis named Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina and West Virginia as targets of the proposed travel restriction, which would not apply in the case of emergency assistance for disaster relief or critical law enforcement work.
Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas plans to urge his colleagues to ask county lawyers to file "friend of the court" briefs in support of several states suing the Trump administration in opposition to the phase-out.
"For many DREAMers, the U.S. is the only country they have ever known," Ridley-Thomas said in a statement. "Ending DACA will result in uncertainty and turmoil, not only for the nation's 800,00 DREAMers, but also for our entire community.''
At least 15 states and the District of Columbia have taken legal action against the plan announced by Attorney General Jeff Sessions last week to rescind DACA. University of California President Janet Napolitano, who signed the policy during her time as secretary of Homeland Security, has also filed suit.
Fighting back against the administration's contention that immigrants living in the country illegally are responsible for taking jobs away from legal residents, Solis has focused on the economic benefits that would be lost if DACA recipients left the country. She pegged their contribution to the nation's gross domestic product -- a measure of economic productivity -- at $460 billion.
Her motion on the travel restriction also calls on Congress to pass a permanent legislative solution and for state officials to do whatever they can to protect DACA recipients. It directs the county Office of Immigrant Affairs to help existing DACA recipients renew their status by Oct. 5.
Trump has also called on Congress to act, saying he had no choice but to rescind the 2012 executive order on DACA by then-President Barack Obama.
"President Obama bypassed Congress to give work permits, social security numbers and federal benefits to approximately 800,000 illegal immigrants currently between the ages of 15 and 36," Trump said in a statement last week, calling the move "executive amnesty" and an "end-run around Congress...violating the core tenets that sustain our Republic."
Supervisor Kathryn Barger, the only Republican on the non-partisan board, echoed some of that sentiment, repeating 2012 comments by Obama calling the measure a "stopgap." She told colleagues that she heard Sessions' announcement as a challenge to Congress.
Immigration policy "has been a priority for over 15 years," Barger said last week. "As a Republican sitting on the Board of Supervisors, I, for one, believe that it's time to do something."
Barger said she supports the BRIDGE Act proposed by Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, and Dick Durbin D-Illinois, which is aimed at protecting DACA immigrants.
The administration has set a phased rollback of DACA.
"Permits will not begin to expire for another six months, and will remain active for up to 24 months," Trump said in his statement. "Thus, in effect, I am not going to just cut DACA off, but rather provide a window of opportunity for Congress to finally act."
The man who stole a car with a baby still inside from a Fontana parking lot was found sitting on the sidewalk holding the child in Norco before he was taken into custody Monday afternoon, police said.
The crime occurred at around 2 p.m. at at 10515 Sierra Avenue, according to the Fontana Police Department. A woman left her silver Kia Optima running with her 7-week-old daughter still inside and the air conditioning on while she picked up food at Chipotle, police said.
A man went into the car and drove off, police said. The mother ran out of the restaurant, screaming that her child was still inside.
"Please, please, leave the baby...just please, don't hurt her," she pleaded before her child was found.
The infant's father was so worried about his daughter, he went on his own search for the stolen vehicle in hopes of retrieving his child.
"I'm just glad he got caught," Kali Williams, the baby's father said. "That's my thoughts on it."
After an hour-long search for the Kia, a Riverside County Sheriff's deputy found the abandoned car at River Road and Bluff Street in Norco, police said. The suspect was later found on Bluff holding the child.
Authorities identified the car thief as Agbaosi Christopher Tanpinu. The suspect was arrested by Ontario police on Sept. 8 on suspicion of burglary, investigators told NBC4.
The baby was unharmed during the theft, but was taken to the hospital as a precaution.
Rosa Ordaz contributed to this report.
After days of warnings and a devastating trek up Florida, Irma's assault finally ended. Those left in its wake emerged from homes and shelters to see what was left. For many, there was a measure of relief. Others faced questions that would take weeks or months to answer after the powerful storm robbed them of their homes and belongings.
Their stories provide a glimpse into the extensive reach of Irma's wrath:
___
A STRUGGLE TO START THE DAY
Jen Gilreath and Cameron Brainard didn't want to get out of bed Tuesday morning. They tried to keep their eyes closed as long as they could, and avoid confronting the chaos left behind by floodwaters that rushed into their rented house in the San Marco neighborhood of Jacksonville.
"We didn't want to wake up and think about it this morning," Brainard said. "It's too much."
They decided to get up at 9:30 a.m. and start surveying the wreckage: They lost everything on the first floor furniture, food and a 100-year-old leather-bound Bible from Gilreath's great-grandmother.
"It's devastating, everything's gone," said Gilreath, a 33-year-old bartender.
The water that poured in higher than their knees slowly drained out, and their apartment now smells like sewage and mildew. The flood consumed their Ford Explorer, their only working car, which no longer will start. They have two cats, a young son, a roommate and a pit bull.
"We have no place to go," Brainard, 34, said.
___
ESCAPING A SAILBOAT
David and Andrea Jewell planned to ride out Hurricane Irma in the sailboat they live in, docked at a marina in Jacksonville. They expected the storm would peter out by the time it made it all the way north to Jacksonville.
But around 3 a.m. Monday, the boat started listing badly. David ran to the deck and saw water pouring over the dock. He grabbed his cellphone, his wife's epilepsy medication, and his 13-year-old calico cat named Tiffany. They fled their sailboat with only the clothes on their backs. David was wearing swim trunks and a T-shirt; he didn't even have on shoes.
He was at a city shelter in Jacksonville on Tuesday with dozens of others who fled their homes. They have no idea if their boat and everything the own inside it survived the storm.
"It's my home," he said. "If it's gone, then we've just lost everything. I just don't even know how to think about that. There is no place to go, no place."
___
DON'T LAUGH AT THAT
Laura Keeney, of Key West, had her pet bird with her in a hotel lobby in Miami.
"He has been making so much noise in the room," said Keeney, who works as a concierge at the Hyatt in Key West.
She said that her apartment manager told her that her unit had flooded, but she didn't know the extent of the damage.
"They told me 'there is definitely water in the downstairs apartment,' which is me," she said.
Her pet bird, a blue macaw named Odie, chuckled.
"He is laughing at the most inopportune moments," she said.
___
HOWLING WINDS AND FLOODED HOUSES
Donne Spielman and her brother Jeff Storey listened to Hurricane Irma's wind howl and the shutters clatter and watched as the water was sucked out from Florida Bay for almost a mile. They worried whether its return might gush into their Key Largo house, which is 11 feet above sea level.
Across U.S. 1, fronting the Atlantic, the storm surge flooded homes. But they were lucky.
They've been spending time since cleaning up the downed trees in their driveway. They have enough food and water and are getting ice from a friend. They know many others were much worse off.
They put up a sign outside the home: "Family of Five, no power, no generator."
___
'I'M NOT LEAVING MY BABY'
Paul Johnson and Shonda Brecheen were working late Sunday night at a house they're remodeling in the San Marco neighborhood of Jacksonville. Bridges were closing and the wind started blowing so hard it was bending trees, so they decided to stay the night on the second floor of the empty house.
The sound of the wind kept them up late.
"My God, she was howling," Brecheen said.
When Johnson woke up Monday and looked out the window, he saw waters from the St. Johns River and its tributaries that jumped its banks and consumed the streets for blocks around the home. Boats passed by where cars once drove.
Johnson thought of his green 1994 Ford Ranger that he calls Fiona, after the cartoon ogre in the Shrek movies, because she's "not the prettiest but she gets the job done." It's the only thing of any value he owns, and it was parked in the carport.
"My truck, my truck, my truck, that's all that I have in this world," he remembers moaning.
When he made it outside to check on it, the water had reached the door handles and panic set in. He hopped inside and started it up. He tried to drive it out of the flood a split-second decision he now deeply regrets. He made it out of the driveway and about 25 yards before it sputtered and died with water rushing up nearly to the windows. He and Brecheen pushed it in to a parking lot and he tried to start it periodically all day.
"I'm not leaving my baby," he said.
___
'THIS IS NOT SAFE'
Aide Valadares packed up her belongings Monday after Hurricane Irma ripped the roof off of her apartment complex in Miami.
She said water leaked into the top-floor apartments and the ceiling sagged in her one-bedroom unit below.
The walls bowed and cracked in the living room, where she had hung prints of her favorite paintings from Colombian painter Fernando Botero, and Spanish artist Diego de Velazquez.
"You come home. You see this. It's devastating," she said. "The fire department came and said that structurally this is not safe," she said. "It will collapse."
___
WAITING ON THE BRIDGE
Robert Hickok, a 51-year-old commercial fisherman, spent hours stranded in his truck on a bridge amid fast-rising waters as he tried to leave Plantation Island.
He decided to ride out the storm on the island, where he's lived for about four years, and sat tight through hours of rain and wind and flying debris. He was relieved when things became calm in the wee hours of Monday morning.
"It got real calm, you know," he said in a phone interview. "The rain let up and it quit blowing and I was still on the island and I thought it was all over."
But when he looked out the window 30 or 45 minutes later, the road was covered with water. As he watched, it began rising fast. He immediately got in his truck, but by the time he'd driven roughly a mile to the bridge, it was too late. Everglades City, on the other side of the bridge, was flooded and there was nowhere to go.
"Thank God the bridge was there," he said. "If the bridge wasn't there, it'd have been bad."
He hunkered down in his truck and hoped the water wouldn't rise any higher. At daybreak, the water began to recede and he was able to drive off the island.
He returned to his home around midday Monday to find it destroyed.
"It's all gone. It's a total loss," he said. "The trailer, boat, car, everything."
After three construction cranes collapsed in South Florida during Hurricane Irma, officials are again calling for tighter regulation of the equipment, setting up a potential fight with an industry that has fought stricter controls.
Miami City Commissioner Ken Russell tweeted from one of the two accidents on high-rises in downtown Miami that the crane had dropped a counterweight that penetrated the asphalt when it failed.
Regulations MUST change, Russell wrote on Monday. Very lucky no casualty.
This crane failed and dropped a counterweight that penetrated the asphalt. Regulations MUST change. Very lucky no casualty @CityofMiami pic.twitter.com/uAUq8oGTTw Ken Russell Miami (@kenrussellmiami) September 11, 2017
Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado also said the city should consider stricter codes.
It's development in the future versus tropical storms or hurricanes, Regalado told The Miami Herald. We just cannot gamble on the wind.
Twenty to 25 cranes are in use at construction sites in Miami as it undergoes a building boom, and on Sunday, as Irma roared through the city, cranes fell on Biscayne Boulevard and on NE 30th Terrace. The third crane collapsed onto itself in Fort Lauderdale at the Auberge Beach Residences and Spa, an oceanfront condo complex also under construction.
The construction industry has opposed tougher laws, suing nearly 10 years ago over Miami-Dade Countys attempt to require cranes be able to withstand 140 mph winds.
The county had argued that its standards were aimed at protecting the safety of the public during hurricanes, not workers safety as governed by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Falling cranes kill workers and non-workers alike, it said.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit sided with the builders and crane operators who sued the Associated Builders and Contractors, Florida East Coast Chapter; the South Florida Associated General Contractors of America; the Florida Crane Owners Council and the Construction Association of South Florida.
AP
The court ruled that the countys arguments were not persuasive. Construction job sites are closed to the public, the judges wrote. The wind standards in the countys law were occupational safety or health regulations, covered by federal rules.
Furthermore, the county failed to identify a single incident in which a crane accident injured a member of the general public during a hurricane, they wrote.
Eddie Gonzalez, an assistant county attorney who helped on the case, told The Miami Herald the legislation was intended as a safety measure during storms.
It was to secure the cranes, he said. We fought it in court. Unfortunately, we didn't win.
Neither Regalado nor Gonzalez could be reached for comment on Monday.
Russell tweeted that he climbed 50 floors to assess the cause of the crane failure with officials from the crane distributor, the construction company and the city of Miami building department.
The tie backs functioned. tower was in place. Something happened up at the swivel plate causing counterweights to drop, he wrote.
Asked if the industry would be more amenable to new regulations given the three crane collapses, the chairman of the Florida Crane Owners Council, Jim Bryson, said it would depend on what was proposed.
If you mandate too much, we wont even be able to build the buildings, Bryson of Bryson Crane Rental Service said. There might be some happy medium. I dont know how that would work.
The cranes could have been subjected to such strong gusts of winds that it would be prohibitive to design to protect against them, he said. But regulations in the crane industry do change as OSHA pinpoints problems and manufacturers make improvements, he said.
Its safer than it ever has been with the OSHA regulations, he said.
No one was injured Sunday when the three cranes collapsed but the city Miami warned of the great danger they posed.
AVOID THE AREA, the city tweeted after one crane collapsed on top of a high rise under construction on Biscayne Boulevard. Nearby residents should shelter on the sides of their building facing away from the crane or in a stairwell, it wrote.
Five days earlier, the deputy director of the Building Department, Maurice Pons advised against staying in a building next to a crane during the hurricane. The cranes are designed to withstand winds of up to 145 miles an hour, not a Category 5 hurricane, which Irma was at the time, the city wrote. The cranes arm is not tied down but must remain loose and the arms counterbalance is very heavy and a potential danger.
Asked why the cranes were not being removed, the city responded that there was not enough time. It can take two weeks to dismantle them, it wrote.
But Thomas Barth, the owner of Barth Crane Inspections in South Carolina who investigates accidents, said that the a crane's arms and counterbalances could have been removed in only two days. If needed, crews could have been brought in from other states to handle all of the construction sites, he said.
Let me tell why theyre up, he said. Money, money, money. Its as simple as that.
The cranes are under enormous stress as they spin, or weathervane, in gusts of wind, he said. The towers alone are stronger and can remain standing.
Bryson agreed that removing the arms, or jibs, and the counterbalances would be a possibility.
Officials Plaza Construction Corp., the general contractor for the condo under construction at NE 30th Terrace in Miami, called Hurricane Irma an unprecedented and historic catastrophic storm.
And every measure was taken to safeguard human life including mandatory evacuation, it said in its statement. The crane engineers and crane supplier took measures to secure the crane which had its boom damaged due to high winds. It would have taken several days to dismantle the crane and time was not afforded. Plaza is cooperating with all governing agencies, crane engineers and supplier to investigate and establish repair requirements to put the crane back in a state of good repair. Crews are presently working at the building to access the damage and establish the repair schedule. The area around the building has been sealed off to ensure public safety.
With 25 percent of the homes in the Florida Keys feared destroyed, emergency workers Tuesday rushed to find Hurricane Irma's victims dead or alive and deliver food and water to the stricken island chain.
Residents of the Upper Keys were finally able to return to their homes Tuesday to inspect damage caused by Hurricane Irma's strike this weekend. Officers removed a roadblock on U.S. 1 that was posted just south of Florida City on Monday, opening up for those who live in Key Largo, Tavernier and Islamorada at 7 a.m. Tuesday.
Entry requires a yellow re-entry sticker or proof of residency or business ownership. Returning residents should consider that there are limited services on the islands, county officials said.
As crews labored to repair the lone highway connecting the Keys, residents of some of the islands closest to Florida's mainland were allowed to return and get their first look at the devastation.
"It's going to be pretty hard for those coming home," said Petrona Hernandez, whose concrete home on Plantation Key with 35-foot walls was unscathed, unlike others a few blocks away. "It's going to be devastating to them."
But because of disrupted phone service and other damage, the full extent of the destruction was still a question mark, more than two days after Irma roared into the Keys with 130 mph (209 kph) winds.
The Keys appeared to be the hardest-hit part of Florida, even though the 400-mile-wide storm engulfed nearly the entire state. Drinking water was cut off, all three of the islands' hospitals were closed, and the supply of gas was extremely limited.
Roads and 42 bridges between Florida City and Key West were ready for travel Tuesday night after the Florida Department of Transportation completed its assessment of them. Officials said two stretches of U.S. 1 that washed away had been repaired and the bridges were now safe.
Monroe County still has a dusk-to-dawn curfew, and extra law enforcement has been brought in to help with security.
Elsewhere in Florida, life inched closer to normal, with some flights again taking off, many curfews lifted and major theme parks reopening. Cruise ships that extended their voyages and rode out the storm at sea began returning to port with thousands of passengers.
The number of people without electricity in the steamy late-summer heat dropped to 9.5 million just under half of Florida's population. Utility officials warned it could take 10 days or more for power to be fully restored. About 110,000 people remained in shelters across Florida.
The number of deaths blamed on Irma in Florida climbed to 13, in addition to four in South Carolina and two in Georgia. At least 37 people were killed in the Caribbean.
"We've got a lot of work to do, but everybody's going to come together," Florida Gov. Rick Scott said. "We're going to get this state rebuilt."
In hard-hit Naples, on Florida's southwest coast, more than 300 people stood outside a Publix grocery store in the morning, waiting for it to open.
A manager came to the store's sliding door with occasional progress reports. Once he said workers were throwing out produce that had gone bad, another time that they were trying to get the cash registers working.
One man complained loudly that the line had too many gaps. Others shook their heads in frustration at word of another delay.
At the front of the line after a more than two-hour wait, Phill Chirchirillo, 57, said days without electricity and other basics were beginning to wear on people.
"At first it's like, 'We're safe, thank God.' Now they're testy," he said. "The order of the day is to keep people calm."
Irma's rainy remnants, meanwhile, pushed through Alabama and Mississippi after drenching Georgia. Flash-flood watches and warnings were issued around the Southeast.
While nearly all of Florida was engulfed by the 400-mile-wide storm, the Keys home to about 70,000 people appeared to be the hardest hit. Drinking water and power were cut off, all three of the islands' hospitals were closed, and the supply of gasoline was extremely limited.
Search-and-rescue teams made their way into the more distant reaches of the Keys, and an aircraft carrier was positioned off Key West to help. Officials said it was not known how many people ignored evacuation orders and stayed behind in the Keys.
Monroe County began setting up shelters and food-and-water distribution points for Irma's victims in the Keys.
Crews also worked to repair two washed-out, 300-foot (90-meter) sections of U.S. 1, the highway that runs through the Keys, as well as check the safety of the 42 bridges linking the islands.
Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator Brock Long said that preliminary estimates suggested that 25 percent of the homes in the Keys were destroyed and 65 percent sustained major damage.
"Basically every house in the Keys was impacted," he said.
In Islamorada, a trailer park was devastated, the homes ripped apart as if by a giant claw. A sewage-like stench hung over the place.
Debris was scattered everywhere, including refrigerators, washers and dryers, a 25-foot (8-meter) fishing boat and a Jacuzzi. Homes were torn open to give a glimpse of their contents, including a bedroom with a small Christmas tree decorated with starfish.
One man and his family came to check on a weekend home and found it destroyed. The sight was too much to bear. The man told his family to get back in the car, and they drove off toward Miami.
In Key Largo, Lisa Storey and her husband said they had yet to be contacted by the power company or by city, county or state officials. As she spoke to a reporter, a helicopter passed overhead.
"That's a beautiful sound, a rescue sound," she said.
Authorities stopped people and checked for documentation such as proof of residency or business ownership before allowing them back into the Upper Keys, including Key Largo, Tavernier and Islamorada.
The Lower Keys including the chain's most distant and most populous island, Key West, with 27,000 people were still off-limits, with a roadblock in place where the highway was washed out.
In Lower Matecumbe Key, just south of Islamorada, 57-year-old Donald Garner checked on his houseboat, which had only minor damage. Nearby, three other houseboats were partially sunk. Garner had tied his to mangroves.
"That's the only way to make it," said Garner, who works for a shrimp company.
While the Keys are studded with mansions and beachfront resorts, about 13 percent of the people live in poverty and could face big obstacles as the cleanup begins.
"People who bag your groceries when you're on vacation, the bus drivers, hotel cleaners, cooks and dishwashers, they're already living beyond paycheck to paycheck," said Stephanie Kaple, who runs an organization that helps the homeless in the Keys.
Corey Smith, a UPS driver who rode out the hurricane in Key Largo, said it was a relief that many buildings on the island escaped major damage. But he said conditions were still not good, with branches blocking roads and supermarkets closed.
"They're shoving people back to a place with no resources," he said by telephone. "It's just going to get crazy pretty quick."
Mendoza reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writers Terry Spencer in Palm Beach County; Gary Fineout and Joe Reedy in Tallahassee; Jay Reeves in Immokalee; Terrance Harris in Orlando; Claire Galofaro in Jacksonville; and Freida Frisaro, Jennifer Kay, Curt Anderson and David Fischer in Miami contributed to this report.
When they first boarded the Norwegian Escape a week ago, passengers knew exactly where they were going. Now they have no idea.
The cruise ship, with about 4,000 guests on board, departed from Miami on Saturday, Sept. 2, and was scheduled to return a week later, after making stops in Honduras, Belize and Mexico.
The boat made it to the Honduran island of Roatan on Monday and Belize the following day. But on Tuesday, passengers were told that their ports of call at Mexico's Cozumel island and the Costa Maya had been canceled.
The dangerous and powerful Hurricane Irma, which had carved a path of death and destruction across a string of Caribbean islands, was headed straight for Florida, home to a fair number of passengers on the ship. Many of those passengers had already switched from relaxation to disaster-preparation mode, and were eager to get home to secure their belongings and ensure the safety of their pets.
Michael Davis, who lives near the water in St. Augustine, Florida, was one of them.
"Once they said, 'We're heading back,' then the mood shifted from vacation time to, 'Alright, let's get home and get it taken care of,'" said Davis, 42.
But there was only a short window of time to drop them off before it would be too dangerous to dock in Miami. So the ship arrived in port Thursday afternoon, two days early, allowing hundreds of passengers to disembark.
Hundreds more had no reason to get off, however, and knew that competing with Florida residents evacuating the state ahead of the storm for rental cars and flights was a losing proposition. So they chose a second option: a "cruise to nowhere."
The Escape headed back out to sea Thursday evening, with a new manifest of about 4,000 that included some of the original passengers as well as some fellow travelers who disembarked early from another ship called the Norwegian Sky. They, too, had decided to prolong their seagoing adventures.
The cruisers have no idea where they are headed or when they will return. A lot of it, they were told, would be up to Irma: which path she decides to take and how long she lingers.
"We said to guests that we cannot confirm when or where you'll be coming back, but obviously we'll make every effort to return the ship to port as soon as it's safe to do so," said Norwegian Cruise Line spokeswoman Vanessa Picariello.
Picariello said the ship "is heading west," but she did not have a more precise route. She said the ship will try to make a port of call if it's safe to do so "but if not, guests will enjoy a cruise to nowhere and be able to be safe and out of the storm."
Picariello added that the ship plans to return to Miami, but that cruise officials will look into alternate ports if the one in Miami is damaged by the hurricane.
Margaret Cunningham of Battle Ground, Washington, said she decided to stay on board with her husband, Mike, after the captain assured them the ship could avoid Irma and even outrun a hurricane.
"They've been very clear that they're not going to run out of food. They're not going to run out of water. They're not going to run out of booze very important and so we're just going to stay on and enjoy the ride," said Cunningham, 65, who is recently retired.
Barbara Engel, who could not get a flight home to Dallas, said she believed staying on the ship was her best option.
"I've got everything here and more than I would want, and we can run" from the storm if necessary, Engel, 49, said shortly before the ship pulled into port in Miami on Thursday. "So really, all told, I think I'm in the best place I can be at this time."
Debbie Kendrick, of Courtland, Ohio, said she has enjoyed the cruise, even if she hasn't slept quite as well because she doesn't know when or where it will end.
"I appreciate that the cruise line wants to keep us safe," she said. "They're not just dropping us off."
Associated Press Airlines Writer David Koenig contributed to this report.
What to Know It's the third Columbus statue in New York in the last few weeks to be vandalized; one in Queens had graffiti, one in Yonkers was beheaded
The vandalism comes in the wake of national fallout from deadly protests and counter-protests over a Confederate statue in Charlottesville
Those protests have led to calls for more public tributes to be removed, including a push in NYC to remove the Columbus Circle statue
A famous sculpture of Christopher Columbus that has stood in Central Park for more than a century has been vandalized, the latest in a series of such incidents involving statues of the explorer in the city and across the country.
Video from the scene showed red paint apparently splashed on the hands of the statue Tuesday morning.
Graffiti found on the base of the statue read, "Hate will not be tolerated" and "#Somethingscoming."
Parks workers were seen cleaning up the area before noon.
The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society commissioned Spanish sculptor Jeronimo Sunol to build the bronze portrait sculpture to mark the 400th anniversary of Columbus' voyage in 1492. It was unveiled on May 12, 1894 and last refurbished by the Central Park Conservancy in 1993.
A message has been left with the Central Park Conservancy seeking comment.
Less than two weeks ago, a statue of Columbus was vandalized in Queens, blue paint sprayed on the base of the structure in Columbus Triangle. The vandals had used stencils to spray the words "Don't honor genocide, take it down."
A day before that, the head was found torn off a Columbus statue in Yonkers' Columbus Memorial Park, a mile north of the Bronx.
The vandalism comes in the wake of national fallout from deadly protests and counter-protests over a Confederate statue in Charlottesville, Virginia, last month. Those protests have led to calls for more public tributes to be removed, including a push in New York City to remove the Columbus Circle statue in light of the figures oppression of Native Americans.
The Columbus Circle statue has been suggested for review by a commission examining items deemed "symbols of hate" on New York City property. Gov. Cuomo has said he is in favor of keeping the statue where it is. He said he's not disputing that the explorer did harm to indigenous people, but that the statue "is really about honoring Italian-Americans" and their contributions to New York.
Mayor de Blasio recently announced the commission, which could recommend removing some monuments.
"The mayor thinks vandalism is wrong and never the right approach to these conversations or monuments," de Blasio spokesman Eric Phillips told News 4 Tuesday. "Theres an important place for public dialogue and thats why the mayors put together a panel of experts to thoughtfully and efficiently organize that process. Vandalism isnt the answer."
On a national scale, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and California Rep. Barbara Lee introduced a measure last week to remove all Confederate statues from the U.S. Capitol.
The mother of a young, pregnant New York City woman who was shot in the head twice in Brooklyn says her daughter is expected to survive after four hours of surgery.
The NYPD says 19-year-old Tytianna Sparks was shot Sunday afternoon outside her home on Dean Street, near Howard Avenue in Brownsville by a gunman who is still being sought.
Sparks' relatives said Monday the woman, who is about 5 months pregnant, is in critical but stable condition, and her fetus is stable as well.
William Sparks, the victim's father, says he hopes for a quick arrest.
Police have not released a motive for the shooting, and don't know if she was the intended target.
Aerial images captured by the NBC 6 helicopter Monday morning revealed for the first time the scope of Hurricane Irma's desctruction in South Florida and the Keys.
Homes destroyed and roadways under water were visible across the debris-filled landscape in upper Keys and other parts of South Florida, chopper footage showed.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott flew over the Keys Monday and reported seeing a lot of flood damage, boats washed ashore and mobile homes overturned. After assessing the extent of the "devestation," Scott said he hopes everyone who stated behind survived.
The string of islands, the first part of the state hit by the storm, were without water, power or cellphone service on Monday. Irma made landfall Sunday morning as a Category 4 storm at Cudjoe Key, about 75 miles from Key Largo.
As of about noon, six of the 42 bridges in the Keys had been inspected by the Florida Deptartment of Transportation and deemed unfit to reopen. The bridges had not been cleared of enought debris and downed power lines to be opened as vehicle access roadways. The department said U.S. Highway 1, which runs from the Florida mainland to the Keys, would be closed pending a complete assessment of the bridges. It reopened Tuesday.
The National Guard was deployed to aid in rescue and recovery efforts, while the Navy aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln was is near the Keys ready to provide emergency services.
Search crews planned to go door-to-door in the hard-hit Keys to check on residents.
FEMA Chief Brock Long said he believed the Keys and Collier County in southwest Florida took the brunt of the storm.
He said teams were assessing the storm's impact on the bridges that link the keys, which may not be safe to cross.
"The roadway system has debris all over it. In some cases the bridge structures may not be safe to cross over," Long said on MSNBC.
One building that did withstand the storm is Ernest Hemingway's former home in Key West, now a museum. But the area around it was hit hard.
"We have no electricity, at least in this pat of Key West, we have no water, we have no internet service," Dave Gonzales, the museum's curator, said on MSNBC Sunday night.
Workers there also took in 54 six-toed cats, all of which were doing well, Gonzales said.
"We all hung out last night together," he said.
So what exactly are those flying insects that swarmed the Philadelphia area Monday and where did they come from? Members of the Academy of Natural Sciences have the answers.
Entomology Curator Dr. Jon Gelhaus and Curatorial Assistant Isa Betancourt revealed in a blog post Tuesday that the insects are Lasius neoniger, a species of ant common to the area. And they're not here to reenact a campy horror movie. Instead they're taking part in a mating ritual.
"The swarming of the winged reproductive forms occurs in the fall, and this ant has been called the Labor Day Ant by some because it swarms noticeably around Labor Day," they wrote.
Once the mated females land, they shed their wings and find a place to spend the winter until next spring when they start a new colony. The male ants will die in a few days after mating with a new queen.
Gelhaus and Betancourt said the recent rains and cooler temperatures have created conditions in our region that are perfect for mating, which occurs near sundown.
The winged ants caused a stir on social media Monday as a swarm covered various Philadelphia neighborhoods, including South Philadelphia and Fishtown, as well as parts of Bucks County and South Jersey.
Its pretty nasty, one woman told NBC10. The swarms that went from Frankford and Thompson to near my house at Memphis and Montgomery Ave. We were covered in them from head to toe. Yuck.
Garrett ODwyer said the ants covered his neighborhood in Bella Vista.
My block has been taken over by flying ants, he tweeted. Apparently this is what they do to mate: grow wings and throw a party.
My block has been taken over by flying ants. Apparently this is what they do to mate: grow wings and throw a party. #badneighbors pic.twitter.com/E7O92DTNvk Garrett O'Dwyer (@gfk_odwyer) September 11, 2017
NBC10 viewers also reported seeing the winged ants in parts of Bucks and Chester County, Pennsylvania as well as Cherry Hill and Salem County, New Jersey. On Tuesday the ants were spotted on cars in the NBC10 parking lot in Bala Cynwyd. Shannon Caranci of Levittown also told NBC10 a swarm of flying ants were covering cars and customers at the Giant shopping center in Fairless Hills Tuesday around 6 p.m.
"Literally you can cut them with your hand," she said.
So how long will the winged ants stick around?
"The swarms usually disappear after a day or two, but it is possible for similar swarms to happen with different species in the coming weeks," Gelhaus and Betancourt wrote.
Gelhaus and Betancourt also said Hurricane Irma had nothing to do with the swarms despite speculation from some on social media.
These are not here because of the hurricane this is a normal annual occurrence although perhaps in larger numbers this year due to the milder winter and cooler late summer," they said.
Both Philadelphia Police and the Health Department had fun on social media addressing the concerns of residents freaked out by the bug invasion. And the people who run both social media accounts are also fans of "The Simpsons" apparently.
Hmm. No, We don't know where all of these gnats came from, either. However, we, for one, welcome our new insect overlords. pic.twitter.com/ma5xq1pYxw Philadelphia Police (@PhillyPolice) September 12, 2017
[[443850923, C]]
Swarms of flying ants were also spotted in other cities and states in recent weeks, including Connecticut.
Friends and family are mourning a grandfather and Vietnam War veteran who was struck and killed by an alleged DUI driver only a few blocks away from his home in the Tacony section of Philadelphia.
Norm Ewing, 73, was standing on the 6500 block of Torresdale Avenue at 4:23 p.m. Sunday when he was struck by a van that dragged him for more than two blocks. The van also struck six cars and plowed through several intersections on Torresdale Avenue.
"Everybody tried to stop him but they couldn't because the car was still moving," said Val Martin, a witness.
NBC10 obtained surveillance video showing the van finally coming to a stop and several residents surrounding the vehicle.
NBC10 obtained surveillance video of a suspect in a DUI crash that killed a 73-year-old man in the Tacony section of Philadelphia Sunday night.
"I witnessed him hit the guy," said one man who did not want to be identified. "I seen it in my mirror. He hit the guy and dragged him at Torresdale and McGee to Torresdale and Levick."
The crowd kept the driver, identified as 32-year-old Luis Hernandez of Mayfair, in his seat until police arrived.
"It was insane," Martin said. "We had to literally go in his van and pull the keys out of his car."
A witness told NBC10 Hernandez had a chicken bone in his mouth and was eating when police arrived. He was arrested and charged with murder, homicide by vehicle and DUI.
Ewing, a retired locksmith, died from his injuries. Family members say he was helping out a neighbor moments before he was hit by the van.
"He was changing a lock for a neighbor when the drunk driver came down the street," Ewing's daughter, Dawn Ewing, told NBC10.
Ewing is survived by four children and seven grandchildren. Family members say he was a Vietnam veteran who loved his country and the American flag.
"That shouldn't happen to anyone," Hilary Ewing, Ewing's other daughter, told NBC10. "A 73-year-old man being dragged down the street three blocks. That's the unbearable part."
Irma battered Cuba with deafening winds and relentless rain Saturday, while a second hurricane, Jose, threatened to lash already-reeling islands elsewhere in the Caribbean.
Cuban coastal cities were clobbered by high winds from Irma that upended trees, toppled utility poles and scattered debris across streets. Roads were blocked, and witnesses said a provincial museum near the eye of the storm was in ruins.
There were no immediate reports of casualties in Cuba in addition to the 22 dead left in Irma's wake across the Caribbean, where the storm ravaged such lush resort islands as St. Martin, St. Barts, St. Thomas, Barbuda and Anguilla.
Many of Irma's victims fled their battered islands on ferries and fishing boats for fear Jose would destroy or drench anything Irma left untouched.
On the Dutch side of St. Martin, an island divided between French and Dutch control, an estimated 70 percent of the homes were destroyed by Irma, according to the Dutch government. Officials said Jose was forecast to dump more rain on the island's buildings, many of which lost their roofs to Irma.
The U.S. State Department helped more than 500 Americans fly out of St. Martin, starting with those in need of urgent medical care, said spokeswoman Heather Nauert.
Carol Basch, a 53-year-old tourist from Savannah, Georgia, took refuge during the storm in the bathroom of her St. Martin hotel room after windows shattered. She stayed there praying for about four hours, surrounding herself with pillows.
"I kept saying, 'Lord, please stop this, and soon, soon,'" said Basch, who was evacuated to Puerto Rico. "I'm glad I'm alive. I didn't think I was going to make it."
Some islands received a last-minute reprieve from Jose as it passed by.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center downgraded a hurricane warning for Barbuda and Anguilla. A hurricane watch also was discontinued for nearby Antigua.
By late Saturday afternoon, Irma passed Cuba and slowly chugged toward Florida with winds of 125 mph (205 kmh). Jose was 85 miles (135 kilometers) northeast of the Leeward Islands, with winds of 145 mph (230 kmh).
As Irma rolled in, Cuban soldiers went through coastal towns to force people to evacuate, taking people to shelters at government buildings and schools and even caves.
Video images from northern and eastern Cuba showed uprooted utility poles and signs, many downed trees and extensive damage to roofs.
Eastern Cuba, a major sugarcane-growing area and home to many poor, rural communities, faced a staggering recovery, with its economy in tatters even before the storm hit due to years of neglect and lack of investment.
Civil Defense official Gergorio Torres said authorities were trying to tally the extent of the damage, which appeared concentrated in banana-growing areas.
More than 5,000 tourists were evacuated from the keys off Cuba's north-central coast, where the government has built dozens of all-inclusive resorts in recent years. In much of central Cuba, power was cut off and downed trees blocked roads.
In Caibarien, a small coastal city about 200 miles (320 kilometers) east of Havana, winds downed power lines and a three-block area was under water. Many residents stayed put, hoping to ride out the storm.
Looting was reported on St. Martin. Curfews were imposed there and on St. Barts, and French and Dutch authorities announced plans to send hundreds more troops and police to keep order.
French President Emmanuel Macron, whose popularity has been sinking over unpopular domestic policies, held an emergency meeting as he came under criticism from stranded residents in the country's Caribbean territories. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who lost the presidential election in May, accused the government of having "totally insufficient" emergency and security measures.
French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe insisted that the government's support for Irma's victims isn't "empty words" and that it was "completely mobilized" to rescue and rebuild.
It was not immediately known whether U.S. President Donald Trump's luxury property on St. Martin had been damaged.
On Anguilla, Vanessa Croft Thompson crammed into her home's laundry room with her husband, her best friend and their children along with their cats and dogs, as Irma's floodwaters swamped her house. The storm peeled off her roof, rained water inside, and sheared paint from her walls.
"Our hurricane-proof door was bending in, it was warping ... and the entire house was shaking like it was an earthquake," she said.
Thompson, the head of the English department at Anguilla's only high school, said: "I don't even know something that's not destroyed. There's nothing here that hasn't been ripped apart by Irma."
President Donald Trump was in the mood to celebrate after cutting a big deal with opposition Democrats.
Joshing with Northeastern officials in the Cabinet Room, Trump hailed New York Democrat Andrew Cuomo as "my governor" and traded banter with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, another fellow New Yorker.
"If you just dropped in from outer space, you wouldn't know what the last eight months have been like," said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., recalling the friendly exchanges between Trump and Schumer during the meeting with New York and New Jersey lawmakers.
That would be the same Schumer whom the president had previously slammed as a "clown" and "Cryin' Chuck."
And now?
"In some ways it's almost like they were completing each other's sentences," King said.
On display at that chummy scene Thursday was the Trump who's emerged in full this past week: Trump the independent.
A president who spent months catering to the Republican conservative wing now appears unbound by ideology and untethered by party allegiances.
It's not a complete surprise to his fellow Republicans. They long have worried that Trump, a former Democrat, might shift with the political winds. But Trump's overtures to Democrats have left Republicans in an awkward and perplexing position, undercut by their leader and unsure of what's next.
"Our grass roots are very confused," said Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., head of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, on MSNBC Friday. Meadows said he viewed the deal as a "unique situation because of the devastation in Texas."
Trump's deal with Democrats to raise the U.S. borrowing limit and keep the government running for three month months all in the name of speeding relief to hurricane victims quickly passed Congress and gave him the opportunity to savor a victory after months of legislative setbacks.
He's now talking about possible future deals with Democrats doing away with votes on the raising the debt cap, and shielding from deportation young immigrants living in the United States illegally who were brought here as children.
"I think that's what the people of the United States want to see," Trump said. "They want to see some dialogue."
It's unclear how much of Trump's turnabout is a deliberate strategy to create space for his tax overhaul this fall or simply a deal-maker's gut decision, bargained during an Oval Office session that left his fellow Republicans befuddled.
Trump has been frustrated by GOP leaders and blames House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., for his inability to score big triumphs in Congress. He's appeared unconcerned about dismissing their opposition to the debt ceiling deal, focusing instead on the fact that the move has delivered him rare kudos with some television commentators.
Trump sprinkled salt on the wound Friday by reminding GOP leaders via Twitter about their failed efforts to overhaul former President Barack Obama's health law: "Republicans, sorry, but I've been hearing about Repeal & Replace for 7 years, didn't happen!"
In venting about Republican congressional leaders, Trump may just be channeling his supporters. Trump, who essentially hijacked the party two years ago, has positioned himself as the voice of voters who feel alienated from Washington and disdain both parties.
"The Republicans in the Senate did not follow through on their commitment in working with the administration to repeal Obamacare. So what's he going to do?" asked Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council.
Perkins said he didn't think Trump's most loyal supporters would approve of extended dealings with Schumer and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California. But, he added, "They're just as mad at the Republican leadership as they are the Democrats."
Still, Trump's startling agreement on the debt left Republicans wondering how far he's willing to stray from party orthodoxy in pursuit of a deal.
Their frustrations spilled out during a closed-door meeting Friday with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney, a former South Carolina congressman, who were sent to Capitol Hill to defend the deal. At one point Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs executive and Democratic donor, drew hisses when he asked House Republicans to "vote for the debt ceiling for me," according to Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C.
From the start of his presidency, Trump has repeatedly labeled Democrats as obstructionists, and few expect his budding alliance with Schumer and Pelosi to be long-lived. Trump is loathed by the Democratic base, many of whom talk more openly about impeachment than cooperation.
But there's little doubt that Trump's talk of "dealmaking" may occasionally open up possibilities for Democrats.
"I think the president, when it comes to making deals, is an enigma," said Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa.
King said he will continue to work with Trump, but acknowledged that the past week had been a "little unsettling" and noted that "conservative allies have been leaving the West Wing at a fairly regular pace."
One of the top aides King was referring to was Steve Bannon. The strategist was ousted in August but remains a vocal proponent of the president's agenda.
Trump announced the deal with Democrats while Bannon was sitting for an interview with CBS News, but the Breitbart executive chairman saved his most pointed remarks for McConnell and Ryan, accusing them of trying to "nullify" the results of the 2016 election.
The headlines on the Breitbart website Friday reflected the anti-establishment wing's distrust of some of Trump's New York allies, as well as party leadership but not of Trump himself.
Other Republicans are willing to give Trump a pass, for now. "Of course I view him as a Republican," said Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. He said that when Republicans can't solve a problem by themselves, "then the president has that obligation to be that neutral arbitrator."
Associated Press writers Laurie Kellman in Washington and David Klepper in Albany, New York, contributed to this report.
A 37-year-old man who checked into a Mission Valley hotel room Sunday evening was found dead hours later in what police are now calling a homicide, San Diego Police Lt. Holden told NBC 7.
The San Diego resident was the only person to check into room 239 at Hotel Iris that evening, a hotel in the 600 block of Hotel Circle South, Holden said. The hotel is located just south of Interstate 8, near the UC San Diego Medical Center.
The next morning, a hotel employee in housekeeping found the body on the floor of the room with trauma to the man's upper body, Holden said. The first officers on scene found the man's injuries to be suspicious and opened a death investigation.
At this point, authorities believe the death happened in the early hours of Monday morning.
Detectives have begun treating the death as a homicide. Detectives are checking surveillance video, talking to workers and conducting a full investigation.
No other information was immediately available.
Please refresh this page for updates on this story. Details may change as more information becomes available.
City officials have begun power washing parts of Downtown San Diego in an effort to combat the Hepatitis A outbreak.
Since the outbreak, 16 people have died and hundreds have been infected, making it the worst outbreak to hit San Diego in decades. The County Board of Supervisors declared the outbreak a public health emergency.
Monday, crews began spraying down East Village sidewalks with a bleach solution that kills the Hepatitis virus.
"We're probably going to be doing them every other Monday, see how that works out at least for the time being," said Jose Ysea, a City spokesman.
The bleach solution will be used on areas predominantly occupied by homeless San Diegans, including Market and 16th Street down through Commercial.
In addition to the power washing, city and county officials deployed 40 hand washing stations around the county. Three dozen hand washing stations have already been set up in areas where homeless people congregate.
Hepatitis A is a serious disease that attacks the liver and can prove fatal. Vaccines are available at no charge to uninsured individuals at any of the county's public health centers.
County health officers have issued new vaccine recommendations. Since March, about 19,000 people have been vaccinated.
The county has also vaccinated more than 7,000 people at risk, which includes homeless San Diegans and those who work with the homeless.
Doctors are now recommending anyone who works or lives downtown to get vaccinated too. The county estimates 30 percent of those infected in the Hepatitis A outbreak are not homeless or drug users.
That means anyone who works or lives near the infected areas is at risk.
Laura Johnson, a small business owner downtown, just opened her business when she first learned about the outbreak.
"I literally had no idea until yesterday which is kind of scary," she said.
Jamie Miller, another small business owner in San Diego, was shocked to first learn about the outbreak.
"It sounds like a crazy thing to have on the streets in a first world city," Miller told NBC 7.
On Tuesday, the city will extend the operating hours for 14 restrooms in Balboa Park. The restrooms will be open 24/7.
The city is also exploring other options to increase the number of restrooms in the downtown area.
The San Diego Central Library will host a free Hepatitis A vaccination clinic on September 19 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
The U.N. Security Council on Monday unanimously approved new sanctions on North Korea but not the toughest-ever measures sought by the Trump administration to ban all oil imports and freeze international assets of the government and its leader, Kim Jong Un.
The resolution, responding to Pyongyang's sixth and strongest nuclear test explosion on Sept. 3, does ban North Korea from importing all natural gas liquids and condensates. It also bans all textile exports and prohibits any country from authorizing new work permits for North Korean workers two key sources of hard currency for the northeast Asian nation.
As for energy, it caps Pyongyang's imports of crude oil at the level of the last 12 months, and it limits the import of refined petroleum products to 2 million barrels a year.
The watered-down resolution does not include sanctions that the U.S. wanted on North Korea's national airline and the army.
Nonetheless, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley told the council after the vote that "these are by far the strongest measures ever imposed on North Korea." But she stressed that "these steps only work if all nations implement them completely and aggressively."
Haley noted that the council was meeting on the 16th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack. In a clear message to North Korean threats to attack the U.S., she said: "We will never forget the lesson that those who have evil intentions must be confronted."
"Today we are saying the world will never accept a nuclear armed North Korea," she said. "We are done trying to prod the regime to do the right thing" and instead are taking steps to prevent it "from doing the wrong thing."
Haley said the U.S. doesn't take pleasure in strengthening sanctions and reiterated that the U.S. does not want war.
"The North Korean regime has not yet passed the point of no return," she said. "If it agrees to stop its nuclear program it can reclaim its future. If it proves it can live in peace, the world will live in peace with it. ... If North Korea continues its dangerous path, we will continue with further pressure."
The final agreement was reached after negotiations between the U.S. and China, the North's ally and major trading partner. Haley said the resolution never would have happened without the "strong relationship" between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
But its provisions are a significant climb-down from the very tough sanctions the Trump administration proposed last Tuesday, especially on oil, where a complete ban could have crippled North Korea's economy.
The cap on the import of petroleum products could have an impact, but North Korea will still be able to import the same amount of crude oil that is has this year.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, China supplies most of North Korea's crude oil imports, which a U.S. official put at 4 million barrels a year. The agency cited U.N. customs data showing that China reported sending 6,000 barrels a day of oil products to North Korea, which it said is mostly gasoline and diesel fuel vital to the country's agriculture, transportation and military sectors.
That would mean North Korea imports nearly 2.2 million barrels a year in petroleum products, so the 2 million barrel cap in the resolution would represent a 10 percent cut. But the U.S. official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said North Korea now receives about 4.5 million barrels of refined petroleum products, which would mean a more than 50 percent cut.
The textile ban is significant. Textiles are North Korea's main source of export revenue after coal, iron, seafood and other minerals that have already been severely restricted by previous U.N. resolutions. North Korean textile exports in 2016 totaled $752.5 million, accounting for about one-fourth of its total $3 billion in merchandise exports, according to South Korean government figures.
Haley said the Trump administration believes the new sanctions combined with previous measures would ban over 90 percent of North Korea's exports reported in 2016.
As for North Koreans working overseas, the U.S. Mission said a cutoff on new work permits will eventually cost North Korea about $500 million a year once current work permits expire. The U.S. estimates about 93,000 North Koreans are currently working abroad, the U.S. official said.
The original U.S. draft would have ordered all countries to impose an asset freeze and travel ban on Kim Jong Un and four other top party and government officials. The resolution adopted Monday adds only one person to the sanctions list Pak Yong Sik, a member of the Workers' Party of Korea Central Military Commission, which controls the country's military and helps direct its military industries.
The original U.S. draft would also have frozen the assets of North Korea's state-owned airline Air Koryo, the Korean People's Army and five other powerful military and party entities. The resolution adds only the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea and the party's powerful Organization and Guidance Department and its Propaganda and Agitation Department to the sanctions blacklist.
North Korea's Foreign Ministry issued a statement early Monday saying it was watching the United States' moves closely and warned that it was "ready and willing" to respond with measures of its own. It said the U.S. would pay a heavy price if the sanctions proposed by Washington are adopted.
Britain's U.N. ambassador, Matthew Rycroft, told reporters who questioned the watering down of the initial U.S. text that "there is a significant prize in keeping the whole of the Security Council united."
Rycroft called the resolution "a very significant set of additional sanctions," declaring that "we are tightening the screw, and we stand prepared to tighten it further."
French Ambassador Francois Delattre said, "We are facing not a regional but a global threat, not a virtual but an immediate threat, not a serious but an existential threat."
"Make no mistake about it," he said, "our firmness today is our best antidote to the risk of war, to the risk of confrontation, and our firmness today is our best tool for a political solution tomorrow."
China and Russia had called for a resolution focused on a political solution to the escalating crisis over North Koreas nuclear program. They have proposed a freeze-for-freeze that would halt North Korean nuclear and missile tests in exchange for the U.S. and South Korea stopping their joint military exercises but the Trump administration has rejected that.
China's U.N. ambassador, Liu Jieyi, said Beijing has been making "unremitting efforts" to denuclearize and maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.
Liu again urged the council to adopt the freeze-for-freeze proposal and said talks with North Korea are needed "sooner rather than later." He expressed hope that the United States will pledge not to seek regime change or North Korea's collapse.
Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia went further, making clear that while Russia supported the resolution, it wasn't entirely satisfied with the council's approach.
He said the "unwillingness" of the U.S. to reaffirm pledges not to seek regime change or war in North Korea or to include the idea of having U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres use his good offices to try to resolve the dispute "gives rise to very serious questions in our minds."
"We're convinced that diverting the gathering menace from the Korean Peninsula could be done not through further and further sanctions, but by political means," he said.
The resolution does add new language urging "further work to reduce tensions so as to advance the prospects for a comprehensive settlement." It retains language reaffirming support for long-stalled six-party talks with that goal involving North Korea, the U.S., Russia, China, Japan and South Korea.
A battle to preserve an African-American burial site off River Road in Bethesda could spark change across Montgomery County, Maryland.
There has been strong public support for finding and respecting old burial grounds. Supporters of the Macedonia Baptist Church want to save what they said is a long-ignored, historic cemetery in the path of the Westbard redevelopment.
The dispute is in mediation. The Montgomery County Council heard public testimony on Tuesday on a bill to protect dozens of other cemeteries, now discovered or not, before they're paved over or moved.
Burial grounds are sacred places, but they're also historical and genealogical resources, said Susan Soderberg, with the Germantown Historical Society.
Montgomery County planner Casey Anderson backed the bill but warned state law allowed cemeteries to be moved if financially viable to do so. Residents who attended the council meeting were not happy with that announcement.
This rubber-stamp board would put up a building or garage on top of King Tut's tomb if a developer wanted it, said Robert Dyer.
Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, a leader of the churchs effort, called for creation of a citizens panel to oversee any inventory of cemeteries and their futures.
In light of a long history of the planning board favoring developers over community interests, she said.
Sponsors of the bill, including member Craig Rice, said the county is trying to correct how it view cemeteries.
Hundreds of friends and family filled the Washington National Cathedral Tuesday morning for a celebration of the life of trailblazing NBC4 anchor Jim Vance, who died July 22 at age 75 after a brief battle with cancer.
The memorial appropriately was filled with tears and laughter as family, friends and colleagues told heartwarming and hilarious stories.
His daughter said the memorial, with its music and its tributes from friends and colleagues, was perfect.
The Rev. Aisha Karimah, associate minister of the Metropolitan AME Church, delivers the opening prayer at the memorial celebration for News4 anchor Jim Vance.
He would have loved it, Amani Vance said. He would have absolutely loved it.
NBC News and MSNBC anchor and correspondent Craig Melvin, a former News4 anchor and reporter, emceed, recalling his first meeting with Vance during a job interview at WRC and how Vance served as a mentor for him over the following decade.
"He was this walking statue of cool," Melvin said. "That effortless swagger, the laugh, the reassuring voice, the motorcycle, the earring, the genuine curiosity, the stories that he told and the style with which he lived and left."
NBC News and MSNBC anchor and correspondent Craig Melvin delivers the welcoming remarks at the memorial celebration.
Melvin underscored the impact Vance had on his profession.
"We've grown accustomed, thankfully, to seeing black men tell us what's happening in the world, but when Vance started, that wasn't the case," he said. "Not only was he a trailblazer, he always did it on his own terms. He was unapologetically black."
"It was almost inconceivable that a black man would occupy that chair, and he did so with an afro and a cadence familiar to the black community that had not been seen on such a platform ever before," said his son Brendon Pinkard. "He was so skilled at his craft that he never became the black anchor for most, but rather the anchorman of record for the city."Vance's longtime co-anchor, Doreen Gentzler, spoke of the impact he made on his coworkers.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser reflects on growing up in D.C. with Jim Vance as her news anchor.
"He has been the wise and compassionate leader in our newsroom for as long as I can remember," she said. "So many of us have talked about how we still hear his voice in our heads as we make decisions about how to cover the news of the day or how to write our copy."
"He took me under his wings like he did so many people," Majic 102.3 host Donnie Simpson said. "He was like the coolest big brother anyone could ever hope for."
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser reflected on growing up in Washington with Vance on TV every evening.
NBC4 anchor Doreen Gentzler reflects on her longtime co-anchor and friend.
"He knew every part of our city, our bumps and our bruises, our tragedies, and our progress," she said. "These stories changed Jim and he became a part of us. Along the way his ability to capture our humanity, both our frailties and the best of us, became a part of us as well."
The Moonlighters sang "You Gave Me Peace of Mind," a sentiment about Vance shared by many since his death. The celebration also included musical performances by the Howard University Gospel Choir, Citizen Cope, Pastor Wintley Phipps, and a jazz recessional by the Jefferson Street Strutters.
Among those who gathered outside the National Cathedral to remember Vance were many people he may never have actually met but who felt like they knew because he was broadcast into their homes every night.
A video tribute to Jim Vance from NFL Today host James "JB" Brown.
There were fellow journalists who have worked for competing television stations across town.
Telling the truth and being honest, thats his legacy for me as a journalist and as a friend, WUSA anchor Andrea Roane said.
We had such respect for each other, former WJLA anchor Paul Berry said. I'd say to him, I have a better voice, and he'd say, Yes, but you're short. I'd say, I'm better looking, and hed say, Yes, but you're short.
[[443978183, C]]
He has set this standard that we're all trying to live up to not only on TV as journalists but the way he lived his life in the community, WTTG anchor Shawn Yancy said.
How can you compete with someone like Jim Vance? former WJLA reporter Kathleen Matthew asked. He's beyond competition.
Before he was a broadcast icon, Jim Vance attended Cheyney State. Ken "QP" Hamilton and some of Jim Vance's other friends and fraternity brothers recall him before the swagger.
Community and national leaders counted Vance as a friend.
Was a prince but never lost the common touch, Eric Holder said. He was a friend.
Of course, coworkers present and past from channel four attended.
Friend and fraternity brother Wendell Whitlock recalls Jim Vance as he first met him and reflects on their decades of friendship.
We had more fun, and to think that we got paid to do what we do, Willard Scott said.
I thought it was a profoundly moving tribute to a truly remarkable person, Katie Couric said. The absolute confidence in the guy, Chris Matthews said. We all looked up to him. We all did.
As Vance would say, Damn! What a day, what a life, what a celebration, Bob Ryan said. The joy that he brought filled the space. Damn, what a life.
Former Washington Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs reflects on not only Jim Vance's coverage of the football team, but also their friendship.
Vance attended Cheyney State outside Philadelphia, and a few of his friends and Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity brothers delighted the crowd with stories of Vance as a young man and a song they used to sing with him. Ken "QP" Hamilton remarked on how much of a ladies man his friend was.
"My mother loved Vance," he said, drawing a roar of laughter. "She was always asking about him. When they would see each other, she would kiss him in the mouth. She didn't kiss me in the mouth. She didn't kiss my father in the mouth."
Before becoming a journalist, he taught in his hometown of Philadelphia. He started reporting at WRC-TV in Washington in 1969.
He made a name for himself covering stories all over the world, including Vietnam, El Salvador and South Africa. But he didnt have to go far for some of his best work: Reporting on the people in his beloved adopted hometown of Washington.
Johnny W. Allem, long-term recovered of the addiction disease and founder and president of the Aquila Recovery Clinic, reflects on Jim Vance's life in recovery.
For almost 50 years, Vance told viewers about every big story that occurred in D.C. From the race riots on U Street and in Columbia Heights to the 14th Street Bridge plane crash to Watergate to the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan and 9/11, Jim Vance kept the people of the Washington area informed and comforted.
He covered the inaugurations of 12 presidents and all seven of D.C.s mayors.
In 1977, Vance was the person the Hanfi Muslims asked to speak to the night they seized three buildings, and he was the first journalist Marion Barry called after he got arrested.
Remembering Jim Vance
"To Vance, the person in need was more important than the scoop," Gentzler said. "He walked into the mayors house past all those stakeout cameras, without a camera. I dont even think he took a notebook."
Vance had some dark times as well, struggling with drugs and depression. But his openness about those struggles further endeared him to the people of Washington and provided him with the opportunity to teach young people that there was a better way.
"His demons were well-documented, and Im convinced that so many felt so much when he slipped away because he shared so openly about how those demons shaped him," Melvin said. "He was flawed but he never pretended to be otherwise."
Johnny W. Allem, founder and president of Aquila Recovery Clinic, shared the message of hope Vance offered about 30 years ago as Allem marked six years of addiction recovery.
"Imagine the strengths he had to have to do what he did in such a professional way, knowing that it all could slip away in a moment," Allem said of Vance's recovery. "He won. Jims journey was filled with service to others."
Vance's 11 p.m. shows with longtime broadcast partner Gentzler were sometimes the highest-rated shows of the entire day. Together for almost 30 years, Jim and Doreen were one of the longest-running anchor teams in the country.
"For 28 years, I got to sit next to the coolest guy in Washington, and for that I am very, very grateful," Gentzler said. "I looked up to him, I learned from him, I laughed with him, sometimes I laughed at him. I argued with him, and we always had each others backs."
Vance announced his diagnosis with cancer earlier this year and took that opportunity to reflect on the wonderful life he lived.
"Rest easy, now," his son concluded. "You lived an extraordinary life and made the world a better place for everyone blessed to have been in your presence."
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has offered to give an additional $500 million to help fund the D.C. regions public transportation system for the next four years, as long as Virginia, Washington and the federal government do the same.
Hogan made the proposal in a letter he sent Monday to Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.
This is the most recent move in a long-standing debate over Metro funding.
According to [the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority], a commitment of $500 million in additional funding is needed, in short order, to continue safety and reliability improvements and to prevent further deterioration of the system, the governor wrote. However, there is a very clear separation between us on how we collectively meet this $500 million funding challenge.
This position reverses Hogans previous stance on Metro funding, The Washington Post reported. Last month he told Bowser and McAuliffe that Maryland would not give any more money to Metro than what their government already contributes.
Hogan also complained that Maryland provides more than its fair share of funding to Metro.
However, the debate we are having now is not about the past, but rather what we can all do now to ensure that Metro not only survives, but dramatically improves, Hogan wrote.
The Maryland governor called the needs of the Metro immediate and overwhelming.
Given the current crisis, the State of Maryland is prepared to invest an additional $500 million in increased Metro funding over the next four years if the Commonwealth of Virginia, the District of Columbia and the federal government all commit to do the same, Hogan wrote in the four-page letter.
Hogan also stressed that the federal government should do more to support Metro, given that 42 percent of Metro riders are federal employees.
Two Frederick County, Maryland, parents, whose videos showed them pulling pranks on their children, pleaded guilty to child neglect, according to the states attorney for Frederick County.
Michael and Heather Martin, both 34, of Ijamsville, Maryland, entered Alford pleas to two charged of child neglect. An Alford plea is a guilty plea in criminal court, where a defendant in a criminal case does not admit to the criminal act and asserts innocence.
The two were charged after authorities were alerted to a number of YouTube videos that showed their children being berated and ridiculed. The states attorney office said psychological examinations of the children showed mental injury.
Judge Theresa Adams sentenced each to 10 years in prison but suspended those sentences. Michael and Heather Martin will serve 5 years of supervised probation.
They face restriction on videotaping the children and posting any images on social media.
People who saw the videos complained, and the couple took down all the videos except one, where the parents apologized for their actions.
We realize that we have made some terrible parenting decisions, Heather Martin said in the apology video.
Tim Conlon, an attorney from Frederick, Maryland, went to court and got an order for the biological mother, who lives in North Carolina, to have temporary custody of the children. He said the children have suffered mental abuse as well as physical abuse.
Clear evidence of physical abuse is the video where you can see an arm throwing the boy Cody into a book case and then he comes away with a bloody nose, then they follow him into the bathroom while his nose bleeds. He's tearful and inconsolable. Conlon said. The kids are going to be deprogrammed like POWs or cult members. There are 400 videos of this stuff that involve vulgarity, shouting, physical portions of it.
The parents previously said they were ashamed, but critics had the wrong impression of them.
One year to the day after Terrance Sterling was killed, his friends and others who were outraged by his death took to the streets.
Sterling was shot and killed after police said he was driving recklessly and hit a Metropolitan Police Department cruiser on Sept. 11, 2016 near the intersection of 17th Street, Northwest, and U Street, Northwest. Protesters marched from the intersection of 3rd Street, Northwest and M Street, Northwest.
Authorities said an autopsy of Sterlings body found alcohol and marijuana in his system. Sterling was not carrying any type of weapon. Last month, the U.S. Attorneys Office said it would not file charges against the officer involved.
At D.C. police headquarters, the protesters vented their frustration and anger at the U.S. attorneys decision at District police officials and at D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. Bowser has publicly called on Officer Brian Trainer to resign, but he has not done so.
The officers involved in the shooting were wearing bodycams that were not activated until after the shooting. Those officers still face an internal affairs investigation into their actions.
A Maryland woman who sought the help of a psychic to find love wound being swindled for tens of thousands of dollars.
The victim, a woman in her late 20s who asked not to be identified, found Gina Marie Marks in May 2016. Marks said she was a psychic named Natalie Miller and convinced the victim she had bad energy around her, which would cost thousands of dollars to fix.
She claims that she has the power to fix everything, the victim said. She claimed that I had some black magic around me, some darkness around me that I needed to be removed. She kept asking me for money and she said she needed more money to do the rituals.
The victim visited Marks at a Bethesda home and paid more than $82,000 in cash and credit.
In November 2016, when Marks stopped answering the victims phone calls, she realized she was being scammed.
The victim called police and private investigator Bob Nygaard.
Gina Marie Marks sized her up and told her that she saw these relationship problems were black magic, Nygaard said.
A warrant for her arrest was issued, but she fled, investigators said.
Nygaard tracked Marks down to Miami International Airport and contacted police, who took her into custody just before her flight was scheduled to take off.
Nygaard said it wasnt his first run-in with the suspect.
I had her arrested somewhere around 2010 for defrauding three women of $503,000, he said. She was sentenced to 18 months in a Florida prison.
Marks is expected to be extradited to Montgomery County to face grand theft charges.
Anyone else who has dealt with Marks should call police.
To gauge Hurricane Irma's impact on Miami, some won't be watching just weather reports; they'll be tracking Cuban coffee consumption.
Cuban-style espresso, or cafecito, is a staple of daily life in Miami. Former Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator Craig Fugate says how fast Cuban coffee stands reopen and how many customers they draw may indicate how badly the city is faring.
"Cuban coffee stands if those are closed, it is bad," Fugate said.
Fugate, who led Florida's emergency management division during the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons, used the Waffle House restaurant chain for the same purpose in previous storms.
Iconic across much of the South, Waffle House is known for being open all the time. According to Fugate's "Waffle House Index," a closed restaurant was a very bad sign. A restaurant open but only offering a limited menu indicated some trouble. Full menu options were a sign that disaster had been averted.
There are no Waffle Houses in Miami, so Fugate suggested Cuban coffee as an alternative.
Some of the city's law enforcement officers made cafecito an essential part of their hurricane survival packs.
The Miami Police department tweeted a picture late Saturday showing a stovetop coffee maker atop a camp stove set up next to a police car.
"As our officers ride out the storm, some have brought the #Miami essentials to help them get through the night," the tweet said.
There is one Waffle House in Florida's Key Largo, where resident John Huston reported seeing boats, furniture and refrigerators floating down the street after Irma landed Sunday with 130-mph (210-kph) winds.
No one answered the phone at the restaurant.
A man is in custody after allegedly shooting and killing his mother at New Hampshire's largest hospital on Tuesday afternoon.
According to New Hampshire Attorney General Gordon MacDonald, 49-year-old Travis Frink of Warwick, Rhode Island, shot and killed his 70-year-old mother, Pamela Ferriere, while she was in the intensive care unit.
"Facts gathered to this point reveal that the purpose of Mr. Frink's visit to the hospital today was to kill his mother," MacDonald said Tuesday night.
MacDonald said Frink signed in at the visitors desk at 1:15 p.m., and within nine minutes, police had received a 911 call that shots had been fired at the hospital.
Silas Baker, who was in the ICU recovering from brain surgery at the time of the shooting, said he heard five or six shots and was absolutely terrified. He said he didn't know when the shooter was going to stop.
Frink was caught by Lebanon and Canaan police as he tried to leave hospital property, MacDonald says.
Federal, state and local law enforcement officials all responded to the shooting around 2 p.m. Tuesday. Lebanon police, special agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' Boston office and representatives of the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office, including state police, are expected to remain at the scene until at least 10 p.m.
Calling the incident "tragic," Dartmouth-Hitchcock chief legal officer John Kacavas said the hospital's medical teams are trying to make sure there is "as little interruption to patient care as possible."
A silver SUV at the entrance of the hospital's campus was surrounded by police after the hospital was locked down following the reports of an active shooter. Although law enforcement officials have not confirmed whether the car was connected to the incident, Rhode Island State Police confirmed to local NBC affiliate WJAR that the SUV belongs to the suspect after authorities contacted them regarding the vehicle's Rhode Island license plates.
Police had been looking for a man described as 6'1" tall, with salt and pepper blonde hair, wearing a red camouflage shirt and possibly carrying a camouflage backpack in connection to the incident, according to Dartmouth College in neighboring Hanover.
Dartmouth College said its Hanover campus was not on lockdown and classes were going on as scheduled.
Lora Charbonneau said she and her husband, who is a police officer, were on their way to Dartmouth-Hitchcock to see his mother when they got a call about an active shooter and lockdown at the hospital.
"We got here as quick as we could and obviously we couldn't go any further," she said. "My husband being the wonderful officer he is, obviously, jumped right out and volunteered to do whatever he could, so he's out there directing traffic."
Frink is due to be arraigned Wednesday at Grafton County Superior Court on a first-degree murder charge. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call state police 603-223-8568.
New drywall, new insulation, repaired door frames and fresh paint Joey Spalding was still finishing repairs at his home on Tybee Island nearly a year after it got flooded by Hurricane Matthew.
The work still wasn't done Monday when Tropical Storm Irma slogged across Georgia, triggering a storm surge that inundated much of the Atlantic beach community of 3,000 residents with floodwaters. Spalding scrambled to get furniture off the floor as 2 feet (0.6 meters) of water rose quickly inside the house.
"We're still just kind of putting it back together and BAM, it came again and destroyed it," Spalding said. "Everything's fine and the next minute you're scratching your head saying, 'What the hell happened?'"
Spalding isn't the only one starting all over with repairs after Irma struck so soon after Matthew, which caused $500 million in damage when it raked coastal Georgia last October. Irma caused extensive flooding along Georgia's 100 miles (160 kilometers) of coast. Portions of coastal South Carolina flooded as well.
Irma killed two people in Georgia and four in South Carolina. The extent of property damage in the Southeast still wasn't known Tuesday.
Tybee Island Mayor Jason Buelterman estimated several hundred homes had flooded in his community alone, including roughly 200 houses that took in water during Matthew.
While Matthew's destruction was largely confined to coastal areas, Irma had a much wider path of damage. Tropical storm winds reached more than 400 miles (645 kilometers) from the storm's center, toppling trees that crashed onto homes and power lines across a large inland area.
"Statewide we're going to have more (insurance) claims than we did with Matthew," said Jay Florence, Georgia's deputy insurance commissioner. "But they're going to be most acute on the coast."
The storms passing also left many without electricity. More than 894,000 Georgia Power and Electric Membership Corp. customers were in the dark Tuesday afternoon.
Georgia Power spokeswoman Swann Seiler said fewer outside resources were available to help in Georgia because of massive efforts to restore electricity in hurricane-battered Florida and Texas. She said Georgia customers should be prepared to wait several days.
Alabama Power reported 20,000 outages Tuesday morning. No major storm damage was reported in Alabama.
Irma's remnants forced Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world's busiest passenger airport, to cancel nearly 200 flights early Tuesday. That boosted the total number of trips Irma interrupted to about 1,300, Atlanta airport spokesman Andrew Gobeil said.
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal lifted an evacuation order Tuesday for nearly 540,000 coastal residents. He cautioned that recovery could take longer because the storm affected the entire state.
"We have not had one like this in the state of Georgia for a long time," Deal said.
In South Carolina, Gov. Henry McMaster counted his state's blessings, even as he mourned the four deaths there from the storm. There were still more than 100,000 power outages reported in the state Tuesday afternoon.
"We are very happy the hurricane went someplace else the main force of it," McMaster said Tuesday and what he planned to be his last briefing on Irma.
North Carolina had some mountain roads blocked by trees and tens of thousands of people without power. But Gov. Roy Cooper said most problems in the state should be resolved by Wednesday.
In Georgia, a man was killed when a tree toppled on his house; a woman died after a tree fell on a vehicle in which she was riding. The dead in South Carolina included a man struck by a tree limb while clearing storm debris and a man who died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator inside his mobile home.
Landrum reported from Atlanta. Associated Press reporters Kim Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama; Seanna Adcox in Columbia, South Carolina; and Kate Brumback and Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this story.
Being Modern: MoMA in Paris will open on Oct 11 at the Louis Vuitton Foundation's Frank Gehry-designed gallery in Paris. [Photo provided to China Daily]
PARIS - Salvador Dali's The Persistence of Memory and Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans will be among iconic works from New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art in a blockbuster show opening in Paris next month.
With some 200 works, the show traces the nearly 90-year history of MoMA's collection, from early modern art to abstract expressionism, minimalism, pop art and digital works.
Being Modern: MoMA in Paris will open on Oct 11 in the private gallery that was inaugurated to great fanfare in the Bois de Boulogne, west of Paris, in 2014.
MoMA director Glenn Lowry welcomed the challenge of installing the exhibit in the Louis Vuitton Foundation's Frank Gehry-designed gallery.
"To think about works you know very well in a completely different context, a different audience in a new space - that stimulated us," Lowry says.
"You had to play with the building," says Quentin Bajac, the show's curator and MoMA's head of photography.
Among the prized works will be Cezanne's The Bather and Pablo Picasso's Boy Leading a Horse.
Lesser-known pieces are by Cyndy Sherman, Yayoi Kusama, Sherrie Levine and Rirkrit Tiravanija.
The show will run through March 5, 2018.
MoMA is not the only major New York museum to lend collections to Paris this year.
The Whitney will present around 60 major pop art works for the first time in the French capital at the Maillol Museum from Sept 22 to Jan 21.
And the Metropolitan plans a retrospective, honoring portrait photographer Irving Penn, at the Grand Palais from Sept 21 to Jan 29.
Agence France-Presse
A mass and candlelight vigil was held Monday night in the Seaport District of Boston to honor the victims who lost their lives on 9/11.
The event, hosted by the Massachusetts Fallen Heroes, was held at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Good Voyage to remember those lost 16 years ago.
With a Boston Police escort, attendees, Gold Star families and veterans, led a somber candlelight procession to the Seaport Common to The Massachusetts Fallen Heroes Memorial.
"My son, First Lieutenant Scott Milley was killed in action," said Steven Milley. "And I come here tonight to honor those who have fallen on 9/11."
"My son was Staff Sergeant William J. Callahan. He was killed in Ramadi, Iraq, April 27, 2007," said Maryellen Callahan. "Remembering is the most important thing seeing the community coming out in support and encourage and motivate and inspire us to picking up every day and moving forward is very good."
In Boston along the Rose Kennedy Greenway, the anniversary was marked by a day of service.
"I know how much this means to the folks overseas and the folks here at home who will always live with the consequences of 9/11," said Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker.
Police in Massachusetts recognized and chased a man accused of running over a state trooper's foot, eventually arresting him in Westwood, where he was found applying for a job at an electronics store.
State police say 26-year-old Jose Jiminez of Lawrence fled after being stopped in Brockton last Thursday, running over the foot of a trooper who was approaching his Toyota Camry. A trooper recognized Jiminez Tuesday while driving on Route 24 northbound. He allegedly refused to stop again, and police chased him onto I-93 south, then onto I-95 north. Police say they stopped chasing him after he exited on University Avenue in Westwood, but that they kept searching for him.
The Camry was found abandoned, and a witness told police they saw a man run into the Osprey Wireless store on University Avenue. Police found him inside applying for a job and took him into custody.
"He came to the back door, very nonchalant," said Jeff Maron, the owner of Osprey Wireless. "My service manager was standing there. He said, 'Are you guys hiring?'"
Maron says Jimenez showed no signs of running from police.
"We shake hands. I mean, he wasn't sweaty, it was like you just walking in, it was fine," recounted Maron. "So I said to Beverly I says get me an application."
Surveillance video shows Jimenez chatting with Maron's wife, Beverly, who is also the office receptionist, then heading into the owner's office, where he started to fill out an application.
Later, a manager came to the door and summoned Maron into the hallway.
"He said, 'Get out of your office.' I said, 'Why?' He said 'Get out of your office now,'" Maron said.
And then police walked in.
"They come in and they go, 'You didn't think we wouldn't find you, did you?' I don't know what his reply was, but they had their guns drawn, and they struggled a little bit and out they went."
Jimenez was inside the store for 10 to 15 minutes before police arrived.
He'll be arraigned on several charges Wednesday.
A Vermont "Dreamer" who received legal protections under DACA, the Obama-era rules on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, is pleading with Congress to extend assurances to young people like him who live peacefully, work, and are receiving educations in the United States.
"My story is not yet complete, but I rest with confidence knowing it is the American people who will get to decide how it ends," Juan Conde, 31, said of the work now before Congress.
Conde said his mom brought him from Mexico to Texas at just 9 years old, as a child immigrant here without government permission.
He quietly worked hard and went to college and graduate school, studying science.
Conde is now in his first-year at the University of Vermont's Larner College of Medicine, where his mother's death from cancer has him driven to help find new treatments or even a cure.
"Only in America could my story be true," he said, reflecting on his journey to medical school.
After President Donald Trump announced the upcoming end to DACA, which extended certain legal rights to people who came here as children with undocumented parents, the medical student wanted to speak up and urge Congress to extend protections to the hundreds of thousands of so-called Dreamers like him.
"Someone asked me earlier in the week whether I was afraid to reveal myself," Conde said. "I will tell them that I am tired of being afraid. This is my home. The American people are my people."
Tom Sullivan, the president of the University of Vermont, said in response to reporters' questions that a handful of people have come forward to university administrators and revealed themselves as being DACA recipients.
Sullivan said that UVM vigorously defends the privacy and legal rights of its faculty, students, and staff, and will stand by any members of the university community and back them with what he described as the nation's "moral obligation" to its Dreamers.
"He is a great example of the very kind of young person we want to be in the United States," Sullivan said of Juan Conde. "One of great character, demonstrated talent and high competence, persistence through success, and real accomplishments in making the lives of other people better."
In a tweet last week, President Trump said Dreamers have nothing to worry about for the six months he's given Congress to act on a fix.
Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, said there is already bipartisan support for preserving DACA.
"I agree that President Trump, in telling Congress to do its job, is correct," Welch said. "We should do our job. We should pass, by law, legal protections for individuals like Juan who were brought here when they were young by their parents."
Welch also said he believes that lawmakers' discussions of extending DACA's protections should be handled separately from any other debates over immigration policy, because it is an entirely different discussion from border security or other immigration issues.
Rep. Welch said he and Senators Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, and Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, will be telling Juan Conde's story in Washington as they make their cases about why Dreamers should be protected.
Other UVM medical students hugged or applauded Conde after he gave remarks to members of the media. The students voiced their support for their classmate and for his contributions to their learning environment.
Norfolk sculptor's Way of Blessing crosses Britain
An artist and sculptor from Banham in South Norfolk is undertaking an epic mission to build a path of blessing for walkers and riders across the widest part of the British Isles from Lowestoft in Suffolk to St Davids in Wales. Sandie Shirley reports.
A still from A Dream of Red Mansions. [Photo/Xinhua]
The English-version opera of the Chinese classic A Dream of Red Mansions has come to China, after wowing the Western audiences last September in San Francisco.
It was no doubt a daunting attempt by the San Francisco Opera. The production is now under close scrutiny of Chinese audience who hold the original novel dear to their hearts. Although watching the opera in English may prove to be a challenge for some.
In its first leg, the opera was staged at Poly Theater in Beijing on September 8-9 before embarking on a tour to the capitals of central Hunan and Hubei provinces.
The Chinese literary classic "A Dream of Red Mansions" has been adapted into TV series, movies, stage plays and regional operas. But never has it been adapted into a Western opera sung in English.
Originally produced for the audience in the US, the opera avoids sketching an all-inclusive story to represent the novel, which has total of 120 chapters.
It chooses instead to focus on the ill-fated love of the main characters Bao Yu and Dai Yu, against the backdrop of the fall of a prominent family during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
"Chinese story, or Western story... We're all humans. So we have something in common. We all want to be loved, all want to love. So from that point of view, there's no difference. It's just a story that happens in China, or in ancient China, said Bright Shen, composer and librettist of the opera.
The four hundred characters depicted in the novel have been pared down to just seven, which might come as a shock to Red Chamber fans, but director Stan Lai says the opera still retains the essence of the novel.
By Express News Service
MUMBAI: Ending months of speculation, Bharat Financial Inclusion (formerly SKS Microfinance Ltd) on Monday said it entered into exclusive merger talks with IndusInd Bank Ltd.
If the deal comes through, it will be a third for IndusInd Bank, after taking over Deutsche Banks credit card portfolio in 2011 and RBS diamond financing book in 2015.
The merger with Bharat Financial is expected to help IndusInd ramp up its micro finance book, which currently accounts for about 8 per cent of its total loan book.
The company has entered into an exclusivity agreement with IndusInd Bank for agreeing to have an exclusive discussion with IndusInd Bank about the proposed potential strategic combination by way of amalgamation through a scheme of arrangement, or any other suitable structure, Bharat Financial Inclusion said in a filing with the bourses.
The exclusivity agreement provides for a mutually agreed exclusivity period for due diligence and discussions to evaluate a potential strategic combination between the company and BFIL, said IndusInd Bank.
The announcement comes at a time when banks like IDFC Bank, Kotak and RBL have either acquired or picked up minority stakes in MFIs. BFIL already has a business correspondent relationship with IndusInd in Karnataka and the proposed merger will allow the latter to tap the rural market for deposits besides expanding its customer base.
BFIL has 1,408 branches, employs over 15,000, serves 6.8 million customers and has a loan book upwards Rs 10,000 crore. But disbursements and collections took a hit following demonetisation.
MUMBAI: Ending months of speculation, Bharat Financial Inclusion (formerly SKS Microfinance Ltd) on Monday said it entered into exclusive merger talks with IndusInd Bank Ltd. If the deal comes through, it will be a third for IndusInd Bank, after taking over Deutsche Banks credit card portfolio in 2011 and RBS diamond financing book in 2015. The merger with Bharat Financial is expected to help IndusInd ramp up its micro finance book, which currently accounts for about 8 per cent of its total loan book. The company has entered into an exclusivity agreement with IndusInd Bank for agreeing to have an exclusive discussion with IndusInd Bank about the proposed potential strategic combination by way of amalgamation through a scheme of arrangement, or any other suitable structure, Bharat Financial Inclusion said in a filing with the bourses. The exclusivity agreement provides for a mutually agreed exclusivity period for due diligence and discussions to evaluate a potential strategic combination between the company and BFIL, said IndusInd Bank. The announcement comes at a time when banks like IDFC Bank, Kotak and RBL have either acquired or picked up minority stakes in MFIs. BFIL already has a business correspondent relationship with IndusInd in Karnataka and the proposed merger will allow the latter to tap the rural market for deposits besides expanding its customer base. BFIL has 1,408 branches, employs over 15,000, serves 6.8 million customers and has a loan book upwards Rs 10,000 crore. But disbursements and collections took a hit following demonetisation.
Jonathan Ananda By
Express News Service
CHENNAI: Indian exporters have not had a good time of things over the last few quarters. But despite global headwinds and a strong rupee depressing export growth, GST-driven woes have taken the centre stage. Exporters, especially small ones, have been struck by increasing cost of working capital caused primarily due to the change in tax systems and concession channels. Refunds cannot even be claimed by exporters currently since the provisions have not been made operational on the GSTN portal.
For example, the Engineering Exports Promotion Council (EEPC) pointed out earlier that the issue of bottlenecks in working capital have to be immediately addressed if exporters are to gain some relief. Ironically, the deadline extensions for filing GST returns are set to make matters worse for exporters. ... it would mean blocking of GST refunds for exporters, who are in any case hard pressed for cash and have been significantly disadvantaged by the continuous rise in the value of rupee against the US dollar, the EEPC pointed out.
The main issue is the change in the way tax breaks are being channelled to beneficiaries. Under GST, the tax has to be paid on purchases of input goods and services and this credit, available with exporters, is supposed to be claimed as refund.According to the back of envelope calculations, GST refunds of at least Rs 1,520 crore would be held up until the end of October for July. If the IGST, paid by exporters, is added, dues to the exporting community would be in excess of Rs 1,700 crore for July alone. Such a dispensation would certainly add to our costs and make our exports that much uncompetitive, said EEPC chairman T S Bhasin.
A small-scale textile exporter in Tirupur pointed out that they are mulling reducing, or even holding back exports until the export exemptions stuck with the government find their way back. The cost of working capital is shooting up because of delayed refunds. The situation has led exporters to demand that the government begin refunds based on shipping bills, with verification done later based on the filed GST returns.
The GST Council has finally begun to speed up the resolution process, forming a committee of officers, headed by revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia, to identify embedded taxes in exports and look at ways to exclude or refund them after repeated concerns raised by the Commerce and Industries Ministry.
CHENNAI: Indian exporters have not had a good time of things over the last few quarters. But despite global headwinds and a strong rupee depressing export growth, GST-driven woes have taken the centre stage. Exporters, especially small ones, have been struck by increasing cost of working capital caused primarily due to the change in tax systems and concession channels. Refunds cannot even be claimed by exporters currently since the provisions have not been made operational on the GSTN portal. For example, the Engineering Exports Promotion Council (EEPC) pointed out earlier that the issue of bottlenecks in working capital have to be immediately addressed if exporters are to gain some relief. Ironically, the deadline extensions for filing GST returns are set to make matters worse for exporters. ... it would mean blocking of GST refunds for exporters, who are in any case hard pressed for cash and have been significantly disadvantaged by the continuous rise in the value of rupee against the US dollar, the EEPC pointed out. The main issue is the change in the way tax breaks are being channelled to beneficiaries. Under GST, the tax has to be paid on purchases of input goods and services and this credit, available with exporters, is supposed to be claimed as refund.According to the back of envelope calculations, GST refunds of at least Rs 1,520 crore would be held up until the end of October for July. If the IGST, paid by exporters, is added, dues to the exporting community would be in excess of Rs 1,700 crore for July alone. Such a dispensation would certainly add to our costs and make our exports that much uncompetitive, said EEPC chairman T S Bhasin. A small-scale textile exporter in Tirupur pointed out that they are mulling reducing, or even holding back exports until the export exemptions stuck with the government find their way back. The cost of working capital is shooting up because of delayed refunds. The situation has led exporters to demand that the government begin refunds based on shipping bills, with verification done later based on the filed GST returns. The GST Council has finally begun to speed up the resolution process, forming a committee of officers, headed by revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia, to identify embedded taxes in exports and look at ways to exclude or refund them after repeated concerns raised by the Commerce and Industries Ministry.
By PTI
NEW DELHI: ITC has said tobacco regulation should not be discriminatory to the cigarette industry, while asserting that the FMCG major has no plans to exit the segment despite its ongoing diversification.
The Kolkata-based firm said taxes on cigarettes have "increased by more than 200 per cent in last few years" which has resulted in smuggling of cigarettes and other forms of tobacco in India.
"If you look at the figures of tobacco consumption in India, over a long period it has not gone down. Tobacco consumption has only increased," ITC CEO & Executive Director Sanjiv Puri said in a media interaction.
From cigarettes, it has shifted to illegal cigarettes or to other forms of consumptions, he added.
"Legal industry has lost volumes to illicit trade... I think that's the concern we have and we really say that regulation should not be discriminatory to the cigarette industry," Puri said.
When asked if ITC, which is on a diversification drive into new areas, could exit the cigarettes segment considering the overall challenges in terms of regulations and health issues, he replied in the negative.
"We have, for sure taken the path of diversification over a period of time but we believe it is neither in our stakeholders' interest nor in the interest of the nation, for us to cede ground to the illicit trade, to smuggling, which has become a big menace in the country," Puri said.
Presently, the cigarette industry is 11 per cent of the total tobacco consumption and accounts for 87 per cent of revenues, he added.
Stressing that the current policy is hitting the legal cigarettes industry hard and in turn affecting tobacco farmers associated with it, he said "it does not serve any purpose for the legal industry to cede ground to illicit trade".
"So, at the end what happens is that Indian farmers lose, government lose revenue and Indian manufactures lose...," Puri said.
Commenting on the government's direction over 85 per cent pictorial warnings, he said: "Now research has recently shown that consumers prefer packs without warning and they are getting it (in India) because smuggled packs are coming."
He further said: "China, Japan and US which account for more than 50 per cent of cigarette consumption in the world do not have pictorial warnings."
In 2016-17, ITC's total consolidated income was Rs 60,493.05 crore, out of which the cigarettes business had contributed Rs 35,877.66 crore.
In the April-June quarter this fiscal, ITC's revenue from cigarettes increased 6.60 per cent to Rs 8,774.16 crore, from Rs 8,230.60 crore in the year-ago period despite high taxation.
The company, as part of diversification, is moving ahead in non-cigarette segment which contribute 58 per cent of its total revenue.
NEW DELHI: ITC has said tobacco regulation should not be discriminatory to the cigarette industry, while asserting that the FMCG major has no plans to exit the segment despite its ongoing diversification. The Kolkata-based firm said taxes on cigarettes have "increased by more than 200 per cent in last few years" which has resulted in smuggling of cigarettes and other forms of tobacco in India. "If you look at the figures of tobacco consumption in India, over a long period it has not gone down. Tobacco consumption has only increased," ITC CEO & Executive Director Sanjiv Puri said in a media interaction. From cigarettes, it has shifted to illegal cigarettes or to other forms of consumptions, he added. "Legal industry has lost volumes to illicit trade... I think that's the concern we have and we really say that regulation should not be discriminatory to the cigarette industry," Puri said. When asked if ITC, which is on a diversification drive into new areas, could exit the cigarettes segment considering the overall challenges in terms of regulations and health issues, he replied in the negative. "We have, for sure taken the path of diversification over a period of time but we believe it is neither in our stakeholders' interest nor in the interest of the nation, for us to cede ground to the illicit trade, to smuggling, which has become a big menace in the country," Puri said. Presently, the cigarette industry is 11 per cent of the total tobacco consumption and accounts for 87 per cent of revenues, he added. Stressing that the current policy is hitting the legal cigarettes industry hard and in turn affecting tobacco farmers associated with it, he said "it does not serve any purpose for the legal industry to cede ground to illicit trade". "So, at the end what happens is that Indian farmers lose, government lose revenue and Indian manufactures lose...," Puri said. Commenting on the government's direction over 85 per cent pictorial warnings, he said: "Now research has recently shown that consumers prefer packs without warning and they are getting it (in India) because smuggled packs are coming." He further said: "China, Japan and US which account for more than 50 per cent of cigarette consumption in the world do not have pictorial warnings." In 2016-17, ITC's total consolidated income was Rs 60,493.05 crore, out of which the cigarettes business had contributed Rs 35,877.66 crore. In the April-June quarter this fiscal, ITC's revenue from cigarettes increased 6.60 per cent to Rs 8,774.16 crore, from Rs 8,230.60 crore in the year-ago period despite high taxation. The company, as part of diversification, is moving ahead in non-cigarette segment which contribute 58 per cent of its total revenue.
By Express News Service
CHENNAI: Journalists in the city on Monday condemned the killing of senior Karnataka journalist Gauri Lankesh, who was silenced in what was seen as the latest in a series of efforts to thwart the voices that are not in line with the rising culture of authoritarianism and majoritarianism.The meeting was organised by the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artists Association (TPWAA) at the Chennai Press Club.
Gauri Lankesh was a journalist who was not dependent on circulation or advertisements but the strength of her convictions. While we must have confidence in the investigating agencies to unravel the murder, the discussion on freedom of expression has acquired a new voltage, said former Governor of West Bengal and diplomat Gopalkrishna Gandhi.The Whistleblowers Bill must become an Act. Anyone who asks questions and demands answers must be a national responsibility, he added.Looking at the larger picture, N Ram, Chairman, Kasturi and Sons Ltd and senior journalist, said, India figures in the Committee to Protect Journalists list of 13 countries where journalists are killed with impunity.
27 journalists have been killed for their work since 1992 and there is not a single conviction. In Lankeshs case, sources said, there was still no indication of a breakthrough. This shows that this could be a conspiracy and there are indications of them having political protection, he said.A Arulmozhi, lawyer and activist, Dravidar Kazhagam, said, Gauri Lankesh was not killed by her ideology, she was killed by the ideology that was at the other end of hers. After Gandhi was killed, they could not come to power for almost 42 years. They suffered a setback because of their ideology.
Journalists and writers also emphasised the need for journalists to come together whenever free speech is thwarted in whatever way, not waiting for it to end in something as unfortunate as murder.
Tamil writer and poet Manushyaputhiran said, This murder is a warning to all of those who are alive. It is an attempt to stop free thinking. Even during the British reign, the worst that would happen to a journalist for writing against it was imprisonment, not murder.
CHENNAI: Journalists in the city on Monday condemned the killing of senior Karnataka journalist Gauri Lankesh, who was silenced in what was seen as the latest in a series of efforts to thwart the voices that are not in line with the rising culture of authoritarianism and majoritarianism.The meeting was organised by the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artists Association (TPWAA) at the Chennai Press Club. Gauri Lankesh was a journalist who was not dependent on circulation or advertisements but the strength of her convictions. While we must have confidence in the investigating agencies to unravel the murder, the discussion on freedom of expression has acquired a new voltage, said former Governor of West Bengal and diplomat Gopalkrishna Gandhi.The Whistleblowers Bill must become an Act. Anyone who asks questions and demands answers must be a national responsibility, he added.Looking at the larger picture, N Ram, Chairman, Kasturi and Sons Ltd and senior journalist, said, India figures in the Committee to Protect Journalists list of 13 countries where journalists are killed with impunity. 27 journalists have been killed for their work since 1992 and there is not a single conviction. In Lankeshs case, sources said, there was still no indication of a breakthrough. This shows that this could be a conspiracy and there are indications of them having political protection, he said.A Arulmozhi, lawyer and activist, Dravidar Kazhagam, said, Gauri Lankesh was not killed by her ideology, she was killed by the ideology that was at the other end of hers. After Gandhi was killed, they could not come to power for almost 42 years. They suffered a setback because of their ideology. Journalists and writers also emphasised the need for journalists to come together whenever free speech is thwarted in whatever way, not waiting for it to end in something as unfortunate as murder. Tamil writer and poet Manushyaputhiran said, This murder is a warning to all of those who are alive. It is an attempt to stop free thinking. Even during the British reign, the worst that would happen to a journalist for writing against it was imprisonment, not murder.
By Express News Service
HYDERABAD: Three doctors, who did not attend to duties at the Amangal Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Rangareddy district, have been issued memos, seeking explanation for their unauthorised absence.
When health minister C Laxma Reddy paid a surprise visit to the PHC on Monday morning, patients and attendants complained to him that though five doctors were allotted to the PHC they take turns and only two doctors attend to duties on any given day. The situation was the same when Laxma Reddy visited the PHC on Monday. When the lapse on part of doctors was brought to his notice, he asked the district medical and health officer Dr Balaji Pawar to issue memos to them.
To put a check on the issue of professors not turning up for classes in medical colleges and doctors not being punctual in attending duties at Hospitals, Director of Medical Education Dr K Ramesh Reddy said that he will use CCTV cameras to access classrooms in medical colleges to find if professors are taking classes and going on ward rounds.
HYDERABAD: Three doctors, who did not attend to duties at the Amangal Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Rangareddy district, have been issued memos, seeking explanation for their unauthorised absence. When health minister C Laxma Reddy paid a surprise visit to the PHC on Monday morning, patients and attendants complained to him that though five doctors were allotted to the PHC they take turns and only two doctors attend to duties on any given day. The situation was the same when Laxma Reddy visited the PHC on Monday. When the lapse on part of doctors was brought to his notice, he asked the district medical and health officer Dr Balaji Pawar to issue memos to them. To put a check on the issue of professors not turning up for classes in medical colleges and doctors not being punctual in attending duties at Hospitals, Director of Medical Education Dr K Ramesh Reddy said that he will use CCTV cameras to access classrooms in medical colleges to find if professors are taking classes and going on ward rounds.
By Express News Service
NEW DELHI: With Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe set to lay the foundation for the bullet train in Ahmedabad on September 14, ambiguity continues over a plot of land that railway is seeking in Mumbai for building terminal for the project as Maharashtra government is not willing to part with being a designated site for construction of International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, however, Monday brushed aside any issues land and expressed confidence that Maharashtra will give land for the project.
I have spoken to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and he has assured me that land will not be problem, Goyal told reporters here.
On the other hand Maharashtra doesnt want to spare the prime land at Bandra and has offered railways land at two other sites, which according to railways will increase the cost of the project.
According to sources, meeting between officials of railway and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has been inconclusive so far and a midway is still being worked out.
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail project is a key project of the NDA government that is expected to reduce the travel time between two cities by nearly five hours. Railway is expecting a ridership of 40,000 people every day on 508 km long section by 2023, which is set to increase to 1.6 lakh every day by 2050.
Japan is giving soft loan of 81 percent of the project cost at 0.1 percent per annum. The project is slated for completion by 2023 but railway is making all efforts to complete by August 15, 2022.
To ensure safety and prevent delays on account of land acquisition, railway has decided that 92 percent of the route will be elevated, 6 percent in tunnel and only 2 percent will be on the ground. That is, 508 will have 468 kilometers of track elevated, 27 kilometers of the route within tunnel and the remaining 13 kilometers on the ground.
By going elevated, the land required has reduced by 50 percent from 1650 hectare to 850 hectare, said Railway Board, Advisor Infrastructure, Sushant Mishra.
Allaying criticism over the huge cost of over 1 lakh crore required for the projects, Goyal said after 160 years of history of railways in India, it is for the first time that a state-of-the-art technology is being brought to India.
Indian is lagging when it comes to using modern technology and globally discarded technology was used for planning progress of Indian Railways in the past, said Goyal.
He said that high speed rail will revolutionise the railways in India and transforms countrys transport sector. Goyal also drew parallel between introduction of Maruti car in India three decades back and how it revolutionised the four-wheeler sector in India.
NEW DELHI: With Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe set to lay the foundation for the bullet train in Ahmedabad on September 14, ambiguity continues over a plot of land that railway is seeking in Mumbai for building terminal for the project as Maharashtra government is not willing to part with being a designated site for construction of International Financial Services Centre (IFSC). Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, however, Monday brushed aside any issues land and expressed confidence that Maharashtra will give land for the project. I have spoken to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and he has assured me that land will not be problem, Goyal told reporters here. On the other hand Maharashtra doesnt want to spare the prime land at Bandra and has offered railways land at two other sites, which according to railways will increase the cost of the project. According to sources, meeting between officials of railway and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has been inconclusive so far and a midway is still being worked out. The Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail project is a key project of the NDA government that is expected to reduce the travel time between two cities by nearly five hours. Railway is expecting a ridership of 40,000 people every day on 508 km long section by 2023, which is set to increase to 1.6 lakh every day by 2050. Japan is giving soft loan of 81 percent of the project cost at 0.1 percent per annum. The project is slated for completion by 2023 but railway is making all efforts to complete by August 15, 2022. To ensure safety and prevent delays on account of land acquisition, railway has decided that 92 percent of the route will be elevated, 6 percent in tunnel and only 2 percent will be on the ground. That is, 508 will have 468 kilometers of track elevated, 27 kilometers of the route within tunnel and the remaining 13 kilometers on the ground. By going elevated, the land required has reduced by 50 percent from 1650 hectare to 850 hectare, said Railway Board, Advisor Infrastructure, Sushant Mishra. Allaying criticism over the huge cost of over 1 lakh crore required for the projects, Goyal said after 160 years of history of railways in India, it is for the first time that a state-of-the-art technology is being brought to India. Indian is lagging when it comes to using modern technology and globally discarded technology was used for planning progress of Indian Railways in the past, said Goyal. He said that high speed rail will revolutionise the railways in India and transforms countrys transport sector. Goyal also drew parallel between introduction of Maruti car in India three decades back and how it revolutionised the four-wheeler sector in India.
Vikram Sharma By
Express News Service
NITI: Nomi Devi's face lights up as she recalls the good old days when Niti used to be bustling with activity. Traders from the Indian side used to meet traders from south Tibet at Niti pass, located at a height of 5,800 m. The trade was barter: salt, kidney beans, potatoes, peas, ghee exchanged for meat, wool and milk.
And then there would be pilgrims to Kailash Mansarovar. Niti, just three days away, was an overnight stop for them This was a flourishing area and people were prospering, says Nomi Devi. The1962 war stopped all that. The borders were sealed and trade and pilgrimage were shut.
So now Niti, once a thriving village of 450 families, is down to 70 people -- most of them above 60 years of age. The people remaining behind have been petitioning the administration for help with agriculture and livelihood, but few officials ever bother to turn up, unless it is an occasion like the Doklam standoff.
And Niti is now a shadow of itself, in danger of becoming a ghost village dotting the mountains of Uttarakhand.
Traditionally, Rongpas, commonly known as the Bhotiya tribe, were traders, weavers, herders and farmers. Before 1962, the trade season used to last for five months after the snow melted. The traders would return from the border passes just before the onset of winter, and vacate their villages to move to the plains below.
Located in the Nandadevi Biosphere Reserve, Niti village makes for a perfect tourist destination with its snow-capped mountains, streams and ancient temples. But it is not a tourist destination.
But who will come here? There are no proper roads and the existing path is dangerous. There is no mobile phone connectivity. There are no hospitals, hotels or petrol bunks, says local resident Ashish Rana.
In fact, the villagers are dependent on one satellite phone for which they are charged Rs 6 per call.
The government wants us to stay here but has never given us even basic facilities.
How are we to survive here? We were happy when the government declared this place as a tourist destination. They spoke about tourism-based jobs for the youth and assured they would promote homestays. But then tourists require inner line permits to reach here and the process takes at least four to five days and is not easy. Which tourist will like to get into these hassles, says Ashish.
Although the Centre allocates funds running into the hundreds of crores for Border Area Development, nothing has reached Niti village so far, except electricity. The villagers are miffed with the local authorities for denying people entry to places like Parvati Kund along the border where a temple is located.
''We are local villagers, why should we need permit in our own area? wonders S S Rana, a Niti resident.
Transportation is always a problem here. No state transport bus plies up here and the locals are forced to take shared taxis, which can be a life-threatening experience. ''Taxis here stuff people in the vehicle. There are people seated on the top, some hanging. The administration does not want over-crowding of vehicles but at the same time does nothing for transportation,'' says Rana.
Official sources say that in case more people migrate from Niti, hardly 26 km from the LAC, it can pose another major problem for the local administration. ''If the area is uninhabited for long, there is always a chance of China making territorial claims on this village as well. As far as their demands are concerned, the state government is doing everything possible including declaring it as a tourist destination. Roads will be improved. But as far the permits are concerned, the Centre has to take a call on such matters,'' an official in the local administration, requesting anonymity, said.
NITI: Nomi Devi's face lights up as she recalls the good old days when Niti used to be bustling with activity. Traders from the Indian side used to meet traders from south Tibet at Niti pass, located at a height of 5,800 m. The trade was barter: salt, kidney beans, potatoes, peas, ghee exchanged for meat, wool and milk. And then there would be pilgrims to Kailash Mansarovar. Niti, just three days away, was an overnight stop for them This was a flourishing area and people were prospering, says Nomi Devi. The1962 war stopped all that. The borders were sealed and trade and pilgrimage were shut. So now Niti, once a thriving village of 450 families, is down to 70 people -- most of them above 60 years of age. The people remaining behind have been petitioning the administration for help with agriculture and livelihood, but few officials ever bother to turn up, unless it is an occasion like the Doklam standoff. And Niti is now a shadow of itself, in danger of becoming a ghost village dotting the mountains of Uttarakhand. Traditionally, Rongpas, commonly known as the Bhotiya tribe, were traders, weavers, herders and farmers. Before 1962, the trade season used to last for five months after the snow melted. The traders would return from the border passes just before the onset of winter, and vacate their villages to move to the plains below. Located in the Nandadevi Biosphere Reserve, Niti village makes for a perfect tourist destination with its snow-capped mountains, streams and ancient temples. But it is not a tourist destination. But who will come here? There are no proper roads and the existing path is dangerous. There is no mobile phone connectivity. There are no hospitals, hotels or petrol bunks, says local resident Ashish Rana. In fact, the villagers are dependent on one satellite phone for which they are charged Rs 6 per call. The government wants us to stay here but has never given us even basic facilities. How are we to survive here? We were happy when the government declared this place as a tourist destination. They spoke about tourism-based jobs for the youth and assured they would promote homestays. But then tourists require inner line permits to reach here and the process takes at least four to five days and is not easy. Which tourist will like to get into these hassles, says Ashish. Although the Centre allocates funds running into the hundreds of crores for Border Area Development, nothing has reached Niti village so far, except electricity. The villagers are miffed with the local authorities for denying people entry to places like Parvati Kund along the border where a temple is located. ''We are local villagers, why should we need permit in our own area? wonders S S Rana, a Niti resident. Transportation is always a problem here. No state transport bus plies up here and the locals are forced to take shared taxis, which can be a life-threatening experience. ''Taxis here stuff people in the vehicle. There are people seated on the top, some hanging. The administration does not want over-crowding of vehicles but at the same time does nothing for transportation,'' says Rana. Official sources say that in case more people migrate from Niti, hardly 26 km from the LAC, it can pose another major problem for the local administration. ''If the area is uninhabited for long, there is always a chance of China making territorial claims on this village as well. As far as their demands are concerned, the state government is doing everything possible including declaring it as a tourist destination. Roads will be improved. But as far the permits are concerned, the Centre has to take a call on such matters,'' an official in the local administration, requesting anonymity, said.
By Express News Service
NEW DELHI: THE Supreme Court Monday directed the chief justice of the Allahabad High Court to nominate two additional district judges within 10 days as observers to deal with the upkeep and maintenance of the disputed Ram Janmbhoomi-Babri Masjid site in Ayodhya.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra passed the order after senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the Allahabad High Court, placed before the bench, a list of additional district judges of six districts Faizabad, Basti, Gonda, Barabanki, Sultanpur and Ambedkar Nagar adjoining the disputed site and requested the bench to select replacement for earlier observers.
As the list is long, we think it appropriate that chief justice of the Allahabad High Court shall nominate two persons from the cadre of additional district judges or special judges keeping in view the nature and tenor of the earlier orders passed in this case, the bench said.
During the hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for one of the parties, objected to the change in observers who were appointed in 2003 as they have been dealing with the issue since then. Sibal said, Why should the court change them when they are here for 14 years? This is a very sensitive matter. Brushing aside Sibals submission, the bench said, One of them has been elevated as a high court judge. It is not proper that a high court judge is asked to go there and observe all the things. We cant ask a high court judge to do this and the other has demitted office after retirement, the bench said.
The court had on August 11 said it would commence the final hearing in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute from December 5, a day ahead of the 25th anniversary of the demolition of the medieval-era structure.
NEW DELHI: THE Supreme Court Monday directed the chief justice of the Allahabad High Court to nominate two additional district judges within 10 days as observers to deal with the upkeep and maintenance of the disputed Ram Janmbhoomi-Babri Masjid site in Ayodhya. A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra passed the order after senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the Allahabad High Court, placed before the bench, a list of additional district judges of six districts Faizabad, Basti, Gonda, Barabanki, Sultanpur and Ambedkar Nagar adjoining the disputed site and requested the bench to select replacement for earlier observers. As the list is long, we think it appropriate that chief justice of the Allahabad High Court shall nominate two persons from the cadre of additional district judges or special judges keeping in view the nature and tenor of the earlier orders passed in this case, the bench said. During the hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for one of the parties, objected to the change in observers who were appointed in 2003 as they have been dealing with the issue since then. Sibal said, Why should the court change them when they are here for 14 years? This is a very sensitive matter. Brushing aside Sibals submission, the bench said, One of them has been elevated as a high court judge. It is not proper that a high court judge is asked to go there and observe all the things. We cant ask a high court judge to do this and the other has demitted office after retirement, the bench said. The court had on August 11 said it would commence the final hearing in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute from December 5, a day ahead of the 25th anniversary of the demolition of the medieval-era structure.
Express News Service
NEW DELHI: In a setback to Indian armys artillery program, barrel of the US manufactured M777 Howitzer gun exploded during ongoing calibration trials of ranging gun with Indian ammunition. Army sources claimed there were no injuries. The incident happened at the army's Pokharan Field Firing Ranges.
In May, Indian Army had got two 155mm/39 caliber ultra light howitzers (ULH) from BAE Systems after a Rs 2,900-crore deal, which was a government-to-government deal under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route, was completed in November last year. The Army has not inducted any modern artillery gun after the Swedish Bofors guns were inducted in the late 1980s.
According to army sources, barrel explosion happened last week, when the US manufactured gun was firing Indian ammunition and field firing was aimed at compilation of firing tables.
The barrel of the gun has been damaged, the extent of which is being assessed by Joint Investigation Team, which is on the site. There has been no injury to any person, said army sources. Further firing for compilation of FT (firing table) shall recommence on analysis of the Joint Investigation Team, army sources claim.
Guns manufacturer BAE systems stated in its statement BAE Systems is aware of an irregularity recorded during routine field firing of the M777 Ultra-Light Howitzer gun. We can confirm that there were no injuries and all personnel on-site are safe. We are working closely with the Indian Army and the US Government to explore the incident. The company stands ready to provide assistance as required.
Having initiated the deal for M777 guns with the United States in 2010, the government finally announced a deal for 145 guns on June 26 last year. The first two guns had come in May and next lot of three more guns is expected to arrive by the end of this month. The complete induction will happen by 2019.
India will join US, Canadian and Australian forces to use M777 howitzers. According to an army official, the M777 is very useful for mountain warfare, especially for the newly created Mountain Strike Corps for the Sino-Indian border. Army's 220 artillery regiments have received no new artillery since the 1980s, when the FH-77B, 155 mm/39 calibre Bofors gun was bought. Mired with the allegations of kickbacks, only 400 Bofors guns were delivered and rest of the contract could not be completed. Significantly, Bofors guns played a key role in Kargil operation in 1999 against Pakistani intruders.
NEW DELHI: In a setback to Indian armys artillery program, barrel of the US manufactured M777 Howitzer gun exploded during ongoing calibration trials of ranging gun with Indian ammunition. Army sources claimed there were no injuries. The incident happened at the army's Pokharan Field Firing Ranges. In May, Indian Army had got two 155mm/39 caliber ultra light howitzers (ULH) from BAE Systems after a Rs 2,900-crore deal, which was a government-to-government deal under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route, was completed in November last year. The Army has not inducted any modern artillery gun after the Swedish Bofors guns were inducted in the late 1980s. According to army sources, barrel explosion happened last week, when the US manufactured gun was firing Indian ammunition and field firing was aimed at compilation of firing tables. The barrel of the gun has been damaged, the extent of which is being assessed by Joint Investigation Team, which is on the site. There has been no injury to any person, said army sources. Further firing for compilation of FT (firing table) shall recommence on analysis of the Joint Investigation Team, army sources claim. Guns manufacturer BAE systems stated in its statement BAE Systems is aware of an irregularity recorded during routine field firing of the M777 Ultra-Light Howitzer gun. We can confirm that there were no injuries and all personnel on-site are safe. We are working closely with the Indian Army and the US Government to explore the incident. The company stands ready to provide assistance as required. Having initiated the deal for M777 guns with the United States in 2010, the government finally announced a deal for 145 guns on June 26 last year. The first two guns had come in May and next lot of three more guns is expected to arrive by the end of this month. The complete induction will happen by 2019. India will join US, Canadian and Australian forces to use M777 howitzers. According to an army official, the M777 is very useful for mountain warfare, especially for the newly created Mountain Strike Corps for the Sino-Indian border. Army's 220 artillery regiments have received no new artillery since the 1980s, when the FH-77B, 155 mm/39 calibre Bofors gun was bought. Mired with the allegations of kickbacks, only 400 Bofors guns were delivered and rest of the contract could not be completed. Significantly, Bofors guns played a key role in Kargil operation in 1999 against Pakistani intruders.
By Express News Service
NEW DELHI: With recent incidents of children abused in schools and latest being the murder of a 7-year-old boy in Gurugram, Centre has convened a meeting of the child rights body, educational bodies like CBSE to formulate a set of guidelines which schools must follow to protect children from any kind of abuse.
Union Ministers of Women & Child Development Maneka Gandhi and Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar will hold a high-level meeting on the issue Wednesday.
The meeting will be attended by officials from the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan.
Gandhi also spoke to Javadekar about the issue requested him to consider suggestions like having women employees as the support staff and bus drivers, conductors in the schools and having strict norms for employing the support staff.
She also called for screening of educational films on child sexual abuse in the schools, popularizing POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) e-Box and Childline 1098 through NCERT publications. The minister has also sent a detailed letter to HRD minister suggesting possible measures for protection of children in schools.
The basic objective of the meeting of the two ministries is to develop a set of guidelines and protocols which schools must follow so that the children remain protected from any kind of abuse or physical/ mental harm, said Gandhi.
The WCD Minister further stated that the parents, guardians and teachers should remain vigilant about the children as well as their behavior and any suspected situation should be reported immediately on the Childline No.1098 and the POCSO e-Box.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development has already started its outreach campaign for protection of children through electronic as well as social media.
The murder of a 7-year-old boy in Ryan International School, Gurugram by a bus conductor and a 5-year-old girl raped by peon in a Delhi school has raised serious concerns over safety of children in schools.
NEW DELHI: With recent incidents of children abused in schools and latest being the murder of a 7-year-old boy in Gurugram, Centre has convened a meeting of the child rights body, educational bodies like CBSE to formulate a set of guidelines which schools must follow to protect children from any kind of abuse. Union Ministers of Women & Child Development Maneka Gandhi and Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar will hold a high-level meeting on the issue Wednesday. The meeting will be attended by officials from the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan. Gandhi also spoke to Javadekar about the issue requested him to consider suggestions like having women employees as the support staff and bus drivers, conductors in the schools and having strict norms for employing the support staff. She also called for screening of educational films on child sexual abuse in the schools, popularizing POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) e-Box and Childline 1098 through NCERT publications. The minister has also sent a detailed letter to HRD minister suggesting possible measures for protection of children in schools. The basic objective of the meeting of the two ministries is to develop a set of guidelines and protocols which schools must follow so that the children remain protected from any kind of abuse or physical/ mental harm, said Gandhi. The WCD Minister further stated that the parents, guardians and teachers should remain vigilant about the children as well as their behavior and any suspected situation should be reported immediately on the Childline No.1098 and the POCSO e-Box. The Ministry of Women and Child Development has already started its outreach campaign for protection of children through electronic as well as social media. The murder of a 7-year-old boy in Ryan International School, Gurugram by a bus conductor and a 5-year-old girl raped by peon in a Delhi school has raised serious concerns over safety of children in schools.
By PTI
MUMBAI: A team of Gurgaon Police arrived in the Maharashtra capital today in connection with its probe
into the brutal killing of a 7-year-old student on the campus of Ryan International School in Haryana last week.
The school is headquartered in suburban Kandivli here.The team is likely to question the school management in connection with the incident, an official said.
However, he refused to divulge whether the team visited the school in the suburb.
In a related development, the Ryan International School has issued a statement saying they were completely cooperating with the investigating authorities on a day when founders of Ryan International Group and their CEO son Ryan Pinto moved the Bombay High Court seeking anticipatory bail.
"The Gurgaon Police team has been sent to Mumbai in connection with the investigation. We reached here this morning," a Gurgaon Police official said without elaborating.
Meanwhile, the Mumbai Police have denied knowledge about the presence of the Gurgaon Police in the city."We have not received any information from the Gurgaon Police about their presence in Mumbai. We are not aware of any such development," a senior Mumbai Police official said.
The school, meanwhile, said it was a "victim" of unfortunate circumstances."As the investigations are ongoing, we request all parties concerned and parents to refrain from holding Ryan School culpable of a crime where it is itself a victim of unfortunate circumstances.
"We will not succumb to the various false allegations being made nor will we fuel the controversies being spread. We should not unjustly be blamed or branded as the perpetrators.The investigation report should be out soon and all parties concerned need to wait until then. We request the public to refrain from turning violent and to let the police do their work," it said in a statement issued tonight.
Stating that the school has "total faith in the law", it said, "We hope that the investigations will be
concluded soon, and the guilty get the severest punishment as per the due process of law".
The Gurgaon Police have arrested two top officials of the Ryan International School and detained the acting principal for questioning in connection with the murder, even as the victim's father moved the Supreme Court seeking a CBI probe.
School bus conductor Ashok Kumar, who allegedly tried to sexually assault the class II student in a toilet and slit his throat with a knife when he resisted, on Friday, has been arrested.
MUMBAI: A team of Gurgaon Police arrived in the Maharashtra capital today in connection with its probe into the brutal killing of a 7-year-old student on the campus of Ryan International School in Haryana last week. The school is headquartered in suburban Kandivli here.The team is likely to question the school management in connection with the incident, an official said. However, he refused to divulge whether the team visited the school in the suburb. In a related development, the Ryan International School has issued a statement saying they were completely cooperating with the investigating authorities on a day when founders of Ryan International Group and their CEO son Ryan Pinto moved the Bombay High Court seeking anticipatory bail. "The Gurgaon Police team has been sent to Mumbai in connection with the investigation. We reached here this morning," a Gurgaon Police official said without elaborating. Meanwhile, the Mumbai Police have denied knowledge about the presence of the Gurgaon Police in the city."We have not received any information from the Gurgaon Police about their presence in Mumbai. We are not aware of any such development," a senior Mumbai Police official said. The school, meanwhile, said it was a "victim" of unfortunate circumstances."As the investigations are ongoing, we request all parties concerned and parents to refrain from holding Ryan School culpable of a crime where it is itself a victim of unfortunate circumstances. "We will not succumb to the various false allegations being made nor will we fuel the controversies being spread. We should not unjustly be blamed or branded as the perpetrators.The investigation report should be out soon and all parties concerned need to wait until then. We request the public to refrain from turning violent and to let the police do their work," it said in a statement issued tonight. Stating that the school has "total faith in the law", it said, "We hope that the investigations will be concluded soon, and the guilty get the severest punishment as per the due process of law". The Gurgaon Police have arrested two top officials of the Ryan International School and detained the acting principal for questioning in connection with the murder, even as the victim's father moved the Supreme Court seeking a CBI probe. School bus conductor Ashok Kumar, who allegedly tried to sexually assault the class II student in a toilet and slit his throat with a knife when he resisted, on Friday, has been arrested.
By IANS
IMPHAL: Over 40 migrants of "suspicious nationality" were detained in Manipur as police and civil society organisations stepped up vigil along the state border to check influx of displaced Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar, police said.
Of the 46 detained, pending inquiries, many were children as young as nine-years-old.
The civil society groups rounded up the labourers who were sneaking into Manipur through Jiribam district. They were handed over to the police on Monday night.
During preliminary interrogation the detainees said they were from Assam and Bihar and were mostly construction workers. However, they did not possess identity papers and some of them had "fake" identity cards.
Meanwhile the Kangleipak Students Association (KSA) said that at least 66 non-locals have filed nomination papers for the October 7 panchayat elections in Manipur. Most of the nomination papers were filed in Jiribam district.
KSA President M. Laksham said: "The popular demand is that non-locals should not take part in the state elections. It will be better if they withdraw their nomination papers."
Laksham said: "The government had assured the KSA delegates that an all- party meeting on the popular demand would be convened. Besides, identification of the non-locals from the voters' list shall be completed within three months. It is unfortunate that the government has not kept its word."
There has been a campaign for the implementation of the Inner Line Permit system in Manipur which was withdrawn in 1950. This system has been in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland. During the campaign ten persons had died.
The three bills passed by the Manipur Assembly in this connection were not given the presidential assent.
IMPHAL: Over 40 migrants of "suspicious nationality" were detained in Manipur as police and civil society organisations stepped up vigil along the state border to check influx of displaced Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar, police said. Of the 46 detained, pending inquiries, many were children as young as nine-years-old. The civil society groups rounded up the labourers who were sneaking into Manipur through Jiribam district. They were handed over to the police on Monday night. During preliminary interrogation the detainees said they were from Assam and Bihar and were mostly construction workers. However, they did not possess identity papers and some of them had "fake" identity cards. Meanwhile the Kangleipak Students Association (KSA) said that at least 66 non-locals have filed nomination papers for the October 7 panchayat elections in Manipur. Most of the nomination papers were filed in Jiribam district. KSA President M. Laksham said: "The popular demand is that non-locals should not take part in the state elections. It will be better if they withdraw their nomination papers." Laksham said: "The government had assured the KSA delegates that an all- party meeting on the popular demand would be convened. Besides, identification of the non-locals from the voters' list shall be completed within three months. It is unfortunate that the government has not kept its word." There has been a campaign for the implementation of the Inner Line Permit system in Manipur which was withdrawn in 1950. This system has been in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland. During the campaign ten persons had died. The three bills passed by the Manipur Assembly in this connection were not given the presidential assent.
By PTI
JAMMU: Pakistan is not showing interest in improving relations with India, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said, pointing to the regular violation of ceasefire by the neighbour in Jammu and Kashmir.
"Pakistan is regularly resorting to ceasefire violations and because of this, I feel Pakistan is not showing interest in improving relations with India," Singh told a press conference here.
The minister is on a four-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir since September 9.
"Our Army and BSF troops are giving a befitting reply.
We will create such conditions that they (Pakistan) will be forced to stop ceasefire violation today or tomorrow," the minister said.
Apart from holding security review meetings, Singh met delegations from various sections in Srinagar summer capital before beginning his visit to Jammu region, where he continued with his interactions.
Singh was also briefed about the latest equipment being inducted by the BSF.
"Since 2014, Pakistan has resorted to over 400 ceasefire violations every year. This has to be stopped by Pakistan," the minister said.
He was flanked by Union Minister Jitendra Singh and Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh.
The Union home minister reached out to the the people who were living along the Line of Control but were forced to shun their homes and hearths and take shelter in camps in Noushera sector of Rajouri district for over four months.
The Home Minister said that the country is proud of the border dwellers and they are a "strategic asset" for India.
"If there is any biggest strategic asset of India, it is the Indian citizens living along the borders of the country.
It is the biggest strategic asset of India. If we get strategic successes, it is because of your contribution," he said.
The Union minister said the Centre has decided to set up an expert group to study the problems and challenges of the people living along the border.
"This expert group or study group will give its opinion and we will act on that," he said.
The minister said 60 bunkers have been built and a decision has been taken by the government to construct more bunkers.
The minister also hailed the troops of the Army and the BSF, and said the country is proud of them.
He said the border residents are undeterred by the ceasefire violations by Pakistan.
"They have also contributed to defending the borders.
This contribution cannot be forgotten," he said.
JAMMU: Pakistan is not showing interest in improving relations with India, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said, pointing to the regular violation of ceasefire by the neighbour in Jammu and Kashmir. "Pakistan is regularly resorting to ceasefire violations and because of this, I feel Pakistan is not showing interest in improving relations with India," Singh told a press conference here. The minister is on a four-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir since September 9. "Our Army and BSF troops are giving a befitting reply. We will create such conditions that they (Pakistan) will be forced to stop ceasefire violation today or tomorrow," the minister said. Apart from holding security review meetings, Singh met delegations from various sections in Srinagar summer capital before beginning his visit to Jammu region, where he continued with his interactions. Singh was also briefed about the latest equipment being inducted by the BSF. "Since 2014, Pakistan has resorted to over 400 ceasefire violations every year. This has to be stopped by Pakistan," the minister said. He was flanked by Union Minister Jitendra Singh and Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh. The Union home minister reached out to the the people who were living along the Line of Control but were forced to shun their homes and hearths and take shelter in camps in Noushera sector of Rajouri district for over four months. The Home Minister said that the country is proud of the border dwellers and they are a "strategic asset" for India. "If there is any biggest strategic asset of India, it is the Indian citizens living along the borders of the country. It is the biggest strategic asset of India. If we get strategic successes, it is because of your contribution," he said. The Union minister said the Centre has decided to set up an expert group to study the problems and challenges of the people living along the border. "This expert group or study group will give its opinion and we will act on that," he said. The minister said 60 bunkers have been built and a decision has been taken by the government to construct more bunkers. The minister also hailed the troops of the Army and the BSF, and said the country is proud of them. He said the border residents are undeterred by the ceasefire violations by Pakistan. "They have also contributed to defending the borders. This contribution cannot be forgotten," he said.
By PTI
MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government is planning to ban plastic carry bags after the Gudi Padwa (Maharashtrian New Year) next year, state environment minister Ramdas Kadam said today.
Gudi Padwa falls in March-April period.
In a statement issued after chairing a meeting in the state secretariat, Kadam said the government has sought proposals from several organisations on alternatives to plastic carry bags.
It is also proposed that Women's Self Help Groups (SHGs) should be given grants for making cloth bags, he said.
The issue of plastic waste was in the news during the recent floods in Mumbai. Several fact-finding reports on the July 26, 2005 deluge had blamed plastic bags for blocking storm-water drains in the city
MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government is planning to ban plastic carry bags after the Gudi Padwa (Maharashtrian New Year) next year, state environment minister Ramdas Kadam said today. Gudi Padwa falls in March-April period. In a statement issued after chairing a meeting in the state secretariat, Kadam said the government has sought proposals from several organisations on alternatives to plastic carry bags. It is also proposed that Women's Self Help Groups (SHGs) should be given grants for making cloth bags, he said. The issue of plastic waste was in the news during the recent floods in Mumbai. Several fact-finding reports on the July 26, 2005 deluge had blamed plastic bags for blocking storm-water drains in the city
Valson Thampu By
Some two decades ago, I was approached by the management of a Christian college in Kerala to be its principal. I was told that there was none within the institution who fitted the bill. Being urged repeatedly, I felt inclined to help. I said to the intermediary, Sure, Ill come. But, there is one condition: no one shall interfere with appointments and admissions. All importunities stopped at once. The proposal vanished like a plume of smoke in the burst of a gust.
Why did I put forward this condition? I had been hearing angry denunciations that minority educational institutions, barring rare exceptions, were reeking with corruption. Posts and seats were being sold to those who could buy them at handsome prices. As one who stood and fought valorously for minority rights all my life, I felt betrayed and indignant.
Over the years the problem has got worse. It seems now to be the case that educational institutions are run by many a Christian denomination in Kerala largely for the huge unaccounted income they generate. It does not have to be argued that money extracted illicitly from candidates will not show up in audited statement of accounts! Of course, not every minority institution is corrupt; but it is certainly the case that many are. None should be.
The venality of selling posts for pelf upsets me as an educationist. Inasmuch as the educational cannot be isolated from the ethical, it is also an ethical issue; and should be so, for all who care for education. This is the most insurmountable hindrance in the path of pursuing excellence, especially in higher education. Institutions cannot be Christian without a passionate commitment to this goal. Minority rights are conferred on religious minorities in order that they may preserve their religious culture in the larger interest. It is a terrible disservice to the biblical faith, to the community, and to the country at large to corrupt this unique provision with greed. No one shall convince me that the right to practice corruption is basic to preserving the biblical faith, or that the interest of the community can be served through such malfeasance.
Kerala was a pioneer in education in the history of modern education in India. But the standard of education in the state has sunk so low that aspiring students seek educational asylum outside Kerala, as I had to do four decades ago. I regard myself as an educational refugee. Why did I have to be, when I could ill-afford it? I have been crying hoarse that minority educational rights are a sacred trust that the Constitution reposes in minority communities. By abusing them, the communities concerned activate the logic for their annulment. A community that proves itself to be a poor custodian of a special right will, and must, forfeit it. The Constitution of India envisages no right to corruption. The courts have warned repeatedly, the right to administer is not the right to maladminister. Education is a spiritual enterprise. Subtlety is the hallmark of the spiritual. A small thing can have disproportionate effect in this sphere. The utterance of a single lie becomes a nightmare for those who are spiritually sensitive. The horrendously devastating effect of corruption on education needs to be called out.
Corruption kills work culture. It does not have to be argued that those who buy teaching jobs at exorbitant prices will lose all motivation to do their work conscientiously or in a responsible fashion. The awareness of having bribed ones way into the sanctuary of education, makes such infiltrators an uneasy presence, a ponderous liability, in the learning environment. They linger in institutions, mostly to recover the investments made.
Second, corruption institutionalises mediocrity. Why would the meritorious pay humongous amounts underhand to secure moderately salaried jobs? The dangers of the mediocre trespassing into education needs to be grasped in all its gravity. For one thing, the mediocre will stay mediocre, lifelong. It is a case of life-long non-learning. For another, the mediocre vitiate the learning environment with dullness and negativity. This they do both by being a useless baggage and by blighting whatever sprigs of promise there might be of a normative approach to education, by dint of institutional politics and inter-personal squabbles. It does not take many such characters to overburden the educational milieu with an allergy to work. One or two will do. But we have now a sizeable crop of such pseudo-teachers in most educational institutions. There are, I must emphasise, exceptions to this general run of things.
Corruption frustrates nation-building, especially by crippling character-building. We need to worry as to what happens to our children when they are exposed to such influences. Imagine dunces and dullards who sneaked into institutions being in charge of the character-formation of your children!
Members of minority communities need to wake up to the gross disservice being done daily to them and to their faiths by those who misappropriate and misuse minority rights for converting education into a cesspool of corruption. The blame of it will not fall on those who thrive on this fraud, but on the innocent members of these communities, who have nothing at all to do with it. Even otherwise, shouldnt they be concerned about the standard of education available to their children, and the influences to which they are exposed?
Given the massive metastasis of this malady, nothing sort of an uncompromising war against corruption is required, if the situation is to be salvaged. This is eminently do-able, if only the members of the community would care to take a stand and protect their own image in the public eye. It is an agenda that can wait no more.
Valson Thampu
Former principal of St Stephens College, New Delhi
Email: vthampu@gmail.com
Some two decades ago, I was approached by the management of a Christian college in Kerala to be its principal. I was told that there was none within the institution who fitted the bill. Being urged repeatedly, I felt inclined to help. I said to the intermediary, Sure, Ill come. But, there is one condition: no one shall interfere with appointments and admissions. All importunities stopped at once. The proposal vanished like a plume of smoke in the burst of a gust. Why did I put forward this condition? I had been hearing angry denunciations that minority educational institutions, barring rare exceptions, were reeking with corruption. Posts and seats were being sold to those who could buy them at handsome prices. As one who stood and fought valorously for minority rights all my life, I felt betrayed and indignant. Over the years the problem has got worse. It seems now to be the case that educational institutions are run by many a Christian denomination in Kerala largely for the huge unaccounted income they generate. It does not have to be argued that money extracted illicitly from candidates will not show up in audited statement of accounts! Of course, not every minority institution is corrupt; but it is certainly the case that many are. None should be. The venality of selling posts for pelf upsets me as an educationist. Inasmuch as the educational cannot be isolated from the ethical, it is also an ethical issue; and should be so, for all who care for education. This is the most insurmountable hindrance in the path of pursuing excellence, especially in higher education. Institutions cannot be Christian without a passionate commitment to this goal. Minority rights are conferred on religious minorities in order that they may preserve their religious culture in the larger interest. It is a terrible disservice to the biblical faith, to the community, and to the country at large to corrupt this unique provision with greed. No one shall convince me that the right to practice corruption is basic to preserving the biblical faith, or that the interest of the community can be served through such malfeasance. Kerala was a pioneer in education in the history of modern education in India. But the standard of education in the state has sunk so low that aspiring students seek educational asylum outside Kerala, as I had to do four decades ago. I regard myself as an educational refugee. Why did I have to be, when I could ill-afford it? I have been crying hoarse that minority educational rights are a sacred trust that the Constitution reposes in minority communities. By abusing them, the communities concerned activate the logic for their annulment. A community that proves itself to be a poor custodian of a special right will, and must, forfeit it. The Constitution of India envisages no right to corruption. The courts have warned repeatedly, the right to administer is not the right to maladminister. Education is a spiritual enterprise. Subtlety is the hallmark of the spiritual. A small thing can have disproportionate effect in this sphere. The utterance of a single lie becomes a nightmare for those who are spiritually sensitive. The horrendously devastating effect of corruption on education needs to be called out. Corruption kills work culture. It does not have to be argued that those who buy teaching jobs at exorbitant prices will lose all motivation to do their work conscientiously or in a responsible fashion. The awareness of having bribed ones way into the sanctuary of education, makes such infiltrators an uneasy presence, a ponderous liability, in the learning environment. They linger in institutions, mostly to recover the investments made. Second, corruption institutionalises mediocrity. Why would the meritorious pay humongous amounts underhand to secure moderately salaried jobs? The dangers of the mediocre trespassing into education needs to be grasped in all its gravity. For one thing, the mediocre will stay mediocre, lifelong. It is a case of life-long non-learning. For another, the mediocre vitiate the learning environment with dullness and negativity. This they do both by being a useless baggage and by blighting whatever sprigs of promise there might be of a normative approach to education, by dint of institutional politics and inter-personal squabbles. It does not take many such characters to overburden the educational milieu with an allergy to work. One or two will do. But we have now a sizeable crop of such pseudo-teachers in most educational institutions. There are, I must emphasise, exceptions to this general run of things. Corruption frustrates nation-building, especially by crippling character-building. We need to worry as to what happens to our children when they are exposed to such influences. Imagine dunces and dullards who sneaked into institutions being in charge of the character-formation of your children! Members of minority communities need to wake up to the gross disservice being done daily to them and to their faiths by those who misappropriate and misuse minority rights for converting education into a cesspool of corruption. The blame of it will not fall on those who thrive on this fraud, but on the innocent members of these communities, who have nothing at all to do with it. Even otherwise, shouldnt they be concerned about the standard of education available to their children, and the influences to which they are exposed? Given the massive metastasis of this malady, nothing sort of an uncompromising war against corruption is required, if the situation is to be salvaged. This is eminently do-able, if only the members of the community would care to take a stand and protect their own image in the public eye. It is an agenda that can wait no more. Valson Thampu Former principal of St Stephens College, New Delhi Email: vthampu@gmail.com
By PTI
HYDERABAD: A second-year intermediate student, who went missing from her residence in Hyderabad three days ago, was found dead in neighbouring Sangareddy district of Telangana. Police said the youngster might have been murdered and her body thrown in the rocky terrain on the outskirts of Ameenpur.
The 17-year-old was a resident of Kukatpally in the city and had been living with her relatives in Miyapur. On September 9, the girl told her sister that she would be visiting her friend in a nearby locality and left home around 5.30 pm. After an hour, the family members tried to contact her but her mobile phone was switched off. They contacted all her friends but they could not trace her. The family then lodged a missing case with Cyberabad police.
Late last night, locals found the body of a girl in the rocky terrains of Ameenpur and police were informed. This morning, all neighbouring police stations were alerted and the body was then identified as that of the missing girl from Miyapur.
The girl's parents, who run a cloth business in Hyderabad, identified the body of that of their daughter. Meanwhile, police and forensic doctors at the Gandhi General Hospital in the city said the victim bore injuries on her cheek, face and legs.
Cyberabad police have examined surveillance camera visuals and found that the girl, along with a boy, was found talking to an auto driver at Miyapur. Police suspect the girl might have been murdered there and her body dumped in Ameenpur. It is as yet unclear whether any attempt was made to sexually assault the girl, police said.
HYDERABAD: A second-year intermediate student, who went missing from her residence in Hyderabad three days ago, was found dead in neighbouring Sangareddy district of Telangana. Police said the youngster might have been murdered and her body thrown in the rocky terrain on the outskirts of Ameenpur. The 17-year-old was a resident of Kukatpally in the city and had been living with her relatives in Miyapur. On September 9, the girl told her sister that she would be visiting her friend in a nearby locality and left home around 5.30 pm. After an hour, the family members tried to contact her but her mobile phone was switched off. They contacted all her friends but they could not trace her. The family then lodged a missing case with Cyberabad police. Late last night, locals found the body of a girl in the rocky terrains of Ameenpur and police were informed. This morning, all neighbouring police stations were alerted and the body was then identified as that of the missing girl from Miyapur. The girl's parents, who run a cloth business in Hyderabad, identified the body of that of their daughter. Meanwhile, police and forensic doctors at the Gandhi General Hospital in the city said the victim bore injuries on her cheek, face and legs. Cyberabad police have examined surveillance camera visuals and found that the girl, along with a boy, was found talking to an auto driver at Miyapur. Police suspect the girl might have been murdered there and her body dumped in Ameenpur. It is as yet unclear whether any attempt was made to sexually assault the girl, police said.
By AFP
TEKNAF: Sajeed Hassan is spending his school holidays volunteering in a kitchen that provides hot meals to Rohingya refugees, joining an army of ordinary Bangladeshis pitching in as aid agencies struggle to cope with an overwhelming tide of desperate civilians.
Some 370,000 refugees have flooded into Bangladesh in the last two and a half weeks fleeing violence in Myanmar, a Buddhist-majority country where the Muslim Rohingya minority has suffered decades of persecution.
Aid agencies have warned of an unfolding humanitarian crisis in predominantly Muslim Bangladesh, an impoverished nation of 160 million which is still reeling from devastating floods.
But ordinary citizens have turned out in droves to help their "Muslim brothers".
At the makeshift kitchen in his uncle's front yard near the border town of Teknaf, Hassan works alongside about a dozen volunteers packaging hot meals of rice and lentils, stirring bubbling cauldrons of meat stew over open fires.
"They are Muslims, and they are coming from another country, that's why we are helping," Hassan, 12, told AFP.
"They have come from far away, and they are suffering."
The Rohingya have centuries-old ties to the Chittagong region over the border in Bangladesh, and images on social media purportedly showing abuses against the Muslim minority have stoked immense sympathy here.
"Sometimes they come to my restaurant, eat, and then let us know they don't have any money," said Abdul Khalek at his simple roadside stall with a tarpaulin roof and mud floor.
"But I don't mind. It is a duty from a Muslim brother to another to help in distress."
Bangladesh already hosted at least 300,000 Rohingya refugees in squalid camps along its border with Myanmar before this latest influx, offering sanctuary for more than three decades to civilians fleeing violence and persecution in neighbouring Rakhine State.
But this fresh wave is unprecedented in its magnitude, pushing conditions at the camps to the absolute limit.
Charities are warning of an unfolding humanitarian crisis as Bangladesh pushes for a diplomatic solution to close the floodgates.
Prices soaring
At the congested market near Kutupalong refugee camp, where children bang on the windows of passing cars pleading for food, Bangladeshis are helping out with whatever meagre resources they have.
Some of these freelance relief efforts are shambolic, with tremendous crushes and children knocked down as donated supplies are tossed from moving trucks.
As the crisis enters its third week, patience is also running thin among some Bangladeshis living near the border, where many earn little.
Prices for food and other staples have soared in local markets, which have become choked with chronic traffic and large numbers of beggars.
Kuilla Mia, a tea seller working a street corner amid a chaotic swirl of refugees, said he had nothing to spare.
"I would like to give them a discount, but I cannot because the price of sugar is high," he told AFP.
Bangladesh -- which initially ordered border guards to turn back newcomers before the effort became futile -- has been praised for taking on the burden despite its own pressing challenges as one of the region's poorest countries.
The plight of the Rohingya, who are reviled and denied citizenship in Myanmar, has particularly roused emotion across the Islamic world.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina toured Kutupalong, one of the biggest camps, where she was seen consoling a young Rohingya boy.
"I can't hold back the tears in eyes as I look at this scene... Why should people suffer such pain?" she said, according to private news portal bdnews24.com.
Bangladeshi authorities have said they will register all new arrivals, setting up booths in the camps to collect fingerprints and family information.
Hasina wants the Rohingya returned to what she has labelled their "ancestral homeland" in Myanmar.
"Myanmar has created the problem and it will have to resolve it," she told parliament on Monday.
Dhaka has pointed to a deal with Yangon in 1992 that saw more than 236,000 Rohingya repatriated as "members of Myanmar society".
Mohammad Hussain, a lentil vendor, said he was giving away what he could, but Bangladeshis alone could not be expected to care for all the refugees.
"If aid doesn't arrive from abroad, then these people will be in serious danger," he told AFP.
But for young Hassan, the experience has been moving
"I feel great helping them, and I want to do more," he said.
TEKNAF: Sajeed Hassan is spending his school holidays volunteering in a kitchen that provides hot meals to Rohingya refugees, joining an army of ordinary Bangladeshis pitching in as aid agencies struggle to cope with an overwhelming tide of desperate civilians. Some 370,000 refugees have flooded into Bangladesh in the last two and a half weeks fleeing violence in Myanmar, a Buddhist-majority country where the Muslim Rohingya minority has suffered decades of persecution. Aid agencies have warned of an unfolding humanitarian crisis in predominantly Muslim Bangladesh, an impoverished nation of 160 million which is still reeling from devastating floods. But ordinary citizens have turned out in droves to help their "Muslim brothers". At the makeshift kitchen in his uncle's front yard near the border town of Teknaf, Hassan works alongside about a dozen volunteers packaging hot meals of rice and lentils, stirring bubbling cauldrons of meat stew over open fires. "They are Muslims, and they are coming from another country, that's why we are helping," Hassan, 12, told AFP. "They have come from far away, and they are suffering." The Rohingya have centuries-old ties to the Chittagong region over the border in Bangladesh, and images on social media purportedly showing abuses against the Muslim minority have stoked immense sympathy here. "Sometimes they come to my restaurant, eat, and then let us know they don't have any money," said Abdul Khalek at his simple roadside stall with a tarpaulin roof and mud floor. "But I don't mind. It is a duty from a Muslim brother to another to help in distress." Bangladesh already hosted at least 300,000 Rohingya refugees in squalid camps along its border with Myanmar before this latest influx, offering sanctuary for more than three decades to civilians fleeing violence and persecution in neighbouring Rakhine State. But this fresh wave is unprecedented in its magnitude, pushing conditions at the camps to the absolute limit. Charities are warning of an unfolding humanitarian crisis as Bangladesh pushes for a diplomatic solution to close the floodgates. Prices soaring At the congested market near Kutupalong refugee camp, where children bang on the windows of passing cars pleading for food, Bangladeshis are helping out with whatever meagre resources they have. Some of these freelance relief efforts are shambolic, with tremendous crushes and children knocked down as donated supplies are tossed from moving trucks. As the crisis enters its third week, patience is also running thin among some Bangladeshis living near the border, where many earn little. Prices for food and other staples have soared in local markets, which have become choked with chronic traffic and large numbers of beggars. Kuilla Mia, a tea seller working a street corner amid a chaotic swirl of refugees, said he had nothing to spare. "I would like to give them a discount, but I cannot because the price of sugar is high," he told AFP. Bangladesh -- which initially ordered border guards to turn back newcomers before the effort became futile -- has been praised for taking on the burden despite its own pressing challenges as one of the region's poorest countries. The plight of the Rohingya, who are reviled and denied citizenship in Myanmar, has particularly roused emotion across the Islamic world. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina toured Kutupalong, one of the biggest camps, where she was seen consoling a young Rohingya boy. "I can't hold back the tears in eyes as I look at this scene... Why should people suffer such pain?" she said, according to private news portal bdnews24.com. Bangladeshi authorities have said they will register all new arrivals, setting up booths in the camps to collect fingerprints and family information. Hasina wants the Rohingya returned to what she has labelled their "ancestral homeland" in Myanmar. "Myanmar has created the problem and it will have to resolve it," she told parliament on Monday. Dhaka has pointed to a deal with Yangon in 1992 that saw more than 236,000 Rohingya repatriated as "members of Myanmar society". Mohammad Hussain, a lentil vendor, said he was giving away what he could, but Bangladeshis alone could not be expected to care for all the refugees. "If aid doesn't arrive from abroad, then these people will be in serious danger," he told AFP. But for young Hassan, the experience has been moving "I feel great helping them, and I want to do more," he said.
Liu Xiaoming (middle), China's ambassador to the United Kingdom, joins models, seamstresses and organizers after the Weaving a Dream fashion show at the Chinese embassy in London on Monday. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]
The craft of seamstresses from Guizhou province in the Southwest of China was in the spotlight at a fashion show hosted at the Chinese embassy in London.
The 45 pieces of clothing at the Weaving a Dream event were a fusion of Western fashion and Eastern motifs inspired by traditional embroidery from the mountainous region.
The clothes were decorated with floral embroidery stitched by ethnic Buyi seamstresses.
The idea of showcasing the craftsmanship of the seamstresses came from Xia Hua, chairperson of China's Eve Group, and Barbara Judge, an American-British businesswoman and chairman of the Institute of Directors.
Xia and Judge established B&H, a project that aims to improve the lives of Chinese women in remote regions by supporting their handicraft.
"We can truly help these seamstresses to eventually change their lives," Xia said. "The most important reason for coming to the UK this time is that there are so many creative designers here, and I sincerely hope that they can cooperate with our embroiderers. The most important thing about taking Chinese culture overseas is that we can show our own beautiful products with our unique aesthetic attitudes, and such products should have commercial value."
Xia and Judge also hope to provide a platform for Sino-UK cultural exchanges and cooperation.
Judge said: "We can show the world that this culture, this craftsmanship, has been preserved over all these years, and we can make it a sustainable model so that we can support the ladies. People understand how beautiful Chinese art is, and how wonderful the history is, and how it is the right time to bring the UK and China closer together."
Liu Xiaoming, China's ambassador to the UK, said the fashion show offered a great opportunity to Chinese seamstresses to step out of the remote mountains where they live and to share their stories.
"The younger generation of seamstresses is working hard to keep the Buyi minority traditions alive, including unique embroidery techniques, folk crafts and costume-making They are here to demonstrate the beauty and appeal of their very unique culture," Liu said.
The ambassador said he believes the seamstresses dream represents the aspiration and efforts of the people of Western China to shake off poverty and build better lives.
"Guizhou is a relatively poor province in China," he said. "But this special skill can not only save our traditional crafts, but alleviate poverty. It's a win-win situation."
He added that the fact that the seamstresses are able to weave in London is a great accomplishment from the exchanges and mutual learning between Eastern and Western civilizations.
On Tuesday, Hu Pinghua, the wife of the Chinese ambassador, hosted an exhibition of traditional handicraft from the deep mountainous region at their residence to share the exquisite embroidery and remarkable story of the seamstresses with a group of British and Chinese guests.
Li Wensha in London contributed to this story.
By AFP
BUENOS AIRES: Benjamin Netanyahu urged all countries to fight terrorism and singled out Iran as a serial offender as he paid tribute to the victims of two bombings in Argentina on the first trip by an Israeli premier to Latin America.
Surrounded by heavy security, Netanyahu held a closed door meeting with members of Argentina's Jewish community, estimated to be Latin America's most numerous with 300,000 members.
He also participated in a ceremony to remember victims of bomb attacks at the Israeli embassy in 1992, and at a Jewish community center in 1994.
The embassy attack killed 29 and injured 220, while the community center blast left 85 dead and 300 injured.
Israel blamed the embassy attack on the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah. Argentine investigators accused five former Iranian officials of sponsoring Hezbollah's attack on the community center but Iran denied involvement.
"Iran is the one that was behind of the great attacks in Buenos Aires in the 90s and is the 'octopus of terror,' and also Hezbollah that is sending branches (of terror) around the world, arms to Latin America as well," Netanyahu said, according to a transcript provided by the Israeli embassy.
The Israeli leader, who arrived on Monday, said it is "an obligation for all countries of culture to fight against terrorism ... and in particular, against the Iranian terrorism system."
Israel "will continue to act resolutely to countering Iran's terror and terror in general" along with its partners in Latin America and in North America, he said.
DAIA, an umbrella organization for the country's Jewish community, welcomed the visit and said it represented a "rapprochement between Argentina and Israel."
But some relatives of victims of the 1994 bombing refused an invitation to the Netanyahu event.
"Netanyahu did not come to commemorate the attack, but to increase business," said Diana Malamud, who heads a group called Active Memory.
"In these 23 years (since the bombing) Israel has been an observer, like any other country," and did not honestly help "search for the truth" behind the attack, she said.
Argentina's 1980 Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel was also critical.
"Not only is he himself accused of committing crimes against humanity in the International Criminal Court for killing civilians, bombing schools, hospitals and Palestinian mosques, but he provides protection to a repressor of the last Argentine dictatorship," Perez Esquivel said.
Esquivel was referring to Israel's refusal to extradite Teodoro Anibal Gauto, accused of committing crimes against humanity during Argentina's 1976-1983 military dictatorship.
Pro-Palestinian and left-wing demonstrators plan to protest today, when the Israeli premier meets Argentine President Mauricio Macri and Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes.
BUENOS AIRES: Benjamin Netanyahu urged all countries to fight terrorism and singled out Iran as a serial offender as he paid tribute to the victims of two bombings in Argentina on the first trip by an Israeli premier to Latin America. Surrounded by heavy security, Netanyahu held a closed door meeting with members of Argentina's Jewish community, estimated to be Latin America's most numerous with 300,000 members. He also participated in a ceremony to remember victims of bomb attacks at the Israeli embassy in 1992, and at a Jewish community center in 1994. The embassy attack killed 29 and injured 220, while the community center blast left 85 dead and 300 injured. Israel blamed the embassy attack on the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah. Argentine investigators accused five former Iranian officials of sponsoring Hezbollah's attack on the community center but Iran denied involvement. "Iran is the one that was behind of the great attacks in Buenos Aires in the 90s and is the 'octopus of terror,' and also Hezbollah that is sending branches (of terror) around the world, arms to Latin America as well," Netanyahu said, according to a transcript provided by the Israeli embassy. The Israeli leader, who arrived on Monday, said it is "an obligation for all countries of culture to fight against terrorism ... and in particular, against the Iranian terrorism system." Israel "will continue to act resolutely to countering Iran's terror and terror in general" along with its partners in Latin America and in North America, he said. DAIA, an umbrella organization for the country's Jewish community, welcomed the visit and said it represented a "rapprochement between Argentina and Israel." But some relatives of victims of the 1994 bombing refused an invitation to the Netanyahu event. "Netanyahu did not come to commemorate the attack, but to increase business," said Diana Malamud, who heads a group called Active Memory. "In these 23 years (since the bombing) Israel has been an observer, like any other country," and did not honestly help "search for the truth" behind the attack, she said. Argentina's 1980 Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel was also critical. "Not only is he himself accused of committing crimes against humanity in the International Criminal Court for killing civilians, bombing schools, hospitals and Palestinian mosques, but he provides protection to a repressor of the last Argentine dictatorship," Perez Esquivel said. Esquivel was referring to Israel's refusal to extradite Teodoro Anibal Gauto, accused of committing crimes against humanity during Argentina's 1976-1983 military dictatorship. Pro-Palestinian and left-wing demonstrators plan to protest today, when the Israeli premier meets Argentine President Mauricio Macri and Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes.
By AFP
MUSCAT: Muscat has secured the release of an Indian priest who was abducted last year during a deadly attack by Islamist militants in Yemen, Oman's official news agency said on Tuesday.
Thomas Uzhunnalil had been held captive since March 2016, when jihadists attacked a care home operated by missionaries in the southern port city of Aden, killing 16 people including four nuns.
Uzhunnalil was pictured Tuesday wearing local traditional dress and with a flowing but tidy white beard grown while in captivity.
He appeared relatively healthy, standing tall before a portrait of Oman's Sultan Qaboos.
The news release said Omani authorities "coordinated with Yemeni parties" to free Uzhunnalil, described as a "Vatican employee", at the request of the sultan.
Happy to hear about the release of Father Tom (Kerala priest), it is learnt that Oman played a crucial role in his release: Kerala CM pic.twitter.com/lKWmqKZFaq ANI (@ANI) September 12, 2017
In video footage from Oman TV, Uzhunnalil is seen arriving in Muscat.
He disembarks from a Royal Air Force of Oman plane unaided, but struggles as he makes his way down the steps to the tarmac.
"I wish first and foremost to thank God almighty for this day," the priest said before thanking Sultan Qaboos and those who prayed for his release.
Uzhunnalil, who is in his mid-50s, last appeared in a video circulated online in December 2016, in which he appealed to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pope Francis to secure his freedom.
Yemeni authorities have blamed the Islamic State group for last year's attack. Al-Qaeda, which is also active in the area, distanced itself from the mass shooting, saying that it was not involved.
The internationally recognised government in war-torn Yemen is grappling with both an Iran-backed rebellion and a growing jihadist presence.
Al-Qaeda and IS have stepped up attacks in Aden, targeting mainly loyalists and members of a Saudi-led coalition battling Huthi rebels and their allies.
President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi has declared Aden to be Yemen's temporary capital since Sanaa was seized by the rebels in September 2014.
MUSCAT: Muscat has secured the release of an Indian priest who was abducted last year during a deadly attack by Islamist militants in Yemen, Oman's official news agency said on Tuesday. Thomas Uzhunnalil had been held captive since March 2016, when jihadists attacked a care home operated by missionaries in the southern port city of Aden, killing 16 people including four nuns. Uzhunnalil was pictured Tuesday wearing local traditional dress and with a flowing but tidy white beard grown while in captivity. He appeared relatively healthy, standing tall before a portrait of Oman's Sultan Qaboos. The news release said Omani authorities "coordinated with Yemeni parties" to free Uzhunnalil, described as a "Vatican employee", at the request of the sultan. Happy to hear about the release of Father Tom (Kerala priest), it is learnt that Oman played a crucial role in his release: Kerala CM pic.twitter.com/lKWmqKZFaq ANI (@ANI) September 12, 2017 In video footage from Oman TV, Uzhunnalil is seen arriving in Muscat. He disembarks from a Royal Air Force of Oman plane unaided, but struggles as he makes his way down the steps to the tarmac. "I wish first and foremost to thank God almighty for this day," the priest said before thanking Sultan Qaboos and those who prayed for his release. Uzhunnalil, who is in his mid-50s, last appeared in a video circulated online in December 2016, in which he appealed to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pope Francis to secure his freedom. Yemeni authorities have blamed the Islamic State group for last year's attack. Al-Qaeda, which is also active in the area, distanced itself from the mass shooting, saying that it was not involved. The internationally recognised government in war-torn Yemen is grappling with both an Iran-backed rebellion and a growing jihadist presence. Al-Qaeda and IS have stepped up attacks in Aden, targeting mainly loyalists and members of a Saudi-led coalition battling Huthi rebels and their allies. President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi has declared Aden to be Yemen's temporary capital since Sanaa was seized by the rebels in September 2014.
By AFP
BUENOS AIRES: Benjamin Netanyahu urged all countries to fight terrorism and singled out Iran as a serial offender as he paid tribute to the victims of two bombings in Argentina on the first trip by an Israeli premier to Latin America.
Surrounded by heavy security, Netanyahu held a closed-door meeting with members of Argentina's Jewish community, estimated to be Latin America's most numerous with 300,000 members.
He also participated in a ceremony to remember victims of bomb attacks at the Israeli embassy in 1992, and at a Jewish community center in 1994.
The embassy attack killed 29 and injured 220, while the community center blast left 85 dead and 300 injured.
Israel blamed the embassy attack on the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah. Argentine investigators accused five former Iranian officials of sponsoring Hezbollah's attack on the community center but Iran denied involvement.
"Iran is the one that was behind of the great attacks in Buenos Aires in the 90s and is the 'octopus of terror,' and also Hezbollah that is sending branches (of terror) around the world, arms to Latin America as well," Netanyahu said, according to a transcript provided by the Israeli embassy.
The Israeli leader, who arrived on Monday, said it is "an obligation for all countries of culture to fight against terrorism ... and in particular, against the Iranian terrorism system."
Israel "will continue to act resolutely to countering Iran's terror and terror in general" along with its partners in Latin America and in North America, he said.
Netanyahu's critics
DAIA, an umbrella organization for the country's Jewish community, welcomed the visit and said it represented a "rapprochement between Argentina and Israel."
But some relatives of victims of the 1994 bombing refused an invitation to the Netanyahu event.
"Netanyahu did not come to commemorate the attack, but to increase business," said Diana Malamud, who heads a group called Active Memory.
"In these 23 years (since the bombing) Israel has been an observer, like any other country," and did not honestly help "search for the truth" behind the attack, she said.
Argentina's 1980 Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel was also critical.
"Not only is he himself accused of committing crimes against humanity in the International Criminal Court for killing civilians, bombing schools, hospitals and Palestinian mosques, but he provides protection to a repressor of the last Argentine dictatorship," Perez Esquivel said.
Esquivel was referring to Israel's refusal to extradite Teodoro Anibal Gauto, accused of committing crimes against humanity during Argentina's 1976-1983 military dictatorship.
Protests planned
Pro-Palestinian and left-wing demonstrators plan to protest on Tuesday, when the Israeli premier meets Argentine President Mauricio Macri and Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes.
Israel is looking to expand its commercial ties with new regions and is seeking allies likely to vote in its favor at UN bodies, where it is regularly condemned over the occupation of Palestinian territories.
"There is a good opportunity to increase investment and trade," a senior official in the Argentine foreign ministry said.
Argentina will also make a statement regarding the transfer of some 140,000 World War II documents and photos to allow for further research on the Holocaust.
Following the two-day trip, Netanyahu will visit Colombia and Mexico before heading to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
BUENOS AIRES: Benjamin Netanyahu urged all countries to fight terrorism and singled out Iran as a serial offender as he paid tribute to the victims of two bombings in Argentina on the first trip by an Israeli premier to Latin America. Surrounded by heavy security, Netanyahu held a closed-door meeting with members of Argentina's Jewish community, estimated to be Latin America's most numerous with 300,000 members. He also participated in a ceremony to remember victims of bomb attacks at the Israeli embassy in 1992, and at a Jewish community center in 1994. The embassy attack killed 29 and injured 220, while the community center blast left 85 dead and 300 injured. Israel blamed the embassy attack on the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah. Argentine investigators accused five former Iranian officials of sponsoring Hezbollah's attack on the community center but Iran denied involvement. "Iran is the one that was behind of the great attacks in Buenos Aires in the 90s and is the 'octopus of terror,' and also Hezbollah that is sending branches (of terror) around the world, arms to Latin America as well," Netanyahu said, according to a transcript provided by the Israeli embassy. The Israeli leader, who arrived on Monday, said it is "an obligation for all countries of culture to fight against terrorism ... and in particular, against the Iranian terrorism system." Israel "will continue to act resolutely to countering Iran's terror and terror in general" along with its partners in Latin America and in North America, he said. Netanyahu's critics DAIA, an umbrella organization for the country's Jewish community, welcomed the visit and said it represented a "rapprochement between Argentina and Israel." But some relatives of victims of the 1994 bombing refused an invitation to the Netanyahu event. "Netanyahu did not come to commemorate the attack, but to increase business," said Diana Malamud, who heads a group called Active Memory. "In these 23 years (since the bombing) Israel has been an observer, like any other country," and did not honestly help "search for the truth" behind the attack, she said. Argentina's 1980 Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel was also critical. "Not only is he himself accused of committing crimes against humanity in the International Criminal Court for killing civilians, bombing schools, hospitals and Palestinian mosques, but he provides protection to a repressor of the last Argentine dictatorship," Perez Esquivel said. Esquivel was referring to Israel's refusal to extradite Teodoro Anibal Gauto, accused of committing crimes against humanity during Argentina's 1976-1983 military dictatorship. Protests planned Pro-Palestinian and left-wing demonstrators plan to protest on Tuesday, when the Israeli premier meets Argentine President Mauricio Macri and Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes. Israel is looking to expand its commercial ties with new regions and is seeking allies likely to vote in its favor at UN bodies, where it is regularly condemned over the occupation of Palestinian territories. "There is a good opportunity to increase investment and trade," a senior official in the Argentine foreign ministry said. Argentina will also make a statement regarding the transfer of some 140,000 World War II documents and photos to allow for further research on the Holocaust. Following the two-day trip, Netanyahu will visit Colombia and Mexico before heading to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
By IANS
RABAT: Morocco has sent humanitarian aid to support Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has said.
"The aid was sent upon directives from King Mohammed VI to support Bangladesh's efforts to cope with the massive influx of refugees from the Muslim minority of the Rohingyas who have fled Myanmar," the Ministry said in a statement on Monday.
The Moroccan aid supply includes tents, covers, basic food and medicines, the statement noted. Thousands of Rohingya have fled violence in Myanmar, seeking refuge in neighbouring Bangladesh.
According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), some 370,000 Rohingyas have crossed the border since violence began in August.
RABAT: Morocco has sent humanitarian aid to support Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has said. "The aid was sent upon directives from King Mohammed VI to support Bangladesh's efforts to cope with the massive influx of refugees from the Muslim minority of the Rohingyas who have fled Myanmar," the Ministry said in a statement on Monday. The Moroccan aid supply includes tents, covers, basic food and medicines, the statement noted. Thousands of Rohingya have fled violence in Myanmar, seeking refuge in neighbouring Bangladesh. According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), some 370,000 Rohingyas have crossed the border since violence began in August.
By AFP
GENEVA: North Korea Tuesday condemned "vicious" new UN sanctions imposed over its sixth and largest nuclear test, warning it would make the US "suffer the greatest pain" it has ever experienced.
The new sanctions imposed unanimously by the UN Security Council Monday ban North Korean textile exports and restrict shipments of oil products.
The resolution, passed after Washington toned down its original proposals to secure backing from China and Russia, came just one month after the council banned exports of coal, lead and seafood in response to the North's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
North Korea Tuesday categorically rejected the new measures, with UN ambassador Han Tae-Song saying in Geneva that the US had "fabricated the most vicious sanction resolution" and warning of retaliation.
"The forthcoming measures by DPRK (North Korea) will make the US suffer the greatest pain it has ever experienced in its history," he told a disarmament conference in the Swiss city.
US ambassador Nikki Haley said Monday at the UN the tough new measures were a message to Pyongyang that "the world will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea". But she also held out the prospect of a peaceful resolution to the crisis.
"We are not looking for war. The North Korean regime has not yet passed the point of no return," Haley told the Security Council, adding: "If North Korea continues its dangerous path, we will continue with further pressure. The choice is theirs."
During tough negotiations, the United States dropped initial demands for a full oil embargo and a freeze on the foreign assets of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.
The resolution instead bans trade in textiles, cuts off natural gas shipments to North Korea, places a ceiling on deliveries of refined oil products and caps crude oil shipments at current levels.
It bars countries from issuing new work permits to North Korean labourers sent abroad -- there are some 93,000, providing Kim's regime with a source of revenue to develop its missile and nuclear programmes, according to a US official familiar with the negotiations.
Under the measure, countries are authorised to inspect ships suspected of carrying banned North Korean cargo but must first seek the consent of the flag-state.
Joint ventures will be banned and the names of senior North Korean official and three entities were added to a UN sanctions blacklist that provides for an assets freeze and a global travel ban.
It was the eighth series of sanctions imposed on North Korea since it first tested a nuclear device in 2006.
'Concrete action'
South Korea welcomed the resolution while Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the sanctions were much stronger than earlier measures. He urged Pyongyang to take "concrete action" toward denuclearization.
The United States and its allies argue that tougher sanctions will pile pressure on Kim's regime to negotiate an end to its nuclear and missile tests.
Russia and China are pushing for talks with North Korea, but the US rejects their proposal for a freeze on Pyongyang's missile and nuclear tests in exchange for a suspension of US-South Korean military drills.
Chinese UN ambassador Liu Jieyi again called for talks "sooner rather than later".
China, North Korea's sole ally and main trading partner, had strongly objected to an oil embargo initially sought by the United States out of fear it would bring the North's economy to its knees.
Instead, annual crude oil supplies are capped at current levels -- China is believed to supply around four million barrels a year through a pipeline, while deliveries of refined oil products such as gasoline and diesel are limited to two million barrels a year.
That would amount to a 10 percent cut in oil products, according to the US Energy Information Administration, which estimates annual exports to North Korea at nearly 2.2 million barrels.
The US official said the ban on textile exports would deprive North Korea of some $726 million in annual revenue.
'Further provocations'
But analysts were sceptical about their impact.
North Korea has made rapid progress in its nuclear and missile programmes despite multiple sets of UN sanctions, and Go Myong-Hyun at the Asan Institute of Policy Studies said the latest measures were "not enough to cause pain".
Kim Hyun-Wook of Seoul's Korea National Diplomatic Academy, predicted: "The sanctions will only provide North Korea with an excuse for further provocations, such as an ICBM launch."
Washington has said military action remains an option in dealing with Pyongyang and has threatened to cut economic ties with countries that continue to trade with it.
North Korea says its weapons development is vital to stave off the threat of a US invasion.
Pyongyang has staged a series of missile tests in recent months that appeared to bring much of the US mainland into range.
It followed up with a sixth nuclear test on September 3, its largest to date, which it said was a miniaturised hydrogen bomb.
GENEVA: North Korea Tuesday condemned "vicious" new UN sanctions imposed over its sixth and largest nuclear test, warning it would make the US "suffer the greatest pain" it has ever experienced. The new sanctions imposed unanimously by the UN Security Council Monday ban North Korean textile exports and restrict shipments of oil products. The resolution, passed after Washington toned down its original proposals to secure backing from China and Russia, came just one month after the council banned exports of coal, lead and seafood in response to the North's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). North Korea Tuesday categorically rejected the new measures, with UN ambassador Han Tae-Song saying in Geneva that the US had "fabricated the most vicious sanction resolution" and warning of retaliation. "The forthcoming measures by DPRK (North Korea) will make the US suffer the greatest pain it has ever experienced in its history," he told a disarmament conference in the Swiss city. US ambassador Nikki Haley said Monday at the UN the tough new measures were a message to Pyongyang that "the world will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea". But she also held out the prospect of a peaceful resolution to the crisis. "We are not looking for war. The North Korean regime has not yet passed the point of no return," Haley told the Security Council, adding: "If North Korea continues its dangerous path, we will continue with further pressure. The choice is theirs." During tough negotiations, the United States dropped initial demands for a full oil embargo and a freeze on the foreign assets of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. The resolution instead bans trade in textiles, cuts off natural gas shipments to North Korea, places a ceiling on deliveries of refined oil products and caps crude oil shipments at current levels. It bars countries from issuing new work permits to North Korean labourers sent abroad -- there are some 93,000, providing Kim's regime with a source of revenue to develop its missile and nuclear programmes, according to a US official familiar with the negotiations. Under the measure, countries are authorised to inspect ships suspected of carrying banned North Korean cargo but must first seek the consent of the flag-state. Joint ventures will be banned and the names of senior North Korean official and three entities were added to a UN sanctions blacklist that provides for an assets freeze and a global travel ban. It was the eighth series of sanctions imposed on North Korea since it first tested a nuclear device in 2006. 'Concrete action' South Korea welcomed the resolution while Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the sanctions were much stronger than earlier measures. He urged Pyongyang to take "concrete action" toward denuclearization. The United States and its allies argue that tougher sanctions will pile pressure on Kim's regime to negotiate an end to its nuclear and missile tests. Russia and China are pushing for talks with North Korea, but the US rejects their proposal for a freeze on Pyongyang's missile and nuclear tests in exchange for a suspension of US-South Korean military drills. Chinese UN ambassador Liu Jieyi again called for talks "sooner rather than later". China, North Korea's sole ally and main trading partner, had strongly objected to an oil embargo initially sought by the United States out of fear it would bring the North's economy to its knees. Instead, annual crude oil supplies are capped at current levels -- China is believed to supply around four million barrels a year through a pipeline, while deliveries of refined oil products such as gasoline and diesel are limited to two million barrels a year. That would amount to a 10 percent cut in oil products, according to the US Energy Information Administration, which estimates annual exports to North Korea at nearly 2.2 million barrels. The US official said the ban on textile exports would deprive North Korea of some $726 million in annual revenue. 'Further provocations' But analysts were sceptical about their impact. North Korea has made rapid progress in its nuclear and missile programmes despite multiple sets of UN sanctions, and Go Myong-Hyun at the Asan Institute of Policy Studies said the latest measures were "not enough to cause pain". Kim Hyun-Wook of Seoul's Korea National Diplomatic Academy, predicted: "The sanctions will only provide North Korea with an excuse for further provocations, such as an ICBM launch." Washington has said military action remains an option in dealing with Pyongyang and has threatened to cut economic ties with countries that continue to trade with it. North Korea says its weapons development is vital to stave off the threat of a US invasion. Pyongyang has staged a series of missile tests in recent months that appeared to bring much of the US mainland into range. It followed up with a sixth nuclear test on September 3, its largest to date, which it said was a miniaturised hydrogen bomb.
By PTI
WASHINGTON: Citing the geographical and strategic location of Sri Lanka, a Senate committee has opposed Trump Administration's proposal of a drastic 92 per cent cut in American aid to the island nation.
"Given the geostrategic importance of the country, the Committee does not support the President's budget request for Sri Lanka, which proposed a 92 per cent reduction in assistance from the prior fiscal year," the Senate Appropriations Committee said in a report passing the annual State appropriations bill for the fiscal year 2018, beginning October 1.
The appropriations bill, which landed on the Senate floor yesterday for consideration, seeks USD 43 million for Sri Lanka. This includes USD 35 million as economic support fund, USD 6.8 million for non-proliferation and anti-terrorism and USD 500,000 in foreign military financing and an equal amount for training of military personnel.
"The Committee recognises and supports the efforts of the Government of Sri Lanka to advance democracy and the rule of law, and encourages further steps to address the underlying causes of the armed conflict by promoting justice and reconciliation," the Senate Committee said in its report.
The Senate committee on its report said that Sri Lanka is strategically positioned along key shipping lanes and emerging from decades of conflict.
The House Appropriations Committee has also passed its Foreign Appropriations Bill, but defers from that of its Senate bill on Sri Lanka. Last week during a Congressional hearing, lawmakers had expressed concern over massive cut in US aid to Sri Lanka.
"In Sri Lanka, US foreign assistance will be cut by 92 per cent, mostly from accounts that have supported programs to promote the rule of law, democratic reforms, post-Civil War reconciliation and related efforts," rued Congressman Ted Yoho, Chairman of House Foreign Affairs Sub Committee on Asia and the Pacific.
"These programs are cost-effective ways to contribute to Sri Lanka's transformation while pursuing a partnership and strategic lead critical locations," he said.
"Even at their height in 2016, US assistance commitments to Sri Lanka were about 42.5 million, and that's a bit less than half the cost of a single F-35 fighter jet. That seems like a reasonable investment to gain a friend in one of the world's most critical sea lanes," Yoho said.
"While we're forming a large Millennium Challenge Corporation compact was Sri Lanka, the MCC will focus on economic activities. I'm concerned that by changing course so drastically, we want to make sure that we're not throwing away the investments we've already made in Sri Lanka, leaving a gap in the democracy and governance programs Sri Lanka badly needs, and potentially forcing the closure of our USAID mission," said the US lawmaker.
For the fiscal year 2018, the Trump Administration has requested USD 3.4 million in foreign assistance for Sri Lanka.
It focuses on strong support for security cooperation and enhanced strategic trade controls while contributing to Sri Lanka's progress toward becoming a mine-impact-free nation by 2020.
Additionally, the MCC is developing a compact with Sri Lanka after it successfully passed the MCC policy scorecard in 2016.
In June, MCC approved an initial USD 7.4 million to study potential projects and conduct due diligence work in the transport and land sectors. MCC is working closely with the Government of Sri Lanka to bring a compact for Board approval in 2018, the State Department said.
WASHINGTON: Citing the geographical and strategic location of Sri Lanka, a Senate committee has opposed Trump Administration's proposal of a drastic 92 per cent cut in American aid to the island nation. "Given the geostrategic importance of the country, the Committee does not support the President's budget request for Sri Lanka, which proposed a 92 per cent reduction in assistance from the prior fiscal year," the Senate Appropriations Committee said in a report passing the annual State appropriations bill for the fiscal year 2018, beginning October 1. The appropriations bill, which landed on the Senate floor yesterday for consideration, seeks USD 43 million for Sri Lanka. This includes USD 35 million as economic support fund, USD 6.8 million for non-proliferation and anti-terrorism and USD 500,000 in foreign military financing and an equal amount for training of military personnel. "The Committee recognises and supports the efforts of the Government of Sri Lanka to advance democracy and the rule of law, and encourages further steps to address the underlying causes of the armed conflict by promoting justice and reconciliation," the Senate Committee said in its report. The Senate committee on its report said that Sri Lanka is strategically positioned along key shipping lanes and emerging from decades of conflict. The House Appropriations Committee has also passed its Foreign Appropriations Bill, but defers from that of its Senate bill on Sri Lanka. Last week during a Congressional hearing, lawmakers had expressed concern over massive cut in US aid to Sri Lanka. "In Sri Lanka, US foreign assistance will be cut by 92 per cent, mostly from accounts that have supported programs to promote the rule of law, democratic reforms, post-Civil War reconciliation and related efforts," rued Congressman Ted Yoho, Chairman of House Foreign Affairs Sub Committee on Asia and the Pacific. "These programs are cost-effective ways to contribute to Sri Lanka's transformation while pursuing a partnership and strategic lead critical locations," he said. "Even at their height in 2016, US assistance commitments to Sri Lanka were about 42.5 million, and that's a bit less than half the cost of a single F-35 fighter jet. That seems like a reasonable investment to gain a friend in one of the world's most critical sea lanes," Yoho said. "While we're forming a large Millennium Challenge Corporation compact was Sri Lanka, the MCC will focus on economic activities. I'm concerned that by changing course so drastically, we want to make sure that we're not throwing away the investments we've already made in Sri Lanka, leaving a gap in the democracy and governance programs Sri Lanka badly needs, and potentially forcing the closure of our USAID mission," said the US lawmaker. For the fiscal year 2018, the Trump Administration has requested USD 3.4 million in foreign assistance for Sri Lanka. It focuses on strong support for security cooperation and enhanced strategic trade controls while contributing to Sri Lanka's progress toward becoming a mine-impact-free nation by 2020. Additionally, the MCC is developing a compact with Sri Lanka after it successfully passed the MCC policy scorecard in 2016. In June, MCC approved an initial USD 7.4 million to study potential projects and conduct due diligence work in the transport and land sectors. MCC is working closely with the Government of Sri Lanka to bring a compact for Board approval in 2018, the State Department said.
By AFP
WASHINGTON: The White House on Monday condemned an upsurge in violence in Myanmar that has sent 300,000 Rohingya Muslims fleeing to neighbouring Bangladesh, saying it was "deeply troubled" by attacks on both sides.
"The United States is deeply troubled by the ongoing crisis in Burma," said Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, condemning attacks on Burmese military positions and the subsequent spasm of deadly ethnically tinged violence.
"At least 300,000 people have fled their homes in the wake of attacks on (a) Burmese security post on August 25," without directly accusing the Burmese military of carrying out a crackdown.
We "reiterate our condemnation of those attacks and ensuing violence."
The Trump White House had been facing questions about its silence in the face of a crisis that a UN envoy has called a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing".
WASHINGTON: The White House on Monday condemned an upsurge in violence in Myanmar that has sent 300,000 Rohingya Muslims fleeing to neighbouring Bangladesh, saying it was "deeply troubled" by attacks on both sides. "The United States is deeply troubled by the ongoing crisis in Burma," said Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, condemning attacks on Burmese military positions and the subsequent spasm of deadly ethnically tinged violence. "At least 300,000 people have fled their homes in the wake of attacks on (a) Burmese security post on August 25," without directly accusing the Burmese military of carrying out a crackdown. We "reiterate our condemnation of those attacks and ensuing violence." The Trump White House had been facing questions about its silence in the face of a crisis that a UN envoy has called a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing".
By PTI
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday met Turkey's top leadership as part of his efforts to drum up support after US President Donald Trump criticised Islamabad for providing safe havens to terrorists.
Asif travelled to Ankara on a day-long visit where he called on Turkish President Recip Tayyep Erdogan and held talks with Prime Minister Benali Yildirim and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on bilateral ties and the prevailing regional situation, the Foreign Office here said in a statement.
The foreign ministers of the two countries held talks covering all areas of mutual cooperation and coordination on peace and security in the region with particular focus on Afghanistan in the light of recent developments, it said.
"They agreed that there was no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan and reiterated that Afghanistan's neighbours and regional countries needed to work together for facilitating a politically negotiated settlement under an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process," FO said. It said that during these meetings the two sides shared concern over alleged human rights violations in Kashmir.
The two sides also agreed for further strengthening of relations between Pakistan and Turkey and deepening mutual coordination on regional peace, security and connectivity.
During his meeting with Erdogan, Asif reaffirmed Pakistans strong desire for further strengthening strategic partnership between the two countries through increased cooperation in political, economic, defence and people-to- people ties.
Emphasising that lasting peace in Afghanistan was important for regional stability, the two leaders agreed to work together for peace and stability in the war-torn nation.
Asif discussed bilateral relations with Prime Minister Yildrim and they expressed satisfaction at the remarkable progress being made in deepening the strategic partnership. The two sides also expressed deep concern over the atrocities being committed against Rohingyas in Myanmar.
Ahead of Asif's maiden visit to America, Pakistan's foreign ministry had announced that he will travel to China, Russia, Iran and Turkey to drum up support for Islamabad after Trump warned it of consequences if it continues to support terror groups. Pakistan is upset over the allegations.
The foreign minister yesterday visited Tehran where he met Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his counterpart Javad Zarif.
Asif and Zarif exchanged views on the efforts for peace and stability in Afghanistan, particularly in the context of latest developments in the war-torn country.
Last week, the foreign minister visited China and discussed the new US policy with his counterpart Wang Yi.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday met Turkey's top leadership as part of his efforts to drum up support after US President Donald Trump criticised Islamabad for providing safe havens to terrorists. Asif travelled to Ankara on a day-long visit where he called on Turkish President Recip Tayyep Erdogan and held talks with Prime Minister Benali Yildirim and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on bilateral ties and the prevailing regional situation, the Foreign Office here said in a statement. The foreign ministers of the two countries held talks covering all areas of mutual cooperation and coordination on peace and security in the region with particular focus on Afghanistan in the light of recent developments, it said. "They agreed that there was no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan and reiterated that Afghanistan's neighbours and regional countries needed to work together for facilitating a politically negotiated settlement under an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process," FO said. It said that during these meetings the two sides shared concern over alleged human rights violations in Kashmir. The two sides also agreed for further strengthening of relations between Pakistan and Turkey and deepening mutual coordination on regional peace, security and connectivity. During his meeting with Erdogan, Asif reaffirmed Pakistans strong desire for further strengthening strategic partnership between the two countries through increased cooperation in political, economic, defence and people-to- people ties. Emphasising that lasting peace in Afghanistan was important for regional stability, the two leaders agreed to work together for peace and stability in the war-torn nation. Asif discussed bilateral relations with Prime Minister Yildrim and they expressed satisfaction at the remarkable progress being made in deepening the strategic partnership. The two sides also expressed deep concern over the atrocities being committed against Rohingyas in Myanmar. Ahead of Asif's maiden visit to America, Pakistan's foreign ministry had announced that he will travel to China, Russia, Iran and Turkey to drum up support for Islamabad after Trump warned it of consequences if it continues to support terror groups. Pakistan is upset over the allegations. The foreign minister yesterday visited Tehran where he met Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his counterpart Javad Zarif. Asif and Zarif exchanged views on the efforts for peace and stability in Afghanistan, particularly in the context of latest developments in the war-torn country. Last week, the foreign minister visited China and discussed the new US policy with his counterpart Wang Yi.
Portsmouth, Middletown headed to Super Bowls. How they did it.
While Portsmouth and Middletown will play for championships, Rogers will be left out following semifinal loss.
Champaign, IL (61820)
Today
Sunshine and some clouds. High 43F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph..
Tonight
Cloudy with snow showers developing after midnight. Low 29F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 60%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.
In this surveillance video provided by UI police, Yingying Zhang is seen entering a black Saturn Astra (unknown year) about the 40-second mark on the east side of Goodwin Avenue in Urbana. The final shot of the video, starting at about the 1:02 mark, is a reference for the vehicle and shows it traveling north on Wright Street in front of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Building.
Land Rover has revealed the Discovery SVX at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The SVX will sit alongside the Range Rover Sport SVR and Range Rover SVAutobiography. The car will be the first Land Rover hand-assembled by expert craftsmen at the SVO Technical Centre in the UK when production begins in 2018.John Edwards, Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations Managing Director, said: SVO designers are embedded within the Land Rover team and have worked with our engineers to unleash their own passion for adventure to create another truly desirable and versatile vehicle in the Land Rover line-up.Discovery SVX embodies the design and engineering values of every Land Rover, building on the Land Rover all-terrain capability. Since its launch in 2016 the fifth-generation Discovery, built on Land Rovers strong, safe and light aluminium architecture, has won admiration as the worlds best full-size versatile SUV. That makes it the perfect base for SVOs first SVX vehicle. New Discovery is the first modern Land Rover to wear the SVX badge.Mark Stanton, SVO Director, said: The SVX product line gives us a fantastic opportunity to deliver the ultimate Land Rover all-terrain capability in a dynamic and distinctive manner, creating a rugged and versatile SUV that the whole family will love: effortless, unstoppable and connected, whatever the terrain.Discovery SVX is designed to reward off-road driving enthusiasts with the next level of all-terrain capability, without compromising comfort and practicality.The SUV will be offered exclusively with Jaguar Land Rovers 5.0-litre supercharged V8 petrol powertrain, tuned to deliver 525PS peak power and 625Nm torque, along with suspension modifications to enhance driver confidence when tackling the toughest terrain.Hydraulic Active Roll Control (H-ARC), is new to Discovery on SVX. It gives increased wheel articulation and improved body control, enhancing extreme off-road traction while also reducing body roll for smooth and sure-footed on-road driving.Discovery SVX has improved approach, departure and breakover angles, achieved by raising both the lightweight aluminium monocoque architecture and the four-corner air suspension system, employing long-travel dampers and revised knuckles, and fitting larger 815mm diameter 275/55 R20 Goodyear Wrangler all-terrain tyres on forged aluminium alloy wheels.Discovery SVX is also equipped with active centre and electronic rear locking differentials which work with the specially tuned Terrain Response 2 system to optimise traction on all surfaces.Complementing these hardware upgrades are unique software calibrations for the eight-speed automatic transmission with twin-speed transfer box, and Discoverys dynamics systems including Hill Descent Control, Electronic Traction Control (ETC), Adaptive Dynamics, Dynamic Stability Control (DSC), All-Terrain Progress Control (ATPC) and variable ratio electric power-assisted steering (EPAS). Discovery SVX also features a model-first Pistol Shifter in place of the Drive select rotary shifter to offer the driver optimum control of gear selection in off-road manoeuvres.The production preview SVX at Frankfurt IAA features unique front and rear bumpers with protective skid plates and exposed Rush Orange-finished metal recovery eyes.Discovery SVX also stands out through its exclusive satin Tectonic Grey paint finish, a unique colour and material combination of Lunar and Light Oyster with Rush Orange accents inside, and X logo perforations on the SVX-branded seats. Unique Narvik Black side vents with V8 badging, a Narvik Black Dynamic grille, Black roof rails and a roof-mounted unit with two additional light pods for improved low-light visibility complete the transformation.The first Land Rover SVX from SVO makes its world debut on the Jaguar Land Rover stand at Frankfurt IAA, 12-24 September, alongside a comprehensive range of Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles including SVO stablemates the Range Rover Sport SVR, Range Rover SVAutobiography Dynamic, Jaguar F-TYPE SVR and Jaguar XE SV Project 8.
New Delhi: The upper age limit for joining the National Pension System (NPS) has been raised to 65 years from the current 60, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) announced on Monday.
PFRDA Chairman Hemant Contractor made the announcement at a conference here on "Transferring Superannuation Funds to National Pension System" and said the pension regulator's board had already approved the change and it would be notified shortly.
"NPS is currently open for people between 18 and 60, and our Board has approved raising the age limit for joining to 65," Contractor said. "The scheme anyway has the option of continuing and making contributions up to the age of 70," he added.
Explaining that the rationale behind government reforms in pensions is to facilitate "portability" -- or the transfer -- of superannuation funds by making the NPS more attractive and customer-friendly, he said the measures were designed to give the pension scheme an "unbundled architecture to make it as competitive as possible".
"The aim is to open up pensions to sectors that are without pensions," he said, noting that only 15-16 per cent of employees in India are covered by pensions because an overwhelming 85 per cent of the workforce is found in the unorganised, or "informal", sector.
Elaborating on the benefits of the NPS, Contractor said it is the "lowest-cost pension product in the world today".
"Costs are important because even one per cent difference in cost over 25-30 years, makes around 15-16 per cent difference at the end because of the compounding factor."
"Our fund management charges are a miniscule 0.01 per cent... the lowest, when you compare others charging 0.4 or 0.5 per cent," he said, adding that the NPS returns compare with the "best in the industry".
The regulator also said that PFRDA had asked the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to provide a blanket approval for the transfer of superannuation funds to the NPS, but was still awaiting a response from the CBDT. He suggested that companies should individually take up this matter with the CBDT, as the PFRDA is yet to hear from the income tax department.
Contractor explained that NPS enjoys special privileges on income tax that are not available to any other capital market instrument.
NPS has emerged as a scheme for income security of senior citizens, said the PFRDA Chairman adding that it had seen "good growth over the last one-two years".
"Last year, the individual schemes grew by over 100 per cent," he said.
There are various investment options available to an NPS subscriber ranging from equity and secure government bonds to life-cycle funds. Equity investment of a subscriber's funds can go up to 75 per cent of their contribution if one chooses the life-cycle fund. It also offers less risky options with a heavy component of fixed income investment.
not until now, but I love it! https://t.co/6Qv9StTdpY Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) September 8, 2017
In case you were living in a place with no Internet connection, the song 'Jimikki Kammal' from Mohanlal starrer and Onam release Velipadinte Pusthakam has gone insanely viral on the Internet. Since its upload on YouTube in August, the song has garnered more than 11m views. Yep.The trippy dance number which is already a rage in Tamil Nadu and Kerala has reached all parts of India, thanks to its catchy tune and beats. Some fans even called it the 'Despacito' of Tamil Nadu.But now, the song has crossed seas and somehow reached the Hollywood. That's the power of music and social media. The popular American television host and comedian recently tweeted that he loves the song too.While we were busy tapping our foot to the song, one curious Twitter user couldn't help but ask the American host Kimmel on the micro blogging site if he had heard the song because of the uncanny similarity of 'Jimikki Kammal' with 'Jimmy Kimmel'.The user (@varun_s_kumar) tweeted to Kimmel a video of a group of Indian School of Commerce students from Kerala dancing to the song during the Onam festivities.The video that has been watched more than 4.7 million times found a new viewer in late-night talk show host Kimmel who replied to the tweet saying he'd not heard the song until now but that he loved it.Just in case if you wanted to watch the original song that has been composed by Shaan Rahman and sung by Vineeth Sreenivasan and Renjith Unni.
O Palaniswami and E Palaniswami have effectively taken back control of the AIADMK from the VK Sasikala camp, passing a resolution that only those appointed by Jayalalithaa before her death shall continue to be office-bearers. The General Council has also quashed all decisions made by Sasikalas nephew TTV Dinakaran, who has threatened to topple the government.
Stay tuned for live updates:
Read all the Latest News , Breaking News , watch Top Videos and Live TV here.
Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Police have arrested a Chinese national for running an illegal fireworks manufacturing unit in Firozabad area. Zhang Jibing, the arrested individual, is said to be an expert in assembling machinery needed to manufacture crackers. He was also training the factory workers in mixing different kinds of chemicals and explosives to make crackers.
The arrest was made after the police interrogated Jibing for five days. The Chinese national was brought in for questioning after an explosion at the factory caused burn injuries to more than half a dozen people last week.
On papers, the factory was supposed to be manufacturing glass beads.
An FIR was registered against 10 people after the accident, however, only Jibing has been arrested as of now. While he was detained by the police on the day of incident, it took almost five days to interrogate him for language barrier. Later, an interpreter was called in from Agra to mediate between the two parties.
Speaking to News18, SSP Firozabad, Ajay Kumar Pandey said, "The Intelligence Bureau (IB) is currently questioning the Chinese national. His passport and visa have been recovered. Jibing had come to India on July 18 on a business visa, which does not allow him to work for a monthly salary. Fear of other such illegal factories running in other cities in Uttar Pradesh cannot be ruled out."
Jibing has been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including the Explosives Act and Foreigners Act. The Chinese embassy and intelligence agencies of the central and UP governments have been informed about the arrest. Jibing is also likely to be charged with violation of visa rules.
According to sources, illegal fireworks manufacturing units might be operating in as many as four to five cities in Uttar Pradesh. Locals are supposed to run these illegal units under the supervision of technicians from China. These factories do not follow any safety norm and could cause major accidents. Also, these are believed to have been taking Diwali orders.
Sikar and the neighbouring districts of Churu, Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan have come to a standstill due to the ongoing farmer agitation. Border areas of Haryana were also affected.Peasants have blocked all the highways leading out of Sikar, making exceptions only for ambulances, marriage parties, and Army vehicles. Sikar town wore a deserted look, with people remaining indoors due to fear of violence.Shops and business establishments remain closed. There were no buses plying and the bus stand wore a deserted look.According to reports, farmers in Shekawati have blocked roads and highways at more than 400 locations. Around 3,000 vehicles and thousands of passengers remain stranded.On the 11th day of the agitation on Monday, the farmers, who were encamped in the APMC Mandi, started marching towards the Collectorate at noon. The police had erected a barricade which halted the march and prevented two groups from clashing. Section 144 has been imposed around the Collectorate.However, the farmers have promised to keep up with the agitation till their demands are met. Among the demands are waiver of farm loans and the implementation of the Swaminathan Committee recommendations to make farm produce remunerative.Those leading the agitation are aware that while the Rajasthan government can waive loans, the latter demand can only be met by the Union government. They also want the restrictions on the sale of cattle to be lifted.Government representatives and farm leaders were supposed to meet on Monday for talks, but it didnt materialise. Another meeting has been fixed for 5 pm on Tuesday.
New Delhi: India's permanent representative to the United Nations Rajiv K Chander on Tuesday sought to clear the air on India's measures to deport Rohingya Muslims to Myanmar, saying that "enforcement of the law" shouldn't be mistaken for the lack of compassion.
Chander's rejoinder came a day after the top United Nations human rights official flayed India's response to the ongoing Rohingya crisis in Myanmar, where they face a brutal assault at the hands of the army.
Zeid Raad al-Hussein, addressing the United Nations Human Rights Council, on Monday, deplored that India's steps to send the people belonging to the "world's most persecuted minority" to the country of their origins "at a time of such violence".
Chander, however, expressed India's concern vis-a-vis the 40,000-odd Rohingya Muslims currently scattered across the country, saying that "illegal migrants in particular", could pose a "security challenges".
India does not condone any actions in violation of law and imputations to the contrary are not justified. We have also noted that the issue of the human rights situation in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir has been raised. It is a matter of regret that the central role of terrorism is once again being overlooked. Assessments of human rights should not be a matter of political convenience, he added.
Noting Indias obligations under international law, al-Hussein had said: India cannot carry out collective expulsions, or return people to a place where they risk torture or other serious violations.
Communal tensions appeared to be rising across Myanmar on Monday after two weeks of violence in Rakhine state that have triggered an exodus of about 300,000 Rohingya Muslims, prompting the government to tighten security at Buddhist pagodas.
Rohingya have been stripped of civil and political rights including citizenship rights for decades, he added. I call on the government to end its current cruel military operation, with accountability for all violations that have occurred, and to reverse the pattern of severe and widespread discrimination against the Rohingya population, Zeid said. The situation seems a textbook example of ethnic cleansing.
Ahmedabad: Just before they savour traditional Gujarati food in dinner at the Agashiye restaurant, The House of MG, on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will act as a guide to Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the famous Sidi Saiyed mosque, located just opposite the almost 100-year-old restaurant in Ahmedabad.
PM Modi will describe the significance of the 16th-century mosque - symbolic of Ahmedabad's rich cultural history - to his Japanese counterpart. The Prime Minister's Office had earlier written a letter to the Sunni Waqf Board, seeking information on the historical and architectural significance of Sidi Saiyed Mosque so that the PM could narrate its grandeur.
The mosque is believed to have been built by Sidi Saiyed in 1572. Sidi Saiyed was an Abyssinian from Ethiopia. Sultan Shamsuddin Muzaffar Shah III was then the Sultan of Ahmedabad and the last Sultan of the Ahmedabad Sultanate.
The mosque has been a prominent monument of the city, and its intricate carvings are considered an architectural masterpiece. The intricate "Tree of Life" lattice window of the mosque is so famous that the Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad (IIM-A) adopted it as its logo.
Over the one past month, a number of officials, including some from the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, the Archaeological Survey of India and the SPG, visited the Sidi Saiyed Mosque. The AMC and ASI have been working round the clock over the past fortnight to give final touches to the structure as the two world leaders are likely to pose for a photo at around dusk on Wednesday with the lit-up mosque in the background.
I am happy to inform that Father Tom Uzhunnalil has been rescued.pic.twitter.com/FwAYoTkbj2 Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) September 12, 2017
Kerala priest Tom Uzhunnalil has been rescued from the captivity of the Islamic State. He was abducted from Yemen in 2016.Sources said the priest, who is currently in Muscat, will be flown to Kerala on Tuesday night. He was rescued after efforts by the Oman foreign ministry and Yemeni officials.Tom Uzhunnalil expressed thanks to God Almighty and appreciation to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos. He also thanked his brothers and sisters and all relatives and friends who called on God for safety and release, the Oman Observer reported.Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj took to Twitter to announce the news.Reports said Omani authorities "coordinated with Yemeni parties" to free Uzhunnalil, described as a "Vatican employee", at the request of the sultan.Father Uzhunnalil was abducted in March 2016 by ISIS which attacked an old-age home, run by Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity, in southern Yemeni city of Aden. At least 15 people at the home were killed in the attack.Earlier, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself has spoken to various countries through which contacts could be established in Yemen since India does not have an Embassy of its own in the country."Abduction of Father Tom Uzhunnalil is a matter of grave concern for us. Yemen is a war-torn country. We do not have Embassy there but we are looking for ways to reach him. Not only me, but the PM during his overseas visits has spoken to various countries through which contacts can be established with Yemen," Swaraj had said.In December last year, a video had surfaced where Father Tom appealed to Pope Francis and the Union government through a purported video to secure his release."If I were a European priest, I would have been taken more seriously. I am from India. I am perhaps not considered as of much value," said priest Father Tom Uzhunnalil in a weak voice in the video, aired by news channels in Kerala."Dear Pope Francis, dear Holy Father, as a father please take care of my life. I am very much depressed. My health is deteriorating," he said in the video, a day after Christmas.Yemeni authorities have blamed the Islamic State group for last year's attack. Al-Qaeda, which is also active in the area, distanced itself from the mass shooting, saying that it was not involved.The internationally recognised government in war-torn Yemen is grappling with both an Iran-backed rebellion and a growing jihadist presence.Al-Qaeda and IS have stepped up attacks in Aden, targeting mainly loyalists and members of a Saudi-led coalition battling Huthi rebels and their allies.President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi has declared Aden to be Yemen's temporary capital since Sanaa has been in the hands of rebels since September 2014.
The post-mortem report in the Ryan International School murder case says that there was no sexual assault. The report confirms that one of the nerves in the neck of the seven-year-old boy was cut by a knife. Earlier, the Bombay High Court granted interim protection from arrest to Ryan International Groups chairman and managing director till Wednesday.
Stay tuned for live updates:
Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Coronavirus News here.
The Congress on Tuesday defended Rahul Gandhis speech in California saying that it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is guilty of insulting India on foreign soil and not the Congress vice-president. BJPs reaction to Rahuls speech once again betrays their spirit of intolerance. Modi has repeatedly said that before him nothing was done that would gain India recognition on the world stage, Congress leader Anand Sharma said.
Stay tuned for live updates:
Read all the Latest News , Breaking News , watch Top Videos and Live TV here.
New Delhi: A 22-year-old man was thrashed allegedly by five men for speaking with his friend in fluent English while dropping him off at a five-star hotel in Lutyens' Delhi, police said on Monday.
The incident was reported in the early hours on Saturday, they said.
Three persons have been arrested in this connection, they said.
According to the police, Varun Gulati, a resident of Noida, had come to the five-star hotel in Connaught Place to drop off his friend Aman in his friend Daksh's car.
While Gulati was walking back to the hotel after seeing off Daksh, a group of five men, who were inebriated, rounded him up. They asked him why was he speaking in English, they said.
Both the sides got into an argument and the men assaulted Gulati, police said.
The assailants fled the spot in a vehicle but the victim managed to note down the number of the vehicle, they said.
On the basis of the number plate, three of the accused were identified and arrested, police said, adding a hunt is on to trace the rest.
Sridhar, former member of Karnataka State Committee of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), gave up arms to continue his struggle for social justice and equality in a democratic way. He says, while he decided to leave the Naxal movement after his differences with the leadership, Gauri Lankesh was among the few people who stood by him during his transition from an armed rebellion to a democratic campaigner. He writes a tribute to the big power of small Gauri:
They have killed Gauri maam.
They finally killed Gauri maam.
They have taken Gauri maam away from us.
No matter how many times one utters this, it does not sink in. We are all out on the streets. We are doing whatever we think should be done to express our outrage. We are shouting in one voice. Wiping away our tears and swallowing our anger, we are protesting saying I am Gauri. We have organised a protest today. There are moments when it feels like Gauri is taking part in the preparations.
Over the past few years, there has been no agitation I have taken part in without her being involved in it. She was there in all these activities. Be it at the forefront, in the background or as a fellow traveller, she was our trusted aide. You could fight with her, raise your voice at her, be carefree, and you could work with her despite differences.
She used to say that she was not a communist, I am a bourgeois. She used to tease us saying You communists talk so much... you have day-long meetings, asking us if she should prepare some food. She used to worry at the beginning of the month about how she would raise the money to pay salaries to her staff, who used to help her bring out the Gauri Lankesh Patrike.
She used to feel proud saying that her son Kanhaiya had visited. I took him for a haircut, gave him the laptop someone had given me because he didnt have one. She used to share the troubles of the world with ease. She used to recount the times when she and Vimala [of All India Democratic Womens Association] used to tell [Chief Minister] Siddarmaiah to put an errant godman behind bars. She used to happily recount recent Facebook exchanges where she got the better of some right-wing troll.
She used to tell us how she got a CCTV camera fitted in her house, Not because it is of any use to me, but so that you can catch the person who murders me, joking even about death. She became for revolutionaries a fellow traveller, mother, sister, and maam who had become an intrinsic part of our lives.
In reality, Gauri was not a great leader or thinker. She did not have any dreams or plans for her paper, for social reforms, about her future or that of her family. She lived for the day. She used to accompany those she felt were correct, and she did what she felt was correct. She was moved by her conscience. Some thought this was not a very profound personality. But what we do matters more than what we talk. Gauri persistently worked towards relieving society of its pain, doing all that was possible.
Gauris biggest worry was the hatred that was growing around her, and the Sangh Parivar that was sowing the seeds of this hatred. The love inside her found it hard to live with this hatred spreading all around her, which is why she wrote about it, spoke about it, organised people against it, protested against it and eventually was killed by it. This is why she has become a source of strength and inspiration now.
The Sangh labelled Gauri a Naxalite a long time ago. In some ways, Gauri was all these things, and in other ways she was none of these. She worked with Communists, but she herself wasnt one. She supported Dalit movements but wasnt an Ambedkarite.
She was in contact with Naxalites but wasnt one. She supported movements for justice wherever she was, which is why she was never attached to one, never overly criticised any of these, and was with all these, supporting the best in these movements. She called Jignesh Mevani of the Una Dalit movement, Kanhaiya Kumar who is Communist, and Umar Khalid, who supports the far left, her children because of her overarching ideals.
Along with the politics of hate that was growing at the time, Gauri was also alarmed by the armed uprising that was taking shape in Karnataka. In 2004, when she met [Naxalite leader] Saketh Rajan in the forests of the Malnad region, she was possessed by two thoughts.
While on the one hand she admired the commitment of those who left their homes to live in the forests braving the elements to fight for change in society, she was also worried about the response to this. Soon enough, the encounter killings began. And she mourned each death.
To stop this, Gauri decided to launch the Citizens Initiative for Peace with like-minded people. They pleaded that the state and Naxalites should not fight each other but discuss problems to find solutions. While both sides agreed, the government reneged on its promises and began combing operations. It killed Saketh Rajan.
Condemning this, Gauri began to write about it, and hit the streets, and the Sangh Parivar began calling her a Naxalite. This was the reason behind her falling out with her brother Indrajit. The Sangh Parivar labelled her as a sympathiser of armed uprisings, although she had worked for peace.
Across the country now a rumour has been systematically spread that Gauri was killed by Naxalites. Those celebrating her death are the ones spreading this. Those who labelled her an agent of Naxals are now constructing the story of her being murdered by Naxalites. Those who cried themselves hoarse, when Sirimane Nagaraj and I gave up arms, saying that this was a new Naxal conspiracy and that it was all a lie, are the ones spreading the canard that it was because of her work rehabilitating Naxals that she was killed.
To tell you the truth, Naxals had a hundred-fold more admiration for Gauri than what she had for Naxals. The Naxal movement is not about walking around with sickles like rowdies, nor about killing people for money like underworld gangs, or like terrorists who show their strength by randomly bombing places. It is a movement based on an ideology, and though we might not agree with the ideology, we cannot question its aims. It is a crime to even think that Naxals would kill Gauri.
It is hard to even imagine the pain that Vikram Gowda, that poor Adivasi youth who joined the Naxal movement because of governments move to evict Adiviasis from the forest, must be feeling with the fake news being spread that he killed Gauri. There are a hundred reasons why I say that it is not possible that Naxals killed Gauri. But I will list them some other day.
The right-wing forces, which killed Gauri to stifle her voice, the central government and sections of media have been caught unaware by the reaction of the people of this nation, and have joined hands to shift blame on to the Naxals.
Along with Gauri, they are out to murder the reality of this land. But Gauri has beaten awake the conscience of the country. In one voice humanity has raised the call I am Gauri, and the life-and-death fight for the soul of this nation has reached a new phase. The small Gauri we love has become a big source of strength and is leading us ahead.
Salaam Madam.
I am Gauri.
Noor Sridhar.
(Views expressed are personal)
New Delhi: In what could trigger terrorist violence in Myanmar, particularly its border areas with Bangladesh, Jaish-e-Muhammad chief Masood Azhar has asked his followers to get ready to do something for the sacrifices of Muslim population in this region.
According to an Indian Express report, Azhar, in his regular column in al-Qalam wrote: "It is because of the sacrifices of the Myanmar Muslims that the ummah (nation) is waking up and we are seeing this new awakening among the Muslims of the world The entire Muslim ummah [nation] is feeling the pain of the Muslim nation."
This is the first such call of action in the Myanmar region by a jihadi organisation. Earlier, several other Muslim bodies have also had stern reactions on the Myanmar governments crackdown against Rohingya Muslims.
India has accused Azhar of terrorist activities in India, including masterminding the Pathankot airbase attack in January. Seven security personnel and one civilian were killed in the airbase attack that shocked the nation at the severe security breach at a defence establishment.
While New Delhi has been demanding a United Nations sanction to put a ban on Azhar and his terror organization, Jaish-e-Muhammad, China has been standing as a roadblock in its move to designate Azhar as a terrorist.
This has caused significant tension among the two giants. Even after signing a joint declaration at the BRICS Summit this month that clearly condemned terrorism, China still refrained from giving its nod to ban Azhar.
Now, Azhar has called for action in Myanmar, which could lead to significant violence in the already disturbed Rakhine state in Myanmar.
The Indian Express report states, Even though the ongoing insurgency in Myanmars Rakhine state has shown relatively rudimentary military capacities, with attacks against troops and police sometimes carried out with knives and machetes, Indian intelligence believes Jaish operatives helped provide training to Rohingya jihadists at camps run in Bangladeshs Chittagong Hill Tracts in 2013-14.
There are about 3,00,000 Rohingya who have fled Myanmar and entered Bangladesh, with Myanmar's growing military operations against the Rohingya in Rakhine state.
The Rohingya people are often described as the largest stateless ethnic group. The Myanmar government has refused to recognize the million strong population as rightful citizens in a 1982 citizenship law.
Lucknow: Seers of different akharas on Tuesday met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath here and urged him to change the name of Allahabad as Prayagraj ahead of the 2019 Ardh Kumbh fair to be held in the holy city.
The seers of Nirvani Ani Akhara, Panchdashnaam Juna Akhara and Digambar Ani Akhara among others also requested Adityanath to provide them basic amenities during the fair.
"We have requested the chief minister to change Allahabad's name to Prayagraj and ensure that 14 fake babas did not participate in the Ardh kumbh," Akhil Bhartiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP) head Mahant Narendra Giri told reporters here.
Irked by the recent controversies surrounding self-styled godmen, ABAP, the apex body of Hindu sadhus had on Sunday released a list of 14 "fake babas" including the names like Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, Rampal, Asaram and his son Narayan Sai, and demanded a crackdown on "rootless cult leaders" by bringing in a legislation.
When asked about their demand of renaming Allahabad, Giri said that Adityanath has assured them to look into it. "We are sure that the chief minister will accept our demand," he said.
At the meeting, Mahant Dharamdas of Ayodhya-based Nirvani Ani Akhara said that they requested that akharas, which were yet to be settled in the mela (fair) area, be given land by the state government.
"We also urged the state government to ensure that there is adequate drinking water (supply) in the Ardh Kumbh mela area, and at the same time, there is sufficient water in the Ganga river during the Kumbh Mela," he said.
He also said that seers are willing to extend their help to the state government for cleaning of the river Ganga. The Ardh Kumbh fair is held in every six years at Haridwar and Allahabad where millions of people take a holy dip in the Ganga river.
When asked to comment on some fraud self-styled godmen (babas), Dharamdas said: "It is absolutely incorrect to call them babas. They are not babas by any definition. They belong to grihast (family) category, and should focus on managing their grihasti (family and household)."
New Delhi: Kerala priest Tom Uzhunnalil has been rescued from the captivity of the Islamic State. He was abducted from Yemen in 2016.
Sources said the priest, who is currently in Muscat, will be flown to Kerala on Tuesday night. He was rescued after efforts by the Oman foreign ministry and Yemeni officials.
Tom Uzhunnalil expressed thanks to God Almighty and appreciation to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos. He also thanked his brothers and sisters and all relatives and friends who called on God for safety and release, the Oman Observer reported.
1) Father Tom Uzhunnalil was abducted from Aden, Yemen in March 2016.
2) Father Tom is a Christian priest from Kottayam, Kerala.
3) Father Tom was abducted by terrorists who attacked an old-age home run by Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity in Aden.
4) Father Tom will fly back to Kerala via Muscat, Oman.
5) Father Tom was rescued after intervention of Omans foreign ministry.
6) Father Toms rescue efforts were hampered because India doesnt have a diplomatic mission in war-torn Yemen.
Hyderabad: The Chief Minister of Telangana, K Chandrashekar Rao, has ordered regional "Telugu" language to be made a compulsory subject, from 1st to 12th standard, in all educational institutions, private and public, in the state.
The Chief Minister also instructed that all private and public institutions in Telangana must display their organisation's name in Telugu on their signboards. The Telangana government has decided to pass a resolution in the state Cabinet meet for protection and perseverance of Telugu language and literature.
The move comes at a time when other south Indian states, like, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Odisha are debating the "language war" and making all efforts to safeguard their regional language and culture.
The Chief Minister, in a statement, said,"Only the educational institutions that are teaching Telugu, as a compulsory subject, will be given recognition and permission to function. For those opting for Urdu, it should be offered as an optional. Sahitya Academy will prepare syllabus for the Telugu subject to be taught to primary, secondary and higher and intermediate classes. The government will be strict in implementing the policy that Telugu is taught as the compulsory subject and only the syllabus framed by the Sahitya Academy is taught. For signboards, other languages can be added if anyone wishes to."
To promote Telugu in the state, the Telangana government has decided to organise World Telugu Conference in Hyderabad from Dec 15th to 19th. The Chief Minister sanctioned Rs 50 Crore for organising the Conference, which will discuss how to preserve, protect and enrich Telugu in Telangana.
Few days back, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N Chandrababu Naidu also decided to enact a legislation to give more power to the Telugu Language Development Committee for more effective enforcement of Telugu as the official medium of communication in the state.
The committee made many recommendations to the government like use Telugu language in all government works from Secretariat level to Panchayat level, preference for people who have studied in Telugu medium for government jobs, Telugu as primary language in government and private schools and also one compulsory language in higher studies in state. It also said display boards should have Telugu as prominent language. The committee has also recommended action against those who neglect Telugu.
Taking a cue from neighbouring states in the south, the two Telugu states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, too, are taking steps to promote Telugu.
Interestingly, in Andhra Pradesh, the ruling Telugu Desam Party is an ally of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and in Telangana, the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti is known to be in good terms with BJP-led Central government. Both Telugu states, have not shown any resistance to other language. But with language wars waging in South India, only time will tell, which way it will go.
The Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in Uttar Pradesh may have claimed to waive farmers loans amounting to Rs 36,000 crores, however, what the farmers have received so far are loan waiver certificates worth Rs 10 and Rs 215.At an event organised at Hamirpur in Uttar Pradesh, farmers were shocked to receive loan waiver certificates with amounts as low as Rs 10. The event was attended by state Minister for Labour and Employment Exchanges, Manohar Lal (Mannu Kori).Distressed farmers, who have debts amounting to Rs 50,000, were handed certificates worth Rs 10 or 20. Now, they are clueless over how to get the rest of the amount waived.On receiving complaints regarding these faulty loan waiver certificates of Rs 10 and Rs 20, Mannu Kori said, It might be due to some misprint in the certificate, the matter will be investigated and discrepancies will be corrected.The farmers are, however, disgruntled with the administration and expressed their displeasure over the distribution of these certificates and said that it was nothing less than a joke on their plight.Munni Lal, a farmer from Umri village in Hamirpur, approached the Minister of State and while showing his bank passbook complained that he had debt of around Rs 50,000 and received certificate of Rs 215. Another farmer, Babulal, complained of receiving a loan waiver certificate of Rs 28,000 while he had a loan of Rs 50,000.Munni Lal's certificate worth Rs 215.Around 12,460 farmers, just from the Hamirpur district, are supposed to get farm loan waivers in the first phase of the scheme.On Monday, MoS Mannu Kori distributed the certificates of farm loan waiver to 5,000 farmers. Out of 45 farmers who were called on stage to receive the certificates, many complained of getting these low-value certificates.This is not the first time when loan waiver certificates of such low denominations were handed to the farmers. On September 8, similar incidents were reported from Barabanki district, where certificates were distributed to 5,000 farmers. Farmers in Barabanki too complained of receiving waiver certificates of Rs 12 and 24.Going by the Yogi government's decision, small and marginal farmers in Uttar Pradesh were to get up to Rs 1 lakh for their losses. There are about 2.15 crore farmers in UP, whose loans amounting to Rs 30,729 crores, are supposed to be waived.The Rs 30,729 crore debt waiver would benefit farmers who had suffered losses due to drought, flood etc in Uttar Pradesh. Other farmers, whose loans were declared Non-Performing Assets by the banks and are beyond recovery, will also be waived. This would amount to another Rs 5,630 crores, in addition to the Rs 30,729 crore.Speaking to News18, Samajwadi Party MLC, Sunil Singh Sajan said, Issuing waiver certificates of Rs 10 is the worst kind of joke that the government could have done with our farmers. Already distressed, these farmers will teach the government a good lesson in next elections for such a shameful act.
This festive season if you are looking for some style inspiration, especially with regards to Indian traditional outfits, look no further than to the Hindi film industry actress Aditi Rao Hydari, whose flawless style might just be the answer to all your confusion.While Aditi may not be among the A-list Bollywood celebrities, the gorgeous star is building up her career fabulously one step at a time. And besides acting, the one thing that the diva has become synonymous with is impeccable style.From magazine cover shoots to walking the ramp for distinguished designers, Aditi has been in high demand in the fashion world, courtesy her looks and confidence in front of the cameras.The Bhoomi actor, who has been in the industry for over a decade, has rarely disappointed the fashion police with her sartorial choices. In fact, she is one among a few other females actors in the industry who can pull off western, fusion and Indian wear with the same panache.And although the actress can pull off a casual and an indo-western avatar, Indian traditional wear, in particular is something that has got Aditi a lot of praise every time she dons it and makes an appearance.Recently, the actress made quite a few public appearances sporting traditional Indian attires and looked stunning in each of them. The B-town beauty, who has been blessed with flawless facial features, has time and again proved that she can rock an Indian wear like no other.Take a look.Styled by Sanam Ratansi, Aditi sported a Label Anushree outfit exuding boho vibes with her glam layered look. The actress wore a printed crop top with off-white wide-legged pants which she teamed with a long printed jacket. The diva teamed her outfit with lovely oxidized silver accessories, winged eyeliner and a dash of pink on her lips.Credit: @ Sanam Ratansi Credit: @ Aditi Rao Hydari Aditi looked stunning during the Eid celebrations recently when she posed for the shutterbugs in a white skirt and a matching embroidered white peplum anarkali kurta by Sukriti and Akriti. Silver accessories from Aquamarine, traditional juttis and minimal makeup with her open tresses rounded off the actress's look.Credit: @ Sanam Ratansi Aditi looked like sunshine in a yellow Myoho traditional outfit which she donned for Ganapati celebrations recently. Statement jhumkas and a ring, red lips and traditional juttis rounded off her look.Credit: @ Sanam Ratansi The actress looked gorgeous in a pastel, blush pink coloured patyala salwaar kameez by Sukriti and Akriti for Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations.Credit: @ Sanam Ratansi The actress made thousands go weak in the knees as she posed for the photographers in an Anita Dongre hand embroidered paired with tulle skirt during Ganesh Chaturthi festival. The ensemble was from the deisgner's Tree of Love collection which was showcased at FDCI India Couture Week a couple of months ago. Aditi paired her garment with jhumkas and a ring, minimal makeup, juttis and rounded her look with a low bun with center parting.Credit: @ Aditi Rao Hydari
Gastronomes of the world delight. Two new types of truffle have been unearthed in Thailand's far north, scientists announced Thursday in what they called a first for Southeast Asia. Researchers at Chiang Mai university said they had identified two brand new species and confirmed that tuber magnatum -- the same species as Italy's much sought after white truffle -- had been found in a national park surrounding Mount Suthep in northwestern Thailand.
"We confirmed that they are truffles both from their DNA and their physical look," Jaturong Khamla, one of the researchers, told AFP following the publication of their paper.
The first species, a white-colored truffle, was discovered in 2014 and has been given the name tuber thailanddicum. The second one, brown on the outside but with a white interior, was found in 2015 and has been named tuber lannaense. Then in 2017 the team found another type of white truffle which DNA tests confirmed is the already known species tuber magnatum.
While foodies may be salivating at the new discovery, Jaturong said his team were more preoccupied with confirming whether the truffles were new species than whether they tasted delicious.
"The white truffle (thailanddicum) is similar to the Italian white truffle but they have a mild smell and are smaller," he said. Jaturong said his team specialized in fungi and had discovered around 60 types of new mushroom species in the last 18 years.
But this was the first time they had identified truffles.
"These are first truffles found in a tropical climate," a press release announcing the discovery said. Thailand's mountainous north often experiences cooler and wetter weather than the kind of year-round tropical heat experienced in the rest of the country -- conditions more suitable for growing truffles.
Mumbai: He has fought battles with drug abuse, faced a jail term and has had a tumultuous personal life. Actor Sanjay Dutt says that there are many lessons he has learnt and that his "innocence" is intact.
Sanjay, who had made a rocking debut in Bollywood with Rocky in 1981, put his personal life in jeopardy through drug addiction, and his life took a turn for the worse when he was arrested for illegal possession of weapons and was convicted.
Since each experience of life teaches one something, what has he learnt from the dark years of his life?
"A lot... I learnt a lot. I was innocent then, I am still innocent, but there are some life lessons learnt," Sanjay told IANS in an interview here ahead of the forthcoming release of Hindi film "Bhoomi", his first after being released from jail last year.
The actor, 58, was arrested for illegal possession of arms in a case related to the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, in which over 250 people were killed and several hundred were wounded.
A father of three, Sanjay says the present times are frightening for parents who constantly have a reason to worry about the security of their children.
"Bhoomi" has a father-daughter theme, and Sanjay expressed concern about how vulnerable he feels as a parent considering the rise in the number of crimes against girls.
"It's scary... I mean kids are not even safe in school, after whatever happened to the little girl in Gurgaon (rape of a five-year-old school girl), it can horrify any parent. Everybody has to be very careful as far as their kids are concerned. It's a frightening time for parents regarding the security of their children.
"As a father, I always tell my kids to do their activity and come back home, spend time with us, spend time at home, because at least that is safer... 'Baahar mahaul sahi nahi hai (the environment outside is not right)'. I think this is the time when we not only should start respecting women but also be careful and protective towards children," said the actor, lovingly called Sanju Baba in the film industry.
Sanjay has a daughter named Trishala, whom he had with his first wife Richa Sharma who died of brain tumour in New York in 1996. Trishala lives in the US.
He also has twins -- a boy named Shahraan and a girl named Iqra -- with his third wife Maanyata Dutt.
Given that his life has been full of troubles, is there any chapter of his life that he would like to re-write?
"No," said Sanjay, preferring to talk about Bhoomi, which he described as an "amazing story of a father and daughter.
Directed by National Award-winning Omung Kumar of Mary Kom fame, Bhoomi features Aditi Rao Hydari as Sanjay's onscreen daughter.
"The film talks about the special bonding of a parent and a child. It's a special story about everything that I believe in -- women's empowerment and gender equality. And Omung is a fantastic director, Aditi is a very good actress... The whole shooting was superb," he said.
Was he nervous about facing the camera after a long time?
"No," he was quick to respond.
But which was more exciting in comparison -- when he faced the camera for the first time in life, or facing it after spending some troublesome years and starting afresh?
"I swear I cannot remember my first day of facing a camera... It was 1979 or 1980, I guess... long, long back," said Sanjay, who finds the evolution in Hindi cinema very positive.
"It is more professional now. Films are made on time, which is great. People are doing one film at a time, so they are focused, which is a good sign," said Sanjay, who is excited about starting work on Tigmanshu Dhulia's Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster 3.
#kisses for #mrs and a #heart for #art A post shared by Riya Sen (@riyasendv) on Sep 11, 2017 at 1:08am PDT
A post shared by Raima Sen (@raimasen) on Aug 18, 2017 at 12:47am PDT
#bride @riyasendv A post shared by Raima Sen (@raimasen) on Aug 20, 2017 at 12:56am PDT
Actress Riya Sen and her husband Shivam Tiwari are in love and they dont care who is watching them. The couple, who got married recently, are currently holidaying in Prague their honeymoon destination. And if the recent photo - which Riya shared on her Instagram account is anything to go by, the gorgeous couple isnt shy about sharing their affection.In the new photo which Riya shared on her official Instagram account, the two can be seen sharing a passionate lip lock. And as expected, the photo has gone viral.The photo has been shared with a caption that reads, "Kisses for Mrs and a heart for art".Riya, daughter of popular actress Moon Moon Sen and granddaughter of even more popular actress Suchitra Sen, is remembered for her films Jhankar Beats and Noukadubi.The couple tied the knot in a traditional Bengali style, and sister Raima was quick to share a picture from the wedding on Instagram.After Riya made her onscreen debut with Tamil film Taj Mahal in 1999, she was seen in Bollywood for the first time in Style, followed by her appearance in Jhankar Beats and Dil Vil Pyar Vyar. She was also seen in supporting roles in multiple films such as Dil Ne Jise Apna Kahaa, Apna Sapna Money Money and Shaadi No 1.
How did AR Rahman feel going on-stage for the first time? For how many hours do the maestro train? Why do elders compare current trend of music with that of 50s and 60s? Well, the Mozart of Madras bared it all in exclusive with News18.com. The composer was in Delhi promoting his latest release: One Heart, The AR Rahman Concert Film. Joining him alongside was Jonita Gandhi of 'Break-up Song' fame. Watch now to find out more.
Creatives: Hitesh Singh
Frames : Siddharth Safaya, Badsha Ray
The BJP and Congress broke out into an open war of words over Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhis speech at University of California (Berkley). In his speech, Gandhi attacked the Modi government, spoke about political dynasties in India and hinted that he would be the Congresss PM face in 2019. Lord Meghnad Desai, political commentator and British politician, spoke to News 18 on the practice of attacking political opponents on foreign soil, the Congresss failure to develop an alternative narrative, the future of Rahul Gandhi and more.
There was an age-old convention in Indian politics that opponents wouldn't at tack each other on foreign soil. Is the age of civility in Indian politics over?
This is something that happens world-wide. With communications the way they are, home and abroad doesnt make a difference. Diaspora Indians wants to talk about Indian politics. They want Rahul Gandhi to attack Narendra Modi and Narendra Modi to attack Rahul Gandhi. Indians abroad are not interested in them talking about anything other than politics.
BJP has attacked Rahul Gandhi for targeting the PM. Smriti Irani called him a failed dynast. Is he, in fact, a failed dynast?
What came as a surprise to me was Rahul Gandhi talking about dynasties. When he entered politics, he attacked the notion of privellege in politics and said he wanted to end dynasty. But now he has become defensive of dynasty. He spoke about Akhilesh Yadav and Stalin, who are also dynasts. Just because dynasty exists doesnt mean it is worth defending. Had Lal Bahadur Shastri not died so soon, Congress itself would not have become a dynasty. It was not a dynastic party to begin with. Today, there is a ruling party which is not a dynastic party. Why dont you recognize that as a great new edition in Indian politics? The four top constitutional positions are held by non-dynasts. He wants to attack BJP but ends up defending dynasty, which is not a very good way to attack your opponents.
Rahul Gandhi said that a certain kind of arrogance had crept into the Congress by 2012. Is this the beginning of a Congress course-correction or just empty rhetoric?
Congress has to find a new way of connecting. They should first of all say we are not entitled to stay in power. I think they are beginning to realise that they need to be humble and they need to reconnect with people. And even so, they need to find a new story. In his speech, there was no new story. All the Congress kept saying was that the BJP policies are our policies. If they are your policies, why are you criticizing them? There is a new generation of voters who dont remember Gandhi and Nehru, so you have to talk about todays issues.
In his speech, the Congress VP slammed the government for demonetization and the flawed roll out of the Goods and Services Tax. Do you agree with his assessment?
I have been a long-time advocate of demonetization. The short term effects, such as drop in GDP figures, will be offset by its long-term effects. Rahul Gandhi repeated Dr. Manmohan Singhs estimate that there would be a 2% GDP fall but most other estimates show the number would be much smaller than that. One of these days, the government will have to bring out a white paper on demonetization. I think they will do that close to the next elections. GST is a much less controversial issue. Everybody, including the Congress, wanted GST.
The intolerance debate is once again getting revived in India after the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh. Is Rahul Gandhi right in saying this is hurting India's image abroad?
Such incidents happened even before the BJP was in power but people did not highlight them. So many rationalists were killed when the Congress was in power. It is convenient to say that it is BJPs fault. However, even if you dont agree with rationalists, there should be some provision to ensure that they are not shot. This needs to be looked at like a form of terrorism. These are not political problems. These are problems of culture and society.
Rahul Gandhi said he was willing to take charge of the party by 2019. Do you think he is hinting at a possible run for PM?
It would be very good if he stepped up and said I am going be the PM and be an alternative to Narendra Modi. What happened during UPA 2 was that he was unwilling to accept a ministerial position. There was confusion over who was the Congresss Prime Ministerial candidate. If he now wants to say that he will lead the coalition. That will clarify the issue and will be a good thing for Congress. Right now, the opposition coalition has a crisis of leadership. Congress needs to say we are in charge.
If you were Rahul Gandhi, with less than two years left for the Lok Sabha elections, what would your course of action be?
Rahul Gandhi, from now on, should have lots of serious consultations with experts over policy formation. Narendra Modi probably spent two years before the 2014 elections, without telling anybody, trying to consult experts on what his policy package should be, what his slogan should be. Sabka saath, Sabka Vikas did not come up overnight. A lot of brainstorming went into it. Congress needs to have an alternative story and for the next 21 months, they need to start a dialogue. The issue of intolerance and communalism will not win an election by itself. Congress needs to ask two questions. First, where did they go wrong? I think thats a question Rahul Gandhi is beginning to answer that. Second, how can they do better than the BJP? It is not an impossible task but its a serious task. They need to start now. Even if they want to come to power in 2024, they should go from 44 to 150 seats in 2019.
Bhopal: Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Babulal Gaur on Tuesday said the BJP has to give tickets to him and his associates for the 2018 Assembly polls as they can win their seats.
Gaur was axed from the Shivraj Singh Chouhan cabinet in 2015, along with the then Forest minister Sartaj Singh, as the party adopted the 75 plus formula as suggested by the high command. However, BJP chief Amit Shah recently said during his Bhopal visit that there was no such rule formulated by the party.
I, Laxmikant Sharma and Raghavji would contest the 2018 Assembly polls and party has to give tickets to us because we are winning candidates. Party cant afford to make changes in seats it won last time, said Gaur, who has won 10 Assembly elections from Bhopals Govindpura constituency.
Gaurs statements came close on the heels of state BJP president Nandkumar Singh Chauhans statement that only winnable candidates would be given tickets and elderly leaders could be axed as they cant take physical stress anymore.
Bhopal mayor Alok Sharma and Huzur MLA Rameshwar Sharma are both eyeing the Govindpura seat for 2018.
Reacting to Gaurs remarks, BJP spokesperson Rajnish Agrawal told News18 that ticket distribution is a perogative of the state and central election committees. Asked if the door is still open for elders to get tickets, Agrawal claimed that it was purely up to the election committee.
Laxmikant Sharma had caused major embarrassment to the party as Vyapam scam surfaced during his tenure as higher and technical education minister. He lost his cabinet berth and party membership afterwards.
Raghavaji was expelled from the party in July 2013 after his domestic help accused him of sexually exploitation and lodged an FIR.
New Delhi: The Bheem Army, a Dalit group from western Uttar Pradesh, on Tuesday accused the BJP governments in the state and at the Centre of trying to "suppress" those fighting for the rights of the downtrodden.
The group alleged the UP government wanted to frame its leader Chandrasekhar Azad under the stringent National Security Act (NSA).
Its members, including Supreme Court lawyer Colin Gonsalves and Hindi writer Anil Chamaria, told news persons in New Delhi that the BJP government in UP was working against a particular caste to save members of another in Saharanpur district, which witnessed inter-caste clashes in April-May this year.
The Saharanpur Police had earlier said that Chandrashekhar provoked Dalit men and indulged in violence at the Maharana Pratap Bhavan on the city outskirts. The charge sheet filed by the police in court showed there was no evidence against the accused. No arms were seized from him, Gonsalves claimed.
"It has no information about anyone injured. In the CCTV footage presented by the police, the accused could be seen pacifying the mob. So, an attempt to impose the NSA despite all these things is unjustified," he said.
Citing media reports, Chamaria claimed the Bheem Army was gaining ground in the country. "The government is acting against it so that the Dalit movement could be checked," he alleged.
He also asked the government to refrain from imposing the NSA on Azad and to withdraw its announcement of rewards on the arrest of other accused in the Saharanpur violence.
Azad was arrested in connection with the Saharanpur violence from Himachal Pradesh in June.
Bhopal: The political bickering over the status of Madhya Pradesh Public Relations Minister Dr. Narottam Mishra has once again intensified with Congress launching a fresh salvo against the minister, who has been debarred from contesting election by Election Commission for the next three years in a paid news case.
The leader of Opposition, Ajay Singh, who had earlier written a letter to CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, demanding exclusion of Dr. Mishra from the meeting scheduled to take place on September 11 to select information commissioners, on Monday, decided not to turn up at the meeting, forcing CM Chouhan to call it off.
Protest through a letter in this manner from Leader of Opposition is unfortunate, CM Chouhan told media at a function on Monday. Soon after, CM fired a missive to Ajay Singh claiming that High Court had stayed EC action against Dr. Mishra and the matter was sub-judice.
In the given circumstances, there was no issue in keeping Dr. Mishra in the committee, and I dont find any reason to make changes, CM Chouhan said in the letter.
In no time, Singh, too, responded with a letter, claiming that Dr. Mishra had not secured any stay against EC order at Gwalior, Jabalpur and Delhi high courts.
The Supreme Court, though, offered interim relief to Dr. Mishra which was not permanent, said Singh, reminding Chouhan that the SC and Delhi HC had turned down Dr. Mishras plea for permission to be present in state assembly during monsoon session that saw voting for Presidents election.
Underlining the importance of the constitutional right -- RTI, Singh claimed that any decision taken in the presence of Dr. Mishra does not seem proper.
This is no ill-intentioned political agenda. It only aims to ensure that the decision taken by the government does not court any controversy, the senior Congress leader said.
Meanwhile, Congress chief spokesperson KK Mishra welcomed CMs letter, saying that it was perhaps the first letter in which the chief minister replied to any Congress leader in the last 11 years of his rule.
If CM considers Dr. Narottam Mishra innocent, he should explain why the latter was disallowed to vote in the Presidential election, he asked.
Senior RTI activist and member Transparency International Ajay Dubey, while demanding a merit-based selection of information commissioners, wrote an e-mail to Gujarat Governor OP Kohli (in charge governor of MP), urging him to ensure that objections of Leader of Opposition are given due respect in MP.
Out of 11 posts of Information Commissioners, seven posts are lying vacant at Madhya Pradesh State Information Commission.
Interestingly, despite vociferous demands from Congress, Shivraj government has refused to sack Dr. Mishra from the cabinet.
The committee meant for appointing information commissioners comprises CM Shivraj, cabinet minister recommended by the CM (Dr. Narottam Mishra) and the Leader of Opposition Ajay Singh.
Petitioned by Dr. Mishra against EC order, the Delhi High Court heard his counsels arguments on Thursday and posted the matter for further hearing on September 13.
Chennai: Decks have been cleared for the AIADMK to hold its General Council meeting on Tuesday where the party is expected to remove VK Sasikala and her nephew TTV Dinakaran.
It may, however, end up becoming a token gesture as any decision taken at the meeting will be subject to the Madras High Courts final order of an appeal against the meeting on October 23.
The High Court had on Monday night upheld the order of a single judge dismissing a plea by Sasikala loyalist and MLA Vetrivel to stay the meeting convened by Chief Minister K Palaniswami-led faction. The judge in his order had also imposed a cost of Rs 1 lakh on Vetrivel for "wasting" the time of the court and advised him to stay at home if he didnt wish to attend the meeting.
Agreeing with the judge, a two-judge bench of the High Court allowed the meeting but made it clear that any decision taken at the meeting will be subject to the final outcome in the appeal and posted the matter to October 23.
In his petition, Vetrivel had contended that the General Council meeting could not be convened in the absence of interim general secretary Sasikala who is lodged in a Bengaluru jail in a corruption case.
Dinakaran, who maintains he is the deputy general secretary of the AIADMK, had warned of legal action against those who participate in the meeting.
An AIADMK source, who will attend Tuesdays meeting, told News18 that Sasikala may not directly be ousted from the party as a petition against her appointment as party general secretary is pending before the Election Commission. The source also confirmed that if Sasikala is removed from the party, the government is all probability may dissolve as the merged O Panneerselvam-Palaniswami faction still lacks majority in the Assembly.
Another source said Sasikala may be removed as the party's general secretary, but is not likely to be ousted from the party.
For now, uncertainty continues in the party with the Dinakaran camp not ready to give up after Panneerselvam (OPS) and Palaniswami (EPS) patched up. For the first time, Dinakaran told reporters in Madurai that he would send the government packing if the leadership is not changed. "We are ready to send this government back home. We will get rid of EPS and elect a good government. In 10 days, you will see a lot of changes happening. It is not good for Tamil Nadu if this government continues," he said.
New Delhi: BJP leader and Naroda Patiya case convict Maya Kodnani, on Tuesday, told a special court, hearing the 2002 Naroda Gam massacre case that she could not find the address of BJP president Amit Shah to summon him as a defence witness in the Naroda Gaam case.
Kodnani, who has already been convicted in the Naroda Patiya case and sentenced to 28 years imprisonment, is also an accused in the Naroda Gaam case, where 11 people had lost their lives.
Earlier this year, Maya Kodnani's lawyer had filed an application in the special court, giving a list of defence witnesses that she wanted to be examined as part of the trial. The list also included the name of BJP president Amit Shah.
When the 2002 communal riots happened, Amit Shah was BJP MLA from Sarkhej constituency, while Kodnani was MLA from Naroda constituency. Kodnani claimed in her application that MLAs and other leaders of the BJP had assembled at the Sola Civil Hospital during the time when the Naroda Gaam killings took place.
She had stated in her application that Amit Shah was present at the Sola Civil Hospital where she too was present with other party leaders and hence he should be examined too.
A total of 56 defence witnesses are to be examined during the Naroda Gaam trial. Of these, Maya Kodnani had listed down 11 witnesses that she wanted to be examined. All witnesses sought by Kodnani have been examined except Amit Shah.
Speaking exclusively to News18, Amit Patel, counsel for Maya Kodnani said, "We have the address of Amit Shahs Ahmedabad house, but he is also the national president of BJP and is not available at the residential address.
The application that my client made was limited to the fact that as of now, Amit Shah is not available at his Ahmedabad address," said Kodnanis counsel.
Patel further added that the court has set a deadline of September 18 to summon Amit Shah as a witness.
When asked about how Kodnani could not trace Amit Shah, given the fact that he is the BJP President and easily accessible to BJP workers and leaders, Patel said, "I cannot comment on that."
Meanwhile, top leaders from Gujarat BJP say that Maya Kodnani filed her application for summoning defence witnesses including Amit Shah without even speaking to them.
According to reports, when Amit Shah learnt that his name has also been included in the list of witnesses to be summoned, he is understood to have expressed anger and displeasure at this and even asked the state party leadership to reprimand Kodnani.
Trolling amounts to hitting below the belt.We don't support those who displaysuch aggressive nature -RSS Chief @indfoundation @rammadhavbjp A. Surya Prakash (@mediasurya) September 12, 2017
At a time when online trolling by the alleged supporters of the Sangh Parivar has been covered by global media, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat told a gathering of diplomats that his organisation doesnt support any aggressive behaviour.Trolling amounts to hitting below the belt. We dont support those who display such behaviour, Bhagwat was quoted as saying by one of the organisers.Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh sarsanghchalak chaired the seventh Breakfast Briefing organized by India Foundation on Tuesday. A day after his birthday on September 11, he addressed a gathering on 52 diplomats on the Sangh and its ethos. He also took questions from the diplomats. Bhagwat sought to clarify that while Sangh and BJP are related, the two should not be used as synonyms.According to a series of tweets put out by the verified Twitter handles of India Foundation directors and scholars, Bhagwat said, Sangh doesnt run BJP, and BJP doesnt run Sangh.As swayamsevaks, we consult and exchange notes but we are independent in functioning. Our volunteers are free to work in any field of life. Many parties have RSS volunteers. BJP has more. Our goal is to unite Indian society. BJP is an independent political party. Sangh and BJP sometimes have common national agendas, but that is natural, not engineered.Speaking on Hinduism, he said, Hinduness is different from Hinduism. With times we change. When someone says I am a Hindu, it is not about religion or how one lives. Its about accepting others as they are. It is not about you should wear this or eat this. That imposition falls in the realm of -ism. Hinduness is free from ism.Bhagwat said, Samrasta (harmony) is about respecting diversity, working together like one works with his own self. Every human being needs to be humane and one must learn to express humanness.The briefing took place in New Delhi and was attended by Ram Madhav, national general secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and India Foundation director A Surya Prakash, director of Centre for Land Warfare Studies Dhruv C Katoch and other scholars.The welcome note was delivered by Jayant Sinha, one of India Foundation directors and MoS, Civil Aviation.A scholar of India Foundation said there are so many misconceptions about Sangh that we had to hold this meeting.
New Delhi: The BJP has taken offence to Rahul Gandhi criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi while he was on foreign soil.
But the BJP cannot criticise Rahul beyond a point for speaking ill of the PM while on foreign soil because the PM himself is guilty of the same.
Rahul, in his interaction with students of the University of California, Berkeley, said violence, anger and the politics of polarisation have raised their ugly head in India.
He went on to flay the Modi government saying the politics of polarisation is very dangerous. Hatred, anger and violence can destroy us. Liberal journalists are being shot. People are being lynched, Dalits are being killed over suspicions of carrying beef, Muslims are killed over suspicions of eating beef, all this is new in India.
The BJP has also taken offence to the attack on New India, a construct that the PM himself had coined in his Independence Day speech.
There was a decades-long informal understanding that Prime Ministers while on official visits abroad will not bring in domestic politics or criticise opposition parties or personalities. Modi broke this convention in his very first visit to the US in 2014 after becoming the PM.
He had spoken about scam India and how he got a scam infested system in virasat. He followed that up in his next visit to the US where he talked about damaad making Rs 1,000 crores, a clear reference to Robert Vadra and the allegations of corruption against him.
During his visit to Germany in 2015, PM Modi had said that India was begging earlier and will not beg any more, evoking sharp criticism from Congress.
On his maiden visit to China in May 2015, Modi had even gone on to say that people had at one point of time considered it a misfortune to be born in India and ashamed to be called an Indian.
Rahul Gandhi was not exactly admiring Modi in his comments at Berkeley. But he cant be accused of doing anything that the Prime Minister did not.
At one point Rahul even acknowledged Modis skills as an orator. He even said the PM was a better speaker than him. So it was not just criticism for the sake of it.
As the political slugfest continues, one thing is clear the convention of not washing domestic dirty linen while abroad is now pretty much dead and buried. This is the new normal. And the government and the opposition better get used to it.
Astonishing that Congress VP, Rahul Gandhi goes to US and slams his own Country,India ..It's frustration of Rahul speaking..Deplorable! Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj) September 12, 2017
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday sought to deflect criticism on dynastic politics at an event at the University of California in Berkeley.Most of the country runs like this. Thats how India works. Dynastic politics is a problem in all political parties. Akhilesh (Yadav), (MK) Stalin and even (actor) Abhishek Bachchan are dynasts. Even (Prem Kumar) Dhumals son (Anurag Thakur) is a dynast, so dont go just after me, Rahul said at the event.The Congress leader also conceded that his party may have become susceptible to arrogance in 2012, two years before it lost power at the Centre to the BJP. Around 2012, a certain arrogance crept into the Congress and they stopped having conversations with the people, he said.More importantly, the Congress leader said he was ready to take charge of the party in 2019 when the next Lok Sabha elections will be held.Recalling the assassinations of his grandmother Indira Gandhi and father Rajiv Gandhi, the Congress leader said no one understands violence better than him. I lost my grandmother and father to violence. If I dont understand violence, who will? The idea of non-violence is under attack today, yet it is the only idea which can take humanity forward, he said.Hatred, anger and violence can destroy us. The politics of polarisation is very dangerous, he said.Taking on the BJP and the Narendra Modi government, Rahul said the Prime Minister had clamped down on RTI Act which was much more transparent during Congress rule.Speaking about demonetisation, the Congress vice-president lashed out at the Modi government saying the decision of demonetisation was taken without consulting either the Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) or the Parliament, resulting in severe damage across sectors.Continuing with his criticism over demonetisation, Rahul Gandhi highlighted the fact that the decision has done no good to the nation; millions of jobs were lost.In a word of rare praise for the PM, however, Rahul called him a good communicator. He is my Prime Minister too. He is a very good communicator. His messaging ability is very subtle and effective. But he does not converse with the people he works with.Talking of the current political set-up in India, Rahul said power should be given back to the MPs. Today, there is no power in Parliament. Power is outside the House and with the PMO and ministers. We need to give this power back to the lawmakers.Reacting to Rahul Gandhis speech, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said it was the Congress leaders frustration speaking.Rahul Gandhi is on a two-week trip to the US. His address at the University of California, Berkeley on the subject 'India at 70 Reflections on the Path Forward' was the first stop in the visit.In the coming days he is expected to meet US politicians with whom he will discuss policy and bilateral issues, PTI reported.
New Delhi: Its a split-wide-open in the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) as the merged factions of the party have decided to remove VK Sasikala from the post of General Secretary of the party. This prompted Sasikalas nephew TTV Dinakaran, who forms the third faction of the AIADMK, to raise the banner of revolt.
While the merging of the Edapaddi Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam gave some respite to the EPS government, it may not be enough to save the government if it comes to a floor test. Heres why the Tamil Nadu government is on shaky ground and fresh elections may be in the offing for the Southern bellwether state.
The Tamil Nadu assembly is a 234-member assembly and to be in government, the AIADMK requires the votes of 117 MLAs on the floor of the house. In the 2016 Tamil Nadu Assembly polls, the AIADMK fought the election under Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and won a second consecutive term by getting 134 seats. The DMK, the main opposition party, improved its 2011 tally and won 89 seats.
Since the death of J Jayalalithaa nine months ago, the party has seen multiple splits and mergers, two Chief Ministers and even a floor test. On Tuesday, when Dinakaran criticized the partys move to remove Sasikala from her post, he claimed he had the support of 21 MLAs. The EPS and OPS factions have the support of 103 and 10 MLAs respectively. Together, with 113 MLAs, they are four short of the magic number.
Last month, DMK leader MK Stalin had written a letter to the states Governor requesting a floor test. After the EPS and OPS factions of the AIADMK decided to merge, Stalin wrote, As a leader of Opposition, I request the Honble Governor to direct Thiru Edapadi K Palaniswami to prove his majority in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly immediately.
If the Governor obliges Stalins request, the AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu may be in trouble.
THE NUMBERS GAME
TOTAL SEATS: 234
MAGIC NUMBER: 117
EPS FACTION: 103
OPS FACTION: 10
DINAKARAN FACTION: 21
DMK: 89
CONGRESS: 8
INDIAN UNION MUSLIM LEAGUE: 1
Breaking news Mi Fans: Mi MIX 2 will be launching in India soon RT if you are excited about this amazing news @XiaomiIndia pic.twitter.com/vLTpMHwFNC Manu Kumar Jain (@manukumarjain) September 11, 2017
Xiaomi has launched the Mi Mix 2 as its latest flagship and the bezel-less design of the smartphone, along with its top-of-the-line firepower has certainly raised many eyebrows across the globe. The Mi Mix 2 has been one of the most anticipated devices for the year 2017 and naturally, the question arises, whether or not the device will reach the Indian shore. Yes, it will, confirms Xiang Wang, Xiaomi Senior Vice-president.In an interview, Wang clarified India and China are our top markets and as per that, the team at Xiaomi India gets the maximum support from us. We are further building on our resources in India to cater to the large demand of our products and to further expand our portfolio in the country.When asked as to why the premium Xiaomi product line-up is not offered in India, he replied We are working extensively towards increasing the capacity of our high-tier products. We plan on bringing more of the Mi ecosystem products to the country. As of now, the Mi Mix 2 will be coming to India soon.Wang further added to this As for the Mi Notebooks, we are currently doing extensive market research in India to know the requirements of our consumers better. For the same, we organized a delegation from China headquarters that went to India in order to know the market better.Apart from India and China, Xiaomi is looking to expand its reach to a host of other countries. We are targeting many more markets like Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Mexico and others. We are concentrated on establishing an offline retail chain in Russia (where the market is much different than in China and India, as it is mostly offline). In Mexico, we are already shipping our existing product line-up, without any customizations. This is again, very different as we customize our products for the Indian market to better suit the local requirement.Wang mentioned It is difficult to cater to the large demand for our products in the market. We have limited resources and that limits the outsourcing of our flagship products. We are also working hard towards meeting the demand for our budget offerings in the market.Xiaomi recently came up with an Android One device as well, in the form of Mi A1. We asked Wang why the company went for a new device instead of bringing the Android One experience to its already successful and cheaper Redmi series. Wang clarified We wanted to provide the best of Android One experience to our users. For that, we had to offer the best-in-class specifications in our smartphone and hence we opted for a completely new and a better device for the Android One experience.Interestingly, Xiaomi India MD also tweeted recently that the Mi Mix 2 will be coming to India. All said and done, it is refreshing to know that the premium offerings by the company will finally see the light of day in the country. More number of choices is always better for the end user.
Sydney: India has lodged an official complaint over an Australian advertisement that features Lord Ganesha and other religious icons endorsing lamb.
In the TV commercial from industry group Meat and Livestock Australia, a number of religious figures, including Lord Ganesha, Jesus, Buddha and Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, are seen sitting down together to a lamb-based meal and raising a glass to the meat.
The image of elephant-headed Lord Ganesha, who is widely considered to be vegetarian, was met with anger in Australia's Indian community.
The Indian High Commission in Canberra said it had taken the issue up with the Australian government.
"Lord Ganesha along with other religious figures is found to be 'toasting lamb', which the Indian community consider to be offensive and hurting their religious sentiments," the commission said in a statement on Saturday.
The Indian consulate in Sydney has also made a direct appeal to Meat and Livestock Australia to withdraw the commercial, according to the statement.
The industry body said it was meeting community groups to respond to their concerns.
It said it had undertaken extensive research and consultation when producing the advertisement, which was intended to promote inclusivity and not intended to offend.
Caption: In the TV commercial, a number of religious figures, including Lord Ganesha, are seen sitting down together to a lamb-based meal and raising a glass to the meat.
Lahore: In campaigning for a Pakistan by-election seen as a test of support for ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the most visible figure is not on the ballot: Sharif's daughter, Maryam, widely touted as his political heir-apparent.
This past weekend, crowds mobbed Maryam's car and threw rose petals as she crisscrossed the eastern city of Lahore campaigning for her mother, Kulsoom, who is the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party's candidate to contest the seat Nawaz was forced to vacate by a Supreme Court ruling in July.
With Kulsoom in London for cancer surgery, accompanied by Nawaz, 43-year-old Maryam has led the campaign with fiery speeches denouncing Nawaz's opponents and the Supreme Court.
Her influence within the PML-N has grown in recent years, with senior party figures crediting her with Nawaz's move to embrace relatively more pro-women and liberal causes in a staunchly conservative nation of 208 million people.
In a rare interview with foreign media, Maryam outlined to Reuters what drives her political ambitions as she emerges from her father's shadow to become a prominent figure in the ruling party he still controls.
"I'm proud to be the torch bearer of ideology which PML-N has," Maryam said at the weekend in Punjab's provincial capital Lahore, her father's electoral power base. "I am (Nawaz's) reflection, I am his extension. I have grown up espousing his agenda, his ideology."
Maryam has framed the election as a chance for voters to protest the Supreme Court's verdict against her father and help the PML-N flex its electoral muscle.
"Your vote was disrespected and disregarded, will you answer to this disrespect on Sept. 17?" Maryam asked at a recent rally.
The by-election is seen as a litmus test for the PML-N's political fortunes in the wake of Nawaz's ouster, and an early indicator of voter sentiment ahead of a general election next year.
Opposition leader Imran Khan, on the ascendancy after Nawaz's ouster, and eager to make inroads into the PML-N's political heartlands in Punjab, has accused Maryam of benefiting from alleged corruption swirling around her father, and cast the by-election as a plebiscite on corruption.
"This election will decide where the people of Pakistan stand," Khan, the leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, told crowds in Lahore last week.
The PML-N made Maryam - a telegenic but inexperienced politician - the face of the campaign despite a Supreme Court-appointed panel accusing her of signing forged documents to obscure ownership of offshore companies used to buy upmarket London flats.
She denies any wrongdoing but the Supreme Court has ordered the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to launch a criminal investigation into her, Nawaz and other family members.
MILITARY INTERFERENCE?
Ahead of another rally on Sunday, Maryam hinted at military interference in Pakistani politics, a source of instability since independence in 1947, and portrayed herself as a campaigner for democracy.
"Our history is marred with dictatorships and repeated attacks on democracy, so this is what I struggle for," she told Reuters.
Maryam says her father's dismissal by the Supreme Court is a conspiracy, noting his success in reinvigorating the economy - with a pro-business focus on infrastructure spending to boost development - and overall popularity "sent alarm bells ringing" for those who don't want Pakistan to have a strong leader.
"This was the main reason he was being targeted," she said, before adding: "That's all I can say."
Such coded talk is a familiar dance in Pakistan, where politicians speak between the lines to imply that the hidden hand of the powerful military is behind unfolding events.
Asked if she is talking about elements of the military being involved in her father's ouster, as some senior PML-N figures have hinted, Maryam paused before saying: "It's not my place to comment".
BHUTTO COMPARISONS
Maryam was coy when asked whether she has ambitions to be prime minister one day, saying she was not eyeing anything and was for now "happy with love and affection that I'm getting".
But senior PML-N officials expect her to at least become a minister in the next cabinet if the party holds on to power after the 2018 poll. Others have suggested she may become a leader soon.
Maryam was more forthcoming when asked about comparisons with slain female leader Benazir Bhutto, the daughter of former premier Zulfikar Bhutto who vied for power with Nawaz during two decades of political turmoil and tussles with the military.
"I have a lot of respect for the lady, but ... the only thing which is common between us is gender," she said.
Silivri(Turkey): A Turkish court has ordered that five staff members of the opposition daily Cumhuriyet being tried on charges of "terror activities" remain in custody.
The court on Monday rejected a plea to free them from detention during a trial being seen as a test for press freedom under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The case, which opened in Istanbul in July, involves 17 current and former writers, cartoonists and executives from Cumhuriyet, including editor-in-chief Murat Sabuncu and chief executive Akin Atalay.
The court justified its decision to keep the staff members in custody by saying it had been unable to question three witnesses called to the stand yesterday.
A "more definitive" decision on their continued detention will be taken at a hearing scheduled for September 25, the tribunal's president said.
Applause erupted in the audience as the men were escorted from the courtroom.
For government critics, the case is emblematic of the erosion of freedom following last year's failed coup, when Ankara launched a crackdown targeting those with alleged links to the putschists as well as opponents.
The secular daily is one of the few voices in the Turkish media to oppose Erdogan, with its embarrassing scoops angering those in the corridors of power.
On July 28, an Istanbul court freed seven of the newspaper's staff after 271 days, including respected cartoonist Musa Kart and Turhan Gunay, editor of the books supplement.
But some of the paper's most prominent staff remain in custody, among them commentator Kadri Gursel and investigative journalist Ahmet Sik.
Gursel was defiant when he took the stand, claiming he was on trial because of his "journalistic activities". "Whatever the verdict, I have an untroubled conscience. And if there is even a little bit of justice left in this period where justice has been trampled upon, I know I will be acquitted," he said.
Gursel, Sabuncu and Atalay have been jailed for 316 days, while Sik has been held for 255 days. If convicted, they face varying terms of up to 43 years.
Sik, for his part, is also the author of an explosive 2011 book entitled "The Imam's Army", which exposed how followers of influential Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen infiltrated the Turkish bureaucracy and built ties with the ruling party.
Once a close ally of President Erdogan, Gulen is in self-imposed exile in the United States, wanted on charges of ordering the failed July 2016 coup, allegations he denies. More than 50,000 people have been arrested on suspicion of links to his movement.
Those on trial are charged with using their position to support the Gulen movement, along with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the ultra-left Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C).
Ankara has branded all three terror organisations. In the indictment, the newspaper was accused of an "intense perception operation" targeting both Turkey and Erdogan using the tactics of an "asymmetric war".
The judge asked several witnesses, including Cumhuriyet journalists and former members of the foundation which owns the daily, about its financial situation and the editorial process, including how headlines are chosen and the angle of stories.
Editor-in-chief Sabuncu condemned the trial, telling the judge it "has unfortunately already entered the darkest pages of the history of press freedom" in Turkey.
Christophe Deloire, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) secretary general, said the journalists "are judged simply because they embody the journalism worthy of its name in Turkey and they do not broadcast the propaganda of the Erdogan regime".
Also on trial, but in absentia after fleeing to Germany, is the paper's former editor-in-chief Can Dundar, who was last year sentenced to five years and 10 months in jail over a front-page story accusing the government of sending weapons to Syria.
According to the P24 press freedom group, there are 170 journalists behind bars in Turkey, most of whom were arrested after the coup.
The country ranks 155 out of 180 on the latest RSF world press freedom index.
United Nations: The UN Security Council on Monday unanimously approved new sanctions on North Korea but not the toughest-ever measures sought by the Trump administration to ban all oil imports and freeze international assets of the government and its leader, Kim Jong Un.
The resolution, responding to Pyongyang's sixth and strongest nuclear test explosion on Sept. 3, does ban North Korea from importing all natural gas liquids and condensates. It also bans all textile exports and prohibits any country from authorizing new work permits for North Korean workers two key sources of hard currency for the northeast Asian nation.
As for energy, it caps Pyongyang's imports of crude oil at the level of the last 12 months, and it limits the import of refined petroleum products to 2 million barrels a year.
The watered-down resolution does not include sanctions that the US wanted on North Korea's national airline and the army.
Nonetheless, US Ambassador Nikki Haley told the council after the vote that "these are by far the strongest measures ever imposed on North Korea." But she stressed that "these steps only work if all nations implement them completely and aggressively."
Haley noted that the council was meeting on the 16th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack. In a clear message to North Korean threats to attack the US, she said: "We will never forget the lesson that those who have evil intentions must be confronted."
"Today we are saying the world will never accept a nuclear armed North Korea," she said. "We are done trying to prod the regime to do the right thing" and instead are taking steps to prevent it "from doing the wrong thing."
Haley said the US doesn't take pleasure in strengthening sanctions and reiterated that the US does not want war.
"The North Korean regime has not yet passed the point of no return," she said. "If it agrees to stop its nuclear program it can reclaim its future. If it proves it can live in peace, the world will live in peace with it.... If North Korea continues its dangerous path, we will continue with further pressure."
The final agreement was reached after negotiations between the US and China, the North's ally and major trading partner. Haley said the resolution would never have happened without the "strong relationship" between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
But its provisions are a significant climb-down from the very tough sanctions the Trump administration proposed last Tuesday, especially on oil, where a complete ban could have crippled North Korea's economy.
The cap on the import of petroleum products could have an impact, but North Korea will still be able to import the same amount of crude oil that it has this year.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, China supplies most of North Korea's crude oil imports, which a U.S. official put at 4 million barrels a year. The agency cited UN customs data showing that China reported sending 6,000 barrels a day of oil products to North Korea, which it said is mostly gasoline and diesel fuel vital to the country's agriculture, transportation and military sectors.
That would mean North Korea imports nearly 2.2 million barrels a year in petroleum products, so the 2 million barrel cap in the resolution would represent a 10 percent cut. But the US official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said North Korea now receives about 4.5 million barrels of refined petroleum products, which would mean a more than 50 percent cut.
The textile ban is significant. Textiles are North Korea's main source of export revenue after coal, iron, seafood and other minerals that have already been severely restricted by previous U.N. resolutions. North Korean textile exports in 2016 totaled $752.5 million, accounting for about one-fourth of its total $3 billion in merchandise exports, according to South Korean government figures.
Haley said the Trump administration believes the new sanctions combined with previous measures would ban over 90 percent of North Korea's exports reported in 2016.
As for North Koreans working overseas, the US Mission said a cutoff on new work permits will eventually cost North Korea about $500 million a year once current work permits expire. The US estimates about 93,000 North Koreans are currently working abroad, the US official said.
The original US draft would have ordered all countries to impose an asset freeze and travel ban on Kim Jong Un and four other top party and government officials. The resolution adopted Monday adds only one person to the sanctions list Pak Yong Sik, a member of the Workers' Party of Korea Central Military Commission, which controls the country's military and helps direct its military industries.
The original US draft would also have frozen the assets of North Korea's state-owned airline Air Koryo, the Korean People's Army and five other powerful military and party entities. The resolution adds only the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea and the party's powerful Organization and Guidance Department and its Propaganda and Agitation Department to the sanctions blacklist.
North Korea's Foreign Ministry issued a statement early Monday saying it was watching the United States' moves closely and warned that it was "ready and willing" to respond with measures of its own. It said the US would pay a heavy price if the sanctions proposed by Washington are adopted.
Britain's U.N. ambassador, Matthew Rycroft, told reporters who questioned the watering down of the initial US text that "there is a significant prize in keeping the whole of the Security Council united."
Rycroft called the resolution "a very significant set of additional sanctions," declaring that "we are tightening the screw, and we stand prepared to tighten it further."
French Ambassador Francois Delattre said, "We are facing not a regional but a global threat, not a virtual but an immediate threat, not a serious but an existential threat."
"Make no mistake about it," he said, "our firmness today is our best antidote to the risk of war, to the risk of confrontation, and our firmness today is our best tool for a political solution tomorrow."
China and Russia had called for a resolution focused on a political solution to the escalating crisis over North Koreas nuclear program. They have proposed a freeze-for-freeze that would halt North Korean nuclear and missile tests in exchange for the US and South Korea stopping their joint military exercises but the Trump administration has rejected that.
China's UN ambassador, Liu Jieyi, said Beijing has been making "unremitting efforts" to denuclearize and maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.
Liu again urged the council to adopt the freeze-for-freeze proposal and said talks with North Korea are needed "sooner rather than later." He expressed hope that the United States will pledge not to seek regime change or North Korea's collapse.
Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia went further, making clear that while Russia supported the resolution, it wasn't entirely satisfied with the council's approach.
He said the "unwillingness" of the US to reaffirm pledges not to seek regime change or war in North Korea or to include the idea of having UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres use his good offices to try to resolve the dispute "gives rise to very serious questions in our minds."
"We're convinced that diverting the gathering menace from the Korean Peninsula could be done not through further and further sanctions, but by political means," he said.
The resolution does add new language urging "further work to reduce tensions so as to advance the prospects for a comprehensive settlement." It retains language reaffirming support for long-stalled six-party talks with that goal involving North Korea, the US, Russia, China, Japan and South Korea.
Miami: Irma, once a deadly hurricane in the Caribbean, weakened on Monday as residents in Florida and across the region surveyed the widespread damage and dealt with heavy floods.
Here is a roundup of the effects of the storm that has claimed dozens of lives and wreaked havoc that will cost billions of dollars to repair.
Irma's toll
As of late Monday, the death toll was around 40. Fourteen were killed on the French island of Saint Barthelemy and the neighboring Dutch-French island of Saint Martin, at least 10 in Cuba, six in the British Caribbean islands, at least four in the US Virgin Islands, at least two in Puerto Rico, one in Barbuda and at least one in Haiti.
At least four were killed in the US Virgin Islands, and at least two were killed in the US territory of Puerto Rico, with more than half of its three million residents without power.
Dominican Republic, Haiti
Around 20,000 people were evacuated in the Dominican Republic, the eastern part of Hispaniola island, which is shared with Haiti.
Irma caused at least one fatality, with another person missing, but passed further north than had been feared.
Authorities said 5,000 houses flooded, while 8,000 families were declared disaster victims after their homes were severely damaged or destroyed.
Cuba
Cubans reported "deafening" winds, uprooted trees and power lines, and rooftops were blown off after Irma made landfall Friday as a maximum-strength Category 5 storm.
Enormous waves lashed the Malecon, Havana's emblematic sea front, and residents were waist-deep in floodwaters after Irma forced the evacuation of more than a million people.
Havana residents remained without water supplies and phone connections and schools were closed until further notice.
Florida
More than four million homes were without power throughout Florida and more than six million people had been ordered to flee their homes.
Florida Governor Rick Scott said Irma's storm surge saw many areas inundated, including historic levels in at least three counties.
Power lines were down across the state, with 65 percent of homes without electricity, and many roads were impassable due to debris.
The military was helping in relief operations, with the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier arriving off Florida late on Sunday to help in the southern part of the state and along the Florida Keys.
Irma: Where next?
Warnings of hazardous storm surges persisted in several areas as Irma's center moved over southwestern Georgia after passing by the northwestern coast of Florida.
The National Hurricane Center warned of possible tornadoes along the South Carolina coast overnight.
A state of emergency has been declared in Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia and Florida.
Hurricanes Jose, Katia
A weakening Hurricane Jose passed north of Saint Barthelemy and Saint Martin over the weekend, despite earlier fears the islands would suffer the second storm within days.
Another hurricane, Katia, made landfall in eastern Mexico late Friday, killing two people.
Charlotte Glaze gives Donna Lamb a teary hug as she floats out some of her belongings in floodwaters from the Ortega River in Jacksonville, Fla., Monday, Sept. 11, 2017, after Hurricane Irma passed through the area. This neighborhood has not flooded in at least 51 years," Lamb said. (Image: AP)
Leaders of Virginia Military Institute said Tuesday that the school will keep its Confederate statues and consider adding more historical context in the aftermath of last months violent white nationalist rally in Charlottesville.
At a VMI board of visitors meeting Tuesday, VMI Superintendent J.H. Binford Peay III defended the schools traditions while declaring that theres no place for discrimination at the state-supported military college. The school, founded in Lexington before the outbreak of the Civil War, has continually evolved since it was racially integrated in 1968, Peay said.
Other vestiges of the schools Confederate ties such as battle flags, the playing of Dixie and cadet salutes to a statue of Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson already have been phased out, the superintendent said.
We are a different school, Peay told the board. And we build on the strengths of our traditions, the right traditions, the right statues, the right ... ceremonies that we have to make our graduates stronger and better for a nation that needs to move to the future and advance in a right way. Thats my thinking, ladies and gentlemen. And I dont think Im being politically correct.
Several Virginia localities, including Richmond, have sped up conversations about removing Confederate statues after the Aug. 12 rally in Charlottesville, where one anti-racism protester died as a coalition of white nationalist groups tried to hold a rally in support of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
The states top Democrats, including Gov. Terry McAuliffe, called for moving Confederate statues to museums, saying they have grown too divisive as symbols meant to venerate the Lost Cause.
McAuliffe also has said cities and counties should have the authority to decide what to do with their own monuments, though that power may be sharply limited by a state law designed to protect war memorials.
The statues at history-steeped VMI stood apart as a unique situation where the decision on taking down statues was up to a colleges governing board, not state or local elected officials. Like other higher education boards, VMIs board is appointed by the governor.
VMI board of visitors President John William Boland said he and other board members wholeheartedly agree with the superintendent. Boland suggested adding a plaque to honor VMI cadets who fought on the Union side during the Civil War.
In a joint statement, Peay and Boland said the VMI board endorses continuing to acknowledge all those who are part of the history of the institute.
We choose not to honor their weaknesses, but to recognize their strengths, the statement said.
The events in Charlottesville pushed the debate over Confederate statues to the forefront of Virginias gubernatorial election. Republican Ed Gillespie, a political consultant and former chairman of the Republican National Committee, has said he thinks that statues should remain and be placed in historical context while stressing that monument decisions should be made locally. Lt. Gov. Ralph S. Northam, the Democratic nominee and a VMI graduate, has said he supports removing Confederate statues from prominent public places.
Tuesdays announcement by VMI put Northam at odds with the alma mater he routinely references on the campaign trail. In a statement, Northam gave no indication he would press the issue at VMI if elected governor.
As I have said before, I believe local communities, including the VMI community, need to make these decisions for themselves, Northam said. While I personally think that these statues belong in a museum with appropriate historical context, I respect the decision of the institute.
The Gillespie campaign and other Republicans reacted to the VMI news by pointing to Northams previous pledge to do everything in his authority to remove statues at the state level.
The decision by VMIs board of visitors is consistent with Eds view that we should add historic context to monuments, Gillespie spokesman David Abrams said. Lieutenant Governor Northam has said he will do all he can to remove statues at the state level, which clearly means that he would appoint board members who would reverse todays decision.
In addition to the statue of Jackson, who served as a VMI professor before the Civil War, the institutes Virginia Mourning Her Dead statue honors the young VMI cadets who fought and died for the Confederacy at the Battle of New Market, six of whom are buried at the foot of the monument. Both statues are the work of Moses Ezekiel, a Richmond native who became VMIs first Jewish cadet and fought at New Market.
Peay, a retired U.S. Army general who served two tours in Vietnam, said the institute is not a place for bigotry, because we do not put up with that here at VMI.
I think our young ladies feel theyre safe here. I think our African-American kids generally feel that theyre treated fairly here, Peay said. We have black regimental commanders at VMI. Weve had black Honor Court presidents selected by their peers. We just had a female African-American young lady selected to the Honor Court by her peers this year.
Asked by a board member whether the institute has received feedback from the VMI community on the statue issue, Peay said almost all of the comments he received came from people worried that we will be politically correct and change something in our history that we should not change.
Sometimes the best leaders dont make decisions in times of emotions, Peay said. And these are raw emotions in the commonwealth right now. And steady, boy, steady ... could be the better approach.
A high calling, higher standards
Bringing awareness of police brutality in America does not make one anti-police. Regardless of your feelings toward Colin Kaepernick and his protesting during the national anthem, his message has resonated with many across our nation.
Now just for disclosure, Im a black man in my early 30s, and I voted for Donald Trump. Im college educated and I lean conservative in my political views, however I understand that there is an epidemic of unarmed people of color being abused and losing their lives while interacting with police. The men and women who put on the uniform and badge are brave and deserve our gratitude, however with that being said, they are also human beings who are not exempt from having the same prejudices and stereotypes we all have and espouse.
It is my belief that these incidents of police brutality against people of color are not just simply isolated incidents. The standard for our police officers must be higher than almost anyone else in public life. Why? Because they have taken an oath to serve and protect. In far too many cases, officers are exercising lethal force when it may not be called for. I may be in the minority, but I believe that one life lost to police brutality is one life too many. If absolute power corrupts absolutely, then what power is more absolute when someone has your life in their holster with a trigger to be pulled, in that moment what power is more absolute?
MORRIS VEREEN
Forest
Support our president
Recently a letter-writer to The Forum harshly attacked my president, Donald Trump, showing much hatred. He referred to him as dishonest, inept, unbalanced and an immoral human being and a dangerously unstable man.
I have quite a different opinion of President Trump.
So far in his time in office, he and his fine staff have accomplished much. An email that I received a few days ago listed 58 items that have been taken care of for the good of our great nation. The letter writer did not mention one of them.
It is certainly time for all of us to support our president and his staff ! My Bible says that we are to pray for those in authority over us. That is what I am doing and pray that more folks will do the same. What a difference it would make in uniting our country and people of both political parties.
JOHNNY HUNTON
Goode
Break up Big Tech
Freedom-loving Americans would never give their government the right to determine what types of political and religious speech are permissible, and unaccountable social media monopolies that have now become the public square should not be wielding sweeping censorship powers either.
The only way to ensure that Americans First Amendment right to free speech will still mean something is to prosecute the speech-filtering, revolutionary left social media monopolies Twitter, Google, Facebook and YouTube under U.S. antitrust laws and break up all of these self-commissioned, speech/thought police.
So, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, when do you think you might get around to doing that?
CHARLES MICHELSEN
Lynchburg
Schools begin the third term with parents facing a myriad problems including having to fork out steep prices for uniforms and other essential due to cash shortages which have seen retailers introducing different prices under a three-tier payment system.
Yesterday, a number of parents complained of their frustrations with the prevailing situation at most shops.
Their plight was worsened by bus operators who were only demanding cash for fares.
Shops are charging as much as 50 percent of the price if you use swipe. Bond notes have their own price, United States dollar its own price and Ecocash a different price yet we are not being paid with a premium when our salaries are paid through the RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement), said Chikomborero Mtandwa.
Another parent who spoke to the Daily News in a separate interview was upset that bus operators were demanding cash.
I have five children who have to go by bus. How can I have $50 for their bus fare and other small essentials when I am only being given $20 dollars after sleeping in a bank queue? Takura Maita queried.
A bus operator who requested anonymity said it was not feasible to accept plastic money.
To avoid headaches, we dont accept it because at the end of the day, we cant access it and even when we do, we can only access the money at a premium as many plastic money agents charge you for a transaction. The higher the transaction, the more you are charged. Its not worth it, the operator said.
The problems of cash shortages were also affecting the payment of fees.
Lilian Timveos, the MDC senator for Zvishavane, raised alarm over a school in her constituency that was accepting maize as school fees.
She said at Shonhayi Secondary School, which is a satellite school, pupils walk up to 28km to school.
The school receives the maize in the hope of recovering their school fees when they sell the grain to the Grain Marketing Board, Timveos said.
Zimbabwe National Students Union (Zinasu) spokesperson, Zivai Mhetu, said the problems facing parents needed a political solution.
We are worried by the cash shortages bedeviling the country. Parents are sleeping in bank queues, some satellite schools dont have bank accounts and the promise of free education at primary level is still a dream.
With voter registration commencing on Thursday, its up to parents to decide if they want to continue on this path or change direction for the better, he said last week. Daily News
In a financial advisory note to the Government, the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe said access to grain at no cost by the national granary has resulted in GMB charging sub-economic prices for their products, hurting operations of private millers.
This corroborates what Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa said in the 2017 National Budget that the commercial milling by the GMB had created an uneven playing field in the milling industry as the parastatal was not making payments to Treasury for maize drawn from the strategic reserve.
The GMAZ said if this continued, private millers would go out of business. The fact that GMB runs toll milling and access the maize at no cost gives it an unfair advantage over private millers, said GMAZ.
While Government pays for maize delivered to GMB by farmers, GMB does not make any corresponding payment to the Treasury.
It is our argument that the current commercial activities model has given GMB an unfair advantage over private millers as it has unfettered access to the strategic grain reserve.
This has given GMB an edge over other millers as they can afford to set uneconomic prices for their products. Furthermore, GMB can afford to comfortably operate at a loss to the disadvantage of the private milling sector due to lack of controls on GMBs access to maize from the strategic grain reserve.
No comment could be obtained from the Grain Marketing Board by the time of going to print yesterday.
According to GMAZ, the GMB has managed to raise its market share to 37 percent and may continue growing it, and in the process, eliminating several private maize millers.
In the 2014 /15 season, the Government paid $26,5 million for 68 000 tonnes delivered while $83 million was paid last year. Minister Chinamasa said while the Government was paying for the grain, GMB was utilising part of the maize for commercial milling without paying the Treasury.
This practice has created an uneven playing field in the milling industry from the perspective of millers who now bemoan that they are being driven out of the business, said Minister Chinamasa.
This unfair competition hurts more where some millers would have gone into contract farming in the value chain. Government will require GMB to fully pay for the grain drawn from the strategic grain reserve for its commercial activities, he added. herald The Grain Marketing Boards commercial milling division is threatening the viability of private millers amid revelations the parastatal is not paying for grain drawn from the strategic reserves.In a financial advisory note to the Government, the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe said access to grain at no cost by the national granary has resulted in GMB charging sub-economic prices for their products, hurting operations of private millers.This corroborates what Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa said in the 2017 National Budget that the commercial milling by the GMB had created an uneven playing field in the milling industry as the parastatal was not making payments to Treasury for maize drawn from the strategic reserve.The GMAZ said if this continued, private millers would go out of business. The fact that GMB runs toll milling and access the maize at no cost gives it an unfair advantage over private millers, said GMAZ.While Government pays for maize delivered to GMB by farmers, GMB does not make any corresponding payment to the Treasury.It is our argument that the current commercial activities model has given GMB an unfair advantage over private millers as it has unfettered access to the strategic grain reserve.This has given GMB an edge over other millers as they can afford to set uneconomic prices for their products. Furthermore, GMB can afford to comfortably operate at a loss to the disadvantage of the private milling sector due to lack of controls on GMBs access to maize from the strategic grain reserve.No comment could be obtained from the Grain Marketing Board by the time of going to print yesterday.According to GMAZ, the GMB has managed to raise its market share to 37 percent and may continue growing it, and in the process, eliminating several private maize millers.In the 2014 /15 season, the Government paid $26,5 million for 68 000 tonnes delivered while $83 million was paid last year. Minister Chinamasa said while the Government was paying for the grain, GMB was utilising part of the maize for commercial milling without paying the Treasury.This practice has created an uneven playing field in the milling industry from the perspective of millers who now bemoan that they are being driven out of the business, said Minister Chinamasa.This unfair competition hurts more where some millers would have gone into contract farming in the value chain. Government will require GMB to fully pay for the grain drawn from the strategic grain reserve for its commercial activities, he added. herald
Attempts by MDC-T to discredit Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) chairperson Justice Rita Makarau for holding three key offices, including being a Supreme Court judge and secretary for the Judicial Services Commission (JSC), have exposed the opposition partys hypocrisy as it endorsed the arrangement during the Constitution-making process when it was in the inclusive Government. Constitutional law expert Professor Lovemore Madhuku yesterday urged MDC-T to thoroughly read the Constitution.
This was after MDC-T spokesperson Mr Obert Gutu yesterday sought to cast aspersions on Justice Makarau, saying she should relinquish some of her positions.
Prof Madhuku rapped MDC-T for hypocrisy when it was the opposition party that endorsed the arrangement through a Constitutional provision, stipulating that one could not be ZEC chairperson when he or she is not a Supreme Court or High Court judge.
Section 238 (2) of the Constitution provides as follows: The chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission must be a judge, or former judge or a person qualified for appointment as a judge.
Prof Madhuku said MDC-T were playing double standards by criticising an arrangement that they pushed for during the constitutional-making process.
They included in the Constitution a provision which stipulated that you cannot be chairperson of ZEC when you are not a judge, he said. They were involved in putting up that provision which said you have to be a judge for one to be chairperson of ZEC.
As long as that provision is there, it is difficult to understand what they are saying. They cannot have it both ways. That is double standards.
Mr Gutu released a press statement denouncing Justice Makarau.
The ideal situation is for Rita Makarau to only have one job at a time, especially taking into account the fact that being the ZEC chairperson is an extremely demanding job that should be a full time vocation, as is the case in most sadc countries, he said.
We have absolutely no shortage of suitably qualified and experienced people to perform the other jobs that Rita Makarau is presently holding onto. The present state of affairs does not bode well for both efficiency and good corporate governance.
Asked why the MDC-T was raising the issue now, Mr Gutu claimed that they were merely putting emphasis on a point they had made before.
The MDC-T has lost to Zanu-PF in all elections it has participated since its formation in 1999.
Political analyst, Mr Goodwine Mureriwa, said what the MDC-T was saying was an indication that it had panicked and had realised that they would lose elections.
He said Justice Makarau had been holding the three positions since the time of the inclusive Government which the MDC-T was party to before the 2013 harmonised elections, which it dismally lost to Zanu-PF.
Mr Mureriwa said it was in fact MDC-T leader, Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, who announced the appointment of Justice Makarau after he concurred with other principals in the inclusive Government for her appointment.
Other principals were President Mugabe and the then Deputy Prime Minister Professor Arthur Mutambara. Mr Tsvangirai actually said he was happy with Justice Makarau as she was professional, said Mr Mureriwa.
They have now realised that time is fast running out as they are trying to put up an alliance and go to the people at a time when Zanu-PF is already on the ground. Another analyst, Professor Isheunesu Mupepereki said the MDC-T realised that they were staring at election defeat.
They are now raising issues that are not relevant, to get attention, he said.
It is also another way of trying to get possible funding from their Western donors. Herald
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.
They don't like the word "utopia," but five friends who bought Powder Mountain in Eden, Utah, have plans to create a community that sounds pretty utopian-ish. Writer Laura Raskin paid a visit and lays out the vision in the Atlantic. The five friends bought the mountain in 2013 through Summit, the company they formed as 20-somethings five years prior. They aim to build 500 single-family homes as part of a community designed to bring together entrepreneurs, scientists, artists, and deep thinkers in general to help, in the modest goal of Summit, "create global change." The community's physical design plays a big role, writes Raskin. "Mapped out over years by a coterie of prestigious architects and planners, Summit adheres to a logical grid and strict aesthetic guidelines specifically meant to avoid a dissolution into a ski resort of McMansions and Gucci outposts."
Summit aims to have the community mostly in place by 2022, the general idea being to get the right mix of people so that "solutions to global problems will come on a shared chairlift ride up the mountain, or during a fireside chat between strangers." They also plan subsidized and low-income housing so this doesn't become yet another enclave for the rich. Raskin looks at the plans through the context of other utopian communities throughout US history, most of which ended in failure. Still, "Summit has money, time, sensitive architects, and a mission of goodwillperhaps all the raw ingredients needed to actually succeed in creating a paradisiacal mix of leisure, thought leadership, philanthropy, and education," she writes. Click for the full story. (Read more Utopias stories.)
The National Park Service plans to thin a herd of bison in the Grand Canyon through roundupsand by seeking physically fit volunteers who are proficient with a gun to kill the animals, which are increasingly damaging park resources, AP reports. Some bison would be shipped out of the area and others legally hunted on the adjacent forest. Within the Grand Canyon, shooters would be selected through a lottery to help bring the number of bison roaming the far northern reaches of the park to no more than 200 within three to five years. Some 600 of the animals now live in the region, and biologists say the bison numbers could hit 1,500 within 10 years if left uncontrolled.
The Grand Canyon is still working out details of the volunteer effort, but it's taking cues from national parks in Colorado, the Dakotas, and Wyoming that have used shooters to cut overabundant or diseased populations of elk. The Park Service gave final approval to the bison reduction plan this month. Sandy Bahr of the Sierra Club says she's hopeful Grand Canyon will focus mostly on non-lethal removal. The bison have been moving in recent years within the Grand Canyon boundaries where open hunting is prohibited. Park officials say they're trampling on vegetation and spoiling water resources. The reduction plan would allow volunteers working in a team with a Park Service employee to shoot bison using non-lead ammunition to protect endangered California condors that feed on gut piles. (Read more Grand Canyon stories.)
The world's least shocking quote: A British man's admission that his fairly miraculous swim across the Hoover Dam reservoir was "drink fueled," per the Guardian. Arron Hughes speaks to the Daily Post about his Aug. 10 experience, which came after what he says was a 37-hour bachelor-party bender with friends in Las Vegas. He describes it as a brutally hot day and says that as they stood under the 726-foot-tall structure, he decided, "F--- it! I'm going for a swim." What he didn't know then that he knows now: Some 275 people have died at the dam over the last decade, and no one has successfully made it across the full width of the Colorado River there. But he apparently had luck on his side: Only one of the 10 hydroelectric turbines were powered on during his swim.
"I swam from Arizona to Nevada," he tells the Post. "I went across first and then swam back. ... It took about 30 minutes to do. Even though I was knackered half way across I knew I had to get to the other side." He reportedly told the Sun that he was about 160 feet from the dam and felt a strong tug. "I was sucked towards the wall and had to swim hard." He says police were waiting for him and handcuffed him for what he didn't realize wasn't permitted, as he says there aren't any "no swimming" signs posted. "You're just expected not to." He says he ended up getting fined about $330, but, as the tattoo on his body reads, per the Times of London: "No regrets." (This bachelor party ended up being a scam.)
Those already battered by one or two hurricanes don't want to hear that misfortune comes in threes. Following in the wake of Harvey and Irma late Monday, Hurricane Jose was a Category 1 storm near the southeast tip of the Bahamas, centered about 400 miles north-northeast of Turks and Caicos, reports the Sun Sentinel. According to Weather Underground, the hurricane is expected to weaken over the next few days as it makes "a slow clockwise loop" in the Atlantic, passing over cool water it previously churned up. Where the storm will go from there is difficult to predict, but some models suggest it will regain some strength as it moves west-northwest toward the US beginning Thursday.
That would put the storm on a path to hit the eastern Bahamas on Friday before continuing toward Florida. The National Hurricane Center predicts it will be a Category 1 hurricane with 90mph winds by Saturday. It could technically reach the east coast of the US by next Tuesday, but one model gives it only a 25% chance of hitting the US, a 25% chance of hitting Canada, and a 50% chance of heading out to sea, per Quartz. Given the uncertainty of its path, a rep for the National Hurricane Center says "right now there is no concern for any land" so "no one needs to be freaking out about Jose," per the Miami Herald. A National Weather Service meteorologist adds that the storm will be monitored but "we want everyone to concentrate on recovering from Irma." (Read more Hurricane Jose stories.)
They can't agree on muchbut they're pretty clear that they don't like Nazis and the KKK. A resolution condemning white supremacist groups and the "domestic terrorist attack" in Charlottesville last month passed the Senate unanimously Monday night, the Hill reports. The measure, introduced by a bipartisan group of senators last week, calls for President Trump to denounce white supremacist organizations and "address the growing prevalence of those hate groups in the United States." It also urges federal authorities to investigate acts of violence or intimidation by white nationalist groups to prevent them "from fomenting and facilitating additional violence." (The Internet's oldest neo-Nazi site has been taken offline.)
Members of President Trump's legal team recommended Jared Kushner step down as senior White House adviser over his contacts with Russian officials, reports the Wall Street Journal. Citing multiple sources, the Journal reports the recommendation was based on Kushner's close relationship with Trump and his meetings with the Russian ambassador to the US, the head of a Russian-run bank, and a Russian lawyer. The head of Trump's legal team, John Dowd, says others, including himself, objected to Kushner stepping down. "I thought it was absurd," he says. So, apparently, did Trump. Though the White House drew up a statement explaining Kushner's exit should it happen, sources say Trump thought Kushner did nothing wrong.
On a security clearance form, Kushner failed to disclose any contacts with foreign officials, though he has since said he had four meetings with Russians. Federal investigators were examining at least some of those meetings as lawyers discussed Kushner's future. The statement that would've explained the resignation of Trump's son-in-lawwho has denied allegations of collusionpointed the blame at Trump's opponents for misrepresenting an ordinary meeting, two people tell the Journal. CBS News confirmed some lawyers were concerned about Kushner's Russian contacts and recommended he be fired, but couldn't confirm that lawyers discussed Kushner stepping down with Trump in June, as the Journal reports happened. (Read more Jared Kushner stories.)
A weather system that "acts like a sort of traffic cop" in the Atlantic may have saved the US $150 billion and change after it helped shift Hurricane Irma's path and mitigate the storm's damage in Florida. Bloomberg reports it was originally estimated the massive hurricane would cost in the ballpark of $200 billion, but by the time Monday rolled around, that figure had dwindled to $50 billion. That's because the eye of the hurricane drifted west so that the bulk of the storm wasn't hovering over densely populated Miami-Dade County, yet it didn't drift too far west: Jeff Masters, co-founder of Weather Underground, explains that "astronomical" costs were avoided when Irma hit Marco Island straight on, rather than shifting just 20 miles more to the west, leaving the more dangerous side of the hurricane (to the right of the eye) to wreak havoc along the state's Gulf Coast.
The system tamping things down: the Bermuda High, which the Washington Post describes as a high-pressure ridge over the central Atlantic that serves as a steering "guardrail." The Bermuda High sent Irma over Cuba (storms tend to weaken over land), then sidestepped Florida's tip, lessening storm surges. Where Irma now stands, in terms of costliness: Per the US National Centers for Environmental Information, 2005's Hurricane Katrina tops the list at $160 billion, followed by 2012's Hurricane Sandy at $70.2 billion. Hurricane Harvey costs are estimated between $65 billion and $75 billion, while Irma estimates are coming in at $49.5 billion. A disaster modeler predicts as cities develop further, those costs will rise. "I will not be surprised when we get to $300 billion," he tells Bloomberg. (Read more Hurricane Irma stories.)
The top human rights official for the UN has dropped a damning charge on Myanmar: "ethnic cleansing." Addressing the agency's Human Rights Council, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said that Myanmar will not allow investigators to fully assess what's happening to the Muslim Rohingya community, "but the situation seems like a textbook example of ethnic cleansing," per France 24. He's referring to the bloody crackdown by government forces against militants in the western part of the country. The government of Aung San Suu Kyi swears troops are going after only "terrorist" militants and doing their best to spare civilians, but members of the ethnic group fleeing the country tell a much different story of scorched villages of mass killings. As of Tuesday, about 370,000 had crossed the border into Bangladesh.
On Monday, the US joined those criticizing the military operation. "The massive displacement and victimization of people ... shows that Burmese security forces are not protecting civilians," said White House press chief Sarah Huckabee Sanders, per the Washington Times. And on Tuesday, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited refugees in makeshift camps and implored Myanmar to allow them to return safely, reports the BBC. "Hundreds of years they are staying there," she said. "How they can deny that they are not their citizens?" Myanmar, however, got an important note of support from China, which said it backed the government's moves toward "stability," per Reuters. Meanwhile, more than 400,000 people have signed a petition seeking to have Suu Kyi's Nobel Peace Prize withdrawn. (A columnist wrote a prescient piece back in 2014.)
A 60-year-old man who pleaded guilty in the killing of two young sisters from Maryland was sentenced Tuesday to 48 years in prison, more than four decades after the girls vanished during a trip to a local shopping mall, the AP reports. Lloyd Lee Welch Jr. entered his plea in a Virginia court Tuesday and was sentenced soon after to two 48-year terms to run concurrently. The first-degree felony murder charges had carried the possibility of a death sentence. Welch, who's already serving a long prison term in Delaware for sexually molesting a 10-year-old girl, also received a 12-year sentence in two unrelated sexual assault cases in Virginia. He had been scheduled to go on trial Tuesday, but his trial request was withdrawn last week.
Welch is accused of snatching 12-year-old Sheila Lyon and 10-year-old Katherine Lyon in March 1975. When the girls disappeared, Welch was an 18-year-old former worker at a traveling carnival. Authorities believe he burned the girls' bodies on a remote mountain in Virginia where his family owned land. They were never recovered. The Lyon sisters' disappearance shattered the sense of security in Kensington, Md., rattling parents to the point where they no longer let their children play outside. Cold-case detectives began focusing on Welch in 2013 after they noticed a composite sketch that resembled a 1977 mugshot of Welch in a burglary. In interviews with police beginning in 2013, Welch acknowledged he was at the mall that day and said he believed the girls had been "abducted, raped, and burned up." He was charged in their deaths two years ago. (Read more cold cases stories.)
Sorry!
This content is not available in your region
Fairbanks, AK (99707)
Today
Snow showers. High near 25F. Winds light and variable. Chance of snow 50%. Snow accumulations less than one inch..
Tonight
Mostly cloudy with snow showers during the evening. Low 6F. Winds light and variable. Chance of snow 40%.
New Delhi:
Hyundai Motor India on Monday launched Xcent Prime's CNG powered variant which shall be suited to commercial segment. The sedan shall be priced at Rs 5.93 lakh. The two CNG powered trims of the compact sedan are priced at 5.93 lakh and Rs 6.12 lakh, respectively.
"With the addition of factory fitted CNG, we are confident of meeting the request of the fleet aggregators for a vehicle in the commercial segment at a very low cost of ownership," Hyundai Motor India Director Sales & Marketing Rakesh Srivastava said in a statement.
The Xcent Prime is equipped with factory fitted SLF, Speed Limiting Function at no additional cost to customers. The two trims -T & T+ are specially tuned for CNG compatibility. The factory fitted CNG would help ease of registration and financing process besides giving registration tax benefit in select areas, Hyundai said.
Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL), which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of South Korea's Hyundai Motor Company (HMC), currently sells ten car models in India.
Kolkata:
Actress turned BJP MP Hema Malini on Monday said she has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to build auditoriums in metro cities which can stage international cultural shows for a 5000 strong audience.
"I have already told (Narendra) Modiji to give more attention to issues like building large auditoriums in cities where you can accommodate 4000-5000 people for international shows," the 68-year-old Mathura MP told reporters in Kolkata.
"The NCPA auditorium in Mumbai we have, in Delhi there is one or two auditorium. But for such a huge programme you have only a seating capacity of 1000 people. You need at least5000-6000," said Hema Malini.
The 'Dream-girl' was talking to reporters after announcing that 'Synergy', an amalgamation of Georgian and Indian dance styles, would be held here on September 15.
The show will be hosted here by Hema Malini's 'Jaya Smriti', Indo-Occidental Symbiosis and Calcutta Club. Georgian dance would be performed by members of the Sukhishvili, stated to be the first professional state dance company of the Eurasian country.
Also Read: Esha Deol gets married for the second time at her baby shower
On Sukhishvili, Hema Malini said, "It is a very big international group coming to India after 55 years." India does not have the infrastructure in terms of audience capacity to host its programmes, she said and expressed hope that in 2-3 years.
"we can have proper stage arrangements so that anyone from abroad can perform here." On 'Synergy', the renowned dancer said, it is a"beautiful amalgamation of two cultures, of two dance forms."
Georgian dance forms will be complemented by Bharatnatyam, Kathak and Manipuri and live orchestra including ancient instruments would be played on stage, she said.
Recollecting her visit to Georgia to attend a women's conference, she said she had seen almost 100 boys and girls practising on the stage of national Georgian dance studio.
The Georgians recall having visited India during the regime of Jawaharlal Nehru and Raj Kapur 55 years back and they were so willing to revisit India," she said.
Also Read: Hema Malini says she too played a small role in Emergency
While 'Synergy' had been performed in Delhi and Mumbai already, the next show will be held in Kolkata and Chennai.
"I have personally invited West Bengal Chief minister Mamata Banerjee. I wish representatives from arts and other disciplines also come and watch the show," she said.
For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:
Kangana Ranaut's ongoing war of words with Aditya Pancholi doesn't seem to calm down. The controversy which began after the Queen actress made an explosive interview about being abused by Aditya.
Soon the Pancholi family were bombarded with questions about Kangana and Aditya's relationship. While Aditya and Zarina did broke their silence, son Sooraj Pancholi deleted his Twitter account following the controversy.
Sooraj, 25, was bogged down by the ongoing controversy and decided to steer clear of "all the mess". Before quitting Twitter, Sooraj requested people to keep him and his sister, Sana Pancholi out of the entire row.
"It is my humble request to all the media platforms out there! To please keep my sister and me out of the current situation... I have nothing against anyone and I would like to keep away from the mess... It's something that I have been trying to avoid for years.
"And I think it's really not right for anyone to tag my sister or me in every single article about it," he wrote.
Kangana has often talked about her tumultuous relationship with Aditya, alleging he physically abused the actor during her initial days in the industry. Kangana also said she was a year younger to Sana.
Aditya blasted the actor, calling a her "mad girl". He also posted pictures of his daughter's Aadhar card and Kangana's passport to prove the actor was lying.
Kangana and Aditya's alleged relationship dates back to when she had arrived in Mumbai. It was around the release of her first film, "Gangster" (2006) when the rumours of her dating him started doing the rounds.
For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:
At least two persons were killed and nine others injured after a huge tree fell on them following heavy rainfall in Thane on Monday night, an official said.
The official of the districts disaster control cell said that the victims were standing near an automobile garage in Narpoli area of Bhiwandi township when the tree suddenly fell on them amid the heavy downpour at around 9 pm.
Two persons Imran Ansari (28) and Lallan Yadav (54) died on the spot in the mishap. The injured ones were rushed to a government hospital. Six of them were still undergoing treatment, the official said.
ALSO READ | Mumbai floods: Body of missing doctor found in a drain at Worli seashore
For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:
AIADMK on Tuesday announced the expulsion of jailed leader VK Sasikala from party and fortified temporary general secretary post.
The party passed a resolution in this regard in the general council meeting.
While reading out the resolution, state minister and party leader B Udaykumar told that AIADMK to be unified faction and they will retrieve 'two leaves' party symbol.
Udaykumar said that all office bearers, who are appointed by Amma (Jayalalithaa) as office bearers, will continue in their capacity.
All those appointed by Amma(Jayalalithaa) as office bearers, to continue: RB Udaykumar,TN Min reads out resolution at #AiadmkGeneralCouncil a ANI (@ANI) September 12, 2017
aAll those appointed by Amma(Jayalalithaa) as office bearers, to continue,a he said. He said all announcements of TTV Dinakaran are not binding on the party.A
All announcements of TTV Dinakaran are not binding on the party:RB Udaykumar,TN Min reads out resolution at #AiadmkGeneralCouncil a ANI (@ANI) September 12, 2017
On Monday, the Madras High Court quashed a plea seeking to stay the general council and executive committee meeting called by Chief Minister Palaniswami-led faction of the AIADMK on Tuesday.
Justice C V Karthikeyan dismissed the petition filed by P Vetrivel, MLA, a supporter of sidelined AIADMK leader T T V Dhinakaran, and slapped a fine of Rs one lakh on him for awasting the time of the courta.
For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Amit Shah targeting the West Bengals ruling Trinamool Congress and Mamata Banerjee of unleashing violence against the national party workers in the state on Tuesday.
He said, No violence can stop the growth of BJP in Bengal.
Shah told the media that he met the family members of the victims of political violence in Bengal.
They became victims because they did not support the ideology of the ruling Trinamool Congress, the BJP president said.
The Shah further said, I want to ask the people is this Rabindranath Tagores Bengal? Is this Swami Vivekanandas Bengal? No one here has the freedom to play a part in any political party other than TMC.
This kind of violence was perhaps not seen anywhere else, added Shah.
The BJP president further targeting the Mamata government said, People are being killed and their property are being destroyed. Development can not take place in such situation.
(With PTI inputs)
For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:
Hitting back at Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, senior BJP leader and Union minister Jitendra Singh on Tuesday said that absence of peace in Kashmir was cumulative of Congress misrule in Centre and state for decades.
Another leader Ram Madhav said the problems in Kashmir due to decades of Congress misrule and his grandfather's policies. He advised the Congress vice-president to read the facts.
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi attacked Prime Minister Modi, saying the latter has massively opened up space for the terrorists in Kashmir, and violence has increased in the Valley.
Rahul said," When we started, terrorism was rampant in Kashmir, when we finished there was peace, we had broken the back of terrorism."
Rahul said he had embraced former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the achievement as his government had broken the back of terror in 2013.
For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:
Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) elections were held on Tuesday with nearly 43 per cent voter turnout. "The morning colleges of the varsity recorded voter turnout of 45.3 percentage. The consolidated figure will be revealed after the final tally," S B Babbar, DUSU Chief Election Officer, said earlier.
He later said that the final tally of the elections was 43 per cent. According to professors tracking the polls, far-flung colleges under the central varsity recorded a poor turnout, whereas campus colleges exhibited a relatively higher voter-turnout.
In the college unions polling, which took place simultaneously with the DUSU polls, Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) won all the top positions - president, vice-president, secretary and joint secretary - in Laxmi BaiCollege, Vivekananda College and Shri Venkateshwara College.
Also Read: Delhi University: DUSU polls to be held on September 12
The students' outfit also won top two positions in SGTB Khalsa College, Zakir Hussain College (Morning), Bhagini Nivedita College (BNC) among others.
Bigwigs like NSUI and ABVP flooded the streets with pamphlets near Satyawati College. NSUI supporters were seen campaigning for their presidential candidate Rocky Tusheedwith loud music systems blaring 'We love We Love Rocky'. The left-affiliated AISA also distributed pamphlets to students. The counting of votes will take place on Wednesday.
READ: DUSU polls results: ABVP wins President, Vice President and Secretary posts, NSUI wins Joint Secy
With PTI inputs
For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:
Joint security forces have arrested eight cadres of CPI-Maoist in two different joint anti-insurgency operations in Chhattisgarhs Bastar region, said police on Monday.
A senior police official of Chhattisgarh Police not authorised to talk to the media confirmed the arrests.
The officer added that five Maoist rebels were arrested from Dantewada district after a brief gunbattle and three cadres of the left wing extremist outfit were nabbed from Sukma district.
The rebels arrested from Dantewada area were identified as Madvi Deva, Hemla Podia, Hidma Madvi, Hemla Budhu and Hemla Joga. While, the Maoist cadres arrested from Chintagufa were identified as Muchaki Pandu, Podiam Hunga and Podiam Gutta.
Also Read: Chhattisgarh: 13 naxals arrested from two places in insurgency-hit Sukma
The senior officer further added that the joint security forces included Central
Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Special Task Force and District Reserve Guard (DRG).
The joint forces on specific intelligence inputs had launched anti-insurgency operations on September 9 in the hinterlands of Dantewadas Aranpur police station jurisdiction.
Chhattisgarh: Two police personnel killed in gun-battle with Naxals in Rajnandgaon
The officer added that the Maoists triggered improvised explosive devices (IED) as the security forces approached Kakaadi village and then opened fire. Two security personnel were injured in the firing.
A search operation was launched in the area soon after the gunbattle. During the search operation police nabbed five red rebels while they were trying to escape from the encounter site.
For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:
Kerala priest Father Tom Uzhunnalil, who was allegedly abducted by ISIS from an old-age home run by Missionaries of Charity in the Yemeni city of Aden last last year, has been rescued, said External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday.
aI am happy to inform that Father Tom Uzhunnalil has been rescued,a tweeted Swaraj.
Uzhunnalil, who belongs from Keralaas Kottayam district, was abducted during a terrorist raid on a Missionaries of Charity-run old age home in Aden on March 4, 2016. In the terrorist attack 16 people including nuns were killed in the attack.
The priest from Kerala was sent to Yemen in 2010. He was asked to stay back till another person assumed charges after completion of five years.
Omanas state new agency ONA has posted a picture of the Kerala priest showing him in good health after being transferred to the Omanas capital Muscat.
Oman Observer in a tweet wrote, aWith #Oman help, #Vatican priest Uzhunnalil freed from #Yemen.a
Oman Observer quoting state-run Oman News Agency said, aFather Tom expressed thanks to God Almighty, appreciation to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos and everyone who prayed for his safe release. a
According to reports Uzhunnalil will be flown to India in a chartered plane.
The priestas family members were happy on learning is safe rescue.
Earlier this year Uzhunnalil in a five-minute long video message A has accused the Indian government and Vatican for not doing anything for his rescue.
He then in the message had pleaded, aMy dear family people, do what you can to help me be released. Please, please do what you can to help to get me released. May God bless you for that."
For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi :
The murder of senior journalist Gauri Lankesh seems to have a long standing impact on the socio political set up of the India. Bangaluru based intellectuals which includes writers, activists and thinkers on Tuesday came out in hundreds in order to intensify the protest for the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh in black badges that read #IAmGauri.
The protest started from the Sangolli Rayanna Railway Station to the Central College grounds, where a protest meeting was held. Over 300 policemen were deployed in and around the Central College as reported by The Hindu.
Gauri's mother Indira Lankesh who broke down while the protest was ongoing said that the only consoling factor after her death was the support that her family received.
Speaking with The Hindu, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said, that Indian democracy has not died and is very much alive. He said that the battle of ideas is the battle of India and that he was present there for this very battle.
Hitting out at the BJP led central government, the CPIM veteran said that Gauri Lankesh's murder should not be treated in isolation and that those in power are creating a totalitarian state.
Renowned activist Medha Patkar talking to The Hindu said that it is a sign of optimism that this protest received such a support.
For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:
Sunayana Dumala, the widow of Indian national Srinivas Kuchibhotla killed in Kansas in a hate crime this February, faced deportation from the US after her husbands murder until a Kansas congressman and others helped her get a one-year visa.
Sunanya lost her status as US resident after a 51-year-old US Navy veteran Adam Purinton with a semiautomatic pistol gunned down her husband in a crowded bar on February 22.
Read more: UN Security Council imposes tough sanctions on North Korea
According to the reports, Kevin Yoder, a Republican member of the house of representatives who worked effortlessly to help Dumala in maintaining her residency said, We are not going to deport the widow of the victim of a hate crime.
For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the first cabinet meet since reshuffle September 3.
During the meeting, the new cabinet passed a bouquet of bills, including additional 1% Dearness Allowance to Central Govt employees, six lane highway in Andhra Pradesh, a new company for BSNL towers and double tax-free gratuity to Rs 20 lakh.
It was first cabinet meeting for several ministers, who have been recently inducted into the miisterial club. However, PM Modo gave a stern warning to those who were likley to be dropped from the cabinet during the reshuffle but were retained, the sources said.
The sources added that PM Modi reminided the ministers that it was theri last chance to perform or a strict action would be taken in the future.
Apart from the bills passed, the cabinet also discussed the Ryan International School murder case, where a 7-year-old boy was killed in toilet. After the meeting, Union Minister RS Prasad urged media and public not to spread panic and requested parents to send theri children to school as usual.
Also read | Cabinet meeting: Rail Min Piyush Goyal says Ahmedabad-Mumbai Bullet Train project to be completed by end of 2023
Bills passed during the cabinet meeting:
#Double tax-free gratuity to Rs 20 lakh
In a major relief to private employees across the nation, the cabinet gave its approval to introduction of the Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, 2017, in Parliament.
The amendment will put the maximum limit of gratuity of employees of the private sector as well as public undertakings and autonomous organisations under the government who are not covered under Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, at par with central government employees, which is Rs 20 lakh.
Read | Cabinet approves bill to double tax-free gratuity to Rs 20 lakh
#Additional 1% Dearness Allowance to Central Govt employees & pensioners
Bringing cheer to more than 1 crore Central government employees and pensioners, the government increased the dearness allowance and dearness relief from the existing 4 per cent to 5 per cent.
The government's decision to hike dearness allowance (DA) by a per cent comes a little over two months after Seventh Pay Commission's recommendations on revised allowance structure were okayed by the Union cabinet on June 28.
#Six-laning of Narasannapeta-Ranastalam section of NH-16 in Andhra Pradesh
#Doubling of Daund-Manmad and Barabanki-Akbarpur railway lines
The Cabinet approved the doubling of the Daund-Manmad and Barabanki-Akbarpur railway lines to ease movement of passengers and goods along these stretches in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.
The doubling project will ensure higher speeds, reduce train delays, enhance safety by allowing more time for block maintenance, and provide capacity for any future increase in traffic.
The railway line on Daund-Manmad route is likely to be completed in the next five years. The estimated cost of the project is approximately Rs 2,081.27 crore and completion cost is Rs 2,330.51 crore.
Read | 7th Central Pay Commission benefits to be passed to 48 lakh government employees in July; check details here
#Rs 3000 cr projects for oil, gas reserves appraisal
The Union Cabinet approved a Rs 3,000 crore project to acquire seismic data for prospecting of oil and natural gas reserves.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved a project to acquire 48,243 line kilometer (LKM) 2D seismic data for appraisal of Indian sedimentary basins where limited data is available, an official statement.
National oil companies Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) and Oil India Ltd (OIL) will implement the project.
#Separate company for BSNL towers
The Cabinet approved hiving off mobile towers of state-run telecom firm BSNL into a separate company.
There are around 4,42,000 mobile towers in the country, out of which BSNL owns more than 66,000.
An independent, dedicated tower company of BSNL with a focused approach will lead to increasing of external tenancies and consequentially higher revenue for the new company, it added.
Read | Cabinet reshuffle | Check complete list of Union Cabinet and Council of Ministers
#Pacts with Morocco, Armenia
The Union Cabinet also approved signing of an agreement with Morocco on healthcare and another with Armenia on cooperation in disaster management.
The memorandum of understanding with Morocco, once signed, will see cooperation in the fight against child cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
The two countries will also cooperate in the field of communicable diseases, maternal, child and neonatal health, an official statement said.
A working group will also be set up to further expound the details of cooperation and to oversee the implementation of the MoU.
The Cabinet also gave its nod for signing a memorandum of understanding with Armenia for cooperation in the field of disaster management.
The MoU seeks to put in place a system so that the two countries benefit from the disaster management mechanisms of each other, another official statement said.
#Implementation of the scheme Dairy Processing & Infrastructure Development Fund"
For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday hinted that he was ready to be the Prime Ministerial candidate in the 2019 general elections.
Speaking at the University of California, Berkeley in the United States, Congress VC said that he 's absolutely ready to be face of Prime Ministerial candidate UPA in 2019. He however said that final decision would rest with the party.
During a chat, the moderator asked Rahul: When the UPA was in power, there was a great clamour for you to be part of the executive, to become a Cabinet minister, even the Prime Minister In 2014, they wanted you to be the Prime Ministerial candidate which you declined. And you are very likely to face the same demand in 2019. Are you ready to now take charge in an executive role?
Read | Rahul Gandhi uses UC Berkeley platform to criticise PM Modis economic policies
Rahul answered: I am absolutely ready to do that. But the way our party works We have an organisational election process that decides that. That process is currently ongoing. To say that decision would be mine, would not be fair. That is being decided by the party.
Addressing Berkeley students, Rahul Gandhi attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, blaming him for breaking down Indian economy with unilateral decisions such as demonetisation and GST.
Rahul also blamed PM Modi for undoing UPA's hardwork and opening up Kashmir to terrorim through lack of proper administration.
For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:
In a veiled attack on BJP government, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said politics of polarisation is dangerous and idea of non-violence is under attack.
While speaking at the University of California, Berkeley, Rahul said decision like demonetization was taken without asking Chief Economic Advisor and Parliament has caused tremendous damage to the economy.
He took on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on RTI, saying that the latter has clamped down on RTI.A
Sharing his thoughts on 1984 Sikh riots, the Congress vice president said he extend his support to the victims in their quest for justice, He said he strongly condemned violence against anyone.
Idea of non-violence is under attack today, yet it is only idea which can take humanity forward: Rahul Gandhi in #UCBerkeley a ANI (@ANI) September 12, 2017
aI lost my father, my grandmother to violence, if I don't understand violence then who will,a Rahul said.
Hatred,anger and violence can destroy us, the politics of polarization is very dangerous: Rahul Gandhi in #UCBerkeley pic.twitter.com/ZfKn6GBPYV a ANI (@ANI) September 12, 2017
Recalling his grandmother and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's statement on whether India will switch "Left or Right', Rahul said Indira Gandhi replied thatA it will stand straight and tall.A
Rahul Gandhi said his partyA decides policy and vision through conversations and not by imposition.A
I am with them in their quest for justice, violence again anybody I strongly condemn: Rahul Gandhi on '84 riots pic.twitter.com/AQ8qXb4HXc a ANI (@ANI) September 12, 2017
Admitting that arrogance crept party around 2012, the Congress vice-president said that they have stopped converstion with the people.A
"Arrogance crept into Congress party and we stopped having conversations with people," he said.A
Reacting on dynasty politics, Rahul said most of the nations have similar paradigm. He cited example of Akhilesh Yadav, MK stalin and PK Dhumal's son Anurag Thakur. He said Abhishek Bachchan and Ambani are also dynast.A
"Most of the country runs like this, so don't go after me, A Akhilesh Yadav a dynast, Mr Stalin a dynast,Mr Dhumal's son a dynast," he said.
Around 2012, arrogance crept into Congress party and we stopped having conversations with people: Rahul Gandhi in #UCBerkeley pic.twitter.com/9cCORoQSbF a ANI (@ANI) September 12, 2017
When asked about being a reluctant politician, he said that there are 1000 people sitting at computer machines spreading abuse about him and it is all done at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.A
Speaking on terrorism, Rahul said,"A When we started, terrorism was rampant in Kashmir, when we finished there was peace, we had broken the back of terrorism."A
Rahul said he had embraced former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the achievement as his government had broken the back of terror in 2013.A
By 2013,we basically broke the back of terror, I hugged PM Manmohan Singh and told him it was one of the biggest achievements:R Gandhi a ANI (@ANI) September 12, 2017
He hailed PDP for bringing youngsters in politics, but added that the day BJP made alliance with party, it destroyed the party.A
Rahul attacked Modi, saying the latter hasA massively opened up space for the terrorists in Kashmir, and violence has increased in the valley.A
So he(PM Modi) massively opened up space for the terrorists in Kashmir, and you saw the increase in violence: Rahul Gandhi pic.twitter.com/mJCMrDy5eO a ANI (@ANI) September 12, 2017
On contrary, the Congress vice-president heaped praise on Modi for his better communication skills.A
"Modi has certain skills,he is a very good communicator,much better than me," he said. He further added, "A He knows how to give a message to 3-4 different groups in a crowd, so his messaging ability is very effective and subtle."
Rahul said that people in BJP told him that he does not talk with people who are working with him, even BJP lawmakers.A
For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:
A group of farmers on Monday staged blockage in Sikar district of Rajasthan. They were demanding implementation of recommendation of Swaminathan committee and crop loan waiver.
Later, the farmers withdrew it after getting invitation for talks with a group of ministers in Jaipur.
President of Akhil Bhartiya Kisan Sabha and former MLA, Amra Ram said, We have received an invitation for talks to discuss the issues with a group of ministers on Tuesday. A delegation will be visiting Jaipur.
The farmers had been protesting for past 10 day,demanding implementation of Swaminathan Commission recommendations and crop loan waiver.
On Sunday, the farmers had called for a blockade and 'gherao' of district collectorate after talks with the state government failed to resolve their issues.
Also Read: Tamil Nadu farmers consume their own 'excreta' during protest at Jantar Mantar
For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:
Commenting on Rohingya Muslim refugees, Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said Centre has adopted a humane approach towards migrants and displaced people, but the government is strongly against illegal immigration.
Singh said the government allows refugees to stay in country on the basis of humanity, but it is strongly against illegal immigration. He said the government will take stern action if a person infringes geographical lines illegally.
He informed that government has also allocated a package of Rs 2000 crores for rehabilitation of Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir migrants.
Adopted a humane approach towards migrants and displaced people. But we are strongly against illegal immigration: HM Rajnath Singh a ANI (@ANI) September 12, 2017
He said the government has decided to give 3000 jobs to migrants from Kashmir valley, and Rs 1080 crores sanctioned to the state in this regard.
A
Govt has also allocated a package of Rs 2000 crores for rehabilitation of POJK migrants. The disbursal has been linked to AADHAR: HM a ANI (@ANI) September 12, 2017
For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:
Ryan International Groups founding chairman and managing director on Tuesday were granted interim protection from arrest by the Bombay High Court till Wednesday in connection with the murder of a seven-year-old boy in the school campus in Gurgaon.
Ryan International Groups founding chairman Augustine Pinto, 73, and his wife Grace Pinto, 62, who is the group's managing director, on Monday had approached the high court seeking anticipatory bail apprehending arrest in the case.
Niteen Pradhan, their counsel, had yesterday said that Augistine, Grace and their son Ryan Pinto, group chief executive officer (CEO), had also filed an anticipatory bail plea.
Pradhan on Tuesday said that due to some problem, Ryans application was not filed with the high court registry.
His application for anticipatory bail is in process and will be filed soon," added Pradhan.
Also Read| Ryan School murder case: Ryan group CEO and family members move Mumbai High Court for pre-arrest bail
Justice Ajey Gadkari said, "The applicants shall not be arrested till tomorrow.
The matter is adjourned till tomorrow on the request of the additional public prosecutor appearing for the Maharashtra government."
Arun Kamat Pai, additional public prosecutor, told the High Court that the court would have to issue notice and hear the Haryana government, as the offence in connection with the boys killing is registered there.
Also Read| Ryan murder case: Driver says top school, police officials forced him to admit knife was part of tool-kit
Justice Gadkar replying to the public prosecutor said, For transit anticipatory bail why should this court hear the Haryana government. Let the applicants approach the court concerned there.
For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:
Haryana Police on Tuesday left Ryan International School in Kandivali, Mumbai after questioning schools management team.
The two officials from Haryana Police were at the campus of Ryan International School, said DCP (Zone-XII) Vinay Rathod. Of the two officials, one of them is an inspector-level officer. They verified documents and questioning staff, said an official.
Fourteen police teams have been constituted to probe the case.
Earlier on Tuesday, Ryan International Groups founding chairman and managing director were granted interim protection from arrest by the Bombay High Court till Wednesday in connection with the murder of a seven-year-old boy in the school campus in Gurgaon.
Ryan International Groups founding chairman Augustine Pinto, 73, and his wife Grace Pinto, 62, who is the group's managing director, on Monday had approached the high court seeking anticipatory bail apprehending arrest in the case.
Niteen Pradhan, their counsel, had yesterday said that Augistine, Grace and their son Ryan Pinto, group chief executive officer (CEO), had also filed an anticipatory bail plea.
Pradhan on Tuesday said that due to some problem, Ryans application was not filed with the high court registry.
His application for anticipatory bail is in process and will be filed soon," added Pradhan.
On September 9, The Gurgaon Police has arrested a bus conductor who confessed to killing the Class 2 student of Ryan International School in Sohna.
The 7-year-old student was found dead with his throat slit in a toilet in the school building, police said.
For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:
The Indian government evacuated more than 100 Indian and Indian-origin people on Tuesday from the hurricane Irma-hit Sint Maarten and brought them to the Caribbean island of Curacao on a special flight.
The special flight chartered by the government of India just arrived in Curacao with 110 Indian and Indian-origin evacuees from Sint Maarten, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.
ALSO READ: Hurricane Irma kills 6 in Florida, 3 in Georgia, 1 in South Carolina
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had said on Monday that the evacuation of Indian nationals from Sint Maarten was a priority. Sint Maarten, that is jointly administered by France and the Netherlands, was directly in hurricane Irmas path. The island suffered widespread destruction after the storm made landfall last week and wreaked havoc on the Caribbean islands.
READ: 400-mile-wide Hurricane Irma batters Florida coast-to-coast
For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:
The Armys new long-range ultra-light (ULH) howitzer M-777 was damaged during a field trial in Pokhran firing range and a probe has been ordered into the incident, Army sources said in New Delhi.
The sources said the barrel of the US-manufactured gun exploded when it was firing Indian ammunition on September 2.
India had received two M-777 ultra-light howitzers in May, each worth around Rs 35 crore, after a gap of 30 years since the Bofors scandal broke out, and the accident took place in one of them.
The field trials of the 155 mm, 39-calibre guns manufactured by BAE systems were being carried out at Pokhran in Rajasthan with an aim to collate and determine various critical data like trajectory, speed and frequency.
During the firing, the projectile which was fifth of the series, exited the barrel in multiple pieces, causing the accident, an army source said.
There was no injury to anyone.
Read | India inks Rs 5,000 crore deal with US for 145 ultra-light howitzer artillery guns
The barrel of the gun has been damaged, an extent of which is being assessed by Joint Investigation Team, the source said.
A spokesperson of the BAE systems said the company was aware of an irregularity recorded during routine field firing of the M777.
We are working closely with the Indian Army and the US government to explore the incident, the spokesperson said, adding the company stands ready to provide assistance as required.
The Army had received the howitzers as part of an order for 145 guns. Three more guns are to be supplied to the Army in September 2018 for training.
Thereafter, induction will commence from March 2019 onwards with five guns per month till the complete consignment is received by mid-2021.
The Army badly needs the howitzers considering the evolving regional security scenario.
Read | Indian Army inducts M-777 ultra-light Howitzer guns; test fire in evening to celebrate Pokhran - I
India had last procured howitzers in the mid-1980s from Swedish defence major Bofors. The alleged pay-offs in the deal and its subsequent political ramifications had severely crippled the Indian Armys procurement of artillery guns.
India had struck a government-to-government deal with the US last November for supply of the 145 howitzers at a cost of nearly Rs 5,000 crore.
While 25 guns will come in a fly-away condition, the rest will be assembled in India by the BAE Systems in partnership with Mahindra Defence.
The Army has been pressing the government to speed up its modernisation programme.
For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:
The alleged sighting of UFO in a latest NASA live video captured from the International Space Station (ISS) has yet again sparked a debate over the existence of aliens. The video shows not one, not two but three UFO like figures flying over the ISS. And the alien-theory enthusiasts are super excited with the discovery of what they claim are UFOs belonging to the aliens.
Three orbs of smoke can be seen in the NASA live and this video has left people discussing about aliens watching us or maybe spying on us. A YouTube channel named Third Phase of Moon was the first to share the NASA Live Feed, showing three rings of smoke hovering near the ISS.
Contrary to the conspiracy theorists belief, many people have dismissed this as a mere cloud formation. A different video shot using a cellphone is being shared as 3 UFO ORB Video and shows three orbs of light flying in a formation and disappearing into the skies.
Despite such sightings, NASA has been denying the presence of aliens and has called them just distortions in the lens. However, conspiracy theorists dont agree and believe aliens do exist and there are a lot of evidence to prove their existence.
April 2016: UFO appears in live feed of ISS
In April 2016, the US space agency NASA cut the live feed of a scenario as seen from International Space Station (ISS) after a UFO was captured on the camera. A diamond shaped object appeared to be changing its shape, however, after spotting the unidentified object flying closer to ISS, NASA video feed was cut and went to a blue screen.
However, the space agency later clarified that it did not intentionally cut the video feed but said that such occurrences have occurred in the past owing to lost transmission.
Like always, UFO hunters were sure about NASA knowing of UFOs and mystery around them but still they hide it from people on Earth.
April 2017: Mysterious 'Alien' cylinder seen on NASA live feed for ISS
In April 2017, a mysterious object was captured by NASAs live feed of the ISS and UFO experts claimed that it was an alien cylinder. The weird shape was spotted by space enthusiasts while watching the live feed.
UFO expert Scott C Waring, shared the footage and said: "I noticed a UFO in the distance that was coming closer and closer to the space station. The UFO was partially cloaked, which made it look transparent."
May 2017: Alleged alien aircraft comes close to ISS then zooms out in space
In May 2017, NASA astronauts shot a video showing a disc-like object hovering around the International Space Station and then plunging into space.
Alien-theory enthusiasts have had a hectic day with the discovery of the new mysterious, alleged UFO, which looked like a longish white-coloured floating object seen coming close to the ISS and then zooming back to space.
This was not only the sighting this year as multiple such objects were reportedly seen in space in NASA videos in 2017. Also, many citizens in the US saw such mysterious objects and reported them.
Many UFO hunters have been blaming NASA for hiding the existence of aliens by tampering with proofs. UFO expert Scott C Waring, who hosts UFO Sightings Daily blog, wrote a blog spot describing the recent alien video saying, the UFO is seen on the other side of the solar panels in the far distance. It looks like it is the size of a city bus and is disc- shaped.
According to Waring, one can easily spot a UFO at the ISS if one looks hard enough.
Many say its impossible to catch a UFO at the space station, however those people never put more than 5 minutes into looking, he wrote. If you search for about 1-2 hours I guarantee you will see a UFO.
YouTube user Streetcap1 was credited by Waring for spotting the alleged UFO in the NASA video and for uploading the clip.
This looks like a craft behind the ISS speeding off into the distance. NASA must have been on their coffee break, Streetcap1 wrote in the video description.
Stan Salmon posted a comment in the video and alleged that NASA uses old and low resolution cameras so as to hide the evidence of UFOs from humans.
A good example why NASA wont use hi resolution cameras, nasa=never a straight answer, he wrote. Amazing.one of the best space station UFO footage I have seen. Great find! another YouTube user posted.
July 2017: Alien mothership 'mammoth craft' noticed on NASA's live feed
In July 2017, footage emerged of what leading UFO researchers believe to be an alien "mothership" the mammoth craft was spotted on NASA's live feed of the space region adjacent to the International Space Station (ISS).
Truth revealed about what is leading UFO researchers believe to be an alien "mothership". It was only after a video was released on Thursday by brothers Blake and Brett Cousins who run YouTube channel thirdphaseofmoon'.
In the footage released, a hazy object 'the mammoth craft' was spotted on NASA's live feed of the space region adjacent to the International Space Station (ISS). It is seen like a mere line of burning orange orbs initially, quickly forming the shape of what appears to be a spacefaring vessel gains contour and colour.
The clip itself, the Cousins duo said, is sped up by 900 per cent the actual event lasted over nine minutes.
The pair enlisted the expertise of a UFO aficionado to shed some light on what the apparent craft which they claimed was "tracking" the station might actually be.
Till now the video has been able to get the attention of over 40,000 views following its upload date (July 17).
Do aliens really exist? Well, it still remains a mystery in the lack of any solid evidence of their presence.
For all the Latest Science News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on the 16th anniversary of the deadliest terror attack on US soil that killed around 3000 people released images taken from space of the unfateful day in 2001.
US astronaut Frank Culbertson was aboard the International Space Station, which coincidentally, happening to fly over over the New York City area moments after the twin towers came down few hours after the Boeings were crashed into the buildings in the September 11 morning.
In a public letter the very next day of the terrorist attack, Culbertson said, I glanced at the World Map on the computer to see where over the world we were and noticed that we were coming southeast out of Canada and would be passing over New England in a few minutes. I zipped around the station until I found a window that would give me a view of NYC and grabbed the nearest camera. It happened to be a video camera, and I was looking south from the window of Michael's cabin.
He wrote in the letter, The smoke seemed to have an odd bloom to it at the base of the column that was streaming south of the city. After reading one of the news articles we just received, I believe we were looking at NY around the time of, or shortly after, the collapse of the second tower. How horrible
Also read| 9/11 attack anniversary: Timeline of biggest terrorist attacks on the U.S.
Culberston added, It's difficult to describe how it feels to be the only American completely off the planet at a time such as this. The feeling that I should be there with all of you, dealing with this, helping in some way, is overwhelming. I know that we are on the threshold (or beyond) of a terrible shift in the history of the world. Many things will never be the same again after September 11, 2001.
Also read| 9/11 attack anniversary: Take a look at 10 major terrorist attacks around the world ever since deadly attack
Even as the International Space Station moved along its path and lost view of the New York City, however other satellites of NASA including Terra satellite caught images of the attacks immediate aftermath.
Terras Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiameter instrument recorded an image of large smoke plume rising from the city.
For all the Latest Science News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Lahore:
Eighty-six years after revolutionary Bhagat Singh was hanged for the murder of a British police officer, a Pakistani lawyer is fighting to prove the legendary Indian freedom fighter's innocence in a Lahore court.
Advocate Imtiaz Rashid Qureshi filed a fresh petition in the Lahore High Court on Monday for the early hearing of his case to prove Singh's innocence.
The division bench of the Lahore High Court had in February last year asked the chief justice of Pakistan to constitute a larger bench to hear the petition by Qureshi, who runs the Lahore-based Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation. But no action has been taken yet.
In the petition, Qureshi had said Singh was a freedom fighter and fought for independence of undivided India. Many Pakistanis, especially in the Punjabi-speaking Lahore area, consider Singh a hero.
Qureshi told PTI that Singh is respected even today in the subcontinent not only by Indians but also by Pakistanis. Even the founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, had twice paid tribute to him, he added.
"It is a matter of national importance."
His petition wants the court set aside the sentence of Singh by exercising principles of review and order the government to honour him with a state award.
Singh was hanged by British rulers on March 23, 1931 at the age of 23 in Lahore, after being tried under charges for hatching a conspiracy against the colonial government. The case was filed against Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru for allegedly killing British police officer John P Saunders.
Qureshi said he hopes the case will be heard this month. He said he has also written to the federal government for erecting a statue of Singh at Shadman Chowk in central Lahore where he was hanged along with Sukhdev and Rajguru.
"I have written to the government for building a statue of Singh but has not yet got any response from it in this regard," he added.
He said Singh was initially jailed for life but later awarded death sentence in another "fabricated case".
In 2014, Lahore police searched through records of the Anarkali police station on the court's order and managed to find the First Information Report on Saunders' killing in 1928. A copy of the FIR was provided to Qureshi on the courts order.
Written in Urdu, the FIR was registered with the Anarkali police station on December 17, 1928 at 4.30 pm against two 'unknown gunmen'. The case was registered under sections 302, 1201 and 109 of Indian Penal Code. Singh's name was not mentioned in the FIR even though he was eventually handed down the death sentence for the murder.
Qureshi said special judges of the tribunal handling Singh's case awarded death sentence to him without hearing the 450 witnesses in the case. Singh's lawyers were not given the opportunity to cross-examine them.
"I will establish Bhagat Singh's innocence in the Saunders case," he said.
For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:
In his regular column in al-Qalam under the pen-name Saadi, Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar warned his followers to get prepared for action in Myanmar. We have to do something, and do it urgently, he said in his article.
The entire Muslim ummah [nation] is feeling the pain of the Muslim nation, Azhar wrote in al-Qalam.
For the first time, any leader of a South Asian jihadist group has come forward and substantially called for an action.
It is because of the sacrifices of the Myanmar Muslims that the ummah is waking up and we are seeing this new awakening among the Muslims of the world. All of us must do whatever we can for the Myanmar Muslims. Just say your prayers, and get up to help them. You dont need to show off what you are doing: just do it, and never stop, he further added.
Azhars article was published on the eve of the 9/11 anniversary.
ALSO READ | Rohingya crisis: Myanmar rejects temporary ceasefire declared by Muslim Rohingya insurgents
For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
A folding screen painted in ink featuring main characters of the Star Wars movie was unveiled Tuesday at Byodoin, a Buddhist temple on UNESCOas World Heritage list in Kyoto Prefecture, ahead of the release of the latest episode in December.
The movieas famous robot characters R2-D2 and C-3PO, as well as villain Kylo Ren, were painted on the screen by Masayuki Kojo, 39, a local painter.
Rian Johnson, director of the new release aThe Last Jedi,a praised the painting as amazingly beautiful at a ceremony held at the temple in Uji, south of Kyoto.
Apart from hosting and possible maintenance costs, there are not exactly downsides to having your own website. Even if its just a personal blog it can always become more useful down the line, if you utilize it in the right manner. In other words, more
Eversource crews arrived Tuesday in Florida and will be dispatched early Wednesday morning on assignments to help the state bring some 5 million electricity customers back online who lost power in Hurricane Irma.
Some 100 Eversource employees from Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire headed south in 70 vehicles on Sept. 9, among convoys of crews from utilities nationally heading to Florida. Eversource will assist Florida Power & Light Co., with Eversource having also devoted call center agents to provide support to customers of Tampa Electric Co.
Officials in two local school districts said ongoing uncertainty about the state budget has force them to leave teaching positions unfilled and in some cases driven away teachers worried about the future of their jobs.
Under the governors most recent budget proposal, the Bethel school district could lose up to $2.9 million in aid, while Brookfield could lose $1.4 million. Earlier proposals were even more severe in Bethels case.
The uncertainty around the whole thing just made it impossible to plan for, said Bethel Superintendent Christine Carver. It's caused a lot of anxiety among our staff. People literally say to me, Whats the budget like? Do I have a job?
Preparing for that uncertainty is extremely problematic and as time goes on, it becomes more problematic, Carver said.
The state failed to pass a budget before the fiscal year ended on June 30 and is running on an executive order from Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.
Brookfield Superintendent John Barile said three non-tenured teachers resigned over the summer to take jobs in New York state because the district could not promise they would be hired again this year.
They didnt really want to leave Brookfield, but they were so concerned about the uncertainty in Connecticut, he said. They had to go where they thought they would have a more secure job.
Barile wrote to district parents last week saying cuts to Brookfields education cost sharing grant also could mean an increase in class sizes, reduction or elimination of extracurricular activities and a reduction in professional development and intervention services. They could also lead to delays in maintenance and purchases of supplies, he said, and even to slower response to parents questions.
The districts budget is already lean, Barile said, so its tough to cut anywhere.
Theres nothing that (does not involve) student learning and student educational experience, he said. It all impacts the kids.
Bethel chose not to fill several open positions this school year to save money, Carver said. Among them was that of a preschool teacher, meaning its Circle of Friends program is open to fewer children.
The district also was unable to hire its first ESL teacher (English as a Second Language) for the estimated 140 students who need one. included those of two paraeducators, three custodians, art and remedial teachers at the high school, two administrators, a secretary, a health coordinator and an interventionist tutor.
This leaves the remaining teachers scrambling to fill in the gaps, Carver said. Even worse, it could damage student achievement for years to come, she said.
We're not talking about fancy programs, she said. Its the core of what we do.
Nick Hoffman, a Bethel Board of Education member with children in first grade and preschool, said these cuts damage special-needs students who take part in Circle of Friends or rely on paraeducators.
If you look at this as a disease, the systemic failure in Hartford is literally seeping into all our schools and our all towns, and its just becoming an epidemic of failure, Hoffman said. Its forcing us to make decisions with no information.
State Rep. Steve Harding, R-Brookfield, said the governor has made arbitrary cuts to balance his budget.
But really these numbers are impacting these children, he said. These are not numbers. These are childrens lives that were dealing with here and are critically at stake if we dont do something about this.
The superintendents and Harding urged parents to contact Speaker of the House Joe Aresimowicz to tell him to call a budget vote when the legislature meets Thursday.
They should open up the doors, let us in and then lock the doors until we vote for a budget, Harding said.
If local grants are slashed in the budget vote, it will be the districts turn determine which teachers and programs to cut.
And that will be an excruciating process, Carver said.
The staffs our family, he said. These are all my children and I dont want them to lose anything, bottom line.
Barile said it should not have to come to this not if the legislature had its priorities straight.
Local schools are really the foundation of our democracy, he said. We shouldnt be fooling around with them. Its that simple. They need to be funded.
/
DANBURY - A company of the 411th Civil Affairs Battalion that recently returned to the city from the Horn of Africa will be the subject of a welcome home ceremony on Saturday.
Charlie Company will be welcomed home during a 10:30 a.m. ceremony at the Veterans Memorial Armed Forces Reserve Center, 90 Wooster Heights Road, according to a release.
In this series, Leader Board, we speak with CEOs, managers, founders and others who lead organizations to learn what makes them tick, what they look for in new hires and even where they eat lunch.
If you ever find yourself walking through one of the offices of the secondhand ecommerce site thredUP, you might stumble across some 4-foot-long purple crayons. To an onlooker, they may just look like some quirky decorations, but theres more to them. ThredUP founder and CEO James Reinhart awards these large purple crayons to employees who have done exemplary work.
Related: Why This First-Time Entrepreneur That Built a Website With More Than 5 Million Monthly Visitors Sets Aside Time to Work Out With Her Team
And thats just one of Reinharts fun leadership hacks. From asking new employees to teach the company about one of their passions to making his employees coffee and cappuccinos in the morning, Reinhart makes sure to cultivate a fun yet focused office culture.
Back in 2008, after having difficulty selling his clothes to a consignment store -- they wouldnt accept every brand in his closet -- Reinhart launched thredUP, one of the largest online thrift stores. Fast-forward almost a decade, thredUP employs more than 1,000 people across the U.S. and has $131 million in funding. In 2017 alone, the company estimates it will sell more than 10 million items.
Of course, running a growing business can be exhausting, especially for a CEO who identifies himself as an introvert. Luckily, Reinhart's time spent running thredUP as well as launching other ventures, including the Pacific Collegiate School and Beacon Education Network, have helped him develop his own set of effective leadership tactics.
We spoke with Reinhart to learn how he successfully runs one of todays largest online second-hand consignment shops.
On the most important leadership traits:
The number one thing that I focus on is clarity of communication. Leaders need to be able to communicate what they're trying to accomplish, what the strategy is [and] why. I've found that over the years, when I don't communicate effectively, things fall apart. But when leaders communicate effectively to their teams, to their investors, to reporters, they can be really successful.
On leadership style:
I tend to be somebody who focuses on setting the context of what we're trying to accomplish, hiring the right people and empowering them to make decisions and run with things. I'm not the type of person [who] micro-manages a lot of tasks that I'm looking over people's shoulder. It's really important to give people the freedom and responsibility to perform.
Ultimately a leader's job is to hold people accountable for doing what they said they were going to do. So [if] they can't deliver or they underperform, my job is to give them feedback so they can get better.
Related: The Success Secrets of the 4-Time Entrepreneur Behind BarkBox, Which Brought in $100 Million in 2016
On habits that help him lead:
I'm very disciplined about making sure other people's priorities don't jump the list of priorities that I have for myself. Every day I'm very clear about what I need to accomplish, how much time it's going to take [and] what's on my to-do list, and I don't let other people get in the way. I think sometimes you can end up very reactionary in a [leadership] role where you're just putting out fires without being very deliberate about what you need to accomplish. I'm much more deliberate each day [and] each week about what I need to get done and I hold myself accountable to getting those things done.
On challenges:
The general challenge for me is to be able to give everybody my full and undivided attention given that I have a lot of things to do and they're all very different. It's only mid-day today and Ive had 14 meetings -- I've run a company meeting, I've done a whole product review, I've had a one-on-one, I've had coffee with an old friend, I've worked with my assistant on travel. So, in any given day, I have to context-switch very rapidly.
I'm not a big procrastinator and dweller. I make decisions, I evaluate things and I move on. I believe that CEOs and people in leadership positions need to be able to make good decisions at a high velocity. It's one of my core things: high-velocity decision-making.
On the toughest business decision:
Back in the early days, thredUP was primarily a peer-to-peer platform like eBay where we connected buyers and sellers. And we switched the business model such that we put ourselves in the middle between buyers and sellers -- so we took on inventory risk, [and] we did things on behalf of both buyers and sellers. That business transition was very difficult because we had investors, customers [and] employees who were all aligned around one strategy. I needed to stand up and convince them that strategy was wrong even though it had been my strategy.
For me, making the switch and then aligning everybody around the new strategy was really hard because I had just spent the prior two years telling people that the old way we were doing it was the right way. I brought a lot of data and a lot of customer insight to the conversation so it wasn't just me having an opinion. The most important thing was to get people the right information so that they could they can have an opinion.
On the most important traits in a new hire:
The thing that I look for the most is what kind of learner [a] person is -- how fast they can learn new things and how curious they are. Intellectual curiosity and people who are hungry to learn tend to be great employees, especially for companies in the earlier stages of their life.
On recognizing employees:
We have five values at thredUP: speak up, think big, be paranoid, influence outcomes and be exceptional. Quarterly, we give out awards to employees for living one of those values. We do a nominating process where we ask employees to nominate other employees who have gone above and beyond. We have a fun event around a happy hour where we acknowledge those people and at the end, I select somebody who wins the big award, we call them up in front of the company and celebrate them.
We give [them] an OpenTable gift card and a big 4-foot-long purple crayon. The purple crayon comes from a [children's] book called Harold and the Purple Crayon. It's a book we give to every new employee when they start, because Harold, the main character, spends [the] whole time finding his own way; he makes problems and then solves those problems. It's really about creativity and resilience.
Related: Why This 'Ruthlessly Prioritizing' Entrepreneur Says You Should Write Down One Goal Each Day
On team-building:
I take my executive team -- my seven direct reports -- [on] a quarterly retreat. Maybe we'll go out to dinner, or we live in the Bay Area so we've gone wine tasting one afternoon. We actually have one coming up that's going to be at one of our member's houses, and we'll probably do a barbecue in the afternoon. We try and keep it fresh and changing.
On unique office rituals:
As the CEO, I'm always trying to make people coffee [or] cappuccino. For about a year, I would hang out in the kitchen on Friday mornings and make people cappuccinos when they came in. I think it's a way of making sure people know that we're all in it together. People have always loved the idea that the CEO makes [them] a cappuccino during the week.
On managing meetings:
I try [to] make every meeting as short as possible. A lot of people schedule hour-long meetings -- my meetings are half that time. I use Google's Speedy Meeting feature, so an hour-long meeting ends after 50 minutes, a 30-minute meeting ends after 25 minutes. It allows you to transition to the next thing. I am pretty diligent about ensuring that the meetings I attend have clear agendas, notes that go out around, to-dos, [they] stay on-time [and they] end with follow up.
On scheduling:
I do my best thinking and creativity in the morning. So I try [to] reserve most of my hours from 7 to 10 a.m. on my creative time, and then I do meetings late morning into the afternoon. The stuff that doesn't require my brain to be as sharp, I do late afternoon. For example, if a friend wants to catch up or I'm doing something more social and less on the business, I'll schedule those for mid- to late afternoon.
On office setup:
We have [an] open office layout -- nobody has offices. We have conference rooms that people use as needed. I sit at a relatively small desk in the middle of the marketing, product and finance teams. For about a year and a half, I actually gave up my desk and sat in the kitchen because I found myself always in meetings and in the conference rooms [so] all I needed was my laptop and my phone.
On lunch:
I often try [to] eat lunch by myself because it's the only time I have to myself. I'm actually a bit of an introvert and I need some time by myself to gather my thoughts, and so if possible I eat by myself. I'll go out and get myself a salad or a sandwich and I'll just sit and eat it.
On a strong company culture:
The most important thing is that it's clear what the companys values are and that management and leadership of the company embrace and live those values. Where cultures go awry is when people treat cultures [as] just things written on the wall, but culture is what you do every day and how you behave. At thredUP, we focus on making sure people live and act the culture. Culture is what people do when others aren't looking.
On cultural mistakes:
The mistakes that weve made have primarily been in how weve communicated culture to new employees as they come on. There was a time when we made the mistake of saying, 'Well, we gave you the handbook, we gave you the culture book, we showed you videos, we gave you funny stories about the culture,' and just expected people to own, live and breathe it the same way we did.
Culture is all the little things that you do -- [it] is one of the things you have to keep investing in and do day by day. You can't just give people a culture handbook and expect them to fall into line.
On his biggest cultural win:
We really value learning, education and teaching each other things. One of the unique things that we do is every new employee who comes into the company [has] to spend 15 minutes and teach us something during lunch. Employees gather around and we ask that person to teach us something they're passionate about or that they have unique insight into. People have taught us everything from how to bake bread to how to play pool to what it's like to travel in Norway.
Related: Why the President of TLC Encourages Her Team to Take Big Swings, Even If it Ends in Failure
On his role model:
I'm really inspired by Jeff Bezos at Amazon. Great companies need to make the lives of their customers easier and Bezos has done that exceptionally well. I'm always inspired by hearing him talk or comment on what Amazon is doing.
On his favorite leadership books:
The book that I am often referring to other people is called Competing Against Luck by Clay Christensen, a well-known business professor. The book is really powerful for leaders because Christensen makes the point that to be innovative and to serve your customer well, you have to understand what job you're doing for them [and] where you fit in their lives.
On where most leaders go wrong:
I think most leaders go wrong by not staying connected enough to what they do in the business context and to the customer. It's easy to drink your own Kool-Aid and believe that your decisions are better than they are or that your jokes are funnier, to use the classic example. Leaders need to constantly be in touch with who they're serving. In a business context, it might be a customer. In a political context, it might be constituents. But leaders sometimes forget where they came from, and the best leaders know right where the core genesis of their leadership comes from and that's in the people that they serve.
Related:
Why This Entrepreneur Who Leads More Than 1,000 Employees Prefers to Eat Lunch Alone
Why This First-Time Entrepreneur That Built a Website With More Than 5 Million Monthly Visitors Sets Aside Time to Work Out With Her Team
The Success Secrets of the 4-Time Entrepreneur Behind BarkBox, Which Brought in $100 Million in 2016
Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com
MONTREAL, Sept. 12, 2017 /CNW/ - Today, Member of Parliament Marc Miller (on behalf of the Honourable Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness) announced investment from the Community Resilience Fund to support Project SOMEONE (Social Media Education Every Day) to combat hate in Canada.
Developed by Concordia University, Project SOMEONE is an online portal with multimedia materials aimed at combating hate and building resilience to radicalization to violence. The materials are geared towards youth, community members, public policy officials and the public to encourage critical thinking and promote dialogue. This new funding will contribute to better understanding how hate speech is produced, used and viewed online, as well as develop further resources to address harmful content.
As a centre of excellence, the Canada Centre for Community Engagement and the Prevention of Violence provides national leadership, coordination and support to community groups, frontline practitioners and stakeholders in their efforts to prevent individuals from radicalizing to violence.
The Community Resilience Fund contributes to intervention programming and research that reflect local realities.
Quotes
"To retain our national character as an open, diverse, inclusive and generous society and one that is also safe and secure we need to become among the best in the world at understanding and dealing effectively with all types of radicalization that lead to violence. The Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence is helping us do as much as humanly possible to prevent radicalization to violence before tragedy strikes. I'm proud to support this locally-developed initiative to build resources for effective prevention in Canada. "
- The Honourable Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
"This funding ensures our continued partnership with key national and international stakeholders - including community leaders, social service organisations, teaching professionals and policy makers in creating public engagement activities to promote pluralistic dialogues about the impact of hate speech, discrimination and radicalization on our society."
- Dr. Vivek Venkatesh, Associate Professor of Education, Concordia University
Quick Facts
Project SOMEONE is the recipient of a directed call for proposals from the Community Resilience Fund.
The funding awarded to Concordia University is $366,920.73 over two years.
is over two years. The Community Resilience Fund (CRF) has $2.4 million in funds for existing and new projects in 2017-2018. A call for proposals is open now and will close October 1, 2017 .
in funds for existing and new projects in 2017-2018. A call for proposals is open now and will close . The CRF will have $4.4 million available to fund existing and new projects in 2018-19. For 2019-20 and beyond, the CRF will have $7 million available each year for existing and new projects.
Associated Links
Follow Public Safety Canada (@Safety_Canada) on Twitter.
For more information, please visit the website www.publicsafety.gc.ca.
SOURCE Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada
For further information: Scott Bardsley, Office of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, 613-998-5681; Media Relations, Public Safety Canada, 613-991-0657, [email protected]
Related Links
https://www.canada.ca
BRIDGETOWN, MIAMI and TORONTO, Sept. 12, 2017 /CNW/ - CIBC (TSX: CM) (NYSE: CM) is donating US$450,000 to support organizations providing humanitarian relief in areas impacted by Hurricane Irma. The funds, which include a donation through CIBC FirstCaribbean's ComTrust Foundation, will be distributed through the Red Cross and other local relief agencies.
"Hurricane Irma has had a devastating impact on the islands in the northern Caribbean, particularly the British Virgin Islands, St. Maarten, Anguilla, and Grand Turk," said Gary Brown, CEO, CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank. "We stand by our colleagues and clients during this difficult time, and are committed to working closely with our clients, colleagues, and communities to recover and rebuild. The road to recovery in some of the hardest hit areas will be long, but we will help each other through it."
In total, seven islands where CIBC FirstCaribbean has operations - the British Virgin Islands, St. Maarten, Anguilla, Turks and Caicos, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, and St. Kitts and Nevis - were affected by the storm. Operations have restarted in all but two of the islands, St. Maarten and Anguilla, and the bank is working closely with its employees and clients as recovery efforts begin.
CIBC FirstCaribbean has approximately 3,000 employees in 17 countries in the Caribbean. The PrivateBank and CIBC Atlantic Trust Private Wealth Management also have offices in Florida, which have been impacted.
To make a donation to the Hurricane Irma relief fund, please visit the Canadian Red Cross website or the American Red Cross website.
About CIBC FirstCaribbean
CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank is a relationship-bank offering a full range of market-leading financial services through our Corporate and Investment Banking, Retail, Business & International Banking and Wealth Management segments. We are located in 17 countries around the Caribbean, providing the banking services through approximately 3,000 employees, in 80 branches and offices. CIBC FirstCaribbean is a member of the CIBC Group of Companies. For more information about CIBC FirstCaribbean, visit www.cibcfcib.com.
About CIBC
CIBC is a leading Canadian-based global financial institution with 11 million personal banking, business, public sector and institutional clients. Across Personal and Small Business Banking, Commercial Banking and Wealth Management, and Capital Markets businesses, CIBC offers a full range of advice, solutions and services through its leading digital banking network, and locations across Canada, in the United States and around the world. Ongoing news releases and more information about CIBC can be found at www.cibc.com/en/about-cibc/media-centre.html.
SOURCE CIBC - Corporate
For further information: Debra King, 246-367-2248, or [email protected], or Caroline Van Hasselt, 416-784-6699 or [email protected]
Related Links
http://www.cibc.com
OTTAWA, Sept. 12, 2017 /CNW/ - A group of 25 Hydro Ottawa employees are heading towards the southern United States today to assist with power restoration after Hurricanes Irma and Harvey devastated many communities. The team of skilled power line maintainers will assist in restoring power after high winds and flooding has left many in the dark.
Quick Facts
In 2012, Hydro Ottawa dispatched restoration crews to Connecticut and New Jersey during the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. It has also sent employees on numerous occasions to help Canadian utilities affected by ice storms.
and during the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. It has also sent employees on numerous occasions to help Canadian utilities affected by ice storms. Hydro Ottawa is a member of the North Atlantic Mutual Assistance Group (NAMAG). Made up of 29 utilities from across north-east Canada and the United States , NAMAG members agree to deliver not-for-profit assistance during times of crisis.
is a member of the North Atlantic Mutual Assistance Group (NAMAG). Made up of 29 utilities from across north-east and , NAMAG members agree to deliver not-for-profit assistance during times of crisis. Designed to increase coordination of resources and support, NAMAG empowers participating utilities to quickly action mutual assistance plans to restore power whenever and wherever assistance is needed. NAMAG utilities represent approximately 36 million customers.
Video BRoll footage will be available at approximately 4:30 p.m.
Quotes
"I would like to thank these employees for going above and beyond the call of duty to help our American neighbours in their time of need. Besides shelter and water, there is probably nothing more essential than electricity during a time of crisis."
- Bryce Conrad, President and Chief Executive Officer
About Hydro Ottawa
Hydro Ottawa delivers electricity to more than 328,000 homes and businesses in Ottawa and Casselman. For 100 years, Hydro Ottawa has reliably supplied its customers with power, building and investing in the local electric grid. Proudly municipally owned, Hydro Ottawa contributes to the well-being of the community we serve. Its innovative services help customers manage their account and energy use. Media contact
www.hydroottawa.com
SOURCE Hydro Ottawa Holding Inc.
For further information: Daniel Seguin, Manager, Media and Public Affairs, Hydro Ottawa, Tel: 613-738-5499 ext. 345, [email protected]
Related Links
http://www.hydroottawaholding.com/holding/
RALEIGH, NC, Sept. 12, 2017 /CNW/ - Infosys (NYSE: INFY), a global leader in consulting, technology and next-generation services, today announced that it will open its North Carolina Technology and Innovation Hub in Raleigh. This innovation Hub is expected to hire 2,000 American workers by 2021.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130122/589162 )
Towards its plan of hiring 10,000 jobs over 2 years, the company has already hired close to 1,200 American workers.
The new hub, which will open in early 2018, will occupy 60,000 square feet in a new facility in Raleigh and has the capacity to house 500 workers representing another step forward in the company's previous announcement to hire American workers in the country. The company plans to hire the first 500 workers in Raleigh innovation hub within two years, with the remainder to be hired in the state by 2021.
"Innovation, technology, and education are part of who we are as North Carolinians, and along the course of this project, Infosys leaders have found that to be the case every step of the way. Our top-flight workforce, commitment to education, and exceptional quality of life help businesses of all sizes recruit and retain excellent employees," said Governor Roy Cooper.
"The North Carolina Technology and Innovation Hub is part of Infosys' investment in the future of the U.S. tech workforce and will focus on delivering cutting-edge solutions in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, data and advanced analytics, cloud and big data," said Ravi Kumar, President and Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Infosys. "The Hub, located in the innovation incubator of Raleigh, will support the development of co-created solutions for our valued clients in North Carolina and the surrounding region. Attracting and retaining a skilled and motivated workforce is crucial to Infosys, and the new Tech Hub-along with the robust training program we are developing with the North Carolina Community College System and proximity to tier-one research universities-will expand Infosys' existing North Carolina network to better serve clients in the IT, life sciences, clean technology and advanced manufacturing sectors."
"The City of Raleigh welcomes Infosys as a key member of our community, further bolstering Raleigh's already strong technology economy, which has seen technology jobs grow at a rate more than double the national average over the last five years. The partnership between our city and Infosys will boost innovation and benefit businesses, schools, and workforce development in the area and we are excited to pursue this work together," said Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane.
New hires will include recent graduates from the state's prestigious network of colleges, universities and community colleges, as well as local professionals who will benefit from upskilling through Infosys' world-class training curriculum. As part of Infosys' commitment to grow 2,000 jobs in the state of North Carolina, the company is partnering with the North Carolina Community College System to create a customized program designed to train the workforce of the future.
"Infosys is looking to maximize the benefits of the North Carolina Community College's Customized Training Program. To that end, Wake Technical Community College is developing a comprehensive upskilling program, in partnership with Infosys, to train the workforce of the future. We plan to include pre-employment training, where candidates experience a short-term realistic job preview, as well as extensive post-employment training that will focus on technical and soft skills. The program will be developed as a joint effort between representatives from Infosys and Wake Tech and will ensure success for the company and the employees," said Maureen Little, Vice President of Economic Development, North Carolina Community College System.
This commitment to education also extends to the company's charitable foundation, Infosys Foundation USA. In North Carolina, the Foundation has provided multiple grants for classroom technology and computer science training to teachers and schools. To date, these grants have benefited 4,220 students across 82 schools, involving 92 teachers. This includes grants for professional development for teachers, hands on workshops for students, and new technology and teaching aids for classrooms, with an emphasis placed on serving underrepresented groups such as women, African American, Latino, urban, rural, and autistic groups that will gain greater access to computer science and maker education.
For more information, please visit: http://www.infosys.com/american-innovation/nc
About Infosys
Infosys is a global leader in technology services and consulting. We enable clients in 45 countries to create and execute strategies for their digital transformation. From engineering to application development, knowledge management and business process management, we help our clients find the right problems to solve, and to solve these effectively. Our team of 198,000+ innovators, across the globe, is differentiated by the imagination, knowledge and experience, across industries and technologies that we bring to every project we undertake.
Visit http://www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise thrive in the digital age.
Safe Harbor
Certain statements in this press release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements regarding our future business expectations intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Infosys has made strategic investments, withdrawal or expiration of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, and unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017. These filings are available at http://www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. In addition, please note that any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable as of the date of this press release. The company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the company unless it is required by law.
SOURCE Infosys
By Olivier Ferret 12 September 2017 - 11:46
Toto Wolff
Identifying clearly our strengths and our weaknesses has been a strength of our team in recent seasons. As we have pushed to become better and stronger in every area, we have put the finger in the wound in order to understand the root causes of both our good performances and the bad ones. In 2015, Singapore provided us with one of the most painful experiences in recent seasons, so we rolled up the sleeves, learned from it and managed to bounce back with a great win last year. But notwithstanding that success, this is a circuit we have found difficult to master with its combination of short, sharp corners, relatively short straights and bumpy surface. And we head to Asia this time round with the expectation that we have a big challenge ahead of us.
So far this year, we have seen the pendulum swing according to circuit type. On the surface, Singapore is the kind of circuit that should favour both Ferrari and Red Bull. Both have shown strong performance on low-speed circuits demanding maximum downforce, and we have found life more difficult at those places in 2017. Sometimes, characteristics like this are simply in the DNA of a car. Nevertheless we learned a lot from our struggles in Monaco, raised our level of performance significantly in Hungary and we have made good progress in understanding what we need to do in order to get the most from the chassis.
Singapore is a fantastic showcase for our sport and a unique spectacle under the lights. But its a demanding weekend for the teams: the ambient conditions make life in the garage tough, its physically demanding for the drivers and challenging for the cars in terms of managing brake and tyre temperatures. Safety Car periods are almost guaranteed, so there are lots of variables to consider on strategy. Its a weekend when every part of the team needs to be at its best if you wish to score a strong finish. We will aim to put all the pieces of the puzzle together and finish strongly.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
NEW HAVEN >> Alexion Pharmaceuticals will move its headquarters from the Elm City to Boston as part of a restructuring of the troubled company, multiple sources said Monday night.
City officials, including city spokesman Laurence Grotheer, confirmed the impending move but could not provide more details.
Grotheer confirmed Alexion will maintain a research presence at its current College Street facility. However, he could not provide any details regarding the timing of the move, where the company was moving to in Boston or whether the company was being asked to repay money it had received from the state as part of the First Five program.
A source, however, said the company will have to repay the funds.
They will have to pay back both the loan and the grant, with interest, said a source with knowledge of the move. The company is going to keep a significant number of workers at the New Haven facility, the source said.
Workers at the companys Rhode Island plant, however, are expected to be outsourced overseas.
The state has been investing in Alexion for the past 25 years, with a major infusion at the multimillion-dollar Elm City facility.
The company had announced late Monday afternoon that it planned to announce details of a restructuring via a statement released Tuesday at 8 a.m., and follow that with a conference call at 8:30 a.m. Alexion officials did not offer any further details about the nature of the restructuring in a statement released Monday.
Kim Diamond, an Alexion spokeswoman, declined to make any comment when contacted Monday evening. But sources told the New Haven Register late Monday that the restructuring includes a relocation to an unspecified location in Boston.
Mondays leak of Alexions planned departure ends more than nine months of speculation about the companys future in New Haven as a steady stream of bad news was played out in the press.
News of Alexion relocating its headquarters to Boston came as New Haven Democrats were preparing to go to the polls in a primary election between incumbent Mayor Tony Harp and challenger Marcus Paca. Officials within the Harp administration are concerned that the news could sway the outcome of the election in Pacas favor.
One senior official with the Harp administration sought to put a positive spin on the news, since most of Alexions researchers will remain in New Haven, the official said.
As they acquire new companies, the research groups will be in New Haven, the official said. (Alexions) corporate and C-suite people apparently need a better airport and conference hotels to grow (the) global business side of the business. Alexions building is still very state of the art once reconfigured, we will fill the rest of it with new companies.
The state in 2012 helped Alexion, as part of the states First Five investment program, by giving it a $20 million loan based on creation of 200 to 300 jobs, which it managed to do.
There was also a $6 million grant for lab construction and up to $25 million in Urban and Industrial Sites Reinvestment tax credits.
A source with knowledge of the conversations with Alexion said the New Haven location will be the companys Center of Excellence for its Complement Research and Process Development. That source described the number of research workers who would be staying in New Haven as significant.
But Alexions stretch of bad news started in December of last year when then-Chief Executive Officer David Hallal and Vikas Sinha, its chief financial officer, left the company.
That was followed by a double dose of bad news in May.
Alexions chief financial officer, the head of research and development, the top compliance officer and the executive in charge of human resources all announced the same day that they would be leaving the company.
The next day, a Bloomberg Businessweek story was released that painted a very unflattering picture of the company, which makes drugs that treat rare diseases.
The Businessweek story elaborated on allegations of aggressive sales practices by the company as well as the cost of its star drug Soliris, which costs more than $18,000 for a single treatment. While the Businessweek story noted that the drug has saved thousands of lives, it also detailed some of the problems at the company, including:
A May 8 raid of Alexions offices in Sao Paulo, Brazil, as part of an investigation into the companys business practices there.
Claims that the companys sales representatives were instructed to urge doctors to send the tests they had done on patients who were thought to have rare diseases to preferred partner laboratories, which, unbeknown to patients and many of the doctors, had agreements with Alexion to provide the drugmaker with a copy of the test results.
An investigation the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has undertaken over the past two years into grants made by Alexion in Brazil, Colombia, Japan, Russia and Turkey to rare disease patient groups, allegedly in an effort to attract new users of Soliris. Businessweeks story said the focus of the SEC investigation has been looking for potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Two weeks before the news of the companys plans to relocate its headquarters became public, at least one Alexion executive was cashing in more than 11,000 of her shares.
Julie ONeill, executive vice president of global operations with the company, sold the shares at an average price of $140 per share for a total value of $1.56 million, according to information on the website of the Securities & Exchange Commission. ONeill still owns 26,704 shares of Alexion stock currently worth $3.73 million
Call Luther Turmelle at 203-680-9388. Register reporter Mary OLeary contributed to this report.
NEW HAVEN >> While there have been concerns that some of Donald Trumps actions could be perceived as anti-Semitic, there is hope that the administration is becoming more sensitive to Jewish concerns, according to an official from the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
Mark Weitzman, director of government affairs for the center, which researches and educates about the Holocaust, was a speaker Monday at a panel during the two-day conference of the International Consortium for Research on Antisemitism and Racism, held at Yale Universitys Whitney Humanities Center.
Steve Bannon, former chief strategist for Trump, left his position on Aug. 18, while Sebastian Gorka departed as deputy assistant to the president a week later. Both are far-right conservatives, with Bannon seen as responsible for actions taken by Trump that many found offensive to Jews, Weitzman said.
When Trump went to Warsaw, he became the first president not to visit any Holocaust sites, Weitzman said in an interview after his presentation. He gave a speech in the square that is considered a symbol of nationalist ideology. Trump also failed to mention the Jews in his statement on Jan. 27, International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Trump also had not filled the position of special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism in the State Department, but Secretary of State Rex Tillerson recently committed in writing to fill that post, Weitzman said. While the envoy can only speak about issues outside the United States, promising to fill it may symbolize a stronger stance against anti-Semitism, he said.
Not having someone there is not a good sign and having the commitment to having that filled is a positive sign, Weitzman said.
Concerning anti-Semitism in general, Weitzman said, I think whats happened is things that were once sort of underground are above ground and were seeing new forms coming out in public, the alt-right and so on.
I think we have to realize that anti-Semitism cannot be viewed only through the lens of people wearing white hoods or shouting Nazi slogans on the street, he said. There are things that political leadership can do that can either enable or legitimize anti-Semitism or to condemn it and help reduce it.
Also at the conference, David Hirsh of Goldsmiths, University of London, spoke about his book, What Can a Study of the Mainstreaming of Antisemitism on the Left Teach Us about the New Right Wing Populisms? Anti-Semitic, xenophobic, racist and populist discourses have over the last few years moved into the mainstream in a way that would have seemed impossible a few years ago, he said.
The hate is not always explicit, Hirsh said, noting that there were strains of xenophobia in Brexit, Great Britains vote to leave the European Union. President Trump brought Steve Bannon into the White House and his anti-Semitism too is not explicit, Hirsh said.
The charge against President Trump and Steve Bannon is that they engage in conspiracy theory that is a message to those who engage in racial and ethnic hatred, sending out dog whistles to neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups.
Accusations of anti-Semitism are not limited to the right, either, Hirsh said. He referred to a member of Parliament, Jeremy Corbyn of the liberal Labour Party, who has been accused of making anti-Semitic statements. People on the populist right are seeing themselves able to identify with some sophisticated anti-Semitism on the populist left, Hirsh said.
Criticism of Israel may be based on anti-Semitism but also may be based in the countrys political policies. Some kinds of hostility to Israel are anti-Semitic while criticisms of certain Israeli policies are of course legitimate, he said.
Stephen Pitti, professor of history and American studies at Yale and director of the Yale Center for the Study of Race, Indigeneity, and Transnational Migration, summed up the conferences themes:
These are pressing topics that are critical throughout the world. There is rising concern about anti-Semitism and about racism. There are questions to be asked and answered about how the rise of anti-Semitism and racism is connected to the increasing influence of the radical right in the world.
Call Ed Stannard at 203-680-9382.
Editors note: This story has been updated since it was first posted to better reflect comments made by Mark Weitzman.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
ORANGE >> The co-chairman of the Orange Country Fair, coming this weekend Friday through Sunday, said theyve worked hard to keep commercialism out of the event and make it simply a fun place for families.
Its a family thing you dont have to worry about your kids, said co-chairwoman Karen McCausland, adding the fair committee has become like family. We try to keep the commercialism down you just spend time as a family, and leave the electronics at home.
McCausland said the fair is also a time to share the towns origins and its farming history.
It seems from the line-up of events that theyve succeeded.
The event over Saturday and Sunday includes oxen pulls, hay bale tosses, doodlebug contests, pig racing, a homing pigeon release, a reptile tent, a lumberjack show, a magician, a strolling one man circus and more. The animal barn exhibit is popular, McCausland said.
Beginning at 8 a.m. both Saturday and Sunday, is the popular Chips Famous Pancake Breakfast.
There also will be live music throughout, including an appearance by bluegrass artist Shari Puorto who lives in California, but grew up in Orange.
On Sunday, there will be three police K-9 shows at 11 a.m., 2 and 3 p.m.
Carnival rides will be there all three days.
The hours include a soft opening Friday beginning at 6 p.m. with a truck pull until finish; Saturday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The fair is on rain or shine.
Admission is free on Friday only. Admission on other days is $8 for adults; $5 for senior citizens, and children 15 and under are free. Active military admission is $5.00 with identification.
Parking is free and there are no pets or alcohol allowed on the grounds.
Once in, the attractions and exhibits are free, including two-handed saw and skillet-throwing contests and much more.
There are tents full of vegetables, crafts, photographs, quilts, artwork and photographs made or grown by adults and children.
Everything entered is judged on the Danish system, or on their own merits, rather than against each other. Everyone gets a ribbon and McCausland has said its a fabulous feeling to see kids so excited when they return after seeing their entries recognized.
The fair as it is today was started 41 years ago by local farmer Walter Bespuda, who was asked to organize a one-time event for the towns bicentennial celebration.
The fair at Mary L. Tracy School which Bespuda executed with the boys in his 4-H Club made a sizeable amount of money and was such a hit with townspeople that they were asked to do it the next year. The fair got bigger and more successful every year. He has stayed involved ever since. The proceeds are used to maintain the buildings and structures on the fairgrounds.
McCausland said Bespuda is still involved and a driving force behind the fairs success today.
She said the money taken in from the fair is put into the next years fair and used to repair and build structures on the fairgrounds.
For more information and a schedule of events visit: http://orangectfair.com/index.htm
DACA is short for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which protects certain people who were brought into the country illegally as children from being deported. Former President Barack Obama launched the program in 2012, saying he wanted to provide a reprieve for young immigrants who have established lives in the U.S., often dont know any other home, and sometimes dont speak a language besides English. For those who qualify, deportation is deferred two years, with a chance to renew. Recipients can legally obtain work permits.
Who is covered by DACA?
About 800,000 people nationwide, and more than 200,000 in California, have been approved for DACA protection. To qualify, applicants must have been younger than 31 on June 15, 2012, when the program started, and have come to the U.S. before they were 16, living here continuously since at least June of 2007. The majority of recipients, often called Dreamers, are from Mexico.
What did President Trump do?
The Trump administration, which claims that Obamas move creating DACA was an unconstitutional overreach, announced Tuesday that it would wind down the program, which will take a few years. Recipients will remain protected through their current term. But new applications for DACA will no longer be accepted, and those with current protection must renew their two-year legal status by Oct. 5. Starting March 5, tens of thousands of recipients will begin to see their status expire, and could be deported.
What happens next?
By ensuring there will be no deportations of DACA recipients for six months, the Trump administration is giving Congress time to pass legislation that would determine the fate of Dreamers. Many in Congress, including Republicans who favor tighter immigration policy, such as House Speaker Paul Ryan and Arizona Sen. John McCain, have supported protection for DACA recipients, but lawmakers for years have been unable to reach consensus.
What happens
to Dreamers?
If Congress doesnt enact a policy by March 5, those who lose protection will be subject to removal. Trump said he told immigration officials that DACA recipients should not be considered priorities for deportation unless they are criminals, are involved in criminal activity, or are members of a gang. But since Trump took office, the government has deported people with clean records.
Kurtis Alexander
The Burning Man art festival has always been an inspiration for creative personalities. Many of the residents of Black Rock City express themselves through the fashion they wear at the event.
A mix of practical and fantastical, you never know what or who you will see in the Nevada desert.
Former Deputy Director of the Buhari Presidential Campaign Council, Mohammed Lawal, has claimed that former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has been plotting President Muhammadu Buharis failure because he lost the All Progressives Congress, APC, primary election to him in 2014.Lawal, who is a Director on the Board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, made the allegation while dismissing Abubakars claim that Buhari used and dumped him after the 2015 presidential election.Abubakar had alleged that the Buhari-led Government had sidelined him after using his resources and contacts to win the 2015 election.In his reaction, Lawal stressed that the former Vice President neither campaigned nor contributed anything towards Buharis election in 2015.Speaking yesterday, Lawal maintained that Buhari has been fair to Abubakar, adding that a lot of the former Vice presidents loyalists were holding positions in the current government.He said, We know that right from the time Buhari was sworn in, Atiku started plotting to cause problem, to ensure that this administration does not succeed.During the campaign, he granted an interview to BBC and said he was sure APC would not win the presidential election.He was making preparations that if APC did not win, he will go back to PDP and get the ticket after ex-President Goodluck Jonathans projected exit in 2019.Immediately after the presidential primaries, Atiku left the country. He did not come back. All along, while we were prosecuting the presidential campaign, Atiku was not in Nigeria. He did not participate in the presidential campaign.After the presidential election, he came to congratulate President Muhammadu Buhari and left the country. He is complaining now that he was not contacted.I served as a Deputy Director at the Presidential Campaign Council. I knew all the intrigues. Atiku fought Buhari tooth and nail. He was extremely unhappy about the loss of presidential primaries.He did not campaign for Buhari during the election. He even refused to contribute any money. He promised to campaign and to contribute to the campaign. He did not contribute anything meaningful. Let him say how much he spent. How much did he claim he spent? Is his money more important than his appearance at the campaign? He spent all the money he thinks he has to ensure that Buhari did not win.People are not foolish. He told the BBC in 2015 that he was sure that Buhari was not going to win. So, will somebody who did not believe in the partys candidate spend anything?And out of magnanimity, Buharis first outing from Abuja, after winning the election, was to attend Atikus daughters wedding.There are many Atiku loyalists in this government and he is saying that he has been sidelined. She (Women Affairs Minister Aisha Alhassan) and other Atiku loyalists were given appointment because of Atiku. They know themselves. And Atiku is saying nothing has been given to him. At least the principal appointment given to Atiku went to Aisha as the Minister of Women Affairs.To be candid with you, Atiku started fighting Buhari since 2015. They just came out now because they were choked up; they did not get any reaction from him. They thought he was going to start fighting, abusing and dealing mercilessly with the opposition in government.
Happy New Month Nigeria! Welcome to the month of June. As the world searches for a respite from all its troubles since 2020 began, one can ...
According to KFLH, for Olori Wuraola, who is the former wife of the Ooni Of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, the coast seems clear now for her to remarry if she wishes.This is because the customary bride price paid by the revered monarch has been returned fully from the elders of Queen Zynabs Family in Benin City, Nigeria.According to a source in Benin, the Ooni was initially reluctant to collect the bride price, but was persuaded by the Elders as a way of closing the controversial marriage and separation.Shes free now, shes free, the Ooni was quoted to have exclaimed afterwards.The marriage which was contracted in March 2016 in elaborate ceremonies held in Benin and Ife hit the rocks over alleged infidelity.
President Muhammadu Buhari says he is thankful for the improved rainy season in the country in the last two years, admitting that he would have run away from the country if there was no rain.Buhari said this on Monday when he received the National Council of Traditional Rulers led by the Sultan of Sokoto Muhammad SAbubakar III, in Aso Villa, Abuja.He said, We are lucky this year that last year and this year the rainy season is good. If it were not good, I must confide in you that I was considering which country to run to. But God answered the prayers of many Nigerians. The rainy season last year was good and this year with the report Im getting is good. We thank God for that otherwise there would have been a lot of problems in this country.Buhari said the mismanagement of resources over the years was responsible for the current economic hardship.The President said that he would continue to pursue programmes that would improve the lives of Nigerians.Earlier, the Sultan of Sokoto, while thanking God for bringing Buhari back, urged him to act fast.He said, We will continue to preach peace and stability, justice, transparency and accountability and anti-corruption.Speaking for the South-West, the Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Ogunnusi, also thanked God for the safe return of Buhari.Ogunwusi said, From the South-West we thank God for your life and we pledge to support you from our communities because we are closer to our people. We will continue to preach to our people that we should continue to foster peace in our country, we will continue to caution our youths against hate speech.We cannot leave the development of the country all to the government but we have to work hand in hand. We assure you that we support all your initiatives.Speaking for the North-West, the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, said the traditional rulers identified with Buharis commitment to national security.Speaking for the South-South, Jaja of Opobo urged the President to quickly fix the economy.He said, We know there is tension here and there but as traditional rulers, we dont eat politics. The economy has to be fixed. Coming from the region that produces the mainstay of the economy, even though the country will soon diversify the economy, before we diversify lets protect the one that we still have. We are pleased to work for peace and stability of the region so that we can all see the benefits of the commodity.The Gbom Gwom Jos, Jacob Gyang, who spoke on behalf of the North-Central, also thanked God for bringing the President back to celebrate Sallah with fellow Nigerians.He told the President that at least 20 people were killed in Plateau State on FridayGyang said, Few days ago just when we thought peace had returned to Plateau, it was truncated with the attack on Ancha village in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State, leading to 20 deaths.He commended Buhari for ordering the security agencies to fish out those responsible for the attacks and the reasons for the attack.Speaking for the South -East, Chairman of South-East Traditional Council, Eberechi Dike, said, Our hearts are full of joy that you are back. You shook our hands when you came in and that shows you believe in one Nigeria. We prayed for you and you are back. We prayed for you because your agenda for Nigeria is good. As your children when we cry it is for you to ask us to stop crying that you will fix whatever is making us cry like the bad roads.Speaking for the North-East, the Lamido Adamawa, Muhammadu Musdafa, said Nigerians were happy to have the President back.
The Biafra Zionists Federation, BZF, on Tuesday gave the Nigeria Government a 48-hour ultimatum to withdraw military troops from the South-...
The Biafra Zionists Federation, BZF, on Tuesday gave the Nigeria Government a 48-hour ultimatum to withdraw military troops from the South-East and other regions within the area.
In a press statement he issued to journalists in Enugu, self-acclaimed Biafra President, Barr. Benjamin Onwuka said the Federal Government and the Army hierarchy would pay dearly over the lives lost in the said attack.
Recall that the military had since denied the reported death of any person during its confrontation with the agitators.
However, Onwuka in his statement said, for sending armed soldiers to Biafra, it is political suicide for them and they will pay dearly for it.
Army has nothing to do with Biafra and this intimidation will not work. Biafra is alive; Biafra has since been recognized by the US. So, it can no longer be crushed. Our back-up is the US. So, Buhari is wasting his time, because the Army will not stop Biafras independence.
Sending troops to come to intimidate us is not going to work. Any loss of life by any Biafran, whoever it is, is a great pain and regrettable, but they will pay very dearly.
I am warning them; Im giving them 48 hours that all troops in the South-East, the South-South and the Middle Belt, must be withdrawn immediately. They are going to pay a heavy price.
My heart goes out to all the Biafrans kiilled and their families. These soldiers behaved like terrorists.
In the North, the Boko Haram and the Hausa-Fulani herdsmen are killing people in thousands; in the middle-belt civilians are being killed by rampaging herdsmen, how many troops have they sent there? But down here, they sent them to kill unarmed agitators.
So, it is similar to a terrorist attack and they will definitely face war crimes when the time comes.
This is intimidation and that is why Im giving them 48 hours to withdrawn these soldiers; they will pay a heavy price for this action; they will regret it.
However, no Biafran should yield to this intimidation; they should go on and fly Biafran and Israeli flag wherever they are.
He equally lambasted son of late Biafra leader, Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu, Emeka Ojukwu Jnr. for saying that his father indeed met with President Muhammadu Buhari in 2003 where they foreclosed Biafra.
While describing Ojukwu Jnr. as a liar, the Zionists said it is very disappointing for Emeka Ojukwu Jnr. to join Buhari in saying that his father dumped Biafra when he was alive.
We have said it before that Buhari lied; we are saying it now that Emeka Ojukwu Jnr. is a chronic liar and a saboteur.
Why is he supporting Buhari who is sending troops to be killing his own people if not for selfish interest, for stomach infrastructure?
Since he said he was aware of the meeting, we demand that he should provide the date, the venue, the transcript, the signatories to the agreement and the witnesses.
We also demand to know why he waited till now to say so. Im saying this because I led Zionists on a condolence visit to him in March 8, 2012 after Ojukwus burial, over 1000 zionists went with Biafra flags, a band, a cow and in my speech I did say that his fathers legacy of fighting for Biafra will never die, to which he responded by saying Amen! I agree with you.
Also, in 2013, I visited him in Abuja on his invitation and we discussed Biafra for almost four hours. In that meeting, he even asked me why I did not include his name in the Biafra government we formed then?
It is now strange that the same person is saying this now.
We also wonder why Ojukwu should visit Buhari in 2003 to discuss Nigeria sovereignty when Olusegun Obasanjo, the then President was the one holding Nigerias constitution. In what capacity did Buhari receive Ojukwu to discuss Nigerias soverignty? The fallacies are so glaring.
He commiserated with the United States as they commemorate the 9/11 terrorist attack, noting that we want to tell the Americans that the Biafra people are with them; we condole them and we assure them that we are ready to support them in any way to fight terrorism.
This makes it very imperative that Biafra should be fully recognized and Im very confident that the ex-Us President, Barrack Obama and the incumbent, Donald Trump will make it happen very soon. We are asking the Biafrans to remain quite and calm.
The government we formed on the 31st of July remains intact; the interim government and the ministers remain as they are pending recognition by the US.
Elder statesman and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Frank Kokori has called on the federal government of Nigeria to...
Elder statesman and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Frank Kokori has called on the federal government of Nigeria to split the nation into 12 states.
According to him, equity and justice could only be achieved if the country returned to 12 states six for each of southern and northern Nigeria as it was during the regime of General Yakubu Gowon.
Kokori called for the convocation of a round table discussion with genuine people from all sectors and sections of the country on restructuring.
He said, National Assembly cannot do anything for proper restructuring of Nigeria.
The elder statesman told Tribune that each of the six states should be autonomous, saying the current 36-state structure is not viable.
Top on my agenda on any restructuring in Nigeria is Gowons 12 states in 1967, not the present one they are talking about six zones.
That Gowons 12 states will move Nigeria forward. Let them decentralized Nigeria like Gowon did.
Restructuring is all about making a country where there is no cheating, the septuagenarian mooted.
He slammed the National Assembly for recently thrashing the outcome of the National Conference held by the Goodluck Jonathan administration, admitting that the recommendations were suitable for the country.
The issue of how Nigeria should be governed should not be the business of the National Assembly because it is an interested party; it will not like anybody to whittle down their power, so to me, it should be the people themselves.
To me, the constitutional Conferences by Jonathan was okay, its just that the people were not properly chosen by their people. Most of them were nominated by the PDP government if not, they made a lot of sense in that conference, Kokori admitted.
We should not just sweep it under the carpet; its a serious matter, the president himself should be seeing signals now, so we should come together for dialogue and talk seriously about Nigeria, he warned.
Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu is currently being held hostage at his Umuahia residence by personnel of the N...
Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu is currently being held hostage at his Umuahia residence by personnel of the Nigerian Army.
Nigerian Eye gathered that the soldiers invaded Kanus residence as early as 6am Tuesday and started shooting sporadically. gathered that the soldiers invaded Kanus residence as early as 6am Tuesday and started shooting sporadically.
IPOBs spokesperson, Emma Powerful, confirmed the incident.
Also, IPOB members on social media are claiming that their leader, Nnamdi Kanu's home in Umuahia, Abia state is currently under a siege. See their tweets and a video below
More details later...
Last week, the National publicity secretary of PDP, Dayo Adeyeye, released a statement in which he accused the Buhari-led APC government of...
Last week, the National publicity secretary of PDP, Dayo Adeyeye, released a statement in which he accused the Buhari-led APC government of treating the anti-corruption fight. Adeyeye's comment was in reaction to the EFCC handing over to former Bayelsa state governor, Timipre Sylva, the 48 houses they had initially seized from him.
In reaction to Dayo's statement, the National Publicity Secretary of APC, Bolaji Abdullahi and the National vice-chairman of the party, south-south, Honourable Hilard Ntufam Etta, granted an interview in which they berated PDP's spokesperson for his comment. According to Etta, the PDP spokesperson's comment was a joke and that nobody could have looted as much as Goodluck Jonathan's administration did.
My take on the matter is that the claim is comedy from the pit of hell. No government, not just in Nigeria, but any part of the world could possibly be as corrupt as Jonathans government. It isnt possible for human being to contrive or conspire again to have that kind of sleaze. Not anywhere in the world. Thats just my reaction" the APC chieftain said
Well, the former president through his media aide, Reno Omokri, has reacted to the APC spokesperson comment. Read the statement below
"My attention has been drawn to a statement by the APC and released in some newspapers with the headline 'Nobody could have looted like Jonathan, APC replies PDP'
It is indeed disheartening that the All Progressive Congress has again decided to stand truth on its head by claiming that nobody looted Nigeria like former President Goodluck Jonathan.
The statement by the national publicity secretary of the APC, Bolaji Abdullahi, a man who once benefited from former President Jonathan's generosity and rode on his back to become a minister, shows that the party is at its wits end and is running out of lies to feed Nigerians.
First of all, no court has indicted or convicted former President Jonathan of corruption neither can they do so because the former President was not corrupt and did not loot.
We remind the APC that former President Jonathan once truthfully declared that he has no accounts or property abroad. There is a Freedom of Information Act signed into law by Dr. Jonathan and I urge Bolaji Abdullahi and those who pull his puppet strings to take advantage of it in verifying that assertion.
In any case, if the Jonathan administration was corrupt, what does that say about Bolaji Abdullahi who was a member of that government for three out of its five years? By indicting Dr. Jonathan, Malam Abdullahi also indicts himself, after all, he did not resign from that government until former President Jonathan sacked him.
Bolaji Abdullahi, like Senator George Akume, is only being clever by half in indicting the PDP as the cause of Nigeria's problems.
Such is the APC's hypocrisy that Senator Akume said 'PDP caused the pain we are in'. Senator Akume, like Bolaji Abdullahi forgets that the PDP ruled for 16 years and Akume was a PDP Governor for 8 of those years and a PDP Senator for 4 of those years.
Is it that one suddenly becomes a saint by joining the APC after being in the PDP for 12 years?
It is funny that no evidence of looting has ever been established against Dr. Jonathan, yet the APC believes he looted, yet though evidence abounds that ex military head of state, General Sani Abacha looted, they believe and have publicly said 'Abacha did not loot'.
Over $5 billion has been traced to Abacha and over $1 billion has been recovered from him including $320 million recovered under the Buhari administration alone. The question for Malam Abdullahi is this-how much has been recovered from Dr. Goodluck Jonathan?
No wonder Nigeria has not improved in the Corruption Perception Index of Transparency International since 2014 when we made our best improvement till date under Dr. Jonathan. Apparently, after sacking people like Bolaji Abdullahi, Transparency International saw fit to improve Nigeria's Corruption Perception Rating by 8 points. The position we occupied in 2014 because of Jonathan (136) is the same position we occupy today. No progress has been made from where he left off.
It is also sad for the APC to claim that its hands were tied by the courts forcing the government to authorize the release of 48 houses seized from Timipre Sylva, a major APC donor and chieftain.
Such stories should only be told to children on the TV program 'Tales by Moonlight'.
We ask Nigerians to note that even when the same courts ordered the release on bail of Col. Sambo Dasuki and Sheikh Ibrahim el-Zak Zaky, these individuals were not released in defiance of court orders.
It is obvious that the APC chooses which court order to obey based on how much the person involved has donated to the party.
It is also sad that Malam Abdullahi, who knows the truth, continues with the propaganda that Jonathan said 'stealing is not corruption'. Bolaji knows the truth because he was serving Dr. Goodluck Jonathan as a minister when this incidence occurred. Former President Jonathan merely quoted the then Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Dahiru Musdapher, who tried to differentiate between stealing and-corruption.
His Lordship the then CJN said most of the cases charged to courts and celebrated as cases of corruption are actually cases of stealing. No one has said stealing is good. Bolaji's APC should stop this falsehood and propaganda.
Why the APC continues to circulate beer parlor gossip, I wouldn't know. Even the Nigerian Senate headed by a former PDP governor now APC Senate President accused the APC Federal Government for spreading beer parlour rumour on corruption (front page of the Daily Sun Friday September 8, 2017). Bolaji's statement is another beer parlour propaganda.
The APC government has budgeted over N14tr in the last two years. Bolaji should tell Nigerians what the government has done with the money. Nigerians will not know the level of corruption in Bolaji's APC government till another government takes over.
A government that harbors a man who was indicted by a duly constituted Judicial Commission and even makes him a minister has no moral authority to point fingers at others.
Finally, I appeal to Bolaji Abdullahi and the APC to focus on explaining to Nigerians why despite the fact that it claims to have recovered almost 2 trillion from the Jonathan administration, Nigeria still wants to borrow 1.6 trillion.
With the amount 'recovered', Nigeria should have had enough not to borrow and a little extra on top to lend to others.
These lies only go to show that you can use propaganda to get to power, but you cannot use propaganda to stay in power.
Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has just tweeted that he spoke with the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), ...
Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has just tweeted that he spoke with the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), who has been reportedly held hostage by men of the Nigerian Army.
Fani-Kayode also warned President Muhammadu Buhari, to call the officers to order, before innocent people are killed.
He wrote: I just spoke to Nnamdi Kanu, his lawyer and his sister. What is going on right now is unbelievable and unacceptable.
His entire community has been terrorized and traumatized for the 2nd day running by soldiers who are firing shots into the buildings and in the air.
I call on @MBuhari to call his army to order before innocent people are killed. Soldiers are meant to protect our citizens and not attack them!
1.I just spoke to Nnamdi Kanu,his lawyer and his sister.What is going on right now is unbelievable and unacceptable.His entire community.... Femi Fani-Kayode (@realFFK) September 12, 2017
2.has been terrorised and traumatised for the 2nd day running by soldiers who are firing shots into the buildings and in the air.I call on.. Femi Fani-Kayode (@realFFK) September 12, 2017
3. @MBuhari to call his army to order before innocent people are killed. Soldiers are meant to protect our citizens and not attack them! September 12, 2017
Police arrested a mentally unsound Nigerian man after he allegedly submerged a girls head in a swimming pool at an apartment in Puchong, S...
Other residents and security guards at the apartment became aware of the incident when they heard the victim, a girl aged about 8 to 10, screaming for help. The security guard immediately intervened and stopped the man. Police arrested a mentally unsound Nigerian man after he allegedly submerged a girls head in a swimming pool at an apartment in Puchong, Selangor, on Saturday.Other residents and security guards at the apartment became aware of the incident when they heard the victim, a girl aged about 8 to 10, screaming for help. The security guard immediately intervened and stopped the man.
A video at the pool side has made its round on the social media, believed to be the recording of the situation after the incident. The video then panned to the playground and then towards a girl clad in pink swimming attire and black pants.
A man who was recording the video asked the girl if the man had choked her, and the girl lifted her lower arm and put it to her neck, saying that (he) did this.
Subang Jaya district police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohammad Azlin Sadari said police were notified by the security of the mentally unsound man creating chaos at the apartments common area.
A patrol car was deployed and the man in his 30s was arrested. He was taken to Puchong police station for questioning and later taken to Kuala Lumpur hospital on the same day, he said
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar says if given the chance to rule Nigeria, he would fight corruption like never before.
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar says if given the chance to rule Nigeria, he would fight corruption like never before.
Abubakar explained that his vast experiences both in the public and private sectors and his ability to build a team capable of accomplishing the task put him in the position to fight corruption better.
He made these in Jabi area of Abuja on Monday, where he also challenged those he called self-righteous political enemies to either prove his alleged corrupt activities or keep quiet.
The statement said, He would fight corruption like never before if he is given the opportunity to preside over the affairs of the country.
It is sickening to continue to regurgitate allegations of corruption against me by people who have failed to come forward with a single shred of evidence of my misconduct while in office.
The Waziri of Adamawa stressed that those who lacked initiative, personal resourcefulness and ideas about wealth creation, always assume that a man cannot build himself without stealing.
People who are bereft of ideas about entrepreneurial spirit always think that everyone else is a thief just like them.
He noted that it was morally offensive for people who despise honest labour to become judges in the courts of public opinion.
Abubakar stressed that though his political adversaries have being spreading fake morality to fool Nigerians, he had not been convicted of corruption by any court both in Nigeria and abroad.
Despite previous desperate efforts to link me with corruption, the William Jefferson trial in the United States ended in 2009 without indicting me or linking me to corrupt activities, he said.
He recalled how he once pasted a reminder on his bed side during his training as a Customs officer that he would retire from any agency if he had not attained the headship of the place at the age of 40.
Disclosing that he was only able to attain the position of a deputy director before his exit in 1989 to chart a career in business, Abubakar insisted that he retired from the Nigeria Customs Service with a clean record.
Abubakar also dared anybody who had evidence that he stole money during his time as an officer or during his tenure as vice-president to confront him with evidence or file a petition against him.
If Atiku is a thief merely because of his resourcefulness and successful investments, my political enemies should tell Nigerians the sources of their own stupendous wealth, he said.
I will shock everyone because I believe that I will fight corruption like never before.
After two broken marriages and several relationships, the Beasts of no Nation star has found love again but this time in the hands of a more younger woman.Idris Elba has a stunning new girlfriend months after he broke up with the mother of his second child, just weeks after he swore hed never get married again.Her name is Sabrina Dhowre, an actress and model who was crowned Miss Vancouver in 2014.The duo attended a glitzy premiere party on Sunday evening for his film, The Mountain Between Us.Sabrina is 29 years old, 16 years younger than Idris who is 45 years old. The pair have reportedly been dating for seven months and were first spotted together in Manchester last month.This is actor Idris Elbas first public relationship since he split with make-up artist Naiyana Garth, mother of his three-year-old son Winston.The Jungle Book star left Miss Garth, a makeup artist, last year just days after he was pictured enjoying a night out with supermodel Naomi Campbell.And American rapper K. Michelle, whose real name is Kimberly Michelle Pate, claimed she was the womanisers glorified side chick for eight months during their relationship. The 33-year-old dated Elba from 2013 when she met him at an awards ceremony and had no idea he was dating Miss Garth until he told her she was pregnant.The father-of-two has also been married twice before. He wed make-up artist Hanne Norgaard in 1999, with whom he has teenager daughter Isan, but the marriage broke down four years later when she did not adjust to life in the US.He then tied to knot with property lawyer Sonya Hamlin in 2006, but the pair split just a few months later. Miss Hamlin believes this was due to his friends convincing him being in a relationship would damage his career.Elba, who is the son of immigrants from Ghana and Sierra Leone, also then dated pole dancer Desiree Newberry. After four years she had a son called Otenga, but Elba became suspicious when the boy did not resemble him, and a paternity test later revealed he was not the father.
Lionel Messi scored twice to lead Barcelona to a 3-0 win over Juventus in Tuesday's Champions League opener, earning a measure of revenge for last year's ouster.Four months after Juventus eliminated them in the quarterfinals, Barcelona began the group stage with a victory at the Camp Nou as Messi scored just before the break and helped set up a second before adding Barca's third himself.Ousmane Dembele, making his first Barcelona start since his 150 million move from Dortmund this summer, nearly broke through after intercepting a foolhardy pass from Mattia De Sciglio in the box, but he could only fire wide.De Sciglio had to come off with a knock soon afterwards, and Messi provided the opener just before the break by rolling a shot inside the far post after a one-two with Luis Suarez.Messi nearly had a second goal soon after the break, but his shot from 20 yards shook the post, then came back off of Gianluigi Buffon before falling out of play.The Argentine then played a large role in Barcelona's second as he ran the ball to the endline, and his cross across the face of goal was only cleared so far as the middle of the box, where Ivan Rakitic was on hand to lash home.Messi then ran past two stationary Juventus defenders to enter the box and add his second goal in the 69th minute.Credit: ESPN
Bolaji Abdullahi, spokesman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), says On a Platter of Gold, a book he wrote on the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, will be out in October.Abdullahi, who was a minister in Jonathans government, described the book as an exclusive account of the making and the unmaking of the administration of the Nigerian leader.According to him, the book gives revelations of the intrigues that surrounded the 2015 presidential election and its aftermath.On a Platter of Gold is part history, part political thriller, which answers many of the often-asked questions about Jonathans incredible rise to the highest political office in the land and his unprecedented electoral defeat in 2015, Abdullahi said in a statement.The book, which has the subtitle, How Jonathan Won and Lost Nigeria, is introduced as follows:Was Goodluck Jonathan weak and clueless, as his traducers have claimed? Or as his supporters have alleged was he just a victim of vicious conspiracies by an entitled cabal that would stop at nothing to bring down this intruder to power?From an unknown university teacher, Goodluck Jonathan rose to become President of Africas largest democracy, in less than a decade -most astonishingly, without winning a single vote in his name. In contesting the 2011 presidential election, he declared that growing up as the son of a fisherman in the creeks of Nigerias Niger Delta, he had no shoes. This message resonated with millions of Nigerians. If I can make it, then you can as well, he had declared. He went on to win with the highest majority vote ever recorded in the nations history.Asked why he wrote the book, Abdullahi said : I believe that journalists who find themselves in government owe it as a duty to the profession to tell a good story afterwards.A former columnist and editor with Thisday newspaper, Abdullahi brought his perceptive power as a skillful analyst to bear, producing a great work of free-flowing prose.As a former minister in Jonathans cabinet, Abdullahi had easy access to the major characters in the story, his former colleagues actually. Using this to great advantage, he has produced what may be considered a seminal book not only on the Jonathan administration but also on the contemporary history of Nigerian politics.Using this to great advantage, he has produced what may be considered a seminal book not only on the Jonathan administration but also on the contemporary history of Nigerian politics, the statement read.Azu Ishiekwene, managing director and editor-in-chief of The Interview and board member of the Global Editors Network, described the book as a rare three-dimensional view of the Goodluck Jonathan presidency the book combines the insights of an insider with the penetrating curiosity of a notable journalist You cant start reading the book and not want to finish it.For Wale Adebanwi, Rhodes professor of race relations at Oxford University, the book is an undoubtedly illuminating narrative of Nigerias unending democratic possibilities and endless frustrations.This book again emphasises how the various factions of the Nigerian political elite are gifted in the art of the capture and re-capture of power but largely vacuous in the art of building and sustaining a good society, he said.In Abdullahis fascinating account, we encounter absorbing details of the politics of the (im)possible, the absurdities of an untameable appetite for power, the vanities of privilege, prestige and personal glory and the selective outrage regarding some fundamental national crises which members of a faction of the elite used in propelling themselves to power.
The Nigeria Army has denied that the home of the Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu was under siege.
The Nigeria Army has denied that the home of the Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu was under siege.According to Deputy Director, Army Public Relation and Information, 82 Division, Colonel Sagir Musa, no soldiers were deployed at the home of the IPOB leader. Col. Musa who spoke in Umuahia when visited the Abia State Council of NUJ which was attacked by some overzealous soldiers, also said that the Operation Python Dance [Egwu Eke] was not targeted at anybody but aimed at tackling the security situation in the South East zone. Musa who regretted the action of the soldiers said he came to apologize for the action of the soldiers.He said the General IOfficer Commanding 82 Division, Maj. Gen. Adamu Baba Abubakar sent him to tender the apology even as he promised that the soldiers involved in the act would be fished out and sanctioned appropriately. Col. Musa said that the GOC was so disturbed by the incident that he immediately detailed to go to Umuahia to meet with journalists and appeal to them for calm as the army was on top of the situation.It is regrettable that this ugly incident happened to a group of people I have known and worked with since 2010-2011 when kidnapping was at its peak in the state and I would not want that cordial relationship to be spoilt. I am in Umuahia on behalf of my boss Mag. Gen. Adamu Baba Abubakar who is the general officer commanding, GOC, 82 Division, Enugu, to express our concern over what happened today (yesterday) which is not the normal way we operate. I want to assure you that all those who took part in the action against journalists will be fished out and dealt accordingly. The Operation Egwu Eke (Python Dance) will commence from 15th of September to 14th of October and the exercise is not targeted at any group.The exercise is targeted at all security flash points in the entire South East geopolitical zone which is the reason behind the army show of force; particularly it is targeted at kidnappings, armed robbery, cultism, insurgency and session agitators, Col. Musa said. He insisted that there was no military siege at the home of the IPOB leader and that the Egwu Eke operations was not targeted at Nnamdi Kanu or any person or group[s]/ In his response, the Vice Chairman of the Council, Ezeogo Boni Okoro said that it was a shame that the military would invade the NUJ state secretariat over flimsy excuse that journalists were taking pictures of the show of force convoy.Okoro said that he was slapped, gun cocked at him while his iPad and the phones of his colleagues were smashed by the soldiers and called on the military hierarchy to rein on their junior men and to also fish out those behind the dastardly act and deal with them accordingly.
A lawyer to the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu has raised alarm on the life of his client.
A lawyer to the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu has raised alarm on the life of his client.
Ifeanyi Ejiofor said he is not aware if his client is alive or dead following an ongoing invasion of Kanu's residence by the soldiers of the Nigerian military.
In a statement released on Tuesday, September 12, Ejiofor said: "Just to notify the world that my client's (Nnamdi Kanu) house is presently under siege by the trigger happy soldiers acting under the direct instruction of Chief of Army staff."
"They drove in their thousands to arrest and maim him. I just got a distressed call from him now. Further efforts to establish contact with him has remained unsuccessful.
"As it stands now, I can't confirm whether he is dead or alive.
"The operation python dance presently launched by the Buhari led administration in the south east, principally targeted at eliminating my client, is yielding the desired result to the presidency, having launched a man hunt for my client and unarmed members if indigenous people of Biafra.
"Let the world know that the federal Government has practically abandoned their case in court in search of a brute route to eliminate my client. As I type this statement, his residence has been cordoned off by the military, majority of whom are of Fulani extraction.
"The world should hold Buhari led federal government responsible if anything untoward happen to Nnamdi Kanu. The situation is very tense at the moment."
Nigerian Eye had earlier reported that soldiers of the Nigerian military laid siege in the home of the IPOB leader in Afara Ukwu in Umuahia on Tuesday, September 12.
Kanu's sister, Tonia said the soldiers had invaded the compound of the IPOB leaders's father shooting into Kanu's window.
This particular invasion comes two days after soldiers of the Nigerian Army and some members of the IPOB clashed at the entrance of the compound of the IPOB leader in Umuahia on Sunday, September 10.
However, the military in their defence, the soldiers were only in the area to carry out its military exercise - show of force.
The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, and the Administrator of the National Judicial Institute, Justice Rosaline Bozimo, (retd), on Monday urged the staff of various courts to abstain from corruption.They said there was no place for corruption in the judiciary and warned workers against unethical conducts to enable the court system to function effectively.They spoke in Abuja at a workshop organised by the NJI for courts support staff, including secretaries, registrars, clerks, protocol officers, bailiffs and process servers.The workshop, scheduled to end on Friday, has the theme, Enhancing the operational capacity of the judiciary staff.Onnoghen, whose speech was read by Bozimo, a former chief judge of Delta State, urged the workshop participants to be committed to duty and refrain from personal interests in the performance of their duties.The CJN threatened to wield the big stick when necessary.He underscored the need for the workers to continue to improve on their skills, including the application of information and communication technologies to courts operations.He said, It is important to mention that this category of support staff in the judiciary is indispensable in the administration of justice.Therefore, I would like to point out that your attitude and conduct towards court users must be that of responsibility and accountability in order to boost public confidence in the judiciary.As officers in charge of the day-to-day running of the courts, it is imperative that you display high ethical standard in your behaviour and be guided by the code of conduct for court employees.He added, It is imperative for you all to shun all forms of corruption and its tendencies. Corruption has no place in the judiciary. The big stick shall spare no one; thus commitment to duty and honesty should be your watchword.In her welcome address, Bozimo said the workshop was intended to enhance the capacity of court workers to ensure improved justice delivery.Bozimo, whose speech was read by the NJIs Secretary, Abubakar Maidama, also warned the participants against unethical conduct in view of their importance to courts operations and the integrity of the court system.You must, at all times, protect the interest of the court and shun all forms of corrupt practices for the interest and integrity of the judiciary, she said.
Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has revealed when he would exit as the Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has revealed when he would exit as the Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
According to him, after four years he will exit as head of the upper legislative chamber, but that the institution will remain.
Saraki was speaking on the need to strengthen democratic institutions in a statement issued by Yusuph Olaniyonu, his media aide, on Tuesday.
He noted that the role of the legislature in a young democracy like Nigeria was often misconstrued; hence, it was necessary for the National Assembly to work towards positively influencing the lives of all Nigerians through its powers of lawmaking, oversight and advocacy.
The president of the senate is just first amongst equals..
However, what always motivates me is that drive to leave this institution better than we met it. I always like to leave a place stronger than I met it, and more capable to deliver on its constitutional role and functions than how it was before I got there.
The difference between democracy and dictatorship is parliament. This is why I tell people that it is not about who the senate president, the president, or the chief justice of Nigeria is, we must always work to strengthen all our institutions.
For example, in four years, Im gone. Somebody else will be there, but the institution will always remain. If you have weak parliament that is not effectively able to champion the needs of the people, you will have a weak democracy. However, because of myopic interest at times, some people do not see why we must protect the mandates and integrity of these institutions.
When we decided to have a presidential system of governance, it was based on the fact that there must be checks and balances. When these safeguards are in place, it strengthens our democracy and promotes the sort of collaboration across the board that helps us meet the needs of Nigerians.
Meanwhile, posters calling for his recall have flooded Ilorin the Kwara State capital.
President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, said he was considering which country to go on exile, if this years harvest was not good.The President, who stated this when the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigerian paid him a courtesy visit at the Presidential Villa, also thanked God that in the last two years, there had been improvement on the rainy season, which had resulted in bumper harvest.President Buhari told the monarchs that when he took over government in 2015, he met an economy that was in bad condition, adding that nobody would deceive anybody in the country in the management of the resources.Buhari stressed that over the years, mismanagement of national resources was responsible for the current economic woes currently bedevilling the country.He said Nigeria should be able to use its population strength of being the biggest black nation in the world to its advantage and that he would continue to pursue programmes and projects that would better the lives of Nigerians in all spheres of life.Speaking on the general security situation in the country, the President said all hands should be on deck to completely secure Nigeria so as to develop it further.He said: We know our limitations we have to continue to strengthen our constitution, to strengthen the resolve of our people to live together, work together.We are lucky that last year and this year, the rainy season is good. If it were not good, I must confide in you that I was considering which country to run to.But God answered the prayers of many Nigerians. The rainy season last year was good and this year, with the report Im getting is good. We thank God for that otherwise there would have been a lot of problems in this country.
The Nigerian Army claimed, yesterday, that troops of Operation Lafiya Dole in the North-East, killed many Boko Haram terrorists in an ambush in the early hours of Sunday.Also, the Nigerian Air Force said it struck some buildings occupied by the terrorists in a bomb raid, killing many terrorists.The claims of the two successful operations against the terrorists were contained in separate statements released early yesterday by spokesmen of both agencies.The Army, in the statement by Brigadier General Sani Usman, Director, Army Public Relations, said the troops of 151 Battalion, 21 Brigade carried out the ambush against the terrorists in the early hours of Sunday, September 10.The successful ambush, he explained, was on suspected Boko Haram terrorists crossing point at Bocost, along Ngurosoye-Bama Road, Borno State.The troops neutralised a large number of the Boko Haram terrorists, while other terrorists sustained gunshot wounds.The troops recovered one AK-47 rifle, with the registration number 1029; one AK-47 magazine; 60 rounds of 7.62mm Special; three bicycles; four empty Jerry-cans, a cutlass and N5,600 cash.The Nigerian Air Force, on its part, said bombing of the terrorists buildings resulted in the death of a large number of the terrorists.A statement by the Director of Public Relations and Information, Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Olatukunbo Adesanya, read: On September 7, the Nigerian Air Force, NAF, conducted air interdiction on structures with two hoisted Boko Haram Terrorists, BHT, organisations flags at Zanari, a known location with significant BHT presence at the northern fringes of Borno State, bordering Lake Chad.Quite a number of BHTs had earlier been spotted from a NAF Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance platform, entering the buildings apparently for meetings.The F-7Ni and the Alpha Jet aircraft were detailed to attack the target. Overhead the location, the target was acquired and engaged by the two aircraft in rapid succession.Subsequent Battle Damage Assessment revealed that the targeted structures went up in flames, killing its occupants.The statement explained that the objective of Operation Ruwan Wuta by the Air Force was to further degrade the capability of the Boko Haram terrorists to prevent them from regrouping to cause havoc for surface forces.The operation also aims at softening the ground for our surface forces to subsequently move in and conduct mop up operations.
The Kogi State Government has distanced itself from claims by Sen. Dino Melaye that it was behind his recall process.
The Kogi State Government has distanced itself from claims by Sen. Dino Melaye that it was behind his recall process.
Speaking to newsmen in Lokoja on Monday, the Director General on Media and Publicity to the Governor, Kingsley Fanwo said it was untrue that the State Government was behind the travails of the embattled Senator.
According to him, claims by the Senator on his twitter handle to the effect that officials of government attended the proceedings were false and misleading.
We saw the tweet by the Senator that the Attorney General of the State was at the Federal High Court today where the court gave a legal nod to the process of his recall.
To set the record straight, neither the Attorney General nor any state official was at the said court today.
We are not a party to the suit which was between the Senator and INEC. We urge the Senator to face realities in his battle with the people of his constituency.
We consider such falsehood unnecessary as we have no interest in the issues that were determined. The Attorney General is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, a sound legal luminary who is never known for defending fraud and corruption; a man who is highly respected in legal circles.
The Attorney General of the State was busy attending meetings both in his office and Government House today. He was busy with official duties.
We urge our law enforcement agencies to ensure that those jubilating over the outcome of the legal battle do so within the ambit of law without jeopardizing public peace.
Fanwo said government will remain focused on its mandate to the Kogi people rather than been drawn into another round of inordinate battle.
We have a duty to the people of Kogi State to continue to deliver democracy dividends to the good people of Kogi State despite the campaigns of calumny by sinking detractors.
We are meeting our obligations to the Kogi people and the civil servants and shall continue to do our people proud, he added.
President Muhammadu Buhari says he is thankful for the improved rainy season in the country in the last two years, admitting that he would ...
President Muhammadu Buhari says he is thankful for the improved rainy season in the country in the last two years, admitting that he would have run away from the country if there was no rain.
Buhari said this on Monday when he received the National Council of Traditional Rulers led by the Sultan of Sokoto Muhammad SAbubakar III, in Aso Villa, Abuja.
He said, We are lucky this year that last year and this year the rainy season is good. If it were not good, I must confide in you that I was considering which country to run to. But God answered the prayers of many Nigerians. The rainy season last year was good and this year with the report Im getting is good. We thank God for that otherwise there would have been a lot of problems in this country.
Buhari said the mismanagement of resources over the years was responsible for the current economic hardship.
The President said that he would continue to pursue programmes that would improve the lives of Nigerians.
Earlier, the Sultan of Sokoto, while thanking God for bringing Buhari back, urged him to act fast.
He said, We will continue to preach peace and stability, justice, transparency and accountability and anti-corruption.
Speaking for the South-West, the Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Ogunnusi, also thanked God for the safe return of Buhari.
Ogunwusi said, From the South-West we thank God for your life and we pledge to support you from our communities because we are closer to our people. We will continue to preach to our people that we should continue to foster peace in our country, we will continue to caution our youths against hate speech.
We cannot leave the development of the country all to the government but we have to work hand in hand. We assure you that we support all your initiatives.
Speaking for the North-West, the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, said the traditional rulers identified with Buharis commitment to national security.
Speaking for the South-South, Jaja of Opobo urged the President to quickly fix the economy.
He said, We know there is tension here and there but as traditional rulers, we dont eat politics. The economy has to be fixed. Coming from the region that produces the mainstay of the economy, even though the country will soon diversify the economy, before we diversify lets protect the one that we still have. We are pleased to work for peace and stability of the region so that we can all see the benefits of the commodity.
The Gbom Gwom Jos, Jacob Gyang, who spoke on behalf of the North-Central, also thanked God for bringing the President back to celebrate Sallah with fellow Nigerians.
He told the President that at least 20 people were killed in Plateau State on Friday
Gyang said, Few days ago just when we thought peace had returned to Plateau, it was truncated with the attack on Ancha village in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State, leading to 20 deaths.
He commended Buhari for ordering the security agencies to fish out those responsible for the attacks and the reasons for the attack.
Speaking for the South -East, Chairman of South-East Traditional Council, Eberechi Dike, said, Our hearts are full of joy that you are back. You shook our hands when you came in and that shows you believe in one Nigeria. We prayed for you and you are back. We prayed for you because your agenda for Nigeria is good. As your children when we cry it is for you to ask us to stop crying that you will fix whatever is making us cry like the bad roads.
Speaking for the North-East, the Lamido Adamawa, Muhammadu Musdafa, said Nigerians were happy to have the President back.
DRBC issued a news release on September 13, 2017 announcing that the commission approved a resolution to publish revised draft rules addressing natural gas development activities within the Delaware River Basin at their September 13, 2017 regularly scheduled business meeting.
For Immediate Release
September 11, 2017
(West Trenton, N.J.) -- The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) today announced its intention to consider a resolution at its next quarterly business meeting which would direct the executive director to prepare and publish for public comment by Nov. 30, 2017 a revised set of draft regulations to address natural gas development activities within the Delaware River Basin.
The Sept. 13 DRBC business meeting, open to the public, will begin at 10:30 a.m. and will be held at the Linksz Pavilion, Bucks County Community College, 275 Swamp Road, in Newtown, Pa.
The resolution to be considered by the commissioners is procedural and, if adopted, would initiate a new phase in the rulemaking process. The commissioners will not be adopting any natural gas development draft regulations at the Sept. 13 meeting.
If the proposed resolution is approved by the commission on Sept. 13, the revised draft rules to be published on a later date would include prohibitions related to the production of natural gas utilizing horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing within the Delaware River Basin. The revised draft regulations would also include provisions for ensuring the safe and protective storage, treatment, disposal or discharge of hydraulic fracturing-related wastewater where permitted and provide for the regulation of inter-basin transfers of water and wastewater for purposes of natural gas development where permitted. According to the proposed resolution, the commissioners are directing that the revised draft rules be issued for public comment no later than Nov. 30, 2017.
The public input process on the revised draft regulations will include one or more hearings and ample opportunity for written comments. No action on the revised draft rules will be taken by the commission until the public comment process is completed. The commissioners will consider changes to the revised draft regulations that may be appropriate based on the comments received.
Details about the public hearing(s) and instructions for submitting written comments will be included in the notice of proposed rulemaking. Interested persons are invited to regularly check the commissions web site at www.drbc.net for information as it becomes available.
There will be no opportunity for public comment prior to consideration of the procedural resolution at the Sept.13 business meeting. After all scheduled business has been completed and as time allows, up to one hour of Open Public Comment may be provided at the discretion of the DRBC chair.
Written or oral comments received before the draft rules are published and the comment period officially opens will not be included in the rulemaking record.
Natural gas development background information can be found on the commissions web site at www.nj.gov/drbc/programs/natural/.
The DRBC is a federal/interstate government agency responsible for managing the water resources within the 13,539 square-mile Delaware River Basin without regard to political boundaries. The five commission members are the governors of the basin states (Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania) and the commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers North Atlantic Division, who represents the federal government.
# # # #
Contact: Clarke Rupert, Clarke.Rupert@drbc.nj.gov, (609) 883-9500 ext. 260
# # # #
You have permission to edit this article.
Edit Close
FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) Survivors of Hurricane Ian face a long emotional road to recover from one of the most damaging storms to hit the U.S. mainland. For those who lost everything to disaster, the anguish can be crushing to return home to find so much gone. Grief can run the gamut from frequent tears to utter despair. The Lee County medical examiner says two men in their 70s even took their own lives a day apart after viewing their losses. Experts say suicides climb after disasters and more funding for mental health should be provided as climate change makes storms and fires more frequent and devastating.
DES MOINES An unusual attempt by Iowa to work with another state to transport medical marijuana oil across state lines is on hold amid legal concerns it could invite scrutiny from the federal government.
The Iowa Attorney Generals Office advised the Iowa Department of Public Health this month that it should not implement a small section in Iowas new medical marijuana law that requires the state, before the end of the year, to license up to two out-of-state dispensaries from a bordering state. Those entities would have been expected to bring cannabis oil into Iowa in order to sell it.
Thats considered illegal under federal law, which categorizes marijuana as a type of controlled substance that is prohibited from being moved across state lines. But during the final hours of the legislative session in April, some Republicans in the GOP-controlled Legislature suggested adding the language to open the door for a partnership with a neighboring state like Minnesota.
The development is not expected to impact other provisions in the law that call for establishing an in-state production system for cannabis oil by the end of 2018.
Still, some GOP lawmakers expressed frustration with the news because the provision was also aimed at creating more immediate access to cannabis oil. Currently, Iowans have no way of getting the product within the state.
House Speaker Linda Upmeyer, R-Clear Lake, noted in a statement that no matter what the Legislature had decided, the state still would have been in violation of federal law.
As Ive said before, the federal government needs to act on this issue or let the states do their work, she said, adding, The out-of-state distributors are the quickest way to supply sick Iowans with a product that doctors say could be beneficial. If that provision doesnt work out, then people will have to wait another year, and thats disappointing.
At least 29 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico now allow for comprehensive public medical marijuana and cannabis programs, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Possessing, manufacturing and selling marijuana remains illegal under federal law. In 2013, the Department of Justice issued a memorandum offering assurance that states could proceed with medical marijuana programs without fear of federal prosecution, in part by avoiding agreements that would move marijuana from one state to another.
Geoff Greenwood, a spokesman for the Attorney Generals Office, said in an email that if a state program authorizes or encourages diversion from one state to another, it is possible that states program may come under increased scrutiny from the federal government. He said the halt on implementation should remain until the federal government provides further guidance regarding state medical marijuana programs.
Justin Strekal, political director for the pro-marijuana group National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, known as NORML, said few states have attempted what Iowa tried to do, though data is limited.
This is just another example of lawmakers over-complicating something for the sake of over-complicating it, rather than implementing a system that actually serves their constituents, he said.
Its unclear how President Donald Trumps administration will deal with medical marijuana. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has warned marijuana is a dangerous drug and said hed reconsider existing marijuana policies.
Sally Gaer, of West Des Moines, has lobbied for years for Iowa to allow more access to medical marijuana. Gaer, whose adult daughter uses cannabis oil, said lawmakers could have put Iowas medical marijuana program in jeopardy by adding the language.
Im so frustrated with this, she said.
The out-of-state dispensaries provision is tucked into the second-to-last page of a 20-page law, and is separate from requirements that Iowa license up to two cannabis oil manufacturers in Iowa and up to five dispensaries to sell it in-state. The oil would be supplied in Iowa by the end of 2018. Smoking marijuana remains prohibited.
If state attorneys had decided out-of-state dispensaries must be licensed, it could have worsened an already tight timeline for launching the overall program. A new medical marijuana board met last week to help with requirements that Iowa license its manufacturers by December. The dispensaries must be licensed by April.
Rep. Jarad Klein, who was floor manager for the medical marijuana legislation that became law, was surprised to learn the provision on the out-of-state dispensaries wasnt moving forward. He said he would seek guidance from Gov. Kim Reynolds, who was lieutenant governor when the law was passed.
Klein, a Keota Republican, emphasized Upmeyers point that the setup was aimed at ensuring that while the in-state production system gets up and running, people could access cannabis oil.
Between now and us having that, sick people need their medicine, he said.
A Reynolds spokesman referred all questions to the public health department.
WALL LAKE, Iowa A nurse has been accused of stealing painkillers from a nursing home in northwest Iowa.
Court records say 50-year-old Michelle Green is charged with fraudulent practice, dependent adult abuse, tampering with records and four counts of prohibited acts. A Wall Lake phone listed for Green has been disconnected. Court records don't list the name of an attorney who could comment for her.
Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 26.
Court records say Green kept for herself narcotic medications that she'd ordered for residents when she was working at Twilight Acres nursing home in Wall Lake between Jan. 1 and May 2.
The Mid-Plains Community College Board of Governors will meet Wednesday to hear public comments on the 2017-18 budget and property tax request. The board is expected to vote on both issues during a meeting that will follow the hearing.
The proposed budget totals $41.32 million a 3.5 percent decrease from the approved budget of $42.8 million for 2016-17. The actual disbursements for 2016-17 totaled $38.4 million.
The property tax request for 2017-18 totals $16.02 million and is an 0.84 percent increase over the 2016-17 total of $15.89 million. The proposed tax rate is .075 per $100, down from the 2016 tax rate of .077 per $100.
The property tax presentation and hearing will begin at 6:30 p.m. in room 200 of the W.W. Wood Building at North Platte Community Colleges North Campus, 1101 Halligan Drive. The budget hearing will take place immediately after, followed by the regular meeting.
During the meeting, the board will vote on whether or not to approve the tax rate and budget, as well as a 1 percent increase in base limitation, which will carry the unused budget authority of $2.59 from 2016-17 and prior years forward to 2017-18.
On Wednesday, Sept. 13, Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson will be hosting Mobile Office hours from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with several members of his staff at the North Platte Senior Center at 901 E. 10 St.
The Attorney General will visit the senior center from noon to 1 p.m. Afterward, he will be spending the day with local officials, law enforcement, and students in the area.
During Mobile Office hours, representatives from both the Consumer Protection Division and Constituent Services will be on hand to personally meet citizens interested in submitting concerns to the Attorney Generals office. Citizens will also have the opportunity to learn how to protect themselves from identity theft, guard against scams and rid themselves of unwanted calls. Many educational resources will be made available to interestedconstituents.
Nebraska and Japan share a special relationship. Japan is not only our states largest direct foreign investor, but also our third largest export market. This week I will be leaving Nebraska and traveling to Japan on a mission to expand trade. This mission will be a great opportunity to expand trade opportunities with Japan and to make the case for additional investments to grow our state.
There are reasons why Nebraskas relationship with Japan has flourished. We share many things in common. Our people are hardworking and loyal. We both invest deeply in our families. And we both enjoy strong communities that pull together and invest in our people.
These shared values have helped make Japan one of Nebraskas top export markets. Nebraskas agriculture industry, our largest sector, is a prime example of how trade with Japan is growing our state. Japan is our largest export market for beef, pork, wheat and eggs, as well as our second largest export market for corn. We export nearly $800 million worth of goods to Japan each year. This makes Japan our third largest export market. Not only is Japan one of our largest export markets, theyre also growing. Already in 2017 weve seen a 26 percent increase in beef exports and a 46 percent increase in pork exports over the year before. Its clear the Japanese people value our quality products and are willing to invest in our great state.
Thanks to the great relationships that weve built with Japan, theyve become our largest source of direct foreign investment. That investment has borne fruit in companies like Tenaska, an Omaha-based firm which employs nearly 300 Nebraskans. Tenaska has been able to form partnerships with Japanese companies like Mitsubishi and Itochu. Tenaska is one of more than 120 companies across Nebraska which actively do business with Japan. Tenaska and other companies are taking advantage of this weeks mission to identify opportunities for new partnerships and investments.
Joining me on the trade mission will be Department of Economic Development Director Courtney Dentlinger, Department of Agriculture Assistant Director Mat Habrock, as well as members of Nebraskas business and agricultural sectors.
While in Japan, I will participate in the Midwest US-Japan Association (MWJA) Conference. Nine Midwestern states are involved in the MWJA, which provides opportunities for our ag and business leaders to grow their knowledge about bilateral trade. The MWJA has been beneficial for Nebraskas exporters, and were pleased to have the opportunity to host next years 50th anniversary conference in Omaha in 2018.
I will also be visiting the Japan External Trade Research Organization (JETRO). JETRO is Japans independent government agency established to facilitate the countrys efforts in export promotion. There I will be highlighting additional opportunities to strengthen Nebraskas relationship with Japan. These meetings will connect Nebraskas companies with opportunities to enter and expand in the Japanese market.
On Thursday, the trade delegation and I will visit Shizuoka to promote investment opportunities here in Nebraska. We will also be visiting Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto where we will visit several companies with operations here in Nebraska to thank them for their investments which are growing our state.
Nebraska enjoys cultural and educational benefits through our sister city programs and partnerships. Nebraska has two sister cities in Japan: Shizuoka, which has partnered with Omaha for more than 50 years, and Ozu, which has partnered with Hastings for more than 20 years. The sister cities facilitate exchanges for teachers, students, hospitals and even animals between zoos. These strong connections have solidified the special relationship between Nebraska and Japan, which is one reason why there have been nine Governors Office-led trade missions there since 1991.
Trade missions have been a key part of my agenda. In addition to this mission to Japan, I also led a mission to Canada to thank our largest trading partner earlier this summer. Throughout my administration, I will continue to pursue new opportunities to grow our state through new trade opportunities and partnerships.
If you have any experiences in Japan, I would love to hear about them. Feel free to call my office at 402-471-2244 or email me at pete.ricketts@nebraska.gov to share your experiences or any other matter on your mind. We look forward to hearing from you.
As the summer sun sets on another growing season, cooler weather is beginning to arrive. On Nebraskas farms and ranches, corn and beans are drying, and calves are growing stronger. Like every fall, weather challenges may be just around the corner for our ag producers. These hardworking men and women of Nebraska are the unsung heroes of the American dinner table, and we are always ready for whatever obstacles we face. I keep this in mind as I promote common sense policies for our nations agriculture industry.
Nebraskans know agriculture production serves as the economic engine of our state. The fact that one out of every four jobs is related to production agriculture illustrates the industrys vast economic finger print. However, the ag economy is currently in a cyclical downturn.
It is imperative for Washington to hear from our ag producers, especially as discussions surrounding the 2018 farm bill begin. There is no better venue to hear from our producers than the Nebraska State Fair, which is why the entire Nebraska congressional delegation came together to hear from ag industry leaders about smart farm policy.
We heard loud and clear that farmers and livestock producers must have an affordable and viable farm safety net. Most importantly, producers depend on a strong crop insurance program to allow them to plan for the future. Without this critical risk protection, ag producers will not have the certainty required to invest in advanced technology that enables them to be the most efficient producers in the world. As the Senate moves toward the farm bill debate, I will continue to staunchly defend and advocate for crop insurance programs.
Good farm policy also depends on smart trade policy. Over 95 percent of the worlds population lives beyond the borders of the United States, and they are hungry for Nebraskas high-quality ag products.
In early September, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and U.S. Department of Agriculture announced another opportunity for Nebraska producers to expand their global reach across the Pacific Ocean. Vietnam has agreed to reopen its market and accept imports of dried distillers grains (DDGS), an ethanol byproduct used in animal feed, from the United States. Reopening the third-largest market for DDGS grants Nebraska an excellent opportunity to expand the successful exporting of agricultural products from our state.
While we should look for new countries to export our products, we must also work to maintain the trade agreements we already have in place. Thats why I recently sent a letter to President Trump encouraging him to maintain the U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement. South Korea is Nebraskas sixth-largest agriculture trade partner and a major market for Nebraskas pork, corn, ethanol, beef and wheat. South Korea represents a market worth nearly $400 million.
Finally, I would like to remind everyone that Sept. 17-23 is National Farm Safety and Health Week. Our farmers and ranchers often face dangers as they work to produce high-quality food. We wish them well as they continue to feed the world.
Thank you for taking part in our democratic process. I look forward to visiting with you again next week.
Merrillville-based Centier Bank was named one of the best banks to work for in the country by American Banker Magazine.
Our community commitment begins with the experiences we provide to our employees, said Mike Schrage, Centier Bank president and CEO. Our organization puts family values first and this translates into a unique corporate culture in todays banking industry.
The trade publication ranked Centier as No. 5 nationally among banks with between $3 billion and $10 billion in assets, based on third-party assessments by the Best Companies Group, which specializes in workplace rankings.
Best Companies Group surveyed banks across the country, and looked at their workplace policies, practices, and demographics. It ranked Centier high among large community banks for its work-life balance initiatives, wellness amenities, flexible scheduling, day care discounts, senior care benefits, and an on-site health clinic open to all employees with insurance.
Our annual ranking recognizes the financial institutions that are committed to investing in employees job satisfaction, career development and personal growth a return on assets that can be hard to measure by traditional means, said Marc Hochstein, American Banker editor in chief. One of the most valuable assets for any organization is the team of people it employs, and banks are no exception.
Centier is no stranger to top workplace accolades. The Indiana Chamber of Commerce has honored it as one of the Best Places to Work in Indiana every year since 2007.
Indiana Grocery Group President and CEO Jeff Strack will give a public talk at a Crown Point bank Wednesday after mounting a successful bid to buy back the Strack & Van Til his grandfather helped found nearly six decades ago.
Strack will give a talk titled "Who Moved My Cereal?" from 8 to 9 a.m. Wednesday at First Financial Bank at 11890 Broadway in Crown Point.
"With over 25 years of experience rooted in Strack & Van Til's history, Jeff has contributed to the success and growth of the brand," First Financial Bank said in a news release. "Jeff is known for his operational excellence, having grown up in the industry, he is innovative, forward thinking and is committed to focusing on the values and principles that has made this company what it is today."
He was originally slated to give the talk in April but it was postponed after Strack & Van Til's parent company Central Grocers announced it would close nine stores and sell out the remaining 22 Strack & Van Til, Ultra and Town & Country Market stores. The troubled cooperative filed for bankruptcy shortly after.
Strack assembled a group of investors, including members of the Van Til family and former CEO Dave Wilkinson, and bought back the remaining stores in the landmark grocery chain, the largest remaining independent grocer in the Calumet Region. Highland-based Indiana Grocery Group now operates 18 Strack & Van Til stores across Northwest Indiana and two Town & Country Market supermarkets in Portage and Valparaiso.
To attend, RSVP by contacting Judi Mariola at Judith.Mariola@bankatfirst.com.
ST. JOHN Lake Central School Corp. Superintendent Larry Veracco was chosen by members of the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents as the 2018 District I Superintendent of the Year.
Winners are selected by other superintendents in their district who consider the qualifications and accomplishments of area colleagues and their instructional leadership during a time of limited resources, according to a news release.
Veracco has been Lake Central superintendent since 2010, although he served the district as assistant superintendent from 2007 to 2010, and as assistant principal of Lake Central High School for eight years before that.
Shortly after Veracco became superintendent, the state announced a midyear funding cut for all Indiana school districts at the same time the school corporation was asking the community to support additional funding to upgrade dilapidated school buildings.
School leaders said between 2010 and 2012, Lake Central Schools cut $7.25 million from its budget, mostly through additional efficiencies in transportation and custodial maintenance. The budget reduction also increased class sizes and caused staffing adjustments.
When the savings began producing budget relief, the district was able to create a budget surplus, rather than operating on a small margin. The adjustments have allowed the district to focus on creating competitive salary structures and improving student services, educators said.
Despite operating with meager increases in funding from the state formula, Lake Central implemented a teacher mentor program at the beginning of the 2015-16 school year. This support of teachers new to Lake Central by dedicated veteran staff members has been beneficial, especially for staff members who are new to the profession, school officials said.
Veracco notes that Lake Central is one of a few districts with similar demographics to make significant academic progress without the benefit of an operating funds referendum.
In the 2016-17 school year, Lake Central had an enrollment of 9,656 students, with a free and reduced-rate lunch population of 19.3 percent. It has 10 schools, including one high school. The school district has been ranked an A by the Indiana Department of Education for three consecutive years.
Veracco is a member of the Schererville Rotary Club and the Dyer Chamber of Commerce and is the 2017-18 chairman of the Northwest Indiana Superintendents Study Council. He earned his bachelors and masters degrees from Purdue University and a Ph.D. from Indiana State University.
One of the eight district winners will be named Indiana Superintendent of the Year for 2018 and will represent Indiana in the American Association of School Administrators National Superintendent of the Year program.
As fears grow about the enforcement of federal immigration policies, several Northwest Indiana police departments said they generally dont report individuals to federal authorities unless they're suspected or convicted of a crime.
Few departments have written policies, and many allow their officers discretion when making decisions to notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents of undocumented individuals.
Alfredo Estrada, a Merrillville attorney who specializes in immigration law, said the lack of written policies is why local "welcoming city" ordinances are needed.
Supporters of such ordinances say they help protect public safety for all residents, including immigrants, who otherwise might be deterred from reporting crimes if faced with the threat of deportation following contact with law enforcement.
Critics, including some who turned out at a recent Lake Station City Council meeting, said welcoming city ordinances offer too much protection to undocumented immigrants.
Garys City Council adopted a welcoming city ordinance in May, and elected officials in East Chicago adopted a similar measure in June.*
Lake Station has tabled its proposed ordinance, in part, to work out questions about a section dealing with the amount of discretion police would be allowed in arresting individuals without legal status.
Estrada said everyone agrees criminals should be brought to justice.
However, the way in which the federal government is prioritizing people for deportation has caused an uptick in fear among immigrants, Estrada said.
I see people from all areas of the world come through my office, he said. The uptick is not just with undocumented immigrants. Those with legal status are concerned, too.
Under the Obama administration, removing convicted criminals was a top priority. An executive order signed in January by President Donald Trump is broad and ambiguous, and puts all immigrants without legal status at risk, Estrada said.
State and federal law requires local police to cooperate with federal immigration officials by sharing information, Estrada said. A welcoming city ordinance doesnt prohibit cooperation; it is intended to ensure information about the immigration status of those seeking government services is not kept on file, he said.
If you dont have the information, you cant communicate it, Estrada said.
Practices vary across departments
The Gary Police Department is required to take several actions under the city's new ordinance, including expediting certifications for victims of criminal activity. Crime victims who obtain such certifications from police can then use them to obtain a visa.
Gary police recently said they are working on a timeline for implementation.
The Gary Police Department supports this ordinance and will continue to treat the citizens of our community in a manner in which their rights are protected, and their safety remains our top priority, Police Chief Larry McKinley said in a statement.
Many other Northwest Indiana police departments and Indiana State Police said they typically dont report individuals to federal immigration authorities unless the person is involved in a crime that is more serious than a traffic offense. However, they stressed their cooperation with federal authorities.
Of more than a dozen local departments surveyed, most said they notify ICE if they learn during the course of their own, separate investigation that an individual does not have legal status.
Being in the United States without documentation is a civil violation. Individuals who enter the country illegally could be charged with a misdemeanor in a federal criminal court, but deportation proceedings would be handled separately in an administrative immigration court, Estrada said.
Michigan City police don't make notifications to ICE, Michigan City Chief of Services Royce Williams said.
"If the driver is a suspected illegal immigrant, they are treated no different than anyone else and are cited/arrested if applicable," he said.
Hammond police notify ICE of an individual only after felony charges accompanied by a probable cause affidavit have been filed with a court, Lt. Steve Kellogg said.
"Infractions, misdemeanors and felonies are all investigated in the same way regardless of the citizenship of the individual," Kellogg said.
Hobart police do not check individuals' immigration status, but will contact ICE if the federal agency notifies the department that a person the department is investigating is a previously deported felon, Lt. James Gonzales said.
"As a practice, we do not seek out previously deported felons," he said.
In Valparaiso, a written policy says officers may notify ICE when a person is arrested or detained for any violation other than immigration and it's learned the individual is in the country illegally, Sgt. Michael Grennes said.
Schererville police typically notify ICE when an individual involved in a serious crime is booked into jail, Cmdr. Brian Neyhart said.
Munster police notify ICE if an individual is involved in a serious crime, Lt. Ed Strbjak said. Whiting Police Chief Stephen Miller said his department has no written policy, but he would request that his officers notify ICE of anyone who may have been involved or is suspected in a serious crime.
Griffith Police Chief Greg Mance said his officers likely wouldn't notify ICE unless an individual is involved or suspected of a crime that is more serious than a traffic offense.
Portage Police Chief Troy Williams said his officers are not precluded from contacting ICE about individuals. However, Williams and many other chiefs said their officers rarely deal with such situations. It's more likely county jail staff would notify ICE of individuals without legal status, they said.
Policies vary at jails, too
The Porter County Jail is an exception.
Chief Deputy Jeff Biggs said it's not the jail's policy to check on a person's immigration status if that person was born outside of the U.S.
The jail does not honor ICE detainers, or written requests to hold inmates for ICE without a warrant, Biggs said. A U.S. District Court judge in Chicago in 2016 ruled detainers issued by ICE's Chicago field office were unlawful.
In addition, the Porter County Sheriff's Department would not participate in a federal program that allows ICE to delegate immigration enforcement authorities to state and local police, Biggs said.
"Our focus is on who's committing crimes against the people and property of Porter County, no matter what their immigration status is," he said.
The Lake County Jail makes notifications to ICE 24/7 for individuals who tell jail staff they weren't born in the U.S., Warden Ed Davies said.
ICE then decides whether to interview the inmate. If the federal agency wants to take custody of a person, it must submit proper paperwork, Davies said.
Jail staff and ICE agents met in February, and all of the jail's policies meet ICE requirements, he said.
LaPorte County Sheriff John Boyd said staff at the county jail and his patrol officers notify ICE when there is any question about person's legal status.
The LaPorte County Sheriff's Department gives ICE agents plenty of time to determine whether to pick up an inmate. If proper paperwork is submitted, the jail will hold the person until ICE arrives, he said.
"If we don't hear back from ICE by the time the person is to be released on local charges, we release," he said. "We want to make sure we're not violating their constitutional rights."
Individuals brought to the jail for misdemeanor offenses such as driving without a license often quickly post bond. In those cases, ICE likely would not have time to secure a legal detainer and the person would be released, he said.
There's a misconception that state and local police have the power to enforce immigration law, Boyd said.
"We have several officers assigned to federal task forces, and they can enforce federal law narrowly and specific to their duties," he said. "They don't have broad enforcement powers."
Asked whether he would consider participating in the ICE program that delegates enforcement authority, Boyd said, "We have critical manpower issues right now. It's all we can do to enforce local criminal and traffic laws."
* Editor's note: This story has been updated to show East Chicago adopted a welcoming city ordinance in June.
Benjamin D. Fryman, of Valparaiso, was recognized for his exceptional contributions to the Indiana State Bar Association (ISBA) Social Media Focus Group, which helped guide the ISBA in its efforts to launch a public education campaign targeting millennials about the importance of consulting with a lawyer rather than going it alone.
Fryman is a founding partner and the current CEO of the firm Schwerd Fryman & Torrenga LLP. Previously, he was an associate at the Hilbrich Law Firm in Highland. He received his B.S., cum laude, from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2001 and his J.D. from the Valparaiso University School of Law in 2005. He is a member of the Porter County (past president, 2015), Lake County and Indiana State (graduate, Leadership Development Academy; chair, Social Media Focus Group; past chair, Young Lawyers Section) bar associations, National Diocesan Attorney Association, Indiana Trial Lawyers Association and the American Inns of Court. He is also active with Faith Memorial Lutheran Church.
SCHERERVILLE Delays in installation of electrical service are postponing the opening of the new Circle K gas station complex at the northeast corner of U.S. 30 and Austin Avenue.
Without electrical service, the town of Schererville wont allow the facility, which includes a convenience store and car wash, to open with generators, said Town Manager Robert Volkmann.
NIPSCO hasnt installed electric service yet, and this is being built next to homes. We cant have the noise of generators going 24 hours a day, Volkmann said.
According to Jeff Huet, Schererville public works director, the NIPSCO pole for electrical feed still hasn't been set up and the concrete still needs to cure.
Modifications were also being made to the curbs on the east side of Austin Avenue, Huet said.
Driveways will be on Austin Avenue and U.S. 30, and plans calls for a sidewalk on Austin Avenue, Volkmann said.
Once NIPSCO installs the electrical service, a number of inspections by various town departments must be made before the Circle K facility receives its occupancy permit, Volkmann said.
The Circle K staff will also need a few days to do inventory, he said.
It's not certain when that will all be accomplished.
The $2.8 million Circle K project is being built directly across U.S. 30 from a rival Speedway on the site of the long-shuttered Alaska Pipeline restaurant/bar and an adjacent day care center.
This new facility includes a 4,600-square-foot building with brick and stone facade to house the convenience store that will be open 24 hours a day. Ten fueling stations and a single-lane car wash are part of the plans.
The car wash will close at 10 p.m. to accommodate residents of nearby homes, Volkmann said. We dont want them disturbed by a 24-hour car wash.
In fact, the hours of the car wash came under scrutiny during a Schererville Plan Commission public hearing last October. At that hearing, Robert Wellert, of Wellert Corp., went through step-by-step plans for the petitioner, Macs Convenience Stores LLC, doing business as Circle K stores. The project was first introduced to the Plan Commission in February 2016.
Other requirements for this facility include extensive landscaping and a vinyl fence to separate the development from nearby homes.
Founded in 1951 in El Paso, Texas, Circle K is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, and has more than 8,000 international locations. Other Circle K fuel stations in the Region are in Dyer, Hammond and Highland.
This is changing the whole look of that corner, Volkmann said.
MICHIGAN CITY Police are beefing up night patrols and using nonstop flashing lights to try to deter crime after increased complaints about gunfire and drug dealing.
Even the mayor is out in his work vehicle an unmarked police car to participate in the first Operation Shed Light on Crime.
Up to eight officers worked two hours a recent Friday night in the Eastport neighborhood on the citys north end in addition to the regularly scheduled citywide patrols.
Mayor Ron Meer said the flashing overhead lights and spotlights on each unit were on the whole time to put criminals on notice and comfort residents worried about their safety.
"Anybody involved in any criminal activity at that time is going to really think twice about what theyre doing," Meer said.
Eastport, already a higher crime area of the city, was under heavier regular patrols before Meer came up with the idea of adding lighted units to the mix. Not only have several people been shot in recent months but others report dropping to floors inside their own homes from the sound of gunfire.
Meer said complaints also included drug dealing and stopped vehicles blocking traffic.
Additional lighted patrols are planned but when is being kept under wraps. The Eastport neighborhood will remain the focus, though the effort could move to other areas if problems arise, Meer said.
"Were going to give it a shot and see how it goes," he said.
City Councilman Chris Schwanke said most of the people causing problems are from other cities like LaPorte, Gary and Chicago. He believes the effort over time will be successful.
"Its got to. The bad guys dont want to be where the cops are, and if the cops are there then the bad guys are not going to be there," Schwanke said.
VALPARAISO The city's proposed 2018 salary ordinance includes a two-percent raise for all employees, the hiring of an additional police officer and the creation of a community engagement director position.
The Valparaiso City Council at its Monday meeting approved the salary ordinance upon first reading. The final reading and adoption will take place at the Sept. 25 meeting, Mayor Jon Costas said.
City Administrator Bill Oeding said that in addition to the two percent cost of living increase for employees, city workers will also receive an additional health savings account contribution.
Under the proposed increase, an employee enrolled in the health savings account health insurance plan will receive a total contribution of $1,800 for an employee only; $3,100 for an employee plus one and $4,100 for a family.
That amounts to a $200 for one employee; $300 for an employee plus one and $500 for a family.
Starting on Jan. 1, the city will also pay $84 per visit for an employee and their dependants to visit the St. Mary medical quick care, Oeding said.
Oeding said city employees presently received a number of paid health care related services including free dental care, employee assistance program, life insurance and two health fairs.
Costas said that the city will be hiring an additional police officer in 2018 as well as hiring a new community engagement director.
The new community engagement director, who will be hired later this year, will be paid an annual salary of $60,000, Costas said.
"We've been working on building this into the budget," Costas said.
Some of the duties of the community engagement director will include cultivation of a safe, vibrant neighborhood, reaching out to attract diversity and the development of leadership and the building of partnerships.
LOWER MATECUMBE KEY, Fla. Search-and-rescue teams made their way into the Florida Keys' farthest reaches Tuesday, while authorities rushed to repair the lone highway connecting the islands and deliver aid to Hurricane Irma's victims. Federal officials estimated one-quarter of all homes in the Keys were destroyed.
Two days after Irma roared into the island chain with 130 mph winds, residents were allowed to return to the parts of the Keys closest to Florida's mainland. But the full extent of the death and destruction there remained a question mark because communications and access were cut off in places.
"It's going to be pretty hard for those coming home," said Petrona Hernandez, whose concrete home on Plantation Key with 35-foot walls was unscathed, unlike others a few blocks away. "It's going to be devastating to them."
Elsewhere in Florida, life inched closer to normal, with some flights again taking off, many curfews lifted and major theme parks reopening. Cruise ships that extended their voyages and rode out the storm at sea began returning to port with thousands of passengers.
The number of people without electricity in the late-summer heat dropped to around 10 million half of Florida's population. Officials warned it could take 10 days or more for power to be fully restored. About 110,000 remained in shelters across Florida.
Seven deaths in Florida have been blamed on Irma, along with four in South Carolina and two in Georgia. At least 35 were killed in the Caribbean.
"We've got a lot of work to do, but everybody's going to come together," Florida Gov. Rick Scott said. "We're going to get this state rebuilt."
Irma's rainy remnants, meanwhile, pushed through Alabama and Mississippi after drenching Georgia. Flash-flood watches and warnings were issued around the Southeast.
While nearly all of Florida was engulfed by the 400-mile-wide storm, the Keys home to about 70,000 people appeared to be the hardest hit. Drinking water was cut off, all three of the islands' hospitals were closed, and the supply of gas was extremely limited.
Officials said it was not known how many people ignored evacuation orders to stay behind in the Keys.
Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator Brock Long said that preliminary estimates suggested that 25 percent of the homes in the Keys were destroyed and 65 percent sustained major damage.
"Basically every house in the Keys was impacted," he said.
In Islamorada, a trailer park was devastated, the homes ripped apart as if by a giant claw. A sewage-like stench hung over the place.
Debris was scattered everywhere, including refrigerators, washers and dryers, a 25-foot fishing boat and a Jacuzzi. Homes were torn open to give a glimpse of their contents, including a bedroom with a small Christmas tree decorated with starfish.
One man and his family came to check on a weekend home and found it destroyed. The sight was too much to bear. The man told his family to get back in the car, and they drove off toward Miami.
In Key Largo, Lisa Storey and her husband said they had yet to be contacted by the power company or by city, county or state officials. As she spoke to a reporter, a helicopter passed overhead.
"That's a beautiful sound, a rescue sound," she said.
An aircraft carrier was positioned off Key West to help in the search-and-rescue effort. And crews worked to repair two washed-out, 300-foot sections of U.S. 1, the only highway from the mainland, and check the safety of the 42 bridges linking the islands.
Authorities stopped people and checked for documentation such as proof of residency or business ownership before allowing them back into the Upper Keys, including Key Largo, Tavernier and Islamorada.
The Lower Keys including the chain's most distant and most populous island, Key West, with 27,000 people were still off-limits, with a roadblock in place where the road was washed out.
While the Keys are studded with mansions and beachfront resorts, about 13 percent of the people live in poverty and could face big obstacles as the cleanup begins.
"People who bag your groceries when you're on vacation, the bus drivers, hotel cleaners, cooks and dishwashers, they're already living beyond paycheck to paycheck," said Stephanie Kaple, who runs an organization that helps the homeless in the Keys.
Corey Smith, a UPS driver who rode out the hurricane in Key Largo, said it was a relief that many buildings on the island escaped major damage. But he said conditions were still not good, with branches blocking roads and supermarkets closed.
"They're shoving people back to a place with no resources," he said by telephone. "It's just going to get crazy pretty quick."
Lower Keys resident Leyla Nedin said she doesn't plan to return any time soon to her home near where Irma came ashore on Cudjoe Key.
"We are still without water, power, sewer, gas and cell service," she said. "My concern is that even if we get to go in to the Lower Keys, our fragile infrastructure could be even more compromised."
___
Mendoza reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writers Terry Spencer in Palm Beach County; Gary Fineout and Joe Reedy in Tallahassee; Jay Reeves in Immokalee; Terrance Harris in Orlando; Claire Galofaro in Jacksonville; and Freida Frisaro, Jennifer Kay, Curt Anderson and David Fischer in Miami contributed to this report.
The 16th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in the skies over Pennsylvania provided an opportunity for considered reflection.
Time passing provides useful distance for relatively dispassionate discussion of how we have responded to the shocking mass murder of 9/11.
How have the American people handled the challenge over the long term?
They have earned high marks, both individually and collectively. Despite terrible destruction and thousands of deaths of Americans as well as citizens of other countries, as a national community we remained remarkably calm.
The population, as a whole, did not react with hysteria or extremism. Anti-Islamic acts were relatively isolated and waned over time. Collectively, we condemn this behavior, investigate and prosecute criminal attacks.
The clearest parallel event to 9/11 is the surprise military attack by Japan on United States naval forces at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, which had severe, continuing repercussions within American social as well as political life. Intense collective fear and anger led to the internment and more general persecution of Japanese Americans on much of the West Coast. Racial hatred characterized brutal Pacific combat in the war on both sides.
Internment was contrary to President Franklin D. Roosevelts wartime emphasis on national unity, and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover opposed the move.
Persecution of Japanese Americans is particularly notorious but not unique. There was less extensive discrimination against German Americans during both World War I and World War II and against Italian Americans in the latter conflict. During the Civil War, bloody riots against the military draft in the north included beatings and murders of African Americans.
Against this backdrop, American tolerance of Islamic Americans and Muslims in general in the aftermath of 9/11 is impressive and noteworthy. In a fundamental way, we have demonstrated maturity that is both ethically right and practically helpful.
Al-Qaida and similar terrorist groups have an interest in promoting Western hostility to the Muslim world, along with harsh measures within our borders. We have permitted them neither victory.
Failure to anticipate the Pearl Harbor strike reflected inter-service rivalry and intelligence inefficiency, plus arrogance about Japanese military effectiveness even though their navy, with stunning efficiency, had destroyed the Russian fleet only a few decades earlier.
Pearl Harbor demonstrated Tokyo's innovative use of tactical aircraft for strategic destruction.
Likewise, secretiveness and rivalries among our intelligence and security services facilitated 9/11. In reaction, the U.S. government emphasizes coordination among intelligence agencies.
Immediately after the 9/11 attacks, the United Nations and NATO acted. The attacks marked the first wartime deployment of the military alliance formed during the Cold War.
Americans collectively should feel considerable pride about how we as a people have responded to mass murder within our borders.
This benchmark of the anniversary provides us an opportunity for reflection and renewal.
I read with dismay the decision of Judge Salvador Vasquez to not imprison John Kmetz for his repetitive thefts from Hunky Hollow and Cerebral Palsy of Northwest Indiana.
Stealing from these vulnerable populations while in a position of trust (as treasurer) is unconscionable and represents a despicable act of immorality. And these nefarious acts were conducted continuously over a seven-year period.
For attorney Scott King to pull the "serious health issues" card is disingenuous. Mr. Kmetz did not, for example, let his health prevent him from purchasing tickets and attending the ABBA concert with the stolen funds.
What a disgrace. Our judges need to better address these acts of malfeasance, and stealing in this manner should result in imprisonment.
Sadly, anything less in the way of punishment for such patterns of continuous illegal activity is really just an additional crime.
Gregory Bales, Munster
The annual Tribute in Light is illuminating the night sky in the city.
The lights went on at sunset and will fade away at dawn early Tuesday in commemoration of the attacks.
They can be seen for miles from their location at West and Morris Streets in Lower Manhattan.
The art installation first went up in March of 2002.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has also ordered that flags be flown at half-staff in honor of the attack victims.
NEW YORK - The New York City Police Department is investigating after a statue that has become a center of controversy was vandalized overnight in Central Park.
Someone used white spraypaint to deface the Christopher Columbus statue in Central Park.
The vandal wrote the phrases "Hate will not be tolerated," and "Something is coming".
The figure's hands were also painted red.
A Christopher Columbus statue was recently vandalized in Queens.
Critics say the explorer is a symbol of genocide, and have called for his statues to be removed.
Many Italian-Americans argue he is a symbol of their heritage, who deserves to be celebrated.
Anyone with information on the case should contact the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS, or text CRIMES and then enter TIP577, or visit www.nypdcrimestoppers.com.
UPDATED 3 P.M. TUESDAY:
The Opelika City Schools and Auburn City Schools announced today that each will resume regular classes on Wednesday. All schools will be open during normal operating hours, and buses are expected to run on a normal schedule.
*****
UPDATED 10:45 A.M. TUESDAY:
Many local city programs and offices are resuming normal activities today.
Among the Tuesday morning notes:
Auburn University resumes classes at noon.
Auburn city parks and recreation facilities, programs, classes and events will resume normal schedules today.
The Opelika City Schools budget hearing originally scheduled for today has been rescheduled to Thursday
The Auburn Public Library announced that it is waiving non-resident library card fees for evacuees.
The high temperature for today is forecast at 67. By Friday, it will climb to 85. We have a 30 percent chance of rain today before 1 p.m., with skies expected to begin clearing late today and giving away to sunshine on Wednesday.
*****
UPDATED 8:45 A.M. TUESDAY:
Alabama Power Company and Opelika Power Services continue to work on outages this morning caused by Tropical Storm Irma.
OPS crews resumed work early this morning. Almost 500 OPS customers remained without power late Monday.
Alabama Power early today reported there are still 20,000 outages statewide with its customers.
Most are in southeast Alabama, with 12,000 in the Phenix City/Eufaula area, 3,300 in the Anniston area, and 2,900 around Auburn.
There are no weather advisories in effect today for east-central Alabama.
The National Weather Service lifted its tropical storm warning on Monday night, but later issued a wind advisory from about midnight until 4 a.m. That, too, has since been lifted.
Today's forecast calls for a 30 percent chance of rain, and cooler temperatures, with a high of 67 and a low tonight of 57.
Then on Wednesday, temperatures start to climb again, reaching into the upper 80s by Thursday.
Homeowners, road and city crews throughout the area are working on clean-up. Motorists are reminded to drive with caution and continue to be alert to fallen debris.
*****
UPDATED 11:15 P.M. MONDAY:
More than 23,000 Alabama Power Company customers remained without power at 11 p.m. Monday, with many of them concentrated in three areas.
Alabama Power: "Irma update: 23,000 power outages as of 11pm. Main areas: Phenix City/Eufaula (11,000); Anniston/Pell City (4100) & Auburn/Dadeville (3300).
"Our crews will work through the night to continue restoration work where it is safe to do so."
*****
UPDATED 10:45 P.M. MONDAY:
Although the tropical storm warning is cancelled, our area remains under a wind advisory until 4 a.m., with strong winds expected throughout the night.
*****
UPDATED 10 P.M. MONDAY:
The National Weather Service has cancelled its tropical storm warnings associated with Irma for east-central Alabama.
Meanwhile, Alabama Power Company reported that approximately 13,000 outages exist in Eufaula/Phenix City; 4,200 in Auburn/Dadeville and 4,100 in the Anniston/Pell City area.
Alabama Power crews planned to work throughout the night to restore service.
The following bulletin was posted by the National Weather Service shortly before 10 p.m. Monday, including tips/warnings regarding recovery and clean-up efforts:
**Irma Weakens to a Tropical Depression** NEW INFORMATION --------------- * CHANGES TO WATCHES AND WARNINGS: - All watches and warnings have been canceled * CURRENT WATCHES AND WARNINGS: - None * STORM INFORMATION: - About 130 miles southeast of Birmingham AL or about 80 miles east of Montgomery AL - 32.4N 84.9W - Storm Intensity 35 mph - Movement Northwest or 320 degrees at 15 mph SITUATION OVERVIEW ------------------ Irma has weakened to a tropical depression. All tropical storm warnings have been cancelled that were previously included for Central Alabama. POTENTIAL IMPACTS ----------------- * WIND: Little to no additional impacts are anticipated at this time across CENTRAL ALABAMA. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS ---------------------------------- * OTHER PREPAREDNESS INFORMATION: When inspecting damage, use flashlights rather than candles or flamed lighting. Be aware of sparks that can ignite leaking gas or other flammables. When clearing out fallen trees, be careful with chain saws and axes. Always wear protective gear and keep others at a safe distance. Use these tools according to operating manuals and safety instruction. Leaning trees and those which have fallen on roof tops can be especially challenging. If you are not in good health or unsure about what you are doing, have someone else with tree cutting experience do the job. Never cut trees without a partner. If using a generator, avoid carbon monoxide poisoning by following instructions by the manufacturer. Make sure that the generator is run in a well ventilated space. * ADDITIONAL SOURCES OF INFORMATION: - For information on appropriate preparations see ready.gov - For information on creating an emergency plan see getagameplan.org - For additional disaster preparedness information see redcross.org
*****
UPDATED 7:15 P.M. MONDAY:
More than 500 Opelika Power Services customers remain without power, and OPS plans to discontinue repair service soon until in the morning because of safety concerns.
The following press statement was released shortly after 6 p.m. by the city of Opelika:
"Opelika Power Services Update:
"We have 507 customers without power at this time. We are working on restoring about half of those before we stop working for the night. Winds are forecasted to get higher again after dark making it unsafe to continue to work. We will resume at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow restoring power. If you do not have power in the near future, please make plans accordingly. You will most likely be out until sometime tomorrow. Thank you for your patience and understanding."
Meanwhile, Alabama Power Company reports 42,000 outages, with most being in east Alabama.
Alabama Power: 8,260 customers in central Alabama are without power -- the majority of whom are in Auburn and Opelika (3,800).
The area remains under a tropical storm warning, with continued gusts of wind and sporadic heavy showers.
*****
UPDATED 5:30 P.M. MONDAY:
The National Weather Service is warning residents in east-central Alabama that the possibility for severe weather remains.
Meanwhile, power outages continue, and debris cleanup has begun over a widespread area.
There are numerous reports of large trees down in yards and on homes.
The latest NWS bulletin:
**Tropical Storm Warning continues for the eastern half of Central Alabama** NEW INFORMATION --------------- * CHANGES TO WATCHES AND WARNINGS: - None * CURRENT WATCHES AND WARNINGS: - A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for Barbour, Blount, Bullock, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne, Coosa, Elmore, Etowah, Lee, Macon, Montgomery, Pike, Randolph, Russell, St. Clair, Talladega, and Tallapoosa * STORM INFORMATION: - About 210 miles southeast of Birmingham AL or about 150 miles east-southeast of Montgomery AL - 31.5N 84.0W - Storm Intensity 50 mph - Movement North-northwest or 340 degrees at 17 mph SITUATION OVERVIEW ------------------ Irma will continue to have impacts across the eastern half of Central Alabama through this evening. Wind gusts of 30 to 45 mph are possible across far southeast Central Alabama at this time. Conditions could still worsen through the evening as strong winds spread northward with gusts possibly reaching 55 mph. Scattered tree and power line damage is possible along with power outages. Some minor structural damage is also possible. The greatest wind gusts and impacts are expected to be generally along and east of a line from Oneonta to Sylacauga to Montgomery to Troy. Conditions will gradually improve in the late night and early morning hours on Tuesday as Irma continues to move northwestward into Western Tennessee. POTENTIAL IMPACTS ----------------- * WIND: Protect against hazardous wind having possible limited impacts across the eastern half of Central Alabama. Potential impacts include: - Damage to porches, awnings, carports, sheds, and unanchored mobile homes. Unsecured lightweight objects blown about. - Many large tree limbs broken off. A few trees snapped or uprooted, but with greater numbers in places where trees are shallow rooted. Some fences and roadway signs blown over. - A few roads impassable from debris, particularly within urban or heavily wooded places. Hazardous driving conditions on bridges and other elevated roadways. - Scattered power and communications outages. * FLOODING RAIN: Protect against life-threatening rainfall flooding having possible extensive impacts across east central counties in Central Alabama. Potential impacts include: - Major rainfall flooding may prompt many evacuations and rescues. - Rivers and tributaries may rapidly overflow their banks in multiple places. Small streams, creeks, canals, arroyos, and ditches may become dangerous rivers. In mountain areas, destructive runoff may run quickly down valleys while increasing susceptibility to rock slides and mudslides. Flood control systems and barriers may become stressed. - Flood waters can enter many structures within multiple communities, some structures becoming uninhabitable or washed away. Many places where flood waters may cover escape routes. Streets and parking lots become rivers of moving water with underpasses submerged. Driving conditions become dangerous. Many road and bridge closures with some weakened or washed out. Protect against dangerous rainfall flooding having possible limited to significant impacts across most of the eastern half of Central Alabama. * TORNADOES: Little to no impacts are anticipated at this time across CENTRAL ALABAMA.
*****
UPDATED 4 P.M. MONDAY:
Alabama Power: 45,000 outages statewide, mostly concentrated in the eastern part of our state. This includes 23,000 in Eufaula area, 13,900 in Auburn area.
High winds and steady rain have slowed but not stopped over much of the Auburn-Opelika area. The tropical storm warning remains in effect, and road debris continues to be a hazard.
Utility crews are working in numerous locations to restore power as soon as possible. Law enforcement officers continue to help guide traffic at some intersections where power to signal lights remain out.
For live-feed photos, bulletins, updates, see LIVE UPDATES on oanow.com.
*****
UPDATED 3:30 P.M. MONDAY:
Alabama Power: About 13,900 customers in central Alabama are without power, mostly from Auburn, Opelika and Notasulga (about 9,600).
Weather conditions are expected to improve Monday evening, but road debris and other hazardous conditions remain.
*****
UPDATED 2:30 P.M. MONDAY:
The Lee County Sheriff's Office has suspended all non-emergency response/operations until conditions improve.
Lee County EMA PIO Rita Smith said there are 3,200 Opelika residents and 1,500 Auburn residents without power.
Alabama Power: About 10,000 Alabama Power customers are without power in central Alabama - most from Auburn, Opelika and Notasulga (7,970).
Road debris, tress and tree limbs are reported down on numerous roads. Standing water from heavy rain also is creating hazards.
Power outages have caused signal lights to go out at several local intersections, including earlier on Gateway Drive near Tiger Town in Opelika.
A tropical storm warning remains in effect for most of east-central Alabama until early Tuesday. However, local conditions should begin to improve Monday evening as Irma moves northward.
For live, real-time updates, see the live feed on oanow.com.
*****
UPDATED 11:30 A.M. MONDAY
Heavy rains and wind gusts arrived in the Auburn-Opelika area as expected this morning, with early power outages reported in both cities. Road debris and water collection on highways also is occurring on many roads.
Avoid travel if possible, but those who do should watch for falling limbs, water collection and other hazards, including sudden wind gusts.
The area remains under a tropical storm warning, and winds at 35-55 mph are occurring in southeast Alabama, with the worst impact on the Lee County area expected to arrive early afternoon and continue into the night.
Here is the latest update from the National Weather Service:
...TROPICAL STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT... * LOCATIONS AFFECTED - Auburn - Opelika * WIND - LATEST LOCAL FORECAST: Equivalent Tropical Storm force wind - Peak Wind Forecast: 30-40 mph with gusts to 55 mph - Window for Tropical Storm force winds: until early Tuesday morning - CURRENT THREAT TO LIFE AND PROPERTY: Moderate - The wind threat has remained nearly steady from the previous assessment. - Remain braced against the reasonable threat for strong tropical storm force wind of 58 to 73 mph. - To be safe, efforts should fully focus on protecting life. Properties remain subject to significant wind impacts. - Now is the time to hide from the wind. Failure to adequately shelter may result in injury. Remain sheltered until the hazardous wind subsides. - POTENTIAL IMPACTS: Unfolding - Potential impacts from the main wind event are unfolding. * FLOODING RAIN - LATEST LOCAL FORECAST: - Peak Rainfall Amounts: Additional 3-5 inches, with locally higher amounts - CURRENT THREAT TO LIFE AND PROPERTY: Elevated - The flooding rain threat has remained nearly steady from the previous assessment. - Emergency considerations should include a threat of flooding. - Be safe and remain ready to protect against flooding rain impacts. - If flood related watches and warnings are in effect, heed recommended actions. - POTENTIAL IMPACTS: Limited - Localized rainfall flooding may prompt a few evacuations. - Rivers and tributaries may quickly rise with swifter currents. Small streams, creeks, canals, arroyos, and ditches may become swollen and overflow in spots. - Flood waters can enter a few structures, especially in usually vulnerable spots. A few places where rapid ponding of water occurs at underpasses, low-lying spots, and poor drainage areas. Several storm drains and retention ponds become near-full and begin to overflow. Some brief road and bridge closures. * TORNADO - LATEST LOCAL FORECAST: - Situation is unfavorable for tornadoes
*****
UPDATED 7:30 A.M. MONDAY
The Auburn-Opelika area remains under a tropical storm warning, with winds expected at 30-40 mph and gusts above 50 mph; some estimates report peak gusts could be 60 mph.
Also, at least 3-5 inches of rain is expected.
The worst conditions likely will arrive here early this afternoon and continue overnight into early Tuesday morning.
The tropical storm warning has extended in range for east-central Alabama to include most counties east of Interstate 65.
Local schools are closed today and most of them on Tuesday, although Auburn University already has announced that it will reopen to employees at 7:45 a.m. Tuesday and resume classes at noon Tuesday.
Opelika city offices are open this morning and normal trash pick-up is planned unless further noted, the city reported Sunday night.
The following is the latest emergency bulletin for the Auburn-Opelika area, released around 5 a.m.:
...TROPICAL STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT... * LOCATIONS AFFECTED - Auburn - Opelika * WIND - LATEST LOCAL FORECAST: Equivalent Tropical Storm force wind - Peak Wind Forecast: 30-40 mph with gusts to 50 mph - Window for Tropical Storm force winds: early this afternoon until early Tuesday morning - CURRENT THREAT TO LIFE AND PROPERTY: Elevated - The wind threat has decreased from the previous assessment. - Emergency plans should include a reasonable threat for tropical storm force wind of 39 to 57 mph. - To be safe, prepare for the potential of limited wind impacts. Remaining efforts to secure properties should now be brought to completion. - Hazardous wind is possible. Failure to adequately shelter may result in serious injury. Move to safe shelter before the wind becomes hazardous. - POTENTIAL IMPACTS: Limited - Damage to porches, awnings, carports, sheds, and unanchored mobile homes. Unsecured lightweight objects blown about. - Many large tree limbs broken off. A few trees snapped or uprooted, but with greater numbers in places where trees are shallow rooted. Some fences and roadway signs blown over. - A few roads impassable from debris, particularly within urban or heavily wooded places. Hazardous driving conditions on bridges and other elevated roadways. - Scattered power and communications outages. * FLOODING RAIN - LATEST LOCAL FORECAST: - Peak Rainfall Amounts: Additional 3-5 inches, with locally higher amounts - CURRENT THREAT TO LIFE AND PROPERTY: Elevated - The flooding rain threat has remained nearly steady from the previous assessment. - Emergency plans should include a reasonable threat for minor flooding where peak rainfall totals are near amounts conducive for localized flash flooding and rapid inundation. - To be safe, prepare for the potential of limited flooding rain impacts. - Localized flooding is possible. If flood related watches and warnings are issued, heed recommended actions. - POTENTIAL IMPACTS: Limited - Localized rainfall flooding may prompt a few evacuations. - Rivers and tributaries may quickly rise with swifter currents. Small streams, creeks, canals, arroyos, and ditches may become swollen and overflow in spots. - Flood waters can enter a few structures, especially in usually vulnerable spots. A few places where rapid ponding of water occurs at underpasses, low-lying spots, and poor drainage areas. Several storm drains and retention ponds become near-full and begin to overflow. Some brief road and bridge closures.
*****
UPDATED 11 P.M. SUNDAY
No changes to the forecast, as the local area remains under a tropical storm warning.
The city of Opelika announced on Sunday night that its offices will be open on Monday as normal, but officials will re-evaluate during the day if necessary.
Opelika planned normal trash pick-up on Monday morning until otherwise noted.
*****
UPDATED 5 P.M. SUNDAY
The latest forecast continues to have east-central Alabama under a tropical storm warning, with peak winds expected to come in gusts up to 55 mph.
Monday afternoon into early Tuesday morning is expected to be the time-frame for the worst conditions in our area.
Also of note, almost all local school systems are closed Monday, and most on Tuesday.
Many government offices in Lee County also will be closed Monday.
The following is a weather update released Sunday evening by the National Weather Service:.
- LATEST LOCAL FORECAST: Equivalent Tropical Storm force wind - Peak Wind Forecast: 30-40 mph with gusts to 55 mph - Window for Tropical Storm force winds: Monday afternoon until early Tuesday morning - CURRENT THREAT TO LIFE AND PROPERTY: Moderate - The wind threat has remained nearly steady from the previous assessment. - Emergency plans should include a reasonable threat for strong tropical storm force wind of 58 to 73 mph. - To be safe, earnestly prepare for the potential of significant wind impacts. Remaining efforts to secure properties should now be brought to completion. - Dangerous wind is possible. Failure to adequately shelter may result in injury. Move to safe shelter before the wind becomes hazardous. - POTENTIAL IMPACTS: Significant - Some damage to roofing and siding materials, along with damage to porches, awnings, carports, and sheds. A few buildings experiencing window, door, and garage door failures. Mobile homes damaged, especially if unanchored. Unsecured lightweight objects become dangerous projectiles. - Several large trees snapped or uprooted, but with greater numbers in places where trees are shallow rooted. Several fences and roadway signs blown over. - Some roads impassable from large debris, and more within urban or heavily wooded places. A few bridges, causeways, and access routes impassable. - Scattered power and communications outages, but more prevalent in areas with above ground lines.
****
The National Weather Service has upgraded the local area from a tropical storm watch to warning. Here is the latest bulletin from the NWS regarding our area:
Irma is expected to have noticable impacts across the eastern half of Central Alabama on Monday into Monday night. Winds of at least 35 mph may begin as early as the pre dawn hours Monday in the southeast counties. Conditions will worsen during the afternoon and evening on Monday as strong winds spread northward with gusts possibly reaching 50 to 70 mph. Scattered tree and power line damage is possible along with power outages. Some structural damage is also possible. The greatest wind gusts and impacts are expected to be generally along and east of a line from Blountsville to Sylacauga to Montgomery to Troy. Conditions will gradually improve on Tuesday as Irma continues to weaken and move to the north. POTENTIAL IMPACTS ----------------- * WIND: Prepare for dangerous wind having possible significant impacts mainly east of a line from Blountsville to Sylacauga to Montgomery to Troy. Potential impacts in this area include: - Some damage to roofing and siding materials, along with damage to porches, awnings, carports, and sheds. A few buildings experiencing window, door, and garage door failures. Mobile homes damaged, especially if unanchored. Unsecured lightweight objects become dangerous projectiles. - Several large trees snapped or uprooted, but with greater numbers in places where trees are shallow rooted. Several fences and roadway signs blown over. - Some roads impassable from large debris, and more within urban or heavily wooded places. A few bridges, causeways, and access routes impassable. - Scattered power and communications outages, but more prevalent in areas with above ground lines. * FLOODING RAIN: Prepare for locally hazardous rainfall flooding having possible limited impacts across CENTRAL ALABAMA. Potential impacts include: - Localized rainfall flooding may prompt a few evacuations. - Rivers and tributaries may quickly rise with swifter currents. Small streams, creeks, canals, arroyos, and ditches may become swollen and overflow in spots. - Flood waters can enter a few structures, especially in usually vulnerable spots. A few places where rapid ponding of water occurs at underpasses, low-lying spots, and poor drainage areas. Several storm drains and retention ponds become near-full and begin to overflow. Some brief road and bridge closures.
*****
Auburn and Opelika city school systems, Lee and Tallapoosa County schools, announced that all classes and activities are cancelled for Monday and Tuesday.
School officials will evaluate conditions on Tuesday afternoon to decide if any further action is required beyond Tuesday.
Other local school systems are beginning to announce Monday closures, including Lee-Scott Academy.
*****
ORIGINAL STORY filed Saturday night:
Monday looks to be the day Hurricane Irma most makes her presence known in east-central Alabama, prompting Auburn University to cancel all classes and other school systems to consider making the same decision.
Local school systems are expected to make their announcements sometime Sunday regarding their Monday schedules.
The National Weather Service issued a tropical storm watch Saturday night for Lee, Macon and Russell counties:
Irma is expected to have noticeable impacts across the southeast counties of Central Alabama along a line generally east of Milstead-to-Troy and south along a Milstead-to-Auburn line.
Scattered tree and power line damage, some structure and road damage with power outages are possible.
Winds of at least 35 mph may begin as early as the pre-dawn hours Monday, but the worst conditions will be during the day and evening on Monday with wind gusts well above tropical storm force possible.
Such winds could bring down large tree limbs, trees and power lines, leading to power outages and possibly impassable roads. The strongest winds are likely to be east of an Auburn-to-Clayton line. Conditions will gradually improve on Tuesday as Irma continues to weaken and move to the north.
Tuesday looks to be cooler, with a high near 67 and a 30 percent chance of rain, according to the National Weather Service.
Hotels stay full
Local hotels continued to see a brisk business, with most showing a no vacancy post Saturday on internet travel sites. Some had cancellations, but most empty rooms quickly were rebooked, and at what appeared to be normal prices.
Early Saturday, a search online revealed only one local hotel with vacancies, and the asking price was $999 for a room for two.
A call to that hotel, however, resulted in the manager saying it was an online mistake, and the only room available could be booked for $79. It soon was taken.
Alabama State Parks throughout the state remained open for evacuees to use campsites and cabins at normal rates. The parks service sent media an email late Friday to help spread the word.
OPS ready to go
The city of Opelika dispatched a press release Saturday morning pronouncing its crews ready and on standby.
Late Friday night, various weather services were reporting that the Auburn-Opelika area was in a zone that could see possible power outages, with about a 20 percent chance for an outage.
Opelikas utility responded by saying it was prepared to act quickly should local service be interrupted, and if no disruptions here, its crews would go to help neighboring communities that needed assistance.
Opelika Power Services is actively following Hurricane Irma and planning for any required event response. OPS line crews spent part of Friday afternoon preparing trucks, resources and outage-response equipment in preparation for any loss of service that may occur because of Hurricane Irma, the city reported.
Our staff is in contact with local, state and regional mutual aid partners and will continue to communicate and coordinate our efforts and response throughout the event. If Opelika doesnt require a sustained power outage response and recovery effort following the weather event, OPS will work in partnership with other utilities to provide assistance to other damaged systems.
Customers should contact OPS at 334-705-5170 Option 1 to report a loss of service.
During a major outage, OPS crews may work around the clock until all power is restored. If you lose power following a major storm, please be patient, it said.
Auburn postpones lecture
Travel complications connected to the arrival of Hurricane Irma have forced the postponement of an open campus lecture at Auburn University by retired four-star Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey scheduled for Monday, Auburn University reported in a Saturday statement.
McCaffrey, a former White House cabinet member, had been scheduled to discuss leadership of complex organizations at a 3:15 p.m. event hosted by the Raymond J. Harbert College of Business. The college is working to secure an alternate date for the event.
When Jami Ramsey saw that Hurricane Irma was headed for her home in Odessa, Fla., just north of Tampa, she made plans to evacuate.
I have two small children, and I didnt want to take any chances of being there, the mother of a 5-year-old and a 7-month-old said. Even if the winds didnt directly hit us, we still had to worry about a loss of power, especially with a baby.
So Ramsey loaded up her mother and her two small children and drove north. Her husband and father both stayed behind to wait out the storm at home.
We went to Tallahassee first, then went up to Alabama after that, Ramsey said. Originally, we thought we would go to Georgia, then Alabama. After we realized it was coming to Georgia, we changed the plan. We found three hotels in Alabama, working our way up and west.
Ramsey didnt know anyone in Alabama, so she and her family hopped from hotel to hotel for a few nights as they continued to drive away from the hurricanes path.
Saturday night was their last night with a hotel room. The family found themselves in Lee County, searching for an empty room wherever it was available.
Thats when Opelika resident Jerry Perkins met them in a hotel lobby and said he had a place where they could stay with his daughter, Lindy White, and her family.
'So many similarities'
Ive been in Florida since 1997, but this is my first time evacuating, Ramsey said. Its been scary. But along the way, we have met some incredible people in Alabama. We met them at the hotel, and they took us in.
So she and her family spent Sunday night with Whites family at their home in Opelika. White served lunch to the evacuees, and her two children began playing with Ramseys children as if they already knew one another.
The family thats with us, there are so many similarities, White said. Weve been saying, its like weve made new friends.
This is the first time White has hosted hurricane evacuees, but helping others has always been part of her life, largely due to the influence of mother and father.
My parents have always had true servants hearts, White said. Theyve always opened their home to anybody in need. Growing up that way, Ive always tried to help people. When we knew Irma evacuees would be headed this way, Dad jumped into action, and we are lucky enough to have a large downstairs where people could stay.
I just pictured me and my mom trying to get away from a storm with my two sons, and I cant imagine if we had nowhere to go.
Ramsey said traveling with two small children was difficult, with traffic delays caused by the number of evacuees from Florida, finding places along the way to fuel up the car, and checking in and out of hotels each day.
'All I could ask for'
But we are grateful that we were even able to find hotel rooms, because there are some families who are stuck sleeping in their cars, she said. But we met Lindys family, and they took us in.
According to what meteorologists originally predicted, Irma would have already passed through the Tampa area and Ramseys family could have started moving south again. But the storm moving at a slower pace has lengthened their time away and altered their evacuation plan.
The family was able to secure a room in Montgomery for Monday night, but with remnants of the downgraded Tropical Storm Irma moving through Lee County on Monday and early Tuesday, White insisted Ramsey and company stay in her home until the weather clears here.
The White familys basement is stocked with bottled water, flashlights and candles, should they experience any loss of electricity.
I just feel like its silly, if youve got the room, not to help people, White said.
My baby is being bouncy and laughing, and my other daughter is sitting on the couch with Lindys sons. Theyre all watching a movie together, Ramsey said Sunday night. A scary experience turned out to be amazing. I really couldnt ask for anything more. This is all I could ask for.
Jamil Mukulu
Tanzanian police has finally handed evidence to Uganda Police linking Jamil Mukulu, the rebel leader of the Allied Democratic Front (ADF) to crimes against humanity.
The inspector general of police, Kale Kayihura disclosed this while addressing heads of Criminal Investigations, Counter terrorism, Training and Legal Directorates of Police Forces under the East African Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation (EAPCCO) at Speke Resort Munyonyo.
"We really want to thank Tanzania for helping us with one of Uganda's most wanted criminal, Jamil Mukulu. They have given us evidence that will help put him away for good," Kayihura said.
Mukulu has been on remand since 2015 when he was repatriated from Tanzania to face charges of murder, terrorism and crimes against humanity.
The Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) has been struggling to put together evidence that can warrant a prosecution. According to Kayihura, the evidence provided by Tanzania will help get them a conviction from court and send Mukulu to prison.
Among the evidence given by Tanzania are audio recordings, phone records and passports used by Mukulu in his errands as well as names of witnesses.
Mukulu is accused of having orchestrated terror attacks that lead to the death of hundreds of people both within and outside Uganda especially in areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Tanzania is one of the 13 EAPCCO member states whose police bosses in charge of investigations and training are meeting.
The meeting of heads of investigators is part of the EAPCCO annual general meeting, which will climax on Friday with the chiefs of Police Council.
The head investigators are currently in a closed door meeting to brainstorm on issues of investigations in relation to regional criminal threats like human trafficking, drug trafficking, terrorism, cyber crime among many others.
The investigators will also come up with a plan to align the working framework of EAPCCO as far as investigations are involved to the newly formed Africa Police (AFRIPOL).
AFRIPOL is the uniting body for all regional police organisations in Africa.
The ruling party, National Resistance Movement (NRM) legislators have launched a bid for the remove presidential age limits from the Constitution.
During a party caucus consultative meeting held today at Parliament's Conference Hall, 245 MPs agreed to table a private members bill in parliament seeking to amend Article 102(b) of the 1995 Constitution.
Kumi Woman MP, Monica Amoding was the only dissenting voice as her colleagues overwhelmingly endorsed the proposal tabled by Kyaka South MP Jackson Rwakafuzi.
The MPs resolved in the next one week to seek leave of parliament to present the private members bill.
NRM MPs have launched a bid for the removal of the age limit
Igara East MP Raphael Magyezi, who was mandated by MPs to spearhead the consultation process, states that the legislators resolved that Article 102(b) be amended without any influence, adding that they consulted with their people.
Magezi says people should be allowed to stand for office and should not be limited by their age.
The MPs also want the same qualifications to apply for the vice president. They however maintain that one has to be at least 35 years to stand for district local council chairperson.
MP Amoding, the lone voice against the proposal, said she was invited for a consultative meeting and was not aware of the fact that it was meant to resolve the age limit debate. She says she cannot be a part of what her constituents have not agreed with.
Adolf Mwesige, the minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs, says Article 102(b) contradicts the constitution on issues of equality and democracy. He says power belongs to the people and whether one is old or not, the people have the power to eject or elect them.
Arinaitwe Rwakajara, the Workers MP stated that although they did not consult the president on the matter, the proposed amendment is meant for the good of Uganda and democracy.
Article 102(b) sets 35 and 75 as minimum and maximum age respectively for a person contesting for or holding the Office of the President. If left as it is, President Yoweri Museveni would not quality to contest in 2021, as he will be above 75 years of age.
Born in 1944 and in power since 1986, Museveni will turn 75 in 2019. This is the first time that government-leaning MPs have officially come up with a position on the matter, though majority have been promoting it individually.
The move evokes memories of 12 years ago when the 7th Parliament voted, on September 30, to amend Article 105 of the Constitution to remove the two-term limit for the president.
There has been debate in Uganda on the possibility of NRM using its numbers in parliament to push for the removal of age limits to allow President Museveni stay on.
Opposition groups such as the Democratic Party leadership launched a campaign code-named "K'ogikwatako, literally meaning 'Dare Touch It', warning government not to tamper with Article 102(b).
I wish to comment on a story in The Observer of September 6-7, 2017 in which it was reported that a strange disease called Crimean Congo Haemorhagic Fever (CCHF) has struck some people in Nakaseke district.
Whether the CCHF disease is present in Nakaseke or not is another issue, but my main concern here is whether we have the means of conducting an early warning system (surveillance) for the disease, diagnosing it in a timely way to save lives, treat cases and implement effective preventive and control measures.
CCHF is a disease spread by ticks although it can also spread via handling human body fluids (person-to-person).
Squashing a tick between two bare fingures can also spread CCHF, as can drinking raw milk from a cow with the virus. As of 2016, 16 tick-borne diseases of humans are known.
Luckily, not all tick bites transmit diseases, just like not all bites by the female anopheles mosquitoes transmit malaria; such are the surprising and mild aspects of our natural enemies.
As for CCHF, ticks of the genus Hyalomma are the principal vector, and a good effort to do surveillance of the disease should monitor the infection of ticks with the virus.
In my opinion, if ticks on wild and domestic animals in a given region can be shown to be infected with a virus or any agent of the disease, efforts can then be made to eradicate or control the ticks before the disease spreads in animals and humans.
I can only tell you what I know well; the best way to prevent a tick-borne disease is to not to get bitten by a tick in the first place. Ticks like to live in grass, in bushes, or leaf piles; not to say you should not go near such places.
They grab onto you as you walk by, find bare skin, and dig in. When you are outdoors, stay away from tall bushes or grass and stick to the middle of a trail; apply tick and insect repellents on your exposed skin; wear long trousers and long-sleeved shirts and tuck the trousers into white socks so you can see ticks and discard them; look carefully for ticks when you get back home.
If you find one that hasnt latched on, you are not at risk for any of these infections. The government should invest more in our veterinary and wildlife services by equipping them with laboratories capable of detecting the presence of infectious disease vectors such as ticks.
Paul Edward Okello,
Kampala.
We need unity, not tribalism
In almost all public speeches by prominent Ugandans, there is mention about uniting Uganda. Special emphasis is laid on avoiding tribalism. I think some clarification about tribe and tribalism is necessary.
In Uganda, we have more than thirty tribes. In each district, you find tribes living together. National boundaries in Africa were determined by colonial policies.
The unity we need in rebuilding Uganda must be realistic and genuine. We must accept our tribal diversity and make it a basis for our unity. Secondly, we must adopt a positive attitude to all tribes in Uganda and their respective cultures.
We have to promote the good values of each ethnic group in Uganda. We should also have unity of purpose. This should consist in working tirelessly for justice, peace, stability and integral development.
Julius Katongole,
Political analyst.
+256785947567.
What do my taxes do?
Every year, Uganda Revenue Authority recognizes outstanding taxpayers especially from the private sector.
However, this year, they have spiced it up by bringing government ministries, departments and agencies on board to account for taxes in the event they have called taxpayer appreciation week starting September 27, 2017.
The reason why MDAs are being brought on board is to answer the common question of what do my taxes do?
The public has kept wondering what their taxes do; some have even dodged taxes because they see no significance of paying.
Sarah Kyobe,
Kampala.
More Ugandans at risk of facing prison
A few months before the last general elections in Uganda, I posted this on social media: If I was one of the many Musevenis presidential advisors, and he happens to grab the next term in office, I would advise him to build as many prisons as possible.
I had read the mood of many Ugandans. I had also moved around Uganda and visited several prisons and detention centers. The situation was shocking. The numbers were overwhelming.
Today, barely two years in office, Musevenis government has imprisoned countless politicians, such as the many that were arrested and imprisoned from Rwenzori sub-region in Kasese plus their traditional leader.
Now Museveni seems to be fermenting another group of potential prisoners, with his determination to push through the constitutional amendment on land acquisition.
The situation has not been helped by the recent appointment of the moral police (Fr Simon Lokodos anti-pornography committee) intended at arresting those sharing pornographic material! They have even purchased a machine at Shs 2bn to do the job, in a country failing to buy a modern cancer machine!
By the end of this current term, I foresee this government imprisoning an unprecedented number of Ugandans. Unfortunately, the majority of these will be politically-related prisoners.
This is why today it is easier for criminals to freely roam around Uganda, killing innocent women unabated than any real opposition politician.
Bidi Halid,
Human rights campaigner.
We welcome Arua market
The construction of Arua main market and taxi park has finally kicked off. This is an exercise that is long overdue.
Our request, however, is that the authorities should do a routine supervision in order to avoid scenarios such as putting up poor structures.
Some modern markets in the country like the ones in Wandegeya and Lira are shunned by vendors reportedly because the structures are unfavourable.
The congestion we have in the market and taxi park would be history once the new ones are completed. The vendors and taxi operators should comply and relocate to the designated places to pave way for the works.
Muzamil Alamiga,
Arua.
letters@observer.ug
The push for Ugandas pension sector reforms since 2007 has created a lot of anxiety among workers and their representative organisations.
Last month, the bill for the sector liberalisation was thrown out of parliament. But well-thought-out reforms of the pension sector, including the National Social Security Fund, would offer better returns to savers.
It would also increase the scope of coverage to include the currently excluded informal sector, thus grow the fund portfolio for workers. Yet, there is fear that opening market competition to NSSF is a big risk to the savers money a genuine concern.
There is evidence that countries such as Nigeria, Kenya, and Tanzania have successfully implemented pension sector reforms. They have focused on public-private and voluntary pension schemes with a view of improving scope and coverage, effectiveness, and compliance.
Their reforms are consistent with the recommended best pension models as per the International Labour Organisation and World Bank framework where pension sector reforms must be structured to allow the participation of public and private sector savers for inclusive social security.
Kenya, for instance, had the first pension reform in 1997 where the Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA) and NSSF Kenya were established.
The role of RBA was to supervise the occupational schemes and other private sector schemes, excluding NSSF Kenya. Research shows that over the years during implementation, NSSF had supervision challenges of the public pension funds.
The internal operation challenges impacted negatively to the investment returns. The main challenge was lack of diversity of the fund investment profile, with about 72 per cent of assets far greater than the recommended 30 per cent held in real property.
The Kenyan government initiated second-generation reforms with the main objective of improving the operations of NSSF by introducing the Retirement Benefits Act, 2011 and amending the NSSF Act, 2013 and also requiring the adoption of international fund management practices of public-private funds.
Meanwhile, Nigeria first instituted pension regulatory frameworks in 1951. But it is the reforms in 1993 that established the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) and catered for persons employed in the private sector.
More reforms in 2004 brought about solutions to challenges/problems in the Defined Benefit (DB) scheme (pay as you go).
These challenges included the inability of government to sustain payments to retirees, missing records, inharmonious administration, conflicting laws, and embezzlement.
The Pensions Act of 2004 solved the aforementioned problems as it brought about the establishment of the National Pension Commission whose mandate is to regulate, supervise and administer pension matters.
Although the pension sector reforms in Nigeria were benchmarked on the Chilean model, majority of Nigerians further revised reforms to fit within the context of Nigerian environment to ensure access to formal social protection.
LESSONS FOR UGANDA
An upcoming Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC) study shows that effective and efficient pension sector reforms address issues of scope and coverage, compliancy and fiscal sustainability of financing public pension schemes.
Therefore: It is important to have a public pension schemes that is contributory between workers and government to ease the budget burden on government.
It is important to maintain an efficient and effective NSSF for greater social security for the savers and the countrys financial stability.
What is required is to amend the current NSSF law to allow the excluded informal sector such as the self-employed and employers with less than five employees as prescribed by the current law, to save with NSSF.
In addition, the NSSF law should be amended to allow for the diversification of the fund portfolio into other financial instruments that could support public sector investments such as infrastructure bonds.
Going forward, the current Uganda Retirement Benefits Regulatory Authority (URBRA) law has to be reviewed and strengthened to regulate the operations of the fund managers from drawing down the asset portfolio of NSSF.
The pension sector should be liberalised with a view to allowing private competition, but also to taking care for inclusive social security of all Ugandans.
The author is senior research fellow at the Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC).
An 11-year-old from the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh has allegedly been popping out 35 to 40 small white pebbles of what looks like cotton from her eyes, every day for over two weeks.
Manasi, a sixth-grader from the village of Pachkhura, apparently started producing the bizarre white cotton tears on August 25, and her father, as well as the locals are convinced that she is possessed by a ghost. Villagers have been avoiding the girl and her family ever since word got out about her condition, fearing divine wrath, and her parents are so superstitious that they have yet to consult an ophthalmologist.
According to Manasis father, Gendlal Kevat, she has been shedding between 35 and 40 cotton tears per day, for the past two weeks. The local doctor came to see her after hearing about it from the other villagers, but after examining the bizarre white pebbles, all he could do was recommend that she be consulted by a professional eye doctor.
Nayi Duniya, the Indian paper that reported Manasis case, consulted several ophthalmologists about it. Dr Navneet Saxena, Dean and ophthalmologist of Medical College in Jabalpur, said that it could be just an allergic reaction that sometimes manifests itself as white discharge and thread coming out of the eye, while Dr Pawan Setak said that the condition is likely caused by a Vitamin D deficiency. He added that malnourished children sometimes exhibit a white discharge from the corners of their eyes, which look like cotton.
Those explanations dont make much sense to me, but, then again, Im no doctor. Manasis case does remind me of other bizarre eye conditions we featured in the past, like that of Saadiya Saleh, a Yemeni girl who cried stone tears, and that of Laura Ponce, whose eyes have been producing solid white crystals for over 20 years.
via NTD.tv
Georgia Teacher Fired For Comparing Trump MAGA Shirts To Swastikas Elijah C. Watson Elijah Watson serves as Okayplayer's News & Culture Editor. When
A Georgia high school teacher has been fired after telling her students they could not wear a Make America Great Again t-shirt during class last week.
In a report from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Lyn Orletsky, a math teacher at River Ridge High School, had told two of her students wearing the slogan made popular by Donald Trump that it was like wearing a swastika. Orletsky ultimately asked the students wearing the shirts to turn them inside out. The incident was caught on video and was circulated across social media.
On Friday came news that the schools principal had let Orletsky go and assigned a substitute teacher to the class until they find a permanent replacement.
Her actions were wrong, as the Make America Great Again shirts worn by the students are not a violation of our school district dress code, Cherokee County Schools spokeswoman Barbara Jacoby said.
A petition was also made demanding Orletskys resignation from the school, with the petitions creator Dwain Allen writing:
We are asking for the resignation of the math teacher Lyn Orletsky at River Ridge High School in Woodstock, Ga. On August 31st, 2017 she demanded two students to turn their Trump Make America Great Again shirts inside out because she said the slogan represents Neo-Nazis and you might as well be wearing a Swaztika on your chest at school. This type of Ignorance should not be tolerated in our community and goes against the ethics that we as Americans come to expect.
Source: ajc.com
We value your privacy.
Focus Taiwan (CNA) uses tracking technologies to provide better reading experiences, but it also respects readers' privacy. Click here to find out more about Focus Taiwan's privacy policy. When you close this window, it means you agree with this policy.
Warren Buffetts bid to double his stake in Home Capital Group Inc. was rejected by shareholders of the Canadian mortgage lender in a vote Tuesday.
About 89 percent of investors voted against the offer, which would have boosted Berkshire Hathaway Inc.s stake to 38 percent from about 20 percent. Stockholders including CIBC Asset Management had objected to the deal, arguing it would dilute the stock by selling shares to Berkshire at an almost 30 percent discount.
This decision on the second tranche is a clear message that the majority of our shareholders believe that Home Capitals improved deposit inflows and liquidity position diminish the need for additional capital," Chairwoman Brenda Eprile said at a special shareholder meeting in Toronto after the vote.
Home Capital executives declined to comment further. Buffett didnt immediately respond to a request for comment on the vote. The stock was little changed at C$14.06 at 12:21 p.m. in Toronto after being halted for the vote. Its down 55 percent this year.
Berkshire Hathaway agreed to buy shares in two tranches in June when the troubled bank was facing a run on deposits after a regulator accused the company of misleading shareholders about falsified mortgage applications. The proposed C$400 million ($330 million) investment included an initial purchase at C$9.55 a share, followed by a second round at C$10.30 each. The second tranche required approval from a majority of voting shareholders, excluding Berkshire.
Wow, Great
Advisory firms offered diverging views on how unitholders should vote. Glass Lewis & Co. recommended they back the second tranche because the board of directors supported the investment. Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. shot down the deal because they said it offered no substantial benefits and would dilute the stock by 30 percent.
The majority of investors agreed. As Eprile read the vote tally, a shareholder shouted Wow, great!" amid a smattering of applause in the room with three dozen people.
Home Capital has already benefited from the Buffett bump," said David Hillock, a 63-year-old retiree who voted against the Berkshire purchase. To provide so many shares at such a deep discount dilutes the company-- it just didnt seem worth it." Hillock says he owns about 100,000 Home Capital shares, which he bought when the stock traded around C$6 this year, more than doubling his investment to about C$1.4 million.
Nurse and private investor Mathias Uy, 30, changed his vote just before the meeting. Originally he voted for the deal, along with the board but changed his mind when he read the ISS report.
Long Term
The original problem at Home Capital was a crisis of confidence and adding more money wouldnt really solve the problem," Uy said after the meeting. The settlement of whatever lawsuits were pending largely fixed the crisis and the initial tranche of Buffetts investment helped a lot." Home Capital settled with the OSC and investors in a class action lawsuit last month.
Uys one concern when voting his 3,200 shares was the risk of Buffett taking profits and walking away from the company, but said he found solace in the CEOs history of holding shares for the long term.
Buffett has already made about 40 percent on his investment.
Last month, Buffett said he planned to stick with Home Capital even if shareholders voted against the second tranche.
We knew that could go either way," he said on Bloomberg Television. Wed like to buy the stock but if they vote it down, if the shareholders vote it down, well be fine."
The Omaha World-Herald is owned by Berkshire Hathaway.
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos visit to Nebraska this week is shaping up.
A high school program with a campus at the Lincoln Childrens Zoo and a west Omaha-based satellite campus of Midland University will be among the stops on DeVos six-state tour designed to shine a spotlight on innovative schools.
The U.S. Department of Education announced that DeVos will visit the Omaha campus of Midland University today at 6 p.m. Nebraska Education Commissioner Matt Blomstedt will accompany her.
On Thursday, DeVos will pivot from higher education to K-12, with a planned tour of the Lincoln Public Schools Science Focus Program, which is based at the Childrens Zoo.
Lincolns Science Focus Program known as the Zoo School is part of a partnership with the Childrens Zoo and offers many science-centric courses to high schoolers.
Our school district looks upon this visit as an exciting opportunity to share information about our Science Focus Program and our fine Lincoln Public Schools public education system with the U.S. secretary of education, Lincoln Superintendent Steve Joel said.
Midland is a private college of about 1,400 students based in Fremont. In March, it opened a 10,000-square-foot facility at 11213 Davenport St. in Omaha for graduate programs, including a master of business administration degree program. Other offerings involve a para-to-teacher pipeline that allows teachers aides to earn a teaching degree, flex spaces for students and office space set aside for local businesses.
U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse served as president of the university for five years until 2014. Both Sasse and U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer said they wont attend the DeVos event, opting to stay in Washington, D.C., to work on legislation.
DeVos office also contacted two other schools about potential visits: Bryan High School in Bellevue, part of the Omaha Public Schools, and the private Nelson Mandela Elementary School in north Omaha. Tours of those schools have not been confirmed yet.
More details about DeVos visit to Lincoln will be released later this week, a Lincoln district spokeswoman said. The Childrens Zoo will be closed all day Thursday.
DeVos has earned both praise and flak for her nontraditional educational background and views, including her support of school choice options such as charter schools and vouchers. Protesters have shown up at other school visits, including more than 30 demonstrators with signs in Casper, Wyoming, on Tuesday, according to the Casper Star-Tribune.
Two groups in Lincoln were planning shows of support for public schools.
Deb Levitov, a former school librarian in the Lincoln district, said she was organizing a rally and encouraging people at noon Thursday to stand near 27th Street and Normal Boulevard in Lincoln, across from the Childrens Zoo. Levitov opposes diverting public funds from traditional public schools to charter schools.
Stand for Schools, a nonprofit that advocates for public schools and opposes the spread of charter schools, and the Nebraska State Education Association also planned an event at The BAY coffee shop and event venue on Y Street for Thursday evening.
I know folks are frustrated they see the threat that the DeVos agenda might pose to public schools in Nebraska and elsewhere, said Ann Hunter-Pirtle, Stand for Schools executive director. Her father is the program director at the Zoo School. We see a more positive way to engage and come to a separate event on the same day, to not confront anyone directly. We think its better to take that frustration and that anger into something more positive supporting public schools in this state.
DeVos Rethink School tour, to highlight teachers or programs taking a fresh approach to education, started Tuesday in Wyoming. There, she visited a teacher-led K-8 school in Casper and St. Stephens Indian High School on the Wind River Reservation.
Today, shell start with visits to two schools in Colorado, the Firefly Autism House in Denver and the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. The other states included on the weeklong tour are Kansas, Missouri and Indiana.
World-Herald staff writers Joe Dejka and Joseph Morton contributed to this report.
LINCOLN More than 700,000 Nebraskans and nearly 1.1 million Iowans had their personal information exposed because of the massive security breach at credit reporting company Equifax Inc.
Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson and Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller revealed the scope of the breach Tuesday, warning citizens to take steps to protect their identities.
I would encourage everyone to act immediately to see if their identity information was part of the breach, Peterson said.
In Iowa, Miller said he has opened an investigation into the security breakdown.
Both urged people to go to a web portal created by Equifax equifaxsecurity2017.com to see if their information was affected.
State Sen. Adam Morfeld of Lincoln wants the company to actively notify Nebraskans affected by the data breach.
Morfeld on Tuesday sent a letter to Equifax CEO Richard Smith calling for the company to comply with a Nebraska law requiring businesses to notify residents of security breaches that expose personal information.
Peterson said his office is committed to ensuring that Equifax complies with all applicable state laws.
Morfeld also called for Equifax to provide free credit monitoring for life to Nebraskans affected by the breach. The company has promised free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services for one year. Morfeld said that offering only a year of free monitoring means that Equifax, which provides credit monitoring as a paid service, stands to profit from its security breakdown.
Equifax announced to the public last Thursday that a cybersecurity incident had exposed the personal information of approximately 143 million Americans. The company said it became aware of the breach on July 29.
The information includes Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some cases, drivers license and credit card numbers.
Peterson said his office was notified of the breach directly from Equifax on Friday. His office is working with other state attorneys general to gather additional information from the company.
At the Equifax web portal, people have to enter their last name and the last six digits of their Social Security number to find out if their information was involved. The company also has set up a dedicated call center at 866-447-7559, available from 6 a.m. to midnight central time.
Peterson cautioned those affected to be sure they are signing up for Equifaxs free service and not its paid service. He also said other companies offer similar services.
He and Miller recommended that people affected by the breach take the following steps:
Closely monitor your credit report for suspicious activity. Visit annualcreditreport.com to get your free credit reports.
Actively monitor your financial statements. Promptly dispute any unauthorized charges.
Consider placing a fraud alert or security freeze on your credit report. That prohibits a credit reporting agency from releasing any information from your credit report without written authorization and makes it harder for an identity thief to access credit in your name. Fees may be applied for placing, temporarily lifting or removing a security freeze.
Be wary of breach-related scams. Do not provide or confirm personal information to a caller who claims the call is related to the data breach. Be wary of emails, which can be fake but look authentic.
For more information, visit the Nebraska Attorney Generals Offices Consumer Protection Division website at protectthegoodlife.nebraska.gov/identity-theft or the Iowa Attorney Generals office, iowaattorneygeneral.gov.
The coyote dashed through the darkness and in an instant snatched the black and white puppy.
Kari Olson said she never saw her familys 7-pound Sheltie again.
Olson said she let the 4-month-old pup named Oreo outside to go to the bathroom at 9:30 p.m. last week. She was standing just 10 feet away when the coyote grabbed the dog from the front yard of her Sarpy County home near 198th and Harrison Streets.
Its the second reported time in the past two months that a coyote has grabbed a dog in the area. In July, a coyote snatched a familys 4-pound Yorkie from the yard of an acreage west of Lincoln.
Both homes are in newly developed or near rural areas, where coyotes are more likely to be seen.
The Nebraska Humane Society said it has not received many calls about coyote sightings or about the predators taking pets.
Kelli Brown, the agencys field operations director, said its rare for a coyote to attack a dog, but owners must be vigilant.
She said pets should never be left outside unless they are on a leash or in a fenced area.
Olson said that for a moment she thought the coyote was a dog as it ran from the side of her home and snatched Oreo.
It just grabbed her and took off, Olson said. It was just a blink. Youre like, What the heck was that?
The coyote ignored the familys full-grown, 30-pound Sheltie standing next to Oreo.
Olson said she heard yelps from the puppy as the coyote ran off with her through an empty lot across the street and into a ravine.
She said she and her family searched the ravine and surrounding area with flashlights. A Sarpy County sheriffs deputy helped them look for the dog.
The searchers saw no signs of the pet initially, but later noticed a trail of blood along a paved walking path near the ravine.
She said the loss of their pet was traumatic for her family, and her children were in tears.
Olson called the Humane Society the next day and the agency set up a live trap for the coyote, baited with meat in the familys yard. So far a coyote has not been caught.
Olson said that her family misses Oreo and that shes learned a lesson: Never let a dog out without having it on a leash.
Sam Wilson, a wildlife biologist with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, said there have not been any recent problems with coyotes normal food supply of rodents, rabbits and ground-nesting birds that would cause the predators to go after pets.
He said that statewide the coyote population has been steady.
He said there was evidence in the early 2000s that mange killed off some coyotes in parts of southeast Nebraska. It appears that the population may have rebounded in recent years, he said. So if people are noticing more coyotes, that rebounding population could be a reason, he said.
Wilson said coyotes usually weigh 30 pounds and are common in Nebraska; theyre most likely to be seen in rural areas or in newly developed areas near creeks, fields and similar habitats.
There are fields near Olsons home, which was built in 2012 and is about 5 miles from the Elkhorn River.
There have been other incidents in the region this year involving coyotes, including one in Hastings in July, when a 1-year-old boy was bitten by a coyote.
In March, south of the Millard area, a badly injured coyote was rescued after it was found hanging from a fence it was caught in.
Brown, of the Humane Society, said residential expansion means that coyotes must learn to adapt.
These guys are forced to learn to live in these areas, she said.
A Papillion woman who was reunited with her lost pig last week might be separated again.
Jo Ann Hagan said she was cited last week by the Nebraska Humane Society because pet pigs are not allowed in the city of Papillion.
She said she was cited for owning both Tori the 5-month-old, 28-pound pig that was lost and another potbellied pig she owns a full-grown 70-pounder named Lucy.
She said the Humane Society told her that she can longer keep the animals and has 30 days to find them new homes.
She hopes to persuade the city to change its regulations.
Mark Langan, vice president of field operations for the Humane Society, said the agency learned about Hagans pig because of social media buzz about the lost pet, which was seen around 72nd Street in Papillion. He said the agency did not receive complaints about the pig.
Hagan is scheduled to meet this week with Papillion City Administrator Chris Myers.
Trent Albers, Papillion spokesman, said it would be up to the City Council to make any change in regulations. He said it would be unlikely that any revision allowing pigs could be made within the 30 days that Hagan was given to find her pets new homes.
But he said city staff is glad to take an initial step of listening to Hagans pitch.
In 2011, the Papillion City Council rejected a proposed ordinance that would have allowed miniature pigs as pets.
Hagan said minipigs make great pets and remind her of the two dogs she owns.
They are easy to care for, theyre loving and theyre smart, she said.
Hagan said she wouldnt have bought the pigs if she knew that they werent allowed in Papillion.
Her citation, she said, says she must appear before a judge in Sarpy County Court in November.
Kelli Brown, director of field operations for the Humane Society, said typically its up to a judge to set the amount of any fine for the violation, which is a misdemeanor.
Brown said Hagan has several options for the pigs. She could surrender the pets to the Humane Society, which could find them new homes. She could also find a new home for the minipigs with a family in a city that allows them. Bellevue, Springfield and Omaha allow the pigs, according to the Humane Society.
Langan said the Omaha City Council recently approved a change in the citys animal control ordinance allowing residents to keep as many as two minipigs, up from just one pig.
He said there are 15 licensed pigs in Omaha. Langan said that his agency doesnt get many complaints about pet pigs and that they are a smart, low-maintenance animal.
Tori got loose from Hagans yard on Aug. 29. The pig was caught eight days later about a mile from Hagans home, near a cornfield at East First and 72nd Streets in Papillion.
The woman who caught the pig said it shot out of the cornfield, ran into 72nd Street and was clipped by a car.
Hagan said because of the injuries, a veterinarian had to amputate the pigs right rear leg on Monday. She said the vet is hopeful that Tori will recover and will be able to get around on three legs.
WASHINGTON U.S. intelligence analysts have gained valuable insights into the Islamic States planning and personnel from a vast cache of digital data and other material recovered from bombed-out offices, abandoned laptops and the cellphones of dead fighters in recently liberated areas of Iraq and Syria.
In the most dramatic gain, U.S. officials over the past two months have added thousands of names of known or suspected Islamic State operatives to an international watch list used at airports and other border crossings.
The Interpol database now contains about 19,000 names.
The intelligence haul the largest since U.S. forces entered the war in mid-2014 threatens to overwhelm already stretched counterterrorism and law enforcement agencies in Europe, where the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for attacks in Paris, London and Stockholm this year.
With the extremist groups army and self-declared caliphate fast shrinking, U.S. officials are concerned that foreign-born militants who once flocked to Iraq and Syria will try to escape before the U.S.-led coalition or other military forces can kill them.
In recent weeks, U.S.-backed ground forces have sent an estimated 30 terabytes of data equal to nearly two years of nonstop video footage to the National Media Exploitation Center in Bethesda, Maryland, a little-known arm of the Pentagons Defense Intelligence Agency, according to officials who spoke on the condition that they not be named.
Analysts there are scrutinizing handwritten ledgers, computer spreadsheets, thumb drives, mobile phone memory cards and other materials for clues to terrorist cells or plots in Europe or elsewhere.
The reason electronic exploitation is so critical is that enemy forces dont fake those records, an intelligence official said. When you interrogate someone they can hide facts, but logs of phone calls and video clips dont lie. That stuff isnt made up.
The material came from Mosul, the militants self-declared capital in Iraq, which was recaptured July 9 after an eight-month battle.
Other intelligence was found in the Iraqi city of Tal Afar, which was retaken on Aug. 31, and from Raqqa, the groups self-declared capital in Syria, where fighting is still underway.
Weve gotten significant amounts of intelligence as a result of the fall of these places much is still being analyzed, Defense Secretary James Mattis told the Tribune Washington Bureau during a visit to Amman, Jordan, last month. It has helped us to identify at least some of their aspirations.
U.S. officials said they have gleaned planning ideas and outlines of potential operations rather than ongoing terrorist plots. But they also have gathered details about the groups leadership and the hierarchy of fighters under command.
The biggest windfall came from what officials said were meticulous Islamic State records about the foreign fighters who arrived after convoys of black-flagged militants first stormed out of northern Syria and into Iraq in 2014, capturing large parts of both countries, along with the worlds attention.
The records include their names, aliases, home countries and other personal information.
The data have been shared with a 19-nation task force in Jordan, code-named Operation Gallant Phoenix, that tries to track foreign fighters in an effort to disrupt terrorist cells and networks. The task force is led by the U.S. militarys clandestine Joint Special Operations Command.
If we find information about foreign fighters from a certain country, we go through proper procedures to make sure its shared, said Brett McGurk, the special presidential envoy for the global coalition to defeat the Islamic State.
Then-President Barack Obama appointed McGurk in 2015. President Donald Trump has kept him on.
So it is a very comprehensive campaign, militarily, on the ground, taking territory back; collecting information; processing it; and then building the database and the system so it can be shared and acted upon, McGurk said in Amman.
With few U.S. troops on the ground, most of the intelligence is gathered by Iraqi security forces and U.S.-backed Syrian militias who have been trained to gather, bag and tag material to be analyzed back in the U.S.
A phone from the pocket of a dead fighter often includes phone numbers that can assist counterterrorism investigations far afield. Indeed, intelligence recovered from the battlefield since 2015 has led to arrests or broken up plots in at least 15 countries in Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin America and Canada, officials said.
Matthew Levitt, a former counterterrorism official at the FBI and Treasury Department now with the nonpartisan Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said obtaining an alias, drivers license, passport number or biometric data can be crucial to blocking a terrorist plot.
Time and again weve found that even the smallest bit of information can prove critical, he said. It could help us discover a person we never knew about or provide new leads on an underground cell.
U.S. officials say the Islamic State has lost 60 percent of the territory it captured in 2014, and its force has been halved to about 15,000 fighters.
The recent intelligence indicates that the militants are concentrating forces and shifting their operations base to the Middle Euphrates River Valley, which lies between Iraq and Syria.
An estimated 8,000 fighters have moved to the valley, which stretches more than 150 miles from eastern Syria to western Iraq. They include most of the groups leaders and their families, as well as key aides for administrative functions.
A U.S. special operations task force tracked and killed three leaders, who allegedly oversaw weapons research and drone operations, in the valley last week, officials said.
In all, more than 35 military commanders, weapons production experts, financial facilitators and external attacks plotters have been killed there in the past year.
Islamic State founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is believed to be hiding in the area, said Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, who completed his tour this month as top commander of U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria. He predicted that the militants would make their last stand in the valley.
MIAMI (AP) - Residents were returning Tuesday to some islands in the hurricane-hit Florida Keys as officials pieced together the scope of Irma's destruction and aid rushed into the drenched and debris-strewn state.
It has been difficult to get detailed information on the condition of the island chain where Irma first came ashore over the weekend because communication and access were cut off by the storm's arrival as a Category 4 hurricane.
But displaced residents and business owners from Key Largo, Tavernier and Islamorada near the mainland were allowed to return for their first glimpse of the damage Tuesday morning.
People from the Lower Keys faced a longer wait with a roadblock in place where the highway to farther-away islands was washed out by the storm. Road repairs were promised in the coming days.
Corey Smith, who rode out the hurricane in Key Largo, said Tuesday that the power is out on the island, there's very limited gas and supermarkets are closed. Piles of brush and branches are blocking some roads. The UPS driver said he fears an influx of returnees could overwhelm what limited resources there are.
"They're shoving people back to a place with no resources," he said by phone. "It's just going to get crazy pretty quick."
Still, he said people coming back to Key Largo should be relieved that many buildings avoided major damage.
After flying over the Keys Monday, Florida Gov. Rick Scott described overturned mobile homes, washed-ashore boats and flood damage. A Navy aircraft carrier was due to anchor off Key West to help in search-and-rescue efforts.
Elsewhere, areas such as Tampa Bay had braced for the worst but emerged with what appeared to be only modest damage.
On Tuesday morning, the remnants of Irma were blowing through Alabama and Mississippi after drenching Georgia. Flash flood watches and warnings were scattered around the Southeast.
Key West resident Laura Keeney was waiting in a Miami hotel until it was safe to return home, and she was anxious to hear more about her apartment complex. Her building manager told her about flooding there, but further updates were hard to come by because of limited phone service.
"They told me there is definitely water in the downstairs apartment, which is me," said Keeney, who works as a concierge at a Hyatt hotel.
Lower Keys resident Leyla Nedin said Tuesday she doesn't plan to return anytime soon to her home near where Irma first made landfall on Cudjoe Key.
"There are still 9 bridges that need final inspections. Plus we are still without water, power, sewer, gas and cell service," she said. "My concern is that even if we get to go in to the Lower Keys, our fragile infrastructure could be even more compromised."
The Keys are linked by 42 bridges that have to be checked for safety before motorists can be allowed on the farther islands, officials said. County officials placed a roadblock around Mile Marker 74 just before Sea Oates Beach, but said crews were working to restore U.S. 1 as quickly as possible.
A stunning 13 million Florida residents were without electricity two-thirds of the state's residents as sweltering heat returned across the peninsula following the storm. In a parting blow to the state, the storm caused record flooding in the Jacksonville area that forced hundreds of rescues.
School was canceled in communities around Georgia, where more than 1.2 million customers there were without power Tuesday.
Six deaths in Florida have been blamed on Irma, along with three in Georgia and one in South Carolina. At least 35 people were killed in the Caribbean.
More than 180,000 people huddled in shelters in Florida, and officials warned it could take weeks for electricity to be restored to everyone.
Around the Tampa-St. Petersburg area, where Irma rolled through early Monday, damage appeared modest. And the governor said effects on the southwest coast, including in Naples and Fort Myers, were not as bad as feared.
Still, Scott predicted recovery could take a long time in many areas.
"I know for our entire state, especially the Keys, it's going to be a long road," he said.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said Tuesday that 356 people were rescued from flooding the previous day. On its Twitter account, the sheriff's office said it hopes "people who had their lives saved yesterday will take evacuation orders seriously in the future."
Paul Johnson and Shonda Brecheen spent Sunday night in a house they're remodeling near downtown Jacksonville after working late on the project. Jonhson woke up Monday to see boats passing by where cars used to drive.
They managed to push his truck through standing water to a parking lot to dry out, but he's worried about the swamped vehicle.
"I'm 32, I've lived here most of my life, and I've never seen anything like that," he said.
Gen. John Hyten, the head of U.S. Strategic Command, sums it up well in describing the status of our nations nuclear weapons triad of air, sea and land power.
If you look at every element of the nuclear enterprise, it has to be modernized, Hyten says. All our stuff is old. Its still ready, safe, secure, reliable. But its old.
The venerable B-52 bomber, for example, has been flying since the Eisenhower era and will remain a key part of our airborne arsenal for years to come before it can be replaced.
There is a measure of progress, however. Last month the Pentagon awarded the third major recent contract for modernization of the nuclear triad. That contract is for a replacement for the aging Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile system.
The other contracts, both announced last year: the B-21, the successor aircraft to the B-52, and the Columbia-class submarine, to replace the Ohio-class subs.
These are needed steps by the Pentagon. Its vital that our systems be updated to maintain an effective deterrent in the face of ongoing defense modernization by countries such as Russia and China, the increasing sophistication of air defense technology and the Russian governments cheating on a 1987 treaty limiting intermediate-range nuclear forces.
U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committees Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, underscored the importance of nuclear modernization during a recent World-Herald interview.
She also noted the challenges ahead. Weapons development on projects this complex is a slow-going enterprise. Deliveries of the Columbia-class ballistic-missile submarine, for example, arent scheduled until the early 2030s.
Reaching consensus in Congress on how to fund the programs in coming years will be a challenge, given the competing demands on the federal budget.
The General Accounting Office has estimated the cost at about $400 billion over the next 10 years, with further spending required in succeeding years.
These costs are separate from another security need strengthening our anti-missile defenses in the wake of North Koreas long-term missile threat.
Another complication on the modernization issue is the ongoing debate over whether the Pentagon should develop a new nuclear-tipped cruise missile, an issue on which Secretary of Defense James Mattis so far has taken no position.
Its appropriate that the Trump administration has begun a detailed review of U.S. nuclear weapons needs and strategy, with a timeline of 12 to 18 months for completion. That effort can provide important guidance on this challenging issue.
President Donald Trumps response this summer to the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, and his pardon of former Sheriff Joe Arpaio added to the image of Republicans as the party of white grievance, and not as the political vehicle for conservative thought and ideas.
Conservatives and Republicans, especially those in Congress, have an opportunity to challenge that image this fall.
As they turn their attention to tax reform, Republicans can legislate better public policy. But conservatives can also seize this chance to advance and illustrate their principles and priorities.
Conservatism (properly understood) believes that public policy should build ladders of opportunity for low-income Americans, offering them a hand up out of poverty and into the workforce. One of the most successful programs we have to advance this goal operates through the tax code. The Earned-Income Tax Credit is a subsidy available only to households with jobs, and the amount of the subsidy rises with every additional dollar of earnings over an initial range.
These incentives to encourage employment are successful. Previous expansions of the Earned-Income Tax Credit have significantly increased workforce participation among targeted groups. And each year the credit lifts millions of people, including several million children, out of poverty.
The credit is insufficiently generous for workers who are not raising children in their homes. The maximum subsidy for a household with no children is about $500 per year. A childless adult working full time at the minimum wage receives less than $40 per year. To increase employment among childless adults many of whom are prime-age men, a group with troubling workforce participation rates the tax credit for childless adults should be expanded.
House Speaker Paul Ryan has a plan to do exactly that. It should be included in this years tax legislation.
Other policies should be considered, too. One is a tax credit to encourage people to relocate to start a new job. This credit should be aimed at individuals who have been out of work for some time, who live in places with especially bad local labor markets and who lack the resources to move. It would empower individuals to earn their own success, reflecting conservative values.
Conservatives can also use tax reform to focus public spending on those who need it. We spend more money through the tax code than we spend on national defense. The top 20 percent of households by income receive over half of the benefits from the largest tax expenditures.
More than $4 of every $5 from the deduction for mortgage interest goes to households earning more than $100,000 a year. And six-figure households receive more than $9 of $10 in deductions for state and local taxes.
Congress ought to reduce spending through the tax code on policies like these and use the resulting revenue to lower tax rates. But a secondary goal should be that less of the remaining spending benefits upper-income households. For example, using a portion of the savings to enhance the Earned-Income Tax Credit would better target spending toward those who need it.
Tax reform can encourage dynamism and energy in the commercial sector by cutting the corporate tax rate. The current system is a mess, giving companies incentives to avoid taxes at home by earning and booking profits abroad, and to invest in countries other than the U.S. This reduces productivity and drives down wages.
Permanently reducing the corporate tax rate from its current 35 percent the highest statutory rate among advanced economies to the low 20s would substantially mitigate these counterproductive distortions.
To benefit the economy, the revenue lost from the lower corporate rate would need to be replaced by broadening the tax base and not financed through larger budget deficits. Republicans in Congress should champion fiscal responsibility to strengthen economic growth, and its imprudent to add to the already troublesome long-term national debt.
All this is not a comprehensive list of what ought to be included in tax reform. But no matter the final package, conservatives should welcome tax reform as a chance to design policies that champion and illustrate core values of opportunity, empowerment, earned success, prudence, responsibility and dynamism. All these will be on display in a tax reform done right. In todays political climate, this will be very hard to achieve.
Given how the last eight months have gone, thats all the more reason for conservatives to welcome the challenge.
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos plans to come to Nebraska in the near future. Im sure, because we are Nebraskans, any protests will be mature and peaceful.
Gov. Pete Ricketts is happy to have DeVos in the state to exchange ideas because she is a great advocate of expanding educational opportunities (DeVos visit would let Omaha schools show off, Aug. 29 World-Herald).
I hope the governor lets her know that our public schools are excellent and improving, and there is not a need for charter schools or private school vouchers here.
In fact, our state is struggling to finance our schools as it is, so any diversion of state funds to private schools would be ill-timed and counterproductive. But Im pretty sure Ricketts wont say those things because he supports charter schools and vouchers, too.
Hopefully, DeVos is not coming here to promote Legislative Bill 630, which would open the door to independent schools (i.e., charter schools) in Nebraska funded by state aid stolen from public schools.
It is important to remind the secretary and maybe the governor that we Nebraskans are polite, but we are a stubborn lot. When we say we support our public schools, and we dont need charter schools or vouchers, we mean it.
Chuck Chevalier, Springfield, Neb.
India's defence a notch higher with launch of 75 vital BRO projects in 6 states and 2 UTs, including J&K
Lack of development in J&K for decades was one of the reasons behind rise of terrorism: Rajnath Singh
His contributions ignored: Why Rajnath Singh said Netaji was first PM of India
3000 jobs to migrants from Kashmir valley: Rajnath
India
oi-Chennabasaveshwar
By Chennabasaveshwar
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said the Centre has decided to give 3000 jobs to migrants from Kashmir valley under financial package sanctioned to Jammu and Kashmir.
Rajnath Singh, who is on a four-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, was addressing the media in Jammu.
Also, the Centre has allocated a package of Rs 2000 crores for rehabilitation of Pak-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir migrants. The disbursal od funds have been linked to AADHAR.
Centre has decided to give 3000 jobs to migrants from Kashmir valley. Rs 1080 crores sanctioned to the state under this: HM Rajnath Singh pic.twitter.com/8G16adxLi2 ANI (@ANI) September 12, 2017
Commenting on Centre's approach to migrants he said "Adopted a humane approach towards migrants and displaced people. But we are strongly against illegal immigration."
"We can't forget 1989, want cooperation from all political parties on improving the situation in Kashmir." he said.
About ceasefire violations by Pakistan, he said, security forces are giving a befitting reply to ceasefire violations. An expert group has been constituted to study problems facing people living in border areas, he added.
OneIndia News
For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications
Story first published: Tuesday, September 12, 2017, 14:37 [IST]
Announcement on minimum pay hike soon
Officials say that the issue is being considered. We are going over this issue and an announcement to this effect would be made soon. There are still some formalities that remain and once these are completed, the announcement will be made. It will not take too long, officials also said.
National Anomaly Committee
The National Anomaly Committee was formed in September 2016. The entire issue of the rise in the minimum pay is before the committee. The committee is looking into the pay anomalies arising out of the implementation of the pay panel's recommendations. The committee is set to meet soon and following a majority vote, the basic minimum pay would be hiked.
Monthly sumptuary allowance to be abolished
However there is some bad news for the judges of the High Courts and Supreme Court. The government has decided to abolish the monthly sumptuary allowance of the judges. This proposal is part of the draft cabinet note that the Union Cabinet is set to approve. Sumptuary allowance is out of the purview of income tax and is granted to judges in addition to their salary. It is given for the expenditure incurred on entertaining visitors. The existing allowance for the Chief Justice of India is Rs 20,000, for chief justices of the 24 High Courts and judges of the SC, it is Rs15,000, and the amount is Rs12,000 for judges of the High Courts.
After 7th Pay Commission, what can CG employees expect soon
The 7th Pay Commission had recommended the minimum from Rs 7,000 to Rs 18,000 per month while the maximum pay has been hiked from Rs 80,000 to Rs 2.25 lakh per month and Rs 2.5 lakh for the cabinet secretary-the senior-most civil servant and a fitment factor of 2.57 has been proposed to apply uniformly for all employees. The central government employees unions are demanding for hiking minimum pay Rs 18,000 to Rs 26,000 and the and asked to raising fitment factor 3.68 times from 2.57 times The National Anomaly Committee is likely to give its nod to minimum pay Rs 21,000 with raising fitment factor 3.00 times from 2.57 times.
BJP astonished by Rahul Gandhi's speech, calls him 'deplorable'
India
oi-Chennabasaveshwar
By Chennabasaveshwar
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Spokesperson, Sambit Patra, called Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi "deplorable" for "slamming his own country" while abroad.
Rahul Gandhi criticised the Modi government during a speech at a University of California, Berkeley. He was delivering a lecture on 'India at 70: Reflections on the Path Forward'.
Patra tweeted that Rahul's comments showed his "frustration" and said he was "astonished" by them.
Astonishing that Congress VP, Rahul Gandhi goes to US and slams his own Country,India ..It's frustration of Rahul speaking..Deplorable! Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj) September 12, 2017
Recommended Video
Rahul Gandhi in Berkely: Smriti Irani on Rahul Gandhi's political confession | Oneindia News
In his speech, Rahul Gandhi lashed out at the Modi government saying that "violence, anger and the politics of polarisation have raised their ugly head in India", a development "that is new to the country". "The idea of non-violence is under attack today, yet it is only idea which can take humanity forward," said Rahul.
"The politics of polarization is very dangerous. Hatred, anger and violence can destroy us. Liberal journalists are being shot. People are being lynched, dalits are being killed over suspicions of carrying beef, Muslims are killed over suspicions of eating beef, all this is new in India," said Rahul.
Also, his comment on Jammu and Kashmir did not go well with the BJP.
Rahul Gandhi said that for nine years he worked behind the scenes with Dr Manmohan Singh, P Chidambaram and Jairam Ramesh. When we started out, terrorism was rampant in Kashmir. When we finished there was peace and we have broken their back. By 2013 we had basically broken the back of terror. I hugged the then PM, Dr. Singh and told him it was one of the biggest achievements.
But, Union Minister Jitendra Singh blamed the Congress party for the unrest in Kashmir, saying absence of peace in Kashmir was cumulative of Congress' misrule in Centre and state for decades.
OneIndia News
Demonetisation deliberate move by 'PayPM' to help his friends: Rahul Gandhi
If Cong is elected in HP, decision on 1 lakh govt jobs, pension scheme in 1st cabinet meet: Rahul
Himachal will vote for...: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's appeal to people on election day
Cong leader Abhay Thipsay who defended Nirav Modi in UK court now at Bharat Jodo Yatra
BJP tears into Rahul Gandhi, calls him a 'failed dynast'
India
oi-Vikas
By Vikas
Recommended Video
Rahul Gandhi in Berkeley, belittles PM Modi; Smriti says it's expected | Oneindia News
Soon after Rahul Gandhi attempted to defend dynastic politics in the US, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday lashed out at the Congress vice-president and called him a "failed dynast" who had failed in his political journey.
Union Minister Smriti Irani said Indian democracy thrives and gives an opportunity to merit and is not beholden to a dynasty.
"A failed dynast spoke on failed political journey in the US...Fact that he says that dynasts and dynasties is the very fulcrum of India in itself is an anomaly," she said.
"After failing to connect with Indians, Rahul chooses a platform of convenience for berating political opponents," Irani added.
Irani said that it was expected that Rahul would rake up political issues in the US and "belittle" Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"To say that Congress became arrogant under Smt. Gandhi and hence lost the election is a big political confession in itself," she added.
Rahul Gandhi, who is on a two-day visit to the United States, addressed students at the University of California, Berkeley on Tuesday. He spoke on several issues such as Congress' decline, Kashmir conflict, demonetisation, GST and unemployment, among others.
[From BJP's machine, Modi to Kashmir here are highlights of Rahul Gandhi's US speech]
When asked about dynastic politics, he said, ""Dynastic politics is a problem in all political parties. Akhilesh (Yadav son of Mulayam Singh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party), (MK) Stalin (son of M Karunanidhi in DMK), Abhishek Bachchan (son of Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan) -- are all examples of dynastic legacy, also (Mukesh and Anil) Ambani (son of Dhirubhai Ambani), that's how the entire country is running."
OneIndia News
For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications
Story first published: Tuesday, September 12, 2017, 13:20 [IST]
Dinakaran vows to topple TN government
India
oi-Chennabasaveshwar
By Chennabasaveshwar
After being expelled from AIADMK, TTV Dinakaran has vowed to topple the incumbent Tamil Nadu government. In the general council meeting, AIADMK annulled the appointment of Dinakaran as the deputy general secretary.
In a press conference held in Madurai after the resolutions passed by the General Council, Dinakaran said, "Now I will ensure that this Tamil Nadu Government is thrown out of power."
He challenged the EPS-OPS faction of AIADMK to face elections to prove their claim that they have support of party workers.
Dinakaran also slammed the ministers who accused him of joining hands with the rival DMK. "Most ministers fear that they will lose elections, that is why they are accusing us of conniving with DMK," he said.
"It was not a general council meeting. People who have attended are not general council members. General council meet should be conducted only with the permission of the General Secretary," he added.
He further said that the government has lost the trust the people of Tamil Nadu, so the chief minister and his council of minister need to resign.
Dinakaran is said to have the support of 18 MLAs -- more than enough to topple the government in an assembly floor test.
OneIndia News
Delhi Metro to soon roll out its first e-auto service
DMRC train runs with door open from Chawri Bazar to Kashmiri Gate
India
oi-Vikas
By Vikas
Recommended Video
Delhi Metro train runs with one of its gate open | Oneindia News
A Delhi Metro train ran from Chawri Bazar to Kashmiri Gate stations on the Yellow line with its doors open on Monday night.
This could possibly have happened due to a technical glitch as trains in DMRC system do not leave platform unless the doors are closed. The system is designed in such a way that even if there is an obstruction that doesn't not allow a door to be closed, an announcement is made and the train does not move.
#WATCH: At around 10 pm #Delhi Metro ran with its doors open between Chawri Bazar & Kashmiri Gate stations on the yellow line.(Mobile Video) pic.twitter.com/ciwH0ckyEF ANI (@ANI) September 11, 2017
The incident took place at 10 pm on Monday on the Yellow of Delhi metro network which connects north Delhi to Gurgaon.
"Door was partially open and was guarded by DMRC staff throughout, till passengers deboarded. The train was withdrawn from service," news agency ANI quoted DMRC as saying.
In July 2014, a DMRC train had run with all its doors open between Ghitorni and Arjangarh stations on the same line.
OneIndia News
For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications
Story first published: Tuesday, September 12, 2017, 12:04 [IST]
Gauri Lankesh murder: 'I am Gauri' protests set to take Bengaluru by storm
India
oi-Anusha
Thousands of people including writers, journalists, rationalists are taking to the streets of Bengaluru to condemn the murder of Gauri Lankesh. 'Forum against Gauri Lankesh's assassination' has called for a massive protest on Tuesday to "register resistance to hate culture".
Activists, writers like P Sainath, Teesta Setalvad, Anand Patwardhan, Kavitha Krishnan, Prashanth Bhushan, Medha Patkar, Megha Pansare etc are expected to lead the agitation. Thousands of people are expected to join the protests that will begin in a rally from Bengaluru City Railway station to Central college grounds in the city. Leaders of the protest will address a 'resistance meeting' to condemn the brutal killing of Gauri Lankesh and urge the government to bring her killers to justice.
With a hashtag #IamGauri, protesters intend to send a strong message against the culture of hate and intolerance to dissent. Journalist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead in Bengaluru by unknown assailants on Wednesday. The Karnataka government on Monday increased the number of officers in the SIT by 40 to speed up the investigation. The investigating officer in the case confirmed that no arrests have been made so far despite rumors of one person from Andhra Pradesh being apprehended made the rounds.
In the aftermath of Gauri Lankesh's death, the Karnataka government has given security to more than two dozen writers, rationalists across the state. Gauri Lankesh's murder is being condemned with a massive rally on Wednesday and activists from across the country are expected to arrive in Bengaluru for the same.
OneIndia News
For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications
Story first published: Tuesday, September 12, 2017, 5:49 [IST]
Gurgaon school murder: Protests outside Ryan International school in Navi Mumbai
India
oi-Vikas
By Vikas
With the murder of a seven-year-old student in Gurugram's Ryan International School sparking a national outrage, the parents of the students of the school's Navi Mumbai branch staged a protest questioning the children's safety on Tuesday.
Reports say that a Haryana Police team has reached Mumbai and they are questioning two officials of the Ryan International School's management. The headquarters of the school is located in Mumbai.
Some reports say the CEO of the Ryan schools group is also being questioned.
Seven-year-old Pradyuman was allegedly murdered by a bus conductor of the Ryan school at Bhondsi in Gurgaon on Friday.
On Monday, he Ryan International School Group's northern zone head and branch coordinator were sent to 2-day police remand in connection with the murder
The regional head Francis Thomas and HR head Jeyus Thomas were arrested by Gurugram Police on Sunday night.
They were booked under section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act. Section 75 of the JJ Act deals with cruelty and crime against children under custody of someone and invites punishment of 5-10 years.
Earlier, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Centre, HRD Ministry and Haryana Government seeking a report within three weeks.
[Gurugram school boy murder: SC notice to CBSE, Centre, Haryana]
Meanwhile, Ryan International School CEO has filed an anticipatory bail application in Bombay High Court. Ryan International School CEO, Ryan Pinto, went to the court as the team of Haryana Police reached Mumbai as part of the ongoing investigation.
According to reports, Augustine Pinto and Grace Pinto given interim protection from arrest till tomorrow. AF Pinto and Grace Pinot are the founders of the Ryan chain of schools. They named the schools after their son Ryan Pinto.
OneIndia News
For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications
Story first published: Tuesday, September 12, 2017, 15:18 [IST]
Gurugram schoolboy's murder: Several unsolved questions before SIT
India
oi-PTI
Gurgaon, September 11: The special investigation team (SIT) of Gurgaon Police, probing the gruesome murder of seven-year-old Pradyuman inside his school premises, yet to find answers for several unsolved questions.
Also the report of a fact-finding committee, constituted by the Gurgaon district administration, has detected several lapses in the school, including no police verification of bus drivers, conductors and other staff, and broken boundary wall, has broadened the spectrum of investigation.
The SIT, which told a Sohna court that evidence were tampered with in the case, suspects involvement of a third person, while the child's father flagged concerns over the timings of the events on the fateful morning of September 8.
The SIT suspects involvement of a third person, who may have escaped from one of the windows of the toilet which has broken window and is located on the ground floor, SIT sources told PTI.
According to Pradyuman's father Varun Thakur, he had dropped his son and daughter at the Ryan International School at 7:55 am. Thakur claimed he received a call from the school management at 8.10 am informing him about his son being found bleeding inside the washroom.
Recommended Video
Gurugram School: Bus Driver says cops forced him to take charge of crime | Oneindia News
Saurabh Raghav, a driver of the school bus in which accused Ashok Kumar worked as conductor, entered the school at the same time where Kumar was helping to de-board the students and helped him to park the bus outside at the parking lot, which often takes five minutes.
The crime took place within 10 minutes, between 8 am and 8.10 am. It would take Pradyuman at least 2-3 minutes to reach the main building straight away covering around 400 meters from the gate, while Kumar would spend at least 5-7 minutes in the bus before heading there, the source said.
Such circumstances, the source added, indicate that the boy entered the toilet first and the possibility of Kumar already being there was less. Since Pradyuman's school bag was found inside the toilet, it indicates that he went there straight from the gate and was attacked by someone who used those windows as escape route, the source said.
Thakur has knocked the door of the Supreme Court seeking CBI investigation into the matter. Thakur said he feels there is "something fishy" and "missing points" in the police theory.
The police have already arrested Kumar and said he was inside the toilet when Pradyuman entered and grabbed him with the intention of sodomy and when he failed, he slit the child's throat.
Amid the ongoing probe, bus driver Raghav, however, has claimed that the police and the school management forced him to give a wrong statement against the innocent conductor that the knife, which was allegedly used in the crime, was part of the tool kit and kept in the bus. Raghav alleged he was beaten up and tortured in police custody to give the statement.
The Supreme Court today issued a notice to the Centre, the CBI and the Haryana government on a plea by Thakur. The fact-finding three member sub-inquiry committee, which was constituted by Gurgaon district administration, today submitted its report to Vinay Pratap Singh, District Commissioner of Gurgaon.
"The committee has detected five lapses in the school such as broken window, ill-equipped fire extinguishers, common toilets, no police verification of conductors and drivers and other ground staff, broken boundary wall and low-quality CCTV without having wide-angle facilities, irregularities in students' toilets without guard," Singh told PTI.
The deputy commissioner said he has recommended to the Directorate of Haryana education department to take action against the school.
Official sources said the education department is planning to takeover of management to give a strong message to other schools. The education department has two other options such as cancellation of license or impose fine of Rs 25,000 for each lapse.
PTI
For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications
Story first published: Tuesday, September 12, 2017, 9:21 [IST]
HC stays TN govt's circular on DL mandatory for vehicle registration
India
pti-PTI
Chennai, Sep 12: Tamil Nadu government's circular, which had made driving licence mandatory for registration of vehicles, was on Tuesday stayed by the Madras High Court.
Justice M Duraiswamy granted the interim stay on a petition filed by the Federation of Automobile Dealers' Associations and issued notice, returnable within four weeks, to the government.
The transport commissioner-cum-road safety commissioner had, on August 24, issued a circular to all the authorities concerned, directing them not to register a vehicle, if its owner did not have a valid driving licence. The government had issued the circular, taking into consideration the increasing number of road accidents in the state.
The circular said as per section 5 of the Motor Vehicles Act, a dealer should not deliver a vehicle to a person who did not possess a driving licence. It further said if the vehicle was delivered to a buyer, who did not have a driving licence, the dealer would become an offender under the said provision and as per section 180 of the act, liable for imprisonment, or fine, or both.
Contending that the circular was not "sustainable in law and as such, arbitrary", the petition said it would seriously affect the dealers of motor vehicles in the state. It further said it was not a statutory requirement that the buyer of a vehicle should hold a driving licence and prayed for an order quashing the circular.
PTI
High alert on Indo-Nepal border as search for Honeypreet intensifies
India
oi-Vicky
By Vicky
A high-alert has been issued to ensure that Honeypreet Insan, the adopted daughter of Gurmeet Ram Rahim does not flee the country. Intelligence Bureau inputs had suggested that she could be Nepal bound.
The alert is high on the Indo-Nepal border and the Haryana police are working with their counterparts in Uttar Pradesh to trace her.
This action comes in the wake of her pictures being pasted at police stations on the Nepal border.The police stations of Kapilvastu, Shohratgarh and Debarua, whose areas border Nepal, have been alerted, SP, Siddharth Nagar, Satyendra Kumar said on Sunday.
Honeypreet's photographs have been pasted at these police stations, the official said.
The intelligence mechanism has also been put into service to keep an eye on the activities of those crossing the border, he said.
Recommended Video
Honeypreet missing, police post wanted posters on Indo-Nepal Border | Oneindia News
The Uttar Pradesh police is also on an alert in Maharajganj, Lakhimpur and Bahraich districts which border Nepal, another official said.
The Haryana police had on September 1 issued a lookout notice against Honeypreet.
UP shares a 599.3 km long open border with Nepal touching seven districts - Pilibhit, Lakhimpur Kheri, Bahraich, Sravasti, Balrampur, Sidhharthnagar and Maharajganj.
Haryana police officials had recently come to Lakhimpur Kheri looking for the whereabouts of Honeypreet, one of the closest aides of the Dera Sacha Sauda chief.
Additional superintendent of police (ASP), Ghanshyam Chaurasiya, confirmed the arrival of two Haryana police personnel at Gaurifanta border in Kheri.
The Haryana police had shared some information with the Gaurifanta police and made inquiries about her suspected movement towards the neighbouring country through the porous India-Nepal border, the official said.
OneIndia News
With Islamic radicalisation running so deep, why an NIA branch in every state matters
Hurriyat terror funding: NIA unearths more incriminating evidence
India
oi-Vicky
By Vicky
Officials of the National Investigation Agency say that raids in Srinagar and other parts of the country would continue in connection with the Hurriyat terror funding case.
Recently the NIA conducted searches at 27 locations in Delhi and Srinagar. The places searched include houses and business establishments of those (traders/hawala operators etc.) who are suspected of channelising funds to fuel secessionist and anti-India activities.
During the searches, cash amounting to approximately Rs. 2.20 Crores had been recovered besides incriminating documents pertaining to financial transactions. Digital devices in large numbers including laptops, mobile phones and hard discs had also been seized during the search.
The diaries pertaining to contacts of hawala operators/ traders, ledger books containing accounts of cross border LOC trade of various trading companies had been recovered.
Some details of bank accounts of Jammu and Kashmir were also recovered. Travel documents of some entities showing their visits to the UAE have also been recovered.
On Wednesday a photo journalist from Kashmir was arrested by the National Investigation Agency on the charge that he was involved in incidents of stone pelting. Kamran Yousuf, the journalist was arrested along with Javed Bhat from Kulgam by the NIA.
Terming them as alleged ring leaders, the NIA said that the duo also facilitated stone pelting in the Valley. The arrests come in the midst of an NIA probe in the Hurriyat terror funding case.
NIA officials say that Yousuf was not just mobilising the stone pelters, but also clicking pictures and circulating them among the local and national newspapers. They also circulated the pictures widely on the social media and chat groups, the NIA also said.
The latest arrests come in the backdrop of reports that the premier probe agency has identified 117 suspects who allegedly used 70 Whatsapp groups to organize stone-pelting protests in the valley.
The NIA would seek from these persons details of the persons who paid them to undertake the job. The NIA says that these stone pelters were on the pay rolls of the separatists and would undertake the job upon being paid.
During the probe the NIA had learnt that stone pelters were paid anything between Rs 300 to Rs 1,000 per day.
OneIndia News
For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications
Story first published: Tuesday, September 12, 2017, 6:49 [IST]
In their nude protest in Delhi, Tamil Nadu farmers to attempt suicide
India
oi-Oneindia
By Oneindia
New Delhi, Sep 12: In their last ditch effort to attract the attention of the Centre towards their plight, protesting farmers from Tamil Nadu are all set to take out a nude protest in the national capital on Tuesday. The agitating farmers also plan to attempt suicide during the protest rally.
The farmers from Tamil Nadu have been protesting at the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi for nearly two months now. It was the 58th day of their protest on Monday.
On Sunday, the farmers ate human excreta to attract the Centre's attention. They are camping in the national capital and protesting to demand drought relief funds and loan waivers, among other things.
On Monday, they marched near Jantar Mantar clad in just loin cloths, demanding a Rs 40,000 crore drought relief package, insurance for their crops and the setting up of a Cauvery Management Board by the Centre. The Parliament Street Police detained around 25 farmers.
Farmers' leader P Ayyakkannu said, "They detained us without citing any reasons. No one has the right to stop people from protesting."
"Tomorrow (Tuesday) we will take out a nude procession. If our demands are not met, we will even commit suicide by slitting our throats," he threatened.
A senior official from the Parliament Street Police Station said the farmers were detained after they started stripping on the protest street in Jantar Mantar where women were also demonstrating.
In their first round of protests earlier this year, they had shaved their heads and half their moustaches, held mice and snakes in their mouths, conducted mock funerals, flogged themselves and even carried skulls of other farmers who had committed suicide due to debt pressure.
The first phase of the protest of Tamil Nadu farmers ended after the passage of more than 40 days on April 23. They agreed to end their agitation--which also saw a nude protest in front of the Prime Minister's Office--after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami assured them to address all their concerns.
However, that did not happen and that is why they have to again come back to Delhi to make the authorities, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, listen to their plight and do something about it.
OneIndia News
For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications
Story first published: Tuesday, September 12, 2017, 8:43 [IST]
ITR Filing 2022: How to check your income tax refund status if you havent received it yet
Income of netas: One MLA declared 5,000 per cent increase in assets
India
oi-Vicky
By Vicky
The Income Tax Department in a sealed cover submitted the names of MPs and MLAs whose income had witnessed a meteoric rise since the past two elections.
The Association for Democratic Reforms had filed an application to be impleaded as co-petitioner in the case filed by Lucknow-based NGO Lok Prahari. It contended that a number of people filing self-attested affidavits on their assets were not disclosing details of Income Tax returns.
According to Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) that works for electoral reforms, assets of four current Lok Sabha MPs have increased by 12 times while 22 others declared five-fold increase in their assets.
A newly-elected Rajya Sabha MP declared an asset growth of over 21 times since his last affidavit. Seven other newly elected Rajya Sabha MPs have declared two-fold asset increase, said ADR.
Citing instances of an exponential increase in assets held by lawmakers in just five years, the petitioner Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) said assets of four sitting Lok Sabha members had increased by 1,200 per cent. There was 500 per cent increase in assets of 22 other Lok Sabha members.
The ADR had cited in January that the assets of an Assam legislator with declared increase of over 5,000 per cent in his assets. In the case of another legislator, from Kerala, the increase in assets is over 1,700 per cent since the 2011 assembly elections.
The petitioner said an analysis of assets declared during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and 2016 Rajya Sabha elections, as well as elections to Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, Assam and West Bengal assemblies, revealed "abnormal increase" in assets of many members of Parliament and assemblies.
Lok Prahari told the court that candidates filing nomination papers were disclosing their assets and those of their spouse, children, and other dependents but not sources of income through which they came to possess these.
The NGO said some lawmakers were thriving on easy money and of the 542 Lok Sabha members, 113 have described their profession as housewife, social worker, social service and politics.
OneIndia News
India's changed stance on Rohingya Muslims: The role played by Bangladesh
India
oi-Vicky
By Vicky
There has been a slight change in stance by India where the Rohingya Muslims issue is concerned. Officials from Bangladesh at the highest level have been in touch with India over the issue and want India to exert pressure on Myanmar to tackle the issue.
Bangladesh expressed disappointment that the joint statement at Myanmar during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit did not refer to the refugee situation. Bangladesh felt that India must take up the issue with Myanmar and convince it to act on the crisis.
Bangladesh also felt that India's support to Myanmar had given its security agencies an upper hand and hence it was dealing with the Rohingyas in the most brutal fashion.
A week back, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar had met with his Bangaldesh counterpart, Shahidul Haque on the sidelines of the Indian Ocean Region conference at Colombo. Haque is said to have raised the issue and also spoke about the immense pressure his country is under in dealing with the situation.
Recommended Video
Rohingya muslims flood Bangladesh Hospital to treat gun shots
Following these meetings, India issued its first statement on the issue. The statement read, " India is deeply concerned about the situation in Rakhine and the outflow of refugees from that region." This was in fact the first such reference India has made to the violence.
Meanwhile in Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said in parliament that Myanmar must take back every Rohingya who has entered Bangladesh. As a neighbour, we can cooperate with Myanmar to rehabilitate the Rohingya Muslims in their country, she also said.
The house also passed a resolution and urged the United Nations and the international community to exert strong pressure on Myanmar to take back the Rohingyas and ensure their safety, accommodation and also give them citizen rights.
Bangladesh is facing a severe crisis following a fresh refugee inflow from Myanmar, triggered by what the UN refers to as ethnic cleansing being carried out by the Myanmar military in the Rakhine state following insurgent attacks on police posts and an army base on August 25.
OneIndia News
For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications
Story first published: Tuesday, September 12, 2017, 8:13 [IST]
IT issues final attachment order against Misa Bharti in money laundering case
India
oi-Vicky
By Vicky
A final attachment order against Lalu Prasad Yadav's daughter Misa Bharti and her husband was issued by the Income Tax department. The department along with the Enforcement Directorate is probing cases of money laundering.
The IT department while issuing the order said that Lalu Yadav's relatives were beneficiaries of the immovable firm, AB Exports Private Ltd.
A provisional order for attachment--under the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 2016-- was issued by the department in June this year and now the order has been confirmed after adjudication.
The cases of other assets which were provisionally attached in June will also be processed similarly, they added.
The tax department had attached about a dozen plots and buildings in Delhi and Bihar including a farmhouse and land in the Palam Vihar area, a building in the upmarket New Friends Colony area of south Delhi, nine plots on a 256.75 decimal land area in Patna's Phulwari Sharif area, where a shopping mall was being constructed, among a few others in the same area in Bihar's capital.
The department has said these alleged benami assets bear a "deed" value of about Rs 9.32 crore but the taxman has estimated their current market value at Rs 170-180 crore.
OneIndia News
For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications
Story first published: Tuesday, September 12, 2017, 6:02 [IST]
Karnataka assembly elections 2018: Why Mangaluru Christians may not vote BJP
India
oi-Anusha
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka is pursuing all efforts to unify the majority Hindu population in Dakshina Kannada district-about 350 kms from Bengaluru- to consolidate its supporter base ahead of next years assembly elections. But the consolidation effort, analysts say, is actually forcing the minorities (Muslims and Christians) to unite to fight off the Hindutva agenda.
The Christian community, which makes up about 13.5 per cent of the total population in Mangaluru, is treading cautiously and is seen veering against BJP's game plan for the region-one of the most communally sensitive regions of the state.
In two constituencies of Mangaluru, the BJP is up against the bitter memories of 2008 Church attacks, 2009 pub attack, moral policing and most importantly a sense of insecurity among members of the community. Christian leaders in Mangaluru say that BJP's polarisation efforts are only making matters worse.
"Amidst the polarisation in Mangaluru, minor communities among minorities are being sidelined. Attacks on Churches have left a massive impact and every secular person, not just Christians, feels the pinch till date. We have become more reserved and narrow-minded and it is unfortunate in a democracy," said Prof Vincent Alva, Principal, Milagres College, Kallianpur.
Christians make up about 13.15 per cent in Mangaluru city, Hindus 68.99 per cent of the population and Muslims 17.40 per cent, census data shows.
Congress and BJP have historically only fielded candidates from either the Mangalorean Catholic Community or Gaud Saraswat Brahmin (GSB)-an influential caste group in the region, to represent the party. The only exception was in 1983 when BJP chose Dhananjaya Kumar, a Jain.
Political analysts and locals say that the GSB have had their disagreements, on multiple issues, with the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak (RSS) leading to cracks in BJP's attempts to consolidate the Hindu vote.
"Christians have been at the receiving end of the ultra nationalist view of the right wing. The previous elections saw Christians voting for the Congress only because of the anti-BJP sentiment," said Prof Sandeep Shastri, Psephologist and Pro Vice Chancellor of Jain University in Bengaluru.
Adding to BJP's troubles is the large presence of Sangh Parivar outfits and its regular clashes with minority groups-mainly the Muslims.
According to the BJP, at least 23 workers of right wing organisations have been killed since 2015 by radical outfits like Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and Popular Front of India (PFI) among others. Minority groups, on the other hand, have blamed the BJP for attacks on its members.
Numbers from the previous election back Prof Shastri's claims. In Mangaluru South constituency, the Congress' vote share jumped by 8.10 per cent leading to the party gaining 51.26 per cent share of total votes. The BJP, that was already facing challenges with the emergence of Karnataka Janata Party (KJP-a party floated by former chief minister B.S.Yeddyurappa after he left the BJP. He has since returned to the BJP), lost 8.53 per cent vote share. Out of the total 1,32,315 votes, BJP polled 55,554 while the Congress won with 67,829.
Mangaluru Christians say that maintaining peace, security and development are the key issues to win over the community.
"We are not insecure but are annoyed about the polarisation and tensions in Mangalore. Many Christians and Muslims have, in the past, voted for candidates of the BJP but development took a backseat," said an officer of the Diocese of Mangaluru-an institution set up in the 17th century. He requested not to be named.
But the problem for the BJP may be a tad bigger as the Christians come under the minority tag along with the Muslims. Though both communities have made individual choices, community members say that the Christians have (since 2008) not been favour of voting for the BJP and this is in unlikely to change in 2018.
OneIndia News
Rahul appears before ED: 'Bulldozers missing', says Karti as he takes dig over heavy deployment near Cong HQ
Karti holding 25 properties abroad in name of shell companies: CBI
India
oi-Vicky
By Vicky
The Central Bureau of Investigation told the Supreme Court that the 25 properties abroad owned by Karti Chidambaram were being held in the name of shell companies.
The CBI said that the probe against Karti, son of former union minister P Chidambaram was at a crucial stage. The Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra directed the CBI to submit details of the probe in a sealed cover.
Kapil Sibal appearing for Karti said that he took serious objection to this. These are allegations aimed at defaming Karti's father, mother and wife, he said.
During Karti's questioning, not a single question was asked about the properties. If the government, income tax department or the CBI finds I have any undisclosed assets abroad, I am ready to sign a declaration that the government can take them over," Sibal submitted.
On September 2, the SC had asked Karti not to travel abroad till September 11 while permitting the CBI to furnish details of his interrogation in the case relating to an allegedly irregular FIPB nod for investment of Rs 305 crore in INX Media in 2007 when his father was Union finance minister.
OneIndia News
For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications
Story first published: Tuesday, September 12, 2017, 8:18 [IST]
Delhi University Admission 2022: 3rd merit list for UG courses to be out today
Kejriwal takes a break from politics, heads to Maharashtra for Vipassana meditation
India
pti-PTI
Mumbai, Sep 12: Days after the hectic campaigning for the by-polls in Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has gone to Igatpuri in Maharashtra to attend a 10-day Vipassana meditation camp.
The Aam Aadmi Party leader started his course at Igatpuri in Nashik district on Monday evening.
"Arvindji's course began at 5 pm yesterday," AAP spokesperson Preeti Sharma Menon told PTI.
"The management of the Vipassana centre greeted him with warmth and respect. He has done 22 Vipassana courses already," she said.
"They (the centre management) requested him to surrender his phone which he did," the AAP leader said.
Kejriwal's course will end on September 19, she said.
During the meditation course, the chief minister of Delhi will not have access to newspapers, televisions or any other media. In August last year too, Kejriwal had gone to Dharamkot in Himachal Pradesh to attend a 10-day Vipassana session at a meditation centre.
The AAP convener is known to be an ardent practitioner of the meditation technique. After a hectic campaign post the Lok Sabha polls in 2014 and the Delhi Assembly polls in 2013, the AAP chief had taken a break to practice Vipassana.
This time, his meditation break comes after the hectic campaign for the Bawana bypolls, where his Aam Aadmi Party registered a win. Kejriwal had gone to Bengaluru earlier this year to undergo naturopathy treatment for high blood sugar, after months of campaigning for elections in Punjab and Goa.
PTI
Mumbai: Haryana Police quizzes staff at Ryan school HQ over child's murder
India
pti-PTI
Mumbai, Sep 12: Two officers from the Haryana Police questioned the staff of Ryan International School in suburban Kandivali in connection with the killing of a boy on the institution's premises in Gurugram. However, no member of the Pinto family, which runs the chain of schools, was quizzed today by the sleuths from Haryana, police said.
The two policemen, one of whom is an inspector-level officer, and some officials from the city police, arrived at the school in Kandivali that serves as the headquarters of the Ryan International Group of Institutions around 12.30 pm. The questioning continued till 7.30 pm, a senior police official said.
The city police was not part of the investigation, he said. "The Haryana police officers questioned the school staff in connection with the murder of a boy in Gurugram. The Mumbai Police was not part of the investigation...As per our information, no member of the Pinto family was questioned today," Vinaykumar Rathod, DCP Zone XII, told PTI.
Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court today granted interim protection from arrest to the group's founding chairman, Augustine Pinto, and the manging director, Grace Pinto, till tomorrow in connection with the killing of the boy. They had yesterday approached the high court seeking anticipatory bail apprehending arrest in the case. The seven-year-old boy was found dead with his throat slit in the washroom of the school in Gurugram.
PTI
Only deserving persons will get Congress ticket: Virbhadra Singh
India
oi-Oneindia
By Vijyender Sharma
SHIMLA: Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh who was addressing a massive gathering at Sainj in Banjar assembly segment of district Kullu today, said that the congressmen now days were faithful to a person and not to a party. He said that there was a massive change in congress of post independence era and now. Now days those who do flattery were being seated and nominated on top posts, forgetting the very concept elections.
He said that congress was still a strong party but some changes were the need of the hour and as soon the changes were made the better it is for future of the party. Earlier, the members or even the party presidents were elected right from block level, to district and to State. Elections were held for president of All India Congress Committees and the working committees. But this trend has been discarded now, he said adding that he himself voted for the top posts in AICC, when he was the elected state president of HPCC.
He said that the tickets won't be issue to those who appear all of a sudden with his image on the banner or poster and starts demanding the same. I know in and out of everyone, and even of those who try to flatter me, he said adding that only the deserving would get the tickets. I don't like those who indulge in flattery and I have learnt the same from my ancestors, he said.
While at Sainj, he inaugurated Lift Irrigation Supply Scheme (LIS) Shahul Shalwar in Tehsil Banjar to cost Rs. 1.11 crore, laid foundation stone of Sainj to Manyashi road to be completed at a cost of Rs. 4.76 crore, laid foundation stone of Chalian to Devgarh road cost of Rs.4.60 crore, performed bhoomi pujan of up-gradation of Naglari Sarachi road to be completed at an outlay of Rs.8.40 crore, laid foundation stone of up-gradation of Spangani Kanda road to cost Rs. 3.45 crore, laid foundation stone of office building of Executive Engineer Banjar Division HPPWD Banjar to be constructed at a cost of Rs. 2.16 crore, laid foundation stone of GSSS building at Manglore to be completed by spending Rs.1.50 crore, laid foundation stone of Teel to Bachhot road under Mukhya Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna on which a sum will be spent and laid foundation stone of Sajwaad road under Mukhya Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna to cost Rs.20 lakh.
He also laid foundation stone of LWSS to village Tinda Sharan Vijohi Galoon Laida and Chanoun Tehsil Banjar to cost Rs.2.80 crore and inaugurated Ayurvedic dispensary building and residence at Panihar constructed by spending Rs. 22.88 lakh.
Earlier, While addressing a public meeting at Bajaura, the Chief Minister said he himself wants to get retired from active politics but the congress people were persuading him to lead them and fight in the field. He said that the announcements made by late Minister Karan Singh would be fulfilled and agreed to the demands of setting up Ayurveda Health Centre at Jhuni in GP Parliament, Ramnagar in GP Jestha and Sujaini GP Neul.
He also agreed for opening PHC at. Sharabai in GP Mashgan, Nature park at Diyar in GP Diyar and Veterinary dispensary at Dogadhar in GP Bajaura. He also agreed to upgrade GPS Prohadhar, Bhadeuli in GP Rote to Middle school, and upgradation of Middle school Naraish to Government High School.
At Bajaura, the Chief Minister performed bhoomi pujan of link road from Tikra Bohla Nallah (Phalat Nallah) to Upper Phalat Nallah to cost Rs. 1.68 crore, performed bhoomi pujan of Ruad Gharat Narol road to be completed with an outlay of Rs. 3.73 crore, laid foundation stone of up-gradation of Gadsa Diyar Gungridhar road to cost Rs. 3.30 crore, performed bhoomi pujan of up-gradation of Hawai Gharat Manjhali road to be completed with an outlay of Rs. 1.38 crore.
He also laid foundation stone of additional source Bajaura to WSS Hat to cost of Rs.94 lakh, and inaugurated GSSS Shiah.
He also announced up-gradation of Government High School, Thela and Neul to Government Senior Secondary School at Bajaura.
Chief Minister also assured up-gradation of Government Middle Schools Khokan, Doghri and Shillah to High Schools if they fulfill the norms as desired.
Chief Minister in Sainj, announced new Primary School in Mashyar, up-gradation of Govt.Primary School Dushaad to Middle School, Govt. Middle school Panihaar, Seehan and Tinder to High Schools. He also announced HRTC bus service from Ghat to Parganu. He also directed PWD authorities to take over Jangla-Talyara road from HPPCL.
Aditya Vikram Singh, President, Youth Congress Mandi Parliamentary constituency welcomed the Chief Minister and placed demands of the area. He thanked the Chief Minister for the announcements and dedicating several projects worth crores in Sainj and Bajaura and for his assurance for laying foundation stone of Ayurveda College at Bajaura. He also demanded adequate staff for the hospital at Sainj. He also urged for directing for issuing character certificate through police station,
Former Member of Parliament Pratibha Singh, General Secretary, HPCC Sunder Singh Thakur, Aditya Vikram Singh President Youth Congress, Mandi Parliamentary Constituency, Secretary State Women Congress Prabha Palsa, President BCC, Mahila Congress Banjar Pingla Bhandari, President BCC Manali Bhuvneshwar Gaud, President Block Congress Banjar Ram Singh, Chairman HIMBUNKAR Tehal Singh Rana, Former, Zila Parishad President Hari Chand Sharma were also present on the occasion amongst others.
OneIndia News
For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications
Story first published: Tuesday, September 12, 2017, 18:11 [IST]
PFI runs parallel administration in Kerala, stares at MHA ban
India
oi-Vicky
By Vicky
The Popular Front of India could well be staring at a ban. The Home Ministry is looking into a detailed dossier submitted by the National Investigation Agency in which four terror cases against its members have been detailed.
Home Ministry officials say that they are looking into the dossier. Once discussions and deliberations are held, a call on whether to ban the outfit or not which is strong in Kerala will be taken.
The NIA speaks about the killing of RSS worker Rudresh in Bengaluru. Further it details the professor's hand chopping case at Idukki. While giving details about a Kannur training camp from where country made bombs and swords were seized, the NIA report to the Home Ministry also speaks about an Islamic State module case.
The NIA says that the approach of the PFI is radical in nature. It speaks about recruiting only committed Muslims into its fold. It also states that the cadres train with clips of the Babri Masjid demolition and this is clearly a sign that it is trying to radicalise its cadres.
It is trying to run a parallel administration the NIA states. It speaks about the Darul Khada an outfit comprising Muslim scholars, social workers and advocates. This was set up in 2009, by SDPI national chief E Aboobacker. The NIA says that they run a parallel judiciary which settles a host of issues. The NIA dossier also states that in July 2009, a Kerala level declaration was passed by the Darul Khada in Mallappuram in which it had called upon the Muslim community not to attend civil courts, but get all issues sorted out by it.
The NIA also cited the most recent case it is probing in connection with Love Jihad. It speaks about the Sathyasarani Islamic Dawah an affiliate of the PFI. It says that this organisation is running an Islamic conversion centre and also details the rigorous religious training it is imparting.
OneIndia News
For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications
Story first published: Tuesday, September 12, 2017, 7:08 [IST]
Pilots' body questions DGCA move to ground Air India staff
India
oi-Deepika
By Deepika
Days after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation decided to suspend 132 pilots and 400 cabin crew members of Air India (AI) for skipping the mandatory Breath Analyser (BA) test, the Pilots body has written a letter to the aviation watch dog questioning its motive.
"Every single of these 132 pilots had undergone breath analyzer test at the final port of termination and has followed management's instructions 100 per cent. At no point did any of these pilots refuse or attempt to evade the examination," said ICPA general secretary Capt T Praveen Keerthi in his letter to Bhullar.
ICPA also questioned the DGCA's arbitrary move to selectively pull out data only on two specific flights - Kuwait-Goa-Chennai and Dubai-Goa-Bangalore over last three months, despite the guidlines being more than two years old.
On September 5, the DGCA alleged that over 130 pilots and 430 cabin crew members of Air India for purportedly skip the mandatory alcohol test to be taken pre and post flights.
As per aviation safety rules, on board crew members must undergo BA test before and after flying. If any of the crew member tests positive for alcohol or skips the test, s/he is grounded.
The pilot's body had threatened to launch a protest against a senior official of the DGCA if the regulator acts against any pilot.
The ICPA also sought explanation for suspending licenses in a phased manner as against the de-rostering any on board crew member with immediate effect as per the rules.
It also questioned the DGCA's motive in initiating air safety audit, including the BA test, since the last three months despite the introduction of Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) in August 2015.
OneIndia News
For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications
Story first published: Tuesday, September 12, 2017, 11:09 [IST]
Two relatives of Abu Salem arrested for breaching security in Lucknow
Pradeep Jain murder case: Terror convict Riyaz Siddiqui gets life term
India
oi-Chennabasaveshwar
By Chennabasaveshwar
A special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) Court on Tuesday awarded life imprisonment to terror convict Riyaz Siddiqui in Pradeep Jain murder case. Trial of Siddiqui was separated in the Jain murder case as he turned hostile in the court.
Last week Siddiqui had been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in connection with the 1993 Mumbai blasts case.
Gangster Abu Salem is another convict in the Jain murder case.
Mumbai-based builder Pradeep Jain was shot dead by assailants outside his Juhu bungalow in March, 1995. His brother Sunil, an eyewitness, had suffered injuries in the attack. The police had alleged that Jain had refused to give up a huge property to Abu Salem.
Salem, also a convict in the 1993 serial blasts case, had been pronounced guilty in the builder murder case and awarded life sentence two years ago.
OneIndia News
For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications
Story first published: Tuesday, September 12, 2017, 14:23 [IST]
Should Rohingya refugees be given shelter in Manipur?
India
oi-Oneindia
By Oneindia
Imphal, Sep 12: In the border state of Manipur, the debate over whether to give shelter or not to the Rohingya refugees, who are leaving their home country of Myanmar in thousands to escape violence and persecution at the hands of the country's military, is not mere a political issue, but something that directly impact people of the northeastern state of the country.
Since Manipur-Myanmar border is very porous, officials say that there is all likelihood of the minority Rohingya refugees crossing the border to find shelter in the state. In fact, Manipur shares a 364km-long border with Myanmar, which is pretty extensive to keep a close watch on.
The five districts of Manipur which share border with the neighbouring country are Ukhrul, Kamjong, Chandel, Tengnoupal and Churachandpur.
As more than three lakh Rohingya refugees have crossed the Myanmar border since last one month after clashes broke out between militants of the minority Rohingya community and the government, Manipur police have tightened vigil along the border to check possible influx from the neighbouring country.
Recommended Video
Rohingya crisis: The root of the problem explained | Oneindia News
According to an estimate of the United Nations, nearly 1,000 Rohingya people have died during the clashes in Myanmar's northwestern state of Rakhine. Officials in Manipur maintain that they are doing their best to stop exodus of the Rohingya people to India.
An official said that in the border town of Moreh, trade between Manipuris and Myanmarese is a regular feature. Taking advantage of the situation, the refugees could easily enter Manipur along with the regular traders if proper checking is not done, added the official.
According to official reports, till now there is no report of Rohingya refugees entering Manipur or making attempts to cross the border for taking shelter in the state. While several human rights organisations strongly feel that the refugees from the neighbouring country should be given shelter on a temporary basis in Manipur like in 1988, other citizens' forums say that the state government should keep a strong vigil on border areas to stop entering of Rohingyas into Manipur.
Hundreds of Myanmarese fled their country in 1988 during the crackdown by the then military junta on supporters of pro-democracy movement. At that time several of the refugees entered Manipur through Moreh.
In fact, the refugees were given shelter at a Manipur Rifles camp in Chandel district with UN refugee status. Over the years, they returned to their country.
Mohammad Jalal, president of the All Manipur Muslim Organisations Coordinating Committee, said if people from Myanmar's troubled region arrive in the state, they should be given shelter with UN refugee status so that they can return after the situation normalises.
However, the Joint Committee on Inner-Line Permit System, a conglomerate of citizens, demanded that the state government be alert and not allow trouble in the state as a result of fleeing refugees entering Manipur.
On Monday, the UN human rights chief slammed Myanmar's apparent "systematic attack" on the Rohingya minority in Myanmar, warning that "ethnic cleansing" seemed to be underway.
"Because Myanmar has refused access to human rights investigators the current situation cannot yet be fully assessed, but the situation seems a textbook example of ethnic cleansing," Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein told the UN Human Rights Council.
Zeid also flayed any attempts by India to deport Rohingyas to Myanmar when the ethnic minority community is facing violence in their country.
OneIndia News
Sri Lanka vs Pakistan: When and where to watch Asia Cup 2022 Final Match live online?
India to stop providing further financial aid to crisis-hit Sri Lanka? Indian embassy reacts
Sri Lankan navy arrest 12 TN fishermen
India
oi-PTI
Rameswaram (Tamil Nadu), September 12: The Sri Lankan navy arrested 12 fishermen from coastal town Rameswaram on Monday night for allegedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).
They were arrested while allegedly fishing off the Katchathivu islet and later taken to Talaimannar, S Emerit, Fisheries Association president told reporters. Their boats were also seized, he said.
On September 5, the Lankan navy personnel had allegedly attacked a group of fishermen from Tamil Nadu and damaged their boats and fishing equipment while they were fishing off Katchatheevu.
The Lankan navy arrested three fishermen from Mandapam on September 2 for allegedly crossing the IMBL.
PTI
For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications
Story first published: Tuesday, September 12, 2017, 9:01 [IST]
Thousands chant "I am Gauri", walk to reignite resistance in Bengaluru
India
oi-Anusha
"I am Gauri, you are Gauri" chants reverberated in the heart of Bengaluru on Tuesday. More than 20,000 people marched condemning the brutal killing of journalist Gauri Lankesh. Writers, artists, activists, rationalists, progressive thinkers including seers, journalists, students, political outfits and common citizens from across the country took part in the rally and resistance meeting that followed.
People started gathering by the dozens first near Bengaluru city railway station, slowly and steadily the crowds swelled to hundreds and by 11 AM, close to 10,000 people had gathered at the railway station from where the rally began. Folk artists, student organizations, Dalit organizations, farmers unions, women self-help groups, political outfits like Social Democratic Party of India, Aam Aadmi Party, Welfare Party of India took part in the rally. Some groups did not blink an eye while shouting slogans against the RSS and its ideology, accusing the Sangh of violence in India.
"Anger, sorrow and solidarity bring me here. We all believe that from this horrendous murder, a cohesive resistance will emerge against the politics of majoritarian fascism. Majoritarian fascism can have different forms and colours. I believe that Gauri Lankesh was a victim of majoritarian fascism," said activist Teesta Setalvad. Prominent names like Medha Patkar, Ashish Khetan, Sitaram Yechury, Rakesh Sharma, P Sainath, Swami Agnivesh were part of the rally making it the biggest yet resistance rally and meet over Gauri Lankesh's murder.
"Diversity cannot exist if felled by bullets," said Sitaram Yechury of the CPI(M) addressing the public meeting post the rally. While the rally saw many politicians cutting across party lines take part, each of them attended in their individual capacity or claimed to. "I am here in solidarity, not as my party's representative. We have a lot of things to do. Fight caste oppression, bring equality to minorities, build a better India," Yechury added.
Protests take an artistic form
Thousands of protestors from across the country accompanied by folk artists repeated lines from revolutionary songs, shouted slogans, displayed art- all to demand justice for Gauri. The rally took on a life of its own with artists beating the drums, carrying flags, placards, huge masks etc. At Bengaluru's Central College grounds where the rally culminated, artists, cartoonists had set up installations condemning the brutal death.
Prabhakar, a young man, walked around dressed all in black, draped in a black satin cloth with a massive cardboard pen atop his head at the ground. He protested the "death of journalism due to hatred" as part of the "I am Gauri" protests. Raghu, another young man, draped in a white cloth, walked the entire stretch of the rally covering his face out of "shame". "I am ashamed that we live in a society where people are murdered over dissent. Everybody should hang their heads in shame," Raghu told media persons.
Special edition of Gauri Lankesh Patrike
"My voice won't be stifled," screamed the headline of Gauri Lankesh Patrike's special edition. The staff released a special edition in memory of Gauri, her work, thoughts and spirit. The rally saw her family and friends sit side by side consoling each other but also assuring each other that the fight will continue. "My Gauri is your Gauri. You are all Gauri," Indra Lankesh, Gauri's mother's choked voice thanked the crowd at Central college grounds.
140 organisations came together to make "I am Gauri" protest a reality under the umbrella front, 'Forum against Gauri Lankesh's assassination'. While leaders of many organisations claimed that the rally was against intolerance and dissent, the sloganeering was directed against the BJP and RSS. The Congress-governed Karnataka witnessed a massive gathering of people to protest against Gauri Lankesh's death.
OneIndia News
For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications
Story first published: Tuesday, September 12, 2017, 18:04 [IST]
To put an end to coronavirus pandemic, priest beheads a man in Odisha
Priest found dead in well of Kerala Church
Yati Narasinghanand associate urges Hindus must give birth to more kids
Under stress to leave temple, priest attempts suicide in Jaipur
Who is Kerala Priest Tom Uzhunnalil?
India
oi-Madhuri
A Catholic priest from Kerala who was abducted by the Islamic State in Yemen last year has been rescued, Union foreign minister Sushma Swaraj said on Tuesday.
The priest, Tom Uzhunnalil, was abducted during a terrorist raid on a Missionaries of Charity-run old age home in Aden in Yemen on March 4, 2016. At least 16 people including four nuns were killed in the attack. Uzhunnalil belongs to Ramapuram village in Kerala's Kottayam district.
Father Tom was rescued after intervention of Oman's foreign ministry.
Tom Uzhunnalil hails from Kottayam in Kerala.
Father Tom will fly back to Kerala via Muscat, Oman.
Father Tom's rescue efforts were hampered because India doesn't have a diplomatic mission in war-torn Yemen.
OneIndia News
For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications
Story first published: Tuesday, September 12, 2017, 17:31 [IST]
Amidst Rohingya Muslim crisis, Jihadis call for boycott of Myanmar goods
International
oi-Vicky
By Vicky
Jihadis have called for a boycott of good made in Myanmar in the wake of the Rohingya Muslim crisis. Jihadi handles on the social media were seen condemning the persecution of the Rohingya Muslims.
Several handles posted messages calling for a boycott of Myanmar produced goods. This is not for the first time that the Rohingya Muslim issue has been raked up by jihadi groups.
A few years back, Lashkar-e-Tayiba chief, Hafiz Saeed raised the issue openly. He said that his terror outfit stood for their cause and would do anything to help them.
The blast at Bodh Gaya carried out by the Students Islamic Movement of India was also linked to the Rohingya Muslim issue. Investigations found that the blast was carried out to avenge the persecution of the Rohingya Muslims.
Meanwhile statistics show that over 250,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Bangladesh since fresh violence erupted in Myanmar last October.
In the last two weeks alone 164,000 mostly Rohingya civilians have fled to Bangladesh, overwhelming refugee camps that were already bursting at the seams and triggering warnings of a humanitarian crisis.
Recommended Video
UN Human Rights Council deplores India's stand to deport Rohingyas | Oneindia News
Scores more have died trying to flee the fighting in Myanmar's Rakhine state, where witnesses say entire villages have been burned to the ground since Rohingya militants launched a series of coordinated attacks on August 25, prompting a military-led crackdown.
Police in Bangladesh say they have recovered the bodies of 17 people, many of them children, who drowned when at least three boats packed with Rohingya refugees sank at the mouth of the Naf river that runs along the border.
Bangladesh border guards say desperate Rohingya are attempting to cross the river using small fishing trawlers that are dangerously overcrowded.
At least five have capsized leaving more than 60 people dead, police and border guards say.
Rohingya refugee Tayeba Khatun said she and her family had waited four days for a place on a boat to take them to Bangladesh after fleeing her township in Rakhine.
"People were squeezing into whatever space they could find on the rickety boats. I saw two of those boats sink," she told AFP. "Most managed to swim ashore but the children were missing."
Those flocking into Bangladesh have brought with them harrowing testimony of murder, rape and widespread arson by Myanmar's army. Most have walked for days to reach Bangladesh and the United Nations says many are sick, exhausted and in desperate need of shelter, food and water.
OneIndia News
For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications
Story first published: Tuesday, September 12, 2017, 6:39 [IST]
Tears, dances, colours and songs: This is how Mumbaikers bid farewell to Bappa today
Australian ad showing Lord Ganesha eating lamb irks India
International
oi-Vicky
By Vicky
An advertisement feature Hindu God Ganesha and other religious icons endorsing lamb in an Australian advertisement has irked India.
In the TV commercial from industry group Meat and Livestock Australia, a number of religious figures -- including Lord Ganesha, Jesus, Buddha and Scientology founder L Ron Hubbard -- are seen sitting down together to a lamb-based meal and raising a glass to the meat. India has lodged an official complaint in this regard.
The advertisement was met with anger in the Australian Indian community. The Indian high commission (embassy) in Canberra said it had taken the issue up with the Australian government.
"Lord Ganesha along with other religious figures is found to be 'toasting lamb', which the Indian community consider to be offensive and hurting their religious sentiments," the commission said in a statement Saturday.
The Indian consulate in Sydney has also made a direct appeal to Meat and Livestock Australia to withdraw the commercial, according to the statement.
Oneindia News
Finally, Rahul admits Modi is a 'better communicator', but his urge to speak continues
International
oi-Oneindia
By Oneindia
Recommended Video
Rahul Gandhi in Berkeley admits that Mr.Modi is a better communicator | Oneindia News
Washington, Sep 12: First, let us congratulate Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for an 'honest and a candid' address at the famous University of California, Berkeley, in the United States at 7 am (IST) on Tuesday.
It's rare to see Rahul at his oratory best and the Congress must be heaving a sigh of relief to see the scion of Gandhi family trying his hands in "communication" (which is one of Rahul's weakest points).
It is another matter that Rahul decided to "break his silence" on a foreign shore, nonetheless it is a noteworthy effort on his part to talk on topics the opposition parties have been raising back in the country with good amount of eloquence.
Of late, we have seen Rahul on Twitter attacking the Narendra Modi government over various issues--the most recent one was the murder of Bengaluru-based journalist and activist, Gauri Lankesh.
Still, Rahul could not match with the great communication skills of Prime Minister Modi. Thus, the scion of the Gandhi family has always faced the wrath of public for being "hesitant and unprepared".
Rahul's address-- India at 70: Reflections on the Path Forward--which saw a large participation by young students, focused on current issues concerning India, which included demonetisation, Goods and Services Taxes (GST) and politics of polarisation, to name a few.
Rahul's speech was given a huge 'thumbs-up' by none other than Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who has the gift of the gab. Tharoor, who was present in the audience during Rahul's speech, tweeted, "A speech marked by acuity and passion, and a discussion infused with candour and insight #RGinUS @UCBerkeley."
A speech marked by acuity & passion, & a discussion infused with candour & insight #RGinUS @UCBerkeley pic.twitter.com/z9tg4x7aM0 Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) September 12, 2017
On expected lines, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) slammed Rahul for his speech. The BJP's Sambit Patra called the Congress VP "deplorable" for "slamming his own country" while abroad.
Patra added that Rahul's comments showed his "frustration" and said he was "astonished" by them.
Astonishing that Congress VP, Rahul Gandhi goes to US and slams his own Country,India ..It's frustration of Rahul speaking..Deplorable! Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj) September 12, 2017
Perhaps, Patra has forgotten that even Modi on foreign shores spoke against opposition parties, which was slammed by the Congress back then. This is what we call "flip-flops" by political parties, be it the BJP or the Congress.
Rahul, legendary for his goof-ups in public spaces, showed us a rare side of himself at the foreign soil where he in spite of making scathing attacks on Modi (Rahul's favourite bete noire), admitted without mincing any words that the PM was a "much better communicator" than him.
"Mr Modi has certain skills. He is a very good communicator, much better than me," said Rahul. "He (Modi) knows how to give a message to three-four different groups in a crowd, so his messaging ability is very effective and subtle," added Rahul.
Before the start of his address, Sikh protesters gathered outside the campus of the university. However, that did not stop the event from starting. Before speaking, Rahul paid homage to the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attack.
"India is a massive country and is also one of the most complex countries. Everyone who thinks he/she knows India faces surprises every once in a while.... She keeps throwing new surprises," Rahul said.
"We have 29 states, covering every religion in the world. We have 17 official languages and hundreds of dialects. We have different terrains too. Most experts didn't expect India to survive; they predicted it will be torn apart. But India came out standing straight and tall."
Speaking about current "politics of polarisation", Rahul said, "The idea of non-violence is under attack today, yet it is only idea which can take humanity forward. Hatred, anger and violence can destroy us, the politics of polarisation is dangerous. Liberal journalists are being shot, people are being lynched. These incidents are making millions feel that they have no future in their country."
He criticised the Modi government over demonetisation and the GST and stressed on the need to create jobs in the country. In his entire address, which was followed by a question and answer round, Rahul tried to dwell on important subjects concerning India.
It's definitely a good sign that Rahul is talking and not keeping quiet like Modi. At least, Rahul has the urge to speak at a time when the nation is waiting for a strong opposition voice to counter the "majoritarian narrative" developed by the BJP and its supporters.
But we still don't know whether that one voice will be Rahul or some other political leader.
OneIndia News
For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications
Story first published: Tuesday, September 12, 2017, 10:54 [IST]
India disapprove of High Commissioner for Human Rights' remarks
International
oi-Chennabasaveshwar
By Chennabasaveshwar
India expressed its disapproval to remarks made by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights over Rohingya crisis and human rights violation in Jammu and Kashmir.
Ambassador Rajiv K. Chander, the Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, said that there appeared to be an inadequate appreciation of the freedoms and rights, which are guaranteed and practised daily in a vibrant democracy that has been built under challenging conditions, according to ANI.
"Though the issue of human rights situations in J&K has been raised, it is a matter of regret that central role of terrorism being overlooked. Assessments of human rights should not be a matter of political convenience," Chander said.
On Rohingya refugee crisis, he said that like many other nations, India is concerned about illegal migrants, in particular, with the possibility that they could pose security challenges and that enforcing the laws should not be mistaken for lack of compassion.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights had, on Monday, described the situation of Myanmar's Rohingya minority as a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing" and criticised both Yangon and New Delhi, the latter for seeking to deport Rohingyas who fled to India.
OneIndia News
For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications
Story first published: Tuesday, September 12, 2017, 17:08 [IST]
Prosecutions story may be attractive but should be backed by evidence
32,000 girls converted to Islam and sold as ISIS slaves: This is The Kerala Story
'The Kerala Story': TN scribe asks govt to probe claims made in the movie
Indian priest Tom Uzhunnalil rescued in Yemen
International
oi-Chennabasaveshwar
By Chennabasaveshwar
Indian priest Tom Uzhunnalil has been rescued in Yemen. External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj made this announcement on her Twitter account.
I am happy to inform that Father Tom Uzhunnalil has been rescued.pic.twitter.com/FwAYoTkbj2 Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) September 12, 2017
The priest was abducted in Yemen in 2016 and since then efforts are on to secure him.
The priest from Kottayam, who has been taken to Muscat, will be flown back to Kerala later today. It was reported that the priest was rescued after the intervention of the Oman foreign ministry.
Efforts were being made to rescue the priest for long. The union government had time and again assured it would manage to secure the release. For the family finally some good news came after an anxious wait of over one and half years.
The priest's rescue from his kidnappers was facilitated after Sultan of Oman, Qaboos bin Said Al Said looked into the matter.
Kerala CM, Pinarayi Vijayan, expressed pleasure over the release of the pastor.
He said, "Happy to hear about the release of Father Tom (Kerala priest), it is learnt that Oman played a crucial role in his release."
OneIndia News
ISIS labels Hurricane Irma as 'soldier of Allah'
International
oi-Vicky
By Vicky
Hurricane Irma wrecked havoc in the US and has left behind a trail of debris, flooding and power outages. While parts of US continues to battle the devastation, the Islamic State has started circulating propaganda videos in this regard.
Pro ISIS media groups while promoting 9/11 issued a warning to the US that the gates of hell would open up. It said Irma was a sign of further punishment. Further the group also published a video in which labelled wildfires and hurricanes as soldiers of Allah.
The pro-ISIS al-Battar Media Foundation published the video labelling the wildfires that ravaged the American West and hurricanes in Texas and Florida as 'soldiers of Allah.'
Meanwhile social media accounts of the al-Qaeda too were busy promoting videos on the anniversary of 9/11. A video of the 9/11 hijacker and a letter from the planner written to Barack Obama were also released by pro al-Qaeda handles.Hurricane Irma wrecked havoc in the US and has left behind a trail of debris, flooding and power outages. While parts of US continues to battle the devastation, the Islamic State has started circulating propaganda videos in this regard.
Pro ISIS media groups while promoting 9/11 issued a warning to the US that the gates of hell would open up. It said Irma was a sign of further punishment. Further the group also published a video in which labelled wildfires and hurricanes as soldiers of Allah.
The pro-ISIS al-Battar Media Foundation published the video labelling the wildfires that ravaged the American West and hurricanes in Texas and Florida as 'soldiers of Allah.'
Meanwhile social media accounts of the al-Qaeda too were busy promoting videos on the anniversary of 9/11. A video of the 9/11 hijacker and a letter from the planner written to Barack Obama were also released by pro al-Qaeda handles.
OneIndia News
For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications
Story first published: Tuesday, September 12, 2017, 6:18 [IST]
Mamata miffed for not being invited to be part of Bangaldesh PM's India visit
Myanmar committing 'atrocities' on Rohingyas: Sheikh Hasina
International
pti-PTI
Dhaka, Sep 12: Amid rising concern across the world over exodus of Rohingya Muslims, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday accused Buddhist-majority Myanmar of committing "atrocities" on Rohingya Muslims. She said Dhaka will not tolerate any kind of injustice and its protest will continue.
She also asked Myanmar to "take steps" to take back its nationals who have fled to Bangladesh following the violence.
"We want peace and a friendly relation with neighbouring countries...(but) we cannot allow and accept any kind of unjust and our protest will continue to this end," Hasina said after visiting a Rohingya refugee camp near the border town of Ukhiya in Cox's Bazar district.
She assured the refugees that Bangladesh would continue to provide humanitarian assistance to them.
"As long as they don't return to their country we will remain beside them," she said.
"Bangladesh is a country of 16 crore people and we have ensured their basic needs, we also have capability to provide all kinds of help including food and healthcare services to the Myanmar refugees," she said. "We will not tolerate injustice," she said, referring to the ethnic violence in neighbouring country that has forced at least 313,000 people to take shelter in Bangladesh.
According to UN estimates, over 1,000 people may have been killed in the crackdown launched by the Myanmar Army in the Rakhine state since August 25 when a fresh wave of violence erupted there. Bangladesh had earlier said the new influx of Rohingya refugees is an unbearable additional burden on the country which has been hosting around 400,000 Myanmar nationals who had to leave their country in the past due to communal violence and repeated military operations.
Hasina's comments came after the parliament last night passed a resolution denouncing Myanmar for the atrocities and called upon the international community to mount intensified pressure on Naypyidaw to stop the atrocities and take back the refugees.
"A handful of people of a shadow group had staged the attack which we (Bangladesh) also condemned, but should the entire community of one million populations be punished for that," the resolution read.
Hasina today said that being the neighbour Bangladesh would extend cooperation whatever Naypyidaw needed "but they will have to first stop inhuman attitude towards these people in Rakhaine and provide them security."
"They (Rohingyas) are human beings and they will live as human beings...Myanmar has no right to deny the Rakhaine people as they are their citizens," she added. Hasina said the massive exodus of its own population tarnished Myanmar's image as "this is not a dignified thing for a country".
Rohingyas have faced decades of discrimination and persecution in Myanmar and are denied citizenship despite centuries-olds roots in the Rakhine region.
PTI
On Rohingya Muslims, UN can't force India not to deport them
International
oi-Vicky
By Vicky
A top UN official Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein slammed India on the Rohingya Muslim issue. India had said that it would deport those Rohingya Muslims living illegally in India as they posed a security threat.
While many have quoted UN conventions on this issue while criticising the government's decision to deport Rohingya Muslims, the question is whether the same would apply to India.
If International organisations call on India not to deport the Rohingya Muslims, then India could cite that it is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention of the UN.
India could also say that it did not sign the 1967 Protocol. Around 148 countries have signed either of the two protocols which clarify the rights of refugees and help protect them.
Recommended Video
UN Human Rights Council deplores India's stand to deport Rohingyas | Oneindia News
Moreover as late as May 2017, India had not ratified the United Nations Convention against torture despite being a signatory to the convention in October 1997. Article 3 of the Convention against Torture states that "no party shall expel, return (refouler) or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture".
For the purpose of determining whether there are such grounds, the competent authorities shall take into account all relevant considerations including, where applicable, the existence in the State concerned of a consistent pattern of gross, flagrant or mass violations of human rights, it also says. India is yet to make a law to ratify the convention.
OneIndia News
For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications
Story first published: Tuesday, September 12, 2017, 6:57 [IST]
Rohingya crisis: White House 'deeply troubled' by violence in Myanmar
International
pti-PTI
Washington, Sep 11: Expressing concern over the violence in Myanmar, the White House on Tuesday condemned an upsurge in violence that has sent 300,000 Rohingya Muslims fleeing to neighbouring Bangladesh.
"The United States is deeply troubled by the ongoing crisis in Burma," said Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, condemning attacks on Burmese military positions and subsequent convulsion of deadly ethnic tinged violence.
"At least 300,000 people have fled their homes in the wake of attacks on (a) Burmese security post on August 25," Sanders said.
We "reiterate our condemnation of those attacks and ensuing violence," she added, without pointing the finger of blame at any specific groups.
The initial attacks have been blamed on the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, a militant group, while Burmese security forces are being held responsible for a backlash that may have killed more than 1,000, mostly Rohingya.
The Rohingya, a stateless Muslim minority, have faced decades of persecution in Myanmar, where they are regarded as illegal immigrants. The Trump White House had been facing questions about its silence in the face of a crisis that a UN envoy has called a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing.
PTI
US support to Tibet cause: Congressional committees approve $ 17 mn aid
International
pti-PTI
Washington, Sep 12: As part of its support to the Tibetan cause, two key Congressional committees of US have approved at least USD 17 million to help the Tibetan government in exile to preserve its culture, help its refugees and develop institutions to promote its growth.
The provisions form part of the state department's 2018 annual budget passed by the appropriations committees of both the House of Representatives and the Senate last week. It is at the same level as that of 2017.
Key provisions of the appropriations bill include USD 8 million to support activities that preserve cultural traditions and promote sustainable development and environmental conservation in Tibetan communities in Tibetan Autonomous Region and in other Tibetan autonomous areas in China. It has also made USD 3 million provision to strengthen the capacity of Tibetan institutions and governance.
The Senate Appropriations Committee in its report recognised the progress made by the Tibetan community in South Asia in establishing democratic institutions to ensure the welfare of such communities and the preservation of Tibetan culture in exile. Well aware of the developmental challenges facing Tibetan communities in South Asia, the provisions include USD 6 million to continue to support Tibetan communities in India and Nepal in the areas of education, skills development, and entrepreneurship.
Expressing concern over reports that Nepalese officials have handed over Tibetan refugees to Chinese border authorities, in contravention of Nepal's international obligations to protect refugees fleeing persecution, the Congressional committee said it supports efforts by the Secretary of State to work with the Government of Nepal to provide safe transit for Tibetan refugees and legal protections to Tibetans residing in this Himalayan nation.
It has recommended USD 1 million for the Office of the Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues. The House Appropriations Committee said it continues to support democracy and human rights programs for Tibet. As such it directed that not less than the amounts provided in the fiscal year 2017 be continued for such purposes.
In addition to USD 15 million for Tibetan issues, the appropriations bill supported the continuation of the Tibetan service of Voice of America and Radio Free Asia. It approved USD 42 million for Radio Free Asia, a substantial part of which would go to its Tibetan service. The bill has also asked the Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, to instruct executive director of each international financial institution to use the voice and vote to support financing of projects in Tibet.
PTI
White House official says new law not needed against Islamic State
International
pti-PTI
Washington, Sep 12: The Trump administration has adequate legal authority to combat terrorist groups and doesn't support a push in Congress for a new law permitting military action against the Islamic State and other militants, a senior White House official said.
The comments today by White House legislative director Marc Short came as Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky ramped up pressure on his colleagues to reassert their power to decide whether to send American troops into harm's way. Paul, a leader of the GOP's non-interventionist wing, wants a vote on his amendment to the annual defense policy bill that would let the authorizations after the September 11 attacks lapse after six months. He says Congress would use the time to pass a new war authority.
Many congressional Republicans and Democrats have been clamoring for Congress to approve a new authorization for the use of military force. But they're moving too slowly for Paul, who's demanding the deadline to ensure faster action. Paul said yesterday he would use his senatorial power to block amendments from other lawmakers to the USD 700 billion defense policy bill unless his measure was considered.
"Where is the anti-war left demanding the wars end? Where is the constitutional conservative right demanding Congress reclaim its war powers?" Paul declared on his Twitter account. He later said unidentified Senate leaders had "agreed to four hours of debate under my control to debate these wars." It was unclear, however, if that would culminate with a vote on his amendment.
To fight the Islamic State group, the Trump administration, as did the Obama administration, relies on an authorization for the use of military force that was approved by Congress in 2001, shortly after the September 11 attacks. But the White House's use of an authorization from a decade and half ago is a legal stretch at best, according to critics who've argued for years that Congress needs to pass a new one to account for how the dynamics of the battlefield have changed.
For example, American troops are battling an enemy -- Islamic State militants -- that didn't exist 16 years ago in a country -- Syria -- that the US didn't expect to be fighting in. A separate authorization for the war in Iraq approved in 2002 also remains in force. The War Powers Resolution, enacted in 1973, requires the president to tell Congress he is sending US troops into combat and prohibits those forces from remaining for more than 90 days unless Congress has approved an authorization for military force.
PTI
2008-2022 One News Page Ltd.
All rights reserved.
One News is a registered trademark
of One News Page Ltd.
Rumble 10 Nov 2022
Detroit police officers are receiving a historic new contract that will put their paychecks on par with other cities. The city..
Rumble 09 Oct 2022
JUST IN: KANYE SAYS JARED KUSHNER A FAKE PHONY FRAUD AND THAT Q WAS RIGHT AGAIN !!!
Deputy Minister of Tourism Promotion and Christian Affairs Arundika Fernando removed from his post by President Maithripala Sirisena with effect from today.
The Presidents Media Division said that he has been removed from the Deputy Minister post as per the powers vested with the President under Article 46(2) (a) of the Constitution of Sri Lanka.
Fernando was appointed as the Deputy Minister of Tourism Promotion and Christian Affairs on September 9, 2015.
Global Extruders Market Professional Survey Report 2017
Global Extruders Market Professional Survey Report 2017
https://www.qyresearcheurope.com/goods-713027.html
The Global Extruders Market Professional Survey Report 2017 is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Extruders industry.Firstly, the report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Extruders market analysis is provided for the international market including development history, competitive landscape analysis, and major regions development status.Secondly, development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures. This report also states import/export, supply and consumption figures as well as cost, price, revenue and gross margin by regions (United States, EU, China and Japan), and other regions can be added.Then, the report focuses on global major leading industry players with information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials, equipment and downstream consumers analysis is also carried out. Whats more, the Extruders industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed.Finally, the feasibility of new investment projects is assessed, and overall research conclusions are offered.In a word, the report provides major statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.This report studies Extruders in Global market, especially in North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan and India, with production, revenue, consumption, import and export in these regions, from 2012 to 2016, and forecast to 2022.This report focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringMilacron Holdings Corp.Toshiba Machine Co., Ltd.The Japan Steel Works, Ltd.Coperion GmbHBattenfeld-CincinnatiNFMClextralKraussmaffei GroupLeistritz AGDavis-Standard, LLCPresezzi Extrusion S.P.ATheysohn GroupEverplast Machinery Co., Ltd.Breyer GmbHReifenhauser GmbH & Co. Kg MaschinenfabrikGneuss Inc.Jingu GroupUseon (Nanjing) Extrusion Machinery Co., Ltd.SML Maschinengesellschaft MbhExtrudex Kunststoffmaschinen GmbHKabra Extrusion Technik Ltd.Cheng-Hua Machinery Co., Ltd.By types, the market can be split intoSingle ScrewTwin ScrewRamBy Application, the market can be split intoBuilding & ConstructionTransportationConsumer GoodsBy Regions, this report covers (we can add the regions/countries as you want)North AmericaChinaEuropeSoutheast AsiaJapanIndiaTo ask a professional report sample or make an order, please browse our detailed product link:Table of contents:1 Industry Overview of Extruders2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Extruders3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Extruders4 Global Extruders Overall Market Overview5 Extruders Regional Market Analysis6 Global 2012-2017E Extruders Segment Market Analysis (by Type)7 Global 2012-2017E Extruders Segment Market Analysis (by Application)8 Major Manufacturers Analysis of Extruders9 Development Trend of Analysis of Extruders Market10 Extruders Marketing Type Analysis11 Consumers Analysis of Extruders12 Conclusion of the Global Extruders Market Professional Survey Report 2017List of Tables and Figures:Figure Picture of ExtrudersTable Product Specifications of ExtrudersTable Classification of ExtrudersFigure Global Production Market Share of Extruders by Type in 2016Figure Single Screw PictureTable Major Manufacturers of Single ScrewFigure Twin Screw PictureTable Major Manufacturers of Twin ScrewFigure Ram PictureTable Major Manufacturers of RamTable Applications of ExtrudersFigure Global Consumption Volume Market Share of Extruders by Application in 2016Figure Building & Construction ExamplesTable Major Consumers of Building & ConstructionFigure Transportation Examples......Related Reports:Europe Extruders Market Professional Survey Report 2017China Extruders Market Professional Survey Report 2017USA Extruders Market Professional Survey Report 2017Korea Extruders Market Professional Survey Report 2017Japan Extruders Market Professional Survey Report 2017India Extruders Market Professional Survey Report 2017Contact Details:Company Name: QYResearch CO.,LIMITED | focus on Market Survey and ResearchAdd: Room 2905 VILI International Building No.167 Linhe West Road Tianhe DistrictGuangzhou City Guangdong ProvinceEmail: sales@qyresearcheurope.com or tinaning@qyresearch.comTel: 0086-20-22093278(CN)QYResearch established in 2007, focus on custom research, management consulting, IPO consulting, industry chain research, data base and seminar services. The company owned a large basic data base (such as National Bureau of statistics database, Customs import and export database, Industry Association Database etc), experts resources (included energy automotive chemical medical ICT consumer goods etc industries experts who own more than 10 years experiences on marketing or R&D), professional survey team (the team member with more than 3 years market survey experience and more than 2 years depth expert interview experience),Excellent data analysis team (SPSS statistics and PPT graphics process team); QYResearch has always pursuit product quality, adhere to the quality is the soul of business.Room 2311 VILI International Building No.167 Linhe West Road Tianhe District
Smart Inhalers Market 2017 - Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Strategies and Forecast to 2022
Global Smart Inhalers market is accounted for $5.8 million in 2015 and is expected to reach $198 million by 2022 growing
https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/731661-smart-inhalers-global-market-outlook-2016-2022
https://www.wiseguyreports.com/checkout?currency=one_user-USD&report_id=731661
https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/731661-smart-inhalers-global-market-outlook-2016-2022
https://www.linkedin.com/company/wise-guy-research-consultants-pvt-ltd-?trk=biz-companies-cym
https://www.Wiseguyreports.Com
Global Smart Inhalers market is accounted for $5.8 million in 2015 and is expected to reach $198 million by 2022 growing at a CAGR of 65.5% from 2015 to 2022. Increasing respiratory disorders, rise in air pollution, improved adherence to the inhaler are some of the factors boosting the market growth. However, lesser availability of smart inhalers, high expenditure of asthma and COPD treatment, and resistance towards adoption of smart inhalers are hindering the market growth.Request for Sample Report @North America is projected to be the leading revenue generating region, whereas Asia-Pacific is projected to grow at the highest rate, due to rise in demand for smart inhalers and increase in COPD and asthma instances.Some of the key players in global Smart Inhalers market are Propeller Health, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Qualcomm Life, Opko Health, Adherium Limited, GlaxoSmithKline plc, Novartis AG, AstraZeneca plc , Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, 3M Drug Delivery Systems, Sensirion AG, Novartis AG, CoheroHealth, Crux Product Design Ltd, e-pill, LLC, Vectura Group plc, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., OMRON Healthcare Europe B.V, Shenzhen Bi-Rich Medical Devices Co., Ltd, Inspiro Medical Ltd, TRI-MED, INC., PARI GmbH and Philips Respironics.Buy now @Products Covered: Inhalers Nebulizers Smater Dry Powder Inhalers (DPIs) Metered Dose Inhalers (MDIs)Disorders Covered: Asthma Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)End Users Covered: Patients Research & DevelopmentRegions Covered: North Americao USo Canadao Mexico Europeo Germanyo Franceo Italyo UKo Spaino Rest of Europe Asia Pacifico Japano Chinao Indiao Australiao New Zealando Rest of Asia Pacific Rest of the Worldo Middle Easto Brazilo Argentinao South Africao EgyptFor Detailed Reading Please visit WiseGuy Reports @What our report offers:- Market share assessments for the regional and country level segments- Market share analysis of the top industry players- Strategic recommendations for the new entrants- Market forecasts for a minimum of 7 years of all the mentioned segments, sub segments and the regional markets- Market Trends (Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, Threats, Challenges, Investment Opportunities, and recommendations)- Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimations- Competitive landscaping mapping the key common trends- Company profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developments- Supply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancementsAbout UsWise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available.Contact Us:Norah Trent+1 646 845 9349 / +44 208 133 9349Follow on LinkedIn:Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt LtdPune 411028Maharashtra, GlobalPh: +91 841 198 5042
Global and Chinese Collagen Market size and Driving Factors, Outlook 2017-2022
https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1150636
https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/reports/1150636/global-and-chinese-collagen-outlook-market-research-reports.pdf
https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/enquiry/1150636
http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/
"The Latest Report Global and Chinese Collagen Market Outlook 2017-2022 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"About Collagen MarketThe Collagen Market 2017 Report offers detailed analysis of the Collagen market over the last five years, and provides extensive market forecasts by region/country and sub sector. It covers the key technological and market trends in the Collagen market. It further lays out an analysis of the factors influencing the supply/demand for Collagen, and the opportunities/challenges faced by industry participants. It also acts as an essential tool to companies active across the value chain and to the new entrants by enabling them to capitalize the opportunities and develop business strategies.In particular, it provides an in-depth analysis of the following:Market overview: detailed analysis of the whole value chain (upstream & downstream), insights into technological developments, and an extensive analysis of costs analysis from the aspects of raw materials, labor costs and etc.Market size and driving factors: comprehensive analysis of the global Collagen market during the 2012-2022 period, including market volume & value, growth and development trends, demand drivers and stimulators for Collagen. It also provides an insight on the spending pattern and application pattern in different regions around the world.Get Sample Copy Of This Report @Competitive landscape analysis: exhaustive analysis of top players on the market performances (sales and market position), strengths & weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It also provides the current consolidation trends in the industry and the challenges faced by industry participants.Worldwide supply/demand pattern: analysis of the key markets in each region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, ChinaMiddle East & Africa), providing an analysis of the top segments of Collagen expected to be in demand.Tends forecast: analysis of regional demand and growth trends, all the numbers, both - sales & volume, at each level of the detail are estimated till 2022, to give a glimpse of the potential market size in terms of value in this market.Table Of ContentsPart 1. Exclusive SummaryPart 2. Methodology2.1 Research Methodology2.2 Geographic Scope2.3 Years ConsideredView Sample PDF @Part 3. Introduction3.1 Overview3.2 Supply Chain Structure3.2.1 Raw Material Supply3.2.2 Manufacturing3.2.3 Cost AnalysisPart 4. Market Landscape4.1 Global Collagen Market by Volume 2012-20174.1.1 Overview4.1.2 Global Collagen Market, by Volume 2012-20174.1.3 Top 10 Collagen Companies, by Volume Share 2012-20174.2 Global Collagen Market by Revenue 2012-20174.2.1 Overview4.2.2 Global Collagen Market, by Revenue 2012-20174.2.3 Top 10 Collagen Companies, by Revenue Share 2012-2017Part 5. Segmentation by Type (Volume & Revenue)5.1 Type I5.2 Type II5.3 Type IIIPart 6. Segmentation by Application (Volume & Revenue)6.1 Application A6.2 Application B6.3 Application C6.4 Application DSend An Enquiry Request @About usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.ContactMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA: Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Luxury Personal Care and Cosmetics Market Value Share, Supply Demand, share and Value Chain 2017-2025
http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/luxury-personal-care-cosmetics-market.html
http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=23615
www.transparencymarketresearch.com
Global Luxury Personal Care and Cosmetics Market: SnapshotThere is a dual layer of consumer demographics vying for the best of the best in personal care and cosmetics. The inclusion of luxury cosmetics and personal care products into the lives of the general urban population has only largely been possible due to the increasing disposable income among this consumer pool. Previously only aimed at the wealthy and the elite, the global luxury personal care and cosmetics market is now filling up with products that are leaning towards the urban elite and even the general population.The market is currently lined with a massive range of products to fit nearly every price budget, and the inclusion of luxury personal care and cosmetics products into this list is a significant reflector of the economic status of key market regions. The trend of buying luxury beauty products is especially a vibrant market scenario in developed economies from North America and Europe. At the same time, players are paying a very close attention to the emerging economies, where the elite population is growing regularly and showing greater capabilities of purchasing luxury personal care and cosmetics.Obtain Report Details @The demand for luxury personal care and cosmetics market has escalated in the past few years on account of rising purchasing power of consumers. Transition in the lifestyle of the consumers is a key element for the surge in the demand for such products, especially in the developing regions such as Asia Pacific.Increasing penchant for a trendy lifestyle is one of the key factors responsible for the growth of the luxury personal care and cosmetics market. This is primarily attributed to the increase in the purchasing power of the consumers coupled with exposure to such kind of products. Although the share for luxury personal care and cosmetics is low at present, the same is expected to witness a steady growth during the forecast period.Increasing foreign direct investments is one of the major factors responsible for the growth of the luxury personal care and cosmetics market at present. The major manufacturers operating in this industry are looking to penetrate potential markets for significant expansion opportunities. For instance, India recently experienced massive penetration by way of foreign direct investments. The country recorded an investment of USD 31 billion in the first half of 2015, much higher as compared to USD 28 billion in China and USD 27 billion in U.S. during the same period. Further government has bolstered Indian luxury brands by easing norms for FDI. However, brief shelf life of the personal care and cosmetics market are restraining the global luxury personal care and cosmetics market over the years. Additionally increasing demands for organic luxury personal care and cosmetics are generating opportunities to the market during the forecast periodMake an Enquiry @The global luxury personal care and cosmetics market are segmented on the basis of product type, by end use and by distribution channel. By product type the global luxury personal care and cosmetics market has been segmented into skin care and sun care products, hair care products, deodorants, fragrances, make up or color cosmetics. Sun care and skin care products are anticipated to capture the largest market share due to rising consciousness of proper skin among the population. By end use the market has been segmented on the basis of men and women. Rise in consciousness among men regarding personal grooming are triggering the growth rate of the global luxury personal care and cosmetics market. By distribution channel the global luxury personal care and cosmetics market has been segmented into online distribution channel and offline distribution channel. Offline distribution channel has been further segmented into super markets and hyper markets, independent stores and others. Online distribution channel are anticipated to show the fastest growth rate due to the presence of large number of brands, discounts and easy convenience for the consumers.In the region wise study the global luxury personal care and cosmetics market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa and Latin America. Europe which includes Germany, Italy, France, and Russia among the other regions are anticipated to capture the largest market share due to the rising consciousness regarding beautification among the consumers. North America which includes U.S, Canada are also anticipated to capture a significant market share after Europe. Asia Pacific region which includes India, China, Japan and Malaysia, are anticipated to show the fastest growth rate due to increasing number of manufacturers over the years and rising research and development in order to develop new products. High level of discretionary spending, rapid urbanization, and reliance on imported products also fueled the growth rate of the Asia Pacific luxury personal care and cosmetics market.Global key participants in the industry include Unilever plc, Beirsdoef AG, Amway, Procter & Gamble, Avon Products Inc. LOreal SA, The Estee Lauders Company Inc., Shiseido Company Limited, Burts Bee, Arbonne International, LLC, Aubrey Organics, Oriflame Cosmetics SA, Weleda among others.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Contact UsTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global Motorcycle Apparel Market 2017-2022 Tourmaster, Alpinestars, Dainese, OMP, Sparco, Saifee, Jxhracing
Motorcycle Apparel
http://bit.ly/2gZ1zAD
http://www.mrsresearchgroup.com/market-analysis/global-motorcycle-apparel-market-2016-production-sales-supply.html
The latest report Motorcycle Apparel by QY Research added to it's database and brings to light the comprehensive study and factual information of global market. The report also provides the global market segmentation based on applications, end-users, technology, and geography. The Motorcycle Apparel research report offers a comprehensive assessment of the Motorcycle Apparel market and consists of historical data, scope, significant approaches and statistical data of the global market. Besides these, it also includes anticipated facts that are assessed with the aid of an appropriate set of postulations and techniques.The report includes rigorous data, in-depth analysis in two ways, namely, quantitative and qualitative, industry professionals inputs and data given by the industry members and industry analysts involved in the complete value cycle. The report features thorough study of important market and their current trends, coupled with respective market segments. Information about the numerous factors and their influence on the global market and its segments is also mentioned in the Motorcycle Apparel report.Request for FREE SAMPLE Report @The study report evaluates the range factors of the Motorcycle Apparel industry, such as definition, demands, share, analysis, supply, sales, size, specification, forecast trends, production, classification, industry policy, news, and application. The global Motorcycle Apparel market report will provide significant and reliable information on the market clearly in structured format. The report will offers you a key manufacturer of the products, applications, DROS and others.Report on the Global Motorcycle Apparel Market 2017 gives the complete description of the market across the globe. The contents that are provided in the report are briefly discussed below.The Motorcycle Apparel Market Research Report contains: Market segmentation along with its sub-segmentation is included in the Motorcycle Apparel market Report The drivers of the market along with the restraints The global demand, supply, and sales of the product is included in the market report The current and the future market size and position The current challenges and opportunities that the market is confronting The trends that are currently dominating the market Company profiles and their future strategies are included Technological advancements that have been developed Future predictions of the market is also includedPrimary research and secondary research were made in order to validate the data that was collected. Qualitative assessment and quantitative assessment were made across several market verticals and industrial aspects.Browse Complete Report With TOC Available @The Motorcycle Apparel report covers the precisely studied and evaluated data of the global market players and their scope in the market using a number of analytical tools. The analytical tools such as investment return analysies, SWOT analysis and feasibility studyare used to analyze the key global market playersgrowth in the Motorcycle Apparel industry.The report focuses on regional as well as global market, its key players, along with market segments including detailed study on various divisions and its applications. The report provides comprehensive information on each and every segment covered of the Motorcycle Apparel market.MRS Research Group is the worlds giant collection of the Market research Reports. Where we specialized in global publisher, tailor made reports and specialists consulting. Global Publisher provides in-depth analysis of global and Chinese market. Tailor-made reports represent methodologies deliverable to proper insight of the client. While, expertise research specialist helps to provide strategic solution in specialists consulting. It consists of head such as, latest report, category, niche market and news. Reports published on the million of category like chemical, machinery and equipment, consumer goods, manufacturing and construction etc. Latest national, international, business News published under news portal.Joel John3422 SW 15 Street,Suit #8138Deerfield Beach,Florida 33442United StatesToll Free : +1-855-465-4651 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-386-310-3803Email: sales@mrsresearchgroup.com
Non-vascular Stents Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2017 - 2025
MRRSE
http://www.mrrse.com/sample/3249
http://www.mrrse.com/non-vascular-stents-market
http://www.mrrse.com/
Non-vascular stents are specialized medical devices used for relieving the strictures in gastrointestinal tract, ureteral tract and airway tracts. These are also used for holding open the narrowed lumens during complex surgical procedure to allow free flow of body fluids. On the basis of its applications there are three different types of non-vascular stents are available: pulmonology stents, urology stents, and gastroenterology stents. These stents are made using different material compositions such as metallic stents are made of stainless steel, nitinol alloys, and elgiloy. Whereas non-metallic stents are made up of synthetic polymers like resins, polyurethane, silicone. Metallic stents are available fully covered, partially covered and uncovered forms. These stents are usually covered with silicone material to avoid tissue ingrowth and stent migration. Self-expanding metal stents (SEMS) and self-expanding plastic stents (SEPS) are most commonly used for relieving the luminal strictures. These non-vascular stents are used by hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, long term palliative care centers and academic medical and research institutes.Request For Free Sample Report:Global Non-vascular Stents Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe market for global non-vascular stents is projected to be driven by the high incidence rates of luminal strictures across the globe. Metallic stents are most commonly used for the palliation of malignant cancerous disease in & airway tract due to its high durability and radial strength. Therefore the growth of metallic stents is attributed to rising incidences of malignant cancer leading to luminal strictures in patients. The treatment of malignant cancer requires longer duration of hospital stay and diagnostics & supportive treatment, is likely to drive the growth of hospitals segment over forecast period.Also adoption of advanced technologies for stent deployment & retrieval, increase in demand for minimally invasive surgeries patients owing to shorter procedural time and low cost in ambulatory surgical centers is projected to boost the demand for non-vascular stents market during forecast period. However, availability of alternative treatment options for relieving luminal strictures is likely to hamper the growth of non-vascular stents market. Moreover, government and regulatory authoritys pressure on reducing the cost of medical devices and presence of large number of domestic players in most of regions would be restraining factors for market. The development of biodegradable stents, drug eluting stents, and radioactive stents exhibits the new business development opportunity for non-vascular stents in near future.Global Non-vascular Stents Market: SegmentationThe global non-vascular stents market is segmented into four broad segments on the basis of product type, by material, be end-user and on the basis of geography. The non-vascular stents, by product type are segmented into pulmonology stents, urology stents, and gastroenterology stents. Gastroenterology stents are subdivided into two segments enteral stents and biliary & pancreatic stents. The market for urology stents is projected to witness exponential growth rate during forecast period owing to growing number of population affected with kidney stone disease worldwide. By material, global non-vascular stents is segmented in metallic stents and non-metallic stents. Non-metallic stents are most commonly used for the treatment of benign strictures as it requires shorter duration of treatment time, easy to maneuver and low cost. The end-user for non-vascular stents includes hospitals, Ambulatory surgical centers and others such as palliative care centers, academic medical institutions and research organizations. The market for ambulatory surgical centers is anticipated to grow at highest growth rate and is projected to gain its market share by the end of 2025.Geographically, the global non-vascular stents market has been segmented into five regions: North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. These regions have been further segmented by countries, product type, by material and End-user segments. The competition matrix section included in the report is likely to assist the existing players to increase their market shares and new companies to establish their presence in the global non-vascular stents market.Browse Full Report with TOC:Global Non-vascular Stents Market: Competitive AnalysisThe report also profiles major players in the market based on various attributes such as company overview, financial overview, SWOT analysis, key business strategies, product portfolio, and recent developments. Major companies competing in the non-vascular stents market, and profiled in the report include Boston Scientific Corporation, C. R. Bard, Inc., Taewoong Medical Co., Ltd., Cook Group Incorporated, Abbott Laboratories, Olympus Corporation, Merit Medical Systems, Inc., ELLA - CS, s.r.o., Medi-Globe Corporation, M.I.TECH, Allium Medical Solutions Ltd., CONMED Corporation.The global non-vascular stents market has been segmented as follows:Global Non-vascular Stents Market, by Product TypePulmonology StentsUrology StentsGastroenterology StentsEnteral StentsBiliary and Pancreatic StentsGlobal Non-vascular Stents Market, by MaterialMetallic StentsNon-metallic StentsGlobal Non-vascular Stents Market, by End-UserHospitalsAmbulatory Surgical CentersOthersGlobal Non-vascular Stents Market, by RegionNorth AmericaEuropeAsia PacificLatin AmericaMiddle East & AfricaAbout UsMarket Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of market intelligence reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.ContactState Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United States Telephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite:
Global Livestock Equipment Market 2017 by key Players Analysis - Big Herdsman Machinery, Shanghai Extra Machinery, Chore-Time Brock International
https://www.fiormarkets.com/report-detail/33966/request-sample
https://goo.gl/Mv5x1v
www.fiormarkets.com
www.albaniantimes.com
This Livestock Equipment report comprehends outline in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia. It focuses on top most manufacturers in global market, with production, price, and revenue and market share for each manufacturer. Market Segment by Regions, this report splits Global into several key. It splits into Product type and product application.Download Free Sample Report @Global Livestock Equipment Market Research Report 2017 tracks the important market events including product launches, technological developments, mergers & acquisitions, and the innovative business strategies opted by key market players. Along with strategically analyzing the key micro markets, the report also focuses on industry-specific drivers, restraints, opportunities and challenges in Livestock Equipment market. It also focuses on the key drivers, restraints, opportunities and challenges.The definition of the market which helps in understanding the background of the market about what majorly the Livestock Equipment market deals with. The market is divided in a broad way to examine the market in a better way. The sub-segments of Livestock Equipment market are also included for better analysis of the market. The contribution made by each segment and sub-segment is included coupled with the popularity of the segments.Access Full Report @In the next part, the factors that are contributing to the development of the market are included. The present and the future trends of Livestock Equipment market are condensed so that the market players can make smart decisions in order to maintain the competitive edge.Results gained from analytical tools such as investment feasibility analysis and investment return analysis reveal market attractiveness, while SWOT analysis of the major players reveals winning market strategies and the most recent hierarchy in the Livestock Equipment 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.Contact UsMark StoneSales ManagerOffice-102, Sanskriti AspirationsBaner Road, Pune,MH 411045IndiaPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog:
Global MRI Industry 2022 Trends and Review
ReportsWeb
http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011050947/sample
http://www.reportsweb.com/global-mri-market-research-report-2017
http://www.reportsweb.com/buy&RW00011050947/buy/2900
ReportsWeb.com has announced the addition of the Global MRI Market Research Report 2017 The report focuses on global major leading players with information such as company profiles, product picture and specification.Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD) , market share and growth rate of MRI in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast) , covering North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India. Global MRI market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players including GE, Siemens, Philips, Toshiba, Hitachi, ESAOTE, SciMedix, Paramed, Neusoft, Huarun Wandong, Xingaoyi, Mindray and United Imaging.Get free sample copy of report atOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into Permanent Magnet MRI and Superconductive MRI. On the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales) , market share and growth rate of MRI for each application, including Research & Teaching, Medical Diagnosis and Other.Get more information about this report atTable of Content1 MRI Market Overview2 Global MRI Market Competition by Manufacturers3 Global MRI Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017)4 Global MRI Supply (Production) , Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2012-2017)4.1 Global MRI Consumption by Region (2012-2017)4.2 North America MRI Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.3 Europe MRI Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.4 China MRI Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.5 Japan MRI Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.6 Southeast Asia MRI Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.7 India MRI Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)5 Global MRI Production, Revenue (Value) , Price Trend by Type5.1 Global MRI Production and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)5.2 Global MRI Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)5.3 Global MRI Price by Type (2012-2017)5.4 Global MRI Production Growth by Type (2012-2017)6 Global MRI Market Analysis by Application6.1 Global MRI Consumption and Market Share by Application (2012-2017)6.2 Global MRI Consumption Growth Rate by Application (2012-2017)6.3 Market Drivers and Opportunities6.3.1 Potential Applications6.3.2 Emerging Markets/Countries7 Global MRI Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 GE7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.1.2 MRI Product Category, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 Product A7.1.2.2 Product B7.1.3 GE MRI Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 Siemens7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.2.2 MRI Product Category, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 Product A7.2.2.2 Product B7.2.3 Siemens MRI Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview8 MRI Manufacturing Cost Analysis9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders11 Market Effect Factors Analysis12 Global MRI Market Forecast (2017-2022)13 Research Findings and ConclusionPurchase this report on discounted price atContact Info:Name: Sameer JoshiEmail: sales@reportsweb.comOrganization: ReportsWebPhone: +1-646-491-9876ReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Global Clinical Rollators Market Become Dominant At CAGR Of 5.68% By 2021
https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1180528
https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/reports/1180528/global-clinical-rollators-market-research-reports.pdf
https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/enquiry/1180528
http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/
"The Latest Research Report Global Clinical Rollators Market 2017-2021 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"About Clinical Rollators MarketThe global clinical rollators market is growing steadily at a CAGR of 5.68% owing to the growing demand for home-based and hospital-based patient care services. The growing demand from these end-users is further supported by the manufacturers and suppliers catering to both business to customers (B2C) and business to business (B2B) customers. Among the B2B customers such as hospitals, clinics, and patient care centers, the hospital-based patient care centers are contributing a major percentage of market share. This is due to the increased consumption of clinical rollators by their inpatients, who avail the services during post-treatment recovery phases. The B2C customers, majorly the geriatric population, use this product for required mobility in their day-to-day life and are considered as important stakeholders of the growing market.Technavios analysts forecast the global Clinical Rollators market to grow at a CAGR of 5.68% during the period 2017-2021.Get Sample copy of this Report @Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global Clinical Rollators market for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report considers the retail sales of clinical mobility aids.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:AmericasAPACEMEATechnavio's report, Global Clinical Rollators Market 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendorsGF HEALTH PRODUCTSInvacareKarman HealthcareMedical DepotOther prominent vendorsBenmor MedicalBesco Medical MedizinBischoff & BischoffBriggs HealthcareEvolution TechnologiesHUMAN CAREMarket driverIncreased number of gait and arthritis casesFor a full, detailed list, view our reportView Sample PDF @Market challengeExcessive cost of productFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trendIncreased adoption of advanced mobility productsFor a full, detailed list, view our reportKey questions answered in this reportWhat will the market size be in 2021 and what will the growth rate be?What are the key market trends?What is driving this market?What are the challenges to market growth?Who are the key vendors in this market space?What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?Table of ContentsPART 01: Executive summaryPART 02: Scope of the reportPART 03: Research MethodologyPART 04: IntroductionMarket outlinePART 05: Market landscapeMarket overviewMarket size and forecastFive forces analysisPART 06: Geographical segmentationMarket overviewClinical rollators market in AmericasClinical rollators market in EMEAClinical rollators market in APACSend An Enquiry Request @PART 07: Market segmentation by productMarket overviewGlobal clinical rollators market by four-wheel rollatorsGlobal clinical rollators market by three-wheel rollatorsGlobal clinical rollators market by bariatric rollatorsPART 08: Decision frameworkPART 09: Drivers and challengesMarket driversMarket challengesPART 10: Market trendsIncreased adoption of advanced mobility productsGrowing impact of technological advances on manufacturersGrowing demand for elderly and disabled assistive servicesGrowth of emerging marketsPART 11: Vendor landscapeCompetitive landscapeAbout usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.ContactMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA: Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Patient Temperature Management Systems Market will Account for US$ 2,860 Mn by 2022
www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=171
www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=D&rep_id=171
https://www.factmr.com/report/171/patient-temperature-management-systems-market
https://www.factmr.com
Patient temperature management systems have become a necessary part of several types of medical treatments. For example, patient temperature management systems are used in surgeries to prevent excessive blood loss and for a rapid recovery post-surgery. In some cases such as heart surgeries, the body heat of a patient is reduced, which is done through the process of blood cooling and this done for reducing surgical complications. Even for patients undergoing treatment for cancer, patient temperature management systems are used to raise the body temperature for effective and efficient chemotherapy or radiation therapy procedures. Patient temperature management systems are also used in neonatal care, where in order to reduce body temperature fluctuations in new born babies, they are kept in incubators. With a going number of surgeries throughout the world, the market for patient temperature management systems is increasing manifold. However, the high cost associated with patient temperature management systems may hamper the market growth.Request For Sample Report @The global patient temperature management systems market is slated to touch a value of nearly US$ 2,860 Mn in the year 2022 and grow at a steady CAGR during the assessment period.4 Forecast Highlights on Global Patient Temperature Management Systems MarketAs per the forecast of Fact.MR, the surface warming systems segment is slated to touch a value of nearly US$ 700 Mn in the year 2022. This represents a robust CAGR growth during the assessment period of 2017-2022. The surface warming systems segment is estimated to account for nearly one-fourth of the revenue share of the product type segment by the year 2017 end and is expected to gain in market share by the year 2022 end.Check Discount @As per the forecast of Fact.MR, the ambulatory surgical centers segment will reach a value of nearly US$ 590 Mn in the year 2017. This represents a moderate CAGR growth during the forecast period. The ambulatory surgical centers segment is estimated to account for more than one-fifth of the revenue share of the end user segment in the year 2017 end and is expected to lose market share by the end of the year 2022.As per the forecast of Fact.MR, the perioperative care segment is slated to reach a value of nearly US$ 940 Mn in 2022. The perioperative care segment is expected to gain some market value by the end of the year 2022. The largest share is contributed by the North America region in the perioperative care segment.Fact.MR forecasts the neonatal care segment to grow from nearly US$ 305 Mn in 2017 to more than US$ 410 Mn in 2022. This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.5% from 2017 to 2022.The report has also profiled leading players in the global market for patient temperature management systems, which will remain active through 2022. These include companies such as 3M Company, Stryker Corporation, Gentherm Incorporated, Smiths Group plc, C. R. Bard, Inc., Medtronic plc, Inspiration Healthcare Group plc and Asahi Kasei Corporation.Click to View Complete Report @About UsFact.MR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized market research reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; thats why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports.Contact UsFact.MROffice: Dublin 2Suite 988427 Upper Pembroke Street,Dublin 2, IrelandTel: +353-1-6111-593( Dublin 2 )Email: sales@factmr.comWeb:
Turbines Market : Growth, Demand, Supply, SWOT, Consumption, ROI | 2020
http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/turbines-market.html
http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=2873
http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/2873
http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=2873 29:
... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25
/usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:948
/var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17
/usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149
Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 125 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 157 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612f0b39220)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 948 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f0e81530)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612f0b39220)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1302 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 955 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f0e81530)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612f0ac7a70)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1300 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 433 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f0e81530)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f0e81530)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612efd5dc80)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612f0e703b8)') called at (eval 592) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612f0e703b8)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
System error
error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.
context: ... 21: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28: 29:
... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25
/usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:948
/var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17
/usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149
Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 125 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 157 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612f0038918)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 948 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f01806c0)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612f0038918)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1302 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 955 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f01806c0)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612efed6998)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1300 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 433 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f01806c0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f01806c0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612e1d7ead8)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612eff6efe8)') called at (eval 592) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612eff6efe8)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
System error
error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.
context: ... 21: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28: 29:
... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25
/usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:948
/var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17
/usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149
Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 125 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 157 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612f01e2700)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 948 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f0126a90)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612f01e2700)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1302 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 955 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f0126a90)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612f02194d8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1300 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 433 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f0126a90)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f0126a90)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612e1d7ec88)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612f00beda0)') called at (eval 592) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612f00beda0)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
Rajnath Singh said that there was no point in reacting to the statements made by Rahul Gandhi.
By India Today Web Desk: Rahul Gandhi's statements against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the NDA government do not evoke the need for a reaction according to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. He was addressing the media in Jammu today.
The union minister also said that Pakistan was not interested in mending relations with India.
Rajnath also responded to the statements made by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi in the United States against the NDA-led Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
advertisement
"The fact that Mr Gandhi chose to belittle the prime minister is not surprising and was expected," Singh said.
Singh said that there have been 400 ceasefire violations since 2014. However, he added that the Indian security forces have been giving a befitting reply to the ceasefire violations by Pakistan.
Singh further spoke about immigrants from Jammu and Kashmir Valley. He said that Centre will give about 3,000 jobs to migrants from Kashmir Valley. Singh said that Rs 1,080 crore has sanctioned by the Centre for the same.
RAHUL'S JIBE AT PM
Earlier today, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi launched a renewed attack on the Modi government slamming the November 8, 2016 move of demonetisation.
Speaking at the University of California, Berkeley, Rahul Gandhi said that note ban caused tremendous damage to the economy as it was taken without discussion with the Chief Economic Advisor and Parliament.
Admitting to the fact that the Congress is not in its best of health, Rahul Gandhi said, "Around 2012, arrogance crept into Congress party and we stopped having conversations with people."
Also Read:
Rahul Gandhi rakes up demonetisation and lynching in Berkeley, says this is 'New India'
Congress working out study tours for Rahul Gandhi to expose him to new ideas, technology
Rahul Gandhi to visit US to learn about artificial intelligence, nanotech
Rahul Gandhi asks PM Modi to own up the colossal failure of demonetisationWATCH | Rahul Gandhi renews attack on Modi government in Berkeley, says note ban caused tremendous damage
--- ENDS ---
System error
error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.
context: ... 21: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28: 29:
... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25
/usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:948
/var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17
/usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149
Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 125 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 157 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612f0e84328)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 948 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f0e982b0)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612f0e84328)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1302 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 955 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f0e982b0)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612efcfca30)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1300 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 433 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f0e982b0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f0e982b0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612e96626d8)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612f0cec268)') called at (eval 592) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612f0cec268)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
System error
error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.
context: ... 21: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28: 29:
... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25
/usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:948
/var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17
/usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149
Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 125 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 157 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612f01bd1c0)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 948 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f09369c0)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612f01bd1c0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1302 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 955 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f09369c0)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612f02c33a0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1300 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 433 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f09369c0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f09369c0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612e1d7f940)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612f12aae48)') called at (eval 592) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612f12aae48)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
Journalist, writer and raconteur Benjamin Law has encouraged parents to "calm down" and get the facts on Safe Schools, an initiative he argues should be rolled out in every school in Australia.
Law investigated the formerly federally-funded teacher resource aimed at helping stamp out the bullying of vulnerable lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex students for the latest Quarterly Essay.
Benjamin Law. Credit:James Brickwood
In Moral Panic 101: Equality, Acceptance and the Safe Schools Scandal, Law unpacks the initiative, starting with its launch by former prime minister Tony Abbott's Coalition government in 2014.
The program attracted a storm of controversy after a campaign of misinformation and confusion by conservative media outlets, commentators and politicians. The federal government will cease funding Safe Schools this year but many states and territories, including the ACT, will run their own version.
Pre-commitments for pokies in clubs will be discussed when industry and community groups, academics and the ACT government sit down for the first time to talk about how to reduce the harm of gambling in Canberra.
Former problem gambler Professor Laurie Brown and harm reduction advocate Steven Willis will meet with ACT Attorney-General Gordon Ramsay and ACT Gambling and Racing Commission chief executive David Snowden on Friday to discuss the future of gaming machines in clubs.
Gaming minister Gordon Ramsay. Credit:Rohan Thomson
Representing the industry will be Clubs ACT chair Kim Marshall, Canberra Community Clubs chair Athol Chalmers and Labor Club group chief executive Arthur Roufogalis.
ACT Council of Social Services director Susan Helyer, Care Financial director Carmel Franklin, Canberra Gambling Reform Alliance co-chair Jeremy Halcrow and Lifeline ACT chief executive Carrie Leeson will also attend the roundtable. Ms Leeson is also on the board of Canberra Community Clubs.
Motorists had a slow run into work on Tuesday morning after a single vehicle crash at the Majura Parkway and Monaro Highway at Fyshwick.
Emergency services were alerted to the incident just before 8am.
Police said traffic was heavy and both lanes southbound were closed for a short time after a van crashed into a guardrail.
The 40-year-old driver was taken to Canberra Hospital in a stable condition.
Both lanes reopened before 8.30am, but traffic remained heavy.
A Canberra man charged with soliciting child pornography after being caught in an online police sting has avoided time behind bars after being sentenced on Tuesday.
David Peter Conway, 29, pleaded guilty to one count of soliciting child pornography and three of transmitting indecent communications with a person under 16.
The offences happened between June 2015 and July 2016.
In an online teenage chat room the man began speaking with a person who identified herself as a 13-year-old girl but who was in fact a NSW police officer.
Conway also had indecent Skype conversations with two girls who had identified themselves as 14 and 15-years-old.
A man was injured after an attempted aggravated robbery in Belconnen on Friday.
Police said the victim was walking in the park between Letters Street and Kingston Street in Evatt, when a man approached him and demanded he hand over his belongings.
It's understood the man attacked him with a knife when he refused, before fleeing on foot towards Kingston Street.
Police were told a vehicle's brake lights were seen on Kingston Street as the offender fled.
The victim was transported to Calvary Hospital and was treated for a forearm injury.
Missing 16-year-old Nichola Kirkpatrick has been found safe and well.
ACT Policing thanked the community for their assistance.
Police originally feared she may be travelling to Canberra.
Soaring demand for fire safety specialists and replacement panels could spell lengthy delays to the completion of the ACT's cladding taskforce's work.
The working group is investigating how many multi-storey Canberra buildings may have potentially combustible cladding panels installed in inappropriate areas.
Up to 10 per cent of the cladding on Canberra's Centenary Hospital for Women and Children will need to be removed. Credit:Jeffrey Chan
It has already found up to 10 per cent of panels on the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children will need to be removed.
Chairman and deputy director-general of land strategy and environment, Geoffrey Rutledge, said a desktop audit had also found "a few more properties" that have the cladding, but will need physical inspections to determine if the panels are actually a fire risk.
An unprecedented lawsuit likened to a "David and Goliath" battle has begun, with a former gambler taking on Australia's powerful pokies industry over claims its products are designed to addict users.
James Packer's Crown Resorts, owner of Melbourne's Southbank casino, and the ASX-listed slots manufacturer Aristocrat Leisure will, for the next three weeks, be locked in a landmark Federal Court trial defending claims that the prominent Dolphin Treasure poker machine is misleading, deceptive and in breach of consumer law.
The case was launched by Shonica Guy, a former pokies addict, represented pro-bono by law firm Maurice Blackburn. Ms Guy on Tuesday morning said she lost 14 years of her life on the pokies, and wanted to stop this happening to other problem-gamblers.
"For too long now, we have been told we are the only ones to blame for pokies addiction," she told reporters on Tuesday.
By Anand Patel: The Election Commission of India has rejected rebel Janata Dal (United) leader Sharad Yadav's claim over the party. Sources in the poll panel said that the claims of the Sharad Yadav faction were not substantiated with documents and hence their application was rejected. The decision has upheld Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's claim as the leader of the JD(U).
advertisement
Election Commission sources told India Today that the Sharad Yadav camp's application staking claim over the JD(U) was not backed by documents and letters of support from party leaders. This was the reason why the faction's claim was rejected. The Sharad camp, in its application, had assured the Election Commission that it would come up with supporting documents but could not do so.
JD(U) MP and its leader in Rajya Sabha RCP Singh welcomed the Election Commission's decision.
JD(U) MP RCP SINGH WELCOMES POLL PANEL's DECISION
Speaking to India Today, he said, "JD(U) is one party and Nitish Kumar is our national president. Sharad Yadav wanted to show that there is a splinter group within the party, of which he is the leader."
"The Sharad Yadav camp, in its application, could not show it has any support. We will not remove him from the party. We have moved a resolution against him in Rajya Sabha. His membership will go. There is no place for Sharad Yadav in JD(U)", he added.
The verdict comes as a rude shock to veteran leader Sharad Yadav, who was hoping for a long-drawn battle over the control of JD(U). With the EC's verdict going in Nitish's favour, the decision over the Rajya Sabha membership of both rebel leaders - Sharad Yadav and Ali Anwar - is expected soon.
ALSO READ |
Membership row: Rajya Sabha Secretariat sends notices to rebel JD(U) MPs Sharad Yadav, Ali Anwar
Why JD(U) rebel Sharad Yadav faces disqualification from Rajya Sabha
Nitish camp submits affidavits of its cadres to trash Sharad Yadav's claim over JD (U)
ALSO WATCH VIDEO | Sharad Yadav has had enough, attends Lalu's anti-BJP rally with full vigour
--- ENDS ---
In a perfect world, this article would have begun with a quote from the gangster/shrink movie Analyse This, released in 1999. In the event, though, the movie's rating -- due in large part to the 'salty' dialogue -- leaves little that can be included here without censoring so much of it that it more closely represents morse code.
It stars, you might recall, Billy Crystal as a psychiatrist and Robert De Niro as a mob boss. De Niro, as Paul Vitti, reluctantly asks Crystal's Dr. Sobel for help. Of course, being Hollywood, all's well that ends well -- and it's a very funny journey.
When it comes to privatising, working together is key.
Both men are there because they expect to be able to work together -- and to both benefit from the process notwithstanding some aggression and disagreement along the way. Which, if you'll excuse the metaphor, is often the relationship between government and investors when it comes to privatisations.
Most people will have a view on privatisations. But, without being unkind, most of those views are couched in an ideological world view. Government either should or shouldn't own particular types of business, for those people.
Besieged retirement living giant Aveo faces further upheaval with legal firm Maurice Blackburn set to launch a class action over its use of allegedly "unfair and unconscionable" contracts on elderly residents.
Maurice Blackburn principal Brooke Dellavedova said the firm sought to sign up unhappy retirees ahead of potential legal action targeting the contracts Aveo asks village residents to sign.
"These are complex and long contracts about 60 pages long," Ms Dellavedova said. "We're looking at the terms of the contracts which appear to be unfair and unconscionable.
"The average age of residents is about 82 years of age. They're often going into a period of turmoil when they go into retirement homes and they're signing these contracts which significantly favour Aveo."
Diversified property player Charter Hall has begun collecting assets to seed a new consumer staples fund, paying $21 million for a Bunnings Warehouse in Tasmania.
Charter Hall purchased a store leased to the Wesfarmers-owned national hardware chain in Burnie, on Tasmania's north coast, via its balance sheet for an initial yield of 6.1 per cent.
A Bunnings Warehouse in Burnie, Tasmania.
The 3.04-hectare site will be the first property to underpin the group's Direct Diversified Consumer Staples Fund (DCSF) which is set to launch next month.
The Burnie site, with 8.9 years remaining on its 12-year lease and annual 3 percent rent increases, was offloaded by a private syndicate.
Sydney's George Street strip has cemented its status as the tech hub of the city as tier-one brands set up shop in preparation for the completion of the light rail and rejuvenation of the street.
The main activity is between King and Market streets where Optus and Vodafone have signed leases in the Fife Capital's 383 George Street development. They join Apple, Telstra and Samsung along the strip. The shops are an average 250 square metres at what agents call "solid rents". The average rent along the prime strip can run between $5000 to $7000 per sq m per annum.
Optus will officially open its store on Friday which will feature the latest smart technology as well as two fully immersive experiences, designed to show customers the benefits of using smart home technology in everyday life.
The specially designed store allows consumers to touch, feel and try the latest technology including Smart Home devices, Smart Switches and the recently launched Google Home.
In terms of the prawn allocation in rice paper rolls (C8), Peter Miniutti should think himself lucky according to Rosemary Vanderlaan of Bayview. "Three prawns sounds generous! When my husband was first in Australia back in the 1950 he was helping a friend prepare spring rolls for sale. Each roll was allowed one prawn cut in half one half up one end and one half down the other." George Manojlovic of Mangerton writes: "Three prawns to a rice paper roll probably comes from the Book of Crustaceans where it is also written that three mini spring rolls must always be served as an entree for two people (often a challenge to conjugal harmony)." You're on a roll, George.
Still on prawns, Steve Moore of Leumeah writes: "Recently I ordered chili prawn linguini at a local club. When I suggested three prawns was hardly worth $15, the waiter said he'd speak to the chef. Chef's explanation was there should have been six, but he forgot to cut them in half."
John Dyos of Barrack Heights asks: "When Auntie gets behind the wheel of a driverless car, will she need a driver's licence or not?"
Graham Creed's dress sense (C8) has been revisited. Charles Davies-Scourfield of Moss Vale writes: "Since C8 hosted comments about weatherman Graham Creed, his outfit of grey suit, shirt and tie has improved immensely ... but wait! At the beginning of his segment we glimpse his shoes. Oh dear, pale brown with such sartorial elegance above. Get some black shoes Graham." Now that's a dressing down.
Miriam Dayhew of Junee says that "cow pat lotto is not unique to Casino (C8). It is a standard and regular fundraiser for country schools. Always a good earner at Yanco Ag's Gala Day". Last word on Casino goes to Don White of Frenchs Forest. "Take the road to the west out of Casino then head northwest and before you leave NSW, you'll come to Wilsons Downfall. That says it all." You betcha.
The fictional Oliver Twist dared to ask for some more. Little orphan Annie dared to believe the sun'd come out - and tomorrow would be better. In real life, the children in orphanages today have little cause for optimism.
Orphans are used as cash cows in countries like Cambodia, Vietnam and Nepal. Corrupt orphanage directors embezzle funds and lure volunteers from Australia, deceiving them into thinking they're helping.
Tara Winkler (seen here with Cambodian children in 2007) set up her own orphanage in Battambang, in the west of the country, before turning away from centre-based care for children, which she now calls a "trap".
They're not. In fact, they're the problem. That's why the world's biggest school-based volunteer travel company, World Challenge, has stopped offering orphanage trips for Australian volunteers. AsiaPac manager Mark Walters said: "Knowing what we know now, potentially not everything we did was constructive."
The ugly truth is unscrupulous operators capitalise on well-meaning Western guilt. Orphanage volunteering is an Aussie rite of passage that fulfils all the needs of the volunteer and none of the child.
Hillary Clinton's new book on her loss of the 2016 election is part confessional, part jeremiad. It is a necessarily partisan view that will rightly prompt debate about the weaknesses in Clinton's campaign that allowed a demonstrably unqualified man to become the president of the United States.
But it is also a timely warning to other Western nations, including Australia, about the fragility of the democratic institutions most of us have come to take for granted in the post-war era, and the destabilising forces that seek to undermine them.
Drawing on the masses of information already made public by investigative reporters and US intelligence and security services about the election, Mrs Clinton convincingly argues that Russian interests used media propaganda outlets such as Russia Today as well as social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter to discredit her campaign and bolster that of her opponent, Donald Trump.
She believes their efforts were met with success in part because America's faith in crucial institutions including government, academia and traditional media had already been eroded; in part because of poor campaign finance laws, and in part thanks to partisan media including Rupert Murdoch's Fox News.
A mural commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Passchendaele, unveiled last week in Hosier Lane by Melbourne artist Adrian Doyle, is a timely reminder for us to look up from our screens and reflect on the sacrifices made by our ancestors.
However, when I went to see the mural on Friday, I was shocked to see that the artwork had already been defaced by the black jagged script of a sprayed graffiti tag.
Street artist Adrian Doyle in front of his mural in Hosier Lane. Credit:Daniel Pockett
We should not dishonour the sacrifice of our military service personnel and their families, no matter how this sacrifice is presented be it street art, statue, or shrine.
But of course the defacement of Doyle's mural is complicated because it is a work of street art. Part of street art culture is the acceptance of constant change works can be painted over at anytime.
You'd have to have been hiding under a rock not to know that 40 per cent of jobs in Australia about 5 million of them are likely to be automated in the next 10 to 15 years.
Ask a young person what they know about the future of work and that's it. Which may help explain why so many of them seem angry and depressed about the economic future they're inheriting.
This information is widely known because it's the key finding of a major report, Australia's future workforce?, published in 2015 by the Committee for Economic Development of Australia, a well-regarded business think tank, derived from modelling it commissioned.
It's the sort of proposition you see many references to on social media, particularly because it chimes with a similar widely known prediction made in 2013 that 47 per cent of American jobs could be automated in the next 20 years.
It was a sweaty start to the morning for Sydney residents with higher than usual overnight temperatures.
The temperature barely dropped below 20 degrees in the city, about 9 degrees above average.
It was cooler in Sydney's west but the temperature is expected to warm up quickly as the city heads to a forecast of 30 degrees-plus.
Weatherzone senior meteorologist Brett Dutschke said it was unusually hot for early spring.
After Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit in 2014, Prime Minister Abe is the second world leader to be hosted in Gujarat.
By Geeta Mohan: Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will begin his two-day visit to India on Wednesday where he and Prime Minister Modi will hold the 12th India-Japan annual summit in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. After Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit in 2014, Prime Minister Abe is the second world leader to be hosted in Gujarat.
Abe, accompanied by his wife Akie Abe will land in Ahmedabad and the couple will kick off the visit by going to Sabarmati Ashram to pay respect to Mahatma Gandhi. Pranay Verma, Joint Secretary, East Asia Division while addressing a press conference said that Prime Minister Modi will accompany the couple on the tour.
advertisement
He also said that this would be the "fourth annual summit and tenth meeting between the two leaders" emphasising that the "frequency of their meetings points to the high level of interaction and the importance they attach to the relationship". In the evening of Wednesday, the Abe couple would visit 'Siddi Sayyaid ki Jaali', one of the most famous mosques of Ahmedabad representing the Gujarat Sultanate.
On Thursday, Modi and Abe will hold bilateral talks in Gandhinagar. "The two leaders will review the recent progress in the multifaceted cooperation between India and Japan under the framework of their Special Strategic and Global Partnership and will set its future direction," the MEA said in a statement. But, ahead of the talks, the two leaders will jointly participate in the ground-breaking ceremony of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail project. The 500-km railway link service is expected to start in 2022-a year ahead of what was previously expected.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that keeping the bullet train project in mind as one of the top agendas, the two Prime Ministers would also participate in the ground-breaking ceremony of a high-speed railway training institute to be set up in Vadodara through a video link.
Following the ceremony, the Japanese Prime Minister would also visit Dandi Kutir, a memorial dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi.
The bilateral dialogue between the two sides would focus on a range of issues from economic cooperation, trade, defence to maritime and regional security. Abe's schedule in India showcases the "impressive expansion and deepening of our partnership with Japan across a wide spectrum of agenda and also shows Japan's increasing engagement in India's infrastructure development and some of India's flagship initiatives such as Make in India and Skill India," Verma said. The talks will be followed by exchange and signing of documents and brief press statements by both the leaders. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host lunch for his Japanese counterpart.
The two leaders will also attend the India-Japan Business Plenary where there would be a parallel CEOs conference that would be held at the same venue. In terms of investment and development projects, the big focus would be the 'Asia-Africa Growth Corridor' (AAGC) that India is planning to develop along with Japan as also focus on development of North-Eastern states of India with Japanese assistance.
advertisement
The day will end with a cultural program in honour of the Japanese Prime Minister and a dinner hosted by the Gujarat Chief Minister.
Also Read:
Why a Japanese thinks India will be the world's last superpower
WATCH | Japan backs India, extends support over Doklam stand-off. Is China listening?
--- ENDS ---
Australians who feel vilified, intimidated or threatened by another person's conduct during the same-sex marriage campaign will have legal recourse under emergency laws being rushed through Parliament this week.
Civil penalties of up to $12,600 will apply, but any legal action for an alleged breach of the new law will have to be approved by Attorney-General George Brandis.
The special protections will end at the conclusion of the same-sex marriage postal survey in November.
Civil penalties can be imposed by a court, but no criminal penalties - such as fines or jail time - will apply.
A senior Japanese official has warned the world faces its "last chance" to rein in North Korea's nuclear program and said it is "very helpful" for countries including Australia to tighten the sanctions noose by targeting firms around the world that help Pyongyang dodge United Nations penalties.
The official was speaking shortly before the UN Security Council voted in favour of imposing tighter sanctions on the rogue regime but stopped well short of what Washington and its allies wanted, with China and Russia threatening to veto tougher measures.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop welcomed the UN vote but pointedly noted the "special responsibility" of veto-wielding powers that continue to do business with North Korea a veiled reference to China in particular.
The US and Japan have led the way on so-called "secondary sanctions" that target third-country businesses that surreptitiously deal with North Korea in breach of the UN rules, including Chinese banks and companies.
Works to install a massive steel security fence across the lawns of Canberra's Parliament House won't be completed until June 2018.
On Tuesday, tourists and visitors watched as contractors used a large crane to install 2.6m prefabricated panels across the sloping lawns, which form part of the building's roof.
The fence is part of more than $126 million in security upgrades and fortification works planned for Parliament House.
Veteran press gallery journalist Michelle Grattan led criticism of construction, describing the fence as "appalling" on social media.
Australians will start receiving forms for the same-sex marriage postal survey in their letterboxes from this week.
With debate continuing in federal Parliament and around the country, the Australian Bureau of Statistics is aiming to distribute 16 million survey forms in a staggered mail out by September 25.
Last week the High Court ruled the survey could go ahead and federal Parliament is expected to pass legislation to increase legal protections for the process.
Here's what you need to know about participation in the non-compulsory survey:
Following his first challenge to Bob Hawke in 1991, Paul Keating famously said: "there is something very healthy in public life about snatching it. There's a legitimacy about it, and I wanted to legitimise it".
Keating's axiom on political authority was typically brilliant expansive in its brevity, and instructive in what it said about how power is acquired, when it is legitimate, and through whom.
Girls to the front: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull with senior women members of his ministry, after the swearing-in ceremony at Government House in July last year. Credit:Andrew Meares
The erstwhile treasurer, widely admired for his vaulting ambition, was given the green light in a subsequent tilt.
Two decades later, the way Julia Gillard's move against Kevin Rudd was received was starkly different, even taking into account the key circumstance that Rudd was in his first term.
For almost every wardrobe crisis of the "I have nothing to wear" variety there is a solution. And it's this: wear a dress.
Nothing could be easier, or indeed, more of a straight-up power move.
A dress from the Carolina Herrera collection is modelled during New York Fashion Week. Credit:AP
A dress takes away the fuss, or at least the need to find a top that remotely "goes". It's a deliberate and definitive choice.
And a dress works just as well for those seeking to assert their authority (or at least their ambition) look at Ivanka Trump in her endless array of pastel-hued sheath dresses as it does a boho earth-mother who lives her days barefoot in a caftan.
Isabelle De Gioia, 12, is among the first group of year 6 students to sit the test to get into newly created selective streams at Sydney's Catholic high schools.
"It was a little bit harder than I expected, I found the abstract thinking quite challenging, but I enjoyed it," said Isabelle, a student at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Primary School.
A total of 131 students from Catholic and non-Catholic primary schools sat the inaugural test on Tuesday, with about 90 to be offered a place at All Saints Catholic College Liverpool, De La Salle Catholic College Caringbah or Our Lady of Mercy College Burraneer the three high schools piloting the streams next year.
All 38 of Sydney's Catholic high schools are expected to introduce the Newman Selective Gifted Education program in coming years.
An Australian soldier fighting in the Vietnam War ignored standing procedures and exposed himself to enemy gunfire to save an injured friend, a Defence tribunal has heard.
Brisbane veteran Ian Reid has appealed to the Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal for consideration for a Victoria Cross, the highest award bestowed to Australian Defence personnel who have shown gallantry or valour in the presence of the enemy.
Ian Reid likely saved a fellow soldier's life in the Vietnam War. Credit:Dion Georgopoulos
A hearing in Canberra on Tuesday was told Defence officials had previously found no merit in Mr Reid's appeal for an honour, despite a long running campaign by some of his fellow soldiers.
Six witnesses appeared before the independent appeals tribunal, which will make a recommendation to the federal government about the case.
Earlier attempts to drag Fluffy who was nursing minor mouth, belly and tail injuries back into the surf near Manly failed before rescuers moved him onto a stretcher and into the nearby Fairy Bower ocean pool for a health assessment.
The juvenile 1.8-metre male shark was sent on his way about four kilometres offshore at 2.30pm, more than 24 hours after being found flailing in the surf at South Steyne on Monday.
Fluffy the baby great white prior to being released back out to sea after an overnight stay at Manly Sea Life Sanctuary. Credit:Manly Sea Life Sanctuary
The baby great white shark nicknamed "Fluffy" that washed ashore like Ariel in The Little Mermaid on Monday has been released back into the ocean.
According to Manly Sea Life Sanctuary aquarist Robbie McCracken, the shark was suffering "stress and duress" due to being in unfamiliar territory and after "some rest and a chance to calm down from his beaching ordeal", he was later transferred by truck to the aquarium where he spent the night in an isolation tank while experts monitored his condition.
A NSW Fisheries spokesperson said together with "sharkologists" and a team of vets, Fluffy was released into deeper waters off the coast.
Manly Sea Life Sanctuary "aquarists" now have high hopes for the animal.
Loading
"White sharks are generally found in offshore environments and are strong swimmers so it is really unusual for one to wash up like this. We have been involved in dozens of rescues over the years but this one was certainly unique. It was truly a privilege to work with this species and it is always great to be able to release an animal like this back to the wild and to see the amount of public support he had," said Rob Townsend, life sciences manager at Manly Sea Life Sanctuary.
The state government's latest social housing drive will target a group not typically associated with homelessness in the public mind: older women, including professionals who have been middle-income earners.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced on Tuesday that the government would tender for building of 1200 new social and affordable houses, in the second phase of an affordable housing fund announced last election.
Projects aimed at offering housing for older women would be prioritised, the state government said, because they are the fastest-growing cohort among the state's homeless population and have previously been overlooked for housing options.
"Men are doing it tough ... but women definitely more so," said Tracy Howe, CEO of the NSW Council of Social Service, which helped to design the fund. "You've had caring responsibilities and interrupted life events and no superannuation. This all compounds and compounds, even for women who see themselves as middle-income earners.
The newest development in the Jiah Khan death case is her mother presenting a third report from a forensic expert in the UK to back her claim that Jiah was murdered.
By India Today Web Desk: It has been more than four years Jiah Khan was found hanging in her Juhu apartment in Mumbai, but there seems to be no resolution in sight as far as the case is concerned.
The case has seen many twists and turns in the last four-and-a-half years with Jiah's mother Rabia Khan sticking to her claim that her daughter did not commit suicide but was murdered.
advertisement
Rabia has now brought forth a new report from forensic experts in the UK to support her claim that Jiah's death was murder and not suicide.
Rabia's latest report is by a freelance forensic expert, and it raises many questions and says that the case is not ready for trial.
The Juhu police and then the CBI had concluded that Jiah had committed suicide. Actor and her boyfriend Sooraj Pancholi was arrested on charges of abetment to suicide.
Jiah was discovered hanging in her apartment in Mumbai on June 3, 2013.
Sooraj, meanwhile, has quietly gone off Twitter. The Hero actor deleted his Twitter account and is nowhere to be seen on the micro-blogging site today.
Apart from the Jiah Khan death case being re-opened, Sooraj's father Aditya Pancholi is currently in the middle of yet another controversy.
Kangana Ranaut, who Pancholi had an affair with several years ago, went on the record to name him as her abuser. Kangana's sister Rangoli called Aditya a 'small time goon' after he threatened to sue Kangana.
(With inputs from Vidya)
ALSO READ | Jiah Khan's death case sees a new twist: Timeline of the events after her death
ALSO READ | Jiah Khan death case: This is what Jiah's letter to Sooraj Pancholi read
ALSO READ | Jiah Khan's death was not suicide? British forensic expert says hanging was staged
ALSO READ | Jiah Khan death case: Sooraj Pancholi extricated Jiah's foetus with own hands?
ALSO WATCH | Jiah Khan death not suicide? Newest twist in case; 'hanging was staged'
--- ENDS ---
Dr Jeremy Coleman is a well-known GP in the Newcastle area. Credit:Max Mason-Hubers Mr Marr said the majority of the alleged victims were aged in their 20s, 30s and 40s and, typically, don't know each other. Mr Marr said many of the charges relate to internal examinations that the prosecution say had no proper medical purpose, while other allegations relate to inappropriate touching. Dr Coleman, and his defence barrister, Pauline David, dispute that any examination was done without a proper medical purpose and claim that every time he touched a patient it was in order to examine and diagnose long standing physical complaints. "Dr Jeremy Coleman's only purpose in examining and touching every patient was a medical one," Ms David told the jury during her opening address.
"He is a highly trained and highly capable medical doctor. "It was his job to examine them, it was his job to touch them. "The defence position is that everything he did was proper and everything he did was for a proper medical purpose." Mr Marr said during consultations, once Dr Coleman's line of questioning swung around to sex, he would then typically ask to perform an internal examination. "I expect the evidence in the trial will be that very few patients resisted that request," Mr Marr said.
"They took it as this gentleman is the specialist... maybe there is some reason for this." Patients complained that there wasn't a screen for them to get undressed behind, that Dr Coleman remained in the room while they got undressed or that he would watch them get undressed, Mr Marr said. Some said they weren't provided any linen to cover themselves with, that he didn't use a glove or lubrication during the internal examination and that he didn't reveal the findings of his examination. "Two of the patients describe Dr Coleman having an erection during those examinations," Mr Marr said. Of those patients who declined the internal examination, Mr Marr said some reported a change in Dr Coleman's demeanour. There were other patients, Mr Marr said, who complained not of an internal examination, but inappropriate touching.
"Some of the ladies were subject to touching of their breasts in a way that they say had nothing to do with the medical examinations," Mr Marr said. "Some described a sensual touching of their breasts, some described their nipples being touched." According to Mr Marr, a few women claim Dr Coleman told them the best way to administer nasal spray was on "all fours, with their nose to the ground and their bottoms up". "He also suggested it would be a benefit to their husbands if they were in that position," Mr Marr said of Dr Coleman. But Mr Marr told the jury that as well as proving that "sexual intercourse", under the legal definition, occurred, he must also prove Dr Coleman's "subjective intention".
"The Crown has to prove what was in the mind of Dr Coleman at the time he did it," Mr Marr said. "And importantly the Crown has to prove that at the time he placed his finger in the vagina of the patient in his own mind it was not for a proper medical purpose." Mr Marr said any "apparent consent" that patients had given was "not proper consent at all" because they were misled as to the reason of the examination. "Alternatively, the terms of the consent were exceeded by the way he conducted the examinations," Mr Marr said. Ms David used much of her opening address to outline for the jury the defence position. "There are some counts that are denied by the accused, that is he just doesn't agree that he did certain examinations," Ms David said. "Or he doesn't agree that he conducted the examination in the way that is alleged. "There are some cases where it did not happen at all.
"Some where it did happen, but it was for a proper medical purpose. "We say everything that he did do is for a proper medical purpose." Ms David said it was not in dispute that Dr Coleman suggested his patients got down on all fours to take their nasal spray. "We say that is not some sexual ritual," Ms David said. "It is a proper medical purpose. "There is no other connotation than that."
Most body surfers and board riders have asked themselves what would they do if a shark attacked somebody in the water near them.
Two men who faced that moment of truth have been awarded one of Australia's highest bravery awards, the Star of Courage, for paddling out to shark victims.
Minnamurra science teacher Joel Trist went to the aid of Brett Connellan after he had been hit by a shark while the pair surfed at Bombo Beachnear Kiama on March 30, 2016 and put his profusely bleeding mate on his board and paddled him to shore.
A little over a year before, East Ballina osteopath Hugh Giles was surfing a reef break when a shark attacked Tadashi Nakahar at nearby Shelley Beach on March 9, 2015.
Witnesses have reported seeing a woman "flying mid-air" after she and a man were struck by a vehicle in Sydney's west on Monday night.
Shortly before 7pm, a 21-year-old woman and her male companion, 22, were knocked down while jogging on Concord Road, Rhodes.
The intersection where Anthony Quartarone witnessed the accident. Credit:Google Maps
Both were taken to Westmead Hospital, where the woman remains in a critical condition, and the man is now stable.
Anthony Quartarone was driving home from Strathfield station when he witnessed the accident.
High-profile Brisbane lawyer Sam Di Carlo arranged for people involved in a corruption watchdog investigation to feed him information via legal representatives, police allege.
The revelation was among further details of an ongoing Crime and Corruption Commission investigation that emerged as Mr Di Carlo sought to vary bail conditions at Brisbane Magistrates Court.
Brisbane barrister Sam Di Carlo outside court. Credit:Darren England/AAP
The 60-year-old was charged with perjury last month over allegations he lied at a CCC investigative hearing.
As part of his release from custody he was banned from contacting several people, who will likely be CCC witnesses or co-accused, including friend and embattled former Ipswich mayor Paul Pisasale, the court heard.
The trial of Brenden Bennetts for the 2015 murder of Gatton schoolgirl Jayde Kendall is close to ending with final submissions set to be delivered.
Mr Bennetts, now aged 21, has spent six on days on trial in the Brisbane Supreme Court after pleading guilty to manslaughter but not guilty to murder.
A court has heard Brenden Bennetts searched online for methods of disposing a body. Credit:Travis D. Hendrix/AAP
The jury has heard Mr Bennetts is believed to have killed Jayde less than two hours after he picked the 16-year-old up from school on Friday, August 14.
He then dumped her body in an isolated field on the outskirts of town and withdrew $70 from her bank account at an ATM.
A man accused of murdering a woman later told a friend he crossed her arms and "put a smile on her face" after she died, a court has heard.
Melbourne Magistrates Court heard that in the months after Karen Rae's disappearance in April 2015, Tony John Smith discussed her death with two women, admitting his alleged crime to one and using Ms Rae's name when threatening the other.
Karen Rae's remains were found beside the Frankston Freeway .
Mr Smith, 50, was charged with murder after Ms Rae's remains were found beside the Frankston Freeway in December last year.
The 48-year-old mother of four was last seen leaving her home in Adib Court in Frankston North about 7pm on April 15, 2015.
Crossbench senator Derryn Hinch has used the legal protection of the Senate to name a paedophile policeman who sexually brutalised nine children during his 12 years in the force.
The Victorian policeman was jailed for 19 years with a minimum of 15 last year, for raping and abusing nine children over a 16-year span.
Despite being handed one of the state's longest sentences for sexual offences in history, the former policeman has never been named.
Fairfax Media has chosen not to identify the former officer at this time as it is believed a judicial suppression of his victims' identities is still in place.
From July 1, single use plastic bags will be banned in Western Australia, Environment Minister Stephen Dawson announced on Tuesday.
Mr Dawson told Radio 6PR the state-wide ban would end any uncertainty caused to retailers in some local councils that had already decided to ban plastic bag use within their districts.
Up to 6 billion bags a year go into landfill, after being used for 12 minutes. Credit:John Veage
"Over the past few months we've seen a range of local governments act to ban plastic bags in their locality, we've also seen Coles and Woolworths indicate they're going to ban plastic bags," he said.
"Given there's been a bit of concern amongst retailers - they have shops in one local government where they're going to be banned but they're not going to be banned in the next suburb - we've decided the best thing to do is actually ban them across the state.
A woman will face court on Tuesday charged with more than 100 fraud and stealing related offences.
Kensington Detectives have charged the 41-year-old from Spearwood over numerous alleged stealing and fraud incidents across the Perth metropolitan area between August 1 and September 3.
The charges related to 24 different incidents in which credit cards were stolen. Credit:Jessica Shapiro
It will be alleged the woman was involved in 24 different incidents in which other people's credit cards were stolen and fraudulent transactions were later made.
The woman has been charged with 80 counts of gains benefit by fraud, 21 counts of stealing and three counts of attempt to gain benefit by fraud.
By Shivani Chhabra: Be it her fiery interviews or the promising trailer of her upcoming film, Simran, Kangana Ranaut knows how to steal the limelight better than anyone else. While this lady is stirring quite a few hearts with her boss-like attitude, we've only been waiting for her to spring back in action with her now-dormant style-sense.
Also Read: These 3 outfits prove that Kangana Ranaut is far from being a fashion queen
advertisement
As much as we admire this diva for making bold experiments like teaming her saree with a pair of sneakers , there are times when her innovations fall flat on the face. Kangana's recent semi-casual look is a case in point.
Before we get into the details of her recent appearance, it's important to mention how we really admire Kangana's oozing confidence in the attire, in an attire as experimental as that.
For starters, Kangana had thrown over a really spiffy, semi-formal blazer in a sublime peach shade over a casual, white tee--something that we really liked about the outfit. While the blazer was just so pretty, Kangana's slit-pants looked strange.
Picture courtesy: Instagram/afashionistadiaries
The Queen actress wore a pair of front-slit pants in a black, translucent fabric, and we've got mixed feelings about it. As cool as the pants were, they looked a little off for the plush blazer. The elegant blazer teamed with those glamorous pants, especially with long zippers across the length, wasn't quite the combination anyone would like.
Also Read: Kangana Ranaut wore a night suit to an event, and we're not kidding
As separates, the Onam Studio pieces had a charming enigma about them. But for pants as out-of-the-box as those, a sensual, body-hugging top would have worked like magic. The actress got a little too experimental, we guess.
Kangana teamed up this not-so-great outfit with a pair of black, Dior pumps, and completed the look.
--- ENDS ---
Some residents of the Florida Keys archipelago allowed back on Tuesday found homes that Hurricane Irma's high winds had shredded like soda cans, while the death toll rose in the second major hurricane to hit the United States this year.
Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes on record before it arrived in the United States, killed 43 people in its rampage through the Caribbean and at least 11 in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.
On Islamadora Key, one of just three islands where authorities allowed people to return on Tuesday, the aluminum walls of trailer homes had been ripped open by the storm, exposing insulation, bedrooms and kitchens to the sunlight.
More substantial structures, like churches and businesses, showed less damage, although access to harder-hit islands remained closed. Roadsides were littered with mangrove branches, motorboats and even a hot tub.
In her new book on her loss of the 2016 presidential election - and her shock, anger and grief - Hillary Clinton has given the clearest insight to date into a marriage that has fascinated the world since the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
"I don't believe our marriage is anyone's business But I know that a lot of people are genuinely interested. Maybe you're flat out perplexed," she writes in What Happened, introducing a deeply personal passage on the couple's shared life.
"There were times that I was deeply unsure about whether our marriage could or should survive," she writes without specifically mentioning her husband's infamous infidelities.
"But on those days I asked myself the question that mattered most to me: Do I still love him? And can I still be in this marriage without becoming unrecognisable to myself-twisted by anger, resentment, or remoteness. The answers were always yes. So I kept going."
Washington: The UN Security Council has whacked crippling new sanctions on North Korea to force it to negotiate over its nuclear and weapons programs.
But it came only after days of diplomatic horse-trading, in which Washington caved to demands by Beijing and Moscow that even harsher American terms be defanged.
The deal between the three powers ensured that neither the Chinese nor the Russians exercised their Security Council veto, which would have derailed what became a unanimous resolution in the aftermath of Pyongyang's sixth and most powerful nuclear device test on September 3.
More importantly, Monday evening's vote revealed the power that China and Russia hold as the globe confronts the North Korea crisis, which on the one hand, they see more as Washington's problem; while on the other, they see US prescriptions to resolve the crisis as more of a problem for them.
IGT and Caribbean Lottery extend our thoughts to the people of Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Maarten and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, who have been affected by Hurricane Irma.
We have been following with great concern the impact of the hurricane in the countries in which we operate.
We share the primary focus of the governments of the impacted islands that the safety of residents be addressed first and foremost. The important work of rebuilding damaged infrastructure and restoring normalcy to everyday life are the first steps to restoring the prosperity of these nation states.
IGT and Caribbean Lottery are working to find the best ways to offer our support and assistance to the recovery efforts from these devastating storms.
We also wish to express our support for the residents of other northern Caribbean states and the U.S. who are being affected by these extreme weather systems. With the spirit of brotherhood so strong in our region, we know that despite the challenges, we will be able to recover from the dire circumstances.
ICT Press Release
ST. JOHNS, Antigua:--- LIAT has begun to assess airport operations into the destinations of St. Maarten and Tortola, British Virgin Islands which were severely affected by the passage of Hurricane Irma. The Princess Juliana International Airport in St. Maarten and the Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport in Tortola suffered extensive damage and at this time are closed to commercial operations.
LIAT is continually assessing the situation in both destinations and are working with authorities to set a time line to re-establishing commercial operations. We do not expect to establish regular commercial flights in and out of these destinations within the next two weeks. LIAT is currently working with relief organizations to move personnel and supplies in and out of these affected areas.
The Management and staff of LIAT will continue to work to support the people of St. Maarten and the British Virgin Islands especially at this difficult time.
LIAT will continue to update the public on the restoration of services to these destinations and will issue further updates via its website (www.liat.com) and social media platforms.
LIAT Press Release
Solar Novus Today Has Been Integrated
With Novus Light Technologies Today
Visit Novus Light Technologies Today to see all the cutting-edge stories and products that you have come to enjoy on Solar Novus Today. In addition, you will find more information on related light-based technologies.
Get the latest solar and renewable energy news delivered right to your inbox. Sign up for the Green Technologies newsletter
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR GREEN TECHNOLOGIES NEWSLETTER
By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 12 (PTI) Kinetic Green, a part of Pune- based Kinetic Group, has inked a pact with shared e-mobility firm SmartE to introduce 10,000 electric three-wheelers across the country within next 18 months.
Under the partnership, the first batch of 500 vehicles have already been rolled out in Gurgaon in collaboration with Delhi Metro Rail, HSIIDC and Rapid Metro Gurgaon.
advertisement
"Kinetic Green is pleased to partner with SmartE for deployment of a vast fleet of electric vehicles, especially electric rickshaws to offer a green and differentiated last mile connectivity and affordable urban public transport solution," Kinetic Green Energy & Power Solutions Founder & CEO Sulajja Firodia Motwani said in a statement.
As three wheelers are a primary mode of urban public transport, deployment of non-polluting electric rickshaws and autos would help reduce pollution in cities and help create a green public transport ecosystem, she added.
Commenting on the development, SmartE Co-Founder & CEO Goldie Srivastava said the partnership marks a significant milestone in countrys plans of becoming a 100 per cent electric vehicle nation by 2030.
"At SmartE, we have moved over 6 million passengers through our electric last mile service in last two years. We are ramping up significantly and are looking to achieve an average daily ridership of one million in the next 18 months," he added.
As per the partnership, Kinetic will provide customised vehicles to SmartE. The vehicles are are being designed and manufactured at Kinetics plant in Ahmednagar, near Pune. PTI MSS BAL
--- ENDS ---
Jadhav was sentenced by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage and terrorism. The International Court of Justice restrained Pakistan from executing the Indian national on May 18.
By Geeta Mohan: India on Wednesday will file a written submission in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case at the United Nations' top court, which it hopes will declare the former Indian Navy officer's death sentence a breach of international law.
Jadhav was sentenced by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage and terrorism. The International Court of Justice restrained Pakistan from executing the Indian national on May 18.
advertisement
On June 8, Indian and Pakistani representatives met the International Court of Justice's president, Ronny Abraham, to discuss a timeline for the case.
It was then decided that India would file its written submissions - or 'memorials' - on September 13, and that Pakistan would file a response by December 13.
WHAT INDIA'S MEMORIAL WILL SAY
India will provide details of Pakistan's violations in its memorial, India Today has learned. The submission will also explain the grounds for final relief, as outlined in India's initial prayer.
New Delhi will highlight the denial of consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav, a brazen violation of the Vienna Convention. It will contend that Islamabad is acting in defiance Article 14 of the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), and reiterate that Jadhav was illegally abducted from Iran, where he was running a small business.
It will provide details about a passport he had, one he wouldn't have been carrying if he were a spy, and point out how he was tried secretly in a military court, as opposed to a civil one.
India will mention Pakistan's grossest violation - the fact that Kulbhushan Jadhav has had no legal help or support (lawyers in Pakistan have refused to represent him, fearing disbarrment). It will continue to maintain that his death sentence should be suspended.
If the ICJ is convinced that Islamabad violated international law, then the UN court could direct it to release Jadhav.
ALSO READ
How International Court of Justice decided in India's favour in Kulbhushan Jadhav case: An explainer
Kulbhushan Jadhav on Pakistan death row: UN chief Antonio Guterres informs UNSC of ICJ's order
ALSO WATCH
India's full argument of Kulbhushan Jadhav's case in ICJ
--- ENDS ---
Georgetown, SC (29440)
Today
Sun and clouds mixed. High 58F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph..
Tonight
Partly cloudy skies during the evening giving way to a few showers after midnight. Low near 50F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement
By PTI: London, Sep 12 (PTI) The Suns largest solar flare in more than 12 years - and the eighth largest since modern records began in 1996 - has been captured in high detail by scientists.
The huge burst of radiation, which was not harmful to humans due to the Earths protective atmosphere and distance from the Sun, occurred unexpectedly on September 6, 2017, researchers, including those from the University of Sheffield and Queens University Belfast in the UK, said.
advertisement
The flare was one of three X-category flares ? the largest type of flare - observed over 48 hour period, they said.
The large solar bursts have energies comparable to one billion hydrogen bombs and can drive plasma away from the solar surface at speeds of up to 2,000 kilometres per second (km/s) in phenomena known as coronal mass ejections.
These powerful events, known as space weather, can lead to disruption to satellites and Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, as well as spectacular aurora through their interaction with the Earths atmosphere.
The largest X-class flare was measured to have an energy level of X9.3 (where X9 is nine times more powerful than X1).
The team observed these historic events in extremely high detail using the Swedish Solar Telescope in La Palma.
One of the most difficult aspects of flare observation using ground-based telescopes is the short time-scales over which flares evolve.
X-class flares can form and reach their peak intensities in little over five minutes, meaning observers, who only see a small part of the Sun at any one moment, must act fast to ensure they catch the crucial opening moments of the flares evolution.
"It is very unusual to observe the opening minutes of a flares life," said Chris Nelson from the Solar Physics and Space Plasma Research Centre (SP2RC).
"We can only observe about 1/250th of the solar surface at any one time using the Swedish Solar Telescope, so to be in the right place at the right time requires a lot of luck. To observe the rise phases of three X-classes over two days is just unheard of," said Nelson.
"The Sun is currently in what we call solar minimum," said Aaron Reid, a research fellow at at Queens University Belfast.
"The number of Active Regions, where flares occur, is low, so to have X-class flares so close together is very usual. These observations can tell us how and why these flares formed so we can better predict them in the future," said Reid.
advertisement
Using the data collected during this observation, researchers will be able to probe the conditions in the solar atmosphere as these powerful events are formed, allowing more accurate predictions about when and where X-class flares might occur in the future.
This information can be channelled into the multi-billion pound space weather industry to better protect satellites from the dangers of the Sun. PTI SAR SAR
--- ENDS ---
DER SPIEGEL: You read parts of the final report on the inquiry. What is your opinion?
Snowden: We all had so much hope that this would be a reliable product, that this would be a real investigation. But the report of the majority parties is a disappointment. It was like a creative writing exercise for them. The German public was angry about their surveillance policies, so they needed to do something about it. But not that which I think the opposition heroically tried to do, which was to find out what's actually happening, establish some accountability and ultimately shape the activities of these intelligence services to make them comport with the law. Instead, these politicians went: Let's make the law looser so they don't break it anymore.
DER SPIEGEL: We hear a lot of resignation.
Snowden: Not at all. I think we have made much progress as a society -- we are using math and science to limit these abuses by governments.
DER SPIEGEL: You are talking about the encryption of our communications.
Snowden: Before he retired, former U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said that I had accelerated the adoption of an encryption by seven years. He meant it as an insult, but I took it as a kind of a compliment. We see dynamics such as the adaption of end-to-end encryption that is turned on by default -- you don't even have to think about it. Prior to 2013, most news sites didn't even know what encryption was. Now almost every serious editorial staff has the ability to encrypt.
DER SPIEGEL: But terrorists use encryption as well.
Snowden: When you have three terrorists in a city, one uses a laptop and gets hit by a drone, the other uses a cell phone and gets hit by a drone. The guy who only sends messages via his cousin as a courier on a motorbike that are written on paper never gets hit by a drone. They can put two and two together really quickly. They don't need DER SPIEGEL, they don't need me to tell them what works and what doesn't.
DER SPIEGEL: Would you at least concede that some of the information that got published helped criminals and rogue states in that they learned how intelligence agencies do their work?
Snowden: No, this is very much a comfortable allegation for governments. Their basis for classifying this information is to say it will cause harm if it is revealed. I have sent lunch plans from the cafeteria that are classified as top secret. I'm not kidding.
DER SPIEGEL: But the files also included real secrets, programs and techniques.
Snowden: I came forward in 2013. We are now in 2017 and they have never shown any harm despite being asked by Congress and despite having spent more than two years investigating it. Even Michael Rodgers, the director of the NSA, said: The sky isn't falling, we are still doing our work. Yes, it was disruptive, but life goes on.
DER SPIEGEL: Why aren't there more whistleblowers like you? Are they afraid they'll wind up in Russia?
Snowden: There is a pessimistic answer to this. People feel the consequences are too severe if they get caught. But there is an optimistic one, too. Events of 2013 put these intelligence services on notice -- that they could be next.
DER SPIEGEL: We believe the pessimistic version is closer to reality.
Snowden: I think it is a mix of both. Just look at the Vault7 files that WikiLeaks has published. This was an unprecedented disclosure of very sensitive information, clearly from within the CIA's own servers. There haven't been any arrests yet and it has been months. There are two things to learn from that: Firstly, it's obviously still pretty easy to expose the intelligence services. And secondly, since this was clearly not my doing, there are others out there.
DER SPIEGEL: The files you leaked are a few years old now, as are the measures they described. Do they have anything more than historical value today?
Snowden: The system is pretty much the same. It's only if you understand the basic mechanism that is being exploited to spy on innocent people that you can start to correct it. So, the challenge is what comes next and how to deal with this.
DER SPIEGEL: And? What comes next?
Snowden: Governments are realizing that mass surveillance isn't really effective. They are moving from mass surveillance to what intelligence agencies are hoping will be their new panacea: hacking. But it is mass hacking and not really targeted hacking as they usually say. We have seen it in these darknet market takedowns and other joint operations by the EU and U.S.
DER SPIEGEL: So, it's all about cracking encryption now?
Snowden: Not cracking encryption -- the agencies are trying to bypass the encryption. They are looking for weak points on the device you use to see what you are writing before you encrypt your message. What they actually do is take over a website, infect it with a malicious software, and when you visit that website because, for example, you received a link, you get hacked. Then they own your computer or your phone. You paid for it, but they use it. I think this is far better than mass surveillance.
DER SPIEGEL: Why?
Snowden: Mass surveillance was incredibly cheap. It operates sort of freely, invisibly, constantly -- and there was no real defense other than using encryption schemes. Attacking these browsers, phones and computers is very much an expensive proposition.
DER SPIEGEL: But you just said yourself that a lack of money isn't the main problem for intelligence services.
Snowden: But even they can't use this to spy on everyone in the world all the time. The new approach makes life harder for the intelligence agencies in a good way. It creates a natural discipline that forces them to decide: Is this person I want to spy on really worth the cost? There was, for instance, this jihadi group that used an encryption package called Mujahedeen Secrets. That is the kind of thing that they should go after because if you are installing Mujahedeen Secrets, you are probably part of the mujahedeen, right?
'A Systemic Failure of Rationality'
DER SPIEGEL: Even if the latitude of intelligence agencies is limited in the future, people are giving huge amounts of intimate data away for free to private corporations like Facebook, Google, YouTube and Instagram. Do we not have to accept that we have entered an era of total transparency?
Snowden: I give talks at colleges on a monthly base and get the impression that the young generation actually cares more about privacy than the older one. Simply because they are constantly sharing information voluntarily.
DER SPIEGEL: Still, an enormous amount of data is zipping around out there that can be used or also misused.
Snowden: You're right, without ever really having had a debate about this, we have decided that this gigantic universe of third parties can own perfect histories and records of your private activities. At the same time, we see this new nexus of corporate power and politics, where we have economic leadership figures going out and giving speeches on things like economy and jobs programs and education -- things that were normally topics for politicians to discuss.
DER SPIEGEL: Is it acceptable to you when authorities and companies cooperate to fight crime, terrorism or hate?
Snowden: A company should never be deputized to do the work of a government. They have entirely different goals, and when you start crossing those lines that creates unintended consequences at unforeseen costs. Of course, companies can assist the government in terrorism investigations. But to see company records for example, they should have to convince a judge. I think this is where it gets quite dangerous, when we say: Google, you are the sheriff of the internet now. You decide what the law is.
DER SPIEGEL: Which isn't all that far from reality.
Snowden: And then we'll see that the founder and CEO of Facebook is intending to run for president of the United States in the next cycle. Do we want the company that has the largest social media presence on earth and has clear political ambitions, to start deciding what is permissible political speech and what is not?
DER SPIEGEL: Speaking of political ambitions: Do you have an explanation for the increasing meddling on the part of the intelligence agencies with democratic elections?
Snowden: I think that is something that has always happened. What is noteworthy nowadays is that it is happening much more visibly. We know, for example, from declassified documents that the United States has interfered in elections throughout the last century. Every government that has an intelligence agency is trying to do the same thing. I would in fact be very surprised if the German government were an exception. Probably in a lighter and more polite way. But I think we are sort of tiptoeing around the Russian issue here specifically, aren't we?
DER SPIEGEL: How did you guess?
Snowden: It wasn't that difficult. Everybody is currently pointing at the Russians.
DER SPIEGEL: Rightfully?
Snowden: I don't know. They probably did hack the systems of Hillary Clinton's Democratic Party, but we should have proof of that. In the case of the hacking attack on Sony, the FBI presented evidence that North Korea was behind it. In this case they didn't, although I am convinced that they do have evidence. The question is why?
DER SPIEGEL: Do you have an answer?
Snowden: I think the NSA almost certainly saw who the intruders were. Why wouldn't they? But I am also convinced that they saw a lot of other attackers on there, too. There were probably six or seven groups. The Democratic National Committee is a big target and apparently their security wasn't very good. The DNC refused to provide these servers to the FBI, which is really weird. So, I think the reality here was it was narrative shaping about the Russians.
DER SPIEGEL: Is there a way to be absolutely certain who is hacking a system? It seems to be quite easy to manipulate a time stamp, use certain servers and stage a false flag operation.
Snowden: The false flag stuff is true -- I know how this works. I dealt with this in China's case. They used to be the usual suspects, nobody was talking about the Russians at that time. China didn't really care about covering their tracks that well. They would break the window, grab everything they could and then run off laughing. But even they never attacked directly from China. They would bounce off a server in Italy, Africa or South America. But you can follow the trail back -- it's not magic.
DER SPIEGEL: You know that there are some quite influential people, even high-level German government officials, who are trying to say that you have a close relationship with the Russians.
Snowden: Yes, especially that Hans guy from Germany.
DER SPIEGEL: You mean Hans-Georg Maassen, the head of Germany's domestic intelligence service. He insinuated a couple of times that you could be a Russian spy. Are you?
Snowden: I'm not. He doesn't even have the moral fiber to say, "I think this person is a spy." Instead, he says, "Whether Mr. Snowden is a Russian agent or not cannot be proven." You can literally say this about anyone. I thought, and I would hope, that in an open society, we had moved beyond the days when these secret police agencies were basically denouncing their critics. I'm not even mad about it. I'm just disappointed.
DER SPIEGEL: Nevertheless, many people, also here in Germany, have wondered what kind of concessions you had to make to become Russia's guest.
Snowden: I'm glad you ask because again, this sounds right, he is in Russia, so surely he had to give something up, right? But when you start looking at it, it falls apart. I don't have any documents or access to documents. The journalists have them and this is why the Chinese or the Russians couldn't threaten me when I crossed the border. I couldn't have helped them, even if they had torn my fingernails off.
DER SPIEGEL: It is still hard to believe for many that the Russians would let you in just like that.
Snowden: I know, you go: Putin that great humanitarian, of course he lets him in for free. Nobody believes that, there has got to be some deal, some quid pro quo. But they don't understand. If you think about it for a second: I was trying to get into Latin America, but the U.S. government canceled my passport and trapped me in the Russian airport. The U.S. president was sending daily demarches to the Russian side demanding my extradition. Think about the Russian domestic political situation. Putin's self-image, his image to the Russian people and how that would look if the Russian president would have said, "Yes, we are very sorry -- here, have this guy." And maybe there is an even simpler explanation for this, which is that the Russian government just enjoyed the rare opportunity of being able to say "no." The real tragedy here is that I applied for asylum in Germany, France and 21 different countries around the world. And it was only after all of these countries said "no" that the Russians finally said "yes." It seemed like they didn't even want to say "yes," and I certainly wasn't asking.
DER SPIEGEL: Mike Pompeo, the new head of the CIA, has accused WikiLeaks, whose lawyers helped you, of being a mouthpiece for the Russians. Is that not harmful to your image as well?
Snowden: First, we should be fair about what the accusations are. I don't believe the U.S. government or anybody in the intelligence community is directly accusing Julian Assange or WikiLeaks of working directly for the Russian government. The allegations I understand are that they were used as a tool basically to wash documents that had been stolen by the Russian government. And, of course, that's a concern. I don't see that as directly affecting me because I'm not WikiLeaks and there is no question about the provenance of the documents that I dealt with.
DER SPIEGEL: Currently, there's another American guy out there who is accused of being too close to Putin.
Snowden: Oh (laughs).
DER SPIEGEL: Your president. Is he your president?
Snowden: The idea that half of American voters thought that Donald Trump was the best among us, is something that I struggle with. And I think we will all be struggling with it for decades to come.
DER SPIEGEL: Perhaps he will do your cause a favor by accidentally damaging the U.S. intelligence services.
Snowden: I don't think a president alone has the capability to meaningfully damage the intelligence services. These groups are so well represented in Congress, in the media, in culture, in Hollywood. Some call it the deep state, but this is very much a pre-Trump thing. Donald Trump has nothing to do with the deep state. Donald Trump doesn't even know what the deep state is. The deep state is this class of career government officials that survive beyond administrations.
DER SPIEGEL: Isn't that just another conspiracy theory?
Snowden: I wish it was. Look at the election of Barack Obama, who by any measure at the time, people saw as a genuine man who wanted to pursue a reform to close Guantanamo, to end the mass surveillance of the time, to investigate Bush-era crimes and to do many other things. And within 100 days of taking office, he pivoted entirely on that promise and said, we are going to look forward not backward. The deep state realizes that while it may not elect the president, it can shape them very quickly -- and this is through the same means with which they shape us.
DER SPIEGEL: Which means?
Snowden: Fear. Why do you think all these terrorism laws are passed without any meaningful debate? Why do we have an indefinite state of emergency, even in liberal places like France? I think you can also see reflections of this dynamic in Germany, which I think has a much lesser love for the intelligence services and spying in general given its history. But the inquiry into the NSA files didn't look so deeply into mass surveillance. The majority parties pretended they could not confirm it despite the fact that evidence was literally everywhere and impossible to miss. They didn't even bother to hear from me. All these things show that intelligence services have influence through an implicit threat. They are effective, they are persuasive. They created a new politics of fear. Whenever one of their policy choices is threatened, they feed the press and the public with all the dangers we should fear. As a society, we become terrorized.
DER SPIEGEL: But isn't there reason to fear terrorism?
Snowden: Sure there is. Terrorism is a real problem. But when we look at how many lives it has claimed in basically any country that is outside of war zones like Iraq or Afghanistan, it is so much less than, say, car accidents or heart attacks. Even if Sept. 11 were to happen every single year in the U.S., terrorism would be a much lower threat than so many other things.
DER SPIEGEL: That's not really comparable.
Snowden: All I am saying is that terror is an ideal example of a growing culture of fear. The intelligence community has used it to approach it with a new dynamic of mass surveillance. And the most tragic part of this is that, eventually it is the process itself that is doing the terrorizing. It becomes systemic and this leads us to where we are today. How else does one explain a President Donald Trump other than a systemic failure of rationality? We see things happening in places like Hungary and Poland with more authoritarian leaders. I think it is this new atmosphere of fear and that it won't change until we, as a public, learn to perform a new kind of alchemy and recognize fear when it is being presented. We need to learn to eat fear, to convert it into an energy that can be used to better a society rather than to terrorize and weaken it. But not even Obama could do that.
DER SPIEGEL: Obama at least pardoned Chelsea Manning, the whistleblower who provided WikiLeaks with U.S. documents, including the diplomatic cables.
Snowden: And I applaud him for it.
DER SPIEGEL: Were you hoping for a similar act of mercy?
Snowden: I don't think it was ever something that was likely to happen. Obama felt personally offended by these revelations because he was the one who was held accountable for them. He viewed this as a kind of attack on him and his legacy, but that's is actually saddening.
DER SPIEGEL: Are you still hoping that you will one day be able to return to the U.S.?
Snowden: Yes, absolutely. I'm not going to judge the likelihood of it, but you mentioned before allegations against me -- you hear them less and less with each passing year. And I think that means there is still hope for the future, even for me.
DER SPIEGEL: What is your current legal status in Russia?
Snowden: I'm a lawful permanent resident -- it's basically similar to the Green Card in the U.S. But it's not asylum and every three years or so, it is indefinitely renewable, but it is not technically guaranteed. I have been quite critical of the Russian government on Twitter and in my statements, and that probably doesn't win me any friends. They haven't bothered me in the period until now, but who knows what that will look like in the future.
DER SPIEGEL: In "Citizenfour," we saw the very nice scene with your girlfriend cooking. May we ask if this is how your life looks like now?
Snowden: She is still with me, yes.
DER SPIEGEL: How do you spend your time?
Snowden: I travel a lot. I have been to St. Petersburg. My parents visit me from time to time.
DER SPIEGEL: How do you make a living?
Snowden: I give talks -- mostly at U.S. universities via video. Pro bono, I do a lot of stuff for the Freedom of the Press Foundation. I am the elected president of its board.
Lima (Peru), Sept 11, 2017 (SPS) The Peruvian Socialist Party has called for allowing Sahrawi ambassador to Latin America, Khadijetu Kina, to carry on her mission in Peru.
We demand that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and that of Interior respect the UN resolutions, revoke the measure and apologize so that the Ambassador can carry out activities on behalf of her people in Peru, said the leadership of the Peruvian Socialist Party in a statement.
The Sahrawi Ambassador arrived in Peru in order to meet with President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, as the envoy of President of the Republic, Secretary-general of the Polisario, Brahim Gali. The purpose of the meeting with the President of Peru was to reestablish diplomatic relations with the Sahrawi Republic. (SPS)
062/090/TRA
By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 12 (PTI) Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal today held a meeting to review the status of dengue, chikungunya and swine flue in the national capital.
The city has reported 1,730 dengue cases so far while the total number of chikungunya cases stands at 432. The national capital has also been battling with the rising number of swine flu cases.
advertisement
The meeting was attended by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Health Minister Satyendar Jain, the chief secretary and other officers concerned.
Expressing concern on the spread of swine flu, Baijal directed the health department to co-ordinate with experts from National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) regarding the current circulating strain of influenza virus, its virulence and guidelines for prevention and management so that a better coordinated response can be formulated.
According to the LG office, he appreciated the efforts of all stakeholders towards controlling vector-borne diseases so far and emphasised that the same momentum should be continued till the end of October 2017 by which time the peak season for the spread of these diseases should start subsiding. PTI BUN BSA
--- ENDS ---
Tata (Morocco), Sept 09, 2017 (SPS) - Saharawi political prisoner Ali Saduni continues to suffer the harassment of the Moroccan prison administration, Tata, where he deprives him of his fundamental rights as a prisoner of conscience, according to SPS correspondent.
The same sources, add that the administration of the penitentiary institution, ordered the prohibition of the delivery of any printed medium to the political prisoner, unlike the rest of the prisoners, which constitutes a clear violation of the prisoners' rights to inquire about what happens beyond the prison.
In this regard, the prison administration continues to deny the request for transfer to the nearest jail to Ali Saduni's residence, El Aaiun.
Finally, it is to be remembered that the court of the Moroccan occupation of El Aaiun adopted on September the first of September, 2016 a sentence of 18 months' imprisonment against Saharawi political prisoner Ali Saduni and two of his companions. SPS
125/090/TRA
NEW HAVEN >> Alexion Pharmaceuticals will relocate its world headquarters from New Haven to Boston starting later this year and take about 400 jobs with it, company executives said Tuesday in a conference call with financial analysts.
The relocation of the headquarters is part of a larger restructuring that includes the layoff of 20 percent of the companys worldwide workforce, Ludwig Hantson, the companys chief executive officer, said during the call. Alexion also will close a Rhode Island manufacturing facility where it makes one of its rare disease drugs, Soliris.
Alexion has 3,000 employees company-wide and plans to lay off 600 of them.
The restructuring will leave Alexions College Street offices in New Haven with 450 workers, primarily in research and development, as well as variety of other positions, including compliance workers and case management nurses.
Hantson said the restructuring is necessary to position the company for future growth, to refocus spending and promote growth in shareholder value going forward. Alexion will take a one-time charge against earnings related to restructuring that is expected to be in the range of $340 million to $440 million, according to Hantson.
By streamlining our operations, we will create a leaner organization with greater financial flexibility that is highly focused on delivering for patients, growing our rare disease business, and both leveraging our leadership in complement and pursuing disciplined business development to expand the pipeline, he said.
Company executives added that the company is expanding its search for drug candidates from serving just very rare diseases to include rare diseases that have larger patient populations.
Alexion began a strategic review of all of its operations shortly after Hantson became CEO in March. Catherine Smith, commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development, said company officials informed her a few days ago that they were considering relocating.
We tried to convince them to stay, Smith said, adding that her pitch to keep Alexions headquarters in Connecticut didnt include an offer of additional financial incentives.
Weve already been very generous with them already, so it didnt seem appropriate to offer them any more. I believe they will regret making this decision, Smith said.
Smith said the states deal with the company in 2016, when it relocated to its current headquarters from one in Cheshire, calls for Alexion to pay back $20 million in loans from the state, $6 million in grant money and $2.1 million in penalties and interest.
They also will not be eligible to use any tax credits (from the state) that they had not already applied for in advance of todays announcement, she said.
State Senate Democratic President Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, was more pointed in his criticism of the company, saying in a statement that the company has been plagued by bad news and poor business decisions since last year.
Its unfortunate that federal investigations and poor financial investments are forcing Alexion to lay off thousands of workers worldwide and shutter some of its facilities, including in Rhode Island next door, Looney said. Certainly Connecticut has been a very strong business partner with Alexion, investing millions of dollars and a great deal of time and resources in growing the company right here in Connecticut. But there are some business decisions which are out of the control of state government.
Looneys comments reference a pair of lawsuits filed against the company in the past year, accusing Alexion officials of violating federal securities laws.
The stretch of bad news continued in December when then-Chief Executive Officer David Hallal and Vikas Sinha, its chief financial officer, left the company. That was followed by a double dose of bad news in May.
Alexions chief financial officer, the head of research and development, the top compliance officer and the executive in charge of human resources all announced the same day that they would leave the company.
The next day, a Bloomberg Businessweek story was released that painted an unflattering picture of the company.
The Businessweek story elaborated on allegations of aggressive sales practices by the company as well as the cost of its star drug Soliris, which costs more than $18,000 for a single treatment. Among the companys problems cited in Businessweek were a May raid of Alexions offices in Sao Paulo, Brazil, as part of an investigation into the companys business practices there, as well as an investigation the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has undertaken during the past two years into grants made by Alexion in Brazil, Colombia, Japan, Russia and Turkey to rare disease patient groups, allegedly in an effort to attract new users of Soliris.
Alexions relocation to Boston is expected to begin later this year and continue through mid 2018.
City officials confirmed the impending move late Monday. Lawrence Grotheer, a spokesman for Mayor Toni Harp, released a statement on the mayors behalf, but said she would not deviate from her schedule Tuesday.
Harps schedule Tuesday was devoted to last-minute campaigning for Tuesdays Democratic primary against challenger Marcus Paca. Harp is seeking a third term as mayor and some in her administration had sought to delay Alexions announcement until after the vote.
Alexions decision to move ... to Boston with access to (a) full-service airport and other essentials for an international corporation seems intended to suit its new, Boston-based CEO and a worldwide sales force, Harps statement said in part. New Haven will remain a bustling hub of bioscience and other medical research. For example, the new College Street building is perfectly situated near the hospital and the Yale School of Medicine we expect new tenants there to contribute in this growing sector of the national economy.
Hantson said the decision to relocate the headquarters of the company was difficult, given the legacy weve had in New Haven.
Alexion was founded by Leonard Bell in New Haven in early 1992. Bell left the company in May 2017.
Alexion is moving into Bostons Seaport District near South Station, the same neighborhood adjacent to the citys waterfront that now houses General Electrics headquarters. General Electric moved from Connecticut to the Seaport District last year.
New Haven officials sought to reassure the business community that Alexions headquarters relocation will not derail the citys economic development efforts.
While the restructuring will create difficulties, we take great pride in the work Alexion has done and will continue to do in New Haven as they move forward with research and development at 100 College Street, the citys economic development team, led by Economic Development Administrator Matthew Nemerson, said in a statement sent to the business community. Our first priority is to assist the scientists and world-class researchers who will be laid off. Many of them recently joined the company and signed on to Alexions mission and support of patients with rare and often devastating diseases.
Although New Haven has seen an ebb and flow of biotechnology companies, the statement reaffirmed the citys focus on companies in that sector.
With Yale University and Yale New Haven Hospital as major anchors, New Haven institutions are in receipt of $421 million in NIH (National Institute of Health) research grants, the statement said in part. This is the 14th highest total in the nation and a further indication that the talent and quality of science in New Haven remains at the center of our economic strategy. The pipeline of talent in New Haven includes over 30 biotech companies, all working on cutting-edge research, and a major part of the citys employment growth in recent years.
Total employment in the city reached 81,900 in 2016, with more than 5,000 jobs gained in New Haven since 2010, according to city officials.
The citys agreement when the 100 College Street development was built included a minimum requirement of 225,000 square feet for a medical/lab office building, city officials said. The development grew to 495,000 square feet after Alexion was secured as a tenant. Grotheer said Alexion is the sole tenant of the building, which is managed by Concord, Massachusetts-based Winstanley Enterprises. Officials with Winstanley Enterprises were unavailable for comment on Alexions decision.
The statement from Nemerson and other EDC officials said 100 College Street is designed to support New Havens strong pipeline and demand for R&D space in a cost-competitive location relative to Boston and New York.
Of course, we understand the challenge ahead of us and are fully prepared to meet that challenge through support for exceptional research, through infrastructure investments and through connections back into our neighborhoods with robust workforce pipelines, the statement said.
An economist and business expert said that while Alexions decision is a setback for New Haven, it is unlikely have a long-term negative impact on the citys economy.
Between the educational community and the healthcare sector, (New Haven) is more diversified than other parts of the state, said Donald Klepper-Smith, chief economist and director of research for New Haven-based DataCore Partners. Its certainly a psychological blow to New Haven, but not one that cant be overcome.
Klepper-Smith said New Haven is far better shape to handle Alexions headquarters relocation than when drugmaker Pfizer pulled out of New London. In an analysis released in February 2011, Klepper-Smith said the 1,100 jobs Pfizer announced in 2009 it was moving out of New London, would also put other jobs in southeastern Connecticuts overall economy at risk because of spending by the company and its employees.
A similar impact is likely with the relocation of Alexions headquarters and the jobs that go with it, he said.
Pharmaceutical and bio-tech jobs have some of the biggest multipliers that Ive ever seen, Klepper-Smith said.
But he cautioned that the value of the research and development operations that Alexion is keeping in New Haven may not be as important as city officials are making it out to be.
Not all R&D jobs are created equally, Klepper-Smith said.
David Cadden, a professor emeritus at Quinnipiac Universitys School of Business, said New Haven and state officials need to reassess their focus on the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.
Apparently, having Yale here and having UConn here is not enough in terms of talented personnel that these companies need, Cadden said. Perhaps more of niche focus should be taken. AI (artificial intelligence) is getting a lot of buzz and Yale has a program in that area, but I dont know if there is enough going on to build a growth sector on.
Alexion will move into the Boston office at 121 Seaport in June, according to officials with Swedish commercial construction giant Skanska, the company that is building the office and mixed-use complex. The neighborhood, once a heavily industrial section of the South Boston neighborhood, has been transformed in recent years to a predominantly white collar area that attracts young professionals.
Alexion will occupy 150,000 square feet of the 400,00-square-foot, 17-story building, taking up the third through eighth floors.
121 Seaport now being 100 percent leased demonstrates the Seaports arrival as one of Bostons most sought-after ... business destinations, said Charley Leatherbee, head of Skanskas Commercial Development operations in Boston.
Alexions new headquarters will include amenities such as:
Elevated 10-foot ceilings.
Panoramic waterfront views of the Boston Harbor and the citys skyline.
Outdoor terraces.
Access to a private, tenant-only fitness center.
An around the clock hotel-style concierge service.
Access to high-end retailers that will be in the first two floors of the building.
The 121 Seaport building will be ready for tenants to move in starting in early 2018, according to Skanska officials.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
STAMFORD Rex Morris was well into his 24-hour shift in New York City when the alarms rang on Sept. 11, 2001. He was captain of a FDNY ladder company in Harlem and had started his shift at 6 p.m. Sept. 10.
Every firefighter and every officer was called into duty, he said during the 9/11 remembrance ceremony at Woodside Fire Station on Monday.
His shift would become even longer, but that did not faze him.
We just focused on the job and a particular task at hand, he said.
Despite being in New York the day of the 9/11 attacks, Stamford holds a special place in Morris heart. Before being in New York, he was a firefighter in Stamford. He returned three years ago and is now the assistant chief of volunteers for the Stamford Fire Department.
Anyone whos from here was affected, he said. Stamford is just a stones throw from Manhattan. Everyone in the country felt it, but here it was particularly close for me. I was there, I worked in that city, I work in this city.
Dylan Norman, by contrast, didnt live through 9/11he had not even been born yet. But at 7 years old, Norman attended the ceremony on Monday with a replica of the One World Trade Center in his hands.
His grandpa, Lenny Norman, said Dylan is interested in history. He, on the other hand, remembers exactly where he was on 9/11 and how he heard about it. He was at work at a Stamford company when a co-worker told him.
Its still hard to wrap your head around, he said. But that memory is burned into my mind.
Fire Capt. Tom Gloersen said this years ceremony was not just in honor of the 10 Stamford residents lost on 9/11, but also the hundreds of first responders who lost their lives that day.
Our nation lost so many good people that day, Mayor David Martin said. Some of them our friends, our neighbors, our relatives. We still hunger for their smiles, counsel, laughter and fellowship.
Before the laying of the honorary wreath and lowering of the flag to half-staff, a bell was rung to symbolize a firefighters duty.
Throughout most of history, the lives of firefighters have been associated with the ringing of a bell, he said. As they started their hours of duty, it was the bell that started it all. Through the day and night, each alarm was sounded by a bell to call them to fight and to place their lives in jeopardy for the good of their fellow man. And when the fire was put to an end, the alarm rang three times.
The bell rang three times to remember the firefighters lost.
By PTI: Mumbai, Sep 12 (PTI) The Maharashtra government is planning to ban plastic carry bags after the Gudi Padwa (Maharashtrian New Year) next year, state environment minister Ramdas Kadam said today.
Gudi Padwa falls in March-April period.
In a statement issued after chairing a meeting in the state secretariat, Kadam said the government has sought proposals from several organisations on alternatives to plastic carry bags.
advertisement
It is also proposed that Womens Self Help Groups (SHGs) should be given grants for making cloth bags, he said.
The issue of plastic waste was in the news during the recent floods in Mumbai. Several fact-finding reports on the July 26, 2005 deluge had blamed plastic bags for blocking storm-water drains in the city. PTI MM KRK
--- ENDS ---
Stamford police / Contributed
STAMFORD A city man accused last week of trying pass counterfeit bills and eating some of the evidence faces new charges after police say he was found with more than two dozen phony bills.
Eugene Lyles, 56, of Willowbrook Court, has been charged with 27 counts of first-degree forgery, three counts of attempted first-degree forgery and possession of drug paraphernalia.
A group of five men thrashed a 22-year-old man for speaking with his friend in fluent English while dropping him off at a five-star hotel in Lutyens Delhi.
By Press Trust of India: A 22-year-old man was thrashed allegedly by five men for speaking with his friend in fluent English while dropping him off at a five-star hotel in Lutyens Delhi, police said.
The incident was reported in the early hours on Saturday, they said.
Three persons have been arrested in this connection, they said.
According to the police, Varun Gulati, a resident of Noida, had come to the five-star hotel in Connaught Place to drop off his friend Aman in his friend Daksh's car.
advertisement
While Gulati was walking back to the hotel after seeing off Daksh, a group of five men, who were inebriated, rounded him up. They asked him why was he speaking in English, they said.
Both the sides got into an argument and the men assaulted Gulati, police said.
The assailants fled the spot in a vehicle but the victim managed to note down the number of the vehicle, they said.
On the basis of the number plate, three of the accused were identified and arrested, police said, adding a hunt is on to trace the rest.
ALSO READ |
Man wearing dhoti denied entry at Kolkata mall, allowed after he argued in English
No entry for Meghalaya woman in Delhi Golf Club: Class divide in clubs British relic?
--- ENDS ---
Rohingyas have fled Myanmar in the last three decades and taken refuge in countries such as Bangladesh, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
Rohingyas have been fleeing Myanmar and entering Bangladesh through the sea route. Photo: Reuters.
By India Today Web Desk: The Rohingya crisis in Myanmar is worsening every day and the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein has now raised concerns that the violence against Rohingyas is a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing".
Since violence broke out in the Rakhine province of Myanmar on August 25, 3.13 lakh Rohingyas have crossed the border and entered Bangladesh, said the United Nations office in Bangladesh.
advertisement
The mass influx of Rohingyas into Bangladesh has prompted the Sheikh Hasina government to pass a resolution in Parliament to put diplomatic pressure on Myanmar to take back Rohingyas.
Currently, there are more than 7 lakh Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, a number slightly less than the 10 lakh Rohingyas staying in Myanmar before the August 25 violence spiralled out of control.
DESPERATION, VIOLENCE FORCED ROHINGYAS TO FLEE
Bangladesh's foreign ministry recently issued a statement highlighting the point that the country is already hosting nearly 4 lakh Rohingyas since the past three decades.
Add to it the over 3 lakh Rohingyas who entered Bangladesh since August 25, the number of Rohingya refugees goes beyond 7 lakh.
Some analysts estimate that nearly 10 lakh Rohingyas have fled Myanmar in the last three decades and taken refuge in countries such as Bangladesh, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) report of 2016, more than 1.68 lakh Rohingyas fled Myanmar in the last five years due to violence and desperation.
Nearly 74,000 Rohingyas fled into Bangladesh between October 2016 and February 2017 when attacks on a border post in northern Rakhine triggered a military crackdown.
MALAYSIA WAS A PREFERRED DESTINATION TILL 2015
Before Bangladesh, Malaysia was the preferred destination for Rohingyas till 2015 before the sea route was disrupted as governments cracked down on maritime smuggling networks.
According to the UNHCR report, between 2012 and 2015, more than 1 lakh Rohingyas travelled on smuggler's boats, hoping to reach Malaysia.
In India, an estimated 40,000 Rohingya Muslims are staying illegally while another 14,000 are registered with the UNHCR. The government has decided to deport illegal migrants back to Myanmar, a move that has been criticised by United Nations Human Rights chief.
According to UN estimates, at least 4.2 lakh Rohingyas from Myanmar were living as refugees in other Southeast Asian countries before August 25 violence. Another 1.2 lakh were identified as internally-displaced Rohingyas.
However, the recent military crackdown in Rakhine, which has triggered mass exodus of Rohingyas from Myanmar, is set to alter the number of refugees in neighbouring countries. By the end of it, the number of Rohingyas outside Myanmar could well go past the number staying in Myanmar.
advertisement
ALSO READ:
Why United Nations cannot force India to change its stand on Rohingya deportation
Jamaat-e-Islami Hind asks UN to restore Rohingya Muslims' rights, condemns Gauri Lankesh's murder
Rohingya Muslims aren't only ones fleeing Myanmar genocide, over 500 Hindus cross over to Bangladesh
ALSO WATCH: Government says it will deport 40,000 Rohingyas living illegally in India
--- ENDS ---
By PTI: Phulbani (Odisha), Sep 12 (PTI) Director General of Police (DGP) R P Sharman today said more security forces would be deployed in Kandhamal district as Maoists have been expanding their network in the area.
Sharma said this after reviewing Maoist activities in the KKBN (Kandhamal-Kalahandi-Boudh-Nayagarh) division of the CPI(Maoist).
"The ultras are taking the geographical advantage of Kandhamal district to expand their activities. The district is densely forested and surrounded by hills," he said.
advertisement
"We will deploy more forces of CRPF, DVF and SOG in a strategic manner. Intelligence network will also be augmented," the DGP said adding that a female cadre belonging to KKBN was killed in an encounter two days ago.
The review meeting was attended by IGP Intelligence, IGP, Law and Order, IGP, Southern Range, IG, CRPF and SP Kandhamal.
Meanwhile, during his return from Kandhamal, DGP Sharmas chopper made an emergency landing in Khurda due to inclement weather. PTI COR AAM RG
--- ENDS ---
Fred Lockwood walked into the machine shop at the Legacy of the Plains Museum to his fathers legacy. On the meeting rooms table were memories of T.J. Lockwood and the company he built. Fred Lockwood brought a memento of his own a framed picture with four of his fathers patents, which made potato harvesting easier.
Thorval John (T.J.) Lockwood had an uncanny ability to solve mechanical problems. He could design or adapt machinery for most needs. At 26, Lockwood invested $5 into this ability. That investment eventually grew into one of the most successful businesses the valley has ever seen.
Lockwood died on his 44th birthday with a legacy that included 10 factories, sales outlets worldwide and memories that family and friends cherished. Fred was 17 years old when his father died. He came back to town after graduating from the University of Denver in January 1964 and worked in the business as an assistant to the president. While in college, he came home every weekend to help out.
The time he spent with his father was interesting and fascinating at the same time.
He took me to Alaska when I was 14, Fred said. We went above the Yukon and theres a potato field above the arctic circle.
T.J. sold more equipment in Alaska than anywhere else, Fred said.
Al Bauer worked for 30 years at the company and often traveled the country with T.J. One time, when they had traveled to North Dakota, T.J. wanted to go to Alaska. He asked Bauer how much money he had. It wasnt enough to get to Alaska, but T.J. found a way.
T.J. was known as a plainly dressed man who never seemed to carry cash with him. It wasnt uncommon for T.J. to suggest going to one of his plants, such as in New York, but didnt have any money with him. He still managed to get where he wanted to go and pay everyone back when he returned home.
Those who knew T.J. described him as a quiet spoken man who made his points clear. His obituary in the Star-Herald said, The one-time Nebraska farm boy produced more than machinery. His determination and vigor made him a successful manufacturer there by creating jobs for many skilled workers.
Those who gathered on Wednesday afternoon, spoke fondly of working for the company and of knowing Lockwood personally. They all mentioned their sadness at his early passing, but they were also looking forward to a company reunion to be held on Sept. 15.
Bauer came to work at Lockwoods originally because he needed a job. The bakery where he worked fell to pieces after the owner died. He enjoyed working with T.J. but one of his more interesting memories was a trip with Fred. On a trip to Long Island, New York, to deliver a self-propelled potato harvester, Fred wanted to drive on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. He insisted he was 16 years and 2 months old. Bauer said he was 15.
During the year, Bauer and T.J would often follow the harvest, traveling around the country. They began in Florida, then to Arizona, Bakersfield, California, upper California, Idaho, Colorado, North Dakota, Wisconsin, New York State and Maine. When he wasnt traveling with T.J., Bauer was in the assembly shop and pay department. While employees could have been laid off at the end of each season, Bauer said T.J. looked after his employees.
T.J. would make a visit to Western Sugar to find his employees work.
Hed go over and say, I have so many men I have to lay off and they are looking for work, Bauer said. He would try to get them to work and then hed get them back later.
Bauer saw T.J.s ingenuity whenever they went to visit a client. If they needed something, T.J. would make it for them. Lockwoods could cover every aspect of the potato industry. Lockwoods had a motto the company took care of everything from the field to the table.
T.J. Lockwood had between 50 and 60 patents. Fred smiles when he admires a picture he owns. The wooden frame is divided into four sections, each one with a patent his father received.
Theres one to wax potatoes, Fred said, pointing to the upper right side of the picture. I believe theyd throw you in jail today for that, but, boy, they were shiny.
T.J. Lockwoods inventions may have grown exponentially and were known worldwide, but a mention of the man brings back memories of a kind and giving man. Warren C. Wood, T.J.s friend, spoke about T.J. shortly after his death.
There is no question in my mind that he was a mechanical genius and was happiest when he could be getting his hands dirty, Wood wrote. [T.J. was] a personality who left a deep impression on the community, whose good name was never sullied, and who had the forethought and intelligence to surround himself with a capable, trustworthy staff, dedicated to carrying out the principles he had so thoroughly indoctrinated into their thinking.
A celebration of T.J. Lockwood and his company will take place on Friday, Sept. 15, from 1-5 p.m. at the Legacy of the Plains Museum in Gering.
The sounds of hand-cranked machinery could be heard around the grounds at the Legacy of the Plains Museum on Wednesday and Thursday as more than 600 fourth-grade students from western Nebraska learned about tools and technology in the valley through time.
The Tools and Technology Through Time is hosted each year at the Legacy of the Plains and sponsored by ESU #13 to teach fourth-graders how pioneers had to work in the fields. Students moved through eight stations potato cutting and planting, blacksmithing, corn shelling, block and tackle pulleys, steam engine tractor, dressing, harnessing and care of a horse, harvesting beets and a manually driven tractor.
The day is designed to show students the everyday struggles people in the Panhandle experienced when farming and ranching.
Monty Zeiler, fourth-grade teacher at Northfield Elementary School in Gering said he enjoys bringing his students to the event each year.
Theres lots of hands-on activities for them to do, Zeiler said. The more you give them to do, the more excited and interested they are in whats going on.
Volunteers spend the day with the children not only to teach them how difficult work was in the past, but to pass on their knowledge explaining how the work was done.
Volunteer Suzanne Myers demonstrated how people used to cut potatoes with knives, making sure each portion of potato had a seed in it so it could be planted and grow more potatoes. Eventually, a machine was invented containing seven blades to cut the potatoes. A person sat in a seat and used their right foot to stomp on a lever which cut the potato. The device saved time and valuable energy allowing more potatoes to be cut in a shorter amount of time.
Most people were paid three to five cents for a bushel of potatoes picked from the field. On a really good day, a person could gather 100 bushels, amounting to $3-5 for a days work.
John Beard detailed how blacksmithing worked. It was hot and arduous labor, but blacksmiths played a vital role in making sure tools were ready when needed. Wedges, the students learned, are one of the most important tools a blacksmith uses because it can cut a piece of metal into a tool with relative ease.
One lesson the students learned was school was probably the easiest part of a childs life. Children often had to work during planting and harvest seasons from sunrise to sunset, with an hour for lunch if they were lucky.
At the pulley station, students had the opportunity to pull a 50-pound weight in the air on a rope and then pull another 50-pound weight using a block and tackle pulley system. The block and pulley system has a mechanical advantage. In the system the volunteers set up, when a single piece of rope is pulled, the weight is lifted about four feet. With the block and tackle, the weight is lifted about one foot. While it is easier to lift, the block and tackle requires more pulling.
Youre giving up distance and power for the mechanical advantage, said Butch Feil, volunteer. And youre only pulling 12 pounds.
Board member George Schlothauer and volunteer Al Kukas took turns talking about the different aspects of growing and harvesting sugar beets. Schlothauer said some of the first laborers in the sugar beet fields were Germans from Russia. Kukas worked in the beet fields from age 5 to 17. At first, his parents traveled from Lincoln to western Nebraska each year for work before eventually moving to the area. Kukas demonstrated how to cut the tops of sugar beets off and cautioned not to be careless with sharp tools or else you could lose part of your thumb as he did.
Women had especially difficult work. If they had a baby, they would often take it to the fields with them while they worked. Women who worked in the fields were still often required to cook meals and clean clothes.
Everybody had to work hard, but the mothers had to work the hardest, Schlothauer said.
SCOTTSBLUFF What do reindeer, drones and future careers in agriculture have in common? They will all be topics of discussion at a new Science on Screen film-and-discussion series beginning this fall at the Midwest Theater.
In support of this film series, Friends of the Midwest Theater has been awarded an $8,500 grant from The Coolidge Corner Theater in concert with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation as part of its pioneering Science on Screen program at arthouse theaters nationwide, and a $1,000 grant from Farm Credit Services of Americas Working Here Fund.
The goal of the Science on Screen series is to increase science literacy by creatively pairing screenings of classic, cult, science fiction and documentary films with lively presentations by notable experts from the world of science and technology. Each film is used as a jumping-off point for a speaker to introduce current research or technological advances in a manner that engages popular culture audiences.
Midwest Theater Development Director Katie Bradshaw said because agriculture is such an important part of the culture and economy of western Nebraska, the Midwest Theater chose to focus on agricultural science and agricultural science careers for the films in its 2017-18 Science on Screen series.
A community aim is to encourage young people to stay and build their lives here, Bradshaw said. One part of this strategy is to communicate the many careers that are available in agriculture right here at home, beyond being a farmer yourself, and to raise awareness of ag career training programs available in Nebraska.
To make this Science on Screen film series a success, the Midwest Theater is partnering with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Panhandle Research and Extension Center and Western Nebraska Community College to bring engaging scientists to speak at the events and to provide information about agricultural careers and educational opportunities here in Nebraska.
Each screening event will include a matinee for students in middle school through college and an evening screening for the public. All screenings are free, but a freewill donation admission will be accepted for the evening screenings to benefit the Scottsbluff-Gering Chamber of Commerce Agribusiness Scholarship.
The 2017-18 Science on Screen films schedule is:
n The Cowboy Life: from the Arctic Circle to the High Plains, Nov. 9
Film: AATSINKI: The Story of Arctic Cowboys
n Flying Farmhands: the Future of Drone Technology in Agriculture, Jan. 25, 2018
Film: Interstellar
n Weather variability and future careers in agriculture
March 15, 2018
Film: Future Weather
Educators who wish to register their students for the matinee presentations may contact Midwest Theater Office Manager Theresa Trevino at 308-632-4311 or theresa@nebraskARTS.com.
Local businesses interested in helping to underwrite the costs of this agriculture-based Science on Screen series may call Katie Bradshaw or Executive Director Billy Estes.
By India Today Web Desk: Mother of six beautiful babies, Carrie was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive and rapidly growing form of brain cancer. When she began having frequent headaches in March, her best guess was that they could be migraines. This was until she started vomiting.
After a surgery in April, the doctors informed the DeKlyens that the tumour had come back. This was at a time when Carrie was eight weeks pregnant.
advertisement
They were given two choices; one was to try chemotherapy to prolong Carrie's life. Doctors told her that if she was really, really lucky, she could have five more years to live. But going for chemotherapy would've meant terminating her pregnancy. The second option was to bring the baby to the world, but without chemotherapy--which could end up in death for Carrie.
Picture Courtesy: Cure 4 Carrie /Facebook
The mother decided she wanted to have the baby. She chose to forgo her treatment to give her unborn baby a chance at life. The Michigan mother of six died on Saturday, three days after giving birth to a daughter. Doctors had taken Carrie off life support after her husband, Nick Deklyen, decided that she had suffered enough pain. Ever since she suffered a massive stroke in mid-July, Carrie had laid in a vegetative state in the University of Michigan Hospital.
Picture Courtesy: Cure 4 Carrie /Facebook
Born via C-section, Life Lynn Deklyen has a name that her selfless mother very aptly chose for her before saying the final goodbye. Though Life was born premature, she is doing pretty well now. "We gave up all of Carrie's treatment to give Life a chance to survive," Nick told people.com. While we all may have made our share of sacrifices for our loved ones, Carrie's daughter will live on to tell how she is a breathing, living proof of her mother's unconditional and selfless love.
--- ENDS ---
A new version of Dacia's Duster make was unveiled on Tuesday by the French car manufacturer at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, which opened its gates these days. A worldwide best-selling model, the Duster has a new design, both inside and outside, as well as an extensive range of equipment.
According to the manufacturer, the new Duster is equipped with SCe 115 gasoline engines (in the 4X2 verison) or TCe 125 engines (in the 4X2 and 4X4 versions) complete with a manual gearbox. With regard to the diesel offer, the model offers the dCi 90HP block in the 4X2 and dCi 110 HP versions in the 4X2 and 4X4 wheeling versions, combined with a manual gearbox. The dCi 110 HP engine (in the case of the 4X2 version) can be equipped with an EDC efficient dual-clutch automatic transmission.
First launched under the Dacia brand, Duster has been traded since 2011 under the Renault brand in Latin America (Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Chile and Colombia), as well as in Russia and India. So far, over two million Dusters have been sold in more than a hundred countries under the two brands. According to official data, Dacia has reported H1 2017 sales of over 332,800 units worldwide, up nearly 12 percent. Its market share in Europe has reached 2.6 percent, while in the Eurasian region it has gone up to 3.2 percent and up to 23.5 percent in the Maghreb. Of the 44 countries where Dacia is marketed, 22 set first-quarter market share or sales records.
In Europe, the best-selling Dacia car to private customers is Sandero, while Duster ranks third among the bestselling SUVs to individuals. In Romania, Dacia sold 19,696 units in the first half, up 25.8 percent over the same period last year.
Agerpres.
The decision to hike dearness allowance was taken at a Union cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Centre has hiked dearness allowance for government employees by a per cent.
By India Today Web Desk: Bringing cheer to more than 1 crore Central government employees and pensioners, the Narendra Modi-led government has increased the dearness allowance and dearness relief from the existing 4 per cent to 5 per cent.
The government's decision to hike dearness allowance (DA) by a per cent comes a little over two months after Seventh Pay Commission's recommendations on revised allowance structure were okayed by the Union cabinet on June 28.
advertisement
The decision to hike dearness allowance was taken at a Union cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The new DA rates will be applicable from July 1 and will benefit 50 lakh Central government employees and 61 lakh pensioners.
According to an official statement, the "release of additional instalment of DA is an increase of 1 per cent over the existing rate of 4 per cent of the basic pay/pension, to compensate for price rise".
The increase in DA will cost the state exchequer Rs 3068.25 crore per annum while the cost for this financial year (2017-2018) is estimated at Rs 2045.50 crore for the period of July 2017 to February 2018.
Recently, some reports suggested that the Centre was considering increasing minimum pay for government employees from the existing Rs 18,000 to Rs 21,000. Increase in minimum pay has been a long-standing demand of Central government employees.
After a long wait and several representations from Central government employees, the Modi government in June okayed the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission on allowances with 34 modifications.
The Seventh Pay Commission examined 197 allowances for Central government employees and recommended abolition of 53 allowances and subsuming 37 in other allowances.
ALSO READ:
7th Pay Commission: Modi Cabinet approves revision in HRA rates, other allowances
7th Pay Commission: Minimum pay for Central government employees may be hiked from Rs 18,000 to Rs 21,000
7th Pay Commission: Odisha government announces new pay scale, nearly 8 lakh employees, pensioners to benefit
ALSO WATCH: FM Jaitley announces 3 Cabinet approvals
--- ENDS ---
Whether youre a recent graduate seeking your first position or an experienced professional in search of a new opportunity, attending job fairs is one way to network and find job leads. Job fairs allow you to meet hiring managers from various companies and industries all housed under one roof for the day. These tips will help you make the best impression.
Research Job Fair Companies
When meeting candidates at job fairs, I like to see that theyve done their research, says Louis Dennis, a human resources representative for State Farm Insurance Companies in Greeley, Colorado, who regularly recruits employees by attending job fairs. Folks who can sit down with me already knowing something about the company and the types of jobs theyre interested in are very impressive to me.
Develop Multiple Versions of Your Resume
After youve done your homework, tailor your resume based on your job objective, and consider bringing multiple versions to the career fair, says Christina MacGill, associate director of career programming for career services at Pennsylvania State University.
Cut Through the Clutter
Having a concise resume to hand out at job fairs is crucial. When Im at a job fair, where the line can get eight-to-10 deep of people waiting to talk to you, I cringe when I see a resume thats more than a page and a half long, Dennis says.
Follow Up
Request a business card from each hiring manager, and jot down a few notes immediately after each conversation this will help refresh your memory when you follow up. Email or mail a thankyou note within 24 hours of the job fair. 2017 Monster Worldwide, Inc.
Jobapalooza Job Fair
Sept. 20, 2017 Join the St. Louis Post-Dispatch at the Maryland Heights Community Center. Meet with over 20 St. Louis employers and more! For information: STLtoday.com/ourevents
Anthem said it may pull back from more state Obamacare markets even as lawmakers debate steps to shore up the health law.
The health insurer is in talks with officials in some states ahead of deadlines later this month to decide whether to sell coverage in 2018, Chief Executive Officer Joseph Swedish said on Tuesday. The company has announced partial or full withdrawals from nine of the 14 states where it offered Obamacare plans this year.
"There are still some remaining states that we are in negotiation with, both the regulators as well as the legislative arena, to position ourselves appropriately," Swedish told investors at the Morgan Stanley Global Healthcare Conference in New York. "There are due dates that are still in play with respect to being able to make an announcement, so we're going to reserve any further statement about whether we're in our out of various states until those due dates pass."
The insurer is considering its plans for next year as senators weigh making changes to the Affordable Care Act, with some seeking small fixes to the law while others push for more far-reaching alterations. Efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare failed over the summer.
Anthem had about 1.5 million customers in Obamacare-compliant health plans as of June 30, including about 1 million who signed up through the health law's exchanges.
Swedish didn't say specifically which states Anthem might retreat from.
Of the five states where Anthem hasn't said it plans to pull back, the insurer has said it will continue to sell Obamacare coverage in three Colorado, New Hampshire and New York.
In two other states, the picture is unclear. The company previously told regulators in Maine it would quit that state's exchange if subsidies for low-income consumers aren't funded. In Connecticut, insurers have until Sept. 15 to decide whether to participate.
Erin Weinstein, director of legislative affairs at Connecticut's insurance regulator, referred to the state's Sept. 15 deadline and didn't answer questions about Anthem. Maine didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
In Washington, senators are holding two hearings on Tuesday about changing the Affordable Care Act.
Tennessee Republican Senator Lamar Alexander, who heads a health committee, has said he wants a small package of bipartisan fixes before insurers like Anthem lock in their 2018 plans this month. Utah Republican Orrin Hatch, who leads the Senate Finance Committee, has been skeptical of providing money for insurers without making more changes to the law.
"I am concerned that many of the proposals for a bipartisan solution would amount to little more than a bailout of the current system," Hatch said on Tuesday. "An Obamacare bailout that is not accompanied by real reforms would be inadvisable."
He suggested a bipartisan solution should also at least delay Obamacare taxes on health insurers, medical-device companies and high-cost health plans, as well as repeal a panel that is supposed to make cuts to government health spending if costs reach a certain level.
A key question for health insurers is whether lawmakers will explicitly provide funding for the law's cost-sharing reductions, which help insurers lower out-of-pocket costs for low-income consumers. Insurers have said that if there's doubt about whether those payments will be made, premiums could climb 15 percent to 20 percent next year.
Alexander has said his bill would fund the payments and provide more flexibility to states.
Complicating the effort to stabilize Obamacare, Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy and Lindsey Graham, of Louisiana and South Carolina, respectively, are pushing their proposal to repeal and replace the health law. They've said they plan to provide text of their proposal on Wednesday.
Bloomberg's Hannah Recht and Laura Litvan contributed.
The newly opened Sikkim route, which was more convenient for pilgrims than the other route through Lipulekh in Uttarakhand, was closed earlier this year amid the border stand-off at Doklam.
China says it is ready for talks with India over opening Nathu La pass for Kailash Mansarovar pilgrims. (File Photo)
By Ananth Krishnan: China today said it was "ready to keep communication" with India on opening the Nathu La pass route for Kailash Mansarovar pilgrims.
The newly opened Sikkim route, which was more convenient for pilgrims than the other route through Lipulekh in Uttarakhand, was closed earlier this year amid the border stand-off at Doklam. The Lipulekh route was unaffected.
advertisement
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said China "has long made efforts against all odds to provide to necessary convenience" for pilgrims. The route was suspended after India "trespassed" at Doklam, he said.
He added that "China stands ready to keep communication with the Indian side in regard to the opening of the pass and other issues relating to pilgrims".
On China not providing hydrological data from the upper reaches of the Brahmaputra this year - under an agreement, Beijing is to provide data every year starting in April for the flood season - Geng said because of "upgrading and renovation" of the Chinese station, data could not be provided this year.
WATCH: India, China agree to disengage on Doklam ending two-and-a-half-month-long standoff ALSO READ:
China confirms Nathu La pass closed because of border stand-off with India
China says India to blame for border row, Nathu La closure
The last Sikkim stand-off: When India gave China a bloody nose in 1967
Doklam standoff: Indian, Chinese Army officers meet at Nathu La to resolve row
--- ENDS ---
Joe Holleman Joe Holleman is a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Follow Joe Holleman Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today
After 35 years operating as a locally owned television station, the Rev. Larry Rices KNLC (Channel 24) is being sold to a Wisconsin company.
According to filings with the Federal Communication Commission, TV-49 Inc. will pay $3.75 million to buy the independent station from Rices nonprofit New Life Evangelistic Center Inc.
The station has broadcast secular programming, liberally interspersed with Rices religious sermons and calls to social activism, since it first hit the airwaves on Sept. 12, 1982.
The sale does not include Rices property at 1411 Locust Street in downtown St. Louis a building that had been used as a homeless shelter for years until it was closed in April by St. Louis city officials.
The shelter stood as a source of contention between Rice and his followers on one side and city officials and downtown property owners on the other.
Rice said the sale, which consists mainly of the frequency bandwidth and tower and transmission equipment in House Springs, was sparked by the shelters closing and his need to raise more money to help the needy.
Given the drastic cutbacks in state funding, if we didnt make this move at this time, there would be tremendous human suffering on the streets, Rice said in a telephone interview.
With the shelter closed, we have to find (homeless) people housing, and that costs more money than having them stay at the Locust shelter, he said.
Rice said TV-49 Inc. is associated with Weigel Broadcasting Inc., which owns independent stations in Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana. The sale should be finalized within 90 days, Rice said.
They are a family-owned business and theyve specialized in wholesome, family-style programming for years, the same type of programs weve been running, Rice said.
The sale does not involve three small stations Rice owns in southwest Missouri.
As to his future St. Louis broadcasting plans, Rice said he is looking at starting an internet station to offer family programming as well as his religious messages.
Were finding that younger people get their news and information in different ways, especially from the internet. So combined with the need (for money) caused by the cutbacks, we figured now was a good time to make the transition to online broadcasting, he said.
In April, city officials shut down Rices shelter after a long legal battle.
The city alleged that the shelter was chronically filled beyond its legal capacity, was in violation of numerous city building codes and was causing crime and disruption in the neighborhood.
Rice alleged the city wanted him out of the location to placate loft-dwellers who had gentrified the area in recent years.
On Tuesday, Rice said he still plans to fight the shelters closing in the courts.
ST. LOUIS The police union that primarily represents black city officers called Tuesday for a conviction in the first-degree murder case of former St. Louis patrolman Jason Stockley.
The Ethical Society of Police understands that this case may cause public frustration and we respect the citizens right to protest, according to a statement from the union. However, we do not condone any violence regardless of the courts decision.
Stockley, who is white, fatally shot Anthony Lamar Smith, who is black, after a police chase on Dec. 20, 2011. Prosecutors have alleged Stockley planted a .38-caliber revolver in Smiths crashed Buick after shooting him five times at close range. The defense has said Stockley shot Smith in self-defense because Stockley believed Smith was reaching for a gun.
The bench trial before St. Louis Circuit Judge Timothy Wilson ended Aug. 9.
Thom Gross, a spokesman for the 22nd Judicial Circuit, said in response to all of the recent calls for Wilson to convict Stockley: Verdicts must be based on evidence presented at trial nothing more and nothing less.
Getting ready
Meanwhile, interim St. Louis Police Chief Lawrence OToole issued a departmentwide memo Tuesday outlining preparations for the verdict.
In the very near future, our department and public safety professionals throughout the region will be very busy, he wrote. Final steps are being taken to maximize our staffing efforts for the anticipated verdict announcement.
When the department is notified that an announcement will be made, critical measures will be implemented, OToole said, including a move to 12-hour shifts. Days off, personal days and some vacations will be canceled.
On Monday, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens met with black faith leaders, police and first responders in what he called a proactive approach to fears of unrest.
WASHINGTON Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, a Republican, has been given a national award for pushing for increased federal funding for cancer research.
Blunt was granted the National Distinguished Advocacy Award Tuesday by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, an advocacy arm of the American Cancer Society.
Blunt was cited for pushing for a 13.3 percent increase in the National Institutes of Healths annual budget over the last two years as chair of the Senate Appropriation subcommittee the Labor, Health Human Services, Education and related agencies.
The NIH budget had been roughly the same for a decade before Congress increased it by $2 billion two years ago, and by the same amount last year. Blunt and his subcommittee are pushing for another $2 billion increase for 2018, which would push the budget for the agency a primary federal government health research arm to more than $36 billion.
The president of the organization giving Blunt the award said that Blunt has made tremendous strides for Missouri and the rest of the nation by consistently authoring significant annual increases in federal cancer research funding.
The Trump administration had proposed cuts in NIH funding to roughly $26 billion as part of its efforts to balance the budget. Deficit spending has driven the debt ceiling to roughly $20 trillion.
But a bipartisan pushback, which included Blunt and Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., has led to a proposal for a third year of $2 billion increases for 2018.
Blunt has convened hearings of researchers who have testified that federal-aided efforts looking into cancer, Alzheimers and other illnesses have made great strides in recent years, and more funding could directly lead to more breakthroughs in their treatment and prevention.
By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 12 (PTI) State-owned construction firm NBCC India Ltd today said it has signed an agreement with BZS of Belarus for infrastructure and energy projects.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Alexander Lukashenko, President of the Republic of Belarus.
"The MoU pertaining to strategic cooperation has been entered between NBCC and BZS for joint participation in the upcoming infrastructure and energy development projects in India and Republic of Belarus," NBCC said in a statement.
advertisement
NBCC (India) Ltd, under the administrative control of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, is present in three main segments -- Project Management Consultancy (PMC), real estate development and EPC contracting. PTI MJH ABM
--- ENDS ---
JEFFERSON CITY By refusing to resign, state Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal could be gambling her state pension.
The Democrat from University City has resisted calls to step down since August after she hoped for President Donald Trumps assassination in a Facebook comment. Republican leadership has given her until Wednesdays veto session to leave her seat or else risk being removed from office.
If Chappelle-Nadal did resign, she would be in line to collect a $1,746-per-month pension from the state when she turns 55 in 2029, according to the Missouri State Employee Retirement System, or MOSERS.
If she does not resign, and two-thirds of the Missouri Senate votes to expel her, she could lose it all.
Candace Smith, spokeswoman for MOSERS, said she would not comment on a hypothetical. But she did point to a provision in the retirement agencys handbook which outlines how a lawmaker can lose his or her pension.
One of the conditions: Remov(al) from office by impeachment or for misconduct.
MOSERS administers retirement benefits for most state employees, including members of the Legislature. Benefits are paid out from contributions by state agencies, income from investments and from a 4 percent contribution paid by state employees hired after Jan. 1, 2011.
If Chappelle-Nadal fills out the rest of her final Senate term which ends in January 2019 or if she resigns, she could collect a pension greater than other lawmakers who have run into controversy.
In addition to her seven years in the Senate, Chappelle-Nadal served three terms in the House and 29 months as a general state employee, according to MOSERS. Chappelle-Nadal did not return calls Monday or Tuesday.
To become vested in the states retirement system, a lawmaker must serve six full years. That means former state Rep. Don Gosen, R-Ballwin, who was elected in 2010 but resigned in February 2016 following an extramarital affair, is not going to collect a state pension.
The same goes for former state Rep. Scott Muschany, R-Huntleigh, who was first elected in 2004 and resigned in 2008 after being accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. He was acquitted in 2009.
Rep. Warren Love, R-Osceola, has also faced calls to resign after he expressed hope on Facebook that whoever vandalized a Springfield, Mo., Confederate monument be hanged.
Love, if he remains in office, will become vested in 2019 and would receive $748 per month if he chose not to run for re-election.
Former House Speaker John Diehl, a Town and Country Republican who resigned in 2015 after exchanging sexually charged texts with a Capitol intern, is set to receive $790 per month starting in 2020, according to MOSERS. He was in the middle of his fourth term when he resigned.
Former state Sen. Paul LeVota, D-Independence, resigned in 2015 after sexual harassment allegations involving interns. In 2023, he will be able to receive a $1,320-per-month pension for his four terms in the House and less than one term in the Senate.
Former House Speaker Rod Jetton, R-Marble Hill, left office in January 2009 because of term limits. In 2011, Jetton pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault, admitting he hit and choked a woman before and during sex in a November 2009 incident, after he had left office.
Jetton will be able to receive $1,466 per month starting in 2022.
Another way to lose your pension if you are a lawmaker is to commit a felony after Aug. 28, 1999, in connection with your official duties.
Lawmakers approved that measure after former House Speaker Bob Griffin, D-Cameron, was convicted in 1997 of bribery and mail fraud.
He was sentenced to four years in federal prison, and his sentence was commuted by President Bill Clinton soon before the president left office.
According to MOSERS, Griffin, now 82, receives $5,146 per month for his 38 years in government.
Since 1996, Griffin has collected $1,075,420 in pension benefits.
By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 12 (PTI) Nepal "must" be provided a mechanism for exchanging high-value Indian currency notes that were in circulation before demonetisation, the countrys Ambassador Deep Kumar Upadhyay said today.
He said there were several rounds of discussions between the central banks of the two countries to resolve the issues arising out of the decision, following which an understanding was "almost reached".
advertisement
"There was almost a kind of understanding that they will provide a window just for the exchange of currency notes which Nepali people are holding.
"From the Nepal side, the request was Rs 25,000 for each account and from the Indian side, it was to go for Rs 4,500 each exchange," he told reporters during an interaction at the Foreign Correspondents Club here.
Upadhyay explained that nearly every family residing in the hilly regions of Nepal has a member employed in some part of India.
"There are pensioners, also almost every family has a member in India. During festive seasons, when they return they take money for needs that may be nedical...It is my moral obligation. Some kind of a window Nepal must get," he said.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced in March that Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would set up a modality of exchange and settle the related issues soon.
The Indian currency is widely used in Nepal for day-to- day transactions, especially in the border areas.
Also, Nepalese citizens working in India send remittances to their families in Nepal in higher denomination notes.
Nepal, a landlocked country, depends on India for trade and supplies. PTI SBR TIR
--- ENDS ---
The UN Security Council on Monday imposed new sanctions on North Korea in answer to the nuclear test conducted by North Korea on September 1.
North Korea will be feeling the pain of new United Nations' sanctions targeting some of its biggest remaining foreign revenue streams, like textiles. | Photo: File photo/AP
By India Today Web Desk: The UN Security Council has imposed new sanctions on North Korea in opposition to North Korea's sixth nuclear test.
The UN Security Council on Monday unanimously approved sanctions to be imposed on North Korea. These sanctions do not, as US President Donald Trump suggested, ban all oil imports and freeze international assets of the government and its leader, Kim Jong Un.
UN Security Council agrees to impose tighter sanctions on DPRK: https://t.co/B0zc99XLIo pic.twitter.com/is64sxbTTH- United Nations (@UN) September 12, 2017
advertisement
Although the US suggested harsher sanctions, Russia and China agreed to vote in favour of the sanctions only after they were watered down.
The new sanctions imposed are:
- bans imports of all natural gas liquids and condensates by North Korea.
- bans textile exports from North Korea and any country to issue new work permits to North Korean workers.
- limits the import of crude oil.
North Korea will be feeling the pain of new United Nations sanctions targeting some of its biggest remaining foreign revenue streams, like textiles, joint ventures and remittances from its legion of workers abroad. Photo: AP Photo/Eric Talmadge, File
These sanctions will have long-drawn effects on North Korea. Textiles are North Korea's second-largest exports worth more than 700 million dollar a year. Meanwhile, the sanction on providing work permits to North Korean citizens is expected to cut down revenue by 500 million dollar.
"Today we are saying the world will never accept a nuclear armed North Korea," said US Ambassador Nikki Haley while addressing the Security Council.
The UN Security Council unanimously adopted the strongest sanctions ever against North Korea: #15-0 pic.twitter.com/0tNWAZRoSr- Nikki Haley (@nikkihaley) September 11, 2017
"We are done trying to prod the regime to do the right thing" and instead are taking steps to prevent it "from doing the wrong thing."
She said that these sanctions are by far the "strictest" sanctions to be imposed on North Korea but they can only achieve what they set out to do if all countries follow these sanctions aggressively.
RUSSIA AND CHINA NOT FINE WITH US' APPROACH
While China and Russia have approved the sanction, they are clearly not entirely satisfied with the approach. Infact, both China and Russia have proposed a freeze-for-freeze stance, where North Korea can be asked to curb its nuclear program in return of US and South Korea stopping their military practices. US administration did not agree to this proposal.
China's U.N. ambassador, Liu Jieyi, said Beijing has been making "unremitting efforts" to denuclearize and maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.
UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2375 #DPRK #UNSC Amb. LIU Jieyi's statement after voting in favor https://t.co/LMZuXPOVuA pic.twitter.com/j5UfwKlwKd- Chinese Mission toUN (@Chinamission2un) September 12, 2017
advertisement
Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia also reiterated the stance that though Russia has supported the sanctions it is not completely satisfied with the approach. "We're convinced that diverting the gathering menace from the Korean Peninsula could be done not through further and further sanctions, but by political means," he said.
SOUTH KOREA AND JAPAN SUPPORTS SANCTION
South Korea and Japan have welcomed the sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council. Japanese President Shinzo Abe praised the step by UN calling the sanctions a "remarkably tough sanctions resolution".
Meanwhile, South Korea has stressed on the fact that it is significant that China and Russia have supported the sanction.
NORTH KOREA RESPONDS
Meanwhile, North Korea has strongly condemned the move. In a statement released after the sanctions were imposed, North Korea's foreign ministry iussued a statement saying that North Korea is closely watching United States.
It also said that US would have to pay a heavy price if the sanctions proposed by the US are imposed.
(With inputs from Associated Press)
--- ENDS ---
Max Hume, president of the British Origami Society, with a parrot he created as the society celebrated its 50th anniversary at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Stratford last Saturday. Photo: Iain Duck C52/9/17/9211
FIFTY years of organised origami in the UK was celebrated at the British Origami Societys convention, at the Crowne Plaza, in Stratford-upon-Avon.
A full, three-day programme began on the Friday morning, including a lecture by American physicist Dr Robert Lang, who explained the origami techniques of fitting a telescopic lens into a rocket and air bags into vehicles, as well as folding DNA, atoms and stents.
The visitor who travelled the furthest to the convention, was from Australia, among others who came from across the world including Japan and Germany.
The conference took place from Friday 1st to Sunday 3rd September, with some events open to the public.
Nigel Elworthy, of the British Origami Society said: It was a fantastic place to hold the convention. In the three days, 300 people attended. Relatively few people only came for just the one day, and most were there on the Saturday and Sunday.
The event, which included a gala dinner on Saturday night, proved to be so popular that extra classes were running during the day.
An operation to remove dangerous weapons from Warwickshires streets has been launched by the police.
For four weeks from 18 September Warwickshire Police will be supporting the ongoing national knife surrender campaign, designed to raise awareness of the dangers and consequences of carrying a knife.
During the month knife surrender bins will be located at police stations across the region, including in Stratford.
Anyone can use one of these bins to anonymously surrender a knife or other bladed item.
This is a surrender campaign as opposed to an amnesty, as there will be no immunity from prosecution should information come to light that one of the surrendered weapons may have been used in the commission of an offence.
The knives surrendered will be delivered to the British Ironwork Centre in Oswestry where they will be used to build a plinth for a 20-foot high guardian angel sculpture in memory of those who have lost their life to knife crime.
Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe said: Knife crime has a devastating effect on peoples lives both for victims, perpetrators, their families and the wider community. While thankfully knife crime is not commonplace in Warwickshire, its still important that we all work together to rid knives from our streets.
There is no circumstance where carrying a knife as a weapon is acceptable and, while some people wrongly perceive that a knife offers them some kind of protection, in reality it only serves to make them more vulnerable while placing those around them at greater risk.
Every knife surrendered is one less that can cause death, destruction and misery, so I am very supportive of this campaign. I hope anyone who owns a knife young or old will take this opportunity to surrender their weapon and dispose of it safely.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Monday arrived in Australia on a two-day official visit, where he highlighted the regional security situation and Pakistan's concerns at meetings with the Australian leadership, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
The COAS reached Australia on an invitation by the Australian army chief, the ISPR said in a statement.
Read more: COAS called on the world to "do more" against terrorism
Upon arrival at Defence Forces Headquarters in Canberra, General Bajwa was given a tri-service guard of honour, after which he called on Australian Army Chief Lieutenant General Angus J. Campbell and Naval Chief Vice Admiral Timothy Barrett, the statement read.
During his meetings with Australian military and civilian leadership, the COAS highlighted regional security situation and Pakistan Army's contributions towards peace and stability.
Also read: Khawaja Asif talks regional security with Iran President Rouhani
"While Pakistan will continue to support all peace efforts, we expect that our security concerns are also addressed. The country has improved the security situation and a key role in regional economy," the ISPR quoted General Bajwa as saying.
The Australian leadership appreciated Pakistan's efforts against terrorism and expressed commitment to further improve the bilateral collaboration in defence and security.
By PTI: Mumbai, Sep 12 (PTI) Odisha government today invited companies to invest in the states vibrant downstream steel and stainless steel sector, assuring them of best infrastructure.
The industries department of Odisha government held talks with over 70 companies and invited them to invest in the states vibrant downstream ecosystem, a release said.
The downstream industry meet held at Tata Steel and Jindal Stainless was attended by several ancillary firms from Odisha as well as states like Jharkhand, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Maharashtra.
advertisement
Odisha Principal Secretary, Industries, Sanjeev Chopra highlighted that the state has put in place a comprehensive strategy to accelerate the growth of downstream sector with committed feedstock as well as common facilities.
"A special category has been given to downstream sector in the states industrial policy and there is great scope for the growth of the sector in the state. This is an opportune time for the industry to closely look at setting up base at Kalinganagar industrial region. Nearly 10 per cent of the land for large projects has been earmarked for setting up ancillary and downstream industrial facilities," he added.
He also said the state will also provide a host of fiscal incentives including power subsidy and various other non-fiscal incentives to the downstream companies. PTI SM NRB JMF
--- ENDS ---
By India Today Web Desk: TV actress Tejasswi Prakash, who was last seen as Diya in Pehredaar Piya Ki, is all set to be back on screen with her new untitled show. The actress had been in news for playing the female lead in the controversial show Pehredar Piya Ki. The show was taken off air due to its unsuitable content, where it showed a 9-year-old married to a 20-year-old girl.
advertisement
Tejasswi's new show is with the same production house - Shashi Sumit Productions, which produced Pehredaar Piya Ki. The new show will have the same cast as Pehredar Piya Ki except for child actor Afaan Khan, with a new storyline. Tejasswi plays the lead in the upcoming romantic show.
I choose to see the beauty in front of me and not the hurdles... I choose to go swim through the endless ocean and mute the rest... Coz I choose to me happy for I believe it's a choice,something you can decide to be... I hope whoever reads this is happy and content in life...god bless you all ??? #waterbaby #travel A post shared by tejasswi Prakash (@tejasswiprakash) on Sep 8, 2017 at 6:05am PDT
The actress has already shot for the promo of the show and sounds excited for her new show. She spoke to Hindustan Times and said, "This is a completely new show and it's not a sequel [to Pehredaar Piya Ki]. It's a love story. We ended Pehredaar Piya Ki abruptly, so we wanted something [as good] to take its place. The story is set in the traditional backdrop of Rajasthan [much like Pehredaar Piya Ki] and I play a modern character."
In Pehredaar Piya Ki, Tejasswi played a traditional Rajasthani girl. She had a similar character in Colors' Sawaragini. It will be a welcome change to see her in a modern avatar on screen.
Also read: Pehredaar Piya Ki actress Tejasswi Prakash shoots promo of her new show
--- ENDS ---
By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 12 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi today held extensive talks with Belarus President A G Lukashenko to ramp up bilateral engagement in various areas, including defence, trade and investment.
His visit takes place at a time when Belarus and India are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
A range of issues, including ways to deepen cooperation in various areas, were discussed by Lukashenko and Modi during their talks.
advertisement
Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj called on the president of Belarus before his talks with Modi.
Lukashenko, who arrived here last night, was also given a ceremonial welcome at forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan this morning. PTI PR MPB AAR
--- ENDS ---
By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 12 (PTI) Power utilities like state-owned NTPC have stepped up natural gas buying in last few days to make up for acute coal shortage at a dozen electricity generation plants in the country.
"In last couple of days, 10 million standard cubic meters per day of additional gas has been purchased by power companies," said B C Tripathi, Chairman and Managing Director of GAIL India Ltd, the countrys biggest gas marketer.
advertisement
The gas purchased is good enough to generate 2,000 megawatt of electricity.
India has 329,226.27 MW of installed electricity generation capacity. Of the total, 25,185 MW is based on gas. Of these, 14,305 MW are technically stranded ? fully or partly inoperative due to want of gas at competitive rates.
These plants, where Rs 1.24 lakh crore has already been invested, operated at a mere 22.51 per cent plant load factor, producing 49 billion units of electricity, in 2016-17.
Imported gas is costlier than coal fired generation or even solar now.
But with coal stocks as 12 power plants falling below critical levels, NTPC and other companies have stepped up buying natural gas to supplement production.
According to the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), as on September 7, five power plants had coal stocks of less than seven days. It classified five plants in the super-critical category with coal stocks to last for less than four days of requirement.
The plants with critical levels of coal are in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
"Natural gas is good to meet peaking load demand. It takes very less time compared to coal for a start-up or shutdown," Tripathi said.
Besides, it is a cleaner and environment friendly fuel than coal.
He said natural gas should be included in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime and tax incidence brought down to 5 per cent from current 20-30 per cent to promote its usage.
Crude oil, natural gas, petrol, diesel and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) have been kept of the GST, which has unified more than a dozen central and state levies like excise duty, service tax and VAT.
"That (cutting tax rate) will also aid in governments ambition of moving towards a gas-based economy," he said. PTI ANZ SA
--- ENDS ---
Police have accepted the findings of an Independent Police Conduct Authority investigation, which determined the use of a Taser on a prisoner at Hamilton District Court was unjustified.
Police also recognise they were justified in using other force to restrain the prisoner.
On January 26, police were assisting with moving the prisoner from his court cell to a security area when he became abusive and threatening.
The prisoner was then escorted down stairs to the loading bay and alleged the police officer punched him and smashed his head into a wall.
We recognise the Authority has been unable to substantiate the allegation that the prisoner was punched in the stairwell, and found the officer did not smash the prisoners head against the loading bay wall, says Waikato District Commander Superintendent Bruce Bird.
We also recognise the fracture to the prisoners rib was caused during the struggle with the officers, but was not the result of application of excessive force.
We have full confidence our officer acted appropriately in this aspect of the incident and his actions were supported by other officers who assisted with restraining this prisoner.
We also acknowledge the IPCA has deemed the force used on the prisoner at the security area was reasonable under the circumstances, says Bruce.
After this struggle, three other officers took hold of the prisoner and held him to the ground to help restrain him.
When the man did not comply with instructions to stop struggling, the police officer used a Taser to apply two contact stuns to the prisoner, following which he was restrained in handcuffs.
We agree with the IPCA that the officers use of Taser was contrary to policy and not justified because the prisoner was not directly assaulting or threatening him or others at the time.
Our staff face an array of challenges when dealing with aggressive members of the public and policing prisoners in court cells can be very challenging.
It is important that when under pressure, our officers make the right decisions regarding how best to respond.
Bruce says police have discussed this incident thoroughly with the officer involved and learnt from the mistake that was made.
R Madhavan reportedly lost out on playing the love interest of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in Fanney Khan because the fee he quoted was too high for the budget of the film.
By India Today Web Desk: Before Rajkummar Rao came on board Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Fanney Khan, R Madhavan was one of the top contenders to romance Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the film. According to a report in DNA, Madhavan could not clinch the deal because of his remuneration.
Apparently, Madhavan had quoted a fee of Rs 1.5 crore for the film, which the makers did not want to shell out for a 15-day shoot. Rajkummar agreed to come on board at a lower price, which tilted the scales in his favour.
advertisement
A source told the publication, "The real story is that Madhavan asked for a huge remuneration. He wanted Rs 1.5 crore for a 15-day shoot. And the makers felt that it was not justified. The plan is to make the film within a certain budget and the price quoted by Maddy didn't align with that. It was mutually decided he couldn't be part of the film and Rajkummar Rao was brought in immediately."
Apparently, Madhavan was not the only one in the running. From Akshay Oberoi to Kartik Aaryan, many names were being considered, but nothing worked out. At one point, Rakeysh decided to bring a fresh face on board, but Aishwarya was reportedly not okay with the idea.
Fanney Khan is the Hindi adaptation of the 2000 Dutch release, Everybody's Famous! The film also stars Anil Kapoor in a leading role.
ALSO READ: Will Aishwarya Rai Bachchan make her singing debut with Fanney Khan?
ALSO SEE: Call the fire brigade, R Madhavan's post-shower selfie is too hot
ALSO WATCH: R Madhavan and Bipasha Basu's flash mob act
--- ENDS ---
Trip Report Sauyr Zhotasy East. The Great Game, it aint over yet.
by
by ecdh Monday September 11, 2017 9:42pm
Checking out the border patrols on the southern side of the Sauyr Range, probably with them looking back at us. Photo Mitch Murray.
Checking out the border patrols on the southern side of the Sauyr Range, probably with them looking back at us. Photo Mitch Murray. Credit: ecdh
Talk of doing the first documented ascent of sauyr zhotasy has existed for years. Though not high at 3840m, a topographic prominence of 3250m makes it perhaps the highest of any unascended peak. Along with this arbitrary distinction, the small range and its glaciers hold the distinction of being the most remote from any ocean on earth. That it sits on the China-Kazakhstan border across hundreds of kms of steppe and desert only adds to the mountains obscurity.
Data on the peak was near-impossible to find, mostly hearsay and projection and no reliable photos. As usual, satellite images were taken with snow covering much of what we wanted to see.
Months of attempted correspondence with Chinese authorities and expedition companies resulted in disinterest, inability and paranoia on their behalves due to the hazy security matters of Xinjiangs borders. Taking matters into our own hands we decided to go with trusted friend, expedition collaborator and logistics genius Alex Tang from Chengdu.
The unusual objective needed a team skilled far beyond just the climbing demands who could happily shoulder Xinjiangs unforeseeable elements both bureaucratic and alpine. With Alex literally at the wheel we were Eric Kowalski, Dr Alex Mathews, Mitch Murray and Ed Hannam, all with track records in desperate parts of the world and well equipped with a strong sense of humour in the absurd.
From the razor wire, Uygher restaurants and exotica of Urumqi, Xinjiangs capital, we crossed the Dzungarian basin to Hoboksar, a camel trading outpost nearest the Kazakh border we would launch from. Aside from excellent dumplings, Hoboksar was deeply locked down with border paranoia, entailing soviet-like security checks at every step. The Sauyr Range loomed beguilingly beyond the hotel windows, with only 25km of Gobi between us, but we took pains to conceal our interest in an ascent stating we were camel-watchers instead.
Bactrian camels as we approach the foot of the Sauyr Range. Photo Ed Hannam
Bactrian camels as we approach the foot of the Sauyr Range. Photo Ed Hannam Credit: ecdh
Prepared for anything from desert crossings to cold alpine bivys, rain and baking heat, glaciers and technical mixed climbing, we crossed the expanse of endorheic Gobi to find intimidating patrol posts at the head of each valley, beyond which 1000m alpine walls, glaciers, huge buttresses and snowy plateaus beckoned. Through binoculars we considered options ranging from the conservative to the cavalier, and retreated to Hoboksar for permits, only to be blocked at even the idea by military wishing wed just go away.
Paranoid of being detained for any bravado, we gambled on attempting Sauyr Zhotasys glaciated main peak via a distant valley system the only one within striking range without a border post at the entrance, and grazed by nomads living along tumbling, melt-fed streams. This route would mean summiting the ranges eastern summit at 3750m before a long traverse of the ridges between.
With week-length loads we had 1800m of prominence across 8kms of approach, the majority of the altitude gain over only 500 horizontal meters up to the snowline at 3500m. Below the snow we made a launch camp to set us up for the eastern peak,. from which summit followed about seven kms of exposed ridge lines to the main peak, or so it appeared.
The approach to Sauyr Zhotasy East, 3750m. photo Mitch Murray
The approach to Sauyr Zhotasy East, 3750m. photo Mitch Murray Credit: ecdh
Camp at the base of Sauyr Zhotasy East. Photo Mitch Murray
Camp at the base of Sauyr Zhotasy East. Photo Mitch Murray Credit: ecdh
A second day of endless scree and boulder fields merging into 50o snow bought us to the base of the east peaks headwall; a crumbly mass of unstable rock and ice with no safe bivy spots tho great views down the valley back towards the Tarbagatai Desert and its strange ranges of eroded mountains.
Murray and Hannam soloed a rising traverse around the headwall, emerging onto the summit plateau where Hannam continued the 1000m to the eastern peaks true summit through knee deep snow whilst Murray went to survey the northern aspects with views far into northern Kazakhstan. Despite the summits highest point having no signs of activity, a lower feature at approx 3600m - perhaps visible from other vantages - had a series of three possible ancient cairns. Though we claim the first documented ascent of Sauyr Zhotasy East, a previous ascent is possible.
View south towards the Dzungarian Gobi from below where the traverse emerged on the summit plateau. Photo Eric Kowalski
View south towards the Dzungarian Gobi from below where the traverse emerged on the summit plateau. Photo Eric Kowalski Credit: ecdh
From the eastern summit, the reality of the traverse and ascent of the main peak became apparent as beyond the scope of our team at the time. The seven km of alpine ridge is punctuated by at least two technical descent and ascents, the final onto Sauyr Zhotasys summit itself, with a large section of the route unobservable. The northern side of the range proved to be mostly 70o snow and unstable rock slopes offering no good route options
Though the climbing itself was within the teams ability, the 14km return trip, all on totally exposed terrain above the snow line we deemed too risky due to the reality that descent into any of the side valleys as contingency would result in detainment as we exited the valleys. Not a great option considering the regions current state of lockdown.
Sketch from Sauyr Zhotasy East summit of the route to Sauyr Zhotasy main summit (3840m, marked V). the valleys below the ridges heading to the left of the sketch all have border posts.
Sketch from Sauyr Zhotasy East summit of the route to Sauyr Zhotasy main summit (3840m, marked V). the valleys below the ridges heading to the left of the sketch all have border posts. Credit: ecdh
Leaving the summit plateau Murray and Hannam met with Kowalski who had soloed a route variant on steeper snow to scout from a perpendicular ridge, the three climbers descending together to where Mathews and Tang waited in relative safety as the south-facing headwall rapidly shed in the afternoon sun.
Staying ahead of the unstable conditions the team descended to valley level.
Kowalski, Mathews and Hannam between bouts of rockfall at the base of Sauyr Zhotasy Easts headwall. Photo Mitch Murray
Kowalski, Mathews and Hannam between bouts of rockfall at the base of Sauyr Zhotasy Easts headwall. Photo Mitch Murray Credit: ecdh
All in all, the difficulties of access aside, Sauyr Zhotasy east goes at about Scottish grade 3 in summer conditions. Sauyr Zhotasy main peak from the east would up the stakes to what looks like about Scottish grade 5 stuff. From the most direct valley it looks like easyish ridgelines, or monster 900m walls of black choss. the north side appears to dangerously steep snow, tho perhaps doable in spring. Winter would be a very different equation with temperatures at 1500m in Hoboksar hitting -35c...
Knowing what we do now, an ascent of Sauyr Zhotasy main peak is possible once the conundrum of the security and the alpine problems are surmounted. Approaches from other valleys are strategically shorter and more dramatic but demand a plan for the ever-watchful border posts that includes the return element. Judging from the state of security imposed on even normal public places like shops and restaurants, its fair to say time in a Xinjiang prison wouldnt be much fun. Until dealt with any official ascents of this enigmatic peak wont be happening, though opportunities for pirate ascents as per the tradition of central asian alpinism exist, but you didnt read that here.
As always wed like to thank Cilogear for the specialized packs that are the back bone of trips like these, and NWAlpine for the innovative clothing.
Left to right; Dr Alex Mathews, Mitch Murray, Eric Kowalski and Alex Tang. Photo Ed Hannam
Left to right; Dr Alex Mathews, Mitch Murray, Eric Kowalski and Alex Tang. Photo Ed Hannam Credit: ecdh Talk of doing the first documented ascent of sauyr zhotasy has existed for years. Though not high at 3840m, a topographic prominence of 3250m makes it perhaps the highest of any unascended peak. Along with this arbitrary distinction, the small range and its glaciers hold the distinction of being the most remote from any ocean on earth. That it sits on the China-Kazakhstan border across hundreds of kms of steppe and desert only adds to the mountains obscurity.Data on the peak was near-impossible to find, mostly hearsay and projection and no reliable photos. As usual, satellite images were taken with snow covering much of what we wanted to see.Months of attempted correspondence with Chinese authorities and expedition companies resulted in disinterest, inability and paranoia on their behalves due to the hazy security matters of Xinjiangs borders. Taking matters into our own hands we decided to go with trusted friend, expedition collaborator and logistics genius Alex Tang from Chengdu.The unusual objective needed a team skilled far beyond just the climbing demands who could happily shoulder Xinjiangs unforeseeable elements both bureaucratic and alpine. With Alex literally at the wheel we were Eric Kowalski, Dr Alex Mathews, Mitch Murray and Ed Hannam, all with track records in desperate parts of the world and well equipped with a strong sense of humour in the absurd.From the razor wire, Uygher restaurants and exotica of Urumqi, Xinjiangs capital, we crossed the Dzungarian basin to Hoboksar, a camel trading outpost nearest the Kazakh border we would launch from. Aside from excellent dumplings, Hoboksar was deeply locked down with border paranoia, entailing soviet-like security checks at every step. The Sauyr Range loomed beguilingly beyond the hotel windows, with only 25km of Gobi between us, but we took pains to conceal our interest in an ascent stating we were camel-watchers instead.Prepared for anything from desert crossings to cold alpine bivys, rain and baking heat, glaciers and technical mixed climbing, we crossed the expanse of endorheic Gobi to find intimidating patrol posts at the head of each valley, beyond which 1000m alpine walls, glaciers, huge buttresses and snowy plateaus beckoned. Through binoculars we considered options ranging from the conservative to the cavalier, and retreated to Hoboksar for permits, only to be blocked at even the idea by military wishing wed just go away.Paranoid of being detained for any bravado, we gambled on attempting Sauyr Zhotasys glaciated main peak via a distant valley system the only one within striking range without a border post at the entrance, and grazed by nomads living along tumbling, melt-fed streams. This route would mean summiting the ranges eastern summit at 3750m before a long traverse of the ridges between.With week-length loads we had 1800m of prominence across 8kms of approach, the majority of the altitude gain over only 500 horizontal meters up to the snowline at 3500m. Below the snow we made a launch camp to set us up for the eastern peak,. from which summit followed about seven kms of exposed ridge lines to the main peak, or so it appeared.A second day of endless scree and boulder fields merging into 50o snow bought us to the base of the east peaks headwall; a crumbly mass of unstable rock and ice with no safe bivy spots tho great views down the valley back towards the Tarbagatai Desert and its strange ranges of eroded mountains.Murray and Hannam soloed a rising traverse around the headwall, emerging onto the summit plateau where Hannam continued the 1000m to the eastern peaks true summit through knee deep snow whilst Murray went to survey the northern aspects with views far into northern Kazakhstan. Despite the summits highest point having no signs of activity, a lower feature at approx 3600m - perhaps visible from other vantages - had a series of three possible ancient cairns. Though we claim the first documented ascent of Sauyr Zhotasy East, a previous ascent is possible.From the eastern summit, the reality of the traverse and ascent of the main peak became apparent as beyond the scope of our team at the time. The seven km of alpine ridge is punctuated by at least two technical descent and ascents, the final onto Sauyr Zhotasys summit itself, with a large section of the route unobservable. The northern side of the range proved to be mostly 70o snow and unstable rock slopes offering no good route optionsThough the climbing itself was within the teams ability, the 14km return trip, all on totally exposed terrain above the snow line we deemed too risky due to the reality that descent into any of the side valleys as contingency would result in detainment as we exited the valleys. Not a great option considering the regions current state of lockdown.Leaving the summit plateau Murray and Hannam met with Kowalski who had soloed a route variant on steeper snow to scout from a perpendicular ridge, the three climbers descending together to where Mathews and Tang waited in relative safety as the south-facing headwall rapidly shed in the afternoon sun.Staying ahead of the unstable conditions the team descended to valley level.All in all, the difficulties of access aside, Sauyr Zhotasy east goes at about Scottish grade 3 in summer conditions. Sauyr Zhotasy main peak from the east would up the stakes to what looks like about Scottish grade 5 stuff. From the most direct valley it looks like easyish ridgelines, or monster 900m walls of black choss. the north side appears to dangerously steep snow, tho perhaps doable in spring. Winter would be a very different equation with temperatures at 1500m in Hoboksar hitting -35c...Knowing what we do now, an ascent of Sauyr Zhotasy main peak is possible once the conundrum of the security and the alpine problems are surmounted. Approaches from other valleys are strategically shorter and more dramatic but demand a plan for the ever-watchful border posts that includes the return element. Judging from the state of security imposed on even normal public places like shops and restaurants, its fair to say time in a Xinjiang prison wouldnt be much fun. Until dealt with any official ascents of this enigmatic peak wont be happening, though opportunities for pirate ascents as per the tradition of central asian alpinism exist, but you didnt read that here.As always wed like to thank Cilogear for the specialized packs that are the back bone of trips like these, and NWAlpine for the innovative clothing.
Trip Report Views: 3,052 ecdh About the Author
ecdh is a climber from the east.
Comments ecdh
climber the east Author's Reply Sep 11, 2017 - 10:57pm PT apparently google earth puts Sauyr Zhotasy East at 3750m (100m higher than we concluded out there), so ive changed that in the report.
at the time our altimeters all differed. clockclimb
Trad climber Orem, Utah Sep 12, 2017 - 09:18am PT The spirit of adventure lives on! The logistics of dealing with the authorities sounds even more gripping than natural hazards. NutAgain!
Trad climber https://nutagain.org Sep 12, 2017 - 12:23pm PT Sounds like an adventure!
All kinds of off-the-beaten-path places to explore in this world.
I was wondering who would buy the camel-watcher story :)
But I admit great pleasure could be had doing just that. Nick Danger
Ice climber Arvada, CO Sep 12, 2017 - 12:26pm PT Now THAT is grade triple A adventure. Good on ya, mates! ecdh
climber the east Author's Reply Sep 12, 2017 - 03:46pm PT the camel watching actually did hold water - they were everywhere. amazing animals, twice the bulk of the whimpy little dromedaries. the way they move across the land is amazing.
we also saw otters, hares, heaps of snakes and lizards and strange night insects.
after the peak we followed the Baiyang river for a few days towards the Kazakh border, thru beautiful ravines and white poplar forests (baiyang means white poplar).
to be honest, the strategy and games of deception were as much fun as the climbing. a lot of binocular time. guyman
Social climber Moorpark, CA. Sep 12, 2017 - 05:19pm PT As always .... your trip reports are outstanding reading. The spirit of adventure invades my little cube.
Thank you for sharing. nah000
climber now/here Sep 12, 2017 - 08:24pm PT 1. based solely on your trs, you certainly are living a good life...
2. thanks for taking the time to bring an old school flavour to the telling of a contemporary adventure... t'was tasty. donini
Trad climber Ouray, Colorado Sep 12, 2017 - 09:18pm PT Good on you! It's all about exploring, isn't it. ecdh
climber the east Author's Reply Sep 12, 2017 - 10:13pm PT yes and yes - theres nothing like pulling off a good caper.
i find much of climbing soulless and sterile these days, lacking the grist and gravel of a complete adventure. made doubly crazy by how open the world is; places like this are doable with some old fashioned derring do, guile and intensive planning - things that were par for the course in shiptons day but now dwindling.
tuva or bust! as they say. Jaybro
Social climber Wolf City, Wyoming Sep 13, 2017 - 05:55am PT The Journey to the east lars johansen
Trad climber West Marin, CA Sep 13, 2017 - 11:21am PT Quite an adventure. Thanks for posting. best-lars Ezra Ellis
Trad climber North wet, and Da souf Sep 15, 2017 - 03:14am PT Thanks for sharing!
Cheers Scott Joffre
Mountain climber Nov 10, 2017 - 01:25pm PT I found this report on the Ice Climbing Japan page and wanted to ask if it would be possible to get more information about your trip? I came across Sauyr Zhotasy in my research last year and found that this is the first record I have come across at all about the mountain and surrounding region, so congratulations!
A couple of questions I have:
Do you know why there is so much border security? China and Kazakhstan have a pretty good geopolitical relationship...
Did you have any luck with working with the Chinese or Kazak governments? Were you able to make contact whatsoever?
Is there a reason you were not able to snag a picture of the peak? Why just the sketch?
Is the peak surmountable without using any special gear?
Even in the summer what were the conditions at that altitude? Was there still a ton of snow and ice up there?
Lastly, how long (including water, food, etc) do you think you could be self sufficient out there? Are there streams nearby? Basically how remote is it really?
Sounded like an amazing adventure and I would love to learn more about the trip, Saury Zhotasy, and the surrounding area! Thanks for your work!
limpingcrab
Gym climber Minkler, CA Nov 13, 2017 - 04:48pm PT Great story, I missed this one.
TFPU sawtooth500
climber May 24, 2018 - 11:31am PT Out of curiosity, did you try Sauyr Zhotasy from the north on the Chinese side? Go to 47.080577, 85.572811 in Google Earth. There looks like there are some buildings here and a road at about 10,000 feet north of the mountain, and if you trace the road back it goes into China. It's a LONG road, perhaps 50 miles of dirt before you hit the nearest pavement, but it would get you within about 2 miles and 2600 vertical feet of the summit... totally different approach than the south side. NutAgain!
Trad climber https://nutagain.org Jun 2, 2018 - 09:15am PT Cool adventure! I didnt see this before. ecdh
climber the east Author's Reply Jun 2, 2018 - 02:38pm PT sawtooth, good spotting.
we looked at lots of access options last year and as a first attempt went with the occams razor version of simplest, based on beta we could get then.
re northern approaches, funny you mention that as we are about to step off to give it a go, but not the route youre looking at as theres no way in hell we will get that close to the border annoyingly. there are other valleys tho.
also that area is divided between 2 administrative zones, with the northern one being even less friendly than the southern, but we now have a strategy to deal with that.
in the end theres solid reasons SZ isnt officially summited yet....pretty much because its so damned hard to get anywhere near it. finding punk climbers willing to take on the strategy is the biggest thing.
Cervezas Victoria, Malaga's emblematic beer brand, on Friday officially opened its new factory on the city's saint's day, 'Dia de Nuestra Senora de la Victoria'.
The glass-fronted building, dominated by the sign 'Victoria. Malaga 1928', is situated on the La Azucarera industrial estate and can be seen from the N-340.
The Damm Group, owners of the nearly 100-year-old brand, didn't want to build a standard brewery. We wanted to have a factory that was open to the city, where the purely industrial part is as important as the relationship with the Malaga people, explains Sergio Ragel, the firms external relations officer.
The light-filled modern building, designed by Malaga architects Gana, allows visitors to see all the production processes and also has a large room for beer tasting, events and concerts. Whats more, there is a small museum where the history of the emblematic brand is explained, starting from its founding in 1928 by the Franquelo family in El Perchel.
The Damm Group has spent six million euros on the new factory and is studying the possibility of investing another 15 million to extend its bottled lines.
For the moment the new brewery will be producing barrels and 33cl bottles, a total of around 1.2 million litres a year; the litre bottles and cans will still be produced in the factory in Murcia. The idea is, little-by-little, to bring all the production of the beer consumed in Malaga here, added Ragel.
This means that yearly production, after the projected investment, could reach 20 million litres.
Citizens' and Brexit groups in Spain have shown mixed reactions to the conclusion of the latest round of Brexit negotiations.
Ending recent talks, the EUs chief negotiator, Michel Barnier and UK Secretary of State for Exiting the EU, David Davis, gave a press conference in which Davis said that the two sides had made some progress on citizens rights.
Both sides have agreed to protect the rights of frontier workers, to cover future social security contributions for those covered by the withdrawal agreement and that we should at least protect existing healthcare rights and arrangements for EU27 citizens in the UK and UK nationals in the EU, said Davis.
By healthcare he was referring to the existing European Health Card (EHIC) arrangements. He added, That is good news for example, for British pensioners in the EU: it means that they will continue to have their healthcare arrangements protected both where they live and - when they travel to another member state - to be able to use an EHIC card.
"All just words"
Pan-European anti-Brexit campaigners, British in Europe, of which the group Bremain in Spain is part, responded through a press release which stated that while they considered the words encouraging they believe that it remains unclear as to exactly who they would benefit and that at this stage it is still all just words.
The Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB)in Spain published a press release via social media amid concerns over residents rights post Brexit and specifically about a change in procedure following a 48-page leaked UK government document regarding EU residents rights in the UK.
The CAB fears that the Spanish government may change its existing procedure for a more complicated one if reciprocal arrangements are made post Brexit. They have called for UK residents living in Spain to put their names to a letter asking the EU institutions and UK government, including Simon Manley, the UK ambassador to Spain, to lobby on behalf of existing UK residents in Spain.
The negotiations are scheduled to take place once a month for one week at a time. However UK Prime Minister, Theresa May, has asked that they be speeded up.
Rahul Gandhi, delivering a lecture at a US university, said that he is absolutely ready to be the prime minister candidate of the Congress party in the 2019 general elections.
Delivering a lecture in the US, Rahul Gandhi said he is absolutely ready to be PM candidate (Photo: Twitter/INCIndia)
By India Today Web Desk: Rahul Gandhi for the first time publicly acknowledged that he could soon run for the office of the prime minister of India. The Congress vice-president, who Monday night delivered a lecture in the United States, was reported to have said that he was "absolutely ready" to be the prime minister candidate of his party during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
advertisement
Gandhi was delivering a lecture at the University of California, Berkeley, a lecture in which he managed to raise the hackles of the Bharatiya Janata Party by attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his economic policies. Rahul Gandhi especially targeted demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax.
The Gandhi scion, who is tipped to take over the Congress from his mother Sonia Gandhi, was asked if he was ready to be the prime ministerial candidate of the Congress for the next Lok Sabha elections. ""I am absolutely ready to do that," Gandhi was quoted as saying in response by news agency IANS.
Gandhi, however, said that the ultimate decision on who runs against Narendra Modi in the 2019 elections was up to the Congress party. "...the way our party works. We have an internal system where we elect certain delegates who make that decision. We have an organisational election process that decides, and the process is currently ongoing."
"For me to say that the decision is mine would not be fair. That is the decision the Congress party has to make," the 47-year-old said. Probed further by the moderator if he was open to the idea, Gandhi nodded his head in affirmation and said: "Yeah, sure."
BJP ATTACKS
While the BJP did not really comment on Gandhi's aspiration to run against PM Narendra Modi in 2019, the party did criticise him for comments he made regarding the prevalence of dynasty politics in India.
Gandhi said dynastic politics "is a problem in all political parties in India" but that was how "most of the country runs like". "That's how the entire country is running. So don't just go after me.... That's what happens in India."
#NewsTodayRahul Gandhi is trying to gradually take over the Congress party: Prof Pradeep Chibber, man who interviewed RG at Berkeley pic.twitter.com/SogWo6QmmE- India Today (@IndiaToday) September 12, 2017
In response, Union minister Smriti Irani called Gandhi a "failed dynast" who "today chose to speak about his failed political journeys in the US." BJP national president Amit Shah was sharper, saying, "Failed leaders run off to the US to lecture, as no one listens to them back home."
advertisement
ARROGANCE IN CONGRESS
Among the issues Gandhi spoke about in his lecture was the Congress's loss in the 2014 general elections in which the party slid to its lowest tally ever in the Lok Sabha.
Gandhi admitted that "in around 2012 arrogance crept into the Congress and we stopped having conversations with people" that led to the party's loss in the last poll.
"For rebuilding the party, we need to design a vision that we can use moving forward. Most of what the BJP (government) is doing, is what we once said," Gandhi said citing the examples of the UPA government's MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) and the GST.
Gandhi, is on a two-week US visit to interact with political leaders, global thinkers and overseas Indians, and incidentally, was speaking at the same university where his great-grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru delivered a speech in 1949.
(With inputs agencies)
ALSO READ | Rahul Gandhi speaks on Modi govt, Congress' future, non-violence: Full text of speech at UC Berkeley
WATCH | Rahul Gandhi renews attack on Modi government in Berkeley, says note ban caused tremendous damage
--- ENDS ---
Promoting a livable, prosperous and safe environment for its residents has always been a goal of Wytheville Town Council.
Now, the well-being of residents has been taken one step further as the municipal governing body has joined other cities and towns across the commonwealth in a new initiative to promote a healthy lifestyle.
Wytheville Town Council has announced that they have adopted a resolution to join the HEAL Cities & Towns Campaign for the Mid-Atlantic.
This initiative champions local government policies that improve access to healthy foods and physical activity in communities throughout Maryland and Virginia.
Virginia has the 29th highest adult obesity rate in the nation, according to The State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America. Virginias adult obesity rate is 29.2 percent, up from 18.7 percent in 2000 and from 11.3 percent in 1990. The HEAL healthy eating and active living Cities & Towns Campaign wants all Virginians to live high quality, healthy lives and the current rates for obesity and being overweight threaten that goal. Being overweight or obese are among the leading risk factors for costly chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and some types of cancer. Supporting healthy choices is essential to address these health issues among Virginians. HEAL policies and practices set forth a framework to create a community where all people can make healthy choices to eat nutritious food and be physically active.
We believe that it is a worthwhile venture to assist the towns citizens in achieving positive goals related to healthy eating and an active lifestyle, said Councilwoman Beth A. Taylor. Fortunately, we have several walking and exercise venues already in place in our community, but there are many other directions that we can pursue to improve the health of our citizens. We are excited to become a HEAL community and maximize the free resources available through the program that can benefit our citizens and the well-being of our entire community.
As part of the HEAL Cities & Towns Campaign, the Institute for Public Health Innovation provides free training, support and technical policy assistance to municipal leaders. This includes analyzing current policies that impact healthy living for citizens, suggesting ways to update policies and practices to increase access to healthy eating and active living, and updating administrative procedures to help make the healthy choice the easy choice for municipal employees. The HEAL Cities & Towns Campaign supports local elected officials adopting policies that create healthy, prosperous communities.
Wythevilles partnership with the HEAL Cities & Towns Campaign aligns with the Mayors and Town Councils objectives, including physical activity, access to affordable and nutritious foods and municipal workplace wellness.
At the Institute for Public Health Innovation, we know that creating policies that address healthy living at a local level is critical to addressing the personal, collective, and economic impact of obesity in our region, said Sydney Daigle, director of the HEAL Cities & Towns Campaign for the Mid-Atlantic. Were confident we can make great headway by partnering with Wytheville officials to benefit the lives of Wytheville residents and employees.
Participation in the HEAL Cities & Towns Campaign is free, thanks to support from the Kaiser Permanente. The HEAL Cities & Towns Campaign for the Mid-Atlantic is part of a growing national campaign that is currently taking place in California, Colorado and Oregon. The Institute for Public Health Innovation embarked on this initiative in 2012 in strategic partnership with the Maryland & Virginia Municipal Leagues.
DeWitt, N.Y. -- Verizon is looking to hire temporary field technicians across several New York locations and will hold a "open house" hiring event at its office at 6360 Thompson Road in DeWitt Wednesday (Sept. 13).
Anyone interested in exploring employment as a lineworker for Verizon's wireline network may reserve a spot at the event for the 11 a.m., 3 p.m. or 6 p.m. sessions. Reservations can be made online at https://verizon42.fullslate.com/services/6.
The jobs will last up to 30 months. There is a possibility some could become permanent, but that has not yet been determined, the company said.
The event will include an opportunity to meet with recruiters; an overview from Verizon leadership; insight into Verizon and the field technician lineworker position; a live demonstration of the work done by lineworkers; and an opportunity to apply on-site.
Candidates for all positions should enjoy working outdoors in a hands-on role and be good at multi-tasking, the company said. If a candidate does not have a commercial driver's license, Verizon can help the applicant obtain one, the company said.
Interested persons may also apply online at Verizon.com/lineworker.
Contact Rick Moriarty anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3148
Cree Cathers
Jacob Homer
Syracuse, NY -- Carl Kettle was left for dead after a beating by two men in April 2016 on a gravel lot just inside the northern Onondaga Nation line.
Kettle, 33, was beaten so badly that rocks and dirt became embedded in his gums, prosecutor Michael Kasmarek told a jury today.
"He was left there like a piece of garbage and found hours later," Kasmarek said during opening statements today.
But defense lawyers for Jacob Homer and Cree Cathers argued that their clients were simply trying to defend themselves from an aggressive, irrational attacker.
"Carl Kettle was a belligerent, confrontational, coked up, 6-foot, 2(-inch), 300 pound, extremely intoxicated man," said Homer's defense lawyer, Nick DeMartino.
In fact, Kettle's blood-alcohol content when found hours later was 0.24 -- three times the legal limit to drive. It was probably more like 0.30 at the time of the beating, DeMartino said. Kettle also had cocaine in his system.
DeMartino said a doctor hired by the defense would conclude that Kettle died from a combination of obesity, cocaine, alcohol and a superficial head injury that caused him to lose consciousness.
Homer, 22, and Cathers, 23, are on trial this week for manslaughter in Kettle's April 23, 2016 death at a lot known as "the Line," just off county Route 11A near the intersection with U.S. Route 11.
Witnesses are expected to testify that Kettle was alive when they left after the beating, sometime past 2 a.m. One of Kettle's acquaintances said Kettle was still alive when he drove by an hour or two later. The acquaintance took some of Kettle's remaining beer and left.
By 5:15 a.m., another passer-by stopped and called 911. Kettle was dead.
Kasmarek acknowledged that Kettle started the fight the night of his death. But he said the response by Cathers and Homer went too far.
Cathers and Homer beat Kettle after he'd fallen on his hands and knees, trying to protect himself, Kasmarek said. They continued beating him after he lost consciousness, Kasmarek said.
Kettle ended up face-down in the dirt, getting beaten over and over, the prosecutor said.
But Cathers' lawyer Ed Klein said the confrontation before Kettle's death started when the victim sucker-punched Cathers.
Kettle had been picking fights with people earlier that evening at Burdick's Tavern, in Nedrow, Klein said.
Kettle had tried to pick up a woman at the bar, Klein said. When that didn't work, he threw a punch at her, the lawyer added.
When the woman said she'd get her boyfriend and others to intervene, Kettle reportedly told her: "Bring them on. I'll (expletive) them up," Klein said.
Another woman tried to intervene and Kettle turned on her, too, Klein said. Homer intervened and Kettle got into an argument with him, too.
One of Kettle's acquaintances -- who had gone to Burdick's with him -- later called Kettle "beyond drunk," Klein said.
A group of people left the bar around 2 a.m. closing and drove south to "the Line," a gravel lot just inside the Nation.
They were socializing and passing around a blunt (cigar with marijuana) when Kettle showed up, Klein said.
To this point, Cathers hadn't gotten into any confrontation with Kettle, his lawyer said. But Kettle walked up to the car and ordered Cathers out.
"Get the (expletive) out of your car," Kettle is accused of saying.
When Cathers got out, Kettle sucker-punched him, Klein said. The attack happened between two vehicles.
The blow sent Cathers backward into another witness, Klein added.
At that, Homer came to Cathers' defense. That's when the beating started.
Kettle was stumbling from intoxication and hit a car hood on his way down, lawyers said.
But it's not clear what part of the beating could have caused Kettle's fatal injury. Onondaga County Medical Examiner Dr. Robert Stoppacher ruled that Kettle died of compressive neck trauma.
That ruling has long been a point of contention. In fact, the case against Homer and Cathers was delayed last year as authorities tried to determine what could have caused a fatal neck injury.
The compression must happen for an extended period of time.
"It can't happen from a punch, it can't happen from a kick," Klein told the jury today.
Kasmarek did not say for sure what he believed caused the neck injury identified by the medical examiner. But he described a beating so vicious that Homer and Cathers must have been responsible.
Kettle's "head and neck were compressed into ground so hard dirt is embedded in his gums," the prosecutor told the jury.
Testimony was scheduled to begin this afternoon.
Homer and Cathers are each facing first-degree manslaughter, punishable by up to 25 years in prison. They also face an assault charge that carries a maximum sentence of up to 7 years in prison. If both proven, those sentences would be served at the same time.
Homer and Cathers are free on bail.
Syracuse, NY -- A woman escaped major injury after a bullet grazed her head Monday night in the 100 block of Croly Street.
The 19-year-old victim was taken by a private vehicle to Crouse Hospital after the 9:15 p.m. shooting. She told police she was walking on Croly Street near the Parkside Commons apartment complex when she heard a gunshot.
She did not see who was shooting.
Her injury appears to be a minor graze wound and is not considered life-threatening, police said.
Police also responded to a report of a 37-year-old man who was stabbed in the lower back in the 200 block of Thurber Street, in the city's Outer Comstock neighborhood.
The victim said he was confronted by four teenagers while walking. During the incident, one of the teens stabbed him. His injury does not appear life-threatening.
There's no reason to believe the two incidents are related, police said.
Anyone with information on either incident can call police at (315) 442-5222 or by using the SPD Tips app.
Three against four. Athos, Porthos and Aramis--the three musketeers--outnumbered against their archrivals in the king's guard. Face arrest or fight to the death.
The decision rests with the musketeers.
"Then we fight to the death," says Porthos calmly.
"To the death," echoes Athos.
"All of us?" asks a brash young man named D'Artagnan, who moments before was himself prepared to cross swords with Athos.
"Oui, my brave young friend. All of us," says Athos.
Members of the cast of "The Three Musketeers" rehearse fight scenes for the show. Pictured (L to R) Chris Hatch, Matthew Mueller, Tyler Lyons, Seth Andrew Bridges, Matthew Greer, Chaz Rose and Travis Staton-Marerro.
The sides now even, the fight erupts. First into the fray is D'Artagnan, sword flashing, dagger at the ready, as he engages three of the guards. In an instant, all sweep into the deadly brawl sprawling across the stage of the Archbold Theatre.
It is little more than a week before "The Three Musketeers" opens the 17/18 Syracuse Stage season. For the first time the cast is working on Stanley A. Meyer's multi-tiered set, a gleaming light wood construction with a parquet floor and wide staircases leading up both sides to a balcony. The balustrades are heavy and sturdy, as they must be. For in addition to accommodating nearly 20 locations called for in the script, the set must safely support a dozen or so stage fights.
No one is happier to be on set than the man responsible for creating those fights, D.C. Wright. For weeks, Wright and Syracuse Stage artistic director Bob Hupp (making his directorial debut) have been working in the upstairs rehearsal hall where tape on the floor indicated steps or the edge of a platform. Now the actors and Wright can see how well that work translates to the stage.
Wright insists that the cast proceed slowly. Safety is the first concern, and he is prepared to make adjustments as needed, all the while ensuring that the fight work serves well the artistic priority of telling Alexandre Dumas' adventurous and romantic story.
D.C. Wright, fight choreographer for "The Three Musketeers" at Syracuse Stage.
"It's not just about swords clanking. For me, that's the least interesting part," Wright explained. "It's about character. What the fight means for each character involved, and how that shapes the overall story."
To illustrate what he means, Wright points to D'Artagnan's headlong dash into the fight with the king's guard. This is the first time in the play that he has joined Athos, Porthos and Aramis in a fight, and he is eager to prove himself, so much so that he misses a ritual salute the musketeers traditionally observe before dueling.
The fight also presents Wright with an opportunity to establish the teamwork of the musketeers as a unit. To achieve this, he spreads out the action and includes shifts and changes as the fight progresses.
"I didn't want to have everyone pair off and have two people everywhere," he said. "It's significantly easier to choreograph that way, but I like the idea for the musketeers to be seen helping each other out and having each other's back. So when one musketeer gets in peril, another one gets in there and helps his buddy. This makes the story more interesting for the actors to tell and more visually interesting for the audience to watch."
Wright wants the fights to be completely integrated in the storytelling and reflect the needs and wants of the characters.
"I like it when people come to the play and they don't talk of the fights as something unique or separate from the play, but it just blends right in and is natural to the world of the play," he said. "That's what I'm trying to create."
"The Three Musketeers" at Syracuse Stage opens Sept. 22 and runs through Oct. 8. Preview performances Sept. 20 and 21.
CNY Theater Guide
An Upstate New York police sergeant overdosed on a legal, but controversial recreational drug which caused his death last month, officials revealed on Tuesday.
Sgt. Matthew Dana, 27, died August 6 at his home after overdosing on kratom, the Franklin County Coroner Shawn Stuart ruled. Stuart said Dana did not intend to overdose, and ruled the Tupper Lake Police Sergeant's death as accidental, according to the Adirondack Daily Enterprise.
BREAKING: Coroner says kratom overdose killed Tupper Lake police Sgt. Matt Dana https://t.co/PRpeJIvRuq pic.twitter.com/0rkrDP04wH Adk Daily Enterprise (@AdkEnterprise) September 12, 2017
"He was at his home where he had been living with his girlfriend, and he just dropped dead," Village Mayor Paul Maroun told the Plattsburg Press Republican in August.
The official cause of death was a hemorrhagic pulmonary edema, or blood in the lungs, as a result of overdosing on mitragrynine, which is the active ingredient in kratom.
Kratom is a plant that has been used both recreationally and in traditional medicine to relieve pain. It has also been used to prevent withdrawal from opiates.
Kratom is legal in the United States, but banned in several other countries. The DEA announced plans to make kratom a Schedule 1 illegal drug, but has not followed through.
Dana had been a sergeant for less than a year, but Maroun said that he had shown himself to be fine officer and representative of the Tupper Lake community in that time.
While responding to a question, Gandhi had said Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav and even Hindi film actor Abhishek Bachchan are from dynasties, and it is unfair to blame him alone.
By Pooja Shali: Reacting to the arguments made by Congress Vice-President Rahul gandhi at UC Berkeley, Communist Party leader D Raja said the Congress leader should not have made a generalized comment on dynasty politics.
Speaking to India Today, CPI leader D Raja said, "The issue of dynasty politics is one but sons and daughters joining is another debate. The attack is usually, specifically on Rahul Gandhi and Nehru-Gandhi family. Why is it that? Is it fair? How does one defend DMK politics?"
advertisement
Raja added, "Some sons and daughter on their own participation and association emerge as leaders, as an individual. He should not have generalized. One has to fight for position. It cannot be an entitlement."
While responding to a question, Gandhi had said Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav and even Hindi film actor Abhishek Bachchan are from dynasties, why only blame him as India runs like that?
However, supporting Gandhi on references to demonization and polarization, D Raja said, "I am in agreement with Rahul gandhi, we are all agitated over these issues. In a globalized economy speaking on how demonetisation has slowed down economy, he has not damaged country's image. He expressed and articulated concerns of demonetisation and polarization. Nothing wrong. Demonstration is being debated everywhere."
Communist parties and the Congress had jointly slammed the union government on the issue of demonetisation being implemented without taking the opposition into confidence.
ALSO READ:
Congress working out study tours for Rahul Gandhi to expose him to new ideas, technology
Rahul Gandhi to visit US to learn about artificial intelligence, nanotech
Rahul Gandhi asks PM Modi to own up the colossal failure of demonetisation
Rahul Gandhi chooses Norway over Lalu Prasad's 'BJP Bhagao, Desh Bachao' rally
--- ENDS ---
BALTIMORE -- The U.S. Department of Justice will not bring charges against Baltimore police officers in connection with the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray from injuries sustained in police custody in 2015, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
Former Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced the department was conducting a criminal civil rights investigation into Gray's death on April 27, 2015, the same day as Gray's funeral and the eruption of rioting, looting and arson in Baltimore.
Lynch said at the time that the department would "continue our careful and deliberate examination of the facts in the coming days and weeks" to determine whether any officers should be charged with violating Gray's civil rights.
Now, nearly 2 years later, Justice Department investigators have concluded that no charges are warranted, according to the sources. The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.
The Justice Department has declined to comment on the status of the investigation, and it was unclear Tuesday if a public announcement was planned. Officials at the FBI and the Maryland U.S. Attorney's office referred questions to the Justice Department.
The department has made announcements after investigators declined to bring charges in other cases. William H. "Billy" Murphy, the Gray family's attorney, could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday. Baltimore Police spokesman T.J. Smith declined to comment.
The end of the federal investigation without charges means no officers will be held criminally responsible for Gray's death. According to local prosecutors, Gray died after suffering a fatal spinal cord injury in the back of a Baltimore police transport van following his arrest on the morning of April 12, 2015.
Gray's death a week later sparked widespread protests against police brutality in Baltimore. Clashes between police and civilians spiraled out of control on the day of his funeral, erupting into rioting that caused millions of dollars in damages.
The city was put under a weeklong nightly curfew. Days after the rioting, Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby filed local criminal charges against six police officers, ranging from misconduct in office and reckless endangerment to manslaughter and second-degree depraved heart murder.
All of the officers pleaded not guilty and none of them were convicted. Three --Officer Caesar Goodson Jr., Lt. Brian Rice and Officer Edward Nero -- were acquitted in bench trials before Circuit Judge Barry G. Williams. Mosby subsequently dropped the charges against Sgt. Alicia White, Officer Garrett Miller and Officer William Porter, citing the unlikely chance of a conviction with Williams scheduled to preside over their trials as well.
Porter had previously had a jury trial, which resulted in a hung jury and mistrial. The Justice Department's decision not to bring charges in the case was anticipated by many legal observers, particularly given Williams' rulings at the state level, as federal civil rights cases have a higher standard for securing convictions.
To secure convictions in such cases, federal prosecutors must establish that an officer willfully violated a person's civil rights, which experts said is not an easy task.
When Mosby dropped the state charges against the remaining officers in July 2016, the DOJ leaders in the Obama administration issued a statement saying the agency had been "monitoring the state's investigation and trials" along with the FBI and the Maryland U.S. Attorney's office.
The statement said the DOJ would continue its "independent review of this matter, assess all available materials and determine what actions are appropriate, given the strict burdens and requirements imposed by applicable federal civil rights laws."
By PTI: By Lalit K Jha
Washington, Sept 12 (PTI) Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi today criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modis economic policies, accusing him of causing "tremendous damage" to Indias economy with "reckless and dangerous" decisions like demonetisation and "hastily-applied" GST.
Gandhi, 47, who arrived in the US yesterday on a two- week-long tour, addressed students at the University of California, Berkeley, to reflect on contemporary India and the path forward for the worlds largest democracy.
advertisement
He said the November 8 demonetisation decision was taken without asking the Chief Economic Advisor and Parliament, which caused tremendous damage to the economy.
Demonetisation, he alleged, imposed a devastating cost on India.
"Ignoring Indias tremendous institutional knowledge and taking such decisions is reckless and dangerous," he charged.
He said 30,000 new youngsters were joining the job market every single day and the government was only creating 500 jobs a day.
"This does not include the massive pool of already employed youngsters," he said.
"The decline in economic growth today is leading to an upsurge of anger in the country. The governments economic policies demonetisation and hastily-applied GST have caused tremendous damage," he alleged.
Goods and Services Tax, a tax regime which combines all of Indias states and union territories into a single market, was launched at midnight on June 30.
Gandhi also accused the government of wiping out millions by demonetisation.
"Millions of small businesses were simply wiped out as a result of the demonetisation, farmers and many who use cash were hit extremely hard. Agriculture is in deep distress and farmers suicides have skyrocketed across the country."
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, however, had said the fallout of demonetisation was on predicted lines and the economy will benefit in medium and long term.
Jaitleys remarks came after the Reserve Bank of India said that 99 per cent of the demonetised currency came back into the system. Jaitley had also insisted that money getting deposited in banks does not mean that all of it is legitimate.
But Gandhi described demonetisation "a completely self- inflicted wound" that caused approximately 2 per cent loss of the GDP.
India, the Congress leader said, cannot afford to grow and create jobs at the current rate.
"If we continue at the current rate, if India cannot give the millions of people entering the job market employment, anger will increase and it has the potential to derail what has been built so far. That would be catastrophic for India and the world beyond," Gandhi warned.
advertisement
The Congress vice president said that the central challenge for the country today is creating jobs.
Noting that roughly 12 million young people join the Indian job market every year with nearly 90 per cent of them having a high school education or less, Gandhi said India, being a democratic country, cannot follow the Chinese model of coercion.
"Unlike China it has to create jobs in a democratic environment," he said, adding that India does not "want Chinas coercive" instruments.
"We cannot follow the model of massive factories controlled by a few," Gandhi said.
Jobs in India, he said, are going to come in from small and medium scale industry.
India, he asserted, needs to turn colossal numbers of small and medium businesses into international companies.
Alleging that currently all the attention in India is being paid to the top hundred companies, he said: "Everything is geared towards them, the banking systems are monopolised by them and the doors of government are always open to them."
"And laws are shaped by them," he said, adding that entrepreneurs running small and medium businesses are struggling to get bank loans.
advertisement
"They have no protection and no support. Small and medium businesses are the bedrock of India and the worlds innovation. Big businesses can easily manage the unpredictability of India. They are protected by their deep deep pockets and connections," he said.
India, he said, has triggered a massive process of human transformation.
The momentum is so powerful that Indias failure is no longer an option, he said,
"Our success impacts the world," Gandhi said, warning that this momentum can be destroyed by "hatred, anger and violence".
"The politics of polarisation has raised its ugly head in India," he said, adding that liberal journalists are being shot.
He was apparently referring to rights activist and journalist Gauri Lankeshs killing.
"People being lynched because they are Dalit," he alleged.
"Muslims were killed on suspicion of eating beef. This is new in India and damages India very badly."
He said the politics of hate divided and polarised India and was making millions of people feel that they have no future in their own country.
"In todays connected world this is extremely dangerous," he said.
Gandhi at the same time also acknowledged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a better communicator than him.
advertisement
"Im an opposition leader. But Mr Modi is also my prime minister. Mr Modi has certain skills. Hes a very good communicator. Probably much better than me. He understands how to give a message to three or four different groups in a crowd. So his messaging abilities very subtle and very effective," Gandhi said.
He was responding to a question on what does he think about Modi as the prime minister.
"What I sense is that he doesnt converse with the people he works with. Even members of Parliament of the BJP come to me and tell me that sunte nahi hain (he does not listen to us)," Gandhi added.
He said Modi must speak to the people who work with him.
"I mean there is a lot of information that the opposition for example has. He is not really interested in that input. So that is what has been going on," he said.
Gandhi described Modis flagship policies like Make in India and Swachh Bharat as a good idea.
"On what they have done well? What I like? I like the concept of Make in India. But the orientation of Make in India is slightly different than what I would. So, the orientation of Make in India is big business and a lot of it is defence.My orientation of Make in India would be small and medium businesses," he said.
Gandhi said he would like to carve out space for small and medium businesses and bring in experts from Silicon Valley and take these small and medium businesses and transforming them into global companies.
"Swachh Bharat is something that Mr Modi likes. The idea of hygiene I think is a good one. And I think I think the sort of stuff that they are doing on open defecation is not a bad thing," Gandhi said.
The Congress vice president said the impression that he was a reluctant politician was a result of the campaign against him by the other political camp.
"There is a BJP machine about a thousand guys sitting on computers that basically tell you about me," he said as the audience burst into laughter.
"They tell you, I am reluctant, Im stupid. They tell you all these things," he said amidst another round of laughter and applause.
"All they do is spread abuse about it. And the operation is basically run by the gentleman who is running our country," Gandhi said.
Responding to a question, Gandhi said the country needs political reform.
"Administrative reform is important. But much more important than administrative report is actually political reform. Today, the real problem in India is that our political machine.. they are not empowered the way they should be... The laws in India are made by the ministers and five or six people surrounding the minister.
"And until you make that process transparent and out into the open, you are not really going to transform the system," he said.
He said the lawmakers who should be formulating policies are today more worried about building roads.
"Today our MPs dont make laws. They are worried about building roads in villages. And they get punished for not building roads in villages. They should be making laws. They should be empowered to make laws. Thats their job. And that is the fundamental thing that has this gone wrong in India," he said. PTI LKJ NSA MIN AKJ NSA
--- ENDS ---
Thank you for reading!
Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue.
Consumers want mobile apps with good in-app customer support, suggest results of a survey Helpshift released last week. Radius Global Market Research conducted the online poll of adults in the United States this spring.
Eighty-one percent of the 2,170 respondents indicated that they use mobile apps.
Among the surveys findings:
Eighty-nine percent of respondents said they would recommend an app if a customer support agent proactively contacted them while they were experiencing problems;
Forty-six percent said they would try an app that offered live, in-app customer service;
Thirty-four percent said they would use an app offering in-app customer service;
Twenty-three percent indicated they would recommend such an app to friends; and
Sixteen percent said they would buy it.
Trouble in the Mobile App World
Sixty-nine percent of respondents reported having a problem with mobile apps. Twenty-seven percent of them reported problems on a daily or weekly basis.
The survey revealed the following:
Forty-seven percent of respondents said they would delete apps that did not provide good customer support;
Twenty-four percent would give such apps a bad review;
Nineteen percent would express a negative opinion to friends; and
Eighteen percent would criticize the app on social media.
Mobile app reviews and ratings are part of a companys brand reputation, said Cindy Zhou, principal analyst at Constellation Research.
Responding to customer feedback and fixing app issues needs to be a priority, she told CRM Buyer.
App Habits
Sixty-six percent of the survey respondents used apps to check social media; 44 percent used them to read the news; 44 percent used them for mobile gaming; 35 percent used apps to order food; and 22 percent used them for work-related tasks.
Consumers increasingly have been using apps to make online purchases, but the survey didnt consider that category of use.
The research focused primarily on service-related actions such as food delivery or news consumption, said Helpshift CEO Abinash Tripathy.
The survey didnt look into what problems users face with apps, either.
However, we know that some of the most common issues users face include bug reporting and transaction-related questions Tripathy told CRM Buyer.
App crashes typically are considered bugs. There also are issues with older app versions no longer supported by the developer.
Attention Must be Paid
Developers need to take app issues very seriously.
When a mobile app fails in any way even if that fail is just less-than-responsive design users question its reliability and security, observed Rebecca Wettemann, VP of research at Nucleus Research.
The future is in apps that are very personalized for the customer, predict and propose options for them, and provide in-app interaction with a real or virtual agent in a meaningful way, she told CRM Buyer. In-app support is reassuring, because it personalizes the experience.
There are over 2 million apps available in mobile app stores today, so theres no shortage of choices for consumers, Constellations Zhou remarked.
In-App Support Solutions
Theres a plethora of in-app support solutions on the market, each with their particular characteristics.
Helpshift has made some headway in one of the most sensitive areas mobile gaming. Thirty-four of the 100 top-grossing gaming apps, including five of the top 20 as ranked on Apptopia, use its customer support platform.
Helpshifts platform offers a searchable, in-app FAQ, more than 30 languages, smart segmentation and custom metadata, in-app and push notifications and feedback, and two-way in-app messaging.
Fifty-nine percent of respondents preferred messaging to email, because they felt it was more secure, the companys survey found.
Helpshifts SDK integrates easily with third-party tools.
Helpshift can be implemented the same day, noted Tripathy, and it includes out-of-the-box configurations.
Russian President Vladimir Putin last week poked the nest of anxieties over the use of artificial intelligence to gain power in a video address to students at 16,000 selected schools.
Artificial intelligence is the future, not only for Russia but for all humankind, he said. Whoever becomes the leader in this sphere will become the ruler of the world.
Russia isnt alone in viewing AI as the next big thing in military arsenals. Both the United States and China see AI as a key to success in armed conflicts of the future.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk was among those who weighed in after Putin made his remarks. Musk has been an outspoken critic of autonomous weapons controlled by AI.
China, Russia, soon all countries w strong computer science. Competition for AI superiority at national level most likely cause of WW3 imo.
Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 4, 2017
The stakes are high for nations developing AI weapons, wrote Gregory C. Allen, an adjunct fellow at the Center for a New American Security, in a commentary for CNN.
AI could spark a revolution in military technology comparable to the invention of aircraft and nuclear weapons, he suggested.
Russian Breakthroughs Doubtful
Despite its ambitions, Russia isnt likely to rise to AI dominance through technology breakthroughs, Allen maintained, because China and the United States have digital technology industries that are larger and growing faster than Russias.
That said, Russia could play a lead role in weaponizing AI as part of its effort to depose the U.S. as the leading global power and restore Russian dominance over Soviet territory, he wrote.
Even though Russia is not known as an Internet technology powerhouse, the country has an impressive crew of hackers that have knocked out a large chunk of Ukraines power grid, infiltrated U.S. nuclear plants, and wreaked havoc in the 2016 U.S. elections, Allen pointed out.
Nevertheless, Putins initiative to send a unified message about artificial intelligence to some 1 million students is a kind of call to action thats missing in the West, observed Sam Curry, chief security officer for Cybereason.
Were doing AI ad hoc, he told TechNewsWorld. We dont have a big enough vision. We need some big moonshot ideas to rally us.
Economic Battlefield
The advantages autonomous weapons could provide on the battlefield have yet to be established.
Although there have been calls to limit development in that space, its not clear to me youll have a huge amount of military superiority just because you have some automated weapons, said Daniel Castro, director of the Center for Data Innovation.
Its hard to have military victories in many environments, and I dont think AI is going to change that, he told TechNewsWorld.
The real battles for AI dominance will be fought among economies, Castro maintained.
On the economic side, there is a clear race for dominance, he said.
When you look at the impact of AI in different industries going forward, we can see the technology is going to have a transformative impact, Castro pointed out. Theres going to be a direct corollary between a countrys success with AI and economic power.
Dominance Difficult to Achieve
While success with AI may contribute to a nations standing in the global community, whether its a ticket to dominance may be another matter.
AI is going to play a significant role in how future technology is leveraged and how decision-making is made, but its not clear to me that one country will rule on this, said Bill Welser, director of the engineering and applied sciences department atRand Corporation.
Even if a country did gain an advantage, its unclear it would be able to block technological diffusion from occurring very quickly, he told TechNewsWorld.
What were seeing now is, as an application base appears in one sector or location, it quickly flows to others so theres a very short first-mover advantage, Welser explained.
People should be concerned about totally replacing humans in the decision-making process to fire weapons, but were pretty far away from that, he said.
What we should be more concerned about now is bias by coders of the AI systems, Welser suggested. Those biases, even without removing humans out of the decision-making loop, could create unwanted outcomes.
Smart Pandoras Box
Putins remarks have added gasoline to burning concerns over the use of AI in war machines. Those concerns have prompted the United Nations to begin discussions about weapons that incorporate AI into their operations weapons such as drones, tanks and automated machine guns.
Russia already has taken steps in that direction. Its Military Industrial Committee in 2015 launched an ambitious research and development program to make 30 percent of the countrys combat power consist either of remotely controlled or robotic platforms by 2025.
The prospect of an AI-powered weapons arms race prodded more than 100 technology specialists from 26 countries, including Musk and Mustafa Suleyman, an exec at Googles parent company Alphabet, to call for a ban on autonomous weapons.
Once developed, lethal autonomous weapons will permit armed conflict to be fought at a scale greater than ever, and at timescales faster than humans can comprehend, the group wrote to the UN in August.
These can be weapons of terror, weapons that despots and terrorists use against innocent populations, and weapons hacked to behave in undesirable ways, the letter continues. We do not have long to act. Once this Pandoras box is opened, it will be hard to close.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi is on a two-week visit to the US during which he will interact with global thinkers and political leaders, and address overseas Indians as part of an outreach initiative by his party.
By Supriya Bhardwaj, India Today Web Desk: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi today launched a renewed attack on the Modi government slamming the November 8, 2016 move of demonetisation. Speaking at the University of California, Berkeley, Rahul Gandhi said that note ban caused tremendous damage to the economy as it was taken without discussion with the Chief Economic Advisor and Parliament.
advertisement
Admitting to the fact that the Congress is not in its best of health, Rahul Gandhi said, "Around 2012, arrogance crept into Congress party and we stopped having conversations with people."
HIGHLIGHTS OF RAHUL GANDHI'S SPEECH:
By 2013, we basically broke the back of terror, I hugged PM Manmohan Singh and told him it was one of the biggest achievements.
When we started, terrorism was rampant in Kashmir, when we finished there was peace, we had broken the back of terrorism.
For 9 years I worked behind the scenes with PM Manmohan Singh, P Chidambaram, Jairam Ramesh and others on J&K.
So he(PM Modi) massively opened up space for the terrorists in Kashmir, and you saw the increase in violence.
PDP was instrumental in bringing youngsters in politics, but the day PM Modi made alliance with PDP, he destroyed them (PDP)
There is a BJP machine, about 1000 guys sitting on computers and telling you about me.
Tremendous machine, all day they spread abuse about me, and the operation is run by the gentleman who is running our country
Modi clamped down on RTI. He shut it down. We got in trouble as we dramatically increased transparency
Most of the country runs like this, so don't go after me, Akhilesh Yadav a dynast, Stalin a dynast, Dhumal's son a dynast.
I am absolutely ready for that, but our party works according to organisational elections.
Core constituency of right wing leaders are those who cannot get a job.
Around 2012, arrogance crept into Congress party and we stopped having conversations with people.
Idea of non violence or ahimsa is what has allowed this mass of people(India) to rise together.
As Indira Gandhi was asked whether India will switch 'Left or Right'. She said it will stand straight and tall.
There is no democratic country in history which has raised so many people out of poverty as India.
Idea of non-violence is under attack today, yet it is only idea which can take humanity forward.
Hatred,anger and violence can destroy us, the politics of polarization is very dangerous.
Decisions like demonetisation taken without asking Chief Economic Advisor and Parliament caused tremendous damage.
Rahul Gandhi at at the University of California, Berkeley. (Photo/Twitter@ShashiTharoor)
RAHUL IN US
Rahul Gandhi is on his two-week visit to the US during which he will interact with global thinkers and political leaders, and address overseas Indians as part of an outreach initiative by his party.
In his first engagement, Gandhi today addressed students of the prestigious University of California, Berkeley on India at 70: Reflections on the Path Forward, in which he will offer his reflections on contemporary India and the path forward for the world's largest democracy.
During his trip to the US, he said, Gandhi will also engage with the Indian diaspora with the purpose of making them a part in India's development.
From San Francisco, Gandhi is scheduled to travel to Los Angeles. He is likely to visit Aspen Institute to interact with the think-tank community. In Washington DC, the Congress vice president is scheduled to interact with members of the think-tank community, political leaders and government officials.
Gandhi is also scheduled to travel to Princeton University before his final address to overseas Indians in New York.
ALSO READ:
Congress working out study tours for Rahul Gandhi to expose him to new ideas, technology
Rahul Gandhi to visit US to learn about artificial intelligence, nanotech
advertisement
Rahul Gandhi asks PM Modi to own up the colossal failure of demonetisation
Rahul Gandhi chooses Norway over Lalu Prasad's 'BJP Bhagao, Desh Bachao' rally
--- ENDS ---
Rahul Gandhi addressed a gathering of students at University of California, Berkeley. He spoke on various topics and slammed PM Narendra Modi for demonestisation.
By India Today Web Desk: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi today chose a gathering of students in the US to share his thoughts over a range of topics. Speaking at the University of California, Berkeley, the Congress leader fervidly criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for ruining country's economy through badly planned demonetisation.
He called note ban and Goods and Services Tax (GST) "hastily implemented" moves and which caused "tremendous damage to the Indian economy".
advertisement
Gandhi also said that the government's decision to scrap Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes has led to decline in economic growth that "cost us two per cent loss in the GDP".
ON PM NARENDRA MODI
Rahul Gandhi accused Modi of controlling and managing an online machine of over a thousand trolls whose purpose is to destroy his credibility and call him "stupid and incompetent".
"There is a BJP machine. Some 1000 guys sitting on computers telling you about me. It's a tremendous machine, all day they spread abuse about me, say that I am a reluctant politician... and the operation is run by the gentleman who is running our country," Rahul Gandhi said.
He acknowledged that PM Modi was a "better communicator" than he is. "Modi has certain skills, he is a very good communicator, he's much better than me," Rahul said.
ON VIOLENCE AND HATE
Arguing that PM Narendra Modi has ruined his "behind the scene work" of nine years, Rahul Gandhi said that lynching incidents have damaged country's image.
"I understand what violence does, violence against anybody is wrong. Hatred, anger and violence can destroy us, the politics of polarisation is dangerous," he said, adding "liberal journalists were being shot (referring to Kannada journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh's murder), people are being lynched.
"These incidents are making millions feel that they have no future in their country," Rahul Gandhi said.
ON CONGRESS
Talking about the 2014 Lok Sabha election loss, Rahul Gandhi admitted that Congress was complacent and arrogant going into the polls.
"In around 2012, arrogance crept into the Congress and we stopped having conversations with people that led to the party's loss in the last polls," Rahul Gandhi said.
"For rebuilding the party, we need to design a vision that we can use moving forward. Most of what the BJP (government) is doing, is what we once said," he added.
ON PM CANDIDATURE, 2019 ELECTION
Responding to a question during the interactive session at University of California, Berkeley, Rahul Gandhi declared he was ready to take on PM Narendra Modi in the next Lok Sabha elections in 2019.
advertisement
"I am absolutely ready to do that," the 47-year-old leader said when asked whether he is ready to be the PM candidate.
This is for the first time the Gandhi scion has publicly affirmed his readiness to be the Congress choice for the top post.
"For me to say that the decision is mine would not be fair. That is the decision the Congress party has to make," Rahul Gandhi said.
ON KASHMIR
Rahul Gandhi also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "massively opening up" space for terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir which led to increase in violence in the region.
He called BJP, PDP tie-up in the state a 'strategic mistake'.
"The PDP was the instrument that brought Kashmiri youngsters into the political process. And the day Mr Narendra Modi made an alliance between the PDP and the BJP, it destroyed the PDP as an instrument that could bring youngsters into the political system," he said.
"And the day he did that, he massively opened up space for terrorists in Kashmir and they came in. And you saw a massive increase in violence," Rahul Gandhi added.
WATCH: Rahul Gandhi renews attack on Modi government in Berkeley, says note ban caused tremendous damage ALSO READ:
advertisement
He is a failed dynast: Smriti Irani hits back at Rahul Gandhi after he slams PM Modi in US
Rahul Gandhi in Berkeley: PM's 'New India' is about demonetisation, lynching
Congress working out study tours for Rahul Gandhi to expose him to new ideas, technology
Rahul Gandhi to visit US to learn about artificial intelligence, nanotech
--- ENDS ---
Montana Brown has landed a TV presenting gig following Love Island 2017.
Following Love Island winners Kem Cetinay and Amber Davies hosting stint on ITVs Good Morning Britain, Montana has scooped her own deal with MTV.
The Sun reports that she will be fronting MTV News, following in the footsteps of the likes of Laura Whitmore and Zane Lowe.
A source told the tabloid: Montanas been very committed to not just being a run-of-the-mill reality star, so to have bagged this is great news, shes over the moon and cant wait to start.
Montana previously admitted she had only gone on the show to launch a media career.
Following Julys final, Montana made an appearance on ITVs Loose Women and revealed: I just thought it would be a really good platform for me to do what I want to do. I dont know what that is yet, but I just thought it would open some doors and maybe some opportunities as well.
She added: To be in the public eye, I feel like it gives you a great platform to influence the public in a good way.
According to The Sun newspaper, Montana had signed a big deal with a top talent agency to launch her career after the final.
A source told the tabloid: previously Unlike many of the other Love Island contestants Montana is determined to keep the projects she chooses classy. She wants to forge a glowing telly presenting to career so turned down offers from reality TV agents and followed the stars.
Montana feels she is something really special and has aimed high. She has dreams of her own talk show aimed at younger people so wants the best management team possible around her.
As well as TV presenting, Montana is also apparently planning on launching her own clothes range.
Love Island will return in 2018 on ITV2 for its fourth series.
By India Today Web Desk: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi today came under sharp attack from the Bharatiya Janata Party over remarks he made during a lecture at the University of California, Berkeley in the United States.
In a long speech delivered on the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US, Gandhi criticised the Narendra Modi government, especially its economic policies. Gandhi called demonetisation a "a completely self-inflicted wound" and the roll out of Goods and Services Tax "hastily applied".
advertisement
He also spoke about 'polarisation' and the 'politics of hate' that Gandhi said pose a risk to India by "making millions of people feel that the have no future in their own country."
Here is the full text of the speech he delivered at UC Berkely in the US:
"Thank you Harsh and I would like to welcome all of you here this evening.
Today happens to be the 11th of September. So I would like to start by paying homage to all the people who died on this day and all the people who lost their loved ones.
We stand with them today in their memory.
As a politician, we get to go to different places and listen to many different people. And I am going to start today by telling you a little story. Many years ago, you remember that there was a huge Tsunami, it came to India. And it hit the Andaman and Nicobar islands.
And one of the things that we were doing at that time was trying to send aid to the Andaman Nicobar islands and I was looking at a list of people who had died and there are many communities who live in the Andaman Nicobar islands. And I noticed in the list that there were absolutely no tribal people who have died. So I asked some of the people there. I said, "Listen how does it happen?" I said, "There are many many people who have died. There are lots of tribals living in Andaman Nicobar but I don't see a single tribal person who has died in the Tsunami. What happened?"
ALSO READ | From failed dynast to defaming India globally: How BJP responded to Rahul Gandhi's UC Berkeley speech
So then, one of the people there told me, you know Mr. Gandhi when the Tsunami comes, the sea goes out. And when the sea goes out, huge numbers of fish are left stranded. And he said, the tribals, they know when a tsunami goes out and when a tsunami comes in, whereas the non-tribals did not know this. And when the Tsunami came, the sea went out.
advertisement
All the non-tribals ran to get the fish and all the tribals ran into the hills. And some of the tribals told the non-tribals, don't go there. You are going to get killed. They didn't listen. They ran into the sea. And that's why no tribals died.
Rahul Gandhi on where Modi Govt is doing well, and where it needs to improve#RGinUS at @UCBerkeley pic.twitter.com/XViGeFQJoK- Congress (@INCIndia) September 12, 2017
And as a liberal today, that's exactly how I feel. Everybody knows that something has gone very wrong in the system. And the right-wing politicians are saying go there and pick up the fish. And people are sort of looking at the simple answers. They are looking at the simple answers but, you are not going to get results from these simple answers.
And this is one of the reasons I have come here. This is a tremendous institution and this institution believes in a liberal ideology, it believes in discussions, it believes in listening to people, it believes in conversations. And, you have a tremendous history and I respect that history. As you, Mr. Chibber said, my great grandfather came here and gave a speech. So, I would like to thank you very much for inviting me here. I am going to speak for about 15-20 minutes and then we are going to have a conversation. You can ask me all the questions you would like.
advertisement
India is a massive country. It is also one of the world's most complex countries. Every time you think you have understood India, she will reveal something new to you. In fact, I would venture to say anyone who thinks he understands India is a fool. According to most western academics and intelligence agencies in the middle of the last century, India was supposed to fail. We are 29 states covering every religion in the world.
We have 17 official languages and hundreds of different dialects and a terrain that runs from the Himalayas all the way to the deserts. Most of these experts didn't expect India to survive. They predicted it would fall apart, torn to pieces by its own diversity and contradictions. And yet somehow, as Indira Gandhi said, when asked whether India leans left or right, India came out standing straight and tall.
The idea of non-violence or ahimsa, as we call it in India, is what allows this huge mass of people to rise up together. Uniting India's religion, castes and languages would simply be impossible without it. It is this idea that Mahatma Gandhi fashioned into a powerful but beautiful political weapon.
advertisement
The common conception in the west is that people have ideas. You all say I have an idea. But there is an alternative way of looking at the world. The counter intuitive notion is that instead of people having ideas ideas have people. So, instead, if I have an idea, an idea has me. This notion is the basis of ahimsa or non-violence as taught by Gandhi.
Rahul Gandhi on why people think he's a reluctant politician#RGinUS at @UCBerkeley pic.twitter.com/kuH1y6UlJa- Congress (@INCIndia) September 12, 2017
If one accepts the notion that ideas capture people, then the only possible response to a person infected by a bad idea, any person, is love and compassion. The only action you can take against him is to try and rid him of the bad idea and replace it with a good one. Using violence against a person who is infected by a bad idea actually results in the idea spreading more aggressively, multiplying among the people who care for him and love him. This non-violent philosophy in action has travelled far beyond India.
Non-violence is not inaction, says Cesar Chavez, it is not discussion. It is not for the timid and weak. Non-violence is hard work. It is this very idea, this beautiful struggle, that is viciously under attack in India today. But it is also the only idea on which humanity can survive the connectivity of the 21st century and come out unscathed stronger.
The road travelled by India since independence is difficult and filled with formidable obstacles. Our partition was the bloodiest migration in recorded history. At independence, most of our 400 million people were hungry. Yet the achievements of India have been significant. Increasing literacy, expanding healthcare and raising life expectancy, all within a generation. Achieving self-sufficiency in food grains, averting famine, pushing huge advantage in science and technology, even being a front runner in computer technology.
When Mr. Rajiv Gandhi and my dear friend Sam Pitroda who is sitting here spoke about bringing the computers to India, there were voices that ridiculed them. In fact, a leader of the BJP who became PM later asked a question: what does India need computers for? Why do we need computers, imagine that. When India built the IITs, the entire world including many in India were highly critical of the idea that a poor country should waste money on such technical institutions. They reacted to us with scepticism, wondering why a country like ours would need such institutions.
Today these IITs and other higher educational institutions in India play a central role in Silicon Valley in the global progress of technology. And yet look at us today. We are rightly proud, we have done that and more lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. For everything everyone says about India, there is no democratic country in human history, and I repeat that there is no democratic country in human history that has raised as many people out of poverty as India has. It is never being done. And we have not done it with violence, we have not done it by killing people, we have done it peacefully together.
ALSO READ | Rahul a failed leader who runs off to US to lecture, says Amit Shah
For the first time in our history, India, if it is steered correctly and faithfully, have the opportunity to wipe out poverty. If India is able to lift another 350 million people out of poverty by 2030, it would be an achievement that the human race can be proud of. Doing this would require us to grow by more than over 8 percent in the next 13 years. India has done it before and can do it again.
But it is imperative that India sustains a high growth rate for an uninterrupted period of 10-15 years in order to do so. At the heart of this powerful engine which India has built with its blood, sweat and bare hands since 1947 are jobs and economic growth. No amount of growth is enough for India if it's not accompanied by the creation of jobs. It doesn't matter how fast you grow. If you are not creating jobs, you are not actually solving the problem. So, the central challenge of India is jobs. Roughly 12 million young people, 12 million, enter the Indian job market every year. Nearly 90% of them have a high school education or less.
India is a democratic country and unlike China, it has to create jobs in a democratic environment. India does not have and nor does it want China's coercive instruments. We cannot follow their model if massive factories are controlled by fear. Jobs in India are going to come instead from small and medium scale industries. India needs to turn a colossal number of small and medium businesses into international companies. Currently, all the attention in India is paid to the top 100 companies. Everything is geared towards them.
Banking systems are monopolised by them, the doors of government are always open to them and laws are shaped by them. Meanwhile, entrepreneurs running small and medium businesses struggle to get bank loans. They have no protection and no support. Yet these small and medium businesses are the bedrock of India and the world's innovation. Big businesses can easily manage the unpredictability of India. They are protected by their deep, deep pockets and connections. But the real innovative strength of India lies with the millions of small firms and young entrepreneurs that run them. And they are relying on us to build the financial, communication and political infrastructure that would allow them to turn their skills into global businesses.
A speech marked by acuity & passion, & a discussion infused with candour & insight #RGinUS @UCBerkeley pic.twitter.com/z9tg4x7aM0- Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) September 12, 2017
Healthcare in the 21st century is being revolutionised. Today, a doctor examines you, analyses your data and tells you what is wrong with you. All this is based on his memory. When he retires, that information is lost. Tomorrow, all the medical data is going to be digitised and accessible on computers. Two factors will determine competitiveness in healthcare. First, the type and volume of different medical processes and procedures that are taking place in a country and second, the genetic diversity of your population. India's size will give it huge advantages.
The sheer fact that India performs millions of cataract operations or heart surgeries a year, for example, means we are going to be the best at doing them. But much more important in scale will be India's rich genetic diversity. Thousands of years of cross culturalism means that India has the world's most genetically diverse population. If medical processes are going to be based on DNA, then India's diversity is going to be a huge global asset.
So, if you are looking at the medical processes in the 21st century, by far, the best opportunities for groundbreaking research and innovation will be in India. It is imperative that we start thinking about these systems now while addressing the critical concerns of privacy and ownership before they arise. Done properly, this can transform India's healthcare system and while at the same time, help the world beyond our borders.
India has triggered a massive process of human transformation. The nature of India's transformation has now reached a stage where it's moment is so powerful that its failure is no longer an option. Our success impacts the world, but should our country fail, it will shake the entire world. What India is trying to do is to connect 1.3 billion people to the global economy with minimum disruption possible in a peaceful and compassionate way. But don't be confused. If this process breaks down, the potential for violence is massive.
I have given you the positives. But before I end, I need to tell you what can go dangerously wrong. Our strength so far has been that we have done all this peacefully. What can destroy our momentum is the opposite energy. Hatred anger and violence and the politics of polarisation which has raised its ugly head in India today.
Rahul Gandhi on existence of dynasty in every sphere #RGinUS at @UCBerkeley pic.twitter.com/u0MUcQpIpX- Congress (@INCIndia) September 12, 2017
Violence and hatred distract people from the task at hand. Liberal journalists being shot, people being lynched because they are Dalits, Muslims killed on suspicion of eating beef, this is new in India and damages India very badly. The politics of hate divides and polarises India making millions of people feel that they have no future in their own country. In today's connected world, this is extremely dangerous. It isolates people and makes them vulnerable to radical ideas.
Finally, listening to India is very important. She will give you all the answers that you seek. India's institutions have over 70 years have built a profound understanding of our country. We have experts in every single field. Ignoring India's tremendous institutional knowledge and taking ad hoc decisions is reckless and dangerous. Decisions like Demonetisation which removed 86% of cash from circulation overnight and was carried out unilaterally without asking the Chief Economic Advisor, the Cabinet or even Parliament imposes a devastating cost in India.
Currently, we are not producing enough jobs. 30,000 new youngsters are joining the job market every single day and yet the Govt is only creating 500 jobs a day. And this doesn't include the massive pool of already unemployed youngsters. The decline in economic growth today is worrying and it's leading to an upsurge of anger in the country. The Govt's economic policies, Demonetisation and hastily applied GST have caused tremendous damage.
Millions of small businesses were simply wiped out as a result of Demonetisation. Farmers and manual labourers who use cash were hit extremely hard. Agriculture is in deep distress and farmer suicides have sky rocketed across the country. Demonetisation, a completely self-inflicted wound caused approximately 2%loss in India's GDP. India cannot afford to grow and create jobs at the current rate.
If we continue at the current rate, if India cannot give the millions of people entering the job market employment, anger will increase and it has the potential to derail what is being built so far. That will be catastrophic for India and the world beyond it. Thank you."
ALSO WATCH | Rahul Gandhi renews attack on Modi government in Berkeley, says note ban caused tremendous damage
--- ENDS ---
The Rajya Sabha Secretariat has sent notices to rebel JD(U) MPs Sharad Yadav and Ali Anwar and sought their replies within a week over their membership.
By Anand Patel: The Rajya Sabha Secretariat has sent notices to rebel Janata Dal (United) MPs Sharad Yadav and Ali Anwar and sought their replies within a week over a memorandum submitted by the Nitish Kumar faction, which is demanding that their membership be cancelled.
Speaking to India Today about the notice, rebel leader Ali Anwar said that although his reply is ready, he will ask the Rajya Sabha Secretariat to wait until the Election Commission declares its view on which of the two factions is the real JD(U).
advertisement
"The matter is pending before the Election Commission. Let the poll panel's decision come first. We will request the Rajya Sabha Chairman to decide the membership issue after the matter of the ownership of the party symbol is settled", Anwar said.
"We have our reply ready. It's they (the Nitish Kumar camp) who cancelled the National Council meeting, which was scheduled for July in Delhi and took it to Patna. Procedures as per the party constitution weren't followed while it was decided to breakaway from NDA", he added. Anwar said that the Sharad Yadav faction has called a National Executive meeting on September 17 in Delhi to decide on the future course of action.
YADAV, ANWAR INDULGED IN ANTI-PARTY ACTS: KC TYAGI
Talking to India Today, JD(U) spokesperson KC Tyagi said that the rebel MPs were trying to buy time from the Rajya Sabha Secretariat by misleading it. "Both Sharad Yadav and Ali Anwar have indulged in anti-party activities by participating in Lalu Yadav's rally and UPA meetings. Both MPs have voluntarily given up JD(U) membership by not participating in the party's National Executive meeting in Patna and as per the 10th Schedule, they are liable to be expelled from the Rajya Sabha membership. As far as the matter with the Election Commission is concerned, we have the strength in both the National Executive Committee and the Council", he added.
Both Nitish Kumar and Sharad Yadav factions have been involved in a bitter war of words since the Bihar Chief Minister snapped ties with Lalu Yadav's RJD, marking the split of the Mahagathbandhan to ally with the BJP and the NDA.
ALSO READ |
Why JD(U) rebel Sharad Yadav faces disqualification from Rajya Sabha
Nitish camp submits affidavits of its cadres to trash Sharad Yadav's claim over JD (U)
JD(U) delegation meets RS vice chairman, demands ouster of Sharad Yadav
ALSO WATCH VIDEO | Patna: Massive show of strength at RJD's anti-BJP rally, Sharad Yadav, Mamata, Akhilesh share stage
--- ENDS ---
A Baton Rouge mother and daughter now both have trial dates in the 2014 death of an 82-year-old relative found naked in a wheelchair, sitting in feces and covered with severely infected bedsores.
Joleslie Looney, 56, and her daughter, Lauren Looney, 20, are charged with manslaughter in the Sept. 29, 2014, death of Bessie Looney. The elderly woman was Joleslie Looney's mother and Lauren Looney's grandmother.
State District Judge Mike Erwin on Tuesday set a March 19 trial date for Lauren Looney. The judge previously scheduled Joleslie Looney's trial for Feb. 5.
Baton Rouge woman gets new trial date in elderly mother's gruesome 2014 death A 56-year-old Baton Rouge woman will stand trial early next year in the gruesome 2014 death
A manslaughter conviction is punishable by up to 40 years in prison.
The East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner's Office classified Bessie Looney's death as a homicide after an autopsy showed she died in her North Acadian West home from a blood infection caused by infected bedsores. Malnutrition, dementia and heart disease also contributed to her death, the Coroner's Office has said.
Joleslie and Lauren Looney were the elderly woman's primary caregivers, authorities have said.
The mother and daughter told police they were aware of Bessie Looney's condition but said it did not appear severe to them, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Purchases made via links on our site may earn us an affiliate commission
Temporary housing programs were met with mixed reviews after historic floods swept Louisiana last year, and now leaders are sharing their lessons learned with Texas as it sets out on its recovery from Hurricane Harvey.
Will Rachel, deputy director of the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, is traveling to Texas to assist the state as it develops plans for ensuring that thousands of people whose homes were damaged or destroyed in Harvey will have housing options in the coming weeks.
It's too early to say whether Texas will opt to implement its own version of the contentious Federal Emergency Management Agency-funded Shelter at Home program that Louisiana created after the floods or how many manufactured housing units FEMA may deploy to the state.
Gov. John Bel Edwards' deputy chief of staff Richard Carbo said Shelter at Home is one of the programs that Louisiana is providing insight into and that Louisiana can share what it learned to help Texas make any helpful improvements to it. About 10,600 people took part in Shelter at Home.
"I think there are some agencies that were impressed with the Shelter at Home program," Carbo said. "It was a good program."
Edwards has long defended the $165 million Shelter at Home program as being necessary to address the state's immediate housing needs following the flood.
But the program faced a rocky start as homeowners realized the bare-bones nature of the repairs offered. It still has many detractors among public officials and disappointed homeowners who question the price tag for temporary upgrades that often had to be ripped out when homeowners set out on long-term solutions.
Edwards has blamed restrictions on FEMA funding for the temporary nature of what people got from the pricey program.
Officials tried to tamp down early concerns by implementing new steps in the process, including showing homeowners photos of the types of repairs, to set clearer expectations.
Hurricane Harvey slammed ashore in Texas on Aug. 25 and hovered over the state for several days, flooding Houston and the surrounding areas. Now officials are shifting to plans for short-term housing efforts that are needed as shelters begin to close.
People whose homes were most severely damaged likely won't be able to return for months.
Options include hotels and rental homes, which FEMA provides assistance toward, but that puts pressure on the hotel and rental property stock in the area a problem Louisiana faced after the floods and that prompted the Shelter at Home program's creation last fall.
Louisiana looked to the "Rapid Repairs" program implemented in New York City in Superstorm Sandy's wake in 2012 for Shelter at Home inspiration. Rapid Repairs was hailed as a first-of-its-kind pilot program when it was first introduced, but quickly faced criticism from homeowners who were dissatisfied with the quality of the work.
+5 What to expect after bare-bones Shelter at Home repairs are complete A key component of the housing recovery plan put into place after Louisiana suffered catastr
Edwards has said he had to convince FEMA to go along with the plan because of the threat of a housing shortage in Louisiana and his concerns about people being able to remain in their communities.
Between Harvey-flooded areas of Texas and Hurricane Irma's path of devastation through Florida over the weekend, it's still too early to pin down how many people will need temporary housing as communities rebuild.
The White House said about 700,000 Texas residents had applied for individual assistance as of Monday. Many Florida residents, millions of which were urged to evacuate before Irma's weekend landfall, were only getting the initial view of damage on Monday.
FEMA administrator Brock Long during a recent news conference described the "long process" that Texas is entering.
"If we can't put you back in your home because it's destroyed ... we want to get you out of the sheltering," Long said. "In some cases we have to look at alternative housing solutions. The last resort is to bring in manufactured homes and travel trailers."
"Housing is going to be very frustrating in Texas. We have to set the expectations," he added.
White House homeland security adviser Tom Bossert on Monday also outlined the options that are being reviewed for Texas' immediate housing needs. He didn't directly mention a Shelter at Home-type program but said that some of the options will need to be creative to meet demand. He also alluded to people living in their gutted homes.
"People can stay in their home its been flooded when the drywall is ripped out," he said during the White House press briefing.
State treasurer candidate Angele Davis has never been elected to anything, but she's worked for a bunch of people who have. You might have heard of some of them: Mike Foster, Mitch Landrieu, Bobby Jindal.
That's apparently not what she wants voters to know about her, according to a new ad that her campaign is promoting on Twitter. Instead, she spends the whole commercial talking about a politician who's even more controversial than any of her former bosses. Guy by the name of Donald Trump.
Can't see video below? Click here.
So instead of hearing about the administrative experience and expertise Davis picked up as deputy commissioner of administration under Foster, secretary of culture, recreation and tourism when Landrieu was lieutenant governor, and commissioner of administration during Jindal's early days as governor, voters hear Davis defending the president against those ever-present nemeses, the "liberal media" and "establishment politicians" who "just don't have his back." While Trump's words may offend, she insists that he's right on the issues.
What does any of this have to do with being treasurer, you might ask? Good question.
A better question is what it has to do with running for treasurer in this fall's strange field.
Davis, a Republican despite her past association with the Democratic New Orleans mayor, is facing two Republican lawmakers with conservative voting records, state Sen. Neil Riser and former state Rep. John Schroder, in the Oct. 14 primary, along with a single little-known Democrat, lawyer Derrick Edwards.
Given her background, Davis could have tried to make a run up the middle, to appeal to moderate Republicans and Democrats who don't think Edwards can win. Instead, she's ceding one runoff spot to Edwards and trying to run up the right in pursuit of the other slot on the November ballot.
It's a big gamble, given that the lane Davis has chosen is already pretty crowded. And even if the strategy works, it carries a pretty significant downside.
Davis may well convince some Trump admirers that they might like her. But she's also making it perfectly clear to the president's detractors that they probably won't.
Irma weakens to tropical depression after leaving 3 dead, nearly 1.5 million without power in Georgia
Baton Rouge may not have the population or infrastructure Amazon is looking for in a new corporate headquarters, but that won't stop officials
Hooded thieves who smashed their way into a Braddon diamond shop last month escaped with a swag of jewellery, police say.
ACT Policing is on the hunt for the two burglars, who broke into Unique Diamonds early on August 21 by breaking through the front door with a hammer.
ACT Policing is searching for two people who robbed Unique Diamonds, a Braddon jewellery shop.
The pair then smashed the Lonsdale Street shop's jewellery cabinets and left with "a large number" of items.
The first offender was wearing a red beanie, a black and white patterned bandanna, a black hooded jumper, black Adidas track pants and a black Adidas bum bag.
Riya Sen took to Instagram to share a picture of her and her husband kissing on their honeymoon.
By India Today Web Desk: Even as Riya Sen was busy shooting for Ekta Kapoor's web-series Ragini MMS 2.2, she took time out to get hitched to her boyfriend Shivam Tewari. The news came out of the blue for many, who did not even know that she was in a relationship. Riya had said in an interview that she was neck-deep in work at the moment and a honeymoon would have to wait.
advertisement
If her Instagram account is anything to go by, Riya has managed to squeeze in a romantic getaway in the middle of her hectic schedule. The actor and her husband are in Prague, enjoying their honeymoon. Riya shared a picture of her and Shivam sharing a passionate kiss on the photoblogging site. "#kisses for #mrs and a #heart for #art," she captioned it.
#kisses for #mrs and a #heart for #art ?? A post shared by Riya Sen (@riyasendv) on Sep 11, 2017 at 1:08am PDT
Riya's sudden wedding had sparked rumours of a pregnancy. In a recent interview, Riya said that she "expected that speculation". However, she refused to comment on whether the reports were true or false.
ALSO SEE: Riya Sen's seductive topless photo is taking the internet by storm
ALSO SEE: Hottie Riya Sen caught kissing a girl!
ALSO SEE: Riya Sen gets married to Shivam Tewari in traditional Bengali style, sister Raima shares photo
ALSO WATCH: Biggest celebrity weddings of 2016
--- ENDS ---
"When we made this promise in the election campaign we didn't put a specific timeline on it because we wanted to have the opportunity to come into office, start those conversations with people in the community, I've now got budget funding for four years to move this forward, that is substantial progress. What we are now focused on is getting the details of the model right so we can deliver exactly what the community needs and get it right," Mr Rattenbury said.
He said while there were "increasing concerns" about perinatal mental health and more young people presenting with mental illness, he rejected assertions that the current system was substandard.
"We have a system that works reasonably well now - I'm not satisfied with that and I want it to work better. That's what we're trying to achieve," Mr Rattenbury said.
"It is complex, there are a range of different approaches you could take and I'm willing to take the time to get this right, because it is so important that we get this right.
"The people we are seeking to support here are some of the most vulnerable in our community. I want to use the Office of Mental Health to get better coordination of our services, get a more person-centric approach when it comes to mental health services and that's why I'm taking the time to do this properly."
AGL's Andy Vesey said on Monday after meeting Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull that he would put the idea of extending Liddell to his board even though it was "economically irrational". Credit:Andrew Meares "South Australia is considered most at risk," it said. NSW was also at greater risk following AGL's planned shutdown of the Liddell coal-fired power plant in the Hunter Valley in 2022. Despite intense government pressure to keep the plant operating, AGL chief executive Andy Vesey on Monday rejected extending its life, saying new developments in coal were not "economically rational". The AEMO says NSW's energy reliability is at greater risk following the planned shutdown of the Liddell power plant in 2022. Credit:Simone De Peak When asked how the government might compel AGL to extend the power plant's life, Australian Energy Market Operator head Audrey Zibelman sidestepped the question, saying the sector's focus should not be on whether Liddell remained open past 2022, but whether there would be sufficient resources and network reliability, regardless of the company's decision.
AEMC's paper also stressed the need to implement the Finkel Review recommendations, namely that energy market bodies needed greater support through clear strategic direction from government, and through strengthening existing governance arrangements by recommitting to the underlying principles of the national energy market. The lack of a credible, long-term mechanism to achieve Australia's emissions reduction commitments has created uncertainty and deterred investment in the sector. AEMC discussion paper The government, however, is blaming energy providers. On Monday, it called for an examination by the Australian Energy Regulator into power companies' bidding practices amid claims of overcharging. It comes as more reports emerge that state power generators are bidding and selling energy in ways that add between $30 and $35 per megawatt hour (MW/h) to spot prices, potentially increasing MW/h wholesale prices by a third. This builds on the recorded 20 per cent year-on-year increase already seen in power prices. "In light of these reports, it's important to make sure energy generators are playing by the rules," Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg said on Monday.
Mr Pierce told the forum on Tuesday there was a lot at stake. "The decisions that the governments make in the coming months will have fundamental consequences, not just for the energy sector, but for the performance of the wider economy for decades to come," he said. The independent chair of the Energy Security Board, Kerry Schott, noted that issues affecting the energy sector were "extremely political at the end of the day". "Governments cannot pass that responsibility on to someone else, and there is a history of governments intervening, and what we are seeing play out in the paper [with Liddell] is exactly this," she said. However, the outlook for the sector is not wholly dire.
Dr Schott said there had been an increasing push towards wind and solar technology and "this trend will continue, no matter what politicians decide". The AEMO is tracking 19,102 MW of proposed new energy capacity, with nearly two-thirds to come from wind generation sources, driven in part by the rapidly falling costs of renewable technologies. Take-up of solar panels by the public is also likely to transform how people consume power, either through the rise of individual, off-the-grid power systems or the development of "microgrids", which will power small communities. However, Dr Schott warned that this transformation needed to be managed carefully, as "by about the mid-2030s, we will have a system that is 24 per cent coal, not 74 per cent as it is now". A booming gas export industry has also played a part in the current energy crisis.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull put the blame for high energy prices on the Opposition, saying on Monday: "The reason we are paying for energy at the moment is because of Labor." He pointed to previously high gas export levels, at the expense of domestic market, as one of the main drivers for the soaring energy price, saying "more gas is being exported, so the local market is short of gas, that's why prices went through the roof". There is increased concern over the capability of existing power stations to supply the nation's growing demand, and whether reducing gas export levels can help meet the shortfall, as oil and gas companies such as Santos divert up to 30 petajoules of LNG in 2018 alone to support growing demand. Loading The government has also put in place the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism, to "ensure there is a sufficient supply of natural gas to meet the forecasts needs of Australian consumers, if necessary".
Australia's second-biggest gold miner by market capitalisation, Evolution Mining, says it may sell the Edna May gold mine, one of its two wholly owned gold mines in Western Australia.
In a statement to the ASX on Tuesday, Evolution said it had "recently received a number of offers" for the mine, about 310 kilometres east of Perth, and was considering "whether the potential sale of the mine is in the best interests of Evolution shareholders and stakeholders".
Evolution will "progress" offers for the mine and update the market if a deal is struck. Credit:Jim Rice
The company said it would "progress" offers for the mine and update the market if a binding agreement for a sale was reached.
Royal Bank of Canada analysts have given the Edna May gold mine a net present value of $125 million.
As John Neal blew out the candles on his fifth anniversary cupcake at QBE last month, he must have known he it would be his last anniversary in charge of the insurer.
Forget that investors had been scathing about the latest earnings misfire and were demanding blood.
Changing roles: John Neal CEO with Pat Regan. Credit:Louise Kennerley
So it is just as well that the head of its Aussie operations, fellow Brit Pat Regan, has been delivering the goods in his new job and will be stepping into the breach come January 1 next year.
The hard bit is deciding what you pay an executive who received a sign-on bonus of $8.5 million it's a lot to live up to.
It's magpie swooping season the time of year when male birds seek to protect eggs and chicks from potential predators. At this time of year my morning commute to the tram stop sometimes feels a bit like extreme sport as I've been forced to take refuge beside lamp posts and under any available canopies to avoid getting clawed in the back of the head. Look out, magpie swooping season is under way. The fear of being attacked by magpies is not new. For me, it might hark back to the horror of seeing Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds as a child. As a teenager growing up in Melbourne's south-eastern suburbs, I recall swinging a bike chain above my head as I rode past parklands where a tidings of magpies gathered. But maybe I was going about it all wrong. Several experts, including Gisela Kaplan, an emeritus professor in animal behaviour at the University of New England, suggest we are better off to try to make friends with our potential attackers than to try to fight them.
Kaplan told ABC radio last week that magpies have long memories and once they know you don't pose a threat, they will make you a friend for life. But if you are nasty to them they will hold a permanent grudge against you. While Kaplan didn't go into specifics of how to make friends with magpies (feeding them is discouraged) during breeding season, the best way is to show them some respect by leaving them alone and avoiding going too close to their nests. If nothing else, magpie swooping season reminds us that we we share our cities with a multitude of wildlife. In some parts of Melbourne there are estimated to be as many as 20 foxes living in a single square kilometre of territory. And while none of us would ever wish to be swooped by multiple magpies or to encounter a skulk of foxes in the dead of night in one of Melbourne's urban wasteland areas, these animals can provide an enlightening connection to the natural world that is increasingly elusive to city dwellers. And if we lose this connection to nature, we may cease to be prepared to stand up to protect it in the long run. As British journalist George Monbiot has written: "Most of those I know who fight for nature are people who spent their childhoods immersed in it. Without a feel for the texture and function of the natural world, without an intensity of engagement almost impossible in the absence of early experience, people will not devote their lives to its protection."
I was silent when the local priest condemned people like me as sinners. I was silent when my friends regularly used the word 'gay' or 'faggot' to describe anything bad or inferior. Things became more difficult as I moved through high school. I avoided the schoolyard talk about crushes, dates and relationships. Attacks on the Safe Schools program elicited protests in Melbourne last year. Credit:Penny Stephens Lying was emotionally draining and I was horrified that one small slip could bring my life crashing down.
I kept myself distracted by focusing on study. But my achievements often felt hollow and tainted. Praise from those close to me provoked the same thought in my mind: "would you still be saying that if you knew?" Staying level-headed was a challenge. There were certainly darker moments. Many times I weighed up my options: stay silent and continue living a lie, come out and face the discrimination or end my life. The postal survey allows a privileged majority to cast a verdict on people's lives. Credit:AAP
Looking back at my younger self during those times now scares me, and makes me wonder how many children are in the same situation now? I remained silent throughout university. I had told too many lies. I was too embarrassed. I feared my friends and family would disown me. Moving abroad for a time gave me the chance to reflect. I realised that I was not the problem. The problem was the antiquated ideas, fear and prejudice of elements of our society. I decided those attitudes would no longer strangle me. I would no longer be silent. So I told a friend, and then another and another. Soon I will let my family into the fold.
Campaigning is expected to intensify after the Australian Bureau of Statistics began mailing out the first of millions of ballot papers on Tuesday for the non-compulsory postal survey. Credit:AAP The details of my family, my friends or my work life aren't relevant to my story. What is relevant is that my story is not unique. I could be your son or daughter, your brother or sister, your friend or colleague. I want you to know what it's like to keep silent and I want you to know my story as a significant part of my future is now in your hands.
You get to decide whether I can form a legal partnership with someone I love under Australian law. Soon every Australian on the electoral roll will have received a survey form asking whether the law should be changed to allow people of the same sex to marry. The campaign for either side has been fiercely fought as millions of people around the country argue for their right to either legally marry, or protect the definition of the union. Envelope The No Camp has revealed its pitch. The centrepiece of its campaign is a vague promise that a No result will save children from the gays.
Their argument is wrong. It is terribly misguided. The children that truly need saving are those who are same-sex attracted. They need saving from the prejudice, stereotypes and intolerance directed against the gay community which can be found at school, at home and in the wider community. When you cast your vote, please think about what message you will send to children who are struggling with their sexuality like I was. People rally in support of the Safe Schools program in Melbourne in March this year. Credit:Penny Stephens
Will you send them a message of acceptance? Will you show them that modern Australia values them, their futures and their relationships equally? Will you confront the fearmongering with openness, tolerance and love? Please save the kids that truly need saving. Loading
The primary reason for the doubling of electricity prices in the past decade is the failure by successive federal governments to listen to the market.
We have reached an absurd impasse.
Future present: Liddell power station in the background beside a pilot solar thermal plant.
The industry itself is saying there is no rational future for coal-fired power generation in Australia.
And yet an avowedly pro-market Coalition government having intervened some months ago in the gas market with threats to block exports and more recently in the retail electricity market by jawboning sellers into writing to customers about cheaper offerings is now trying to force one of the biggest operators, AGL, to extend the life of Australia's oldest coal-fired station, NSW's Liddell.
Like most, I have tried to be there for friends and family who are gay. They are good people who deserve our love, respect and inclusion but that doesn't mean that we can't continue to reserve the term "marriage" for the relationship of one man with one woman, ideally for life and usually dedicated to children.
Like you, I want a country where everyone gets a fair go and where no one is discriminated against on the basis of race, gender, religion, political opinion or sexuality. We all want people to be appreciated for their achievements and for the quality of their character; not pigeon-holed and dismissed on the basis of prejudice.
That, in fact, is the Australia we've had for years. It's a long time, thank God, since gay people have been discriminated against and just about everyone old enough to remember that time is invariably embarrassed at the intolerance that was once common. Already, indeed, same sex couples in a settled domestic relationship have exactly the same rights as people who are married.
To demand "marriage equality", therefore, is quite misleading. Same sex couples already have that. This debate is about changing marriage, not extending it. And if you change marriage, you change society; because marriage is the basis of family; and family is the foundation of community.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that Myanmar has created the Rohingya crisis and they will have to solve it.
By Sahidul Hasan Khokon: Bangladesh passed a resolution for diplomatic pressure on Myanmar to take back Rohingyas and make it possible for them to live a secured life. The proposal was accepted unanimously on Monday in the National Parliament 'Jatiya Sangsad'.
At least 3,00,000 Rohingya came to Bangladesh in the last 20 days, on the face of persecution in Myanmar. The foreign ministry, in a statement, said that Bangladesh was hosting 4,00,000 Rohingyas for the past three decades and the current spate of surge has elevated their number to 7 lakh. Hence, a biometric registration programme was started for the Rohingyas on Monday afternoon.
advertisement
The resolution came after a detailed general discussion on Rohingya crisis initiated by a proposal moved by treasury bench member and ex-foreign minister Dr Dipu Moni under Rule 147(1) of the Rules of Procedure of the House.
In her proposal, Dr Dipu Moni urged the world conscience to come forward to resolve the problem in Rakhine immediately and mount pressure on the Myanmar government to take back their citizens from Bangladesh. She said that several lakhs of Rohingyas have already taken shelter in Bangladesh to avoid ethnic cleansing in their homeland.
Taking part in the discussion, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that Myanmar has created the Rohingya crisis and they will have to solve it. "Everybody knows Rohingyas are citizens of Myanmar and they will have to take back their citizens from Bangladesh," said Hasina.
RAISE ROHINGYA ISSUE IN UNGA SESSION
Expressing her government's resolve to raise the Rohingya issue in the upcoming session of the UN General Assembly, Sheikh Hasina said, "If required Bangladesh would provide all support to Myanmar to overcome the crisis and rehabilitate the displaced people in their homeland."
"Myanmar must clearly acknowledge that Rohingyas are their citizens and they must take back their nationals," she added.
INHUMAN CRACKDOWN IN MYANMAR
Agreeing with the parliament regulation, Leader of Opposition Rowshan Ershad said that Myanmar killed thousands of Rohingyas and dishonoured women and girls during their heinous and inhuman crackdown. It forced the community to leave their motherland, she said.
Commerce minister Tofail Ahmed, industrial minister Amir Hossen Amu, civil aviation and tourism minister Rashed Khan Menon, foreign minister AH Mahmud Ali Jatiya Samastantrik Dal members Moin Uddin Khan Badal and Shirin Akter, treasury bench members Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, Abdul Matin Khasru, Hasan Mahmood, Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir, Saimum Sarwar Kamol, Major General (retd) Abdul Wahab and Tarikat Federation member Syed Nazibul Bashar Maizvandari took part in the discussion.
ALSO READ |
Rohingya crisis: India, China have assured us of support, Bangladesh foreign secretary says
Why United Nations cannot force India to change its stand on Rohingya deportation
advertisement
Rohingya crisis: Bangladesh has global support, says foreign minister Mahmud Ali
--- ENDS ---
The tense stand-off between the Turnbull government and energy giant AGL has deepened after different accounts emerged of what happened in a meeting about the future of the Liddell coal-fired power plant.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg said the government had secured a commitment from AGL to develop within 90 days a proposal to keep the NSW plant open, sell it, or guarantee equivalent power should the scheduled 2022 closure proceed. The government wants to plant to remain operating to meet a looming shortfall in baseload power.
However, a statement released by AGL following Monday's meeting noted it had committed to deliver a plan to avoid an energy shortfall "once the Liddell coal-fired power station retires in 2022".
While Mr Vesey said he agreed to the government's request to examine keeping the plant running or selling it, the statement emphasised the ageing facility's growing reliability problems.
It's the end of the day for me. What happened?
the Turnbull government continued to talk about energy ;
continued to talk about ; it is locked in a war of words with electricity company AGL about the future of the Liddell power plant ;
about the ; it is also locked in an internal battle over the future of the Clean Energy Target ;
; the opposition wants to know why the government hasn't done more about power prices when it's been in office since 2013; and
wants to know why the government hasn't done more about when it's been in office since 2013; and the same-sex marriage postal survey papers began to be sent out.
My thanks to Alex Ellinghausen and Andrew Meares for their super work and to you for reading and commenting.
You can follow me on Facebook.
Andrew, Alex and I will be back in the morning. We hope to see you then. Until then - so long and farewell.
"Hey, uh, I know this is the Toronto International Film Festival and the guest list is tight and everything, but... could I have a 'plus six'?"
Angelina Jolie has attended the premiere of her new film joined by all six of her children.
Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, front row from left, Knox Jolie-Pitt, Sareum Srey Moch, middle row from left, Loung Ung, Maddox Jolie-Pitt, Pax Jolie-Pitt, Kimhak Mun, Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, Zahara Jolie-Pitt and Angelina Jolie at the premiere of 'First They Killed My Father' at the Toronto International Film Festival. Credit:Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
The actor, who separated from husband Brad Pitt in September 2016, turned up to the premiere of First They Killed My Father at the Toronto International Film Festival with her sizeable brood in tow.
Joined by Maddox, 16, and Pax, 13, Zahara, 12, Shiloh, 11, and twins Knox and Vivienne, both nine, Jolie swept her children up the red carpet posing for photos on Monday.
Australians are attending university at one of the highest rates in the OECD but the country has one of the lowest rates of graduates in science fields, which have some of the highest levels of employment.
Australia also relies far more on private funding sources, including households, for educational institutions at all levels than other similar countries, according to a new report comparing education outcomes across the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Nearly 50 per cent of Australians aged between 25 and 34 have studied at the tertiary level, compared to an OECD average of 43 per cent, found the report which was released globally on Tuesday.
Australian university students are studying business, administration and law courses at far higher rates than other OECD countries, with these fields producing 34 per cent of graduates compared to an OECD average of 24 per cent, according to 2016 figures.
The chair of the public inquiry into the RSL has unloaded on the recently resigned director of RSL LifeCare, Jim Longley, saying the board had regular conflicts of interests and had breached conventions and contravened legislation in relation to the use of public funds during his tenure.
Former NSW Supreme Court Justice Patricia Bergin told Mr Longley on Tuesday that she was not sure she had ever seen such behaviour by a board and its members.
Jim Longley, a former Liberal minister and top bureaucrat, was an RSL LifeCare director.
Mr Longley gave evidence the entire day and was repeatedly exposed as sanctioning behaviour that flew in the face of good governance.
Not only had he accepted board membership fees but had personally corresponded with staff over additional "specialist payments".
The lead investigator into the disappearance of William Tyrrell says authorities "have not given up...and will not give up" on the investigation, in an appeal for information to mark the third anniversary since the three-year-old was last seen.
Detective Chief Inspector Gary Jubelin of the NSW Police Homicide Squad made an impassioned plea to the public to come forward with any information pertaining to the disappearance of William.
"It does not sit well with me that three years down the track we haven't solved this investigation," he said, adding that it was "very unusual" to brief the media and the public "mid-way" through an investigation.
"We are very mindful of the public's interest in this matter...very mindful of the public's expectation that a crime of this nature should be solved."
Labor will try to turn the rail fail tables on the Liberal National Party, with its first televised attack ad targeting Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls and the state's troubled train contract set to air on Tuesday night ahead of the impending state election.
The ad points out the state's trains used to be built in Queensland, creating jobs, before blaming the issues with the New Generation Rollingstock on the Newman government's decision to have them built in India by Bombardier.
The ad laid the blame for the NGR issues firmly at the feet of Mr Nicholls, who was the treasurer under former premier Campbell Newman.
The NGR trains had problems with braking, air-conditioning, ventilation, sight lines for drivers, guard space and disability access.
A woman accused of spiking her husband's meatballs dinner with sleeping tablets as part of an alleged murder plot has had all the charges against her dropped.
Joanne Debono, 55, and her daughter Shannon, 20, beamed when a magistrate told them on Tuesday the charges they both faced attempted murder and intentionally causing injury had been withdrawn by prosecutors.
All the charges that Joanne Debono faced have been dropped. Credit:Eddie Jim
The two women were charged last year when police alleged they'd hatched a plot to kill Stephen Debono Joanne's husband and Shannon's father by lacing his plate of meatballs with sleeping tablets and then, while he was asleep, poisoning him.
Police had alleged that after Mr Debono fell into a deep sleep at their Gowanbrae home on March 12 last year, his wife had planned to hit him with a shovel.
A police officer accused of texting an image of his genitals to a security guard has been charged with accessing the force database without authorisation, as multiple corruption investigations continue into the division where he worked.
Leading Senior Constable Peter Ryan, from the licensing and regulation division, was charged after an internal investigation sparked by allegations he texted the female security guard.
Internal investigations continue into the Licensing and Regulation Department Credit:Georgia Matts
The guard then claimed she was threatened by other officers from the same division in order to get her to withdraw her complaint against Leading Senior Constable Ryan.
The division, which licences gun owners and regulates the private security industry, has been linked to three separate internal investigations since complaints were made by industry figures earlier this year.
India is concerned about illegal immigrants and the possible security risk they may pose, India said at a UN Human Rights Council session, in response to the UN human rights chief censuring New Delhi over its stand on Rohingya refugees present in India.
Rohingya refugees get off a boat after crossing the Bangladesh-Myanmar border through the Bay of Bengal in Shah Porir Dwip, Bangladesh September 11, 2017. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui
By Geeta Mohan: India enforcing its laws to deal with possible security threats posed by illegal migrants (read: Rohingya who have fled Myanmar) should not be taken to mean that the country lacks compassion and an appreciation of human rights, India told the United Nations today.
India, like other countries, is concerned about illegal migrants, New Delhi said during the 36th session of the UN Human Rights Council. The statements were in response to developments from Tuesday, where the chief of the rights body said he 'deplores' the stand New Delhi has taken with respect to the presence of Rohingya immigrants in India.
advertisement
"Assessments of human rights should not be a matter of political convenience," India said in a sharp statement that sought to rebut the top UN human rights official criticising India over New Delhi's move to deport Rohingya Muslims staying illegally in the country.
The High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein on Tuesday said that a "brutal security operation" targeting Muslim Rohingyas in Myanmar's Rakhine state had led to more than 270,000 people fleeing to Bangladesh.
"I deplore the current measures in India to deport Rohingyas at a time of such violence against them in their country", Zeid had said, noting that some 40,000 Rohingyas had settled in India, including 16,000 who had received refugee documentation.
India today sharply responded to Zeid's comments, with Ambassador Rajiv K. Chander, the Permanent Representative of India to UN, saying, "We are perplexed at some of the observations made by the High Commissioner in his oral update."
Zeid in his comments censuring India had failed to adequate appreciate "the freedoms and rights that are guaranteed and practised daily in a vibrant democracy that has been built under challenging conditions," India said.
Ambassador Chander suggested that Zeid's comments were part of a "tendentious judgment" that was "made on the basis of selective and even inaccurate reports." Such judgments "do not further the understanding of human rights in any society."
Addressing the issue of the Rohingya crisis, India said, "Like many other nations, India is concerned about illegal migrants, in particular, with the possibility that they could pose security challenges. Enforcing the laws should not be mistaken for lack of compassion."
Get an up-close look at what life is like for the ethnic Rohingya minority in Myanmar in this #360video. Full story: https://t.co/4EUtbR4YMB pic.twitter.com/ILakYSc70A- The Associated Press (@AP) July 5, 2017
Ambassador Chander continued with his strong response, saying that the UN Human Rights commissioner had failed to take a more informed view of the human rights situation in India and had "extrapolated" individual incidents to "suggest a broader societal situation".
"India is proud of its independent judiciary, freedom of press, vibrant civil society and respect for rule of law and human rights," Chander said. "A more informed view would have not only recognized this but also noted, for example, that the Prime Minister himself publicly condemned violence in the name of cow protection."
advertisement
India's response also hit back at the criticism over the situation in Kashmir. "We have also noted that the issue of human rights situations in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir has been raised. It is a matter of regret that the central role of terrorism is once again being overlooked. Assessments of human rights should not be a matter of political convenience," Chander said.
"India believes that achieving human rights goals calls for objective consideration, balanced judgements and verification of facts. Our Government's motto of "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas" that is All Together and Development for All, is a true reflection of our commitment to achieve inclusive development in the spirit of leaving none of our citizens behind," the ambassador's statement ended.
ALSO READ | Why United Nations cannot force India to change its stand on Rohingya deportation
ALSO READ | Rohingyas in India: How jihadi forces may have infiltrated persecuted Muslims of Myanmar
ALSO READ | How Rohingyas reached India and why government is not ready to let them stay
advertisement
ALSO WATCH | Centre exploring ways to deport 40,000 Rohingya Muslims
--- ENDS ---
Melbourne Express: Wednesday, September 13, 2017
Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. Were working to restore it. Please try again later.
Dismiss
A driver has been freed from a serious crash north of Perth involving a truck and car.
The RAC Rescue helicopter was called to the incident on Gingin Brook Road in Muckenburra around 2.30pm on Tuesday.
The RAC rescue helicopter has landed at a crash site near Gingin.
A Department of Fire and Emergency Services spokeswoman said a person trapped in the car was freed around 3.20pm and was in the hands of paramedics.
It is understood the impact of the crash tipped the car onto its roof and the truck onto its side.
British band Placebo will not be rescheduling their Perth show which was cancelled on their current Australian tour.
The gig in the Perth Arena should have kicked off their tour Down Under on September 4 but they had to pull out because frontman Brian Molko was sick.
Placebo frontman Brian Molko overcame tonsillitis to perform at Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne. Credit:Len Panecki, Amnplify
A few days later, the band made it on stage for the Adelaide gig and have been performing at every other stop on the tour at Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney.
However, plans to try to reschedule the Perth show have not worked out, promoters TEG Live revealed on Tuesday.
The United Nations Security Council has unanimously stepped up sanctions against North Korea over the country's sixth and most powerful nuclear test on September 3, imposing a ban on the country's textile exports and capping imports of crude oil.
It was the ninth sanctions resolution unanimously adopted by the 15-member council since 2006 over North Korea's ballistic missile and nuclear programs.
The new sanctions ratchet up to the pressure on North Korea, though they are far less sweeping than what Washington originally sought.
The US agreed to drop several key demands, and toned down others, to keep China and Russia from exercising their veto over the measure.
The world's newest Muslim insurgency revealed itself in western Myanmar last year when militants attacked Myanmar police posts. New attacks took place on August 25, the day a state-appointed commission of inquiry headed by former UN chief Kofi Annan released its report into previous bloodshed. Several police were killed. Since the 1970s Rohingya have been have been targeted in a cycle of violence by Buddhists and Myanmar security forces, prompting the UN to describe them as among the world's most persecuted people. Exhausted Rohingya arrive at Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh. Credit:AP According to the International Crisis Group, a committee of Rohingya emigres with experience in guerrilla warfare oversees the militants from Mecca. Its leader Attaullah Abu Ammar Jununi was born in Pakistan and raised in Saudi Arabia. Muslim militants started to secretly train in guerrilla warfare after ethnic riots in 2012 killed hundreds of Rohingya. ARSA militants are now pitted against Myanmar security forces in Rakhine.
Houses on fire in Gawdu Zara village, northern Rakhine state. Soldiers set fire to homes and shot civilians as they tried to escape, according to accounts published by human rights groups. Credit:AP Rohingya were stripped of their citizenship in 1982 as part of decades-long persecution that has denied them basic rights, including freedom of movement. An intense propaganda war has been waged by all sides in Rakhine. An injured Rohingya girl Jubayra, 10, receives treatment after crossing over from Myanmar into Bangladesh on Friday. Credit:AP In 2012 riots erupted in the state after weeks of sectarian disputes, including an alleged gang rape and murder of a Rakhine woman by Rohingya men and the subsequent killing of 10 Rohingya people by Buddhists. In all, violent Buddhist mobs forced more than 140,000 Rohingya from their homes into squalid camps.
In March 2014, the Myanmar government banned the word Rohingya and asked for registration of the minority as Bengalis in the country's first census in three decades. It meant that 1.3 million Rohingya in Rakhine state, also called Arakan, were not included in the census. Pakistani protesters burn a caricature of Aung San Suu Kyi in a protest against ongoing violence against the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar. Credit:AP On April 2015, the government formally rescinded the temporary ID or "white cards", the last form of official government identification for Rohingya, stripping them of voting rights linked to the cards. The Rohingya had hoped the election of Nobel Peace laureate and democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi in November 2015 would see a turnaround in hostility towards them from the new government in Naypyidaw and Buddhist groups. But violence against them has dramatically worsened since then. Muslim protesters are seen through razor wire barricades during a rally against the persecution of Rohingya Muslims outside the Myanmar's Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia last week. Credit:AP
A UN report in February 2017 accused Myanmar security forces of atrocities against the Rohingya that could amount to crimes against humanity. Could the crisis spread beyond Myanmar's borders? According to the International Crisis Group, a committee of Rohingya emigres with experience in guerrilla warfare oversees the militants from Mecca. Its leader Attaullah Abu Ammar Jununi was born in Pakistan and raised in Saudi Arabia. Some experts say more than one million Rohingya living in Rakhine were ripe for exploitation by foreign jihadists. Aung San Suu Kyi is coming under increasing pressure to intervene in the Rohingya crisis. Credit:AP Rohingya do not have a history of radicalisation and there are no indications ARSA has been pursuing the goals of global jihadist groups. But Islamic State and other Islamic terror groups want to establish a foothold in the region, and that may change.
Unless Myanmar's security forces end their brutality in Rakhine and the government of Aung San Suu Kyi adopts a political response to the crisis, increasing numbers of Rohingya are likely to swing their support to the militants. There are about 40,000 Rohingya Muslim refugees and asylum seekers in India. Credit:Amrit Dhillon Why has Aung San Suu Kyi refused to speak up for Rohingya? Although the country's de facto leader, Suu Kyi is sandwiched politically by the powerful Myanmar military, nationalist Buddhist-majority parties and an undemocratic Constitution. She says her government, swept into power at historic elections in 2015, cannot tell the military not to launch offensives. Army generals see themselves as saviours of the country. Many Buddhists hate Rohingya and label them "Bengali" illegal immigrants. If Suu Kyi was to speak up for the Rohingya she would alienate her support base.
Why are neighbouring countries so worried? The crisis divides Buddhists and Muslims across south-east Asia and South Asia. Anti-Buddhist protests have already been held across Pakistan, India and Indonesia. The plight of Rohingya could become a lightning rod for existing underlying divisions between Muslims and non-Muslims in countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and India, where hundreds of thousands of Rohingya are living, many of them after putting their lives in the hands of people smugglers to flee Rakhine. Politicians with domestic agendas could exploit the tensions. Why is Australia concerned about in the situation? Loading
Two officials, a Police Inspector and an Assistant Sub Inspector, reached the Ryan International School premises on Tuesday afternoon at Kandivali.
By Divyesh Singh: Officials from the Haryana Police reached Mumbai on Monday evening to investigate top management of Ryan group of schools in connection with the murder of 7-year-old Pradyuman Thakur at Gurugram branch Ryan International School.
Two officials, a Police Inspector and an Assistant Sub Inspector, reached the Ryan International School premises on Tuesday afternoon at Kandivali. The same premise also houses the headquarters of Ryan group of schools which is run by Augustine Pinto, who is the chairman, his wife Grace Pinto, who is the managing director and their son Ryan Pinto who is the CEO.
advertisement
Haryana education minister had said that the top management of school will be investigated in connection with Pradyuman's murder as it was the school management's negligence that led to the murder of the seven-year-old kid at the hands of a bus conductor.
The two Haryana policemen were assisted by a team of Samta Nagar police from Mumbai. According to sources, the Haryana policemen questioned key members holding the office at Ryan group of schools and the questioning went on till 7:30 pm on Tuesday. Sources also claimed that Ryan Pinto was also quizzed but it could not be confirmed.
The team would remain in Mumbai, as on Wednesday the Bombay High Court would hear the transit anticipatory bail plea filed by the Pintos.
The Bombay HC granted interim protection to Augustine and Grace Pinto over some issues cited by the public prosecutor till Wednesday. Ryan Pinto's transit anticipatory bail plea was also admitted at the Bombay HC on Tuesday evening and would be heard.
Officials from Haryana Police will again continue with questioning of staffers and may question the Pintos on Wednesday. If the Bombay HC rejects the transit bail plea, then the three might face arrest at the hands of Haryana police.
--- ENDS ---
Stay on the top of all the latest markets movements! Subscribe to The Bull free weekly newsletter to receive our best tips, offers and promotion...
SUBSCRIBE label
By Ajay Kumar: The gruesome yet seemingly open-and shut case of a seven-year-old boy's murder at the Ryan International School in Gurugram is becoming murkier by the day. A witness on Tuesday cast doubts on the police's claim that bus conductor Ashok Kumar, who has been arrested, is the killer.
Subhash Garg told the media that the accused had very little spatter on him despite the grisly nature of the crime and there were no footprints in the blood that had covered the floor of the toilet where the crime purportedly took place. "There was chaos inside the main building and reception area after it was building and reception area after it was learnt that a student with his throat slit collapsed in the corridor. I saw two supporting staffers of the school carrying Pradyuman in their arms. They put him inside a WagonR car and the principal withdrew cash from the office and took him away to the hospital," said Garg, who was at the reception of the school on Friday to deposit the fees of his younger son.
advertisement
"There were bloodstains on Kumar's shirt which may be due to the fact that he was carrying the boy." Garg also claimed that the conductor was behaving normally, which is unusual for someone who committed such a crime. School bus driver Saurabh Raghav too has alleged that Kumar was being made a scapegoat. Ranked one of the top educational institutions in the country, Ryan International runs nearly 150 schools across India and in the United Arab Emirates.
The school was caught in another row last year after a six-year-old student was found dead in a water tank at its Vasant Kunj branch. The principal, a teacher and a few others were arrested for negligence.
"I had told Kumar not to clean up his shirt until the police came. I later saw him on TV as the accused and realised that he was a bus conductor of the school and his name is Ashok Kumar," Garg said. "He did not have any fear or any kind of anxiety on his face. He was behaving normally. After sometime, I saw that Kumar had cleaned his shirt. I asked him why he had done that. He replied that the smell of blood was unbearable."
He added that the conductor had not washed his trousers and they were not wet. "I went to the crime scene where blood had spread all over the toilet and its walls. Besides, drops of blood were also found leading away from the toilet to the corridor probably because Pradyuman tried to escape from the crime scene with his throat slit. The toilet was not spacious enough to accommodate two people. Moreover, there were no footmarks inside," Garg said.
"I asked the school staff to barricade the corridor with benches on both sides and lock the main door." Police had said Kumar was waiting inside the toilet and as soon as Pradyuman entered, the accused held the boy hostage and tried to sodomise him. As the child resisted, the conductor slit his throat and dumped him in a corner of the restroom. He then washed his hands and the knife. In the meantime, Pradyuman managed to run out to the corridor and collapsed there. Kumar chased the boy but on being witnessed tried to act innocent. He picked up the victim and took him to the WagonR car of acting principal Neerja Batra.
However, the deceased's family have refused to accept the police theory and demanded a CBI probe. The doctor who conducted the autopsy said the boy was not sexually assaulted and died of excessive bleeding. While forensic experts scanned the crime scene on Tuesday, the accused has been sent in judicial custody till September 17. "There must be something in the background of this incident which may be Pradyuman saw one or two days earlier," said Pradeep Kumar, the boy's uncle. "The killer must have thought Pradyuman would spill his secrets and wanted to silence him."
advertisement
Also Read:
Ryan murder investigation: Pradyuman Thakur's body had no marks of sexual assault, bus conductor only one involved
Ryan International School: How son of a farmer built his business empire of education
Gurgaon murder: Ryan's top officials forced me to admit knife was part of bus tool kit, says driver
WATCH | Ryan International School murder: Haryana education minister assures speedy justice
--- ENDS ---
Gurgaon police is convinced that besides Ashok no other person was involved in the gruesome murder.
By India Today Web Desk: The body of class II student Pradyuman Thakur, who was killed in the toilet of Gurgaon's Ryan International School last Friday, had no marks of sexual assault.
Dr Deepak Mathur who conducted the post-mortem of the 7-year-old's body said there were no signs of sexual assault.
The doctor said the child died due to excessive bleeding after he was attacked on his neck twice by bus conductor Ashok Kumar.
advertisement
The accused had earlier admitted to the police that he killed Pradyuman using his knife after he resisted attempts of unnatural sex in the toilet.
Gurgaon police is convinced that besides Ashok no other person was involved in the gruesome murder.
"It is clear that only Ashok is involved," Gurgaon Police's ACP Birem Singh said.
"Questioning with bus conductor complete, remand has ended. He told us whatever we needed to know. We are satisfied," he said.
During questioning, two children disclosed that the accused bus conductor was present in the toilet before the incident.
The police will try its best to file chargesheet in the court by this Saturday.
In the meantime, a forensic team has arrived at the crime scene.SCHOOL'S NEGLIGENCE
ACP Singh said the act of negligence by the school is separate for which two people are being questioned.
Several lacunae related to installation of CCTV cameras at the school, lack of separate toilets for drivers and conductors, unsafe toilets, a broken boundary wall and lack of police verification of employees have already been found.
Two top officials of the school - Legal Head Francis Thomas and HR Head Jeyus Thomas - have been arrested by the Gurgaon police on charges of negligence.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Gurgaon police was probing the horrific murder which has sent shockwaves to parents across the country.
Also Read:
Ryan murder: Bus driver hints at cover-up, says conductor told to carry kid's body
Ryan International School: How son of a farmer built his business empire of education
Gurgaon murder: Ryan's top officials forced me to admit knife was part of bus tool kit, says driver
WATCH | Ryan International School murder: Haryana education minister assures speedy justice
--- ENDS ---
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, woke up Tuesday to find his name trending on Twitter - linked overnight to a certain video from the "Milf Hunter" series, perhaps unfairly, perhaps irrevocably.
The clip itself is just over two minutes, details of its contents mostly unprintable. It features a sectional sofa, the pornographic actress Cory Chase, her fictitious nude stepdaughter, and a very energetic young man.
Cruz, of course, is nowhere to be seen in the footage, which has been floating around the Internet for more than a year. But around midnight Eastern time, someone signed into the senator's official Twitter account and clicked a little heart below the video - and thus did @tedcruz "like" porn.
By late morning, reporters were waiting outside the U.S. Capitol to question the flesh-and-blood Cruz about his online alias' handiwork, which he disavowed.
"It was a staffing issue and it was inadvertent," the senator said. "It was a mistake."
He said "a number of people" in his office had access to the account - contra Jimmy Kimmel and much of the critical Internet, who had assumed the senator himself clicked the heart before someone in his office unclicked it, after more than an hour of viral mockery.
But Cruz wouldn't name the mystery staffer, or say how they might be disciplined.
And twice that morning, reporters asked him if he himself was the liker.
"No," Cruz said quietly as he finally walked away.
Cruz has watched porn on the Internet at least once, regardless of what happened on his Twitter account Monday night. He said so in his book "A Time for Truth: Reigniting the Promise of America."
It was back in the 1990s, and all very proper
Cruz was a 26-year-old Supreme Court law clerk at the time. The justices were deciding whether Internet porn should be regulated, and some first decided they needed to see the stuff for themselves, and so young Cruz got an eyeful.
"As we watched these graphic pictures fill our screens, wide-eyed, no one said a word," he wrote. "Except for Justice O'Connor, who lowered her head, squinted slightly, and muttered, 'Oh, my.'"
Which is exactly the same thing @KieraGorden said in the small hours of the morning more than 20 years later, when she and what seems like half the conscious online population discovered the clip of stepmother and stepdaughter and sweaty male friend beneath the senator's banner portrait.
Well done @TedCruz using the power of "like" to illustrate the evils of porn #Weiner pic.twitter.com/SQDPh1cRTp Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) September 12, 2017
It was gone by about 2 a.m., and the senator's spokeswoman Catherine Frazier wrote shortly afterward on her own account: "The offensive tweet posted on @tedcruz account earlier has been removed by staff and reported to Twitter."
That only raised more questions, including: Reported the tweet for what? A Twitter spokeswoman said the company never comments on individual accounts, though porn is allowed on the site, with some limitations.
Even if the details of its travels into @tedcruz's column of "likes" remain a mystery, the video's provenance is fairly clear.
It published in early 2016 on the porn site Reality Kings. "Cory has not been getting along with her step daughter Kacey lately," reads the jacket blurb. They were getting along fine by the end of the film.
Then, as porn tends to, clips of the movie made their way across the Internet.
Early Monday morning, they entered the endless stream of tweets on the account known as @SexuallPosts.
And about 24 hours later, the owner of that account was among the first to learn that a U.S. senator's name was listed among his contents' endorsers.
"A friend texted me. It's really pretty comical," said Kyle, who didn't want to give his last name, lest he have to explain to friends and family why he runs several sexually explicit "marketing sites" among the dozens of Twitter accounts he owns.
Kyle didn't know more than anyone else about how and why @tedcruz liked that particular clip, which he said had been viewed more than 2 million times before Cruz faced reporters at the Capitol to deny clicking on it.
Denial or not, it's been good for business.
"Follow for the Same Porn @TedCruz Watches," reads the new banner text on @SexuallPosts.
And denial or not, the senator continues to be mocked across the Internet.
"Everyone on Twitter after 1 a.m. on a Monday knows exactly how this whole thing works," one wag wrote after Cruz's spokeswoman blamed staff for the like. "You're foolin' nobody."
Quipped another: "Liking a porn tweet is by far the least offensive, most normal thing Ted Cruz has ever done."
Sexual prurience hasn't been a major theme of Cruz's politics over the years. But he has intersected with porn a few times before.
As the solicitor general for the state of Texas in 2004, Mother Jones reported, Cruz's legal team tried to defend a law banning the sale of sex toys. His office drafted a 76-page brief that argued that the government had an interest in discouraging "autonomous sex," Mother Jones wrote - and "there is no substantive-due-process right to stimulate one's genitals for nonmedical purposes unrelated to procreation or outside of an interpersonal relationship."
Then last year, when he was running for president in the Republican Primary, Cruz's campaign inadvertently cast a former soft-core porn actress in an ad attacking his rival, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.
The campaign killed the ad after discovering Amy Lindsay's film history, and the actress protested that she worked mainstream roles along with the occasional erotic film.
"You guys have all painted me as this big porn star, which I am not," Lindsay told The Post at the time.
Speaking of porn stars, the other star of the "Milf Hunter" scandal was apparently one of the last to find out about her star crossing with Cruz.
"So I hear I am trending with Ted Cruz," Cory Chase wrote on Twitter late Tuesday morning - long after the like had been revoked. "I am literally in the dark with hardly any access to the Internet world. #OMG #hurricaneirma."
And so the actress reminded us all that, porn storms aside, there are other things going on in the world.
"This was not how I envisioned waking up this morning," Cruz told his journalist interrogators at the Capitol, and then got in a crack of his own:
"If I had known that this would trend so quickly, then perhaps we should have posted something like this during the Indiana primary."
Bill McGuire has one warning for local business employees and owners who recently received an odd email from someone claiming to be with the Better Business Bureau: don't click the link.
"You never want to click on any kind of suspicious links, especially when you haven't received any email like that before," said McGuire, BBB regional director.
McGuire said a nationwide fake email scam went out Monday in which imposters who claimed to be with the BBB notified businesses they had committed some sort of federal offense. The email states that users can download the text file by clicking a link, which McGuire said he thought could result in the downloading of malware onto users' computers.
McGuire said an email from the real BBB would be longer -- about a full page with a blue Better Business Bureau logo. McGuire said the BB might call the business owner as a courtesy. He also said the 24-hour deadline the email gives for a response to the complaint is another giveaway that the email is bogus.
A copy of the email sent to The Eagle contains numerous grammatical and semantic errors.
"They talk like Russians," McGuire said, though he checked on the origin of one of the email addresses and noted that it seemed as though it was from Lithuania.
McGuire said clicking on a bad link and inadvertently downloading malware onto a computer can be a headache for business owners, since it takes two or three days to fix the damage and costs around $125, not to mention the pain of having to transfer the hardware to a professional.
The email blasts started early Monday, McGuire said, and had been sent to businesses across North America.
"They're just blasting it everywhere," McGuire said. "I've seen emails from at least 15 BBB offices, including Canada."
McGuire recommended that those who click the link run a system scan and check for viruses and malware, but even if everything looks clean, he still recommended seeking support from computer professionals.
Damage can be minimized if action is taken fast enough, he said.
A list of pointers provided by Carol Stanfield, director of customer support and quality assurance with the Council of Better Business Bureaus Inc., recommends those who get an email that appears to be a BBB complaint should not click the link and be suspicious of urgent instructions. The list says those who receive the email should hover their mouse cursor over the address to see if the URL does lead to bbb.org, and send a copy of the email to phishing@council.bbb.org. Then delete the email and empty your deleted items.
Be sure to keep an eye on bank statements for questionable transactions and run anti-virus software, the list recommends, and immediately change your email and network passwords and notify your IT provider if you click any links in the email.
"It's kind of a hassle," McGuire said of falling for the email scam. "If there's a silver lining, once you've clicked on a link like that, you're apt to not do it again."
College Station firefighter J.D. Meyerdirk gets an encouraging high-five from Jessica Gilmore, who is being held by her mom, Mandy Gilmore, during the 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb in College Station on Monday morning. Jessica is the granddaughter of Bryan Fire Department chaplain Ernest Upchurch. The stair climb at the 18-story Rise at Northgate apartment complex was in honor of the 412 first responders killed as they tried to rescue victims of the World Trade Center attack in 2001. Monday was the 16th anniversary of the attacks in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.
The driver of the bus whose conductor was arrested for killing Class 2 student Pradyuman Thakur last Friday has revealed that the prime accused was asked to carry the kid's body to a car.
By India Today Web Desk: The mystery surrounding the murder of a 7-year-old kid at Gurgaon's Ryan International School is getting deeper by the day.
The driver of the bus whose conductor was arrested for killing Class 2 student Pradyuman Thakur last Friday has revealed that the prime accused was asked to carry the kid's body to a car.
The driver of the bus Sourav Raghav spoke exclusively to India Today that he rushed to the crime spot immediately after the incident happened.
advertisement
Recollecting the horrifying moments, Raghav told India Today that he saw the conductor in a blood soaked shirt. Raghav said the conductor told him that school authorities asked him to carry injured Pradyuman to a car.
He revealed that the school authorities and the accused conductor Ashok told him that the kid fell in the washroom and hurt himself. He also added that the accused conductor was repeatedly advised on several occasions not to use the kids' washrroom, but didn't pay heed.
The driver also denied that the knife, which was found from the crime scene, being part of the bus tool kit.
PARENTS PROTESTS AT RYAN SCHOOL, MUMBAI
Several parents gathered at Ryan School's Kandiwali branch in Mumbai and protested against poor facilities at the school.
The parents pointed out that the school provided sub-standard facilities to students despite charging hefty fees. Washroom and drinking water facilities were in poor in the school, they said.
A team of Gurgaon Police is in Mumbai in connection with its probe into the brutal killing of Pradyuman Thakur.
A team of Gurgaon Police is in Mumbai in connection with its probe into the brutal killing of Pradyuman Thakur.
The Gurgaon Police arrested two top officials of the Ryan International School and detained the acting principal for questioning in connection with the murder, even as the victim's father moved the Supreme Court seeking a CBI probe.
School bus conductor Ashok Kumar, who allegedly tried to sexually assault the Class 2 student in a toilet and slit his throat with a knife when he resisted, on Friday (September 1), has also been arrested.
ALSO READ:
Gurgaon murder: Mystery deepens after cops find windows sans grills at Ryan International School toilet
Ryan International School owners used dubious finance company to launder crores, says Sebi report
Gurgaon murder: Hope to make schools safer for kids, says father of kid found dead in Ryan
Ryan International School murder case: 5 unanswered questions after 3 days of police probe
WATCH: Ryan murder: Bus driver hints at cover-up, says conductor told to carry kid's body
--- ENDS ---
advertisement
An application to rezone about half an acre on Fairview Avenue for a new Aggieland Outfitters location was approved Monday by the College Station City Council.
The 4-3 vote came after almost 2 1/2 hours of presentations, comments from the public and discussion. The approval allows for general commercial uses on two lots at the southwest corner of George Bush Drive and Fairview Avenue for the development of an Aggieland Outfitters store. Councilman Jerome Rektorik, Councilman Barry Moore, Councilman James Benham and Councilwoman Julie Schultz voted in favor of the rezoning.
The owners of Aggieland Outfitters, Fadi and Hege Kalaouze, purchased the two Fairview lots in 2015 after learning they likely would be forced to move from the Southgate George Bush Drive location they have had for about 15 years by the upcoming Bush-Wellborn intersection project, which will cut off vehicle access to the store.
The rezoning application has met significant resistance from surrounding property owners, and the Southside Neighborhood Advocacy group has circulated a petition citing 11 objections, particularly concerning neighborhood integrity and traffic. Ten people spoke in opposition during the public hearing.
"They made us look like this bad company's coming," Fadi Kalaouze said Monday, adding that his store has been in the area for almost 15 years and "never caused any problems." The Kalaouzes repeated their desire to be good neighbors to the surrounding residents
Some of the modifications the business has planned include that residential architectural styles for the retail space be used to complement the adjacent historic Southside neighborhoods and the use of a 15-foot landscaped buffer with a masonry wall or decorative fence along the property lines that would abut a residential property. Access to the property is proposed from George Bush Drive via a shared driveway with the adjacent Shell gas station, pending Texas Department of Transportation approval.
Benham, who made the motion to approve, said the application to rezone the property was "logical and reasonable" and that the owners had proven themselves to be good neighbors.
Mayor Karl Mooney, Councilwoman Blanche Brick and Councilwoman Linda Harvell voted against the motion. Mooney said that while he believes the owners of Aggieland Outfitters "would do all the things and more that they said they would do, the fact of the matter is" once property is rezoned for general commercial uses, "that means that in 10 to 15 years it can become anything."
Harvell, who lives in the neighborhood about five blocks from the property, challenged the city to "walk the talk" when it comes to preserving neighborhoods.
Schultz, who voted in favor of the motion, said that "nobody doesn't want neighborhood integrity, ever," and reminded those in attendance of comments she made during August's budget workshops regarding having funds available to hire public safety personnel and essential staff. When the city has the opportunity to expand its tax base through new development, sales tax and other revenue streams, it doesn't have to be put on the backs of residents through tax increases, she said.
While she sympathized with the residents who spoke in opposition Monday, Schultz said she wouldn't be able to support their desire for the council to deny the rezoning.
"I believe this business owner has made every effort to do the right thing, more than any business I've ever seen in this situation," Schultz said.
Two residents who live on Fairview Avenue south of the Texas A&M campus have cited a 1927 deed restriction in filing a lawsuit challenging the proposed construction of a new Aggieland Outfitters location on the street where it intersects with George Bush Drive.
The suit, filed Sept. 1, states that the College Station Housing Corporation imposed a number of deed restrictions on the property at 100 Fairview Ave. as part of a 1927 transaction, including a general prohibition of the use of the property as a store. The plaintiffs, Shirley and Fred Dupriest, who live a few doors down from the property, are seeking a declaratory judgment that the deed restriction is enforceable with regard to any construction at the location "in an effort to keep the 'College Park' neighborhood purely residential as was the intent of its creation." Nimitz Properties, a limited liability company that lists the Kalaouzes as directors, is the defendant named in the lawsuit.
Also at Monday's meeting:
During a workshop discussion, the council directed staff to draft an ordinance repealing the city's current ordinance that prohibits the use of wireless communication devices while driving. On Sept. 1, the statewide ban on texting while driving that was approved by the state Legislature went into effect.
No one spoke during the public hearing held on the proposed $365.5 million fiscal year 2018 budget, and one person spoke in opposition during the hearing on the proposed tax rate of 49.75 cents per $100 in taxable valuation. Monday's public hearing was the second on the proposed 2.5-cent tax rate increase. The tax rate and the budget are scheduled for adoption Sept. 25.
Grimes County is preparing for the possibility of wildfires with the help of the Texas A&M Forest Service.
Officials said the adoption of a Community Wildfire Protection Plan, developed over the course of nearly a year by county officials, local volunteer fire departments, emergency service personnel and Forest Service representatives, will help improve both the response to and prevention of wildfires.
Grimes County Emergency Management Coordinator David Lilly said he hopes the plan will be a positive assessment of the resources and needs of the county.
"We have never learned everything; things always change," Lilly said. "We constantly learn something new each time we take a look at it, and it's helping to make our county safer every time we go through this process."
Lilly said in addition to developing a stronger response plan to wildfires and maintaining a better understanding of the challenges that exist, the plan also offers other benefits to city and emergency officials.
He said the implementation of the plan gives local fire departments and communities the ability to apply for additional grants to augment the available equipment and training. Lilly said having the plan also contributes to the communities obtaining a stronger rating from ISO -- a New Jersey-based advisory organization that provides statistical, inspection and form development services to the property and casualty insurance industry.
"The ISO rating determines to what level the community is able to receive assistance from a fire department, how well they are prepared [and] what measures they have taken to reduce fire hazards," Lilly said. "Cities really benefit a lot from better ISO ratings because insurance rates can be rather high, and it can give residents of the city a little help."
Texas A&M Forest Service Wildland Urban Interface Specialist Stuart Coombs said in a statement that officials from around the county "demonstrated initiative and leadership throughout the process."
"We appreciate their proactive approach to complete the process and look forward to assisting with implementation," he said.
Before developing the plan, Lilly said the county's last assessment of its wildfire procedures followed the 2011 fires, which he described as "probably the most devastating wildfire this county has ever seen."
"Unfortunately we learned by doing with that one," Lilly said. "We've since applied a lot of the lessons learned from dealing with those fires to how we have dealt with subsequent ones. Thus far, that has been successful in helping to reduce the risk of having a repeat of something of that nature."
Forest Service officials said Grimes is the 19th Texas county to adopt a comprehensive plan.
A special recognition ceremony for the plan is set for this morning at 9 a.m. during a meeting of the Grimes County Commissioner's Court.
Visit tfsweb.tamu.edu/ProtectYourCommunity to learn more about Community Wildfire Protection Plans.
A 52-year-old Houston man has been sentenced to 27 years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of sexual assault of a child and a charge of indecency with a child by contact.
Billy Pace was sentenced in Brazos County on Friday. A teenage family member told police Pace had sexually assaulted her in December 2014, September 2015 and January 2016. The victim went to a hospital, where authorities took DNA and sent samples to a lab for testing; police arrested Pace on Nov. 8 after receiving the test results. A grand jury indicted Pace on all three counts on Jan. 5, according to court records.
Kara Comte, who prosecutes crimes against children at the Brazos County District Attorney's Office, said in a statement that the victim "was incredibly brave in coming forward and, as a result, this man will spend a long time in prison for his actions."
Mark Maltsberger, Pace's attorney, did not wish to comment.
Sexual assault of a child and indecency with a child by contact are second-degree felonies punishable by up to 20 years in prison per charge.
The Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M is set to kick off its new "What's Next?" series Thursday with a look at the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
"This idea came from a conversation I had with President Michael Young, and I'm delighted we have the opportunity to make it a reality," said Bush School dean Mark Welsh. "Our faculty members can be a tremendous resource as people try to evaluate what has happened and how we can move forward after a major event such as Hurricane Harvey. This new series will enable us to provide timely information from experts who have unique experience and expertise that will help people understand a particular event and what the future holds for those impacted by it."
The Romanian environment minister Gratiela Gavrilescu has released an executive order confirming that lethal population control and trophy hunting of bears and wolves will resume.
The shock announcement comes less than a year after the conservation community commended the country for introducing a critically-needed ban on the hunting of brown bears, wolves, lynx and wildcats.
According to the order, by the end of 2017, the local authorities and independent hunters may kill up to 140 bears and 97 wolves deemed to be 'nuisance' animals. The temporary prohibition saved the lives of as many as 1,691 bears, wolves and wildcats.
Survival of bears and wolves
The new bear and wolf hunting quotas effectively eliminate the protection these animals had been afforded over the past nine months. The order also clears the way for trophy hunters to shoot bears and wolves as long as they do so in the presence of "technical staff".
Under the terms of EU legislation (Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC) lethal population control is only permitted once the Member State has exhausted all non-lethal methods. This requirement is notable by its absence from Romania's new order.
In the past, the Romanian Academy's Commission for the Protection of Natural Monuments has strongly cautioned against unjustified lethal take, since it may be detrimental to the survival of bears and wolves in Romania.
Key scientists and experts also dispute the effectiveness of lethal population control or trophy hunting in mitigating human-wildlife conflict.
In fact, human persecution of carnivores can actually lead to greater conflict with humans and farm animals, because it disrupts social structures and alters predation patterns, leaving these predators more reliant on farm animals as food.
Rescind the order
Humane Society International/Europe and the Romanian conservation organisation, Agent Green, together with other world's leading wildlife organisations have urged the Romanian Government to rescind the order and require a case-by-case analysis for each problem bear or wolf.
The groups also urge the government to direct the majority of the resources toward educational programmes for the affected communities and non-lethal mitigation strategies, such as electric fencing, visual deterrents (known as "fladry") and bear-proof rubbish bins.
Ruud Tombrock, executive director for Humane Society International/Europe said: "The Romanian Government's U-turn on the trophy hunting of brown bears is beyond disappointing.
Less than a year ago, the conservation community praised the previous government for taking decisive action to stop the unjustified persecution of Europe's large carnivores.
This change of policy is clearly in response to strong lobbying efforts from the trophy hunting and animal agriculture industries. This order threatens the very survival of bears and wolves in Romania.
Bear and wolf kill quotas
Gabriel Paun, CEO of Agent Green, said: "This new order...outrageously just made it possible for trophy hunters to openly participate in these killings and sell the parts of the animals' remains, shamelessly making a business out of it.
Brown bears play a vital role in maintaining a healthy ecosystem in Romania, and while official figures put the Romanian bear population at more than 6,000, HSI and our partner groups fear that may be an over-estimate due to inaccurate counting methods.
Brown bears face a number of threats to their survival, including habitat destruction, increased motorized activity near their habitat, climate change, and human persecution. The population estimates on which the proposed brown bear and wolf kill quotas are based are biologically implausible and biased.
The effect of human persecution on brown bears and wolves is "super additive," meaning that hunting kills result in mortality exceeding the simple 1:1 ratio and generates pressures on the population that far exceed what would occur in nature.
One study found that killing large wild predators has, in some cases, the reverse effect of increasing their predation on livestock and only two non-lethal mitigation techniques proved to have "preventive effects."
Scientific experts also strongly dispute the effectiveness of lethal population control or trophy hunting to manage these iconic mammals.
This Author
Brendan Montague is acting editor of The Ecologist website. He tweets at @EcoMontague.
You have a character that goes through the scrutiny of being sexualised , and then an audience that does the same thing.
In a bid to review the safety of children at the private schools in Patna, DM Sanjay Agarwal on Tuesday held meeting with authorities of all the private schools to discuss the Gurugram incident and take lessons from it.
Tight security arrangements outside the Ryan International School in Gurugram. Photo: PTI
By Rohit Kumar Singh: The gruesome killing of 7-year-old Pradyuman Thakur at the Ryan International School in Gurugram, last week, seems to have set alarm bells ringing over the safety and security of children at schools across the country.
In a bid to review the safety of children at the private schools in Patna, DM Sanjay Agarwal on Tuesday held meeting with authorities of all the private schools to discuss the Gurugram incident and take lessons from it.
advertisement
WHAT WAS DISCUSSED IN THE MEETING:
How children studying at private schools are provided better security, how parents and school authorities have a better channel of communication and how to improve the educational atmosphere in these schools.
Reviewing of all the facilities available at the private schools concerning the safety and security of children.
Strict action to be taken against the school if any kind of negligence is adopted pertaining to safety of children in the schools.
If lapses are found on part of the schools, the administration would write to CBSE, ICSE and Bihar School Examination Board for de-affiliation of the school.
DETAILS SORT BY THE PATNA DM FROM PRIVATE SCHOOL:
Are there complaint boxes available in the school? Does the school have SMS facility? Are there CCTV's installed in the schools? What is the status of the security guards at the school? Do security guards get time bound training? If there is any kind of disaster, is the school equipped to handle it? Are there fire fighting facilities in the school? If there is an earthquake, how to ensure that children are safe? Are there GPS facilities in the school buses? Is the name of the driver and conductor along with their mobile phone written on the school bus? Are there first aid facility available in the school bus? Does the school bus have any emergency number of the school written on it? What is the status of the toilets and their maintenance in the school?
The Patna DM in the meeting said that soon a team would be set up which would include the senior officials from the administration and a DSP level police officer to conduct a review of the safety measures being present in the schools, post the Gurugram incident. He also warned that if any lapses are found in any private school, stern action would be taken against them.
--- ENDS ---
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
When passers-by glance into the soon-to-be completed front windows of Maison DAlexandre on Lewis Street, owner Alexandre Chouery said he hopes they wont immediately realize its a hair salon.
The last thing I wanted it to look like was a hair salon, Chouery said. I designed the salon like I want my house.
Chouery, who has around 25 years of experience in the hair salon and styling industry including training under Paris elite Jacques Dessange opened his new brand Maison DAlexandre on Lewis Street in July. His build-out of the storefront that once housed Vinoteca Restaurant & Wine Bar isnt finished, but business has already outpaced his initial forecasts, he said. The unfinished front entrance is planned to debut in a few weeks with a full spa and academy to follow in stages as he gets town approvals.
Following nine years as creative director at Greenwichs Frederic Fekkai salon, Chouery anticipates making a lasting imprint on the hair salon industry with his newest venture.
His vision to stand out begins with the salons layout and design. Instead of walls lined with styling stations and dryer chairs, Chouery modeled the entrance like a plush library that includes velvet chairs and couches with floor-to ceiling built-in bookshelves and a functioning fireplace. The styling department is meant to feel like a high-end dining room complete with 16-foot long walnut table, custom-designed chairs made in Italy and a bar cart filled with crystal decanters.
When clients recline at the shampoo stations, they can admire the ornately decorated ceiling, which Chouery points out to show hes considered every detail.
Overall, Ive thought about everything, he said, adding he directed the salons renovations on his own. I decided to do all the design, because I know my job, he said.
A typical salon mechanism Chouery decided to do away with is the front desk where clients would check in. There is a small table that blends into the library, but clients wont pay there, Chouery said. In his efforts to foster a seamless experience, Chouery has clients settle bills at their styling station in a similar fashion as at a restaurant.
Work on the Lewis Street structure that also includes significant renovations to its exterior began on March 24. Chouery recalls the date easily because his child was born just a few days before. I had twins, he said. My son was born on the 18th and my brand on the 24th.
Chouery expects the buildings main floor to be finished by early October and in the coming months, he hopes to open a private styling department and spa in the basement. Part three is contingent on receiving the go-ahead from town departments to construct a training academy on the second floor. Finally, he hopes to furnish a private penthouse on the top floor that leads to the rooftop with vantages of Long Island Sound.
So far, the salon includes space for 18 stations with the potential to expand to 32 including the spa. In addition to the nearby lot and street parking, Chouery said hes working on setting up a valet system for clients.
In every way, the owner wants to show that he provides real luxury. My team and I are committed to taking the standard of the industry to a whole new level, he said.
And Chouery isnt just the boss who will be running the show from behind the scenes; he will work alongside his team, coloring, shampooing and styling clients. My name is on the door, so Im making sure the experience is beyond expectations, he said.
Its his own money thats invested in building the brand, he said, emphasizing that he isnt working with any investors on the project. This is my baby. Would you share your baby? he said by way of explanation.
While Maison DAlexandre aims to cater to the luxury market, Chouery said it will offer alternative price points that vary depending on the stylist. Its not exclusively for wealthy clients, he said. I want to reach everybody.
Contact the writer at mbennett@greenwichtime.com; Twitter @Macaela_
Today, AF Pinto and Grace boast of employing more than 18,000 faculty members and educating 2,70,000 students at their schools. But, Pradyuman Thakur is no longer one of those students because he was killed in the most gruesome manner inside the premises of the most powerful private school education group in the country.
Grace Pinto, who is practically the face of the group, seems to be well-connected
By Prabhash K Dutta: The website of Ryan International School welcomes its visitors with a big photograph of its managing director Grace Pinto posing with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. With little more effort, a visitor is able to find information about the founder chairman of the Ryan International School, Augustine F Pinto.
Grace Pinto, who is practically the face of the group, seems to be well-connected. The group's website flaunts her pictures with Union ministers. Her photograph with Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is also doing rounds on social media.
advertisement
The Ryan International School is named after their (Augustine and Grace) son, Ryan Pinto, who is the chief executive officer of the group. Marred with controversies in the past and in the eye of public anger at the moment following the murder of 7-year-old Pradyuman of class I inside its Gurgaon campus, Ryan International School is one of the fastest growing educational groups in the country.
The Ryan International group has schools across 18 states of the country and abroad. According to Wikipedia, the Ryan International group presently owns 186 schools, however the official website puts the number of institutions at "more than 135."
THE BEGINNING
The Ryan International School was founded at Borivali in Mumbai in 1976 by AF Pinto following his struggles to get a decent and long lasting job.
AF Pinto's father was a farmer in Karnataka. Pinto spent his early life in Mangalore district of Karnataka. But, he was keen in studies and graduated from prestigious Loyola College of Chennai in Economics in 1969. A search for job took Pinto to Mumbai, as was the trend in those days.
Pinto got a job with a footwear company called Spring Plastics. But he lost his job in two years as the company shut down its operations. Pinto found it hard to get a decent job for some time after which he joined a school with the help of one of his friends.
As a teacher in the Mumbai school, Pinto got possessed with the idea of launching his own group of schools. In a 2008-interview, Pinto said that watching his principal from close quarters, the idea of launching his own group of educational institutions struck him.
He referred to an incident when his principal, who according to Pinto was an old and frail woman, visited homes of people to convince them to send their children to school to study. This incident inspired Pinto to establish his first school by name the Father Angelo Primary School in the Borivali East with an investment of Rs 10,000 - a big amount for those days. It took less than Rs 9 to buy a dollar back then.
advertisement
BUILDING AN EMPIRE
The Father Angelo Primary School failed but Pinto didn't give up. By now he had by his side wife Grace. AF Pinto had married Grace Albuquerque in 1974. Grace was also a teacher and taught Mathematics and Science.
After his own school failed to take off as a business venture, Pinto went back to teaching taking up a job with the Saint Francis School, Malad in Mumbai. Pinto and Grace came back to their own again in 1983 when they resurrected the failed school by the name of the St Xavier's High.
The St Xavier's High was a catholic school affiliated to Maharashtra education board. This became the foundation for building the educational empire of Pinto and Grace. They went on build the largest and possibly the most successful private group K-12 schools (from Kindergarten to class XII) in the country.
Their son and group's CEO Ryan Pinto looks after their overseas expansion. The Ryan International has already signed memorandum of understanding with local partners in many countries including the US, the UAE, Thailand and Maldives.
advertisement
Today, AF Pinto and Grace boast of employing more than 18,000 faculty members and educating 2,70,000 students at their schools. But, Pradyuman Thakur is no longer one of those students because he was killed in the most gruesome manner inside the premises of the most powerful private school education group in the country. Despite the arrest of "suspect", the culprits are hard to be traced as the CCTV cameras of the Gurgaon school were not working and conflicting statements are being given to police.
ALSO READ | Ryan murder: Blow-by-blow account of how Pradyuman Thakur was killed in his Gurgaon school
ALSO READ | Gurgaon murder: Ryan's top officials forced me to admit knife was part of bus tool kit, says driver
ALSO WATCH | Exclusive visuals of murder scene inside Gurgaon Ryan International School
--- ENDS ---
NORWALK A 29-year-old Fairfield man was sentenced Tuesday to serve 8 years in prison after pleading guilty to a 2016 string of South Norwalk car burglaries.
Norwalk Superior Court to five 2016 South Norwalk car burglaries.
Edwin Sanchez, of Biro Street, Fairfield, has been in custody since Nov. 17, 2016, when officers with the Norwalk Police Department and the United States Marshals Violent Fugitive Task Force arrested him in Bridgeport.
At state Superior Court in Norwalk Tuesday, a shackled Sanchez dressed prison garb and watched over by his family members in attendance at court admitted to each of the five burglaries.
The first burglary occured on Feb. 9 when a Grove Street resident reported that their vehicle had been broken into overnight. The front window had been smashed in and a car radio valued at $700 was taken. DNA that linked Sanchez to the burglary was left behind at the scene, prosecutors said.
On April 28, a resident of Lexington Avenue reported a similar incident, in which their 2003 Chevrolet had also been broken into by smashing a window and a $450 radio was stolen.
An Elizabeth Street resident reported on May 5, that the front passenger window had been broken out and a radio and DVD player valued at $700 were missing.
Another Lexington Avenue resident reported that on June 16, the window had been smashed out of their car and the center console had been pried out. One hundred dollars was stolen from a visor, police said.
Another car break-in took place on Oct. 14 on Grove Street in which blood left at the scene was linked to Sanchez.
On two of the burglaries, Sanchez was sentenced to four years in jail, suspended after two years served, and followed by five years of probation. The sentences are to be served consecutively, totaling eight years in jail.
On the remaining three burglaries, Sanchez was sentenced to five years in jail, sentence suspended, followed by five years of probation.
Sanchez was also ordered to pay restitution, to undergo substance abuse evaluation and counseling, and to have no contact with complaining witnesses.
Based on a request from Sanchezs attorney Liz Reid of the public defenders office, Sanchezs sentence will be imposed on Oct. 19 in order for the man to receive medical attention.
llake@hearstmediact.com
As it makes its way north, Hurricane Irma is causing havoc and extreme damage to parts of the Caribbean and now the U.S. At one point, the hurricane was so strong in the Caribbean that it was identified as a Category 5, breaking the record for the most powerful storm ever detected in the open Atlantic.
While people have been advised to evacuate areas that might be affected, some have decided to tough it out. One person in particular who has been quite vocal about the hurricane is Virgin Group founder Richard Branson. Branson and some of his Virgin team decided to stick it out and take cover at Bransons Necker Island home in the British Virgin Islands. Branson himself shared before-and-after updates through his blog and on social media starting on Sept. 5 before the storm made its way to the private island.
Related: What Richard Branson Learned From His 7 Biggest Failures
Its tradition for Branson to coop up at his home on Necker Island and stick it out through major hurricanes -- hes done so three times throughout the past 30 years, and this record-breaking storm was no different. On Sept. 5, as Hurricane Irma approached, Branson shared to Twitter that he and his Virgin team would be staying on the island.
I will be on Necker alongside our team if Hurricane #Irma hits, as I have been each time weve got a hurricane here https://t.co/JxlBC3GRW5 pic.twitter.com/yPiyOfZrA5 Richard Branson (@richardbranson) September 5, 2017
Branson explained in a blog post how they were preparing. We have constructed really strong buildings (with hurricane blinds) that should be able to handle extreme weather pretty well, he wrote.
Adding some fun to the situation, Branson shared how the team was feeling just hours before the storm, describing them as calm and upbeat -- playing games, watching wildlife and having a massive sleepover.
I haven't had a sleepover quite like this since I was a kid. Wonderful team here on Necker all well https://t.co/tF84SPx7aB #Irma pic.twitter.com/DnnfUaeXhd Richard Branson (@richardbranson) September 6, 2017
Just because they were able to make the most of the experience doesnt mean they werent prioritizing safety. Branson urged people in the hurricanes path to take appropriate shelter and stay informed. Have a plan for where you can stay, have a go-bag with disaster supplies and have a family emergency communication plan, he wrote.
Sharing his teams plans of moving to a concrete wine cellar for safety, Branson jokingly wrote in his blog post, I suspect there will be little wine left in the cellar when we all emerge.
Expecting full force of Hurricane #Irma in about 4 hours, well retreat to a concrete wine cellar under the house https://t.co/tF84SPx7aB pic.twitter.com/wMUDoX3O4v Richard Branson (@richardbranson) September 6, 2017
After Irma hit, on Sept. 7 Branson became vocal again to share that he and his team had made it through the hurricane. Then it was time to assess the damage and begin relief efforts. In a blog post labeled Hurricane Irma, Branson wrote, We are still assessing the damage, but whole houses and trees have disappeared. Outside of the bunker, bathroom and bedroom doors and windows have flown 40 feet away. Im speaking these words from a satellite phone that is just about working, but all other communications are down. (He was dictating his blog to a staff member located elsewhere.) He urged everyone to stay safe.
Related: Is Every Entrepreneur a Bit of a Daredevil? Sir Richard Branson Thinks So.
Never seen anything like Hurricane #Irma. I cannot stress enough, seek strong shelter, stay inside, stay safe https://t.co/0ji8qCZR6K pic.twitter.com/AM3r9hA9Fq Richard Branson (@richardbranson) September 7, 2017
While they continued to wait for more information about the damage, Branson didnt waste time, and quickly, Virgin partnered with the British Red Cross to help provide relief and aid to those affected.
By Sept. 8, Branson began sharing photos of the Irma aftermath and updates from the BVI. The boats are piled up like matchsticks in the harbour. Huge cargo ships were thrown out of the water and into rocks. Resorts have been decimated. The houses have their roofs blown off; even some churches where people sheltered have lost roofs, he shared in another blog post.
The team traveled to neighboring islands to bring water and supplies. In the same blog post, Branson called upon agencies and governments to do everything they could in providing aid to those impacted.
As with Necker & Moskito, buildings destroyed but people thankfully all seem ok so far https://t.co/U0m3Kf1APM #Irma pic.twitter.com/8dWfUIbOuP Richard Branson (@richardbranson) September 8, 2017
Now, Branson is still traveling to islands and countries throughout the Caribbean to raise awareness, help people and rebuild communities. This story is about the tens of thousands of people who have lost their homes and their livelihoods, he wrote in his blog post, Recovering from Hurricane Irma. We have seen first-hand just how ferocious and unforgiving this storm was.
Related: Richard Branson: To Be Successful, Take the Stairs
In Puerto Rico mobilising aid efforts for BVI & Caribbean. Comms still largely down in BVI after Hurricane #Irma https://t.co/0USuxvk1dS pic.twitter.com/csq3BsLVdA Richard Branson (@richardbranson) September 10, 2017
In his updates, he shows the damage from the storm on Necker Island; however, he also points to the others who have been affected. He is also calling for a Disaster Recovery Marshall Plan for the BVI and other territories, which will aid in recovery, sustainable reconstruction and long-term revitalisation of the local economy.
Necker damage huge, but BVI #Irma story is not about Necker - about 1000s of people who've lost homes & livelihoods https://t.co/0USuxvk1dS pic.twitter.com/BaUpvJ22pv Richard Branson (@richardbranson) September 10, 2017
Related:
Here's How Richard Branson Survived Hurricane Irma and How He's Helping Others
The 5 Actions You Must Take to Beat the Fear Blocking Your Success
Crazy Things Elon Musk, Mark Cuban and Others Did to Get to the Top
Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com
Building a company from the ground up requires determination, innovation and strong leadership. But what happens once that company gains success? It still needs strong leadership, but it may need a different kind.
Related: 8 Questions to Answer Before Selecting a New CEO
Every CEO aspires to be the next Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. But these are more the exception than the rule. Most companies go through several CEO transitions over their lifetime. For startups especially, its rare that a founding CEO will stay on throughout the companys growth.
Through his research into startup businesses, Harvard business professor Noam Wasserman found that four out of five startup founders are forced out of the CEO role. And, in an interview with Harvard Business Schools Working Knowledge website, he explained the reasons for these frequent oustings of founding CEOs.
The challenges within the company change so dramatically that the person who was best suited to lead the early stage of company development is no longer the best person to continue leading the company, Wasserman said.
Startup founders need to be entrepreneurs with vision and audacity. But scaling a company requires a different set of skills. The CEO needs to have operational expertise and know how to manage people. Few people have both sets of skills.
It is for this reason that many CEOs step down from their leadership roles. Lets look at three of these former CEOs and the situations that forced them to leave the companies they themselves had started:
1. Jerry Yang, of Yahoo! Inc.
Jerry Yang and his pal David Filo started a website to index the internet back in 1994 and called it Jerry and Davids Guide to the World Wide Web. This online directory was the beginning of Yahoo! While the company found great success in its early years, it fell behind as other giants came into play -- like Google.
Related: Superstar CEOs: A Tough Act To Follow
In 2008, Microsoft offered $44.6 billion to buy Yahoo! - which Yang turned down. Criticism of his decision along with the controversy surrounding his dealings in China led to this founder's downfall. In short, Yang was unable to keep up in a rapidly growing market. While his initial innovation put Yahoo! on the map, the company didn't remain relevant.
CEOs need to lead their companies through both the good times and the bad. Without the strength or know-how to get through difficult or even crisis situations, CEOs run the risk of driving their companies into the ground.
2. Mark Pincus, of Zynga
Mark Pincus founded social gaming company Zynga in 2007 and found explosive success with games like the wildly popular FarmVille. But the company wasnt prepared for the shift to mobile and floundered as others sped past. The company's stock fell and employees were laid off; and in 2013, Pincus stepped down from his position as CEO.
Pincus has been very up-front about his shortcomings as CEO. In an interview with Re/code, he said, I think I give myself high marks being an entrepreneur and entrepreneuring a big idea about how popular social gaming could be. But I learned a lot of hard lessons on the CEO front and do not give myself very high marks as a CEO of a large-scale company.
Pincus is a classic example of the skills gap for someone transitioning from startup CEO to growth-company CEO. Without the right skills, leaders in this scenario won't be equipped to lead the company, and the company will suffer for it.
3. Andrew Mason of Groupon
Founded in 2008, Groupon gained initial success, but struggled to maintain its growth. When Groupons stock price fell to $2.93 in 2013, founder and CEO Andrew Mason was fired.
Mason was criticized throughout his tenure as CEO for his wild publicity stunts and controversial tactics. In 2012, he was named "Worst CEO of the Year" by Herb Greenberg of CNBC. In an article for CNBC Greenberg wrote, "Mason's goofball antics, which can come off more like a big kid than company leader, almost make a mockery of corporate leadership -- especially for a company with a market value of more than $3 billion. It would be excusable, even endearing, if the company were doing well (think Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines) but it's not.
Even at the point of his departure, Mason kept up the spectacle. He sent employees a memorable email, writing, After four and a half intense and wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, Ive decided that Id like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding -- I was fired today. If youre wondering why . . . you havent been paying attention.
Related: The Route to Becoming CEO Depends on Where You Live
When companies are struggling, its important for the CEO to stay on track and be a pillar of strength for others. If this person doesnt seem like he or she takes the company seriously, why should anyone else?
What do you think is the most important skill needed to be a successful CEO? Let me know in the comments below:
Related:
H
h
2
Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com
NORWALK Young Jewish Professionals, Connecticut, will host a Rosh Hashanah Sinner Dinner at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 13 Tarone Drive in Norwalk.
The dinner will include holiday specialties, round raisin challah bread, apples and honey, as well as exotic fruit as is customary to eat on the holiday. Rosh Hashana is the Jewish New Year and the day that the world was created, according to Jewish tradition. It is a chance to begin anew as well. The cost to attend is $25.
The YJP, CT, serves as a hub for networking and social activities for Jewish singles, couples and professionals in their 20s and 30s serving the many young Jews living and working in and around Fairfield County. The YJP, CT, focuses on improving and expanding the social life of Fairfield Countys young Jewish professionals.
For more information call 203-635-4118 or visit www.yjpct.org or email Youngjewishp@gmail.com.
Following the murder of 7-year-old Pradyuman in Gurgaon's Ryan International School on Friday, authorities in the national capital have swung into action.
By Pooja Shali: Following the murder of 7-year-old Pradyuman in Gurgaon's Ryan International School on Friday, authorities in the national capital have swung into action.
The Delhi Police has sent out an advisory to educational institutions and parents stating what they must ensure on priority.
Speaking to India Today, Crime Branch DCP and PRO of Delhi Police Madhur Verma said, "There are three parameters that schools are being advised to follow. They must employ non-teaching staff primarily from authorised agencies. Secondly, schools must put up CCTV cameras at premises that are highly prone to illegal activity. Thirdly, they must get verification completed by the police."
advertisement
In a press briefing on Monday, the Delhi government said the schools had been ordered to immediately begin with the verification process for non-teaching staff.
"This added task of carrying out verifications will certainly make our work more taxing, but we will be able to manage. We have the resources to get this done. The Delhi Police usually sticks to its own deadline of two weeks to verify records", added Verma.
WHAT ALL IS VERIFIED
The verification of an individual includes examining any previous criminal records, doing a background check of their past/permanent residential address and the current place of stay. A community check of the neighbourhood where a person stays that may indicate any irrational behaviour is also carried out.
Delhi Police also has an advice for parents, who do not use school transport facilities to send their children. "Many parents use public transport like hired vans to send their children to school. It is advised that they ensure the drivers and vans are from authorised companies", the police said.
On Tuesday afternoon, sources in the Delhi government confirmed that Education Minister Manish Sisodia directed the Directorate of Education to compile a list of liquor vends around schools. According to sources, if a Delhi school objects to a liquor outlet, even if it is located under legal guidelines, authorities have been asked to see to it that it is shut down.
ALSO READ |
Ryan murder: Doctor finds no marks of sexual assault; bus conductor only one involved
Parents protest outside Ryan International School in Sanpada, Mumbai
Ryan School: How son of a farmer built his business empire of education
ALSO WATCH VIDEO | Ryan murder: Post-mortem report says there was no sexual assault
--- ENDS ---
WILTON Pianist Kyung Hee Cho has played for benefit concerts for many years in Connecticut, New York and California.
One year, she invited her students to perform with her and found they were also excited to share their talents for a good cause.
Thus started the annual Playing by Heart benefit concert, named after the heart behind raising money for one or two beneficiaries and the heart by which pianists memorize and play their pieces.
Over the last several years, Cho and her students have raised money to send mosquito nets to the Amazon area, to help children with cancer enjoy a summer camp in Connecticut and to provide backpacks for children in need.
On Saturday, Sept 16, a group of her advanced students will play for the eleventh year to raise funds for Integrated Refugee and Immigration Services, an agency that helps refugees settle in Connecticut. Funds raised will go toward IRIS efforts in helping refugees secure housing and employment, providing daily English lessons, finding child care and registering children in local schools.
It is a great joy to see them playing by heart for people in need near and far, Cho said.
And I have to say that it has been my joy to plan, work, laugh, and grow together as we prepare this event every year, she added.
The concert starts at 2:30 p.m. at the Brubeck Room inside Wilton Library at 137 Old Ridgefield Road. Students will play selections from Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Schumann and Gershwin, and will be joined by flautist Seohyun Hong, a Staples High School senior and a member of the Norwalk Youth Symphony for the past eight years.
Although these pianists play in a recital every year, they would agree that preparation for the benefit concert is different from other performances. And while the extra effort to memorize long and complex pieces of music can often be nerve-wracking, this process is the only way to come to truly know and love a piece of music, said Sharon Kesselman, of Wilton, one of two adult performers.
Peyton Lauricella, a Wilton sophomore student, agreed.
There is greater pressure to perform exceptionally well, given the charitable cause of the concert, Lauricella said.
This is also true for Colin Hong, a Norwalk eighth-grader who will be playing for the first time.
You have to practice a lot more than for a normal recital, but it is worth it knowing that you are performing to raise money to help people survive, Hong said.
Admission is $15 for adults and $10 for students; additional donations are welcome. The event is sponsored by Fairfield Grace United Methodist Church and Easton Area Congregations Together in Service.
skim@hearstmediact.com; 203-842-2568; @stephaniehnkim
HASTINGS A possible suspect was arrested in connection with a Hastings mans death after the body was found Monday morning.
According to the Hastings Police Department, 19-year-old Jose Hansens body was found after a couple was taking a morning walk. Officers responded around 6:30 a.m. Monday to the 700 block of West G Street and found Hansens body. Police concluded Hansens death suspicious after they found he suffered a gunshot wound.
Deante H. Mullen, a 19-year-old Lincoln resident, was arrested Monday night in Lincoln. Hastings Police worked with officers from the Lincoln Police Department to locate Mullen, who was arrested by the University of Nebraska Police Department on a Lancaster County warrant and other charges.
According to Lincoln police, they learned Mullen was a suspect in the Hastings homicide and that he may have returned to Lincoln. The Lincoln police Duty Commander contacted UNLPD to inform them of Mullen. Monday at 11 p.m., dispatch notified UNLPD officers that Mullen was at the Caseys Convenience store at 3291 Holdrege Street, which is near the University of Nebraska-Lincolns East Campus. Mullen had an active Lincoln police warrant for theft and failure to appear in court, according to LPD.
UNLPD officers arrested Mullen and found narcotics and a stolen firearm in his possession. Mullen tucked the firearm, which was stolen out of Abilene, Kansas, between the drivers seat and the center console. UNLPD officers gave Mullen verbal commands as he ran toward the car where the firearm was. UNLPD officers took him into custody during the escalating situation that Lincoln police said could have ended much differently.
Mullen was charged with possession of a stolen firearm, four counts of possession of a controlled substance, two counts of intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a firearm while committing a felony and refusing to comply with a police officer. Mullen was also charged with possession of money while violating statue 28-416. The statute outlines that its unlawful to distribute, manufacture, deliver, dispense or possess with intent, a controlled substance.
Hastings police will continue to investigate Hansens death.
Fort Pierce had the distinction of receiving more rainfall from Hurricane Irma than any other location in Florida, according to former Grand Island resident Bill Brennan.
Brennan waited out the hurricane, along with his mother, in a local shelter.
Brennan, former grants development coordinator for the CHI Health Foundation and also former executive editor at The Grand Island Independent, is making Fort Pierce his retirement home. Fort Pierce is located on the east coast of Florida, about 110 miles north of Miami.
I think it was 27 inches in two days, said Brennan, who said that amount is more than Grand Islands annual average precipitation.
Brennan said he took his mother, who suffers from asthma and other medical conditions, to the Fort Pierce shelter in part because it was staffed with doctors and nurses to take care of people special needs. Because of her asthma, he said, his mother struggles to breathe when the low-pressure center of any hurricane or storm passes through the community. Brennan said his mother needs to use a nebulizer in such instances.
Brennan also stayed at the shelter, partly because he was worried about the damage Hurricane Irma might do to Fort Pierce, even if the eye of the hurricane and the storms strongest winds did not hit the community. Even if Hurricane Irmas path had taken it down the center of Florida, we would have had a lot of destruction, he added.
Brennan said he never considered traveling north to escape the hurricane. Even if he only had to worry about himself, he said it makes much more sense to drive 10 miles and ride out the hurricane in a safe shelter. Another option would be staying with a friend who has a house on higher ground and built to withstand a hurricanes high winds.
He said it makes no sense to get on an interstate and try to drive north to safety. The people in Georgia are getting pummeled, he said. In Florida, there is no way to hide from a hurricane.
We checked in Friday, said Brennan. They returned to his condo about noon on Monday.
The first outer bands of Hurricane Irma, consisting of both rain and wind, started hitting Fort Pierce about mid-afternoon Saturday, Brennan said. We had about 10 inches of rain even before the real part of the hurricane hit, he said.
Flooding was more our problem, he added. There was some wind damage. I think the highest wind gust on the barrier island was 99 (miles per hour) and the highest gust in Fort Pierce was 89, so those are not real high.
Up to about 120, most structures are going to hold up. Once you get above 120, thats when things really start happening, especially if they are sustained winds.
Brennan said there was some storm surge in Fort Pierce because of Irma. The barrier island itself the beaches are going to be wrecked for a while, he said.
Most of the damage to Fort Pierce was caused by flooding, even though the winds generated by Irma got considerably worse as Saturday wore on. He said 10 tornado warnings were issued for Fort Pierce between about 10 p.m. Saturday and the time that Hurricane Irma left the area on Sunday.
Brennan said his own condominium only lost some shingles and experienced no water damage. The inside was untouched.
He said the same was true for his mothers condo, which is located about two blocks away from his home. Brennan said another brother who lives in the same general neighborhood did have some water damage to his roof and ceiling. That water damage was caused because the wind had torn away enough shingles to let water get in the structure.
He said all three homes are located in an area called High Point, and it lived up to its name.
When a hurricane or flooding is forecast for Fort Pierce, Brennan said the people in the High Point neighborhood drive their cars over the grass to park as near as possible to their homes and condos. The area is configured to put residences high above the potential water line, he added, while the streets and other parts of the neighborhood might get some flooding.
Because Hurricane Irma was so big that it stretched from coast to coast in Florida. Brennan said the low-lying areas of Fort Pierce were heavily flooded. As far inland as Interstate 95, about 8 or 9 miles from the states east coast, there is a former mall that is now surrounded by water, he said.
Some people are going to have their homes ruined, Brennan said. Were very fortunate.
Laura Kelsay has one less secret to keep between her friends and family.
The Grand Islander won Mondays 34th season premiere episode of Jeopardy!, with a total earnings of $14,400.
Laura watched the episode with about 20 friends and family members at The Chicken Coop in Grand Islands Railside. She waited months for this day, as she filmed the episode in April.
Can we do a selfie with the celebrity? one of her friends said as Laura walked into the room.
A framed photo of Laura and the famous Jeopardy! host, Alex Trebek, was propped up on a table in the restaurants dining area. As the show started and Laura was introduced, cheers and claps filled the room. Laura wore the same necklace she wore when she filmed the episode, which is filled with her grandmothers ashes.
It didnt take Laura long to gain the lead ahead of the other two contestants.
What is amnesia? Laura said as she answered her first question.
She seemed to keep her calm through the entire episode, clutching the buzzer in her right hand with her thumb ready to strike at the right moments.
At a few points, Laura had a streak, taking the cake and getting several questions in a row.
Her friends and family stared at the several screens, bright-eyed and lit up with smiles. By the second commercial break, Laura was at $8,200, a big lead to the others roughly two and three thousand.
Jim Kelsay, Lauras dad, wasnt able to travel to California in April to see her compete. However, he was excited to be able to watch her on the show shes watched for decades.
He said it was a little nerve-wrecking watching her at first, but its lots of fun.
Jan Pelland, Lauras mom, said its hard to put into words watching her daughter on the show.
Even being there and seeing her do it, Pelland said. Its surreal.
Lisa Sanchez, Lauras best friend, also went to Aprils taping. She said when she was there, it was like biting nails because she was so nervous for Laura.
Watching the episode isnt as bad, though.
You know whats going to happen, but its still exciting.
Pelland and Sanchez were relieved they no longer have to keep the secret of how Laura did on her first episode.
Laura hit the Daily Double as the episode neared the end. The question hinted at the gaudy and glittery nickname for the movie industry.
What is tinsel...what is tinseltown? Laura said, waging $3,000. With that question, she upped her total to $16,400.
The final Jeopardy! question stumped all of the contestants, however, Laura only waged $2,000. She didnt take a large hit to her total. She said she knew not to bet the whole farm.
Lots of hugs came Lauras way from the many who supported her.
Laura said she wont get the money for a few months, but other than putting it in savings, she plans on traveling to the British Isles, donating to charity, and buying each of her four parents a nice gift.
She felt she represented Nebraska well, something most wont argue with, as she came away stunning everyone with her intelligence and wit. Representing Grand Island and Nebraska was important to Laura, and shell get to do it again on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
The Northwest school board and Northwest administrators have come full circle, with Superintendent Matt Fisher and board members wanting to get public input and feedback on the idea of a middle school.
Board members themselves indicated during Monday nights meeting that they believe the district should have a middle school, although there was disagreement on exactly what that means.
Board member Duane Witt said that if Northwest Public Schools is not the only district in the state that does not have a middle school, then it is one of only a very few Nebraska school districts that does not provide a middle school for its students. I think were doing our kids, our district kids, a disservice by not having a middle school, Witt said. He said the district is not providing the same educational opportunities for its sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students as other school districts.
Board member Bret Mader said he thinks there is a lot of value to a middle school concept, whether it be a stand-alone middle school or not. He said one of the biggest questions facing Northwest is the question of option funding dollars and whether the amount per pupil is going to decrease again.
Right now, we have about 500 district kids, Mader said. He said that if Northwest builds a middle school and does not consolidate any of its other schools, it would have seven buildings, which would include the high school, middle school, Cedar Hollow, District 1-R, St. Libory, Chapman and Lockwood. That is a gamble, in my mind, of making sure that we can fill all those buildings with option students, he said.
Mader noted most other school districts do not rely on option funding the way Northwest does. Thats the scary part about it, Mader said. Is the money going to be there.
Superintendent Matt Fisher said that historically, the state of Nebraska has provided good financial support for option students. But he said if people look at the here and now, the state is struggling financially, which raises some question marks.
Advisory board member Scott Eriksen said that Northwest does not want to reduce the number of option students drastically, because having too few students might endanger the programming that now attracts many students to Northwest High School.
Northwest High School Principal Tim Krupicka sounded much the same, saying he would very much oppose putting sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders in the same building as the high school students. He said that would create difficulty in scheduling. He said he would be uncomfortable having sixth-graders at Northwest High School and he thought some parents would be reluctant to have sixth-graders in the same school as high school students, because it will be impossible to completely segregate middle school students from the high school students.
Krupicka said Northwest is at an all-time high enrollment with more than 750 students. Because Northwest has a small senior class it seems likely that high school enrollment will grow again next year. He said bringing in 200 middle school students would endanger programming that it took years to build up and build up and build up. He noted that programming would be put at risk by an intentional decision to reduce 9-12 enrollment at Northwest.
Constructing a new middle school would take care of those problems, but no one at Mondays meeting could say if there would be support for the bond issue that almost certainly have to be proposed to build a 6-8 building.
In other action Monday evening, the board approved a budget with a total property tax bill at just over $9.12 million. That will require a total property tax levy of 89.5 cents per hundred dollars of property value, which would be a school property tax bill just over $895 on a $100,000 home for the coming fiscal year. That compares to a total levy of 96.7 cents per hundred dollars of valuation or just over $967 in school property taxes on a $100,000 home for the 2016-17 budget year.
After much discussion, the board approved a bid from R8 Productions to provide house lighting for the Northwest auditorium at a cost of $27,660 and stage lighting at a cost of $49,306 for a total of $79,966. The biggest debate was whether to table the agenda item with Mader and some other board members questioning whether it was worthwhile to spend that much money when it quite likely would remain necessary to rent some stage lighting for the high schools spring musicals.
However, vocal music director David Sackschewsky told board members that no additional lights would need to be rented for some musicals, while only minimal rental costs would be necessary for other musicals.
"You know that BJP always says that what Rahul Gandhi says, does, is not very important. But I am surprised that all BJP's spokespersons, cabinet minister of I and B (Information and Broadcasting ministry) have held a press conference to negate what he said in America." Pilot said.
By Dev Ankur Wadhawan: Congress leader Sachin Pilot today said he understood if the BJP was jealous of his party's achievements, hours after Union minister Smriti Irani called its vice-president, Rahul Gandhi, a failed dynast.
Dynasty politics was one of the many themes Rahul explored in his speech at the University of California, Berkeley on Monday.
He also accused the Narendra Modi administration of "massively" opening up "space for the terrorists in Kashmir" and said demonetisation had caused tremendous damage to the Indian economy.
Articulate speech and great interaction by #RGinUS today. Took on all the students' questions boldly #SachBharat @officeofRG- Sachin Pilot (@SachinPilot) September 12, 2017
advertisement
Smriti Irani's seemed to summarize her take on the speech in this line: "A failed dynast today chose to speak about his failed political journey in the United States of America."
"(The) fact that he (Rahul Gandhi) said that dynasts and dynasties is the very fulcrum of India in itself is an anomaly," she told reporters in New Delhi.
The Congress was quick to respond.
"Today, the ruling party lacks dialogue somewhere...This is what he has said and the achievements that we have counted for 70 years, if the BJP feels somewhat jealous in its mind listening to that, then I can understand that because there is a lot of contribution of those people who ran Congress governments, in where our country has reached in 70 years," Pilot said.
There was more.
"You know that BJP always says that what Rahul Gandhi says, does, is not very important. But I am surprised that all BJP's spokespersons, cabinet minister of I and B (Information and Broadcasting ministry) have held a press conference to negate what he said in America. Rahul Gandhi has only said and I believe rightly so that there is everyone's contribution in where our country has reached in 70 years."
ON CONGRESS' 'ARROGANCE'
Irani tried to play up Rahul Gandhi's observation that the Congress had become "arrogant" in the early 2010s.
"Around 2012, arrogance crept into Congress party and we stopped having conversations with people," he told his audience at UC Berkeley.
For Irani, Rahul's admission that the Congress had became arrogant under Sonia Gandhi's leadeship was a major political confession.
ALSO READ
Rahul Gandhi rakes up demonetisation and lynching in Berkeley, says this is 'New India'
Rahul Gandhi asks PM Modi to own up the colossal failure of demonetisation
He is a failed dynast: Smriti Irani hits back at Rahul Gandhi after he slams PM Modi in US
ALSO WATCH
He is a failed dynast: Smriti Irani hits back at Rahul Gandhi
advertisement
--- ENDS ---
Describing Akhilesh Yadav as a "character in history", Yogi Adityanath said no one wants to keep Akhilesh as the name of their child.
By India Today Web Desk: Taking a jibe at his predecessor and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, firebrand Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today said no one keeps Akhilesh as their son's name.
"If I start talking about him then I think people will look back to history to find where he was. No one would want to name their kid this character in history," Adityanath said at Aaj Tak Safaigiri Awards 2017.
advertisement
The two political leaders were recently engaged in a Twitter war to claim credit for Lucknow Metro which was thrown open last week. The Samajwadi Party said the chief minister inaugurated a project that Yadav had already flagged off.
Taking another potshot at his arch-rival, the CM said he wishes that Yadav remains active on social media because he isn't good enough to be active in real life with public.
ZAFAR VS JINNAH
Yogi Adityanath said if people chose Bahadur Shah Zafar as their leader instead of Muslim League leader Muhammad Ali Jinnah then India would not have been divided in 1947.
He said Zafar was the hero of our freedom struggle.
"Had the people accepted Zafar as their leader and not Jinnah, the country would not have been divided and Pakistan would not have been suffering," Adityanath said.
Zafar, who was also a prolific Urdu poet and calligrapher, died at the age of 87 in 1862 after he was exiled by the British for participating in the revolt of 1857.
During his recent Myanmar visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited the mausoleum of the Mughal emperor in Yangon.
SUCCESSOR TO MODI?
When asked about speculations that in the 2024 Lok Sabha election he may succeed Narendra Modi as the PM candidate, Adityanath said he has never been a candidate for anything - not even for the post of chief minister in Uttar Pradesh.
"The succession thing doesn't work in BJP," he said.
The UP CM said he is the same as he was before taking up the post. "My work style and even my dress has not changed," he said.
When asked about being a 'Mahant' (religious leader) and a chief minister at the same time, he said both are two sides of the same coin.
"Both are same. They are not different as both paths are about people's welfare," Adityanath said.
Among the other issues that the chief minister spoke about was the Gorakhpur tragedy in which scores of children have died at BRD Medical College.
Adityanth said the number of deaths has declined since his government took over from the Akhilesh Yadav administration. He said cleanliness can stop encephalitis deaths, as well as other diseases.
advertisement
On the issue of potholes, he said out of 1.20 lakh km of roads they have already made 80,000 km free of potholes.
"After a people will realise that they did the right thing by voting for the BJP," he said.
WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW:
CM Yogi Adityanath at Safaigiri: Cleanliness can stop encephalitis deaths, other diseases in UP
ALSO READ:
Yogi Adityanath government scraps Samajwadi Pension Scheme, orders review of beneficiaries
Yogi Adityanath completes a month as UP CM, scraps Akhilesh's dream project
Yogi Adityanath drops 'Samajwadi' for 'Mukhyamantri' from government schemes
Yogi on scrapping spree: How Adityanath dealt with Akhilesh Yadav's pet projects
One Akhilesh Yadav project that may be spared Yogi Adityanath's axe
--- ENDS ---
Share this article Whatsapp
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin EDITORIAL (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, September 12, 2017 07:50 1889 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a203e5a6 4 Editorial #Editorial,BPJS-Kesehatan,#BPJSKesehatan,hospital,Mitra-Keluarga-Hospital,healthcare-policy,health-insurance,#health Free
A four-month-old baby in need of emergency care died recently while the management of a West Jakarta hospital reportedly tried to locate hospitals partnering with the universal health coverage, or JKN program. Investigations are under way into the death of Tiara Deborah, as by law hospitals must treat emergency cases regardless of whether patients are covered by the JKN or can pay the necessary medical-fee deposit.
The parents claim they were unable to pay the requested initial payment of Rp 11 million (US$835.68) for the pediatric intensive care unit (ICU); the baby was suffering from severe coughing and breathing difficulties. The Mitra Keluarga Hospital in West Jakarta said the parents agreed to have her transferred to a hospital partnering with the JKN, however by the time a hospital was located the infant had died. The management stated the infant was born prematurely, and suffered from congenital heart disease and malnutrition. The patient, who had reportedly been treated elsewhere beforehand, had arrived in an unconscious state, its statement said.
The private hospital chain says it is in the process of joining the JKN program, which lists only 89 partners among 189 hospitals in Jakarta. The Health Ministrys regulation states patients must be treated in emergency cases in any private or public hospital, and patients can be transferred to hospitals that are JKN partners when they have stabilized.
The public awaits the investigation findings, as part of efforts to reduce preventable deaths.
Meanwhile even as many have benefitted from the JKN, where the monthly premiums range from a mere Rp 25,500 to Rp 80,000, complaints including long waits leading to higher health risks particularly for poor and severely ill patients have persisted.
In June a resident of Bekasi, in West Java, gave birth to a stillborn baby in a caesarian operation that was finally conducted in North Jakarta after she was rejected by seven hospitals in Bekasi, including the public hospital, which had said its ICU was full. The hospital, RSUD Bekasi, was about to add 20 beds at its ICU facility to meet high demand, the management said. The patient was entitled to universal coverage but her insurance had expired, reports quoting the hospital said.
Many patients and their families are at their wits end in emergency situations. Rejected patients are confused by hospital management claims that they are out of beds, or that they have exceeded their BPJS quota, their daily share of patients covered by universal healthcare insurance managed by the Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan). Other reasons for rejecting patients include limited facilities to treat the patients emergency condition. However, patients often wonder aloud how hospital managements immediately seem to find space when they say they will pay for themselves.
Many problems still plague the JKN; while it remains in the red covering 170 million citizens, it must rush to reach the target of covering all 250 million Indonesians by 2019. At least in emergency cases patients have no recourse but to trust care givers and hospital managements to render life-saving assistance.
Share this article Whatsapp
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin JIS (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta, Indonesia Tue, September 12, 2017
Enhancing the quality of education is one of the challenges facing educators in Indonesia, with school teachers and principals who play a crucial role in this regard expected to continually improve their competence and be open to new ideas.
The Innovative Schools Program (ISP), initiated by the Emanuel Foundation and in partnership with joint cooperation schools (SPK), aims to strengthen and improve the quality of education in Indonesia, especially at primary levels.
Launched in 2008, ISP targeted school teachers and principals of public schools in Jakarta. Under this program, students are actively participating in a subject instead of just a passively receiving what is taught by their teachers.
The ISP introduces fun ways and interactive methods for elementary school teachers and principals to deliver the national curriculum; it does not change the existing curriculum, but provides new ideas on teaching it to students.
Teachers are trained in inquiry-based learning methodologies and the program supports teachers in local schools by implementing interactive and innovative lessons.
The ISP partnership is a joint effort among the Jakarta Intercultural School (JIS), Mentari School Jakarta and Emmanuel Foundation.
Workshop
- (-/-)
In 2013, JIS took part in the program. Entering its fifth year at JIS, the ISP program is reaching another milestone.
This year is really special because we have signed an agreement with the Jakarta Provincial Education Agency. We used to only serve just South Jakarta, were now serving all parts of Jakarta, explained Greg Zolkowski, intervention specialist and ISP coordinator of JIS.
What we do is we offer training and workshops to [state elementary school] teachers around instructional methodologies that make teaching and learning more interactive. Thats our focus.
JIS and Mentari School Jakarta will present the training and workshop materials. As of 2017, 381 teachers and principals from 68 public elementary schools in Jakarta have participated in the program.
Workshop participants receive training on class management, curriculum management, developing higher level thinking skills, innovative teaching strategies for Bahasa Indonesia, innovative teaching strategies for math and class assessment.
We dont teach or tell teacher what to teach, because they already have the national curriculum; we give them new ideas on how to teach, Greg said.
The ISP mentors from both JIS and Mentari School are involved in knowledge sharing with teachers from local elementary schools.
This is a fantastic experience for our teachers. Many of them are expats from other countries around the world. So, they share their knowledge and techniques about teaching. They learn technique from the United States, Australia, Canada, England, just to name a few, explained Greg.
JIS has been facilitating the training modules, materials, equipment, venue, teachers, mentors as well as graduation ceremony.
Nanik Setyowati, principal of state elementary school Lebak Bulus 04 (Morning), who is also an ISP alumnus, said that as a teacher, we learned how to teach math as a fun subject, not a difficult subject.
For example, we teach it through games. So, with the availability of ISP workshops, were happy because we can gain more knowledge. I hope the teachers will implement and applied what they learn here at their schools.
Palsapah Aeni, JIS Indonesian language teacher and ISP mentor, expressed the hope that through this program, local elementary school teachers in Jakarta can increase their professionalism and encourage their students to learn more.
Deputy head of the Jakarta Provincial Education Agency, Bowo Irianto, said that the ISP is very helpful to the Provincial Education Agency in improving the competence of teachers and educators.
- (-/-)
The ISP Program is very helpful to the Provincial Education Agency, especially in improving the competence of teachers and educators through interactive training activities that are creative, fun and motivating for students to learn effectively and constructively. The ISP also inspires various units in the Provincial Education Agency in conducting training for teachers and educators using the approach implemented in the program, Bowo said.
In the program, the Jakarta Provincial Education Agencys role is to select the participating teachers, principals and schools, while the Emmanuel Foundation establishes relations with the government and schools to ensure that the program runs well and optimally.
A brighter future requires teachers and principals working together in improving and strengthening the quality of education.
In order to encourage students to be more creative, curious and focused, the educators need to continue learning. That is what the ISP is for.
Topic :
ISP, innovative, education, JIS, international school in Jakarta, inquiry-based learning, education workshop
Share this article Whatsapp
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin FMB9 (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta, Indonesia Tue, September 12, 2017
Good and steady growth requires a lowering of inequality, according to International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID) director Sugeng Bahagijo.
"The debate isn't whether lowering inequality hampers growth. It's the opposite, in that lowering inequality will lead to ever higher growth," Sugeng said at a talk during the Forum Merdeka Barat 9 (FMB9) media forum on reducing inequality on Sept. 9.
Sugeng cited a decades worth of International Monetary Fund (IMF) research, particularly the work of Jonathan D. Ostry, which demonstrates the importance of government intervention, such as redistribution.
According to the IMF, inequality and unsustainable growth are two sides of the same coin. From its accumulated macroeconomic data, there is not a lot of evidence that redistribution undercuts economic growth, except in extreme cases.
A 2014 IMF report noted that "one should be careful not to assume therefore [...] that there is a big tradeoff between redistribution and growth. The best available macroeconomic data do not support such a conclusion."
"Redistribution is good to a certain point," Sugeng said, adding that the government's focus needed to be on redistribution toward the lower 40 percent of society as a way of reducing extreme inequality.
Share this article Whatsapp
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin News Desk (China Daily/Asia News Network) Hefei, Anhui, China Tue, September 12, 2017 09:06 1889 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a2041d67 2 Art & Culture books,bookstore,#books,China Free
Bookstores in China are using a new approach to get people to readand buy their books.
Nine bookstores recently joined a book-sharing program in Hefei, Anhui province, after a trial that took place over a month and a half. That brings the total number of outlets to 10.
With a smartphone application and a 99 yuan (US$15.18) deposit, a reader can borrow up to two books from any of the 10 stores and keep them for up to 10 days free of charge.
"Readers just need to scan the QR code on the back of each book in the store to get everything done," said Mr Zhu Fei, a manager responsible for the book-sharing programme at Anhui Xinhua Media, a state-owned company that runs the bookstores. The Sanxiaokou Xinhua Bookstore launched the programme on July 16.
"Since then, more than 20,000 people have borrowed more than 100,000 books through the app," said Anhui Xinhua Media executive Huang Zhen.
Read also: George R.R. Martin may publish 2 books in 2018who knows
But not everyone wants to give the borrowed books back.
A survey of 601 app users conducted by the company in late July found that more than 90 per cent of the readers said they may want to keep some of the borrowed books permanently, but they do not not want to visit the store again to complete the purchase, Mr Zhu said.
So, when the nine stores joined in August, the purchase of the borrowed books was made available on the app. "Borrowing also helps to bring down the risk of paying for a book you don't like," he said.
In an earlier interview with China Daily, Sanxiaokou store's former vice-head Bi Shengsi said the bookstore did not rely heavily on selling books for profit. "Selling cultural and creative products, like souvenirs, is more profitable."
Read also: Books to read when you miss 'Harry Potter'
Book sharing has expanded to 120 franchised convenience stores in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province. Media reports indicate that each of the storeshas made about 300 books available to customers. Each book is charged at one yuan for one day.
Both borrowing and returns can be handled at any one of the 120 franchise stores via the WeChat app, according to a report in Hebei Daily recently. That service will be made available in more cities in Hebei soon.
Anhui Xinhua Media's Mr Zhu said businesses can contribute more to promoting reading among citizens. "Going to libraries is inconvenient nowadays, compared with visiting stores; and reading is getting more popular in China," he said.
"Library books are often old and not popular, while the situation in bookstores is totally different."
Topics :
This article appeared on the China Daily newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
Share this article Whatsapp
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, September 12, 2017 11:04 1889 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a2045f79 1 Science & Tech Yogyakarta,Mark-Zuckerberg,Cyber-Village,#Yogyakarta,street Free
Among the streets of the Cyber Village in Yogyakarta is one named after Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
The street was named after Zuckerberg following his October 2014 visit to the village, which was previously known as Tamanan Village.
"Mark walked along that street. He stopped to chat near the security post," Antonius Sasongko, one of the founders of the Cyber Village, told kompas.com on Sunday. "Mark suddenly came by; [it was] spontaneous."
Zuckerberg had apparently become curious about the village, whose residents actively use the internet to help with their daily activities, and arrived on a visit without notice.
Read also: Mark Zuckerberg welcomes second daughter in Facebook post
After speaking to local residents for about an hour, Zuckerberg continued on his journey to Jakarta.
Coinciding with their Independence Day celebrations on Aug. 17, village residents decided to name the street he had walked along as "Zuckerberg Street".
Another figure who has inspired a street name in the village is Communications and Information Minister Rudiantara, who has visited a few times, most recently on Saturday.
"Pak Rudi has been here three times. He always passes along the same street, where there is a resident whose house has quite a large lawn. Pak Rudi likes to sit there," said Antonius.
Read also: Bogor street named after late scholar Andi Hakim Nasoetion
Cyber Village has reportedly seen an increase in visitors since Zuckerberg dropped by three years ago, as curious foreign tourists also make it a stop to take a glimpse into the village's daily life.
The villagers are digitally literate and one of their most popular facilities is Facebook, through which they discuss common concerns, announce meetings, share wedding invitations and announce births, as well as utilize as a marketplace for small-medium businesses.
With an active internet connection since 2009, Antonius said the villagers funded the facility independently, and without government assistance.
Antonius added that this fact appeared to have amazed Zuckerberg during his visit, when he also suggested that the concept be applied to other villages in Indonesia. (liz/kes)
Share this article Whatsapp
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin Charmaine Ng (The Straits Times/Asia News Network) Tue, September 12, 2017 12:32 1889 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a204c62c 2 Environment monkey-selfie,lawsuit,#lawsuit,photographer,selfie Free
After a two-year legal battle, the dispute between a photographer and an animal rights group over a "monkey selfie" has come to a close.
British photographer David Slater has won the appeal against People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) over the copyright of the photograph, which was taken by a seven-year-old rare crested macaque named Naruto.
The animal, which lives on a reserve in Indonesia, had used Mr Slater's camera to take several photographs, including several selfies, in 2011.
After the monkey's selfie went viral, Peta filed a suit in 2015 against the photographer on the macaque's behalf, arguing that it should be declared the owner of the photo and receive damages for copyright infringement that would be used for habitat preservation.
But while the animal had pulled the trigger, a judge in the United States ruled in January last year that it cannot own the copyright to the photograph because it is not human.
Read also: Public asked to name rare albino orangutan
Peta then filed an appeal against the ruling, but it was recently dismissed as both parties have reached a settlement, said the animal rights group on their website on Monday.
On Tuesday, lawyers for Peta said that Mr Slater has agreed to donate a quarter of any future revenue from selling the photograph.
The funds will go to registered charities "dedicated to protecting the welfare or habitat of Naruto", said both parties in a joint statement, reported the BBC.
Peta also said it would continue to establish legal rights for animals.
"Everyone deserves the rights we hold dear: to live as they choose, to be with their families, to be free from abuse and suffering, and to benefit from their own creations," said the animal rights group on its website.
Topics :
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
By Pramod Madhav: As many as 12 resolutions were passed in the AIADMK's General Council meeting held at the Srivari Marriage Hall in Chennai's Vanagaram area today. Sasikala was removed from the post of the party's general secretary and power was shared equally shared between Chief Minister Palaniswami and his deputy Panneerselvam.
TTV Dinakaran, who was on his way from Madurai to Chennai, called this a betrayal of trust. "EPS has betrayed Sasikala, who made him the chief minister. This is not a General Council meeting and the merger is between betrayers", Dinakaran said. He is miffed with the fact that despite repeatedly warning against holding the General Council meeting, EPS went ahead with it.
advertisement
As a resolution was passed to announce Jayalalithaa as the permanent AIADMK general secretary, thereby thwarting the chances of anyone else occupying that post, Dinakaran asked whether the General Council had the guts to announce her (Amma) as the permanent chief minister. Dinakaran later warned Chief Minister EPS that he was working now to oust the latter from power.
DINAKARAN REJECTS GENERAL COUNCIL's DECISION ON SASIKALA
Dinakaran claimed that the matter of Sasikala's continuing as AIADMK general secretary was before the court and hence no decision of the General Council would be binding.
On the other hand, Semmalai, an MLA from the OPS faction, stated that the General Council had passed some appreciable resolutions. When asked about how Deputy Chief Minister OPS' demands were still only half fulfilled as Sasikala was not removed from the party but only from the post of general secretary, he said said that for now they were fine with it. Semmalai couldn't clarify convincingly how an AIADMK faction could remove Sasikala from the general secretary's post when she was appointed to the post by the AIADMK as a single party.
It is for now unclear how the party will now function with two leaders sharing equal powers. In a way, the decisions taken at the general council may also create more confusions within the party.
ALSO READ |
With Sasikala, Dinakaran ouster, wheels of change in AIADMK come full circle
AIADMK general council meeting: Sasikala, Dinakaran sacked, Jaya to be 'eternal' party head
Setback for Dinakaran as court allows general council meet called by OPS-EPS
WATCH VIDEO | AIADMK general council meeting: Sasikala, Dinakaran sacked
--- ENDS ---
Share this article Whatsapp
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin Luh De Suriyani (The Jakarta Post) Bondowoso Tue, September 12, 2017 09:17 1889 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a20429e6 4 Food coffee,#coffee,festival,#festival,Bondowoso,#EastJava Free
Coffee lovers can be any age. Local residents, young and old, crowded around to try free coffee from 12 tester thermos bottles containing Robusta coffee from various provinces across the country during the 2nd Nusantara Coffee Festival in the town square of Bondowoso, East Java, in August.
They did not have to go all the way to Aceh to taste its world famous Gayo coffee or to Bali to sip the renowned Kintamani coffee. A diverse selection of coffee varieties were proudly displayed during the festival, which also brought together farmers, coffee farmers, coffee shop owners and trendy baristas.
Through the event, Bondowoso tried to popularize its adopted second name, the Republic of Coffee. In addition to coffee tasting, the city also organized coffee roasting, specialty, blending and brewing competitions as well as latte art demos and jazz music.
The prominence of young people indicated the commoditys rising popularity, especially within the downstream sector with the growth of coffee shops and product diversification.
Within the upstream sector, many farmers also believe coffee production is making headway. One of them, Hadi Wijaya, 27, displayed various Arabica coffee beans from Bondowoso at his booth.
Hadi comes from the Ijen Raung Java Coffee Cluster plot, which was developed by the local administration on the land of state-owned forestry company Perhutani.
Formerly, we only grew and harvested the crop before it was handed off to middlemen. Now, we can process it ourselves, he said, adding that he was now capable of completing post-harvest handling as well as fermenting and roasting.
Through the generations: A coffee-farming family sits at their booth, which displays specialty coffee from Bondowoso (left) and Bondowoso Blue Mountain Coffee. (JP/Luh De Suriyani)
Hadis enthusiasm may have been aroused by the success of Mat Husen, a first-generation coffee farmer who was trained and supported by the Bondowoso administration to export local coffee to other countries. Mat Husen is today becoming increasingly famous for his Mat Coffee.
An air of optimism prevailed during a dialogue between officials, association members and coffee farmers at the festivals Meet and Greet program. Nearly all collaborating parties joined the discussion, including the Bondowoso regent, the plantations director general, Sustainable Coffee Platform of Indonesia (SCOPI), Specialty Coffee Association of Indonesia, Coffee and Cacao Research Center in Jember and farmer group members.
Bondowoso is a success story in the development of farmers cooperation by utilizing Perhutanis land. Regent H. Amin Said Husni said he was very proud of the power of coffee to assemble and unite officials, farmers and businesspeople. Last year on May 22, he declared Bondowoso the Republic of Coffee during the 2016 Ijen Festival.
The term Republic, he said, was meant to imply sovereignty.
Investments are allowed but they should focus on farmers welfare, rather than just profit making. For instance, Saudi Arabia is interested in Robusta, and has requested at least 300 hectares. I welcome the bid, on the condition the farmers well-being is upheld he said.
Bondowosos coffee exports account for a third of its production, leaving the rest for the domestic market.
Bambang, the directorate general of plantations at the Ministry of Agriculture, said he supported the collaboration between Perhutani and the coffee farmers, saying it was in line with President Joko Jokowi Widodos expectations.
Forest land in combination with coffee agriculture creates benefits and contributes to environmental conservation, he said, adding that the demand for coffee on the world market continued to grow, reaching around 9 million tons and rising by 300,000 tons annually.
Take a sip: Visitors participate in a coffee-tasting event featuring the produce of coffee farmer groups from 132 regions across the archipelago. (JP/Luh De Suriyani)
Currently, the country can produce around 640,000 tons of beans. Of the total output, 96 percent is contributed by farmers, so the support of different parties is needed.
Veronica Herlina, executive director of SCOPI, also affirmed her focus on farmers welfare. At the end of the festival, SCOPI provided training for 60 participants from 15 provinces who aspired to become master trainers who would possess the skills to train coffee farmers.
The free coffee savored by locals during the festivals opening had been entered into the specialty category contest for Robusta and Arabica coffees. The ten best entries were selected from 132 regions. The Arabica winners were Toraja, North Sulawesi; Samboga, Bandung; Prigen, Pasuruan; Kelendung, Temanggung; Kaliwining, Banjarnegara; Ijen Raung, Bondowoso; Flores Bajawa, Ngada; Bumiaji-Batu, Malang; Bowongso, Wonosobo and Bandung.
The top ten Robusta entrants were Wonotunggul, Batang; Wewena, Southwest Sumba; Tani Maju 3, Bondowoso; Maesan, Bondowoso; Kandangan, Temanggung; Kalipucang, Tutur; Bangumudal, Pemalang; Wonotunggal, Batang; Sapuran, Wonosobo and Dampit, Malang.
Premium coffee was not developed overnight in Bondowoso. The administration has written a book chronicling the farmers and officials journey, titled Bondowoso Republik Kopi.
Bondowoso has been inseparable from the countrys coffee history since the 19th century when the regency was part of the Besuki Raya Plantation, the produce of which was known globally as Java Coffee.
Part of the Bondowoso region, often described as a highland paradise, is a mountainous area, which sits at an altitude of 500-1000 meters above sea level, suitable for the growth of Arabica, the premium coffee variety.
Amin said that since 2010 his administration had given serious support to farmers in the Mount Raung and Ijen zone, especially in Sumberwringin district, to develop the Arabica coffee cluster. Training and facilities were provided, including fertilizer and seedlings, with the target of boosting coffee production and developing agro-tourism.
The regency also cooperated with the Coffee and Cacao Research Center and secured some capital aid from Bank Indonesia and Bank Jatim. In 2011, the farmers coffee production was assessed as export worthy. Through PT Indokom, the first export went to Switzerland, totaling 186 tons. In 2013, this cluster received a Geographic Indication certificate from the Law and Human Rights Ministry as the patent for the Java Ijen Raung Arabica Coffee Cluster brand.
Coffee production increased to 1,500 tons in 2015. Of the total, 800 tons were exported at a sale value of around Rp 48 billion (US$3.6 million). With increasing production and the size of plantations, which reached 13,000 hectares last year, Bondowoso coffee seems to be on the right track to make a name for itself as part of the words coffee culture.
Share this article Whatsapp
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, September 12, 2017 07:00 1889 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a203d196 1 City identity-card,children Free
The Jakarta Civil Registry and Population Agency has issued 17,107 child ID cards (KIA) to ensure childrens constitutional rights, an official says.
Agency head Edison Sianturi said on Sunday that: "17,107 of the 30,000 cards planned to be distributed this year were issued between January and August."
He said the agency would continue to distribute cards until 2018. We are still distributing them, focusing on hospitals and schools, while next year we will put them to the test.
He added that KIA cards issuance would be prioritized for newborns at general hospitals (RSUD) in Jakarta and toddlers.
KIA cards will serve as a tool to collect data on children.
"They can also be used for health or medical benefits, or for opening a saving account and in passport applications. They will function exactly like e-ID cards," he explained.
Edison said the KIA card program would also improve data collection and public services, as well as efforts to provide protection and fulfillment of childrens constitutional rights.
In the future, a KIA will be a requirement to register for school instead of a family card [KK], he said as quoted by wartakota.tribunnews.com.
Last year, Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo said identity cards would be the official identity cards for unmarried Indonesians aged below 18. (dis)
Share this article Whatsapp
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin Ganug Nugroho Adi (The Jakarta Post) Surakarta, Central Java Tue, September 12, 2017 06:30 1889 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a203ae0e 1 National haj,surakarta,pilgrimage,Central-Java Free
Siamah Djojodikromo Marto, 66, a haj pilgrim from Magelang regency in Central Java, died while on board a flight returning to Indonesia on Sunday afternoon.
The flight from the King Abdulaziz International Airport Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, was bound for Adi Soemarmo International Airport in Surakarta, Central Java.
The resident of Banyusari village reportedly suffered from a heart attack about one hour before the plane was scheduled to land.
"[After the plane landed] a medical team examined the body and took the body to Donohudan Haj Dormitory in Boyolali, Central Java. Her body was taken to Magelang later on Sunday, said Afief Mundzir, the spokesman of the Indonesian Haj Management Committee (PPIH) Surakarta.
As of Monday, 55 haj pilgrims from Central Java and Yogyakarta had passed away, 54 of them died while in Saudi Arabia.
Read also: Government praised for smooth haj management
Meanwhile, five of 357 pilgrims from batch 10 from Pemalang, Central Java, suffered from respiratory problems upon arrival at Donohudan.
A medic at the dorm, Luluk Arifatul, said all had received medical treatment.
"We have to ensure they are all in good health before returning them to their respective home towns," Luluk said.
As many as 33,892 haj pilgrims departed from Surakarta this year, almost all of them are from Central Java. (bbs)
Share this article Whatsapp
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Singapore Tue, September 12, 2017 19:49 1888 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a2061385 2 World Singapore,politics,election,candidate,democracy Free
Singaporeans Tuesday poured scorn on the process to select their new president after an establishment figure was deemed the only eligible candidate, meaning no election will be held.
Halimah Yacob, a former speaker of parliament from the city-state's Muslim Malay minority, will be the first woman to hold the largely ceremonial role if -- as expected -- she is formally nominated to the presidency Wednesday.
But the 63-year-old will avoid an election originally slated for September 23, as others hoping to run against her were judged by authorities not to have met strict eligibility criteria.
Five people had expressed an interest in becoming president of the tightly-controlled, affluent nation of about 5.5 million people.
Two were disqualified as they were not Malay -- the presidency was on this occasion reserved for members of the ethnic minority -- while two Malay businessmen were disqualified as their companies were too small.
"All Singaporeans are unhappy that meritocracy and electoral fairness, core Singaporean values, have been eroded to fulfil perceived political goals," writer and political commentator Sudhir Thomas Vadaketh told AFP.
There was criticism of the process on social media, with Facebook user Hussain Shamsuddin commenting: "As a citizen of this democratic island nation, I'm deeply embarrassed."
"Don't call it an election if we Singaporeans can't vote," wrote Fazly Jijio Din on Facebook.
There was no immediate response from the government.
It is not the first time that a president has been chosen unopposed, and when there has been a vote, the establishment candidate has always won.
The president's role is largely that of a figurehead but the head of state does have some limited powers.
It was the first time that the presidency had been reserved for a particular ethnic group, as authorities seek to foster harmony in a multicultural society dominated by ethnic Chinese.
Singapore is one of the world's wealthiest and most stable societies but its political system is tightly controlled. The People's Action Party has been in power since self-rule was gained from the British in 1959.
Topics : Singapore politics election candidate democracy
Share this article Whatsapp
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Shanghai, China Tue, September 12, 2017 20:17 1888 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a20617d5 2 Business social-media,Facebook,China,Censorship,Mark-Zuckerberg Free
Facebook has hired a Chinese government-relations point man and is seeking other staff in signs that it harbors ambitions for a China presence despite its main social media platform being blocked.
William Shuai was named senior manager of Facebook's government relations in Beijing, similar to positions he held previously with Chinese search engine Baidu and the LinkedIn social network, according to Shuais own LinkedIn page.
He was also previously an official with China's powerful economic planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Wall Street Journal has reported.
Facebook sparked speculation about its intentions last month when it announced it was behind a photo-sharing app launched in China called Colorful Balloons and bearing icons and features similar to Facebook's Moments application.
Facebook's hardware unit Building 8 also has been advertising engineering positions in Shanghai, and the New York Times last week cited sources saying a hunt was on for office space in the city to house Building 8 staff.
Facebook's China representative Wang-Li Moser also met in May with the director of Shanghai's commerce commission to discuss setting up a Facebook subsidiary, according to the commission's website.
Facebook is among several major global internet companies blocked years ago by China, which tightly monitors and censors online content.
But Facebook is believed to be seeking some sort of presence in China, and chief executive and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg has made high-profile visits to meet political leaders and is even studying Mandarin.
The success of Facebook's hardware efforts are believed to rest heavily on access to China, whose supply chain of electronics components is critical to the production of Apple's iPhones and other major world tech products and brands.
Share this article Whatsapp
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) New York, United States Tue, September 12, 2017 19:08 1888 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a205f2e1 2 World North-Korea,UN,sanctions,US,missile-launch Free
North Korea Tuesday condemned "vicious" new UN sanctions imposed over its sixth and largest nuclear test, warning it would make the US "suffer the greatest pain" it has ever experienced.
The new sanctions imposed unanimously by the UN Security Council Monday ban North Korean textile exports and restrict shipments of oil products.
The resolution, passed after Washington toned down its original proposals to secure backing from China and Russia, came just one month after the council banned exports of coal, lead and seafood in response to the North's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
North Korea Tuesday categorically rejected the new measures, with UN ambassador Han Tae-Song saying in Geneva that the US had "fabricated the most vicious sanction resolution" and warning of retaliation.
"The forthcoming measures by DPRK (North Korea) will make the US suffer the greatest pain it has ever experienced in its history," he told a disarmament conference in the Swiss city.
US ambassador Nikki Haley said Monday at the UN the tough new measures were a message to Pyongyang that "the world will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea". But she also held out the prospect of a peaceful resolution to the crisis.
"We are not looking for war. The North Korean regime has not yet passed the point of no return," Haley told the Security Council, adding: "If North Korea continues its dangerous path, we will continue with further pressure. The choice is theirs."
During tough negotiations, the United States dropped initial demands for a full oil embargo and a freeze on the foreign assets of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.
The resolution instead bans trade in textiles, cuts off natural gas shipments to North Korea, places a ceiling on deliveries of refined oil products and caps crude oil shipments at current levels.
It bars countries from issuing new work permits to North Korean labourers sent abroad -- there are some 93,000, providing Kim's regime with a source of revenue to develop its missile and nuclear programmes, according to a US official familiar with the negotiations.
Share this article Whatsapp
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, September 12, 2017 18:25 1888 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a205e5ab 1 City Asian-Games,toilet-bus Free
The Jakarta administration will prepare 33 VIP toilet buses for the 2018 Asian Games, an official has said.
We already have 11 VIP toilet buses. This year, we will add 22 units, including 2 toilet buses for disabled people, said Jakarta Environment Agency head Isnawa Adji on Tuesday.
Furthermore, he added, each toilet bus would consist of two toilets and be equipped with air conditioning. The other facilities were a wash basin, diesel generator and an automatic tent.
We want to make sure that Jakarta is ready to be the host, he said as quoted by kompas.com.
Isnawa explained that eleven city-owned toilet buses had already been used in public places and during events, such as in Monas. (ang)
Share this article Whatsapp
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, September 12, 2017 16:30 1889 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a2054c11 1 City tortures,horse,rescue,Depok Free
A brown working horse, of which a video of it being abused by its owner went viral on social media, has been rescued and relocated to the Arthayasa Stables and Country Club in Limo, Depok, West Java.
Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN) chairperson Benfica said the owner, a horse-drawn buggy driver, had been persuaded to relinquish the horse, which was later named Chester.
"We tried to negotiate and educate the owner. And finally he gave up the horse," Benfica said on Monday as quoted by kompas.com.
Benfica said that even though Chester was in a good condition, he would not be given back to the owner as he was advanced in age and would be retired.
"We promise to take care of Chester. He has to be in a sanctuary, whether at Arthayasa or some place else," she said.
Benfica said she deplored the lack of attention by the local administration concerning the physical abuse of horses.
"To minimize such incidents, the animal husbandry agency must educate horse owners, especially horse-drawn buggy drivers, on how to treat their horses. The agency also needs to create standard operational procedure," she said.
A one-minute video recently went viral on social media, showing a horse laying on its side in the street while its owner, wearing a black T-shirt and short pants, repeatedly whipped the horse's head. (yon)
Topics : tortures horse rescue Depok
Share this article Whatsapp
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, September 12, 2017 16:51 1888 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a2058091 1 National #corruption,corruption,#ConstitutionalCourt,Constitutional-Court,sentence-cut,#sentence-cut,#convicts,convicts Free
Five high-profile graft convicts appeared at the Constitutional Court on Monday, asking the bench to rule that all convicts are entitled to sentence cuts without discrimination, in a judicial review case that has raised the concerns of anticorruption activists.
In a bid to have the appeal dismissed, activists plan to lodge a third-party intervention application in the judicial review centering on a provision in the 1995 Correctional System Law, said Erwin Natosmal from watchdog Indonesian Legal Roundtable (ILR).
"The provision, in fact, allows convicts to file sentence cut requests if they meet certain conditions. It far from hinders the rights of convicts," Erwin told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday. Bear in mind that convicts have a right to request remissions, but not an absolute right to one.
In the petition, the five graft convicts, among whom is former religious affairs minister Suryadharma Ali, are demanding the court rule that, regardless of the crime, all convicts serving less than life sentences are entitled to sentence cuts if they have served at least six months in prison and have behaved well while behind bars.
Such requirements are regulated in an implementing regulation to the 1995 law. However, the policy denies those guilty of extraordinary crimes, such as corruption and drug trafficking, and instead sets tougher conditions for them, including requiring them to act as whistle-blowers.
Representing the petitioners, lawyer Muhammad Rullyani told the bench that the provision violated the human rights principle of universality. (ipa)
Share this article Whatsapp
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, September 12, 2017 15:54 1889 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a20539d1 1 City #MurderCase,#victims Free
The bodies of a couple have been found wrapped in bed linen with their hands and feet bound in Purbalingga, Central Java, on Monday.
The bodies had been thrown into the Klawing River.
Identity cards identified them as Husni Zarkasih, 58, and his wife, Zakiah Husni, 53, residents of Jl. Pengairan in Bendungan Hilir, Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta.
The Purbalingga Police informed the Tanah Abang Police about the finding.
Upon receiving the information, the police checked the couples house and found it locked and vacant.
"When the officers broke into the house, they found blood on the wall and the floor," Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono said as quoted by kompas.com.
The police learned that valuables were missing, leading to the assumption that the couple had been victims of robbery.
"A Toyota Altis car, certificates, jewelry and the contents of a safety box, the value of which has yet to be determine, were gone," he said.
The case is being handled by a joint team from the Jakarta Polices General Crimes Directorate, the Central Jakarta Police and the Tanah Abang Police. (ecn)
India Today has accessed details which show that time and again the jail authorities have abused their power to provide special privileges to Sasikala.
By Rohini Swamy: DIG Roopa's explosive report exposing the violations of the prison manual for Sasikala seems to be only the tip of the iceberg. India Today has accessed details which show that time and again the jail authorities have abused their power to provide special privileges to Sasikala.
According to an RTI filed it shows that the prison manual stipulates normally 4-6 visitors (near relatives) for a prisoner. But special privileges have been accorded to Sasikala when it comes to the number of visitors and their time of visit.
advertisement
On July 11, 2017, not 6 but 7 visitors, of that only 3 were relatives, met her in the prison.
Her visitors that day were Shakila, Vivek, Keerthana, Jaya, Vetrivel, Thamaraiselvan and Nagarajan. Four of these seven visitors are not related to Sasikala.Earlier, on July 5, 2017, Sasikala had six visitors. They were Venkatesh, TTV Dinakaran, Palani Velu, Ramalingam, Hussain and Vetrivel. The prison manual, which says that a convict can be visited only once in 15 days, was violated again. Sasikala was allowed visitors in jail within a span of a week.
The RTI also sought the date and time of Karnataka AIADMK secretary Pugazehndi's visit. The reply showed another violation. On August 2, 2017, Pugalendi met Sasikala from 4.30 pm to 5.15 pm in prison. This is a violation because one can meet a prisoner only up to 5 pm. Pugazehndi was allowed to stay 15 minutes beyond the allotted time.
Another interesting observation is the list of free items provided by prison authorities and list of items purchased by convicts. As per the prison manual, facilities are provided by the jail authorities. Food is free, but usually small items like toothpaste has to be bought inside jail. But authorities say that Sasikala buys nothing.
Does that mean that Sasikala is being provided with everything free of cost in the jail?
WATCH: Sasikala, Dinakaran out of AIADMK: Endgame for Mannargudi clan?
--- ENDS ---
Share this article Whatsapp
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin News Desk (The Daily Star/ANN) Dhaka Tue, September 12, 2017 13:36 1889 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a204e39f 2 World #Bangladesh,#India,#China,#China-ASEAN,#Myanmar,#MyanmarRohingya,#Rohingya,#RohingyaCrisis Free
Dhaka expects India and China to stand beside Bangladesh amid the current Rohingya refugee crisis, hoping that the two countries would provide help address the influx of Myanmar nationals.
"China and India are friendly nations. As usual, they would support us during this crisis," Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque told reporters after a diplomatic briefing at the state guest house Padma Monday afternoon.
Like other countries in the world, he said, India and China also supported the fact that genocide was being carried out in Rakhine State.
Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, who briefed the top diplomats of South Asian and Southeast Asian countries in Dhaka, told reporters that on Tuesday the Bangladesh government would take foreign diplomats to the country's southeastern part, where Rohingyas have taken refuge fleeing violence in Myanmar.
Replying to a question what the Chinese and Indian envoys told them about the crisis, Haque said, "As China and India are our brotherly countries, they expressed solidarity with Bangladesh and assured us of staying with us to face the situation."
As his attention was drawn to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's extending support to Myanmar, the foreign secretary declined to comment on the matter.
He said ASEAN countries have promised to stand by Bangladesh with urgent humanitarian assistance to address the Rohingya crisis.
He said Foreign Minister Ali told the diplomats that Myanmar should immediately stop killing and repressing Rohingyas to stop their entry into Bangladesh. "Myanmar can take back its citizens after ascertaining their nationality through verifications."
The foreign secretary said they were yet to get any response from Myanmar to resolve the crisis.
He also said all the diplomats who attended the meeting voiced deep concern over Bangladesh's additional burden and humanitarian crisis following the influx of the refugees.
He said they all assured Bangladesh of standing by it at this critical time and share the burden of refugees by providing necessary resources to host the Rohingyas.
Ambassadors, high commissioners, CDAs from diplomatic Missions of Afghanistan, Brunei Darussalam, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, India, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the Maldives were present at the diplomatic briefing.
Myanmar was not invited.
The foreign secretary said the countries that attended the briefing highly praised the Bangladesh government for sheltering the Rohingyas for all these years and also giving shelter to the Myanmar nationals who are fleeing violence in Rakhine. "They also stressed the need for protecting civilians in Rakhine."
Earlier the foreign minister in his speech before the foreign diplomats highlighted that Bangladesh has always preferred having a bilateral solution to this longstanding problem and was successful in repatriating 236,599 Rohingyas to their homeland through a bilateral agreement in 1992.
He mentioned that the 1992 agreement recognised Rohingyas as 'members of Myanmar society'.
Ali also highlighted Bangladesh's efforts to address the security concerns of Myanmar, particularly by proposing MoUs in 2014 on border liaison office and security dialogue.
He said Bangladesh has also proposed joint inspection, coordinated patrolling of border; and 'joint operation' along the border. "Unfortunately, Myanmar has not responded to these proposals. Rather, they've been running a malicious propaganda terming the Rohingyas 'illegal migrants from Bangladesh' and the attackers to their BGP posts 'Bengali terrorists'."
Earlier on Sunday, the foreign minister held two back-to-back diplomatic briefings at the Padma on the Rohingya problem.
Topics :
This article appeared on The Daily Star newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
Share this article Whatsapp
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, September 12, 2017 20:35 1888 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a20624f9 1 Politics #GolkarParty,Golkar,nurul-arifin,#nurul-arifin,bandung-election,#bandung-election,bandung,#Bandung Free
The Golkar Party has given politician Nurul Arifin two months to find a running mate with whom to contest in the upcoming Bandung mayoral election.
The party has endorsed Nurul, a former actress, to run for mayor in next years election in the West Java capital.
I have two months to forge a coalition [with other parties] and to find a running mate, Nurul said in Jakarta on Tuesday as quoted by kompas.com.
With its six seats in the Bandung Legislative Council (DPRD), Golkar cannot field a candidate without forming a coalition. In Bandung, a candidate must secure support from a party or coalition of parties to have at least a combined 10 legislative seats.
Golkar has been intensifying talks with other parties, particularly the Hanura Party, which also has six seats in the DPRD.
Nurul, however, refused to reveal the name of a potential running mate, saying the person should have the similar values as Golkar.
This is not a decision of an individual, but a party decision. Some have indicated an intention to team up for the election, Nurul added.
Nurul, who is a personal assistant to chairman Setya Novanto, served two terms as a lawmaker from 2004 until 2014, representing West Java. She sought reelection in 2014, but lost. (ipa)
Share this article Whatsapp
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin Ivany Atina Arbi and Agnes Anya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, September 12, 2017 20:30 1888 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a206232c 1 City BPJS,BPJS-Kesehatan,hospital Free
The Jakarta administration plans to require all hospitals in the capital to become partners of the Healthcare and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan).
The administration is considering making a partnership a requirement for the extension of hospital permits and accreditation.
"If they are private hospitals, there will be a requirement that forces them to join BPJS. It will [come into effect] next year, said Jakarta Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat on Tuesday. From the registered 160 private hospitals in Jakarta, only 64 cooperate with the BPJS.
The move aims to comply with a government expectation that all hospitals partner with BPJS by 2019, he explained.
Also in 2019, he added, the city administration plans to apply a healthcare program, called universal health care.
"Moreover, we have consistently given BPJS third-class services to all Jakartans, Djarot said.
BPJS Kesehatan and the Jakarta administration have agreed to team up to provide universal health care by Jan. 1, 2019 at the latest.
With the agreement, which was signed in 2016, the city administration is required to list all Jakartans as participants of the National Health Insurance-Healthy Indonesia card (JKN-KIS).
Share this article Whatsapp
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, September 12, 2017 19:23 1888 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a205ff0e 1 National #Kendeng,Kendeng-farmers Free
Dozens of farmers from the Kendeng karst area in Central Java staged another protest on Tuesday against the operation of a cement factory in their neighborhood.
Their second protest this month, they demanded that President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo protect their rights by making state-owned cement manufacturer PT Semen Indonesia cease operations in Kendeng. The farmers claim the company continues to operate despite the ongoing second phase of an environmental impact analysis that will determine whether the factory can operate.
They also demanded the government "ensure those campaigning for the environment are free from any form of intimidation and criminalization," said Ngatiban, who represents the farmers, in a press release received by The Jakarta Post on Tuesday,
On Tuesday, local authorities, including from the Jakarta Public Order Agency (Satpol PP), planned to tear down a tarpaulin tent erected by the farmers across from the State Palace in Central Jakarta, kompas.com reported.
A number of officials from the office of the presidential chief of staff, who went to the scene to meet with the protesters, immediately stepped in and prevented the authorities from pressing ahead with the plan.
Jokowi previously ordered the factory to suspend its operations while various institutions, such as the Environment and Forestry Ministry, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry and local administrations, carried out an assessment. (ipa)
Share this article Whatsapp
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin Margareth S. Aritonang (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, September 12, 2017 14:50 1889 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a205294f 1 National #KPK,KPK,house-of-representatives,#HouseOfRepresentatives,#KPKInquiry,KPK-house-inquiry Free
A hearing between lawmakers and leaders of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Tuesday became heated after lawmakers claimed that KPK commissioners were responding to the questions put to them in an inappropriate manner.
Members of House of Representatives Commission III overseeing legal affairs began bombarding the antigraft body with fiery criticism after KPK commissioner Saut Situmorang suggested that House Commission III deputy chairman Benny Harman, who was directing the meeting, take notes and write down his comprehension of the KPKs work.
You don't understand the explanation because you dont write it down, Saut said, responding to Benny, who interrupted Saut while he was attempting to explain the mechanisms used to follow up on reports and tip-offs from the public on alleged graft cases.
Sauts remarks quickly raised protest from other Commission III members.
Lawmaker Erma Suryani Ranik lambasted Saut for his "disrespectful response".
You must respect the chairman of the meeting. All of us must do so, said Erma from the Democratic Party.
Other lawmakers, including Wenny Warouw from the Gerindra Party, expressed a greater degree of anger, and shouted at Saut.
"The chairman of the meeting asked you to give an explanation. You dont need to be defensive," said Wenny, a former police general who later questioned the mechanisms used by the KPK, which he claimed were not in line with the work of police officers investigating cases. (ipa)
Share this article Whatsapp
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin News Desk (AFP) Washington, United States Tue, September 12, 2017 07:15 1889 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a203d385 2 World September-11-attacks,Islamic-State,Syria,Al-Qaeda,jihadists,terrorism,counterterrorism Free
Al-Qaeda is on the rise again in the shadow of the Islamic State group in Syria, 16 years after the jihadists shocked the United States in the September 11, 2001 attacks, experts said Monday.
They said that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Sunni group that last month seized control of the northern Syrian city of Idlib, is simply a "rebranding" of Al-Qaeda that is positioning itself as more moderate than the Islamic State in hopes of a resurgence.
"ISIS may be today's preeminent terrorist threat, but Al-Qaeda in Syria is worrisome. It is Al-Qaeda's largest global affiliate at this point," said former White House counterterrorism director Joshua Geltzer.
Speaking on the current terror threat against the United States at the New America think tank, Geltzer and other experts said they expect HTS to take center stage among jihadists as the Islamic State group loses ground on the battlefield in Syria and Iraq.
HTS is simply a cosmetic name-change for Al-Qaeda, they said. In consolidating control of much of Idlib province, it has eliminated or absorbed rival groups, and is modernizing its propaganda on the web-savvy model of the Islamic State.
"The organization itself seems to have more lives than a cat," said Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, co-author with Geltzer of a New America report on the current jihadist threat.
- 'Moderate jihadists' -
He called Al-Qaeda a "much stronger" organization than in 2010, when its weakness gave way to the rise of Islamic State.
"It has skillfully played itself off of ISIS to portray its organization as being the 'moderate jihadists', people who you might not like but you can do business with."
As such it has more popular support, and some official support in the Gulf States.
"Being more restrained than ISIS has been very helpful," Gartenstein-Ross said.
The New America report stresses the need to focus on Islamic State as the most dangerous external threat at the moment, while noting that since 9/11 all lethal jihadist attacks in the United States have been by US citizens or permanent residents.
But it says Al-Qaeda could resume the role of the foremost threat in the future, gathering followers turned off by the Islamic State's most extreme tactics.
While current leader Ayman al-Zawahiri is turgid and uninspiring, the younger leaders in Idlib are learning from the way that Islamic State mastered the use of social media to attract followers.
"Al-Qaeda in Syria has undergone cosmetic changes to its naming and organizational design, but without truly renouncing its affiliation with its mother organization," the study said. (**)
Share this article Whatsapp
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, September 12, 2017 18:03 1888 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a205c282 1 City Asma-Dewi,saracen,anies-baswedan Free
The National Police are investigating whether there is a connection between a housewife suspected of being linked to Saracen, a news syndicate accused of spreading hoaxes and fake news, and the Jakarta governor-elect Anies Baswedan.
The polices cybercrime division arrested housewife Asma Dewi on Monday on suspicion of uploading hoaxes and hate speeches on her Facebook account, as well as transferring Rp 75 million [US$ 5,682] to Saracen.
On her Facebook account, Asma made a post stating that she supported Anies and running mate Sandiaga Uno in the polarizing Jakarta gubernatorial election in April.
[Investigation into her link to Anies] will be one of our points in further investigating the case, police spokesman Insp. Gen. Setyo Wasisto said as quoted by tribunnews.com.
However, he said the police did not want to make any preliminary conclusion about a possible connection.
The police, Setyo further said, had yet to find any evidence that Asma was active in Tamasya Al-Maidah (Al-Maidah Tour), in which conservative Muslim groups deployed members to safeguard polling stations during the runoff election on April 19.
Muslim conservative groups supported Anies in the election against incumbent governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, who was later imprisoned for blasphemy. (agn)
Share this article Whatsapp
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Karo, North Sumatra Tue, September 12 2017
Thousands of people displaced by Mount Sinabung eruptions staged a rally in front of the Karo regents office on Monday, demanding that the central government fulfill its promise to provide them with decent housing.
The refugees, who have been living in refugee centers for more than seven years, came from four villages affected by the ongoing volcanic eruptions: Sukanalu, Sigarang-garang, Mardinding and Kuta Gugung.
to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content
e-Post daily digital newspaper
No advertisements, no interruptions
Privileged access to our events and programs
Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login
Share this article Whatsapp
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin Carole Landry (AFP) United Nations, United States Tue, September 12, 2017 07:30 1889 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a203d670 2 World UN,United-Nations,North-Korea,NuclearTest,Pyongyang,ballistic-missiles,resolution Free
The UN Security Council on Monday unanimously imposed new sanctions on North Korea, slapping a ban on textile exports and restricting shipments of oil products to punish Pyongyang for its sixth and largest nuclear test.
With backing from China and Russia, the council adopted a US-drafted sanctions resolution just one month after banning exports of coal, lead and seafood in response to North Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
US Ambassador Nikki Haley said the tough new measures were a message to Pyongyang that "the world will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea," but she also held out the prospect of a peaceful resolution to the crisis.
"We don't take pleasure in further strengthening sanctions today," Haley told the council.
"We are not looking for war. The North Korean regime has not yet passed the point of no-return.
"If it agrees to stop its nuclear program, it can reclaim its future. If it proves it can live in peace, the world will live in peace with it," Haley added.
"If North Korea continues its dangerous path, we will continue with further pressure. The choice is theirs."
During tough negotiations, the United States dropped initial demands for a full oil embargo and a freeze on the foreign assets of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un in a bid to win support from China and Russia.
The resolution instead bans textile exports, cuts off natural gas shipments to North Korea, places a ceiling on deliveries of refined oil products and caps crude oil shipments at their current level.
It bars countries from issuing new work permits to North Korean laborers sent abroad and seeks to phase out the practice by asking countries to report on the date for ending existing contracts.
Some 93,000 North Koreans work abroad, providing Kim's regime with a source of revenue to develop its missile and nuclear programs, according to a US official familiar with the negotiations.
Under the measure, countries are authorized to inspect ships suspected of carrying banned North Korean cargo but must first seek the consent of the flag-state.
Joint ventures will be banned and the names of senior North Korean official and three entities were added to a UN sanctions blacklist that provides for an assets freeze and a global travel ban.
It was the eighth series of sanctions imposed on North Korea since it first tested a nuclear device in 2006.
- 'Big mistake' to avoid talks -
The United States and its allies argue that tougher sanctions will pile pressure on Kim's regime to come to the negotiation table to discuss an end to its nuclear and missile tests.
Russia and China are pushing for talks with North Korea, but their proposal for a freeze on Pyongyang's missile and nuclear tests in exchange for suspending US-South Korean military drills has been rejected by the United States.
Addressing Russian and Chinese concerns, the resolution expressed support for dialogue and the need "to resolve the situation through peaceful, diplomatic and political means."
Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the council it would be a "big mistake to under-estimate this Russia-China initiative" for a so-called freeze-for freeze, adding that Moscow would "insist on it being considered."
Chinese Ambassador Liu Jieyi again called for talks "sooner rather than later".
China, North Korea's sole ally and main trading partner, had strongly objected to an oil embargo initially sought by the United States out of fear that it would bring the North's economy to its knees.
Some four million barrels per year of crude oil will continue to flow from China through a pipeline, but the resolution would cap those deliveries at the current level, according to the US official.
The resolution limits deliveries of refined oil products to 500,000 barrels for three months from October 1 and to two million barrels from January 1 for a period of 12 months.
That would amount to a 10 percent cut in oil products, according to the US Energy Information Administration, which estimates annual exports to North Korea at nearly 2.2 million barrels.
North Korea imports mostly gasoline and diesel fuel from China vital to the country's agriculture, transportation and military sectors, according to the EIA.
The US official said the ban on textile exports would deprive North Korea of some $726 million in annual revenue.
Washington has said military action remains an option in dealing with North Korea and threatened to cut economic ties with countries that continue to trade with the it. Around 90 percent of the North's external commerce is with China.
Earlier, North Korea said it would not accept any chastisement over its nuclear and missile program, which it says is vital to stave off the threat of an American invasion.
"The DPRK shall make absolutely sure that the US pays due price," its foreign ministry said, in a statement published by the official KCNA news agency.
"The forthcoming measures to be taken by the DPRK will cause the US the greatest pain and suffering it had ever gone through in its entire history."
Pyongyang has staged a series of missile tests in recent months, culminating in an intercontinental ballistic missile that appeared to bring much of the US mainland into range.
It followed up with a sixth nuclear test on September 3, its largest to date, which North Korea said was a hydrogen bomb small enough to fit onto a missile. (**)
Share this article Whatsapp
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin Nick Perry (AFP) Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh Tue, September 12, 2017 08:00 1889 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a203eab3 2 World Myanmar,Rohingya,Rohingya-people,Bangladesh,ethnic-killing,ethnic-cleansing,Rohingya-Muslims,Aung-San-Suu-Kyi Free
The situation in Myanmar is a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing", the United Nations rights chief said Monday, as Washington condemned a surge in violence that has sent more than 300,000 Rohingya Muslims fleeing for Bangladesh.
Hours after the UN warning, the Security Council announced it would meet Wednesday to discuss the violence, prompting an ongoing exodus of Rohingya into neighbouring Bangladesh.
Refugees fleeing the unrest have brought stories of entire villages burned to the ground by Buddhist mobs and Myanmar troops.
Myanmar's de facto civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace prize laureate, has faced strong international criticism over an army crackdown on the Muslim minority, which began when Rohingya militants ambushed security forces in Rakhine State on August 25.
On Monday the UN human rights chief, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, accused Myanmar of waging a "systematic attack" on Rohingya civilians and warned that "ethnic cleansing" seemed to be under way.
"Because Myanmar has refused access to human rights investigators the current situation cannot yet be fully assessed, but the situation seems a textbook example of ethnic cleansing," he told the UN Human Rights Council.
The stateless Rohingya have faced decades of persecution in Myanmar, where they are regarded as illegal immigrants.
The White House broke its silence on the crisis on Monday, saying it was "deeply troubled" by attacks by both sides, including the militant ambushes in Rakhine.
We "reiterate our condemnation of those attacks and ensuing violence", Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, without directly accusing the Myanmar military of carrying out a crackdown.
- 'We will follow' -
The UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar has said the latest violence may have left more than 1,000 dead, most of them Rohingya.
The UN refugee agency says at least 313,000 Rohingya have now arrived in Bangladesh from Rakhine State since August 25, about a third of the total population of 1.1 million.
The actual figure could be even higher: The UN said many new arrivals are still on the move and are therefore left out of the calculations.
Most have walked for days, and the United Nations says many are sick, exhausted and in desperate need of shelter, food and water.
Safura Khatun, 60, was among the hundreds who crossed into Bangladesh on Monday.
She told AFP it had taken her 15 days to reach Bangladesh from her village south of Maungdaw, where her husband and three sons had been killed.
"I had only water for the last five days," she said, rocking on the spot in a yellow headscarf.
"I don't know what I will do here. We will follow the others."
A further 27,000 ethnic Rakhine Buddhists as well as Hindus have also fled violence that has gripped northern Rakhine, where international aid programmes have been severely curtailed.
As concern grows over the crisis, Britain and Sweden requested an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council, due on Wednesday.
"It's a sign of the significant worry that Security Council members have about the situation that is continuing to deteriorate for the many Rohingyas who are seeking to flee Rakhine state," British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft told reporters.
On Monday it emerged that the Dalai Lama had joined fellow Nobel peace laureates Malala Yousafzai and Archbishop Desmond Tutu in urging Suu Kyi to intervene.
"Questions that are put to me suggest that many people have difficulty reconciling what appears to be happening to Muslims there with Myanmar's reputation as a Buddhist country," the Tibetan spiritual leader wrote in a letter to Suu Kyi shortly after the latest fighting broke out.
"I appeal to you and your fellow leaders to reach out to all sections of society to try to restore friendly relations throughout the population in a spirit of peace and reconciliation."
- 'Appalled' -
Refugee camps and makeshift settlements near the border with Myanmar were already hosting hundreds of thousands of Rohingya before the latest influx, and are now completely overwhelmed.
That has left tens of thousands of new arrivals with no shelter from the monsoon rains.
Dhaka, which initially tried to block the Rohingya from entering, said Monday that it would start registering all new arrivals.
The Bangladesh government plans to build a huge new camp that will house a quarter of a million refugees.
But it remains unclear when or whether they will be able to return.
The UN's Zeid said he was "appalled" by reports that Myanmar security forces were laying mines near the border to stop Rohingya returning.
Three Rohingya are reported to have been killed by a mine, and at least two more have lost limbs. One of the victims was a young boy.
On Sunday, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, the militant group whose attacks sparked the latest crackdown, declared a unilateral ceasefire to allow aid to reach the increasingly desperate refugees.
There was no immediate response from Myanmar's military, but on Saturday authorities said they would set up three relief camps in Rohingya-majority areas. (**)
By PTI: Chennai, Sep 12 (PTI) The AIADMKs top policy making body today showed the door to incarcerated interim general secretary VK Sasikala, removing her from the post and declaring all appointments made by her as invalid.
The General Council meet also did away with the powerful General Secretary post, adopting resolutions to these effect.
The keenly awaited meeting declared as invalid all appointments and removals made by Sasikala till February 15 when she surrendered in a Bengaluru court in connection with a corruption case.
advertisement
With the general council declaring that decisions taken by Sasikala were not valid, the appointment of her nephew Dhinkaran to the post by her is also annuled by default.
Sasikala was appointed to the post on December 29 by the AIADMK general council in the aftermath of the death of party supremo J Jayalalithaa.
However, a day after the Supreme Court convicted her and two others in a disproportionate assets case, she had surrendered in the court and was lodged in the central prison in Bengaluru on February 15.
Todays meeting also decided to create two new posts-- Coordinator and Joint Coordinator to run the party.
Party top leaders deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam and chief minister K Palaniswami will be the Coordinator and Joint Coordinator respectively till elections are held to the posts.
Meeting after the green signal by the Madras High Court, which declined a plea to stay the event, the General Council also gave administrative powers to the Coordinator and Joint Coordinator to steer the party.
"Following an atmosphere of shock of Ammas (Jayalalithaa) untimely death and concern, V K Sasikala was appointed as interim general secretary to attend to routine party work.
"This General Council unanimously resolves to cancel her appointment made on December 29, 2016. (It also) resolves that all those appointments and removals made by her between December 30, 2016 and February 15, 2017 are not valid," the meeting, the second since Jayalalithaas death, resolved.
After the merger of the factions led by Palaniswami and Panneerselvam on August 21, a senior functionary has said steps would be taken to remove Sasikala from the top party post, a key demand of then rebel camp for the unification.
The move triggered a rebellion by 19 MLAs loyal to sidelined deputy general secretary TTV Dhinakaran who met Tamil Nadu Governor Ch Vidayasagar Rao and expressed lack of confidence in the chief minister.
Before proceeding to Bengaluru court, Sasikala had re-inducted Dhinakaran and appointed him as her deputy. She had also reinstated another of her relative S Venkatesh in the AIADMK.
advertisement
In 2011, Sasikala and scores of her relatives, including Dhinakaran and Venkatesh, were expelled from AIADMK by then Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa though she later re-inducted the former, her close aide, alone.
The General Council also resolved that appointments and other changes made by Dhinakaran were not valid and that they were not acceptable to party laws.
On doing away with the General Secretary post, the council, which described Jayalalithaa as "permanent" General Secretary, said none can fill the void caused by her demise and party founder the late M G Ramachandran.
"Accordingly, bylaw no.43 is being amended. The General Council unanimously approves this," it said.
The meeting was attended by, among others, Palaniswami and Panneerselvam and presided over by party presidium chairman E Madusudhanan. PTI VGN SA VS DV
--- ENDS ---
Share this article Whatsapp
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin Albertus Vembrianto (The Jakarta Post) Timika, Papua Wed, September 13 2017
Three Dutch Catholic priests arrived in Papua more than 50 years ago following the transfer of authority of western Papua from the Netherlands to the Indonesian government.
It was a dark time for Papuans as they experienced human rights abuses and many tragedies.
to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content
e-Post daily digital newspaper
No advertisements, no interruptions
Privileged access to our events and programs
Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login
Share this article Whatsapp
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin (Pesona Indonesia) Jakarta Tue, September 12, 2017 15:02 1889 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a2053819 2 News Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia,Banten,destination Free
The Tourism Ministry together with Banten Tourism Agency and the Association of Indonesian Tours and Travel Agencies (Asita) in Banten recently conducted an Banten 7 Wonders Marketing Strategy Workshop and Famtrip on Sept. 6-7 at Jayakarta Hotel, Anyer, Banten.
The event was joined by the region's tourism stakeholders with an aim to work together in promoting tour packages to tourist destinations in Banten.
The province seeks to increase its tourist visit by 100 percent this year by conducting partnerships with local and foreign tourism companies.
The first day of the workshop was joined by 126 people, whom all took part in several interactive activities such as a competition for the most interesting tour package.
The next day, participants were brought to visit several tourist sites in Banten.
The strength of Banten tourism lies in culture and religion. Its Tanjung Kelayang, for instance, has been named Special Economic Zone (KEK) and listed in the ministrys 10 Priority Destinations.
The province is also home to beautiful beaches, Ujung Kulon National Park, Sangiang Island nature park and Banten 7 Wonders consisting of Old Banten, Ujung Kulon National Park, Sangiang Island, Baduy Tribe, Umang Island, Mount Krakatau and Rawadano.
Read also: What to know about the Seven Wonders of Banten
Located in Kasemen district, the Old Banten historic site boasts ruins of Banten Muslim Monarchy from the 16th century. At this destination, visitors can opt to explore Banten Lamayang Archeological Museum, Surosowan Palace, Grand Mosque, Speelwijk Fort, Avalokitesvara Buddhist Temple, Kaibon Castle and Krangantu Harbor.
The presence of Baduy and Cisusang tribes also serve as an interesting tourist attraction. The Baduy people live on a 5,101 hectares of land located in Kanekes Village, Leuwidamar, 38 kilometers from Rangkasbitung. It has its own ruling system headed by three people named Puun Cikeusik, Cikertawarna and Cibeo.
Banten is also home to Mount Krakatau, mostly famous for its 1883 eruption, one of the biggest ones in the world. Legend has it the explosion sound reached up to 4,500 kilometers radius and heard by 1/8 of the Earth population.
Next destination is Umang Island located close to Tanjung Lesung. This place has white-sand beaches, calm waves and clear blue water.
Last stop is Rawadano located in Luwuk village and is part of Mount Sari. This lesser known place is where the Banten people hop on a boat to travel.
When it comes to accessibility, Tourism Minister Arief Yahya urged for the construction of 83 km Serang Panimbang toll road to finish as soon as possible, We cant sell Tanjung Lesung if the travel duration is still five hours from Jakarta. Moreover, there should be a railroad reactivation from Labuan to Panimbang, told Arief.
He also suggested Banten to have its own airport in Pandeglang. (kes)
Share this article Whatsapp
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin Indah Setiawati (The Jakarta Post) Seoul Tue, September 12, 2017 08:48 1889 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a2040729 1 Destinations goblin,#drama,K-Drama,#KDrama,#koreandrama,South-Korea,#SouthKorea,destination Free
The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) invited The Jakarta Posts Indah Setiawati and a group of journalists from other Asian countries to explore a number of cities along the Korean peninsula and experience the culture of a country that has invaded the world with its Korean wave. Here is her report.
"Will you meet Gong Yoo? My friends and relatives promptly asked me this question after they found out that I would be visiting several filming sites of popular television drama Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, also popularly called Goblin. My answer? I wish!
Dubbed as the top South Korean actor, Gong Yoo first gained international recognition after playing Seok-woo in the award-winning blockbuster movie Train of Busan ( 2016 ). His role as the titular immortal called the Goblin further sent him to global fame as the TV drama was well-received outside the country.
Fans of the drama will remember the romantic scenes between the Goblin and Euntak, a 19-year-old girl who was the Goblins wife in a past life.
Goblin posters were displayed at the Incheon Art Platform in Haean-dong, Incheon, near the China Town tourist hotspot. Surrounded by vintage, red-brick buildings, the spacious space was donned with various artwork such as a scrap metal structure of a sea turtle.
According to the KTOs tourism book, which provides information on filming locations of Goblin, the Incheon Art Platform was developed by revamping old buildings built between the 1930s and 1940s. With a classic look that feels European, it is no wonder that this place is a popular filming site. Jakartans who visit the area may subconsciously associate the space with the old, abandoned buildings in Kota Tua, West Jakarta, which also has the potential to develop into an arts center.
We walked for several minutes before reaching a long, concrete stairway where, in the drama, the Grim Reaper talks to the Goblin about the fate of Euntak. Located next to the Jemulpo Gurakbu cultural center near Jayu Park, the stairway, although it was under repair, showed off its potential as a filming site. We climbed up the steep stairs that seemed to end in the sky under the shade of the trees wide canopy.
At the end of the stairs, we arrived in a spacious area overlooking the Incheon Port. Afterward, we walked through Jayu Park, catching a glimpse into how elderly men in Korea spend their free time. Clad in colorful safari T-shirts, the men gathered in corners of the park, playing Korean chess while fanning themselves and having a good laugh. The lush trees in the area protected us from the summer heat.
Cultural space: The Incheon Art Platform in Incheon, South Korea, is a popular filming location that features a number of artworks. (JP/Indah Setiawati)
Secondhand bookstore
In another scene, the Goblin reads a book at the Hanmi secondhand bookstore in Baedari, Incheon. Hanmi bookstore owner Chang said the street was once home to 40 bookstores but the number shrunk to six as of today.
Chang said he was not happy with the newfound popularity of his bookstore after it was selected as a filming location for Goblin because travelers who visited were usually not interested in the books.
They only cared about taking pictures and the shutter sounds disturbed my regular customers, he said.
Nevertheless, he remains kind to visitors of his store. He showed me childrens books in English that were in perfect condition and allowed me to use his sink in a private room to wash my face, which got sweaty in the non-air conditioned store.
Chang, who has continued the family business into its second generation, said most of the books in his store were around 30 years old. Built in 1955, the books used to be arranged by his parents in heaping piles, until he painted the store yellow and bought shelves.
The charm of Pyeongchang
While walking along the Fir Forest trail heading to the Woljeongsa temple, which is nestled in Odaesan National Park in Pyeongchang, Gangwon province, our tour guide, Jinny Kim, told us to refrain from talking loudly. It was hard not to get too excited seeing tiny little squirrels running around with great curiosity.
While a great film can turn an unknown place into a popular tourist destination, using iconic sites as a films setting brings a challenge, as the backdrop of a scene could appear touristy or, worse, boring.
Goblin, although having chosen a well-known shooting location in Daegwallyeong Samyang Ranch, Pyeongchang, smartly shot from unique angles in the right season. The ranch was the filming location for several films, including Taegeukgi: Brotherhood of War ( 2003 ), Beethovens Virus ( 2008 ) and Windstruck ( 2004 ).
Judging by the number of visitors, the area seemed to be a favorite among families and young couples. Upon arriving in the hilly area, we were welcomed by a bit of rain, thickening fogs and a cloudy sky that, for most of our visit, prevented us from capturing shots of a white wind turbine against a blue sky.
The fog cleared up for precious seconds, allowing us to capture the desired frames and reminding us of a scene from Goblin. In the scene, a grass field, surrounded by nothing but a transmission tower in the distance, is blanketed with snow, giving it a completely different look to its appearance in the summer.
Samyang Ranch has five walking trails ranging in distance from 550 meters to 1.4 kilometers. The ranch also provides shuttle buses that run from May to November.
Standing tall: An iconic wind turbine in the Daegwallyeong Samyang Ranch in Pyeongchang. (JP/Indah Setiawati)
Returning to its roots
Watching Korean films and dramas will entice you to learn more about the countrys culture, including its traditional architecture and food.
The residential area of Bukchon Hanok Village in Seoul is a popular tourist destination where several signs reading Shh! are propped up. They are targeted at tourists, who are expected to respect the residents by keeping quiet. The affluent housing area is a mix of modern and traditional. Drop by the tourist information center to get a map with sketches of Bukchon.
To learn about the traditional food, check out the Jeonggangwon Korean food and culture experience center, also in Pyeongchang. The small city was so green when we visited, surrounded by green hilltops and dotted with vegetables plantations. Around 65 percent of its natural landscape consists of highlands 700 meters above sea level.
Located near a river, Jeonggangwon itself offers breathtaking views at the street level that showcase traditional Korean architecture. It was the filming location for the Gourmet ( 2008 ) TV series.
There, we made Injeolmi rice cakes as part of a cooking class. Our job was simple: pound steamed glutinous rice for a few minutes. The glutinous rice was diced into small cuts and covered with a generous helping of bean powder. The Korean rice cake is best accompanied with buckwheat tea.
Kim Min-ji, the restaurant manager in charge of the cooking class, later demonstrated how to make a giant bibimbab with a giant wooden bowl. We had our peaceful lunch with nice, cool weather while enjoying a view of the fermentation area, located in the front yard of the center.
Share this article Whatsapp
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin (Pesona Indonesia) Jakarta Tue, September 12, 2017 13:04 1889 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a204ca18 2 News Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia,Vietnam,Ho-Chi-Minh-City,tourism-promotion Free
While participating at the International Travel Expo Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam that was held from September 7 to 9, Indonesia took home two awards namely ITE Best Booth Design Award and ITE Exhibitor Recognition Award.
Prior winning the awards, the Indonesian booth was also named as The Best Marine and Diving Booth in Japan and The National Booth with the Most Impressive Decoration at the Vietnam International Travel Mart (VITM) 2017. Both awards were given on the same day, April 9.
Located at Saigon Exhibition & Convention Center (SECC), the exhibition was joined by 250 exhibitors, 200 travel agents and welcomed more than 26,000 visitors.
The Indonesian booth occupies an area of 90 sqm [equal to 10 booths] and designed to look like a Phinisi boat. We once again became the best at this B2B and B2C exhibition, were so grateful for this achievement and we need to maintain it, said tourism ministrys assistant deputy for Southeast Asian tourism promotion, Rizki Handayni.
The booth accommodated 15 tourism industries and one tourism department from Bali.
To catch visitors attention, the Indonesian booth showcased 3D pictures of Borobudur Temple, Ulum Danu Beratan and official brand of the upcoming Asian Games 2018 Jakarta Palembang.
Read also: Five must-visit places in Vietnam
Moreover, we also put on display the Pesona Indonesias tourist destinations on the sellers table and we are promoting tourist sites such as Borobudur Temple, National Monument (Monas), Raja Ampat, Club Aqua Bali Seawalker, North Sulawesi and Batam, added Rizki.
Throughout the three-day exhibition, the tourism ministry had also set up several interesting gimmicks such as performances of Balinese, Jakarta and Malay traditional dances, interactive map of Indonesia, information centre, coffee and refreshment corner, digital interactive corner, quiz and games and gift redemption.
The ministry also used this opportunity to conduct an online market survey to know more about visitors and buyers profiles as well as asking people to vote for Wonderful Indonesia video titled The Journey to a Wonderful World at the UNWTO Video Tourism Competition 2017.
Phinisi boat is the symbol of marine cultural diversity in Indonesia, that is represented by Bugis tribe from Makassar, South Sulawesi. The popular traditional song Nenek Moyangku Seorang Pelaut (My Ancestor is a Sailor) was inspired by the boat that had been traveling the world since the 15th century.
Phinisi is the symbol of marine tourism, one of the priority sectors that have been set by President Joko Widodo apart from infrastructure, energy, agriculture and tourism, explained tourism minister, Arief Yahya.
Moreover, seven out of the ministrys 10 Priority Destinations list are marine tourist destinations namely Tanjung Kelayang Belitung, Tanjung Lesung Banten, Kepulauan Seribu Jakarta, Mandalika Lombok, Labuan Bajo NTT, Wakatobi Sultra and Morotai Maltara. (asw)
Share this article Whatsapp
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin (Pesona Indonesia) Jakarta Tue, September 12, 2017 16:09 1889 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a205419e 2 News Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia,Malang,flowers,carnival Free
The city of Malang in East Java recently hosted Malang Flower Carnival (MFC) 2017 throughout Jl. Ijen on Sunday.
Themed The Exoticism of Archipelago Flowers, the event was supported by the Tourism Ministry and successfully joined by 90 percent more participants than the previous year.
The number of participants reached 214 people, an increase of 90 percent from the previous year that had 115 participants, said MFC chairman Agus Sunandar.
The participants came from different cities and provinces in East Java, such as Banyuwangi, Jember, Blitar, Pasuruan, Malang, Batu, Surabaya, Probolinggo, Bondowoso, Kediri and Nganjuk.
Additionally, last years event attracted more than 5,000 visitors.
Read also: Makassar holds International Eight Festival and Forum
The event featured a carnival costume competition divided into two categories: Category A for elementary and middle school students and category B for high school students and the public.
Among the competition's criteria were originality, glamorous, huge in dimension and used at least 20 percent of flower decoration.
Winners from previous years are not allowed to participate in the competition again however they are allowed to take part in the grand show parade, said Agus.
Six winners would be chosen from each category with one additional winner named at the Best Performer. These 13 winners would bring home a total cash prize of Rp 40 million (US$3,029).
Due to its success, MFC has been chosen by the Tourism Ministry to represent Indonesia at the international tourism and cultural event IFTM Top Resa Paris in Parc des Expositions Porte de Versailles, Paris, on Sept. 25. (kes)
Share this article Whatsapp
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin (Pesona Indonesia) Jakarta Tue, September 12, 2017 14:09 1889 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a2052452 2 News Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia,Tourism-Ministry,Japan,exhibition Free
The tourism ministry is set to take part in the Japan Tourism Expo (JTE) 2017 that will be held from September 21 until 24 at Tokyo International Exhibition Center (Tokyo Big Sigh) in Japan.
The event is the result of a collaboration between Japan Travel and Tourism Association (JTTA), Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA) and Japan National Tourism Organization (JTO). This year marks the 25th anniversary of the exhibition.
This is the biggest tourism exhibition in Japan, from the information that weve received this years event will be joined by more than 1,100 buyers and sellers from 150 countries. There will be 1,100 booths and the event is targeting to welcome more than 175,000 visitors, said the ministry's deputy assistant for Asia-Pacific tourism promotion, Vinsensius Jemadu.
Indonesia has rented a 234 sqm area, which can accommodate 20 booths and will be designed to look like a Phinisi boat. Phinisi is the traditional boat of Bugis and Makassar tribes who live in Bira Village, South Sulawesi. The boats distinctive feature is its two main masts that will surely catch everyones attention.
The Indonesia booth will also feature images of three popular destinations: Batam, Jakarta and Bali.
Read also: Voting period for UNWTO Award-Tourism Video Competition to end soon
Our location is in the East Hall 1, L 39, booth numbers L36 and L37, added Vinsensius.
Moreover, the ministry will send off 35 tourism practitioners consisting of travel agents, hotels, provincial administrations, cruise ship companies, tourist sites organizers, theme parks and airlines from different provinces to attend the exhibition.
Apart from promoting tourism destinations, the booth will entertain visitors with coffee and refreshment, art performances, virtual reality corner and gift redemption.
There will be a business-to-business (B2B) meeting that aims to create a business partnership that will increase the number of international tourist visits.
The result from this event will be published on Japanese media. After that there will be JATA business meeting and JATA Tourism Expo that include pre-appointment meetings and matching system, said Vinsensius.
According to Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the number of Japanese tourists coming to Japan in 2014 was 492,000 and in 2015 there were 528,000. In 2016, the number went down to 513,000 and for this year the ministry is targeting for 762,000 Japanese tourists in order to support the ministrys overall goal of 15 million overseas tourists in 2017.
Additionally, the distance between the two countries is not that far, it takes seven to eight hours of flight to go to Indonesia. (asw)
By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 12 (PTI) The Supreme Court today asked the government to consider legislating on setting up of new fast- track courts to expedite criminal case trials against parliamentarians and legislators.
The apex court bench, which was given the names of seven Lok Sabha MPs and 98 MLAs across the country by the CBDT whose assets had seen a substantial hike in between two elections, also said it had perused the names of these politicians and will examine the issue.
advertisement
It said Parliament had the competence to come up with a law and create necessary infrastructure for setting up of such courts for speedy disposal of cases against lawmakers.
"With regard to MPs and MLAs, it falls under the domain of Parliament. It has the necessary competence to come up with a law. Make law and create necessary infrastructure," a bench of Justices J Chelameswar and S Abdul Nazeer said.
The bench said that legislature and Parliament have been coming up with new laws which create different rights and obligations that lead to more cases before the courts.
"Every time Parliament and assembly makes a law, it creates rights and obligations resulting in more cases which are dealt with by the same set of courts.
"Expect for some specific tribunals, no new courts have come up. You (Centre) should create new courts and infrastructure as at present, the Government of India is spending only one or two per cent of the budget (judicial system)," it said, adding that this would also reduce the huge pendency.
The apex court said that inadequate infrastructure in the courts was resulting in pendency and said that Parliament should pass laws and create fast-track courts for speedy disposal of such cases against the lawmakers.
Attorney General K K Venugopal agreed that fast-track courts were the need of the hour and said that some such courts have in the past done an excellent job and several people, especially those in jails, were benefitted by the system.
The courts remarks came on a plea filed by an NGO, Lok Prahari, for creating a permanent mechanism to investigate candidates whose assets have grown disproportionately during their tenure as MLAs or MPs.
The plea claimed that the candidates while filing their nomination papers were disclosing their assets, assets of their spouse, children and other dependents, but they do not reveal the sources of income.
The bench, which reserved its verdict on the plea, said that Centre should stop giving direction to the states for setting up special fast-track courts and instead come up with a law to deal with it.
The AG agreed with the view and said the Centre "cannot direct the states saying you have to do this or that" and instead can only issue advisories from time to time.
advertisement
The court observed that if a person elected in 2014 as an MP files an affidavit in 2019 elections showing his assets increased exponentially, say 10 times or five times, then the source of such assets needs to be investigated.
Venugopal said that CBDT was serious about the matter and, in arrangement with Election Commission of India, it does investigate the affidavits filed by the candidates if there are any discrepancies.
"Given that revenue augmentation is the primary concern of the Income Tax department, and since increasingly the department is graduating towards non-intrusive methods, the verification of election affidavits is carried out in respect of specific category of such cases as per agreed parameters between ECI and CBDT," he said.
The AG said if the verification by the investigation directorate shows that on comparison of information contained in the affidavits with the returns of income and on further enquiries, there is a case for assessment of income that escaped taxation, the matter is referred to the jurisdictional assessing officer.
The bench expressed satisfaction with the probe done by CBDT and suggested that the cases where there is exponential increase in assets, the source of such assets needs to be looked into.
advertisement
Venugopal said that once disproportion is found in the assets, the sources are looked into by CBDT, which is a government department rather a statutory body like the CBI.
He said that after the courts intervention in electoral reforms, candidates are now bound to file affidavits declaring their assets and criminal cases against them and if there is any false declaration, then he is liable to be disqualified.
The bench said it had perused the names of politicians against whom investigation by CBDT are underway for acquiring assets disproportionate to their income and will examine the issue.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had yesterday told the apex court that there has been a substantial hike in the assets of seven Lok Sabha MPs and 98 MLAs across the country and "discrepancies" have been found.
The tax department in its affidavit had said that they have probed the allegations by the NGO, probed them and "have prima facie found" that there was a huge increase of assets in case of these lawmakers and the matter would be probed further.
advertisement
The CBDTs affidavit was filed as the apex court had on September 6 taken strong exception to the Centres "attitude" of not disclosing information on action taken by it against politicians, some of whose assets had seen a massive jump between two elections.
The apex court had then observed that though the government was saying that it was not averse to electoral reforms, it has not placed the necessary details. Even the information furnished before it in an affidavit by the CBDT was "not complete", it had added. PTI MNL ABA SJK RKS ARC
--- ENDS ---
The polls have now been open for about six hours in New York City. Primary Day isnt over until 9 p.m., so be sure to cast your ballot if you havent done so already.
New Yorkers are deciding whether to re-elect Mayor Bill de Blasio and Public Advocate Letitia James (in this deep blue city todays primary is the main event). Here on the Lower East Side, we have two contested City Council races to watch. In District 1, incumbent Margaret Chin faces a challenge from Dashia Imperiale, Christopher Marte and Aaron Foldenauer. In District 2, five contenders are battling to succeed City Council member Rosie Mendez.
We also have two contested races for district leader. In the 65th Assembly District-Part A, incumbents Karen Blatt and Jacob Goldman are trying to fending off a challenge from Caroline Laskow and Lee Berman. In Part B of the 65th AD, incumbents Alice Cancel and Pedro Cardi are going up against Daisy Paez and Ken Paskar.
Finally, residents of Grand Street are being called on to choose county committee members. The Truman Democratic Clubs committee representatives are being challenged by a slate from Grand Street Democrats, a new political club.
If you need to find out your polling place, click here. Also check out our Voter Guide if you need a little last minute inspiration.
Well have results as soon as they come in tonight.
By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 12 (PTI) The Supreme Court today took the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to task for not conducting any study on the harmful effects of materials used in the manufacture of fire crackers despite its directions, saying it was "really disturbed".
The apex court termed as "astonishing" that the board has not conducted a study or prepared a report on this aspect and said that government authorities have paid "very little or no attention" to the possible health hazards faced by children due to exposure to such chemicals.
advertisement
It said these authorities need to realise their responsibility regarding the care and protection of health of the people in Delhi and the national capital region (NCR) and the importance of launching a sustained campaign to reduce air pollution to manageable limits during and after Diwali.
"What has really disturbed us is that the CPCB was directed on November 11, 2016 to study and prepare a report within three months on the harmful effects of the materials used in the manufacture of fireworks.
"It is astonishing that the CPCB has not conducted the study and prepared a report as directed," a bench comprising Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta said, adding "the right to breathe clean air is a recognised right under our Constitution".
The top court, which temporarily lifted its earlier order suspending permanent licences for sale of fire crackers in the NCR, said no standards have been laid down by the CPCB which could give any indication of acceptable and permissible limit of constituent metals or chemicals used in fire crackers and released in air, beyond which their presence would be harmful.
"What is also worrying, apart from the absence of standards or limits having been laid down by the CPCB, is that very little or no attention seems to have been paid by any of the governmental authorities to the possible health hazards faced by children due to exposure to chemicals in fireworks," the bench said.
"The governmental authorities need to realise their responsibility regarding the care and protection of the health of the people in Delhi and NCR and the importance of launching a sustained campaign to reduce air pollution to manageable limits during Diwali and the period immediately thereafter. The health of children should be of foremost concern in this regard," it said.
The bench also observed that presence of certain metals or chemicals in the air beyond a particular limit would be inadvisable, but that limit is not known to anybody including the CPCB.
"Therefore, any discussion on the subject of whether there is an excessive presence of a particular chemical in the air will not yield any result unless some authority lays down an acceptable standard of what is excessive and what is not," it said.
While temporarily lifting its earlier order, the top court said continuing the suspension of licences "might be too radical a step to take for the present" and a graded and balanced approach was needed to reduce and gradually eliminate air pollution in Delhi-NCR caused by bursting of fireworks.
advertisement
"At the same time it is necessary to ensure that injustice is not caused to those who have already been granted a valid permanent licence to possess and sell fireworks in Delhi and the NCR. The graded and balanced approach is not intended to dilute our primary concern which is and remains the health of everybody and the human right to breathe good quality air or at least not be compelled to breathe poor quality air," the court said.
It said the health of people in Delhi-NCR must take precedence over any commercial or other interest of the fire crackers manufacturers and a graded regulation was needed which would eventually result in prohibition.
It observed that large number of temporary licences were issued for possession and sale of fireworks in Delhi-NCR and there was a need to regulate the availability and sale of fire crackers here.
The apex courts order came on the application filed by manufacturers and suppliers of fire crackers, primarily based in Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu, seeking relaxation of its earlier order. PTI ABA MNL SJK RKS ARC
--- ENDS ---
advertisement
By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 12 (PTI) The Supreme Court today agreed to hear a plea of two women lawyers seeking framing of "non- negotiable" child safety conditions and implementation of existing guidelines to protect school-going children from offences like sexual abuse and murder across the country.
The plea which also sought cancellation of licences and forfeiture of state grants of erring schools will be heard by the court along with the petition filed yesterday by the father of seven-year-old Pradyuman, who was killed allegedly by a bus conductor at Gurgaons Ryan International School.
advertisement
He had sought a CBI probe into the killing of his son and framing of guidelines to ensure safety of children.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices Amitava Roy and A M Khanwilkar today considered the PIL, filed by lawyers Abha R Sharma and Sangeeta Bharti, and said that it has already issued notice on the similar plea of the father of the child.
"We will tag it (writ petition) with the earlier one," the bench said and fixed the PIL for hearing on September 15.
The fresh PIL, filed through lawyer Sujeeta Srivastava, raised the issue of children "being exploited and subjected to child abuse repeatedly within the boundaries of the schools" and demanded that central and state governments notify a set of "non-negotiable" child safety conditions for schools.
Besides Union Human Resources Ministry, the plea has made all state governments and Union territories (UTs) as parties and has sought proper implementation of existing guidelines of authorities including the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) on prevention of child abuse in schools.
Referring to the guidelines, it said every school is required to have a "child protection policy which should be understood, explained and signed by all employees or recruits".
All new employees must go through a one-day orientation programme on issues related to child protection within one month of their joining, the plea said referring to the guidelines.
The guidelines said that each school must have child abuse monitoring committee with two student as representatives and a through police verification was needed before employing a person in a school, it said.
They also mandated that selected persons will have to furnish a signed affidavit that they have not been either accused or have been convicted in an offence, the plea said.
The PIL also referred to the National Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Policy of 2013 and the Model Education Code prepared by National University for Educational Planning and Administration in 2015 and demanded that they be implemented.
advertisement
The women lawyers also suggested some guidelines including that there should be "no liquor vendors, hawkers, stalls selling tobacco and other such tobacco based product that is panmasala, cigarettes, gutkas" within one kilometre radius of the premises of the schools.
If a person employed with the schools was found guilty of any other criminal offence, he or she should be immediately terminated, it said.
The plea has also suggested
formulation of guidelines requiring the maintenance of records of entry and exit of all persons, staff and parents.
A female attendant has to be employed outside the washrooms, toilet and changing rooms in all schools for pre- nursery to primary sections, it said.
"The children travelling by school bus should be the responsibility of the school from the time they board the school bus till they are handed over to their parents," it said.
"The cancellation of licences and forfeiture of government grants of all those schools who fail to comply with any or all of the policies/guidelines issued by the authorities/government from time to time," the plea suggested.
The plea has been filed as the country grapples with the issue of childrens safety in schools after the death of Class 2 student Pradyuman at the high-profile Ryan International School in Gurgaon.
advertisement
He was found with his throat slit on the morning of September 8 in the school toilet. Police allege that 42-year- old bus conductor Ashok Kumar killed him with a knife after the boy resisted an attempt to sodomise him. PTI SJK ABA MNL RKS RT
--- ENDS ---
Tattoos release microscopic pigment particles that lodge in the lymph nodes, posing a potential health risk, research has shown.
Scientists used powerful X-rays to track the titanium dioxide nanoparticles down in skin and lymph tissue taken from dead tattooed individuals.
They found evidence that the smallest molecules accumulated in the lymph nodes, which are vital to the immune system.
Titanium dioxide, the most common ingredient in tattoo inks after carbon black, is a white pigment used in food additives, sun screens and paints.
(John Stillwell/PA)
In tattoos, it is often mixed with other pigments to create different shades and has been associated with delayed healing, raised skin and itching.
Study author Dr Hiram Castillo, from the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France, said: When someone wants to get a tattoo, they are often very careful in choosing a parlour where they use sterile needles that havent been used previously.
No-one checks the chemical composition of the colours, but our study shows that maybe they should.
The study did not find evidence of any health hazard linked to titanium dioxide in tattoos, but the scientists pointed out that nanoparticles have unpredictable properties.
(Dominic Lipinski/PA)
Dr. Bernhard Hesse, another member of the ESRF team, said: They may not have the same behaviour as the particles at a micro level. And that is the problem, we dont know how nanoparticles react.
The researchers, whose findings appear in the journal Scientific Reports, now plan to look at further tissue samples from people who have suffered adverse effects from tattoos.
The study technique uses intense X-rays generated at the synchrotron facility to dislodge electrons from molecules, resulting in tell-tale energy bursts characteristic of specific elements.
What do you think of when you think of Italian music? Id say the shot is between classical Arias (which even Italians dont listen to) or that song in the background of the Coca-Cola ad restlessly testing our patience on Youtube these past months.
And yes, although Italy is infamously stereotyped as a country where progress is only looked at with an envious pair of binoculars and modern cultural development is a sloth shackled to the sturdy columns of our hard-to-save-hard-to-preserve classical cultural heritage, the emerging musical scene of the past couple of years might be what weve got to showcase for youths finding their space in this land of the Latinorum.
Needless to say the internet has saved lives a-plenty across the globe, but for us Italians it really took the rough ones to the front stage; providing rap with a whole new modern tinge, and giving the well-established (but very meticulously fashioned) style a massively more accessible scenario.
Although rap started with the colossuses from a couple of gangs and never really made its way to radio stations, now bars and clubs broadcast a softer more danceable version of it across all our cute little towns. In fact, in the past couple of years, Italian trap music, currently the fastest growing genre in Italian music (together with Indie for the counterparts I guess), is taking the peninsula literally by storm, and taking no prisoners. Either you love it or you hate it, but even people on the news have started talking about it, interviews with the artists from the genre have been crammed in every which corner, teenagers go round with their boomboxes blasting solely that, and kids take on the sayings and movements and include them in their everyday life.
The development of trap music roughly goes something like this: the real youths the real rejects the real rebels the ones that had very little on their side, seem to have usurped the throne held by established rappers whom dictated the scene with very rigid parameters. Of course some critics are firing top-gun in the attempt to diminish this emerging style when looking at it next to the highly-curated Italian rap of the 2000s. Nonetheless it could be safe to say that Rap and Trap can perfectly co-exist if haters let go of comparisons and accepted the fact that both genres live in the same pool but whilst rap idolizes technique, rigor and genius rhymes, Trap somewhat idolizes the opposite (flexibility mainly) and leverages almost wholly on stellar production
Thanks to a handful of incredibly talented producers, namely Charlie Charles at the top of the list - with Sick Luke and Chris Nolan following meticulously - a couple of attempted rap rhymes have turned into national hits moving masses of teenagers to loopy, dopey, enveloping tunes spreading Trap like a swarm of drunken wasps with a meiotic reproductive system.
That said were here to give you a break-down of some of the most influential Italian trappers wading through the scene right now, giving you a taste of what could hopefully maybe one day distantly make it to the UK too (at least the producers have the talent to make it international).
SFERA EBBASTA
Said to be the one who birthed trap in the Italian rap scene, Sfera Ebbasta (literally translated to Sphere Thatsall) aka Jonathan Grove (1992, Cinisello Balsamo) started his career on Youtube roughly around 2011. He wasnt fully noticed until he produced his first studio album XDVR, together with said friend Charlie Charles, bringing some real trap tunes to the greater spotlight with tracks such as Panette (now regarded the first real Italian trap song). With his strange style and peculiar street vibe it didnt take long for him to get into the right circles and make his way into the label Roccia Music, known for already well-established rappers such as Marracash, with which he relaunches the XDVR album with additional tracks such as Ciny, another exponential tune for the trap ones. Its 2016 and his latest eponymous album, Sfera Ebbasta is produced and launched by Universal, selling more than 50,000 copies and getting him on the stages of all sorts of national music awards.
GHALI
After his summer hit Happy Days, he's probably the most heard of trapper in the mainstream music scene, is Ghali aka Ghali Amdouni (1993, Milan but of Tunisian heritage). He made his way into the scene by founding the rap gang Troupe DElite in 2011, sadly atrociously criticized and defined as the moment in which Italian rap hit rock bottom.
He then re-emerged from the ashes with a couple of independent videos on Youtube in collaboration with, again, producers such as Charlie Charles and Chris Nolan, and started getting some slack for his style and vibe, although his bars were and still are far from produce of the elite. His fan base on the web has grown rapidly and his debut single with Sto Records in 2016, Ninna Nanna, established a new record with the greatest number of Spotify plays in the first day of publication. May 2017 saw the publication of his first album, Album, it too selling over 50,000 copies.
DARK POLO GANG
By spitting the most ridiculous bars heard in the past decades, this Roman born and bred gang has clogged the internet with the most embarrassing (hence viral) of quotes, sticking to trap the scene and molding it till growing into it till the top. Born in 2014 and composed of trappers Tony Effe, Wayne Santana, Dark Side e Dark Pyrex, it seems that their secret to success literally has been saying the most stupid of things solely over exquisite productions by their roman producer Sick Luke.
In fact, their made-up slang, passion for fashion and ridiculous little dance moves have touched the hearts of all the young ones that want nothing but a bit of a laugh. They basically never all sing together and seem to enjoy playing around between themselves, producing albums in pairs, mixing it up. Their first full production was in 2015 with Full Metal Dark, after three more albums in 2016, this year saw the publication of their most acclaimed album yet, TWINS, with tracks such as Cono Gelato and Sportswear getting high recognition.
Their peculiarly controversial amongst the Italian music scene, in fact it may still be unclear whether they forged their success out of the people that actually appreciate them or their haters.
TEDUA
Tedua, aka Mario Molinari (Genova, 1994) broke into the trap scene whilst repeatedly moving between Cogoleto (Liguria) and Calvairate (Milano) in-between ditching school and then going back to it, living with his mother and are families and then living with his friends. He starts a crew known as the Wild Bandana Crew, he releases his first EP Medaglia Doro in 2014 and then is further noticed with his featuring with Sfera Ebbasta in Mercedes Nero.
2015 sees his mixtape Aspettando Orange County (translates to Waiting for Orange County) and in 2016 we finally hear his mixtape Orange County, containing hits such as Buste Della Spesa and Lingerie, remastered in 2017 as his first official album and called Orange County California. Amongst his inspirations are American rappers such as Chief Keef, indeed Tedua brings an air of freshness to the trap scene, trapping offbeat in what might as well be drill music, the trap subgenre emerged in Chicago with Keefs label.
IZI
Learning it the hard way growing up, Izi aka Diego Germini (Savigliano, 1995), started rapping after running away from home then suffering from a coma induced by diabetes. Izi, his name in art, is actually an assonance for the English word easy.
After starring as Zeta in an eponymous 2016 movie about a rapper finding his way to fame, he joined the Wild Bandana Crew with Tedua and produced his first studio album Fenice, with the best known tracks Scusa and Chic. Soon after came his second album, Pizzicato, with featurings including some of the gods of Italian rap like Fabri Fibra.
Although this selection attempts to represents the most seminal trappers from the scene, such is only a minimal percentage of the upcoming rampage of lads taking over the rap scene and turning it upside down. Achille Lauro, Lazza, Vegas Jones, Laioung and several others would probably also deserve a mention.
Plus, this is a round-up also omitting everybody playing on the outskirts of the trap genre if it is ever healthy to define musical sub genres so rigidly; such as the urgently talented rapper Rkomi, or the duo doing neither rap nor trap nor a genre anybody has really pinned down yet such as the smooth and romantic Carl Brave and Franco126. But thats a whole other story.
Liverpool student Jasmin Beckett has been accused of racism after she implicated herself in a Twitter row between MP Jess Phillips and one of her constituents.
Beckett, who is also the youth representative on the National Executive Committee responded to activist Nadeem Ahmed's tweet demanding an explanation from his MP after saying families of disabled British Pakistanis are importing wives from abroad.
Who are these people? https://t.co/XOkJaiOXyW Jasmin Beckett (@Jasmin_Beckett) 29 August 2017
insensitive and condescending
Hi. Im a young Labour Member. Why do you think its funny to laugh at a Pakistani man calling out racist remarks? Alasdair clark (@alasdair_clark) 29 August 2017
They're called Labour Party members. Have you considered resigning your seat on the NEC? You come across as a clueless little bully. Rachael (@Rachael_Swindon) 29 August 2017
"These people" are the reason your MPs and candidates have any sort of grassroots campaigning capacity whatsoever. Show some respect. Ash Sarkar (@AyoCaesar) 29 August 2017
Party members who knocked on doors for Labour all day, only 3 months ago MissAndrea (@MxAndreaist) 30 August 2017
'These People' are the Labour Party, the members, the campaigners, the grass root support, the people who go out and vote. Greg Morgan (@gmorgan9efc) 30 August 2017
Several Labour members called for her resignation from the NEC seat and others wanted her reported saying that her comment "these people" wastowards members of her own party.The 45Minutes website (a blog set up by Labour members) accuse Beckett of rigging the North West Young Labour elections by "arranging for members to travel from around the country" to vote in them, against party rules.As a member of the right-wing Labour Party group Labour First Beckett encouraged young people to vote for anyone but Corbyn. Leaked conversations between Beckett and her friends also show them making changes to membership records.'Theres a tonne of people in this room undecided that Ive gone round to and a smiley happy student might just give them the nudge onto us as opposed to a sweaty scary unite ogre,' one of her friends said in a private message.In 2016, Labour launched an inquiry after accusations of a smear campaign by Beckett against her opponent and Oxford student James Elliot came to light. This was after private messages from the National Secretary of Labour Students Josh Woolas were leaked in which he advised the group that the complaint against Elliot needed to look 'like a genuine complaint about racism and not a smear campaign.'There is further suggestion that this was a calculated smear campaign as Beckett was caught organising a character assassination of her opponent by getting people to tweet shocked my union HMB are supporting James Elliot who is anti-Semitic.' formal complaint against Beckett was submitted to the party on the grounds of violating the Youth Election Code of Conduct.She stands accused of disparaging another candidate and using their access to publicity to 'label them as antisemetic.'
The stunning opening shot of the Essex Salt marshes really sets the tone of this tense thriller, setting us up for twists and turns and the expectation that nothing is what it appears on the surface.The episode begins with an initially slow and rather cliched start, with Lauras conversations with the man at the marshes trying too overtly to assert that Laura (played by the superb Joanne Froggatt) is a headstrong and independent woman. However, after the rather awkward/cringey first conversation between Laura and Andrew (Ioan Gruffudd), you soon start to root for them as a couple. Their first date at a beautiful pier restaurant definitely aids this, and even though you know something is brewing in the background, you cant help but wish this was a simple romcom in which they fall in love. Then, they go back to her flat and this is when the atmosphere tenses. There are several moments such as the opening of the wine, that you know are going to be brought back and agonized over, which makes it so thrilling to watch - youre trying to see if he spikes the wine, but everything appears normal, for now. They then progress into the bedroom in search of a phone charger and thats when the scene ends, leaving the audiences mind to wander what happened between these two seemingly happy characters.The timing and switching between the two characters reactions that morning, both seeming so genuine, makes it hard to know who is in the right. You want to believe Andrews happiness, but the harrowing nature of Lauras reaction seems hauntingly real.The standout scene of this episode has to be when Laura and her sister visit the rape councillor. Regardless of whether Laura has been lying or not, there is no faking in Froggatts authentic portrayal of the trauma rape victims go through. Nothing is shied away from and the use of a real rape councillor helps to portray the vulnerability and ordeal rape victims go through - something Im sure the show will be praised for. With its accuracy in the police and medical procedures that people go through and in showing the ordeal happen between two people that know each other and have gone on an otherwise lovely date, the series highlights how often rape can occur and that its not necessarily at the hand of strangers but usually with someone the victim knows and trusts. The topic of victim blaming is also handled delicately and truthfully. Initially the police believe her, but when they find no evidence, the questioning of how much shes had to drink comes into play and Lauras desperation to be believed starts to set in. The to-ing and froing of both their accounts, which they both seem to believe whole-heartedly, will ultimately bring up debates on the issue of consent. Whilst the writers, brothers Harry and Jack Williams, have cleverly made it so difficult to see who is lying, they have lacked originality with the relationship between Lauras sister and her ex-boyfriend. Though this storyline will surprise Laura and throw a spanner in the works, in a subplot that seems like it will create more mystery and suspense, there are little hints of other underlying stories; such as the very keen interest into whats wrong with Laura from her brother in law and the relationship between Andrews son and the girl who keeps staring at him during lessons. Initially one believes that Laura is the victim - how could anyone not believe her after viewing that harrowing scene with the rape councillor? However, the writers soon plant little doubts in our mind, with references towards earlier problems of medication, her backtracking of the story and not telling the police that she saw Andrew in school that day. It would seem that the writers are setting us up to believe that she is lying. With the episode ending with Lauras rant on social media, are we to believe that she is a woman gone mad and lying to us all, or is she a woman struggling to come to terms with her trauma and desperate for the truth to be believed? Whatever the answer may be, in the five episodes we have to find out the truth, were sure to be lead down a murky path of twists and turns, not knowing who or what revelation is just around the corner.
In the third season, often referred to as Twin Peaks: The Return,
Lynch and co-creator Mark Frost pick up twenty-five years later from the penultimate season two finale, Beyond Life and Death.
The original series (1990 1991) was followed by a feature film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992); a prequel to the series that followed the final days of homecoming queen Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee).
The Return explores multiple storylines, the majority of which intertwine with Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan). As The Return explores three major locations Twin Peaks, Las Vegas and South Dakota the now 159 cast members have been split into sections: Twin Peaks, Government, Las Vegas, South Dakota, Supernatural, New York, New Mexico 1956, Montana and Odessa.
The original residents (and visitors) of Twin Peaks were outnumbered by the new arrivals, but it was a trip to see Kimmy Robertson (Lucy Brennan), Harry Goaz (Andy Brennan), Michael Horse (Tommy Hawk Hill), David Duchovny (Denise Bryson), Dana Ashbrook (Bobby Briggs), Richard Beymer (Ben Horne), Russ Tamblyn (Dr. Jacoby), Madchen Amick (Shelly Johnson), James Marshall (James Hurley), Carel Struycken (The Giant), Catherine Coulson (The Log Lady), Al Strobel (Philip Gerard), Ray Wise (Leland Palmer), Grace Zabriskie (Sarah Palmer), Peggy Lipton (Norma Jennings), Wendy Robie (Nadine Hurley) and Sherilyn Fenn (Audrey Horne) back in the North Western town.
Two films were planned to follow Fire Walk with Me, but in a 2001 Empire feature, Lynch stated that these films were not going to happen and that the series itself was dead as a doornail. Unbeknownst to die-hard fans and the casual viewer, Lynch and Frost had been working on The Return for several years. In October of 2014, Showtime announced that it was going to air a nine-episode mini-series (much like Foxs six-episode continuation of The X-Files).
In May of 2015, Lynch announced that there would be more episodes than originally discussed and that he would be directing all of them. Alongside Lynch, long-time collaborator and original show composer Angelo Badalamenti and a plethora of original and new cast members also returned to Twin Peaks.
Badalamentis new (and old) compositions alongside performances from a variety of musicians, the music of Twin Peaks: The Return is an aspect that stands above the original series.
There are notable tracks played diegetically throughout the eighteen episodes, but Lynch uses a famous tavern within the town The Roadhouse. The venue was seen sparingly throughout the original run, whereas in The Return Lynch visits the tavern in almost every episode, hosting a variety of acts from The Chromatics to Nine Inch Nails, Lissie to Eddie Vedder, and the legendary Julee Cruise.
These performances alongside the unmistakable compositions of Badalamenti are what have always given Twin Peaks a certifiable edge.
Meticulously planned, written, shot and edited, Twin Peaks: The Return has quickly become Lynchs magnum opus. When Lynch screened the two-hour premiere at the Cannes festival this year, he received a five-minute standing ovation.
The Return separates itself from the first two seasons of Twin Peaks as its own hypnagogic being; combining aesthetic aspects and narrative plots from Fire Walk with Me and the original series to create an event that has never graced television before. If you thought the original run of Twin Peaks was captivating, thought-provoking and quintessentially its own entity, The Return is going to propel you into an alternate dimension.
Lynch brings the shows quintessential Americana aesthetic to a higher plateau, weaving an eighteen-hour tapestry that is neither a television series or film. Twin Peaks: The Return exists in another realm much like The White and Black Lodges. It is unnerving yet familiar, nostalgic yet modern it is downright Lynchian.
Unfortunately, The Content Is Not Here
You have arrived at this page because the page or post you were looking for no longer exists. Please check our main navigation pages for other content:
Home Page
Tentang Situs Slot Online Resmi MGS88 Nama Situs MGS88 Minimal Deposit Rp. 10.000,- (Sepuluh Ribu Rupiah) Proses Deposit 2 Menit Metode Deposit Bank Transfer, Pulsa, E-Wallet Judi Online Terbaik Slot Online, Judi Bola, Casino Online, Togel Online, Tembak Ikan Provider Slot Gacor Mudah Maxwin Pragmatic Play, PGSoft, MicroGaming, Habanero Slot Gacor Gampang Menang Gates of Olympus, Sweet Bonanza, Wild West Gold, Starlight Princess Win Rate 98%
RTP Live Slot Gacor Tertinggi Hari Ini Terbaru Terlengkap
Selamat datang di halaman RTP live dan informasi soal slot gacor hari ini dari situs MGS88 yang setiap hari selalu update. Berdasarkan RTP Live MGS88, Anda bisa mendapatkan informasi tentang slot online yang saat ini yang sedang Gacor atau onfire dengan persentase yang terbukti akurat, ini bisa menjadi rekomendasi anda sebelum memilih permainan slot online di situs MGS88. Cek RTP Slot sekarang juga bosku
Klik Provider Slot Untuk Mengetahui RTP Slot Secara Real Time
Selamat datang bagi kalian yang sedang mencari situs RTP Live terlengkap dan terkini hari ini. Sangat sesuai jika Anda mengunjungi website MGS88 RTP live untuk informasi tentang permainan slot yang lagi gacor dengan slot RTP yang terupdate. Persentase kemenangan yang kami berikan tentunya diambil dengan data yang sangat valid dan hanya untuk permainan slot yang tersedia di situs MGS88. RTP yang tersedia juga akan selalu diperbarui setiap hari berdasarkan level kemenangan yang diberikan kepada member kami.
Memang sih untuk bermain slot itu tergantung hoki dari setiap pemain, Namun RTP live atau bocoran slot dari yang kami sediakan ini adalah data autentik dari banyaknya pemain yang telah bermain dan mencapai kemenangan tinggi. Sederhananya, kalau banyak pemain yang menang di dalam 1 permainan slot, karena itu permainan slot tersebut akan mempunyai persentase RTP yang sangat tinggi.
Namun kami tegaskan sekali lagi, ini bukan sebuah paksaan kami situs MGS88 untuk anda bermain di game slot yang mana. Ini bisa dijadikan sebagai referensi atau tolok ukur, boleh dicoba kalau anda mempunyai feel yang kuat dalam memainkan permainan game slot. Anda dapat mengakses kapan saja dan di mana saja selama anda siap bermain. Jangan ragu untuk bertanya ya seputar pola putaran terhadap kami, sebab kami juga menyediakannya loh.
Apa itu RTP Live?
RTP Live ialah informasi mengenai persentase tertinggi saat ini dari hasil RTP Live dengan bocoran kemenangan pemain saat ini. RTP Live merupakan singkatan dari Return To Play atau bisa juga diartikan sebagai Return to Player. Karena itu, para pemain slot sekarang jika ingin mengetahui seberapa besar kemenangannya, bisa dengan memainkan permainan yang akan dimainkannya dan bisa untung dengan mudah dan tentunya maksimal.
Apa itu RTP Slot?
RTP Slot juga dikenal sebagai return to player atau pengembalian ke Pemain. RTP slot ialah persentase dari nilai pengembalian semua uang yang dipertaruhkan pemain dari waktu ke waktu. Dengan kata lain, RTP juga dianggap sebagai salah satu fitur slot yang mengembalikan uang pemain saat pemain kalah.
Persentase digunakan untuk menghitung RTP dalam permainan slot. Misalnya, jika slot memiliki RTP 97%, itu berarti untuk setiap 100.000 koin yang hilang di slot, slot dapat mengembalikan 97.000. Jika Anda mengetahui RTP sebuah permainan slot, Anda dapat memutuskan permainan slot mana yang akan dimainkan tanpa kerugian besar.
Apakah Angka Persentase RTP Slot Itu Penting?
Biasanya pemain slot itu tidak memperhatikan RTP dalam permainan yang akan dimainkan, biasanya setelah anda mengisi saldo utama anda akan langsung buru-buru memainkannya. Yang terakhir 90-96% mempengaruhi jumlah kemenangan. Semakin tinggi jumlah RTP yang digunakan, semakin luas peluang untuk mendapatkan keuntungan.
Akan namun itu segala tak secara 100% menjamin kemenangan kau dalam bermain, RTP itu cuma sebagai kalkulasi pengeluaran anda saja selama bermain slot.Dengan adanya RTP, kau dapat mengerjakan pengaturan atas uang yang akan kau pertaruhkan nanti pada ketika bermain.Untuk itu pada ketika kau bermain slot dan telah mengalami banyak kekalahan di satu permainan, direkomendasikan kau pindah ke permainan slot lainnya yang RTP nya lebih tinggi dari permainan yang tadi kau mainkan.
Keuntungan Menggunakan Bocoran RTP Slot Hari Ini
Situs MGS88 Akan dengan senang hati akan beberapa keuntungan yang didapatkan jika anda bermain slot dengan menggunakan RTP Live yang telah disediakan. Berikut Keuntungannya :
Peluang Kemenangan Meningkat Tentu saja, saat bermain slot online, menang adalah hal yang paling penting. Di sinilah RTP berperan sebagai metode atau metode baru yang akan membantu Anda memilih permainan slot persentase tinggi. Mendapat variasi dalam Memainkan Game Slot Pastinya banyak pemain slot online yang hanya memainkan 3-5 permainan slot saja. Namun dengan RTP Live slot akan memberikan banyak game slot lain yang bisa anda coba. Tentunya semua permainan slot memiliki potensi kemenangan yang besar, jadi jangan hanya mengandalkan beberapa permainan saja. Menambah Pengalaman Dalam Bermain Slot Keuntungan terakhir adalah Anda tentu saja menambah pengalaman dan keahlian dalam permainan slot online. Dengan berbagai macam permainan slot yang dimainkan, Anda pasti mengetahui karakteristik dari setiap permainan slot yang Anda mainkan. Akibatnya, Anda pasti bisa dianggap sebagai pemain slot yang andal, yang pasti akan meningkatkan peluang Anda untuk menang besar menggunakan RTP.
Daftar 8 Situs Dengan RTP Slot Live Tertinggi Hari Ini
Ada banyak penyedia mesin slot online di internet. Tetapi tidak semuanya memiliki peluang tinggi atau RTP Live Slot yang sangat tinggi. Tapi jangan khawatir, berikut ini adalah situs slot gacor yang akan memberikan bocoran slot dengan RTP Live Tertinggi:
RTP Live Slot Pragmatic Play (RTP Slot 97.85%) RTP Live Slot PG Soft (RTP Live 96.15%) RTP Live Slot Habanero (RTP Slot 95.89%) RTP Live Slot CQ9 (RTP Live 98.83%) RTP Live Slot Spade Gaming (RTP Live 94.99%) RTP Live Slot Micro Gaming (RTP Slot 95.39%) RTP Slot Live Top Trend Gaming (RTP Live 96.14%) RTP Slot Live JOKER123 (RTP Live 97.45%)
Itulah Daftar 8 Provider Slot Gacor dengan RTP Live teratas diatas tentunya kami analisa terlebih dahulu. Anda bisa membuktikannya langsung dengan mengklik banner atau meprovider game slot yang sudah tersedia di atas. Saran kami yaitu Anda harus memainkan semua penyedia slot di atas untuk mencapai peluang kemenangan terbaik.
Daftar Slot RTP Live Tertinggi Sering Kasih Jackpot
Selain mempertimbangkan RTP Slot Gacor yang ada, sebenarnya ada banyak faktor penting untuk menang dalam permainan judi online. Sebab ada banyak game yang memiliki fitur dan mekanisme unik dan bisa membantu anda meraih Jackpot yang sangat besar.
Berikut ini akan kami ulas daftar 5 game slot paling populer karena sering memberikan jackpot:
RTP Live Gates of Olympus Gates of Olympus adalah game slot teraneh dan terbaik di Indonesia. Karena permainan mesin slot ini paling populer karena kakek Zeus dapat mengizinkan pengganda x500. Selain itu, fitur dan mekanik Gates of Olympus juga sangat menguntungkan untuk memenangkan Grand Jackpot. Secara teoritis, RTP slot langsung Gates of Olympus bernilai 96,50%, yang berarti peluang Anda untuk memenangkan MaxWin cukup tinggi. RTP live Sweet Bonanza Sweet Bonanza adalah permainan slot terpopuler kedua. Game slot bertema buah dan permen yang lezat ini sepertinya akan menarik banyak perhatian karena tergolong slot gacor yang mudah menang. Secara teoritis, slot Sweet Bonanza RTP bernilai 96,48%, yang berarti peluang Anda cukup tinggi untuk memenangkan jackpot. RTP Live Wild West Gold Wild West Gold adalah permainan slot bertema koboi yang juga populer di kalangan penggemar konspirasi. Permainan slot Wild West Gold sendiri kerap menawarkan kejutan jackpot bagi para pemainnya. Selain itu, nilai RTP Live Slot menunjukkan indeks tertinggi hari ini, yang berarti sangat layak dan sangat direkomendasikan. RTP Live Starlight Princess Slot Starlight Princess ini memiliki gaya dan fitur yang mirip dengan Gates of Olympus. Perbedaannya hanya pada desain dan karakter gamenya saja, karena memiliki fitur dan mekanik yang sama tentunya RTP slot teoritis pada game slot ini sama yaitu 96,50%. RTP Live Cash Elevator Mungkin sebagian dari Anda baru mengenal slot Cash Elevator. Namun dari data benchmark yang diungkap, ternyata banyak sekali yang menikmati permainan slot ini. Dengan fitur dan mekanisme unik seperti Lift up and down asli, slot ini juga memiliki slot RTP Live dasar 96,64% yang juga memiliki mekanisme yang sangat menguntungkan untuk memperlancar tingkat kemenangan besar.
Bocoran Jam Main Slot Gacor Hari Ini
Dalam bermain permainan slot online itu tidak bisa dilakukan dengan sembarangan yah. Jadi, Jika anda bermain pada waktu tertentu seperti yang akan kita bahas sesaat lagi, ada kemungkinan anda untuk mendapatkan kemenangan lebih tinggi. Jam RTP Slot Gacor merupakan bocoran jam main slot yang akan memberikan anda kapan waktu yang pas dalam bermain game slot.
Tentu saja seluruh provider slot online memiliki jam tertentu dalam memberikan peluang kepada para pemainnya untuk mendapatkan kemenangan. Disini kami akan memberikan anda Bocoran Jam Slot Gacor yang Paling Akurat Hari ini:
Jam Slot Gacor Pragmatic Play 02:30 WIB - Jam 05:25 WIB Jam Slot Gacor Habanero 14:26 WIB - Jam 17:38 WIB Jam Slot Gacor CQ9 00:45 WIB - Jam 05:53 WIB Jam Slot Gacor PG SOFT 14:25 WIB - Jam 17:35 WIB Jam Slot Gacor Joker123 17:41 WIB - Jam 20:42 WIB Jam Slot Gacor Microgaming 22:30 WIB - Jam 00:35 WIB
MGS88: Situs Judi Slot Online Gacor Pay4D Resmi dan Terpercaya
MGS88 adalah situs game slot online Gacor terbaru yang bermitra dengan Pay4D, Pay4D sendiri merupakan daftar situs game slot online terpercaya dengan berbagai macam permainan judi yang mudah dimenangkan seperti Game Bola, Casino Online, Slot Pay4D, Tembak Ikan dan Pay4D Online Permainan togel seperti Singapura, Hongkong, Sydney dan lain-lain. Tujuan utama kami adalah menjadi situs judi online Pay4D yang menyediakan layanan judi online terbaik di Indonesia.
Kami juga salah satu situs resmi PAY4D di Indonesia yang pasti akan membayarkan semua kemenangan kepada semua member kami, karena kepercayaan dari semua member kami adalah prioritas utama kami sebagai mesin slot 4d Asia terbaik di Asia, khususnya di Indonesia.
Dalam melakukan sistem transaksi sistem simpanan dapat dilakukan dengan mudah melalui mobile banking dan electronic banking berupa bank BCA, BSI, BRI, BNI, Cimb Niaga, Permata dan Mandiri. Selain itu, transaksi e-wallet juga tersedia melalui Dana, Gopay, LinkAja dan Ovo serta dapat digunakan untuk pulsa tanpa dipotong.
Untuk mempermudah dan kenyamanan dalam melakukan registrasi atau melakukan setiap transaksi, MGS88 menyediakan layanan live chat dan Whatsapp terhubung langsung dengan customer service online 24 jam.
Mengenal Istilah Dalam RTP SLOT
Di slot RTP Live Anda akan melihat berbagai fitur yang mungkin tidak Anda pahami masing-masing. Namun jangan khawatir, disini sebagai situs slot gacor MGS88 kami akan memberikan penjelasan lengkap mengenai tentang istilah yang ada di RTP SLOT dibawah ini.
By PTI: Ranchi, Sept 12 (PTI) Jharkhand School Education and Literacy Minister Neera Yadav today said that several achievements have been made in the education sector in the thousand days of the completion of Raghubar Das government.
Several schemes like Mukhya Mantri Education Scheme, Smart Classes, Teachers samagam, bus services for schools and colleges have been started, Yadav told a press conference here.
advertisement
She said giving quality education is the goal and they are heading with constructive thinking in that endeavour.
The minister said that the students now did not have to go outside for higher education as they would get the facilities in the state.
There has been an increase in the admission of students and very soon colleges and universities would start sessions, among which are Amity, AISECT, Usha Martin and Sarla University, she said.
Ranchi college is being upgraded into Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee University, she said.
In the last thousand days 45 colleges have been opened, among which 13 polytechnic, 32 degree colleges are included.
Jharkhand also began chancellor portal in which information has been given about all universities and colleges.
A decision has been taken to set up Centre of Excellence with the assistance of Singapore-based Institute of Technical Education, she said, adding very soon the work would begin. Under this yojana, skill training centre at Pundag in Ranchi would be created which would be completed in the next three years. Between 10,000 and 12,000 youth would be trained every year, she added. The goal is not to make students book worms but to make them skilled, and under this the government has started "mera hunar aap". Stress is also being given on business education in schools and colleges, she said, adding several vocational courses have started. Seats in engineering colleges have also been increased, she said. PTI PVR RG
--- ENDS ---
By PTI: Kolkata, Sep 12 (PTI) BJP president Amit Shah today accused West Bengals ruling Trinamool Congress of unleashing violence against BJP workers in the state and urged human rights organisations to speak against it.
No violence could stop the growth of the BJP in Bengal, he said.
"Today, I met the family members of the victims of political violence in Bengal in the last six months... All this happened because they did not support the ideology of the ruling Trinamool Congress," Shah told reporters on the last day of his three-day visit to the state.
advertisement
"I want to ask the people here -- is this Rabindranath Tagores Bengal? Is this Swami Vivekanandas Bengal? No one has the freedom to play a part in any political party other than the TMC," he said.
This kind of violence was perhaps not seen anywhere else, the BJP president said.
Several people were killed, many injured and their property destroyed, he alleged, targeting the Mamata Banerjee-led government in the state.
The BJP chief said development could not take place in Bengal under such circumstances.
He urged human rights organisations to report political violence against BJP workers in the state.
Members of human rights organisations should visit Basirhat, Birbhum and other places in the state and talk to the victims of political violence, he said. PTI PNT SUN PR MIN
--- ENDS ---
By PTI: (Eds: Adding info after para 15)
New Delhi, Sep 12 (PTI) More than 1.06 lakh directors will be disqualified for their association with shell companies, according to the government, as it steps up the fight against black money.
The latest move comes close on the heels of the corporate affairs ministry cancelling the registration of 2.09 lakh companies that have not been carrying out business activities for a long period.
advertisement
Besides, banks have been asked to restrict operations of these companies bank accounts by their directors or their authorised representatives.
The ministry has "identified 1,06,578 directors for disqualification under Section 164(2)(a) of the Companies Act, 2013 as on September 12, 2017," an official release said.
Under Section 164, a director in a company that has not filed financial statements or annual returns for three financial years continuously would not be eligible for re- appointment in that company or any other firm for five years.
Signalling that more regulatory action is expected, the ministry is further analysing the data of the 2.09 lakh firms available with the Registrar of Companies (RoCs) to identify the directors and the significant beneficial interests behind these entities.
"Profiles of directors such as their background, antecedents and their role in the operations/functioning of these companies are also being compiled in collaboration with the enforcement agencies," the release said.
Further, money laundering activities performed under the aegis of these companies are also under the scanner, it said.
The ministry, which is implementing the companies law, has also identified professionals, chartered accountants, company secretaries and cost accountants associated with the defaulting companies.
Besides, such people "involved in illegal activities have been identified in certain cases and the action by professional institutes such as ICAI, ICSI and ICoAI is also being monitored".
"The fight against black money shall be incomplete without breaking the network of shell companies. Possibility of using the shell companies for laundering the black money cannot be undermined," Minister of State for Corporate Affairs P P Chaudhary said.
According to the release, there are about 11 lakh companies with active status after deregistration of over 2.09 lakh firms.
The minister is also monitoring the situation emerging out of cancellation of registration of the companies and is holding regular meetings with officials of the ministry and various related organisations.
These include Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), ROCs, Department of Financial Services, Indian Banks Association and other departments involved in the crackdown against defaulting companies.
"The disqualification under Section 164 of the Act is by operation of law. We are identifying the defaulting directors of these shell companies. My officers have assured me that by the end of this month, we would be ready with the relevant details of all defaulting directors of these shell companies," the minister said.
advertisement
He also said the whole exercise would go a long way in creating an atmosphere of confidence and faith in the system, paving the way for ease of doing business in India.
The interest of stakeholders would be protected and the image of the country in the global business arena and fora would substantially improve, the minister said, adding that fighting the menace of shell companies is an imperative element of the fight against black money. PTI RAM ABM
--- ENDS ---
All set to welcome Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife, Gujarat is going to host a world leader for the second time in three years.
By India Today Web Desk: Gujarat is all set be a host to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife Akie Abe this week. Gujarat is going to be a host to a world leader for the second time in three years.
PM Modi tweeted, "Ahmedabad is all set to welcome the PM of Japan, Mr. @AbeShinzo, who will be on his India visit starting tomorrow."
advertisement
Here are the photos PM Modi shared on Twitter.
On the occasion of 12th India-Japan annual dialogue, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be taking the Japanese prime minister and his wife to Sabarmati Ashram, home to the iconic Mahatma Gandhi, after the summit.
Both prime ministers will be visiting the historic Sidi Saiyyed Mosque located in Ahmedabad. But, what is so special about this mosque? Let's take a look.
Here's all you need to know about the architectural marvel:
Also known as Sidi Saiyad ki Jali, the architectural marvel was built in 1573 and is located near the center of Ahmedabad Lal Darwaja.
It was built by Sidi Saeed or Sidi Saiyyed, an Abyssinian who came from Yemen. Known as nobleman, Saeed served Sultan Nasir-ud-Din Madmud III and Sultan Muzaffar Shah III.
Also read: Modi-Abe meet: Bullet train project inauguration, visit to historic mosque on itinerary
Saeed, the nobleman, was known to help the poor and had a lot of books.
Photo: Sid-thewanderer.com
Sidi Saiyyed mosque was used as a government office during the British rule.
In 1880 CE, few paper casts of the carved screen were taken and two wooden models were made for the Museum of Kensington and New York. Britishers extracted a central jali and took it to London for put it into museum for show.
Photo: Sid-thewanderer.com
Sidi Saiyyed mosque is well known for its Jali work, intricate lattice work and is a part of Indo-Islamic architecture.
There are eight arched windows with jalis carved out of stone.
Also read: Modi to hold road show with Japanese PM in Ahmedabad
But, there is one jali, which never got completed as at that time Ahmedabad was taken over by the Mughals.
Photo: Sid-thewanderer.com
There is a particular jali known as the "Tree of Life" jali, which depicts the spirit of the city of Ahmedabad.
Tree of Life is also the logo for IIM, Ahmedabad.
Photo: IIM Ahmedbad
It is believed that a total of 45 craftsmen worked on these day in and day out to finish on time.
advertisement
Also read: Beyond bullet trains: What makes India-Japan trade partnership a win-win game
The mosque looks quite simple in its first glance but is actually an example of complex work in terms of figurative study.
Photo: Sid-thewanderer.com
It is an example of Islamic and non-Islamic decoration. Islamic - Geometric decoration and non-Islamic- Figurative decoration.
Photo credits: Siddhartha Joshi (Sidi Saiyyed Mosque, Ahmedabad). You can follow his blog here.
--- ENDS ---
By PTI: Gorakhpur (UP), Sep 12 (PTI) The Uttar Pradesh Police today arrested a clerk of the state-run BRD Medical College here, taking to six the number of those held in connection with the death of dozens of children in the state-run hospital last month.
"Clerk Sanjay Tripathi has been arrested from Cantonment police station area. He will be later produced in the anti- corruption court," SSP, Gorakhpur, Anirudh Sidhartha Pankaj said.
advertisement
Last week, the Uttar Pradesh Police had nabbed Sudhir Pandey, another clerk of the medical college, in connection with the deaths.
Pandey was named in the FIR filed in the case and was arrested from near Khajanchi Chowk under Shahpur police station area here on a tip-off.
Former head of anaesthesia department at the Baba Raghav Das Medical College Dr Satish had yesterday surrendered before the anti-corruption court here. PTI CORR NAV BSA
--- ENDS ---
Irani, who contested the 2014 Lok Sabha election against Rahul Gandhi from Amethi, said the Congress vice-president lacks vision and confidence and actually wants to follow PM Narendra Modi.
By India Today Web Desk: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi began his two-week tour to the US slamming Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the University of California, Berkeley. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) responded with equal vigour with Smriti Irani describing the Congress leader as a failed dynast.
"A failed dynast today chose to speak about his failed political journeys in the US. The fact that Mr. Gandhi chose to belittle the PM is not surprising infact expected: Smriti Irani on Rahul Gandhi's statement. Fact that he (Rahul Gandhi) said that dynasts and dynasties is the very fulcrum of India in itself is an anomaly," Smriti Irani told reporters in New Delhi.
advertisement
Irani, who contested the 2014 Lok Sabha election against Rahul Gandhi from Amethi, said her party is ready to debate with the Congress over every issue.
"Congress failed on GST and failed to keep the state into confidence. He (Rahul Gandhi) lacks imagination, that's why he want to follow the footstep of PM Modi. If he want, we are ready to have a debate on any issue with him anywhere," the Union Minister said.
WHAT RAHUL SAID
Addressing students at the University of California, Berkeley, today, Rahul Gandhi riticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's economic policies, accusing him of causing "tremendous damage" to India's economy with "reckless and dangerous" decisions like demonetisation and "hastily-applied" GST.
"Ignoring India's tremendous institutional knowledge and taking such decisions is reckless and dangerous," he charged.
The Congress leader also raised issues like lynching and polarisation during his speech.
"The politics of polarisation has raised its ugly head in India," he said, adding that liberal journalists are being shot. He was apparently referring to rights activist and journalist Gauri Lankesh's killing.
"People being lynched because they are Dalit. Muslims were killed on suspicion of eating beef. This is new in India and damages India very badly," Rahul Gandhi said.
ALSO READ:
Rahul Gandhi in Berkeley: PM's 'New India' is about demonetisation, lynching
Congress working out study tours for Rahul Gandhi to expose him to new ideas, technology
Rahul Gandhi to visit US to learn about artificial intelligence, nanotech
Rahul Gandhi asks PM Modi to own up the colossal failure of demonetisation
WATCH | He is a failed dynast: Smriti Irani hits back at Rahul Gandhi
--- ENDS ---
By PTI: Kolkata, Sep 12 (PTI) The CID today seized three jars of snake venom worth around Rs 100 crore from three persons at Barasat in North 24 Parganas district during a raid, a senior officer of the agency said.
Three persons were arrested after the jars containing the venom were seized from their possession, he said.
State CIDs Special Operation Group (SOG) along with the Border Security Force (BSF) conducted a raid at Barasat this morning and recovered three jars containing snake venom with a market value of Rs 100 crore, he said adding officers from the Forest department were also present.
advertisement
Narayan Das (26), Debojyoti Bose (43) and Buddhadev Khanra (40) were arrested and have been booked under the relevant sections of the IPC, the officer said. PTI SCH JM
--- ENDS ---
By PTI: Colombo, Sep 12 (PTI) Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena today sacked his deputy tourism minister for allegedly defying the party leadership, the second top minister removed from the government in less than a month.
The presidents office said Arundika Fernando has been "dismissed from his portfolio with immediate effect".
Fernando, a member of Sirisenas Sri Lanka Freedom Party, had claimed that seven SLFP members would leave the government soon over corruption allegations against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghes United National Party (UNP).
advertisement
The SLFP runs the unity government in coalition with the UNP, though some SLFP members back a faction of the party that supports former president Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Reacting to his removal, Fernando said: "If anyone thought that my sacking would deter others who plan to leave government, that will be a mistake. I will continue to remain in the party".
A broad working arrangement between the SLFP and the UNP to run the government is set to end in December. But Sirisena and Wickremesinghe last week announced the governments economic vision until 2020, indicating they had no intention of ending the alliance.
Sirisena fired his then justice minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakse on August 23 for criticising the government over its decision to sell a majority of shares in a sea port to China.
Sirisena was elected as president in January 2015 largely on the support of the UNP. Rajapaksa had sacked Sirisena from the SLFP for challenging him in the presidential election.
But after Sirisenas victory, Rajapaksa handed the party reigns to Sirisena. This caused a division within the SLFP with supporters of Rajapaksa forming a joint opposition. PTI CORR ABH
--- ENDS ---
By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 12 (PTI) A Delhi court today directed the city police to de-seal a five-star hotel suite where Congress leader Shashi Tharoors wife Sunanda Pushkar was found dead under mysterious circumstances in 2014.
Metropolitan Magistrate Dharmender Singh asked the police to file a compliance report by September 26 while allowing it to take all required articles from the room for its investigation.
advertisement
The court had on September 4 rapped the police for its "lethargic attitude" in its probe into the death of Pushkar while hearing a plea by the hotels management seeking de- sealing of the suite where she had died.
"Due to the lethargic attitude of Delhi Police, the plaintiff (hotel) has already suffered a lot," the court had said, observing that in the name of investigation, huge financial loss has been caused to the hotel.
The police had sought more time to complete the probe and said teams of forensic experts had visited the suite recently and collected various evidence, reports of which were awaited. "Till the reports clearly indicate no further requirement, the suite cannot be opened," the police had said.
The court had on July 21 ordered de-sealing of the suite within four weeks, saying the hotel cannot be put to unending hardship due to laxity on part of the police.
The court had, however, said the probe agency would be at liberty to visit the suite before filing a compliance report regarding de-sealing of the suite. It had also noted that no offence was found on part of the hotel.
Pushkar was found dead in the suite of the South Delhi hotel on the night of January 17, 2014. The suite was sealed on that night itself for investigation. An FIR was registered by Delhi police on January 1, 2015 against unknown persons under IPC section 302 (murder). PTI UK AG ARC
--- ENDS ---
The suite had been kept sealed for more than three years and the hotel had moved an application for de-sealing suites as they were incurring huge financial losses.
By Mail Today Bureau: The Delhi police will no longer be given time to de-seal the suite of the five-star Hotel Leela Palace where wife of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor was found dead under mysterious circumstances in 2014. A Delhi court on Tuesday declined police's plea seeking more time to de-seal the suite on the ground that they were waiting for the result from Forensic Science Laboratory.
advertisement
The court however said that FSL team is at liberty to visit the suite and collect material for the purpose of the investigation before the September 26. The suite had been kept sealed for more than three years and the hotel had moved an application for de-sealing suites as they were incurring huge financial losses.
Metropolitan Magistrate Dharmender Singh had asked the police to file a compliance report by September 26 while allowing it to take all required articles from the room for its investigation. The court on September 4 rapped the police for its lethargic attitude in its probe into the death of Pushkar while hearing a plea by the hotel's management seeking de- sealing of the suite where she had died.
"Due to the lethargic attitude of Delhi Police, the plaintiff (hotel) has already suffered a lot," the court had said and observed that in the name of investigation, huge financial loss has been caused to the hotel.
Police had sought more time to complete the probe and said forensic experts had visited the suite recently and collected various evidence, reports of which were awaited. The police told court that till the reports clearly indicate "no further requirement", the suite cannot be de-sealed. The court on July 21 ordered de-sealing of the suite within four weeks, saying the hotel cannot be put to unending hardship due to laxity on part of the police.
ALSO READ:
Congress working out study tours for Rahul Gandhi to expose him to new ideas, technology
Rahul Gandhi to visit US to learn about artificial intelligence, nanotech
Rahul Gandhi asks PM Modi to own up the colossal failure of demonetisation
Rahul Gandhi chooses Norway over Lalu Prasad's 'BJP Bhagao, Desh Bachao' rally
ALSO WATCH | Mood of the Nation poll: Modi tallest leader, NDA would win 349 seats if polls took place today
--- ENDS ---
As new batches flock the corridors of the IITs across the country, we see a phenomenal increase in the number of women candidates. Has India managed to address the gender bias in technology and break out of the reverse trend, while the rest of the world is left struggling?
Comments from the faculty members at one of the IITs tell us a different story. According to them, its the Indian mindset to invest heavily on the education of the boy child. In 2016, of more than 10,500 seats at all IITs, only 830 were filled by women, despite 2,200 qualifying.
An internal study conducted by IIT Delhi says that women fare better given an equal opportunity within the campus. Considering that they do not get a level playing field when it comes to investments made by parents, they have consistently outperformed men by about 1 grade point on average, despite lower ranks in JEE (advanced), in the last decade.
Early this year, the Joint Admission Board of the IITs has decided to admit more women from the 2018 academic session and has earmarked a 14 per cent quota. IITs have registered a better representation of women this year up from eight in 2016 to 9.3 per cent in 2017. While the world is embracing technology at an unprecedented speed, women are shying away from it. Globally there is an exodus of women from technology.
Why are women stuck in this loop when they are the ones who invented the loop? Augusta Ada Lovelace, the countess of Lovelace, was born in 1815. She was a child of a broken house and was separated from her father when she was only fiveweeks-old. She inherited the poetic sensibilities from her father and was trained in mathematics and science.
The ability to apply imagination to science and mathematics is what led to the onset of the industrial revolution. It was an era of unprecedented breakthroughs in technology. We all know about Charles Babbage, the man who invented the first computing machine but how many of us know that Augusta Ada Lovelace wrote the first code in computing?
Lovelace met Charles when she was 17- years-old and was later mentored by him. In 1843, she translated the notes on the analytical engine written in French essentially a mechanical computer but took liberties to add her own thoughts and ideas about the future capability of machine. Her notes which were three times longer than the original piece, described, step-by step, how the machine could compute complex mathematical processes she wrote the first few lines of code the very first algorithm the first loop.
She also theoretically explained how the same logic can be extended to perform operations on musical notations. The seeds of the information revolution were sown by her. Today computers can process any form of data, text, images, audio, video, etc.
Lovelace wasnt just the worlds first code, but also the first to propose that computers could think. The US department of defense named the computing language ADA after her. A hundred years (1943) later, Grace (Brewster) Murray Hopper gave this world the first complier compilers are indispensable to programmers today.
The United States Navy Admiral Grace Hopper (1906-1992) was one of the first programmers in the history of computers and was highly influential on the development of one of the first programming languages, called COBOL. Grace also gave the word bug to the coders when she found a live moth stuck in one of the electrical switches controlling a computer circuit. Every year women in technology from all over the world meet at the Grace Hoppers conference to celebrate. It is the worlds largest gathering of women in computing.
From the industrial revolution to the digital revolution, women have struggled to find their place. While women sowed the seeds for information technology, they have low participation in the IT sectors today.
As per the Deloitte report on gender imbalance at workplace, there seems to be an exodus the percentage of women in technology has fallen in the last two decades. Reason for this trend go beyond pay and promotions culture at workplace that keeps them away from pursuing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics in the educational pipeline, which further translates into increasing IT job parity.
Can the digital revolution do what the industrial revolution failed to achieve? One of the most dramatic and unexpected outcomes of the industrial revolution was the rising status of women by the end of the 19th century.
One of the disturbing findings of the World Economic Forum report is that women will take at least another 170 years to achieve gender parity. In the past 10 years we have managed to close the gender gap by a mere three per cent.
There are two paradigm shifts that can help us bridge the gap much sooner. Information empowerment is paving the way for economic empowerment of women, even in the rural sector. Various initiatives like the Amakomaya Project (Nepal), Samasource (Global), Hamara Internet (Pakistan), W2E2-Women for Empowerment and Entrepreneurship, and the Internet Saathi (India) have provided digital tools and training to the rural women to have access to knowledge in their native language, get connected and set up micro-enterprises.
Many of these women are now using the Internet for their own projects in fields like sustainable agriculture and rural health. The Stand up India scheme, launched last year, supports women entrepreneurs to set up their own businesses.
In the 19th century, the Industrial revolution made women leave home for work. Influx of consumer products led to the emergence of consumer driven society and advertising industries-focus shifted to women. Their rising status in the society also opened new opportunities and avenues for women in education and other walks of life.
Today, the onset of the 4th industrial revolution is anticipated to be disruptive and change the dynamics of the workforce between men and women. In the coming years, automation will release women from all the household work and allow them to put their skill sets to better use. Womens rising participation in the workforce and economic power as a consumer will be the key drivers of change across all industries.
Women are presented with a rare opportunity to address this skill gap in the workplace and empower themselves. They need not wait for 170 years.
By their very nature, the current expected drivers of change have the potential to narrow the industrys gender gaps. What they need to know is where are jobs in future.
They need to know what the future job profiles are. As per the report from the World Economic Forum on The Future of Jobs (2016), job families expecting the highest employment growth are architecture, engineering, computation and mathematics. Sadly, in India we have the lowest female participation in these industries.
While the earmarking 14 per cent quota by IITs is a step in the right direction, women need to be more proactive in pursuing STEM related careers. Parents need to alter their mindset and encourage their girl child to pursue education in science, engineering, and mathematics.
If they fail to do so, then the burden of expected job losses due to the digital transformation and automation shall fall on women, which will translate into ever increasing gender parity in the workforce.
If current gender gap ratios persist till 2020, the burden of expected job loss ratio for men and women is 1:20. They shall continue to remain stuck in the loop.
(The writer is director, programmes, ciso cybersecurity)
A Class-10 student was abducted and shot dead by the criminals in the jungle of Nanglasahu village of Bhawanpur police station on late Monday night.
He was a resident of village Navipur of Inchauli and was a student of Saraswati Inter College in Parikshatgarh.
He had gone to attend his school on Monday but didnt return till 5 pm in the evening. When his family called on his phone, a stranger answered the call and demanded a ransom of Rs 50 lakh.
The abductors had warned the family of consequences if they involved police.
His father Ranveer Singh, a farmer, with a small holding of land approached the Bawanpur Police for assistance.
SSP Manzil Saini launched a search operation in the area with heavy force and raided houses in Nanglasahu village to apprehend the abductors.
Meanwhile, villagers gathered and launched a combing operation of their own after they received information of him being held in Nanglasahu village.
They found him injured in a sugarcane field with bullet wounds in his chest. Villagers immediately rushed him to a private hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.
Villagers blocked Garh road demanding immediate arrest of the criminals.
SSP Saini said, that police are working on different lines to solve the case and criminals would be nabbed at the earliest.
Meanwhile, Crime Branch of Police has also been involved in the investigation to identify the criminals.
The dead body has been sent for post-mortem to the medical college, sources said.
The hill state of Himachal Pradesh (HP) may be fairly high on voluntary blood donation at 86 per cent but that hasnt solved the problems of patients.
While there is large drop-out among voluntary donors, the patients in emergency are often on the receiving end as blood distribution at 17 Blood Banks across the state is not streamlined to suit their needs.
As per data provided by the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) and published by Association of Voluntary Blood Donors, West Bengal for 2015-16, HP is one of the few states having voluntary blood donation rate above 80 per cent against countrys average of 77 per cent.
The blood units collected through voluntary blood donation in HP in 2015-16 were 38,599.
Arunachal Pradesh is on top with 100 per cent voluntary blood donation, followed by Daman and Diu (98 per cent). Over 70 per cent of people in HP are dependent on government hospitals for health care.
Usually the attendants of patients have to run from pillar to post to get blood in need. If the emergency comes at night, it becomes a difficult task for them to even approach the blood bank staff, as barring few, most Blood Banks are not operational all-day.
Sources said the Blood Banks usually dont have adequate exclusive staff for day and night functioning.
The blood availability depends on the local demand. We have provided lab technician for Blood Banks in 14 NACO supported Blood Banks, but the remaining staff is to be provided by the hospitals, said Dr Rajesh Thakur, State Programme Officer, Blood Safety.
Though the state has online Blood Bank Management Information system to show availability of different blood groups. Not much has been done on ground to link up Blood Banks for the benefit of public.
The information is not updated and we have to physically check on the availability of particular blood group, which becomes difficult at night, said some patients, who come to the state or district hospitals from remote corners and are unaware of the system.
People suffering with Thalassaemia have to feel the pinch more, as they have to undergo blood transfusion almost every month and have to look for donors themselves.
There is no system in place for sure periodic availability of blood for them across the state, though many blood donation camps are held in their name.
Actress Priyanka Chopra, who was recently appointed as the goodwill ambassador of Unicef, made a brief visit to Syrian refugee camps.
Priyanka spent some quality time with the survivors of the massive attack that took place in Syria.
Syria has witnessed major destruction and a great amount of loss to human life during the massive attacks in the country.
Priyanka, who visited the Jordanian capital of Amman, is inspired by the resilience of the refugees.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BY2oUjIgGvk/?taken-by=priyankachopra
https://www.instagram.com/p/BY2toz-Af44/?taken-by=priyankachopra
https://www.instagram.com/p/BY3KouFAtNf/?taken-by=priyankachopra
https://www.instagram.com/p/BY6IVXrALm5/?taken-by=priyankachopra
https://www.instagram.com/p/BY6VSy6AsGV/?taken-by=priyankachopra
Priyanka, who was last seen in Baywatch, is doing a commendable job as the goodwill ambassador of Unicef. Spreading happiness is one big task and the actress is pretty good in doing that.
With India and Belarus celebrating the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties this year, both countries on Tuesday agreed to further elevate their partnership.
We reviewed the architecture of India-Belarus partnership and exchanged ideas to expand it, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a joint address to the media with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko following delegation-level talks here.
We exchanged views on bilateral, regional and global issues, Modi said.
He said that both sides considered new areas of cooperation and agreed to elevate the partnership.
He said the two countries will encourage joint development and manufacturing in the defence sector under the Make in India programme.
On his part, Lukashenko said that he was interested in Indias growth so that the world can become more multi-polar.
Stating that the two countries signed an investment protection agreement on Tuesday, he said that Belarus was interested in participating in key Indian development initiatives like Smart Cities and Skill India.
We will also cooperate in international and regional levels, Lukashenko said.
Following the talks, the two countries signed 10 agreements, including in the areas of oil and gas, vocational education, cooperation in agriculture, scientific and technical cooperation, and sports.
Earlier in the day, Lukashenko was accorded a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan here.
Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj also called on the visiting dignitary.
Lukashenko arrived here on Monday on a two-day visit to India. This is his third official visit after 1997 and 2007.
There were immense expectations from the BRICS summit, especially since it was to result in the first meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi Jinping after the stand down at Doklam. The summit statement was, as claimed by many, a win for Indian diplomacy as it contained direct reference to terror groups operating from Pakistans soil, though it did not name Pakistan. The meeting between Modi and Xi was also up to expectations.
It was termed as forward looking implying the nations were moving ahead, leaving Doklam in the past. The summit joint statement naming terror groups operating from Pakistan did come as a pleasant surprise, as the same BRICS leaders had refused to include them in the last summit in Goa.
However, its impact remains in doubt. The statement mentioned Taliban, al Qaeda, ISIS, Haqqani network, LeT and JeM, all of which operate from Pakistani soil and are supported by the deep state. It also mentioned the TTP and Hizb ut-Tahrir, which operate from Afghanistan and target Pakistan alongside groups operating in Xinjiang and Uzbekistan. Pakistan, as expected, reacted immediately and rejected the BRICS statement.
In the same breath, it welcomed the mention of the TTP and Hizb ut-Tahrir, as it targets them. Interestingly, these contradictions indicated their own divided house and launched an internal debate.
They stated that no anti-Afghan terror groups operate on their soil, but are based in Afghanistan with only remnants in Pakistan. There was no immediate statement about the LeT and JeM, which was proof enough that they do exist on Pakistani soil. Subsequently, their defence minister did state that Pakistan should do more to restrict their activities.
An irony of the times for Pakistan is that the nations which signed the declaration include Russia and China, the two priority nations in the agenda of visits by their foreign minister as he seeks to counter US pressures.
He did visit China and the joint statement made no reference to terror groups, but supported Pakistans fight on terror, which was a typical diplomatic statement, implying nothing. Pakistan is already in US cross hairs and the BRICS statement further dilutes its position. Pakistan also would have wondered how its supporters, China and Russia, agreed to Indian demands to tag it as a terrorsupporting state. Possibly, China was seeking a successful summit and under pressure from majority members was compelled to agree.
The declaration is in no way binding on other nations, however it conveys a message. It is unknown whether China would pressurize Pakistan to reduce support to terror groups post this statement, though India would hope so. LeT and JeM are already internationally designated terror groups by the United Nations, hence adding them in the BRICS statement may not be anything new or surprising. Similarly, China changing its stance on Masood Azar, when the case comes up again in end October, for his being nominated a global terrorist by the UN security council is unlikely.
The two cases are entirely different, though Indians would clamour, if China extends the technical ban, that this displays Chinese double standards. But in international relations, it is national interests first. Hence, we should not have high hopes in this regard.
More important for India was the meeting between PM Modi and Xi Jinping. It pushed Doklam to the backburner and a decision to move forward, cooperating in other fields, came to the forefront. There was no discussion on Indias membership into the NSG.
A decision to enhance military-to-military interaction and cooperation was suggested, as the means to avoid future standoffs. Positive statements, no doubt, but would they prevent further clashes, standoffs and intrusions? It is unlikely. There are varying perceptions of claims between the two nations which talks have failed to remove for decades. Neither nation is willing to surrender its claims nor ignore any offensive movement of the other. Despite tall claims and diplomatic statements, the situation on the ground is unlikely to change.
Troops from both sides would continue seeking to dominate regions they consider their own, hence standoffs are very likely to be a part of the routine. However they may be less damaging than Doklam. This was also stated by the army chief in a seminar recently, when he mentioned Chinese salami slicing would continue, which drew criticism from China.
It is most important to enlarge the levels of interaction between the two militaries by establishing hotlines at different levels. China has offset this by stating it needs notice before activating its side of the hotline, defeating its very purpose, as also indicating its intentions of not seeking immediate resolutions to any crises in the future too. Another important aspect is enhanced military-to-military deliberations to find methods to eliminate physical contact as occurred in Doklam and Pangong lake in Ladakh. Jostling may have happened earlier, but use of stones and sticks and posting the same on social media is a new trend which needs to be curbed. Further, physical violence could escalate, which neither side desires.
Hence, the importance of hotlines to immediately bring the situation under control. India achieved more than it expected in Xiamen. It managed to push Pakistan on the backfoot, compelling China to accept the fact that it is a terror-supporting nation. It reduced the impact which Pakistan hoped to gain by seeking support against US threats, from Russia and China. More importantly, India and China pushed the Doklam standoff to the backburner and decided to take the relationship forward in other fields including economic.
The joint decision to enhance military-to-military cooperation would go a long way in reducing border tensions and standoffs, if correctly implemented. Border incidents would continue as China seeks to be proactive on its claim lines.
Expecting China to lift its technical ban on Masood Azar or support Indian entry into the NSG or even to ask Pakistan to control terror groups in the near term, is unlikely. Despite normalising relations with India, China would first consider its own national interests, which lie in supporting Pakistan.
(The writer is a retired Major-General of the Indian Army)
French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday would visit French Caribbean islands, which were struck by hurricane Irma last week, his office announced Monday.
Macron is expected to fly to Guadeloupe, Saint Martin and Saint Barthelemy to show his solidarity with the inhabitants of the disaster areas, Xinhua quoted a statement as saying.
Earlier on Monday, Interior Minister Gerrard Collomb said Macron would announce measures aimed to prepare the future of Saint Martin, the island that Irma had totally ravaged during its path.
Macrons travel to the stricken zones is widely seen as an attempt to water down critics over his poor handling of the disaster.
Earlier this week, Irma, with maximum sustained wind speed of 360km per hour, demolished French Caribbean islands through its path before downgrading from category 5 to category 4 on Friday.
The most powerful storm in a century killed nine people in French Caribbean islands. Seven others were reported missing and 112 were wounded, according to official data.
The remnants of Hurricane Irma forced Atlantas international airport the worlds busiest passenger airport to cancel nearly 200 flights early on Tuesday.
The storm also claimed two lives in Georgia and two in South Carolina.
The flights canceled at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport put the total number of interrupted trips there due to Irma at about 1,300, spokesman Andrew Gobeil said
The airport remained operational, with flights taking off and landing. However, some passengers were forced to spend the night at the airport. Gobeil said he didnt have the exact number.
Meteorologist Keith Stellman said Atlantas airport recorded sustained winds of 45 mph (72 kph) with gusts up to 64 mph (103 kph). The National Hurricane Center said it expects Irma to drop 5 inches to 8 inches (13 to 20 centimeters) of rain across South Carolina and the northern regions of Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi through today.
More than 1.2 million Georgia Power and Electric Membership Corp. customers were without power today morning.
The utility companies said they would continue to assess damage as power is restored.
The Alabama Power reported 20,000 outages mostly in eastern Alabama as the remnants of Irma toppled tree and power lines, but didnt cause major damage. The utilities said repairs could take several days.
In Atlanta, people nervously watched towering oak trees as the city, 250 miles inland, experienced its first tropical storm warning. Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority resumed service today, but with limited routes.
The transport operator said it will have rail service running in 20-minute intervals.
Weakened into a tropical depression after strafing the Caribbean and Florida, Irma still had enough force when it swirled into Georgia to cause significant damage.
Heavy rain and strong winds caused flooding along the coast, downed power lines and sent trees crashing onto homes.
Traffic flowed easily on normally jammed Atlanta highways.
In south Georgia, a 62-year-old man had a heart attack and died after climbing a ladder to try to secure the roof above his tractor-trailer.
John Kline was found under debris on the roof of his shed in Worth County, where winds topped 40 mph (65 kph), sheriffs spokeswoman Kannetha Clem said. County Coroner John Johnson said Kline suffered from chronic heart disease and believes the mans death was not storm-related.
Another man, in his 50s, was killed just outside Atlanta when a tree fell on his house, Sandy Springs police Sgt. Sam Worsham said. In addition, a woman died when a tree fell on a vehicle in a private driveway, the Forsyth County Sheriffs Office said on its website.
Some 540,000 people were ordered to evacuate days earlier from Savannah and the rest of Georgias coast. Irma sent 4 feet of ocean water into downtown Charleston, South Carolina, as the storms center passed 250 miles (400 kilometers) away.
City officials urged residents to stay off the streets.
Charles Saxon, 57, became South Carolinas first recorded death when he was struck by a tree limb while clearing debris outside his home in Calhoun Falls amid wind gusts of about 40 mph (64 kph), according to a statement from Abbeville County Coroner Ronnie Ashley.
Another man was killed in a wreck on a wet and windy interstate as Irma moved past. Public Safety Director Leroy Smith said 21-year-old Zhen Tain died in the crash on Interstate 77 just east of Columbia.
Communities along Georgias coast were swamped by storm surge and rainfall arriving at high tide yesterday afternoon.
On Tybee Island east of Savannah, Holland Zellers was grabbing a kayak to reach his mother in a home near the beach. (AP)
The bench was of the opinion that not just the sources but the investigation must also deeply look into the sources of income.
By Anusha Soni: The Supreme Court bench led by Justice Chelameswar has questioned the Centre on the present state of affairs when it comes to prosecuting legislators with disproportionate assets.
Hearing a public interest litigation, the top court questioned the Attorney General Venugopal saying that the current system hasn't worked effectively and there is a need to set up special courts for speedy trials.
advertisement
Justice Chelameswar told Attorney General categorically that the past few decades have made it clear that the current system has lapses and a mere disclosure of income is not enough. The court also observed that it is not enough that a legislator discloses a legitimate source of income. It is important to enquire that how did the person get in that position to earn that income. The court was clearly trying to address issues of conflict of interest and propriety. The bench was of the opinion that not just the sources but the investigation must also deeply look into the sources of income.
Central Bureau of Direct Taxes has submitted a detailed report in a sealed envelope which contains details of the current Investigation against disproportionate assets. The court had kept those reports in its custody and refrained from public discourse.
SC QUESTIONS SPEND ON JUDICIARY
Justice Chelameswar further observed that people are quick to blame courts for delays in trials but with the creating a of new laws, there hasn't been any creation of new tribunals.
'Less than two percent spend on judiciary and infrastructure; other than Industrial Tribunals, there hasn't been any specialised tribunals created. Why doesn't the Parliament legislate and sets up special court,' observed Justice Chelameswar.
The bench is of the view that instead of giving directives to the state Centre just legislate and set up special courts which could hear cases related to disproportionate assets on a fast track basis.
SC SHOULD SUGGEST PARLIAMENT TO SET UP SPECIAL COURTS
Attorney General Venugopal appearing for the Centre told Supreme Court that setting up special courts is a question of 'priorities'. He further argued that CBDT is looking at all the cases very seriously and the current system is doing its best.
Venugopal further said that all sorts of disclosures are not made for example 'businesses which contribute to political parties might not want to disclose, unless there is a rule to pay by cheque'.
AG was of the opinion that the Supreme Court must pass a judgment suggesting Parliament must mull over a legislation.
advertisement
Lok Prahari NGO has filed a plea seeking special mechanism to probe legislators with disproportionate income.
Also Read:
Himachal Pradesh CM Virbhadra Singh, wife appear before Delhi court in disproportionate assets case, seek bail
DA case: CBI opposes bail plea of Virbhadra Singh, others; says they may influence witnesses
Also Watch:
ED seizes Delhi farmhouse worth Rs 29 crore belonging to Himachal CM Virbhadra Singh's family
--- ENDS ---
Britain and the European Commission have jointly agreed to postpone the next round of Brexit negotiations by a week, the UKs Department for Exiting the European Union said on Tuesday.
The UK and the European Commission have today jointly agreed to start the fourth round of negotiations on September 25, a government spokesman said in a statement.
Both sides settled on the date after discussions between senior officials in recognition that more time for consultation would give negotiators the flexibility to make progress in the September round, he said.
Negotiating teams for Britain and the EU had been due to reconvene in Brussels next week for a fourth round of talks.
An EU source in Brussels said that the UK political calendar was the reason behind the postponement.
The last round of negotiations was held in late August and ended with each side blaming the other for the lack of progress.
The outstanding financial settlement of Britains exit proved to be a major stumbling bloc.
The settlement is estimated at up to 100 billion euros in Brussels but at just 40 billion euros in London, according to reports there.
The EUs chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier also voiced concern at Londons proposal for the Irish border, insisting that Brussels would not let Britain use Ireland as a test case for future EU-UK customs relations.
The EU has refused to broach any aspect of the future trade relationship until Brexit talks have achieved sufficient progress on citizens rights, the Irish border and Britains financial bill for leaving the EU.
The UN Security Council on Monday unanimously adopted a resolution to impose fresh sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear test on September 3 in violation of previous Security Council resolutions.
Mondays resolution, the third Security Council action concerning the Asian country in five weeks, curtails the countrys oil supply by almost 30 per cent, bans all its textile exports worth $800 million and remittances of labourers from abroad, Xinhua news agency reported.
With the new measures, 90 per cent of the countrys exports are now banned.
Mondays resolution followed a council resolution on August 5, which imposed a ban on the export of coal, iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore, and seafood from North Korea, among other restrictive measures.
The council also adopted a presidential statement on August 29 condemning North Koreas launch of a ballistic missile earlier as well as other missile launches on August 25.
remaining of
Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading.
Members of the Patidar community set two buses on fire in Surat after cops arrested their community members for disrupting a BJP Yuva Morcha rally. Community leader Hardik Patel has demanded the immediate release of the arrested youth.
By India Today Web Desk: Tension gripped Guajrat's Surat Tuesday night after members of the Patidar community allegedly set two buses on fire in the city's Hirabag Chowk area.
The Patidar youths' action was preceded by the arrest of more than 15 members of their community for disrupting a Bharatiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha event.
Following the youths' arrest, community leader and the face of the Patel reservation agitation, Hardik Patel sent out a threatening tweet. Hardik Patel demanded that the arrested youth be immediately released. "If the youth aren't released at the earliest, then Gujarat will witness a revolution," Patel said in a tweet posted in Gujarati.
Patidar youths protest against Vijay Tankar Sammelan by Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha in Surat,set bus on fire.Police lathicharged protesters pic.twitter.com/pHdDIKaJTw- ANI (@ANI) September 12, 2017
advertisement
Earlier in the day, an event organised by the BJP Yuva Morcha was disrupted by protesting Patidar youngsters. The event was organised by state Yuva Morcha chief Ritwik Patel, the Divya Bhaskar reported.
According to the Gujarati news outlet, the protests intensified after Patel arrived at the event. Following this, Surat Police, in an attempt to bring the crowd under control, resorted to lathi-charging the Patidar protesters.
Cops also arrested more than 15 members of the Patel community, which seems to have furthered angered the Patidars.
Two buses were set on fire in quick succession and according to the latest reports coming from the city, members of the Patidar community remain in the Hirbag Chowk area.
ALSO READ | Vikas has gone mad in Gujarat, BJP fails to counter it
ALSO READ | Hardik Patel to be Shiv Sena's face in Gujarat election: Uddhav Thackeray
WATCH | Surat: Patidars disrupt BJP Yuva Morcha event, set buses on fire
--- ENDS ---
Two people, including a child, hospitalized following one of three crashes in just over an hour in St. John's Sunday night
Two people were sent to hospital following one of three crashes in just a little more than an hour in St. Johns Sunday night. One of the crashes happened on the Robert E. Howlett highway at Heavy Tree Road at about 7:40 p.m. and left a pickup and an ...
By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 12 (PTI) Tata Sons will hike its holding in Tata Global Beverages and Tata Chemicals by buying shares held by the two companies in each other, entailing an estimated investment of Rs 1,458 crore, as part of its efforts to reduce cross-holdings in group firms.
The promoter of major Tata group companies has been on a drive to reduce cross-holdings by different firms of the over USD 100 billion conglomerate under its new Chairman N Chandrasekaran.
advertisement
Tata Sons will acquire up to 4.31 crore shares or 6.84 per cent stake in Tata Global Beverages Ltd (TGBL) from Tata Chemicals, as a part of restructuring of its investment portfolio, TGBL said in a regulatory filing.
As on quarter ended June 2017, Tata Chemicals held 7.10 per cent stake in TGBL.
During the period, Tata Sons had 23.5 per cent stake in TGBL and 19.35 per cent in Tata Chemicals.
In a separate filing, Tata Chemicals said Tata Sons will acquire up to 1.11 crore shares or the entire 4.39 per cent stake in the company held by TGBL.
Both the companies said the proposed date of acquisition is on or after September 18 and the shares are proposed to be acquired at the prevailing price on the date of acquisition.
TGBL said the acquisition price would not be more than 25 per cent of Rs 179.99 per share. At the indicated price, the transaction is estimated to be around Rs 777.10 crore.
Similarly, Tata Chemicals also said the acquisition price would not be more than 25 per cent of Rs 609.23 per share. At the indicated price, the transaction is estimated to be around Rs 681.45 crore.
In June this year, Tata Sons had acquired an additional 2.89 per cent stake in Tata Motors for a little over Rs 3,782 crore from Tata Steel through open market transactions.
Shares of TGBL ended the day at Rs 211.95 apiece, up 1.39 per cent from the previous close on BSE. Likewise, Tata Chemicals shares closed at Rs 634.05 apiece, up 2.58 per cent. PTI PRJ SVK RKL ABM
--- ENDS ---
Its only 45 minutes from the airport in Innsbruck to Kramsach, but the taxi driver is scaring me with a recent story about a hiker whos been gored to death by a cow in this region.
Now Ive always believed, that despite their bulk, cows present no threat to the walker, but apparently this one was guarding her calves when the womans dog started harrying them. Im thinking Id better watch my step on this hike.
The small town of Kramsach nestles in the valley beside the Inn River and is dominated by the mountains rising up above it. I leave my heavy luggage at the hotel, just taking a small rucksack with my essentials. The first day is classed as moderate with only 10km to hike and its a pleasant morning as I walk along the road, cross the river and take the path signed to Brandenberg.
I climb upwards through the forest, and its steep in parts, before reaching 1509m, marked by a summit cross. Its very hot but fortunately the trees provide essential cover from the sun. The weather is hazy so the views are not great but still, I can see Kramsach and the river running the length of the valley. From here its downhill on a 44 track but there are pleasant interludes through the forest before I reach the tiny village of Brandenburg at 900m.
I wake up to rain which looks set for the day and Ive got 19 km to complete. Nothing for it but to don my wet weather gear and grin and bear it. I take the road out of the village to the hamlet of Winkl. There the road winds steeply upwards but I take a forest track which crosses it sporadically. So far the rain has been constant and Im feeling very wet. But, as I climb higher and rise above the cloud, the weather begins to ease.
I reach the 1786m Kienberg, the days highest point, and I can just about glimpse the villages below through the mist. A narrow path leads steeply downhill and I surprise the occasional Chamois which bounds off in the distance before I can reach for my camera. The day is slowly improving and I take an asphalt road before the final descent to the tiny village of Pinegg. Although Im feeling dry outside, my rucksack is soaked, together with all its contents. My room turns into a giant airing cupboard.
Next day theres early morning mist in the valley but the sun arrives to disperse the clouds. The rain has cleared the air and, as I climb upwards, I reach the high alp, home to a smattering of timbered farm houses. Normally Id expect to see cows grazing here, but theres only the sound of their bells, from the barns. Perhaps the earlier unfortunate accident means theyre not allowed to roam.
The path climbs steadily to a saddle and I divert to climb the 1940m Rosskogel and enjoy the panorama as I tuck into my lunch. From here I start to descend to the Zireiner See, apparently the most beautiful mountain lake in the Tyrol and I cant disagree. Its getting hot so, when I reach the waters edge, I lower myself in and soak away my aches and pains. Its really too shallow to swim, but not cold at all.
I lounge in the sun and climb away from the lake before reaching another saddle and then Im on the home stretch to the Bayreuther Hutte. Now this is not a hotel but a mountain refuge with no Wi-Fi, or showers. Fortunately Im assigned a room to myself and sit outside and watch the sun setting as I tuck into my Wiener Schnitzel. For the first time, I see cows grazing outside and have the best nights sleep of the whole trip.
The last day of the tour is a short two hour downhill stroll but the weather is good and I cant resist a full day in the mountains. I climb up to the 2224m Sonnwendjoch, then follow the ridge to the slightly higher Sagzahn. The path then tracks round the summit, with a vertiginous drop on one side, although there are cables to hang onto. Im not feeling particularly brave, so retrace my steps before reaching Rofanspitze at 2259m, my third summit of the day.
Its a long way back to Kramsach but Ive only myself to blame. If Id followed the course of the four day itinerary, Id be back in time to transfer to Innsbruck and catch a flight home. The tour represents very good value, the hiking is reasonably gentle, the food good and accommodation comfortable. It makes an excellent introduction to the joys of the Tirol.
Fact File
PACKAGE: The four day Hiking Tour costs from 156 Euro per person which includes three overnights with half board, a lunch box for the second day, local tourist tax and hiking map
STAY: The Sporthotel Sonnenuhr in Kramsach
Booking.com
Alpbachtal Tourist Office has information about the valley Tel. +43 5337 21200
Tirol has information about the region
EasyJet flies direct to Innsbruck from London Gatwick.
The Gatwick Express is the quickest way to get to the airport.
Patnaik's close aides say that to understand him, one has to understand his empathy
By Pratul Sharma/Photos Sanjay Ahlawat
By PTI: By Aditi Khanna
London, Sep 12 (PTI) British MPs today voted in favour of a bill to end the UKs membership to the European Union, a reprieve for Prime Minister Theresa May who hailed the "historic decision".
Lawmakers voted by 326 to 290 in favour of backing the EU Withdrawal Bill, which will now go forward for further scrutiny by MPs.
advertisement
The bill is aimed at overturning the 1972 European Communities Act, which took the UK into the then European Economic Community (EEC).
It will convert all existing EU laws into UK law to ensure there are no gaps in legislation on Brexit day, scheduled for March, 2019.
May averted a rebellion within her own Conservative party during the post-midnight vote on the EU Withdrawal Bill, which resulted in her government securing a victory at the end of the bills second reading debate in the Commons.
"Although there is more to do, this decision means we can move on with negotiations with solid foundations and we continue to encourage MPs from all parts of the UK to work together in support of this vital piece of legislation,"May said at the end of the tough vote.
Tory party backbenchers have warned May that their support on the bill, which will end the supremacy of EU law in the UK, is not unconditional and have demanded a series of amendments to the bill as it progresses to the next stage in the parliamentary process before becoming law.
It will now receive a line-by-line scrutiny in its committee stage.
The government claims it needs the power to be able to make minor technical changes to ensure a smooth transition.
"The House of Commons has rightly backed this crucial piece of legislation, giving its support to an orderly exit and helping to provide certainty to businesses, organisations and individuals up and down the country," said Steve Baker, junior minister in the UKs Department for Exiting the European Union (EU).
However, those opposed to the bill fear it gives ministers the power to make changes to laws during the process without consulting MPs.
"This bill is an affront to parliamentary democracy and a naked power grab by government ministers. It leaves rights unprotected, it silences parliament on key decisions and undermines the devolution settlement," said Kier Starmer, the Oppositions shadow Brexit secretary.
"Labour will seek to amend and remove the worst aspects from the bill but the flaws are so fundamental its hard to see how this could ever be made fit for purpose," the Labour MP said.
advertisement
His party had largely decided to vote against the bill but seven of Labour?s MPs defied party leader Jeremy Corbyn to back the government on the bill, saying it supports the will of the British people who voted for Brexit in the June 2016 referendum.
A number of Labour MPs also abstained from the vote in defiance of the party?s official stand.
The Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesperson, Tom Brake, said MPs who backed the bill should feel "ashamed".
"This is a dark day for the mother of parliaments," he said.
MPs also voted on Tuesday in favour of the governments proposed timetable for debating Brexit legislation ? by 318 votes to 301 ? guaranteeing 64 hours of debate over eight days.
Both votes came as the UK government released it latest paper on Brexit strategy, which proposes to continue contributing troops and military assets to EU operations after Brexit as part of closer defence cooperation with the economic bloc.
The paper also offers to agree joint foreign policy positions with Brussels, including cooperating on international sanctions against states or terrorist organisations.
advertisement
"After we leave the European Union we will continue to face shared threats to our security, our shared values and our way of life," said UK Brexit minister David Davis.
"Its in our mutual interest to work closely with the EU and its member states to challenge terrorism and extremism, illegal migration, cyber crime, and conventional state-based military aggression," he said.
It is the sixth position paper by the UK government in its talks with Brussels and hopes to push the EU towards opening negotiations on the future of UK-EU relations post- Brexit. PTI AK UZM ZH UZM
--- ENDS ---
India is the biggest arms importer in the world today, having outspent the nearest competitorSaudi Arabiaby nearly $12 billion last year. Long before this dubious tag stuck, successive governments in New Delhi had tried in vain to make India self-reliant in defence production. Now the Modi government is betting on its Make in India initiative to transform the subcontinent into a manufacturing hub, motivating foreign defence majors to come and set up shop in India. Sources in the ministry of defence say the procedure has been simplified and that the government will fund 90 per cent development costs to Indian industry, while reserving projects not exceeding development cost of Rs 10 crore (government funded) and Rs 3 crore (industry funded) for MSMEs.
The defence ministry has now invited foreign defence companies to join Indian firms as minority partners in manufacturing activities. The narrow focus on Russian arms supplies had complicated things in the past for India. But now that New Delhi has recalibrated its strategic prerequisites, Indias acquisition bids for foreign arms are driven by need rather than by ideology. As it looks to win various deals here, the international defence industry will keenly watch the new policy's impact on New Delhis approach to procurement.
The government believes joint ventures (JVs) will not only help India assimilate cutting edge technology, but also help create thousands of jobs in the country. This makes sense for the Modi administration, which is under pressure to accommodate the legions of youth that join the work force every day. The pressure may only increase as the growth rate of the economy is reportedly slowing and the Goods and services Tax (GST) rollout last month has unsettled businesses across the country. With general elections barely a couple of years away, the government may be looking for quick solutions.
New initiatives to bolster the defence industry such as dramatically increasing FDI in defence, and the surprise appointment of Nirmala Sitharamanwho, as commerce minister, proved her mettle in tough negotiations with foreign governmentsindicate Prime Minister Modis intention to bite the bullet. But will it be enough to augment the fledgling manufacturing climate and reorganise the muddled defence procurement process (DPP)? The new strategic partnership (SP) model, for instance, selects companies to build military platforms like submarines and fighter jets in India in partnership with foreign majors. But it is yet to be tested and, as a result, ministry sources say some key projects are stuck in the pipeline. The SP model will be put to its real test in the upcoming multi-billion dollar bids for single-engine fighter aircraft and helicopters where Lockheed Martin (US) partners Tata Advanced Systems Ltd and Saab (Sweden) has a JV with the Adani Group. Neither of the Indian firms has experience in building aircraft and it remains to be seen how the JVs take off.
Many observers feel New Delhi should emulate countries whose dynamic defence ecosystems were developed by awarding long-term contracts to a few major companies, and cheerleading smaller local firms to build around them. China, for instance, initially allowed foreign defence firms to develop manufacturing centres in major cities on the condition that they form JVs with Chinese companies. Transfer of technology to the local partners was an intrinsic part of the deal. True, in India, many private sector companies do not need to scale up their capabilities as they have already been supplying spare parts to foreign defence majors. So JVs under the Make in India programme could help these companies participate in the design and development of defence hardware as well. But the big question is: can they measure up? Also, foreign firms will need reassurance that delays and controversies plaguing Indias acquisition bids are just bad memories and bureaucratic red tape will no longer hinder their operations.
During Modis recent visit to Israel, several defence cooperation compacts were signed, which include Israeli-Indian JVs. US majors and dominant players in the Indian market have won many mega deals in the recent past and are favourites to win several more. A few are in the foreign military sales categorydirect government to government saleswhile others face stiff competition from international companies. US military spending has increased under President Trump after nose-diving in the aftermath of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. So defence giants like Lockheed Martin Corp, Boeing and Raytheon are eager to corner new deals in the subcontinent. Having made India a major defence partner, the US is ready to sell F-16 and F/A-18 fighters and even start an F-16 production line under the Make in India framework. But the Trump administrations reluctance to establish manufacturing bases abroad with US technology, at the cost of American jobs, could derail it.
The coming weeks and months will tell if India has finally turned a corner in laying the foundation to a strong defence industrial base with export capabilities.
With movies such as Dev D, That Girl in Yellow Boots and Margarita with a Straw to her credit, Kalki Koechlin has never followed the conventional path a female actor would take.
The actor says she likes being tagged as "unconventional" as it is her uniqueness that makes her feel beautiful.
"Beauty is such a vast thing. We tend to look at beauty from a commercial angle. Uniqueness is another kind of beauty...What you stand out in, is what makes you beautiful.
"I am always told I am an unconventional actor and I embrace that unconventionalness as that is what I am. Beauty is not just about external beauty but about honing your personality," Kalki said at an event in Mumbai.
The actor has been roped in as the brand ambassador of cosmetics brand Oriflame to launch the campaign'A Beautiful Change'.
The brand aims to empower women and Kalki believes gender equality is still needed in the society, when it comes to sharing responsibilities at home.
"Today, we live in a society where there are jobs and education available to women but they still lack confidence as women go through the pressure of getting married. Certain laws are patriarchal.
"I think domestic responsibility too needs to be shared at home. You can't have women empowered in office but not at home. This balance is a big challenge," she said.
On the work front, Kalki will next be seen in Jia Aur Jia, alongside Richa Chadha and Ribbon.
Keralite priest Fr Tom Uzhunnalil, who was abducted from Yemen in 2016, has been reportedly rescued. The priest from Kottayam, who has been taken to Muscat, will be flown back to Kerala later on Tuesday. However, the ministry of external affairs is yet to confirm the report.
It was reported that the priest was rescued after the intervention of the Oman foreign ministry.
Father Uzhunnalil was abducted in March, 2016, by terrorists who attacked an old-age home run by Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity in Southern Yemeni city of Aden.
Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj announced the release on Twitter.
I am happy to inform that Father Tom Uzhunnalil has been rescued.pic.twitter.com/FwAYoTkbj2 Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) September 12, 2017
Rescue & relief
Efforts were being made to rescue the priest for long. The rescue efforts were hampered as the Indian government did not have an embassy in the strife-torn country. As soon as media reported that Uzhunnalil has been rescued, various people including Jose K. Mani, MP, expressed happiness over the rescue.
The priest's brother also expressed happiness over the rescue, that has come as a relief to the desperate family that has been awaiting for any news on him for the past one-and-a-half years.
''Thank you, God'
A daily in the Gulf country, Oman Observer, thanked God Almighty and expressed his gratitute to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos for securing his release. The priest also thanked his brothers and sisters and all relatives and friends, the daily reported.
Eight years after it was released, the contents of a book authored by dalit activist and writer Kancha Ilaiah has enraged members of Arya Vysya community. The Hyderabad-based activist has been receiving threatening calls after a Telugu book titled Samajika Smugglurlu Komatollu (Vysyas are social smugglers) hit the stands few weeks ago. The book is the Telugu version of some of the chapters found in 'Post-Hindu India', authored by Ilaiah himself and published in 2009.
I received an abusive phone call at around 3.50am on Monday and since then such calls have not stopped, said Ilaiah. A member of Arya Vysya community threatened me on TV channel that he will cut off my tongue and another one said that cases will be booked against me in police stations across the country. He wants to say that I can be attacked whenever I attend court cases. This is an unusual display of murderous tactic. I am being threatened by the richest community in this country which is well-connected in Delhi.
According to Ilaiah, he is being targeted for coining the term 'social smuggling' and questioning the trading community for exploiting lower castes. I have come out with a new concept based on caste-based markets long back. This is not a criminal activity. If anyone has a problem, let them write articles or come out with a book. I am even ready for an intellectual debate, he said.
Ilaiah, who lodged a police complaint, has been provided security cover.
The title of the book has invited widespread criticism in the last 48 hours. Welfare associations and individuals belonging to the community want a ban on the book. Apart from burning the effigies of Ilaiah, some of the protesters also took to social media to vent their ire and demanded an apology from the writer.
He is a professor but a bad example for younger generation. He is just interested in dividing Hindus and insulting few communities, said said A. Lakshminarayana, president, Telangana Arya Vysya Mahasabha who submitted a representation to the DGP of Telangana, Anurag Sharma, demanding Ilaiah's arrest.
Nobody from our community has threatened him. He is making allegations without any proof. We are hurt by his writings. We will continue our protests in AP and Telangana till he apologises or withdraws his book.
For now, the four-day long visit by Home Minister Rajnath Singh to Jammu and Kashmir seems to have struck the right chord with people of the state.
Singh made some right statements much to the comfort of the BJP's ally, the PDP, and the restive population. It's widely believed that the Centre would have to be more reconciliatory to create a semblance of normalcy in the state.
Singh's latest trip, the fifth this year, has left a positive impression. His statement that the government would not do anything that would ''go against the sentiments of the people is seen as assurance that the BJP government in the Centre will not support scrapping of the Article 35A which prevents outsiders from settling in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Article has been challenged by an RSS-backed NGO, two women, and the West Pakistan Refugees on the pretext that it is a Presidential Order that has been incorporated in the Constitution without Parliament's approval and violates the rights of the citizens outside Jammu and Kashmir.
"I want to assure you (and) I am not talking about Article 35A alone, whatever our government does, we will not do anything against the sentiments of Kashmiris," Singh had said.
The announcement is music to PDP's ears, especially to Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti who had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the Article.
''The positivity exhibited by the home minister would go a long way in putting balms on the wounds of the people of the state,'' Mehbooba said in a statement.
A majority of people in Jammu and Kashmir believe that the RSS wants abrogation of the Article 35A to change the demography of the only Muslim majority state in India.
On the third day of his visit to the state, the home minister said he would continue to visit the state to take stock of the situation. '' This is my fifth visit this year. I will continue to visit till the situation improves even if it takes 55 visits. I don't claim that the problem is over, but it has certainly improved.''
This is for the first time the Centre's seems to saying the right things about Kashmir, much of it is largely due to the improved security situation.
Since January, 140 militants, including four of the 11 wanted commanders, have been killed in Kashmir, mostly in south Kashmir's Pulwama, Kulgam, Shopian and Anantnag.
Relentless operations by security forces have forced many militants to go into hiding and shun cell phones for fear of being tracked. Many stone pelters have also been taken into custody.
The NIA crackdown against the separatists, allegedly for receiving hawala funds to fuel unrest, has forced the large separatist constituency on the defensive. That has also contributed in calming down the tempers.
It is against this backdrop that the home minister sought to allay the fears that his assertion that the Centre would find a ''permanent solution'' to Kashmir was not linked to the abolition of the Article 35 A.
''A lot has made of what we said the government would find a permanent solution to the Kashmir problem,'' he said. ''The permanent solution is based on five Cscompassion, communication, co- existence, confidence building and consistency.''
Improvement in the security situation also is seen as a reason for appeal by the home minister, for the first time, to the people outside to visit Kashmir. ''I appeal to the people to visit Kashmir. The people of Kashmir are waiting to welcome you. There is no problem.''
Despite the positive statements, Singh sounded ambiguous on inviting separatists for talks ''There is no question of a formal or informal invitation. Those who want to talk should come forward," he said. "I always come here with an open mind."
The Congress visit
The policy and planning group of the Congress on Jammu and Kashmir, headed by former prime minister Manmohan Singh also held discussions on the situation of the state for two days on September 10 and 11. The former PM was accompanied by Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ambika Soni, P Chidambaram. J&K PPCC president G.A. Mir, former MP Tariq Hameed Karra and former J&K minister Nawang Rigzin Jora.
The Congress delegation held a meeting with the state legislators of the party and discussed in detail the security and political situation of the state, Congress spokesman Ravinder Sharma said.
The group was scheduled to visit the state in April but due to worsened security situation, the visit was postponed. '' We had detailed discussion with various delegations from all walks of life in Jammu,'' said Mir.
According to sources, there were talks on possible strategies to counter the saffron party in the state.
The Congress and the opposition, especially the NC, have closed ranks against the BJP-PDP alliance in the state. The two parties are likely to contest the next elections jointly.
Sources said the NC and CPI(M) leaders told the Congress leaders that they were in favour of the Article 35 A.
"The Congress panel had come talk about the solution to the prevailing situation in the state,'' said regional secretary of CPI(M), Sham Prasad Kaiser. ''We suggested dialogue on internal and external fronts to resolve the Kashmir issue instead of using military power.''
The Jammu Bar Association, led by its president B.S. Slathia, submitted a five-page memorandum to the Congress group demanding, among other things, abrogation of the Article 35A.
"Article 35A is against the very spirit of the Indian Constitution and the preamble of J-K Constitution of 1957. It deprives all the Indians living outside the state of their right to exercise any right in the state, thus creating a situation in which they are considered a persona non grata in Jammu and Kashmir," the memorandum said.
The Congress panel would visit Kashmir on September 16 and 17 and the Ladakh region on a later date. ''The dates for the visit to Ladakh will be announced later,'' said Mir,
Sources said the Congress wanted to know the opinion of people on important matters like the Article 35 A to form a policy on the issue in view of the petitions challenging the Article in the Supreme Court.
The dominant view in the Congress is that the Article, which was incorporated in the Constitution as result of 1952 Delhi agreement between Jawahar Lal Nehru and Sheikh Abdullah should stay. Some of its leaders like Chidambaram will also appear as counsel for the Karra who has decided to defend the Article as a private member.
A day after criticising BJP workers in the state for not fighting back against the Trinamool Congress's atrocities in West Bengal, party chief Amit Shah today changed the discourse and blamed the Mamata Banerjee-government for launching rampant attacks against his party workers.
Shah was shocked to meet more than 100 victims of political violence and stated that the situation in Bengal was full of horror and warranted attention of human rights activists around the world. I used to get reports about attacks on our workers here. But I did not have any idea that the situation is so grave. Hardly anywhere in the world will you see such attacks against political opponents, Shah said today, in a complete change of stance. Is this Tagores Bengal, is this Vivekanandas Bengal? he asked.
Shah asked human rights activists from around the world to visit places like Kolkata, Basirhat and Birbhum where political workers faced huge attacks from the Trinamool Congress cadres. Its time for them to come out of their swanky houses in Delhi and visit Kolkata, Basirhat, Birbhum and other places in Bengal. They must report this, otherwise their job will be undone, he said.
He added that Mamata should understand that she was not awarded people's mandate to carry out such activities. Peoples homes were burnt, they are mercilessly beaten up. Some of them lost their limbs. Even a six-year-old child was not spared. A bullet is still stuck in his stomach that even the doctor could not remove, said Shah.
He further stated that Mamata came to power facing similar attacks from the communists. But I am upset that she has forgotten all those days, said Shah. He stated that all such attacks would enable the BJP to move ahead in West Bengal. The more you attack us, the more we move. We will move ahead despite all odds and would come to power in West Bengal. No one can prevent us, an angry Shah said.
Earlier, Shah did not have any plans to address the press during his trip to Bengal. However, later he claimed that he changed his mind after seeing the victims of political violence in Kolkata and decided to meet the media.
Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress said Shah was being misinformed by his own party members. I think he has been misreported by his own party. In India, Bengal is the most peaceful place for political activities, said party general secretary Partha Chatterjee.
Even as the stage is set in Ahmedabad to welcome Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on a two-day visit, a group of Dalits have threatened to stage a protest on Wednesday against the visiting diginitary, in connection with alleged casteist behaviour against a dalit youth by a Japanese car manufacturing company.
The company is located in Mandal taluka of Ahmedabad.
Abe will head the Japanese delegation for annual Indo-Japan meet.
The Japanese Prime Minister will arrive at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in the afternoon. He would then visit the Sabarmati Ashram and Sidi Saiyed ni Jaali at Lal Darwaja.
Both the prime ministers will reach the Sabarmati Ashram from the airport through a eight-kilometer long road show. Security in the city has been beefed up and roads from where the diginitaries are to pass through have been sanitised.
On the second day, Abe and Modi will do the foundation laying ceremony of the high-speed bullet train between Ahmedabad and Mumbai. Afterwards, Abe will visit Dandi Kutir. The second day will also witness MoU signing ceremonies, plenary, delegation level talks and a joint press conference at the Mahatma Mandir in Gandhingar.
Kirit Rathod of Navsarjan Trust, working with dalits, claimed that around 200 dalits would wave black flags before the Japanese Prime Minister. He said that the location has been kept a secret.
Rathod said they were protesting against what he termed as casteist behaviour with one Hitesh Sitapara, 25, by the HR employee of a Japanese company. Rathod alleged that despite trying to lodge a complaint against the person for three days, the police did not do so and finally they had to protest for the whole day before the police finally gave a copy of the FIR.
The annual summit is expected to see the participation of more than 100 Japanese envoys and corporations. About 15 MoUs will be signed.
The visiting prime minister, his wife and the host will have dinner at House of Mangaldas, a heritage hotel that is situated opposite Siddi Saiyyed mosque. The mosque hit the headlines recently, when it became one of the prime spots considered when UNSECO gave Ahmedabad a World Heritage City tag. Ahmedabad became the first Indian city to have received this recognition.
In September 2014, a few months into his new role as the prime minister, Modi was keen to establish himself as a world leader. Instead of hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping in Delhi, he decided to acquaint the latter with his home state of Gujarat.
Modi played a gracious host to Jinping, guiding him along the Sabarmati Riverfront and managing photo-ops with the visiting dignitary seated on a swing. A year later, the prime minister took his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe to his Lok Sabha constituency of Varanasi, where both leaders witnessed an hour-long Ganga aarti.
The optics were played up; the prime minister was man at ease with world leaders, hard-selling the countrys soft power. These high-profile events, held away from the national capital, also revealed Modi's inherent distrust for Lutyen's Delhi. This was the crux of his election speechespromises to make Delhi more accessible or to even move the centre of power to other areas in the country. He leveraged the optics of an outsider to bolster his image as a son of the soil during his election campaigns.
"I am an outsider to Delhi. I was far removed from the elite classes. But an outsider came to Delhi and got an insider's view, " Modi had said in his first I-Day speech.
Since then, the prime minister has been insisting that the ministers and top bureaucrats hold their major conferences outside Delhi. The DGP conference was held in Assam and Gujarat, the Combined Commanders' Conference (CCC) was held on the deck of INS Vikramaditya in Kochi in 2015. It was held in Dehradun this year.
Modi will revert to the cultural diplomacy route to build his international image. Abe will spend three days in Modi's home state of Gujarat, where bilateral talks will be held. This time, the visit will be flaunted on a much grander scale, perhaps desi style.
Modi will receive Abe from the Ahmedabad airport at 3.30pm, after which both leaders will embark on a road show to Sabarmati Ashram, nine kilometers away. The distance will be covered in one hour.
Modi, along with his party chief Amit Shah, has perfected the art of holding road shows. Its visual appeal far outstrips that of a public rally or an official function. But, this will be the first time that a road show will be held for a diplomatic purposes. There might also be an electoral impact. Gujarat is going to polls in the next three months.
As Gujarat has been Modi's karambhoomi, several high profile events were conducted in the state. In May this year, the African Development Banks first annual conference outside the continent was held in Ahmedabad. A few months before that, foreign dignitaries, including Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Olegovich Rogozin, President of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta, and Prime Minister of Portugal Antonio Costa had come to participate in the Vibrant Gujarat summit, where Modi was the chief guest.
Hosting US president Barack Obama in Delhi was widely seen as another diplomatic coup. Owing to security concerns, Obama could not have been taken outside Delhi.
From a cultural-political sense, Modi has little to show the visiting dignitaries in Delhi. Most meetings are held at the Hyderabad House. Most of monuments and buildings in Delhi are of Mughal and colonial lineage, which the prime minister appears to have little affinity to. It is only in places like Varanasi or Ahmedabad that he can flaunt the Hindu heritage. It comes as an added advantage that Ahmedabad recently got the tag of first heritage city in India.
Once in Ahmedabad, Modi and Abe will lay the bullet train project's foundation stone. Modi will also guide Abe around Sabarmati Ashram and Dandi Kutir, associated with Mahatma Gandhi's life. Abe will also be shown the ornate Siddi Saiyyed mosque.
The algorithms designed by a young Indian scientist at Google Research, New York, are helping make web search easier and faster for users challenged by slow internet connections and basic feature phones.
Ananda Theertha Suresh began work on the algorithms as a doctoral student at the University of California, San Diego. He addressed a problem faced by many owners of basic feature phones in countries like India, where internet connections are slow. Every time one makes a search, all the information about the keyword is sent to a distant server and the information with the search result has to travel back to the phone. With slow internet, this can be a pain.
Ananda Theertha Suresh
Suresh's work helped strip the data flow to essentials, then compressed it further so that even basic phones could do quick searches. At Google after obtaining his PhD, Suresh refined his work to provide sophisticated communications capabilities to people with low bandwidth internet connections and low-end devices.
Dr Michael D. Riley, principal research scientist and manager at Google Research comments: Anandas research has already led to algorithms that give better compression than we have previously used. This work is now used by millions of people within speech and keyboard input applications in Google products.
The US-based Marconi Society, a non profit body dedicated to furthering scientific achievements in communications and the internet bestowed on Suresh, the 2017 Paul Baran Young Scholar Award. The 28-year-old researcher will receive the award at a ceremony in Summit, New Jersey on October 3.
His PhD guide at UC San Diego, Alon Orlitsky, says: Ananda applied his philosophy to several important tasks In all these problems he derived crisp, insightful, and surprising results that often required broad vision, keen intuition, and mastery of diverse technical skills, a highly unusual combination for such a nascent researcher.
Suresh who did his schooling in Bengaluru, obtained his Bachelor's degree in Engineering Physics at IIT Madras in 2010 and went to the US where he pursued his Masters and PhD at UC San Diego between 2010 and 2016. Marconi Young Scholars receive a $4,000 prize. Three other Young Scholars were also selected this year. More than the cash prize, Young Scholars are offered valuable mentoring and guidance by some among Marconi Society's distinguished roster of engineering greats.
Interestingly at this year's Marconi awards, three persons of Indian origin will be honoured. While Suresh receives his award in the Young Scholar category, former Bell Labs chief Arun Netravali, known as 'father of digital video',will receive $100,000 Marconi Prize and Stanford University Professor Emeritus, Thomas Kailath is being honoured with the Marconi Societys Lifetime Achievement Award.
By PTI: (Eds: Updating with fresh inputs)
By Aditi Khanna
London, Sep 12 (PTI) British MPs today voted in favour of a crucial bill to end the UKs membership in the European Union, a victory for embattled Prime Minister Theresa May who hailed the "historic decision" to back the will of the people.
Lawmakers voted by 326 to 290 in favour of backing the EU Withdrawal Bill, which will now go forward for further scrutiny by MPs.
advertisement
The bill is aimed at overturning the 1972 European Communities Act, which took the UK into the then European Economic Community (EEC). It will convert all existing EU laws into UK law to ensure there are no gaps in legislation on Brexit day, scheduled for March, 2019.
May averted a rebellion within her own Conservative party during the post-midnight vote on the EU Withdrawal Bill, which resulted in her government securing a victory at the end of the bills second reading debate in the Commons.
A total of seven Labour MPs, however, rebelled against the party line and backed the bill.
Mays Conservative government won the vote with support of the Northern Irelands Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) which has 10 lawmakers.
Following the tough vote, May issued a statement calling it "a historic decision to back the will of the British people".
"Although there is more to do, this decision means we can move on with negotiations with solid foundations and we continue to encourage MPs from all parts of the UK to work together in support of this vital piece of legislation,"May said.
Tory party backbenchers have warned May that their support on the bill, which will end the supremacy of EU law in the UK, is not unconditional and have demanded a series of amendments to the bill as it progresses to the next stage in the parliamentary process before becoming law.
It will now receive a line-by-line scrutiny in its committee stage.
The government claims it needs the power to be able to make minor technical changes to ensure a smooth transition.
"The House of Commons has rightly backed this crucial piece of legislation, giving its support to an orderly exit and helping to provide certainty to businesses, organisations and individuals up and down the country," said Steve Baker, junior minister in the UKs Department for Exiting the European Union (EU).
However, those opposed to the bill fear it gives ministers the power to make changes to laws during the process without consulting MPs.
advertisement
"This bill is an affront to parliamentary democracy and a naked power grab by government ministers. It leaves rights unprotected, it silences parliament on key decisions and undermines the devolution settlement," said Kier Starmer, the Oppositions shadow Brexit secretary.
"Labour will seek to amend and remove the worst aspects from the bill but the flaws are so fundamental its hard to see how this could ever be made fit for purpose," the Labour MP said.
His party had largely decided to vote against the bill but seven of Labour?s MPs defied party leader Jeremy Corbyn to back the government on the bill, saying it supports the will of the British people who voted for Brexit in the June 2016 referendum.
The Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesperson, Tom Brake, said MPs who backed the bill should feel "ashamed".
"This is a dark day for the mother of parliaments," he said.
MPs also voted in favour of the governments proposed timetable for debating Brexit legislation ? by 318 votes to 301 ? guaranteeing 64 hours of debate over eight days.
Both votes came as the UK government released it latest paper on Brexit strategy, which proposes to continue contributing troops and military assets to EU operations after Brexit as part of closer defence cooperation with the economic bloc.
advertisement
The paper also offers to agree joint foreign policy positions with Brussels, including cooperating on international sanctions against states or terrorist organisations.
"After we leave the European Union we will continue to face shared threats to our security, our shared values and our way of life," said UK Brexit minister David Davis.
"Its in our mutual interest to work closely with the EU and its member states to challenge terrorism and extremism, illegal migration, cyber crime, and conventional state-based military aggression," he said.
It is the sixth position paper by the UK government in its talks with Brussels and hopes to push the EU towards opening negotiations on the future of UK-EU relations post- Brexit. PTI AK UZM ZH AKJ UZM
--- ENDS ---
British lawmakers will vote on Tuesday on moves by the Conservative government to bolster its numbers on committees that scrutinise laws, denounced by the opposition as an attempt to rig parliament.
Prime Minister Theresa May faces another potentially tight vote in parliament, a day after lawmakers passed legislation to sever ties with the European Union.
If successful, the committee reforms could help ministers reduce opposition to the governments plans for Britain to leave the EU.
In a taste of what will become a regular experience for Mays government after the Conservatives lost their majority in a June election, ministers will largely have to rely on the support of a small Northern Irish party and loyalty within their own ranks in a vote that could run long into the night.
The leader of the lower house of parliament, Andrea Leadsom, has proposed a motion which says that the rules will be changed in such a way that where a committee has an odd number of members the government shall have a majority.
Where a committee has an even number of members the number of government and opposition members shall be equal; but this instruction shall not apply to the nomination of any public bill committee.
Public bill committees take evidence from organisations or individuals before examining legislation line-by-line and introducing any amendmentsa process that can influence or change the governments approach.
The government says the move reflects its majority on the floor of the house, but the main opposition Labour Party says May is trying to undermine democracy after she lost her partys dominant position in parliament at the June election.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday urged Myanmar to take back the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who have fled violence in Rakhine state to her country.
Speaking as she visited Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox's Bazar district, Hasina urged Myanmar to view the situation with humanity, saying innocent people were suffering.
Hasina accused the Myanmar military of committing atrocities and said its actions were in "violation of human rights", and added that Rohingya refugees are Myanmar's nationals and it must take its citizens back.
"Bangladesh wants to maintain peace and good relations with its neighbouring countries, but it cannot accept 'unjust acts' the Myanmar government is committing," the prime minister was quoted as saying by the Daily Star newspaper.
"Still, the fire is burning there... people can't find their family members... the bodies of infants and women are floating on the Naf River... these go completely against humanity and are violations of human rights," Hasina said.
Some 370,000 Rohingyas have crossed the border since violence began in August, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday. Myanmar's military says it is fighting Rohingya militants and denies it is targeting civilians.
But many of those who have fled say troops responded to attacks by Rohingya militants on August 25 with a brutal campaign of violence and burning of village aimed at driving them out.
"My personal message is very clear, that they should consider this situation with the eyes of humanity," the prime minister told the BBC.
"Because these people, innocent people, the children, women, they are suffering. So these people, they belong to Myanmar. Hundreds of years they are staying there. How they can deny that they are not their citizens?"
Hasina said her country would offer Rohingyas shelter until Myanmar took them back. She also condemned the militants for their role in the violence, but said Myanmar's government should have dealt with the situation more patiently.
She said Bangladesh protests this injustice and inhumane attitude towards Rohingyas in Rakhine state, and renewed her call to the international community to mount pressure on the Myanmar government to take back their nationals. "Myanmar has to take back their nationals, give them a safe place to live in their homeland. The international community should put pressure on Myanmar... this has to be stopped," she added.
Bangladesh's Parliament passed a resolution on Monday night urging the UN and other countries to mount diplomatic pressure on Myanmar. The government has also decided to collect biometric data from the refugees for a database.
There have been protests in several Muslim-majority nations.
UN human rights chief Zeid Raad al-Hussein said on Monday that the security operation in Rakhine appeared to be "a textbook example of ethnic cleansing".
Father Tom Uzhunnalil, a Christian priest from Kerala who was abducted by the ISIS in Yemen, has been rescued.
By India Today Web Desk: After being held hostage by the ISIS for 18 months, Kerala's Father Tom Uzhunnalil has finally been rescued.
Father Tom was taken hostage in March 2016 by the ISIS terrorists during an attack on a Missionaries of Charity home in Aden.
Reports have it that Uzhunnalil was recovered in a 'bad state', and has been brought to Oman. He is expected to be flown to Kerala by today itself.
advertisement
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has confirmed the reports with a tweet.
I am happy to inform that Father Tom Uzhunnalil has been rescued.pic.twitter.com/FwAYoTkbj2- Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) September 12, 2017
The priest is said to have been released following interference by the government of Oman.
"In response to the Royal Orders of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said and as per a request from the Vatican to assist in the rescuing of a Vatican employee, the concerned authorities in the Sultanate, in coordination with the Yemeni authorities, have managed to find a Vatican government employee. He was transferred this morning to Muscat in preparation for his return home," the Oman government said in a statement online.
CM PINARAYI VIJAYAN: FATHER TOM'S RELEASE A GLAD NEW
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan responded to the news of Tom Uzhunnalil's release from ISIS captivity on Facebook, calling it a "glad news".
"The rescue and release of priest Tom Uzhunnalil, who was abducted by terrorists, is a glad news. I learned that it is Oman's interference in the matter that led to the release of the father. Father is now undergoing treatment in Oman. We extend all the help possible for his return to Kerala and further treatment. I join everyone who's celebrating the safe return of Tom Uzhunnalil," he wrote in Malayalam.
THE ATTACK AND FATHER TOM'S ABDUCTION
In March 2016, ISIS terrorists sneaked into a Missionaries of Charity old-age home in Aden, posed as the relatives of one of its residents.
Once inside, they attacked the place and killed as many as 16 people here, including four Indian nuns.
Father Tom, who hails from Kottayam, was working as a chaplain at this home at that time. During the attack, he was taken hostage by the ISIS terrorists and held in Yemen since.
FATHER TOM'S VIDEO PLEADING HELP
In a video released in May this year, Father Tom pleaded to be rescued from the clutches of the ISIS, stressing that his health was deteriorating.
"My dear family people, do what you can to help me be released. Please, please do what you can to help to get me released. May God bless you for that," he said in the video posted on a Yemeni news portal.
advertisement
"My health condition is deteriorating quickly and I require hospitalisation as early as possible."
Last December, Father Tom had appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pope Francis in a video to rescue him from the ISIS.
He has also complained that he was being ignored by the concerned Christian authorities because he was an Indian.
"If I were a European priest, I would have been taken more seriously. I am from India. I am perhaps not considered as of much value," Uzhunnalil had said in the video.
For more on Tom Uzhunnalil...
ISIS-abducted priest's SOS to PM Modi and Pope: Ignored since I'm Indian
Sushma Swaraj tweets to respond to ISIS-abducted Indian priest's video appeal
Kerala priest abducted by ISIS appeals to Pope, PM Modi for release
--- ENDS ---
By PTI: proposals
Colombo, Sep 12 (PTI) UN rights chief Zeid Raad Al Hussein has urged Sri Lanka to accelerate the pace of fulfilling all the obligations in the consensual resolution adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
The UNHRC had passed resolutions that had mandated Sri Lanka to set up a credible mechanism to probe human rights abuses by both the LTTE and the government troops during the final phase of the war which ended in May 2009.
advertisement
Al Hussein urged swift operationalising the Office of Missing Persons and to move faster on other essential confidence building measures, such as release of land occupied by the military, and resolving long-pending cases registered under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).
"In the North, protests by victims indicate their growing frustration over the slow pace of reforms. I encourage the Government to act on its commitment in Resolution30/1to establish transitional justice mechanisms, and to establish a clear timeline and benchmarks for the implementation of these and other commitments," he said.
He said the absence of credible action in Sri Lanka to ensure accountability for alleged violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law makes the exercise of universal jurisdiction even more necessary.
On the PTA, he said "I repeat my request for that Act to be replaced with a new law in line with international human rights standards."
Hussein said Sri Lanka has already accepted Universal Jurisdiction as in the last UNHRC resolution it co-sponsored.
However, whenever the issue of international action under Universal Jurisdiction against Sri Lankan military is raised, the government states that it will not allow any officer to be dragged to face trial in any foreign court.
Sri Lanka has refused to let foreign judge to operate citing it as unconstitutional. PTI CORR AMS AKJ AMS
--- ENDS ---
A top deputy to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said the Israeli leader must push President Donald Trump to freeze, change or cancel the international communitys nuclear deal with Iran during an upcoming trip to the United States.
Yisrael Katz, Israels minister for intelligence and strategic affairs, told a security conference in the central Israeli city of Herzliya on Monday that changing the deal should be Netanyahus primary mission. Netanyahu is expected to meet with Trump next week on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.
Katz said the worlds failed attempts to negotiate a halt to North Koreas nuclear program provide a lesson. Iran is the new North Korea, he said. We need to act now so we wont be sorry tomorrow about what we didnt do yesterday.
The deal offered Iran relief from international sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program. Israel has repeatedly claimed the deal will not prevent Iran, its archenemy, from developing a nuclear weapons capability.
On the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly criticized the nuclear agreement as a bad deal. His administration has faced two 90-day certification deadlines to state whether Iran was meeting the conditions needed to continue enjoying sanctions relief under the deal and has both times backed away from a showdown. But Trump more recently has said he does not expect to certify Irans compliance again. The next deadline is in mid-October.
On Monday, Yukiya Amano, the head of the U.N. agency monitoring Irans compliance with the deal, said Iran is honoring the agreement. Amano spoke in Vienna at the start of a 35-nation board meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Israel considers Iran to be its greatest threat, citing the countrys nuclear ambitions, its developing of long-term missiles, hostile anti-Israel rhetoric and support for anti-Israel militant groups. Israel has grown increasingly concerned about Irans involvement in the civil war in neighboring Syria, where its troops are supporting President Bashar Assad.
Israel is worried that Iran, and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah, will establish a long-term presence in Syria near the Israeli border.
Katz claimed that Assad is in the process of signing a long-term deal with Iran that could allow the Iranians to deliver sophisticated weapons and operate Shiite militias with tens of thousands of fighters with the goal of threatening and battling Israel.
Israel has largely stayed out of the fighting in Syria. But it has carried out dozens of airstrikes against suspected weapons shipments bound for Hezbollah. Last week, Syria accused Israel of attacking a government facility, described by some as a missile-producing factory and others as connected to Syrias chemical weapons program.
Israel has not commented on the accusations.
(AP)
Multiple Jewish leaders endorsed Assemblyman Felix Ortiz in his race for New York City Council in the 38th Council District which includes the Boro Park neighborhood from 10th Avenue towards Sunset Park. Felix Ortiz is currently the Assistant Speaker of the New York State Assembly. Felix is an army veteran who has won the endorsement of the PBA and other key organizations representing the police in New York City for his pro-police positions.
These leaders including Councilman David Greenfield who endorsed Felix Ortiz over the incumbent Councilman who has turned on his Jewish constituents. Felix Ortiz has been serving Boro Park for decades as an Assembylman. Im proud to join so many of my colleagues in supporting him for City Council because he has a long record of supporting the Jewish community on key issues like funding for yeshivas and strongly opposing anti-Semitisim. Felix Ortiz has been a loud and consistent voice for yeshiva parents, Jewish organizations and Israel. Other elected officials endorsing Felix Ortiz for City Council include Assemblyman David Weprin and Councilman Rory Lancman both of whom have served with Felix Ortiz in the New York State Assembly and spoke of his firm commitment to the Jewish community.
The incumbent Councilman, Carlos Menchaca, alienated the Jewish community after he voted against a resolution to stop the anti-Semitic and anti-Israel BDS movement that seeks to destroy the State of Israel. This came only days after Menchaca led a rally where he chanted, All the walls have got to go, from Palestine to Mexico. Assemblyman Dov Hikind who supported Menchaca four years ago explained that Menchaca lost all credibility after his anti-Israel vote and tirade. Its hard to believe anything he says, said Hikind about Menchaca. He has really disappointed me in terms of his sincerity, adding that Menchaca was ignorant and pathetic. Menchaca is also a strong supporter of anti-Israel activist Linda Sarsour and defended her after she tweeted statements that encouraged Palestinian violence against Israeli soldiers.
Other prominent Jewish leaders, whose organizations are listed for identification purposes, have endorsed Felix Ortiz for New York City Council including Leon Goldenberg and Chaskel Bennett of Agudas Yisroel of America, Rabbi Berish Freilich, Yanky Daskal and Motty Katz of Boro Park Shomrim, Rabbi Yitzchok Fleischer of Bobov, Mendy Reiner of Renewal and the Orthodox Jewish Political Action Committee.
The Primary Election is today, Tuesday, September 12th. The winner of the Primary Election is almost guaranteed to win the seat in November. We expect this election to have a very low turnout. Every vote will count. So please come out and vote for Felix Ortiz this Tuesday for City Council, implored Councilman Greenfield. Polls open Today at 6AM and close at 9PM.
(YWN World Headquarters NYC)
Heathrow said August was the second busiest month in its history
HIGH FLYERS A record 7.5m passengers travelled through Heathrow last month up 2 per cent on last year.
The airport said August was the second busiest month in its history as passengers booked flights to the Middle East, Latin America and China.
BEAN COUNTING Former Shell and BG Group executive John Hadfield, 42, is joining Kaz Minerals as finance chief.
Now in the same job at product testing firm Intertek, he will move to the Kazakhstan-focused miner in November.
BRIGHT SALES Energy efficient lighting maker Luceco says revenue has jumped 25 per cent to 75million over the first six months of the year and it is ploughing investment into its low-cost manufacturing centre in China.
LED lighting sales grew by 22.4 per cent, wiring accessories by 13.6 per cent, and portable power by 52.2 per cent. It expects full-year results to be in line with market expectations.
OIL EXIT The executive director of AIM-quoted Mongolian oil explorer Petro Matad is stepping down.
The company said Amarzul Tuul would remain as a consultant and as the firms representative on the Mongolian Petroleum Exploration and Production Association.
ENERGY BID Engineer Rolls Royce and partners including Amec Foster Wheeler are urging ministers to back small-modular nuclear reactors.
They say the technology could produce energy for 60 per megawatt hour about 30 cheaper than the Hinkley Point power plant under construction.
Rolls-Royce is leading a consortium bidding for government funding to develop the technology.
FARM BOOST Renewable energy company Dong Energy has won a contract for the second phase of its wind farm off the coast of Yorkshire for a guaranteed price of 57.50 per megawatt hour, 50 per cent lower than guarantees for wind power two years ago.
It is already building phase one of the Hornsea project, which will be the worlds largest offshore wind farm.
SHOE IN Supermarket giant Sainsburys has appointed an ex-Reebok veteran onto its board.
Jo Harlow has joined the grocer as non-executive director with immediate effect. She also serves as non-executive director of InterContinental hotels.
LENNON DEAL Hotel operator Travelodge has bought Holiday Inns hotel at Liverpool John Lennon Airport. The hotel has 100 rooms, a bar cafe and three meeting rooms.
People hunting for financial products online should be wary of some paid-for search engine adverts that appear at the top of listing results.
This is Money was recently contacted by reader Linda Henriksen asking if products called 'Fisher Income Bonds' were a genuine place to put her cash after a house sale.
She had found the bonds, offering a top-tier level of interest of 7.75 per cent fixed for five years, via a simple Google search for 'fixed-rate bonds'.
Too good to be true? The professional looking website offers rates up to 7.75% and uses the FSCS logo
In the Google blurb, it said 'capital protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme'.
This scheme protects savers to the tune of 85,000 per bank, building society or financial firm that is signed up to it.
Furthermore, the website claims to be on the Financial Conduct Authority register.
However, we are not convinced that a fixed-rate bond offering such high rates in current market conditions would really be covered by the FSCS - and some of the language used on the website is suspect.
Also, the listed contact number doesn't lead anywhere while the e-mail address provided didn't prompt any response after we sent correspondence to it.
Unclear: Both the FSCS and FCA told This is Money the website is a clone - but it remained online for weeks
We contacted FSCS at the end of August with our concerns that hard-pressed savers may be tempted to part with their cash under the false illusion money was protected by the scheme via these Fisher Income Bonds.
The same day, it ascertained that the website was a 'spoof' but it would continue to investigate.
Later, the FSCS told us that it had contacted the FCA about it and also alerted the genuine Fisher Investment firm to the fact that fraudsters had mimicked their website with a convincing-looking copy.
An FSCS spokesman said: 'If we ascertain that someone is using FSCS's logo and FSCS protection is not applicable or they are not authorised, we will write to them asserting our intellectual property rights over the use of our logo.'
Investigating and taking criminal action against unregulated firms and fraudsters is the responsibility of the FCA.
We contacted the FCA soon after. It told This is Money that it was aware of the website and is currently looking into what action it should take.
It also says that the website is a clone. It says: 'Fraudsters look for new ways to scam consumers, but one scam increasingly reported to us involves share scammers pretending to be from firms we authorise.'
You can find out more about clone firms here.
However, despite this, the website remained accessible until today, when after enquiries from This is Money it appears to have shut down, some three weeks after we first reported it.
The FCA advises any customers that are concerned by these bonds, and any other financial products that do not appear legitimate, to call 0800 111 6768.
Search engine: The Fisher Income Bonds were found as a paid-for link on Google by our reader
It adds that the bonds appear to relate to an Irish-based firm who are authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland.
We asked whether the city watchdog believes more should be done by search engines to stop these types of paid-for adverts from being listed and whether it is seeing a rise in this kind of fraud.
However, it chose not to give an answer to these points.
Companies can pay search engines to have ads at the top of certain results - including this one.
The phony website found by our reader says that the bonds can only be opened with a minimum of 15,000, meaning that if people do or did fall for it, large sums could be in jeopardy.
The top rate of interest it claims to offer over a year is 7.75 per cent.
This compares to a best buy five year fixed-rate bond of 2.51 per cent in the independent This is Money savings tables.
Basic mistakes: Northern Rock boss Adam Applegarth borrowed short and lent long
The run on Northern Rock a decade ago was a consequence of bad banking. Disgraced chief executive Adam Applegarth and his team were ignorant of the principles which guided sound banking for generations. They borrowed short on the money markets and lent long.
The traditional relationship between income and the size of mortgages was ignored and they came up with the crazy 125 per cent deal.
When customers failed to meet even the Rocks loose criteria, details were passed to the sub-prime lending unit at Lehman Brothers.
Given all of this one can almost understand the reluctance of then Bank of England governor Lord King to bail out a badly-run lender and customers who had no idea of the risks they were taking.
A decade later there are real questions as to whether the lessons have been learned. Enforcement may have been improved with prudential regulation returned to the Bank of England, but do banks have sufficient capital? This is particularly relevant given the return of irresponsible lending.
As Royal Bank of Scotlands finance chief Ewen Stevenson noted in New York this week, half of the customers with zero rate credit cards are ignorant of the penal rates they will incur when they come off the teaser deals.
Drivers have were lured last year into buying a record number of 8.2m new vehicles by personal contract plans. But many purchasers will be ignorant of the annual percentage rate of interest and penalties which can occur at the end of the contract which can wipe out the original equity.
Meanwhile, JP Morgan estimates that the market for complex financial securities, at the core of the crisis of a decade ago, has grown 160 per cent in the past three years. Here in Britain some 30billion of such loans have been bundled up and sold on.
There is also evidence that finance is not reaching where it is most needed. In spite of Help To Buy, 54 per cent of housebuilders report that the biggest constraint on new home construction is lack of finance.
The idea that the system has been fixed and so the brakes can be taken off the banks is sheer foolishness.
If the authorities really wanted to make the banks safer they would require them to hold a much larger capital cushion perhaps as much as 20 per cent and exclude funny money from the calculations. Suppressing the animal spirits creates its own risks.
But ten years after the failure of the Rock the lessons of indiscriminate lending have not been learned.
Darkening Sky
James Murdoch will be none too pleased by the latest setback for 21st Century Foxs 11.5billion bid for the 61 per cent of Sky that the company does not already own.
Culture and Media Secretary Karen Bradley has, in effect, overruled regulator Ofcom and is preparing to refer the deal to the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) on grounds of media standards.
The CMA has already been tasked to tackle the deal on competition grounds.
The likely referral comes after a sustained campaign by former Labour leader Ed Miliband and Lib Dem leader Vince Cable to stop the deal in its tracks.
They argue that Fox is not a fit owner of Sky given allegations of sexual harassment and perceived political bias. There must be a real chance now that James Murdoch, as chief executive of Fox, may decide that the hassle of dealing with Britains political pygmies has become too much and pulls the offer.
Putting aside questions of media plurality, Skys minority investors have reason to be cautious of Fox bearing gifts.
It should not be forgotten that much of the cash which 21st Century wants to use to buy Sky comes from money raised when it sold stakes in Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia to the London quoted company.
Sky is a brilliant, innovative contributor to Britains media landscape.
But outside shareholders, who have borne a great deal of the risk, need to be alert to the Murdoch empires taste for inter-company transactions.
Glistening export
The contribution of Britains world leading architects to Britains trade in services is not widely recognised.
Last nights launch of next-generation Apple products was held at the groups remarkable glass campus in Cupertino, California, which comes courtesy of Foster+Partners.
At the peak of Cupertino construction, Foster employed 250 of its people on site. It is also responsible for the design of several of the high-gloss Apple Stores.
Bravo.
Trading trends: Markets such as the London Stock Exchange have become increasingly international, not focused only on the UK
Jason Hollands, managing director of financial firm Tilney, wants investment funds to reveal more about the true economic exposure of their shareholdings.
It is all too easy to fall into the trap of mistaking the UK stock market for some sort of bellwether for the domestic economy, which it is certainly not.
In truth, markets such as the London Stock Exchange have become increasingly global in nature, with many listed companies having international reach.
Yet investment funds still only provide investors with a breakdown of 'geographical allocation' based on where companies they hold are listed, not their true economic exposure - where they actually earn their money.
Investors would benefit greatly from an insight into the underlying economic exposure of their funds, and fund houses should be encouraged to start providing this information in their literature.
Even if it means caveating it as an estimate reliant on the quality of reporting by companies, this would be a very worthwhile exercise.
It would prove hugely useful to people when they are building and managing investments. Yet this analysis is virtually impossible for ordinary investors to come by.
The degree of disclosure by individual stock exchange-listed companies varies, and if fund managers do their own research in this area they do not release it to the public because they are concerned about the accuracy of the data.
As an example of how handy such information would be to investors, let's take a closer look at the Evenlode Income fund, one of our top fund picks.
Jason Hollands: 'Investors would benefit greatly from an insight into the underlying economic exposure of their funds'
It sits in the UK All Companies sector, so you would think it's mostly exposed to the UK.
But it targets firms that generate lots of cash to reinvest or pay out as dividends, and avoids those bogged down with lots of fixed assets that require constant replacement.
That leads the fund to hold a number of firms with global reach in areas such consumer goods, software and healthcare.
On the surface, the Evenlode Income fund is invested 80.5 per cent in UK companies, 13.5 per cent in US businesses, 2.9 per cent in European firms and the balance in cash.
But analysis based on disclosures from the underlying companies held by the fund as to where they do business suggests that the revenues earned across the fund are derived 32 per cent in North America, 19 per cent in Europe (excluding the UK), just 17 per cent in the UK itself and 32 per cent across the rest of the world including Asia and emerging markets.
See the charts below, which illustrate the vast difference between the information that is currently available to investors and the true picture of their geographical investment exposure.
Evenlode Income 1: Breakdown of shareholdings by region where listed
chart created with amCharts | amCharts
Evenlode Income 2: Economic exposure based on company revenues
chart created with amCharts | amCharts
Similarly, Liontrust Special Situations, another high-performing UK fund, is supposedly 98 per cent invested in the UK and 2 per cent in North America.
Yet analysis suggests that around 60 per cent of the revenues from companies it holds are earned outside the UK.
That's despite the fund having much less exposure to the large, international companies of the FTSE 100 than most.
One company it holds, the mid-cap metrology specialist Renishaw, has expertise in high-tech precision measuring and calibration equipment that is in global demand from industries such as medical diagnostics, machine calibration and neurosurgery.
In the year to 30 June 2017, Renishaw made 47 per cent of its sales to the Far East, 24 per cent to continental Europe, 21 per cent to Americas, just 5 per cent to the UK, and 3 per cent to other regions.
It is commonplace for investors to build their investment portfolios by allocating chunks of their cash to different geographic areas and, typically, UK-listed shares represent the single largest slice of the cake as their 'home' market.
Yet, the relationship between the profile of a stock market and a domestic economy is tenuous, and investors are not getting a full picture of how their money is invested and where they have most exposure.
Fund houses can help remedy this situation by using their influence as shareholders to encourage companies to improve their reporting.
Any moves by fund companies to make estimates of the real earnings exposure of their portfolios more visible would be hugely welcome and could transform the way investors and advisers construct their investment portfolios.
Investors getting involved in initial coin offerings that offer digital tokens for a supposed stake in a business were warned today that they risk losing all of their money.
The UK financial watchdog has said that investors seeking to get into the world of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum should approach the fast-growing Initial Coin Offerings sector with care.
Firms launching ICOs are typically start-ups issuing tokens or coins that can be used in the future to buy their goods or services, or are claimed to represent a stake in the business - with investors paying for them using a cryptocurrency.
'High-risk': ICOs are digital tokens or coins issued to investors by firms in exchange for cryptocurrency like Bitcoin
The Financial Conduct Authority said ICOs were high-risk investments since they come with no investor protection, their value is volatile and can often be linked to illegal schemes or fraud.
ICOs involve digital tokens or coins issued to investors by firms, often start-ups, which want to raise funds for their business or a specific project, bypassing banks and venture capitalists, in a similar way to crowdfunding.
But in some cases ICOs offer no discernable value at all, the FCA said, warning they are very-high, speculative investments for several reasons.
It sounded the warning as ICOs have become very popular very quickly. Companies raised some $2.12billion through ICOs so far this year more than double last year's total amount of $96.4million, according to data by CoinSchedule.
This has contributed to a cryptocurrency boom. The best known Bitcoin has risen by 340 per cent since the start of 2017, while rival cryptocurrency Ether has risen by 3,380 per cent, according to CoinDesk.
Ether is a tradeable cryptocurrency and also used to pay for fees and services on the Ethereum blockchain - a network that can be used by developers to build blockchain-based applications.
ICOs are not currently regulated, which means that if investors lend money to a fraudulent firm, they will be unable to recover it. In fact, the FCA warned that some companies issuing ICOs may be fraudulent.
Often projects that are funded through ICOs are in a very early stage of development, which means that possibilities of the company or project failing - and hence investors losing all their stake - are highly likely.
Companies raised some $2.12billion through ICOs so far this year more than double last year's total amount of $96.4million, according to data by CoinSchedule
The FCA also said that the value of ICOs, like cryptocurrencies in general, may be extremely volatile, vulnerable to dramatic changes.
'You should be conscious of the risks involved [...] and fully research the specific project if you are thinking about buying digital tokens,' the watchdog said.
'You should only invest in an ICO project if you are an experienced investor, confident in the quality of the ICO project itself (e.g. business plan, technology, people involved) and prepared to lose your entire stake.'
ICOs usually only provide a 'white paper', which provides different information, from what the project is about, to how much money is needed,
What is Bitcoin? Bitcoins are lines of computer code that are digitally signed each time they travel from one owner to the next. They are the basic unit of a new online economy which runs independently of any company, bank, or government. Because bitcoins allow people to trade money without a third party getting involved, they have become popular with libertarians as well as technophiles, speculators and criminals. Read more here.
But the FCA said the information provided may often be 'inadequate': 'An ICO white paper might be unbalanced, incomplete or misleading. A sophisticated technical understanding is needed to fully understand the tokens characteristics and risks', it added.
ICOs have grown in popularity along with cryptocurrencies, which are challenging central banks' power over currencies, as they totally circumvent their authority.
While traditional currencies are typically regulated in value and/or quantity by central banks, cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are a virtual currency that is free from government interference and can be shared instantly online.
The underlying technology of both Bitcoin is blockchain, a financial ledger maintained by a network of computers that can track the movement of any asset without the need for a central regulator.
Blockchain technology is also what Ether and the Ethereum network are built on, however, while Bitcoin is the use of blockchain for just one thing - a digital currency - Ethereum runs the code of any decentralized application.
By PTI: proposals
Colombo, Sep 12 (PTI) UN rights chief Zeid Raad Al Hussein has urged Sri Lanka to accelerate the pace of fulfilling all the obligations in the consensual resolution adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
The UNHRC had passed resolutions that had mandated Sri Lanka to set up a credible mechanism to probe human rights abuses by both the LTTE and the government troops during the final phase of the war which ended in May 2009.
advertisement
Al Hussein urged swift operationalising the Office of Missing Persons and to move faster on other essential confidence building measures, such as release of land occupied by the military, and resolving long-pending cases registered under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).
"In the North, protests by victims indicate their growing frustration over the slow pace of reforms. I encourage the Government to act on its commitment in Resolution30/1to establish transitional justice mechanisms, and to establish a clear timeline and benchmarks for the implementation of these and other commitments," he said.
He said the absence of credible action in Sri Lanka to ensure accountability for alleged violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law makes the exercise of universal jurisdiction even more necessary.
On the PTA, he said "I repeat my request for that Act to be replaced with a new law in line with international human rights standards."
Hussein said Sri Lanka has already accepted Universal Jurisdiction as in the last UNHRC resolution it co-sponsored.
However, whenever the issue of international action under Universal Jurisdiction against Sri Lankan military is raised, the government states that it will not allow any officer to be dragged to face trial in any foreign court.
Sri Lanka has refused to let foreign judge to operate citing it as unconstitutional. PTI CORR AMS AKJ AMS DK
--- ENDS ---
The UK firm behind kitchen brands such as Russell Hobbs and Salter went off the boil yesterday after warning that it is unlikely to grow revenues in its 2018 financial year despite only being six weeks into the period.
Trading as UP Global Sourcing Holdings, Ultimate Products whose bosses banked more than 50million when it floated in March said punters are spending less on non-food items due to falling confidence, while prices have increased due to the weak pound.
As a result of the caution, Ultimate Brands said retailers are putting off the purchase of items for the autumn and winter 2017 season until the last minute.
On top of this, the firm said that as much as 5million of its revenue for the current financial year will not be recognised until 2019 as a result of a delay in the recording of sales with a new European client.
Gadget slump: Ultimate Products said UK punters are spending less on non-food items due to falling confidence, while prices have increased due to the weak pound
Shares fell 50.5 per cent, or 106p, to 104p, an all-time low.
After months of battering London-listed Acacia Mining, the government of Tanzania took aim at Petra Diamonds yesterday, accusing the miner of undervaluing a package of precious metals by more than 11million.
Petra Diamonds saw 27million wiped off its market value after warning that a parcel of diamonds from its Williamson mines in Tanzania has been blocked from export to its office in Belgium.
Although Tanzanias government has not formally declared the reason behind its actions, Petra said some of the staff at Williamson in which it owns a 75 per cent stake are being questioned by authorities.
Because members of its staff are being questioned, Petra said operations at Williamson have been temporarily suspended for safety and security reasons.
Over the weekend, Tanzania said it seized the diamonds at an airport, intending to nationalise them after valuing them at around 22.4million far higher than the 11.2million quoted by Petra.
STOCK WATCH - PROVIDENCE RESOURCES Irish oil and gas firm Providence Resources sank by nearly 30 per cent after rumours that it had made a mammoth discovery turned out to be untrue. Last week, the firm rallied to 9.5p after rumours circulated on Twitter that the firm had made a significant gas discovery at its Drombeg prospect off the Irish coast. But yesterday, the firm reported that it had hit water-bearing sand in the well, indicating that oil previously present at the location was not retained. Shares fell 29.7 per cent, or 2.38p, to 5.62p.
The countrys finance minister Philip Mpango said he had also ordered a criminal investigation into all officials involved in declaring the value of the diamonds and issuing export permits, and will organise a fresh valuation.
But yesterday, Petra said the government has complete oversight of diamonds produced at Williamson authorities own a 25 per cent stake of the mine and said it is not responsible for diamond valuation prior to export.
The accusations made by Tanzanias government are reminiscent of those made against fellow FTSE 250 member Acacia (down 4.7 per cent or 9p to 183p).
Authorities slapped Acacia with a 144million tax bill earlier this year for allegedly undervaluing the value of its gold ore claims which Acacia vigorously denies. Yesterday, Petras shares fell 5.7 per cent, or 5.1p, to 84.85p.
Avocet Mining fell 0.5 per cent, or 0.6p, to 25.5p after resuming talks to restructure its balance sheet after reporting progress with creditors as it struggles to keep open its mine in Burkina Faso.
The mine has been plagued by disruptions, including a two-month shutdown, because funding for operations has been hit by the need to make overdue payments to suppliers.
The FTSE 100 rose 0.5 per cent, or 36 points, to 7413.6. The index was boosted by a rally across the insurance sector, driven by relief that Hurricane Irma was not as destructive as it could have been alongside the absence of missile tests in North Korea over the weekend.
Property and casualty insurance firm Lancashire Holdings led the pack, up 10.3 per cent, or 63p, to 674p, while Beazley rose 4.3 per cent, or 19.2p, to 470.2p, and Hiscox jumped 3.4 per cent, or 41p, to 1265p.
Fitbug has been sold to an Australian firm for just 50,000
Fitbug, the fitness tracking start-up once worth 296million, has been sold to an Australian firm for just 50,000 after years of being decimated by rivals such as Apple and Fitbit.
Now known as Kin Group, the business was one of the first to offer gadgets that monitor steps, distance walked and calories burned.
Following an explosion in the popularity of its products, it saw its value rise to as much as 296million in 2014.
But it proved unable to compete with rivals such as Fitbit and the launch of the Apple Watch was seen as the killer blow for the business.
Both rivals were viewed as having better, more attractive technology. The firm tried to rebrand itself as a corporate wellness firm, and had tried to launch a tie-up that would see companies offer physical activities to staff in exchange for offers.
This never really took off and after several years of struggling to compete, Fitbug confirmed yesterday it has finally been sold to Australian group SMG Investment Holdings for just 50,000 after calling in administrators in August.
A row over a plan to sell AA's insurance arm to a rival sparked the bust-up that led to the sacking of chairman Bob Mackenzie, it has been claimed.
The 65-year-old executive chairman was fired at the end of July for gross misconduct after what was described as a Jeremy Clarkson moment an apparent reference to the former Top Gear presenter's dismissal from the BBC after he punched a producer.
Until now few details have been revealed, but it has been claimed that Mackenzie clashed with AA insurance division boss Michael Lloyd late at night in the bar of a five-star hotel, according to reports in the FT.
The pair had gone with colleagues to the Pennyhill Park Hotel, a country hotel and spa in Surrey, for an insurance board meeting. It was here that Mackenzie was apparently told about plans to spin off the insurance division and merge it with rival Hastings Group.
Bust-up: Insurance chief Mike Lloyd, left, and former chairman Bob Mackenzie
Mackenzie claims to have opposed the plans, which have not been confirmed by the AA.
Mackenzie was riled after chief financial officer Martin Clarke invited bankers from Credit Suisse to present at the meeting without telling him first.
Sources told the Mail that an altercation between Lloyd and Mackenzie lasted two minutes.
Mackenzie apologised to Lloyd the next day and the apology was accepted, according to a letter written by Mackenzie's lawyers to the AA and the hotel. Mackenzie claims his opposition to the deal is the reason behind his sacking, according to the letter.
He reportedly believed the merger was not in the long-term interests of the company and would only increase payments to directors including Lloyd.
The revelations come after Mackenzie's son Peter defended his father after the sacking, rejecting allegations of misconduct and saying his father resigned due to acute ill health.
Peter said at the time of his father's sacking: 'A consultant clinical psychologist advised him last week that he needed to take at least six months' leave. He is very unwell and has been admitted to hospital.
'The family trusts that all parties will act responsibly towards a loyal servant of the company in a manner which reflects the stress he has been suffering.'
The AA is braced for a courtroom battle over whether its decision to sack Mackenzie was justified and whether he will get a lucrative bonus.
The Mail revealed that Mackenzie could lose as much as 100million from share options over the sacking. If he is deemed to be a 'bad leaver', he will forfeit all his shares for just 1p. All the details will be made public if the case ever gets before a judge.
The AA refused to comment about reports of the planned spin-off of its insurance division. It has never spoken publicly about any such plans.
Mackenzie, a married father of five, has been head of the AA since it listed on the stock market three years ago with a valuation of around 1.4billion. Last year he earned 1.6million.
The AA declined to comment.
Balancing act: Chancellor Philip Hammond is under pressure to win back voters
BUDGET DAY The next Budget will be on Wednesday, November 22, the Chancellor has announced.
Philip Hammond confirmed on Twitter the date he will set out his tax and spending plans.
The Chancellor said the Budget was an opportunity for the Government to set out our thinking on how to keep the economy strong and resilient and fair an economy that works for everyone.
He will come under pressure to offer policies aimed at winning back voters who deserted the Tories in Junes general election.
DIGITAL CALL Ministers will today be urged by Vodafone to create digital enterprise zones across the UK in a bid to boost technology companies.
Research carried out by the British telecoms giant said the zones could be used for testing new technologies such as 5G mobile internet and provide tax incentives to those who installed fibre broadband to the premises or invested in other infrastructure.
DISEASE DEVICE Respiratory disease specialist Circassia Pharmaceuticals has launched a device called Niox Vero, which can detect a chronic infection called primary ciliary dyskinesia, across Europe.
Around 50,000 Europeans are estimated to have the disease, which causes constant nasal congestion and a chronic cough.
SPRINKLER DEAL Niche services provider Premier Technical Services Group has bought a Bury-based building sprinkler installation and maintenance firm for up to 2.5million.
Premier Technical will pay an initial 1.3million for UK Sprinklers, with the rest of the cash being paid as profit milestones are reached.
SHIP SHAPE Engineer Rolls-Royce has revealed plans for an autonomous ship that can travel 3,500 nautical miles roughly the distance from the United States to France.
The vessel will be able to travel at speeds above 25 knots and can be used for missions such as detecting mines.
SLICK SALES Newly London-listed oil and gas services company Ades International has announced a 46 per cent increase in revenues for the first half of the year, to 66million.
Profits were down 6 per cent to 12.8million, partly due to the impact of listing costs. Bosses said higher revenues were driven by growing operations in Saudi Arabia and new projects in Algeria.
STRIKING GOLD Russia-focused gold miner Petropavlovsk, which has recently ousted its founder Peter Hambro, said revenues are up 20 per cent to 229million, with a 19 per cent increase in production and 5 per cent increase in average gold price.
Profit for the half-year is up 30 per cent from 66million to 86million.
PLANE PLANT American airplane maker Boeing has started building its first European manufacturing facility in the Sheffield Business Park.
The 6,200 square foot building, due to open in late 2018, will make parts that help move the flaps on the wings Boeings aeroplanes.
Google has launched an appeal against a record 2.42billion (2.1billion) fine from Europe's competition watchdog for breaching antitrust rules with its online shopping service.
The Silicon Valley giant has filed an appeal with the General Court of the European Union after previously saying it 'respectfully' disagreed with the European Commission's conclusions.
The penalty comes after the competition referee launched an investigation into Google Shopping seven years ago, amid complaints that it gave the service a prominent position on the internet search engine, while rival services were demoted.
Google has filed an appeal with the General Court of the European Union after being fined 2.1bn for breaching antitrust rules with its online shopping service
The European Commission told the internet search giant in June it had 90 days to stop the practice or face a penalty of up to 5 per cent of the average daily turnover of the firm's parent company, Alphabet.
The watchdog found that Google handed its comparison shopping service an illegal advantage in 13 European Economic Area countries, including in the UK.
The fine handed to Google was a significant hike on the previous record penalty of 1.06billion (937million) dished out by the commission to US microchip firm Intel in 2009
Customers queue to withdraw their savings outside a Northern Rock branch in 2007
When David Kirsch queued with hundreds of others to take his money out of Northern Rock a decade ago, he didn't realise that banking as he knew it was about to change for good.
David, 82, was the last person to be served on September 14, 2007, at his local branch in Golders Green, North London.
He'd waited in line for around two hours and after serving him staff shut the door and turned everyone else away. 'Lots of people were panicking I was lucky to get in,' he says.
'I only planned to take out the amount that was over the limit protected by the Government, which was 35,000 at that time. But I was told it was all or nothing, so I asked for all of it to be transferred to another bank.'
David, a retired accountant, says many in the queue were unaware of how bad the situation was.
'I remember a dear old lady, barely able to walk with a stick queuing to make a deposit,' he says. 'She was being very vocal about how it was all a fuss about nothing.'
David now banks with another High Street name. 'I am sure our bank will not fail and have no worries about having our savings held there,' he says. 'The real issue is the terrible savings rates offered by banks but that's another story.'
In the years that followed these desperate scenes outside Northern Rock branches many historic names, such as Alliance & Leicester, Bradford & Bingley and Britannia disappeared from the High Street for ever as they were taken over by larger institutions or bailed out by the Government.
Branches were shut in a bid to save cash and thousands of bank workers lost their jobs.
Today there are an estimated 8,978 branches across the UK, compared with 12,270 in 2007.
Many of those shut were the last branch in town, leaving around 1,500 communities without a bank.
Carol Purvis, 81, refuses to bank online because she is worried about fraud
This means thousands of elderly customers in rural areas must now travel miles to their nearest branch to deposit cheques and pay bills. And more still are closing around ten branches every day.
Brian Brown, head of insight at financial information business Defaqto, says: 'The Northern Rock collapse marked the beginning of a new era.
'Since then there has been a massive reduction in the number of branches as banks and building societies had to cut costs, with customers increasingly being pushed towards digital banking.'
At the time of Northern Rock's demise, new technology was beginning to emerge that would transform the way we spend and manage our money today.
In June 2007 a couple of months before the run on the bank the then Apple boss Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone in San Francisco.
It took several more years for smartphones to become commonplace, and in 2011 UK customers were able to download the first banking app from First Direct.
Today. nearly 20 million of us regularly use smartphones to manage our bank accounts.
David Kirsch and his wife Jo, 79, rarely have cause to step into a bank branch today.
'We do everything online,' he says. 'Our income from pensions is paid into our accounts automatically and anything else we need to do is done on the computer.' But not everyone is comfortable with the shift to the internet.
Carol Purvis, 81, refuses to bank online because she is worried about fraud. Fortunately, she still has a Lloyds Bank near to where she lives in Rowlands Gill, Tyne & Wear, but it's a lot quieter than it used to be.
Carol says she misses the days when the Post Office she ran with her late husband, Ron, was a hive of activity at the centre of village life.
'On a Thursday, there would be queues of people coming to pick up their pensions and maybe a packet of Pontefract liquorice, too. The customers would talk to me about their children and I'd even be invited to their weddings.
'Now everything is paid directly into people's accounts and they pay all their bills online, we have lost some of those interactions.'
The way we spend our money has also changed dramatically over the past decade. We are now so comfortable with paying by plastic that card payments are predicted to overtake cash by the end of next year, according to the trade body Payments UK.
It was also in 2007 that Barclaycard launched the first contactless payment card, OnePulse, allowing customers to tap and pay on the London Underground and in 6,000 shops around the country.
Today around two-thirds of shoppers tap and spend at 450,000 contactless terminals in the UK.
l.milner@dailymail.co.uk
The United States has criticised Pakistan for its fiscal transparency, especially regarding its intelligence agencies that are notorious for harbouring terrorists.
By Santosh Chaubey: After slamming Pakistan repeatedly for being a haven for terrorists, the United States now has criticised Islamabad for its fiscal transparency, especially with regard to its intelligence agencies that are notorious for harbouring terrorists.
The US Department of State has released its fiscal transparency report for 2017. The report, which is an annual feature, reviews those countries that receive financial assistance from the US in order to see that the US taxpayers' money is being utilised properly.
advertisement
The report, this year as well, placed Pakistan in the category of countries that did not meet the minimum requirements of fiscal transparency. And as has been the case in the past, this year too the report found that Pakistan did not make any significant progress in this direction.
The report said though the documents on financial activities were widely available in public domain, the Pakistani government did not make audit reports available publicly within a reasonable period of time. The report said that Pakistan needed to correct this.
Moreover, the report found that "the budget of the intelligence agencies was not publicly available. The report also found that "this budget was not subject to adequate parliamentary or other civilian oversight" and recommended that it be.
WHAT PREVIOUS FISCAL TRANSPARENCY REPORTS SAID
The 2016 and 2015 fiscal transparency reports make similar observations about Pakistan, unlike 2014 when the United States had found Pakistan fulfilling the fiscal transparency requirements.
The US State Department has been publishing annual fiscal transparency reports since 2012. The 2014 report identified "minimum requirements of fiscal transparency for each government receiving assistance" in accordance with the US laws which require the US Secretary of State and his office to "update and strengthen" them regularly.
And Pakistan, a terror sponsor state, found itself in the negative list from next year onwards, i.e., 2015 onwards. The US, which has been a major aid provider to Pakistan, and in fact has given aid over $15 billion, including military assistance to the country since 2011, has started toughening its stand after realising Pakistan's double standards in its approach towards terrorism.
Pakistan claims to be a US ally in the war against terror and shamelessly takes US grants in that name. Yet it shelters anti-US terror groups like the Haqqani Network and the Taliban that routinely attack Washington's interests in Afghanistan. The US has been blocking since last year a part of the military assistance to Pakistan to crack down on the Haqqani Network after it found that Pakistan failed to keep its part of the bargain.
advertisement
PAKISTAN's DOUBLESPEAK ON TERROR EXPOSED
Pakistan's double-dealings, in fact, have left the US and its President Donald Trump miffed. While unveiling his South Asia Policy Review in July, Trump had warned Pakistan that "the US would no longer be silent about Pakistan's double-dealings and demanded that Pakistan's attitude of doublespeak had to change immediately."
Things for Pakistan started taking a bad turn after Donald Trump was elected the United States President, who it seems, now firmly believes that Pakistan is not using the US taxpayers' money appropriately, in accordance with the US laws.
It only added to Pakistan's troubles that Trump had been a vocal critic of Pakistan since his campaign days who used to describe Pakistan with terms like 'Pakistan is not our friend' and "when it will apologise for providing a safe sanctuary to Osama Bin Laden."
As the US was preparing to transition to Trump's Presidency, it clearly told Pakistan to act against Hafiz Saeed and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) after the outfit's name prominently figured in the report of the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering.
The US warned that if Pakistan failed to comply to this, it would be put on the list of blacklisted countries in the International Cooperative Review Group (ICRG). That would have made it necessary for Pakistan to put a formal request each time it went about transacting any business through any of the international financial institutions. Left with no other option, Pakistan had to place Saeed, a designated terrorist with a US bounty of $10 million over his head since 2012, under house arrest.
advertisement
ALSO READ |
Afghanistan blames Pakistan-based terror outfits for violence; sign 4 pacts with India
If Pakistan has not done enough to fight terror, no one has, its army chief Bajwa says
US says Pakistan must change its approach towards terror groups
ALSO WATCH VIDEO | China's U-turn after BRICS summit: Beijing defends Pakistan on terror
--- ENDS ---
By PTI: By Lalit K Jha
Washington, Sep 12 (PTI) Citing the geographical and strategic location of Sri Lanka, a Senate committee has opposed Trump Administrations proposal of a drastic 92 per cent cut in American aid to the island nation.
"Given the geostrategic importance of the country, the Committee does not support the Presidents budget request for Sri Lanka, which proposed a 92 per cent reduction in assistance from the prior fiscal year," the Senate Appropriations Committee said in a report passing the annual State appropriations bill for the fiscal year 2018, beginning October 1.
advertisement
The appropriations bill, which landed on the Senate floor yesterday for consideration, seeks USD 43 million for Sri Lanka. This includes USD 35 million as economic support fund, USD 6.8 million for non-proliferation and anti-terrorism and USD 500,000 in foreign military financing and an equal amount for training of military personnel.
"The Committee recognises and supports the efforts of the Government of Sri Lanka to advance democracy and the rule of law, and encourages further steps to address the underlying causes of the armed conflict by promoting justice and reconciliation," the Senate Committee said in its report.
The Senate committee on its report said that Sri Lanka is strategically positioned along key shipping lanes and emerging from decades of conflict.
The House Appropriations Committee has also passed its Foreign Appropriations Bill, but defers from that of its Senate bill on Sri Lanka. Last week during a Congressional hearing, lawmakers had expressed concern over massive cut in US aid to Sri Lanka.
"In Sri Lanka, US foreign assistance will be cut by 92 per cent, mostly from accounts that have supported programs to promote the rule of law, democratic reforms, post-Civil War reconciliation and related efforts," rued Congressman Ted Yoho, Chairman of House Foreign Affairs Sub Committee on Asia and the Pacific.
"These programs are cost-effective ways to contribute to Sri Lankas transformation while pursuing a partnership and strategic lead critical locations," he said.
"Even at their height in 2016, US assistance commitments to Sri Lanka were about 42.5 million, and thats a bit less than half the cost of a single F-35 fighter jet. That seems like a reasonable investment to gain a friend in one of the worlds most critical sea lanes," Yoho said.
"While were forming a large Millennium Challenge Corporation compact was Sri Lanka, the MCC will focus on economic activities. Im concerned that by changing course so drastically, we want to make sure that were not throwing away the investments weve already made in Sri Lanka, leaving a gap in the democracy and governance programs Sri Lanka badly needs, and potentially forcing the closure of our USAID mission," said the US lawmaker.
For the fiscal year 2018, the Trump Administration has requested USD 3.4 million in foreign assistance for Sri Lanka. It focuses on strong support for security cooperation and enhanced strategic trade controls, while contributing to Sri Lankas progress toward becoming a mine-impact-free nation by 2020.
advertisement
Additionally, the MCC is developing a compact with Sri Lanka after it successfully passed the MCC policy scorecard in 2016.
In June, MCC approved an initial USD 7.4 million to study potential projects and conduct due diligence work in the transport and land sectors. MCC is working closely with the Government of Sri Lanka to bring a compact for Board approval in 2018, the State Department said. PTI LKJ ARK
--- ENDS ---
Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams
By Gina Martinez
The NYPD has turned over footage of an arrest after City Councilman Rory Lancman (D-Hillcrest) threatened to subpoena the department if they refused to release records in a case that reportedly involved the banned chokehold technique.
Police Commissioner James ONeill overturned a guilty verdict against an officer in a department misconduct trial and did not reveal what the cop was accused of doing. It was later reported by the Daily News that the cop was charged with using the banned chokehold technique. Despite the trial being open to the public, the city withheld footage of the incident.
The NYPD said the video footage of such incidents is normally protected from public disclosure under New York State Law 50-a, as reaffirmed in several recent court decisions. But in this case, the officer, who was the subject of a complaint and related disciplinary proceeding, consented to the release of this footage, as he is entitled to do under 50-a.
This video clearly demonstrates that the officer did not use a chokehold or any other prohibited tactic to prevent the defendant, who was under arrest and in handcuffs, from spitting on him and his partner and others confined in the elevator, Assistant Commissioner Peter Donald said in a statement.
ONeill reviewed the video and all evidence involved in the case and rejected the Civilian Complaint Review Boards conclusion that the officers actions constituted a chokehold and he directed that the officer be found not guilty. NYPD said in the rare occurrences where the police commissioner overturns a trial court decision, the department will ask the officers if they would agree to waive their 50-a protection status for any video presented in their case.
Last week, Lancman demanded that the NYPD turn over all records pertaining to the case after finding out ONeill overturned the administrative judges verdict. Lancman said NYPD needed to make details of the case public.
In a letter addressed to ONeill, the councilman had said that if the records were not turned over by Sept. 7, he would ask the Council to issue a subpoena.
Lancman is a sponsor of pending legislation which would make a police officers use of a chokehold a misdemeanor. In his letter, he asked the commissioner to turn over records pertaining to the case.
The controversy surrounding the NYPDs use of the chokehold technique intensified after the death of Staten Island resident Eric Garner in 2014.
Police Officer Daniel Pataleo was caught on video choking the father of six for selling loosies after he repeatedly told the officer I cant breathe. Garner died soon after.
Pantaleo was acquitted, but the city was ordered to pay $5.9 million to his family. Lancman said he was shocked that chokeholds remain in use three decades after they were banned by the NYPD and after the death of Garner.
Lancman said that the release of only part of the video, which is part of all the evidence considered by the administrative judge in substantiating the CCRBs charges against the officer in question, makes the need to release the full video all the more compelling.
The purpose of releasing information is not to spin in favor of one side or the other through selective disclosure, he said, but to give the citys legislature, and arguably the public, the information necessary to make informed decisions about pending legislation, the adequacy of NYPD training and use-of-force protocols, and the NYPD disciplinary process.
Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams
By Gina Martinez
Police were searching for a man wanted in connection with an assault in Flushing.
According to police, on Wednesday, June 7, at 8:50 p.m., two people got into a verbal dispute that turned physical inside a nearby residence in the vicinity of Cherry Avenue and Main Street.
Police said a man hit a 45-year-old victim in the head with a glass bottle and threw hot water on him. The victim was taken to Booth Memorial hospital with non-life threatening injuries, but did suffer second degree burns, according to authorities.
Police described the suspect as an Asian male in his 30s with a bald head who was last seen wearing a red T-shirt.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPDs Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477)
Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams
By TimesLedger Staff
Voters went to the polls in Queens on a sunny Tuesday to cast their ballots for candidates in seven City Council primary races, the mayorship and the public advocate post.
A spot check by TimesLedger reporters showed low turnout by midday. The polls opened at 6 a.m. and will close at 9 p.m.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and other elected officials have been urging registered voters to get out to the polls amid concerns that a weak showing at the ballot box could produce some unwanted surprises when the votes are counted.
These are reports filed by the TimesLedger reporters as they checked out some Queens polling places.
LeFrak City voters confused after polling sites moved elsewhere
More than 6,000 LeFrak City voters were forced to use new polling sites Tuesday outside of the complex for the first time in decades after the city Board of Election declared a community space was not compliant with federal accessibility guidlines. Tenant groups filed a lawsuit claiming voter suppression.
Last week, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Andrea Masley ruled that it was too late to move the polling site back to the Continental Room where LeFrak voters have cast their ballots for more than 50 years.
Were hoping we get the Continental Room back in time for the general election because there are just too many problems, LeFrak City Tenants League President Jim Galloway said. Its a real mess. I thought the polling places would be larger. Theyve been busy here and at PS 13 where I voted. When people get home from work, this place will by jammed.
By 3:30 p.m. nearly 370 people had voted at the High School for Arts and Business, anout three-quarter of a mile east of Lefrak City.
A lot of these folks didnt even know the site had been moved, Galloway said. I was able to guide many seniors including one 92-year-old to LeFrak shuttle vans to get them over here. Thank heavens for the shuttle buses, because three-quarters of a mile is way to long a walk for many of these folks.
Reporter Bill Parry
Voters in Bayside uninspired by the Democratic primary
Poll workers had time on their hands at PS 41 in Bayside as voters meandered in periodically with the emptiness of the schools common area filled by the clamber of students on lunch hour.
Only about 40 residents had turned-out between when the polling site opened at 5 a.m. and 11 a.m.
Its very, very, very slow today, site coordinator, Don Galliano, said. De Blasio doesnt offer much out here [in northeast Queens] and Sal Albanese nobody knows who he is.
Voter turnout in the 19th Council District where Councilman Paul Vallone (D-Bayside) is running for re-election against land-use consultant Paul Graziano was only projected to be at about 8,000 to 9,000 people altogether.
One voters opinions was consistent with Gallianos assessment.
There arent many choices in this election even the choices for mayor are not very good, the man who chose remain to anonymous said. And de Blasio is not a good mayor.
Jeannine Carroll cast her vote for an incumbent in the City Council, Vallone and for Mayor de Blasio because she believes they have a proven track record of bringing improvements to the city and her community.
Reporter Mark Hallum
Two out of three candidates in race vie to be first woman representing District 28
Turnout was low at the Thurgood Marshall Magnet School of Multimedia and Communication in Rochdale for the City Council District 28 seat.
Battling it out in the Sept. 12 Democratic primary were Community Board 12 Chairwoman Adrienne Adams, public defender Hettie Powell and public sector worker Richard David.
The district represents Rochdale Village, Richmond Hill, South Ozone Park and parts of Jamaica.
Poll workers counted almost 400 votes between the hours of 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the school to fill the seat of convicted Councilman Ruben Wills.
Celeste Tomlinson, a first-time poll worker, said there were mostly seniors at the polling booths during the morning and afternoon hours.
Tomlinson hoped once school was let out for children around 3:30 p.m., more parents would be out to vote. She also expected voter turnout to spike immediately around 5 p.m. as the millenials got out of work.
Adamss presence and Davids presence were definitely felt at the school. Adams was outside campaigning as Davids representatives rallied at the school.
State Assemblywoman Alicia Hyndman (D-Springfield Gardens) was outside the school campaigning for Adams even though District 28 falls outside her jurisdiction.
If Powell or Adams wins, one of the two could possibly be the first woman to represent District 28, according to Adams.
Naeisha Rose.
Vote counts slim in Miller vs. Rivers primary through early afternoon
Compared to the primaries and the general election for the presidency last year, turnout in the Democratic primary for City Council District 27 in southeast Queens was low during the morning and afternoon, according to poll workers at two sites.
Poll workers at PS 34 in Queens Village recorded 286 votes from between 6 a.m. to noon in race between Councilman I. Daneek Miller, who is up against retired U.S. Marine and former NYPD lieutenant Anthony Rivers.
The situation was the same at the Central Library in Jamaica, where poll workers had only 69 voters stop by between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m.
District 27 represents Cambria Heights, Hollis, Springfield Gardens, St. Albans, Queens Village and parts of Jamaica.
Both poll sites cited redistricting as an issue in District 27. Poll workers had to take affidavits for voters who were no longer listed at their polling site or for those they could not find a replacement site for based on their address.
Poll workers at both sites hoped that once parents came to pick up their children after 3 p.m. or from work after 5 p.m. that there would be a significant jump in turnout.
Naeisha Rose
Crowley vs. Holden race fails to draw big voter turnout
The primary race between City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley and her challenger, civic leader Robert Holden, failed to generate a flood of voters to at least a couple of polling sites in District 30.
At Maspeth High School just over a hundred had voted by 1:30 p.m., including Holden.
Its really surprising the turnout is so low. It almost seems like no one knew there was a primary today, Precinct Coordinator Theresa Riley said. Maybe things will pick up later on. Well have to see.
Meanwhile, at PS 88 Seneca in Ridgewood, the scene was much the same. Only 130 people had cast their ballots before 2 p.m. Poll worker Anthony Chang said, Its been very light so far.
James Richards, a Ridgewood resident, was shocked by the small number.
Around here people take voting very seriously. Normally there are long lines and today there was nothing, he said. And I thought this was supposed to be the hot race. Go figure.
Reporter Bill Parry
Civil rights leader John Lewis backs Moya in race against Monserrate
State Assemblyman Francisco Moya (D-Jackson Heights) had a bounce in his step as he walked down 104th Street from his Corona home Tuesday morning with his father Edgar and mother Maria. He stopped and greeted dozens of cheering supporters at the corner of 48th Avenue at St. Leos Church. before heading in to St. Leos Church to cast his ballot in his primary race against Hiram Monserrate, the former City Councilman who is running to reclaim his old seat after convictions for assault and corruption.
I feel great and the receptions was wonderful, Moya said before heading inside to cast his ballot in the Democratic primary convictions for assault and corruption. Moya had some added confidence that Sunday nights robocalls from civil rights leader, U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), to 5,000 voters in East Elmhurst and Corona might have been a game-changer.
Look, I think the knockout punch was the combinations we have thrown at a candidate that doesnt deserve to be in public service, Moya said. Honest and integrity matter and people have recognized that throughout the political world. Its the commitment to insuring that we protect this community and keep this criminal out of office.
Monserrate, who voted at the First Baptist Church in East Elmhurst, had no comment on the Lewis robocalls. In the calls, Lewis said during his decades on the front lines in the fight for civil rights, one thing he has always known is not to take anything for granted.
Ive fought too long and too hard to allow anyone to take us back, Lewis said. Were going forward, and well need someone with the strength of character and the moral fortitude it will take to win. Im confidant that Francisco is that person.
Lewis had made several trips to District 21 with U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Jackson Heights), according to Moya, and it was Crowley who made a call to his folks and he came on board. Moya also agreed that Crowley, the chairman of the Queens County Democratic organization, had put his thumb on the scale to help Moya defeat Monserrate in the primary race.
To have a legend, a civil rights leader like John Lewis come out and support my candidacy really is a testament to what weve been able to accomplish in my campaign and what Ive fought for my entire career, fighting for immigration rights, civil rights and criminal justice reform.
Reporter Bill Parry
Turnout slows in Lancman-Rahman race after an early spurt
It was a quiet mid-morning at Fresh Meadows PS 154, located at 75-02 162nd St., where the names of City Councilman Rory Lancman and Mohammad Rahman were on the ballot. The gymnasium was full of poll workers but not many voters by 10:30 a.m.. But according to poll workers at around 9 a.m., there were lines of voters but it slowed down. Poll workers said they expect that around 5 p.m will be the busiest period because that is when people get out of work. Lancman cast his vote at the elementary school at around noon.
Reporter Gina Martinez
Voting patterns fluctuated in Koo vs. Tan primary battle
It was a similar scene at Flushings Taiwan Center, located at 137-44 Northern Blvd., where Councilman Peter Koo is facing a challenge from fellow Democrat Alison Tan.
At around noon things were slowing down, with only a handful of voters in the auditorium. According to a poll worker, it was fairly busy from around 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. and he expects it to get busy again at 5 p.m.
Tan supporters were standing outside the center with signs in support of their candidate and a poll worker had to tell them to leave. The supporters crossed the street still holding up a sign backing Tan.
Reporter Gina Martinez
Voter in Whitestone wants rotation of elected officials
The gymnasium at PS 193 in Whitestone was quiet as poll workers waited patiently for voters. Although slow, about 180 residents had been to the polls to cast their vote for mayor and City Council by midday.
I would say its generally very quiet on primaries, poll site coordinator Peter Perrino said. I would say we are about average for turnout. But I usually dont pay attention to the count until about 5 p.m.
Jeanne Hall said she while she was happy with the work of Public Advocate Letitia James for the work she has done to hold landlords accountable, she believed an overall rotation of elected officials was in order in City Hall and the Council.
Maybe change it up a little and see if we can do a little better with someone other than Vallone, Hall said.
Councilman Paul Vallone is shooting for a second term against land-use consultant Paul Graziano in the 19th Council District.
Reporter Mark Hallum
Did you vote in the midterm elections as if your countrys existence depended on it?
columns
By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 12 (PTI) Ambassador of Uzbekistan to India Farhod Arziev today assured that the frequency of flights operating between the two countries would be increased by 2018, the BRICS Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) said.
He was speaking during an interactive session on Investment Opportunities in Uzbekistan, organised here under the aegis of the BRICS CCI.
advertisement
"Arziev announced setting up of a Special Economic Zone in Uzbekistan especially for Indian pharmaceutical companies which are keen to set up manufacturing facilities in Uzbekistan," BRICS CCI said in a statement.
He also spoke about simplifying its visa regime. In reply to a question, the ambassador assured of reducing its tourist visa?related administrative fee for visitors soon, the CCI said.
Arziev also emphasised on setting up of a waste management base in Uzbekistan along with Indian companies dealing in the same field.
"In order to foster educational cooperation with India in solar training and other vocational courses, the ambassador willingly invited team of educationists from India to explore possible opportunity in the said field," it said. PTI KND BSA
--- ENDS ---
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
ALBANY Attorneys argued for two hours on Tuesday in Albany County Supreme Court over whether the state can license five new medical marijuana producers, doubling the supply side of New York's nascent market.
But a judge did not immediately issue decisions on a request to dismiss a lawsuit challenging that authority or a request to stop the state from taking action.
The New York Medical Cannabis Industry Association, on behalf of four of the five current companies, sued the state in April, charging that expanding the number of "registered organizations" to 10 would kill an industry that has struggled to thrive with just under 30,000 patients as of Tuesday. Yet last month, the state licensed five new companies anyway.
Jennifer Harvey, the industry association's attorney, argued on Tuesday that the preliminary injunction the association sought in April to bar the state from licensing more companies is not moot even though the state Department of Health went ahead and licensed the new companies.
Harvey's arguments that the state unlawfully added new companies focused on language part of the Compassionate Care Act, which set up the medical marijuana program, that says the commissioner of health "shall register no more than five registered organizations that manufacture medical marijuana." Yet it also states that "the commission (sic) may register additional registered organizations."
Harvey said that while more non-manufacturing registered organizations, such as dispensaries, might be allowed, more manufacturers would not be.
Assistant Attorney General Harris Dague contended that the law grants the commissioner the authority to register five companies initially, to evaluate whether they fit the needs of the patient base and to register additional companies as needed. He said that the law gives the commissioner the ability to add new serious illnesses that can be treated by medical marijuana, which Commissioner Howard Zucker has done with the addition of chronic pain as a qualifying condition.
In addition to adding chronic pain to expand patient access, DOH has allowed home delivery, released a list of doctors who are signed up to certify patients and moved to allow production and sale of medical marijuana lotions, patches, chewable tablets and lozenges, expanding the roster of non-smokeable forms the drug comes in.
Still, the current five companies, which have operated at losses, argue that demand does not meet supply, and that by adding new companies, competition will irreparably harm the industry.
Exacerbating the issue is the small pool of repeat buyers of medical marijuana products. State data show that roughly half of all patients are dispensed a product more than once. Reasons for that the discrepancy between the total patient count and the repeat buyers number include price, insurers who won't cover medical marijuana and even the death of some critically patients who make it to the market only once, if at all.
"That (patient) number is not increasing to the extent that seems to be urged," Harvey said. "There has been no allegation of a supply issue."
The five newly licensed companies have been allowed to join the case. On Tuesday, Brian Butler, an attorney for new registrant New York Canna, argued that the lawsuit should be dismissed because the economic harm the industry foresees is speculative.
"The statute is intended to provide necessary medical marijuana to certified patients," he said. "That's the purpose of this statute. It's not to prevent competition. It's not to create a monopoly for these five registered ROs."
Harvey argued that not only does the law have a cap on the number of medical marijuana manufacturers, legislative efforts to amend that piece of the law have failed.
"You can use emotionally charged words like monopoly or whatever you want to use, but there's a cap of five such (manufacturing) entities," she said.
mhamilton@timesunion.com 518-454-5449 @matt_hamilton10
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Reed Saxon Show More Show Less 3 of 3
ALBANY The state's Court of Appeals declined on Tuesday to hear an appeal by Exxon Mobil that sought to block state Attorney General Eric Scheniderman's attempts to subpoena records he contends are pertinent to an ongoing probe of what the company knew about its impacts on climate change.
A mid-level appeals court ruled earlier this year that Exxon must comply with Schneiderman's subpoena. Exxon had argued that disclosure of the documents, related to audits done for Exxon by PricewaterhouseCoopers, would violate accountant-client confidentiality under state law in Texas, where Exxon is headquartered.
HALFMOON Last Thursday, a family in Edgewater, Fla., with 12 foster children with special needs packed up and drove in small bus to a relative's home in Halfmoon to escape Hurricane Irma before it made landfall.
On Tuesday morning, they dodged a second disaster when a fire, likely sparked by a space heater, broke out in a trailer on Smith Road where they were staying just minutes after some of the children had woken up and gone next door to another trailer where the other kids were.
As Irma ripped through the Caribbean, Paige Auborn and her mother, Tammy, weighed their options. Last year, they had stayed through Hurricane Matthew, having prepped their children repeatedly on what to do in case of hurricanes, tornadoes and fires.
"Thankfully today was proof that those work because had we not done that with our kids, it probably wouldn't have gone as smoothly," Paige Auborn said.
The Auborns' foster children nine boys and three girls are on the autism spectrum, and one of them is a newborn they had picked up from the hospital just before leaving home. The fact that the family now had such a young child, along with the possibility of weeks without electricity, cinched their decision to evacuate.
Together, with Auborn's brother, Shawn, and the family's two dogs, they loaded up the small bus with extra gas cans and a single plastic container of belongings and took off for New York.
"We came with nothing ... our motto was, 'We don't have time, we'll buy it when we get there,'"
Auborn said. "And all of our boys' stuff was in that camper."
They put space heaters in the two trailers the older children slept in case the temperatures got too cold. Fire officials told the family they think that's what ignited the fire around 9 a.m. Tuesday. Shawn Auborn spotted the fire and saved a family dog that was on a leash next to the trailer.
Now the family is waiting to hear from neighbors and friends as to when electricity will be restored back in Edgewater. Their home, a half-hour south of Daytona on the east coast of Florida, escaped major damage but they're keeping an eye on Hurricane Jose in the Caribbean before they decide to drive back home.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 5 1 of 5 Albany Police Department Show More Show Less 2 of 5 PHILIP KAMRASS/DG Show More Show Less 3 of 5 4 of 5 Skip Dickstein/Times Union Show More Show Less 5 of 5
A state Senate aide was arrested on domestic violence charges in Albany on Sunday, according to Albany police.
Robert Nickol, a staffer for state Senator William Larkin, R-Orange County, allegedly struck a woman on her upper thigh with a television cord around 3:15 a.m. on Friday, according to court documents.
TROY Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney has been named the special prosecutor for the investigation of the Aug. 15 shooting of a parole absconder by a Troy police officer.
Rensselaer County Court Judge Debra Young appointed Carney after consulting with the Third Judicial District administration and speaking to Carney. Schenectady County is located in the Fourth Judicial District. Special prosecutors normally are drawn from within the same district as the case to be investigated.
Young made the appointment after Rensselaer County District Attorney Joel Abelove asked to recuse himself due to a conflict of interest.
Carney will lead the investigation into the August 15, 2017 shooting of Dahmeek McDonald by Troy Police Officer Jarrod Iler, according to an order Young signed Monday.
Carney said Tuesday he doesnt know any details about the shooting except what the media has reported about the events of the evening of Aug. 15 near the intersection of Eighth and Rensselaer streets in the North Central neighborhood. Carney said he would have Assistant District Attorney Amy Burrock, chief of his major crimes unit, handle the investigation into the Troy shooting.
Troy police have been investigating the shooting with the assistance of the FBI. Troy police had initially declined to say whether McDonald was armed, but later said a firearm was not recovered from the scene of the shooting. In certain circumstances, a vehicle may be considered a weapon. Iler allegedly wounded McDonald twice. McDonald was in an automobile when he was stopped by police. Three other officers were at the scene but did not fire their service weapons.
Abelove said Aug. 30 he would ask the court to replace him due to the number of the cases his office is prosecuting that involve Iler. Community leaders and McDonalds attorney, Mark S. Mishler, had called on Abelove to step aside in this shooting investigation.
Mishler had said the state Attorney General's ongoing investigation of Abelove's handling of a fatal April 16 shooting by Troy Sgt. Randall French created issues about the district attorney's impartiality. Edson Thevenin died in that shooting incident.
McDonald had been wanted as a parole absconder by the state Department of Corrections and Community Service since April.
Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and features with our afternoon newsletter.
Carney becomes the second district attorney to be named as a special prosecutor in cases involving the Troy police. Columbia County District Attorney Paul Czajka is investigating the release of a recording of a 911 emergency call that was held in the detective bureau in 2015. Czajka also is leading an investigation into the police drug unit for attempting to cover up a warrantless search.
A Rensselaer County grand jury has been empaneled for the cases Czajka is overseeing.
The Albany investment firm C.L. King & Associates was fined $750,000 by securities regulators earlier this month for violating compliance rules for selling penny stocks and so-called survivor bonds sold to terminally ill investors.
C. L. King's chief compliance officer, Gregg Miller, was also fined $20,000 and suspended as a principal of the firm for six months.
The fines and suspension came from FINRA, or the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, a brokerage industry watchdog that brought charges against the firm last year.
C. L. King closed the unit that was responsible for penny stock and survivor bond sales in 2013.
Christopher Robertson, a Boston attorney who represents C. L. King, said FINRA never found that the firm intentionally misled investors, and he added that the penalties can be delayed pending an appeal. FINRA made the decision on Sept. 6.
"They (C.L. King) are considering an appeal," Robertson said. "The firm takes compliance seriously."
One thing that may favor an appeal by C.L. King is that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently dropped charges that had previously been brought against the New York City hedge fund that C. L. King worked with on the survivor bonds.
Survivor bonds are bonds that are sold with a special option that allows them to be sold back to the issuer at face value if one of the joint holders of the bonds dies.
The SEC had originally alleged that a hedge fund called Eden Arc Capital Management had violated securities regulations by selling such bonds to terminally ill customers and naming the firm as a joint holder. Since the bonds are sold at a discount, money is made on the joint holder's death.
Last month, a judge within the SEC threw out the agency's own case against Eden Arc, which used C.L. King to open accounts for the bond holders, who were given $10,000 apiece as an incentive to sign up as joint holders.
"C.L. King's lack of reasonable supervision is evident in its handling of the joint accounts..." a FINRA panel wrote in its findings report. "The firm effectively failed to view the participants as true customers."
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
NEWCOMB (AP) Authorities are searching for a New Jersey man who hasn't been seen since he went hiking in a rugged area of New York's Adirondack Mountains earlier this month.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation says 28-year-old Alex Stevens, of Hopewell, was last seen on Sept. 2 near the base of Wallface Mountain in the High Peaks Wilderness, about 10 miles south of Lake Placid.
A frail looking Father Uzhunnalil was seen in photographs disembarking from a plane. He reportedly thanked his brothers and sisters and all relatives and friends who called on God for his safety and release.
By P S Gopikrishnan Unnithan, Geeta Mohan: Father Tom Uzhunalil's rescue news has brought joy and relief to his relatives and colleagues back in Kerala. Father Uzhunnalil, a native of Ramapuram village in Kottayam, Kerala was abducted allegedly by ISIS terrorists on March 4, 2016 from Yemen. Tom, who was engaged in missionary activities in Yemen since 2010, in fact returned after a brief vacation despite advisory warnings by the Government of India. Ever since reports emerged that Father has been in terror captive, both the state and central government put in all possible efforts bring back their citizen.
advertisement
India Today has learnt that Indian authorities were in touch with intelligence agencies and various governments in the West Asian region to help in rescue efforts but it was the Omani Government that finally managed to secure Father Tom's release.
India Today also learnt that the Vatican was closely monitoring the situation and played a key role in the release. In an official statement the Omani government said, "In response to the Royal Orders of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, and as per a request from the Vatican to assist in the rescuing of a Vatican employee, the concerned authorities in the Sultanate, in coordination with the Yemeni authorities, have managed to find him. He was transferred Tuesday morning to Muscat in preparation for his return home in Kerala".
A frail looking Father Uzhunnalil was seen in photographs disembarking from a plane. He reportedly thanked his brothers and sisters and all relatives and friends who called on God for his safety and release. Meanwhile, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India thanked the Indian Government for its persistence.
GOVERNMENT HAD ASSURED OF DOING EVERYTHING TO GET FATHER TOM RELEASED
"In different meetings with the Foreign Minister, she assured us that Father Tom was safe and that the Government would do everything to get him released. The Prime Minister too had assured us that all would be done to get him released," the Catholic body said in a statement.
Father Tom Uzhunanlil was in charge of an old age home in Aden since 2010. Amidst the wave of crisis that started in 2011, Tom stood his ground engaged in social service activities and letting a helping hand to the elderly and war ridden people in the area. In 2015 when the crisis reached its peak, Tom came to India on a very brief visit. Tom after attending his mother's death anniversary function in Kottayam, returned to Yemen despite the advisory warnings from the government. Moreover, he did not want to leave his team and inmates in Aden to die starving.
advertisement
On March 4, 2016 a huge explosion shook their old age home, a group of armed extremists opene fired at the people, killing 14 inmates and 3 nuns from Kerala on the spot. The only survivors of this attack were Father Uzhunalill and Sister Sally. While Tom was held captive by the terrorists, Sally managed to hide from the terrorists and later escaped. Sally was the first to report that Father Tom has gone missing. Amidst ambiguity of his whereabouts, in May 2015, a video emerged in which Father Tom Uzhunalil was seen pleading for help in terrorist captive. Though the then Chief Minister of Kerala, Oommen Chandy, along with Sushma Swaraj explored all possible options for his release, everything went in vain.
Later in 2016, December, another video emerged, in which Father Tom Uzhunalil even criticised the government for his situation. Though there were rumors that he may be crucified as part of Good Friday, the third video emerged in April, 2017. Much to the agony of his relatives and government, Tom Uzhunalil looked weak and he said that his health condition was deteriorating.
This release comes as news of great relief for his relatives and the governments at both centre and state. While Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, released the information through Twitter, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan expressed immense joy in his release. Late in the night, Sushma Swaraj confirmed that Father Tom Uzhunalil has reached Vatican. According to sources, close to Salesian headquarters in Bengaluru, Uzhunalil who is physically and mentally weak, will spend some days in Vatican before returning to Kerala.
advertisement
Also Read:
Kerala rejoices as Father Tom Uzhunnalil is freed from clutches of ISIS
Father Tom Uzhunnalil rescued from ISIS captivity in Yemen, Sushma Swaraj confirms
ISIS-abducted priest's SOS to PM Modi and Pope: Ignored since I'm Indian
Watch Video: Exclusive: ISIS Kerala audio tapes indicate radical sleeper cells under surveillance
--- ENDS ---
Hollywood actor Patrick Bergin, who lives in Emmel, Cloughjordan, is to star in the BBC soap EastEnders.
The actor, who is originally from Dublin, is well known to movie audiences through his roles in Sleeping with the Enemy, Patriot Games, Mountains of the Moon and Robin Hood.
He has also starred in TV3's Red Rock as Jim Tierney.
Mr Bergin will play a viilains' role in EastEnders as Aidan Joseph Patrick Maguire, an old friend of Phil Mitchells from prison.
He said that he was thrilled about being cast in the soap as he has "watched and admired it since the days of Dirty Den".
"I am really looking forward to seeing what they have in store for Aidan as its bound to be dramatic, said Patrick.
He will make his first appearance on Albert Square later in the year when he arrives unexepectedly on Phils doorstep, having not been in touch for years.
EastEnders creative director John Yorke said: EastEnders deserves the very best and in Patrick we are absolutely privileged to have a truly great actor join the show.
"Its a huge honour to have him on board, where hell be working hand in hand with Phil Mitchell and Mick Carter to carry a truly explosive storyline for Christmas and New Year. We cant wait to get started.
Former Irish Water boss John Tierney from Terryglass, received a retirement package worth a total of 573,000 when he left the State body in April 2016.
The figure is included in the agency's 2016 annual report which was published this week.
Mr Tierney's package was made up of a 100,000 severence payment and 473,000 in defined pension contributions.
His total payments from January to April 28, 2016 came to 655,000, which consisted of 67,000 in basic salary for the four months; 473,000 in defined pension contribution; 100,000 in termination benefits / severence; 11,000 in pension contributions and 4,000 in other benefits, including company car and health insurance.
The former Dublin city manager, who worked in local government for 36 years before joining Irish Water, was paid a 200,000 annual salary when he was appointed by then Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan in January 2013 on a three-year contract.
At the time of his retirement, Irish Water said that Mr Tierney would have been entitled to a similar package upon retirement from the local authority.
Irish Water stated that Mr Tierney "carried his full service to his new employer and, in line with Government guidelines regarding the transfer of staff from local authorities to Irish Water, his retirement arrangements are exactly the same terms that would have applied had he retired as Dublin city manager".
[September 12, 2017] Opportunity to Draw 45,000 to SEMICON Taiwan 2017 -- Opens Tomorrow
HSINCHU, Taiwan, Sept. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- SEMICON Taiwan, the premier tradeshow and event for the electronics manufacturing supply chain, opens tomorrow (September 13-15) at Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, Hall 1. SEMICON Taiwan aims to increasingly connect the entire manufacturing ecosystem vertically and horizontally. In addition, it will provide an overview of market trends and leading technologies in the industry, with forums and business matching activities, which will enable collaboration and new opportunities. Upbeat about the growth prospects of Taiwan's semiconductor sector; SEMICON Taiwan 2017 features 700 exhibitors covering over 1,800 booths, and is expected to attract more than 45,000 visitors in three days. Taiwan is forecast to spend US$12.3 billion in 2017, making it the second largest fab equipment-spending region, according to the SEMI World Fab Forecast report just issued. Taiwan is a large consumer of semiconductor equipment due to its large foundry and advanced packaging capacity. In addition, Taiwan is the world's largest consumer of semiconductor materials ($9.8 billion in 2016) for the seventh consecutive year, bringing new opportunities in this increasingly critical sector. Covering the hottest topics like smart manufacturing & automation, high-tech facility, materials, laser, and emerging semiconductor technology, more than 70 presentations will be given on TechXPOT stages, providing the latest technology updates plus opportunities to meet potential partners and customers.To further connect attendees and exhibitors, SEMICON Taiwan facilitates a series of networking events, like the Materials, High-Tech Facility, Laser, and Smart Manufacturing Get Together and the Supplier Search Program, creating business opportunities.
This year SEMICON Taiwan has added new theme pavilions including Circular Economy, Compound Semiconductor, Laser and Opto Semiconductor. In addition, 12 theme pavilions and 8 country/region pavilions are featured. This is the first year that the International Test Conference (ITC) will be co-located with SEMICON Taiwan 2017, also marking the first time that ITC is held in Asia. The conference will focus on the rapid growth of emerging applications like IoT and automotive electronics, and how testing technologies are challenged by rapid advancements of manufacturing processes, 3D stacking and SiP.
Also co-located with SEMICON Taiwan 2017, the SiP Global Summit will discuss three key system-in-package topics: Package Innovation in Automotive
3D IC, 3D interconnection for AI and High-end Computing
Innovative Embedded Substrate and Fan-Out Technology to Enable 3D-SiP Devices The Jing Jing Lucky Draw is always an anticipated show activity with excellent prizes like Dyson 3-in-1 smart fan, iPad Pro, and Nintendo Switch. For more information about SEMICON Taiwan 2017, please visit www.semicontaiwan.org or follow us on Facebook. About SEMI SEMI connects over 2,000 member companies and 1.3 million professionals worldwide to advance the technology and business of electronics manufacturing. SEMI members are responsible for the innovations in materials, design, equipment, software, devices, and services that enable smarter, faster, more powerful, and more affordable electronic products. FlexTech and the MEMS & Sensors Industry Group (MSIG) are SEMI Strategic Association Partners, defined communities within SEMI focused on specific technologies. Since 1970, SEMI has built connections that have helped its members prosper, create new markets, and address common industry challenges together. SEMI maintains offices in Bangalore, Berlin, Brussels, Grenoble, Hsinchu, Seoul, Shanghai, Silicon Valley (Milpitas, Calif.), Singapore, Tokyo, and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.semi.org and follow SEMI on LinkedIn and Twitter. Media Contacts SEMI Taiwan
Jamie Liao
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 886.3.560.1777 ext. 201 SEMI Taiwan
Emmy Yi
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 886.3.560.1777 ext. 205 SOURCE SEMI Taiwan
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] A Glimpse into What Is Behind the Several "Firsts" Achieved by the 2nd Western China International Fair Import and Export Expo
CHENGDU, China, Sept. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2nd Western China International Fair Import and Export Expo and Western China (Sichuan) International Investment Conference will be inaugurated on Sep. 15. Located 15 kilometers south of the Century City along the Tianfu Avenue lies the Western China International Expo Center ("Center") at Tianfu New Area. The 2nd Western China International Fair Import and Export Expo and Western China (Sichuan) International Investment Conference ("Expo" "Conference") will be held here from Sep. 15 to 18. It is not only this Expo's first relocation, but also this Center's first official exhibition. There are many similar "firsts" for this Expo.
Many countries Attending this Expo and Conference for the First Time Sichuan is widening its "circle of international friends"
As of now, there are government organs, industrial organs, and well-known enterprises of 75 countries and regions to attend the Expo. The former politicians, provincial and department heads, ambassadors to China, foreign friends, and heads of international organizations such as United Nations Procurement Division will attend the Conference including Italy, Thailand, Czech Republic, Indonesia, Cambodia, Nepal, and the Republic of Belarus. Among them, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Ethiopia will attend this Expo for the first time. More than 20,000 Chinese and foreign guests are expected to participate in the Expo, far exceeding the previous one, which will deliver much more international influence. Why does this high-rank international event attract global attention - the reason behind this is that Sichuan has practiced the high-level and high-end opening-up with a growing bigger circle of international friends. Recent years have borne witnessed to a multitude of high-profile guests to come to Sichuan for courtesy visits, investigation and signing agreements. Consequently, the friendship between Sichuan and the world have been deepening and cooperations tightening. Mounting consulates, sister cities and airlines have facilitated Sichuan to spread its "circle of friends" across the globe. Inland Sichuan is building up a closer relationship with the world.
Setting up the Industrial Cooperation Exhibition Area under the "Belt and Road" Initiative for the First Time
Pinpointing the combination points between the "Belt and Road" Initiative and Sichuan's industries to deliver pragmatic results Tang Limin, Secretary General of Sichuan Provincial People's Government, has highlighted its role in offering facilitation for the "Belt and Road" Initiative. This is also one of its features. This Expo will see 36 countries (regions) alongside the "Belt and Road" Initiative attending, accounting for 48% of all participant countries (regions). It will set up an exhiition pavilion for countries alongside the "Belt and Road" Initiative to showcase local outstanding enterprises and characteristic commodities. Its first establishment of Industrial Cooperation Exhibition Area under the "Belt and Road" Initiative and Tourism Exhibition Area will be committed to promoting tourism and aviation services with local characteristics together with the Republic of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Iceland and seven other countries.
The exhibition by domestic provinces (regions, cities) will focus on cooperation projects and their achievements with countries (regions) alongside the "Belt and Road" Initiative and provincial state-owned enterprises will mainly demonstrate their accomplishments in investment, construction and projects in countries (regions) alongside the "Belt and Road" Initiative. Meanwhile, a number of special investment promotion activities for "Belt and Road Initiative" will be held, such as Chinese Entrepreneurs Summit and International Multimodal Transport and Cross-border Trade Development Conference.
Diverse kinds of activities centering on the "Belt and Road" Initiative will be held and it is key to pinpoint the combination points between the "Belt and Road" Initiative and Sichuan -based industries. Fox example, in alignment with the Republic of Belarus and Kyrgyzstan , Sichuan Provincial Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine is expecting to exert a joint effort with these countries in site selection and construction for traditional Chinese medicine institutions so as to deepen exchanges and cooperation between the distinctive TCM industries with other regions; cooperation with cross-board er e-commerce is developed. Theme d "New Silk Road, New Sichuan-based Enterprises", the 4th Western China E-commerce Development Summit will revolve about how e-commerce can boost Sichuan -based enterprises to "go global".
Setting up the Parallel Import Motor Exhibition Area for the First Time
Sichuan has seized opportunities presented by the Pilot Free Trade Zone to pioneer the efforts
This Conference will set up several exhibition areas related with the Pilot Free Trade Zone. For example, the Parallel Import Motor Exhibition Area that is established for the first time will make its debut. At that time, citizens will see parallel import motor exhibits including BMW and other famous brands; it will also particularly set up an exhibition area for Sichuan's pilot reform zone for all-round innovation under the China (Sichuan) Pilot Free Trade Zone. Sichuan Entry-exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau will establish an exhibition area for the first time and lead a group of representative import enterprises to attend this conference.
China (Sichuan) Pilot Free Trade Zone was inaugurated on April 1, 2017. In May of this year, the first parallel import motor trade and exhibition center was put into trial service at Qingbaijiang District of Sichuan Pilot Free Trade Zone. Consequently, the price of automobiles of the Pilot Free Trade Zone will be cut by 15% to 30% compared with those of traditional automobile sales serviceshop 4S. Sichuan Pilot Free Trade Zone has initiated a new inspection, quarantine and supervision model for international exhibitions which will be applied in this event. According to the related head of Sichuan Entry-exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of China has delegated the exhibits inspection and quarantine right for international exhibitions to Sichuan Entry-exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau. And the inspection exemption is available for general entry exhibits so as to simplify inspection declaration-related documents for participant enterprises. Under these innovative measures, facilitation of approval upon declaration to the port is available for general exhibits free from inspection; the clearance time will be decreased by 50% for exhibits that need inspection. These achievements will be an integrated demonstration of innovative mechanisms and pioneering efforts made by the Sichuan Pilot Free Trade Zone after its establishment.
Holding the Import and Export Exhibition at the Center for the First Time
The Center's officially inaugural exhibition is worth high expectations for this new exhibition pavilion will open a world of new opportunities
The venue of this Conference will be relocated from the Century City to the Western China International Expo Center. According to Xie Lu, Division Chief of Service Industry Development Division of Economic Development Bureau of the Management Committee of Tianfu New Area, the Center is much more than an exhibition hall. Based on and underpinned by it, Tianfu New Area will lay its emphasis on developing a headquarters economy and exhibition industry ecology sphere. It will strive for integration of industries and cities through the establishment of Exhibition Industrial Park in Tianfu New Area with its support.
Relocation of the holding venue will present the Center new opportunities. According to Wang Mian, head of the preparatory group of Sichuan International Exhibition Co., Ltd., the Center will bear the important task to help Tianfu Center develop into an international exhibition functional zone and Chengdu into a world-famous exhibition city. This center will be a leading project to promote development of Sichuan's exhibition industry. As the Center's operation and management organization Sichuan International Exhibition Co., Ltd. has taken "achieving professionalization in one year, branding in three years and internationalization in four years" as its mission. It is planning to expand the exhibition area with over 100 thousand square meters and take the first place in the exhibition quantity among Central and Western China. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/a-glimpse-into-what-is-behind-the-several-firsts-achieved-by-the-2nd-western-china-international-fair-import-and-export-expo-300517712.html SOURCE Organizing Committee of Western China International Fair Import and Export Expo
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017]
Media Advisory - CPAC's Alison Smith to moderate journalism panel 'Covering Canada'
TORONTO, Sept. 12, 2017 /CNW/ - Alison Smith, host of CPAC's foreign affairs show Perspective with Alison Smith, will moderate a discussion on how Canada is journalism's latest cool assignment. The event takes place on September 19 in Toronto, as part of The Canadian Journalism Foundation's (CJF) J-Talk series.
'Covering Canada' will also feature Madelaine Drohan, CanadaThe Economist, Jodi Rudoren, editorial director of NYT Global, the international edition of the New York Times, and Stephen Rodrick, the contributing editor for The Rolling Stone who recently profiled Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
As the Age of Trump has led to renewed international interest in all things Canadian, the panel will explore the Canadian stories gaining traction with audiences, both locally and abroad, and those that still need to be told in today's fraught political environment. It will also look at how even Canadians are looking at our country from a different perspectivethanks in part to the stark contrast between the U.S. president and our refugee-embracing, feminist prime minister.
This event is part of the annual J-Talks series, which explores pressing media issues.
The CJF thanks the generosity of J-Talks series sponsor BMO Financial Group and in-kind supporters Cision and CPAC.
WHEN: Tuesday, September 19
Doors open: 6:00 p.m., Discussion 6:30 p.m., Reception 8:00 p.m.
WHERE: TMX Broadcast Centre, The Exchange Tower, 130 King St. W., Toronto
General admission: $25
Student tickets (ID required. Limited availability): $15
Buy tickets
#CJFjtalk
About The Canadian Journalism Foundation
Founded in 1990, The Canadian Journalism Foundation promotes excellence in journalism by celebrating outstanding journalistic achievement. Our signature events include an annual awards program featuring a must-attend annual industry gala where Canada's top newsmakers meet Canada's top news people. Through J-Talks, our popular speaker's series, we facilitate dialogue among journalists, business people, academics and students about the role of the media in Canadian society and the ongoing challenges for media in the digital era. The foundation also fosters opportunities for journalism education, training and research.
SOURCE Canadian Journalism Foundation
[September 12, 2017] Norton Rose Fulbright Adds Patent Litigation Partner in New York
Norton Rose Fulbright today announced that Jeffrey I.D. Lewis, an intellectual property lawyer focusing on patent litigation, including Hatch-Waxman cases, has joined the global law firm as a partner in its New York office. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170912006485/en/ Jeffrey I.D. Lewis, Norton Rose Fulbright A trained chemical engineer, Lewis is licensed to practice before the US Patent and Trademark Office and has extensive experience representing clients in the life sciences and healthcare as well as the technology and innovation sectors. Lewis, who comes to Norton Rose Fulbright from Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP, also handles trademark matters, as well as other intellectual property and general litigation. Lewis has litigated more than 30 cases before the US Federal District Courts, and has argued numerous appeals before the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Daryl Lansdale, Norton Rose Fulbright's US Managing Partner, said: "Having grown into one of the 25 largest law firm offices in New York, we are becoming an even more attractive destination for world-class lawyers seeking a global platform. Jeff will bolster our IP practice and provide patent litigation capabilities that our clients desire." Gina Shishima, Norton Rose Fulbright's US Head of Intellectal Property, commented:
"Jeff is an accomplished IP litigator with deep industry knowledge, and his practice greatly complements our existing team. His experience and trial capabilities will benefit our clients in New York and around the world." Lewis, who is a past president of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) and a fellow of the AIPLA and the American Bar Foundation, said:
"Norton Rose Fulbright offers a tremendous opportunity to work with some of the very best lawyers around the world. The firm's reach allows me to serve clients with a wide range of complex IP issues globally." Lewis, who is licensed to practice in New York and Connecticut, earned his JD from the Cardozo School of Law and his BSE in Chemical Engineering from the University of Connecticut. A frequent writer and speaker on patent and patent litigation issues, he also serves on the Advisory Board of IP Litigator magazine and IP360. Notes for editors: Norton Rose Fulbright Norton Rose Fulbright is a global law firm providing the world's preeminent corporations and financial institutions with a full business law service. The firm has more than 4,000 lawyers and other legal staff based in Europe, the United States, Canada, Latin America, Asia, Australia, Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. Recognized for its industry focus, Norton Rose Fulbright is strong across all the key industry sectors: financial institutions; energy; infrastructure, mining and commodities; transport; technology and innovation; and life sciences and healthcare. Through its global risk advisory group, the firm leverages its industry experience with its knowledge of legal, regulatory, compliance and governance issues to provide clients with practical solutions to the legal and regulatory risks facing their businesses. Norton Rose Fulbright operates in accordance with its global business principles of quality, unity and integrity, aiming to provide the highest possible standard of legal service in each of its offices and to maintain that level of quality at every point of contact. Norton Rose Fulbright Verein, a Swiss verein, helps coordinate the activities of Norton Rose Fulbright members but does not itself provide legal services to clients. Norton Rose Fulbright has offices in more than 50 cities worldwide, including London, Houston, New York, Toronto, Mexico City, Hong Kong, Sydney and Johannesburg. For more information, see nortonrosefulbright.com/legal-notices. Law around the world
nortonrosefulbright.com View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170912006485/en/
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] NYU Stern Expands its Executive MBA Program to Washington, D.C.
New York University Stern School of Business is extending its New York City-based Executive MBA program (EMBA) to downtown Washington, D.C. Now senior-level executives who work in the surrounding region, along with others who can travel periodically, can earn an MBA from the highest ranked EMBA program in this local market. Designed with executives' work-life balance needs in mind, NYU Stern's EMBA D.C. program offers a once-a-month weekend format to minimize travel and time out of the office. Students will attend classes at New York University's Washington, D.C., location in the heart of the city and just 15 minutes from either the airport or train station. They will earn their MBA in just under two years. "Washington, D.C., is one of NYU's most vibrant global locations and home to one of our largest groups of NYU alumni," said Andrew Hamilton, President, New York University. "Coinciding with the fifth anniversary of NYU's presence, the establishment of Stern's new Executive MBA program will bring the knowledge, skills, and benefits of the highest-ranked such program to a city filled with talented, ambitious, experienced people who are eager for professional advancement." EMBA D.C. students will select one of two specialty tracks-Finance & Analytics or Strategy & Leadership-to deepen and broaden their competencies in the area most relevant to their career goals. A Global Study Tour-a one-week international, in-country residency in a market outside of the U.S.-will also give students direct international business exposure, including corporate visits. "Washington, D.C.,is one of the most dynamic hubs in which the private and public sectors, and business and policy, intersect," said Peter Henry, Dean of NYU Stern School of Business. "We've curated our EMBA program, both in format and design, for D.C. to support executives who want to enhance their ability to inspire people and lead organizations."
"Washington, D.C., was a natural market for our executive MBA program expansion, given the interest expressed by local business leaders for more convenient access to Stern's professors and academic coursework," said Raghu Sundaram, Vice Dean for MBA Programs. "We handpick the faculty who teach our executive MBA students, and the same Stern faculty who teach in our New York program will also teach in D.C." The inaugural cohort of EMBA D.C. students will enroll at Stern in August 2018. They will engage in a collaborative, rigorous learning environment alongside other highly experienced classmates in diverse industries and roles from the private and public sectors. Like their counterparts in New York, EMBA D.C. students will have access to Stern's Career Center for Working Professionals as well as opportunities to connect with their New York classmates both formally and informally during their program.
As alumni, EMBA D.C. graduates will join a robust global network-110,000 Stern alumni and 500,000+ NYU alumni in 183 countries-creating significant opportunities for networking in virtually any industry or geography. For more information on the application process and dates, visit the NYU Stern EMBA D.C. website. About New York University Stern School of Business New York University Stern School of Business, located in the heart of Greenwich Village, is one of the nation's premier management education schools and research centers. NYU Stern, whose faculty includes three Nobel (News - Alert) Laureates in Economics, offers a broad portfolio of programs at the graduate and undergraduate levels, all of them enriched by the dynamism, energy and deep resources of one of the world's business capitals. Visit www.stern.nyu.edu and follow NYU Stern on Twitter (News - Alert): @NYUStern. *Ranked #4 in the country by U.S. News and World Report (2018 edition of "Best Graduate Schools"). View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170912006158/en/
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] Tapad Expands APAC Team With Key Hire In Japan
NEW YORK, Sept. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Tapad, the leader in cross-device marketing technology, is expanding its team in the Asia Pacific region with the addition of industry veteran Akiko Yoshitake as its new commercial director in Japan. In this newly created position, Yoshitake will spearhead Tapad's operations and new business development efforts with local marketers, technology companies, and digital advertising agencies. With nearly 20 years of experience in marketing and digital advertising in the APAC region, Yoshitake is introducing local demand-side platforms (DSPs), data management platforms (DMPs), publishers, e-commerce, and global licensing partners to the Tapad Device Graph and the company's product suite in Japan. She reports to Henry Schenker, Tapad's VP of APAC. Prior to joining Tapad, Yoshitake was director of sales at Kenshoo in Japan where she was responsible for building relationships and revenue with direct advertisers and agencies. She also led partnerships with channel providers such as Facebook Japan and Yahoo! Japan, among others. Before Kenshoo, Yoshitake spent 15 years at Cyber Communications Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Dentsu Inc., the largest advertising agency in Japan. At Cyber Communications, Yoshitake led the team that established the OpenX market ad exchange in APAC, and was head of the OpenX business for both APAC and Japan, lendng to her strong understanding of the Japan programmatic ecosystem. In addition, she performed in roles of increasing responsibility spanning business management, new business development, product management, creative, and media planning. Yoshitake is a Certified Professional Marketer (Asia) by the Asian Marketing Federation (AMF) having completed a professional diploma in Asia Pacific Marketing at the National University of Singapore and Marketing Institute of Singapore (MIS) joint program.
"After launching in the APAC region just a short 15 months ago, we are thrilled to be expanding Tapad's footprint into Japan," said Schenker. "Yoshitake-san is a well-respected digital advertising industry executive with undeniable local expertise. She's already creating significant inroads in this critical market with local companies. We're lucky to have her as part of the growing Tapad APAC team." "Tapad's aggressive growth and development across the region and into Japan is a very exciting development for the industry," said Yoshitake. "I am thrilled to be part of Tapad's latest initiative to introduce its award-winning cross-device technology to local advertisers and agencies."
Recognized as one of the fastest growing companies in 2016 by Deloitte Technology Fast 500, Crain's NY Fast 50, Inc. 5000, and TMCnet's 2016 Tech Culture Award, Tapad continues to add exceptional talent to its roster across APAC, EMEA, and the U.S. For open job opportunities, visit the Tapad career page here: www.tapad.com/careers. About Tapad
Tapad Inc. is a marketing technology company renowned for its breakthrough, unified, cross-device solutions. The company's signature Tapad Device Graph connects millions of consumers across billions of devices. The world's largest brands and most effective marketers entrust Tapad to provide an accurate, privacy-conscious, and unified approach to connecting with consumers across screens. In 2015, Tapad began licensing the Tapad Device Graph and swiftly became the established gold-standard throughout the ad tech ecosystem. Tapad is based in New York and has offices in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Oslo, San Francisco, Singapore, and Tokyo. Tapad's numerous awards include: Forbes' Most Promising Companies, Deloitte's Technology Fast 500, Crain's Fast 50, TMCnet Tech Culture Award, and Global Startup Award's "Startup Founder of the Year". In 2016, Tapad was acquired by the Telenor Group, one of the world's largest mobile operators with 214 million subscribers in 13 countries. Media Contacts:
Natalie Vegel
Associate Director of Public Relations, Tapad
[email protected] View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tapad-expands-apac-team-with-key-hire-in-japan-300517325.html SOURCE Tapad
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] WISeKey to service EU market and major customers in the automotive and financial services industries through its full-service subsidiary in Germany
WISeKey to service EU market and major customers in the automotive and financial services industries through its full-service subsidiary in Germany WISeKey expands its EU presence and its business strategy for Germany via QuoVadis Geneva, Zug, Switzerland - September 12, 2017 - WISeKey International Holding Ltd (SIX: WIHN), a leading Swiss cybersecurity and IoT company announced today that QuoVadis, the managed Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) brand of WISeKey, has expanded its EU operations through QuoVadis Trustlink Deutschland GmbH, a full-service WISeKey subsidiary in Germany, servicing major customers in the automotive and financial services industries. WISeKey QuoVadis has a strong track record in Europe of serving as an accredited Qualified Trust Service Provider (TSP) for close to a decade in the EU and in Switzerland under the ZertES standards. In addition to the commercial sector, QuoVadis has been active in public sector programs including PKIoverheid and eHerkenning in the Netherlands and SuisseID in Switzerland WISeKey's strategy is to continue to take advantage of several significant opportunities in this market. For example, WISeKey QuoVadis Germany, announced last month that it is delivering a strategic contract for a leading European automobile manufacturer cementing its role in the Connected Car sector. The agreement includes the integration of WISeKey IoT and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) in the manufacturer's connected car solutions allowing them to authenticate legitimate car components and at the same time enabling owners to securely interact with the car's smart features (https://www.wisekey.com/secure-connected-cars/). eIDAS and the European 'Digital Single Market'
The role of TSPs like QuoVadis has received increased attention under the EU electronic IDentification, Authentication and trust Services (eIDAS) regulation, designed to bolster electronic identification (eID) and electronic trust services (eTS) for secure cross-border online transactions across the European 'Digital Single Market'. Previously, European regulation of Certification Authorities (CAs) was enacted through national laws and regulations creating a patchwork of standards. The role of eIDAs is two-fold: first, to create greater uniformity in the regulation of service providers across the EU and second, to expand the range of accredited services to include Qualified digital certificates, electronic signatures, electronic corporate seals, time stamps, and other secure transactional services.
With the irrepressible movement of transactions online, eIDAS TSPs will play a key role in future commercial and public-sector interactions. Globally, Aragon Research predicts that revenues for digital transaction services will grow explosively to USD 30 billion by 2020. WISeKey QuoVadis is the only EU TSP accredited in multiple countries, with sales and support operations on the ground in Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and Bermuda. WISeKey Vertical Platform
QuoVadis is already an important compnent of the WISeKey Vertical Trust Platform which provides cybersecurity tools to enhance authentication, identity, privacy, and data integrity in electronic transactions both under eIDAs and the rapidly growing Internet of Things (IoT) market.
Roman Brunner, Managing Director of WISeKey QuoVadis, said, "With eIDAS, we have seen immense growth in demand for cross-border solutions. But more importantly, our customers are looking for European-based partners, with operations on the ground in major national markets across Europe. Working in the multinational environment comes naturally to WISeKey QuoVadis, and our further expansion in Germany allows us to increase and expand the scope of services provided to our significant existing client base there." The WISeKey QuoVadis operations are led by Robert Frank, a well-known figure in the German IT market. Mr. Frank previously served as the Managing Director of Deutsche Leasing Information Technology GmbH, the German market leader in IT leasing. He was also a Managing Director at GE Capital IT Solutions and Executive Vice President of Comdisco, the world market leader for IT financing at the time.
Robert Frank said, "When implementing digital certificate and electronic signature solutions, customers demand a reliable and accessible partner. QuoVadis has an excellent reputation for effective PKI solutions, service reliability, and knowledgeable support enabling us to rapidly build upon the existing clientele and range of services we currently offer in Germany and across Europe. Our goal in Germany is simple: we want to be the CA and e-signature provider with the highest customer satisfaction."
About WISeKey QuoVadis
WISeKey QuoVadis is a leading global Certification Authority (CA) providing cloud-based Trust/Link Managed PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) services, including digital certificates for TLS/SSL web security as well as eID for authentication, encryption, and electronic signature.
WISeKey QuoVadis also provides e-signature platforms including mass signature and trusted time-stamping solutions for e-invoicing, as well as cloud-based signing platforms for individuals. QuoVadis e-signatures are used on more than 60 million electronic transactions annually.
WISeKey QuoVadis is an established Qualified Trust Services Provider (TSP) for eID and electronic transactions in Switzerland under ZertES and with updated eIDAS accreditations pending for the European Union. The company also has significant experience in public eID including the Dutch PKIoverheid and the Swiss SuisseID programmes.
WISeKey QuoVadis customers include a spectrum of multinational companies, financial services entities, university systems and public-sector organizations worldwide. For more information, visit www.quovadisglobal.de. About WISeKey:
WISeKey (SIX Swiss Exchange: WIHN) is a leading global cybersecurity company currently deploying large scale digital identity ecosystems with a patented process. WISeKey's Swiss based cryptographic Root of Trust ("RoT") provides secure authentication and identification, in both physical and virtual environments, for the Internet of Things, Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence. The WISeKey RoT serves as a common trust anchor to ensure the integrity of online transactions among objects and between objects and people. For more information, visit www.wisekey.com . To receive WISeKey's latest news, subscribe to our Newsletter or visit the WISeKey Investors Corner. Press and investor contacts: WISeKey International Holding Ltd
Company Contact: Carlos Moreira
Chairman & CEO
Tel: +41 22 594 3000
[email protected] WISeKey Investor Relations (US)
Contact: Lena Cati
The Equity Group Inc.
Tel: +1 212 836-9611
[email protected] Disclaimer: This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements concerning WISeKey International Holding Ltd and its business. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of WISeKey International Holding Ltd to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. WISeKey International Holding Ltd is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities, and it does not constitute an offering prospectus within the meaning of article 652a or article 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or a listing prospectus within the meaning of the listing rules of the SIX Swiss Exchange. Investors must rely on their own evaluation of WISeKey and its securities, including the merits and risks involved. Nothing contained herein is, or shall be relied on as, a promise or representation as to the future performance of WISeKey.
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 11, 2017] Yes on Issue 2 Campaign Rolls out TV Ad Featuring Ohio EpiPen Moms on EpiPen's Skyrocketing Price Hike-from $100 to More Than $600
The Yes on Issue 2 campaign has launched a new statewide TV ad featuring two Ohio mothers that rely on EpiPens to combat their children's life-threatening allergic reactions. The ad explains that EpiPens contain less than $1 of epinephrine, but the cost for the medicine has skyrocketed from $100 to more than $600 while the drug manufacturer's CEO makes $97 million annually. View ad here: "We've made a big commitment with this ad because we know that the outrageous price of vital medications affects every single Ohioan. While these big drug company CEOs get paid millions of dollars each year and use their billion dollar companies to fund distorted TV ads against us, regular Ohioans are paying the price at the pharmacy. They can't afford it anymore, and voting Yes on Issue 2 will lower drug prices for millions of Ohioans and save taxpayers $400 million," said Dennis Willard, spokesperson for Yes on Issue 2. FDA Accuses Mylan Over Failed EpiPens The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accused Pfizer Inc. of inadequately investigating "hundreds of complaints" that EpiPens "failed to operate during life-threatening emergencies, including some situations in which patients subsequently died." The FDA did not make more details public. Pfizer manufactures EpiPens, which treat allergic reactions, for the drugmaker Mylan.
At issue is the EpiPen mechanism designed to inject a proper dose of epinephrine into a person suffering from an allergy-triggered shock. Mylan outraged parents and lawmakers in the past year when it set the EpiPen list price at $600, a huge price runup for a generic drug therapy. In August, Mylan also announced it has agreed to pay $465 million to settle a lawsuit alleging it overcharged the federal government for its EpiPens. Source (News - Alert): New York Times.
Background on Ohio Ballot Issue 2 The Yes on Issue 2 campaign is a broad-based, bi-partisan coalition. More than 200,000 Ohio voters signed petitions to put an amendment on the ballot in November that will lower drug prices for over 4 million Ohioans, including 164,000 children, save taxpayers $400 million annually, reduce healthcare costs for everyone and teach greedy drug companies and their CEOs a lesson. You can learn more by visiting yesonissue2.com or following us on Facebook and Twitter. Paid (News - Alert) for by Ohio Taxpayers for Lower Drug Prices View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170911006324/en/
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 11, 2017] BIGIT 2017 SOLD OUT a Month before the Event Dates by Igniting a Bigger Innovation by Combining Big Data with Deep Learning, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Sept. 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- BIGIT, who is the real leading Big Data Show in the Asia is back for their 5th Annual International Conference with biggest Innovation to offer. Introducing topics such as Deep Learning and Machine Learning to be presented by prominent companies such as Tesla, NVIDIA and DELL EMC. Includes other interesting topics from Nike, Facebook, Sony and many more. Approximately 1000 trade visitors and over 450 delegates, including top management from both Government and Private sectors, BIGIT 2017 is a guaranteed the best Business Technology event anyone could attend. Derek Bong, the Brain behind BIGIT 2017, explained the reasons behind this decision and how thi will boost the development and innovate the technology in all of industries:
"As the technology advances, the demands for innovation is also rising rapidly. After years of successfully running BIGIT events that focuses mainly on Big Data, my team and I discussed internally and publicly with industry key players, business owners and decision makers from various organizations. We realized that people are ready and wants more than just Big Data." "So we decided to add what Industry Giants has implemented, Deep Learning and Machine Learning. However, Big Data is still an ever evolving subject where it is still need to be addressed. Adding Deep Learning and Machine Learning with Big Data and Artificial Intelligence topic will complete the chain of Technology Greatness in business."
BIGIT 2017 has Sold Out a month before the event dates. However, interested party can still grab the limited Trade Visitor pass to attend the exhibition and meet with all the attendees there. Visit: Download HERE : BIGIT2017. Media Contact: Anne
Tel: +60-162155625
Email: [email protected] SOURCE BIGIT Sdn Bhd
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 11, 2017] Yourmoon Rises With Centric Software PLM
CAMPBELL, Calif., Sept. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Yourmoon, a Chinese manufacturer of home textiles for domestic and international retailers, has gone live with Centric Software's Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution. Centric Software is the leading PLM solution for fashion, retail, footwear, luxury, outdoor and consumer goods companies. Yourmoon was founded in 1995 in the province of Guangdong, China, and manufactures home textiles such as pillows, quilts and cushions. The company supplies household textile products to some of the world's biggest retailers, including Walmart, Carrefour and Metro as well as numerous large retailers in the Chinese market. Spanning design, manufacturing and distribution, Yourmoon employs more than 3,200 people and produces over 1,000 different household products. Until recently, Yourmoon has acted primarily as a wholesaler. However, they are now undergoing a significant brand transformation. As Mr Zhu Hua, CIO of Yourmoon explains, "Yourmoon began looking for a PLM solution because we needed a platform to support our brand transformation strategy. We want be a lifestyle brand that can offer great shopping experiences to consumers, rather than just a traditional wholesaler. We needed to enhance our capabilities in product design, process management and packaging. Our CEO understood that a PLM solution was the right choice to help Yourmoon." Yourmoon began searching for a PLM solution in 2015, and finally selected Centric from many global PLM vendors in 2016. "There were a number of reasons we chose Centric," explains Mr Zhu. "They have extensive experience in the fashion and apparel industry which can be leveraged for our brand strategy in the home textile industry. Centric PLM is easy to us and very agile and the Centric team are young, energetic and professional."
"Centric understood that we were not looking for a regular PLM vendor, but a partner that can help us make the brand transformation strategy successful," he continues. "Centric's deep knowledge and successful experience in the fashion industry are their most outstanding competitive advantages." Since going live with Centric in April, Yourmoon has experienced significant positive results.
As Mr Zhu concludes, "Centric Software's PLM solution has brought us brand new methods of product development, greater transparency in our internal and external communications, and improved efficiency. Our product development process has become more exact and consistent, and it has totally changed our way of working. Our team performs much more efficiently when data is fully visible. We are very confident in our partnership with Centric." "We are happy to see that Yourmoon has already experienced great results with Centric PLM," says Chris Groves, President and CEO of Centric Software. "Applying Centric's PLM capabilities to household textiles was a natural extension of our expertise and we are delighted to be able to support Yourmoon's transformation from a wholesaler to a lifestyle brand." Yourmoon (www.yourmoon.com) For 22 years since its inception in 1995, Yourmoon has been the only domestic brand supplier of its kind that provides comprehensive bedding sales service solutions across China to large retailers. In 2016, the company became a strategic partner of DuPont (U.S.) and 3M Company (U.S.), marking its first successful step in the market of high-tech new material applications. Spanning design, manufacturing, distribution and retail, Yourmoon employs more than 3,500 people and produces over 1,000 different household products. Centric Software (www.centricsoftware.com) From its headquarters in Silicon Valley and offices in trend capitals around the world, Centric Software provides a Digital Transformation Platform for the most prestigious names in fashion, retail, footwear, luxury, outdoor and consumer goods. Centric Visual Innovation Platform (VIP) is a visual, fully digital collection of boards for touch-based devices like iPad, iPhone and large-scale, touch-screen televisions. Centric VIP transforms decision making and automates execution to truly collapse time to market and distance to trend. Centric's flagship product lifecycle management (PLM) platform, Centric 8, delivers enterprise-class merchandise planning, product development, sourcing, business planning, quality, and collection management functionality tailored for fast-moving consumer industries. Centric SMB packages extended PLM including innovative technology and key industry learnings tailored for small businesses. Centric Software has received multiple industry awards, including the Frost & Sullivan Global Product Differentiation Excellence Award in Retail, Fashion, and Apparel PLM in 2016 and Frost & Sullivan's Global Retail, Fashion, and Apparel PLM Product Differentiation Excellence Award in 2012. Red Herring named Centric to its Top 100 Global list in 2013, 2015, and 2016. SOURCE Centric Software
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] TUV Rheinland extends lead in fashion and textiles chemical management as the newest ZDHC global training provider
COLOGNE, Germany, Sept. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- TUV Rheinland has extended its lead in the provision of chemical management solutions and services for the textile, fashion and footwear industry, following its accreditation as a global training provider by the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) Foundation. Through the ZDHC Academy, TUV Rheinland will provide brands and manufacturers with ZDHC-certified training to improve their knowledge and promote the practice of responsible chemical management. The training is an extension of the TUV Rheinland Academy's existing OHS (occupational health & safety) training program for the textiles industry. Targeted at the global market, the first wave of training sessions, entitled "Introduction to Chemical Management," will take place from October to November -- starting with Vietnam and followed by sessions in Bangladesh, Turkey and Italy. Full details of the training program can be found at http://www.roadmaptozero.com/academy/ TUV Rheinland has been actively promoting sound chemical management for nearly a decade, starting with the International Labour Organization's SCORE (Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises) program and its own FIT FIVE training program that links productivity and quality with CSR. TUV Rheinland has also worked with Germany's leading provider of international cooperation services, GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH), on its Resource Efficient Management of Chemicals (REMC) framework for the Apparel & Footwear supply chain. One of the most recent additions is a comprehensive DETOX offering, which TUV Rheinland launched as a direct response to the Greenpeace DETOX campaign aimed at uniting top extile and footwear brands and retailers to achieve zero discharge of hazardous chemicals by the year 2020.
"It might seem easy for manufacturers to produce 'clean' finished products by washing and flushing out some of the undesired chemicals into the local sewerage system before delivery, but it's also extremely short-sighted. Ethical buyers and end-user customers are increasingly looking for assurance that the production process is clean from start to finish, which takes careful testing and quality training to achieve," said Holger Kunz, Executive Vice President, Business Stream Products for TUV Rheinland. Kunz noted that approximately a third of the international fashion industry, including some of the world's biggest brands, are already members of the ZDHC Foundation. More are joining every day. TUV Rheinland's extensive global network of testing, inspection and certification facilities is now in the process of finalizing accreditation as Accepted ZDHC Laboratories.
"Although the new training program is aimed at enterprises, each course concludes with a stringent examination. Successful candidates receive a personal ZDHC certificate to add to their portfolio of professional qualifications and improve their long-term career prospects," said Markus Dohm, Executive Vice President, Business Stream Academy & Life Care for TUV Rheinland. "ZDHC's vision of using best practices to protect consumers, workers and the environment is in full alignment with our mission of promoting greater quality, safety, and economic efficiency where people, technology and the environment interact. While the focus of this first wave of training is an Introduction to Chemical Management, we are committed to working collaboratively with the industry to develop more in-depth, targeted trainings on additional topics. This will drive global progress towards achieving genuine zero discharge of hazardous chemicals," Dohm said. More details about our enabling services to address DETOX can be found at www.tuv.com/detox About TUV Rheinland TUV Rheinland is a global leader in independent inspection services, founded 145 years ago. The group employs 19,700 people around the globe. Annual revenue is more than 1.9 billion. The independent experts stand for quality and safety for people, technology and the environment in nearly all industrial sectors and areas of life. TUV Rheinland inspects technical equipment, products and services, and oversees projects, processes and information security for companies. Its experts train people in a wide range of careers and industries. To this end, the company operates a global network of approved labs and testing and education centers. Since 2006, TUV Rheinland has been a member of the United Nations Global Compact to promote sustainability and combat corruption. www.tuv.com About ZDHC The big players in international fashion industry have agreed not to use chemicals until 2020 known to be hazardous to health in garment and footwear. Among others, Puma, Nike, Levi Strauss, Primark and Burberry have joined this agreement. A comprehensive plan defines the processes to be followed by the members of this industry forum in order to attain the target "DETOX". Furthermore, the members set up common standards for sewage analysis, training, audits and the so-called Manufacturing Restricted Substance List (MRSL). SOURCE TUV Rheinland Singapore Pte Ltd
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] Samsung SDI Introduces High-tech Innovations to Lead the Popularization of EVs at Frankfurt Motor Show
Samsung SDI (President: Jun Young-hyun) (KRX:006400) today announced that it has exhibited various products which could lead the popularization of electric vehicles at the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA Cars 2017) which was opened on September 12. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170911006397/en/ Samsung (News - Alert) SDI exhibits multifunctional battery packs, low height cells, cylindrical batteries based on new technology standard '21700' at Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA Cars 2017). (Photo: Business Wire) The concept of the products Samsun SDI displayed at the show is "a battery company preparing for the popularization of EVs," and high technologies were applied to them accordingly.
"Multifunctional battery pack" of Samsung SDI attracted the most attention. Its users can change the number of modules as they want as if they place books on a shelf. For example, if 20 modules are installed in a premium car, it can go 600 to 700 kilometers. If 10 to 12 modules are mounted on a regular sedan, it can run up to 300 kilometers. This pack is expected to attract attention from automakers, because they can design a car whose mileage vary depending on how many modules of a single pack are installed. Another groundbreaking product Samsung SDI exhibited is "Low Height Cell." This is a cell whose height has been reduced by more than 20 percent than that of other existing cells. If this cell is applied, it can decrease the battery load height in an EV. It raises interior space utilization, enabling automakers to develop EVs of various designs.
Samsung SDI also displayed cells and modules based on the new 21700 standard of cylindrical battery. A '21700' battery is 21 millimeters in diameter and 70 millimeters in height. Its capacity is 50 percent bigger than the existing 18650 battery. Its size is optimal for maximizing capacity, life and output simultaneously. The new battery beats batteries of any other size in light of cost competitiveness. A 21700 battery draws attention from major global manufacturers as the next-generation standard which can be applied to all sorts of products including electric vehicles, ESS and electric tools. "Our products unveiled at the show are expected to advance the popularization of EVs because they use high technologies optimized to the needs of customers and the market," Samsung SDI President Jun Young-hyun said. "We will keep leading the battery industry with our unrivaled technology." Samsung SDI constructed an EV battery plant in Hungary in May, completing its worldwide production tripod with plants in Ulsan, South Korea and Xian, China. Samsung SDI is trying its best to meet the diverse needs of global automakers as a provider of total EV solutions including world-class cells, modules and packs based on cutting-edge technology. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170911006397/en/
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] Yanfeng Automotive Interiors Brings Surface Sensitivity to the Interiors of Future Vehicles
FRANKFURT, Germany, September 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- More functionality, emotion and freedom of design in interiors Yanfeng Automotive Interiors (YFAI), the global leader in automotive interiors, is a pioneer in the development of new materials for vehicle interiors. At the IAA, with the activeSkin concept, the company presents its vision of integrating intuitive controls into vehicle interiors, which blur the boundaries between the digital and analog worlds. This new development concept enables the display of data on soft surfaces. Functional and decorative surfaces in vehicle interiors will increasingly merge in the future. (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/554187/Yanfeng_Active_Skin.jpg )
"The future generation of surface is more intelligent than ever. We can simply move our hands over a fabric-covered surface in the car and an interactive surface or dynamic ambient decorative lighting appears. The surfaces interact with us," said Han Hendriks, Chief Technology Officer for YFAI. "This is impressive technology." activeSkin from YFAI maximizes freedom of design
New levels of design freedom for interiors can be realized with activSkin. The old design principle "form follows function" will be completely redefined with this new concept development. In the future, car interiors will increasingly have the atmosphere of a Next Living Space, with surfaces which are not only decorative and have a pleasant feel, but are also fully interactive.
"We offer functionality on demand, which is only visible when it is needed. With this, we have the possibility of personalization functions into interior surfaces," said Hendriks. The activeSkin technology enables a freedom on interaction design. The quality and elegance with which the imaging and data transfer is implemented is convincing. "With activeSkin, we can achieve a 3D effect with a surprising sense of depth," explained Hendriks. What was recently a vision for the future could become part of our mobile reality by 2022.
The detailed press text is available in our Media Center at http://www.yfai.com. Please visit our IAA microsite or follow us online: http://www.yfai.com/the-next-living-space
YFAI Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YFautointeriors About Yanfeng Automotive Interiors:
Yanfeng Automotive Interiors (YFAI) is the global leader in automotive interiors. YFAI is redefining how people relax, work and play in their vehicle interiors today and decades from now. Headquartered in Shanghai, the company has approximately 110 manufacturing plants and technical centers in 20 countries and more than 33,000 employees globally. They design, develop and manufacture interior components for all automakers. Established in 2015, Yanfeng Automotive Interiors is a joint venture between Yanfeng, one of the largest automotive suppliers in China and Adient, the global leader in automotive seating. For more information, please visit http://www.YFAI.com. For more information please contact:
Yanfeng Automotive Interiors
Jagenbergstrae 1
41468 Neuss
Germany Astrid Schafmeister
Tel.: +49 2131 609-3028
E-Mail: [email protected]
Internet: http://www.YFAI.com
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] comScore Releases New 'Global Mobile Report' Providing Mobile Snapshot Across 14 Markets
Increased Mobile Measurement Footprint Allows Global Perspective on Mobile Audiences, Apps and Content Categories LONDON, Sept. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- comScore, Inc. today published its 2017 international mobile report, titled 'The Global Mobile Report'. This new study examines mobile audiences, content categories and apps that are changing the worldwide digital landscape. The report uses multi-platform data from 14 international markets (USA, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, China, India, Indonesia and Malaysia) to demonstrate global patterns and local nuances in mobile usage. To download a copy of the report, please visit: www.comscore.com/GlobalMobile2017. "The global move to mobile is far from uniform," said Will Hodgman, executive vice president of international sales at comScore. "This report demonstrates how understanding where digital consumption has shifted more heavily to mobile platforms allows media owners, advertisers and their agencies to leverage sweetspots of audiences and content. As we expand granular, panel-based mobile measurement to more regions, we're excited to continue revealing these actionable trends." The Global Mobile Report covers topics including: Mobile (and apps') share of overall digital time and audiences in 14 markets, including how 'mobile only' usage is impacting the digital landscape
The dynamics of individual content categories, and where 'mobile first' behaviours are most in eidence
Consumer behaviours for mobile transactions
The mobile brands and apps that are leading the way for instant messaging, news, retail and social media
The maturity of the global app market, and the categories experiencing ongoing growth
Germany , along with France and Argentina , increase comScore's advanced mobile measurement solutions to a total of 14 markets across the globe, as we continue to expand our global mobile measurement footprint. To download The Global Mobile Report, please visit www.comscore.com/GlobalMobile2017. To learn more about how comScore can help you succeed in a mobile-first world, please contact us or visit www.comscore.com/mobile.
About comScore
comScore, Inc. is a leading cross-platform measurement company that precisely measures audiences, brands and consumer behaviour everywhere. comScore completed its merger with Rentrak Corporation in January 2016, to create the new model for a dynamic, cross-platform world. Built on precision and innovation, our unmatched data footprint combines proprietary digital, TV and movie intelligence with vast demographic details to quantify consumers' multiscreen behaviour at massive scale. This approach helps media companies monetise their complete audiences and allows marketers to reach these audiences more effectively. With more than 3,200 clients and global footprint in more than 75 countries, comScore is delivering the future of measurement. Shares of comScore stock are currently traded on the OTC Market (OTC:SCOR). For more information on comScore, please visit comscore.com. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including, but not limited to, expectations regarding the impact and benefits to comScore from the MMX family of products, financial or otherwise. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially, including, but not limited to: the features and characteristics of the products, the rate of development of the digital marketing intelligence, Internet advertising and e-Commerce markets; the growth of the Internet as a medium for commerce, content, advertising and communications; and the acceptance of new products and methodologies by the industry, including existing and prospective clients. For a detailed discussion of these and other risk factors, please refer to comScore's most recent respective Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Annual Reports on Form 10-K and from time to time other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), which are available on the SEC's Web site (http://www.sec.gov). Stockholders of comScore are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date such statements are made. comScore does not undertake any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements to reflect events, circumstances or new information after the date of this press release, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/327730/comScore_Logo.jpg
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] SolarWinds IT Professionals Day 2017 Survey Reveals Depth of IT Pro Responsibilities in the Enterprise
AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SolarWinds, a leading provider of powerful and affordable IT management software, today announced the findings of its Little-Known Facts survey. The results reveal that IT professionals tend to go above and beyond the scope of their core responsibilities as the changing business landscape demands more of their attention, both inside and outside of the office. The survey supports IT Professionals Day, which is observed the third Tuesday of every September (September 19, 2017), to emphasize the need for greater appreciation for IT professionals and the critical role they play in modern business and the lives of nearly all technology end-users.
Without a doubt, todays IT professionals are the backbone of the modern enterprise, said Joseph Kim, executive vice president and chief technology officer, SolarWinds. This year, to celebrate the third annual IT Professionals Day, we wanted to draw attention not only to the data centers growing complexity and end-user demands that IT professionals must manage, but more personal facts, like their favorite social media platforms and how they feel about end-users. By understanding and knowing our own IT professionals, we can better appreciate them. Key Findings SolarWinds Little-Known Facts survey provides a glimpse into the often-overlooked aspects of IT pros and the jobs they do, ultimately allowing us to better understand, and in turn, appreciate them. IT professionals: Extend beyond the call of duty to solve end-user and business problems IT pros spend just over two-thirds of their time (65 percent) actually managing IT and IT-related services. What are they doing with the rest?
- Educating business leaders and end-users about IT/technology (18 percent)
- Fixing office equipment that is NOT related to IT (9 percent)
- Performing admin duties unrelated to IT (8 percent) Dedicate most of their problem-solving to senior executives
Of the 65 percent of time IT professionals spend on core responsibilities, nearly half of that time (47 percent) is dedicated to resolving technology issues from senior executives/chief officers.
- Rounding out the top three users who take most of ITs time, 43 percent list finance/accounting/procurement as having the most technology issues that require an IT pro to solve, followed by sales/business development personnel at 39 percent
- Marketing and PR required the least support, at seven percent At times communicate more with technology than humans In any given week, nearly one-third of IT pros surveyed spend more time communicating with their IT monitoring systems than the people close to them: 30 percent say they receive more texts from their IT monitoring systems (for example, system alerts) each week than they do from their friends/family/loved ones. Want to connect on social media
LinkedIn is the preferred method to network and connect with peers, according to 57 percent of IT pros surveyed.
is the preferred method to network and connect with peers, according to 57 percent of IT pros surveyed. Nearly half of all IT professionals (45 percent) use Facebook as their preferred social media platform, followed by Twitter (29 percent) and Instagram (nine percent). Just three percent, however, feel compelled to share face-filtered selfies on Snapchat.
Dont fear the machine Despite industry hype that Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning are threatening their jobs, keeping their organizations secure is IT pros greatest concern: 89 percent of IT professionals most fear a security breach. Just nine percent fear AI will take their jobs, a finding that is echoed by a recent McKinsey report on AIs nuances. Want you to ask for elp
One-fourth of IT professionals agree that half of the time, end-users who try to solve their own IT problems ultimately make things worse. Chronically overwork, but still love being an IT professional
91 percent of IT pros surveyed work overtime hours and of those, 57 percent do so with no compensation for working overtime.
- Over half of IT pros work at least 10 overtime hours per month, and one in five IT pros works 20 or more overtime hours per month
- Of the 44 percent who do receive compensation for working overtime, the majority receive something other than monetary compensation, such as comp days
- Over half of IT pros work at least 10 overtime hours per month, and one in five IT pros works 20 or more overtime hours per month - Of the 44 percent who do receive compensation for working overtime, the majority receive something other than monetary compensation, such as comp days 94 percent of IT pros surveyed enjoy being an IT pro, and over half of all IT pros love what they do. In 2016, we found that IT is everywhere, and end-users were expanding IT beyond the traditional four walls of their organizations, Kim added. This required IT professionals to adopt an always-on mentality; this years key findings highlight that the trend continues, with IT pros performing their core IT responsibilities, in addition to dedicating time to educate end-users and business leaders, problem-solving for senior executives, and keeping their organizations secure from the threat of security breaches. In recognition of IT professionals everywhere, we are thrilled to be celebrating the third annual IT Professionals Day and spotlighting the hard work they do to keep businesses running smoothly. Fielded in July 2017, the survey was conducted by C. White Consulting on behalf of SolarWinds and yielded responses from 161 IT practitioners, managers, and directors in the U.S. and Canada. Full survey results are available here. Girls in Tech In honor of IT Pro Day, SolarWinds is proudly donating to Girls in Tech in support of their inspiring vision. We hope youll contribute too! Girls in Tech (GIT) is a global non-profit focused on the engagement, education and empowerment of girls and women who are passionate about technology. With headquarters in San Francisco, and more than 50,000 members around the globe, GIT aims to accelerate the growth of women entering high-tech careers and provide a support framework for successful startups and advancement in STEM fields. Girls in Tech is utilizing the power of technology to bring women together to shape their future and democratize the world, said Rani Johnson, CIO, SolarWinds. SolarWinds is proud to support the vision of Girls in Tech with a donation to help further their mission. Technology has become more complex than ever, impacting both IT professionals and end users in a variety of ways, and were thrilled to contribute to GIT to facilitate learning and skills building within the STEM fields. Visit girlsintech.org for more information. IT Professionals Day IT Professionals Day is designed to annually celebrate all IT professionals regardless of discipline. Whereas holidays such as System Administrator Appreciation Day do well at recognizing one category of the profession, IT Professionals Day honors not only system administrators, but network engineers, database administrators, information security professionals, developers, IT support technicians, and all other professionals serving in IT-related roles. Please visit ITProDay.org to learn more. Additional Resources ITProDay.org
National Day Calendar: IT Professionals Day
SolarWinds Establishes IT Professionals Day as Official Holiday Connect with SolarWinds THWACK
Twitter (#ITProDay)
Facebook (#ITProDay)
LinkedIn About SolarWinds
SolarWinds provides powerful and affordable IT management software to customers worldwide, from Fortune 500 enterprises to small businesses, managed service providers (MSPs), government agencies, and educational institutions. We are committed to focusing exclusively on IT, MSP, and DevOps professionals, and strive to eliminate the complexity that our customers have been forced to accept from traditional enterprise software vendors. Regardless of where the IT asset or user sits, SolarWinds delivers products that are easy to find, buy, use, maintain, and scale while providing the power to address key areas of the infrastructure from on-premises to the cloud. This focus and commitment to excellence in end-to-end hybrid IT performance management has established SolarWinds as the worldwide leader in both network management software and MSP solutions, and is driving similar growth across the full spectrum of IT management software. Our solutions are rooted in our deep connection to our user base, which interacts in our THWACK online community to solve problems, share technology and best practices, and directly participate in our product development process. Learn more today at www.solarwinds.com. The SolarWinds, SolarWinds & Design, and THWACK trademarks are the exclusive property of SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC or its affiliates, are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and may be registered or pending registration in other countries. All other SolarWinds trademarks, service marks, and logos may be common law marks or are registered or pending registration. All other trademarks mentioned herein are used for identification purposes only and are trademarks of (and may be registered trademarks of) their respective companies. 2017 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved. MEDIA CONTACTS:
Megan Malarkey
Text100
Phone: 212.331.8403
[email protected] Jenne Barbour
SolarWinds
Phone: 512.498.6804
[email protected]
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] GSA FEDSIM Awards Secure Enterprise Network Systems, Services and Support Contract to Leidos
RESTON, Va., Sept. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Leidos (NYSE: LDOS), a FORTUNE 500 science and technology leader, was selected as the prime task order awardee by the General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Systems Integration and Management Center (FEDSIM), on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to provide operations and maintenance, security, optimization, enhancement, design, engineering, architecture, integration, configuration, testing, and expansion of the Homeland Secure Data Network (HSDN) and the Classified Local Area Network (C-LAN) under the Secure Enterprise Network Systems, Services and Support (SENS3) task order. The single-award task order has a base period and five one-year option periods, with a total estimated value of approximately $684 million. Work will be performed primarily in Lorton, VA and at various DHS locations. The task order was awarded under the GSA Alliant contract vehicle. Leidos will apply its expertise as the largest provider of information technology services to the federal government to assist DHS in achieving its SENS3 program mission to maintain and manage effective, secure, and classified, information sharing with intelligence, law enforcement communities, and other communities of interest. Under the task order, Leidos will provide innovative services and solutions in support of DHS mission critical networks. Support will include instilling Continual Service Improvement throughout the life of the task order. "We're proud that DHS has entrusted Leidos to operate and modernize its enterprise systems to support information sharing and intelligence missions across all DHS Components, including Federal, state, local, and tribal partners," said Leidos Group President Angie Heise. "Our operational excellence and understanding of DHS mission-critical needs will streamline information sharing across all DHS stakeholders." About Leidos
Leidos is a Fortune 500 science and technology solutions and services leader working to solve the world's toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, homeland security, civil, and health markets. The company's 32,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $7.04 billion for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2016. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com. Statements in this announcement, other than historical data and information, constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause our actual results, performance, achievements, or industry results to be very different from the results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of these factors include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set forth in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 30, 2016, and other such filings that Leidos makes with the SEC from time to time. Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.
Contact: Melissa Koskovich Jennifer Moffett
(571) 526-6850 (571) 526-6852
[email protected] [email protected]
View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gsa-fedsim-awards-secure-enterprise-network-systems-services-and-support-contract-to-leidos-300517317.html SOURCE Leidos
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] Vizient Partners with the Huggies Brand to Raise Member Awareness for Diaper Need at the 2017 Clinical Connections Summit
During its annual Clinical Connections Summit, being held Sept. 13-14 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Vizient, Inc. is partnering with the Huggies No Baby Unhugged initiative to donate 10,000 diapers to The Bottom Line diaper bank in Denver. According to a 2010 study commissioned by Huggies, one in three U.S. families struggle to provide fresh, clean diapers for their babies. As part of this year's member volunteer activity at the Vizient Clinical Connection Summit, attendees can package the diapers for delivery, and for each person who volunteers Huggies will donate an additional day's supply of diapers to The Bottom Line diaper bank. "This community service project is a great fit for our event. It serves to raise awareness for diaper need nationally among our members and enables Vizient and event attendees to make a positive impact in the Denver community," said Pete Allen, executive vice president, sourcing operations at Vizient. "Kimberly-Clark, parent company of Huggies, is a Vizient awarded supplier and participates in our Preferred Pediatric Program. We are grateful to Huggies for their diaper donation and support for our event." The effects of diaper need lead to increased stress for parents and families on many levels. Diapers and baby wipes are not covered under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) also known as food stamps or the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) special supplemental nutrition program, which means parents often have to choose between paying for food or purchasing diapers. Additionally, without diapers, babies cannot participate in early childhood education programs or daycare leading parents to miss work to care for them. "At Huggies we know how critically important diapers are to a family's well-being, and that is why we are committed to working with the National Diaper Bank Network and partners like Vizient to raise awareness for this issue," said Giusy Buonfantino, president of Kimberly-Clark Baby and Child Care North America. "Over the last six years Huggies has donated more than 200 million diapers and wipes to families in need, and we thank the Vizient team for helping us continue to support these families." Huggies is the founding sponsor of the National Diaper Bank Network (NDBN), a nonprofit organization that works with more than 300 community-based diaper banks around the country and serves nearly 280,000 children each month. More information about the 2017 Vizient Clinical Connections Summit can be found here.
About Vizient, Inc. Vizient, Inc., the largest member-driven health care performance improvement company in the country, provides innovative data-driven solutions, expertise and collaborative opportunities that lead to improved patient outcomes and lower costs. Vizient's diverse membership base includes academic medical centers, pediatric facilities, community hospitals, integrated health delivery networks and non-acute health care providers and represents more than $100 billion in annual purchasing volume. The Vizient brand identity represents the integration of VHA Inc., University HealthSystem Consortium and Novation, which combined in 2015, as well as MedAssets' Spend and Clinical Resource Management (SCM) segment, including Sg2, which was acquired in 2016. In 2017, Vizient again received a World's Most Ethical Company designation from the Ethisphere Institute. Vizient's headquarters are in Irving, Texas, with locations in Chicago and other cities across the United States. Please visit www.vizientinc.com as well as our newsroom, blog, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube pages for more information about the company.
About the Huggies Brand Huggies believes deeply in the Power of Hugs. That's why every Huggies diaper and wipe is inspired by parents' hugs. For nearly 40 years, Huggies has been helping parents provide love, care and reassurance to help babies thrive. No Baby Unhugged is Huggies promise to ensure babies get the care they need to thrive - from innovative everyday products, growing hospital hugger programs and specially-designed products for the tiniest of babies, to diapers and wipes donations. Huggies is the fastest growing diaper brand in hospitals and partners with NICU nurses to develop diapers and wipes that meet the specific needs of pre-term infants. For more information on the Huggies No Baby Unhugged program visit the "Why Huggies?" page at Huggies.com. About Kimberly-Clark Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) and its well-known global brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 175 countries. Every day, nearly a quarter of the world's population trust Kimberly-Clark brands and the solutions they provide to enhance their health, hygiene and well-being. With brands such as Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex and Depend, Kimberly-Clark holds the No. 1 or No. 2 share positions in 80 countries. To keep up with the latest news and to learn more about the Company's 145-year history of innovation, visit www.kimberly-clark.com or follow us on Facebook and Twitter. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170912005741/en/
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] Anexinet Appoints Al Sporer as EVP, Digital and Analytics Business Unit
PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Anexinet Corporation, a leading provider of analytics, digital and cloud infrastructure solutions, today announced the appointment of Al Sporer as Executive Vice President of its newly created Digital and Analytics Services Business Unit. Mr. Sporer will lead all customer facing Digital and Analytics activities including Sales, Pre-sales and Service Delivery. Mr. Sporer is the latest addition to the Executive team as Anexinet focuses on the growing demand for Digital transformation and customer centric analytics solutions.
Al brings a depth of expertise in building and integrating technology service businesses that will be critical in modernizing our customers core platforms, building great customer engagement digital solutions, and providing intelligent insight capabilities," Brad Hokamp, CEO Anxinet said. We are excited to have Als leadership and experience to continue accelerating our customers Digital transformation journey.
Anexinet is right at the forefront of the digital transformation market, which has tremendous growth and opportunity across both mid-market and enterprise sized businesses, Mr. Sporer said. Im looking forward to taking Anexinet to its next level of growth in the red-hot digital and analytics market. Mr. Sporer spent the last 10 years at CA Technologies, in key executive leadership positions, including General Manager roles where he drove sales and service delivery. Prior to CA Technologies, he worked at EMC Corporation for over 7 years, in various sales and consulting services leadership roles driving double-digit revenue & margin growth. Mr. Sporer is a graduate of the University of Michigan and started his career serving as an officer in the United States Air Force.
About Anexinet Anexinet (www.anexinet.com) specializes in digital business transformation. We empower our clients to grow their customer base and improve workforce efficiency by envisioning, developing, and operating next generation technology solutions. Our core expertise is in digital applications, analytics, and hybrid IT, enabling businesses to rapidly transform. Partner with Anexinet to support the full lifecycle of your next generation digital business. For more information, contact:
Betsey Rogers
Public Relations
BridgeView Marketing
603-821-0809
[email protected]
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] Sword & Shield Enterprise Security Releases White Paper on Future of Passwords
KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Sept. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Sword & Shield Enterprise Security, a leading national cybersecurity firm based in Knoxville, Tennessee, has released a white paper, "The Future of Passwords: Perspectives for Enterprises." Available now at https://landing.swordshield.com/new-password-guidelines-white-paper, the white paper highlights the latest National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) digital identity guidelines and the push to reduce increasingly complicated password requirements in favor of more user-friendly policies. "The way we've been approaching password security over time has created a process that is ultimately too complex for the people using the passwords, and too easy for computers to decipher," said John McNeey, president and CEO of Sword & Shield Enterprise Security. "The result has created headaches for users and an overall limited security effectiveness for businesses."
McNeely said the new NIST guidelines call for more relaxed compositional requirements and place more of the burden of password validation on software verification. In addition to explaining the latest NIST guidelines, the white paper also focuses on password composition, security questions, on- and offline attacks, and multi-factor authentication.
"The goal of incorporating these new standards into your business' security protocol is to make the lives of your employees easier while also increasing your organization's security," McNeely said. "That being said, password security is just part of what should be an overall layered approach to your information security. Whether you're compliance driven or security driven, building effective protection strategies takes a balanced risk management approach." To download the white paper in its entirety, visit https://landing.swordshield.com/new-password-guidelines-white-paper. About Sword & Shield Enterprise Security
Protecting critical data for 20 years, Sword & Shield Enterprise Security, Inc. is a nationally recognized cybersecurity provider with solutions designed to meet the needs of a dynamic security and compliance landscape. Headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, Sword & Shield specializes in security, risk and compliance assessment, managed security services, enterprise security consulting, security incident response and forensics, and technical solutions. Sword & Shield services a broad spectrum of industries, including healthcare, retail, legal, banking and finance, manufacturing, and the public sector. Sword & Shield hosts the EDGE Security Conference, a first-class cybersecurity conference where complex business problems meet real world solutions. EDGE2017 will take place on Oct. 17-18, 2017 at the Knoxville Convention Center. To learn more about EDGE2017 and to sign up, visit https://edgesecurityconference.com/. For more information about Sword & Shield Enterprise Security, visit https://www.swordshield.com/. MEDIA CONTACT:
Heather Ripley
Ripley PR
865-977-1973
[email protected] View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sword--shield-enterprise-security-releases-white-paper-on-future-of-passwords-300517326.html SOURCE Sword & Shield Enterprise Security
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] Khan Academy Launches First-Ever National Learnstorm Education Challenge
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Sept. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Khan Academy announces today the start of the first-ever national LearnStorm, a free, six-week online learning challenge for grades 3-12. LearnStorm helps schools address the effects of summer learning loss and start the school year strong. "Teachers tell us valuable classroom time is spent every fall re-teaching learning lost over the summer," said Khan Academy founder and CEO Sal Khan. "LearnStorm helps students get a jump on the new school year and build a positive mindset that we think pays off in school and beyond." LearnStorm celebrates the "growth mindset," the belief that anyone can build and grow their intelligence through practice and perseverance. In pilots of LearnStorm, 96% of students reported their learning confidence increased using Khan Academy. (And 94% of teachers said they'd recommend LearnStorm to a colleague.) So far, more than 10,000 teachers and 450,000 students are registered for LearnStorm. Approximately 55% of LearnStorm teachers who report their school work in schools with a majority of students who qualify for freeand reduced-price lunch. Schools can join LearnStorm now through the end of the challenge on October 20.
As students complete assignments from their teacher for LearnStorm, they can unlock a limited-availability prize box for their classroom and earn badges. Schools with the highest levels of participation in LearnStorm are eligible to apply for a grand prize opportunity that includes a school rally and up to $5,000 of school supplies. The national roll out of LearnStorm is made possible by AT&T, the premiere supporter of the learning challenge. AT&T has been a major supporter of Khan Academy's work since 2014 as part of the AT&T Aspire initiative. "LearnStorm will provide students across the country with access to free, online educational tools to get them excited for a year full of learning," said Nicole Anderson, assistant vice president, social innovation, AT&T services. "We're excited to support Khan Academy in this initiative because helping students learn by using technology is a priority for us."
Additional support for LearnStorm is generously provided by GM and the Carnegie Corporation of New York. For more information about LearnStorm and to sign up, visit www.learnstorm2017.org. About Khan Academy
Khan Academy is a nonprofit with a mission to provide a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. We use intelligent software, data analytics, and intuitive user interfaces to help students and teachers around the world. Our resources cover math, biology, chemistry, physics, history, economics, finance, grammar, preschool learning, and more. Khan Academy offers free personalized SAT prep in partnership with the College Board, and we are the official practice partner for AP. We provide teachers with tools and data so they can help their students develop the skills, habits, and mindsets necessary for success in school and beyond. Khan Academy has been translated into dozens of languages, and more than 10 million people around the globe learn on Khan Academy each month. For more information, visit khanacademy.org, join us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter at @khanacademy. And remember, you can learn anything. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/khan-academy-launches-first-ever-national-learnstorm-education-challenge-300517588.html SOURCE Khan Academy
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] Intersil Announces Industry's First 15A, 42V Analog Power Module
MILPITAS, Calif., Sept. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Intersil, a subsidiary of Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723), today announced the first 42V single-channel DC/DC step-down power module that delivers up to 15A of continuous current. The ISL8215M operates from a single wide input voltage range that includes industry standard 12V, 18V, and 24V intermediate bus power rails. The module offers adjustable output voltages from 0.6V to 12V, and provides the highest power density of 60mA/mm2 in a 13mm x 19mm package. Its 96.5% peak efficiency drives point-of-load (POL) conversions for FPGAs, DSPs and MCUs in industrial, medical, RF communications, after-market automotive, and portable equipment that use Li-ion batteries. The ISL8215M is a complete DC-to-DC power supply that includes a controller, MOSFETs, inductor and passive components inside a single encapsulated package to simplify system design and speed time to market. The module's proprietary High Density Array (HDA) package offers unmatched electrical and thermal performance through a single-layer conductive package substrate that reduces lead inductance and dissipates heat primarily through the system board. The ISL8215M's components are mounted to a copper lead-frame structure that allows the module to operate at full load over a wide temperature range with no airflow or heatsinks, further reducing size and cost. The ISL8215M also provides fast transient response and excellent loop stability while its 40ns typical minimum on time allows single-step low duty cycle down conversions to point-of-load voltages. The device offers selectable light load efficiency to extend battery life in Li-ion powered applications, and upport Energy Star compliant products. The device provides voltage, temperature and current protection features that ensure safe operation under abnormal operating conditions. The ISL8215M also provides automatic restart upon fault clearance to protect the load and system.
"The ISL8215M delivers unparalleled power density and ultra-high efficiency performance," said Philip Chesley, vice president of Industrial Analog and Power products at Intersil. "This module's size and above 40V input with 15A output current performance along with an unmatched feature set enables customers to easily address their increasingly compact power designs." Key Features and Specifications of ISL8215M
Complete 15A single-channel power supply integrates controller, MOSFETs, inductor, and passive components
Operates from a single 7V to 42V wide input voltage range
Adjustable output voltage from 0.6V to 12V with +/- 1.5 % accuracy over line, load and temperature, and 40ns on-time low duty cycle
Up to 96.5% peak efficiency
Adjustable switching frequency from 300kHz to 2MHz, with 300kHz default
External clock signal synchronization up to 1MHz
Selectable light-load PSM/DEM efficiency mode to extend battery life
Fault protections include input under-voltage lockout, over-temperature, programmable over-current, output over-voltage and output pre-bias startup ensure safe operation
Programmable soft-start reduces inrush current from the input supply
Dedicated enable pin and power-good flag simplify sequencing of system power rails with voltage tracking Pricing and Availability
The ISL8215M power module is available now in a 19mm x 13mm x 5.3mm HDA package and is priced at $13.90 USD in 1k quantities. An ISL8215MEVAL1Z evaluation board can be purchased for $69 USD each. For more information, please visit: www.intersil.com/products/isl8215m. The ISL8215M joins a comprehensive family of analog and digital power modules that support 1V to 80V input voltage rails and 3A to 80A output current to satisfy a broad range of applications. For more information on Intersil's power module portfolio, please visit: www.intersil.com/powermodules. About Intersil
Intersil, a subsidiary of Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723), is a leading provider of innovative power management and precision analog solutions. The company's products form the building blocks of increasingly intelligent, mobile and power hungry electronics, enabling advances in power management to improve efficiency and extend battery life. With a deep portfolio of intellectual property and a rich history of design and process innovation, Intersil is the trusted partner to leading companies in some of the world's largest markets, including industrial and infrastructure, mobile computing, automotive and aerospace. For more information about Intersil, visit our website at www.intersil.com. Intersil and the Intersil logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intersil, a Renesas Company. All other brands, product names and marks are or may be trademarks or registered trademarks used to identify products or services of their respective owners. Join the Conversation
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
WeChat View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/intersil-announces-industrys-first-15a-42v-analog-power-module-300516527.html SOURCE Intersil
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] U.S. Air Force Awards Lockheed Martin GPS M-Code Early Use (MCEU) Ground System Upgrade Contract
DENVER, Sept. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) a $45.5 million contract to provide Military Code (M-Code) Early Use (MCEU) capability to the Global Positioning System (GPS). Part of the Air Force's overall modernization plan for the GPS, M-Code is an advanced, new signal designed to improve anti-jamming and protection from spoofing, as well as to increase secure access, to military GPS signals for U.S. and allied armed forces. MCEU will provide command and control of M-Code capability to eight GPS IIR-M and 12 GPS IIF satellites currently on orbit, as well as future GPS III satellites, which the Air Force expects will begin launching in 2018. MCEU is envisioned as a way to accelerate M-Code's deployment in order to support testing and fielding of modernized user equipment in support of the warfighter. The Air Force's MCEU contract directs Lockheed Martin to upgrade the existing Architecture Evolution Plan (AEP) Operational Control System (OCS) allowing it to task, upload and monitor M-Code within the GPS constellation. The contract includes new software and hardware development which will be deployed in 2019 to world-wide ground facilities that support the Air Force's GPS. "When people think of GPS, they often think of the satellites that provide the signals, but do not remember the important ground system behind it. We recognize the 'ground' is critical for any major space mission constellation and we are proud that we can help th Air Force with this part of their GPS modernization plan," said Mark Stewart, Lockheed Martin's vice president for Navigation Systems.
The AEP OCS -- currently maintained by Lockheed Martin under the GPS Control Segment (GCS) Sustainment Contract -- controls the 12 GPS IIR, 8 IIR-M and 12 IIF satellites in orbit today. The company has successfully implemented several recent projects to modernize and sustain the system for the Air Force. In June, Lockheed Martin deployed the first of its state-of-the-art GPS Monitor Station Technology Improvement Capability (MSTIC) receivers at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The software-defined MSTIC system replaces 30-year-old hardware, positioning the Air Force to take advantage of commercial off-the-shelf technology enhancements in processing power, reliability and cybersecurity in the future. Six Air Force AEP OCS monitoring stations around the world will receive the MSTIC upgrade by the end of 2017.
In February 2016, the Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin the GPS III Contingency Operations (COps) contract to upgrade the AEP OCS with new capabilities so it could support the more powerful, next generation GPS Block III satellites. The COps program passed a successful Critical Design Review milestone with the Air Force in December 2016. Also in 2016, under the GCS contract, Lockheed Martin completed the Commercial Off-the-Shelf Upgrade #2 (CUP2) project -- part of a multi-year plan to modernize the AEP OCS' technology and enhance the system's ability to protect data and infrastructure from internal and external cyber threats, as well as improve its overall sustainability and operability. CUP2 is now fully operational and managing the current GPS constellation. For additional GPS III information, photos and video visit: www.lockheedmartin.com/gps. About Lockheed Martin
Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 97,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-air-force-awards-lockheed-martin-gps-m-code-early-use-mceu-ground-system-upgrade-contract-300517508.html SOURCE Lockheed Martin
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] nCino Named a Winner of the 2017 IDC FinTech Rankings Real Results Award
nCino, the worldwide leader in cloud banking, is the winner of the 2017 IDC FinTech Rankings Real Results Award in the category of Lending Transformation. In conjunction, nCino has earned a place on the 2017 IDC (News - Alert) Financial Insights FinTech Rankings - an annual listing of the top 100 technology providers to financial institutions worldwide. For the third year, IDC Financial Insights awarded five companies with the Real Results Awards, which honors financial technology providers that have enabled a genuine, measurable, and future-enabling change at a respective client financial institution. nCino was awarded for its collaboration with Univest Bank and Trust Co. and its equipment leasing subsidiary Univest Capital, Inc. "Univest and nCino have enjoyed a successful partnership since 2014, when we first deployed the Bank Operating System for our Main Street Banking program," said Hugh Connelly, president of Business Banking at Univest Bank and Trust Co. "Because of the tremendous success we've experienced, we have now deployed the technology three times across three distinct lines of business. As a result, we have saved dozens of hours each month, decreased certain loan decision times to under 10 minutes and boosted data accuracy and accountability. Most importantly, nCino has further enabled us to deliver unmatched and exceptional service to our growing customer base across the business banking division of the Bank and our leasing subsidiary." This award reflects nCino's ability to deliver on its mission of transforming financial services through innovation, reputation and speed; and the ranking is a result of the company's consistent high growth. nCino now has more than 150 bank and credit union customers of all asset sizes and spanning multiple countries that have trusted its cloud-based Bank Operating System o drive change for their institutions.
"We're proud of this award and to be named among the world's top financial technology providers," explained Pierre Naude, CEO of nCino. "This recognition is a reflection of our success in the industry, and the strength of the partnerships we have established with clients like Univest. We look forward to becoming a trusted partner to even more leading financial institutions worldwide via our scalable, secure, cloud-based technology." The annual IDC FinTech Rankings categorize and evaluate the top global providers of financial technology based on calendar year revenues from financial institutions. The Rankings and Real Results Awards serve as critical tools for financial services institutions to use during strategic planning and to review whenever they consider new investments in third party solutions.
About nCino nCino is the worldwide leader in cloud banking. With its Bank Operating System, built on the Salesforce platform, financial institutions can deliver the speed and digital experience that customers expect, backed by the quality and transparency that bankers need. Follow @nCino or visit www.ncino.com. About IDC Financial Insights IDC Financial Insights assists financial service businesses and IT leaders, as well as the suppliers who serve them, in making more effective technology decisions by providing accurate, timely, and insightful fact-based research and consulting services. Staffed by senior analysts with decades of industry experience, our global research analyzes and advises on business and technology issues facing the banking, insurance, and securities and investments industries. International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology market. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology, media, research, and events company. For more information, please visit www.idc.com/financial, email [email protected], or call 508-620-5533. Visit the IDC Financial Insights Community at http://idc-community.com/financial. About Univest Bank and Trust Co. Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania (UVSP), including its wholly-owned subsidiary, Univest Bank and Trust Co., Member FDIC, has approximately $4.5 billion in assets and $3.4 billion in assets under management and supervision through its Wealth Management lines of business. Headquartered in Souderton, Pa. and founded in 1876, the Corporation and its subsidiaries provide a full range of financial solutions for individuals, businesses, municipalities and nonprofit organizations in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Univest delivers these services through a network of more than 50 offices in southeastern Pennsylvania extending to the Lehigh Valley and Lancaster, as well as in New Jersey and Maryland and online at www.univest.net. Univest Bank and Trust Co. is Member FDIC, Equal Opportunity and SBA Preferred Lender. Equal Housing Lender View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170912005700/en/
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] SOOSAN INT Acquires ARA Networks's SSL-PRISM and Releases ePrism SSL Series
SOOSAN INT (KOSDAQ: 050960, Chairman and President: Sukhyun Chung), a company specializing in network security products, has released the ePrism SSL series, an enhanced SSL decryption solution. The series includes several configurations including ePrism SSL Proxy for cloud environments and the ePrism SSL VA for network security devices such as APT (News - Alert) and SWG solutions. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170912005842/en/ SOOSAN INT has released the ePrism SSL series, an enhanced SSL decryption solution which includes several configurations including ePrism SSL Proxy for cloud environments and he ePrism SSL VA for network security devices such as APT and SWG solutions. (Photo: Business Wire)
SSL and other forms of encryption are important for the security of individual users, but traditional network security devices don't decrypt encrypted traffic. Critically, this loophole allows programs, particularly ransomware and other forms of malware, to bypass security controls and communicate with C&C (Command and Control) servers via encrypted traffic. As the amount of legitimate and in some cases, malicious, traffic increases, it is critical that the traffic be inspected. According to Gartner (News - Alert), by 2017, over half of the attacks against corporate networks will use encryption to bypass security controls [1].
Now, with SOOSAN INT's acquisition of Ara's SSL-PRISM including the related patents and software, and the release of the new ePrism SSL VA, encrypted traffic can be inspected by network security devices. Already WOONGJIN Group, Commercial Bank of Dubai, and 27 other customers globally have installed ePrism SSL VA in their networks demonstrating ePrism SSL VA's performance and stability. ePrism SSL gives full SSL traffic visibility to malware blocking solutions and web filtering solutions. For these solutions, ePrism has an exclusive Block Message Pass Through feature that allows the sending of block messages directly to the user without the need for external systems in order to allow such solutions to fully use their original features. Additional features include automatic certificate distribution, blocking of browser anonymization tools and protocols, and inline 5-tuple maintenance. The current line-up includes 7 models supporting traffic from 100M to 10G. This acquisition demonstrates SOOSAN's commitment to the next generation encryption-enabled devices. To prepare for this market, SOOSAN has a complete line of SSL-decryption solutions. SOOSAN is also advancing its Secure Web Gateway (News - Alert) series, eWalker, with over 1000 active corporate accounts. [1] Gartner's Forecast: Information Security, released July 24, 2015. Updated 2Q15. About SOOSAN INT Founded in 1998, SOOSAN INT developed Korea's first web traffic filtering software. Now with years of expertise specializing in information security, SOOSAN INT continues to develop network security solutions. SOOSAN INT's product line-up includes the eWalker series of internet traffic filtering and user management solutions and an endpoint authentication service that is run in cooperation with Korea's major 3 telecom companies. Listed on the KOSDAQ last year, SOOSAN INT holds over 200 patents and copyrights. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170912005842/en/
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] Armis identifies new airborne cyber threat, "BlueBorne," that exposes almost every device to remote attack
PALO ALTO, Calif., Sept. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Armis, the enterprise IoT security company, today announced the discovery of a set of zero-day Bluetooth-related vulnerabilities affecting billions of devices in use today dubbed, "BlueBorne." Nearly all devices with Bluetooth capabilities, including smartphones, TVs, laptops, watches, smart TVs, and even some automobile audio systems, are vulnerable to this attack. If exploited, the vulnerabilities could enable an attacker to take over devices, spread malware, or establish a "man-in-the-middle" to gain access to critical data and networks without user interaction. The vulnerabilities were found in the Bluetooth implementations in Android, Microsoft, Linux and iOS versions pre-iOS 10. Armis reported the vulnerabilities to Google, Microsoft, and the Linux community. Google and Microsoft are releasing updates and patches on Tuesday, September 12. Others are preparing patches that are in various stages of being released. These vulnerabilities are the most serious Bluetooth vulnerabilities identified to date. Previously identified flaws found in Bluetooth were primarily at the protocol level. These new vulnerabilities are at the implementation level, bypassing the various authentication mechanisms, and enabling a complete takeover of the target device. These proximity-based network vulnerabilities could allow attackers to create broad malware infections that could spread from one infected device to many oters by wirelessly connecting to other devices over Bluetooth. The device-to-device connectivity nature of Bluetooth means an airborne (or "BlueBorne") attack could easily spread without any action required by a user.
"These silent attacks are invisible to traditional security controls and procedures. Companies don't monitor these types of device-to-device connections in their environment, so they can't see these attacks or stop them," said Yevgeny Dibrov, CEO of Armis. "The research illustrates the types of threats facing us in this new connected age." There are two specific methods attackers could use with exploit code. They could:
Connect to the target device in an undetected manner, then remotely execute code on that device. This would allow the attacker to take full control of a system, up to and including leveraging the device to gain access to corporate networks, systems, and data.
Conduct a Man-in-the-Middle attack effectively creating a Bluetooth Pineapple to sniff traffic being sent between Bluetooth-enabled devices or spoof a legitimate Bluetooth device and hijack the connection and redirect traffic. This would enable attackers to download malware to devices and take complete control of them. This attack would not require additional hardware, as it uses the Bluetooth connection on the device against the device itself. The automatic connectivity of Bluetooth, combined with the fact that nearly all devices have Bluetooth enabled by default, makes these vulnerabilities all the more serious and pervasive. Once a device is infected with malware, it can then easily broadcast the malware to other Bluetooth-enabled devices in its vicinity, either inside an office or in more public locations. While waiting for the patch, users can disable Bluetooth to protect devices. To watch a video explanation of how BlueBorne works and may spread, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLNtZKpL0P8&feature=youtu.be For additional information, please visit armis.com/blueborne. About Armis
Armis eliminates the IoT security blind spot, protecting enterprises from the threat of unmanaged or rogue devices and networks. Customers, including Samsung Research America and IDT Corporation, trust Armis' agentless IoT security platform to see and control any device or network. Armis is a privately held company and headquartered in Palo Alto, California, with an office in Tel Aviv. Press Contact:
Mina Manchester for Armis
Bateman Group
[email protected]
415-503-1818 View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/armis-identifies-new-airborne-cyber-threat-blueborne-that-exposes-almost-every-device-to-remote-attack-300517700.html SOURCE Armis
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] Deloitte and Anaplan strengthen alliance relationship
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Anaplan, a leading platform provider driving a new age of connected planning, today announced a significantly strengthened relationship with Deloitte, one of the world's largest professional services organizations. The two organizations committed to an accelerated growth plan to help drive the value that joint customers achieve with Anaplan's connected planning platform in finance, sales, and supply chain. "We are thrilled to work even more closely with Deloitte to share the connected planning message with the market," said Anaplan President and CEO Frank Calderoni. "Customers tell us that connected planning is a key driver of successful digital transformation, and this strategic alliance with Deloitte will help us deliver the benefits of connected planning to even more customers worldwide." Deloitte will endeavor to make investments to strengthen its Anaplan capability. These include certifying additional Anaplan consultants; using the Anaplan platform as one of the core components in its digital transformation offering; and developing sales-, finance-, and supply chainspecific planning solutions based on its deep operational knowledge. Deloitte enters into similar accelerated growth plans with alliance relationships when the opportunity exists to drive significant impact to clients. Anaplan was recently recognized as a leader for its planning platform in Gartner's 2017 Magic Quadrant for Sales Performance Management,1 Gartner's 2017 Magic Quadrant for Cloud Strategic Corporate Prformance Management (SCPM) Solutions,2 and the "The Forrester Wave: Enterprise Performance Management, Q4 2016"3 report by Forrester Research, Inc.
"The Anaplan platform can enable enterprises to make better-informed plans and business decisions, and its potential benefits extend to the people charged with executing those plans and decisions," said John Malikowski, Principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP. "Deloitte is pleased to work more closely with Anaplan to help companies achieve digital transformation." About Anaplan
Anaplan is driving a new age of connected planning. Large and fast-growing organizations use Anaplan's cloud platform in every business function to make informed decisions and drive faster, more effective planning processes. Anaplan also provides support, training, and planning transformation advisory services. Anaplan is a privately held company based in San Francisco with 16 offices and over 150 expert partners worldwide. To learn more, visit anaplan.com.
About Deloitte
Deloitte provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax and advisory services to many of the world's most admired brands, including 80 percent of the Fortune 500 and more than 6,000 private and middle market companies. Our people work across more than 20 industry sectors to deliver measurable and lasting results that help reinforce public trust in our capital markets, inspire clients to make their most challenging business decisions with confidence, and help lead the way toward a stronger economy and a healthy society. Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee ("DTTL"), its network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL (also referred to as "Deloitte Global") does not provide services to clients. In the United States, Deloitte refers to one or more of the US member firms of DTTL, their related entities that operate using the "Deloitte" name in the United States and their respective affiliates. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting. Please see www.deloitte.com/about to learn more about our global network of member firms. 1 Melissa A. Hilbert and Tad Travis, "Gartner Magic Quadrant for Sales Performance Management," March 28, 2017.
2 Chris Iervolino and John Van Decker, "Magic Quadrant for Cloud Strategic Corporate Performance Management Solutions," Gartner, June 29, 2017.
3 Paul Hamerman, "The Forrester Wave: Enterprise Performance Management 2016 Q4 2016," October 6, 2016. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/deloitte-and-anaplan-strengthen-alliance-relationship-300517446.html SOURCE Anaplan
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] Analysis of the Global Test Equipment Market for Passenger Vehicle Telematics, Forecast to 2023
LONDON, Sept. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Telematics is the consolidation of vehicle monitoring technology, wireless communications, and location technology. The test equipment market for the automotive telematics industry, which comprises vehicle-independent services such as on-demand infotainment and navigation; and vehicle-dependent services such as safety and security, diagnostics, and vehicle-to-vehicle and usage-based insurance, is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.9% from 2016 to 2023 and reach $292.7 million by 2023.
Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5095355
The aim of this study is to analyze the developments of the test equipment market in the global telematics industry and present an outlook on market growth, opportunities, and performance. The major focus is market trends (drivers and restraints); regional trends (North America, Europe & Russia, Asia-Pacific, and rest of the world) and test equipment form-factors. The study highlights opportunities created by telematics systems manufacturers, automotive OEMs, and Internet/technology companies that are integrating telematics solutions into everycar model and investing in the development of connected-car and self-driving technologies.
Market measurements and revenue forecasts were estimated for 20162023 (test equipment market by region, product, form-factor, and application). Market focus and market share details of key participants, such as Rohde & Schwarz, Keysight Technologies, National Instruments, Anritsu Corporation, and FEV are included. The base year for the study is 2016 and forecast period is from 2017 to 2023.
Key questions that this study will answer:
Is the test equipment market for passenger vehicle telematics growing? How long will it continue to grow, and at what rate?
What are the key factors that will drive growth of the test equipment market for telematics across the globe?
What are the restraints faced by market participants? What is the expected impact?
Who are the major market participants? Who is expected to lead the market in terms of revenue during the forecast period?
Which test equipment form-factor has the highest market share in the telematics segment? Which form-factor is expected to have the highest adoption rate during the forecast period?
What are the various growth opportunities for test equipment manufacturers in the telematics space?
Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5095355
About Reportbuyer
Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers
https://www.reportbuyer.com
For more information:
Sarah Smith
Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com
Email: [email protected]
Tel: +44 208 816 85 48
Website: www.reportbuyer.com View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/analysis-of-the-global-test-equipment-market-for-passenger-vehicle-telematics-forecast-to-2023-300517865.html SOURCE ReportBuyer
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] Global Medical REIT Inc. Announces Series A Preferred Stock Offering
Global Medical REIT Inc. (NYSE:GMRE) (the "Company") today announced the commencement of an underwritten public offering of its Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock, $0.001 par value per share ("Series A Preferred Stock"), subject to market and other conditions. The Company expects to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase additional shares of Series A Preferred Stock to cover over-allotments, if any. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes, which may include funding new acquisitions, and repaying indebtedness. FBR Capital Markets & Co., a B. Riley Financial Company, and Janney Montgomery Scott are serving as the book-running managers for the offering. BB&T Capital Markets, Compass (News - Alert) Point and D.A. Davidson & Co. are serving as co-managers. The offering is being made pursuant to the Company's shelf registration statement, which was declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC (News - Alert)") on June 19, 2017. Copies of the preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus may be obtained from the SEC's website at www.sec.gov or by contacting: FBR Capital Markets & Co., 1300 North 17th Street, Suite 1400, Arlington, Virginia 22209 or by email at [email protected]. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solcitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of these shares or any other securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful, prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any state.
About Global Medical REIT Inc. Global Medical REIT Inc. is a Maryland corporation engaged primarily in the acquisition of licensed, state-of-the-art, purpose-built healthcare facilities and the leasing of these facilities to strong clinical operators with leading market share. The Company intends to produce increasing, reliable rental revenue by expanding its portfolio, and leasing each of its healthcare facilities to market-leading operators under a long-term triple-net lease. The Company's management team has significant healthcare, real estate and public real estate investment trust, or REIT, experience and has long-established relationships with a wide range of healthcare providers. The Company intends to elect to be taxed as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes, commencing with its taxable year ended December 31, 2016.
Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains statements that are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "estimate", "plan", "outlook", and "project" and other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time those statements are made and/or management's good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events. These forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, not all of which are known to the Company and many of which are beyond the Company's control, which could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, the satisfaction of all conditions to, and the timely closing of, the offering. These risks and uncertainties are described in greater detail in the Company's filings with the SEC, including, without limitation, the Company's annual and periodic reports and other documents filed with the SEC. Unless legally required, the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements after the date of this release. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170912005997/en/
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] evian Achieves Carbon Neutrality in the U.S. and Canada
evian , the number one premium global natural spring water brand, announced today that it has been audited and certified by the Carbon Trust (News - Alert) as a carbon neutral brand in the U.S. and Canada. The Carbon Trust is an international non-profit that helps organizations and companies reduce their carbon emissions and become more resource efficient. This certification marks a major milestone in evian 's journey to reach worldwide carbon neutrality by 2020, a commitment made by its corporate parent, Danone, at COP 21 where the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015. evian is on course to become Danone's first global carbon neutral brand. Bottles with the Carbon Trust certification seal will be available starting in January 2018. "Consuming evian is voting for the world we want to live in and a sustainable future, as evian delivers a carbon neutral spring water to its U.S. and Canadian consumers. As a brand, it's a core component to the success of Danone's Alimentation Revolution (News - Alert)," said Emmanuel Faber, Chief Executive Officer of Danone. "The Alimentation Revolution encompasses our efforts to work with business partners and consumers to produce, market and consume food in a new way - one that protects and nourishes the health of people and the planet, and where our brands can be a force for good." "evian 's carbon neutrality milestone and overall sustainability platform reinforces the brand's position as a leader in the bottled water category," said Olivia Sanchez, VP Marketing at Danone Waters of America. "The care for our source and providing consumers with the purest of spring waters for over 200 years makes our brand unique and underlies our commitment to environmental protection and preservation." Since 1789, evian has been sourced from the same unique spring at the heart of the French Alps, and its unique composition is a result of nature's precious water cycle. From its inception, evian has worked in harmony with local communities at the source to protect its catchment area, ensure sustainable development of the local ecosystem and preserve evian natural spring water's unique purity. evian 's care of its sourcehas enabled it to achieve recognition as a wetland of international importance by the Ramsar Convention, a partner of UNESCO. Signed in 1971, the Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands. Furthering its efforts to protect its water resource as well as encouraging sustainable agriculture, in 2016 evian inaugurated the Terragr'Eau methanizer, which converts 40,000 tons of organic waste every year from mountain farms into biogas for 1,200 inhabitants nearby, the equivalent of its annual bottling site consumption.
Over time, evian 's sustained actions to reduce its emissions, combined with the creation of credits through the Livelihoods Carbon Fund, have enabled it to make carbon neutrality certification for emissions in the U.S. and Canada a reality. To help reduce its carbon footprint, evian uses more environmentally conscious transportation modes such as trains and ships for delivering product to North America. For packaging, in addition to all evian bottles and caps being 100% recyclable, packaging will have 25% rPET on average by the end 2017 in North America. evian 's long term, global ambition is to use 100% recycled materials for its products. All of evian 's products come from its state-of-the-art bottling site in Evian-les-Bains, France. This site, the first carbon neutral food and water site in France, is the result of a $280 million investment and is 100% powered by renewable energy.
In the service of evian 's greater goal to protect its natural purity and preserve global ecosystems, the brand is reducing its carbon footprint across the entire evian lifecycle: through bottle design, production and transport, as well as through a carbon sequestration partnership with the Livelihoods Carbon Fund. To date, Livelihoods has planted 130 million trees, 85 million being mangrove trees, offsetting 10 million tons of CO2. These trees absorb carbon and produce oxygen, naturally propagating carbon credits. evian 's work with Livelihoods for the past decade has not only naturally captured carbon emissions but helped to preserve and restore water ecosystems and coastal communities worldwide. "This isn't a 'feel good' approach for evian . For more than 25 years, we've been a leader in sustainability initiatives," said Antoine Portmann, General Manager Danone Waters North America. "We owe everything to nature. That's why we preserve it through efforts such as responsibly managing our water source, packaging innovation and now, carbon neutrality in North America - a big step towards achieving our overall carbon reduction goals for the evian brand." To achieve its ambitious objective of becoming a global carbon neutral brand by 2020, evian will continue to execute upon its pioneering programs in North America and the rest of the world. It will continue to advance its ambitious journey to have a positive impact on the environment and the lives of people today, tomorrow and always. For more information about evian sustainability initiatives and images of its new carbon neutral bottling site, please visit: http://www.evianfactory2017.com/en/ About evian evian natural spring water comes from the heart of the French Alps, a unique geological site in the world. For more than 15 years, it travels through the rocks, where it is enriched with essential minerals. evian has been working for over 25 years to protect natural surroundings of the source, in an effort to preserve evian natural spring water's exceptional quality. Naturally pure and uniquely balanced, evian natural spring water is a healthy choice throughout the day. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170912006063/en/
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] Ultra Mobile Launches Ultra IoT Connected Lab and First-of-its-Kind Incubator Program
NEW YORK, Sept. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Ultra Mobile, a nationwide mobile carrier developing innovative mobile phone services, today announced the launch of Ultra IoT Connected Lab, an accelerated development program focused on creating and supporting solutions within the Internet of Things (IoT). The IoT industry is set to reach $1.4 trillion in spending by 2021, and with 10% of devices requiring a cellular connection, Ultra Mobile is in a unique position to tap into these opportunities and provide a platform and infrastructure to offer customers value-added solutions. Powered by lean startup and customer-first mentalities, the Lab's first initiative is a 10-week incubator program offering a launchpad for an IoT startup to build a bespoke portal to uniquely suit their requirements. The Lab's ultimate goal is that through increased collaboration, the team will identify barriers to entry within IoT, and generate innovative, disruptive solutions to the industry at large. Application to the program, which opens today, will close on September 26, 2017. The inaugural winner of the incubator program will be announced on September 29th, and the program will run from October 2nd 2017 to December 8th 2017. The chosen winner will be given the opportunity to take advantage of: 10 weeks of office space in New York , or Orange County, California
, or $20,000 of US connectivity services
of US connectivity services Cusom built Minimum Viable Product (MVP) portal with 6 months of iterations
Industry-recognized mentors
Attendance at the IoT Tech Expo in Santa Clara (including $2,000 of travel)
(including of travel) No equity taken
Tyler Leshney , President of Ultra Mobile. "As our day-to-day life becomes more connected, we see the launch of the Ultra IoT Connected Lab as an opportunity tap into this convergence and to provide connectivity to more customers." A select panel of judges in the realms of media, advertising and entrepreneurship have been chosen to evaluate the pool of applicants for the program. These judges include, Tom Kelshaw, Director of Innovation at media agency Maxus, Yao Huang, Managing Partner of venture collaboration organization The Hatchery, Katja Bartholmess, Founder of marketing consultancy Gimme Gorgeous, and Sarah Neill, VP of Corporate Development at Ultra Mobile who is also taking the lead as General Manager of the Lab. "We are thrilled to see the insights and collaboration that come out of Ultra Connected Lab and to begin this journey over the next few months," said Sarah Neill of Ultra Mobile.
Applicants will be asked to electronically submit information about their products and company by September 26th. The winner will be notified by September 29th. Ultra IoT Connected Lab is the latest example of Ultra Mobile's dedication to delivering the most competitive and innovative offerings in the industry - empowering its global community. To apply, and for more information on Ultra IoT Connected Labs please visit ultramobileiot.com. About Ultra Mobile:
Founded in 2011, Ultra Mobile is a non-contract nationwide mobile carrier, focusing on delivering innovative, cost effective mobile voice, text, and data services for people living in the United States who regularly call or text internationally. Its international services reach over 200 destinations, providing convenient and affordable solutions that connect people with their extended families, friends and colleagues living around the world. In 2015, Ultra Mobile was ranked #1 on the Inc. 500 as the fastest-growing private company in the United States. Ultra Mobile is co-headquartered in New York City and Southern California, with more than 150 employees based in USA, Europe, and Asia. The company offer customer support in English, Chinese, and Spanish. For more information, visit: www.ultramobile.com. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ultra-mobile-launches-ultra-iot-connected-lab-and-first-of-its-kind-incubator-program-300517816.html SOURCE Ultra Mobile
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] LDJ Productions, Anvil Venture Partners Announce Relationship In Support Of 'LDJ | FUTURES' Accelerator
NEW YORK, Sept. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- LDJ Productions (LDJ), an innovator in global event management, production, technologies and creative services today announced a strategic partnership with Anvil Venture Partners (AVP) to facilitate ecosystem development around the newly launched LDJ | FUTURES accelerator and investment fund. LDJ | FUTURES and AVP's collaboration is synergistic with the AVP investment model, which provides seed capital, as well as innovation services and strategic partnership development services for its portfolio companies. LDJ | FUTURES invests in solutions that amplify brand experiences for a diverse list of companies in the technology, fashion, beauty, finance, automotive and media industries. The accelerator offers early-stage companies access to revenue acceleration opportunities with Fortune-level corporations that are clients of LDJ Productions, not just nominal collaborators. LDJ | FUTURES will also provide workspace at 110 Leroy Street, mentorship and tailored workshops to participating startups, curating a community of like-minded entrepreneurs. LDJ'S current client roster includes Automation Anywhere, L'Oreal, Reebok, Scripps Networks, Shiseido, The New York Times, ULTA, Viacom, Fairchild Media and Yahoo!. LDJ Productions is also the agency producers of WME/IMG New York Fashion Week. Also announced today was the appointment of AVP Partner Garet Heraman as Managing Director of Investments at LDJ | FUTURES. Garnet will work closely with LDJ CEO Laurie DeJong, and will focus on implementing the accelerator's investment strategy, related business processes and development.
"We are thrilled to welcome Garnet to the LDJ | Futures team, and are looking forward to utilizing his considerable skills and professional network to create lasting value for all parties involved," said Adam Cook, president & CFO at LDJ productions. Mr. Heraman comes to the in-house project with more than 25 years of experience in ventures, innovation and strategy as an investor and an influencer. He also serves as an investor-in-residence at Hudson Valley Advanced Manufacturing Center, the original MakerBot Smart Lab. Mr. Heraman is a board member for numerous successful startups including: Candy Lab AR, Dynepic, iOKids, MetroButler and Biba Ventures.
"I'm very impressed by LDJ's commitment to lead by innovation in the highly competitive event management space, and excited to help establish the LDJ | FUTURES accelerator that will invest in new experiential technologies for the mainstream market," said Mr. Heraman. Official selection for the inaugural LDJ | FUTURES class began on September 1. LDJ is currently reviewing applications from early-stage companies with potentially disruptive technologies in segments like AR/VR, indoor drones, AI-driven digital media and digital management of storage/rental items. The selection process is two-tier: strategic and financial. Each successful LDJ | FUTURES cohort must first have a clear understanding of their product's strategic fit within LDJ's 100+ corporate clients, and then quantify the value of that value proposition when monetized. Once this requirement is satisfied, the accelerator team will analyze risks and rewards associated with the applicant company's management, product(s), market(s), customer(s) and competition. LDJ | FUTURES is welcoming accredited investors growing their emerging technology portfolios by joining the flagship fund, and partners interested in taking advantage of a low-entry technology development pipeline. More information can be found at futuresnyc.com or by emailing [email protected]. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ldj-productions-anvil-venture-partners-announce-relationship-in-support-of-ldj--futures-accelerator-300517823.html SOURCE LDJ Productions
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] Chowbotics Appoints Food Service Automation Pioneer Dorothy Cudia Vice President of Engineering
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Sept. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Food robotics company Chowbotics is pleased to announce the appointment of food service automation pioneer Dorothy Cudia as Vice President of Engineering. "This role marks a dramatic shift in my career path, and I couldn't be more excited," says Cudia. "In a few months, Chowbotics has already established itself as a leader in the food robotics industry, and with my background at some of the largest companies in food service, I am eager to propel the company and its innovations to even greater heights." Cudia brings more than 25 years of domestic and global experience to her new position. She has held leadership roles at Nabisco Brands, the McDonald's Corporation and Darden Restaurants. Most recently, Cudia was Vice President of Automation for the Middleby Corporation, where she was building out a vertical around robotics and food, targeting potential acquisitions for the largest food equipment manufacturer in the world. Her hunt for best-in-class companies directed her to Chowbotics. "We are thrilled to welcome Dorothy to the Chowbotics team," says Dr. Deepak Sekar, founder and CEO. "She is an experienced engineer with a wealth of knowledge, contacts and expertise in the food service industry. We look forward to seeing Chowbotics' growth catapult with Dorothy now on board."
Cudia's accomplishments include food manufacturing expertise in automation and process control at Nabisco Brands as well as leading a variety of innovation efforts across supply chain for food, energy and capital equipment at Darden. In her engineering role at the McDonald's Corporation, she was known as a results-oriented dynamo who pushed industry-leading products from ideas through product development and deployment, followed by sales support. One major capstone was the Automated Beverage Machine now installed in tens of thousands McDonald's restaurants across the globe. Long-standing colleague Jerry Sus, Chief Engineer at McDonald's, says, "Dorothy is a food industry pioneer in automation and robotics known for developing disruptive technologies. She is a longtime advocate for change and innovation, which increase performance, quality and profit."
Cudia is a cum laude graduate of Manhattan College with a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering. About Chowbotics: Chowbotics develops robots for food service. By automating repetitive tasks, Chowbotics aims to increase productivity and enable creativity, both in and out of the kitchen. The company's first product, Sally the Salad Robot, allows users to create custom salads. Proprietary technology ensures precise caloric counts and protects the integrity of ingredients, keeping them fresh, sanitary, and separate. Future robots will offer breakfast as well as Mexican and other ethnic foods. These robots could be used in cafeterias, restaurants, hotels and other commercial venues. Chowbotics, was founded by Deepak Sekar, Ph.D., an inventor with more than 100 patents. He serves as the CEO. Rich Page, an Apple Fellow who joined Steve Jobs as Co-Founder and VP at NeXT, is Executive Chairman. Food service automation expert Dorothy Cudia serves as Vice President of Engineering. Charlie Ayers, "the chef who fed Google," is Executive Chef, and Kelly Olazar is Vice President, Culinary Services. Investors include Techstars Ventures and Foundry Group. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chowbotics-appoints-food-service-automation-pioneer-dorothy-cudia-vice-president-of-engineering-300517307.html SOURCE Chowbotics
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] Paris Retail Week: Live Retail, Virtual Reality, AI, Business and Training on the Programme
PARIS, September 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Paris Retail Week, Europe's leading event dedicated to online and offline retail, will present from 19 to 21 September all of the sector's latest trends. More than 200 freely accessible conferences are scheduled, including Plenary Conferences, Keynote sessions, Academies, Special Sessions and Solutions Workshops. On the programme of this 3rd show: live retail, success stories, artificial intelligence, virtual/augmented reality, business meetings and training. A series of plenary conferences will explain and analyse the different aspects of Live Retail, addressing current market issues as: live commerce, real consumer - live ux: vr, ar, bots, nfc / rfid - live logistics: the supply chain reinvented in the warehouse and from the first to last kilometer.
Among the Speakers are representatives from: Accor, Citroen, Micromania, Starbucks France and Zalando SE. Through keynote sessions, international experts in retail will share their experiences, innovations and expertise. Keynote speakers include representatives from Amazon, Costco, Google France.
The Twitter and Facebook Academies will give the floor to two Social Network giants. Both sessions represent a fantastic opportunity for visitors to learn from the masters. All these talks will be simultaeously translated into English.
Full programme on: https://en.parisretailweek.com/Programme/full-programme Virtual/augmented reality and AI at Paris Retail Week.
Several augmented virtual reality activities are organised based on retail themes in partnership with the French start-up Kyveo, including a virtual visit of a store with an HTC Vive headset and the augmented reality test with HoloLens goggles (Microsoft). Also, and or the first time at a show, Paris Retail Week, in partnership with the start-up BotSpell, will provide a visitor help service with a chatbot which will be able to give visitors an immediate response to their questions. Business at the heart of the show Parallel to their meetings with exhibitors on the stands, visitors will be able to take advantage of networking opportunities with the Business Meetings and Speed networking sessions held all along the event.
Another highlight of the three days, the Paris Retail Awards ceremony will reward the best innovations in the field of retail. This packed programme of conferences, keynote sessions, training and business opportunities is what makes Paris Retail Week Europe's leading retail event. Read more on: https://en.parisretailweek.com/Press/Press-releases/live-retail-2017-programme https://en.parisretailweek.com/ #ParisRetailWeek Free badge request until 18 September on: https://badge.parisretailweek.com/en/home.htm On-site registration : 50 incl. VAT A COMEXPOSIUM event Contacts:
Europe
Stephanie Dryander
Paris Retail Week
+33(0)1-76-77-12-80
[email protected]
USA
Elizabeth Meaney
Promosalons USA/PB Marketing International LLC
+1-914-572-6819
[email protected]
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017]
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport and Rubrik Announce New Partnership
Pioneer in Cloud Data Management to work with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport team to accelerate the protection of race data
Team to use Rubriks data backup and recovery technology at their headquarters to improve data management
PALO ALTO, Calif. and LONDON, Sept. 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport and Rubrik, the Cloud Data Management company, today announced a new partnership.
With data volumes, backup and recovery requirements becoming ever more demanding in Formula One, the team is investing in class-leading technology in order to stay ahead. Specifically, the team will be using a multi-node Rubrik cluster at their Brackley headquarters to protect their critical race data.
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport will also use Rubriks REST API (Application Programming Interface) to integrate with their current tools to analyze their data utilization. With this information, the team expects to become even more efficient in how it manages and utilizes the vast volumes of race data.
We are delighted to welcome Rubrik to Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, commented Toto Wolff, head of Mercedes-Benz motorsport. In the fast-moving world of information technology, its essential to be right at the forefront, particularly for us in the area of data management, and we look forward to working with Rubrik to maximize our potential in this area.
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport is at the forefront of adopting new technologies within the racing world, said Bipul Sinha, co-founder and CEO, Rubrik. Rubriks cloud data management platform will enable the team to access and manage critical race information, providing them with a new competitive edge. We are excited to partner with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport to turbocharge their innovative approach to data management and contribute to their continued success.
About Rubrik
Rubrik delivers instant application availability with data protection, search, analytics, archival and copy data management. Hybrid Cloud enterprises benefit from Rubriks market-leading Cloud Data Management platform with simplcity, instant data access, app-mobility, policy-driven automation, Ransomware protection, and analytics at scale. Rubrik has been named to Gartners Cool Vendors in Storage Technologies 2016 and recognized by Forbes on the Cloud 100 and as a Next Billion Dollar Startup.
For more information, visit www.rubrik.com and follow @rubrikInc on Twitter.
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport Digital Channels & Resources
Media Site: media.mercedesamgf1.com
Website: mercedesamgf1.com
App (iOS): App Store
App (Android): Google Play
Facebook: /MercedesAMGF1
Twitter: @MercedesAMGF1
Instagram: /MercedesAMGF1
YouTube: /MercedesAMGF1
Google+: +MercedesAMGF1
[September 12, 2017] Open Networking Foundation (ONF) Completes Metamorphosis to Focus on Open Source Solutions
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Open Networking Foundation (ONF), an operator-led consortium with the mission of transforming networks into agile platforms for service delivery, today announced the culmination of its restructuring into an open source centric organization. ONF has completed the assumption of all ON.Lab operations, realigned all work as interrelated open source projects, and combined the communities of the organizations. This strategy is already yielding results, with new operators joining the ONF and with industry analysts predicting broad impact of the ONF's projects particularly CORD (Central Office Re-architected as a Datacenter). "CORD, unlike many other projects that only address parts of the puzzle, offers a holistically-designed, fully-integrated, end-to-end solution ready for deployment," said Roz Roseboro, senior analyst of data center infrastructure and MANO for Heavy Reading. "It's a way for service providers to prove that this whole new architecture and process can work. Heavy Reading forecasts that the majority of communications service providers (CSPs) will use CORD by 2020 to at least some degree, and nearly 40% of all end-customers (residential, wireless and enterprise, collectively) will have service provided by COs or their equivalents using CORD by mid-2021. We expect CORD will enable service providers to more effectively compete with web-scale operators while speeding network automation and innovation." Today the ONF is announcing a number of recent milestones that now complete its recent transformation, including: AT&T taking additional leadership responsibilities
Turk Telekom joining as the newest operator partner
Formation of new open source projects
Transformation of the ONF membership structure
Introduction and demonstration of a suite of new M-CORD capabilities at MWC Americas, reinforcing M-CORD's role as the leading platform for 5G innovation AT&T to Take Additional Leadership Role
Andre Fuetsch, president of AT&T LABS and chief technology officer, has been elected as chair of the ONF Board. ATT was a founding partner and long-time supporter of ON.Lab, and is reinforcing its support with the assumption of this new leadership role.
Turk Telekom joins ONF as a Partner Member
The ONF's impact is being felt worldwide, and a notable confirmation of this impact can be seen in Turk Telekom, Turkey's oldest telecommunications agency, recently joining the ONF as a partner member. New Projects
The ONF is a community-of-communities. In addition to CORD and ONOS, it hosts multiple open source projects that promote a combinatorial effect with projects building on each other to have a greater overall impact. To this end, the ONF has recently chartered a number of new projects, including:
Open Disaggregated Transport Network (ODTN) - Leveraging the economics of whitebox disaggregated optical networking components and SDN control to build open source solutions for carrier backbone networks. For more details, click here. Open Information Model and Tooling (OIM&T) - Building next generation standardized network control interfaces entirely as software defined standards. First defined in the UML modeling language, tools automatically generate Yang and Netconf code intended to update legacy SNMP management standards for the modern era. For more details, click here. Open Transport Configuration & Control (OTC&C) - Using the work of the OIM&T project to build common configuration and control interfaces for transport networks, defining these interfaces with open source software and software-defined standards. For more details, click here. Updated Membership Model to support a global and diverse member base
To support the merged communities of the ONF and ON.Lab, an optimized membership structure is being announced to serve the needs of our broad spectrum of members. Tracks are available for companies wishing to contribute engineering resources via open source contributions and for companies who benefit more from consumption of the ONF's work and in return support the mission financially. An additional tier recognizes companies now contributing both with engineering talent and financially, entitling these companies to a new spectrum of benefits. Details on the updated membership structure and benefits can be found here. "We are at the forefront of a massive transformation of the networking ecosystem," said Guru Parulkar, executive director of ONF. "Recognizing that open source is transforming our industry at an unprecedented pace, we set out to optimize the ONF to embrace and further drive this revolution. We're very pleased to have now completed our metamorphosis. We are also humbled by the success and impact our projects are having worldwide, and excited to embrace the work ahead." About ONF
The Open Networking Foundation (ONF) is an operator led consortium spearheading disruptive network transformation. Now the recognized leader for open source solutions for operators, the ONF first launched in 2011 as the standard bearer for Software Defined Networking (SDN). Led by its operator partners AT&T, China Unicom, Comcast, Deutsche Telekom, Google, NTT Communications, Turk Telekom and Verizon, the ONF has now merged operations with ON.Lab to create a single organization driving vast transformation across the operator space. For further information visit http://www.opennetworking.org/. Media Contact:
Maemalynn Meanor
The Linux Foundation
[email protected] View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/open-networking-foundation-onf-completes-metamorphosis-to-focus-on-open-source-solutions-300518010.html SOURCE Open Networking Foundation
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] Arcadier Supports Nonprofits to Create Marketplaces for Good
SINGAPORE, Sept. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of Corporate Social Responsibility at Arcadier, the world's fastest growing online marketplace builder, the company has announced two initiatives to support nonprofit organizations. Arcadier is providing free four-month subscriptions (worth US$316) to its Basic marketplace package to registered nonprofit organisations; including religious, educational, scientific, social enterprises, and community organizations that are looking to create an online marketplace that serves the common good. Arcadier marketplaces can be used for fundraising events and projects like school bake sales, or as a permanent online platform for community markets or volunteerism. In just a few minutes, with no coding knowledge required, white-label marketplaces can be built for retail & goods, service booking, or space and goods rental. Arcadier's Basic marketplace package is worth US$79/month for and allows unlimited users and listings, up to 500 transactions a month. The package also includes multilingual features, Google Analytics integration, custom code input, customizable homepage, as well as the ability to input a customdomain name.
Marketplace administrators can set the commission percentage they are to receive from every transaction on the platform, making Arcadier Marketplaces ideal for fund raising. An option to keep the online marketplace private is also available for non-profits that would like to build private or invitation-only marketplace platforms. The second CSR initiative allows anyone who would like to support a cause to sponsor a nonprofit online marketplace built on Arcadier after its four-month free subscription ends. All non-profit marketplaces built on Arcadier will be listed on Arcadier's new Corporate Social Responsibility page for sponsors to learn more about the nonprofits seeking support.
Since its inception, Arcadier's founders have always advocated the use of online marketplaces as a way to empower communities and improve efficiency. Online marketplaces can be used to recycle, share or loan used books, clothes, furniture, equipment, and much more, lessening our collective impact on the planet. They can also be used to connect farmers and impoverished communities with the rest of the world, giving them a means to sell handmade goods or produce to improve their livelihood. About Arcadier Pte Ltd Arcadier is the world's fastest growing marketplace creator, and is the recognised global leader of multivendor marketplace technology. Powering more than 3000 online marketplaces in 96 countries, Arcadier offers marketplace software solutions for entrepreneurs and businesses of varying sizes, needs and geographical locations. Arcadier marketplaces support many sharing economy ideas; from retail to services and rental of space. To learn more about Arcadier Marketplaces or to speak to Arcadier's founders, contact Clarissa Santoso at [email protected], or visit the website at www.arcadier.com. Related Links Arcadier Arcadier Corporate Social Responsibility View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/arcadier-supports-nonprofits-to-create-marketplaces-for-good-300517998.html SOURCE Arcadier Pte Ltd
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] CreakyJoints Recruits Over Eleven Thousand Patients into ArthritisPower
CreakyJoints today announces that ArthritisPower, the first ever patient-led, patient-centered research registry for joint, bone, and inflammatory skin conditions successfully completed enrolling 11,000 arthritis patients, fulfilling one of its primary contract requirements with the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) more than 12 months ahead of schedule. ArthritisPower is a free science-based, privacy-protected web and mobile app for iPhone and Android (News - Alert) devices that allows patients to track their symptoms and treatments while simultaneously participating in arthritis research. Since launching a completely refreshed and advanced version of ArthritisPower in March 2017, over 8,500 patients joined the community and have already logged more than 80,000 patient reported outcome measures. ArthritisPower is part of PCORnet, the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network, developed with support from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization authorized by Congress in 2010. Its overall goal is to support clinical research that will enhance informed health care decision making and improve health care delivery. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170912006424/en/ University Partners Enhance Understanding Having a diverse, large, and engaged patient population within ArthritisPower enhances researchers' ability to study and better understand the arthritis community. Researchers from elite universities and research organizations nationwide, such as Johns Hpkins University, Duke University, Yale University, University of Alabama at Birmingham, and others, access the ArthritisPower research registry to inform their studies. Resulting data (past and forthcoming) is anonymized and focuses on the patient experience of arthritis to better understand patient preferences related to disease management as well as with traditional and complementary therapies. Already, data derived from ArthritisPower has been presented at major medical meetings such as the American College of Rheumatology and the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR), and is slated for future peer-reviewed publications.
"We are absolutely delighted that ArthritisPower is being actively used by thousands of arthritis patients (like me) who personally benefit from tracking and directly sharing their disease experience with their loved ones and their healthcare providers," said Seth Ginsberg, president and co-founder of CreakyJoints and a principal investigator of ArthritisPower. "We're also proud that we've developed a highly useful tool for researchers who expand our understanding of arthritis while protecting patient identity. But we won't rest on our laurels. In the future, ArthritisPower will be integrated with other research registries, laboratory tests, and electronic health records so that we can build a truly interactive system for studying arthritis and related conditions." Easy Access to Research and Tracking
When people with arthritis sign up for ArthritisPower, they provide informed consent, which allows the app to offer information about a variety of clinical trial and other research opportunities. Patients can proactively decide when and how to participate in studies. In addition to participating in studies, simultaneously, patients are completing verified self-assessments, such as the RAPID3 as well as others related to sleep, physical function and pain. As they enter their patient reported outcomes, they can track results over varying durations of time and overlay their usage of medications to see when a new treatment impacts their symptoms. Their personal data can be directly emailed to their provider in advance of an appointment to encourage data driven conversations about treatment and management strategies. "We're not done enrolling ArthritisPower. There are millions of Americans living with arthritis whom we invite to join us. Every person who enters the registry helps us understand arthritis better and discover novel treatments and management strategies," added Mr. Ginsberg. About CreakyJoints CreakyJoints, now in its 18th year, is the go-to source for more than 100,000 arthritis patients and their families world-wide who are seeking education, support, advocacy and patient-centered research. Co-founded in 1999 by arthritis patient Seth Ginsberg and social entrepreneur Louis Tharp, CreakyJoints is part of the Global Healthy Living Foundation, whose mission is to improve the quality of life for people with chronic illness. For more information and to become a member (for free), visit www.CreakyJoints.org. To learn more about ArthritisPower visit ArthritisPower.org. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170912006424/en/
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] Three Wireless Industry Pioneers Inducted into the Wireless Hall of Fame
Over 250 wireless industry executives, including 11 previous Wireless Hall of Fame inductees, celebrated at the 2017 Wireless Hall of Fame Awards Dinner in San Francisco on Monday night. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170912006426/en/ Wireless Hall of Fame Class of 2017 and their presenters. L to R: Thomas Gutierrez, Charles Townsend, Friedhelm Hillebrand, John Lauer, Robert Foosaner, Laura Holloway Carter (Photo: Business Wire) Held on the eve of the inaugural "Mobile World Congress (News - Alert) Americas, in Partnership with CTIA" (MWCA), the Dinner program included welcoming remarks from GSMA Director General Mats Granryd and CTIA CEO Meredith Attwell Baker. The 2017 inductees into the Wireless Hall of Fame are Robert S. Foosaner, whose roles with the FCC, private law practice and wireless operating companies helped create the foundation of the modern commercial wireless industry; Friedhelm "Fred" Hillebrand, who led working groups that established the GSM standard, including Short Message Service and was lead implementer of Deutsche Telekom's GSM network; nd Charles C. Townsend, founder of both Atlantic Cellular and Aloha Partners, the largest licensee of 700 MHz spectrum in the initial FCC auction.
John Lauer, CEO and co-founder of Zipwhip; Laura Holloway Carter, Assistant General Counsel of Microsoft (News - Alert) Corporation; and Thomas Gutierrez, Partner and CEO of Lukas, LaFuria, Gutierrez & Sachs, LLP introduced the inductees, representing the new generation of the wireless industry whose successes in the marketplace today were built upon the innovations pioneered by this year's inductees. "It really is the best night in wireless," said David S. Diggs, President and CEO of the Wireless History Foundation. "Our dinner guests represented a 'Who's Who' of our industry and included global operator executives serving on the GSMA Board of Directors, key wireless industry veterans, the investment community, and today's headline-making innovators. It's the perfect kick-off for the Mobile World Congress Americas conference."
The 2017 Wireless Hall of Fame Awards Dinner enjoyed strong sponsorship support. Platinum sponsors were AT&T (News - Alert), Eagle River, BlueWater Wireless and Verizon. Gold sponsors were Assurant Solutions, CTIA, NextNav and Zipwhip. Silver sponsors included DYNA LLC, Ericsson (News - Alert), Matt & Nellie Foosaner, Mosaik, Perkins Coie, Sprint, Syniverse, T-Mobile, Vertical Bridge and Vodafone Americas Foundation. Patrons of the event were 151 Advisors, Asurion (News - Alert), Blue Field Strategies, CallFire, Consensus Corp, Crown Castle, Trey Hanbury/Hogan Lovells, HYLA Mobile, Khosla Ventures, Lawler, Metzger, Keeney & Logan LLC, Lumia Capital, Lois and Larry Movshin, National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE), Wiley Rein LLP, and Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP. About the Wireless History Foundation Founded in October 2008 on the 25th anniversary of the first commercial cellular telephone call in the United States, the Wireless History Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established by wireless pioneers seeking to increase public understanding of the wireless industry and its social and economic impacts by chronicling the achievements of individuals, the contributions of numerous organizations, and the evolution of wireless communications. Its signature event is the annual Wireless Hall of Fame Awards Dinner, which provides public recognition of outstanding individuals across all segments of the wireless industry. Learn more about the Wireless History Foundation at www.wirelesshistoryfoundation.org. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170912006426/en/
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] BlueCat Expands Board to Disrupt DNS Security Market
Internationally Recognized Security Expert, Richard Clarke, and Former CEO of Fieldglass, Jai Shekhawat, join BlueCat Board of Directors TORONTO, Sept. 12, 2017 /CNW/ -- BlueCat, the leading provider of Enterprise DNS, announced two key appointments to its Board of Directors, Richard (Dick) Clarke and Jai Shekhawat. The addition of Mr. Clarke and Mr. Shekhawat boosts the company's entry into the cyber security market, which was marked earlier this year by the launch of BlueCat DNS Edge, its flagship security product. As the leader in Enterprise DNS, BlueCat enables the world's top brands to manage and scale complex IT networks across global enterprises. Now, with BlueCat DNS Edge, it is using its expertise in DNS data to help cyber security teams identify, assess and block insider threats including internal bad actors, compromised Internet of Things devices and lateral movement of malware on corporate networks. Chairman and CEO Michael Harris welcomed both new board members at the recent Board of Directors meeting. "As our company moves into the cyber security market, we are pleased to have the caliber of expertise and know-how that both Dick and Jai bring to BlueCat. Dick's deep experience in matters ofsecurity and strategy will play a key role in focusing us on the right opportunities and Jai will bring a disciplined approach to help BlueCat scale its growth from his amazing accomplishments at Fieldglass."
About BlueCat's new board members: Richard Clarke
Richard Clarke served three consecutive Presidents through an unprecedented ten continuous years as a White House official, including as Special Advisor to the President on Cyberspace, Special Assistant to the President for Global Affairs, and National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism. He is the founder of Good Harbor, a trusted advisory firm specializing in cyber security risk management, and the author of eight books, including the national number one best-seller Against All Enemies and the recently released Warnings. Mr. Clarke has taught at Harvard's Kennedy School and is an on-air consultant for ABC News on cyber security, counterterrorism, and national security. Jai Shekhawat Jai Shekhawat is a proven entrepreneur and effective manager of high growth software businesses. For 15 years, Mr. Shekhawat was the founder and CEO of Fieldglass, the world's most widely used Cloud platform for the procurement of contract labor and services, until it was sold to SAP for more than $1B in 2014. The firm grew rapidly following a 2010 investment by Madison Dearborn Partners. At the time of sale, Fieldglass had offices in the US, UK, Australia and India and its SaaS platform was being used in more than 100 countries in 30 languages. He is also Ernst & Young's 2012 Midwest Entrepreneur of the Year. Prior to Fieldglass, Mr. Shekhawat was a consultant at McKinsey. About BlueCat BlueCat is the Enterprise DNS Company. The largest global enterprises trust BlueCat to provide the foundation for digital transformation strategies such as cloud migration, virtualization and security. Our innovative Enterprise DNS solutions portfolio, comprised of BlueCat DNS Integrity and BlueCat DNS Edge, enables the centralization and automation of DNS services and the ability to leverage valuable DNS data for significantly increased control, compliance and security. For more information, please visit www.bluecatnetworks.com. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bluecat-expands-board-to-disrupt-dns-security-market-300518055.html SOURCE BlueCat
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] Cars.com Announces Latest Feature to Enhance Car Shopping Experience
CHICAGO, Sept. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) is announcing its latest car shopping feature, Salesperson Connect, which helps connect dealership salespeople directly to in-market shoppers before visiting the dealer lot, creating a more personalized car shopping experience for consumers. DealerRater, a Cars.com company, launched DealerRater Connections earlier this year to help connect consumers directly with dealer salespeople through dealer reviews. This latest feature upgrade integrates DealerRater data with the Cars.com Vehicle Details Page (VDP), providing shoppers with access to information critical to making a buying decision on what Cars.com refers to as the 4P's: Product, Price, Place and Person. Salesperson Connect is available for dealers nationwide who are currently DealerRater Connections customers. "Real human relationships are a key to the next phase of the consumer-driven shopping transformation, and providing car shoppers with valuable data and information around a specific salesperson moves us towards that goal," said Tony Zolla, chief product officer at Cars.com. "Cars.com has created a Vehicle Details Page that provides a full range of data to help consumers make a more informed decision. The new Salesperson Connect feature surfaces top rated salespeople based on their DealerRater reviews and provides one-stop-shopping for car buyers on a single page, helping us streamline the process for consumers and conncting them to the right dealership and right salesperson to meet their needs."
"In a survey of over 6,400 car shoppers on DealerRater.com, 97 percent of them prefer to select a salesperson before walking into the showroom, which means that making a personal connection early is incredibly valuable," said Jamie Oldershaw, general manager of DealerRater. "Having access to reviews and information about specific salespeople at a dealership empowers consumers and helps them feel more comfortable about the car buying process. It also helps establish a baseline of trust before setting foot in the dealership and ultimately enhances the customer experience." This feature can also help lead to stronger employee engagement at dealerships when salespeople know each experience with a customer could affect their review rating. In a recent survey of 233 DealerRater Certified salespeople, over 80 percent said their employee profile helps them sell more cars, drives more showroom visits per month, and speeds up the sales process resulting in a higher close rate.
"A shopper recently contacted me after reading a review on DealerRater, asking for me specifically," said "Wrangler Rob" McGuire, certified sales consultant at Garavel Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram in Norwalk, CT. "Leads that come through the VDP salesperson profiles are more substantial because the consumer is already committed to the car and to the salesperson. Integrating the employee (salesperson) aspect can drive more business to the dealership because a shopper can review the VDP and think, 'I can buy this car anywhere, but this salesperson has more reviews and this is a more reputable dealership.'" About Cars.com
Cars.com is a leading online destination that helps car shoppers and owners navigate every turn of car ownership. A pioneer in automotive classifieds, the company has evolved into one of the largest digital automotive platforms, connecting consumers with local dealers across the country anytime, anywhere. Through trusted expert content, on-the-lot mobile app features, millions of new and used vehicle listings, a comprehensive set of research tools and the largest database of consumer reviews in the industry, Cars.com helps shoppers buy, sell and service their vehicles. Cars.com properties include DealerRater, Auto.com, PickupTrucks.com and NewCars.com. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. For more information, visit www.Cars.com. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/carscom-announces-latest-feature-to-enhance-car-shopping-experience-300518045.html SOURCE Cars.com, Inc.
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Westlake Financial Services Employees Support Hurricane Harvey-Affected Victims
Employees at Westlake Financial Services rallied to the cause of Hurricane Harvey relief, donating money and supplies for affected residents of affected areas.
This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170912006516/en/
Westlake employees generously donated to the victims of Hurricane Harvey (Photo: Business Wire)
Employees donated a truckload of supplies, including clothing, canned goods, tools and housewares. These non-monetary supplies were donated to Operation Gratitude, a non-profit organization that collected items for the Harvey relief effort.
Westlake employees also raised over $4,000 through a crowd-funding account, which was 100% matched by Westlake.
Additionally, The Hankey Family Fund contributed significantly $100,000, bringing Westlake's total contribution to $108,000 for "Te Greater Houston Community Foundation".
"We're a national company, and our customers are important to us. We are helping them manage their accounts during this difficult time, and it is only appropriate that we send donated supplies and dollars as well," noted Westlake Sr. Management.
"The fact that these funds were raised so quickly is the latest example of Westlake employees' generosity," said Don Hankey, Chairman of Westlake Financial Services. "We are proud to offer help to the people that need it right now in affected areas."
About Westlake Financial Services: Westlake is an internet based, privately held finance company that specializes in the acquisition and servicing of prime to sub-prime automotive retail installment contracts. Headquartered in Southern California, Westlake originates indirect retail installment contracts through a nationwide network of new and used car dealers throughout the United States. Westlake also offers portfolio purchasing through their ALPS division (Advanced Lending & Portfolio Services); www.WestlakeALPS.com. Direct to consumer title loans and unsecured loans are done through Westlake's wholly owned subsidiary, Wilshire Consumer Credit. Flooring lines of credit are done through their Westlake Flooring Services division; www.WestlakeFlooringServices.com. All collections and servicing are performed in-house from its central facility located in the Mid-Wilshire area of Los Angeles.
www.WestlakeFinancial.com
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170912006516/en/
[September 12, 2017] PCTEST Upgrades its LTE-Advanced Pro Testing Capabilities with Rohde & Schwarz
COLUMBIA, Md., Sept. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- PCTEST Engineering Laboratory, Inc. (PCTEST), an ISO-17025 accredited laboratory for wireless testing and certification, has upgraded its RF, Protocol and RRM test platforms for conformance testing of License Assisted Access (LAA), 5CC carrier aggregation and 8X4 MIMO to support new high-speed Gigabit devices entering the market. As the mobile industry moves towards 5G, mobile operators today are looking for new ways to maximize data rates by accessing more spectrum. License Assisted Access, introduced in 3GPP Release 13 as part of LTE Advanced Pro, uses carrier aggregation in the downlink to combine LTE in the licensed band with LTE in unlicensed spectrum. With LAA, the licensed spectrum is used to carry the control and signaling information, while the unlicensed band (e.g., 5GHz) is aggregated together to carry more data, allowing the mobile operator to achieve faster data rates while maintaining a high quality of experience for the end user. "As the capabilities of mobile devices evolve toward the projected functionality of 5G, testing becomes increasingly complex and at the same time, more important," says Randy Ortanez, President of PCTEST. "At PCTEST, we've continued to advance our testing capabilities and technical expertise to support our customers for this next wave of complex, high-performance RF devices. 5G is right around the corner, and we are pleased to be working closely with Rohde & Schwarz to help us meet the needs of this fast-changing market." Rohde& Schwarz test solutions can be seen September 12 -14 at Mobile World Congress Americas in San Francisco, CA at Hall North Stand N.1360.
Press contacts:
North America: Keith Cobler, Phone: +1 214 663 6394, E-mail: [email protected] Contacts for readers:
Customer Support North America: Phone: +1 888 837 8772, E-mail: [email protected]
About PCTEST PCTEST is a leading R&D test laboratory offering one-stop conformance, performance, and regulatory testing of cellular and wi-fi devices in accordance with industry and 3GPP/3GPP2 technical requirements, including RF, Protocol, RRM, and operator-specific test plans. PCTEST is an approved LTE/CDMA Safe-For-Network (SFN) Lab, an IoT and Engineering/Development Lab, an OTA Antenna Performance Lab, as well as an A-GPS test facility for major U.S. operators including FCC, ISED, GCF and PTCRB Certifications. PCTEST test facilities are located in Columbia, MD and San Jose, CA. For more information regarding PCTEST Engineering Laboratory's test services, visit www.pctest.com or email [email protected]. Rohde & Schwarz The Rohde & Schwarz electronics group offers innovative solutions in all fields of wireless communications as well as in IT security. Founded more than 80 years ago, the independent company has an extensive sales and service network with subsidiaries and representatives in more than 70 countries. On June 30, 2016, Rohde & Schwarz had approximately 10,000 employees. The group achieved a net revenue of approximately EUR 1.92 billion in the 2015/2016 fiscal year (July to June). The company is headquartered in Munich, Germany, and also has strong regional hubs in Asia and the USA. R&S is a registered trademark of Rohde & Schwarz GmbH & Co. KG. All press releases are available on the Internet at http://www.rohde-schwarz.us.
A press photo for download is also provided there. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pctest-upgrades-its-lte-advanced-pro-testing-capabilities-with-rohde--schwarz-300518194.html SOURCE Rohde & Schwarz
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Awards Leidos Prime Contract
RESTON, Va., Sept. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Leidos (NYSE: LDOS), a FORTUNE 500 science and technology company, was awarded a prime contract by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), St. Louis District, to provide hazardous, toxic and radioactive waste (HTRW) investigations and environmental remediation. The single-award, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity, cost-plus fixed-fee contract has a one-year base, with an ultimate completion date of February 2023 if all options are exercised. Total contract value is approximately $49 million. Work will be performed primarily in St. Louis, Mo., and Burlington, Iowa. A key part of the USACE's environmental mission is cleaning up low-level radioactive and chemical waste from the nation's early atomic weapons program through the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). Leidos will work cooperatively with the USACE, St. Louis District to employ innovative, cost-effective environmental investigations and remedial solutions at four major sites that were contaminated with waste from the Manhattan Project as well as approximately 100 potentially impacted vicinity properties. With more than 18 years performing all scope elements for USACE St. Louis FUSRAP, Leidos possesses unmatched mission understanding and program-specific expertise in radiological clearance, remedial design and remediation of contaminated soils, and the management of the only on-site radiochemistry laboratory with Department of Defense Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (ELAP) accreditation. The Leidos team will perform HTRW investigations, conduct environmental monitoring, develop Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) decision documents, manage/operate a full-service radiological laboratory, provide data management, and support community involvement efforts for environmental programs managed by USACE. "This award represents the important relationship between Leidos and the USACE, St. Louis District," said Leidos Civil Group President Angie Heise. "Our tremendous depth of experience, strong past performance and thorough understanding of the St. Louis District FUSRAP sites will support this historic program's path to closure." About Leidos Leidos is a Fortune 500 science and technology solutions and services leader working to solve the world's toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, homeland security, civil, and health markets. The company's 32,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $7.04 billion for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2016. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com. Statements in this announcement, other than historical data and information, constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause our actual results, performance, achievements, or industry results to be very different from the results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of these factors include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set forth in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 30, 2016, and other such filings that Leidos makes with the SEC from time to time. Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.
Contact: Melissa Koskovich Jennifer Moffett
(571) 526-6850 (571) 526-6852
[email protected] [email protected]
View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-army-corps-of-engineers-awards-leidos-prime-contract-300517924.html SOURCE Leidos
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] MPR Wins USACE Contract
This week the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) awarded MPR a $48 million, multi-year contract to provide support services to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and other U.S. Government agencies on behalf of the USACE. The agreement enables MPR and its subcontractors (Black and Veatch, Project Time and Cost, Nuclear Consultants and Engineers, Neptune and Company, and Sandia Technical Solutions) to continue making important contributions similar to those provided on previous USACE contracts. "We are very appreciative that the USACE continues to see the value MPR provides and the impact MPR makes," MPR Principal Officer, Bob Coward said. "We work closely with the USACE to best engage MPR, enabling us to make a difference for them and for the country." MPR has provided support to the USACE on many projects since 2010. Through the prior USACE contracts, MPR has made an impact across the DOE complex, including cleanup at Hanford, new construction at Los Alamos National Lab, waste processing at avannah River Site, cleanup at Oak Ridge National Lab, and system modernization at Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.
"Our most recent contract demonstrates the continued commitment and confidence between USACE and MPR," Ryan Downs, MPR Vice President, Federal, said. "Our previous USACE projects have allowed us to serve as an industry leader in risk assessments for DOE, bringing new tools and methodologies to assess one-off, highly technical, high risk, multi-billion dollar construction projects, and we are grateful to continue to work alongside USACE." Within the contract, MPR will provide a broad range of engineering services, particularly nuclear engineering support, delivering strategic program planning, independent cost and schedule risk assessment of highly technical, first-of-a-kind construction projects around the DOE complex.
About MPR MPR Associates is an employee-owned specialty engineering and management services firm founded in 1964 and headquartered in Alexandria, VA. MPR provides solutions to clients in the energy, federal government, and health and life sciences industries. The company brings value to its clients by delivering innovative, safe, reliable and cost-effective technical solutions across the entire project or product lifecycle. For more information, please visit www.mpr.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170912006748/en/
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
INVESTOR ALERT: Law Offices of Howard G. Smith Commences Investigation on Behalf of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. Investors (TEVA)
Law Offices of Howard G. Smith announces an investigation on behalf of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. ("Teva" or the "Company") (NYSE: TEVA) investors concerning the Company and its officers' possible violations of federal securities laws.
On August 2, 2016, Teva finalized its acquisition of Allergan plc's generics business, Actavis Generis. Teva continued to make positive statements concerning the integration of the business, growth on intangible assets and goodwill, and general benfits of the acquisition. Thereafter, on August 3, 2017, Teva lowered its outlook and recorded a $6.1 billion impairment charge.
If you purchased Teva securities, have information or would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Howard G. Smith, Esquire, of Law Offices of Howard G. Smith, 3070 Bristol Pike, Suite 112, Bensalem, Pennsylvania 19020 by telephone at (215) 638-4847, toll-free at (888) 638-4847, or by email to [email protected], or visit our website at www.howardsmithlaw.com.
This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170912006860/en/
FireEye revealed that groups that appear to be sponsored by North Korea have targeted South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges and service providers. At least three attacks on these orgs have been conducted since May, the security company said, and more could be planned for the future. Those fears pale in comparison to North Korea testing nuclear weapons, but cryptocurrency owners should probably still be concerned.
It's no surprise that someone has been trying to steal cryptocurrency. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other "coins" have all surged in popularity in recent months, at least for short periods of time. That rise prompted many people to buy graphics cards so they can mine their own cryptocurrency, which has in turn created a shortage of GPUs that makes it next to impossible for gamers to find low-end or mid-tier cards at reasonable prices.
North Korea doesn't seem interested in mining, but that doesn't mean the country's leadership wants to ignore the money it can make by acquiring and selling cryptocurrency. According to FireEye, it would rather steal those funds, as evidenced by the company's timeline of attacks:
April 22 Four wallets on Yapizon, a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, are compromised. (It is worth noting that at least some of the tactics, techniques, and procedures were reportedly employed during this compromise were different than those we have observed in following intrusion attempts and as of yet there are no clear indications of North Korean involvement).April 26 The United States announces a strategy of increased economic sanctions against North Korea. Sanctions from the international community could be driving North Korean interest in cryptocurrency, as discussed earlier.Early May Spearphishing against South Korean Exchange #1 begins.Late May South Korean Exchange #2 compromised via spearphish.Early June More suspected North Korean activity targeting unknown victims, believed to be cryptocurrency service providers in South Korea.Early July South Korean Exchange #3 targeted via spear phishing to personal account.
FireEye didn't mince words in its report. The company said North Korea is a "pariah nation" that "operates in many ways like a criminal enterprise" and has been forced to find new ways to make money by various economic sanctions. The relative lack of regulation and lax security of some cryptocurrency service providers makes them a prime target for a "Hermit Nation" looking to make a quick buck.
Cryptocurrency might also be easy for the attackers to launder into more established currencies. The whole purpose of these exchanges is to convert a cryptocurrency into something like U.S. dollars or South Korean won. Unless those companies are honest and diligent, it probably wouldn't be particularly hard for someone to sell off their ill-gotten cryptocurrency with no one being the wiser.
My dogs don't know how to attack people. They were just barking. It's a big, chaotic situation and they just unloaded right into him, he said.
The suspect is facing multiple drug related charges and a weapons charge but he said the punishment of watching his dog die in front of him does not fit his crime.
Kansas City Police Statement:
WERE POLICE RIGHT TO PUT DOWN THIS ATTACKING DOGGIE OR IS KC SOCIAL MEDIA RAGE JUSTIFIED???
Accusations and curses spiraled out of control on social media . . . So much so that local TV news picked up the story.Checkit:Deets . . .More . . .Officers were at this residence in an attempt to conduct a search warrant. As they approached the front porch they observed a white male subject slam the front door. Verbal commands were given advising those inside that officers were there for a search warrant. Officers then observed a white male subject open the front door allowing the 2 dogs to run out and attack the officers, and he quickly closed the door. The two dogs were barking, growling, with hair raised, and charged at the officers who were ascending the front stair to the front door. One of the dogs charged at an officer biting him on the leg and tore his pants. Due to the dogs actions the dog was shot.The second canine he released on officers ran away and was able to be controlled with the assistance of a neighbor. Officers were able to keep the 2nd dog at bay and away from other officers utilizing a dog stick which the dog was biting for the duration of the search warrant. Officers allowed the owner to be taken out of handcuffs to assist in securing the 2nd canine and to avoid another deadly incident.Please note, the suspect was charged in custody for Narcotics, Felon in Possession, and a charge per the prosecutor for releasing the dogs out of the front door at the tactical officers on approach (Unlawful use of a weapon).#########And so we leave it up to our blog community . . .You decide . . .
SALLY FIELD ENDORSES RYAN DILLON FOR MISSOURI STATE SENATE
And yes . . .. . .More importantly, the former worker for iconic Congressman Ike Skelton earning Hollywood help reveals that some denizens of the Democratic Party in Missouri are serious about taking back Missouri.Missouris 16th District is HEAVILY Republican and includes several prominent Mid-Missouri towns and areas like Rolla, Camdenton, Waynesville, Salem, St. James, Fort Leonard Wood and the southern half of the Lake of the Ozarks.Still, the incumbent is termed out and this represents the best opportunity for Missouri's Democratic Party to make progress and emerge from Super-Minority status.Take a look:ROLLA, MO - Today, Sally Field endorsed Ryan Dillon's campaign for the Missouri State Senate."As an actor, I know how to portray different emotions and I can tell when someone is acting or genuine in their delivery, said Field. "I can assure you, Ryan Dillon is not acting when he speaks of his desire to fully fund public education in order to provide opportunity. He is not acting when he advocates for equal rights for all. He is not acting when he talks about transcending partisanship to fight the heroin/opioid epidemic. He is genuine.""Ryan Dillon is honest, courageous, dedicated, compassionate, and he is my friend," Field continued. "You see, Ryan believes that tomorrow can be better than today. He understands that the dreams of our future are not limited. We need him, and more like him, now more than ever. There has never been a more important time to get involved, as there is too much at stake."Field finished by hinting that she would hit the campaign trail with Dillon next year."It's both humbling and thrilling to know someone with such high standards in her career and in what she chooses to advocate for is endorsing my campaign for the Missouri State Senate," said Dillon."This endorsement echoes my commitment to deliver the very best for the people of this district and for Missouri. I am so grateful for her support and her friendship."Ryan Dillon grew up working in his family's small business in Rolla, Missouri. He went on to earn a degree from Westminster College, serve in the U.S. State Department, and on the staff of Congressman Ike Skelton and Congressman Russ Carnahan. From these experiences, Ryan has learned firsthand the principles that guide his everyday life: inclusion, respect, fairness, integrity, and responsibility.Today, Ryan is a member of the Epilepsy Foundation of Missouri, the Missouri State Teachers Association, the Human Rights Campaign, and the Missouri Association of State Troopers Emergency Relief Society. You can learn more about Ryan Dillon and his bid for the Missouri State Senate at RyanDillonforMissouri.comSally Field is an award-winning screen and stage actress, as well as a director and producer. Field has starred in movies such as: 'Steel Magnolias', 'Mrs. Doubtfire', 'Forrest Gump', and 'Smokey and the Bandit'; and the television programs: 'The Flying Nun', 'Gidget', and 'Brothers & Sisters'. She is a mother and grandmother. You can follow her on Twitter @sally_field.###
KSHB-TV HONORED WITH 11 REGIONAL EMMY AWARDS
In the photo up top, Morning anchoraccepts the award for Best Morning Newscast as local journalism continues to evolve in Kansas City and far more people rely on TV reporters for their news.Here's a look a local broadcast winning . . .KSHB-TV, Kansas Citys 41 Action News Station, was honored with eleven regional Emmys, including the Best Morning Newscast and Breaking News categories. The awards were announced by the Mid-America Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences at the 2017 Emmy Awards thispast Saturday evening in St. Louis, Missouri. KSHBs news team was also honored in the News Special category and anchor Mike Murusarz was honoredin the Best On Camera Talent category. In all, 41 Action News was honored with more awards than all other Kansas City news organizations combined.We are honored to be recognized for our breaking news coverage which is one of the most important roles we have as journalists. We work diligently to share information to keep viewers safe during emergencies, said KSHB News Director Carrie Hofmann.#######
Abu Dhabi is ranked among the top 25 cities in the world in terms of economic competiveness as a financial centre, moving up three rankings from the previous position on the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI).
The development was announced during the launch of the GFCI 22 in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), premises, reported Wam, the Emirates official news agency.
"As the capital of the UAE, Abu Dhabi has achieved a substantial increase in its economic and political influence, both on the regional and global levels in recent years, " said the report, citing the new initiatives introduced by the government of Abu Dhabi to foster growth industries and a sustainable, knowledge-based economy, including the successful merger of NBAD and FGB into First Abu Dhabi Bank, creating one of the region's largest banks with total assets in excess of $180 billion.
"We are excited that Abu Dhabi is ranked among the top 25 cities this year. This serves as an endorsement of Abu Dhabi's initiatives and efforts to enhance its strength as a financial centre with a creative investment infrastructure that will help us entice more partners over the coming period," Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, ADGM chairman said to the media after the announcement.
"The new global acknowledgement spurs us to continue raising the bar and improving the sectors to better serve the needs of our stakeholders. We will continue to be committed and look forward to a long and prosperous future as Abu Dhabi continues to uphold itself as an instrumental and leading financial centre regionally and internationally."
Seif Mohamed Al Hajeri, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Department, who attended the launch, said the new achievement is a testament to the successful economic policies by the government of Abu Dhabi under the directives of the wise leadership of the UAE, to strengthen non-oil investments.
"This achievement reflects the success of the economic policies adopted by the government of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi which focuses on the enhancement of the role of foreign investments and increasing their contribution to the non-oil sectors. This approach helped surpass the challenges that have faced the global economy since the beginning of the second half of 2014 by realizing good rates of growth in various non-oil sectors."
"The decision of ADGM to adopt the English Law to be the prevailing law in the Free Financial Zone, as it prevails in Singapore and Hong Kong, gives investors an advantage that provides a more transparent legal framework, reducing risks and contributed to the quick success by occupying the 25th rank at the global level in a record time," he noted.
"Over the last four years the contribution of financial and insurance activities to the GDP of Abu Dhabi rose from 5.8 per cent in 2013 to 6.9 per cent in 2016, thanks to the progress in the performance of its banks and finance markets which contributed to the growth of other sectors. It is expected that this sector will add significantly to the diversity of the economy of the emirate within the next few years."
"Financial and insurance have become outstanding business activities that entice direct foreign investments thanks to the attractive environment that Abu Dhabi enjoys, supported by advanced infrastructures and stability of economic policies. They are expected to expand despite the challenges that the region experiences nowadays. In this regard, the total amount of direct foreign investments in financial and insurance sectors in Abu Dhabi came to about Dh14.672 billion ($4 billion) in 2016 in comparison with Dh12.731 billion in 2014."
Financial and insurance activity is the third largest contributor to the direct foreign investments in the emirate by 15.4 per cent after the real estate and transformational industries. This is attributed to the advantages that the investment environment provides, including the progress made in economic policies, the participation of the private sector and the alleviation of all hurdles facing the business community, thanks to the steady efforts exerted by the government of Abu Dhabi, he noted.
Developed by the Z/Yen Group, the GFCI provides evaluations of future competitiveness and rankings for the major financial centres around the world. Up to 106 financial centres were researched for GFCI22, using 102 instrumental factors. The report measures 29,000 financial centres assessments, together with over 100 indices from organisations such as the World Bank and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
TSYS, a leading global payments solutions provider, has signed a software licensing and services agreement with Mashreq Bank, a leading financial institution in the UAE.
TSYS will provide Mashreq with its core Prime Issuer and Acquirer payments platform and surrounding modules and services to enhance the banks customer-centric experiences for its cardholders and merchants, said a statement.
Mashreq is an award winning bank recognised for its retail and digital banking experiences. The bank also has broad product portfolios that include multi-brand credit, debit, and prepaid cards, as well as Sharia-compliant cards.
We are one of UAEs leading financial institutions with a growing retail presence in Egypt, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain. Our key focus is providing customers with access to a wide range of innovative products and services, and this is what led us to TSYS, said Sandeep Chouhan, head of operations and technology at Mashreq.
As one of the largest payment solution providers in the world, TSYS has the scale and power of Prime, along with the visionary TSYS InterActiv technology framework to help us keep our customers and merchants at the forefront of innovation, he said.
Mashreq will leverage TSYS support for omni-channel and digital enablement, including Web APIs and customer alerts.
The agreement also includes innovative loyalty solutions at the issuer and merchant level. These are supported by real-time fraud and risk solutions covering mobile and e-commerce, along with a range of acquiring propositions for merchant portal, acquirer dashboard, DCC, interactive interchange pricing and more.
We look forward to partnering with Mashreq as they continue to grow and develop their consumer payment offerings and innovative merchant experiences in the region. Our presence in the Middle East dates back to 1989, and we are very proud to support our clients as they drive the market forward in this progressive region of the payments world, said Rene Kruse, group executive and managing director of Prime business solutions, TSYS. - TradeArabia News Service
RTB House, a global company providing state-of-the-art retargeting technology for top brands worldwide, has celebrated its first anniversary in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region with several new business wins as the region experiences rapid growth in digital advertising.
According to a report by TBWA, the UAE has topped the list of GCC countries in advertising spending with $531 million in the first quarter of 2016, followed by Saudi Arabia with $312 million, Kuwait $144 million, Qatar $83 million, Oman $46 million and Bahrain with $32 million.
This comes as good news to RTB House, whose client base has multiplied dramatically since it launched operations in Dubai in 2016. Its ability to offer personalised retargeting powered by deep learning has resulted in successful campaigns for several e-commerce clients including Wadi.com, Awok.com and Dubizzle.com, among others.
Additionally, RTB House has also been signed-on by leading travel, IT, consumer electronics, hospitality and retail brands in the region. To accommodate this growth, the company will relocate its Dubai team to larger premises at the end of this month, providing stronger local presence and an accessible venue for client meetings and product demonstrations.
Its been fantastic to see the business attain this kind of success in a span of one year, said Tomasz Wnuk, business development director, MEA, at RTB House. We believe this is because we offer the best customer service and invest our resources in delivering outstanding tailor-made ads with the help of innovative recommendation mechanisms, he added.
RTB House has also had a record-breaking year globally, in which the company grew its workforce by more than 40 per cent, entered markets in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore and increased revenue by over 140 per cent, it said.
The growth in our MEA client roster over the past year shows the expanding demand for online advertising spend in the region, which will continue to grow rapidly in the next few years, said Shady Francis, regional country manager, MEA, at RTB House.
"Our new office in Dubai Internet City will enable us to partner more closely with our clients and provide a better work environment for current and future staff, he added.
RTB House is one of the few companies in the world that has developed and implemented its own technology for purchasing advertisements in the real-time bidding (RTB) model, it said.
The company operates worldwide and runs campaigns for global brands in 40 markets across Europe, Latin America, Asia and Pacific, Middle East and Africa. - TradeArabia News Service
The UAE Minister of Energy, Suhail Al Mazrouei, held a meeting with Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Falih, Saudi Arabia's Minister for Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, discussed the developments in the oil market during a meeting in Astana, Kazakhstans capital, on the sidelines of the science and technology summit of the Islamic Cooperation Organisation.
The two ministers expressed their relief over the improvement in the market fundamentals, said a Wam news agency report.
Al Mazrouei stressed that Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) had reduced its crude oil allocations by 10 per cent for September and October, and that it would notify its clients and the market of the actual changes in its shipment schedule on a monthly basis to prove its transparency and promote the credibility of the UAE, in terms of its commitment to the targeted oil production levels, as per the co-operation declaration.
Al Falih hailed the efforts of the UAE to rebalance the market, the report said.
Both ministers agreed that the extension of the Vienna agreement on output cuts after March 31, 2018, would be discussed at the right time, as per the needs of the market fundamentals.
The two countries will continue to deepen and develop their scope of co-operation in a range of important areas, including conventional and renewable energy sectors, it said.
Operating as a certified member of "We do local" and in the context of the resorts participation in TUI Care Foundation, FUTOURIS Project
(TRAVPR.COM) GREECE - September 12th, 2017 - On Friday September 8th, a Traditional Harvest day was held in Creta Maris Beach Resort. This year, the action was part of the events organized by the resort, in the context of its operation as a certified member of "We do local" and its participation in the project TUI Care Foundation, FUTOURIS Project: Crete, First steps towards a sustainable food destination 2017-2019.
The ritual began by collecting the grapes from the vineyard (harvest), and transfer them in a traditional way, with the donkey, on the winepress for the production of grape must, and then its distillation in order to produce raki, as well as grape must jelly. All actions were followed by music, dancing, and delicacies, features of the Cretan hospitality.
The aim of the action was to introduce the traditional Cretan rural work to the guests, while also highlighting in the best possible way the islands long tradition in grape growing and winemaking.
The participation of the guests in the harvest and pressing of the grapes was noteworthy, giving them a valuable experience of the Cretan lifestyle, culture and traditions.
About Creta Maris Beach Resort:
Creta Maris Beach Resort belongs to Metaxas Group of Companies and has been operating since 1975. It has a capacity of 680 rooms, suites and bungalows, 6 restaurants, 7 bars, 7 swimming pools, gym, Hammam spa, Asterias Childrens Club, and a great space for outdoor and indoor activities.
About Futouris:
The German non-profit organization FUTOURIS e.V. supports the implementation of sustainable development projects in destinations of interest to its members. FUTOURIS e.V. members include some of the most well-known travel agencies and tour operators. TUI Austria co-funds the Project, which is further supported by the wider TUI tourism agency. The project development started in January 2016 and will be completed in December 2017.
About We do local:
As a certification standard We do local, was created by the mature cooperation of Local Production and Hospitality SA (promotional services), Cosmocert SA (certification services) and Local Food Experts sce (integrated development services). It intends to highlight companies that follow a modern and necessary business approach and supports, recognizes and rewards other certification standards including them in the qualification criteria (i.e. ISO, HACCP, Travelife, etc.)
Please find pictures on high resolution on the below link:
https://we.tl/Aek0RGHBzT
Please find pictures of Creta Maris Beach Resort on high resolution on our site:
http://www.maris.gr/media/image-library.aspx
###
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, September 12
The Bhindi Saida police have arrested Parmajit Singh, alias Pamma, son of Harjant Singh of Sheikh Bhatthi village, while he was carrying an illegal weapon. According to the police, he was wanted in many criminal cases and was held from near Nepal village, following a specific input.
Charan Singh, investigating officer, said that during a naka near Jasraur village, he received a specific input that the accused was standing near Nepal village. Paramjit, who was wanted in many criminal cases, was not appearing in the court. Immediately, a raid was conducted and he was arrested by the police party.
The police recovered a .315-bore country-made pistol with live cartridges. They found five more bullets from his pocket. He could not produce any documents regarding the legality of the weapon. A case under the Arms Act had been registered against him and further interrogation was under way after he was brought on police remand.
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, September 12
The Union Cabinet today approved hiving off mobile tower assets of BSNL into a separate company to be fully owned by the state-owned company itself.
This approval authorises BSNL to monetise its telecom tower infrastructure with the formation of a separate subsidiary company.
Briefing the media after the Cabinet meeting, Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha said the process of hiving off the tower assets into a separate company would be completed over a period of two years.
He said that a number of BSNL employees would not only be sent on deputation to the new company but a number of new jobs would also be created through this new venture.
There are around 4,42,000 mobile towers in the country out of which more than 66,000 mobile tower are of BSNL, which comes to about 15% of the total towers in the country.
Monetising assets
Coimbatore, September 12
Zoomcar, India's first 100 per cent self-drive car rental company, said it plans to foray into international markets and that it is strongly betting on Zoomcar Associate Program for its next milestone.
The company has conducted an in-depth research and has a decent sense of market knowledge in Asia and Africa, Zoomcar CEO and Co-founder, Greg Moran said in a release here on Tuesday.
"Our aim is to be in 20-plus countries in next two-three years. To begin with, our first move would be towards Asia and then eventually get into Africa, which is quite an uncharted market," Moran said in a release here.
From the tech point of view, there is a huge opportunity in Africa as few companies have come out with unique innovation, whereas the demographics are like India which again highlights the scope for a breakthrough chance, he said.
Recently, Zoomcar successfully launched its one-way intercity travel where a user can pick up a car from one city and drop it in another.
Since its inception in April 2013, Zoomcar has reported strong unit economics in most cities in India with almost nine lakh trips in 25 cities with a ticket size of about Rs 4,000 to 6,000 on an average.
The exponential growth and scale witnessed by Zoomcar has firmly established it as a leading player in the Indian self-driven car industry, Moran pointed out.
Zoomcar currently has more than 20 lakh registered users pan India with a fleet of 3,000 cars.
"ZAP is another feather in the hat for its success where the company has managed to cover about 20 per cent of its fleet with 600 registered users. The metro and non-metros contribute 80 per cent and 20 per cent to the entire profitable business respectively," he said.
The company, over the next two to three years, is targeting to have 25,000 cars in 30 cities pan India for which its ZAP would account 85-90 per cent fleet.
The company is in talks with various state governments to solve the regulatory issues around having a commercial licence for a private car. PTI
Ishrat S Banwait
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, September 12
While stating that the accused behaved like a roadside romeo, the court of Additional Sessions Judge Rajnish Kumar Sharma took a tough stance against Vikas Barala. The court dismissed his bail plea yet again in the stalking case involving 29-year-old DJ Varnika Kundu.
The court observed that the accused followed the victim continuously, tried to block her path and were not allowing her to go with a determination to gratify their passion at all events. The Judge also denied the possibility of any animosity between the complainant and the accused as per facts placed on record. The Judge observed that it was a heinous crime and that the accused were dead drunk at the time of the incident.
The order says that considering the conditions prevailing in society, the modesty of women needs to be strongly guarded. It also says that as more and more women venture out for education and work, their protection is of extreme importance to a civilised and cultured society. The experience of women and girl children in crowded buses and Metro trains is horrendous and a painful ordeal, it further reads.
The order says that there is no straight-jacket formula for granting bail as each case is different in terms of circumstances and facts. Hence, the accused being in jail for a long time is no ground for bail, as claimed by the defence. The culpable intention of the accused is the crux of the matter, the order further reads.
The bail application had alleged that the father of the complainant had typed the complaint himself in the police station. However, the prosecution presented the complaint in court which was handwritten. The plea had also said that Barala was a law graduate and being in jail with hardcore criminals would hurt his career. However, the prosecution argued that drunk driving was irresponsible behaviour by a law graduate.
The Kundus had written to the UT DGP for providing security to the family, a prosecution counsel informed. He said they had showed lack of trust in junior police employees and asked the DGP to form a SIT under a senior officer after which the same was done under DSP Satish Kumar.
Tribune News Service
Mohali, September 12
The event at the Baba Banda Singh Bahadur War Memorial, to host delegates of the Indian diaspora from 16 countries, was marred by inadequate arrangements with Punjab Tourism Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu opting to skip the event.
The staff at the memorial was not aware of the event even two hours before the delegation was supposed to arrive. Bottles of mineral water were hastily arranged. Officials from the Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Punjab, made last-minute calls to arrange a guide who could brief the delegates on the history of the memorial.
An official said Sidhu was busy at a function to commemorate Saragarhi Day in Ferozepur.
As part of the Know India Programme of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to engage the diaspora of the Indian-origin youth with their roots, 40 NRI delegates from 16 countries visited the Baba Banda Singh Bahadur War Memorial at Chappar Chiri here today.
Abhishek Sharma, Undersecretary, MEA, said this was the 41st Know India Programme batch of delegates.
He said: Every year the Centre through embassies invited applications from youth (18-30 years) for a 25-day programme. In this batch, we have delegates from many countries, including Israel, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada, South Africa, Portugal, Netherlands, USA, Fiji, Mauritius and Sri Lanka.
Jaspal Singh, Principal Secretary, Tourism and Cultural Affairs Department, Punjab, said: The initiative was for the youth of IInd and IIIrd generation diaspora living in various countries to know more about their roots, culture and history of Punjab.
Ex-sarpanch, Chappar Chiri, Joga Singh Bhullar, briefed the delegation about the victorious battle fought by Baba Banda Singh Bahadur in Sirhind against the Mughal forces of Wazir Shah.
Bhavik Daya, whose grandfather migrated to South Africa, said the experience of visiting Punjab had been exceptional. Through this initiative, I was exposed to a different culture and now, I feel a strong connection to India.
Yasteel Sitaram from South Africa said visiting the Golden Temple in Amritsar and attending the ceremony at the Attari-Wagah border was the highlight of the trip.
The delegation is in Punjab from September 8 to 13.
Yogendra Yadav
Yogendra Yadav
Jat reservation issue is an example of our collective failure to resolve any contentious matter. Last week the judiciary followed the executive and the legislature in contributing to the systemic paralysis on this issue. Judicial equivocation combined with political procrastination could once again put Haryana to crisis and anarchy, as it did last year.
The issue is straightforward, though not easy to resolve. Like all farming communities, the social and economic status of the Jats of Haryana is declining, compared to city dwelling communities. If a family does not have a salaried employee or stakes in real estate or business, they are pushed to the margins. This sense of real and perceived marginalisation has been used by the self-styled community leadership to demand reservation. They use the numeric and political clout of the community to pressure the government into conceding this demand.
Over the last quarter of a century, successive Haryana governments have made repeated attempts to introduce reservation for the Jats. Each of these attempts have been shot down by the courts. The latest chapter in this drama is being enacted since 2013. The Congress government in Haryana and the UPA government in the Centre announced reservation for Jats (along with five other smaller communities viz Ror, Bishnoi, Jat Sikh, Tyagi and Mulla Jat/Muslim Jat), just before the 2014 elections. The Congress leadership knew that an order defying the recommendations of the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) was going to be turned down in the courts but they could not care less.
Eventually, the Congress lost and the same game was taken over by the BJP. As expected, the Supreme Court rejected the Central governments notification. The apex court indicted the Haryana Government for basing its decision on the Gupta commission findings that were found faulty and biased by the NCBC. Jat leaders arm-twisted the new BJP government in Haryana to re-enact the reservation. Last year, they served an ultimatum on the government, plunging the state into anarchy and violence. Thereafter, the Haryana Vidhan Sabha passed an Act (Reservation in Services and Admission in Educational Institutions) in 2016 setting up the backward class commission in the state, and at the same time, creating a new category of OBC reservation (Schedule 3). This new category, comprising the same six castes as earlier, was given a separate quota, over and above the existing reservation. Interestingly, the Haryana Government again invoked the Gupta commission to justify this decision.
Last week, the Punjab and Haryana High Court delivered its judgment on the three recommendations challenging this decision. The court upheld the validity of the Act and the constitution of the State Backward Class Commission. This was not contentious as no one had challenged in its entirety. The court also allowed the government to go beyond the 50 per cent ceiling on all reservations. It did so by invoking the case of Tamil Nadu where reservations beyond 50 per cent have been permitted. This part of the judgment may face legal challenge.
The main point of this case, however, was the validity or otherwise of the Schedule 3 in this Act. Those who challenged this decision argued that the Government of Haryana recycled the Gupta commission findings that were rejected by the NCBC and discarded by the Supreme Court. The high court took note of the Supreme Courts observation and therefore could not obviously uphold reservation for communities under Schedule 3. At the same time, the court appears reluctant to scrap this altogether. Like the politicians, the judges too dodged a hard decision.
The High Court charted a middle path. It kept the reservation in Schedule 3 in abeyance till the government gathers fresh evidence and takes a decision about whether communities in Schedule 3 deserve reservation and, if yes, how much. On paper, everything is fair. The court has not accepted the governments decision based on this data. It has set out a detailed time schedule and transparent process for gathering new evidence, inviting public objections, scrutiny and final decision.
The net outcome, however, is already known and predictable. In all probability, we are going to witness one more round of Jat reservation theatre. Supporters and opponents of Jat reservation will re-submit well known, dated and largely irrelevant data. A new round of agitation will be announced. Deadlines will be declared, the government will be threatened with dire consequences. The government will scramble to discover or manufacture data that makes a case for Jat reservation. It will duly discover just in time for the parliamentary elections that Jats, along with the other five castes, deserve reservation. The governments declaration will be challenged in the courts and may, in all probability, be quashed after the elections.
In other words, we are back to square one and set for the repeat of the predictable sequence from 2013 to 2017. Jat agitationists would have satisfied their constituencies. The ruling party would have secured a few votes. Who cares if in this process a few lives are lost and no one gets any benefit?
Is there a way out? There is a sane and sense resolution of this difficult question. Who gets reservation and how much need not be settled by street demonstrations and calculus of political power. This can be done in a fair and objective manner. The Government of India has with it the data from caste census (Socio-Economic and Caste Census) of 2011. This data contains all necessary information about social, economic, educational and job profile of each caste and community.
So, the Government of Haryana can request the Centre for this data and make it public. The variables identified by the NCBC can be used to convert all this data into a simple index of backward classes. Depending on the backwardness score of each community, all non-SC/ST castes in the state can be placed in four categories: Those in the bottom two slabs can be placed in Scheduled 1 & 2 and given OBC reservation; those in the third slab can be given other benefits such as special scholarship, etc., but not reservation; those castes falling in the highest slab should, of course, be denied any special benefits. Some special provisions can be made for women within each category and the rich families from each community can be excluded from these benefits. This would mean some new castes or communities getting reservation and some existing communities being excluded from the list of beneficiaries.
There is nothing new about this proposal. The real question is: Do we want a resolution? Do we have the political will to reach and enforce a fair and firm solution?
yogendra.yadav@gmail.com
Apoorvanand
Apoorvanand
I strongly condemn & deplore the messages on social media expressing happiness on the dastardly murder of #Gaurilankesh. All of us agreed with the letters and the spirit behind this statement. It could be the only instinctive response to the barrage of tweets and messages celebrating the murder of Gauri Lankesh and abusing her.... It was also a much-needed governmental response. One expected that this firm stance would bring out some sanity and sobriety in the public discourse. Unfortunately, it did not last very long.
It did not take even two days for Ravi Shankar Prasad to be forced back to the press to launch a virulent attack on those blaming this murder on the atmosphere of hate and violence that his party, the BJP, and its parent body, the RSS, with its multiple visible and invisible hands, have created in Karnataka and other parts of the country.
Prasad criticised Rahul Gandhi for concluding that the RSS ideology was responsible for this killing.
The minister said: Why is that all my liberal friends who speak so eloquently and strongly against the killing of a journalist maintain a conspicuous silence when so many RSS workers are killed in Kerala and Karnataka?
The Law Minister accused the so-called liberals of speaking up for Maoists and their human rights, but remaining silent when RSS workers were killed brutally.
Do RSS workers have a right to their ideology? Are they entitled to human rights? he asked. This hypocrisy and double standard needs to be exposed.
Would we be wrong to assume that the alacrity with which the minister rushed to the press was only to assuage the feelings of those who had felt hurt by his original rebuke? Was it only a momentary humanist lapse from which he had recovered now? Or, was he forced to overcome his conscience and go public qualifying his stand by his patrons and his constituency?
The minister was instantly attacked by supporters of his party and more so of his leader for having dared to criticise the twitter army abusing the murdered journalist.
A tweeter using the handle @kailashwg, proudly proclaiming that he is followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said: Minister Sir, pls also condemn selective outrage by Lootyens journos against killing of people?#GauriLankeshMurder.
Another handle @RitaG74, followed by Modi, actually shamed him: Bowed down to media, secular and liberal bullies? We work for you tirelessly, selflessly. This is the reward?
Yet another tweeter wrote: Its none of your business Mr Minister. 100s of RSS workers were killed while you are enjoying power gifted by Modi. Shame on u.
These tweets and the ministers swift course correction leads one to think that a gesture of humanity, even in the moment of their death, towards the critics of the RSS and leaders are unacceptable to the regime.
The question of selective outrage, however, does need to be addressed. Should not the killings of the workers of the RSS be condemned? Let us be clear about it. Each killing is condemnable and the condemnation should be unqualified. When a person who happens to be a member of the RSS is killed, one should not qualify its condemnation by referring to the killings of people from a different political background.
Each life is unique, it cannot be replicated. So, its forced loss should be grieved and resented without crowding it with other deaths.
Prasad has a different logic, though. According to his argument, you are not allowed to criticise a murder unless you mention other murders which are thought to be of those who were on the other side of the fence. He is expected, at least, to be true to his own principle.
The minister is referring mainly to the killings of the RSS workers in Kerala. While doing so, he himself is being selective. As said earlier, he should have in the same breath talked about the killings of the CPM workers.
The minister should also be honest with the facts of the killings in the southern states, especially Kerala. The killings are a result of the gang war between the RSS and the CPM in Kerala going on for a very long time. Its epicentre is Kannur. The RSS people who have been killed or maimed in this battle of supremacy have paid for their political affiliation. The same can be said for the people who belong to the CPM.
One wonders why we should have political violence when you can always fight and win elections and thereby establish your supremacy over your rivals. Kerala and West Bengal stand out as exceptions.
The CPM, Congress, Trinamool and BJP, all have been equally guilty of promoting a culture of violence in West Bengal. In Kerala, it is mainly between the RSS and CPM. In a state which the RSS is said to have the largest number of shakhas, this kind of violence shows that it is not sure of the power of its ideological persuasion. Similarly, the CPM which claims that Marxism is the last word in wisdom is not sure of its strength. Both of them need to explain their desperation. Both of them need to be asked by their followers why this cycle of violence cannot be broken.
Prasad needs to explain why it is that the RSS and BJP, instead of responding sincerely to the peace initiative of the Chief Minister of Kerala and making a call for a stop to this mutual annihilation, chose to move around with large banners carrying grotesque images of mutilated bodies of those they claim to be their members?
The minister is not so unaware a man as to not know that the liberals he is mocking have been very consistent in their criticism of the culture of political violence. Does he not know that one of the leading voices of these liberals Gopalkrishna Gandhi chose to earn the wrath of the CPM rather than remain silent on the party-backed violence in the days of the Singur and Nandigram agitations? That too, when he could have remained silent, hiding behind the throne of governorship.
Prasad is right when he says that we do not know who killed or ordered the killing of Gauri Lankesh. But we surely heard a senior leader of his party saying that but for her criticism of the RSS, Gauri would be living. We also heard a leader of his party in Kerala warning writers that to save themselves, they should stop criticising the RSS. We did see an open celebration of Gauri's murder by his supporters. That celebration Patel had seen after the assassination of Gandhi.
Patel, unlike Nehru, is a true nationalist in the eyes of the BJP. What did he do as home minister? He said, The objectionable part arose when they (RSS), burning with revenge, began attacking Mussalmans. All their speeches were full of communal poison. As a final result of that poison, the country had to suffer the sacrifice of Gandhiji . RSS men expressed joy and distributed sweets after Gandhijis death. It became inevitable for the government to take action against the RSS.
Gauri Lankesh is no Mahatma and we do not have a Sardar Patel to accept the truth overriding his affection.
The writer is a Professor of Hindi in Delhi University
Brampton (Ontario), September 12
Indo-Canadian politician Jagmeet Singh has opened up on his reaction, which earned him plaudits, after a video, showing a heckler spewing ugly remarks at him during a meet and greet event, went viral.
The New Democratic Party (NDP) leadership contender explained what was going through his mind as he was faced with angry, hateful and Islamophobic comments.
Many people have commented that I could have just said I am not Muslim. In fact, many have clarified that I am actually Sikh. While I am proud of who I am, I purposely didn't go down that road because it suggests their hate would be ok if I was Muslim. We all know it's not, he said.
I didn't answer the question because my response to Islamophobia has never been I am not Muslim. It has always been and will be that hate is wrong.
Last week, a woman interrupted Singh's campaign event in Ontario's Brampton to accuse him of backing Shariah, a system of laws based on Islam.
The video shows Singh deftly defusing the situation by telling the woman he loved and welcomed her.
When is your Sharia going to end, the woman asked the Sikh politician.
Singh responded to the woman: What this is, we don't want to be intimidated by hate. We don't want hatred to ruin a positive event, so let's show people how we treat people with love.
We welcome you, we support you and we love you. Once allowed to grow, hate doesn't pick and choose, it spreads like fire. Once we say it's ok to hate someone based on their religion, we're also opening the door to hate based on race, gender, sexuality, and more. It's important that we stand united against all forms of hate, the MPP addressed the issue in a statement released on Saturday.
It takes love to understand that we are all in this together. It takes courage to come together, demand better and dream bigger, so that we can build a world where no one is left behind.
Singh also took to Twitter and posted a statement explaining his stand on the issue.
Racial attacks are unacceptable. @theJagmeetSingh handled it with dignity & respect. Solidarity with all who confront hate #ndpldr Niki Ashton (@nikiashton) September 8, 2017
One of Singh's rivals, Manitoba MP Niki Ashton, also took to Twitter to compliment Singh.
Racial attacks are unacceptable. @theJagmeetSingh handled it with dignity & respect. Solidarity with all who confront hate #ndpldr," she said. Agencies
Everyone in the Modi government seems to have developed a knack for alliteration. No surprise, then, Rajnath Singh, too, could not allow himself to remain uncontaminated. During his latest visit to J&K his fourth as Union Home Minister he proposed a 5Cs formula to make the Valley once again a paradise on earth. His five Cs compassion, communication, coexistence, confidence-building and consistency are rather mouthful, probably indicative of the grand confusion in New Delhi. Indeed the Home Ministers visit had taken place in the context of PM Modis gale lagao (instead of goli and gali) jumla from the Red Fort. Still, there was a pleasing, over-all conciliatory tone to the Home Ministers pronouncements during his stay.
The Home Ministers visit also served the necessary purpose of stabilising the PDP-BJP coalition government, an arrangement that seemed to be tottering not long ago. It is possible to infer that the Modi government has, at last, understood the futility of undermining its senior political partner just as it seems to have realised the folly of finding a military solution to the Kashmir problem. It has taken the Modi political establishment more than three years to recognise that images of a burning Kashmir are received beyond the Valley and dampen the investors confidence; a turbulent Kashmir takes its own toll on the optics of the Indian success story. Hawks and hardliners have exhausted themselves, even if the security approach has managed to devitalise the separatist and militant camps.
However, two Cs are missing from the Union Home Ministers list-Constitution and conciliation. The Valley has been made to feel agitated by the BJP leaders and cadres over Article 35A and Article 370. The Union Home Minister too maintained a calculated ambiguity. All that he could allow himself to say was that the Centre would not go against the Kashmiris sentiments. That falls short as an assurance to the Kashmiri sensibilities as it falls short as a rebuff to the Jammu BJP crowd. And, it is the absence of any hint of conciliation with the Kashmiri pride and honour that makes Rajnath Singhs visit a rather limited exercise.
Sumedha Sharma
Tribune news Service
Gurugram, September 12
Ryan International School student murder accused Ashok Kumar underwent potency test here today before a local court sent him to judicial custody.
Sources said the police got the potency test conducted on him after they came to know that he was trying to wriggle out of the case on the plea of he being impotent.
Ashok Kumars family members are claiming that he could not have assaulted a child. We decided to get the potency test done on him to preclude his family from taking the plea, said a senior investigating official.
The police had also taken a DNA sample of the accused to match it with the sample found on the victims clothes.
Akin to the police theory, the post-mortem report confirmed that Pradyuman Thakur was not sexually assaulted and he died due to excessive bleeding from his slit throat. The police, during reconstruction of the crime scene, had insisted that Ashok had pulled Pradyuman into the toilet but as the child started screaming he murdered him.
Meanwhile, the police today spoke to the suspended acting principal and a former principal of Ryan International School and got to know about major shortcomings in the working of the school management.
We are investigating the power and the responsibility the principal has in the present institutional structure to take security measures. We, however, have come to know that the former principal resigned as the management never fulfilled the schools requisites, added the official.
The police have negated all rumours about another person being involved in the murder. Ashok Kumar is the only accused, who has been arrested. We are now probing lapses on the schools part and will take the case to its conclusion, said Commissioner of Police Sandeep Khirwar.
Ryan group chairman gets pre-arrest bail
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted pre-arrest bail to Ryan International Groups founding chairman Augustine Pinto, 73, and his wife, managing director Grace Pinto, 62, till Wednesday. Their son Ryan Pinto, groups Chief Executive Officer, has also applied for anticipatory bail. TNS
Deepender Deswal
Tribune News Service
Hisar, September 12
A college girl was stabbed to death in a food joint near the old court complex here on Tuesday, allegedly by a youth whose marriage proposal she had turned down.
The girl died on the spot while the youth was nabbed by the onlookers. The police took the youth in custody and are interrogating him.
The youth had allegedly been stalking the girl.
(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)
The girl has been identified as Pooja, a resident of Railway Colony. The youth, Naveen, is also a resident of the same locality. They were sitting in the basement of the fast food joint, Food Hub.
After ordering burgers, the youth, who claimed that he was enraged as the girl had declined his marriage proposal, brought a knife from the kitchen on the ground floor, came back to the table and stabbed her.
Dinesh Manhotra
Tribune News Service
Jammu, September 11
Winding up his four-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday observed that the situation in Kashmir had improved as compared to that of the last year.
I cannot say that complete peace has been restored in the Valley, but there is a visible improvement in the situation as compared to that of last year, he said while addressing a press conference here before leaving for New Delhi.
Rajnath, who visited the Nowshera area of Rajouri, however, expressed concern over the frequent ceasefire violations on the Line of Control (LoC) saying the Centre had decided to construct bunkers for the safety and security of the border inhabitants.
(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)
Eighty bunkers have already been constructed and more would be constructed in the days to come, he said.
Pointing to the unabated ceasefire violations on the border, Rajnath said, The prevailing situation on the border shows that Pakistan is not interested in normalising relations with India.
He said since 2014, ceasefire violation on the border had become routine. More than 400 ceasefire violations took place on the border every year since 2014, he said, asserting that Pakistan had to stop ceasefire violation on the border.
Amid debate on deportation of Rohingyas illegally living in different parts of the country, the minister dubbed them as a security threat. We will strongly deal with these illegal immigrants living in different areas, he said.
Though the Union Home Minister avoided questions on Article 35-A, he said the aspirations of the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh would be taken into consideration.
When asked whether the Centre would file an affidavit in the Supreme Court to defend Article 35-A, Rajnath said, The matter is sub judice. Some NGOs have filed a writ petition challenging Article 35-A.
Dinesh Manhotra
Tribune News Service
Jammu, September 12
Winding up his four-day visit to J&K, Home Minister Rajnath Singh today observed that the situation in the state, particular in the Valley, had improved as compared to last year. He however, expressed concern over the unabated ceasefire violations on the borders and said Pakistan did not appear to be interested in improving ties with India.
I cannot say that complete peace has been restored in the Valley but there is visible improvement in the situation as compared to the year 2016, Rajnath said while addressing a press conference at Jammu before living for New Delhi.
During my two-day stay in the Valley I observed an improvement in the situation, he said. The year 2016 had witnessed unprecedented violence after the killing of militant Burhan Wani.
Rajnath, who visited the border belt of Nowshera in Rajouri district on Monday, however, was concerned aboutfrequent ceasefire violations on the Line of Control. Eighty bunkers have already been constructed and more would be constructed in the days to come, he said. Rajnath said with the prevailing situation on the border, it appears that Pakistan is not interested in normalising relations with India.
Since 2014, ceasefire violations have become a routine affair. More than 400 ceasefire violations have taken place every year since 2014, he said, adding that the BSF and the Army were giving a befitting reply and would soon create a situation that would force Pakistan to stop unprovoked firing.
Hailing border residents as strategic assets whose spirit and nationalism makes all Indians proud, Rajnath announced that any civilian killed or injured in cross-border firing with 50 per cent or more disability would be given monetary support of Rs 5 lakh.
Despite ceasefire violations, they continue to live near borders. Their contribution in protecting the borders of the country is immense.
Rajnath said the Centre had decided to constitute an expert group to study problems faced by border residents. This expert group will decide how to ensure proper utilisation of the Border Area Development Fund to accelerate developmental activities. He also assured the people that the Centre had decided to give 3,000 jobs to migrants from the Kashmir valley for which Rs 1,080 crore had already been sanctioned to the state.
Welfare measures
Amit Khajuria
Tribune News Service
Jammu, September 12
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has directed Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh to take appropriate measures to abolish the toll at Lakhanpur as it defied the notion of One Nation, One Tax.
The Jammu and Kashmir Government, which implemented the GST in the state seven days after it was implemented all over the country, is still levying toll tax at Lakhanpur, the gateway of Jammu and Kashmir.
In a meeting with Rajnath Singh, the Chamber of Traders Federation (CTF), Jammu, raised this issue with him after which the Home Minister directed Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh to take appropriate measures to abolish toll at Lakhanpur.
The Home Minister accepted that the state cannot levy any tax after implementing the GST and it has to be abolished. He also directed the Deputy Chief Minister to take appropriate measures to abolish it, said Neeraj Anand, president, CTF, Jammu.
The federation has already given a deadline of September 20 to abolish toll from Lakhanpur and threatened the state government that it would launch a mass agitation if the administration failed to abolish the tax.
A delegation of the Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Jammu, also met Rajnath Singh and submitted their memorandum to him.
The trade body took up the issue of deporting Rohingyas from the state.
They informed the Home Minister that compassionate outpouring by some humanitarian groups notwithstanding, the continued stay of foreign nationals from Myanmar and Bangladesh in Jammu and Samba districts had all the potential of leading to a socioeconomic crisis of humongous proportions.
They said it would not be out of context to mention that while thousands of persons migrating from west Pakistan and neighbouring states for the past many decades were still crying for state subject rights, these foreign nationals enjoying political patronage had all the clandestinely acquired proofs of their stay in this part of India.
Deport Rohingyas, says industry
Pervin Malhotra
Q.I am currently pursuing my bachelors in physics (Hon). Would I be eligible for pursuing a post graduate diploma course in Forensic Medicine? Ranveer khatri
A.All diploma programmes in Forensic Medicine require an MBBS degree (barring a couple of programmes that also admit students with an MSc degree).
However, a number of universities offer PG diploma and degree courses in criminology and forensic science.
Typically, these courses cover forensic investigation of the crime scene, forensic photography, forensic toxicology, forensic serology, fingerprint analysis, criminal profiling, drug detection, lie detection, firearm identification, cybercrime etc
So, you could pursue an MSc in Forensic Science which is open to BSc graduates at the Punjabi University, Patiala, Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Agra or the University of Chennai, Delhis Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha Universitys LNJN National Instt of Criminology & Forensic Sc (www.nicfs.org), Rohini (M/o Home Affairs, GoI) offers
1) MA/MSc in Criminology & MSc in Forensic Sc both of which requires a BSc degree.
Besides diploma courses in Forensic Sciences, offered by Delhi University and Amity University, there are other diploma courses in criminology and forensic science.
While some are for sponsored police officers or those working in Social Welfare Departments., the others require an LLB degree.
You could also choose to study Clinical Toxicology (study of poisons, their effects, detection and treatment) separately or do a Masters in Pharmacology & Toxicology from National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research (NIPER), SAS Nagar, Mohali (www.niper.nic.in) an institution of national importance, or MSc Toxicology at Jamia Hamdard (Deemed University, Delhi or MSc Environmental Toxicology offered at Dr BR Ambedkar University, Agra and University of Madras, Chennai.
What is the right time to apply for financial aid?
Q. Im in Class XI and will be applying to American universities soon. But since studying abroad is very expensive, can you suggest the best time to apply for financial aid. What does the term need-blind mean? Yamini Saijal
A.Scarce as they are at the undergrad level, scholarships, grants and financial aid inevitably come to those whove done their homework. So do make sure you start collecting and evaluating information at least a year-and-a-half in advance.
Dont make the common mistake of waiting until youre admitted to a programme before applying for financial aid. This is a major mistake because the deadline for many financial aid applications is before the deadline for applying to many graduate programmes (e.g. a university's financial aid applications may be due on January 1, whereas their graduate applications forms may not be due until February 15).
If you miss these deadlines, loans may be the only resource available to you.
Which is why I suggest that you make a note of all financial aid deadlines and complete the appropriate forms before (or concurrent with) your applications.
Often parents and students dont apply for scholarships because of the mistaken impression that they are merit-based and awarded only to the brightest students.
In fact, many scholarships are granted on the basis of financial need, which means that average grades need not prevent a student from seeking it.
On the other hand, Need blind means the admission is based solely on your academic merit and nothing else not even your ability to pay. If youre worthy of admission, the financial difference will be automatically made up by the college -- including some of the leading Ivy Leagues.
Moreover, schools that are keen to boost their rank on the various Best Colleges listings offer attractive financial-aid packages to lure gifted students. So those with outstanding marks and great test scores have considerable leverage, particularly in getting scholarships based on merit rather than need.
Loco pilot posts
Q. I have completed my diploma in mechanical engineering from a polytechnic last year. Can you please tell me how I can become an engine driver in the railways? Tarun Tripathy
A. Engine drivers are now called Loco Pilots. So, you can apply for the post of Assistant Loco Pilot (ALP) and work alongside the Loco Pilot to ensure the safe and punctual running of trains in the Indian Railways.
Besides assisting the Loco Pilot in driving the train, youll also watch out for signals, carry out minor repairs and perform regular safety checks.
The job requires you to remain alert and focussed for long stretches of time. Presence of mind is essential to this job.
As far as the eligibility is concerned, youve got what it takes. The minimum academic qualification is matriculation (passed class 10) plus ITI Diploma (recognised by AICTE) in Mechanical, Electrical, Electronics or Automobile Engineering.
The selection process comprises a written exam followed by an interview, aptitude test and a medical test.
The 90-minute test consists of 120 multiple-choice questions ranging in topics from General English/Hindi, Basic Arithmetic, and General Knowledge to subject-specific questions based on the specified minimum qualifications.
Your next promotion will be to the level Sr Assistant Loco Pilot and Loco Pilot. Loco Pilots can then go on to become Loco Foremen (Loco supervisor), Power Controllers or Crew Controllers.
It may perhaps surprise you to know that our Indian Railways happens to be the countrys biggest recruiter (over 14 lakh people are employed presently). And with our swiftly proliferating railway network, IR is expected to emerge as the worlds largest within the coming decade.
Recruitment for the post of ALP as well as several other posts in the Indian Railways is done each year by the Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs). These 21 RRBs spread across the country have clearly defined Railway Zones, Divisions, Production Units, etc. for whom they select candidates.
Watch out for the recruitment notices issued in the leading newspapers including the Employment News.
Mumbai, September 12
Actor Amitabh Bachchan has revealed that he was not allowed to board a flight to the US after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the country in 2001.
During that time, he stayed in a hotel room for three "treacherous" days.
"9/11 was most tragic, sad and frightening.I was shooting for 'Kaante' in Los Angeles and had taken a couple of days off to travel to Egypt for the International Film Festival in Alexandria, where they were honouring me with a special award," Amitabh recalled on his blog on Monday on the 16th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
"Ceremony over, the next morning I took a flight out of Cairo, to Los Angeles via London and Arrived in London, Heathrow Airport, and after a short wait was announced to board my flight to Los Angeles via New York City," he added.
The 74-year-old said when he was about to board the flight he got a call from "very frantic and screaming Shweta (Nanda) from Delhi" who asked him to see TV.
"I did not have time to ask why, and I think it was quite obvious that something important and serious was happening so immediately there was a sudden commotion in the entire airport and people were moving about rather rapidly in all directions, some with muffled screams and a large portion of them running to the large TV screen at the terminal," Amitabh said.
He said he saw one plane hitting the World Trade Center on TV.
He added: "Motionless and in shock and stunned silence, people watched the second one go in too and it was a most inexplainable situation, some had anger written all over them, some were in tears, others were frantically making calls ...
"I just stood there for a while stunned and then quietly walked across to my gate to board the flight ... boarded, taxied off and then the plane turned back and the announcement of all flights to and from US blocked and stopped." Amitabh said that he stayed in a hotel for next three days.
"Airline after much to and fro arranged for us to get to a hotel and there we stayed for the next three days until there was clearance to travel," Amitabh said.
"Those three days at the hotel were treacherous. I did not move from the room and only watched TV giving news of the incident and talks and debates and details of what and why and where and how. A sad moment.
"A few years later I on a visit to New York had driven past the site, where preparations were being done to rebuild the spot with a memorial," he added. IANS
Nikhil Bhardwaj
Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, September 12
Belying the tall claims of the government about putting in place stringent measures to check the supply of drugs in jails, Medical Officer (MO), Ludhiana Central Jail, Swaranjit Singh, who was today attacked in the jail hospital by several inmates, alleged that inmates were demanding intoxicant injections and his refusal led to the attack. He went on to say that drug supply was rampant in the jail and senior jail officials were hand in glove with the inmates.
The MO, who suffered injuries on his hands, face and other parts of the body, has been admitted to Civil Hospital.
Sources said Baljit Singh, an under-trial in an attempt-to-murder case, was said to be the key assailant.
I was treating a TB patient, Baljit Singh, in the OPD. He asked me to provide him with intoxicant injections. When I refused, he, along with around eight or 10 other inmates, attacked me. They injured me with sharp weapons and threw at me whatever they lay their hands on. No jail staff intervened to save me. I managed to escape on my own, Singh alleged.
The doctor, while alleging connivance of the jail staff in the attack, alleged otherwise in routine, two jail guards remained in the hospital with him. But today, those guards were not accompanying him which gave a chance to the inmates to corner him. I wonder how come the jail staff got sharp weapons. I categorically say there was connivance of the jail staff with the inmates. After I was attacked, I was also not provided with any ambulance, rather I myself called up the 108 ambulance service and they rushed me to the hospital, the doctor alleged.
The doctor also alleged that some painkiller (narcotic) injections were available in the government supply in the jail. Before his posting, drug addicts lodged in the jail were easily getting sufficient dose of those injections as an alternative to drugs. Now, he was not allowing the inmates to take unnecessary dose of such narcotic injections due to which they became his enemies.
Drugs available in plenty in jail, no check by jail staff: Doctor
There is no dearth of drugs in the jail, thanks to some black sheep among the jail staff, who are providing drugs to the inmates on the doorstep, alleges the doctor. I had been threatened by the jail inmates since I joined duty at the jail about three months ago. I had also apprised the jail authorities in writing about the threats. Still, the jail department did not take any precautions. I will soon meet the Police Commissioner to apprise him of the issue, the doctor told The Tribune.
Will investigate matter thoroughly, says Jail Superintendent
Jail Superintendent SP Khanna said the jail staff had immediately reacted to the incident and reached the hospital to rescue the doctor. When asked, the doctor had alleged connivance of the jail staff behind the attack, Khanna replied that the matter was being investigated thoroughly and whosoever is found guilty, will face action.
Vishavjeet Chaudhary
Vishavjeet Chaudhary
THE romance associated with trains is dateless. Humayun Kabirs enduring and endearing ode to trains perhaps sums the timelessness of their charm and allure.
Recently, I was to travel from New Delhi to Chandigarh on the Shatabdi Express. Equipped with a book, I looked forward to the possibility of sitting quietly, immersed in a book, with spectacular green fields witnessing the train go by, only to be distracted by the occasional flock of peacocks, carelessly perched on trees. But providence had different plans.
Once the train started, two unrelated infants started throwing tantrums. This is tolerable, perhaps even cute. This was followed by the clanking of crockery as tea was served, and later when the trays were collected.
I finally reclined and started reading. Soon enough, the gentleman sitting next to me began talking on his phone. Thrice he said: Han Shatabdi mein hun, sunai nahin de raha. Great, I thought! My happiness was, however, shortlived. Let me call you from the Internet, he said. Out came a dongle and a portable charger. His office was set. This was followed by a 45-minute conversation on how 600 T-shirts were to be exported to Korea.
The aforesaid children now had finished tea. Perhaps fuelled by sugar, they started howling again. Out came two more smartphones. As their parents looked on contently, the infants watched animated videos on the phones. Twinkle twinkle little stars... I had to hear it precisely 208 times. They finally got tired and went to sleep. Finally, I thought!
I had just read a page, a young girl and her friend sitting behind me began another phone call. After about 15 minutes, I could hear her say, No, you hang up, for another 15 minutes. One of them finally hung up.
I had almost given up on reading when there was peace. I started again, occasionally looking out of the window. Twenty minutes had barely passed, when a middle-aged gentleman took out his phone and started watching videos. All sorts of voices could be heard, from melancholic old numbers to Punjabi songs. This culminated in a speech that can only be described as provocative. Content with the knowledge that he had gained, he put his phone back and there was momentary silence.
I still had an hour of reading! I started reading again. I, of course, did not realise that another 600 shirts had to be shipped, this time to Colombo.
I put the book aside.
Technology has its many uses: knowledge is accessible, world has come closer, and travel is quicker. It has, however, robbed the charm of travel. I remember the very same journey, not many years ago, was one of great pondering, sightseeing and reflection.
This certainly is one area which technology has made less enjoyable. In some countries like Japan, there are silent cabins. Phones are not allowed. We are assured that trains are set to get faster. Perhaps technology is now catching up in other ways!
Washington, September 12
Brushing off suggestions that the Congress was synonymous with dynastic politics, party vice-president Rahul Gandhi said today that dynasties were a fact of life in India, whether it be in politics or business, and insisted that the real test of a person was not pedigree but ability.
His comments in the US set off a chorus of protest by the BJP in India with Union Minister Smriti Irani calling him a failed dynast and a failed politician. Speaking at the University of California, Berkeley, Gandhi hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of divisive politics, creating space for terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and ruining economy.
(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)
Responding to a question from students, Rahul said he was absolutely ready to take up an executive responsibility, if the party asked him to do so. To another question whether the Congress was more associated with dynastic politics, he argued that India was being run by dynasties. Most parties in India have that problem So...Mr Akhilesh Yadav is a dynast. Mr Stalin (son of M Karunanidhi of DMK) is a dynast... even Abhishek Bachchan is a dynast. Thats how India runs. So dont get after me because thats how India is run. By the way, last I recall, the Ambanis are running the business. Thats also going on in Infosys. So thats what happens in India, he said as he listed several prominent Indians born into famous families.
He also pointed out that a large number of people in the Congress were not from dynastic families. And I can name them in every state. There are also people who happen to have a father, or a grandmother or a great grandfather in politics. The real question is whether the person is capable and a sensitive person, the 47-year-old leader said.
He admitted that around 2012, the Congress stopped having conversations with the people. This could be a problem with any party in power for 10 years, he remarked. The vision that we laid out in 2004 was designed at best for a 10-year period. And it was pretty clear that the vision that we laid out in 2004 by the time we arrived in 2010-11 was not working anymore. Somewhere around 2012, a certain arrogance crept into the Congress. And they stopped having that conversation. Asked if he wanted to take up an executive role in the Congress, he responded, saying, I am absolutely ready to do that.
However, he said it was the party that had to make that decision. He also said the BJP was implementing most of the programmes initiated during the Congress' rule.
"The central architecture they borrowed from us. But that architecture does not work. Because we know it. It stopped working," he said. He claimed that Mahatma Gandhi's idea of non-violence was under attack in India. He flayed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's foreign policy. "Whereas I completely agree with their positioning as far as the (ties with) US is concerned, I think they're making India vulnerable because, if you look at Nepal, the Chinese are there. If you look at Burma the Chinese are there. If you look at Sri Lanka, the Chinese are there. If you look at Maldives, the Chinese are there.
"So on basic direction (of the foreign policy) I agree... friendship with the United States, close bond with United States. But don't isolate India, because it gets dangerous," Rahul said. PTI
Thiruvananthapuram/
New Delhi, September 12
Kerala Catholic priest Tom Uzhunnallil, abducted by terrorists in Aden in March last year, has been rescued from captivity from an undisclosed location in Yemen, thanks to the intervention of the Sultanate of Oman.
The Gulf nation helped to find and rescue Uzhannalilan employee of the Vatican.
(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)
In response to the Royal Orders of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said and as per a request from the Vatican to assist in the rescuing of a Vatican employee, the authorities concerned in the Sultanate, in coordination with the Yemeni authorities, have managed to find a Vatican government employee. He was shifted to Muscat this morning in preparation for his return home, the Times of Oman quoted the Oman Government as saying in a statement. According to the report, Uzhunnalil expressed thanks to God and to Sultan Qaboos, and wished him good health and wellness. He also thanked his brothers, sisters and all relatives and friends, who prayed for his safety and release, the statement added.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted about the release of the Catholic priest. I am happy to inform that Father Tom Uzhunnalil has been rescued, she said. According to reports reaching Kerala, after his release, the priest was flown from Yemen to Muscat. He later left Oman on a chartered flight for the Vatican. The media in Oman confirmed the news of the release. IANS
New Delhi, September 12
The Army's new long-range ultra-light (ULH) howitzer M-777 was damaged during a field trial in Pokhran firing range and a probe has been ordered into the incident, Army sources said here.
The sources said the barrel of the US-manufactured gun exploded when it was firing Indian ammunition on September 2.
India had received two M-777 ultra-light howitzers in May, each worth around Rs 35 crore, after a gap of 30 years since the Bofors scandal broke out, and the accident took place in one of them.
The field trials of the 155 mm, 39-calibre guns manufactured by BAE systems were being carried out at Pokhran in Rajasthan with an aim to collate and determine various critical data like trajectory, speed and frequency.
"During the firing, the projectile which was fifth of the series, exited the barrel in multiple pieces, causing the accident," an army source said.
There was no injury to anyone.
"The barrel of the gun has been damaged, extent of which is being assessed by Joint Investigation Team," the source said.
A spokesperson of the BAE systems said the company was aware of an "irregularity" recorded during routine field firing of the M777. "We are working closely with the Indian Army and the US government to explore the incident," the spokesperson said, adding the company stands ready to provide assistance as required. The Army had received the howitzers as part of an order for 145 guns. Three more guns are to be supplied to the Army in September 2018 for training.
Thereafter, induction will commence from March 2019 onwards with five guns per month till the complete consignment is received by mid-2021.
The Army badly needs the howitzers considering the evolving regional security scenario.
India had last procured howitzers in the mid-1980s from Swedish defence major Bofors. The alleged pay-offs in the deal and its subsequent political ramifications had severely crippled the Indian Army's procurement of artillery guns.
India had struck a government-to-government deal with the US last November for supply of the 145 howitzers at a cost of nearly Rs 5,000 crore.
While 25 guns will come in a fly-away condition, the rest will be assembled in India by the BAE Systems in partnership with Mahindra Defence.
The Army has been pressing the government to speed up its modernisation programme. PTI
Beijing, September 12
Post Doklam, China today said it could not share with India the hydrological data of the Brahmaputra due to upgradation of data collection station in Tibet but expressed readiness for talks to reopen the Nathu La pass in Sikkim for the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra.
China is expected to share hydrological data on Sutlej and Brahmaputra with India during the flood season of May 15 to June 15 under a bilateral expert-level mechanism established in 2006.
For long time, we have conducted cooperation on the river data with the Indian side. But to upgrade and renovate the relevant station on the Chinese side, we do not have the conditions now to collect the relevant statistics of the river, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told media here.
Asked when would China provide the data, which was reportedly suspended due to the Doklam standoff, he said, We will later consider that.
On whether India had been informed about not sharing of the hydrological data, he said according to his information the Indian side was aware of the relevant situation.
On August 18, Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar had said there was an existing expert-level mechanism, established in 2006, and there were two MoUs under which China was expected to share hydrological data on Sutlej and Brahmaputra with India during the flood season of May 15 to June 15.
The data share by upper riparian state, China, to lower riparian states, India and Bangladesh is essential every monsoon to allow anticipation of the flow of the water and take necessary measures to deal with flooding in Indias northeastern states.
China has been building major dams on the Brahmaputra to generate hydel power. It has operationalised Zangmu hydroelectric project in October 2015 and three more are under construction.
While the dams raised concerns of water shortage in India and Bangladesh, which are lower riparian states of the Brahmaputra, known as Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet, China says its dams were run of the water projects to generate power and was not aimed at storing water.
The Sikkim route to Mansarovar was opened in 2015, enabling pilgrims to travel the 1,500-km-long route from Nathu La to Kailash by buses. The yatra was being organised since 1981 through Lipu Pass in Himalayas connecting the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand with the old trading town of Taklakot in Tibet. PTI
Yash Goyal
Jaipur, September 12
The Anti-Terrorist Squad of Rajasthan Police has busted an inter-state gang of arms dealers who used to sell illegally their own factory-made arms on fake licences in four states.
They have arrested the three main accused from Punjab, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir.
Zuber arrested from Ajmer, Vishal from Fazilka, and Rahul Sharma was arrested from from Jammu and Kashmir under the Arms Act, and a number of IPC sections, ATS ADGP Umesh Mishra told a press conference here.
The ATS confiscated 50 fake licences from Zubers possession, 48 from Vishal, and 100 from Rahul, besides recovering 19 arms, including revolvers, pistols and guns from them, Mishra said.
(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)
The gangsters were running their official arms-making unit besides running a nationwide racket of selling these weapons to buyers after issuing them fake licences with official seals of four states: Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, J&K and Rajasthan, he said.
Under the new law, no state could issue a licence to a buyer other than his own state, and in this racket, many of the licences were issued from J&K on official stamps which was highly objectionable, Mishra said.
Racketeers were allegedly selling arms to the buyers without any authentication or a certificate issued from the government, he said.
Arms peddlers Sanjay Bheel and Mahesh Bheel were recently arrested from MPs Dhar district and 15 pistols and 20 cartridges were recovered from them.
The ATS began massive searches and undertook raids after receiving tips from Rajasthans Udaipur and MPs Dewas cities where the arms were illegally sold.
The ATS teams were preparing a list of buyers of illegal arms and licences and question them.
Bengaluru, September 12
Hundreds of social activists, journalists, peoples forums and various political party workers from across the country on Tuesday took out a protest rally here condemning the murder of journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh a week ago.
The protesters gathered at the citys railway station before taking to the streets.
Members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), Karnataka Janashakthi, Aam Aadmi Party and several student groups were also part of the rally.
The 55-year-old editor of Kannada weekly tabloid by her name Gauri Lankesh Patrike was gunned down by unidentified men outside her home in the city suburb on September 5.
Those marching were seen singing protest songs, raising slogans like Gauri Lankesh Amar Rahe (Long live Gauri Lankesh) and demanding that Lankeshs assailants be brought to book.
Wearing black head bands that read I am Gauri, the protesters took out the march from the city railway station to the Central College Grounds, where a protest meeting would be held later during the day.
Those participating in the protest meet include CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, noted social activist Medha Patkar, journalists P. Sainath and Sagarika Ghose, Swaraj India leaders Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav, documentary producers Anand Patwardhan and Rakesh Sharma, and civil rights activists Teesta Setalvad, Kavitha Krishnan and Jignesh Mevani, besides film producer Praksah Rai.
The progressive forum Gauri Lankesh Hatya Virodhi Vedike took out the rally.
The forum of progressive thinkers, writers, social activists, artistes and intellectuals was formed last Friday to fight against Lankesh killing and decided to hold the national-level resistance convention here, the forum convener K. Leela had told reporters on Monday.
The forum was expecting about 50,000 people to be a part of the event. IANS
Chennai, September 12
The ruling AIADMKs General Council on Tuesday annulled the appointment of VK Sasikala as the partys general secretary and also struck down the appointments made by her before going to jail, including making her nephew TTV Dhinakaran the party deputy general secretary.
In other major decisions, the General Council altered the partys organisational structure to a collective leadership structure. It amended the party rules whereby none will be elected or nominated to the post of general secretary a position held by party supremo and late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa till her death.
The General Council also decided that party coordinator (now held by Deputy CM O Panneerselvam) and joint coordinator (held by CM K Palaniswami) will oversee the party affairs. It also introduced a rule whereby the partys coordinator and joint coordinator would be elected by the General Council, and they would hold the post for five years.
With the annulment of the appointment of Dhinakaran as deputy general secretary, the appointments made by him are also struck down.
Sasikala was appointed interim general secretary last December following Jayalalithaas death. The council also ratified the recent merger of the two factions led by Palaniswami and Panneerselvam.
One of the basic demands of the Panneerselvam camp for the merger with Palaniswami was the dismissal of Sasikala and her family members from the party. Party officials said the power to admit or dismiss a member rests with the party general secretary. This power has now been transferred to party coordinator and joint coordinator, following the amendments to the rules.
The council also resolved to restore all those who were party office-bearers appointed by Jayalalithaa. They will continue to hold office now, it said. A total of 14 resolutions, including the ones hailing the merger of the two factions; the government for celebrating the birth centenary of late Chief Minister MG Ramachandran; and the decision of the government to build a memorial for Jayalalithaa, were passed at the meeting that was attended by around 2,140 members.
Dhinakaran loyalists, including lawmakers and members of the General Council, boycotted the meeting.
Dhinakaran said the Madras HC on Monday has said the decisions of the meeting are subject to its final judgment in a case filed against the holding of the meeting. Leading 21 party MLAs, he said he would work towards bringing down the Palaniswami government.
You (CM Palaniswami) and others have no moral right to sit in positions of power that was once wielded by Jayalalithaa. We will send this government home, he said.
Citing the resolution that says the party members cannot visualise anybody else as the general secretary other than Jayalalithaa, he wondered if the same logic would also apply to the CMs post. IANS
Muscat, September 12
Muscat has secured the release of an Indian priest who was abducted last year during a deadly attack by Islamist militants in Yemen, Oman's official news agency said on Tuesday.
Thomas Uzhunnalil has been held captive since March 2016, when jihadists attacked a care home operated by missionaries in the southern port city of Aden, killing 16 people, including four nuns.
Uzhunnalil, a Catholic priest from Kerala, who was abducted in war-torn Yemen last year, has been rescued, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said.
I am happy to inform that Father Tom Uzhunnalil has been rescued, Swaraj tweeted.
Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)
Oman's news agency released a picture of Uzhunnalil wearing local traditional dress and with a flowing but tidy white beard grown while in captivity.
He appeared healthy, standing tall before a portrait of the Oman's Sultan Qaboos.
The news release said Omani authorities "coordinated with Yemeni parties" to free Uzhunnalil, described as a "Vatican employee", at the request of the sultan.
The priest, who is in his mid-50s, last appeared in a video circulated online in December 2016, in which he appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pope Francis to secure his freedom.
Yemeni authorities have blamed the Islamic State group for last year's attack. Al-Qaeda, which is also active in the area, distanced itself from the mass shooting, saying that it was not involved.
The internationally recognised government in war-torn Yemen is grappling with both an Iran-backed rebellion and a growing jihadist presence.
Al-Qaeda and IS have stepped up attacks in Aden, targeting mainly loyalists and members of a Saudi-led coalition battling Huthi rebels and their allies.
President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi has declared Aden to be Yemen's temporary capital since Sanaa has been in the hands of rebels since September 2014. AFP
Shahira Naim
Tribune News Service
Lucknow, September 12
A farmer from Umri village in Hamirpur, Munni Lal, was in for a shock when at a public function Minister for Labour and Employment Exchanges, Manohar Lal alias Mannu Kori handed him a loan waiver certificate of Rs 215.03 under the BJP governments much touted poll promise to write off loans of small and marginal farmers.
He immediately complained to the minister showing his bank passbook, which showed that he had a debt of Rs 50,000 against which he had received a certificate of mere Rs 215.03.
Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)
While the minister said that it may have been a typing error, Munni Lal is not the only one who has been paid a pittance against his outstanding crop loans.
Another farmer, Shanti, wife of Avadh Bihari of the same village was handed over a certificate of as little as Rs 10.37.
As a matter of fact, the 45 farmers who were called on stage to receive the certificates from the minister on Monday many complained of getting these ridiculous amounts in the name of loan waiver.
Around 12,460 farmers, just from the Hamirpur district alone are scheduled to get farm loan waivers in the first phase of the scheme.
If the Hamirpur incident is anything to go by, the much publicised BJPs election promise of writing off loans up to Rs 1 lakh for states 86,000 small and marginal farmers is turning out to be a mockery.
The state budget has set aside Rs 36,000 crores for the loan-waiver scheme, which was repeatedly promised at every single election meeting by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah during the long-drawn election campaign.
During his first cabinet meeting on April 4, CM Yogi decided to write off the crop loans up to Rs 1 lakh of 86,000 small and marginal farmers.
The Krishi Rin Mochan Yojna (farm loan waiver scheme) was launched in Lucknow on August 17 in the presence of union home minister Rajnath Singh.
As per the schedule, September 5 onwards Yogis ministers were to distribute certificates in their respective districts while the money is to be deposited directly in the farmers bank accounts.
Hamirpur BJP MLA Ashok Kumar Singh Chandel said that he was not aware of such small amounts being distributed as no disgruntled farmer had contacted him.
However, principal secretary information Avanish Awasthi said that he has instructed the acting Hamirpur DM not to bother farmers to travel all the way to collect certificates for such small amounts.
He said that the department of agriculture would be requested to look into the complaint of the farmers.
Tribune News Service
Ahmedabad, September 12
The special Ahmedabad trial court has issued summons to BJP national president Amit Shah to appear before it personally or through his lawyer on September 18 to testify in the 2002Naroda Gaam massacre case. Former Gujarat minister Mayaben Kodnani, one of the accused, had sought Shahs testimony, claiming she was not present at the scene of the crime.
Kodnani, minister of state for women and child welfare in the Narendra Modi Cabinet in the state, had claimed at the time of the riots in the Naroda Gaam in which 11 people were killed, she was attending the state Assembly session in Gandhinagar and later went to her clinic in Bapunagar, 10 km from the scene of the riots.
She had claimed that Shah was with her during the period and could testify that she was away from the crime scene. Kodnani had petitioned the court in April naming eight persons in support of her alibi. While seven others have been cross-examined, Shah had not been summoned yet.
Gurugram, September 12
The seven-year-old boy, found murdered in his school, was not sexually assaulted and he died of excessive bleeding, the doctor who conducted the post-mortem said today.
Dr Deepak Mathur said there were two cuts on the boys body and a nerve was slashed, due to which he could not cry out for help when he was attacked.
A fact-finding three-member committee, constituted by the Gurugram district administration, has submitted its report to District Commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh. Meanwhile, two women lawyers today moved the Supreme Court, demanding non-negotiable child safety guidelines to protect schoolgoing children from sexual abuse and murder across the country.
(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)
Petitioners Abha R Sharma and Sangeeta Bharti demanded strict implementation of the existing guidelines on safety of schoolchildren. A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra agreed to hear the plea on September 15.
It said it had already issued a notice on a similar petition filed by the slain childs father.
The petitioners suggested additional guidelines to ensure that the responsibility was fixed on schools with regard to safety of children from the moment they boarded the school bus. TNS & Agencies
Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, September 12
Hours after the Congress vice president said arrogance had crept into the Congress in 2012, Union Minister Smriti Irani said perhaps Rahul Gandhi had forgotten that his mother was the party president then.
Irani said: This confession by Rahul Gandhi is something his party needs to introspect.
#WATCH: Union Minister Smriti Irani addresses the media in Delhi https://t.co/c7TOVmqTnB ANI (@ANI) September 12, 2017
She said: What he said about Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not surprising. A failed dynast has no good words to speak about cooperative federalism in foreign soil.She said Rahul Gandhi has belittled and insulted Indian democracy.
She said: Since he has no backing here, he is complaining abroad. Rahul Gandhi should answer what development work he has done in his own constituency while he was giving his vision about India in the US.
"A failed dynast today chose to speak about his failed political journey in the US," Irani said at a BJP press conference.
During his interaction, Gandhi had argued that India is being run by dynasties and cited the examples of the Samajwadi Party, DMK and even Bollywood.
New Delhi, September 12
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday held extensive talks with Belarus President A G Lukashenko to ramp up bilateral engagement in various areas, including defence, trade and investment.
His visit takes place at a time when Belarus and India are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
A range of issues, including ways to deepen cooperation in various areas, were discussed by Lukashenko and Modi during their talks.
Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj called on the president of Belarus before his talks with Modi.
Lukashenko, who arrived here last night, was also given a ceremonial welcome at forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan this morning. PTI
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, September 12
The Congress today hit out at the BJP for questioning its vice-president Rahul Gandhi's speech at the University of Berkeley in the US and said it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi and not Gandhi who had insulted India while on foreign trips.
Besides, the Congress defended Gandhi's responses to dynastic politics being a norm in India and went an extra mile to argue: There are dynasties in North America also. The party had to also put up a strong face in the wake of Gandhi's admission that UPA-2 did suffer from arrogance. "PM Narendra Modi is more arrogant," the party said.
Hours after Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani attacked Gandhi for denigrating India with his University of Berkeley address today, the Congress fielded senior spokesperson Anand Sharma who said: The BJP should praise Rahul Gandhi and not oppose him. He has only spoken the truth and the truth is India has attained great heights post-independence. It was Modi who during his first foreign visit called India a corrupt nation and later said before him India was recognised globally for carrying a begging bowl and Indians were ashamed to acknowledge their nationality when abroad.
The Congress said BJP's objections to Gandhi's address stemmed from its zero relation to the freedom struggle. What's wrong with what Rahul Gandhi said? It's a fact that demonetisation has ruined Indian families, people have died and GDP has been shaved off. The PM should listen to critics and change his mindset," Sharma said.
He went on to defend dynastic politics on which Gandhi took some queries today. Sharma said, "Yes it is true that there are dynasties in India. There have been dynasties in every country in Asia, in Europe, in Africa, in America. I am talking of North America both US and Canada even if you look at today."
Sharma also said former PM Indira Gandhi was elected by the people. "I would like to educate the less literate in history Smriti Irani that Indira Gandhi was elected repeatedly by the people of India and even after one aberration of 1975 to 1977, we have given the reasons which she herself had lamented irrespective of the circumstances which were forced. She was brought back by the people in January 1980 again with a much-much bigger majority," Sharma reasoned.
He said after late Rajiv Gandhi became the PM in January 1985, for 32 years there is no member of the Nehru-Gandhi family which accepted office. Not that there was any bar. Rahul Gandhi was also an MP when UPA was in office; Indira Gandhi was elected as Leader of UPA but it was their conscious decision at that time to not accept office," Sharma said, rejecting BJP's criticism of Gandhi.
On Rohingya issue
Reacting to UN criticism of Myanmar over the Rohingya crisis, Anand Sharma said India had always taken a humanitarian view on displaced persons and the present government should not let ministers destroy Indias image as a compassionate country.
Lucknow, September 12
Seers of different akharas on Tuesday met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath here and urged him to change the name of Allahabad as Prayagraj ahead of the 2019 Ardh Kumbh fair to be held in the holy city.
The seers of Nirvani Ani Akhara, Panchdashnaam Juna Akhara and Digambar Ani Akhara among others also requested Adityanath to provide them basic amenities during the fair.
We have requested the chief minister to change Allahabads name to Prayagraj and ensure that 14 fake babas do not participate in the Ardh kumbh, Akhil Bhartiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP) head Mahant Narendra Giri told reporters here.
Irked by the recent controversies surrounding self-styled godmen, ABAP, the apex body of Hindu sadhus had on Sunday released a list of 14 fake babas including the names like Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, Rampal, Asaram and his son Narayan Sai, and demanded a crackdown on rootless cult leaders by bringing in a legislation.
When asked about their demand of renaming Allahabad, Giri said that Adityanath has assured them to look into it.
We are sure that the chief minister will accept our demand, he said.
At the meeting, Mahant Dharamdas of Ayodhya-based Nirvani Ani Akhara said that they requested that akharas, which were yet to be settled in the mela (fair) area, be given land by the state government.
We also urged the state government to ensure that there is adequate drinking water (supply) in the Ardh Kumbh mela area, and at the same time, there is sufficient water in the Ganga river during the Kumbh Mela, he said.
He also said that seers are willing to extend their help to the state government for cleaning of the river Ganga.
The Ardh Kumbh fair is held in every six years at Haridwar and Allahabad where millions of people take a holy dip in the Ganga river.
When asked to comment on some fraud self-styled godmen (babas), Dharamdas said: It is absolutely incorrect to call them babas. They are not babas by any definition. They belong to grihast (family) category, and should focus on managing their grihasti (family and household). PTI
Motihari, September 12
An RJD MLA in Bihars East Champaran district on Tuesday claimed to have received a phone call from an anonymous person demanding Rs 20 lakh from him.
Faisal Rahman, RJD MLA from Dhaka assembly constituency in East Champaran district, said he received the phone call on his mobile at 9.56 am.
The MLA said the anonymous caller first asked him his name and then asked him to pay extortion money of Rs 20 lakh within a week failing which he (MLA) would have to face dire consequences. The caller also used abusive language.
Rahman said he informed the Superintendent of Police (SP) and the Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) and also lodged a complaint with the Dhaka police station.
Confirming the incident, the Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) of Sikarahna, Bambam Choudhary, said an FIR had been lodged on the basis of the MLAs complaint.
The police are investigating the matter and culprits would soon be arrested, Choudhary added. PTI
Lahore, September 12
Eighty-six years after revolutionary Bhagat Singh was hanged for the murder of a British police officer, a Pakistani lawyer is fighting to prove the legendary Indian freedom fighter's innocence in a Lahore court.
Advocate Imtiaz Rashid Qureshi filed a fresh petition yesterday in the Lahore High Court for the early hearing of his case to prove Singh's innocence.
The division bench of the Lahore High Court had in February last year asked the chief justice of Pakistan to constitute a larger bench to hear the petition by Qureshi, who runs the Lahore-based Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation. But no action has been taken yet.
In the petition, Qureshi had said Singh was a freedom fighter and fought for independence of undivided India. Many Pakistanis, especially in the Punjabi-speaking Lahore area, consider Singh a hero.
Qureshi told PTI that Singh is respected even today in the subcontinent not only by Indians but also by Pakistanis.
Even the founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, had twice paid tribute to him, he added.
It is a matter of national importance. His petition wants the court set aside the sentence of Singh by exercising principles of review and order the government to honour him with a state award.
Singh was hanged by British rulers on March 23, 1931 at the age of 23 in Lahore, after being tried under charges for hatching a conspiracy against the colonial government. The case was filed against Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru for allegedly killing British police officer John P Saunders.
Qureshi said he hopes the case will be heard this month.
He said he has also written to the federal government for erecting a statue of Singh at Shadman Chowk in central Lahore where he was hanged along with Sukhdev and Rajguru.
I have written to the government for building a statue of Singh but has not yet got any response from it in this regard, he added.
He said Singh was initially jailed for life but later awarded death sentence in another "fabricated case".
In 2014, Lahore police searched through records of the Anarkali police station on the court's order and managed to find the First Information Report on Saunders' killing in 1928. A copy of the FIR was provided to Qureshi on the court's order.
Written in Urdu, the FIR was registered with the Anarkali police station on December 17, 1928 at 4.30 pm against two 'unknown gunmen'. The case was registered under Sections 302, 1201 and 109 of Indian Penal Code. Singh's name was not mentioned in the FIR even though he was eventually handed down the death sentence for the murder.
Qureshi said special judges of the tribunal handling Singh's case awarded death sentence to him without hearing the 450 witnesses in the case. Singh's lawyers were not given the opportunity to cross-examine them.
"I will establish Bhagat Singh's innocence in the Saunders case," he said. PTI
Saurabh Malik
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, September 12
Just over six months after the Punjab Government was castigated for a shoddy probe in the Rs10.52-crore paddy milling scam, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has told the Director General (Vigilance) to look into the matter.
Before considering the reference of the case to the CBI as per an earlier order, Justice Surinder Gupta asked the Director General to constitute a high-level team (SIT) for the purpose before submitting the report on an affidavit before October-end. The High Court, on a previous date of hearing, had impleaded the CBI as a party.
The developments took place on a petition by Punjab Agro Food Grains Corporation Limited for the cancellation of bail granted to respondent Manoj Jain. The court was initially told that only one person was arraigned as an accused in the case, prompting it to assert that thousands of quintals could not have been misappropriated by a single accused.
As the case came up for resumed hearing, Justice Gupta asserted a coordinate Bench was of the view that misappropriation of this magnitude could not be blamed only on one person without active connivance of officials in charge of the foodgrains.
Justice Gupta added a set system of periodical inspection was in existence. Report on custody of stock handed over for shelling or storage was also submitted to the department from time to time by the official concerned.
As to whether investigating agency has looked into this aspect is a matter to be seen because from the (final investigation) report under Section 173 CrPC, I do not find any such reference, Justice Gupta asserted.
The High Court, on the previous date of hearing, had asserted the prosecution case was that about 89,006 quintals of paddy was supplied by the petitioner corporation to the respondent for milling in pursuance of an agreement dated October 24, 2012. But only about 36,908 quintals was milled. The rest was misappropriated. The assessed loss to the corporation was over Rs10.52 crore.
Tribune News service
Chandigarh, September 12
Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has welcomed NRIs to invest in the state, assuring them of his governments full support in ensuring a hassle-free business environment with all necessary clearances within a week of application.
He said this during the London launch of his authorised biography titled The Peoples Maharaja.
During an interactive session with advertising guru and author Suhel Seth and his biographer Khushwant Singh, the Chief Minister spoke on a wide range of subjects, including the SYL Canal, on which he said his government was waiting for the final judgment of the Supreme Court. He said in the last six months, the government had laid the foundation for Punjabs progress as corporates from India and other countries had shown interest in investing in the state and efforts were being made to facilitate them.
Blaming the previous Akali government for rendering the state totally bankrupt and leaving youths unemployed, he said now big industrial houses had offered to invest in Punjab.
Capt Amarinder would also launch connect to root programme for young NRIs at the India House in London on September 13. The programme aims at reaching out to the non-resident Punjabi youth settled abroad.
Two state government officials, Gurkirat Kirpal, Special Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, and DGP (Intelligence) Dinkar Gupta have specially flown to London to facilitate the programme. Talking to The Tribune, Gurkirat said under the programme, the state government would facilitate the visit of the young NRIs to the state.
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, September 12
Bilateral trade between India and Pakistan through the Integrated Check Post (ICP) has suffered a roadblock as the coolies (labourers) have stopped loading and unloading work.
The situation arose due to the lackadaisical attitude of the Centre Warehousing Corporation (CWC), appointed as custodian of the ICP by the Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI).
Revising the manual handling charges w.e.f. September 11, 2017, the CWC had issued a circular that no handling tariff would be charged against the loose cargo (gypsum) arrived in the vehicles fitted with hydraulic unloading system. Similarly, there will be no handling charges in case of trucks being exported directly where no customs examination was required.
The coolies contested it and halted the lifting operations. This has led to piling up of cement, gypsum and dry fruits worth crores at the ICP sheds.
Traders say they have been facing losses as goods worth over Rs 200 crore have been lying on the Pakistani side too and commodities worth Rs 100 crore have piled up at the ICP.
CWC Regional Manager Anurag Tripathi said the matter would be resolved amicably by tomorrow. Since 2012, the coolies were charging the wages for mechanical lifting, sudden withdrawal of which has invited resistance. We are in talks with them, he added.
This is not for the first time that the coolies have gone on strike. At least 2,000 coolies have been working at the ICP. They have been demanding undue wages against the mechanical lifting of goods, where no physical labour is required. Traders of cement, gypsum and limestone have to pay mechanical cost as well as labour cost.
Several rounds of meetings have taken place over the issue, but there was no headway. A meeting of traders was held today also with the officials of CWC and Customs, but it didnt reach any logical conclusion.
Anil Mehra, president of the Federation of Dry Fruit and Karyana Commercial Association, said the problem could be solved if coolies were put under Customs department, as was the earlier practice. Earlier, the coolies were under the control of the Customs wing. They had a fear of losing their job. Since ICP came into picture, they were put under the CWC, which is lenient, he added.
Goods worth crores pile up at ICP port
London, September 12
Over 100 British MPs, including Indian-origin lawmakers, have asked the UK Statistics Authority to include Sikh as a separate ethnic box for the 2021 Census to give the community a fair access to all public services in the country.
The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for British Sikhs and the Sikh Federation UK are leading calls for the change.
I believe that wherever possible it is right that people should be given the opportunity to identify themselves. With more than 400,000 Sikhs in the UK but no real way to track that without the separate box on the Census, now is the right time to let people define as they wish, said Virendra Sharma, an Indian-origin Labour MP in the British Parliament.
Sharma is among the 113 signatories of the letter addressed to John Pullinger, UK National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.
The authority oversees the Office of National Statistics (ONS), which had revealed earlier this year that it was undertaking research on adding Sikh and Kashmiri as separate ethnic tick boxes in the 2021 Census. PTI
PK Jaiswar
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, September 12
A six-year-old boy, Shubhpreet Singh, was strangled to death at Malakpur village in the district last night. The police arrested a villager, Gurpreet Singh (18), who confessed that he committed the murder as the child used to scratch the paintwork on his tractor.
Parampal Singh, SSP, said: Gurpreet told the police that he had repeatedly warned the boy, but to no avail.
When the victims parents, who work as labourers, returned home last evening, they found Shubhpreet missing. A search at the houses of relatives and neighbours drew a blank. The family informed the Jandiala police, who reached the spot and launched a search operation. The body was found in the fodder store room of a village house around midnight.
After a preliminary probe, the police rounded up two youths who were last seen with the boy. Gurpreet was one of them. The accused told the police that he failed to dump the body in the village pond as the search operation was in progress.
The SSP said a post-mortem examination was being conducted under the supervision of a medical board. He added that it was yet to be confirmed whether the boy had been sodomised before being strangled to death with a piece of cloth.
Dehradun, September 12
The police today issued lookout notices against seven people, including doctors, allegedly involved in the kidney transplant racket here. A special team has also been formed to look into the case after it emerged that it may have international links.
Police sources here said that illegally removed kidneys at the Gangotri Charitable Hospital were being given to affluent persons from Gulf countries like Oman in return for hefty sum.
Director General of Police Anil Raturi admitted the possibility of the racket having international links but said the investigation was still under way and a clear picture would emerge only after probe was over.
A special team headed by SP (Rural) Sarita Dobhal has been constituted to look into the case in view of its seriousness, the DGP said.
Dehradun SSP Nivedita Kukreti said lookout notices have been issued against a total of seven persons, including two doctors of the hospital, and the man who ran the facility after taking it on lease.
The lookout notices had been sent to all airports so that the accused do not flee the country, the SSP said.
One person has been arrested in connection with the case so far but police teams have been dispatched to several places to nab hospital staff and other people who could be involved in the racket.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that Dr Amit and his son were operating the racket, said the DGP.
The role of the hospital owner, who had given it on lease to the accused, was also being investigated, Raturi said.
After the racket was unearthed yesterday, the police swiftly arrested a mediator, Javed Khan of Mumbai, from the forests surrounding Lal Tappad.
Javed was involved in negotiating the deal with the alleged donors on behalf of the hospital.
The racket was unearthed when two persons from Kolkata, whose kidneys (one each) had been removed at the hospital, were being sent to Delhi, without being paid the amount they had been promised.
The two persons whose kidneys were removed were Krishna Das and Sheikh Taj Ali.
The other two female donorsSushma from Kolkata and Mauji Bhai from Gujaratwere waiting at the hospital for their kidneys to be removed in return for money.
However, the police came to know about the racket before they could be operated upon, the SSP said. PTI
Tribune News Service
Dehradun, September 12
Chief Minister Trivendra Rawat today presided over a meeting to review traffic and security arrangements ahead of President Ramnath Kovinds visit to the state. The CM directed the SSP (Traffic) to prepare a traffic diversion plan so that the general public was not inconvenienced due to VIP movement in Dehradun.
He also directed officials of the Public works department to repair roads and Jal Sansthan to immediately repair drinking water pipelines.
The Chief Minister also asked the Mussoorie-Dehra Development Authority to undertake beautification work at the places identified.
He also expressed resentment over slow pace of work by the National Highway Authority of India and directed the body to complete road construction work.
Uttarakhand Chief Secretary S Ramaswamy directed officials to complete all the preparations linked to the Presidents visit on time. He said no complacency would be tolerated in this regard.
Secretaries Radhika Jha, Amit Singh Negi and Arvind Singh Hayanki, Additional Secretary Vinay Shankar Pandey, Dehradun district magistrate SA Murugeshan and SSP Dehradun Nivedita Kukreti were present at the meeting held today.
London, September 12
British MPs today voted in favour of a Bill to end the UKs membership to the European Union (EU), a reprieve for Prime Minister Theresa May who hailed the historic decision.
Clearing the major hurdle in the House of Commons, lawmakers voted by 326 to 290 in favour of backing the EU Withdrawal Bill, which will now go forward for further scrutiny by MPs. The Bill is aimed at overturning the 1972 European Communities Act, which took the UK into the then European Economic Community. It will convert all existing EU laws into UK law to ensure there are no gaps in legislation on Brexit day, scheduled for March, 2019
May averted a rebellion within her own Conservative Party during the post-midnight vote on the EU Withdrawal Bill, which resulted in her government securing a victory at the end of the Bills second reading debate.
Although there is more to do, this decision means we can move on with negotiations with solid foundations and we continue to encourage MPs from all parts of the UK to work together in support of this vital piece of legislation, May said at the end of the tough vote. Tory party backbenchers have warned May that their support on the Bill, which will end the supremacy of EU law in the UK, is not unconditional and have demanded a series of amendments to the Bill as it progresses to the next stage in the parliamentary process before becoming law. It will now receive a line-by-line scrutiny in its committee stage.
The government claims it needs the power to be able to make minor technical changes to ensure a smooth transition. The House of Commons has rightly backed this crucial piece of legislation, giving its support to an orderly exit and helping to provide certainty to businesses, organisations and individuals up and down the country, said Steve Baker, junior minister in the UKs Department for Exiting the EU.
However, those opposed to the Bill fear it gives ministers the power to make changes to laws during the process without consulting MPs.
This Bill is an affront to parliamentary democracy and a naked power grab by government ministers. It leaves rights unprotected, it silences Parliament on key decisions and undermines the devolution settlement, said Kier Starmer, the Oppositions shadow Brexit secretary. Labour will seek to amend and remove the worst aspects from the Bill, but the flaws are so fundamental its hard to see how this could ever be made fit for purpose, the Labour MP said.
His party had largely decided to vote against the Bill but seven of Labours MPs defied party leader Jeremy Corbyn to back the government on the Bill, saying it supports the will of the British people who voted for Brexit in the June 2016 referendum. A number of Labour MPs also abstained from the vote in defiance of the partys official stand.
The Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesperson, Tom Brake, said MPs who backed the Bill should feel ashamed. This is a dark day for the mother of Parliaments, he said.
MPs also voted on Tuesday in favour of the governments proposed timetable for debating Brexit legislation by 318 votes to 301 guaranteeing 64 hours of debate over eight days. Both votes came as the UK government released it latest paper on Brexit strategy, which proposes to continue contributing troops and military assets to EU operations after Brexit as part of closer defence cooperation with the economic bloc. PTI
Sky takeover bid to be referred to watchdog
Dhaka, September 12
Bangladeshs Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today urged Myanmar to take back the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who have fled violence in Rakhine state to her country.
Speaking as she visited the Kutupalong refugee camp in Coxs Bazar district, Hasina urged Myanmar to view the situation with humanity, saying innocent people were suffering. Hasina accused the Myanmar military of committing atrocities and said its actions were in violation of human rights, and added that Rohingya refugees are Myanmars nationals and it must take its citizens back.
Bangladesh wants to maintain peace and good relations with its neighbouring countries, but it cannot accept unjust acts the Myanmar government is committing, the Prime Minister was quoted as saying by the Daily Star newspaper.
Still, the fire is burning there... people cant find their family members... the bodies of infants and women are floating on the Naf River... these go completely against humanity and are violations of human rights, Hasina said.
Some 3,70,000 Rohingya have crossed the border since violence began in August, the UN said. Myanmars military says it is fighting Rohingya militants and denies it is targeting civilians.
My personal message is very clear, that they should consider this situation with the eyes of humanity, the PM said. Because these people, innocent people, the children, women, they are suffering. So these people, they belong to Myanmar. Hundreds of years they are staying there. How they can deny that they are not their citizens? Hasina said her country would offer Rohingya shelter until Myanmar took them back.
She said Bangladesh protests this injustice and inhumane attitude towards the Rohingya and renewed her call to the international community to mount pressure on Myanmar to take back their nationals. IANS
Kasur, September 12
A Pakistani man on Monday killed his wife and three daughters on suspicion of infidelity in an eastern Punjab district.
However, he spared his three sons, whom he had locked up in a room before killing his wife and daughters, the Express Tribune reported.
The police have recovered the weapon from Hanif, a security guard in a government school, who surrendered himself to the police.
In his confessional statement, he said he suspected his wife of infidelity.
In another incident, a man set himself and his three children on fire after a fight with his wife in a village of Kasur district. ANI
San Francisco, September 12
Attorneys have announced a settlement in a lawsuit over who owns the copyright to selfie photographs taken by a monkey before a federal appeals court could answer the novel legal question.
Under the deal, the photographer whose camera was used to take the photos agreed to donate 25 pc of any future revenue from the images to charities dedicated to protecting crested macaques in Indonesia.
Attorneys for the group and the photographer, David Slater, asked the San Francisco court to dismiss the case and throw out a lower court decision that said animals cannot own copyrights. Andrew J Dhuey, an attorney for Slater, declined to comment on how much money the photos have generated.
PETA filed the suit on behalf of the macaque monkey in 2015, seeking financial control of the photos for the benefit of the monkey named Naruto that snapped the photos with Slaters camera. The photos were taken during a 2011 trip to Sulawesi, Indonesia, with an unattended camera owned by Slater. AP
London, September 12
British MPs on Tuesday voted in favour of a crucial Bill to end the UKs membership in the European Union, a victory for embattled Prime Minister Theresa May who hailed the historic decision to back the will of the people.
Lawmakers voted by 326 to 290 in favour of backing the EU Withdrawal Bill, which will now go forward for further scrutiny by MPs.
The Bill is aimed at overturning the 1972 European Communities Act, which took the UK into the then European Economic Community (EEC). It will convert all existing EU laws into UK law to ensure there are no gaps in legislation on Brexit day, scheduled for March, 2019.
May averted a rebellion within her own Conservative party during the post-midnight vote on the EU Withdrawal Bill, which resulted in her government securing a victory at the end of the Bills second reading debate in the Commons.
A total of seven Labour MPs, however, rebelled against the party line and backed the Bill.
Mays Conservative government won the vote with support of the Northern Irelands Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) which has 10 lawmakers.
Following the tough vote, May issued a statement calling it a historic decision to back the will of the British people.
Although there is more to do, this decision means we can move on with negotiations with solid foundations and we continue to encourage MPs from all parts of the UK to work together in support of this vital piece of legislation, May said.
Tory party backbenchers have warned May that their support on the Bill, which will end the supremacy of EU law in the UK, is not unconditional and have demanded a series of amendments to the Bill as it progresses to the next stage in the parliamentary process before becoming law.
It will now receive a line-by-line scrutiny in its committee stage.
The government claims it needs the power to be able to make minor technical changes to ensure a smooth transition.
The House of Commons has rightly backed this crucial piece of legislation, giving its support to an orderly exit and helping to provide certainty to businesses, organisations and individuals up and down the country, said Steve Baker, junior minister in the UKs Department for Exiting the European Union (EU).
However, those opposed to the Bill fear it gives ministers the power to make changes to laws during the process without consulting MPs.
This Bill is an affront to parliamentary democracy and a naked power grab by government ministers. It leaves rights unprotected, it silences Parliament on key decisions and undermines the devolution settlement, said Kier Starmer, the Oppositions shadow Brexit secretary.
Labour will seek to amend and remove the worst aspects from the Bill but the flaws are so fundamental its hard to see how this could ever be made fit for purpose, the Labour MP said. PTI
United Nations/Seoul, Sept 12
The UN Security Council unanimously voted to step up sanctions on North Korea, with its profitable textile exports now banned and fuel supplies capped, prompting a traditionally defiant threat of retaliation against the US.
The decision, triggered by the Norths sixth and largest nuclear test this month, was the ninth such resolution unanimously adopted by the 15-member Security Council since 2006 over North Koreas ballistic missile and nuclear programmes.
Japan and South Korea said after the passage of the US-drafted Security Council resolution they were prepared to apply more pressure if North Korea refused to end its aggressive development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.
A tougher initial US draft was weakened to win the support of China, Pyongyangs main ally and trading partner, and Russia, both of which hold veto power in the council.
We dont take pleasure in further strengthening sanctions today. We are not looking for war, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley told the council after the vote. Haley credited a strong relationship between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping for the successful resolution negotiations.
North Koreas ambassador, Han Tae Song, told the UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament in Geneva on Tuesday the US was fired up for political, economic, and military confrontation. The North regularly threatens to destroy the South and its main ally, the US, which it accuses of continual preparation for invasion. My delegation condemns in the strongest terms, and categorically rejects, the latest illegal and unlawful UN resolution.
This resolution also puts an end to the regime making money from the 93,000 North Korean citizens it sends overseas to work and heavily taxes, Haley said. Chinas official news agency said the Trump administration was making a mistake by rejecting diplomatic engagement with the North. Reuters
Washington, September 12
Expressing concern over Pakistans commitment to Americas objectives in the Muslim-majority nation and neighbouring Afghanistan, a Congressional committee has called for meeting benchmarks in combating terrorism.
Appropriations committees in the Senate as well as in the House have proposed tougher conditions for US aid both military and economicto Pakistan and called for meeting benchmarks for progress in the fight against terrorism.
Passing the annual appropriations bill for the State Department for the year 2018, the Senate Appropriations Committee said it remains concerned with the commitment by Pakistan to US strategic objectives in the region, including combating terrorism.
The appropriations bill passed by the two committees last week landed in the Senate and the House of Representatives this week. The Senate Appropriations Committee recommended USD 372 million in assistance for Pakistan. Prior fiscal year carryover funds for assistance for Pakistan are projected to total more than USD 1 billion.
This in reality, the projected funding for Pakistan in the fiscal year 2018, could be more than USD 1.4 billion, according to the Senate Appropriations Committee report.
While there are tough conditions for the US aid to Pakistan, these can be waived by the Secretary of State under the national interest up to 75 per cent of the allocated fund on Pakistans cooperation on counter-terrorism efforts against the Haqqani Network and other extremists. Last year, it was 95 per cent of the allocated funds, according to a report of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The appropriations bill continues to withhold USD 33 million of funds made available for assistance to Pakistan until the Secretary of State reports to the Committee that Shakil Afridi has been released from prison and cleared of all charges related to the assistance provided to the United States in locating Osama bin Laden.
For all aid to Pakistan, as usual the Secretary of State is required to give certification to the Congress that Islamabad is cooperating with the United States in counter-terrorism efforts against the Haqqani Network, the Quetta Shura Taliban, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Al-Qaeda, and other domestic and foreign terrorist organisations.
This also includes taking effective steps to end support for such groups and prevent them from basing and operating in Pakistan and carrying out cross-border attacks into neighbouring countries.
The Secretary of State also needs to give certification that the Government of Pakistan is not supporting terrorist activities against the United States or coalition forces in Afghanistan, and Pakistans military and intelligence agencies are not intervening extra-judicially into political and judicial processes in Pakistan.
The certification also includes that Pakistan is not financing or otherwise supporting schools supported by, affiliated with, or run by the Taliban or any designated foreign terrorist organisation; and is preventing the proliferation of nuclear-related material and expertise.
The Secretary of State should suspend assistance if Pakistan fails to meet these benchmarks. PTI
Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) at a U.S. Senate Commerce Committee hearing. Photo: Office of Sen. John Thune
On Sept. 13, Senator John Thune (R-SD) will convene a Senate Commerce Committee hearing to examine the potential benefits and impacts of automated commercial vehicles.
Titled Transportation Innovation: Automated Trucks and Our Nations Highways," the hearing will look at the benefits of automated truck safety technology as well as the potential impacts on jobs and the economy. It will focus on trucks, buses and other heavy-duty vehicles as part of bipartisan efforts to draft self-driving legislation.
While the House on Sept. 6 passed a bill that could help speed the development of self-driving cars, the legislation makes no mention of commercial vehicles. It has been reported that commercial vehicles were cut out of the measure as a sop to labor unions that see self-driving trucks as a threat to jobs.
Self-driving technology for trucks and other large vehicles has emerged as a pivotal issue in Congress attempt to help usher in a new era of transportation, said Thune. This hearing will offer all members of the Commerce Committee the opportunity to hear expert testimony on the future highway safety benefits of applying automated technology to trucks as well as perspectives on excluding trucks from legislation affecting small passenger vehicles.
Transportation industry leaders scheduled to speak at the hearing including Chris Spear, American Trucking Associations president and CEO; Troy Clarke, CEO of Navistar; Deborah Hersman, president and CEO of the National Safety Council; as well as representatives from the Colorado State Patrol and Teamsters union.
The hearing will take place at 10 a.m. eastern standard time in the Russell Senate Office Building, room 253. Witness testimony, opening statements and a live video of the hearing will be available on www.commerce.senate.gov.
Tax cuts may not be the issue of the moment in Oklahoma these days, but on Tuesday, in a corner of a south Tulsa hotel parking lot, they were given the full attention of several dozen interested parties.
The Job Creators Network, an organization formed by Home Depot founder Bernie Marcus, parked its bus outside Crowne Plaza Hotel, 7902 S. Lewis Ave., and put on a short rally in favor of federal income tax cuts for small businesses.
Specifically, the Job Creators Network wants the tax rate for so-called pass-through companies used by small businesses chopped by more than half to 15 percent.
The definition of small business is nebulous, but one federal standard is an employer with fewer than 500 workers.
JCN President Alfredo Ortiz said the intent is to help out smaller businesses without the money or expertise to navigate the tax code as successfully as larger ones.
A lot of large businesses get fantastic tax breaks, Ortiz said. Why not help out small businesses?
Theyre the ones with the least resources to fight these fights.
Joining Ortiz were Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs President Jonathan Small, local political activist Ronda Vuillemont-Smith and small-business owner Tom Culver.
OCPA, Americans for Prosperity and Project 912 sponsored the event along with the Job Creators Network.
Ortiz told his audience, which consisted largely of people coming from a Republican Womens Club of Tulsa County meeting in the hotel, that small business is key to stimulating economic growth.
And taxes and regulation, he said, are strangling those same small businesses.
The tour began Tuesday in Oklahoma City and continues through Thursday with stops in Kentucky and Virginia before arriving in Washington.
Since Hurricane Irma made landfall in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Andi Spencer-Evans and her sister Brandi Spencer have heard from their father twice.
Their dad, 71-year-old Carl Lee Spencer, texted them the morning of Sept. 6, the day the storm hit there. They waited over a day for the next communication, which came from a Facebook post letting them know he was alive.
Since then: silence.
Carl Spencer moved to St. Thomas about a year ago to escape a lonely life in Oklahoma. He left with nothing but a few suitcases and a backpack seeking adventure.
Well, he got an adventure. I just dont know if it was really the one he was expecting, Spencer-Evans said.
Their father, a former Tulsa police officer, had been living on a boat and working security jobs to get by. In the days before the storm, he told his daughters he wouldnt be leaving the island to seek shelter and planned to ride out Irma to save money.
When he moved to the island, Spencer-Evans said she never considered the possibility of hurricanes.
To be honest, I never even thought about it. You think of St. Thomas as a gorgeous vacation spot, but, no, I never even thought about it, she said.
In the days since her last contact with her father, Spencer-Evans said she worries. She doesnt know whether he has a roof over his head or has enough to eat. She wants to send a care package but doesnt know where to send it or if it would make it to him.
In addition, unlike with the inland areas hit by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, its tough for civilians to travel to the island to help those in peril. And its possible that even if he rode out the initial storm, something could have happened in the aftermath.
It may be weeks possibly even months before she hears from her dad. Shes heard rumors of both.
The first thing she plans to ask: I am really curious to know what it was like.
By Samuel Hardiman Tulsa World
About 1,000 Tulsa high school students found options for their post-graduation paths Monday in the crowded hallways of the Donald W. Reynolds Center at the University of Tulsa.
The juniors and seniors walked through a maze of college representatives and learned about a slew of career options that dont necessarily require a four-year degree.
For some, what they found was affirmation of plans they had already considered. Others began to think about life after high school for the first time.
The annual Go to College Fair was a collaboration between Tulsa Public Schools, the Tulsa Regional Chamber and OK 2 Grow, a local nonprofit.
Friends Cori Radford, Jessica Mears and Tamia Shanklin left the Reynolds Center a little after 11 a.m. with fresh thoughts of what they might want to do after their senior year.
Shanklin and Mears have part-time jobs, but the work has made them want to find something different in the long term.
Working with kids isnt awful, but what if theres something else I want to do with my life, said Shanklin, who is employed at a day care.
She said she was interested in some of the business programs that schools offer and was thinking about a finance degree or something similar.
Mears said she, too, was considering a future in business.
Her mother did a lot of accounting work growing up, she said, which helped kindle an interest in math and had her looking at Rogers State University and Oklahoma State University.
However, the fair kindled an interest in other schools, including Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, which has a free application process available.
Mears said she has to pay for her own applications, which is expensive, so a schools waiving the fee just might entice her to apply.
Other students were wowed by the number of schools available, as well as some of the other options presented.
Dwight Hollingsworth and Roy Galloway were impressed with the complexity of the safety valves on display at the Baker Hughes Inc. booth.
Hollingsworth noted the intricate details and how hard the devices are to make.
The McLain High School juniors wrote down the companys website address.
The presence of Baker Hughes and other key employers at the college fair was part of the Tulsa Regional Chambers effort to introduce high-growth industries to students, said Kuma Roberts, interim director of Mosaic and workforce for the chamber.
She said the industries featured aerospace, manufacturing and energy are critical to the areas economy and are hiring.
The purpose of including the employers was to let students know there are various opportunities for them to earn a living wage, Roberts said.
More than 300 Public Service Company of Oklahoma employees and contract workers left for Florida on Monday to help restore electric service after the hurricane there, the company reported.
The contingent includes line crews, servicers, tree crews and support personnel.
Caravans of trucks left early Monday from American Electric Power-PSO service centers in Tulsa, Lawton and McAlester. They expected to make it as far as Birmingham, Alabama, on Monday night and arrive in the Tampa, Florida, area on Tuesday.
Many of our workers have just returned after two weeks in south Texas helping our sister company, AEP-Texas, recover from the devastation caused by hurricane Harvey, Steve Baker, PSOs vice president of distribution operations, said in a news release.
And now, our employees are again leaving their homes and families to help others in need, which demonstrates their extraordinary level of service and sacrifice.
It is not yet known how long the PSO crews will be in Florida, but they were told before departing to be prepared for an extended stay.
PSO, a unit of American Electric Power, serves more than 545,000 customers in eastern and southwestern Oklahoma.
The Grand River Dam Authority also announced Monday that on Saturday morning it sent 30 linemen and support personnel in a convoy of 20 vehicles to the Lakeland, Florida, area.
The trip is in response to a nationwide mutual aid agreement among publicly owned electric utilities, coordinated by the American Public Power Association, the agency said in a news release.
An estimated 7 million customers in Florida had lost power following Hurricane Irma.
Its always nice to root for the underdog. In the case of Amazon looking for a home for a second headquarters, Tulsa qualifies as the underdog.
Amazon, the highly successful electronic commerce and cloud computing company, has begun its search for a city for a $5 billion, 50,000-employee second headquarters and Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum dived into the pool. Were glad he did, and all of the Tulsa area ought to support his effort.
Its still a long shot. Amazon has some caveats. It wants to be near a metropolitan area with more than a million people, be able to attract top technical talent, be within 45 minutes of an international airport, have direct access to mass transit and be able to expand the headquarters to as much as 8 million square feet in the next decade.
That makes Tulsas quest more difficult. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area Tulsa, Rogers, Wagoner and Osage counties is 981,005. The Combined Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Creek, Okmulgee and Pawnee counties, brings the population to 1,151,172. Although it is called Tulsa International Airport, it has no direct flights overseas. The Tulsa area has limited access to mass transit.
The Tulsa area does, however, have the room for the complex to grow. And it has one more thing going for it. Oklahomans are hard, dedicated workers.
Tulsa faces tough competition. Albuquerque, Nashville, Minneapolis, Rhode Island, Kansas City, Chicago, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have designs on the new headquarters. Its an uphill battle, but Bynum says he is ready for the test. Tulsas history is that of a city that punches above its weight, Bynum said. And win or lose, it puts Tulsa in the mix, and other companies notice that.
Were in your corner, mayor. Punch away, and keep in mind that underdogs sometimes win.
Laurence J. Yadon II has three special reasons for dedicating the upcoming book Navy Seals.
First is to his father, Laurence J. Yadon, who inspired his writing in addition to his legal career. Second is to Robert Barr Smith, his writing colleague who died Aug. 24. And third is to the Navy SEALs who are or have served their country.
Now Yadon is considering others who might collaborate with him on future writing projects.
I work best working with writing partners, he said. We exchange ideas as the book is developed.
Yadon paid tribute to his father, who dreamed about becoming a history professor. It was because of the Great Depression of the 1930s and poverty this goal was never achieved.
Shortly after the co-authors inked an agreement on the Navy SEALs book, Smith suffered a stroke that eventually claimed his life.
So, in a sense, I write for him, he said. Rather than cancel the book, I told the publisher to give me an additional three months. I wrote the whole thing myself.
This book, just like the others, presented different challenges. Yadon is a mediator, arbitrator, writer and attorney with the U.S. Department of Energy Southwestern Power Administration, and he also is curious about the characters.
He read Oklahoma Tough, King of the Tulsa Bootleggers, by Ron Padgett, who told about his father, Wayne Padgett.
Yadon read a few pages at the back of Padgetts book about the history of law and order in Oklahoma and thought it would be fun to read more about the states bad men and good guys only to discover no book provided a general history on the topic.
I decided that writing might be a good hobby since the children were leaving home for college, he said.
A common thread of adventure and challenges developed in the stories of successful or unsuccessful people who came west and the challenges the faced. That thread runs through later books, The Greatest Escapes of World War II, The Greatest Air Aces Stories Ever Told and Navy Seals.
Yadon and Smith overcame challenges to write Oklahoma Scoundrels, a book that featured the best of the best or the worst of the worst, he said. The publisher had high standards for photos, and the authors turned to the OU Western History Collection for the pictures.
The results were quite good, Yadon said, even though one character John Dillinger on the front cover had only brief connections to the state.
Bad guy selections were made from 100 Oklahoma Outlaws, Gangsters and Lawmen, 1839-1939, and the authors had to pick the best of the best, criminally speaking.
Strong feedback was received from those who read Oklahoma Scoundrels, which has sold well for a regional book, Yadon said. It was a transition to war books when Smiths publisher asked for a trilogy of military books.
I proposed that we do the The Greatest Escapes of WWII because it would be a transition for me away from criminals going to prison to one writing about heroes trying to escape from prison, Yadon said.
The work required a different research style based on well-reviewed and vetted biographies and memories to find the 12 to 15 stories for the book.
One of Yadons proudest stories is about Danish Jews who escaped from Denmark with the help of the general population, government leaders and enemies who helped about 95 percent of the Jews to safety within three days and nights.
I found it was an inspirational story because people risked their lives, he said.
Additional research was required for The Greatest Air Aces Stories Ever Told, and Yadon learned about the challenges of air combat. He had an insight because of bomber stories from his father, a mechanic during WWII and the lead mechanic in the Burma India China Campaign.
Writing and researching as an author has helped Yadon in his legal research where appropriate for the U.S. Department of Energy Southwestern Power Administration because it provides a more objective perspective and a strategic analysis of business problems.
The legal career has helped him become more effective in researching historic materials and sort out truth from myths, fact from fiction and overstatement from reality.
These experiences have been rewarding, helping me develop as a person, to have the opportunity to write history, interact with other writers and actors and people in other fields interested in history and biography, he said. I would not trade them for anything.
918-581-8480
news @tulsabusiness.com
05:25
Kurzstrecke mit Pierre M. Krause
Talk, D 2022
Annette Frier kennt alle privat Diese Kurzstrecke markiert die erste Begegnung von Annette Frier und Pierre M. Krause, an die sich beide Beteiligten noch erinnern konnen. Zwischen Sexszenen und Porsche-Arschen ist dies wohl eine der erotischsten Folgen. Aber was soll man auch erwarten, wenn die Sprecherin der Lach_ und Sachgeschichten von der Sendung mit der Maus auf Brauhaus-Tour ist?
Lydiella Hakizimana, 13, attends a school in Mahama camp in Rwanda, where she and other young refugees are integrated into the national school system alongside Rwandan students. UNHCR/Anthony Karumba
GENEVA More than 3.5 million refugee children did not have the chance to attend school in the last academic year, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, says in a report published today.
Entitled Left Behind: Refugee Education in Crisis, the report says that, globally, 91 per cent of children attend primary school, but for refugees that figure is just 61 per cent, and in low-income countries less than 50 per cent.
It says there are 6.4 million refugees of school age between five and 17 among the 17.2 million refugees under UNHCRs mandate. In 2016, only 2.9 million were enrolled in primary or secondary education. More than half of them 3.5 million did not go to school, it continued.
In a statement, Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said: The education of these young people is crucial to the peaceful and sustainable development of the countries that have welcomed them, and to their homes when they are able to return. Yet compared to other children and adolescents around the world, the gap in opportunity for refugees is growing ever wider.
As refugee children get older, the obstacles increase: only 23 per cent of adolescent refugees are enrolled in secondary school, compared with 84 per cent globally. In low-income countries, just 9 per cent of refugees are able to attend secondary school.
For tertiary, or post-secondary, education the situation is critical, it added. The percentage remains at 1 per cent for refugees, compared with 36 per cent worldwide.
Only 23 per cent of refugee adolescents go to school
The report calls for education to be considered fundamental to the response to refugee emergencies, and for it to be supported by long-term planning and reliable funding.
It urges governments to include refugees in their national education systems and highlights some of the efforts made towards implementing such a policy, even in countries where resources are already stretched.
This is the second annual education report from UNHCR. The first, Missing Out, was issued in advance of the UN General Assemblys Summit for Refugees and Migrants last September. The New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, signed by 193 countries, put education at the forefront of the international response.
School-age children are supposed to get 200 days of school per year.
Despite the overwhelming support for the New York Declaration, one year on, refugees are in real danger of being left behind in terms of their education, said Grandi. Ensuring that refugees have equitable access to quality education is a shared responsibility. It is time for all of us to put words into action.
UNHCR is working along with partners to bring education to refugees around the world, in and out of camps. Increased funding is urgently needed to put more refugee children in school.
Lydiella Hakizimana, 13, attends a school in Mahama camp in Rwanda, where she and other young refugees are integrated into the national school system alongside Rwandan students. UNHCR/Anthony Karumba
GENEVA More than 3.5 million refugee children aged 5 to 17 did not have the chance to attend school in the last academic year, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, says in a report released today.
These include some 1.5 million refugee children missing out on primary school, the report found, while 2 million refugee adolescents are not in secondary school.
Of the 17.2 million refugees under UNHCRs mandate, half are children, said Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The education of these young people is crucial to the peaceful and sustainable development of the countries that have welcomed them, and to their homes when they are able to return. Yet compared to other children and adolescents around the world, the gap in opportunity for refugees is growing ever wider.
The report, Left Behind: Refugee Education in Crisis, compares UNHCR sources and statistics on refugee education with data from UNESCO, the United Nations educational, scientific and cultural organization, on school enrolment around the world. Globally, 91 per cent of children attend primary school. For refugees, that figure is far lower at only 61 per cent and in low-income countries it is less than 50 per cent.
As refugee children get older, the obstacles increase: only 23 per cent of refugee adolescents are enrolled in secondary school, compared to 84 per cent globally. In low-income countries a mere 9 per cent of refugees are able to go to secondary school.
For tertiary education the situation is critical. Across the world, enrolment in tertiary education stands at 36 per cent. For refugees, despite big improvements in overall numbers thanks to investment in scholarships and other programmes, the percentage remains stuck at 1 per cent.
The international community will fail to attain its Sustainable Development Goals 17 goals aimed at transforming the world by 2030 if it does not act to reverse these trends. Goal four, Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning, will not be realized without meeting the educational needs of vulnerable populations, including refugees and other forcibly displaced people. And many other development goals targeting health, prosperity, equality and peace will be undermined if education is neglected.
The report calls for education to be considered fundamental to the response to refugee emergencies, and for it to be supported by long-term planning and reliable funding. It urges governments to include refugees in their national education systems as the most effective, equitable and sustainable response, and highlights some of the notable efforts made towards implementing such a policy even in countries where resources are already stretched.
The findings further underline the importance of quality teaching, and of the national and international support networks needed to keep teachers trained, motivated and able to make a positive impact in the worlds toughest classrooms. Numerous personal stories featured in the report demonstrate that while refugees are desperate to get an education well aware of the transformative effect it can have on their lives there are far too few teachers, classrooms, text books and support mechanisms to meet such enormous demand.
This is the second annual education report from UNHCR. The first, Missing Out, was released in advance of the UN General Assemblys Summit for Refugees and Migrants last September. The New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, signed by 193 countries, put education at the forefront of the international response.
Despite the overwhelming support for the New York Declaration, one year on, refugees are in real danger of being left behind in terms of their education, said Grandi. Ensuring that refugees have equitable access to quality education is a shared responsibility. It is time for all of us to put words into action.
UNHCRs report has found that the enrolment of primary-aged refugee children has risen over the past academic year, from 50 per cent to 61 per cent, thanks largely to improved policies and investment in education for Syrian refugees, as well as the arrival of refugee children in Europe, where education is compulsory. During the same time period, access to secondary education remained stagnant, with less than one in four refugee adolescents enrolling in school.
Considerable barriers remain, principally because almost one in three refugees live in low-income countries. They are the least likely to go to school six times less likely than children globally. The countries hosting them, often already struggling to find the means to educate their own children, face the additional task of finding school places, properly trained and qualified teachers, and adequate learning materials for tens or even hundreds of thousands of newcomers who often do not speak the language of instruction and have frequently missed out on around four years of schooling.
The progress seen in the enrolment of Syrian refugee children shows clearly the potential to turn around this crisis in education for refugee children, said Grandi. But the abysmal level of school enrolment for refugee children living in low-income regions clearly points to a need to invest in these often forgotten host countries.
Media contacts and materials:
The multimedia version of the report can be found at http://www.unhcr.org/left-behind. For more information on this topic including media contacts, a PDF version, and related photos, video, infographics and motion graphics please visit http://www.unhcr.org/left-behind-media.
A group of people gather inside a detention facility holding refugees and migrants in Tripoli, May 2017. UNHCR/Iason Foounten
Libya remains one of the most complex mixed migration situations in the world, with refugees traveling alongside migrants through perilous routes, surviving dangerous desert crossings and abuses that include sexual violence, torture, detention in inhumane conditions and abductions for ransom. All this before they even embark on the deadly Central Mediterranean sea crossing, where the risk of dying is one in 39. Libya is also in the middle of a conflict that has displaced hundreds of thousands of Libyans.
While irregular mixed migration movements may represent challenges for states, detention is not the answer. As a refugee protection agency, UNHCR is opposed to the routine detention of refugees and displaced persons and has been very outspoken, including at the highest level, on the appalling conditions in which refugees and migrants are being held in Libyas detention centres. During a recent visit to Tripoli, for example, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi met refugees and migrants in detention centres and expressed his shock at the harsh conditions in which refugees and migrants are held, adding that no refugees or asylum seekers should be detained.
At the same time, UNHCR is currently negotiating with the Libyan authorities the establishment of an open reception centre that would allow refugees and asylum seekers freedom of movement, giving priority to the most vulnerable among them. In this reception centre, UNHCR could provide registration, accommodation, food, social services, counselling and support to survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, and solutions in third countries for the most vulnerable.
UNHCR is working to assist and protect over 535,000 people in Libya, including over 226,000 Libyans displaced by conflict, 267,000 Libyans who have now returned to their homes but continue to be in a vulnerable situation and 42,834 registered refugees and asylum-seekers.
While expressing concern about the conditions in detention centres, UNHCR considers it important to maintain a dialogue with the relevant authorities in Libya to ensure access, distribute life-saving assistance and advocate for enhanced access to screening, identification and registration, as well as for measures preventing risks of sexual and gender-based violence.
We conduct regular visits to official detention centres in order to provide life-saving assistance, explains Roberto Mignone, UNHCR Representative for Libya. Our presence in these detention centres does not qualify as an endorsement of these places nor of what happens there. It is our duty, however, to provide refugees and asylum seekers with help and advocate for their protection, including when they are in detention. This year, UNHCR and partners have conducted 658 visits to detention centres. Thanks to our combined efforts, some 1,000 refugees and asylum seekers have been released from these places.
In Libya, UNHCR works to improve the situation of hundreds of thousands of civilians affected by the conflict. It also works to provide international protection, humanitarian assistance and solutions to persons of concern who are living in the country, or are in transit towards Europe. It works in close coordination with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and other partners. The constraints they face in Libya are many, including limited access throughout the country due to the current security situation. Still, UNHCR is making every effort to scale up its presence and response inside Libya through national staff, partners, and the regular rotational presence of international staff, who are currently operating from Tunis.
Given the urgent humanitarian needs and appalling conditions in detention centres, it is essential that UNHCR continues to be engaged in the provision of life-saving assistance, protection and solutions, as well as advocacy for alternatives to detention, as the first and foremost priority.
The assistance UNHCR provides in detention centres helps alleviate the suffering of detainees, said Mignone. We provide hygiene kits, blankets, slippers and clothes. Additionally, through our partner IMC (International Medical Corps), we are able to provide primary health care to those in need, which is often the only medical assistance detainees have access to.
For more information please contact:
Intenally displaced children at the entrance of an empty warehouse in Kasai Province. UNHCR/Andreas Kirchhof
KAMONIA, Democratic Republic of the Congo 12-year-old Felix* sits in silence, staring around the compound where he is staying. He and four other children were taken in by foster parents after they escaped the conflict in the Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
I lost my parents when our village was attacked by armed men, he says. We ran off in different directions.
Felix crossed the DRC border with Angola, on a frantic search for his parents. I looked for them in the places where all the refugees are but I did not find them, he says. Now, I have come back here. I dont know if they are still alive.
Marie*, 13, has also lost her parents. She fled to a nearby town with her four sisters and brothers after she saw her parents being killed.
I am now the head of the family, she says as she watches over her two-year-old brother, the youngest in the family.
Marie lives with her siblings in a house that was abandoned by the owner who fled to Angola. They have no one to watch over them, except for a few sympathetic neighbours who have collected food for them.
Felix and Marie are among hundreds of children who have been separated from their parents or have witnessed terrible killings. Children like them are placed in foster care by local humanitarian organizations but there is no system for psychosocial support.
The conflict in Kasai began more than a year ago when local tension escalated into a widespread conflict that has affected nine of the DRCs 26 provinces. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, estimates that 1.4 million people have been displaced as a result of the violence in the previously peaceful region.
A mission by UNHCR staff last week to Kamoina, on the DRCs border with Angola, showed the extent of the violence and destruction in the area at the centre of the conflict.
Entire villages have been burnt down and the provision of basic humanitarian services has ceased because access to areas where people are in need of assistance and protection has been cut off. Health facilities, schools and other public buildings have been destroyed.
Children like Felix and Marie are particularly at risk, as are the elderly, the disabled and the sick. UNHCR has appealed to authorities to allow aid agencies more access to people in need of assistance.
UNHCR is deploying staff and opening more offices in Kasai to boost humanitarian operations and has asked for greater security in the area. This will allow refugees and internally displaced people to return home eventually.
*Names have been changed for protection purposes.
Additional reporting by Markku Aikomus in Angola.
A newly arrived Rohingya refugees rests on his belongings on the side of the road near the Kutupalong informal settlement in Kutupalong, Bangladesh on Sept. 10th, 2017. UNHCR/Adam Dean
A major UNHCR airlift with emergency relief supplies for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh is today under way, with the first flight having landed in Dhaka just before 04:30 this morning.
A UNHCR-chartered Boeing 777 flew in with 91 metric tonnes of aid, including much needed shelter materials, jerry cans, blankets, sleeping mats and other essential items from UNHCRs global stockpile in Dubai. The cargo has been loaded onto trucks which will bring the aid to the refugee camps at Coxs Bazar in south-eastern Bangladesh.
A second aid flight, donated to UNHCR by United Arab Emirates (UAE) is scheduled to land at 14:15 this afternoon local time, bringing in some 1,700 family tents. The two emergency flights are meant to meet the immediate aid needs of some 25,000 refugees. Further flights are being planned, ultimately delivering emergency aid for some 120,000 refugees in total.
We now estimate that 370,000 stateless Rohingya refugees have fled into Bangladesh since 25 August. The increase in the estimated total is a result of more interagency assessment teams being able to reach more villages, hamlets and pockets where refugees have gathered.
Rohingya refugees continue to arrive at Kutupalong and Nayapara camps, where UNHCR operates. With more than 70,000 refugees now in both camps, the population has more than doubled since 25 August. Both sites are beyond saturation point. Some refugees who have been living in these camps are hosting up to 15 newly-arrived families in their small huts, yet new arrivals are still spilling onto the walkways under plastic sheets. We have opened up public buildings and set up large tents to accommodate the new arrivals.
Many of the new refugees are staying in the makeshift settlements or among local Bangladeshi host communities who generously share whatever resources they have. These spontaneous sites require proper planning to ensure basic shelter, safety and hygiene standards.
Meanwhile, UNHCRs Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, George Okoth-Obbo, is in Bangladesh this week. In Coxs Bazar, the head of UNHCR operations will meet with Rohingya refugee families to better understand their needs and review UNHCRs response.
While In Dhaka, he will meet with the Bangladeshi authorities to underline UNHCR's readiness to significantly ramp up its response and provide support to the government in addressing the humanitarian needs and ensuring the protection of refugees.
For more information on this topic, please contact:
Merpel muses that perhaps the recent federal legislation in the U.S. and the Directive in the EU may have some part to play in this
The second plenary session of the first day of the conference dealt with the issue of IP and Innovation in an Age of Sustainability. Thequestions posed were two-fold. First, how can IP and innovation support businesses as they seek to remain resilient and sustainable? Second, how can we harness the forces of sustainability while seeking ever-more innovative and competitive companies?The first speaker was David Kappos , a partner in the U.S. firm of Cravath Swain & Moore, and formerly the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. In the face of the challenge to achieve an ever-higher standard of living in light of calls for sustainability, Mr. Kappos was adamant: we need to continue to innovate with shorter and shorter time lines for execution. The linchpin for doing so is to maintain a strong patent system for encouraging innovation. Following Mr. Kappos, Tan Shau En , Assistant Chief Executive of Commercialization at IPOS and Executive Director, IP ValueLab, argued for a central role by government in providing solutions to the sustainability problems posed to the panel. Mr. Logan Xie, VP Letv Global Patent, then offered a Chinese perspective. He implicitly agreed with Mr. Kappos for the need for increasing innovation protected by patents, but he did note that patent quality is an on-going problem.The second day of the program witnessed two more plenary sessions, both of which yielded some fascinating observations about two quite disparate topics. The first session was devoted to the topic of Innovation. Its Not About Ideas: Its About Making Ideas Happen. This Kat came away with two general observations. First, there are various settings in which innovation is taking place, and each of them is seeking to solve the challenge of implementation in a different manner. First up was Tobias Puehse , VP MasterCard, Innovation Management, Digital Payments & Labs Asia Pacific. Mr. Puehse posed the innovation problem under his care at MasterCard in a socially challenging way: MasterCard likes payments, customers less so. As such, his focus is on developing innovation that will make payments a better customer experience. This Kat wonders to what extent there is disruptive potential for others to enter the payment space if a key component in customer retention is the payment experience. Time will tell.Following Mr. Puehse was David Koris , the retired head of IP at Royal Dutch, but still very much involved in IP matters in various capacities. Mr. Koris spoke from his long-time involvement in strategic issues of IP at the corporate level. Against this background, this Kat expected to hear insights about how patents are used. He was quite surprised, therefore, when Mr. Koris made special (and recurring) mention of the centrality of trade secret protection, admitting that companies have paid lesser attention to trade secrets in the past. [.] Closer to home, Dr. Lim Jui , CEO of (NTU Innovation) and NTUitive described the challenge of trying to get the academic researchers at Nanyang Technological University to become more involved in innovation and entrepreneurship, referring to the task in terms of herding cats. One interesting aspect of this work was the suggestion that they try to identity promising technological developments rather than simply rely on bottom-up initiatives. This was part of the larger challenge within Singapore to encourage more risk-taking and entrepreneurial activity. Dr. Lorenz Kaiser then spoke from a quite different innovation setting, as Division Director at Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. Fraunhofer is Europe's largest application-oriented research organization, with 69 institutes spread throughout Germany, each focusing on different fields of applied science. The transfer by Fraunhofer of research results to industry is not merely a mantra, but is subject to explicit guidelines and targets. Given Germanys distinguished patent culture, this Kat was once again surprised by the explicit attention that Dr. Kaiser made to the centrality of trade secrets. If not a sea change, this Kat still sensed a change in the narrative coming from what he always regarded as patent-centric environments.The second plenary session was the always anticipated judges forum, this time on the topic --do the courts have a role in encouraging technological advances which are in the public interest? More specifically, how expansive should the courts treat the scope of relevant IP legislation in balancing between the public and private interests? Justice George Wei , of the Supreme Court of Singapore, focused on copyright and identified the issue how far to extend liability from direct infringement to include secondary infringement. Justice Wei stated that in his view the courts role is essential supportive, which this Kat took to mean that the law should wary of siding too much in favor of the public interest at the cost of distorting the existing legal frameworks.Following Justice Wei, Judge Qiu Jingwen, of the Peoples Court of Guangdong Province addressed the challenges facing his colleagues and him as the Chinese legal system seeks to strengthen its competency in IP matters. Chinese judges are still wrestling with how to build a robust basis for adjudicating IP cases in light of both local Chinese law as well as international standards. Against this backdrop, the Chinese courts are beginning to take greater account of technological change in reaching their decisions in specific cases. Judge Qiu made the interesting observation that damage awards for IP infringement remain low, in part due to what he described as the poor quality of many patents and the inadequate evidence provided to support a damages claim.In the roundtable discussion that followed, Justice Wei and Judge Qiu were joined by Justice Colin Birss of the High Court of England and Wales and Judge Kent Jordan the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Perhaps the most interesting discussion point was whether IP law should be striving for greater international harmonization, with views expressed both in support of harmonization, on the one hand, and a concern for giving broad expression for the legitimate needs of different legal locales, on the other. An attractive suggestion to bridge this difference of view was embodied in the notion of convergence rather than full-fledged harmonization, although the difference between the two notions was not further spelled out. Perhaps here, as in so many other aspects of the law, the devil will be in the details.Photo on top right by Sustainability Hub and is licensed under the Creative Commons Authorization-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
On the rare instances when Col. Tyler N. Nick Hague (left) returns from a day at the office and walks through the door of his own home, the oldest of his two boys occasionally asks, Daddy, were you in space today? Not such a childish question when you consider the actual distance and travel time when Hague finally rides into space aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket in September of 2018. It will only take him about 12 minutes to arrive in low-Earth orbit from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, only 249 miles above the planets surface. In comparison, Hague traveled two miles farther when he was just a boy of 12; a total of 251 miles from his home in Hoxie, Kansas, to Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he first laid eyes on the place where his journey into space would actually begin the United States Air Force Academy. Growing up in western Kansas, staring up at the sky at night, seeing all those stars, Ive always wanted to do something involved with space, said Hague. I couldnt find a better program in terms of being able to study astronautical engineering with building actual satellites and doing all that hands on work at an undergraduate level. That just didnt exist anywhere else at that time and so that was the place I wanted to go. He graduated from the academy and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1998 and began a 20-year journey that would bring him to the International Space Station to begin a six-month mission as flight engineer on ISS Expedition 57/58. During this journey, Hague earned a masters degree in engineering from MIT, worked on advanced spacecraft technologies at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, flight tested at Edwards AFB, California, completed a five-month deployment to Iraq to conduct experimental airborne reconnaissance in 2004, returned to the Air Force Academy to teach astronautics, became an advisor for the U.S. Senate on national defense and foreign policy, served as a congressional appropriations liaison for United States Central Command at the Pentagon and finally as deputy division chief for research and development at the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization before being selected for astronaut training in 2013. I applied the first time (to the astronaut training program) in 2003, so it took 10 years and three applications in order to finally get selected, said Hague. Twenty years ago could I look at what was going to lie before me and map all of that out that would connect that point to this point? There are all these different opportunities that I would have never been able to line up on my own, but the service in the Air Force has made it possible. When he finally received his crew assignment, Hague quickly learned that being an astronaut still means racking up a lot of miles on earth. In this calendar year of mission training, Hague has logged five flights from Houston to Star City, Russia, where he has spent 33 weeks training on the Russian ISS modules which make up half of the station and the Soyuz launch vehicle. When combined with flights to the European Space Agency training facility in Colon, Germany, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Tsukuba Space Center north of Tokyo for eight more weeks of training on those agencys modules this year, Hague is closing on 100,000 miles of travel within the Earths atmosphere to prepare for the relatively short commute to ISS. Much of Hagues time in Star City is spent training for that 12-minute trip aboard Soyuz into space and the corresponding return trip six months later. A training emphasis that fellow Air Force astronaut Col. Michael Hopkins explains exists for a very good reason.
April 26, 2017 - NASA Astronaut Col. Tyler "Nick" Hague prepares to perform rendezvous and robotic arm retrieval training in the Systems Engineering Simulator, called "The Dome", at Johnson Space Flight Center in Houston, Texas. (U.S. Air Force photo by J.M. Eddins Jr., Airman Magazine) The majority of your training will be associated with the ride up and the ride home. We have a two-year training flow and as much as a year of your time during that two years will be spent over in Russia and your time in Russia the majority of that time is being spent on the Soyuz vehicle, said Hopkins, who has already spent six months aboard ISS in 2013-2014. But just like airplanes, the critical phase of flight is take off and landing. Thats when if anything goes wrong, when you dont have that much time to deal with it. Aboard the ISS you usually have days if not weeks to assess and correct a problem. The overseas travel has two-week breaks when Hague returns to Houston for training on the US systems and for extravehicular activity (EVA), or spacewalks, and an opportunity to sleep in his own bed for a change. This fierce training and travel tempo is one of the drawbacks for astronauts, as well as their spouses and children. I spend six weeks in Star City, and then come back for a couple weeks, and then Ill go back for six weeks, said Hague. There is a stress on the family, and they miss out on the things that I could be doing with them at home, and on the weekends. Im TDY a lot, but my familys making the same kinds of sacrifices that I see service families making day in and day out. I think that, thats something that everybody that wears a uniform can appreciate. However, NASA has embarked on a new collaborative mission with commercial partners SpaceX and Boeing to provide an alternative to Soyuz for manned trips to and from the ISS. Cooperation in the development of new low-orbit launch vehicles by these commercial companies based in the United States will provide the Air Force with more orbital lift options and will also bring astronauts closer to home for training and for longer periods of time. Its important for us to be able to return launch to Florida. You know, from a crew perspective, I can tell you that it makes it a whole lot easier on the crew, because you stop having to send people (to Star City, Russia) for six weeks at a shot over, and over, and over again and reduce the strain on the families, said Hague. Its also important from a redundancy perspective. Right now its Soyuz only, so if something happened with the Soyuz, now were looking for a way to get astronauts up there. Itll provide us that flexibility to continue to fly Soyuz, and fly out of Florida and for the Russians to do the same. Once again the Air Force is a lynchpin in the development of a barrier breaking technology as astronaut Col. Robert Behnken is one of four test pilots for the commercial spacecraft and Hopkins is part of the team developing communications, displays and procedures for the new launch vehicles.
April 27, 2017 - NASA Astronaut Col. Michael S. Hopkins, a veteran of Expedition 37/38 aboard the International Space Station (ISS) in 2013-2014, is currently part of the team at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Tex., that is designing launch, docking and reentry procedures and communications for the Boeing CST-100 Starliner, one of the commercial launch vehicles NASA will begin testing next year for use to transport six-astronaut crews to and from the ISS. (U.S. Air Force photo by J.M. Eddins Jr., Airman Magazine)
Currently, my major focus is on one of those commercial crewed vehicles. Its the Boeing CST-100 Starliner. Im working as one of the CAPCOMs for that program; the communicator who would be talking to the astronauts in the vehicle as theyre going uphill and docking to the station, said Hopkins. Theres a lot of new material that we have to learn and figure out what the launch day is going to look like and what docking is going to look like and what the landing is going to look like. After one unmanned test of both the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket and Boeings CST-100 Starliner, two-astronaut crews will fly subsequent tests before operational flights will begin taking six astronauts per flight to the ISS. Astronauts, such as Behnken, will not only flight-test the vehicles, but they are deeply involved in the design and development phase of the vehicles that is currently underway. The training for these missions is really wrapped into the development process. So were learning the vehicles as theyre designed and built, said Behnken, veteran of two of the Space Shuttle missions that built the ISS and the only active-duty member of the test crews. (The test crews are) Air Force and Navy test pilot school graduates, and were really participating in a development process so that we can bring our space flight experience to the designs as they come to the table that should wrap up around mid-2018 for both vehicles, and hopefully if the schedules hold, thats when well fly in space. These astronauts are the most recent in a continuing legacy of Air Force support of NASA and space exploration since the space programs inception. A total of eighty-five Air Force astronauts have traveled into space, from three of the first NASA astronauts, the Mercury Seven, Lt. Col. Gus Grissom, Col. Gordon Cooper and Major Deke Slayton, to two of the crew of Apollo 11, the first humans to set foot on the Moon, Col. Edwin Buzz Aldrin and Maj. Gen. Michael Collins to Col. Jack Fischer, flight engineer for ISS Expedition 51/52, currently traveling at over 17,000 miles per hour (5 miles per second) for 25,000 miles on each of his 15.5 orbits per day aboard ISS. Still more, like Hague, are in training for upcoming flights, and numerous Air Force personnel support both manned and unmanned NASA missions. The Air Force is supporting the mission on a daily basis, said Hague. Its flight docs assigned here, search and rescue crews that are helping bring us home, weve got the range support for launching cargo and soon were going to be launching Americans back out of Florida. Theres also guys that are looking at all the radar coming back down from space trying to track space debris and they help us prevent things from flying into the Space Station, so theyre protecting us on a daily basis.
April 27, 2017 - NASA astronaut Col. Tyler N. "Nick" Hague waits to be lowered into the pool containing a mockup of the International Space Station at the Johnson Space Flight Center's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory for Extravehicular Activity training in Houston, Texas. (U.S. Air Force photo by J.M. Eddins Jr., Airman Magazine) Of course, participation in the civilian space program reaps great benefits for the Air Force from supporting space exploration and research. The Air Force gets access to space, and so from an expense standpoint, NASAs already paid for that, now all you have to do is develop your experiment, and then we can get it onboard, said Hopkins. Then you get the astronauts time. We dont go and charge the Air Force for the time of the astronaut on board thats executing their experiment. Youre getting access to a microgravity laboratory, right? Its a very unique laboratory, in fact the only one in existence. The partnership between the Air Force and NASA is a collaborative research relationship that fills gaps in each others research and facilities. According to Dr. Morley Stone, chief technology officer of the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio, the Air Force benefits from NASAs experience with human performance in microgravity environments, as NASA benefits from the Air Forces research in the macrogravity realm of high sustained G-forces. Both are participating in research on hypersonics, autonomous systems, artificial intelligence and materials that can survive extreme environments. I would say certainly NASA is up near the top, as probably our most important federal partnership, said Stone. Life aboard the ISS is tightly scheduled to accommodate the necessary daily planning conference with ground controllers, two hours of exercise necessary to maintain the astronauts bodies in a microgravity environment, performing EVA for scheduled station maintenance or repairs and conducting the experiments sent to ISS by researchers on the ground, military and civilian. However, on occasion, there are small gaps where astronauts can indulge the kid inside that still looks upon the cosmos in wonder. Behnken had such an opportunity on his second STS mission to install components on the ISS. During an EVA to install the cupola observation window for Earth observation and photography, Behnken and a crewmate exerted themselves to the point that exhaled carbon dioxide was building up inside their suits faster than the air scrubbers could eliminate it. My partner and I had both worked harder than the suit could keep up with, and we got the chance to take about a 15-minute break, said Behnken. They told us to Attach yourself to the space station, and sit there, and look around. And dont breathe too hard, because were trying to catch up with the scrubbing thats on the suit. When youre outside on a spacewalk, you get a panorama view that just cant be captured with any of the windows You get to see sunrises, and sunset, and that angular view of the atmosphere with thunderstorms lightning themselves up, said Behnken. Its of the whole majesty of the Earth, which is just awesome. By U.S. Air Force J.M. Eddins Jr., Airman Magazine
Provided through DVIDS
Copyright 2017 Related Video > Transforming Human Spaceflight | Comment on this article
(Sept. 12, 2017) -- Through the San Antonio Applied Behavior Analysis Project, a joint initiative between The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), the Childrens Hospital of San Antonio (the CHofSA) and the Autism Treatment Center San Antonio, university professors and health practitioners are working together to provide UTSA students and hospital residents with a comprehensive overview of the medical and therapeutic aspects of autism treatment. The three organizations hope that by providing the specialized training, they can make autism treatment more accessible to San Antonians.
Last summer, the partners in the San Antonio Applied Behavior Analysis Project opened an autism clinic at Childrens Hospital of San Antonio. The clinic provides direct Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services to children with autism and developmental disorders, serves as a training ground for UTSA students, conducts impactful research, and helps educate parents and practitioners.
The ABA approach, widely considered one of the most effective treatment options for individuals with autism, involves understanding an individuals behavior and modifying the environment to encourage socially appropriate behaviors. According to Leslie Neely, UTSA assistant professor of educational psychology, researchers have demonstrated that the ABA approach is particularly helpful in finding out why a child might engage in a challenging behavior so a responsive, individualized intervention can be provided. Neely says that ABA interventions have proven effective at mitigating childrens challenging behaviors, increasing their social and communication skills and improving their academic performance.
The new cross-training program was piloted at Childrens Hospital this summer. Hospital residents spent part of the summer with Neely at the hospitals ABA clinic, learning what happens to patients after an autism diagnosis.
This new cross-training program is unique to San Antonio, a city which is fast becoming one of the pioneers in community-oriented ABA therapy, said Neely. Weve been hearing from Childrens Hospital residents that this has been an illuminating and valuable experience for them. I know it will be a similar experience for our UTSA students, who will become the ABA practitioners of the future.
As part of the program, UTSA educational psychology, school psychology and special education students will spend the fall semester with Neely and Dr. Melissa Svoboda, director of the CHofSAs autism center, as well as Dr. Andrew Martinez, a specialist in clinical psychology, to learn more about autism and the many available treatment services.
This program fulfills a growing need in San Antonio. A recent study funded by the Kronkosky Foundation estimates that 1 in 79 people in San Antonio and the surrounding community are on the autism spectrum. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also reports that Hispanic children are one of the fastest growing populations experiencing autism diagnoses.
I wish this program was something I had during my training, said Dr. Svoboda. Many autism service providers dont even know about Applied Behavioral Analysis. These new doctors, in their early years of training, are getting to experience it firsthand. This is the first step in getting doctors to understand what this therapy is and how it helps patients.
UTSA is ranked among the top 400 universities in the world and among the top 100 in the nation, according to Times Higher Education.
(Sept. 12, 2017) - This fall, some UTSA students are learning about political science from a woman who spent more than two decades in Texas politics.
Former State Senator Leticia Van de Putte is teaming up with UTSA political science professor Sharon Navarro to teach a course called Texas Politics and Society.
The course covers topics related to state politics, the Constitution, public policy, elections and federalism. Van de Putte will give five lectures during the semester.
In political science, it is important to combine the insights of scholars and practitioners and we are excited to have her teach for us, said Navarro. Leticia Van de Putte will share her rich understanding of how state government and the legislative process works. She knows first-hand the significance of public service and the impact lawmakers decisions have on Texans lives.
Van de Putte was a member of the Texas House of Representatives from 1991 to 1999 and the Texas Senate from 1999 to 2015.
I had the joy and honor of representing UTSA for 25 years and watched its phenomenal growth. To have the opportunity to teach UTSA students is a way to continue that legacy, said Van de Putte. I am excited to work with undergraduate students who are eager to learn about state politics and have the potential to be our future leaders and policy makers.
The UTSA course is held on Mondays and Wednesdays from 4 to 5:15 p.m. in the Main Building on the Main Campus.
Navarro, an expert in women in politics, Latino/a politics and race in American politics, has collaborated with the former state senator in the past. The UTSA professor is the author of Latina Legislature: Leticia Van de Putte and the Road to Leadership, a book that was published in 2008.
The UTSA Department of Political Science and Geography offers undergraduate and graduate programs and includes political scientists and geographers who are nationally recognized for their research and teaching.
UTSA is ranked among the top 400 universities in the world and among the top 100 in the nation, according to Times Higher Education.
UW Adventurer/Journalist Mark Jenkins to Speak on Tibet-China History
This is among the images that Mark Jenkins, a field staff writer for National Geographic and a writer-in-residence at the University of Wyoming, will show during his Tea, Trade and Tyranny: Tibet and China Over Time program this fall in six Wyoming communities. (Mark Jenkins Photo)
Adventurer and journalist Mark Jenkins, of Laramie, will share his experiences exploring the complex relationship between Tibet and China during a series of free public talks scheduled in six Wyoming communities this fall.
Jenkins, a field staff writer for National Geographic and a writer-in-residence at the University of Wyoming, will present Tea, Trade and Tyranny: Tibet and China Over Time in Casper, Cheyenne, Douglas, Lander, Rock Springs and Torrington. The program is part of UWs Global Studies Excellence Initiative and continues the World to Wyoming outreach series.
Tibet and China have had a complex relationship for 1,500 years, Jenkins says. Wars have been fought, treaties signed and then ignored in the next conquest. But, there was always trade.
In his presentations, Jenkins will discuss the forgotten Tea Horse Road. For almost 1,000 years, there was a stone-paved road that connected Yaan, the tea-growing capital of Sichuan province, with Lhasa, the 12,000-foot-high capital of Tibet.
Tea was essential to daily life in Tibet, and Chinas feudal kingdoms needed war horses. For centuries, China and Tibet were on equal footing, but the ascendency of China in the second half of the 20th century has devastated Tibet and Tibetan culture, Jenkins says.
With National Geographic images, Jenkins will present the modern lives of the Tibetans and the Chinese, and the geopolitics that have always connected them.
His talks scheduled this fall are in:
-- Casper, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 7 p.m., Casper College, Wheeler Concert Hall.
-- Douglas, Thursday, Sept. 21, 6 p.m., Eastern Wyoming College, Douglas campus.
-- Torrington, Friday, Sept. 22, 7 p.m., Eastern Wyoming College, Fine Arts auditorium.
-- Cheyenne, Wednesday, Sept. 27, 6 p.m., Laramie County Library, Cottonwood Room.
-- Rock Springs, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 7 p.m., Western Wyoming Community College, Room 1302.
-- Lander, Thursday, Oct. 5, 6:30 p.m., Lander Valley High School auditorium.
A critically acclaimed author and internationally recognized journalist, Jenkins covers geopolitics and adventure. Among hundreds of his stories, Jenkins has written about land mines in Cambodia, the war in Eastern Congo, the loss of koalas in Australia, ethnic cleansing in Burma, climbing Mount Everest in Nepal and the vanishing ski culture of the Tuvan people in the Altai Mountains of Central Asia.
Jenkins has won numerous writing awards, including the Overseas Press Club Ross Award in 2013 for The Healing Fields, a story about the landmines in Cambodia; and a National Magazine Award with colleague Brint Stirton for Who Murdered the Mountain Gorillas in 2009. Both projects provided the basis for statewide presentations at Wyomings community colleges as part of the World to Wyoming outreach series.
Jenkins has a bachelors degree in philosophy and a masters degree in geography, both from UW.
Sponsoring Jenkins programs around the state are the UW Office of Academic Affairs, Rocky Mountain Power Foundation, Wyoming Humanities and Wyoming community college partners.
For more information, call Jean Garrison, UW Center for Global Studies director, at (307) 766-6119 or email garrison@uwyo.edu.
About the Center for Global Studies
The center advances UW to the next level of excellence in internationally focused, interdisciplinary research, Garrison says. Its mission is to enhance international competencies at home in order to prepare Wyoming students -- particularly the 90 percent who have not had international experiences -- as well as faculty, communities and businesses to compete and succeed in a global economy.
The center provides a model for creating and enhancing international fieldwork, research and internship opportunities for UW students, including establishment of graduate fellowships and scholarships to reward top students doing international research; research opportunities for UW faculty as well as the hosting of international experts/practitioners; and the sponsorship of outreach, speakers and symposia at UW and around the state.
Garrison says the center accomplishes its mission by providing access to funding and expertise, leading to expanded and enriched international experiences for students, faculty, the UW campus and the state.
[September 11, 2017] Qumram Upgrades Social Media Surveillance Tool to Deliver the World's First Truly-Compliant WhatsApp and WeChat Recording
Qumram, the pioneer in RegTech, risk management, customer engagement and analytics, has extended its social media surveillance solution to enable fully-compliant mobile-to-mobile WhatsApp and WeChat conversation recording; regardless of the location and devices of either party, and despite end-to-end encryption. Previously, employees wanting to communicate compliantly via messaging platforms including WhatsApp, WeChat, Facebook (News - Alert) Messenger, Skype, and LinkedIn, had to access their social media channels via a company computer. Qumram is the only firm able to deliver seamless and transparent social media recording. Qumram records every digital interaction (web, social, mobile), and replays them on-demand. The movie-like replay displays every motion, mouse movement, click and swipe, exactly as the customer or employee saw it. Financial institutions governed by global regulations (e.g. SEC (News - Alert), FINRA, MiFID II, ESMA, Fidleg, FFSA) gain a complete digital audit trail, along with analytics that deliver deep customer experience insights. This ground-breaking solution will be demonstrated at FinovateFall NYC (September 11-14) and in a webinar "Truly-compliant WhatsApp and WeChat Surveillance: Seeing is Believing" on October 11. Register here
Patrick Barnert, CEO at Qumram, commented: "Social media is a financial services blind-spot. Firms routinely record voice and email communications, and believe they are compliant. However, MiFID II requires all relevant e-communications to be recorded, including websites, client portals, mobile apps, and social media. Those who have left it late to address MiFID II digital record-keeping compliance are under great pressure to source a compliant social media recording solution before January 2018." "Many employees already use instant messaging tools like WhatsApp and WeChat to communicate with colleagues and customers; they are breaching compliance every day," continues Barnert. "Financial institutions have three choices: do nothing and continue operating at risk, ban social media usage and risk client loss, or source a compliant solution. Most are choosing the latter."
Follow Qumram: Twitter LinkedIn About Qumram (www.qumram.com) View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170911006004/en/
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Absolute Balance Studios held their Grand Opening at 6115 South Fort Apache, Suite 104, on September 8 in Las Vegas. Carmita, Marco and Paulo Lorador have been accomplished hand balancers for over 40 years (Photo credit: Ira Kuzma Photos / www.IraKuzmaPhotos.com).
Photo credit: Ira Kuzma Photos / www.IraKuzmaPhotos.com
The unique studio offers hand balancing, aerial and power yoga, pilates, and contortion all taught by the Cirque acrobats.
Photo credit: Ira Kuzma Photos / www.IraKuzmaPhotos.com
Some of the guests in attendance included: Ricardo Laguna, Mrs. Nevada, Stephanie Barrett and Mrs. Red Rock, Amanda Klein, as well as several cast members from the cast of Mystere.
Photo credit: Ira Kuzma Photos / www.IraKuzmaPhotos.com
By: Dezan Shira & Associates
Editor: Koushan Das
Vietnam will be introducing a customs bond system to facilitate customs clearance and reform import and export procedures. The joint project launched by the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation (GATF) and Vietnam Private Sector Forum (VPSF) on 1st September will help in modernizing the import and export administrative procedures. GATF will work with local government agencies and monitor the Vietnam Automated Cargo and Port Consolidated System (VNACCS) and Vietnam Customs Information System (VCIS) to assist in implementing the new system.
GATF consists of the World Economic Forum, the International Chamber of Commerce, and the Center for International Private Enterprise together with the governments of Australia, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States to setup a public private platform to support trade facilitation reforms.
The project will assist Vietnam in meeting its WTO commitments and implementing its governments Resolution 19, which aims to improve the business environment and national competitiveness. Vietnam will be the first Asian country and the first developing nation to be selected by WTO under the WTO Trade Facilitation. The WTO Trade Facilitation, which came into effect on February 22, 2017, after being ratified by 112 countries, aims to ease trade procedures, reduce barriers, and increase developing countries engagement with global trading routes.
RELATED: Pre-Investment Advisory Services from Dezan Shira & Associates
Customs bond
Customs bond is an agreement, which ensures that importers will pay all relevant fees and taxes and operate in accordance with all laws and regulations. As per the new reforms, anyone importing goods or transporting them locally must buy a bond from a surety company. If the importing company is unable to pay the fees or follow regulations, customs department can file a claim against the bond. In that case, the surety company will be required to compensate to customs and the importing company will be required to pay back to the surety company.
Customs bond is currently used in the US, Australia, Sweden, New Zealand, UK, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and South Korea.
Benefits of customs bond
Customs clearance procedures in Vietnam accounts for 72 percent of the total time it takes goods to be released from the border. Customs bonds will significantly reduce the customs clearance timeline for importers and exporters and act as a contract to ensure that importers oblige with duties, taxes, and fees owed to the government.
In addition, it will lead to an increase in trade volumes, effective trade monitoring, government revenues, and overall economic growth. The new system aims to streamline the cumbersome customs documentations procedures leading to a faster customs clearance.
To ensure the success of customs bond, the government has to make sure that surety companies have all the information about the importers so that they do not incur losses while making restitutions to customs.
Going forward
The government has taken numerous steps in the last few years such as electronic customs clearance, to reduce complications and delays in import and export procedures. In the recent World Banks Doing Business 2017 ranking, Vietnam climbed nine spots to 82, with cross-border trading ranking related to import-export operations rising by 15 spots to 93. As per the report, the time needed to handle import and export procedures, which includes documentation and border clearances stood at 138 and 108 hours respectively. Vietnam aims to reduce it to 80 and 60 hours respectively by 2020.
Vietnam has to continue to modernize and reform its trade related procedures to increase competitiveness and integrate further into the global supply chains.
Dezan Shira & Associates Brochure
Dezan Shira & Associates is a pan-Asia, multi-disciplinary professional services firm, providing legal, tax and operational advisory to international corporate investors. Operational throughout China, ASEAN, and India, our mission is to guide foreign companies through Asias complex regulatory environment and assist them with all aspects of establishing, maintaining and growing their business operations in the region. This brochure provides an overview of the services and expertise Dezan Shira & Associates can provide.
An Introduction to Doing Business in Vietnam 2017
An Introduction to Doing Business in Vietnam 2017 will provide readers with an overview of the fundamentals of investing and conducting business in Vietnam. Compiled by Dezan Shira & Associates, a specialist foreign direct investment practice, this guide explains the basics of company establishment, annual compliance, taxation, human resources, payroll, and social insurance in this dynamic country.
Managing Contracts and Severance in Vietnam
In this issue of Vietnam Briefing, we discuss the prevailing state of labor pools in Vietnam and outline key considerations for those seeking to staff and retain workers in the country. We highlight the increasing demand for skilled labor, provide in depth coverage of existing contract options, and showcase severance liabilities that may arise if workers or employers choose to terminate their contracts.
AkzoNobel will repaint 100 schools within the next three years as part of the company's social responsibility initiative
Guided by the companys Human Cities Initiative, the project will provide a splash of colour and inspiration to refresh the learning space for these schools and help inspire Vietnamese pupils to study and develop.
AkzoNobel hopes to reach out to as many as 100 schools in three years. In 2017, AkzoNobel Vietnam is already on its way to fulfil its commitment to revitalise and give a facelift to 20 schools by sponsoring more than35,000 litres of innovative exterior and interior paint from the Dulux and Maxilite portfolio to repaint old and dilapidated walls in schools.
The schools identified for this project are those in disadvantaged areas with visible degradation and lack of funds to renovate. AkzoNobel believes that all students deserve a clean, spacious, and inspiring studying environment as part of AkzoNobels continuous efforts to help foster a colourful and sustainable community in Vietnam.
The companys pledge also resonates with its 350 Vietnamese employees who have spent over 2800 hours in community service to complete these 20 schools themselves.
The colour palette used for these schools depended on the function of the rooms. For example for classrooms, primarily warm hues like earth brown, pale white or yellow were used to make the space seem wider and help pupils to reduce stress and enhance their attention during class.
Chau Ngoc Tuan, the principal of Kim Dong Secondary School in Quang Nam province, said: We are so delighted to receive such great support from AkzoNobel Paints Vietnam. The dream of a new learning environment for our teachers and pupils has become true. Moreover, we are deeply impressed by the fact that AkzoNobels employees directly joined in recoating the school. I believe that the spacious, clean, and friendly studying space will lend students more power in the new school year. We highly appreciate AkzoNobel Vietnams contribution to our school.
AkzoNobel's employees recoating the school building by their own hands
AkzoNobels employee involvement in community building in Vietnam has been demonstrated through various other programmes, such as the Green Volunteer Summer Campaign 2017 which beautified selected alleys and streets in Ho Chi Minh City by going through 2,700 litres of paint and One Community Day AkzoNobel Sharing Love where AkzoNobel Vietnam employees volunteered to repaint school facilities, provided necessary equipment and water filtration systems to improve the lives of disabled people, orphans, and single elderly people.
To us, business is sustainability and sustainability is business. Sustainable development is one of the most critical core values at AkzoNobel that is present in our every business and community activity. With the mission of making life more liveable and inspiring, AkzoNobel hopes that our contribution will inspire the community to bringing positive values to society, said Pamela Phua, general manager of AkzoNobel Paints Vietnam.
APEC 2017 Startups Forum took place in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Le Toan
On September 12, 2017, the APEC 2017 Startups Forum took place in Ho Chi Minh City. With the aim of supporting MSMEs, the forum is expected to draw up solutions for MSMEs to innovate, integrate, and access the global value chain right at their nascent business stage, thereby accelerating sustainable and environment-friendly socioeconomic growth.
Vo Tan Thanh, deputy chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said that creating a startup ecosystem is important to encourage the strong growth of startup businesses in developing countries, such as Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
Currently, Vietnam is actively encouraging startups all around the country by implementing new policies to support these innovative enterprises.
According to the directions of the government, by 2020, there will be one million active enterprises in Vietnam. This is the foundation for the government to conduct new policies to facilitate enterprise development.
Launching the forum in Ho Chi Minh City was an appropriate choice, as this is a leading city for the startup trend, giving rise to a strong wave of new enterprises. Ho Chi Minh City wishes to become an urban centre of startups, targeting to host 500,000 active enterprises by 2020.
The APEC 2017 Startups Forum was proposed by VCCI and received support from numerous enterprises in Vietnam. The forum aims to provide APEC economies with opportunities to exchange experience and propose innovative ideas to build a sustainable APEC community.
The forum also unified the APEC 2017s main target of supporting and modernising MSMEs.
Tran Van Tung, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology, said that APEC economies should enhance cooperation on economy, technology, and information exchange. He also emphasised that promoting startups is an inevitable trend.
We have enough evidence to say that startups and innovation, from startup networks, startup nations to silicon valleys, have never been seen by APEC economies like this, Tung said.
He indicated that the startup ecosystem is being built so there are still huge differences among APEC economies, and startups are confronted with numerous difficulties in calling for resources. Thus, APEC economies should enhance cooperation to create a strong foundation to support startups and innovation.
International delegates take part in the APEC SME Finance Forum in HCM City. - VNA Photo Thanh Vu.
Nguyen Hoa Cuong, chair of the APEC SME Working Group and a senior official in the Ministry of Planning and Investment, said in his opening speech: MSMEs stimulate domestic demand through job creation, innovation and competition, and are thus a driving force behind a resilient national economy. In addition, SMEs in global supply chains promote international trade.
Prioritising SMEs development is therefore critical for promoting inclusive economic growth. This priority for APEC 2017 will help maintain important momentum to advance APECs work with regard to MSMEs.
But lack of access to finance is a major barrier to their growth, he said.
Given the diversified nature of SMEs, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for SME finance. However lending sophistication and the diversification of financing modalities can help SMEs access the right type of finance for their evolving needs along their growth path.
Julius Caesar Parrenas, APFF coordinator, APEC Business Advisory Council, and senior advisor at the Japanese-based Nomura Research Institute, told Viet Nam News: The traditional sources of finance have been banks, but it has been very difficult for SMEs to access finance through banks, mainly because most developing countries in the region do not have the financial infrastructure, a system to implement or credit information.
And so from the point of view of banks, it is very difficult for them to lend to SMEs because of the risks involved due to the underdevelopment of the financial market infrastructure.
Now that is being addressed and APEC is doing a lot about it, but in the meantime the question is: what are the sources we can tap to finance SMEs?
And so we are looking at the innovation space. There has been a lot of innovation in the financial sector, which opens up a lot of opportunities for SMEs to access finance.
At the first session of the forum, titled Challenges of SME finance and the recent innovations around the Asia Pacific region, speakers reflected on the difficulties faced by SMEs in obtaining funding and took stock of significant recent innovations in the region, especially in digital finance, and discussed the associated challenges.
How to organise and optimise receivables and inventory finance by leveraging the chain relationships and the role of supply chain finance in the SME finance market were also highlighted.
A session on Scaling up supply chain finance to strengthen SME competitiveness and innovation reviewed the developments in supply chain finance in the Asia-Pacific region.
It discussed the main lessons from developing a sustainable and inclusive supply chain finance market, the value-addition that supply chain finance provides in building competitive eco-systems, whether supply chain finance benefits SMEs to the desired extent, how supply chain finance can be best used to strengthen SME competitiveness and innovation, and how APEC economies can leverage more cross-border supply chain finance to deepen regional economic integration.
At another session on Developing electronic supply chain finance platforms in the digital age, delegates discussed the increasing movement of supply chains online together with their financial institutions, as a result of which electronic supply chain finance platforms have emerged strongly in some markets.
They also discussed if these platforms have fulfilled their promises in general, made supply chain finance easier and cheaper for SMEs with the digital channels and helped more SMEs participate effectively in global and regional supply chains.
The last part of the forum, a panel discussion, considered the way forward and what more could be done to promote the development of supply chain finance and electronic supply chain finance platforms.
Delegates heard that these could involve further policy and regulatory reforms and sector capacity building or at the level of specific supply chain finance providers.
Money and other exhibits seized in a illegal gambling place. - Photo baogiaothong.vn
The city police on Monday raided 11 illegal internet gambling dens and illegal lotteries organised by the ring, arresting seven and seizing more than VN5 billion (US$220,000) in cash and various exhibits.
The ring was headed by Tran Van Muoi Hai, born in 1975 and residing in HCM City, and a Chinese man. The duo had organised cock fights, illegal lotteries and high-stakes internet gambling, worth over a trillion ong (millions of US dollars).
Hai co-operated with Chinese-Malaysian gamblers to release fake gambling results, causing several fights with other gangs.
The police are now expanding the investigation.
Production of high-quality coffees such as Arabica are at risk as a result of rising temperatures and changes in the bee population. (Photo: AFP/Yuri Cortez)
Production of high-quality coffees such as Arabica are at risk as a result of rising temperatures and changes in the bee population. (Photo: AFP/Yuri Cortez)
The study suggests high quality coffees are most at risk - with Arabica coffee unable to withstand even slight fluctuations in temperature, humidity and sunlight.
Robusta coffee, mostly grown in Africa to be made into instant coffee, is slightly more resistant.
"Coffee is one of the most valuable commodities on Earth, and needs a suitable climate and pollinating bees to produce well," said study co-author Taylor Ricketts, director of the University of Vermont's Gund Institute for Environment.
"This is the first study to show how both will likely change under global warming - in ways that will hit coffee producers hard."
During the study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), researchers estimated changes in Arabica coffee distribution in Latin America among 39 species of pollinating bees.
They concluded that a temperature increase of over 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (two degrees Celsius) by 2050 will reduce seed production by between 73 and 88 per cent in locations best known for coffee production currently.
A fall in the bee population of 8 to 18 per cent will also contribute to this decline.
The largest production losses are expected in Honduras, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
But it's not all bad news - as researchers suggested bee population and diversity in other areas is, in fact, likely to increase.
This would contribute to a favourable coffee-growing environment in the likes of Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Mexico, where temperatures in mountainous regions are expected to be more suitable.
The study also highlights the importance of tropical forests for bees and other key pollinators.
Around 91 per cent of Latin America's most fertile areas for coffee production are currently less than 1.9 kilometres from a rainforest.
[September 11, 2017] New JEDEC Committee to Set Standards for Wide Bandgap Power Semiconductors
JEDEC Solid State Technology Association, the global leader in standards development for the microelectronics industry, today announced the formation of a new JEDEC committee: JC-70 Wide Bandgap Power Electronic Conversion Semiconductors. Led by interim chairs from Infineon, Texas Instruments, and Wolfspeed, a Cree (News - Alert) Company, the new JC-70 committee will initially have two subcommittees: Gallium Nitride (GaN) and Silicon Carbide (SiC) and focus on Reliability and Qualification Procedures; Datasheet Elements and Parameters; and Test and Characterization Methods. JC-70's first committee meeting will be co-located with the 5th IEEE (News - Alert) Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices and Applications (WiPDA), on October 30, 2017 in Albuquerque, NM. JEDEC meetings are open to committee members and invited guests only, and interested companies worldwide are welcome to join JEDEC to participate in this important standardization effort. Contact Emily Desjardins ([email protected] ) for more information. Silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) are the most mature wide bandgap (WBG) power semiconductor materials and offer immense potential for enabling higher performance, more compact, and energy efficient power systems. "WBG GaN and SiC technologies are poised to benefitfrom the development of standards focused on quality and reliability, datasheets, and test methods," said Tim McDonald, Senior Director, GaN Applications and Marketing at Infineon Technologies (News - Alert).
During an industry conference in the spring of 2016, a working group of industry experts was formed. Designated as GaNSPEC DWG, it began laying the necessary groundwork for the development of standards for GaN. JEDEC began providing logistical support to the group shortly thereafter. "To meet the demand of today's energy and product requirements, this team is helping to create the mature industry infrastructure that customers need to design power supplies," said Dr. Stephanie Watts Butler, technology innovation architect at Texas Instruments (News - Alert). "The broad academic and industry participation is indicative of the importance of wide bandgap for complying with these requirements."
GaNSPEC DWG was soon joined by a counterpart: the SiCSPEC working group. The two groups grew to almost 50 device manufacturers, equipment manufacturers, technology creators, academic representatives, and government labs from the US, Europe, and Asia. "Our consensus is that JEDEC is the logical home for the continuation of these efforts in a public forum, and the team is delighted to invite industry participation in this new JEDEC committee," said Dr. Jeff Casady, Business Development & Programs Manager from Wolfspeed, a Cree Company. "Creating clear, universal standards is a key step in advancing the adoption of wide bandgap technologies. These new parameters will enable users to design SiC and GaN devices into the systems of tomorrow, thus creating a more energy efficient future." John Kelly, JEDEC President, added, "The formation of the JC-70 committee is part of an ongoing effort within JEDEC to extend our standards setting expertise to new technologies to meet market demands. We welcome all interested companies to participate in the development of open industry standards within JEDEC." About JEDEC JEDEC is the global leader in the development of standards for the microelectronics industry. Thousands of volunteers representing nearly 300 member companies work together in over 50 JEDEC committees to meet the needs of every segment of the industry, manufacturers and consumers alike. The publications and standards generated by JEDEC committees are accepted throughout the world. All JEDEC standards are available for free download from the JEDEC website. For more information, visit www.jedec.org. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170911005910/en/
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
A hostess stands next to a 3D model during the Cityscape Global exhibition, Dubai's premier property show, in Dubai. (AFP/GIUSEPPE CACACE)
Exhibitors at the three-day Cityscape Global showed off models of high-end skyscrapers and even "Floating Venice", a resort complete with underwater suites.
The US$680 million Venice development four kilometres off Dubai will have capacity of 3,000 visitors.
Real estate is a mainstay in Dubai which has the most diversified economy in the oil-rich Gulf, with oil sales bringing in under 10 per cent of state revenues.
Dubai first became a magnet for property investment when it opened the sector to foreigners in 2002, in a region where freehold ownership is often restricted to nationals.
The emirate's property market surged at breakneck speed until the global financial crisis hit debt-laden Dubai in 2009, sending prices into free-fall.
A recovery led by tourism, trade and transportation pushed prices up again between 2012 and 2014.
But the market has seen prices fall again since 2014 for both rents and sales as demand dropped following the slump in oil prices and weak economic growth.
"Over the past three years, prices have dropped by 14 per cent and we are now 30 per cent lower than in 2008," Faisal Durrani of Cluttons, an international property services and research agency, told AFP.
But he said Expo 2020, the international mega exhibition which Dubai is hosting, is expected to drive a comeback.
He said Expo is expected to generate as many as 300,000 jobs by 2020, creating more demand for real estate.
Dubai-based real estate services firm Asteco said apartment prices fell seven percent year on year in the first half of 2017.
"We do not expect the market to recover until economic sentiment improves in line with increased government spending, further implementation of diversification strategies and the anticipated gradual rise in oil prices," Asteco managing director John Stevens said in a report.
Illustration photo
The project aims to strengthen the capacity of the healthcare system in mother-children area with a view to expanding coverage and improving the quality of integrated Early Childhood Development (IECD), including healthcare services, nutrition, environmental sanitation especially among the group of most vulnerable children. The project also targets to ensure social integration and social equity for targeted people.
It will be implemented in the 2017-2021 period in Ha Noi and three provinces namely Gia Lai, Kon Tum, and Dien Bien.
The ODA project values over US$ 5.1 million. The Vietnamese Government will contribute VND 16 billion and items worth VND 8 billion.
The PM tasked the Ministry of Health to review and implement the project.
Officials investigate a train at a station in Andermatt, Switzerland, after a train locomotive crashed into its own passenger cars. (Photo source: Urs Flueeler/Keystone via AP)
Officials investigate a train at a station in Andermatt, Switzerland, after a train locomotive crashed into its own passenger cars. (Photo source: Urs Flueeler/Keystone via AP)
"No one is in critical condition," said a spokeswoman for the regional police in the Swiss canton of Uri.
Around 100 people were onboard when the accident happened shortly before midday, including three school classes counting 65 primary and secondary school students, the Swiss daily Blick reported.
Eighteen of those injured were children, it said. The ATS news agency said that of the 15 other people injured, 13 were Swiss and two were Dutch.
The accident happened shortly as a train run by the Matterhorn-Gotthard rail company, made up of a locomotive and five carriages, attempted a manoeuvre at the station in Andermatt, near the Italian border.
The locomotive was supposed to move to a parallel track to move from the back of the train to the front, and allow the train to head back towards the Alpine resort of Disentis.
But Jan Barwalde, a spokesman for the rail company, told AFP something had gone wrong and the locomotive had slammed into the carriages.
"For some reason, the locomotive drove into the convoy it had just detached from, instead of moving onto the parallel track," he said.
He said the locomotive had been travelling at a speed of 15 to 20 kilometres per hour, and there appeared to be very little material damage.
But the collision was nonetheless dramatic for the school children, many of whom were heading to a camp.
"We were just getting into the train when there was a jerk," 32-year-old secondary school teacher Chantal Michel told Blick.
She said some students who were on the stairs lifting suitcases into the train when the accident happened had fallen.
Twenty-five of those injured had been taken to hospital, but most were quickly released.
Another teacher, Andre Kobelt, told Blick that one child was being kept in hospital overnight with a suspected concussion.
Three rescue helicopters and around a dozen ambulances were sent to the scene, Swiss media reported.
The regional police and the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board have opened an investigation into the accident.
The UN Security Council during an emergency meeting over North Korea's latest missile launch, at UN Headquarters in New York. (Photo: AFP/Kena Betancur)
The UN Security Council during an emergency meeting over North Korea's latest missile launch, at UN Headquarters in New York. (Photo: AFP/Kena Betancur)
UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council on Monday (Sep 11) unanimously imposed new sanctions on North Korea, slapping a ban on textile exports and restricting shipments of oil products to punish Pyongyang for its sixth and largest nuclear test.
With backing from China and Russia, the council voted 15-0 to back the US-drafted sanctions resolution just one month after banning exports of coal, lead and seafood in response to North Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
US Ambassador Nikki Haley said the tough new measures were a message to Pyongyang that "the world will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea," but she also held out the prospect of a peaceful resolution to the crisis.
"We don't take pleasure in further strengthening sanctions today," Haley told the council.
"We are not looking for war. The North Korean regime has not yet passed the point of no-return.
"If it agrees to stop its nuclear programme, it can reclaim its future. If it proves it can live in peace, the world will live in peace with it," Haley added.
"If North Korea continues its dangerous path, we will continue with further pressure. The choice is theirs."
During tough negotiations, the United States dropped initial demands for a full oil embargo and a freeze on the foreign assets of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un in a bid to win support from China and Russia.
The resolution instead bans textile exports, cuts off natural gas shipments to North Korea, places a ceiling on deliveries of refined oil products and caps crude oil shipments at their current level.
It bars countries from issuing new work permits to North Korean labourers sent abroad and seeks to phase out the practice by asking countries to report on the date for ending existing contracts.
Some 93,000 North Koreans work abroad, providing Kim's regime with a source of revenue to develop its missile and nuclear programmes, according to a US official familiar with the negotiations.
Under the measure, countries are authorised to inspect ships suspected of carrying banned North Korean cargo but must first seek the consent of the flag-state.
Joint ventures will be banned and the names of senior North Korean official and three entities were added to a UN sanctions blacklist that provides for an assets freeze and a global travel ban.
It was the eighth series of sanctions imposed on North Korea since it first tested a nuclear device in 2006.
'BIG MISTAKE' TO AVOID TALKS
The United States and its allies argue that tougher sanctions will pile pressure on Kim's regime to come to the negotiation table to discuss an end to its nuclear and missile tests.
Russia and China are pushing for talks with North Korea, but their proposal for a freeze on Pyongyang's missile and nuclear tests in exchange for suspending US-South Korean military drills has been rejected by the United States.
Addressing Russian and Chinese concerns, the resolution expressed support for dialogue and the need "to resolve the situation through peaceful, diplomatic and political means."
Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the council it would be a "big mistake to under-estimate this Russia-China initiative" for a so-called freeze-for freeze, adding that Moscow would "insist on it being considered."
Chinese Ambassador Liu Jieyi again called for talks "sooner rather than later".
China, North Korea's sole ally and main trading partner, had strongly objected to an oil embargo initially sought by the United States out of fear that it would bring the North's economy to its knees.
Some four million barrels per year of crude oil will continue to flow from China through a pipeline, but the resolution would cap those deliveries at the current level, according to the US official.
The resolution limits deliveries of refined oil products to 500,000 barrels for three months from Oct 1 and to two million barrels from Jan 1 for a period of 12 months.
That would amount to a 10 per cent cut in oil products, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), which estimates annual exports to North Korea at nearly 2.2 million barrels.
North Korea imports mostly gasoline and diesel fuel from China vital to the country's agriculture, transportation and military sectors, according to the EIA.
The US official said the ban on textile exports would deprive North Korea of some US$726 million in annual revenue.
Washington has said military action remains an option in dealing with North Korea and threatened to cut economic ties with countries that continue to trade with the it. Around 90 per cent of the North's external commerce is with China.
Earlier, North Korea said it would not accept any chastisement over its nuclear and missile programme, which it says is vital to stave off the threat of an American invasion.
"The DPRK shall make absolutely sure that the US pays due price," its foreign ministry said, in a statement published by the official KCNA news agency.
"The forthcoming measures to be taken by the DPRK will cause the US the greatest pain and suffering it had ever gone through in its entire history."
Pyongyang has staged a series of missile tests in recent months, culminating in an intercontinental ballistic missile that appeared to bring much of the US mainland into range.
It followed up with a sixth nuclear test on Sep 3, its largest to date, which North Korea said was a hydrogen bomb small enough to fit onto a missile.
Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh addresses the opening ceremony of the 14th CAEXPO and the 14th CABIS in Nanning on September 12
Deputy PM Binh, Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli and leaders of ASEAN countries were attending the opening ceremony of the 14th China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) and the 14th China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (CABIS).
The Vietnamese official hailed the importance of this years CAEXPO, held amid the 50th founding anniversary of ASEAN. He affirmed that CAEXPO and CABIS events have contributed to the growth of the ASEAN-China strategic partnership.
Vietnam attaches importance to CAEXPOs and has more than 250 booths at this, the 14th edition. It has been the ASEAN country with the biggest number of booths at the expo for 12 straight years, he noted.
He also detailed Vietnams resolve to integrate into the world and responsibly contribute to regional and international issues. The country has strategic and comprehensive partnerships with many countries, while having economic and trade relations with 224 countries and territories.
Vietnam is one of the successful developing nations in attracting foreign direct investment, and is striving to attain sustainable growth by improving growth quality and making use of chances generated by Industry 4.0 to promote labour productivity and competitiveness, the Deputy PM said.
[China proposes seven points to take ties with ASEAN to new level]
Binh emphasised that Vietnam is ready to link the ASEAN Economic Community and China, and together with other ASEAN countries to enhance cooperation, keep peace and stability, and solve differences for the sake of all parties interests, thus ensuring smooth economic cooperation and contributing to peace, cooperation, development and prosperity in the region.
For his part, Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli reviewed cooperation policies and activities between his country and ASEAN, underlining that China treasures its ties with ASEAN.
He suggested cooperation policies for the time ahead, including the consolidation of political trust to create a foundation for boosting overall cooperation, including in economy-trade, production capacity improvement, resources connection and people-to-people exchange.
The CAEXPO and the CABIS have become an important mechanism for bolstering friendship exchanges, trade and ties between ASEAN and China. They have also turned into a destination for businesses from China, ASEAN and other regions, Zhang added.
A portion of the roof at Her Majestys Prison in Balsam Ghut, Tortola, was torn apart by Hurricane Irma.
Tourists line up in Havensight on Monday to register to depart the island aboard cruise ships bound for St. Thomas.
[September 11, 2017] TAG Cyber Security Names Agari a Distinguished Vendor
Agari, a leading cybersecurity company, today announced it was named a Distinguished Vendor in the 2018 TAG Cyber Security Annual. Agari was highlighted in the report for the uniqueness, importance and relevance of the Agari Email Trust Platform, which is the only solution available today that enables security teams to prevent email phishing attacks by identifying the true senders of emails. "Today, 95% of security breaches start with a deceptive email. The damage from just one of these attacks can be catastrophic both in their immediate financial consequences and in the long-term erosion of trust in business," said Ravi Khatod, CEO of Agari. "The TAG Cyber Security Annual plays a key role in helping security teams strengthen their defenses, and we are honored to be included in the 2018 TAG Cyber Security Annual." "Email phishing attacks are probably the number one threat facing modern enterprises, as it is human nature to want to click on that enticing email link," said Edward Amoroso, founder and chief executive officer of TAG Cyber. "The Agari Email Trust Platform identifies dangerous senders before you get the chance to click that link, and is therefore essential." "The Agari Email Trust Platform is the industry's only artificial intelligence (AI) driven defense system to protect organizations from being deceived by email-based cyberattacks such as phishing, ransomware and business email compromise," added Khatod. The2018 Tag Cyber Security Annual was developed to assist enterprise security teams as they modernize their cyber risk program by detailing three key steps: exploding the flat perimeter enterprise into distributed workloads; offloading the resultant applications and networks onto cloud-based, software-defined infrastructure; and then reloading protections using the best available cyber security technologies. The report includes a comprehensive analysis of the cybersecurity industry with specific insights from C-level executives and thought leaders.
The 2018 Tag Cyber Security Annual is available as a free download on Agari's website and TAG Cyber's website. About TAG Cyber, LLC
The Amoroso Group (TAG Cyber) is a global cyber security advisory, training, consulting and media services company. Led by Edward Amoroso, industry veteran and former chief security officer for AT&T (News - Alert), TAG Cyber supports hundreds of companies around the world by providing a roadmap for identifying, preventing and eliminating cyberattacks on their systems and data. About Agari Agari, a leading cybersecurity company, protects people and businesses against cyber criminals who use false identities to commit fraud, steal information and undermine trust in digital business. The Agari Email Trust Platform is the industry's only artificial intelligence (AI) driven defense system that models authentic, trustworthy communications to protect humans from being deceived by cyberattacks such as phishing, ransomware and business email compromise (BEC). Some of the world's best-known companies-including six of the top 10 banks, the top five social networks, leaders in healthcare, shipping and cloud providers-trust Agari to recognize and block these attempts at digital deception in ways other security providers can't. Agari is a recipient of the JPMorgan Chase Innovation Award, and is recognized by Gartner (News - Alert) as a Cool Vendor in Security and by Forbes as a Cloud 100 Rising Star. The company is backed by Alloy Ventures, Battery Ventures, First Round Capital, Greylock Partners, Norwest Venture Partners and Scale Venture Partners. Learn more at http://www.agari.com and follow us on Twitter (News - Alert) @AgariInc. Agari, Agari Email Trust Network and the Agari logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Agari Data. All other marks are the property of their respective companies. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170911006048/en/
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength .
George Orwell, 1984.
In the 80s and 90s, Kurdish society was extremely feudal and patriarchal. It was maintained in a severe state of under-development, which pressured the Kurds to rise up against the military dictatorships which succeeded one another in Ankara [1].
The Kurdistan Workers Party or PKK was a Marxist-Leninist organisation, supported by the Soviet Union, which fought against the dictatorships of the Kemalist generals, who were members of NATO. It freed women and joined progressist combats. With the aid of Hafez el-Assad, it set up a military training camp in the Lebanese plain of Bekaa, under the protection of the Syrian Peace Force, close to the camp of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (FPLP).
During this period, the PKK could not find words strong enough to denounce American imperialism .
When the USSR collapsed, the PKK had more than 10,000 full-time soldiers and more than 75,000 reservists. This war of liberation destroyed more than 3,000 villages and displaced more than 2 million people. Despite their immense sacrifice, it failed.
Arrested in Kenya in 1999, during a joint operation with the Turkish, US and Israeli secret services, the historic leader of the revolt, Abdullah Ocalan, was imprisoned on the island of Imrali in the Sea of Marmara. The PKK collapsed, divided between its imprisoned chief, favourable to peace negotiations, and its lieutenants, for whom war had become a way of life. There were a few more terrorist attacks but it was not clear which were due to combatants who refused to disarm, or to a fraction of the gendarmerie, the JITEM, (Gendarmerie Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism) which also refused the cease-fire.
At the beginning of the Arab Spring , from his cell, Abdullah Ocalan rebuilt the PKK around a new ideology. After secret negotiations with NATO in the Imrali prison, he abandoned Marxist-Leninism for libertarian municipalism . This man, who had always struggled against Turkey in order to build his own state, Kurdistan, now believed that any state is in itself a tool of oppression [2].
The militants of the PKK, who had been forced to flee Turkey during the civil war, had found refuge in the North of Syria [3]. In the name of his followers, Ocalan had pledged in writing that he would never lay a claim to Syrian territory. In 2011, at the beginning of the Western war against Syria, the Kurds formed militias to defend the country which had given them shelter and awarded them Syrian nationality.
However, on 31 October 2014, Salih Muslim - one of the co-presidents of the YPG, the Syrian branch of the PKK, took part in a secret meeting at the Elysees Palace with French President Francois Hollande and his Turkish opposite number, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. There he was promised that he would become the head of state if he agreed to re-create Kurdistan in Syria.
Immediately, the International Coalition, which the United States had just created, allegedly to counter Daesh, offered support to the YPG, providing it with money, training, weapons and supervision. All the imprecations against US imperialism were abandoned, since Washington had now become such a worthy ally. The Kurdish organisation began to expel the original inhabitants from the regions they had chosen for themselves.
Since so far there had been no military engagement by the YPG against Daesh, the United States stage-managed a terrible confrontation at Ain al-Arab, rebaptised for the occasion with the Kurmanji name of Kobane. The international Press was invited to cover the event without risk. The town of Kobane is situated on the Syro-Turkish border, and the journalists were able to follow the combats from Turkey - with binoculars. We dont really know what happened at Ain al-Arab, since the Press was not allowed to enter the town. However, we are in possession of images filmed with tele-photo lenses, and they seem clearly to confirm the stories telling of the brutality of the combats. In any case, the West unanimously concluded that the Kurds were the allies they needed to fight Daesh and Syria.
The Western Press assures us that half of the Kurdish soldiers are women, as are, by statute, half of the leaders of the PKK/YPG. However, on the ground, their presence is rare. Journalistes also affirm that they terrify the jihadists, for whom dying at the hand of a woman is a curse which would forbid them access to paradise. Curiously, the same Press seems to ignore that the Syrian Arab Army also includes female battalions which the jihadists attack with the same rage as their male counterparts.
Despite appearances, the YPG are not as numerous as they claim. Many Syrian Kurds consider the United States as an enemy power, and Syria as their new homeland. They refuse to adhere to the fantasies of Salih Muslim. So the Pentagon has added to the number of their Kurds, not only a few Arab and Assyrian mercenaries, but above all, militants from the European extreme-left.
Just as the CIA has enrolled tens of thousands of young Western Muslims in order to turn them into Islamists, in the same way, it has recruited European anarchists to create the International Brigades, on the model of those which fought in 1936 in Barcelona against the fascists. We can also find auxiliary YPG/NATO troops such as the Internationalist Antifascist Batallion (Central Europe), the Bob Crow Brigade (English and Irish), the Henri Krasucki Brigade (French), the International Revolutionary Peoples Guerrilla Forces (Americas), the Revolutionary Union for Internationalist Solidarity (Greek), the Unity of the Marxist-Leninist Party (Spanish), and all the pro-US Turkish groupuscules (DK, DKP, MLSPB-DC, PDKO, SI, TDP, TKEP/L, TKPML) to mention only the most visible [4].
The battle of Ain al-Arab, which was supposed to set the young Syrians favourable to the Caliphate against young Kurds, cost the lives, on both sides, of young Europeans in search of a better world. The European countries worry about the possible return of young jihadists to their home country, but not the return of young anarchists, although they are just as dangerous. This is probably because it is very much easier to manipulate the latter and recycle them into the next chapter of the imperialist adventures.
In June 2015, the Peoples Democratic Party (HDP), a new political expression of the PKK, received abundant financial support and CIA supervision, when running against Recep Tayyip Erdogans AKP. Suddenly, it broke through the 10% limit of votes it needed to enter the Grand National Assembly, and won 80 deputies.
On 17 March 2016, the YPG proclaimed the autonomy of Rojava , which is the strip of land linking the area of Iraqi Kurdistan to the Mediterranean, along the Syro-Turkish border, but only on the Syrian side. Rojava therfore partially includes the zone of Idleb, which is currently occupied by Al-Qaida.
Since this state has been proclaimed by people who were not born there to the detriment of those who were, it is a colonial project, comparable to Israel, self-proclaimed in Palestine by Jews who had bought land there. The denomination Rojava was chosen in order to distinguish the territory from Kurdistan which is in Turkey, where it was proclaimed in 1920 by the Sevres Conference [5].
At the moment when the Emirate of Al-Qaida in Idleb and the Caliphate of Daesh in Rakka are shrinking rapidly, NATO is pursuing its plan for the dislocation of the Syrian Arab Republic, and intends to create the Rojava of Kameshli.
The Western Press gazes hypnotised at this Rojava , draped with all the fashionable virtues - pacifist, egalitarian, feminist, ecologist, favourable to gender construction, etc. [6]. It doesnt matter that the YPG is in fact an army. It doesnt matter that it is fighting the historic inhabitants of the North of Syria, the Arabs and the Assyrians, because on paper, it has created the Democratic Forces with them.
In Syria, the European Anarchist Brigades are fighting under US command.*
The programmes of the Syrian YPG and the Turkish HDP are in line with US military strategy. Since 2001, the Pentagon has been planning for the medium-term remodeling of the Greater Middle East , in other words, the division of large States into small homogenous States incapable of resistance. In the longer term, it is planning to oppose them, one against the other, until it has battered the region into a state of primeval chaos.
Rojava was not proclaimed as an independent State because, according to the new Ocalan, any nation-State is evil in itself. According to NATO, it is simply an autonomous State which will have to join other autonomous states such as those which will take the place of the nation-State of Syria once it has been overthrown. According to the presently most important theorist of municipalism , the American Murray Bookchin, in order to function as a democracy, the libertarian communities must be homogenous. That is why the pacifist YPG is currently proceding with the ethnic cleansing of Rojava .
CQFD.
August 2014: while Daesh are making progress in Iraq, the jihadists are taking Yezidi villages, killing men and taking women and children as their captives. The women will be used as sex slaves and the lot of adolescents will be forced conscription. Those who can, are taking refuge in the mountains of Sinjar.
Yezidisme is a religion which is an off-shoot of Iranian Mithraism a religion that incorporates elements of Islam. Daesh considers it a brand of blasphemy. Nearly all Yezidis are Kurds.
At the time, Sinjar was under the protection of the regional government of the Iraqi Kurdistan. The Daesh invasion prompted the pershmergas, acting in accordance with a prior agreement concluded between Erbil and Raqqa [1], to abandon the places.
Faced with international alarm, the United States which was supervising the Daesh invasion, checking it off against a plan made during the meeting of Amman, parachuted supplies to the deserters.
Finally, the Turkish PKK came to the aid of the Yezidis and illegally accompanied their flight to Turkey.
Following these events, the PKK asserted its bravery and tried to have its name scrubbed off Washingtons list of terrorist organizations. Yet its efforts were in vain. That said, the CIA which supports Daesh began to work with the Turkish pro-PKK party (the HDP), and the Syrian branch of the PKK (the YPG).
At the time of the referendum for the independence of Kurdistan, the regional government of Iraqi Kurdistan is trying to rewrite history, by its shifting responsibility to the central government of Bagdad. According to Erbil, because Bagdad had not given to them the resources to defend Sinjar, the peshmergas had no other option than to withdraw. As a result, Iraq cannot be trusted and the North of the country must request its independence.
On the poster above, you can see President Barzani, the temple of Charfeddin, and scenes of the Yezidi genocide. The text declares:
To commemorate the genocide of Sinjar: through its tragedy, Sinjar showed human solidarity and forged the Kurdite.
[September 11, 2017] Zayo Announces CFO Transition
Zayo Group (News - Alert) Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ZAYO) today announced that it has appointed Matt Steinfort as chief financial officer (CFO), effective September 15, 2017. Steinfort will report to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dan Caruso (News - Alert). Ken desGarennes will remain through the Company's second fiscal quarter form 10-Q filing in February of 2018 to ensure an orderly transition. "Ken's been a great partner over the first 10 years of Zayo's journey," said Caruso. "He built a strong and diverse team, architected an efficient balance sheet, executed our M&A strategy, and led our global finance, tax and legal operations." Steinfort joined Zayo as executive vice president, Corporate Strategy, Development, & Administration in November 2016. His responsibilities included operational finance, investor relations, treasury, M&A, strategy, real estate and people operations. Steinfort joined Zayo from Envysion, a video intelligence SaaS (News - Alert) company founded by Caruso and Steinfort, where he was CEO for 10 years. Prior to Envysion, he was senior vice president of Corporate Strategy at ICG Communications and held a variety of vice president roles at Level 3 Communications, including Consumer Voice, Corporate Strategy and Development, and Softswitch Strategy and Finance. Earlier in his career, Steinfort held positions at management consultancy Bain & Company and IT consultancy Cambridge Technology Partners. Steinfort received a bachelor's of science in civil engineering and operations research from Princeton University and an MBA from the MIT (News - Alert)-Sloan School of Management. "In addition to working with me across four different companies, Matt has worked directly with several other members of ou executive team and Board over the past 18 years," noted Caruso. "With our strong balance sheet, positive organic growth momentum and line of sight to completing the integration and restructuring work undertaken with recent acquisitions, the timing for this change is appropriate."
"Retiring was a difficult decision, but the presence of a qualified, capable candidate made this the right time to ensure a smooth transition," said desGarennes. "I have no immediate plans beyond retirement and look forward to working alongside Matt and Dan for the coming quarters." "Though we will miss Ken, our board and executive team are excited to have Matt be our CFO," added Caruso.
Caruso will present alongside both Steinfort and desGarennes at the Goldman Sachs Communicopia Conference 2017 on Wednesday, September 13, 2017. About Zayo Group Zayo Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ZAYO) provides communications infrastructure services, including fiber and bandwidth connectivity, colocation and cloud infrastructure to the world's leading businesses. Customers include wireless and wireline carriers, media and content companies and finance, healthcare and other large enterprises. Zayo's 124,000-mile network in North America and Europe includes extensive metro connectivity to thousands of buildings and data centers. In addition to high-capacity dark fiber, wavelength, Ethernet and other connectivity solutions, Zayo offers colocation and cloud infrastructure in its carrier-neutral data centers. Zayo provides clients with flexible, customized solutions and self-service through Tranzact, an innovative online platform for managing and purchasing bandwidth and services. For more information, visit zayo.com. Forward Looking Statements This press release contains a number of forward-looking statements. Words, and variations of words such as "believe," "expect," "plan," "continue," "will," "should," and similar expressions are intended to identify our forward-looking statements. No assurance can be given that future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements will be achieved and actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. For additional information on these and other factors that could affect our forward-looking statements, see our risk factors, as they may be amended from time to time, set forth in our filings with the SEC (News - Alert), including our 10-K dated August 22, 2017. We disclaim and do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement in this press release, except as required by applicable law or regulation. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170911006139/en/
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
France, its people, its struggles and its peoples representatives have always been well received by the Greece people.
I will always recall the enormous contribution made by France in its official capacity, under the leadership of General de Gaulle and the French people: it was France who prevented death penalties, inflicted on us by the Greek regime following our civil war, being executed.
But todays visit is a case apart.
Today, what is might is right.
Greece, now completely powerless thanks to the memorandums, is welcoming a most cynical financial invasion, personified by a group of investors accompanying the French President.
That part of our infrastructure that has still not been transferred to them, is now lining up to be transferred. We are not selling it, we are abandoning it.
They are not investing; they are simply increasing their own wealth by sucking all traces of life from the Greek people.
This assessment is so easy the maths is so easy.
And all this is occurring under a regime of blackmail, unprecedented in history. It occurs with the sword of the master-blackmailer on the table, which accompanies a cynical Vae Victis .
Nothing is going to change the esteem that we nurture for the French people.
However, this does not mean that we will accept as a fait accompli what will be agreed between the groups of entrepreneurs that accompany the President of the French Republic and the Greek Prime Minister.
This is why I am not accepting the invitation to attend todays desecration of the Pnyx.
Photo: HBO and FX
The 69th Emmy Awards air Sunday, September 17, and all this week, Vulture TV columnist Jen Chaney and New York Magazine TV critic Matt Zoller Seitz are breaking down the major categories. What will win? What actually should win? Thats what were here to determine.
Todays focus: The limited-series races.
Outstanding Limited Series
Big Little Lies (HBO)
Fargo (FX)
Feud: Bette and Joan (FX)
Genius (National Geographic)
The Night Of (HBO)
The Emmy should go to: Big Little Lies
Because its intricately structured, humane, often stirring, unusually attentive to the inner lives of women, and superbly cast from leads on down. That the characters just happen to be swimming in money (with the exception of one major character) and live in a paradisiacal beachside community where high-level Emmy voters probably have second homes wont hurt.
The Emmy will go to: Big Little Lies
But dont be surprised if Feud: Bette and Joan sneaks in to grab the top prize in this category. Feud is a deep dive into an earlier era of Hollywood royalty, featuring a cast filled with veteran actors who all have a lot of awards between them: Susan Sarandon, Jessica Lange, Judy Davis, Stanley Tucci, Alfred Molina, et. al.
Outstanding Television Movie
Black Mirror: San Junipero (Netflix)
Dolly Partons Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love (NBC)
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (HBO)
Sherlock: The Lying Detective (PBS)
The Wizard of Lies (HBO)
The Emmy should go to: Black Mirror: San Junipero
A sinuously plotted, time-shifting work about love, death, and virtual reality that rivals the best of the old Twilight Zone. However, its brief running time 61 minutes, barely over the eligibility line separating a movie from a regular dramatic series episode could work against it.
The Emmy will go to: The Wizard of Lies
Barry Levinsons HBO film about the Bernie Madoff scandal was pretty good, not anywhere near great, but the cast (led by Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Alessandro Nivola, Hank Azaria) might prove too prestigious to resist. Never underestimate the TV industry appeal of a story that dissects the failings of a man who was trusted to handle other peoples money and royally screwed them.
Outstanding Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Riz Ahmed, The Night Of (HBO)
Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock: The Lying Detective (PBS)
Robert DeNiro, The Wizard of Lies (HBO)
Ewan McGregor, Fargo (FX)
Geoffrey Rush, Genius (National Geographic)
John Turturro, The Night Of (HBO)
The Emmy should go to: John Turturro
As the beleaguered defense attorney in The Night Of, Turturros subtle character acting is often relegated to the margins of prestige mini-series like this one. Hes better known for going big (in Coen Brothers films and big-budget fantasies like the Transformers franchise), and that can be enjoyable in its own right, but its great to see him working in an Al PacinoinDonnie Brasco mode, letting the complexity of the character happen behind the eyes.
The Emmy will go to: Riz Ahmed
In The Night Of, Ahmed plays a young Pakistani-American accused of murdering a young, native-born white woman, then becoming hardened during a stint at Rikers Island. Between his superb work in this role (often selling plot twists that were rather contrived) and his concurrent, seriocomic turn as a surfing instructor on Girls, this should be the year when the industry rewards his versatility and kicks him up a notch in the pecking order. That actors of Ahmeds cultural background (hes British with Pakistani roots) rarely have premium cable mini-series built around them should be a bonus for voters. All that being said, the temptation to give an Emmy to Method god Robert De Niro might prove too tempting to resist.
Outstanding Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Carrie Coon, Fargo (FX)
Felicity Huffman, American Crime (ABC)
Nicole Kidman, Big Little Lies (HBO)
Jessica Lange, Feud: Bette and Joan (FX)
Susan Sarandon, Feud: Bette and Joan (FX)
Reese Witherspoon, Big Little Lies (HBO)
The Emmy should go to: Nicole Kidman
Kidmans searing work as a woman trying to escape an abusive marriage was one of the most moving, subtle performances on TV this year, strong enough to overcome occasional accent issues. (I just told myself the character emigrated from Australia decades earlier; in any case, not a deal-breaker.) Ive said elsewhere that if you clipped out all of Kidmans scenes in Big Little Lies, strung them end to end and released it as a theatrical film, shed win another Oscar, and I stand by that.
The Emmy will go to: Nicole Kidman
Admittedly, this is a volatile category. Lange or Sarandon could sneak in and grab the award for playing Hollywood legends in Feud if their cheering sections in the Academy dont cancel each other out. Carrie Coon, who was robbed of a best actress in a drama Emmy for The Leftovers, could win here, because she was equally strong performance in Fargo and her fans in the Academy might want to give her a collective youre awesome, keep doing your thing prize.
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Movie
Judy Davis, Feud: Bette and Joan (FX)
Laura Dern, Big Little Lies (HBO)
Jackie Hoffman, Feud: Bette and Joan (FX)
Regina King, American Crime (HBO)
Shailene Woodley, Big Little Lies (HBO)
The Emmy should go to: Regina King
For her performance as Kimara Walters, a social worker who serves as a nexus point for other major stories on American Crime while shes trying to get pregnant. King has been one of the best actresses on television and in movies for 25 years, but she rarely gets the recognition shes due. Shes been great on all three seasons of this ABC anthology series, and this year mightve been her peak. Unfortunately, the show got canceled for low ratings, so its highly unlikely that shell win in this category.
The Emmy will go to: Judy Davis
Shes a force of nature in almost every role, and her performance as gossip queen Hedda Hopper is no exception. Plus, shes been nominated for a dozen Emmys in various categories and won three for 1982s Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story, 2001s Life With Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows, and 2007s The Starter Wife so shes Emmy royalty. Jackie Hoffman, who played Joan Crawfords maid and unofficial handler Mamacita on Feud, could be a wild card here.
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie
Bill Camp, The Night Of (HBO)
Alfred Molina, Feud: Bette and Joan (FX)
Alexander Skarsgard, Big Little Lies (HBO)
David Thewlis, Fargo (FX Networks)
Stanley Tucci: Feud: Bette and Joan (FX)
Michael Kenneth Williams, The Night Of (HBO)
The Emmy should go to: Bill Camp
Like many performers in The Night Of, including Turturro, Camps world-weary detective epitomizes the kind of no-fuss certitude that used to be commonplace in 1940s crime films. He was also been terrific this year on The Leftovers (as a character who might or might not be God) and in the theatrical crime drama Crown Heights.
The Emmy will go to: Alfred Molina or Stanley Tucci
Mark it down for one of the two Feud co-stars: Molina as Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? director Robert Aldrich, who was caught between the Scylla of Joan Crawford and the Charybdis of Bette Davis, or Stanley Tucci as the supremely manipulative Warner Bros. studio boss Jack Warner.
Directing for a Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special
Jean-Marc Vallee, Big Little Lies (HBO)
Noah Hawley, Fargo (FX Networks)
Ryan Murphy, Feud: Bette and Joan (FX Networks)
Ron Howard, Genius (National Geographic)
James Marsh, The Night Of (HBO)
Steve Zaillian, The Night Of (HBO)
The Emmy should go to: Jean-Marc Vallee
For directing Big Little Lies, a series whose supple shifts from past to present and reality to fantasy wouldve been the subject of countless think pieces if it were about tough guys doing tough-guy stuff instead of mothers worried about their children and marriages. Watch it again, and youll appreciate how the story manages to unfurl in the manner of a third-person omniscient novel, switching between characters points of view and jumping in and out of subjective emotional states without confusing the audience. Its remarkable.
The Emmy will go to: Jean-Marc Vallee
But Ryan Murphys ferociously detailed reconstruction of a vanished Hollywood era in Feud also has a shot.
Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or Drama
David E. Kelley, Big Little Lies (HBO)
Charlie Brooker, Black Mirror: San Junipero (Netflix)
Noah Hawley, Fargo (FX)
Ryan Murphy, Feud: Bette and Joan (FX)
Jaffe Cohen, Michael Zam and Ryan Murphy, Feud: Bette and Joan (FX)
Richard Price and Steven Zaillian, The Night Of (HBO)
The Emmy should go to: David E. Kelley
Ive given Kelley a lot of grief over the years for a lot of reasons, much of it deserved, but this mini-series was a marvel of construction. Its insight into its characters rarely struck a false note, even when particular subplots rested on hyped-up melodrama or coincidence.
The Emmy should go to: David E. Kelley
Because hes a multiple winner who did the best work of his career here. The only serious competition I can see are Murphy for Feud (more for Hollywood nostalgia reasons than for the script, which drew fire for historical inaccuracies) and Price and Zillion for The Night Of, a bleak procedural with a touch of Dickensian humanism.
Photo: Phillip Faraone/Getty Images
So Spike Jonze could have won an Oscar 19 years earlier than he did thats what were hearing. While discussing their Man on the Moon behind-the-scenes documentary Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond at the Toronto International Film Festival, Jim Carrey lamented his decision to pass on a young, fresh-faced director by the name of Spike Jonze to direct the 1995 Ace Ventura sequel. (Jonze produced the new doc, however, which was just acquired by Netflix.)
Ive been wanting to do something with Spike forever, the actor said of the Her director, according to ScreenCrush. I was stupid enough to turn him down to direct Ace 2, cause I had no idea who he was. And he came in and pitched all kinds of shit, and he was about to take over the world and I didnt know it. I was like, I dont know, this guys new. And Ive been kicking myself ever since. Considering the fact that When Nature Calls, which was eventually directed by The Nutty Professor screenwriter Steve Oedekerk, would go on to feature Carrey birthing himself nude from a mechanical rhinoceros vagina, you have to wonder: What kinds of shit was Spike Jonze pitching that even Jim Carrey had his doubts about it?
Photo: Curzon Artificial Eye
Spoilers for Disobedience ahead.
This years Toronto Film Festival has been heavy on biopics (The Current War, Borg/McEnroe) and not nearly heavy enough on steamy romances. Very thankfully, that all changed today with the welcome infusion of Disobedience, a beautifully tense tale of forbidden love in a small Orthodox Jewish community in north London, between two best friends from girlhood, played by Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams.
The Rachel-on-Rachel action I know youre dying to hear about is en fuego, but first we have to talk about the buildup, because none of this works without it. In this adaptation of British author Naomi Aldermans award-winning 2006 debut novel of the same name told through touch and silent looks and palpable longing by Chilean director Sebastian Lelio (Gloria) Weisz plays Ronit, the only surviving daughter of an Orthodox rabbi, who upon his death, returns to the community she left behind many years ago. Ronit has been living in Manhattan as a photographer. She smokes, she dresses casually, and the night she finds out the news, goes to a bar, gets drunk, and has wrenching, grief-stricken sex in a bathroom with an unidentified man.
The moment she shows up, unannounced, at her fathers Shiva says everything about her relationship to the community. We werent expecting you, says the man in a beard and yarmulke who opens the door, and stands outside with Ronit, having the kind of halting exchange of people sharing a mutual pain, but having lost a trust between them, for so long that it seems as if Ronit may have to leave before entering. He is Dovid (Alessandro Nivola), the dead Ravs most dedicated disciple, and, it turns out, one of Ronits two best friends before she up and disappeared one day.
The Shiva is an icy place for Ronit, clearly the only person there whos no longer practicing, but Dovids affection for his old friend soon warms it up. As they chat in the kitchen, Ronit learns that hes gotten married to, she assumes, one of the 20 interchangeable traditionalists in the living room. As shes poking fun at him, she discovers its actually to the one other person in the house with whom shes obviously most familiar, Esti (Rachel McAdams), the third member of their childhood friend group whos now a schoolteacher at an Orthodox school. The shock Ronit registers at the pairing suggests that there was perhaps a time when she assumed Esti wouldnt follow a traditional path.
It is decided that Ronit will stay with Dovid and Esti as she pays honor to her father and wraps up the details of his life. The road is not easy; there is the guilt of having not fulfilled a filial duty to be there for him as he suffered, even if she didnt know, and the blow of finding out she wasnt mentioned in his will. Through it, we see glimpses into Dovid and Estis marital life. There is passion and romantic desire between them everyone in this film, but particularly Nivola, with the hardest part in the movie, brings a quiet humanity to this work but Esti also stares at the wall when they have sex, as appears routine every Friday night.
All along, Esti has been showing signs of perhaps not totally conforming. At the dinner table with another rabbis family, she questions the necessity of a woman sacrificing her history to take up her husbands name. Then one day, while helping Ronit run one of the many errands of grieving, they kiss. It is at once tender and urgent, the passion of two people drinking each other in as if discovering water after a long and lonely existence of being parched.
I cannot emphasize how respectful and immersive a portrait this movie is, considering that only a portion of the main creative team is Jewish. (Weisz, whos a producer, and Nivola both come from families who escaped the Nazis though it does take a while to buy any of these movie stars as leading simple lives of piety.) This isnt a cliche indictment of religious insularity, or the tale of a wife escaping her controlling husband or loveless marriage. Instead, it is simply the story of the many forms love can take, and the way that hard choices between who you are and what you know can stand in the way of its fulfillment.
Those intimate kisses clearly are not their first. The two women were caught together once as teens, a fact that, we soon find out, the entire community knows. The stakes of being found out once again are immense: How could Esti be allowed to educate children once her proclivities are known? How could Dovid replace the Rav as the communitys leader if he cant even keep his own house in order?
Related Stories The 30 Most Important Sex Scenes in Movie History
Unable to be apart but unable to be together in public or at home, they escape to a hotel, where that mind-blowing meeting of the Rachels can finally be released. The two drink each other in again, but this time with unhindered relish, McAdamss Esti groaning as Weiszs Ronit undoes the crotch of her bodysuit with her teeth, Esti searching every contour of Ronits mouth with her tongue, then the ecstasy as they each reach inside the others underpants. They are simultaneously ravenous and exquisitely thorough. Though the moment almost everyone will be talking about will be when Weisz straddles McAdams and gently spits into her mouth, as McAdams eagerly receives it and asks for more, and more again.
Is it graphic? Yes. Is it sexy and gorgeous? Yes, again. Is it a tad male-gaze-y? Sure, but also incredibly erotic to watch as a woman. Most of all, though, its moving, and very different from the coming-of-age lesbian scenes of Blue Is the Warmest Color and The Handmaiden. Here are two grown women whove done this before and are well past the discovery phase. Their only desire is to give pleasure to and receive it from one another, and theyve been stymied for so long by circumstances: Esti because she cannot be who she is if she wishes to retain the life shes built, and Ronit because the woman she loves cannot make the same choices that she has.
There is plenty more movie to come, including a searing speech at temple from Nivola, who, again, is incredible in a high-wire act that never makes him come across as a cuckold or a fool. But once Esti and Ronit step out of that hotel room, about two-thirds of the way through the movie, it begins to feel that whats really at stake is not the loss of community or the loss of family, but the fact that these two magnificent women may never get another moment of being naked and spitting in each others mouths again.
On CBS This Morning, former Trump adviser/sentient head cold Steve Bannon who now describes himself as the presidents wingman kept referring to Billy Bush weekend, like its a national holiday with its own Hallmark aisle. When Bannon describes the day, it sounds like hes recounting the Red Wedding: Billy Bush Saturday, to me, was a litmus test. If you side with [Trump], you have to side with him, and thats what Billy Bush weekend showed me. Billy Bush Saturday showed me who really had Donald Trumps back, Bannon told Charlie Rose. Bannon was talking about the weekend the Access Hollywood recording in which the president can be heard encouraging Billy Bush to grab [women] by the pussy dropped, but his choice of words makes it sound like an annual festival. Its not a holiday, Seth says during Late Nights Closer Look. Gather round, children, can you hear it? Its the sound of the Access Hollywood bus! Billy Bush Weekend is here, Tic Tacs for everyone!
[September 12, 2017] FRIDAY Deploys Guidewire InsuranceSuite in the Cloud in Record 60 Days
FRIDAY, the digital motor insurance insurer, and Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE:GWRE), a provider of software products to general insurers, today announced that FRIDAY is using Guidewire InsurancePlatform products to support its business processes and drive its digital insurance model. FRIDAY has already deployed Guidewire InsuranceSuite and Guidewire Rating Management as its platform for underwriting, policy administration, claims management, billing, and rating. FRIDAY is also using Guidewire Digital Portals APIs to enhance its customers' digital experience. FRIDAY, the German branch of Baloise Assurances Luxembourg S.A., provides all its insurance services entirely paperless, mobile and fully digitally integrated, on a pay-by-month basis, and offers an informal and simple approach to motor insurance through creative digital engagement. Working with Guidewire PartnerConnect alliance member, PwC, FRIDAY's team not only implemented the Guidewire platform in the cloud in a record time, but also built an innovative product, new to the German motor insurer market. This product allows car owners to pay for insurance on a per-kilometer basis, with the year's premium adjusted retroactively according to distance, as transmitted by the customer to FRIDAY. "At FRIDAY, we aim to shape the future of insurance by offering and developing customer-centric products," said Christoph Samwer, CEO and co-founder, FRIDAY. "Our first production release includes a mileage-based product, novel for the German market, and illustrates well our aim to provide customers with flexible insurance that suits their specific life-styles. Moving forward, our ambition is to become the most popular mobile insurer in Germany." Guidewire products are enabling FRIDAY to: Provide customers with excellent digital experience through simple and easy-to-use products;
Introduce new products fast (monthly, or possibly weekly) due to automation and proces support;
Benefit from cloud-derived efficiencies and cost savings, such as shutting down server when not required; and
Utilise an integrated technology platform to build an open API architecture.
"We are delighted to welcome FRIDAY as our latest German customer," said Keith Stonell, managing director, EMEA, Guidewire. "The fastest implementation of Guidewire InsuranceSuite ever is a great achievement and highlights their drive. Drawing on the strong pedigree of its parent, the Swiss based Baloise Group, the FRIDAY team brings the expertise of a technology business, and a perspective that will support its ambitious and innovative strategy."
About FRIDAY FRIDAY is the first digital full-service car insurer in Germany to offer a novel coverage paid by the kilometer. The Berlin-based insurer was founded in 2016 with the support of the Swiss insurer, Baloise Group, and is managed by an experienced team led by Christoph Samwer. FRIDAY employs 30 staff, including insurance academics, economists, experienced entrepreneurs and digital experts. FRIDAY operates a digital insurance platform to provide ahead-of-the-curve insurance solutions. Since March 2017, FRIDAY has been offering the first monthly cancellable car insurance product in Germany. In addition, the digital pioneer has introduced further innovations, such as kilometer-accurate billing. The pay-per-kilometer motor insurance is considered to provide a matchless quality of flexibility and fairness to drivers in the German market. For more information, please visit www.friday.de About Guidewire Software Guidewire delivers the software that general insurers need to adapt and succeed in a time of rapid industry change. We combine three elements - core operations, data and analytics, and digital engagement - into a technology platform that enhances insurers' ability to engage and empower their customers and employees. More than 300 general insurers around the world have selected Guidewire. For more information, please visit www.guidewire.com. Follow us on twitter: @Guidewire_PandC NOTE: Guidewire, Guidewire Software, Guidewire ClaimCenter, Guidewire PolicyCenter, and Guidewire BillingCenter are registered trademarks of Guidewire Software, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170912005371/en/
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
A reshaped roofline and other changes that Chip and Joanna Gaines are making to the former Elite Cafe building have won approval from Waco historic preservation officials.
The citys Historic Landmark Preservation Commission last Thursday recommended a certificate of appropriateness for the restaurant that will now be called Magnolia Table. The committee also recommended local tax incentives that could save an estimated $7,000 a year.
The Gaineses company, Magnolia Prime Real Estate, is spending an estimated $2 million on the renovation, which will result in a restaurant that serves breakfast, brunch and lunch. Magnolia officials would not give an estimated opening date, but city planning officials expect it to be early 2018.
Elite Cafe will become Magnolia Table The historic Elite Cafe will become Magnolia Table under the ownership of Chip and Joanna Ga
The firm has been working with the Texas Historical Commission to follow federal historic preservation standards, so last weeks vote was mostly a formality, planning director Clint Peters said.
The federal standards call for preserving the architecturally significant elements while avoiding new features that create a false sense of historical development.
Advisory board chairwoman Marylaine Driese said the board agreed with state historic preservation officials that the additions meet those standards.
For whatever is new, it needs to be clear that its not trying to be part of the original structure, she said. It sounds strange, but they want it to be clear where the addition is.
The roof addition, called a clerestory, features a line of square windows that let daylight into the building below. To satisfy THC concerns, architect Sterling Thompson set back the clerestory from the main facade of the building and used a different roof material from the original Mediterranean-style red tile roof.
Meanwhile, the old doors, windows and awnings, which were not original to the building, are being replaced, and the neon Elite signs have been removed. The marquee sign on the circle is being retained but repainted with the Magnolia Table name.
The building, which dates to 1941, is described by its state historic marker as one of the best remaining regional examples of mid-20th century roadside architecture.
The building exhibits a distinctive Spanish Colonial style popular in the Southwest, the marker says.
Greek immigrant brothers George and Michael Colias opened the restaurant as a second location after the success of their downtown cafe, which they started in 1919 on Austin Avenue.
The building on the Waco Traffic Circle was modified several times over the years, including 1986 and the early 2000s. Owner Creed Ford III closed it in February 2016 after several years of declining business.
Driese, the advisory board chairwoman, said she was surprised that the Gaineses opted not to preserve the Elite name.
I cant say that I was upset by it, she said. I know they have their Magnolia trademark. I love the way the building looks, and I think theyve done a very good job of keeping it recognizable.
For the second time in two weeks, a visiting judge has removed 19th State District Judge Ralph Strother from presiding over a case involving a biker arrested in the 2015 Twin Peaks shootout.
Christopher Jacob Carrizal, the 36-year-old president of the Bandidos Dallas chapter, is still slated to go to trial Tuesday. However, Judge Matt Johnson, not Strother, will be there in an attempt to impanel 150 potential jurors who have been summoned for Carrizals trial. The final jury panel would then be selected from that group.
Carrizals attorney, Casie Gotro, of Houston, said she will file a motion to recuse Johnson on Tuesday morning, which would put a halt at least temporarily to Johnsons involvement in the case.
Regional administrative Judge Billy Ray Stubblefield has contacted a judge to hear the recusal motion if Gotro makes good on her pledge to try to remove Johnson, who said he will not step aside voluntarily. That hearing could be held as early as Tuesday morning, court officials said.
Stubblefield appointed Retired Judge Dan Mills, a longtime former federal prosecutor, to hear the recusal motion against Strother. After a six-hour hearing Monday, Mills, like retired Judge James Morgan last month, applied the reasonable man-on-the-street test to the question and removed Strother from Carrizals case.
The test, as the judges explained it, is whether the average person viewing the situation would wonder if the judge was being fair.
Gotro, who continued her sparring match with prosecutor Michael Jarrett during the hearing, said she would seek to remove Johnson because the facts are the same for both judges. Gotro said last week that she only met Johnson briefly for the first time Aug. 25 when the Carrizal jury panel reported for the first time.
Johnson was prepared to take over for Strother then after Gotro filed her last-second recusal motion. However, Gotro said she also will file a recusal motion against Johnson, so the jury panel was sent home and told to report again Tuesday.
In removing Strother, Mills said testimony concerning the way a so-called DNA docket was handled, in which Strother required those bikers charged in his court to report for a hearing so prosecutors could serve DNA warrants on them, just struck a negative chord in my gut.
Jarrett argued that this is not a DNA case, this has never been a DNA case. We wont be introducing any DNA evidence and they are using this to attack the credibility of a longstanding judge.
Gotro, who said she has never previously filed a recusal motion against a judge in her career, claimed that by calling the DNA hearing, Strother assisted the state in collecting evidence and asserted the judge bent over backward to favor the state at every turn.
I feel like I have been going up against two prosecutors, the state and the judge, Gotro said.
Morgan also cited the DNA docket in deciding to remove Strother last month in cases involving three other bikers charged in the deadly May 17, 2015, Twin Peaks shootout.
Strother and Johnson split the cases of the 155 bikers indicted in the Twin Peaks melee between their courtrooms. It remains unclear what will become of the other 70 or so cases in Strothers court if others also file motions to recuse him.
Gotro, who testified for about an hour, cited other times she said she felt Strother favored the state. Jarrett countered that being overruled on a few pretrial motions does not equate to grounds for removing a judge.
Gotro said she questioned Strothers fairness on the first day she took over for Carrizals first attorney in March. She said Strother accused her and the other attorney of perpetrating a sham on the court by substituting counsel at the last minute in an effort to delay the trial.
We have effectively been without a judge, she said. We havent been getting anything close to fair treatment.
The acrimony between Gotro and Jarrett grew as the hearing went on. Gotro continues to claim that the state is not providing her with all the evidence she is entitled to, a charge Jarrett repeatedly has denied.
He said the state has given all defense attorneys in the Twin Peaks cases evidence from the cases as it has become available.
Jarrett argued that any appearance on Strothers part of bias was brought on by Gotros disrespectful and confrontational attitude. He accused her of flipping off Strother during an August conference in the judges chambers, but Gotro said she actually was flipping Jarrett off.
What would you do if you were the judge and you had a lawyer in court acting like you have been acting? Jarrett asked.
If I had a prosecutor in my court doing what you have been doing, I might understand it, Gotro said. I am here to defend my client.
When newly appointed Robinson Police Chief Phillip Prasifka stepped into his sparsely decorated office for the first time last week, his primary focus had nothing to do with wall hangings or other decorations.
I have always been very big into community policing, the 54-year-old chief said. Im not talking about doing this or having this available. Community policing is something you live every day and its everything you do in law enforcement. Its every relationship. Its every contact you make should be all about community policing.
City officials and community members greeted Prasifka last week when he took his oath of office during a Robinson City Council meeting. Prasifka is filling a vacancy left when former Chief Rusty Smith retired in May after almost 11 years with the city.
Prasifka was chosen from a pool of 52 applicants, eight of whom were interviewed for the position. He had been police chief in Glenn Heights, overseeing about 20 sworn officers, since 1999. He became the Electra police chief in 1997 after starting his career as a patrol officer in College Station.
In his first week in office, Prasifka started meeting individually with staff and administrators to start developing a direction for the department.
Ive gotten very positive feedback in trying to establish personal relationships with all the staff and tell them a little bit about me, because I am from the outside, he said. Its going to be a hefty goal, but I want to set the bench mark as the best law enforcement agency in McLennan County.
Connection with Devlin
Despite leaving southern Dallas County for the Robinson job, Prasifka is a familiar face to Hewitt Police Chief Jim Devlin. While he was a sergeant and lieutenant with the Lancaster Police Department, Devlin worked in partnership with Prasifka and his officers in neighboring Glenn Heights from 1999 to 2009.
We had interactions because our cities were so close together, so I knew him, a lot of his officers and we did have the opportunity to help each other out on specific offenses during the several years that I was with Lancaster, Devlin said. That area is significantly different than Central Texas, with different dynamics there, but I have seen Phillip grow with Glenn Heights and in their growing community.
I think this is the perfect opportunity for Robinson and Chief Prasifka.
Devlin said as population growth continues in Robinson, Prasifka will be able to manage the changing trends in the area. Although Prasifka has decades of police experience, he said he does not consider his new role a retirement job.
Evaluation period
I think Ive hit the ground running and plan to keep getting to know the community and meeting with city officials and local residents, he said. Right now, I am still in an evaluation period, and that is what I am trying to relay to the internal staff and community. If I see something that needs to be addressed immediately, I will address that, but this is a good process to be methodical and evaluate to make sure we all partner together to make the community better.
Prasifka said he plans for the department to develop a significant presence on social media so residents can stay informed. He also plans to establish quarterly meetings with residents to discuss neighborhood concerns.
The city will host a Meet the Chief reception from 4 to 6 p.m. Sept. 20 in the Robinson City Council chambers at 111 W. Lyndale Ave.
Baylor University fell four spots to 75th overall in U.S. News and World Reports latest national ranking of universities.
Four Texas colleges are ranked higher than Baylor. Rice University is 14th, the University of Texas at Austin is 56th, Southern Methodist University is 61st and Texas A&M University is 69th.
Texas Christian University is ranked 78th, a four-spot improvement from last year.
Baylor is ranked second in the Big 12 Conference, 57th among Best Value Schools and 38th for veterans, according to U.S. News and World Report.
Baylor University holds a distinct place in higher education as a national Christian research university, Baylor President Linda Livingstone wrote in a press release. As we continue to emphasize and value the universitys tremendous undergraduate experience, we also are committed to elevating our academic profile and creating a strategic pathway to become a tier-one Christian research university for the benefit of our students, faculty, staff and alumni.
Baylors freshman class of 3,320 students is its most diverse class ever, the university announced in a press release Friday. Freshman minority enrollment is at 37.8 percent, up from 34.2 percent last year.
More than 35 percent of Baylors 17,059 undergraduate and graduate students belong to a minority group.
Baylor received 37,084 applications to enter its freshman class for this academic year, and a record-low 38.9 percent were accepted, according to the press release.
[September 12, 2017] Asavie and MultiTech Deliver Secure Device-to-Cloud Connectivity for New Suite of Security Services
Asavie (News - Alert), the provider of next-generation enterprise mobility management and Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity solutions announced today it has been chosen by Multi-Tech Systems, Inc. to provide secure IoT connectivity management for its new suite of devices and corresponding services designed to empower enterprise customers by delivering end-to-end security for IoT applications. Multi-Tech Systems, Inc., a leading global manufacturer of M2M and IoT communication devices and technology has partnered with Asavie to incorporate secure private networking packaged as a service within its IoT devices. This service is built on the Asavie PassBridgeTM platform which offers organizations secure, seamless, edge- to-cloud connectivity off the public Internet. Pairing Asavie with MultiTech hardware, eliinates the guesswork for enterprises securing their networks. The combined offering enables organizations to protect data collection and transmission from interference, tampering and breach, even on low-power networks, while scaling cloud-based applications over a secure cellular backhaul.
Welcoming the announcement, Lars Jerkland, VP OEM with Asavie, said, "Together, Asavie and MultiTech are eliminating the guesswork for businesses looking to secure their IoT projects. By addressing the secure network connectivity and integration challenges from edge devices to the cloud we are providing companies with a flexible and affordable means of exploiting industrial IoT opportunities across many market sectors." "Together with Asavie we are committed to removing friction from the IoT adoption process for our customers," said Derek Wallace, Director of Product Management for MultiTech. "We developed these services based on customer feedback in order to address real needs in the market, and we're looking forward to continuing our history of innovation and customer service in conjunction with Asavie, by developing new ways to improve their IoT experience."
About Asavie Asavie makes connectivity simple and secure for enterprise mobility and IoT, enabling and accelerating digital transformation. The Asavie PassBridge platform delivers on demand connectivity services to manage and secure connectivity across diverse networks, at scale. Asavie partners with over 20 leading mobile operators including AT&T, Telefonica (News - Alert), Three and Vodafone, as well as OEMs such as AWS, Dell & MultiTech. Asavie enables over 10,000 end-user enterprises large and small to scale their smart, connected projects resulting in increased cost savings and rapid delivery of new services to market. To learn more, visit Asavie in the M2M Zone on the MultiTech booth #N.252 at Mobile World Congress (News - Alert) Americas in San Francisco September 12-14. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170912005194/en/
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[September 12, 2017] Appfire Announces Two Factor Authentication for Atlassian's Bitbucket Server
ATLASSIAN SUMMIT 2017 -Wittified (an Appfire company) announced today at Atlassian Summit 2017 that it has launched new software, which introduces Two Factor Authentication (2FA) to Atlassian's Bitbucket Server. 2FA is a security technique aimed at introducing a second level of authentication to an account when you log-in. In addition to the first factor "Something I know" (e.g., my username / password), 2FA requires a second factor "Something I have". Something that only that user has in their physical position and is available at that moment to validate as a second factor. "Regardless of the size of your company, or what industry you are in, passwords alone no longer provide adequate security," said Daniel Wester, Chief Product Officer, Wittified. "The inability to verify your user's identity will eventually result in data loss, fraud, or malicious attacks against your application or service." There's a good chance you are already using 2FA. Companies such as Apple, Google (News - Alert), Facebook, LinkedIn, and many others already have 2FA capability within their applications. "A humble password is not a security strategy," said Betsy Walker, VP of Business Systems, Appfire. "While it's true that no system is 100% secure, understanding the threats you face will help you improve your security". According to Veizon's 2017 Data Breach Investigations Report, 81% of hacking-related breaches leveraged stolen and/or weak passwords - and 51% involved the injection of malware or malicious changes to source code.
With 2FA for Bitbucket, administrators can now add a second level of authentication when users interact with one or more Git repositories from within Bitbucket or external client applications such as Atlassian's SourceTree, developer IDEs, and the command-line. Administrators can define custom include or exclude access rules, and change all text displayed to their end-users as they interact with 2FA for standardization or localization. Conforming to the latest industry standards, Wittified's 2FA for Bitbucket works with free authenticator apps provided by Google, Twillio, Microsoft (News - Alert), and with many others. Available on Atlassian's Marketplace, 2FA for Bitbucket can be configured and deployed in minutes. For more on Wittified's 2FA for Bitbucket, please visit the Atlassian Marketplace.
About Wittified
Wittified's products help teams administer Atlassian applications at scale and deliver solutions to their customers. The team behind Wittified has a combined 40 plus years working with Atlassian products that are deployed within hundreds of enterprise environments such as: American Express (News - Alert), Capital One, ATT, Samsung, Adobe, Intel and many others. Learn more at http://www.appfire.com. About Appfire
Appfire is one of the largest providers of apps within the Atlassian Marketplace. Since 2005, Appfire has been driving Atlassian products and services into the Enterprise, enabling the world's most advanced teams to quickly innovate, develop, and bring their ideas to market. Learn more at http://www.appfire.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170912005376/en/
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
A brutal internal battle over safe seats in Labor's traditional heartland in the western suburbs is intensifying ahead of the official preselection process, with aggressive challenges to the status quo.
With more than a year to go before the November 2018 state election, the group traditionally in control of the Victorian party's right faction is facing open attacks in at least two seats.
Former communications minister Stephen Conroy is a factional heavy-hitter. Credit:Louise Kennerley
The left's powerbrokers are also seeing their grip on power slip.
The two western Melbourne seats left vacant in the wake of the second residence allowances scandal, first revealed by The Age, are set to be at the centre of the upheaval.
"Aurora over the Southern Ocean in WA."
That's the simple caption on a stunning photograph by WA snapper Dougal Topping who captured a very rare display of Aurora Australis - more commonly known as the Southern Lights.
Photographer Dougal Topping captured the Southern Lights over the Southern Ocean. Credit:Dougal Topping Photography
The magical light display occurs when the sun releases a huge burst of solar wind and magnetic fields into space, and when these reach the earth's magnetic fields energy discharges are created to form produces bright multi-coloured light.
But to put it more simply, it just looks beautiful, and Mr Topping managed to compose several shots that show the majesty of the light.
Under the auspices of the WCO/JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) Joint Project, launched in July 2016 to support trade facilitation in Africa, a regional workshop for Master Trainers on HS Classification in East Africa was held in Kampala, Uganda, from 4 to 8 September 2017. This is the last workshop in a series of 3 activities on HS Classification, jointly supported by JICA and WCO, which aims at developing (i) a pool of well-experienced trainers and (ii) training materials including case studies to be used by those trainers. The Master Trainers, as they are known under the Project, have already been actively contributing to the capacity building of both Customs administrations and Customs agents in East Africa. They have also developed a series of case studies which reflect the HS Classification challenges and concerns faced by the Customs administrations and Customs agents in East Africa to enhance their training capabilities and efficiency.
Twenty-five (25) Customs officials from Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda participated in this workshop and worked intensively to review the case studies developed under this Master Trainer Refresher Programme with the advice of experts from both the WCO and Japan Customs, as well as the cooperation extended by JICA under its Project on Capacity Development for International Trade Facilitation in East Africa. All the participants exchanged their views, experiences and ideas for the improvement of the case studies and completed their work during the first half of the workshop.
The second part of the workshop included a 3 day training delivery sessions to which 19 Customs officials and 26 customs agents from Uganda were invited as trainees. All 25 Master Trainers took responsibility to act as trainers and facilitators during those sessions. The case studies completed during the first half of the workshop were immediately utilized for the training and contributed significantly to improving the understanding of invited trainees. The positive outcome of this training demonstrated the great value of the materials, as well as the value of WCO/JICA collaboration on this matter.
In addition to those activities, experts from Japan Customs also shared their knowledge and techniques on the effective planning and delivery of training.
Throughout the 5-day workshop, the Master Trainers successfully demonstrated their ability and knowledge to act as trainers. At the end of the workshop, they developed a delivery plan for training on HS Classification for their respective administrations. Both WCO and JICA welcomed their strong ownership and commitment clearly demonstrated during the workshop which will improve their training delivery capacity through the Master Trainer Programme. It is expected that the training materials and case studies developed will contribute further to fair and efficient revenue collection and trade facilitation in East Africa through sustainable and self-contained capacity building on HS Classification.
Virginia State Police are investigating a two-vehicle fatal crash that happened around 5:40 p.m on Sunday. in a westbound lane on Route 57, east of Route 648 in Henry County.
Authorities say a 1998 Mitsubishi Gallant was traveling west on Route 57, when the vehicle crossed the center-line and struck a 1997 Ford F-250 head-on.
The driver of the Mitsubishi was identified as Jim Penn, Jr., 56, of Martinsville. Authorities say Penn was wearing his seatbelt at the time of the crash and died at the scene.
The passenger in the Mitsubishi, Jennifer Porter, 56, of Martinsville was wearing her seatbelt and was flown to the hospital for treatment.
The driver of the Ford, Jesse Albert Stevens, III, 21, of Colman Falls, Va. was wearing his seatbelt and was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
The crash remains under investigation.
CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) "One more thing." With that phrase, Apple paid homage to its late co-founder Steve Jobs for the 10-year anniversary of the iPhone on Tuesday when it unveiled its latest and, at $999, its most expensive new version of the device, the iPhone X.
CEO Tim Cook called it "the biggest leap forward" since the first iPhone. ("X" is pronounced like the number 10, not the letter X.) It loses the home button, which revolutionized smartphones when it launched; offers an edge-to-edge screen; and will use facial recognition to unlock the phone.
Apple also unveiled a new iPhone 8 and a larger 8 Plus with upgrades to cameras, displays and speakers.
Both iPhone 8 versions will allow wireless charging, a feature thought to be limited to the anniversary phone. Many Android phones, including Samsung's, already have this.
Highlights from the event:
STEVE JOBS HOMAGE
This is the first product event for Apple at its new spaceship-like headquarters in Cupertino, California.
The event opened in a darkened auditorium, with only the audience's phones gleaming like stars, along with a message that said "Welcome to Steve Jobs Theater." A voiceover from Jobs, Apple's co-founder who died in 2011, opened the event before CEO Tim Cook took stage.
"Not a day that goes by that we don't think about him," Cook said. "Memories especially come rushing back as we prepared for today and this event. It's taken some time but we can now reflect on him with joy instead of sadness."
NEW WATCH
Apple's latest Watch has built-in cellular service. The number on your phone will be the same as your iPhone. The Series 3 model will also have Apple Music available through cellular service.
"Now, you can go for a run with just your watch," said Jeff Williams, Apple's chief operating officer and in charge of Watch development.
Apple is also adding more fitness features to the Watch, and says it is now the most used heartrate monitor in the world. Now, Apple Watch will notify users when it detects an elevated heart rate when they don't appear to be active. It'll also detect abnormal heart rhythms.
The Series 3 will start at $399. One without cellular goes for $329, down from $369 for the comparable model now. The original Series 1, without GPS, sells for $249, down from $269. The new watch comes out Sept. 22.
APPLE TV GETS UPGRADE
A new version of the Apple TV streaming device will be able to show video with sharper "4K" resolution and a color-improvement technology called high-dynamic range, or HDR.
Many rival devices already offer these features. But there's not a lot of video in 4K and HDR yet, nor are there many TVs that can display it. Apple TV doesn't have its own display and needs to be connected to a TV.
Apple said it's been working with movie studios to bring titles with 4K and HDR to its iTunes store. They will be sold at the same prices as high-definition video, which tends to be a few dollars more than standard-definition versions. Apple said it's working with Netflix and Amazon Prime to bring their 4K originals to Apple TV, too.
The new Apple TV device will cost $179 and ships on Sept. 22. A version without 4K will cost less.
IPHONE X DETAILS
Apple is releasing a super-premium iPhone with a super-premium price tag, starting at $999.
While Apple is continuing to update its existing, cheaper models, the new iPhone X pronounced like the number 10 will have a screen with higher resolution and "OLED" technology for richer colors.
It will also lose a distinct home button to make more room for the 5.8-inch display, which is slightly more than the Plus model's 5.5 inches. The features are similar to what Samsung offers.
The new design will enable new ways to interact with the phone. Instead of pressing the button to get the home page, you swipe up instead.
Apple is also offering the ability to unlock the phone with facial recognition rather than a fingerprint or passcode. Though some Android phones offer this, Apple is adding sensors to improve performance and says it worked with mask designers during testing to improve security. An executive initially failed to unlock the phone this way in a demo Tuesday, though.
The new phone, which is coming Nov. 3, will also permit animated emojis that mirror your facial movements and promises two more hours of battery life than what's in the current iPhone 7.
Such an iPhone has been widely anticipated for the iPhone's 10th anniversary and comes just weeks after Samsung unveils its own super-premium phone, the $930-and-up Galaxy Note 8.
IPHONE 8
Apple is refreshing its lineup of iPhones with camera, display and speaker improvements.
The new phones promise to shoot pictures with better colors and less distortion, particularly in low-light settings. The display will adapt to ambient lighting, similar to a feature in some iPad Pro models. Speakers will be louder and offer deeper bass.
The new iPhone 8 will keep its predecessor's size 4.7 inches but have a higher starting price of $699, up from $649. The 5.5-inch iPhone 8 Plus starts at $799, up from $769. The new phones come out Sept. 22
Apple is bucking its traditional naming convention by calling the new phones iPhone 8 rather than 7S. The S designation might have given consumers the impression that the new phones are mere incremental updates from the current iPhone 7.
The Plus version will continue to have two camera lenses and now has the ability to optimize lighting as you shoot.
Both versions will allow wireless charging, a feature thought to be limited to the anniversary phone. Many Android phones, including Samsung's, already have this.
FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY
Apple watchers say the company's new Face ID technology could help revolutionize facial recognition and bring it to the mainstream.
Too often, people have been able to fool such technology by wearing masks or printing out photos of faces.
But Apple's iPhone X projects infrared dots on faces to create a 3-D facial model. That enables it to confirm a warm-blooded person is looking at the phone.
Artificial intelligence expert Amarjot Singh, a PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge, says Apple's new sensors, along with a neural-engine chip, takes the technology a step further by combining what researchers have been working on all in one place.
Apple Senior Vice President Phil Schiller says only 1 in a million people could unlock another person's phone with their face.
Shaun Moore, CEO of San Francisco-based facial recognition startup TrueFace.ai, says Apple's entry into the field will help bring awareness to facial recognition and help people view it as a viable solution to everyday problems.
AUGMENTED REALITY
Gartner analyst Brian Blau says the iPhone X's augmented reality features will change the way people use apps and give app developers new, "cool things" to do.
Apple on Tuesday showed off a simple use for this new, sophisticated camera technology with "animoji." Those let people animate emoji characters with their facial expressions.
Blau says this showing off a new technology with something that everyday people can use and understand is what Apple does best.
The analyst also praised for the extended battery life for the phone, saying that's not something that often comes with new smartphones.
DECATUR -- Central Illinois said goodbye to fallen sailor Logan Palmer on a bright and sunny fall Monday, a day already filled with patriotic emotion on the 16th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks of 2001.
Palmer, 23, had died Aug. 21, one of 10 sailors lost on the warship USS John McCain after a collision with a tanker near Singapore. Pastor the Rev. Mark Cooper told hundreds of mourners at Decatur's Life Foursquare Church, including U.S. Rep Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, that he had heard Palmer died a true hero, surviving the initial collision but staying in harm's way to try and help his fellow shipmates.
The pastor said his wife, Lynn, had talked of Palmer's heroism with the sailor's sister, Madison. When Lynn asked what she thought about Logan placing himself in harm's way, Madison responded 'I wish he hadn't,' he said. Then she went on to say 'But that's what Palmers do'.
Looking out at the Palmer family in the front pews -- Decatur parents Sid and Theresa, sister Madison, brothers Austin and Kaleb, grandparents and other relatives -- Cooper said it was hard not to wonder what the last moments of the sailor's life were like.
Perhaps you wish you could have been there with him as he breathed his last: with him to comfort and console him, with him to express your love and affection, with him to say goodbye, said Cooper.
But this was not possible and, in this way, Logan's sacrifice is also your sacrifice. You have given a son, a brother, a grandson, a friend, to a grateful nation. That nation and its citizens owe you and Logan a debt of gratitude.
Palmer's flag-draped casket was carried into the church by a Naval honor guard in dress uniform. Navy officers and sailors saluted the casket that lay at the front of the cavernous church sanctuary, surrounded by sprays of flowers in red, white and blue. The sailors were followed by troops of Boy Scouts who also saluted in turn, marking the loss of one of their own: Palmer had achieved the rank of Eagle Scout.
Two scouts, Tanner Owens and Mark Reed, stood before the congregation to perform the Ceremony of the Broken Arrow, symbolizing farewell to a fellow Scout who had distinguished himself. Snapping an arrow in half, they said the act was symbolic of the end of strife and the beginning of peace.
After the service, his funeral procession, escorted by police and fire vehicles, passed under a vast American flag held suspended between two tower trucks from the Decatur Fire Department. Police halted traffic and even passers-by stood with their hands over their hearts as the gleaming white hearse made its slow progression toward Harristown Cemetery, where Palmer was buried with full military honors.
The funeral route was lined with well-wishers, many of whom did not know who Logan Palmer was until they were told, and then they were happy to wait and pay their respects -- people like Billie Kay Dugger from Springfield, who watched the procession near Sharon United Methodist Church at Center street and Wyckles road.
I just saw the flags and I didnt know what it was, but I just felt in my heart it was something I needed to sit here for, Dugger said. My family is a military family, my father was in the Navy.
Its a shame that our country is as bad as it is, and its wonderful that there are people, who are young, who are out there fighting for us, Dugger added. I wish I could help them all, but I cant. All I can do is sit here and pray.
Marshall Sperry from Decatur also watched the procession near Sharon United Methodist Church. He does know one of Palmer's older brothers and has been following events closely. He set up a tripod to take pictures of the procession going by.
He's attended other processions before to honor fellow citizens.
I want to honor Logan and the rest of his family, Sperry said.
By West Kentucky Star Staff Sep. 11, 2017 | 06:31 PM | GRAVES COUNTY, KY
Several Graves County residents have been arrested on various drug and theft charges recently.
Sheriff Dewayne Redmon says his office has been investigating several burglaries and thefts in the Sharon Baptist Church Road area in southern Graves County. Forty-three-year-old Larry Thornton and 51-year-old Rex Clayton were charged in connection with stolen property and thefts of items in those areas. During the investigation, a search warrant was obtained at Claytons home in Mayfield, where stolen items were found, along with methamphetamine, marijuana and various items of drug paraphernalia.
Thornton was arrested and charged with burglary and receiving stolen property. Clayton faces charges of receiving stolen property, trafficking meth, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of controlled substance and prescription not in the proper container.
Forty-nine-year-old Regina Davis was arrested during the search of Claytons home. She's charged with trafficking meth, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of controlled substance and prescription not in the proper container. A 15-year-old juvenile also faces drug charges as a result of the investigation.
On Friday, deputies arrested 35-year-old Amanda Chambers of Sedalia, in front of the Graves County Jail after deputies found meth and drug paraphernalia during a search of her vehicle. Chambers was charged with possession of meth and possession of drug paraphernalia. Dustin McReynolds was cited for possession of marijuana after he reportedly surrendered some marijuana to investigating officers.
On Monday, dispatch received a call of illegal drug activity taking place at a home in the 3000 block of State Route 1241, north of Mayfield. Deputies responded and obtained a search warrant for the home.
Inside the home, police found methamphetamine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Deputies arrested 26-year-old Robert Gossum and 35-year-old Jim Pierce, both of Mayfield. Gossum was charged with possession of meth, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Pierce was charged with tampering with physical evidence, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Andrew Anderson was cited for possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
By West Kentucky Star Staff Sep. 11, 2017 | 07:51 PM | MARSHALL COUNTY, KY
The Marshall County Sheriff's Office is asking for the public's help solving a couple of recent thefts.
On Sept 1, deputies opened an investigation into a burglary at Polaris of Benton. According to police, someone entered the store and took some saws and trimmers valued at approximately $5000.
Then on Sept. 7, deputies investigated the theft of a debit card. Shelby P. Gotto told police her card was missing and had been used at several different locations.
Anyone with information on either crime is asked to contact the Marshall County Sheriff's Office at 527-3112 or call Crimestoppers at 527-COPS and remain anonymous.
Alec Baldwin sues to 'clear his name' in movie set death
By West Kentucky Star Staff Sep. 12, 2017 | 09:52 AM | CADIZ, KY
Kentucky State Police arrested a Trigg County man Monday night following a vehicle pursuit and collision.
According to KSP, at approximately 11:00 p.m., a trooper tried to stop an SUV for speeding and no registration on Main Street in Cadiz. The driver did not stop, and instead accelerated to speeds of over 100 mph while traveling on Highway 68/80 and then on Kings Chapel Road. While on Kings Chapel Road, the driver lost control of the vehicle, causing it to overturn numerous times.
A passenger in the vehicle, 22-year-old Leslie A. Sisco, of Hopkinsville, was transported by ambulance to Jennie Stuart Medical Center for treatment of injuries received during the collision.
The driver, 22-year-old Preston S. Hightower, of Cadiz, was treated at the scene of the collision for minor injuries. He was then arrested and charged with speeding, no registration plates, fleeing or evading police, wanton endangerment, aggravated driving under the influence, operating on a suspended license, no insurance and possession of marijuana.
Hightower was lodged in the Christian County Jail.
Email To : Multiple e-mail addresses must be separated with a comma character(maximum 200 characters) Email To is required.
Your Full Name: (optional)
Your Email Address: Your Email Address is required.
MATTOON -- Next year's proposed school district budget is approximately $143,000 in the black and will be on the docket for todays school board meeting.
According to the meeting agenda, board members will vote on the budget during their session starting at 7 p.m. today at the Mattoon schools administrative building, 1701 Charleston Ave.
The drawn up budget has expenses totaling approximately $35.5 million, and district officials are expecting slightly over that total. Larry Lilly, Mattoon superintendent, said they were conservative in their projections for how much they will be getting from Illinois, especially based on the states track record.
Despite the impending vote, it is still uncertain how much money school officials will actually have to work with. Lilly said these estimations were based partly on numbers from last year as well as some projected numbers.
It is still uncertain how much the school district will actually receive this time around. State lawmakers just recently passed a school funding formula and implementing that formula is still being worked out.
Lilly said the new formula is vastly different from the old one and it will likely take time to put it in place. Recently, the school has been receiving payments based off of the old formula until it can be squared away.
Lilly said he hopes the budget is figured out as soon as possible but does not expect payments based on the new formula until October or November. Based on what the district is supposed to receive, the new one is expected to be beneficial to Mattoon schools.
However, it is premature to say whether it is or is not beneficial to the Mattoon district until those payments come in, Lilly said.
Also a part of the meeting, board members will vote whether to solicit bids for the 2017-18 Building Trades house at 2013 Evergreen Court, the last school lot in the subdivision.
Over the school year, students will be building the home. School officials want to open bids early enough for the potential owners to have input into some of the construction of the house, such as the choice of cabinets, Lilly noted.
School officials are looking for a minimum bid of $150,000. Should the board approve, bids will be accepted in a sealed envelope to Tom Sherman, Mattoon assistant superintendent for business, until 2 p.m. Oct. 4.
The chosen bid will be presented to the school board members at their next meeting Oct. 10.
While this will be the last home in the subdivision to be built by Mattoon students, Lilly said future students will be working on lots in the Briarwick Subdivision. Lilly noted the school will likely need to look out for additional lots to build on in the near future.
Loading...
A nation divided down the middle, leaders vilified by the people and clashing ideologies heading towards violence and destruction. Not, as you might think, the latest updates from your Twitter feed, but the state of a disunited kingdom in the 1640s.
So far, so resonant. The latest experimental work to be given a home in the Royal Shakespeare Company's self-styled 'engine room of new writing', The Other Place, has all the elements lined up for a savage critical metaphor of modern Britain. It's strange, then, that Kingdom Come seems wilfully determined not to speak to our contemporary age.
Conceived by directors Gemma Brockis and Wendy Hubbard, and devised by the six-strong company of actors, the piece is beautiful, impressionistic and unfathomable.
There's a loose thread of a framing device about a six-strong company of actors struggling to find their place in a new world order where theatre is about to be banned by terminally humourless Puritans following a decade of civil war and the execution of King Charles I. There are a number of touching moments of pathos, principally from the doomed monarch, from a terrified actress and from a regretful soldier. And there's a stunningly realised set by Charlotte Espiner that makes the most of The Other Place's versatility while happily plundering the RSC's resources for dressing and props.
On the other side of the scales are a host of problems which are confusingly thrown up and then remain resolutely unaddressed. Divided into three parts, the production invites the audience to follow it through different areas of the building, with no apparent purpose and certainly to little dramatic advantage. Much of the narrative feels like a leaden history lesson, delivered either by florid speeches through an anachronistic old BBC microphone, or by a succession of bland, dull captions projected unimaginatively onto the floor. A series of impenetrable artistic tableaux illustrates the third part, again with little evident reason or enlightenment.
The piece works best when it's playing out enacted scenes between identifiable characters, such as when the fidgety troupe of performers idle away the hours awaiting their fate around a dressing room table, playing out snatches of Twelfth Night to pass the time. These snippets also offer some desperately needed opportunities for humour, even if some of the jokes feel a little laboured.
As a picturesque experiment, Kingdom Come fits the remit of The Other Place with some interesting ideas and an attempt at manipulation of form. I would argue that it's neither a play nor a historical primer, and its creators may well argue that it's not intended as either. What it offers instead is some elegant images, some accomplished performances and some food for thought about what actually constitutes theatre. In that regard, it's hard to argue that it does its job pretty efficiently.
Kingdom Come runs at The Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon, until 30 September 2017.
Due to a rather unfortunate production error, Montpellier HSC recently found themselves with a large surplus of misspelled jerseys they were unable to shift.
A glitch in the manufacturing process meant that every Montpellier shirt produced for the 2017/18 both player issue and the replicas being sold in the club shop ended up with an L being accidentally dropped from the club crest.
The mistake was soon flagged up by fans, with the Ligue 1 club immediately offering complimentary replacements or refunds to those who had shelled out.
However, finding themselves stuck with hundreds of wonky shirts, MHSC have come up with a novel way of getting shot of them: by shipping them all en masse to the town of Montpelier (with one L) in Vermont, United States.
Le President #Nicollin et le maire de MontpeLLier @saurel2014 lont annonce : Les maillots MontpeLier vont etre envoyes a @vtmontpelier MHSC (@MontpellierHSC) September 12, 2017
The finer details of Montpelliers plan are yet to be made known, but we can only assume theyll be donated to charity or something similar.
At least their not going straight in the incinerator, and thats something.
Amid all the Champions League hubbub, Crystal Palace chose Tuesday night to officially appoint Roy Hodgson as their new manager.
The 70-year-old replaces Frank de Boer, who was sacked just four matches into his tenure and becoming the first ever manager in Premier League history to lose his job without seeing his side score a single goal.
Speaking to the Palace website, Hodgson expressed his joy at finally getting the chance to manage the club he grew up supporting as a lad:
This is very much the club of my boyhood. It is very rewarding to find myself here now, in different times, as manager at a club that I have always loved and admired with a huge potential.
In related matters, several inside titbits have since leaked from the Palace camp in the wake of De Boers dismissal, with insider sources suggesting that the board were ready to pull the plug on the Dutchman two weeks earlier than they actually did.
Indeed, several senior players are said to have complained about De Boers unnecessarily arrogant conduct during training, chiefly because the 44-year-old would regularly show them all up by picking balls out of the sky, swivelling on the spot and pinging shots into the top corner.
What a rotter.
MATTOON -- The Lake Land College Board of Trustees on Monday renewed contracts with the Illinois Department of Corrections to deliver educational programming at 17 adult facilities in 2017-18.
In addition, the board accepted the transfer of a 72-piece art collection from the Lake Land College Foundation that was acquired over the past 50 years as gifts to the college.
James Hull, vice president for workforce solutions/community education, said the 17 DOC contracts combined have a value of $6.7 million to Lake Land. He said this total includes $5.5 million in reimbursement from the state prison system and $1.1 million in course credit hour revenue.
Lake Land delivers automotive, construction occupations, culinary arts, custodial maintenance, horticulture, warehousing, welding and other courses for the DOC.
Hull noted that the board also approved a one-year contract in June with the DOC to provide educational programming at the Kewanee Life Skills Re-Entry Center. The college also delivers educational programming at two Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice sites.
Regarding the artwork transfer, the Lake Land Foundation's collection of paintings, tapestries, photographs, and more is valued at approximately $18,000. The collection includes an original Paul Sargent painting on display in the office of the executive director for college advancement.
College President Josh Bullock said most of the other artwork is by artists who are mainly known within the Lake Land community. He said these items are kept in various offices and storerooms throughout campus, so they are difficult for the foundation to archive. He said Lake Land will maintain these works and display many of them as part of art department classes.
In other matters, the board approved special tuition waiver requests that are submitted annually to the board. These requests include waivers in various amounts for top-performing high school students in the WYSE Academic Challenge; first-time, adult students who attend one of the college's Adult Week recruiting events; and first-place winners at the Business & Computer Contest.
Trustee Gary Cadwell suggested that Lake Land allocate tuition waivers to high schools in the college's district. He said the schools could be given the discretion to award these waivers to some of their students who do not qualify for other scholarships. He said such a program could help with Lake Land's student recruitment efforts.
Other actions taken by the board included:
Amending the 2017-18 budget based on the actual amount of state funding that has been allocated for this fiscal year now that the state has a budget agreement in place. The state has allocated $16.1 million to Lake Land, which is $3.5 million more than the college had assumed in its budget projections.
Accepting a $15,488 grant from the Illinois Public Risk Fund to help pay for safety-related products that will assist in reducing injuries or illness.
MATTOON -- Lake Land College's student enrollment this fall is down by 2.8 percent compared to fall 2016 as many other Illinois community colleges also report decreases.
The Lake Land Board of Trustees heard this figure on Monday as part of the fall 10th day enrollment report, which did note increases in credit hour and headcount enrollment for some student demographics. They also heard that trustee Robert Luther, a former president of Lake Land, has resigned from the board for health reasons and that applications will be taken for a new trustee to serve until the April 2019 election.
Enrollment figures showed that total headcount decreased from 5,107 students in fall 2016 to 4,966 this fall. This total does not include enrollment in Illinois Department of Corrections education programs. Full-time equivalent credit hour enrollment decreased by 1.9 percent from 3,214.8 in fall 2016 to 3,153.3 this fall.
Tina Stovall, vice president for student services, said the state bases its funding allocations to Lake Land based on credit hour enrollment and the college bases its budget projections on these figures.
Stovall said the Illinois Community College Board has received 10th day reports for 22 colleges so far this fall and these figures show that only McHenry County College in Crystal Lake has seen its credit hour enrollment increase, by 4.5 percent. She said only two other colleges reported credit hour enrollment decreases that were less than Lake Land's figures.
"We are all challenged, all of Illinois is," Stovall said.
The 10th day report showed that Lake Land's enrollment has decreased from 5,931 students in fall 2013.
Trustee Gary Cadwell said there may be a growing national trend of high school graduates not pursuing higher education because they are afraid of accumulating heavy debt without being able to get a job. Locally, Lake Lake President Josh Bullock said manufacturers are seeking highly skilled applications for industrial maintenance jobs, but students are not training for these jobs because they have misconceptions about factory work.
Board Secretary Ann Deters said she knows that community colleges and universities in Illinois have declining enrollment, but she does not want to accept that trend for Lake Land.
"How can we get those numbers up? I think we need to push ourselves further," Deters said of looking at other options for student recruitment.
Regarding Lake Land's scholarships for top high school graduates, trustee Mike Sullivan said he wants the college step up recruitment of other graduates. He said Lake Land should show them that it is working in partnership with area employers to find jobs for them.
The 10th day report did show that the number of credit hours taken by workforce training and other non-transfer students has increased slightly, by 0.7 percent, to 1,470.4 this fall. The report also showed that enrollment of high school students taking dual credit courses through Lake Land increased by 22 percent to 1,111 this fall.
In other matters, Chairman Dave Storm said applications to fill Luther's post are due to Lake Land by Sept. 29. He said the board will vote on an applicant at the Oct. 9 meeting, and the new trustees will be seated at the Nov. 13 meeting. He said applicants must be at least 18 and Lake Land district residents. He said the applications should include their qualifications and their reasons for seeking a trustee position.
Luther, a Mattoon resident, served a full six-year term on the Lake Land board and was re-elected on April 4. He previously served from 1988 to 2006 as the colleges president.
CHARLESTON -- A group opposing Coles County's reassessment of commercial and industrial property plans to bring its fight back to the county board today.
Members of the Concerned Taxpayers of Coles County plan to attend the Coles County Board's meeting and continue to address the issue, group member James DiNaso said.
It would mark the 10th straight month that the board has heard questions, concerns and complaints about the reassessment project.
The board meets at 7 p.m. today and the meeting will once again take place in one of the courthouse's second-floor courtrooms, something that's become a regular practice to accommodate the number of people attending.
The county began the reassessment project last year because commercial and industrial property hadn't been revalued for taxing purposes since 2001.
The plan was to divide the county into sections for the work, and property in Mattoon Township was reassessed first.
People began addressing the board in December after Mattoon Township business owners received notices of their new property values.
The opposition later organized into the Concerned Taxpayers group that's questioned the reassessment process, the equity of the new property values and other issues.
The group filed a federal lawsuit against the county earlier this year that has claims including the process wasn't fair to Mattoon Township taxpayers. There are no hearings scheduled in the case, though attorneys representing the county have filed a motion to dismiss the suit.
Meanwhile, votes scheduled for the board's meeting today include approval of the sale of a county-owned parking lot to Mike Knoop, owner of Roc's Blackfront in Charleston.
The lot is located directly west of the back entrance of the restaurant and tavern at 410 Sixth St. The agreement calls for the lot to be sold at its appraised value at $14,800.
Knoop said the limited public parking in the area often means there are no spaces available for the business' customers when it opens at 11 a.m. on weekdays. He added that he plans to make improvements to the lot if the board OKs the sale.
The board's Building and Grounds Committee voted to recommend that the board approve the sale.
Board member Nancy Purdy, who chairs the committee, said the county isn't using the lot. County employees can park there but most use lots that are closer to the courthouse, she said.
The committee also favored the sale because the ownership change would put it back on the tax rolls, Purdy said.
The board is also scheduled to vote on designating the county Health Department's environmental health director as the county's noxious weed officer.
The Illinois Department of Agriculture requires the designation but no one is currently in the position.
Health department Environmental Health Director Gloria Spear said the officer is supposed to find locations where the weeds are growing and work with property owners for their removal.
The Illinois Administrative Code identifies certain plants as noxious weeds, including marijuana, ragweed, some thistle species and kudzu.
Chong Sher Vang was just a young boy when his family immigrated to Burnsville, Minn., from Laos and Thailand, but he remembers the struggle of transition well.
Even with a language barrier, the sudden emphasis on education motivated Vangs father to go to school and work at the same time. His parents were motivated to provide better lives for their children in the land of opportunity, Vang said.
Now an adult, Vang has lived in Winona for the last 15 years, raising a family of one daughter and two sons with his wife, Yang Vue, and serving Project FINE as the program development director. He has watched the community turn into his home, and now his home is honoring people who were introduced into the country the same way he was as just a young boy of six or seven.
I dont know where I would be or how my life would be, Vang said, but this is a great place.
Project FINE, in conjunction with the city of Winona, will celebrate Welcoming Week Friday, Sept. 15 through Sunday, Sept. 24. The nationwide celebration is part of Welcoming America, an organization comprised of 100 cities devoted to creating safe and inclusive cities for immigrants, refugees and born citizens across the U.S.
Last year, Winona was designated as the first Welcoming City in Minnesota, a milestone that was a long time coming for a city already welcoming to others, City Manager Stephen Sarvi said.
Winona has always been a welcoming city. This is just an opportunity for us to add tools to a toolbox of citizenship, and its important certainly for this community because weve got many job openings, Sarvi said. Part of the way we will grow as a community is with immigrants and refugees.
The week will officially kickoff at 1 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15, Constitution Day, with a Citizenship Day Celebration. The celebration recognizes those who have become naturalized citizens and honors their citizenship and provides information on voting and citizen rights.
The week includes proclamations by city government, presentations and the Welcoming Week Celebration at 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21. This community-wide celebration will feature remarks by community representatives and opportunities for the community to share their welcoming messages with others.
The celebration will also feature events prior to the weeks celebration, including a Welcoming Week sign from Sept. 11-18 and a presentation to the St. Charles City Council on Tuesday, Sept. 12.
For Vang, the week and celebration also offers an opportunity for him to tell his story, something he said is one of the biggest ways to continue creating safe and opening communities to refugees and immigrants.
We have to acknowledge how far we came from and the journey to get here to appreciate; what has been given to us and strive to do better, Vang said.
Through recognizing the challenges and obstacles immigrants and refugees have overcome and working for a safer community, Vang said the possibility for a better life than the one they came from is more achievable for future generations.
As director of Project FINE, Fatima Said said the week and its activities represent a step in continuing to create a safe environment for those moving into the area.
Filled with excitement for the week, Said said it is especially gratifying, given Winonas commitment to inclusiveness.
Im so, so happy. We really need positive things out and about, Said said. This is a beautiful way to bring in family and friends and neighbors and a classmate and co-workers together to appreciate our city, appreciate each other and kind of show respect.
The week, Said said, is also about more than just bringing together a community for a celebration and one-time promise its about honoring a lasting impact and commitment to community acceptance of refugee and immigrant populations.
More importantly, Said said, its a chance for every Winona resident to celebrate the southeastern Minnesota community they call home.
We all are Winonans. Its a beautiful way to celebrate each and every ones uniqueness, Said said. What is more important than human being helping another human being? And this is home ... this is our home.
In response to recent letters, First Congregational Church of Winona, United Church of Christ would like Winona and the wider community to know who we are.
Inscribed over the mantel of our fireplace in the Fireside Room are the words: We Welcome All, We Agree to Differ, We Resolve to Love, We Unite to Serve. We take these words seriously. All means ALL. We aspire to the extravagant welcome of the United Church of Christ (UCC), No matter where you are on lifes journey, you are welcome here. We welcome everyone, from any faith tradition or none, to join us for Sunday worship and for Communion the first Sunday of each month when we share an open table. No exceptions.
Reaching out in friendship, we were one of the churches that opened our doors to the Islamic Center of Winona after their devastating fire of 2013, and provided a venue for their fundraiser suppers. We have also held Interfaith worship services in our Sanctuary and Fireside Room bringing together diverse people of faith.
Our church hosts Soup-er Thursday where anyone may enjoy a free and lovingly prepared meal along with the fellowship of new friends from noon until one.
We are an Open and Affirming Congregation (ONA) of the United Church of Christ. ONA is our denominations designation for congregations, campus ministries, and other bodies that make a public covenant welcoming and affirming persons of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions into the full life and ministry of the church.
Our churchs Social Action Ministry Team, as one of its mandates, is actively engaged in discussing social justice issues relevant to our community. We welcome all who would like to share with us in constructive conversations on these matters.
We invite you to check out the website of the United Church of Christ at www.ucc.org, the variety of videos on YouTube regarding the UCC, and our churchs Facebook page, First Congregational Church of Winona. You are welcome to join us in our handicap-accessible sanctuary for worship Sundays at 10 AM, followed by fellowship in the Fireside Room. We look forward to meeting you and working with you to make the world a better place for all.
Roger Andring, Karin Sonneman, Barbara Beeman, Elizabeth Scott, Mary Kaye Perrin, and Mike Karsten; The Social Action Ministry Team of First Congregational Church of Winona, United Church of Christ
With Labor Day behind us and we prepare for our favorite fall activity, I couldnt help but look back at the fantastic summer of 2017 and specifically, the fifth anniversary of Baraboos Big Top Parade and Circus Celebration.
On July 22, an estimated 30,000 people came to Baraboo to see the parade. With a crowd this size, the economic impact to our community is over $2 million. To host an event of this magnitude, it took a team of people planning for an entire year, tremendous community financial support, several dozen vendors and a battalion of volunteers.
Hundreds of people descended upon downtown Baraboo as early as 5:30 a.m. on July 22 to prepare for our guests. Food vendors set up, information and media tents were erected, the TV and radio wagon placed, police and fire personnel prepared the roads, and parade officials set up a volunteer check-in tent for corner guards and banner carriers.
As soon as the food vendors were ready, early arrivals partook in pancakes and coffee, set up chairs along the parade route, and participated in the pre-parade activities. That included: a Clown Warm Up; 20 members of the UW-Madison Marching Band playing their version of the Fifth Quarter complete with Bucky crashing the party; and a slew of parade participants making their way to the staging area.
At 11 a.m., the parade stepped off with more than 80 units, 57 horses, three elephants, two snakes, one giraffe, and more than 200 grand marshals. The parade went off without a hitch and lasted about an hour and 15 minutes. Immediately after the parade ended, live music kicked off at the Circus Palooza tent.
Preparations for this day began in the late summer of 2016. The Big Top Parade Committees goal has always been to provide the most spectacular parade our community can have. This goal is made easier with Baraboos rich historical circus roots, our natural beauty and charm, and a business community that has been so supportive of the event.
While the parade committee focused on the parade, a host of other entities came together this year to make this a one-of-a-kind event. The Circus Homecoming Committee (Circus World, International Clown Hall of Fame and the Al. Ringling Theatre) formed to plan an array of events for our Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey invited guests. The Baraboo Area Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors planned and held the first Circus Palooza, which was a combination breakfast and lunch complete with beer and music after the parade. Downtown Baraboo Inc. held a front window-decorating contest and much time was given by our municipalities and county to spruce up, set up and secure the event.
So, how do you thank an entire community that worked so hard to provide an outstanding parade and rolled out the red carpet to our guests? Let others tell some of the story:
Last weekend I had the extreme joy of attending the Big Top Parade. With sincere thanks to the Baraboo Chamber of Commerce and to all of the people and committees who worked so hard to provide outstanding coordination to a whole weekend of fun. I left for home with a heart filled with happy memories. M. Downing, Port Washington
As a former member of Ringling Bros. Circus, I just want to thank you all for your incredible hospitality throughout last weekend! People went out of their way to welcome us, help us, and answer our questions. I love your beautiful and charming downtown, and your preservation of history. You should be proud of your amazing town and people; if I could, I think Id move there tomorrow! Thank you for making us part of the family. K. Herb, San Diego
From the bottom of our hearts here at the Baraboo Area Chamber of Commerce, we thank you all for your support. An event of this magnitude could not happen without you and we are most sincerely grateful.
The Big Top Parade & Circus Celebration returns July 21, 2018.
WAUPUN The Waupun Area School District welcomed two principals to start the new school year.
Wendy Sallam is the new principal of Meadow View Primary School and Melinda Myers is the new principal of Rock River Intermediate School. The school board approved Sallams contract earlier this summer and approved Myers contract Aug. 21.
Rob Meyer, the previous Meadow View Primary principal, made an internal move to become the districts director of teaching and learning. He has several years of experience within the Waupun Area School District prior to this move; first as the Junior/Senior High School assistant principal, then as the primary school principal. He previously taught social studies in the Sun Prairie Area School District.
I am excited for the opportunity to serve the districts communities in this role, Meyer said. We have assembled a strong team, united behind a common vision, to continue our successes and continue to move forward.
Sallam comes to Waupun with 16 years of experience, most recently working in the Oconomowoc Area School District.
Waupun is doing the right work for students, and I am honored to be a part of the district, Sallam said. We are committed to ensuring each student receives a challenging academic experience, learns to grow socially, and is supported emotionally. At Meadow View Primary, we desire to be your partner in education to build a strong foundation for academic and social growth for all students.
Just like building a strong foundation is critical to supporting a house, a strong school foundation is essential for future learning. My background experience helps me to focus on meeting the needs of all learners so they can maximize their potential.
Sallam has worked as a first-grade teacher in the Elkhorn Area School District, and as a response to intervention and gifted and talented coordinator in the Oconomowoc Area School District.
Myers, the new principal at Rock River Intermediate, also has many years of experience. Myers previous 15 years in education includes serving as a second-grade, third-grade and at-risk teacher in the Oakfield School District for six years; and second-, third- and fifth-grade teacher in the Beaver Dam Unified School District for seven years. Most recently, she was the principal at Eden Elementary School for three years, where she helped lead curriculum and instruction and professional development efforts of the Campbellsport School District. Under her tenure, Eden Elementary was recognized as a DPI Title I School of Recognition.
I am excited to join the Waupun Area School District, Myers said. As I have talked with staff, teachers, community members, and administrators I have heard so much about the commitment to student success and to providing a climate of respect, responsibility, and a safe environment for student learning. It is clear to me that this community takes the job of providing the best education for each child very seriously and that it drives the focus of the work here. I am eager to begin working with the staff and community to continue the great work that has already started at Rock River Intermediate.
Literacy is the foundation for all other subject areas. It is a stepping stone for everything else. I believe my strong background in teaching and leading comprehensive literacy will be an asset to the Waupun community and will help to move our students forward.
Doubling participation in the John Muir Elementary School Color Run is the immediate goal set by its organizers. Improvements to the schools playground and technology mark its purpose.
The school will hold its third annual run/walk on Sept. 23. Featuring a 5K for runners and a 1-mile family course, the Color Run is a fundraising event organized by the Parent Teacher Club that for two years has resulted in more features to the schools playground and has boosted the schools ability to purchase student Chromebooks and iPads.
Its such a good opportunity, for families and the school, to form these connections, said PTC leader and third-grade teacher Michelle Williams.
In the first two years, the events each drew about 200 participants and raised $2,000. The first week of school marked John Muirs kickoff for promoting its Color Run, involving school speakers, digital and printed materials and old-fashioned word of mouth. Students are busy seeking $30 pledges from participants.
This year the school hopes to get half of its families to attend, Williams said, which should put the Color Run at 400 participants.
Newcomers to the event, Williams and others noted, wont be disappointed in the colorful blasts of powder.
They get hit with color all the way through, said music teacher Barb Yerke. We cover everyone in color at different stations, as theyre walking or running. Its a really neat experience.
Its a memorable day, Principal Jason Meyer said. Its a chance for families from the school and community to get together outside the school environment.
Its priceless, Williams said. You see the color in their teeth, their hair, their clothes you see that contagious energy at an event like this.
To preregister for the Color Run or for more information about T-shirts and other event features, stop by the school, visit portage.k12.wi.us/johnmuir or contact Williams at williamsm@portage.k12.wi.us.
On-site registration begins at 8 a.m. at the concession stand at the Portage High School ball diamonds. The event begins at 9 a.m.
The Color Run has so far helped the school become 1-to-1 with Chromebooks for grades 3 to 5, Meyer and Williams said. The school is hoping this years event will allow for the purchasing of more iPads for the schools second-graders.
Improvements to the playground included the purchasing of two buddy benches that will be installed soon, Meyer said. Buddy benches are for children who dont have somebody to play with them at recess, so when they sit there, the school knows whos feeling left out and can address the issue.
The school is encouraging new participants to follow the links on the schools website to see what past Color Runs looked like. When participants are finished competing in the events, Yerke said, everybody gathers at the school for one final, coordinated blast.
Its fun and exciting. And its very, very colorful.
Dennis Carlson knows a thing or two about the residents at Ridgeview Terrace senior center.
He makes rounds at the Reedsburg retirement facility once a week, asking each resident how they are and if they are happy with the care they are receiving. If they would like to address an issue with staff, Carlson plays an integral role in communicating their concerns and initiating changes.
I will check to see if the residents are around and see if they want me to come in and visit for a little bit, Carlson said. Ill ask if its OK, and ask if everything is going OK.
The La Valle native is a advocate for residents under the supervision of Julia Pierstorff, coordinator of the states Volunteer Ombudsman Program. As a volunteer ombudsman, Carlsons job is to get to know residents, listen to their concerns and, if asked, report them to nursing home staff. The reporting is confidential, and Carlson may only bring up the issue at the residents request.
Sometimes its a little thing where theyll say dont say anything, but if they want me to bring it up, I will, he said. Then it hopefully gets taken care of.
Pierstorff, who said the program needs volunteers, oversees volunteer ombudsman programs in more than 30 nursing homes across Sauk, Rock, Columbia and Dane counties. She said having an advocate for residents who is independent from staff is a key aspect of the program, as some residents may feel uncomfortable sharing concerns directly.
Sometimes residents will feel like they dont really want to say anything because they dont want to get the staff in trouble, or they dont want to hurt anybodys feelings, she said. We understand that, but we remind the residents that this is their home, and that staff would want to work on anything that comes front and center for them to improve the quality of life.
While serious issues at Ridgeview Terrace are rare, Carlson said he was able to help a resident adjust their emergency call light several weeks ago. Pierstorff said common complaints that arise at the nursing homes she oversees include issues with food, call lights, roommates and staff response times.
Ridgeview Terrace resident Jeanette Benseman said shes happy to know she has an advocate to turn to should any issues arise.
I usually dont have any complaints, she said.
Shes pretty easygoing, Carlson added.
Carlson began volunteering as an ombudsman in Reedsburg six years ago after he retired from teaching in the Hillsboro School District. Carlson said he came across a newspaper article that said the program was looking for volunteers. He then connected with Pierstorff, attended a daylong training session in Madison and began offering his services.
Carlson said his favorite part of the work is spending time with residents who dont often see friends or family.
I go home in a better mood than when I started, he said. The residents pick me up.
There was a time small businesses dotted every Main Street in America. Downtowns were vibrant, community-gathering places.
As time went on, chain stores and the development of big box retail quickly began to overshadow the smaller entities that once tied a community together. It quickly became an age-old battle of David versus Goliath.
In recent years, those once-vacant storefronts have been reinvented, breathing new life into otherwise stagnant downtowns. According to the U.S. Small Business Administrations 2017 Wisconsin Small Business profile, more than half of the private workforce in Wisconsin is employed by small businesses approximately 1.2 million people. The administration also reported 30,000 net jobs in the state can be attributed to small businesses.
In Wisconsin we are strong on our Main Street businesses, said Shirah Apple, public affairs specialist at the Wisconsin District Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration. Wisconsin has one of the higher business survivability rates in the country.
Unlike large corporations, when a small business finds itself headed in the wrong direction, it can turn itself around faster and adapt much more quickly to change, she said.
Adapting to the times
Steffes True Value Hardware in Wisconsin Dells is a prime example of that thinking. Where once the business attracted locals for everything from swim suits to camping gear, behemoths such as Wal-Mart and Home Depot started acquiring the small hardware stores customer base. It weathered the big box storm by reinventing itself.
We shifted our business focus, said Gary Booth, who has managed the store for more than 20 years. When I first came to work here there was a tourist season and then the winter. Now its year-round tourists with the big hotels and water parks. So we became focused on selling our products to those businesses instead.
The hardware store began specializing in the things these big businesses needed with the quick turnaround time a small business could provide.
We sell a lot of maintenance supplies and lighting, Booth said. We have a lot of hard to find stuff in stock; everything from small appliance bulbs to big parking lot lights. Weve tailored our inventory to fit what the community needs.
That also includes window and screen repair work.
As a hardware store its a service weve always offered, but as the years have progressed, other people in the area quit doing it, Booth said. Now we have one guy and thats his main focus. So weve been able to capitalize on that.
Luckily for Cindy Eberhardt, theres a need for quality work boots in the Mauston area.
Eberhardt has owned Rays Shoes since 2013, the business was owned by Eberhardts brother-in-law for nearly 50 years prior. Despite the push of big box retailers, internet sales and chain stores like Famous Footwear, Rays has survived.
It is very hard to keep local people local, especially because of the Dells where theres an outlet mall, Eberhardt said. We are halfway between La Crosse and Madison. There are Kohls and Farm and Fleet. So we have to deal with that.
Eberhardt believes the stores success comes from specializing in work boots.
The quality of shoes is not the same in some of those other stores, Eberhardt said. When people look, though, they are comparing price. They might think the quality is the same, but its not.
Rays also carries higher-end shoe brands that offer a better quality product, she said.
Proper targeting
Finding a niche in a community is another way small businesses are able to turn a profit. Discovering a target customer base is paramount to success. Prairie du Sac business owner Dana Fehrenbach, who is an avid knitter, noticed people really took to her homemade creations.
I had people coming over my house during the evenings to knit, Fehrenbach said. They wanted to learn so I would teach them.
When the local consignment shop which sold yarn went out of business, Fehrenbach saw an opportunity. She rented out a small space in an established business and watched it take off like a rocket. When an 800-square-foot storefront on Water Street presented itself, Fehrenbach seized her chance. Now DMarie Knit and Fiber has thrived since it opened in 2015.
Ive probably taught 300 people how to knit in the two years since Ive been open, Fehrenbach said. Or Ive gotten people back into knitting who used to do it but now cant remember. Its been crazy.
Fehrenbach realized early on there was a whole new generation of people who wanted to learn how to make something from scratch. So she combined the retail aspect of the business and with the fact people would pay to learn the skill she possessed.
I think a lot of it is just about the camaraderie, Fehrenbach said. Its a great social activity. People love to touch fiber and the variety of colors also stimulates the senses.
A way to compete
The same kind of passion Fehrenbach has for knitting is what drives John Kessenich in his desire to bring healthy food to the community of Baraboo. The Grainery, which Kessenich has owned with his wife, Sandy for the past 11 years, started off as a supplement store in the 1970s. When the Kessenichs purchased the store more than a decade ago, they decided to expand the business to include good, nutritious food.
We get a lot of people who come in to buy ingredients to make their own food, like thick rolled oats, raw nuts and seeds and spices and we offer that all in bulk, John Kessenich said. We saw early on that a lot of people in this area like to make their own versus heavily processed. We do offer some grab and go snacks, but part of our overall mission statement is to raise healthy families.
With all the options available for buying food grocery stores, big box retailers, farm cooperatives and the internet Kessenich is very aware he not only has to offer the same products, but better quality products at reasonable price points if he wants to maintain his customer base.
We have to be on top of our game knowing people can get online and then buy very competitively, John Kessenich said. Thats huge. We cant just sell people products. We have to provide them with an experience that they cant get down the street and make it worth their while to come in.
Kessenich said part of that is making sure his customer service is spot-on.
A lot of people dont know much about healthy eating and what certain products do and how to use them, Kessenich said. It can be overwhelming coming into a store like this. Part of our job is making sure they feel comfortable and welcome. In a big box store you are just another number and often times employees dont know where to find anything let alone what their products do.
Specializing in a service big box retailers dont provide is another reason Rays has been successful, Eberhardt said. We are a sit and fit store. In other stores you go in and find your own shoes and end up sitting amidst a big pile of boxes, Eberhardt said. But here we measure you and make sure you have the right size. We bring you out your shoes. Customer service is a huge part of it.
Kessenich said in addition to customer service and having a quality product it is equally important to know the competition and the target market.
The struggle
Getting a pulse on a communitys needs is a critical step in starting a business. However, equally as important is being able to adapt to change.
Lorraines Mini Mall in Reedsburg started out decades ago with a jewelry store and gift shop. The daughter of the stores namesake, Peggy Albert, along with her husband, Blaine, purchased the waning business and have been trying to breathe new life into it ever since. It now houses a boutique, Radio Shack, US Cellular and Hallmark store.
Its a struggle and its not gotten much better, Albert said. Its getting worse to some extent. Unless people stop shopping online or at big box stores Obviously we cant carry everything but we certainly try. Sometimes we just cant keep up.
Albert said the jewelry business closed due to lack of community support.
I have some people who come in and expect you to carry everything they have in mind, so we try to keep up with the demand, she said. If we could we would fill the block so people wouldnt have to step a foot out of town.
The situation has left business owners with a challenge on how to proceed. For Albert, it means going back to her roots.
I want to continue with what my mother always tried to do, which is to take the customers needs to heart good old customer service, Albert said. Let me show you what I have and share my ideas. Because we do have a lot of good ideas here if you can think past the exact thing you were looking for. Maybe it will even be better.
Albert said although the greeting card industry floundered a bit with the ease of social media, people have begun to remember how special it is to get a piece of mail.
Cards are definitely having a comeback, Albert said. People think its more special to get a card in the mail because it means more. It means you are truly acknowledging them.
Sometimes, like in the case of Lorraines Mini Mall, retailers and small businesses have to ride the tide of change. Thats when offering that all around experience for the customer is going to yield loyalty. And loyal customers will tell their friends about. That word-of-mouth marketing is essential to small businesses that might not have the budget or marketing prowess to cast a wide enough net on potential customers.
Staying in the public eye
One of the bigger challenges is just letting people know you are put there because small businesses dont have the marketing budget of a bigger store, said Marianne Hanson of the Portage Chamber of Commerce. Its difficult. And you have to be able to keep your products in the forefront of the consumer.
Apple said even if you do everything right it all comes down to how well the business is managed. Businesses that plan well and utilize resources like small business development centers tend to do better when having those relationships. Its good to get outside help and perspective every once in a while.
The Small Business Administrations Apple said resources can be very valuable to small businesses. The challenge is getting the word out.
Its quite an issue and I think certainly there needs to be greater awareness, Apple said. One of our challenges is making folks aware of our resources.
Fehrenbach said awareness was where she initially struggled.
Finding the money
Opening a new business takes a lot of money and you dont get much help from the banks, she said. I cant tell you how many banks I went to and none of them told me about any other resources I could try. I kept hearing Knit shops dont last and I kept saying, Well, you havent seen me in a knit shop.
Finally, after two years and amassing a huge inventory, Fehrenbach said she was able to get a bank to give her a line of credit. But the majority of her help came from her mother and a private business owner who was willing to take a chance on Fehrenbach.
My mother was a huge help, she said. Without her this business might not have happened. And I had a private business owner loan me the money and I was able to pay them back in full in one year.
Fehrenbach said small businesses are what keep people in and draw people to a community.
You look at (the Sauk Prairie) downtowns and all you see are insurance agencies, she said. We are filled with things that dont draw people into a community. We need more retail shops. When you can provide people with things they need, who benefits the most are the people in the community
Apple acknowledged a person can do everything right and still walk into a bank and get rejected.
The best way for a business owner to get that loan is to walk in with a good plan and good projections, and be persistent, she said. I know some people who went to 10-20 lenders before getting approved. It takes persistence and constantly looking at what you are showing the lender that will give them confidence in what you are doing. Its also about timing during a recession you are not as likely to get approved.
She said when people walk in with a good plan and are realistic, it tells the lender about a person and what they are willing to do for their business.
Kessenich said hes found resources such as the chamber of commerce and downtown business groups to be very helpful.
Bobbi Boettcher of the Baraboo Area Chamber of Commerce said smaller businesses thrive when they work together.
We have a very vibrant downtown, our businesses are very active, Boettcher said. The downtown businesses are working to offer a whole array of programs beginning in October for the upcoming holidays. Its very exciting to see the amount of work togetherness and cooperation with our merchants.
Boettcher said promoting downtown businesses draws people into the community, which can have an impact on other businesses in the community as well.
The adage weve used a lot is a rising tide raises all ships, she said. Ultimately it helps everybody.
Apple said small businesses are committed to their communities.
Its not just them, its their families, she said. They are part of the fiber. These people arent faceless corporations. They are your neighbors. They are the people you know in your community.
The work isnt easy and the profits if any are generally low. So why do so many people still do it?
You get tired by the end of the week and you work hard, Albert said. But there isnt anything Id rather do. Its about more than money. It takes dedication and you have to have it in your heart. Every little piece of you takes ownership.
Fehrenbach agreed.
You really have to have a passion for what you are doing, she said. If you have a passion for what youre selling or doing it overflows onto the people in your shop.
The caring, the honesty, the experience you provide to your customers and the relationships you build it all makes a huge difference, Kessenich said. There will always be a segment of the population that wants the anonymity of shopping at a big box store. But right now, people are craving interaction in their experience. They like talking to people. And small business owners, we listen.
Readers of Jarad Jarmon's story regarding former English professor Chris Hanlon's 2010 proposal to rename Douglas Hall might get the impression that EIU faculty in general support. This is not the case. In 2010 History professors Martin Hardeman and Mark Voss-Hubbard, both scholars of 19th century history (including the Civil War, Reconstruction and African-American history) vigorously opposed the proposal in public debate. The revived proposal has been the subject of lively discussion in the last two Faculty Senate meetings, with no clear consensus emerging so far. Dr. Voss-Hubbard and four colleagues have submitted to Senate a statement urging that this proposal be rejected.
Vacancy code VA/2017/B0049/13062
Position title HR Assistant - ICA contract Administration (Multiple positions)
Department/office CSG, GSSC, Global Shared Service Centre
Duty station Bangkok, Thailand
Contract type Local ICA Support
Contract level LICA-3
Duration 1 Year
Application period 11-Sep-2017 to 10-Oct-2017
Background Information - UNOPS
UNOPS mission is to serve people in need by expanding the ability of the United Nations, governments and other partners to manage projects, infrastructure and procurement in a sustainable and efficient manner.
Within these three core areas of expertise, UNOPS provides its partners with advisory, implementation and transactional services, with projects ranging from building schools and hospitals, to procuring goods and services and training local personnel. UNOPS works closely with governments and communities to ensure increased economic, social and environmental sustainability for the projects we support, with a focus on developing national capacity.
Working in some of the worlds most challenging environments, our vision is to advance sustainable implementation practices in development, humanitarian and peacebuilding contexts, always satisfying or surpassing partner expectations.
We employ more than 6,000 personnel and on behalf of our partners create thousands more work opportunities in local communities. Through our headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark and a network of offices, we oversee activities in more than 80 countries.
Background information-HR Assistant - ICA contract Administration
The UNOPS Global Shared Service Centre (GSSC) is a Corporate Support Group (CSG) unit established for the purpose of providing internal, global, cost-effective transactional services which enhance the operational capacity of UNOPS and standardize systems and procedures. The GSSC, among other functions, carries out high-quality transactional services within the area of personnel contract administration, benefits & entitlements and payroll. To ensure increased cost-efficiency and consistency with UNOPS systems, GSSC is now expanding its services to include both Individual Contractor Agreement (ICAs) and UN staff members.
Under the guidance and supervision of the Team Lead, the HR Assistant provides support within HR services, ensuring high quality of work, accurate, timely and properly recorded/documented service delivery.
The work area is within contract administration, Benefits & Entitlements for Individual Contractual Agreements (ICAs).
The HR Assistant promotes a client-oriented and consistent with rules and regulations approach in the Unit. He/She works in close collaboration with operations personnel in the field offices and with UNOPS HQ personnel to exchange information and ensure consistent service delivery.
Functional Responsibilities
Summary of Key Functions:
Support in implementation of HR strategies and procedures
Support in the administration of ICA contracts benefits and entitlements
Support in the facilitation of knowledge building and knowledge sharing
1. Support in implementation of HR strategies and procedures, focusing on achievement of the following results:
Full compliance of HR processes and records with UNOPS rules, regulations, policies and strategies
2. Support in efficient administration of contracts, benefits and entitlements for ICAs, focusing on achievement of the following results:
Perform a variety of repetitive and routine tasks and duties related to human resources
Gather and compile data and identify/adjust to discrepancies, as applicable Monitoring and tracking of transactions to ensure timely, consistent and equitable provision of services with a client focus
Ensure that documents and supporting files are accurate, complete and properly filed for audit purposes
Drafting of contracts and processing of separations, outlining the conditions of the agreement/separations for the approval of the supervisor
Collection, verification and follow-up on required documentation related to benefits, entitlements and contracts
3. Support in the facilitation of knowledge building and knowledge sharing, focusing on achievement of the following results:
Participation in the trainings for the operations/ projects staff on HR
Contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice
Competencies
UNOPS Core Values/Competencies
Integrity
Professionalism
Respect for Diversity
Creativity and innovation
Commitment to continuous learning
Planning and Organizing
Results orientation
Communications skills
Teamwork skills
Client orientation
Technological awareness
Functional Competencies
Knowledge Management and Learning
Shares knowledge and experience
Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more practice areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills
Development and Operational Effectiveness
Ability to perform a variety of standard tasks and duties related to HR, screening, collecting and preparation of documentation, data input, transactions tracking, filing, provision of information
Ability to review data, identify and adjust discrepancies
Ability to produce accurate and well documented records conforming to the required standard
Ability to handle a large volume of work possibly under time constraints
Knowledge of UNOPS HR rules and procedures
Strong IT skills
Leadership and Self-Management
Ability to adhere to work assignments and meet designated deadlines.
Focuses on result for the client and responds positively to feedback
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude
Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities
Solicits feedback from staff about the impact of his/her own behavior
Education/Experience/Language requirements
Education : High school diploma required Secondary Education with specialized certification in HR an asset. A BA or MA degree may substitute required years of work experience.
Experience : 3 years of experience in supporting a human resource management area.
Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Office 2003 and/or newer versions) and experience in handling of web-based management systems.
Language Requirements : Fluency in written and oral English. Knowledge of second UN working language desirable.
Contract type, level and duration
Contract type : Local Individual Contractor Agreement
Contract level : LICA 3
Contract duration : 1 year, renewable subject to satisfactory performance and funding availability
For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link:
https://www.unops.org/english/Opportunities/job-opportunities/what-we-offer/Pages/Individual-Contractor-Agreements.aspx
Dont click apply now on job.bangkokpost.com
A women's clothing store and a candle shop will get six months of free rent at Gateway Mall after winning The Challenge: Battle of the Pop-Up.
Mall officials announced on Tuesday that h.flynn and Feya Candle Company will open at the mall Nov. 1.
H.Flynn, which will be in an inline retail space next to American Eagle, is a store offering custom apparel and accessories for girls and women, including T-shirts, tanks, hoodies, trucker hats, bleacher seats, blankets, towels, duffel bags, and Nebraska and high school gear.
"I am so thankful that we were chosen to be a new store in Gateway, h.flynn owner Hayley Stamper said in a news release. The whole h.flynn team is very excited for this new adventure and I feel very fortunate for the amazing team at Gateway who has taken time out of their day to help us grow our company."
The other winner, Feya Candle Company, will occupy a kiosk spot in the mall's center court area.
The business offers soy candles in a variety of scents.
Sarah Mullins, the owner of Feya Candle Company, said she was "ecstatic and completely honored" to have been chosen as one of the contest winners.
As a longtime resident of Lincoln, I feel extremely privileged to be a part of a space that has been such a big part of our city," Mullins said in a news release. "Running a micro-business can be very daunting and the opportunity to share our products with the shoppers of Gateway Mall is going to allow us the reach we've been hoping for."
In addition to free rent, the two stores also get free utilities and use of existing fixtures in their spaces through April 30.
Gateway was one of four malls owned by Starwood Retail Partners participating in the contest.
W&M ranks among the nations best
The latest college rankings are out, and William & Mary has once again been counted among the best universities in the country.
For the 19th consecutive year, the university has been ranked sixth among public national universities by U.S. News and World Report, according to its annual college guide released today. Overall, William & Mary is ranked 32nd among national universities, tied with Boston College.
In addition, the university is ranked seventh for undergraduate teaching, up from 12th last year, and 12th among the best colleges for veterans, up from 19th last year and 28th two years ago. W&M is also tied for 35th in a ranking by high-school counselors, and the universitys undergraduate business program is tied for 42nd.
Also in the U.S. News report, W&M is the top-ranked public institution for alumni giving among leading universities, coming in at 18th overall among all national universities (including privates). The alumni giving category is based on a two-year average from fiscal years 2015 and 2016. The university ranked 20th last year and is expected to continue to climb as the percentage of alumni giving increases as part of the For the Bold campaign.
William & Mary also did well in the latest college rankings from Princeton Review, released in August. The university is included in its Best 382 Colleges guide, which does not rank schools overall. However, the book includes multiple top 20 lists, and W&M appears on 12 of them.
The university is ranked third among schools with the most interactions between people of different races and classes. W&M is also ranked on the following lists:
5 th : Happiest Students
: Happiest Students 5 th : Their Students Love These Colleges
: Their Students Love These Colleges 7 th : Most Engaged in Community Service
: Most Engaged in Community Service 8 th : Most Popular Study Abroad Program
: Most Popular Study Abroad Program 10 th : Most Beautiful Campus
: Most Beautiful Campus 13 th : Best College Library
: Best College Library 13 th : Best Quality of Life
: Best Quality of Life 14 th : Best Science Lab Facilities
: Best Science Lab Facilities 14 th : LGBTQ-Friendly
: LGBTQ-Friendly 16 th : Most Active Student Government
: Most Active Student Government 18th: Colleges That Pay You Back Without Aid
W&M is also included in the latest iteration of Forbes Americas Top Colleges rankings, coming in at 10th among public colleges and 58th overall. W&M is ranked 30th among research universities in that report.
In Moneys recently released list of 711 Best Colleges for Your Money, which takes into account educational quality, affordability and alumni success, W&M is ranked 76th.
In May, The New York Times counted W&M among the Top Colleges Doing the Most for the American Dream in its third annual College Access Index, which is based on graduation rates and college costs for low- and middle-income students. W&M is ranked 57th on that list, which only included colleges with a five-year graduation rate of at least 75 percent.
Heterodox Academy, an association of professors and graduate students who value a diversity of viewpoints, released its own college rankings in June. In its list of the top 150 U.S. universities, W&M has the second-highest score, tied with George Mason University and the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. The scores are based on each schools FIRE rating, Intercollegiate Studies Institute and events that are determined to reveal a commitment to free speech.
Fiske also counted W&M among the countrys best in its latest annual guide to colleges, which does not rank the more than 300 schools included.
In addition to college rankings, W&Ms hometown of Williamsburg, Virginia, received attention recently when it was named among the top 15 cities in the United States by Travel + Leisure
A man wanted in connection with a deadly shooting in Hastings was arrested late Monday near the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's East Campus, with a stolen gun in his car, police say.
University police spotted Deante H. Mullen, 19, of Lincoln, at the Casey's General Store at 3291 Holdrege St. around 11 p.m., said Lincoln Police Officer Angela Sands.
Officers knew Mullen had warrants for theft and failure to appear in court. They tried to detain him, Sands said, but he ran toward his car.
The officers kept him from fleeing or grabbing the stolen handgun, which they later found tucked between the driver's seat and the console, Sands said. Lincoln police arrived moments after the university officers, and Mullen was arrested without further incident.
Mullen was taken to the Lancaster County jail on the warrants and on suspicion of possession of a stolen gun, six drug charges, possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony and failure to comply.
Hastings police said Mullen is a suspect in the shooting death of Jose Hansen, 19, of Hastings, who was found in an alleyway there Monday morning.
Mullen lived in Hastings at some point before 2013, according to juvenile court records.
A Lincoln Public Schools spokeswoman said Mullen attended high school in Lincoln for 14 months, first at Northeast in the 2013-14 school year and then at Southeast the next year.
China News on Women
Sorry, the page you requested was not found. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Womenofchina.cn, try visiting the Womenofchina Home page
A transient convicted of groping a woman in May has pleaded not guilty to charges of third-degree sexual assault and first-degree trespassing in a recent case, according to court records.
A probable cause affidavit shows a 31-year-old woman was sleeping with her baby early Thursday morning in the basement of a house near 14th and Adams streets when she awoke to Laurance Dollison, 35, groping her.
The woman screamed and told him to leave, according to the affidavit.
Dollison may have entered through a back door that was left unlocked.
Two others in the house heard the victim scream and saw Dollison near the basement stairs. Dollison reportedly left after one of them told him to leave.
Police found Dollison walking near 12th and P streets around 5 a.m., and arrested him.
Dollison was sentenced to jail time in May for groping a woman at a University of Nebraska-Lincoln library and trying to kiss a woman downtown immediately after.
He remained in jail Monday on $50,000 bond.
Rosatom head visits Iter, latest equipment batch sent
12 September 2017
Share
Rosatom Director-General Alexey Likhachov yesterday visited the construction site of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (Iter), which the Russian state nuclear corporation said has now entered the "full-scale practical implementation phase". Rosatom also announced that it has sent the latest batch of six trailers with high-current busbars for the power supply systems of Iter's superconducting magnet.
Likhachov and Bigot (centre) during the visit to Iter (Image: Rosatom)
Under construction in Cadarache, France, Iter is the world's biggest tokamak - a magnetic fusion device that has been designed to prove the feasibility of fusion as a large-scale and carbon-free source of energy based on the same principle that powers the Sun and stars. A total of 35 countries, including 29 European Union member-states, as well as China, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the USA, are participating in the Iter project. The launch of the reactor and production of the first batch of plasma is scheduled for 2025.
Russian companies are developing more than 25 "unique systems" for Iter, including superconductors, gyrotrons, and protection and diagnostic equipment, Rosatom said.
Likhachov visited Iter at the invitation of ITER Organisation Director-General Bernard Bigot, who said: "Russia has always been an exemplary partner, which meets all its obligations in full and on time."
Likhachov noted that progress with Iter is visible not only on the construction site, but also in the production and supply of components.
He said: "The exploration of thermonuclear fusion energy will open up vast scientific and technological prospects for mankind. That is why Russia, which has unique experience in nuclear and thermonuclear research, is now at the forefront of the Iter project and is making a fundamental contribution to its implementation. It is also important to note that the very concept of this international project, namely tokamak, was developed in our country."
In 1950, Russian academicians Andrei Sakharov and Igor Tamm suggested using magnetic field for plasma confinement. Later, Russian scientists under the direction of academician Lev Artsymovich developed and used the concept of thermonuclear facility - Tokamak (Toroidal Chamber Magnetic Coil), which later became the world leader in the controlled thermonuclear fusion research. This facility is assumed as the basis of the Iter thermonuclear reactor.
Likhachov added: "Iter is important for us as a testing ground for practical tasks related to the energy of the future, with the increasing role of Russia on the global technology market."
During his visit to Cadarache, Likhachov also met with the chairman of the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, Daniel Verwaerde, with whom he visited the construction site of the Jules Horowitz Reactor. This is an international project to build a 100 MWt material testing reactor.
Equipment
The latest consignment of Russian equipment for Iter has a total weight of about 85 tonnes and includes: aluminum water-cooled direct-current buses for the poloidal field, the central solenoid and correcting winding power systems; thermal expansion joints and other parts of the DC bus systems that connect the superconducting windings of the tokamak electromagnetic system with their power supply sources; as well as sections of operational resistors for plasma discharge initiation systems.
"To date, this is the third - and the largest - supply of electrical equipment for the Iter reactor," Rosatom said. The first two batches of busbar elements for power supply to Iter's superconducting were sent from Saint Petersburg in 2015-2016.
The consignment has been sent to the seaport of Saint Petersburg for further transportation to the site of the reactor in Cadarache, via Hamburg, Germany.
Switchgear equipment, busbars and power-absorbing resistors for power supply and protection of Iter's superconducting magnet system are manufactured by the D V Efremov Scientific Research Institute of Electrophysical Apparatus in Saint Petersburg.
The Iter magnet system comprises 18 superconducting toroidal field and six poloidal field coils, a central solenoid, and a set of correction coils that magnetically confine, shape and control the plasma inside the vacuum vessel. The poloidal field (PF) magnets pinch the plasma away from the walls and contribute in this way to maintaining the plasma's shape and stability. The PF is induced both by the magnets and by the current drive in the plasma itself.
Researched and written
by World Nuclear News
Related topics
UK SMR consortium calls for government support
12 September 2017
Share
The UK government must give the country's nuclear industry clarity on the potential development and deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs), Rolls-Royce and its partners in the UK SMR consortium said today. There is a "once in a lifetime" opportunity for Britain to design, manufacture and operate such reactors, they added.
How a power plant based on Rolls-Royce's SMR could appear (Image: Rolls-Royce)
Rolls-Royce and its partners - including Amec Foster Wheeler, Arup, Laing O'Rourke, Nuclear AMRC and Nuvia - today released a report claiming a UK SMR program could create 40,000 skilled jobs, contribute 100 billion ($132 billion) to the economy and open up a potential 400 billion global export market.
"The development of an SMR in the UK would not only complement existing plans for large new build reactors in supporting the future energy mix, it would allow the UK nuclear industry to embark on a long-term sustainable program of international export, supporting jobs and growth for decades to come," according to the report, titled UK SMR: A National Endeavour.
The UK SMR program, it suggests, is "uniquely placed to avoid the complexities, delays and overspends often associated with infrastructure projects". It says SMRs offer a "convincing alternative" to financing and constructing large-scale reactors around the world and represent a "very substantial commercial opportunity".
In addition, the consortium claims British consumers could benefit from lower cost electricity if the government backed an SMR program for the UK. They say SMRs could deliver electricity at 60 ($80) per MWh, making them competitive against wind and solar and help "the continual reduction in the price of nuclear generated power".
The report notes that a study by the UK National Nuclear Laboratory suggests a market for 7 GWe of SMR power plants will exist in the UK by 2035, with further opportunity beyond this to 2050. The UK SMR consortium claims it is uniquely qualified and positioned to capitalise on this opportunity, especially as its SMR design is based on proven technologies.
Harry Holt, president for nuclear at Rolls-Royce, said: "The UK has never had a greater need for low-cost, low-carbon, safe, secure and reliable energy production. With demand for energy set to rise in the near future - in part due to the growing popularity of electric cars - we believe that a UK SMR program is a vital addition to our national infrastructure."
The UK government launched the first phase of an SMR competition in 2016 to identify the best value SMR design for the UK.
"The time is now right for the government to move forward with pace towards establishing the conditions required for a UK SMR to flourish, as the rest of the world continues to develop SMR technology and the UK is in danger of being left behind," the report says. "The conditions are now right and the time has therefore come for UK government and the private sector to start working together in earnest to capitalise on the SMR opportunity."
Richard Maudslay, a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, led a study of the consortium's business case for SMRs. He said, "The review team concluded that a UK SMR program managed by a Rolls-Royce-led consortium with appropriate full and ongoing government support would offer the UK the best opportunity to design, manufacture and construct the next generation of nuclear plants and would help to deliver a national nuclear strategy."
In a foreword to the report, Nuclear Industry Association chairman Lord Hutton said: "It is vitally important to make the decision to move forward on this opportunity now. That is why the UK government should make clear its intentions so that the UK can deliver a solution that will supply secure, reliable and affordable electricity for more than 60 years and capitalise on new overseas markets that are emerging for SMRs."
Last week, NuScale Power of the USA launched an action plan for the near-term deployment of SMRs in the UK. The plan sets out how the company will partner with UK industry to deliver a "multi-billion pound SMR venture". Through its five-point UK SMR Action Plan, Portland, Oregon-based NuScale said the UK and the USA can work together to develop "game-changing technology for the global energy system".
Researched and written
by World Nuclear News
Related topics
Iran, North Korea feature in IAEA board update
12 September 2017
Share
Iran is continuing to implement its nuclear-related commitments, but the continuation and further development of North Korea's nuclear program are a cause for "grave concern", International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano told the agency's board of governors yesterday.
Amano is welcomed to the IAEA Board of Governors meeting by board chairperson Tebogo Seokolo (Image: IAEA/Dean Calma)
The IAEA has been verifying and monitoring Iran's implementation of its nuclear-related commitments under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) since January 2016. Amano told the board.
"The nuclear-related commitments undertaken by Iran under the JCPOA are being implemented," he confirmed. "The Agency continues to verify the non-diversion of nuclear material declared by Iran under its Safeguards Agreement. Evaluations regarding the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran remain ongoing," he said.
Amano said the agency would continue to implement the Additional Protocol, a legal document that supplements Iran's safeguards agreements, which significantly increases the IAEA's ability to verify the peaceful use of all nuclear material.
North Korea team
Amano said the IAEA continued to follow closely developments in the nuclear program of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). He said a nuclear test carried out by the country on 3 September - its sixth and largest since 2006 - was "extremely regrettable" and "in complete disregard of the repeated demands of the international community".
Amano said there were "indications" at the Yongbyon Experimental Nuclear Power Plant suggesting that the reactor was being operated, while there were indications consistent with the use of the reported centrifuge enrichment facility at the Yongbyon Nuclear Fuel Rod Fabrication Plant. The continuation and further development of the country's nuclear program were "a cause for grave concern," he said.
The IAEA in August established a dedicated team within its Department of Safeguards to enhance its ability to monitor North Korea's nuclear program, Amano said.
"The aim is to enhance our ability to monitor the DPRK's nuclear program, maintain updated verification approaches and procedures, remain prepared for the Agency's possible return to the country, and ensure the availability of appropriate verification technologies and equipment."
North Korea became a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in 1985, with its NPT Safeguards Agreement entering into force in 1992, but it withdrew from IAEA membership in 1994 and from the NPT in 2003.
"I call upon the DPRK to comply fully with its obligations under all relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council and the IAEA, to cooperate promptly with the Agency, and to resolve all outstanding issues, including those that have arisen during the absence of Agency inspectors from the country," Amano said.
Nuclear's climate role
With 448 nuclear power reactors in operation in 30 countries, 57 under construction, and 28 countries currently considering, planning or starting nuclear power programs, with IAEA assistance, many countries expect nuclear power to play an increasingly important role in improving energy security and mitigating climate change, Amano said. Most of the operating reactors are more than 30 years old, but their operating lifespans could be significantly extended, provided they fulfil the requirements for safe operation. More attention should be paid to extending the operating lifetime of current nuclear power reactors "to respond to the challenge of climate change here and now", he said.
"Without nuclear power, it will be very difficult to achieve the Paris Agreement's goal of keeping the rise in global temperatures this century well below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels," Amano said. The IAEA will participate in the United Nations Climate Change Conference - COP23 - to be held in Germany in November.
Amano also highlighted the inauguration in August of an IAEA Low Enriched Uranium Bank Storage Facility in Kazakhstan, and modernisation work at the IAEA's nuclear applications laboratories near Vienna, where a new Insect Pest Control Laboratory is to be inaugurated on 25 September.
Researched and written
by World Nuclear News
Related topics
United Methodist Church congregations in Nebraska have become bucket brigades in their efforts to help Houston residents and others in the Texas Gulf clean up after Hurricane Harvey.
Churches from Auburn, Norfolk, Waverly, Lincoln and Omaha have sent cleaning kits in 5-gallon buckets, called flood buckets, to the United Methodist district office off 33rd and Superior streets, said spokesman Todd Seifert.
Nearly 860 buckets filled the hallways outside Seifert's office Tuesday.
"We probably dont want the fire marshal to walk in, Seifert joked.
Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. of the Great Plains Conference challenged the 1,008 congregations throughout Kansas and Nebraska to assemble 5,000 flood buckets to help those affected by Harvey.
A truck will pick up the buckets from Lincoln later this week, but church officials expect this to be an ongoing effort as Floridians clean up from Hurricane Irma in the coming weeks, Seifert said.
"The reality is were going to help to collect these buckets for weeks, if not months."
On Tuesday, utility crews from Lincoln, Grand Island and Columbus helped restore power in Tallahassee, Florida, as other public power crews from Omaha and York continued their voyage to Florida, where several million homes and businesses remained without electricity.
Urban Search and Rescue Nebraska Task Force 1 members still didn't have a mission Tuesday morning and remained staged at Eglin Air Force Base in the Florida Panhandle, awaiting further instruction from federal and state emergency management officials.
Since arriving Saturday evening, the 80-member team has used its downtime to train and run logistics ahead of potential Hurricane Irma relief missions.
"Our logistics folks have planned different routes in southern Florida four or five different times," Task Force leader Jim Bopp said.
The Lincoln-based task force will remain there until it is assigned a mission in Florida or somewhere else in the region, or is sent home.
Other, similar task forces have been put to work in the Florida Keys and Jacksonville areas, said Nebraska Task Force 1 member Brad Thavenet.
Florida already had eight of its own search and rescue task forces before federal officials dispatched more teams like Nebraska's to aid Irma relief efforts, Thavenet said.
Bopp said the crews of Lincoln, Omaha and Papillion firefighters are making good use of their downtime but are still itching to help.
"They really want to get to work, Bopp said.
Councils plans to improve education provision across Wrexham backed by members
This article is old - Published: Tuesday, Sep 12th, 2017
A report outlining Wrexham Councils vision and plans to improve educational provision in the county borough until 2024 has been backed by councillors.
The plans, which were put before members of the Executive Board this morning, feature as part of Wrexham Councils Strategic Outline Programme a document which will be submitted to Welsh Government as part of its 21st Century School funding programme.
The aims of the 21st Century Schools Programme include achieving:
Learning environments for children and young people in Wales aged from 3 to 19 that will enable the successful implementation of strategies for school improvement and better educational outcomes;
A sustainable education system through better use of resources to improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the education estate, and which enhances local public service provision;
A 21st century Schools Standard for all schools in Wales which reduces recurrent costs, energy consumption and carbon emissions
A number of projects have already been carried out in Wrexham as part of Band A of the funding, including the development of two new primary schools in Caia Park (Hafod Y Wern and Gwenfro) and refurbishments to Ysgol Plas Coch and Alexandra Community Primary.
As part of the Strategic Outline Plan, several specific projects have been put forward as part of the Band B submission. The project priorities are stated by Wrexham Council as below in the plan, split into three faith projects and five local authority projects:
Borras: Following the amalgamation of the previous infants and juniors in 2016 this would bring the school together in one building.
Welsh Medium Borras Infant Site: By Undertaking project 1 Borras physical amalgamation the council can utilise the former Infant site to accommodate a 210 primary with 30 nursery places.
Ysgol Yr Hafod: Following the amalgamation of the previous infants and juniors in 2016 this would bring the school together in one building on the same site.
Ysgol ID Hooson: In order to meet demand for Welsh medium Ysgol ID Hooson has managed its numbers using two mobile classrooms on site.
St Marys RC Wrexham: This project involves the site relocation and building of a 420 Primary with 60 nursery places.
St Marys Brymbo: This project involves the site relocation and building of what is currently a 154 Primary with 22 nursery places.
New VA School: If the initial two faith projects were to proceed, there is the possibility to re purpose the St Marys RC site. This could accommodate further faith provision in the town centre where demand is highest.
Currently the level of funding available is unknown, however the Strategic Outline Plan estimates that 36,660,000 would be required to carry out the preferred works.
This would include a requested contribution of 10,250,000 from Welsh Government and a match funded contribution of 10,250,000 from Wrexham Council. A further 13,736,000 requested Welsh Government contribution Diocese and 2,424,000 Diocese contribution.
The programme will run between 2019-2024, with the current batch of Band A funding due to come to an end in 2019.
Addressing the meeting, lead member for eduction, Cllr Phil Wynn said: It is my pleasure to introduce the report today on the 21st Centre School Programme for Band B aspirations, which we intend to deliver between the period 2019 and 2024. The band a scheme for school improvement works will be run up to 2019.
I believe this to be a good news story for the people of Wrexham, particularly for pupils and young people studying in school fabric buildings which need to be improved. It will also deliver better working environments for teachers. Collectively its part of the drive to improve educational standards within our authority it plays an important part.
SOP Band B has already been submitted to the Welsh Government, we are seeking approval today and to approve the schedule of projects in Appendix Three.
The background is Band A was worked up with the Welsh Government back in 2010 and came online in 2015. The good news stories it we have delivered new schools in Gwenfro and Hafod Y Wern and we are doing the same in Penycae, will be opening soon. There are plans to improve the school at Gweryllt CP.
Because of efficiency of how we have procured the schemes, there were savings made and Welsh Government through consultation allowed us to spend on delivering schemes that would have been in Band B. That is removal of mobiles at Plas Coch, extensions at Alexandra CP, flexible learning zone at Ysgol Bryn Alyn and were looking to do works at Ysgol Morgan Llwyd.
He added: The Band B pockets of work we have proposed are in the report, it is a 37m scheme and officers will be in dialogue with Welsh Government officers over the next month, so fairly soon we will understand how the other 21 authorities have bid and whether our aspirations are met and if the Welsh Government are prepared to put nearly 14m into our scheme of works.
Were looking to fund the works to the tune of 10m and theres additional monies from the Diocese.
Seconding the report, Cllr David A Bithell said: I would like to thank the lead member for bringing this report today which sets out our aspirations for 21st century schools. The local authority has a good record of delivering schools and this is the next stage in the process.
These are only proposals at this time. I am happy to second the recommendation and hope the Welsh Government will support our bid to improve our schools in the local area.
This sentiment was echoed by fellow Executive Board member, Cllr Joan Lowe, who said: I would like to add my support to the local member and the bid going forward.
As a lot of you are aware I chair a governing body going through the first phase of 21st century schools. It is not completed yet and I can already see the benefits and it is really fantastic what I am seeing for the pupils of my village and the staff.
We have got a good record and I think this is exciting for the schools.
However further information on the proposed projects were requested by Cllr Dana Davies, who asked for further clarification on what is included in the proposed 36m spend.
Cllr Wynn said: There are eight projects which are outlined that we want to fund through grant funding and the majority of schemes are site specific.
There is only one school that we are looking to relocate in town centre and thats St Marys. Anybody who knows the education provision was designed for 200 pupils and there are almost 400 on site. That has t be wrong, the children deserve better. If we can deliver a purpose built school for them, it has to be good news for Wrexham.
Because of the traction of Wrexham to economic migrants who have moved into the town over the years there is pressure to provide faith education, as there is to provide Welsh provision to. That is what we are looking to deliver.
The political hot potato that is the Groves site was also alluded to during the debate. As Wrexham.com reported earlier today the meeting was told by Council Leader Mark Pritchard that questions were not allowed after Cllr Davies and Cllr Carrie Harper queried why the site hadnt been included in the funding application. You can read our full report on the row over the Groves here!
Questions were also asked about the consultation process, with Cllr Harper asking if any had taken place with the community and the 40% of newly elected councillors.
Contact officer, Dafydd Ifans said: The way we work through this is we have to put an outline programme to Welsh Government which needs to be approved by the Executive Board, but within that there are projects which require public consultation.
Thats why in some cases weve had to be quite vague about things on where schools are going to be, how large they are going to be and what they are going to be for. For example the 10m around secondary education is there to fund a review on our secondary education, so at this stage it wouldnt be appropriate to consult with the public about the programme.
Cllr Harper continued onto ask: Looking at page 199 and projects that could be brought forward for Band B theres talks there about St Marys and demand for faith based schools. We know a lot of that demand has come from EU migration so Im just wondering to what extent Brexit has been taken into account with this document and how you think that might impact going forward on the demand.
Mr Ifans said: It is a difficult thing for us to quantify on numbers of requirements for faith education in town centre, we can only work on patterns we are seeing and at the moment we not seeing a drop off in demand in Catholic school.
Many children are not able to have their first choice which is to be educated in a Catholic school and so are in our community primary schools in the surrounding area.
What we are looking at is two issues with the school it is already massively subscribed on a restricted site for that number of pupils and weve got the knock on impact of those people not able to a access that school in other town centre schools. Our view is the picture we are seeing is we can more than sustain that increase. There is in fact near enough that number of pupils in the school at the moment.
Improvements to Welsh-medium school provision were also noted, with Cllr Gwenfair Jones asking if expanding Ysgol Morgan Llwyd is the only feasible option or if it was possible to build another Welsh medium secondary school.
Cllr Wynn said: That will be in the mix as part of this review of surplus English provision and how we deliver additional capacity for Welsh-medium. We need to do that work and the officer has assured us that piece of work will be done early on in the cycle and we will move on in an informed position.
Questions were also asked as to why provision for new schools in rural areas hadnt been factored into the Strategic Outline Plan, with Cllr Derek Wright commenting on a large scale planning application submitted for Cefn and Acrefair.
He said: It is really good news the information you have given us, but for me its settling in the town centre. There is a big development for the area I represent, which is Cefn and Acrefair, which went through outline planning last year for 250 houses. I cant see anything in the report mentioning areas such as Cefn where schools will be urgently be needed.
I did a survey before prior to the planning committee earlier this year and there were 25 school places in the four primary schools in our area. If youre going to build 250 houses in one location and there are other locations in the area proposed housing is going into.
Surely we must make for provision now, not make it when theyve built the houses and theres no places left anywhere in the area, unless you plan on bussing children our at primary level where there are places available. I think its a mistake that needs rectifying.
Mr Ifans explained that the issue is a difficult one, stating: If we build schools before developments come on stream, we wouldnt be able to go to developers and ask for their contribution to the infrastructure.
At this stage we have looked at the demands where we have received Section 106 infrastructure fundings and that has been catered for. At the moment the developments you are talking about havent come to fruition and we havent received the additional funding.
After a lengthy debate on the subject, the report was voted on by members of the Executive Board, who backed the proposals unanimously.
Former British Labour prime minister, Tony Blair, has called for the introduction of draconian anti-immigration measures, to pave the way for the reversal of last years referendum vote to leave the European Union (EU).
Blair is the de facto leader of the faction of the ruling elite that favours remaining in the EU and its Single Market.
In a concerted intervention over the weekend, Blair was joined by his Labour peer acolyte, Baron Andrew Adonis. Their remarks were timed to coincide with the second reading of the Tories' European Union (Withdrawal) Billthe first step in legally removing the UK from the EU in March 2019.
Blair authored a Sunday Times article, Only a hard Brexit is on offerand that will do Britain immense damage, and has issued a paper setting out his anti-immigration policies via the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.
When he was in office in 2004, the economy was strong, the workers [were] needed, he wrote. The times were different; the sentiment was different; and intelligent politics takes account of such change.
Those who support remaining in the EU, writes Blair, must now make uncomfortable choices. He declares, There is no diversion possible from Brexit without addressing the grievances which gave rise to it. Paradoxically, we have to respect the referendum vote to change it.
It is a lie that referendum result was primarily the product of anti-immigrant sentiment. A more critical factor was disaffection with the political establishment and anger over social inequalityboth of which Blair and his Labour government were instrumental in creating.
But Blair now utilises the same argument as the xenophobic UK Independence Party to justify adopting its policies. His paper, EU Migration: Examining the evidence and policy choices, was authored by Harvey Redgrave, a former Labour government advisor under Blair and his successor Gordon Brown.
The papers introduction states that politicians have to set out how to reform the current system of free movement of people in a way that responds to public anxiety, whilst leaving open the option of remaining within the EU, or, should that not be possible, ensuring Britain retains its membership of the Single Market (emphasis added).
This means that while visa-free travel should be maintained at the UKs borders, EU nationals must be quizzed and refused entry if they are thought to be looking for work. All EU nationals would be required to register on arrival, it states.
Those EU nationals wanting to work would need to show evidence of a job offer to be given permission to reside (and employers would be required to provide confirmation). EU nationals without permission to reside would be ineligible to rent, open a bank account, or access welfare benefits and would be subject to removal. Employers would also be required to check whether EU job applicants were illegally residing in the UK.
Blair advocates new, discriminatory (relative to UK nationals) terms and conditions for EU nationals taking up residence in the UK. That could include going further to restrict access to public resources (e.g., free health care) for EU migrants that are economically inactive; indexing of child benefit payments sent abroad; or enabling UK businesses and universities to give preference to UK citizens over EU nationals, for example, with respect to apprenticeship schemes and/or the charging of tuition fees for study.
Negotiations with the EU could agree to retain free movement but include safeguard provisions to restrict flows for a temporary period either on the labour market or on public services.
Blairs demands confirm that there was nothing progressive about the Remain campaign, as the Socialist Equality Party explained at the time. It was shaped entirely by the demands of big business and the security-military apparatus. Concern for freedom of movement applies only to the freedom of capital to exploit workers internationally.
Significantly, Blairs paper proposes finding common cause with [French] President Macron who has expressed a desire to tackle the undercutting of wages and conditions, by amending the Posted Workers Directive
Macron, a former leader of the French Socialist Party, is tying his attacks on the French Labour Code and the removal of workers rights to changes in the Posted Workers Directive (PWD). Under PWD, European companies can send employees to work in another EU member country while continuing to pay benefits and taxes in their own country. Macron is calling for restrictions on PWD, including limiting posted workers contracts to one year.
In his Guardian article, Adonis wrote, The EU withdrawal bill, which started in the House of Commons last week, is the mechanism by which a referendum [over the final EU/UK deal resulting from the ongoing negotiations over the terms of Brexit] can be secured. When the bill reaches the House of Lords early next year, there will almost certainly be a majority of peers prepared to insert a requirement for a referendum before withdrawal takes effect.
On this basis, [T]he crucial political event of 2018 will be the vote in the House of Commons next summer on a proposed referendum on Mays proposed withdrawal treaty. In order not to be seen to overturning vote to leave, Adonis writes, It is vital this is not conceived as a rerun of last years poll, but rather a referendum on Mays deal.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Macron could look favourably on such a referendum, calculated Adonis, Partly becausein Macrons casehe (rightly) doesnt believe that unrestricted free movement of labour is integral to the single market. Partly because many other EU leaders agree with him.
Adonis was explicit as regards the pro-imperialist considerations animating his and Blairs strategy. His proposed policy could win support in the EU, [P]artly for the big strategic reasonwhich weighs on strategic thinkers in Berlinthat, if Britain leaves the EU, 80 percent of NATO resources will then be outside the EU, which is hardly a recipe for European security and stability if you are looking across at the Russian and Chinese bears.
It should be noted that Jeremy Corbyn has made no statement on the anti-immigrant and militarist agenda outlined by these two leading Labourites, who continue to dictate party policy. In fact, Corbyn has agreed that free movement must be curtailed.
The sinister and far-reaching measures proposed by leading Remain figures vindicate the SEPs call for an active boycott of the referendum.
The ballot had nothing to do with democracy, let alone genuine political debate on the issues facing workers in Britain and Europe. It was a manoeuvre, engineered by then Prime Minister David Cameron, in an attempt to settle a faction fight between two equally right-wing factions of his party.
Warning that whichever side wins, working people will pay the price, the SEP stressed what was needed was for the working class to advance its own internationalist programme to unify the struggles of workers throughout Europe in defence of living standards and democratic rights. The alternative for workers to the Europe of the transnational corporations is the struggle for the United Socialist States of Europe.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced late last month that his Liberal-National coalition government will expand its cashless welfare card trial to more than 3,400 working-age social welfare recipients in Western Australias Goldfields region in early 2018.
This punitive system, which big business wants applied across the country to all welfare recipients, quarantines 80 percent of an individuals welfare into a debit card that can only be used at designated retail outlets. The remaining 20 percent is deposited into the recipients savings account.
The current Newstart allowance for a single job seeker without children is just $535.60 a fortnight. Those on the cashless welfare trial would receive only $107.12 in cash and $428.48 on the card every two weeks.
Cashless welfare cards have been trialled for more than 12 months at Kununurra and Wyndham in Western Australias East Kimberley and at Ceduna in South Australia. The Goldfields Region includes the towns of Laverton, Leonora, Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie. All these areas have high unemployment and no real future for young people.
Announcing the trial, Turnbull, one of the wealthiest men in the Australian parliament, cynically claimed that cashless welfare was an exercise in compassion.
Human Services Minister Alan Tudge declared that the government was determined to stop welfare-fuelled alcohol and drug abuse and gambling and insisted that the measures had produced positive social improvements. Tudge previously worked for Americas Boston Consulting Group which advises government agencies on cost-cutting.
Cashless welfare has nothing to do with overcoming the endemic unemployment and associated social ills afflicting poor communities. It does not increase the current poverty-level welfare payments that are the root cause of the financial difficulties facing recipients and scapegoats the most vulnerable layers of society as alcoholics, drug addicts and criminals.
Cashless welfare was initiated in 2007 by the Howard government, with Labor Party support, as part of its so-called Northern Territory (NT) Intervention. The measure which quarantined 70 percent of welfare income via a Basics Card, only applied to Northern Territory Aborigines.
The Rudd Labor government, which came to power in late 2007, rebadged the card and spread it to urban working-class areas suffering high unemployment and poverty (see: Labor government extends welfare quarantine powers across Australia).
In every case, the Australian government has feigned concern about the horrendous social conditions for which they are responsible, while blaming the victims for the social crisis.
Like the hysterical media campaign that accompanied the NT Intervention, Turnbulls cashless welfare announcement last week was preceded by a malicious social media video campaign funded by billionaire mining magnate Andrew Forrest and his Minderoo Foundation.
The video alleged that hundreds of indigenous children are being sexually assaulted and featured purported CCTV footage showing a drunken Aboriginal man physically abusing a child. Forrest, who insists that cashless welfare cards are the only way to prevent child abuse, has denounced anyone opposing welfare restrictions as paedophile supporters.
The Turnbull government claims that a recent report by ORIMA Research proves the life and social conditions of those forced onto the cashless cards in Ceduna and the East Kimberly have dramatically improved. Tudge told the media that the cashless welfare system had produced a substantial decline in alcohol and drug abuse and gambling and had widespread support from participants.
The ORIMA Research of those involved in the welfare trials is highly questionable and provides no statistical proof that cashless welfare cards assist poor communities. Those asked to participate in the ORIMA Research survey, mostly Aborigines, were promised $30 or $50 gift cards on completion of the survey, which obviously coloured their answers.
The questions were highly intrusive and included detailed information from individuals about what they spent on alcohol, drugs or gambling and their childrens education. Yet, all those surveyed said they did not have drinking or drug problems and did not gamble.
The results simply do not prove the governments claim that cashless welfare improved living conditions. While 45 percent said they were better able to save only 23 percent said the system had made their life better. Over 40 percent said their lives had worsened and 48 percent said they found it harder to look after their children. Significantly 20 percent of those asked refused to participate in the survey.
While the Australian Council of Social Services and other welfare organisations have denounced extension of the governments cashless welfare measures, the Labor opposition leader Bill Shorten, said the party remains open to the idea provided there was adequate support in the community.
Shorten was a minister in the previous Labor government, which extended welfare quarantining beyond the Northern Territory.
One of those speaking out against the cashless welfare trials was Lawford Benning, chairman of the indigenous Miriuwung Gajerrong Corporation. Having originally supported the East Kimberly trial in early 2016, Benning told media that the federal government had failed to provide the increased support services that was used to persuade local leaders to back the system.
Cashless welfare, he said, didnt do what I thought it was going to do Im seeing there is more drinking, theres a lot of sly-grogging, and Im seeing a lot of kids late at night when you go to the shopping centre. Bennings opposition was briefly reported by one media outlet and then buried by articles and comments slavishly repeating government claims about the success of the welfare measures.
Cashless welfare cards are just one of a number of government measures that demonise the poor and eviscerate their right to social welfare.
Last month the Turnbull government announced that 5,000 new recipients of the Newstart Allowance and Youth Allowanceabout 1,750 in Bankstown in western Sydney, 2,500 in Logan, Queensland, and 750 in Mandurah, Western Australiawill be drug tested, starting early next year.
If found to be using illicit drugs, welfare recipients will be forced onto cashless cards. If they test positive on a second drug test they will be referred to a doctor for substance abuse treatment, as a condition for retaining payments. Failing that they will be subjected to payment suspensions and ultimately cancellations.
The drug-testing regime, which was part of this years federal budget, is yet to be endorsed by the Senate, has been opposed by the Australian Medical Association, Royal Australasian College of Physicians, the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre and other peak medical bodies.
The federal government has also deepened its attacks on those forced into its so-called Community Development Program (CDP), a work-for-the-dole program in remote areas of Australia, where there are few, if any fulltime jobs.
The scheme which involves 35,000, mainly indigenous participants, pays the below-poverty rate of about $11 an hour and requires that they work or are involved in related activities for 25 hours a week, 46 weeks of the year. If CDP participants fail to comply with the programs strict requirements, they are fined, causing great personal financial problems. In the final quarter of 2016, the federal government imposed over 35,120 separate financial penalties on CDP participants.
The author also recommends:
Australian budget: Drug-testing intensifies war on welfare
[12 May 2017]
Australian government trials new welfare card
[4 November 2015]
Around 1 million people demonstrated in Barcelona yesterday on Catalonias national day or Diada, according to local police, ahead of a Catalan independence referendum scheduled for October 1. El Pais, a Madrid paper opposed to Catalan independence, estimated the number of marchers at a half million. Marchers shouted slogans, waved pro-independence estelada flags and carried banners in support of the referendum.
The march came amid a rapidly escalating crisis of the Spanish political establishment caused by the announcement of the independence referendum. The march was called by the separatist Catalan National Assembly (ANC) to ask Catalan regional President Carles Puigdemont to defy the Spanish Constitutional Court rulings and proceed with the October 1 referendum. Whilst the Catalan population is overwhelmingly in support of having a vote, polls suggest they are divided about splitting from Spain, with a plurality still opposing separation.
By all accounts, the march was smaller than a previous pro-independence demonstration of 1.8 million people in Catalonia in 2014.
The separatists are acting recklessly and provocatively advancing the reactionary referendum. Ahead of the demonstration, on Friday, 71 separatist MPs in the Catalan Parliament, from the governing, pro-austerity Junts Pel Si (Together For Yes) coalitionthe Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) and Catalan European Democratic Party (PDeCAT)and the pseudo-left Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP) passed a Legal Transition & Foundational Law Of the [Catalan] Republic bill outlining the independence process.
If the yes vote wins on October 1, the separatists are pledging to declare independence within 48 hours, regardless of the turnout. The ERC and CUP plan to call street protests if the referendum does not go ahead. The Catalan secessionists have passed an anti-democratic measure allowing laws to be approved after a single reading in the regional parliament, so independence legislation can be fast-tracked with little or no debate.
All sides saw yesterdays demonstration as a test of the strength and appeal of the pro-independence campaign. ANC President Jordi Sanchez said, If were not able to mobilize a maximum number of people on September 11, October 1 will be weakened.
After the demonstration, Sanchez said that all Catalans should declare themselves in contempt before all courts which only look for the unity of their homeland in reference to Spains Constitutional Court, which has declared the referendum illegal and ordered 1,000 Catalan government members, mayors and officials to stop preparations for it under threat of criminal prosecution. He labeled as cowards mayors who refused to provide polling booths for the referendum.
The referendum is opposed by the Popular Party (PP) government in Madrid, the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Party) and Citizens party, all of whom have called their supporters in Catalan to boycott the vote, a move which may strengthen the odds of its passage. PP Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has warned that though the Spanish state might appear slow to react, appearances should not deceive us. There will be no self-determination referendum, he declared.
Citizens party leader Albert Rivera has accused Puigdemont and pro-independence parties of staking a blow to democracy, a coup like the one that this country experienced in October 1934, referring to the proclamation of a Catalan Republic by President Lluis Companys after Spanish President Lerroux invited members of the fascist CEDA (Spanish Coalition of the Autonomous Right) into his government.
Increasingly, leading figures on the right and in the social democracy are warning they will use violence to block the referendum.
Retired General Manuel Fernandez-Monzon Altolaguirre, who held a number of positions in the Franco regime including head of the Counter-espionage Service, also praised Lerroux for suppressing the Catalan Republic, declaring: The current situation in Catalonia should be considered an act of high treason that would necessitate the application of a state of war. He called for the arrest of all the leaders of the Catalan Parliament. The independence of Catalonia is not going to occur. What I do not know is whether it will be impeded in a bad way or not, he warned.
Similarly, Josep Borell, former PSOE minister and former president of the European Parliament, described the passing of the secessionist laws and the referendum by the Catalan parliament as a coup, adding, We are getting to a situation of physical violence.
Juan Luis Cebrian, director of the pro-PSOE El Pais, wrote an opinion piece in the newspaper, saying that those wanting to change the rules outside of the democratic channels are predisposed to violence.
Spains Director of Public Prosecutions Jose Manuel Maza has announced criminal charges of contempt, abuse of authority and misuse of public funds against all the members of the Catalan government. He has also ordered police to investigate those organising the referendum and seize materials being prepared for the vote. Printing companies have been raided to search for ballot papers, and one printer criminally charged for allegedly helping prepare the vote.
The Rajoy government hopes its threats will split the Catalan bourgeoisie and weaken the referendum. Madrid has thus far stated publicly that it wants to avoid invoking the so-called nuclear optionarticle 155 of the constitutionwhich would effectively revoke Catalan autonomy and place the region under the military control of the Spanish government, for fear of the degree of social opposition this would engender.
But last week, Spains Ministry of Interior started to reinforce state buildings in Catalonia with police from the anti-riot Intervention Units. The Civil Guard has been instructed to prepare to move to Catalonia within an hour and reinforce the Reserve and Security Group (GRS4), based in Barcelona. The GRS was created by former PSOE Prime Minister Jose Zapatero dedicated to the restoration of public order in large mass demonstrations. There are conflicting reports as to what the Catalan policethe Mossos dEsquadrawill do in case of physical conflict.
Sections of the ruling elite in Europe and the US fear that a confrontation between Barcelona and Madrid could spark a crisis that will engulf Spain, dragging down the fourth largest economy of the eurozone and a key European Union and NATO member state. It risks inflaming the explosive military situation in Europe, amid a stand-off between NATO and Russia, and growing class tensions in Spain and across Europe after a decade of deep austerity.
On Thursday, European Parliament President Antonio Tajani said Catalonia must obey the Spanish Constitution and said that if Catalonia secedes, it will be out of the European Union. Credit rating agency Moodys also warned that independence would harm the ratings of Spain and Catalonia. It hoped and predicted that Catalonia will continue to be part of Spain, and said it was up to Madrid to satisfy some of Catalonias main demands, such as budget reforms, to stem the crisis.
Behind all the talk of Catalan independence are the right-wing policies of the nationalists who rule the region and have imposed intense austerity on its working class. Funding for education, health care and other social expenditure have been slashed, and poverty has risen in one of Spains richest regions.
The pro-separatist factions within the Catalan bourgeoisie and the petty-bourgeois CUP are promoting nationalism in order to prevent a united struggle of the working class in Catalonia with their brothers and sisters across Spain and Europe. It offers nothing to the working class. A Catalan Republic, were it to be established, would function as a low-tax, cheap-labour platform for the benefit of the banks and transnational corporations.
Catalan independence has also caused a crisis in the Podemos party. Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias has attempted to side-step the referendum, saying it should be delayed until after Podemos, the separatist parties and the PSOE build a new progressive government in Spain and Catalonia that removes the PP from government. At the same time, the Podemos-backed mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, has said that the city council will do everything possible to enable Barcelona citizens to vote in the referendum.
As Hurricane and Tropical Storm Harvey bore down on and flooded the northern Gulf Coast last month with an estimated 20 trillion gallons of rain, some 60 plants belonging to the worlds petrochemical giants on the Texas coast began shutdown procedures. During this time they vented and dumped almost a million pounds of some of the most deadly chemical compounds on earth.
Total air pollutants from all oil and gas facilities added up to 5.6 million pounds, according to an analysis released September 1 by the Center for Biological Diversity. The deadly cocktail that included benzene, hexane, sulfur dioxide, 1,3-butadiene, and xylene were dumped or spilled during the storm by ExxonMobil, Shell, and Chevron Phillips and other petrochemical giants over a period of eight days beginning August 23.
Reports filed by the refining industry with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) confirmed that residents of Harris County and the surrounding area sustained 61 percent of the un-permitted emissions of toxic dumping than occurred in all of 2016. The dumping of these compounds included over 13 tons of benzene.
Significantly, Houston, Texas has never met national air quality standards since the passage of the Clean Air Act of 1970.
When TCEQ spokeswoman Andrea Morrow was queried about the findings, she was quoted as saying, All measured concentrations were well below levels of health concern, and that local residents should not be concerned about air quality issues related to the effects of the storm. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stated it was observing the situation with air quality buses, though how this was done in the midst of a flood was not explained.
According to a Las Vegas Review-Journal article appearing September 8, the chief Houston Health Department scientist Loren Raun reported that a department air quality monitor measured an astonishing level of 14,000 parts per billion of volatile organic compounds downwind of the Valero Partners refinery on Houstons east side, where a heavy roof had collapsed into a reservoir of stored chemicals during the storm.
For the duration of the storm-related events, Texas Governor Greg Abbott decreed a temporary suspension of emission regulations. The states air quality monitors were also shut off, with the initial explanation that officials made this decision to prevent damage to the expensive instrumentation. Later, air quality spokespersons began telling the press the monitors were damaged during the storm.
Ruben Basurto, a 33-year-old construction worker living two blocks from the refinery reported that the smell drove him and his friends indoors. Cindy Sanchez, 32, told the press that she became sick to her stomach and had eye burning. Nearby Galena Park mothers opened a Facebook page to describe their illnesses, saying the discharge smelled like sweet gasoline, or raw sewage in very thick air.
A local environmental activist Juan Flores said, a lot of people are afraid to talk, because their husbands work at the plants. He also said many of the residents near the refineries want to see a doctor, but they have no insurance or means to pay.
Daniel Cohan, an environmental scientist at Rice University, pointed out that the refineries, during a significant storm, delay shutdown until the very last moment. When the event is passed, they restart quickly, causing a very dramatic surge in emissions. He added, These plants are three to four decades old, and that the facilities are outmoded and badly overdue for modernization.
In 2010, ExxonMobil, Chevron-Phillips, and Shell were sued by the Sierra Club and Environment Texas, and this May were ordered by a federal judge to pay a settlement of $27.8 million. ExxonMobils share was $19.9 million and the energy conglomerate filed an appeal.
The federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) issued a Public Health Statement in August, 2007 regarding benzene, noting that it is a colorless liquid with a sweet odor, which can be smelled by humans at about 60 parts per million (ppm) of air, and correctly identified at 100 ppm. Benzene can be tasted in water at 0.5-4.5 ppm, and 1 ppm is about 1 drop in 40 gallons of water. It is in the top 20 chemicals produced in the US, used in making plastic foam and other plastics, some types of rubber, lubricants, dyes, detergents, drugs, and pesticides. It is also present in crude oil, gasoline and cigarettes.
Benzene is also slightly soluble in water, and will make its way from soil into aquifers. About 20 percent of human exposure in the US is from auto exhaust and industrial emissions. Fifty percent enters the body by breathing, and lesser amounts by ingestion and through the skin. Its human metabolites include phenol, muconic acid, and S-phenylmercapturic acid, which are known to cause leukemia and liver cancers.
At least a quarter million workers are significantly exposed to benzene in the US petrochemical and refining industry, tire manufacturing, shoe making, printing, in lab technology, fire fighting, and gasoline stations.
A 5-10 minute respiratory exposure to benzene can be fatal at air levels of 10,000-20,000 ppm. The compound will produce dizziness, nausea, headaches, rapid heartbeat, drowsiness, and unconsciousness at 700-3000 ppm. The US Department of Health and Human Services, the EPA, and the International Agency for Cancer Research identify benzene as a carcinogen. High levels of benzene inhaled by female workers has produced irregular menses, and has been linked to fetal changes and damaged immune and central nervous systems in experimental animals.
The EPA has estimated that the regular drinking of benzene-contaminated water at 10 ppm, or breathing air with 0.4 ppm would account for one added cancer per 100,000 people annually. The EPA also requires the National Response Center to investigate a spill into the environment of 10 pounds or more of benzene.
In August, 2008, the Environmental Health Perspective Journal published the results of a study titled Childhood Lymphohematopoietic Cancer Incidence and Hazardous Air Pollutants in Southeast Texas, 1995-2004. The investigation found in a review of 997 cases of childhood blood and lymphatic systems cancers that Census tracts (from Houston, Texas and the surrounding eight counties) with the highest benzene levels had elevated rates of all leukemia(s). The studys conclusion reads, Our ecologic analysis suggests an association between childhood leukemia and hazardous air pollution.
Bakeyah Nelson, executive director of Air Alliance in Houston told the Guardian, Its really a serious public health crisis from pollution and other impacts people are facing. Communities in close proximity to these facilities will get the worst of it, as they get the worst of it on a daily basis. Theres also the acute danger of one of these facilities exploding in neighborhoods where storage tanks are adjacent to peoples backyards. Its a very real threat and its a vey precarious situation.
The Guardian quoted Bryan Parras, who grew up in and lives in the low income East End, These people have very little political power and the city knows it. The real disaster is that they are poisoning these communities slowly, 24-7.
A September 5 New York Times article reported that Arkema Company, the French-owned firm whose plant exploded and burned in Crosby, Texas during Hurricane Harvey, had little in its emergency flood plans for power loss to its cooling equipment for storage of organic peroxides, its main product, sold to plastics manufacturers. Company vice president Gilles Galinier in Crosby insisted, It is not an industrial accident, instead blaming the severity of the storms, despite the Houston area having experienced so-called 500-year floods each of the last three years. The company worldwide had sales last year of $8.9 billion.
After Hurricane Ike in 2008, Arkema conceded hurricanes and resulting floods were a plant safety issue. But when flood plans were filed with the EPA, there were no provisions for elevating backup generators above the floodwater line. The flooding of emergency generators last month led to the explosions and chemical fires.
At the onset of Harvey, 11 of the 50 Arkema workers in Crosby hurriedly transferred the organic peroxides from the overheated plant building to nine outside refrigerated tanker trucks. The tankers were moved to the highest spot on the Arkema grounds and as far as possible from tanks of sulfur dioxide, a very corrosive gas, and other tanks of isobutylene, a very flammable gas. As it was, all nine tanker trailers and 18 tons of organic peroxides were consumed by fire.
Tom Neltner of the Environmental Defense Fund noted, They (Arkema) identify new hazards, but dont change anything in their plans.
The EPAs risk management in fact ignores volatile explosive compounds, requiring companies to address risk for 150 identified chemicals selected for flammability and toxicity, but not reactivity. The unstable compound ammonium nitrate is not on the EPA list of monitored chemicals, and caused the 2013 explosion of a fertilizer plant that killed 15 people in the town of West, Texas.
The World Socialist Web Site spoke with a retired oil worker from the ExxonMobil refinery in Beaumont, Texas. The major refiners are on the Neches River. The Exxon plant in Beaumont and a nearby chemical plant share a water containment facility. Im sure it overflowed into the river. The public doesnt hear about runoff and seepage, but the workers in the facility know about oil and processed fluids that are floating underneath us and getting into the ground. You dont hear about the health of workers either.
Hurricane Irma was downgraded to a tropical storm Monday as it made its way north to Georgia and South Carolina, leaving in its wake an estimated $100 billion in damage across the entire state of Florida. As of this writing, seven people have died of storm related injuries in Florida. In the Caribbean, 37 have been killed including 10 deaths in Cuba where the storm made landfall on Friday.
The full impact of the storm was less than had been feared, due to shifts in its trajectory over the weekend. However, the damage is still massive and has further exposed the decrepit state of US infrastructure.
Nearly two-thirds of Floridas population, or approximately 13 million people, were still without power Monday night after Irmas high winds brought down trees and power lines across the state and record storm surge flooding inundated cities up and down Floridas Atlantic and Gulf coasts.
People need to be prepared for some prolonged and extended outages, Eric Silagy, president and CEO of Florida Power and Light, which provides power to half the states population, warned on Monday.
Some areas of the state are expected to be without power for weeks, as miles of downed power lines will not only have to be restored, but significant sections of the states power infrastructure will have to be rebuilt.
Restore may not capture the full sense of where we are, Southern Company CEO and Chairman Thomas Fanning told CNBC. For the very hard impacted areas, I think youre in a rebuild area. Thats a big deal. People need to understand this is going to take perhaps weeks, not days, in some areas.
Fanning, a co-chair of the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council, which coordinates the utility industry and government response to disasters, reported that in the coming days and weeks as many as 60,000 utility workers will be mobilized from across the United States and Canada in the effort to restore power across the region.
Any amount of time without power will be challenging for most, but especially for the elderly and those with health problems that require medical equipment.
As is the case throughout the United States, most of Floridas power lines are above ground, meaning that significant numbers of people lose power when high winds blow, knocking down trees and branches.
Cuts to utility maintenance crews that remove and trim trees near power lines only increases the power grids vulnerability. Residents reported that in the days leading up to the storm, crews were working overtime to catch up on a years worth of work to try and minimize the damage, but as usual it was too little, too late.
Ordinances in Palm Beach, Miami-Dade and Broward Counties require new power lines to be placed underground where they will be protected, but there has been no systematic effort across the state to place existing infrastructure underground, or to strengthen substations and power plants that must remain above ground.
The storm has left thousands across the state without access to clean drinking water. Boil water advisories have been issued for communities across the state, as water treatment and distribution plants either lost power or were inundated by flood waters, resulting in a drop in water pressure that could result in the contamination of drinking water with sewage.
By far the worst damage has been done to the Florida Keys where Irma made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 130mph. Boats were thrown onto land, RVs and trailer homes strewn about and a massive storm surge inundated the low-lying islands, with waves flooding bridges, homes and resorts.
The mayor of Islamorada, Jim Mooney, told Local 10 News that he expected it would take six months before peoples lives would be maybe halfway back to normal.
Monroe County Emergency Management Director Martin Senterfitt described the situation on the islands as a humanitarian crisis in a statement Sunday. An indefinite dusk to dawn curfew has been declared by Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay.
Air Force and National Guard units began carrying out a major search and rescue effort Monday, deploying disaster mortuary teams to go door to door on the island seeking out survivors and possible fatalities. Officials estimate that approximately 5,000 of the island chains 30,000 permanent residents remained during the storm.
Roadblocks were set up by police on Monday to keep residents who had evacuated from returning to check on their homes. Officials said that evacuees would not be allowed back onto the islands until all 42 bridges connecting the island chain were inspected and declared safe.
A Miami Herald reporter in Florida City captured video of frustrated evacuees protesting and challenging the police after rumors spread that wealthy Keys residents were able to gain early access to their homes.
Theres got to be one way for everybody, not just the people that got the money and can buy their way in, Warren Stincer, a resident of Key Largo, demanded. Are people going in there? Thats a millionaire! They had money and they got themselves in there. Its got to be the same way for all of us! For all of us!
Major flooding from tropical rains and storms hit all along the southeast Atlantic Coast Monday as far north as Charleston, South Carolina.
Record flooding hit Jacksonville in northeastern Florida where rain and storm surges pushed water levels on the St. Johns River past the previous high in 1864. The citys downtown business district along the river was completely flooded, dozens of people had to be rescued from the rising waters, and city officials advised residents to hang white towels from their windows if they needed assistance.
Marco Island off Floridas southwest coast, where Irma made its second landfall in the state, was left without clean water and electricity. More than a dozen homes had their roofs torn off by high winds. Miami Beach on the southeast coast is set to reopen to residents and tourists today after Irma brought record storm surge flooding to the Miami area on Sunday.
Emmanuel Macron traveled last week to Greece to hail the austerity measures imposed by the Syriza (Coalition of the Radical Left) government, and to discuss the future of the European Union.
The visit to Greece clearly shows what Macron has in store for the French working class. After the German general election on September 24, Berlin and Paris intend to use the EU to impose the liquidation of the social rights acquired by the working class in France and in Europe during the 20th century. In their assault on the working class, the financial aristocracy intends to use the petty-bourgeois radical left as a key political tool.
The cordial meeting between the ex-banker Macron and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras also unmasks the nominal opposition of the French pseudo-left to Macron. Jean-Luc Melenchon and the New Anti-Capitalist Party (NPA), which claim to oppose Macron, hailed the coming to power of Tsipras. If they took power under Macron, as Melenchon has proposed to do, their class line would not be significantly different from that of Tsipras.
At his first meeting with Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos, Macron applauded the EU austerity diktat in Greece: I wish here to salute the reforms that your governments have conducted, and I will have the opportunity very shortly to have an exchange with Prime Minister Tsipras on this topic. But these reforms must go hand-in-hand with a collective engagement that must continue to allow the rewriting of your countrys debt.
Macron hailed the courage that Syriza and the Greek ruling class showed in imposing austerity on the Greek people: The resistance you showed, the courage you had to carry out several reforms, the will not to forget your principles, this will that you, your government and your prime minister always showed to keep Greece in Europe while around you many extremists were pressing you to leave it, it obliges us to have even more ambition for this Europe that we continue to hold dear.
In fact, the only courage possessed by Tsipras and Syriza was to repudiate pledges to oppose austerity measures, and to slavishly carry out the demands of the banks, hoping the army and the riot police would protect them from the anger of the masses.
The cumulative impact of cuts to pensions and minimum wage by a series of Greek governments since 2008 has been a 40 percent average fall in pensions and wages. Bankruptcies and layoffs by small businesses and a wave of mass sackings in the public-sector workforce have led to 25 percent unemployment rate (60 percent among youth).
Athens and the EU used the social catastrophe they were creatingGreek GDP fell by a quarter, as in the worst-hit countries of the 1930s Depressionto tear up workers basic social rights. Among the attacks was a cut of the minimum pension to a miserly 382 per month and the elimination of public heath care for the unemployed.
Syriza was elected in January 2015 based on false promises to end EU austerity that it swiftly repudiated. It even organized a referendum on austerity in July 2015, hoping to obtain a yes vote that would allow it to resign, blaming the population for supporting the EU. Faced with a crushing 62 percent no vote, largely from workers, Syriza trampled public opinion and imposed the single largest package of austerity measures since the beginning of the crisis.
Like Melenchon and the NPA in France today, Tsipras refused to call on European workers to defend workers in his country against austerity. As the WSWS had warned, Syrizas rejection of the sole viable strategy for opposition to the EU stemmed from its essential approval, shared by its allies across the EU, of the EUs reactionary social program.
Macron traveled to Greece not only to legitimize attacks on the working class, but also to advance the strategic and commercial interests of French and European imperialism. His visit was closely tied to the rising danger of global war. As divisions mount between Washington and Berlin following Trumps election, and war risks erupting between the United States, China, and Russia over Korea, Greece is becoming a battleground in a struggle for influence between the major powers.
In order not to be ruled by bigger powers such as the Chinese and the Americans, I believe in a European sovereignty that allows us to defend ourselves and exist, Macron said in a subsequent speech on the Pnyx hill near the Parthenon in Athens.
As with his domestic policy, Macrons foreign policy is filthy reaction all down the line. He promised to push for the EU to help Tsipras keep refugees from fleeing NATOs Middle East wars to Greece: We need, for this reason, to advance a permanent planned cooperation that allows us to protect ourselves from major migrations that your country was confronted with in recent years.
The EUs main refugee policy has been to deny their right to asylum and limit rescue operations in the Mediterranean, leading to thousands of drowning deaths, while stepping up naval patrols in the region.
Moreover, Macron briefly alluded to conflicts inside the EU provoked by the Greek crisis, saying, Our euro zone must give up a sort of internal civil war over minor differences. He then proposed financial policies long opposed by Berlin. He not only proposed to restructure Greeces debts, but also to keep the IMF from playing a role in formulating the austerity policies imposed on Greece.
What is at stake are not differences over austerity, as the EUs policies are as brutal as those of the IMF, but explosive inter-imperialist rivalries. As Washington and the EU are ever more openly in conflict, Macron intends to limit the influence of the IMF, which is headquartered in Washington, while demanding financial concessions from Berlin on Greece in exchange for French support against the United States.
On his trip, Macron brought in his retinue a large delegation of CEOs and top management of French big business. Among the companies represented was port operator Terminal-Link, which is participating in negotiations on privatizing the port of Thessaloniki. There are growing rivalries with China, whose shipping company COSCO has acquired a majority stake in the Piraeus port in Athens and wants to make it a major node in the Chinese regimes One Belt, One Road infrastructure network connecting China to Europe.
The New York Times cited Greek commentator Coastas Iordanidis as saying that Athens hopes that Macron will reaffirm his support for Greeces position in the EU and pressure French investors to counterbalance German and Chinese investment in Greece.
University of Nebraska students enrolled as recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program should stay put for the time being, the university said in recent statements.
The Trump administration last week announced its plans to phase out the DACA program by ending the permit renewal process allowing young immigrants brought into the country illegally as children to apply for protections from deportation.
The decision to end the program was coupled with a message for Congress to pass the so-called Dream Act that would enact the program legislatively rather than through executive action.
Only about two dozen of the 26,000 students enrolled at UNL are believed to be DACA recipients.
But NU leaders, including UNL Chancellor Ronnie Green, have urged those students to stay put as Congress reconvened following the August recess and as several court challenges have been filed against the Trump administrations decision to draw the program to a close.
The message to anyone attending the university who is a DACA recipient is this: You are welcome here and we want you to be successful, Green wrote in a message to the UNL campus. Our advice is to continue attending classes as you normally would and to begin exploring the resources available to you."
Greens message, similar to one given by NU President Hank Bounds, as well as University of Nebraska Medical Center and University of Nebraska at Omaha Chancellor Jeff Gold, pointed to a set of frequently asked questions regarding the DACA program and NU:
* Students whose applications expire before March 5, 2018, are being advised to contact an immigration attorney to review their specific case and determine if they should renew their DACA permit."
* NU students who have DACA permits should be cautious about traveling abroad during the six-month grace period, while anyone outside the country was being encouraged to return as soon as possible while their work permit was still valid.
While the Department of Homeland Security said it will honor the work permits granted through DACA until the end of the grace period, NU advised students that their re-admission into the U.S. was discretionary to Customs and Border Control.
The university doesnt ask students for information related to their immigration status, and NU Board of Regents policy stipulates any student shall be admitted without regard to individual characteristics other than qualifications for admission, academic performance, and conduct in accord with University policies and rules and laws applicable to student conduct.
NU said any DACA recipients recognized as resident students wont see any change in their tuition bill. The Nebraska Legislature in 2006 passed a law to provide in-state tuition rates to children brought into the country illegally.
The FAQ points to several services, both for academic, personal and mental counseling, as well as for legal consultation, for DACA recipients attending NU.
As of Monday, Charlie Foster, UNL assistant to the vice chancellor for student affairs, said it didnt appear any students had come forward seeking services just yet.
Employees were told not to give legal advice to students, but rather to direct them to an immigration attorney, including the Nebraska College of Laws Immigration Clinic.
Kevin Ruser, a clinical professor who oversees the colleges legal clinics, said a walk-in advice only clinic is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 24, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Its aimed at answering these kind of questions, Ruser said. Our immigration clinic students will meet with them and let them know what their options are.
Ruser added the clinic was open to all DACA recipients, not just UNL students.
Recent public remarks by Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena underline the growing crisis of the unity government of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghes United National Party (UNP) and the presidents Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).
Sirisena became president in 2015 after a US-backed regime-change operation to unseat the former President Mahinda Rajapakses government in the presidential elections. The US and India were hostile to Rajapakse close relations with Beijing and wanted Sri Lanka brought into line with Washingtons geo-strategic buildup against China. Sirisena and his political allies won support by exploiting popular anger over Rajapakses socially-destructive policies and his autocratic methods of rule.
Just two and half years later, wide layers of workers, students and youth have drawn the conclusion that the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe governments retrogressive social program is no different to that of Rajapakse and the current administration is even more ruthless in implementing its policies.
Like its predecessor, the current administration is imposing the austerity demands of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), attacking workers jobs and living conditions and cutting its minimal subsidies for small farmers and the poor. Rather than honour Sirisenas phony reform promises during the 2015 presidential and parliamentary elections, the new government is systematically undermining basic democratic rights.
Former President Rajapakse now heads a breakaway parliamentary faction of the SLFP known as the Joint Opposition (JO) and hopes, with the support of former coalition partners, to bring down the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration and return to power.
In an attempt to bolster support for his factionally-riven party, Sirisena decided to hold a mass rally on September 3 to celebrate the 66th anniversary of the founding of the SLFP. On August 30, Sirisena invited media heads and newspaper editors to a special meeting at his home to promote the rally.
Answering a pre-arranged question about the dissenting voices in his own party and Rajapakses threats to bring down his government, Sirisena declared: Its not me but the SLFP parliamentary group that is in the consensual government. Although some say their party will soon form government on their own, under the current composition of the parliament no single party could form a government Even if there is another coalition, I will fulfill my responsibilities towards the people as president of the country until the end of my term.
In other words, Sirisena, contrary to his previous promises to restore parliamentary democracy, was reminding the media indirectly that he will retain the dictatorial executive presidential powers previously used by Rajapakse. It was yet another demonstration that Sri Lankas political elite cannot tolerate any form of genuine democratic rule.
Sirisena, through his political proxies, has also indicated that he will seek a second presidential term after 2020. On July 18, SLFP general secretary Duminda Dissanayake told the Daily Mirror that the partys candidate in the next presidential election will be none other than President Maithripala Sirisena.
In the days leading up to the commemoration rally, Sirisena used the state-owned electronic and print media establishment, government ministers and the pseudo-left organisations to promote the event, and the so-called achievements of his unity government. No expense was spared with over 2,000 buses hired and free lunches provided to transport people from distant areas to the rally.
Addressing the event, Sirisena pompously declared: I ask every learned and intelligent person to ask their conscience where this country would be if I had not been elected at the presidential election in 2015 January. At that time we faced an election, the international community was pointing guns at us and economic sanctions were hanging over the head of our beloved motherland.
Sri Lanka, however, he continued regained the support of the international community by establishing consensual government. Then, in a direct appeal to the military and Sinhala chauvinist elements, he boasted that he had blocked UN Human Rights Council plans for an international investigation into Sri Lankan war crimes.
Sirisena then compared the current situation with the crisis faced by SLFP founder and former prime minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike from 1956 to 1959. Bandaranaike began his parliamentary career as a member of the first UNP cabinet. He broke from the UNP and founded the SLFP in 1951, as an alternative Sri Lankan capitalist party in order to prevent a left-wing regime coming to power under the leadership of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party.
The SLFP, after forming a coalition with petty-bourgeois opportunist formations, Sinhala communalist and the Stalinist parties, won the 1956 election. The new government was challenged by a series of powerful national strikes involving all sections of the working class. In 1959, Bandaranaike was killed, the victim of an assassination plot hatched by far-right groups within his own party.
Sirisena invoked this episode in an attempt to win sympathy from politically-naive followers of the SLFP who have rallied around Rajapakse and to threaten workers and youth involved in the current protests and strikes.
Sirisena claimed students and workers opposing his regime were abusing the democratic conditions created by his government. Some are enjoying democracy inappropriately, using Facebook [and holding] campaigns, demonstrations and agitations. They are unaware that there are limits and they exceed them frequently. The country cannot tolerate such a situation, he said.
Sirisenas democratic posturing is a fraud. His government has deliberately strengthened the police and the army and systematically mobilised against striking workers and protests by students and the rural poor. Eight years after the three-decade war against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Sri Lankan armed forces still occupy the North and East of the island, hundreds of Tamil families are displaced and little war rehabilitation work has been completed.
Rather than Sri Lanka enjoying a flourishing democracy, the government has postponed local council elections for more than a year and plans to pass a constitutional amendment deferring the scheduled Provincial Council (PC) elections until 2019.
Although the combined votes of the UNP and SLFP allow the government to make a range of repressive laws and constitutional changes, the Sri Lankan government is heavily dependent on the police and the army. This was clearly indicated in the show of armed strength as Sirisena addressed the rally.
Sirisena used the rally to denounce Brazilian legal moves for a war crimes investigation against Jagath Jayasuriya, a former army commander and current Sri Lankan ambassador. I state very clearly, he declared, that I will not allow anyone in the world to touch Jagath Jayasuriya or any other military chief, or any of the war heroes in this country.
Sirisenas threatening remarks are a serious warning to the working class and further highlight the increasingly desperate crisis of Sri Lankan unity government. Facing intensifying economic problems exacerbated by the ongoing global financial crisis, the Sri Lankan ruling elite will step up their assault on democratic rights in preparation for military forms of rule.
A Facebook post shared more than 15,000 times as of this writing details the harrowing experience of five workers at the United States Steel Great Lakes workers in Ecorse, Michigan, just outside of Detroit, who were exposed to deadly methyl mercaptan gas earlier this year. The incident reveals the callous indifference of management to health and safety and the role of the United Steelworkers union, which functions as an enforcer for the steel companies.
According to a post by Nicholas Doyle, a crane operator at the Great Lakes Works, he and four other men ended up in the hospital after being exposed to methyl mercaptan gas that is well known to be hazardous to humans and can be fatal in high doses.
Doyle describes how in April 2017 he and four other crane operators became sick after being exposed to the gas while working the night shift at the facility. The men reported the smell of gas to management, but were told to keep working. Eventually the men became so sick they could no longer work and parked their cranes. At that point Doyle and another man were taken to the hospital, soon followed by the three other operators.
At the hospital the men were treated and assigned to 72-hour bed rest. They were told not to operate heavy machinery or to report back to work until their symptoms cleared.
On leaving the hospital, Doyle writes, Myself and the man I was brought there with were picked up by [US Steel] security and brought back to the mill. There they were asked to give a statement to the company safety coordinator. They were then forced to wait 12 hours for a company doctor to evaluate them. Finally the men demanded that they be permitted to leave. However, the head of security insisted on making them stay. Only after they threatened to call the police were the men allowed to leave.
However, on arriving back at the mill Doyle reported they got a call from James Allen who is the Union President of [USW] local 1299 telling him that we needed to stay and wait for the company doctor. They then waited another seven hours for the company doctor, who, after he examined them, told them to report back to work.
The men did not to work the next day. Doyle reports, We all called off. The next day, and thank God we did, Dave, the guy I went to the hospital with was found by his wife on his kitchen floor unresponsive. Hes still in and out of the hospital. Three days after that, Glenn was hospitalized for almost two weeks.
Doyle reported that as a result of the incident he and his co-workers faced disciplinary action from the company, with their requests for help being ignored by the union, which warned them against hiring an attorney.
He concludes, US Steel poisoned us, and is trying to punish us for getting sick because of it. The Union turned its back and we have nowhere to go. We need help. I have paperwork. We all do. Spread this message.
This is not the first case of workers being poisoned by exposure to toxic levels of methyl mercaptan gas. Four workers at a DuPont Chemical plant in La Porte, Texas died in 2014 after a leak of the deadly substance. As a result the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) placed the company in its severe violator program.
This is not the only serious safety incident reported at the Great Lakes Works this year. In May a 32-year-old contract worker from Cleveland died at the mill after suffering a fall. According to a report by Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) on the tragedy, A 47-year-old iron worker was welding shims on a vessel and fell 25 feet striking scaffolding below lacerating their neck and chest.
Workers at the facility had been working mandatory 12-hour shifts amid reports of dangerous understaffing. Rather than hiring more full-time workers, the company has expanded its use of lower paid contractors who do not get full pay or benefits.
These conditions have been abetted by the USW, which has collaborated with the companys cost cutting drive in the name of ensuring US Steels global competitiveness. When the contract for US Steel workers expired in 2015, the USW blocked a strike and accepted a contract that further rolled back living standards and working conditions.
For its part MIOSHA has outsourced much of its role to joint union-management safety committees that act as a front for management. In fiscal 2016 MIOSHA carried out inspections of only about 2 percent of Michigan workplaces.
In response to the Facebook post by Doyle, thousands of other workers posted comments in support. The wife of a steelworker wrote, My husband does work on [Z]ug island [a US Steel mill near the Ecorse facility] every year. They are known to be very particular about keeping everyone in a line like good little soldiers. They act as if they are above their civilian counterparts. Money brings out the evil in everything and everyone. Everyone who passes onto the island knows they are at the mercy of these crackpots. Its disturbing. Im not the least bit surprised this happened at [US Steel] in Ecorse.
In August several workers were injured in an explosion at the US Steel facility on Zug Island. The cause of the explosion has not been released.
Another wrote, Unions no longer care about the employees....they are just for the company!!! But they continue to collect your union dues and do nothing to stand by you!!! Get a good lawyer soon!! Thinking of you guys and hope you all get the help you need for this!!!!
The collaboration between the USW and US Steel ensures there will be no serious attempt to address safety concerns at the Great Lakes Works. This fact was highlighted by the cover-up of the conditions leading to the tragic death of Jonathan Arrizola in October 2016 at the US Steel Gary Works in northwest Indiana. Arrizola was electrocuted while performing maintenance on an overhead crane just one and a half months after US Steel laid off all maintenance staff and replaced them with contract workers. Non-maintenance staff were forced to take on the work left behind.
The USW international and USW Local 1066 blocked any resistance by steelworkers who were demanding strike action after Arrizolas death, which followed the June 2016 electrocution death of 67-year-old electrician Charles Kremke at the same mill.
USW President Leo Gerard, like the United Auto Workers, has given enthusiastic support to the ultra nationalist, protectionist policies of the Trump administration, including plans to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. Gerard was also a member of the Trump administrations Manufacturing Jobs Initiative until the council collapsed in the wake of the Nazi riot in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The nationalist program of the USW is not aimed at defending the rights of steelworkers, but of pitting American steelworkers against their brother steelworkers in China and other countries in a drive to ensure the global competitiveness of US Steel and other steel giants and to prepare for war.
The defense of the working conditions of US Steel workers cannot be left in the hands of the USW, which has demonstrated repeatedly that it is a tool of management. Workers must organize rank-and-file committees, independent of the USW, to oversee health and safety and fight for a full and independent investigation of this and other incidents.
The author also recommends:
32-year old worker dies at Detroit area US Steel mill
[24 May 2017]
42-year old steelworker dies at US Steel mill in Granite City, Illinois
[9 March 2017]
Contract worker killed at Indiana steel mill
[18 November 2016]
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature by writing to comments@wsws.org.
The United States
Riverside, California county workers stage two-day strike
More than 7,000 Riverside County workers in California walked off the job September 7. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which represents the various custodians, food service, engineers, health care and social service workers, called the two-day strike over unfair labor practices.
An SEIU Local 721 told the media, This is about labor violations and safety issues. But county administrators, having been able to unload higher health care costs on workers while agreeing to minimal pay increases, now wants to limit wages under the ever-higher cost of living conditions in California. There are also voices demanding that the county end defined pension benefits and increase the use of contracting services to employee cheaper labor in the county.
The strike has also been used by the labor bureaucracy to boost the fall campaigns for Democratic Party candidates for the state governorship, who they allowed to parade on the picket line. In 2016, the SEIU spent more than $14 million to prop up the Democratic Party.
At the same time that Riverside County workers were on strike, the SEIU squelched a possible walkout by 10,000 San Diego County government workers. The SEIU accepted a miserable contract that includes a 13 percent raise spread over 5 years. The settlement pulled the rug out from under workers in Riverside County, leaving their struggle isolated.
Burlington, Vermont teachers set strike date
Teachers in Burlington, Vermont have set a September 13 strike deadline as they press for improved contract terms. Earlier this year the Burlington school board voted to impose new working conditions on teachers, bypassing contract negotiations. It was the second time in two years that the board had voted to unilaterally impose its terms.
The teachers voted by a 95 percent margin for strike authorization. The main point of contention are working conditions, with the 400 teachers in the district opposing attempts to saddle them with more non-instruction related tasks.
Meanwhile, the Fresno Teachers Association in California has set an October 3 strike date for its nearly 4,000 members. The vote follows a year of failed contract negotiations.
Strikes by US teachers are becoming less and less frequent even as the threat to public education escalates. The virtual absence of strikes takes place under conditions where the Trump administration and its right wing secretary of education, Betsy Devos, are carrying out unprecedented attacks on the public the schools. This situation is not a result of the unwillingness of teachers to fight, but expresses the reactionary role of the unions in suppressing the class struggle in the US.
Latin America
Mexican water and sewerage workers strike over violations of rights
Workers for the Decentralized Potable Water and Sewerage System (Sideapa) in the city of Gomez Palacio, Durango, Mexico went on strike September 8 to protest violations of labor rights agreed to in their contract. About a hundred workers demonstrated in the esplanade of the mayors office and demanded her intervention, since their demands have been rejected by the director of the department, Adelmo Ruvalcaba.
Ruvalcaba called the strike a crazy stoppage, claimed that a minority in the union wants to return to the rigged practices of yesteryear and said that Sideapa would not be hostages of the workers. He added that striking workers would get their pay docked and that services would not be impacted by the walkout. He did not address the accusations of violations of the collective contract.
The secretary general of the Sideapa workers union told reporters that the union would present its strike declaration and complaint of the repeated violations before the Conciliation and Arbitration Board on September 14.
Panamanian hematologists strike over lack of medications
On September 7, hematologists at the Arnulfo Arias Hospital Complex in Panama City, Panama struck to protest the chronic lack of medications for their patients and demand that the Social Security System (CSS) come up with a solution to the problem. The doctors continued to provide emergency services and treatment of gravely ill patients.
A group called the Hematology Patients and Relatives Association, or APPEH, voiced its support for the doctors, and some members held signs in waiting rooms denouncing the unavailability of medications outside of private hospitals, which charge exorbitant prices. The lack of medication for hematology patients has been a chronic problem for years, according to APPEH president Faustina Diaz.
In a meeting with APPEH and the doctors, CSS authorities agreed to create a labor board to address the issue, but since they offered no concrete solutions, the doctors resolved to remain on strike.
Colombian informal miners strike for compensation
Over 200 informal miners in San Roque, a municipality in the northeast of Colombias Antioquia department, began an indefinite strike September 5. The miners, known as artisanal miners, took the action to press for the payment of compensation they claim was promised them for abandoning mines now owned by South Africa-based global gold mining company AngloGold Ashanti.
Inhabitants of the impoverished town joined the miners, who blocked the entrance to a project called Gramalote. A spokesperson for the protesters told reporters that for more than five years AngloGold Ashanti has reneged on offers of compensation to the miners for abandoning the mines.
In a communique, the firm disavowed any responsibility to pay compensation to the miners and said that the miners had to report to the authorities, since their operations were illegal. The strike broke out less than a week after a similar strike at Segovia y Remedios, also in Antioquia, was ended after 44 days.
Strike by Argentine long-distance bus drivers over unpaid raise
Drivers for four long-distance bus companies in Argentina stopped work on August 8 to demand the payment of a raise agreed to in parity talks. The Automotive Tramway Union (UTA) called the walkout in reaction to the refusal of Flecha Bus, TATA, Via Bariloche and Micromar to pay a 21 percent increase decreed by the Labor Ministry.
Other bus companies that had agreed to the hike were not struck and operated normally. However, according to the UTA, the four companies comprise 65 percent of business in long-distance bus travel.
The Long-Distance Business Chamber (CELADI) issued a communique claiming that there was no accord between the chambers of the sector and the UTA. Instead there was a resolution by the Labor Ministry that obliged the firms to pay the raise, an obligation they asserted was impossible to comply with.
Meanwhile, drivers for Patagonia Argentina Transporte Escolar Gratuito, public transit companies in the southern province of Chubut, struck September 8 to demand unpaid wages from August. The strike was the third time in as many months that the driversalso members of UTAhad to resort to industrial action to get overdue pay.
Canada
B.C. university workers poised to strike
About 100 workers employed by the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver could be on strike this month after giving their union, the International Union of Operating Engineers, a unanimous strike vote.
The workers maintain and operate the heating and cooling systems for the campus and have been working without a contract for over three years. According to their union, management is demanding concessions on scheduling and is refusing to make pay increases retroactive to the expiry of the last contract.
School negotiators have indicated that they will seek to have workers in heating and cooling deemed to be in essentials services and therefore barred from striking. No strike date has yet been set, but with 72 hours notice could now be called at any point.
Toronto employment agency facing job action
103 workers employed by ACCES Employment in Toronto are in a strike/lockout position and could be off the job as early as Friday of this week after both conciliation and mediation failed to produce a new agreement. Last week their union, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), requested a no board report beginning the countdown to a possible work stoppage.
ACCES (Accessible Community Counseling and Employment Services) is a government-funded non-profit agency that provides services for immigrants and the unemployed at five locations across the Toronto area. In March of this year workers delivered a powerful strike mandate to OPSEU in response to employer demands for a two-tier wage system, cuts in benefits and disability provisions among other concessions. There is still one more planned day of mediation this week for the two sides to reach a last-minute deal.
Concern about the impending visit of U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos bubbled up at the Lincoln Board of Education meeting Tuesday.
Two women told the board they were concerned about her visit to the Lincoln Public Schools science focus program planned for Thursday and wanted to know how much access parents would have to the classroom. Some board members also expressed concerns.
"Mrs. DeVos is not a friend to public schools and theres lots of concern," said Julie Nichols, who has a child who attends the focus progrram. "I hope you have a chance to challenge her."
Superintendent Steve Joel said parents would not be able to attend because of the small space available and number of people who have expressed interest in attending. LPS sent an e-mail home to zoo school students Tuesday to inform them of her visit.
Board member Barb Baier said she had concerns about the visit but didn't think they rose to the level -- as one speaker one suggested -- of "uninviting" DeVos.
The visit is an opportunity to educate her about a great public school district, one that didn't get that way by dividing up resources and "making the pie" even smaller, Baier said.
"I worry that zoo school is being used as part of an agenda to privatize education," she said. "I hope and pray secretary DeVos sees the great story we have here."
DeVos will visit Midland University's Omaha campus Wednesday before coming to Lincoln Thursday.
As part of her "Rethink School" tour, DeVos went to two Wyoming schools Tuesday and planned to head to Colorado Wednesday.
After visiting two Colorado schools, she will head to Omaha, where she will visit the Midland campus at 11213 Davenport St., according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Education.
The university based in Fremont where U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse was president until he was elected to the Senate opened the Omaha campus in May.
The campus, near TD Ameritrade headquarters in west Omaha, offers a Master of Business Administration program and includes a "collaborative space where students can work, cafe areas for community events, and office spaces that could serve as startup homes to local small businesses," according to the Midland website.
The campus also offers a program for para-educators to earn teaching degrees.
DeVos will be there from 6-6:50 p.m.
The U.S. Department of Education has yet to announce her Thursday schedule, although LPS officials on Tuesday did confirm DeVos' planned visit.
DeVos will tour the district's zoo school and meet with students and staff members.
Our school district looks upon this visit as an exciting opportunity to share information about our Science Focus Program -- and our fine Lincoln Public Schools public education system -- with the U.S. Secretary of Education, Superintendent Joel said in a statement. The students at Lincoln Public Schools have a wide variety of options and possibilities for their public education: through a rich array of LPS programs, as well as partnerships with local business and industry, higher education institutions, and private and parochial schools.
The zoo school is 20 years old, the first of what grew to be four focus programs at LPS. Two of those, technology and entrepreneurship, were folded into The Career Academy when it opened on the Southeast Community College campus.
This year, 105 students attend zoo school, and 130-150 apply each year, according to LPS. The school has two science teachers and one teacher each for math, social studies and English. Students who attend remain a part of their home high schools but spend three 90-minute blocks at the zoo school each day beginning at 10:10 a.m.
Speakers, field trips and research trips are a big part of each class, and students complete portfolios at the end of each semester to show what theyve learned. Wednesdays are focus days, where students work on research and portfolio projects.
The Lincoln Childrens Zoo will be closed Thursday to accommodate the DeVos visit.
DeVos, a former Republican Party chairwoman in Michigan, is a longtime supporter of school choice and a force behind the spread of charter schools in her home state. Her nomination by President Donald Trump and narrow confirmation in the Senate drew spirited protests.
Lincoln Police Capt. Mike Woolman said LPD is working with the U.S. Marshals Service and will find a place where protesters or other onlookers can legally and safely gather during Devos' visit.
We want to protect peoples rights of freedom of speech and their right to protest, he said.
The group Suit Up Nebraska-Lancaster County, which has about 800 followers, has issued a call to action on Facebook for people to gather on the west side of 27th Street across from the zoo on Thursday to show their support for public schools.
There was a lot of chatter on the Facebook page and people wanted something organized," said Deb Levitov, the group's co-chair. "We decided to show support for public schools and get the message to DeVos that public schools are important and strong in Nebraska.
During her visit to Woods Learning Center in Casper, Wyoming, on Tuesday, about 30 protesters stood on a hill outside the school. They brought teddy bears in an apparent reference to a comment DeVos made during her confirmation hearing about some schools in Wyoming possibly needing guns to protect themselves from grizzlies.
DeVos praised Natrona Countys policy that allows students to attend any school in the county and urged educators to move away from what she called an outdated model for educating students, according to the Casper Star-Tribune.
Woods Learning Center is a 26-year-old program where multiple grade levels learn in the same classroom and a group of teachers run the school instead of a principal, the Star-Tribune said.
"Open enrollment gives families the opportunities to find the schools that are best for them and their children," she said in her speech. "Students, your parents know you best. And they are in the best position to select the best learning environment for you."
DeVos also visited St. Stephens Indian School on the Wind River Reservation Tuesday.
She will visit Firefly Autism House in Denver and the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, before coming to Omaha on Wednesday. Her tour also includes stops in Kansas, Missouri and Indiana.
HAMILTON COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) - A 93-year-old woman has been hospitalized after a tree crashed into her bedroom while she was sleeping.
The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office say the incident happened late Sunday night along NW County Road 148.
They say Faye Hill, a 93-year-old from outside of Jasper, was hit by a falling tree when it crashed into her bedroom while she was sleeping.
HCSO says the crash knocked her completely out of the bed.
Hill was taken to Shands Gainesville. There is no update on her health status at this time.
LEON COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) - Leon County has closed all but two shelters for evacuees.
Leon County is now operating two host shelters for those that have evacuated from across Florida. The following shelters will be open as host shelters this afternoon:
Northwoods Baptist Church, 3762 Capital Circle NW
Huntington Oaks, 3840 N Monroe St (next to the Leon County Lake Jackson Library)
All other shelters were closed at noon on Tuesday. The special needs shelter at Florida High closed as well.
Leon County staff and volunteers have begun conducting preliminary damage assessments. To report damage to your home from Hurricane Irma, visit http://cms.leoncountyfl.gov/ei/damage.asp.
SUWANNEE COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) - Authorities say the Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative will be energizing lines to find the source of the power outages.
The Suwannee County Fire Rescue posted about it Tuesday morning. They say that the company is doing this to get the power back on as soon as possible.
Authorities are warning residents not to get near or touch any power lines, as the may be live and energized due to the testing. They advise that you should not to get close or touch any power lines, even if they have been dead for the last few days.
They say that you should also avoid being near downed power lines as well, as there's no way to tell if they are energized.
TAYLOR COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) - The Taylor County School District says that students will not return to school until September 18.
They say that a leadership team met at 9 a.m. to discuss the status of the school.
Due to circumstances such as blocked bus routes, lack of power in homes, and heavy traffic, they have decided that staff will return to school on Friday, September 15, while students will return on Monday.
"This decision was not made lightly," the district writes, "as we have been in contact with other surrounding districts as well as the Florida Department of Education."
They say that there is also an issue with the food supply at their schools, saying that they only have enough food to supply schools for three days.
While it is a possibility that the district may get a supply truck on Monday, it is not guaranteed. However, officials are certain that they will be getting a truck on Wednesday.
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln ranked 58th among public universities in the latest U.S. News and World Report rankings, dropping seven spots from a year ago.
UNL had checked in among the top 50 public universities for five straight years, from 2012 to 2016, before falling to No. 51 last year.
Within 311 national universities that offer a wide range of undergraduate majors as well as master's and doctoral degrees considered by the magazine -- public, private as well as professional -- UNL ranked 124th, down from No. 111 last year.
The 13 other members of the Big Ten Conference all ranked within the top 90.
U.S. News and World Report considers data on 15 indicators of academic quality to formulate its rankings, including peer assessment, retention and graduation rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources and alumni giving.
"While the importance of institutional rankings is often debated, many of the metrics on which these rankings are based are an important part of our university's mission as well as areas we have identified for improvement," Chancellor Ronnie Green said in a statement.
"We are actively pursuing strategies to have greater success and to build upon our related accomplishments, such as our record enrollment," he added.
The Nebraska College of Business, which recently moved into the new $84 million Howard L. Hawks Hall, moved up three spots in this year's undergraduate business school rankings to No. 45. In 2015, the college ranked No. 61. Among public business colleges, it ranked No. 28.
"Being recognized among the nation's elite private and public business schools is a great honor," said interim dean Kathy Farrell.
Creighton University in Omaha earned a No. 1 ranking in the Midwest Regional Universities category for the 15th straight year. Creighton also maintained its place at the top of the "Best College for Veterans" ranking in the Midwest.
Also in the Midwest Regional Universities category, Nebraska Wesleyan ranked No. 16 and Concordia ranked No. 38. Among Regional Colleges, Hastings ranked No. 17 and Union College in Lincoln checked in at No. 31.
This story has been corrected.
GOLDENDALE, Wash. - Donovan Culps, the man wanted in connection with the kidnapping of an employee at a Cheney marijuana store, is in custody.
You are the owner of this article.
An employee with Chelan County Emergency Management shared this post to the agency's Facebook page Monday morning. Sheriff Brian Burnett said it was shared by mistake.
Cody Meredith mounted a U.S. flag black and white, with a single red stripe on his pickup to send a message of his respect for fallen firefighters.
But when he drove to work Monday, his supervisors at Crete Area Medical Center gave him a message of their own, his wife said: Take the flag off the truck, or take the truck off hospital property.
Before his shift ended, his wife would write about the order on Facebook and contact the newspaper, and the hospital would call it a misunderstanding and a mistake. But Kristin Meredith would continue to call it an outrage, something that shouldnt disappear simply because the hospital apologized.
Its Sept. 11, Patriot Day, she said. We take fallen firefighters very seriously.
Heres why: She and her husband are both volunteer firefighters. Their fathers were firefighters. Cody Meredith recently lost a friend, a firefighter, to cancer.
Its just something thats always been in both of our lives, she said.
She paid $30 for the flag on eBay last year, she said, with the proceeds going toward the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation though flags also are available at Walmart and Amazon. The red stripe honors fallen firefighters; similar flags with blue stripes honor fallen law enforcement officers.
Her husband had flown a regular U.S. flag from his pickup at work July 4 without objection, Kristin Meredith said. So he attached the black, white and red flag Sunday and drove to his job in the hospital kitchen early Monday.
Cody Meredith declined to comment; he didnt want to get in further trouble with his employer, he said. But Kristin Meredith was there and watched part of it play out, she said.
Nothing had happened during the first four hours of his shift. Hed parked his pickup near the building and not in the regular parking lot. But he often parked there without hassle, she said.
Kristin Meredith had joined him for breakfast when they were approached by a hospital employee, she said.
He asked Cody to remove it, and Codys like, Why?
The guy said, Just remove the flag and well be done with it.
She wasnt there when her husband met with other supervisors, she said, but he told her he tried to explain what the flag signified. The order to remove it still stood, she said.
Instead of taking the flag down, the couple traded vehicles. She drove the pickup to her job at a bar and grill in Dorchester, where nobody complained, and where she got on Facebook.
Her friends called it sad, terrible, ludicrous and worse.
One wrote: What's wrong with showing you are honoring the fallen firefighter as well as the many civilian lives that were lost through no fault of their own. What's this country coming to?
Another wrote: That's crap! No respect for those who give so much!
After the Journal Star contacted Bryan Health, which owns the Crete medical center, a spokesman looked into it.
What happened was a mistake, said Edgar Bumanis. Weve met with the employee and apologized to him.
Cody Meredith should not have parked where he did, Bumanis said. But hospital employees should have simply told him to move his pickup to the parking lot, he said.
The initial people that came across it were not sure what was going on, he said. Then it became a question of the flag, and what is this recognizing?
Kristin Meredith received an apology, too, she said. It wasnt enough.
They didnt just upset me and Cody, they upset so many other people. Ive gotten contacted from quite a few people who are very upset.
She was also told she could return the pickup and flag to the hospital. But by then, there was no point. Her husbands shift was almost over.
Lets assume, just assume, that the person who posted the meme wasnt Yair Netanyahu, but the Swedish prime ministers son. And lets assume that instead of a food chain controlled by George Soros, through a reptilian Jew, ending with Meni Naftali, we would have received the exact same cartoon with characters describing Jews control over the White House. And lets assume the Swedish prime minister would refused to condemn his sons actions, and Swedish journalists would have explained there was nothing wrong with the post.
Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter
What would have happened? We all know the answer: The Israeli president and prime minister would have issued angry condemnation statements and called for a special United Nations General Assembly meeting to discuss the rise in anti-Semitism.
It didnt happen in Sweden, it happened in Israel, and the reactions are terrifying. I listened very closely to the Rights speakers after the meme was posted. How dare you talk about Netanyahu Jr.? said journalist and former Knesset Member Yinon Magal. After all, the Left is ridden with anti-Semitism. After all, it persecutes everything that is Jewish. Anti-Zionism is the new anti-Semitism, said other speakers who are supposed to be representing the Right. And anyway, why are you making such a big deal about some stupid cartoon?
The meme posted by Yair Netanyahu on his Facebook page. Shared by Americas top anti-Semite, David Duke
In recent years, I have repeatedly dealt with the issue of global anti-Semitism, which does involve self-hating Jews sometimes. In a pro-BDS article, a Haaretz columnist wrote recently: Its time to explain the objection to the occupation with actioneven, Heaven forbid, if it offends our notorious sensitivity to money. The old anti-Semites wouldnt have said it better. Another writer from the same paper blasted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for cooperating with Satan. Israel, if anyone needs an interpretation, is Satan.
David Duke, a former leader of the Ku Klux Klan and the top anti-Semite in the United States, shared Netanyahu Jr.s meme, meaning he supports and approves it. The same Duke also shared articles written by radical left-wing people from Israel and the world. He can recognize pure anti-Semitism when he sees it. One of those writers articles got the following headline: The conference of the Elders of Zion. Yes, as far as hes concerned, the AIPAC conference is a fulfillment of the famous anti-Semitic libel. And to complete the picture, that same writer travelled to Malaysia after being personally invited there by an overt anti-Semite, former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
There are too many people in the global Left who identify with Hamas and Hezbollah, despite their blatant anti-Semitism. The list is long. There is anti-Semitism in the Left. It has been condemned by the Right, and rightfully so. Most of the public media ignores it. Even worse, some of the people who are helping spread the anti-Semitic propaganda are the medias darlings. They are invited to more and more panels as legitimate commentators. This is a disgraceful phenomenon, which is only taking place in Israel.
Anti-Semitic comedian Dieudonne wont be invited as a panelist on current affairs in France. Anti-Semitic politician and journalist George Galloway , a former member of Parliament in Britain, isnt invited to BBC panels. But their likes in Israel are honored.
So yes, I do understand the Rights claims against the Left, but the claims have nothing to do with the conclusions. Does the entire global Left or the entire Israeli Left identify with these manifestations of anti-Semitism? Of course not. Does anti-Semitism in the Left legitimize anti-Semitism in the Right? Does every sickening phenomenon in the Left justify a sickening phenomenon in the Right? Have we lost our common sense that much that every public debate must begin and end with right and left? Cant you condemn blatant anti-Semitism without the foolish distinction, at least in this context, between left and right?
For many years, I must confess, I have been writing about the blurred line, which I doubt ever existed, separating anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. But my criticism is over the fact the radical left is moving closer to the radical right. These two phenomena are connected by racists like David Duke. The Zionist left and the sane right should present one clear and united stance in this context. Neither forgiveness nor understanding, and definitely not justification. But the Right has failed its first test. Its finding it difficult to condemn. Its showing understanding. Its directing an accusing finger at the Left. And thats sad. Because every foolishness by the radical left in the first act is a foolishness of the Right, not just the radical right, in the third act.
An Austrian company has revoked the domain name of an American neo-Nazi website that previously was rejected by internet hosts in the United States.
Monika Pink-Rank, a spokeswoman for Austrian domain registry nic.at, said The Daily Stormer's domain was removed on Monday after Austrian politicians reported the white supremacist platform's presence.
The website has been looking for a home since its publisher mocked the counter-protester who was killed during the Confederate monument protests in Charlottesville, Virginia last month.
Publisher Andrew Anglin said four domain registration companies refused to service the site.
Pink-Rank says the Austrian domain was set up at the end of August, after the Charlottesville violence.
Yisrael Katz, Israel's minister for intelligence and strategic affairs, says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must push US President Donald Trump to cancel or freeze the international community's nuclear deal with Iran.
Katz told a security conference on Monday that changing the deal should be Netanyahu's "primary mission."
He added that the world's failed attempts to negotiate a halt to North Korea's nuclear program provide a lesson. "Iran is the new North Korea," he said. "We need to act now so we won't be sorry tomorrow about what we didn't do yesterday."
The deal offered Iran relief from international sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program. Israel has repeatedly claimed the deal will not prevent Iran, its archenemy, from developing a nuclear weapons capability.
A 15-year-old Palestinian was arrested after arriving at the Tomb of the Patriarchs, armed with a knife.
Border Police officers arrested the boy at one of the inspection posts, and he was transferred to the security forces for questioning.
The Northern Command began the next stage of its wide-scale training exercise in the Western and Lower Galilee on Monday, conducting offensive maneuvers in simulation of an all-out war against the Lebanese terror organization Hezbollah.
Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter
The drill, set to last 11 days, includes the Air Force's new F-35 fighter jets and tens of thousands of soldiers.
The troops are drilling a scenario in which hundreds of Hezbollah fighters are able to infiltrate several locations in Israel under the cover of Borkan missile fire (heavy mortar bombs that can carry 100-200km warheads).
:
X
"We're not playing in measure-for-measure with Hezbollah, and our response to the violation of our sovereignty and harm to our citizens will be decisive, significant and go beyond the borders, using a great deal of subterfuge," a senior Northern Command officer told reporters.
Photo: IDF Spokesman's Office
The officer said the more Hezbollah increases its power, develops its capabilities and gains operational experience fighting in the Syrian civil war, the more it exposes its weak points.
"Hezbollah has turned from a terror organization to a guerilla organization and now to a semi-army with increasing military elementsmeaning an organization with structure and hierarchy," he said.
Photo: IDF Spokesman's Office
"We will know how to attack it from the land, air and sea all at the same time. The ground achievement we would gain would allow the political ranks to secure a deal. We would want to shorten the conflict as much as possible, and to that end we would operate fast and with subterfuge," the senior officer continued.
Photo: IDF Spokesman's Office
"There would be no way Hezbollah could conquer an area of land in Israel, but it would claim it did," he added. "The defense line will never be broken."
The exercise, the senior officer noted, focuses on Hezbollah and not the Lebanese army.
Photo: IDF Spokesman's Office
During the exercise, the Northern Command's reservists division was called up. In a military conflict, the reservists would be sent to a sensitive area along the border and could advance as deep as 30 kilometers into Lebanon.
Photo: IDF Spokesman's Office
A senior officer in the division stressed, "We're not going to chase up every last rocket, and Nahariya can still expect to get rocket fire even on the last day of the war. Hezbollah's shortcoming is that it's an army, even if it doesn't have planes and tanks."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Iran poses a security threat to the world in a speech Monday at the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AIMA) building in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter
"Today, just as in the past, Iran instigates terrorism all over the world. Just as two and a half decades ago, when Iran was the one to lit the fuse of the explosive that hit Argentina twice," Netanyahu accused, referring to the attacks on the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires in 1992 and the AIMA building in 1994, which resulted in the deaths of 30 and 85 people respectively.
"Iran initiated, planned and carried out the terrible terror attacks through its proxy, Hezbollah," he said.
Netanyahu, with his wife Sara at his side (Photo: EPA)
Netanyahu thanked Argentine President Mauricio Macri for his willingness to push for a thorough investigation into the attacks and said that "the time has come to put full responsibility on Iran, publically and definitively. It is time to do justice for the victims. It is time to denounce the accused."
Netanyahu noted the Iranian threat is "a continuous menace and challenge," one that is spreading from the Middle East "in every direction."
Netanyahu honors the memory of those who the victims of the AIMA bombing (Photo: Reuters)
The prime minister then assured Israel "has been and will continue to be at the forefront of the struggle against global terrorism. We will continue to act with determination to defend ourselves against the aggression and terrorism of Iran and terrorism in general."
"There is not a single country on earth that is immune to terrorism, not even the countries that are terrorizing. Everyone is hurt by this evil," he continued, but emphasized there are yet some who "spread it knowingly, methodically, and with endless cruelty."
Aftermath of the AIMA bombing, 1994 (Photo: AFP)
"What has not changed is the source of the terror that attacked this place," he concluded.
Netanyahu's visit to Argentina comes after years of Argentine regimes hostile to Israel, with claims made that some of them collaborated with Iran in covering the attacks on the Israeli embassy and the AIMA building.
Gary Hakim, the brother-in-law of Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, and Aviad Shai, a former adviser to the minister, were arrested in connection with the investigation into the submarine affair earlier this week, it was cleared for publication on Tuesday morning.
Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter
The suspicions against them haven't been made public as the two have yet to be brought in front of a judge and instead were released under restrictive conditions.
The two have been questioned after their names came up in the testimony of state witness Miki Ganor, who was German conglomerate ThyssenKrupp's representative in Israel, helping to secure the purchase of submarines and patrol boats for the Israeli Navy.
Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz (Photo: AFP)
Ganor told investigators about alleged irregularities in Steinitz's Likud primary elections campaign. Strategic consultant Tzachi Lieber , who was questioned in connection with the case at the end of last week, reportedly provided information to support Ganor's testimony concerning suspected irregularities linked to Shai and Hakim.
Hakim is a prominent Likud activist and member of the party's central committee. He worked as one of Steinitz's campaign managers in the past and is also considered to be close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's inner circle.
In 2010, a spotlight was put on him after Stenitz, then the finance minister, approved a request by Shapir Civil and Marine Engineering, which employed Hakim as its adviser, to bring hundreds of foreign workers to Israel.
According to a Channel 10 investigative report at the time, officials in the ministry's Budget Department approved the company's request to bring 300-500 additional foreign workers to the country. But when it came time to sign off on the request, Steinitz increased the number of foreign workers to 700.
A response on Steinitz's behalf to the story at the time claimed that, "The minister's decision was made based solely on professional considerations in order to promote the train project, because it was not possible to employ unskilled local workers. Any other claim is entirely baseless."
Hakim confirmed he worked for the company as an adviser, but insisted he "was not involved in this decision."
The second suspect, Aviad Shai, is an accountant who worked at the Deloitte accounting firm before starting to work for Steinitz at the Finance Ministry in 2009. He served as liaison between the Treasury and government ministers and MKs, and played a central role in economic decisions passed in the Knesset.
Steinitz, left, with former PMO bureau chief David Sharan, center, and adviser Aviad Shai, right (Photo: All Ness Ziona)
Shai left the Finance Ministry in 2011 to join the private sector and became a personal aide to Zehavit Cohen, the head of Apax Partners Israel and the head of Tnuva at the time.
According to the website of the Zap group, which is owned by Apax, Shai was appointed the group's CFO in June 2016. "Before joining the group, Shai served as the director of the economics department at the Someck-Chaikin KPMG accounting firm. Before that, he served in several economic positions of several Israeli firms, such as: Shikun & Binui, Tnuva, the Ministry of Finance and Deloitte," the website says.
Attorney Ziva Agami, who represents Aviad Shai, said her client was "completely surprised at being detained for questioning. He does not believe there was anything wrong with his conduct at any point. My client wasn't a political advisor to the minister, but a professional one. He wasn't questioned over his time working for the minister, but regarding (a period of time in) 2014. He has nothing to hide and has provided a truthful version. In my professional opinion, it is already clear to investigators he has nothing to do with the case and has committed no offense. My client does not know Ganor and has not heard about him before the investigation was made public."
Five of Steinitz's close associates have so far been arrested in connection with the case, also known as Case 3000, with investigators gradually closing in on Steinitz himself, who is expected to be called in to testify.
Ten months after three Israeli yeshiva students were kidnapped and murdered by a Hamas cell in Gush Etzion, the family of one of them, Gil-Ad Shaer , received unexpected news: Gil-Ad's diary, written in the last few months of his life, was found in the scorched remains of the car used in the abduction.
Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter
More than three years after the kidnapping, excerpts from the 16 year old's diary, written in a notebook scorched by fire and stained by water, will be published as part of a new book titled What Will the Day Bring - A Mother's Longing (Yedioth Books).
The book also features excerpts from the personal diary of Gil-Ad's mother, Bat-Galim Shaer, who documented the years that have passed since that dreadful day her son was taken.
A page from the diary (Photo: Yuval Chen)
In one excerpt, Gil-Ad talks about the joys of prayer:
"Just last Monday I served as a cantor at the yeshiva for Shacharit and Mincha prayers. Shacharit was one of my strongest prayers. I prepared before the prayer to serve as a conduit, to have the prayers go from the public to G-d through me. It was an empowering and special experience. I got really emotional during the prayer. I tried my best to direct and purify my prayer, and I felt amazing. Now I pray many more of my prayers are like this. Because right after my prayers I fall apart. I'm late for prayers, and sometimes I miss them. But today I decided I will no longer fall apart: Falling into transgressions, falling into despair. I won't let it take over me. I hope to succeed. With G-d's help."
Gil-Ad Shaer
This was the excerpt his mother Bat-Galim was most touched by. "In Talmon, he wouldn't serve as a cantor, and all of a sudden he's talking about the great responsibility of being a cantor, and how it uplifts him. Our synagogue has a Torah scroll in Gil-Ad's name. When it is taken out, I remember these lines, and I could fall apart," she said.
"When you can't get up in the morning for prayer, it's falling apart," Bat-Galim explained. "But he doesn't despair. Quite the contrary, he hopes to succeed. What did this boy manage to do (in his life)? He didn't manage to do things more than he managed. These are thoughts that weaken me. But then I think about what he did do in his 16 and a half years, I think how he's lived a full life."
Bat-Galim Shaer (Photo: George Ginsburg)
In another excerpt, Gil-Ad, whose name means eternal joy in Hebrew, sounds just as optimistic. "There's something special in me! Finally, I feel like I have found something strong within me. This life force. That's how I call it. I feel like there is a massive force of vitality in me. It finds expression in the great joy I try to maintain (Gil-Ad... there was a reason why I was given this beautiful name), it finds expression in the great love I feel towards my family and friends. I have an infinite power of love that wants what's best for my loved and close ones, that wants them near. It is making me happy," he wrote.
Former IDF deputy chief of staff Maj.-Gen. Yair Golan told a research panel in Washington DC Tuesday he does not consider the Kurdish resistance movement PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) a terrorist organization, despite the fact that it appears on the USs list of terror groups.
Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter
"In my personal opinion, the PKK is not a terrorist organization," said Golan.
Turkey and the European Union have also designated the PKK a terrorist organization. Since 1984, the organization, based in Iraq and Tukey, has carried out attacks and bombings against Turkish targetsboth civilian and militaryand has killed more than 40,000 people.
Former deputy IDF chief of staff Maj.-Gen. Yair Golan (Photo: Motti Kimchi)
The Kurdish resistance declared a ceasefire in 2013, but two years later the accord collapsed and the Turkish-Kurdish conflict has continued to claim many lives, especially in southeastern Turkey where there is a large concentration of Kurds.
Golan made headlines in the past when during a speech given at a Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony last year he cautioned against allowing trends which led to the Holocaust to enter Israeli society, which he said were evident today.
A Kurdish nationalist procession (Photo: AP)
"If anything frightens me about the memory of the Holocaust, it's looking at ghastly processes taking place in Europe in general and Germany in particular 70, 80 or 90 years ago and finding many parallels to Israel of 2016," he said, prompting a harsh backlash and criticism from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Last Friday, Golan told a security conference in Washington DC Israel will not be able to fight against Iran without US assistance, according to reports on the website DefenseNews.
In order to achieve victory over Iran in any possible future military showdown, American help would be essential, he reportedly said during his speech at the Washington Institute.
The High Court of Justice (HCJ) made a majority ruling Tuesday canceling an amendment ratified by the Knesset almost two years ago to the Conscription Law which lowered the annual quota on the number of Haredim required to draft into the IDF.
Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter
The original amendment to the Conscription Law, which was spearheaded by Yesh Atid Leader Yair Lapid when his party was part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus previous coalition, constituted a major breakthrough in bringing Haredim into the military by setting an annual quota for Haredi conscripts, setting in motion a remedy to an issue that has long been a point of contention in Israel.
With Lapid's amendment, Haredi men of military age were permitted to delay their service on the proviso that the annual quota of ultra-Orthodox conscripts was met.
Haredim outside an IDF draft office (Photo: Yuval Hen)
However, with the formulation of Netanyahus new right-wing coalition in 2015 largely dependent on ultra-Orthodox parties, which also saw the removal of Lapids party, an adjustment was immediately made to the law, reducing the quota of Haredi conscripts.
With the courts ruling that the adjustment was unconstitutional however, which gained the backing of 8 out of 9 judges, the government will now be required to increase the quota of Haredi conscripts within one year.
According to the judges, the cap imposed following the Knessets ratification harmed equality.
Yair Lapid (Photo: Gil Yohanan)
Eight of the judges also added that the law was disproportionate while the sole dissenting judge, Noam Solberg, advocated rejecting the petitions seeking a revision to the adjustment, reasoning that the time had not yet come to determine whether it was unconstitutional.
We are compelled to return the matter back to the Knesset, concluded Supreme Court Chief Justice Miriam Naor. At this stage, and after years of trial and error, it is clear that it is no longer enough to make do with non-binding and non-enforceable arrangements whose outcome is unknown."
Following the ruling, heads of the Haredi sect issued a scathing statement, blasting the HCJ for its landslide ruling. The detached HCJ hates Torah scholars. Enough is enough.
Shas chairman and Minister of the Interior Aryeh Deri joined the criticism leveled at the court, saying its ruling "once again proves the extreme disconnect between the court and the Jewish people, who have known for generations what sustained them against persecution were those studying the Torah."
Yeshiva students would "continue their studies even after this ruling, and thereby defend the people of Israel," Deri added. "We'll do everything in our power to amend the law in a manner enabling the continuation of the current arrangement,"
PM Netanyahu with United Torah Judaism Chairman Yaakov Litzman (Photo: Gil Yohanan)
Chairman of the finance committee MK Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) also chided the court for its decision.
"Throughout the history of the Jewish people many tried preventing yeshiva students from studying, both within and without the Jewish people. Some used force, others different methods. Neither has ever been able to halt the study of the Torah, nor will they," he said.
Promising to defy the High Court, Gafni added: "Those studying Torah will continue their studies, with or without the High Court. I categorically reject the court's ruling and we'll rectify this situation in the coming year and there's nothing they can do about it, as the judges don't have any idea what studying the Torah means or that our entire existence is predicated on them continuing to do so, as is the entire world's."
Haredi politicians (Photo: Noam Moskovich)
For his part, Lapid welcomed the court's first steps in reinstituting the main pillar of his initiative which was so swiftly crumbled upon his departure from the government.
"The High Court has seen justice done today. Values have won, the spirit of the has IDF won and our soldiers won," he rejoiced. "Today we started steering our ship towards sanity and values."
Lapid also criticized Netanyahus government for permitting the dismantling of the amendment.
"Netanyahu cannot continue to squirm and dodge for much longer. IDF conscription is for everyone, not just suckers who don't happen to have a party in the coalition," he said, before dishing out his criticism to other political opponents.
I was in the Knesset when (the new coalitioned.) canceled the equal shouldering of the burden of military service. You know what the most striking thing was? It was the same people: Netanyahu, Ayelet Shaked, Bennett.
Yair Lapid (Photo: Motti Kimchi)
Those same people who passed the law with us were the ones who canceled it. Netanyahu gave a speech at the time about how important it was. Shaked headed the Shaked Committee that passed the framework in the Knesset. Naftali Bennett recounted memories from his military service, Lapid continued.
Then the government changed and they went and voted for precisely the opposite thing. When they are asked why, they say 'Lapid forced us and now Litzman has forced us. Do they have no shame? On a matter like this? These are our children. This is our army. What Netanyahu did was not only a betrayal of Zionist and IDF values, but it was also a betrayal of the nationalist camps values.
An anti-hate resolution calling for a celebration of diversity and an intolerance of hate violence brought some philosophical diversity to the City Council chamber Monday, including several people who believe in white nationalism, and several who find that viewpoint repugnant.
American leaders such as Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and Ben Franklin did a lot of things that were not politically correct and would be viewed as bigoted, said Dan Kleve, who identifies himself with the white nationalist movement.
There were classes of people who were not allowed to vote in the early days of the U.S. republic, he pointed out.
"And it worked a lot better, to be fair," Kleve said during a public hearing on the proposed anti-hate resolution, which passed unanimously.
And the United States had politically incorrect wars, he said, including "against Indians to determine who was better at running national resources and the economy and cultural values. And we won," Kleve said.
The council's resolution is a business proposition to create a safe zone for a giant hegemony of elite business managers that will control this class-less, identity-less, race-less population of consumers, he said.
All five council members at Mondays meeting Carl Eskridge, Roy Christensen, Leirion Gaylor Baird, Jane Raybould and Bennie Shobe voted in favor of the resolution. Jon Camp and Cyndi Lamm were absent because of health reasons.
Lou Braatz, a Bernie Sanders supporter who lost his City Council bid in the primary, took issue with Kleves history lesson, pointing out he failed to mention World War II, when the idea of white supremacy lost.
Braatz said he and others would continue to take action to make sure Lincoln is a city where racism, homophobia, bigotry and Islamophobia are not welcome.
Kaitlyn Mullen, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln student who said she was harassed recently while recruiting for the local chapter of Turning Point USA, said she worries she will fall victim to the resolution, because it is based on one persons definition of race and hate.
"How is this going to be implemented? How are we going to define hate?" she asked.
Mullen said she fears police could "come to my door for standing up for freedom."
"Part of civil rights is freedom of speech," she said.
Sony Phan, whose parents were refugees from Laos in 1980 and were welcomed in Lincoln, said "we have our humanity in common.
The point is that we are all human; we all bleed red, she said in support of the resolution.
People should not fear death threats or be afraid their addresses might be made public, she said, referring to Kleve and Mullen, who said they were afraid to have their addresses made public.
Everyone has a right to their feelings, to their beliefs, she said. We just need to respect one another and just care.
The council resolution is largely symbolic, a response to the recent violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, where a woman was killed when a car slammed into a group of counter-protesters during a rally of white nationalist and other right-wing groups.
What we want to do is affirm that none of us are powerless in the face of hate. There are things we can do respectfully, said Gaylor Baird. "But we cannot be silent.
The resolution refers to the recent national and regional incidents of white nationalism, hate crimes, discrimination, sexual harassment and assault and fear of a trend toward more of these crimes in the future.
And it calls on Lincoln residents to celebrate each others differences and to speak out against acts of bullying, discrimination and hate violence.
The resolution reaffirms the communitys commitment to be a warm, inviting and welcoming place, Shobe said.
It was also supported by the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce and the Lincoln Young Professionals Group.
Christensen said he has heard concerns about the resolution, that it was against free speech or that it was a meaningless gesture.
The resolution is not against free speech, he said. But free speech should not be met with anger and hate.
"We need to separate anger from public discourse," he said. "Anger produces hate and hate produces violence and we dont want that in our city.
"We all have passions. But when we allow our passions to rule us, we achieve nothing," he said.
"What is needed is a civil, polite discourse on the subject. We need to agree to disagree without being disagreeable," something the City Council has done, he said.
Eskridge, who proposed the resolution, also promoted Lincoln as a community that listens and respects each other's ability to speak our minds.
We cannot tolerate hate. We cannot tolerate hate-based crimes in our city because we are better than that, he said.
Mere hours after former deputy IDF chief of staff Yair Golan said he does not consider the Kurdish resistance movement PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) a "terrorist organization", Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stepped in to refute his claim in an attempt to head off a diplomatic crisis.
Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter
"Israel objects to the PKK and considers it a terrorist organization, unlike Turkey, which support a different terrorist organization: Hamas," Netanyahu said.
Yair Golan's remarks
X
Netanyahu with President Mauricio Macri (Photo: Avi Ohayon/GPO)
"While Israel categorically opposed terrorism of any kind, it supports the Kurdish people's legitimate attempts at self-determination," he added.
Golan's remarks before the Washington DC research institute risked infuriating Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as well as raising eyebrows in the US security establishment. An official Turkish response has yet to be made.
Photo: EPA
Turkey and the European Union have also designated the PKK a terrorist organization. Since 1984, the organization, based in Iraq and Tukey, has carried out attacks and bombings against Turkish targetsboth civilian and militaryand has killed more than 40,000 people.
Golan's name has been floated around as possible successor for current IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot. Also in the running is Eizenkot's current deputy Maj.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi, considered a leading candidate.
News
Washington, DC - Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson: "Today we remember the victims of the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, and honor the heroes who valiantly saved many lives that day, even sacrificing their own. Their courage on that day remains an example of the character of the American people in the face of evil. Though our country was wounded that day, today we remind the world that terrorism will never defeat the United States.
"This date also marks a solemn tragedy where four Americans, including two of our State Department colleagues, were killed in a terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. Their loss will always weigh heavy in our hearts.
"Our hearts and prayers are with those who have lost loved ones to terrorism. We remain committed to stopping those extremists who plot, enable, and carry out attacks on the innocent."
News
Waters South of Japan - Sailors aboard the Navy's forward-deployed aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), conducted a Patriot Day and POW/MIA observance, September 11.
The observance marks the 16th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attack on the U.S., as well as honoring prisoners of war and those who are still missing in action.
"Sixteen years ago, several individuals woke up with the evil intent to deprive many people of their right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," said Master Chief Operations Specialist Kenneth Debnam, keynote speaker. "They did that. They also attempted to demoralize, all throughout the world, those whose religions, their beliefs, or ideals were different than their own. They did not do that. They have not, nor will they."
The ceremony began with the singing of the national anthem, followed by an honor guard performance of a POW/MIA table citation by chief selectees.
"This ceremony fills me with a lot of pride," said Operations Specialist 1st Class Evangelina Newton, a chief select assigned to Ronald Reagan. "I had just joined the Navy when the Sept. 11 attacks happened. We were just pulling in to Gaeta, Italy, when the twin towers were hit. We were back underway within four hours. We didn't know what was going to happen or what we were doing, but I was ready for whatever we had to do."
The ceremony included a video presentation about the Sept. 11 attacks, the lives lost and affected, and the people who stepped up to assist those in need.
"I don't think we should forget," said Newton. "Many lives and many families were affected by it, but at the end, we were able to prevail and overcome. It's good to let people know that at the end of the day it's great to be an American."
Ronald Reagan, the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 5, provides a combat-ready force that protects and defends the collective maritime interests of its allies and partners in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.
Caught in the quagmire of the Vietnam War, army nurse Cheryl Feala had little information about the political climate back home and the demonstrations rocking the country.
"The whole time you were there in Vietnam, the demonstrations, everything else didn't stop," said Feala, of North Bend, who worked as an Army nurse in a hospital in South Vietnam in 1968 and 1969.
But Feala said Ken Burns' expansive new documentary, "The Vietnam War," which premieres Sunday, will help veterans such as herself understand the war's impact.
Feala joined four other veterans Monday for a panel discussion following a sneak peek of the documentary at the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, fielding questions and shedding light on the war and their experiences.
Panelist Dau Nguyen, who served in the South Vietnamese Navy, said the film balances the many different points of view.
"There are no sides in the movie," said Nguyen, who moved to Lincoln in 2003. "There is no American side, no North Vietnamese side. It only documents what happened, and that neutrality is important."
The screening included scenes from the 10-part series that Burns co-directed with filmmaker Lynn Novick.
They utilize photographs, TV broadcasts, home video, audio recordings and other archival footage to tell the story of the nearly two decades-long war that killed more than 58,000 Americans and hundreds of thousands of North and South Vietnamese soldiers and civilians.
One clip from Monday's screening detailed the Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964 that escalated the war.
Feala said the movie represents what she and other veterans experienced during the war.
"You get all these perspectives from both sides, and I think everyone has their own way of digesting that," Feala said. "Whether you were North Vietnamese, South Vietnamese, or an American, you each had your own idea of what your role was in the war.
"Everybody had a purpose, they just weren't always the same."
The series was nearly 10 years in the making, featuring testimony from about 100 people involved in the conflict.
The film's first episode will premiere on NET (Lincoln channel 12) Sunday at 7 p.m. The next four episodes will air at the same time Sept. 18-21.
The final five episodes will air Sept. 24-28, also at 7 p.m.
Two more screenings, followed by a panel discussion, will be held at the Johnny Carson Theatre in Norfolk on Wednesday and at the Hastings Museum Super Screen Theatre on Sunday.
Both screenings are free and open to the public.
New Delhi: Gold exchange traded funds (ETFs) continued losing sheen as an investment class with investors pulling out over Rs 300 crore from the instrument in April- August of this fiscal, preferring equities over them.
Trading in gold ETF segment has been tepid during the last four financial years. It has witnessed outflows of Rs 775 crore in 2016-17, Rs 903 crore in 2015-16, Rs 1,475 crore in 2014-15 and Rs 2,293 crore in 2013-14.
On the other hand, equity and equity-linked saving scheme (ELSS) saw an infusion of more than Rs 61,000 crore during the first five months (April-August) of the current financial year. This included an investment of over Rs 20,000 crore in last month alone.
Stock markets have been on an upswing, touching new highs this year.
According to Vidya Bala, head of MF Research at Fundsindia.Com, gold is losing steam as an investment asset class due to gradual rate hike in the US and a possible squeezing in Europe by 2018.
"This is because, when debt as an asset delivers higher yields, gold, which has no underlying fundamentals, tends to under perform," she said.
Gold ETFs are passive investment instruments that are based on price movements and investments in physical gold.
"While demand from India has traditionally buttressed gold prices globally, sound rally in the Indian equity markets has meant that gold as an asset class has not been favoured. The global rate tightening and a strong Indian equity market may mean a sober outlook for gold," Bala added.
Further, demonetisation and lower gold price from a strengthening rupee has kept its prices low although imports of the metal shot up, Bala said.
According to the latest data available with Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi), a net sum of Rs 314 crore was pulled out in 14 gold-linked ETFs during April-August period of the ongoing financial year, as compared to Rs 462 crore in the same period of the last fiscal.
The outflow meant assets under management (AUM) of gold funds plunged to Rs 5,189 crore at August-end from Rs 5,480 crore at the end of March.
Withdrawal of Rs 66 crore was seen in April this year, Rs 71 crore in May, Rs 81 crore in June, Rs 38 crore in July and another Rs 58 crore in August.
Gold ETFs have continuously been registering withdrawals. It saw an inflow of Rs 20 crore in October 2016. Prior to that, an inflow of Rs 5 crore was witnessed in such instruments in May 2013.
Chennai: Ousted AIADMK Deputy General Secretary TTV Dhinakaran on Tuesday warned that he will throw the incumbent K Palaniswami-led government in Tamil Nadu after the ruling AIADMK General Council removed him and his aunt VK Sasikala from top positions in the party.
''Most of the ministers are scared that they will lose elections and that's why they are accusing us of conniving with the DMK,'' TTV Dhinakaran said while reacting to the developments.
TTV Dinakaran also challenged his rivals to hold fresh elections if they felt that they enjoyed popular support.
''You (EPS-OPS) claim that you have support of party workers, so if you have guts let us face fresh elections,'' TTV Dhinkaran said on the crucial AIADMK meet.
''Now, I will ensure that this government (Tamil Nadu) is thrown out of power,'' Dhinkaran warned, toughening his stand on the move to curtail his powers by the two united factions of the ruling party.
The reactions from Dhinakaran came shortly after the AIADMK cancelled the appointment of jailed VK Sasikala as party General Secretary.
Dinakaran's appointment as Deputy General Secretary of AIADMK also stands cancelled, said RB Udaykumar, a senior party leader.
The decision was announced at the AIADMK party's general council meet held today.
Sasikala was appointed as General Secretary last December following the death of party supremo and Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.
Sasikala had appointed Dhinakaran as Deputy General Secretary before going to jail.
Importantly, the AIADMK general council also declared late J Jayalaithaa as the party's ''eternal general secretary''.
The general council also resolved to restore all those who were party office bearers appointed by Jayalalithaa. They will continue to hold office now, it said.
The council also nullified the decisions taken by Dhinakaran.
The council also ratified the recent merger of the two factions led by Chief Minister K Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam.
New Delhi: The government has extended tax benefits to 67 startups so far with a view to promoting budding entrepreneurs in the country, Minister of State for Commerce & Industry C R Chaudhary said on Tuesday.
In January 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had unveiled a slew of incentives to boost start-up ecosystem, offering them a tax holiday and inspector raj-free regime for three years, capital gains tax exemption and Rs 10,000 crore corpus to fund them.
"3,576 startups have been recognised as on September 7 and tax benefits have been given to 67 innovative startups," Chaudhary said here while addressing the startup India states conference.
The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), under the ministry, considered 671 startups for income tax exemption and of this 67 received the benefit.
The minister also assured full support and facilitation from both the centre and state governments.
"We are here to support you. Whenever you need any assistance or help, we are there for that," he added.
The minister asked young entrepreneurs to work in areas like agriculture, health, biotechnology and animal husbandry.
Speaking at the conference, DIPP Secretary Ramesh Abhishek said 15 states have formulated their startup policies and through that they are facilitating the young businesses.
"States are important partners in this exercise," he said adding startups needs support in areas like infrastructure, funding and marketing.
He informed that Rs 1,587 crore funds were given to startups so far besides intellectual property related benefits were extended to 639.
The DIPP is in the process of setting up a Rs 2,000 crore credit guarantee fund and for that "we are about to go to cabinet soon".
This corpus would provide funding facilities to startups. Under this, Rs 2,000 crore will be disbursed over a period of three years.
New Delhi: Indian Banks will require about USD 65 billion in additional capital, lower than estimated earlier, to meet the Basel III capital adequacy norms by March 2019 and push loan growth, Fitch Ratings said on Tuesday.
Weak capital positions have a major negative influence on the banks' viability ratings which will come under more pressure if the problem is not addressed, it added.
"Indian banks are likely to require around USD 65 billion of additional capital to meet new Basel III capital standards that will be fully implemented by the financial year ending March 2019," Fitch said.
This is lower than the US-based credit rating agency's previous estimate of USD 90 billion, largely as a result of asset rationalisation and weaker-than-expected loan growth.
State-owned banks - which account for 95 per cent of the estimated shortage - have limited options to raise the capital they still require, it said.
"Prospects for internal capital generation are weak and low investor confidence impedes access to the equity capital market," Fitch said, adding that they are likely to be dependent on the state to meet core capital requirements.
The government is committed to investing only another USD 3 billion in fresh equity for 21 public sector banks (PSBs) over the current and the next fiscal, having already provided most of the originally budgeted USD 11 billion.
"Fitch believes the government will have to pump in more than double, even on a bare minimum basis, if it is to raise loan growth, address weak provision cover, and aid in effective NPL resolution," it said.
The gross non-performing loan (NPL) ratio reached 9.7 per cent in 2016-17, up from 7.8 per cent in 2015-16.
The NPL resolution process being led by the Reserve Bank could potentially release capital if recovery rates are as high as banks and the government are hoping for.
There are 12 currently going through resolution, representing 25 per cent of total system NPLs, and the RBI has recently released a list of 50 more accounts that banks have been directed to resolve within three months or push into the insolvency process.
"State banks are unlikely to be freed from their current gridlock unless NPL resolution is accompanied by additional capital," Fitch said.
Hyderabad: GMR Group, which operates three airports in India and abroad, is eyeing projects in South East Asia, Middle East and Eastern European countries besides looking for operations and maintenance of Jaipur and Ahmedabad aerodromes.
"Airport business, going forward, can be a significant growth engine for the group. In line with our growth strategy, the Group is actively pursuing suitable airport opportunities in India as well as globally," GMR said in its latest annual report.
"Domestically, the Group is exploring upcoming opportunities for the development of Nagpur Airport and O&M opportunity of Jaipur and Ahmedabad Airports. On the global front, it has pre-qualified for development and operation of Nikola Tesla airport in Belgrade, Serbia, Norman Manley airport in Jamaica.
"Apart from the aforementioned opportunities, the Group is selectively exploring new opportunities in South East Asia, Middle East and Eastern Europe," the company said.
Currently GMR's airport business comprises of 3 operating airports -Delhi and Hyderabad International Airports in India and Mactan Cebu International Airport in Philippines.
It has also bagged contract for the Greenfield airport at Mopa in Goa.
GMR Airports Limited, subsidiary of the Company, along with local partner GEK TERNA, has been selected as Preferred Bidder to develop the new greenfield airport at Kastelli, Crete in Greece.
The company said that its Hyderabad International Airport is in the process of expanding the terminal capacity and adopting the new technology solutions to meet the future traffic demands and further improve the operational efficiency.
In this regard, GHIAL (GMR Hyderabad International Airport) has already completed the outline of its development plan and is likely to get approval from AERA by this year, on the extent of capital expenditure that GHIAL will be incurring on the expansion work, it said.
An Expert Appraisal Committee under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has recently accorded permission for GMR Group's proposal for the Rs 2,629 crore expansion plans of the Hyderabad airport and Rs 16,000 crore New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA).
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on Tuesday has given its approval for hiving off mobile tower assets of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) into a separate company, fully owned by BSNL.
This approval authorizes BSNL to monetize its telecom tower infrastructure with the formation of a separate subsidiary company.
There are around 4,42,000 mobile towers in the country out of which more than 66,000 mobile tower are of BSNL. An independent, dedicated tower company of BSNL with a focused approach will lead to increasing of external tenancies and consequentially higher revenue for the new company.
The telecom tower industry has emerged as an independent business to harness the potential for sharing of infrastructure. The business model arose from the need to achieve economies of scale and to reduce capital investment costs for providing mobile services. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) policy allows sharing of passive infrastructure i.e. the tower structure, Diesel Generator sets, battery units, power interface unit, air-conditioning etc., which has facilitated the growth of the telecom infrastructure industry. A tower infrastructure company essentially owns the passive infrastructure asset and leases it to telecom service providers enabling them to minimize duplication of investments and economize on costs of Operation and Maintenance (O&M), thereby improving profitability.
Besides the captive model in BSNL and MTNL where the service provider owns their passive infrastructure also, there are three different business models within the telecom tower industry:- companies created by hiving off the tower assets portfolios of service providers into subsidiaries, companies established as independent joint venture entities by service providers jointly and companies promoted by specific service providers but established as independent entities with the promoter being the anchor tenant for the tower company.
New Delhi: Nandan Nilekani's return to Infosys as chairman and co-founder NR Narayana Murthy exerting his power could amount to a change in control under Sebi regulations, requiring promoters to make an open offer, shareholder advisory firm SES has said.
The Bengaluru-based firm has been in the eye of the storm over the past few months, with the two sides -- promoters and the earlier Board of the company -- clashing over issues such as corporate governance lapses and alleged irregularities in the acquisition of Panaya.
This resulted in Infosys' CEO Vishal Sikka quitting on August 18 and Chairman R Seshasayee and three other Board members stepping down in the following week.
Nilekani, also a co-founder, was then named the new non- executive Chairman.
"...It was accepted fact that founders/ promoters had relinquished control. Now with Nandan Nilekani back in saddle at helm of affairs as chairman and making changes (which is described as work in progress by NRN) would amount to control in terms of SEBI SAST Regulations?" SES said in a report.
It added that this may "amount to change in control and may require promoters to make an open offer".
Emails sent to Murthy and Infosys remained unanswered.
SES explained that Murthy was able to get "his people" appointed on the Board, forcing exit of other directors.
"In SES' opinion, this amounts to the right to appoint majority of the directors in any other manner. Whether it would be really a change of control will have to be decided by SEBI, which has all the powers to get to bottom of the matter and exercise its powers (duties)," the advisory firm said.
Besides, SES said the probe report on whistle-blower complaints of alleged irregularities in Infosys' USD 200 million-Panaya deal needs to be made public to ensure that Murthy does not lose credibility.
In June, Infosys said that an independent probe had cleared Infosys of any wrongdoing but Murthy insisted that the company make public the full report.
Infosys, under Seshasayee, had declined to make the report public. However, Nilekani has said he will study the issue to take an appropriate call.
"SES is of the view that if the report is not made public in full, NRN will lose his credibility and prove that he was firing wrong shots ostensibly to hurt individuals he disliked and which undeniably caused irreparable damage to the baby he gave birth to," SES said.
It added that making the probe report public "remains the pivotal point on which more than the Board, NRN's sincerity is on test".
SES pointed out that three of the board members -- Seshasayee, Professor Lehman and Ravi Venkatesan -- were present even when Murthy was on Board.
"Should we agree with him and conclude that in his own (NRN) period board had people who were not competent, persons of doubtful integrity and lacked character or is it a case that these gentlemen were extremely good under NRN and after his departure they have lost all their virtues? A difficult call to make," SES said.
SES, in its report, highlighted that there was evidence that the decision to appoint Nilekani was taken outside the board meeting.
"Otherwise how it is possible that Mr Nilekani was present in the Board meeting as soon as resolution to appoint him was passed, and he chaired the same meeting immediately thereafter," it added.
The strongly-worded report said Nilekani now faces the biggest test.
"It will be interesting to see how NRN will play from now onwards. If he nags Nandan Nilekani the way he nagged others, the relationship of mutual admiration may not last long," it noted.
New Delhi: As the government steps up its fight against black money, more than 1.06 lakh directors will be disqualified for their association with shell companies.
The latest move comes close on the heels of the corporate affairs ministry cancelling the registration of 2.09 lakh companies that have not been carrying out business activities for a long period.
Ministry of Corporate Affairs is further analyzing the data of these companies available with the Registrar of Companies to identify the Directors and the significant beneficial interests behind these companies. Profiles of Directors such as their background, antecedents and their role in the operations/functioning of these companies are also being compiled in collaboration with the enforcement agencies.
The ministry has "identified 1,06,578 directors for disqualification under Section 164(2)(a) of the Companies Act, 2013 as on September 12, 2017," an official release said.
Under Section 164, a director in a company that has not filed financial statements or annual returns for three financial years continuously would not be eligible for re- appointment in that company or any other firm for five years.
Signalling that more regulatory action is expected, the ministry is further analysing the data of the 2.09 lakh firms available with the Registrar of Companies (RoCs) to identify the directors and the significant beneficial interests behind these entities.
"Profiles of directors such as their background, antecedents and their role in the operations/functioning of these companies are also being compiled in collaboration with the enforcement agencies," the release said.
Further, money laundering activities performed under the aegis of these companies are also under the scanner, it said.
The ministry, which is implementing the companies law, has also identified professionals, chartered accountants, company secretaries and cost accountants associated with the defaulting companies.
Besides, such people "involved in illegal activities have been identified in certain cases and the action by professional institutes such as ICAI, ICSI and ICoAI is also being monitored".
"The fight against black money shall be incomplete without breaking the network of shell companies. Possibility of using the shell companies for laundering the black money cannot be undermined," Minister of State for Corporate Affairs P P Chaudhary said.
According to the release, there are about 11 lakh companies with active status after deregistration of over 2.09 lakh firms.
The minister is also monitoring the situation emerging out of cancellation of registration of the companies and is holding regular meetings with officials of the ministry and various related organisations.
These include Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), ROCs, Department of Financial Services, Indian Banks Association and other departments involved in the crackdown against defaulting companies.
"The disqualification under Section 164 of the Act is by operation of law. We are identifying the defaulting directors of these shell companies. My officers have assured me that by the end of this month, we would be ready with the relevant details of all defaulting directors of these shell companies," the minister said.
He also said that the whole exercise would go a long way in creating an atmosphere of confidence and faith in the system paving the way for ease of doing business in India.
It may be noted that prior to action against defaulting companies, there were about 13 Lakh companies in the Registry. However, after closing of around 2.10 Lakh Companies, there are about 11 Lakh companies having Active status in the Registry.
With PTI inputs
New Delhi: Nearly 1.3 lakh voters will decide on Tuesday which party gets to rule Delhi University next year. The first stage of voting is currently underway and will continue till 1 pm. The second stage of polls would start at 3 pm and end at 7.30pm.
The top contenders in DUSU 2017 elections are Congress-backed National Students' Union of India (NSUI) and BJP-backed Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). Others in the fray are All India Students Association (AISA), Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students Association (BAPSA) and Students' Federation of India (SFI).
A look top contenders from the parties:
1. NSUI
President: Rocky Tuseed
Vice-president: Kunal Sehrawat
Secretary: Meenakshi Meena
Joint Secretary: Avinash Yadav
2. ABVP
President: Rajat Choudhary
Vice-president: Paarth Rana
Secretary: Mahamedhaa Nagar
Joint Secretary: Uma Shankar
3. Students' Federation of India (SFI)
President: Rafat Alam
Vice-president: Jitendra Kumar
Secretary: Kolisetty Lakshmi
Joint Secretary: Roshan
4. AISA
President: Parul Chauhan
Vice-president: Aditya Baibhav
Secretary: Jaishree
Joint Secretary: Akash Gupta
However, the DUSU Election results may not be declared on Wednesday the day after polling. The varsity has written to Delhi high court seeking clarity on this.
New Delhi: The city police on Tuesday informed the Delhi High Court that it has arrested eight persons and filed a charge sheet in connection with alleged illegalities in the 2016 National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) to admit students in post-graduate medical courses.
Claiming that it was the Delhi Police which had cracked the "scam", the agency told a bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal that it had also showed collusion between some officials and the company M/s Prometrics Private Ltd which conducted the examination.
The submissions were made in a status report filed by the police following a high court order on the plea of Dr Anand Rai, who claims to be the whistleblower in the Vyapam scam of Madhya Pradesh, seeking a court-monitored SIT/CBI probe.
The report was filed by the police additional standing counsel Gautam Narain before the bench which also comprised Justice C Hari Shankar.
"We have no love for this case. If the court feels, it can transfer the case to the CBI," the standing counsel said.
During the hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Rai, alleged that the top officials in this matter were untouched by the police despite there being indiscrepencies in the conduct of the exam.
Sibal said "the investigation agency has not seized the servers and the company (Prometrics) responsible for conducting the exam has gone free."
The counsel then told the court that the police was still investigating the matter and no aspersion should be cast on it that it was not probing the case.
The bench, however, did not comment on the arguments and asked the police to file an additional status report before next date of hearing on October 26.
The court had on August 21 issued notice to the CBI, National Board of Examination (NBE), Medical Council of India and M/s Prometrics Pvt Ltd, which had sub-contracted with CMS IT Services Private Ltd to hire engineers, site supervisors and other staff to prepare exam labs for conducting the NEET PG examination at 43 centres across India.
It had also expressed concern over the delay in concluding the probe and asked the authorities to file their response.
Beirut: Separate Russian and US-led coalition air strikes today killed 35 civilians in Syria's eastern Deir Ezzor province, where parallel offensives against the Islamic State group are under way, a monitor said.
The province lies along Syria's border with Iraq and is seen as a strategic prize by both the Russian-backed Syrian regime and an alliance of Kurdish and Arab forces supported by the US-led coalition fighting IS.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, had earlier reported a toll of 28 dead in Russian and US-led strikes but raised the figure after new Russian raids on the village of Hawayej Thiab in the west of the province.
Earlier, the monitor reported Russian air strikes hit a cluster of tents on the western banks of the Euphrates river, killing "16 civilians including five children," according to the Observatory's director Rami Abdel Rahman.
He said civilians had set up the camp on the edge of the Zaghir Shamiyah village after fleeing their homes in fear of clashes.
Syrian government troops are fighting to the west of the Euphrates River that slices diagonally across Deir Ezzor province, in an assault backed by Moscow.
Separately, the Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-Arab alliance backed by the US-led coalition, is battling IS east of the river.
The Observatory said deadly US-led coalition raids in support of that operation hit the village of Al-Shahabat earlier today, killing 12 members of a single family including five children.
IS-held Al-Shahabat lies on the eastern side of the Euphrates, around seven kilometers (four miles) from the river.
The strikes follow three days of suspected Russian raids in Deir Ezzor province that have killed dozens of civilians, according to the Observatory.
New Delhi: Gujarat will roll out the red carpet for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who arrives here on Tuesday on a two-day visit during which he will lay the foundation stone for Rs1.1 trillion high-speed bullet train project.
The twin cities of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar, which will host a slew of programmes during the high-profile visit, are all decked up to welcome the foreign dignitary with streets shimmering in fluorescent lights, and hoardings and banners welcoming Abe dotting them.
Following are the details of PM Modi-Shinzo Abe schedule:
- PM Modi will arrive at Ahmedabad airport at 3:30 pm tomorrow
- The visit will begin tomorrow afternoon with an 8 km road show where Abe will be accorded a grand welcome
- They will visit Sabarmati Ashram and iconic 16th century Sidi Saiyyed Mosque in the eastern part of the city famous for its intricate stone lattice work on Tuesday.
- Prime Minister Modi will host dinner for Abe at Agashiye restaurant in the House of MG, a well-known heritage hotel in Ahmedabad.
- Japanese PM will be given an overview of the heritage of the city in prime minister Modi's home state.
- PM Modi will also have a close-door meeting with Japanese PM at the House of Mangaldas.
- Modi will then head to Raj Bhavan while Japanese PM will stay at Hotel Hayat.
- On Thursday, Abe and Modi will lay the foundation stone for the high-speed train project between Ahmedabad and Mumbai which is expected to be completed by 2022, and is likely to traverse the distance of over 500 km between in around two hours.
- The two leaders will hold the 12th Indo-Japan annual Summit meeting at Gandhinagar after which agreements will be exchanged. Later, an India-Japan business plenary meeting will be held.
- Fifteen agreements will be signed for investments in Gujarat during the visit of the Japanese prime minister, he said.
- Abe's spouse Akie Abe will accompany him and also have a busy schedule. She will be visiting a number of places including an NGO -- Blind People's Association.
Ahmedabad: Tension gripped Gujarat's Surat on Monday after members of the Patidar community allegedly set two buses on fire in the city.
The buses were torched in Hirabag Chowk area of Surat.
As per ANI, Patidar agitation activists were protesting against Vijay Tankar Sammelan by Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha in Surat.
The city police arrived at the scene and resorted to lathi-charge before arresting more than 15 Patidars. The youngsters were detained for disrupting a BJP Yuva Morcha rally earlier in the day, said an India Today report.
Following the arrest, Patidar community leader Hardik Patel took to Twitter to demand the release of agitating workers.
"If the youth aren't released at the earliest, then Gujarat will witness a revolution," Hardik Patel said in a tweet posted in Gujarati.
... Hardik Patel (@HardikPatel_) September 12, 2017
New Delhi: The post-mortem report of the Class II student who was found murdered at the Ryan International School said that the victim was not subjected to sexual assault by the accused, according to ANI.
The report, however, confirmed that one of the nerves of the student was cut by a knife during the attack due to which the kid couldn't shout.
Meanwhile, the 7-year-old victim's father further reiterated his claim of a bigger conspiracy behind the murder and accused the school administration of shielding the culprits.
Earlier today, two students of Gurugram's Ryan International School claimed to witness the accused conductor 'masturbating' inside the toilet, where the student was found dead with throats and ears slit.
Two students, including one from Class II-B, told the police in their statement that they saw Kumar inside the toilet just seconds before the homicide. They later identified him as well. The two had gone in to change their Karate uniform, reported DNA.
Meanwhile, hundreds of parents staged vociferous protests outside the Ryan International School branch in Sanpada, Navi Mumbai, demanding measures for safety and security of their children, on Tuesday morning.
On Monday, two top officials of the Ryan International School were arrested and the acting principal detained for questioning following the gruesome murder of a seven-year-old student on campus, even as the victim's father moved the Supreme Court seeking a CBI probe.
The police claimed that evidence from the scene of the crime had been tampered with and said they would bring the guilty to book.
Ryan International Group CEO Ryan Pinto and his parents, who are its founders, approached the Bombay High Court today to seek anticipatory bail in connection with the child's murder in the chain's Gurgaon school.
SHO of Sadar Police Station on Sohna Road in Gurgaon was meanwhile suspended over a baton-charge on protesting parents, as well as journalists, outside the school premises.
A contraband search over four days at the Nebraska State Penitentiary turned up what the Department of Correctional Services is calling a significant amount of drugs, a cellphone and three weapons in a cell.
The search came after Director Scott Frakes called for an intense and organized look at several specific areas of the prisons, said spokeswoman Dawn-Renee Smith.
Searches have been stepped up in general since an inmate who died after being found unresponsive in his cell in late May tested positive at the hospital for methamphetamine and Ecstasy. Daelan Lamere, 22, died June 6 at Bryan West Campus in Lincoln.
In this search, 60 staff members searched all shop areas and all employees coming into the penitentiary on Aug. 29 through Sept. 1. During the area searches they found homemade weapons and prison-brewed alcohol, Smith said.
Smith would not say what drugs were found because a criminal investigation is being conducted, but she said the quantities were large enough to indicate they were not for one person, but would be sold to others.
"These types of searches allow us to identify potential and real security threats and identify them quickly," Smith said.
All windows and door frames were checked in housing units. The drugs that were recovered from the cell were found hidden inside the steel casing of a window, she said.
"Contraband in prison is dangerous and puts staff and inmates at risk," Frakes said.
The prisons' centralized intelligence team allows the staff to find and respond better to information about contraband and other security concerns, he said.
Frakes said the staff members involved in the searches did great work.
The department will continue to look at its security practices and enhance its policies and practices to keep drugs, alcohol and cellphones out of the prisons, Smith said.
"Large-scale staff searches are inconvenient but necessary," she said. "Staff members appreciate that we are looking for the contraband and working to stop it from coming in."
Inspector General for Corrections Doug Koebernick has said the department opened criminal investigations on eight cases involving staff members and seven involving visitors in 2016. Through July of this year, it had opened no cases involving staff and four involving visitors.
Prison staff, when surveyed by Koebernick this summer, had their own suggestions on controlling contraband, including that the department use more drug dogs, search staff more often as they enter the prisons and increase prosecution or discipline for those caught bringing in illegal drugs or other contraband.
New Delhi: Reacting to Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi's statement on political dynasty in India, Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani called him a failed and arrogant politician.
"A failed dynast today chose to speak about his failed political journeys in USA," she said.
Calling him out for belittling Prime Minister, Irani said Gandhi's statements on Indian political dynasty is an anomaly and that PM Modi had no political mileage.
India's Prime Minister - Narendra Modi - is a man who has risen from a humble background, as have the President the Vice President. The People of India have given a historic mandate in favour of PM Modi, and that Gandhi's party, largely because of their dynastic politics, was reduced to new low. These three persons prove the merit of democratic. This shows that India is not dynastic in nature, she added.
Trying to deflect criticism on political dynasty, Gandhi had said, Dynastic politics is a problem in all political parties. Most of the country runs like this. Thats how India works. Akhilesh (Yadav), (MK) Stalin and even (actor) Abhishek Bachchan are dynasts. Even (Prem Kumar) Dhumals son (Anurag Thakur) is a dynast, so dont go just after me.
He was speaking at an international event at University of California, Berkeley, United States.
To say that Congress became arrogant under Indira Gandhi and hence lost election is a big political confession in itself, said Irani, adding, It reflects their failed strategic plan.
People did not vote for Congress. They did not vote for political dynasty. He (Gandhi) forgot the voters are Indians not international audience, added the minister.
New Delhi: BJP president Amit Shah on Monday launched a scathing attack on Congress Vice-president Rahul Gandhi and said some opposition leaders are delivering speeches abroad as no one in the country wanted to listen to them.
Shah was addressing a meeting here when he asserted, "Some of these leaders go abroad and give speeches there. They are scared to speak in front of their own countrymen. Nobody in the country wants to listen to them."
In a broadside at the erstwhile UPA government led by the Congress at the Centre, Shah said the nation's people had to wait for months to listen to the then Prime Minister speak.
"All ministers in that government used to think of themselves as Prime Minister and the actual Prime Minister was not regarded as the Prime Minister by anybody," Shah said claiming that the nation has come a long way in terms of development under the present NDA government.
Shah's comments came hours after Rahul Gandhi's address to the students of University of California at Berkeley in the United States, where he criticised the present central government for its handling of the economy and over the growing polarisation in the country.
Addressing the students, Gandhi said that when Congress-led UPA was in power, he worked with former prime minister Manmohan Singh and senior leaders like P Chidambaram and Jairam Ramesh to address the issues facing Jammu and Kashmir.
"By 2013, we basically broke the back of terror. I hugged the then prime minister Manmohan Singh and told him it was one of the biggest achievements," he added.
He further said the PDP had been instrumental in bringing youngsters in politics, but the day Prime Minister Modi made alliance with the PDP, he "destroyed" it. "So he (PM Modi) massively opened up the space for the? terrorists in Kashmir, and you saw the increase in violence," he added.
During the interaction, Gandhi further added that India is run by dynasties and cited the examples of Samajwadi Party, DMK and even Bollywood. "Most parties in India have that problem...Akhilesh Yadav is a dynast. Stalin (son of M Karunanidhi of DMK) is a dynast... Even Abhishek Bachchan is a dynast. So, that's how India runs. So, don't get after me because that's how India is run.
"By the way, last, I recall, Ambanis are running the business. That's also going on in Infosys. So, that's what happens in India," Gandhi said as he listed several prominent Indians born into famous families while responding to questions by students.
Earlier, senior BJP leader and Information Technology Minister Smriti Irani accused Gandhi of choosing a platform of convenience for beating his political opponents after "failing to connect with the people of India".
(With Agency inputs)
New Delhi: The Army's new long-range ultra- light (ULH) howitzer M-777 was damaged during a field trial in Pokhran firing range and a probe has been ordered into the incident, Army sources said here.
The sources said the barrel of the US-manufactured gun exploded when it was firing Indian ammunition on September 2.
India had received two M-777 ultra-light howitzers in May, each worth around Rs 35 crore, after a gap of 30 years since the Bofors scandal broke out, and the accident took place in one of them.
The field trials of the 155 mm, 39-calibre guns manufactured by BAE systems were being carried out at Pokhran in Rajasthan with an aim to collate and determine various critical data like trajectory, speed and frequency.
"During the firing, the projectile which was fifth of the series, exited the barrel in multiple pieces, causing the accident," an army source said.
There was no injury to anyone.
"The barrel of the gun has been damaged, extent of which is being assessed by Joint Investigation Team," the source said.
A spokesperson of the BAE systems said the company was aware of an "irregularity" recorded during routine field firing of the M777.
"We are working closely with the Indian Army and the US government to explore the incident," the spokesperson said, adding the company stands ready to provide assistance as required.
The Army had received the howitzers as part of an order for 145 guns. Three more guns are to be supplied to the Army in September 2018 for training.
Thereafter, induction will commence from March 2019 onwards with five guns per month till the complete consignment is received by mid-2021.
The Army badly needs the howitzers considering the evolving regional security scenario.
India had last procured howitzers in the mid-1980s from Swedish defence major Bofors. The alleged pay-offs in the deal and its subsequent political ramifications had severely crippled the Indian Army's procurement of artillery guns.
India had struck a government-to-government deal with the US last November for supply of the 145 howitzers at a cost of nearly Rs 5,000 crore.
While 25 guns will come in a fly-away condition, the rest will be assembled in India by the BAE Systems in partnership with Mahindra Defence.
The Army has been pressing the government to speed up its modernisation programme.
New Delhi: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said that he is ready to take charge of his party in 2019 even as he attacked the BJP government for its decision to demonetise the old currency notes and rising cross-border terrorism. He made these remarks during an interaction with the students of the prestigious University of California, Berkeley, United States.
The theme of the event was 'India@70: Reflections on the Path Forward' during which he shared his ideas about the need to rebuild the Congress in view of future challenges facing the party.
The Congress no 2 also attempted to deflect criticism on dynastic politics, saying this is the problem with most political parties in India and that's how things work.
Most of the country runs like this. Thats how India works. Dynastic politics is a problem in all political parties. Akhilesh (Yadav), (MK) Stalin and even (actor) Abhishek Bachchan are dynasts. Even (Prem Kumar) Dhumals son (Anurag Thakur) is a dynast, so dont go just after me, Rahul said at the event.
Stressing on the need to rebuild the party, the Gandhi scion also admitted that his party may have become susceptible to arrogance in 2012, two years before it lost power at the Centre to the BJP.
Around 2012, a certain arrogance crept into the Congress and they stopped having conversations with the people, he admitted.
More importantly, the young Congress leader said that he was ready to take charge of the party in 2019 when the next Lok Sabha elections will be held. He also indicated that he is "absolutely ready" to be the party's prime ministerial candidate for the 2019 General Elections.
However, he added that changes in his party will be made through a democratic process of elections.
The Congress leader also recalled the assassinations of his grandmother Indira Gandhi and father Rajiv Gandhi and said ''who better than me understands the menace of terrorism.''
I lost my grandmother and father to violence. If I dont understand violence, who will? The idea of non-violence is under attack today, yet it is the only idea which can take humanity forward, he said.
Hatred, anger and violence can destroy us. The politics of polarisation is very dangerous, he said.
In a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi alleged that "politics of divide and polarisation is radicalising and isolating people in India."
Gandhi also came down heavily on the BJP regime at the Centre over what he called the ''faulty implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the demonetisation decision which led to a sharp decline in economic growth.
Rahul Gandhi said that the notes ban move has caused damage to agriculture and deep distress among farmers.
He opined that the decision to demonetise the old currency notes was taken without consulting either the Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) or the Parliament, resulting in severe damage across various sectors.
The Congress leader also highlighted the fact that the notes ban move has done no good to the nation as millions of jobs were lost.
Taking on the BJP and the Narendra Modi government, Rahul said the Prime Minister had clamped down on RTI Act which was much more transparent during Congress rule.
While reacting to the current situation in J&K, Rahul Gandhi blamed the BJP government for rising cross-border terrorism in J&K and the deteriorating situation there.
''When we started, terrorism was rampant in Kashmir, when we finished there was peace, we had broken the back of terrorism by 2013, but the BJP-PDP alliance destroyed the good work done by the UPA governments in just 30 days,'' he said.
Rahul Gandhi also blamed the PM and his party for running a false campaign against him. ''The man who is running the government was spearheading an operation to spread rumours about me being a reluctant politician,'' he said.
However, in a rare praise for PM Narendra Modi, Rahul called him a good communicator .
He is my Prime Minister too. He is a very good communicator. His messaging ability is very subtle and effective. But he does not converse with the people he works with, he said.
Talking of the current political set-up in India, Rahul said that political reform is much more important than administrative.
Advocating that power should be given back to the MPs, Rahul saID, Today, there is no power in Parliament. Power is outside the House and with the PMO and ministers. We need to give this power back to the lawmakers.
Reacting to Rahul Gandhis speech, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said it was the Congress leaders frustration speaking.
Sambit Patra called him "deplorable" for "slamming his own country" while abroad.
Astonishing that Congress VP, Rahul Gandhi goes to US and slams his own Country,India ..It's frustration of Rahul speaking..Deplorable! Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj) September 12, 2017
The Congress leader is on a two-week visit to the US. Gandhi will interact with global thinkers and political leaders, and address overseas Indians as part of an outreach initiative by his party during his US visit. Rahul Gandhi's grandfather and the country's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, had earlier delivered a historic speech at the American university in 1949.
Gorakhpur: Doctor Satish Kumar, Head of the Anesthesia department at the Baba Raghav Das Medical College, surrendered before the court in connection with the death of many children due to Encephalitis and shortage of oxygen supply.
Dr Satish, who surrendered on Monday, has been sent to a 14-day judicial custody. Earlier, the Allahabad High Court refused to put a stay on the arrest of Dr Satish in the children death case.
With 16 more deaths, including one due to Encephalitis, the death toll in BRD Medical College, since August, has risen to 415. Last year, the death toll of infants and children was 364.
Earlier, over 70 children had died in the same hospital due to the lack of oxygen supply in a week and another 70 in four days, thereafter. The hospital, as well as the government, had received flak over the negligence.
On August 23, an FIR was registered against nine persons, including the suspended principal of the BRD Medical College, Dr. Rajiv Mishra and two officials from the oxygen supplying agency the Pushpa Sales Private Limited.
The anti-corruption court had remanded the suspended principal of the BRD medical college, Rajiv Mishra, and his wife Poornima Shukla, to 14-day judicial custody in connection with the matter.
Geneva: Reacting to UN human rights chief's statement on attempts by New Delhi to deport Rohingyas to Myanmar, India on Tuesday said that they were concerned about illegal migrants posing security challenges.
India also said that there appeared to be "inadequate appreciation of the freedoms and rights that are guaranteed and practised daily in a vibrant democracy that has been built under challenging conditions."
"We are perplexed at some of the observations made by the High Commissioner in his oral update. There appears to be inadequate appreciation of the freedoms and rights that are guaranteed and practised daily in a vibrant democracy that has been built under challenging conditions. Tendentious judgements made on the basis of selective and even inaccurate reports do not further the understanding of human rights in any society," India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Rajiv K Chander said.
"Like many other nations, India is concerned about illegal migrants, in particular, with the possibility that they could pose security challenges. Enforcing the laws should not be mistaken for lack of compassion," he added.
Chander further said, "Tendentious judgements made on the basis of selective and even inaccurate reports do not further the understanding of human rights in any society."
India at #HRC36
'Sabka Saath,Sabka Vikas' is a true reflection of our commitment to achieve inclusive development
+https://t.co/kaJa6Eg22C pic.twitter.com/X8sp17Cxsg India at UN, Geneva (@IndiaUNGeneva) September 12, 2017
On Monday, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, speaking at the opening of Human Rights Council session in Geneva, had said, "I deplore current measures in India to deport Rohingyas at a time of such violence against them in their country."
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights had added, "By virtue of customary law, its ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the obligations of due process and the universal principle of non-refoulement, India cannot carry out collective expulsions or return people to a place where they risk torture or other serious violations."
India's Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju had said on on September 5 that Rohingyas were illegal immigrants and stand to be deported.
He had also pointed out that nobody should preach New Delhi on the matter as India absorbed the maximum number of refugees in the world.
Meanwhile, India also said at the UN, "It is also surprising that individual incidents are being extrapolated to suggest a broader societal situation. India is proud of its independent judiciary, freedom of press, vibrant civil society and respect for rule of law and human rights. A more informed view would have not only recognized this but also noted, for example, that the Prime Minister himself publicly condemned violence in the name of cow protection. India does not condone any actions in violation of law and imputations to the contrary are not justified."
This was in reaction to Zeid's statement regarding the killing of activist-journalist Gauri Lankesh. He had observed that she "tirelessly addressed the corrosive effect of sectarianism and hatred.
He had further said that he was "heartened by the subsequent marches calling for protection of the right to freedom of expression, and by demonstrations in 12 cities to protest the lynchings."
Lankesh was gunned down last week in Bengaluru. Unidentified motorcycle-borne gunmen pumped bullets into 55- year-old Gauri as she left her car after reaching her home.
On cow vigilantism, the UN human rights chief had maintained that "the current wave of violent, and often lethal, mob attacks against people under the pretext of protecting the lives of cows is alarming. People who speak out for fundamental human rights are also threatened."
(With PTI inputs)
Delhi: India on Tuesday slammed Pakistan at the United Nations over terrorism and said that Jammu and Kashmir was an integral part of India.
It also said that Islamabad was violating human rights in Balochistan and provides sanctuary to UN designated terrorists.
Pakistan has continued to provide sanctuary to UN designated terrorists, Sumit Seth, First Secretary at the Permanent Mission of India to UN, said.
He added, "We reject attempts by Pakistan to denigrate the democratic choice that has been regularly exercised by the people of J&K."
Seth further said, "The world watches with concern as the consequences of Pakistans actions have spread beyond its immediate neighbour."
New Delhi: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS) Chief Mohan Bhagwat on Tuesday called for celebrating diversity while striving for bringing in unity.
While addressing the India Foundation's 7th Breakfast Briefing Dr Bhagwat urged to respect diversity around the world.
Dr Bhagwat also took the occasion to highlight the role of RSS in healthcare and education. He briefly discussed the 1.7 Lac service projects, run by Swayamsevaks in the regard.
Director, India Foundation and Minister of State (MoS) for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha, chaired the proceedings.
India Foundation hosts a monthly briefing series by the name 'Breakfast Briefings,' wherein policy leaders, officials and experts brief diplomats and senior staffers of foreign missions discuss India's position on contemporary issues over breakfast.
Eminencies like Union Minister for Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Foreign Secretary Dr. S. Jaishankar, Advisor to Defence Minister, G. Satheesh Reddy, Revenue Secretary Dr. Hasmukh Adhia, Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India Dr. Arvind Subramanian have addressed the briefing in the past.
Ambassadors and Diplomatic Officials of more than 50 countries were present at the briefing.
The briefing witnessed an engaging and fruitful discussion.
Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday said that the state has directed private schools to fulfill basic amenities so as to not repeat such unfortunate incidents as the recent murder of seven-year-old Pradyuman in Gurugram's Ryan International School.
On the question of steps taken by Madhya Pradesh to ensure safety in schools, Chouhan told media, "The alert is already there. Private schools have also been directed to fulfill the basic requirements."
On Friday, the body of seven-year-old Pradyuman was found in the toilet of Gurugram's Ryan International School, with his throat slit.
The principal of Ryan International School was suspended following this incident.
Shortly, the school's bus conductor was also nabbed in connection with the child's murder.
However, the case took a complicated turn when family of the bus conductor alleged that he had been falsely framed, adding that school authorities were misleading the case.
The incident has raised questions if schools are safe for the children anymore or not.
CM Chouhan also talked about welfare of the poor. He said that housing facility was prioritised in their welfare agenda, and the government hence decided to launch the Prime Minister Awaas Yojna.
"Under the PM Awaas Yojna, Madhya Pradesh has become the first state to complete building one lakh houses. Our aim is to complete three lakh houses by October 31, and seven lakh houses by the end of this year," Chouhan said, adding that the department had also worked with diligence.
Chouhan also answered to the question of creating markets for farmers.
"We have a Cabinet meeting today, where we'll discuss the matter," he said before signing off.
New Delhi / Noida: Are our schools safe? Can we implicitly trust the school management to keep our kids safe? Do they have necessary the security measures in place?
Glaring security lapses at top Delhi, Noida and Gurugram schools has shocked many parents. Throngs have come out protesting the lack of security, putting their concerns in front of higher authorities.
But has this changed anything?
Following the gruesome murder of a seven-year-old Pradyuman Thakur inside Ryan Internation School, Zee Media correspondents decided to check how safe are our schools in Delhi-NCR region.
Our undercover reporters entered four top private schools in Delhi NCR region Alhcon Public School, ASN Senior Secondary School, Sommerville School and Apeejay School.
Our objective was not to expose lapses in the school system but to conduct a reality check.
What we found is beyond shocking.
Our undercover correspondents were able to easily walk inside school premises, visit classrooms and wash rooms. We, the random strangers, even spoke to little students.
Here's a detailed account of what we faced in each school:
1. Alhcon Public School, Mayur Vihar Phase-1
At around 7:20 am on Monday morning, our undercover reporter walked up to the school guard, requesting to him let us enter. The guard easily agreed, not even asking for our identification. At that time, several kids were entering the school.
We walked up to a school official standing nearby, requesting for directions to transport section. He pointed us towards the required room. Thanking him, we proceeded inside.
But instead of walking towards the transport section, we turned towards the classrooms on a different floor.
Reaching inside Class 2 section, we spoke to a little girl who gave us all her details -- name, school, age etc.
Then, we walked inside the toilet and filmed the entire bathroom.
At this point, our reporters were inside the school premises for more than five minutes, without anyone noticing us.
Very calmly, we exited the school premises. Noone questioned us at the exit gate.
2. ASN Senior Secondary School, Mayur Vihar
At around 8 am, our undercover reporter headed towards the second school in the vicinity. Near the gate, stood several school buses, with teachers and students walking inside.
Here too, we easily entered the school premises, shooting the entire campus with a spy cam. We accessed the girl's toilet, once again filming the entire washroom. Next, we entered the classroom and took a leisurely round of school.
While climbing up the stairs, we even stopped to chat-up with middle school children.
Unhindered, we proceeded towards the gate, standing without any motive for a few minutes, before exiting. No one batted an eyelid.
3. Sommerville School, Sector 22, Noida
The security system was foolproof at this Noida school. No complaints here. But just meters away from the main school boundary, lies a local wine shop often visited by alcoholics.
Several parents Zee Media spoke to expressed their angst over this. What are the authorities doing? Isn't it the government's responsibility to check what lies outside school, said an angry mother. Another mother broke down, expressing helplessness at the situation.
"Where do we go? What do we do!" she exclaimed.
Interestingly, CBSE has issued a series of guidelines taking full responsibility for the physical and emotional safety of children. A wine shop just meters away flouts major guidelines.
4. Apeejay School, Malviya Nagar
Finally, we stepped towards Apeejay, another popular Delhi school. At the entrance, the security complied with all necessary security arrangements. They took down our names, our ID details etc. But missing on one glaring aspect.
Our undercover reporter was carrying a knife inside the bag, a potentially life-threatening weapon.
We completed the school trip, without anyone noticing this.
Reaction
Zee Media's primary objective was to highlight lapses in security, not point fingers at anyone. So we went back to the authorities to report what we found.
The school principal of Alhcon Public School was shocked. Anyone entering the school must have visiting card or identification documents, he agreed.
However, authorities at ASN School flatly refused to admit the loophole in their security, till we showed proof. The school official finally agreed to investigate the matter.
Keeping in mind the above incidents, we request all parents to check the safety arrangements in their children's school.
Ask the management, are the kids safe?
Former Winnebago Tribal Chairman John Blackhawk has pleaded guilty to theft from his tribes casino.
As part of a plea agreement, charges of conspiracy and wire fraud against Blackhawk were dismissed.
Blackhawk, who served on the tribal council from 1985 to 2015 and as chairman for nearly 20 years, was one of nine former council members charged with stealing from the tribes casino. He is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 4 in U.S. District Court in Omaha.
He is the fifth of the former council members to plead guilty to theft from the WinnaVegas Casino. Since August, Louis Houghton, Lawrence Payer, Thomas Snowball and Charles Aldrich have all pleaded guilty to theft from the casino.
Last month, Chief U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith Camp ordered Houghton and Payer each to serve five years probation and pay $35,000 in restitution. Snowball and Aldrich are awaiting sentencing.
In July 2016, a federal grand jury indicted Blackhawk, Houghton, Payer, Snowball, Aldrich, Darwin Snyder, Travis Mallory, Morgan Earth and Ramona Wolfe. Each was charged with conspiracy, theft from a gaming establishment on Indian lands and wire fraud.
An FBI investigation determined that while on the tribal council, the nine had given themselves raises and bonuses totaling $327,500 directly from the WinnaVegas Casino without approving them at council meetings.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday held extensive talks with Belarus President AG Lukashenko to ramp up bilateral engagement in various areas, including defence, trade and investment.
His visit takes place at a time when Belarus and India are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
A range of issues, including ways to deepen cooperation in various areas, were discussed by Lukashenko and Modi during their talks.
Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj called on the president of Belarus before his talks with Modi.
Lukashenko, who arrived here last night, was also given a ceremonial welcome at forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan this morning.
California: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said that he is ready to take charge of his party in 2019 even as he attacked the BJP government for its decision to demonetise the old currency notes and rising cross-border terrorism. He made these remarks during an interaction with the students of the prestigious University of California, Berkeley, United States. The theme of the event was 'India@70: Reflections on the Path Forward' during which he shared his ideas about the need to rebuild Congress in view of future challenges facing the party.
Here are the Live updates:-
-Lucky to have very talented seniors among the party. Trying to make both work together: Rahul Gandhi
-There is no dearth of talent in the party, young people should be pushed forward: Rahul Gandhi
-The BJP gives a top-down vision. We construct a bottom-up vision: Rahul Gandhi
-Even Abhishek Bachchan is a dynast, also Ambani, that's how entire country is running: Rahul Gandhi
-Parliamentarians need to be involved in the conversation again: Rahul Gandhi
-Political reform is much more important than administrative. Rahul Gandhi
-Even Abhishek Bachchan is a dynast, also Ambani, that's how entire country is running: Rahul Gandhi
-What I sense is he doesn't converse with people he works with, even members of Parliament and BJP tell me that: Rahul Gandhi,
-He knows how to give a message to 3-4 different groups in a crowd, so his messaging ability is very effective and subtle: Rahul Gandhi
-Modi has certain skills, he is a very good communicator, much better than me: Rahul Gandhi
-A lady from crowd heckles moderators at Rahul Gandhi event, says "how is this free speech if you are controlling what is being asked?"
-So he (PM Modi) massively opened up space for the terrorists in Kashmir, and you saw the increase in violence: Rahul Gandhi
-PDP was instrumental in bringing youngsters in politics, but the day PM Modi made alliance with PDP, he destroyed them (PDP): Rahul Gandhi
-However, BJP destroyed it in 30 days: Rahul Gandhi
-By 2013, we basically broke the back of terror, I hugged PM Manmohan Singh and told him it was one of his biggest achievements: Rahul Gandhi
-When we started, terrorism was rampant in Kashmir, when we finished there was peace, we had broken the back of terrorism: Rahul Gandhi
-For 9 years, I worked behind the scenes with PM Manmohan Singh, P Chidambaram, Jairam Ramesh and others on J&K: Rahul Gandhi
-Tremendous machine, all day they spread abuse about me, and the operation is run by the gentleman who is running our country: Rahul Gandhi
-There is a BJP machine, about 1000 guys sitting on computer and telling you about me: Rahul Gandhi
-Modi clamped down on RTI. He shut it down.We got in trouble as we dramatically increased transparency: Rahul Gandhi
-Most of the country runs like this, so don't go after me, Akhilesh Yadav a dynast, Stalin a dynast, Dhumal's son a dynast: Rahul Gandhi
-I am absolutely ready for that in 2019, but our party works according to organizational elections: Rahul Gandhi on taking charge of the party.
-Core constituency of right wing leaders are those who cannot get a job: Rahul Gandhi
-Around 2012, arrogance crept into Congress party and we stopped having conversations with people: Rahul Gandhi
-Congress decides policy and vision through conversations and not by imposition: Rahul Gandhi
-I lost my father, my grandmother to violence, if I don't understand violence then who will?: Rahul Gandhi
-I am with them in their quest for justice, violence against anybody I strongly condemn: Rahul Gandhi
-I love the Sikh community, I am with them in their fight for justice: Rahul Gandhi
-Unlike China, India has to create jobs in a democratic environment: Rahul Gandhi
-Decisions like demonetisation taken without asking Chief Economic Advisor and Parliament caused tremendous damage: Rahul Gandhi
-Hatred, anger and violence can destroy us, the politics of polarisation is very dangerous: Rahul Gandhi
-Idea of non-violence is under attack today, yet it is only idea which can take humanity forward: Rahul Gandhi
-Small and entrepreneurs are the bedrock of India's economic progress: Rahul Gandhi
-There is no democratic country in history which has raised so many people out of poverty as India: Rahul Gandhi
-As Indira Gandhi was asked whether India will switch 'Left or Right'. She said it will stand straight and tall: Rahul Gandhi
-Idea of non violence or 'ahimsa' is what has allowed this mass of people (India) to rise together: Rahul Gandhi
-Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi begins his interaction with students at Berkely University in California
The Congress leader is on a two-week visit to the US. Gandhi will interact with global thinkers and political leaders, and address overseas Indians as part of an outreach initiative by his party during his US visit. Rahul Gandhi's grandfather and the country's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, had earlier delivered a historic speech at the American university in 1949.
Berkeley: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi had a slip of the tongue while addressing the students at the University of California in Berkeley.
Speaking on 'India at 70: Reflections on the Path Forward', the Amethi MP got the number of seats in the Lok Sabha wrong.
The number of seats in the Lower House was 546, not 545, Rahul Gandhi said while interacting with the students at the Berkely University.
The Congress Lok Sabha MP from Amethi has a history of making several bloopers and becoming a laughing stock in the social media.
This time was no different, the Twitterrati didn't spare the Gandhi scion, who himself just cannot go through an event without making innocent gaffes.
Earlier in August, the Congress vice president while inaugurating the first 'Indira canteen' in Bengaluru, he mistakenly referred to it as 'Amma canteen'.
The Congress vice president is currently on a two-week visit to the US to interact with political leaders, global thinkers and overseas Indians.
Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for demonetisation and the hastily implemented Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. Both he said caused "tremendous damage to the Indian economy".
He also spoke on the political environment in the country, the Congress party, the effects of demonetisation among other issues.
When asked to comment on the dynastic politics, Gandhi said, "Most of the country runs like this. That's how India works."
"Dynastic politics is a problem in all political parties. Akhilesh (Yadav son of Mulayam Singh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party), (M.K.) Stalin (son of M. Karunanidhi in DMK), Abhishek Bachchan (son of Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan) -- are all examples of dynastic legacy, also (Mukesh and Anil) Ambani (son of Dhirubhai Ambani), that's how the entire country is running.
"Even (Prem Kumar) Dhumal's son (Anurag Thakur) is a dynast, so don't go just after me," Rahul said at the event.
Jammu: Pakistan is not showing interest in improving relations with India, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said, pointing to the regular violation of ceasefire by the neighbour in Jammu and Kashmir.
"Pakistan is regularly resorting to ceasefire violations and because of this, I feel Pakistan is not showing interest in improving relations with India," Singh said during a press conference in Jammu.
The minister is on a four-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir since September 9.
"Our Army and BSF troops are giving a befitting reply. We will create such conditions that they (Pakistan) will be forced to stop ceasefire violation today or tomorrow," the minister said.
Apart from holding security review meetings, Singh met delegations from various sections in the Srinagar summer capital before beginning his visit to Jammu region, where he continued with his interactions.
Singh was also briefed about the latest equipment being inducted by the BSF.
"Since 2014, Pakistan has resorted to over 400 ceasefire violations every year. This has to be stopped by Pakistan," the minister said.
He was accompanied by Union Minister Jitendra Singh and Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh.
The Union home minister reached out to the people who were living along the Line of Control but were forced to shun their homes and hearths and take shelter in camps in Nowshera sector of Rajouri district for over four months.
The Home Minister said that the country is proud of the border dwellers and that they are a "strategic asset" for India.
"If there is any biggest strategic asset of India, it is the Indian citizens living along the borders of the country.
It is the biggest strategic asset of India. If we get strategic successes, it is because of your contribution," he said.
The Union minister said the Centre has decided to set up an expert group to study the problems and challenges of the people living along the border.
"This expert group or study group will give its opinion and we will act on that," he said.
The minister said 60 bunkers have been built and a decision has been taken by the government to construct more bunkers.
The minister also hailed the troops of the Army and the BSF and said the country is proud of them.
He said the border residents are undeterred by the ceasefire violations by Pakistan.
"They have also contributed to defending the borders. This contribution cannot be forgotten," he said.
Beijing: Days after the peaceful resolution of the Doklam stand-off with India, China on Tuesday said that it is ready for talks to re-open the Nath La pass for Indian pilgrims.
China had closed the Nathu La pass in mid June over the military stand-off on Doklam.
"China is ready to keep communication with Indian side in regard to opening of the pass and other issues concerning the pilgrimage by Indians," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said here.
While the over two-month standoff was resolved last month, the pass through which many Indian pilgrims go to Kailash Mansarovar in China's Tibet remained shut.
After nearly 72 days, India and China decided to withdraw troops from the Sikkim border, signalling a peaceful resolution of the Doklam stand-off.
The breakthrough between the two nations was achieved through diplomatic talks.
Raveesh Kumar, the official spokesperson of Ministry of External Affairs, had claimed that both countries had decided to 'disengage' troops.
In recent weeks, India and China maintained diplomatic communication in respect of incident at Doklam. During these communications, we were able to express our views and convey our concerns and interests, the official MEA statement said.
China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying also confirmed that Indian troops and equipment had pulled back while "Chinese troops continue to patrol on the Chinese side of the boundary", according to AFP.
The decision to disengage their troops was taken ahead of the crucial BRICS Summit that was held in China's Xiamen early September, which the Prime Minister attended.
In June 2017, Indian troops stopped China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) from constructing a road on the Doklam plateau, which is a part of Bhutan.
India said that constructing a road on the plateau will pose serious security concerns as it gives China access to the "Chicken's Neck" - a narrow strip of land that links India to the seven north-east states.
New Delhi: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday will hear Ryan International School's CEO Ryan Pinto's plea seeking anticipatory bail in connection with the alleged murder of a seven-year-old Pradyuman Thakur in the institution's premises in Gurgaon.
Ryan International Group's founding chairman, Augustine Pinto (73), and his wife Grace Pinto (62), who is the managing director of the institution, along with their son Ryan Pinto approached Bombay HC following the arrest of two top officials of the school.
The Pintos, in their pleas, said while the death of the boy was unfortunate, the management cannot be held culpable and that they themselves were victims of the unfortunate circumstances.
The death has caused deep pain not only to the parents and family of the child but also to the trustees, management, staff and students of the school, their applications said.
"This is not only the darkest hour for the family but also for the institution. Such an incident has taken place for the first time in the past four decades since the institution was set up," the three said in their bail pleas.
Despite taking all necessary steps for security and well being of the students as required by law and prudence, if such an unfortunate incident occurs, the institution cannot be held culpable as it is itself a victim of unfortunate circumstances, Pintos said.
According to the pleas, the Pintos read newspaper reports which mentioned that there were demands for booking the management.
"Hence, we apprehend action against us in the matter. We seek the court to grant us transit protection from arrest so that we can approach the appropriate judicial authority in Haryana," the pleas said.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to Centre, CBI, Haryana govt and the CBSE in connection with the alleged murder of Pradyuman Thakur in Gurugram. The deceased's father Varun Thakur had earlier moved the top court, alleging severe administrative loopholes.
(With inputs from agencies)
New Delhi: In a major breakthrough in the alleged murder case of seven-year-old Pradyuman Thakur, the bus driver, who was with the accused conductor Ashok Kumar before the incident took place, has revealed shocking details about the police and the school management on Monday.
While speaking exclusively to leading channel, CNN-News 18, the bus driver Saurabh disclosed that the police and the Ryan school management forced him to adapt their version of events, which claimed that conductor Ashok brought the knife inside the school premises as it was part of the tool kit.
However, contrary to his earlier statements, the bus driver yesterday said that the knife which was allegedly used to kill seven-year-old Pradyuman was not part of the tool kit. It was police who threatened and asked him to admit it was. I keep opening the tool box and had inspected it on that day as well. The knife was not there, the driver stated.
Talking about accused conductor Ashok, the driver said that it is quite hard to believe that he hid the knife from the tool kit. He is of a very quiet nature. Ive never seen him bring a knife. Once he got a screwdriver and informed me that I have got this as it'll be useful in the bus. Maybe he did not tell me about the knife and perhaps he kept it somewhere else... I dont really know, Saurabh told CNN-News 18.
Earlier on Monday, the owners of Ryan International School Augustine Pinto (73), and his wife Grace Pinto (62), who is the managing director of the institution, along with their son Ryan Pinto approached Bombay HC and sought anticipatory bail ahead of their interrogation. Their application is likely to come up today.
Ryan student murder: What happened so far?
A class II student Pradyuman Thakur was found dead on Friday (September 08) by a school staffer in the washroom on the school campus in Bhondsi area near Gurugram city with a slit throat. Soon after the incident took place, the police arrested Ashok Kumar, conductor of a school bus, for the killing but many believe he was made a scapegoat. The man's family too claimed he was falsely implicated since he was poor.
Earlier on Sunday, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) averred that the school did not have any separate toilets for staff like drivers and conductors while adding that the administration even did not get their employees identification verified. The report by the investigative team also highlighted that the CCTV cameras of the school weren't working properly and were not installed everywhere. Also, the fire extinguishers were expired.
New Delhi: A Patiala House court on Tuesday directed Delhi Police to de-seal the room of Hotel Leela where former union minister Shashi Tharoor's wife Sunanda Pushkar was found dead in January 2014.
On September 4, the court had cracked down on the Delhi Police for delaying the de-sealing of the room.
The hotel had claimed that due to the sealing of the suite, which costs between Rs 55,000 and Rs 61,000 a night, it has suffered a loss of over Rs 50 lakh in the last three years.
Sunanda Pushkar, 52, was found dead under mysterious circumstances in Delhi's Hotel Leela Palace on January 17, 2014. The suite was sealed henceforth.
A FIR was registered by Delhi Police on January 1, 2015, against unknown persons under Section 302 (murder).
Sunanda Pushkar was found dead on the night of January 17, 2014.
Jammu: The government is trying to regain the faith of people of Kashmir, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday and sought support of all political parties and stakeholders to resolve the problems of the state.
Singh, on the last of his four-day tour of the state, said the security situation in Kashmir is better "to an extent" than the previous year but he could not say that it "has totally become peaceful".
He said the government is making efforts to improve the situation in the Valley.
"We are trying to regain the faith of people (of Kashmir)," he added while talking to reporters here.
"I want cooperation and support of all, including all political parties and all stakeholders of the society to resolve the problems of the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh," the home minister said.
He did not agree with a view that the militant ranks in Kashmir have swelled and said, "terrorists are being strongly dealt with by the security forces bravely." Singh was asked a question regarding his remark yesterday that the Centre will not do anything "against the sentiments" of the people of J&K, in the context of Article 35A of the Indian Constitution under which residents of the state have certain special privileges and rights.
In his reply, he said, "First of all, I want to clarify. Please do not distort my statement. I said Jammu and Kashmir including Ladakh - the entire state. I talked about the sentiment of the people of the region (J&K)."
Pressed further, he said, "as far as Article 35A is concerned, whatever I had to say, I have said that (yesterday). The matter is sub-judice and I have nothing more to say."
There has been a raging debate over the fate of this Constitutional provision ever since it was challenged in the Supreme Court by a woman who has alleged that it was discriminatory.
Several Kashmiri mainstream parties as well as separatists have opposed abrogation of this Article, warning that it would have serious consequences.
Asked whether the central government will abide by the decision of Supreme Court on Article 35A, Singh evaded a direct reply, saying, "whatever I had to say was stated by me yesterday. I don't think there is a need to elaborate."
Queried whether the government will file a counter affidavit in the Supreme Court on the challenge posed to it, Singh said, "the matter is in the SC. I don't know what will happen in the future. At this point of time, I cannot say beyond this."
Singh batted strongly for equal development in all the three regions of the state -- Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh.
"We want that there should be no discrimination with any part of the state. All the three regions should have proper and comprehensive development. This is the ideology of our government," he said.
"Keeping in view this aspect, Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) had announced a development package for J&K under which 63 projects are being implemented in the three regions of the state," he added.
Under the package, 6000 transit accommodations are coming up for which Rs 920 crore have been sanctioned, he said.
"Rs 2000 crore have been sanctioned for the compensation to the displaced people of Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir," the home minister said.
"To prevent this scheme from falling prey to corruption, we have linked it with Aadhaar for direct benefit transfer to the accounts of the displaced families," he added.
Singh said the Centre has a tough stand towards illegal migrants but a "sympathetic view" towards those displaced within the country and the minorities of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who have become refugees in this country.
To a question about sealing of borders, he said wherever fencing is not possible and physical barriers like riverine terrains can't be used, technology like sensor-based cameras will be used.
New Delhi: In a major breakthrough, Zahoor Watali, the Srinagar-based businessman who has been arrested in connection with the alleged financing of separatists in J&K, has revealed that the ISI has entrusted two senior Pakistan Army officers for fuelling tension in the Kashmir Valley.
Zee Media, which claimed to have accessed the statements made by Watali during his interrogation by the National Investigating Agency (NIA), said on Tuesday that the ISI has identified Sohail Amir and Hafiz two Brigadier-rank officers in Pakistan Army to carry forward its anti-India agenda in Kashmir.
Watali's confession before the NIA also exposes the nexus between the ISI, the Pakistan Army and the alleged terror fund raisers.
Watali is in the centre of an ongoing probe by the NIA into the alleged cross-border funding of the Kashmiri separatists to create unrest in the Jammu and Kashmir.
Watali was arrested by the NIA on the charges of receiving funds from Pakistan to sponsor terror activities and stone-pelting in Kashmir.
He is said to be very close to hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani.
The NIA had earlier arrested seven separatist leaders in connection with its probe into terror funding from Pakistan and militant groups based there.
The NIA had alleged that money was being raised to fund separatist and terror activities in J&K.
The central probe agency had claimed that the accused were waging war against the country and were involved in various offences punishable under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani's son-in-law Altaf Shah was among those arrested.
Others who were arrested were Nayeem Khan, Ayaz Akbar Khanday, Mehrajuddin Kalwal, Peer Saifullah (all from Geelani's faction of Hurriyat), Shahid-ul-Islam (of the Hurriyat faction led by the Mirwaiz) and Farooq Ahmed Dar alias Bitta Karatay of a faction of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front.
Former Pakistan-administered Kashmir Prime Minister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhary had attended the marriage ceremony of Watali's son at the businessman's residence in the posh Srinagar neighbourhood of Baagaat.
His business empire is reportedly spread in Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh and Dubai.
Watali was arrested by the NIA on the charges of receiving funds from Pakistan to sponsor terror activities and stone-pelting in Kashmir. He is said to be close to Geelani.
The Nebraska State Patrol's new superintendent was chosen from a field of more than 30 candidates from around the nation.
Harbor Police Chief John Bolduc of San Diego was announced last week as Gov. Pete Ricketts' choice to lead the agency. The governor's office released the applications of the four finalists Monday after three inquiries and an open records request from The Associated Press.
In his application letter, Bolduc pitched himself as a "cultural change agent" with management experience from several different law enforcement agencies.
The other finalists were Michael A. Kopy, a staff inspector for the New York State Police's internal affairs bureau; Nebraska State Patrol Capt. Mike Jahnke; and Nebraska State Patrol Capt. Andrew "Buck" Duis.
Jamshedpur: Two ultras including a woman cadre belonging to "People's Liberation Front of India" (PLFI) were killed in an encounter with security forces at Bandu in West Singhbhum district on Tuesday, police said.
The encounter took place when the security personnel comprising of CRPF and District Armed Police were on anti-naxal operation in the bordering area of West Singhbhum and Khunti districts, police said.
The PLFI ultras fired at the security personnel who returned the fire and in the ensuing encounter two PLFI cadres including a woman were killed in the encounter that last for half an hour, Superintendent of Police, Anish Gupta said.
Gupta said the bodies of the two ultras have been recovered.
The security personnel also recovered two double barrel gun, a carbine, live cartridges, among other daily core items, he said.
New Delhi: Father Tom Uzhunnalil, a Kerala priest who was abducted from Yemen in 2016, has been rescued from the ISIS captivity, the Centre announced on Tuesday.
An announcement in this regard was made by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Twitter, according to ANI.
I am happy to inform that Father Tom Uzhunnalil from Kerala has been rescued, EAM Sushma Swaraj was quoted as saying.
I am happy to inform that Father Tom Uzhunnalil has been rescued.pic.twitter.com/FwAYoTkbj2 Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) September 12, 2017
Kerala priest Tom Uzhunnalil was kept in the captivity of the Islamic State after he was abducted from Yemen in 2016.
He was rescued after efforts by the Oman Foreign Ministry and Yemeni officials.
Media reports said that the priest, who is currently in Muscat, will be flown to Kerala tonight.
Father Uzhunnalil was abducted in March 2016 by the ISIS fighters which attacked an old-age home, run by Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity, in southern Yemeni city of Aden.
At least 15 people at the home were killed in the attack.
EAM Sushma Swaraj had earlier said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself had spoken to various countries through which contacts could be established in Yemen since India does not have an Embassy of its own in the country.
New Delhi: Tech aficionados in India were in for a treat on Tuesday when Samsung launched its latest flagship Galaxy Note 8 device. The premium smartphone, at Rs 67,900, looks set to satisfy technology junkies who are on-the-go.
Industry analysts quickly gave the device a thumbs-up.
"Note 8 looks a great device with Samsung getting the software and AI piece right over there. With the likely announcement of Apple`s premium phone, flagship competition is likely to push the overall average selling price (ASP) of premium segment after the introduction of Note 8 at newer price points," Tarun Pathak, Associate Director, Mobile Devices and Ecosystems, Counterpoint Research, told IANS.
The device (we experienced Maple Gold one) comes with 6GB RAM and 64GB internal memory (expandable up to 256GB).
Upfront is the patented 6.3-inch "Infinity Display" with curved edges. On the left bumper, there is a volume rocker and a dedicated button for Samsung`s artificial intelligence (AI) assistant "Bixby". On the right bumper, you can find the power button.
Galaxy Note 8 is fitted with a 12MP dual-camera system at the rear, along side a flash and fingerprint sensor.
The rear camera comes with two 12MP lenses -- wide angle and telephoto. Both are equipped with Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) for sharper photos and videos.
The photos came out very well in both day and night light conditions.
Users can change the area and amount of blur by using "Live Focus" feature. We also tried "Pro" mode and "Food", and the results were promising.
The SIM tray is at the top and below are the charging port, a 3.5mm jack, speaker grill and an enhanced "S-Pen".
Samsung has given more power to the S-Pen which has a latency of less than 50 milliseconds. Pulling out of S-Pen opens a host of options, including ones that would let you scribble on screen, magnify and even translate languages for you.
The South Korean giant included a couple of test videos in the device that played flawlessly with high-quality output.
The phone has an aspect ratio of 18.5:9 and fits quite well in the hand.
The device is also equipped with an industry-leading 8MP "Smart Auto Focus" selfie camera.
Other security options such as "Face Lock" and "Iris scanner" are easy to set up. In our review, the features worked fine.
A peek into the hardware information showed that 3.3GB of 6GB RAM was free. The device runs an Android 7.1.1 Nougat. Almost 53GB of the total 64GB of the memory was available for users.
Housing a 3,300mAh battery, Galaxy Note8 supports the most advanced wireless charging capabilities (WPC and PMA) and is fast-charging compatible with QC 2.0.
The device appears set to give Apple real tough competition in the premium segment.
"With no strong player in the Android ecosystem in the super-premium segment, it`s all clear space for Samsung where Note 8 fits in. So while iPhone 8 (X) has it`s space, with Note 8, the premium segment gets split between the two," Faisal Kawoosa, Principal Analyst, Telecom and ESDM, CMR, told IANS.
"With Samsung the only brand to reckon with in this top layer of the market segment, a lot of Android`s competition with iPhone banks on Samsung. So Google would be needing more of Samsung than vice versa," he added.
According to Pathak, "We expect Apple and Samsung loyalists would still aspire to adopt these devices and it will remain to be seen if the high price would be somehow neutralised with clever marketing in terms of bundled offers."
You will need to wait for few more days before you grab a Note 8. The device will be available in India in Midnight Black and Maple Gold colours, starting September 21.
New Delhi: The recent case of a 7-year-old boy found murdered in his school has traumatized the entire nation.
Prasoon Joshi took to the social media platform Facebook to share a heart-wrenching poem on child abuse. Each line will give you goosebumps and will force you to think about the kind of world we live in.
Here is his Facebook post:
Joshi is a noted lyricist, writer and the chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification.
New Delhi: Superstar Salman Khan is currently busy shooting for 'Tiger Zinda Hai' (TZH) with Katrina Kaif in Abu Dhabi keeping his fans all excited for the big Christmas release this year.
While Sallu Bhai and Kat are busy wrapping up the shoot of this action thriller, there are rumours floating all around about trouble in the love paradise of Salman and Iulia Vantur.
According to Pinkvilla.com, there are reports about Salman being too tied up with work and that leaves him with no time to spend with rumoured ladylove Iulia. The report quotes leading daily and states that the superstar will soon wrap up the shoot for 'TZH' and then promotions will kickstars, this gives the duo no time for each other.
Salman and Katrina are re-uniting with each other after a long hiatus of five years. TZH happens to be the sequel to 2012 blockbuster 'Ek Tha Tiger'. The original was helmed by Kabir Khan and the sequel is being directed by Ali Abbas Zafar.
New Delhi: It's been a while TV lovers have been eagerly waiting to see ace comedian Sunil Grover back on-screen. Well, the 40-year-old star has finally joined hands with Sudesh Lehri for a show. And, no, it is not Krushna Abhishek's 'The Drama Company'.
Sudesh on Monday posted an interesting video on Instagram that is now garnering a lot of attention. In the short clip, the duo can be seen sharing the fame and talking about a show. Surprisingly, they were not talking about any TV venture.
Instead, they were gearing up to watch a show of Sunny Deol's film 'Poster Boys'. Have a look:
A post shared by Sudesh Lehri (@realsudeshlehri) on Sep 11, 2017 at 2:51am PDT
Sunil left 'The Kapil Sharma Show' after the alleged mid-flight brawl with Kapil Sharma that took place while the team was returning to India from Australia in March.
Mumbai: The newly appointed Central Board of Film Certification chief, Prasoon Joshi, called his first meeting with the new members of the board, where they discussed about the future of film censorship in India.
The meeting on Monday was attended by board members Gautami Tadimalla, Jeevitha Rajashekar, Mihir Bhuta, Naresh Chandra Lal, Neil Scott Nongkynrih, Ramesh Patnage, TS Nagabharna, Vani Tripathi Tikoo, Vidya Balan, Vivek Agnihotri and Waman Kendre. Also present was the CEO Anurag Shrivastava.
"It was important to have this meeting as early as possible for the Board members to know each other and exchange valuable ideas. The Board comprises of accomplished people and it was enriching to have meaningful discussions around the functioning of the body.
"The way forward will draw from the collective wisdom and experience of this group. We got a lot of valuable insights from these interactions and (I) am thankful to all the Board members for being focused with an intricate approach. The purpose is clearly to make things better for all stakeholders where there is mutual respect and collaboration," Joshi said in a statement.
The CBFC has also decided to meet the industry people and take their inputs to make the certification process smooth.
"Our first meeting was a great first step in the right direction towards understanding our role as the board and determining our approach. It was reassuring to know we are all on the same page," Balan said.
Joshi replaced Pahlaj Nihalani as the CBFC chief last month.
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved a 1% hike in dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR) to 5%, benefiting 48.85 central government employees and 55.51 lakh pensioners.
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved release of an additional instalment of dearness allowance to central government employees and dearness relief to pensioner with effect from July 1, 2017, an official statement said.
The DA/DR has been hiked by 1 percent over the existing rate of 4 percent of the basic pay/pension to compensate for price rise and it is in accordance with the accepted formula based on the recommendation of 7th pay commission, the statement said.
The combined impact on the exchequer on account of both DA and DR would be Rs 3,068.26 crore per annum and Rs 2,045.50 crore in the financial year 2017-18 (for a period of 8 months from July 2017 to February 2018).
The hike in the DA hike is as per the agreed methodology of taking average of Consumer Price Index-Industrial Workers for the past 12 months.
New Delhi: The Indian basket of imported crude oils gained nearly $3.50 a barrel during last week even as petrol prices in the country touched their highest levels since 2014, official data has showed.
Petrol price was hiked by 8 paise a litre and diesel by 10 paise per litre, applicable from 6 a.m. on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, under the daily revision of fuel prices, petrol in Mumbai on Tuesday cost Rs 79.48 a litre, breaching the level it last touched in August 2014.
On Tuesday, petrol per litre cost Rs 70.38 in Delhi, Rs 73.12 in Kolkata and Rs 72.95 in Chennai.
Similarly, diesel price on Tuesday was Rs 58.72 in Delhi, Rs 61.37 in Kolkata, Rs 62.37 in Mumbai and Rs 61.84 in Chennai.
Petroleum products do not come under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and prices vary at locations according to state taxes.
The Indian basket, comprising 73 percent sour-grade Dubai and Oman crudes, and the balance in sweet-grade Brent, closed trade on the weekend on Friday at $53.63 per barrel, according to the Petroleum Ministry.
The oil basket had gained over a dollar at the start of last week on Monday to close at $51.34 for a barrel of 159 litres.
Earlier this month, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the dynamic pricing regime would continue despite petrol prices going up by over Rs 7 per litre since the scheme was introduced pan-India from mid-June.
He said dynamic pricing ensures that the benefit of even the smallest change in international oil prices can be passed down the line to the dealers and the end-users.
"Daily revision in prices is good. When we started daily revisions on June 16, rates dropped in the first fortnight. Thereafter, it has increased mainly because of rise in global oil prices," he said.
Daily revision allows any fall in international oil rates to be passed on to consumers immediately rather than having to wait for 15 days as in the old system, he added.
"Should prices be hiked by Rs 2.50 or Rs 3 per litre in one go or they should be spaced out in small doses," he asked.
Earlier, the state-run oil marketing companies used to review and revise retail fuel prices every fortnight on the basis of global crude oil prices, while the revision took effect from midnight.
Dynamic fuel pricing is followed in many developed countries and India opted for it as a response to the recent volatility in global crude oil prices.
The basket of crude oils of the 13-nation Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) breached the psychologically-important $50-a-barrel-mark also last week, to close at $50.36 a barrel on September 4. As per latest data, the OPEC basket closed on Friday at $52.53.
Last month, two of OPECs biggest members -- Saudi Arabia and Iraq -- expressed their commitment to abide by an agreement to cut oil production that was signed earlier between OPEC and 10 other nations.
With IANS Inputs
New Delhi: Not just Saturn and its rings, NASA's Cassini spacecraft also made in-depth plunges and manoeuvres to provide insights into the planet's moons Titan and Enceladus too.
In fact, one of Cassini's biggest revelations includes unveiling Enceladus Saturn's icy moon and the fact that it has many of the ingredients needed for life.
So, Cassini wouldn't just be saying goodbye to Saturn, it will also take one last look at its two moons before it makes a death dive into the planet's atmosphere and explode like a meteor, thereby marking the end of its 13-year mission.
On September 11, the spacecraft made its closest approach to Titan at 12:04 pm PDT (3:04 pm EDT), at an altitude of 73,974 miles (119,049 kilometers) above the moon's surface.
This was its final, distant flyby of the planet's giant moon.
As per NASA, Cassini is scheduled to make contact with Earth on September 12 at about 6:19 pm PDT (9:19 pm EDT). Images and other science data taken during the encounter are expected to begin streaming to Earth soon after.
Navigators will analyze the spacecraft's trajectory following this downlink to confirm that Cassini is precisely on course to dive into Saturn at the planned time, location and altitude.
The distant encounter is referred to as the 'goodbye kiss' by mission engineers, since it provides a gravitational nudge that sends the spacecraft toward its dramatic ending in Saturn's upper atmosphere.
"Cassini has been in a long-term relationship with Titan, with a new rendezvous nearly every month for more than a decade," said Cassini Project Manager Earl Maize at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
"This final encounter is something of a bittersweet goodbye, but as it has done throughout the mission, Titan's gravity is once again sending Cassini where we need it to go," he said.
Cassini is ending its 13-year tour of the Saturn system with an intentional plunge into the planet to ensure Saturn's moons in particular Enceladus, with its subsurface ocean and signs of hydrothermal activity remain pristine for future exploration.
The spacecraft's fateful dive is the final beat in the mission's Grand Finale, 22 weekly dives (begun in late April) through the gap between Saturn and its rings. No spacecraft has ever ventured so close to the planet before, NASA reported.
New Delhi: US space agency NASA has remembered the unfateful day of September 11, 2001, when a terror attack shook the United States killing around 3,000 people.
The space agency has released the images that were taken from the International Space Station few hours after the attack.
As per NASA, US astronaut Frank Culbertson was aboard the International Space Station, which coincidentally, happening to fly over over the New York City area moments after the twin towers came down few hours after the Boeings were crashed into the twin towers in the September 11 morning.
In a public letter the very next day of the terrorist attack, Culbertson said, I glanced at the World Map on the computer to see where over the world we were and noticed that we were coming southeast out of Canada and would be passing over New England in a few minutes. I zipped around the station until I found a window that would give me a view of NYC and grabbed the nearest camera. It happened to be a video camera, and I was looking south from the window of Michael's cabin.
He wrote in the letter, The smoke seemed to have an odd bloom to it at the base of the column that was streaming south of the city. After reading one of the news articles we just received, I believe we were looking at NY around the time of, or shortly after, the collapse of the second tower. How horrible
Culberston added, It's difficult to describe how it feels to be the only American completely off the planet at a time such as this. The feeling that I should be there with all of you, dealing with this, helping in some way, is overwhelming. I know that we are on the threshold (or beyond) of a terrible shift in the history of the world. Many things will never be the same again after September 11, 2001.
Even as the International Space Station moved along its path and lost view of the New York City, however other satellites of NASA including Terra satellite caught images of the attacks immediate aftermath.
(Image source: NASA)
Mumbai: Even as a debate rages over possible consequences of artificial intelligence (AI), a global survey has found managing security risk arising out of its adoption as the biggest concern for companies.
"Effectively managing the security risk of AI systems is of paramount importance for the majority of industries," the global survey undertaken by country's largest software exporter TCS said.
The survey added that companies in the automotive, banking and financial services, consumer goods, technology, industrial manufacturing, and telecoms said managing this risk is the biggest determinant of success on AI investments.
Getting managers and employees to trust the advice provided by AI systems, and getting employees to learn about and adopt the new processes and systems that AI requires is also very important, it said.
However, addressing people's fears about losing their jobs is not ranked as a major barrier by the survey of 835 executives across 13 sectors.
The study comes amid growing concerns among a section of the tech world, which feels AI has the potential to have unwelcome consequences and are hence making a pitch for a regulation, while others feel that the industry will continue finding required solutions by itself.
The survey said all the industries, led by insurance have started to invest in AI systems.
The insurance industry is averaging USD 124 million in AI spends, followed by USD 95 million while the cross-sectoral average was USD 70 million, said the survey.
As many as 80 per cent of the 835 executives polled said they are investing in AI while the remaining 20 per cent said they have plans to start focusing on this aspect by 2020, it said.
"All industries see AI technology as a major game- changer on their business competitiveness by 2020," TCS chief technology officer K Annath Krishnan said.
When going by investments in AI as a percentage of revenue, consumer goods industry led with 0.66 per cent, followed by utilities (0.53 per cent), insurance (0.52 per cent) and telecoms (0.39 per cent).
The survey claimed all respondents spoke about revenue benefits on AI investments with an average revenue increase of 17 per cent across all the 13 sectors. It has an impact on costs as well, with 12 per cent average reduction being reported by those polled.
Telecom is the biggest gainer when it comes to return on the AI investments, with 25 per cent revenue improvement and 20 per cent cost reductions reported by those polled.
AI is used the most by the information technology function with high-tech and utilities companies more frequently using cognitive technology in their IT operations, the survey said.
However, only 29 per cent of the companies are using AI in sales at present even though some segments like consumer goods (52 per cent) and retailers (49 per cent) reported higher tendency to use it.
Frankfurt: British games maker Bossa Studios on Tuesday said it has raised $10 million in a funding round led by European venture capital firm Atomico, ahead of the launch of the company`s pirate-themed multiplayer online title, Worlds Adrift.
Bossa founders Henrique Olifiers and Imre Jele were involved in the development of RuneScape, a so-called massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) with more than 250 million user accounts set up since its launch in 2001.
Atomico, established by Skype co-founder Niklas Zennstrom, will have two seats on the Bossa board filled by co-founder and partner Mattias Ljungman and Atomico-affiliated games entrepreneur Alexis Bonte will join Bossa`s board.
Worlds Adrift features pirates tasked with building an airship, recruiting crew and taking control of skies dotted with floating islands.
It is set to be the first game on general release to be built on the SpatialOS platform of Improbable, a British firm which in May raised $502 million in a funding round led by Japan`s SoftBank Group Corp, valuing it at over $1 billion.
Improbable uses cloud-based computing to digitally simulate real-world locations for use in games and product design.
Bossa said the $10 million Series A investment will be joined by its original investor, London Venture Partners, which specialises in early-stage funding for new games.
It said it will use the funds to recruit staff to develop artificial intelligence, user-generated content and community-based gaming.
Massively multiplayer online games are likely to account for a large chunk of the $29.4 billion that market researcher NewZoo expects to be spent on PC games this year, out of $108.9 billion for the entire games market.
Dehradun: The Uttarakhand government has ordered a probe into a massive kidney racket being run by a charitable hospital here, an official said on Tuesday.
Two people were arrested after the racket was busted on Monday. A case has been registered against 15 others, including staff from the Gangotri Charitable Hospital.
Senior Superintendent of Police Nivedita Kukreti said the hospital has been sealed and four Omani nationals who were in the hill state for kidney transplants and now being traced out.
All international airports across the country were alerted about the four Omanis, who came to India on tourist visas.
The hospital has been charged with forcing people from poor financial backgrounds into donating their kidneys and then selling these at high prices for transplant.
The racket was busted by the Saptrishi police in Haridwar after four people, including two women, were intercepted during a routine checking.
On being questioned, they showed incision marks on their bodies and confessed to selling their kidneys for Rs 3 lakh each.
Kolkata: BJP president Amit Shah on Tuesday accused West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress of unleashing violence against BJP workers in the state and urged human rights organisations to speak against it.
No violence could stop the growth of the BJP in Bengal, he said.
"Today, I met the family members of the victims of political violence in Bengal in the last six months... All this happened because they did not support the ideology of the ruling Trinamool Congress," Shah told reporters on the last day of his three-day visit to the state.
"I want to ask the people here -- is this Rabindranath Tagore's Bengal? Is this Swami Vivekananda's Bengal? No one has the freedom to play a part in any political party other than the TMC," he said.
This kind of violence was perhaps not seen anywhere else, the BJP president said.
Several people were killed, many injured and their property destroyed, he alleged, targeting the Mamata Banerjee-led government in the state.
The BJP chief said development could not take place in Bengal under such circumstances.
He urged human rights organisations to report political violence against BJP workers in the state.
Members of human rights organisations should visit Basirhat, Birbhum and other places in the state and talk to the victims of political violence, he said.
Buenos Aires: Benjamin Netanyahu urged all countries to fight terrorism and singled out Iran as a serial offender as he paid tribute to the victims of two bombings in Argentina on the first trip by an Israeli premier to Latin America.
Surrounded by heavy security, Netanyahu held a closed-door meeting with members of Argentina`s Jewish community, estimated to be Latin America`s most numerous with 300,000 members.
He also participated in a ceremony to remember victims of bomb attacks at the Israeli embassy in 1992, and at a Jewish community center in 1994.
The embassy attack killed 29 and injured 220, while the community center blast left 85 dead and 300 injured.
Israel blamed the embassy attack on the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah. Argentine investigators accused five former Iranian officials of sponsoring Hezbollah`s attack on the community center but Iran denied involvement.
"Iran is the one that was behind of the great attacks in Buenos Aires in the 90s and is the `octopus of terror,` and also Hezbollah that is sending branches (of terror) around the world, arms to Latin America as well," Netanyahu said, according to a transcript provided by the Israeli embassy.
The Israeli leader, who arrived on Monday, said it is "an obligation for all countries of culture to fight against terrorism ... and in particular, against the Iranian terrorism system."
Israel "will continue to act resolutely to countering Iran`s terror and terror in general" along with its partners in Latin America and in North America, he said.DAIA, an umbrella organization for the country`s Jewish community, welcomed the visit and said it represented a "rapprochement between Argentina and Israel."
But some relatives of victims of the 1994 bombing refused an invitation to the Netanyahu event.
"Netanyahu did not come to commemorate the attack, but to increase business," said Diana Malamud, who heads a group called Active Memory.
"In these 23 years (since the bombing) Israel has been an observer, like any other country," and did not honestly help "search for the truth" behind the attack, she said.
Argentina`s 1980 Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel was also critical.
"Not only is he himself accused of committing crimes against humanity in the International Criminal Court for killing civilians, bombing schools, hospitals and Palestinian mosques, but he provides protection to a repressor of the last Argentine dictatorship," Perez Esquivel said.
Esquivel was referring to Israel`s refusal to extradite Teodoro Anibal Gauto, accused of committing crimes against humanity during Argentina`s 1976-1983 military dictatorship.Pro-Palestinian and left-wing demonstrators plan to protest on Tuesday, when the Israeli premier meets Argentine President Mauricio Macri and Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes.
Israel is looking to expand its commercial ties with new regions and is seeking allies likely to vote in its favor at UN bodies, where it is regularly condemned over the occupation of Palestinian territories.
"There is a good opportunity to increase investment and trade," a senior official in the Argentine foreign ministry said.
Argentina will also make a statement regarding the transfer of some 140,000 World War II documents and photos to allow for further research on the Holocaust.
Following the two-day trip, Netanyahu will visit Colombia and Mexico before heading to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
Beijing: China said Tuesday it backs the Myanmar government`s efforts to "uphold peace and stability" in Rakhine state, where a military crackdown has sent more than 300,000 Rohingya Muslims fleeing for Bangladesh.
"We think the international community should support the efforts of Myanmar in safeguarding the stability of its national development," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a news briefing as the UN Security Council prepared to hold an urgent meeting on the crisis.
Cairo: Egypt's defence minister, on a visit to Seoul, announced that his country has cut military ties with North Korea, according to a report by South Korea's Yonhap news agency.
There was no immediate confirmation from the Egyptian government of the agency's report, but Cairo has come under mounting pressure in recent weeks to sever ties with North Korea as the United States seek to curb Pyongyang's efforts to develop long-range nuclear weapons.
Last month Washington cut or delayed nearly $300 million in aid to Egypt over its human rights record and its ties with Pyongyang.
In an August 24 briefing, US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the Trump administration has had conversations with Egypt about the need to isolate North Korea.
Countries that do business with Pyongyang, she warned, enabled money to go into North Korea's illegal nuclear and ballistic weapons programs.
Mohammed el-Menshawy, an Egyptian analyst based in Washington, told The Associated Press the Trump administration has been privately urging Cairo to cut military ties with Pyongyang.
"The recent cut in the U.S. Military aid to Egypt was a clear message to Cairo: You choose us or North Korea, you cannot have military relations with both of us," he said.
Cox's Bazar: International divisions emerged on Tuesday ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on a worsening refugee crisis in Myanmar, with China voicing support for a military crackdown that has been criticised by the US, slammed as "ethnic cleansing" and forced 370,000 Rohingya to flee the violence.
Beijing`s intervention appears aimed at heading off any attempt to censure Myanmar at the council when it convenes on Wednesday.
China was one of the few foreign friends of Myanmar`s former junta.
Beijing has tightened its embrace of Aung San Suu Kyi`s civilian government as part of its giant trade, energy, and infrastructure strategy for Southeast Asia.
The exodus from Myanmar`s western Rakhine state began after Rohingya militants attacked police posts on August 25, prompting a military backlash that has sent a third of the Muslim minority population fleeing for their lives.
Exhausted Rohingya refugees have given accounts of atrocities at the hands of soldiers and Buddhist mobs who burned their villages to the ground.
They can not be independently verified as access to Rakhine state is heavily controlled.
Myanmar`s government denies any abuses and instead blames militants for burning down thousands of villages, including many belonging to Rohingya.
But international pressure on Myanmar heightened this week after United Nations rights chief Zeid Ra`ad Al Hussein said the violence seemed to be a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing".
The US also raised alarm over the violence while the Security Council announced it would meet Wednesday to discuss the crisis.
Opprobrium has been heaped Suu Kyi, who was once a darling of the rights community but now faces accusations of turning a blind eye to -- and even abetting -- a humanitarian catastrophe by Western powers who once feted her as well as a slew of fellow Nobel Laureates.
But Beijing offered more encouraging words to her on Tuesday, with foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang voicing support for her government`s efforts to "uphold peace and stability" in Rakhine.
"We hope order and the normal life there will be recovered as soon as possible," he told a press briefing.
The Rohingya minority are denied citizenship and have suffered years of persecution in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.
"An estimated 370,000 Rohingya have entered Bangladesh," since August 25 Joseph Tripura, a spokesman for the UN refugee agency, told AFP.
The real figure may be higher as many new arrivals are still on the move making it difficult to include them in the count, the UN said, adding 60 percent of refugees are children.
Most are in dire need of food, medical care and shelter after trekking for days through hills and jungles or braving dangerous boat journeys.
In a statement late Monday Suu Kyi`s foreign ministry defended the military for doing their "legitimate duty to restore stability", saying troops were under orders "to exercise all due restraint, and to take full measures to avoid collateral damage."
Britain and Sweden requested the urgent Security Council meeting amid growing international concern over the ongoing violence.
The council met behind closed doors in late August to discuss the violence, but could not agree on a formal statement.The UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar has said the latest violence may have left more than 1,000 dead, most of them Rohingya.
Myanmar says the number of dead is around 430, the majority of them "extremist terrorists" from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA).
It says a further 30,000 ethnic Rakhine and Hindus have been displaced inside northern Rakhine, where aid programs have been severely curtailed due to the violence.
The exodus of Rohingya has saddled Bangladesh with its own humanitarian crisis, as aid workers scramble to provide food and shelter to a daily stream of bedraggled refugees.
The UN-run refugee camps in its Cox`s Bazar district were already packed with Rohingya who had fled from previous waves of persecution.
Dhaka is providing them temporary shelter.
But Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who visited a Rohingya camp on Tuesday, stressed it was up to Myanmar to "resolve" the issue.
"We will request the Myanmar government to stop oppressing innocent people," she said during a tour of a camp in Cox`s Bazar, according to local outlet bdnews24.com.
Dhaka, which has refused to permanently absorb the Rohingya, said it plans to build a huge new camp that will house a quarter of a million refugees.
But it remains unclear if or when they will be able to return.
Plumes of smoke continued to rise on the Myanmar side of the border this week despite the militants` announcement on Sunday of a unilateral ceasefire.
There was no direct response from Myanmar`s military, though government spokesman Zaw Htay tweeted: "We have no policy to negotiate with terrorists."
Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the latest U.N. sanctions on North Korea were only a very small step and nothing compared to what would have to happen to deal with the country`s nuclear program.
The U.N. Security Council unanimously voted to boost sanctions on North Korea on Monday, with its profitable textile exports now banned and fuel supplies capped, prompting a traditionally defiant threat of retaliation against the United States.
Monday`s decision, triggered by the North`s sixth and largest nuclear test this month, was the ninth such resolution unanimously adopted by the 15-member Security Council since 2006 over North Korea`s ballistic missile and nuclear programmes.
A tougher initial U.S. draft was weakened to win the support of China, Pyongyang`s main ally and trading partner, and Russia, both of which hold veto power in the council. Significantly, it stopped short of imposing a full embargo on oil exports to North Korea, most of which come from China.
Trump told reporters at the start of a meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak that he was pleased Malaysia no longer did business with North Korea, before adding that he had just discussed the U.N. vote with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
"We think it`s just another very small step, not a big deal. ... I don`t know if it has any impact, but certainly it was nice to get a 15-to-nothing vote.
"But those sanctions are nothing compared to what ultimately will have to happen, he said without elaborating. Trump has vowed not to allow North Korea to possess a nuclear missile capable of hitting the United States.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told a conference earlier on Tuesday that if China did not follow through on the new sanctions, "we will put additional sanctions on them and prevent them from accessing the U.S. and international dollar system."
Washington so far has mostly held off on new sanctions against Chinese banks and other companies doing business with North Korea, given fears of retaliation by Beijing and possibly far-reaching effects on the world economy.
CHINA AND NORTH KOREA
Trump is likely to make a stop in China in November during his first official visit to Asia and Tillerson was due to hold talks later on Tuesday with China`s most senior diplomat, State Councilor Yang Jiechi, at which details of the trip are expected to be discussed, U.S. officials said.
The U.S. president has wavered between criticizing China for not doing enough on North Korea to heaping personal praise on the Chinese President Xi Jinping.
North Korea said its Sept. 3 test was of an advanced hydrogen bomb and was its most powerful by far.
Its ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Han Tae Song, rejected the resolution as "illegal and unlawful" and said Washington was "fired up for political, economic, and military confrontation."
North Korea is "ready to use a form of ultimate means," Han said. "The forthcoming measures ... will make the U.S. suffer the greatest pain it ever experienced in its history."
He did not elaborate, but North Korea frequently vows to destroy the United States.
The latest U.N. resolution also calls on countries to inspect vessels on the high seas, with the consent of the flag state, if they have reasonable grounds to believe ships are carrying prohibited cargo to North Korea.
It also bans joint ventures with North Korean entities, except for nonprofit public utility infrastructure projects, and prohibits countries from bringing in new North Korean workers.
On Tuesday, frustrated U.S. lawmakers called on Tuesday for a "supercharged" response to North Korea`s nuclear and missile tests, saying Washington should act alone if necessary to stiffen sanctions on companies from China and any country doing business with Pyongyang. [nL2N1LT10K}
Saying "time is running out," Representative Ed Royce, the Republican chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee said the United States should give Chinese banks and companies "a choice between doing business with North Korea or the United States."
Assistant Treasury Secretary Marshall Billingslea acknowledged at a House hearing that he had not seen sufficient evidence past sanctions were effective, but defended the administration`s strategy.
He called on anyone aware of efforts to enable North Korean trade to come forward before getting caught. "We are closing in on North Korea`s trade representatives," he said.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said the United States was "not looking for war" and if North Korea agreed to stop its nuclear program, it could "reclaim its future."
"If North Korea continues its dangerous path, we will continue with further pressure," said Haley, who credited a "strong relationship" between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping for the resolution.
She said the sanctions could eventually starve North Korea of an additional $500 million or more in annual revenue. The United States has said that a previous rounds of sanctions agreed in August were aimed at cutting North Korea`s $3 billion in exports by a third.
China`s official Xinhua news agency said in a commentary that the Trump administration was making a mistake by rejecting diplomatic engagement with North Korea.
"The U.S. needs to switch from isolation to communication in order to end an `endless loop` on the Korean peninsula, where "nuclear and missile tests trigger tougher sanctions and tougher sanctions invite further tests," it said.
Istanbul: Turkey has signed a deal with Russia to buy S-400 missile defence systems, its first major weapons purchase from Moscow, in an accord that could trouble Ankara's NATO allies.
The purchase of the surface-to-air missile defence batteries, Ankara's most significant deal with a non-NATO supplier, comes with Turkey in the throes of a crisis in relations with several Western states.
"Signatures have been made for the purchase of S-400s from Russia. A deposit has also been paid as far as I know," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in comments published in several newspapers on Tuesday.
"Mr Putin (President Vladimir Putin) and myself are determined on this issue," he told Turkish journalists aboard his presidential jet returning from a trip to Kazakhstan.
Moscow also confirmed the accord, with Vladimir Kozhin, Putin's adviser for military and technical cooperation, saying: "The contract has been signed and is being prepared for implementation."
The purchase of the missile systems from a non-NATO supplier is likely to raise concerns in the West over their technical compatibility with the alliance's equipment.
The Pentagon has already sounded the alarm, saying bluntly that "generally it's a good idea" for NATO allies to buy interoperable equipment.
But Erdogan said Turkey -- which has the second largest standing army in NATO after the United States -- was free to make military acquisitions based on its defence needs.
"Nobody has the right to discuss the Turkish republic's independence principles or independent decisions about its defence industry," he said.
"We make the decisions about our own independence ourselves, we are obliged to take safety and security measures in order to defend our country."
He said Moscow would extend a credit to Turkey for the purchase of the weapons.
Quoted by Russian state-owned TASS news agency, Kozhin said the deal was fully in line with Moscow's strategic interests.
"For this reason, we fully understand the reactions of several Western countries which are trying to put pressure on Turkey".
However signing the deal does not mean that delivery is imminent, with Russia facing a high demand for the S-400s from its own armed forces and key clients like China and India.
Some analysts have suggested the message sent to the West by the military cooperation between Moscow and Ankara is as important as the delivery itself.
In 2015, Turkey scrapped a $3.4 billion deal with China to build its first anti-missile system.
UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations Security Council unanimously stepped up sanctions against North Korea on Monday over the country`s sixth and most powerful nuclear test on Sept 3, imposing a ban on the country`s textile exports and capping imports of crude oil.
It was the ninth sanctions resolution unanimously adopted by the 15-member council since 2006 over North Korea`s ballistic missile and nuclear programs. The United States watered down an initial tougher draft resolution to win the support of Pyongyang ally China and Russia.
A week ago, US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley called for the "strongest possible" sanctions on North Korea and had sought an oil embargo on Pyongyang.
On Monday, Haley said the United States was not looking for war with North Korea and that Pyongyang had "not yet passed the point of no return."
"If it agrees to stop its nuclear program, it can reclaim its future. If it proves it can live in peace, the world will live in peace with it," she told the Security Council after the council adopted the new sanctions.
Haley added that the latest resolution "would not have happened" without the strong relationship that had developed between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
China`s UN ambassador, Liu Jieyi, urged North Korea to "take seriously the expectations and will of the international community" and called on all parties to remain "cool-headed" and not stoke tensions.
A Security Council resolution needs nine votes in favour and no vetoes to pass. In negotiations on the latest resolution, diplomats said Russia had questioned what leverage the Security Council would have left if North Korea continued to conduct nuclear and missile testing.
"This is a compromise in order to get everybody on board," French UN Ambassador Francois Delattre said of the draft ahead of the vote.
Textiles were North Korea`s second-biggest export after coal and other minerals in 2016, totalling $752 million, according to data from the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency. Nearly 80 percent of the textile exports went to China.
The resolution imposes a ban on condensates and natural gas liquids, a cap of 2 million barrels a year on refined petroleum products, and a cap on crude oil exports to North Korea at current levels. China supplies most of North Korea`s crude.
A US official, familiar with the council negotiations and speaking on condition of anonymity, said North Korea imported some 4.5 million barrels of refined petroleum products annually and 4 million barrels of crude oil.
`DUE PRICE`
Trump has vowed not to allow North Korea to develop a nuclear missile capable of hitting the mainland United States.
North Korea was condemned globally for its latest nuclear test on Sept. 3, which it said was of an advanced hydrogen bomb.
Pyongyang warned the United States on Monday that it would pay a "due price" for spearheading efforts on U.N. sanctions.
"The world will witness how the DPRK tames the US gangsters by taking a series of actions tougher than they have ever envisaged," the foreign ministry said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency.
DPRK stands for the North`s formal name, the Democratic People`s Republic of Korea.
The tensions have weighed on global markets, but there was some relief on Monday among investors that North Korea refrained from conducting another missile test this past weekend to celebrate 69 years since its founding.
European Council on Foreign Relations UN expert Richard Gowan said the United States had "rather predictably been mugged by reality" during the most recent negotiations" on sanctions. He added it was arguable, however, that the high US bar had pushed China and Russia to agree to more limited sanctions "relatively quickly."
"China and Russia were never going to accept the severe package of sanctions tabled by Haley," Gowan aid. "This sort of lengthy, incremental diplomatic bargaining may be the best it can hope for. The alternative is, after all, a slide towards war."
Traditionally, the United States has discreetly negotiated with China on any North Korea sanctions before expanding talks to the full council once the five veto powers have agreed. More recently, that has typically taken one to three months.
China supplies most of North Korea`s crude. Chinese officials have privately expressed fears that an oil embargo could risk causing massive instability in its neighbour.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang stressed the need for consensus over North Korea and maintaining peace.
"I have said before that China agrees that the UN Security Council should make a further response and necessary actions with respect to North Korea`s sixth nuclear test," he told reporters.
Russia and China have been critical that there is too much focus on pressuring North Korea with sanctions and not enough debate about kick-starting talks with Pyongyang.
Islamabad: Pakistan has not received specific requests from the US to target alleged militant sanctuaries, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said Tuesday, as he vowed to tighten security along the border with Afghanistan.
The premier`s remarks come weeks after President Donald Trump lambasted Pakistan during a speech outlining US policy on Afghanistan, accusing Islamabad of hosting safe havens for insurgents who cross the border to attack Afghan and NATO forces.
During a press conference Abbasi denied the accusations that Pakistan supported militants groups as he batted away suggestions that Trump`s comments would upend relations between the Cold War allies.
"We don`t think the Pakistani-US relationship will be defined by Afghanistan," the prime minister told reporters in Islamabad.
"This relationship (is) 70 years old (and) cannot be redefined by one issue or it should not be redefined by one issue."
Islamabad has repeatedly rejected claims of being soft on militancy, accusing its ally of ignoring the thousands who have been killed in Pakistan and the billions spent fighting extremists.
Following Trump`s remarks, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson cautioned that Pakistan could lose its status as a major US ally and see its US military aid suspended.
Abbasi, however, said he was unaware of any looming punishments, adding Washington had not issued demands to Pakistan on the matter.
"We have not received any list of measures," said Abbasi. "We are open (with the US). We are transparent. We have nothing to hide."
He added that Pakistan was willing to kick start a raft of measures to increase security along the border with Afghanistan and improve its rocky relationship with its neighbour.
"We are open to bilateral verification, we`re open to joint patrols," said Abbasi.
"We will put up a fence there, the Afghans are welcome to put up another fence on their side."
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. The prosecutors office of Bulgaria has launched an investigation on Kalin Mitrev, the husband of UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova, whose name is linked with the corruption scandal nicknamed the Azerbaijani Laundromat, ARMENPRESS reports the official website of the prosecutors office of Bulgaria informs.
General Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation based on the media reports on the illegal payments by Azerbaijani companies. Kalin Mitrevs name is also mentioned in the media reports, reads the statement.
According to the information spread by media, there are serious suspects that Kalin Mitrevs involvement in the Azerbaijani-linked corruption scandal has had great influence on the professional job of his wife, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova.
The revelation that her husband consulted for an Azeri company might prove awkward for Mitrevs wife, Irina Bokova, who is the director general of Unesco. Bokova has bestowed one of Unescos highest honours, the Mozart Medal on Azerbaijans first lady and vice-president, Mehriban Aliyeva. She also hosted a photo exhibition at Unescos headquarters in Paris, entitled Azerbaijan A Land of Tolerance. The Heydar Aliyev foundation organised the event.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 12, ARMENPRESS. The UN Security Council approved additional sanctions against North Korea after its 6th nuclear test, BBC reports. This is the 9th sanction against the country since 2006.
The measures restrict oil imports and ban textile exports - an attempt to starve the North of fuel and income for its weapons programs.
The US had originally proposed harsher sanctions including a total ban on oil imports.
The vote was only passed unanimously after Russia and China agreed to the reduced measures.
The sanctions, which were passed at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, were met with anger by North Korea.
A statement on state news agency KNCA warned that if the US did eventually push through harsher sanctions, North Korea would "absolutely make sure that the US pays due price".
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 12, ARMENPRESS. The German foreign ministry said two more German citizens have been arrested in Turkey, Deutsche Welle reports.
The ministry informed that the married couple has been arrested for political reasons.
One of the two apparently remains in custody while the second has been released, but barred from leaving Turkey.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Martin Schafer once more warned German citizens travelling to Turkey. This can happen to everyone who plans to visit Turkey. This is a painful reality, the spokesperson said.
According to the German foreign ministry, 54 German nationals are arrested in Turkey. 11 of them are detained for political reasons.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 12, ARMENPRESS. The session of the autumn sitting has kicked off in the Parliament, reports Armenpress.
At the beginning of the session the issues discussed during the previous session will be put up to voting.
During the September 11 session the Parliament discussed more than a dozen legislative initiatives which will be put up to voting during todays session.
Thereafter, the lawmakers will continue debating the draft law on making changes and amendments in the law on Architecture which proposes to establish a chamber of architects based on the Union of Architects of Armenia.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 12, ARMENPRESS. The 72nd sitting of the UN General Assembly kicks off in New York City on September 12. The first session will be held 15:00 New York time, where the President-elect of the 72nd General Assembly, Miroslav Lajcak will deliver opening remarks.
On September 11, the closing ceremony of the 71st General Assembly was held.
On September 18th, a one-day summit will be held in the UN at the initiative of the United States, dedicated to the reform of the organization. US President Donald Trump is expected to open the summit. This will be the first visit of Trump to the UN HQ after taking office.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 12, ARMENPRESS. Two people have been shot dead overnight in Vagharshatap (aka Etchmiatsin), the most populous town in Armavir province, 18km west of Yerevan.
Sona Truzyan, the spokeswoman of the Investigative Committee of Armenia told ARMENPRESS detectives at the scene revealed that the perpetrator or perpetrators opened gunfire at a vehicle. The victims are the driver and the passenger of the car, she said.
A criminal case was opened.
Police launched search operations to apprehend the shooter.
I recently saw and read a resolution passed by the Nebraska Democratic Party in Chadron calling for the cessation of alcohol sales at Whiteclay. It said that alcohol should never again be sold at Whiteclay and illegally taken onto the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota as long as the grass shall grow, the water flows and the Lakota remain sovereign.
As I think about these words and reflect on all the death and destruction we as Nebraskans have exported to the Lakota people under the color of law and the premise of free enterprise, I cannot help but ponder what the future holds for us and our neighbors.
We have taken advantage of the vulnerable Lakota, whose culture we have damaged, and I cannot feel good about knowing many will suffer through their lives because of our greed. The Whiteclay debacle does not end when the Nebraska Supreme Court acts once and for all to close the beer sellers down, but the first step will have been taken.
It will take generations to give back to the Lakota all that Nebraska has taken from them. But let the work begin.
I recently traveled twice to Camp Whiteclay Justice to memorialize those murdered at Whiteclay in the last two decades and to remember Russell Means, Chief Oliver Red Cloud and other Lakota activists who first elevated the issue of lawlessness that brought me, and countless others, to the Whiteclay struggle.
The people I met there have become emboldened by the prospect of a permanent Whiteclay shutdown and are beginning to talk of the lawlessness, murders and deaths that are attributable to Sheridan Countys reluctance or failure to investigate pretty much anything that might stop the flow of alcohol at Whiteclay.
I was told the four homicides that we focus on in that unincorporated town of nine people Little John Means, Ronald Hard Heart, Wilson Black Elk and Sherry Wounded Foot as tragic as they are, in no way are a complete list of those murdered in and around Whiteclay.
Am I to question the veracity of those who come forward now that they feel that they will be heard? Or do I ignore them and rely on Sheridan County officials who did not even investigate the Wounded Foot crime scene at Whiteclay until 42 days after she was murdered? That task was only turned over to the State Patrol weeks after the death was noted at the Liquor Control Commission, well after the crime scene was disturbed. How could a serious forensic report be done?
I will listen to the Lakota people and we all should.
I opine that, when the stores close for good, that the United States Department of Justice, the FBI, the Nebraska attorney general, Nebraska State Patrol and the governor establish a cold case unit to go to Whiteclay to break the apparent Sheridan County code of silence and tell all what really happened there.
There are many more than four Lakota families who will mourn forever because of Whiteclay. There are many more than four murders there. Does that not trouble us? It should.
There are many ghosts at Whiteclay. They will haunt Nebraska as long as the grass shall grow and the water flows. Sadly, that is how I see it as a Nebraskan.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 12, ARMENPRESS. The local authorities of Armavir province launched criminal proceedings on the shooting of two people in Vagharshapat, (aka Etchmiatsin), the most populous town in Armavir province, 18km west of Yerevan.
Police were notified shortly after midnight September 12 that a bullet-riddled vehicle was discovered in the Andranik district of the town.
Detectives said preliminary information suggests that gunmen opened fire around 00:10 at a Toyota SUV, killing the driver and a passenger. The driver was identified as Levon Avetisyan, 36, and the passenger Karen Davtyan, 44.
Police found 7.62mm caliber cases nearby.
Upon searching the vehicle, detectives found a Saiga MK 7.67-39mm assault rifle.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 12, ARMENPRESS. The Russian-Israeli tourism blogger Alexander Lapshin has been released from jail in Azerbaijan after the countrys president pardoned him yesterday.
Lapshins attorney Eduard Chernin told RIA Novosti they have no news other than his clients release.
I doubt hell be extradited on Tuesday, he said.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev pardoned Alexander Lapshin on September 11.
The executive order of pardoning the jailed blogger was effective immediately.
The tourism blogger was detained in Belarus in 2016 upon Azerbaijans request. Azerbaijan had blacklisted Lapshin for his visit to Artsakh.
On February 7, 2017, Alexander Lapshin was extradited to Azerbaijan where a Baku Court sentenced him to 3 years imprisonment.
Charges included public calls against the state and illegal border crossing.
The blogger was found guilty for illegal border crossing under Article 318 the infamous and illicit law which defines criminal proceedings for foreigners who visit Nagorno Karabakh without authorization of Azerbaijan.
It is noteworthy that Azeri President Ilham Aliyev pardoned Lapshin on same day when his defense minister Zakir Hasanov departed for Israel on an official visit.
Prior to being pardoned, the blogger attempted to commit suicide in jail.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 12, ARMENPRESS. Russia and Armenia are friends, and this friendship must be whole-heartedly, rather than against anybody, Russias Ambassador to Armenia Ivan Volynkin said asked whether the Armenian-Chinese military-technical cooperation can affect the Armenian-Russian allied relations, Armenpress reports.
Russia and Armenia are friends, and this friendship must be heartily, rather than against anybody. Friendship against anybody is not a friendship, the Ambassador said, adding that the Armenian-Chinese military-technical partnership is Armenias decision: Armenia decides with whom to cooperate, and no one in Russia criticizes this.
Commenting on Armenias membership to the Eurasian Economic Union, the Ambassador said: Armenia can freely withdraw from the Union, however, I think that majority of the countrys population will be against since they see the obvious advantages of being in that Union.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 12, ARMENPRESS. Following courts September 11 decision denying the release of six Cumhuriyet journalists and executives, Harlem Desir, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media and David Kaye, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, emphasized the urgent need to restore media freedom and freedom of expression in Turkey, the OSCE told Armenpress.
Turkeys repression of media freedom and freedom of expression poses a direct threat to the safety of journalists and to journalism in the country, the two media freedom watchdogs said. "The Cumhuriyet journalists and executives have already spent almost a year in prison for reporting issues of great public interest that the authorities deemed off limits. The decision to keep them in prison is not only unworthy of a democracy, it also ignores all related international commitments the country has signed up to protect. They recalled that they have repeatedly urged Turkey to drop charges against the Cumhuriyet journalists and executives. They must be released immediately, together with all journalists in prison in the country, the two mandate holders said.
On September 11 the Silivri Court outside of Istanbul ruled to keep Cumhuriyet journalists and executives Akn Atalay, Ahmet Kemal Aydogdu, Kadri Gursel, Emre Iper, Murat Sabuncu and Ahmet Sk in prison. The defendants, imprisoned between October 2016 and April 2017, continue to face prison sentences ranging from 7.5 to 43 years. Their indictments, which came more than five months after their initial detention, charge them with "being a member of an illegal organization", "aiding an illegal organization while not being a member".
The Cumhuriyet trial will resume on September 25 2017.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 12, ARMENPRESS. The Russian Embassy in Colombia has confirmed the death of Russian-Armenian citizen Arsen Voskanyan.
There are numerous theories around what had happened on that tragic day (April 2017). One thing is clear, Mr. Arsen Voskanyan died. Presumably while fleeing from captivity, the embassy said in a statement.
The Embassy said they used both official and non-official channels to confirm the death. Nevertheless, the specific cause of death was not mentioned.
We are currently in contact with Colombian authorities, international structures and the family of the victim to organize the transportation of the buried body, the statement said.
Earlier Colombias ELN rebel group had admitted a Russian-Armenian citizen it held hostage for six months was killed in April.
The ELN seized Arsen Voskanyan in November. After his lengthy captivity, the rebels claim he was shot in a bid to escape.
Our boys were careless and (while trying to escape) he took a grenade from some jacket and threw it at the men. a rebel leader explains. It exploded leaving several of our boys injured, almost the entire unit of five men. And then he fled and the men shot at him and killed him.
According to the Huffington Post, the rebel leader said that the issue of the captives body will be negotiated.
It is noteworthy that reports emerged that this incident might put the current peace talks between Colombia government and the ELN in jeopardy.
Earlier media reports said the Russian-Armenian citizen had gone to the Colombian jungles to collect poisonous frogs. The ELN claimed that he was collecting endangered, poisonous frogs in the jungles of the northwestern department of Choco and accused him of wanting to smuggle wildlife overseas.
Earlier in April 2017, several reports said Voskanyan had escaped.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 12, ARMENPRESS. The new Armenia-European Union agreement is a promising document providing wide horizons of activities for Armenia and opening prospects for dialogue, Ambassador of France to Armenia H.E. Jean Francois Charpentier told a press briefing.
The day the agreement will be signed, and I believe all pre-requisites exist and are ready for it to be signed, Armenia will be the only country to be a EEU member and simultaneously have an agreement with the EU, he said.
The new agreement between Armenia and the EU is expected to be signed during the Eastern Partnership summit in Brussels in November.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 12, ARMENPRESS. RPA faction MP Hakob Hakobyan doesnt hurry to assess the work of Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan, reports Armenpress.
He told reporters that at the moment the presented economic figures are preliminary, and in order to assess the PMs work its necessary to have a complete picture. If the budget performance figures are good, it means the PM has worked well. The final results are very simple: you compare the obligations in the state budget programs and the factual performance figures of the budget. You compare this and the assessment of the PMs work becomes clear, the MP said.
Asked about the change of the current Prime Minister, the lawmaker mentioned the new Constitution according to which the PM will have new powers. From 2018 the Parliament will be the number one state body, and the RPA, as a first political force in the Parliament, will make its decision only when the powers of the President of the Republic come to an end, he said.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 12, ARMENPRESS. Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan on September 12 held a meeting with Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Piotr Switalski, the Ombudsmans Office told Armenpress.
The sides discussed the recent developments concerning human rights in Armenia, including, the Ombudsmans legal stance and proposals over the guarantees of the advocates activity.
The Ambassador reaffirmed the EUs significant assistance for protection of human rights in Armenia. Piotr Switalski highlighted the Ombudsmans activity in solving systematic issues in connection with ensuring independence of judiciary, preventing ill treatment, protecting freedom of assembly and rights of vulnerable groups.
The Human Rights Defender also highlighted the importance of protection of businessmens interests.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 12, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian parliaments opposition Tsarukyan faction is ready to discuss Yelk factions, another opposition force, proposal on starting a withdrawal process of Armenia from the EEU.
Lawmaker of Tsarukyan bloc Michael Melkumyan told a press briefing they are willing to discuss any bill from any of their colleagues.
During the debates of Yelks bill I will ask several questions. Whether or not equivalent justifications exist in terms of risks if Armenia were to decide to leave the EEU. For example, how many thousands of people are working in Russia, who will have problems after the withdrawal. Another question arises, what will happen with the monthly 150-180 million dollar transfers. There are also security-related issues, he said.
At the same time, Melkumyan said their opinion regarding Armenias membership to the EEU remains unchanged. We voted in favor of Armenias membership to the EUU. We are in favor because the issue must be viewed from a complex perspective, until we see how the risks are assessed and how future risks will be managed, this issue isnt actual, Melkumyan said.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 12, ARMENPRESS. The power of granting political asylum, which is currently held by the President, will be transferred to an authorized body, which will be chosen by the government.
Today Armenian lawmakers debated the bill on amending the law on political asylum.
Vache Terteryan, the first deputy minister of territorial administration of Armenia, said the government will chose the authorized body which will deal with the issue.
The other amendment includes prolonging the 10-day period for discussing the application to 30 days thus enabling more comprehensive discussions, he said.
The deputy minister said the amendments will also transfer the appeal procedure to the judicial sphere.
As Wisconsin employers scramble to find both skilled and unskilled workers, many are wondering how Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn will be able fill the 13,000 jobs it has promised for a new electronics factory in southeastern Wisconsin.
"When I hear that Foxconn is going to come to southern Wisconsin and have 13,000 jobs Im like: 'Better fly (the workers) over from China, because theyre not here,'" said Erik Anderson, president of Basin Precision Machining in Jefferson.
The project, which includes a nearly $3 billion state subsidy that the Assembly has approved and the Senate is expected to vote on this week, is projected to also create 10,000 construction jobs and 22,000 indirect jobs.
Those numbers are mystifying to Anthony Snyder, CEO of the Fox Valley Workforce Development Board.
"We have businesses that are screaming for labor. One employer wanted 300 people tomorrow and we are racking our brain trying to find these people," Snyder said. "I dont know where theyll find 10,000 people to fill those jobs."
Gov. Scott Walker and his administration counter that Foxconn and its potential $10 billion investment in the state will be a transformational opportunity that will raise Wisconsin's profile nationally, drawing workers and their families and friends to the state.
Workforce Development Secretary Ray Allen likened the situation to when Citibank moved to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in 1981, turning a small city of 80,000 into a financial services capital now with twice the population.
"Obviously they didnt have the population to support the jobs available there," Allen said. "Foxconn puts Wisconsin on the map for things other than cheeseheads and Green Bay Packers. Theyll migrate to Wisconsin to address the labor needs of the future."
But while Citibank moved to Sioux Falls during a recession, Foxconn will likely be trying to lure workers to Wisconsin during a time of low unemployment.
A preliminary analysis commissioned by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. estimated as many as half of the construction workers and Foxconn workforce could come from other states, primarily Illinois where unemployment and underemployment are higher than in Wisconsin. The Walker administration disputes that figure and says based on the high percentage of jobs in Racine and Kenosha counties filled by Wisconsin workers that only 10 percent of the Foxconn workers would come from out of state.
WEDC CEO Mark Hogan has said the average Foxconn wage will be about $54,000 and factory employees will make at least $20 an hour plus benefits. But Rep. Gordon Hintz, D-Oshkosh, is skeptical the pay will be enough to entice enough workers from other parts of the country to move to the Racine area.
"Will a company that is very cutthroat about its margins respond to the market?" Hintz asked. "If they have a wage of $20 an hour and theyre unable to get people from all over the country to move to these jobs, will they increase wages or will that encourage them to automate?"
In an interview, Walker pointed to the oil boom in North Dakota as an example of workers being drawn to a sparsely populated area. But those jobs were paying at one point on average $112,000 a year with starting salaries averaging $66,000.
Another example state officials cite is the Tesla Motors battery factory in Nevada, which received a $1.3 billion incentive package to create an estimated 6,500 direct jobs, though the company won't disclose wages. The factory opened earlier this year, but only after construction workers walked off the job last year in protest of about a third of the labor force being lower paid and from out of state.
Foxconn, which plans to manufacture liquid-crystal display panels for use in TVs, smartphones, self-driving vehicles, health care devices and other devices, isn't divulging details about its wages. In a statement, the company said "employees are attracted to our company because of the competitive compensation packages we offer, the range of benefits that include access to expanded technical training and other education programs, and the leading-edge technologies that we produce."
The company added it will be "actively engaged in training programs, many in partnership with Wisconsin educational institutions, that will help us meet our recruitment targets for the Wisconsin facility."
According to an economic impact analysis commissioned by the company, about 2,400 employees will be highly skilled engineers, 820 employees will provide business support and the majority, about 9,800 employees, will be hourly operators and technicians.
Compared with other manufacturers, U.S. electronic component manufacturers tend to have a larger share of jobs that require a higher education degree and pay higher wages, and a lower share of jobs that are likely to be automated, according to a recent analysis by UW-Extension community development specialist Matt Kures. U.S. electronic equipment assemblers make on average $15.38 an hour and technicians make $28.38 an hour.
Walker said he has discussed with Foxconn the possibility of building housing at an affordable cost near the plant to further entice workers to move from other states. The company said in a statement it has discussed with Walker "a willingness to support such initiatives if the state and local officials believe they fit the relevant development plans."
"Its part of their whole ecosystem," Walker said. "I can very much see people coming in from elsewhere."
AB Mauri has appointed Hannah Parry as its research and development (R&D) technologist.
Parry, who recently graduated at the University College Birmingham studying bakery and patisserie technology management, will link up with a team of three R&D technologists at AB Mauris Centre of Excellence in Corby, Northamptonshire.
AB Mauri said that it has further strengthened its NPD function with the addition of Parry, who has worked within the bakery industry in both the UK and in Europe.
"I feel privileged to have received this role and it makes the last five years of bakery education and preparation all worthwhile," Parry told British Baker. "Working with bakery ingredients makes every day unique. Its a very interesting and scientific part of the industry and Ive always taken a keen interest in current trends, product development and experimental work. All elements that make a great fit to a research and development role with AB Mauri."
Parry joins the business after it recently secured an AA accreditation in its latest British Retail Consortium audit across all three of its manufacturing sites as well as its yeast plant in Hull.
British Baker spoke with Parry in March during a university trip organised by the British Society of Baking to equipment supplier Baker Perkins at its site in Peterborough, which was organised by the British Society of Baking.
Hurricane Irma: President Trump's Statements on the Declaration of Disaster Areas - September 12, 2017 - Alabama
News Release:
President Donald J. Trump Approves Georgia Disaster Declaration
Today, President Donald J. Trump declared that a major disaster exists in the State of Georgia and ordered Federal aid to supplement State and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by Hurricane Irma beginning on September 7, 2017, and continuing.
The President's action makes Federal funding available to affected individuals in the counties of Camden, Chatham, and Glynn.
Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.
Federal funding also is available to State and to eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work in all 159 counties in the State.
Furthermore, Federal funding is available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.
Brock Long, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named Thomas J. McCool as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected areas.
Damage assessments are continuing in other areas, and additional counties may be designated for assistance after the assessments are fully completed.
Residents and business owners who sustained losses in the designated counties can begin applying for assistance by registering online at http://www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA(3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (local time) seven days a week until further notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION MEDIA SHOULD CONTACT THE FEMA NEWS DESK AT (202) 646-3272 OR FEMA-NEWS-DESK@FEMA.DHS.GOV.
President Donald J. Trump Amends Texas Disaster Declaration
Today, President Donald J. Trump made additional disaster assistance available to the State of Texas by authorizing an increase in the level of Federal funding for Public Assistance projects undertaken in the State of Texas as a result of Hurricane Harvey, beginning on August 23, 2017, and continuing.
Under the President's order today, the Federal share for Public Assistance has been increased to 90 percent of the total eligible costs, except for assistance previously approved at 100 percent.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION MEDIA SHOULD CONTACT THE FEMA NEWS DESK AT (202) 646-3272 OR FEMA-NEWS-DESK@FEMA.DHS.GOV.
President Donald J. Trump Approves Alabama Emergency Declaration
Today, President Donald J. Trump declared that an emergency exists in the State of Alabama and ordered Federal assistance to supplement State, tribal, and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from Hurricane Irma beginning on September 8, 2017, and continuing.
The President's action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts. This action will help alleviate the hardship and suffering that the emergency may inflict on the local population, and provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives, protect property, and ensure public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in 67 counties and the Poarch Creek Indian Tribe in the State of Alabama.
Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide, at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency. Emergency protective measures, including direct Federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent Federal funding.
Brock Long, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named Warren J. Riley as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected areas.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION MEDIA SHOULD CONTACT THE FEMA NEWS DESK AT (202) 646-3272 OR FEMA-NEWS-DESK@FEMA.DHS.GOV.
President Donald J. Trump Approves Florida Disaster Declaration
Today, President Donald J. Trump declared that a major disaster exists in the State of Florida and ordered Federal aid to supplement State, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by Hurricane Irma beginning on September 4, 2017, and continuing.
The President's action makes Federal funding available to affected individuals in the counties of Charlotte, Collier, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Pinellas, and Sarasota.
Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.
Federal funding is also available to the State and to tribal and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work in all 67 counties in the State. For a period of 30 days from the start of the incident period, assistance for emergency protective measures, including direct Federal assistance, is authorized at 100 percent of the total eligible costs.
Furthermore, Federal funding is available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.
Brock Long, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named Justo Hernandez as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected areas.
Additional designations may be made at a later date if warranted by the results of further damage assessments.
Residents and business owners who sustained losses in the designated counties can begin applying for assistance by registering online at http://www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA(3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (local time) seven days a week until further notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION MEDIA SHOULD CONTACT THE FEMA NEWS DESK AT (202) 646-3272 OR FEMA-NEWS-DESK@FEMA.DHS.GOV.
President Donald J. Trump Approves Puerto Rico Disaster Declaration
Today, President Donald J. Trump declared that a major disaster exists in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and ordered Federal aid to supplement Commonwealth and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by Hurricane Irma beginning on September 5, 2017, and continuing.
The President's action makes Federal funding available to affected individuals in the municipalities of Culebra and Vieques.
Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.
Federal funding is also available to the Commonwealth and to eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by Hurricane Irma in the municipalities of Culebra and Vieques.
Furthermore, Federal funding is available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures throughout the Commonwealth.
Brock Long, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named Alejandro DeLaCampa as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected areas.
Damage assessments are continuing in other areas, and additional municipalities may be designated for assistance after the assessments are fully completed.
Residents and business owners who sustained losses in the designated areas can begin applying for assistance tomorrow by registering online at http://www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA(3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. (local time) seven days a week until further notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION MEDIA SHOULD CONTACT THE FEMA NEWS DESK AT (202) 646-3272 OR FEMA-NEWS-DESK@FEMA.DHS.GOV.
President Donald J. Trump Approves U.S. Virgin Islands Disaster Declaration
Today, President Donald J. Trump declared that a major disaster exists in the territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands and ordered Federal aid to supplement recovery efforts in the territory due to Hurricane Irma beginning on September 6, 2017, and continuing.
The President's action makes Federal funding available to affected individuals in the islands of St. John and St. Thomas.
Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.
Federal funding is available to the territory and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work in all of the islands in the territory.
Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures throughout the territory.
Brock Long, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named William L. Vogel as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected areas.
Damage assessments are continuing in other areas, and additional areas may be designated for assistance after the assessments are fully completed.
Residents and business owners who have sustained losses in the designated areas can begin applying for assistance tomorrow by registering online at http://www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA(3362), or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (local time) seven days a week until further notice.
Contact: White House whitehouse.gov/the-press-office
UNC Board of Governors says law clinics at law schools provide free legal assistance for minorities and the poor
UNC Center for Civil Rights Managing Attorney Mark Dorosin speaks with protesters outside a Sept. 8 meeting of the UNC Board of Governors. (CJ Photo by Kari Travis)
CHAPEL HILL The University of North Carolina School of Law's Center for Civil Rights on Friday was officially banned from filing lawsuits. But low-income and minority residents still have options to get legal help, said UNC Board of Governors member Steve Long.The board voted 19-3 to end the ability of the CCR, and centers connected to other UNC campuses, to sue. Student member Tyler Hardin, who can't vote, said he would have red-lighted the policy. Board newcomer Darrell Allison - citing his close relationship with the center's founder, the late civil-rights icon Julius Chambers - abstained.Board members said the policy change won't leave North Carolinians who can't afford legal help out in the cold. At least 14 legal clinics within the UNC Law School offer pro-bono representation. Board Chairman Lou Bissette said the board would support another legal clinic if the school wants to add one.A new law clinic might be a reasonable, albeit costly, option, said UNC Chapel Hill Chancellor Carol Folt last month in a proposal to the board.Long said. Six months ago , Long unveiled his proposal to strip litigation privileges from the center, founded in 2001 by Chambers, a famed civil rights attorney and the former chancellor of N.C. Central University.The CCR advocated for poor and minority communities, filing lawsuits against cities, counties, and even school boards.But the center is a research organization, not a law firm, Long said. And though CCR leaders say their work provides hands-on education for law students, the center isn't registered as a legal clinic under the American Bar Association.That's a problem, he added, since the center is part of UNC but is technically exempt from abiding by ABA guidelines when entering lawsuits.The board supports the center - which receives no state funding and is located off-campus - and nothing about the policy change is designed to harm its research functions, Bissette said.CCR Managing Attorney Mark Dorosin shouted at Bissette after the vote.a board member said, after which Dorosin responded,CCR staffers are open to converting the center into an ABA law clinic, or ending its affiliation with UNC. Otherwise, the organization will close, Dorosin said after leaving the meeting.Politics ruled the board's decision, said Ted Shaw, the CCR's executive director.The American Bar Association previously reviewed the center's work and found no issues with its operations, he said.Not so, said Long, who has repeatedly stated the proposal is about operations, not ideology.Long, a Republican, told Carolina Journal in August he would have opposed the center filing lawsuits if it leaned right.A state entity should not be allowed to sue cities, counties, or school boards, Bissette said.The primary objective of a law clinic is education, not lawsuits, said UNC President Margaret Spellings.When challenged on whether she thought the board's policy would mean less protection for civil rights, Spellings raised her eyebrows and shook her head.she said.
On the sixteenth anniversary of 9/11, it's time for a reminder of the lessons we should have learned - and that we have now unlearned. On that horrific day, on a bright sunshine-riddled morning, Islamist terrorists flew two passenger airplanes into the World Trade Center towers, collapsing them both and murdering nearly 3,000 Americans; flew another passenger airliner into the Pentagon; and were only prevented from flying a fourth into the White House or Capitol by the bravery of passengers who forced the crash of the flight in a field in Pennsylvania.America responded with the full brunt of her wrath. For a brief moment in time, we were united against a common enemy: we reduced Afghanistan's ruling regime to powerlessness, then turned and reduced the Saddam Hussein regime to smoldering ash. We increased bureaucracy and security at our airports. We poured money into building our military. Some of this was necessary; some of it wasn't. But we knew one thing: we wouldn't allow ourselves to be hit again. We wouldn't be caught asleep at the wheel again.We had learned our lessons.But now those lessons have been largely forgotten. Here were some of the lessons we should have learned.The Clinton Administration foreign policy of quasi-isolationism, combined with occasional human rights-driven interventionism, was a formula for failure. After Osama Bin Laden's Al Qaeda bombed the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the United States did virtually nothing; again, the U.S. did virtually nothing after Bin Laden bombed the USS Cole. Bin Laden saw the United States as a paper tiger. That prompted him to strike, thinking that he would get away with it.The Bush Administration's aggressive response took Al Qaeda by surprise. According to James Mitchell, the man who questioned Al Qaeda mastermind Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, KSM stated,Mitchell writes,But the blowback from the Iraq War led the Obama Administration to imitate the foreign policy of the Clinton Administration, and in many ways, has led the Trump Administration to do the same.For a decade, the Clinton Administration reached out to the Palestinian government with cash, pressure on our ally Israel, and symbolic moves to legitimize the regime. The response: on 9/11, the Palestinians danced in the streets and celebrated as Americans leapt to their deaths from burning buildings.One of the great myths purveyed by Bin Laden was that the United States had been overtly hostile toward Muslims around the world. That's nonsense. We used the power of America's military to stop the invasion of Kuwait; we sided with the mujahedeen in Afghanistan against the Soviets; we activated NATO to prevent a genocide against Croatian Muslims in former Yugoslavia. Friendliness toward the Muslim world does not matter to Islamists, who seek only the domination of a religious caliphate.Yet the Obama Administration sought friendship with the Iranian government, essentially handing them a nuclear program and control of a vast swath of the Middle East.President Trump is right to look to immigration vetting as a serious problem in handling of the terror threat. All 19 of the hijackers arrived on visas, either student, tourist, or business. Several of them overstayed their visas. While Trump worries mostly about immigration via the southern border, an estimated 40% of illegal immigration occurs through legal entry and then visa overstay. Our porous southern border is a problem. A bigger problem is the government's utter failure to vet people entering the country generally and then their complete unwillingness to follow up on those who overstay their visas. While the Left complains about Trump's refugee stay, the fact is that the government ought to be deeply concerned about those who enter the country from Islamist-rich regions. Europe is finding that out the hard way through increased crime and terrorism.This was a widely-accepted truism in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks - that major attacks require planning, coordination and resources that demand a home base. That's why the Bush Administration took out the Taliban, and looked (wrongly) to Iraq as a sponsor state of terrorism (they should have looked more closely at Iran). That logic led the Bush Administration to think that replacement of regimes with more democratic institutions would naturally effectuate less terror; the Obama Administration, in its bizarre argument in favor of the so-called Arab Spring, felt the same way. That was a problem with the implementation of the theory, not the theory itself. Major terrorist operations do require state sponsors - that's why ISIS' territorial integrity matters to its sponsorship of major terror operations overseas.It's tempting for the United States to look inward for threats to its citizens - we're the freest, most prosperous country in human history. As Obama noted, Al Qaeda was never an existential threat to us, nor is ISIS. But when it comes to threats to American citizens, the first duty of the government is to prevent those threats and stop those who would perpetrate them. We should be unified in that effort, not divided for political reasons.
The Democrat leadership has made constant, profound and incredible pronouncements that one's supportive vote for Republicans is tantamount to surrendering Democracy forever. Understanding their sincere thinking in their extreme position: How will you still vote on this election day?
Democrat; because the continuance of this Democracy from the existential threat of extreme Republicans is paramount.
Republican; the process of having a choice is the democratic method within what so called "Democracy" does exists.
The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, by diluting the electoral strength of individuals who voted against Republican candidates;
The First Amendment, by burdening and retaliating against individuals who voted against Republican candidates on the basis of their political beliefs and association;
Article I, section 2, which provides that members of the House of Representatives will be chosen "by the People of the several States," by usurping the right of the voters to select their preferred candidates for Congress; and
Article I, section 4, which provides that "the times, places, and manner of holding elections of ... Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof."
Read the latest court opinion in North Carolina's ongoing fight over electoral redistricting, and you might sense a growing disconnect between the world governed by constitutional law and the world most people understand.This column does not aim to chastise the opinion's author, U.S. Appeals Court Judge James Wynn. He serves only as the messenger. It's the message that rankles.First, some background information: Democrats remain unhappy that Republicans broke through the Democratic Party's long stranglehold over the N.C. General Assembly in 2010. Elections conducted that year under maps drawn by Democrats returned a GOP supermajority in the state Senate and GOP dominance (four seats shy of a supermajority) in the House.Democrats don't like the fact that Republicans adopted the Democrats' own tools, including partisan electoral redistricting, to help maintain legislative control. A series of lawsuits from Democrats and their allies - five, at last count - targeted Republicans' redistricting methods.(The John Locke Foundation is no fan of the partisan mapmaking process employed by both Democrats and Republicans. The organization has advocated redistricting reform for decades.)Wynn's opinion addresses the two most recent suits. Both take aim at the congressional election map North Carolina used in 2016. A federal court struck down the previous map, used for 2012 and 2014 elections, as unconstitutional because of racial gerrymandering. So Republican lawmakers eschewed race as a factor when drawing the 2016 map. Instead lawmakers drew a map designed specifically to elect a congressional delegation of 10 Republicans and three Democrats.The U.S. Supreme Court never has tossed an election map because of partisan factors, though justices have opened the door to that possibility. The high court is scheduled to hear arguments next month in a Wisconsin case addressing the issue.Rather than waiting for the Supreme Court to add more clarity to partisan gerrymandering disputes, plaintiffs in both of North Carolina's most recent redistricting suits want to move forward with their own complaints ... about partisan gerrymandering.Wynn and his colleagues have agreed. The opinion issued Friday helped explain why.Democrats seek any means possible to limit Republicans' electoral advantage. Unable to mirror their opponents' 2010 electoral success story, Democrats have seen a 31-19 deficit in the N.C. Senate extended to 35-15 over the past three election cycles, while they've been unable to secure more than 46 of the 120 seats in the state House.If Democrats must rely on courts rather than voters to boost their fortunes, it should surprise no one that they are putting forward any argument that might have the remote chance of convincing a judge.Wynn summarizes the key arguments.Collectively, Plaintiffs allege that the Plan violates four constitutional provisions:The prospect that any of these claims might succeed demonstrates a key flaw in "constitutional law," if one defines the term as judicial interpretation of the Constitution. That judge-determined law often strays from adhering to a Constitution that's recognizable to an average, reasonable person.The 14th Amendment says no state canDesigned to ensure that recently freed slaves would face the same legal standards as whites after the Civil War, the amendment contains nothing to suggest that a person choosing to vote "against" a political candidate has any right to "electoral strength."Nor does the First Amendment's protections against laws abridging free speech or association say anything about the impact of casting votes. You'll search in vain for a sign within that amendment's 45 words that it has anything to do with "burdens" or "retaliation."Article I, section 2 does indeed specify that people within the states choose members of the U.S. House of Representatives "every second Year." North Carolina has held elections for Congress every two years, including 2016. Nothing linked to the disputed congressional election map has blocked people from voting in those elections.Wynn's quotation of Article I, section 4 highlights the provision's key point: State legislators dictate most aspects of the electoral process for the U.S. House of Representatives.Election law experts reading the last four paragraphs might conclude,To which I respond: You've just made my point.To suggest that North Carolina's 2016 congressional election map violates any of these constitutional provisions, one must look far beyond the basic language of constitutional text. One must enter the mystifying labyrinth of election law.If a constitutional provision that spells out the legislature's role in conducting elections can be used to help throw out the legislature's role in conducting elections, something strange is afoot. Yet Wynn cites federal court cases from 1986 and 1995 that might lead to that very outcome.No one knows how courts will resolve these latest redistricting suits. Of greater concern to this observer: Only the most expert election law specialists might end up understanding the resolution.
I've known since I was fourteen that one day I'd write a novel entitled Madness Treads Lightly. What it would be about, I had no idea. It was a one-of-a-kind event: a title popping up all by itself, before any plan, plot, or heroes, and long before I could bring myself to write fiction.
For years, that mysterious combination of words "Madness Treads Lightly" would give me no rest. It became a kind of piggybank where I tossed coins, especially small change: brief street scenes, snatches of conversation. Sometimes I would divine the features of my future characters in friends and strangers.
It was easy for me to write poems and fill notebooks with drafts of the novel. It took no effort at all. I would write a page or two, cross it out, start over, and so on, ad infinitum. It all seemed so banal and boring. I wanted the plot to begin far from Moscow and my usual world, somewhere in Siberia.
What I knew about Siberia was that it had a completely different sense of space and time. Siberia had never known serfdom, that is, several generations had grown up free men, with a sense of their own worth. But it had known hard labor under the tsars, and the prison camps under Stalin were the most monstrous form of slavery, humiliation and cruelty. The beauty of wild nature there combines with the squalor and filth of daily life, human nobility with baseness, and all this is more vivid and sharper and full of more contrast than in the temperate central zone.
Traveling through the Soviet Union as a private person was fairly difficult to do. Huge lines formed for train and plane tickets. In the hotels, even if all the rooms were available, there was always a sign at the reception desk: "No rooms available." They only housed people who had official travel vouchers.
Naturally, there were brave souls prepared to head for anywhere they pleased, with their tents and backpacks, to canoe down rivers, spend their nights in the forest, wash in icy water or not wash at all for weeks on end. I had a healthy appreciation of my own physical capabilities and realized feats like that were beyond me.
I came up with a couple of other plots that didn't require Siberia Moscow was enough but I was constantly catching myself mentally returning to "Madness Treads Lightly." The hero would have to be a poet. I didn't know anything about him yet, but he was already writing my poems. I had the strange feeling that certain events in my life were happening on purpose, to become part of my novel.
In the Soviet Union, there was something called the Bureau of Propaganda, which was part of the Union of Writers. Two female employees, a bookkeeper and typist, sat behind desks in a very old mansion in the middle of Moscow, in a small, stuffy room once used by the servants of the home's former owner, Prince Svyatopolk-Chetvertinsky. The office interior was decorated with potted cacti, portraits of Lenin and Gorky, and candy boxes featuring the Kremlin towers and rosettes. An electric kettle boiled away, and a typewriter clacked. Like millions of Soviet office workers in hundreds of thousands of Soviet offices, the inhabitants of the stuffy office drank tea for days on end and ate the chocolate bonbons you were expected to give to minor officials for minor services.
I doubt the Bureau of Propaganda's employees did anything involving propaganda. They organized trips for Literary Institute students through the boundless expanses of the Soviet Union and issued travel vouchers and money. For a box of candies, they could render an additional service: sending phone telegrams to Bureau branch offices in the towns on your itinerary so that they would reserve rooms for you in the hotel and arrange your appearances in advance.
I'm grateful to the Bureau's employees for the fact that, when I finished my first year at the institute, right after the summer session, they sent my classmates and me on a trip from Tyumen to Tobolsk to Khanty-Mansiysk. I'm also grateful that neither I nor my classmates brought the traditional box of chocolates to the bureau. Naturally, we thought about it, but a good box was expensive and a crummy one was embarrassing to give. In the end, even without chocolate or phoned telegrams, our trip turned out amazingly and filled my "Madness Treads Lightly" piggybank with genuine treasures.
In Tyumen they weren't expecting us and didn't know what to do with us, so they sent us straight to Tobolsk. There was no Bureau branch in Tobolsk, but there was a Young Communist municipal committee, which didn't know what to do with us, either, so they sent us on to Khanty-Mansiysk, where we were met by the chairman of the local section of the Union of Writers and taken to a drilling site by helicopter.
Deep in the taiga there were several trailers in which the oil workers lived. Swamp underfoot. You could only move around over narrow plank walkways. When the helicopter landed, I jumped out too soon, not waiting for the blade to stop, and was blown off the walkway in my sandals and summer dress. Up to my knees in mud and plastered with mosquitoes, I did not immediately appreciate the Siberian taiga's majesty.
It was hot, around 30 degrees Celsius, which is 86 Fahrenheit. The oil workers were walking around in rubber boots, the men were stripped to the waist, and the women wore open t-shirts. Friendly dogs strayed calmly nearby. It was as if the mosquitoes didn't exist for those people and dogs, whereas my friends and I were covered in itchy red bites after the first five minutes. On planking near one of the trailers we saw some small puppies, our brothers in misfortune. They were whimpering pathetically, desperately rubbing their snouts with their paws.
It was the White Nights, and after our appearance, they offered to send us on an excursion through the taiga to see a camp of Khanty hunters. They issued us swamp boots, canvas trousers, jackets, and mosquito nets that lowered from the brims of our canvas hats. The nets were saturated with a saccharinely stinky liquid and tied under the chin. The net protected us from mosquitoes, but an enraged biting midge got trapped under it.
We never did get as far as the camp, but we did encounter a bear. Our guide told us to freeze. Between the trees, about twenty meters away, something enormous flashed by. I didn't get a good look at it, but I remember my strong feeling, a mixture of fear and curiosity.
Later the guide explained that encountering a bear in the summer presents no danger for man in principle. Winter is another matter. If a bear hasn't fattened up enough over the summer and wakes up hungry, he can get very aggressive. A bear like that is called a shatun. There aren't any berries or fish for him, and he's ready to eat anything that moves, including men. If that happens, he can no longer stop, and he hunts people even in the summer, when there is plenty of other food. A shatun becomes a man-eater. Human flesh acts on him like a drug. He wants more and more.
When we got back to Tobolsk, it turned out that the local Young Communists had prepared a performance program for us. They were waiting for us at the library, at the petrochemical plant's club, and at a low-security prison. Performers were supposed to come, but they hadn't, and the directors had asked them to send anyone they could find.
I remember the smell of that place. Only the smell. The faces were ordinary, nothing special. We didn't read our poems or stories there; instead, we chatted from the stage about literature and life. We had the sense they didn't care what we talked about, that they were simply relaxing, sitting in that room. Some were dozing. I stared into their faces and thought there were probably shatuns among them prepared to gobble up everything that moved. But not every shatun is doomed to be a man-eater.
In the evening, a short entry appeared in my notebook: "Human flesh is like a drug. Tobolsk. Prison. Young Communists."
I wrote Madness Treads Lightly fifteen years after that trip. Over the years I'd managed to cover nearly the whole country, to read many books on psychology, psychiatry, and criminology, and to study several serial murderer cases. I'd spoken with the investigators and officers who had caught them and with forensic psychiatrists who had studied them.
The novel practically wrote itself, in one breath, like a poem.
Image: Gathering berries, Khanty people of Russia, by ugraland
Dubbed the "Russian crime queen," Polina Dashkova is Russia's most successful author of crime novels. She's sold fifty million copies of her books and has thrilled readers in countries across Europe and Asia. A graduate of Moscow's Maxim Gorky Literary Institute, she has been active as a radio and press journalist and has worked as an interpreter and translator of English literature. Her books have been translated into German, Chinese, Dutch, French, Polish, Spanish, and English.
Marian Schwartz translates Russian classic and contemporary fiction, history, biography, criticism, and fine art. She is the principal English translator of the works of Nina Berberova and translated the New York Times bestseller The Last Tsar by Edvard Radzinsky, as well as classics by Mikhail Bulgakov, Ivan Goncharov, Yuri Olesha, and Mikhail Lermontov. Her most recent publications are Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, Andrei Gelasimov's Into the Thickening Fog, Daria Wilke's Playing a Part, and half the stories in Mikhail Shishkin's Calligraphy Lesson: The Collected Stories. She is a past president of the American Literary Translators Association and the recipient of two National Endowment for the Arts translation fellowships, as well as prizes including the 2014 Read Russia Prize for Contemporary Russian Literature and the 2016 Soeurette Diehl Frasier Award from the Texas Institute of Letters.
Two influential members of the U.S. Senate today demanded answers from Equifax on the recent massive data breach that affected 143 million Americans.
The senators want to kmow whether U.S. government agency records were compromised in the huge hack.
They also want to know if three Equifax execs who dumped a bunch of company stock the month before the breach may have known about the big breach before the rest of America did.
Reuters reports:
Senator Orrin Hatch, who chairs the Finance Committee, and ranking Democrat Ron Wyden, also demanded that Equifax disclose when three executives who sold stock in the company in August were first notified of the data breach.
Filmmaker/writer/games developer Jim "Ghosts With Shit Jobs" Munroe (previously) has just launched his first VR venture. Manimal Sanctuary is a "lurking simulator" that "leverages low-end VR technology to enable every player's ultimate fantasy: to play a creature part coral reef, part Cthulhu, who consumes human emotions. Set after the rest of the city is consumed by gibbering monstrosities, you eavesdrop on the survivors and their dramas involving things like bad potato crops and graffiti tags. And if those everyday emotions aren't filling enough, you can always uncover some devastating secrets"
You can download demos for Iphone/Android/Chrome, but if you're actually in Toronto, the amazing Gibraltar Point arts center (where I wrote several of my best-received stories, including "I, Robot") is hosting a debut party on Toronto Island this Saturday!
Aesthetically, we are aligning ourselves with what artist Mariam Zakarian terms "Slow VR". Rather than focusing on the visceral shocks the medium is often used for, we have designed an experience that focuses on a gentle unfolding immersion. The storytelling, the interaction, the motion are all meant to steep you in a strange world that makes you think rather than react. We have also deliberately pulled away from the bleeding edge, instead working with a gaze-based interaction with no buttons or extra peripherals. We strove to make the performance needs minimal so it will work on lower end phones, because we want to connect with an audience who is surprised and delighted with what it can do with their phone, rather than a high end user audience who is angry with what their high priced gear can't do.
Manimal Sanctuary
[Jim Munroe/No Media Kings]
RACINE COUNTY The City of Kenosha has withdrawn its bid to land Taiwanese technology giant Foxconn, thus seemingly increasing Racine Countys chances of landing a future $10 billion liquid crystal display plant.
Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian wrote Gov. Scott Walker a letter dated Monday that pulled the City of Kenosha out of the running for a Foxconn plant that is expected to employ 3,000 people to start, and possibly up to 13,000 eventually.
Throughout this planning process, we have been consistent in our belief that without significant adjustments to specific current state laws impacting local municipalities, we would be unable to support and/or absorb the development of the project, Antaramian wrote in part.
Based upon the current status of the legislative bill which addresses the project, the City of Kenosha regrets that we will not be able to support this development in our community, the Kenosha mayor wrote. We wish you, the state and Foxconn all the best in finding reasonable resolutions to all of the issues surrounding this project.
Racine County Executive Jonathan Delagrave issued the following statement Tuesday morning in response to Kenoshas withdrawal: We remain hopeful that Foxconn will choose to call Racine County home. The impact of this investment on our community would be unprecedented and the opportunity enormous.
We may have a chance to transform our region, creating tens of thousands of new jobs for Racine County, and we are hard at work to capitalize on that chance in a well thought-out, careful, and conservative way that makes Racine County highly desirable, while maintaining our commitment to the taxpayers of our great county.
Kenosha disappointments
In his letter to Walker, Antaramian expressed some frustration that Kenoshas concerns with the Foxconn incentives bill have not been adequately addressed. He said city officials have met with several state agencies as well as M7 leaders.
We have provided documents detailing our needs to both the Assembly and Senate throughout the committee process as well as testifying during the public hearings, Antaramian wrote. Unfortunately, our voice has not been heard.
The mayor cited issues regarding the states tax increment finance law and more. Issues related to certain types of expenditures allowed from the TID, limitations of specific amounts allowed for reimbursement from TID tax increments, uncontrolled incorporation of towns, specific funding rules regarding water utilities, impacts to the states levy limit law and the expenditure restraint program have all been ignored, Antaramian wrote.
Racine State Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, responded to Antaramians complaints Tuesday with a letter that stated in part: Just because your city wants changes, does not mean they are good or acceptable ideas. We have incorporated changes to the bill at the request of specific communities to provide as little disruption to local budgets and lifestyles as possible.
It is disappointing that you have decided to turn your back on housing thousands of jobs in your city at the last minute, but that is your prerogative, Wanggaard also wrote. The legislature and the rest of the region has had tremendous cooperation in attempting to land Foxconn.
Having read the Kenosha mayors concerns, Racine Mayor Dennis Wiser said Tuesday, those concerns do not become the City of Racines concerns, because Foxconn would not be located within the City of Racine.
Wiser continued: Were still looking at it as an opportunity and looking at how to get ourselves ready for it. There will be people associated with Foxconn looking for places to shop, housing, restaurants and meeting facilities, and we want to be their stop of choice for those concerns.
Largest U.S. subsidy
The proposed subsidy would be the largest ever from a U.S. state to a foreign company and 10 times bigger than anything Wisconsin has extended to a private business. It would take at least 25 years for Wisconsin to see a return on its investment, the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau estimated.
Foxconn would receive $2.85 billion in cash incentives over 15 years if it invests $10 billion in the state and employs 13,000 people. It could also qualify for $150 million in sales tax exemptions for construction equipment.
Miami-Dade's hurricane shelters experienced "chaos" during Irma, and the Miami-Dade schools chief Alberto Carvalho says that's because the Red Cross was missing in action.
The Red Cross is contracted to run 42 shelters in Miami-Dade schools, but in many cases, Red Cross personnel were late to show up, and in others, no one showed up at all.
Red Cross spokeman Robert Baltodano referred reporters to regional communications director Grace Meinhofer, who didn't reply to a query.
The Red Cross hired AT&T exec Gail McGovern to serve as CEO in 2008, and since then the organization has been plagued by mass layoffs, low volunteer morale, secrecy and suspicious accounting, massive executive paychecks, and an emphasis on "branding" exercises at the expense of serving the organization's core mission.
The Red Cross drew fire for its inaction during Superstorm Sandy having sucked up massive sums in government grants and private donations and it appears to have wasted nearly all of the $500 million it raised for relief in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. Independent researchers say it spends 11% of its budget on overheads, a high figure for a humanitarian relief agency (the Red Cross says the number is 9%).
"In some instances the Red Cross showed up very late. In some instances, the Red Cross never showed up," Carvalho said at a press conference at Shenandoah Middle School on Monday. "We made an executive decision that we would open the shelters on our own led by our principals and our custodians and our cafeteria workers."
Miami-Dade schools chief: Red Cross 'didn't show up' at shelters
[Miami Herald]
(via Kottke)
Attendees at a silent candlelight vigil in honor of Prabagaran Srivijayan a Mayasian migrant worker who was executed for drug trafficking on July 14 have been notified that they are the subjects of a police investigation.
Prabagaran Srivijayan is the fourth person executed by the Singaporean state in 2017 for drug trafficking. He never admitted his guilt and human rights groups had urged the Singaporean government to spare him and re-hear his case.
17 people attended the candlelight vigil on July 13. Police forbade them from lighting their candles, and, in some cases, confiscated the candles. They have been notified that they are facing charges under Section 16(2)(a) of the Public Order Act, Chapter 257A, which prohibits unauthorized public gatherings.
They are not permitted to leave the country until the matter concludes.
The police also summoned Terry Xu, editor of The Online Citizen news website, who expressed surprise to learn the vigil was viewed by police an act of illegal assembly: An "illegal public assembly" to grieve over an individual who was put to death under the state law, and insisted that he is innocent till the point he was hanged at the gallows. It was also an "illegal public assembly" where the police officers turned up at the scene and said it was okay to gather so long there is no candles placed.
Singaporeans Face Police Investigation After Holding Candlelight Vigil for Executed Migrant Worker
[Mong Palatino/Global Voices]
(Image: Kirsten Han)
Francis Xavier "X" Atencio was a key Imagineer on such Disney parks classics as the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean, serving as an illustrator, sculptor, scriptwriter, and lyricist (he's co-credited on both "A Pirate's Life For Me" and "Grim, Grinning Ghosts" and was "credited" with a tombstone at the Haunted Mansion). He died on Sept 10 at the age of 98.
At the request of Walt Disney, X transferred to WED Enterprises (later Walt Disney Imagineering) in 1965 to work on the Primeval World diorama for Disneyland. At first, X was unsure of the move to WED: "I went over there reluctantly because I didn't know what I was getting into, and nobody there knew what I was supposed to do either," he recalled. "About a month later I got a phone call from Walt. He told me 'I want you to do the script for the Pirates of the Caribbean.'" From that point on, X cemented his legacy at WED, playing a key role in the development of music and dialogue for the attraction, including co-writing the iconic song, "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)." For the Haunted Mansion, he wrote the attraction's dialogue and co-wrote the song "Grim Grinning Ghosts." For Walt Disney World, he contributed to If You Had Wings and Space Mountain at the Magic Kingdom, as well as Spaceship Earth, World of Motion, and the Mexico pavilion at Epcot. Throughout his career, X always said that his reward, as it was in the days of Pinocchio, "is still the audience's reactions."
We thank our sponsor for making this content possible; it is not written by the editorial staff nor does it necessarily reflect its views. Mopping your floors can feel daunting, but you need to walk on them eventually! So why not do both at once? You can spice up your cleaning routine as you walk READ THE REST
Justin Trudeau kicking off 3-day cabinet retreat in St. John's with Come from Away forum
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his federal cabinet will be in St. John's, Newfoundland for the next few days.
Trudeau's three-day visit will include a Come From Away forum Monday evening on the 16th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks on the U.S. The musical Come From Away, which tells the story of how central Newfoundland accommodated thousands of stranded airline passengers, has been a hit on Broadway.
The forum will include performances by the cast of the Canadian version of Come From Away, which is set to open in Toronto this February. The forum will be followed by a panel discussion from St. John's area MP Seamus O'Regan with the cast and creators of the show.
"This is the kind of show that's going to last," O'Regan told CBC on Monday.
"It's a feel-good show. People can't get enough of it. They're expecting a 10-year run on Broadway, I'd expect at least that in Toronto."
The prime minister will then be holding cabinet meetings and strategy sessions in St. John's on Tuesday and Wednesday.
It will mark one of the first events for O'Regan as minister of Veteran's Affairs. O'Regan was named to cabinet as the province's representative last month after Judy Foote announced plans to retire.
By Brian Thevenot and Robin Respaut FORT MYERS, Fla. (Reuters) - Hurricane Irma turned its fury toward the Florida Keys on Saturday as it completed a destructive march along Cuba's northern coast and set off an 11th hour scramble for safety by Americans who may have ignored earlier warnings to evacuate. Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in a century, was expected to rip through Florida's southern archipelago on Sunday morning as a Category 4 storm, the second-highest designation on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Tracking models showed it then making landfall on the western side of the Florida peninsula and heading up the coast. Irma, which has killed at least 22 people in the Caribbean, was considered a life-threatening danger to Florida as well and will likely inflict billions of dollars in damage in the third-most-populous U.S. state. Amid urgent warnings from state officials to evacuate in the face of the deadly storm, downtown Miami was all but abandoned on Saturday. Sheets of rain swept through the deserted city of 400,000 people, pushing large puddles around empty streets that are usually filled with tour buses and taxi cabs. The wind sent a construction crane spinning on the roof of the Miami Worldcenter, a billion dollar mixed-used project near the home of the Miami Heat and the city's performing arts center. City officials estimate there about two dozen cranes across its downtown area. On Florida's west coast, meanwhile, resident Charley Ball said he expected a storm surge to completely engulf the affluent island of Sanibel where he lives. "Just left the island and said goodbye to everything I own," said Ball, 62. The storm could bring winds in excess of 130 mph (209 kph) and a storm surge up to 15 feet (4.6 meters), which is expected to trigger flooding. HURRICANE EXPERTS RATTLED Irma, located about 115 miles (185 km) southeast of Key West on Saturday afternoon, was a Category 5 storm, the highest ranking possible, when it crashed into Cuba during the morning. It gradually weakened to a Category 3 storm as it bumped along the island's northern coastline, flooding streets and sending waves crashing over sea walls. Maximum sustained winds stayed around 125 mph (201 kph), the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. Irma is expected to regain strength as it steams over warm waters south of Florida, according to the NHC. The wide reach of Irma's deadly winds and its size, more than its numerical ranking, has rattled veteran hurricane watchers. It could rival any storm in Florida's history, Governor Rick Scott said. Irma will dump up to 20 inches (25 cm to 51 cm) of rain over Florida and southeast Georgia through Monday, the National Weather Service said, a fraction of what Hurricane Harvey dropped on Texas and Louisiana two weeks ago, killing 60 people and causing an estimated $180 billion in property damage. But unlike with Harvey, dangerous winds will barely abate once Irma makes landfall on Sunday morning. Tom Durr, a 66-year-old retired physician who along with his wife, Lorraine, fled their house near a large bay on the Gulf Coast on Tuesday for a small farm they own in North Carolina, said by phone Saturday evening that he does not expect much to be left when they return. It will be a nice waterfront lot in sunny Florida with no house, no trees, no cars, no boats and an amazing view of devastation as far as you can see. The Durrs house is in Englewood, between Fort Myers and Sarasota near where the eye of Hurricane Irma is forecast to hit land early Sunday morning. DESTRUCTION IN CUBA In Cuba, the destruction along the north central coast was similar to that seen on other Caribbean islands over the last week as Irma plowed into Ciego de Avila province. Cubans walked through ankle-deep water in Caibarien, a fishing town where streets were flooded and covered in seaweed. Elsewhere, winds toppled trees and utility polls or ripped apart roofs. "This was the strongest storm Caibarien ever had. It will take a while to recover from this, at least a few years." said Risle Echemendia, 28. It was the first time the eye of a Category 5 storm had made landfall in Cuba since 1932, state media said, and the island's Communist government ordered the evacuation of more than a million people from its path. Officials in Florida have ordered a total of 6.3 million people, or about a third of the state's population, to evacuate, creating massive traffic jams on highways and overcrowding shelters. In Palm Beach, President Donald Trump's waterfront Mar-a-Lago estate was under evacuation order. "This is a storm of enormous destructive power, and I ask everyone in the storms path to heed ALL instructions from government officials," Trump said on Twitter. Irma was already whipping south Florida with winds on Saturday, and the governor said 76,000 people were without power. A total of some 9 million people in Florida may lose power, some for weeks, the Florida Power & Light Co said. The window for people in evacuation zones to flee was drawing to a close on Saturday, officials said, warning that gas stations would soon be without fuel and bridges would be closed in some areas. But the storm's unpredictability made even evacuation challenging. Chris Cardona and his wife Laurie left their mobile home near Miami on Thursday to seek refuge with friends near Tampa. "Not only did we go west, but so did Irma. She's tracking us, that feisty minx," Cardona, 54, said by phone. Irma could cause insurance losses of between $15 billion and $50 billion in the United States, catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide said. Graphic - How Irma compares to other major hurricanes: http://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/rngs/STORM-IRMA/010050RH1R0/index.html (Additional reporting by Sarah Marsh in Remedios, Marc Frank in Havana, Makini Brice in Cap-Haitien, Haiti,; Delana Isles in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos, Bernie Woodall, Ben Gruber and Andy Sullivan in Miami, Bate Felix, Richard Lough and Dominique Vidalon in Paris, Toby Sterling in Amsterdam and Neil Hartnell in Nassau, Bahamas; Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis, Frank McGurty and Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Alistair Bell and Cynthia Osterman)
It's harvested by the tonne from Nova Scotia coastlines and used in products from fertilizer to food.
But researchers still have much to learn about a common plant that forms the basis for hundreds of jobs in the province.
Work by Nova Scotia Community College scientists on the South Shore using new mapping technology may help reveal more about the status of rockweed, a common seaweed that is being harvested and processed in Nova Scotia but shipped around the world.
"This technology is fantastic to be able to estimate how much of this resource is here," said Tim Webster, the lead scientist on the project.
Webster said that information could be helpful to harvesters, who need to leave enough rockweed to be sure the plant continues to grow sustainably.
"As well, for the regulator, the Nova Scotia government, to understand how much of the resource is here in order to, again, protect it for future generations," he said.
Estimating by hand
Rockweed grows like a lawn: the tops of the plants can be clipped off but it will continue to grow back year after year as long as the "holdfast" or root-like area is not touched.
Right now, measuring how much rockweed biomass exists along the coastline is difficult and inexact.
"Typically we've been doing it by hand," said Jean-Sebastien Lauzon-Guay, a research scientist with Acadian Seaplants Limited, the company that buys the majority of the rockweed harvest in Nova Scotia.
"It's very time consuming and we can't possibly measure everything."
The private company employs 250 people in Nova Scotia and exports to countries such as China and India.
3 years of experiments
Rockweed also contributes to the income of harvesters who sell to companies like Acadian Seaplants.
Ascophyllum nodosum is the scientific name for rockweed. Lauzon-Guay says Acadian Seaplants staff take samples and try to extrapolate information to find out how much biomass is in a whole rockweed bed.
Story continues
Acadian Seaplants partnered with Webster's group on a three-year cycle of experiments around rockweed. Lauzon-Guay is hopeful the work will yield a new way to estimate the biomass of the rockweed the company wants to harvest.
How it's done
Webster works with the Applied Geomatics Research Group division and specializes in mapping. For the past several years, his team has been experimenting with a laser sensor mounted on a plane, taking aerial surveys of the province's coastline.
The sensor is able to distinguish between vegetation and rock. Webster says the maps are able to show the height of the rockweed plants and the height of the rock underneath.
The sensor cannot determine the weight of the plants, but in late August the NSCC researchers designed an experiment they hope will tell them that information.
Before and after surveys
Just outside Shag Harbour, they cut a 20-metre-by-four-metre rectangle in the thick rockweed of the inter-tidal zone.
For every square metre harvested, the team weighed and measured the rockweed that was removed. They will compare before-and-after aerial surveys of the cut area to try to determine if the plant height can show the weight.
"Then we'll put that all back together once we have our data [from the aerial laser sensor], to see if we can kind of match it up," said research associate Candace MacDonald, who managed the site for the rockweed survey.
It has also been a chance for the team to learn more about the plant.
"It's really neat that it's so resilient," she said. "It is everywhere in Nova Scotia and not many people even know what it is."
Why is rockweed biomass so important?
The province of Nova Scotia regulates rockweed harvest, but it doesn't place any restrictions on how much biomass can be taken. The regulations state harvesting must be done in a sustainable way and that at least 127 millimetres at the bottom of the plant must be left so that it will grow back.
There is some concern that harvesters may be taking too much to use the lawn analogy, cutting the grass too short.
A 2013 report from Fisheries and Oceans Canada stated industry harvest rates of up to 25 per cent of the biomass of rockweed allowed the plant to regrow and maintain commercial yield rates.
The report also said no one, either from industry or third parties, had enough information to determine whether that rate of harvest is harmful to plants and animals that live in the rockweed.
Biology professor David Garbary of St. Francis Xavier University is doing research on the effects of harvesting the species.
His work is not yet ready for publication but he wrote in an email to CBC that he regards the harvest as "problematic because of the vast amounts of biomass being removed from the environment and the impact on biodiversity."
Better estimates
According to Lauzon-Guay, Acadian Seaplants harvesters take between 17 and 20 per cent of the company's biomass estimates in any area, leaving behind roughly 80 per cent for regrowth. He says that other studies have shown that year after year, rockweed regrows faster than it is cut, and that there is a minimal impact on other species.
Lauzon-Guay said the company believes the laser sensor work is important because having better biomass estimate information will help industry and the environment.
"It ensures that we're harvesting exactly the right amount, so that the industry remains sustainable," he said.
'We're the first ones'
For Tim Webster and his team, the project has allowed them to map new areas of the South Shore, which can have applications far beyond the rockweed industry.
Webster said the information could also be useful for data on coastal flooding, development, aquaculture, and oil spill response. He said when surveying for one project, the team often finds a new and unexpected piece of information, which is what he personally finds exciting about the work.
"We're basically looking at information and producing maps that have never been seen before. We're the first ones to have done this in this region, and the first time looking at this area using such data," he said.
The rockweed experiments were funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) at $75,000 per year for three years. Acadian Seaplants contributed $2,000 in cash for each of the three years, and $35,500 per year in support in the form of staff and use of the company's boat. The Nova Scotia government contributed $5,000 in 2016.
Visit the "Namaashoum" Website
Namaashoum
Ottawas first Persian show for the Farsi Speaking people of the National Capital Region and surrounding area.
News, talks, bios, interviews, reflections of community events, as well as genuine music with the goal or promoting rich Persian literature and Classical music.
9 continuous years of serving Persian community with a strong team of dedicated people.
Namaashoum, every Monday live from 7 to 9 pm, and via our web site at www.PersianRadio.net. Our past shows are available for two months on our web site.
Namaashoum is an independant radio program broadcast every week from CKCU-FM 93.1 in Ottawa, Canada. Namaashoum is not affiliated with religious or political groups and has a policy of avoiding such activities. Its mission is to promote the Persian culture, especially its music and literature, while recognizing and respecting the diverse views of its listeners. Enjoy Namaashoum every Monday from 7 to 9 pm.
Share this: Twitter
Facebook
WhatsApp
LinkedIn
Email
Telegram
Pakistani authorities charged two journalists with publishing and distributing anti-state material on September 20, 2016, according to a member of a local nongovernmental organization who is familiar with the case but did not want to be named for fear of retribution. Authorities in the northwest Gilgit-Baltistan region arrested Daulat Jan Mathal, the editor-in-chief of three local news outlets, on October 24, 2016, according to the NGO worker. Sher Nadir Shahi, a writer and editor for several regional publications, including one of Mathals, told CPJ he went into hiding to avoid arrest.
The journalists, and two political activists facing charges in the same case, are accused of publishing and distributing anti-state material in support of a local nationalist party, the Balawaristan National Front, with intent to damage the solidarity and integrity of Pakistan, according to a police document seen by CPJ.
In the First Information Report, a police document filed at the start of an investigation in Pakistan, authorities said that the monthly magazine, Balawaristan Times, where Shahi was an editor, republished banned books. Mathal was also arrested because of his work as the chief editor for a newspaper that supported national autonomy in the Gilgit-Baltistan region, according to the NGO worker.
An Islamabad court granted Mathal bail in early October 2017, according to court documents. Later that month, an anti-terrorism court revoked the bail, and authorities arrested Mathal, according to the NGO worker and Shahi. The journalists legal counsel has filed another petition for bail, Shahi said.
Mathal is currently in state custody at the Gilgit district jail, according to the NGO worker.
Prior to his arrest, Mathal was editor-in-chief and publisher of newspapers, the Daily Bang-e-Sahar and Baang, and the news website, Broshal Times, all of which covered politics in Gilgit-Baltistan, according to the NGO worker and Shahi.
Mathal halted publication of the Daily Bang-e-Sahar, Baang, and the Broshal Times five months before his arrest amid increased pressure from the local government and accusations the papers were supporting nationalism in Gilgit Baltistan, the NGO worker told CPJ.
Gilgit-Baltistan is under the jurisdiction of Pakistans army and borders Kashmir, a region that both India and Pakistan claim.
Regional court officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CPJ that was sent via email.
In an interview with local media before his arrest, Mathal said he had not done anything wrong, and that he would fight for the truth and seek justice. Shahi, a staff writer at the Daily Baang-e-Sahar, and an editor at the Balawaristan Times and Kargil International, denied any wrongdoing, during an August 2017 interview with CPJ.
Shahi told CPJ in August 2017 that he went into hiding after authorities published the first information report and a few days before Mathals arrest. He said that he feared being questioned and tortured in detention.
Authorities have not set a trial date for either of the two journalists, according to Shahi.
Pakistans authorities have used the Anti-Terrorism Act to quell dissent in the past, though recently the countrys Supreme Court has issued a warning to lower courts to apply the act less frequently, according to the newspaper Dawn.
FoSCoRIS: FSSAI launches online platform for food inspection, sampling
Published: September 12, 2017
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has launched FoSCoRIS, a nationwide online platform to bring in transparency in food safety inspection and sampling. The food regulator has asked all states to adopt this system as it would help eliminate discrepancy and make food safety officers accountable.
Key Facts
The web-based FoSCoRIS system will help to verify compliance of food safety and hygiene standards by food businesses as per the government norms. It will bring together all key stakeholders food businesses, food safety officers, designated officers, state food safety commissioners on a nation-wide IT platform.
The platform will help to seamlessly share data related to inspection, sampling and test result by all officials. The system will help to ease process of sample collection, make it transparent and traceable and control the quality of compliances.
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)
FSSAI is a nodal statutory agency responsible for protecting and promoting public health in India through regulation and supervision of food safety. It was established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and operates under aegis of Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
Month: Current Affairs - September, 2017
Topics: Food safety FoSCoRIS system FSSAI National
Latest E-Books
RACINE Racine police announced on Monday that a Milwaukee man, accused of sex trafficking in Racine County, was convicted on Sept. 1 in federal court after a long investigation that began with a missing person case.
A federal jury found Jaboree Williams, 31, guilty on 18 counts, including three counts of sex trafficking, three counts of interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution, one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin and other narcotics, one count of obstruction of a sex trafficking investigation, four counts of witness intimidation and tampering, four counts of contempt of court, one count of obstruction of justice and one count of sending an extortionate threat.
Racine police were initially called for a welfare check on a missing family member, Sgt. Adam Malacara said in a press release: Using social media and internet websites, the family members location was discovered.
Thats when the human trafficking investigation began, leading to Williams arrest in July 2015. Racine police and the FBIs Human Trafficking Task Force had worked on the case for 32 months to bring his case to trial.
According to court evidence, Williams used force, fraud and coercion to make his female victims engage in prostitution in multiple states.
Victims testified that Williams imposed a strict set of rules, Malacara said in the release.
The victims were forced to give him all the money they earned for sex acts, told to never talk to law enforcement and obey Williams every command.
Williams made sure the rules were followed by severely beating victims who violated them. He also threatened and intimidated victims and other witnesses during the investigation and prosecution, including while he was in jail, Malacara said.
Williams faces the possibility of life in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 20.
The United Nations reports that despite reduced violence in some areas of Syria, unspeakable crimes against civilians have continued, including the use of chemical weapons against the Syrian people by the Assad regime.
The UNs International Commission of Inquiry for Syria, led by Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, confirmed that Syrian government forces used chemical weapons more than two dozen times since the conflict began, including in the deadly sarin gas attack in April, 2017 on the town of Khan Sheikhoun that killed at least 83 people.
Government forces continued the pattern of using chemical weapons against civilians in opposition-held areas, the report by the Commission stated. In the gravest incident, the Syrian air force used sarin in Khan Sheikhoun, Idlib, killing dozens, the majority of whom were women and children.
The report notes that Assads aerial campaign also targeted medical facilities throughout the area, resulting in a severe weakening of their ability to provide assistance to victims of the sarin attack and a consequent increase in the number of civilian casualties.
In addition, the Commission reported that at in least three places -- Idlib, Hamah, and eastern Ghouta, a suburb of Damascus -- Syrian forces used weaponized chlorine. These attacks constitute clear violations of international humanitarian law and the Convention on Chemical Weapons, the report noted, which the Syrian Arab Republic ratified in 2013 following a previous sarin attack.
After the report was released, the U.S. mission to the United Nations called for full accountability for chemical weapons use in Syria.
The United States has long urged the international community to act to enforce UN Security Council resolutions against the use of chemical weapons, and to hold perpetrators like Bashar al Assad responsible for his crimes. In April after the attack on Khan Sheikhoun, the United States destroyed the airfield in Syria from which the Syrian governments chemical strike was launched. The same month, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions against 271 employees of the Syrian government agency responsible for developing such weapons and the means to deliver them.
As the evidence continues to mount of Assads culpability, it is past time for the international community to ensure that such blatant disregard of international law and human decency stop and that the perpetrators be held to account.
The State Departments International Religious Freedom Annual Report, which describes the state of religious freedom in 199 countries and territories, notes that one of the common threads connecting repressive governments the world over, is the use of discriminatory laws and measures to deny their citizens their right to freedom of religion or belief.
In Iran, the government uses vague apostasy laws to persecute religious minorities and dissidents, including through the so-called charge of waging war against God. Conviction carries a death sentence.
Saudi Arabia does not recognize the right of non-Muslims to practice their religion in public, and prosecutes religious minorities under criminal law for apostasy, atheism, blasphemy, and insulting the states interpretation of Islam.
Pakistans blasphemy law calls for a sentence of life imprisonment or death. In China, the government tortures, detains, and imprisons thousands for practicing their religious beliefs, while Russia uses anti-extremism laws to detain and fine members of minority religious groups and organizations.
But not all news is negative. As ISIS, an egregious offender when it comes to oppressing religious minorities, has been chased out of the territories it once held, people there can once again worship according to their beliefs.
U.S. engagement has also borne fruit.
In Vietnam religion is strictly regulated. And while a new law governing religion falls short of honoring Vietnams international human rights commitments, the law promises to streamline the application process for, and issuance of, official recognition--a necessity for free and open worship.
And in some parts of the world, religious tolerance is on the rise. In Marrakech, Morocco, Islamic scholars issued a declaration promoting equal citizenship for religious minorities. Tunisias government offered support for the annual pilgrimage to the Djerba island synagogue, while the United Arab Emirates and Oman allowed the construction of Christian churches, Hindu temples and Sikh gurdwaras.
No one should have to live in fear, worship in secret, or face discrimination because of his or her beliefs, said U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Quoting President Donald Trump, Secretary Tillerson also said we look forward to a day when people of all faiths, Christians and Muslims and Jewish and Hindu, can follow their hearts and worship according to their conscience.
Text in which the author defends ideas and reaches conclusions based on his / her interpretation of facts and data
Two centuries ago, the horses were disemboweled in the middle of the bullfight, and then stitched up in the square to stretch out the rest of their useful lives in front of the bulls that are trying to kill them, and who also going to die. This is the story told by Robert Hughes in his splendid book Goya, which devotes several pages to the fight against bullfighting as part of a modernizing eagerness that the enlightened tried unsuccessfully to wage in Spain.
A bullfight in Ronda in the southern region of Andalusia. Jorge Zapata (EFE)
In some aspects, we have evolved. The horses no longer die gutted in the ring. Pro-bullfighting people are outraged by the criticism they receive, but they know or should know that throughout history various political figures and movements opposed bullfighting. Carlos III, a king who undeniably brought some good things to Spain, tried to ban the bulls in 1771. Carlos IV did too. In an act of brazen populism, King Joseph I Bonaparte, however, celebrated his coronation with a bullfight. Bread and circus was a formula that worked well for the Romans, and the Enlightenment could not get rid of it.
Pro-bullfighting people are outraged by the criticism they receive, but they should know that various political figures and movements opposed it
Two centuries have not completely cured us of the savagery, backwardness or extravagance that for some, with an opinion just as respectable as others comes with enjoying a fiesta that guarantees the death of an animal. But at least time has allowed us to advance within its limits.
Other things are happening in Spain besides the independence referendum in Catalonia. One of those things was the release last week of the documentary Tauromaquia, from Jaime Alekos, and presented by PACMA, a Spanish animal rights group. His camera recorded actual images of bullfights from the bulls point of view, including the animals terror, trembling, feces, and all the other symptoms of humiliation the tortured experiences. It only provokes compassion, without the typical epic and brave interpretations of bullfights.
In his documentary Land Without Bread (1933), Spanish filmmaker Luis Bunuel captured how fiances in Las Hurdes, a mountainous region in western Spain, had to prove their manhood by ripping the heads off of chickens on a rope. If they failed, they would keep trying until they had the skull in their hands. The movie also showed depictions of incest leading to deformities and extreme hunger in the western Extremadura region of Spain.
It may take decades for our grandchildren to be horrified by the Spain of the documentary Tauromaquia
Spain is progressing little by little in many matters even when it comes to the abuse of animals. The beheadings of hens and ducks, and the throwing of goats from a bell tower, seem to have been consigned to history. Bullfighting has been banned in some places, although the issue remains in court; and this summer authorities in the Balearic Islands prohibited the death of the animal at the event, as is the case in Portugal. Horses are no longer gutted and sewn back up in town squares.
Progress is gradual. It may take decades for our grandchildren to be horrified by the Spain of the documentary Tauromaquia, just as we are horrified today by the Spain of Goya or Bunuel. But it will come.
English version by Debora Almeida.
Law enforcement agencies have been instructed to seize referendum material. MARTA PEREZ (EFE)
Spains Constitutional Court will study an appeal by the central government against the Catalan parliaments recently passed law preparing the regions transition into an independent republic. The courts decision to accept the case on Tuesday automatically puts the law on hold, although it is unclear whether Catalan authorities will heed the suspension.
In its appeal, the Spanish executive claims that the Catalan transition law is more appropriate of an autocratic regime, and that the unique fast-track procedure employed to ensure its passage through the regional chamber was clearly totalitarian.
At this point he is not thinking about what might have been done in the past
Rajoy aide
Before this, the Constitutional Court had already put a freeze on another law passed by the Catalan parliament last week paving the way for an independence referendum on October 1. Also on hold is a Catalan government decree setting out rules for a new Catalan tax agency.
In the meantime, state prosecutors in Catalonia have ordered top officials within the National Police, the Civil Guard and the regional Mossos dEsquadra police force to seize any and all items meant to help prepare or hold the illegal self-determination referendum, including ballot boxes, printed material and computer equipment. The judiciary police have been instructed to stop any acts by authorities, public employees or individuals working in connivance with the former to organize the referendum.
The Attorneys Office in Catalonia adds a reminder to the Mossos dEsquadra that they, like all other law-enforcement agencies, have the obligation to follow the attorneys orders in connection with criminal investigations. The regional police forces previous chief, Albert Batlle, recently resigned, and his successors views are more favorable to secession. The new chief appointed by the Catalan authorities, Pere Soler, has made derogatory remarks about Spain on record. I hope we secede now, because I feel sorry for all you Spaniards, he wrote via his Twitter account on October 23, 2016.
The Catalan transition law is more appropriate of an autocratic regime
Legal experts have cited article 155 of the Spanish Constitution as the only ordinary way short of declaring a state of exception that the central government could legally take over the Mossos dEsquadra if the latter decides to cooperate with the Catalan executives secessionist plans.
This article allows the state to adopt the necessary measures to force a regional government to obey the Constitution and national laws. It authorizes the government to issue instructions to all the authorities in the region. But article 155 has never been used since Spain returned to democracy.
Keep cool
In the midst of the escalating confrontation between Madrid and Barcelona, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is being increasingly pressured to bang his shoe on the table, said sources familiar with the situation.
But so far, the Spanish leader is choosing to listen to the doves rather than the hawks. Keep a cool head, he has told his aides, according to accounts by ministers, Popular Party (PP) leaders and opposition politicians who spoke to EL PAIS about the matter.
The 62-year-old conservative leaders strategy, for now at least, is to use existing laws to stop the referendum from taking place by undermining its infrastructure and logistics. His priority is to prevent any kind of street conflict.
He is very cool-headed, said someone who works with Rajoy on a daily basis. At this point he is not thinking about what might have been done in the past.
His aides say that Rajoy knows he will go down in history in terms of how he handles one of Spains biggest crises since the end of the Franco dictatorship.
English version by Susana Urra.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 12
By Elmira Tariverdiyeva Trend:
Vugar Gurbanov, counselor for Azerbaijani Embassy in the US, published an article in the Washington Post, sharply criticizing anti-Azerbaijani attacks published there previously.
The Sept. 5 editorial The Azeri payoff was disappointing because it presented a distorted and a gloomy view of Azerbaijan, he said in the article.
The concern for a fellow journalist, Mehman Aliyev, was understandable, yet the wholesale dismissal of Azerbaijans judicial and tax system does not help either the rule of law or civil society development, Gurbanov noted.
He said the Media Council, an umbrella group for various media organizations in Azerbaijan, openly raised its own concern with the editorial and criticized its excessive negativity.
This is the same Media Council that recently called on the authorities to release Mr. Aliyev from pretrial detention. The Azerbaijani society speaks in many vibrant and varied voices. This is often missing from the news coverage.
Moreover, despite the strong partnership with the US, Azerbaijan has often been a subject of persistent narrow-focused negative campaigns, according to Gurbanov.
Let us avoid the trap of predictable pessimistic stereotypes and follow a more balanced and productive approach, he added.
Earlier, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev instructed the appropriate authorities to consider the request by Director of Turan News Agency Mehman Aliyev to replace his imprisonment with house arrest.
Ali Hasanov, the presidents aide for public and political affairs, said this decision is a clear manifestation of Ilham Aliyevs unchangeable position and will to ensure freedom of speech and information, independence of the mass media and free activities of journalists.
Azerbaijans Ministry of Taxes has earlier said that based on the results of an inspection carried out in Turan Information Agency to identify tax risks and cases of tax evasion, it was established that Mehman Aliyev had been evading payment of taxes to the state budget.
A criminal case was initiated against Mehman Aliyev under articles 192.2.2 (illegal entrepreneurship), 213.1 (evasion of taxes or compulsory social insurance contributions) and 308.1 (abuse of power) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 12
By Alan Hope Trend:
The stumbling block in Americas path of becoming Great Again
The 45th President of the United States of America, elected by the overwhelming majority of the countrys popular vote as well as its electorate college, a well-established businessman, author of several books and reality television personality, viewed as controversial and obscene, as much fascinating by many, Mr. Donald John Trump began his term in the office on Jan 20, 2017.
Up until the month of Aug he had issued more than 42 executive orders and 51 presidential memoranda, some argued to be objective, while others questionable, and yet, America is still anticipating the fulfillment of Trumps campaign promises. Some political circles, overlooking the consequent international and domestic crises, on top of the constant staff reshuffling faced by the administration, had already proclaimed Trump to be a lame duck, slow-paced by his inability and incompetence to govern. Notwithstanding, there seems to be a real stumbling block obstructing Trumps endeavor to Make America Great Again.
"Cui bono?"
It all has started on Mar 17, 2016, when several notable conservatives, gathered together by Erick Erickson and Co, had met at the Army and Navy Club in Washington D.C. incepting the Stop Trump Movement. The consensus on the prevention strategy was reached, followed by the political action committees (PAC) dark money accumulated million dollar expenditures aimed against Trumps GOP nomination the Republican National Convention in July.
The Movements battlefield-dropped-flag was quickly picked up by the Hillary Clinton supporters, stung by their candidates unanticipated loss to Donald Trump. Same supporters were instrumental in the launch of the FBI investigation, based on the US intelligence agencies conclusion of the Russian governments alleged interference in the 2016 election. Playing The Delegitimization Card, yelling the battle cries, such as Resist! and Not my President, the Movement masked as a resistance campaign continued on by rallies, turning ever violent.
Meanwhile, the campaign was fueled by the funds from the Democratic Partys Priorities USA Action super-PAC and substantial financial contributions of other sympathizers, including, among others, none other than George Soros, one of the worlds most successful financial speculators and richest people.
The same infamous George Soros self-admittedly spent $27M to oppose George Bushs 2004 re-election and had poured $13M in support of Hillary Clinton. The same Soros, who after Trumps victory, had announced his Open Society Foundations (OSF) $10M initiative, aimed at the support of the communities potentially targeted by hateful acts related to the Trump agenda, in support of the Democratic Alliance looking to fund numerous groups to combat Trump's policies. The very same Soros, who at the World Economic Forum in Davos, had described Trump as an impostor and a con man and a would-be dictator.
Who is Mr. Soros?
A Hungarian born, naturalized American citizen, Gyorgy Schwartz, presently George Soros (87) had, as a teenager, bared a witness to a Nazi occupation of Hungary in 1944. Being of Jewish origin, he had managed to conceal his true identity in an environment where an estimated 500,000 Jews were slaughtered within the 10 months occupation. Though, its been widely reported on his participation in Hungarian Jews assets seizures, its hard to imagine that a 14-year old boy would collaborate with Nazis of his own free will.
In 1947, Soros had immigrated to England. He studied at the London School of Economics earning a Bachelor (1951) and then a Master (1954) degrees in philosophy. At that time, riding the coattails of Karl Popper, Soros had development his Reflexivity Theory, arguing that, that market values are often driven by the fallible ideas of participants, not only by the economic fundamentals of the situation.
Soross post-graduate business career started to shape up by 1969, when he set up the Double Eagle hedge fund. Nonetheless, his relative success was smudged by the allegations of insider trading practices brought by the French stock exchange regulatory authority COB investigating Soross 1989 stock acquisitions of four French companies including Societe Generale, Suez, Paribas, and the Compagnie Generale d'Electricite. French Supreme Court convicted Soros on insider trading charges and ordered him to pay the penalty to 940,000 in 2006. Soross appeal was rejected by the European Court of Human Rights in 2011, on the grounds of his awareness of the risk associated with insider trading law violations.
Notwithstanding, Soross true star had shone on Sept 16, 1992, wider known as UKs Black Wednesday. Prior to that day his Quantum Fund was building a short position in UK sterling against the German mark. As an end result, Soros was estimated to make $1B, while sterling lost 15% and 25% vs the mark and the US dollar respectively.
Later, dubbed as "the man who broke the Bank of England, Soros had attributed his success to the implementation of his Reflexivity Theory. Ultimately, UK was forced to withdraw from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), which, despite the strong economic recovery and significant fall of unemployment rate, was seen as an economic failure, triggering the defeat of John Majors Conservative government in May of 1997.
Same year, Soros had pulled yet another rabbit out of the hat, when he bet against Thai baht and Malaysian ringgit, ultimately causing the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The latest Soross stunt, dated to 2013, had caused 17% devaluation of the Japanese yen, while his family investment fund had returned 10%, profiting another $1B.
Philanthropy? Ha!
Throughout the years increasing reports have indicated not only Soross somewhat questionable and unethical business practices, but pointed his indirect involvement in the meddling of political establishments of the Eastern European countries and the former Soviet states. Though no actual evidence of his personal financial gains had been presented to the date, his political aspirations have been steadily pouring through his benevolence related donations to the non-governmental organizations (NGO).
Soross fascination with NGOs is best explained by Alexis Tocqueville statement that, organizations that are neither commercial nor governmental play the role of voluntary associations identifying and promoting public interest issues. Thus, the combination of enormous financial resources, summed up with Soros financed NGOs, which in turn attract thousands of activists through social networks and media outlets enables him to push his so-called non-violent democratization for the less fortunate states.
At the center of Soross so-called philanthropy stands the 1984 established OSF, with current annual budget of nearly $1B. OSF, initially dedicated to the construction of vibrant and tolerant societies, whose governments are accountable and open to the participation of all people, as stated on the foundations website. Nevertheless, topping that with an international media organization that publishes and syndicates commentary and analysis on a variety of important global topics, as well as distributes its products to wide network of partner publications for print like Project Syndicate (as of 2016, it has a network of 459 media outlets in 155 countries) Soros gets a platform to launch his long-standing passion of a social change.
The foundation, together with its subsidiaries, became instrumental in Soros operations related to the overthrow of the legitimately elected governments. For this purpose, he utilizes time proven script consisting of Delegitimization of the government, followed by Criminalization of the society and Devaluation of the sovereign currency, the ultimate result, going to the motive of the whole operation as personal gain.
This had been witnessed lately in FYR Makedonia, where the OFS created crisis centering on abuse of power, involving illegal wiretapping, forced the resignation of the Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski. The sentiment of Soross involvement was echoed by Hungarian leader Viktor Orban, who also blamed Soros for causing trouble and influencing Hungarian politics with his money in the view on the foreclosure of the Central European University in Budapest, calling for the "de-Sorosization purge." The latest had occurred on the eve of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus visit to Hungary on July 18, 2017.
It should be noted, that technically a Holocaust survivor, Soros had been known for his incomprehensible anti-Semitic stance. In his interview to The New Yorker magazine he openly declared that, his mother was quite anti-Semitic, and ashamed of being Jewish, continuing, given the culture in which one lived, being Jewish was a clear-cut stigma, disadvantage, a handicap-and, therefore, there was always the desire to transcend it, to escape it. Soross view on the Israel existence as a state is also equivocal as, he doesnt deny the Jews their right to a national existence, but dont want to be a part of it. In the wake of the abovementioned visit Israels MFA had classified Soros as a person who continuously undermines Israels democratically elected governments by funding organizations that defame the Jewish state and seek to deny it the right to defend itself.
So, what has Soros been involved in lately?
It seems that failing in his wars against the Mafia States of his former fatherland, namely Europe, George Soros had turned his eyes to his new homeland the United States. Its been already proven that Soros financed NGOs were active participants of the anti-Trump initiatives. His financial infusions into the radical and extremist elements operating on US soil are currently being investigated by law-enforcement agencies. On top of that, Soros, famed for his liberalism, had shown that he has no moral issues funding the adversary camp, donating $100,000 to Sen John McCains legacy foundation.
As of late, Soros, who had previously left the management of the Soros Fund Management, LLC to his son, is back at helm of the investment company, restructured from the Hedge Fund into a family office. Upon return, the billionaire has matched up his investments in line with his prognoses of the future market falter due to uncertainties concerning Trump, acquiring a number of positions, which are likely to profit if the financial markets stumble. Basically, Soros, who according to the Wall Street Journal had sustained a loss of $1B as a result of Trumps victory, is actually playing to short the United States.
Thus, its fair to argue that Soros, within his long-devised and tested script, is playing Delegitimization and Criminalization cards, aiming for the Devaluation outcome, basically declaring an all-out war on Trump. One could describe this trend in the behavior of a person as borderline psychopathic and would hope that this vengeful pursuit of one diminished dignity would not outcome in another JFK scenario or the one resulting in Civil War.
Details added (first version posted on 11:01)
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 12
Trend:
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received credentials of newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Hungary Viktor Szederkenyi Sept. 12.
Ambassador Szederkenyi reviewed a guard of honor.
Szederkenyi presented his credentials to President Aliyev.
President Aliyev then spoke with the ambassador.
President Aliyev hailed bilateral friendship and cooperation between Azerbaijan and Hungary.
Noting that Hungary is a very attractive country for Azerbaijan, the president hailed the intensification of reciprocal visits. Praising political ties between the two countries, President Aliyev stressed the importance of regular meetings with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in terms of expansion of the bilateral relations.
The president said that Hungary is one of the closest friends and partners of Azerbaijan not just in Europe, but in the world.
Underlining the significance of expanding economic cooperation between the two countries, President Aliyev emphasized the necessity of joint efforts to increase trade.
The president also noted that there are good opportunities for enhancing cooperation in investment, transport, energy, pharmaceutical and agriculture sectors.
Saying the cooperation in humanitarian and cultural spheres successfully continues, President Aliyev pointed out that a number of important cultural events have already been held in both countries, which helps them know each other better and develop friendly relations.
The ambassador extended Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbans greetings to President Aliyev, adding that Orban highly appreciates his personal friendship with the Azerbaijani president.
Szederkenyi said this will shape his activity as the ambassador in developing the bilateral cooperation. The Hungarian diplomat noted that there are very big opportunities for expanding the economic cooperation.
I am very pleased to be an ambassador in your beautiful country, the ambassador said. I am eager to get more knowledge about your country, your people and your culture.
They stressed the importance of expanding cooperation between Azerbaijan and the European Union in a variety of areas and preparing a document on Azerbaijans partnership with the European Union. The sides exchanged views over cooperation prospects.
The head of state thanked for Orbans greetings, and asked Szederkenyi to communicate his greetings to the Hungarian prime minister.
President Aliyev also received credentials of newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Tajikistan Rustam Soliev.
Ambassador Soliev reviewed a guard of honor.
Soliev presented his credentials to President Aliyev.
President Aliyev then had a talk with the ambassador.
President Aliyev hailed successful development of friendly and brotherly ties between the two countries. He noted that fruitful discussions on expansion of bilateral cooperation were held during his meetings with the Tajik president.
Pointing out the economic relations, the president said the two countries have new opportunities for transport systems and cargo transportation in various directions.
The president hailed good potential for expanding cooperation in humanitarian and cultural spheres, saying that relations in these fields are developing successfully.
President Aliyev expressed his hope that ambassador Soliev will spare no efforts to further expand bilateral relations between the two countries during his diplomatic tenure.
Saying he is honored to be appointed as the ambassador to the Republic of Azerbaijan, Soliev extended President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmons greetings to President Aliyev.
He said the Tajik president wishes to meet with his Azerbaijani counterpart in the near future.
Ambassador Soliev noted that this year will mark the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Azerbaijan and Tajikistan, adding that the foundation of bilateral friendly relations between the two countries was laid by national leader Heydar Aliyev and President Rahmon.
He thanked President Ilham Aliyev for successfully continuing this policy so far.
The ambassador described Azerbaijan-Tajikistan bilateral relations as excellent, saying the two countries are closely cooperating within international organizations, including the UN, OSCE, and CIS.
They exchanged views on the development of cooperation between the two countries in a number of areas, including in energy, agriculture, education and fight against terrorism.
President Aliyev thanked for the Tajik presidents greetings and asked the ambassador to convey his greetings to President Rahmon.
Details added (first version posted at 11:08)
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 12
Trend:
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received credentials of head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan Kestutis Jankauskas.
Head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan Kestutis Jankauskas reviewed a guard of honor.
Kestutis Jankauskas presented his credentials to President Ilham Aliyev.
President Ilham Aliyev then spoke with the head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan.
Kestutis Jankauskas said: "I will spare no efforts to further develop the EU-Azerbaijan relations which are based on mutual benefit, common values and mutual interests in all spheres. This covers not only the energy field, but also the areas as transport, diversification of the economy and the building of a modern state and society. We appreciate Azerbaijan's role as a stable and reliable partner in the region and its importance as a country, which built a tolerant, multicultural and secular society. Mr President, I am looking forward to cooperation with you based on mutual trust to strengthen our bilateral relations."
Expressing his gratitude for good words on Azerbaijan and bilateral cooperation prospects, the head of state said: "We are very pleased with the level of our partnership with the European Union, and the European Union is our key trade partner. Of course, our cooperation is not limited to trade and energy sectors, it covers a wide range of areas."
Describing his last visit to Brussels as a success, the head of state noted that the trip encouraged an active negotiation process on the new partnership document between Azerbaijan and the European Union, and these talks currently successfully continue.
President Ilham Aliyev underlined that the Azerbaijan-EU cooperation has a very broad agenda, saying that fruitful discussions are being held on the issues relating to political relations, democratic development of Azerbaijan, as well as the energy, transport, security, humanitarian, educational, cultural and multiculturalism issues. The head of state noted that Azerbaijan and the EU enjoy high-level mutual understanding for expanding bilateral cooperation. President Ilham Aliyev noted that his country attaches great importance to this cooperation and has already signed and adopted strategic partnership documents and declarations with more than a third of the EU member states. Describing this as a very good basis for cooperation, President Ilham Aliyev expressed his confidence that a new agreement between Azerbaijan and the EU will soon be signed.
The head of state expressed his hope that the European Union's stance on the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan will remain unchanged.
Head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan Kestutis Jankauskas thanked President Ilham Aliyev for his remarks. He emphasized that he has been dealing with security policy for many years, saying that he will use his knowledge and experience in this area in the settlement of a crucial issue as the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.
Pointing out President Ilham Aliyev's visit to Brussels and the document on partner relations, Kestutis Jankauskas hailed the importance of the issue. He noted that active work is underway on the agreement in Brussels.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 12
Trend:
Azerbaijan is the new hope of World and the recent efforts for the aid to Rohingyas and its stand in recent Organisation of Islamic Countries make a positive image of Baku in Muslim World. President Ilham Aliyev is one of the most dynamic leader of the recent time. Mufti Ashfaq Hussain Quadri, Founder President of All India Tanzeem Ulama e Islam (AITUI) said in a statement here. AITUI is an apex body of Indian Sufi clerics and considered as a largest body strengthening 1 million members both clerics and the followers. AITUI is going to agitate at Delhis busiest Jantar Mantar against Myanmar genocide of Rohingya Muslims this Friday ie September 15 with Indias largest Muslim Students Organisation (MSO). Both the organisation will thank Azerbaijan for its prompt enormous help to homeless Rohingyas.
Armenia, which has occupied 20 percent of the Azerbaijani territories and has committed genocide against the civilians in the Azerbaijani city of Khojaly, cannot be a reliable partner and a friend of the Islamic world and its individual representatives. Mufti said. We subscribe the entire statement of Azerbaijan great leader Ilham Aliyev in the opening ceremony of the First Summit on Science and Technology of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Astana, Kazakhstan, that Armenia is continuously doing the fascism. We know that under orders of the Armenian leadership, all our mosques in occupied Azerbaijani lands have been destroyed. The photos of the destroyed mosques of Shusha, Aghdam and the countrys other cities are documentary evidence of Armenian vandalism. Ilham Aliyev is the man of word and we hope that supporting Azerbaijan is supporting Islam, supporting humanism. Mufti Ashfaq added.
AITUI has complete eye on the Armenian atrocity against general Azeri people. AITUI pledge to the statement of President Ilham Aliyev that Armenia has reached its peak to Islamophobia. I repeat and find true the entire statement of President Ilham Aliyev that Armenia is trying very hard to expand its ties with various Muslim countries. One should not believe Armenias hypocritical and deceitful words. Armenia, which has destroyed our sacred mosques in Azerbaijan, cannot be a friend of Muslim countries, Mufti Ashfaq Hussain Quadri said.
AITUI earlier supported Azerbaijan and its leadership in its huge gathering at New Delhis Talkatora Stadium general conference on February, 2016 and at Jaipur, Rajasthan on March, 2016. Both the conferences was attended by more than 25,000 people. AITUI top leadership wants to expand knowledge on how Azerbaijan is supporting Islamic World and how the one of the most dynamic leader of Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev has given great progress to the country. We are making aware a large portion of Indian population about the atrocity of Armenia. Indian general people do not know about the cruelty of Armenia and we find it is our duty to inform Indian populace about the hate and crime of Armenians. Mufti stated. AITUI has long stand to supporting Azerbaijan since its independence and the great contribution of former President Heydar Aliyev in the progress of the region.
Our stand to support Azerbaijan is to firm fraternity among all like minded forces. We consider Armenia as a cruel state and we support Azerbaijan against Armenia. Shujaat Quadri, General Secretary of Muslim Students Organisation of India stated.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 12
Trend:
Top Indian band INDIAN OCEAN which is visiting Azerbaijan on an international tour performed a captivating concert at Baku Sea side Boulevard on September 11, 2017 which was much enjoyed by Azerbaijani as well as tourists.
On their first visit to Azerbaijan, Rahul Ram of INDIAN OCEAN said it was first major band from India to Tour. The Band said they are impressed by the beauty of Baku and positive energy of its people. They also expressed appreciation for music scene in Azerbaijan.
Indian Ocean group has been making big waves in India and abroad and have earned a cult following with their unique sound. Some critics describe Indian Oceans music as an amalgamation of Contemporary Rock, Indian classical, jazz, folk music and fusion that integrates themes like spiritualism, activism, environmentalism, the futility of war and mythology.
The present visit of Indian Ocean Band comes as a part of the celebrations of 25th Anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of India and the Republic of Azerbaijan. The organisers of the event, namely, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and the Indian Association Azerbaijan (IAA) welcomed the Azerbaijani Music lovers to come and enjoy the music show which are open for all.
Indian Ocean will give another live concert on September 13, 2017 at Sumgait Seaside Boulevard (7.00 pm). Entry to the music concert will be free for all.
SOMERS A local drug and alcohol counselor who owns a business in Racine has been charged with sexual assault and three other crimes.
Corie P. Hargrove, 47, of the 1600 block of Derby Avenue, faces charges of second-degree sexual assault, false imprisonment, strangulation and suffocation and disorderly conduct stemming from a Sept. 3 incident at a Somers motel.
Hargrove owns Harvest Consulting Co., a substance abuse counseling company that operates out of the Lake Forum building, 840 Lake Ave., according to online business records and his LinkedIn page. Deputies said Hargrove told them he used cocaine before the alleged assault.
He made his initial appearance in Kenosha County Circuit Court last week and had his bond set at $20,000, according to court records. Records show Hargrove having no previous criminal history.
According to the criminal complaint:
Hargrove, who knew his accuser, visited the womans room at the White Brick Motel, 973 Sheridan Road, uninvited. Hargrove and the woman talked while two of their friends went to get food, and he allegedly became irritated when the friends returned and he and the victim reportedly went to another room.
Hargrove told the woman that he was taking his place back as No. 1 and began pressuring her to have sex. He allegedly began wrestling with her and removed her clothes without consent while she wept.
Though the woman told him to stop, Hargrove allegedly raped her. Afterward, Hargrove wouldnt leave and then wouldnt let the woman leave the room.
As she tried to leave the room, Hargrove allegedly choked her, rendering her unable to breathe for about a minute. One of the friends was able to get the door open during the alleged assault to stop it; before he left, Hargrove reportedly called the woman and the friend obscene names.
Police observed markings on the womans neck and back that her friend said were not there before the alleged assault.
Hargrove told police that the sex was consensual and accused the woman of being a prostitute. He denied being physically violent with the woman and claimed she falsely accused him due to jealousy and anger.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 12
By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend:
During Eid al-Adha holiday (Feast of Sacrifice), 32,000 Iranian tourists visited Turkeys eastern Van province September 1-10, the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TURSAB) said in a message.
According to TURSABs forecasts, around two million Iranian tourists are expected to visit Turkey by late 2017.
According to the Turkish Statistical Institute, Turkey's revenues from tourism increased by 8.7 percent in April-June 2017 and amounted to $5.413 billion compared to the same period of 2016.
The number of foreigners who visited Turkey in June 2017 increased by 43.01 percent compared to the same month of 2016. In June 2017, 3.486 million foreigners visited Turkey, 41,991 of them traveled to other countries through Turkey.
Over six months of 2017, 12.249 million foreign tourists visited Turkey, which is by 14.05 percent more compared to the same period of 2016.
Meanwhile, 25.352 million tourists visited Turkey in 2016, which is by 30 percent less than in 2015.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 12
By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend:
Turkey and China will discuss the development of ties in tourism sector, the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism told Trend.
According to the ministry, Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Numan Kurtulmus and Chinese Culture Minister Luo Shugang have recently met in Beijing as part of the development of the tourism sector between the countries.
Earlier, during his visit to China Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Ankara is interested in attracting tourists from China.
Cavusoglu added that at least 3 million tourists from China are expected to visit Turkey in 2018.
As of 2016, 313,000 tourists from China visited Turkey. China has declared 2018 as Turkey Tourism Year.
According to the Turkish Statistical Institute, Turkey's revenues from tourism increased by 8.7 percent in April-June 2017 and amounted to $5.413 billion compared to the same period of 2016.
The number of foreigners who visited Turkey in June 2017 increased by 43.01 percent compared to the same month of 2016. In June 2017, 3.486 million foreigners visited Turkey, 41,991 of them traveled to other countries through Turkey.
Over six months of 2017, 12.249 million foreign tourists visited Turkey, which is by 14.05 percent more compared to the same period of 2016.
Meanwhile, 25.352 million tourists visited Turkey in 2016, which is by 30 percent less than in 2015.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Sept. 12
By Demir Azizov Trend:
A consortium of China Coal Technology & Engineering Group Corp. and China Railway Tunnel Group Co., Ltd. have started the main preparatory work within the project to modernize capacities of Uzbekistans Shargunkumir JSC, an official with the Uzbekcoal JSC told Trend.
The project worth $94.5 million is expected to be implemented in the first quarter of 2020, according to the company official.
The project will be financed through an $89.8-million loan of Export-Import Bank of China and own funds of the coal producer.
It was previously reported that the investment project envisages modernization of coal production at Uzbekistans Baysun and Shargun coal fields, with an estimated capacity of 900,000 tons of coal per year.
The Shargunkumir JSC, the main shareholders of which are Uzbekenergo JSC and Uzbekcoal JSC, owns a license for the development of the Baysun and Shargun coal fields with total proved reserves of 82.2 million tons of coal.
China Coal Technology & Engineering Group Corp. won a tender to implement this project in 2013 but it was put off due to technical and financial problems. Later, the company attracted China Railway Tunnel Group Co., Ltd. as a contractor.
In mid-2017, Uzbekcoal JSC and Shargunkumir JSC were transferred to Uzbekistan Railways JSC. The coal companies had previously been a part of Uzbekenergo JSC.
Uzbekistans proved coal reserves amount to 1.9 billion tons.
At present, Uzbekistans need for solid fuel is about four million tons per year. The main consumers of coal in the country are a number of enterprises of the Uzbekenergo JSC more than 85 percent of total coal consumption in the country accounts for them.
In 2016, 3.6 million tons of coal was produced in Uzbekistan.
In January-August 2017, Heydar Aliyev International Airport served over 2.7 million passengers, which is 29 percent more than the previous year. It is expected that by the end of 2017 the final passenger count will exceed the last year's figure of 3.5 million passengers, which will be another record high of the airport.
During the reporting period, Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) carried 1.61 million passengers, 408,000 of which accounted for domestic flights.
84.9 percent of passengers were carried by international flights. According to the statistics of the first eight months of 2017, the most popular international destinations from Baku are Moscow, Istanbul, Dubai, Kiev and Tehran. 1.34 million passengers were transported on these destinations.
The five most active airlines during this period include AZAL, Turkish Airlines, flyDubai, Aeroflot and Ukraine International Airlines (UIA). 1.78 million passengers were transported on international directions by these airlines.
Currently, Heydar Aliyev International Airport serves 29 airlines on 53 destinations. Seven airlines - IrAero, Jazeera Airways, ZagrosJet, Pegas Fly, Kish Air, Nordwind Airlines and Wataniya Airlines launched flights starting from the summer of this year.
Starting from September this year, first national low-cost airline Buta Airways launched its flights. Buta Airways flies to Moscow, Kiev, Tbilisi, Kazan, Mineralnye Vody, Tehran and Antalya. Starting from October 29, the low-cost airline will start flights from Baku to Istanbul and St. Petersburg.
The new airport terminal of Heydar Aliyev Airport (Terminal 1) was put into operation in April 2014. Its total area is 65,000 square meters.
Heydar Aliyev International Airport was awarded the category of "4 stars" by the Skytrax, which is influential British consulting company specializing in the study of the quality of services provided by various airlines and airports worldwide.
In March this year Baku Heydar Aliyev Airport was named the best airport among airports of Russia and CIS countries for the level of the provided services, being awarded the prestigious Skytrax World Airport Awards.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 12
By Azad Hasanli Trend:
Azerbaijani government is considering the possibility of attracting venture capital for financing projects in the field of mechanical engineering.
This was stated in a report on evaluation of the results of implementing the Strategic Road Map for the development of heavy industry and machinery in Azerbaijan.
A working group was created under the Economy Ministry in June to study the possibilities of introducing new financing mechanisms in heavy industry.
First and foremost, the working group explored the possibility of attracting venture capital. In addition, as part of measures to expand the use of alternative financial instruments, the Ministry of Economy sent a letter to Azerbaijans Financial Market Supervisory Authority. Both bodies agreed to hold discussions with the participation of entrepreneurs and state agency officials to prepare proposals for the implementation of such measures, reads the report.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 12
By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend:
Turkey is interested in increasing the number of research centers, a source in the Ministry of Development told Trend.
Currently, there are four research centers in several Turkish universities, according to the source.
At present, about 20 billion liras are being allocated for research. It is planned to increase spending on scientific research by three times in 2023, said the source.
Turkey is also interested in increasing the number of researchers and scientists. So, if the number of researchers was about 20,000 in 2002, now the number of such specialists in Turkey is 120,000.
The source added that it is planned to increase the number of researchers to 300,000 people as part of a government plan titled 2023 Vision.
Turkey, as before, is paying a special attention to development of scientific research.
(4.0796 TRY = 1 USD on Sept. 12)
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Sept. 12
By Huseyn Hasanov - Trend
There are great opportunities for supplying Turkmen electricity to Tajikistan, Pakistan and India through Afghanistan, the Turkmen Energy Ministry said in a message.
According to the message, the key direction of the energy strategy being implemented in the country is the uninterrupted supply of electricity to the domestic consumers.
"As a result of the construction of new power plants and reconstruction of existing ones, the electricity volumes have been increased and the quality of electric power supply to the domestic consumers has been improved, the message said.
The electric power stations and high-voltage transmission lines have been built in the country to increase the supply of electricity to Afghanistan. Currently, the work is also underway to construct such facilities in the direction of neighboring Iran.
Reportedly, Turkmenistan generated 14,169,949 kilowatt-hours of electricity from January to July 2017.
Electricity exports in the reporting period amounted to 2,231,102 kilowatt hours. Turkmenistan exports electricity to Iran, Afghanistan and Turkey.
Electricity generation increased by more than 1.6 times in Turkmenistan and its exports doubled in 2007-2016. Turkmenistan exported about 15.5 billion kilowatt-hours in 2012-2016.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Sept. 12
By Demir Azizov Trend:
Uzbekistan will import 1.2 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2017, a source in the management of Uzbekenergo JSC, the entity unifying the countrys power and coal industry enterprises, told Trend.
This year we import cheap electricity from Kyrgyzstan to provide Uzbek agriculture with water for irrigation and optimize the energy systems operation, the source said.
The Uzbek companys representative noted that these are the first purchases following the collapse of the unified energy system of Central Asia.
The representative noted that at present, the Central Asian countries are making efforts to restore that system.
In particular, reconstruction of two high-voltage power lines, which will become a part of unified energy system in the Central Asian region, has been completed in Uzbekistan, the representative added.
The unified energy system of Central Asia was formed in 1991. It included 83 power plants with total capacity of 25,000 megawatts in the territory of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and southern Kazakhstan.
In winter, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan accumulated water in reservoirs and received electricity and energy resources (coal and natural gas) from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. In summer, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan sent water to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan for irrigation farming.
However, after Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan left the unified energy system of Central Asia in 2003 and 2009, respectively, the system ceased to function.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept.12
By Leman Zeynalova Trend:
The European Parliament will debate the gas supply security regulation on September 12, said the message on the European Parliaments website.
Member states facing a gas supply crisis will be able to count on help from neighboring countries under new rules informally agreed by MEPs and ministers to strengthen the security of gas supplies across the EU. The rules will be debated on Tuesday morning and put to Parliaments final vote on the same day at noon, said the message.
Any EU country faced with a gas supply crisis will be able to alert the others and thus trigger cross-border assistance to prevent cuts.
The emergency alert regulation is the second piece of Energy Union legislation to come before Parliament. The first, laying down common rules on EU member states energy deals with third countries, was approved by Parliament in March.
The new rules should take effect before winter sets in.
The EU imports more than half of all the energy it consumes. Its import dependency is particularly high for crude oil (more than 90 percent) and natural gas (66 percent). The total import bill is more than 1 billion euros per day.
In response to these concerns, the European Commission released its Energy Security Strategy in May 2014. The Strategy aims to ensure a stable and abundant supply of energy for European citizens and the economy.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept.12
By Leman Zeynalova Trend:
Non-OPEC oil supply in August declined by 0.32 million barrels per day (b/d) month-on-month to average 57.68 million b/d, according to OPECs Monthly Oil Market Report.
Non-OPEC supply is projected to grow by 0.78 million b/d year-on-year in 2017, which is unchanged from last months prediction to average 57.80 million b/d, said the cartel.
The main changes for the month is a result of an increase in expected oil production growth in Kazakhstan by 0.04 million b/d in 2017 and lower growth in the US oil supply by 0.07 million b/d in 2017, according to the report.
The non-OPEC oil supply forecast in 2018 was revised down by 0.10 million b/d due to the downward revisions in Kazakhstan and Russia. Hence, non-OPEC supply to average 58.80 million b/d with a growth of 1.00 million b/d for 2018 is anticipated, said OPEC.
On May 25, OPEC member countries and non-OPEC parties, Azerbaijan, Kingdom of Bahrain, Brunei Darussalam, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Sultanate of Oman, the Russian Federation, Republic of Sudan, and the Republic of South Sudan agreed to extend the production adjustments for a further period of nine months, with effect from July 1, 2017.
The reductions will be on the same terms as those agreed in November.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
CALEDONIA Oak Creek residents Dave and Cindy Seel struggled Monday evening to overcome the sorrow and loss they felt at the death of their longtime friend Joseph Cocking, 55, who died in a fatal motorcycle crash in Caledonia early that morning.
He was the safest rider we knew. He was our leader, Cindy Seel said.
The Oak Creek couple sifted through parts of debris they found along Highway 38 and 7 Mile Road hours after the crash, which took place at about 7:12 a.m. at that intersection.
All I can find are car parts, Cindy Seel said.
Her husband took a hammer and pounded a makeshift cross with his name, his birth and death year and the phrase Riding Forever.
I have a cross to put up; I just wanted an idea of where it happened, Dave Seel said.
Cocking, a resident of Oak Creek, worked as a supplier quality engineer at Modine Manufacturing Co. in Racine.
Caledonia police said Cocking died at the scene of the crash after being thrown from his motorcycle and struck by a vehicle that was attempting to turn west onto 7 Mile Road and did not yield Cocking the right of way.
Life-saving efforts by a good Samaritan at the scene and Caledonia first responders were ultimately unsuccessful, police said.
The driver of the vehicle, Carrie D. Nilles, 59, of Racine, was cited for failure to yield the right of way, according to the release. Nilles hasnt been charged with anything as of Monday evening, according to court records.
A fellow motorcycle rider, Dave Seel said he had just enjoyed a Labor Day weekend rally at the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee with his friend of 15 years.
I found out about it this morning. His daughter called me and I kept asking her, Youre talking about Joe, right? Dave Seel said.
An avid Harley-Davidson rider, Cockings nickname was Joker.
His friends struggle to fathom life without the man they say was kind. They both could barely talk through the shock of the news.
We were just riding with him this last weekend, Dave Seel said. Somebody was not paying attention.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 12
By Ali Mustafayev - Trend:
Russia and Kazakhstan signed a contract on supply of the 12 -30 aircraft.
This framework contract was signed during the Army-2017 International military-technical forum. The conditions of the agreement are expected to gradually realize the project during three years from the date of the first shipment, said Vladimir Kozhin assistant to the President of Russia on the issues of military-technical cooperation, TASS reported.
He added that the agreement will be implemented amid military-technical cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan dating to 2013, and providing for the direct interaction between the Irkut corporation and the State Enterprise Kazspeceksport.
The super-maneuverable Su-30SM fighter of the generation 4+ is equipped with a radar with phased array antenna, engines with controlled thrust vector and front horizontal tail.
The aircraft is able to use modern and prospective high-precision weapons of the air-to-air and air-to-surface class. The machine can also be used to train pilots of promising multi-functional super maneuverable single-seat aircraft.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 12
By Ali Mustafayev Trend:
Recent participation of China and Kazakhstan in an international cooperation forum illustrated the intensity of development of relations between the two countries.
Importance of the forum as a unique platform for bilateral dialogue and effective consultations on topical issues of interregional cooperation is undeniable, since a number contracts on business and governmental levels were signed during it.
An important moment in the forum was the announcement of China and Kazakhstans intention to continue the work to connect the Silk Road Belt and Nurly Zhol projects. Bilateral work on this is expected to provide better trade conditions for the region in future.
This is another example of growing economic cooperation between the Central Asian states and China, as the latter is emerging as an increasingly influential player and investor in the region, Kenneth Katzman, a senior analyst at the Congressional Research Service, told Trend.
Kazakhstan and other Central Asian states are always seeking strategic balance with other powers, added Katzman. In this case it is China balancing trade influence of Moscow in the region.
China and Kazakhstan have promoted a rapid expansion of commerce and partnership, harnessing Kazakhstans oil, natural gas, minerals and other major energy resources.
Bilateral cooperation between these countries is expected to develop on the Trans-Caspian trade road, which may even influence the worldwide economy, widening the access to the European markets for Asian and Central Asian countries.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 12
By Ali Mustafayev - Trend:
A meeting between Chiefs of military Staff of the Commonwealth of Independent States members was held in the Ala Archa state residence in Bishkek on 12 September, 2017.
The work of the Committee of Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces of the CIS Member States was attended by delegations of the armed forces of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
The Armed Forces of the Kyrgyz Republic were represented by the First Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Colonel Kubanychbek Oromzatov, Kabar reported.
The holding of the Chiefs of Staff Committee on the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic once again stressed the active role of the Armed Forces of the Kyrgyz Republic in developing and improving military cooperation between the CIS member states.
The meeting participants noted that the Committee of the Chiefs of Staff is precisely a deliberative body where a constructive exchange of views on the pressing issues of ensuring military security, both in individual states and the Commonwealth as a whole, is carried out.
"The unity of our views allows us to express our confidence that we will continue to develop our cooperation in the format of the Commonwealth in the interests of ensuring the stability and security of our states," said Colonel Orozmatov.
Questions about the activities of the Service System working bodies of the CIS member states in 2017, cooperation in the field of engineering support, training of demining experts for the armed forces were also heard during the meeting of the Committee.
The participants of the meeting considered security issues of the Central Asian region in the context of international terrorism and regional extremist organizations, and also considered a draft Plan on Work of the Defense Ministers of the CIS Member States for 2018.
Summing up the meeting, Orozmatov stressed that it once again proved the common approach and views of the military departments in matters of ensuring military security of the Commonwealth States.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 7
By Fatih Karimov Trend:
Irans passenger car (including sedans and SUVs) output registered a rise by 20 percent during the first five months of the current fiscal year (March 20-Aug. 21) to stand at 496,833 units, according to the latest report of the countrys Industry, Mine and Trade ministry.
Irans largest auto manufacturer Iran Khodro produced 273,441 passenger cars in the 5-month period, 16.8 percent more year-on-year.
Meanwhile Saipa, the second biggest Iranian auto-maker manufactured 134,684 passenger cars, which is 21 percent more compared to the same period of preceding year.
Output of Pars Khodro company, a subsidiary of Saipa also accounted for 88,708 passenger cars, 29.3 percent more in comparison with the first five months of last fiscal year (March 20-Aug. 21, 2016).
The official statistics indicates that Iran Khodro has manufactured 11,985 Dongfeng type models, a Chinese-derived vehicle. The figure is almost 106 times more compared to the 5-month period of preceding year, the highest production growth among the car brands manufactured in Iran.
The output of Japanese brand Suzuki Grand Vitara, the small SUV produced by complete knock-down by Iran Khodro stood at 2,553 units in the 5-month period, 16 times more year on year.
The official statistics also indicates that Iran Khodro has assembled 4,329 SUV Haima, a Chinese brand car in the 5-month period, 349.1 percent more year-on-year.
Production of another Chinese SUV, Changan CS35 also registered a huge rise by 333.1 percent. Saipa manufactured 3,270 Changan CS35 vehicles during the first five months of current fiscal year.
Ario, a Chinese-derived vehicle produced by Saipa also was among the vehicles with highest growth in production. The Iranian car maker manufactured 4,305 Ario S300, 241 percent more year-on-year.
Saipas Pars Khodro also manufactured 16,874 Chinese brand Brilliance vehicles, which indicates a rise by 50 percent compared to last year.
SAIPA and Brilliance started their joint production line in Karaj, west of Tehran last year. The assembly lines are for production of the brand's H220 H230, H320 and H330 models.
South Korean Kia Cerato and Renault's Sandero as well as Tiba were other car models with high output growth.
Saipa manufactured 57,160 Tiba in the 5-month period, 55.5 percent more year-on-year, meanwhile Cerato and Sandero output accounted for 10,392 (90.7 percent increase) and 19,116 (100.5 percent more) respectively.
Over 1.350 million cars were produced in Iran in the last Iranian fiscal year (ended March 20).
Irans car output reached 982,337 units in 2015, according to the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA). The figure indicated a 9.9-percent fall compared to the preceding year.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sep. 12
By Farhad Daneshvar Trend:
An ATA Airlines flight bound for Baku made an emergency landing at Tabriz airport in northwestern Iran on Tuesday due to engine trouble apparently caused by a bird strike, a company official told Trend.
The flight took off from Tabrizs Shahid Madani Airport at 16:30 local time (GMT +4:30), but returned to land seven minutes later, Nader Shayesteh, the representative of ATA Airlines in Baku, told Trend.
There were no reported injuries among any of the passengers and crew members on board, he added.
Shayesteh noted that the officials at Tabriz airport are making efforts to carry out the flight in the coming couple of hours.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 10
By Khalid Kazimov Trend:
Considering the risk and return concept, Iranian capital market offers chances for higher returns compared to international markets, a market analyst believes.
"If we divide the markets in the world into the three categories of developed, emerging and frontier markets, Iran would be in the third group," Mehrdad Seyyed Asgari, a Norway-based analyst, told Trend.
Investors normally are interested in such markets due to the potential returns and existing growth chances, he added.
He suggests that the relatively inexpensive prices in the Iranian market, has a crucial role in attracting foreign investors.
"In general, the prices of stocks of a particular company in the US markets value about 18 times more than the possible return of those stocks. The average returns in the markets outside the US total about 13 times more than the estimated return of the stocks. This figure for stock markets in Iran is about 7.5 which is below the global standards," he said.
"This means that the stocks of a particular company in Iran are priced below the half of the prices of the stocks of a similar company in the US with the same level of return," he explained.
"Even when the international sanctions against Iran were still on, the return of stocks in Irans equity market was two times more than the return of stocks in the US markets," he concluded.
The volume of foreign investment in the Iranian capital market experienced a huge surge, reaching $391.5 million over the last fiscal year ending March 20. The figure in 2013 when President Hassan Rouhani came to office stood at about $35 million.
Although at a slower pace, Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) extended its positive run over the past Iranian week to September 8. The main index of TSE edged up 0.5 percent, resting at 83,675 on the last day of the trade week.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sep. 12
Trend:
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has called on Islamic governments to exert political and economic pressure on Myanmars government to make it stop a deadly crackdown on minority Rohingya Muslims in the Southeast Asian country, the leaders official website reported.
Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei said that the Islamic Republic must take clear stances against oppressions taking place in any place around the globe.
He further slammed the government of Myanmar over the situation of Rohingya Muslims there and said the crisis in Myanmar is a political issue and should not be reduced to a religious conflict between Muslims and Buddhists.
The supreme leader also lashed out the international and human rights organizations over their silence regarding the situation of Muslims in Myanmar.
Urging the Islamic countries to take measures against the government of Myanmar, he said that practical measures dont mean military meddling.
Practical measures dont mean military deployments. The Muslim governments must step up political and economic pressure on Myanmars government, Khamenei said in a message.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sep. 12
By Khalid Kazimov Trend:
At least 11 have been killed and 28 injured after a bus crashed into a valley in northern Iran, authorities said.
Brigadier-General Mohammadhossein Hamidi, chief of Irans traffic police, has said the incident took place in the early hours of Tuesday, Tasnim news agency reported.
According to the media reports, the bus was carrying passengers from the capital city of Tehran to the northern city of Sari.
The officials are still probing into the incident to find out about its causes.
The death toll of road incidents over the past several years has been in increase in Iran.
The poor quality of vehicles and the failure of drivers to observe traffic regulations are believed to be among the main reasons of the increasing road accidents in Iran.
Mexicos president on Monday threw himself into areas badly hit by last weeks devastating earthquake amid frustration at delays in getting food and water to stricken communities where at least 96 people died and 2.5 million were left in need of aid, Reuters reported.
Accompanied by several cabinet ministers, President Enrique Pena Nieto took on a busy schedule as he toured the battered southern state of Chiapas, seeking to inspire confidence in the governments relief effort.
Pena Nietos approval ratings have plumbed depths lower than any recent president, and his Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) faces a major struggle to retain power in presidential elections next July. The law bars him from seeking re-election.
Speaking in the hard-hit city of Tonala, Pena Nieto urged construction companies to aid rebuilding efforts.
If construction firms commit to showing solidarity by building a few homes ... construction efforts can be carried out quicker, he said. Dont let anyone take advantage of you, or take control of your affairs. The government is here.
Mexican cement producer Cemex said on Monday it would donate $1 million worth of aid to reconstruction efforts. The final cost of the quake is likely to be far higher.
Among those with Pena Nieto were Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong and Finance Minister Jose Antonio Meade, both potential PRI candidates for the presidency.
The quake killed at least sixteen people in Chiapas and four others in Tabasco. The vast majority of deaths so far reported were the 76 in neighboring Oaxaca state.
Many Oaxaca fatalities were in the town of Juchitan, where more than 5,000 homes were destroyed. Tens of thousands of others were damaged in the region.
Government officials delivered bags of simple rations including water and canned food on Sunday, but many Juchitan residents complained about the slow pace of assistance.
Turkey has already paid a deposit to Russia for the purchase of the S-400 anti-ballistic missile system despite opposition from its NATO allies, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said, underlining that both Ankara and Moscow were committed to accomplish the sale process of the high-tech defense equipment.
Our friends have already signed [an agreement on] S-400s. A deposit has also been paid, as far as I know. The process will continue by the transfer of a credit from Russia to us. Both Mr. [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and myself, we are determined on this issue, Erdogan told journalists on his return from Kazakhstan on Sept. 10.
Erdogans remarks debunked some news reports published in different Western newspapers that suggested that Turkey will backtrack from purchasing Russian-made anti-ballistic missiles system as they wouldnt be interoperable with NATOs radars.
But Erdogan denied these reports, stressing that no other country has the right to discuss Turkeys sovereign and independent decisions in upgrading its defense.
Its us who will make decisions regarding our independence. We are responsible over taking security measures for the defense of our country. Well save ourselves if we face difficulties in procuring defense systems, he said.
Recalling that Turkeys demands to purchase drones from allied countries have not been positively responded to as they were seeking enormous amounts of money, Erdogan said, They give tanks, cannons and armored vehicles to the terror organization but we cant procure some of our needs, although we want to pay the price. What happened in the end? We started to produce our own drones and armed drones. We have killed 90 terrorists [with the armed drones] in the last week, referring to the Syrian Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG), which the U.S. has been funding in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
RACINE Hoping to dodge a possible state takeover of failing schools, members of the Racine Unified School District voted 7-2 on Monday to approve a revised employee handbook they believe is compliant with Act 10.
The vote comes less than two weeks after the Legislatures Joint Finance Committee passed a provision which delayed for one year a possible takeover of failing Unified schools through the Opportunity Schools and Partnership Program. To keep that one-year reprieve, however, the JFC stipulated that the districts employee handbook must be consistent with state law barring public employee unions from negotiating for benefits.
The School Board attempted to approve a new employee handbook in early August, but the measure was deferred. Since then, the district has been meeting with representatives from the Racine Education Association and other employee groups to revise the document.
At a School Board work session on Aug. 30, Superintendent Lolli Haws told board members that the district had a revised handbook in place, one free of language about advisory groups or committees providing input about benefits or changes to the handbook. Haws said it didnt mean the district wouldnt seek input, but the handbook doesnt require that.
Trust and urgency
On Monday, Chief of Human Resources Julie Landry and Executive Director of Employee Relations Keri Hanstedt went through the various revisions to the handbook, including fixes to language regarding retirement notice, and changes to the dress code.
I will be very honest and say that there are some things in this handbook that we, the administration, may have wanted in, that were not included, and there are things the employees wanted in, that were not included, Landry said. But we do believe that we worked together to come up with the version that you have in front of you.
Board members praised district officials and employee groups for their work on the handbook. But while School Board President Robert Wittke and members Dennis Wiser, Brian OConnell, Matt Hanser, Mike Frontier urged the passage of the handbook as is, members Julie McKenna, Steve Hooper and John Heckenlively expressed concerns about portions of the handbook dealing with revisions.
McKenna, along with Heckenlively, ultimately voted against approving the handbook.
McKenna and Hooper proposed changes to the handbook on Monday but all of them failed to gain enough support.
Throughout the course of the discussions, Wittke expressed the need for the board to approve a clean handbook that will pass muster with the state.
I believe that our action will be the first step in showing that we want the governance of this district, the ability to make the changes to improve student achievement, (to remain) here, Wittke said, adding that waiting could result in legislation that ends up being even more adverse to the district. My appetite for risk with this district is zero. I want to take no risk whatsoever with all 19,500 kids that we have.
Secession concerns remain
Now that the handbook is on its way to the state for review, administrators and board members still face the possible dissolution of the district.
Although the JFC said it would delay a state takeover of failing schools should Unified receive a failing grade from the Department of Public Instruction for the 2016-17 school year, it still faces the specter of suburban leaders being able to make moves to break off from the district.
If the district gets a failing grade this fall, DPI will begin a study on the possible impact of villages such as Mount Pleasant, Caledonia and Sturtevant creating their own school districts. A failing grade this year also would allow those village boards to decide if they want to go to referendum in the fall of 2018 to ask the voters if they want their own school district.
The possibility of villages pulling away from Unified has quickly become the central issue for leaders in Racine. At a mayoral forum on Saturday, candidates all expressed deep concerns over the potential destruction of the district.
At Mondays meeting, members of Racine Education Association were mostly silent but sought signatures from meeting attendees opposed to a state takeover of Unified.
Giving a comment after the meeting, REA President Angelina Cruz said that she understood why the School Board thought it had to vote the way it did on the handbook, but added that if the district wants to improve student performance it needs to start supporting the educators doing the work on the ground.
I dont know how passing the handbook is going to change the reality we are dealing with, Cruz said. They made this drastic change with an eye to the state Legislature, but I think they need to start looking internally at what is going on with the district.
An initial version of this story incorrectly stated that Steve Hooper was was one of the two School Board members that voted against approving the handbook. The error has been corrected.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 12
By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend:
Russia and Turkey are negotiating terms of a loan for the purchase of S-400 Triumph air defense system, Turkish media outlets quoted President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying Sept. 12.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is personally interested in the supply of S-400 Triumph system to Turkey, Erdogan said, adding that Turkey has every right to ensure its own safety.
It was earlier reported that Turkey would buy two S-400 Triumph systems for $2.5 billion.
Vladimir Putin had said Moscow was ready to sell Ankara the S-400 Triumph system, but the issue of localization of the production in Turkey would depend on the readiness of the countrys industry.
Later, on July 25, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the two countries have already signed an agreement on the purchase of the S-400 Triumph system.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
President says battle against desertification still a priority
From:Chinadaily | 2017-09-12 16:15
The 13th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP13) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) opens in Ordos city in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region on Sept 11, 2017.[Photo/Xinhua]
China will stick to its commitment to fight against desertification and further strengthen the cooperation with all parties and international communities to make joint efforts for a better world, President Xi Jinping said in a congratulatory letter to a UN environment meeting on Monday.
The high-level segment of the 13th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention to Combat Desertification is being held in Ordos, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, from Monday to Wednesday.
"Desertification is a challenge that is faced by all people, which also has a major influence on world development. We need to promote the principle of respecting and protecting nature. The environment should always be our priority," Xi wrote in the letter.
Xi said it has been 21 years since the UN desertification convention took effect. Major efforts from the parties have produced significant changes since then, but many people still suffer from desertification.
"The theme of this year's conference is Combating Desertification for Human Well-being. Under new frameworks, some major positive influence will be seen to build a better ecosystem for the whole world," he said.
Vice-Premier Wang Yang, who attended the conference, said China will fulfill its commitment and achieve its sustainable development goals by 2030, with green building a crucial part of the country's effort to combat desertification.
About 400 million people in 18 Chinese provinces were affected by desertification in the 1950s, according to the State Forestry Administration. A mass campaign against desertification started in 1956.
In 1978, the Chinese government decided to launch several mass campaigns to combat desertification, such as the Three-North Shelter Forest Program placing forest windbreaks in 13 provinces in northern China and known as the "Great Green Wall".
"China is very experienced in land renewal. We've seen a successful case in the Kubuqi Desert, where 6,000 square kilometers of land once covered by sand is now green and more than 100,000 of its people are now out of poverty," said Monique Barbut, the UN desertification convention executive secretary.
China joined the UN convention in 1994 and promulgated the world's first law dedicated to sand prevention and control in 2001. Most nations use regulations for this purpose
In the past five years, the area of desert decreased in China by 242,400 hectares. In 12 northern provinces and regions including Inner Mongolia, the number of people living under the poverty line fell from 47.11 million to 13.42 million.
Liu Dongsheng, deputy director of the State Forestry Administration, said China has set a goal to turn half of the country's desert into green areas by 2020. And by 2050, he said all the country's desert that can be changed will be made green.
Shanghai dialect can be heard up above
From:Shanghaidaily | 2017-09-12 16:01
SHANGHAI Airlines has expanded a practice to broadcast greetings in the Shanghai dialect to 10 flights after a survey found most passengers like hearing it.
The welcome announcements can be heard on flights returning to Shanghai from Taiwan, Macau, Hong Kong, Kunming in southwest Yunnan Province, Haikou and Sanya on south Hainan Island, Guilin and Nanning in south Chinas Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region as well as Shenzhen and Guangzhou in south Guangdong Province from this month, said Jin Yun, Party secretary of the cabin service department with the airline.
Passengers can hear a pre-recorded male or female voice speaking in the local dialect after take-off and before landing. Safety introductions remain in English and Mandarin.
"We hope to create an atmosphere in the cabin to let passengers from Shanghai and other provinces as well as abroad feel they are coming to the city," Jin said.
The local dialect is featured by "soft, slow and pleasant tones," she added.
The airline invited Mao Shanyu, director of Shanghai Huju Theater and a well-known Huju Opera performer to record one of the broadcasts.
The carrier launched a trial operation in July to broadcast greetings in the local dialect on flights returning from Kunming and Taipei. Over 500 passengers were interviewed during the trial operation and 96 percent said they liked what they heard, the airline said.
"Local travelers, especially those who have taken a long voyage abroad, will feel warm when returning to their hometown upon hearing the Shanghai dialect," said Peng Lingzhen, one of the passengers surveyed.
The airline launched the practice amid increasing concerns that the number of local young speakers of the Shanghai dialect is dropping rapidly.
According to a survey from the Shanghai Statistics Bureau, more Shanghai residents can speak Mandarin than the local dialect.
At the annual session of Shanghai People's Congress this year, lawmakers urged authorities to promote Shanghainese.
"Local dialect is the blood of the city Shanghai, but most local children cannot speak the dialect nowadays," said Wang Rugang, who is both director of the Shanghai Peoples Farce Troupe and a legislator.
KYODO NEWS - Sep 12, 2017 - 16:48 | Urgent, All
A man believed to be a bodyguard of the head of a splinter gang group was shot dead Tuesday in the western Japan city of Kobe in an apparent feud with another splinter group of the Yamaguchi-gumi, the largest crime syndicate in the country, police said.
The man, identified as Yuhiro Kusumoto, 44, was shot on a street in Nagata Ward around 10 a.m. He was taken to a hospital but pronounced dead about 75 minutes later.
The splinter group Ninkyo yamaguchi-gumi was formed in April after separating from the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi, which itself split off from the Yamaguchi-gumi about two years ago.
When three cars apparently belonging to the Ninkyo yamaguchi-gumi tried to enter a main street, they were forced to stop by another vehicle in an ambush and gunshots were heard, the police said.
The assailants, including the gunman believed to be in his 40s or 50s, are on the run after leaving the scene, they said.
According to the police, Yoshinori Oda, 50, leader of the new splinter group, usually uses the front car and the bodyguard was riding in the second vehicle.
At least two gunshots were heard in a residential area in Kobe, the capital of Hyogo Prefecture.
"I heard a noise like when a tire goes flat," said a nearby shopkeeper, adding that as he rushed outside he saw a man lying next to a car with the door left open on the driver's side.
An elementary school nearby decided to close early for the day and directed pupils to go home in groups under teachers' supervision.
KYODO NEWS - Sep 12, 2017 - 12:10 | All, Feature
Danish Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary will make a four-day visit to Japan from Oct. 9 to commemorate 150 years of bilateral diplomatic ties, the Japanese government's top spokesman said Tuesday.
During their official working visit, the couple will attend a luncheon with Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko as well as meeting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a press conference.
Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito visited Denmark in June as part of the 150-year commemorations.
"We hope this visit will further develop (Japan's) relationship of friendship, goodwill and cooperation with Denmark, an important partner that shares our basic values," Suga said.
By Tomoyuki Tachikawa, KYODO NEWS - Sep 12, 2017 - 17:59 | All
New U.S. Ambassador to Japan William Hagerty emphasized Tuesday that relations between the two countries are "at the highest point," pledging Washington would protect Japan against any contingencies involving North Korea.
With Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile ambitions threatening stability in the Asia-Pacific region, U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have a "special bond," Hagerty said in an interview with Kyodo News.
Businessman Hagerty back in Tokyo as U.S. ambassador
Abe's political instinct is "very solid," Hagerty said. "He made the first phone call to President Trump after the election. He made the first visit to the Trump tower...He made a big impression on the president."
"I do not believe there is another world leader that the president speaks with more often than Prime Minister Abe," said Hagerty, adding, "I think that coordination between our two governments is at the highest point in history."
Hagerty, who was a Tennessee businessman, presented his credentials to Emperor Akihito at the Imperial Palace late last month.
The new ambassador is known as a close ally of Trump as he served as a key member of the president's transition team.
Hagerty, meanwhile, built ties with Japan through a three-year posting in Tokyo from the late 1980s to early 1990s while working for the Boston Consulting Group, and in his work as commissioner of economic development for the state of Tennessee from 2011 to 2015.
Abe's government hopes that Hagerty will play a key role in deepening the Japan-U.S. alliance, as regional security has worsened recently against the backdrop of North Korea's provocations, including its latest nuclear test earlier this month.
"The president's instruction to me has to do with the Japan alliance," Hagerty said, adding that he has maintained close communication with the Abe administration and U.S. forces in and around Japan to enhance mutual cooperation.
"My charge is to maintain very close communications and to, in every case, make sure the Japanese public knows we are with Japan," he said.
Hagerty also expressed confidence in defense systems operated jointly by Washington and Tokyo, saying, "I would fully expect to see more interoperability moving forward with our systems."
The interview was conducted hours after the U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a new sanctions resolution to impose the first restrictions on exports of crude oil and petroleum products to North Korea in punishment for its sixth and largest nuclear test on Sept. 3.
Pyongyang previously conducted a nuclear test in September last year and has continued to launch ballistic missiles in defiance of international warnings, including two intercontinental ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan in July and one that flew over Japan into the Pacific Ocean late last month.
"We are sending an increasingly stronger message each time," Hagerty said, suggesting that the United States will continue putting more pressure on Pyongyang until the country takes concrete actions to abandon its nuclear weapons programs.
"Our goal is not to hurt North Korean people. Our goal is to send a message that we want the denuclearization of the peninsula," Hagerty said.
As for China's attempts to challenge Japan's administration of the Senkaku Islands, Hagerty said Article 5 of the Japan-U.S. security treaty "covers" the East China Sea islets, meaning that Washington will defend Tokyo in the event of conflict there.
"We acknowledge our responsibility under Article 5," Hagerty said. "We oppose any unilateral action in that area by any nation."
Regarding the plan to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from a residential area in Ginowan to the less populated Henoko coastal district in Nago, both in Okinawa Prefecture, Hagerty said it should proceed.
Despite lingering protests from local residents in Japan's southern island prefecture, the relocation plan is "the solution that our two governments have agreed to," Hagerty said, adding, "It's the best plan we have."
The new ambassador succeeded Caroline Kennedy, who served under President Barack Obama's administration before leaving Tokyo in January.
On his American tour, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi addressed at Berkeley's prestigious University of California. In his speech, Rahul made a fierce attack on the Narendra Modi government. He took the Modi government against the ban on bondage, Kashmir policy, and foreign policy.
At the same time, Rahul praised "Clean India Initiative" and said, "PM Modi is a good speaker than me."
Gandhi says, India is a complex country. Every time you try to understand India is a fool. We have 29 states, covering every religion in the world. We have 17 official languages and hundreds of dialects. We have different terrains too. Most experts didnt expect India to survive; they predicted it will be torn apart. But India came out standing straight and tall.
Rahul Gandhi speaks on Kashmir issue:
UPA II government had in 2013 broken the back of terrorism and was done by holding Panchayati Raj elections, women self-help groups and giving young people from J&K employment and building their confidence. When we started terrorism was rampant in Kashmir but when we finished there was peace."
If security guard gives me protection in Kashmir, then that means something is not right in Kashmir. But in 2013, people were standing with me, not a security guard. But in 2014 there was a need for security personnel in Kashmir.
Mr. Modi is also my Prime Minister &, good speaker than me:
I am the leader of the opposition but Modi is my PM too. Hes a very good communicator and understands how to deliver a message to three or four groups in a crowd; his messaging ability is very subtle. What I sense is that he doesnt converse with the people he works with Ive heard this from parliamentarians, Clean India is a good idea, I like it too.
Today Russia is selling arms to Pakistan, which never happened before, it did not happen earlier. China's influence in Nepal, Burma, Sri Lanka, Maldives is increasing, it is important to balance foreign policy. It is important to make friends with the US, but it is important to build relationships with other countries too.
I learned a lot from America and now I am applying in India. But you can not apply that thing in India directly. I read economics, but now my work comes down considerably.
Also, read:
Ryan International School murder: SC to hear anticipatory bail of Trustees today
Omar Abdullah urges Centre to file counter affidavit in SC
Madras HC dismisses plea against AIADMK council meet
1 dead, another injured in Gulmi motorcycle accident
A youth was killed leaving another injured when a motorcycle met with an accident at Phalante, Ruru rural municipality -3 in the district on Tuesday.
80-year-old candidate to stand for downtrodden
Shanti Karki is a sprightly old lady of 80, who has dedicated her life to social works.
88 parties register for participation in proportional representation election
Eighty-eight political parties have applied at the Election Commission to contest in the proportional representation (PR) system of election to the House of Representatives and the State Assembly.
Pedestrians walk behind a World Trade Center tribute banner showing the names of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks at Willie Mays Plaza outside of AT&T Park in San Francisco, Monday, Sept. 11, 2017. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Tuesday:
1. KEYS FELT IRMA'S FULL FURY
Authorities send an aircraft carrier and other Navy ships to help with search-and-rescue operations as a flyover of the hurricane-battered Florida islands yields what the governor says were scenes of devastation.
2. WHERE HELP HAS BEEN SLOW TO ARRIVE
Caribbean officials struggle to get aid to islands devastated by Irma, with at least 34 people reported killed across the region, including 10 in Cuba.
3. 'OUR COUNTRY CAME TOGETHER THAT DAY'
Americans mark the 16th anniversary of Sept. 11 with somber tributes, tears and pleas from some victims' relatives to return to the sense of unity felt after the attacks.
4. UN OK'S NEW SANCTIONS ON NORTH KOREA
The sanctions do not contain an oil import ban or international asset freeze on the government and leader Kim Jong Un that the Trump administration wanted.
5. DEATH TOLL FROM EARTHQUAKE WORSENS
The official toll in Mexico's 8.1 magnitude quake rises to nearly 100 as more deaths are confirmed in the hard-hit southern states of Oaxaca and Chiapas.
6. WHICH RED FLAG EQUIFAX HACK RAISED
The attack highlights the vulnerability of Social Security numbers, which are widely used by financial firms as personal identifiers.
7. VIOLENCE ERUPTS DURING FOOTBALL PARTY
Nine people, including a suspect fatally shot by police, are dead after a man opened fire during a gathering to watch football at a suburban Dallas home.
8. WALL STREET BUOYED AS IRMA FADES
U.S. stocks rally to record highs as the hurricane swirls north without causing as much damage as many had feared.
9. WHAT'S PARADOX OF HURRICANE COVERAGE
People on television spend days warning the public to get out of harm's way then station their correspondents squarely in the middle of howling wind and rain.
10. THE 'IT' FACTOR: AUDIENCES FLOCK TO FRIGHT FLICK
The horror genre has been stuck in the micro-budget realm for years, but that might change with the record-breaking success of "It" at the box office.
Texas Capital (TCBI) reported earnings 30 days ago. What's next for the stock? We take a look at earnings estimates for some clues.
From the sell in May and go away to the Santa Clause rally, there are numerous calendar-driven investing strategies. Lately, talks that September is the worst month for stocks have been making the rounds, and rightly so.
Devastating storms continue to affect the energy, restaurant, travel and insurance industries in the United States. While hurricane Irma has begun its destructive barrage on Florida, the estimated impact of hurricane Harvey on the economy surpasses the combined effect of hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. As if that wasnt enough, North Korea continues to add to geopolitical tensions at a time when U.S. stock valuations are stretched and global growth soft.
Meanwhile, investors should practice caution and pick stocks of companies with big brands. Such companies have established business models and tend to draw consumers and investors, even when the equity market gets rocky.
Irma Batters Florida, Harvey Drains Coffers
Irma made landfall on Floridas southern islands. The hurricane has claimed three lives and has resulted in power loss for more than 1 million customers. Residents of Miami and Tampa moved to safer zones, leaving behind ghost towns. Per National Weather Service, Irma gained strength as category 4 storms after being downgraded to category 3 as it moved to Florida. Governor Rick Scott has warned that Irma is stronger than hurricane Andrew that had wrecked the state in 1992 (read more: Hurricane Irma Set to Hit Florida: Gainers & Losers).
AccuWeather raised the estimated damage caused by Hurricane Harvey to $190 billion, or a full 1% of U.S. GDP. This highlights an increase from an earlier tally of $160 billion. The most affected area is likely to be Houston, the fourth biggest city in the United States. The city is expected to remain uninhabitable for weeks or even months, thanks to mold and dirty water.
Harvey has crippled a dozen refineries including the biggest in the country, Saudi Arabian Oil Co.s Motiva facility in Port Arthur and Exxon Mobil Corps XOM Baytown facility. Both of the facilities account for more than 30% of U.S. refining capacity, per HIS Markit. Meanwhile, restaurant companies with business concentration in Texas and surrounding areas have been affected the most. Sonic Corporation SONC and Jack in the Box Inc. JACK have almost one-third of their store base in Texas. And for airlines, United Continental Holdings Inc UAL will eventually have to bear the brunt since 19% of its capacity is in Houston. Major insurance companies are also factoring in the catastrophic effect of the hurricanes on their business (read more: 4 Home-Improvement Stocks to Buy Post Harvey Mayhem).
Story continues
North Korea Threatens Greatest Pain for Sanctions
North Korea, in the meanwhile, threatened to inflict pain and suffering on the United States if it issues sanctions in response to Kim Jong-un regimes sixth nuclear test last week. Notably, the bomb is an advanced hydrogen one that can be placed on an intercontinental ballistic missile. North Koreas Foreign Ministry said that if the United States does rig up the illegal and unlawful resolution, it would respond in kind.
The White House reacted strongly and warned North Korea that military actions are still on the table if Pyongyang threatens the United States or its allies. The White House wants the United Nations to impose a halt to oil exports to North Korea and at the same time freeze Kim Jong-uns assets. The United States is also demanding a ban on North Koreans working abroad since they pass most of the foreign currency to the regime.
U.S. Stocks Overvalued, China Raises Global Growth Worries
A record number of fund managers see the U.S. market as the most overvalued in the world. Among the 20 valuation metrics tracked by Ned Davis Research, 16 indicate that the U.S. stocks are extremely overvalued.
The stocks current cyclically-adjusted price-earnings ratio has only been exceeded in 1929 and 2000 both prior to major corrections. In 1929, Wall Street was subjected to an infamous crash, while 2000 saw the dotcom implosion. This time around, expansion in profit margins led to lofty valuations, which raise concerns of a possible downturn (read more: 5 Great Value Picks for the World's Priciest Market).
Overnight trade data from China was rather mixed, raising questions about global growth. Chinas exports did increase from a year earlier in August, but, the recent rise in yuans value is starting to weigh on such exports. The yuan rose 2% against the U.S. dollar in August, its highest monthly gain since July 2005. The currency rebounded from a 6.6% decline last year to its highest level in more than 20 months this week. Chen Lin, general manager at Hefei DGCT Imp. & Exp. Co. Ltd, added that rising yuan is eating into profits from his pet toys business. Imports are also expected to take a beating because the governments efforts to reduce debt are having an adverse impact on domestic demand.
4 Solid Big-Brand Stocks for Now
With so many concerns plaguing investors, big-brand stocks offer some respite at the moment. The value of brands is that they instantly convey to consumers information about quality, durability and consistency. These traits help such stocks counter market gyrations. They also boast stable cash flow and dividend yields.
While finding companies that offer these traits isnt easy, they do exist. To help you with this, we have selected five mega-brand stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) and a VGM Score of A or B. Here V stands for Value, G for Growth and M for Momentum and the score is a weighted combination of these three metrics. Such a score allows you to eliminate the negative aspects of stocks and select winners.
Home Depot Inc HD is the worlds biggest home-improvement retailer. The company enjoys a leading market position in the consumer side of the home-improvement industry, which comprises homeowners who complete their own projects or pay the retailer for help with installation. Home Depot has a Zacks Rank #2 and a VGM Score of B. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings advanced 1.1% over the last 60 days. The companys estimated growth rate for the current and next quarters are 12.8% and 10.4%, respectively. Home Depot has a dividend yield of 2.23% while its five-year average dividend yield is pegged at 2.04%.
Ross Stores, Inc. ROST is the off-price apparel and home fashion chain in the United States. Being the nations largest off-price retail chain, it has a great deal of purchasing power.Ross Stores has a Zacks Rank #2 and a VGM Score of A. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings increased 2.2% over the last 60 days. The companys estimated growth rate for the current and next quarters are 7.7% and 19.6%, respectively. Ross Stores has a dividend yield of 1.09%, while its five-year average dividend yield is pegged at 0.96%. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Caterpillar Inc. CAT is a pioneer in manufacturing of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives.The company has a Zacks Rank #1 and a VGM Score of B. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings rose 22.5% over the last 60 days. The companys estimated growth rate for the current and next quarters are 40.5% and nearly 47%, respectively. Caterpillar has a dividend yield of 2.65%, while its five-year average dividend yield is pegged at 3.14%.
Morgan Stanley MS is a leading global financial services firm providing investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services.The company has a Zacks Rank #2 and a VGM Score of B. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings improved 2.9% over the last 60 days. The companys estimated growth rate for the current quarter is 4.6%. Morgan Stanley has a dividend yield of 2.27%, while its five-year average dividend yield is pegged at 1.45%.
More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!
It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.
Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020.
Click here for the 6 trades >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
United Continental Holdings, Inc. (UAL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Home Depot, Inc. (The) (HD) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Morgan Stanley (MS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Caterpillar, Inc. (CAT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Ross Stores, Inc. (ROST) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Sonic Corp. (SONC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Jack In The Box Inc. (JACK) : Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment Research
Amar Yadav returns to Sanghiya Forum
Former leader of then Madhesi Janadhikar Forum Amar Yadav, who quit the party to form Madhes Tarai Forum, has returned to the Upendra yadav-led Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum.
With U.S. prodding, the United Nationson Monday agreed to further limit global trade with North Korea following the country's most powerful nuclear test ever. Although the new sanctions are bound to further squeeze Pyongyang's economy, many analysts expressed skepticism that the United States and its allies could bring the rogue state back into negotiations.In fact, conventional multilateral talks are not the answer to the North Korea tensions, said Wesley Clark, former NATO supreme allied commander. That means the countries who have thus far headed the international response to North Korea's provocations, including the U.S., China and Russia , must stay away from the dialogue table at least publicly. Instead, the world needs complex negotiations mediated by a neutral third party, Clark said. And the key to the success of those talks lies in keeping them secretive, he added.Why traditional talks won't happen The North persisted with its provocative weapons testing despite an earlier round of UN sanctions, issued in August, by launching a missile over Japan and conducting a nuclear test in September.It is likely to respond to the latest sanctions with more weapons trials, according to Byoung-Joo Kim, adjunct professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies."The problem is the more the U.S. wants to add pressure, the more North Korea wants to respond with greater pressure," Clark told CNBC.And both countries are unlikely to engage in dialogue at the same time as they are toughening up on the other party, according to the former NATO commander.Crucially, the parties' consideration of public perception limits the options they can take to resolve the tensions. At the current stage, showing a willingness to talk will make the countries "look weak," causing the opposing side to be less willing to concede, Clark said.Furthermore, negotiations might be fundamentally ineffective in bringing a resolution to the crisis because both the U.S. and North Korea cannot offer what the other wants, according to Clark."The objectives of the two sides seem to be directly contradictory," he said. "North Korea wants the U.S. out [of the region], a guarantee they won't be attacked, and to handle South Korea on their own, presumably through intimidation, pressure and conflict if necessary." Those goals, if achieved, could threaten regional peace and security, which is exactly what Washington and Seoul want to avoid, he added.Send in the neutralsPublicly recognition as the first party to open the door to dialogue could cost the U.S. and North Korea bargaining power in their ongoing tug-of-war but the countries can take a back door route to resolving the crisis, Clark said."What is needed is someone behind the scenes who ... while publicly both sides ratchet up the pressure, is working to find a solution that meets both parties' near-term objectives and provides a road map to the future," the former commander said."But it has to be done privately, quietly, without any fanfare," he added.Such a solution could take the form of a multi-year program that moves toward normalization, and involves a non-NATO mediator such as Sweden or Finland, according to Clark. "You might have someone from the Middle East who's an experienced U.N. negotiator, a man like [Algerian diplomat] Lakhdar Brahimi who's very well known for going into crisis situations," he said, adding that the intermediary could also take the form of "any number of retired former foreign secretaries or presidents and prime ministers of countries" that have had relations with the two countries. North Korea last participated in multilateral talks in 2005, when it reached an agreement with the United States, South Korea, China, Japan and Russia to suspend its nuclear program in return for diplomatic benefits and energy aid.The negotiations collapsed in 2008 after Pyongyang refused access to compliance inspectors, which led to the imposition of further sanctions.The latest round of UN trade restrictions imposes a cap on oil exports to North Korea at current levels, and bans Pyongyang's economically important textile exports. With U.S. prodding, the United Nations on Monday agreed to further limit global trade with North Korea following the country's most powerful nuclear test ever. Although the new sanctions are bound to further squeeze Pyongyang's economy, many analysts expressed skepticism that the United States and its allies could bring the rogue state back into negotiations. In fact, conventional multilateral talks are not the answer to the North Korea tensions, said Wesley Clark, former NATO supreme allied commander. That means the countries who have thus far headed the international response to North Korea's provocations, including the U.S., China and Russia , must stay away from the dialogue table at least publicly. Instead, the world needs complex negotiations mediated by a neutral third party, Clark said. And the key to the success of those talks lies in keeping them secretive, he added. Why traditional talks won't happen The North persisted with its provocative weapons testing despite an earlier round of UN sanctions, issued in August, by launching a missile over Japan and conducting a nuclear test in September. It is likely to respond to the latest sanctions with more weapons trials, according to Byoung-Joo Kim, adjunct professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. "The problem is the more the U.S. wants to add pressure, the more North Korea wants to respond with greater pressure," Clark told CNBC. And both countries are unlikely to engage in dialogue at the same time as they are toughening up on the other party, according to the former NATO commander. Crucially, the parties' consideration of public perception limits the options they can take to resolve the tensions. At the current stage, showing a willingness to talk will make the countries "look weak," causing the opposing side to be less willing to concede, Clark said. Furthermore, negotiations might be fundamentally ineffective in bringing a resolution to the crisis because both the U.S. and North Korea cannot offer what the other wants, according to Clark. "The objectives of the two sides seem to be directly contradictory," he said. "North Korea wants the U.S. out [of the region], a guarantee they won't be attacked, and to handle South Korea on their own, presumably through intimidation, pressure and conflict if necessary." Those goals, if achieved, could threaten regional peace and security, which is exactly what Washington and Seoul want to avoid, he added. Send in the neutrals Publicly recognition as the first party to open the door to dialogue could cost the U.S. and North Korea bargaining power in their ongoing tug-of-war but the countries can take a back door route to resolving the crisis, Clark said. "What is needed is someone behind the scenes who ... while publicly both sides ratchet up the pressure, is working to find a solution that meets both parties' near-term objectives and provides a road map to the future," the former commander said. "But it has to be done privately, quietly, without any fanfare," he added. Such a solution could take the form of a multi-year program that moves toward normalization, and involves a non-NATO mediator such as Sweden or Finland, according to Clark. "You might have someone from the Middle East who's an experienced U.N. negotiator, a man like [Algerian diplomat] Lakhdar Brahimi who's very well known for going into crisis situations," he said, adding that the intermediary could also take the form of "any number of retired former foreign secretaries or presidents and prime ministers of countries" that have had relations with the two countries. North Korea last participated in multilateral talks in 2005, when it reached an agreement with the United States, South Korea, China, Japan and Russia to suspend its nuclear program in return for diplomatic benefits and energy aid. The negotiations collapsed in 2008 after Pyongyang refused access to compliance inspectors, which led to the imposition of further sanctions. The latest round of UN trade restrictions imposes a cap on oil exports to North Korea at current levels, and bans Pyongyang's economically important textile exports.
More From CNBC
Bitcoin prices have tumbled over $1,000 over the past month as China clamps down on cryptocurrency.
Chinese authorities have reportedly decided to ban the trading of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on domestic exchanges, the Wall Street Journal reports. That has pushed Bitcoin as low as $3,978 over the weekend. It has since ticked upward to about $4,177 as of early Monday.
Thats a 20% drop since the start of September, when Chinas central bank said it would ban initial coin offeringstipping the cryptocurrency from its all-time high of above $5,000.
Prior to Chinas most recent clampdown on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin had been soaring as investors grew more optimistic about the future cost and speed of transactions.
But news of Chinas potential exchange ban has likely spooked investors. The country accounts for a hefty portion of the Bitcoin market, with about 18% of trades being conducted in Chinese yuan, according to CryptoCompare.
Investors in China have been using Bitcoin as a way to protect themselves should the yuan fall in value. Trading their yuan in for Bitcoin can allow Chinese investors to move funds outside of the country. Traditionally, Chinas government has set a $50,000 annual limit on how much its citizens can move outside of the country. Buying Bitcoin was a way to bypass those rules.
Still, the ban is not exactly a ban on trading Bitcoin entirely. It still will allow for over-the-counter transactions. While existing users will likely still trade, according to Zhou Shuoji, a founding partner at FBG Capital interviewed by Bloomberg, it will make it more difficult for new users to start trading Bitcointhereby limiting Bitcoins potential growth.
Notably, the ban has yet to be officially announced in China, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The price of Ethereum also ticked upward slightly to about $290 early Monday, up from $283 over the weekend as investors continued to digest reports of the ban in China.
This is part of Fortunes new initiative, The Ledger, a trusted news source at the intersection of tech and finance. For more on The Ledger, click here.
From Woman's Day
OFFICIAL RULES NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.
1. WINNER SELECTION: Winners (individually and collectively, the "Winner") will be selected on or about 11/30/2017 in a random drawing from among all eligible entries received. Each sweepstakes is a different drawing that must be entered separately. All the sweepstakes in these Official Rules are individually and collectively the "Sweepstakes." In the event the Sponsor does not receive any eligible entries, the Sponsor has the right to cancel the Sweepstakes. Drawing will be conducted by Woman's Day, whose decisions are final. Odds of winning will depend upon the total number of eligible entries received for each sweepstakes. In the event Canadians are eligible to enter as specified in the Eligibility paragraph below, and if there is a Canadian Winner, the Winner will be required to correctly answer a mathematical skill testing question as a condition of receiving the prize. Important Notice: You may be charged for visiting the mobile website in accordance with the terms of your service agreement with your carrier. Please consult your wireless service provider regarding your pricing plan. You must use a Smartphone device to participate via your mobile phone. Not all mobile phone providers carry the necessary service to participate. Check your phone capabilities for specific Internet instructions. If your data usage exceeds what is allotted by your data plan, you could be subject to additional fees by your carrier. Please contact your mobile service provider with any questions regarding your bill.
2.WINNER NOTIFICATION: Winner will be notified within one (1) month of the last day of the Sweepstakes, via e-mail, and/or at Sponsor's discretion, via phone or postal mail. In the event the Winner doesn't respond to Sponsor's notification or does not accept the prize within five (5) business days of notification, the prize will be deemed forfeited and an alternate Winner will be selected. In the event that any one or more potential Winner(s) fails to respond as stated above, declines the prize or fails to provide signed affidavits or releases, such Winner(s) will be deemed to forfeit the prize and Sponsor will select an alternate Winner(s) from the remaining eligible entrants. If any alternate(s) similarly fails to respond or declines the prize, Sponsor will use a reasonable number of attempts, in its discretion, to award the prize(s) to another alternate(s) but if it is unable to do so, the prize(s) will be finally forfeited and Sponsor shall have no further liability in connection with said Sweepstakes. List of Winners: For the names of the Winners, send a separate self-addressed, stamped envelope to Woman's Day September Sweepstakes Winners' List, Hearst Communications, Inc., 300 West 57th Street NY, NY 10019 within two (2) months from the Winner notification date as specified above.
Story continues
Beyond Tablet Sweepstakes: Enter beginning 12:01 a.m. (ET) on September 12, 2017, through 11:59 p.m. (ET) on November 12, 2017 (the "Entry Period"). Go to womansday.com/giveaways on a computer or wireless device and complete and submit the entry form pursuant to the onscreen instructions. PLEASE NOTE THAT YOUR ENTRY WILL NOT BE COMPLETED UNTIL YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE OFFICIAL ENTRY FORM AND ENTERED YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION. Prizes & Approximate Retail Value: One (1) winner will receive a Beyond Tablet with five (5) included games: Yes or No, Happy Circus, Happy Tunes, Play Do Re Mi, Tong Tong Cha (ARV: $200), plus seven (7) additional games: Music Cube (ARV: $40), Lost Pyramid (ARV: $40), Battle of Submarines (ARV: $50), Elemencery ($50), Funny Fruits ($20), Spot the Animal ($20), and Monster Crash ($30). Total value of prize package: $450. Total ARV of all prizes awarded: $450. Any difference between the stated ARV and the actual value of the prize will not be awarded in any form.
3. ENTRIES: Limit one (1) entry per person per day for Sweepstakes. Multiple entries from the same person per day will be disqualified. Entries become the property of the Sponsor and will not be returned. Proof of submission does not constitute proof of receipt. If applicable, illegible, inaccurate, lost, late, misdirected, incomplete, mutilated, postage due or mechanically reproduced entry forms or entry forms that have been tampered with will be disqualified. Online entrants must have valid email address and it is entrant's responsibility to update Sponsor of any change in email address. The mobile phone number and wireless service provider/carrier of mobile entrants (if applicable) will be automatically captured in the Sweepstakes database and all participation will be limited to that phone number unless entrant notifies Sponsor of a change. If there is a dispute as to the identity of an online or mobile entrant, the prize will be awarded to the authorized account holder of the email address or mobile phone. The "authorized account holder" is defined as the natural person to whom the email address or mobile phone is assigned by an internet service provider, online service provider, carrier, mobile phone provider or other organization (e.g., business, educational institution, etc.) that is responsible for assigning the email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted email address or responsible for assigning the mobile phone number.
4. ELIGIBILITY: Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia, who are eighteen (18) years of age in their state or territory of residence at time of entry. Legal residents of Canada (excluding Quebec) who have reached the aforementioned age in their province of residence at time of entry are also eligible to enter. Void in Puerto Rico and where prohibited by law. Employees of Sponsor, its parents, affiliates and subsidiaries, participating advertising and promotion agencies, independent judging organizations, and prize suppliers (and members of their immediate family and/or those living in the same of household of each such employee) are not eligible.
5. CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION: Expenses not specifically included in prize description and all taxes are the sole responsibility of the Winner. Each prize is awarded "as is" with no warranty or guarantee, either express or implied outside of manufacturer's limited warranty. No transfer, assignment or substitution of a prize permitted, except Sponsor reserves the right to substitute prize for an item of equal or greater value in the event an advertised prize is unavailable. The Winner is required to comply with any and all applicable federal, state, provincial, if Canadians are eligible to enter, and local laws, rules and regulations. All federal, state and local taxes, and any other costs not specifically provided for in these Official Rules are solely the Winner's responsibility. If the actual retail value of any Winner's prize is $600 or more, the Winner must complete a W9 form and supply Sponsor with his/her social security number for tax purposes. An IRS Form 1099 will be issued in the name of the Winner for the actual value of the prizes received. Sponsor shall have no responsibility or obligation to the Winner or potential Winner who are unable or unavailable to accept or utilize prizes as described herein. Entrants agree to be bound by the terms of these Official Rules and by the decisions of Sponsor, which are final and binding on all matters pertaining to this Sweepstakes. Winner may be required to sign and return an Affidavit of Eligibility, a Liability Release and where legally permissible a Publicity Release within seven (7) days following the date of first attempted notification. Failure to comply with this deadline may result in forfeiture of the prize and selection of an alternate Winner. Return of any prize/prize notification as undeliverable may result in disqualification and selection of an alternate Winner. Winner hereby further agrees that it will sign any documents necessary to transfer copyright of his/her submitted entry, if applicable, to Sponsor within seven (7) days following the date of first attempted notification. By entering, Entrant grants permission for Sponsor, and any of its affiliates and subsidiaries, participating advertising and promotion agencies, and prize suppliers to use the entrant's submission (including an altered form of the entry), if any, for editorial, advertising and promotional purposes without additional compensation, unless prohibited by law. If images are being submitted to Sponsor as a requirement for entry, Entrants agree that they have all rights to use the images submitted and to allow Sponsor, any of its affiliates and subsidiaries, participating advertising and promotion agencies, and prize suppliers to reuse any of the images, without any liability, for editorial, advertising and promotional purposes. Additionally, acceptance of the prize by Winner constitutes permission for Sponsor and any affiliates and subsidiaries, participating advertising and promotion agencies, and prize suppliers to use Winner's name and/or likeness and biographical material for editorial, advertising and promotional purposes without additional compensation, unless prohibited by law. By accepting prize, Winner agrees to hold Sponsor, its advertising and promotion agencies and their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, partners, representative agents, successors, assigns, officers, directors, and employees harmless for any injury or damage caused or claimed to be caused by participation in the Sweepstakes or acceptance or use of the prize. Sponsor is not responsible for any printing, typographical, mechanical or other error in the printing of the offer, administration of the Sweepstakes or in the announcement of the prize.
6. INTERNET/MOBILE: Sponsor is not responsible for electronic transmission errors resulting in omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operations or transmission, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to or alterations of entry materials, or for technical, network, telephone equipment, electronic, computer, hardware or software malfunctions or limitations of any kind, or inaccurate transmissions of or failure to receive entry information by Sponsor or presenter on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet, at any Web site, or via the mobile phone or any combination thereof. If for any reason the Internet or mobile phone portion of the program is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes which corrupt of affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Sweepstakes, Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Sweepstakes. Sponsor reserves the right to select winners from eligible entries received as of the termination date. Sponsor further reserves the right to disqualify any individual who tampers with the entry process. Sponsor may prohibit an entrant from participating in the Sweepstakes if it determines that said entrant is attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the Sweepstakes by cheating, hacking, deception or other unfair playing practices or intending to abuse, threaten or harass other entrants. Caution: Any attempt by a participant to deliberately damage any Web site or undermine the legitimate operation of the Sweepstakes is a violation of criminal and civil laws and should such an attempt be made, Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages from any such participant to the fullest extent of the law.
7. DISPUTES/CHOICE OF LAW: Except where prohibited, each entrant agrees that: (1) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by state or federal courts situated in New York, NY, (2) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, but in no event attorneys' fees; and (3) no punitive, incidental, special, consequential or other damages, including without limitation lost profits may be awarded (collectively, "Special Damages"), and (4) entrant hereby waives all rights to claim Special Damages and all rights to have such damages multiplied or increased. New York State law, without reference to New York's choice of law rules, governs the Sweepstakes and all aspects related thereto.
8. SPONSOR: The Sponsor of these Sweepstakes is Hearst Communications, Inc., 300 W. 57th Street, New York, NY 10019.
You Might Also Like
Blackstone (NYSE: BX) co-founder Steve Schwarzman said Tuesday he was accused of being a Nazi in emails he received following President Donald Trump's comments that appeared to support white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia. Schwarzman, who is Jewish, described the time as one of "astonishing pressure" on a group of corporate CEOs like himself who had been part of a White House policy forum advising the president."You should have seen some of the emails I got," Schwarzman said at the Delivering Alpha conference in New York. "I was accused of being a Nazi."The conference is presented by CNBC and Institutional Investor.Two corporate advisory councils disbanded after CEOs came under pressure following Trump's comments that blamed "both sides" for the violence in Charlottesville. Schwarzman, who led the policy council, said he knew his fellow business chiefs were hearing from shareholders and employees voicing displeasure about Trump's remarks and he spoke to forum members for a minute each to hear their concerns."We had an orderly process," Schwarzman said.He would not directly comment on reports that Trump pre-empted the forum's announcement that it was disbanding by tweeting that he was dissolving the group. "This is the political world," he said. "I don't control it."Schwarzman also would not say how recently he has spoken to the president, though he did say he continues to be in contact. He said he has counseled past presidents as well, including Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush. "People who have backgrounds that are relevant should help" the president and the country, he said. "You have an obligation." Blackstone (NYSE: BX) co-founder Steve Schwarzman said Tuesday he was accused of being a Nazi in emails he received following President Donald Trump's comments that appeared to support white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia. Schwarzman, who is Jewish, described the time as one of "astonishing pressure" on a group of corporate CEOs like himself who had been part of a White House policy forum advising the president. "You should have seen some of the emails I got," Schwarzman said at the Delivering Alpha conference in New York. "I was accused of being a Nazi." The conference is presented by CNBC and Institutional Investor. Two corporate advisory councils disbanded after CEOs came under pressure following Trump's comments that blamed "both sides" for the violence in Charlottesville. Schwarzman, who led the policy council, said he knew his fellow business chiefs were hearing from shareholders and employees voicing displeasure about Trump's remarks and he spoke to forum members for a minute each to hear their concerns. "We had an orderly process," Schwarzman said. He would not directly comment on reports that Trump pre-empted the forum's announcement that it was disbanding by tweeting that he was dissolving the group. "This is the political world," he said. "I don't control it." Schwarzman also would not say how recently he has spoken to the president, though he did say he continues to be in contact. He said he has counseled past presidents as well, including Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush. "People who have backgrounds that are relevant should help" the president and the country, he said. "You have an obligation."
More From CNBC
Steve Bannon
A conversation between Steve Bannon, president Donald Trump's former chief strategist, and CBS News' Charlie Rose grew particularly tense during a discussion of the role of immigrants in US history and today's society, with Bannon accusing the journalist of using a "leftist" talking point by arguing that Americans are "all immigrants."
When Rose asked Bannon whether Trump made the right decision to give Congress six months to find a legislative solution for the 800,000 young immigrants currently protected from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, Bannon said it was a politically risky move and that he believes DACA recipients should "self-deport."
"No path to citizenship, no path to a green card, and no amnesty," Bannon said.
Rose challenged Bannon on this, asking whether he's in favor of changing American tradition by reversing the country's immigration policies.
"America is, in the eyes of so many people and it's what people respect America for it is, people have been able to come here, find a place, contribute to the economy," Rose said. "That's what has been in America and you seem to want to turn it around and stop it."
Bannon said that Rose "couldn't be more dead wrong."
"America was built on her citizens," Bannon said.
"We're all immigrants," Rose said. "Except the Native Americans who were here."
Bannon shot back, "Don't don't give me this is the thing of the leftists. Charlie, that's beneath you."
Bannon then went on to argue that the US was built on protectionist policies that allowed the US manufacturing and financial systems to thrive, citing the work of Alexander Hamilton who was, in fact, an immigrant James Polk, Henry Clay, Abraham Lincoln, and "the Roosevelts."
"Economic nationalism is what this country was built on," Bannon said. "We go back to that. We look after our own. We look after our citizen, we look after our manufacturing base, and guess what? This country's going to be greater, more united, more powerful than it's ever been. And its not this is not astrophysics. Okay?"
Story continues
The former Trump campaign chairman, who has returned to his position at the helm of right-wing website Breitbart News, added that "every nationality, every race, every religion, every sexual preference" is welcome in this "populist economic nationalist movement" as long as they're an American citizen.
NOW WATCH: We went inside the Charlottesville winery Trump bragged about during the press conference
More From Business Insider
A Bitcoin (virtual currency) coin is seen in an illustration picture taken at La Maison du Bitcoin in Paris, France, June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/Illustration
By Brenda Goh and Elias Glenn
SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) - China's largest bitcoin exchanges are awaiting clarification from the government following more media reports that Beijing is planning to ban trading of virtual currencies on domestic exchanges, but markets were largely subdued on Monday.
Spokeswomen for the OkCoin and Huobi platforms told Reuters they had no information to share following a report by Chinese financial publication Caixin that sent the price of bitcoin down 6.6 percent on Friday.
A source with knowledge of the policy confirmed to Reuters that China planned to ban exchanges that allowed virtual currency trading. BTC China, also one of China's three largest exchanges, and China's central bank did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
Bitcoin was trading lower by around 1.3 percent at $4,170 (BTC=BTSP) on the Bitstamp platform on Monday. On Sept 2, it hit a record high of nearly $5,000.
"People are still waiting for official word from the regulator," said Arthur Hayes, chief executive of crypto-currency trading platform BitMEX, adding that the relatively subdued fall in the bitcoin price illustrated how opinion in the community towards the Caixin article was divided.
"I would assume that if China shuts down trading on continuous order books of the large exchanges, the price would drop below $4,000, or the price of the U.S. dollar price of bitcoin would catch up to where it's trading equivalently in China," he said.
China has boomed as a cryptocurrency trading venue in recent years as its domestic exchanges had previously allowed users to conduct trades for free, attracting investors and speculators who boosted demand and encouraging volumes.
However, regulators started taking a closer look at the industry in January this year and have since rolled out a series of rules for the industry including forcing exchanges to slap on trading fees and requiring them to strengthen oversight of customers' identities.
Story continues
Last week, the central bank moved to ban so-called "initial coin offerings", or the practice of creating and selling digital currencies or tokens to investors in order to finance start-up projects.
Bitcoin is currently trading at a discount on Chinese exchanges compared with their U.S.-based counterparts. On Monday, bitcoin was up by 6.5 percent at 25,253 yuan ($3,871.67) on the Huobi platform.
However, on China's Twitter-like Weibo platform, some users said they were withdrawing some of their bitcoin investments, while others fretted over how long some platforms were taking to return their cash after requesting withdrawals.
Aurelien Menant, founder of Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange Gatecoin, said that the platform had experienced a surge in the number of registrations from mainland Chinese clients over the weekend and also received a "massive number" of inquiries from Chinese token founders looking to list on Gatecoin following reports of China's ban.
A China-based cryptocurrency investor, however, said he was doubtful that Chinese authorities could completely suppress cryptocurrency trading.
"I think there is too much money to actually stop people from trading...The best they could do is ban exchanges but people will just use VPN or find another way"
(Additional Repoorting by Bi Xiaowen in BEIJING and SHANGHAI Newsroom; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
After a nearly 50-percent return since the start of 2017, now may be a right time for investors to start pocketing some of their profits in GrubHub Inc (NYSE: GRUB), at least according to analysts at Credit Suisse. The firm's Paul Bieber downgrades GrubHub's stock rating from Outperform to Neutral but with a price target raised from $50 to $53.
Grubhub's stock is now fairly valued and trading at a "healthy" 39x P/E multiple, Bieber commented in his downgrade note. The stock's multiple is also assuming the company will report future results near the high end of management's own estimates and doesn't assume a discount for management conservatism or execution risk.
Specifically, when Grubhub offers its 2018 EBITDA outlook in January it will likely be conservative and at the low end of the analyst's accretion range for four reasons:
The ongoing migration of the Eat24 platform implies a delay of accretion until late 2018 if not 2019. The pace of delivery mix shift creates some uncertainty regarding EBITDA. The company could choose to invest some of the accretions in marketing to drive higher growth. Management does have a history of being conservative when offering annual guidance.
"While we are positive on Grubhub's leadership position in a market that remains early in the online share shift, we are lowering our rating to Neutral as we believe shares embed an optimistic scenario on the magnitude of accretion from recent acquisitions," the analyst wrote (see Bieber's track record here).
Related Links:
7 Biggest Price Target Changes For Monday
Benzinga's Top Upgrades, Downgrades For September 11, 2017
Latest Ratings for GRUB
Sep 2017 Credit Suisse Downgrades Outperform Neutral Sep 2017 Bank of America Maintains Buy Aug 2017 Morgan Stanley Upgrades Equal-Weight Overweight
View More Analyst Ratings for GRUB
View the Latest Analyst Ratings
See more from Benzinga
2017 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Royal Caribbean announced on Sunday that its sending two cruise ships to Caribbean islands ravaged by Hurricane Irma in an effort to help victims of the massive storm.
The cruise lines Adventure of the Seas ship, with passenger capacity of 3,800, was scheduled to make a humanitarian stop in St. Maarten on Sunday. Hurricane Irma ripped through St. Maarten, the Dutch side of the island known as St. Martin located east of Puerto Rico, killing at least four and badly damaging or destroying 70% of houses there, according to the government of the Netherlands. On Sunday, there were reports of violence on St. Martin as storm survivors, without electricity or phone service, fought over what little food and water remained.
Subscribe to The Worlds Most Powerful Women, Fortunes daily must-read for global businesswomen.
Another Royal Caribbean ship, Majesty of the Seas, will make a humanitarian call to another island, St. Thomas, as well as to St. Maarten, where the ship, built for up to 2,800 passengers, will assist in transporting evacuees to safety. St. Thomas, part of the U.S. Virgin Islands, suffered extensive damage from the hurricane, which crippled the islands only hospital.
Another cruise company, Norwegian Cruise Line, mobilized its 2,000-passenger Norwegian Sky ship to St. Thomas to deliver supplies and assist with humanitarian effort being organized by the government, according to a release.
U.S. President Donald Trump declared a state of emergency for the U.S. Virgin Islands last week, a designation that will help the territory receive federal funding for its recovery more quickly.
Two more Royal Caribbean ships, Empress of the Seas and Enchantment of the Seas, are prepared to assist areas in FloridaKey West and Tampaif theyre needed, according to the companys release.
On Friday, the cruise company deployed Enchantment of the Seas, a 989-ft vessel with capacity for 2,700 passengers, to evacuate its own employees and their families from Miami as the storm hurtled toward Florida.
Cruise lines have canceled scheduled trips due to the storm. Thats freed up ships to help before and after the storm, while pummeling cruise company stocks.
Baidya rules out unification with CPN (Maoist Centre)
CPN (Revolutionary Maoist) Chairman Mohan Baidya has ruled out the possibility of his partys merger with mother party, CPN (Maoist Centre). He remarked that he has no common ideological basis with CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal.
"Quite a few" possible 2020 presidential hopefuls have already come knocking for money, according to Democratic donor Marc Lasry, co-founder of distressed asset specialist Avenue Capital. Lasry, who supported Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump , refused to name names during a CNBC interview Tuesday. But he did say they were all politicians and none is from the business world. "It's all the people you would think." The billionaire investor stressed that Democrats need to have a message beyond "anybody but Trump" if they want to take the White House. Democrat John Kerry found out the same thing in 2004 an "anyone but Bush" message was not enough to send incumbent Republican President George W. Bush packing, said Lasry, chairman and CEO of Avenue Capital, which has about $9.6 billion in assets under management. Lasry did, however, admit he's seen good returns since Trump became president, in a rally that continues to fuel records in the stock market. "We've done well, thank God." In Monday's powerful advance, the S&P 500 (CME:Index and Options Market: .INX) closed at an all-time high, pushing the index to a nearly 17 percent gain since Election Day. In addition to running Avenue Capital, Lasry owns a stake in the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks. Lasry appeared in New York on "Squawk Box" ahead of participating in a 9 a.m. ET global investing panel at the day-long Delivering Alpha conference organized by CNBC and Institutional Investor magazine. In addition to Lasry, Delivering Alpha participants include Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Omega Advisors Chairman Leon Cooperman, Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio, Blackstone chief Steve Schwarzman, DowDupont CEO Edward Breen, Kynikos Associates' Jim Chanos and JPMorgan Chase chief Jamie Dimon.
More From CNBC
U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. October 9, 2016.
In the months before revealing a data breach that potentially exposed the personal information of nearly half the adult U.S. population, Equifax Inc. turned to the firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in Washington to help convince U.S. lawmakers to reduce penalties for companies that violated the federal fair credit-reporting law.
Akin Gump, long among the lobbying revenue leaders for Washington firms, has advanced a variety of interests for the Atlanta-based Equifax, now reeling from a cybersecurity breach that exposed upward of 143 million consumers' Social Security numbers, birthdates and other personally identifiable information. Numerous lawsuits were filed alleging violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, or FCRA.
In a U.S. Senate disclosure, dated June 30, Akin Gump identified FCRA liability reform in a summary of lobbying services for Equifax, which paid the firm about $40,000 in a three-month span this year. Lobbying records show Equifax first hired Akin Gump in March 2015; the firm has lobbied on other issues, including verifying eligibility for health coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Partners Jeff McMillen and Jamie Tucker have done much of the work for Equifax. Neither was reached for comment Monday.
Equifax's lobbying disclosure for the period between April and June said the company had lobbied on a pending U.S. House bill the FCRA Liability Harmonization Act that would limit class action damages for violations of that law. The company often relies on its own in-house government affairs team.
Proposed by U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Georgia, the bill would reform the Fair Credit Reporting Act to limit consumer remedies in class actions and eliminate punitive damages. Just hours before the Atlanta-based Equifax announced the data breach, the House Financial Services Committee was debating the Georgia Republican's proposal .
Loudermilk said in May, when he announced the bill, that he wanted to curb alleged abuses in the court system and align the Fair Credit Reporting Act with other consumer protection laws that cap damages.
Story continues
Cybersecurity Lobbying Spend
Equifax reported $500,000 in lobbying records through the first half of this year not only on Loudermilk's bill but also on issues such as data security, breach notification, data breach response and cybersecurity threat information sharing.
The company drew criticism for waiting until last week to disclose the breach after learning of it in July. As the Wall Street Journal reported last week , most states have requirements for data-breach notification, but companies and industry groups have pushed for a federal standard.
Law professor Eric Chaffee told CNN last week : It's pretty remarkable how long Equifax has been aware of the problem and did not disclose it. The main problem here is the failure to disclose a catastrophic cyberattack that compromised the information that is at the heart of Equifax's business model. This created a duty to disclose this attack in a timely fashion to investors, potential investors, and those whose data was compromised.
Taking on the CFPB's Arbitration Rule
Equifax has also lobbied on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's rule to ban arbitration agreements that prevent consumers from filing class actions. Last week, Equifax came under criticism for tucking an arbitration clause into the terms for the free credit monitoring service it is offering in light of the data breach. The company soon amended the terms of service to let consumers opt out.
Among the other bills on Equifax's lobbying radar: the Financial Choice Act, a bill by House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling that would strip the CFPB of key enforcement and supervisory powers while also empowering the president to readily fire the agency's director. Hensarling's bill would also shut down public access to the agency's database of consumer complaints .
Equifax reported lobbying last year on proposals to force the CFPB to verify the accuracy of consumer complaints before posting them on the database.
According to disclosure forms, Equifax has paid the firm Arnall Golden Gregory about $240,000 through the first half of this year to lobby on matters including Consumer Financial Protection Bureau oversight and immigration issues related to electronic verification of employment eligibility.
The CFPB has regularly named Equifax, along with the credit-reporting rivals TransUnion and Experian, as among the top drivers of consumer complaints.
In January, Equifax and TransUnion agreed to pay $3.8 million and $13.9 million , respectively, in restitution to consumers whom the companies allegedly deceived. Equifax and TransUnion also paid respective civil penalties of $2.5 million and $3 million, without admitting or denying allegations that they misrepresented the usefulness of the credit scores they marketed.
Related Articles:
C. Ryan Barber, based in Washington, covers government affairs and regulatory compliance. Contact him at cbarber@alm.com. On Twitter: @cryanbarber
Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) is now on DoNotPays radar. This means theres likely going to be a lot of Equifax lawsuits in the near future.
Equifax Lawsuits: How to Automatically Sue Equifax for $15,000
Source: GotCredit via Flickr
DoNotPay is a chatbot that allows users to automatically take care of certain legal issues without having to hire a lawyer. This includes disputing parking tickets, filing for maternity leave and several other actions.
The most recent update to the DoNotPay chatbot now allows it to automatically sue Equifax. Equifax lawsuits in the United States could reach as high as $25,000. The amount in the lawsuit depends on which state a person lives in.
InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips
It is particularly exciting that a lawyer is never needed in the process. The class action lawsuit against the company will only give successful consumers around $500 (with the rest going to greedy lawyers in commissions), Joshua Browder, creator of DoNotPay, told VentureBeat. I hope that my product will replace those lawyers, and, with enough success, bankrupt Equifax.
You can follow this link to the website for the DoNotPay chatbot. The service is currently only available for users living in New York and California with lawsuits of $15,000. However, it notes that users should check back in 12 hours for lists of other states that can file Equifax lawsuits.
The Equifax data breach resulted in 143 million people have their private information stolen from them. This includes names, addresses and Social Security Numbers. Customers that have been affected by the data breach may want to consider freezing their credit or setting up fraud alert.
More From InvestorPlace
As of this writing, William White did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
The post Equifax Lawsuits: How to Automatically Sue Equifax for $15,000 appeared first on InvestorPlace.
Photo credit: pawel.gaul / Getty
From Popular Mechanics
Credit bureau Equifax has not been having a good week. Last Friday news broke that the company had been the victim of a major security breach that may have exposed the personal information of millions of Americans. Many people were justifiably upset, and looked for a way to secure their financial information. Some people decided to play it safe and froze their credit reports, generally a smart move.
It turns out Equifax found a way to to mess that up.
When you freeze your credit report, Equifax sends you a custom PIN that you use to unfreeze it. If a hacker already has your personal information, it's the only thing between you and fraud. A good PIN should be a series of random digits that's impossible to guess, but Equifax doesn't give you that. Instead, the PIN you get is just the date and time you requested a credit freeze, making that PIN incredibly easy to guess.
OMG, Equifax security freeze PINs are worse than I thought. If you froze your credit today 2:15pm ET for example, you'd get PIN 0908171415. - Tony Webster (@webster) September 9, 2017
Let's say you froze your account on Friday as soon as you heard the news, at 10 AM sharp. Your PIN would be 0908171000. More generally, Equifax's PINs are always in the format MMDDYYHHMM. Needless to say, this is not good policy. Especially since many people have been submitting credit freezes over the last few days, this means that the first six digits of anyone's PIN are easy to guess. The last four digits are harder, but because there are only 60 minutes in an hour and 24 hours in a day those digits aren't too hard to guess either.
To their credit, Equifax has responded to this security issue and is working to fix it. A spokesperson told Ars Technica that the company will begin distributing random PINs by tomorrow. But that's not much consolation to the thousands or millions of people who've already requested credit freezes and are stuck with an easy-to-guess PIN.
Story continues
If you're one of those people, it is possible to change your PIN, but you can only do it by mail. But at this point, it might not be a good idea to trust Equifax with something as difficult as handling your mail. Not that you really have a choice.
Source: Ars Technica
You Might Also Like
European markets opened higher Tuesday as investors enjoyed a lull in the ongoing conflict with North Korea and the worst effects of Hurricane Irma appeared to subside.Asian shares hit a high not seen since late-2007 on Tuesday as geopolitical tensions appeared to cool on the Korean Peninsula. The United Nations Security Council unanimously agreed to step up sanctions on Kim Jong Un's North Korea Monday, but U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley insisted that the U.S. is not looking for war with the closed state. Meanwhile, oil prices dipped slightly lower as traders looked to assess the damaging effects of Hurricane Irma while factoring in refinery restarts following Hurricane Harvey, which should soon lead to more crude oil processing. At 6:30 a.m. London time Tuesday, Brent oil was trading at $53.73 per barrel and U.S. crude was trading at $47.98 per barrel. Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes on record, was downgraded to a tropical storm early Monday after plowing across the Florida Keys and along the Gulf Coast. Analysts have suggested that the economic impact of the storm may be slightly lower than previously anticipated. In the U.K., British lawmakers took a significant step forward in the government's Brexit plans Tuesday, voting in favour of a proposed timetable for debating legislation designed to sever political, financial and legal ties with the European Union. Also on the agenda Tuesday, Norway will learn the results of its general election, and French workers will take to the streets of Paris in a day of strikes against President Emmanuel Macron's labor reforms. Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook . European markets opened higher Tuesday as investors enjoyed a lull in the ongoing conflict with North Korea and the worst effects of Hurricane Irma appeared to subside. Asian shares hit a high not seen since late-2007 on Tuesday as geopolitical tensions appeared to cool on the Korean Peninsula. The United Nations Security Council unanimously agreed to step up sanctions on Kim Jong Un's North Korea Monday, but U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley insisted that the U.S. is not looking for war with the closed state. Meanwhile, oil prices dipped slightly lower as traders looked to assess the damaging effects of Hurricane Irma while factoring in refinery restarts following Hurricane Harvey, which should soon lead to more crude oil processing. At 6:30 a.m. London time Tuesday, Brent oil was trading at $53.73 per barrel and U.S. crude was trading at $47.98 per barrel. Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes on record, was downgraded to a tropical storm early Monday after plowing across the Florida Keys and along the Gulf Coast. Analysts have suggested that the economic impact of the storm may be slightly lower than previously anticipated. In the U.K., British lawmakers took a significant step forward in the government's Brexit plans Tuesday, voting in favour of a proposed timetable for debating legislation designed to sever political, financial and legal ties with the European Union. Also on the agenda Tuesday, Norway will learn the results of its general election, and French workers will take to the streets of Paris in a day of strikes against President Emmanuel Macron's labor reforms. Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook .
More From CNBC
Apple Store Shoppers
On Tuesday, Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 8, the iPhone 8 Plus, and a premium model called the iPhone X.
With price tags rumored to be around $1,000, many people will opt to pay monthly for their iPhone.
Apple introduced its version of an installment plan, the iPhone upgrade program, in 2015. Although it sounds like something for tech enthusiasts who enjoy having the latest and greatest gadget, it's really just another monthly payment plan not unlike the ones offered by wireless carriers.
Apple's iPhone upgrade program is a 24-month installment loan with 0% interest. It includes AppleCare and breaks down the cost of both the phone and the insurance plan into 24 equal payments. Sales tax is due up front, no matter how you buy it.
After at least six months and 12 payments, you can trade in your phone and upgrade to a newer model. But you don't have to. Once you make all 24 payments, the phone is yours to keep.
Buying a new phone has changed significantly since the death of the two-year wireless contract. Carriers no longer offer discounted phones in exchange for your loyalty to their service. It was an odd way to make a purchase, if you think about it. We don't buy our laptops from our internet providers, or our cars from the gas station.
But old habits die hard: 75% of iPhone owners still buy their phones from their wireless carrier, according to data from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners. Buying from Apple may require changing the way you're used to buying your phone but it isn't difficult.
Here's how Apple's iPhone upgrade program works:
1. Make sure you meet the eligibility requirements.
To qualify for any installment plan, you will have to have good credit. You will also need to be at least 18 years old, so bring your ID with you to the store. A credit card is required to make payments debit cards will not work.
The full terms and conditions are written in plain English on Apple's website, and they're worth reading before buying your next iPhone. If you're considering an installment plan through your wireless carrier, make sure to read the related terms and conditions as well.
Story continues
2. Buy a new iPhone online or at the Apple Store but make sure you enroll in the upgrade program.
When you select the style and size you want, whether you're shopping online or in-store, you will have a lot of payment options:
Pay the full price up front.
Buy it through Apple's upgrade program.
Buy it through your wireless carrier's installment plan.
Apply for a Barclaycard Visa with Apple Rewards, which offers "up to 24 months of special financing."
The Barclaycard Visa is not the 24-month payment plan you're after. You'll need to specifically enroll in Apple's iPhone upgrade program to get all the benefits that come with it. If it's too confusing to complete online, head to an Apple Store for help.
3. Choose 'Apple iPhone upgrade program' when asked how you would like to pay.
If you selected your wireless provider during checkout, you'll also have the option to pay for the phone using your carrier's installment plan. The price will be about $5 cheaper a month because it doesn't automatically include AppleCare.
But there are two main reasons to pay a few extra dollars to buy directly from Apple's upgrade program:
1. You will get an unlocked phone that will work on any carrier, giving you the freedom to easily switch at will. Activation will be easy because your new iPhone will come preloaded with a SIM card for your current carrier, even though it is an unlocked phone. As someone who has tried bringing a locked phone from one network to another, I can assure you it is a nightmare, and the phone will not work as well, if at all. Unlocked phones are also better if you travel internationally or plan to resell it in the future.
2. You will get AppleCare, the best tech support for your iPhone. Cellphone insurance plans and extended-warranty programs are typically a waste of money (and a headache if you ever have to use them). AppleCare is easy to use and reasonably affordable, which I experienced firsthand after I dropped a brand-new iPhone from 30 feet above the ground. Not a pretty picture, but the replacement was easy and only $99 thanks to AppleCare.
4. Provide your phone account details to Apple so you'll be able to activate the phone on your current network.
All you should need is your phone number, your billing ZIP code, and the last four digits of your Social Security number. If your wireless account has a password, you might have to call your provider to find out what it is. If you run into any trouble with this part of the process, I'd recommend getting help at the Apple Store they've done this a million times and can help guide you through the process.
5. Make sure your payment is processed every month.
Automatic monthly payments will be set up on the credit card you use for your first payment, but it's important to make sure it processes each month as it should. Check your credit card statement to make sure you see the charge. If you miss a payment, you could incur other costs and fees.
You can change the credit card at any point by creating an account through the installment loan provider, Citizens One. You'll need your loan number, which should be emailed to you by Citizens One once you've purchased your new iPhone.
6. Next time a new iPhone is announced, decide whether you want to upgrade or continue paying off your current phone.
After 24 payments, you'll own an unlocked iPhone that you can hold onto for as long as you want or resell however you'd like. But after making 12 payments, you'll also have the option to trade in your current phone for the next model. At that point, you'll enter into a new upgrade-program agreement with Apple, and the process will begin again until you decide to stop upgrading and pay off the installment loan.
I used Apple's upgrade program to buy the iPhone 6S Plus in 2015 and upgraded to the 7 Plus in 2016. The upgrade process was seamless, partly because I sync my contacts and pictures through Google and my music through Amazon, but also because I scheduled an appointment to make the exchange at the Apple Store. I walked out with a new phone that functioned exactly like my old phone.
The upgrade program may not the cheapest way to buy an iPhone, but it's also not expensive as it seems.
Over the past year, I paid $498.96 for my 128 GB iPhone 7 Plus (including AppleCare Plus, but not including tax). That's only half of the cost of the phone in full: $998 ($869 for the phone plus $129 for AppleCare). And in a few weeks, I'll get a brand-new one without the hassle of selling this one or feeling obligated to hold onto it until it dies. I'm paying about $14 to $16 extra a month for that convenience, but it's worth it to me.
It won't be worth it to everyone, I realize. You might prefer to buy through your carrier if it offers some sort of trade-in discount that is too good to pass up. And if you're truly budget-conscious, you'll be better off buying an older model and holding onto it for as long as you can.
But if you're intrigued by the concept of more or less renting your phone especially since it's a depreciating object you might find that Apple's upgrade program makes sense for you financially as well.
NOW WATCH: Everything we know about the Apple iPhone 8 which should be announced next week
More From Business Insider
Equifax Makes Hack Fallout Worse With Bad Credit Freeze PINs
Forter, an e-commerce fraud prevention company, said they saw a significant spike in what appears to be fraudulent account takeovers this summer, something they believe could be a result of the recently-disclosed Equifax (EFX) data breach.
In the last two months we saw about a 15% increase year-over-year in account takeover attempts, according to Forter CEO and co-founder Michael Reitblat. While we cant confirm that this is related to the Equifax breach, the timing suggests that it could.
Equifax, one of the three major credit reporting companies, said on Thursday that criminals had stolen data that could impact 143 million US consumers. The companys investigation revealed the unauthorized access occurred from mid-May through July. The information includes names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and also credit card numbers for approximately 209,000 consumers.
Reitblat explained the summer spike in fraud accounts could be the result of the original Equifax hackers selling initial small amounts of data to fraudsters.
The fraudsters are paying the hackers bitcoin to see the data and confirm its legitimate. Once this stage is over, the hackers will then sell large bulks of data to the fraudsters, Reitblat explained. The moment this data starts to be sold in masses and in the open (if the FBI doesnt catch them first), you will see an absolutely huge significant spike in account takeover attempts.
In other words, the spike we are seeing now could be just a reflection of a testing phase that will get much larger.
Remember, criminals usually dont trust each other, he said. Bitcoin did wonders for cyber criminals. Now with bitcoin criminals can specialize into hackers and fraudsters and communicate via bitcoin in stages.
Equifax did not respond to request for comment from Yahoo Finance.
Fraudsters may already be using information from the Equifax data breach. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
Account takeover attempts
Reitblat said that hackers going after personal information, instead of purely credit card numbers, is a growing trend.
Story continues
Through all the Equifax databases, the hackers have everything about you. And through not very sophisticated social engineering, they can get passwords and security information from other sites, he said.
He explained that some fraudsters will put small purchases (like $30) on regular high-use credit cards, as these will largely go unnoticed by consumers. Meanwhile, larger purchases may go on more dormant cards, including some store cards that havent been in use. In that case, consumers wont find out until they get notification for amount owed.
Monitor your credit cards
Forter, which handles about $20 billion in online transactions including those for several major Fortune 500 companies, said this could be the most extreme breach theyve ever seen.
It is key, in addition to all the other advice out there about freezing your credit score access, to monitor your credit cardsboth active and rarely used, Reitblat advised.
And when it comes to judging this sort of event, Forter should know. The company was founded by former PayPal antifraud experts, has roots in the Israeli Intelligence Corps Cyber Command, and has raised more than $50 million in VC funding, including from Sequoia.
Organized cyber criminal organizations are automating the fraud process and need large bulks of information, Reitblat said. They are gaining power.
Nicole Sinclair is markets correspondent at Yahoo Finance.
Please also see:
15% of big US chain restaurant locations were in hurricane-exposed areas
How Apple can prevent the iPhone from going the way of the PC
DACA repeal will conservatively hit GDP by $105 billion over five years, Mark Zandi says
Why $475,000 isnt actually that expensive for Novartis new drug
More than two dozen lawsuits have been filed against Equifax after the credit reporting company said thieves may have stolen personal information for 143 million Americans in one of the largest hackings ever.
At least 24 federal lawsuits had been filed by Sunday in connection with the breach, which Equifax had publicly revealed three days earlier, and more were filed on Monday, court records show. Most will likely be combined into a single piece of nationwide litigation.
Equifax said it learned of the hacking on July 29, and has set up procedures it said are intended to help people protect their Social Security numbers and other identifying information.
Some lawsuits criticized Equifaxs offer of a year of free credit monitoring with its TrustedID product, with one complaint filed in San Jose, Calif., suggesting Equifax might do this to lay a foundation to pitch costlier services.
Get Data Sheet, Fortunes technology newsletter.
It cited a Feb. 22 regulatory filing in which Atlanta-based Equifax said more companies are offering free or low-cost services such as credit scores, reports and monitoring as a means to introduce consumers to premium products and services.
In afternoon trading, Equifax shares efx were down $10.03, or 8.1%, at $113.20. They closed at $142.72 on Sept. 7, before the breach was disclosed. Some lawyers have said they may file securities fraud lawsuits over the share price decline.
Building on Nepals rich art history
The 17th edition of the monthly art forum Kala ka Kura saw senior artist Govinda Lal Singh Dangol engage in conversation with journalist and artist Devendra Thumkeli. The event coincided with artist Dangols solo exhibition currently ongoing at the Park Gallery.
Per The Wall Street Journal, Facebook Inc FB has appointed an ex Chinese official William Shuai to a newly created post to bolster its China efforts. Shuai will work with Facebooks chief representative of China, Wang-Li Moser.
Shuai has worked with Microsofts MSFT LinkedIn where he acted as a government relations executive for its China operations. Quoting a source familiar with the matter, WSJ stated that Shuai played a pivotal role in LinkedIns sevenfold growth since 2014 to a member base of more than 30 million in the region. Prior to his stint at LinkedIn, he was Baidus BIDU government relations executive and prior to that he worked with Chinas National Development and Reform Commission, adds WSJ.
Shuais extensive experience in dealing with the Chinese government should come in handy for Facebook, which, for long, has been trying to break the China Wall but to no avail.
Facebook, Inc. Price
Facebook, Inc. Price | Facebook, Inc. Quote
Facebook was banned in China in July 2009 following Urumqi riots where the protestors used the platform as part of their communication network. Consequently, Beijing cracked down hard on Facebook and banned the social media site as a preventive measure. Beijing is very strict as far as Internet censorship is concerned and any potential threat is severely dealt with.
Since then, Facebook CEO has been looking to regain lost ground. His efforts, learning Mandarin and holding several high profile meetings with Beijing, have so far been unfruitful.
Facebook has a gargantuan user base of more than 2 billion despite being blocked in China, the worlds most populous country. Zuckerberg has been quoted by medai reports saying, Obviously you cant have a mission of wanting to connect everyone in the world and leave out the biggest country. Over the long term, that is a situation we will need to figure out a way forward on.
Story continues
Per an analyst with TheStreet, Facebook now has a bigger problem. With Xi Jinping elected as the Chinese premier in 2013, the country has stepped up its censorship measures. Consequently, Facebook will have to put in place extensive intrusive censorship measures to block any post that can be deemed offensive by Beijing. If Facebook gives in to this demand, it will have to deal with the public relations disaster that it will face back home. Also, the stringent rules of the Chinese government have helped the local companies. So, even if Facebook breaks into the space, it will face severe opposition, observes the analyst.
At present, though Facebooks main service is banned in China, it is available in Macau, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Facebook has also set up an office in Shanghai for its VR unit, Oculus. It also sells a lot of ads to Chinese firms who are seeking to expand their business in the foreign markets.
Not just Facebook, China is a major market for most of the tech behemoths. Recently, Apple Inc AAPL appointed Isabel Ge Mahe to a newly created post of vice president and managing director of Greater China. Creation of the post of managing director for China operations underscores the importance of the market. China is one of Apples biggest markets.
Over the past few quarters, the company has been losing ground on account of sluggish demand in the region for its flagship product, iPhone. Additionally, mounting competition from local players such as Huawei and Oppo is also hindering growth prospects. However, with the new iPhone, Apple is expected to see a reversal in its declining sales as there is a significant pent up demand for the new edition dubbed as iPhone X that could see a 170% year over year surge in sales of iPhone per a survey by Maxim Group in May.
Zacks Rank and Share Price Movement
At present, Facebook carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
We note that Facebook has outperformed the industry in the last year. The companys shares increased 32.8% compared with the industrys gain of 14.4%.
More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!
It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.
Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020.
Click here for the 6 trades >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Baidu, Inc. (BIDU) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Facebook, Inc. (FB) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Apple Inc. (AAPL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment Research
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport near Miami is expected to reopen on Tuesday after Hurricane Irma halted flights throughout Florida.
The airport had initially cancelled all flights on Saturday and Sunday, when the state took the worst of Irmas rain and winds. Staff spent Monday assessing the damages and making repairs, and flights will resume on Tuesday at 4 a.m., the airport said on Twitter.
Fort LauderdaleHollywood International is among many Florida airports that remained closed on Monday. Miami International Airport sustained water damage across all of its terminals, and has yet to confirm when it will resume flights. Palm Beach International Airport will open for select Delta Air Lines flights on Monday and restore the rest of its service Tuesday.
Even as airports do reopen, it may take longer for full service to resume. The service FlightAware counted 9,483 flights to or from Florida that have already been cancelled since the end of last week, USA Today reports.
After jumping 15 percent in just over two weeks, gasoline prices at the pump appear to be peaking nationally and could soon start to drop.The last effects of Hurricane Harvey's impact on gasoline prices was still being felt across the U.S. this weekend, and for Florida residents, Hurricane Irma compounded the situation by creating fuel shortages.Barring another major hurricane in the Gulf Coast, analysts say prices should soon start to drop back to the $2.30 to $2.35 per gallon range where they were before Harvey slammed into Texas, sending flood waters into the heart of the U.S. refining industry. At its height, 27 percent of U.S. refining capacity was offline, compared with an estimated 4.5 percent that is still impaired.The average price at the pump for unleaded gasoline Monday was $2.67 per gallon, according to AAA.Irma, which rumbled along the Florida coast Sunday and Monday, has left gasoline in short supply in the southeastern state. But those shortages are expected to be temporary as offshore shipments move into Florida's ports."They're going to have gas to some of these stations in a couple of hours," said John Kilduff, energy analyst with Again Capital. Based on reports from Florida's key Tampa Bay port, gasoline supplies should begin moving on to trucks later Monday.Harvey sent prices flying in many parts of the country, as supplies were cut, forcing key pipelines to run at reduced capacity because of shortages. But those problems are easing, as repairs have been made and supplies restored.The Colonial Pipeline, which takes fuel from Texas to the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic reopened a portion of the pipeline that had been closed between Houston and Lake Charles, La.Gasoline imports from Europe also increased to make up for the shortfall."There's a flotilla of cargoes coming. Right now, they're headed toward New York, but there's some thought that could change and they could get diverted down south," added Kilduff.Gasoline prices in Florida were actually a penny per gallon lower Monday than on Sunday, at $2.72 per gallon, still 44 cents higher than a month ago, according to AAA. The lack of driving activity because of the storm should be big enough to impact demand, resulting in lower gasoline purchases and lower prices. On Wall Street, gasoline futures sank, with RBOB futures off 2.3 percent in Monday trading at $1.60 per gallon. In the spot market, which affects wholesale prices, gasoline was also plummeting. The price of unleaded gasoline in New York Harbor dropped more than 11 cents to $1.8250 per gallon, and was down about 5 cents per gallon in other areas, according to Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis at Oil Price Information Service. "There's no question in my mind, we are past peak. The bloom is off the rose for gas prices. There's some question about when Florida returns to normal for availability of gasoline. I think that will be this weekend, and ports will start to reopen today and tomorrow," said Kloza. Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, said there are three refineries that are still shut, and others are in the process of reopening. Lipow estimates about 4.5 percent of refining capacity is still down, due in large part to shutdowns at Exxon's Beaumont refinery, Total's Port Arthur refinery, and Shell's Deer Park refinery. "The rest are all in some stage of restarting," he said. Exxon's Baytown refinery, the second largest in the U.S., is slowly restarting, but it will take a while to fully restore operations.Baytown was flooded, as was Motiva, the largest refinery in the U.S. "Everything in Beaumont and Port Arthur had some amount of flood damage," he said.Lipow explained that while Florida does not have refining operations, its gasoline is shipped into three main terminal locations: Tampa, Ft. Lauderdale and Jacksonville. The Port of Jacksonville is still experiencing flooding on the St. Johns River, and he said it's yet to be seen whether there are issues there.The lack of demand for gasoline should help the market get to normal. "There's a significant amount of demand that's lost in Florida. Of course, there was an upfront bump in demand as people evacuated the region but as they hunkered down over the next couple of days, there was a significant loss of gasoline demand as well as jet fuel demand as airports are closed," said Lipow. After jumping 15 percent in just over two weeks, gasoline prices at the pump appear to be peaking nationally and could soon start to drop. The last effects of Hurricane Harvey's impact on gasoline prices was still being felt across the U.S. this weekend, and for Florida residents, Hurricane Irma compounded the situation by creating fuel shortages. Barring another major hurricane in the Gulf Coast, analysts say prices should soon start to drop back to the $2.30 to $2.35 per gallon range where they were before Harvey slammed into Texas, sending flood waters into the heart of the U.S. refining industry. At its height, 27 percent of U.S. refining capacity was offline, compared with an estimated 4.5 percent that is still impaired. The average price at the pump for unleaded gasoline Monday was $2.67 per gallon, according to AAA. Irma, which rumbled along the Florida coast Sunday and Monday, has left gasoline in short supply in the southeastern state. But those shortages are expected to be temporary as offshore shipments move into Florida's ports. "They're going to have gas to some of these stations in a couple of hours," said John Kilduff, energy analyst with Again Capital. Based on reports from Florida's key Tampa Bay port, gasoline supplies should begin moving on to trucks later Monday. Harvey sent prices flying in many parts of the country, as supplies were cut, forcing key pipelines to run at reduced capacity because of shortages. But those problems are easing, as repairs have been made and supplies restored. The Colonial Pipeline, which takes fuel from Texas to the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic reopened a portion of the pipeline that had been closed between Houston and Lake Charles, La. Gasoline imports from Europe also increased to make up for the shortfall. "There's a flotilla of cargoes coming. Right now, they're headed toward New York, but there's some thought that could change and they could get diverted down south," added Kilduff. Gasoline prices in Florida were actually a penny per gallon lower Monday than on Sunday, at $2.72 per gallon, still 44 cents higher than a month ago, according to AAA. The lack of driving activity because of the storm should be big enough to impact demand, resulting in lower gasoline purchases and lower prices. On Wall Street, gasoline futures sank, with RBOB futures off 2.3 percent in Monday trading at $1.60 per gallon. In the spot market, which affects wholesale prices, gasoline was also plummeting. The price of unleaded gasoline in New York Harbor dropped more than 11 cents to $1.8250 per gallon, and was down about 5 cents per gallon in other areas, according to Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis at Oil Price Information Service. "There's no question in my mind, we are past peak. The bloom is off the rose for gas prices. There's some question about when Florida returns to normal for availability of gasoline. I think that will be this weekend, and ports will start to reopen today and tomorrow," said Kloza. Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, said there are three refineries that are still shut, and others are in the process of reopening. Lipow estimates about 4.5 percent of refining capacity is still down, due in large part to shutdowns at Exxon's Beaumont refinery, Total's Port Arthur refinery, and Shell's Deer Park refinery. "The rest are all in some stage of restarting," he said. Exxon's Baytown refinery, the second largest in the U.S., is slowly restarting, but it will take a while to fully restore operations. Baytown was flooded, as was Motiva, the largest refinery in the U.S. "Everything in Beaumont and Port Arthur had some amount of flood damage," he said. Lipow explained that while Florida does not have refining operations, its gasoline is shipped into three main terminal locations: Tampa, Ft. Lauderdale and Jacksonville. The Port of Jacksonville is still experiencing flooding on the St. Johns River, and he said it's yet to be seen whether there are issues there. The lack of demand for gasoline should help the market get to normal. "There's a significant amount of demand that's lost in Florida. Of course, there was an upfront bump in demand as people evacuated the region but as they hunkered down over the next couple of days, there was a significant loss of gasoline demand as well as jet fuel demand as airports are closed," said Lipow.
More From CNBC
Google has appealed against European Commissions (EC) $2.9 billion fine on Monday at the Luxembourg-based General Court, possibly initiating yet another year-long legal confrontation.
The EC slapped this record fine on the Alphabet Inc. GOOGL subsidiary on Jun 27 for favoring Google Shopping/Google Product Search/Froogle over comparison shopping services of competitors.
Details about the appeal are scant but per a court spokesman, Google has not appealed for any interim order to suspend ECs decision.
We observe that Alphabet shares have rallied 19.4% year to date, significantly outperforming the S&P 500s gain of 11.2%.
Intel Ruling a Breather
Googles step to make its own case comes on the heels of Intel Corporation INTC receiving a partial victory against ECs decision to fine it $1.20 billion in 2009. It was the biggest antitrust fine ever until Googles case.
Last week, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ordered the lower court to re-inspect the case. The ruling may have given some hope to Google.
Alphabet Inc. PE Ratio (TTM)
Alphabet Inc. PE Ratio (TTM) | Alphabet Inc. Quote
But the Nightmare Refuses to End
A number of technology giants have run into trouble with the EC over the years. Microsoft MSFT received a landmark judgment in 2004. More targets of the Commission include Amazon AMZN for its e-book deals, Apple for its tax practices; and Facebook and Twitter for the hate speech on their platforms.
Google itself has two other cases pending. One of these is related to Google using the Android platform to force hardware makers bundle Google services and prevent the preloading of rival services on the devices. The other involves restricting access to ads provided by its competitors, which might hit its core AdSense business.
Adding to the woes, Germany, Italy, France and Spain now want technology multinationals to be taxed based on their revenues instead of profits. Finance ministers of these countries have recently sent a joint letter to the EU in this regard.
Story continues
Alphabet has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!
It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.
Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020.
Click here for the 6 trades >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Intel Corporation (INTC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment Research
Google has filed a legal appeal against a record-breaking fine handed down by the European Commission this summer for anti-competitive behavior relating to the operation of its product search comparison service, currently known as Google Shopping. The news was reported earlier by Reuters and separately confirmed by us.
In June the EC judged that Google had given the service "an illegal advantage by abusing its dominance in general Internet search" -- accusing it of promoting Google Shopping in organic search results while simultaneously demoting rival services -- issuing a record-breaking 2.42 billion (~$2.73BN) fine for the antitrust violations.
It's that decision which Alphabet/Google will be hoping to overturn, buoyed by the fact that earlier this month Europe's top court, the ECJ, ruled that a lower court should review an earlier failed antitrust appeal by Intel, pertaining to a 2009 1.06BN EC ruling.
In the Intel case ECJ judges said the lower court must re-examine their decision to uphold the antitrust judgement -- saying the court had failed to properly analyze economic aspects of the case.
And while the two cases are clearly different -- and the Intel verdict remains a partial one at this stage (the sanction has not been overturned as yet) -- it's certainly unusual for Europe's courts to rule against Commission verdicts, offering some hope to Google's lawyers they can successful argue against the regulator's rationale.
The Commission is reviewing its Google Shopping decision in light of the ECJ's Intel ruling, according to Reuters. (At the time of writing spokespeople for the EC's antitrust division had not responded to questions and requests for comment -- we'll update if we get a response.)
At the end of last month Google did take the first steps to comply with the Commission's antitrust order against Google Shopping, submitting details of how it intends to amend the price comparison service -- though these proposals have not been made public.
Story continues
Not complying with the order would risk a regime of additional penalties that could be backdated to the date of any non-compliance. So it may be that Alphabet/Google is intending to seek to comply while still pursuing a legal challenge.
When reached by TechCrunch for comment a Google's spokesman declined to confirm whether it would be complying with the Commission's antitrust order while it pursues a legal challenge -- or to answer any questions. But a spokeswoman for the ECJ told us that Google has not lodged an application for interim measures.
She added: "On average, it takes between 18 months and 2 years from the day on which an appeal is lodged to final judgment being handed down."
So even if Google makes tweaks to the operation of Google Shopping in the short term, i.e. to avoid the risk of additional sanctions for non-compliance, years of uncertainty are being added to an antitrust investigation that has already clocked up more than six years of probes by EU regulators.
Meanwhile the Commission's antitrust arm has two ongoing formal investigations into Google's business practices -- specifically relating to the restrictions it places on OEMs encouraging them to bundle other Google services when using the Android mobile OS; and regarding its AdSense ad placement service. In both cases Google has denied the accusations, though the EC's competition commissioner said in June that the investigations were leaning towards further sanctions at that point.
She also said the EC is looking into other competition-related complaints against additional Google services -- including image search, maps and travel search, although as yet there are no formal investigations on those fronts.
The United Nations Security Council is preparing to vote Monday on new sanctions against North Korea, but the sanctions have reportedly been watered down substantially, removing provisions that could have frozen leader Kim Jong Uns assets abroad. And one South Korean banker believes those assets could amount to as much as $5 billion.
This revolutionary fund is held under pseudonyms in accounts in Switzerland, Hong Kong, and the Middle East, according to Cho Bong-hyun of Seouls Industrial Bank of Korea. Cho told Japans Asahi Shinbun that the fund has been developed and used by multiple generations of North Korean leadership. Those uses have allegedly included luxury goods, both for the ruling Kim family and for favored North Korean officials, with hundreds of millions of dollars spent each year. A division of the North Korean Workers Party known as Office 39 is reportedly tasked with raising and managing the funds. The recent WannaCry ransomware attack may have been a bungled North Korean fundraising effort.
The secret funds could amount to 17% of North Koreas annual economic output, which was estimated at $28.5 billion in 2016. Thats a pittance by global standards, trailing not only South Koreas $1.34 trillion GDP, but also the Democratic Republic of Congo, Costa Rica, and every individual U.S. state.
Get CEO Daily, Fortunes newsletter for leaders.
North Koreas GDP may already be sinking further thanks to an earlier round of sanctions, which banned as much as $1 billion worth of the countrys exports. That makes funds abroad even more precious to the regime, both for governance and, potentially, for the continued development of nuclear weapons. North Koreas nuclear program was the immediate trigger for the new sanctions, but the asset freeze was reportedly removed to ensure Russia and China would not block the proposal.
A North Korean statement threatened the U.S. with the greatest pain and suffering it has ever gone through if the sanctions passed, before news emerged that the asset freeze had been rolled back.
CIB urges caution in wake of paedophile arrests
The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) in the last one year has arrested three foreigners for paedophilia and rescued at least seven children.
Those vanishing areas of dark blue are what Obamacare's effect on the number of Americans without health insurance looks like. The United States Census Bureau on Tuesday released a series of maps that vividly show broad increases in health coverage nationally in the years after full implementation of the Affordable Care Act. The maps use dark blue to show states that have 14 percent or more of their residents without health insurance. Lighter shades of blue highlight states with lower uninsured rates. Census officials published the maps as they released a report revealing that the number of Americans who lacked health insurance fell to a low of 28.1 million people, or just 8.8 percent of the population, in 2016. That was the last full year in office for President Barack Obama , who won passage of the Affordable Care Act. The uninsured rate last year was 0.3 percentage points lower than what it was in 2015 and almost half of what it was in 2010, the year that Obamacare began taking effect. In 2010, the percentage of people without health insurance stood at 16.3 percent, or a whopping 49 million Americans. Most states continued to see decreases in their uninsured rates last year, with only 11 states seeing no drop. But the maps also underscore that the recent gains in health insurance coverage under the ACA have not been consistent nationally. Those gains were most dramatic in states that as allowed by the ACA expanded eligibility for their residents' access to Medicaid, the health coverage program for mainly poor people that is jointly run with the federal government. The uninsured rate among so-called expansion states was just 6.5 percent in 2016, Census officials said. In those states, all legal residents whose incomes are less than 138 percent of the federal poverty rate are eligible to enroll in Medicaid. But in states that did not expand Medicaid, the uninsured rate was 11.7 percent last year. The maps' release comes less than two months after an effort to repeal Obamacare failed to pass the Republican-controlled Senate , and as the administration of President Donald Trump continues to criticize the health-care law and slashes support for promoting enrollment in private health plans. Obamacare was signed into law in 2010, but it only began taking full effect in late 2013, with the opening of government-run insurance marketplaces such as HealthCare.gov, which sell private health plans. Large parts of the United States were dark blue in 2013, according to the Census maps. Only the northeastern U.S., and some Midwest states were in lighter shades of blue, reflecting their relatively low uninsured rates. "In 2013, the percentage of people without health insurance coverage for the entire calendar year was 13.4 percent, or 42.0 million," Census said in its report for that year. But the following year, 2014, saw a dramatic decrease in the dark blue areas of the U.S. as millions of people obtained health coverage, with much of the northern states in the country turning lighter blue, according to Census' maps. That year was the first in which nearly all Americans were required by Obamacare to have some form of health coverage or be subject to a tax penalty. Census' report for that year showed that 10.4 percent of Americans, or 33 million people, still lacked insurance. In 2015, large swaths of the western part and southeastern parts of the U.S. became lighter blue, indicating an uninsured rate of less than 10 percent. That year was the first time that the percentage of all Americans without health coverage fell below 10 percent, to 9.1 percent, or 29 million people. By 2016, most of the U.S. states had uninsured rates below 10 percent. Only Texas had an uninsured rate above 14 percent, and only three other states Florida, Georgia and Oklahoma had uninsured rates of 12 percent or higher. And most of the country continued to see gains in insurance coverage. "Between 2015 and 2016, the percentage of people without health insurance coverage at the time of interview decreased in 39 states," the Census report said. "Eleven states and the District of Columbia did not have a statistically significant change in their uninsured rate." The Census report also said that, "In 2016, private health insurance coverage continued to be more prevalent than government coverage, at 67.5 percent and 37.3 percent, respectively." Job-based health plans covered almost 56 percent of Americans, followed by 19.4 percent covered by Medicaid, and 16.7 percent covered by Medicare. Another 16.2 percent of Americans bought private individual health plans, which includes Obamacare plans sold on government exchanges. Military-based health plans covered another 4.6 percent of people. "Between 2015 and 2016, the rate of Medicare coverage increased by 0.4 percentage points to cover 16.7 percent of people for part or all of 2016 (up from 16.3 percent in 2015)," Census said in its report. "There was no statistically significant difference between 2015 and 2016 for any other subtype of health insurance." White Americans continued to have the lowest uninsured rates by race, at just 6.3 percent. "The uninsured rates for Blacks and Asians were higher than for non-Hispanic Whites, at 10.5 percent and 7.6 percent, respectively," Census said. "Hispanics had the highest uninsured rate, at 16.0 percent," according to the report.
More From CNBC
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said Tuesday the country intends to have its flag-carrying airline purchase more Boeing (NYSE:BA) aircraft, as part of its effort to help strengthen the U.S. economy.
We intend to increase the number of Boeing planes to be purchased by MAS. We have committed to 25 planes of the 737 MAX 10, plus eight 787 Dreamliners, and a very strong probabilitynot possibilitythat we will add 24-25 more 737 MAX 10 in the near future. So within five years the deal will be worth beyond $10 billion, Razak said during a meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House.
Boeing and Malaysia Airlines announced an order for 10 of the airplane makers 737 MAX 10, the latest version in the 737 family, at the Paris Air Show in late June. The deal, which is valued at $1.25 billion at list prices, will convert 10 of the airlines current 737 MAXs on order to the newest version of the jet.
Additionally, the prime minister said his government would try to persuade Malaysias long-haul budget carrier AirAsia to switch to General Electric (NYSE:GE) engines. In June, one of the airlines flights from Malaysia to Perth, Australia was forced to turn around due to a technical issue, after its Airbus A330-300 aircraft experienced a problem with one of its Rolls-Royce engines.
Boeing did not have comment regarding Prime Minister Razak's remarks. GE did not return FOX Business' request for comment at the time of publication.
Related Articles
afp kushner israel palestinians need trump two state pledge before peace officials
Member of President Donald Trump's legal team wanted his son-in-law Jared Kushner to resign from his position as a senior adviser because of his controversial meetings with Russian nationals during the election and his initial failure to disclose them on his security clearance form, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Trump's main lawyer in the Russia probe, John Dowd, told the Journal that he "didn't agree" with some of his colleagues' view that Kushner should resign.
"I thought it was absurd, Dowd said. I made my views known.
Marc Kasowitz, Trump's former attorney who took on a reduced role following a minor email scandal, largely echoed Dowd's sentiments. White House special counsel Ty Cobb called the report "completely false" in a statement on Monday night.
According to the Journal, however, some of Trump's laywers went as far as to draft a statement for Kushner to explain why he was stepping down. Trump resisted, telling aides that Kushner had done nothing wrong.
Kushner met twice with former Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak in 2016 once during the election at the Mayflower Hotel in April and again during the transition period at Trump Tower in December and once with the CEO of a sanctioned Russian bank, Sergey Gorkov, who was personally appointed by Vladimir Putin.
Kushner also attended a meeting organized by his brother-in-law Donald Trump Jr. at Trump Tower last June with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya and Russian-American lobbyist Rinat Akhmetshin. Trump's attorneys were aware of that meeting when they began pushing for his ouster, according to the Journal, since he was the only one at the meeting who currently holds a White House job.
In an 11-page statement provided to the Senate Intelligence Committee in late July detailing his Russian contacts during the campaign and transition period, Kushner said he "did not recall" the meeting with Veselnitskaya and Akhmetshin until he began "reviewing documents and emails in response to congressional requests for information."
Story continues
Trump's legal team reportedly prepared talking points to address the meeting, but never used them instead, Donald Trump Jr. issued a misleading statement that arguably made matters far worse for the White House.
Kushner also drew scrutiny at the beginning of the summer when the Washington Post reported that he had tried to establish a secret line of communication between the Trump administration and Russian government officials during the transition period.
jared kushner
In talks with Kislyak in December which Kushner did not originally disclose on his security clearance form Kushner floated the possibility of using Russian diplomatic facilities in the US to essentially conceal the transition's interactions with Russian officials from US government scrutiny, The Post wrote, citing US intelligence officials briefed on the matter.
Kislyak was reportedly "taken aback" by Kushner's request because it posed significant risks for the Trump team and the Kremlin. But he passed along the request to Moscow, which is how it got picked up by US intelligence officials.
Kushner said in his statement for the Senate Intelligence Committee that the communications channel was meant to discuss the US' and Russia's Syria policy.
"I believed developing a thoughtful approach on Syria was a very high priority given the ongoing humanitarian crisis, and I asked if they had an existing communications channel at his embassy we could use where they would be comfortable transmitting the information they wanted to relay to General Flynn," Kushner wrote.
"The Ambassador said that would not be possible and so we all agreed that we would receive this information after the Inauguration. Nothing else occurred."
Kislyak reportedly orchestrated the meeting between Kushner and Gorkov, who was appointed by Putin in January 2016 as part of a restructuring of the bank's management team, Bloomberg reported last year.
The Kremlin and the White House have provided conflicting explanations for why Kushner met with Gorkov. Kushner said he met with him in his capacity as a transition official, whereas Gorkov's representatives said he met with Kushner on official business.
Reuters reported earlier this year that the FBI is examining whether Gorkov suggested to Kushner that Russian banks could finance Trump associates' business ventures if US sanctions were lifted or relaxed.
NOW WATCH: Putin says Trump is not his bride and claims Americans don't know the difference between Austria and Australia
More From Business Insider
As Hurricane Irma battered Florida, the cream of the insurance world gathered under the Mediterranean sun in Monte Carlo was assessing the costs of the storm for the global industry.
The takeaway so far: Irma and its predecessor Hurricane Harvey, which caused massive flooding in Texas two weeks ago, are likely to take a toll on profits in a sector struggling with thin margins, stiff competition and falling prices.
But at this early stage, the damages are not expected to be so excessive that they hit insurers capital base in a way that would lift slumping insurance prices or hurt their credit ratings.
Irma is a major event for Florida and also a major event for the insurance industry, Torsten Jeworrek, member of the board of the German reinsurance giant Munich Re murgy , told journalists on Sunday.
Read: Hurricane Irma Is Churning Through Central Florida, Leaving a Trail of Destruction
Along with some 2,500 insurance executives, he is in Monaco for an annual conclave to haggle over reinsurance prices and strike underwriting deals.
The meeting typically occurs at the height of the Atlantic hurricane season, but not since Hurricane Katrina in 2005 have catastrophes weighed so heavily. The industry is only slowly coming to grips with Harveys likely costs.
Munich Res Jeworrek said the loss assessment was complex and that it would take a long time for the necessary estimates, leaving high uncertainty in the market.
He estimated that insured losses for the global industry would total between $20 billion and $30 billion, which would put the storm on a similar scale to Hurricane Sandy, whose storm surge caused flooding in New York in 2012. For Irma, which hit Florida early on Sunday after ravaging the Caribbean, the loss estimates are more severe.
Read: Hurricane Sandy Victims: Heres What Aid Irma and Harvey Homeowners Should Expect
AIR Worldwide on Monday forecasted total insured losses in the United States of between $20 billion and $40 billion.
Story continues
All combined, the storms are likely to translate into an underwriting loss for the year, said Robert DeRose, senior director at the insurance ratings agency A.M. Best.
His firm estimated that $75 billion in insured losses would result in an average industry-wide combined ratio, a closely-watched measure of expenses to premium income, of 106 percent compared with 95 percent in 2016. Ratios greater than 100 point to losses.
The big question for the industry has been whether reinsurers will see such high losses that they can then demand higher prices for their coverage. That would be the first major reversal since Katrina, the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history with insured losses of around $80 billion.
Read: Hurricane Irma Could Be a $250 Billion Storm According to New Estimates
The verdict so far among analysts is that profit will take a hit, but the dynamics of capital and pricing will not.
We dont see this as a market-turning event, said Brian Schneider of Fitch Ratings. Pricing is not likely to respond.
Both Hannover Re and Swiss Re , in a sign of optimism for the sector, said on Monday that they generally see reinsurance prices stabilizing after years of decline.
Irmas timing is giving attendees plenty to talk about and in some cases disrupting their own travel plans.
Reinsurance broker AON Benfield told some staff who had planned to travel to Monte Carlo to instead remain to deal with Florida claims, Chief Executive Officer Eric Andersen said.
With Monte Carlos yacht-filled harbour and billboards advertising private jets offering a contrast to the destruction wrought in Texas and the Caribbean, one journalist asked whether insurers might move their annual meeting to a more modest venue.
Monte Carlo is the place to be at the end of the day, said Munich Res Jeworrek. The industry wouldnt move to another location to get rid of the reputational damage to its image.
We will also come next year. You can write that.
Last week, Nike announced the launch of its Makers' Experience, an invite-only, limited-time event where people can design a pair of shoes and have them made in less than hour. And today we had the chance to check it out for ourselves at the company's By You Studio in New York City, a space created to take you through the process of making your own custom shoe from start to finish. That means being able to choose from a set of four different graphic packs, including the camouflage pattern pictured above, and the colors you want on the upper of your sneakers. The midsole will be white by default.
I went with pink complemented by black tones, but you could have it be mostly white with blue, green, yellow or red. And if you're not into camo, you can also pick a design that displays different pieces of text, such as your name, a date or a greeting like "Happy Birthday!" For this particular experience, Nike is letting users tinker with the Presto, a running silhouette that has a reputation of being one of the most comfortable the company makes. There's the original Presto, which features shoelaces and a cage to hold them, and the slip-on Presto X, created exclusively by Nike's Advanced Innovation team for the Makers' Experience.
The entire process is fairly simple: You walk into the By You Studio and put on a pair of Prestos that act as a white canvas. Then you step into a contraption that projects light onto the upper and lets you see how your designs looks in real time, right there on your feet as you're trying them on. Nike says it worked on this technology with W+K Lodge, a firm that experiments with artificial intelligence, virtual reality and more emerging mediums "to design experiences that people will care about."
Right now, a Nike associate will ask you what color you want the shoe to be or which pattern you prefer, and then that information is transmitted to the light projector. In the future, we're told the idea is to make that part of the experience automated with voice technology, meaning you won't necessarily need a human to guide you through the experience. Mark Smith, VP of Innovation Special Projects at Nike, says for the time being the key is to make this customization experience as simple and fun as possible. That's one of the reasons you can currently only choose between a few graphics packs and dozens of colors, even though he says there are hundreds more options that could be offered.
Story continues
Naturally, one of the most interesting parts about the Makers' Experience is that Nike can make you a custom shoe in less than an hour. In our case, it actually only took 46 minutes, which is apparently the fastest time so far. That's mind-blowing when you think about the fact that when you order a shoe through NikeiD, the customization service the company launched in 1999, it takes 6 to 8 weeks to receive it. Sure, it helps that here you're locked into only designing the upper rather than the entire shoe, but that's impressive nonetheless.
When asked how Nike could manufacture a sneaker in such a timely manner, Smith says the only thing he could reveal about the "secret sauce" is that it isn't a fully automated process. That means there are humans glueing and stitching the shoe together, and we can attest to this since we met the ones who created our design. Smith adds that while the Makers' Experience is an experiment, the goal is to bring a similar experience to Nike retail stores eventually. What's more, it won't just be the Presto you'll have access to, but other low- and high-top Nike models as well. The pricing is still to be determined, although Nike tends to add about a $20 premium to its NikeiD sneakers.
Unfortunately, the Makers' Experience is only open to a select few, but stay tuned to Nike's NYC website as slots to visit the space may become available there. As for what's coming next, Smith says the company's trying to find ways to bring customization to augmented, mixed and virtual reality platforms. Let's hope that happens soon.
Nordstrom family members are close to choosing private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners to help fund a buyout of the eponymous department store, people familiar with the matter said Tuesday.Leonard Green would provide the Nordstrom family members with roughly $1 billion in equity to help fund the deal, the sources said. The family group, which owns 31.2 percent of the 116-year-old retailer, said in June it was looking to take Nordstrom (JWN) private. It has since been looking for a private equity partner to help support the deal and also held talks with KKR and Apollo. The deal between Nordstrom and Leonard Green has not been finalized and other parties could make a move to disrupt the talks. The family group is already talking to banks about raising between $7 billion and $8 billion in debt to finance the deal, and is hoping to submit a formal bid in the next couple of weeks, the sources said. Nordstrom has appointed an independent special committee to evaluate the offer.Leonard Green has worked with Nordstrom before. The Los Angeles-based private equity firm has a stake in the British fast-fashion line Topshop, which has a partnership with the Seattle-based department store. KKR and Apollo declined to comment. Nordstrom and Leonard Green didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The Nordstrom family is hoping that as a private company, Nordstrom will be able to make investments that help it adapt to the changing retail landscape without worrying about short-term shareholder reaction. On Monday, Nordstrom announced it will roll out stores without merchandise , similar to concepts offered by e-retailers such as Bonobos and Warby Parker. Its stock slid as much as 5.4 percent to $43.59 on the news.Other long-term initiatives for Nordstrom include investing in e-commerce, closing underperforming stores and investing in top locations, and expanding its successful discount shopping chain, Nordstrom Rack, according to a source familiar with the situation. Still, a leveraged buyout of a department store is challenging in 2017. Several private equity backed-retailers have buckled under the weight of large debt loads that have hampered their ability to invest in e-commerce and adapt to the rapidly changing retail industry. Private equity-backed Payless ShoeSource and Gymboree filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, while Neiman Marcus is currently working with restructuring advisors. Still, with the Nordstrom family likely to maintain control over the department store's operations, the potential take-private follows a different template than many of its peers. Nordstrom has long been viewed as the jewel of the department store industry, with an affordable high-end price point that puts it between midtier Macy's (NYSE:M) and exclusive Neiman Marcus. The company was quick to spot shoppers shifting to off-price retailers like TJ Maxx and Marshall's and put its efforts behind Nordstrom Rack, its own take on the category. Its investment into e-commerce helped it buck the industry trend last quarter of same-store sales declines. Still, like all of its peers, it has seen its stock fall this year as investors question whether department stores can compete as shopping habits change. Nordstrom operates 356 stores, including 121 full-line stores in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Out of those, 221 are Nordstrom Rack stores. Its Seattle flagship location, modeled after famous European department stores, has restaurants, bars and pop-up shops. Nordstrom is also working on a flagship location at 217 West 57th St., near Manhattan's Central Park.
More From CNBC
Deuba, ministers to draw Rs 14m a month from the state coffers
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Monday inducted three ministers and one state minister, making his Council of Ministers the largest ever in the countrys history with 54 ministers.
OPEC's oil output fell in August for the first time since March as several key exporters in the group throttled back production according to a monthly tally released Tuesday. The 14-member cartel pumped 32.76 million barrels a day last month, according to independent sources that monitor OPEC's production. That marks a 79,100 barrel-a-day drop from July. OPEC has partnered with other producers, including Russia, to keep 1.8 million barrels a day of oil production off the market. The exporters are trying to drain oversupply from the market and drive down global stockpiles of crude. Oil prices got support this week as Saudi Arabia held discussions about extending the deal beyond March. Crude oil stockpiles in the OECD, a group of mostly developed nations, stood at 195 million barrels above the five-year average in July, OPEC said.Rising production in two OPEC member countries, Libya and Nigeria, has made it harder to reduce those stockpiles. OPEC exempted the two nations from cutting production because their output had already tanked due to domestic conflicts. But both nations restored output more quickly than expected.The trend reversed last month in Libya, where daily crude oil production fell by about 112,000 barrels, to 890,000 barrels a day. Libya's Sharara oil field, the nation's largest, continues to see sporadic disruptions due to protests.Nigeria's daily output more than offset that drop, jumping by 138,000 barrels, reaching 1.86 million barrels a day.Production from top exporter Saudi Arabia also dipped slightly to just above 10 million barrels a day. Saudi output was trending higher in recent months. The kingdom cut production deeply early in the year, which compensated for other OPEC members that were not hitting their quotas.Two of those nations, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, cut production in August but were still pumping above levels they agreed to last winter. Production also continued to fall in Venezuela, which is in the grip of a full-blown economic crisis.OPEC slightly raised its outlook for global oil demand in 2017 and 2018. The cartel now believes the world will consume 96.77 million barrels a day this year and 98.12 million barrels a day next year.The revision is partly due to better-than-expected economic growth. OPEC also revised its forecast for world economic growth in 2017 from 3.4 percent to 3.5 percent."Global economic growth momentum has gained traction lately and has become more balanced, with all major economies now showing positive growth this year, a trend that is forecast to continue into 2018," OPEC said.OPEC does not expect Hurricane Harvey to impact U.S. economic growth much, saying the reconstruction effort along the Gulf Coast will offset the loss in economic activity from the devastating storm. OPEC's oil output fell in August for the first time since March as several key exporters in the group throttled back production according to a monthly tally released Tuesday. The 14-member cartel pumped 32.76 million barrels a day last month, according to independent sources that monitor OPEC's production. That marks a 79,100 barrel-a-day drop from July. OPEC has partnered with other producers, including Russia, to keep 1.8 million barrels a day of oil production off the market. The exporters are trying to drain oversupply from the market and drive down global stockpiles of crude. Oil prices got support this week as Saudi Arabia held discussions about extending the deal beyond March. Crude oil stockpiles in the OECD, a group of mostly developed nations, stood at 195 million barrels above the five-year average in July, OPEC said. Rising production in two OPEC member countries, Libya and Nigeria, has made it harder to reduce those stockpiles. OPEC exempted the two nations from cutting production because their output had already tanked due to domestic conflicts. But both nations restored output more quickly than expected. The trend reversed last month in Libya, where daily crude oil production fell by about 112,000 barrels, to 890,000 barrels a day. Libya's Sharara oil field, the nation's largest, continues to see sporadic disruptions due to protests. Nigeria's daily output more than offset that drop, jumping by 138,000 barrels, reaching 1.86 million barrels a day. Production from top exporter Saudi Arabia also dipped slightly to just above 10 million barrels a day. Saudi output was trending higher in recent months. The kingdom cut production deeply early in the year, which compensated for other OPEC members that were not hitting their quotas. Two of those nations, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, cut production in August but were still pumping above levels they agreed to last winter. Production also continued to fall in Venezuela, which is in the grip of a full-blown economic crisis. OPEC slightly raised its outlook for global oil demand in 2017 and 2018. The cartel now believes the world will consume 96.77 million barrels a day this year and 98.12 million barrels a day next year. The revision is partly due to better-than-expected economic growth. OPEC also revised its forecast for world economic growth in 2017 from 3.4 percent to 3.5 percent. "Global economic growth momentum has gained traction lately and has become more balanced, with all major economies now showing positive growth this year, a trend that is forecast to continue into 2018," OPEC said. OPEC does not expect Hurricane Harvey to impact U.S. economic growth much, saying the reconstruction effort along the Gulf Coast will offset the loss in economic activity from the devastating storm.
More From CNBC
After a slight decrease in enrollment between 2010 and 2015, the number of undergraduates in college is expected to soar.
It's projected to increase by 14 percent between 2015 and 2026, leading to approximately 19.3 million undergraduates in the U.S., according to the National Center for Education Statistics. This increase could reflect an upcoming uptick in applicants, making for a more competitive admissions cycle at some colleges. Prospective students should not, however, expect fewer options for finding the right school.
They have many institutions to choose from that vary by majors offered, size, location and other factors. The 2018 U.S. News Best Colleges rankings, released today, can help applicants and their families search for the right fit.
[Video: Create a college short list.]
In the 2018 edition, there are data on more than 1,800 colleges and universities, including almost 1,400 ranked institutions.
Schools report most of the data to U.S. News via an extensive survey. They are divided into categories such as National Universities, which offer a range of bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees and emphasize research, and National Liberal Arts Colleges, which focus on undergraduate education and award at least half of their degrees in liberal arts fields.
Schools are evaluated on up to 15 indicators of excellence, such as class size, standardized test scores of incoming students and average graduation rate. As part of the methodology, U.S. News also looks at schools' predicted six-year graduation rate. This year, for National Universities only, that analysis included the proportion of science, technology, engineering and math degrees out of the total degrees granted, to account for the greater difficulty STEM-focused schools typically have in achieving high graduation rates.
Also new this year: To provide a better sense of how college students fare after graduation, U.S. News has published postgraduate salary data that PayScale collected and provided; these data, however, were not used in the rankings.
Story continues
Princeton University in New Jersey again topped the list for National Universities. Harvard University in Massachusetts remained at No. 2 while the University of Chicago and Yale University in Connecticut again tied for No. 3.
Three schools are tied for No. 5: Columbia University in New York, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and California's Stanford University. And the California Institute of Technology is now No. 10, up from a tie at No. 12.
There were several other noteworthy shifts farther down the National Universities rankings. The University of Oklahoma went from a tie at No. 111 to a tie with five other schools for No. 97. Other schools saw a sharp drop in their ranks. Yeshiva University in New York, for example, is in a three-way tie for No. 94 but was previously tied at No. 66.
[See photos of the 2018 Best National Universities.]
There were also a few rankings changes for National Liberal Arts Colleges. While Massachusetts' Williams College and Amherst College remain at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, Bowdoin College in Maine cracked the top five. It is tied for No. 3 with Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts' Wellesley College.
Harvey Mudd College in California, previously tied for No. 21, is now tied with five other schools for No. 12. Farther down in the rankings, Austin College in Texas leaped from a tie at No. 105 to a tie with two other schools for No. 93. Moving in the other direction, Beloit College in Wisconsin dropped from a tie at No. 62 to a tie with five other schools for No. 76.
The No. 1 Regional Universities remained the same for 2018. These schools offer a range of bachelor's degrees, some master's programs and a limited number of doctoral degree programs. Providence College in Rhode Island is No. 1 in the North while Elon University, in North Carolina, is No. 1 in the South. In the Midwest, Creighton University in Nebraska remains at the top and Trinity University in Texas is first in the West.
Regional Colleges, which focus on undergraduate education and award fewer than half of their degrees in liberal arts fields, had a similar pattern with their rankings. All of the top schools in 2017 held onto their No. 1 spots in the new rankings: Cooper Union in New York for the North, North Carolina's High Point University in the South, Michigan's Calvin College in the Midwest and Carroll College in Montana for the West.
These categories aren't the only school rankings and lists that U.S. News offers. Prospective students and families can also see the rankings of the Best Value Schools, for example, which weigh a school's academic quality with the net cost of attendance for a student who received the average level of need-based financial aid. Harvard fell to No. 2 among National Universities in the value rankings, making Princeton No. 1.
[Learn 10 ways to get a tuition discount.]
Among A-plus Schools for B Students -- top schools that often accept students who don't have stellar standardized test scores or grades -- Skidmore College in New York is once again the highest-ranked liberal arts college on the list, while Pennsylvania State University--University Park is now the top-ranked National University.
College applicants can visit U.S. News to read school profiles, search for institutions by state and use tools to compare institutions with each other. There's also a wealth of information on paying for college and expert advice on the admissions process.
Looking for full rankings information? Access the U.S. News College Compass to find all published data points, including student debt and employment statistics.
More From US News & World Report
Semiconductor stocks and the related ETFs have been key contributors to the technology sector's strength this year. For example, the VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) is up nearly 24% year-to-date. Big-name diversified technology ETFs also feature semiconductor exposure. For instance, the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) includes companies from technology hardware, storage, and peripherals; software; diversified telecommunication services; communications equipment; semiconductors and semiconductor equipment; internet software and services; IT services; electronic equipment, instruments and components; and wireless telecommunication services. Semiconductors (INTC) (TSM), especially related to computing, are the mainstay of modern technology. As technology continues to evolve and improve, semiconductors are increasingly in demand to help power innovative devices. According to the Semiconductor Industry Association, global sales of semiconductors were $33.6 billion in July 2017, a 24.0% rise YoY (year-over-year) and a sequential rise of 3.1%. Although all the key regions posted healthy rises in July, growth in North America was higher at 36.1% YoY and 5.4% sequentially, according to Market Realist . Taiwan Semiconductor and Intel are the two largest holdings in SMH. SMH holds 26 stocks and tracks the MVIS US Listed Semiconductor 25 Index (MVSMHTR), which is intended to track the overall performance of companies involved in semiconductor production and equipment, according to VanEck . Worldwide semiconductor revenue is forecast to total $401.4 billion in 2017, an increase of 16.8 percent from 2016, according to Gartner, Inc . This will be the first time semiconductor revenue has surpassed $400 billion. The market reached the $300 billion milestone seven years ago, in 2010, and surpassed $200 billion in 2000. Related: Equifax Data Breach Reveals CyberSec ETFs Opportunity Semiconductor ETFs have recently been durable performers as semiconductor stocks are rebounding to steady the broader technology sector, but that does not mean the gains are over for this suddenly hot group. However, valuations are rising for chip stocks. Another possible source of growth for semiconductors is the development of crypto currencies. Crypto currencies, which became popular in recent years, are mined using semiconductors, thus providing immense opportunities for future growth. According to Bloomberg, growth in the Ethereum market in 2Q17 boosted the shares of Nvidia (NVDA) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) substantially. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) offers investors a vehicle to invest in this fast-growing industry, reports Market Realist. For more news and strategy on the Technology market, visit our Technology category . Read more on ETFtrends.com
Equifax's handling of the massive data breach that affected 143 million people has been ineffective, Senator Brian Schatz wrote today in a letter to Equifax (embedded at bottom of post). He says what Equifax has offered customers, a one-year complimentary subscription to credit monitoring, is "inadequate for several reasons."
One year of credit monitoring, Schatz wrote, is "insufficient given the scope and scale of this data breach," noting that those affected will be at risk of identity theft for "years to come." He also notes that credit monitoring isn't the best solution because it doesn't actually prevent identity theft. The solution that works best is implementing a credit security freeze, but Equifax is charging customers to do that. Schatz says "it is unacceptable."
"If even a fraction of the impacted customers implement security freezes, Equifax stands to make hundreds of millions of dollars from its security failings," Schatz wrote.
Schatz argues that Equifax should provide complimentary security freezes to its customers and either pay for, or reimburse those credit freezes with reporting agencies Experian and TransUnion.
Meanwhile, Schatz and fellow Senators Elizabeth Warren, Claire McCaskill, Bernie Sanders, Richard Blumenthal and Jeff Merkley are taking the Equifax hack and the drama that has ensued as a good opportunity to reintroduce some legislation around the accuracy of credit reports.
The bill, Stop Errors in Credit Use and Reporting (SECURE) Act, would aim to make it easier for people to know when they're the victims of identity theft and fraud. The SECURE Act would also help people resolve errors in their credit reports.
"This is one of several important steps Congress can take in the wake of the Equifax cybersecurity breach," Schatz said in a statement. "Because these credit agencies operate in the dark, they are allowed to be terribly unfair and unaccountable. Millions of Americans have bad credit because of mistakes from credit agencies, and it can ruin lives, stopping people from getting a job or owning a home or car. While I look forward to hearing Equifax management testify under oath before Congress very soon, this bill is another way we can protect consumers."
Story continues
Given that the Equifax breach exposed customer names, Social Security numbers, birth dates and other personal information, all of that could easily be used to steal many people's identities. Stolen identities can lead to someone racking up debt in your name, which would make it difficult to apply for loans, mortgages and rentals.
"Credit reports regularly contain errors that can make it harder for families to access credit, find jobs, and get housing, Warren said in a statement. "And as many consumers know all too well, it's very difficult to get those errors corrected. The SECURE Act will cut down on the inaccuracies in credit reports and make it easier for consumers to correct any errors they discover."
It would also give regulators more tools for enforcement and create a national registry of credit report agencies. That way, people would know which companies are collecting and distributing their information.
View this document on Scribd
The hits just keep coming for Equifax in the wake of last Thursdays disclosure of a security breach that may have exposed personal data on up to 143 million people.
Late Monday, the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance informed Equifax CEO Richard Smith that it wants to hear morea lot moreabout the breach. Senators want more information specifically about the types of data that may have been accessed beyond social security numbers and birthdates. Information on some 200,000 credit card holders may have also been compromised. And the committee really wants to know what safeguards Equifax had been using to keep consumer data secure.
In its letter, which is copied in the committees press release, the committee asked if Equifax efx has a chief information security officer (CISO) and, if so, to whom that executive reports. The committee also wants a tally of how many employees are dedicated to data security and how often Equifax used an outside experts to conduct penetration tests of both internal and external systems in the past two years.
Companies typically conduct penetration, or pen tests, by security experts to find vulnerabilities that could be exploited before bad guys can find and exploit them.
In the days since Equifax disclosed the breach on September 7, claims and counterclaims have swirled around the cause. All Equifax itself has said is that criminals exploited a U.S. website application vulnerability to gain access to certain files.
Clearly, more information is needed by regulators and consumers alike. Equifaxs response to date has been slammed. Critics said the company used the breach to tout its own paid credit protection services. Additionally, the website it put up to help customers figure out if they were impacted, itself posed security problems.
Related: Equifax Could Make $700 Million Off Its Own Breach
The scope and scale of this breach appears to make it one of the largest on record, and the sensitivity of the information compromised may make it the most costly to taxpayers and consumers, according to the letter from the committee, which is chaired by by Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) with ranking Democrat Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
Story continues
The committee also wants to hear about an earlier breach in which W-2 and employee records data was taken from TALX, an Equifax subsidiary that handles payroll for companies.
On Friday, Jeb Hensarling, (R.-Texas) said the House Financial Services Committee wants its own look into the Equifax mess.
Get Data Sheet, Fortunes technology newsletter.
There have been third-hand claims that Equifaxs use of particular piece of open-source software is at the core of this problem. But thats a red herring, says a long-time security consultant. He requested anonymity because he works for government agencies and is not authorized to speak to the media.
Forget the particular patches or bugs, he says. What is Equifaxs overall approach to security? Does it work with third-party auditors and security folks to protect what is essentially a good chunk of the U.S. economy?
All software, including aging Java software that is used by most Fortune 500 and other large companies, has vulnerabilities. And that is true even if those companies use a commercially supported version of open-source software purchased from a vendor. Those frailties, if found by criminals before a companys own security experts, can and will be exploited.
The issue here is how much due diligence this credit agency put into bullet-proofing that software. And that is apparently what the senators on the Finance Committee aim to find out.
The Committee set a deadline of September 28 for Equifax to respond.
EC calls for tight security
The Election Commission has directed security agencies to create a sense of security among voters and candidates with necessary arrangements for the upcoming local level elections in Province 2.
Shares of AT&T (T) edged nearly 1% higher in morning trading Tuesday after company management confirmed that it expects its merger deal with Time Warner (TWX) to close by the end of the year.
Shares of AT&T T edged nearly 1% higher in morning trading Tuesday after company management confirmed that it expects its merger deal with Time Warner TWX to close by the end of the year.
Because the merger does not include the transfer of government licenses, the Federal Communications Communication is not reviewing the deal, making the regulatory process even easier. So far no surprises, said AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson at a Goldman Sachs GS telecom and media conference today.
The deal, which is valued at $108.7 billion when including Time Warners debt, was first announced in October 2016 and represented a major marker in the growing trend of telecom industry consolidation. Of course, traditional cable and media companies have been forced to adapt to changing consumer trends recently, and joining forces has proven to be one popular strategy.
Stephenson also discussed how AT&T and Time Warner can mutually benefit from each other. One of the markets top prevailing theories is that Time Warner will parlay AT&Ts viewership data to make more educated decisions about the projects it chooses to fund.
We have some amazing viewership data, Stephenson said. What will be interesting is how a media executive can take a look at this data and how can it begin to influence their decision making. I don't think Steven Spielberg is replaced by big data.
On top of this, Stephenson suggested that improving Time Warners ad rates would be a main priority for his company. The chief executive said that if AT&T can get $10 in advertising revenues every month, it could hypothetically cut the cost of its service in an effort to attract new customers.
Stephenson also touched on his hope that the White House and Congress can restructure the corporate tax code soon, saying that it would be a crying shame if tax cuts didnt get done by the end of the year.
Story continues
You would be hard-pressed to find someone in Washington in the House or Senate who doesn't believe we have to restructure the corporate tax code, he said.
Want more stock market analysis from this author? Make sure to follow @Ryan_McQueeney on Twitter!
More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!
It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.
Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020. Click here for the 6 trades >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Time Warner Inc. (TWX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
AT&T Inc. (T) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The) (GS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment Research
Tahoe Resources shares rally as Guatemala reinstates Escobal license
Investing.com -Tahoe Resources Inc's (NYSE:TAHO) shares surged on Monday, getting a big boost from the Guatemalan Supreme Courts decision to reinstate the Escobal mining license of Tahoe's Guatemalan subsidiary, Minera San Rafael (MSR). The ruling reverses a preliminary ruling issued by the same court in August.
The court suspended MSR's license in connection with an action brought by the anti-mining organization, CALAS, against Guatemala's Ministry of Energy and Mines. CALAS alleges that Guatemala's Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) violated the Xinca indigenous people's right of consultation in advance of granting the Escobal mining license to MSR.
Under the ruling. MEM has been ordered to consult with the Xinca indigenous communities within a certain geographic area and report results of the consultation to the satisfaction of the Court within 12 months. Tahoe is seeking clarification from the Supreme Court on the specific geographical departments to be included within the scope of MEM's consultation
While the Supreme Court ruling allows Escobal operations to commence immediately, there is an ongoing illegal roadblock at Casillas, preventing an immediate restart of operations at this time.
Tahoe Resources shares were recently up 32.5% at $6.23.
Related Articles
Rupert Murdoch's Fox joins court challenge to CBS' Australian TV buyout
Asian shares up as North Korea tensions enter new sanctions phase
Asia shares hit ten-year high on Irma, North Korea relief
(Reuters) - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries , on Monday agreed to sell its contraceptive brand Paragard to a unit of Cooper Cos for $1.1 billion, on a day the struggling Israeli drugmaker named industry veteran Kare Schultz as CEO. The company's U.S.-listed shares were up 1.4 percent at $18.75 in extended trading after closing up 19.3 percent in regular trading. The sale of the business is the first step in the planned divestment of non-core assets and the proceeds would be used to repay term loan debt, Teva said. Saddled with about $35 billion in debt, Teva has speeded up plans to divest non-core assets, Reuters reported last month, citing sources. "Investors will like this news, as in addition to a good price for the asset, and the recent share decline has been likely due in part to investor worries that the debt burden is high," Wells Fargo Securities analyst David Maris said in a note. Teva's U.S.-listed stock has halved since early August when it cut its forecasts. The company said on Monday it continued to look for divestiture opportunities, including the sale of the remaining assets of its global women's health business, as well as its oncology and pain businesses in Europe. Teva said it expects to generate at least $2 billion in total proceeds from the sale of these businesses, as well as additional asset sales to be executed by the end of 2017. The deal with Cooper includes Teva's manufacturing facility in Buffalo, NY, which makes Paragard exclusively. Paragard, an intrauterine copper contraceptive device, posted revenue of about $168 million for the year ended June 30. Teva said it will continue to manufacture and sell Paragard in the United States, until the deal is completed, which is expected before the year end. Earlier in the day, Teva named smaller peer Lundbeck's Chief Executive Schultz as its CEO. (Reporting by Shailesh Kuber; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
millennial woman worried
If you've been paying attention to the news lately, things probably seem pretty bleak.
In the span of two weeks, three major hurricanes made landfall in the US, an 8.2-magnitude earthquake struck Mexico, and wildfires blazed through Canada, Oregon, Montana, and California. As of September 11, officials had put the collective death toll above 150.
On social media, reactions clustered around one sentiment: The world is ending.
I'm convinced at this point the world is ending Jamie (@Jamie_Copeland_) September 11, 2017
not to be dramatic or anything but the world is ending Lauren Giraldo (@LaurenGiraldo) September 8, 2017
I'm sorry if I'm not in a good mood it's just the world is literally ending Ceejay the Dj (@ChantelJeffries) September 9, 2017
The world is ending, so like if anyone has a crush on me, lemme know now STEGEN (@TheReaITam) September 8, 2017
The impulse to label natural disasters a sign of end times is reasonable. Vicious winds and harsh rain destroy property and force people to rebuild from nothing. For those directly affected, hope may seem far from their grasp.
But wisdom from cognitive science and statistics should serve as a reminder that humanity is not going to hell in a handbasket. The world is not ending (at least not yet).
Life in a not-so-mean world
People have been feeling like the world is ending for thousands of years. But it wasn't until the 1970s, when a Hungarian professor named George Gerbner observed television's hold on the public, that someone developed a theory to diagnose the feeling.
Gerbner called it "mean world syndrome," and it referred to Americans' false belief that the world was getting more dangerous, even if statistics showed (and continue to show) otherwise.
Story continues
A recent example is bullying. Despite rates of bullying going down in schools across the US, one study of Maryland students found that both students and parents believed rates hadn't changed much from 2005 to 2015. Meanwhile, bullying had actually decreased from 28.5% to 13.4%.
"Our perception of how common something is, is very important," Catherine Bradshaw, one of the study's lead authors, told NPR. The data might show one thing, but if people believe a different story is unfolding, they may replace a rational response with one of fear or panic.
The same holds for natural disasters. Research has shown they've been increasing in prevalence globally for the past 40 years, but not dramatically so. Even if each incident seems cataclysmic, the increase in frequency has been steady.
FILE PHOTO: View of the aftermath of Hurricane Irma on Sint Maarten Dutch part of Saint Martin island in the Caribbean September 6, 2017/File Photo Netherlands Ministry of Defence/Handout via REUTERS
How to make sense of it all
Natural disasters fit the mean world syndrome because of a cognitive bias known as the "availability heuristic."
In the early 1990s, psychologists discovered the easiest memories to recall were those that were most unique or carried the strongest emotional weight.
The phenomenon helps explain why fiery plane crashes seem more likely than botched surgeries, even if the latter is far more common. It also explains why it's much easier to recall images of flooded streets and toppled buildings than any number of rosier events that might have happened recently.
These scenes are painted all over Twitter, Facebook, and the nightly news. For some people, disaster probably seems like the only thing happening right now.
The truth is, Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Katia took place in a hurricane-prone area during the peak of hurricane season. The last time multiple storms hit the area the same time was 10 years ago, and then 10 years before that. The availability heuristic states that these events seem apocalyptic because they consume our attention, even if the data suggest they are both predictable and rare.
What to really focus on
Mean world syndrome doesn't suggest the world is perfectly safe; it merely says the world isn't as dangerous as people believe, and that they should calibrate their concern according to overall trends of things like violence and crime, not isolated incidents.
Natural disasters and other violent weather events follow the same wisdom. Experts have said Hurricane Harvey was not the result of climate change, but also that storms of Harvey's nature have steadily gotten more common since the mid-1970s.
In other words, there's no sense in worrying about the fate of the world tomorrow, but if humanity doesn't take ownership of its role in warming the planet, things could definitely get worse.
NOW WATCH: Here's why all hurricanes, like Irma and Harvey, spin counterclockwise
More From Business Insider
donald trump
President Donald Trump offered the US Coast Guard another strange compliment on Sunday.
Responding to reporters' questions on the South Lawn of the White House, the president praised the Coast Guard for rescuing people trapped by Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Harvey.
"If you talk about branding, no brand has improved more than the US Coast Guard," Trump said.
The comments garnered some criticism, as some pointed out that the Coast Guard has broken records in recent years for offshore drug seizures and monitoring.
Sunday's comments were the second time in recent weeks that the president has raised eyebrows while attempting to compliment the Coast Guard.
Meeting with survivors of Hurricane Harvey and members of the Coast Guard, Trump said guardsman had saved 11,000 people "by going into winds that this media would not go into unless it's a really good story in which case they will."
Critics noted that many members of the media had simultaneously reported on the storm and helped with rescue efforts, and had been reporting on the ground in Houston for days.
Trump also turned a Coast Guard commencement speech earlier this year into a freewheeling attack on the media, bemoaning to graduates at the Coast Guard academy that the media treated him more unfairly than any politician "in history."
The president's proposed budget also suggested cutting $1 billion from the Coast Guard, canceling the production of a ship and cutting from services that focus on human and drug trafficking and monitoring Russian activity in the Arctic.
NOW WATCH: How Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson could make a real run as president according to someone who's known him since 1999
More From Business Insider
By Pete Schroeder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Thirty-six U.S. senators on Tuesday called on federal authorities to probe the sale of nearly $2 million in shares of credit bureau Equifax Inc by company executives after a massive data breach this summer, and one compared their actions to insider trading. The lawmakers signed a letter asking the Justice Department, Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal Trade Commission to probe about $1.8 million in stock sales by three executives between the time the company learned about the hack and when they made it public. "If that happened, somebody needs to go to jail," Senator Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, said at a credit union industry conference in Washington. "It's a problem when people can act with impunity with no consequences. How is that not insider trading?" Cyber security experts believe the breach is one of the largest data hacks ever disclosed. On Wall Street on Tuesday, Equifax closed 2.5 percent higher at $115.96, slightly reversing a 21 percent slide since the hack was reported. In their letter, the lawmakers, led by Jack Reed, a Democrat from Rhode Island, and John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, requested "a thorough examination of any unusual trading, including any atypical options trading, for violations of insider trading law." "We request that you spare no effort in your investigations and in enforcing the law to the fullest extent," the lawmakers said. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has already said it was investigating the Equifax hack. A spokesman for SEC Chairman Jay Clayton declined to comment. The acting FTC chairman, Maureen Ohlhausen, declined to say if that agency was investigating the breach. "We're trying to get a handle on the scope of all of this. We're certainly taking this very seriously," she told reporters at an antitrust conference. The agency has historically probed big breaches but only sued companies that had been sloppy in protecting consumer data. The breach also prompted expressions of concern from U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, while Massachusetts' attorney general said her state planned to sue. Equifax announced last week that it had learned on July 29 that hackers infiltrated its systems in mid-May. The hackers pilfered names, birthdays and addresses, as well as Social Security and drivers license numbers - a treasure trove for identity thieves. Data of up to 143 million people may have been exposed. Following revelations of the stock sales by Chief Financial Officer John Gamble and two other people, Equifax said in a statement last week that the executives were not aware that an intrusion had occurred when they sold their shares. Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said she intended to file a lawsuit against Equifax for allegedly failing to maintain appropriate safeguards to protect customers' data, including that of nearly three million Massachusetts residents. "In all of our years investigating data breaches, this may be the most brazen failure to protect consumer data we have ever seen," Healey said in a statement. Equifax had initially appeared to offer credit monitoring to breach victims only if they forfeited their right to file a lawsuit. New York Attorney General A.G. Schneiderman said Tuesday that Equifax removed that language from its website. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin on Tuesday called the Equifax breach "quite unfortunate" and insisted that his top priority is to make sure financial data is safe. "I am concerned about the global financial system and keeping it safe," he said at the CNBC Institutional Investor Delivering Alpha Conference in New York. Equifax did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. (Reporting by Pete Schroeder. Additional reporting by Diane Bartz and Sarah N. Lynch; editing by Dan Grebler and Chris Sanders)